News Digest — 2/15/22
In Bahrain Prime Minister Warns Any Compromise On Nuclear Deal With Iran Will Be ‘Strategic Mistake’
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett landed in the Gulf state of Bahrain on Monday (14th), cementing ties between the new allies in a clear message of cooperation aimed at regional archrival Iran.
Bennett’s trip to the Gulf is the first public visit by an Israeli prime minister to Bahrain and comes less than two weeks after the countries signed a defense agreement with an eye on rising tensions in the Gulf. The visit also comes as nuclear talks between world powers and Iran are dragging on in Vienna.
Israel has stepped up cooperation with the Gulf states. Manama hosted Israel’s defense minister on Feb. 2 and has said an Israeli military officer will be posted in Bahrain as part of an international coalition.
Israel and Bahrain agreed to normalize ties in 2020 as part of the US-brokered Abraham Accords, which also saw Israel establish relations with the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and Sudan. Bennett traveled to the UAE late last year.
Speaking to reporters before departing Israel, Bennett said he would Meet with Bahrain’s king, the crown prince and others “to fill with energy and content the peace agreements between the two nations.”
Bennett was greeted in Bahrain by an honor guard and the country’s Foreign Minister Abduliatif al-Zayani.
Israel, along with its new Gulf allies, is watching closely as diplomats from the United Kingdom, Germany, France, China, and Russia are currently negotiating with Iran in the Austrian capital over its nuclear program. American diplomats are indirectly involved in the talks.
In a special interview with Al Ayam, an Arabic daily based in Manama, Bennett said that “any compromise on a nuclear deal with Iran would be a strategic mistake. Iran is pursuing the destruction of of the moderate Arab countries, which it seeks to replace with terrorist organizations.”
Touching on the fact that he is the first Israeli prime minister to visit the Gulf Kingdom, Bennet expressed appreciation to Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa for extending the invitation and lauded “the king’s brave leadership, which enables us to forge relations as part of the Abraham Accords. Israel strives for a warm peace with Bahrain – one that will benefit both nations.”
The prime minister also commented on the defense agreement signed between the two countries earlier this month, saying “Israel and Bahrain face major security challenges, stemming from the same source – the Islamic Republic of Iran, which undermines stability in the whole region. It supports terrorist organizations operating in your area and ours, with one goal – to destroy the moderate Arab countries and Israel, and replace them with bloodthirsty terrorist organizations.”
“We will not allow this. We are fighting Iran and its proxies in the region every day, and we will help our friends strengthen their peace, security, and stability as much as we can,” said Bennett.
Israel Refuses Sale Of Iron Dome Missile Defense System To Ukraine
In an effort to avoid at all cost Israeli involvement in the crisis between Russia and Ukraine, Israel refused to sell the Iron Dome missile defense system to Kiev in order not to annoy the Russians.
Israel’s efforts over the summer took the possible sale of the advanced technology off the table to the disappointment of Kiev.
The matter demonstrates the predicament Jerusalem finds itself in, since Russian deployment in Syria means the two countries in fact share a border.
The Iron Dome missile defense system was developed jointly by Israel with the Pentagon. The agreement between the two countries does not allow for the sale of the technology to third parties without mutual consent.
Its popularity in the wake of the May 2021 conflict with Hamas, led Ukraine, among others, to desire its purchase.
The Biden administration and members of Congress from both parties, are inclined to adopt a more aggressive position over Russia’s continued aggressions in eastern Ukraine – and some in Congress, wanting to exert more pressure on Biden, included an amendment attached to the 2022 defense bill that would pressure the White House to sell or transfer air and missile defense systems to Ukraine, including the Iron Dome.
According to Politico, the US purchased two Iron Dome batteries from Israel’s Rafael Defense Industries that are currently being prepared to be operational next year.
This placed Israel in a complicated position. It could refuse the US to supply Ukraine with the technology or risk confrontation with Russia.
Israel informed the Biden administration in unofficial talks that it could not agree to such a move given its relationship with Moscow.
(ynetnews.com; politico.com)
Jerusalem Mayor Promises More Security For Violent Neighborhood
In response to the escalation in the level of violence committed by Arab rioters in the last few days, Moshe Lion, the Mayor of Jerusalem has pledged to increase the presence of security forces in the Shimon HaTsadik neighborhood, known as Sheikh Jarrah in Arabic.
Since Friday, (11th) a home owned by Jews in the area was firebombed with a Molotov Cocktail, some people were rammed by a car driven by an Arab, who was later arrested, and fireworks were launched at Jewish homes there.
“I instructed the security department of the city to immediately establish an innovative security system that will ensure the peace of the residents of the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood and ensure that the rioters are brought to justice,” Lion said.
The mayor added that he agreed with the district police commander on the need to significantly increase police presence in the neighborhood.
“This is how it will be,” he declared. “We must not forget tomorrow. Jerusalem is a city of coexistence, so it was and so it will be. I call for calm. Give us the quiet needed to get the neighborhood back to normal.”
Earlier in the day, Lion said that the only people responsible for the escalating violence are the Arab rioters.
“Now the task is to ensure the peace of the residents and calm the winds,” said Moshe Lion. “I am in continuous dialogue with the police and the residents, and will work to continue this by all means.”
The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Isn’t About Race – Benny Morris
In the Six-Day War of 1967, Israel conquered the West Bank – which most Israelis refer to as Judea and Samaria – and eastern Jerusalem from Jordan. This territory was the heartland of the biblical kingdom of David and Solomon, and successive Israeli governments have been unable or unwilling to give it up. Since then, more than half a million Israelis have settled there, making an Israeli withdrawal inconceivable even if Palestinian leaders were sincerely willing to agree to peace in exchange.
Despite what the new Amnesty International report says, racism is not what underlies the Israeli-Arab relationship. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is essentially national, a struggle between two peoples over the same tract of land.
The Amnesty report “charges” that Israelis define Israel as “the nation-state of the Jews.” Of course, that definition is correct. The world is divided into nation-states and Israel is the Jews’ nation-state, just as the 22 member states of the Arab League are Arab nation-states.
Some Israeli Arabs resent the fact that “their Palestine” has become a Jewish State. But most seem to have made their peace with life in Israel, appreciating the prosperity, the social and health benefits, and the freedom that the Jewish state guarantees. Most Israeli Arabs, to judge by opinion polls, aren’t eager to be inducted into a Palestinian Arab state should one arise next door.
If that did happen, many, if not most Israeli Jews would regard it as a mortal threat. After Israel completely withdrew from Gaza in 2005, Hamas took over and began to rain down rockets on Israel, eventually sending missiles flying toward Tel Aviv and Ben Gurion International Airport.
Hamas would likely gain control of the West Bank if Israel withdrew, allowing it to bombard Israel’s population centers. Hamas rule would allow Iran to install forces and weapons in the West Bank, as it has already done in Lebanon.
The writer is professor emeritus of Middle Eastern Studies at Israel’s Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.
Is The Vatican Hoarding Jewish Temple Treasures?
Ancient artifacts dating back to Israel’s Herodian Jewish Temple, located in Jerusalem some 2,000 years ago, including shofars, priestly garments, and Torah scrolls, may be secretly held by the Vatican, according to an investigative archeologist writing for the Jerusalem Report.
Harry Moskoff, a Torah scholar and archeology expert, wrote that evidence points to the Vatican being in possession of countless sacred Jewish relics.
Some of the Jewish artifacts currently held by the Vatican include the “Temple candelabra given to Pope Innocent III by Baldwin I after the sacking of Constantinople and the massacre of the Christian Orthodox population,” Vatican expert Dr. Michael A. Calvo told the Jerusalem Report.
Artifacts included, “Temple shofars, and utensils; garments of the High Priest; the Tzitz – a gold plaque with the words Kodesh L’Hashem (“holy to the Lord”); cultural objects, and many other objects of art, books and manuscripts that the Vatican and other churches have appropriated and placed in their own storerooms, libraries and museums.”
These items reportedly made their way to the Vatican from a rich array of places, including ancient Byzantium, through multiple conquests over centuries.
For example, some of the holy Jewish objects held in Byzantium by Christian priests and emperors were then evacuated to the Vatican for safekeeping after the region fell to Muslim conquerors.
According to Moskoff, several Jewish and Israeli visitors have been brought down to the Vatican’s storage facility to see the items – reportedly four stories underground, beneath St Peter’s Museum, at the entrance to the Necropolis – and have confirmed the existence of the items.
Moskoff wrote that the existence of various international agreements to which the Vatican is a party, alongside an increasing international sentiment that cultural artifacts should be returned to their rightful owners, may mean that Israel can request for the Vatican to transfer ownership of these items to the Jewish State.
However, Moskoff acknowledged that the Vatican would likely not be eager to surrender them, and such a transfer would likely require a lengthy court battle.
