News Digest — 2/16/22
‘Unexpected Zionists:’ Israelis In Vienna Make Last Ditch Effort To Trash Nuclear Deal
With Iranian nuclear talks in Vienna appearing to be in the final stages, Israel dispatched a diplomatic delegation to air Jerusalem’s concerns about the emerging agreement.
The delegation is headed by Yosh Zarka, the head of Israel’s Foreign Ministry’s Strategic Division. Also in Vienna is David Nussbaum, who is Israel’s Ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency and Gil Reich, Deputy Director-General for Israel’s Atomic Energy Commission.
According to Hebrew media reports, members of the delegation have already met with IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi and Russia’s envoy to the Iran nuclear talks, Ambassador Mikhail Ulyanov.
They plan to meet with all the other delegations represented in Vienna: the European Union, the U.S., Britain, France, Germany and China, though not Iran.
Iran’s state-run Nour News expressed its displeasure with the arrival of the Israelis on Twitter.
“The unexpected presence of Zionists in Vienna is undoubtedly a deterrent to progress of #ViennaTalks in current situation,” Nour News said. “Dialogue between representatives of #Israel with [Grossi and Ulyanov], with any purpose, is a step toward playing a destructive role in this regime.”
Israel’s primary concern with the emerging nuclear deal is that it will give Iran less than a year of breakout time. Unconfirmed reports indicate the agreement will set the amount of time Tehran needs to produce the amount of highly enriched uranium needed for a nuclear bomb to four to six months.
While uranium needs to be only 3.67 percent pure to generate nuclear power, Iran has enriched its uranium stockpile to 60%, a degree of purity that no country without an atomic bomb has pursued. A nuclear bomb requires uranium to be enriched to 90% purity.
Israel also fears that a premature lifting of sanctions will enable Tehran to boost its support for its terror proxies across the Middle East.
The controversial Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) of 2015 promised Iran economic incentives in exchange for limits on its nuclear program. Former President Donald Trump withdrew the US from the agreement in 2018. Negotiating a return to the nuclear agreement is a key foreign policy goal of US President Joe Biden.
Israel, the Gulf States and Saudi Arabia oppose an American return to the JCPOA agreement.
US Navy Eyes Israeli Robot Boats As Bennett Visits Bahrain
The US Navy is considering adding unmanned Israeli boats to its Middle East operations, a US official said, a move that could deepen Israel’s growing role in regional military arrangements as it normalizes ties with former foes in the Gulf.
Bahrain, home to the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet and several international naval task forces, is hosting a visit by Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, the first by any Israeli leader following the 2020 normalization of ties between the two states.
Israel is due to become the 29th country to post an attache to the fleet’s Manama headquarters, officials said, adding the as-yet-unnamed envoy would likely be of naval captain or commander rank.
“It’s about keeping the lines of communication open” bilaterally between Israel and the fleet, a US official said, referring to the plan to station the envoy in the Gulf kingdom.
Israel has not formally confirmed the appointment. Fleet Chief Vice Admiral Brad Cooper met Bennett on Tuesday (15th), with Bennett telling Cooper he expected “that the cooperation among the region’s countries and powerful ally the United States will keep getting closer,” Bennett’s office said.
The US official said the fleet was examining dozens of unmanned vessels as part of current Gulf exercises, and it was interested in Israeli-made surface drones as possible complements to flying and underwater drones.
“The Israelis are definitely vested in leveraging this technology,” the official said, adding that a fleet commander had in recent weeks visited Haifa in Israel to study the surface drones.
An Israeli military spokeswoman had no immediate comment.
In November, forces from the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Israel and the Bahrain-based US Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) took part in a security exercise in the Red Sea, the first publicly acknowledged naval exercise between the United States, Israel and the two Gulf countries.
Bennett described his two-day Manama trip as a chance to forge a common stand against Iran and its allies.
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis attacks on the UAE this year, have shaken the oil-producing region.
Sunni-ruled Bahrain has accused Shiite Iran of continually stoking unrest in its country.
“Israel and Bahrain are dealing with major security challenges stemming from the same source; the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Bennett told Bahraini newspaper Al-Ayam on Tuesday (15th).
Bahrain, a small island-state striving to fix its heavily indebted finances, is a close ally of Saudi Arabia – with whom Israel has no formal relationship.
Report: Israel, Turkey Working To Deport Hamas Officials From Ankara
Turkey has been conducting secret negotiations with several countries in the region for about a year and a half, Turkish daily Hurriyet reported this week. According to reporter Hande Firat, “the most intense talks were with Israel, which wants Hamas members to be deported from the country.”
The report has neither been confirmed nor denied by Ankara.
According to Hande Firat, Turkey informed Hamas leaders that its “members holding military rank will not remain in Turkey” and “will not receive military assistance.”
Nevertheless, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that even if Jerusalem and Ankara do come to an agreement, “it will not change its policy with regard to the Palestinians” and the country will not turn its back on its commitment to a Palestinian state.
Israel and Turkey expelled their ambassadors in 2018 after a bitter falling-out and relations have remained tense, but Ankara has taken steps recently to mend strained regional ties with Israel.
President Isaac Herzog is expected to visit Turkey in mid-March, the first such trip in years. One of the topics the two might discuss could be energy cooperation. Both leaders spoke on the phone shortly after Herzog was elected, and several times later.
Turkey has hosted several senior Hamas members over the years, despite the fact that the organization is designated a terrorist group by the US and Western countries. The Telegraph reported in 2020 that there were many senior Hamas officials who had been granted Turkish citizenship.
Israel Hit By Second Earthquake In The North In Matter Of Hours
Two earthquakes rattled northern Israel in the span of 24 hours, prompting calls from local council heads to improve municipal and national readiness before disaster strikes.
The Geological Survey reported that a magnitude 3.1 tremor shook the north on Wednesday morning (16th), about 12 hours after a magnitude 3.5 earthquake was felt in the same area Tuesday evening (15th).
The Israeli Police said its emergency center received dozens of calls from residents in the area, adding that no injuries or damages were reported.
The Geological Survey reported that the epicenter of the earthquakes was 9 miles northeast of Beit Shean.
These quakes make for four tremors in less than a month: On Feb. 3, a magnitude 5.4 earthquake occurred in Cyprus and was felt in Israel. Ten days prior, residents of Tiberias, Tzfat, Yavne’el, Haifa and the Krayot area in northern Israel reported feeling a 4.1 magnitude quake the epicenter of which was 10 miles northeast of Beit Shean, south of the Sea of Galilee.
“When this area is struck by a major earthquake – and unfortunately, history has shown it will happen – none of the decision-makers in Israel will be able to say they were surprised by the disaster that will befall us. The writing is on the wall,” Jordan Valley Regional Council Head Idan Greenbaum said.
Earthquakes make for short-lived headlines, he continued, “then everyone moves on as if nothing has happened. There’s no real strategy or plan to reinforce buildings and no plan on how to save lives when catastrophe hits. We need to wake up,” Greenbaum stated.
“Four earthquakes in less than a month is beyond a warning sign. History proves that once in a century there is a significant earthquake. The last one was about 100 years ago. Let’s wake up and prepare in time, and soon, before it’s too late, he added.
(reuters.com; israelhayom.com)
Israeli Official Visits Chicago After Anti-Semitic Attacks On Businesses, Synagogues
WASHINGTON – The Consul-General of Israel to the Midwest, Yinam Cohen and Chicago Alderman, Debra Silverstein visited five Jewish institutions that were the recent targets of various hate crimes. On Monday (14th), the two visited the Free Synagogue, Tel Aviv Bakery, Kol Tuv Bakery, Yeshiva Kesser Yonah and Congregation Bnei Reuven – all of which were targeted in late January.
According to the local television station WGN9, a swastika was found spray-painted on the backside of the Free Russian-Jewish Community Synagogue, and the windows of a local bakery were smashed.
Authorities later announced that Shahid Hussain, 39 is facing hate crime charges in connection to these attacks, which also included verbally assaulting a man. He was charged with two felony counts of defacement.
“We had two businesses that had their windows shattered, and three synagogues and a school that was vandalized,” said Silverstein. “This was really very upsetting for my community, but it also unified us because we are united against hate and won’t tolerate any kind of anti-Semitic actions against our community,” she said. Silverstein commended the police work, and said it was “terrific.”
“They were able to make an arrest within 24 hours, and the offender was charged with four hate crimes,” she said “Our community is always on heightened alert, unfortunately. Anti-Semitism is on the rise, and so we have some police officers that do training for synagogues and schools, and that is continuing, and we are always working to have a plan in case something, God forbid, happens again in our community.”
“Silverstein added, “We are continuing to live our lives. We’re not going to let this get us down. We are continuing to live and do what we have to do, but we know there is anti-Semitism and we know that we have to be aware of our surroundings.”
Consul-General Cohen said,” the community was already on high alert following the Texas hostage attack, and the recent flurry of attacks just amplified these feelings.”
“It’s truly troubling because of the trend. We didn’t see that trend 10 years ago. It feels like people who are visibly Jewish – such as the large Orthodox community here in Chicago – are more exposed to harassment.”
Cohen went on to say that he decided to visit all the businesses and institutions that were attacked to express solidarity on behalf of the State of Israel.
“It was important for me to buy some baked goods at the kosher bakery to deliver the message that the consulate is not just a representative of Israel but also a part of the community,” he added. “Our message to the community is that we fully support the fight against anti-Semitism and call on the authorities to have a zero-tolerance policy. It was encouraging to see how local officials took these attacks seriously and fiercely, and condemned them.”
