News Digest — 9/30/21
Foreign Minister Lapid Lands In Bahrain, Will Inaugurate Embassy
Foreign Minister Yair Lapid landed in Bahrain on Thursday (30th), on the highest-level official Israeli visit to the Gulf state since the countries established formal relations last year.
The top Israeli diplomat, who landed at Bahrain’s international airport in an Israir plane with an olive branch painted on its nose, will inaugurate Israel’s embassy in Manama and will hold talks with his Bahraini counterpart Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani.
An Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson said five memorandums of understanding will be signed, including cooperation agreements between hospitals, including water and power companies.
“The main areas in which Bahrain is looking for cooperation is with the economy and technology, so a few of the MOUs signed will be about those things,” the spokesperson said, without elaborating.
He said 12 memorandums of understanding have been signed so far between the two countries, among them deals relating to transportation, agriculture, communication and finance.
Bahrain’s Gulf Air was due to make its first direct commercial flight to Tel Aviv later Thursday (30th).
However, anger simmers in some quarters over the move, which broke with decades of Arab consensus that there would be no relations with Israel while the Palestinian question remains unresolved.
Protesters burned tires on the outskirts of Manama early Thursday (30th), sending clouds of black smoke into the air, and the hashtag #BahrainRejectsZionists in Arabic circulating on social media.
Extra security was stationed on the route to the airport and no Israeli flags were visible on main roads. Opposition activists have called for further protests later on Thursday (30th).
Bahrain’s Gulf neighbor, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), normalized relations with Israel in a US-brokered deal known as the Abraham Accords that was built on shared business interests and worries over Iran.
“We see Bahrain as an important partner, on the bilateral level but also as a bridge in cooperation with other countries in the region,” the spokesperson added.
One Million People Visited The Western Wall During The Holidays
About a million people visited the Western Wall during the High Holy Day season this year, according to the Western Wall Heritage Foundation.
Last year, COVID-19 restrictions allowed for only a limited number of worshipers to gather at the Western Wall Plaza, when previous years saw tens of thousands of worshipers.
Thousands joined for the traditional Selihot penitential services in the month leading up to Rosh Hashanah, as well as during the Ten Days of Repentance between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The pilgrimage holiday of Sukkot and Shmini Atzeret also saw large numbers of worshipers.
The traditional Birkat Kohanim (Priestly Blessing) was also split over two days to avoid large crowds.
The rabbi of the Western Wall, Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz stated, “The masses that came to the Western Wall are impressive and strong proof of the Jewish nation’s connection with the Western Wall, which unites us all through preserving tradition and its holiness.”
On the Jewish New Year of Rosh Hashanah, the Western Wall was divided into 15 capsules, with 8,000 worshipers at a time.
Iran Has 6 Armies Outside Its Borders, Iran General Says
Iran has “six armies outside its borders that work for it,” a senior Iranian general said in an interview to the Iranian Mehr Agency earlier this week, leading the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement to issue a statement correcting his comments, Arab media reported.
Iranian Maj.-Gen. Gholam Ali Rashid, a prominent commander in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), said that Qasem Soleimani, who led the IRGC up until his assassination by US forces in January last year, had established 6 organized militias operating outside of Iran’s borders.
According to Rashid, these include Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthi movement in Yemen, Hashd al-Sha’bi, in Iraq, Iranian militias in Syria, and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and Hamas in what he referred to as “Palestine.”
All militias share ideological tendencies and would defend Iran against any threat, the Iranian general argued.
Rashid’s comments seemed to throw the Islamic jihad movement off balance. On Wednesday (28th), the group issued a statement clarifying that “our alliance with Iran is meant to strengthen our resistance to the Zionist movement.”
The Gaza-based terrorist group also noted that “All resistance forces, including Iran, stand in one front against the Zionist enemy [Israel] and its allies,” Turkish media outlet Yeri Safak reported.
Czech Republic To Purchase Israeli Air Defense System
The Czech Republic will purchase a short-and-medium-range air defense system made by Israeli state-owned supplier Rafael, the country’s defense ministry said on Monday (27th).
The Czech ministry said it had informed the cabinet it would conclude a government-to-government deal to buy Rafael’s SPYDER Short Range Air Defense/Medium Range Surface to Air Missile (SHORAD/MRSAM).
It said it would pay $631.81 million for the system, which will replace Soviet-made technology from the 1970s.
The Czech government has been raising defense spending to modernize its armed forces but has admitted it was falling short of its pledge as a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to spend 2% of its gross domestic product on defense by 2024.
The ministry said last year when it opened talks on the Rafael Deal that it planned to buy four batteries, each including its own radar, command and control unit.
The system – used to protect cities, nuclear power plants and other potential targets – will be supplied by 2026, it said.
This is the largest in a series of arms deals between Israel and Eastern European nations, after Slovakia agreed in April to purchase 17 Israeli-made radar systems for $155 million, as part of a defense export agreement with Jerusalem.
Defense Minister Benny Gantz said then that the move was “evidence of the deepening cooperation with NATO countries.”
American Muslims For Palestine Director Says ‘Israel Is A Parasite’
The executive director of American Muslims for Palestine has recently claimed in an interview that Israel is a parasite that sucks America’s blood, and that accusations of anti-Semitism “are no longer influential.”
Speaking with Jordan’s Yarmouk TV on Sept. 22 about the recent removal of funding for Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system from US budget legislation, Osama Abuirshaid said, “We are witnessing the closing of the ranks, and an emphasis on the force that supports Palestine within the Democratic Party.”
The majority of the Democratic base was “more supportive of Palestine than the Republicans are,” said Abuirshaid, adding that many American Jews support Palestine.
Modern Israel, he continued, “represents the ugly face of racial segregation, of apartheid.”
“Israel has become a partisan issue. There is no longer a political consensus about Israel. Criticizing Israel is no longer tantamount to political suicide,” said Abuirshaid.
Abuirshaid acknowledged that his words would draw accusations of anti-Semitism, but said that such accusations no longer mattered.
Abuirshaid predicted that support for Israel would continue to decline in the United States, saying, “The more Americans know about Israel the less they like it.”
NOTE: On Thursday, September 23, the House of Representatives voted to overwhelmingly give $1 billion to Israel for its Iron Dome system in a separate bill, following Tuesday’s (21st) objections from the most liberal Democrats that forced leaders to remove it from a broader spending bill.
The vote for approval in the new bill was 420-9.
(jns.org; reuters.com)
