In another sign that peace is possible, Emirates airlines has begun advertizing in Hebrew, and launched daily flights from Dubai to Tel Aviv. Other Arab airlines are also now flying to Israel.
The Moroccan and Israeli women's basketball teams played a friendly match a few days ago in Morocco, during which the Israeli national anthem was played. This would have been unthinkable until recently.
Overall Israel's geostrategic position situation is steadily improving. But there is continuing incitement against Israel by extremists in Europe. The "occupation" game pictured above was created by an Irish artist who studied at the Leeds College of Art in northern England.
CONTENTS
1. Prince Charles "took bags stuffed with millions in cash from controversial Qatari sheikh"
2. Emirates airlines begins flights to Tel Aviv
3. Iranian authorities outraged as photos of celebrating teenagers go viral
4. Arrested for being "happy" in Tehran
5. Police officers stabbed as they guard Tunisian synagogue
6. Pelosi responds to Roe v. Wade ruling by citing an Israeli poem
7. US conservatives wrong to suggest most Israelis share their social beliefs
8. Israel introduces mandatory sex education for all children
9. Iranian state TV fabricates clip claiming soccer star Ronaldo hates Israel
10. Hamas restores relations with the Assad regime
11. Turkish counter-terrorism police arrest eight assassins sent by Iran to kill Israelis
12. Turkey extends its troop deployment in Libya for a further 18 months
13. Israel balances Turkish ties with its good relations with Greece and Cyprus
14. Turkish and Saudi governments put Khashoggi murder behind them
15. Germany's Goethe Institute disinvites speaker who wished Israelis "torturous, slow" death
[Notes below by Tom Gross]
PRINCE CHARLES "TOOK BAGS STUFFED WITH MILLIONS IN CASH FROM CONTROVERSIAL QATARI SHEIKH"
The Sunday Times of London reports today that Prince Charles personally accepted suitcases and shopping bags stuffed with millions of dollars' worth of cash from a controversial Qatari politician between 2011 and 2015.
"Everyone felt very uncomfortable about the situation," a former adviser to the Prince of Wales told the Sunday Times.
The "only thing we could do was to count the money and make a mutual record of what we'd collected," the source said.
Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, the former prime minister of Qatar, passed the money to the heir to the British throne in three deliveries during private, off-the-books meetings at Clarence House, the prince's official London residence.
A total of about 3 million euros (about $3.2 million) was handed over in duffel bags, a suitcase, and branded shopping bags from the Fortnum & Mason department store.
Prince Charles' office claims all the Qatari cash was passed on to a charity run by the prince. However, the prince is said to use his charities to fund his pet projects as well as pay the bills at his Scottish country estate.
Today's revelation adds to the speculation of a "cash-for-access culture" surrounding Prince Charles. Earlier this year his longtime aide, Michael Fawcett, resigned after it was revealed he used his position to help a Saudi billionaire receive a "golden visa for the UK" and various honors in turn for cash donations.
EMIRATES AIRLINES BEGINS FLIGHTS TO TEL AVIV
In another sign of how Israel is being integrated into the region following the Abraham Accords two years ago, the first Emirates flight flew from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Thursday. There were 335 passengers on board.
It marks the carrier's first direct passenger journey to Israel, a country with which the Gulf Arab state previously had no formal diplomatic relations. Emirates say they will now fly daily to Tel Aviv.
The Dubai International Chamber of Commerce has also announced plans to open an office in Tel Aviv.
IRANIAN AUTHORITIES OUTRAGED AS PHOTOS OF CELEBRATING TEENAGERS GO VIRAL
In the last two days this video "has been driving senior regime members crazy," according to my Iranian sources. Dozens of 15 and 16 year old boys and girls are seen celebrating together, and many of the girls have removed their headscarves in defiance of the regime's dress code.
The teenagers are marking the end of the school year on Shahid Chamran Boulevard, one of the most important streets in Shiraz, connecting the north and the west of the city. Iranians have used their cell phones to spread photos of the celebrations.
The governor of Shiraz district ordered at least ten of the children to be arrested. Critics of the regime are saying that the young generation is still refusing to obey the rules of the Islamic Republic, 43 years after the revolution.
ARRESTED FOR BEING "HAPPY" IN TEHRAN
In the past, I have mentioned other displays challenging the Islamic regime. For example, a group of Iranians who danced to Pharrell Williams' hit song "Happy" were arrested in Tehran after a video showed three men and three unveiled women dancing to the song on the streets and rooftops of Tehran.
Scroll down here for the video.
Iran's state-run TV then broadcast the men and women confessing to the "crime" on camera.
Pharrell Williams wrote on his Facebook page that "It is beyond sad that these kids were arrested for trying to spread happiness".
POLICE OFFICERS STABBED AS THEY GUARD TUNISIAN SYNAGOGUE
Two policemen guarding the Grand Synagogue in the center of the Tunisian capital Tunis were stabbed on early Friday morning. The perpetrator had been jailed over a separate terrorism case but was released last year.
Until anti-Jewish violence helped drive many Jews to leave several decades ago, Tunisia had a Jewish community of around 100,000. Today about 1,000 Jews remain in the north African country.
Tunisia still hosts an annual pilgrimage to the ancient El Ghriba synagogue on the island of Djerba where thousands of Jews once lived. An al-Qaeda bomb at the synagogue in 2002 killed 20 people, including 14 German tourists.
PELOSI RESPONDS TO ROE V. WADE RULING BY CITING AN ISRAELI POEM
The Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi reacted to the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade on Friday by quoting an Israeli poem.
In a news conference, a visibly emotional Pelosi quoted Israeli poet and songwriter Ehud Manor's poem "I have no other land" ("Ein lee eretz aheret" in Hebrew):
"I have no other country even though my land is burning. Only a word in Hebrew penetrates my veins and my soul, with an aching body and with a hungry heart," she quoted.
Pelosi denounced what she said was the conservative-led US Supreme Court's "outrageous and heart-wrenching" decision overturning the federally guaranteed right to abortion.
Written in the wake of the 1982 invasion of Lebanon, Manor's poem speaks of his love for all things Hebrew but he makes a pledge to "not remain silent and sing" to a country that "has changed her face."
US CONSERVATIVES WRONG TO SUGGEST MOST ISRAELIS SHARE THEIR SOCIAL BELIEFS
US social conservatives sometimes wrongly cite Israel as a country where large numbers of citizens supposedly share their beliefs.
Across most social issues, including abortion, gay rights, restricting gun ownership, and outlawing the death penalty, Israeli attitudes more closely resemble the most liberal European attitudes.
See for example, this dispatch:
Why school shootings don't happen in Israel
ISRAEL INTRODUCES MANDATORY SEX EDUCATION FOR ALL CHILDREN
Starting next year, sex education will become mandatory for all schoolchildren in Israel, including very religious Jews and Muslims, officials said on Thursday.
Israel's Education Ministry said a team of psychologists and counselors were preparing age-appropriate lessons to teach kids a healthy approach to sex as well as how to protect oneself from sexual abuse and harassment.
IRANIAN STATE TV FABRICATES CLIP SUGGESTING SOCCER STAR RONALDO HATES ISRAEL
Iranian State TV has been caught fabricating a video that appears to show world famous soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo slamming Israel.
In a report broadcast on June 15, Iranian television showed a video clip of the Manchester United striker, falsely translating him as saying: "Israelis, for me, are the most hated. I cannot tolerate them. I won't exchange my shirts with assassins."
However, Ronaldo never made those remarks, the Iranian language service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported.
RFE/RL said Iran's official broadcaster doctored a 2016 video that Ronaldo recorded for Save The Children, in which he criticized attacks on Syrian children (by Iranian-supported Syrian forces) during Syrian's brutal war.
What Ronaldo actually said in English was: "This is for the children of Syria. We know that you have been suffering a lot. I am a very famous player. But you are the true heroes. Don't lose your hope. The world is with you. We care about you. I am with you."
Iran dubbed Ronaldo into Persian claiming he said (among other things): "If I say that I like the Zionist regime just one time, FIFA will select me as the player of the year."
The report featured what it claimed was footage of Ronaldo refusing to exchange shirts with an Israeli soccer player following a match on June 9. In reality, the player was Aron Gunnarsson, the captain of Iceland's national soccer team, and the footage was from 2016.
The report also included a photo of Ronaldo holding a photoshopped sign that said, "All with Palestine." The original image is of Ronaldo holding a sign that read, "All with Lorca," referring to the 2011 earthquake next to the Spanish town of Lorca.
The Iranian and Palestinian governments, as well the Iranian-controlled Lebanese group Hizbullah, regularly fabricate lies about Israel and use fake or staged photos.
In the past, prominent western media outlets lapped these up. See for example, here and here.
But in recent years, as far as I can tell, western journalists have been more careful not to automatically believe everything they are fed by Iranian and Palestinian sources.
HAMAS RESTORES RELATIONS WITH ASSAD REGIME
Following Iranian mediation, the Hamas government in Gaza last week agreed to reestablish ties with the Assad regime in Syria, after a decade-long dispute.
Relations between the Syrian government and Hamas broke down at the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011, after regime forces started massacring Sunni Arab protesters.
In February 2012, under threat from Assad, the leaders of Hamas' Syrian branch (including then Hamas chairman Khalid Meshaal) fled their Damascus headquarters, and moved to Qatar.
TURKISH COUNTER-TERRORISM POLICE ARREST EIGHT ASSASSINS SENT BY IRAN TO KILL ISRAELIS
Turkey has arrested eight people working for Iran who were preparing to kidnap and murder Israeli tourists in Istanbul. The gang were a mix of Iranians and non-Iranians working for Iranian intelligence, Turkish media reported on Thursday.
They were detained in a raid in Istanbul's touristic Beyoglu district. They were discovered staying in rooms on multiple floors of a hotel and a large quantity of weapons and ammunition was found in their rooms, according to Turkish counter-terrorist police.
Israel's Foreign Minister (and soon to be interim Prime Minister) Yair Lapid visited Ankara on Thursday. This is part of a growing rapprochement between Ankara and Jerusalem.
Please see:
Why Turkey is now eager to restore good ties with Israel (Tom Gross on Turkish TV), May 25, 2022
TURKEY EXTENDS ITS TROOP DEPLOYMENT IN LIBYA FOR A FURTHER 18 MONTHS
Turkey's parliament on Tuesday voted to extend the deployment of its armed forces in Libya for an additional 18 months.
The international media tends to ignore the ongoing Turkish military actions both in Libya and Syria as well as in Kurdish northern Iraq, not to mention the Turkish military occupation and settlement of the northern part of Cyprus, an EU member.
ISRAEL BALANCES TURKISH TIES WITH ITS GOOD RELATIONS WITH GREECE AND CYPRUS
Israel has made clear that its reconciliation with Turkey will not be at the expense of its close ties with Greece and Cyprus.
On Thursday, Israel sent firefighting planes to help Cypriot firefighters cope with the fires raging in the north of the island, following a request from the Cypriot government.
TURKISH AND SAUDI GOVERNMENTS PUT KHASHOGGI KILLING BEHIND THEM
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is also reconciling with Saudi Arabia, and hosted Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Turkey last week.
Turkish state media reported there would be new agreements on tourism, trade, construction and defense.
Turkey also said it would support Riyadh's candidacy to host EXPO 2030.
Previously, Turkish-Saudi relations already strained by Erdogan's support for Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, had worsened after Saudi journalist and Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi was murdered by Saudi agents in Istanbul.
Ankara has also restored relations with the United Arab Emirates in recent months.
Turkey continues to have good working relations with Russia, which it believes is a key to its military operations in Syria.
GERMAN CONFERENCE DISINVITES SPEAKER WHO WISHED ISRAELIS "TORTUROUS, SLOW" DEATH
Mohammed El-Kurd, a Palestinian social media personality who has said that Jews have an "unquenchable thirst for blood," and made other antisemitic remarks, has been dropped from his German speaking appearance next month.
Questions remain as to why the German state-funded Goethe Institute invited him to speak in the first place, given his history of hate-filled remarks.
In April, Georgetown University's law school hosted a talk that included El-Kurd, ignoring concerns from American Jewish students and advocacy groups.
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