News from January 20-January 26

Deal of the Century, Israeli election update, and the World Holocaust Forum

Hey everyone! As always, if you have any comments, questions, or concerns, feel free to reach out to me at newsofthejews@gmail.com

Also, don’t forget to vote in the World Zionist Congress elections! You can do so here.

President Trump expected to roll out his Middle East Peace Plan this week:

What’s happening? After three years, President Trump will be releasing his “Deal of the Century.” The plan consists of an economic section, which has already been released, and a political component, which will likely be released on Tuesday. The Trump administration did not consult Palestinians on the contents of the proposal. Predictably, Palestinian leaders (who boycotted the economic piece of President Trump’s plan) are not happy about the rollout and have threatened to dissolve the Palestinian Administration and withdraw from the Oslo Accords. 

What will be in his peace plan? It’s unclear, but reports suggest that Israel will annex the Jordan River Valley and some settlement blocs while dismantling roughly 60 settlements. The plan also reportedly includes a tunnel that will run under Israel to connect the West Bank and Gaza. Additionally, President Trump will not recognize Israeli annexation of territory in the West Bank until the Palestinians formally reject the plan, a move designed to bring the Palestinians to the negotiating table. The Trump administration will reportedly pledge to recognize a Palestinian state after a four-year transition period. 

That’s all I’m going to say on the peace plan because it’s still speculation right now. I’ll do a comprehensive write-up next week when the details are released.

Further reading: https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Netanyahu-boards-plane-ahead-of-meeting-on-Deal-of-the-Century-with-Trump-615412

Israeli election update:

Does Israel have a government yet? No.

What’s the latest? The biggest news of the week is the impending release of President Trump’s peace plan. President Trump initially wanted to roll out his peace plan after the Israeli Knesset elections in April 2019, but after Israel could not form a government, he declined to release the plan. He had the same problem after the September 2019 elections. Now, President Trump is releasing his plan despite Israel being in the middle of another election season.

Why wouldn’t he release it before? If President Trump were to have publicized his peace plan before either of the previous elections, it would have been seen as an attempt to influence the Israeli electorate. Specifically, it would have likely benefitted Netanyahu because it reportedly includes proposals that right-wing voters have called for like annexing the Jordan River Valley. 

Wouldn’t it still be election interference to release it now? It’s complicated. One of the main reasons why the Trump administration is releasing it now is that Blue and White leader Benny Gantz is now open to its release. He had previously stated that releasing during the election would be considered interference, but he later said that he was not opposed to its release. Another reason is President Trump’s re-election campaign. President Trump is running out of time to release the peace plan if he wants to see any progress on the plan before the election in November.

So who does this benefit? Here’s where it gets very interesting. At the World Holocaust Forum, American Vice President Mike Pence invited Netanyahu and Gantz to the White House for a meeting to discuss the release of the peace plan. While Trump administration officials said that inviting both of the leaders was a way to prevent the perception of interference, it put Gantz in a tough place because the optics of third-wheeling Netanyahu and President Trump would make Gantz look subordinated to Netanyahu. If he met with President Trump and Netanyahu, he would make Netanyahu look good without any real benefit to him. Yet, if he turned down President Trump’s offer, it could be seen as an insult to Trump, who is very popular in Israel. 

Also, keep in mind that all media coverage of the peace plan is airtime not being spent on Netanyahu’s legal woes. 

How did Gantz escape the trap? He announced that he would travel to the United States but have a separate meeting with President Trump. Rather than play second fiddle to Netanyahu, Gantz will have a one-on-one meeting with the leader of the free world (and his own photo-op with the President!). Netanyahu and his staff were reportedly not aware of the arrangement when Gantz announced his plans. After his meeting, Gantz will travel back to Israel to participate in Netanyahu’s immunity hearings this week. Intrigue!

Further reading: https://nypost.com/2020/01/25/whats-really-behind-trumps-meeting-with-bibi-and-gantz/

World leaders gather in Israel for the 5th World Holocaust Forum:

What happened? On Thursday, dozens of world leaders flocked to Jerusalem for the 5th World Holocaust Forum, an event commemorating the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. Aside from the funerals of former Prime Ministers Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres, it was the largest diplomatic event in Israeli history. Leaders in attendance included (among others):

Russian President Vladimir Putin

French President Emmanuel Macron

Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier

Italian President Sergio Matarella

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (Jewish!)

The United Kingdom’s Prince Charles

Spanish King Felipe VI

Belgian King Philippe

American Vice President Pence

American Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi

There were so many foreign dignitaries that Israeli Director-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Yuval Rotem had to run from plane to plane on the runway at Ben-Gurion Airport to greet the leaders as they arrived.

A separate event will be held at Auschwitz on Monday. 

World leaders in Jerusalem. Photo by Abir Sultan via NYT

What else happened at the Forum? As you can expect, whenever 40 world leaders gather in the same place, there was drama. Putin met with Netanyahu and Yaffa Isachar, the mother of Naama Isachar, an Israeli woman who was recently sentenced to 7.5 years in prison on marijuana charges. As you may recall from a previous newsletter, many feel that the sentencing was extreme and that it was done for political purposes. In their meeting, Putin reportedly told Naama’s mother that “everything will be okay,” hinting that she could be released soon.

Another major headline from the event was that Polish President Andrzej Duda did not attend the ceremony at Yad Vashem or even fly to Jerusalem. In the past few months, Duda and Putin had been publicly trading barbs over Poland and the Soviet Union’s roles in World War II and the Holocaust. Notably, Putin has tried to paint Poland as a perpetrator of the Holocaust. When it was announced that Duda would be denied a speaking slot in Jerusalem but Putin would be one of the headliners, Duda dropped out of his trip. Israeli President Reuven Rivlin later clarified that Duda was offered a speaking slot. While he did not make the trip to Israel, Duda will attend Monday’s commemoration event at Auschwitz. 

Netanyahu used his speech at Yad Vashem to urge world leaders to confront Iran, “the most antisemitic regime on the planet.” He described Iran’s effort to acquire nuclear weapons as a means to “annihilate the world’s one and only Jewish state.”

Also, Macron verbally sparred with Israeli security guards over whether or not they could enter a French church with him. He later apologized and shook hands with the guards. 

Further reading: https://worldholocaustforum.org/press/in-the-news/world-leaders-descend-on-israel-for-holocaust-memorial/

If you enjoyed this newsletter, feel free to send it to your friends!