News from January 25 to January 31
New Delhi explosion, Israeli election update, Jewish space lasers, and honorable mentions
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Explosion reported near Israel’s embassy in New Delhi:
What happened? Last week, an explosive device detonated near the Israeli embassy in New Delhi in what Indian police have described as “a mischievous attempt to create a sensation.” Although the blast damaged a few cars, nobody was wounded or killed in the explosion. Indian police have not announced any suspects, though local media has reported that an Indian terrorist group called “Jaish-ul-Hind” claimed responsibility. A note addressed to Israeli Ambassador to India Ron Malka–who the letter referred to as a “terrorist of the terrorist nation”–said that the explosion was “just a trailer” and that he should “count his days.” Israeli media has since reported that the Mossad is involved in the investigation and that Iran may have played a role in the incident. The blast occurred just as Israel and India marked 29 years of diplomatic relations.
Why would Iran be involved in this? We still do not know if Iran actually played a role or not, but some have suspected Iran’s involvement due to the letter and the recent geopolitical tensions. For one, the letter specifically referenced “Iranian martyrs” Qassem Soleimani and Mohsen Fakrizadeh. In case those names do not sound familiar, Soleimani was an extremely powerful Iranian military commander who was assassinated in an American airstrike early last year. Fakrizadeh was an influential nuclear scientist tied to Iran’s nuclear weapons program who was killed in an assassination many blamed on Israel. As a result of both assassinations, Israel has been bracing for potential Iran retaliation (though Israel has not taken direct responsibility for either killing) at home and abroad; Malka said that the embassy had raised the level of alert due to threats they received in the days before the explosion. Still, Indian authorities have not named any suspects, so it is important to avoid jumping to any conclusions.
Anything else? In Israel, Aviv Kochavi, the Chief of Staff of the IDF (highest-ranking military officer in Israel), gave a speech declaring that an American return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan Of Action (JCPOA) would be “wrong” and that Israel was drawing up new plans for a military strike on Iran. After the speech, Defense Minister Benny Gantz visited the headquarters of Israel’s Depths Corps, which is responsible for long-range attack operations. Israeli leaders seem to be signaling their willingness to use military power to both Iran and the United States as negotiations over the revival of the Iran nuclear deal begin. However, it does appear that some high-ranking officials are more amenable to the JCPOA; on Sunday, Mossad Head Yossi Cohen criticized Kochavi’s speech for being “irresponsible.”
IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi. Source: Wikimedia
Further reading: https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-israel-iran-iran-nuclear-middle-east-79ef89b7f7d8df1974856eaeb5a69905
Israeli election update:
What happened? The latest polling shows that, once again, none of the major parties have a clear path to forming a government. According to a Channel 12 poll, if the election happened today, this would be the breakdown of the 120-seat Knesset:
Likud: 30
Yesh Atid: 17
New Hope: 14
Yamina: 13
Joint List: 10
Shas: 8
United Torah Judaism (UTJ): 8
Yisrael Beitenu: 7
Labor: 5
Meretz: 4
Blue and White: 4
If this poll holds true, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud would likely fail to form a coalition because only UTJ and Shas (and possibly Yamina) would be willing to sit in a government with Netanyahu. Even with Yamina, Netanyahu would still fall short of the seats necessary to form a government. Still, there does not appear to be a viable alternative. A potential anti-Netanyahu coalition would require parties with vastly different ideologies to join together. It is not impossible, but it is still pretty unlikely. It is worth noting that nearly 10% of Israel’s electorate reportedly support parties that will likely not cross the vote threshold to enter the Knesset (in Israel, a party has to achieve a certain percentage of the total vote to win seats in its parliament).
Anything else? Former Justice Minister Avi Nissenkorn, the second candidate on the slate of Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai’s the Israelis party, announced he would not run in this election. As it stands, the center-left is fractured between Labor, the Israelis, Meretz, Yesh Atid, Blue and White, and a few other parties that will likely not pass the threshold (Pensioner’s party, Telem, etc.). To ensure that the center-left maximizes its representation in the Knesset, many of the parties will have to merge because they risk not passing the threshold if they run separately. New Labor party leader Merav Michaeli reportedly demanded that Huldai drop Nissenkorn to cement a potential merger. It is now increasingly likely that Labor and the Israelis will merge, and more parties may join them before Thursday’s deadline to finalize electoral slates.
Further reading: https://www.timesofisrael.com/as-lapid-emerges-as-challenger-likud-signals-its-no-more-mr-nice-campaign/
Bonus:
Jewish Space Lasers: While reporters scoured freshman Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene’s old social media post last week, many took notice of an old Facebook post where she blamed “Rothschild Inc.” for starting the 2018 California forest fires. According to her theory, the company used space-based solar power lasers to ignite the forests. Predictably, many have (amusingly) mocked her claims.
A personal note: Though her antisemitic theory may be entertaining (it’s not every day that “Jewish Space Laser” is trending on Twitter), it is important to remember that some people actually do believe her and the normalization of antisemitism has dangerous consequences. It’s always bad when elected leaders, regardless of who they are, promote antisemitism, so we–Jews and non-Jews–must always act to prevent these types of conspiracies from becoming mainstream political discourse. Call it out when you see it!
Here are a variety of condemnations from Jewish groups.
Honorable mentions:
In case you missed it, International Holocaust Remembrance Day was Wednesday, January 27. Here are a variety of noteworthy stories/clips/statements from last week (there are many, many more):
Secretary of State Antony Blinken (His step-father is a Holocaust survivor):
“Statement by President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. on International Holocaust Remembrance Day”
“Amb. Gilad Erdan: On Holocaust Remembrance Day, the world must apply 'Never Again' to Iran” by Gilad Erdan (Fox News) (Erdan is Israel’s Ambassador to the United States)
“Wolf Blitzer shares his personal ties to the Holocaust” (CNN) (Blitzer’s grandparents were killed at Auschwitz)
Statement on Holocaust Remembrance Day from the United Arab Emirates’ Embassy in the United States
“Benny Gantz: My Holocaust survivor mother made me a better IDF general” by Benny Gantz (JTA)
“Survivors get a vaccine on Holocaust Remembrance Day.” by Megan Specia (NYT)
“Facebook directs users to Holocaust education when searching for denial” by Zachary Keyser (JPost)
“Kate Middleton and Prince Charles Represent the Royals on Holocaust Memorial Day” by Erin Vanderhoof (Vanity Fair)
“Angela Merkel participates in historic Torah scroll writing ceremony” by Toby Axelrod (JTA)
Other news:
“Amar’e Stoudemire, now a Brooklyn Nets coach, doesn’t work on Shabbat” by Gabe Friedman (JTA)
“Pakistani Supreme Court tosses charges against man convicted in murder plot against Daniel Pearl” by Jerry Dunleavy (Washington Examiner) (Pearl was a Jewish reporter who was killed by terrorists in Pakistan in 2002)
“Biden’s U.N. ambassador nominee pledges to support Israel at the U.N.” by Marc Rod (Jewish Insider)
“Israel Extradites Teacher Accused of Abuse in Australia, Reports Say” by Patrick Kingsley and Livia Albeck-Ripka (NYT)
“Conservative Jewish leaders condemn Israel’s rejection of Ugandan Jews from immigrating” by Shira Hanau (JTA)
“Police say they were helpless to stop funeral of rabbi that drew 10,000” (TOI) (ManyIsraelis are frustrated with what they believe is a double standard of lockdown enforcement for ultra-religious and secular Israelis)
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