From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
World Bank: Gaza economy on ‘verge of collapse’
(JTA) — Gaza’s economy, stifled by the highest unemployment rate in the world, blockades, poor governance and a series of military conflicts, is headed towards a “collapse,” a new report by the World Bank says.
“The report estimates that Gaza’s GDP would have been about four times higher than it currently is if it weren’t for the conflicts and the multiple restrictions,” said a World Bank news release published Thursday.
The report says that the blockade imposed on Gaza by Israel and Egypt in 2007 after the militant group Hamas took over has halved the region’s GDP.
“Gaza’s exports virtually disappeared, and the manufacturing sector has shrunk by as much as 60 percent,” said Steen Lau Jorgensen, World Bank country director for the West Bank and Gaza, in the news release.
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From Ynet News
Dispute over Mideast nuclear arms ban torpedoes UN conference
Conference on Non-Proliferation Treaty fails after disagreements on atomic weapons ban in the Middle East, which the US blames on Egypt A month-long review conference on the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty ended in failure on Friday after its members were unable to overcome disagreements on an atomic weapons ban for the Middle East, which the United States blamed on Egypt.
After four weeks of negotiations at the United Nations on ways to improve compliance with the pact, there was no consensus among its 191 signatories. US Under Secretary of State Rose Gottemoeller announced there was “no agreement” and accused some countries of undermining the negotiations.
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From The Times of Israel
Palestinians have right to be free in their land, Obama says at DC synagogue
Jewish values compel two-state solution, president says, hailing contribution of American Jews, denouncing rise of anti-Semitism, defending Iran nuke deal
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama on Friday called for the establishment of a free Palestinian state alongside Israel, saying it was necessary for the preservation of Israeli democracy and security, and integral to Jewish values.
Wearing a white kippah, Obama spoke to a crowd of about 1,000 at Washington DC’s Adas Israel Congregation, one of the largest in the capital, marking Jewish American Heritage Month.
He touted his pro-Israel policies and close ties with Jewish advisors, wishing the audience a “slightly early Shabbat Shalom” and peppering his speech with Hebrew terms such as “tikkun olam” — repairing the world. He said his personal philosophy was inspired by Jewish values and the Israeli pioneer spirit, and “forcefully” objected to claims that his disagreements with the Israeli government over some policies belied a lack of support for the Jewish state.
‘Just as Israelis built a state in their homeland, Palestinians have a right to be a free people in their land as well’
Obama was greeted by ringing applause when he affirmed a vision of “Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace and security.”
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From The Times of Israel
US presses Israel on talks for Middle East nuclear-free zone
Washington sends top official to discuss nonproliferation as review conference for NPT underway
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United States has sent a top official to Israel amid an effort to revive talks on a Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons, a central issue of a landmark treaty review conference that some fear will end Friday without progress on global disarmament.
The State Department confirmed that the assistant secretary of state for international security and nonproliferation was in Israel to discuss the issue. An Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman declined comment on Thomas Countryman’s visit, saying it was a “very sensitive” matter.
Establishing a zone free of nuclear weapons in one of the world’s most tense regions is a rare point of agreement between the United States and Russia these days. Frustrated by the delay of a conference on the zone that was supposed to take place three years ago, Russia has proposed that UN-led talks be held no later than March 2016.
A draft proposal by a review conference subcommittee on regional issues, dated Wednesday, would impose an even earlier deadline, saying the UN secretary-general should convene talks by Dec. 15 if Israel and its neighbors can’t agree on arrangements by then.
That has alarmed Israel, which is not a party to the treaty and has never publicly declared what is widely considered to be an extensive nuclear weapons program. Israel was furious when the United States at the treaty review conference five years ago signed off on a document that called for talks on a Middle East nuclear-free zone by 2012.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Lady Gaga accepts ADL award on behalf of her Born This Way Foundation
(JTA) — Pop star Lady Gaga accepted an award from the Anti-Defamation League on behalf of her Born This Way Foundation.
On Thursday, the ADL announced that Gaga had received its Making a Difference award for “work championing positive social change.”
“The Foundation shares ADL’s mission of combating bullying among young people,” an ADL press release said.
“This is such an incredible honor,” Gaga said in a videotaped acceptance speech. “The No Place For Hate Making A Difference Award is a huge deal for both of us, especially because of all of the hard work ADL has been doing to fight anti-Semitism, homophobia, bigotry and intolerance for the past 100 years.”
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From PressTV
Israeli troops attack Palestinian protesters in West Bank
Israeli forces have attacked Palestinian demonstrators protesting against Tel Aviv’s construction of illegal settlement units and its land grabs near the occupied West Bank town of Betunia.
Israeli troops fired teargas and used water cannons to disperse the protesters, who had gathered outside the compound of the Israeli Ofer military prison near Betunia on Friday.
During the protest, the Palestinians chanted slogans against the confiscation of their land and the construction of Israeli settlements.
The United Nations and most countries regard the Israeli settlements as illegal because the territories were captured by Israel in the 1967 war and are hence subject to the Geneva Conventions, which forbid construction on the occupied lands.
Earlier this week, Israel approved the construction of 90 new illegal settlement units in East al-Quds (Jerusalem) in defiance of international calls on the regime to stop its expansionist policies in the occupied Palestinian lands.
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From Russia Today
Nukes within a year? ISIS magazine boasts they can be bought in Pakistan
Should the need arise, Islamic State (formerly ISIS/ISIL) could buy a nuclear weapon in Pakistan within 12 months, the group’s in-house magazine boasts in an article attributed to hostage journalist John Cantlie.
The article talks about a “hypothetical operation” in which the Islamic State uses its “billions of dollars” to buy a nuclear device in Pakistan “through weapons dealers with links to corrupt officials in the region.”
The weapon could then be transported through Libya and Nigeria. The article suggests that “drug shipments from Columbia bound for Europe pass through West Africa, so moving other types of contraband from East to West is just as possible.”
The device would land on the south shores of South America and make its way to Mexico, from where “it’s just a quick hop through a smuggling tunnel” to the US. The chilling conclusion is that in the end, “they’re mingling with another 12 million ‘illegal’ aliens in America with a nuclear bomb in the trunk of their car.”
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Obama: I criticize Israel because I care about Israel
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Defending Jews from anti-Semitism and defending Palestinian rights stem from the same value system, President Barack Obama told a Jewish audience.
“The rights I insist upon and fight for for all people in the United States compels me to look out for the rights of the Jewish people, and the rights of the Jewish people lead me to think about the child in Ramallah who feels trapped,” Obama said Friday, addressing the Adas Israel congregation in Washington. “That’s what Jewish values teach me.”
Obama and his officials are making clear they will not back down from making public criticism of Israel when they feel it is warranted. He made a similar pledge this week to The Atlantic journalist Jeffrey Goldberg, who is an Adas congregant.
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