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Wednesday, May. 18 '16, Iyar 10, 5776
HEADLINES:
1. LIBERMAN SETS CONDITIONS FOR JOINING COALITION GOVERNMENT
2. MOMENTS AFTER PRESS CONFERENCE, PM INVITES LIBERMAN TO TALKS
3. HERZOG FIRES BACK: IT'S EITHER ME OR LIBERMAN
4. 'PALESTINIAN MUSEUM' OPENS – WITH NOTHING IN IT
5. ISRAELI MOTHER AND DAUGHTER DIE IN SWISS CRASH
6. OLD CITY ARABS HID THE TERRORIST, GAVE HIM NEW CLOTHES
7. NEW BILL ALLOWS 9/11 VICTIMS TO SUE SAUDI ARABIA
8. WATCH: COLDPLAY'S MIND-BENDING ISRAELI CLIP GOES VIRAL
1. LIBERMAN SETS CONDITIONS FOR JOINING COALITION GOVERNMENT
by Ari Soffer
Yisrael Beytenu party leader Avigdor Liberman has reacted to reports he rejected a generous offer to enter the coalition government, dismissing claims he was offered the defense ministry and a chance to implement his party's election pledge to impose a death penalty for terrorist murderers.
At the same time, however, Liberman for the first time publicly declared his openness to joining Binyamin Netanyahu's government - as long as three key conditions would be met.
Those conditions, he told reporters at a press conference Wednesday morning, are: the defense ministry, the imposition of the death penalty for terrorist murderers, and pension reforms.
Liberman also struck back at claims he was staying in the opposition purely in order to harm his political rival Netanyahu.
"We never ruled out entering the government - but on our terms," he insisted, while qualifying that he would be willing to compromise on certain issues such as those pertaining to religion and state - policies the haredi parties currently sitting in the coalition would find impossible to stomach.
"This is not personal," he continued, asserting that he was acting purely "for the good of the country."
"I heard many times in the media that they offered us (the) defense (ministry) and the death penalty... we never heard any such offer," Liberman claimed.
If such an offer were to be made though, his party would certainly consider them, he added.
"If it is true that they are offering (the) defense (ministry), the death penalty and pension reform, that is indeed a respectable offer, and there is something to talk about. But we won't conduct negotiations in the dead of night, or via secret deals.
"The prime minister has my phone number... we haven't ruled out anything, but it needs to be serious. The prime minister hasn't called me - our conditions are clear and well known."
In recent weeks Netanyahu has intensified efforts to expand his government's wafer-thin majority of 61 MKs in the 120-seat Knesset - a perilously narrow majority which has often hamstrung the government's ability to legislate, and sometimes seen it held hostage to rogue, backbench government MKs.
Talks with the left-wing Zionist Union party - which holds 24 seats - have been ongoing but have faced fierce opposition from both Netanyahu's Jewish Home party coalition partners, as well as from many MKs within his own Likud party. Many on the left flank of the Labor party - which together with Hatnua makes up the Zionist Union - are also opposed to joining a "right-wing government."
Despite that opposition, the two are reportedly edging closer towards a deal.
Liberman's six-seat Yisrael Beytenu party would give a more modest - but still very much welcome - increase to the government's majority. However, it would also rule out threats by the eight-seat Jewish Home party to bolt the coalition if the Zionist Union receives its terms for joining the government.
Liberman - a former ally of Netanyahu - has since last year's elections positioned himself as a right-wing alternative to the Likud, dramatically turning down an offer to join the government during initial coalition negotiations in 2015.
2. MOMENTS AFTER PRESS CONFERENCE, PM INVITES LIBERMAN TO TALKS
by Ari Soffer
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has personally invited Yisrael Beytenu party leader Avigdor Liberman to begin formal talks on entering the government, mere minutes after Liberman set his party's conditions for joining the coalition at a press conference.
Talks will be held at 4 PM, and will mark the first direct talks between the pair since Liberman's abrupt refusal to enter the government after elections last March.
The invitation for initial negotiations would seem to signal an openness to at least some of Liberman's key demands outlines in his press conference earlier Wednesday: the defense ministry, imposing a death sentence for terrorists, and pension reforms.
It is unclear how the talks with Liberman would impact Netanyahu's simultaneous efforts to bring the leftist Zionist Union into the government, or whether the sudden pivot towards the secular-nationalist Yisrael Beytenu signals the end of attempts of a Right-Left "unity government," amid mutual opposition from within both the Likud and Zionist Union parties.
A former foreign minister and once close ally of Netanyahu, Liberman refused to join the current government last year, opting to sit in the opposition rather than serve in a government he accused of not being "truly" right-wing. His detractors accused him of pettiness and self-interest, but he himself has constantly maintained his objections to the current government are based solely on policy.
In the press conference earlier Wednesday, he insisted his differences with Netanyahu "aren't personal," and challenged the prime minister to call him directly if he was truly interested in including Yisrael Beytenu in the coalition government.
3. HERZOG FIRES BACK: IT'S EITHER ME OR LIBERMAN
by Ari S offer
Opposition leader and Zionist Union party chief Yitzhak Herzog has announced he is suspending unity government talks with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, after the premier issued an invitation to begin talks with Yisrael Beytenu party head Avigdor Liberman.
In a markedly abrupt, pithy press conference, Herzog said Netanyahu faced a choice between "going to war and funerals, and the victory of (Avigdor) Liberman and (Naftali) Bennett, or the track of hope" - namely, inviting the Zionist Union party to join the coalition instead.
"These are the choices - there are no other options," he added. "We won't continue negotiations at the same time - if Netanyahu wants to bring Liberman into (the government), he can let him in."
Vowing not to "allow Liberman to set the agenda," Herzog said he would continue to stand by his values which, in his words, were the only reason he had not already accepted Netanyahu's offers to join the government.
Herzog - who had reportedly been demanding the foreign ministry portfolio - further asserted that "the choice is between me in defense or Liberman in defense; between madness and sanity," referring to Liberman's demand for the defense ministry. That comment was more likely a reference to the wider political ramifications of the choice between the two, than an indication Herzog was after the defense ministry specifically, however.
Herzog also cited Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi's recent call for a regional peace effort.
Once again branding it a "historic moment," Herzog said he was the only Israeli politician who could usher in such a regional peace deal.
"The responsibility to actualize this opportunity is now with Netanyahu," he said. History will judge this moment."
4. 'PALESTINIAN MUSEUM' OPENS – WITH NOTHING IN IT
by Hillel Fendel
The world has long had its absolutely shortest books – "Light Jewish Cuisine," and "Tips on Courting Israel" by Barack Obama," to name a couple – but now it has its emptiest museum, and this time for real: The Palestinian Museum of Art, History and Culture – with absolutely nothing in it.
The museum is actually named the Palestinian Museum, it cost $24 million, and it is scheduled to celebrate its opening today in Birzeit, just outside Ramallah (and Beit El). The building is modern and beautiful, it has an outdoor amphitheater, its garden is terraced – but it has no exhibits.
This comes as no surprise to beginning students of history, who know that Palestinian Arab history goes back only a few decades. It started, in fact, with the abrupt "founding" of the "Palestinian people" in 1964, as stated in the Palestinian National Charter of 1964 when the Palestinian Liberation Organization was founded.
On the other hand, the decision to actually open the museum in such a condition is "shocking," according to Sam Bahour, a PA business consultant and civil rights activist quoted in The New York Times. "There will not be any artwork exhibited in the museum at all," a spokesperson acknowledged.
An inaugural show entitled "Never Part" had been planned, concentrating on the lives of "Palestinian refugees." However, the inaugural exhibit was suspended after the museum director was ousted by the museum's board. Still, the show must go on, for some reason, and even PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas will be present for the opening ceremony. Abbas, incidentally, is now in the 12th year of his four-year term as president of the Palestinian Authority.
Interestingly, in light of the refugee question, Article 6 of the above Charter states that "Palestinians are those Arab citizens who were living normally in Palestine up to 1947, whether they remained or were expelled." This indicates that those who left on their own – the bulk of today's Palestinian "refugees" – are actually not Palestinians, according to their own charter.
Museum chairman Omar al-Qattan sought to explain that the Palestinians are "so in need of positive energy" that it is worthwhile to open even an empty building. "Symbolically it's critical," he told the Times, conceding that the next phase, including the exhibitions, whenever it will happen, "is the more exciting one."
The museum has no fewer than 3,500 square meters of exhibition and educational space, and is set to focus on the "history and culture of Palestine from 1750 to the present day," according to its literature. The choice of 1750 is an interesting one, particularly as nothing of note happened in the Holy Land anywhere near that date.
Another fascinating aspect of this story is The New York Times' explanation of why Palestinian culture is so lacking. Rather than mentioning simply that PA history is basically non-existent, the Times chose to blame Israel. Its article states that the Palestinians in the Judea and Samaria "have for years struggled to build political and civic institutions while resisting Israel's occupation of the territory."
The paper also added that since the "signing of the Oslo peace accords with Israel in the mid-1990s, Palestinian cultural and social initiatives have often failed to gain traction and find consistent leadership." CAMERA, take note.
5. ISRAELI MOTHER AND DAUGHTER DIE IN SWISS CRASH
by Arutz Sheva Staff
An Israeli mother and daughter were killed in a car crash in Switzerland late Tuesday while visiting the country.
The Foreign Ministry is working to bring their bodies back to Israel for burial.
In the evening hours on Tuesday the Foreign Ministry received a report of Israelis being involved in a car accident in Switzerland on the A2 motorway.
"A mother and her daughter went out from Milano and crossed the border in a rented car to Switzerland," reported the Ministry.
The crash took place in Quinto, a small town near Airolo in Switzerland's southern Italian section.
The Israeli consul in Switzerland, which identified the bodies, is working together with the Foreign Ministry to bring the bodies home.
The family of the women was notified of their deaths overnight.
6. OLD CITY ARABS HID THE TERRORIST, GAVE HIM NEW CLOTHES
by Uzi Baruch
An indictment was submitted on Wednesday against three Arab residents of Jerusalem's Old City, charging them with aiding the terrorist Muhannad Muhastab from Hevron in his stabbing attack in the Old City two weeks ago.
In the attack at the Old City's Lion's Gate, the 18-year-old terrorist moderately wounded a 60-year-old Jewish man. The terrorist fled the scene but was tracked down by police around two hours later.
Police have gathered a basis of evidence against the three Arab accomplices, allowing the attorney's office to charge them with aiding a crime and disrupting legal procedures.
The indictment describes how on May 2, immediately after the terrorist conducted the stabbing and escaped into one of the Old City's alleyways, he met two of the accused.
One of them accompanied him towards the Flowers Gate (also known as Herod's Gate) in order to show him the way, and on the way there the terrorist told him that he was the one who conducted the attack.
When they saw that the gate had been closed in order to prevent the terrorist's escape, the suspect who accompanied the terrorist told him that he would help him avoid the police and exit the Old City, and they entered a residential building in order to hide from the officers and the security cameras.
The two other suspects joined them at the building, and then one of them took the terrorist to his home located adjacent to the building. There he gave him clothes to change into, and allowed him to wash the victim's blood off of himself and hide in his house.
When police officers arrived in the area, one of the suspects ran from the residential building to the site where the terrorist was being hid and told him that police were in the area and they needed to escape.
The suspects transferred the terrorist to an adjacent house where he hid - until the police managed to hunt him down and arrest him.
The collusion in the case brings to mind a lethal stabbing early last October that also took place in the Old City.
In that attack Arab doctors are suspected of having ignored the wounds of a young woman Adele Bennett and her infant son, and shop owners abused and jeered her as she ran for help, after her husband Aharon Bennett and another Jewish man Rabbi Nehemia Lavi were murdered by a terrorist.
7. NEW BILL ALLOWS 9/11 VICTIMS TO SUE SAUDI ARABIA
by Ben Ariel
The United States Senate on Tuesday approved legislation that would allow victims of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks to sue Saudi Arabia, The Hill reported.
The upper chamber approved the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act by unanimous consent, according to the news website.
The bill would allow victims of terror attacks on American soil or surviving family members to bring lawsuits against nation-states for activities supporting terrorism.
"This bill is very near and dear to my heart as a New Yorker because it would allow the victims of 9/11 to pursue some small measure of justice," Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) said. "[This is] another example of the [John] Cornyn-Schumer collaboration, which works pretty well around here."
President Barack Obama has threatened to veto the bill, but Schumer said he wouldn't uphold a veto, and expects that most senators wouldn't, either.
"I think we easily get the two-thirds override if the president should veto," he was quoted as having said.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) said he and Schumer are talking with leadership in both parties to get an "expedited" vote on the bill in the House.
White House press secretary Josh Earnest reiterated Obama's opposition to the bill on Tuesday.
"Given the concerns we have expressed, it's difficult to imagine the president signing this legislation," Earnest said, according to The Hill.
Despite bipartisan support for the legislation, it hit a snag last month when Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said he was blocking the legislation over concerns it would open up the U.S. to lawsuits from foreigners accusing Washington of supporting terrorism.
But Graham's office said he dropped his hold over the recent recess. Cornyn thanked Graham and other GOP senators for "their willingness to work with us to deal with their concerns," The Hill quoted him as saying.
The legislation will now head to the House, where lawmakers have also introduced their own version of the bill.
In addition to Obama, the legislation has also drawn criticism from the Saudi government. Top Saudi officials reportedly threatened to sell off billions of dollars in U.S. assets if Congress passed the bill.
British media reported last month that evidence uncovered in 2002 links the Saudi Arabian government with the 9/11 attacks.
American authorities discovered the flight certificate of would-be hijacker Ghassan Al-Shrabi in an envelope from the Saudi embassy to Washington during the latter's 2002 arrest in Pakistan, officials revealed at the time.
Details about the certificate and other documents were quietly released by officials in 2015, in a memo entitled Document 17 from back in 2003.
Subsequent reports indicated that the White House would soon release the document in question.
8. WATCH: COLDPLAY'S MIND-BENDING ISRAELI CLIP GOES VIRAL
by Ari Yashar
Coldplay, likely the world's most famous band, turned to two Israeli directors for their latest music video and the result is a masterpiece of film according to the band's lead singer and critics alike.
[youtube:2015398]
The clip for Up&Up, from Coldplay's new album A Head Full Of Dreams, was directed by Vania Heymann and Gal Muggia of Israel.
It has already garnered over six million views in just over a day, going viral at a whirlwind pace with the clicks continuing to roll in over the visual ingenuity of the video.
Last week Coldplay's lead singer Chris Martin told Beats 1 radio that "the video is - I'm going to drop the mic here and say I think it's one of the best videos people have made. Even if you took the music away."
"This is made by these Israeli guys, these young guys called Vania and Gal. I just saw it right now and I was: 'I can't believe that's our video.' If that was someone else's video I'd be so jealous," admitted Martin.
Speaking of the Israeli directors, he said, "they have this whole visual way of looking at things that I could never have thought of myself."
Coldplay has won over 60 awards in its illustrious career, and sold over 80 million records worldwide making them one of the globe's best-selling artists.
The stunning impact of their latest video is sure to bring pride to Israel over the film's homegrown visionaries.
Vania Heymann studied graphic design at Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem, but he later dropped his studies to focus on directing music videos for the likes of Bob Dylan, as well as ads for companies like Pepsi and American Express, reports Channel 2.
Gal Muggia for his part also has an impressive resume, having directed ads for Honda, Mazda, Cellcom and more, as well as music videos for leading Israeli artists like Ester Rada and Dudu Tassa.
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