Media Summary
Israel rescues remaining Jews from Yemen war
The Times, Telegraph, Guardian, Independent and Daily Mail all cover Israel’s rescue of some of the last remaining Jews in war-torn Yemen. 19 people arrived in Israel in a covert operation, coordinated by the quasi-governmental Jewish Agency. Yemen’s Jewish community is thought to date back around two thousand years, but the community was largely airlifted to Israel in 1949, as persecution increased. The remainder have become increasingly endangered due to Yemen’s internal conflict.
The Times reports that CCTV evidence indicates that the suicide bomber who struck in Istanbul, killing three Israeli tourists at the weekend, may have followed the organised group of Israelis from their hotel and deliberately targeted them.
The Guardian reports from the annual conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), where Democrat Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton took aim at Republican frontrunner Donald Trump, for his apparent ambiguity on Israel. Repeating Trump’s previous statements, she said you can’t trust someone who “says he’s neutral on Monday, pro-Israel on Tuesday and who knows what on Wednesday.” Clinton described Israel’s security as “non-negotiable.” However, the online editions of the Telegraph, Financial Times and Daily Mail cover Trump’s subsequent address to the AIPAC gathering, in which he was adamant in his support for Israel. He pledged to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, describing it as the Jewish people’s “eternal capital” and said that dismantling the nuclear deal with Iran would be his “number one priority.”
The Daily Mail online covers a poll which indicates that two thirds of Palestinians would like to see Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas resign, although there appear to be no open challengers to his position.
The Financial Times includes a lengthy feature on Israeli tech and innovation, titled “Can Israel become a scale-up nation?” Among the subjects covered include Israel’s medical and cyber innovation and the challenge of integrating Jewish ultra-Orthodox and Arab workers into the industry.
The Times includes an obituary of Meir Dagan, the former-chief of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, who died last week.
The Guardian online reports from the Syria peace talks in Geneva, where the head of the Syrian government delegation said that President Assad’s position is not up for discussion. However, the Times online says that the United Nations’ mediator Staffan de Mistura called the issue the “mother of all questions” which can no longer be ignored.
In the Israeli media, the top story in Israel Hayom and Maariv is Donald Trump’s address at the AIPAC annual conference. Israel Hayom focuses on Trump’s indication that he would stop any attempt by the United Nations to force an agreement on Israel. Maariv and Yediot Ahronot highlight an interview Trump gave around his speech, in which he indicated that Israel would have to pay towards the military aid it receives from Washington. Writing in Maariv, Shlomo Shamir says “as for the question of whether Trump is good or bad for Israel… Israel simply needs a president who will be good for the US and for the free world—and Trump is certainly not such a person.”
The rescue of 19 Yemenite Jews is a major story in Maariv and Israel Hayom, both calling it a modern-day version of “Operation Magic Carpet,” which saw Israel airlift tens of thousands of Jews from Yemen to Israel in 1949. Israel Radio news says that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday visited the nineteen Jews who were this week brought to Israel, calling it an emotional moment.
The top story in Haaretz is further debate surrounding the pressure group Breaking the Silence (BtS), which provides a platform for former-Israeli soldiers to anonymously provide testimony critical of IDF behaviour, which is widely published not only in Israel but also abroad. Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon said that if claims that BtS activists elicited classified information from soldiers and publicised it abroad were found to be true, this would amount to treason.