Donald Trump

In this episode of the JPost Podcast, we talk to the Washington Bureau Chief Michael Wilner about his investigative report on Donald Trump and the Jews. In his article, Wilner sought to resolve the competing narratives of Trump as a Semitophile, whose daughter converted to Judaism and bore him Jewish grandchildren, and Trump as a bigot, who tolerates or even emboldens anti-Semitic voices.Wilner snagged some interesting interviews, including Trump supporter David Duke, a former KKK imperial wizard, and Tony Schwartz, who ghostwrote Trump’s bestseller “Art of the Deal” and has recently spoken out strongly against him.

In this episode of the JPost Podcast, we talk to the Washington Bureau Chief Michael Wilner about his investigative report on Donald Trump and the Jews.  In his article, Wilner sought to resolve the competing narratives of Trump as a Semitophile, whose daughter converted to Judaism and bore him Jewish grandchildren, and Trump as a bigot, who tolerates or even emboldens anti-Semitic voices. Wilner snagged some interesting interviews, including Trump supporter David Duke, a former KKK imperial wizard, and Tony Schwartz, who ghostwrote Trump’s bestseller “Art of the Deal” and has recently spoken out strongly against him.

Donald Trump and the Jews

It’s an odd point of pride, perhaps, but Israelis take a strange satisfaction in the fact that their country is the only one where Starbucks, the international coffee giant, failed. On social media, when the factoid is raised as part of a clever tourism marketing campaign or even an effort to tempt the company to try its luck in the Holy Land a second time,the reactions are fairly universal. 'We don’t want you here,' people seem to say. 'We make better coffee on our own.' While the fact of Starbucks Israeli failure is well-known, the reasons behind it are less widely understood. This week, the JPost Podcast brings you a special episode on why the coffee giant failed in Israel and only in Israel. The episode was produced by TLV1.fm, an English-language radio station in Israel that originally aired the episode. You can find more of their stories and subscribe to their podcasts here.

It’s an odd point of pride, perhaps, but Israelis take a strange satisfaction in the fact that their country is the only one where Starbucks, the international coffee giant, failed. On social media, when the factoid is raised as part of a clever tourism marketing campaign or even an effort to tempt the company to try its luck in the Holy Land a second time,the reactions are fairly universal. 'We don’t want you here,' people seem to say. 'We make better coffee on our own.' While the fact of Starbucks Israeli failure is well-known, the reasons behind it are less widely understood. This week, the JPost Podcast brings you a special episode on why the coffee giant failed in Israel and only in Israel. The episode was produced by <a href="http://TLV1.fm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">TLV1.fm</a>, an English-language radio station in Israel that originally aired the episode. You can find more of their stories and subscribe to their podcasts <a href="http://www.tlv1.fm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>.

Why Starbucks failed in Israel, and only in Israel

After a brutal primary season, the general election is infull swing in the United States. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, of course,emerged as their party’s nominees.  Duringthe nominating conventions in July, protesters of various stripes chanted “TheWorld Is Watching.” And it is! Here in Israel, developments in the US electioncampaign often lead the news. So what do Israelis have to say about it? On this episode of the JPost Podcast, we bring you anotheredition of Taxicab Diplomacy, where we hear what local cab drivers think about politicalissues. On this episode: Donald Trump versus Hillary Clinton. Israelis have always had their own perspective on USpolitics, and most of them filter their views through the lens of one question:what’s best for Israel? In recent years, there’s been a feeling in Israelicircles that Republican administrations are more friendly to Israeli interests.For example, former President George W. Bush, who was unpopular around much ofthe world by the end of his second term, still had many fans in Israel. PresidentBarack Obama, a Democrat who is largely popular around the world, has much lesssupport in Israel. According to a Pew survey in 2015, just 49% of Israelis hadconfidence in Obama, compared with a world average of 65%. But this election year is no ordinary election year.Clinton, the first woman to lead a major US party, is a known quantity. She’s linkedboth to President Obama, for whom she worked as Secretary of State, and to herhusband, former President Bill Clinton, who was pretty well-liked in Israel. Donald Trump, on the other hand, is a wild card. The factsthat his daughter Ivanka converted to Judaism and her husband Jared Kushner isseen as traditionally pro-Israel help his case. But he’s been criticized bypro-Israel advocates for saying he’d be neutral on the Israeli-Palestinianconflict. So what sticks out to Israelis? Have a listen and find out!

After a brutal primary season, the general election is infull swing in the United States. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, of course,emerged as their party’s nominees.  Duringthe nominating conventions in July, protesters of various stripes chanted “TheWorld Is Watching.” And it is! Here in Israel, developments in the US electioncampaign often lead the news. So what do Israelis have to say about it? On this episode of the JPost Podcast, we bring you anotheredition of Taxicab Diplomacy, where we hear what local cab drivers think about politicalissues. On this episode: Donald Trump versus Hillary Clinton. Israelis have always had their own perspective on USpolitics, and most of them filter their views through the lens of one question:what’s best for Israel? In recent years, there’s been a feeling in Israelicircles that Republican administrations are more friendly to Israeli interests.For example, former President George W. Bush, who was unpopular around much ofthe world by the end of his second term, still had many fans in Israel. PresidentBarack Obama, a Democrat who is largely popular around the world, has much lesssupport in Israel. According to a Pew survey in 2015, just 49% of Israelis hadconfidence in Obama, compared with a world average of 65%. But this election year is no ordinary election year.Clinton, the first woman to lead a major US party, is a known quantity. She’s linkedboth to President Obama, for whom she worked as Secretary of State, and to herhusband, former President Bill Clinton, who was pretty well-liked in Israel. Donald Trump, on the other hand, is a wild card. The factsthat his daughter Ivanka converted to Judaism and her husband Jared Kushner isseen as traditionally pro-Israel help his case. But he’s been criticized bypro-Israel advocates for saying he’d be neutral on the Israeli-Palestinianconflict. So what sticks out to Israelis? Have a listen and find out!

Taxicab Diplomacy: Trump vs. Clinton

Today, in a surprise visit, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry came to Israel to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It’s the first such meeting since 2007, and it comes on the heels of a flurry of Israeli diplomatic activity. Two weeks ago, Israel and Turkey restored full diplomatic ties after a six-year lull in relations. Last week, Netanyahu flew to Africa for a diplomatic tour, the first such visit by an Israeli Prime Minister in a quarter century. With all these changes, one can only wonder if the so-called moderate Arab states such as Saudi Arabia will be next?JPost Diplomatic Correspondent Herb Keinon argues that Egypt is reasserting its role in the region, in part, to build a Sunni front against Shi’a Iran.

Today, in a surprise visit, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry came to Israel to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It’s the first such meeting since 2007, and it comes on the heels of a flurry of Israeli diplomatic activity. Two weeks ago, Israel and Turkey restored full diplomatic ties after a six-year lull in relations. Last week, Netanyahu flew to Africa for a diplomatic tour, the first such visit by an Israeli Prime Minister in a quarter century. With all these changes, one can only wonder if the so-called moderate Arab states such as Saudi Arabia will be next? JPost Diplomatic Correspondent Herb Keinon argues that Egypt is reasserting its role in the region, in part, to build a Sunni front against Shi’a Iran.

After Turkey, Africa and Egypt, is Saudi Arabia Israel’s next ally?

This week’s shooting at the Pulse night club in Orlando Florida, the worst mass shooting in US history and the deadliest terror attack there since 9/11, was first and foremost a human tragedy. 49 people were murdered, and 53 wounded.There is much to think and say about the various facets of the shooting, but today, on the JPost Podcast, we’re going to focus on one through the lens of an Israeli story: the status of the LGBT community, how much progress has been made, and how much remains to be done. It’s a story about how this year’s Tel Aviv pride parade was almost canceled, at the behest of the LGBT community itself, and reminder of how the LGBT community has proven its ability to overcome horrific events and tragedies, and come out stronger on the other side.

This week’s shooting at the Pulse night club in Orlando Florida, the worst mass shooting in US history and the deadliest terror attack there since 9/11, was first and foremost a human tragedy. 49 people were murdered, and 53 wounded. There is much to think and say about the various facets of the shooting, but today, on the JPost Podcast, we’re going to focus on one through the lens of an Israeli story: the status of the LGBT community, how much progress has been made, and how much remains to be done. It’s a story about how this year’s Tel Aviv pride parade was almost canceled, at the behest of the LGBT community itself, and reminder of how the LGBT community has proven its ability to overcome horrific events and tragedies, and come out stronger on the other side.

From Tel Aviv, a story of hope for Orlando

This week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu put an end to a coalition crisis, finding a path to install Avigdor Liberman as his new defense chief. Though the outlines of a deal with Liberman were already in place, Bayit Yehudi leader Naftali Bennett threatened to boycott the deal and potentially flee the coalition unless Netanyahu offered him concessions on security-related matters. Bennett had wanted Netanyahu to install a military secretary, who would regularly brief the security cabinet, on which Bennett sits. Until the change, Netanyahu and the defense minister could, in principle, control the information flow from the military and security services to the security cabinet, and circumvent them on important decisions.Late Sunday night, Netanyahu acquiesced, and on Monday, Liberman was sworn in, alongside Sofa Landver as Aliyah and Immigrant Absorption Minister and Tzachi Hanegbi as Minister-without-portfolio. Liberman’s predecessor, Moshe Ya’alon, had quit the Knesset in protest of the deal, and over the weekend Environmental Protection Minister Avi Gabbay, of the Kulanu party, quit his ministry. Thus, the man Time Magazine once dubbed King Bibi seemed likely to keep his throne.But not all of Netanyahu’s political woes were put to rest. Police investigators recommended that Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit indict the Prime Minister’s wife, Sara Netanyahu for misusing funds.The charges would be over alleged fraud and breach of trust related to using public funds for purchasing food, paying special chefs and related costs for hosting private events. In a JPost analysis, legal affairs reporter Yonah Jeremy Bob casts doubt on the likelihood that criminal charges will proceed.In US politics, Israel has become an issue in the contentious Democratic primary between likely nominee Hillary Clinton and her Jewish rival Bernie Sanders. Sanders, wielding power from his strong showing in the primary, got say in several members of the platform committee. Among them were prominent Israel critics, including social activist Cornel West, Arab American Institute president James Zogby, and Minnesota Congressional Representative Keith Ellison. Hillary Clinton, who chose six members to Sanders’s five, installed more traditionally progressive pro-Israel choices, including Wendy Sherman, who was one of the lead negotiators on Iran talks. The remaining four delegates were named by the DNC’s chairwoman, Florida Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who is among the most prominent Jewish leaders in the party.And finally, Arab Israeli Ta’alin Abu Hanna won the first-ever “Miss Trans Israel Pageant” in Tel Aviv, ahead of Israel’s LGBT pride week. Abu Hanna, a Christian Arab from Nazareth, will represent Israel at the Miss TransStar International pageant in Barcelona in September. The annual Tel Aviv pride parade takes place this Friday, and is expected to draw 180,000 people.

This week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu put an end to a coalition crisis, finding a path to install Avigdor Liberman as his new defense chief. Though the outlines of a deal with Liberman were already in place, Bayit Yehudi leader Naftali Bennett threatened to boycott the deal and potentially flee the coalition unless Netanyahu offered him concessions on security-related matters. Bennett had wanted Netanyahu to install a military secretary, who would regularly brief the security cabinet, on which Bennett sits. Until the change, Netanyahu and the defense minister could, in principle, control the information flow from the military and security services to the security cabinet, and circumvent them on important decisions. Late Sunday night, Netanyahu acquiesced, and on Monday, Liberman was sworn in, alongside Sofa Landver as Aliyah and Immigrant Absorption Minister and Tzachi Hanegbi as Minister-without-portfolio. Liberman’s predecessor, Moshe Ya’alon, had quit the Knesset in protest of the deal, and over the weekend Environmental Protection Minister Avi Gabbay, of the Kulanu party, quit his ministry. Thus, the man Time Magazine once dubbed King Bibi seemed likely to keep his throne. But not all of Netanyahu’s political woes were put to rest. Police investigators recommended that Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit indict the Prime Minister’s wife, Sara Netanyahu for misusing funds. The charges would be over alleged fraud and breach of trust related to using public funds for purchasing food, paying special chefs and related costs for hosting private events. In a JPost analysis, legal affairs reporter Yonah Jeremy Bob casts doubt on the likelihood that criminal charges will proceed. In US politics, Israel has become an issue in the contentious Democratic primary between likely nominee Hillary Clinton and her Jewish rival Bernie Sanders. Sanders, wielding power from his strong showing in the primary, got say in several members of the platform committee. Among them were prominent Israel critics, including social activist Cornel West, Arab American Institute president James Zogby, and Minnesota Congressional Representative Keith Ellison. Hillary Clinton, who chose six members to Sanders’s five, installed more traditionally progressive pro-Israel choices, including Wendy Sherman, who was one of the lead negotiators on Iran talks. The remaining four delegates were named by the DNC’s chairwoman, Florida Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who is among the most prominent Jewish leaders in the party. And finally, Arab Israeli Ta’alin Abu Hanna won the first-ever “Miss Trans Israel Pageant” in Tel Aviv, ahead of Israel’s LGBT pride week. Abu Hanna, a Christian Arab from Nazareth, will represent Israel at the Miss TransStar International pageant in Barcelona in September. The annual Tel Aviv pride parade takes place this Friday, and is expected to draw 180,000 people.

Briefing: King Bibi pulls it together, again

Off the crowded, boisterous sidewalks of Tel Aviv’s King George Street lie two, small dead-end alleyways with the most cryptic names: Almonit and Plonit. Almoni in Hebrew means anonymous, and the phrases Ploni Almoni and Plonit Almonit are the equivalent of John and Jane Doe, an unknown person. On today’s episode of the JPost Podcast, we’re back with “A Road by Any Other Name,” the segment where we delve into the strange and interesting stories behind Israel’s street names.The story behind Tel Aviv's "anonymous" alleys strikes at the heart of one of Israel’s central identity crises, as a socialist or capitalist state. We’re joined by tour guide Samuel Green. You can find more information about Samuel’s tours and hire him at www.myisraeliguide.com/.

Off the crowded, boisterous sidewalks of Tel Aviv’s King George Street lie two, small dead-end alleyways with the most cryptic names: Almonit and Plonit. Almoni in Hebrew means anonymous, and the phrases Ploni Almoni and Plonit Almonit are the equivalent of John and Jane Doe, an unknown person. On today’s episode of the JPost Podcast, we’re back with “A Road by Any Other Name,” the segment where we delve into the strange and interesting stories behind Israel’s street names. The story behind Tel Aviv's "anonymous" alleys strikes at the heart of one of Israel’s central identity crises, as a socialist or capitalist state. We’re joined by tour guide Samuel Green. You can find more information about Samuel’s tours and hire him at <a href="http://www.myisraeliguide.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.myisraeliguide.com/</a>.

The mystery of Tel Aviv’s Jane Doe alleys

This week, in a dramatic turnaround, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu struck a coalition deal with Yisrael Beytenu, giving its leader Avigdor Liberman the defense portfolio. The serving defense minister, Moshe Ya’alon, resigned even before the deal was finalized, and said he was taking a break from politics altogether, despite Netanyahu offering him the foreign ministry.In his resignation speech, Ya’alon, a former stalwart Netanyahu ally warned of “manifestations of extremism, violence and racism” in Israeli society and its institutions.Former Prime Minister and Defense Minister Ehud Barak echoed the comments, saying that Netanyahu "is exhibiting signs of fascism."Ya’alon’s departure from the Knesset paves the way for the next member of Likud list, Temple Mount activist Yehuda Glick, to enter the Knesset.The final deal with Liberman is expected soon, and in the meantime, it seems the Foreign Ministry portfolio will remain unfilled.Despite Netanyahu’s decision to slam the door on the Zionist Union, which had been negotiating a potential unity deal for several weeks, the Prime Minister said that some developments in the Middle East had created a great diplomatic opportunity, and that remained open to the Zionist Union joining the government. Meanwhile, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls arrived in Israel Sunday to push a diplomatic plan that, thus far, has gained little traction in Israel.  **In other news, a report from the Taub Center for Social Policy Studies found that a million Israelis were at risk of losing their jobs to computerization in the next 20 years. Workers with the highest risk of being replaced by technology include those without college degrees and those already earning less – in other words, the more vulnerable parts of society.**The Mayo Clinic, one of the world’s best-known medical research and practice groups, announced a new initiative to invest in and partner with Israeli start-ups. It is the first initiative of its kind from the clinic, which will be sending representatives to Israel this week for a major life sciences conference.**And finally, a JPost Poll taken ahead of Sunday’s Jerusalem Post Conference in New York found that Israelis think Hillary Clinton is more suited for the US Presidency than Donald Trump by a margin of 40% to 29%. On the flipside, however, 38% said Trump would be more effective against terrorism, as opposed to just 21% who thought so of Clinton.

This week, in a dramatic turnaround, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu struck a coalition deal with Yisrael Beytenu, giving its leader Avigdor Liberman the defense portfolio. The serving defense minister, Moshe Ya’alon, resigned even before the deal was finalized, and said he was taking a break from politics altogether, despite Netanyahu offering him the foreign ministry. In his resignation speech, Ya’alon, a former stalwart Netanyahu ally warned of “manifestations of extremism, violence and racism” in Israeli society and its institutions. Former Prime Minister and Defense Minister Ehud Barak echoed the comments, saying that Netanyahu "is exhibiting signs of fascism." Ya’alon’s departure from the Knesset paves the way for the next member of Likud list, Temple Mount activist Yehuda Glick, to enter the Knesset. The final deal with Liberman is expected soon, and in the meantime, it seems the Foreign Ministry portfolio will remain unfilled. Despite Netanyahu’s decision to slam the door on the Zionist Union, which had been negotiating a potential unity deal for several weeks, the Prime Minister said that some developments in the Middle East had created a great diplomatic opportunity, and that remained open to the Zionist Union joining the government. Meanwhile, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls arrived in Israel Sunday to push a diplomatic plan that, thus far, has gained little traction in Israel.   ** In other news, a report from the Taub Center for Social Policy Studies found that a million Israelis were at risk of losing their jobs to computerization in the next 20 years. Workers with the highest risk of being replaced by technology include those without college degrees and those already earning less – in other words, the more vulnerable parts of society. ** The Mayo Clinic, one of the world’s best-known medical research and practice groups, announced a new initiative to invest in and partner with Israeli start-ups. It is the first initiative of its kind from the clinic, which will be sending representatives to Israel this week for a major life sciences conference. ** And finally, a JPost Poll taken ahead of Sunday’s Jerusalem Post Conference in New York found that Israelis think Hillary Clinton is more suited for the US Presidency than Donald Trump by a margin of 40% to 29%. On the flipside, however, 38% said Trump would be more effective against terrorism, as opposed to just 21% who thought so of Clinton.

Breifing: Liberman, Trump and fascism

This week has seen a political whirlwind in Israel, with a shakeup in the cabinet and the widening of the governing coalition. After on-and-off negotiations with the Zionist Union and its leader Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin did an about face and made a deal with Avigdor Liberman’s Yisrael Beytenu party to join the government, offering Liberman the position of Defense Minister, and ousting Moshe Ya’alon. The new deal will expand the collation to 67 seats, up from the razor-thin 61-seat majority that’s been in place for the past year.Chief political correspondent Gil Hoffman explains the implications behind the moves, and why he doesn't think the deal will bring a full term's worth of stability to the governing coalition.

This week has seen a political whirlwind in Israel, with a shakeup in the cabinet and the widening of the governing coalition. After on-and-off negotiations with the Zionist Union and its leader Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin did an about face and made a deal with Avigdor Liberman’s Yisrael Beytenu party to join the government, offering Liberman the position of Defense Minister, and ousting Moshe Ya’alon. The new deal will expand the collation to 67 seats, up from the razor-thin 61-seat majority that’s been in place for the past year. Chief political correspondent Gil Hoffman explains the implications behind the moves, and why he doesn't think the deal will bring a full term's worth of stability to the governing coalition.

A stable government? Fat chance

Israel celebrated its 68th birthday this week. Independence day followed the annual Remembrance Day, in which Israelis memorialized the 23,477 people who have fallen in the country's wars and terror attacks.Speaking at a Remembrance day event, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said "We will not give up our hope to achieve peace with our enemies- But first we will achieve peace with ourselves."The subject of peace came up several other time throughout the week.***French Foreign Minster Jean-Marc Ayrault arrived in Israel Saturday night meet with to Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on a peace initiative France plans to launch at the end of this month.On Sunday, Netanyahu attacked the initiative, telling his cabinet that it gave the Palestinians an opportunity to evade direct negotiations. Such an initiative, he said “just pushes peace farther away and gives the Palestinians an escape hatch to avoid confronting the root of the conflict, which is the recognition of the state of Israel [as Jewish state].” In a Twitter Q&amp;A session last week, Netanyahu said he would be open to an updated version of the Saudi initiative, which offered Arab peace with Israel in exchange for a return to the pre-1967 lines, among other things.Netanyahu also reiterated his willingness to “to meet President Abbas today, right now.”***After enjoying a long weekend for Independence Day, Israelis may have hope for more leisure time in the future as well. MK Eli Cohen, of Kulanu, is advancing a bill that would create a long, three-day weekend once a month. In an interview with the Post, Cohen said that Israelis work more hours than most of their OECD counterparts, but are less productive. The bill is still in its early stages, but Cohen hopes it will be in effect by 2017.***Is Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid Israel’s shadow Foreign Minister? In an interview with Jerusalem Post Knesset Correspondent Lahav Harkov. Lapid said the fact that Israel currently lacks a foreign minister is a problem, not an opportunity. Still, the former television host and finance minister has been traveling the globe, trying to boost Israel’s interests from the opposition. You can read the full interview on JPost.com.***In US politics, billionaire Sheldon Adelson has reportedly warmed up to the candidacy of Donald Trump. Adelson reportedly decided to donate nearly $100 million dollars to Trump’s presidential campaign after the two spoke in a private meeting.Some projections have put the cost of funding the last six months of the presidential race at a staggering $1 billion.Trump’s decision not to self-fund the general election may weaken an argument he made during the primary, in which he said his wealth meant he was not beholden to big donors or moneyed interests. ***Israel’s Eurovision entrant Hovi Star performed his song “We Are All Made of Stars” in the Eurovision song contest on Saturday, but only took 14th place in the final tally. Israel also took pride in France’s contestant, Amir Haddad, who grew up in Herzliya, and finished in 6th place with “J'ai cherché”.The winning entry came from Ukraine’s Jamala, with a political song called “1944” about the scars left by Soviet deportations from Crimea.***And finally, Yaakov Katz  began his tenure as the Jerusalem Post’s new editor-in-chief  last week. In his first Editor’s note column, Katz warned that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is playing a high-stakes game of poker in negotiating a deal with US President Barack Obama over renewing Israel’s ten-year military aid package. “Whatever the government does, it needs to be sure that politics are off the table,” he wrote.

Israel celebrated its 68th birthday this week. Independence day followed the annual Remembrance Day, in which Israelis memorialized the 23,477 people who have fallen in the country's wars and terror attacks. Speaking at a Remembrance day event, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said "We will not give up our hope to achieve peace with our enemies- But first we will achieve peace with ourselves." The subject of peace came up several other time throughout the week. *** French Foreign Minster Jean-Marc Ayrault arrived in Israel Saturday night meet with to Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on a peace initiative France plans to launch at the end of this month. On Sunday, Netanyahu attacked the initiative, telling his cabinet that it gave the Palestinians an opportunity to evade direct negotiations.   Such an initiative, he said “just pushes peace farther away and gives the Palestinians an escape hatch to avoid confronting the root of the conflict, which is the recognition of the state of Israel [as Jewish state].”   In a Twitter Q&amp;A session last week, Netanyahu said he would be open to an updated version of the Saudi initiative, which offered Arab peace with Israel in exchange for a return to the pre-1967 lines, among other things. Netanyahu also reiterated his willingness to “to meet President Abbas today, right now.” *** After enjoying a long weekend for Independence Day, Israelis may have hope for more leisure time in the future as well. MK Eli Cohen, of Kulanu, is advancing a bill that would create a long, three-day weekend once a month. In an interview with the Post, Cohen said that Israelis work more hours than most of their OECD counterparts, but are less productive. The bill is still in its early stages, but Cohen hopes it will be in effect by 2017. *** Is Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid Israel’s shadow Foreign Minister? In an interview with Jerusalem Post Knesset Correspondent Lahav Harkov. Lapid said the fact that Israel currently lacks a foreign minister is a problem, not an opportunity. Still, the former television host and finance minister has been traveling the globe, trying to boost Israel’s interests from the opposition. You can read the full interview on <a href="http://JPost.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">JPost.com</a>. *** In US politics, billionaire Sheldon Adelson has reportedly warmed up to the candidacy of Donald Trump. Adelson reportedly decided to donate nearly $100 million dollars to Trump’s presidential campaign after the two spoke in a private meeting. Some projections have put the cost of funding the last six months of the presidential race at a staggering $1 billion. Trump’s decision not to self-fund the general election may weaken an argument he made during the primary, in which he said his wealth meant he was not beholden to big donors or moneyed interests. *** Israel’s Eurovision entrant Hovi Star performed his song “We Are All Made of Stars” in the Eurovision song contest on Saturday, but only took 14th place in the final tally. Israel also took pride in France’s contestant, Amir Haddad, who grew up in Herzliya, and finished in 6th place with “J'ai cherché”. The winning entry came from Ukraine’s Jamala, with a political song called “1944” about the scars left by Soviet deportations from Crimea. *** And finally, Yaakov Katz  began his tenure as the Jerusalem Post’s new editor-in-chief  last week. In his first Editor’s note column, Katz warned that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is playing a high-stakes game of poker in negotiating a deal with US President Barack Obama over renewing Israel’s ten-year military aid package. “Whatever the government does, it needs to be sure that politics are off the table,” he wrote.

Briefing: Eurovision and Europe’s vision for peace

News and commentary from the Jerusalem Post, Israel's leading English-language news source

Great podcast

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The JPost Podcast

Winston Churchill famously said that democracy was the worst form of government except all the others. Among Israelis, there seems to be a similar sentiment toward Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He’s seen as a survivor, someone who puts his political well-being above all else. Time Magazine famously dubbed him King Bibi. In this segment of Taxicab Diplomacy—where we talk politics with Israel’s most insightful political commentators, its cab drivers—the JPost Podcast explores how Netanyahu stays on top. As our cab driver commentators demonstrate (and recent polls back up), there’s considerable dissatisfaction with Netanyahu. The only problem: there seem to be no better options.Dr. Ofer Kenig, a researcher on political reform at the Israel Democracy Institute, adds his insight as to why nobody has managed to seriously challenge Netanyahu in the past seven years.

Winston Churchill famously said that democracy was the worst form of government except all the others. Among Israelis, there seems to be a similar sentiment toward Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He’s seen as a survivor, someone who puts his political well-being above all else. Time Magazine famously dubbed him King Bibi. In this segment of Taxicab Diplomacy—where we talk politics with Israel’s most insightful political commentators, its cab drivers—the JPost Podcast explores how Netanyahu stays on top. As our cab driver commentators demonstrate (and recent polls back up), there’s considerable dissatisfaction with Netanyahu. The only problem: there seem to be no better options. Dr. Ofer Kenig, a researcher on political reform at the Israel Democracy Institute, adds his insight as to why nobody has managed to seriously challenge Netanyahu in the past seven years.

 Is Bibi the worst option except all the rest?

Bernie Sanders

Monica Lewinsky

This past week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeated an invitation to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to conduct talks in Jerusalem, saying he would clear his schedule for such a meeting. The remarks came four days after Abbas said in a Channel 2 interview that he was awaiting such an invitation. President Reuven Rivlin also responded to Abbas’ comments with an offer to meet the Palestinian leader in order to promote negotiations between the sides. Thus far there have been no reports of a meeting being set.**US democratic candidate Bernie Sanders angered Israel supporters with several comments about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in an interview with the New York Daily News paper.In the interview, Sanders said that based on his recollection “over 10,000 innocent people were killed in Gaza” in the 2014 war.Sanders clarified the comments after an outcry and a phone call with Anti-Defamation League’s CEO Jonathan  A. Greenblatt, who pointed out that the highest casualty figures for Gaza in the war were about a fifth the amount Sanders cited, and many of the casualties were combatants.Sanders, who also said Israel would have to improve its relationship with the Palestinians if it wanted a positive relationship with the United States, admitted that he had not recalled the accurate figures. **A Parole board denied a request from former President Moshe Katsav for early release from prison. Katsav, who was convicted in December 2010 on two counts of rape, had asked to be released after having served two-thirds of his seven-year sentence.**Turkish and Israeli teams made progress towards finalizing an agreement to mend ties. In London talks, the two sides agreed a deal will be finalized in the next meeting to be convened very soon. Turkey was once Israel's closest regional ally but ties collapsed in 2010 after the Mavi Marmara incident, where 10 Turkish pro-Palestinian activists were killed by Israeli Marines after violently attempting to breach the Gaza blockade.**Cyber-hacking group Anonymous targeted Israel for the fourth time in its annual Israel Ops attacks. Experts in a quick response group, CERT-IL, said the attacks were largely unsophisticated and did little lasting damage. The attacks tend to target unprotected websites, not sites linked to critical national infrastructure, though previous attacks have brought down or vandalized websites such as the Yad Vashem website.**Senior politicians condemned Bayit Yehui MK Bezalel Smotrich for advocating a separation of Jews and Arabs in maternity wards.Smotrich had said that, “after giving birth [his] wife wants to rest and not have a party like Arab women do,” and his “wife would not want to lay down next to someone who just gave birth to a baby who might want to murder her baby in 20 years.”Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon said the comments were “a symptom of increasing hostility to minorities,” while Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid compared the comments to those commonly made “in Germany in the 1930s.” Bayit Yehudi chairman Naftali Bennett condemned the comments as well.**The Israel Electric Corporation limited power to Palestinian cities including Jericho, Bethlehem and Hebron over an unpaid NIS 1.74 billion debt from the Palestinian authority. The IEC restored full power after receiving a NIS 20m payment, but warned that it would reduce levels again if a broader deal addressing the debt isn’t reached.**Hamas banned a Gaza City conference that was supposed to call for ending divisions among the Palestinians and achieving “national unity.”Hamas security officers raided the conference hall at the Al-Quds Hospital and expelled the organizers and participants, sources in the Gaza Strip reported. According to the sources, the officers summoned some of the organizers for interrogation.**Israel and its neighbors are making plans to put politics aside and cooperate in scientific research. The governments of Israel, Jordan, Iran, Turkey, Pakistan, Cyprus, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority are working together on SESAME, an accelerator machine that generates intense light beams for advanced scientific and technological research.SESME will be the first synchrotron light source and first major international scientific center in the Middle East, and is expected to be up and running by the middle of 2017.**And finally, Forbes Magazine held its first international 30 under 30 summit in Israel, drawing a wide range of celebrities to the Holy Land. President Shimon Peres opened the conference, which also had panels led by Yossi Vardi, HBO’s Girls star Zosia Mamet, and anti-bullying advocate Monica Lewinsky.

This past week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeated an invitation to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to conduct talks in Jerusalem, saying he would clear his schedule for such a meeting. The remarks came four days after Abbas said in a Channel 2 interview that he was awaiting such an invitation. President Reuven Rivlin also responded to Abbas’ comments with an offer to meet the Palestinian leader in order to promote negotiations between the sides. Thus far there have been no reports of a meeting being set. ** US democratic candidate Bernie Sanders angered Israel supporters with several comments about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in an interview with the New York Daily News paper. In the interview, Sanders said that based on his recollection “over 10,000 innocent people were killed in Gaza” in the 2014 war. Sanders clarified the comments after an outcry and a phone call with Anti-Defamation League’s CEO Jonathan  A. Greenblatt, who pointed out that the highest casualty figures for Gaza in the war were about a fifth the amount Sanders cited, and many of the casualties were combatants. Sanders, who also said Israel would have to improve its relationship with the Palestinians if it wanted a positive relationship with the United States, admitted that he had not recalled the accurate figures. ** A Parole board denied a request from former President Moshe Katsav for early release from prison. Katsav, who was convicted in December 2010 on two counts of rape, had asked to be released after having served two-thirds of his seven-year sentence. ** Turkish and Israeli teams made progress towards finalizing an agreement to mend ties. In London talks, the two sides agreed a deal will be finalized in the next meeting to be convened very soon. Turkey was once Israel's closest regional ally but ties collapsed in 2010 after the Mavi Marmara incident, where 10 Turkish pro-Palestinian activists were killed by Israeli Marines after violently attempting to breach the Gaza blockade. ** Cyber-hacking group Anonymous targeted Israel for the fourth time in its annual Israel Ops attacks. Experts in a quick response group, CERT-IL, said the attacks were largely unsophisticated and did little lasting damage. The attacks tend to target unprotected websites, not sites linked to critical national infrastructure, though previous attacks have brought down or vandalized websites such as the Yad Vashem website. ** Senior politicians condemned Bayit Yehui MK Bezalel Smotrich for advocating a separation of Jews and Arabs in maternity wards. Smotrich had said that, “after giving birth [his] wife wants to rest and not have a party like Arab women do,” and his “wife would not want to lay down next to someone who just gave birth to a baby who might want to murder her baby in 20 years.” Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon said the comments were “a symptom of increasing hostility to minorities,” while Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid compared the comments to those commonly made “in Germany in the 1930s.” Bayit Yehudi chairman Naftali Bennett condemned the comments as well. ** The Israel Electric Corporation limited power to Palestinian cities including Jericho, Bethlehem and Hebron over an unpaid NIS 1.74 billion debt from the Palestinian authority. The IEC restored full power after receiving a NIS 20m payment, but warned that it would reduce levels again if a broader deal addressing the debt isn’t reached. ** Hamas banned a Gaza City conference that was supposed to call for ending divisions among the Palestinians and achieving “national unity.” Hamas security officers raided the conference hall at the Al-Quds Hospital and expelled the organizers and participants, sources in the Gaza Strip reported. According to the sources, the officers summoned some of the organizers for interrogation. ** Israel and its neighbors are making plans to put politics aside and cooperate in scientific research. The governments of Israel, Jordan, Iran, Turkey, Pakistan, Cyprus, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority are working together on SESAME, an accelerator machine that generates intense light beams for advanced scientific and technological research. SESME will be the first synchrotron light source and first major international scientific center in the Middle East, and is expected to be up and running by the middle of 2017. ** And finally, Forbes Magazine held its first international 30 under 30 summit in Israel, drawing a wide range of celebrities to the Holy Land. President Shimon Peres opened the conference, which also had panels led by Yossi Vardi, HBO’s Girls star Zosia Mamet, and anti-bullying advocate Monica Lewinsky.

Briefing: Bernie Sanders, Monica Lewinsky, and an uneventful cyber attack

Over the years, Donald Trump has made an industry of licensing his name to a variety of products, products over which he had no control. Basically, Trump would find a company that already made something and, for a fee or cut of the profits, slap his name on the package.One of those products, Trump Vodka, went out of circulation in 2011 in the US. But the product has had a strange afterlife in Israel. A deal with a local importer, H. Pixel, led to the manufacture and distribution of Trump Vodka in Israel. This time around, however, the vodka was made Kosher for Passover.The product was a hit for observant Jews who still wanted to enjoy spirits over the holiday. For many liquor suppliers who only stock it around the holiday, Trump Vodka is synonymous with Kashrut.But as the JPost Podcast has uncovered, many of the bottles currently on the shelves are, in fact, not Kosher for Passover. Last year, Kosher certifiers discovered that bottles labeled 2013 were not made with fully Kosher for Passover ingredients. The problem has since been fixed, but OK Kosher Certifications warns consumers that if they are buying Trump Vodka labeled 2013 or later, they should check that it has a hologram sticker attached to it. Otherwise, even the ones that have a non-hologram sticker reading “Kosher For Passover”—many of which are still on shelves—are not, in fact, Kosher.

Over the years, Donald Trump has made an industry of licensing his name to a variety of products, products over which he had no control. Basically, Trump would find a company that already made something and, for a fee or cut of the profits, slap his name on the package. One of those products, Trump Vodka, went out of circulation in 2011 in the US. But the product has had a strange afterlife in Israel. A deal with a local importer, H. Pixel, led to the manufacture and distribution of Trump Vodka in Israel. This time around, however, the vodka was made Kosher for Passover. The product was a hit for observant Jews who still wanted to enjoy spirits over the holiday. For many liquor suppliers who only stock it around the holiday, Trump Vodka is synonymous with Kashrut. But as the JPost Podcast has uncovered, many of the bottles currently on the shelves are, in fact, not Kosher for Passover. Last year, Kosher certifiers discovered that bottles labeled 2013 were not made with fully Kosher for Passover ingredients. The problem has since been fixed, but OK Kosher Certifications warns consumers that if they are buying Trump Vodka labeled 2013 or later, they should check that it has a hologram sticker attached to it. Otherwise, even the ones that have a non-hologram sticker reading “Kosher For Passover”—many of which are still on shelves—are not, in fact, Kosher.

In Trump Vodka’s strange, Israeli afterlife, a kashrut scandal

This past week, ISIS Terrorists killed 31 people in a shocking, triple attack in Brussels. Belgium’s Jewish community joined the chorus of critics decrying incompetence in the country’s counter-terror apparatus. The community came under attack in May, 2014 in a terrorist shoot-up of the Brussels Jewish museum that killed four, Some Israeli politicians made controversial remarks calling Belgian authorities to task after the attack, which was linked to the Paris shootings in November. Transport Minister Yisrael Katz said Belgians were too busy eating chocolates to deal with the threat of fundamentalism. Likud MK Nava Boker said the attacks resulted from attempts to make Muslims feel at home rather than rooting out extremism, while Zionist Union MK Kesenia Svetlova said that the terror showed how "European multi-culturalism has failed."--Israeli cyber security company Cellebrite is reportedly helping the US Federal Bureau of Investigation's attempt to unlock an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino, California shooters, according to several media reports. A debate about security and privacy concerns arose after the FBI ordered Apple to unlock the phone, which Apple has refused to do on grounds that it would compromise security to its devices more broadly. If Cellebrite succeeds, then the FBI will no longer need Apple’s help.--Israel ran a secret mission to bring some of the last Jews living in Yemen to Israel. According to the Jewish Agency, clandestine activity culminated in the Aliya of 19 Jews, from the town of Raydah and the capital Sanaa. The US State Department was reportedly involved in the mission and helped coordinate the complex transfer of the Jews after the group faced persecution.Some 50 members remain in Yemen’s Jewish community, but did not want to leave despite the country’s descent into civil war. --Israelis were outraged when an IDF soldier shot and killed a Palestinian terrorist who had already been neutralized. Six minutes after the terrorist incident ended, the Kfir Brigade soldier arrived and decided, on his own, to fire on the wounded Palestinian assailantPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, and IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gadi Eisenkot all condemned the soldier for flouting the IDF rules of engagement, which they said were the most moral in the world. Those comments drew a rebuke from far-right politicians including Education Minister Naftali Bennett and former Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman.--Former IDF intelligence chief Amos Yadlin said that the Israel Defense Forces were capable of destroying Iran's nuclear facilities with a preemptive strike if presented with no other alternative. According to Channel 10 report, he told a gathering in Beersheba the "Israel Air Force can meet the challenge of exterminating Iran's nuclear reactors if necessary."--The head of General Security for Dubai, Lieutenant General Dahi Khalfan Tamim, said on his Twitter page that an independent Palestine would join the list of failed Arab states. Palestinians, he added, should abandon their aspiration for an independent state and merge with Israeli Jews in a united, bi-national state instead. Eventually, he concluded, Arabs would become a majority anyhow and inherit the shared state.--Prime Minister Netanyahu came out strongly Thursday against comments by Shas politicians accusing the Reform Movement of trying to destroy the Jewish people.On Wednesday, in a motion to the Knesset’s agenda on the eve of Purim, Shas MK Yigal Guetta compared Reform Jewry to Haman, the villain of the Scroll of Esther. He also said that they trying to “sabotage God’s Torah.”--Extremists from the ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Meah She’arim suspended an effigy of a haredi IDF soldier from a cable across one of the narrow streets of the neighborhood on Shushan Purim. The effigy was strung up next to a sign that warned ultra-Orthodox soldiers from entering the neighborhood.--Microsoft had to pull the plug on its artificial intelligence tweeting robot TayTweets, after it began posting offensive comments, including “Hitler was right I hate the jews.” Microsoft said it was making changes after the AI bot learned offensive behavior from its interactions with humans on Twitter.--And finally, Israeli Universities ranked seven times in the 2016 QS World University Rankings top 100, by Subject. Though the showing was a decrease from the 11 showings Israel made in 2015, the report found that the Hebrew University was the most-featured top-100 university, making a showing for agriculture and forestry, and history, anthropology.

This past week, ISIS Terrorists killed 31 people in a shocking, triple attack in Brussels. Belgium’s Jewish community joined the chorus of critics decrying incompetence in the country’s counter-terror apparatus. The community came under attack in May, 2014 in a terrorist shoot-up of the Brussels Jewish museum that killed four, Some Israeli politicians made controversial remarks calling Belgian authorities to task after the attack, which was linked to the Paris shootings in November. Transport Minister Yisrael Katz said Belgians were too busy eating chocolates to deal with the threat of fundamentalism. Likud MK Nava Boker said the attacks resulted from attempts to make Muslims feel at home rather than rooting out extremism, while Zionist Union MK Kesenia Svetlova said that the terror showed how "European multi-culturalism has failed." -- Israeli cyber security company Cellebrite is reportedly helping the US Federal Bureau of Investigation's attempt to unlock an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino, California shooters, according to several media reports. A debate about security and privacy concerns arose after the FBI ordered Apple to unlock the phone, which Apple has refused to do on grounds that it would compromise security to its devices more broadly. If Cellebrite succeeds, then the FBI will no longer need Apple’s help. -- Israel ran a secret mission to bring some of the last Jews living in Yemen to Israel. According to the Jewish Agency, clandestine activity culminated in the Aliya of 19 Jews, from the town of Raydah and the capital Sanaa. The US State Department was reportedly involved in the mission and helped coordinate the complex transfer of the Jews after the group faced persecution. Some 50 members remain in Yemen’s Jewish community, but did not want to leave despite the country’s descent into civil war. -- Israelis were outraged when an IDF soldier shot and killed a Palestinian terrorist who had already been neutralized. Six minutes after the terrorist incident ended, the Kfir Brigade soldier arrived and decided, on his own, to fire on the wounded Palestinian assailant Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, and IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gadi Eisenkot all condemned the soldier for flouting the IDF rules of engagement, which they said were the most moral in the world. Those comments drew a rebuke from far-right politicians including Education Minister Naftali Bennett and former Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman. -- Former IDF intelligence chief Amos Yadlin said that the Israel Defense Forces were capable of destroying Iran's nuclear facilities with a preemptive strike if presented with no other alternative. According to Channel 10 report, he told a gathering in Beersheba the "Israel Air Force can meet the challenge of exterminating Iran's nuclear reactors if necessary." -- The head of General Security for Dubai, Lieutenant General Dahi Khalfan Tamim, said on his Twitter page that an independent Palestine would join the list of failed Arab states. Palestinians, he added, should abandon their aspiration for an independent state and merge with Israeli Jews in a united, bi-national state instead. Eventually, he concluded, Arabs would become a majority anyhow and inherit the shared state. -- Prime Minister Netanyahu came out strongly Thursday against comments by Shas politicians accusing the Reform Movement of trying to destroy the Jewish people. On Wednesday, in a motion to the Knesset’s agenda on the eve of Purim, Shas MK Yigal Guetta compared Reform Jewry to Haman, the villain of the Scroll of Esther. He also said that they trying to “sabotage God’s Torah.” -- Extremists from the ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Meah She’arim suspended an effigy of a haredi IDF soldier from a cable across one of the narrow streets of the neighborhood on Shushan Purim. The effigy was strung up next to a sign that warned ultra-Orthodox soldiers from entering the neighborhood. -- Microsoft had to pull the plug on its artificial intelligence tweeting robot TayTweets, after it began posting offensive comments, including “Hitler was right I hate the jews.” Microsoft said it was making changes after the AI bot learned offensive behavior from its interactions with humans on Twitter. -- And finally, Israeli Universities ranked seven times in the 2016 QS World University Rankings top 100, by Subject. Though the showing was a decrease from the 11 showings Israel made in 2015, the report found that the Hebrew University was the most-featured top-100 university, making a showing for agriculture and forestry, and history, anthropology.

Briefing: Nazi Twitter bots, IDF morality, and a secret rescue

As Jews stop to memorialize the Holocaust on Yom Hashoa thisyear, many are concerned with the rising tide of anti-Semitism in Europe andthe UK. In Europe, the last few years have seen a series of horribleattacks on Jews and Jewish institutions, from a shooting at a Jewish school inToulouse, France to an attack on Belgium’s Jewish Museum. More recently, mediaattention has turned to the UK, where the campaign for mayoral and councilelections taking place today has drudged up some ugly anti-Semitism. Dr. Robert Rozett, director of the Yad Vashem Libraries, discussesthe new anti-Semitism, and Jonathan Sacerdoti, the director of communicationsat the Campaign Against anti-Semitism in the UK, discusses how British Jews areresponding to it.

As Jews stop to memorialize the Holocaust on Yom Hashoa this year, many are concerned with the rising tide of anti-Semitism in Europe and the UK. In Europe, the last few years have seen a series of horrible attacks on Jews and Jewish institutions, from a shooting at a Jewish school in Toulouse, France to an attack on Belgium’s Jewish Museum. More recently, media attention has turned to the UK, where the campaign for mayoral and council elections taking place today has drudged up some ugly anti-Semitism. Dr. Robert Rozett, director of the Yad Vashem Libraries, discusses the new anti-Semitism, and Jonathan Sacerdoti, the director of communications at the Campaign Against anti-Semitism in the UK, discusses how British Jews are responding to it.

Understanding UK anti-Semitism on Yom Hashoa

This past week, Democratic hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders faced off on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in their final debate before Tuesday’s New York primary. Sanders called himself "100 percent pro-Israel," but also argued that Israel used disproportionate force against the Palestinians, and added that "There comes a time if we are going to pursue justice and peace that we are going to have to say that Netanyahu is not right all of the time." Clinton responded: "Nobody is saying that any individual leader is always right but it is a difficult position," and added that "Describing the problem is a lot easier than trying to solve it." Meanwhile, Sanders suspended his controversial national Jewish outreach coordinator, Simone Zimmerman, after an old social media post of hers came to light. In the post, Zimmerman swore at Netanyahu, and called him deceptive, cynical and manipulative.**Mohabad Abrini, the suspected accomplice of the Brussels airport suicide bombers, reportedly told investigators that the attack plans included targeting travelers on their way to Tel Aviv, as well as the US and Russia. Abrini is allegedly “the man in the hat” spotted alongside the suspected bombers in security photos. The report came from French BFM TV.**State Department spokesman Mark Toner attempted to "firmly shut" the door on any prospective resolution the US considers biased against Israel. Toner said: "Our position hasn’t changed in terms of action on this issue at the UN Security Council."There has been concern in Israel that the Obama White House was planning to support such a resolution before a new president is sworn in in January. The White House said last year that it was willing to review its UN policy toward the conflict, and it has yet to explicitly rule out such an approach. **According to a Channel 10 report, the US continues to believe that recently-released Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard holds classified, top secret information.US Director of National Intelligence James Clapper filed a report to a New York court arguing that Pollard should be restricted in his parole, saying that he could otherwise cause serious harm to the national security of the United States based on information he obtained before he was arrested in 1985.**An unidentified Jewish couple purportedly made history on the Temple Mount by having a secret wedding ceremony at Judaism’s holiest site. According to a statement on Tuesday from the right-wing Temple Institute, based in Jerusalem, they were only the second couple in 2,000 years to have gotten married at the site. The Temple Institute champions Jewish visitation rights on the Temple Mount, where open Jewish prayer is banned. The couple reportedly conducted the bare bones acts of the ceremony surreptitiously. Had authorities noticed the exchange, the group would have been removed from the site and potentially arrested for “causing a public disturbance.”**Beit Hillel, an association of religious-Zionist rabbis, issued a position statement of Jewish law calling for greater understanding and debate on homosexuality. The statement urged the religious community to allow gay people to take up communal religious duties and to show greater inclusiveness toward them in general.The paper also asserted that homosexual acts are forbidden by Halacha and cannot be permitted by religious leaders, and that Orthodox rabbis cannot legitimize same-sex unions.**In business news, Chinese conglomerate Fosun International completed a deal to acquire Israel’s Ahava Dead Sea Laboratories owned by Gaon Holdings for NIS 290 million.Ahava confirmed plans to relocate its West Bank facility, which made it the target of BDS action, ahead of the acquisition.Last month, Israel and China announced the opening of free-trade negotiations. **And finally, in a radio interview with Howard Stern, stand-up comedian Louis CK said he is planning to perform in Israel for the first time.Last May, CK made headlines across Israel after incorporating the Israeli-Palestinian conflict into his opening monologue as the host of Saturday Night Live.

This past week, Democratic hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders faced off on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in their final debate before Tuesday’s New York primary. Sanders called himself "100 percent pro-Israel," but also argued that Israel used disproportionate force against the Palestinians, and added that "There comes a time if we are going to pursue justice and peace that we are going to have to say that Netanyahu is not right all of the time." Clinton responded: "Nobody is saying that any individual leader is always right but it is a difficult position," and added that "Describing the problem is a lot easier than trying to solve it." Meanwhile, Sanders suspended his controversial national Jewish outreach coordinator, Simone Zimmerman, after an old social media post of hers came to light. In the post, Zimmerman swore at Netanyahu, and called him deceptive, cynical and manipulative. ** Mohabad Abrini, the suspected accomplice of the Brussels airport suicide bombers, reportedly told investigators that the attack plans included targeting travelers on their way to Tel Aviv, as well as the US and Russia. Abrini is allegedly “the man in the hat” spotted alongside the suspected bombers in security photos. The report came from French BFM TV. ** State Department spokesman Mark Toner attempted to "firmly shut" the door on any prospective resolution the US considers biased against Israel. Toner said: "Our position hasn’t changed in terms of action on this issue at the UN Security Council." There has been concern in Israel that the Obama White House was planning to support such a resolution before a new president is sworn in in January. The White House said last year that it was willing to review its UN policy toward the conflict, and it has yet to explicitly rule out such an approach. ** According to a Channel 10 report, the US continues to believe that recently-released Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard holds classified, top secret information. US Director of National Intelligence James Clapper filed a report to a New York court arguing that Pollard should be restricted in his parole, saying that he could otherwise cause serious harm to the national security of the United States based on information he obtained before he was arrested in 1985. ** An unidentified Jewish couple purportedly made history on the Temple Mount by having a secret wedding ceremony at Judaism’s holiest site. According to a statement on Tuesday from the right-wing Temple Institute, based in Jerusalem, they were only the second couple in 2,000 years to have gotten married at the site. The Temple Institute champions Jewish visitation rights on the Temple Mount, where open Jewish prayer is banned. The couple reportedly conducted the bare bones acts of the ceremony surreptitiously. Had authorities noticed the exchange, the group would have been removed from the site and potentially arrested for “causing a public disturbance.” ** Beit Hillel, an association of religious-Zionist rabbis, issued a position statement of Jewish law calling for greater understanding and debate on homosexuality. The statement urged the religious community to allow gay people to take up communal religious duties and to show greater inclusiveness toward them in general. The paper also asserted that homosexual acts are forbidden by Halacha and cannot be permitted by religious leaders, and that Orthodox rabbis cannot legitimize same-sex unions. ** In business news, Chinese conglomerate Fosun International completed a deal to acquire Israel’s Ahava Dead Sea Laboratories owned by Gaon Holdings for NIS 290 million. Ahava confirmed plans to relocate its West Bank facility, which made it the target of BDS action, ahead of the acquisition. Last month, Israel and China announced the opening of free-trade negotiations. ** And finally, in a radio interview with Howard Stern, stand-up comedian Louis CK said he is planning to perform in Israel for the first time. Last May, CK made headlines across Israel after incorporating the Israeli-Palestinian conflict into his opening monologue as the host of Saturday Night Live.

Briefing: The Democratic showdown on Israel

The best podcast episodes of the most interesting stories and things. From skyping someone while they're in space, to tracking down and meeting a telephone scammer in person, to the story of a Galapagos. These episodes will keep you and all your friends entertained and captivated for hours. Learn something new in every episode! Add episodes you're interested into your queue below!

Best Episodes: Interesting Stories & Things

The best self improvement podcast episodes. From improving productivity, to finding purpose in your life to what constitutes freedom, this topic is on anything and everything that can help people to improve their lives. Add episodes you're interested into your queue below!