Tuesday, July 31st 2012

Siyum HaShas 2012

Despite the chance of rain in the forecast for Wednesday evening, the Twelfth Siyum HaShas which is scheduled to take place at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, WILL be taking place. Sources tell YWN a meeting was held between the organizers, and the decision was made for the event to proceed as planned. The event is scheduled to start on time.

The Orthodox Draft

In an step that could intensify a major rift among Israelis, the defense minister on Tuesday ordered the army to prepare for a universal draft of ultra-Orthodox Jewish men. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Israel’s Channel 2 TV Tuesday night that the army would begin widening its list of recruits immediately.

Brotherhood Notes

Egypt’s new Islamist president has sent his first letter to an Israeli leader, Israel said Tuesday, in which the Egyptian leader expresses his hopes that the Mideast peace process can be restarted and that the ‘‘Israeli people’’ can achieve security. In the letter to Israeli President Shimon Peres released by Peres’ office, Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood said he hopes to revive regional negotiations.

Sanctions: It Works, It Doesn’t Work

The White House is breaking with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, defending the efficacy of the administration’s sanctions on Iran, saying they have punished Iran’s economy. ”Sanctions are having a significant impact on Iran and its economy,” said Ben Rhodes, the Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications. But Netanyahu said on Sunday that the sanctions have not had the intended purpose of slowing Iran’s nuclear program “by one iota.”

China & Iran Sitting In A Tree

Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is calling a visit to Israel by U.S. presidential candidate Mitt Romney as “kissing the foot” of the Jewish state to boost his bid for the White House. Ahmadinejad did not specifically name Romney, but his comments were an unmistakable jab at the Republican contender’s stop this week in Israel.

China’s official press agency slammed Mitt Romney for asserting that Israel’s capital is Jerusalem, saying his remarks “totally neglect historical facts” and could even “reignite” a war with Palestinians. “U.S. presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s statement that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel is likely to worsen the already tense Mideast situation, and even reignite a war between Palestinians and Israelis,” the Xinhua news agency wrote in an editorial Tuesday.