During the week covered by this review, we received 9 articles on the following subjects:
Christians in Israel
Zionism
Israel
Anti-Semitism
Miscellaneous
Archaeology
Christians in Israel
Maariv; The Jerusalem Post, May 9; Maariv, May 10; The Jerusalem Post, May 11, 2016
Allegations of sexual harassment have been lodged against Father Gabriel Naddaf. Naddaf himself denies the allegations, saying that “criminal elements in the community” have tried to frame him by gaining access to his Facebook page and his cellphone. Culture Minister Miri Regev has publicly backed Naddaf, saying that the issue is in the hands of the law enforcement agencies, and that “she has no intention of going against the committee who chose Naddaf unanimously to light a torch.” Additionally, Naddaf has lodged a complaint with the police regarding these things and regarding additional threats to his life, specifically to do with the torch he is to light at the ceremony on the eve of Independence Day.
Naddaf formed the Israeli Christian Recruitment Forum in 2012 “to demonstrate both the importance for Christians to take part in their own defense and also to advance the cause of Christian integration into Israeli society to make the community an accepted component of the Israeli mosaic.” Naddaf describes the Christians in Israel as “a minority within a minority,” and says, “Integration is power. When you integrate you connect to something, when you tie your fate to the fate of another and you learn from him, and help each other, this is power. If you remain alone then you have no power.”
Note: The torch lit by Father Gabriel Naddaf on Wednesday, May 11, was part of Independence Day, not Holocaust Day, ceremonies, as mentioned in the previous Media Review.
Zionism
The Jerusalem Post, May 9, 2016
This article wishes “to restore and widen” the definition of Zionism, in light of recent decades. Whereas the tenets of modern Zionism were the restoration of sovereignty and mass settlement, the definition of Zionism should include those whose ancestors were forcibly converted and “whose souls now yearn to return to Zion,” specifically in light of the fact that “most of the Jews have now been ingathered” and Israel now houses the largest Jewish community in the world.
Israel
The Jerusalem Post, May 9, 2016
This article covers a survey recently carried out for the Jewish People Policy Institute on the degree to which different sectors of Israeli society are able to “exercise their differences in the public sphere.” Specific subjects covered were the degree to which different sectors contribute to Israeli society, and the degree to which different sectors feel at home in the Jewish state. The answer to the first was that soldiers received the highest ranking and Muslim Arabs the lowest ranking among those polled, and the answer to the second was that those on the political left “feel much less comfortable being themselves,” and those on the political right “feel much more comfortable being themselves in Israel.” Speaking with regard to the results of the whole survey, Shmuel Rosner, senior JPPI fellow, said, “In our survey we see the complexity of Israeli society and that there are many positive trends happening, that we crave unity and acceptability and that we don’t judge one another as harshly as you might think from the tone of the societal debate.”
Anti-Semitism
BaKehila, May 5, 2016
This article reiterates the story from last week’s review, according to which several high-ranking officials of the British Labour Party have been suspended for anti-Semitic statements such as that “Israel is behind ISIS”; “Israeli Jews should be moved to the US in order to solve the conflict”; and “Zionist Jews are a shame to humanity.” Those close to Jeremy Corbyn, Labour Party head since 2015, insist that there is no problem of anti-Semitism in Labour and that Corbyn is being slandered. The London Times, quoting other senior Labour officials, has said as well that “senior Parliament members may protest Corbyn’s treatment of the episode by resigning, especially if the Labour Party suffers in the local elections shortly to take place.” Some donors to the Labour Party have already threatened to withhold donations. However, other Labour Party members have expressed disgust at the anti-Semitic statements made by their colleagues.
Miscellaneous
HaZman HaYarok, May 5, 2016
This article covers both the life of Dr. Meron Mendel and the activity of the Anne Frank Institute in Frankfurt, of which he is the manager. Mendel, who grew up in a kibbutz and served in the IDF’s Golani Brigade, decided to apply for the position after completing his doctoral research and working in Germany for some years. The institute’s main focus is to develop plans to deal with threats to openness and tolerance in German society. Mendel’s own research subject is human rights education.
Archaeology
Makor Rishon, May 11, 2016
This article surveys the different artifacts found during the past 12 years of sifting the earth removed from the Temple Mount. These artifacts include 190,000 pieces of bone, many of them scorched; Roman dice, some of which contain only the numbers 2, 4, and 6; Second Temple era broken remains of architectural ornamentation; Crusader era horseshoe nails; Judean, Babylonian, Roman, and Crusader arrowheads; Ottoman, British, and Israeli cartridge shells; and Persian, Greek, Muslim, and Crusader coins, including a Great Revolt coin inscribed “Freedom of Zion” and a gold five-franc Napoleon III coin from 1858.