ISRAELI PRESS REVIEW
Israeli Press Review of 19.06.2013
- Israel celebrates Peres’ 90th birthday
The Promised Land must become a land of promise, President Shimon Peres said Tuesday night at his 90th birthday celebration, an event that also marked the start of the fifth annual presidential conference, Facing Tomorrow, the Jerusalem Post reports.
„We long for peace with our neighbors. The yesterday between us and the Palestinians is full of sadness. I believe that the Israel of tomorrow and the Palestine of tomorrow can offer our children a ray of hope,” he told the audience.
The reception that preceded the main gala saw journalists from print and screen mingled with politicians and donors, diplomats and Jewish leaders from abroad.
The gala included a performance by Barbara Streisand and Eyal Golan and was attended by Bill Clinton, Tony Blair and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara, along with Robert De Niro, Prince Albert of Monaco and other heads of state from all around the world.
Click here to read the full article in Jerusalem Post
- PM, politicians condemn racist attacks in Arab village
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a fierce condemnation Tuesday of the suspected “price tag” attacks that occurred earlier in the day in Abu Ghosh, declaring that the acts were opposed to basic Jewish values, the Times of Israel reports.
Speaking ahead of a planned meeting with Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky, Netanyahu declared that “what happened today in Abu Ghosh is against the commandments of Judaism; it is against the values of our people and our country.”
Vandals slashed the tires of 28 cars and scrawled invective on nearby walls in Abu Ghosh, near Jerusalem, on Tuesday.
Police opened an investigation into Tuesday’s incident, but have yet to apprehend any suspects.
The term “price tag” attack is used to describe crimes, typically but not always vandalism or arson of Palestinian property, carried out by extremist Jews as ostensible retribution for Israeli government actions — such as demolition of illegal West Bank construction — which they deem contrary to settler interests.
Located a few miles west of Jerusalem, Abu Ghosh is an Arab village situated among Jewish towns and agricultural settlements, and its 6,000 residents have traditionally enjoyed cordial relations with their Jewish neighbors.
Click here to read the full article in Times of Israel
- Israel wants total halt to Iranian nuclear enrichment
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that Israel will not accept Iranian uranium enrichment at any level, Haaretz reports.
„We cannot accept anything less than the total cessation of all enrichment of nuclear materials at all levels, removal from Iran of all enriched nuclear material, closure of Iran’s illicit nuclear facilities,” Netanyahu said during a meeting with Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird.
„Until Iran meets these demands, pressure must be stepped up and Iranian nuclear program must be stopped. Period.”
Netanyahu warned against the new Iranian President Hasan Rowhani, saying that his strategy is to calm the international community while quietly advancing the nuclear program.
„He is the author of a document – you could call it talk and enrich – that is, talk and continue to enrich uranium. For nuclear weapons. He wrote this in the book. He said that by calming international community, Iran is able to steadily move forward in its nuclear weapons program. We cannot allow Iran to play this game. We cannot let Iran ride out the clock.”
