Israel News for January 6, 2017
Congress Condemns UN
The US House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a non binding resolution that proclaims unwavering support for Israel and insists that the United States reject any future UN actions that are similarly “one-sided and anti-Israel.” The vote was 342-80, with all Republicans and many Democrats voting for the resolution.
The 80 Democrats that voted against it claimed that it contained inaccuracies and distorted the complexities of the Middle East peace process and that the Republicans were using it to attack Obama unfairly. Despite that, most of the 80 Democrats voiced their support for Israel and praised Obama for approving the $38 billion military aid package for Israel.
House Speaker Paul Ryan said, “Our government abandoned our ally Israel when she needed us the most. It is time to repair the damage done by this misguided hit job at the UN.”
Vice President elect Mike Pence tweeted, “Great to see strong bipartisan vote in Congress opposing recent UN resolution against our most cherished ally. America stands with Israel.”
A similar resolution has been introduced in the US Senate.
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Jordan Warns
Jordan’s Information Minister Mohammed Momani told The Associated Press yesterday that moving the US embassy to Jerusalem would constitute the crossing of a “red line” for Jordan and would “inflame the Islamic and Arab streets” and serve as a “gift to extremists.”
Momani said that moving the embassy “will have catastrophic implications on several levels, including the regional situation. It will definitely affect the bilateral relationship between countries in the region, including Jordan, and the parties that will be related to such a decision.”
He said that Jordan would use all possible political and diplomatic means to try and prevent such a decision.
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PM Questioned
PM Netanyahu was questioned by police for five hours yesterday in connection with the investigation into allegations that he received gifts from businessmen. That’s something Prime Ministers are prohibited from doing due to obvious conflicts of interest. Earlier this week the PM was questioned for three hours. Netanyahu maintains that the allegations are baseless.
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Haifa Shooting
The suspect in the Haifa shooting that is thought to be terror related surrendered to police yesterday. He was the object of a massive manhunt in his Haifa neighborhood. Residents of the Arab neighborhood and family members said the they do not believe that his motive was nationalistically motivated. The man that he killed, Guy Kafri, was laid to rest yesterday.
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Startup Nation
Israeli startups are hard at work to make our everyday lives a bit easier and more efficient. To check out the innovative things these six startups are working on, click here.
