Weekly roundup of world briefs

Pentagon transferring arms stationed in Israel to Ukraine—report

(JNS) — The Pentagon is dipping into a store of American ammunition in Israel to help Ukraine replenish its dwindling supply of artillery shells, the New York Times reported on Tuesday.

“With stockpiles in the United States strained and American arms makers not yet able to keep up with the pace of Ukraine’s battlefield operations, the Pentagon has turned to two alternative supplies of shells to bridge the gap: one in South Korea and the one in Israel,” the Times reported, citing Israeli and American officials.

While intended for U.S. military use in the Middle East, Israel is permitted to access the stockpile during emergencies.

“Artillery constitutes the backbone of ground combat firepower for both Ukraine and Russia, and the war’s outcome may hinge on which side runs out of ammunition first, military analysts say,” the Times reported.

Ukraine has largely expended its Soviet-era munitions and switched over to artillery donated by the U.S. and other western powers.

Israeli officials said that Jerusalem hasn’t changed its policy of only providing Ukraine with humanitarian aid.

“Based on a U.S. request, certain equipment was transferred to the U.S. D.O.D. [Department of Defense] from its stockpiles” in Israel, the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.

Jewish Democrat Josh Shapiro sworn in as Pennsylvania governor

(JNS) — Jewish Democrat Josh Shapiro was sworn in on Tuesday as the 48th governor of Pennsylvania, taking the oath of office on a stack of three Hebrew Bibles.

The first was a family Bible; the second was provided by the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, where a gunman killed 11 worshippers in 2018 in the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history; and the third was carried by Herman Hershman of Philadelphia on D-Day in 1944, according to the Associated Press.

Shapiro, who previously served as the state’s attorney general, won the November gubernatorial race against Republican opponent State Senator Doug Mastriano.

Shapiro on Tuesday described Pennsylvania as “a place where we believe in opportunity, a place where we believe in real freedom.”

He continued: “Now is the time to join together behind the unifying strength of three simple truths that have sustained our nation over the past two-and-a-half centuries: that above all else, beyond any momentary political differences, we value our freedom, we cherish our democracy and we love this country.”

The inauguration included a sold-out concert with performances by rappers Wiz Khalifa and Meek Mill, singer-songwriter Smokey Robinson and rock group Mt. Joy.

Pennsylvania is the fifth-most populous state in the United States, and a major battleground in presidential elections.

US senators on regional tour aim to expand ‘unprecedented’ successes of Abraham Accords

(JNS) — A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers is currently touring Abraham Accords signatory countries, having already visited Morocco and Bahrain ahead of stops in the United Arab Emirates and Israel.

The Trump administration-brokered agreements normalized relations between the Jewish state and those three Arab countries, in addition to Sudan.

The delegation, led by Sens. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) and James Lankford (R-Okla.), also includes Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Dan Sullivan (R-Ark.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), and Ted Budd (R-N.C.).

In Bahrain on Sunday, the senators met with U.S. Navy Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, the commander of the U.S. 5th Fleet, which is headquartered in Manama.

Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa also welcomed the delegation at Al-Safriya Palace.

On Friday, King Mohammed VI of Morocco hosted the senators at a dinner at the royal palace in Rabat. Andre Azoulay, a senior advisor to the king, and Serge Berdugo, the Secretary General of the Council of Jewish Communities of Morocco, were also in attendance, according to Moroccan media.

The day prior, the American lawmakers held talks with senior Moroccan government officials, including Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita.

The senators are seeing firsthand how the Abraham Accords have led to unprecedented regional integration and cooperation, and are discussing ways in which the agreements can be strengthened and expanded to bring in other countries, according to a statement released ahead of the trip.

“The historic Abraham Accords have transformed the Middle East—paving the way for unprecedented cooperation and normalization between Israel and Arab partners,” said Sen. Rosen. “The Accords are already contributing to all four countries’ economies and helping them work together to combat Iranian aggression. My colleagues and I look forward to meeting with senior government officials, business leaders and civil society organizations to discuss how we can strengthen the relationships fostered by the Accords and expand them to new countries.”

Said Sen. Lankford: “This time will be invaluable for members of the Senate Abraham Accords Caucus as we continue to strengthen relationships throughout the region through reconciliation and common goals. In the days ahead, we will continue to bring nations together for the future of U.S. national interest and for our allies.”

Last year, Sens. Rosen and Lankford, along with Sens. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.), launched the Senate Abraham Accords Caucus to build on the success of the deals.

German court wants to COVID vaccinate Holocaust survivor against her will

(JNS) — A court in Stuttgart is seeking to forcibly vaccinate an 85-year-old Holocaust survivor against COVID-19.

The Austrian website Report24 first reported about the case of the Jewish composer Inna Zhvanetskaya. She will “be sent against her will to a doctor, who will double vaccinate her against COVID-19, the website reported last week, adding that she will be “institutionalized in a closed psychiatric facility.”

Holger Fischer, Zhvanetskaya’s attorney, said a regional court in Stuttgart overruled the lower court, stopping, for now, the forced vaccination.

“The facts seem unbelievable, because Germany has really learned nothing at all from history,” Report24 wrote. “An exclusive video shows: She is neither of unsound mind nor endangering herself or others. She’s just afraid for her life.”

Zhvanetskaya, who will turn 86 on Friday, was born in Vinnytsia, Ukraine, in 1937.

Michael Blume, the civil servant assigned to protect Jewish life in Baden-Württemberg state, including in its capital Stuttgart, is facing criticism on Twitter for failing to prioritize Zhvanetskaya’s case. There are calls for Blume to resign.

Shai Glick, CEO of the Betsalmo—Human Rights in a Jewish Spirit NGO, told JNS, “Anyone who acts against the people of Israel under the guise of anti-Zionism and anyone who supports the BDS movement, which applies a double standard solely towards the State of Israel, is himself antisemitic…. Mr. Blume should certainly not be in charge of the fight against antisemitism,” said Glick.

In 2021, the Simon Wiesenthal Center listed Blume’s alleged antisemitic social media activities, pro-BDS activity and failure to combat Iranian regime antisemitism in the city of Freiburg as the seventh-worst outbreak of Jew-hatred.

Israeli FM praises MLK’s vision for Mideast peace

(JNS) — Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen marked Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday with a Twitter post highlighting the late civil rights leader’s desire for peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors.

“Today, we honor the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,” Cohen posted on Twitter. “As he wrote in a letter to Jewish leaders in 1967, referring to the region: ‘The solution will have to be found in statesmanship by Israel and progressive Arab forces who recognize fair and peaceful solutions are the concern of all humanity and must be found.”

Cohen went on to link MLK’s vision with the Negev Forum, which began in March 2022 as the Negev Summit that took place in Israel and brought together U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the foreign ministers of Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Egypt. It has since transformed into a permanent framework for Israel-Arab cooperation in the region.

Several high-level figures at the summit told JNS that if someone had suggested such a gathering only a few years ago, the idea would have been dismissed as “wishful thinking,” a “dream” and a prediction more suited to the realm of “prophecy.”

The Negev Forum held steering committee and working group meetings in Abu Dhabi last week.

“Let us all embrace the words of Rev. King who was taken before he fully fulfilled all that he had hoped to achieve, as we extend our hands to others to join in this noble pursuit. And may his words be a source of strength as we continue on this path,” Cohen said.

(JNS) — Two Jewish boys, aged 10 and 12, were assaulted on Albany Avenue in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn on Sunday evening.

According to Belaaz.com, the boys were attacked at around 6 p.m.

According to CrownHeights.info, the group responsible for the beating consisted of four black males who did not say anything to the boys as the assault was taking place. The two boys, members of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement, “were viciously assaulted and punched in the face.”

According to a report by Americans Against Antisemitism, through its Hate Crimes Accountability Project, from April 2018 through August last year, 64 percent of assaults against Jews where the perpetrators’ group identities were known were committed by black persons. Seventeen percent were perpetrated by Muslims or Arabs, 11 percent by Hispanics and 3 percent by whites.

Out of the 194 documented assaults during the period examined, the Hate Crimes Accountability Project found just two cases where a perpetrator was sentenced to prison. Most of the attackers faced no consequences at all. The latest instance of such leniency occurred last week when the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office offered a plea deal to Waseem Awawdeh to reduce his sentence from upwards of 10 years in prison to six months.

Awawdeh was charged with a hate crime for attacking a yarmulke-wearing Jewish man who was heading to a pro-Israel rally in May 2021.

The boys attacked on Sunday are reported to be shaken from the attack but not badly injured. The New York Police Department and the Crown Heights Shomrim neighborhood watch group are investigating the incident.

Netanyahu will order attack on Iran if world turns its back on Israel

(JNS) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will take military action against Iran if the world turns its back on the Jewish state, the head of Israel’s National Security Council Tzachi Hanegbi said Monday.

“If we are abandoned, Prime Minister Netanyahu will attack Iran’s nuclear facilities,” Hanegbi said in an interview with Channel 12.

“The previous government also said that it was preparing the defense forces…for a situation in which we are on our own,” he added.

“The central mission of the prime minister and his primary obligation is to ensure that Iran does not obtain nuclear weapons. The alternative to an attack is accepting a reality in which a radical regime has nuclear weapons. No Israeli leader can accept that,” said Hanegbi.

Hanegbi last week stepped into his new role as head of the National Security Council, following a transitional phase with his predecessor Eyal Hulata that included an in-depth study of security and diplomatic issues.

Netanyahu appointed Hanegbi, a confidante and Likud Party veteran, to the position in December. He has held several ministerial posts throughout his career, including the health, communications and justice portfolios. He also served as chairman of several Knesset panels, including the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee and the Finance Committee.

One of Hanegbi’s first orders of business is to prepare for the visit, likely in the next week, of his American counterpart Jake Sullivan, with the Iranian nuclear threat topping the agenda.

Hanegbi stated in an op-ed in December that Netanyahu has remained in politics because of the threat posed by Iran, and not because of his ongoing trial on corruption charges.

There are no divisions in Israel over the urgent need to encourage the free world and its leader, the United States, “our greatest ally,” to use all available means to thwart Iran’s nuclear program for as long as this is possible. If the rest of the world does not cooperate, Israel reserves the right to protect itself, by itself, he added.

Israel to allocate $5.8 million to boost Hebrew learning for new immigrants

By Efrat Forsher

(Israel Hayom via JNS) — Israel’s Aliyah and Integration Ministry will allocate 20 million shekels ($5.8 million) as part of an emergency budget to boost Hebrew learning for new immigrants.

The funds will be allocated to private language-learning schools, which are not normally subsidized by the state, to help tackle the dire shortage of Hebrew teachers.

A recent report by the Knesset Research and Information Center, which was submitted to the Education, Culture and Sports Committee, showed that Israel is short 88 educators, which has led to a six-month waiting list for 3,600 new immigrants looking to be accepted to schools—known as ulpans—to begin learning Hebrew.

Aliyah and Integration Minister Ofir Sofer lauded the move, saying that subsidizing private Hebrew-learning schools provides an immediate solution.

Of the 24,000 new immigrants who arrived in Israel in 2022 and studied in ulpan, 6,000 did so in private institutions, according to the report.

“I am very glad that we have found a budgetary solution to finance the vouchers for thousands of new immigrants who moved to Israel last year … These will help thousands of olim [immigrants] learn Hebrew and more easily integrate into the employment market in Israel.”

Sofer has also instructed the Education, Culture and Sports Committee to find a permanent solution to the crisis within a month and increase the ulpan teachers’ salaries.

Altogether, Israel welcomed 75,000 new immigrants last year—especially from Ukraine and Russia—with a similar number expected this year.

Apple to inaugurate new development center in Haifa

(JNS)— While U.S. tech giant Intel is canceling the construction of a new development center in Haifa, another U.S. titan, Apple, plans to open a new facility in the same industrial zone in the near future.

The Matam East #1 development, which will house Apple’s new development center, obtained an occupancy certificate last month, according to Globes.

The structure has 46,000 square meters (495,000 square feet) of space, with 28,000 square meters (300,000 square feet) above ground. It will be occupied within the next few months.

Matam East #2, with 28,500 square meters (54,000 square feet) above ground, will also be handed over to Apple.

Meanwhile, Intel will build a new parking lot for staff instead of its planned development center.

Last month, the company postponed the development of a fabrication facility in Magdeburg, Germany. One factor behind the decision is that the firm is waiting for additional government funding, which is becoming scarce as building prices rise. Other development projects in Oregon and India have also been canceled.

The plans to build a new Intel fab (semiconductor fabrication plant) in Kiryat Gat, scheduled to open next year, remain unaltered, according to Globes.