Weekly roundup of world briefs

Israel antiquities among items found at Mar-a-Lago

By Ron Kampeas

(JTA) — The Israel Antiquities Authority believes that a set of ancient ceramic oil lamps missing for more than three years are at Mar-a-Lago, the Florida estate of former President Donald Trump, according to Haaretz.

Haaretz reported that the Antiquities Authority loaned the White House the lamps in 2019 ahead of a Chanukah party where a major donor to the Antiquities Authority, Saul Fox, would be in attendance. The lamps ultimately did not make an appearance at the event.

The return of the items was hindered by the onset of the pandemic in early 2020, when travel was severely restricted. The authority required that a staffer accompany items of such value while they travel. They were to remain in Fox’s possession for a limited time until they could be returned.

After a long delay, the authority learned several months ago that the items have ended up at Mar-a-Lago, according to Haaretz.

The Antiquities Authority has sought for senior Israeli figures close to Trump, including former U.S. ambassador to Israel David Friedman and former Israeli ambassador to Washington Ron Dermer, to intervene to help return the items, so far to no avail, Haaretz reported. It is unclear whether Trump knows the lamps are there.

Israel to protect archaeological sites in Judea and Samaria

By Etgar Lefkovits

(JNS) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the government will safeguard and rehabilitate archaeological sites in the biblical heartland that have been vandalized by Palestinians.

The infrastructure investment at the archaeological heritage sites follows decades of neglect, damage and disrepair due to lawlessness in an area marked by conflicting Israeli and Palestinian control.

“In every corner of Judea and Samaria, one need only to put spade to ground in order to uncover archaeological finds that attest to our deep roots in the Land of Israel,” Netanyahu said at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting, which had been delayed by a day due to his weekend hospitalization. “These are our roots and this is our land.”

“This plan will encourage tourism, education and [the presentation of] information for these important sites that tell the story of our people in Judea and Samaria,” the prime minister said.

The proposal approved Monday seeks to prioritize rehabilitation and protection at four to seven major sites in the biblical heartland of special interest to tourists, although they have not been listed.

The 120 million shekel ($33 million) program will include enforcement and protection of many sites with the use of cameras and drones, as well as the development of infrastructure.

Earlier this year, the Israeli Cabinet approved an additional 32 million shekels, or nearly $9 million, budget for the restoration and development of Sebastia/Shomron, a major archaeological site that served as the capital of the Kingdom of Israel nearly three millennia ago.

The new plan is part of the Likud’s coalition agreement signed with the Otzma Yehudit Party of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who championed the idea. The coalition agreement promised 150 million shekels ($41 million) to this end.

“Our history does not stop at the Green Line,” said Heritage Minister Amihai Eliyahu (Otzma Yehudit), referring to the 1949 Armistice Line. “This major investment of the government of Israel in the preservation, safeguarding and development of heritage sites in Judea and Samaria is great news for [the] settlement [movement] and Zionism.”

Twenty million shekels ($5.5 million) will be allocated for upkeep and upgrading the Hasmonean winter palace complex of Hasmonean and Herodian buildings from the Second Temple period.

Located on the outskirts of Jericho, the site is under full Israeli control but the only existing access route goes through an area under Palestinian Authority control, requiring visitors to get a military escort. The initiative is to see experts design an alternative access route.

Johnny Bench apologizes for ‘insensitive’ Jewish penny-pinching remark 

(JNS) — Johnny Bench, 75, who is widely considered the best catcher in professional baseball history, had his blooper over the weekend.

The Hall of Famer, who played 17 seasons for the Cincinnati Reds from 1967 to 1983, attended a Saturday event honoring the induction into the Hall of Fame of the team’s former general manager Gabe Paul (who died in 1998), as well as former pitchers Danny Graves and Bronson Arroyo, ESPN reported.

Paul’s daughter, Jennie Paul, and Pete Rose, a former Reds (and Philadelphia Phillies) player who has been banned from the Hall of Fame, attended the event.

Rose said that Gabe Paul signed him to a $400 weekly contract in 1960 when Rose graduated high school. “That cheap, never mind,” Jennie Paul said.

That’s when Bench chimed in. “He was Jewish,” Bench said, drawing laughter from some in the audience, according to ESPN.

Bench has since issued an apology. “I recognize my comment was insensitive,” he stated on July 16. “I apologized to Jennie for taking away from her father the full attention he deserves. Gabe Paul earned his place in the Reds Hall of Fame, same as the others who stood on that stage. I am sorry that some of the focus is on my inappropriate remark instead of solely on Gabe’s achievement.”

The now Hall of Famer’s daughter has said that she didn’t hear the original remark and that if she had, she would have said something.

In 2023, 78 groups, states, organizations adopt IHRA antisemitism definition

(JNS) — A new report from the Combat Antisemitism Movement reveals the extent to which the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism continues its growing adoption across the globe.

This year has seen two countries—Latvia and Croatia—embrace the definition, as well as 33 government bodies, seven education organizations, one private company and 35 other groups. An especially high number of public organizations in Poland—28—have adopted the IHRA language.

Among schools now on board are the University of Melbourne in Australia, the University of Split in Croatia, Boston University’s student government and the Catholic University of Santa María la Antigua in Panama. 

Now the number of countries that have adopted the IHRA definition has reached 41. With Arkansas and North Dakota joining, the count of U.S. states is at 32. In addition, bodies in Italy, Canada, Latin America and Argentina have accepted the definition, as have cities such as Dallas; Cincinnati; Boca Raton, Fla.; and South Bend, Ind.

Rabat ‘in the process’ of establishing embassy in Israel

(JNS) — Morocco is elevating its Tel Aviv mission to embassy status after Jerusalem recognized the North African country’s sovernignty in Western Sahara.

A senior Moroccan government official told the Spanish EFE news agency that Rabat is “in the process” of establishing an official embassy in Israel following recognition of the disputed region, i24NEWS reported.

Israel recognized Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared in a letter to the nation’s King Mohammed VI on Monday.

Jerusalem’s updated position will be “reflected in all relevant acts and documents of the Israeli government,” King Mohammed said.

Netanyahu informed Morocco that his government is mulling the opening of a consulate in the Western Sahara capital of Dakhla as part of the move, according to Morocco.

Media reports also indicated that the monarch will invite Netanyahu for an official visit and Moroccan ministers will start visiting Israel after the recognition.

Israel’s recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty comes nearly three years after the countries partially renewed diplomatic relations as part of the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords. Rabat agreed to join the normalization pact in return for the Trump administration recognizing Moroccan rule over the territory.

Israeli produces new song by Britney Spears, will.i.am

(JNS) — Israeli multi-platinum record producer and songwriter Johnny Goldstein has produced a new song by Britney Spears and Will.i.am, which was expected to be released on July 18.

“Working with two living legends is the biggest honor ever. I can’t wait,” the 32-year-old from Motza Illit told Ynet News about the highly anticipated single, called “Mind Your Business.”

Word about the two artists reuniting for the single has been spreading on social media, with Will.i.am posting a preview of the new song to his Twitter account. The two performers last collaborated on a song for the first time 10 years ago with the hit “Shout and Scream.”

“Will and I have been working together for the past four years and love it,” Goldstein told Ynet. “Our collaboration is working really well. He is one of the people closest to me and a man I appreciate. He is also my friend and mentor and it is fun to create music together,” he added.

Spears last performed in Israel in 2017. Her first concert in the Jewish state drew 55,000 to Tel Aviv’s Yarkon Park. 

Will.i.am performed in Jerusalem in 2021, rejecting calls to boycott the country. The rapper said that his close ties with Israelis led him to oppose the boycott. 

“Do I turn my back on people that live here because of politics? No, that’s not the way we were built,” he said at the time.

Roman-era sarcophagus unearthed in Gaza

By Pesach Benson

(JNS) — An archaeological team excavating an ancient cemetery in Gaza unearthed a 2,000-year-old Roman-era sarcophagus on Sunday.

The sarcophagus is composed of lead and is believed to have been made for a prominent person, according to an official from Gaza’s Hamas-run Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

It is the second sarcophagus discovered during an excavation of the necropolis, which is located on the northern coast of the Gaza Strip with a view of the Mediterranean Sea. Palestinian and European archaeologists discovered a similar one in February.

The cemetery, which was discovered by construction workers in 2022, contains more than 60 tombs.

The sarcophagus has been taken to the Pasha Palace Museum in Gaza City for closer examination.

Knesset bill would let terror victims sue for punitive damages

By David Isaac

(JNS) — While Israelis are arguably the population most targeted by terrorism, supporters of a new Knesset bill say the country lags behind when it comes to providing legal avenues for victims to pursue financial damages, with current law actually placing obstacles before those wishing to file such claims.

Titled “Compensation for Terror Victims,” the legislation calls for removing those barriers that prevent civil tort claims against terrorists, including the Palestinian Authority. The P.A. encourages terrorism through its “pay-for-slay” program. (It refers to it as its Martyrs Fund.)

The main impediment facing terrorism victims in Israel is the low compensation that courts award in tort cases. Courts also deduct from the compensation money that victims receive from the state. In many cases, courts refrain from imposing punitive damages altogether.

“The low amount of compensation that the courts award the victims is therefore not worth the trouble, cost and aggravation involved in filing a tort claim, thus creating a negative incentive to file claims,” the bill states in its explanatory section.

Another barrier to filing tort claims is that victims often find it difficult to enforce judgments when compensation is awarded.

The bill calls for courts to be “required to award exemplary damages” by establishing a minimum compensation of at least 10 million shekels (~$2.8 million). To ease the collection of the awards, judgments may, if the bill becomes law, be enforced against “any property of the defendant, including any property seized or frozen by the State of Israel.”

White House ‘glad’ for apology, hours before Jayapal walks it back

(JNS) — Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) said on July 15 that “Israel is a racist state!” in an attempt to placate pro-Palestinian protestors disrupting a panel at the progressive Netroots Nation conference in Chicago.

The next day, the congresswoman or her staff had a change of heart. “I do not believe the idea of Israel as a nation is racist,” Jayapal stated. Instead, she meant that the Israeli government is racist, she said.

That apology was enough for the White House. “We saw that she apologized, and we’re glad she did,” John Kirby, coordinator for strategic communications at the National Security Council, said at the July 17 White House press briefing. “We think an apology was the right thing to do for those comments.”

A few hours after the press briefing concluded, Jayapal apparently had yet another change of heart.

The congresswoman retweeted an opinion article from The New York Times titled “The Hysterical Overreaction to Jayapal’s ‘Racist State’ Gaffe.”

In her tweet, Jayapal excerpted, “The rush to condemn her offhand remarks is […] about raising the political price of speaking about Israel forthrightly. […] It’s easier for Israel’s most stalwart boosters to harp on a critic’s slight misstatement.”

“The fact that Rep. Jayapal would retweet a NY Times article that absolves her of any wrongdoing for her hateful words against Israel means that her supposed apology was meaningless,” wrote Joel Petlin, superintendent of the Kiryas Joel School District. “Shame on the progressive Democrats who spew antisemitism and shame on The New York Times for defending them.”

“Walk back the walk-back, classic Squad move,” wrote Seth Mandel, executive editor of the Washington Examiner.

“From apology to ‘slight misstatement,’” wrote Josh Kraushaar, editor-in-chief of Jewish Insider.

Florida’s anti-BDS law finds first potential violator

(JNS) — JNS got a scoop last month that Florida was investigating investment giant Morningstar. On Monday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, currently the second-ranked Republican presidential candidate, said in a video excerpting a speech he gave to the 2023 Christians United for Israel summit taking place this week in Washington, D.C.: “We’re not letting them target Israel and get away with it.”

DeSantis announced that Florida would officially investigate Morningstar, an investment firm, for violating the new law opposing the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement.

The law Morningstar may have broken went into effect in May. It forbids companies doing business with the state of Florida from “taking adverse action, including changes to published commercial financial ratings, risk ratings and controversy ratings based on non-pecuniary factors, to inflict economic harm on Israel or persons or entities doing business in Israel or in Israeli controlled territories.”

Morningstar is suspected of being in violation of the law because it has been accused of using investment ratings that discriminate against Israel. The parent company has experienced a crashing fall from grace, now under investigation in 20 states.

American tourism to Israel sees significant boost

(JNS) — After more than two years of sealed borders due to COVID, “people are traveling in droves, and we expect 2023 to be a banner year for Israel,” said Eyal Carlin, the Jewish state’s Commissioner of Tourism to North America.

Carlin described new statistics showing the first six months of 2023 at 12 percent higher than the same time in 2019 as “extremely encouraging” and pointed out that during the final full year before the pandemic “was our best” so far.

Other countries with high levels of Israeli tourism include France, Russia, the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy.

Carlin said Israel was “heavily investing in tourism,” seeking to expand the country’s number of hotel rooms and resorts. He also mentioned “new food, wine and spirits destinations add to the overall excitement along with our many outdoor adventure opportunities as well as arts and culture experiences”

He also pointed out that while many tourists first come for the holy and ancient sites, others return to experience less well-known sites.

Forbes senior editor Christopher Elliott agreed with Carlin’s assessment. He said that while tourists want to see the religious sites, they’re also interested in wine experiences in the Galilee and Negev; meals and sleepovers at a Bedouin camp; an international jazz festival; and scuba instruction at underwater excavations.