Begin Says He Never Got Approval from Bedouins

Jerusalem— YNet news reported Benny Begin, who designed what is now called the Praver-Begin Plan to relocate Bedouins, wrote a letter to Doron Almog, who is charge of implementing the Praver-Begin Bedouin resettlement plan. In it he said that claims that he got the Bedouins to agree to the plan are false. The letter was given to the Knesset’s Interior Committee last Monday. According to Ynet, the letter said, “In wake of our last conversation, in which you told me what Coalition Chairman Yariv Levin said regarding the legislation of the new bill regulating Bedouin settlement in the Negev, I wish to reiterate that in contradiction of what has been claimed during recent weeks, I never told a soul that the Bedouins agreed with my plan. The reason is simple: I didn’t say it because I couldn’t say it, I never presented them with the plan.”

Kasztner’s Granddaughter Champions Survivors

Jerusalem—Hashava, also known as The Company for Location and Restitution of Holocaust Victims’ Assets, was put on notice by a unanimous vote in the Knesset that cut funds to them and doubles the monthly stipend for survivors. Hashava has 66,000 assets worth $580 mil, half in liquid assets. Yet since 2005, they returned just 3% to survivors, heirs and assigns. Merav Michaeli, a Labor MK and Holocaust hero Reszo Kasztner’s granddaughter, let Hashava have it. “In light of the large amount of funds currently held by the company… there is cause to significantly increase the amount of aid that the survivors receive, while preserving their rights and dignity.” She noted that the company’s liquid assets could be directed to Holocaust survivors without affecting Hashava’s operations. If passed, the bill would also have some 80% of the funds directly transferred to survivors’ bank accounts, thus reducing administrative costs of transferring the funds.

Israel Lobbied Against Death Penalty for Mandela

(JNS.org) Newly declassified documents reveal that the Israeli Foreign Ministry in 1964, under the leadership of future prime minister Golda Meir, convinced Jewish philosopher Martin Buber and Israeli author Haim Hazaz to send a letter asking the South African apartheid government not to seek the death penalty against Nelson Mandela and other African National Congress (ANC) members in their trial.”… From the land of Israel, we ask you to assert your faith in the nobility of man, whatever the color of his skin. And if you ‘do unto others’ in accordance with this faith, the future is yours, and theirs—-and the world’s,” Buber and Hazaz wrote, according to documents released by the Israel State Archives, Israel Hayom reported.

Report: Iran Building New Nuclear Site

According to a report from Reuters, the dissident National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), said they have information about a secret underground nuclear site inside a complex of tunnels beneath mountains northeast of Tehran. “The site consists of four tunnels and has been constructed by a group of engineering and construction companies associated with the engineering arms of the Ministry of Defense and the IRGC,” NCRI said.

Turkey’s Self-Image Under Siege

(TIP)–Turkish figures are scrambling to halt a slide in Ankara’s regional stature and in the domestic position of its ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government, amid new polls showing declines in how people inside and outside Turkey view the country and the AKP. Hurriyet Daily News reported that the percentage of Turks who feel that AKP’s foreign policy is “successful” has dropped 11 points since 2011, to 26.7 when measured last month. Asked more specifically about the AKP’s policy toward Egypt—Prime Minister Recept Tayyip Erdogan and his administration have fiercely lashed out against the army-backed government that replaced the Muslim Brotherhood-linked government of former Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, 48 percent of Turks rated Ankara’s approach unsuccessful vs. 29.8 percent who rated it successful.

Kerry Marathon on Peace Talks

(AFP)—U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met Netanyahu for the third time in 24 hours last Friday for talks regarding Israel’s security. The U.S. is “inching” closer to Israel’s position on issues regarding the region’s security. Kerry met twice with Netanyahu last Thursday for more than six hours to talk about security and met with Abbas for three hours in Ramallah. Abbas rejected every offer set forth by the Americans, claiming the U.S. would allow Israelis to continue to live in the region. Chief negotiator Saeb Erakat told AFP the situation was “still very difficult and matters are complicated.” A senior PA source was more direct, saying Kerry’s security proposals “were very bad ideas which we cannot accept.” Maariv reported that Israeli officials are pleased with Kerry’s security proposals. One of their sources said Washington “had moved considerably in the direction of Israel’s demands” and had “accepted Israel’s position on a long-term presence in the Jordan Valley.”