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Daybreak: War Is Not Israel’s Answer (For Now)

Even if al-Qaeda wants it, plus more in the news

by
Marc Tracy
July 28, 2009

• Despite the recent revelation that Hezbollah was maintaining an arms cache in southern Lebanon, as well as a bunch of tough talk from both sides, Israel’s top general said that war is not imminent. [JPost]
• Also on the northern border, responsibility for a January rocket attack from Lebanon that hit the Israeli town of Nahariya was claimed by an al-Qaeda affiliate. The group said it would continue the fight to “free Palestine.” [Arutz Sheva]
Haaretz’s editor-at-large writes a New York Times op-ed noting that while President Barack Obama has followed through on his pledge to talk to the Muslim world, “he hasn’t bothered to speak directly to Israelis.” [NYT]
• German prosecutors filed hate-incitement charges against a far-right politician from a former East German state for an Ash Wednesday speech in which he called Germany “a Jewish republic” and crudely warned of high Turkish birthrates. Jewish groups have previously called for his party, the National Democrats, to be banned. [JTA]

Marc Tracy is a staff writer at The New Republic, and was previously a staff writer at Tablet. He tweets @marcatracy.