• Farouk Hosni, the Egyptian culture minister who lost a bid to become head of UNESCO, most likely in part because he once threatened to burn Israeli books, blames the “Jewish organizations and lobby who lit a fire of lies” about him. [Reuters]
• President Barack Obama, along with British and French leaders, will confront Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad about a secret nuclear facility believed to be in the works near Tehran. [NYT]
• White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel told Charlie Rose that Obama’s meeting with Israeli and Palestinian leaders was more than a photo op: “they now have to go home and face the people that they represent.” [Haaretz]
• Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s trial on corruption charges began today; testimony has been postponed until next February. [Ynet]
• The Illinois Supreme Court upheld the wills of a couple who opted to disinherit their grandchildren if they didn’t marry Jews; four out of five lost out on the money. [AP]
Hadara Graubart was formerly a writer and editor for Tablet Magazine.