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Daybreak: Talks, Once More, With Feeling?

Plus Erdogan’s new view of Turkish foreign policy, and more in the news

by
Marc Tracy
June 16, 2011
Prime Minister Erdogan Tuesday.(NYT)
Prime Minister Erdogan Tuesday.(NYT)

• American officials, including Dennis Ross, are in the Holy Land to try to restart peace negotiations, perhaps signaling a rekindling following the resignation of envoy George Mitchell. [AP/NYT]

• In his victory speech, re-elected Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan dramatically shifted Turkey’s foreign policy to one that would emphasize democracy and speak directly to populations in its sphere of influence instead of autocratic leaders. [NYT]

• Jorge Puello, who may or may not be the leader of the Dominican Republic’s Jewish community, was sentenced to three years in prison on human trafficking-related chargers. [Defend Haiti/Failed Messiah]

• A new Egyptian report has it that Ilan Grapel, the Israeli-American currently in detention, declared himself Muslim to get a visa and was trying to collect information on reconciliation. Most everyone else denies he is a spy. [Haaretz]

• Ed Koch gets fresh with a reporter in order to make a point about the privacy of personal lives, which he indeed thinks is very important. [NYT]

• The Jewishly-owned Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup. The term “Boston sports fan” as we knew it ten years ago is officially dead, and if any Boston fan starts complaining to you under that paradigm, you have leave to slap him. [ESPN]

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