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Daybreak: U.N. Denounces Syrian Attacks

Plus, Mubarak trial grips Middle East, Israel’s asylum offer, and more in the news

by
Stephanie Butnick
August 04, 2011

• The U.N. Security Council issued a statement condemning the rampant human rights violations and attacks on civilians by the Syrian government, the first such denunciation since the uprising began 5 months ago. [NYT]

• As former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak stands trial for corruption and involvement in civilian murders—in a hospital bed inside a metal cage, no less—the Middle East is gripped by the spectacle, with feelings of vindication tempered by anger at what some see as a political charade. [NYT]

• Knesset member Benjamin Ben-Eliezer says he and Netanyahu offered Mubarak political aslyum in Israel several months ago, but the overthrown leader, who Ben-Eliezer appears to have a close relationship with, declined. [Haaretz]

• U.S. Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford says the U.S. needs to amplify the opposition voices in Syria, calling the Syrian government’s actions atrocious. [Think Progress]

• Rep. Gabrielle Giffords has recovered fully enough to run for re-election, her doctors say. Giffords’ team likely won’t announce a decision until closer to the May deadline. [MSNBC]

• The Israeli government’s plan to excavate and raise the Altalena, the Irgun ship led by Menachem Begin that David Ben-Gurion ordered to be fired upon after declaring Israeli independence in 1948, brings questions of politics and relevance to the surface. [Forward]

Stephanie Butnick is chief strategy officer of Tablet Magazine, co-founder of Tablet Studios, and a host of the Unorthodox podcast.