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High Noon: Saudi Arms Package Goes Through

Plus Ed Koch vs. Ron Paul, and more

by
Marc Tracy
December 30, 2011

Tablet Magazine will be dark until Tuesday, January 3.

• The Obama administration has approved a $30 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia. Israel tends to be leery about such things, although the two countries share an enemy in Iran. [NYT]

• “It is incredible that a Republican candidate for president in the year 2012, supported by white supremacists, Jew haters and gay bashers, is a frontrunner in the upcoming Iowa caucus.” –Hizzoner Ed Koch. [Capital]

• Egyptian security services raided the offices of several NGOs yesterday, prompting U.S. condemnation. [Yahoo! The Envoy]

• Low-level rocket-firing and retaliation between Gaza and Israel continues. One man was killed in an airstrike this morning as he prepared to launch a missile into Israel. [Haaretz]

• The imam behind the Ground Zero Islamic center has a plan for a new holy month in which hostilities are suspended and Jews, Christians, and Muslims make pilgrimages to the Holy Land. This idea will probably have as much success as the Islamic center. [Haaretz]

• The U.S. has released $40 million in aid to the Palestinian Authority—it’s economic and humanitarian assistance, not security. [AP/JTA]

• Mazel tov to the Philadelphia students who had 687 dreidels (at least!) spinning simultaneously, tentatively setting a new world record. [JTA]

Happy new year!

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