The Israeli government has refused a visa to UN representative Richard Falk, in response to his comparison of Israeli actions toward Palestine to those of the Nazis.
Falk was scheduled to come to Israel for the first time in May. The visit was intended to be an investigation of allegations regarding human rights abuses on the part of the Israeli government.
Falk, however, has a long history of making anti-Israeli statements, leading the Israeli government to question whether Falk is an unbiased investigator. Indeed, just a few short months before being chosen by the UN, Falk made the claim that Israel's "deliberate intention" toward Palestine is "to subject an entire human community to life-endangering conditions of utmost cruelty."
Furthermore, the UN has not as yet appointed anyone to investigate claims regarding Palestine's human rights record. Israel has therefore refused to issue a visa to Falk until his assignment is, at the very least, extended to include a visit to Palestine.
This is not the first time the UN has appointed an anti-Israel investigator to be their main source in Israel. The previous inspector, John Dugard, garnered attention for describing Israel as an apartheid and colonialist nation, and for repeatedly referring to the state of Israel as "the occupied Palestinian territories."
Israel's foreign ministry has stated that they will hold new discussions on whether to issue a visa to Falk at their next council meeting -- which will not take place until September.
Legendary rocker Bob Dylan was awarded an honorary Pulitzer prize on Monday. It is the first time a rock-and-roll musician has been awarded a Pulitzer. Judges cited Dylan's “profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power.”
Funeral services were held for the victims of a lone gunman at the Mercaz Harav yeshiva in Jerusalem. Thousands of people were in attendance; the streets became so crowded that observers climbed nearby buildings to observe. Services were officiated by Rabbi Yaakov Shapira, head of the yeshiva.
Was Moses divinely inspired, or just riding a high? New research from Jerusalem's Hebrew University claims that the Mount Sinai account in Exodus may have been fueled not by an encounter with the sacred, but by a hallucinogenic plant which grows on the mountainside.
Ha'Am is the Jewish Student Newsmagazine on the UCLA campus, publishing online and in print quarterly.
