Israel's Nation-State Law | Thai National Strategy | OAS on Nicaragua

Council on Foreign Relations Newsletter If you are unable to see the message below, click here to view. July 19, 2018 Daily News Brief   TOP OF THE AGENDA Israel Adopts Controversial Nationality Law The Knesset, Israel’s parliament, voted 62–55 to pass a contentious law (Haaretz) that defines Israel as the “national home of the Jewish people” and states that Jews have the exclusive right to self-determination in Israel, prompting outcry from the country’s Arab lawmakers The law defines Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, downgrades Arabic from an official language (Ynet) to one of “special status,” and says the state will promote the establishment of Jewish settlements. Lawmakers from the country’s Arab minority, which comprises about one-fifth (Reuters) of Israel’s population, decried the vote as enshrining racial discrimination. ANALYSIS “There is no country in the world that has not specifically enumerated the right of equality in its constitution—therefore, it is difficult to understand why the authors of this bill insist not to include this important value,” Amir Fuchs said in an interview with CNN. “Considering the number of discriminatory laws already on the books (from family unification, immigration, land ownership, housing discrimination, etc.), it’s not a stretch to imagine any number of situations in which the courts determine ‘Jewish’ rights to trump principles of equality once the Nation-State Law is passed,” Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man writes for +972 Magazine. “There is no reason why a Jewish nation-state bill has to be problematic on its face; the problem is not with the idea, but with the execution. In this instance, the nation-state bill doesn’t sit well because it needs to be based on a vision of ethical nationalism, but is instead based on an exclusive vision of nationalism that strikes a jarringly discordant note,” Michael Koplow writes for Forward. PACIFIC RIM Thai Junta Finalizes Twenty-Year National Strategy Thailand’s ruling military junta is expected to soon submit for royal approval (Nikkei) a National Strategy Act that includes targets for per capita income and happiness and would allow a pro-junta anticorruption panel to sentence members of future governments to jail time for straying from the national plan. CFR’s Joshua Kurlantzick writes in World Politics Review that much of the world has warmed to Thailand’s military rulers. AUSTRALIA: Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said that Pope Francis should dismiss Adelaide Archbishop Philip Wilson, who was convicted in May on charges of concealing child sex abuse (SMH) by a priest. SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA India’s Modi to Face No-Confidence Vote Prime Minister Narendra Modi will face a no-confidence vote in parliament tomorrow, though his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies have a comfortable majority and are expected to easily defeat the motion (Hindustan Times). AFGHANISTAN: A former U.S. defense contractor was found guilty of theft of government property (DOJ) for shipping items, including computer equipment and construction materials, from a U.S. base in Kandahar to his home in Arizona for resale. This CFR panel examined the United States’ longest war. MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA Thousands in Syria’s Idlib Moved in Population Swap An estimated six thousand people were evacuated from rebel-held territory (Al Jazeera) in the northern province of Idlib, the last major opposition stronghold in Syria, to government-controlled areas in neighboring Aleppo. The government released 1,500 civilians and rebels from state prisons as part of the exchange. SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA New HIV Infections Drop in Eastern, Southern Africa Kenya, Malawi, Mauritania, South Africa, Uganda, and Zimbabwe recorded steep drops in new HIV infections among adults between 2010 and 2017, according to a UN report (Business Daily). NIGERIA: Eight suspected Boko Haram militants confessed to their involvement in kidnapping more than two hundred schoolgirls (CNN) in Chibok in 2014, according to police. About a hundred of the girls remain in captivity. EUROPE UK Police Reportedly Identify Suspects in Salisbury Attack Investigators have identified several suspects (ITV) who are believed to have carried out a nerve agent attack against a former Russian spy and his daughter in March, according to a source familiar with the probe. HUNGARY: The country will pull out of a global migration pact (Reuters) approved last week by all 193 UN member states except the United States, according to Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto. Countries are set to sign the final agreement in December. In Foreign Affairs, Ivan Krastev discusses Eastern Europe’s democratic decline. AMERICAS OAS Calls for Early Elections in Nicaragua A majority of the Organization for American States’ thirty-four members voted in favor of a U.S.-backed proposal to urge Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega to hold early elections (LAHT). More than three hundred people have been killed in anti-government demonstrations over the last three months. MEXICO: The country’s oil regulator said it will postpone an oil field auction (Reuters) slated for late 2018 or early next year to allow President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to set up his administration. Lopez Obrador has said his team will probe current oil and gas contracts for corruption. UNITED STATES Trump to Mull Offer on Election Interference Probe U.S. President Donald J. Trump and his aides will discuss an offer (WaPo) made by Russian President Vladimir Putin to allow U.S. investigators to interview Russians indicted for hacking during the 2016 U.S. presidential election, according to the White House press secretary. The Kremlin seeks to question some U.S. officials, including former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul, in exchange. In Foreign Affairs, Michael McFaul writes that the United States needs a Russia strategy now more than ever.         Council on Foreign Relations — 58 East 68th Street — New York, NY 10065 CFR does not share email addresses with third parties. Forward This Email | Subscribe to CFR Newsletters | Unsubscribe - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  

From: dailybrief@e.cfr.org

Date: July 19, 2018 at 10:08PM