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Asked if he sees his role as one to ‘noodge’ Israelis and Palestinians together, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides delivered a Larry David-esque answer. “Well, sure I like to noodge. I’m a big noodger. I’ll noodge all day long. Noodge, noodge, noodge. I don’t have any issue with that… I am a big believer in confidence-building measures, doing things that actually make it easier for the Palestinians to live in the security and freedom that they believe they deserve, and I believe they deserve. So I’ll noodge every day,” Nides told the Times of Israel.
Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid addressed the nuclear talks taking place between Iran and world powers in Vienna during a press conference today with his German counterpart, Annalena Baerbock.
“I presented the minister with our position, that a nuclear Iran endangers not only Israel, but the entire world,” Lapid said. “The E-3 countries [France, Germany and U.K.] cannot also ignore the threat posed by Iran beyond its nuclear program. Iran is Hezbollah in the north, Iran is Hamas in the south, Iran is an exporter of terror from Yemen to Buenos Aires,” he added.
Iran unveiled a new domestically made missile yesterday with a range of 1,450 kilometers, capable of attacking Israel and American military bases in the Middle East. The Islamic republic named the missile Khaibar-buster, according to State TV, after a Jewish castle that was overrun by Muslim warriors in the seventh century.
The U.K. recorded the highest ever number of antisemitic incidents in 2021, according to the Community Security Trust (CST) watchdog, which has been tracking incidents since 1984.
A spike in incidents was noted in May 2021, with the flareup of violence between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
Israeli Minister of Diaspora Affairs Nachman Shai said, “The fact that antisemitism rises around the world when Israel takes military action also behooves the Jewish state to do more to assist Jewish communities at such times when they face fierce waves of antisemitism. And Israel must also take greater responsibility and be more proactive in the broader struggle against the modern rise of antisemitism. From Colleyville, Texas, to Stamford Hill in London, and many places in between, 2022 has already proven that many Jews around the world live in dangerous times.”
travel plans
Pelosi set for Israel trip later this month

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) addresses reporters during a press conference to unveil the Joseph H. Rainey Room in the in the U.S. Capitol on February 3, 2022, in Washington, D.C.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is expected to travel to Israel later this month, according to official Israeli sources. A spokesperson for the speaker’s office told Jewish Insiderthat security protocols barred them from confirming or denying pending international travel. The House has no votes scheduled for the next two weeks — from Feb. 10-27, but is set to hold virtual committee hearings from Feb. 15-17. Members often use recess periods, when they are not expected in Washington, for international travel.
On the docket: In recent months, Pelosi has met in Washington with Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and former Israeli President Reuven Rivlin. Discussion topics in those meetings have included Iran nuclear negotiations, the May 2021 Gaza conflict and funding for Israel’s Iron Dome missile-defense system — which Democrats aim to include in the still-pending 2022 government funding package. The top House Democrat’s visit comes at what Biden administration officials have described as a critical time for their negotiations to reenter the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.