March 12, 2010

Israel will open a new embassy in New Zealand next month amid signs of warming relations between Wellington and Jerusalem.\n\nA spokesman for the Israeli Embassy in Canberra, Australia — which has looked after diplomatic affairs in the island nation since 2002 — confirmed Friday that Shemi Tzur, 64, a former envoy to Finland, Cyprus and Estonia, is expected to take up the post of ambassador to New Zealand in April. “It’s the beginning of a new chapter in the relationship between Israel and New Zealand,” the spokesman said.\n

Israel has sealed off the West Bank for 48 hours for fear of Arab rioting.\n\nThe closure, which began Thursday night and will last until Saturday, will prevent men under 50 from attending Friday prayers on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. In recent weeks, there have been clashes following Friday prayers in Jerusalem and elsewhere. Israeli officials feared riots could break out.\n\nFriday prayers in Jerusalem ended without incident, Israeli media reported.

Israel\’s announcement of new housing starts during U.S. Vice President Joe Biden\’s visit was a \”disaster,\” Abraham Foxman said in a rare rebuke.\n\n\”Whatever the motivation and whoever the responsible party, it is the government of Israel that justifiably is held accountable for converting an optimal moment in U.S.-Israel relations into a moment of crisis,\” Foxman, the Anti-Defamation League\’s national director, wrote in a post on the liberal Huffington Post Web site. \”The crucial point is that the government had an obligation to anticipate what might go wrong during the vice president\’s visit and to give firm instruction to all cabinet members about avoiding such pitfalls, particularly on the subjects of settlements and East Jerusalem.\”\n