The Jewish Home | JUNE 16, 2022
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farming and politics from the peasants who lived there. Unfortunately, that policy resulted in China’s “lost generation,” who squandered their best years in the countryside.
U.S. to Renew Ties with Saudi Arabia
U.S. officials have conveyed to Saudi Arabia that the United States is ready to renew ties, putting the 2018 murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi behind it, senior U.S. officials told CNN. Last year, the U.S. administration released an intelligence report accusing Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of orchestrating Khashoggi’s death.
According to one U.S. official, “Both sides have decided that for the sake of achieving peace and stability in the Middle East, we need to move past it.” Meanwhile, Khashoggi’s fiancée, Hatice Cengiz, said, “President Biden’s decision to meet MBS is horribly upsetting to me and supporters of freedom and justice everywhere.” A U.S. official outside the White House noted, “I do think the desperation of the trajectory of the global economy is driving everything. They [the White House] are anxious, they are desperate. “Their fear, and their anxiety, is making them throw principle out the door. The worst [economic] outcomes on this are really bad and would devastate any hopes the Democrats would have in November.” At the same time, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the U.S. would continue “to make sure that human rights is fully reflected in our foreign policy.” U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm acknowleged, “There is no doubt that Saudi Arabia has to account for what they did with Jamal Khashoggi,” but, “there is also no question that we have to increase global [oil] supply. And OPEC,
led by Saudi Arabia, is at the head of the pack for that.”
Sri Lanka “Open” to Russian Oil Norway to Label Israeli Products
Sri Lanka Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has said that he would be open to purchasing oil from Russia, although he emphasized that he would first seek oil from other sources. In an interview with AP, Wickremesinghe also said he would be willing to accept financial aid from China. Sri Lanka currently has $51 billion in foreign debt, leaving no money for basic imports. Although Wickremesinghe admitted that Sri Lanka’s financial predicament is its own fault, he noted that the Ukraine war is exacerbating the crisis, leading to dire food shortages. According to Wickremesinghe, Russia has also offered wheat to Sri Lanka. Wickremesinghe is Sri Lanka’s finance minister and one month ago took over as prime minister, for a sixth time. “If we can get from any other sources, we will get from there. Otherwise (we) may have to go to Russia again,” he said. He added, “There is a lot of oil going around which can be sourced back informally to Iran or to Russia. Sometimes we may not know what oil we are buying. Certainly, we are looking at the Gulf as our main supply.” According to Wickremesinghe, “We need to identify what are the projects that we need for economic recovery and take loans for those projects, whether it be from China or from others. It’s a question of where do we deploy the resources? “China has agreed to come in with the other countries to give relief to Sri Lanka, which is a first step. This means they all have to agree (on) how the cuts are to take place and in what manner they should take place.” Sri Lanka is seeking financial assistance from the World Food Program and from the International Monetary Fund, but even if it is approved, funds can be expected to arrive no earlier than October.
Norway has announced that it will label food products originating in the Judea and Samaria areas of Israel. The Norwegian government stated, “Foodstuffs originating in areas occupied by Israel must be marked with the area from which the product comes and that it comes from an Israeli settlement if that is the case. It is especially wine, olive oil, fruit, vegetables and potatoes that come from the relevant areas.” It added, “A ruling by the European Court of Justice from 12.11.2019 states that the Food Information Regulation must be interpreted so that food from areas occupied by Israel must be labeled separately so that consumers are not misled by a lack of labeling about the origin of the products. The statement continued, “In line with resolutions of the UN Security Council and assessments by the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Norway’s position is that ‘Israel’ and ‘Israeli territory’ include the territory that was under Israeli control before June 4, 1967. The Israeli occupied territories include the Golan, Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Norway considers the Israeli settlements in the occupied territories to be contrary to international law. This territorial delimitation of the State of Israel is also the basis for understanding the geographical scope of the EFTA Free Trade Agreement with Israel.” In response, Israel’s Foreign Ministry condemned the decision, saying, “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemns the Norwegian government’s decision to label products originating from Israeli localities in Judea and Samaria.” The Foreign Ministry noted that “this decision will not contribute to the ad-
