Israel, US, Jerusalem - Current Affairs Questions and Answers

ANSWER: Israel

Explanation:
Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu called the US Ambassador Daniel Shapiro to Israel for a special meeting over the UN’s resolution condemning Israeli settlements on Palestinian territory.

Shapiro was summoned on 25 December 2016.

His summon came hours after 14 envoys of other United Nations Security Council (UNSC) member states were asked to appear before the Israel foreign ministry.

Shapiro was called in to discuss United States’ decision to abstain from voting, which eventually led to the adoption of the resolution.

Israel’s Prime Minister called the resolution shameful and rejected it out rightly. Apart from this,

Netanyahu has also instructed Israel’s ambassadors to New Zealand and Senegal to return immediately to Israel for consultations in response to the newly passed resolution.

Netanyahu also added that Jerusalem will also be re-assessing its ties with the United States. He is hoping that the decision would be reversed once Trump takes over.

US decision to abstain is the work of the Obama administration.

About the UN resolution

• It demands a quick end to all Israeli settlement building activities on the occupied Palestinian territory including East Jerusalem.
• It was initially created by Egypt but was withdrawn later, as the country was unsure of its chances of passing, especially after US President-Elect Donald Trump asked the current US administration to veto it.
• However, it was re-introduced to the UNSC by member states namely Malaysia, New Zealand, Venezuela and Senegal on 23 December 2016.
• In spite of the intense efforts put in by Israeli Prime Minister and Donald Trump to ensure the United States blocks the resolution, the US abstained from voting.
• The resolution was eventually adopted with 14 out of 15 UNSC members voting in favour of it.
• This marks the first resolution that has been adopted by the UNSC on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since 1979.

ANSWER: Hindi

Explanation:
The U.S. Census Bureau based on American Community Survey data collected from 2009 to 2013, said that more than 60 million people in the U.S. speak a language other than English at home and that Hindi was the top Indian language spoken with nearly 6.5 lakh speakers. Top languages other than English spoken in the U.S. homes include Spanish, Chinese, French, Korean, German, Vietnamese, Arabic, Tagalog and Russian.

ANSWER: Paul Ryan

Explanation:
Republican Paul Ryan was on 30th October 2015 elected as the 5th speaker of the US house of Representatives. Only 9 House Republicans voted against him and he fetched votes of 236 members . Ryan succeeds John Boehner of Ohio. He was sworn in as Speaker of the House and the nine-term congressman from Wisconsin, becomes the third Catholic in a row in the position, after John Boehner and Nancy Pelosi. He started working on Capitol Hill as a legislative aide in 1992 and won his House seat in 1998 when he was 28.

ANSWER: 74-21

Explanation:
Putting aside privacy concerns, US senate on 28th October 2015 passed the cyber security bill considered a critical step forward for addressing cyber threats and ensuring tools are in place to prevent further cyber attacks. Senate passed the bill by 74-21 votes and bill now heads for reconciliation with earlier passed House cyber security bill. The bill’s proponents have said it will deter cyber attacks through increased awareness in the cyber realm.

ANSWER: International Religious Freedom Report 2014

Explanation:
This report includes 200 sub reports on various countries and details actions of non state actors who have committed human right abuses and stood in the way of religious freedom. The report found that Anti-Semitism persists in the world. In the year 2014, the report also found that governments in Africa, Asia and Middle East have failed to protect citizens against abuses by non state actors such as terrorist organisations which want to destroy religious diversity. Religious and civil society groups were found to have promoted greater respect for religious diversity.

ANSWER: 10

Explanation:
India and Israel on 15th October 2015 signed 10 MoUs during the Indian President’s state visit to Israel. Mukherjee is the first ever Indian President to visit Israel including the following:

- Protocol amending the Convention and the Protocol for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and for the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to taxes on income and on capital
- Cultural Exchange Programme for the years 2015-2018
- MoU between JNU, New Delhi and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
- Agreement of Cooperation between the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and IIT, Kharagpur
- MoU for Institutional Collaboration between Indian Institute of - Technology, Kharagpur (IITKGP) and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, (BGU)
- MoU between Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
- Framework for Academic Collaboration between the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur and the University of Haifa, Israel:
- MoU between the University of Delhi, Delhi and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, (BGU), Beer Sheva, Israel:
- Agreement of Cooperation between the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel and the University of Delhi, India

ANSWER: Old City

Explanation:
Israel Police on 4th October 2015 banned Jerusalem’s Palestinian residents from entering Old City for two days . However, there will also be age limitation on worship at the Al-Aqsa mosque which is holy to both Jewish and Muslim communities. The closure is focused on protecting people during the Jewish holiday of Sukkoth. Close to 3 lakh Palestinians live in east Jerusalem where the Old City is located.

ANSWER: Israel

Explanation:
Israeli lawmakers voted 69 to 17 to increase the punishments, approving legislation proposed after a wave of Palestinian protests last year in East Jerusalem.