[FoxNews] The top federal prosecutor in Massachusetts is threatening arrests for those who obstruct Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations, calling recent interference in her state "disturbing."
The warning from Leah Foley, the U.S. attorney for the District of Massachusetts, comes days after a tense video emerged of a crowd reacting to an ICE operation in Worcester.
"The interference with ICE operations around Massachusetts has been disturbing, to say the least. This conduct poses significant public and officer safety risks. It is conduct that should be vilified rather than glorified," Foley said in a statement.
"I will not stand idly by if any public official, public safety officer, organization or private citizen acts in a manner that criminally obstructs or impedes ICE operations. The United States Attorney’s Office, along with our federal partners, will investigate any violations of federal law and pursue charges that are warranted by such activity," she added.
[PUNCHNG] South Sudan ...a Moslem country located in the Horn of Africa. It is noted for its affinity for rule by ex- or current generals, its holy men, and for the oppression of the native Afro population by its Arab conquerors. South Sudan, populated mostly by the natives, split off from Sudan proper, which left North and South Darfur to be oppressed by the guys with turbans... 's government on Thursday denied that President Salva Kiir had died, following online speculation.
The long-serving 73-year-old leader has long been dogged by rumours of ill health.
But he has been pictured in recent months meeting visiting dignitaries and ordering a series of dramatic government reshuffles.
He has also moved decisively against his long-time rival and the current first vice-president, Riek Machar, placing him under house arrest and detaining several of his allies.
Late Wednesday, reports began emerging on social media, claiming that Kiir had, in the words of one Kenyan personality, ''kicked the bucket.'' "He's pining for the Sudanese fjords"
South Sudan's foreign ministry issued a statement the following day, saying it ''categorically and strongly denies the false and malicious reports circulating on social media claiming that His Excellency President Salva Kiir Mayardit has passed away.''
The posts were ''entirely baseless and irresponsible rumours fabricated by enemies of peace, development, nation building, and stability,'' it added.
It comes as South Sudan faces another bout of insecurity, with festivities between forces aligned with Kiir and Machar breaking out in several areas around the country, raising fears of renewed civil war.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/16/2025 00:00 ||
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#1
The British united the south, creating three geographic regions; western, eastern and south. The only problem was that while the British could separate the tribal enmity South Sudan unification cannot.
Posted by: Albert McCoy9505 ||
05/16/2025 1:41 Comments ||
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[FoxBusiness] First US presidential visit to UAE in 17 years yields major investments in American manufacturing and technology
President Donald Trump facilitated over $200 billion in commercial deals between the U.S. and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) during his historic visit to the Middle Eastern country, according to the White House.
Several deals were made, including securing a $14.5 billion commitment from Etihad Airways to invest in 28 American-manufactured aircraft from Boeing and GE Aerospace.
Emirates Global Aluminum is also investing $4 billion to develop a primary aluminum smelter project in Oklahoma, and Holtec International and IHC Industrial Holding Company plan to build a fleet of small modular reactors in Michigan.
Qualcomm is also investing in a global engineering center in Abu Dhabi which will "focus on AI, data centers, and industrial [internet of things]," according to the White House.
"RTX is [also] partnering with Emirates Global Aluminum and the UAE’s Tawazun Council on a pioneering Gallium project that will help secure and stabilize the United States' critical mineral supply chain," the statement added.
"By diversifying sources of this essential input for semiconductors and defense technologies, the partnership strengthens America's supply security, supports high-tech manufacturing, and creates jobs across the U.S. critical minerals and defense industrial base."
In a statement, the White House said that Trump "continues to advance the interests of the American people, enhancing market access for American exporters to strengthen our economic and national security."
"These deals will significantly expand investment in the United States and U.S. market access in the United Arab Emirates," the statement added.
The deals came after the UAE pledged a $1.4 trillion investment in the U.S. economy over the next ten years. The investment money would go to AI infrastructure, semiconductor, energy and American manufacturing initiatives.
Trump is the first U.S. president to visit the UAE in 17 years, following President George W. Bush's trip in 2008. On Thursday, the president told reporters that it was "an honor to be here."
"The last four days have been really amazing, and they have been amazing," Trump said. "But it shows you where a country can go."
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[KavkazUzel] The Muftiate and the Council of Chechens of Dagestan agreed to resolve the issue of demolishing the mosque in Leninaul according to Sharia norms. The requirement to build a mosque on the site of the demolished one was called not a norm of Islam, but simply a local tradition by Islamic scholars.
As reported by the "Caucasian Knot", in Leninaul, Kazbekovsky District, Dagestan, despite agreements with the authorities, a Chechen mosque built in the 19th century was demolished, village residents stated in a video message. The plot of land in Leninaul, where, according to representatives of the Chechen community, the 19th century mosque was located, was sold at auction to a representative of the Avar community, who transferred it for the construction of a mosque. The authorities did not find any documents in the archives about the ownership of this plot by the Chechens, the administration of the Kazbekovsky District stated. There are many unclear points in the story of the demolition of the mosque in Leninaul, but the decision to demolish it was hasty and provoked interethnic tension, commentators pointed out, drawing attention to the lack of reaction to the statement of the Chechen Accords from the Chechen authorities.
The problem that arose as a result of the demolition of the mosque in Leninaul will be resolved in accordance with Sharia norms, the head of the Public Council of Chechens of Dagestan, Arbi Batyrsultanov, told a correspondent for the “Caucasian Knot”.
"This is a mosque from the end of the 19th century. There are different dates, but the fact remains that the mosque was built before the revolution. Then, as old-timers of this area told me, the mosque was turned into a store by the Soviet authorities in 1926. It was reconstructed into a store. In 1944, we were expelled from there and when we returned home, the store continued to operate there. Then this building became a mosque again, people were able to perform prayers there again. Our people took part in auctions for a long time to buy this plot, but such conditions were created that they could not buy it out," he said.
The Aukhovsky district, where the Chechens-Akkintsy lived compactly, was liquidated in 1944 after Stalin's deportation of the Chechens and Ingush. In the northwestern part of the district's territory, the Novolaksky District was formed, this part was populated by Laks from the mountainous part of Dagestan, and the southeastern part of the district was transferred to the neighboring Kazbekovsky District together with the villages of Yurt-Aukh and Aktash-Aukh and populated by Avars from the neighboring village. Thirteen years later, in 1957, the Akkin Chechens, like the rest of the deported Vainakh peoples, were allowed to return to their historical homeland.
Recently, the Council of Chechens of Dagestan began to receive reports that the mosque was being destroyed.
"We went there with three people from our council. We had a two-hour conversation there with a representative of the Dagestan Muslim Spiritual Directorate and local authorities. The result of the meeting was that we agreed that the destruction of the mosque would be suspended, we would provide evidence that it was indeed a mosque, and we would make a final decision in the muftiate. But on the same day, after the night prayer, the mosque was completely demolished," he said.
We hope that a mosque will stand in the same place again. This mosque is a memory of those Chechens who were expelled from there and then returned
According to him, after the demolition of the mosque, there was a risk of conflict in the village. "A situation arose where we could lose control. However, we categorically called on everyone not to take steps that could disrupt our relations. And negotiations began again. Our council has a reconciliation committee, and they negotiated with the muftiate. A certain process was underway and yesterday evening a final decision was made that this issue would be considered and resolved in accordance with Sharia norms and laws. The truth will be established in this way. And we hope that a mosque will stand in the same place again. This mosque is a memory of those Chechens who were expelled from there and then returned," he emphasized.
Batyrsultanov also reported that the demolished mosque was not the only one in the village.
"There are two mosques in Leninaul, an old one and a relatively new one, built near this mosque that was demolished. All residents of Leninaul went to the demolished mosque without any distinction. By the way, there is a rule in Islam that if a mosque is destroyed, a new one should be built in its place. So there will be discussions for about a month and then a decision will be made," he said.
The Kazbekovsky District administration declined to provide additional comments.
Islamic scholars have called the demand to build a mosque on the site of a demolished one a tradition
The Islamic scholars interviewed by the “Caucasian Knot” are not familiar with the Islamic norm that requires the construction of a new mosque on the site of a demolished one.
"I have never encountered such an approach in Islamic literature in my practice. There is no such specific norm in Islam. But I believe that we are talking about a certain tradition that has developed over a long period of time in the places where they speak of this norm. Perhaps there were such traditions among the inhabitants of this territory that if a mosque is suddenly destroyed, then a new one is built in its place. Hence this interpretation," Leonid Syukiyainen, a professor at the Higher School of Economics and a specialist in comparative law and Islamic law, told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.
Wherever numerically significant Muslim communities live more or less compactly, their own traditions and customs are formed, which are passed down through generations, expanding the geography
According to him, such a tradition can be passed down from generation to generation and can expand its geography over time.
"Customs and traditions in Muslim societies are quite strong. What they say reflects these traditions. Wherever there are more or less compactly significant Muslim communities, their own traditions and customs are formed, which are passed on through generations, expanding the geography. This is a local tradition that they transmit," he explained.
An Islamic scholar and Caucasus expert who wished to remain anonymous confirmed that there is no such norm in Islam.
"I would say that this is a tradition, not a norm in Islam. I have not come across such a norm in Islam, according to which, if a mosque is destroyed, a new one must be built in its place. We are dealing with a tradition that has developed over the centuries," he told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.
This tradition also has the following explanation, says the expert.
"In the 90s, in Dagestani villages they simply took various premises, for example, the management of a state farm, and made a mosque. It happened in different ways. In many regions, mosque buildings were not originally built for mosques. But in some cases, residents say that this is a very old mosque. And it is difficult to find sources that would answer the question of what kind of building it is. In any case, there is definitely no such norm, but there is a certain adat that residents of Leninaul refer to," he said.
What about increasing American domestic production?
[IsraelTimes] Dollar still facing pressure over uncertainty surrounding Trump tariffs, while equity markets were generally lower Thursday
Oil prices tumbled on Thursday after US President Donald Trump ...The cad! Twice caught beating wimmin!... said the United States was close to making a deal on Iran’s nuclear program, which could pave the way for increased crude supplies.
The dollar continued to face pressure amid uncertainty over tariffs, while equity markets were largely lower.
"Traders focused on the prospect of a US-Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... nuclear deal, which could see economic sanctions lifted on the latter and potentially lead to greater supplies of oil," noted Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
Trump’s remarks came after Iran held its fourth round of talks with the US administration, which has said it wishes to avoid a threatened military strike on Tehran’s contested nuclear program.
Both main crude contracts plunged more than three percent in value on hopes that US sanctions on Iran might be lifted as part of the deal.
That could, in turn, increase the Islamic Theocratic Republic’s oil exports.
In European equities trading, London’s stock market edged up as official data showed Britannia’s economy grew more than expected in the first quarter — before UK business tax hikes and US tariffs took effect.
Wall Street’s three main indices opened lower following a warning by Walmart of price hikes due to US tariffs that dampened sentiment, with the Dow shedding 0.4 percent.
Shares in Walmart slumped 4.7% after the company reported first-quarter revenue growth of 2.5%, which narrowly missed analyst expectations.
Profits came in at $4.5 billion, down 12.1% from the year-ago level but topping analyst expectations.
However,
ars longa, vita brevis... Walmart’s CEO warned of higher prices due to tariffs, welcoming a de-escalation of Trump’s trade war with China but saying the levies remain too high for the retailer to absorb.
"We will do our best to keep our prices as low as possible, but given the magnitude of the tariffs, even at the reduced levels, we aren’t able to absorb all the pressure," Chief Executive Doug McMillon told investors.
Meanwhile,
...back at the bunker, his Excellency called the chief of staff and complained that the artillery was keeping him awake... investors awaited fresh developments in trade talks, with countries looking to reach deals to avoid Trump’s tariff blitz.
With excitement from the China-US detente fading, markets are seeking new catalysts.
Stock markets have surged past the levels seen before Trump’s April 2 "Liberation Day" bombshell that hit countries worldwide with US tariffs.
After figures on Tuesday showed US inflation came in a little below forecasts in April, wholesale price data released on Thursday showed they unexpectedly fell 0.5% in April due largely to a sharp drop in services costs.
Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare said the data showed a sharp drop in wholesale machinery and vehicle sales.
"That suggests wholesalers were likely absorbing some tariff impacts, which is good for the end customer but not necessarily for earnings," he said.
April retail sales data, also released Thursday, came in nearly flat.
The 0.1% gain was significantly down from March’s revised growth of 1.7%, as buyers earlier sought to get ahead of Trump’s sweeping new tariffs, many of which took effect in April.
However,
ars longa, vita brevis... analysts have pointed out that the real impact of tariffs would not be seen until May’s figures are released and warned that there were still plenty of bumps in the road ahead.
We’ll see whether the Trump lovers or the Trump haters will be right, and how much money the realists and cynics make because they can ignore how they feel about the populist president.
Follow up to the Harvard brief in this round up from early February, where our hero was named Shabbos Kestenbaum.
[IsraelTimes] Harvard University has settled a high-profile lawsuit by an Orthodox Jewish student who accused the Ivy League school of ignoring antisemitism on campus.
Alexander Kestenbaum, who is known as Shabbos, and Harvard jointly agreed to end the case, according to a dismissal notice filed on Thursday in Boston federal court.
Settlement terms are not disclosed. Lawyers for Kestenbaum do not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The settlement came four months after Harvard promised additional protection for Jewish students, as it resolved two lawsuits claiming it was a hotbed of rampant antisemitism.
Both lawsuits were among many accusing universities of encouraging antisemitism after the Hamas ..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,... -led October 7, 2023, terror onslaught in southern Israel, which sparked the ongoing Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... war and led to pro-Paleostinian protests on many American campuses.
Jewish students say Harvard tolerated their being maligned as "murderers" and subjected to viral attacks, and accused the university of hiring professors who promoted anti-Jewish violence and spread antisemitic propaganda.
The lawsuits were brought by Students Against Antisemitism, and by Jewish Americans for Fairness in Education and the Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law.
Kestenbaum was a plaintiff in the Students Against Antisemitism lawsuit, but did not settle at the time.
He graduated from Harvard Divinity School last year and has become a growing voice in a Republican-led campaign to root out antisemitism in major American universities.
Harvard is one of the chief targets of that campaign, and US President Donald Trump ...The cad! Twice caught beating wimmin!... ’s administration has frozen or terminated more than $2.6 billion of the university’s federal grants and contracts in recent weeks.
[IsraelTimes] A Georgetown University scholar from India who was arrested in the Trump administration’s crackdown on foreign college students is released from immigration detention after a federal judge’s ruling.
Badar Khan Suri will go home to his family in Virginia while he awaits the outcome of his petition against the Trump administration for wrongful arrest and detention in violation of the First Amendment and other constitutional rights. He is also facing deportation proceedings in an immigration court in Texas.
“Justice delayed is justice denied,” Khan Suri tells reporters after his release from a detention facility in Alvarado, near Dallas. “It took two months, but I’m extremely thankful that finally I’m free.”
Khan Suri was arrested by masked, plain-clothed officers on the evening of March 17 outside his apartment complex in Arlington, Virginia. He was then put on a plane to Louisiana and later to a detention center in Texas.
Khan Suri’s attorneys say he and his wife, Mapheze Saleh, have been targeted because Saleh’s father worked with the Hamas-backed Gazan government for more than a decade, but before terror group attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
The Trump administration has said that it revoked Khan Suri’s visa because of his social media posts and his wife’s connection to Gaza as a Palestinian American. They accused him of supporting Hamas, which the US has designated as a terrorist organization.
According to the US government, Khan Suri has undisputed family ties to the terrorist organization, which he “euphemistically refers to as ‘the government of Gaza.’” But the American Civil Liberties Union has said that Khan Suri hardly knew the father, Ahmed Yousef.
Is that the Ahmed Yousef described in the Rantburg archives in 2009 as Hamas's chief political adviser, and spelt Ahmed Yusef in 2011 described as Hamas’s deputy foreign minister? With that kind of a connection, it doesn’t matter that they’re not BFFs.
[IsraelTimes] Jewish group says Facets theater ‘shut down a perspective, denied shared humanity, and excluded Jews’ after it axed ‘Bring the Family Home,’ a movie about US campus antisemitism
A reliably Democrat Chicago, aka The Windy City or Mobtown ...home of Al Capone, the Chicago Black Sox, a succession of Daleys, Barak Obama, and Rahm Emmanuel... theater canceled an advance screening of "Bring the Family Home," a documentary about campus antisemitism, four hours before its showtime, citing "the safety and well-being of our community."
Rami Even-Esh, an Israeli-American Jewish rapper who uses the stage name Kosha Dillz, created the still-unfinished documentary about his music and life on college campuses after Hamas ..always the voice of sweet reason... ’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel in which invaders killed some 1,200 people and took 251 hostages to GazooThe screening was also to feature a panel discussion with Kosha Dillz and Michael Kaminsky, a Jewish student who was assaulted last November in an alleged hate crime at the nearby DePaul university.
But before Tuesday’s screening could take place, Facets, an independent cinema in Chicago, canceled it. The theater announced the decision in a since-deleted post on Instagram that night that began with the sentence, "We are firmly not an antisemitic organization."
It cited statements by the filmmaker, though it did not detail what they said.
"Based on the public posts made by Kosha Dillz and the overall tone surrounding the event, we determined that proceeding would not align with our values or our responsibility to protect the safety and well-being of our community," the statement said. "We reject antisemitism in all forms — just as we reject Islamophobia ...the irrational fear that Moslems will act the way they usually do... , anti-Paleostinian racism, and any form of hate or dehumanization."
Kosha Dillz said that they had offered to provide security measures for the screening, but Facets declined.
"We are now hostages to a new form of bigotry that is called exclusion," he said in a statement. "It will bar us from intellectual spaces that we would normally attend such as facets."
The Chicago Jewish Alliance, which helped organize the screening, lambasted the decision, writing in a statement to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that Facets’ website says it "expands perspectives and affirms a shared humanity through inclusive engagement with film."
"Cancelling a documentary film about the challenges with creating discourse about a difficult topic made by an Israeli filmmaker should have fit squarely within this mission," the CJA statement said. "Instead, Facets shut down a perspective, denied shared humanity, and excluded Jews."
CJA said that it had chosen Facets as the venue for the event because it had shown "No Other Land," the Academy Award-winning documentary about Israeli demolition of a Paleostinian West Bank village, and felt "Bring the Family Home" would "expand perspectives" at the theater.
The American Jewish Committee’s Chicago regional office also decried the cancellation, writing on Instagram that Jewish student voices "have a right to be heard."
Following the cancellation, CJA rescheduled the screening at the Wilmette Theater in suburban Chicago.
#2
Well, let's see what Wilmette does. It's a WEF town if ever there were one and we're thoroughly left with ultra-lib Jan Schakowsky as our congress-critter. Yes, we're strongly Jewish, but equally strongly anti-Israel. Should be an interesting week or so.
Posted by: Chicago Lurker ||
05/16/2025 21:12 Comments ||
Top||
#3
strongly Jewish, but equally strongly anti-Israel.
So parochial they obsess about the Holocaust, which their ancestors avoided by having come to America a generation earlier, and so are completely unaware that had Israel existed then there would have been a refuge for the Jews that needed it, instead of them being unwanted everywhere, and so trapped for the concentration camps. The difference between IQ and wisdom underlined and in neon lights.
A generation ago they loved Israel for the drama of Leon Uris’s Exodus, the romance of the kibbutzes, and the Golda Meir’s labour socialist government.
The times they are a-changing…We’re reaching a tipping point with regard to public demands for Jew hate. People will still hate, which is their right. But now that there is a serious financial and career cost, thanks to President Trump and his team, the haters are recalculating.
[IsraelTimes] City says Queens site can’t require members to affirm ‘political and ideological viewpoints’; group’s ‘statement of values’ also stands against antisemitism
Organizers of a community garden in Ridgewood in the New York borough of Queens that required members to oppose Zionism may now lose their city license.
Applicants to the Sunset Community Garden were asked to sign a "statement of values" that included opposition to Zionism, antisemitism and "nationalist and/or racist beliefs."
In an April 16 letter, the New York City Parks Department informed leaders of the garden that the statement had violated guidelines. The department told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that the application "required prospective members to affirm the group’s political and ideological viewpoints," and added, "Such litmus tests as a barrier to membership are not permitted, regardless of the ideological content."
The garden had also gotten into a dispute with the city over the installation of a memorial for Cecilia Gentili, an activist for the rights of transgender people and hookersprostituteswhores sex workers ...used to be called hookers, prostitutes, or whores. The oldest profession was legal (though not always unregulated) for thousands and perhaps even millions of years. That never has made it something most people want their daughters doing... "We’ve been working with the Sunset Community Garden group since September 2024 to address several violations," said Chris Clark, a press officer for NYC Parks, in an emailed statement. "Unfortunately, the group has not abided by the rules upheld by every other GreenThumb community garden even after Parks met with them and repeatedly offered solutions. As these issues have not been addressed, we have moved to terminate the license agreement."
Clark said the termination had "nothing to do with members’ political beliefs or gender expression, but rather the repeated refusal by group leadership to address outstanding issues."
If the license is revoked, the garden will remain open and will be managed under new operators.
The garden also faced scrutiny last September when local residents complained about the group’s anti-Israel, pro-Paleostinian activism, which included a a teach-in with the "Poppies 4 Paleostine" project and "Free Paleostine" poster-making events, according to the New York Post.
Last week, the Poppies 4 Paleostine Instagram page posted a list of demands for the NYC Parks Department related to the dispute over the Gentili memorial.
The group asked the city to "prevent predatory tactics" and allow "clear due process for advocacy when gardens face harassment from GreenThumb [the city’s community garden program], Parks, elected officials, or other bad-faith actors (including racist, Zionist, transphobic, or otherwise oppressive forces)."
"In repeated efforts to collaborate with GreenThumb, we’ve faced deliberate obstruction: unclear communication, harassment, threats, and ever-shifting demands that have now escalated to the erasure of community agreements," said Poppies for Paleostine in the post. "This isn’t negligence -— it’s a pattern of suppression. We refuse to let them bury our collective work under bureaucratic violence."
One garden member, Nastazia Kielar, told the Gothamist web site that many in her community "see Zionism as a form of colonization still," and that the garden was being treated unfairly.
The group told the Hell Gate site that complaints about the garden gained steam in a private Facebook group called "Zionist Brooklyn."
"They’re calling New York Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue’s office to complain about us and alleging that we are teaching children to hate Jewish people," a garden member identified only as Dana told Hell Gate. "It’s a weird witch-hunt type thing that’s happening -— the anti-woke mob, essentially."
[IsraelTimes] Singer, a survivor of the Nova festival massacre, says she managed to spot in the crowd the friends she made in the roadside bomb shelter, and ‘it gave me so much strength’.
Israel’s Yuval Raphael advanced to the grand final of the 2025 Eurovision following her performance in Thursday night’s semifinal.
The 24-year-old from Ra’anana, a survivor of the October 7 Nova music festival massacre, turned in a strong performance of her emotional ballad, “New Day Will Rise,” in front of the crowd in Basel, Switzerland.
While those in the arena said a smattering of boos could be heard during her performance, only cheers could be heard on the live TV broadcast. There were also only a small number of Palestinian flags visible in the audience, despite fears of a strong presence.
During her performance, Raphael ascended a staircase in an enormous chandelier and stood on a balcony that Israeli producers said was meant to be a “symbolic nod” to the famed image of Zionist visionary Theodor Herzl on a balcony in Basel during the Fifth Zionist Congress in 1901.
It also could refer to the hostages going up the stairs out of the Hamas tunnels, among the wartime images the Israeli candidate is forbidden to mention lest she politicize her entry to the competition.
After exiting the stage, Raphael said she somehow spotted in the crowd her fellow survivors from the roadside bomb shelter where she hid under dead bodies for hours on October 7 until she was rescued.
“I looked to the side, I said hi to the crowd, and I spotted my friends from the shelter,” Raphael said in a video shared by the Kan public broadcaster. “Suddenly I saw my best friend waving, way up high, and somehow I spotted them, I was in shock. It gave me so much strength.”
Raphael qualified on Thursday along with Lithuania, Denmark, Malta, Latvia, Armenia, Austria, Greece, Luxembourg and Finland.
She will compete during Saturday night’s grand final against those acts and the qualifiers from Tuesday’s semifinal — Iceland, Poland, Estonia, Sweden, Ukraine, Portugal, Norway, San Marino, Albania and the Netherlands — plus the Eurovision “Big Five,” the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and last year’s winner, Switzerland.
The full results of the semifinals — which are based solely on a public vote — are only released by producers after the grand final.
Unlike the semifinals, the results of the grand final will be based on a 50/50 mix of the televote and the jury vote — in which professional juries from all 37 participating countries pick their favorites.
Small dueling pro-Israel and anti-Israel protests were held in Basel on Thursday evening, and a larger anti-Israel protest is slated for Saturday night, though efforts appear to pale in comparison to demonstrations last year in Malmo, Sweden.
[IsraelTimes] Key organizations paused cooperation with International Criminal Court, chief prosecutor Karim Khan lost email access; US measures response to arrest warrants issued for Israeli leaders
The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor has lost access to his email, and his bank accounts have been frozen.
The Hague-based court’s American staffers have been told that if they travel to the US they risk arrest.
Some non-governmental organizations have stopped working with the ICC and the leaders of one won’t even reply to emails from court officials.
Those are just some of the hurdles facing court staff since US President Donald Trump ...Never got invited to a P.Diddy party... in February slapped sanctions on its chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, according to interviews with current and former ICC officials, international lawyers and human rights One man's rights are another man's existential threat. advocates.
The sanctions will "prevent victims from getting access to justice," warned Liz Evenson, international justice director at Human Rights Watch.
Trump sanctioned the court after a panel of ICC judges in November issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his then-defense minister, Yoav Gallant. The US and Israel are not members of the court.
Judges found there was reason to believe that the pair may have committed war crimes by restricting humanitarian aid and intentionally targeting civilians in Israel’s campaign against the Hamas ..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,... terror group in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... — charges Israeli officials deny.
Israel says it goes to great lengths to avoid harming civilians as it targets Hamas and other terror groups who have built a warren of fortified tunnels under Gaza and routinely use civilian infrastructure like schools and hospitals as command centers and to carry out attacks.
Staffers and allies of the ICC said the sanctions have made it increasingly difficult for the tribunal to conduct basic tasks, let alone seek justice for victims of war crimes or genocide.
A spokesperson for the ICC and for Khan declined to comment. In February, ICC President Judge Tomoko Akane said that the sanctions "constitute serious attacks against the Court’s States Parties, the rule of law based international order and millions of victims."
ORDER TARGETS CHIEF PROSECUTOR
The February order bans Khan and other non-Americans among the ICC’s 900 staff members from entering the United States. It also threatens any person, institution or company with fines and prison time if they provide Khan with "financial, material, or technological support."
The sanctions are hampering work on a broad array of investigations, not just the one into Israel’s leaders.
The ICC, for example, had been investigating atrocities in Sudan ...a Moslem country located in the Horn of Africa. It is noted for its affinity for rule by ex- or current generals, its holy men, and for the oppression of the native Afro population by its Arab conquerors. South Sudan, populated mostly by the natives, split off from Sudan proper, which left North and South Darfur to be oppressed by the guys with turbans... and had issued arrest warrants for former Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir ...Former President-for-Life of Sudan. He came to power in 1989 when he, as a brigadier in the Sudanese army, led a group of officers in a bloodless military coup that ousted the government of Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi and eventually appointed himself head cheese. He fell out with his Islamic mentor, Hasan al-Turabi, tried to impose shariah on the Christian and animist south, resulting in its secessesion, and attempted to Arabize Darfur by unleashing the barbaric Janjaweed on it. Sudan's potential prosperity has been pissed away in warfare that has left as many as 400,000 people dead and 2.5 million displaced. He was overthrown by popular consent in 2019. Omar has been indicted for genocide by the International Criminal Court but nothing is expected to come of it... on charges that include genocide. That probe has ground to a halt even as reports mount of new atrocities in Sudan, according to an attorney representing an ICC prosecutor who is fighting the sanctions in US courts. The prosecutor, Eric Iverson, filed a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration seeking protection from the sanctions.
Her client "cannot do, what I would describe as, basic lawyer functions," said Allison Miller, who is representing Iverson in the suit.
American staffers at the organization, like Iverson, have been warned by its attorneys that they risk arrest if they return home to visit family, according to ICC officials. Six bigwigs have left the court over concerns about sanctions.
One reason the court has been hamstrung is that it relies heavily on contractors and non-governmental organizations. Those businesses and groups have curtailed work on behalf of the court because they were concerned about being targeted by US authorities, according to current and former ICC staffers.
Microsoft, for example, cancelled Khan’s email address, forcing the prosecutor to move to Proton Mail, a Swiss email provider, ICC staffers said. His bank accounts in his home country of the United Kingdom have been blocked.
Microsoft did not respond to a request for comment.
Staffers at a non-governmental organization that plays an integral role in the court’s efforts to gather evidence and find witnesses said the group has transferred money out of US bank accounts because they fear it might be seized by the Trump administration.
Senior leadership at two other US-based human rights organizations told the AP that their groups have stopped working with the ICC. A senior staffer at one told the AP that employees have even stopped replying to emails from court officials out of fear of triggering a response from the Trump administration.
The cumulative effect of such actions has led ICC staffers to openly wonder whether the organization can survive the Trump administration, according to ICC officials who spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisal.
Said one such official: "It’s hard to see how the court makes it through the next four years."
TRUMP ALLEGED ICC’S ACTIONS WERE BASELESS
Trump, a staunch supporter of Netanyahu, issued his sanctions order shortly after retaking office, accusing the ICC of "illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel." Washington says the court has no jurisdiction over Israel.
Trump’s order said the ICC’s "actions against Israel and the United States set a dangerous precedent, directly endangering current and former United States personnel, including active service members of the Armed Forces." He said the court’s "malign conduct" threatens "the illusory sovereignty of the United States and undermines the critical national security and foreign policy work of the United States Government."
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Netanyahu has dismissed the ICC’s allegations as "absurd," and Israel’s Knesset is considering legislation that would make providing evidence to the court a crime.
Israel launched its offensive after Hamas-led turbans stormed into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251 as hostages to Gaza. Of those, 57, over half of whom are believed dead, are still in captivity, plus the body of a soldier held for the past decade.
COPING WITH DARK HUMOR
Inside the court, staffers have been coping with dark humor, joking about how they cannot even loan Khan a pen or risk appearing on the US radar.
This is not the first time the ICC has drawn Trump’s ire. In 2020, the former Trump administration sanctioned Khan’s predecessor, Fatou Bensouda, and one of her deputies over the court’s investigation into alleged crimes committed in Afghanistan while the United States military was operating in the country.
US president Joe The Big Guy Biden ...46th president of the U.S. Joe's wife and daughter weren't killed by a drunk driver. He didn't graduate with three or even two degrees, wasn't in the top half of his law class, and his daddy didn't come home from a hard day's work in the mines and play football with the guys. The NAACP hasn't endorsed him every time he's run.... rescinded the sanctions when he took office several months later.
Three lawsuits are now pending from US court staff and consultants against the Trump administration, arguing that the sanctions infringe on their freedom of expression. Earlier this week Iverson, the lawyer investigating genocide in Sudan, won temporary protection from prosecution but if other US citizens at the court want a similar assurance, they would have to bring their own complaint.
Meanwhile,
...back at the abandoned silver mine, a triangular dorsal fin appeared in the water. Then another... the court is facing an increasing lack of cooperation from countries normally considered to be its staunchest supporters.
The ICC has no enforcement apparatus of its own and relies on member states. In the last year, three countries — including two in the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... — have refused to execute warrants issued by the court.
The renewed assault from the Trump administration comes as the court was already facing internal challenges. Last year, just weeks before Khan announced he was requesting arrest warrants for the Israeli officials, two court staff reported the British barrister had harassed a female aide, according to reporting by the News Agency that Dare Not be Named.
Khan has categorically denied the accusations that he groped and tried to coerce a female aide into a sexual relationship. A United Nations ...aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society... investigation is underway, and Khan has since been accused of retaliating against staff who supported the woman, including demoting several people he felt were critical of him.
[IsraelTimes] Arab sources tell ToI Trump envoy currently working to coax Hamas to release smaller number of hostages than Israel has been demanding, hoping to meet parties halfway
Since hostage talks between Israel and Hamas ..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,... resumed in Doha on Wednesday, US special envoy to the Mideast Steve Witkoff has told other mediators that Washington doesn’t plan to force Israel to end the war in Gazoo amid Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s staunch refusal to do so, two Arab officials told The Times of Israel on Thursday.
Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi... i and Egyptian mediators had hoped the US would move in this direction, given comments from President Donald Trump ...The tack in the backside of the Democratic Party... and other top aides about their desire to end the war following Hamas’s Monday release of American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander.
Netanyahu has insisted on only agreeing to a temporary ceasefire of roughly 45 days, which would begin with Hamas releasing about 10 hostages. During that time, he told Witkoff that Israel is prepared to hold talks on a permanent end to the war, without committing to such a result up front, the first Arab official said.
Hamas has flatly rejected this framework, arguing that it had already agreed to release hostages during a January truce deal that was supposed to see Israel hold talks regarding a permanent end to the war,
…yes, but then Hamas again played stupid games, obviating the agreement…
however, Netanyahu then refused to enter such negotiations and ended up resuming the IDF’s offensive in Gaza on March 18.
Accordingly, Hamas has insisted on an up-front Israeli commitment to end the war before it releases additional hostages. It also issued a statement on Thursday, warning of harm to the talks if Israel doesn’t end its nearly two-and-a-half-month-long blockade on aid entering Gaza. Israel has accused Hamas of stealing much of the aid that was previously brought in.
Due to both sides’ intransigence, Witkoff has offered a proposal that tries to meet the sides halfway — one that would see the release of a smaller number of hostages in exchange for a weekslong truce, the two Arab officials said. The Trump envoy has also tried to assure Hamas through mediators that the US will make sure that this time Israel does enter talks regarding the terms of a permanent ceasefire.
The Arab officials said the sides remain far apart, but that the American, Qatari and Egyptian mediators were still looking to push them toward a compromise over the coming days.
Israel has pledged to launch a major military operation to reoccupy and hold onto the entire Strip if Hamas doesn’t accept its proposal for a temporary ceasefire by the time Trump wraps up his Mideast trip on Friday.
But Arab mediators hope that the US will convince Israel to at least hold off on the operation for several more days, as they wait to determine the results of a Tuesday IDF strike targeting Hamas’s Gaza leader, Muhammad Sinwar. Scores of civilians were also reportedly killed, according to Hamas-linked health officials in Gaza.
Israeli officials have characterized Sinwar as a major obstacle in previous negotiations and hope that his elimination will lead Hamas to compromise. But Israeli optimism that Sinwar was indeed killed has begun to wane, according to the second Arab official who was briefed on the matter.
Arab leaders were also slated to gather for a summit in Baghdad on Saturday that will focus on Gaza, and were hoping that the Israeli offensive wouldn’t be launched during that confab, the second Arab official added.
While they continue to follow Witkoff’s lead in the negotiations, Qatar and Egypt believe the strategy should be to push the sides toward a permanent end to the war, the first Arab official said.
Hamas has already agreed to forgo governing control over the Strip, and at least five Arab countries are still prepared to take part in the post-war management of Gaza in what they argue would lead to the gradual disarmament of Hamas, the Arab official said, acknowledging that it would require an invitation from the Paleostinian Authority, which Netanyahu has refused to accommodate.
If the creation of a political horizon for the Paleostinians is absent, demands for permanent Hamas disarmament would not be met, the Arab official asserted.
Witkoff largely agrees with the Arab approach and told hostages’ families last week that the Netanyahu government’s plan to massively expand the war will not be effective, according to a source present for the discussion. Given that the Arab/Witkoff approach will definitely not work for Israel, Israel's war will perforce continue until the Arab parties choose to be more flexible.
When he was pressed during another meeting with families on Tuesday on why the US was not then willing to force Netanyahu to end the war, Witkoff responded, "We’re not the Israeli government...The Israeli government is a sovereign government. They can’t tell us what to do, and we can’t tell them what to do," according to a recording of the meeting obtained by Haaretz.
Witkoff’s office did not respond to a request for comment on this story.
Hamas has proposed releasing all of the hostages at once in exchange for an end to the war, but Netanyahu has rejected this trade, arguing that it would leave Hamas in power.
Successive polls have indicated that the premier is out of step with the majority of Israelis, who back such a framework. But Netanyahu is also facing pressure from his far-right coalition partners, who have threatened to collapse the government if he were to end the war in exchange for the remaining 58 hostages, between 20 and 23 of whom are believed to still be alive.
Or possibly Bibi is a wily politician with his own ideas of what must be, threading between the raucus demands of parties both internal and external in a determined effort to guarantee that Israel both survives and thrives in her very dangerous neighbourhood.
[IsraelTimes] Meeting said held recently in Azerbaijan between IDF Operations Directorate chief, Syrian and Turkish officials; Jerusalem reportedly open to border deal, normalized relations
Israel has been holding secret talks with Syrian officials in recent days, including on the possibility of the new regime joining the Abraham Accords, according to a report Thursday, a day after US President Trump invited new Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa to join the accords and normalize ties with Israel.
The talks are being mediated by the United Arab Emirates, Channel 12 news said, also referring to unspecified wider regional moves being advanced by the United Arab Emirates. A Haaretz report, by contrast, said the talks were being mediated by Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi... and had been going on for months.
Sharaa confirmed last week that security-related talks were being held through mediators, though he did not comment on potential diplomatic relations.
Channel 12 said one meeting was held in recent days in Azerbaijan, where Israel was represented by the chief of the IDF Operations Directorate, Maj. Gen. Oded Basyuk. He met with representatives from the new Syrian government, with Ottoman Turkish representatives also present, the report said.
Trump on Wednesday urged Sharaa to join the Abraham Accords, as the two leaders met in Riyadh for the first direct talks between leaders of the countries in 25 years.
Trump later told news hounds that Sharaa backs such a move. "I told [Sharaa], I hope you’re going to join [the Abraham Accords] once you’re straightened out, and he said yes," Trump told news hounds aboard Air Force One. "But they have a lot of work to do."
Israel views Trump’s lifting of sanctions on Syria favorably, albeit while maintaining a high level of caution, and isn’t ruling out the possibility of influencing the shaping of the northern border and future relations between the two countries, Channel 12 added.
Israel’s recent views on Syria contrast with its previous position, the report noted, which was to dismiss the prospect of constructive interaction with Sharaa, a former leader in Syria’s local al-Qaeda branch, having been branded a terrorist by Jerusalem.
Now, Channel 12 claimed, Israel does see the possibility of Syria exiting the so-called axis of evil overseen by Iran, and even of it coming under the US aegis. It even views such potential progress as possibly enabling a positive shift in Israel-The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the decaying remnant of the Ottoman Empire... ties, according to the report.
Washington and Gulf countries are seeking to pull Syria away from Iranian influence, the London Times reported earlier this week. Tehran, sworn to Israel’s destruction, propped up the former regime of Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Lord of the Baath... throughout the bloody Syrian civil war.
Turkey, meanwhile, has been growing its footprint in Syria and backed rebel groups aligned with Sharaa during the civil war.
Israel had cautioned against swift recognition of the new government in Syria, expressing deep skepticism about Sharaa — who until recently had a $10 million bounty on his head from the US — after his Islamist-led rebel coalition toppled Assad’s regime in December.
Rooters reported in February that Israel, which has vowed to protect the Syrian Druze, whose coreligionists reside throughout northern Israel, has lobbied the US to keep Syria decentralized and isolated.
Israeli military operations in Syria have persisted since Assad’s ouster, with Israel bombing what it says are military targets tied to the former regime across the country, and ground forces currently stationed in a number of outposts near the border with the Golan Heights.
Israel disagrees. Under the circumstances, Hamas would be wise, or at least prudent, to close the deal Israel demands as soon as possible, lest Israel make things even more uncomfortable kinetic in pursuit of their non-negotiable demands: all the hostages returned, including bodies; Hamas disarmed and expelled; peace, not ceasefire; and a new Gaza government that does not include the Palestinian Authority.
[GEO.TV] Paleostinian movement Hamas ..a regional Iranian catspaw,... on Thursday accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of undermining mediation efforts for a hostage release and ceasefire deal by carrying out military operations in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... "War criminal Netanyahu undermines mediation efforts through deliberate military escalation, showing indifference to his captives, endangering their lives," Hamas said in a statement referring to hostages held in the Paleostinian territory.
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Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Leonid Tsukanov
[REGNUM] As US President Donald Trump embarks on his first foreign tour of the Middle East, passions are running high in Israel. Tel Aviv is preparing for a “final strike” on the Gaza Strip, intending to finally defeat the Palestinian Hamas.
However, while the Israeli Prime Minister's office is choosing the directions for attacks, blows are being dealt to the image of Israel itself. And, paradoxically, they are being dealt by official Washington.
The policies of Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet do not find support from Trump. The White House increasingly pushes the Israelis aside, reducing their participation in the American Middle East party to symbolic, thereby cooling the ardor of Israeli "hawks".
CONTOURS OF A QUARREL
The first signs of a rift emerged back in April, when Trump, caught up in the “tariff wars,” refused to make concessions to Israel.
Even Tel Aviv’s promises to provide “absolutely favorable” treatment for American capital and to abolish import duties on goods from the States did not help.
Bilateral relations were also damaged by US attempts to conduct direct negotiations with Hamas without the participation of the Israelis in March and May 2025.
In the latter case, Washington even managed to push through the release of one of the hostages with American citizenship. Tel Aviv was among the last to learn about the deal.
In addition, Trump has at least several times categorically prohibited the Israelis from striking Iranian territory. It has also forbidden the hunting of Iranian military advisers in third countries, for fear that this would sink the American-Iranian peaceful nuclear negotiations.
And then the US even agreed to a truce with the Iranian-backed Yemeni Houthis, leaving official Tel Aviv alone with the problem.
Even the talks on the possible normalization of relations between the new Syrian regime and Israel within the framework of the Abraham Accords took place in Riyadh without the direct participation of the Israelis. Trump formulated and voiced the roadmap single-handedly.
This is in stark contrast to the model of interaction with another candidate for reconciliation, Saudi Arabia, where Washington's rhetoric and position were determined with an eye to Tel Aviv's interests.
The Israeli opposition press
…which is most of it, including the Times of Israel…
is eager to fuel rumors of a quarrel between the allies. The publications complain that Israel has "no other proven allies" and that the coalition government's desire to stick to its guns could damage the Jewish state's defense capability and international standing.
Others go even further and predict that Trump is preparing to recognize Palestinian statehood “purely to spite” the Israeli right.
DISSATISFIED OFFICERS
As expected, opposition forces have come into motion in the wake of the cooling in US-Israeli relations. First and foremost, the retired military men opposing Netanyahu – the so-called “generals’ opposition.”
They are trying to convert the West’s discontent into political points and draw Washington’s attention to the fact that there are still “forces capable of reaching an agreement” within the country.
For example, the public movement “Commanders for Israel’s Security,” which unites over 550 retired Israeli military personnel, intelligence officers, and diplomats, recently sent an open letter to the American president, calling on him “not to listen to Netanyahu’s statements.”
In addition, the former security officials stressed that “the time for diplomacy is long overdue” because “the war in Gaza no longer serves Israel’s national goals” and undermines its achievements.
Among those who signed the document were heavyweights Danny Yatom (former chief of Mossad intelligence) and former chief of the General Staff Matan Vilnai.
The main points of the open letter quite clearly illustrate the desire of the opposition parliamentary forces (as well as the security bloc as a whole) to shift responsibility for the possible failure in Gaza onto the prime minister’s office.
And to remove from the attack military figures (Yoav Galant, Benny Gantz and others) who participated in the development and implementation of Operation Iron Swords against Hamas, but due to disagreements with Netanyahu became his critics.
At the same time, the opposition in uniform is trying to present itself as a force that tried in every way to dissuade the government from the Palestinian adventure and even called on the world arbiters – Trump – for help.
In the long term, this will make it possible to play on the nationwide fatigue from the fighting in Gaza and greatly increase the ratings of opposition parties, opening the way for them to power.
NEW THROW
However, even simultaneous pressure from within and without, apparently, cannot shake the Prime Minister's office's confidence in a quick victory over Hamas. Netanyahu is preparing for a new "cobra strike" in Gaza, promising the final defeat of the Palestinian movement.
The Israeli hunt for Hamas leaders also shows that the stakes are higher than ever. For example, a few days before the announced offensive, Israeli aircraft carried out several strikes on the city of Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip. The target of the attack was reportedly the underground headquarters of the movement's leader, Mohammed Sinwar, where a meeting of key Palestinian functionaries was taking place that day.
The Israeli leadership hoped to use a pinpoint attack to decapitate and demoralize the movement in the face of an imminent offensive.
It is especially noteworthy that the attack on Khan Yunis was carried out in violation of the behind-the-scenes agreements between Tel Aviv and Hamas on a “silence regime” during meetings in Doha and Cairo, which jeopardized the entire further negotiation process.
On the other hand, Netanyahu's plan is doubted even by his allies. The previous "last throws" and liquidations of key commanders (Ismail Haniyeh, Yahya Sinwar and others) led to nothing.
Almost of the Hamas leadership involved in 10/7 are now dead. Since Hamas is determined to continue to war — with intermittent hudnas — until Israel is finally conquered, the war will continue despite the objections of Bibi’s detractors and enemies, both external and internal, until either Israel is conquered or Hamas is gone. The question for the Israelis is whether Hamas will be evicted from Gaza or killed off.
Hamas has always quickly restored its combat capability
…no — Iran has historically restored Hamas’s combat capability via Egypt. But this time Israel controls the border between Gaza and Egypt…
and even managed to inflict economic and image damage on Tel Aviv and draw other Palestinian factions into the conflict.
The “final defeat of Hamas” announced by the authorities each time turned into a demonstration of inflated expectations, but was smoothed out thanks to Washington’s support.
Now, in the absence of clear support from the United States, it will be more difficult to hide the failure.
Trump will clearly not miss the chance to point out to his “younger brothers” their mistakes and incorrect assessment of their capabilities. And his attacks will be picked up and multiplied many times over by the opposition, for which the failure in Gaza will be an excellent chance to split the right-wing coalition.
And in this case, Netanyahu may well have to pay for his miscalculations with his seat as prime minister.
This assumes any of the other Israeli politicians is politically savvy enough pull together a viable coalition. That’s where they keep falling down on the job.
[IsraelTimes] The top commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hossein Salami, tells US President Donald Trump that the Iranian nation considers him the “murderer” of Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani.
That’s like trying to insult an American by calling him a cowboy. Total insult FAIL.
Soleimani was the commander of the IRGC’s Quds Force. He was killed in Iraq in a drone strike on January 3, 2020, ordered by Trump during his first term in office.
Trump had said earlier that the United States was getting very close to securing a nuclear deal with Tehran.
[IsraelTimes] Despite official condemnation, deadly assaults on Damascus nightlife by regime loyalists add to mounting concern that Islamist rulers will not make good on promises of tolerance
On April 29, around 20 gunnies stormed into Layila al-Sharq, a popular nightclub near central Damascus. According to reports, the men began attacking patrons, sending them fleeing into the night.
In video of the incident, scores of frenzied clubgoers can be seen trying to escape the scene as the attackers shove and beat them.
Six days later, three button men entered the al-Karawan nightclub, located some three blocks away, and began shooting, killing a young woman employed by the club as a dancer and wounding two others.
In both instances, the attackers were wearing clothes identifying them as members of the new Syrian regime’s security forces.
The assaults have sent a chill through the cosmopolitan capital, compounding fears that personal freedoms could shrink under the rule of the Islamists who ousted former leader Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Lord of the Baath... from power last year.
"People are scared," a Syrian told The Times of Israel via WhatsApp, speaking on condition of anonymity
... for fear of being murdered... due to security concerns. "Damascus is almost empty in the evenings now, and that’s not normal. The button men entered the restaurant and opened fire indiscriminately. These are restaurants that have operated for years."
For decades — even during Syria’s 14-year civil war — restaurants, nightclubs, and bars have operated in Damascus, offering the capital’s largely secular population, including its sizable Christian community, places to drink, dance and mingle.
After Assad’s fall in early December, clubs, bars and other nightlife spots briefly shut down. Though they quickly reopened, the owners told Arab and international media they feared operating under an bad boy Islamist regime.
The new Syrian leadership responded quickly to the attacks on the nightclubs. Damascus Governor Maher Marwan, who was appointed by President Ahmed al-Sharaa after the fall of the Assad regime, condemned the attacks. Marwan, who is considered close to al-Sharaa, had previously served with the rebel administration in Idlib for over a decade.
The Syrian Interior Ministry announced within days that members of the Syrian security forces had been arrested on suspicion of involvement in the attack on Layila al-Sharq.
But the button men behind the more serious attack on al-Karawan remain on the lam. Syrian police who arrived on scene following the attack were too late to catch the shooters, according to a regime TV station. No arrests have been announced.
Some Damascenes see the Islamist regime as unwilling to truly crack down on violent mostly peaceful fundamentalists within their ranks.
"The government claims these are rogue fighters," a resident of the capital said. "But if you’re really a government trying to build a non-Islamist state, you need to arrest people like this. The jihadists want to shut down all alcohol-serving venues and restaurants in Damascus."
SECTS AND VIOLENCE
The nightclub attacks are only the latest of a series of violent mostly peaceful attacks by regime-linked figures that have cast doubt on the new leadership’s commitment to multicultural tolerance.
Despite emerging from the al-Qaeda offshoot Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, formerly al-Nusra, before that it was called something else ...al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, from which sprang the Islamic State... s, Sharaa and his allies have attempted to portray themselves as moderates under whom women and ethnic and religious minorities will be protected.
Those proclamations were put to the test on Christmas eve just weeks after Sharaa took power, as masked men set fire to a Christmas tree in the Christian-majority city of al-Suqaylabiyah in central Syria on December 24. Other attacks on churches were also reported around the holiday.
Some Christians protested, but Christmas ceremonies mostly went ahead as planned and the events swiftly faded from the public eye.
In March, however, regime fighters from the country’s Sunni majority began slaughtering members of the country’s Alawite minority in Dire Revenge for an attempted attack on security forces by Assad loyalists. Some 1,700 people, mostly unarmed civilians, were reported killed in the ensuing massacres, with many viewing the bloodletting as a display of the new leadership’s true intentions.
A commission of inquiry ordered by Sharaa is expected to submit its findings in the coming months, but doubts remain about whether any higher-ups will be held accountable.
Sharaa referenced the massacre during a May 7 meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, portraying it as an expected result of decades of oppression under the Alawite Assad family, which had privileged some members of the community.
"We know that the post-revolution and postwar period is difficult," Sharaa said. "Sectarianism was used as a weapon against Syrians for 45 years... In recent months, we’ve seen a tragic example of gunnies exploiting this situation."
In recent weeks, the approximately 600,000-strong Druze community has also found itself in the crosshairs. Armed Druze and Sunni factions have clashed in recent weeks in what appears to be a religiously motivated conflict, with Druze reporting civilians being targeted and killed.
Israel, home to its own sizable Druze community, stepped in on April 30, carrying out a dronezap on what it said was a gathering of bad boy fighters who had attacked Druze civilians and were preparing to kill more members of the community. Jerusalem described it as a "warning strike."
Several maimed Druze from Syria have also been allowed into Israel for medical treatment.
NEW SYRIA, OLD PROBLEMS
These groups were forced to coexist under the dictatorship of the Assad dynasty — first Hafez al-Assad, then his son Bashar, who was tossed in December 2024 — a dramatic change that risks reawakening old demons and threatens the safety of the entire country.
Seeking reintegration Syria into the international community and financial support to rebuild the country after years of war, Sharaa has courted closer ties with both the West and moderate Arab states, projecting internal stability and a commitment to Western values of tolerance and protection for minorities.
In February, he launched a national dialogue in which a vision for a "New Syria" was drafted. The conference emphasized liberty as a foundational societal value, alongside freedom of opinion and expression.
Women’s rights were highlighted, as well as protections for children, support for the disabled, and the development of the younger generation.
The conference also called for the elimination of all forms of discrimination based on race, religion, or belief, and for equal opportunity for all.
By Middle Eastern standards, Syria represents something of a melting pot, featuring a diverse mix of ethnic and religious communities.
According to the CIA World Factbook, only 50% of Syria’s population is ethnically Arab; the rest are groups like Druze and Kurds.
Religiously, about 74% are Sunni Moslems, with the remainder being Shiites, Christians, Alawites, and others, though nothing remains of a once-large Jewish community.
Forced into a single border by history, the groups have maintained a sometimes-uneasy stasis for the last century, much of it under the iron-fisted dictatorship of the Assad family.
Unshackled from their brutal rule, Syria is still vulnerable to new paroxysms of interethnic and interreligious fighting. Though there have not been any more attacks on nightclubs, unrest of all sorts remains a daily risk — whether due to violent mostly peaceful regime actions against civilians or festivities among various religious and ethnic groups.
With each new attack on minorities or symbols of liberalism, skepticism will continue to mount over whether the jihadist fundamentalists newly in charge will hold the country together by keeping it true to the inclusive vision for the New Syria, or by returning to the oppressive ways of their predecessors.
[NAHARNET] Lebanese Forces A Christian political party founded by Bashir Gemayel, who was then bumped off when he was elected president of Leb... leader Samir Geagea ....Geagea was imprisoned by the Syrians and their puppets for 11 years in a dungeon in the third basement level of the Lebanese Ministry of Defense. He was released after the Cedar Revolution in 2005.... on Thursday pointed out that U.S. President Donald Trump ...They hit him with slander, they impeached him twice. Nancy Pelosi tore up his State of the Union address on national TV. They stole an election and put his adherents in jail. They vilified him. They couldn't crucify him, so they shot him. Still, they can't keep him down... 's visit to Saudi Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start... and the political steps decided ''prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is the right path leading to a Paleostinian state."
"After the (Axis of) Defiance advocates and those who claim to be a resistance -- through their actions, behavior and ideas -- transformed Israel into a giant in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia's policy has returned Israel to its normal size,'' Geagea added.
He added that he believes that "the current scene emanating from Saudi Arabia is the right path to resolving the region's problems, foremost among them the Paleostinian issue."
"The time of using the Paleostinian cause as a pretext and hiding behind it to control Arab capitals, overthrow regimes or replace one ruler with another is over,'' Geagea said.
''May the Defiance advocates in Leb ...The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers... learn from everything that is happening in the region at the present time, cease their transgressions and surrender their weapons to the state so that we may have a real and effective state that can begin the process of development and reconstruction, and so that Lebanon may return to its former glory, not only as the Switzerland ...home of the Helvetians, famous for cheese, watches, yodeling, and William Tell... of the East, but as a shining beacon of knowledge, culture, civilization and progress in the East and West alike," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/16/2025 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
The top federal prosecutor in Massachusetts is threatening arrests for those who obstruct Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations, calling recent interference in her state "disturbing." 
...a Moslem country located in the Horn of Africa. It is noted for its affinity for rule by ex- or current generals, its holy men, and for the oppression of the native Afro population by its Arab conquerors. South Sudan, populated mostly by the natives, split off from Sudan proper, which left North and South Darfur to be oppressed by the guys with turbans...
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for 
..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,...
..always the voice of sweet reason...
...used to be called hookers, prostitutes, or whores. The 
..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,...
..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,...
...the decaying remnant of the Ottoman Empire...
..a regional Iranian catspaw,...
...al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, from which sprang the Islamic State...
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start...
