Avivit and Orit Yablonka, sisters of Israeli hostage Hanan Yablonka, described how they felt on Friday morning when the IDF informed them that they had retrieved their brother’s body from Gaza. “We woke up to a black morning, we are crushed and broken, don’t know how to cope, couldn’t have imagined this,” the sisters said. Hanan’s father Reuven describes receiving the sad news, “At seven in the morning, friends called me and asked if it was true, I had no idea what they wanted from me.”
Israel’s ambassador to Germany strongly criticized Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s office for saying that if the International Criminal Court (ICC) issues a warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he would be arrested if he steps on German soil. When asked if Germany would obey the ICC’s warrant for Netanyahu’s arrest, Chancellor Scholz’s spokesman, Steffen Hebestreit, responded, “Of course. Yes, we abide by the law.” Israel’s ambassador to Germany Ron Prosor condemned the statement on X, and wrote, “This is outrageous! The public statement that Israel has the right to self-defense loses credibility if our hands are tied as soon as…
As of 2023, Turkey was Israel’s fourth-largest trading partner and represented a major trading route and supplier of kosher food. The trade ban Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan imposed on Israel to protest its war against Gaza has harmed both countries economically and may pose a particular danger to the kosher food industry. Although Israeli and Turkish leaders have often engaged in a war of words, their trading ties have been generally healthy, and relations between the countries had reached a high point prior to October 7th. However, given Erdogan’s support for Hamas and pressure from his citizens, on May…
Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said there were no known Israeli casualties. A mob of pro-Hamas demonstrators attempted to break into a hotel where Israeli tourists were staying in Athens, according to media reports and videos circulating on social media. The anti-Israel protests against the war in Gaza escalated into riots, with some demonstrators attempting to breach the hotel premises. Greek police were reportedly dispatched to the scene at Omonia Square, where they deployed gas grenades to disperse the crowd and restore order. Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said there were no known Israeli casualties, i24 News reported. The incident…
‘They’re going to have to tear me off this flag over my dead body,’ Stompel said. A University of North Carolina student who defended the US flag from anti-Israel protesters said he was willing to put his life on the line and said they would have had to take the flag “over my dead body.” Like many other US campuses, the quad of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was attacked by anti-Israel protesters who descended on a flag flying at half mast to commemorate four Charlotte officers who were killed in the line of duty. At one…
‘It is unacceptable that Jews face fear and unrest just trying to access public transportation.’ A bus driver in Manchester, England kicked an Israeli woman off of a bus after she commented on a pro-Palestinian symbol the driver was wearing on his uniform. Following the incident, the Manchester Jewish Council released a statement condemning the bus driver’s actions. “As the Jewish community exits its Passover, we are once again frightened by company employees contracted by Manchester City Council who are openly displaying political symbols relating to the current conflict in the Middle East.” They noted that Jewish passengers are facing…
White House officials, however, said that the President and the First Lady are on the same page regarding the conflict. President Biden reportedly said that his wife Dr. Jill Biden has urged an end to the war in Gaza and told him, “Stop it now.” Salima Suswell, the founder of the Black Muslim Leadership Council, claims that Biden was quoting his wife Jill in conversation, according to the New York Times. Dr. Jill Biden had addressed a gathering of American Muslims which the President didn’t attend allegedly because his wife objected to his making an appearance, given his support for…
Hamas issued a statement criticizing Israel for refusing its demands for a permanent ceasefire and a complete withdrawal troops from the Gaza Strip. As the US and Arab countries scrambled to push for a days-long pause in fighting to build trust between Israel and Hamas, the terror group has reportedly rejected the deal and has reverted to its earlier demands for a permanent ceasefire. The Biden Administration was desperate to implement a 6-week long ceasefire before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in exchange for the over 130 Israeli hostages remaining in Gaza and says the ceasefire deal now “lays…
Families of the hostages have requested that some of the 12 torches be lit in the areas attacked by Hamas on October 7. Israel canceled fireworks displays at national Independence Day celebrations because of the war with Hamas, Transport Minister Miri Regev said on Wednesday. “In light of the events of Oct. 7 and the war, we are adjusting the format of the ceremony,” said Regev, who is overseeing Israel’s official Independence Day celebrations. Regev also called on municipal leaders organizing celebrations in their localities to do likewise. Independence Day, Israel’s 76th, begins at sundown on May 13. Israel’s Memorial…
A total of 1,242 antisemitic attacks were reported in France during the final three months of last year, a 1,000 percent increase on the same period in 2022. French police on Wednesday announced the arrest of a man alleged to have carried out a brutal antisemitic assault against a Jewish man as he left Friday night services at a Paris synagogue. The unnamed assailant is reported to have a prior history of antisemitic acts, police sources told the news outlet Le Point. No further details have yet been released. The 61-year-old victim, who wears a kippah, had just left the Beth…
