Sunday, June 8, 2025
Israel expected to intercept Greta Thunberg's Gaza flotilla
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Israel is expected to intercept Greta Thunberg's flotilla, which is en route to Israel and scheduled to reach the Gaza coast in the next 48 hours (per estimates), a source told The Jerusalem Post.
The flotilla includes a diplomat.
The group is carrying supplies for Gazan Palestinians and protesting what they say is “Israel’s “illegal, decades-long blockade, and ongoing genocide” in the enclave.
Their voyage is operated by the pro-Palestinian nonprofit Freedom Flotilla Coalition, which has staged other naval efforts to reach Gaza by sea over the last 15 years. The latest trip, which departed from Sicily and detoured to pick up Sudanese refugees, comes as the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza turns 20 months old and includes Thunberg, one of the most prominent progressive activists in the world.
IDF kills head of Palestinian group that kidnapped & murdered the Bibas Family on Oct. 7
The leader of a brutal Palestinian jihadist group responsible for the kidnappings and cold-blooded murders of the Bibas family and an Israeli-American couple was killed in an Israeli airstrike, the military said Saturday.
Asaad Abu Sharia, head of the Mujahideen Brigades, was taken out in a joint operation in Gaza City on Saturday by the Israeli Defense Forces and the Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security agency, the groups announced in a statement posted on Telegram.
“During the war, the organization he led was involved in instigating terrorist attacks against Israel and fighting against IDF forces operating in the Gaza Strip,” the statement read.
Another high-ranking leader of the jihadist group, Mahmoud Kaheel, was killed in a separate attack, officials confirmed.
“The terrorists of the [Mujahideen] organization took a significant part in the murderous massacre on October 7, and were complicit in the kidnapping and murder,” they added.
During the deadly 2023 attack on Israel, the group aided Hamas by raiding the Nir Oz kibbutz, which was home to Shiri Bibas and her two sons, Ariel and Kfir, American-Israeli couple Gadi Hagai and Judy Lynn Weinstein, and Thai national Nattapong Pinta.
The Bibas’ remains were handed over to Israel in February and Hagai’s and Weinstein’s bodies were recovered just this week by the IDF and Shin Bet.
The remains of Pinta, 36, who had arrived to work on the kibbutz a year and a half prior to the attack, were recovered from Mujahideen Saturday in the area of Rafah in southern Gaza, also as part of the special joint operation, Defense Minister Israel Katz said.
Pinta, like the other Nir Oz victims, is believed to have been killed in the early days of the war.
In total, 47 people were killed on the kibbutz during the onslaught and 76 were abducted — only four of whom are presumed alive.
The bodies of seven captives from Nir Oz remain in the Strip, according to reports.
Pinta, who had been working on avocado and pomegranate farms before being take captive, had been sending his earnings to his wife and young son back in Thailand in the hopes of helping her open a coffee shop, the Times of Israel reported.
The father was one of 46 Thais who were killed while working in Israel.
Fifty-five hostages remain in capticity in Gaza, but only 20 are believed to be alive.
The IDF and the Shin Bet vowed Saturday to “to locate and thwart all terrorists … who took part in the murderous massacre on October 7 and in holding Israeli hostages captive.”
In recent weeks, Israel has expanded its offensive across the Gaza Strip and announced Saturday that it had uncovered an underground tunnel route, including a command and control center run by Hamas under a European Hospital compound.
And with a concerns growing in the region over a humanitarian crisis, the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation was forced to suspend operations on Saturday due to “direct threats against GHF operations” by Hamas, according to reports.
“Hamas is the reason hundreds of thousands of hungry Gazans were not fed today,” the GHF said in a statement.
Don’t underestimate Donald Trump — he and his goals will survive without Elon Musk
Among other things last week, President Trump played host to Germany’s chancellor in the Oval Office, issued a travel ban against 12 countries whose citizens routinely violate their visas, had a “very positive” conversation about tariffs with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and twisted arms to push his “one big beautiful bill” across the congressional finish line.
Meanwhile, a stream of good economic news sent stock markets higher, with a jobs report beating expectations while inflation fell and wages rose.
Oh, and Trump also had a brutal falling out with Elon Musk.
No need to guess which of the above dominated the news.
France, UK walk back Palestinian state recognition at UN conference
Plans for the United Kingdom and France to recognize a Palestinian state at an upcoming United Nations conference in New York, scheduled for June 17-20, have been abandoned, diplomatic sources indicated, according to a report in The Guardian on Saturday.
This decision marks a significant shift from France’s previous strong lobbying efforts for such recognition among European allies.
French President Emmanuel Macron had publicly framed recognition of “Palestine” as “a moral duty and political requirement,” even suggesting it could be linked to Saudi Arabia’s recognition of Israel.
However, according to The Guardian, French officials have reportedly informed their Israeli counterparts that the upcoming conference will not be the moment for such a move.
Instead, the focus will now pivot to outlining steps towards recognition, contingent on a series of prerequisites from the Palestinian Arabs. These include a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, the release of Israeli hostages, comprehensive reform of the Palestinian Authority, economic reconstruction, and the cessation of Hamas rule in Gaza.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot stated on Friday that recognizing a Palestinian state at the conference would have been a "symbolic" decision. He emphasized France's "particular responsibility" as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, suggesting that such a step would be inappropriate without the support of key allies.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) has long urged countries to recognize “Palestine” as a means of bypassing direct talks with Israel.
While several countries have recognized “Palestine” in recent years, those moves were symbolic ones that have little, if any, actual diplomatic effect.
More recently, Spain, Ireland and Norway formally recognized a Palestinian state in May of 2024.
In June of that year, Slovenia officially recognized a Palestinian state, after its parliament voted overwhelmingly in favor of the move.
Malta's Prime Minister Robert Abela announced in late May that his country is set to officially recognize the "State of Palestine" during the month of June.
Saturday, June 7, 2025
Smotrich Warns Israeli Banks Against Judea and Samaria Sanctions
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich warned the Bank of Israel on Wednesday that he was considering promoting legislation that would allow Israeli citizens to sue financial institutions if they comply with foreign sanctions imposed on residents of Judea and Samaria.
In a letter to Daniel Hahiashvili, who supervises financial institutions on behalf of the Bank of Israel, Smotrich said he would “immediately promote legislation that will impose high compensation payments on the banks for clients harmed as a result of the banks’ compliance” if Israeli institutions choose to cooperate with international measures.
The finance minister said he penned the missive against the backdrop of widespread reports that the European Union is considering imposing personal sanctions on Israeli Jews living in Judea and Samaria under Brussels’ wide-reaching global human rights sanctions regime.
Such sanctions would represent a “severe blow to the sovereignty and independence of the State of Israel and a blatant and improper interference in its internal affairs by foreign states,” according to Smotrich, who noted that “citizens acting in Judea and Samaria are doing so under the authority, and with the mandate, of the state.”
Israeli banks have largely cooperated with the restrictions imposed on the residents of Judea and Samaria since the Biden administration became the first to announce a sanctions regime in February 2024.
Smotrich in his letter accused the country’s banks of adopting a “zero-risk policy that reflects a narrow-minded approach and a complete disregard for the price of complying with sanctions.”
The minister added, “A situation in which banks cooperate with the sanctions almost automatically and without even voicing protest is unacceptable. This, of course, does not replace or absolve the state’s obligation to act on the matter, and to the best of my knowledge, the relevant authorities are doing so through the appropriate channels.”
He noted that financial institutions have “significant capacity to act against the sanctions and reduce their own risk without shifting the burden onto the sanctioned client,” including by filing lawsuits in foreign courts and at the Court of Justice of the European Union in Luxembourg City.
“Their massive profits in recent years allow them to conduct such legal proceedings without difficulty,” Smotrich emphasized in the letter.
In a joint statement issued on May 19, the United Kingdom, France and Canada warned that they would “not hesitate to take further action, including targeted sanctions,” if Jerusalem continued to expand communities in Judea and Samaria.
“We oppose any attempt to expand settlements in the West Bank. Israel must halt settlements which are illegal and undermine the viability of a Palestinian state and the security of both Israelis and Palestinians,” the leaders of the three countries declared. (Europe, like many countries around the world, refers to Judea and Samaria as the “West Bank.”)
The European Union has currently designated nine Israeli residents of Judea and Samaria under its global human rights sanctions regime: Neria Ben Pazi, Meir Ettinger, Bentzi Gopstein, Yinon Levi, Issachar Manne, Baruch Marzel, Moshe Sharvit, Elisha Yered and Zvi Bar Yosef.
Orthodox/Right Scores Landslide Victory Over Reform/Left in U.S. Zionist Congress Delegate Vote
A record-breaking 230,257 votes were cast in the election for U.S. delegates to the 39th World Zionist Congress, according to preliminary results released by the American Zionist Movement (AZM), the umbrella organization overseeing the vote in the United States.
The preliminary tally shows a clear lead for the Orthodox/Right bloc with 134,724 votes, compared to 95,500 votes for the Reform/Left bloc, although the single biggest vote winner was “Vote Reform”:
ORTHODOX / RIGHT-WING SLATES (16 slates)
Am Yisrael Chai 31,765
Eretz HaKodesh 29,159
Orthodox Israel Coalition (OIC) 26,975
ZOA Coalition 8,511
Israel365 Action 2,339
SHAS 2,658
Dorshei Torah V’Tzion 1,946
Herut North America 1,109
Americans 4 Israel 385
Kol Israel 5,314
Aish Ha’am 6,649
Achdut Israel 1,592
Beyachad 3,238
American Forum for Israel 1,539
Israeli American Council (IAC) 5,344
VISION 6,201
REFORM / LEFT-WING SLATES (6 slates)
VOTE REFORM 47,887
MERCAZ USA 27,893
HATIKVAH 11,537
The Jewish Future 1,794
ANU 1,509
AID Coalition 4,880
Preliminary results released on Thursday confirm that participation in the 2025 election for U.S. delegates to the World Zionist Congress surged by over 86% compared to the last election in 2020. A total of 230,257 valid votes were cast—224,237 online and 6,020 via mailed paper ballots—up from 123,575 votes in the previous cycle.
The election, held from March 10 to May 4, 2025, concluded with the tabulation of all ballots and final decisions by the Area Election Committee (AEC), which oversees the process. The 152 delegates elected from the United States—representing roughly one-third of the 525-member Congress—will join international delegates in determining the allocation of more than $1 billion annually in support of Israel and global Jewish initiatives.
A Message That Charedim Will Never Understand
This is, of course, a US soldier, but this is happening in Israel all the time!
Friday, June 6, 2025
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