RSS
Pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrators face off on Manhattan streets following Hamas attack on Israel
(New York Jewish Week) — As Israel continued to clear the Gaza border area of Hamas attackers, and came to grips with an attack that killed 700 people, hundreds of people came to rally in support of the country outside the United Nations on Sunday afternoon.
But for at least one demonstrator, the focus wasn’t on decrying what happened, but making sure to support Israel if it gets criticized for its response to the violence.
“We’re here to show support for Israel which has been attacked in the most savage way by Hamas terrorists,” said Ofer Jacobowitz, who holds both U.S. and Israeli citizenship and has lived in the United States since he was a child. “Israel needs all the support they can get. As soon as it retaliates for what happens and tries to end the Hamas terror, it will be demonized in the media.”
Israel has declared war following the outbreak of bloodshed, and — judging by another rally just blocks away — Jacobowitz’s concern was not unfounded. At Times Square, hundreds of demonstrators staged their own gathering to condemn Israel.
“From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” one chant at the Times Square rally went. “New York City you will see, Palestine will be free.”
The rallies, just blocks apart in the heart of New York City, came one day after a major attack by Hamas on Israel and resulted in multiple showdowns between demonstrators, including a shouting match across 42nd Street as police stood in the middle of the road to maintain their distance.
The rallies reflected the depth of emotion felt by New Yorkers in the wake of the attack, which left hundreds of Israelis dead, thousands wounded and 100 taken captive to Gaza. Israeli officials have promised an extended campaign in Gaza, the territory that Hamas controls.
Organized by an array of far-left groups including the Party for Socialism and Liberation, the Times Square rally drew condemnation from elected officials, including Rep. Hakeem Jeffries and Gov. Kathy Hochul, who called it “abhorrent and morally repugnant.”
One organizer who did not share their name called the violence in Israel a “great escalation of a historic struggle” and “not a terrorist attack,” but instead a manifestation of Palestinians’ right to self-determination.
Irene Siegel, who carried a sign identifying herself as a Jewish supporter of the movement to boycott Israel, said she had been “horrified” by what happened in Israel — just as she had been for a long time about what was happening to Palestinians. She said she had come to the protest out of concern about Israel’s response to the onslaught.
“Palestinians really need people to stand with them right now,” she said. “It’s a really easy moment for militarist rhetoric and escalations around support for Israeli militarism.”
The rally near the United Nations was called by the group End Jew Hatred. (A separate rally held by UnXeptable, the protest movement of Israelis in the United States, took place 40 blocks south around the same time.)
The two constituencies clashed multiple times. Supporters of Israel jeered at the pro-Palestinian rally and sought to drown out its chants by singing “Hatikvah,” Israel’s national anthem, loudly from across the street.
Later, pro-Palestinian demonstrators approached the people who had come to the End Jew Hatred rally, screaming, “Hey hey, ho ho, Israel has got to go” from one side of the street while people waving Israeli flags on the other side screamed chants including, “Israel is peace.”
The pro-Palestinian rally had been promoted by New York City’s chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, which has long taken anti-Israel stances including asking City Council candidates whether they would commit not to traveling to Israel.
Some in attendance said they supported socialism but opposed Hamas’ attack on Israelis and had come to make sure their perspectives were represented.
“Can we ever condone civilian targets? Never,” said Lea Sherman, a Socialist Workers Party candidate for New Jersey’s General Assembly. “Socialists are opposed to antisemitism and Jew hatred. This has nothing to do with socialism.”
Hannah Simpson, a writer and activist on transgender issues who is Jewish, came to Times Square waving a rainbow Israeli flag.
“I was tremendously dismayed when I saw that the Democratic Socialists of America had co-sponsored the Palestine rally today,” she said. “It baffles me when I think of Hamas as being neither democratic nor socialist, nor anything but reprehensible, especially to members of the LGBT community within the Gaza Strip.”
Simpson added, “I think it’s important to show that New York is not letting this go unanswered.”
—
The post Pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrators face off on Manhattan streets following Hamas attack on Israel appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
RSS
Iran Says Direct Nuclear Talks With US Possible Under Suitable Conditions
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during a meeting in Ilam, Iran, June 12, 2025. Photo: Iran’s Presidential website/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
Iran could hold direct nuclear talks with the United States if conditions are suitable, first Vice President Mohammadreza Aref said on Tuesday, according to state media.
But he said US demands for Tehran to drop uranium enrichment entirely were “a joke.”
A sixth round of talks between Tehran and Washington was suspended following Israeli and US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities in June.
Both powers accuse Iran of seeking nuclear weapons, an accusation Tehran has rejected.
“Iran is ready for negotiations under equal conditions in order to safeguard its interests … The Islamic Republic’s stance is in the direction that people want and, should there be suitable conditions, we are even ready for direct talks,” Aref said.
Previous rounds of negotiations, which started in April, were indirect, mediated by Oman. Washington says uranium enrichment in Iran constitutes a pathway to developing nuclear weapons and should be dropped.
On Sunday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian made a controversial statement in favor of resuming negotiations with the US regardless of current levels of distrust.
“You don’t want to talk? Well then, what do you want to do? Do you want to go to war? … Going to talks does not mean we intend to surrender,” he said, adding that such issues should not be “approached emotionally.”
A senior commander of Iran‘s Revolutionary Guards, Aziz Ghazanfari, reacting to Pezeshkian’s comments on Monday, said foreign policy requires discretion, and careless statements by authorities can have serious consequences for the country.
RSS
Australia’s Albanese Says Netanyahu ‘In Denial’ Over Gaza Humanitarian Situation
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks at a Labor party election night event, after local media projected the Labor Party’s victory, on the day of the Australian federal election, in Sydney, Australia, May 3, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Hollie Adams
Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu was “in denial” about the humanitarian situation in Gaza, a day after announcing Australia would recognize a Palestinian state for the first time.
Australia will recognize a Palestinian state at next month’s United Nations General Assembly, Albanese said on Monday, a move that adds to international pressure on Israel after similar announcements from France, Britain, and Canada.
Albanese said on Tuesday the Netanyahu government’s reluctance to listen to its allies contributed to Australia’s decision to recognize a Palestinian state.
“He again reiterated to me what he has said publicly as well, which is to be in denial about the consequences that are occurring for innocent people,” Albanese said in an interview with state broadcaster ABC, recounting a Thursday phone call with Netanyahu discussing the issue.
Australia’s decision to recognize a Palestinian state is conditional on commitments received from the Palestinian Authority, including that Islamist teoor group Hamas would have no involvement in any future state.
Right-leaning opposition leader Sussan Ley said the move, which breaks with long-held bipartisan policy over Israel and the Palestinian territories, risked jeopardizing Australia’s relationship with the United States.
SENTIMENT SHIFT
Albanese said as little as two weeks ago he would not be drawn on a timeline for recognition of a Palestinian state.
His incumbent center-left Labor Party, which won an increased majority at a general election in May, has previously been wary of dividing public opinion in Australia, which has significant Jewish and Muslim minorities.
But the public mood has shifted sharply after Israel said it planned to take military control of Gaza, amid increasing reports of hunger amongst its people.
Israel recently increased the flow of humanitarian supplies into Gaza, after imposing a temporary embargo in an effort to keep them out of the hands of Hamas, which often steals the aid for its own use and sells the rest to civilians at inflated prices. While facilitating the entry of thousands of aid trucks into Gaza, Israeli officials have condemned the UN and other international aid agencies for their alleged failure to distribute supplies, noting much of the humanitarian assistance has been stalled at border crossings or stolen. According to UN data, the vast majority of humanitarian aid entering Gaza is intercepted before reaching its intended civilian recipients.
Nonetheless, tens of thousands of demonstrators marched across Sydney’s Harbour Bridge this month calling for aid deliveries in Gaza.
“This decision is driven by popular sentiment in Australia which has shifted in recent months, with a majority of Australians wanting to see an imminent end to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza,” said Jessica Genauer, a senior lecturer in international relations at Flinders University.
Opposition leader Ley said the decision was “disrespectful” of key ally the United States, which opposes Palestinian statehood.
“We would never have taken this step because this is completely against what our principles are, which is that recognition, the two state solution, comes at the end of the peace process, not before,” she said in an interview with radio station 2GB.
Neighboring New Zealand has said it is still considering whether to recognize a Palestinian state, a decision that drew sharp criticism from former prime minister Helen Clark on Tuesday.
“This is a catastrophic situation, and here we are in New Zealand somehow arguing some fine point about whether we should recognize we need to be adding our voice to the need for this catastrophe to stop,” she said in an interview with state broadcaster RNZ.
“This is not the New Zealand I’ve known.”
RSS
Iran Says It Arrested 21,000 ‘Suspects’ During 12-Day War With Israel
Rescue personnel work at an impact site following a missile attack from Iran, in Bat Yam, Israel, June 15, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
Iranian police arrested as many as 21,000 “suspects” during the country’s 12–day war with Israel in June, a law enforcement spokesperson said on Tuesday, according to state media.
Following Israeli air strikes that began on June 13, Iranian security forces began a campaign of widespread arrests accompanied by an intensified street presence based around checkpoints and “public reports” whereby citizens were called upon to report on any individuals they thought were acting suspiciously.
“There was a 41 percent increase in calls by the public, which led to the arrest of 21,000 suspects during the 12–day war,” police spokesperson Saeid Montazerolmahdi said. He did not say what those arrested were suspected of, but Tehran has spoken before of people passing on information that may have helped direct the Israeli attacks.
The Israel–Iran conflict has also led to an accelerated rate of deportations for Afghan migrants believed to be illegally in Iran, with aid agencies reporting that local authorities had also accused some Afghan nationals of spying for Israel.
“Law enforcement rounded up 2,774 illegal migrants and discovered 30 special security cases by examining their phones. 261 suspects of espionage and 172 people accused of unauthorized filming were also arrested,” the spokesperson added.
Montazerolmahdi did not specify how many of those arrested had since been released.
He added that Iran‘s police handled more than 5,700 cases of cyber crimes such as online fraud and unauthorised withdrawals during the war, which he said had turned “cyberspace into an important battlefront.”