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‘Crossed The Line’: MK Calls for Sky News Anchor Resignation After She Compares Hamas War to Holocaust
Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon, with Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein standing next to him, speaks to the media outside the General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York, June 26, 2019. Photo: Reuters / Shannon Stapleton.
Likud chairman and MK Danny Danon called for the resignation of Belle Donati, an anchor on the British broadcaster Sky News, after comments she made in an interview with Danon last Friday which were widely panned as antisemitic.
In the interview, Donati pushed back on Danon’s calls for voluntary emigration of Gazans to Arab or Western states, calling the proposal “ethnic cleansing” and sought to compare the move to the Holocaust, calling the Jews transfer to concentration camps “voluntary relocation.”
Danon told The Algemeiner in an interview “I’m used to some of the anchors being hostile, but what happened on Friday crossed the line… She started with line of ethnic cleaning, and then the comparison to the Holocaust.”
Danon said he is normally calm, but this caused him “to lose it. I told her she needs to apologize.”
In a letter he addressed separately to the executive chairman of Sky News, David Rhodes, Danon wrote “I found it particularly distressing when [Donati] audaciously likened the present situation in Gaza to the Holocaust, the largest premeditated mass murder of Jews in history.”
Sky News issued an apology later in the day of the interview, denouncing the “comparison between Mr. Danon’s comments on Israel’s war with Hamas and the treatment of Jewish people in the Holocaust. Sky News recognizes the complete inappropriateness of this comparison and the offensive nature of those comments. Sky News would like to apologize unreservedly for the comparison and to Mr. Danon personally for making the comparison.”
Danon acknowledged the apology, but wrote “My disappointment lies in the absence of a personal and sincere apology from Ms. Belle Donati herself… Furthermore, my concern deepens as I observe her Twitter feed, which exhibits a discernible bias and a clear anti-Israel stance.”
He then called for the media group “To facilitate the immediate resignation of Ms. Donati from her current position.”
The former UN ambassador said there has yet to be a response from the group, but “I won’t be quiet until she is removed from the position.” He added that he has “received a lot of comments from people all over the world who were shocked by what happened last Friday.”
Danon has emerged since the war as a moderate voice on what he views as a humanitarian solution to the situation of Gazans – voluntary emigration. In his Wall Street Journal op-ed published with opposition MK Ram Ben-Barak, they wrote “One idea is for countries around the world to accept limited numbers of Gazan families who have expressed a desire to relocate.” He drew comparisons to other conflicts around the world, pointing out that emigration is a natural outcome of war.
“Looking to these examples, countries around the world should offer a haven for Gaza residents who seek relocation. Countries can accomplish this by creating well-structured and internationally coordinated relocation programs. Members of the international community can collaborate to provide one-time financial-support packages to Gazans interested in moving to help with relocation costs and to ease refugees’ acclimation to their new communities,” the pair wrote.
Stressing the importance, they added “The international community has a moral imperative—and an opportunity—to demonstrate compassion, help the people of Gaza move toward a more prosperous future and work together to achieve greater peace and stability in the Middle East.”
He added on this front that voluntary emigration is “a very legitimate discussion. Allowing those seeking to leave to facilitate that.”
Asked why he takes on combative interviews like Friday’s, he said “It’s important to have zero tolerance for antisemitism.” More so, “I hope it can be an example for advocates for Israel.”
The post ‘Crossed The Line’: MK Calls for Sky News Anchor Resignation After She Compares Hamas War to Holocaust first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Washington Warns UK, France Against Recognizing Palestinian Statehood
Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy leaves Downing Street, following the results of the election, in London, Britain, July 5, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Toby Melville
i24 News – The United States has warned the UK and France not to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state at a UN conference scheduled for June 17 in New York, the Middle East Eye reported Tuesday.
France and Saudi Arabia will co-host this conference on the two-state solution, with Paris reportedly preparing to unilaterally recognize Palestine. France is also pressuring London to follow this path, according to sources from the British Foreign Office.
French media reports indicate that French authorities believe they have the agreement of the British government. Meanwhile, Arab states are encouraging this move, measuring the success of the conference by the recognitions obtained.
This initiative deeply divides Western allies. If France and the UK were to carry out this recognition, they would become the first G7 nations to take this step, causing a “political earthquake” according to observers, given their historical ties with Israel. The Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer threatened last week to annex parts of the West Bank if this recognition took place, according to a report in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
In the United Kingdom, Foreign Secretary David Lammy publicly opposes unilateral recognition, stating that London would only recognize a Palestinian state when we know that it is going to happen and that it is in view.
However, pressure is mounting within the Labour Party. MP Uma Kumaran, member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said that the government was elected on a platform that promised to recognize Palestine as a step towards a just and lasting peace. Chris Doyle, director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding, believes that there is no legitimate reason for the United States to interfere in a sovereign decision of recognition, while highlighting the unpredictability of US President Donald Trump on this issue.
The post Washington Warns UK, France Against Recognizing Palestinian Statehood first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Police, Shin Bet Thwart Suspected Iranian Attempt Perpetrate Terror Attack
A small number of Jewish worshipers pray during the priestly blessing, a traditional prayer which usually attracts thousands of worshipers at the Western Wall on the holiday of Passover during 2020, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Jerusalem’s Old City, April 12, 2020. Photo: Reuters / Ronen Zvulun.
i24 News – The Shin Bet security agency and Israel Police thwarted another Iranian attempt to recruit Israelis, according to a statement on Tuesday, arresting a resident of East Jerusalem for allegedly carrying out missions for the Islamic Republic.
Iranian agents recruited the suspect, who in turn recruited members of his family. He is a resident of the Isawiya neighborhood in his 30s, and is accused of maintaining contact with a hostile foreign entity to harm the state by carrying out a terrorist attack against Jews.
The suspect had already begun perpetrating acts of sabotage and espionage, including collecting intelligence about areas in Jerusalem, including the Western Wall and Mahane Yehuda Market. He also hung signs, burned Israeli army uniforms, and more in exchange for payment totaling thousands of shekels.
He was also charged with planning a terror attack in central Israel, including setting fire to a forest, and was told to transfer weapons to terrorist elements in the West Bank.
The suspect’s sought the help of family members, including his mother. A search at his home revealed sums of cash, a spray can used in some of his activities, airsoft guns, suspected illegal drugs, and more.
His indictment is expected to be filed by the Jerusalem District Attorney’s Office.
The statement said that the case is yet another example of Iranian efforts to recruit Israelis. “We will continue to coordinate efforts to thwart terrorism and terrorist elements, including those operating outside Israel, while attempting to mobilize local elements in order to protect the citizens of the State of Israel,” the Shin Bet and Police said.
The post Police, Shin Bet Thwart Suspected Iranian Attempt Perpetrate Terror Attack first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Pro-Russian, Anti-Israeli Hackers Pose Biggest Cybercrime Threats in Germany
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt holds a chart showing the development of antisemitic crime, during a press conference on Figures for Politically Motivated Crime in the Country, in Berlin, Germany, May 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
Cybercrime in Germany rose to a record level last year, driven by hacker attacks from pro-Russian and anti-Israeli groups, the BKA Federal Crime Office reported on Tuesday as the government said it would boost countermeasures to combat it.
“Cybercrime is an increasing threat to our security,” said Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt. “It is getting more aggressive but our counter-strategies are also becoming more professional,” he said.
Some 131,391 cases of cybercrime took place in Germany last year and a further 201,877 cases were committed from abroad or an unknown location, a BKA report said.
The actors behind the hacker attacks on German targets were primarily either pro-Russian or anti-Israeli, said the BKA, adding targets were mostly public and federal institutions.
Ransomware, when criminals copy and encrypt data, is one of the main threats, said the BKA, with 950 companies and institutes reporting cases in 2024.
German digital association Bitkom said damage caused by cyberattacks here totaled 178.6 billion euros ($203.87 billion) last year, some 30.4 billion euros more than in the previous year.
Dobrindt said the government planned to extend the legal capabilities authorities could use to combat cybercrime and set higher security standards for companies.
The post Pro-Russian, Anti-Israeli Hackers Pose Biggest Cybercrime Threats in Germany first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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