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‘Degrading Treatment’: Israeli Travelers at London’s Heathrow Airport Harassed Over Israeli Flag: Report
Heathrow Airport Customs. Travelers on an El Al flight faced additional screening by pro-Palestinian customs officials. (Photo: Screenshot)
Travelers on an El Al flight to Tel Aviv faced harassment after checking-in at London’s Heathrow Airport by local customs officials, following an uptick in antisemitic incidents with Jewish travelers in the wake of Hamas’s October 7th massacres.
According to UK Lawyers for Israel, the airport officials – who were seen by passengers sporting lanyards with Palestinian symbols including a watermelon – selected all Israeli passengers for extra screening after seeing an Israeli flag in a passenger’s bag.
The watermelon symbol became a symbol for Palestinian terrorism and resistance. After the Six Day War, Israeli officials banned the display of the Palestinian flag, and as an act of resistance beginning in 1980s Ramallah, the watermelon was adopted as a symbol by the Palestinian movement because it shares similar colors to the Palestinian flag. Recently, the watermelon symbol has become a mainstay in college campuses and pro-Palestinian protests.
Protestors in Melbourne unfurl a watermelon banner in solidarity with Palestinian ‘resistance.’ (Photo: Screenshot)
“The people responsible for making sure terrorists don’t blow up airplanes were wearing badges that identify with terrorists,” said a passenger on the flight.
In response to the antisemitic incident, UK Lawyers for Israel filed a complaint to Heathrow Airport alleging a violation of the Equality Act of 2010 which protects against discrimination and harassment. According to a spokesperson for the group, “It is obvious that if staff wear these badges it would make most Jewish, Israeli, and Israel supporting passengers feel uncomfortable and unsafe, particularly in the area of security checking at Heathrow.”
UK Lawyers for Israel decried Heathrow Airport’s “degrading treatment [of El Al passengers] simply because they are Jewish”
In another recent incident at Heathrow Airport, passengers deplaning an El Al flight were placed in a special screening line at customs and received extra scrutiny for arriving from the Jewish state. According to a passenger, who asked a customs official why Israeli and Jewish travelers were singled out for extra screening, the official responded, “I am a customs officer and I can do whatever I want.”
A spokesperson for Heathrow commented to The Standard, ““Everyone should feel safe and welcome at Heathrow. We have guidance on what colleagues can wear at work, if that guidance is not followed, we will ensure those items are removed immediately, as was the case in this instance.”
Globally, Jewish travelers have faced an uptick in antisemitic incidents with border officials since October 7th. In Australia, border authorities “intervened” to question three Jewish travelers who had departed “for Israel after October 7th” and were suspected of serving in the IDF, according to a press release from Australia’s Department of Home Affairs. There is no Australian law forbidding its citizens from serving in the IDF.
The post ‘Degrading Treatment’: Israeli Travelers at London’s Heathrow Airport Harassed Over Israeli Flag: Report first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Lebanon Must Disarm Hezbollah to Have a Shot at Better Days, Says US Envoy
Thomas Barrack at the Brooklyn Federal Courthouse in Brooklyn, New York, U.S., November 4, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
i24 News – Lebanon’s daunting social, economic and political issues would not get resolved unless the state persists in the efforts to disarm Hezbollah, the Iranian proxy behind so much of the unrest and destruction, special US envoy Tom Barrack told The National.
“You have Israel on one side, you have Iran on the other, and now you have Syria manifesting itself so quickly that if Lebanon doesn’t move, it’s going to be Bilad Al Sham again,” he said, using the historical Arabic name for the region sometimes known as “larger Syria.”
The official stressed the need to follow through on promises to disarm the Iranian proxy, which suffered severe blows from Israel in the past year, including the elimination of its entire leadership, and is considered a weakened though still dangerous jihadist outfit.
“There are issues that we have to arm wrestle with each other over to come to a final conclusion. Remember, we have an agreement, it was a great agreement. The problem is, nobody followed it,” he told The National.
Barrack spoke on the heels of a trip to Beirut, where he proposed a diplomatic plan for the region involving the full disarmament of Hezbollah by the Lebanese state.
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Report: Putin Urges Iran to Accept ‘Zero Enrichment’ Nuclear Deal With US
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of a cultural forum dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the birth of the Turkmen poet and philosopher Magtymguly Fragi, in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Oct. 11, 2024. Photo: Sputnik/Alexander Scherbak/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – Russian President Vladimir Putin has told Iranian leadership that he supports the idea of a nuclear deal in which Iran is unable to enrich uranium, the Axios website reported on Saturday. The Russian strongman also relayed the message to his American counterpart, President Donald Trump, the report said.
Iranian news agency Tasnim issued a denial, citing an “informed source” as saying Putin had not sent any message to Iran in this regard.
Also on Saturday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that “Any negotiated solution must respect Iran’s right to enrichment. No agreement without recognizing our right to enrichment. If negotiations occur, the only topic will be the nuclear program. No other issues, especially defense or military matters, will be on the agenda.”
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Syria’s Al-Sharaa Attending At Least One Meeting With Israeli Officials in Azerbaijan
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron after a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, May 7, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq/Pool
i24 News – Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa is attending at least one meeting with Israeli officials in Azerbaijan today, despite sources in Damascus claiming he wasn’t attending, a Syrian source close to President Al-Sharaa tells i24NEWS.
The Syrian source stated that this is a series of two or three meetings between the sides, with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani also in attendance, along with Ahmed Al-Dalati, the Syrian government’s liaison for security meetings with Israel.
The high-level Israeli delegation includes a special envoy of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, as well as security and military figures.
The purpose of the meetings is to discuss further details of the security agreement to be signed between Israel and Syria, the Iranian threat in Syria and Lebanon, Hezbollah’s weapons, the weapons of Palestinian militias, the Palestinians camps in Lebanon, and the future of Palestinian refugees from Gaza in the region.
The possibility of opening an Israeli coordination office in Damascus, without diplomatic status, might also be discussed.
The source stated that the decision to hold the meetings in Azerbaijan, made by Israel and the US, is intended to send a message to Iran.
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