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Argentine President Javier Milei speaks at Jewish sports tournament’s opening ceremony
BUENOS AIRES (JTA) — Newly-elected Argentine President Javier Milei spoke on Thursday at the opening ceremony of the Pan American Maccabi Games, an international tournament for Jewish athletes.
Over 10,000 people attended the two-hour event at Movistar Arena in Buenos Aires, located in the city’s Villa Crespo neighborhood, which is traditionally associated with the local Jewish community.
A handful of countries from outside of North and South America sent athlete delegations, including Australia, Great Britain, France and Zimbabwe. Israel’s delegation — pared down in size due to the aftermath of the Oct. 7 attacks — received a special welcome.
“I want a warm greeting to all the Jewish people and in particular to those who have family or loved ones near the front lines,” said Milei, referencing the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. His comments drew multiple standing ovations. “I accompany you in this difficult moment and I want to ratify at this moment my unalterable commitment to the state of Israel and to the Jewish people in their fight against Islamic terrorism, for peace and freedom.”
He also referenced the Hanukkah story, as he did in his inauguration speech, and added some words in Hebrew.
“Many times I have said that I did not come to guide lambs, but to awaken lions. I see in the Maccabean Games this spirit of excellence and courage,” he said. “Because of that, I say to the athletes ‘Chazak ve’ematz’ [‘be strong and courageous’].”
The ceremony included a somber prayer in memory of those killed on Oct. 7, led by Romina Schvalb from Kibbutz Nir Oz. Her brother-in-law, Ruben Engel, was killed in the Hamas attacks.
Other prominent attendees included Argentine Vice President Victoria Villaruel; the U.S. and Israeli ambassadors to Argentina, Marc Stanley and Eyal Sela; and the mayor of Buenos Aires, Jorge Macri.
“I have a lot of experience in Maccabi games, but this time was special. The entry of the Israeli delegation was… our heart exploded,” said Riki Kanterevicz, Maccabi World Union’s vice chairman and the chairman of Israel’s delegation, in a TV interview. “I want to thank the community that was in the stadium for this warm reception.”
Milei, a right-wing former economist who has already begun enacting sweeping changes to the country’s financial system, is not Jewish — but he has a passionate interest in Judaism. He has talked about studying with a rabbi and potentially converting to the religion. For his first trip abroad since being elected last month, he visited the tomb of the Lubavitcher rebbe in New York.
The Pan American games started in 1950 and occur every four years. Argentina was also host in 1995 and 2007.
In 2022, Joe Biden became the first U.S. president to make an appearance at a Maccabi tournament, at the flagship Maccabiah Games in Israel.
Many of the games in the current tournament can be viewed via this YouTube channel.
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The post Argentine President Javier Milei speaks at Jewish sports tournament’s opening ceremony appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Rights Group Files Lawsuit to Block Trump Deportations of Anti-Israel Protesters
Marco Rubio speaks after he is sworn in as Secretary of State by US Vice President JD Vance at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, DC, Jan. 21, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) filed a lawsuit challenging as unconstitutional the Trump administration’s actions to deport international students and scholars who protest or express support for Palestinian rights.
The lawsuit, filed on Saturday in the US District Court for the Northern District of New York, seeks a nationwide temporary restraining order to block enforcement of two executive orders signed by US President Donald Trump in the first month of his term.
The lawsuit comes after the detention of a Columbia University student, Mahmoud Khalil, a 30-year-old permanent US resident of Palestinian descent, whose arrest sparked protests this month.
Justice Department lawyers have argued that the US government is seeking Khalil’s removal because Secretary of State Marco Rubio has reasonable grounds to believe his activities or presence in the country could have “serious adverse foreign policy consequences.” Rubio on Friday said the United States will likely revoke visas of more students in the coming days.
Trump vowed to deport activists who took part in protests on US college campuses against Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza following the October 2023 attack by the Palestinian terrorists.
The ADC lawsuit was filed on behalf of two graduate students and a professor at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, who say their activism and support of the Palestinian people “has put them at serious risk of political persecution.”
“This lawsuit is a necessary step to preserve our most fundamental constitutional protections. The First Amendment guarantees the freedom of speech and expression to all persons within the United States, without exception,” said Abed Ayoub, national executive director of the ADC.
Chris Godshall-Bennett, the group’s legal director, said the litigation seeks immediate and long-term relief “to protect international students from any unconstitutional overreach that stifles free expression and deters them from fully engaging in academic and public discourse.”
The lawsuit centers on three Cornell University plaintiffs: a British-Gambian national and PhD student with a student visa; a US citizen PhD student working on plant science; and a US citizen novelist, poet, and professor in the Department of Literatures in English.
The post Rights Group Files Lawsuit to Block Trump Deportations of Anti-Israel Protesters first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Netanyahu Informs Shin Bet Chief to Vote on His Dismissal Next Week
Israel’s Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar speaks at Reichman University in Herzliya on Sunday, September 11, 2022. Photo: Screenshot
i24 News – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Ronen Bar, the head of the Shin Bet security agency, that he will bring a vote before his government to dismiss him next week.
The post Netanyahu Informs Shin Bet Chief to Vote on His Dismissal Next Week first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Houthis Claim to Attack US Aircraft Carrier, Retaliating for Strikes
Newly recruited fighters who joined a Houthi military force intended to be sent to fight in support of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, march during a parade in Sanaa, Yemen, Dec. 2, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
i24 News – The Houthis claimed on Sunday that they targeted the aircraft carrier USS Harry Truman and other vessels in the northern Red Sea with 18 ballistic and cruise missiles and a drone. Military spokesperson Yahya Saree said that the US-led attacks against the Houthis on Saturday comprised of more than 47 airstrikes on seven governorates, with the death toll expected to rise.
“The Yemeni Armed Forces will not hesitate to target all American warships in the Red Sea and in the Arabian Sea in retaliation to the aggression against our country,” Saree said, vowing the Houthis “will continue to impose a naval blockade on the Israeli enemy and ban its ships in the declared zone of operations until aid and basic needs are delivered to the Gaza Strip.”
The post Houthis Claim to Attack US Aircraft Carrier, Retaliating for Strikes first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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