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At a small Tel Aviv protest ahead of the Israel-Hamas hostage deal, families feel hope and uncertainty

TEL AVIV (JTA) — Wearing a face that bore the marks of 47 days of anguished waiting, Hadas Kalderon took to the streets to block traffic on a central Tel Aviv thoroughfare next to Israel’s military headquarters. 

Kalderon was demanding that Israel’s leaders, who were meeting in the complex, approve a deal to release at least 50 of the hostages held by Hamas — including, possibly, her son and daughter. 

“We want them all back, I will fight to the end until everyone comes back,” said Kalderon, whose 16-year-old daughter Sahar, 12-year-old son Erez and their father — her ex-husband, Ofer — were kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz on Oct. 7. They are among the approximately 240 hostages held by Hamas and other terror groups in Gaza, abducted during the attack that day.

The deal set to be approved by Israel’s government on Tuesday will free at least 50 Israeli hostages — among them women, children and the elderly — in exchange for some 150 Palestinian women and minors in Israeli prison on security offenses. Israel has also agreed to a four-day pause in its war against Hamas in Gaza. 

Kalderon understood that this hostage deal won’t bring the entire family home. But she sees it as a crucial first step.

“The father of my children is there, I want my children to have a father but we have to live in reality,” she said of the proposed deal, which will reportedly exclude men and soldiers. “At first we must take out the weak. Babies, children and elderly will not survive. And then it will be open to bring them all.”

Compared to recent protests that brought tens of thousands of Israelis to the streets, and even a march from Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem last week that drew many supporters to call for freeing the hostages, only a small group of approximately 100 Israelis gathered Tuesday night to call for the hostage deal’s approval. In spite of the small crowd blocking the busy Begin Boulevard, police made no effort to disperse the crowd and even some of the stranded motorists showed little of the frustration they have displayed about previous protests. 

“It is good that they are doing this,” said a driver of a stalled Egged bus. Referring to a massive protest movement that spread across Israel for much of the year prior to Oct. 7, he said, “It is not like the judicial reforms. These are Israeli citizens captive in Gaza, it is much more important.” 

Despite the milestone deal, there were few signs of celebration in light of the deal’s fraught implications for those not included.

“The deal is not simple,” said Shir Sella, a 24-year-old cousin of the Kalderon family. “We are very worried that it will make it harder to release the men and it is a question of what we are giving up. … I feel like the government betrayed us by not protecting us.”

Concerns have also simmered over what kinds of dangers a multi-day pause in fighting might pose to Israeli soldiers fighting in Gaza; Israeli officials have said the soldiers would remain in place during the truce. Soldiers who are being held hostage are also not being released.

“As a mother of a soldier in captivity, I would be terrified,” said Michal Roth, whose son is serving in Gaza as a soldier.  

“It is such an unhuman dilemma that we are in and I think that Hamas is trying to tear us apart with this deal,” Roth added. “But there is no win-win and even with my own child in Gaza, as a mother my thoughts are with the kids held captive and not him.”

On the other side of the road, a small group of counter-protesters gathered to express opposition to the hostage deal, a view mainly reflected by the far-right political parties in Israel’s parliament who vowed to vote against the deal. Limor Son Har-Melech, a right-wing member of Knesset from Itamar Ben-Gvir’s Jewish Power party, stood at a distance from both protests.

“It pains me to see the split,” she said. “I have good relations with families on the other side calling for a deal but I think it is a very dangerous deal for us.”

Son Har-Melech was badly injured while pregnant in a terrorist attack in 2003 that killed her first husband, Shuli Har-Melech. Terrorists who carried out that attack were among about 1,000 Palestinians released from Israeli prisons in 2011 as part of a deal with Hamas to free the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, she said. 

“We do not learn from history — we need to learn from the Shalit deal,” Son Har-Melech said, noting that current Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was also released at the time.

“Hamas is abusing our weaknesses and there would be a better chance to return them all if we showed strength,” she said, adding that “if we do not have unity we lose anyways.”

Atara Levy, an activist with Women Wage Peace, came to the protest to show solidarity for her friend Netta Heiman, whose 84-year old mother Ditza was taken captive from Kibbutz Nir Oz. (Vivan Silver, one of the group’s cofounders, was murdered on Oct. 7 in her home on Kibbutz Be’eri. She had been thought to be one of the captives until her body was discovered.)

“We need a diplomatic solution and there is no choice but to accept the deal,” Levy said. “I am not sure if this is a step towards peace, but it is definitely a step in the right direction for the nation to survive, because a state that cannot return its captives has no legitimacy.”

While Levy does not have much hope for the country’s leadership, tomorrow she will join a zoom meeting with “hundreds” of Palestinian women from the West Bank and Gaza who want peace and “are supporting us, that we are one.”

Efrat, a protester from Tel Aviv who declined to share her last name, said that she feels “horrible” about the deal — because of how much pain and uncertainty remains.

“Even if 50 are brought home, there are still more than 150 left behind,” she said. “I do not feel like I can be okay as a citizen of Israel or as a human being without them all home.” 


The post At a small Tel Aviv protest ahead of the Israel-Hamas hostage deal, families feel hope and uncertainty appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

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Germany Presses Main Mosque Network to Distance Itself From Erdogan Ally Over Antisemitism

Ali Erbas, president of Diyanet, speaks at a press conference following an August 2025 gathering in Istanbul, where 150 Islamic scholars called for armed resistance and a boycott against Israel. Photo: Screenshot

Amid a rising wave of anti-Jewish hate crimes, the German government is pressing the country’s main mosque association over its close ties to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, urging it to publicly distance itself from his antisemitic and anti-Israel rhetoric.

According to local reports, German authorities have told the Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs (DITIB) — the country’s largest mosque network — to formally break with Erdogan’s hateful statements or risk losing government support and cooperation.

“We expect the federal government’s cooperation partners to clearly distance themselves from organizations and individuals who spread antisemitic messages or promote Islamist agendas,” a spokesperson for Germany’s Federal Ministry of Interior said in a statement to German media.

For years, the German government has supported DITIB in training imams, as well as helping to foster community programs and religious initiatives.

In 2023, then-Interior Minister Nancy Faeser signed an agreement with the Turkish government’s Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) and DITIB for a new imam training program.

By sending imams from Turkey and paying their salaries, the Diyanet oversees DITIB and its hundreds of communities across Germany, shaping the ideological direction of more than 900 mosques and influencing the training of their imams.

Under a new program, however, the Diyanet no longer sends imams directly from Turkey. Instead, Turkish students are trained in Germany in cooperation with the German Islam Conference (IKD).

Since March 1 of this year, the Interior Ministry has designated €465,000 in support for the program, according to the German newspaper Die Welt.

With this new agreement, imams live permanently in German communities and have no formal ties to the Turkish government. Still, experts doubt that this alone would curb the Diyanet’s political influence.

In the past, DITIB has faced multiple controversies, with some members making antisemitic remarks and spreading hateful messages.

“The continuation of measures adopted for this purpose, such as the training initiative, will largely depend on DITIB’s conduct and the success of the process,” a spokesperson for the Ministry of Interior said in a statement.

The German government’s latest warning came after a conference in Istanbul last month, where 150 Islamic scholars called for armed resistance against Israel, a boycott against the country, and “global jihad.”

Among those attending was Ali Erbas, president of Diyanet, with whom the German government signed the new agreement in 2023.

Erbas has repeatedly made public antisemitic statements, defended the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct.7, 2023, and called for the mobilization of “all forms of jihad.”

“The Zionist regime is committing outright genocide in Gaza. We believe it is haram, or forbidden, to remain silent in the face of oppression. Therefore, everyone can take action. The boycott of Zionist occupiers’ goods must continue,” Erbas reportedly said during the conference.

“We firmly affirm that the Palestinian people have all legitimate forms of resistance against the Zionist occupation, including armed resistance. We also consider it necessary to mobilize the Ummah [Islamic community] for all forms of jihad in the way of Allah,” he continued.

The German government strongly condemned Erbas’s comments, questioning DITIB’s relationship with a public figure whose statements and antisemitic ideology contradict their cooperation agreement.

“These events underscore, once again, the problematic structural and personal links between DITIB and the Turkish religious authority,” a spokesperson for the Ministry of Interior said in a statement.

“Cooperation with DITIB requires a clear commitment to the values of the Basic Law, to international understanding, to Israel’s right to exist, and to a firm opposition to both Islamism and antisemitism,” the statement read.

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EU Targets Israel With Sanctions and Partial Trade Suspension, Von der Leyen Calls for Ceasefire Amid Gaza War

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivers the State of the European Union address to the European Parliament, in Strasbourg, France, Sept. 10, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Yves Herman

The executive body of the European Union will propose sanctions against certain Israeli ministers and partially suspend the EU’s association agreement with Israel, in one of its latest efforts to pressure Jerusalem over the war in Gaza.

On Wednesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen unveiled new measures targeting the 25-year-old pact governing the EU’s political and economic ties with Israel, in one of the latest attempts to curb the Jewish state’s defensive campaign against Hamas.

“What is happening in Gaza has shaken the conscience of the world,” von der Leyen said in a State of the Union speech to the European Parliament in France.

“People killed while begging for food. Mothers holding lifeless babies,” she continued. “Man-made famine can never be a weapon of war. For the sake of the children, for the sake of humanity. This must stop.”

This latest move is part of an increasingly hostile campaign by some European countries against the Jewish state, building on previous efforts to undermine Israel internationally.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar denounced von der Leyen’s comments as “regrettable,” adding that some of her remarks were “tainted by echoing the false propaganda of Hamas and its partners.”

“Israel, the world’s only Jewish state and the only democracy in the Middle East, is fighting a war of existence against extremist enemies working to eliminate it. The international community must back Israel in this struggle,” the top Israeli diplomat wrote in a post on X.

“Once again, Europe conveys the wrong message that strengthens Hamas and the radical axis in the Middle East,” he continued. “Anyone who seeks an end to the war knows very well how to end it: the release of the hostages, the disarmament of Hamas, a new future for Gaza.”

Saar added, “Hurting Israel will not bring this about; on the contrary, it entrenches Hamas and Israel’s enemies in their refusal.”

Von der Leyen’s announcement came just a day after Jerusalem carried out strikes against Hamas’s political leadership in Qatar, which has supported the Palestinian terrorist group for years.

In her speech, von der Leyen denounced Israel’s actions, accusing the country of causing starvation in the war-torn enclave of Gaza and undermining ceasefire negotiations.

She also condemned the expansion of settlements in parts of the West Bank and denounced comments from some government ministers that she said incite violence.

“All of this points to a clear attempt to undermine the two-state solution, to undermine the vision of a viable Palestinian state. And we must not let this happen,” von der Leyen said.

Israel has vehemently denied any accusations of causing starvation in Gaza, noting that it has provided and facilitated significant humanitarian aid into the enclave throughout much of the war.

Israeli officials have also said much of the aid that flows into Gaza is stolen by Hamas, which uses it for terrorist operations and sells the rest at high prices to Gazan civilians. According to UN data, the vast majority of humanitarian aid entering Gaza is intercepted before reaching its intended civilian recipients.

Jerusalem has also argued it has gone to unprecedented lengths to try and avoid civilian casualties, despite Hamas’s widely acknowledged military strategy of embedding its terrorists within Gaza’s civilian population and commandeering civilian facilities like hospitals, schools, and mosques to run operations and direct attacks.

Under the new proposed measures, the EU would partially suspend its trade pact with Israel, removing preferential treatment for Israeli goods that make up nearly a third of the country’s total international trade.

Von der Leyen also announced that the EU will suspend its bilateral support for Israel, while maintaining engagement with Israeli civil society and Yad Vashem, the country’s main Holocaust memorial center.

In addition, the European Commission “will propose sanctions on the extremist ministers and on violent settlers” and plans to set up a “Palestine donor group” next month, with a dedicated mechanism to support Gaza’s reconstruction following the war.

At the end of her speech, von der Leyen called for the release of the Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas, the “unrestrained” entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, and “an immediate ceasefire.”

“There can never be any place for Hamas, neither now nor in future because they are terrorists who want to destroy Israel,” the European Commission head said.

“They are also inflicting terror on their own people, keeping their future hostage.”

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Australian Police Arrest Alleged Perpetrator Behind 4 Antisemitic Attacks, Including Child-Care Center Torching

Southern Sydney Synagogue in the suburb of Allawah, Australia, was vandalized with antisemitic graffiti on Jan. 10, 2024. Photo: Screenshot

Australian authorities have charged a 27-year-old man who they say directed multiple acts of vandalism and antisemitic arson attacks against Sydney’s Jewish population.

Police on Wednesday named the suspect as Tarek Zahabe, who was arrested in July but only publicly revealed this week as the alleged organizer of four crimes in January. Investigators say he orchestrated the attacks and instructed Kye Pickering, his alleged 26-year-old accomplice.

The alleged crimes occurred in less than a month. On Jan. 10, swastikas were sprayed across the Allawah Synagogue in southern Sydney. A week later, on Jan. 17, vandals attacked the former home of Alex Ryvchin, co-executive chief officer of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry. They splashed red paint and torched four cars on the street, scrawling “f**k Jews” on one of the vehicles. On Jan. 21, a child-care center near the Maroubra Synagogue was set on fire and vandalized with antisemitic graffiti. Finally, on Jan. 30, a Jewish school in Maroubra was also targeted with spray-painted slurs.

Police allege Zahabe directed and coordinated each of these actions, while Pickering executed much of the damage.

Zahabe faces two counts of participating in a criminal group and one count of knowingly or recklessly directing such a group. Pickering has been charged with destroying property, participating in the conspiracy, and displaying Nazi symbols in public. Both are scheduled to appear before the Downing Centre Local Court on Oct. 30.

In Australia, the public display of swastikas and other Nazi iconography carries penalties as high as 12 months’ imprisonment or a fine of $11,000.

Some Australian states enforce stiffer penalties for those intent on promoting the Third Reich, such as Victoria with fines reaching $23,000 and 12 months in jail. In Western Australia, Nazi advocates face fines of $24,000 with as much as five years behind bars.

The arrests resulted from the efforts of Strike Force Pearl, a counterterrorism investigation launched after a wave of incidents targeting Sydney’s Jewish community. Authorities have linked Zahabe’s alleged actions to a broader set of more than a dozen attacks across the summer, including one case in which a caravan filled with explosives was discovered on the city’s outskirts.

“We thank the NSW [New South Wales] Police for their efforts and determination in bringing these alleged offenders to justice,” David Ossip, president of the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies, said in a statement. “Many in the community will sleep more soundly in the knowledge that at least some of these attackers are no longer a threat but big questions remain about the role of Iran in these events.”

At the time of the January attacks, political leaders condemned the criminals with Chris Minns, the New South Wales premier, calling the attackers “bastards … with hate in their hearts.” He would later describe the spate of firebombings and graffiti as Sydney’s “summer of racism.” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also denounced the attacks targeting Jewish sites and leaders.

Authorities have so far chosen to prosecute Zahabe as a domestic criminal conspiracy. However, Australian leaders have recently announced the involvement of Iran in other antisemitic crimes in the country, charges prompting diplomatic divisions resulting in the mutual expulsion of ambassadors.

In August, the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) said it had credible evidence that Iran directed two crimes — a firebombing of Lewis’s Continental Kitchen, a kosher deli in Bondi, and an arson attack on Melbourne’s Adass Israel Synagogue.

Albanese described the incidents as “extraordinary and dangerous acts of aggression orchestrated by a foreign nation on Australian soil.” His government responded by expelling Iran’s ambassador, suspending operations at Australia’s embassy in Tehran, and pledging to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei denied the allegations, calling them “ridiculous and baseless” while accusing Australia of manufacturing claims to justify an anti-Iran policy. Tehran responded by downgrading relations, sending the Australian ambassador home, and insisting that antisemitism was a “Western and European” problem with no place in Iran’s own cultural history.

“If you look at history, persecution of Jews because of their religion is rooted in Europe, and it is they who must be held accountable for their past,” Baghaei said.

The Guardian reported that police have not linked Zahabe’s case directly to Iran or to the organized crime networks mentioned earlier in the investigation.

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