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Biden Admin Threatens Israel with Arms Embargo Over Gaza Aid
Egyptian trucks carrying humanitarian aid make their way to the Gaza Strip, amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, at the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Israel, May 30, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
JNS.org – The Biden administration has stepped up pressure on Jerusalem to meet a host of demands focused on vastly expanding the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.
On Oct. 13, Axios reported that Washington had sent a letter to Israel containing an ultimatum: Improve the humanitarian conditions in the Palestinian enclave within 30 days or risk a hold-up in the supply of U.S. weapons.
On Oct. 15, the White House confirmed the contents of the letter.
John Kirby, the White House national security communications adviser, told reporters at a briefing that the letter was prompted by a “recent decrease in humanitarian assistance reaching the people of Gaza.
“I can confirm that Secretary [of Defense Lloyd] Austin and Secretary [of State Antony] Blinken co-signed the letter you’re talking about, and it was sent to their Israeli counterparts,” said Kirby. “I would note that the Biden-Harris administration made a similar request for concrete measures with respect to humanitarian assistance back in April with a similar letter, and that letter did receive a constructive response from the Israelis.”
According to Axios, the letter spelled out 15 policy changes required to avoid an embargo.
“Failure to demonstrate a sustained commitment to implementing and maintaining these measures may have implications for US policy under NSM-20 [National Security Memorandum-20] and relevant US law,” it went on to say.
A US official told Axios that if Jerusalem fails to meet the demands by Nov. 13, military assistance could be suspended, a step the Biden administration has not taken but which is gathering more support at the State Department.
The article also notes that it could be the first major decision taken by the Biden administration following this Tuesday’s presidential election.
It comes against the backdrop of a major Israeli operation to prevent Hamas terrorists from regrouping in Jabaliya in northern Gaza, with the United States concerned that not enough humanitarian aid is being delivered to that area during the operation.
Blinken and Austin reportedly raised demands for more aid in recent conversations with Israeli officials.
“Both of us and our teams are tracking very carefully Israel’s responsibilities to meet the letter of the law … with regard to the provision of humanitarian assistance,” Blinken said at a press conference with Austin on Oct. 31.
They stressed that Israel had made progress, but that more needs to be done.
“It’s not enough to get trucks to Gaza. It’s vital that what they bring with them can get distributed effectively inside of Gaza,” said Blinken.
Two Israeli officials and two US officials told Axios that State Department officials had “difficult” meetings and phone calls in recent days with their Israeli counterparts.
Concerns were also reportedly raised about Jerusalem banning the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).
The Knesset on Oct. 28 made it illegal for UNRWA to operate in Israeli territory, and for state officials to cooperate with the agency.
The two laws were passed by large majorities following the exposure of UNRWA staff complicity in Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre, and despite pressure from the United States and other countries against the move.
Blinken spoke on Friday with Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer about “de-escalating” the situation in the Middle East, including measures to increase humanitarian aid efforts in the Gaza Strip.
“The secretary emphasized the importance of ending the war in Gaza and bringing all of the hostages home, as well as charting a path forward in the post-conflict period that provides governance, security, and reconstruction,” according to a State Department readout.
Blinken, moreover, “discussed the dire status of humanitarian conditions in Gaza, reviewed steps that have been taken to improve the situation, and urged further actions to surge aid to civilians.”
In the Friday discussion between Blinken and Dermer, the former reaffirmed Washington’s “ironclad commitment to Israel’s security against threats from Iran and Iran-backed proxy groups.”
The officials spoke about a diplomatic resolution in Lebanon that would permit Lebanese and Israeli civilians to return safely to their homes in the south and north of their respective nations.
Dermer is tasked with drafting the Israeli response to the Blinken-Austin letter, according to Axios, which is expected to be finalized and sent after the U.S. election.
While US officials said that Israel has taken steps to implement some of the American demands, they suggested that others will be hard to meet, including the entry of 350 aid trucks into Gaza each day by Nov. 13. Also, several of the U.S. demands need to be approved by the Israeli Cabinet, which is not expected to happen until after the U.S. elections.
Samantha Power, administrator of the US Agency for International Development, pressed for more humanitarian aid to Gaza in a meeting on Friday with Israel’s Ambassador to the United States Michael Herzog, according to her spokesperson.
“The administrator acknowledged the steps the government of Israel has already taken and how we can continue to accelerate efforts to facilitate the flow and delivery of life-saving humanitarian assistance into Gaza. Administrator Power raised serious concern on the humanitarian conditions in northern Gaza,” the statement from Benjamin Suarato read.
The post Biden Admin Threatens Israel with Arms Embargo Over Gaza Aid first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Surge of Antisemitic Incidents Rocks France Amid Growing Security Concerns
The Paris Holocaust Memorial, three synagogues, and a Jewish restaurant were all vandalized with green paint last weekend. Photo: Screenshot
France has been hit by a wave of antisemitic incidents in recent days, despite increased security at Jewish sites nationwide following last month’s antisemitic shooting in Washington, DC — prompting urgent calls from the country’s Jewish community for stronger government action amid growing fears of escalating violence.
On Friday, a French rabbi was violently assaulted by three drunken individuals in the town of Deauville, located in the Normandy region of northwestern France.
According to local police, Rabbi Eli Lemel — a prominent figure in French Jewry — was attacked around 3:30 pm by three men who approached him, repeatedly punched him in the stomach, and shouted antisemitic slurs.
French authorities have launched an investigation into the assault, but no arrests have been made so far.
After the incident, Lemel called on the Jewish community to draw spiritual strength amid the increasing hostility that Jews are facing across France.
“I’m deeply moved by the outpouring of support following the attack. Thank God, I’m okay,” the Jewish leader wrote in a post on X. “I was struck and verbally abused in a language I didn’t understand.”
In a separate incident, a 21-year-old man was arrested on Saturday after climbing a synagogue in the town of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine in north-central France, removing an Israeli flag from its façade, and attempting to set it on fire.
According to local media, the suspect — who was already known to authorities for prior offenses — confessed to committing the attack and admitted to being intoxicated at the time.
French police confirmed that the man is being charged with trespassing in a place of worship, theft by climbing, and causing damage to property on religious grounds.
The local Jewish community has voiced deep concern following this incident, viewing it as part of a broader surge in hostility targeting Jewish institutions across France.
Sandrine Dos Santos, the city’s mayor, expressed “[her] solidarity, as well as that of the city, toward the Jewish community directly targeted by these unacceptable antisemitic acts.”
“Faced with the increase in violence, our commitment against discrimination remains unwavering and will not waver. We repeat it loud and clear: no form of racism or rejection of others has a place in Poissy,” the French leader said.
In a separate incident on Saturday, three Serbs were arrested near Antibes in southeastern France, suspected of painting several Jewish community buildings green in Paris — an act currently under investigation as possible foreign interference.
Last weekend, the Paris Holocaust Memorial, three synagogues, and a Jewish restaurant were all vandalized with green paint in an incident denounced by the French government.
On Monday, an elementary school in Lyon, east-central France, was set on fire and defaced with antisemitic and pro-Palestinian slogans, as well as swastikas, marking one of the latest antisemitic incidents to impact France in recent days.
As the school had no direct connections to the Jewish community, local police have launched an investigation to determine the motive behind the attack.
French authorities reported that the fire was limited to the outdoor bathrooms, causing no significant damage to the school. They also found antisemitic graffiti and swastikas in three classrooms.
Yonathan Arfi, president of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France (CRIF), denounced the attack, saying that “the Palestinian cause is used as justification for burning down a school” and that the “Nazification of Israel serves as fuel for crass antisemitism.”
“When a populist pro-Palestinian narrative is allowed to take hold, it is French Jews who ultimately pay the price,” Arfi wrote in a post on X. “The twisted use of the Palestinian cause is turning into a rallying cry of hatred against both Jews and the Republic itself.”
Voilà où nous en sommes !
La cause palestinienne sert de justification pour incendier une école
Quand on laisse gagner un discours populiste propalestinien, ce sont les Français juifs qui en paient le prix.… https://t.co/dMaQBnbfqi
— Yonathan Arfi (@Yonathan_Arfi) June 1, 2025
Beyond France, other European countries have also experienced a surge in antisemitic incidents in recent weeks.
On Monday, several headstones were vandalized at a Jewish cemetery in a suburb of Belgrade, located in north-central Serbia, marking the second such incident in the country in recent weeks.
The post Surge of Antisemitic Incidents Rocks France Amid Growing Security Concerns first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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US Vetoes UN Security Council Demand for Gaza Ceasefire
Smoke rises from Gaza after an explosion, as seen from Israel, June 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
The United States vetoed a UN Security Council demand on Wednesday for an “immediate, unconditional, and permanent ceasefire” between Israel and Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in Gaza and unhindered aid access across the enclave.
“The United States has been clear we would not support any measure that fails to condemn Hamas and does not call for Hamas to disarm and leave Gaza,” Acting US Ambassador to the UN Dorothy Shea told the council before the vote.
“This resolution would undermine diplomatic efforts to reach a ceasefire that reflects the realities on the ground, and embolden Hamas,” she said of the text that was put forward by 10 countries on the 15-member council.
The remaining 14 council members voted in favor of the draft resolution.
Israel has rejected calls for an unconditional or permanent ceasefire, saying Hamas cannot stay in Gaza. It has renewed its military offensive in Gaza – also seeking to free hostages held by Hamas – since ending a two-month ceasefire in March.
The war in Gaza has raged since 2023 after Hamas terrorists killed 1,200 people in Israel in an Oct. 7 attack and took some 250 hostages back to the enclave.
The post US Vetoes UN Security Council Demand for Gaza Ceasefire first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Trump Picks Lawyer Who Called Oct. 7 Attack a ‘Psyop’ to Lead Federal Watchdog Agency
Paul Ingrassia. Photo: Screenshot
Paul Ingrassia, a 29-year-old lawyer who was recently nominated by US President Donald Trump to lead a federal agency dedicated to combating corruption and protecting whistleblowers, seemingly dismissed the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2o23, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel as a “psyop,” or “psychological operation, in resurfaced social media posts.
“This ‘war’ is yet another psyop to distract Americans from celebrating Columbus Day,” Ingrassia wrote on X/Twitter on Oct. 8, 2023.
“I think we could all admit at this stage that Israel/Palestine, much like Ukraine before it, and BLM before that, and covid/vaccine before that, was another psyop,” he posted a week later. “But sadly, people fell for it. And they’ll fall for the next one too.”
On the actual day of the Oct. 7 massacre, Ingrassia compared illegal immigration into the US to the Hamas-led onslaught.
“The amount of energy everyone has put into condemning Hamas (and prior to that, the Ukraine conflict) over the past 24 hours should be the same amount of energy we put into condemning our wide open border, which is a war comparable to the attack on Israel in terms of bloodshed — but made worse by the fact that it’s occurring in our very own backyard,” he posted. “We shouldn’t be beating the war drum, however tragic the events may be overseas, until we resolve our domestic problems first.”
Trump announced last week that he picked Ingrassia to serve as head of the US Office of Special Counsel, a position that requires confirmation by the Senate.
The Office of Special Counsel is an independent federal ethics agency that works to ensure fairness and accountability within the government. Ingrassia’s role, if he is confirmed, would involve investigating claims of wrongdoing, such as retaliation against whistleblowers or improper political activity in the workplace. The official can recommend disciplinary action and reports serious findings to Congress, helping to protect federal employees and uphold the integrity of the civil service system.
Ingrassia also maintains a relationship with and defends alleged sex trafficker Andrew Tate, who has promoted antisemitic conspiracy theories on social media. Tate wrote on X/Twitter that he refuses to “listen to women, Mexicans, or Jews” and that Jewish people are “subverting Western populations into mass genetic suicide” by advancing what he described as misguided immigration policy. Tate has also accused Israel of committing a “genocide” in Gaza against Palestinians and engaged in Holocaust denialism.
The furor surrounding Ingrassia is the latest dustup the Trump administration has had regarding controversial personnel and antisemitism.
The Trump administration’s appointment of Kingsley Wilson as deputy press secretary at the Department of Defense also sparked widespread criticism due to her history of promoting antisemitic conspiracy theories and extremist views. Wilson, formerly associated with the Center for Renewing America, has a documented history of social media posts endorsing white supremacist ideologies, including claims about the 1915 lynching of Leo Frank — a Jewish man whose wrongful conviction and subsequent murder galvanized the founding of the Anti-Defamation League. In 2023, she tweeted that Frank “raped & murdered a 13-year-old girl,” a statement aligning with neo-Nazi narratives.
Late last month, the Pentagon announced that Wilson will be promoted and serve as the department’s new press secretary.
The post Trump Picks Lawyer Who Called Oct. 7 Attack a ‘Psyop’ to Lead Federal Watchdog Agency first appeared on Algemeiner.com.