RSS
Bnei Menashe community disputes Israeli reports of 7 killed in India violence
(JTA) — Members of the Bnei Menashe Jewish community are rejecting an Israeli parliamentary report that a missile strike in Northeast India killed seven community members this week.
The news spread rapidly on Tuesday after Israel’s Knesset Committee for Immigration, Absorption and Aliyah put out a press release announcing the deaths, following a meeting about potentially jumpstarting efforts by the Bnei Menashe to move to Israel amid ethnic tensions in the Manipur region of India.
It cited Tzvi Khaute, director of the Bnei Menashe in Israel for the nonprofit Shavei Israel, as saying that the community urgently needed permission to immigrate, or make aliyah, and that it had “buried seven people who were killed as a result of a bomb falling next to the synagogue.”
But Khaute did not make that comment in a video of the hearing reviewed by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. A Bnei Menashe member in India offered a different account about violence near a local synagogue. And the information about the deaths was false, the Bnei Menashe Council in India said in a press release Wednesday.
Responding to the Knesset press release, the group speculated that Shavei Israel, one of two feuding nonprofits seeking to help the Bnei Menashe move to Israel, had misrepresented the facts on the ground when testifying during the committee meeting.
“The situation of Manipur’s B’nei Menashe after months of ethnic violence that has left many of them homeless and with no means of livelihood is indeed extremely difficult and their resettlement in Israel is urgent,” the council said in its statement. “Spreading lies as a way of arousing sympathy for their plight is despicable and can only work to their detriment.”
But the video from the hearing, coupled with reports from India, suggests that the Knesset committee’s press release might well have stemmed from more straightforward confusion.
The video shows Khaute saying that a bomb fell at a synagogue and that six people died in India, but he did not say when the incident occurred or whether the victims were Bnei Menashe. When asked by the chairman if it was Bnei Menashe who were killed, Khaute did not offer confirmation, instead segueing to talking about a seven-month-long delay in burying Bnei Menashe community members who were killed last year. It is unclear which deaths Khaute was referring to as only one community member is known to have died in the conflict.
At multiple points later in the hearing, lawmakers asserted that seven people were killed, though Khaute himself never said so.
A spokesperson for Shavei Israel said the organization was not involved with the Knesset press release and added that no Bnei Menashe member was known to have been killed in Manipur recently.
“He wanted to express how Bnei Menashe are in danger and how they should be brought to Israel as soon as possible,” a spokesperson told JTA said about Khaute. “There was a misunderstanding and no one from the committee verified with him that seven Bnei Menashe were killed yesterday. Nobody checked back with us or with him.”
Reports from Manipur suggest another possible source of confusion. In their regular updates on social media, the Manipur Police have not mentioned an attack on or near a synagogue. But they wrote on Tuesday that “armed groups” launched an attack on security forces in Moreh, a town on Manipur’s border with Myanmar, “employing gunfire and explosives.” Six security personnel were injured in the crossfire.
Kaikholal Haokip, a member of the Bnei Menashe Jewish community in Moreh who is also a spokesperson for the Kuki Inpee organization, representing one of the warring ethnic groups, told JTA that no one was killed in the incident. But he said neighbors and the caretaker of the local synagogue told him that a bomb was detonated by police on a highway close to the synagogue.
The bomb caused no damage to the synagogue or anyone inside, Haokip told JTA, adding that some Jewish community members, including the synagogue’s caretaker, have fled to other areas amid the violence and all remain safe.
JTA reached out to Oded Forer, the Knesset member who heads the committee, as well as to spokespeople for the Knesset and to the Israeli Ministry of Aliyah and Integration for clarification about the inaccurate press release but did not receive a response before publication.
The Bnei Menashe are believed to be descendants of the “lost tribe” of Manasseh, a claim that researchers dispute. Shavei Israel, a nonprofit organization that aims to bring “lost tribe” Jewish communities to Israel, has been responsible for the Bnei Menashe aliyah for more than two decades and has helped about 5,000 Jews immigrate so far. Another 5,000 still live in India.
Some Bnei Menashe Jews have protested the organization and say it abuses its power over their aliyah. Another Israeli nonprofit that formed in 2017, Degel Menashe, has been advocating for this group and says it wants the Jewish Agency to have more control over the immigration process.
“We recommend their immigration to Israel, but in a low-profile manner to avoid criticism of interfering in India’s internal affairs,” Michal Vilertal, head of the Asia division at the foreign affairs ministry, said, according to the press release. “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will assist in every way with the community’s immigration to Israel.”
Bnei Menashe Jews in India belong to the Kuki-Zo ethnic minority in Manipur, which clashed with the majority Meiteis in May when the Meiteis demanded “scheduled tribe” status, which offers benefits traditionally reserved for minority tribes. Tensions between the Meiteis and the smaller tribes in Manipur had been building for decades, and now Kukis say they are being targeted by Meitei groups and military and police collaborators.
The conflict has so far claimed 200 lives and 70,000 people have fled, according to Indian news reports. There has only been one known Bnei Menashe casualty; some are fighting on the frontlines, sources on the ground say. Hundreds of Bnei Menashe Jews have been forced to flee their homes with no hopes of returning as new informal borders form between the Meitei and Kuki areas.
The latest incident took place with tensions rising across Manipur this week as the conflict approaches its ninth month. In Thoubal, near the capital of Imphal, four Meitei Muslims were shot dead on Tuesday by “armed Meitei miscreants,” local media reported, leading to the imposition of a curfew. Meanwhile, minority tribes called a 24-hour total shutdown until Wednesday in protest of alleged mistreatment by state police.
While Shavei Israel emphasizes that the Israeli government press release misunderstood Khaute on the specifics of recent incidents, the group said the release had gotten right the urgency he expressed about the safety of the Bnei Menashe in Manipur.
“I am begging that this community be allowed to immigrate to Israel,” the release quoted Khaute as saying. “Every day that they stay in India and do not immigrate to Israel, they risk their lives.”
—
The post Bnei Menashe community disputes Israeli reports of 7 killed in India violence appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
RSS
Switzerland Moves to Close Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s Geneva Office Over Legal Irregularities
Palestinians carry aid supplies received from the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in the central Gaza Strip, May 29, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ramadan Abed/File Photo
Switzerland has moved to shut down the Geneva office of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a US- and Israeli-backed aid group, citing legal irregularities in its establishment.
The GHF began distributing food packages in Gaza in late May, implementing a new aid delivery model aimed at preventing the diversion of supplies by Hamas, as Israel continues its defensive military campaign against the Palestinian terrorist group.
The initiative has drawn criticism from the UN and international organizations, some of which have claimed that Jerusalem is causing starvation in the war-torn enclave.
Israel has vehemently denied such accusations, noting that, until its recently imposed blockade, it had provided significant humanitarian aid in the enclave throughout 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.
With a subsidiary registered in Geneva, the GHF — headquartered in Delaware — reports having delivered over 56 million meals to Palestinians in just one month.
According to a regulatory announcement published Wednesday in the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce, the Federal Supervisory Authority for Foundations (ESA) may order the dissolution of the GHF if no creditors come forward within the legal 30-day period.
The Trump administration did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the Swiss decision to shut down its Geneva office.
“The GHF confirmed to the ESA that it had never carried out activities in Switzerland … and that it intends to dissolve the Geneva-registered branch,” the ESA said in a statement.
Last week, Geneva authorities gave the GHF a 30-day deadline to address legal shortcomings or risk facing enforcement measures.
Under local laws and regulations, the foundation failed to meet several requirements: it did not appoint a board member authorized to sign documents domiciled in Switzerland, did not have the minimum three board members, lacked a Swiss bank account and valid address, and operated without an auditing body.
The GHF operates independently from UN-backed mechanisms, which Hamas has sought to reinstate, arguing that these vehicles are more neutral.
Israeli and American officials have rejected those calls, saying Hamas previously exploited UN-run systems to siphon aid for its war effort.
The UN has denied those allegations while expressing concerns that the GHF’s approach forces civilians to risk their safety by traveling long distances across active conflict zones to reach food distribution points.
The post Switzerland Moves to Close Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s Geneva Office Over Legal Irregularities first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Key US Lawmaker Warns Ireland of Potential Economic Consequences for ‘Antisemitic Path’ Against Israel
US Sen. James Risch (R-ID) speaks during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, Washington, DC, May 21, 2024. Photo: Graeme Sloan/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman James Risch (R-ID) issued a sharp warning Tuesday, accusing Ireland of embracing antisemitism and threatening potential economic consequences if the Irish government proceeds with new legislation targeting Israeli trade.
“Ireland, while often a valuable U.S. partner, is on a hateful, antisemitic path that will only lead to self-inflicted economic suffering,” Risch wrote in a post on X. “If this legislation is implemented, America will have to seriously reconsider its deep and ongoing economic ties. We will always stand up to blatant antisemitism.”
Marking a striking escalation in rhetoric from a senior US lawmaker, Risch’s comments came amid growing tensions between Ireland and Israel, which have intensified dramatically since the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on October 7, 2023. Those attacks, in which roughly 1,200 Israelis were killed and more than 200 taken hostage, prompted a months-long Israeli military campaign in Gaza that has drawn widespread international scrutiny. Ireland has positioned itself as one of the most vocal critics of Israel’s response, accusing the Israeli government of disproportionate use of force and calling for immediate humanitarian relief and accountability for the elevated number of Palestinian civilian casualties.
Dublin’s stance has included tangible policy shifts. In May 2024, Ireland formally recognized a Palestinian state, becoming one of the first European Union members to do so following the outbreak of the war in Gaza. The move was condemned by Israeli officials, who recalled their ambassador to Ireland and accused the Irish government of legitimizing terrorism. Since then, Irish lawmakers have proposed further measures, including legislation aimed at restricting imports from Israeli settlements in the West Bank, policies viewed in Israel and among many American lawmakers as aligning with the controversial Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
While Irish leaders have defended their approach as grounded in international law and human rights, critics in Washington, including Risch, have portrayed it as part of a broader pattern of hostility toward Israel. Some US lawmakers have begun raising the possibility of reevaluating trade and diplomatic ties with Ireland in response.
Risch’s warning is one of the clearest indications yet that Ireland’s policies toward Israel could carry economic consequences. The United States is one of Ireland’s largest trading partners, and American companies such as Apple, Google, Meta and Pfizer maintain substantial operations in the country, drawn by Ireland’s favorable tax regime and access to the EU market.
Though the Trump administration has not echoed Risch’s warning, the remarks reflect growing unease in Washington about the trajectory of Ireland’s foreign policy. The State Department has maintained a careful balancing act, expressing strong support for Israel’s security while calling for increased humanitarian access in Gaza. Officials have stopped short of condemning Ireland’s actions directly but have expressed concern about efforts they see as isolating Israel on the international stage.
Ireland’s stance is emblematic of a growing international divide over the war. While the US continues to provide military and diplomatic backing to Israel, many European countries have called for an immediate ceasefire and investigations into alleged war crimes.
Irish public opinion has long leaned pro-Palestinian, and Irish lawmakers have repeatedly voiced concern over the scale of destruction in Gaza and the dire humanitarian situation.
Irish officials have not yet responded to The Algemeiner’s request for comment.
The post Key US Lawmaker Warns Ireland of Potential Economic Consequences for ‘Antisemitic Path’ Against Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Israel Condemns Iran’s Suspension of IAEA Cooperation, Urges Europe to Reinstate UN Sanctions
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar at a press conference in Berlin, Germany, June 5, 2025. REUTERS/Christian Mang/File Photo
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar on Wednesday condemned Iran’s decision to halt cooperation with the UN’s nuclear watchdog and called on the international community to reinstate sanctions to curb Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.
“Iran has just issued a scandalous announcement about suspending its cooperation with the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency),” Saar wrote in a post on X. “This is a complete renunciation of all its international nuclear obligations and commitments.”
Last week, the Iranian parliament voted to suspend cooperation with the IAEA “until the safety and security of [the country’s] nuclear activities can be guaranteed.”
“The IAEA and its Director-General are fully responsible for this sordid state of affairs,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote in a post on X.
The top Iranian diplomat said this latest decision was “a direct result of [IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi’s] regrettable role in obfuscating the fact that the Agency — a full decade ago — already closed all past issues.
“Through this malign action,” Araghchi continued, “he directly facilitated the adoption of a politically-motivated resolution against Iran by the IAEA [Board of Governors] as well as the unlawful Israeli and US bombings of Iranian nuclear sites.”
The Parliament of Iran has voted for a halt to collaboration with the IAEA until the safety and security of our nuclear activities can be guaranteed.
This is a direct result of @rafaelmgrossi‘s regrettable role in obfuscating the fact that the Agency—a full decade ago—already…
— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) June 27, 2025
On Wednesday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian approved a bill banning UN nuclear inspectors from entering the country until the Supreme National Security Council decides that there is no longer a threat to the safety of its nuclear sites.
In response, Saar urged European countries that were part of the now-defunct 2015 nuclear deal to activate its “snapback” clause and reinstate all UN sanctions lifted under the agreement.
Officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), this accord between Iran and several world powers imposed temporary restrictions on Tehran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.
During his first term, US President Donald Trump withdrew from the deal and reinstated unilateral sanctions on Iran.
“The time to activate the Snapback mechanism is now! I call upon the E3 countries — Germany, France and the UK to reinstate all sanctions against Iran!” Saar wrote in a post on X.
“The international community must act decisively now and utilize all means at its disposal to stop Iranian nuclear ambitions,” he continued.
The time to activate the Snapback mechanism is now!
I call upon the E3 countries- Germany, France and the UK to reinstate all sanctions against Iran!
Iran has just issued a scandalous announcement about suspending its cooperation with the IAEA (International Atomic Energy…— Gideon Sa’ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) July 2, 2025
Saar’s latest remarks come after Araghchi met last week in Geneva with his counterparts from Britain, France, Germany and the European Union’s Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas — their first meeting since the Iran-Israel war began.
Europe is actively urging Iran to reengage in talks with the White House to prevent further escalation of tensions, but has yet to address the issue of reinstating sanctions.
Speaking during an official visit to Latvia on Tuesday, Saar said that “Operation Rising Lion” — Israel’s sweeping military campaign aimed at dismantling Iran’s nuclear capabilities — has “revealed the full extent of the Iranian regime’s threat to Israel, Europe, and the global order.”
“Iran deliberately targeted civilian population centers with its ballistic missiles,” Saar said at a press conference. “The same missile threat can reach Europe, including Latvia and the Baltic states.”
“Israel’s actions against the head of the snake in Iran contributed directly to the safety of Europe,” the Israeli top diplomat continued, adding that Israeli strikes have set back the Iranian nuclear program by many years.
The post Israel Condemns Iran’s Suspension of IAEA Cooperation, Urges Europe to Reinstate UN Sanctions first appeared on Algemeiner.com.