RSS
Boulder City Council Member Refuses to Sign Statement Condemning Antisemitic Terror Attack
Boulder attack suspect Mohamed Sabry Soliman poses for a jail booking photograph after his arrest in Boulder, Colorado, US, June 2, 2025. Photo: Boulder Police Department/Handout via REUTERS
Taishya Adams, who serves on the city council in Boulder, Colorado and is a regular critic of Israel’s efforts to dismantle Hamas’s control of Gaza, has broken with her colleagues by rejecting a statement to condemn the Sunday terrorist attack in Boulder targeting Jews marching in support of the Israeli hostages remaining in captivity in Gaza.
“Conflating antisemitism with anti-Zionism is dangerous and factually incorrect,” Adams told Boulder Reporting Lab when asked about her decision. “I just returned from Palestine where I saw and experience[d] what every minute terror looks and feels like. We will continue to see an increase in vigilante justice when we do not hold leaders accountable to war crimes.”
Adams had previously called for the council to advocate for a ceasefire in Gaza, a position the body rejected.
Rather than join her municipal colleagues, the councilwoman released her own response to the attack where she stated that her decision to pass on signing “did not reflect any lack of empathy or support for Jewish community members – or an attempt to somehow justify the horrific act committed by this individual. Whatever his motivation, violence and terror are NEVER the answer.”
Adams explained that she felt the statement lacked “an acknowledgement that, based on his recorded comments, this was both an act of antisemitism and anti-Zionism. If we are to prevent future violence and additional attacks in our community, I believe we need to be real about the possible motivations for this heinous act. Denying our community the full truth about the attack denies us the ability to fully protect ourselves and each other.”
The statement which Adams rejected included the support of Boulder’s Mayor Aaron Brockett and Mayor Pro Tem Lauren Folkerts, alongside council members Matt Benjamin, Tina Marquis, Ryan Schuchard, Nicole Speer, Mark Wallach and Tara Winer. City Manager Nuria Rivera-Vandermyde also signed.
Boulder’s leaders stated that “as our community continues to reel from the act of violence and terror that occurred on our beloved Pearl Street Mall yesterday, we, as Boulder City Council members and city manager, acknowledge in the strongest possible terms that this was a targeted, antisemitic attack.”
The statement – which made no mention of Israel, Hamas, or Gaza – called for standing “in solidarity and sadness with those directly impacted by the attack as well as Boulder’s entire Jewish community. We are united in condemning this hateful act of terror against Jewish people.”
Alleged attacker Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, faces charges including attempted first-degree murder after deliberation; attempted first-degree murder with extreme indifference; first-degree assault, including against an at-risk victim older than 70, and possession of an incendiary device for a Molotov cocktail and makeshift flamethrower attack on the “Run for Their Lives” event which resulted in burns for 12 people. The court has scheduled him to see a judge on Thursday.
Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty said that Soliman could receive as much as 384 years in prison for the attempted murder charges alone. A potential life sentence also hangs over Soliman’s head should a jury convict him of a federal hate crime charge filed against him. Investigators say that he claimed he had planned the attack for a year, waited until after his daughter’s high school graduation, planned to die during his antisemitic act, and said he sought to “kill all Zionist people.”
Bishop Grewell, the acting US attorney for the district of Colorado, said on Monday that “he acted because he hated what he called ‘the Zionist group.’”
According to the Trump administration, Soliman, an Egyptian who reportedly yelled “Free Palestine” during the terror attack, lives in the United States illegally, having overstayed his visa. His wife and children now face deportation.
“Today, DHS and ICE are taking the family of suspected Boulder, Colorado, terrorist, and illegal alien, Mohamed Soliman, into ICE custody,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement. Soliman, she added, “will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. We are investigating to what extent his family knew about this heinous attack, if they had knowledge of it, or if they provided support to it.”
According to the FBI and police, Soliman’s family has cooperated with the investigation.
Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn called the attack “shocking,” adding that “seeing this man throwing Molotov cocktails onto human beings is just disgusting.”
Oren Segal, the Anti-Defamation League’s senior vice president of counter-extremism and intelligence, said that “when you have 600-plus days of rhetoric that is not just about opposition to Israeli government policy but that often features language that dehumanizes Israelis, Zionists and Jews, it creates an atmosphere in which these plots and attacks are much more likely.”
The post Boulder City Council Member Refuses to Sign Statement Condemning Antisemitic Terror Attack first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Brooklyn Nets Select Israeli Basketball Players Ben Saraf, Danny Wolf in NBA Draft
The opening tip between the Brooklyn Nets and Washington Wizards, at Barclays Center, in Brooklyn, New York, Dec. 13, 2020. Photo: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect
In a landmark night for Israeli basketball, Ben Saraf and Danny Wolf were selected in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft by the Brooklyn Nets, marking the first time two Israeli players have been drafted in the same year.
Saraf, a 19-year-old guard known for his explosive athleticism and creative playmaking, was taken with the 26th pick. A standout with Maccabi Rishon LeZion and a rising star on Israel’s youth national teams, Saraf gained international attention with his electrifying scoring and commanding court presence.
With the 27th pick, the Nets selected 7-foot center Danny Wolf out of the University of Michigan. Wolf, who holds dual US-Israeli citizenship and represented Israel at the U-20 level, brings a versatile skill set, including sharp passing, perimeter shooting, and a strong feel for the game. After his name was called, Wolf grew emotional in an on-air interview, crediting his family for helping him reach the moment.
“I have the two greatest brothers in the world; I have an unbelievable sister who I love,” Wolf said. “They all helped me get to where I am today, and they’re going to help me get to where I am going to go in this league.”
The historic double-pick adds to the growing wave of Israeli presence on the NBA stage, led by Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija, who just completed a breakout 2024–25 season. After being traded to Portland last summer, Avdija thrived as a starter, averaging 16.9 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 3.8 assists. In March alone, he posted 23.4 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game, including two triple-doubles.
“I don’t think I’ve played like this before … I knew I had it in me. But I’m not really thinking about it. I’m just playing. I’m just free,” Avdija told reporters in March
With Saraf and Wolf joining Avdija, Israel’s basketball pipeline has reached unprecedented visibility. Israeli President Isaac Herzog called the moment “a national celebration for sports and youth,” and Israeli sports commentators widely hailed the night as “historic.”
Both Saraf and Wolf are expected to suit up for the Nets’ Summer League team in July. As the two rookies begin their NBA journey, they join a growing generation of Israeli athletes proving that their game belongs on basketball’s biggest stage.
The post Brooklyn Nets Select Israeli Basketball Players Ben Saraf, Danny Wolf in NBA Draft first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Iran Denies Any Meeting With US Next Week, Foreign Minister Says
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi attends a press conference following a meeting with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia, April 18, 2025. Photo: Tatyana Makeyeva/Pool via REUTERS
Iran currently has no plan to meet with the United States, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Thursday in an interview on state TV, contradicting US President Donald Trump’s statement that Washington planned to have talks with Iran next week.
The Iranian foreign minister said Tehran was assessing whether talks with the US were in its interest, following five previous rounds of negotiations that were cut short by Israel and the US attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities.
The US and Israel said the strikes were meant to curb Iran’s ability to create nuclear weapons, while Iran says its nuclear program is solely geared toward civilian use.
Araqchi said the damages to nuclear sites “were not little” and that relevant authorities were figuring out the new realities of Iran’s nuclear program, which he said would inform Iran’s future diplomatic stance.
The post Iran Denies Any Meeting With US Next Week, Foreign Minister Says first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Ireland Becomes First European Nation to Advance Ban on Trade With Israeli Settlements
A pro-Hamas demonstration in Ireland led by nationalist party Sinn Fein. Photo: Reuters/Clodagh Kilcoyne
Ireland has become the first European nation to push forward legislation banning trade with Israeli communities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem — an effort officials say is meant “to address the horrifying situation” in the Gaza Strip.
On Wednesday, Irish Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Simon Harris announced that the legislation has already been approved by the government and will now move to the parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade for pre-legislative scrutiny.
“Ireland is speaking up and speaking out against the genocidal activity in Gaza,” Harris said during a press conference.
The Irish diplomat also told reporters he hopes the “real benefit” of the legislation will be to encourage other countries to follow suit, “because it is important that every country uses every lever at its disposal.”
Today Ireland becomes the first country in Europe to bring forward legislation to ban trade with the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Ireland is speaking up and speaking out against the genocidal activity in Gaza.
Every country must pull every lever at its disposal. pic.twitter.com/Z4RTjqntEY— Simon Harris TD (@SimonHarrisTD) June 24, 2025
Joining a growing number of EU member states aiming to curb Israel’s defensive campaign against the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, Ireland’s decision comes after a 2024 advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared Israel’s presence in the West Bank and East Jerusalem illegal.
The ICJ ruled that third countries must avoid trade or investment that supports “the illegal situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”
Once implemented, the law will criminalize the importation of goods from Israeli settlements into Ireland, empowering customs officials to inspect, seize, and confiscate any such shipments.
“The situation in Palestine remains a matter of deep public concern,” Harris said. “I have made it consistently clear that this government will use all levers at its disposal to address the horrifying situation on the ground and to contribute to long-term efforts to achieve a sustainable peace on the basis of the two-state solution.”
“Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory are illegal and threaten the viability of the two-state solution,” the Irish diplomat continued. “This is the longstanding position of the European Union and our international partners. Furthermore, this is the clear position under international law.”
Harris also urged the EU to comply with the ICJ’s ruling by taking a more decisive and “adequate response” regarding imports from Israeli settlements.
“This is an issue that I will continue to press at EU level, and I reiterated my call for concrete proposals from the European Commission at the Foreign Affairs Council this week,” he said.
Last week, Ireland and eight other EU member states — Finland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden — called on the European Commission to draft proposals for how EU countries can halt trade and imports with Israeli settlements, in line with obligations set out by the ICJ.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar condemned the latest move by European countries, calling it “shameful” and a misguided attempt to undermine Israel while it faces “existential” threats from Iran and its proxies, including Hamas.
“It is regrettable that even when Israel is fighting an existential threat which is in Europe’s vital interest — there are those who can’t resist their anti-Israeli obsession,” the top Israeli diplomat said in a post on X.
It is regrettable that even when Israel fighting an existential threat which is in Europe vital interest – there are those who can’t resist their anti-Israeli obsession.
Shameful! https://t.co/lxm9qm8sM1— Gideon Sa’ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) June 19, 2025
The post Ireland Becomes First European Nation to Advance Ban on Trade With Israeli Settlements first appeared on Algemeiner.com.