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British Jews Call on London Ad Company to Put Back Billboards of Hamas Hostages Removed Due to Complaints
One of the digital billboards of Hamas hostages that were taken down in London. Photo: Provided
A major Jewish organization in the United Kingdom has lambasted an advertising company in London for removing digital billboards showing the hostages taken by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7 after facing public scrutiny and threats.
“It cannot be right that in Britain, in 2023, an advertising company is intimidated into withdrawing a campaign about hostages taken by a terrorist group,” the Board of Deputies of British Jews said in a statement, calling for the advertisements to be put back up. “The company should reverse its decision and the police should provide support and urgently investigate these threats.”
The nonprofit organization also noted that the advertising company’s actions followed two months of rampant anti-Israel activity in London, where people have been ripping down or defacing thousands of posters of the 240 people kidnapped by Hamas terrorists during their Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel and taken back to the Gaza Strip.
The Algemeiner previously reported that the advertising company in question, London Lites, signed an agreement with an organization called the Hostages Families’ Forum UK to have the digital billboards displayed throughout London. The billboards went up on Dec. 5 but were taken down after six days.
London Lites told the Hostages Families Forum UK, which organized the billboard campaign with help from the Embassy of Israel in London, that because of “an unusual volume of complaints from the public,” as well as personal threats made to the company’s staff, the billboards would be taken down immediately.
“Following discussions with the Metropolitan Police about community safety concerns regarding billboard site advertising this campaign, we have regrettably taken the decision to cease advertising on community cohesion grounds,” London Lites further said, noting that it has previously carried advertising for the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) and “supports freedom of speech.”
“However, we received an unprecedented number of concerns from the public in response to the advertising campaign last week, and the safety of all members of the local communities where we advertise is paramount,” it added.
The Embassy of Israel in London is seeking legal counsel regarding the matter and slammed London Lites for playing “into the hands of terrorists by actively ignoring the war crimes of Hamas and also by succumbing to intimidation and threats in London.”
CAA, a volunteer-led charity dedicated to exposing and countering antisemitism, had its own share of issues displaying images of the Hamas hostages in London. The charity revealed in mid-October that it had vans driving around central London featuring digital billboards of children kidnapped by Hamas and calling to bring them back home. When anti-Israel supporters stopped the vans and began protesting, Metropolitan Police in London told CAA to turn off the billboards and clear the area or they would be “in breach of the peace.”
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Putin Apologizes Over ‘Tragic Incident’ with Azerbaijan Airlines Plane Crash
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech during a session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. Photo: Reuters/Maxim Shemetov
i24 News – Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Saturday apologized to Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev for what he said represented a “tragic incident” in Russian airspace involving an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane that crashed on Wednesday.
Flight J2-8243 crashed in a ball of fire near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan after diverting from southern Russia where Ukrainian drones were reported to be attacking several cities. At least 38 people were killed while 29 survived.
“Vladimir Putin apologized for the tragic incident that occurred in Russian airspace and once again expressed his deep and sincere condolences to the families of the victims and wished a speedy recovery to the injured,” the Kremlin said in a statement.
“It was noted in the conversation that the Azerbaijani passenger aircraft, which was traveling according to its schedule, repeatedly tried to land at Grozny airport. At that time, Grozny, Mozdok and Vladikavkaz were being attacked by Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles, and Russian air defense systems repelled these attacks,” the Kremlin said.
The post Putin Apologizes Over ‘Tragic Incident’ with Azerbaijan Airlines Plane Crash first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israeli Official: Houthis More Technologically Advanced than Credited, Must Not Be Underestimated
FILE PHOTO: Houthi military helicopter flies over the Galaxy Leader cargo ship in the Red Sea in this photo released November 20, 2023. Photo: Houthi Military Media/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo
i24 News – The Houthis are more technologically advanced than credited and must not be underestimated, an Israeli official told i24NEWS, adding that the jihadist movement operating out of Yemen was “ideologically toxic.”
The Yemeni terrorists have displayed the relentless will to fight in campaigns against the Saudis and others, the official added. “The Houthis’ flag spells out their goals: destroy America, destroy the Jews, destroy Israel. They get most of their support from Iran and they are very extreme. Their ideology is clear: they want to destroy America and Israel, and are trying to take practical steps in that direction.”
In recent weeks the Houthis have escalated their attacks on Israel, firing ballistic missiles and drones at the Jewish state almost nightly and sending millions of Israelis into bomb shelters.
“The Houthis pose a threat to international security and global trade. Therefore, an international coalition should confront and eliminate this threat,” the official underscored.
Israel “has shown that it has the capability and the resolve to fight a multi front war, and it has had incredible accomplishments since it was attacked in October 2023. It has practically decimated Hamas, Hezbollah and Syrian capabilities. It has exposed Iran’s vulnerabilities and now is an opportunity to cooperate with an international coalition to reduce the Houthis.”
The post Israeli Official: Houthis More Technologically Advanced than Credited, Must Not Be Underestimated first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Hamas Raises New Demands in Ceasefire Talks, Refusing to Provide Lists of Hostages
A person walks past pictures of hostages kidnapped during the deadly Oct. 7 attack by Hamas from Gaza, projected on a screen, in Tel Aviv, Israel, May 31, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Marko Djurica
i24 News – Negotiations for the release of Israeli hostages are still ongoing, yet Hamas is raising new demands regarding wounded hostages and refuses to provide a list of living hostages; moreover, whoever conducts the negotiations on their behalf does not necessarily control the happening on the ground, i24NEWS learned on Friday.
Israel applies heavy pressure on Hamas to live up to the promises.
While the Israeli negotiations team has returned from Doha, the talks for the hostage deal are still ongoing, not affected by the team’s physical presence. According to sources familiar with the details, Hamas poses serious problems that hinder the ability to close the deal, chief among them – the list of hostages whose release should be prioritized on humanitarian grounds.
Israel, i24NEWS can report, insists on complete lists of live hostages, but these have not yet been received. Also, as i24NEWS learned, Hamas refuses to release wounded hostages as part of the humanitarian list and attempts to demand special compensation for them.
Israeli negotiators are unwilling to accept changes to conditions established earlier and exert heavy pressure on the group from various directions.
Officials in Jerusalem say they hope that Hamas will decide to come together to conclude the deal, because the decision is entirely theirs.
Another serious concern for Israel, i24NEWS learned, is that those who conduct the negotiations on behalf of Hamas do not necessarily control the happening on the ground. This, as the dust has not yet settled on the decision-making and organizational structure of Hamas after the elimination of its leader Yahya Sinwar, making it extremely complicated to manage the talks. Israeli officials want to make sure that whoever represents the terrorist group vis-à-vis the mediators is also able to return the hostages from the hands of Hamas in Gaza.
At the same time, Jerusalem believes that the various conditions that pressure Hamas are still valid and even growing: the achievements against Hezbollah and against Iran, the collapse of Syria, and the weakening of the Shiite axis, the strikes in Yemen, the anti-terror activity in Judea and Samaria, the IDF activity in Jabaliya, in Beit Hanon and Rafah, as well as in the Karni-Netzarim corridor, together with the impending coming into office of the Trump administration, work to press Hamas to a point of great isolation, where it would be desperate for a ceasefire.
The post Hamas Raises New Demands in Ceasefire Talks, Refusing to Provide Lists of Hostages first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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