RSS
In notable stand, Israel’s ambassador to US says ‘trans rights are human rights’
WASHINGTON (JTA) — The Israeli ambassador to the United States, Michael Herzog, who represents the most right-wing government in the country’s history, called for a stand against “intolerance and bigotry” targeting the LGBTQ community in the United States and Israel.
“We must also recognize the many challenges that remain, and actively take a stand against those voices — in Israel, here in the U.S. and across the globe — who seek to spread intolerance and bigotry,” Herzog said at a Pride event Thursday at the Israeli embassy. “The struggle for LGBTQ+ rights is far from over, and there must be open cooperation between government and civil society to achieve this important goal.”
Herzog also embraced rights for transgender people, a fraught issue in the current U.S. political climate. He finished by saying, “Gay rights are human rights! Trans rights are human rights! And ultimately — love prevails.”
The embassy has for years hosted a Pride event in June, during Pride month. But rights for the LGBTQ community have drawn intensified conservative opposition in the last year or so, both in Israel and the United States. There are hundreds of proposed laws initiated by Republicans at the state and federal level that would roll back some LGBTQ rights and restrict gender-affirming health care.
Herzog’s unapologetic defense of LGBTQ rights is more notable given the fact that there are a number of self-declared “homophobes” in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling coalition.
The headline speaker at the event was Rachel Levine, the Jewish and openly transgender assistant U.S. Secretary for Health, appearing in person, in her uniform as an admiral, the rank conferred on assistant secretaries of health. Last year Levine delivered a video message to the event.
Levine also spoke out for transgender rights. “This has been a very hard year for transgender people and trans youth in particular, across the United States,” she said, referring to the wave of anti-trans bills that have arisen over the past year.
“These ideological and politically motivated attacks in numerous states are not grounded in science, or evidence of any kind. Gender-affirming care is essential health care!” she said to applause.
Netta Barzilai appears at a Pride event at the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C. on June 29, 2023. (Shmulik Almany, Embassy of Israel)
The featured performer was Netta Barzilai, the Israeli winner of the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest who has become a favorite of the LGBTQ community. Accompanying herself on a looping machine, she sang four songs that she said encouraged the embrace of one’s identity, including “Toy,” the Eurovision-winning song, and “I Love My Nails.” The lyrics include: “I, I love my nails, I, I love my nails/Oh my God, I can’t stop looking at myself.”
Introducing the song, Netta, as she is known onstage, said she learned to love herself at the manicurist. “I made myself so unique and peculiar that nobody could compare me to anyone,” she said. “And after that, I became so confident, so in love with [my] physique, I’m so in love with my personality that nobody could ever take that away from me.”
The Pride event Thursday was unlike previous affairs at the embassy, which had mainly been occasions for speeches. Guests were encouraged to wear bold colors and clothing. Herzog’s wife Shirin wore a tuxedo shirt with a pink men’s tie featuring a penguin pattern. (Penguins, who occasionally pair as same sex couples, are an LGBTQ symbol.)
Cocktails flowed freely, in the colors of the Pride flag: sangria (red); whiskey sour (orange); tequila sunrise (yellow); mojito (green); blue lagoon (blue); and purple rain (purple).
Herzog’s brother is the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, who is addressing Congress on July 19 to mark 75 years of the U.S.-Israel relationship.
—
The post In notable stand, Israel’s ambassador to US says ‘trans rights are human rights’ appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
RSS
Trump Hits Russia, Backs Israel in Wide-Ranging UN Speech
US President Donald Trump walks to address the 80th United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York City, U.S., September 23, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Shannon STAPLETON
US President Donald Trump warned Russia on Tuesday that he is prepared to impose strong economic measures if it does not work toward ending the war in Ukraine, and rejected a global move toward recognition of a Palestinian state in a combative speech to the U.N. General Assembly.
In a wide-ranging foreign policy speech that included scathing criticism of the United Nations and European nations, Trump made the case for lower levels of global migration and said world leaders should abandon efforts to fight climate change, which he called “the greatest con job” in the world.
Taken as a whole, the 56-minute speech was a rebuke to the world body and a return to form for Trump, who had routinely bashed the U.N. during his first term as president. Leaders gave him polite applause when he exited the chamber.
Trump’s warning to Russia was his latest attempt to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has resisted the US president’s entreaties to pull back from the biggest war in Europe since World War two.
Trump said he wants US allies to impose the same measures on Russia he is proposing to apply pressure to Putin.
The US president has warned about the possibility of sanctions on Russia several times but has yet to follow through. Lately he has demanded Europe stop all Russian oil purchases before he will take action.
“In the event that Russia is not ready to make a deal to end the war, then the United States is fully prepared to impose a very strong round of powerful tariffs, which would stop the bloodshed, I believe, very quickly,” he said.
But for the measures to be effective, he said, “European nations, all of you gathered here, would have to join us in adopting the exact same measures.”
He did not detail the measures, but he has been considering a package that includes sanctions against countries that do business with Russia, like India and China. The main buyers of Russian oil in Europe are Hungary, Slovakia and Turkey.
Trump planned a meeting later in the day with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has been pressing for more US support to resist Russian advances.
On the Israel-Palestinian conflict, Trump gave a thumbs down to efforts by world leaders to embrace a Palestinian state, a move that faces fierce resistance from Israel.
“The rewards would be too great for Hamas terrorists, for their atrocities,” he said, repeating his call for the return of hostages taken by the Palestinian militant group.
Trump said the United States wants a ceasefire-for-hostages deal that would see the return of all remaining hostages, alive and dead.
“We have to stop the war in Gaza immediately. We have to immediately negotiate peace,” he said.
He was to discuss the future of Gaza during afternoon talks with several Gulf leaders.
CRITICISM OF MIGRATION POLICIES
Trump argued that other world leaders should adopt his tough-on-migrants policies, touting his campaign to arrest and deport migrants in the United States illegally, a stance that many countries around the world have viewed skeptically.
He accused the U.N., without providing evidence, of supporting “uncontrolled migration.”
“Europe is in serious trouble. They’ve been invaded by a force of illegal aliens like nobody has ever seen before. Illegal aliens are pouring into Europe,” the president said.
“You need strong borders and traditional energy sources if you’re going to be great again,” he told the world leaders.
Trump, who has cast himself as a peacemaker in a bid to win the Nobel Peace Prize, complained that the United Nations did not support his efforts to end conflicts around the world.
He twinned his complaint with personal grievances about the U.N.’s infrastructure, saying he and first lady Melania Trump were briefly marooned on a U.N. escalator and that his teleprompter was not initially working.
“These are the two things I got from the United Nations – a bad escalator and a bad teleprompter,” Trump said, noting that Melania Trump nearly fell when the escalator stopped abruptly.
Since taking office again, Trump has upended US foreign policy, slashing foreign aid, imposing tariffs on friend and foe alike and cultivating warmer – if volatile – relations with Russia.
At the same time he has sought, so far with only limited success, to solve some of the world’s most intractable conflicts.
Trump is among some 150 heads of state or governments expected to address the chamber this week. He spoke eight months into a second term marked by severe aid cuts that have sparked humanitarian worries and have raised doubts about the U.N.’s future.
According to planning documents reviewed by Reuters, the Trump administration plans to call this week for sharply narrowing the right to asylum, seeking to undo the post-World War Two framework around humanitarian protection.
Trump’s more restrictive stance would include requiring asylum seekers to claim protection in the first country they enter, not a nation of their choosing, a State Department spokesperson said.
RSS
IDF Announces Death of Maj. Shahar Netanel Bozaglo, 27, in Combat in Gaza City
Major Shahar Netanel Bozaglo. Photo: IDF Spokesperson
i24 News – An Israel Defense Forces officer was killed overnight Monday after an anti-tank rocket hit his tank in northern Gaza City, the military announced, the first fatality in the offensive to seize the Gaza Strip’s largest urban center.
The slain soldier was named as Major Shahar Netanel Bozaglo, 27, a company commander in the 7th Armored Brigade’s 77th Battalion.
His death brings the total number of Israeli soldiers killed in the ground operation in the Palestinian enclave to 465.
RSS
Israel to Close West Bank Crossing to Jordan Indefinitely
The Allenby Bridge, a main crossing point between Israel and Jordan. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
Israel will indefinitely close the only crossing between the West Bank and Jordan from Wednesday, days after reopening it following a shooting that killed two Israeli soldiers.
A spokesperson for the Israeli authority overseeing the Allenby crossing said that it would be closed from Wednesday morning “at the direction of the political leadership.” The statement did not provide any further reason for the closure.
Palestinian and Jordanian authorities had said earlier on Tuesday that Israel would close the border the following day.
The crossing serves as the main gateway for many Palestinians in the West Bank to travel abroad and is used to transport commercial goods between Jordan and the West Bank.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office did not respond to a request for comment during a public holiday in Israel. The military referred questions to the prime minister’s office.
The move comes after Netanyahu said on Sunday the government would give its “response” to other countries recognizing a Palestinian state once he returns from a visit to the United States.
France, Britain, Canada and Australia are among several countries who have or will recognize Palestine this week, in what they hope will revive momentum for the two-state solution.
Some of Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition allies have said that the government should annex the West Bank in response.
Israel fully reopened the Allenby Crossing on Monday, four days after a Jordanian truck driver shot dead two Israeli soldiers. The crossing was closed following the shooting.