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Netanyahu swears in new government, giving far-right figures key roles
(JTA) — Benjamin Netanyahu completed his stunning return to power by swearing into office a historically right-wing government coalition and beginning an unprecedented sixth stint as Israeli prime minister on Thursday.
After winning a decisive mandate in November elections, Netanyahu spent several weeks negotiating with figures once relegated to the far-right fringes of Israeli politics to secure enough parliamentary seats to form a majority coalition. Many of those figures were given Cabinet or other key positions, even though members of Netanyahu’s Likud Party will fill the roles of foreign minister, defense minister and justice minister.
During coalition negotiations, several ministry leadership positions were modified or scheduled such that different lawmakers will rotate into some positions over time. Itamar Ben-Gvir — a former follower of the extremist Meir Kahane and a pro-settler provocateur known for his anti-Arab rhetoric — will have a newly created portfolio as national security minister, with unprecedented control over Israel’s police forces. The right-wing party Noam, led by a lawmaker who describes himself as a “proud homophobe,” will get 70 million NIS annually (almost $20 million) to create and operate a new “Department of State Jewish Consciousness.”
Some lawmakers were given multiple powers. Bezalel Smotrich, the anti-LGBTQ head of the Religious Zionist Party, will be finance minister, but he will also appoint the next head of the military unit that handles Palestinian border crossings. Aryeh Deri, head of the haredi Orthodox Shas Party who has served prison time for taking bribes during a former stint as interior minister, will return to that ministerial role and also lead the health ministry.
RELATED: Who’s who in Israel’s new far-right government, and why it matters
Heeding international criticism over the makeup of his coalition — especially from the United States, where some communal leaders have begun to question their ties to Israel — Netanyahu has in recent weeks said that he will not allow his coalition partners to pass policies that would endanger LGBTQ or Arab citizens. In a speech to the Knesset, or Israel’s parliament, on Thursday, he emphasized that his top priorities will be curbing Iran’s nuclear program, connecting peripheral Israeli communities to city centers with new infrastructure, and bolstering law and order.
Outgoing Prime Minister Yair Lapid tweeted: “We pass on to you a state in excellent condition. Try not to ruin it, we’ll be right back. The handover files are ready.”
Netanyahu is already Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, filling the role from 2009-2021 and 1996-1999.
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Tucker’s Ideas About Jews Come from Darkest Corners of the Internet, Says Huckabee After Combative Interview
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee looks on during the day he visits the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem’s Old City, April 18, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
i24 News – In a combative interview with US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, right-wing firebrand Tucker Carlson made a host of contentious and often demonstrably false claims that quickly went viral online. Huckabee, who repeatedly challenged the former Fox News star during the interview, subsequently made a long post on X, identifying a pattern of bad-faith arguments, distortions and conspiracies in Carlson’s rhetorical style.
Huckabee pointed out his words were not accorded by Carlson the same degree of attention and curiosity the anchor evinced toward such unsavory characters as “the little Nazi sympathizer Nick Fuentes or the guy who thought Hitler was the good guy and Churchill the bad guy.”
“What I wasn’t anticipating was a lengthy series of questions where he seemed to be insinuating that the Jews of today aren’t really same people as the Jews of the Bible,” Huckabee wrote, adding that Tucker’s obsession with conspiracies regarding the provenance of Ashkenazi Jews obscured the fact that most Israeli Jews were refugees from the Arab and Muslim world.
The idea that Ashkenazi Jews are an Asiatic tribe who invented a false ancestry “gained traction in the 80’s and 90’s with David Duke and other Klansmen and neo-Nazis,” Huckabee wrote. “It has really caught fire in recent years on the Internet and social media, mostly from some of the most overt antisemites and Jew haters you can find.”
Carlson branded Israel “probably the most violent country on earth” and cited the false claim that Israel President Isaac Herzog had visited the infamous island of the late, disgraced sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“The current president of Israel, whom I know you know, apparently was at ‘pedo island.’ That’s what it says,” Carlson said, citing a debunked claim made by The Times reporter Gabrielle Weiniger. “Still-living, high-level Israeli officials are directly implicated in Epstein’s life, if not his crimes, so I think you’d be following this.”
Another misleading claim made by Carlson was that there were more Christians in Qatar than in Israel.
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Pezeshkian Says Iran Will Not Bow to Pressure Amid US Nuclear Talks
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian attends the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit 2025, in Tianjin, China, September 1, 2025. Iran’s Presidential website/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Saturday that his country would not bow its head to pressure from world powers amid nuclear talks with the United States.
“World powers are lining up to force us to bow our heads… but we will not bow our heads despite all the problems that they are creating for us,” Pezeshkian said in a speech carried live by state TV.
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Italy’s RAI Apologizes after Latest Gaffe Targets Israeli Bobsleigh Team
Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics – Bobsleigh – 4-man Heat 1 – Cortina Sliding Centre, Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy – February 21, 2026. Adam Edelman of Israel, Menachem Chen of Israel, Uri Zisman of Israel, Omer Katz of Israel in action during Heat 1. Photo: REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha
Italy’s state broadcaster RAI was forced to apologize to the Jewish community on Saturday after an off‑air remark advising its producers to “avoid” the Israeli crew was broadcast before coverage of the Four-Man bobsleigh event at the Winter Olympics.
The head of RAI’s sports division had already resigned earlier in the week after his error-ridden commentary at the Milano Cortina 2026 opening ceremony two weeks ago triggered a revolt among its journalists.
On Saturday, viewers heard “Let’s avoid crew number 21, which is the Israeli one” and then “no, because …” before the sound was cut off.
RAI CEO Giampaolo Rossi said the incident represented a “serious” breach of the principles of impartiality, respect and inclusion that should guide the public broadcaster.
He added that RAI had opened an internal inquiry to swiftly determine any responsibility and any potential disciplinary procedures.
In a separate statement RAI’s board of directors condemned the remark as “unacceptable.”
The board apologized to the Jewish community, the athletes involved and all viewers who felt offended.
RAI is the country’s largest media organization and operates national television, radio and digital news services.
The union representing RAI journalists, Usigrai, had said Paolo Petrecca’s opening ceremony commentary had dealt “a serious blow” to the company’s credibility.
His missteps included misidentifying venues and public figures, and making comments about national teams that were widely criticized.