Uncategorized
Tensions mark Memorial Day ceremonies in Israel as Netanyahu urges unity
TEL AVIV (JTA) — In an unusual politicization of Israel’s Memorial Day on Tuesday, several senior Israeli government officials faced protests at ceremonies commemorating fallen soldiers.
The tensions unfolded as an Israeli was wounded in a shooting in the West Bank, and after five people were wounded in a car ramming Monday at Jerusalem’s Mahane Yehuda market.
The observances of the day, which is treated with solemnity and reverence in Israel, came days before the government intends to resume advancing legislation that would sap the Supreme Court of much of its power. The proposed reforms have caused upheaval and massive street protests in Israel, and both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition leaders had called for a pause on demonstrations out of respect for the day.
Despite those calls, several ministers in Netanyahu’s government faced opposition and ridicule as they appeared at official memorial events. The far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, addressed a ceremony in the southern city of Beersheva despite requests from bereaved families for him to refrain. Ben-Gvir was not enlisted in Israel’s mandatory military service due to his extremist activities.
Ben-Gvir ascended the stage at the event without coming into contact with the crowd, which was separated by barricades, according to the Times of Israel. Attendees shouted at him and at each other as he spoke, and engaged in scuffles after the event. One woman had an open water bottle thrown at her.
“I apologize to the fallen that we did not succeed in defending their honor,” said Ei Ben Shem, the head of a memorial organization, according to the Israeli news site Ynet. “Minister Ben-Gvir did not act intelligently. He caused blows and a rift between bereaved families. … Never have bereaved families raised a hand against each other.”
On Monday night, at a perennially controversial joint memorial service, 15,ooo Israelis and Palestinians commemorated their falen, amid right-wing protests. Palestinian participants had initially been barred by Defense Minister Yoav Gallant before the Supreme Court ruled that they must be allowed to attend.
Another minister, Gila Gamliel, was prevented from entering a Druze memorial ceremony, while other colleagues of hers were heckled at other ceremonies. Amid the clashes, Netanyahu urged unity in his address.
“This year, more than ever, on the Memorial Day for the brave of our nation, we will remember that we are brothers: Jews, Druze, Muslims, Bedouin, Christians and Circassians,” Netanyahu said at an official state ceremony, according to the Times of Israel. “Brothers in service, brothers in arms, brothers in blood.”
In a separate speech, he called on Israelis to “deepen our hold on our homeland.”
Former Defense Minister Benny Gantz, a Netanyahu opponent, tweeted that this was his “saddest Memorial Day.”
—
The post Tensions mark Memorial Day ceremonies in Israel as Netanyahu urges unity appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
Uncategorized
120th anniversary of the Forverts advice column “Bintel Brief”
מזל־טובֿ! דעם 20סטן יאַנואַר 2026 איז געוואָרן 120 יאָר זינט דער גרינדונג פֿון „אַ בינטל בריוו“ — דער עצות־רובריק פֿונעם פֿאָרווערטס. די רובריק איז פֿאַרלייגט געוואָרן פֿונעם גרינדער און לאַנגיאָריקן שעף־רעדאַקטאָר אַב קאַהאַן אין 1906.
כּדי אָפּצומערקן דעם יום־טובֿ ברענגען מיר אײַך צוויי זאַכן:
• ערשטנס, אַן אַרטיקל וועגן אַ טשיקאַווען בריוו וואָס איז אָנגעקומען אין דער פֿאָרווערטס־רעדאַקציע אין יאַנואַר 1949, פֿון אַ לייענער וועמעס זון האָט חתונה געהאַט מיט אַ קריסטלעכער פֿרוי
• צווייטנס, אַ פֿאָרווערטס־ווידעאָ אויף ייִדיש וועגן דער געשיכטע פֿון „אַ בינטל בריוו“, מיטן געוועזענעם פֿאָרווערטס־רעדאַקטאָר באָריס סאַנדלער און דער פֿאָרווערטס־אַרכיוויסטקע חנה פּאָלאַק.
The post 120th anniversary of the Forverts advice column “Bintel Brief” appeared first on The Forward.
Uncategorized
Report: Khamenei Moved to Underground Bunker in Tehran
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks in a televised message, after the ceasefire between Iran and Israel, in Tehran, Iran, June 26, 2025. Photo: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
i24 News – Amid tense expectation of US strike on key assets of the Islamic regime, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was moved into a special underground bunker in Tehran, the Iran International website reported on Saturday.
The report further added that the supreme leader’s third son Masoud Khamenei has taken over day-to-day management of the leader’s office, functioning as the de facto main channel for coordination vis-à-vis the executive branches of the government and the security forces.
The report describes Khamenei’s hideout as a “fortified site with interconnected tunnels.”
On Thursday US President Donald Trump said that a “massive” naval force was heading toward Iran.
“We have a lot of ships going that direction just in case. We have a big flotilla going in that direction. And we’ll see what happens,” Trump told reporters.
“We have an armada. We have a massive fleet heading in that direction, and maybe we won’t have to use it. We’ll see,” Trump added.
The USS Abraham Lincoln, along with three destroyers, was spotted making its way to the Middle East from Asia, according to ship-tracking data.
Uncategorized
Israel, Syria to Finalize US-Brokered Security Deal ‘Soon,’ as ‘Developments Accelerate Noticeably’
Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a Ministerial formation of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic, in Damascus, Syria, March 29, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
i24 News – Syrian and Israeli officials are expected to meet soon under US mediation, perhaps in Paris, to finalize a security agreement between Damascus and Jerusalem, a source close to Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa told i24NEWS on Saturday.
According to the Syrian source, the talks will also focus on various potential joint strategic and economic projects in the buffer zones between the two countries.
“There is very optimistic talk suggesting the possibility of even opening an Israeli embassy in Damascus before the end of this year, given the significant progress in the prospect of Syria joining the Abraham Accords,” the source said.
The original Syrian plan was limited to a security agreement and the opening of an Israeli liaison office in Damascus without diplomatic status, the source tells me. “But developments are accelerating noticeably under pressure from the United States, and specifically by President Trump, and amid growing Syrian openness.”
If Damascus manages to reach an integration agreement with the Druze in southern Syria, similar to its agreement with the Kurds in the northeast, and Israel commits to respecting Syria’s unity and territorial integrity, then al-Sharaa would be open to elevate the status of the agreement with Israel to more than just a security agreement, to also include diplomatic relations and an Israeli embassy in Damascus.
“The al-Sharaa government believes that a viable compromise to advance a peace process with Israel would include a 25-year lease for the Golan Heights, similar to the one Jordan previously signed with Israel over the border enclaves, turning it into a ‘Garden of Peace” of joint economic ventures,” the source said.
The source close to al-Sharaa also tells me that US President Trump is seeking to bring Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Al-Sharaa together for a peace agreement signing ceremony.
It should be noted that Israel has repeatedly rejected returning any part of the Golan Heights, let alone the entire territory.
On another front, the source stated that Damascus intends to adopt a new local administration system based on expanded administrative decentralization to enhance participation in local communities across all Syrian governorates.
According to the source, this solution would resolve persisting disputes with the Druze, Kurds, Alawites, and other minorities. A new Syrian government is expected to be formed within the next three months, the source added.