A Palestinian NGO was on Wednesday refused permission to appeal a court ruling that Britain lawfully allowed F-35 fighter jet parts to be indirectly exported to Israel, despite accepting they could be used to breach international humanitarian law.

Al-Haq, a Palestinian rights group based in the West Bank, unsuccessfully challenged Britain’s Department for Business and Trade over its decision last year to exempt F-35 components when it suspended export licenses for arms that could be used in the war in Gaza.

The group last month asked the Court of Appeal for permission to challenge a lower court ruling that found Britain’s decision was lawful and dismissed Al-Haq’s challenge.

The Court of Appeal refused permission, ruling that it was a matter for the government to decide whether national security issues relating to the supply of F-35 components outweighed an assessment that Israel was not committed to complying with international humanitarian law.

When it suspended export licenses in 2024, Britain assessed that Israel was not committed to complying with such law in its military campaign, which targeted Hamas terrorists after their Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of and massacre across southern Israeli communities.

But Britain did not suspend licenses for British-made F-35 components, which go into a pool of spare parts Israel can use on its existing F-35 jets.

London’s High Court rejected the challenge in June, saying in its ruling that then-business minister Jonathan Reynolds was “faced with the blunt choice of accepting the F-35 carve-out or withdrawing from the F-35 program and accepting all the defense and diplomatic consequences which would ensue.”

The Court of Appeal heard Al-Haq’s application for permission to appeal as Israel and Palestinian terrorist group Hamas signed an agreement last month to cease fire and free Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

In a similar case earlier this month, a Dutch appeals court confirmed a decision to throw out a case brought by pro-Palestinian groups to stop the Netherlands exporting weapons to Israel and trading with Israeli settlements in Palestinian territories.

Jack Schlossberg, the Kennedy family scion whose father’s side of the family is Jewish, is officially running for Congress in one of the most Jewish districts in the United States. 

He entered the race on Tuesday night after months of speculation and an initial dismissive reaction from the seat’s current occupant, Jerry Nadler.

Schlossberg, the 32-year-old grandson of President John F. Kennedy who has risen to prominence recently as a progressive social media darling, posted an announcement Tuesday night that focused on Donald Trump and the cost of living.

“We deserve better, and we can do better, and it starts with the Democratic Party winning back control of the House of Representatives,” Schlossberg said.

Schlossberg, 32, is running to represent New York’s 12th Congressional District, which covers the Upper West and East Sides and all of Midtown Manhattan, where he said he was “born and raised, where I took the bus to school every single day from one side of the district to the other.”

His mother is the author and former U.S. ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy; Schlossberg’s father is Jewish artist Edwin Schlossberg. His paternal grandfather, Alfred Schlossberg, worked in what he said in his announcement was the “shmatte business,” making men’s dress shirts.

The younger Schlossberg was raised with some Jewish traditions at home, such as incorporating Hanukkah traditions into their holiday parties.

“I feel I’m at least 100% half Jewish ;),” he told Hey Alma last year, as he broke out as a social media star.

Schlossberg was born in 1993 — one year after Nadler was first elected. Nadler, Congress’ most senior Jewish member, announced in September that he would not be running for reelection to make way for the next generation. Nadler’s retirement opened up an already-crowded race to represent a “crown jewel” of New York politics, with a number of others rumored to be exploring their own candidacies.

Other candidates officially running include Alex Bores and Micah Lasher, both members of the state Assembly, as well as 26-year-old non-profit founder Liam Elkind. 

Schlossberg has worked as a political correspondent for Vogue and endorsed Kamala Harris at the Democratic National Convention. He has never held public office — a fact that Jerry Nadler himself hammered home in an interview with CNN following his retirement announcement, when Schlossberg was considering running.

“Well, there’s nothing particularly good or bad about a Kennedy holding my seat. But the Kennedy, unlike Schlossberg, should be somebody with a record of public service, a record of public accomplishment, and he doesn’t have one,” Nadler said. “And so, I don’t think he’s going to be a candidate in the end, and he certainly is not going to be a major candidate. There will be major candidates,” Nadler continued, pointing to Lasher as one example. “I’m sure there’ll be other candidates.”

Schlossberg took Nadler’s criticism in stride, writing on Instagram, “Honestly no offense taken whatsoever ! As a New Yorker, a progressive and an American, I have nothing but thanks and respects to offer Rep Nadler.”

Schlossberg endorsed Zohran Mamdani ahead of the Democratic mayoral primary, and said on Instagram that he didn’t “give a f–k” that he would “piss off” former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, his cousin by marriage. In an Instagram post responding to people who ask why he supports Mamdani as a Jew, Schlossberg said, “If you think that Zohran doesn’t like Jews, you’re f–king brainwashed.”

He added, “We cannot have this thing where if you disagree with Israeli policy, you hate Jews. That’s not good and that’s not fighting antisemitism. That’s horses–t and that’s a cop-out.”

In an interview with the New York Times the day after Mamdani’s election, he said he thought Mamdani’s victory — including his wide margin among young voters — was a positive omen for his own campaign.

Schlossberg defended Mamdani against allegations of antisemitism in that interview. “New York needs to be a safe place for Jewish people,” Schlossberg said. “I’m very sensitive to the Jewish community’s concerns, because I feel them, too. It bothers me.”

While a supporter of Mamdani, he disagreed with the mayor-elect’s pledge to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he sets foot in New York, and, unlike Mamdani, chose not to describe the conflict in Gaza as a “genocide.” 

“I think it’s painfully clear that Israel’s committing atrocities in Gaza,” Schlossberg said.

In an interview days before Schlossberg entered the race, Democratic strategist Trip Yang said the 12th district race is “wide open.”

“Jerry Nadler is an icon, trailblazer. Nadler is one of the most popular figures in Manhattan history,” Yang said. 

“This is one of the most important congressional districts — a lot of wealth, a lot of power in this district. But it’s an open seat,” Yang said. “So you can have a lot of big names enter right now. It is wide open.”

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The post Jack Schlossberg, JFK’s ‘100% half Jewish’ grandson, is running for Jerry Nadler’s seat in Congress appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog has received a letter from US President Donald Trump urging him to consider granting a pardon to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Herzog’s office said on Wednesday.

Netanyahu has been facing a long-running corruption trial, and Trump has repeatedly asked for a pardon for his close ally. Netanyahu denies the charges and has pleaded not guilty.

“While I absolutely respect the independence of the Israeli Justice System, and its requirements, I believe that this ‘case’ against Bibi, who has fought alongside me for a long time, including against the very tough adversary of Israel, Iran, is a political, unjustified prosecution,” Trump said in the letter shared by Herzog’s office.

The office said that anyone seeking a presidential pardon must submit a formal request in accordance with the established procedures.

During Trump‘s visit to Israel in October, he had also urged Herzog to pardon the prime minister in an address to parliament in Jerusalem.

Netanyahu was indicted in 2019 in three cases, including allegations of receiving nearly 700,000 shekels ($211,832) in gifts from businessmen.

Despite the largely ceremonial role of the Israeli presidency, Herzog has the authority to pardon convicted criminals under unusual circumstances.

However, Netanyahu‘s trial, which began in 2020, has not yet concluded, and he has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Netanyahu has cast his legal ordeal as a left-wing witch-hunt aimed at toppling an elected right-wing leader.

($1 = 3.3045 shekels)