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Israeli minister cancels LA speech due to protests and ‘bad vibes’
(JTA) — An Israeli government minister canceled a speech in Los Angeles in the face of a protest, in part over what the local Israeli consul described as “bad vibes.”
Ofir Akunis, Israel’s science and technology minister and a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party, was due to speak on Tuesday at an event at BioscienceLA, a Los Angeles-area center for life science innovation. He arrived in the country ahead of the Celebrate Israel Parade in New York City on Sunday, where he will march as part of a delegation of Israeli government officials.
An activist movement led by Israeli expatriates who oppose the Israeli government’s proposed weakening of the judiciary, called UnXeptable, has vowed to protest the parade delegation. A local chapter of that movement showed up at the event in L.A. on Tuesday and, like the anti-government street protesters in Israel, chanted “Shame” in Hebrew.
Akunis did not show up for the speech. After the audience waited two hours, Hillel Newman, the Israeli consul general in Los Angeles, announced that the minister would not be speaking.
“I have to apologize on behalf of the minister,” Newman said from the podium. “In the end he decided he’s not coming. He said that he felt that his presence here might cause more provocations of the people outside and the protesters, and he said he didn’t want to bring a bad feeling or bad vibes to anything associated with him and the state of Israel.”
Neither the consulate general nor BioscienceLA responded to requests for comment. Akunis’ office said in a statement that his “successful visit is going as planned.”
“If there is a space for nonviolent arguments about Israel’s internal affairs, it is only in Israel, and as we knew to expect provocations from leftist protesters, we chose not to have them in the international arena,” read the statement, according to Neria Kraus, a reporter for Israeli Channel 13.
UnXeptable has organized protests overseas in solidarity with the mass street protests that have taken place in Israel against the government’s proposed judicial overhaul. Akunis is not the first Israeli government official to cancel a speech to an American audience due to protests. Netanyahu backed out of speaking at a Jewish Federations conference of North American Jewish leaders last month in Tel Aviv because of protests, and the next day, far-right lawmaker Simcha Rothman was repeatedly shouted down at one of the conference panels.
In a statement following Akunis’ cancellation, UnXeptable said, “We’ve started.”
“Whoever tries to destroy Israeli democracy will not enjoy a quiet visit in the United States,” the statement said. “We will be everywhere that they are and we will prevent them from spreading lies.”
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The post Israeli minister cancels LA speech due to protests and ‘bad vibes’ appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Report: Regime Change Not Ruled Out as US Mulls Escalation Against Venezuela
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro speaks during a march amid the disputed presidential election, in Caracas, Venezuela, Aug. 3, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Maxwell Briceno
i24 News – The United States is poised to launch a new phase of Venezuela-related operations in the coming days, as the US administration of President Donald Trump ratchets up pressure on President Nicolas Maduro’s government, Reuters reported Saturday citing four officials familiar with the matter. An escalation that would go so far as overthrowing Maduro’s dictatorial regime could not be ruled out, it is understood.
The report could not provide the exact timing or scope of the new operations, nor confirm that Trump had made a final decision to act. Reports of looming action have proliferated in recent weeks as the US military has deployed forces to the Caribbean amid worsening relations with Venezuela.
Two of the US officials said covert operations would likely be the first part of the new action against Maduro. Another “senior administration official” said he did not rule anything out regarding Venezuela.
“President Trump is prepared to use every element of American power to stop drugs from flooding into our country and to bring those responsible to justice,” the official was quoted as saying.
Also on Saturday, three international airlines canceled their flights departing from Venezuela, the day after the US Federal Aviation Administration warned major airlines of a “potentially hazardous situation” when flying over the country.
Brazil’s Gol, Colombia’s Avianca and TAP Air Portugal canceled their flights departing from Caracas on Saturday, according to Flightradar24 and the official website of Simon Bolivar Maiquetia International Airport.
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Indonesia’s Biggest Islamic Group Asks Chief to Resign Over Invitation to Pro-Israeli Speaker
Then Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with Yahya Cholil Staquf, secretary general of the 60-million member Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesia’s largest Muslim organization, at his office in Jerusalem. Photo: Haim Zach/GPO.
Indonesia’s biggest Islamic organization, Nahdlatul Ulama, has asked its chief to resign for inviting a US scholar known for his support of Israel during the Gaza war to an internal event in August, according to meeting minutes reviewed by Reuters.
The leadership of NU, which is also the world’s biggest Islamic organization with around 100 million members and affiliates, has given Chairman Yahya Cholil Staquf three days to offer his resignation or be removed from his post, according to the minutes from a meeting on Thursday.
NU cited Staquf’s invitation to a person “affiliated with an International Zionism network” for an internal event and alleged financial mismanagement as reasons for his ouster.
Staquf, who has been NU’s chairman since 2021, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
NU official Najib Azca told Reuters the decision was linked to Staquf’s invitation to former US official and scholar Peter Berkowitz for an August training event.
Staquf has apologized for the invitation and called it an oversight as he had not carefully checked Berkowitz’s background, adding that he condemned Israel‘s “brutal genocidal acts in Gaza.”
Berkowitz often writes in support of Israel‘s campaign in Gaza, according to his website, including a piece in September aiming to refute allegations of genocide against Israel.
Berkowitz spoke at NU seminars about the history of Western political thought in August, his website showed.
Berkowitz did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment that reached him outside of office hours.
Indonesia, the world’s Muslim-majority nation, has routinely condemned Israel‘s actions in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza since the war broke out in 2023. It has long advocated for a two-state solution and has no diplomatic relations with Israel.
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Protesters at Tel Aviv Rally Call for State Inquiry into Oct. 7 Failings
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu participates in the state memorial ceremony for the fallen of the Iron Swords War on Mount Herzl. In Jerusalem on 16 October 2025. Photo: Alex Kolomoisky/POOL/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – Israeli protesters gathered on Saturday in Tel Aviv, to demand the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appoint a committee to initiate a state inquiry on the security failings of October 7.
Saturday night rallies in Tel Aviv have been a fixture of the two-year-long war in Gaza that was triggered by the Hamas-led cross-border attack on October 7, 2023, that saw the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.
Protesters charged that Netanyahu refuses to be held accountable for his share of responsibility in Israel’s blackest day. They likewise took exception to Netanyahu’s wish to select the members of the committee, arguing this represented subversion of the democratic process.
Protesters also demanded the return of remains of the three deceased hostages still remaining in Gaza: Ran Gvili, Dror or and Sudthisak Rinthalak.