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Marcus Mumford to perform at controversial joint Israeli-Palestinian memorial event
(JTA) — Marcus Mumford, the lead singer and guitarist of British folk rock band Mumford and Sons, will perform in a pre-recorded music video at a joint Israeli-Palestinian memorial service in Tel Aviv next week, giving a celebrity imprimatur to an event that draws perennial controversy in Israel.
Mumford has been involved with one of the event’s organizers, the Parents Circle-Families Forum, which brings together bereaved Israeli and Palestinian families, since 2014 when he met its Jewish cofounder, a mother whose son had been killed by a Palestinian sniper. He has visited Israel and the West Bank and performed in events promoting coexistence in Israel and the United States, including with his longtime friend, the Palestinian rapper Tamer Nafar.
The April 24 ceremony, which marks the beginning of Israel’s Memorial Day, or Yom HaZikaron, has drawn backlash in Israel for commemorating Palestinian victims of the conflict alongside Israelis killed in war and terror attacks. This year, as in previous years, Israel’s defense minister has declined to issue permits to allow Palestinians to cross from the West Bank into Israel to attend the event, citing “the complex security situation” in the West Bank.
The defense minister, Yoav Gallant, issued his decision at an especially tense time in Israel, which has experienced escalating Israeli-Palestinian violence alongside weeks of protests against the government’s proposal to sap the Israeli Supreme Court of much of its power. Last month, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired Gallant — and subsequently reversed that decision — after Gallant called for a pause in the court reform.
The other group organizing the memorial, Combatants for Peace — which is comprised of former Israeli soldiers and Palestinian militants who now advocate for nonviolence — attributed Gallant’s decision to his near-termination.
“Gallant is frightened by the threat of dismissal & has fallen in line with the silencing of voices,” Combatants for Peace said in a statement on Twitter. “The ceremony is how hundreds of bereaved families remember their loved ones. It represents the future that is possible here – a joint future of dignity & human rights for ALL.”
In the past, decisions like Gallant’s have been overturned by Israel’s Supreme Court, which has allowed West Bank Palestinians to attend the event. The groups organizing the event will be petitioning the Supreme Court to overturn this decision as well.
(The event is a case study of sorts in the conflict between the Supreme Court, which says it is upholding basic rights, and the Israeli right wing, which believes the court’s decisions contravene the will of Israel’s elected government. After the court reversed a ban on Palestinian participants in the ceremony in 2019, Netanyahu said in a statement, “The High Court’s decision is mistaken and disappointing. There should not be a ceremony that equates the blood of our sons to the blood of terrorists. That’s why I refused to allow the entry of the ceremony participants, and I believe the High Court should not have intervened in my decision.”)
Mumford is not the first celebrity to participate in the Israeli-Palestinian memorial ceremony. Actor Richard Gere appeared via video in 2021, and last year’s ceremony featured popular Jewish Israeli actress and comedian Rivka Michaeli and Arab Israeli actor George Iskandar, along with live and recorded musical performances.
“Today more than ever it is important to recognize that two peoples call this place their homeland, and it is time to act together to realize this partnership and create a better future here for everyone,” Combatants for Peace said in a statement thanking Mumford for his appearance. “When we collectively remember our loved ones lost in conflict, we do just that.”
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The post Marcus Mumford to perform at controversial joint Israeli-Palestinian memorial event appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Trump Threatens to Hit Iran Infrastructure on Tuesday if Strait Remains Blocked
US President Donald Trump arrives to award the medal of honor to Master Sgt. Roderick ‘Roddie’ W. Edmonds, Staff Sgt. Michael H. Ollis, and retired Command Sgt. Maj. Terry P. Richardson during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 02 March 2026.
US President Donald Trump said in an expletive-laden social media post on Sunday that the United States will target Iran’s power plants and bridges on Tuesday if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened.
“Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!!” Trump said in a Truth Social post, referencing the key shipping lane that Tehran has effectively closed since the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran more than a month ago.
“Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH!,” Trump said, ending his Easter morning post with: “Praise be to Allah.”
The president separately said he would hold a news conference on Monday in the Oval Office, after the US military rescued two US pilots whose aircraft were downed in Iran.
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Zelensky in Syria to Discuss Security Cooperation with Sharaa
FILE PHOTO: Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy looks on during an interview with Reuters, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine March 25, 2026. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko/File Photo
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pledged to work for enhanced security in talks on Sunday with his Syrian counterpart Ahmed al-Sharaa, as Kyiv seeks to promote its military expertise across the region following the outbreak of the Iran war.
Zelensky, continuing his tour of Middle East countries, also said Ukraine wants to contribute to food security in the region.
In recent weeks, Zelensky has visited several countries across the Middle East, offering Ukrainian expertise in countering drone and missile attacks, developed during its four-year war with Russia.
“We agreed to work together to provide more security and opportunities for development for our societies,” Zelensky wrote on Telegram. “There is a great interest in exchanging military and security experience.”
Zelensky told the Syrian leader that Ukraine, as a major grain producer, was a reliable supplier of food and said the two leaders “discussed joint opportunities to strengthen food security across the region.”
In Turkey on Saturday, Zelensky said he had agreed on “new steps” in security cooperation with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, and discussed opportunities in joint gas infrastructure projects and gas field development.
“Today in Damascus we continue our active Ukrainian diplomacy aimed at real security and economic cooperation,” Zelensky said on X after his arrival.
It was the Ukrainian leader’s first trip to Syria since diplomatic relations were re-established at the end of last year following the fall of Syria’s long-time strongman Bashar al-Assad.
Zelensky’s talks with Sharaa were linked to defense in light of the US-Israeli war in Iran, said one Syrian source, a government adviser. Syria is not known to have any air defenses capable of dealing with Iranian drones or missiles.
During Zelensky’s visits to Gulf states last weekend, Ukraine signed long-term military cooperation deals with Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and he said that a similar agreement was close to completion with UAE.
Syria is home to two major Russian military bases, used by its navy and air force. Sharaa said on Tuesday at an event in Chatham House in London that work was under way to transform these into “centers to train the Syrian army.”
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China Ready to Cooperate with Russia to Ease Middle East Tension, Foreign Minister Says
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi attends the 14th EAST Asia Summit Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in the 57th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting at the National Convention Center, in Vientiane, Laos July 27, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Chalinee Thirasupa/File Photo
China is willing to continue to cooperate with Russia at the UN Security Council and make efforts to cool down the Middle East situation, Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in a phone call on Sunday.
Wang said the fundamental way to resolve navigation issues in the Strait of Hormuz is to achieve a ceasefire as soon as possible, adding that China has always advocated political settlement of hotspot issues through dialogue and negotiation.
The foreign ministers’ call came ahead of a U.N. Security Council vote next week on a Bahraini resolution to protect commercial shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz.
As permanent UNSC members, China and Russia should “adopt an objective and balanced approach and seek to win greater understanding and support from the international community,” Wang told Lavrov, according to a statement from his ministry.
China has repeatedly called for a ceasefire in the Gulf region and Middle East, urging an end to the fighting that has run for more than a month and largely closed the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping artery for oil and gas.