Uncategorized
Norway’s Socialist Left Party Sparks Outrage With Hanukkah Ceremony ‘For the People of Palestine’
A general view shows Norway’s parliament in Oslo, Norway, Sept. 6, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Tom Little
A political party in Norway sparked outrage within the local Jewish community after holding a Hanukkah candle-lighting ceremony “for the people of Palestine,” the latest controversy tied to the party’s long-standing anti-Israel record as the Norwegian government continues its hostile stance toward the Jewish state.
On Sunday, Norway’s Socialist Left Party, widely regarded as the most anti-Israel party in the Norwegian parliament, organized a public gathering during the holiday of Hanukkah to light a menorah. However, the party dedicated the ceremony “to the victims in Palestine,” rather than honoring the Jewish tradition, which celebrates the triumph of light over darkness, the restoration of Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel, and the freedom of Jewish faith and culture.
“Today we lit candles to mark Hanukkah – together with Jewish Voices for Just Peace and The Palestinian Committee. This is what solidarity is all about. Standing up to injustice, no matter where. Standing together for human dignity, no matter who,” the party wrote in a post on Instagram.
“The marking emphasizes the struggle for the liberation of all people and against antisemitism and racism,” the statement read. “Values that know no boundaries based on religion or ethnicity, but about which we all can and must unite. No one is free until everyone is free.”
This latest controversy follows diplomatic tensions that were sparked last month when pro-Palestinian Norwegian organizations held a ceremony in Oslo to commemorate an infamous 1938 Nazi pogrom, drawing parallels between Nazi atrocities and Israel’s defensive military campaign in Gaza.
On Nov. 9, 1938, Nazi paramilitary forces launched a coordinated nationwide attack on the German Jewish community — burning synagogues, destroying homes and businesses, and deporting thousands — a violent event that has come to be remembered as Kristallnacht, or the Night of Broken Glass.
The onslaught left at least 91 Jews dead and 30,000 Jewish men arrested and sent to concentration camps. Over 7,000 Jewish-owned stores were looted.
“This is not a joke. One of the parties represented in Norway’s Parliament, the Socialist Left Party, chose this week to light a public menorah in central Oslo — ‘for the people of Palestine and the victims there,’” Swedish Jewish journalist Daniel Schatz wrote in a post on X.
“A Jewish symbol, tied to the holiday of Hanukkah, was deliberately appropriated to advance an anti-Israel agenda,” Schatz continued.
“This took place the very same week Jews were massacred in Australia,” he added, referring to the deadly attack on a Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach that killed 15 people and wounded at least 40 others. “If this is where Norway’s political culture stands, then yes — Norway is lost.”
This is not a joke. One of the parties represented in Norway’s Parliament, the Socialist Left Party, chose this week to light a public menorah in central Oslo — “for the people of Palestine and the victims there.”
A Jewish symbol, tied to the holiday of Chanukah, was… pic.twitter.com/URS7dARV0I
— Daniel Schatz (@drdanielschatz) December 22, 2025
As one of the most staunchly anti-Israel political forces in Norway, the Socialist Left Party (SV) has made boycotting the world’s lone Jewish state a central focus of its platform.
In the most recent elections held in September, the party — which won around 6 percent of the vote — demanded that Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, managing assets worth approximately $2 trillion, divest from Israeli companies, and conditioned support for any future government on implementing a full boycott of Israel.
Norway’s relationship with the Jewish state has deteriorated significantly after the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which ignited the war in Gaza, with Oslo becoming one of the most outspokenly hostile countries toward Jerusalem on the global stage.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has reportedly been considering closing Israel’s embassy in Norway, which has been operating without an ambassador since May 2024, following the country’s formal recognition of a Palestinian state, the Israeli news outlet Ynet reported.
According to media reports, Israel was waiting for Norway’s elections before making a decision, hoping a political shift might pave the way for rehabilitating relations. However, that shift did not occur, as the left-wing government remained in power.
The Norwegian government has launched a relentless anti-Israel campaign over the past two years, imposing sanctions on Israeli officials, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, in response to the war in Gaza, while also divesting investments from Israeli banks and companies.
Earlier this year, the fund, which is operated by Norway’s central bank, divested from US construction equipment group Caterpillar on ethics grounds over the use of the company’s products by Israeli authorities in Gaza and the West Bank. The fund also divested from five Israeli banking groups on ethics grounds. However, the government has objected to demands by SV and others that it divest from all Israeli firms, arguing that only companies involved in what it describes as occupation of Palestinian territories should be excluded.
Norway also made it clear that it would enforce the International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes in Gaza, should they visit the country. Both US and Israeli officials have lambasted the arrest warrants as a politicized farce, arguing the ICC is unfairly biased against the Jewish state.
Uncategorized
Downed Planes Raise New Perils for Trump as Tehran Hunts for Missing US Pilot
Traces of an Iranian missile attack in Tehran’s sky, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, April 3, 2026. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Two US warplanes were downed over Iran and the Gulf, Iranian and US officials said on Friday, with two pilots rescued and a third still missing and being hunted by Tehran’s forces.
The incidents show the risks still faced by US and Israeli aircraft over Iran despite assertions from US President Donald Trump and his Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that their forces had total control of the skies.
The first plane, a two-seat US F-15E jet, was shot down by Iranian fire, officials in both countries said.
The second plane, an A-10 Warthog fighter aircraft, was hit by Iranian fire and crashed over Kuwait, with the pilot ejecting, two US officials said.
Two Blackhawk helicopters involved in the search effort for the missing pilot were hit by Iranian fire but made it out of Iranian airspace, the two US officials told Reuters.
The degree of injuries among the crew of the aircraft remained unclear. The status and whereabouts of the missing F-15E crew member was not publicly known.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps said it was combing an area near where the pilot’s plane came down in southwestern Iran and the regional governor promised a commendation for anyone who captured or killed “forces of the hostile enemy.”
Iranians, who have been pummeled by American air power for weeks, posted gleeful messages celebrating the plane downings. Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said on X that the U.S. and Israel’s war had been “downgraded from regime change” to a hunt for their pilots.
Trump has been in the White House receiving updates on the search-and-rescue operation, a senior administration official told Reuters. The Pentagon and US Central Command did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
NO SIGN OF END TO WAR
The prospect of a US service person being alive and on the run inside Iran raises the stakes for Washington in a conflict with low public support and no sign of an imminent end.
Iran has officially told mediators it is not prepared to meet with US officials in Islamabad in coming days and that efforts to produce a ceasefire, led by Pakistan, have reached a dead end, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.
The US and Israel opened the campaign with a wave of strikes that killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on February 28. The war has killed thousands and threatened lasting damage to the global economy.
So far, 13 US military service members have been killed in the conflict and more than 300 have been wounded, according to the US Central Command.
Iran has rained down drones and missiles on Israel. It has also taken aim at Gulf countries allied to the US, which have so far held back from joining the war directly for fear of further escalation.
In a security alert on Friday, the US embassy in Beirut said Iran and its aligned armed groups may target universities in Lebanon and urged US citizens in the country to leave while commercial flights are still available.
Israel has been waging a parallel campaign against Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon after the militant group fired at Israel in support of Iran.
TRUMP THREAT TO STRIKE BRIDGES, POWER PLANTS
On Friday, as Trump threatened to hit its bridges and power plants, Iran struck a power and water plant in Kuwait, underlining the vulnerability of Gulf states that rely heavily on desalination plants for drinking water.
On Thursday, Trump posted footage on social media showing dust and smoke billowing up as US strikes hit the newly constructed B1 bridge between Tehran and nearby Karaj, which was due to open this year, and said more attacks would follow.
“Our Military, the greatest and most powerful (by far!) anywhere in the World, hasn’t even started destroying what’s left in Iran. Bridges next, then Electric Power Plants!” he wrote in a subsequent post.
On Friday, a drone hit a Red Crescent relief warehouse in the Choghadak area of Iran’s southern Bushehr province.
Kuwait Petroleum Corporation said its Mina al-Ahmadi refinery had been hit by drones. Other attacks were also reported to have been intercepted in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi. Missile debris landed near the Israeli port of Haifa, site of a major oil refinery.
Oil markets were closed after benchmark U.S. crude prices gained 11% on Thursday following a speech by Trump that offered no clear sign of an imminent end to the war.
Uncategorized
US-Iran: Diplomatic Push Falters as Qatar Steps Back and Pakistan Talks Stall
Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani speaks after a meeting with the Lebanese president at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon, Feb. 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Emilie Madi
i24 News – Diplomatic efforts to secure a ceasefire between Washington and Tehran appear to have reached an impasse, as key regional mediators pull back and broader talks stall.
According to reporting by The Wall Street Journal, Qatar has informed US officials that it does not wish to take a central role in mediating between the two sides. Officials familiar with the matter said Doha has made clear it is “not willing” to lead negotiations or act as the primary broker.
At the same time, Pakistan-led efforts to bring Iranian and American officials together have also stalled. Mediators say Tehran has refused to attend proposed meetings in Islamabad, calling Washington’s conditions “unacceptable,” further underscoring the widening gap between the two sides and the growing difficulty of restarting dialogue.
Despite the deadlock, diplomatic channels have not fully closed. Turkey and Egypt are continuing parallel efforts to revive talks, with discussions underway about potential alternative venues, including Doha and Istanbul.
US President Donald Trump downplayed the impact of recent military developments on diplomacy, including the destruction of a US fighter jet during operations in Iran. Speaking in a brief exchange with an NBC News journalist, he said: “No, not at all. It’s war. We are at war.”
He further fueled speculation with a cryptic social media post on Truth Social, writing: “Keep the oil, anyone?” criticising international allies on Friday over rising fuel prices. Trump appeared to mock allies such as the United Kingdom, writing that they should “keep the oil.”
Uncategorized
Report: Iran Retains Significant Missile Capability Despite Weeks of US-Led Strikes
Iranian missiles are displayed in a park in Tehran, Iran, Jan. 31, 2026. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
i24 News – Despite weeks of sustained airstrikes by the United States and its allies, Iran has reportedly managed to retain a substantial portion of its military capabilities, particularly its ballistic missile arsenal.
According to a report by The New York Times citing US intelligence assessments, Tehran has developed methods to mitigate the impact of the strikes, allowing it to preserve and restore key parts of its missile infrastructure.
While the Pentagon has claimed responsibility for striking more than 11,000 targets over five weeks and reducing the rate of Iranian missile fire, intelligence officials now caution that the actual damage may be more limited than initially assessed. Iranian forces are reportedly able to rapidly repair or reactivate missile launchers stored in heavily fortified or underground facilities, sometimes within hours of being hit.
Analysts also point to the widespread use of decoy sites, which may have drawn strikes away from operational assets. Many of the targeted locations are believed to have contained dummy installations, complicating efforts to accurately gauge the degradation of Iran’s ballistic capabilities. Combined with deep underground bunkers and dispersed storage networks, this approach is seen as enabling Tehran to maintain a higher level of readiness than publicly estimated.
US intelligence officials assess that this resilience reflects a deliberate strategy: preserving a credible long-range strike capability as both a deterrent and a bargaining tool in any future negotiations, while ensuring regime survival and continued regional influence.
Despite sustained air dominance claimed by Washington and its allies, Iran’s adaptive tactics continue to complicate battlefield assessments, leaving the true balance of power in the conflict uncertain.