EU states to revisit Israel sanctions after Orbán loss
(JNS) — Several E.U. member states will reintroduce proposals for sanctions on Israel when they meet next week in Luxembourg for the first time since outgoing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s loss in his country’s general elections, the EUObserver news site reported on Apr 15.
Hungary under Orbán has blocked several attempts to sanction Israel by withholding its consent from proposals that required a consensus by all E.U. member state foreign ministers to pass.
Péter Magyar, whose Respect and Freedom Party, commonly known by its Hungarian abbreviations Tisza Party, won the election on April 12, has not specified his standpoints on Israel. His platform favors closer cooperation with the E.U., with which Orbán has publicly clashed on many issues, including Israel. Magyar is expected to assume power next month, after first forming a government.
Magyar has said he would reverse the Orbán government’s decision to take Hungary out of the International Criminal Court for its prosecution of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for alleged war crimes in Gaza.
E.U. trade sanctions could mean a suspension of the E.U.-Israel Association Agreement by a qualified majority vote in the E.U. Council. If passed, this could cost Israel about $1 billion annually.
FIFA president says ‘for sure’ Iran will play at US-hosted World Cup
(JNS) — Iran “has to” take part in the summer World Cup, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said on Apr 15.
“The Iranian team is coming for sure, yes,” the Associated Press cited Infantino as saying at CNBC’s Invest in America Forum, a one-day event that was held in Washington, D.C.
“We hope that by then, of course, the situation will be a peaceful situation. As I said, that would definitely help. But Iran has to come. Of course, they represent their people. They have qualified. The players want to play,” the FIFA president added.
The USA is co-hosting the World Cup with Canada and Mexico, with Iran scheduled to play two group-stage games in Inglewood, California, and one in Seattle.
The United States’ war against Iran that has now entered a fragile truce has raised doubts about the Iranian national team’s chances to travel to America.
“I went to see them. They are actually quite a good team as well,” Infantino went on to say, according to AP.
“And they really want to play and they should play. Sports should be outside of politics now. OK we don’t live on the moon, we live on planet Earth. But you know if there is nobody else that believes in building bridges and in keeping them, you know, intact and together, well we are doing that job,” he said.
Egypt, New Zealand and Belgium comprise the rest of Iran’s group.
Ukraine adds antisemitism to criminal code
(JNS) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Apr 15 signed an amendment to the country’s criminal code that prescribes up to three years in prison for “manifestations of antisemitism.”
The amendment, which Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar welcomed, added the phrase “and manifestations of antisemitism” to the criminal code’s Article 161, which deals with violations of equality of citizens based on race, nationality, religion, etc., the amendment’s initiator, lawmaker Maksym Buzhansky of Zelenskyy’s Servant of the People party, told Interfax Ukraine.
More than 40 additional lawmakers from the party supported the amendment and it passed in the Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian parliament, in February. Zelenskyy’s signature finalized it and the bill was added to the penal code as an amendment.
Article 161 already prescribed up to three years in prison for violation of anti-discrimination laws. It also gave judges the option of imposing only fines, or up to five years of lighter restrictions on offenders’ freedom of movement and association.
The amendment uses the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, or IHRA, definition of antisemitism, which includes as potential examples of antisemitism rhetoric that demonizes Israel.
Far-right Polish lawmaker draws outrage after calling Israel the ‘new Third Reich’
(JTA) — A far-right Polish lawmaker sparked outrage on Apr 14 when, while speaking in parliament, he displayed a modified Israeli flag that replaced the Star of David with a blue swastika and called Israel “the new Third Reich.”
“Israel is committing genocide before our eyes with particular cruelty,” said Konrad Berkowicz, vice chairman of Poland’s far-right New Hope party, according to Polish Radio.
As he unfurled the altered flag he said, “Israel is the new Third Reich, and its flag should look exactly like this.”
Berkowicz’s stunt — which occurred on Yom HaShoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day — was immediately rebuked by Włodzimierz Czarzasty, who is the speaker of the Sejm, or the lower house of the Polish parliament, saying that “displaying a swastika in the Polish parliament can in no way be justified.”
The incident drew strong condemnations from Polish Jewish leaders.
Patrycja Dołowy, former head of JCC Warsaw and president of the Miszpucha Foundation, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that Berkowicz committed a “very, very awful but also stupid act.” She also noted that Berkowicz’s goal “was to get more publicity and to be shown everywhere,” and said it would therefore be “better not to comment on this very widely and not to talk about it.”
Dołowy pointed out that public displays of swastikas, and connecting the swastika with a country, is forbidden under Poland’s criminal law code.
Dublin’s National Concert Hall scraps fundraiser for Israeli emergency service, igniting outcry
(JTA) — The National Concert Hall in Dublin has drawn condemnation from the head of Israel’s emergency medical service, Magen David Adom, after it canceled a planned fundraiser for the organization.
The event, which was slated for May 11, was set to include a play featuring testimonies from survivors and first responders of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel. It was organized as a fundraiser for Israel’s national emergency medical service by Magen David Adom Ireland, an Irish charity that raises funds for the organization.
Arrangements for the event were made in early February and have since been canceled and reinstated once before, according to Magen David Adom Ireland.
After initially cancelling the event last month, the National Concert Hall told Irish outlet Hot Press that it had been dropped because the venue “does not host political events,” but that it was later reinstated following what it described as a misunderstanding.
The National Concert Hall said in response to a Jewish Telegraphic Agency inquiry that “the proposed event with MDA Ireland on 11 May will not proceed.” The organizers did not respond to a request for comment on the reasoning behind the cancellation.
Irish pro-Palestinian groups had urged their followers to protest the reinstatement, alleging that Magen David Adom was “complicit in genocide.”
