Jew-hatred rearing its ugly head in Europe, US, Israeli ministers say
(JNS) — Surging antisemitism across Europe and the United States since Oct. 7 is a modern manifestation of millennia-old, virulent Jew-hatred, according to Amichai Chikli, the Israeli diaspora affairs and combating antisemitism minister.
“In the past, religious blood libels led to torture, burnings at the stake and pogroms,” Chikli told JNS. “In the 20th century, horrific racist theories spawned the Holocaust.”
The same libels “are directed not at individual Jews, but at the Jewish state” today, he said. “Israel is accused of deliberate starvation, genocide against Palestinians, apartheid, colonialism and more.”
Canada intends to recognize Palestinian state in September
(JNS) — Canada announced on Wednesday its intention to recognize a Palestinian state during the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in September, contingent on reforms by the Palestinian Authority.
In a statement outlining its position, the Canadian government claimed the decision stems from its commitment to a two-state solution and its support for all those “who choose peace over violence or terrorism.”
Ottawa said that the viability of a two-state solution is increasingly in doubt, citing a range of developments that have “steadily and gravely eroded” the prospects for a negotiated peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
Lithuania scraps years of planning by Jewish groups to convert sports complex into Jewish heritage site
(JTA) — A Jewish group is outraged by Lithuania’s plans to convert a sports complex into a convention center at the site of a historic Jewish cemetery, reversing decades of advocacy to commemorate the memorial site.
The Snipiskes Jewish Cemetery, currently buried beneath the Soviet-era Vilnius Sports Palace, has long been a source of contention between the government and Jewish groups that sought to preserve the memory of the Jews buried there.
But Lithuanian Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas’s announcement last week of a convention center, despite his pledge to “preserve attention to both the significance of this place for Lithuanian history and the memory of the events that marked it,” appears to have undermined those efforts.
Germany’s call for Palestinian state is support for Nazism, Ben-Gvir says
(JNS) — Berlin is “supporting Nazism” by considering the recognition of a Palestinian state in the wake of Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said on Thursday.
“80 years since the Holocaust, and Germany is once again supporting Nazism,” Ben-Gvir tweeted hours before German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul was set to arrive in Israel on Thursday afternoon.
In a statement issued shortly before he took off for Tel Aviv, Wadephul had said that talks toward establishing a Palestinian state must begin immediately.
“A negotiated two-state solution remains the only path that can offer people on both sides a life in peace, security, and dignity,” said the diplomat. “For Germany, the recognition of a Palestinian state comes more at the end of that process. But such a process must begin now.
“Germany will not deviate from this goal,” the statement declared, adding that Berlin “will be forced to react to any unilateral steps.”
British politicians slam recognition of Palestinian state
(JNS) — A delegation of senior British parliamentarians visiting Israel has harshly criticized Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s intention to recognize a Palestinian state.
Former Defense Minister Sir Gavin Williamson of the Conservative Party; Lord John Woodcock, until February the British government’s independent adviser on political violence and disruption, formerly of Labour; and Conservative MP Bob Blackman are touring Israel this week.
Speaking to Israel Hayom, the senior British political figures argued that Starmer’s plan would do nothing to advance the two-state solution or alleviate Palestinian suffering. They warned it could instead embolden terrorist organizations such as Hamas and alienate key allies such as Israel.
Williamson accused Starmer of acting out of fear rather than strategic vision. “My instinct is that if Starmer does this, it will be out of weakness, not due to a considered strategy, but fear of Labour backbenchers,” he said.
Top EU official compares Gazans to Jews in Warsaw Ghetto
(JNS) — European Commission Executive Vice President Teresa Ribera has compared the suffering of civilians in Gaza to that of Jews imprisoned by the Nazis in the Warsaw Ghetto during the Holocaust and criticized the E.U. for “idly standing by while one of the worst humanitarian scandals in history unfolds.”
Considered the “No. 2” in the E.U. executive body, she made the statements in an interview with Spanish radio Cadena Ser.
Ribera, who is a Spanish Socialist and former deputy prime minister in the government of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, also lamented that “it is very difficult to mobilize Europe on Gaza” and issued a rare rebuke of her colleagues in the European Commission.
Spain, which is one of the most anti-Israel countries in the E.U., has called for a suspension of the E.U.-Israel Association Agreement and an arms embargo on Israel.
Trump warns Canada’s Palestinian state bid could derail trade talks
(JNS) — U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Canada’s announcement a day earlier that it plans to recognize a Palestinian state complicates trade talks between the neighboring nations.
Ottawa announced that the recognition will take place during the U.N. General Assembly annual debate in September, contingent on reforms by the Palestinian Authority. The move follows similar recent announcements by France and the United Kingdom.
In a post on social media on Thursday, Trump wrote: “Wow! Canada has just announced that it is backing statehood for Palestine. That will make it very hard for us to make a Trade Deal with them. Oh’ Canada!!!”
A White House official, speaking on Trump’s behalf, clarified the administration’s position to Reuters on Wednesday: “As the president stated, he would be rewarding Hamas if he recognizes a Palestinian state, and he doesn’t think they should be rewarded. So he is not going to do that. President Trump’s focus is on getting people fed [in Gaza].”
Chikli slams ‘three musketeers’ over Palestinian state push
(JNS) — Israel’s Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Minister Amichai Chikli sharply criticized Canada’s decision on Wednesday to recognize a Palestinian state during the U.N. General Assembly annual debate in September, contingent on reforms by the Palestinian Authority.
In a social media post on Thursday, the minister derided the move as pandering to a far-left and Muslim political base rather than addressing the war in Gaza or the suffering of those held captive by Hamas.
Chikli said the declaration rewards and legitimizes Hamas’s violence, likening Western leaders’ gestures to historical acts of appeasement and abandonment of Jewish people in times of crisis, from Neville Chamberlain’s policy toward Nazi Germany to blocks on Jewish refugees’ movements after World War II to recent Western policies in the Middle East.
“We’ve outlasted Pharaoh, Antiochus, Titus, Hadrian, Chmielnicki, and Hitler,” Chikli wrote, expressing confidence that Israel would also survive the “Palestinian three musketeers” in Paris, London and Ottawa.
