Argentine pundit apologizes for linking fires to Israelis
(JNS) — A prominent Argentine radio host, who is also a professor of journalism, apologized on Jan. 13 for repeating conspiracy theories linking Israelis to wildfires in Patagonia.
Marcela Feudale, who hosts the “Feudalísima” show on Radio 10, a major national station with a 16% share of the listenership in Argentina, read the apology on air five days after she claimed to have learned from “good sources” that two Israelis were responsible for the devastating wildfires sweeping across Argentina’s southernmost region.
“I made a mistake and I apologize,” said Feudale. “I recognize that my comment contributes to the spread of hate speech. If the fires were intentional, it has nothing to do with nationalities, religions, or communities that deserve my respect.”
Her apology followed criticism by Argentine President Javier Milei, who on Jan. 10 retweeted on social media a rebuke of Feudale by Mauro Berenstein, the president of the DAIA umbrella of Argentine Jewish communities. “The dark side of Argentina. Period,” Milei wrote about Feudale, who has been a vocal critic of him and his government.
In the tweet that Milei reposted, Berenstein wrote: “Singling out ‘two Israelis’ as responsible for the fires without evidence is irresponsible and dangerous. It generates stigmas, reinforces anti-Jewish narratives and hatred. The media have a huge responsibility: a lie is not an opinion. At DAIA, we will not stand for it.”
Iran’s regime in its ‘final days,’ says German Chancellor
(JNS) — German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Jan. 13 predicted the imminent downfall of Iran’s regime, saying it was in its “final days.”
“When a regime can only hold on to power through violence, it is effectively finished,” Merz told reporters in India, where he was on a two-day visit. “I believe that we are now witnessing the final days and weeks of this regime.”
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned Merz’s “double standards,” telling Berlin to “have some shame” and urging it to end its “illegal interference” in the region. Araghachi noted Germany’s support of Israel during the war against Hamas, the Bloomberg news agency reported.
On Jan. 12, President Donald Trump announced a 25% tariff on goods from countries that are “doing business” with Iran.
Trump has said the Islamic Republic is weakening and should make a deal with the United States to ease sanctions in exchange for dismantling Tehran’s nuclear program.
Merz has said that Israel was “doing the world’s dirty work” during the 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June.
Iran has experienced roughly two weeks of nationwide protests, sparked by a market strike in the bazaar of Tehran. The unrest, in which opposition figures say at least hundreds have died, marks one of the biggest internal challenges to the Islamic Republic since its establishment with the Iranian Revolution in 1979.
Circumcision could be ‘child abuse’ if done wrong, UK prosectors warn after deaths
(JTA) — British Jews are weighing in after authorities said they are considering deeming some circumcisions “a form of child abuse” following deaths from the procedure.
The Crown Prosecution Service, the region’s chief agency for criminal prosecutions, said that while male circumcision is not a crime, it may constitute child abuse “if carried out incorrectly or in inappropriate circumstances,” according to a draft document seen by the Guardian.
This document, which looked at circumcision as a potential “harmful practice” alongside virginity testing, breast flattening and exorcisms, has driven heated debate among Jewish and Muslim leaders since it was revealed this week.
The draft guidance follows a coroner’s report from Dec. 28 about Mohamed Abdisamad, a 6-month-old boy who died in London from a streptococcus infection caused by his circumcision in 2023.
The coroner warned of “a risk that future deaths could occur unless action is taken,” noting that “any individual may conduct a Non-Therapeutic Male Circumcision (NTMC) without any prior training.” He said there was no system to ensure that people who conduct religious circumcisions have accreditation or meet requirements for infection control.
In the past, another coroner raised similar concerns over the 2014 death of Oliver Asante-Yeboah, who developed sepsis after his circumcision by a rabbi. Male circumcision was a factor in 14 deaths in England and Wales since 2001, half of them men over 18 and half boys under 18, according to the Office for National Statistics.
Suspect nabbed for synagogue arson in Germany
(JNS) — Police in Germany have arrested a man in connection with suspected arson on Jan. 13 outside a synagogue in Giessen near Frankfurt.
Security camera footage of the incident outside the Beith-Jaakov synagogue shows a man with a black backpack performing a gesture that appears to be the Nazi salute before setting fire to a large heap of cardboard boxes pressed against the facade of the building housing the synagogue. He then walks away.
Police told the DPA news agency that the man was 32 years old, appeared to have acted alone, and that his motives are unknown.
The chairman of the European Jewish Association (EJA), Rabbi Menachem Margolin, said that the arsonist’s raised hand “was a poignant reminder that Nazism has not died out.“ German authorities and the leaders of the free world must declare war on the rising extremism in Europe,” he told JNS. “Governments in the West must immediately increase security at Jewish institutions — synagogues and schools.”
Last year, Germany recorded a historic spike in antisemitic incidents, with 8,627 cases — the highest annual figure ever documented. This constituted an 80% increase over the 2023 total.
US sanctions Lebanese, Egyptian, Jordanian branches of Brotherhood
(JTA) — The Trump administration announced sanctions against three branches of the Muslim Brotherhood across the Middle East — all for supporting Hamas, the U.S. State and Treasury Departments announced on Jan. 13.
The Lebanese Muslim Brotherhood was hit by the State Department with both a foreign terrorist organization and a specially designated global terrorist label, while its secretary general, Muhammad Fawzi Taqqosh, was sanctioned as a specially designated global terrorist entity.
The Treasury Department also designated the Egyptian and Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood chapters as specially designated global terror entities.
“These designations reflect the opening actions of an ongoing, sustained effort to thwart Muslim Brotherhood chapters’ violence and destabilization wherever it occurs,” stated U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. “The United States will use all available tools to deprive these Muslim Brotherhood chapters of the resources to engage in or support terrorism.”
The Lebanese Muslim Brotherhood coordinated with Hamas and Hezbollah to activate its forces and launch rockets at Israel after the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attack, the State Department stated.
