Danish police rushed to Israeli embassy after it receives suspicious package
(JNS) — Danish Police on Thursday responded to a report that a suspicious package was received by the Israeli Embassy in Copenhagen, it said.
“We are present at the Israeli Embassy, where we are investigating a received package,” the Copenhagen Police announced in a social media post.
“Ryvangs Allé Street, as well as the residential streets to the east and up to Svanemøllevej Road, are cordoned off,” the Danish capital’s police force stated, adding: “We currently have no additional information.”
The Berlingske newspaper reported that, in addition to police forces, the Copenhagen Fire Department and ambulances were deployed.
A police spokesperson told the Danish daily that a report of a suspicious package was received at 11:05 a.m. on Thursday. Danish civilians in the embassy’s vicinity do not need to worry, the spokesperson emphasized.
France slams Iran’s Mossad spy charges against two citizens
(JNS) — France on Wednesday condemned as “entirely baseless” the newly revealed espionage charges Iranian authorities have brought against two of its citizens who have been imprisoned in Iran for more than three years.
Relatives of the couple, Cécile Kohler and her partner Jacques Paris, said they didn’t know whether the indictments meant they were still alive following a June 23 Israeli strike on Iran’s Evin prison, where they reportedly have been held.
The couple, who were in Iran in 2022 on tourist visas, have been formally indicted by the Iranian judiciary for espionage for Israel’s Mossad as well as for plotting to overthrow the regime and corruption, according to AFP, which attributed the information to an unnamed Western diplomatic source and relatives of the detainees.
Neither the couple’s families nor France’s government has received proof of life from the couple since Israel’s June 23 strike. Iranian authorities said following the strike that it had killed some 70 people.
UK parliament moves to ban Palestine Action as a terror group
(JNS) — British lawmakers voted on Wednesday to designate the anti-Israel activist group Palestine Action as a terrorist organization after its followers vandalized two aircraft at a Royal Air Force base on June 20, according to Reuters.
United Kingdom Home Secretary Yvette Cooper had sought the proscription under section 3 of the Terrorism Act 2000. The measure, passed by a significant majority in the House of Commons (385 to 26), would make it a crime to belong to or support Palestine Action, placing it on the same legal footing as groups like Al Qaeda and Islamic State under U.K. law.
The upper chamber, the House of Lords, was scheduled to take up the motion on Thursday. If approved, the ban would take effect within days. Palestine Action has announced plans to challenge the decision in court.
Dutch police deny they advised anti-Zionist singer to flee
(JNS) — A Dutch singer who on Sunday declined to perform at a Jewish event citing “expressions of Zionism” there has claimed police advised him to leave the Netherlands for his safety following threats, but a police source reportedly denied this on Thursday.
“This was a personal decision” of Douwe Bob, the source told De Telegraaf daily. Bob had complained of threats and police were ascertaining their nature when he asked a police representative whether police could 100% guarantee his safety. The officer replied that police cannot make such guarantees and Bob decided to leave, the source said.
“To ensure the safety of my family and myself, we have decided to leave for the time being. On the advice of the police,” Bob wrote on Wednesday on Instagram. “The media and politicians still paint the picture of me refusing to play for children because of their Jewish origin. If I heard that about me I’d honestly be livid too. Fortunately, this is a total lie,” he added.
Ottawa fires lawyer who allegedly vandalized Holocaust monument
(JNS) — The City of Ottawa fired a 46-year-old man, identified as Iain Aspenlieder, from his role as a city lawyer after he was accused of vandalizing the city’s National Holocaust Monument on June 9.
Ottawa police stated that the man, who was scheduled to appear in court on June 28, is accused of mischief to a war memorial, mischief exceeding $5,000 (about $3,500 U.S.) and harassment by threatening conduct. It added that the department’s hate and bias crime unit was leading the investigation.
Mark Sutcliffe, the Ottawa mayor, stated on Saturday that “while it’s encouraging to see that the police investigation into the incident at the National Holocaust Monument has progressed, I’m very disturbed to learn that the person charged is a city employee, who was on leave.”
Danish man was helping Iran plan attacks on Jewish targets in Berlin, police say
(JTA) — A Danish citizen of Afghani descent has been arrested in Denmark on suspicion of helping Iran plan attacks on Jewish targets in Berlin.
The suspect, identified only as Ali S., is accused of spying on Jewish institutions and individuals in the German capital for Iranian intelligence services in preparation for further actions, including attacks, the German Federal Prosecutor in Karlsruhe said Tuesday.
The man was arrested in Aarhus, Denmark’s second-largest city, last Thursday. He is now expected to be extradited to Germany, where a federal investigative judge will determine whether he will remain in custody.
The suspect is alleged to have received his assignment this year to collect information in Berlin about Jewish sites and specific individuals.
Australia cancels Ye’s visa over controversial ‘Heil Hitler’ song: ‘we don’t need that in Australia’
(JTA) — Incendiary rapper Ye, who was formerly known as Kanye West, has had his visa cancelled in Australia over a recent song release titled “Heil Hitler.”
The announcement came Wednesday after Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said officials had reviewed his visa status following the controversial song’s release in May.
Ye is currently married to Bianca Censori, an Australian architect, and had been “coming to Australia for a long time,” Burke told national broadcaster ABC on Wednesday. “He’s got family here and he’s made a lot of offensive comments that my officials looked at again.”
“It wasn’t a visa for the purpose of concerts. It was a lower level and the officials still looked at the law and said you’re going to have a song and promote that sort of Nazism, we don’t need that in Australia,” Burke said of the visa cancellation.
“We have enough problems in this country already without deliberately importing bigotry,” Burke continued.
