Uganda is willing to fight alongside Israel, military chief says
(JNS) —Uganda’s military chief posted on social media on Mar 25 that his country is willing to go to war on Israel’s side.
“We want the war in the Middle East to end now. The world is tired of it. But any talk of destroying or defeating Israel will bring us into the war. On the side of Israel!” wrote Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the chief of the Uganda People’s Defence Force and the son of the country’s President Yoweri Museveni.
The post went viral, generating more than 1.3 million engagements on the social media platform as of Mar 26.
Elaborating on his stance the following day, Kainerugaba posted: “We stand with Israel because we are Christians. Saved by the Holy Son of God … Jesus Christ the only One who can forgive sins. The Bible says ‘Blessed are you Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord? He is your shield and helper and your glorious sword.’ (Deuteronomy 33:29).”
In a separate post, he said, “Israel stood with us when we were nobodys in the 1980s and 1990s. Why wouldn’t we defend her now that our GDP is $100 billion? One of the largest in Africa.”
Last month, Kainerugaba revealed that his country was planning to erect a statue of IDF Lt. Col. Yonatan Netanyahu, the older brother of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was killed in action in Uganda during a counter-terrorism operation that rescued more than 100 hostages on July 4, 1976.
Two men arrested after Hatzola ambulance arson attack in London
(JTA) — Two men were arrested in London on Mar 25 in connection with an arson attack days earlier that destroyed four ambulances owned by Hatzola, a Jewish volunteer emergency service.
A 47-year-old man was arrested in northwest London and a 45-year-old man in central London, according to the Metropolitan Police. Both are suspected of arson with intent to endanger life, which has a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, and remained in custody on Mar 25 as officers searched their homes.
The four Hatzola ambulances were set ablaze early Mar 23 morning in Golders Green, a heavily Jewish neighborhood in London, spurring increased patrols in Jewish communities and outcry from British leaders.
“We know that community concerns remain heightened and I want to reassure the community that an enhanced, bespoke policing plan and activity, which is particularly focused around vulnerable areas right across London, will continue over coming days and weeks,” Detective Chief Superintendent Luke Williams said in a statement.
The investigation into the attack has been led by the Counter-Terrorism Unit, though the incident is being treated by police as an antisemitic hate crime. A group previously unknown to investigators, calling itself Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya, has claimed responsibility for the attack as well as several others throughout Europe in recent weeks, spurring conjecture that the attacks are either directed by Iran or Iran-aligned groups. Those links haven’t been established.
Hezbollah allowed Hamas set up bases in Lebanon sans government approval, Israeli military says
(JNS) —The Israeli military said it recovered internal Hamas documents in the Gaza Strip that suggest that Hezbollah allowed the Palestinian terror group to establish positions inside Lebanese territory without official state approval and with Iranian coordination.
Lt. Col. Ella Waweya, a spokeswoman for the Arabic media division of the Israeli military, said the documents detail meetings between top Hamas and Hezbollah officials to approve joint military projects.
The reports suggest that Hezbollah agreed to store and transport weapons for Hamas, provide financial support and help build up its forces and rocket capabilities in Lebanon.
According to the IDF, the documents show that Hezbollah operates in southern Lebanon as “a state within a state,” compromising Lebanese sovereignty in service of Iranian interests.
Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi said on Mar 24 that he revoked the approval of Iran’s designated ambassador to Lebanon and ordered him to leave the country within five days.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar stated that it was a “justified and necessary step against the state responsible for violating Lebanon’s sovereignty, for its indirect occupation through Hezbollah and for dragging it into war.”
“We call on the Lebanese government to take practical and meaningful measures against Hezbollah, whose representatives still serve as ministers within it,” Sa’ar said.
King Charles named patron of British Jewish security nonprofit following ambulance attack
(JTA) — King Charles has been named the first-ever patron of a British Jewish security nonprofit, a move announced in the wake of an arson attack that targeted four ambulances owned by a Jewish volunteer emergency service in north London.
The Community Security Trust, Britain’s main antisemitism watchdog, announced that King Charles had accepted the role during an annual fundraising dinner Mar 23, where British leaders condemned the attack.
“His Majesty’s longstanding commitment to promoting tolerance, inclusion and interfaith understanding align closely with CST’s mission to protect British Jews and CST is honoured by this recognition and looks forward to working under His Majesty’s patronage to further its vital work across the country,” CST wrote in a statement.
While the attack is being investigated as an antisemitic hate crime but not a terrorist incident, counterterror officers have been leading the investigation after an Islamist group claimed responsibility for the attack. (The same group also claimed responsibility for synagogue bombings in Belgium and the Netherlands.)
“It is too early for me to attribute last night’s attack in Golders Green to the Iranian state … but whoever was responsible, the impact is serious,” London police chief Mark Rowley said at the annual dinner on Mar 23.
Canadian intelligence warns of ‘violent extremist’ threat against Jews in next six months
(JNS) —Canada’s Jewish community faces a “realistic possibility” of a “violent extremist attack” within the next six months, according to a Canadian federal intelligence organization assessment obtained by JNS.
“The most likely scenario of an attack targeting the Jewish community is a lone actor using unsophisticated methods against easily accessible targets,” according to a March 18 report.
ITAC, a specialized organization in the Canadian intelligence community, provides threat assessments for decision-makers and security partners. While a violent attack on the community is a credible threat, the report assessed as “unlikely” that Canadian Jewish public officials, as a specific group within the Jewish community, would be targeted for attack. Still, those officials, together with non-Jewish pro-Israel officials, would face a heightened threat compared to other public figures.
“The convergence of ideologically, politically and religiously motivated violent extremist threats to the Jewish community and, by extension, Jewish public officials drives this elevated threat,” it said.
That threat would most likely take the form of “criminal harassment and intimidation,” acts that would not qualify as violent extremism.
