Empire State Building, Brandenburg Gate, Eiffel Tower lit in orange to honor slain Bibas family
(JTA) — Landmarks around the world were illuminated in orange on Wednesday night to honor Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas, the Israeli mother and sons killed in captivity in Gaza.
The three were buried on Wednesday, several days after their bodies were returned to Israel. Their husband and father, Yarden Bibas, was taken captive separately and freed this month. Their plight had been a symbol of national trauma since Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 and taking 250 hostages.
Among the landmarks illuminated in orange, the color that came to symbolize the family because of Ariel and Kfir’s bright red hair, were the Empire State Building in New York City, the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, the Chain Bridge in Budapest and the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
In Argentina, where Shiri Bibas’ father grew up, tributes to the family have included a mass demonstration, two days of official national mourning and a vote by lawmakers to rename Buenos Aires’ Palestine Street as Bibas Family Street. Shiri Bibas’ parents, Margit and Yossi Silberman, were murdered on Oct. 7.
How a small delegation of US Jews got to Syria for the first time in decades
(JTA) — Even as tensions between Israel and Syria ramped up in recent days, a small group of Syrian Jews recently celebrated a milestone that once seemed unthinkable: a return visit to their home country.
Under the auspices of the new Syrian government, a small delegation toured Jewish heritage sites in and around Damascus last week, just two months after the fall of the dictatorial Bashar al-Assad regime. The group said it was the first official Jewish delegation to visit Syria, a country that once was home to as many as 100,000 Jews, in over three decades.
Visiting historic synagogues and praying with Torah scrolls that had remained intact through the country’s brutal, 14-year civil war, these Jews were celebrating a homecoming. The visit could allow them and their descendants to imagine a potentially bright future in a place long thought lost to the many Jews who’d once called it home.
Days after the trip, Israel launched military strikes on Syria as the country’s new leader and large numbers of protesters demanded Israeli troops withdraw from the country’s southwestern region. Israel says it is occupying the area, the Syrian side of the Golan plateau, as a security measure amid instability in Syria.
Netanyahu sends team to Cairo for Hamas ceasefire talks
(JNS) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has directed the negotiation team to head to Cairo on Thursday to resume discussions on the continuation of the hostage deal with Hamas following the completion of Phase 1.
The decision came after the premier held consultations centering on whether Jerusalem would send a delegation for the next stage of negotiations.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff is set to visit the region early next week, including a stop in Israel.
Witkoff announced on Tuesday that Israel will send a delegation to Doha or Cairo to advance Phase 2 of the hostage deal. Speaking at an American Jewish Committee meeting in Washington, he highlighted significant progress and efforts to secure the release of more hostages. Witkoff added that he may join the talks if they yield positive results.
Australian nurse charged over viral video threatening Israeli patients
(JTA) — Police in Sydney have charged a local nurse in connection with a viral video from earlier this month that appeared to show her and a colleague threatening to kill Israeli patients and boasting about refusing to treat them.
Sarah Abu Lebdeh, 26, who worked at Bankstown Hospital, was charged with three offenses: threatening violence; using a carriage (or telecommunications) service to threaten to kill; and using a carriage service to menace, harass, or offend, authorities announced Tuesday.
Her arrest follows an investigation by Strike Force Pearl, a special law enforcement unit established in December in response to an unprecedented wave of antisemitic violence. Abu Lebdeh’s colleague, Ahmed Rashid Nadir, who also appeared in the video — originally posted by Israeli influencer Max Veifer — has not been charged.
Abu Lebdeh is the 14th person arrested by Strike Force Pearl, according to Karen Webb, the police commissioner for New South Wales, where Sydney is located. She said the task force has brought a total of 76 criminal charges against various individuals.
