Iranian terrorists plotted to attack Israeli embassy in London
(JNS) — Five men, four of them Iranian nationals, were arrested on May 3 just hours before a planned attack on Israel’s embassy in west London. The nationality of the fifth man has not been released.
The arrests occurred across England, including in Swindon, west London, Stockport, Rochdale and Manchester, according to the report.
British counter-terrorism police arrested three more Iranians over the weekend in a separate investigation, bringing the total number of Iranians arrested to seven, the Metropolitan Police announced on Sunday.
Syria confirms indirect talks with Israel to ‘contain’ tensions
(JNS) — Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa said on Wednesday that his government is engaged in indirect talks with Israel aimed at de-escalating tensions between the two countries, following a series of Israeli airstrikes in the wake of Bashar al-Assad’s ouster.
The Israeli Air Force attacked several targets in Syria overnight Friday, including a military installation, anti-aircraft cannons and surface-to-air missile infrastructure.
Syria’s state news agency SANA reported that Israeli airstrikes targeted sites near Damascus, in the western governorate of Hama, and in the southern region of Daraa.
The IDF is also deployed in southern Syria to prevent the entry of hostile forces into the area of Druze villages.
Moved by Oct. 7, Blackstone president donates $125M to Tel Aviv University to address doctor shortage
(JTA) — The president of the global private equity firm Blackstone and his wife are donating $125 million to Tel Aviv University’s health science and medical school, in the largest gift in the school’s history.
The gift by Jonathan and Mindy Gray is meant to address a pressing doctor shortage in Israel. It also answers a question raised in 2023 when the school announced it would drop its longtime name, Sackler, amid a settlement by the Sackler family over its role in promoting the opioid epidemic. Tel Aviv University’s medical school will now be called the Gray Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences.
The Grays’ donation is also expected to help double the number of Arab Israeli students in the medical school, according to the New York Times, which first reported the gift.
Antisemitic incidents quadrupled in Australia in 2024
(JNS) — Australia experienced a fourfold increase in documented antisemitic incidents in 2024 — the steepest rise among English-speaking countries with available data — according to the “J7 Annual Report on Antisemitism 2025,” published on Wednesday.
The report compiles statistics from member organizations of the J7 task force, a global coalition formed in 2023 that includes the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) in the United States and partner groups in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, France, Germany and Argentina.
While the United States reported the highest number of incidents in absolute terms — 9,354 in 2024, up from 8,873 the previous year — Australia registered the most dramatic relative increase, with reported antisemitic incidents rising from 495 to 2,062.
