Australia designates Iran’s IRGC as state sponsor of terrorism
(JNS) — Australia on Thursday designated the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a state sponsor of terrorism, marking the first such listing under counter-terrorism legislation passed in response to Iranian-directed attacks on the country’s Jewish community.
The designation follows intelligence assessments that the IRGC orchestrated antisemitic arson attacks on Sydney’s Lewis’ Continental Kitchen in October 2024 and Melbourne’s Adass Israel Synagogue in December 2024.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong called the attacks “unprecedented and dangerous acts of aggression orchestrated by a foreign nation on Australian soil,” speaking in a joint press release on Nov. 27, with Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke calling the IRGC listing a direct response to the “despicable actions of the Iranian Government.”
Australia expelled Ambassador Ahmad Sadeghi and three other Iranian diplomats on Aug. 26, giving them seven days to leave and suspending operations at its embassy in Tehran. Iran downgraded diplomatic ties in response.
The listing makes it a criminal offense punishable by up to 25 years imprisonment to provide support to, associate with, or recruit for the IRGC.
“The Government is committed to ensuring our counter-terrorism laws are robust and as effective as possible. That’s why we acted swiftly and decisively to pass legislation to enable the listing of foreign state entities as state sponsors of terrorism,” Attorney General Michelle Rowland said in the joint statement.
Lebanese FM: In negotiations with Israel, nothing is taboo
(JNS) — On Nov. 20, 2025, Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef “Joe” Rajji said in an interview on Murr Television, aka MTV (Lebanon), that he views nothing as taboo it comes to negotiations with Israel.
Rajji added that the military option has not worked with Israel, so Lebanon should pursue a political-diplomatic solution. He emphasized that it is in Lebanon’s interest for U.N. Security Council Resolutions 1701 and 1559 to be implemented.
Rajji said that the international community, the U.S. and friendly Arab countries are trying to help Lebanon restore its full sovereignty, but they have certain conditions. He stressed that it is Lebanon that wants their help, not the other way around, and that the Americans are assisting the Lebanese army, not a “parallel militia working for another country.”
Interviewer: Do you support the call for direct negotiations with the State of Israel, with no consideration to any taboos?
Youssef Rajji: As I’ve told you, I don’t have taboos about anything, especially when it comes to negotiations. When you have a problem with someone, if you do not come to the table with him, you cannot …
Poland summons Israeli ambassador over Yad Vashem post
(JNS) — A “today in history” tweet by Israel’s Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum highlighting how Jews were forced to wear a yellow badge during World War Two sparked a firestorm in Poland on Monday, with the Israeli ambassador being summoned to the Foreign Ministry in Warsaw.
The incident began when Yad Vashem tweeted on Sunday that “Poland was the first country where Jews were forced to wear a distinctive yellow badge in order to isolate them from the surrounding population,” with a link to an article on the topic.
Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski appealed to Yad Vashem to make it clear in the post that Poland had been “German-occupied” at the time.
Yad Vashem responded to the criticism on social media by resharing the post and specifying that: “As noted by many users and specified explicitly in the linked article, it was done by order of the German authorities,” but without amending the original tweet.
Poland’s top diplomat then tweeted anew that he was summoning the Israeli ambassador “since the misleading post has not been amended,” and tagged U.S. Ambassador to Poland Tom Rose.
The incident quickly snowballed and Yad Vashem was widely condemned across Poland.
Local politician named Adolf Hitler Uunona poised for reelection in Namibia
(JTA) — As voters in a small Namibian constituency head to the polls on Wednesday, they are expected to reelect a local politician with a striking name: Adolf Hitler Uunona.
Uunona, 59, is a member of the South West Africa People’s Organization, the county’s left-leaning ruling party since it achieved independence from South Africa in 1990.
He was first elected as councillor for the Ompundja constituency, which is located in the Oshana Region of Namibia, in 2004, and won reelection bids in 2015 and 2020.
Following his election in 2020, which he won with 85% of the vote, Uunona told local outlet The Namibian distanced himself from his unfortunate namesake, saying he “didn’t have a choice” in his name.
“My father gave me this name Adolf Hitler, but it does not mean I have Adolf Hitler’s character or resemble that of Adolf Hitler of Germany,” Uunona told The Namibian. “Hitler was a controversial person who captured and killed people across the globe. I am not like him.”
Under German colonial rule from 1884 to 1915, Namibia adopted the use of some Germanic first names still used in the country today.
Netanyahu thanks Johnson for speaking up for Israel
(JNS) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson for standing up for the Jewish state in a podcast interview that the Louisiana Republican posted online Tuesday.
“Thank you, Speaker Mike Johnson, for your strong and principled words about Israel. Your clarity and conviction strengthen our shared stand against terror,” the premier stated on his office’s social media account, along with a link to Fox News’ coverage of the interview, which aired on “The Katie Miller Podcast.”
Speaking to Miller alongside his wife, Kelly Johnson, at the U.S. Capitol last week, Johnson defended the U.S.-Israel relationship as strategically vital and called for universal rejection of antisemitism, addressing growing rifts within the Republican Party over Israel policy.
Johnson emphasized Israel’s role as the only stable democracy in the Middle East and said the alliance serves American interests regardless of religious motivations.
“It’s really important to have that ally and partner in that corner of the world,” Johnson said.
He acknowledged that some Americans support Israel for biblical reasons but stressed that the relationship’s strategic importance transcends religious considerations.
