Netanyahu alleges that Israeli soldiers died because US arms ‘embargo’ meant they ‘didn’t have enough ammunition’
(JTA) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu alleged in comments on Jan. 27 that Israeli soldiers died during the war in Gaza because of a Biden-era “embargo” on weaponry.
“We paid a very heavy price in the war,” Netanyahu said during an appearance in Jerusalem. “Part of it is that at a certain point, we simply didn’t have enough ammunition, and people fell, heroes fell. Part of the loss of ammunition was also a result of the embargo.”
The Biden administration held back some heavy arms from Israel in mid-2024 in an effort to pressure Netanyahu not to enter the southern Gaza city of Rafah. It pledged to continue supplying other weapons.
Both Netanyahu and President Donald Trump have said the Biden-era restrictions amounted to an “embargo” and have charged that the Biden administration held back more arms than it said.
Biden administration officials immediately decried the comments, saying that Netanyahu was lying and emphasizing Biden’s personal and political support for Israel.
“Netanyahu is both not telling the truth and ungrateful to a president that literally saved Israel at its most vulnerable moment,” Amos Hochstein, Biden’s Middle East, told Axios. He reiterated the point on social media, where he noted that the Biden administration sent $20 billion in military aid to Israel and also participated twice in deflecting Iranian missile attacks.
Israel Police special unit arrests Palestinian imam in Hebron
(JNS) — A Palestinian religious figure was arrested as he slept overnight Jan. 28 in Hebron by a special unit of the Israel Police.
The operational arm of the Judea and Samaria Police District’s Yasam Special Patrol’s “Hetz Yehuda” unit detained the cleric, who is in his 30s, following incendiary material that he posted online, among them calling for the destruction of the State of Israel, a police statement read.
The suspect, an imam, was monitored by the Israel Defense Forces’ Central Command District Intelligence, according to the police.
The Yasam forces raided his home in a locating-and-arrest operation, guided by the Ro’eh Operations Center of the Judea and Samaria District and the Intelligence Department of the Hebron Police Station.
He was later transferred for questioning, the police added.
The suspect, in posts that he published online, allegedly identified with Hamas, encouraged terrorist attacks against Israel and heaped praise on Hamas’s chief propagandist, Hudahaifa Kahlout, aka Abu Obeida, who was killed in Gaza by the IDF on Aug. 30.
The imam was arrested on suspicion of harming regional security, expressing identification with a terrorist organization, and incitement and support for a terrorist organization, the Israel Police stated.
Sa’ar hosts Togo FM, vows stronger Israel ties
(JNS) — Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar met on Jan. 29 in Jerusalem with Togolese Foreign Minister Robert Dussey to discuss strengthening bilateral ties and cooperating against terrorism.
Sa’ar said he thanked Dussey for Togo’s friendship and support following the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas-led attacks, noting shared challenges posed by terrorism in West Africa and the Middle East. He also reiterated that Iran “must not obtain” nuclear weapons, calling the Islamic Republic “the world’s most dangerous regime.”
The ministers pledged to deepen cooperation between Israel and Togo, Sa’ar noted on social media.
Dussey, a professor of political philosophy and an adherent of 18th-century German philosopher Immanuel Kant, is a specialist in issues of peace, management and resolution of armed conflicts.
Tel Aviv Municipality bars community center shop from selling items with anti-Israel symbols
(JNS) — The Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality on Jan. 26 barred a shop operating from a city-owned community center from selling items bearing Palestinian symbols, including watermelons and the Arabic word for “my land.”
“The Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality does not allow the sale of items with political characteristics in its municipal facilities,” a spokesperson for the city said in a statement to the Hebrew Haaretz daily on Jan. 26.
Municipal officials told the far-left outlet that the shop, which is located inside a cafe, was restricted with regard to the items it is permitted to sell, and that the products in question had been identified as nationalist symbols.
The statement came in response to a Jan. 22 social media post by rapper and right-wing activist Hatzel (“The Shadow”), who wrote he had been alerted to the sale of the “inciting products” by an anonymous follower.
“In a Tel Aviv Municipality building, Beit Barakat in Jaffa, there is a cafe operating called Cafe Nas,” the follower wrote, according to the post.
“It’s not just a cafe,” the follower added. “An entire area is dedicated to items with ‘Palestinian’ symbols: watermelons, Arabic writing saying biladi (‘my land’), and a glowing neon sign with the word ‘forever.”
The watermelon has become a pro-Palestinian symbol due to its colors resembling the Palestine Liberation Organization’s banner.
“Is there room for Arab culture? Sure, no problem with that. But let’s not play dumb: we all know exactly what these symbols represent, especially after Oct. 7,” the follower concluded, in reference to the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, massacre.
Boeing, Ben-Gurion University launch Aviation Cybersecurity Center
(JNS) — Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Beersheva and leading global aerospace company Boeing announced in recent days the establishment of an aviation and aerospace cybersecurity research center.
According to a joint press statement, “The collaboration will advance proactive cybersecurity research for autonomous, digital and connected aerospace systems. The partnership will develop innovative security architectures, secure communication systems, resilient autonomous platforms, and trusted technologies for future aviation platforms.”
Dr. Brendan Nelson, president of Boeing Global, said partnering with the university meant teaming up with “one of the world’s foremost centers in cybersecurity and advanced engineering,” adding that this “helps us stay at the leading edge of secure aerospace innovation.”
Professor Daniel Chamovitz, president of Ben-Gurion University, added that the joining of forces between academia and a leading international corporation “advances innovation, strengthens the Negev as a leading technological center, and trains the next generation of cybersecurity experts for the benefit of Israeli and global society.”
The cooperation is based on a five-year agreement valued at more than $10 million that will create a research collaboration center.
