Suspect in Boulder fire bombing of Jews charged with 12 hate crimes
(JNS) — Federal prosecutors charged Mohamed Sabry Soliman with 12 hate crimes for allegedly burning eight pro-Israel marchers with Molotov cocktails in Boulder, Colo., according to a June 1 indictment, which the U.S. Department of Justice unsealed on Wednesday.
Soliman yelled “Free Palestine” as he threw two Molotov cocktails at participants in a “Run for Their Lives” event, which raises awareness about the Israeli hostages in Gaza, at about 2 p.m. on June 1.
Police officers who detained the suspect found a “black plastic container with a yellow top,” which contained “at least 14 unlit Molotov cocktails, comprised of glass wine carafe bottles or Ball jars containing clear liquid and red rags hanging out of the bottles,” nearby, per the complaint.
They also found a “backpack weed sprayer, potentially containing a flammable substance” near the suspect. “The clear liquid in the glass bottles and weed sprayer were determined to be 87 octane gasoline, which was determined to contain xylene based on a field test,” according to the indictment.
Cuomo’s Orthodox Jewish support no match for Mamdani’s broad coalition, expert says
(JNS) — Orthodox Jewish voters backed former New York governor Andrew Cuomo by a staggering 8-to-1 margin, but that wasn’t enough to stop anti-Israel state representative Zohran Mamdani from pulling off a decisive win in the Democratic primary for New York City mayor, according to political analyst Henry Olsen.
“What’s pretty clear is that Mamdani put together a very wide-ranging ethnic and class coalition, winning votes in Hispanic areas, winning votes in Asian areas, winning votes in moderate to high income areas in Manhattan and in Brooklyn,” Henry Olsen, a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, told JNS.
“It was an across-the-board win,” Olsen said.
Cuomo’s strongest support came from the Orthodox Jewish community, but his inability to expand beyond that base ultimately cost him the race, according to Olsen.
“He did not do well in Reform Jewish communities,” Olsen said. “He did well, but not overwhelmingly well, in black areas, and he did extremely well among rich people who live near Central Park, which should tell you something about who opposes democratic socialism in the Democratic Party.”
US Supreme Court ruling exposes PA to massive punitive damages
(JNS) — The U.S. Supreme Court’s June 20 ruling has revived lawsuits against the Palestinian Authority and Palestine Liberation Organization, not only giving American victims the right to sue those entities in U.S. court, but possibly spelling their economic collapse, says a legal analyst.
“It could potentially bring about the financial demise of the PA,” IDF Lt. Col. (res.) Maurice Hirsch, director of the P.A. Accountability and Reform Initiative at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, told JNS.
The sums involved are “massive,” he said, noting that the U.S. Anti-Terrorism Act triples judgments related to damages due to terrorism.
In 2015’s Sokolow v. Palestine Liberation Organization, a jury found the PLO and the PA liable for seven terrorist attacks in Israel, awarding the plaintiffs $218.5 million. Under the Anti-Terrorism Act, that tripled to $655.5 million.
Majority of Republicans support US joining Israel-Iran conflict while majority of Democrats oppose
(JTA) — In the days following the United States’ strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, the majority of American voters opposed the U.S. joining Israel in its military campaign against the country, according to a new poll released Wednesday by Quinnipiac University.
The poll also recorded an all-time high of voters who believe that the United States is too supportive of Israel.
The poll, which was conducted from June 22 to June 24, found that 42% of American voters supported the United States joining Israel in military strikes against Iranian nuclear sites while 51% opposed it.
The new poll also found that opinions over the conflict were largely drawn over party lines, with 81% of Republicans supporting the United State’s strikes while 75% of Democrats and 60% of independents opposed it.
Angry Trump accuses Israel and Iran of breaking ceasefire: ‘They don’t know what the f— they’re doing’
(JTA) — President Donald Trump lashed out at Israel and Iran Tuesday morning, suggesting they continued to exchange fire despite his announcement of a ceasefire.
“We basically, we have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know what the f— they’re doing,” Trump told reporters at the White House Tuesday morning before departing for a NATO summit.
Trump announced the ceasefire shortly after 6:00 p.m. Monday evening, saying it would go into effect 12 hours later. Overnight, Israel sustained one of the deadliest attacks since the conflict began when four people were killed and at least 22 others injured by an Iranian missile strike on a residential complex in Beersheba.
Israel also accused Iran of launching missiles after Trump’s proposed start time for the ceasefire, and the Israeli military promised a forceful military response
