Weekly roundup of world briefs

Israeli family marks son’s decade of Hamas captivity in Gaza

By Adi Nirman

(Israel Hayom via JNS) — Sunday marked a decade since Avera Mengistu, an Israeli from Ashkelon then 28 years old, was captured by Hamas in Gaza.

To commemorate this grim milestone, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum organized a rally at the “Hostage Square” in Tel Aviv.

Ten years ago, in the aftermath of the 2014 Gaza war (“Operation Protective Edge”), Mengistu breached the border fence near Zikim Beach and was subsequently captured by Hamas. He had struggled with mental health issues.

Until the events of Oct. 7, Mengistu was among a small group of Israelis being held in Gaza. This group included the bodies of soldiers Lt. Hadar Goldin and St. Sgt. Oron Shaul, captured during “Operation Protective Edge,” and Hisham al-Sayed, a Bedouin from southern Israel who crossed the fence in 2015.

A decade later, and in the wake of the devastating attack on southern Israeli communities and the onset of the Iron Swords War, these four men, along with 97 Israelis abducted on Oct. 7, remain in Gaza.

Ayelin Mengistu, Avera’s father, shared his family’s anguish at Sunday’s rally: “We’ve endured 10 years of darkness. Unrelenting darkness. Our family finds no rest, day or night. We’re tortured by uncertainty—is he healthy or ill? Is he eating? Sleeping? Receiving medical care? Each day, I pray that I won’t die before seeing him again.”

The gathering drew family members, friends and relatives of those taken captive in the past year. Among those present were Avera’s parents, Agarnesh and Ayelin Mengistu, his brother Ilan, Tzur Goldin (brother of Hadar Goldin) and Sha’aban al-Sayed, father of Hisham al-Sayed.

Originally published by Israel Hayom.

Penn creates new Title VI religious and ethnic inclusion office

(JNS) — The University of Pennsylvania—whose embattled president Liz Magill resigned in December after testifying before a House committee that it wouldn’t necessarily violate school rules to call for genocide of all Jews—has created a new Title VI office of “religious and ethnic inclusion.”

The entity responds to recommendations of the Philadelphia school’s Jew-hatred task force and its Presidential Commission on Countering Hate and Building Community, it stated.

The office “ensures that Penn can continue to fulfill its obligations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and under Penn’s own policies, to protect students, faculty and staff from discrimination based on their religion, ethnicity, shared ancestry or national origin,” the university stated. The office also provides a “critical central point of contact for Title VI training and compliance,” it said.

“Over the past year, our campus and our country witnessed a disquieting surge in antisemitism, Islamophobia and other forms of religious and ethnic intolerance,” stated Dr. Larry Jameson, the school’s interim president. “This type of prejudice is simply unacceptable, and has no place at Penn.”

The school expects to open the office this fall under the co-leadership of Majid Alsayegh, who founded a project management firm and who works in interfaith dialogue, and Steve Ginsburg, a former Anti-Defamation League executive.

Ben Carson named faith chairman of Trump presidential campaign

(JNS) — The Trump campaign named Ben Carson, a retired neurosurgeon and a former U.S. secretary of housing and urban development under the Trump administration, as its national faith chairman.

“Kamala Harris and the radical left have waged war on America’s faith community since the day they took office. Her selection of Gov. Tim Walz as her vice-presidential nominee solidifies their commitment to intensifying those efforts,” former President Donald Trump stated.

“Ben Carson, a man of unwavering faith, is the perfect person to work with leaders of the faith community on behalf of the campaign to promote the protection of religious freedom and prosperity in our country,” Trump added. “Nobody was a bigger champion for the faith community than me, and I look forward to working with Ben Carson to fight back against Kamala Harris’s war on faith and making America great again in November.”

Carson stated that Trump “believes America’s best days are ahead, and in order to re-establish ourselves as ‘that shining city upon a hill,’ we must acknowledge we are one nation under God.”

“There is only one candidate in this race that has defended religious liberty and supported Americans of faith. That candidate is Donald J. Trump,” he added.

Ismail Haniyeh’s Israeli sister indicted for incitement

(JNS) — Sabah Haniyeh, the sister of Ismail Haniyeh, who served as the head of Hamas’s political until he was assassinated in Tehran in July, has been charged in Israel with incitement and identification with a terrorist organization.

In the transcript of her interrogation by the Israeli Police, published by Channel 12 for the first time on Monday, Sabah denies any connection to the terrorist organization. 

“I’ve been in Israel for more than 40 years, I’ve been here since 1980,” she said, adding that she hadn’t been in touch with her brother in a long time. “The last time was before the war, almost a year ago.”

“We don’t talk about politics,” she insisted. “Once a year he calls, asks how I am, and that’s it. He doesn’t talk to us about anything and we don’t talk to him about anything. We don’t interfere in his things and he doesn’t interfere in our lives.”

The investigator challenged her claim that she wasn’t involved in the terror war against Israel: “The evidence shows that you use social media and spread pro-Hamas and pro-Gaza content.” 

Sabah denied that she posted anything to social media and demanded that the interrogator show her the material.

He replied that police had the material, that she was a Hamas supporter and that “because of this, you have been arrested.”

Sabah, who was born in Gaza, gained Israeli citizenship through her marriage to an Arab Israeli. She told police interrogators that she is the only member of her family in Israel. 

The rest died in Gaza, except for her brother, she said. The questioning took place prior to Ismail Haniyeh’s death in July.

South Africa trying to delay ICJ genocide case for lack of evidence

(JNS) — South Africa is attempting to extend the deadline for presenting evidence against Israel at the International Court of Justice in The Hague because it is unable to prove its allegations of genocide, Kan News reported on Tuesday.

The move comes some nine months after the country submitted a suit against the Jewish state over the Israel Defense Forces’ conduct in the war against the Hamas terror group in Gaza, claiming that the IDF is committing genocide.

South Africa is required to submit its evidence on Oct. 28 but is trying to extend the deadline by several months in the hope that evidence proving their genocide accusations will come from other places.

Kan noted how unusual the tactic is, as plaintiffs generally want to expedite the proceedings, and the defendant, in this case Israel, wants to slow it down.

Axios reported on Monday about an Israeli campaign to exact a heavy price in the diplomatic arena for South Africa’s ICJ suit, with the Israeli Foreign Ministry in recent weeks engaged in a diplomatic effort to prevent South Africa from moving forward with the case, including sending a classified cable to the Israeli embassy in Washington and all Israeli consulates in the United States.

“We are asking you to immediately work with lawmakers on the federal and state level, with governors and Jewish organizations to put pressure on South Africa to change its policy towards Israel and to make clear that continuing their current actions like supporting Hamas and pushing anti-Israeli moves in international courts will come with a heavy price,” the cable read.

Netanyahu: ‘I’m doing everything to return the hostages, win the war’

(JNS) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday night that he is listening to the concerns of the Hamas hostages’ families and doing everything in his power to secure the captives’ release.

“I hear the anguish of the hostages’ families, who have lost what is dearest to them,” the premier said, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.

“My wife and I go to heart-rending meetings, that are simply heart-breaking. I hear. I listen. I also do not judge. I’m doing everything to return the hostages and to win the war,” Netanyahu continued.

The statement came after Kan News earlier on Monday published a recording of excerpts from a difficult conversation between Netanyahu and Rabbi Elhanan Danino, the father of hostage Ori Danino, who was one of six hostages murdered the terrorist group and whose bodies were found by IDF troops in a tunnel in Rafah on Aug. 31.

During the tense talk, a shiva call with family members in Jerusalem, Danino implored Netanyahu to stop “messing around with nonsense and making quarrels” and to not “get involved in petty, cheap politics and spin,” adding, “without unity we do not deserve this country.”

“Stop messing with collecting mandates and messing with polls…. Stop. I really don’t know if there was a deal or not, but forgive me, sir, it all happened during your shift,” said Danino.

“My son was murdered in a tunnel you built, on your watch. Forgive me, forgive me, you’ve been in power for many years, a lot, the concrete and the dollars came in on your watch … you owe everyone’s lives …. God forbid, I don’t decide; I’m not part of the discussion out there. We kept quiet for 11 months because we believe in God, I believe that nothing will change. Close yourself off and think about the Jewish value you bring….”

Senior U.S. official warns of war in Lebanon: ‘Thousands will die; we need a deal now’ 

By Ariel Kahana

(Israel Hayom via JNS) — A senior American official is backing Israel’s stance on the conditions required to end the conflict affecting northern Israel, stating, “We cannot return to the status quo of Oct. 6. A ceasefire with Lebanon alone is not enough, because Hezbollah will return to the border.”

The American official spoke at the Middle East-America Dialogue (MEAD) conference, which concluded on Monday in Washington, D.C., where he emphasized that to prevent a scenario in which Israel faces an invasion from the Lebanese border, “an agreement is needed that will prevent Hezbollah’s return to the border.” 

He added that beyond the security arrangements at the border itself, additional components are necessary in the agreement to ensure its enforcement and implementation—unlike U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, which was adopted at the end of the Second Lebanon War but, according to him, “both sides failed to implement.”

The American official said that a full-scale war between Israel and Hezbollah can be prevented, but if it breaks out, the price will be heavy for both sides. 

“Thousands, maybe tens of thousands, will die. There will be severe infrastructure damage. On your side (Israel), Hezbollah won’t be easily destroyed, and you likely won’t achieve most of your objectives. The war will last a long time, and many people on both sides will die. The residents of northern Israel won’t be returning home anytime soon, and such a war will eventually end with an agreement similar to the one we are now trying to reach. That’s why we are working to secure this agreement now.”

Jerusalem rejects Abbas visit to Gaza

By Joshua Marks

(JNS) — Jerusalem has rejected a proposed visit to the Gaza Strip by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Israel’s Kan public broadcaster reported on Tuesday.

Egypt had agreed to allow Abbas to enter Gaza via the Rafah border crossing but demanded that Israel approve the visit, which it did not.

An Arab diplomat from a country in the region told Kan that Ramallah had appealed to Israel and Egypt to assist with the visit prior to the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attack. 

According to the source, Egypt is ready to open the Rafah crossing to Abbas because it wants to strengthen its presence in Gaza and prepare for the P.A. to control the territory after the war, including the Gaza side of the crossing. 

A senior P.A. official in Ramallah told Kan last month that an official request had also been submitted to Israel for Abbas to enter the Strip via one of the Israeli crossings, at Erez or Kerem Shalom.

The P.A. leader has not visited Gaza since Hamas violently seized control of the enclave in 2007.

IDF: ‘High probability’ US-Turkish citizen killed by ‘unintended’ gunfire

(JNS) — An initial Israel Defense Forces probe found that a dual U.S.-Turkish citizen killed on Friday was likely accidentally struck by troops’ gunfire during a riot near Nablus (Shechem) in Samaria.

The investigation determined “with high probability” that the woman, 26-year-old Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, was killed by “indirect and unintended IDF fire, which was aimed at a main instigator,” according to the military.

“The incident occurred during a violent gathering of dozens of Palestinian suspects, who burned tires and threw stones at forces at the Beita Junction,” added the IDF.

Eygi was an activist with the anti-Israel International Solidarity Movement.

“We deplore this tragic loss,” said U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday, while offering his “deepest condolences” to Eygi’s family.

“First things first—let’s find out exactly what happened, and we will draw the necessary conclusions and consequences from that. When we have more info, we will share it, make it available and, as necessary, we’ll act on it,” he said.

Ankara described the incident as a “murder committed by the Netanyahu government,” with a Turkish Foreign Ministry statement adding: “Israel is trying to intimidate all those who come to the aid of the Palestinian people and who fight peacefully against the genocide. This policy of violence will not work.”

A Military Police probe has been launched into the incident, and Israeli officials have submitted a request to carry out an autopsy, the IDF said.

SJP, JVP and other activist groups sued for blocking traffic at airport

(JNS) — A man who missed his flight and a work appointment because of an anti-Israel protest at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago has filed suit against organizations and leaders behind the demonstration.

Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute, a public-interest law firm that describes its mission as “dedicated to battling the progressive left’s agenda,” submitted the class action lawsuit on Monday on behalf of Christopher Manhart and others impacted by the April 15 activist disruption, which blocked traffic for three hours.

HLLI attorney Theodore H. Frank said “we support the right to protest, but a premeditated attack that injures innocents is not protected by the First Amendment.”

Defendants in the suit include the groups Jewish Voice for Peace, the Tides Center and its Community Justice Exchange, National Students for Justice in Palestine, American Muslims for Palestine, AJP Education Foundation, Inc., WESPAC Foundation, Dissenters and the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights.

Terror attacks against Israeli targets thwarted at Paris Olympics

(JNS) — French authorities thwarted three terrorist attacks, including against Israeli targets, at the Paris Olympics this summer, the national counterterrorism prosecutor said.

Terrorists planned to attack “Israeli institutions or representatives of Israel in Paris” during the competition, which took place in the French capital and other cities from July 26 to Aug. 11, Olivier Christen said, adding that “the Israeli team itself was not specifically targeted.”

Five people, including a minor, were arrested on suspicion of being involved in the three thwarted attacks.

France was on high alert during the Games, which took place against the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas war and a related increase in hostility to the Jewish state and Jews in Europe. Israeli athletes received threats ahead of the competition.

The Paris 2024 organizing committee said before the event that 30,000 police and gendarmes would be deployed, reinforced by roughly 20,000 soldiers and between 17,000 and 22,000 private security agents expected for the Olympic sites and fan zones.

The Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) also took part in the largest-ever security operation of its kind to safeguard Israeli athletes taking part in the Games.