Weekly roundup of world briefs

NJ man sentenced for trying to fund Hamas

(JNS) — Jonathan Xie, 25, of Basking Ridge, N.J., was sentenced on Monday to 64 months of time served and 20 years of supervised release for concealing his financial support for Hamas, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey stated.

Xie “not only admitted sending money that he hoped would be used by the terrorist organization Hamas to fund violent acts against civilians in Israel, he professed his desire to travel to Gaza to join them,” stated Philip Sellinger, the U.S. attorney for the district of New Jersey.

“Brandishing a gun and holding a Hamas flag, he also posted that he was going to shoot everybody at a pro-Israel march and ruminated how one could go on a rampage by ramming pro-Israel demonstrators with a car,” Sellinger stated. “This supporter of Hamas learned the true cost of supporting terrorists.”

Nelson Delgado, FBI acting special agent in charge in Newark, stated that Xie “is an unfortunate example of an emerging and extremely dangerous threat” that the bureau “is seeing with much more frequency.”

“The average age of the international and domestic terrorism subjects we investigate is under 21-years-old, and they’re being radicalized in only a few months,” Delgado said. “Xie was a teenager when he decided to send money in support of a terrorism organization and then threaten to carry out a plan to kill pro-Israeli people.”

“We need this case to serve as a warning to parents and guardians—pay attention to what your teenagers are doing online,” he said.

After sending $100 to a man in Gaza that he thought was a member of Hamas in December 2018, Xie posted on Instagram, “Just donated $100 to Hamas. Pretty sure it was illegal but I don’t give a damn,” per the U.S. Justice Department.

Fatah terrorist targeted in Lebanon

(JNS) — An Israeli airstrike early Tuesday targeted a Palestinian Fatah terrorist, Reuters reported.

Mounir Maqdah, commander of the Lebanese branch of Fatah’s “military” wing, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, was the target, two Palestinian security officials told the news agency.

It was not clear if the strike was successful.

The strike on a building in Ain al-Hilweh near the southern coastal city of Sidon marked the first time that Israel has targeted the Palestinian camp since hostilities broke out with Hezbollah.

In August, Israel killed Fatah terrorist Khalil Makdah in a drone strike near Sidon.

Fatah is the political faction chaired by Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas.

The leader of the Hamas terrorist organization in Lebanon, Fateh Sherif Abu el-Amin, was killed in an airstrike in the Tyre area in the south of the country, Israel said on Monday. He was an employee of UNRWA, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees and their descendants.

Also on Monday, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) announced that three of its terrorist operatives were killed in an Israeli airstrike overnight Sunday in Beirut.

Nasrallah’s death celebrated across Middle East and beyond

By JNS Staff

(JNS) — Israel’s killing of longtime Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah last week was celebrated not only in Israel, but throughout the Middle East and beyond.

The death of the terrorist leader, who led the Iranian-backed Shi’ite organization for the last 32 years, was marked by demonstrations and festivities in the region, including in bitterly divided sectarian Lebanon, in Syria and even in Iran itself.

While Nasrallah was closely allied with Syrian President Bashar Assad and helped him brutally crush Assad’s opponents in the Syrian Civil War, in areas outside government control Syrians celebrated, including in the jihadist-run rebel bastion of Idlib, where people waved Syrian flags and handed out sweets early Saturday, cheering and honking car horns even before news of his death was confirmed.

Even in Iran, Hezbollah’s chief patron, citizens opposed to the radical Islamist regime quietly toasted news of his death.

A video posted on social media showed a group of Iranian women, their faces hidden, saying in Persian that they, “the children of Iran, send a congratulatory message to everyone for the death of Hassan Nasrallah and congratulate the Iranian nation,” and sending a special thank you to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Pro-shah Iranians also gathered both outside the Israeli Embassy in London and in Toronto to celebrate, singing, handing out sweets and thanking Israel for killing the longtime terror leader.

President cancels Rosh Hashanah call with US Jewish community

(JNS) — U.S. President Joe Biden canceled a planned Rosh Hashanah call with the Jewish community that had been scheduled for 1:15 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Earlier in the day, the U.S. administration had previously warned its employees in Israel to return to their homes and warned of an imminent attack on the Jewish state.

Posting on X at 12:40 p.m., the president wrote, “This morning, @VP and I convened our national security team to discuss Iranian plans to launch an imminent missile attack against Israel. We discussed how the United States is prepared to help Israel defend against these attacks and protect American personnel in the region.”

U.S. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) posted on X, “Iran is launching missiles against Israel. Israel has an unquestionable right to defend itself against all forms of Iranian aggression. The United States should, must and will stand with the Jewish State as it defends itself from the root of all evil in the Middle East—the Islamic Republic of Iran. I stand with Israel. Always have and always will. #AmYisraslChai.”

“This is a moment of choosing for the free world regarding Iran, said U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on X. “The Ayatollah [Ali Khamenei] and Iranian regime are religious Nazis who want to destroy the State of Israel—their words, not mine. They want to purify Islam and attack the United States—again, their words, not mine. 

“This missile attack against Israel should be the breaking point, and I would urge the Biden administration to coordinate an overwhelming response with Israel, starting with Iran’s ability to refine oil,” Graham said. “These oil refineries need to be hit and hit hard because that is the source of cash for the regime to perpetrate their terror. My prayers are with the people of Israel, and may God continue to bless Israel.”

A year after Oct. 7, UN head censures Hamas for not letting Red Cross see hostages

By Izzy Salant

(JNS) — While the United Nations has called for the return of the hostages in the past, Secretary-General António Guterres condemned Hamas for not allowing the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit the hostages in Gaza.

It represents the first time that he’s publicly condemned the terrorist organization for not allowing the Red Cross to see the hostages. It has been almost a year since Oct. 7.

“I’d like to condemn the fact that the Red Cross is not even allowed to visit those hostages,” he said. “This is something clear in international humanitarian law.”

Guterres also reiterated his call for the immediate release of the remaining 101 hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza.

He also somewhat condemned the rocket barrage attack against Israel on Tuesday, in which as many as 200 rockets were fired at the Jewish state, forcing Israelis throughout the country to shelter. However, he didn’t call out Iran by name or even specifically mention the rocket attacks.

In a post on X, Guterres wrote: “I condemn the broadening of the Middle East conflict with escalation after escalation. This must stop. We absolutely need a ceasefire.”

I condemn the broadening of the Middle East conflict with escalation after escalation.

In response, Naftali Bennett, the former prime minister of Israel, posted on X: “You’ve gotta be kidding. You condemn ‘the broadening’?! You just aren’t able to blurt the simple words, ‘I condemn the Islamic Republic of Iran who just shot roughly 180 deadly ballistic missiles towards the citizens of Israel.’ Quit.”

Biden: Response to Iranian ballistic missile attack ‘remains to be seen’

By Andrew Bernard

(JNS) — U.S. President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that the response to Iran’s ballistic missile attack on Israel “remains to be seen.”

Speaking ahead of a cabinet meeting to discuss Hurricane Helene, Biden told reporters at the White House that the administration is still assessing the impact of the attack.

“Based on what we know now, the attack appears to have been defeated and ineffective,” Biden said. “This is a testament to Israeli military capability and the U.S. military. It’s also a testament to intensive planning between the United States and Israel to anticipate and defend against the brazen attack.”

“Make no mistake, the United States is fully, fully, fully supportive of Israel,” Biden added.

Asked about a potential response to Iran, Biden said that was under consideration. “That’s an active discussion right now,” he said. “We gotta get all the data straight.”

The U.S. president said there was “constant contact” between the U.S. and Israeli governments about the attack, but he had not yet spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“We have spoken with all his people, and I’ll be talking to him,” Biden said. “My message will depend on what we finally conclude is needed.”

A reporter asked the president what he believed the consequences for Iran should be. “That remains to be seen,” Biden replied.

Survey: Strong US backing for Israeli military action against Iranian proxies

By JNS Staff

(JNS) — Three-quarters of Americans want to maintain or strengthen U.S. support for Israel’s military actions against Iran’s proxies, even as the U.S. administration pushes a ceasefire, according to a survey released on Monday.

The polling comes as Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon, triggered by Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre, approaches its one-year mark.

Some 50 percent of Americans want to keep support for Israel’s military efforts against Iranian proxies at about the same level, while 25 percent each want to either increase or decrease the backing, according to the survey, commissioned by the non-partisan New York-based Council for a Secure America.

Fifty-four percent of Americans agree that Iran and its allies, including Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen pose a direct threat to the United States and its Western allies, while 36 percent neither agree or disagree, and 10 percent disagree, the survey found.

At the same time, most Americans want to maintain the current level of U.S. military action against both Iran and its proxies, which has been primarily defensive, the poll found.

A total of 56 percent want to maintain U.S. military action at the same level, while 27 percent want to increase it and 17 percent want to decrease American military action.

Overall, 62 percent of Americans feel that the United States’ relationship with Israel is important, with the highest support being found among older Americans and the lowest among “Generation Z”; only 9 percent felt that the ties between the two countries are not important, the survey showed.

“As we approach the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 massacre and the ensuing war with Iran’s proxies, Hamas and Hezbollah, American support for Israel’s military actions remains strong,” said CSA executive director Jennifer Sutton. “A majority of American voters feel that both Israel and the United States should continue their military efforts, and that Iran and its proxies pose a direct threat to the U.S. and our allies in the region,” the statement continued.

The survey was conducted from Sept. 18 through Sept. 20 by Morning Consult, after the pager and walkie-talkie attacks against Hezbollah attributed to Israel but before the Israeli assassination of Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah. It cited a margin of error of 2 percent.

Police probing two blasts near Israeli embassy in Denmark

(JNS) — Danish police on Wednesday were probing the cause of two explosions close to the Israeli Embassy in Copenhagen.

“No one has been injured, and we are carrying out initial investigations at the scene,” police wrote on X. “A possible connection to the Israeli embassy, ​​located in the area, is being investigated,” they added.

On Wednesday night, Swedish authorities launched a probe into an “unusual incident” after gunfire was heard in the vicinity of the Israeli embassy in Stockholm, the Israeli Foreign Ministry confirmed.

According to the local TV4 Nyheterna outlet, a “large police operation” was conducted outside the embassy in the Swedish capital’s upscale Östermalm district after a loud bang was reported in the area.

“All employees are safe, and none of them were injured,” according to the Israeli Foreign Ministry.

A firearm and an empty shell casing were found outside the embassy, according to TV4 Nyheterna. Some reports said that a window had been broken.

The incident was reported some 30 minutes before Iran launched 180 ballistic missiles at the Jewish state in its second-ever direct attack; the first one was back in April.

Tehran is behind a series of terrorist attacks carried out by criminal gangs targeting Israeli embassies in Europe, including Sweden, over the past months, the Mossad intelligence agency revealed earlier this year.

2024 broke 75-year-old heat record in Israel

(JNS) — The past Hebrew year was the warmest on record in Israel in the last 75 years, the Israeli Meteorological Service said on Tuesday.

The year, which was marked by an especially warm summer and mild winter, surpassed the previous record warmth set a decade and half ago in 2009-2010.

The hottest reading this summer was 48 degrees Celsius or 118.4 degrees Fahrenheit, which was recorded in the Jordan Valley.

There was also a rare string of 15 consecutive rain days in Israel last winter.

Most Israeli Jews support attacking Hezbollah, poll shows

(JNS) — A recent survey of Israeli public opinion found that 90 percent of Jewish respondents support Israel’s escalation of hostilities against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Asked about the resilience of Israeli society and the Israel Defense Forces, 87 percent and 79 percent of the 600 Jews sampled, respectively, said that those entities would “be able to withstand an extended war on two or more fronts.” Only 27 percent of the 150 Arab Israelis surveyed said this.   

The survey, conducted in the last week of September by the Israel Democracy Institute, contained a question that juxtaposed the escalation with the unresolved issue of Israeli hostages in Gaza and the ongoing military campaign against Hamas.

“Was it correct or not correct for Israel to launch its in-depth offensive against Hezbollah last week while the war in Gaza has not yet finished and the hostage issue has not been solved?” respondents were asked.

Ninety-five percent of respondents who self-defined as right-wing answered that the move was correct, compared to 87 percent and 67 percent of centrists and left-wingers, respectively, the Institute’s Viterbi Family Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research wrote in a summary of the survey published on Tuesday.

“Among Jews, the clear preference is for Israel to increase the intensity of its long-range aerial offensive,” the summary said.

The largest share of Jewish respondents supported a ground invasion (support, 47 percent; oppose, 41 percent), while the majority of the 150 Arabs surveyed opposed it (59.5 percent), the summary also said.

The largest share of Arab respondents, 47 percent, also said that the escalation was a mistake.

Arab respondents were more concerned about the conflict than Jewish ones. Whereas 83 percent of Arabs said they were either worried or very worried, only 57 percent of Jews said this.

Pro bono legal helpline launched for reporting incidents of antisemitism at K-12 schools

(JNS) — The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, the Anti-Defamation League and StandWithUs announced a helpline to provide free legal guidance for families of Jewish students experiencing hatred at K-12 schools in

Carly Gammill, director of legal policy at the StandWithUs Saidoff Legal Department, said that the helpline “comes at a time when antisemitism continues to plague students in our nation’s schools and will help ensure broader access to legal resources for students seeking to address attacks against their Jewish identity.”