Weekly roundup of world briefs

Hottest April day in the Tel Aviv area since 1907

(JNS) — The greater Tel Aviv area along Israel’s central Mediterranean coastline, known as Gush Dan, suffered its hottest day in April since 1907, the country’s meteorological service reported on Thursday.

Records were broken in Yavne, where temps skyrocketed to 42.4 degrees Celsius (107.96 degrees Fahrenheit) and in Nitzan, near Ashkelon, where the thermometer rose to 43 degrees Celsius (109.4 degrees Fahrenheit).

In the city of Tel Aviv, the high was 40.7 degrees Celsius (105.26 degrees Fahrenheit), breaking an 85-year-old record for the month of April—the previous record of 40.4 degrees Celsius (104.72 degrees Fahrenheit) was measured in 1939.

In the Lower Galilee region of northern Israel, a 50-year-old man was found in a forest in serious condition with signs of heat stroke. The Magen David Adom emergency rescue services team evacuated him to Rambam Hospital in Haifa.

Another man, 40, was found with signs of heat stroke on Bar Ilan Boulevard in Bat Yam south of Jaffa. His condition was serious. The MDA team evacuated him to Wolfson Hospital in Holon.

‘Antisemitism will not be tolerated in Texas. Period,’ governor says

(JNS) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott wrote on Wednesday about arrests that state troopers and riot police made of anti-Israel protesters at the University of Texas at Austin, one of the largest and top-ranked public universities in the country.

“Arrests being made right now and will continue until the crowd disperses. These protesters belong in jail,” the Republican governor wrote. “Antisemitism will not be tolerated in Texas. Period.”

“Students joining in hate-filled, antisemitic protests at any public college or university in Texas should be expelled,” Abbott added.

As of 9 p.m. local time on Wednesday, 34 protesters had been arrested, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. According to the department, the arrests were for “criminal activity, including criminal trespass.”

The Dallas Morning News reported that at least 54 people had been arrested.

“Today, our university held firm, enforcing our rules while protecting the constitutional right to free speech. Peaceful protests within our rules are acceptable. Breaking our rules and policies and disrupting others’ ability to learn are not allowed,” wrote Jay Hartzell, president of UT Austin.

“The group that led this protest stated it was going to violate institutional rules. Our rules matter, and they will be enforced. Our university will not be occupied,” Hartzell added. “The protesters tried to deliver on their stated intent to occupy campus. People not affiliated with UT joined them, and many ignored university officials’ continual pleas for restraint and to immediately disperse.”

“The university did as we said we would do in the face of prohibited actions. We were prepared, with the necessary support to maintain campus operations and ensure the safety, well-being and learning environment for our more than 50,000 students,” Hartzell said.

Houston man sentenced to 27 months for antisemitic death threats

(JNS) — A 41-year-old Houston man was sentenced to 27 months in prison for threatening to kill Jews.

“Jeremy Joseph sent hateful, violent and antisemitic death threats over email to two former co-workers. Joseph made these threats as part of a broader scheme in which Joseph threatened dozens of victims, many of whom were Jewish or were perceived to be Jewish,” stated Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.

“This prosecution and today’s sentence make clear that this office will not tolerate crimes of hate and will continue to seek justice for the victims of these offensive and harmful acts,” Williams stated.

Joseph, who will have three years of supervised release after his prison term, emailed “terrifying death threats” to two former colleagues, with whom he worked over a decade prior, from about December 2022 to January 2023, per the U.S. Justice Department.

“The emails detailed how Joseph planned to murder his victims and included photographs of pipe bombs, ammunition and a firearm,” it stated. “The emails also included personal information about the victims and their families.”

Joseph also sent threats to other people he knew, as well as “politicians, judges and prosecutors,” per the Justice Department. “The targets of his threats spanned multiple countries and U.S. states. In these communications, Joseph consistently used violent, threatening language that targeted Jewish people.”

Maine man gets prison sentence for tweeting threat to kill Jews

(JNS) — U.S. District Judge Jon D. Levy sentenced a man from the state of Maine who circulated an online plan to shoot Jews on the second day of Rosh Hashanah.

Brian Dennison, 27, received 12 months and one day in prison on April 18, followed by three years of supervised release following a guilty verdict in December. Dennison had written on Twitter: “I’m going to kill jews with my ar15 tomorrow” in September 2021.

Law enforcement found 1,700 rounds of an AR-15 rifle and proof of his hatred of Jews after an initial search of Dennison’s residence, and later, the AR-15 and more ammo hidden in the woods behind his home.

“Such repugnant threats have no place in any society. I commend the FBI for its excellent investigative work in this case,” said Darcie McElwee, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maine. “Under the First Amendment, you have a right to believe hateful things, and to express those hateful beliefs in lawful ways. But when your speech constitutes a true threat to kill or injure others, you will be held accountable.”

Jodi Cohen, the Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division, praised the Maine Joint Terrorism Task Force for “its rapid response to Brian Dennison’s threat to commit mass murder with an assault rifle, born out of his long-standing hatred for Jewish people.”

Sunak vows to stand with Israel

(JNS) — The United Kingdom will continue to support Israel against “reckless” attacks by Iran and its terrorist proxies in the region, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak vowed in his annual Passover holiday statement on Monday.

“My thoughts are with those who lost loved ones on the 7th of October and those who continue to be held hostage. And we will continue to stand with Israel against the kind of reckless attack that we saw earlier this month from Iran,” said Sunak in the video statement posted to X.

The British leader noted that Passover is “a moment for families and communities to give thanks, to gather around the Seder table and break matzah together.”

However, “for too many families, there will be empty seats,” he said.

“The promise of Passover is that better times lie ahead. So to the Jewish community in the U.K. and around the world, whether your loved ones are near or far, I hope that this holiday brings some comfort and a reminder of that promise of a better tomorrow,” said Sunak.

Earlier this month, Sunak marked six months since the Hamas massacre of some 1,200 people by calling for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and the terrorist group and announcing additional aid to Gaza via the sea.

In January, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron sparked controversy when he suggested that London unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state so Palestinians “can see that there is going to be irreversible progress to a two-state solution.”

‘Civil Administration will continue to develop Judea and Samaria’

(JNS) —The Israel Defense Forces are committed to promoting and developing Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria, Brig. Gen. Hisham Ibrahim told local community leaders on Monday, five days after taking up the post as head of the Civil Administration in the area.

In a letter addressed to Judea and Samaria council heads ahead of Passover, the Druze general noted that “this holiday symbolizes the season of flowering and blossoming—just as blossoming begins at this time of the year, the Civil Administration will continue to work for the promotion and development of the settlement in Judea and Samaria.

“Passover, also known as the Festival of Freedom, takes on a deeper meaning this year,” wrote Ibrahim. “As the security forces are acting with strength and determination in the face of a cruel enemy, we understand the meaning of freedom, of ‘In every generation, they rise up to destroy us.’ Especially this Passover, we feel the power of this sentence.

“I thank you for the joint work. Together, we will reach joint achievements. … I wish you and your families a kosher and happy Spring Festival,” the missive concluded, using an alternative name for Passover.

The Civil Administration is part of the Israeli Defense Ministry and regulates much of daily life in Judea and Samaria.

During a ceremony, Ibrahim said that the Jewish state was “fighting one of the most just wars in its history—a war that was forced on us, a war of darkness against the only light in the region, a war with a terrorist group that sanctifies death against a people who want life.”

Ibrahim replaced Brig. Gen. Fares Atilla, who retired from the army after 34 years of service, including three years as head of the Civil Administration.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who leads the Religious Zionism Party, oversees some activities of the IDF Civil Administration as part of his role as a minister in the Defense Ministry.

Hochul condemns Jew-hatred at Columbia University

(JNS) — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul condemned antisemitism threats against Jewish students and glorifying the Oct. 7 atrocities in a social media post on Sunday evening.

“The First Amendment protects the right to protest, but students also have a right to learn in an environment free from harassment or violence,” the New York Democrat wrote. “At Columbia, or on any campus, threatening Jewish students with violence or glorifying the terror of Oct. 7 is antisemitism.”

The First Amendment protects the right to protest but students also have a right to learn in an environment free from harassment or violence.

The governor’s comments came after a weekend in which anti-Israel activists encamped on the Columbia University campus and at other educational institutions, intimidating and sometimes attacking Jewish students, praising Palestinian violence and calling for the severing of ties with Israel.

Robert Kraft: No support for Columbia ‘until corrective action is taken’

(JNS) — Robert Kraft, the billionaire philanthropist and owner of the New England Patriots, no longer recognizes his alma mater, Columbia University, which has been the site of antisemitic student protests, including violent ones, in recent days.

“I am deeply saddened at the virulent hate that continues to grow on campus and throughout our country,” stated Kraft, also founder of the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism.

The Jewish businessman got his start at Columbia, where he earned a full academic scholarship. “For that, I have been tremendously grateful,” he stated. “However, the school I love so much—the one that welcomed me and provided me with so much opportunity—is no longer an institution I recognize.”

“I am no longer confident that Columbia can protect its students and staff and I am not comfortable supporting the university until corrective action is taken,” Kraft added. 

“It is my hope that Columbia and its leadership will stand up to this hate by ending these protests immediately and will work to earn back the respect and trust of the many of us who have lost faith in the institution,” he added.

“It is my hope that in this difficult time, the Kraft Center at Columbia will serve as a source of security and safety for all Jewish students and faculty on campus who want to gather peacefully to practice their religion, to be together and to be welcomed,” Kraft said.

European group launches to fill ‘pressing gap in fight against antisemitism’

By David Swindle

(JNS) — The European Network on Monitoring Antisemitism, which launched last week, aims “to fill a pressing gap in the fight against antisemitism: The need for improved data collection on antisemitic incidents,” according to a news release.

It added that “ENMA aims to become a Europe-wide gateway to data on antisemitism.”

The network, which receives funding from the European Union and support from the Alfred Landecker Foundation, was founded by the German Federal Association of Department for Research and Information on Antisemitism (Bundesverband RIAS); the Austrian Reporting Centre for Antisemitism of the Jewish Community Vienna; and the Polish Jewish Association Czulent.

“Antisemitism is on the rise in Europe, but too little is known about its transnational dimension,” stated Benjamin Steinitz, executive director of Bundesverband RIAS. “For the first time, comparable data about antisemitism across various European countries will be made available. Our efforts are coordinated with key Jewish umbrella organizations and will improve the reporting infrastructure for antisemitic incidents.”

Steinitz told JNS that the surge in Jew-hatred in Europe “is clearly shown by the shocking surge of antisemitic incidents across Europe in the aftermath of the Hamas massacres on Oct. 7.”

“By mid-2025, for the first-time comparable data about antisemitism across various European countries will be made available,” Steinitz predicted, calling the network “without a doubt a game changer in the European landscape on antisemitism research and prevention.” 

“You need to make antisemitism visible in order to be able to fight it,” stated Katharina von Schnurbein, European Commission coordinator on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life.

Biden criticized for ‘very fine people on both sides’ style Jew-hatred remark

(JNS) — U.S. President Joe Biden is being accused of responding to a reporter on Monday in a manner that recalls former president Donald Trump’s saying that there were “very fine people on both sides” of a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va.

“Do you condemn the antisemetic protesters,” Biden was asked.

“I condemn the antisemitic protests. That’s why I have set up a program to deal with that,” Biden said, per the pool report. “I also condemn those who don’t understand what’s going on with the Palestinians.”

“President Biden says there are good people on both sides of Oct. 7,” wrote Mollie Hemingway, editor-in-chief of the Federalist.

Josh Holmes, president and founding partner of Calvary and former chief-of-staff to then Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), made a similar observation as did National Review online editor Philip Klein.

“Biden condemns opponents of Hamas,” wrote Stephen Miller, a former senior advisor to Trump.

Biden has cited the Charlottesville rally repeatedly as a reason he ran for president, although he reportedly made the decision prior to the event.

“Look, I wasn’t going to run in 2020, because I just lost my son Beau a little earlier and—until I watched what happened down in—in Virginia when those folks came out of the fields carrying torches and—and Nazi flags and accompanied by white supremacists,” Biden said at an event late last month, per a White House transcript. “And a young woman was killed—a bystander.” 

“And when the president was a—former president was asked what he thought of that, he said, ‘There are very fine people on both sides,’” Biden said.

Jewish woman reports rape, assault to ‘avenge Palestine’

By Erez Linn and ILH Staff

(Israel Hayom via JNS) — A 32-year-old Jewish woman in the Paris suburb of Gennevilliers was allegedly the victim of a horrific antisemitic crime this week. She says she was raped, kidnapped and threatened with murder by a man seeking revenge against her for Palestinians.

The suspect, who has not been publicly named, was arrested on Tuesday and charged with kidnapping, religiously-motivated death threats and drug offenses. The rape allegation is still under investigation.

The victim told police she met the perpetrator on a dating app in 2023. She says he held her against her will in his apartment, where he assaulted and threatened her. The suspect allegedly sent disturbing texts to the woman’s mother, saying he would “prostitute” her daughter to “avenge Palestine.”

The case has drawn outrage across the political spectrum in France. Politicians from both the left and right condemned the attack and expressed solidarity with the Jewish community.

Marine Le Pen of the National Rally party blamed “far-left” inaction for allowing an environment of antisemitism to fester. The government’s anti-racism delegation called the importation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to France unacceptable.