UK Jewish group investigates members for condemning Israel’s renewed Gaza offensive

Palestinians bid farewell to their relatives who were killed in Israeli airstrikes early Wednesday on the Yaffa School, in Gaza City. (AP)
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Updated 24 April 2025
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UK Jewish group investigates members for condemning Israel’s renewed Gaza offensive

  • Board of Deputies of British Jews suspends vice chair, launches procedures against 35 other members
  • Suspension follows an open letter strongly criticizing Israel for breaking ceasefire

LONDON: A major body representing Jews in the UK has suspended one of its senior figures and is investigating dozens of others after they signed a letter condemning Israel’s renewed offensive in Gaza.

The Board of Deputies of British Jews said it had launched the probe after “multiple complaints” in response to the letter published in the Financial Times last week.

The letter, signed by 36 members of the group, said they could not “turn a blind eye or remain silent in the face of this renewed loss of life and livelihoods” in Gaza.

Among the signatories was Harriett Goldenberg, vice chair of the organization’s international division. Members of the group’s executive committee voted to suspend her while the complaints procedure is underway, a statement on Tuesday said.

The Board of Deputies is the largest representative body of Jews in the UK with 300 deputies elected by synagogues and communal organizations.

The group previously criticized the UK government for putting pressure on Israel over the military campaign in Gaza that has killed more than 51,000 people.

The recent letter represented a significant break from the official position of the Board of Deputies, which has offered support for Israel since the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023 that killed 1,200 people and led to the capture of 250 hostages.

Board of Deputies President Phil Rosenberg said: “We take alleged breaches of the code of conduct very seriously.

“The Board of Deputies is clear: Only our democratically elected honorary officers and authorized staff speak on behalf of the organization.”

Goldenberg told the Financial Times last week that British Jews run the risk of being complicit if they do not speak up.

“In Jewish history, silence is not a good thing,” she said.

The letter condemned Israel for breaking a ceasefire in Gaza, which had led to the killing of “hundreds and hundreds more Palestinians.”

It also said this “most extremist” Israeli government was openly encouraging violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.

 


Sweden to charge jihadist over Jordanian pilot burnt to death in Syria: prosecutor

Updated 5 sec ago
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Sweden to charge jihadist over Jordanian pilot burnt to death in Syria: prosecutor

Prosecutors plan to charge the Swedish citizen with “serious war crimes and terrorist crimes in Syria“

STOCKHOLM: Prosecutors said Thursday they plan to indict a convicted Swedish jihadist for his suspected involvement in the 2014 capture of a Jordanian pilot in Syria and burning him to death in a cage.

Sweden’s Prosecution Authority said in a statement it planned to charge a 32-year-old Swedish citizen on May 27 with “serious war crimes and terrorist crimes in Syria.”

The man, Osama Krayem, has already been sentenced for his involvement in the 2015 attacks in Paris and the attacks in Brussels a year later.

Summer comes early for Iraq with 49 degrees Celsius in Basra

Updated 26 min 58 sec ago
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Summer comes early for Iraq with 49 degrees Celsius in Basra

  • In Iraq, summer temperatures often exceed 50 degrees Celsius, especially in July and August

BAGHDAD: Summer has come early for Iraq this year with temperatures hitting 49 degrees Celsius (topping 120 degrees Fahrenheit) in the southern city of Basra on Thursday, the national weather center said.

“It is the highest temperature recorded in Iraq this year,” weather center spokesperson Amer Al-Jabiri told AFP.

He said the early heat was in contrast to last year, when the temperature was “relatively good” in May and “it only began to rise in June.”

In Iraq, summer temperatures often exceed 50 degrees Celsius, especially in July and August, and sometimes reach these levels earlier.

On Sunday, two cadets died and others were admitted to hospital with heat stroke at a military academy in the southern province of Dhi Qar, authorities said.

The defense ministry said nine cadets “showed signs of fatigue and exhaustion due to sun exposure” while waiting to be assigned to battalions.

Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani ordered an investigation into the deaths of the two cadets.

Iraq is one of the five countries most impacted by some effects of climate change, according to the United Nations. It has also seen a prolonged drought and frequent dust storms.


Israel army issues evacuation warning for 14 areas of north Gaza

Updated 22 May 2025
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Israel army issues evacuation warning for 14 areas of north Gaza

  • The army told residents that it was operating with intense force

JERUSALEM: The Israeli army issued an evacuation warning on Thursday for 14 neighborhoods in the northern Gaza Strip, including parts of Beit Lahia and Jabalia.

The army told residents in an Arabic-language statement that it was “operating with intense force in your areas, as terrorist organizations continue their activities and operations” there.

A similar warning for parts of northern Gaza was issued on Wednesday evening in what the army said was a response to rocket fire.

It said that one “projectile that was identified crossing into Israel from the northern Gaza Strip was intercepted” by the air force.

It later announced three more launches from northern Gaza, but said the projectiles had fallen inside the Palestinian territory.

Israel has ramped up its Gaza operations in recent days in what it says is a renewed push to destroy Hamas.

The territory’s civil defense agency said Israeli attacks had killed at least 19 people on Thursday.


Turkiye’s Erdogan says Damascus must keep focused on Kurdish SDF deal

Updated 22 May 2025
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Turkiye’s Erdogan says Damascus must keep focused on Kurdish SDF deal

  • Ankara views the SDF and its factions as a terrorist group

ANKARA: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said Syria’s government must keep focused on its deal with the Kurdish, US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) under which it is to integrate into the Syrian armed forces, pressing Damascus for its implementation.

Speaking to reporters on a flight from Budapest, he said Turkiye, Syria, Iraq and the United States had a committee to discuss the fate of Daesh militants in prison camps in northeast Syria, which have been run by the SDF for years.

Ankara views the SDF and its factions as a terrorist group.

“We are especially following the YPG issue very, very closely. It is important for the Damascus administration not to take its attention away from this issue,” his office on Thursday cited him as saying. The YPG militia spearheads the SDF.

He added that Iraq should focus on the issue of the camps, as most women and children at the Al-Hol camp there were from Iraq and Syria, and that Iraq should repatriate its nationals.


Israel intercepts two missiles launched from Yemen, military says

Updated 22 May 2025
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Israel intercepts two missiles launched from Yemen, military says

  • Houthi Military Spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group launched a ballistic missile toward Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport and two drones toward the Tel Aviv area

Israel’s military said it intercepted two missiles launched from Yemen and that sirens had sounded twice across the country including in Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank on Thursday, as the Houthis stepped up attacks.
Houthi Military Spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group launched a ballistic missile toward Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport and two drones toward the Tel Aviv area.
Undeterred by Israeli strikes on Yemen, the Houthis said they would continue to fire at Israel even though they have agreed to a ceasefire with the United States to halt attacks on US ships in the Red Sea.
Israel has carried out retaliatory strikes including one on May 6 that damaged Yemen’s main airport in Sanaa, and another last week targeting the Red Sea ports of Hodeidah and Salif.
Since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza in October 2023, the Houthis have launched dozens of missile and drone attacks targeting Israel, most of which have been intercepted or have fallen short.
The group says it is acting in support of Gaza’s Palestinians.