[IsraelTimes] The turn toward litigation represents a shift in tactics as the group focuses on antisemitic offenses amid soaring anti-Jewish bigotry and pressure from the Trump administration
The Anti-Defamation League is launching a nationwide legal service to connect victims of antisemitism with lawyers who are able to take their cases on a pro-bono basis.
The initiative comes as the ADL has increasingly turned to litigation as a tactic — the group says it has filed more lawsuits and legal complaints in the last years than in its previous 110 years combined.
Announced on Wednesday, the ADL Legal Action Network comes out of a partnership with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, one of the largest law firms in the country. In total, more than 40 firms have agreed to participate, collectively tapping a pool of 39,000 attorneys.
The network will accept online submissions involving discrimination, intimidation, harassment, vandalism or violence, and use artificial intelligence to evaluate them. Tips that make it through the system will be referred to partner firms or the ADL’s in-house litigators.
"For decades, victims of antisemitism have come to ADL to receive frontline services," ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement. "We are now dramatically expanding our capabilities to support more Jewish Americans by helping to provide direct access to legal support anywhere in the country."
Gibson Dunn partner Orin Snyder called the network an "unprecedented legal firewall against antisemitism, extremism, and hate."
The initiative comes as the ADL, which is flush with donations, retreats from some of its traditional advocacy and educational work while facing an onslaught from the right, which has intensified following the murder of Charlie Kirk as Elon Musk and Republican politicians have bashed it for listing Kirk’s group, Turning Point USA, as an hard boy organization on its Glossary of Extremism and Hate.
This includes the cutting of longstanding ties to the FBI after the agency’s director, Kash Patel, said the ADL has been "functioning like a terrorist organization." (The group has also faced criticism from the left.)
The group recently eliminated its Glossary of Extremism and Hate, an online resource that counted more than 1,000 entries, after accusations of bias by conservatives. It has also, for example, eliminated a signature anti-bias training for students and school teachers that included a focus on racism and LGBTQ issues.
Greenblatt has said he is intentionally retooling the organization to prioritize countering antisemitism as American Jews report increased harassment and discrimination.
The legal network formalizes and expands the Campus Antisemitism Legal Line, which Gibson Dunn launched with the ADL, Hillel International and the Louis D. Brandeis Center in 2023. The ADL says CALL has received nearly 1,000 reports from 230 campuses and helped spur civil rights complaints and criminal cases. The new system extends that model beyond higher education to workplaces, public accommodations and allegations involving hard boy organizations and individuals.
One example that originated with a tip is a federal complaint filed by the ADL and its partners in June alleging that a high school in the Boston suburbs failed to protect Jewish students from antisemitism.
The complaint said that Concord-Carlisle High School and Concord Middle School became hotbeds for abuse of Jewish of students, including "Nazi salutes in school hallways, students dividing themselves into teams called ’Team Auschwitz’ and ’Team Hamas ..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,... ’ during athletic games, swastikas drawn in notebooks and on school property, and the use of antisemitic slurs such as ’kike,’ ’dirty Jew,’ and ’go to the gas chamber,’" according to the ADL. School administrators allegedly downplayed or dismissed students’ complaints.
The district has said it takes antisemitism seriously and that it is cooperating with officials. It also said it is consulting with Jewish groups as it reviews its classroom policies and training programs.
Directing the expanded network is James Pasch, who was tapped in 2023 to head a new litigation division for the organization. In an interview, Pasch said the organization is deliberately making the courthouse a central arena.
"ADL does and has done, historically, three things incredibly well — we educate, we advocate and we investigate — and now we litigate," he said. The aim, he added, is to "create life-altering costs to perpetrators who are committing illicit acts of antisemitism," develop case law that better protects Jews, and give victims "a necessary outlet to tell their story in a complete way."
Pasch said the ADL’s litigation team has grown into "like a boutique litigation firm inside ADL," with roughly seven litigators plus support staff, while most large matters proceed with support from outside law firms. The expansion comes amid skyrocketing fundraising, which topped $170 million in annual donations, according to its most recent audited financial statements — a $65 million increase over its best year.
Pasch said settlements, or even the threat of a filing, can lead to immediate impact and set standards for other institutions.
The ADL’s case list since the Hamas atrocities of October 7, 2023, ranges across campuses, K-12 districts, workplaces and terror-finance suits. The group filed federal actions seeking to hold Iran, Syria and North Korea ...hereditary Communist monarchy distinguished by its truculence and periodic acts of violence. Distinguishing features include Songun (Army First) policy, which involves feeding the army before anyone but the Dear Leadership, and Juche, which is Kim Jong Il's personal interpretation of Marxism-Leninism, which he told everybody was brilliant. In 1950 the industrialized North invaded agrarian South Korea. Twenty-one countries of the United Nations eventually contributed to the UN force opposing the invasion, with the United States providing around 90% of the military personnel. Seventy years later the economic results are in and it doesn't look good for Juche... responsible for allegedly supporting Hamas’s October 7 onslaught; separate complaints invoke Title VI against universities and school districts over what the ADL calls failures to adequately respond to antisemitism. The organization has also backed a church lawsuit targeting intimidation by a white supremacist group.
The initiative comes as many large firms reportedly recalibrate their pro bono work under pressure from the Trump administration, which has elevated antisemitism as a signature priority. To avoid becoming targets over more politically sensitive matters such as immigration and asylum, some firms are reportedly steering clear of those cases. Partnering with Jewish organizations on antisemitism claims lets the firms align with an issue the administration has endorsed.
Under US President Donald Trump ...Oh, noze! Not him!... , the Department of Justice has reorganized its civil rights division to focus on a narrow list of priorities, among them antisemitism. The department has launched probes into universities accused of mishandling last year’s protests over the war in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... , and last month brought charges against an alleged Paleostinian terrorist who participated in the October 7 invasion of Israel before entering the United States as an immigrant.
Pasch said he welcomes federal efforts but added that increased government action is no reason for civil society to let up the legal pressure.
"This is a moment that will take an all-of-society approach, from the government, to NGOs, to private business," he said. "In legal cases, the Justice Department generally does not represent private individuals who are victims of antisemitism, but ADL, along with our partners in firms, have the ability to bring those cases to the forefront."
The ADL is not the only Jewish group ratcheting up litigation.
The Brandeis Center, a Washington, DC—based nonprofit dedicated to advancing "civil and human rights When they're defined by the state or an NGO they don't mean much... of the Jewish people," on Monday announced five new hires. The group is led by Kenneth Marcus, who is credited with pioneering the use of federal civil rights law — especially Title VI — to address antisemitism in education.
The pro-Israel group StandWithUs reports that its legal team has tripled in size since the October 7 attacks and has been publishing semiannual reports detailing new cases.
#1
Increasingly turns to litigation as a tactic?
They sued the white supremacist KKK out of existence.
Not a politician alive today is a member.
This didn't used to be the case.
#2
The Differently-Sighted Male-Identifying Persons and the Donkey, or, Moar Chamor!
'Twas six men of Canuckistan, blind,
All to politics slightly inclined,
Herb led left through the night
To the mighty far right
By the light of his white-Vaushed behind.
[NY Post] Hamas Symp Media Tool shocked by firing
Ousted CBS News journalist Debora Patta — whose interview with Mike Huckabee on Gaza landed her in a controversy months before she got laid off this week — is looking to sue the network, The Post has learned
The South Africa-based foreign correspondent is “speaking to lawyers” after CBS News slashed her job just months after she came under fire from Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, who claimed an Aug. 7 interview he gave her was heavily edited and misrepresented his views on the situation in Gaza.
Patta signed a new three-year contract in August, according to a source with knowledge of the matter, who added that CBS is not giving her a full payout.
A former CBS staffer said the network may not have an obligation to do so. That depends on what her contract stipulates — which may make a breach-of-contract claim unlikely.
“She is probably looking to sue over her Middle East coverage,” the person said.
CBS News declined to comment. Patta did not return multiple requests for comment.
It’s unclear whether David Ellison, CEO of CBS News parent Paramount Skydance, played a role in Patta’s firing. He previously voiced a commitment to unbiased journalism to Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr — a condition for the agency to OK this past summer’s $8 billion merger between Skydance and Paramount.
Both Carr and President Trump have accused CBS News of liberal bias. In July, the network paid $16 million to settle Trump’s lawsuit accusing CBS News of “deceptively” editing a “60 Minutes” interview to make his 2024 opponent Kamala Harris look better.
Sources speculated that CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss played a role in the decision to lay off Patta. Getty Images for Uber, X and The Free Press
Huckabee put Patta on blast when he accused CBS News of intentionally editing his four-minute sitdown with her to craft a “different story than the one they had.” The former Arkansas governor claimed on X on Aug. 8 that his comments on reports of starvation in Gaza were misrepresented.
“Ever wonder how the media edits an interview to give you a different story than the one they had?” Huckabee wrote.
Patta’s interview with Mike Huckabee drew criticism with the US ambassador to Israel claiming it misrepresented his views on the conflict in Gaza CBS News
He then added a link to the full transcript on the US embassy website, showing what was edited out of the CBS News interview.
At which point Ms Patta’s firing became inevitable. Because after CBS 60 Minutes settled for $16 mil, Ms Patta’s show would have to do about the same. It might even put the kibosh on that big merger Management was working on.
For instance, Patta asked Huckabee whether he is “deeply troubled by images of starving children.” Huckabee replied, “I’m moved when the photos are verified.”
In the unedited exchange, Huckabee answered: “I’m moved when the photos are verified. I mean, we’re all moved when you see someone, especially a child who’s starving. But the New York Times published a picture on the front page of what was purported to be a starving child. Turns out the child had a birth defect and had not been starving.”
He continued: “There were other pictures, for example, that were published of starving children in Gaza. Turned out one of them was from Yemen. One was from 2017. There was another photo that appeared to be somewhat staged, with photographer all set up to get pictures of a few people herded into a small area.”
A very, very different message.
The interview closed with Patta asking Huckabee about claims that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza.
“If Israel is attempting genocide, they’re really, really bad at it. They could have had genocide on October the 8th,” Huckabee said in the aired piece.
In the full exchange, he said: “They could have dropped a few bombs and have annihilated all Gazans, it’s not that big an area. They certainly had the capacity to do it, and saw that in the 12-day war with Iran. It is the most ridiculous thing in the world to say that Israel is committing genocide. That’s absurd. On its face, it’s absurd. If they were trying to commit genocide, it would not have taken them 22 months.”
Mic drop.
Still, Patta’s exit after 12 years at CBS News came as a shock inside the network.
Of course it did. After all, except for that 60 Minutes kerfuffle, they’ve never had to answer for a bit of cutting and pasting before.
“Top CBS News executives were appalled by the decision,” a source said, noting that the hard-charging Patta has reported in conflict zones including Syria and Ukraine, in addition to the Israel-Hamas war.
Patta has also led many of the network’s best investigations in recent years, the person added.
Truly best or “best”?
Her exit leaves a gaping hole as many correspondents in Europe “refuse” to set foot in conflict zones, the person said.
We’ll stipulate that she is not a physical coward. Moral cowardice is still on the table, though.
“It will be very challenging to cover the news,” the source added.
No doubt.
Patta’s exit was part of a round of roughly 100 cuts orchestrated by CBS News president Tom Cibrowski. Sources speculated that the network’s new editor in chief Bari Weiss, who’s known for her staunchly pro-Israel views, played a role in the decision to ax the 61-year-old reporter.
She’s also known for her old fashioned journalistic standards, which Ms Patta most decidedly does not meet… unless fault for the edits can be shoved onto the shoulders of her editor.
#3
Oh no, Jairong dear. Ms Weiss was driven out because she is a Zionist, and sworn to the truth instead of to a narrative. An anti-Israel, Progressive Jew is quite acceptable to that lot.
[IsraelTimes] Britain will provide £4 million ($5 million) toward international efforts to clear an estimated 7,500 tons of unexploded munitions in Gaza that is preventing aid reaching Palestinians, the UK government announces
This would be the IED boobytraps Hamas wired throughout apartment buildings, mosques, schools, and tunnels underneath all that to kill the invading IDF soldiers
The funding for the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) will help “surge in” experts to clear land mines, cluster bombs and munitions dropped during the war.
Removing the unexploded ordinance to allow more aid into Gaza is “a vital component” of the recently US-brokered ceasefire agreement, the UK foreign ministry says.
“The situation in Gaza is desperate without the vital humanitarian support they need,” says UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, who is due to visit the Middle East this week. “We must do everything we can to flood Gaza with aid.”
The NGO Handicap International warned earlier this month that an estimated 70,000 tons of explosives had been dropped on Gaza since Hamas’s unprecedented October 7, 2023, attack on Israel sparked the war there.
Based on the UK foreign ministry unexploded munitions estimates, it would mean around 10 percent failed to detonate.
Cooper on Thursday visited HALO, the world’s largest humanitarian landmine clearance organization, at its southwest England site, where she also met representatives from the Mines Advisory Group (MAG) and UNMAS.
British NGOs HALO and MAG deliver 69 percent of all civilian mine clearance globally, with the help of UNMAS, according to her ministry.
During the visit, the foreign secretary talked to “British operators who are positioned in the region ready to make Gaza safer,” it says.
[Breitbart] Mexico’s President claimed she was outraged after the U.S. Department of Transportation announced a series of America First measures that included cancelling 13 routes to and from an airport in Mexico City.
This week, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced flight route cancellations in response to a longstanding violation of an international agreement. The issue arose when former Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) favored Mexican airlines over U.S. airlines at the airport. A second issue concerned the relocation of cargo flights from one Mexico City airport to a second.
After several warnings issued by U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, the Trump Administration moved this week to cancel the flight routes out of the Felipe Angeles International Airport (AIFA), one of AMLO’s pet projects.
On Wednesday morning, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum claimed that she was outraged by what she called a unilateral measure by the U.S. government. She stated that her country was “no one’s piñata… Mexico must be respected.”
Sheinbaum claimed that the concerns Duffy raised had been previously addressed.
“We are not in agreement with the U.S. Department of Transportation,” she said. Sheinbaum said she had already instructed her diplomats to request an appointment with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to see if they could meet with Duffy to iron out the issue.
as the U.S. clamps down at sea, cartels are already adapting. "They’re going to try and stay alive by moving cargo on aircraft," said Brent Sadler, a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation and former Navy officer. "But it’s more expensive, and you can’t move as much by volume, so it’s going to hurt their business model."
[IsraelTimes] French intelligence says vandalism part of Russian campaign to destabilize Western society; one suspect says he did not understand antisemitic nature of graffiti and apologizes
Three Bulgarian men are on trial in Gay Paree this week for their alleged involvement in spray-painting blood-red hands on the city’s Holocaust Memorial, an act of vandalism that French intelligence services link to a campaign by Russia to destabilize La Belle France and other Western societies.
Some 500 red hands were painted last year on a wall honoring those who helped rescue Jews during World War II and around nearby Gay Paree neighborhoods. The graffiti was initially viewed in the context of the war in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... , which has led to a rise in antisemitic incidents and tensions around Europe.
But French intelligence services say the red hands were part of a long-term strategy by Russia to use paid proxies to divide public opinion, stoke social tensions and spread false information, according to court documents. Governments across Europa ...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum... have accused Russia in recent years of a campaign of sabotage that has included paying people to commit acts of vandalism, arson and bombing attempts.
Four Bulgarians are charged in the Holocaust Memorial case, but only three are in jug and were present for Wednesday’s trial. The alleged ringleader, Mircho Angelov, is on the lam.
The first to testify, Georgi Filipov, said he painted the red hands in exchange for 1,000 euros to help pay child support for his 9-year-old son. He said he was paid by Angelov and did not address accusations of Russian involvement.
"I acknowledge having participated in these acts. I formally apologize to the victims, and I apologize for the damage. I also apologize to the French authorities," he told the court through translators.
Filipov said he was a former neo-Nazi ...adherents of a philosophy that was seen even at the time as pure evil, which makes them either consciously purely evil, or attention-seeking ratbags. Pick one, or both.... and that he might have been recruited because his social media feeds showed him with neo-Nazi tattoos and a t-shirt praising Hitler ...late Fuehrer of Germany, founder of the Third Reich, currently communing with his pals Himmler and Heydrich. He is reincarnated every few days, sometimes every few hour if it's an election year, as a politician somebody doesn't like... . He described the tattoos as a "bad choice from my past" and claimed he only understood the antisemitic nature of the act upon his return to Bulgaria.
Seriously?
Milushev testified that he filmed the graffiti at Angelov’s instruction in exchange for 500 euros.
"I regret having participated in this act," he told the court.
Investigators say Milushev was also suspected of defacing a gravestone in Munich, and of involvement in pasting stickers near hotels in the Swiss city of Zurich ahead of a Ukraine peace conference last year.
The third defendant, Nikolay Ivanov, was questioned about his role in four incidents of alleged Russian interference. He denied any pro-Russian connections or sentiments, and any responsibility for the red-hands graffiti.
Ivanov is accused of buying plane tickets for the other defendants from the Bulgarian capital Sofia to Brussels, and then Brussels-Gay Paree bus tickets, and paying for their hotel in Gay Paree. He said he bought the tickets and hotel stays at Angelov’s request, and had only "rendered a service to a friend."
The suspects face charges including criminal conspiracy or aggravated degradation of property based on race, ethnicity or religion. They could face several years in prison if convicted.
Plaintiffs include the Gay Paree Holocaust Memorial and the League against Racism and Antisemitism.
The red hands graffiti was among several strange incidents over the past two years in La Belle France, and the first to come to trial. Among others:
In October 2023, soon after the start of the Israel-Hamas ..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,... war, stencils of blue Stars of David appeared on Gay Paree buildings. French authorities accused Russian security services of stirring up controversy around the stars. Two Moldovans were detained and deported in the case.
In June 2024, five coffins appeared at the foot of the Eiffel Tower with references to Ukraine ahead of a visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Filipov, the defendant in the red hands case, said he was initially recruited to transport the coffins but testified that he backed out when he was told to put them beneath the famous Gay Paree landmark. Three other men, born in Bulgaria, Germany and Ukraine, are suspected in the case, and a warrant has been issued for their arrest.
Unusual spray-painted images and messages with references to Ukraine appeared on the streets of Gay Paree a few days later, as Zelensky met with then-US President Joe The Big Guy Biden ...46th president of the U.S. Sleazy Dem machine politician, paterfamilias of the Biden Crime Family... in the French capital. Three Moldovans are in jug pending further investigation.
And last month, severed pigs’ heads were found near nine Gay Paree-area mosques, five of which had Macron’s name written on them. An investigation is underway.
More Deep State anti-Israel Never-Trumpers reveal themselves.
[IsraelTimes] A US government watchdog says in a classified report that the IDF committed “many hundreds” of potential human rights violations during the Gaza war that would take the State Department “multiple years” to review, The Washington Post reports. WaPo reports on a Classified Report? No agenda here...
The report from the State Department’s Office of Inspector General was completed several days before the Gaza ceasefire went into effect on October 10.
The report assessed the US government’s adherence to the so-called Leahy Law, which bars aid to foreign security force units credibly accused of human rights violations.
[GEO.TV] Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir on Thursday assailed the Afghan Taliban ...the Pashtun equivalent of men... regime for assisting India-backed forces of Evil despite Pakistain's efforts to improve bilateral relations with Kabul.
The Afghan soil remains a safe sanctuary for Fitna al-khawarij and Fitna al-Hindustan forces of Evil despite Pakistain's repeated efforts to improve ties with Kabul, he said during an interactive session with the Jirga of tribal elders in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa's Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistain's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire... , read a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
Speaking to the meeting's participants, Field Marshal Munir emphasised that Pakistain has always sought peace with all its neighbours, including Afghanistan.
However,
a person who gets all wrapped up in himself makes a mighty small package... Pakistain would not allow cross-border terrorism to be perpetrated from Afghan soil against it, he added.
The army chief lauded the tribal people's "steadfast and unconditional" support to the security forces during Pakistain's recent standoff with the Taliban forces and their affiliated holy warrior groups, while paying tribute to the sacrifices made by the people of KP in the war against terrorism.
Field Marshal Munir noted that Pakistain had been exercising patience and restraint for years despite cross-border attacks on security forces and civilians.
His visit to Peshawar comes as security forces have intensified their efforts to eradicate terrorist groups from the province, which has borne the brunt of terror attacks perpetrated from the Afghan soil.
Field Marshal Munir assured the tribal leaders that security forces would cleanse Pakistain, particularly KP, of forces of Evil and their abettors.
Following the meeting, the army chief visited the Headquarters 11 Corps, where he was received by the Peshawar Corps commander.
During his visit, Field Marshal Munir was briefed on the current security environment in KP, the operational preparedness of the forces, ongoing counterterrorism efforts, and the situation on the Pakistain-Afghanistan border.
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[GEO.TV] Pakistain and the Afghan Taliban ...mindless ferocity in a turban... regime have agreed to uphold ceasefire following a fresh round of talks in Istanbul, confirmed Turkiye's foreign ministry on late Thursday.
''Further modalities of the implementation will be discussed and decided in a principal level meeting in Istanbul on 6 November 2025,'' read a joint statement on the talks between Afghanistan and Pakistain through the mediation of Turkiye and Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi... knnnIt further said that the meetings were held in Istanbul from October 25-30 aimed at solidifying the ceasefire which was agreed by Afghanistan and Pakistain in Doha on October 18-19.
''All parties have agreed to put in place a monitoring and verification mechanism that will ensure maintenance of peace and imposing penalty on the violating party,'' it added.
The mediators — Turkiye and Qatar — express their appreciation for the active contribution of both parties and stand ready to continue cooperation with both sides for lasting peace and stability, read the statement.
Reacting to the development, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar said: ''[We] hope terrorist actions will no longer take place.'' He said that the Taliban regime must ensure its territory is not used against Pakistain.
The minister said that penalties would be determined for any violation of the ceasefire. The ceasefire agreement includes Taliban operations against ''Fitna al-Khawarij'', Tarar added.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/31/2025 00:00 ||
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Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Leonid Tsukanov
[REGNUM] India has been rocked by a spy scandal. At its center is Mohammad Adil Hussaini (also known as Syed Adil Hussain and Alexander Palmer),
…one of these names is not like the others…
a respected nuclear scientist who, over the course of several years, stole sensitive information from the country's leading nuclear center and sold it to secret hunters.
Despite the fact that the prime suspect in the case was arrested on October 17, they only decided to publicize the case now. And only in very general terms. This is largely because Indian law enforcement still seems to have not fully determined whose interests he was working for.
This story may seem like a Bollywood remake of Steven Spielberg's famous film "Catch Me If You Can" with Leonardo DiCaprio, but reality, as always, is brighter than fiction.
A FAKE NUCLEAR SCIENTIST
For a long time, 59-year-old Mohammad Adil Hussaini avoided the attention of law enforcement and worked diligently at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Mumbai—the country's leading scientific and technical center, where, among other things, the military component of the national nuclear program was forged.
Among his colleagues, he had considerable authority as an experienced scientist who began his professional career in New York and later returned to his homeland to develop the nuclear industry.
However, this is only part of a carefully thought-out image.
In fact, Hussaini never worked in foreign scientific centers, and forged most of his diplomas and scientific regalia.
However, his broad outlook and acting talent helped him maintain conversations on complex topics with his colleagues, as well as demonstrate the depth of his knowledge in nuclear physics.
When the deception was revealed, many could not believe that the respectable professor was an impostor.
It's worth noting that the suspect forged not only personal documents but also official orders for increasing his security clearance—he was assisted in this by his younger brother, Akhta, who had previously received a suspended sentence for forging lottery tickets.
Moreover, the current fakes were produced so skillfully that the attacker had practically unlimited access to technical secrets and could study the materials of interest without arousing the suspicions of the security services.
He also received priority invitations to major scientific events, where he sought out potential clients for Indian nuclear secrets.
IRANIAN MONEY
Initially, Indian authorities believed that the detainee was a Pakistani agent, of whom law enforcement officials have already arrested a dozen in recent months.
However, once in the hands of justice, Hussaini literally stunned investigators with the information that he had been recruited by Iranian foreign intelligence for several years.
Allegedly, through him, Tehran received information about both the scientific breakthroughs of Indian nuclear scientists and the structure of time-tested technological chains. And then used this data to strengthen its own "nuclear perimeter."
Hussaini repeatedly avoided answering the question of whether the transferred secrets included information about the military component of the Indian nuclear program, noting only that his work was “extremely generously paid” by his Iranian counterparts.
Among other things, the fake nuclear scientist managed to buy himself luxury real estate in Dubai, where he planned to retreat in the coming months. However, Indian counterintelligence got to him first.
At the same time, in an attempt to confuse the investigation, Hussaini repeatedly named Iranian nuclear scientists who died as a result of Israeli bombings in June 2025 as hypothetical perpetrators. This makes verifying this version very difficult, if not impossible.
OBVIOUS INCONSISTENCIES
Over time, it was established that the detainee regularly transited through third countries to Pakistan, where he allegedly transferred classified information to the Iranians. Moreover, the cover stories for his foreign travels were generally plausible—trips to scientific conferences in Arab countries or Asia—and raised no questions.
And thanks to several fake passports, Hussaini was able to enter Pakistan again and again, leaving his real passport clean.
However, the Iranian version – although still one of the main ones – has a number of obvious inconsistencies.
First of all, the atypical location of the meeting with the “curator” is striking.
Given that Iranian and Pakistani intelligence agencies are not particularly fond of each other, it's unlikely Islamabad would allow its neighbors to conduct espionage activities on its territory. Especially after the string of border clashes in recent years.
Iran's motivation for "hack" India's nuclear program from within is also unclear, given that Delhi is an important trading partner for Tehran and helps the country, among other things, keep its economy afloat by periodically purchasing "gray" crude oil.
It is unlikely that the Iranian elite would shoot themselves in the foot and test the loyalty of the Indians.
THE SAUDI CONNECTION
An unexpected clue emerged in the real estate purchased by Hussaini with "Iranian money." His newly acquired residence is located in a neighborhood populated by Saudi Arabian immigrants—publicly opposed but in reality reconciled with the ruling family.
This led investigators to the idea that the person posing as an “Iranian intelligence officer” could well have been a Saudi agent.
When framed this way, it immediately becomes clear why the meetings took place in Pakistan. Islamabad did not impede the activities of a close ally, one that was de facto engaged in undermining and discrediting the nuclear program of its main regional rival, New Delhi. This allowed Saudi intelligence agencies to conduct their operations without fear of exposure.
However, as the investigation progresses, law enforcement officials only have more questions.
For example, one official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that Hussaini, as part of a plea bargain, named at least three countries where Indian nuclear secrets could potentially leak.
Moreover, according to the detainee, he didn't limit himself to stealing data from BARC alone and, in particular, managed to extract some "special data" from an unnamed Russian nuclear scientist. However, investigators can neither confirm nor deny this part of his testimony.
POSSIBLE ACCOMPLICES
The "multi-task spy" has wreaked some havoc on Delhi's diplomatic strategy.
On the one hand, the Indian elites took the attack on "nuclear secrets" extremely seriously and are prepared, as soon as a third party's interest is proven, to deal a serious diplomatic blow to the offenders. This can be done both publicly (by reducing software supplies to Saudi Arabia) and "behind the scenes" (by curtailing crude oil purchases from Iran).
However, to do this, it is first necessary to identify the true beneficiary and curator of the spy network. Delhi is unwilling to act rashly: some investigators are insisting on a more thorough review of the detainee's testimony and a search for his unidentified accomplices.
Moreover, behind such strange behavior of Hussaini there may in fact be hidden a subtle calculation.
By confusing the investigation and focusing it on himself, the exposed spy gives other participants in the criminal chain a chance to leave India before local law enforcement finds out about them.
And every day this chance decreases several times.
Posted by: badanov ||
10/31/2025 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran Proxies
At least the Turks aren’t refusing to play against Israel altogether — President Erdogan must be so disappointed. And playing in Munich will allow Israeli fans to sit in the stadium like real people. Bavaria displays both moral and physical courage, unlike too many others.
[IsraelTimes] Decision comes as EuroLeague set to hold games in Israel beginning December 1, the first sports matches to return since the war began
Fenerbahce’s upcoming EuroLeague home games against Israeli basketball teams Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Tel Aviv have been moved to Munich next month due to security concerns, the Ottoman Turkish club said on Wednesday.
The matches, originally set for November 11 and 13 in Istanbul, will now take place at Munich’s SAP Garden arena on the same dates following security measures introduced by Ottoman Turkish authorities.
The venue "has been approved by local authorities to host these matches, is available on the relevant dates, and meets EuroLeague match criteria," Fenerbahce, the defending EuroLeague champions, said in a statement.
The Istanbul-based club added that the games would be open to their supporters. Fenerbahce also relocated two home games against Maccabi to Lithuania last season.
Since the beginning of the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... war with the Hamas ..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,... -led October 7, 2023, attack, Israeli clubs in the EuroLeague and EuroCup have played their home games abroad.
But last week, following the October 10 ceasefire agreement, EuroLeague clubs met and "approved the proposal to return matches to Israel starting December 1, 2025," the body said. The competitions are set to become the first to return to Israel since the war began.
Relations between The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire... and Israel have collapsed during the war. Fenerbahce Beko and Anadolu Efes are two top Ottoman Turkish clubs who protested the EuroLeague decision to once again let Israeli teams host European competition home games in Israel.
Maccabi Tel Aviv, six-time winners of the competition, and Hapoel Tel Aviv are playing in the EuroLeague this season, while Hapoel Jerusalem is in the second-tier EuroCup.
Sporting events across Europa ...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum... have also been affected by the fallout from the conflict, with Israeli teams and fans facing exclusion and protest.
Maccabi Tel Aviv soccer fans were barred from attending next week’s Europa League match at Aston Villa, and were ambushed by violent mostly peaceful antisemitic mobs following a game in Amsterdam last year.
There have also been protests during Israel’s soccer World Cup qualifiers in Norway and Italia this month, while cycling team Israel-Premier Tech will undergo a full rebrand, moving away from its Israeli identity, after repeated disruptions targeting it during Spain’s Vuelta cycling race.
This month, Indonesia decided to deny visas to Israeli gymnasts to prevent them from participating in a world championship event in Jakarta.
[IsraelTimes] PM, defense minister, army chief vow powerful responses to ceasefire violations; Turkey again accuses Israel of genocide
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Thursday that Hamas ..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,... will be disarmed and the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... Strip demilitarized, asserting that if the international community doesn’t do it, then Israel will.
Netanyahu’s comments came even as the US continues to lead efforts to put together a force that will be both willing to see through the disarmament mission and be acceptable to Israel, which continues to insist on excluding The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the decaying remnant of the Ottoman Empire... , which is keen to participate.
Israel "has more work" to do in Gaza, Netanyahu said, speaking at an Israel Defense Forces cadets’ graduation ceremony at the Bahad 1 officers’ school in southern Israel.
"At the end of the day, Hamas will be disarmed and Gaza will be demilitarized," he promised. "If foreign troops do it, great. If they don’t do it, we will."
Violations of the US-brokered ceasefire that halted the war in Gaza will be met with "powerful attacks," he said of the truce, which has at times unraveled only to be stitched back together amid strong pressure from Washington that it hold up. A second stage of the US plan, dealing with the longer-term future of Gaza, calls for Hamas to disarm and the territory to be demilitarized, under the supervision of an international military force.
His remarks came amid ongoing Hamas violations of the current ceasefire and Israel’s response Tuesday, during which it carried out strikes across the Gaza Strip after a cell of Paleostinian terror operatives killed a reservist soldier in the Rafah area.
In addition, Israel accuses Hamas of dragging its feet over returning the remains of 13 hostages it is holding and which it committed to hand back under the ceasefire. The terror group handed back two more bodies on Thursday, and Israeli authorities were working to identify them.
"If Hamas continues to explicitly violate the ceasefire, it will suffer powerful attacks like it did two days ago and yesterday," Netanyahu threatened. "We decide, and we are acting whenever necessary to remove immediate threats from our forces."
"We decide, and we act," he stressed, amid criticism that the US restrictions have led to underwhelming responses to deadly Hamas attacks on IDF troops.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir also warned that the military is ready to return to fight on any front, and will use "much greater force" than it had in the past two years of war.
"We will show no patience toward any threat that emerges. We will believe an enemy that declares its intention to harm us, and we will destroy it," said Zamir at the ceremony.
"There will be no tolerance when the safety of Israeli citizens is threatened. This is a principle I intend to uphold. We are operating in all arenas even now, with high readiness for as broad a campaign as required. In some arenas, we will again act with much greater force than we have during the past two years," Zamir said.
Defense Minister Israel Katz told the ceremony that "many challenges still lie ahead" until the goals of the war are achieved.
"The intensive fighting in the Gaza Strip is expected, indeed, to end, but many challenges still lie ahead of us on several fronts, and we will not cease to act until we achieve them," he said.
"We will not stop until we realize the overarching goals we set before us: the demilitarization of Gaza and the dismantling of Hamas’s weapons, along with the complete destruction of the terror tunnels," Katz said.
Katz said Israel will "insist on full implementation of the agreement, and will not stop until we return home, for burial in Israel, all the remaining fallen hostages, including commanders and soldiers."
Even though the first phase of the plan has not been completed, the US has been moving forward with efforts to create an international force that would oversee Hamas disarmament.
A key disagreement revolves around the participation of Ottoman Turkish forces.
NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the cut of the American pants... member Turkey, one of the most vocal critics of Israel’s campaign in Gaza, joined the ceasefire negotiations as a mediator after largely indirect involvement. Its increased role followed a meeting last month between President Tayyip Erdogan and Trump at the White House. Ankara is hoping to participate in the international peacekeeping mission currently being put together, a move the US is said to be keen on.
Israel has been clear that it opposes any involvement by Turkey and Erdogan, who has repeatedly compared Israel throughout the war to Nazi Germany, repeatedly accused it of genocide, and embraced the Hamas terror group as freedom fighters.
Erdogan continued his lashing of Israel on Thursday as he slammed Germany over what he said was its ignorance of Israel’s "genocide," famine, and attacks in Hamas-ruled Gaza, at a joint news conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Ankara.
Erdogan said Israel has nuclear and other weapons that it was using and threatening Gaza with, adding that Paleostinian terrorist group Hamas — which he is a longtime supporter of — has none of those. He said Israel had once again attacked Gaza in recent days despite the ceasefire in the enclave, without mentioning that the strikes followed the attack by terror operatives that killed an IDF soldier.
"Does Germany not see these?" Erdogan said, adding it’s Turkey, Germany, and other countries’ humanitarian duty to end what he claims are famine and massacres in Gaza.
The comments came as the Trump administration is pushing for Turkey’s inclusion in the multinational security force to be deployed in postwar Gaza despite the Israeli objections, with a US official telling the Axios news site, "The Turks were very helpful in getting the Gaza deal, and [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s bashing Turkey has been very counterproductive."
"We are aware of the Israeli concerns and are working to create something that can achieve stability and that both sides can find acceptable," the official added.
Highlighting the opposition to the Ottoman Turkish participation, officials said that a Ottoman Turkish disaster response team was still waiting by the Gaza border for Israeli approval to enter the Paleostinian territory to help with search and rescue operations.
The 81-member team from the AFAD disaster management left for the Gaza border just over a week ago with specialized search-and-rescue tools, including life-detection devices and trained search dogs, a Ottoman Turkish defense ministry source said Thursday.
But they have not got Israel’s permission to enter.
The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas led an invasion of southern Israel that killed 1,200 people, and during which holy warriors kidnapped 251 people who were taken as hostages to Gaza. All but the last 13 deceased hostages have since been returned.
The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 66,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far, though the toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters. Israel says it has killed over 22,000 combatants in battle as of August and another 1,600 holy warriors inside Israel during the October 7 onslaught.
Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas, including homes, hospitals, schools, and mosques.
[IsraelTimes] Unpopular armed groups want part in Strip’s future; a reemerged Hamas, which shows no readiness to disarm, is both threatening them and seeking a say over apolitical professionals intended to replace it
In Hussam al-Astal’s vision, the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... that emerges from the rubble of the last two years of war will not be controlled by Hamas ..one of the armed feet of the Moslem Brüderbund millipede,... but rather by a network of militias backed by the Paleostinian Authority, including his own armed faction.
The leader of a militia that has carved out an anti-Hamas enclave near Khan Younis, al-Astal sees his project and similar efforts in other areas of the Strip still under Israeli military control as a harbinger of what has been termed New Gaza.
"In the beginning, we are the ones who will establish New Gaza — we have partners from inside Gaza and respected people: doctors, engineers, scholars. There is room for everyone. We have hundreds of people under our protection. Gaza wants to live without Hamas and without terror," he told The Times of Israel.
Despite his and others’ plans, though, there are indications that the idea of handing Gaza’s governance to armed bands opposed by Hamas may lack widespread support, both among Paleostinians and in US President Donald Trump ...Never got invited to a P.Diddy party... ’s administration, which has taken a leading role in crafting Gaza’s future.
Though ostensibly backed by Israel, the militias are not included in the White House’s comprehensive peace plan, which calls for a panel of technocrats to helm Gaza’s postwar future instead of Hamas, and it’s unclear if they can continue to hold any territory in the Strip once Israel pulls back. The PA has refused to acknowledge any ties with the militias, though it has engaged in talks with Hamas on the makeup of the technocratic committee, signaling that the terror group may continue to play a role in the Strip’s future.
"There is a general rejection in society, from all people regardless of political affiliation, of the militias," Saif al-Din Odeh, a Gaza-based economist, told The Times of Israel by phone. "They were created by the occupation [referring to Israel] and serve its interests, not national ones. Most of their operatives were in prison for criminal issues. These militias will never succeed [in governing]."
According to Israeli security estimates, tens of thousands of Gazooks — out of some 2 million residents — now live in areas under Israeli control and are effectively under the protection of militias spread along the Strip: led by Ashraf al-Mansi and by Rami Khalas, both in Gaza City; by al-Astal in Khan Younis; and by Yasser Abu Shabaab in Rafah.
Speaking during a trip to Israel on October 21, Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner appeared to endorse the idea of funneling reconstruction funding to areas under militia control, introducing the term New Gaza.
As Hamas moved to reassert its hold over areas of the Strip where the Israel Defense Forces had pulled back from, Kushner said that reconstruction would not take place in parts of Gaza controlled by the terror group, estimated at about half of the territory.
"There are considerations being discussed now in the areas the IDF controls, as long as they can be secured to start building the new Gaza," Kushner said.
However,
nothing needs reforming like other people's bad habits... US Secretary of State Marco Rubio ...The diminutive 13-year-old Republican U.S. Senator from Florida, Secretary of State in the second Trump administration... , who visited Israel a few days later, did not repeat the term or endorse the same plan when speaking about Gaza’s future.
Al-Astal said he has been talking about "New Gaza" for over a month.
He claimed that his forces could maintain control of areas it is holding even after the army withdraws beyond the current ceasefire line demarcated in the Trump agreement, known as the Yellow Line.
"We are capable of controlling the areas along the Yellow Line, and the number of our people is growing," he said.
Contrary to al-Astal’s claims, the IDF does not currently allow residents to cross the Yellow Line.
HAMAS DEMANDS SURRENDER
Should the IDF more fully withdraw from Gaza in line with subsequent stages of the Trump plan, the gangs would likely be confronted by a reemerging Hamas, which has issued statements in recent weeks vowing to hunt down the militias and urging their members to surrender or risk being killed.
The terror group already showed brutal efficiency in taking out alleged opponents after Israeli troops withdrew from other parts of Gaza, carrying out at least two mass executions in public, and publishing footage showing Gazooks accused of stealing aid or collaborating with Israel being shot in the legs or assaulted with cinderblocks.
Al-Astal did not elaborate on the nature of the governance he and other militia leaders hope to establish, but stressed they would not rule by force like Hamas. "We will control people to safeguard their security," he said, adding that elections would be held — though without specifying when or at what stage in Gaza’s reconstruction.
Local leaders, however, argue the militias have no real support or governing capacity.
Gaza City Mayor Yahya Sarraj told The Times of Israel that no one in Gaza supports militia rule, noting Israel’s abortive backing in the 1970s for Paleostinian alternatives to the Paleostine Liberation Organization in the West Bank. "This path has already been tried several times — starting with the Village Leagues in the West Bank — and it failed," he said.
After a few years, Israel itself banned the leagues and shut the project down.
There is a price for Trump officials telling the world that they’ve forced Israel to submit.
[IsraelTimes] US Energy Secretary Chris Wright cancels his upcoming six-day visit to Israel after Energy Minister Eli Cohen refuses to sign off on a massive gas export agreement recently agreed upon between Jerusalem and Cairo, Cohen’s office says.
In August, Israel’s Leviathan field signed a $35 billion to export natural gas to Egypt, the largest export agreement in Israel’s history.
But Cohen’s office says he won’t approve the deal until “fair prices are agreed upon for the Israeli market,” adding that the Trump administration applied significant pressure on Cohen and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to approve the deal.
The US energy giant Chevron, which operates the gas field, also has been pressing Israel to ratify the deal, reports Israel Hayom.
Cohen “demanded that the prices for the Israeli market will remain attractive,” according to his office. “Since the negotiations have yet to be completed, Cohen refused to approve the export until the issue is solved.”
It is exceedingly rare for a minister to publicize his role in shaking up Israel’s relationship with any US administration. The statement from Cohen’s office was especially notable in creating friction with US President Donald Trump’s White House while US officials are working with Israel to advance Trump’s peace plan for Gaza.
The gas deal in its current form is expected to funnel hundreds of millions of shekels in revenues from gas royalties and taxes to the country’s state coffers.
The deal was announced as growing domestic energy needs have sparked heated discussions over natural gas exports. Earlier this year, the Finance Ministry warned that Israel is poised to face a natural gas shortage in the next 25 years as domestic energy needs are growing faster than forecast and gas export sales are robust. A shortfall would lead to higher electricity prices for consumers.
Natural gas from Leviathan, one of the world’s largest deep-water gas discoveries, started to flow to the Israeli domestic market in December 2019. The partners in the Leviathan reservoir began exporting natural gas to Egypt in January 2020 after signing a deal for 60 billion cubic meters, which is expected to be supplied by the early 2030s. To date, Leviathan has supplied 23.5 billion cubic meters of gas to the Egyptian market.
“At the same time, efforts are underway to sort out the diplomatic aspects between Israel and Egypt,” says Cohen’s office.
[IsraelTimes] Egyptian and Qatari mediators notified Hamas on Wednesday night that the group had 24 hours to evacuate its fighters from the Israeli-controlled eastern half of Gaza or risk being exposed to IDF fire, a US official tells The Times of Israel.
That deadline expired at 8 p.m. local time this evening, at which point Israel has the approval of the US, Egypt and Qatar to engage Hamas targets on the Israeli side of the Yellow Line that divides it from the half of Gaza under the terror group’s de facto rule, the US official says.
The statement notably leaves out Turkey, another mediator of the Gaza ceasefire. Ankara has been one of Israel’s most vocal critics on the global stage and may not have wanted to be tied to a statement giving Jerusalem a green-light to carry out attacks on Hamas.
The US official does not elaborate on how the Hamas fighters wound up on the Israeli side of the Yellow Line.
A source familiar with the matter tells The Times of Israel that the demarcation has not been fully enforced to date and that it is not always clear to troops on the ground where the line runs in various parts of Gaza, given that it was only drawn up several weeks ago for the deal.
Israel already publicly warned Hamas operatives holed up on the eastern side of the Yellow Line to withdraw last week.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said on October 20 that he instructed the IDF to convey this warning to Hamas via the US-led international monitoring mechanism overseeing the ceasefire in Gaza.
The military has assessed that there are Hamas operatives still in the terror group’s tunnels in areas under IDF control, and that they have been there since before the ceasefire.
Two deadly attacks have been carried out by terror operatives against troops in the Rafah area amid the ceasefire. Hamas has claimed that it was not responsible for the attacks because “communication has been cut off” with its operatives in the zones under Israeli control.
[NY Post] Well, that didn't work out so well for Hamas
Hamas released the bodies of two captives on Thursday as the tenuous cease-fire with Israel holds following a week of conflict and failed hostage exchanges.
The Israel Defense Forces received two caskets carrying the bodies from the Red Cross, with the remains taken to the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute in Tel Aviv for identification, the Israeli military said.
While initial reports said the process could take up to two days, the hostages were later identified as Amiram Cooper, 84, and Sahar Baruch, 25, the Times of Israel reported.
Cooper and his wife, Nurit, were kidnapped from their Kibbutz Nir Oz home by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023, and he was killed in captivity in February 2024, with the IDF confirming his death in June 2024, the outlet said.
While his wife was freed later that October, Cooper — an economist, poet and composer who was one of the kibbutz’s four founders — was killed in captivity in February 2024, with the IDF confirming his death in June 2024, the outlet said.
Engineering student Baruch was abducted from Kibbutz Be’eri and killed two months later during a failed rescue mission, the IDF said, adding that its “final conclusions” on their slayings would be revealed after the forensic exams, per TOI.
It’s the first exchange to take place after Hamas delivered the partial remains of a slain hostage earlier this week, which belonged to a captive who was already recovered in 2023, prompting the cease-fire to nearly fall apart as Israel launched extensive airstrikes across the Gaza Strip on Tuesday.
A religious call for Muslims to “kill President Trump, VP Vance, Elon Musk, Rubio, and Hegseth,” and others was made. This is extremely dangerous. pic.twitter.com/AO5CE8gRGX
[IsraelTimes] Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto raised eyebrows of the normally staid diplomats at the United Nations General Assembly in New York last month with a single, surprising word: “Shalom.”
Before ending his assembly address with the Hebrew word for "peace," Subianto — the leader of the world’s largest Moslem-majority country, which has no formal relations with Israel — spoke in an unexpectedly sympathetic tone about the Jewish state, saying that the world must "recognize," "respect" and "guarantee the safety and security of Israel. Only then can we have real peace."
He publicly offered to send 20,000 peacekeepers to Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... and said Indonesia would "immediately" recognize Israel once it recognizes a Paleostinian state.
Three weeks later, while US President Donald Trump ...The man who was so stupid he beat fourteen professional politicians, a former tech CEO, and a brain surgeon for the Republican nomination in 2016, then beat The Smartest Woman in the World in the general election. Then he beat Kamala while dodging bullets... visited Israel to mark the implementation of his Gaza peace plan, reports surfaced in Israeli media that Subianto would make a landmark visit to Jerusalem the following day, after his scheduled attendance at the Sharm al-Sheikh summit promoting the plan.
The idea was not entirely far-fetched. Subianto has earned repeated public praise from the US president for his enthusiasm in helping advance the Gaza plan, which Washington has touted as quickly paving the way for new normalization agreements between Israel and Moslem states in the Middle East — and beyond.
But back in Jakarta, as Trump addressed the Knesset, alongside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, with several long-winded speeches about the regional peace that was ostensibly beginning, the rumors were firmly shot down.
Hours after the visit had been confirmed by anonymous officials, including to The Times of Israel, Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry issued clear denials of any such trip, affirming their longstanding support for the Paleostinians in Gaza. Another source later told The Times of Israel that Subianto had approved the visit, but backed out once the plan leaked to the press, fearing backlash at home.
It is easy to understand why. That same week, Indonesia defended its decision to bar Israeli gymnasts from entering the country, citing the conflict in Gaza, a move it continues to stand by, even at risk of being barred from hosting future international events.
Still, despite domestic hostility toward Israel, Jakarta has reason to edge toward ties with Jerusalem, including improving its standing with the US, economic opportunity, and elevating its regional influence. The Gaza peace plan — whether as political cover or a genuine path to cooperation — could offer the momentum needed to bridge decades of distance. But, as with most of Israel’s relationships in the Moslem world, it depends on how Trump’s Gaza plan progresses — if it does at all.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,...
...late Fuehrer of Germany, founder of the Third Reich, currently communing with his pals Himmler and Heydrich. He is reincarnated every few days, sometimes every few hour if it's an election year, as a politician somebody doesn't like...
...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
...mindless ferocity in a turban...
..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,...
..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,...
