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An Iranian attempt to capture an unmanned surface vessel operated by the US 5th Fleet in the Persian Gulf was thwarted by the US Navy, according to a statement on Tuesday.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) reportedly seized an American sea drone in Gulf waters and tried to tow it away. However, they only let go of the unstaffed vessel when a US Navy warship and helicopter approached.
While the interception concluded without incident, tensions remain high between Washington and Tehran as negotiations over Iran’s fraying nuclear deal with Western powers linger.
Last week, Prime Minister Yair Lapid cautioned that in the latest offer, “there are new elements that go beyond the limits of the original JCPOA, and that it will pave the way for significant investment to flow into Iran’s terrorist network and to strengthening the Iranian military.”
Last April an Iranian ship called the MV Saviz, believed to be a covert base for the IRGC and anchored in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen, was targeted in an attack suspected to have been carried out by Israel. It escalated an ongoing shadow war in the Mideast between the two countries, ranging from strikes in Syria, assaults on ships, and attacks on Iran’s nuclear program.
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Mikhail Gorbachev, the Soviet leader whose reforms, including allowing massive numbers of Jews to emigrate to Israel, changed his country and the world, has died at the age of 91.
“Michail Gorbachev has died,” Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, Moscow’s chief rabbi from 1993 until this year, said Tuesday on Twitter. “3 million Soviet Jews owe him their freedom.”
Mikhail Gorbachev was one of the 20th century's most extraordinary figures. He was a brave and visionary leader, who shaped our world in ways previously thought unimaginable. I was proud to meet him during his 1992 visit to Israel. Heartfelt condolences to his family and friends.
— יצחק הרצוג Isaac Herzog (@Isaac_Herzog) August 31, 2022
Gorbachev rose to power in 1985. By 1987, the number of Jews emigrating began rising precipitously, reaching 185,000 in 1990.
At the same time, Gorbachev oversaw an end to restrictions on religious worship and most dramatically, opened the gates for the most famous of refuseniks and so-called “Prisoners of Zion” — those who had been imprisoned for their Zionist activity — including Natan Sharansky, Ida Nudel and Yosef Begun.
In a statement delivered in 1991 at Babyn Yar, the killing field in Ukraine where Nazis launched the final solution seeking the annihilation of Jews, Gorbachev condemned all forms of antisemitism.
He resigned after a failed coup in December 1991 that sought his ouster. Gorbachev received a hero’s welcome in 1992 when he visited Israel.
While in Israel, he delivered a nuanced assessment of the antisemitism that had plagued his country. Antisemitism, he said, was “officially denied in policy but encouraged in practice.”
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The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) revealed the identities of two civilians who allowed the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorist group to launch rockets from their private property that fell within the Gaza Strip during Operation Breaking Dawn.
On August 7, a rocket was fired from a plot of land belonging to the Gaza City municipality, headed by Yahya Saraj, and fell next to a clinic in Jabalia, killing two Palestinians.
“He chose to care more for the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization than the residents of the city that he heads, and took advantage of the civil arena that belongs to the residents of the city in order to carry out terrorism – thus harming his citizens directly,” said the IDF.
Another rocket that fell within the Gaza Strip was fired from property belonging to Bakr Hamadan Imran Shamalh, whose brother is in the PIJ’s naval force. The rocket fired from the property hit a civilian building in Gaza City.
PIJ Rocket Misfires, Lands in Gaza Neighborhood During Live Mayadeen TV Broadcast – Reporter Claims It Was Launched Towards the Sea, Asks Cameraman to Turn Camera Away pic.twitter.com/S9GwFmSs6L
— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) August 8, 2022
“The family of Hamadan Imran Shamalh took an active part in the operation of terrorism while allowing the shooting from their home and thus harming Gaza’s civilian space as well,” the IDF said.
The Israeli military stated shortly after Operation Breaking Dawn that more civilians were killed by Palestinian Islamic Jihad rockets than by Israeli strikes, as a large number of the rockets fell within the Strip.
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After four years of political turbulence, Italy is once again heading for a general election this September. If polls are correct, the Right is expected to regain power for the first time in more than a decade.
The Right-Center alliance includes the Brothers of Italy (Fratelli d’Italia) Party led by Giorgia Meloni, the right-wing populist party Lega led by Matteo Salvini, and Forza Italia led by former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and his Christian-Democratic backers.
Salvini, a former deputy prime minister of Italy who is considered very pro-Israel, is expected to have a senior role in a right-wing government.
In a recent interview with Israel Hayom, Salvini promised to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
“Absolutely yes, even if I reinstate that the coalition is center-Right. I gave my word, I am fully committed with the people of Israel and I intend to keep my word,” was Salvini’s response when asked if he would honor a pledge to move Italy’s embassy to Jerusalem.
Recommended Reading
- What’s in the New Iran Deal, and What’s Holding It Up? (Ron Kampeas, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
- Covering Up an Attack on Jewish Worshippers (Stephen M. Flatow, Jewish News Syndicate)
- Zionism Won. So Why Is It Still Under Attack 125 Years After Basel? (Jonathan S. Tobin, Algemeiner)
- Israeli Researchers Create Nanodiamonds Used for Medical Treatment (i24NEWS)
- 5 Ways to Tour Israel in Miniature (Abigail Klein Leichman, Israel21C)
Featured Image: Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
