Prabowo Subianto, speaking with French President Emmanuel Macron in Jakarta, stressed ensuring Israel's security alongside Palestinian independence. Macron endorsed efforts toward a Palestinian state.

Indonesia, which does not currently recognize Israel, could see a major foreign policy change under Prabowo Subianto's leadership.

Prabowo made the comments alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, who reiterated his support for a two-state resolution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict during a speech in Indonesia, just days after Israel Hayom revealed France could recognize "Palestine" as early as June, when it convenes a conference on the current conflict.

According to Reuters, Macron is increasingly inclined to recognize a Palestinian state, a step that could strain relations with Israel and highlight divisions among Western allies. Macron has been highly critical of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in recent days over his prosecution of the Gaza war. What the government of Benjamin Netanyahu is doing is unacceptable… There is no water, no medicine, the wounded cannot get out, the doctors cannot get in. What he is doing is shameful," Macron told TF1, triggering an angry response from Israel, which accused him of siding with Hamas.

Reuters noted that Macron emphasized, "Only a political solution will make it possible to restore peace and build for the long term." Macron's conference, in collaboration with Saudi Arabia, will be a Gaza-focused event in New York to advance recognition of both a Palestinian state and Israel's right to peace and security.

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British-Australian actress Emma Watson was criticized by Israeli lawmakers this week for publishing an Instagram post that seems to support the Palestinian struggle.

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On Monday, Watson shared an earlier post by the badactivistcollective Instagram channel which posted a photo of the Chicago Coalition for Justice in Palestine protest that took place on May 12, 2021 with the words "Solidarity is a verb" on top.

The caption quoted Sarah Ahmed, a feminist scholar, "Solidarity does not assume that our struggles are the same struggles, or that our pain is the same pain, or that our hope is for the same future. Solidarity involves commitment, and work, as well as the recognition that even if we do not have the same feelings, or the same lives, or the same bodies, we do live on common ground."

10 points from Gryffindor for being an antisemite.@EmmaWatson pic.twitter.com/Qaqkx36JSg

— Ambassador Danny Danon | דני דנון (@dannydanon) January 3, 2022

Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan was quick to react, slamming the Harry Potter actress in a tweet.

"Fiction may work in Harry Potter but it does not work in reality. If it did, the magic used in the wizarding world could eliminate the evils of Hamas (which oppresses women & seeks the annihilation of Israel) and the PA (which supports terror). I would be in favor of that!" Erdan wrote, attaching a screenshot of Watson's Instagram post.

Danny Danon, former Israeli ambassador to the UN and currently chairman of the World Likud, wrote on Twitter, "10 points from Gryffindor for being an antisemite," referencing the house points that were awarded to students in the Harry Potter franchise for good deeds and correct answers in class.

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Family members of Border Police officer Barel Hadaria Shmueli, who was fatally shot and wounded by a Palestinian terrorist along the Israel-Gaza border on August 21, are demanding a commission of inquiry into his death.

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A letter was sent to IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi, as well as other senior military officials, by attorney Ran Cohen Rochberger, who represents the family.

It said, among other things, that the IDF failed to properly prepare for dispersing the violent Palestinian rioters, used insufficient means and stationed soldiers along openings in the barrier, despite the obvious dangers.

Amateur video from the Palestinian side taken during the rioting showed a protester running up to the concrete barrier and firing a pistol into a hole reportedly used by Shmueli. He succumbed to his wounds at Soroka Medical Hospital on Monday afternoon.

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Israel will not hesitate to launch another campaign in Gaza if tensions on the border continue to escalate, Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi said Monday.

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"As soon as Operation Guardian of the Walls ended, the IDF began to prepare for another campaign," he said. "We have improved and continue to improve our warfare capabilities as well as operational plans in the Strip. Unless calm is maintained in the south – we will not hesitate to launch another campaign."

The Israel-Gaza border has seen weeks of unrest, with Palestinian protesters burning tires and throwing explosives at IDF troops. On Aug. 21, one Palestinian terrorist fatally shot Israeli Border Police officer Barel Hadaria Shmueli. After fighting for his life at Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba for several days, Shmueli succumbed to his wounds on Monday afternoon.

Defense Minister Benny Gantz also said the possibility of another war with Hamas was on the table.

"Our attacks in Gaza are focused in a way that they target Hamas, depriving it of its capabilities. I cannot guarantee that Operation Guardian of the Walls will not resume," he told reporters.

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Hundreds of Palestinian protesters gathered Sunday night along the Gaza Strip-Israel border, setting tires on fire and throwing explosive devices, as Hamas pressed ahead with a campaign aimed at pressuring Israel to ease restriction on the territory.

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It was the second consecutive night of border protest. Hamas officials said demonstrations would be held nightly this week. Operatives had launched a series of incendiary balloons across the border in recent weeks, sparking a series of wildfires in southern Israel.

To disperse the crowds, the Israel Defense forces responded with non-lethal dispersal weapons, like tear gas and stun grenades. One protester was said to be injured moderately during the demonstration.

Israel has restricted the movement of funds and people in and out of Gaza to prevent Hamas from building up its military capabilities after the 11-day war in May. Twelve civilians, including two children, were killed in Israel, along with one soldier.

Egypt has been trying to broker a long-term ceasefire between the two. Israel demands that Hamas return the remains of two IDF soldiers and release two captive Israeli civilians in exchange for easing the restrictions.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, speaking before returning to Israel from Washington, said the pressure on Hamas would continue.

"We will operate in Gaza according to our interests," he said.

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An organization representing more than 10,000 alumni around the United States has denounced a recent antisemitic and anti-Israel statement by Rutgers University's Students for Justice in Palestine and the group Rutgers Mutual Aid, a group of Rutgers students and alumni.

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Alums for Campus Fairness sent a letter to Rutgers University president Jonathan Holloway via email on Tuesday denouncing the statement and SJP's "history of making Jewish and pro-Israel students feel unsafe through intimidation, violence and veiled antisemitism."

"We see the purpose of this recent statement is to isolate Rutgers Hillel for embracing Zionism as a central part of Jewish identity," ACF wrote in the letter. "While SJP brands itself as a progressive human-rights organization, its actual impact is to undermine any hope for peace, justice and human rights in the Middle East by delegitimizing, demonizing and applying double standards to Israel."

SJP and Rutgers Mutual Aid released a statement on July 26 that called Zionism one of the "real threats to Jewish safety today," attacked Rutgers' support of "apartheid Israel" and criticized Hillel's support of Israel. The statement also argued that Zionism "purposely ties all Jews to the Israeli regime and, by extension, its crimes."

The groups concluded their statement by calling on the university to condemn "all attempts to falsely conflate anti-Zionism with antisemitism."

ACF has now asked Rutgers to investigate and recognize SJP's "growing culture of intimidation and discrimination"; adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism; and meet with Jewish and pro-Israel community members to "understand challenges and discuss ways to improve the campus climate for the betterment of Jewish students."

To date, the letter has been signed by more than 400 alumni and community members.

ACF said that SJP's "history of activism often goes far beyond legitimate criticism of Israel, descending into outright antisemitism."

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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In an unprecedented report, the Human Rights Watch accused Hamas Thursday of committing war crimes during an 11-day conflict with Israel in May by firing thousands of rockets toward populated areas in Isarel .

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The watchdog, which has a long-standing history of criticizing Israel, also concluded that a misfired rocket launched by Hamas killed seven Palestinians when it landed in the Gaza Strip.

The New York-based rights group has repeatedly come under fire by Israel and its supporters over reports accusing Israel of war crimes against the Palestinians as well as of "apartheid" and persecution. But in its latest report, it agreed with most legal experts – and Israel itself – that rocket fire from Palestinian population centers directed at Israeli civilian areas is a violation of international law.

"Palestinian armed groups during the May fighting flagrantly violated the laws-of-war prohibition on indiscriminate attacks by launching thousands of unguided rockets towards Israeli cities," said Eric Goldstein, acting executive director of the group's Middle East and North Africa division.

The watchdog based its conclusions on an investigation into Hamas rocket attacks that killed 12 civilians in Israel, including two children and one soldier.

The war erupted on May 10 after Hamas fired a barrage of rockets toward Israel in support of Palestinian protests at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and the Sheikh Jarrah eviction dispute.

Israel has said it struck over 1,000 targets in the Gaza Strip during the fighting, while Hamas launched more than 4,300 rockets and mortar rounds at Israel, including barrages directed at major population centers around Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

"The rockets and mortars that Palestinian armed groups fired lack guidance systems and are prone to misfire, making them extremely inaccurate and thus inherently indiscriminate when directed toward areas with civilians," the report said. "Launching such rockets to attack civilian areas is a war crime."

Human Rights Watch concluded that a Hamas rocket fired on May 10 killed seven people, including two children, in the Gaza Strip city of Jabaliya. It said the number of Palestinians killed by errant Hamas fire might be higher.

"Munitions apparently directed toward Israel that misfired and fell short killed and injured an undetermined number of Palestinians in Gaza," the report said, adding that Hamas has not "provided information about how many rockets misfired or how many people died as a result in Gaza and there are no precise independent estimates."

The May conflict was the fourth war between Israel and Hamas since the terrorist group seized control of Gaza in 2007. Founded in the 1980s, the group rejects Israel's existence, is responsible for scores of deadly attacks on Israeli civilians and is considered a terrorist group by the United States, European Union and Israel.

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Singer Billie Eilish was attacked on social media over the weekend by pro-Palestinian supporters for sharing a promotional video for her new album Happier Than Ever for her Israeli fans.

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"Hi Israel, I'm so excited that my new album, Happier Than Ever, is out now. Swipe up to listen to it", she said in the 10-second video, angering fans with whom saying "Hi Israel" did not settle well.

"Because of your 'Hi Israel' you've lost a follower and you deserve it. Educate yourself on what Israel is doing to Palestinian," one user wrote.

"It's occupied Palestinian land, not Israel," wrote another.

Other comments included, "Billie Eilish being a Zionist is not surprising at all," "Just saw Billie Eilish say 'Hi Israel.' Heartbroken too many times," and "So Billie Eilish has dedicated her new album to Israel?? I'm done with her."

Some fans went as far as to accuse Eilish of racism.

On the other hand, many fans called the outrage exaggerated, with some pointing out that "saying 'Hi Israel' in no way constitutes a political opinion."

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Republicans in Congress are responding to the resumption of US foreign aid to the United Nations Relief and Work Agency for Palestine Refugees by the Biden administration earlier this year by introducing a set of bills aimed at preventing taxpayer funds from being sent to the agency unless certain requirements are met.

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The legislation was introduced in the House of Representatives on Tuesday by Representative Chip Roy and co-sponsored by 28 Republican members of Congress, and in the Senate by Senator Jim Risch, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on the same day with 12 Republican co-sponsors.

According to a news release on Tuesday, "The UNRWA Accountability and Transparency Act" would require that prior to providing the aid to the agency, the US State Department should certify that no UNRWA employee is a member of a terrorist organization such as Hamas or Hezbollah, does not promote terrorist activity or propagate anti-American, anti-Israel or antisemitic rhetoric; that no UNRWA infrastructure or resource is being used by a terrorist organization; that it is subjected to a comprehensive financial audit and implements a system to ensure that the funds are not diverted to a terrorist organization; that no UNRWA school or facility uses textbooks or other educational materials that spread anti-American, anti-Israel or antisemitic rhetoric; that no recipient of UNRWA funds is a member or affiliate of a terrorist organization; and that UNRWA has no affiliation with financial institutions that the United States deems or believes to be complicit in financing terrorism.

Israel's ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan has spoken about the problems with UNRWA and has urged the Biden administration not to restore its funding, which was eliminated during the administration of former President Donald Trump.

"Israel strongly opposes renewing funding for UNRWA, an antisemitic agency that incites against Israel and uses a twisted definition of who is a 'refugee,'" Erdan tweeted. "Rather than solving the conflict, UNRWA perpetuates it. Any return to funding it must be contingent on essential reforms."

The release cited examples of UNRWA's entanglement with terrorist organizations, such as the April 2017 resignation of an UNRWA teacher and chairman of the UNRWA Employees Union in Gaza amid allegations that he had been elected to a leadership position in Hamas and the October 2017 report of Hamas tunnels under UNRWA schools in the Gaza Strip.

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"US taxpayer dollars should never go to a corrupt entity that undermines, Israel, one of our greatest allies and closest friends," Roy said in the release. "UNRWA has a long track record of using educational materials that promote antisemitism, violence and terrorism while maintaining ties to the terrorist organization Hamas. Because of this, UNRWA is an obstacle to peace whose flawed mandate perpetuates the Palestinian 'refugee crisis' by using a nonsensical definition of a refugee.

Risch explained that "when UNRWA was created, its specific purpose was to provide relief for refugees of the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict. More than 70 years later, the organization has employed individuals affiliated with Hamas, a US designated foreign terrorist organization and its schools have been used to promote antisemitism and store Hamas weapons.

"It is unacceptable that US taxpayer dollars are being used to fund this agency, which is why I've introduced legislation to cease US contributions to UNRWA unless the administration can certify without a doubt that the agency has no affiliation with US designation FTOs and does not support antisemitic rhetoric."

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked granted this week permanent residency to A., a Palestinian man who saved the lives of three members of the Ettinger family who were shot at by terrorists on a highway in Judea and Samaria in 2016.

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The father of the family, Mark, lost his life in the attack, but wife Chava, son Pedaya and daughter Tehila survived thanks to the first aid provided by A. and his wife, who also alerted law enforcement.

News of a Palestinian who helped save the lives of Jews traveled fast to Ramallah, and A.'s family began to receive death threats. In an effort to protect his loved ones, A. fled to Israel, leaving his parents, wife and newborn son behind. For three years, he lived without a roof over his head, scraping for food and living under bridges.

Sometime after, A.'s wife joined him in Israel and in November 2019, due to public pressure, the Interior Ministry provided the couple with a temporary residence visa.

After grating the two permanent residency, Shaked said: "He who saves one life it's as if he saved the entire world. A. saved the life of the Ettinger family in a deadly attack, for which he has been persecuted relentlessly. We will never turn our back on a friend. That is why I approved his permanent residency in Israel."

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