What you missed while you were at the beach
News in Israel, Gaza and the US did not take a break while Australians enjoyed their summer holidays.
TJI Wrap
Published: 9 January 2025
Last updated: 9 January 2025
Many Australians used the past couple of weeks to catch up on leisure and family time and avoid the tough news from abroad.
These are the essential stories from Israel and the Jewish world that you may have missed.
Israeli soldiers are facing growing risk of arrest abroad after Gaza service
A former IDF soldier on holiday in Brazil fled the country after a case was brought against him, alleging he was responsible for war crimes while serving in Gaza. The Israeli citizen's name has not been published, but the Foreign Ministry said on Sunday that it, along with the Israeli embassy in Brasília, helped the man flee the South American country before authorities could detain him.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry is aware of at least 12 cases in which complaints have been filed abroad against IDF soldiers accusing them of war crimes in Gaza, Channel 12 News reported on Sunday. This comes amid reports of Israelis being urged to leave various countries to avoid potential prosecution.
The reports coincide with a campaign by the Hind Rajab Foundation, a non-profit based in Belgium, to identify Israeli soldiers who have published videos on social media in which they commit, claim to have committed, or appear to endorse committing potential war crimes. The organisation aims to file complaints against these soldiers on that basis. The HRF is a pro-Palestinian NGO dedicated to “breaking the cycle of Israeli impunity and honouring the memory of Hind Rajab and all those who have perished in the Gaza genocide.” Hind Rajab was a five-year-old girl killed by Israeli tank fire while in her family’s car in Gaza.
Early in the war, senior Israeli legal officials warned that soldiers posting videos online posed significant risks—for both operational and legal reasons. But thousands of soldiers have ignored this advice, reflecting increasing disdain of many soldiers, towards the Israel Defense Forces' top leadership. Israeli security agencies and government ministries are preparing to assist soldiers and reservists facing potential arrests abroad for participating in alleged war crimes in Gaza.
Fighting has increased in the West Bank
In the West Bank the tension between Israelis, Palestinians, the PA, and Hamas continues. The PA launched a major security operation in the Jenin refugee camp last month, targeting the armed groups based there, which they view as a challenge to their authority. Nearly four weeks on, the operation persists.
Operation Protect the Homeland marks the first direct Fatah-Hamas clashes since 2007, when the PA lost control of Gaza to the Islamist group during a brief civil war. This is the PA's most significant operation in Jenin in the past decade. Hamas has called on West Bank residents to take to the streets and clash with PA units in protest against the operation, which has been named "Guard of the Homeland."
So far, the PA operation in Jenin has been less deadly than Israeli raids – three fighters, three security officers, and four civilians have been killed – but it shows signs of morphing into a war of attrition.
On Monday, three Palestinian terrorists from the Jenin area opened fire on two Israeli cars and a bus travelling along the highway as they passed through the village. Two elderly women and an off-duty police officer were killed, and at least eight other Israelis were wounded when Palestinian terrorists opened fire on vehicles in the northern West Bank on Monday morning, the military and medics said.
In apparent retaliation for the shooting attack, Israeli settlers raided the northern West Bank Palestinian village of Hajja. Footage from Hajja shows residents attempting to extinguish a fire set by settlers that torched a vehicle in the town.
Netanyahu is battling health and political problems
Benjamin Netanyahu successfully underwent surgery to have his prostate removed, hospital officials said last Sunday. The 75-year-old has faced a series of health issues in recent years, including a pacemaker implant last year. He was recently diagnosed with a urinary tract infection resulting from a benign prostate enlargement, his office stated.
On Sunday, the Jerusalem District Court acceded to a request from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s defence attorney to cancel hearings scheduled for the premier’s testimony over the next two weeks due to his need to recuperate at home after prostate surgery.
Less than two days after the operation, and against his doctors’ recommendations, a visibly drawn and tired Netanyahu left his hospital bed and rushed to the Knesset to vote on a critical budget-related bill. His coalition scrambled to secure a majority as National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and some members of his far-right Otzma Yehudit party, as well as an ultra-Orthodox MK, voted with the opposition.
Following the vote, Netanyahu released a statement regarding Ben-Gvir's objections, saying, “There is no greater irresponsible foolishness.” On Saturday evening, Ben-Gvir apologised for not offering offsets to Prime Minister Netanyahu, which forced him to appear for the vote. However, Netanyahu’s coalition is expected to remain unstable ahead of two critical votes on the budget and the Haredi draft bill.
Gaza healthcare system is on brink of collapse
Last week, several Palestinians, including at least five babies, died due to severe cold weather. The UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) warned on Tuesday that “more babies will likely die” in the coming days. According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, the babies who died from hypothermia were all under one month old. A two-year-old has also died from the cold in recent days, health officials said.
A report by the UN’s human rights office claims that Israel’s pattern of sustained attacks on Gaza’s hospitals and medical workers has brought the coastal strip’s healthcare system to the brink of “total collapse.” The report stated that, in certain circumstances, these attacks could “amount to war crimes.” Israel has consistently denied committing war crimes in Gaza.
Meanwhile, Gazans fired three rockets into southern Israel on Monday morning, lightly damaging the home of a local religious leader and marking the latest attack amid a return to near-daily launches terrorising southern residents. One of the three rockets launched from the northern Gaza Strip landed in the city of Sderot, the military said. A second projectile was intercepted, and a third apparently landed in an uninhabited area.
NYT investigation found Israel loosened its rules to bomb Hamas fighters, killing many more civilians
The IDF significantly loosened its rules of engagement in the wake of October 7, 2023, allowing officers to approve strikes on targets in the Gaza Strip that had been low-priority or off-limits in earlier wars. This also permitted strikes that endangered more civilians than had previously been tolerated for similar targets, according to an investigation published in The New York Times. In each strike, the orders allowed officers to risk killing up to 20 civilians.
The investigation, which cited more than 100 soldiers and officials, echoed previous reports alleging widespread use of artificial intelligence software to select targets. It also claimed that a few strikes targeting Hamas leaders endangered more than 100 non-combatants each.
The IDF, responding to the article, acknowledged that its rules of engagement had changed after October 7 but stated that its forces have “consistently been employing means and methods that adhere to the rules of law.” The military also emphasised the unique nature of the fighting in Gaza, where terror operatives fight from within populated areas and exploit an extensive tunnel system beneath the enclave.
Kurds face threats under new Syrian regime
The fall of the Bashar Assad regime last month has cast doubt on the autonomy of US-backed Kurdish groups in Syria, as the Islamist rebels who overthrew Assad, backed by Turkey, threaten their territories. Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan believes that, following Assad’s fall, Turkey has become the Middle East's dominant power, wielding unprecedented influence in Syria—and he is not keeping these thoughts to himself.
Israel has maintained covert relations with the Kurds over the years, viewing them as a potential ally against shared enemies. Turkey, meanwhile, is seeking to further cement its influence in Syria, which shares a border with Israel. For years, despite being officially at war, this border was one of Israel’s quietest. However, as Turkey inches closer to Israel geographically, this long-standing quiet could be disrupted.
Meanwhile, the United States has expressed concern to the new foreign minister of Syria’s transitional administration, Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, regarding reports of violent attacks by militant groups across the country, US officials said. Al-Shibani is the right-hand man to Ahmed al-Sharaa, who is both the de facto ruler of Syria and the leader of the opposition group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the strongest armed group in Syria today.
Emigration from Israel soars while Gaza’s population shrinks
Emigration from Israel has surged in the past year, with nearly 83,000 people moving away in 2024, compared to 55,000 the year before, according to figures from the Central Bureau of Statistics. Over the course of the year, there was a net loss of 18,000 residents, compared to a gain of nearly 25,000 in 2023 when considering the total number of people moving to live in Israel. By December 31, 2024, Israel’s population was estimated at 10.027 million, the report said, surpassing the 10-million mark for the first time.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) reported on Tuesday that approximately 100,000 Palestinians had left Gaza since the war began on October 7, 2023. This is in addition to at least 45,553 people who were killed in Israeli attacks on the Strip, according to official figures from the Palestinian Ministry of Health in the enclave.
Gaza’s population now stands at 2.1 million, including more than one million children under the age of 18, who make up 47% of the population, the PCBS report added
Holocaust survivor and oldest Olympic champion Agnes Keleti dies at 103
Ágnes Keleti, the oldest living Olympic champion, has passed away at the age of 103. Keleti was born Ágnes Klein in Budapest to a Jewish family on January 9, 1921. At 16, she was already the Hungarian champion on the parallel bars. During the Nazi occupation, she survived by using false papers, working as a maid in a village, and later as a labourer in a munitions factory. Her father and several relatives perished in Auschwitz.
After the war, she resumed training. At the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, she won four medals: a gold in floor gymnastics, a silver in team all-around, and bronzes in uneven bars and team portable apparatus. Four years later, at the Melbourne Olympics, she secured a further six medals: three personal golds in uneven bars, balance beam, and floor gymnastics; a group gold in portable team; and two silver medals in personal and all-around team events. Her total of 10 Olympic medals, including five golds, makes her the second-most-successful Hungarian athlete of all time.
In 1957, Keleti moved to Israel for the Maccabiah Games and decided to stay. She was among the founders of the gymnastics community in Israel, where she led and nurtured the sport for over half a century. Keleti trained gymnasts and guided generations of athletes.
Biden awards Presidential Medal of Freedom to Jewish megadonor George Soros
Social media was bitterly divided over U.S. President Joe Biden's decision to award Jewish billionaire philanthropist George Soros the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country's highest civilian honour, on Saturday. Elon Musk, the billionaire closely associated with the incoming Trump administration, called Soros’ award a “travesty” in a post on X.
President Biden awarded the United States’ top civilian honour to Soros, a Holocaust survivor and billionaire donor to progressive and Democratic causes, along with 18 other recipients. The formal comments at the White House ceremony highlighted Soros’ Jewish identity, stating: “Born into a Jewish family in Hungary, George Soros escaped Nazi occupation to build a life of freedom for himself and countless others around the world.”
Soros has donated significant portions of his wealth to liberal causes such as immigration support, climate change initiatives, and LGBTQ+ rights, as well as the presidential campaigns of Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and Kamala Harris.
Two other Jewish individuals received the honour in this latest batch of medals awarded by Biden: businessman and philanthropist David Rubenstein and fashion designer Ralph Lauren, who was born Ralph Lifshitz in the Bronx.
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