Ben & Jerry's co-founder arrested after US Capitol Gaza protest
Ben Cohen, Ben of the famous ice cream company Ben & Jerry's, was one of seven people said to have been arrested at a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing on Wednesday, Sky News' US partner NBC News reported.
Robert F Kennedy Jr was speaking to the committee when the protests started with someone shouting: "RFK kills people with AIDs!"
"When Bobby lies, children die," is also heard, as well as: "Anti-vax, anti-science, anti-America" in reference to Mr Kennedy's vaccine views.
Police quickly flooded into the room and began dragging out protesters.
Moments after, Mr Cohen got to his feet and accused the US government of playing a role in the deaths of children in Gaza.
The ice cream boss can be seen in footage of the incident on his feet, gesturing as he shouted at the US health secretary.
"You're killing poor kids in Gaza and paying for it by cutting Medicaid for kids here," shouted Mr Cohen.
He is one of the last protesters hauled out of the room.
But even as he's removed, he can still be heard shouting.
"Congress and the senators need to ease the siege. They need to let food into Gaza. They need to let food to starving kids," he said.
The other six protesters were charged with resisting arrest and assault on an officer, NBC News said.
Earlier on Wednesday, Mr Cohen had attended a pro-Palestine event with Democratic Representative Rashida Tlaib.
Afterwards, Mr Cohen tweeted out a video of the incident, saying: "I told Congress they're killing poor kids in Gaza by buying bombs, and they're paying for it by kicking poor kids off Medicaid in the US.
"This was the authorities' response."
Mr Cohen is no stranger to protests or getting arrested.
In July 2023, he was arrested after protesting about the US prosecution of Julian Assange.
'Poor kids in Gaza'
Israel has killed around 53,000 Palestinians during its war with Hamas, many of them women and children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
The Gaza health ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count, but said that more than half of the fatalities are women and children.
It is said the real death toll in Gaza is higher because thousands of bodies remain buried under the rubble or in areas that medics cannot access.
The fighting began after the militant group led an attack across the border in October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking around 250 hostage.
Since Israel broke a ceasefire on 18 March, almost 3,000 people have been killed, the ministry said.
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The Independent
7 minutes ago
- The Independent
Muslim leaders increase security after vandalism reports at Texas and California mosques
After a spate of vandalism reports involving graffiti at a few mosques in Texas and California, Muslim leaders there have stepped up existing efforts to keep their sacred spaces and community members safe. The incidents and subsequent hypervigilance add to what many American Muslims say has already been a charged climate amid the fallout in the U.S. from the Israel-Hamas war that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and devastated Gaza. The war started in October 2023 with a deadly attack by Hamas on Israel. 'The past two years have been extremely difficult for American Muslims,' said Edward Ahmed Mitchell, national deputy director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization. A constant stream of images showing the death, destruction and ongoing starvation in Gaza has taken a toll, said Mitchell, as has a rise in anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian bigotry in the U.S. He pointed to one of the most egregious examples of that bigotry: After the war started, an Illinois man killed a 6-year-old Palestinian American Muslim boy and wounded his mother in a hate-crime attack. Worry and frustration The recent vandalism reports have left some worried and frustrated — but not entirely surprised. 'Since October 2023, we've definitely seen rise in Islamophobia,' said Rawand Abdelghani, who is on the board of directors of Nueces Mosque, one of the affected mosques in Austin, Texas. 'Anti-Palestinian, anti-immigrant, all of that rhetoric that's being said … it has contributed to things like this happening.' Nueces security footage showed someone, their face partially covered, spray-painting what appears to be Star of David symbols at the property. CAIR Austin said similar incidents were reported at two other Austin mosques. They all seemingly happened on the same night in May, in what the group described as part of 'a disturbing pattern of hate-motivated incidents.' It called for increased security patrols and protective measures. Shaimaa Zayan, CAIR Austin operations manager, called them an intimidation attempt. Less than two weeks earlier, someone had spray-painted graffiti at the Islamic Center of Southern California, including the Star of David on an outer wall there, center spokesperson Omar Ricci said. 'In light of what's going on within Palestine and the genocide in Gaza, it felt like an attack,' said Ricci, who's also a reserve Los Angeles Police Department officer. Some specifics remained unresolved. The LAPD said it opened a vandalism/hate crime investigation and added extra patrols, but added it has neither a suspect nor a motive and noted that nonreligious spaces were also targeted. The Austin Police Department did not respond to Associated Press inquiries. Nueces had already increased its security camera use following three incidents last year, including someone throwing rocks at the mosque, Abdelghani said. After the May vandalism, it also added overnight security, she added. Nueces serves many university students and is considered a 'home away from home,' Abdelghani said. It's where they learn about their faith, meet other Muslims and find refuge, including during tense times, like when some students got arrested amid campus protests last year, she added. CAIR says that in 2024, its offices nationwide received 8,658 complaints, the highest number it has recorded since its first civil rights report in 1996. It listed employment discrimination as the most common in 2024. The group says last year, U.S. Muslims, along with others of different backgrounds, 'were targeted due to their anti-genocide … viewpoints.' Referencing former President Joe Biden, the CAIR report said that for 'the second year in a row, the Biden-backed Gaza genocide drove a wave of Islamophobia in the United States.' Israel has strongly rejected allegations it's committing genocide in Gaza, where its war with Hamas has killed more than 59,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials. The initial Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, killed some 1,200 people, while about 250 were abducted. Tensions in multiple spaces The war has fueled tensions in myriad U.S. settings. After it started, Muslim and Jewish civil rights groups reported a surge of harassment, bias and physical assaults reports against their community members. Pew Research Center in February 2024 found that 70% of U.S. Muslims and nearly 90% of U.S. Jews surveyed say they felt an increase in discrimination against their respective communities since the war began. More recently, leaders of U.S. Jewish institutions have called for more help with security after a firebomb attack in Colorado on demonstrators showing support for Israeli hostages in Gaza that left one person killed and others injured, as well as a fatal shooting of two Israeli Embassy staffers outside a Jewish museum in Washington, D.C. Politically, the conflict loomed over last year's presidential election, leaving many pro-Palestinian U.S. voters feeling ignored by their own government's support for Israel. It has roiled campuses and sparked debates over free speech and where political rhetoric crosses into harassment and discrimination. There've been bitter disagreements, including among some Jewish Americans, about exactly what the definition of antisemitism should cover, and whether certain criticism of Israeli policies and Zionism should be included. That debate further intensified as President Donald Trump's administration sought to deport some foreign-born pro-Palestinian campus activists. The Islamic Center of Southern California has been targeted before, including vandalism in 2023 and separate threats that authorities said in 2016 were made by a man who was found with multiple weapons in his home. Incidents like the latest one cause concern, Ricci said. 'People see that it's not going to take very much to spark something in the city,' he said. 'There's a lot of emotion. There's a lot of passion' on both the pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli sides. Salam Al-Marayati, president of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, said 'if people think they can get away with graffiti, then the next step is to firebomb a mosque or even go attack worshippers.' Opening doors and receiving support Al-Marayati and others praised how many have shown support for the affected Muslim communities. 'The best preparation is what we did in Los Angeles and that's to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our allies and be there for one another,' he said. In Texas, a gathering at Nueces brought together neighbors and others, including Christians and Jews, to paint over the vandalism, clean up the property and garden, Zayan said. 'It was beautiful,' she said. 'It's really important to open your doors and open your heart and invite people and to rebuild this trust and connection,' she said. 'For non-Muslims, it was a great opportunity for them to show their love and support. They really wanted to do something.' ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
The Guardian
8 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Israel-Gaza war live: Europe debates recognition of Palestine as starvation spreads in Gaza
Update: Date: 2025-07-26T11:19:56.000Z Title: 1988 Content: Keir Starmer is under pressure from UK MPs while Italy's Giorgia Meloni said she was in favour but not prior to the state being established Caolán Magee (now) and Charlie Moloney (earlier) Sat 26 Jul 2025 13.19 CEST First published on Sat 26 Jul 2025 09.53 CEST From 10.08am CEST 10:08 This graphic shows which countries internationally have recognised a Palestinian state. 81 countries recognised Palestinian statehood in , the year it declared independence, with South Africa recognising it in 1995, Brazil in 2010, Chile in 2011 and Thailand in 2012. But more have recently followed suit in response to the plight of the people in Gaza. Spain and Ireland recognised a Palestinian state last year and Mexico made the recognition this year, while France has recently announced it is due to do so. Updated at 10.10am CEST 1.19pm CEST 13:19 The death toll from Israeli military operations in Gaza has reached 59,733, according to the latest update from the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza. In the past 24 hours alone, 57 have been killed and 512 have been injured. Emergency crews say a number of victims remain trapped under collapsed buildings. It also says that since 18 March 2025, when it began separately reporting figures after the temporary ceasefire came to an end, 8,581 people have been killed and 32,436 injured. The ministry added that 29 people were killed and more than 165 injured in the past 24 hours while attempting to access aid. This brings the total number of those killed while collecting aid to 1,121, with more than 7,485 injured, it said. 12.50pm CEST 12:50 Some analysts say French president Emmanuel Macron's announcement that France would become the first Western member of the United Nations Security Council to recognise a Palestinian state is an attempt to use the carrot of recognition to extract concessions from Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority which is a moderate rival to Hamas, and other regional players. 'Macron here is acting as a catalyst to get the Palestinians to deliver on the needed reforms, to get the Arabs to deliver on a stabilization force and the disarming of Hamas,' said Rym Momtaz, editor-in-chief of the Strategic Europe blog run by the Carnegie Europe think tank. Others say while recognition has symbolic value, there will still be no functioning Palestinian state whenever the war in Gaza comes to an end. 'Recognition by a European heavyweight like France is indicative of the rising frustration with Israel's intransigent policies,' said Amjad Iraqi, senior analyst at International Crisis Group. 12.33pm CEST 12:33 Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli operations killed 11 people on Saturday in the Palestinian territory devastated by over 21 months of war. Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP the toll included four Palestinians killed in an air strike on the Al-Rimal neighbourhood of Gaza City in the territory's north. One other person was killed 'after Israeli forces opened fire on people waiting for humanitarian aid' northwest of Gaza City, the agency said. Eyewitnesses told AFP that several thousand people had gathered in the area to wait for aid. One of them, Abu Samir Hamoudeh, 42, said the Israeli military opened fire 'while the people were waiting to approach the distribution point', located near an Israeli military post in the Zikim area, northwest of Sudaniyah. 12.06pm CEST 12:06 At least 25 people were killed by Israeli airstrikes and gunshots overnight, according to health officials and the ambulance service on Saturday, as ceasefire talks appear to have stalled and Palestinians in Gaza face famine. The majority of victims were killed by gunfire as they waited for aid trucks close to the Zikim crossing with Israel, said staff at Shifa hospital, where the bodies were brought. Israel's army didn't respond to request for comments about the latest shootings. Those killed in strikes include four people in an apartment building in Gaza City among others, hospital staff and the ambulance service said. The strikes come as ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas have hit a standstill after the US and Israel recalled their negotiating teams on Thursday, throwing the future of the talks into further uncertainty. 11.44am CEST 11:44 In a statement posted on its Telegram account, the Sunni Jaish al-Adl group took responsibility for the attack in Iran's southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan province and urged 'all civilians to immediately evacuate the area of clashes for their safety'. Sistan-Baluchestan province, near the borders with Pakistan and Afghanistan, is home to Irans Sunni Muslim Baluch minority, who have long complained of economic marginalisation and political exclusion. The Baluch human rights group HAALVSH, quoting eyewitnesses, said several judiciary staff members and security personnel were killed or wounded when the assailants stormed the judges chambers. 11.18am CEST 11:18 Gunmen killed five civilians during a 'terrorist attack' on a judiciary building in southeast Iran on Saturday before being killed themselves, state media reported. 'Unknown gunmen attacked the judiciary centre in Zahedan,' the capital of southeastern Sistan-Baluchistan province, the judiciary's Mizan Online said. 'Five people have been killed and 13 injured in this terrorist attack,' the report said while adding that the counts are 'preliminary' and the toll may rise. Separately, the official IRNA news agency reported that three of the attackers were killed during the assault, citing the regional headquarters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). 11.03am CEST 11:03 Three diplomats told Reuters president Emmanuel Macron had to go it alone to recognise a Palestinian state as London did not want to face the wrath of the United States, and Ottawa took a similar stance. 'It became increasingly apparent that we could not wait to get partners on board,' said a French diplomat, adding France will work to get more states on board ahead of conference on a two-state solution in September. A senior French official said: 'If there is a moment in history to recognise a Palestinian state, even if it's just symbolic, then I would say that moment has probably come.' 10.46am CEST 10:46 Eleni Courea Keir Starmer is under intense pressure from his most senior cabinet ministers and more than a third of MPs to move faster on recognising a Palestinian state in response to Israel withholding aid to starving civilians in Gaza. Angela Rayner, the deputy prime minister, and Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, are understood to be among ministers who believe the government should take the lead on Palestinian statehood alongside France. The prime minister is facing a growing clamour to take action amid the international outcry over Israel's actions, with charities saying that cases of severe malnutrition among children under five in Gaza City have tripled in the last two weeks. Read our exclusive story on how Rayner and Cooper are understood to back action as 221 MPs sign a letter calling for UK recognition of statehood: 10.34am CEST 10:34 Julian Borger France's decision to recognise Palestine at the next UN general assembly is an attempt to build momentum for change and make a break from the major western powers' impassivity in the face of Israel's mass killing of Palestinians in Gaza. Emmanuel Macron's declaration, announced in typically dramatic fashion on social media late on Thursday night, draws a line between the paths followed by the US and France over the Gaza war, and significantly raises the pressure on the UK, Germany and other G7 powers to pick a side. Macron, Keir Starmer and the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, held what the UK prime minister described as an 'emergency call' on Friday, to coordinate positions. It led to a joint call for Israel to lift its food blockade immediately, an immediate ceasefire and the release of hostages held by Hamas. But there was no apparent shift in Merz's or Starmer's position on recognition. The British prime minister risks either provoking mutiny in his cabinet and party over Gaza or alienating White House. Read our analysis here: 10.24am CEST 10:24 Rates of severe malnutrition among children aged under five at Médecins Sans Frontières' Gaza City clinic have tripled in the last two weeks, the charity has said, as starvation in the Israeli-besieged strip worsens. The global aid community has sounded the alarm as Gaza descends deeper into mass starvation, with resulting deaths being reported daily as Israel allows only a trickle of aid into the territory. MSF said a quarter of all young children and pregnant or breastfeeding women it screened at its clinics last week were malnourished, with the number of people needing care for malnutrition at its Gaza City location quadrupling since May. MSF is one of the largest medical providers in Gaza, with more than 1,000 staff in the strip providing medical services ranging from maternity care to emergency surgery. The charity blamed what it called an Israeli 'policy of starvation' for the hunger crisis, as global condemnation grows over what more than 100 aid groups say is Israel's blockade of most aid into Gaza. Read our full report here: 10.08am CEST 10:08 This graphic shows which countries internationally have recognised a Palestinian state. 81 countries recognised Palestinian statehood in , the year it declared independence, with South Africa recognising it in 1995, Brazil in 2010, Chile in 2011 and Thailand in 2012. But more have recently followed suit in response to the plight of the people in Gaza. Spain and Ireland recognised a Palestinian state last year and Mexico made the recognition this year, while France has recently announced it is due to do so. Updated at 10.10am CEST 9.58am CEST 09:58 Annie Kelly Twenty-eight doctors from Gaza are being held inside Israeli prisons, eight of whom are senior consultants in surgery, orthopaedics, intensive care, cardiology and paediatrics, according to data from Healthcare Workers Watch (HWW), a Palestinian medical organisation. Twenty-one of those detained have been held for more than 400 days. HWW said none had been charged with any crimes by the Israeli authorities. Three healthcare workers have been detained since the start of July. On Monday, the Gaza Health Ministry said an Israeli undercover force detained Dr Marwan al-Hams, head of Abu Youssef al-Najjar hospital in Rafah, outside the field hospital of the International Committee of the Red Cross in the southern Gaza Strip. His whereabouts are unknown, and the Israeli authorities have yet to publish a statement on his detention. On Tuesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that two of its workers were taken into detention from a facility sheltering staff and their families in Dier al-Balah; one remains in Israeli custody. A rising number of doctors are among hundreds of medical staff detained in Gaza, rights groups say. Read our full story here: Updated at 9.59am CEST 9.53am CEST 09:53 European nations are becoming split on the question of whether to recognise a Palestinian state, as the desperate situation in Gaza continues. Britain's prime minister Sir Keir Starmer has rejected calls to immediately recognise a Palestinian state, after some 221 MPs signed a letter urging the British Government to recognise the state of Palestine at a meeting of the UN next week. While the PM said he was 'unequivocal' about wanting to see a Palestinian state, he insisted this needed to be part of a 'wider plan which ultimately results in a two-state solution and lasting security for Palestinians and Israelis'. Italy's prime minister Giorgia Meloni said on Saturday that recognising the State of Palestine before it is established could be counterproductive. 'I am very much in favour of the State of Palestine but I am not in favour of recognising it prior to establishing it,' Meloni told Italian daily La Repubblica. 'If something that doesn't exist is recognised on paper, the problem could appear to be solved when it isn't,' Meloni added. A German government spokesperson said on Friday that Berlin was not planning to recognise a Palestinian state in the short term and said its priority now is to make 'long-overdue progress' towards a two-state solution. It comes after French President Emmanuel Macron drew angry rebukes from Israel and the United States when he announced France intends to recognise a Palestinian state in September at the United Nations General Assembly. Macron, who unveiled the decision on X, published a letter sent to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas confirming France's intention to press ahead with Palestinian recognition and work to convincing other partners to follow suit. According to an AFP database, at least 142 of the 193 UN member states - including France - now recognise the Palestinian state proclaimed by the Palestinian leadership in exile in . Meanwhile today: The Israeli military said a 'projectile' was fired from the Gaza Strip towards Israel on Saturday. 'A projectile was identified crossing the Gaza Strip from the south and most likely falling in an open area,' the military said in a statement, adding that there were no injuries reported. Four Palestinian-Americans have been killed in the occupied West Bank since the war in Gaza began and their families are losing hope for justice. They told AP Israel and its law enforcement have made them feel like culprits - by imposing travel bans and, in some cases, detaining and interrogating them. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday his government was considering 'alternative options' to ceasefire talks with Hamas after Israel and the US recalled their negotiating teams, throwing the future of the negotiations into further uncertainty. Netanyahu's statement came as a Hamas official said negotiations were expected to resume next week and portrayed the recall of the Israeli and American delegations as a pressure tactic.
Daily Mail
9 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
David Letterman slams CBS over Stephen Colbert exit
David Letterman has backed his successor Stephen Colbert and suggested CBS canceled The Late Show because he was 'always shooting his mouth off' about Donald Trump. The 78-year-old late-night legend created The Late Show in 1993 after NBC denied him the chance to succeed Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show. Colbert took over for Letterman in 2015 and took the show in a decidedly more political direction. But despite leading in the ratings, a shrinking late-night landscape led CBS to claim losses in the tens of millions of dollars. In his first comment on the show's cancellation, Letterman noted that Colbert's show was more about political satire than his version of The Late Show, but was still complimentary, calling the decision by CBS 'pure cowardice.' 'I think one day, if not today, the people at CBS who have manipulated and handled this, they're going to be embarrassed, because this is gutless,' he told former Late Show producers Barbara Gaines and Mary Barclay. Letterman then said that he believed CBS was acting on behalf of Skydance CEO and incoming Paramount CEO David Ellison to make their lives easier after acquiring Paramount, taking away a constant critic of Trump. 'Hey boys, here's what we're gonna do: not only are we gonna get rid of that guy, we're gonna get rid of the entire franchise so you don't have to worry about another guy. It's gone,' Letterman said. The longtime talk show host noted CBS's $16 million settlement with the Trump administration over a deceptively edited interview with election rival Kamala Harris, which Colbert had previously mocked as a 'big fat bribe.' He also referred to Ellison as a 'bottom feeder,' saying he should've bought a Dairy Queen instead of a television network. 'Stay out of this business.' He also tore into accusations that the show lost so much money, with both Gaines and Barclay saying they had cut budgets to help the network several times when they were at CBS. 'You're telling me losing this kind of money happened yesterday? I bet they were losing this kind of money a month ago, six weeks ago, or they have never been losing money,' he said. Letterman noted that despite the show supposedly losing tons of money, CBS is allowing Colbert to stay on the air for the next ten months. 'That's another huge chunk of money they're gonna lose according to them. I don't think it was money. I think it was all to make sure the Ellisons were solid spending Dad's money,' he said, referring to Ellison's father, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison. He said of the treatment of Colbert: 'They did not handle Stephen Colbert, the face of that network, in the way he deserves to have been handled.' Letterman echoed Colbert's own joking words from earlier this week when the former Comedy Central comic called himself 'a martyr.' 'For Stephen, I love this: he's a martyr, good for him. If you listen carefully, you can hear them unfolding chairs at the Hall of Fame for his induction,' he joked. Ultimately, he said he envies the position Colbert is now in with his liberal viewers. 'I only wish this could've happened to me. This would've been so great for me. Now we've all gotta kiss Stephen Colbert's ring now,' he quipped. The comedian's decade-long run as host of CBS's late-night flagship will end next May, with network insiders suggesting the top-rated show was canceled because it was losing anywhere from $40 to $100 million per year. Trump posted a celebration on Truth Social when the news was announced, saying, 'I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings.' Colbert, who briefly addressed the move the day of its announcement, devoted much of his Monday show to the controversy, eventually uniting with almost every other liberal late-night talk show host in a show of support, as well as Adam Sandler and even Lin-Manuel Miranda. The 61-year-old comic opened after a standing ovation and lengthy applause from the New York City crowd by saying 'cancel culture has gone too far'—then joked that now the show is ending, he can say whatever he feels. Colbert said sarcastically of Paramount: 'They made one mistake, they left me alive! For the next ten months, the gloves are off!' He then referenced Trump's comments, turned to an 'Eloquence Cam' and said: 'How dare you, sir? Would an untalented man be able to compose the following satirical witticism? Go f*** yourself.' He also addressed Trump's claim that Jimmy Kimmel is next, replying: 'Nope, no, no. Absolutely not. Kimmel, I am the martyr. There's only room for one on this cross. And the view is fantastic from up here. I can see your house!' He went on to say that cancellation meant he could finally admit what he felt about the president. In contrast to his often over-the-top anti-Trump monologues, he dryly said: 'I don't care for him. Doesn't seem to have the skill set to be president. Just not a good fit, that's all.' He addressed his bosses at CBS—who he said 'have always been great partners'—before turning to Paramount's decision to cancel the show. 'How could it be a purely financial decision if The Late Show is number one in ratings? A lot of folks are asking that question, mainly my staff's parents and spouses.' He quipped: 'I could see us losing $24 million but where would Paramount have possibly spent the other $16 million, oh…'—naming the amount the company settled with Trump over his 60 Minutes lawsuit. He returned to mocking Trump and the recent news accusing him of writing a 'bawdy' letter to Jeffrey Epstein for his 50th birthday. 'I'll have more to say about all this after the commercial break. The only other story is a small one... the president is buddies with a pedophile.' Puck journalist Matthew Belloni revealed Colbert's 'lack of profitability' Friday, hours after CNN first broke the news that the show was canceled because it was in the red. Belloni outlined how The Late Show—whose cancellation was announced last Thursday—costs $100 million a year to produce, with Colbert getting paid between $15 and $20 million a year.
