Child runs away as Israeli munitions strike Gaza refugee camp
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Antisemitism reports spiked day after Bob Vylan Glastonbury chants
Reports of antisemitic incidents in the UK spiked a day after punk duo Bob Vylan's controversial performance at Glastonbury, according to a charity which described how communities are facing 'extreme levels of Jew-hatred'. Sentiment towards Israel is influencing and driving contemporary anti-Jewish discourse, the Community Security Trust (CST) said. The organisation, which monitors antisemitism in the UK, said there were a total of 1,521 antisemitic incidents across the UK in the first half of this year. This is the second-highest total ever reported to the organisation in the first six months of any year but is down by a quarter from the record high of 2,019 incidents recorded between January and June last year. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said antisemitic incidents and crimes 'remain shamefully and persistently high'. There were at least 200 incidents every month in the first half of 2025, with the highest daily total at 26 incidents reported on June 29. This was a day after a performance by punk duo Bob Vylan at the world-renowned Glastonbury music festival in Somerset. During the set, which was livestreamed on BBC, rapper Bobby Vylan chanted 'Death, death to the IDF (Israel Defence Forces)'. The CST said the incidents reported to the charity involved anti-Jewish responses to events at Glastonbury as well as to the CST's subsequent statement on X which had branded the chants 'utterly chilling'. Avon and Somerset Police said last month that inquiries were continuing in relation to the comments made onstage during Bob Vylan's performance. The second-worst day for what the CST described as 'anti-Jewish hate' was May 17 when 19 incidents were recorded – coming a day after Israel announced an expansion of its military operation in Gaza. The CST said: 'Both of these cases illustrate how sentiment and rhetoric towards Israel and Zionism influence, shape and drive contemporary anti-Jewish discourse, online and offline, often around totemic events that grab mainstream public attention.' Just over half (51%) of all incidents in the first half of this year 'referenced or were linked to Israel, Palestine, the Hamas terror attack (of October 7, 2023) or the subsequent outbreak of conflict', the CST said. This was a similar proportion to the same period last year, and up from 16% in the first six months of 2023, reflecting a rise in 'anti-Jewish hate in the UK when Israel is at war', the CST said. Mark Gardner, the organisation's chief executive, said the statistics demonstrated 'extreme levels of Jew-hatred, committed in the name of anti-Israel activism'. June saw the highest number of incidents, with 326 being recorded following heightening tensions in Gaza. A total of 76 violent anti-Jewish assaults were recorded by the charity in the first six months of 2025, including three categorised as 'extreme violence' that resulted in either grievous bodily harm or a threat to life. The CST added that 84 cases of damage and desecration of Jewish property were recorded, as well as 21 incidents of mass-produced antisemitic literature and 1,236 incidents of verbal or written abuse. The trust said 572 online incidents were reported to them in the first half of the year, accounting for 38% of the total and down 12% from the same period last year. Giving examples of the range of incidents reported, Mr Gardner, said: 'It involves racial hatred, yelled at Jewish schoolchildren, scrawled on synagogue walls and thrown at anyone who is Jewish, or suspected of being Jewish. 'In such difficult times, CST is proud to give strength to British Jews when they most need it. 'We thank those politicians and police officers who have supported our community, especially when Jew-hatred is effectively sanctioned in so many spaces that falsely claim to oppose all forms of racism.' There were 774 antisemitic incidents recorded by the CST in Greater London, a drop of 26% over the same timeframe in 2024, and 194 cases in Greater Manchester, a decrease of 28% compared to the previous year. Outside these cities, the police areas with the highest number of reports were West Yorkshire with 73, Hertfordshire with 52, Scotland with 36, Sussex with 32 and West Midlands with 39. Northern Ireland had nine reports while Suffolk was the only mainland police region not to record a single incident, the trust said. Ms Cooper said antisemitism 'has a profoundly damaging impact both on the individuals affected and the wider Jewish community', and vowed the Government 'remains steadfast in its commitment to root out the poison of antisemitism wherever it is found'. The Government's independent adviser on antisemitism, Lord Mann, said the latest data shows 'that antisemitism continues to impact the British Jewish community at an unprecedented level'. He added: 'Antisemitism must be recognised by everyone as anti-Jewish racism and there must be a no tolerance approach to it across civil society at all levels.'
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Activists block humanitarian aid convoys to Gaza, slash truck tires
Friends of hostage Rom Braslavski and other Israeli activists blocked humanitarian aid heading for Gaza. Activists, including friends of Gaza hostage Rom Braslavski, blocked aid from entering the Gaza Strip while, in a separate incident, aid trucks coming from Jordan had their tires slashed on Sunday night, Israeli media reports. One of the activists, who, like Braslavski, served as a security officer at the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023, referred to the footage of Braslavski published by Palestinian Islamic Jihad over the weekend. "Rom should have been back with me in the car after the party; he's starving in captivity while food aid is being transferred. Full assistance is provided to those in need. We will not let this happen, we are fighting against it," he said. Otzma Yehudit MK Yitzhak Kreuzer joined protests, physically blocked aid trucks at the Allenby crossing with Jordan to protest the continued transfer of supplies to Gaza. Kreuzer called the aid policy 'lawlessness,' accusing the government of giving Hamas 'oxygen and fuel' while Israeli hostages remain in dire conditions. 'It is unthinkable that we are sending aid, food, and medicine to Hamas, while our hostages are not receiving a single medicine,' Kreuzer said. Claiming the aid is misappropriated by Hamas, Kreuzer vowed to continue his struggle 'until all the hostages return home and the aid no longer reaches Hamas.' Activists reportedly slashed the tires of two humanitarian aid trucks leaving Jordan for Gaza at the Allenby Bridge. The trucks were forced to turn back and return to Jordan. Over the course of the war, right-wing activist groups, such as Tzav 9, have protested the entry and distribution of humanitarian aid in Gaza on many occasions, referring to the convoys as 'death trucks.' Previous instances of aid blocking Members of the group have previously gathered at the Ashdod Port, as well as the Kerem Shalom crossing, alongside families and friends of the hostages, to block the humanitarian aid convoys. 'Supplies that reach Gaza only strengthen Hamas,' Tzav 9 states on their website, 'Giving it breathing room and the ability to continue harming us and holding the hostages. In service to the people, we arrive at the border crossings to stop the trucks.' 'For the soldiers, and for the release of the hostages.' TPS-IL contributed to this report. Solve the daily Crossword
CBS News
7 hours ago
- CBS News
200 crocodiles killed in West Bank after reptiles resorted to cannibalism and posed "significant risk" to humans, Israel says
Israel said it culled 200 crocodiles at an abandoned farm on a settlement in the occupied West Bank, reporting the reptiles had resorted to cannibalism and posed a "significant risk" to humans. The Nile crocodiles "were being kept in an abandoned compound under poor conditions that constitute animal abuse, with insufficient access to food, which had driven them to cannibalistic behavior," said COGAT, the Israeli defense ministry body that oversees civil affairs in the Palestinian territories. COGAT said in its statement on Monday that the premises' fencing had deteriorated after the farm was closed in 2013, allowing several crocodiles to escape "into nearby communities and nature reserves." After the owner's refusal to repair the fence and "12 years of seeking solutions" to the issue, COGAT said "the hazard must be addressed immediately through the humane culling of the animals." A video that circulated on social media this year showed teenagers throwing stones at the crocodiles, prompting authorities to take action on the issue. The farm, located in the Israeli settlement of Petzael in the Jordan Valley, was first opened to tourists in the 1990s before being turned into a commercial farm for crocodile skin. A 2013 law making Nile crocodiles a protected species resulted in the farm's closure. "I don't want to think of what will happen if a crocodile manages to escape and reaches the Jordan River, and then we'll have an international incident," the head of the local community told The Associated Press in 2018, referencing the border with Jordan about four miles away. Let the Animals Live, an Israeli animal rights NGO, said that 262 crocodiles were culled and denounced the move in a statement, arguing the reptiles "had never attacked anybody." "The Parks and Nature Authority authorized shooting and killing the crocodiles, just as it does with pigs, dogs, jackals, wolves, various birds, and many other animals in Israel," the NGO said in a social media post. "This is truly immoral, infuriating and heartbreaking." Gadi Bitan, the farm's owner for the past 30 years, told Israeli media outlet Ynet that he was not warned of the culling, which he said took place on Sunday. "It was an execution, plain and simple," Bitan said. "These animals were in good health, well fed, and no serious accident was ever reported."The Associated Press contributed to this report.
