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Arab News
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Arab News
UK energy tycoon to keep flying Palestine flag in defiance of ‘shadowy' legal threats
LONDON: Green energy tycoon Dale Vince plans to keep flying the Palestinian flag at his company's headquarters, saying a 'shadowy' group of pro-Israel lawyers is forcing local authorities to remove them across the UK. Vince said he would fly the flag at the Ecotricity headquarters in defiance of Stroud district council, which told him he needs to seek permission as Palestine is not recognized by the UK. He said as Palestine is recognized by 147 countries, the flag counts as a national one — which can be flown without permission — rather than an advert, as Stroud council suggested. Vince added that a group called UK Lawyers for Israel may have complained to the council, prompting the request for him to remove it. 'There's a shadowy group called UK Lawyers for Israel that do complain to councils about flags and to hospitals about pin badges and all kinds of trivia that they don't like because it's in support of Palestine and they consider to be racism, which is just an incredible thing to say,' Vince said in the Stroud Times. 'I think what they do is in the shadows, that's why I say shadowy. They send threatening letters to people that do innocent things like fly a flag, wear a pin badge and that kind of stuff.' In the local paper, Vince wrote earlier this week: 'Nobody ever got asked to take down a Ukrainian flag. With Palestine it's different and much of this is due to a shadowy group of lawyers acting for Israel. 'They've bullied several councils into forcing the removal of flags and into event cancellations — it's a pernicious stifling of free speech on behalf of a foreign power.' Vince said no one should feel threatened by the flag, which is being flown 'in solidarity' with the Palestinian people. 'What's been happening these last two years has been exceptional,' he said. 'It is genocide, it is ethnic cleansing, it's daily acts of barbarity against civilians, mass starvation of millions of people. 'I mean it's off the scale in terms of human abuse and there's not enough by far being done about it by western nations who have punished Russia incredibly for their invasion and occupation of Ukraine in a recent timescale. 'Half the G7 will recognise Palestine in September and it's absolutely important that we show our solidarity with the Palestinian people and we show Israel that we can see what they're doing and we don't accept it, we don't condone it. They won't get away with it, they will be judged for it in the future. It's an absolute atrocity.' Vince added: 'Obviously what Hamas did on October 7th (2023) was an atrocity but the atrocity visited on Palestine in return in the last two years is off the charts. 'It's unimaginably bad and this is from a democratic country that we call an ally, not from a terrorist organisation known as Hamas. 'So they're not comparable and I don't think anybody that's Israeli should look at the Palestinian flag and feel threatened. I don't understand that. 'This is not the flag of Hamas and these are the shadows that UK Lawyers for Israel operate within, conflating the flag of a country with the flag of a terrorist organisation.' UKLFI calls itself a 'voluntary association of lawyers which seeks the application of rules and laws to counter boycotts and other actions targeting Israelis.' Last year, it succeeded in forcing the London Borough of Tower Hamlets to remove Palestinian flags from local authority buildings, after suggesting that flying them broke the law. A spokesperson for the group denied it had contacted Stroud council because officials had already contacted Vince to remove the flag when they learned of its presence. Stroud council said it received complaints from members of the public about the flag, so was 'obliged to take (legal) advice on the matter.' Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said the UK will recognize Palestine at the UN next month unless a ceasefire is reached in Gaza before then with commitments to plans for a two-state solution.
New York Times
16-07-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Mamdani, Be a Convener, Not a Commentator
Dear New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani: I have been watching you tortuously try to explain to pro-Israel New Yorkers that your readiness to defend the phrase 'globalize the intifada' was not antisemitic or meant to favor the elimination of the Jewish state. You have said that it's not a phrase you use but have not condemned its use by others, insisting that it means different things to different people. Going even further on Tuesday, in a meeting with New York business leaders, you reportedly said you would 'discourage' use of the phrase. It seems to me that you have gotten yourself tied up in knots on this issue, pulled between your supporters and your critics. May I offer two pieces of advice that have guided me over four decades of navigating this conflict: First, if you are discussing a mantra — like 'globalize the intifada' — that takes 15 minutes to explain why it doesn't mean what it obviously means, I'd suggest that you avoid that mantra. May I offer an alternative? 'Two states for two people.' It works really well with drums — 'Two states, for two people.' While that solution may be a long shot, it has the virtue of being the only viable, just solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — one that many Americans still support, and one, if this Gaza war ever ends, I believe many Israelis and Palestinians and Arabs and Muslims and Jews in New York City will as well. There is no other viable alternative. There is no one-state solution; there is no three-state solution. The only alternative to 'two states for two people' is, in my opinion, no states for two people — just a grinding forever war between two people living intertwined with each other. Second, the world does not need the mayor of New York City to be another commentator on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The world is awash with commentators on this issue. We don't need any more. We need leaders ready to be conveners of those looking for the only workable solution, not just commentators. Tell voters more about how you will use your office to bring together Israelis, Palestinians, Arabs, Muslims and Jews who aspire to build two states for two people. I am talking about people like the former Palestinian Authority foreign minister Nasser al-Kidwa, who has been touring the world discussing two states for two people with former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. I am talking about urging people to support organizations like the Abraham Initiatives, an amazing group of Jewish Israelis and Palestinian Israelis whose mission is to advance 'Israel as a democratic state, homeland of the Jewish people and all its citizens, that guarantees and protects the full citizenship and equal rights of its Palestinian citizens; where Jewish and Palestinian Israelis cocreate a cohesive, inclusive society; and that exists peacefully alongside an independent, sovereign Palestinian state.' I am talking about creating platforms for people to hear former Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, who is now a professor at Princeton, or two-state advocacy groups such as the Israel Policy Forum, J Street, EcoPeace or Commanders for Israel's Security, the retired Israeli security officials and military officers working for separation into two states. When I see someone running for mayor defending a useless, meaningless, far-left mantra that helps no one, and who prefers commenting at a distance and not convening energetically, it makes me wonder how he will deal with the really hard issues on the West Bank of the East River — not the West Bank of the Jordan — that most New York voters care about.
Yahoo
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Nine denies Lattouf contempt over pro-Israel lobbyists
Pro-Israel lobbyists harassed for complaining about an ABC radio host's views on Palestine want another media company to be prosecuted for revealing their names. Antoinette Lattouf was ousted from her casual position on ABC Radio Sydney's Mornings program in December 2023. She was awarded $70,000 for her unlawful termination in June. Federal Court Justice Darryl Rangiah found the national broadcaster removed her from air following pressure from an orchestrated campaign by pro-Israel lobbyists. Nine of those who complained had their names suppressed in February as the hearing started. The group returned to court on Monday, asking Justice Rangiah to refer Nine-owned newspapers to a registrar for prosecution for alleged contempt of court. Prominent barrister Sue Chrysanthou SC argued at an earlier hearing Nine failed to promptly take down or amend January 2024 articles published in the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age containing the names of four individuals who complained. It took the publisher six weeks to remove the names despite repeated letters, she said. A separate article by the Nine-owned Pedestrian TV also identifying some of the complainants was taken down in April. There had been no apology nor a promise to not divulge the names in the future. "All of the respondents are completely unrepentant in relation to the infringement of the order," Ms Chrysanthou said in June. The contempt case has also been brought against journalists Michael Bachelard and Calum Jaspan, editors Bevan Shields and Patrick Elligett and Nine's in-house lawyers Larina Alick and Sam White. Nine's barrister Tom Blackburn SC denied there was any contempt at all when the hearing continued on Monday. His clients could not have breached the court's order suppressing any names or identities because the wording did not specify who the order related to, he argued. 'It's just impossible that there could be a wilful and contumacious contempt in this case in circumstances where we didn't know who the protected people were," he said. The case against the two journalists was "utterly hopeless" as neither had the power to remove or amend the articles, Mr Blackburn said. Similar submissions were made regarding the "incoherent" case brought against the two in-house lawyers. Mr Blackburn argued the case should not be referred to a registrar and that the pro-Israel group should be made to pay his clients' legal costs. Ms Chrysanthou urged Justice Rangiah to refer the matter on, saying the judge only needed to be convinced there was an arguable case of contempt. Nine knew exactly who the suppression order referred to and eventually removed the precise names of the complainants from the articles, she said. Justice Rangiah will deliver his decision at a later date.
CTV News
28-06-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
New laws against blocking access to places of worship, schools coming, Fraser says
Pro-Palestine protesters and pro-Israel protesters face off at a demonstration at a synagogue in Thornhill, Ont., Thursday, March 7, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn OTTAWA — Justice Minister Sean Fraser says the Liberal government will press ahead with plans for new criminal provisions against blocking access to places or worship, schools and community centres. The measures, promised during the recent federal election campaign, would also create a criminal offence of wilfully intimidating or threatening people attending events at these venues. The minister's statement comes as civil libertarians point to existing provisions intended to curb such behaviour and push back against the idea of new measures that could infringe on freedom of expression and assembly. Tensions have risen in Canadian communities over public protests, many prompted by the ongoing hostilities in the Middle East. Several Canadian municipalities have taken steps recently to mandate 'bubble zones' that restrict protest activity near such places as religious institutions, schools and child care centres. 'It's not lost on me that there will be different levels of government that try to address this challenge in different ways,' Fraser said, adding that the federal government has an opportunity — where behaviour crosses a criminal threshold — to legislate in that space. 'We clearly have seen challenges when it comes to certain religious communities in Canada who are facing extraordinary discrimination — antisemitism, Islamophobia, and other forms of hate,' Fraser said in a recent interview. 'People need to know that in Canada they are free to pray to the God of their choice and to, at the same time, freely express themselves, but not to the point where you threaten the protected Charter rights of a religious minority.' James Turk, director of the Centre for Free Expression at Toronto Metropolitan University, said he questions the need for new provisions and suggests politicians are proposing penalties simply to appear to be doing something. He said existing laws against mischief, nuisance and interfering with religious celebrations can be used to deal with the kinds of behaviour the federal government wants to address. 'I haven't heard a single thing that isn't already illegal, so it's a waste of time. It adds confusion to the Criminal Code and it suggests that they're only engaged in performative activity,' Turk said. 'They want to be seen to be doing something about this pressure they're under.' Anaïs Bussières McNicoll, director of the fundamental freedoms program at the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, also said she wonders about the scope of the proposed new federal provisions 'and if they are necessary or simply duplicative of existing criminal offences.' Bussières McNicoll said it's important to remember that a protest might be disruptive but also protected by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms' guarantee of peaceful assembly. 'As a parent myself, I know that any protest can be sometimes scary for a child. We're talking about loud voices, huge crowds, emotions are running high,' she said. 'So I believe it's part of my role as a parent to teach my child about what living in a democracy means, why we need protests, why we need space in our society for strong language — including language that we disagree with — and to teach my child about what we can do if we personally disagree with speech that we hear.' Richard Robertson, director of research and advocacy at B'nai Brith Canada, said that while the organization welcomes the planned new federal provisions, additional federal measures are needed. B'nai Brith wants national 'vulnerable infrastructure legislation' that would prohibit protests within a certain distance of a place of worship or school, or perhaps during specific time periods, if they interfere with someone's ability to attend the institutions, Robertson said. 'That would remove the need for municipalities and provinces to adopt legislation, and it would send a clear message that across Canada, individuals do not have the right to prevent others from accessing their houses of worship and their community centres and cultural institutions.' With files from Anja Karadeglia This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 28, 2025. Jim Bronskill, The Canadian Press
Daily Mail
04-06-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
Holocaust survivor who was burned in the Colorado terror attack breaks her silence
An 88-year-old Holocaust survivor who was burned in the shocking terror attack in Boulder, Colorado broke her silence with a message of unity. Barbara Steinmetz spoke out to condemn the attack on Sunday, where at least 12 people were injured when suspect Mohamed Soliman allegedly threw Molotov cocktails at a pro-Israel protest, but said the community would recover. 'We are better than this,' she told NBC News. The 88-year-old said she and other members of the Run for their Lives event were 'peacefully' demonstrating when the attack unfolded. 'It's about what the hell is going on in our country,' Steinmetz continued. 'What the hell is going on?' Steinmetz's family fled Italy and Hungary to escape the Nazis decades ago, but said the attack on Sunday had 'nothing to do with the Holocaust, it has to do with a human being that wants to burn other people.' The outlet said Steinmetz appeared to still be rattled by the shock attack, but said she just wanted 'people to be nice and decent to each other, kind, respectful, encompassing.' 'We're Americans,' she said. 'We are better than this. That's what I want them to know. That they be kind and decent human beings.' Police said Soliman screamed 'Free Palestine' as he threw the Molotov cocktails at the protestors, and he is now facing 16 counts of attempted murder as well as federal hate crime charges. Rabbi Marc Soloway, the leader of Congregation Bonai Shalom in Boulder, where Steinmetz is a member, said the elderly woman suffered minor burns but is 'going to be okay.' Soloway added that although Steinmetz will recover, he wondered how someone who survived the Holocaust would process the anti-Israel attack. 'Can you imagine the trauma that that reactivates?' the rabbi said. 'It's just horrendous.' Steinmetz, an active and visible member of Boulder's Jewish community since she and her late husband moved from Michigan 20 years ago, was born in 1936 in her parents' native Hungary. Shortly after her birth, they returned to Italy, where they'd run an island hotel since the 1920s – but as Steinmetz progressed through her toddler years, it was becoming more and more dangerous for Jews in Europe. Steinmetz fled with her parents and sister in 1940 to Hungary, but her father saw the dangers there, too, and quickly planned to get out of the country. 'My dad encouraged the rest of my family to leave,' Steinmetz told CU Boulder students at a 2019 talk. 'They were scared — they simply couldn't envision what was to come…or that their friends [and] customers would turn on them.' As their family and Jews suffered increasingly under Hitler's regime, her 'cousin stole a Nazi uniform and brought food into the ghetto and caused plenty of mischief to the Nazis,' Steinmetz wrote in 2014 in a Holocaust film review. Her father eventually fled with his wife and children to France, then Portugal, then the Dominican Republic, stopping at Ellis Island on the way just for processing. The island nation's dictator, Rafael Trujillo, had agreed to accept Jewish refugees, and a Jewish resettlement organization established a community at Sosua. 'Sosua was an abandoned banana plantation … and these bedraggled refugees, doctors and lawyers and professors, came to this piece of land where there was one building we all slept,' Steinmetz said in an interview posted to Instagram in April. 'And there was water, and the women did the cooking, and the men tried to do the agriculture.' After four years of attending a Dominican Catholic school, telling no one she was Jewish or European, Steinmetz and her family were granted visas to the US. She and her sister immediately began attending Jewish summer camps, where they 'knew no one and didn't speak any English,' Boulder Jewish News reported five years ago, as Boulder JCC prepared to honor Steinmetz at its annual gala. The camps 'offered the opportunity to excel in sports and exposed them to what it means to be a Jew,' it continued. The family eventually settled in Detroit, where her mother ran the lunchroom at the Jewish Community Center (JCC), which became Steinmetz's 'home in America,' the outlet reported. 'Barb met and married Howard while still a teenager and college student. They moved to Saginaw, Michigan when she was a young mom,' it continued. 'They built a life there around Jewish community.' The Steinmetz had three daughters – Ivy, Julie and Monica – and lived in Saginaw for decades before moving to Boulder two decades ago. They left Michigan after filing suit against Dow Chemical over alleged dioxin poisoning on their property. Both Ivy and Howard Steinmetz died of cancer, ten months apart, in 2011. Steinmetz has been a frequent featured speaker in Colorado, sharing her experience as a Holocaust survivor for students and local groups as recently as March. She has been a vocal Jewish presence in Boulder for decades. Steinmetz's son-in-law, Bruce Shaffer, is a co-lead of Run for Their Lives, which orchestrated the event attacked on Sunday. The Shaffers split their time between Boulder and Jerusalem. Steinmetz had previously expressed fears about anti-Semitism and hate finding her in Boulder, writing to city authorities in 2016 to oppose the establishment of Nablus, in Palestine, as a sister city – which ultimately went ahead. 'I AM NEAR 80 YEARS I ONCE AGAIN HAVE TO DEAL WITH ANTI - JEWISH SENTIMENT IN MY OWN TOWN?' she wrote to Boulder's council in a letter publicly available online. 'HAVE I NOT COME TO AMERICA WHERE I CAN FIND DON'T TAKE THAT AWAY FROM ME AND MY COMMUNITY OF VERY ACTIVE CIVIC CITIZENS.'
