Hungary welcomes Bibi to Budapest, tells ICC to get lost

ALGEMEINER
Hungary Announces Withdrawal From ‘Political’ ICC as Netanyahu Visits Country, Defying Arrest Warrant
Ailin Vilches Arguello
April 3, 2025

Hungary on Thursday announced that it will withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC) as the country welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the capital city of Budapest, defying an ICC arrest warrant against him over allegations of war crimes in Gaza. Despite Hungary’s status as a signatory of the Rome Statute, which established the ICC, Netanyahu was not taken into custody upon his arrival in Budapest. Instead, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban welcomed his Israeli counterpart with full military honors. Netanyahu’s visit to Hungary, which is scheduled to last until Sunday, is his first trip to Europe since the ICC issued an arrest warrant against him last year. READ MORE

JNS Hungary defies ICC, welcomes Netanyahu with military honor guard Orbán, having earlier posted a message on X welcoming Netanyahu to the country and calling it “the safest place in Europe,” pressed that theme at the press conference, noting that Hungary’s Jewish community is the third-largest in Europe. While antisemitism has reached levels “never before seen” in Western Europe, in Hungary no Hamas flags wave, he said. “Hungary has zero tolerance for antisemitism.” The reason antisemitism is on the rise in Western Europe is due to mass illegal immigration, he said, adding that his country will never accept such migration.

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“Hamas ‘quietly drops’ thousands of deaths from casualty figures. Claims that 70 per cent of the fatalities are women and children are complete nonsense, says report”

JPOST
Hamas admits 72% of deaths are combat-aged men as it quietly reduces civilian death toll
April 3, 2025

Hamas quietly removed the names of thousands of Palestinians it had previously alleged were killed during the Israel-Hamas war, Salo Aizenberg, from the US-based non-profit organisation Honest Reporting told The Telegraph on Tuesday after analyzing Hamas’s March 2025 casualty update. Hamas has previously claimed that 70% of casualties have been women and children, a claim no longer reflected in their recently updated lists, according to the research. Approximately 72% of fatalities between the ages of 13-55 are men – the demographic category aligns with Hamas combatants. “Hamas’s new March 2025 fatality list quietly drops 3,400 fully ‘identified’ deaths listed in its August and October 2024 reports – including 1,080 children. These ‘deaths’ never happened. The numbers were falsified – again,” Aizenberg asserted. READ MORE

MIDDLE EAST FORUM John Spencer on Israel’s Urban War in Gaza: A Technical Analysis In any comparable context, “Israel’s civilian-to-combatant ratio is still historically low,” given the precautionary measures it took. “Israel has done more and implemented more measures to prevent civilian harm than any military in the history of urban warfare.” Israel’s evacuation of Gazan cities, its limited use of force, and its distribution of maps “to communicate with the civilians” were all actions taken to minimize civilian casualties.

JPOST Former US presidential candidate claims 400,000 Gazans died in war without evidence Former US presidential candidate Ralph Nader claimed that over 400,000 Gazans have been killed by the IDF, without evidence, since the start of the war in October 2023, in a Monday article on the left-wing online magazine CounterPunch. In his article, titled “The Vast Gaza Death Undercount,” he says that Gaza’s civilian population would not “withstand over 115,000 tons of bombs, plus artillery, grenades, and snipers targeting civilians, with uncontrollable fires everywhere.” 

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Oren: “If I have learned one thing in my time in political life it is this: Never bet against Israel’s longest-serving prime minister”

CLARITY WITH MICHAEL OREN
How Does Bibi Survive?
Michael Oren
April 1, 2025

The perennial eulogists of Benjamin Netanyahu’s career are having a banner week. Though it lacks a constitution, Israel stands on the brink of what might otherwise be called a constitutional crisis sparked by Netanyahu’s firing of Ronen Bar, head of the Shin Bet national security agency—Israel’s equivalent to the FBI. The government has also begun the process of ousting Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara. Both she and Bar stand accused of unreasonably opposing the government’s decisions and of representing a left-wing “deep state.” Bar, in response, has charged Netanyahu with acting not in the state’s interests but out of political and personal considerations. The actions against Bar and Baharav-Miara have sparked mass protests against what many Israelis view as an all-out assault on democracy by the Netanyahu government. READ MORE

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“Strategically, meanwhile, the Iranian regime is on the back foot”

NEWSWEEK
A Grim Message for Iranians
Ilan Berman
April 1, 2025

Over the past half-year, its extensive proxy network has been largely dismantled by Israel, which has methodically taken the fight to Iran’s main Palestinian ally, Hamas, to Hezbollah in Lebanon, and to Iran itself. As a result, the regime now finds itself in its weakest regional position in decades. For the moment, at least, Iran’s ayatollahs are playing coy. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei dismissed Trump’s overture as “a deception,” maintaining that Tehran and Washington don’t have anything to talk about. But the adverse conditions above suggest Iran’s leaders may decide to make a deal with the United States after all, and likely sooner rather than later. If they do, the Trump administration could find itself throwing a lifeline to a failing, deeply unpopular regime desperate to preserve its hold on power. READ MORE

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Hoffman: “Antisemitism is the one bigotry that still gets a pass in elite circles — so long as it’s wrapped in the flag of Palestine and framed as “anti-Zionism””

FUTURE OF JEWISH
Palestinian ‘activism’ is actually domestic terrorism
Joshua Hoffman
March 30, 2025

There’s a long and noble tradition of civil disobedience in the world — from Mahatma Gandhi’s salt march to Martin Luther King Jr.’s marches in Selma. These movements were rooted in moral clarity, peaceful resistance, and a sincere yearning for justice. The document produced by Palestine Action — emailed to me by a reader this past week — is not that. Instead, what we find in Palestine Action: The Underground Manual is a disturbing descent into lawlessness, extremism, and open calls for criminal sabotage disguised as “activism.” The absurdity and dangerous fanaticism laid bare in this manual — and reinforced on their official website — deserve to be exposed and condemned by anyone who values democracy, civil society, and the rule of law. READ MORE

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“In the first year of Israel’s battle against a death cult, I traveled the country—and saw what it means to choose life”

FREE PRESS
If War Came, Would You Fight?
Douglas Murray
April 2, 2025

…From the moment the [October 7] massacre began, I decided that I wanted to see some of the terrorists face-to-face: to look into the eyes of the people who had been so high on the thrill of death, as they brought it on men, women, and children that morning. Eventually, in April 2024, I got permission to visit one of the world’s most secure prisons. The facility, at an undisclosed location, held some of the most dedicated and murderous people who had broken into Israel the day of the massacre and been caught alive. It was made clear to me that, however defeated they looked now, these were people who had done the most unimaginable things when they were in a position of power just a few months before…Now, one of the terrorists who committed this atrocity was only a few feet away from me in the prison. READ MORE

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“There’s no way to whitewash Erdogan’s antisemitic remarks. He defends them by pointing to the suffering of Gaza’s residents at the hands of what he describes as “Israeli aggression””

JPOST
Erdogan demands Allah to ‘damn Zionist Israel’ in Eid al-Fitr remarks, Israel condemns
James Genn
March 30, 2025

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for the destruction of Israel at the Turkish Eid al-Fitr (festival ending Ramadan) prayer on Sunday, with Turkey’s state-run news agency Anadolu quoting the president as saying, “May Allah damn Zionist Israel.” Erdogan spoke at the Grand Camlica Mosque in Istanbul…Israel Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said, “The dictator Erdogan revealed his antisemitic face,” adding that “Erdogan is dangerous to the region, as well as to his own people, as has been proven in recent days,” referring to the widespread protests denouncing Erdogan after he ordered the detention of [political opponent] Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu. READ MORE

YNET Erdogan’s embrace of Hamas and anti-Israel rhetoric fuel regional concerns Turkish president’s rhetoric and crackdown on dissent deepen tensions with Israel; while ties remain frozen, US President Trump may eventually step in to revive the strained relationship. In the past 24 hours, I spoke with five key individuals—two in Istanbul, often dubbed Turkey’s Tel Aviv, and three in the capital, Ankara. Each of them had visited Israel at least once. What stood out most was how easily Erdogan’s antisemitic outburst—”May Allah bring ruin and destruction upon Zionist Israel“—was dismissed.

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“Reports suggest Palestinians were killed for opposing the Islamist group’s rule; human rights groups condemn the crackdown”

JNS
Gazans chant ‘Hamas out!’ at funeral of protester
Joshua Marks
March 30, 2025

Hamas may have executed Palestinians who participated in rare protests against the group’s governance in the Gaza Strip. One of the individuals allegedly killed was 22-year-old Oday Nasser Al Rabay. According to his family, he was detained, subjected to physical abuse, and later died in custody. His remains were returned to his relatives over the weekend. Footage from Al Rabay’s funeral appears to show attendees chanting slogans critical of Hamas, including calls for the group’s removal from power…International human rights organizations have raised concerns about Hamas’s response to dissent, citing reports of arbitrary detentions, intimidation and use of torture against political opponents. READ MORE

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“European countries failed to teach history to their youth, so their population has no memory of the brutal Umayyad Muslim invasion of Spain from Africa in the year 711, or the 903 years of brutal war that took place until the Muslim invaders were thrown out of Europe in the year 1614”

SAVE THE WEST
Dying Europe can still be saved
Kenneth Abramowitz
March 7, 2025

Europe has been dying for nearly 100 years. Five notable years stand out for the beginning of Europe’s demise… In 2015, then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel opened Germany’s borders to more than one million Muslim migrants (aka “refugees”) from Syria, Libya, Egypt, and elsewhere to enter Germany, creating a demographic, cultural, and economic time bomb against its Christian citizens. In addition, European countries made numerous other mistakes. Since World War II, European governments have provided the mass of immigrants with overly generous welfare benefits. In 1984, five EU countries signed the Schengen Agreement, removing internal border controls, thus allowing free movement throughout much of Europe. This facilitated a full-scale invasion by Muslims from the Middle East and Africa, who entered Europe through the open borders of its Mediterranean countries. READ MORE

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“Netanyahu gave Mossad this secret assignment several weeks ago”

AXIOS
Israeli Mossad asks African countries to take Palestinians from Gaza
Barak Ravid
March 28, 2025

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu tasked Israel’s Mossad foreign intelligence agency with finding countries that would agree to receive large numbers of Palestinians displaced from the Gaza Strip, two Israeli officials tell Axios. President Trump’s proposal to remove all two million Palestinians from Gaza to rebuild the enclave hasn’t gone anywhere. But Netanyahu is also looking for ways to relocate large numbers of Palestinians, potentially to countries thousands of miles away. Talks have already taken place with Somalia and South Sudan — two poor conflict-plagued countries in East Africa — as well as other countries including Indonesia, according to the two Israeli officials and a former U.S. official. READ MORE

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