LONDON: An Israeli billionaire has left the executive board of Harvard’s Kennedy School in protest at the “shocking and insensitive” official response to a student letter that held Israel accountable for last week’s Hamas attack.
Idan Ofer, a shipping and chemicals businessman, and his wife Batia said they were quitting their roles at Harvard following the row.
A group of 33 student organizations at Harvard, led by the Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee, released a statement last Saturday holding Israel’s “apartheid regime” responsible for causing the latest outbreak of violence.
The statement said: “Today’s events did not occur in a vacuum. For the last two decades, millions of Palestinians in Gaza have been forced to live in an open-air prison. The apartheid regime is the only one to blame.”
The university’s response to the statement was criticized by 160 Harvard faculty members, who claimed that the student organizations “can be seen as nothing less than condoning the mass murder of civilians based only on their nationality.”
Harvard President Claudine Gay was accused by the Harvard Hillel Jewish center of contributing to “further hatred and antisemitism” by allegedly refusing to explicitly condemn Hamas in a response to the student group statement.
Harvard authorities said on Monday: “We write to you today heartbroken by the death and destruction unleashed by the attack by Hamas that targeted citizens in Israel this weekend, and by the war in Israel and Gaza now underway.”
A day letter, following criticism from former university President Lawrence Summers and former Harvard Medical School dean Jeffrey Flier, Gay said: “As the events of recent days continue to reverberate, let there be no doubt that I condemn the terrorist atrocities perpetrated by Hamas.
“Such inhumanity is abhorrent, whatever one’s individual views of the origins of longstanding conflicts in the region.
“Let me also state, on this matter as on others, that while our students have the right to speak for themselves, no student group — not even 30 student groups — speaks for Harvard University or its leadership.”
Hedge fund CEO Bill Ackman called for the names of the student signatories to be released to the public so that companies could avoid hiring them.
Sanaa Kahloon of the Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee said the student group’s message had been misinterpreted.
“To restate what should be obvious: The PSC staunchly opposes violence against civilians — Palestinian, Israeli, or other,” she added.
Committee members have been sent death threats in the wake of the row, with the group calling off a planned vigil to mourn deaths in Israel and Gaza over safety fears.
Israeli billionaire quits Harvard executive board over Hamas support row
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Israeli billionaire quits Harvard executive board over Hamas support row
- 33 student organizations blamed Israeli ‘apartheid regime’ for violence, saying ‘events did not occur in a vacuum’
- Idan Ofer calls official response to student letter ‘shocking and insensitive’
UN nuclear agency’s board votes to censure Iran for failing to cooperate fully with the watchdog
- The vote by the 35-member board at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna sets the stage for a likely further escalation of tensions between the agency and Iran
- Twenty members voted for the resolution, while Russia and China opposed it, 12 abstained and one did not vote
VIENNA: The UN nuclear watchdog’s board on Wednesday censured Iran for failing to cooperate fully with the agency, diplomats said, calling on Tehran to provide answers in a long-running investigation and reverse its decision to bar several experienced UN inspectors.
The development comes just over a week after a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency said Iran has further increased its stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels, he latest in Tehran’s attempts to steadily exert pressure on the international community.
The vote by the 35-member board at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna sets the stage for a likely further escalation of tensions between the agency and Iran, which has reacted strongly to similar previous resolutions.
Twenty members voted for the resolution, while Russia and China opposed it, 12 abstained and one did not vote, according to diplomats. They spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the outcome of the closed-doors vote. The resolution was put forward by France, Germany and Britain.
Censure resolutions by the IAEA board are not legally binding but send a strong political and diplomatic message.
The resolution, a draft of which was seen by The Associated Press, called on Tehran to implement a joint statement between Iran and the IAEA from March 2023. In that statement, Iran pledged to resolve issues surrounding sites where inspectors have questions about possible undeclared nuclear activity, and to allow the IAEA to “implement further appropriate verification and monitoring activities.”
Inspectors have said two sites near Tehran bore traces of processed uranium. The IAEA has urged Iran to provide “technically credible” answers about the origin and current location of the nuclear material in order for it “to be in a position to provide assurance that Iran’s nuclear program is exclusively peaceful.”
While the number of sites about which the IAEA has questions has been reduced from four to two since 2019, those lingering questions have been a persistent source of tensions.
The IAEA has identified the sites as Turquzabad and Varamin. The IAEA has said inspectors believe Iran used the Varamin site from 1999 until 2003 as a pilot project to process uranium ore and convert it into a gas form. The IAEA said buildings at the site had been demolished in 2004.
Tehran insists its program is peaceful, though the West and the IAEA say Iran had an organized military nuclear program until 2003.
Turquzabad is where the IAEA believes Iran took some of the material at Varamin amid the demolition, though it has said that alone cannot “explain the presence of the multiple types of isotopically altered particles” found there.
In an apparent attempt to raise the pressure on Tehran, the resolution approved Wednesday states that IAEA Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi may need to prepare a “comprehensive and updated assessment” on unresolved issues surrounding Iran’s nuclear program, if there is “a continued failure by Iran to provide the necessary, full and unambiguous co-operation” to resolve the unanswered questions.
The IAEA board last censured Iran in November 2022. Iran retaliated by beginning to enrich uranium to 60 percent purity at its Fordo nuclear plant. Uranium enriched at 60 percent purity is just a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90 percent.
Iran responded to a previous resolution in June 2022 by removing IAEA cameras and monitoring equipment from its nuclear sites.
Iran in September barred several experienced UN inspectors from monitoring the country’s nuclear program. Grossi said at the time that the decision constituted “a very serious blow” to the agency’s ability to do its job “to the best possible level.”
Under a 2015 deal with world powers, Tehran agreed to limit enrichment of uranium to levels necessary for generating nuclear power in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. At the time, UN inspectors were tasked with monitoring the program.
However, tensions steadily grew between Iran and the IAEA since 2018, when then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from the nuclear deal. Since then, Iran has abandoned all limits the deal put on its program and quickly stepped up enrichment.
US dismisses Houthi claims of Eisenhower carrier damage
- US-funded Voice of America quoted US Central Command source that neither USS Eisenhower nor any other US Navy ship targeted by the Houthis
AL-MUKALLA: The US military has denied the Houthis’ claim that their most recent missile and drone attacks in the Red Sea struck and damaged the US aircraft carrier Eisenhower.
The US-funded Voice of America quoted a US Central Command source on Wednesday as saying that neither the USS Eisenhower nor any other US Navy ship was targeted by the Houthis, accusing the Houthis of employing misinformation propaganda to back up their allegations.
“There is no truth to the Houthi claim of striking the USS Eisenhower or any US Navy vessel. This is an ongoing disinformation campaign that the Houthis have been conducting for months,” the US Central Command told the VOA.
Yemen’s Houthi militia has claimed responsibility for targeting the Eisenhower carrier in the Red Sea twice in less than a week in reaction to US and UK bombings that killed at least 16 people in the Houthi-held Hodeidah, western Yemen, on Thursday.
The Houthis claimed that their missiles and drones “precisely” targeted the US carrier, and they posted photographs of the damaged ship on social media to support their claim.
In a post on X, Houthi leader Mohammed Ali Al-Houthi asked that the US military permit journalists to visit the US carrier to disprove their allegations, promising not to target US Navy ships during the visit.
“We asked you to allow a media mission and identify when it will visit the American warships. We pledge not to conduct any bombing operations during the visit,” Al-Houthi said.
At the same time, the US Central Command reported on Tuesday night that the Houthis launched two anti-ship ballistic missiles into the Red Sea from regions under their control in Yemen in the previous 24 hours, but none of them struck any navy or commercial ships.
Over the last eight months, the Houthis have seized one commercial ship, destroyed another, and launched hundreds of ballistic missiles and drones at commercial and navy ships in the international sea lanes off Yemen, as well as the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean.
The Houthis claim they exclusively target ships connected or traveling to Israel in order to push Israel to cease its assault in Gaza, and they attacked the US and US ships after the two countries struck Yemen.
Meanwhile, five Yemeni troops were killed on Wednesday morning while repelling a Houthi assault in the southern province of Lahj, local media and officials said.
Mohammed Al-Naqeeb, a spokesperson for pro-independence southern forces, told Arab News that the Houthis assaulted his men in the Kirsh district of Lahj on Wednesday morning, resulting in three hours of severe battle that killed five separatist forces and an unknown number of Houthis.
“This demonstrates that any peace plan cannot work in light of the Houthi militia’s ongoing military aggression on many fronts,” Al-Naqeeb said.
The Houthis’ attack on Wednesday is the latest in a series of deadly military actions by the Houthis aimed against government soldiers and pro-independence southerners in various areas.
On Sunday, two Yemeni troops were killed in a Houthi strike in northern Dhale province.
The Houthi military escalation comes as foreign mediators and diplomats continue diplomatic shuttles between Yemen and other regional countries in an attempt to restart peace talks to end the war in Yemen.
A number of EU ambassadors to Yemen concluded on Wednesday a visit to Yemen’s port city of Aden, the country’s temporary capital, after meeting with Aidarous Al-Zubaidi, a member of the Presidential Leadership Council, ministers, the governor of the central bank, and other officials.
The ambassadors said they urged the Yemeni government and the PLC to work together to solve economic difficulties such as increasing revenues and improving public services, and they also voiced support for UN-brokered peace talks.
“They underscored the importance of ensuring respect for fundamental rights and a conducive operating environment for humanitarian and development actors helping Yemenis,” the EU ambassadors to Yemen said in a statement.
Turkiye urges Chinese authorities to protect the cultural rights of minority Muslim Uyghurs
- Türkiye has cultural and ethnic ties to the Uyghurs and many members of the community, fleeing human rights violations in the region, have found sanctuary in Türkiye
- China is accused of sending more than a million Uyghurs and other largely Muslim minorities into prisons and detention camps
ANKARA: Türkiye’s foreign minister has urged Chinese authorities to protect the cultural rights of minority Muslim Uyghurs in China’s western Xinjiang province and allow them to “live their values,” a Turkish official said Wednesday.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Wednesday concluded a three-day visit to China, where he met with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, Vice President Han Zheng and other officials. He also traveled to the cities of Urumqi and Kashgar in Xinjiang province, becoming the first Turkish official to travel to the region since President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited in 2012.
Türkiye has cultural and ethnic ties to the Uyghurs and many members of the community, fleeing human rights violations in the region, have found sanctuary in Türkiye.
China is accused of sending more than a million Uyghurs and other largely Muslim minorities into prisons and detention camps. Beijing denies human rights abuses and says the centers were for vocational training.
The Turkish government, which once vehemently criticized China’s treatment of Uyghurs, has moderated its criticism as it developed stronger economic relations with Beijing.
Fidan told Chinese officials during his meetings that Türkiye respects China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, the Turkish official said. But the minister added that the Turkish people and the Islamic world have “sensitivities” concerning the protection of Uyghurs’ cultural rights, according to the official.
Fidan conveyed the message that removing the concerns “would be of great benefit to everyone,” according to the official, who provided the information on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly on the issue.
China is Türkiye’s third-largest trading partner. Ankara is trying to reduce a trade imbalance that is in China’s favor by urging it to import more Turkish agricultural goods, increase investments and motivate more Chinese tourists to visit Turkiye, the official said.
Netanyahu says Israel ‘prepared for very intense operation’ on Lebanon border
- “One way or another, we will restore security to the north,” Netanyahu said
- In past weeks, Israel has ramped up its targeting of Hezbollah fighters
JERUSALEM: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that Israel was “prepared for a very intense operation” along the border with Lebanon, where Israeli troops have exchanged near-daily fire with Hezbollah fighters.
Almost eight months of exchanges between Israel and the Iran-backed movement, a Hamas ally, have intensified over the past week, with Israel striking deeper into Lebanese territory.
“We are prepared for a very intense operation in the north. One way or another, we will restore security to the north,” Netanyahu said during a visit to the border area.
Hezbollah said later it launched several attacks on Israeli positions during the day, including a “guided missile” strike on an “Iron Dome platform in the Ramot Naftali barracks.”
In past weeks, Israel has ramped up its targeting of Hezbollah fighters and allied Palestinian and Lebanese militants in cars and on motorbikes in Lebanon.
Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partners National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich have both called in recent days for urgent action to restore security to northern Israel.
“They burn us here, all Hezbollah strongholds should also burn and be destroyed. WAR!” Ben Gvir said on Tuesday in a Telegram post.
Smotrich said on Monday: “We must move the security strip from inside Israeli territory in the Galilee to southern Lebanon, including a ground invasion, occupation of the territory and distancing Hezbollah terrorists and hundreds of thousands of Lebanese among whom Hezbollah hides to the other side of the Litani river,” nearly 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of the border.
The violence since early October has killed at least 455 people in Lebanon, mostly fighters but including 88 civilians, according to an AFP tally.
On the Israeli side, at least 14 soldiers and 11 civilians have been killed, according to the army.
Thousands of Israeli police deploy in Jerusalem ahead of flag day march
- Flag day march takes place as the war in Gaza approaches the start of its ninth month, adding to concerns of wider violence
- Palestinians see the march as a blatant provocation aimed at undermining their claim to East Jerusalem as the capital of a future independent state
JERUSALEM: Thousands of Israeli police deployed in the streets of Jerusalem on Wednesday ahead of the annual flag day procession that marks Israel’s capture of East Jerusalem in 1967 and has in the past led to clashes between marchers and Palestinians.
The march this year takes place as the war in Gaza approaches the start of its ninth month, adding to concerns of wider violence.
Tens of thousands of marchers carrying blue and white Israeli flags are expected to parade through the narrow streets of the Old City, where many Palestinian shopkeepers shutter their businesses for fear of racist violence.
A police spokesperson said more than 3,000 police would be on duty to “maintain the routine of life as much as possible.”
“Israelis proceeding through Israel with Israeli flags is not incendiary, it’s just a national holiday that’s going to be taking place,” he said.
Israel considers all of Jerusalem, including East Jerusalem, which it seized in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed in a move not recognized internationally, as the “eternal and undivided” capital of the Jewish state.
Palestinians see the march as a blatant provocation aimed at undermining their claim to East Jerusalem as the capital of a future independent state. Last year, the event saw groups of Jewish youths chant slogans including “Death to Arabs!“
The walled Old City of Jerusalem, home to some of the holiest sites of the Jewish, Muslim and Christian religions, has been a regular flashpoint for trouble, often from visitors from outside the area, where the three communities live in close proximity among the narrow alleyways.
This year, there was increased attention on the possibility of tensions flaring and a reaction from Hamas, which issued a statement calling for “general mobilization and confrontation” in Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank.
Violence during the march in 2021 helped contribute to the start of a 10-day war between Israel and the Islamist movement which had warned it would react to what it considered incursions at the Al Aqsa Mosque compound and attempts by Jewish settler groups to forcibly displace Palestinian residents from their homes.
The police said the march would not enter the hilltop compound, the third holiest site for Muslims and the holiest place for Jews, who revere it as Temple Mount, the site of two ancient Temples destroyed in antiquity.
Large numbers of Jewish visitors were reported to have entered the compound in the morning, under the arrangement with the Jordanian authority that administers the site which allows them to visit the compound but not to pray there.
