STRASBOURG, France: An Israeli film festival in the eastern French city of Strasbourg has been indefinitely postponed as the Gaza war rages, authorities said Friday.
The Shalom Europa festival has been hosted in the city for 15 years and was scheduled to be held from June 16 to June 20. But France has reported an increased number of anti-Semitic attacks since the Gaza war erupted on October 7.
The city council did not give a reason for the postponement but said Strasbourg “has always supported the Shalom Europa festival and will continue to do so. It promises to help hold the festival on a date that is opportune for the organizers.”
The Israeli community group that organizes the event did not reply to AFP requests for comment.
The Shalom Europa festival said on its Facebook page that “events” had forced the decision to hold the event at a “calmer” time, adding that “The safety and well-being of our participants is our absolute priority.”
The French Jewish community, the third largest in the world, has for months been on edge in the face of a growing number of attacks and desecrations of memorials.
On May 17, French police shot dead a man who set fire to a synagogue in the northern city of Rouen.
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French city postpones Israeli film festival amid Gaza tensions
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French city postpones Israeli film festival amid Gaza tensions
- The city council did not give a reason for the postponement
- The Shalom Europa festival said on its Facebook page that “events” had forced the decision to hold the event at a “calmer” time
Man charged with threatening to kill US vice president
WASHINGTON: A federal grand jury charged a 33-year-old man with threatening to kill US Vice President JD Vance during his visit to Ohio in January, the Justice Department said on Friday.
Shannon Mathre, a resident of Toledo, Ohio, is accused of “making a threat to take the life of, and to inflict bodily harm upon” the vice president, the department said in a statement.
Mathre reportedly said he was “going to find out where he (the vice president) is going to be and use my M14 automatic gun and kill him,” according to the statement. It did not say where he made the comment.
US Secret Service agents arrested Mathre on Friday.
The threat is the latest reported incident involving Vance.
Vance said in early January “a crazy person” had tried to break into his Ohio home by hammering on the windows. The vice president and his family were not home at the time, and a 26-year-old man was taken into custody, according to US media reports.
The Justice Department said on Friday it found “multiple digital files of child sexual abuse materials” in Mathre’s possession while investigating the alleged threat against Vance.
Mathre made his initial court appearance before a US Magistrate Judge for the Northern District of Ohio on Friday.
He is in custody pending a detention hearing on February 11, the Justice Department said.
Shannon Mathre, a resident of Toledo, Ohio, is accused of “making a threat to take the life of, and to inflict bodily harm upon” the vice president, the department said in a statement.
Mathre reportedly said he was “going to find out where he (the vice president) is going to be and use my M14 automatic gun and kill him,” according to the statement. It did not say where he made the comment.
US Secret Service agents arrested Mathre on Friday.
The threat is the latest reported incident involving Vance.
Vance said in early January “a crazy person” had tried to break into his Ohio home by hammering on the windows. The vice president and his family were not home at the time, and a 26-year-old man was taken into custody, according to US media reports.
The Justice Department said on Friday it found “multiple digital files of child sexual abuse materials” in Mathre’s possession while investigating the alleged threat against Vance.
Mathre made his initial court appearance before a US Magistrate Judge for the Northern District of Ohio on Friday.
He is in custody pending a detention hearing on February 11, the Justice Department said.
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