Category World News

International activists deported from Israel after joining an intercepted Gaza aid flotilla have given further accounts of mistreatment by guards during their detention.

The latest claims made by participants in the Global Sumud Flotilla added to the growing scrutiny of Israel on Sunday for its treatment of the activists.

Some 450 participants in the flotilla were arrested between Wednesday and Friday as Israeli forces intercepted the boats, which were seeking to break a naval blockade of Gaza and deliver a symbolic amount of aid to Palestinians in the besieged territory.

Speaking at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport on his return on Sunday, Italian activist Cesare Tofani said, “We were treated terribly … From the army, we moved on to the police. There was harassment,” ANSA news agency reported.

Yassine Lafram, the president of the Union of Islamic Communities in Italy, who landed at Milan Malpensa Airport with the activists, told the Corriere della Sera newspaper: “They even treated us violently, pointing weapons at us, and this is absolutely unacceptable for us in a country that considers itself democratic.”

Italian journalist Saverio Tommasi, who landed at Fiumicino Airport late on Saturday, said Israeli soldiers had withheld medicines and treated the detained activists “like monkeys”, The Associated Press reported.

He said the Israeli guards mocked the detained activists – who included Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, Nelson Mandela’s grandson Mandla Mandela, and several European lawmakers – in order to “demean, ridicule and laugh in situations where there is nothing to laugh about”.

Activists targeted with laser sights

Italian journalist Lorenzo D’Agostino said that his belongings and money had been “stolen by the Israelis”.

Speaking to AP on his arrival at Turkiye’s Istanbul Airport after being deported from Israel on Saturday, he said he had been repeatedly woken up by guards during the two nights he spent in detention.

He said the detained activists were also intimidated with dogs and by soldiers pointing the laser sights of their guns at prisoners “to scare us”.

Another activist, Paolo De Montis, reported experiencing “constant stress and humiliation” at the hands of the guards, who kept him in a prison van for hours with his hands secured by zip ties.

“You weren’t allowed to look them in the face, always had to keep your head down and when I did look up, a man … came and shook me and slapped me on the back of the head,” he told AP. “They forced us to stay on our knees for four hours.”

Deported activists from the flotilla had earlier spoken out about the mistreatment of Thunberg, one of the highest profile members of the mission, in particular, saying she had been “dragged on the ground”, “forced to kiss the Israeli flag”, and “used as propaganda”.

‘Brazen lies’

Israel’s Foreign Ministry and its far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir gave conflicting responses to the activists’ allegations, with the ministry insisting the stories of ill-treatment were “brazen lies”, while Ben-Gvir said he was “proud” of the detainees’ harsh treatment in Ketziot prison.

“I was proud that we treat the ‘flotilla activists’ as supporters of terrorism. Anyone who supports terrorism is a terrorist and deserves the conditions of terrorists,” he said in a statement.

“If any of them thought they would come here and receive a red carpet and trumpets – they were mistaken,” said Ben-Gvir, who was filmed taunting the activists as they were brought ashore.

“They should get a good feel for the conditions in Ketziot prison and think twice before they approach Israel again.”

By contrast, Israel’s Foreign Ministry said that claims of mistreatment of Thunberg and other flotilla activists were “lies”.

“All the detainees’ legal rights are fully upheld,” the ministry said in a post on X on Sunday.

“Interestingly enough, Greta herself and other detainees refused to expedite their deportation and insisted on prolonging their stay in custody. Greta also did not complain to the Israeli authorities about any of these ludicrous and baseless allegations – because they never occurred.”

Israel’s arrests and treatment of the activists led to criticism from countries including Pakistan, Turkiye and Colombia, and street protests around the world, as well as a written protest from Greece.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry said the country deported a further 29 flotilla activists on Sunday, but many remain in detention in Israel.

In response to reports of a spate of violent crimes against religious sites, police in the UK are looking into a possible arson attack on a mosque in southern England as a “hate crime.”

On Saturday, just before 10 p.m. (22:00 GMT), officers were called to the scene of an arson attack on Phyllis Avenue in Peacehaven, East Sussex, according to local police.

According to them, the fire destroyed a car and the mosque’s front entrance, adding that no one was hurt.

A burned-out car is visible at the mosque’s entrance, according to images and video shared online.

Two people were inside the building when two balaclava-clad people tried to force the mosque door open, according to a report on CNN, which quoted a volunteer mosque manager. The building was then set on fire by two balaclava-clad people.

The mosque’s spokesperson stated in a statement that the community was “deeply saddened” by the “shocking” attack. We are deeply appreciative that no one was hurt, despite the incident having damaged our building and vehicles.

“This hateful behavior does not fit our town or our community.” We will continue to live up to the values that Peacehaven has always fostered, such as kindness, respect, and mutual support,” the statement continued.

We urged everyone to reject division and show compassion and unity when responding to hate, the statement continued.

According to Detective Superintendent Karrie Bohanna, the Muslim community was concerned by the attack. According to Bohanna, “there is already an increased police presence at the scene, and there are also additional patrols taking place across the county to provide reassurance,”.

There is no place for hate in the county, according to Sussex Police, who adopt a zero-tolerance policy against hate crime.

Possible “terrorist” act

The police must determine the origins of the attack and whether it qualifies as “an act of terrorism,” according to Mothin Ali, deputy leader of the Green Party.

People in this community will feel terrified and targeted for their faith because they were inside the mosque when it was firebombed, Ali said.

Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven Labour MP Chris Ward described the “disgusting” attack as “appalled.”

He claimed that there were no injuries, which was purely accidental. Our peaceful, accepting neighborhood has no place for this hatred and violence. We’ll find a way to stop it and show our support to those who are affected.

Following a ramming and stabbing on Thursday at a synagogue in northern Manchester, the attack comes. Two people were seriously hurt, and three were killed.

The Islamophobic arson attack was condemned by the Muslim Council of Britain, which urged authorities to “provide robust protection for all places of worship.”

The mosque attack “follows a disturbing pattern of intimidation and violence,” it continued. The council added in its statement that “a mosque was attacked just last week in Hounslow, while mosques across the nation were targeted by coordinated hate campaigns and bomb threats.”

Separately, the East London Mosque stated on X that “our communities must remain unwavering – Muslims, Jews, Christians, people of all faiths, and none – in standing together against extremism, intolerance, and violence.”

The British Jewish Board’s Deputies also criticized the mosque attack, stating on X that “every faith community has the right to worship without fear.” Better than this is our nation.

Following months of protests against asylum seekers and a social media campaign called #OperationRaisetheColours, the UK’s climate is still tense.

The call was heeded in recent weeks by those who pinned the flag of England with St. George’s Cross and Union Jacks to some shops, lampposts, roundabouts, and other public places across the country. The white stripes of zebra crossings have been painted with red crosses.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has become the target of a sustained right-wing backlash after the US-based Jewish advocacy group included an organisation founded by slain right-wing figure Charlie Kirk in its online database on extremism.

The blowback escalated sharply on Wednesday after FBI Director Kash Patel announced that the bureau would sever ties with the ADL, accusing the prominent advocacy group of spying on Americans.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk’s post calling the ADL a “hate group” set off a firestorm of criticism online, forcing the group to scrap the “Glossary of Extremism and Hate”, which contained more than a thousand entries on groups and movements with connections to hateful ideologies.

But that has not subdued the backlash from conservatives – the base of the governing Republican Party.

So, what’s ADL’s online database, and why has it triggered MAGA (Make America Great Again) rage? And how has the nonprofit, which backed the crackdown on pro-Palestine campus protests by the administration of US President Donald Trump, ended up ruffling feathers across the political spectrum?

What is ADL?

The ADL is one of the oldest and most influential Jewish advocacy groups in the United States. It was founded in 1913 by members of the B’nai B’rith – Hebrew for “Sons of the Covenant”, a Jewish fraternal organisation – to counter anti-Semitism and prejudice against Jews.

The group, which calls itself “a global leader in combating antisemitism”, started with its original mission, “to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all”.

Over time, the ADL grew into a national force with branches spread across the country. It works closely with law enforcement agencies to train officers on identifying bias-motivated violence. It also develops programmes and resources on anti-Semitism and the Holocaust, partnering with schools, universities and communities.

Its monitoring of right-wing racist and anti-LGBTQ+ extremism also allowed it space within the US’s liberal Jewish community.

Since its inception, the ADL has argued that anti-Zionism could lead to anti-Semitism. But in the past couple of decades, the nonprofit has been pushing to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism, which conflates some criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism. The ADL has also backed a controversial resolution passed by the US Congress that defined anti-Zionism as anti-Semitism.

The ADL is a well-resourced civil society group, with around $163m in revenue last year alone.

What caused the backlash against ADL?

The recent backlash was triggered after several influential right-wing social media accounts began posting screenshots of the ADL’s entry on Kirk’s organisation, Turning Point USA, in its “Glossary of Extremism”.

Kirk, who is credited with galvanising young voters for Trump, was assassinated last month.

Though Turning Point USA was not listed as an “extremist organization”, the nonprofit had documented incidents where its leadership and affiliated members had made “racist or bigoted comments”.

ADL’s entry on “Christian Identity” – which the nonprofit identified as an extremist theology that promotes white supremacy – also drew widespread criticism from right-wing influencers.

The ADL has long positioned itself as a nonpartisan watchdog. But conservatives have increasingly argued that it has become politically aligned with progressive causes, including the group’s partnerships with social media companies in moderating hate-speech policies.

Jonathan Greenblatt, the ADL’s CEO, has been accused of “weaponising anti-Semitism” to attack critics of liberal policies and of conflating right-wing populism with hate speech in the past.

In the weeks following Kirk’s assassination, the US has seen a wave of right-wing backlash against public figures who criticised him, with several commentators and journalists facing professional repercussions – including the brief suspension of a television show by comedian Jimmy Kimmel and the firing of Washington Post columnist Karen Attiah.

What was in ADL’s online database?

The ADL “Glossary of Extremism and Hate” was an online, searchable database launched in March 2022 by the organisation’s Center on Extremism. After the backlash from right-wing influencers, mostly from the MAGA camp, the ADL quietly moved to retire its database from the public.

The database contained more than 1,000 entries providing overviews and definitions of terms, symbols, slogans, tactics, publications, groups, and individuals associated with various extremist ideologies, hate movements, and related activities.

The resource covered a broad spectrum, including white supremacism, anti-Semitism, anti-Muslim bigotry, and extremism on the far right and far left. The glossary reportedly included groups like the Proud Boys, the Nation of Islam, the Oath Keepers, and others.

The ADL, in its statement, argued that “an increasing number of entries in the Glossary were outdated”, and “a number of entries [were] intentionally misrepresented and misused”.

The organisation further said that it wanted to focus on exploring “new strategies and creative approaches to deliver our data and present our research more effectively”.

The list is no longer publicly available on ADL’s site, and the original URL now redirects to the organisation’s home page.

How did Musk get into this?

The online smear campaign gained traction on Sunday night after billionaire Elon Musk started interacting with posts targeting the ADL.

Musk, who has more than 227 million followers on X, said, “The ADL hates Christians, therefore it is is [sic] a hate group.”

The ADL’s operations encourage murder, Musk said in another reply to a post on X, formerly Twitter, which he bought in 2022 after paying $44bn.

Musk’s attacks on the ADL still came as a shock to some. ADL’s Greenblatt has, in fact, praised Musk several times, including in 2023 for saying that X would block use of the pro-Palestinian slogan “from the river to the sea”.

That applause reportedly led to the resignation of a top ADL executive, Yael Eisenstat, who headed the nonprofit’s Center for Technology and Society, and the group lost several donors.

The ADL has also criticised Musk, saying X’s Grok chatbot promoted pro-Nazi ideology. The chatbot has praised Adolf Hitler, and called itself “MechaHitler”.

Former and current ADL employees have told Jewish Currents, a US-based progressive publication, that Greenblatt has repeatedly given a pass to Musk’s white nationalist sympathies if they help the ADL fight anti-Zionism – a pattern that reportedly escalated after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, followed by Israel’s now two-year-long war on Palestine, which has been dubbed genocide by an United Nations inquiry panel.

Then again, earlier this year, Greenblatt came to Musk’s defence after several Jewish lawmakers and civil society groups condemned Musk’s fascist-style salutes on stage during a speech after Trump’s re-election.

The ADL had posted: “It seems that Elon Musk made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute.”

Why did the FBI snap ties with ADL?

The FBI’s decision to cut ties with the ADL also marks a sharp rupture in a partnership that had lasted for decades, at least since the 1940s, rooted in joint efforts to train law enforcement officers and monitor extremist threats across the US.

The move was announced by FBI chief Patel just 24 hours after Musk joined the online campaign, accusing the ADL of having “become a political front masquerading as a watchdog”.

Patel also targeted James Comey, an American lawyer who served as the director of the FBI from 2013 to 2017, during the era of US President Barack Obama.

“James Comey wrote ‘love letters’ to the ADL and embedded FBI agents with them – a group that ran disgraceful ops spying on Americans,” Kash said in a post on X, without offering any more clarity on this.

“That era is OVER. This FBI won’t partner with political fronts masquerading as watchdogs,” he concluded.

Why is ADL accused of pro-Israel bias and of suppressing pro-Palestinian activism?

The ADL has also faced criticism from left-wing activists for exhibiting a pro-Israel bias and suppressing pro-Palestinian activism, particularly in the wake of widespread protests across US campuses over the Gaza war that has killed more than 67,000 Palestinians and turned the Palestinian enclave into ruins.

The advocacy group has dubbed grassroots protests against Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza as “pro-Hamas activism”, while its CEO Greenblatt has described the Jewish groups calling for a ceasefire as “the ugly core of anti-Zionism”.

The ADL also publicly campaigned against campus protests last year, describing some demonstrations as “antisemitic hate rallies”. The group urged university administrators and government officials to take action against protest organisers, and pressured institutions to censor or discipline dissenting voices.

ADL’s Greenblatt praised Trump for withholding $400m in grants to Columbia University after campus protests and complimented the arrest of Columbia pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil.

“We appreciate the Trump Administration’s broad, bold set of efforts to counter campus antisemitism – and this action further illustrates that resolve by holding alleged perpetrators responsible for their actions,” the ADL posted above a tweet about Khalil’s arrest.

The ADL’s collaboration with the US administration has dented its credibility, and several staff have resigned, citing the organisation’s overt emphasis on pro-Israel advocacy.

In the general election, Moldova’s pro-European Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) won the election on September 28. It also established a new geopolitical trend and defeated the Patriotic Electoral Bloc (PEB), which is favored by Russia.

Russia is losing ground in post-Soviet Eurasia as a result of Russian aggression against Ukraine. In paradoxical circumstances, Moscow launched a massive invasion of its neighbor in 2022 to assert its authority over what it refers to as its “near abroad.” More than three years later, the failure of the strategy is painfully obvious.

Russia is being relegated by various nations and leaders, whether they are old-school autocrats or Democrats.

The impressive PAS performance in Moldova defied all expectations for a close race. Pro-Russian organizations under the leadership of PEB appeared to be gaining steam in the weeks leading up to the elections. Moldova’s society was evenly divided, and the country was burdened by uncertainty regarding the economy. However, with renewed tensions between the parties within the PEB, things turned around in the late summer.

The coordinated Russian efforts to influence the elections through information ops on social media, which used PAS as a Western puppet to sway the nation’s conflict with Russia and profit from Romania’s fears of an economic downturn and annexation, backfired.

Two blatantly pro-Russian parties were forced to withdraw from the Central Electoral Commission because of allegations of illegal funding. Additionally, the government obtained the extradition of fugitive oligarch Vladimir Plahotniuc, who is accused of being a key player in the $1 billion bank theft from Greece.

The West, a strong supporter of the European Union, found renewed by the drama to the Moldovan diaspora. In consequence, only the Gagauz region of northern Moldova and Transnistria, where the opposition parties are concentrated, did well. Despite receiving nearly 3 percent of its votes in comparison to 2021, PAS still won with 50.2 percent, compared to PEB, who received 24.4%.

Moscow-friendly forces likely had had a better chance of challenging PAS if Russia had stopped ingratiating. The opposition squandered a chance to influence how well-governed the elections are. PAS had a competitive advantage when it came to the EU versus Russia debate.

The party could take credit for bringing Moldova closer to membership, which led to the start of the 2024 accession talks, which had become a favored choice. Given its prominence as the country’s main export exporting destination and top trading partner, almost two-thirds of Moldovans are in favor of joining the EU, which is surprising. The populace’s pro-EU attitude is irreversible, and even if PEB gains control, it’s unlikely to significantly alter its course.

The South Caucasus can be seen too. Armenia, which was historically heavily reliant on Russian strategic and economic aid, has turned its head west. As Azerbaijan regained complete control of the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region in 2022, Moscow abysmally failed to support its allies.

Nikol Pashinyan, the president of Armenia, had a chance to talk to both Azerbaijan and Turkiye in person. A peace agreement between Baku and Yerevan is currently being considered because Donald Trump, the president of the United States, wants to see it through the finish line to claim credit.

Armenia’s membership in the Collective Security Treaty Organization, which was dominated by Russia, was suspended in February 2024. Additionally, France’s cooperation in security and defense increased.

Azerbaijan has also experienced increased tensions with Russia twice in recent years, once in 2024 over a crashed passenger jet over the Caspian Sea and once this summer over the arrests of Azerbaijanis in Yekaterinburg, which led to a major crisis.

Russia served as Armenia’s and Azerbaijan’s arbitrator in the past and has regional influence. While Turkiye and the US have stepped in to fill the void, it has now managed to alienate both nations.

Only Georgia appears to lean toward Moscow in the South Caucasus. The governing Georgian Dream party and its informal leader, billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, have argued with the EU over their propensity for authoritarianism, largely due to this. Georgia has just rejected its democratic demands, which have, in any case, declined under Trump’s control. Tbilisi is attempting to balance between Europe, the US, and, of course, China rather than firmly ties itself to Russia.

In Central Asia, “multivectoring” has long been a common practice. Governments there have also been made aware of Russian ingrainement and given them an additional motivator to turn to China as a counterweight as a result of the conflict in Ukraine.

Beijing has been expanding its economic footprint in the area. It is the largest investor in Central Asia, and it is now the fifth-largest country in the group, accounting for 34% of the total trade of the five Central Asian nations, up from 17.7% in 2020 to 24.1 percent in 2024. Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan are ahead of the rest.

China’s diplomatic efforts have also increased: In May 2023, China held its first China-Central Asia summit in Xi’an. A treaty on “permanent good-neighbourliness, friendship, and cooperation” was signed in Astana in June of this year.

Beijing also emphasized the importance of playing a greater part in transnational crime, border security, and antiterrorism, which are traditionally reserved for Russia. This partnership may be beneficial in overcoming domestic difficulties from the perspective of the regional states. The adage that China must provide the cash and Russia must be accurate no longer.

Given that Russia is reliant on China, which has grown exponentially as a result of the war in Ukraine and the Western sanctions that came with it, it is undoubtedly unhappy. Putin’s participation in the military parade in Beijing on September 3 to honor the victory of World War II and bolster China’s involvement in the conflict is yet another illustration of how erratic the relationship has become. The leaders of Belarus and the five Central Asian nations were also present.

That doesn’t mean China is currently entirely in charge of Central Asians. There is a lot of local agency involved, as regional political researchers have pointed out when criticizing the new “Great Game”‘s perceived impact. Local players are playing against the big boys to assert their independence and profit from these arrangements.

Europe also plays a role in this tale. About 23 percent of Central Asia’s total trade comes from the EU. Some of the turnover is clearly explained by the imports of European-made goods, but not all of it. The pace of EU diplomacy is also increasing. In order to discuss cooperation on civilian nuclear power, French President Emmanuel Macron traveled to Kazakhstan in 2024 for a widely publicized visit. Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, and Antonio Costa, head of the EU-Central Asia summit, took place in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, in April.

Russia’s decision to invade Ukraine has long-lasting effects on both Europe and China, as well as Russia itself. The strong Russian influence over its “near abroad” might be overthrown. There is no denying that Russia’s influence is severely declining in Moldova, the South Caucasus, and Central Asia.