Monday Eree Tisha B’Av – Switzerland: Police arrest man for pouring gas on synagogue

A man yelling “Free Palestine” stabbed a Jewish Crown Heights resident over Shabbos, according to police and local activists.

Vincent Sumpter, a 22-year-old black man from East New York, was arrested after being pursued and held by community members who saw him stab the victim after expressing his anti-Israel beliefs. The incident occurred at around 2 a.m. in the vicinity of Eastern Parkway and Kingston Avenue, near Lubavitch’s headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway.

Sumpter also allegedly asked the victim “do you want to die?” before the vicious attack, according to Rabbi Yaacov Behrman, a community activist.

The victim was taken to the hospital, and “is expected to recover due to the location of the stabbing and the quick response of paramedics,” Berhman wrote on social media.

“This is an extremely serious incident,” Berhman continued. “The victim could have been killed. This act of hateful violence highlights the dangerous impact of anti-Semitic incitement and hate propagated by some local politicians and leaders in New York and across the United States.”

A man has been arrested for allegedly dousing a synagogue in Zurich with petrol, police in Switzerland said on Sunday.

The 32-year-old Swiss national was described by the Zurich municipal police as appearing to be “mentally disturbed.”

Local media said the suspect spilled gas at the entrance to the Agudas Achim Synagogue, near the Wiedikon railway station, on Saturday evening but was caught by a security guard.

He fled the scene on foot, but after a police manhunt he was arrested early on Sunday morning.

Initial media reports said the attack was carried out by more than one person.

But police have said he acted alone and they don’t believe there is an extremist motive for the attack.

International shipping company FedEx will deliver British parcels to the Palestinian Authority, but not to Israel or Lebanon, Hamodia verified Sunday.

On the company’s UK website, Israel is not available as a choice for destination, but the PA is. When asked to confirm this, a customer service agent said via live chat this was indeed true, and stated that “it must be due to the ongoing issue of Israel and Lebanon.” Lebanon does not appear on the list of available countries, either.

News of the cancellation was first reported by the online account Osint613.

A company representative could not immediately be reached for comment.

On FedEx’s American website, Lebanon, Israel and the PA are all available choices.

Ukrainian troops have advanced up to 30km inside Russia, in what has become the deepest and most significant incursion since Moscow began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Russia’s defence ministry said its forces had engaged Ukrainian troops near the villages of Tolpino and Obshchy Kolodez, as the offensive in the Kursk region entered a sixth day.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova accused Kyiv of “intimidating the peaceful population of Russia”.

President Volodymyr Zelensky, who directly acknowledged the attack for the first time in an address last night, said 2,000 cross-border attacks had been launched by Russia from Kursk this summer.

“Artillery, mortars, drones. We also record missile strikes, and each such strike deserves a fair response,” Mr Zelensky told the country in his nightly address from Kyiv.

A senior Ukrainian official told the AFP news agency that thousands of troops were engaged in the operation, far more than the small incursion initially reported by Russian border guards.

While Ukrainian-backed sabotage groups have launched intermittent cross-border incursions, the Kursk offensive marks the biggest co-ordinated attack on Russian territory by Kyiv’s conventional forces.

In a setback to the Biden administration who is trying to clinch a deal for the release of hostages held by the Hamas Terrorist organization and a ceasefire, Axios has reported that Hamas has rejected the invitation to attend the meeting that was planned for Thursday.

Hamas gave several reasons for declining to attend, including new conditions and demands that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented lately, the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas political leader, and recent Israeli airstrikes in Gaza that killed dozens of Palestinians, which Hamas claims were civilians and Israel has given proof that they were terrorists gathered in a command center.

“In light of all this, and out of responsibility for the interests of our people, Hamas demands that the mediators present a plan to implement the proposal that Hamas has agreed to on July 2 and that is based on President Biden’s speech and the UN Security Council resolution,” Hamas said in its statement.

President Biden had hoped to arrange this final round of negotiations between the parties to prevent the war in Gaza from escalating into a regional war.

Mediators and officials U.S., Egyptian and Qatari had hoped to spend the next few days in an attempt to close the gaps between Israel and Hamas, and then begin a final round of negotiations on Aug. 15.

Israeli officials have said that the negotiations were “a now-or-never” moment for a deal.

Although Hamas said that additional rounds of negotiations or discussing new proposals would “only serve as a cover for more aggression” by Israel against Palestinians, a senior Israeli official involved in the negotiations told Axios that Hamas’ statement is “a tactical move ahead of a possible attack by Iran and Hezbollah and in an attempt to get better terms for the deal.”

“If Hamas won’t come to the table, we will continue decimating their forces in Gaza,” he added.

For the UK Jewish Orthodox Community
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Erev Shabbos

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