The Times of Israel is liveblogging Friday’s events as they happen.
Iran’s FM says ready to resume ‘fair’ nuclear talks if West ‘shows seriousness, goodwill’
Iran is ready to resume “fair ” negotiations over its disputed nuclear program if the West shows goodwill, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says hours after three European powers triggered the process to reimpose UN sanctions on Tehran.
“Araghchi reaffirmed Iran’s readiness to resume fair and balanced diplomatic negotiations, on the condition that the other parties show seriousness and goodwill and avoid actions that harm the chances of success,” he says in a letter sent to European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas.
Israeli-organized music festival shut down by Portugal police after BDS campaign
Anta Gathering, a five-day music festival organized by Israelis scheduled to kick off today in central Portugal, was shut down by local police following a campaign by BDS Portugal.
The organizers announce the cancellation on social media.
“In the last days, we faced a well-funded and orchestrated BDS campaign built on lies and hatred,” they write. “For months, they worked to sabotage our vision, spreading disinformation fueled by money and nationalism. Their goal was never about music or community, but only to divide, intimidate and cause pain. The damage has been devastating and made it impossible to move forward.”
The event, advertised as a “psychedelic journey,” was organized by two Israeli brothers to be held at a mountaintop retreat owned by their Israeli cousin.
The festival producers say they will refund anyone who requests it, but ask people to consider not canceling their ticket or requesting a full refund in order to help them pay suppliers, legal and other expenses.
“Anta is about love, freedom and community — and no campaign of hate will ever destroy that,” write the organizers. “With your support, we will heal, rebuild, and dance together again,” the last words a reference to the Nova desert rave attacked by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023.
The organizers said yesterday that they had been hit with additional regulations and bureaucracy by local authorities just before the start of the festival, which they blamed on BDS pressure and threats aimed at canceling the event.
Chief rabbi stresses ‘blood covenant’ with Druze brethren in meeting of religious leaders
Sephardi Chief Rabbi David Yosef holds a meeting with leaders from the major religions in Israel at the Druze “Emergency Center” set up by Druze Sheikh Muwaffaq Tarif in the Druze village of Julis in the Galilee, according to a Chief Rabbinate spokesperson.
“We have a blood covenant with the Druze community, and the state must do everything to protect the Druze wherever they are,” Yosef says, according to the spokesperson’s statement.
Some 780,000 Druze live in the Syrian province of Sweida, the site of major violence over the past two months in which around 1,800 Druze were killed, including some by Syrian government-led forces, according to reports.
“Here sit the leaders of religions from around the world, and every religion worthy of this name is obligated to sanctify life,” Yosef also says. “We must raise a clear and unequivocal voice: we choose life.”
In addition, the chief rabbi appeals to his colleagues to raise their voice for the release of the hostages in Gaza.
Several imams and Christian leaders attend the meeting, including Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilus III.
“The visit of Rishon LeZion Rabbi David Yosef, together with the heads of the Christian communities and Muslim religious leaders, and their solidarity with the Druze community, is an explicit statement of light against darkness, of good against evil,” Tarif says according to the Chief Rabbinate statement.
“This solidarity is encouraging and serves as a light at the end of the tunnel in the face of the evil and inhumanity that our Druze brothers in Syria have experienced during attempts at annihilation,” he adds.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also visited the emergency center earlier today.
Sa’ar meets US homeland security chief to discuss ‘fight against antisemitism’
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar met in Washington today with US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem to address ways to combat antisemitism, the minister writes in a post on X.
The two “discussed concrete ways to cooperate in the fight against antisemitism,” according to Sa’ar, who thanks Noem “for standing firmly by Israel and American Jewry,” calling her “a true friend of Israel.”
Ahead of the meeting, Sa’ar lays a wreath outside the Jewish Museum in Washington, at the site of the murder of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, a young couple working at the Israeli embassy in Washington who were killed in a May shooting attack.
Noem visited Israel in the wake of the attack and attended a memorial ceremony hosted by Sa’ar.