The Times of Israel is liveblogging Wednesday’s events as they happen.
RNC crowd erupts in cheers for Israel, as Jewish speaker draws contrast to Democrats
MILWAUKEE — The crowd at the Republican National Convention erupts after Republican Jewish Coalition CEO Matt Brooks begins his speech by asking those who support Israel to cheer.
“If someone tried that at the Democrats’ convention, they’d be booed off the stage! But here at the Republican Convention, we proudly and loudly stand with Israel!” Brooks says to more cheers from the several thousand GOP members in the stands at the Fiserv Forum arena for the second night of the RNC in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Hours earlier, the Democratic Party advanced a platform that maintains support for Israel, but the saliency of that backing has indeed waned as the war in Gaza has dragged on.
The RJC leader pledges that the Republican party will continue to build on its support from Jewish voters in the coming election.
Between two-thirds and three-quarters of Jews vote Democrat, but the GOP has in fact enjoyed a gradual boost in recent years. Still, the large majority who have stuck with the Democratic Party have infuriated Trump, who has repeatedly accused them of being disloyal to Israel and their faith.
Touching on rising antisemitism in the US since October 7, Brooks takes out a red yarmulke inscribed with Trump’s name and says, “President Trump will bring back law and order so that American Jews can once again wear a kippah and walk the streets without fear.”
Republicans booed President Joe Biden for withholding a weapons shipment from Israel during the RNC Tuesday. "There is only one pro-Israel party and it's the Republican Party," Republican Jewish Coalition CEO Matt Brooks said.
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Over a dozen rockets shot at Western Galilee in overnight salvo; no injuries reported
Some 15-20 projectiles were fired in the latest rocket barrage on the north, according to Hebrew media reports, after sirens sounded in communities across the Western Galilee an hour ago.
Most of the rockets were intercepted or impacted in open areas.
There are no immediate reports of injuries or damages.
Rocket sirens blare overnight in Nahariya and towns across Western Galilee
Warning sirens are activated overnight in Nahariya and communities across the Western Galilee, following earlier barrages of rocket fire by Hezbollah.
US envoy to UN meets with Lebanon’s FM amid push to defuse Israel-Hezbollah tensions
US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield met earlier today with Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib to discuss efforts to deescalate tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, with the aim of enabling displaced people on both sides of the Blue Line to return to their homes.
“Thomas-Greenfield reaffirmed the important role the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon continues to play in the region,” a US readout says
Islamic State claims deadly attack on Shiite mosque in Oman
Islamic State claims responsibility for an attack at a Shiite Muslim mosque in Oman, where at least six people, including a policeman, were killed and 28 wounded, in a rare terror operation in one of the most stable countries in the Middle East, the jihadist group says in a statement on Telegram.