The Times of Israel is liveblogging Friday’s events as they happen.
US recognizes Maduro’s opponent as Venezuelan election winner
WASHINGTON — The United States recognizea Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s opponent and opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez as the winner of Venezuela’s disputed presidential election, rejecting Maduro’s claim of victory.
“Given the overwhelming evidence, it is clear to the United States and, most importantly, to the Venezuelan people that Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia won the most votes in Venezuela’s July 28 presidential election,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says in a statement.
The announcement from Washington doesn’t go beyond congratulating him for a “successful campaign,” the closest the US has come since Sunday’s contested election to recognizing Gonzalez as the OPEC nation’s new leader.
The dispute over the presidential election results has sparked protests in Venezuela. Venezuela’s electoral council proclaimed Maduro, who has been in power since 2013, the winner of the July 28 election with 51% of the vote.
But the country’s opposition says its tally of about 90% of the votes shows that Gonzalez received more than double the support of the incumbent president, in line with independent polling conducted before the contest.
The opposition has released detailed tallies on a public website, while the government has so far not shared any information beyond a national total of votes for each candidate.
The statement from Blinken stops short of threatening new sanctions on Venezuela but he hints at possible “punitive action.” Reuters reported on Tuesday that Washington was considering fresh sanctions following the disputed election.
Woman faces hate crime charges for anti-Israel vandalism of Brooklyn Museums’ leaders homes
NEW YORK — A woman who police say helped vandalize the homes of the Brooklyn Museum’s leaders with red paint during a wave of pro-Palestinian protests has been arrested on hate crimes charges.
Taylor Pelton, 28, was arrested Wednesday on charges of criminal mischief and criminal mischief as a hate crime, police say.
Police say Pelton was one of six people seen on surveillance video vandalizing the homes of the museum’s director, Anne Pasternak, and its chief operating officer, Kimberly Trueblood, on June 12. The other people seen in the videos are still being sought.
Pasternak is Jewish. The activists left the front of her apartment building splattered with paint and a banner calling her a “white-supremacist Zionist.” An inverted red triangle that authorities say is a symbol used by Hamas to identify Israeli military targets was sprayed onto her door, according to court papers.
Pelton was arraigned Wednesday night and released with court supervision, a spokesperson for the Brooklyn district attorney’s office says.
In an email, Pelton’s attorney, Moira Meltzer-Cohen, doesn’t address the specifics of the charges but criticizes “the increasing trend of characterizing Palestine solidarity actions as hate crimes.” She says the willingness of prosecutors “to endorse the rhetorical collapse of Zionist ideology and protected religious identity, in order to criminalize criticism of Israel, signals a troubling departure from the principles on which our legal and political systems rest.”
The paint splashing happened days after hundreds of pro-Palestinians protesters marched to the museum, occupied its lobby, vandalized artworks and hung a “Free Palestine” banner from its roof. Police arrested several dozen people.
White House announces new US military deployments after call between Biden and Netanyahu
The US has made new defensive military deployments to help defend Israel following the assassinations of Hezbollah senior general Fuad Shukr and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, the White House announces in its readout of the call that just wrapped up between US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The statement doesn’t elaborate about the new defensive measures.
The White House says that the leaders discussed efforts to defend Israel against Iran and its proxies, particularly against ballistic missile and drone attacks, following the two killings earlier this week in Lebanon and Iran, which were widely attributed to the IDF.
While he stressed his commencement to Israel’s defense, Biden stressed to Netanyahu the importance of trying to de-escalate tensions in the region, the US readout adds, noting that Vice President and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris also joined the call.