The Times of Israel is liveblogging Thursday’s events as they unfold.
US to ease human rights criticism of Israel and other nations, Washington Post reports
The US State Department’s annual human rights reports show that President Donald Trump’s administration aims to scale back Washington’s criticism of certain foreign nations with records of rights abuse, the Washington Post reports.
The newspaper cites leaked drafts of the reports for Israel, Russia and El Salvador and says those are significantly shorter than the ones prepared by the administration of Democratic former president Joe Biden.
The State Department has not yet officially released this year’s reports, which cover last year’s incidents. Usually, these annual reports are released around March or April each year.
US charges suspect in killing of Israeli Embassy staffers with hate crimes, paving way to seeking death penalty
The US brings federal hate crime charges against the suspect accused of fatally shooting two Israeli Embassy staffers outside a museum in Washington, DC, in May, alleging he targeted them because they were Israelis, court papers show.
The nine-count indictment returned against Elias Rodriguez accuses him of carrying out a hate crime resulting in death motivated by the “actual and perceived national origin of any person.”
The indictment also includes notice of special findings, which would allow the Justice Department to potentially pursue the death penalty.
Rodriguez has previously been charged with first-degree murder and murder of a foreign official. The hate crimes charges have been added after prosecutors brought the case to a grand jury. It means prosecutors will be tasked with proving Rodriguez was motivated by antisemitism
Rodriguez is accused of fatally shooting Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, 26, a young couple who were about to be engaged to be married. Lischinsky and Milgrim were leaving a May 21 event for young professionals and diplomats at the Capital Jewish Museum and hosted by the American Jewish Committee, an advocacy group that fights antisemitism and supports Israel.
He was heard shouting “Free Palestine� as he was led away after his arrest. He told police, “I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza,� federal authorities have said.
The indictment by a federal grand jury comes ahead of a scheduled court appearance in Rodriguez’s case on Friday.
It alleges Rodriguez has a history of violent rhetoric online against Israelis, including a plea to “vaporize every Israeli 18 and above.”
Report: Trump mulling whether to intervene against Mamdani in NYC mayoral race
US President Donald Trump is privately weighing whether to involve himself in the New York City mayoral race to try and unite the opposition to Democratic frontrunner Zohran Mamdani behind a single opponent, The New York Times reports, citing eight unnamed sources familiar with the discussions.
Mamdani, a staunchly anti-Israel candidate who surprisingly beat Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary, has vowed to arrest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he visits, in accordance with an International Criminal Court warrant. Trump has publicly said he would intervene if that happens, and experts say the move would likely overstep what US mayors can do.
The report says Trump has spoken with top pollsters and with Cuomo himself in a bid to decide whether to throw his weight behind one of the anti-Mamdani candidates, who also include independent incumbent Eric Adams, but that the president is yet to make a decision.