The Times of Israel is liveblogging Thursday’s events as they happen.
Meeting at Pentagon, US and British defense chiefs discuss Mideast threats
WASHINGTON — US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met with his British counterpart Grant Shapps at the Pentagon Wednesday for talks on security threats in the Middle East, the Pentagon says.
They discussed issues including “the escalating attacks by Iran-aligned militia groups on US troops in the Middle East” and “the illegal Houthi attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea,” as well as humanitarian assistance for Gaza and support for Ukraine, Pentagon spokesman Major General Pat Ryder says in a statement.
“Secretary Austin thanked Secretary Shapps for the United Kingdom’s steadfast support and leadership in coalition efforts to stave off further Houthi aggression, while defending naval and international commercial vessels exercising navigational rights and freedoms,” Ryder says, referring to attacks on shipping by the Iran-backed Yemeni rebels.
Shapps also met with US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. The White House says the two discussed the prevention of conflict escalation in the Middle East and defending against Houthi attacks.
The pair also reaffirmed support for Ukraine in its war against Russia, the readout adds.
Georgia governor signs bill codifying IHRA definition of antisemitism in state law
ATLANTA — Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signs a law defining antisemitism in state law, proclaiming support for Jewish residents despite concerns the measure will hamper people opposing the actions of Israel.
The Republican governor says by enacting the law, he is “reaffirming our commitment to a Georgia where all people can live, learn and prosper safely, because there’s no place for hate in this great state.”
Kemp likens it to when he signed a measure in 2020 that allows additional penalties to be imposed for crimes motivated by a victim’s race, religion, sexual orientation or other factors. That hate crimes law was spurred by the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, a Black man pursued and fatally shot while running near Brunswick, Georgia.
The antisemitism definition measure had stalled in 2023, but was pushed with fresh urgency this year amid the Israel-Hamas war and a reported surge in antisemitic incidents in Georgia. Sponsors say adopting the 2016 definition put forward by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance will help prosecutors and other officials identify hate crimes and illegal discrimination targeting Jewish people. That could lead to higher penalties under the 2020 hate crimes law.
The definition, which is only referred to in the bill, describes antisemitism as “a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”
Kenneth Stern, the author of IHRA’s definition, told The Associated Press that using such language in law is problematic, because an increasing number of Jews have adopted an antizionist position in opposition to Israeli actions.
White House: Iran-backed militias in Iraq launched deadly drone attack on US troops
WASHINGTON — The White House says the Islamic Resistance in Iraq militia grouping was behind the weekend drone attack that killed three American soldiers at a base in Jordan.
The “attribution that our intelligence community is comfortable with is that this was done by the umbrella group” Islamic Resistance in Iraq — a coalition of Iranian-backed militias — says National Security Council spokesman John Kirby.
In addition to the three deaths in the drone blast on Sunday at the remote base, about 40 more troops were injured, the Pentagon says.
US President Joe Biden says he has already decided on the nature of the US response to the deadly bombing, but has not detailed the plans in public — or the timing.
Kirby repeats the administration’s insistence that “we will respond in a time and in a manner of our choosing, on our schedule.”
“Just because you haven’t seen anything in the last 48 hours, it doesn’t mean that you’re not going to see anything,” he says, adding: “The first thing you see won’t be the last thing.”
One of the factions in the Islamic Resistance in Iraq grouping, Kataeb Hezbollah, announced on Tuesday that it was suspending attacks on US troops.
Kirby says “you can’t take what a group like Kataeb Hezbollah says at face value.”