May 3, 2026

03b Israel

Israel Plans ‘Biggest LGBTQ+ Festival Ever In The Middle East’ Near Site Of Sodom: ‘Can’t Make This Up’– wltreport.com

pgnewser April 29, 2026 0

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EXCERPT:

For those familiar with the Old Testament narrative surrounding the ancient city of Sodom, a recent announcement from the Israeli government might sound like evidence that history is repeating itself.

Near the site many believe to be where that city was destroyed by God, largely due to the sexual immorality of its citizens, there will soon be a four-day LGBT “pride” event that the Israeli government noted would even include “children’s activities.”

TheBlaze provided this report:

The promotion of the event by the Israeli government — just one day after the Israel Defense Forces confirmed that one of its soldiers smashed a statue of the crucified Christ outside a church with a sledgehammer — prompted significant backlash among some conservative Christians.

American theologian and pastor Dale Partridge tweeted, “The devil couldn’t have written it better. ‘The lowest place on earth’ ‘The Dead Sea becomes pride land.’”

BlazeTV host Auron MacIntyre raised the matter of whether his tax dollars might be subsidizing the event, then asked, “Can anyone very carefully explain to me why American Christians owe anything to this?”

Conservative commentator Michael Knowles insinuated that the Israeli government’s announcement answered the question recently posed by the New York Times about the cause of the recent increase in meteor sightings overhead.

Knowles’ colleague, Matt Walsh, called the planned festival “absolutely evil and disgusting.”

Qatar Reportedly Vowed to ‘Look After’ Disgraced ICC Prosecutor if He Targeted Netanyahu– legalinsurrection.com

pgnewser April 29, 2026 1

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EXCERPT:

Pressure mounts on the disgraced chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, who was forced to “step aside” from his position in May 2025 after serious sexual assault allegations. Newly revealed witness testimony states that Qatar promised to “look after” him if he continued the witch hunt against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday

Following a May 2024 request by Khan, the Hague-based ICC issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for the crime of overseeing a military operation to free 240 hostages from Hamas’ captivity in the aftermath of the October 7 massacre. By issuing the warrant, the ICC was requiring its 125 member states, including most of the European nations, to arrest the sitting Israeli prime minister and hand him over to the kangaroo court.

The latest testimony and supporting evidence also indicate that Republican Senator Lindsey Graham was a target of the operation. The Qatar-linked “intelligence operation also sought to target two Americans: Tom Lynch, the senior ICC official who first reported the assault allegation, and Sen. Lindsey Graham,” the business daily added.

Israeli strikes hit east Lebanon, expanding conflict area despite ceasefire– www.cbc.ca

pgnewser April 27, 2026 0

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The Israeli military began carrying out strikes in eastern Lebanon on Monday, expanding the scope of its bombing campaign during a ceasefire that has failed to fully halt hostilities with Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.

The strikes on Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa Valley marked the first time the area has been hit since a U.S.-brokered ceasefire came into force on April 16, which significantly reduced the pace of attacks without entirely stopping the exchanges of fire.

Israel has continued to carry out strikes across southern Lebanon, and its troops are occupying a strip of the country’s south, destroying homes they claim as infrastructure being used by Hezbollah. The Iran-backed group, meanwhile, has kept up its drone and rocket attacks against Israeli troops in Lebanon and on northern Israel.

The FBI Thwarts a Potential Terror Plot Directed at a Texas Synagogue – RedState– redstate.com

pgnewser April 27, 2026 0

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EXCERPT:

On Thursday, FBI Director Kash Patel announced the joint work of regional offices in Charlotte, NC, and Houston, TX to foil an alleged terror plot by a Lexington, NC woman to incite a mass casualty event at a synagogue in Houston.

A Lexington woman is facing charges after allegedly plotting to murder congregants at a Texas synagogue, according to Davidson County warrants.

On Wednesday, the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office arrested Angelina Han Hicks, 18, of Lexington, on two counts of felony conspiracy. According to warrants, the charges are for conspiring to commit murder and assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury.

‘Evil and disgusting’: Days-long Israeli LGBT festival planned near Sodom prompts biblical backlash– www.theblaze.com

pgnewser April 27, 2026 0

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EXCERPT:
The Israeli government announced on Monday that this June, “the Dead Sea becomes Pride Land, the biggest LGBTQ+ festival ever in the Middle East,” adding that “Pride rises at the lowest place on earth.”

This celebration of degeneracy and non-straight lifestyle choices — set to take place near what is believed to be the site of Sodom, the city razed by God because of its brazen sexual corruption — will run 24 hours a day from June 1 to June 4.

‘You won’t see this anywhere else in the region.’

According the Jerusalem Post, the non-straight festival will raise a city in the desert featuring parties, a central performance arena, art complexes, “relaxation” areas, and “family-friendly areas with children’s activities.”

“This is not just another festival; it’s the biggest thing we’ve done here,” Aaron Cohen, the main producer behind “Pride Land,” told the Post. “It’s an experience that lives 24/7, from quiet visits to nights of Pride, with a living envelope of music and people.”

After IDF soldier takes sledge hammer to Jesus statue, Israeli and Polish diplomats battle it out on X– rmx.news

pgnewser April 22, 2026 0

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EXCERPT:

After an image of an Israeli soldier striking a statue of Jesus with a sledgehammer in Lebanon went viral, the Israeli foreign minister has confirmed the image is real and also apologized. However, the attack on the Christian statue has morphed into an international incident, with Poland’s foreign minister wading into the debate, sparking a sharp back-and-forth war of words on X.

After images of the incident went viral, Israel responded. Calling the damage caused by an IDF soldier to the statue in Lebanon “grave and disgraceful,” Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar added that the “ugly act” was “contrary to our values” and that the soldier responsible would face consequences.

Catholic University of America must allow pro-Israel event or face accreditation complaint: free speech group– www.thecollegefix.com

pgnewser April 21, 2026 0

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A national free speech group is calling on the Catholic University of America to allow pro-Israel speakers on campus – or else face an accreditation complaint.

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression sent a second letter to CUA leadership on Friday, asking it to remove its restrictions on Students Supporting Israel.

The intervention follows a proposal earlier this year for the group to host Israeli homeland security expert Dany Tirza as well as Jewish Republican Rep. Randy Fine of Florida, as The College Fix previously reported.

The university is requiring the club to host a pro-Palestinian or anti-Israel speaker.

While the school says this is part of their policy, that is only supposed to apply when an invited speaker takes a view contrary to the Catholic Church, such as if a club invited a pro-abortion speaker. However, the university did not even apply this policy, allowing the campus Democrats club to host a speaker who supports abortion, according to Student Supporting Israel’s leadership.

The Catholic university in Washington, D.C. allowed an event with an anti-Israel speaker, for example, but did not present the pro-Israel side, FIRE also said.

“We again strongly urge CUA to approve SSI’s event requests and assure students that the university will not condition event approval on student’s willingness to arrange for and host speakers opposed to their own viewpoint,” Program Counsel Jessie Appleby wrote to President Peter Kilpatrick.

Israel says image of soldier striking Jesus statue in Lebanon is authentic– www.channelnewsasia.com

pgnewser April 20, 2026 0

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JERUSALEM: The Israeli army said on Monday (Apr 20) that it had determined an image circulating on social media that shows a soldier in south Lebanon hitting a statue of Jesus Christ is authentic and depicts one of its troops.

The image appears to show an Israeli soldier using a sledgehammer to strike the head of a statue of a crucified Jesus that had fallen off a cross.

Arab media reports indicated that the statue was in the Christian village of Debl in south Lebanon, near the border with Israel.

The Debl municipality told AFP that the statue was located in the village, but could not confirm whether it had been damaged.

As Iran War Winds Down, Lebanon Heats Up

pgnewser April 16, 2026 0

Israel is accelerating its war in Lebanon even as talks continue between the two countries. Israel wants a disarmed Hezbollah while Lebanon may not have the capacity to do the job.

IDF Launches Massive Coordinated Strike Across Lebanon– trendingpoliticsnews.com
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EXCERPT:

Israel dramatically escalated its campaign in Lebanon this week, carrying out one of the largest coordinated strikes of the ongoing regional conflict, as the fragile ceasefire continues to teeter on the edge of collapse.

According to a statement from the Israel Defense Forces, more than 180 Hezbollah operatives were killed in a rapid, large-scale operation targeting multiple targets across Lebanon. The strikes were executed “within a minute,” hitting roughly 100 targets simultaneously in Beirut, the Beqaa Valley, and southern Lebanon.

The IDF said the operation relied on “precise and high-quality intelligence” and focused on key Hezbollah infrastructure, including command centers, military compounds, and facilities used by senior operatives. Israeli officials described the targets as central to Hezbollah’s operational capabilities in the region.

Israeli NGO Files War Crimes Complaint Against Spain’s PM Alleging Iran Aid Enabled the Regime’s ‘Terror Machine’– www.breitbart.com

pgnewser April 16, 2026 0

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Spain’s prime minister is facing a complaint at the International Criminal Court alleging his government enabled Iran’s “terror machine” through dual-use exports, with the legal group behind the filing arguing that responsibility for war crimes extends to those who provide the means.

The complaint, filed Tuesday by Israeli legal advocacy group Shurat HaDin under Article 15 of the Rome Statute, calls on prosecutors in The Hague to open a criminal investigation — and consider issuing an arrest warrant — against Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and other senior officials.

The complaint alleges that Spain’s socialist government approved the transfer of approximately €1.3 million in dual-use components to Iran in 2024 and 2025, including materials linked to detonators and explosive systems.

According to the filing, the items were not benign industrial goods but “critical components that enable explosive devices to function,” transferred under circumstances in which their use in attacks against civilians was foreseeable.

At the core of the case is the allegation that materials classified as civilian “dual-use” goods function as essential components in weapons systems.

Israel, Lebanon Agree To Direct Negotiations After “Productive” Talks: US– www.ndtv.com

pgnewser April 15, 2026 0

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Israel and Lebanon agreed to hold direct negotiations after “productive discussions” between the two sides in Washington, the United States said on Tuesday.

“The participants held productive discussions on steps toward launching direct negotiations between Israel and Lebanon,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a statement.

“All sides agreed to launch direct negotiations at a mutually agreed time and venue,” he said.

The announcement came after Israeli and Lebanese envoys held more than two hours of talks mediated by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

“The United States congratulated the two countries on this historic milestone and expressed its support for further talks, and for the government of Lebanon’s plans to restore the monopoly of force and to end Iran’s overbearing influence,” Pigott said.

And it “affirmed that any agreement to cease hostilities must be reached between the two governments, brokered by the United States, and not through any separate track,” he added.

Hezbollah official says group will not abide by any agreements from Lebanon-Israel talks– www.euronews.com

pgnewser April 14, 2026 0

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Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem urged Lebanon on Monday to cancel a planned meeting with Israel in Washington the following day, reiterating his group’s rejection of direct negotiations with Israel.

“We reject negotiations with the usurping Israeli entity…We call for a historic and heroic stance by cancelling this negotiating meeting,” Qassem, whose Iran-backed group has been at war with Israel since 2 March, said in a televised address.

The Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors to the United States are scheduled to meet in Washington on Tuesday to discuss holding direct negotiations between the two countries.

Lebanese authorities have stressed that Beirut first wants to secure a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war, but Israel has dismissed that prospect, saying it prefers instead to focus on formal peace talks with Lebanon itself, with which it has technically been at war for decades.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that “we want the dismantling of Hezbollah’s weapons and we want a real peace agreement that will last for generations.”

Italy suspends defense pact with Israel over ‘the current situation’– www.washingtonexaminer.com

pgnewser April 14, 2026 0

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Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced on Tuesday that she has suspended her country’s defense cooperation agreement with Israel over the conflicts throughout the Middle East.

Meloni said at an event in the northern city of Verona that her government “has decided to suspend the automatic renewal of the defense agreement with Israel in consideration of the current situation.”

Her announcement came about a week after the Israeli military fired warning shots at an Italian peacekeeping convoy outside Beirut, Lebanon. No one was injured in the incident, which Meloni called “completely unacceptable,” while Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani summoned the Israeli ambassador to Rome for a third time since 2024.

The 2003 Memorandum of Understanding was ratified by Italy in 2005 and is renewed automatically every five years.

Pope Leo XIV says he does not fear Trump in feud over Iran war – National– globalnews.ca

pgnewser April 13, 2026 0

Blurb:

U.S.-born Pope Leo XIV pushed back Monday on President Donald Trump’s broadside against him over the U.S.-Israel war in Iran, telling reporters that the Vatican’s appeals for peace and reconciliation are rooted in the Gospel, and that he doesn’t fear the Trump administration.

“To put my message on the same plane as what the president has attempted to do here, I think is not understanding what the message of the Gospel is,” Leo told The Associated Press aboard the papal plane en route to Algeria. “And I’m sorry to hear that but I will continue on what I believe is the mission of the church in the world today.”

U.S. set to begin Iranian ports blockade, partial blockade of Strait of Hormuz after talks fail– www.cbsnews.com

pgnewser April 13, 2026 0

Blurb:

Pope Leo has responded to President Trump’s attack on him by saying he has “no intention to debate” Mr. Trump on Iran.

On Sunday, Mr. Trump lashed out at the pontiff on social media, calling him “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy.”

“I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon,” he added.

Leo had called Mr. Trump’s threat to wipe out Iranian civilization “truly unacceptable” and encouraged people to contact “political leaders … to ask them, tell them to work for peace.”

Middle East crisis live: US blockade of Iranian ports to begin later today as Trump says he doesn’t care about further talks | US-Israel war on Iran– www.theguardian.com

pgnewser April 13, 2026 0

Blurb:

If you’re just tuning in to today’s live coverage of the US-Israel war on Iran, here’s the latest to bring you up to speed. It’s 9.30am in Tehran, 9am in Tel Aviv and Beirut and 2am in Washington DC.

  • Donald Trump has said he doesn’t care if Iran comes back to negotiations with the US after the weekend talks in Pakistan ended without a deal. “I don’t care if they come back or not,” Trump told reporters in Maryland on Sunday. “If they don’t come back, I’m fine.”

  • Trump said earlier that the US Navy would start blockading the Hormuz strait and also prohibit every vessel in international waters that had paid a toll to Iran. US Central Command said later it would begin a blockade of all Iranian Gulf ports and coastal areas on Monday at 10am ET (5.30pm in Iran and 1400 GMT), effectively seizing control of maritime traffic in the strait of Hormuz.

  • Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warned that “approaching military vessels to the strait of Hormuz is considered a violation of the ceasefire”.

  • Oil prices rose in early market trading after Trump’s blockade announcement. The price of US crude oil rose 8% to $104.24 a barrel and Brent crude oil – the international standard – rose 7% to $102.29. Australia’s share market dropped sharply on Monday morning.

  • Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf taunted Trump on X, saying in a post: “Enjoy the current pump figures. With the so-called ‘blockade’, Soon you’ll be nostalgic for $4–$5 gas.” Earlier he said Trump’s new threats would have no effect on the Iranian nation: “If you fight, we will fight … We will not bow to any threats.”

  • Trump and his advisers are looking at resuming limited military strikes in Iran in addition to the US blockade of the Hormuz strait, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing officials and people familiar with the situation.

Pope Leo XIV blasts ‘delusion of omnipotence’ fueling US-Israeli war in Iran– abcnews.com

pgnewser April 13, 2026 0

Blurb:

ROME — In his strongest words yet, Pope Leo XIV on Saturday denounced the “delusion of omnipotence” that is fueling the U.S.-Israel war in Iran and demanded political leaders stop and negotiate peace.

Leo presided over an evening prayer service in St. Peter’s Basilica on the same day the United States and Iran began face-to-face negotiations in Pakistan and as a fragile ceasefire held.

New Israeli policy targeting Christian schools in Jerusalem could threaten their future existence– www.lifesitenews.com

pgnewser April 7, 2026 0

Blurb:

The Israeli government instituted a policy prohibiting Christian Palestinian teachers who live in the West Bank from working in any of the 15 Christian schools in Jerusalem in a move that threatens to weaken the two-millennia presence of Christians in the Holy City.

School principals in Jerusalem recently received letters from the Israeli Ministry of Education stipulating that beginning in September they are required to only hire teachers who reside in the city and hold Israeli-issued qualifications.

The March 10 directive comes in the wake of a bill approved last July by the Education Committee of the Knesset (the Israeli parliament) aimed at prohibiting Palestinian teachers who earned their degrees at institutions in the West Bank from teaching in Israel or the occupied East Jerusalem.

Israel passes controversial death penalty law | World News– news.sky.com

pgnewser April 7, 2026 0

Blurb:

Israel has passed a law making the death penalty by hanging the default punishment for West Bank Palestinians convicted of murdering Israelis.

The UK, Germany, France and Italy said the move was “de facto discriminatory” and “Israel risks undermining its commitments to democratic principles”.

A joint statement called the death penalty “an inhumane and degrading form of punishment without any deterrent effect”.

UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper posted the statement on X, adding: “The death penalty is wrong and we oppose it around the world.”

Judge orders Penn to turn over list of Jewish employees to federal discrimination probe– www.thecollegefix.com

pgnewser April 7, 2026 0

Blurb:

The University of Pennsylvania must provide the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission a list of employees who belong to Jewish groups, including their names and contact information, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.

The decision comes after Penn resisted a 2025 subpoena stemming from a charge that the university engaged in repeated harassment of Jewish employees, as detailed in Judge Gerald Pappert’s memorandum.

Penn has rejected the discrimination charge and claims that the EEOC’s subpoena is unconstitutional.

Russia provided Iran with intelligence on Israeli energy sites, Ukraine says– www.euronews.com

pgnewser April 7, 2026 0

Blurb:

According to Zelenskyy, Kyiv has information that Moscow shared data on “some 50–53 facilities in total,” adding that these are civilian infrastructure sites with no military significance.

“It resembles the lives of Ukrainians under Russian attacks, when they target our energy grid or water supply systems,” Zelenskyy said.

“Of course, all the experience Russia has obtained during the war against Ukraine is being shared with Iran. This was the case with Shaheds, the same drones the Russians have, only used under a different name and upgraded to newer generations.”