"UK judge orders ICJ Palestine to pay full legal costs of £82,130 to a British-Israeli dual national it tried to prosecute for serving in the IDF.
The story, as covered by The Jerusalem Post at the end of June, is that the ICJP formally applied for a court summons to prosecute Soldier A for allegedly breaching Britain’s Foreign Enlistment Act (FEA) of 1870 by voluntarily serving in the Israeli military.
The ICJP’s attempt failed dramatically in court, with Senior District Judge Paul Goldspring of Westminster Magistrates’ Court unleashing a damning polemic against the ICJP’s legal team. Goldspring called the attempt “egregious” and legally “inadmissible.”
He also called it “fundamentally misconceived in law,” as the FEA does not apply to dual nationals.
Then, on June 19, Goldspring ruled that the ICJP must pay legal costs to Soldier A, the exact amount of which was just revealed on Friday.
In the new ruling, Goldspring ruled that, where a private prosecution is commenced on the “basis of culpable, profound breaches of the fundamental duty of candor, costs should be assessed on an indemnity basis to properly restore the Defendant’s position.” In simple terms, the judge found that because the prosecution seriously failed in its duty to be honest and open with the court, it should pay Soldier A’s legal costs on a more generous basis than usual.
Goldspring ordered the ICJP to pay the total sum of £82,130, which he said was “entirely reasonable and proportionate given the complexity of the response forced upon Soldier A.”
Goldspring noted that the ICJP did “recognize the systemic failures of candor” following his prior ruling. He also said that the ICJP issued an apology to both the Court and Soldier A for “its failures to comply with its core duties of candor.”
ICJP, in return, took issue with Goldspring’s demand on April 8 that it be required to attach an unabridged copy of both the Soldier A ruling and the costs ruling, “to any future application it may file in any court in England and Wales as a procedural safeguard.” Goldspring subsequently concluded that he does lack the power to issue a mandatory, standalone injunction binding future court filings across England and Wales, and therefore reframed this request as an “explicit expectation rather than a mandatory request.”
“This is an incredibly strong win for the cause, both in terms of the actual cost part of it, which is significant, but also on the fact that the judge [expects] all further litigation from the ICJP to have this included, which is a massive win,” Soldier A told the Post on Wednesday.
“It really shows that justice can prevail and that this judge saw through the lies and the games, the political meddling that was trying to be done here.”
He praised Goldspring for doing a “good, honest job of looking at this case on its merits” and understanding that the case was not about justice but about “trying to use the courts for lawfare.”
“It’s a great outcome and a great end to a long and stressful saga,” Soldier A concluded."
https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/article-902589
"The US House of Representatives defeated an amendment to cut off aid to Israel on Wednesday, despite nearly half of Democrats supporting it, reflecting a growing rupture between US progressives and Israel over the war in Gaza.
The House voted 314 to 104 to defeat the measure, offered as an amendment to a State Department spending bill by Republican Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky.
However, 103 Democrats and one Republican backed it, a sharp departure from years in which bills supporting Israel passed almost unanimously. Left-wing Democrats are pushing to end US aid to Israel as they campaign in midterm election primaries, while moderate Democrats promote sending money that would be used for defensive weapons only...."
https://www.jpost.com/american-politics/article-902655
"The Knesset plenum passed into law on Wednesday the contentious bill that seeks to significantly weaken the attorney-general’s power to influence and have oversight over the government.
The bill passed in its final second and third readings with 65 lawmakers in favor and 51 against. The bill is considered one of the flagship pieces of legislation that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition has been pushing to pass in the government’s term.
Its passage comes amid the government’s ongoing rift with the judiciary and Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara.
The legislation was sponsored by MK Simcha Rothman (Religious Zionist Party) – who leads the Knesset’s Constitution Law and Justice Committee, where the bill was advanced – along with other coalition MKs.
A main proposal of the legislation will grant the government the ability to disregard the attorney-general’s legal opinions, which are generally treated as binding on the executive branch unless a court rules otherwise. Another core proposal removes the A-G’s exclusive authority to present the state’s position in court. The legislation also opens the possibility for the government to determine how to fire and appoint the attorney-general.
The current method of firing the A-G requires a committee led by a retired Supreme Court justice. The government had voted to fire Baharav-Miara last year in August, though the High Court subsequently struck down that decision.
The Israel Democracy Institute (IDI) has noted that the functions being altered by the legislation are the main tools that enable the attorney-general to safeguard the rule of law.
The IDI added that the bill could “undermine the independence of the law enforcement system, strengthen the government, and remove checks on its power in a manner that would destabilize Israeli democracy and its protection of the rule of law and human rights.”
Legal scholars have also warned that the bill would place unprecedented power in the government’s hands over its principal legal challenge. The legislation is scheduled to be enacted on January 1, 2027, after the upcoming elections.
Within 30 days of the law taking effect, it calls on the government to adopt a new decision regarding the procedure for appointing and removing the attorney-general from office.
Israel’s attorney-general is not simply the equivalent of the US or the UK attorney-general.
The Israeli role combines several functions: legal adviser to the government, interpreter of the law for the executive branch, representative of the state in court, head of the state prosecution system, and final authority on major criminal decisions involving senior public officials.
The current government has repeatedly clashed with Baharav-Miara, claiming that she was intentionally blocking policy initiatives. She has been accused of conducting “witch hunts” by ministers and coalition MKs.
Two core disagreements the government has had with Baharav-Miara were over her refusal to cancel the trial against Netanyahu midstream and her insistence on enforcing High Court decisions to seize funds from haredi (ultra-Orthodox) draft dodgers.
Baharav-Miara was appointed to the position during the previous government’s tenure. She has warned against the legislation as well.
The bill has been changed in Knesset committee meetings from its first reading in order to expedite the process of the legislation before the Knesset recess ahead of the upcoming elections.
The coalition has been on a legislative blitz to advance as many bills as possible this week before the recess. Another contentious bill soon set for a vote seeks to create sweeping reforms over Israel’s broadcasting sector, which is led by Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi.
A main aspect that was removed from the bill was the attempt to split the duties and powers currently held by the attorney-general between two separate officeholders: an attorney-general and a prosecutor-general.
The Knesset’s Constitution Law and Justice Committee has been holding marathon meetings for months on the legislation to advance it before the end of the government’s term. For supporters, the bill is a democratic correction to an overly powerful legal office. For opponents, it is one of the most consequential pieces of the government’s legal overhaul, and strips the role of the attorney-general.
Immediately after its passage, petitions were filed with the High Court of Justice to strike down the legislation.
Petitions were filed by the Movement for Quality Government in Israel (MQG), the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, MK Gilad Kariv (the Democrats), and the Zulat Institute.
MQG condemned the legislation, calling it “another link in the chain of the regime overhaul: a law that allows the government to decide for itself that a legal opinion ‘does not reflect the law.’”
Justice Minister Yariv Levin and other coalition lawmakers praised the passage of the bill. Levin said that “the law approved today is another central pillar of the judicial reform.”
Opposition party leaders in the bloc seeking to replace Netanyahu condemned the passage of the bill and pledged to repeal it after the upcoming elections.
Yashar Party leader Gadi Eisenkot stated that it was “a blatant attempt to neutralize Israel’s gatekeepers and dismantle the rule of law.”
He warned that the move sets a dangerous precedent in which the government “places itself above the law and abandons the most fundamental obligation of any democratic state.”
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/politics-and-diplomacy/article-902638
"Former Iranian foreign minister and current member of parliament Manouchehr Mottaki said in an interview broadcast on Iranian state media on Wednesday that Iran should launch a ground war, infiltrate and seize a US military base in the Middle East, and take thousands of US military personnel hostage.
He said that Iran should kidnap hundreds or thousands of US soldiers in retaliation for the US strikes and threats to invade Iran’s Kharg Island and other major oil facilities in southern Iran.
Last week, Mottaki said that the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding talks between the US and Iran were a “deception plan.”..."
https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/iran-news/article-902607
"US Vice President JD Vance downplayed Israel's alleged political influence on US policies in the Iran war while talking to Joe Rogan on the latter's podcast, broadcast on Wednesday.
"There's a lot of talk about how much the Israeli government is influencing American politics. There are certainly certain people within the Israeli government who hate the deal. And we see exact evidence," Vance said.
He also referenced a story published on Tuesday in Time magazine, which commented on how Trump's former election campaign manager, Brad Parscale, was linked with an Israeli government-funded campaign paying conservative influencers to push their audiences towards denouncing the ceasefire between the US and Iran.
"I definitely think you have seen this very discreet, extremely well-funded campaign to try to derail the negotiation and try to derail the deal," Vance told Rogan.
The Time article is "worth reading because it lists a bunch of people who have quite literally been paid by a former Trump campaign person who was himself paid by certain elements within the Israeli government. And those people are attacking me viciously for quite literally trying to accomplish the negotiation objective that the president set for the country," he added.
Rogan asked how these people are attacking Vance, to which the vice president said that "It's social media posts... leaking to reporters. They're attacking me obsessively, saying that we should not be negotiating with Iran. We should just keep the military campaign going indefinitely."
"That is their explicit position," he said. "People have come after me and say that I'm influenced by Qatar, that I'm influenced by foreign governments, that, you know, I take my marching orders from Tucker Carlson. And there's just so much bullshit out there when what I'm actually trying to do is accomplish what the president of the United States told me to accomplish, which is a settlement of this that accomplishes our objectives."
These objectives included Iran not having a nuclear weapon, and achieving the "free flow of oil and gas," Vance noted.
"I should be clear, I don't actually mind that - let's say certain elements of the Israeli government want to criticize the deal or have disagreements about the deal. I don't even mind an effort to try to influence foreign governments to try to influence the United States all the time. You know, Israel does it, other countries do it. It's just sort of the nature of the beast," he said.
"What bothers me is actually when American leadership allows that influence to affect their judgment and to affect what they are advocating for. That's what really bothers me. People are always going to try to influence the United States of America, whether they're allies of ours or whether they're enemies of ours," he added.
"When I open up the pages of Time magazine, and I see that there's a literal foreign influence campaign being funded to tank the very deal that I was pursuing, and many of the people who were receiving that money were actually attacking me in completely dishonest ways. You know, my response to that is, well, go to hell. I'm going to do what I have to do for the American people. I represent Americans first, and that's the way that I've tried to do this job." Vance said. The vice president also defended his position towards Israel and allegations of antisemitic and anti-Zionist views.
"The crazy thing is, people don't realize this, I'm actually...like the reasonable moderate," Vance said, when placing himself within what he called the "massive pro-Israel, anti-Israel debate in the US."
"I think that's what so many people don't realize is I've been accused of being an antisemite... some people say that I've insulted the Jewish religion, which is insane," he said.
"I have a ton of respect for the Jewish religion... I've never heard a good compelling argument for why I'm an antisemite even though I've been accused of being an antisemitic by many people," he added.
"My attitude towards this is Israel is an ally like France or the UK. We are going to have disagreements with them; we are going to have agreements with them. There are areas where we're going to have similar interests and areas where our interests are going to diverge," he said.
'The concern is that they're spying on American politicians'
Vance and Rogan also discussed the level to which Israel allegedly attempts to influence US politics.
"I think some are better at it than others. I think Israel is definitely more effective at it than most. But I wouldn't say they're the only effective country trying to influence American politics by any means," Vance said..."
https://www.jpost.com/international/article-902645
