![Israel must continue to be able to deter Hezbollah, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar stressed on Wednesday, speaking amid efforts to reach a ceasefire with Iran's Lebanese terrorist proxy. "We need to keep the freedom to act if there will be violations. And we will have to act in time, before the problem will grow," the minister told a gathering of nearly 100 foreign ambassadors in Jerusalem, the Times of Israel reported. A deal to end more than a year of fighting on the northern border must be durable, Sa'ar said, saying Jerusalem “would like to reach an agreement that will stand the test of time." He added that a ceasefire would be an "opportunity" for Lebanon to regain its sovereignty after the Israeli military severely degraded the Iranian-backed group in recent months. He called for the Lebanese Armed Forces to be strengthened and urged the international community to invest more in the economically devastated country, which is drowning in debt following years of mismanagement and corruption. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz also emphasized on Wednesday the necessity for Jerusalem to be able to act against any Hezbollah threats that may arise after a ceasefire deal is implemented. “The condition for any political settlement in Lebanon is the preservation of the intelligence capability and the preservation of the [IDF’s] right to act and protect the citizens of Israel from Hezbollah,” Katz said. Meanwhile, U.S. special envoy Amos Hochstein remained in Beirut for a second day on Wednesday to discuss "technical details" of an American ceasefire proposal with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who heads the Hezbollah-allied Amal movement. President Joe Biden's point man in the Land of the Cedars announced he would travel to Israel on Wednesday night, speaking after he made "additional progress" in a second meeting with Berri. Hochstein was scheduled to meet with Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer shortly after his arrival, followed by a tête-à-tête with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the following day. “The meeting today built on the meeting yesterday, and made additional progress,” Hochstein said. “So I will travel from here in a couple hours to Israel to try to bring this to a close if we can.” The Biden envoy added that he will work with the incoming Trump administration on ceasefire efforts, saying that he has kept the president-elect's transition team informed of progress. Hochstein described as "very productive" his meetings with Lebanese officials on Tuesday. “We have a real opportunity to end the conflict, and now is the moment to decide. We are committed to doing everything we can to work with Lebanon and Israel to end this conflict,” Hochstein said at a press conference on Tuesday. Hochstein also met on Tuesday with Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, and he was scheduled to meet with Lebanese Armed Forces commander Gen. Joseph Aoun. Mikati emphasized that Lebanon’s primary objectives are achieving a ceasefire and safeguarding its sovereignty. He highlighted the need to implement international resolutions and bolster the Lebanese Armed Forces in the southern part of the country. Lebanon delivered its written response to the latest U.S. proposal on Monday. According to Ali Hassan Khalil, an aide to Berri, the response included “comments” that were “presented in a positive atmosphere.” He did not provide details on the nature of the comments, saying only that they “affirm the precise adherence to [U.N. Security Council] Resolution 1701 with all its provisions,” according to Reuters. Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem said in a speech on Wednesday that the terrorist group had "read the ceasefire proposal. "We have our comments, and Nabih Berri has comments, and ours and the Lebanese government's comments are, Inshallah ['God willing'], identical," Qassem said. "We have decided not to discuss these ceasefire proposals or our comments in the media. All I will say is that Israeli is trying to obtain through negotiations what it couldn't through war." The terrorist leader vowed to “continue our efforts on the ground, whether the negotiations succeed or not. “We are confronting a savage enemy, and we will remain on the ground, no matter the cost, as we will also increase the cost for the enemy. We are facing Israeli human monsters supported by American human monsters,” threatened Qassem. Disarm and retreat Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 Second Lebanon War, stipulated that Hezbollah must disarm and retreat north of the Litani River, but was never enforced. The Litani lies some 20 miles from the Israel-Lebanon border. Its enforcement, along with Israeli freedom of operation in Lebanon should Hezbollah violate the terms of a ceasefire agreement, are the key sticking points in the current negotiations. Netanyahu emphasized during a speech in the Knesset plenum on Monday that Israel will not allow Hezbollah to “return to the state it was in on Oct. 6, 2023. “We will be required, in order to ensure our security in the north, to systematically carry out operations—not only against Hezbollah’s attacks, which could come. Even if there is a ceasefire, nobody can guarantee it will hold. So it’s not only our reaction, a preventive reaction, a reaction in the wake of attack but also the capacity to prevent Hezbollah from strengthening,” he said. Hezbollah has launched some 16,000 rockets, missiles and drones from Lebanon at Israel since joining the war in support of Hamas on Oct. 8, 2023, a day after the Gaza-based terrorist group’s massacre in southern Israel. More than 60,000 residents of northern Israel remain internally displaced due to the ongoing rocket and drone attacks from Lebanon. Seventy-six people in northern Israel have been killed by Hezbollah cross-border rocket, missile and drone attacks since the start of the war, including 31 soldiers and six foreign citizens, according to the latest data provided by the Prime Minister’s Office, updated on Sunday. In addition, 729 people have been wounded, including 497 civilians and 232 soldiers. Of these, 29 civilians and 37 soldiers were severely injured; 63 civilians and 38 soldiers were moderately injured and 405 civilians and 157 soldiers were lightly injured. Hezbollah’s leadership has been left in tatters following a series of targeted killings by Israel, including that of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut on Sept. 27. This was preceded by Israeli sabotage of Hezbollah communication devices that killed 39 people and wounded more than 3,400 members of the terrorist group. Israel has been waging a devastating aerial campaign against Hezbollah throughout Lebanon, including its stronghold of Dahieh south of Beirut. According to Israeli estimates, the terrorist group has lost most of its arsenal to the ongoing strikes. Then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in late October that Hezbollah had lost an estimated 80%-plus of its long-range rockets since the start of the war. Israel also continues to battle Hamas terrorists in Gaza. The terrorist group still holds 101 hostages in the Strip, 97 of whom were kidnapped on Oct. 7. Many of the captives are believed to be dead. Brazil summit Meanwhile, G20 leaders gathered in Rio de Janeiro for a summit put out a joint statement on Monday calling for “comprehensive” ceasefires in Gaza and Lebanon. The leaders of the world’s biggest economies called for U.S. proposals to end fighting in Gaza and free the hostages, and one for Lebanon “that enables citizens to return safely to their homes on both sides of the Blue Line.” The 13-point U.S. proposal presented to Lebanese officials on Nov. 14 includes a 60-day truce, during which Lebanon would redeploy its troops along the border. The proposal also calls for Moscow to prevent Hezbollah from resupplying itself via Syrian land routes. Hezbollah would retreat north of the Litani River, with the border area then being under control of the Lebanese Armed Forces, overseen by the United States and Britain. Israeli officials are emphasizing, however, that the Israel Defense Forces must retain freedom of operation in Lebanon to thwart attempts by Hezbollah to violate the agreement and rearm and reestablish itself. A senior Israeli diplomatic official told Israel Hayom on Saturday that the IDF will retain operational freedom to respond to any security threats from across the northern border, regardless of any diplomatic arrangements. However, a source close to Hezbollah told The Washington Post that the group’s “condition for progress remains clear: Israel must be prohibited from conducting operations within Lebanese territory.” Berri emphasized at the time that any ceasefire agreement must not include the ability for Israel to attack by land, sea or air, Channel 12 reported. “Otherwise, what’s the purpose of an agreement?” he remarked. Another sticking point is Lebanon’s objection to the United Kingdom and Germany monitoring the implementation of U.N. Resolution 1701. Beirut reportedly favors the United States and France. If the ceasefire efforts fail, there are plans in the works to expand ground operations in Lebanon, an Israeli military official told the Post. Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer discussed the proposal with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump during a visit to his Florida estate earlier this month, as well as with senior Biden administration officials in Washington. Dermer also traveled to Russia to discuss the ceasefire proposal. Tehran is telling its Lebanese terrorist proxy Hezbollah that it supports ending the war against Israel, The New York Times reported over the weekend. Ali Larijani, senior adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, met with senior Lebanese officials in Beirut on Nov. 15 to discuss the matter. Two Iranians affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps told the Times that Larijani conveyed messages to Hezbollah from Khamenei that he supported the end of the war and that the regime would assist with rebuilding the terrorist group’s forces and recovering from the war.](https://jewishwebsite.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Gideon-Saar-1320x880-2-218x150.jpg "Sa’ar: Israel must be free to act against Hezbollah truce violations")
The is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of men who assaulted patrons at a Los Angeles restaurant on Tuesday night in what is being looked at as a hate crime.
“We are outraged over reports of this anti-Semitic assault and thank the Los Angeles Police Department for investigating the incident as a potential hate crime,” said ADL Los Angeles regional director Jeffrey I. Abrams. “These acts of hate have no place in our community, and we hope this reward will bring about information that will lead to an arrest or arrests and the prosecution of these hate crimes to the fullest extent of the law.”
Throughout the day on Wednesday, condemnation came swiftly from local politicians and Jewish groups as a video of the assault made its way around social media and onto local news broadcasts. It was just one of several incidents that have occurred in recent days in the Los Angeles area that appeared to be targeting Jews.
Tweeting on Wednesday, L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti said, “We as a city condemn last night’s organized, anti-Semitic attack. Jewish Angelenos, like all residents, should always feel safe in our city. @LAPDHQ is investigating this as a hate crime, and we will respond with the full force of the law.
“There is simply no place for anti-Semitism, discrimination or prejudice of any kind in Los Angeles,” the mayor continued. “And we will never tolerate bigotry and violence in our communities.”
‘Anti-Israeli hatred manifesting into anti-Semitism’
The incident at the restaurant began on Tuesday night, after several cars with passengers waving Palestinian flags, and yelling “Israel kills children and women every day” and “Free Palestine,” drove past outdoor diners. In response, at least one of the diners yelled an explicative back to the activists, who threw something at the patrons. A number of diners ran into the restaurant while some of the Palestinian supporters reportedly jumped out of their cars, asked if anyone was Jewish and began pummeling those who responded in the affirmative.
“The Israeli-American Council is deeply concerned by a reported anti-Semitic attack at a West Hollywood restaurant, where a gang of Palestinian protesters asked customers if any Jews were present,” said Shoham Nicolet, its co-founder and CEO. “According to the report, when two men identified themselves as Jewish, the gang proceeded to beat them up. We condemn this hate crime in the strongest possible terms and urge authorities to find and prosecute those responsible to the fullest extent of the law.”
That sentiment was echoed by Liora Rez, executive director of StopAntisemitism.org, who told JNS that “the attack on Jewish diners is just another example of anti-Israeli hatred manifesting into clear anti-Semitism. We demand the attackers be found, arrested and charged to the full extent of the law.”
Also weighing was Israeli Counsel General to Los Angeles Hillel Newman, who posted on Twitter: “We should all come together in condemning the horrendous attacks by pro-Palestinian demonstrators against Jews in #LosAngeles! The indiscriminate attacks against Jews in #Israel is now continuing in L.A.”
Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), whose district includes the site of the alleged attack and is co-chair of the House Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism, issued a statement that read: “I’m appalled by what appears to be an anti-Semitic attack at a Beverly Grove restaurant last night. The reports and videos of what happened are disturbing and distressing. Everyone in our community should feel safe and respected. No matter one’s political views, we can never condone hate crimes and hate incidents.”
Local community leaders are also looking into what L.A. City Councilman Paul Koretz described as an attempt by “two drivers to run over a Jewish man who had to flee for his life.” That incident, which happened about two miles away from the restaurant, was also caught on video and showed a car adorned with a Palestinian flag chasing a man through a parking lot.
“We will never allow for anyone to strike fear into our hearts because we are Jews,” he said. “We are not going to allow the violence in the Middle East to spill out onto the streets of Los Angeles. Everyone is entitled to express their opinion, but never through violence. Pro-Palestinian protesters cannot be allowed to viciously assault random people on the street because they happen to look or be Jewish.
“We will investigate these incidents, identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice,” continued Koretz. “We are not going to allow this to happen to my constituents in Council District 5 on my watch.”
In addition to these two incidents in Los Angeles, police are also investigating vandalism at a kosher eatery in the San Fernando Valley.
‘No one in Los Angeles started this conflict’
According to Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean and director of global social action for the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles, such attacks can’t be seen in isolation but as part of a larger spate of anti-Jew violence worldwide.
“Los Angeles is the second city for almost every national and ethnic group in the world. That means wherever there is a flashpoint around the world, someone feels it intensely. That is doubly true about Gaza for both Jews and Palestinians. With social media lit up with anti-Israel and blatant Jew-hatred 24/7, there is reason to be concerned,” he said in response to a request for comment from JNS. “We have seen what has happened in Toronto, Montreal, the United Kingdom, France and Germany; the anti-Semitic chants, the violence, even targeting of Jewish institutions.
“We need local leaders everywhere to step up and defend against any violence, but also to establish lines of communication with other community leaders,” continued Cooper. “No one in Williamsburg, N.Y., Golders Green [in] London or Los Angeles started this conflict, and no one has the power to impact on events in the Holy Land, but that hasn’t stopped the hate threats and violence from proliferating in too many places.”