‘The way to do it': Munich residents protect synagogue from pro-Palestine protest
'Let me show you how the better angels of human nature can be harnessed in this struggle,' Mr Kenny said.
'A pro-Palestinian protest was approved to go past the city's main synagogue, which of course worried the local Jewish community, so local Christians turned up, and they formed a ring of protection and solidarity around the synagogue with their Jewish neighbours.
'Yep, that's the way to do it.'

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ABC News
2 hours ago
- ABC News
France to recognise Palestine at September United Nations meeting
President Emmanuel Macron says France will recognise a Palestinian state in September at the United Nations General Assembly, adding he hopes it will help bring peace to the region. Mr Macron made the announcement on Thursday in a post on X. "The urgent thing today is that the war in Gaza stops and the civilian population is saved,″ he wrote. The French president offered support for Israel after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks and frequently spoke out against antisemitism. But he has grown increasingly frustrated about Israel's war in Gaza, especially in recent months. ″Given its historic commitment to a just and sustainable peace in the Middle East, I have decided that France will recognise the state of Palestine,'' Mr Macron posted. "Peace is possible.'' He also posted a letter he sent to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas about the decision. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned Mr Macron's decision, saying that such a move "rewards terror and risks creating another Iranian proxy". "A Palestinian state in these conditions would be a launch pad to annihilate Israel — not to live in peace beside it," Mr Netanyahu said in a post on X. "Let's be clear: the Palestinians do not seek a state alongside Israel; they seek a state instead of Israel." Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz described the move as "a disgrace and a surrender to terrorism", adding that Israel would not allow the establishment of a "Palestinian entity that would harm our security, endanger our existence". France is the biggest and most-powerful European country to recognise Palestine. More than 140 countries recognise a Palestinian state, including more than a dozen in Europe. France has Europe's largest Jewish population and the largest Muslim population in western Europe, and fighting in the Middle East often spills over into protests or other tensions in France. France's foreign minister is co-hosting a conference at the UN next week about a two-state solution. Last month, Mr Macron expressed his "determination to recognise the state of Palestine", and has pushed for a broader movement toward a two-state solution, in parallel with recognition of Israel and its right to defend itself. Thursday's announcement came soon after the US cut short Gaza ceasefire talks in Qatar, saying Hamas was not showing good faith. Momentum has been building against Israel in recent days. Earlier this week, France and more than two dozen mostly European countries condemned Israel's restrictions on aid shipments into the territory and the killings of hundreds of Palestinians trying to reach food. The Palestinians seek an independent state in the occupied West Bank, annexed East Jerusalem and Gaza, territories Israel occupied in the 1967 war. Israel's government and most of its political class have long been opposed to Palestinian statehood and now say that it would reward militants after Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack. Israel annexed East Jerusalem shortly after the 1967 war and considers it part of its capital. In the West Bank, it has built scores of settlements, some resembling sprawling suburbs, that are now home to more than 500,000 Jewish settlers with Israeli citizenship. The territory's 3 million Palestinians live under Israeli military rule, with the Palestinian Authority exercising limited autonomy in population centres. AP/Reuters

News.com.au
3 hours ago
- News.com.au
Taiwan's opposition protests ahead of recall vote
Taiwan's main opposition will protest on Friday, the eve of unprecedented recall elections targeting its lawmakers that could tip the balance of power to President Lai Ching-te's ruling party. Supporters of Lai's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) are seeking to unseat 31 Kuomintang (KMT) lawmakers who they accuse of being pro-China and a threat to national security. The KMT, which advocates closer ties with Beijing, controls parliament with the help of the Taiwan People's Party (TPP) and has slammed the recall effort as undermining the self-ruled island's democracy. Two dozen KMT lawmakers could lose their seats on Saturday in a legal process that allows the public to oust elected officials before the end of their term. Another seven face recall elections on August 23. The DPP needs a minimum of 12 KMT lawmakers to be recalled to give it a "temporary functional majority" in parliament, political analyst Wen-Ti Sung told AFP. It would then need to flip six seats in by-elections later this year to secure control of the 113-seat legislature. Started by civic groups this year, the recall campaigns have dominated Taiwanese politics, newspaper headlines and social media feeds for months. The DPP lost its parliamentary majority in the 2024 elections that swept Lai, who is detested by Beijing, to the presidency. Since then, the KMT and TPP have joined forces to stymie Lai's agenda and cut the government's budget. A series of opposition bills, including reforms expanding parliament's powers and freezing the constitutional court, sparked brawls in the legislature and massive street protests last year. - 'Unprecedented' - The scale of the recall campaign was "unprecedented" in Taiwan, Dafydd Fell, an expert on Taiwan politics at the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies, told AFP. It reflected the "strengths of Taiwanese civil society, which has responded to what it perceives as a serious threat to Taiwan's democracy and sovereignty," he said. For a KMT lawmaker to lose their seat, the number of votes in favour of recalling them must exceed those against and also be more than 25 percent of the total number of registered voters in the electorate. A KMT bid to have 15 DPP lawmakers recalled failed. With turnout critical, DPP supporters have been standing outside subway stations, in public parks and at food markets for weeks urging people to vote "yes". Thousands of people gathered in the rain near the Presidential Office Building on Thursday night in a show of support for the recalls. KMT legislators fighting for their political lives have also taken to the streets to persuade voters to oppose the recall. Their supporters are expected to protest on Friday, hours before polling stations open across the island. With many recall votes happening in KMT strongholds, Fell said it would be difficult for the DPP to win control of the parliament. "Even if some of the KMT legislators are recalled, other KMT politicians might win the seats back in the resulting by-elections," he said. - China looms large - National Taipei University political scientist Liu Chia-wei said the recall vote had become an "ideological duel" between the DPP and KMT, as China loomed large. Taiwan's top policy body on China said this week there was "visible evidence" Beijing was trying to "interfere" in the election process. China insists Taiwan is part of its territory and has ramped up military and political pressure on the island to press its claim of sovereignty. Lai's government has repeatedly warned of the growing threat from Chinese espionage, disinformation and cyberattacks that it says are aimed at weakening the island's defences. Public opinion on the recalls is divided. Aaron Yu, 32, said he supported the campaign because "most of the bills passed by KMT lawmakers are pro-China". But restaurant worker Sharon Chen criticised it as a waste of money, saying voters had already made their decisions in last year's elections. "Just because a certain party lost, they can't accept the result and now want to recall someone the people chose, I think that's just senseless," the 65-year-old said.


SBS Australia
3 hours ago
- SBS Australia
France to recognise State of Palestine in September, Emmanuel Macron says
French President Emmanuel Macron has announced France will recognise Palestinian statehood, amid snowballing global anger over people starving in Gaza. Macron said in a post on X that he will formalise the decision at the United Nations General Assembly in September. He also posted a letter he sent to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas about the decision. "The urgent thing today is that the war in Gaza stops and the civilian population is saved," he wrote. France's stance on Hamas-Israel war The French president offered support for Israel after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks and frequently speaks out against antisemitism, but he has grown increasingly frustrated about Israel's war in Gaza, especially in recent months. France is the biggest and most powerful European country to recognise Palestine. More than 140 countries recognise a Palestinian state, including more than a dozen in Europe. France has Europe's largest Jewish population and the largest Muslim population in western Europe, and fighting in the Middle East often spills over into protests or other tensions in France. Last month, Macron expressed his "determination to recognise the state of Palestine," and he has pushed for a broader movement toward a two-state solution, in parallel with recognition of Israel and its right to defend itself. How has Israel responded? Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday said France's decision to recognise a State of Palestine "rewards terror" and poses an existential threat to Israel. Netanyahu said in a statement that the move "risks creating another Iranian proxy, just as Gaza became", which would be "a launch pad to annihilate Israel — not to live in peace beside it". "Let's be clear: the Palestinians do not seek a state alongside Israel; they seek a state instead of Israel," he added. The war between Hamas and Israel is the latest escalation in a long-standing conflict. Hamas is a Palestinian political and military group, which has governed the Gaza Strip since the most recent elections in 2006. Hamas's stated aim is to establish a Palestinian state and stop the Israeli occupation of Gaza and the West Bank, illegal under international law.