The Times of Israel liveblogging Thursday’s events as they unfold.
Judge who signed FBI’s Mar-a-Lago warrant facing violent antisemitic threats
Bruce Reinhart, the federal judge in Florida who signed the warrant allowing the FBI to raid former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property on Tuesday, has been hit with a wave of antisemitic threats online.
The outburst has appeared on right-wing social media platforms and message boards, where users have published the judge’s name, address and personal information. Threats have been directed at his children and supposed family members as well.
Reinhart, who appears to be a member of the board of Temple Beth David in Palm Beach Gardens, has been a magistrate judge for the Southern District of Florida since 2018.
Calls for violence have accompanied antisemitic slurs and conspiracy theories, many referencing how Reinhart represented former employees of Jeffrey Epstein during a case involving the late convicted sex trafficker in 2008. Prior to the Epstein case, Reinhart worked as a federal prosecutor and then in a private practice until 2018.
One user on 4chan, an online message board known for racist activity, wrote: “About that Judge that signed the search Warrant…Bruce Reinhart once quit his job as a U.S. Attorney to work for Jeffrey Epstein.” Another responded writing, “That is a k***. And a pedophile … He should be tried for treason and executed.”
“I see a rope around his neck,” wrote a user on the separate pro-Trump message board formerly called TheDonald, according to Vice News.
The Mar-a-Lago raid concerned confidential documents that Trump allegedly removed from the White House when he left in 2021. Subsequent right-wing outrage from many of his supporters has included calls for civil war and abolishment of the FBI and IRS.
With 10% of polling stations left to tally, Netanyahu loyalists poised to party over Likud primary results
With 10% of polling stations left to tally, preliminary Likud primary results indicate a list rewarding loyalists to party leader Benjamin Netanyahu, and slaps on the wrist to well-established lawmakers who have threatened his authority over the party.
Led by Netanyahu confidant Yariv Levin, the top ten feature five additional MKs considered tightly allied with the former prime minister: Eli Cohen, Amir Ohana, Yoav Kisch, Miri Regev, and Miki Zohar.
Prominent lawmakers with their own brand within Likud who were pushed down the list include Yuli Edelstein, David Bitan, Israel Katz, and Haim Katz.
Health of hunger striking Palestinian prisoner deteriorates to ‘life-threatening’
A Palestinian prisoner on a protracted hunger strike was moved today from an Israeli jail to a hospital because of his worsening condition, the prisoner’s wife says.
Khalil Awawdeh has refused food for just over 160 days in a bid to draw attention to his detention by Israel without trial or charge. His case was thrust into the spotlight after a flare-up of violence last weekend between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group, which demanded that he be released as part of a ceasefire that ended the fighting.
A senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad official warned Israel against “playing with Awawdeh’s life,” the Ynet website reports
“Israel will bear full responsibility if he dies,” said the PIJ official, who was not identified in the report.
The 40-year-old father of four was arrested by Israel in December and accused of being a member of a terror group, a charge Awawdeh’s lawyer said he denies. Recently, he has been using a wheelchair and was showing memory loss and speech difficulties, according to his lawyer, Ahlam Haddad.
Dalal Awawdeh, Khalil’s wife, said his condition had deteriorated, prompting Israeli authorities to move him to a hospital. The Palestinian Prisoners Club, which represents former and current prisoners, confirmed that Awawdeh’s condition had worsened.
“He is in a real life-threatening situation,” said Qadura Fares, the head of the organization. “He could die at any moment.”
