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A
You are listening to an art media podcast.
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It's Thursday, july 30th. This episode was recorded at 7pm new york time on Wednesday. I'm deborah pardes and this is arc news daily. The war with Iran is spilling out across the region. Over the past two days, the fighting has brought in Saudi Arabia, Shiite militias in Iraq, and for the first time raised concerns that even Egypt is under Iran's radar. Two ships caught fire after an explosion at an Egyptian port yesterday. One was US owned, According to one report, the explosion had been caused by a drone attack, though there was no official confirmation and no one has claimed responsibility. Earlier, the US And Saudi Arabia carried out joint airstrikes on Iran backed militia sites in eastern Iraq. According to US Central Command, the strikes targeted Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces, an umbrella group of Iran backed paramilitary forces. The Iraqi group said at least 20 members were killed. In response, the Iraqi government said the US And Saudi Arabia are risking a major miscalculation for the strikes. Saudi Arabia's Foreign Ministry said it isn't seeking escalation but would not hesitate to respond to any aggression. All of this followed the first shot of the latest round by Iran's military guards on Tuesday night.
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President Trump tells Fox News about Iran. We are going to beat the effing s out of them, he went on to say. We'll be hitting them hard. They're going to get a beating.
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B
That's Fox News reporter Trey Yingst, who said President Trump also called the Iran backed militias a cancer on the world and is considering issuing more warnings on those groups. As to what's behind the recent escalation, Iran has undergone a fundamental shift, according to analysts quoted by the Wall Street Journal. They say that in years past it operated in the shadows through proxy groups and indirect attacks, but now it's not afraid to launch waves of missiles and drones against US Forces in the region and neighboring countries. They say that's a reflection of the fact that military officials have taken a more dominant role inside the regime. The IRGC is also allowing commanders to make decisions on their own, which can make their military unpredictable. Municipal advisory committees are supposed to reflect the city they serve. But in the case of New York City, a new panel is deepening an already strained relationship between the mayor and the Jewish community in the city. With the largest number of Jews outside of Israel, not one of the 18 members of Mamdani's new advisory committee on the Judiciary is Jewish. This is for the body that screens candidates for judgeships and recommends appointments to civil court in New York. On Monday, four Jewish bar associations sent Mamdani a letter protesting the omission. They wrote that the panel quote follows a troubling pattern that has left many Jewish New Yorkers feeling increasingly marginalized. In a press conference yesterday, Mamdani said the exclusion of Jews from the panel was not deliberate.
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D
I want to be clear that any suggestion that the composition of the advisory committee was motivated by religion is false.
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He said he did not look into the religion of any of the panelists and only excluded one Jewish nominee because he had worked with an associate of Jeffrey Epstein.
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When we find out that they served on Ghislaine Maxwell's legal defense team, that was a moment of concern.
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We've been tracking this in recent weeks, from Amdani's war criminal accusation against Netanyahu to his walked back pledge to arrest him. Jewish leaders attributed the recent stabbing of a Jewish man on the Upper west side, at least in part, to the political climate. Mamdani's rhetoric has fostered glass bottles flying at the stage, middle fingers in the air, chants of Free Palestine. That's what a French Jewish DJ experienced earlier this the attack wasn't because of anything she did on stage, but for her stance against antisemitism and her identity as a Jewish artist. The famous DJ is Barbara Butch. She's a progressive and pro LGBTQ rights activist who performed at the opening of the Olympic Games in Paris two years ago. She specializes in electro house music. What started with personal attacks online devolved into a violent protest during her set at the Grenoble music festival.
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Please leave Biden, Please be Protestant.
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B
Around 150 protesters were in the audience. Some waved Palestinian flags and wore T shirts that said Boycott Israel. Barbara left the stage after 20 minutes. The harassment against her began last year after she expressed support for a French bill that would impose stricter penalties on antisemitic acts in the country. The bill was criticized because it was perceived as too harsh and would violate people's freedom to speak out against Israel. Barbara herself said she's not a fan of the Netanyahu government and publicly walked back her support of the bill. But the protests against her did not stop. In an interview last week, Barbara shared the humiliation of what she described as public stoning without a trial, but promised to fight for justice. She said nothing justifies violence. We are going to hope that this kind of situation does not happen anymore. Not only to me, but to anyone. Barbara met France's Minister of Culture this week and filed multiple complaints against the organizations protesting her, including the far left political party France Unbound. We spoke with Sebastian Levy, a journalist based in New York who reports for Radio J, a French Jew Jewish station. He helped explain the larger context.
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What is happening in France is that the far left, like in the US uses Israel as a wedge issue. This is why Baruch's interrupted council caused a major outcry way beyond the Jewish community. In a country whose mantra is liberty, egalite, fraternite, that means freedom, equality, fraternity, he says.
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It isn't just Barbara that is facing backlash. Artistic freedom as a whole is at stake for Jewish artists.
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Just in the past few months there was comic artist Johannesburg who almost had to cancel an appearance at Marseille. And six days after Barbara Butch, French Israeli singer Amir had also to cancel his concert because of security reasons after threats that were that were sent to him and that the police deemed very credible.
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Despite everything she's gone through, Barbara was back on stage last weekend, this time protected by heavy security. Debbara I'm Deborah Pardes and this is Ark News Daily. If you know someone who might appreciate this episode, please share it with them. See you tomorrow.
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Hi, it's Dan Sinor. Israel is heading into one of its most consequential election, and this time the whole world is watching closely. Hot takes and daily noise are pretty much guaranteed to populate your media diet. But as with any election, there's a deeper story about identity, religion, democracy and what kind of country Israelis want to live in. That's why ARC Media launched Israel Votes, a special initiative across Call me Back for heaven's sake and ARK News Daily. You'll hear from the leading candidates shaping the race along with analysis and reporting from two of Israel's leading political analysts, ARC Media contributors Nadavael and Amit Segal. Join us for Israel Votes, your front row seat to the election that could define Israel's Future. Go to arkmedia.org votes to watch and listen. See you there.