Feb 14, 2019
Amazon announced Thursday the company has canceled its bid to acquire nearly $3 billion in public dollars to locate a facility in New York City--the most substantial setback for corporate welfare in recent memory.
Significantly, Amazon states in its announcement of the decision that it will continue to expand its workforce in the New York City area, up from the 5,000 workers the company already employs in Brooklyn, Manhattan and Staten Island. In other words, Amazon still plans to maintain a headquarters-sized presence in New York, the nation's financial and economic hub. It just couldn't win the political battle to obtain billions of dollars in subsidies from it.
As In These Times reported, last week Amazon turned to the Washington Post, owned by its CEO Jeff Bezos, to float that it was reconsidering the proposed HQ2 headquarters in Long Island City, Queens, estimated to house 25,000 employees. This move was seen by many as a veiled threat to pack up and abandon New York if politicians didn't turn over billions of dollars in tribute.
Amazon's refusal to remain neutral if its New York City workers attempted to unionize was in many ways the last straw for opponents of the deal.
But opponents in New York's city council and the state legislature refused to buckle to Amazon's demands. They doubted the necessity of handing over taxpayer cash to the world's most valuable company, at a time when New York has struggled to fund public transit and affordable housing. Furthermore, they feared a worsening of congestion, gentrification and displacement in Long Island City.
Amazon's refusal to remain neutral if its New York City workers attempted to unionize was in many ways the last straw for opponents of the deal. According to the New York Times, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo set up a meeting between Amazon executives and union leaders on Wednesday, but Amazon made no concessions at the meeting, and broke up with the state the next day.
State Sen. Michael Gianaris, a vocal critic of the deal, was tapped by his colleagues for a seat on the Public Authorities Control Board, which reviews and approves state-based economic development subsidies. He would have had an effective veto on about $1.5 billion of the subsidies for the project. After Thursday's announcement, Gianaris said in a statement, "Like a petulant child, Amazon insists on getting its way or takes its ball and leaves... The only thing that happened here is that a community that was going to be profoundly affected by their presence started asking questions."
Gianaris highlighted the fact that Amazon still plans to expand its New York workforce regardless of the new facility, suggesting that the billions of dollars the city and state would have forked over appeared meaningless considering Amazon's resolve to build its presence locally anyway.
In its announcement, Amazon cited the need for "positive, collaborative relationships with state and local elected officials" over the long-term, which the company did not see materializing in New York City. Amazon cited a poll showing 70 percent of New Yorkers in support of the deal; a more recent poll showed 56 percent support, while another showed majority opposition in Manhattan and a split in Brooklyn.
According to Amazon, it would not re-open the HQ2 sweepstakes, but would proceed with its other HQ2 site in Crystal City, Virginia, as well as a 5,000-employee "Operations Center of Excellence" in Nashville, Tennessee. Politicians in those locations have been generally hospitable to the deals, which will yield close to a billion dollars more for Amazon. Restarting the bidding would have potentially compounded the negative attention Amazon has received over HQ2. The company has 17 other corporate offices and tech hubs across North America.
More broadly, the HQ2 debate in New York broadened awareness of the sordid process of economic development deals, by which powerful companies raid cities and states to the tune of up to $90 billion annually, while local services suffer from lack of funds. While these subsidies are often granted under the cover of secrecy, Amazon turned its demands into a spectacle, which appears to have backfired. All companies that enjoy corporate welfare will likely now receive more scrutiny for such massive subsidy deals.
Nathan Jensen, a public policy professor at the University of Texas who studies economic development deals, cited the secrecy as the main problem with the New York debacle. "The Government and Mayor tried to impose a secretly negotiated deal with Amazon, that wasn't released to the public or public officials, and it led to resistance. That should be the lesson here. If you want to make good public policy, you have to include the public."
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David Dayen
David Dayen is the executive editor of The American Prospect. His work has appeared in The Intercept, The New Republic, HuffPost, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, and more. His first book, "Chain of Title: How Three Ordinary Americans Uncovered Wall Street's Great Foreclosure Fraud," winner of the Studs and Ida Terkel Prize, was released by The New Press in 2016. His book, "Fat Cat: The Steve Mnuchin Story," with Rebecca Burns, was published in 2018.
Amazon announced Thursday the company has canceled its bid to acquire nearly $3 billion in public dollars to locate a facility in New York City--the most substantial setback for corporate welfare in recent memory.
Significantly, Amazon states in its announcement of the decision that it will continue to expand its workforce in the New York City area, up from the 5,000 workers the company already employs in Brooklyn, Manhattan and Staten Island. In other words, Amazon still plans to maintain a headquarters-sized presence in New York, the nation's financial and economic hub. It just couldn't win the political battle to obtain billions of dollars in subsidies from it.
As In These Times reported, last week Amazon turned to the Washington Post, owned by its CEO Jeff Bezos, to float that it was reconsidering the proposed HQ2 headquarters in Long Island City, Queens, estimated to house 25,000 employees. This move was seen by many as a veiled threat to pack up and abandon New York if politicians didn't turn over billions of dollars in tribute.
Amazon's refusal to remain neutral if its New York City workers attempted to unionize was in many ways the last straw for opponents of the deal.
But opponents in New York's city council and the state legislature refused to buckle to Amazon's demands. They doubted the necessity of handing over taxpayer cash to the world's most valuable company, at a time when New York has struggled to fund public transit and affordable housing. Furthermore, they feared a worsening of congestion, gentrification and displacement in Long Island City.
Amazon's refusal to remain neutral if its New York City workers attempted to unionize was in many ways the last straw for opponents of the deal. According to the New York Times, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo set up a meeting between Amazon executives and union leaders on Wednesday, but Amazon made no concessions at the meeting, and broke up with the state the next day.
State Sen. Michael Gianaris, a vocal critic of the deal, was tapped by his colleagues for a seat on the Public Authorities Control Board, which reviews and approves state-based economic development subsidies. He would have had an effective veto on about $1.5 billion of the subsidies for the project. After Thursday's announcement, Gianaris said in a statement, "Like a petulant child, Amazon insists on getting its way or takes its ball and leaves... The only thing that happened here is that a community that was going to be profoundly affected by their presence started asking questions."
Gianaris highlighted the fact that Amazon still plans to expand its New York workforce regardless of the new facility, suggesting that the billions of dollars the city and state would have forked over appeared meaningless considering Amazon's resolve to build its presence locally anyway.
In its announcement, Amazon cited the need for "positive, collaborative relationships with state and local elected officials" over the long-term, which the company did not see materializing in New York City. Amazon cited a poll showing 70 percent of New Yorkers in support of the deal; a more recent poll showed 56 percent support, while another showed majority opposition in Manhattan and a split in Brooklyn.
According to Amazon, it would not re-open the HQ2 sweepstakes, but would proceed with its other HQ2 site in Crystal City, Virginia, as well as a 5,000-employee "Operations Center of Excellence" in Nashville, Tennessee. Politicians in those locations have been generally hospitable to the deals, which will yield close to a billion dollars more for Amazon. Restarting the bidding would have potentially compounded the negative attention Amazon has received over HQ2. The company has 17 other corporate offices and tech hubs across North America.
More broadly, the HQ2 debate in New York broadened awareness of the sordid process of economic development deals, by which powerful companies raid cities and states to the tune of up to $90 billion annually, while local services suffer from lack of funds. While these subsidies are often granted under the cover of secrecy, Amazon turned its demands into a spectacle, which appears to have backfired. All companies that enjoy corporate welfare will likely now receive more scrutiny for such massive subsidy deals.
Nathan Jensen, a public policy professor at the University of Texas who studies economic development deals, cited the secrecy as the main problem with the New York debacle. "The Government and Mayor tried to impose a secretly negotiated deal with Amazon, that wasn't released to the public or public officials, and it led to resistance. That should be the lesson here. If you want to make good public policy, you have to include the public."
David Dayen
David Dayen is the executive editor of The American Prospect. His work has appeared in The Intercept, The New Republic, HuffPost, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, and more. His first book, "Chain of Title: How Three Ordinary Americans Uncovered Wall Street's Great Foreclosure Fraud," winner of the Studs and Ida Terkel Prize, was released by The New Press in 2016. His book, "Fat Cat: The Steve Mnuchin Story," with Rebecca Burns, was published in 2018.
Amazon announced Thursday the company has canceled its bid to acquire nearly $3 billion in public dollars to locate a facility in New York City--the most substantial setback for corporate welfare in recent memory.
Significantly, Amazon states in its announcement of the decision that it will continue to expand its workforce in the New York City area, up from the 5,000 workers the company already employs in Brooklyn, Manhattan and Staten Island. In other words, Amazon still plans to maintain a headquarters-sized presence in New York, the nation's financial and economic hub. It just couldn't win the political battle to obtain billions of dollars in subsidies from it.
As In These Times reported, last week Amazon turned to the Washington Post, owned by its CEO Jeff Bezos, to float that it was reconsidering the proposed HQ2 headquarters in Long Island City, Queens, estimated to house 25,000 employees. This move was seen by many as a veiled threat to pack up and abandon New York if politicians didn't turn over billions of dollars in tribute.
Amazon's refusal to remain neutral if its New York City workers attempted to unionize was in many ways the last straw for opponents of the deal.
But opponents in New York's city council and the state legislature refused to buckle to Amazon's demands. They doubted the necessity of handing over taxpayer cash to the world's most valuable company, at a time when New York has struggled to fund public transit and affordable housing. Furthermore, they feared a worsening of congestion, gentrification and displacement in Long Island City.
Amazon's refusal to remain neutral if its New York City workers attempted to unionize was in many ways the last straw for opponents of the deal. According to the New York Times, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo set up a meeting between Amazon executives and union leaders on Wednesday, but Amazon made no concessions at the meeting, and broke up with the state the next day.
State Sen. Michael Gianaris, a vocal critic of the deal, was tapped by his colleagues for a seat on the Public Authorities Control Board, which reviews and approves state-based economic development subsidies. He would have had an effective veto on about $1.5 billion of the subsidies for the project. After Thursday's announcement, Gianaris said in a statement, "Like a petulant child, Amazon insists on getting its way or takes its ball and leaves... The only thing that happened here is that a community that was going to be profoundly affected by their presence started asking questions."
Gianaris highlighted the fact that Amazon still plans to expand its New York workforce regardless of the new facility, suggesting that the billions of dollars the city and state would have forked over appeared meaningless considering Amazon's resolve to build its presence locally anyway.
In its announcement, Amazon cited the need for "positive, collaborative relationships with state and local elected officials" over the long-term, which the company did not see materializing in New York City. Amazon cited a poll showing 70 percent of New Yorkers in support of the deal; a more recent poll showed 56 percent support, while another showed majority opposition in Manhattan and a split in Brooklyn.
According to Amazon, it would not re-open the HQ2 sweepstakes, but would proceed with its other HQ2 site in Crystal City, Virginia, as well as a 5,000-employee "Operations Center of Excellence" in Nashville, Tennessee. Politicians in those locations have been generally hospitable to the deals, which will yield close to a billion dollars more for Amazon. Restarting the bidding would have potentially compounded the negative attention Amazon has received over HQ2. The company has 17 other corporate offices and tech hubs across North America.
More broadly, the HQ2 debate in New York broadened awareness of the sordid process of economic development deals, by which powerful companies raid cities and states to the tune of up to $90 billion annually, while local services suffer from lack of funds. While these subsidies are often granted under the cover of secrecy, Amazon turned its demands into a spectacle, which appears to have backfired. All companies that enjoy corporate welfare will likely now receive more scrutiny for such massive subsidy deals.
Nathan Jensen, a public policy professor at the University of Texas who studies economic development deals, cited the secrecy as the main problem with the New York debacle. "The Government and Mayor tried to impose a secretly negotiated deal with Amazon, that wasn't released to the public or public officials, and it led to resistance. That should be the lesson here. If you want to make good public policy, you have to include the public."
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LATEST NEWS
Trump Pardons for Jan. 6 Insurrectionists Would Be 'Affront to Our Democracy'
"Political violence is a hallmark of authoritarianism and a direct threat to a functioning democracy," said Public Citizen's co-president. "The January 6 perpetrators—including Donald Trump—should be shunned, not celebrated; punished, not pardoned."
Jan 06, 2025
Two weeks away from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's return to office, democracy defenders, including a former Capitol Police sergeant, are sounding the alarm over the Republican's promised pardons for people convicted over the January 6, 2021 insurrection.
Trump faced two criminal cases for his fight to overturn his 2020 loss, which culminated in inciting some supporters to storm the U.S. Capitol during the certification of the results four years ago. In an NBC News interview last month, Trump said he was inclined to issue pardons, and "while there may be some exceptions," he will likely act on the "first day" he is back in the White House—"maybe the first nine minutes," as he toldTime. His comments have led defense attorneys to seek delays until he takes office.
"Political violence is a hallmark of authoritarianism and a direct threat to a functioning democracy," said Robert Weissman, co-president of watchdog group Public Citizen, in a Monday statement. "The January 6 perpetrators—including Donald Trump—should be shunned, not celebrated; punished, not pardoned."
The group's other co-president, Lisa Gilbert, said that "Trump has once again showed us his disregard for the rule of law as he signals his eagerness to pardon the criminals responsible for the deadly insurrection."
"The incoming administration believes that their word trumps historical facts," Gilbert asserted. "A potential flurry of pardons of January 6 attackers would be an affront to our democracy and a blatant rewrite of history. Attempting to overturn an election through violence should neither be celebrated nor pardoned. We condemn former and future President Trump's commitment to a corrupted justice system."
According to CBS News:
Prosecutors have charged more than 1,580 defendants with crimes tied to the January 6, 2021, riot, including more than 170 who are accused of using deadly or dangerous weapons like fire extinguishers and bear spray against officers. While a majority were charged with nonviolent misdemeanor crimes, some were accused of conspiring to use force to resist the peaceful transfer of power. Others admitted to fighting officers and attacking members of the media.
More than 1,000 defendants have since pleaded guilty, and about 220 more were convicted at trial. Federal investigations said they are also seeking the public's assistance in locating at least five known fugitives.
According to the Justice Department, 1,100 defendants have already had their cases fully adjudicated, and hundreds have already completed prison terms.
"Trump did not pay for inciting January 6, escaping conviction in his Senate impeachment trial," freelance journalist Martin Pengelly highlighted in a Monday analysis for The Guardian. Since then, he has "called January 6 prisoners 'patriots' and even characterized the day they smashed their way into Congress—some looking for lawmakers to capture or kill in a riot linked to nine deaths—as 'a day of love.' At rallies, and at his Florida home as his return to power draws near, Trump has played a recording of January 6 prisoners singing the national anthem."
There are at least nine deaths tied to the insurrection: four Trump supporters—including Ashli Babbitt, who was fatally shot by a Capitol Police officer as the MAGA mob tried to enter the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives—and five officers. Officer Brian Sicknick, who suffered strokes after being assaulted by rioters, died the next day, and four others have died by suicide.
"For my efforts doing my duty as a Capitol Police sergeant, I was beaten and struck by raging rioters all over my body with multiple weapons until I was covered in my own blood," Aquilino Gonell recalled in a Sunday opinion piece for The New York Times. "My hand, foot, and shoulder were wounded. I thought I was going to die and never make it home to see my wife and young son."
"I required multiple surgeries, years of rehab, and treatment for recurrences of the post-traumatic stress disorder I was diagnosed with in the Army," explained Gonell, who has testified in court and given victim statements. "Although I left the Capitol Police force, I remain haunted by that day. Now Mr. Trump's promised actions could erase the justice we've risked everything for."
U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), chair emeritus of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), noted Monday that "today, Members of Congress return to the U.S. Capitol to do one of our most important constitutional duties—certify the results of the presidential election and ensure a peaceful transfer of power."
Despite Trump's performance during his first term, 2020 loss, the devastating tantrum that followed, and related and unrelated legal trouble—including arguments that he is constitutionally disqualified from holding office again after engaging in insurrection—the 78-year-old Republican won both the Electoral College and the popular vote this past November.
"What we do today will be in stark contrast to what happened four years ago, when insurrectionists—fueled by sitting President Donald Trump—attacked the U.S. Capitol in the most violent attack since the War of 1812," Jayapal said, acknowledging the members of law enforcement whose deaths and injuries resulted from the 2021 attack. "Today, we remember their courage and bravery even as Republicans have refused to put up a congressionally mandated plaque to honor those officers."
"As we certify the elections today, let us never forget how close we came four years ago to losing our democracy completely. As someone who was trapped in the gallery that day, I remember vividly how close we came to not making it out alive. I will never forget the pounding on the doors, the shouting and screaming of both those trying to overrun our democracy and those putting their lives on the line to defend it," she continued. "I also will never forget the handful of brave Republicans who, in the weeks following, stood up to put country over party during Trump's impeachment trial."
"If Donald Trump moves forward with pardoning the January 6 rioters, as he has pledged to do, he will once again be doing violence to our country and our democracy and encouraging it again in the future," Jayapal warned as she kicked off her fifth term, vowing to "work to protect and strengthen our democracy every single day."
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland—an appointee of outgoing Democratic President Joe Biden often criticized for not targeting Trump more aggressively for his actions on that day—said in a Monday statement to The Associated Press that prosecutors at the Department of Justice "have sought to hold accountable those criminally responsible for the January 6 attack on our democracy with unrelenting integrity."
"They have conducted themselves in a manner that adheres to the rule of law and honors our obligation to protect the civil rights and civil liberties of everyone in this country," added Garland—whom Trump is set to replace with former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, after ethics issues led to the withdrawal of his first choice, former Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.).
Trump has named loyalist Kash Patel as his pick to direct the Federal Bureau of Investigation, an agency of the Justice Department. Both his and Bondi's nominations require confirmation from the Republican-controlled Senate. CBS pointed out that "if confirmed, Bondi and Patel—who has said he opposes the January 6 prosecutions—would have the power to shut down the Capitol breach investigations altogether and weigh in on the administration's clemency strategy."
Newly elected CPC Chair Greg Casar (D-TX-35) said Monday that "four years ago, Americans watched right-wing extremists storm the Capitol live on television. But behind the scenes, Republican officials continue to undermine our citizens' rights every single day."
"Trump's election will be certified, and his administration will be filled with more certified liars, grifters, and corrupt billionaires than any other in American history," Casar added. "But when Trump's Republicans try to cut Social Security and Medicare to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy, you can count on progressives to fight back for everyday Americans."
Musk Slammed for Spreading Disinformation as He Seeks to Boost Far Right in Europe
Musk wants countries including Germany "to be weakened and plunge into chaos," said one critic.
Jan 06, 2025
French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday was the latest European leader to lambast Elon Musk, the Tesla CEO and top adviser to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, for his meddling in political battles in Europe after he exerted enormous influence over the U.S. elections.
In a foreign policy speech in Paris, Macron expressed disbelief that Musk, who owns the social media platform X and has used it to boost far-right ideologies in the U.S., would now "support a new international reactionary movement and intervene directly in elections, including in Germany."
Displaying an apparent "sense of having the world as his stage," as Jackson James of the German Marshall Fund told The Hill, Musk wrote in an op-ed at the German magazine Welt am Sonntag last week that "as someone who has invested significantly in Germany's industrial and technological landscape, I believe I have earned the right to speak candidly about its political direction."
According to Musk, that direction should move toward Alternative for Germany (AfD), the far-right party that last year included a candidate who asserted the Nazi paramilitaries were "not all criminals."
The party is virulently ant-immigration and has been designated by the German domestic intelligence service as a "suspected extremist" organization. Authorities also warned last month that other states could attempt to influence the country's snap elections in February through disinformation, cyberattacks, and other means.
As German voters prepare to go to the polls, AfD has about 20% support in recent opinion polls, compared to an alliance between the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Christian Social Union (CSU), whose support stands at 31%. All the country's political parties have said they would not form a coalition with AfD.
In his op-ed Musk invoked the sexual orientation of AfD co-chair Alice Weidel, suggesting the party isn't on the far right.
"The description of AfD as far-right is made obviously false simply by noting that Alice Weidel, the party leader has a same-sex partner from Sri Lanka!" wrote Musk. "Does that sound like Hitler to you? Please."
Lars Klingbeil, leader of German Chancellor Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democratic Party, compared Musk to Russian President Vladimir Putin, telling Funke media group that "both want to influence our elections and are deliberately supporting the AfD, the enemies of democracy."
"They want Germany to be weakened and plunge into chaos," Klingbeil said.
Musk's commentary on Germany's upcoming elections has tended toward vulgar, with the SpaceX CEO responding to accusations of meddling by calling Scholz "Chancellor Oaf Schitz or whatever his name is."
When a researcher in Finland said on Sunday that Musk is "rapidly becoming the largest spreader of disinformation in human history," the top adviser to the incoming president of the United States replied: "F U retard."
In the United Kingdom—where Musk has significant business interests, as he does in Germany—the entrepreneur last week boosted the far-right Reform Party, adding days later that the organization's leader, Member of Parliament Nigel Farage, "doesn't have what it takes."
Musk met with Farage and Reform treasurer Nick Candy last month at Trump's Florida estate, and Candy told The Financial Times recently that Musk could be a billionaire donor to the party through his electric vehicle company, Tesla, which provides grid batteries in the U.K.
As he's promoted Reform—which opposes "uncontrolled immigration" and would impose drastic cuts to "wasteful government spending"—Musk has taken aim at the center-left Labour Party.
On Sunday Musk took to his social media platform, formerly known as Twitter, to ask whether the U.S. should "liberate the people of Britain from their tyrannical government."
Musk attacked Jess Phillips, parliamentary undersecretary of state for safeguarding, as a "rape genocide apologist" for denying requests for the Home Office to open an inquiry into child sexual exploitation in the town of Oldham.
Phillips should "be in prison," Musk said—a comment that Prime Minister Keir Starmer of the Labour Party said amounted to the "poison of the far right" and led to serious threats against Phillips.
Musk accused Starmer of being "complicit in the rape of Britain" by allegedly failing to confront a child sexual abuse scandal more than a decade ago in northern England. Starmer defended his record as the former head of the Crown Prosecution Service, as well as Phillips'.
“And those attacking Jess Phillips, whom I'm proud to call a colleague and a friend, on protecting victims—Jess Phillips has done 1,000 times more than they've even dreamt about when it comes to protecting victims of sexual abuse throughout her entire career," said Starmer on Monday. "And when I was chief prosecutor for five years, I tackled that head-on, because I could see what was happening, and that's why I reopened cases that have been closed and supposedly finished."
The prime minister added that "those that are spreading lies and misinformation as far and as wide as possible, they're not interested in victims. They're interested in themselves."
Ed Davey, leader of the centrist Liberal Democrats Party, said Monday that "people have had enough of Elon Musk interfering with our country's democracy when he clearly knows nothing about Britain."
"It's time to summon the U.S. ambassador to ask why an incoming U.S. official is suggesting the U.K. government should be overthrown," said Davey. "This dangerous and irresponsible rhetoric is further proof that the U.K. can't rely on the Trump administration."
Israel Helps Soldier Flee Brazil Amid War Crime Allegations
"In Brazil and elsewhere, legal actions against Israelis suspected of crimes in Gaza are necessary and overdue," wrote the United Nations special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories.
Jan 06, 2025
A former Israeli solider vacationing in Brazil fled the country with the help of the Israeli government after the Hind Rajab Foundation, which is named for a 5-year-old girl believed to have been killed by Israeli tank fire Gaza, filed a complaint against the man alleging he had participated in war crimes, prompting a police investigation.
A Brazilian judge ordered police to investigate the soldier last week, according to Brazilian media, based on the complaint brought by the Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF), which accused "the suspect of participating in massive demolitions of civilian homes in Gaza during a systematic campaign of destruction," per a Friday statement from the foundation.
The group, which is "dedicated to the quest for justice in response to the crimes against humanity, war crimes, and human rights violations perpetrated by the Israeli state against Palestinians," also added in their statement that the evidence in the complaint includes "includes video footage, geolocation data, and photographs showing the suspect personally planting explosives and participating in the destruction of entire neighborhoods."
According to CNN, the Israeli foreign ministry said Sunday that "following an attempt last weekend by anti-Israeli elements to investigate a discharged Israeli soldier who visited Brazil, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar immediately activated the Foreign Ministry to ensure that the Israeli citizen was not in danger."
The foreign ministry also Sunday warned Israelis "that anti-Israeli elements may exploit" social media posts "regarding their military service."
The outlet Informed Consent noted that there is a similar case unfolding in Chile.
In November, after months of deliberation, the International Criminal Court formally issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri.
Neither the U.S. nor Israel recognize the ICC's jurisdiction, and the U.S. has rejected the ICC warrant; however, other countries have indicated they would honor it.
The International Court of Justice is separately probing allegations that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza.
Francesca Albanese—the United Nations special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories—wrote on X Sunday that "in Brazil and elsewhere, legal actions against Israelis suspected of crimes in Gaza are necessary and overdue."
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