Reports of physical aggression towards students and teachers opposing the protest, the unauthorized nature of the protest, and significant disruptions during university events were also highlighted as reasons for the eviction order.

During the graduation ceremonies on June 12 and June 14, 2024, attended by about 1,000 people, including students, graduates, faculty, and their families, protesters disrupted the events. They used loudspeakers, climbed onto the stage during the diploma presentations, and hoisted the Palestinian flag on the Ana Davila Monument. The University of Bucharest noted the high level of organization in the protest, including daily catering services, distribution of protest guides in English, and participation of individuals not affiliated with the university.

The demonstration began on May 20 at the university’s rectorate, inspired by similar protests in the United States. Protesters set up a camp with tents, demanding the university end all collaborations with Israeli or Israeli institutions.

University spokesperson clarified that the university had only one partnership with an Israeli higher education institution and emphasized that the university could not engage in political matters, including foreign policy and the internal politics of other states. He affirmed the university’s support for the universal right to protest, provided it adhered to national laws and university regulations.

Romania is a tactical field for trying to replicate similar protests in the USA, and how the so-called students protest within the university campus denotes rather an attempt to distort the idea of ​​protest and radicalize society.

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The special forces guarding the building captured the attacker, and he was taken into the Romanian Intelligence Agency and Police custody, where he is now under investigation. Also, the Bucharest Gendarmerie is securing the premises to prevent similar attempts.

This is the first significant incident in Romania against the Israeli Embassy. Yet, it is not the first incident of this kind. On April 6, 2022, a car crashed into the gates of the Russian Embassy in Bucharest at around 6 AM local time. The driver, a Romanian, arrived near the embassy and was stopped by the Gendarmerie, who guard the diplomatic objectives 24/7. The driver shouted at the security forces and set himself on fire inside the car.

There are increased tensions against the Israeli state following the retaliation in the Gaza Strip after the November attacks. This is why security forces in Romania and worldwide are on 24/7 alert to prevent such incidents.

So far, there is no additional news regarding the identity or background of the Syrian attacker.

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Hundreds of drones and missiles attacked Israel for five hours straight. Still, the Iron Dome, the defence system of the IDF, helped by the US fighters in the area, successfully intercepted, destroyed and annihilated 99% of the drones, according to official communication. Only a few injuries were reported on the Israeli territory, but no deaths. Reports are yet to come, though.

Iran announced to the UN that it had stopped the attack, and that was it. They will refrain from further strikes if not provoked. Meanwhile, the US advised Israel not to retaliate to this attack, but Israel’s decisions are independent and sometimes unpredictable.

The risk of escalating the conflict is high. If Israel decides to retaliate after their War Cabinet meeting at 15:00 local time is over, then it will be a more significant conflict in the Middle East. If Israel decides to focus on the Gaza Strip, then this is only a massive drone and missile attack.

The conclusion is simple: Iran had to attack as a reply to Israel’s attack on their embassy in Damascus. It was mostly a display of Iran’s power in aerial attacks. Also, they had to show to their allies in the Middle East they had the power to attack Israel and to “punish” the aggressor without causing much harm, such as to avoid provoking Israel’s military power.

However, the Iranian kamikaze drones didn’t take a significant toll. A few injuries are reported, and that would be it—a good show for their citizens and allies in the Middle East, but not a military hit.

On the other hand, if Israel considered this as the beginning of a war with Iran, the officials wouldn’t have waited until 15:00 to meet and discuss what happened, let alone decide if they would retaliate or not. The war would’ve begun so far, and the world would have witnessed one of the greatest super-conflicts.

It is not yet the case, and this is not (yet) a war. The ball is in Israel’s court. Hopefully, a favourable decision for peace in the region will be taken.

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Our mission is to connect people and safely transport them to their destinations. The atmosphere I felt in the passenger cabin on the flight from Tel Aviv on January 1st spoke to me about resilience and strengthened my faith in the power of every human being to contribute to what we all want and need – peace and harmony. This flight is another step towards normality.

Cătălin Prunariu, the Flight Director of TAROM

The company proposes operating two weekly frequencies (return flights) starting January 14. This activity, however, requires risk analyses applied to each race, careful monitoring of the situation in Israel and close communication with the Israeli authorities to stabilize the operation. Currently, depending on the conclusions of the analyses that will be applied to each race, there may be changes in operation.

Together with the representatives of the state, its pilots and the operational teams, after the outbreak of the conflict in Israel, TAROM operated 11 flights to Israel that benefited 2635 people. With the resumption of regular flights to Israel, people interested in purchasing tickets and making flights are urged to monitor constantly, from official TAROM sources, both the availability of seats in aircraft (depending on the situation, adjustments can be made to the size/model of the aircraft with which flights are made, respectively of available seats), as well as information related to the viability of the flights themselves (following continuous monitoring, some flights may be cancelled).

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Romania qualifies for EURO 2024 in Germany along with Switzerland, before the last round.

Each team had around 600 supporters who travelled to Hungary to encourage their team, and the atmosphere in the stands, despite the stadium having only 3,865 seats, was enthusiastic.

The first half was exciting, with Israel scoring in ‘2. Eran Zahavi scored after just 90 seconds after a corner kick of the Israeli team. Romania later entered the game and equalized in ’10 when Puscas scored with a head kick, a ball which bounced from the goalpost.

Romania had other opportunities to score, but the Israeli goalkeeper and the lack of inspiration of their strikers maintained the result 1-1.

After the break, Romania started attacking from the beginning and had many opportunities to score, but the strikers missed them all. This was until ’63 when Ianis Hagi, Gheorghe Hagi’s son, scored with a left kick inside the penalty area, and Romania led by 2-1.

In ’74, another significant opportunity to score for the Romanian team, but Mihaila, the player who scored the late equalizer with Switzerland, missed it.

In ’84, Romanian midfielder Mihaila was given a red card after a foul, and Israel started hoping again, but nothing significant happened until the end of the game.

The post EURO 2024 Qualifiers: ISRAEL – ROMANIA 1-2, Romania Qualifies from Group I appeared first on Valahia.News.

During the meeting with the Prime Minister of the State of Israel, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu sent a message of solidarity to the Israeli people and authorities on behalf of Romania and firmly condemned the terrorist attacks, anti-Semitism and hate speech.

Romanian society, the community of Israelis in Romania and that of Romanians in Israel mourn the innocent victims – women, children, and young people in the prime of life, following the terrorist attacks launched by Hamas. I convey our compassion for the loss of human lives and for the numerous injured, among whom, tragically, there were also citizens of Romanian origin.

Romania’s PM Marcel Ciolacu’s message during official visit to Jerusalem

The Prime Minister emphasized that protecting democratic values and respecting human rights are essential to resolve this violence rapidly.

The Romanian government wants lasting peace in this region, where an important community of Romanians lives, with whom we are in permanent contact. We are ready to provide emergency assistance at any time if needed. Along with the international community, Romania calls for the immediate release of all hostages and kidnapped persons and to refrain from any other act of aggression, especially against civilian targets.

Marcel Ciolacu, Romania’s Prime Minister, in Israel

The prime minister also called for facilitating humanitarian corridors in Gaza and providing the necessary assistance to refugees.

In Israel, Prime Minister Ciolacu met with representatives of the Romanian community affected by the security situation in the region. So far, the Romanian authorities have provided support for the safe repatriation of over 2,200 Romanian citizens from Israel and are continuing their efforts to provide consular assistance to Romanian citizens who will request support for their return to the country.

Romania’s Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu’s speech during the joint press conference with Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel, October 17

Marcel Ciolacu: I decided to come to Israel today because partners and friends must demonstrate solidarity in difficult times as the Israeli people are currently experiencing.

Romanian society, the community of Israelis in Romania and the community of Romanians in Israel mourn alongside you, Mr. Prime Minister, the innocent victims – women, children, and young people in the prime of life, following the terrorist attacks launched by Hamas.

I convey our sympathy for all these losses of human life and the many injured, among whom, tragically, there were citizens of Romanian origin.

Mr. Prime Minister, Romania remains consistent in its relations with the Middle East. We are highly concerned about the escalating spiral of violence, with dire consequences for the Israeli and Palestinian civilian population.

I want to assure the Romanians in our country that we maintain our attitude as promoters of peace. Still, we will unconditionally stand by our allies and friends in difficult moments, defending democratic values.

Romania strongly condemned what happened in Israel recently, the atrocities committed by Hamas, a terrorist group that holds the population hostage to satisfy its extremist interests.

In this context, the Romanian Parliament was the first legislative forum among democratic states to declare solidarity with the Israeli state in a joint session.

Along with the international community, Romania calls for the immediate release of all hostages and kidnapped persons and to refrain from any other act of aggression, especially against civilian targets.

I conveyed to Prime Minister Netanyahu that in the face of these attacks, Israel has the right to defend itself.

I am calling for the facilitation of humanitarian corridors in Gaza. I am convinced that the entire international community will get involved in opening humanitarian corridors and providing the necessary assistance to refugees.

Mr. Prime Minister, lastly, I would like to thank you for the involvement of the Israeli authorities and the support given to the safe repatriation of over 2,200 Romanian citizens from Israel.

In conclusion, I reiterate the necessity and urgency of a lasting peace in the Middle East and wish for a joint effort to evacuate Romanian citizens from the Gaza Strip safely.

We hope that such moments do not happen again.

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Romania’s President Klaus Johannis posted this message on X:

Romania strongly condemns this morning’s rocket attacks against Israel. We stand in full solidarity with Israel in these terrible moments. Our thoughts are with the families of victims and with those who are under fire.

Klaus Johannis on Hamas attacks on Israel

Also, Romania’s PM Marcel Ciolacu condemned the attacks on Israel:

Terrible news coming from Israel this morning. We stand in full solidarity with Israel and condemn the rocket attacks against Israel. We send our condolences to the families and ask for these attacks to immediately stop.

Romania’s PM Marcel Ciolacu on the war in Israel

Images on social media, with hundreds of Israelis and other nationalities among the victims, horrified the viewers and strengthened their support for the state of Israel.

Meanwhile, Romania doubled the flights to Israel during the night to bring home a few hundred nationals on pilgrimage or vacation.

The attacks on Israel surprised the international community, and many political and military pundits tried to explain how it was possible for a country with security so tight as Israel, let alone the famous intelligence agencies, to be surprised by an attack at this scale.

Israel has a certain fame when defending its territory, and there is little doubt the country will win this war. Yet, the scale of Hamas military operations, with thousands of rockets fired by Hamas onto the Israelian cities, tells the international community that this would be different.

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Romania scored first in ’27, as Denis Alibec took advantage of the Israeli goalkeeper’s mistake after Nicusor Stanciu shot the ball, and Glazer deflected the ball poorly.

After the break, the Israeli team entered motivated and scored the equalizer in the ’53 as Glouck shot perfectly towards the Romanian goalkeeper’s left. This was the final result, as both teams failed to score the vast opportunities they had.

Romania maintains its second place in Group I, keeping its chances to qualify directly to EURO 2024. Despite this performance, the Romanian team still played chaotically and showed no strategy to the disappointment of their fans, who gathered to see another victory for their team.

Romania plays the next game at home, with Kosovo, on September 12.

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Steinmetz was detained on Thursday “during his arrival at the Larnaca airport, due to a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) issued by the Romanian authorities, which has already been cancelled in various European countries, among them in Greece and Italy,” his spokesman confirmed, cited by Haaretz.

The arrest comes nearly three years after a Romanian court sentenced Steinmetz and political adviser Tal Silberstein in absentia to five years in jail each in an organized crime case. According to prosecutors, the two, together with a Romanian businessman and scion of the ex-Romanian royal family, sought to take assets out of the country fraudulently.

Steinmetz was also detained in Greece and Italy, but both countries refused the extradition, fearing that he would not receive a fair trial in Romania.

The spokesman for Steinmetz said the Interpol had cancelled its red notice, thereby rescinding the international arrest warrant issued by the Romanians, due to human rights violations, including a violation of Steinmetz’s fundamental right to a fair trial in Romania.

Mr. Steinmetz welcomes the opportunity to be acquitted in another European country in the proceedings against Romania, notorious for lacking respect for human rights. Steinmetz is confident that justice will prevail in Cyprus as well and will confirm that the strong foundations of the European Union’s moral and legal system will prevail against undemocratic practices like those of the Romanian authorities.

Beny Steinmetz spokesman

Steinmetz was the wealthiest person in Israel, with a fortune once estimated by Bloomberg at USD 8 billion. Still, his fortune declined as his name appeared in Romania, Switzerland and other countries concerning corruption cases.

Even so, whether the Israeli tycoon will be extradited to Romania is uncertain, as so far, multiple European and third-party countries have denied extradition following court decisions.

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However, Romania is not the only country that helped this software spread to the victims’ smartphones. According to the reports, other countries host QuaDream servers. Among them are some former Eastern European countries, such as Bulgaria and Hungary, but also countries from Asia and the Middle East, like Singapore and the United Arab Emirates.

The journalists discovered that QuaDream software, similar to Pegasus, another Israeli software, can record audio calls, the ambience with the mic, and even take pictures with your camera. This enables the governments to spy on their citizens, as QuaDream is sold to governmental entities.

It is not clear if the presence of one server on a country’s territory signals an undergoing operation, meaning the respective government uses the server and software to spy on its citizens, or if it is only a way for the Israeli company to host the software in different places worldwide, to offer a cloud-like functionality.

If we are to speculate on this, it could be both. On the one hand, Romania has all the reasons in the world to operate this kind of software, justifying this action because of the proximity of the Ukrainian-Russian conflict, which needs extraordinary measures. On the other hand, Romania is known for its exceptional internet speed and low costs with hosting infrastructure, which is an opportunity for all those looking for stable connections while spying on your device.

QuaDream, under the Israeli name קוודרים בע”מ, was incorporated in August 2016. The company has no website, and there is little public reporting about the company, with a few notable exceptions. Reuters mentioned them in 2022, saying they are a lower-profile company that sells the same sort of spy software which have the same sophisticated hacking technique – known as a “zero-click” 

What is zero-click malware? According to specialists, spying software relies on convincing the targeted person to click on a compromised link or file to install itself on their smart device. However, with a zero-click attack, the software can be installed on a device without the victim clicking on any link, which makes the victim unaware of anything malicious until it is too late.

Do you think your government protects your rights? Think again. Hungary, Mexico, and the United Arab Emirates are known to abuse spyware to target human rights defenders (HRDs), journalists, and other members of civil society, according to the Citizen Lab report.

There has been no reaction from the Romanian authorities following this new scandal. From our experience with the Romanian Government and authorities, there will be no reaction. The country is notorious for hiding its help to Ukraine for “security reasons”. They won’t disclose any detail on the usage of QuaDream software, as well.

At the end of the day, pandemics, special operations, nuclear threats and World War III are all good reasons for governments to justify purchasing spyware software. The way this software is used is another story and is clearly not under citizens’ control.

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