This mural of President Obama was painted in January of 2013 just days after being defaced. Two or three previous murals, one dating back to 2008, had also been defaced and replaced at this location.Houston police have identified the perpetrator and charged him with felony mischief. Unfortunately,the vandal is not in custody and has vanished from the Houston streets like a thief at night. I think the mural can still be seen at the corner of Travis and W. Alabama across the street from the Breakfast Club Restaurant. Houston,Texas. 9.2.2013

What's a great way to take down a threat without deadly force? Ion cannons!! Throw a couple big ones on a SPII starfighter along with a turret that shoots regular death and you've got yourself a Perpetrator Neutralizer! Oh, and also a bomb is thrown on the detachable cockpit to make things fun. There is a drone that can be launched at any time to assist but its guns, like the turret, fire deadly blasts. Landing is achieved by wings that double as skis so watch out Ice Planet, there's no where to hide.

 

I had a lot of fun with this. The LEGOS are f i n a l l y sorted and I was amazed at being able to find pieces so easily! I first built the drone and loved it so much that I had to build a minifig scale version. This was a very interesting experience and it was nice to have a little guide friend to help me out. I definitely want to do mini to big again in the future!

A short while after taking this photo I witnessed something I had never seen before and hope never to witness again. There were 2 male Redstarts trying to claim this territory. There was a lot of chasing going on and all of a sudden one flew into the glass of the hide 2 of us were sitting in. The chaser just missed the glass. The one that hit the glass went to ground a little stunned and the chaser jumped straight on him and started trying to finish him by pecking violently at him. It was incredibly vicious pecking of the head and back and went on for some time. Slowly the victum stopped moving and the perpetrator flew off. The 2 of us watching from the hide were powerless to do anything becasue we couldn't reach the victim. There was no movement for several minutes although we could tell it was breathing. To our amazement it then tried to get to its feet but couldn't but it was moving its head to look around. After about a half hour it did manage to get to its feet and to our amazement eventually flew away. I really hope it survived its ordeal.

I'm not a huge fan of HDR, so don't ask me why I perpetrated that. See you on monday for the Barcelona serie :)

 

• LARGE on black

 

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Sometimes a recrop with a new processing technique can save the shot from the gallows... that's just me...

 

You can also view my images at : www.pixoto.com/williamcho

All rights reserved ©williamcho – Please report and punish the perpetrators like I do.

Nostalgic in several ways

[no particular order]

  

*I do remember the striking cloud formations this day.

*Also remember this was a follow up visit to see a Buff Breasted Sandpiper i found the day before.(yes i saw it this day as well)

*For some time now (posted Aug 2020 during Covid-19 pandemic) i have not visited this area in respect to Tsawout Nation corona virus concerns.

* September 11th is now an infamous day in modern history ("9/11"), with the (several) plane related terrorism acts perpetrated Sept 11th 2001.

"The day the skies went silent here in Victoria and everywhere else in North America" jaw

 

* i have been graciously invited & accepted as a guest here at TIXEN for many years , which was especially appreciated & beneficial during the time of my recovery & healing from cancer

  

Saanichton Spit

aka

Cordova Spit

aka

TI̸X̱EN 'the Spit" ( Tsawout First Nation )

 

TIXEN

 

DSCN2049

Cropped Panoramic Shot

 

'East Beach' [near to "Tip"]

 

with James Island on right

and (directly ahead)

Salt Spring Island wreathed in a showering rain cloud

Two thirds of women in Bangladesh, around 66%, have been victims of domestic violence— and statistics indicate that 72.7% of the women who have experienced domestic abuse never shared their experiences with others.

 

According to research, most women in Bangladesh suffer from chronic abuse, torture and violence in their homes. In addition to torture which causes serious physical injury- domestic violence also takes other forms such as emotional abuse and marital rape.

 

A tiny fraction of these women inform local leaders about their experiences or seek help from the police. Four out of every five cases, brought before the court by women, are related to violence, according to various studies. There is very little chance that the court will rule in favor of the victim and in most cases the court will dismiss a case and release a perpetrator – studies say. Studies also highlighted the fact that there are no laws that can provide direct protection against any form of violence other than dowry demands after marriage. Some women fear further harassment if they report or share their experiences.

 

This problem is deeply rooted in the existing economic, cultural and social prejudices and stereotypes, molded by rigid perceptions of patriarchy. Women are generally looked down upon, considered less capable, less important and less powerful than men. The root of the misconception and misogyny takes shape in early childhood.

 

In addition to gruesome domestic violence against women, abuse such as stalking, child marriage, sex trafficking, sexual assault and other forms of harassment are alarmingly high.

 

Among the many factors that influence the perception of gender, media is the most pervasive: newspapers, films, television serials and programs often portray women negatively as “the weaker sex”, paired with a belief that men can or should be in charge. Many advertisements also depict women as objects of lust and desire. This reinforces the misconception that women are made for male pleasure. It is this systemic discrimination that denies women their rights and allows men to feel free to use violence against them as a tactic to maintain their superiority.

 

Different studies also show that men are more likely to perpetrate violence if they were raised in dysfunctional family settings. Men who are exposed to violence at home at early ages are more likely to adopt violent attitudes towards other women in adulthood. Other research indicates that when men feel unable to live up to societal expectations of masculinity, or feel that their authority has been called into question, they become more prone to perpetrate violence. In some societies, violence towards women is sometimes considered the right of men even from the women’s perspective. What’s most disturbing is the fact that women remain silent to protect family honor.

 

Experts say that a “culture of silence” that has been created empowers violence. Therefore, to combat violence, women must speak out and let their stories be heard. Violence against women is a crime which violates their rights. Women should not feel guilty, embarrassed or ashamed. Unfortunately, the perception in some quarters is that women are responsible for the acts of violence committed against them.

 

Sure he looks innocent.....

 

Please see previous photo for the full story.

 

www.flickr.com/photos/michelles_pixels/2889172309/

Workplace Mobbing.

Gang Staking, Community Stalking and Workplace Mobbing flourish in Yosemite National Park. These illegal, immoral and unethical acts are carried out by employees, residents and contractors of Yosemite. This being a small community; it wouldn’t be that difficult to charge these perpetrators for their crimes and put a stop to this madness. Yosemite’s Superintendent and Law Enforcement chose not to.

•The truth about Yosemite: www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Sexual-Harassment-Common-in...

  

Thank you for visiting my Photostream

 

Castel Nuovo, is a medieval castle located in front of Piazza Municipio and the city hall (Palazzo San Giacomo) in central Naples, Campania, Italy. Its scenic location and imposing size makes the castle, first erected in 1279, one of the main architectural landmarks of the city. It was a royal seat for kings of Naples, Aragon and Spain until 1815.

It is the headquarters of Neapolitan Society of Homeland History and of the Naples Committee of the Institute for the History of the Italian Risorgimento. In the complex there is also the civic museum, which includes the Palatine Chapel and the museum paths on the first and second floors.

The construction of its former nucleus -today partly re-emerged following restoration and archaeological exploration work- is due to the initiative of Charles I of Anjou, who in 1266, defeated the Hohenstaufens, ascended to the throne of Sicily and established the transfer of the capital from Palermo to the city of Naples.

The presence of an external monarchy had set the town planning of Naples around the center of the royal power, constituting an alternative urban core, formed by the port and by the two main castles adjacent to it, Castel Capuano and Castel dell'Ovo. This relationship between the royal court and town planning had already manifested itself with Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, who in the 13th century, in the Swabian statute had concentrated greater attention on castles neglecting the city walls. To the two existing castles the Anjevins added the main, Castel Nuovo (Chastiau neuf), which was not just a fortification but above all his magnificent palace.

The royal residence of Naples had been until then the Castel Capuano, but the Norman ancient fortress was judged as inadequate to the function and the king wanted to build a new castle near the sea.

The project was designed by the French architect Pierre de Chaulnes, the construction of the Castrum Novum started in 1279 to finish just three years later, a very short time considering the techniques of construction of the period and the overall size of the work. However, the king never lived there: following the War of the Sicilian Vespers, which cost to the House of Anjou the crown of Sicily, conquered by Peter III of Aragon and other events, the new palace remained unused until 1285, the year of the death of Charles I.

The new king Charles II of Naples moved with his family and the court to the new residence, which he enlarged and embellished. During his reign the Holy See was particularly linked to the House of Anjou, in a turbulent relationship, which also in the following years will be marked by pressure, alliances and continuous ruptures. On December 13 of 1294 the Main Hall of the Castel Nuovo was the scene of the famous abdication of Pope Celestine V (the hermit Pietro da Morrone), from the papal throne, called by Dante Alighieri the great refusal and the following December 24, in the same hall the board of cardinals elected Benedetto Caetani, who assumed the name of Pope Boniface VIII and immediately moved its headquarters to Rome to avoid the interference of the Anjevin family.

With the ascent to the throne of Robert, King of Naples, in 1309, the castle, which he renovated and expanded, became a remarkable center of culture, because to his patronage and his passion for the arts and literature: the Castel Nuovo hosted important personalities of the culture of the time, such as the writers Petrarch and Giovanni Boccaccio in their Neapolitan stays, while the most famous painters of the time that they were called to paint its walls: Pietro Cavallini, Montano d'Arezzo, and above all Giotto, who in 1332 painted the Palatine Chapel.

From 1343 it was the residence of Joanna I of Naples, who in 1347, fled to France, abandoned it to the assaults of the army of the King Louis I of Hungary. He had come to avenge the death of his brother Andrew, the Giovanna's husband, killed by a palace plot that the queen herself was suspected of instigating it. The castle was looted and on its return the queen was forced to a radical restructuring. During the second expedition of Louis against Naples the castle, where the queen had found refuge, resisted the assaults. In the following years the fortress underwent other attacks: on the occasion of the taking of Naples by Charles III of Naples and then that of Louis II of Naples, who subtracted it from the son of Charles III, Ladislaus of Naples. The latter, regained the throne in 1399, lived there until his death in 1414.

Joanna II of Naples succeeded her brother Ladislaus and ascended the throne as the last Anjevin dynasty. The queen, depicted as a dissolute, lustful, bloody woman, would have hosted in her alcove lovers of all kinds and social backgrounds, even rounded up by her emissaries among young, handsome people. To protect her good name, Joanna II would not hesitate to get rid of them as soon as she satisfied her cravings. Precisely for this purpose it has been narrated for centuries that the queen had a secret trapdoor inside the castle: her lovers, having exhausted their task, were thrown into this well and devoured by sea monsters. According to a legend, it would have been a crocodile from the Africa to the castle's dungeons after crossing the Mediterranean Sea, the perpetrator of the horrendous death of the Joanna's lovers.

In 1443 Alfonso V of Aragon, who had conquered the throne of Naples, established a court in the castle, such as to compete with the Florentine court of Lorenzo de' Medici and the fortress was completely rebuilt in its present form, maintaining its function as the center of royal power.

King Alfonso V entrusted the restructuring of the Angevin fortress-palace to the Majorcan architect Guillem Sagrera, who rebuilt it in Catalan-Majorcan-Gothic style. The five round towers, four of which incorporated the previous Anjevin construction with a square plan, suitable to support the blows of the guns of the time, reiterated the defensive role of the castle. The importance of the palace as a center of royal power was instead emphasized by rebuilding the Main Gate in a Triumphal Arc shape, a masterpiece of the Neapolitan Renaissance architecture and work of Dalmatian Francesco Laurana, together with many artists of various origins. The works took place starting from 1453 and only after the king's death was completed in 1479.

In the Hall of the Barons there was the epilogue of the famous Conspiracy of the Barons, war against the King Ferdinand I of Naples, son of Alfonso V, by many nobles, led by Antonello Sanseverino, Prince of Salerno, and Francesco Coppola, Count of Sarno. In 1486 the king invited all the conspirators to this room under the pretext of a wedding party, which marked the overcoming of hostilities and definitive reconciliation. The barons ran, but the king, ordered his soldiers to bar the doors, had them arrested, punishing many of them, including Coppola and his sons, with the death sentence.

Conspiracy of the Barons

The Conspiracy of the Barons was a movement of reaction against the policies of centralization of the State adopted by the new sovereign dynasty of Naples, i.e. the Aragonese. The lawsuits against Ferdinand I of Naples were that these began the recovery of populated areas, taking them away from the Barons' property and supplying them with that of the Aragonese court. In fact, the maneuver was a royal delivery of power.

The internal struggle between barons and dynasty took place in a political and hidden manner and the same culminated definitively in 1487 in the homonymous hall of the Castel Nuovo. Ferdinand I of Naples, during his throne, he found himself facing the barons, beating them in skill and cunning after plots, assassins and double games.

The castle was again looted by Charles VIII of France, during his expedition in 1494. First with the fall of Ferdinand II of Naples (1496) and later of Frederick of Naples (1503), the kingdom of Naples was annexed to the Kingdom of Spain by Ferdinand II of Aragon, who established the Viceroyalty of Naples. The Castel Nuovo lost its function as a royal residence, becoming a military garrison, due to its strategically important position. However, it hosted the Kings of Spain who came to visit Naples, like Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, who lived there for a short time in 1535. The castle remained the residence of the Spanish Viceroy until the early 17th century when the new palace (now the Royal Palace of Naples) replaced it.

Castel Sant'Elmo is visible on the hill in the background,

The castle was again arranged by Prince Charles of Bourbon, the future Charles III of Spain, ascended to the throne of Naples in 1734, but lost its role of a royal residence, in favor to the new royal palaces that went building in Naples itself and its surroundings (the Royal Palace of Naples at the Piazza del Plebiscito, Palace of Capodimonte, Palace of Portici and Royal Palace of Caserta) and became essentially a symbol of the history and greatness of Naples.

The last important event dates back to 1799, when it was proclaimed the birth of the Parthenopean Republic (Neapolitan Republic). Renovated for the last time in 1823 by Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies, it later hosted the "artillery arsenal" and a "pyrotechnic office" which in 1837 estimated to be more prudent transfer of the guns factory of the Torre Annunziata.

In the 1920s was made the wide range of flower gardens that ran along the Maschio Angioino until the end-20th century: in the early months of 1921 Count Pietro Municchi, an engineer then councilor of urban decor, presented to the City Council the proposal for the isolation of the Castel Nuovo.

Finally the Italian State obtained the entire castle for civil purposes, the works began in 1923 and also affected the factories and warehouses built near the square in place of the demolished bastions: already the following year all the various buildings were eliminated and the esplanade was created where gardens were built on the side of current Vittorio Emanuele III street.

Only the door of the citadel was saved, the original Aragonese access to the complex, rebuilt in 1496 by Frederick of Naples (as evidenced by its emblem on the arch): isolated and distorted of its function, is visible among the flower garden square along Via Vittorio Emanuele III. The work related to the restoration of the castle, which eliminated the many superficies added over time, lasted until 1939.

What's a great way to take down a threat without deadly force? Ion cannons!! Throw a couple big ones on a SPII starfighter along with a turret that shoots regular death and you've got yourself a Perpetrator Neutralizer! Oh, and also a bomb is thrown on the detachable cockpit to make things fun. There is a drone that can be launched at any time to assist but its guns, like the turret, fire deadly blasts. Landing is achieved by wings that double as skis so watch out Ice Planet, there's no where to hide.

 

I had a lot of fun with this. The LEGOS are f i n a l l y sorted and I was amazed at being able to find pieces so easily! I first built the drone and loved it so much that I had to build a minifig scale version. This was a very interesting experience and it was nice to have a little guide friend to help me out. I definitely want to do mini to big again in the future!

The Holocaust (or Shoah) is the term for the murder of around six million Jews and other victims by the Nazi regime and their collaborators during the Second World War.

 

Between 1941 and 1945, the Nazis sought to eradicate the entire Jewish community of Europe. Victims were murdered by death squads or transported to death camps. Six million of the eleven million European Jews perished. The Holocaust mainly occurred in Eastern Europe, in places such as Poland and Ukraine.

 

The term ‘Holocaust’ can also refer to the orchestrated murder of other groups targeted by the Nazi regime, including Roma, disabled people, Soviet Prisoners of War and civilians, Polish civilians, homosexuals, socialists, communists and trades unionists, Freemasons and Jehovah’s Witnesses.

 

The Nazis did not act alone. Countries which were occupied by the Nazis during the Second World War, such as Lithuania and the Ukraine, assisted the perpetrators.

 

Source: www.theholocaustexplained.org/what-was-the-holocaust/

 

Auschwitz, Lesser Poland, Poland

  

THE I SAID NO EVENT FOR RAINN- JULY 2021

✪ JULY 17 : Open to the public

✪ AUGUST 15: Closes to the public

 

Versois et Mailloux is a sponsor for this event

 

This event is a fundraiser for RAINN - Rape Abuse Incest National Network.- 100% of the sales from these product go to RAINN

 

All proceeds from these products go to RAINN, the largest anti-sexual violence organization. RAINN is a nonprofit organization staffed by advocates who educate and make change against perpetrators of sexual violence. They also help victims of sexual violence find legal justice against their abusers.

 

💗Need help? Call 800.656.HOPE (4673) to be connected with a trained staff member from a sexual assault service provider in your area.

 

💗In France 3919 : le numéro de téléphone pour les femmes victimes de violence

 

💗 I SAID NO SLURL:

h

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p://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Fedoseev/38/144/3007

 

(( remove space on h tt p: for copy paste ty ))

 

💗Versois et Mailloux Flickr :

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ps://www.flickr.com/photos/151121022@N05/

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💗Versois et Mailloux Mainstore:

h

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p://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Glenn/77/26/1128

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💗CREDITS 💗

 

Outfit: Versois et Mailloux - Citizen Pe-Ka-Choo Edition

Event Exclusive

Sunglasses: Versois et Mailloux - Frontin' Sunnies Pe-Ka-Choo Edition

Hairs :Doux Venezia

Earrings: Kibitz - Claire's baby hoops - gold

 

Backdrop : FOXCITY. Photo Booth - Stupid Boys

  

💗Thank you for placing your trust in me and accepting me in the Versois et Mailloux team 💗

   

28-06-2025 ▪️Y diffiniad Prydeinig o Frawychaeth. Brawychaeth: codi baner, rhoi paent ar awyren. Nid brawychaeth: dienyddio 200 o newyddiadurwyr, llofruddio 30,000 o blant, bomio 37 ysbyty, gadael i fabanod bydru mewn gwelyau gofal dwys, peri newyni 2 filiwn o bobl, saethu pobl sy'n ciwio am flawd

▪️The Britsh definition of Terrorism:

- picking up a flag

- putting paint on a war plane

Not terrorism:

- executing 200 journalists

- murdering 30,000 kids

- bombing 37 hospitals

- allowing babies to decompose in ICU beds

- starving 2 million people

- shooting people queuing for flour ▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️"IDF sources tell Haaretz that Gaza has become “a place with its own set of rules” where they are interacting with civilians with whom “your only means of interaction is opening fire”. Deadly military weapons are used as crowd control to steer the starving populace wherever it’s determined they’re supposed to be, routinely killing desperate aid seekers.

 

Another soldier describes being instructed to fire artillery shells at a crowd to keep them at a distance, saying, “Every time we fire, there are casualties and deaths, and when someone asks why a shell is necessary, there’s never a good answer. Sometimes, merely asking the question annoys the commanders.”

 

In quote after quote after quote we read Israeli soldiers describing atrocities they were ordered to commit which they knew were wrong. I guess Israel’s PR machine never counted on some of the soldiers they sent in to perpetrate the Gaza holocaust having an actual conscience." Caitlin J-

Triest

 

seen from Castello di San Giusto

 

gesehen vom Castello di San Giusto

 

Trieste (/triˈɛst/ tree-EST, Italian: [triˈɛste]; Slovene: Trst [tə̀ɾst, tə́ɾst] is a city and seaport in northeast Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the regional decentralization entity of Trieste. As of 2025, it has a population of 198,668.

 

Trieste is located at the head of the Gulf of Trieste, on a narrow strip of Italian territory lying between the Adriatic Sea and Slovenia; Slovenia lies close, at approximately 8 km (5 mi) east and 10–15 km (6–9 mi) southeast of the city, while Croatia is about 30 km (19 mi) to the south of the city.

 

The city has a long coastline and is surrounded by grassland, forest, and karstic areas.

 

Trieste belonged, as Triest, to the Habsburg monarchy from 1382 until 1918. In the 19th century, the monarchy was one of the Great Powers of Europe and Trieste was its most important seaport. As a prosperous trading hub in the Mediterranean region, Trieste grew to become the fourth largest city of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (after Vienna, Budapest, and Prague). At the turn of the 20th century, it emerged as an important hub for literature and music. Trieste underwent an economic revival during the 1930s, and the Free Territory of Trieste became a major site of the struggle between the Eastern and Western blocs after the Second World War.

 

A deep-water port, Trieste is a maritime gateway for northern Italy, Germany, Austria and Central Europe. It is considered the end point of the maritime Silk Road, with its connections to the Suez Canal and Turkey. Since the 1960s, Trieste has emerged as a prominent research location in Europe because of its many international organisations and institutions. The city lies at the intersection of Latin, Slavic and Germanic cultures, where Central Europe meets the Mediterranean Sea, and is home to diverse ethnic groups and religious communities.

 

A scholarly area, Trieste has the highest percentage of researchers, per capita, in Europe. Città della Barcolana ("City of the Barcolana"), Città della bora ("City of the bora"), Città del vento ("City of Wind"), "Vienna by the sea" and "City of Coffee" are epithets used to describe Trieste.

 

Etymology

 

The most likely origin is the word, Tergeste – with the -est- suffix typical of Venetic – and derived from the hypothetical Illyrian word *terg- "market" (etymologically cognate to the Albanian term treg 'market, marketplace' and reconstructed Proto-Slavic "*tъrgъ") Roman authors also transliterated the name as Tergestum (according to Strabo, the name of the oppidum Tergestum originated from the three battles the Roman Army had to engage in with local tribes, "TER GESTUM [BELLUM]").

 

History

 

Ancient history

 

Since the second millennium BC, the location was an inhabited site. Originally an Illyrian settlement, the Veneti entered the region in the 10th–9th c. BC and seem to have given the town its name, Tergeste, because terg* is a Venetic word meaning market (q.v. Oderzo, whose ancient name was Opitergium). Later, the town was captured by the Carni, a tribe of the Eastern Alps, before becoming part of the Roman Republic in 177 BC during the Second Istrian War.

 

After being attacked by barbarians from the interior in 52 BC, and until 46 BC, it was granted the status of Roman colony under Julius Caesar, who recorded its name as Tergeste in Commentarii de Bello Gallico (51 BC), in which he recounts events of the Gallic Wars.

 

During the imperial period the border of Roman Italy moved from the Timavo River to the Formione (today Risano). Roman Tergeste flourished due to its position on the road from Aquileia, the main Roman city in the area, to Istria, and as a port, some ruins of which are still visible. Emperor Augustus built a line of walls around the city in 33–32 BC, while Trajan built a theatre in the 2nd century. At the same time, the citizens of the town were enrolled in the tribe Pupinia. In 27 BC, Trieste was incorporated in Regio X of Augustan Italia.

 

In the early Christian era Trieste continued to flourish. Between 138 and 161 AD, its territory was enlarged and nearby Carni and Catali were granted Roman citizenship by the Roman Senate and Emperor Antoninus Pius at the pleading of a leading Tergestine citizen, the quaestor urbanus, Fabius Severus.

 

Already at the time of the Roman Empire there was a fishing village called Vallicula ("small valley") in the Barcola area. Remains of richly decorated Roman villas, including wellness facilities, piers and extensive gardens suggest that Barcola was already a place for relaxation among the Romans because of its favourable microclimate, as it was located directly on the sea and protected from the bora. At that time, Pliny the Elder mentioned the vines of the wine Pulcino ("Vinum Pucinum" – probably today's "Prosecco"), which were grown on the slopes.

 

Middle Ages

 

In 788, Trieste submitted to Charlemagne, who placed it under the authority of the count-bishop who in turn was subject to the Duke of Friùli.

 

During the 13th and 14th centuries, Trieste became a maritime trade rival to the Republic of Venice, which briefly occupied it in 1283–87, before coming under the patronage of the Patriarchate of Aquileia. After it committed a perceived offence against Venice, the Venetian State declared war against Trieste in July 1368 and by November had occupied the city. Venice intended to keep the city and began rebuilding its defences, but was forced to leave in 1372. Due to the Peace of Turin in 1381, Venice renounced its claim to Trieste and the leading citizens of Trieste petitioned Leopold III of Habsburg, Duke of Austria, to annex Trieste to his domains. The agreement of voluntary submission (dedizione) was signed at the castle of Graz on 30 September 1382.

 

The city maintained a high degree of autonomy under the Habsburgs, but was increasingly losing ground as a trade hub, both to Venice and to Ragusa. In 1463, a number of Istrian communities petitioned Venice to attack Trieste. Trieste was saved from utter ruin by the intervention of Pope Pius II who had previously been bishop of Trieste. However, Venice limited Trieste's territory to three miles (4.8 kilometres) outside the city. Trieste would be assaulted again in 1468–1469 by Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III. His sack of the city is remembered as the "Destruction of Trieste." He then restored the city walls for the fourth time.[9] Trieste was fortunate to be spared another sack in 1470 by the Ottomans who burned the village of Prosecco, only about 5.3 miles (8.5 kilometres) from Trieste, while on their way to attack Friuli.

 

Early modern period

 

Following an unsuccessful Habsburg invasion of Venice in the prelude to the 1508–16 War of the League of Cambrai, the Venetians occupied Trieste again in 1508, and were allowed to keep the city under the terms of the peace treaty. However, the Habsburg Empire recovered Trieste a little over one year later, when the conflict resumed. By the 18th century Trieste became an important port and commercial hub for the Austrians. In 1719, it was granted status as a free port within the Habsburg Empire by Emperor Charles VI, and remained a free port until 1 July 1791. The reign of his successor, Maria Theresa of Austria, marked the beginning of a very prosperous era for the city. Serbs settled Trieste largely in the 18th and 19th centuries, and they soon formed an influential and rich community within the city, as a number of Serbian traders came into ownership of many important businesses and built palaces across Trieste.

 

19th century

 

In the following decades, Trieste was briefly occupied by troops of the French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars on several occasions, in 1797, 1805 and 1809. From 1809 to 1813, Trieste was annexed into the Illyrian Provinces, interrupting its status of free port and losing its autonomy. The municipal autonomy was not restored after the return of the city to the Austrian Empire in 1813. Following the Napoleonic Wars, Trieste continued to prosper as the Free Imperial City of Trieste (German: Reichsunmittelbare Stadt Triest), a status that granted economic freedom, but limited its political self-government. The city's role as Austria's main trading port and shipbuilding centre was later emphasised by the foundation of the merchant shipping line Austrian Lloyd in 1836, whose headquarters stood at the corner of the Piazza Grande and Sanità (today's Piazza Unità d'Italia). By 1913, Austrian Lloyd had a fleet of 62 ships totalling 236,000 tonnes. With the introduction of constitutionalism in the Austrian Empire in 1860, the municipal autonomy of the city was restored, with Trieste becoming capital of the Austrian Littoral crown land (German: Österreichisches Küstenland).

 

With anti-clericalism on the rise in the rest of the Italian peninsula due to the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardina's bellicose policies towards the church and its estates, Pope Leo XIII at times considered moving his residence to Trieste or Salzburg. However, Emperor Franz Joseph rejected the idea. Trieste, along with Rijeka (Fiume), served as an important base for the Imperial-Royal Navy, which in the first decade of the 20th century embarked on a major modernisation programme. With the construction of the Austrian Southern Railway, the first major railway in the Empire, in 1857, Trieste acquired a significant role in the trade of coal.

 

Trieste had long been home to Italian irredentist sentiment, as evidenced by the activity at Caffè Tommaseo. In 1882 this fervour culminated in an attempted assassination of Emperor Franz Joseph at the hands of Wilhem Oberdank (Guglielmo Oberdan), while His Majesty was visiting the city. The perpetrator was arrested, tried, found guilty and ultimately sentenced to death. His legacy was regarded as worthy of martyrdom status by fellow irredentists, while monarchical elements regarded his actions as ignominious. The Emperor, who went on to reign for thirty-four more years, never again visited Trieste.

 

20th century

 

At the beginning of the 20th century, Trieste was a bustling cosmopolitan city frequented by artists and philosophers. James Joyce was a long-stay tourist between 1904 and 1915. Joyce worked on Dubliners and Ulysses while in Trieste. His students included Italo Svevo and a bookshop ran by Umberto Saba was near Joyce's apartment. Other authors with roots in Trieste include Claudio Magris, Jan Morris, Fulvio Tomizza, Enzo Bettiza, Susanna Tamaro, and Ernesto Nathan Rogers. Sigmund Freud, Zofka Kveder, Dragotin Kette, Ivan Cankar, and Scipio Slataper have also been associated with Trieste. The city was the major port on the Austrian Riviera, a term used in tourist marketing.

 

World War I, annexation to Italy and Fascist era

 

Italy, in return for entering World War I on the side of the Allied Powers, had been promised substantial territorial gains, which included the former Austrian Littoral and western Inner Carniola. Italy therefore annexed the city of Trieste at the end of the war, in accordance with the provisions of the 1915 Treaty of London and the Italian-Yugoslav 1920 Treaty of Rapallo.

 

In the late 1920s, following Italian fascists burning down of the Slovene cultural centre in July 1920, the Slovene militant anti-fascist organisation TIGR carried out several bomb attacks in the city centre. In 1930 and 1941, two trials of Slovene activists were held in Trieste by the fascist Special Tribunal for the Security of the State. During the 1920s and 1930s, several monumental buildings were built in the Fascist architectural style, including the University of Trieste and the almost 70 m (229.66 ft) tall Victory Lighthouse (Faro della Vittoria), which became a city landmark. The economy improved in the late 1930s, and several large infrastructure projects were carried out.

 

World War II and aftermath

 

Following the trisection of Slovenia, starting from the winter of 1941, the first Slovene Partisans appeared in Trieste province, although the resistance movement did not become active in the city itself until late 1943.

 

After the Italian armistice in September 1943, the city was occupied by Wehrmacht troops. Trieste became nominally part of the newly constituted Italian Social Republic, but it was de facto ruled by Germany, who created the Operation Zone of the Adriatic Littoral (OZAK) out of former Italian north-eastern regions, with Trieste as the administrative centre. The new administrative entity was headed by Friedrich Rainer, Gauleiter of Carinthia, named supreme commissary of the AK zone. A semblance of indigenous Italian rule was kept in the form of Cesare Pagnini, mayor of Trieste, but every civil official was assigned a representative of the supreme commissar in the form of a Deutsche Berater (German Adviser). Under German occupation, the only concentration camp with a crematorium on Italian soil was built in a suburb of Trieste, at the Risiera di San Sabba on 4 April 1944. From 20 October 1943, to the spring of 1944, around 25,000 Jews and partisans were interrogated and tortured in the Risiera. Three to four thousand of them were murdered here by shooting, beating or in gas vans. Most were imprisoned before being transferred to other concentration camps.

 

The city saw intense Italian and Yugoslav partisan activity and suffered from Allied bombings, over 20 air raids in 1944–1945, targeting the oil refineries, port and marshalling yard but causing considerable collateral damage to the city and 651 deaths among the population. The worst raid took place on 10 June 1944, when a hundred tons of bombs dropped by 40 USAAF bombers, targeting the oil refineries, resulted in the destruction of 250 buildings, damage to another 700 and 463 victims.

 

Occupation by Yugoslav partisans

 

On 30 April 1945, the Slovenian and Italian anti-Fascist Osvobodilna fronta (OF) and National Liberation Committee (Comitato di Liberazione Nazionale, or CLN) of Edoardo Marzari and Antonio Fonda Savio, made up of approximately 3,500 volunteers, incited a riot against the Nazi occupiers. On 1 May Allied members of the Yugoslav Partisans' 8th Dalmatian Corps took over most of the city, except for the courts and the castle of San Giusto, where the German garrisons refused to surrender to anyone but the New Zealanders, due to the partisans' reputation for shooting German and Italian prisoners of war. The 2nd New Zealand Division under General Freyberg continued to advance towards Trieste along Route 14 around the northern coast of the Adriatic sea and arrived in the city the following day (see official histories The Italian Campaign and Through the Venetian Line). The German forces surrendered on the evening of 2 May, but were then turned over to the Yugoslav forces.

 

The Yugoslavs held full control of the city until 12 June, a period known in Italian historiography as the "forty days of Trieste". During this period, hundreds of local Italians and anti-Communist Slovenes were arrested by the Yugoslav authorities, and many of them were never seen again. Some were interned in Yugoslav internment camps (in particular at Borovnica, Slovenia), while others were murdered on the Karst Plateau. British Field Marshal Harold Alexander condemned the Yugoslav military occupation, stating that "Marshal Tito's apparent intention to establish his claims by force of arms...[is] all too reminiscent of Hitler, Mussolini and Japan. It is to prevent such actions that we have been fighting this war." In this most turbulent of periods, the city saw a thorough reorganisation of the political-administrative system: the Yugoslav Fourth Army, to which many figures of prominence were attached (including Edvard Kardelj, a sign of just how important the Isonzo front was in Yugoslav aims) established a provisional Military Command in the occupied areas. Fully understanding the precarious position it found itself in, the Yugoslav Command undertook great efforts to claim the success for itself, faced with the presence of the 2nd New Zealand Division under General Bernard Freyberg in Trieste, which could undermine, as it did, postwar claims of sovereignty and control over the seaport. Cox wrote that it was the first major confrontation of the Cold War and was the one corner of Europe where no demarcation line had been agreed upon in advance by the Allies.. To this effect, a Tanjug Agency communiqué stated: "The seaport of Trieste, Monfalcone and Gorizia could not be occupied by the above mentioned division [the New Zealand Division] as these cities had already been liberated...by the Yugoslav army...It is true that some Allied forces have without our permission entered into the above mentioned cities which might have undesirable consequences unless this misunderstanding is promptly settled by mutual agreement".

 

A city in limbo (1945–1947)

 

After an agreement between the Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito and Field Marshal Alexander, the Yugoslav forces withdrew from Trieste, which came under a joint British-U.S. military administration. The Julian March was divided by the Morgan Line between Anglo-American and Yugoslav military administration until September 1947 when the Paris Peace Treaty established the Free Territory of Trieste. The effective turning point for Trieste's fortunes had already been established, though: President Truman's stipulations, later named the Truman Doctrine, in all but name had sealed the status quo, formalised only in the above-mentioned treaty, one that proved to be a careful balancing act between Yugoslav demands, Italian claims and international aims toward the Adriatic gulf and Eastern Europe in general. Questions arose on the structure of government as soon and even earlier than the signing of the treaty, with neither Italy nor Yugoslavia willing to recognise a joint governor. Initially, the newly established Allied Military Government (AMG) found it difficult to exercise its authority over the newly administered territories (the Italian majority provinces of Trieste, Gorizia and Pola), because of a rooted communist presence, especially in the countryside. This state of affairs did not change until a formal peace treaty with Italy had been signed, granting the AMG the full powers to administer justice and re-establish law and order in those areas under its administration. Replacing the People's Militia, the AMG recruited a civilian police force from the indigenous population along the Anglo-Saxon police model. This exercise of jurisdiction was thus articulated: pursuant to Proclamation No. 1, three tiers of tribunals were established: the Summary Military Courts, with jurisdiction over petty crime, the Superior Military Courts, which could impose punishments not exceeding 10 years imprisonment, and the General Military Court, which could impose the death penalty. Civil courts, as modelled on the Kingdom of Italy's code, were, pursuant to General Order No. 6, re-established July 12, 1945, but the Slovene minority was given the right to be heard, and for proceedings to be, in their own language.

 

Zone A of the Free Territory of Trieste (1947–54)

 

n 1947, Trieste was declared an independent city state under the protection of the United Nations as the Free Territory of Trieste. The territory was divided into two zones, A and B, along the Morgan Line established in 1945.

 

From 1947 to 1954, Zone A was occupied and governed by the Allied Military Government, composed of the American Trieste United States Troops (TRUST), commanded by Major General Bryant E. Moore, the commanding general of the American 88th Infantry Division, and the "British Element Trieste Forces" (BETFOR), commanded by Sir Terence Airey, who were the joint forces commander and also the military governors.

 

Zone A covered almost the same area of the current Italian Province of Trieste, except for four small villages south of Muggia (see below), which were given to Yugoslavia after the dissolution of the Free Territory in 1954. Occupied Zone B, which was under the administration of Miloš Stamatović, then a colonel in the Yugoslav People's Army, was composed of the north-westernmost portion of the Istrian peninsula, between the Mirna River and the cape Debeli Rtič.

 

In 1954, in accordance with the Memorandum of London, the vast majority of Zone A—including the city of Trieste—joined Italy, whereas Zone B and four villages from Zone A (Plavje, Spodnje Škofije, Hrvatini, and Elerji) became part of Yugoslavia, divided between Slovenia and Croatia. The final border line with Yugoslavia and the status of the ethnic minorities in the areas was settled bilaterally in 1975 with the Treaty of Osimo. This line now constitutes the border between Italy and Slovenia.

 

(Wikipedia)

 

Triest ([triˈɛst], in Südtirol auch [ˈtriəst] triestinisch/venetisch sowie italienisch Trieste, furlanisch Triest, slowenisch, serbisch, kroatisch Trst, lateinisch Tergeste) ist eine in Norditalien am Golf von Triest gelegene Hafen- und Großstadt mit 198.668 Einwohnern (Stand 31. Dezember 2024), darunter eine slowenische Minderheit. Triest liegt an der oberen Adria direkt an der Grenze zu Slowenien, ist Hauptstadt der autonomen Region Friaul-Julisch Venetien und war bis 2017 Hauptstadt der Provinz Triest, bevor diese aufgelöst wurde.

 

Triest ist Sitz des römisch-katholischen Bistums Triest. Die Stadt ist seit 1924 Universitätsstadt und beherbergt zwei bekannte Observatorien für Astronomie bzw. für Geophysik. Sie ist Hauptsitz von weltweit tätigen Unternehmen wie dem Kaffeeproduzenten illycaffè S.p.A., der Versicherungsgesellschaft Generali, dem Schiffbauunternehmen Fincantieri und dem Schifffahrtsunternehmen Italia Marittima (ehemals Lloyd Triestino bzw. Österreichischer Lloyd).

 

Bereits 774 wurde Triest Teil des Frankenreiches unter dem späteren Kaiser Karl dem Großen. In der Kontinuität des Kaisertums entwickelte sich aus dem Ostteil des Frankenreiches das Heilige Römische Reich deutscher Nation, dessen Bestandteil Triest mit kurzen Unterbrechungen (siehe Absatz Geschichte) bis zu dessen Untergang 1806 fast 1000 Jahre lang blieb. Auch danach gehörte die Stadt als Teil des dem Deutschen Bund angehörigen Kaisertums Österreich von 1815 bis 1866 zum deutschen Staatsverband. Von 1382 bis 1918 war Triest Teil der Habsburgermonarchie bzw. von Österreich-Ungarn. Es war sein bedeutendster Handelshafen, einer der Stützpunkte der k.u.k. Kriegsmarine sowie Sitz des Statthalters des Österreichischen Küstenlandes (Litorale) bzw. der 1861 daraus gebildeten drei Kronländer Gefürstete Grafschaft Görz und Gradisca, Markgrafschaft Istrien und Reichsunmittelbare Stadt Triest.

 

Kulturell und historisch blieb Triest auch als Teil Italiens seit 1918 ein Ort des Zusammentreffens von Kulturen, Sprachen, Ethnien und Religionen („Città mitteleuropea“). Nach dem Kriegsende 1945 wurden die Stadt und ihr gemischtsprachiges Hinterland erfolgreich von Jugoslawien beansprucht; nach einem Intermezzo als Freies Territorium Triest unterstand Triest ab 1954 wieder dem italienischen Staat.

 

Triest geriet durch den Ost-West-Konflikt, als es so wie Berlin an der Bruchlinie zwischen Ost und West lag, jahrzehntelang in eine verkehrspolitische Randposition. Der Nachteil dieser Grenzlage und der daraus resultierende Verlust an wirtschaftlicher Bedeutung fielen mit dem EU-Beitritt Sloweniens 2004 und seinem Beitritt zum Schengen-Raum, der am 21. Dezember 2007 zum Wegfall der Grenzkontrollen zu Italien führte, und dem Beitritt Kroatiens zur EU im Jahr 2013 weg.

 

Triest ist mit seinem Tiefwasserhafen heute wie vor 1918 ein maritimes Tor für Norditalien, Deutschland, Österreich und Mitteleuropa und gilt als Endpunkt der maritimen Seidenstraße (Maritim Silk Road bzw. 21st Century Maritim Silk Road) mit ihren Verbindungen über den Suezkanal bzw. die Türkei und dem Landweg nach China, Japan und viele Länder Asiens.

 

Der Hafen von Triest hat ein internationales Zollfreigebiet (Freihafen) mit fünf Freizonen. Seit den 1960er Jahren ist Triest durch seine vielen internationalen Organisationen und Einrichtungen einer der wichtigsten Forschungsstandorte Europas, eine internationale Schul- und Universitätsstadt und hat einen der höchsten Lebensstandards unter Italiens Städten. Die Stadt wurde 2020 als eine der 25 kleinen Städte der Welt mit der besten Lebensqualität und 2021 als eine der zehn sichersten Städte der Welt bewertet. Sie hat in Europa den höchsten Anteil an Forschern und Wissenschaftlern im Verhältnis zur Bevölkerung.

 

Triest hat eine sehr lange Küstenlinie, freien Meerzugang in Barcola und ist von Grünland, Wald- und Karstflächen umgeben. In der Stadt befand sich auf dem Molo Sartorio der Mareograf, auf dessen festgelegte Werte aus den Jahren 1875 und 1900 sich in Mitteleuropa die meisten Bezugshöheangaben mit der Kennzeichnung „Meter über Adria“ beziehen. Triest ist auch die Città della Barcolana, wie die Hinweisschilder an den Stadteinfahrten verdeutlichen, und damit jährlicher Austragungsort dieser weltgrößten Segelregatta.

 

Triest liegt an einem Schnittpunkt der lateinischen, slawischen, griechischen und jüdischen Kultur, wo Mitteleuropa auf den mediterranen Raum trifft. Es gilt daher als eine der literarischen Hauptstädte und wurde wegen seiner unterschiedlichen Ethnien und Religionsgemeinschaften oft als frühes New York bezeichnet. Es gibt daneben noch weitere nationale und internationale Bezeichnungen für die Stadt wie zum Beispiel Trieste città della bora, Città del vento, Trieste città mitteleuropea, Trieste città della scienza – City of Science, Wien am Meer oder Stadt des Kaffees, in denen einzelne prägende Eigenschaften herausgehoben werden.

 

Geographie

 

Lage

 

Triest liegt im Nordosten Italiens am Golf von Triest, einer Meeresbucht der Oberen Adria, wenige Kilometer von der slowenischen Grenze entfernt. Die Stadt ist Teil der historischen Region Julisch Venetien (Venezia Giulia), die vor dem Ersten Weltkrieg auch als Österreichisches Küstenland bekannt war und deren Gebiet heute auf die Staaten Italien, Slowenien und Kroatien verteilt ist. Da Triest durch die Grenzziehungen des 20. Jahrhunderts einen Großteil seines Hinterlandes verlor, wurde Julisch-Venetien mit Friaul zur autonomen Region Friaul-Julisch Venetien vereinigt, deren Hauptstadt Triest seit 1962 ist.

 

Triest und sein Hinterland erstrecken sich vom Abhang einer hohen Küstenstufe des gleichnamigen Karsts (Triestiner Karst), die zum Binnenland in eine steinige, schrattige, kalkhaltige und wasserarme Hochlandschaft übergeht, hin zu einer küstennahen Flachlandzone am Adriatischen Meer. Die hoch gelegenen Landschaftsbereiche sind für ihre Höhlen, Dolinen und andere Karstformen bekannt. Das Stadtgebiet von Triest dehnt sich dabei südwärts in ein Flyschgebiet aus, das in Form einer Doppelmulde über das Stadtgebiet und die Landesgrenze hinaus bis nach Pazin reicht.

 

Charakteristisch für diese Gegend ist auch der Bodentyp Terra rossa, ein aus Kalkstein-Verwitterung hervorgegangener roter Lehm, der besonders für den Anbau von Wein geeignet ist. Im Weinbaugebiet Carso, das die Stadt Triest umschließt, wird vor allem die Weinrebe Carso Terrano, eine Varietät der Rebsorte Refosco, angebaut. Das Anbaugebiet erhielt 1985 das Qualitätssiegel DOC. 1986 eröffnete die Provinz Triest zwischen den Ortschaften Opicina und Sistiana die Terrano-Weinstraße („Strada del vino Terrano“).

 

Als wichtigster Hafen Österreichs bzw. Österreich-Ungarns (1382–1918) wurde Triest zu einem Zentrum der Nautik und der Meereskunde. Das Hafenbecken erhielt am Molo Sartorio einen langfristig beobachteten Pegel, auf den sich seit dem 19. Jahrhundert das mitteleuropäische Höhensystem Meter über Adria bezieht; er wurde von der 1841 gegründeten Wetterwarte betreut, die heute zum Geophysikalischen Institut Triest gehört.

 

Klima

 

In Triest herrscht ein feucht-subtropisches Klima (Cfa-Klima nach Köppen).[7][8][9] Es zeichnet sich durch heiße, regenreiche Sommer und milde, regenreiche Winter aus. Im Sommer wird eine Durchschnittstemperatur von 25 °C, im Winter von 8 °C erreicht.

 

Die sommerlichen Wassertemperaturen bewegen sich in Küstennähe von 24 °C bis zu 28 °C. Der jährliche Niederschlag beträgt ca. 1023 mm, die relative Luftfeuchtigkeit 64 %. In Triest herrscht an ca. 200 Tagen im Jahr Windstille. In der Stadt ist es somit im Vergleich zu anderen Meeresstädten nicht besonders windig.

 

Charakteristisch für das Klima von Triest sind verschieden auftretende Winde, wie Bora und Scirocco. Die Winde sind die Ursache für das günstige Klima der Stadt, da es selten zur selben Zeit kalt und nass ist. Manche Winde sind nicht von Jahreszeiten abhängig, sondern entstehen im Verlaufe bestimmter Wetterkonstellationen. Im Laufe der Zeit haben sich dafür traditionell überlieferte Bezeichnungen verfestigt. Sie besitzen Namen etwa wie Grecale, Libeccio, Maestrale, Tramontana oder Ponente.

 

Die oft im Winter, aber auch im sonstigen Jahr aufkommende Bora ist ein kalter, trockener Fallwind aus Nordosten, der plötzlich beginnt, auch wochenlang andauern kann und in starken Böen vom Land auf das offene Meer bläst. Er wird in der Bucht von Triest kanalisiert und erreicht dadurch in der Stadt hohe Windgeschwindigkeiten, in Einzelfällen weit über 100 km/h. Während die hohen Windgeschwindigkeiten im Stadtgebiet von Triest besonders im Winter in Verbindung mit Eis und Schnee zu Chaos führen können, hat die Bora auf das Wohlempfinden der Menschen positive Auswirkungen. Man sagt: „Die Bora bläst die schlechten Launen fort.“ Viele Kranke fühlen sich an Boratagen von ihren Leiden, der Wetterfühligkeit und den Schmerzen befreit.

 

Der seltenere Scirocco ist im Gegensatz zur Bora ein warmer, feuchter Ost-Südostwind, der von schweren Wolken und Regen begleitet wird. Im Sommer ist der Libeccio am häufigsten, eine leichte Brise aus Südwesten durch Fallwinde aus den Apenninen, die vom Meer Richtung Land weht und warme Sommernächte abkühlt. Die Tramontana ist ein kalter Winterwind und folgt der Bora oder dem Maestro in deren Anschluss. Sie kann sehr schnell aufkommen, was mit einem Temperaturabfall oder mit dem plötzlichen Ende lokaler Winde beginnt.

 

Die meteorologische Station im Triester Hafen gehört zum Istituto Tecnico Nautico “Tomaso di Savoia”. Ebenfalls betreibt die Universität Triest eine meteorologische Mess- und Beobachtungsstation im Stadtgebiet.

 

Infolge des Klimas und trotz der nördlichen Lage kann in Triest einerseits noch ausgezeichnetes Olivenöl gewonnen werden (man spricht von der Lage der Stadt an der Olivenöl-Buttergrenze) und andererseits kämpft die Stadtverwaltung bzw. kämpfen die Hauseigentümer regelmäßig mit Termitenbefall der historischen Immobilien.

 

Geschichte

 

Gründung

 

Zur Zeit der Gründung Aquileias durch die Römer war die Gegend um Triest von keltischen und illyrischen Stämmen bewohnt. Als die Römer ab 177 v. Chr. von Aquileia aus Feldzüge nach Istrien unternahmen, erhielten sie Unterstützung durch Bewohner einer Ortschaft namens Tergeste, des ersten Ortes in Illyrien, im Gebiet der Histrer. In diese Zeit fällt auch die Gründung von drei römischen Militärlagern, der 13 Hektar großen Hauptanlage San Rocco zwischen den zwei kleineren Forts in Monte Grociana Piccola im Nordosten und Montedoro im Südwesten. Im Jahr 128 v. Chr. kam es zur erstmaligen Ansiedlung römischer Bürger in Tergeste. Die Siedlung Tergeste wurde vom griechischen Geografen Artemidor von Ephesos 104 v. Chr. erwähnt und war damals bereits eine römische Ansiedlung auf dem heutigen Stadthügel San Giusto, wo auch die Siedlungsursprünge liegen.

 

In der zweiten Hälfte des 1. Jahrhunderts v. Chr. wurde im Triestiner Vorort Barcola eine aufwändige fürstliche römische Villa errichtet. Diese private Villa befand sich zwischen dem heutigen Friedhof und der Kirche San Bartolomeo, ungefähr auf der Höhe Viale Miramare 48, unmittelbar am Meer mit einmaligem Panoramablick. Die Villa Maritima erstreckte sich an der Küste entlang und gliederte sich in Terrassen in einen feudalen Repräsentationsbereich, Prunksaal, einen separaten Wohnbereich, einen Garten, einige zum Meer offene Einrichtungen und eine Therme. Erweiterungen und Umbauarbeiten lassen sich bis in die zweite Hälfte des 1. Jahrhunderts n. Chr. nachweisen. Die gefundenen Kunstwerke, Statuen und Mosaike befinden sich heute im Museum Lapidario Tergestino im Kastell San Giusto, wobei vergleichbare Werke bisher nur in Rom und Kampanien gefunden wurden.

 

Schon ab dem ersten Jahrhundert nach Christus entwickelte sich dann Barcola (als Vallicula bzw. später Valcula) mit seinen klimatischen Vorzügen und einer Reihe von Villen für Patrizier und Adligen zu einem exklusiven römischen Touristenort. An den Hängen wurden damals, wie schon Plinius der Ältere erwähnt, die Reben des Weines Pulcino (ein vermutlicher Vorgänger des Prosecco) angebaut. Es war der nur dort gezogene Lieblingswein der Kaiserin Livia, der Ehefrau des Augustus, und soll schon von den Griechen unter der Bezeichnung Prätetianum gerühmt worden sein.

 

Um Christi Geburt fungierte Triest als Grenzfestung gegen die in den Ostalpen siedelnden Japyden. Den Namen Tergeste, der wahrscheinlich „Markt“ bedeutet und aus dem Triest wurde, behielten die Römer bei, als sich Mitte des 1. Jahrhunderts n. Chr. Tergeste als römische Kolonie zu einem wichtigen Hafenort im Römischen Reich, mit Handelsstraßen entlang der Adria und über die Julischen Alpen entwickelte. Allerdings erlangte Triest damals nie die Bedeutung des dem Golf von Triest gegenüberliegenden Aquileia. Das römische Tergeste hatte durch einen Hafen Zugang zum Meer und war ab 33 v. Chr. durch neue Mauern geschützt. Im Jahr 27 v. Chr. wurde Tergeste der X. italischen Region „Venetia et Histria“ zugeteilt. Zur Zeit Trajans (98–117 n. Chr.) zählte die Stadt 12.000 Einwohner und erhielt eine Basilika und ein Theater. Gegen Ende des 3. Jahrhunderts n. Chr. wurden die reichen römischen Wohnhäuser und Villen verlassen und setzte eine Zeit der Rückentwicklung und des Rückzuges auf den Hügelbereich ein, der erneut befestigt wurde. Die Bauwerke bekamen einen ländlichen Charakter und statt Mauerwerk wurde oft Holz verwendet.

 

Nach dem Untergang des Weströmischen Reichs im Jahr 476 teilte Triest das allgemeine Schicksal Istriens, wo Ostgoten, Byzantiner und Langobarden einander in der Herrschaft folgten, bis die Stadt 774 dem Reich Karls des Großen als ein Teil der Mark Friaul einverleibt wurde. Unter Kaiser Lothar III. erhielt der Bischof von Triest weltliche Hoheit über die Stadt.

 

Triest behielt die Unabhängigkeit unter seinen Bischöfen bis zur Eroberung durch Venedig 1203. Für die nächsten 180 Jahre bestand die Geschichte Triests hauptsächlich aus einer Reihe von Konflikten mit dem mächtigen Venedig im Spannungsverhältnis zum Anspruch des Patriarchen von Aquilea. Venedig erzwang auch den Abriss der Stadtmauer, die aber im Laufe des 14. Jahrhunderts wieder aufgebaut wurde. Da Triest keine eigene Armee hatte, war es Pflicht der Bürger, der sie sich nicht entziehen konnten, selbst Wache auf den Mauern zu halten und Kriegsdienst zu leisten. Um die Unabhängigkeit Triests zu wahren, stellten sich dann die Bürger Triests selbst im Jahr 1382 unter den Schutz Leopolds III. von Österreich, der auch Landesherr des benachbarten Herzogtums Krain war. Die Eigenständigkeit der Stadt musste unangetastet bleiben und die österreichischen Vorrechte bezogen sich nur auf die Ernennung eines militärischen Statthalters.

 

Unter österreichischer Krone

 

Triest war von 1382 bis 1918 habsburgisch-österreichisch. Am 30. September 1382 nahm Herzog Leopold III. die freiwillige Unterwerfung der Stadt Triest in der Burg von Graz an. Im 15. Jahrhundert kam es in der Stadt immer wieder zu erbitterten Konflikten zwischen der kaiserlichen Partei, den Anhängern der Herren von Duino und den Venezianern. Besonders in den Jahren 1467 bis 1469 führten die Bürgerkämpfe zu Terrorakten und Verwüstungen in den Straßen Triests. Das Protektorat entwickelte sich aber langsam zu einem wirklichen Besitzverhältnis, dem Österreichischen Küstenland (Litorale). Vertreten wurde die habsburgische Herrschaft in Triest lange Zeit nominell durch das Geschlecht der Grafen von Montenari. Die Statthalterschaft wurde vorerst ad personam vom jeweiligen Monarchen (der zumeist auch Kaiser des Heiligen Römischen Reiches war, aber dort nicht in dieser Funktion entschied, sondern als Herrscher der Habsburgischen Erblande) verliehen, später dann erblich nach dem Gesetz der Primogenitur an den ältesten Sohn des Grafen von Montenari weitergegeben.

 

Abgesehen von wiederholten kurzen Besetzungen (vor allem 1508/09) durch Venedig und der napoleonischen Periode (1797, 1805–1806 und 1809–1813) blieb Triest bis zum Ende des Ersten Weltkrieges Teil des habsburgischen Österreichs.

 

Triests Aufstieg im 18. Jahrhundert

 

Triests Aufstieg in der Donaumonarchie begann 1719 mit der Erhebung der Stadt zum Freihafen durch Karl VI. – ein Status, den die Stadt bis 1891 behielt. Karls Nachfolger Maria Theresia und Joseph II. unterstützten Triests wirtschaftlichen Aufschwung durch das Anlegen städtebaulich wichtiger Viertel, der Maria-Theresien-Stadt (Borgo Teresiano) nordöstlich des heutigen Hauptplatzes und der Josephsstadt (Borgo Giuseppino) südwestlich.

 

Als einziger großer Seehafen Österreichs nahm Triest eine wichtige strategische Stellung in der Habsburgermonarchie ein und war Ausgangspunkt kurzlebiger Kolonialerwerbungen (Triestiner Handelskompanie). Der Druck Venedigs hemmte jedoch lange Zeit die wirtschaftliche Entwicklung Triests. Erst die Eroberung Venedigs durch Napoleon am Ende des 18. Jahrhunderts und der anschließende Friede von Campo Formio, in dem Venedig Österreich zugesprochen wurde, leitete den Niedergang der Republik Venedig und die Blütezeit Triests ein.

 

Mit österreichischer Unterstützung löste Triest Venedig in seiner führenden Rolle im Handel mit dem Nahen Osten ab und entwickelte sich zum größten Handelszentrum der Adria. 1802 wurden im Triester Hafen 483.326 Tonnen Güter umgeschlagen, die von 5.442 Schiffen transportiert worden waren. Auf dem Höhepunkt der Blütezeit Triests waren es rund 100 Jahre später mehr als doppelt so viele Schiffe und mehr als zehnmal so viele Güter, hauptsächlich Kaffee, Zucker und Südfrüchte sowie Weine, Öle, Baumwolle, Eisen, Holz und Maschinen.

 

Gründerzeit im 19. Jahrhundert

 

1804 wurde Triest Teil des neu gegründeten Kaisertums Österreich, weiter als Teil des Litorales. Unter Napoleon wurde Triest 1809 den Illyrischen Provinzen zugeschlagen und damit bis 1813 französisch. Diese kurze Zeit hinterließ ihre Spuren in klassizistischen Bauwerken wie der Triester Oper Teatro Verdi, die nach den Plänen des Architekten Matthäus Pertsch entstand.

 

1813 eroberte Österreich Triest unter General Christoph Freiherr von Lattermann zurück. Nach dem Wiener Kongress 1815 wurde Triest im österreichischen Kaiserstaat in das neu geschaffene Königreich Illyrien eingegliedert.

 

Nachdem Triest unter der Habsburgerherrschaft bereits über Jahrhunderte Bestandteil des Heiligen Römischen Reiches deutscher Nation war, gehörte es als österreichische Stadt zum Deutschen Bund, der 1815 auf dem Wiener Kongress als Ersatz für das alte, 1806 untergegangene Reich geschaffen wurde. Die Stadt markierte in etwa die Südausdehnung des Deutschen Bundes bis zur Adria. Insofern war Triest in Folge der bürgerlichen Revolution von 1848 Teil des Wahlgebietes zur deutschen bzw. Frankfurter Nationalversammlung. Bei diesen ersten gesamtdeutschen, freien und demokratischen Wahlen wurden in den Wahlkreisen Küstenland-Triest-Stadt 1 und 2 mit Karl Ludwig von Bruck, Gabriel Jenny sowie Friedrich Moritz Burger drei Abgeordnete in das Frankfurter Parlament des sich konstituierenden Deutschen Reiches gewählt. Alle drei waren vor dem 27. Juli 1848 in der Frankfurter Paulskirche eingetroffen. Auch nach dem Scheitern der Revolution und des Reiches blieb Triest Bestandteil des wiederhergestellten Deutschen Bundes bis zu dessen Ende 1866. Mit dem in diesem Jahr zur Beendigung des Deutschen Krieges geschlossenen Prager Frieden schieden Österreich und damit auch Triest nach jahrhundertelanger Zugehörigkeit aus dem deutschen Staatenbund aus.

 

Am 1. Juli 1829 führte Josef Ressel mit dem in Triest erbauten Schiff Civetta die erste erfolgreiche Testfahrt mit einer Schiffsschraube durch. In dieser Zeit begann in Triest die Gründung von Versicherungsgesellschaften, Werften, Bankniederlassungen und Schifffahrtsunternehmen, darunter die Assicurazioni Generali (1831), der Österreichische Lloyd (1833), die Werft San Marco (1839/1840), die Werft Giuseppe Tonellos (1852) und 1860 das Lloyd-Arsenal, da die privaten Werften mit der Produktion den schnell wachsenden Schifffahrtsunternehmen nicht mehr nachkommen konnten.

 

1850 wurde Triest Sitz der kaiserlich-königlichen Zentralseebehörde. Seit 1857 verbindet die Österreichische Südbahn Triest über den Semmering mit Wien. Diese erste Gebirgsbahn Europas wurde nach den Plänen und unter der Leitung von Carl Ritter von Ghega erbaut.

 

1857/58 entstand aus der Maschinenfabrik Strudenhoff in Sant’Andrea und der Werft San Rocco das Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino (S.T.T.) in Muggia, der Stadt in der Bucht gegenüberliegend. Dieses neue Großunternehmen kaufte 1897 auch die mittlerweile zur Großwerft ausgebaute Werft von Giuseppe Tonello dazu. Die S.T.T. war in der Lage, Schiffe mit einer Verdrängung von bis zu 20.500 Tonnen – etwa die großen Schlachtschiffe der k. u. k. Kriegsmarine – zu bauen.

 

Ab 1867 wurden die alten Hafenanlagen, die dem wachsenden Handel nicht mehr entsprachen, ausgebaut. Zuerst wurde der nördlich gelegene Freihafen (punto franco) erweitert. Die Hafenstadt zog in der Monarchie unter anderem den Hauptnutzen aus dem 1869 eröffneten Suezkanal. Österreichische Industrieerzeugnisse wurden nun auch in der Türkei, in Ägypten und Syrien abgesetzt, für diese Handelsbeziehungen brauchte man aber den Kanal nicht.

 

Von Triest gingen im 19. Jahrhundert Linienschiffe in die Neue Welt, vor allem die Vereinigten Staaten. Diese Linienschiffe fuhren bis in die 1960er Jahre nach New York.

 

Triest und der Nationalismus

 

In den Revolutionen von 1848 fanden in den österreichischen Provinzen Lombardei und Venetien Aufstände gegen die habsburgische Herrschaft und für einen geeinten italienischen Nationalstaat statt (siehe auch Risorgimento). 1848 wurde der Triester Hafen von der königlich sardinischen und der neapolitanischen Flotte und später von der ersteren allein unter dem italienischen Vizeadmiral Albini blockiert. Triest blieb Österreich treu und erhielt den Titel Città Fedelissima – die „allergetreuste Stadt“.

 

1849 wurde die österreichische Verwaltungseinheit Königreich Illyrien in ihre Bestandteile zerlegt. Triest und das unmittelbar angrenzende Territorium wurden als Reichsunmittelbare Stadt Triest und ihr Gebiet mit eigener Verfassung und Landtag und im Status eines Kronlandes konstituiert; ebenso Görz und Gradisca und Istrien. (Kärnten und Krain, bis dahin ebenso Teile Illyriens, wurden ebenfalls eigene Kronländer.)

 

1852–1861 wurden die drei politischen Einheiten zum Kronland Österreichisches Küstenland zusammengefasst. Die Reichsverfassung 1861 teilte die drei Teile wieder in eigenständige Kronländer, die bis 1918 bestanden. Gemeinsam blieben ihnen nur der k.k. Statthalter in Triest als Vertreter des Kaisers und der Wiener Regierung und ein gemeinsames Publikationsorgan ihrer Rechtsvorschriften. Der 1867 erfolgte Umbau des Einheitsstaates Kaisertum Österreich zur österreichisch-ungarischen Monarchie änderte für die Selbstverwaltung Triests nichts; es wurde nunmehr zu Cisleithanien gerechnet und war im Abgeordnetenhaus des Reichsrats in Wien, dem cisleithanischen Parlament, mit zuletzt fünf Abgeordneten vertreten.

 

Allerdings setzte auch in dem zum größten Teil von Italienern bewohnten Triest eine zunehmende italienische irredentistische Bewegung ein, die darauf abzielte, Triest als italienischsprachiges Gebiet von Österreich-Ungarn loszulösen und dem 1861 gegründeten Nationalstaat Italien anzuschließen. Der Irredentismus hatte seinen Höhepunkt, als 1882 Kaiser Franz Joseph I. Triest anlässlich der 500-jährigen Dauer der habsburgischen Herrschaft über die Stadt besuchte. Während antiösterreichischer Demonstrationen entging der Kaiser nur knapp dem Bombenattentat von Guglielmo Oberdan (Wilhelm Oberdank) und seinen Komplizen. Triest blieb im Nationalitätenkampf bis 1914 einer der heißesten Konfliktherde Österreich-Ungarns, da Österreich auf diese für Handel und k.u.k. Kriegsmarine überaus wichtige Hafenstadt weder verzichten konnte noch wollte. (Ungarn hatte für sich die Hafenstadt Rijeka ausgebaut.)

 

Insgesamt blickte die Triestiner Elite Richtung Wien, während sich einige wenige junge italienische Irredentisten für Italien aufopferten. Nur eine Minderheit forderte eine Vereinigung mit dem Königreich von Savoyen bzw. Italien, aber von vielen italienischsprachigen Triestinern wurde der slawische Nationalismus als Herausforderung wahrgenommen.

 

Weiterer Aufschwung vor dem Ersten Weltkrieg

 

1880 betrug die Umschlagsmenge in den Triester Häfen 1,225 Millionen Tonnen. Bis 1912 stieg diese Menge auf 4,573 Millionen Tonnen. 1883 wurde der 30 Millionen Kronen teure Hafenumbau im Süden der Stadt vollendet. Die Lagerflächen sowie der neue Südbahnhof (stazione meridionale, heute Trieste Centrale), der heute als einziger Personenbahnhof der Stadt noch besteht, wurden großteils auf aufgeschüttetem Land errichtet.

 

Trotz der politischen und nationalen Probleme blühte Triest wirtschaftlich und kulturell weiter auf. Neben der Südbahn Triest–Wien mit Anschluss an das mährisch-schlesische Industriegebiet bot ab 1909 die Neue Alpenbahn über Görz und Villach nach Salzburg eine Direktverbindung nach Westösterreich und Süddeutschland. Der wichtigste Bahnhof bis 1918 war der Staatsbahnhof (stazione dello stato) der k.k. Staatsbahnen. Zwischen ihm und dem Lloydareal erstreckte sich der neue Hafen (porto nuovo), der ab 1898 ausgebaut wurde und bis zum Ende der Monarchie Josephs-Hafen hieß.

 

Um 1900 stand die Stadt in ihrer vollen wirtschaftlichen Blüte und stellte ihren Reichtum durch zahlreiche Prachtbauten zur Schau. In Triest wirkten einige der Architekten, die in Wien für prächtige Ringstraßengebäude im Stil des Historismus verantwortlich zeichneten, wie etwa Heinrich von Ferstel (z. B. Lloydpalast), Wilhelm von Flattich (z. B. Südbahnhof) und Friedrich Schachner (diverse Palais). Schriftsteller und Künstler wie James Joyce und Italo Svevo verkehrten in der Stadt. Der Ire Joyce kam gerade in der Hafenstadt Triest mit dem Vielvölkerstaat Österreich-Ungarn in Kontakt, wobei er einerseits seine Eindrücke aus Triest in seinen Werken verarbeitete und andererseits das damalige Staatswesen wie folgt beurteilte: “They called the Austrian Empire a ramshackle empire, I wish to God there were more such empires.”

 

Triest war eines der ökonomisch bestentwickelten Gebiete des Habsburgerreiches. 1906 lag das zu versteuernde Pro-Kopf-Einkommen eines Triestiners bei 54 Kronen, während jenes eines Wieners bei rund 9 Kronen lag.

 

Die Triester Innenstadt mit ihrem kosmopolitischen Bevölkerungsgemenge aus Italienern (75 %), Slawen (18 %), Deutschen (5 %) und Einwohnern anderer Völker avancierte, wie Claudio Magris Jahrzehnte später festhielt, zur literarischen Hauptstadt Mitteleuropas. Die anliegenden Bezirke zählten meist Slowenen (52 %), Italiener (43 %) und Deutsche (4 %) als Einwohner, die ländliche Umgebung war fast vollständig slowenisch (93 %). Fast jeder Triestiner war mehrsprachig, wobei Italienisch die führende Verständigungssprache war.

 

In den Jahren vor dem Ersten Weltkrieg wurde, vor allem auf Drängen von Erzherzog Thronfolger Franz Ferdinand, in Triest eine Serie von Schiffbauten für die k.u.k. Kriegsmarine durchgeführt. Der Thronfolger nahm an den Stapelläufen meist teil, z. B. 1911 bei Viribus Unitis und 1912 bei Tegetthoff.

 

Erster Weltkrieg

 

Mit dem Ausbruch des Ersten Weltkrieges im August 1914 stockte die wirtschaftliche und künstlerisch-literarische Entwicklung in Triest schlagartig. Viele tausende Triestiner übersiedelten noch vor der Kriegserklärung Italiens an Österreich-Ungarn am 23. Mai 1915 ins Innere Österreich-Ungarns. Aus Triest zogen anfangs etwa 32.500 Männer zwischen 18 und 37 Jahren an die Front und im Laufe des Krieges wurden ungefähr 50.000 Triestiner im Alter bis 50 Jahren eingezogen. Das Hausregiment der Triestiner, das k.u.k. Infanterieregiment Nr. 97, wurde am 11. August 1914 per Eisenbahn Richtung Lemberg in Galizien transportiert und war dort in schwerste Abwehrkämpfe gegen die vordringende russische Armee verwickelt.

 

Am 23. Mai 1915 erklärte das bis dahin neutrale Italien als neues Mitglied der Triple Entente Österreich-Ungarn den Krieg. Damit entstand wenige Kilometer nordwestlich der Stadt eine Front; viele Ausländer wie James Joyce mussten Triest verlassen. Die italienische Kriegserklärung löste massive Protestkundgebungen gegen Italiener aus, insbesondere stürmte eine Menschenmenge die Redaktion der Zeitung Il Piccolo, wurde der Sitz der Lega nazionale zerstört bzw. Geschäfte und Kaffeehäuser italienischer Besitzer geplündert. Mit dem Kriegseintritt Italiens wurde Triest militarisiert. Wegen der nahen Front wurden Luftabwehr-Stellungen auf Dächern und Plätzen gebaut; Schulen und Gebäude wurden in Spitäler umfunktioniert. Junge Marinaretti und Scauti halfen älteren Soldaten bei der Überwachung der öffentlichen Ordnung. Die Stadt entvölkerte sich und es kehrten etwa 35.000 Regnicoli – in Triest lebende italienische Arbeiter – mit ihren Familien in die italienische Heimat zurück. Viele Regnicoli verließen jedoch die Stadt nicht und etwa 15.000 von ihnen wurden von den Behörden zusammen mit über tausend verdächtig erscheinenden Personen in verschiedene Lager interniert. Etwa 900 Triestiner mit italienischer Gesinnung desertierten aus dem Habsburger Heer, passierten illegal die Grenze und traten den italienischen Streitkräften bei. Oft mit Misstrauen von den italienischen Kameraden und Kommandanten betrachtet, erreichte trotzdem die Hälfte dieser Irredentisten den Dienstgrad eines italienischen Offiziers. Die italienfreundliche Einstellung mancher Triestiner und die Frontlage Triests führte zu scharfer Überwachung der Stadt durch die k.u.k. Militärbehörden. Das 10. Bataillon des k.u.k. Infanterieregiments Nr. 97 war in Triest verblieben; es war an der Verteidigung der Karstlinie in den Isonzoschlachten beteiligt und wurde 1915/16 fast vollständig aufgerieben.

 

Der altem irredentistischen istrianischen Adel entstammende, 1907 geborene Schriftsteller Diego de Castro schätzte später die Triestiner während des Krieges als weitgehend habsburgisch bzw. austrophil ein und äußerte, die kleine, unbeugsame Gruppe von Irredentisten um Mario Alberti sei auf zweieinhalb Prozent der Gesamtbevölkerung von Triest beschränkt gewesen.

 

Erst 1917 verlagerte sich die Front an den von Triest weiter entfernten Piave. Im Herbst 1918 begann sich die Doppelmonarchie aufzulösen. Am 29. Oktober 1918 wurde der neue südslawische Staat, der SHS-Staat, gegründet. Er schnitt Deutschösterreich, am 30. Oktober gegründet, und die nördlich und östlich davon gelegenen Gebiete Altösterreichs von der Adria ab. Valentino Pittoni, der Führer der Triestiner Linken, forderte im Oktober 1918 die Bildung einer „Adriarepublik Triest“, um so den Anschluss an Italien zu verhindern.

 

Der k.k. österreichische Statthalter Alfred von Fries-Skene übergab am 30. Oktober 1918 dem triestinischen Comitato di salute pubblica die Macht. Am gleichen Tag beauftragte Kaiser Karl I. Admiral Nikolaus Horthy, die k.u.k. Kriegsmarine dem südslawischen Staat zu übergeben; dies wurde am nächsten Tag vollzogen.

 

Da mit baldigem Eintreffen italienischer Truppen nicht gerechnet werden konnte und unklar war, ob Triest an den südslawischen Staat fällt, beschloss das Komitee, die italienischen Marinebehörden in Venedig um die Entsendung von Truppen zu bitten. Da k.u.k. Schiffe aber nicht mehr zur Verfügung standen, mussten sich die Triestiner von den Südslawen eine ehemalige k.u.k. Korvette ausleihen, um unter südslawischer Flagge nach Venedig zu gelangen.

 

Die Waffenstillstandskommission der zerfallenden k.u.k. Armee unter Viktor Weber von Webenau unterzeichnete am 3. November 1918 bei Padua den Waffenstillstand von Villa Giusti. Am gleichen Tag landeten Italiener, von Venedig kommend, unbehelligt am Molo San Carlo von Triest, der 1922 Molo Audace benannt wurde, und nahmen die Stadt symbolisch für Italien in Besitz. Die Begeisterung der Bevölkerung war, wie de Castro später deutete, nicht mit dem bisherigen Elitenphänomen Irredentismus zu erklären, sondern mit der Freude über das Ende der Hungerzeit während des Krieges und über den Nicht-Einschluss der Stadt in den SHS-Staat. Das Stadtzentrum war überwiegend von Italienern bewohnt, die anliegenden Viertel aber teilweise von Slowenen (18 %). Im Vertrag von Saint-Germain wurde Triest im Herbst 1919 gemeinsam mit Istrien und Ostfriaul auch formell Italien zugesprochen.

 

Viele k.u.k. Soldaten aus Triest und Umgebung kehrten erst 1920 aus der russischen Kriegsgefangenschaft zurück.

 

Faschismus

 

Nach dem Anschluss Triests an Italien strebten die nationalen Kräfte eine Italianisierung der ansässigen nichtitalienischen Bevölkerung an, was insbesondere zur Unterdrückung der slowenischen Minderheit führte. Triest wurde zu einem Zentrum der jungen faschistischen Bewegung.[36] Slowenische Vereinigungen und Versammlungen wurden verboten. Der Gebrauch der slowenischen Sprache im öffentlichen Leben wurde untersagt. Slowenische Familiennamen wurden willkürlich und ohne Einverständnis der Betroffenen italianisiert. Zahlreiche Slowenen flohen in dieser Zeit in das benachbarte Königreich der Serben, Kroaten und Slowenen. In Triest kam es wiederholt zu gewaltsamen Ausschreitungen zwischen Italienern und Slowenen.

 

Der Konflikt erreichte einen seiner Höhepunkte am 13. Juli 1920, als das Narodni dom, das Gemeindezentrum der slowenischen Bevölkerung, von italienischen Faschisten niedergebrannt wurde. Der Anschlag wurde vom späteren Sekretär der National-Faschistischen Partei (Partito Nazionale Fascista), Francesco Giunta, initiiert und wurde als Vergeltungsmaßnahme bezeichnet, weil bei Unruhen in Split zwei italienische Soldaten von jugoslawischen Sicherheitskräften erschossen worden waren.

 

Obwohl sich in der Zeit nach 1919 vor allem die Industrie in Triest entwickelte, hatte die Angliederung an Italien langfristig negative Konsequenzen für die wirtschaftliche Situation der Stadt. Die ehemals wichtigste Hafenstadt der Habsburgermonarchie wurde mit einem Schlag zu einem der zahlreichen italienischen Adriahäfen und verlor aufgrund ihrer Randlage in Italien ihre wirtschaftliche Bedeutung.

 

Seit dem 30. Oktober 1922 stand ganz Italien unter der faschistischen Herrschaft Mussolinis. Die Italianisierung der Slowenen im nordöstlichen Italien wurde nun verstärkt.

 

Zweiter Weltkrieg

 

Im Zweiten Weltkrieg war Italien mit Deutschland verbündet. Nach der Landung alliierter Truppen in Süditalien im Juli 1943 und der italienischen Kapitulation am 8. September 1943 durch König Viktor Emanuel III. wurde Norditalien von deutschen Truppen besetzt, die sich Mussolinis Repubblica Sociale Italiana bis Ende April 1945 als Marionettendiktatur hielten, um den endgültigen Zusammenbruch der Achsenmächte zu verhindern.

 

Die deutsche Besatzungsmacht fasste Triest mit Udine, Gorizia, Pula, Fiume (Rijeka) und Laibach/Lubiana zur Operationszone Adriatisches Küstenland (OZAK) zusammen. Die Zone unterstand dem Höheren SS- und Polizeiführer Odilo Globocnik. Auf seine Veranlassung wurde in einem Vorort von Triest in der ehemaligen Reismühle Risiera di San Sabba das einzige nationalsozialistische Konzentrationslager auf italienischem Boden eingerichtet. Der Gebäudekomplex der ehemaligen Reismühle diente nach dem Kriegsaustritt Italiens und dem Einmarsch von Wehrmacht und SS als Gefangenenlager für entwaffnete italienische Soldaten. Von Oktober 1943 an kam die Risiera unter SS-Kommando. Das Lager diente hauptsächlich zur Inhaftierung von Geiseln, Partisanen und anderen politischen Gefangenen bzw. als Sammellager für Juden vor ihrer Deportation in die Vernichtungslager. Es wurden aber auch mobile Gaskammern installiert und ein Krematorium gebaut. Vom 20. Oktober 1943 bis zum Frühjahr 1944 wurden in der Risiera etwa 25.000 Juden und Partisanen verhört und gequält. 3000 bis 5000 von ihnen wurden hier durch Erschießen, Erschlagen oder in Gaswagen ermordet. Die Mannschaft des Konzentrationslagers bestand vorwiegend aus deutschen SS-Mitgliedern. Als 1945 jugoslawische Partisanen Triest einnahmen, sprengte die SS einige Teile des Lagers, um ihre Spuren zu verwischen.

 

Freies Territorium Triest

 

Am Ende des Zweiten Weltkrieges wurde Triest von den jugoslawischen Partisanen Titos für Jugoslawien beansprucht, was mit der Existenz der dortigen slowenischen Bevölkerungsgruppe begründet wurde. Triest wurde von den jugoslawischen Partisanen besetzt, die die Stadt selbst jedoch kurz darauf auf Druck der Alliierten wieder verließen, ohne aber den Anspruch auf Triest aufzugeben. Damit begann eine Zeit, in der sich Jugoslawien und Italien um den Besitz der Stadt stritten.

 

Durch den Pariser Friedensvertrag von 1947 zwischen Italien und den Alliierten wurde Triest mit dem nordwestlichen Teil Istriens bis einschließlich Cittanova/Novigrad im Süden als Freies Territorium Triest (englisch Free Territory of Trieste, italienisch Territorio Libero di Trieste, slowenisch Svobodno tržaško ozemlje, kroatisch Slobodni teritorij Trsta) zu einem neutralen Staat unter Oberhoheit der Vereinten Nationen erklärt (ähnlich wie es die Freie Stadt Danzig unter dem Schutz des Völkerbundes in der Zwischenkriegszeit gewesen war). Der Gouverneur sollte vom Sicherheitsrat der Vereinten Nationen ernannt werden, administrativ war das Gebiet jedoch in zwei Zonen unterteilt. Die Zone A, die die Stadt Triest mit ihrer nächsten Umgebung umfasste, unterstand britisch-amerikanischer Militärverwaltung, die Zone B, die das Hinterland der Stadt und den Nordwesten Istriens umfasste, jugoslawischer Militärverwaltung.

 

Vom Provisorium zum Definitivum

 

Durch das Londoner Abkommen zwischen Italien und Jugoslawien von 1954 wurde das Freie Territorium Triest aufgelöst. Das Gebiet der bisherigen Zone A wurde provisorisch wieder italienischer Zivilverwaltung unterstellt, das Gebiet der bisherigen Zone B jugoslawischer Zivilverwaltung, wobei der jugoslawische Teil nördlich des Flüsschens Dragonja der damaligen Teilrepublik Slowenien einverleibt wurde, der Teil südlich der Dragonja jedoch Kroatien (über den Grenzverlauf bestehen bis heute Divergenzen; siehe auch: Internationale Konflikte der Nachfolgestaaten Jugoslawiens). Von 1954 bis 1961 verließen mehr als 20.000 Triestiner ihre Stadt und wanderten aus. Die Mehrzahl ging nach Australien und dabei besonders nach Melbourne und Sydney.

 

Am 10. November 1975 wurde im Vertrag von Osimo die Demarkationslinie von 1954 endgültig als italienisch-jugoslawische Grenze festgelegt und damit die Zugehörigkeit der Stadt Triest zu Italien definitiv bestätigt. 1962 wurde Triest die Hauptstadt der Region Friaul-Julisch Venetien.

 

Durch die Auflösung der Donaumonarchie und die unmittelbare Grenzlage zum nach 1945 sozialistisch regierten Jugoslawien war Triest bis Mitte der 1980er Jahre wirtschaftlich weitgehend isoliert. Mit dem Zerfall Jugoslawiens, dem Eintritt des nunmehr unabhängigen Slowenien in die EU im Jahr 2004 und dem Beitritt Sloweniens zum Schengen-Raum Ende 2007 verlor die Stadt ihre jahrzehntelange Randposition. 2004 bewarb sich Triest (erfolglos) für die EXPO 2008. Der Hafenumschlag ging zeitweise gerade wegen des Zusammenbruchs des Kommunismus bzw. der positiven Entwicklung des benachbarten Hafens von Koper (Slowenien) zurück.

 

Seit 2011 gibt es die auf Selbstbestimmung der Triestiner bzw. Ausbau des Freihafens pochende Bewegung „Trieste Libera / Svobodni Trst / Free Triest“. Diese Bewegung möchte mit Bezug auf den Friedensvertrag von 1947 bzw. 1954 an die wirtschaftlichen Erfolge eines geeinten großen mitteleuropäischen Wirtschaftsraumes anknüpfen und verlangt, dass Triest von einem Gouverneur der UNO verwaltet werden soll. Am Molo Audace kommt es immer wieder zu anti-italienischem Vandalismus. Die Organisation Trieste Pro Patria bzw. Trieste Italiana veranstaltet in Triest immer wieder Demonstrationen, um auf die italienischen Wurzeln Triests bzw. das „italienische“ Istrien aufmerksam zu machen.

 

Am Beginn der Wirtschaftskrise im Jahr 2008 stockte die umstrittene städtebauliche Entwicklung des Porto Vecchio (Alter Hafen). Im Februar 2019 genehmigte der Stadtrat die Rahmenplanung für die Erneuerung des Hafens. Auch durch das Abwandern der Industrie ist die früher erhebliche Umweltverschmutzung (vorwiegend Bleibelastung des Golfs von Triest) stark zurückgegangen. Die Jugendarbeitslosigkeit betrug 2012 17,67 % und stieg 2013 auf 23,25 %.

 

(Wikipedia)

I wish the adults in Yosemite National Park who are involved in Gang Stalking, Community Stalking and Workplace Mobbing; would try to better their own lives, instead of destroying the lives of others. There is enough hate in this world, let there be peace on earth and goodwill to all.

 

Gang Staking, Community Stalking and Workplace Mobbing flourish in Yosemite National Park. These illegal, immoral and unethical acts are carried out by employees, residents and contractors of Yosemite. This being a small community; it wouldn’t be that difficult to charge these perpetrators and put a stop to this madness. Yosemite’s Superintendent and Law Enforcement choose not to.

 

•The truth about Yosemite: www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Sexual-Harassment-Common-in...

 

Thank you for visiting my Photostream

 

"Grand work the last job was. I gave the lady no time to squeal. How can they catch me now."

 

(excerpt from the "Dear Boss" letter, dated 25 September 1888)

 

('Jack the Ripper' and lamp post by McFarlane Toys / McFarlane's Monsters Series 3: Six Faces of Madness)

 

Diorama by RK

This ancient village clings to the cliff side on the coastline of my native country of Yorkshire, which pre-dates England by a large margin. It has sadly been taken over by commercial interests and all of the cottages are now rented to tourists at extortionate rates.

 

This village once thrived on fishing and smuggling, thus depriving those who set themselves above us of their undeserved riches. Tax has been and remains the biggest fraud perpetrated upon the people.

It's understood by nearly everyone that trees produce fruit, but did you know that in New Haven they produce buildings? The evidence is finally captured here. True story.

But is it really? Could it be a myth perpetrated by the left, like global warming is? Could it be Fake News from our dangerous media? Perhaps the Clintons are behind it....wouldn't surprise me at all. Or maybe the Democrats, still sore from the election of 2016.

 

None of the above, my good friend.

 

It's Alternative Facts.

 

Confused? I think that Kellyanne Conway could straighten it out for you.

"Who breaks the silence...

breaks the power of the perpetrators"

 

Thoughts of all victims of sexual abuse and those who, through suicide or other circumstances, did not survive these crimes...

or have not been able to speak about their suffering to this day.

---//INCOMING MESSAGE: PRIORITY 1//---

:

We've received multiple reports of rampaging mechsuits in the port district, likely perpetrated by local gangs. The port police are not equipped to handle mechs, and the Armored Response Unit is currently tied up suppressing riots in District 23. Your mission: locate and eliminate any gang-affiliated mechsuits. Lethal force authorized. Standard bounty payment rate applies, excessive collateral damage to infrastructure will result in forfeiture of "clean kill" bonuses. Immediate response requested.

---//END MESSAGE//---

 

The final group shot! I hadn't originally planned to build as much scenery as I did, but I think it really enhances the mechs to see them in the "natural" environment.

The Magenta Mavericks are:

Artemis (Sniper)

Athena (Fast Attack)

Minerva (Hack+Slash)

Eris (Heavy Artillery)

 

Stolpersteine erinnern an vielen Orten in Deutschland, wo jüdische Menschen lebten und der Shoa, dem Völkermord zum Opfer fielen.

 

Dieser Stolperstein kann dazu beitragen,

dass die Erinnerung

nicht in der Vergangenheit

ruhen bleibt.

 

Man kann diesen Stolperstein an vielen Orten platzieren

wo staatliche Beihilfe zum Genozid in Gaza geleistet wird

wo Waffen und Zubehör für den Vernichtungskrieg in Gaza hergestellt werden

wo der Genozid geleugnet wird

wo der Protest gegen den Genozid mundtotgemacht werden soll

wo die Täter und Mittäter des Genozids in Gaza geschützt werden

 

Stumbling stones are a reminder of many places in Germany where Jewish people lived and fell victim to the Shoah, the genocide.

This Stolperstein can help

to ensure that the memory

does not remain dormant in the past

 

This stumbling stone can be placed in many places

where state aid is being provided for the genocide in Gaza

where weapons and equipment for the war of extermination in Gaza are being manufactured

where the genocide is being denied

where protests against the genocide are being silenced

where the perpetrators and accomplices of the genocide in Gaza are being protected

PLEASE, NO invitations or self promotions, THEY WILL BE DELETED. My photos are FREE to use, just give me credit and it would be nice if you let me know, thanks.

 

Bus shot...on the way to the Wieliczka Salt Mine and after that back to Krakow.

 

The Płaszów Monument was unveiled in 1964 on the site of Płaszów's second mass execution pit, this monolithic memorial depicts five figures (representing the five countries of Płaszów's victims) with heads bent under the weight of the massive stone block from which they're carved and a horizontal crack across their chests, symbolizing their abruptly ended lives. The large Polish inscription across the back of the monument reads, “To the memory of the martyrs murdered by the Nazi perpetrators of genocide in the years 1943-45.”

 

The Płaszów concentration camp was a Nazi concentration camp built by the SS on the grounds of two former Jewish cemeteries and populated with prisoners during the liquidation of the Kraków Ghetto. The camp was notorious for horrible terrors. The Commander the camp, an SS commandant who was sadistic in his treatment and killing of prisoners. “Witnesses say he would never start his breakfast without shooting at least one person.”

November 14, 2007

 

It's Raining in Honolulu

 

There is a small mist at the brow of the mountain,

Each leaf of flower, of taro, tree and bush shivers with ecstasy.

And the rain songs of all the flowering ones who have called for the rain

Can be found there, flourishing beneath the currents of singing.

Rain opens us, like flowers, or earth that has been thirsty for more than a season.

We stop all of our talking, quit thinking, to drink the mystery.

We listen to the breathing beneath our breathing.

This is how the rain became rain, how we became human.

The wetness saturates everything, including the perpetrators

Of the second overthrow.

We will plant songs where there were curses.

  

- Joy Harjo

from How We Became Human, New and Selected Poems

 

This has been a devastating and incredibly sad week. I watched the news tonight as the President of my country had our military police direct tear gas and rubber bullets into crowds of peaceful protesters in the nation's capitol so that he could take a walk to a church down the street to hold a bible up in the air for a photo op. I've watched cities across my country torn apart, businesses recovering from the financial devastation of the recent pandemic having their buildings destroyed. A female news reporter shot in the eye with a rubber bullet, blinded in that eye forever. Police officers in Atlanta using brute force to drag a young black couple out of their car. Other police, the good guys who are there to keep the peace, being struck in the head with cement blocks right here in Orlando.

 

George Floyd is dead. He died beneath the knee of one of those officers whose jobs it was to save and protect. He died over an alleged counterfeit $20 bill. He begged for his life, he begged to be allowed to breathe. He called for his mama. He died because he was black, because the police officer was an out-of-control racist, because police brutality is all too often deemed acceptable especially when turned toward people of color.

 

If George Floyd had been a white man, he might have shown up on an episode of Cops or Live PD, but he would still be alive tonight.

  

People are angry. They're fed up. Violence perpetrated within and against our own communities is not the answer, but a young person interviewed on the news said, "We tried to kneel, but you wouldn't listen to us then. Will you listen to us now?" I don't condone it, but I hear why it is happening, and why things are out of control.

 

WHITE PEOPLE - become educated about your own white privilege and what it means. Understand that just because you know your history and you do not consider yourself racist, that you still do not understand, and can never fully, completely understand. Rise up, stand beside our brothers and sisters of color, and fight for them. Fight for all of us, for humanity, for a better, more decent world, where people of all races are safe and respected. Do something. Words of condemnation are not enough. We all must act.

 

No one is disputing that "all lives matter," but this, today, is about George Floyd and other men and women of color just like him who have lost their lives under similar circumstances.

 

George Floyd mattered.

Sandra Bland mattered.

Michael Brown mattered.

Tra'Von Martin mattered.

Freddie Gray mattered.

Terence Crutcher mattered.

Bettie Jones mattered.

Quintonio LeGrier mattered.

Botham Jean mattered.

Michael Ramos mattered.

Dominique White mattered.

 

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said, "The names change. But the color doesn't."

 

BLACK LIVES MATTER.

 

T-Shirt by Blueberry and available for free at maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Moonsong/175/193/4002.

Backdrop by Synnery, also available for free at maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Moonsong/175/193/4002.

   

All my senses rebel

Under the scrutiny of their persistent gaze.

It took a lifetime to get here,

A journey i'll never make again.

 

For those who have accepted the burden of shame,

For the innocent only guilt will remain

And our lives will be forced to accomodate

The perpetrators of our own bastard race.

 

All my senses rebel

Under the scrutiny of their persistent gaze.

It took a lifetime to get here,

A journey i'll never make again.

 

I stand accused of thousand and one crimes,

A witness to events that led to this present time.

These traditions which bind our hands and keep us tied

Will never survive the greatest test of time.

 

Deliver me from those feverish eyes

That threaten to unbalance my state of mind,

For i must confess only to the smallest of crimes.

A sense of guilt.

 

lyrics from Dead can Dance

The Himba are Bantu people settled in northern Namibia, mainly in the Kaokoveld. Traditionally Himbas are tinged with red skin ointment made of animal's fat and hematite powder. This ointment protect themselves from the heat of the sun, dry air, insects

In 1904, the Herero peoples to which they belong, and Nama people were victims of the first genocide in history, perpetrated by the Germans settlers in Namibia: 85,000 people were exterminated between 1904 and 1907.

Violence or other bullying / controlling behaviour is often minimised or excused by both the perpetrators and (sometimes) their victims.

 

I have heard the excuse that the actions are done BECAUSE of love, eg: "I only do it because I love you so much..." ... or to quote John Lennon and Bryan Ferry, 'I'm just a jealous guy."

 

However domestic violence is not an expression of LOVE. In any way, shape or form although I know many would like to believe it probably because the perps assert it so much. Or more like, want to believe it, when living in a horrible relationship to not face the true horror of all what is really happening in that moment. Minimising it may provide some false comfort.

 

The ridiculousness of the idea that this behaviour is linked to love was played out in this shoot I did for a magazine a few years ago: the story of a man and woman on their first date.

 

It would clearly be seen at the start of a first date that the guy should honour and treat the girl well (and vice versa: I do not suggest ONLY women are the victims but it has to be said that women are MAINLY the victims of domestic violence).

 

If the guy were to abuse the girl on that first meeting, the behaviour would be CLEARLY seen for EXACTLY what it is. To make it even more clear how ridiculous the notion that violence was a demonstration of love was, I gave each shot a cheesy title from a love song that was a play on words. "Love hit me," is a good 'un, "Love Struck", among others.

 

If the wannabee Romeo were to argue he did it out of love, and even played out his actions to the love song on that date, (even if he were drunk - another mimimising excuse) it would be ludicrous and it would clearly be seen he is a thoroughly nasty person and not someone to be with. So this lousy behaviour wouldn't be tolerated on a first date. Don't tolerate it or minimise it within a relationship.

 

To any victims there, get the hell out, however hard it is (and I know), get out and get out NOW. Your partner doesn't love you or respect you and never will. The idea they (really) love you is as silly as this shoot.

 

Models: Jaz and George

 

Location: The Royal Archer, Kingswood, Bristol (no longer there, now turned into flats!)

Flags at half-mast at The Royal Palace in Stockholm today, after the horrible school shooting in Örebro yesterday. Eleven people died, including the perpetrator Rickard Andersson.

Gummy Bear Cannibalism at its best.

 

For six word story

 

I recently noticed a huge increase in visitors to my gummy bear photos. Finally I figured out why: blog.flickr.com/flickrblog/2007/05/the_secret_life.html

Kamera: Nikon FE2

Linse: Nikkor-O Auto 35mm f2 (1970)

Film: Kodak 5222 @ ISO 250

Kjemi: Rodinal (1:50 / 9 min. @ 20°C)

 

Wikipedia: Gaza genocide

 

***

 

HRF and Partners Invoke Universal Jurisdiction in Canada Seeking Arrest of Olmert and Livni for War Crimes

 

Ottawa, 3 December 2025

 

The Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF), the Canadian Lawyers for International Human Rights (CLAIHR), and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) filed a complaint to the RCMP and the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Section of the Department of Justice today ahead of Former Israeli Prime Minister 2006-2009 Ehud Olmert (b. 1945) and Former Israeli Foreign Minister 2006-2009 Tzipi Livni’s visit to Toronto. The complaint details Olmert and Livni’s participation in war crimes and crimes against humanity during the 2008–2009 Gaza War. The complaint urges the RCMP to open an investigation into their roles and issue a warrant for their arrest pursuant to Canada’s Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act, S.C. 2000, c. 24, and in compliance with Canada’s obligation under Article 146 of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 to “seek out and prosecute” those reasonably suspected of grave breaches who set foot in Canada.

 

As Prime Minister of Israel from 2006 to 2009, Olmert exercised ultimate political and civilian authority over Israeli military operations in Gaza in the 2008-2009 War. Under his leadership, the Israeli military executed a massive military campaign that resulted in alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, including: targeted and indiscriminate attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, the use of white phosphorus munitions in densely populated areas, the destruction of homes, mosques, medical facilities, and UN schools sheltering displaced families, extrajudicial killings and shootings of civilians attempting to flee or waving white flags, torture of Palestinian detainees, denial of humanitarian access and obstruction of medical rescue operations, and the deliberate targeting of infrastructure essential to civilian survival.

 

As Israel’s foreign minister and a member of Olmert’s security cabinet, Tzipi Livni (b. 1958) played a key role in the decisions made before and during the 2008-2009 War. Livni was reported stating the following with respect to Operation Cast Lead:

 

«Israel is not a country upon which you fire missiles and it does not respond. It is a country that when you fire on its citizens it responds by going wild – and that is a good thing».

 

Olmert and Livni, as senior government officials and members of the Security Cabinet, had full access to detailed operational information and played key roles in shaping and authorising Israel’s wartime policies. Their public endorsements of the conduct, coupled with their failure to take meaningful action in response to credible reports of serious violations, make them liable as civilian superiors under the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act (CAHWCA).

 

«Universal jurisdiction exists for precisely these moments. We cannot let political power protect those suspected of grave crimes. Canada must show that no one is above the law,» said Henry Off, a Canadian lawyer and Board Member at CLAIHR.

 

«Those who planned, ordered, and supervised crimes committed against Palestinians — whether in the past or present — must be held accountable, as war crimes and crimes against humanity have no statute of limitations,» said Natacha Bracq, Head of Litigation at HRF. «The Hind Rajab Foundation calls on Canada to act without delay, in fulfillment of its international obligations, because justice cannot be postponed or denied.»

 

Both have already been the subject of criminal complaints in Germany, the United Kingdom, Belgium, and Switzerland. In December 2009, a UK court issued an arrest warrant for Livni on the basis of alleged war crimes committed during the 2008-2009 Gaza War. Last month, the Hind Rajab Foundation filed a complaint against Olmert in Germany over alleged war crimes committed during Operation Cast Lead.

 

Moreover, given that the RCMP has opened a structural investigation into the ongoing Israel- Gaza War, the complaint also calls on the RCMP to question Olmert and Livni over their knowledge of the commission of international crimes in Palestine since 7 October 2023.

 

About the Letter Signatories

 

The Hind Rajab Foundation, established during the ongoing Gaza genocide, 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.

 

The Canadian Lawyers for International Human Rights, founded in 1992, is a non-governmental organization of lawyers, law students, and legal academics working to promote international human rights within and in connection to Canada.

 

The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights is non-profit independent Palestinian human rights organization based in Gaza City. The Centre enjoys Consultative Status with the ECOSOC of the United Nations. The PCHR works to protect human rights, promote the rule of law and democratic institutions, and document legal violations in Palestine.

 

Source: Hind Rajab Foundation - HRF and Partners Invoke Universal Jurisdiction in Canada Seeking Arrest of Olmert and Livni for War Crimes (Publ 3 Dec. 2025)

 

***

 

Statement on the Cooperation Between Europol and the Hind Rajab Foundation

 

Brussels, 19 November 2025

 

On 22 October 2025, Europol invited the Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) to speak at its annual meeting in The Hague. This invitation forms part of a broader communication process and an exploration of possible cooperation between HRF and Europol. In the last two days, several Israeli lobby groups and media outlets have expressed consternation regarding this interaction.

 

It is not unusual for law enforcement to cooperate with civil-society organisations in the fight against impunity. In fact, during the Rwandan genocide and other mass-atrocity contexts, civil-society organisations played an instrumental role in identifying perpetrators and uncovering critical evidence. The pursuit of justice for the genocide in Gaza will be no different.

 

The fact that lobby groups defending or denying the genocide are angered by this cooperation is no surprise. They seek to obstruct justice; we seek to allow justice to take its course.

 

On the factual side, an HRF delegation consisting of our Head of Litigation, Natacha Bracq; Operational Director, Karim Hassoun; Board Member, Haroon Raza; and led by our General Director, Dyab Abou Jahjah, attended the meeting in The Hague. Mr. Abou Jahjah addressed the assembled delegations during a session organised specifically for the foundation, and Ms. Bracq delivered a presentation outlining HRF’s methodology in evidence gathering and case-building.

 

Delegations from several European countries attended the sessions and expressed strong interest in our work and in exploring cooperation. Multiple bilateral meetings took place with national war-crimes units and other law-enforcement representatives, during which mutual cooperation was discussed—particularly in relation to sharing HRF evidence on Israeli war criminals who visit these countries or who hold their nationality.

 

Israeli lobby groups and media outlets have spent months pushing smears and defamation against the Hind Rajab Foundation and its founders. Their reaction now is predictable: Europol’s decision to engage with HRF and invite it to its annual convention makes clear that these accusations are baseless. A law-enforcement agency would never extend such an invitation if it had even the slightest doubt about the foundation or its leadership. This is precisely why the hasbara machinery is now frustrated.

 

Furthermore, Europol is a European law-enforcement agency, and the HRF is a European organisation. Foreign lobby groups and foreign governments cannot be allowed to dictate how European institutions engage with European citizens and European civil society.

 

The Hind Rajab Foundation remains fully focused on its mission: bringing war criminals to justice and ending Israel’s impunity. That mission necessarily includes cooperation with law-enforcement bodies and relevant stakeholders across Europe and beyond.

 

Source: Hind Rajab Foundation - Statement on the Cooperation Between Europol and the Hind Rajab Foundation (Publ. 19 Nov. 2025)

 

***

 

HRF Moves Against Israeli Soldier in Denmark for War Crimes and Genocide

 

17 November 2025 – Copenhagen

 

The Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) has filed a criminal complaint in Denmark against Israeli soldier Sergeant Ohad Hillel, a member of the 846th Patrol Battalion “Samson’s Foxes” of the Givati Brigade, for his role in war crimes, crimes against humanity, and acts of genocide committed during Israel’s military campaign in the Gaza Strip.

 

The complaint was filed by HRF’s Danish legal counsel, Eddie Omar Rosenberg Khawaja, with the Copenhagen Police and the National Special Crime Unit (NSK) [National enhed for Særlig Kriminalitet]. It is submitted under Denmark’s newly strengthened legal framework for prosecuting international crimes, drawing on both Danish criminal law (§118 c, §118 f, §118 g, §118 h) and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

 

This filing makes Denmark the latest European country where HRF activates universal jurisdiction mechanisms to prevent Israel’s war criminals from enjoying impunity abroad.

 

HRF’s investigation confirms that Ohad Hillel served in Gaza from January 2024 to August 2025, during the most destructive phases of the invasion. At the moment of filing, he was located in Copenhagen and traveling around Denmark with his Danish partner.

 

HRF warns that individuals directly involved in the destruction of Gaza’s civilian infrastructure are now traveling freely across Europe, including in countries legally obliged to investigate grave international crimes.

 

Documented Involvement in the Destruction of Shuja’iya and Jabalia

 

HRF’s investigative report—submitted as Appendix A to the complaint—provides extensive evidence of Hillel’s participation in:

 

1. The burning of the Shuja’iya neighbourhood

 

Members of his battalion filmed and celebrated the torching of residential buildings, calling it the «8th candle of Hanukkah — burning Shuja’iya.»

 

Hillel posted images of a burning civilian structure on the same day.

 

He photographed himself inside Hittin Basic School, a protected civilian facility.

 

2. The destruction of Jabalia

 

Hillel posted photographs and videos from UNRWA Health Centre facilities, documenting the Givati Brigade’s occupation of a UN humanitarian building.

 

His battalion also posted videos of forced displacement, arson, and arrests.

 

Jabalia was turned into “acres of rubble,” with 1,339 buildings destroyed.

 

These actions were not incidents of combat, but deliberate, systematic, and punitive destruction of civilian life and infrastructure once the IDF already had full operational control of the areas.

 

Crimes Under Danish and International Law

 

The complaint argues that Hillel’s actions constitute violations of:

 

War Crimes

 

- §118 f(2) – destruction of civilian property without military necessity

 

- §118 h(3) & (9) – attacks on undefended civilian buildings, towns, and dwellings

 

- §118 g(1) – attacks on humanitarian facilities (UNRWA)

 

Genocide

 

- §118 c(1)(iii) – imposing conditions of life meant to bring about the destruction of a protected group

 

- Based on Article 6(c) of the Rome Statute and the September 2025 findings of the UN Commission of Inquiry

 

HRF’s report places Hillel within the broader Israeli policy of systematically destroying Gaza’s ability to sustain life—homes, water systems, schools, hospitals, and civilian districts.

 

HRF: Denmark Must Not Be a Gateway for Atrocity Crimes

 

«Denmark cannot allow its territory to become a revolving door for soldiers who took part in the systematic devastation of Gaza», said Dyab Abou Jahjah (b. 1971), General Director of the Hind Rajab Foundation. «This is not only a legal issue—it is a political and moral test for Europe. If European states want credibility when they speak about human rights and international law, they must ensure that individuals like Ohad Hillel face genuine investigation and accountability, not safe passage.»

 

«Much of what happened in Gaza cannot be characterized as combat operations. It was the result of methodical and systematic destruction», said Natacha Bracq, Head of Litigation at HRF. «Civilian neighborhoods were deliberately burned, protected structures were intentionally destroyed, and entire communities were erased through purposeful actions. Evidence indicates that Ohad Hillel participated in these acts. Under international law, Denmark has both the legal basis and the obligation to act.»

 

The complaint urges Danish authorities to immediately launch a criminal investigation under §§118 c, 118 f, 118 g, and 118 h of the Danish Criminal Code, prevent Ohad Hillel from leaving the country, and seize all electronic devices that may contain evidence of his actions in Gaza. It also calls for an inquiry into possible aiding and abetting under §§21–23 and for formal updates pursuant to §158 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

 

For the Hind Rajab Foundation, this case is part of a broader global strategy: ensuring that no Israeli soldier implicated in war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide can have sanctuary. HRF is pursuing perpetrators across multiple jurisdictions, building a legal firewall against impunity. We will continue this work until every perpetrator, every accomplice, and every inciter of the Gaza genocide is held accountable.

 

Source: Hind Rajab Foundation - HRF Moves Against Israeli Soldier in Denmark for War Crimes and Genocide (Publ. 18 Nov. 2025)

 

***

 

HRF Files Criminal Complaint in Prague Against Israeli Rapper–Soldier Noam Tsuriely for War Crimes and Genocide

 

14 November 2025 – Prague

 

The Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) has filed a criminal complaint before the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office in Prague against Israeli reservist and rapper Noam Tsuriely, accusing him of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and acts of genocide committed during Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.

 

The filing was submitted by JUDr. Jan Täubel, LL.M., attorney-at-law at TAUBEL LEGAL in Prague, acting on behalf of HRF. It is grounded in an HRF Investigative report, which documents Tsuriely’s direct involvement in the destruction of civilian structures and his public glorification of these acts through music.

 

Tsuriely is currently in the Czech Republic, having performed in Prague on 13 November 2025.

 

A Perpetrator in Gaza, a Performer in Europe?

 

According to HRF’s investigation, Tsuriely deployed with the 699th Paratroopers Battalion of the 551st “Fire Arrows” Brigade on 27–28 October 2023, entering the Gaza Strip as part of the ground invasion. His own social media posts document multiple entries into Gaza, repeated deployment cycles, and direct involvement in destruction operations.

 

A key incident occurred on 8 November 2023, when the 551st Brigade carried out a controlled demolition in Beit Hanoun, destroying a civilian building located above tunnels near a UNRWA school. HRF’s geolocation analysis and military-source verification place Tsuriely at the scene during the operation.

 

Controlled demolitions require full control of the area, entry into the structure, placement of explosives, and withdrawal — a method incompatible with claims of active combat or urgent military necessity. The structure therefore remained a protected civilian object, making its destruction a war crime under the Rome Statute and under Czech law (Sections 412 and 413 CC).

 

War Crimes and Genocidal Context

 

HRF’s complaint invokes Czech universal jurisdiction under:

 

- Section 7 of the Czech Criminal Code (universal jurisdiction)

- Section 400 – Genocide

- Section 401 – Crimes against humanity

- Section 412 – War atrocities

- Section 413 – Persecution of population

 

and is filed pursuant to Section 158 of the Czech Criminal Procedure Code.

 

HRF finds that Tsuriely’s actions may constitute several crimes:

 

- Intentionally attacking protected buildings (Rome Statute Art. 8(2)(b)(ix))

- Extensive destruction of property not justified by military necessity (Art. 8(2)(a)(iv))

- Attacking undefended towns, villages, and dwellings (Art. 8(2)(b)(v))

- War atrocities (Czech CC §412)

 

Given that by January 2025, 70% of Gaza’s structures, 92% of homes, and 80% of commercial facilities had been destroyed, HRF concludes that Tsuriely’s actions contributed directly to the genocidal destruction of Palestinian life.

 

This aligns with the UN Commission of Inquiry’s September 2025 finding that Israel has committed genocide, including the deliberate infliction of conditions of life aimed at destroying the population.

 

«The massive destruction of Gaza’s civilian infrastructure is the most clearly defined component of genocide,» said Natacha Bracq, HRF’s Head of Litigation.

«Noam Tsuriely took part in that destruction. He helped erase entire neighborhoods, and then he turned that devastation into entertainment.»

 

Weaponizing Music to Normalize Atrocities

 

After returning from Gaza, Tsuriely released the song “Another Day in Gaza”, framing Israeli soldiers as “the light” — even as the UN and leading human rights organizations classified Israel’s actions as genocide.

 

During a December 2024 performance, he projected real footage of Israeli troops storming Palestinian homes and demolishing buildings. In televised interviews, he performed lyrics such as:

 

«to shatter Gaza to pieces.»

 

His role as both a soldier and a public artist magnifies the impact of his conduct. Under Czech law, such performances may also constitute:

 

- Section 365 – Approving a criminal offence, and

- Section 356 – Inciting hatred against a group of persons.

 

«You cannot commit war crimes in Gaza and then tour Europe as an artist as if nothing happened,» said Dyab Abou Jahjah (b. 1971), HRF's General Director.

«This man is weaponizing his art as an extension of the war crimes he helped commit. Europe cannot serve as a stage for perpetrators.»

 

HRF Calls on Czech Authorities to Act

 

The complaint urges Czech prosecutors to:

 

1. Open criminal proceedings under Sections 400, 401, 412, and 413 CC

2. Seize Tsuriely’s electronic devices to preserve evidence

3. Impose a travel ban or detain him

4. Investigate possible incitement and approval of war crimes during his performances in Prague

 

Under Section 7 CC, Czech authorities are fully empowered to prosecute Tsuriely — regardless of where the crimes were committed.

 

HRF reiterates that Europe must not become a transit hub or sanctuary for individuals who committed atrocities in Gaza.

 

From Beit Hanoun to Prague, HRF will continue to track, document, and pursue accountability for all perpetrators — artists, soldiers, commanders, and public figures alike.

 

Source: Hind Rajab Foundation - HRF Files Criminal Complaint in Prague Against Israeli Rapper–Soldier Noam Tsuriely for War Crimes and Genocide (Publ. 14 Nov. 2025)

 

***

 

HRF Files for the Arrest of Israeli Soldier Sharon Dawit in Cyprus for Torture, War Crimes, and Genocide

 

11 November 2025 – Brussels / Nicosia

 

The Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) has officially filed a legal complaint before Cypriot authorities demanding the arrest of Israeli soldier Sharon Dawit — a Sergeant in the 424th Infantry Battalion “Shaked/Almond” of the Givati Brigade — for his direct involvement in acts of torture, war crimes, and genocide committed during Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.

 

The filing, submitted on 11 November 2025 by human rights lawyer Nikoletta Charalambidou on behalf of HRF, is based on the Foundation’s investigative report documenting Dawit’s participation in the humiliation and abuse of Palestinian detainees, including a verified image showing him posing proudly over a naked, blindfolded, handcuffed man in Gaza.

 

From Evidence to Legal Action

 

The case details Dawit’s deployment with the Givati Brigade from December 2023 to September 2024, and his role in systematic operations involving torture, destruction of civilian property, forced displacement, and psychological degradation.

 

On 2 January 2024, Dawit posted a photomontage on Instagram, including a photograph where he sits armed in an armchair while a naked Palestinian man kneels before him, handcuffed and blindfolded. HRF authenticated this image using digital forensic tools, concluding that it depicts an act of torture and inhuman treatment in violation of the Rome Statute and the UN Convention Against Torture.

 

The Foundation’s filing requests Cypriot authorities to act immediately under Article 5(1)(e)(v) of the Cypriot Criminal Code (Cap. 154), which provides for universal jurisdiction over war crimes and crimes against humanity committed outside Cypriot territory. The submission also invokes the Republic’s obligations under the Rome Statute, the Geneva Conventions, and Law 235/1990, which require the arrest of individuals credibly suspected of torture to ensure prosecution.

 

A Pattern of Abuse

 

The Givati Brigade, to which Dawit belongs, was among the first Israeli army units to enter Gaza after October 7, 2023. HRF’s investigation shows that it played a leading role in attacks on civilians, destruction of residential areas, looting, and forced displacement.

 

The acts captured in Dawit’s photo reflect a broader, systematic pattern of abuse. HRF and its partners have documented the use of identical stress positions and humiliation methods, confirming that such practices are institutional, not incidental — a policy of collective degradation carried out under the cover of war.

 

A Legal and Moral Imperative

 

«This case is not symbolic — it is procedural and concrete,» said Natacha Bracq, HRF’s Head of Litigation.

«Torture is one of the clearest and most universally condemned crimes in international law. Sharon Dawit’s act, captured and publicized by himself, is the visual proof of a system built on humiliation and domination.»

 

The filing outlines that Dawit’s conduct constitutes multiple violations under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, including:

 

- War crimes – torture and cruel treatment (Article 8(2)(a)(i));

- Crimes against humanity – torture and other inhumane acts (Article 7(1)(f) and (k));

- Genocide – causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of a protected group (Article 6(b)).

 

HRF’s report also references the UN Commission of Inquiry’s September 2025 findings, which concluded that Israeli forces have committed acts meeting the legal threshold for genocide in Gaza — including systematic torture and sexualized violence against detainees.

 

Cyprus Must Not Become a Safe Haven

 

«Cyprus must decide what side of history it stands on,» said Dyab Abou Jahjah (b. 1971), Director General of the Hind Rajab Foundation.

«If suspected war criminals can land on European soil, holiday freely, and leave without consequence, then Europe’s commitment to justice is an illusion. Cyprus cannot become a safe haven for perpetrators of genocide — and this filing is a test of its resolve to uphold international law.»

 

HRF stresses that this case goes beyond one soldier: it is part of a wider effort to end impunity and enforce accountability for the crimes committed during Israel’s ongoing campaign in Gaza. The Foundation’s team has filed or supported multiple legal actions across Europe and at the International Criminal Court, using verifiable evidence collected through open-source intelligence, witness testimonies, and forensic documentation.

 

Justice Has No Borders

 

From Brussels to Nicosia, HRF is pursuing perpetrators wherever they are found, in coordination with national prosecutors and international legal mechanisms. The Foundation remains steadfast in its mission to end impunity and restore dignity to the victims of Israel’s ongoing campaign of annihilation.

 

«Justice begins when impunity ends,» Bracq added. «Our work is to bridge that gap — with evidence, law, and the courage to act where others remain silent.»

 

Source: Hind Rajab Foundation - HRF Files for the Arrest of Israeli Soldier Sharon Dawit in Cyprus for Torture, War Crimes, and Genocide (Publ. 11 Nov. 2025)

 

***

 

HRF Files War Crimes Complaint in Germany Against Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert for Crimes Committed in 2008-2009

 

Brussels / Berlin, 5 November 2025

 

The Hind Rajab Foundation has filed a criminal complaint (Strafanzeige) in Germany against former Israeli Prime Minister 2006-2009 Ehud Olmert (b. 1945) for war crimes committed during the 2008–2009 Israeli military offensive on Gaza, known as Operation “Cast Lead.” Ehud Olmert is scheduled to appear publicly in Berlin on 6 November 2025.

 

The complaint, submitted by German lawyer Melanie Schweizer, was filed simultaneously with the General Public Prosecutor’s Office in Berlin and the Federal Public Prosecutor General (Generalbundesanwalt) in Karlsruhe, which has jurisdiction over international crimes under Germany’s Code of Crimes against International Law (Völkerstrafgesetzbuch, VStGB).

 

Criminal Responsibility of Ehud Olmert

 

As Prime Minister of Israel from 2006 to 2009, Ehud Olmert (b. 1945) exercised ultimate political and military authority over all Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) operations, including the assault on Gaza launched on 27 December 2008.

 

Under Olmert’s leadership, the Israeli government and military high command executed a large-scale military campaign that resulted in the indiscriminate bombardment of densely populated civilian areas, the destruction of hospitals, schools, and UN facilities, and the killing of more than 1,300 Palestinians, among them over 300 children and 115 women. More than 5,000 people were injured and tens of thousands of homes were destroyed.

 

The Goldstone Report, the Amnesty International report “Operation Cast Lead: 22 Days of Death and Destruction” (Publ. 2 July 2009), and the Human Rights Watch report "Rain of Fire" documented a consistent pattern of deliberate or reckless targeting of civilians and civilian objects, the use of white phosphorus munitions in populated areas, and collective punishment of the entire Gaza population through the systematic destruction of vital infrastructure.

 

Under international law, political and military leaders bear command responsibility for war crimes committed by forces under their control when they knew or should have known of such crimes and failed to prevent or punish them. The complaint therefore holds Olmert personally responsible for the planning, authorization, and failure to restrain or prosecute these actions.

 

Documented War Crimes During Operation Cast Lead

 

The HRF complaint outlines a catalogue of grave breaches of international humanitarian law, including but not limited to:

 

- Targeted and indiscriminate attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure in violation of Articles 51 and 52 of Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions, corresponding to §§ 8 and 11 of the German VStGB.

- Use of white phosphorus munitions in densely populated areas such as Tel al-Hawa, Khuza’a, and Beit Lahiya, causing severe burns and civilian deaths.

- Destruction of homes, mosques, medical facilities, and UN schools sheltering displaced families, as in the Jabaliya UNRWA school attack and the 2009 Al-Fakhoura school shelling.

- Extrajudicial killings and the shooting of civilians attempting to flee or waving white flags, including entire families such as the Al-Samouni family in the Zeitoun district.

- Denial of humanitarian access and obstruction of medical rescue operations, resulting in wounded civilians bleeding to death.

- Deliberate targeting of infrastructure essential to civilian survival, including water facilities, power stations, and food storage sites.

 

These actions, the complaint argues, constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity under both customary international law and German law, which incorporates the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court through the VStGB.

 

Urgent Legal Action in Germany

 

The Hind Rajab Foundation’s legal filing requests the immediate initiation of a criminal investigation, the issuance of an arrest warrant, and a European Arrest Warrant against Olmert.

 

The complaint notes that Ehud Olmert is scheduled to appear publicly in Berlin on 6 November 2025 at the Haaretz Democracy Conference, hosted by the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung. The Foundation therefore calls on German authorities to act swiftly to prevent his departure and ensure he is held to account.

 

Universal Jurisdiction and the Fight Against Impunity

 

Germany’s Code of Crimes against International Law (VStGB), enacted in 2002, allows the prosecution of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide even if committed abroad by foreign nationals. It has already enabled landmark cases against perpetrators from Syria and other conflict zones.

 

The Hind Rajab Foundation argues that the same legal principle must apply to Israeli officials responsible for crimes in Gaza.

 

«The victims of Gaza deserve justice, no matter how much time has passed,» said Dyab Abou Jahjah, General Director of the Hind Rajab Foundation. «Those responsible for war crimes must know that accountability has no expiration date and that the world is closing in on impunity.»

 

The Foundation stressed that it will not allow any war criminal to travel, pose, or speak anywhere as if they are above the law. Justice must be served — even decades after the crimes were committed.

 

Source: Hind Rajab Foundation - HRF Files War Crimes Complaint in Germany Against Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert for Crimes Committed in 2008-2009 (Publ. 5 Nov. 2025)

 

***

 

Hind Rajab Foundation Files War Crimes Complaint in Germany Against Israeli Extremist Elkana Federman for Torture and Starvation of Civilians

 

Berlin, October 31, 2025

 

The Hind Rajab Foundation has filed a criminal complaint before the German Federal Prosecutor (Generalbundesanwalt) in Karlsruhe against Elkana Federman, an Israeli national affiliated with the Kfir Brigade’s Battalion 94 (Duchifat) and the extremist organization Tsav 9, for war crimes and crimes against humanity under the German Code of Crimes Against International Law (VStGB). The complaint, submitted by Attorney Melanie Schweizer on behalf of the Foundation, demands the immediate arrest of Federman and the issuance of a European Arrest Warrant. The filing is based on extensive digital evidence showing his direct involvement in acts of torture and the systematic obstruction of humanitarian aid to Gaza.

 

Elkana Federman is currently in Berlin, where he appeared on October 30, 2025, as a speaker at a public propaganda event.

 

Torture and Abuse of Prisoners

 

Videos and public statements by Federman reveal his participation in and glorification of the abuse of Palestinian detainees.

 

In one widely circulated interview, Federman boasts about taking his dog “to Gaza as a fighter” and claims the animal “dealt with Palestinian prisoners” at the Sde Teiman detention facility, where human rights organizations — including B’Tselem — have documented systematic torture, sexual violence, and inhuman treatment.

 

The complaint notes that Federman’s statements were made in a public setting, eliciting laughter from interviewers and panelists, highlighting the normalization of torture within the military and settler extremist culture he represents.

 

Such actions fall under §7(1) Nr. 5 and Nr. 6 VStGB, which criminalize torture and sexual violence as crimes against humanity.

 

Starvation of Civilians as a Weapon

 

Federman is also a prominent member of Tsav 9, a far-right Israeli group sanctioned by the United States in 2024 for blocking humanitarian aid convoys bound for Gaza.

 

Through multiple videos and social media posts, Federman personally participated in and encouraged others to physically obstruct trucks carrying food and medicine.

 

Such actions directly contributed to the starvation of civilians, a method of warfare prohibited under §11(1) Nr. 5 VStGB, which defines the deliberate deprivation of food as a war crime.

 

The complaint references UN reports confirming that hundreds of Palestinians, including children, have died from hunger in 2025 due to Israel’s blockade and obstruction of humanitarian relief.

 

Universal Jurisdiction and Accountability

 

Under Germany’s universal jurisdiction, crimes under the VStGB can be prosecuted regardless of the perpetrator’s nationality or where the crimes occurred.

 

The Hind Rajab Foundation calls on the German Federal Prosecutor to:

 

1. Open a criminal investigation into Elkana Federman;

2. Order his pre-trial detention due to the risk of flight;

3. Issue a European Arrest Warrant to ensure his apprehension within EU territory.

 

Federman was reportedly sighted in Berlin on October 30, 2025, underscoring the urgency of the request.

 

Statement from the Hind Rajab Foundation

 

«The deliberate starvation of an entire population and the torture of prisoners are among the gravest crimes known to humanity,» said Dyab Abou Jahjah (b. 1971), Director of the Hind Rajab Foundation.

«Elkana Federman’s conduct, proudly displayed online and tolerated within Israeli society, embodies the cruelty and impunity that have defined this genocide. Germany has both the legal authority and the moral duty to act.»

 

This filing follows the Hind Rajab Foundation’s complaint in Germany against IDF officer Shimon Avi Zuckerman, as well as similar actions by NGOs targeting an Israeli sniper. The case of Elkana Federman, however, offers a unique opportunity for Germany to act decisively, as he is affiliated with Tsav 9, a group already designated by the United States as violent and extremist. Taking legal action in this case would affirm Germany’s commitment to international law, human rights, and accountability, and demonstrate that justice applies equally—regardless of political sensitivities or alliances.

 

Source: Hind Rajab Foundation - Hind Rajab Foundation Files War Crimes Complaint in Germany Against Israeli Extremist Elkana Federman for Torture and Starvation of Civilians (Publ. 31 Oct. 2025)

 

***

 

HRF Files Criminal Complaint in Germany Against Dual National IDF Soldier Shimon Avi Zuckerman

 

Brussels / Karlsruhe, 24 October 2025

 

The Hind Rajab Foundation has filed a detailed criminal complaint with the German Federal Prosecutor General (Generalbundesanwalt) against Shimon Avi Zuckerman, a German-Israeli dual national who served as a combat engineer in the 8219 Engineer Battalion of the Israeli army’s 551st Brigade during its military operations in the Gaza Strip.

 

The complaint, submitted on 30 May 2025 through German attorney Melanie Schweizer, accuses Zuckerman of committing:

 

- War crimes under §9 of the German Code of Crimes Against International Law (VStGB),

- Crimes against humanity under §7 VStGB, and

- Genocide under §6 VStGB.

 

Who is Shimon Avi Zuckerman?

 

Zuckerman is a publicly known figure who actively documented his military activities during Israel’s war on Gaza. On his Instagram account, he shared extensive footage and images from the battlefield — not only of his presence and actions in combat zones, but specifically of the destruction of Palestinian civilian infrastructure.

 

The complaint identifies Zuckerman visually in multiple videos and posts as he detonates or celebrates demolitions of residential buildings. The posts often include graphic scenes of destruction, paired with celebratory gestures such as smoking shisha, cheering with fellow soldiers, or posing for the camera before and after explosions.

 

Documented Crimes and Key Incidents

 

Among the most egregious episodes documented is Operation “Nir and Oz”, in which the Palestinian town of Khuza’a, home to approximately 5,000 residents, was completely demolished. Zuckerman’s unit — the 8219 Engineer Battalion — played a central role in the destruction of this civilian area, reducing homes, schools, mosques, a water station, and a community building to rubble.

 

Footage posted by Zuckerman shows him directly triggering demolitions, cheering with comrades, and documenting the destruction as a form of performance. In one instance, he is seen posing and laughing as buildings collapse behind him. In another, a techno-themed video clip shows him initiating an explosion without wearing a helmet — indicating a non-combat situation and a lack of military necessity.

 

The complaint also cites independent investigative journalism by platforms including Bellingcat [PS - Check out: How to Archive the Web - Bellingcat’s Auto Archiver Tool] and The Washington Post, which have verified the identities, locations, and operations of Zuckerman and his unit. These reports are incorporated into the legal filing as corroborating evidence.

 

Germany Must Act as a State of Law — Not of Political Convenience

 

«The evidence is not just overwhelming — it is self-incriminating,» said Dyab Abou Jahjah (b. 1971), General Director of the Hind Rajab Foundation. «Shimon Zuckerman posted his own crimes online. He is a German national, clearly identified, taking part in the unlawful destruction of an entire town, and celebrating it. If Germany refuses to act on this, it sends the message that law applies only when politics allow. A state of law cannot choose justice selectively.»

 

Legal Obligation and Consequences of Inaction

 

Attorney Melanie Schweizer, who filed the complaint on behalf of the Hind Rajab Foundation, emphasized Germany’s legal responsibility:

 

«The German state has a clear obligation under the Code of Crimes Against International Law. This is not optional. If the Prosecutor General fails to investigate, that failure itself may amount to complicity. It would be a legal and moral abdication — and we are fully prepared to challenge that in German and international courts if necessary.»

 

She continued:

 

«We are not dealing with vague allegations. We are dealing with documented acts of violence against civilians, published by the suspect himself, corroborated by multiple independent investigations, and committed by a person holding a German passport. Justice demands action.»

 

Legal Action and Demands

 

The Hind Rajab Foundation is requesting the immediate:

 

- Opening of a formal investigation,

- Issuance of an arrest warrant, and

- Consideration of pre-trial detention due to the seriousness of the alleged crimes and the suspect’s dual nationality and mobility.

 

Ongoing Legal Strategy

 

This complaint is part of the Hind Rajab Foundation’s broader legal campaign to expose and prosecute war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during Israel’s war on Gaza. The Foundation is working with legal teams across multiple jurisdictions to pursue both individual perpetrators and those in positions of command responsibility.

 

As more evidence surfaces and survivors come forward, the Hind Rajab Foundation remains committed to transforming that evidence into legal action.

 

Source: Hind Rajab Foundation - HRF Files Criminal Complaint in Germany Against Dual National IDF Soldier Shimon Avi Zuckerman (Publ. 24 Oct. 2025)

a deliberate and sustained effort to damage the reputation or credibility of an individual.

 

The state-sponsored destruction of reputations, fostered by political propaganda and cultural mechanisms, can have more far-reaching consequences: One of the earliest signs of a society's compliance to loosening the reins on the perpetration of crimes (and even massacres) with total impunity is when a government favors or directly encourages a campaign aimed at destroying the dignity and reputation of its adversaries, and the public accepts its allegations without question. The mobilisation toward ruining the reputation of adversaries is the prelude to the mobilisation of violence in order to annihilate them. Generally, official dehumanisation has preceded the physical assault of the victims.

Cook is full of surprises! Today she said it might be nice to take the long and winding road to show the houseguest some of the geomorphology around the Lake George Fault, let her see the lake itself while it is still wet, and treat her to lunch while we are out. Cunningly, I suspect, she devised a way to get us out of the house and relieve her of kitchen duties… It was the bit about geomorphology that surprised the most.

 

Duly assigned, we headed off for the day… Cook's suggested route would take us through the bush and out onto the escarpment above Weereewa, the Anglicised version of the lakes previous name. Down below, we'd descend to close by the site of a notorious shooting of a constable by a bushranger. His accomplice took the constable's belt and revolver. The rest of the constabulary took their vengeance on that one and he's buried in a bush grave to the southwest. The perpetrator of the dreadful and cowardly deed escaped, but only for the time that the gallows was waiting for him at Darlinghurst Gaol.

 

Roughly 180m below this spot the lake is receding off to the south as this winter sucks it dry. There are other claims! One is that, by some marvellous conduit, it is connected to a partner in New Zealand. As one rises, the other falls, or so it is said. It's true that on any day, the most accessible shore seems to sometimes recede, sometimes advance. The truth is weirder than friction fiction. There's a windfarm on the eastern shore because here it is, err, reliably windy. The wind blowing one way piles up the waves and drags the water to one shore, only to have it slop back the other way some time later. And it's never very deep, never more that 6m at the deepest. You see, it sits in an endorheic basin, one formed when this escarpment was pushed up and captured the meagre headwaters of the present Yass River. It fills from a tiny catchment and disappears by the simple process of evaporation. On this particular day, one creek we crossed in that catchment remained frozen even as it flowed down to the lake we'd later visit.

 

The NZ connection? The houseguest was born there and after all these years, she still has that peculiar way of speaking…

  

Fue una jornada agridulce porque aunque disfrutamos del lujo de fotografiar una circulación tan atractiva como esta, el fantasma del cierre de la línea estaba presente entre todos los aficionados que nos acercamos hasta Cuenca. Finalmente se cumplieron los malos augurios y desde hace unos meses se está procediendo al desmantelamiento de buena parte de la infraestructura de la línea. Aunque las previsiones meteorológicas eran para echarse a temblar, no podíamos dejar pasar la oportunidad de acercarnos hasta tierras manchegas para fotografiar al tren "Río Huécar" en su recorrido entre Madrid y Cuenca. Afortunadamente, la climatología fue muy generosa con los muchos aficionados que nos acercamos hasta allí y pudimos llevarnos un puñado de fotos irrepetibles de esta infortunada línea. Los grafiteros (lo llevan en su ADN) también quisieron aguarnos la fiesta con un grafiti perpetrado, precisamente, en el lateral que iba a salir en todas las fotos que teníamos planificadas. Los miembros de AAFM lo taparon con una capa de imprimación pero fue muy sencillo recuperar los colores "Estrella" para que el tren luciera como se merecía. Cuando tomé esta foto tenía la intención de borrar a los aficionados que estaban junto a la vía pero me lo he pensado mejor porque le dan ambiente a la imagen.

 

It was a bittersweet day because although we enjoyed the luxury of photographing traffic as attractive as this one, the ghost of the closure of the line was present among all the fans who went to Cuenca. Finally the bad omens came true and since a few months the dismantling of a large part of the infrastructure of the line has been proceeding. Although the weather forecasts were to start trembling, we could not miss the opportunity to go to Cuenca to photograph the "Río Huécar" train on its journey between Madrid and Cuenca. Fortunately, the weather was very generous with the many fans who went there and we were able to take a handful of unrepeatable photos of this unfortunate line. The graffiti people (they carry it in their DNA) also wanted to spoil the party with a graffiti perpetrated, precisely, on the side that was going to appear in all the photos we had planned. The AAFM members covered it with a primer coat but it was very easy to recover the "Estrella" livery colors so that the train looked as it deserved. When I took this photo I had the intention of erasing the fans that were next to the track but I thought better of it because they add atmosphere to the image.

  

Irlanda - Galway - The King's Head Pub - Concierto

 

www.thekingshead.ie

 

ENGLISH

 

The Kings Head Pub is located on High Street in the heart of Galway’s Latin Quarter. This landmark pub has earned a fantastic reputation for live music and comedy, good honest hearty food and great craic over three floors.

 

The Kings Head dates back over 800 years with research showing the building in existence since the 13th century. Speed’s famous map of Galway – drawn in 1651 – shows 15 High Street as one of the tallest and most prominent buildings in the town with the impressive Bank’s Castle adjoining it to the rear.

 

City of the Tribes:

The building has several links to the 14 Tribes of Galway; above the two fireplaces you’ll find marriage stones from the Martin, Bodkin and Lynch families.

 

Mayor’s House:

The Kings Head, however, is forever linked to the Lynch tribe given that the building was the home of the Mayor of Galway, Thomas Lynch Fitz-Ambrose in 1654.

 

Execution of King Charles I:

Following the execution of the King of England Charles I on 3rd Jan 1649, Cromwell’s army came to Ireland to assert their authority. Lead by one of Cromwell’s most loyal and trusted henchmen, Col. Peter Stubbers, they laid siege to Galway.

 

Stubbers seizes the Mayor’s city, his office and his home:

After Galway’s surrender in April 1653, Stubbers became the town’s military Governor and when the Mayor and Corporation objected to the outrages being perpetrated on the citizens of Galway they were forcibly removed from office in 1654. To add insult to injury Stubbers not only replaced Lynch Fitz-Ambrose as Mayor but also seized his splendid house in High Street, now home to The Kings Head Pub.

 

*******************************************************************************

 

ESPAÑOL:

 

Galway es una de las ciudades y lugares más coloridos de Irlanda. Podremos encontrar reminiscencias de su pasado español y de su singularidad en el trato con los extranjeros, lo que nos hará sentir bienvenidos desde el primer momento de nuestra visita a la ciudad del Claddagh. Siendo Galway una ciudad universitaria, encontraremos su idiosincrasia joven y dinámica, con unas profundas raíces cuidando la memoria de su pasado.

 

La ciudad de Galway es famosa no solo en Irlanda, si no en el mundo entero por sus famosas carreras de caballos que se celebran a finales de Julio, acogiendo cada año a más de 200.000 visitantes. El festival de las Ostras que se celebra cada septiembre, es también una buena ocasión para conocer la ciudad, disfrutar de su ambiente, su gente y porque no, del manjar que supone probar las primeras otras de la temporada. Sin olvidarnos, de que en Galway, los amantes del salmón podrán hacer de los restaurantes de la zona antigua, uno de los sitios principales de su visita, al ser bien conocida la calidad del salmón de sus aguas.

 

El casco antiguo de Galway es el alma de la ciudad, estando situado junto al rio Corrib dándole así un aire pintoresco. Si entramos al centro cruzando el puente “Wolfe Tone Bridge”, tendremos unas bonitas vistas de la desembocadura del rio junto al “Spanish Arch”, recordándonos que esta ciudad tiene un importante pasado español, siendo la zona del Spanish Arch donde en 1584 los comerciantes españoles descargaban sus barcos y negociaban con sus mercancías.

 

Este Pub denominado "La cabeza del Rey" tiene 800 años de historia y es archi-conocido. Está situado en el corazón del barrio latino o "Latin Quarter". ¿Porqué ese nombre? Se dice que el hombre que decapitó al Rey Carlos I, era procedente de Galway conocido únicamente como Gunning. Era suficientemente probada, la dificultad de encontrar un hombre ingles capaz de ejecutar a su Rey, así Oliver Cromwell mandó buscar voluntarios en Escocia, Irlanda y Gales.

 

El 30de enero de 1649, dos hombres de Galway conocidos como Gunning y Dean fueron seleccionados para llevar a cabo la ejecución del Rey Carlos I, siendo Gunning quien en Londres vistió la máscara para permanecer irreconocible mientras decapitaba al Rey.

 

A la vuelta de Gunny a Irlanda, en muestra de gratitud y agradecimiento el Parlamento recompensó a este con una propiedad en el centro de Galway, justo donde ahora el apropiado nombre “The King Head” cuelga a la entrada de este famoso Pub Irlandés.

 

This image was taken in the cemetery at Gatton, Queensland, Australia. The large monument marks the graves of Michael, Norah (Honara) and Ellen (Theresa) Murphy, who were brutally murdered in mysterious circumstances. The unsolved triple murder is one of the most intriguing chapters in Gatton's history and is known as 'The Gatton Murders', 'The Gatton Tragedy', 'The Gatton Mystery' or 'The Murphy Murders'.

 

Late on a bright moonlit night on Boxing Day, Monday 26th of December 1898 or early in the morning of Tuesday 27th, tragedy struck this small country town, in the form of a triple murder, the worst crime perpetrated in any of the colonies to that time. Although thoroughly investigated by the Queensland Police, who were assisted by Aboriginal trackers brought in from Fraser Island, the investigators remained baffled and the crime remained unsolved and remains a mystery to this day.

 

source: www.gattonmurders.com

 

"Paix ! Paix ! Ils ne sont pas mort, ils ne sont pas endormis — Ils se sont réveillés du rêve de la vie." Percy Bysshe Shelley

  

"Marie Trintignant (French pronunciation: [maʁi tʁɛ̃tiɲɑ̃]; 21 January 1962 – 1 August 2003) was a French film and stage actress. She appeared in over 30 movies during the span of her 36-year career. Her family was deeply involved in France's film industry, as her father was an actor and her mother was a director, producer, and screenwriter.

 

In 2003, Trintignant began an affair with Bertrand Cantat, the lead singer of French rock band Noir Désir. That same year, Cantat, Trintignant, and Trintignant's mother traveled to Lithuania so Trintignant and her mother could finish work on a television movie. On 26 July 2003, while in their shared hotel room, Cantat flew into a jealous rage during an argument over a text message sent to Trintignant by her husband, from whom she was separated; Cantat proceeded to beat Trintignant severely about the head and face. She died days later from cerebral edema brought about by her injuries. Cantat was convicted of "murder with indirect intent" in her death and received an eight-year prison sentence, of which he served four before his early release. Trintignant's case became a cause célèbre in the discussion of domestic violence and leniency towards perpetrators."

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Trintignant

 

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Witness of the atrocities of fascism, symbol of a just and peaceful future.

 

Andikona Square witnessed the first bombardment against civilians in Europe. On July 22, 1936, 61 people died there, four days after Franco's coup.

Most of them are civilians and many are children.

 

Today, almost a century later, the legitimate perpetrators and those responsible for them remain without prosecution. And even more painful for Otxandianos, Ángel Salas Larrazábal, author of the attack, was awarded by King Juan Carlos de Borbón in 1991.

With the approval of Prime Minister Felipe González.

The postwar dictatorship did not triumph in this square

 

Testigo de las atrocidades del fascismo, símbolo de un futuro justo y pacífico.

La plaza Andikona fue testigo del primer bombardeo contra civiles en Europa. El 22 de julio de 1936 murieron allí 61 personas, cuatro días después del golpe de Estado de Franco.

La mayoría de ellos son civiles y muchos son niños.

 

Hoy, casi un siglo después, los perpetradores legítimos y los responsables de ellos siguen sin ser enjuiciados. Y aún más doloroso para los otxandianos, Ángel Salas Larrazábal, autor del atentado, fue galardonado por el rey Juan Carlos de Borbón en 1991.

Con la aprobación del Primer Ministro Felipe González.

La dictadura de la posguerra no triunfó en esta plaza.

 

Faxismoaren ankerkeriaren lekuko, etorkizun justu eta baketsu baterako ikur.

Andikona plaza ahu Europan zibilen aurka burututako lehen bombardaketaren lekuko izan zen. 1936ko uztailaren 22an, 61 lagun erail zituzten bertan, indar frankistek emandako estatu kolpetik lau egunetara.

Hauetatik gehienak zibilak eta asko umeak.

 

Gaur egun, ia mende bat geroago, egile zuzenac zein hauen arduradunak epai bidean jarri gabe jarraitzen dute. Eta otxandiarrontzako are mingarriago dena, bombardaketaren egilea izan zen Angel Salas Larrazabal Juan Carlos de Borbon erregearen eskutik kondekoratua izan zen 1991.

Felipe Gonzalez Gobernuko presidentearen onespenarekin.

Gerraren osteko diktadurak ez zuen lortu plaza honetan

 

“I like trains. I like their rhythm, and I like the freedom of being suspended between two places, all anxieties of purpose taken care of: for this moment I know where I am going.”

 

― Anna Funder, Stasiland: Stories from Behind the Berlin Wall

  

Soundtrack : www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmWCAvCRJ1o

WHEREVER I GO - Mark Knopfler ft. Ruth Moody (Official Video)

 

Video filmed in one of the most beautifully timeless and tranquil places on this Earth, known as The Sixth Continent back in the day and a place very close to my heart and near to where I am very fortunate to have found my forever home and true love. Features “my pirate boat” too! : 0))

 

I dedicate this to my love. Life keeps testing us, but we keep slaying dragons. You've been my rock and now let me be yours. Wherever you go, we go. We are in this together … <3

 

In the Pullman Observation car

there is a sense of what might have been

the scent of polished wood and gleaming brass

upholstered seats in plush purple velvet sheen

the parents of a small boy watch in awe

as the train that will transport us back in time

has yet to turn; attach itself

the scene is set; we are all within a paradigm

the boy with hair as rich as Autumn's coat

distracts himself in a virtual world

how I wish he was reading an actual book

as he would surely have done in the past that held

so many books; so little time

life was short back then, no doubt

a glimpse of the past; interrupted by

the station master's deafening shout

the toot of the train; the whistle is blown

the last door is closed; no-one else can board

the shunt as the engine begins it's journey

please no-one pull the emergency cord

the windows in this car are large

for observing better; cost just a little more

well worth it to film and take photographs

needs a steady hand to avoid the floor

at last we are away; slowly at first

then picking up speed on the straight

the smoke billowing up and over the train

we are making good time; we shall not be late

we are on our way to the Summer residence

of that well-known novelist; Queen of Crime

Agatha Christie; a firm favourite of mine

how I wish I could have lived in that olden time

I quite fancy myself as an amateur sleuth

collating the facts and deducing them until

I have a clear picture of the perpetrator

who dunnit in which room and what weapon

whether or not the victim fell ill or was killed

dragging myself from my reverie

back to this present moment in time

I noticed the stripes on the mum and dad

and the striped chevrons of the carriage

fading away in the distance now

I am lulled by the motion of the train's perfect rhyme.

 

- AP - Copyright © remains with and is the intellectual property of the author

 

Copyright © protected image please do not reproduce without permission

 

This is a mass of Braconid Wasp (Braconidae, Hymenoptera) pupal cases on a still-living caterpillar of a Variable Checkerspot (Euphydryas chalcedona) butterfly. I found this under a new leaf of a Southern Bush Monkey Flower (Mimulus aurantiacus var. pubescens, Phrymaceae) shrub. The tiny wasps deposit their eggs through the skin of the caterpillar. The eggs hatch and the larvae develop inside the caterpillar - like the movie Alien. Finally the larvae leave the caterpillar and spin their silk cocoons. The caterpillar is still alive - I could see it moving - but it didn't last long and dropped away by the next day, see this photo. This must be why the caterpillars are so spiky - to keep the wasps away. It might work as I don't find many of these caterpillars that have been "cocooned" like this. (San Marcos Pass, 28 April 2017)

 

This is my photo for the Macro Mondays group, with the theme of "Crime" - and indeed a crime has been committed here, at least from the point of view of the caterpillar. (I'm sure the wasps see it differently!) The perpetrator is not to be seen, but the pupal cases are indisputable evidence of its work. HMM!

Excerpt from Wikipedia:

 

The Katyn massacre was a series of mass executions of nearly 22,000 Polish military officers and intelligentsia carried out by the Soviet Union, specifically the NKVD ("People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs", the Soviet secret police) in April and May 1940. Though the killings also occurred in the Kalinin and Kharkiv prisons and elsewhere, the massacre is named after the Katyn Forest, where some of the mass graves were first discovered.

 

The massacre was initiated in NKVD chief Lavrentiy Beria's proposal to Stalin to execute all captive members of the Polish officer corps, approved by the Soviet Politburo led by Joseph Stalin. Of the total killed, about 8,000 were officers imprisoned during the 1939 Soviet invasion of Poland, another 6,000 were police officers, and the remaining 8,000 were Polish intelligentsia the Soviets deemed to be "intelligence agents, gendarmes, landowners, saboteurs, factory owners, lawyers, officials, and priests". The Polish Army officer class was representative of the multi-ethnic Polish state; the murdered included ethnic Poles, Polish Ukrainians, Belarusians, and Polish Jews including the Chief Rabbi of the Polish Army, Baruch Steinberg.

 

The government of Nazi Germany announced the discovery of mass graves in the Katyn Forest in April 1943. Stalin severed diplomatic relations with the London-based Polish government-in-exile when it asked for an investigation by the International Committee of the Red Cross. The USSR claimed the Nazis had killed the victims, and it continued to deny responsibility for the massacres until 1990, when it officially acknowledged and condemned the killings by the NKVD, as well as the subsequent cover-up by the Soviet government.

 

An investigation conducted by the office of the Prosecutors General of the Soviet Union (1990–1991) and the Russian Federation (1991–2004) confirmed Soviet responsibility for the massacres, but refused to classify this action as a war crime or as an act of mass murder. The investigation was closed on the grounds the perpetrators were dead, and since the Russian government would not classify the dead as victims of the Great Purge, formal posthumous rehabilitation was deemed inapplicable. In November 2010, the Russian State Duma approved a declaration blaming Stalin and other Soviet officials for ordering the massacre.

Stop. Hammertime.

 

These are everywhere, it seems. Many people with the same idea I think, rather than the same perpetrator! This one is in my local supermarket car park.

Someone should start a group :)

Jerusalem, Israel: Ever since the heinous, cold-blooded massacres perpetrated in Israel, by their fellow Arabs, on 07 October 2023, the number of Arab laborers (like those in the photo) allowed entry into the country has dropped sharply.

It had been a long hot and dry summer and the autumn was warm and dry too. So, as we drove into the mountains, a forest fire broke out in the valley below.

 

Later that evening, we discovered on the TV news that the fire had been started by someone doing 'controlled' burning which got out of control. If the authorities locate the perpetrator, the plan is to charge them with the costs of putting out the fire. Could be very expensive!

 

Near Boise, Idaho.

Kamera: Nikon FE2

Linse: Nikkor-O Auto 35mm f2 (1970)

Film: Kodak 5222 @ ISO 250

Kjemi: Rodinal (1:50 / 9 min. @ 20°C)

 

Wikipedia: Killing of Hind Rajab (2024)

 

HER NAME WAS HIND

 

Her Foundation Takes 24 Israeli Soldiers and Commanders to the ICC for Her Murder

 

Brussels / The Hague - 21 October 2025:

 

One day after the broadcast of the Al Jazeera Arabic documentary “TIP OF THE ICEBERG” — —

 

[A must-see documentary in Arabic with English captions available that also exposes Israeli war criminals Shimon Zuckerman, a german-israeli dual citizen; Adi Carni who was discovered in Brazil and subsequently left for Peru; Yuval Vaghdani who was also discovered in Brazil and Elisha Lichman who was observed in Cyprus and escaped back to Israel]

 

— — in which the Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) revealed the identity of the Israeli battalion, company, and commanders responsible for the killing of six-year-old Hind Rajab — the Foundation has submitted a 120 pages Article 15 filing to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.

 

This new filing names 24 Israeli soldiers and commanders responsible for the killing of Hind Rajab, six members of her family, and two Palestinian Red Crescent paramedics, Yusuf al-Zeino and Ahmed al-Madhoun, who were deliberately targeted while attempting to rescue her on 29 January 2024 in Gaza City.

 

The 24 Named Perpetrators

 

The submission builds on HRF’s first communication of 3 May 2025, and provides detailed evidence identifying the Vampire Empire Company of the 52nd Armoured Battalion (“Ha-Bok’im / The Breachers”), operating under Israel’s 401st Armoured Brigade.

 

The complaint names:

 

- Colonel Beni Aharon (b. 1982), Commander of the 401st Armoured Brigade

 

- Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Ella, Commander of the 52nd Armoured Battalion

 

- Major Sean Glass, Commander of the Vampire Empire Company

 

along with 22 identified tank crew members of the same company who directly participated in or facilitated the attack.

In the Al Jazeera Arabic documentary, HRF publicly revealed the identities of the commanders and of tank crew member Itay Cukierkopf. The remaining 22 names have now been submitted confidentially to the ICC and will be made public progressively, as national-level complaints are filed in different jurisdictions.

 

Evidence and Legal Grounds

 

The communication includes comprehensive digital, satellite, and forensic evidence confirming that Merkava IV tanks of the Vampire Empire Company repeatedly fired on the black Kia Picanto in which Hind and her family were trapped, and later targeted the ambulance sent to rescue her.

 

The attacks were carried out with full knowledge of the victims’ civilian and protected status, following prior coordination between the Palestinian Red Crescent and Israeli authorities.

 

The Foundation’s legal team concludes that these acts amount to war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide, under Articles 6, 7, and 8 of the Rome Statute.

 

Expanding the Fight for Justice Worldwide

 

In parallel with the ICC filing, HRF is pursuing national prosecutions under both universal jurisdiction and dual nationality jurisdiction, targeting perpetrators who hold foreign citizenships in addition to Israeli nationality.

 

A first case has already been filed in Argentina against Itay Cukierkopf, one of the tank crew members named in the ICC complaint. Further cases are being prepared in Europe, Latin America, and North America, ensuring that no war criminal can find refuge behind borders or passports.

 

«This is not only a legal act — it’s a revolt against the global order of impunity,» said Dyab Abou Jahjah (b. 1971), General Director of the Hind Rajab Foundation.

 

«They believed Hind's murder would be without accountability; we are proving them wrong, step by step. Twenty-four names are now before the ICC, and more will follow in national courts. Justice is not a favor we ask — it is the inevitable reckoning of truth.»

 

A Call to the ICC

 

The Hind Rajab Foundation calls on the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC to:

 

- Incorporate the killing of Hind Rajab and her rescuers into the Situation in the State of Palestine;

 

- Expand the investigation to include the Vampire Empire Company, the 52nd Armoured Battalion, and the 401st Armoured Brigade;

 

- Issue arrest warrants for the 24 identified perpetrators.

  

Natacha Bracq, Head of Litigation at HRF, stated:

 

«This submission establishes a direct chain of command, operational control, and deliberate intent. The evidence demonstrates the organized and systematic nature of the attack, meeting the legal thresholds for prosecution under international criminal law. The Hind Rajab case is not isolated — it represents a wider pattern of violations that the ICC must urgently address. The rule of law cannot remain selective when the crime is genocide.»

 

The killing of Hind Rajab was meant to break a people’s spirit; instead, it awakened a global movement for justice. Every file we submit, every name we reveal, and every courtroom we enter carries her memory as a challenge to the arrogance of power. The age of impunity is ending — and Hind’s name will mark where it began to fall.

  

Source - Hind Rajab Foundation: Her Name Was Hind (Publ. 21 Oct. 2025)

Muzeum Historii Żydów Polskich, Warszawa – POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews, Warsaw, Poland. This room tells about the massacres perpetrated by the cossacks of Bohdan Chmielnicki in mid-17th century.

Lately it feels like there have been shifts in thinking about how we view our pain and our right to that. Each of us is walking wounded, and I'm absolutely certain no one gets out alive. The way we handle that pain has gotten so righteous and angry, and it feels like we're so very indignant - so much so that we collectively tend to forget that we all have burdens and we all must carry them. Will the deficit of old wounds ever be fully healed? Sometimes the only way we can see to handle that pain is entitlement. And when you really think about it, none of us... repeat, none of us, is entitled to anything from anyone. What worries me sometimes is wondering if so much of it is indeed real pain, or have we perpetrated a society that falls down at the slightest touch, claiming harm where there really is none? We have become such a litigious culture, one where should someone accidentally back into someone's car in a parking lot, their response is to sue them for funds in excess of $75K (not making this up, it literally happens all the time). What I keep wondering is how much of all this unnecessary wailing is just distracting society as a whole from real problems, ... real pain. It dulls the senses and the result is numbness, and I think we should recognize that for what it is, because growing numb isn't the answer. Pointing fingers at those who have had physical and emotional assaults to their person or their family instead of trying to solve the bigger problem has become so routine that it's usually the second mode of action after sympathy. What good is every man for himself if we all fall?

The history:

On March 22, 1971, three individuals from New York City stole approximately $1.5 million in artworks and silver items from the Villa Vizcaya, some of which were of historical value. This trio of reputed jewel thieves was arrested on March 25, 1971. Sergeant Tom Connolly from the New York Police Department raided the Manhattan apartment of Vojislav Stanimirovic and his wife Branka, and arrested them. The couple's accomplice, Alexander Karanovic, was also arrested, and all three were charged with suspicion of stolen property and possession of a dangerous weapon. From the Stanimirovic apartment approximately $250,000 of the stolen goods was recovered. Sergeant Connolly stated that included in the theft was a silver bowl that once belonged to Napoleon Bonaparte and was virtually priceless. According to Sergeant Connolly, the three perpetrators had been under surveillance for four months for unrelated mega jewel burglaries that they had carried out in the Manhattan Diamond District. NYPD Captain Thomas Kissane said that the vast majority of the precious items stolen from the Vizcaya were never recovered.

Linyphiidae Enoplognatha ovata, a Tangleweb spider (Theridiidae) on field garlic Allium oeraceum Many thanks to B. Edman for the spider ID!

Body size: 5-6 mm

 

Early morning stack shot in beginning of July 2012.

 

41 natural light exposures combined in Zerene Stacker.

 

This is the perpetrator behind the entangled earwig I posted earlier (see below).

 

Canon 5DmkII + Canon MP-E65 @ 0.3s, f/5.6, ISO200