Before being abducted to Gaza, Berger was known as a talented violinist who loved to travel. She also volunteered with children with disabilities.

Columbia University is reportedly the main focus of the legislation, following numerous instances of antisemitic and anti-Israel activity on its campus.

Iran is downplaying too much optimism but it is also hinting that it wants outreach from Washington.

There were 106 violent antisemitic incidents in 2024, compared to 85 acts of physical violence in 2023.

"Liri is something special," Soussana said. "She is a force. I told her when she came back: 'I don't know if they would have killed me or not, as far as I'm concerned, you saved my life.'"

The two NGOs were a direct continuation of the 2015 outlawed Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement.

"That caravan contained an amount of explosives and some indication that those explosives might be used in some form of antisemitic attack," he told a news conference.

The main defendants, Gadalias and Saulos, stood accused of corrupt dealings, including falsified documents and fictitious slave sales to evade Roman taxes.