The Times of Israel is liveblogging Tuesday’s events as they unfold.

UK ex-envoy Peter Mandelson released from police custody

Former British ambassador to the US Peter Mandelson has been released on bail pending further investigation after being arrested by London police on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

Mandelson, 72, was fired from the most prestigious posting in Britain’s diplomatic service in September, when the depth of his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein started to become clear.

Police earlier this month began a criminal investigation into Mandelson after UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government passed on communications between the former ambassador and Epstein.

US Coast Guard removes swastika from training center, launches inquiry

A drawing of a swastika that appeared at the US Coast Guard’s primary recruit training center in New Jersey was removed, and the incident has been referred for further investigation, the service says, adding that it condemned the display of hate symbols.

“Following discovery of a hate symbol drawn on a bathroom wall in a building at Training Center Cape May, the Coast Guard immediately referred the matter to the Coast Guard Investigative Service (CGIS) for investigation – consistent with longstanding Coast Guard policy,” a US Coast Guard spokesperson says in a statement. “This hate symbol was immediately removed.”

The Washington Post reported that a Coast Guard instructor discovered the drawing of the antisemitic symbol on Thursday evening on a men’s bathroom wall at the Cape May training center in southern New Jersey.

The Coast Guard commandant, Admiral Kevin Lunday, traveled to the recruit training center and spoke to about 900 recruits and staff members to address the incident, the service says.

“Anyone who adheres to or advances hate or extremist ideology – get out. Leave. You don’t belong in the United States Coast Guard and we reject you,” Lunday says in a statement shared by the Coast Guard.

The Washington Post reported in November that the Coast Guard had revised language in its workplace harassment manual to recharacterize swastikas as “potentially divisive,” rather than characterizing them as hate symbols.

Lunday said at the time that “claims that the US Coast Guard will no longer classify swastikas, nooses or other extremist imagery as prohibited symbols are categorically false.”

On eve of war’s 4th anniversary, Zelensky asks Trump to be on Ukraine’s side — CNN

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky exhorts US President Donald Trump to remain “on our side,” speaking ahead of the fourth anniversary on Tuesday of Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine, according to an interview with CNN.

The United States should “stay with…a democratic country which is fighting against one person. Because this person is a war. Putin is a war,” Zelensky tells CNN during an interview in Kyiv.

“If they really want to stop Putin, America’s so strong,” the Ukrainian leader adds.

Asked if he believes Trump is putting enough pressure on Putin, Zelensky says no.

He adds, “We can’t just give him everything he wants. Because he wants to occupy us. If we will give him all he wants, we will lose everything — all of us, people will have to run away or be Russian.”

Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, unleashing the deadliest war in Europe since World War II.

The war has killed tens of thousands of civilians and hundreds of thousands of military personnel on both sides. Millions of refugees have fled Ukraine, where vast areas have been devastated by fighting.

Trump administration steps up efforts to scrutinize foreign funding of universities

The administration of US President Donald Trump is stepping up work to uncover what it sees as malign foreign influence at US colleges and universities, officials say, as they announce that the US State Department will assist the Department of Education in that effort.

Trump has threatened to cut federal funding to universities over issues such as anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian protests against the war in Gaza, transgender policies, climate initiatives and diversity, equity and inclusion programs, raising free speech and academic freedom concerns.

Trump, in April 2025, issued an executive order calling for enforcement of Section 117 of the Higher Education Act, which requires that colleges receiving federal funding report gifts or contracts worth more than $250,000 from any foreign source. In December, the Department of Education launched a new portal for universities to report that funding.

US colleges and universities disclosed 8,300 transactions totaling $5.2 billion in 2025 — which includes funding from governments as well as private companies and individuals, the Education Department said in a statement.

The largest source of funding last year was Qatar ($1.1 billion), followed by Britain ($633 million) and China ($528 million), it said.

Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy Sarah Rogers says the State Department’s new role would “ensure an invigorated compliance assurance effort by the federal government.”

“The Department of State will be applying our national security expertise and our expertise countering foreign malign influence to bolster oversight efforts by the Department of Education,” Rogers told reporters in a briefing at the State Department.

Officials declined to spell out specific examples of how foreign funding had unduly influenced higher education institutions, and said they were primarily seeking to boost compliance by the universities and improve transparency.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report. 

Knesset revokes measure that made more online purchases tax-exempt

A measure that would have made it cheaper for Israelis to order goods online from abroad was revoked in the Knesset by a vote of 59 to 25.

The order from Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich let Israelis buy up to $150 of personal goods from overseas, including from popular sites like Amazon and Temu, without incurring an additional 18% value-added tax. The previous limit was $75.

Since the order went into effect on December 24, it has been hailed by the general public but drawn sharp condemnation from local business owners who argued it would hobble their sales. They succeeded in garnering support from other members of the coalition, in particular from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling Likud party.

It’s highly unusual for the Knesset to overrule ministerial orders. But Knesset Finance Committee chair Hanoch Milwidsky, Economy Minister Nir Barkat, and MK Eli Dalal, all from Likud, are among those who have strongly opposed the bill, accusing the measure of subsidizing foreign companies at the expense of local industry.

“This activity is a death sentence for the business sector,” says Dallal, referring to the tax exemption order. He says Israel’s high coast of living derives from housing, rental and food prices, which he says “unfortunately weren’t addressed over the last three years.

Netanyahu had reportedly sought to invoke coalition discipline to ensure the measure was upheld, but later reneged and allowed lawmakers to vote as they chose.

The vote follows a heated, marathon session during which lawmakers addressed the plenum to express support or opposition for the order. Negev and Galilee Minister Yitzhak Waserlauf held an extensive filibuster as negotiations continued behind the scenes.

Protesters in the gallery representing small businesses opposing the order were escorted out by security during a speech by Smotrich.

Smotrich vows to issue a new order following the revocation, saying he is “determined to lower the cost of living.”

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