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Some of Trump’s predecessors also enjoyed bringing a carnival atmosphere to the presidential residence.

President Donald Trump is bringing a Ferris wheel back to the White House.

The carnival attraction will be among the featured offerings at the administration’s second congressional picnic on the South Lawn of the White House on Friday evening, where the president and first lady Melania Trump will entertain members of Congress and their families.

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The summer solstice-themed extravaganza is an “opportunity for elected officials to put aside differences and come together as a community,” the first lady said in a statement Thursday. Visitors also will be treated to a popcorn cart, face painting, lawn games, a baked pretzel stand and a cotton candy station.

The Ferris wheel was shipped from South Carolina to the White House, where it will sit by the fountain on the east side of the South Lawn, a spokeswoman for the first lady wrote in an email. Participants can take rides during the event, though the White House declined to comment on the wheel’s size.

This won’t be the first Ferris wheel at the White House. The Johnson administration, for instance, featured one alongside pony rides, a carousel and other county fair-style activities. The Clinton administration turned congressional and press picnics into “old-fashioned carnivals,” including a Ferris wheel at least once.

The White House said it plans to serve up “traditional picnic fare.” That may include charcoal-grilled rib eye steaks that were prepared days ago, according to a pool reporter who spotted about “a half dozen chefs” on Tuesday grilling “heaps of steak” for the event. It’s unclear whether those will be on guests’ plates, but the White House said other items include charred lemon chicken, grilled plank salmon and Baja shrimp tacos.

The picnic is an annual gathering used by presidents in recent years to mingle with lawmakers and sometimes discuss legislative issues.

Trump canceled the picnic last year, saying it didn’t feel “right” while his administration dealt with the backlash from its practice of separating migrant families crossing at the border. Trump’s first party was New York-themed, promoting the president’s home state, and included model sailboats resembling those in Central Park floating in the South Lawn fountain, plus a giant carousel.

Vice President Mike Pence and second lady Karen Pence are set to attend, and the United States Marine Band and the United States Navy Band Cruisers will perform, according to the statement. Ahead of the event, the second lady hosted Senate spouses at the Pence residence, she wrote in a tweet Thursday.

Recent revelations confirming the involvement of the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad in efforts to actively disrupt the growing movement for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel did not come as a surprise to pro-Palestine activists.

Gilad Erdan, the Israeli strategic affairs minister and a senior figure in Israel’s fight against BDS, met Mossad head Yossi Cohen to discuss “the struggle against the boycott”, according to the politician’s 2018 official diary.

Israeli daily Haaretz, which first reported on the matter, did not give further details about the meeting, but said that according to Erdan’s schedules, which were made public by a Freedom of Information request filed by the Israeli Hatzlaha group, the minister had also met the head of the National Security Council, as well as a number of Jewish organisations.

Most of the meetings had to do with establishing a private but partly government-controlled company called Concert, whose main objective was to promote “mass awareness activities” as part of “the struggle against the campaign to delegitimise” Israel on an international level.

The Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) said Mossad’s involvement against BDS activism was “not surprising” given the concentrated Israeli effort to ban the movement both domestically and internationally.

“We know that Israel takes the threat of BDS very seriously, with [Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu declaring it a strategic threat in 2015,” the London-based PSC said in a statement to Al Jazeera.

“Some of the global actions undertaken by Israel to suppress BDS activism include introducing restrictive laws in Israel – and persuading allies to do the same globally – to try to criminalise BDS, alongside broader attempts to try to delegitimise it by framing it as an anti-Semitic activity or by falsely identifying links between BDS activists and terrorism.”

‘Major strategic threat’

The call for boycotting, divesting from and sanctioning Israel was launched in 2005 by more than 170 Palestinian civil organisations as a form of non-violent pressure on Israel.

BDS, which defines itself as working to end international support for Israel’s oppression of Palestinians and to pressure Israel in complying with international law, has at its core three main principles: to end the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories; to ensure equal rights for Palestinian citizens of Israel; and to enforce the right of return of Palestinian refugees.

The international impact of BDS has alarmed Israel, which, according to Dov Waxman, a professor of political science, international affairs and Israel studies at Northeastern University, has come to regard the movement as a “major strategic threat”.

“BDS is seen as a threat to Israel’s legitimacy and international standing,” Waxman told Al Jazeera.

“Most Israeli Jews have also come to see the BDS movement as very threatening, especially because many believe that it seeks to destroy Israel and is driven by anti-Semitism – which is what Netanyahu and other right-wing Israeli politicians repeatedly insist.”

Counter-BDS measures

Akiva Eldar, a senior columnist for Al-Monitor, said Mossad’s involvement in the anti-BDS efforts was not limited to within Israel.

“What we know is that there are tens of millions of dollars allocated for this project,” he told Al Jazeera. “The Mossad are in contact with the American secret service – the CIA – and European [intelligence] agencies and are trading information.”

Eldar said that the Israeli diplomatic and security apparatus was involved in the operation.

“The Israeli embassies, as part of their public diplomacy work, are now focusing on collecting information [about BDS activists and activities] and filing reports and complaints to foreign governments,” he said.

“In the United States, BDS has been at the top of the agenda for Jewish organisations like AIPAC, which is cooperating with Israeli embassies, including military attaches,” added Eldar, referring to the powerful lobby group.

Waxman agreed, saying that in addition to funding domestic and foreign NGOs in the fight against BDS, another tactic used by Israel was the lobbying of foreign governments and international organisations in cracking down on the movement.

“Diplomatically, it has promoted a definition of anti-Semitism that has often been used to define the BDS movement as inherently anti-Semitic because it is anti-Zionist,” he said.

“Both publicly and secretly, therefore, Israel has been actively engaged in a long-term campaign against the BDS movement,” he added.

Last month, Germany became the first European Union country to vote on a motion labelling the BDS movement as anti-Semitic. 

In response, the movement said Berlin’s move was shielding Israel from accountability to international law, as well as “entrenching its complicity in Israel’s crimes of military occupation, ethnic cleansing, siege and apartheid”. 

The Knesset – the Israeli parliament – has also passed a number of laws that have targeted supporters of the BDS movement, Waxman said.

Foreign citizens who promote BDS are banned from entering Israel, while Israeli citizens or groups who publicly call for a boycott of Israel or products from Jewish settlements can be sued for damages.

PSC, the pro-Palestine campaign, said Israel’s actions violated core principles of freedom of expression that were central to democratic politics.

“At the heart of what Israel is trying to do is prevent citizens across the world responding to the legitimate call from Palestinians for peaceful action to hold Israel and complicit organisations to account for ongoing human rights abuses,” it said.

1. RJ Allen @TheSoccerCritic

2. 

   via Twitter

3. Fastest Goal at This World Cup

   Erin Fish, FIFA @FIFAWWC_USA

4. USWNT Bringing Their Best

   Arlo White @arlowhite

   Just counted 28 passes in that previous lengthy move. Patience around the back, invited the press, played through it and swiftly got in behind. Lovely, sophisticated stuff from #USWNT. Great to watch

6. Biggest Game Yet

   U.S. Soccer WNT @USWNT

   #USA
   #SWE

   Here we go.

   @FOXTV & @TelemundoSports. https://t.co/MUxUjaxsoY

7. FOX Soccer @FOXSoccer

8. Caitlin Murray @caitlinmurr

9. Joe Prince-Wright @JPW_NBCSports

10. Michael Lewis @Soccerwriter

12. Michael Lewis @Soccerwriter

13. U.S. Soccer WNT @USWNT

14. Erin Fish, FIFA @FIFAWWC_USA

15. Charles Boehm @cboehm

16. Avi Creditor @AviCreditor

18. Michael Lewis @Soccerwriter

19. Caitlin Murray @caitlinmurr

20. FIFA Women’s World Cup @FIFAWWC

21. FOX Soccer @FOXSoccer

22. Women’s ICC @iccwomen

24. Michael Lewis @Soccerwriter

25. Goal @goal

26. NC Courage @TheNCCourage

27. Yael Averbuch West @Yael_Averbuch

28. RJ Allen @TheSoccerCritic

30. RJ Allen @TheSoccerCritic

31. Steve Davis @SteveDavis90

32. U.S. Soccer WNT @USWNT

33. FOX Soccer @FOXSoccer

34. The Equalizer @EqualizerSoccer

36. Portland Thorns FC @ThornsFC

37. Backline Soccer @BacklineSoccer

38. FIFA Women’s World Cup @FIFAWWC

39. Michael Lewis @Soccerwriter

40. Kyle Bonn @the_bonnfire

42. Jamie Goldberg @Jamiebgoldberg

43. Caitlin Murray @caitlinmurr

44. Caitlin Murray @caitlinmurr

45. Julian Cardillo @JulianCardillo

46. Goal @goal

48. SB Nation @SBNation

49. Caitlin Murray @caitlinmurr

50. Michael Lewis @Soccerwriter

51. Houston Dash @HoustonDash

52. Womens Soccer United @WomensSoccerUtd

54. FOX Soccer @FOXSoccer

55. Charles Boehm @cboehm

56. Caitlin Murray @caitlinmurr

57. Leslie Osborne @LeslieOsborne12

58. Andrew Das @AndrewDasNYT

60. Aly Wagner @alywagner

61. Aly Wagner @alywagner

62. FOX Soccer @FOXSoccer

63. FIFA Women’s World Cup @FIFAWWC

64. John D. Halloran @JohnDHalloran

66. Seth Vertelney @svertelney

67. Utah Royals FC @UtahRoyalsFC

68. Meg Linehan @itsmeglinehan

69. NC Courage @TheNCCourage

70. FIFA Women’s World Cup @FIFAWWC

72. Steve Davis @SteveDavis90

1. RJ Allen @TheSoccerCritic

2. 

   via Twitter

3. Fastest Goal at This World Cup

   Erin Fish, FIFA @FIFAWWC_USA

4. USWNT Bringing Their Best

   Arlo White @arlowhite

   Just counted 28 passes in that previous lengthy move. Patience around the back, invited the press, played through it and swiftly got in behind. Lovely, sophisticated stuff from #USWNT. Great to watch

6. Biggest Game Yet

   U.S. Soccer WNT @USWNT

   #USA
   #SWE

   Here we go.

   @FOXTV & @TelemundoSports. https://t.co/MUxUjaxsoY

7. FOX Soccer @FOXSoccer

8. Caitlin Murray @caitlinmurr

9. Joe Prince-Wright @JPW_NBCSports

10. Michael Lewis @Soccerwriter

12. Michael Lewis @Soccerwriter

13. U.S. Soccer WNT @USWNT

14. Erin Fish, FIFA @FIFAWWC_USA

15. Charles Boehm @cboehm

16. Avi Creditor @AviCreditor

18. Michael Lewis @Soccerwriter

19. Caitlin Murray @caitlinmurr

20. FIFA Women’s World Cup @FIFAWWC

21. FOX Soccer @FOXSoccer

22. Women’s ICC @iccwomen

24. Michael Lewis @Soccerwriter

25. Goal @goal

26. NC Courage @TheNCCourage

27. Yael Averbuch West @Yael_Averbuch

28. RJ Allen @TheSoccerCritic

30. RJ Allen @TheSoccerCritic

31. Steve Davis @SteveDavis90

32. U.S. Soccer WNT @USWNT

33. FOX Soccer @FOXSoccer

34. The Equalizer @EqualizerSoccer

36. Portland Thorns FC @ThornsFC

37. Backline Soccer @BacklineSoccer

38. FIFA Women’s World Cup @FIFAWWC

39. Michael Lewis @Soccerwriter

40. Kyle Bonn @the_bonnfire

42. Jamie Goldberg @Jamiebgoldberg

43. Caitlin Murray @caitlinmurr

44. Caitlin Murray @caitlinmurr

45. Julian Cardillo @JulianCardillo

46. Goal @goal

48. SB Nation @SBNation

49. Caitlin Murray @caitlinmurr

50. Michael Lewis @Soccerwriter

51. Houston Dash @HoustonDash

52. Womens Soccer United @WomensSoccerUtd

54. FOX Soccer @FOXSoccer

55. Charles Boehm @cboehm

56. Caitlin Murray @caitlinmurr

57. Leslie Osborne @LeslieOsborne12

58. Andrew Das @AndrewDasNYT

60. Aly Wagner @alywagner

61. Aly Wagner @alywagner

62. FOX Soccer @FOXSoccer

63. FIFA Women’s World Cup @FIFAWWC

64. John D. Halloran @JohnDHalloran

66. Seth Vertelney @svertelney

67. Utah Royals FC @UtahRoyalsFC

68. Meg Linehan @itsmeglinehan

69. NC Courage @TheNCCourage

70. FIFA Women’s World Cup @FIFAWWC

72. Steve Davis @SteveDavis90

President Donald Trump’s pollster on Thursday put in writing his prediction that Sen. Elizabeth Warren would soon lead the Democratic primary field, estimating that her rise, coinciding with former Vice President Joe Biden’s fall, would be cemented by October.

GOP strategist Ward Baker on Thursday commented on a video of Biden refusing to apologize for comments touting his past ability to work with segregationist senators to get things done in the chamber. “By October he will be #3 in polls,” he tweeted. “Just give it time.”

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“Agreed,” Trump pollster Tony Fabrizio responded, tagging Warren in the tweet, “and @ewarren will be leading.”

The former vice president has led in nearly every primary poll since jumping into the race this spring. But Biden’s support may be facing its first real test, as his opponents have seized on a number of stumbles by the former veep after the segregationist comments and his recent reversal on public funding for abortion.

That’s mixed news for Fabrizio and Trump — internal polling conducted by Trump’s campaign several months ago found Biden leading the president in head-to-head match-ups in several key states, and public polls in critical states have signaled danger for the president as well. While the campaign let several pollsters go after the internal numbers leaked, Fabrizio was not included in the purge.

But the campaign has recently begun to focus its efforts on Warren as well, conceding that there’s much about the Massachusetts senator that could cut into Trump’s populist message, and that her discipline as a candidate could be a major boon to her chances. Others in Trumpworld have argued that the campaign should hold off on attacking Warren just yet, maintaining that her liberal policies would make her an easier target in the general election.

Warren has mounted a quiet and steady rise in the polls throughout the spring, crisscrossing the country and touting her massive trove of policy proposals as a counter to Trump.

In two recent polls in the early voting states of Nevada and California, Warren leapfrogged Sanders for second place behind Biden. And the Democratic establishment has also begun to signal a level of comfort with Warren as the potential nominee.

It won’t hurt that Warren will likely be able to escape the fray of the party’s first primary debates, as she is the only frontrunner who will appear on stage when debates kick off next week, while Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Kamala Harris and South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg will battle it out on the second night of debates.

The foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, is set to go head-to-head against Boris Johnson, the gaffe-prone former mayor of London, in the final round of the race to become Britain’s next prime minister.

Both men are political heavyweights with decades of experience between them.

Johnson is the favourite to win, but after a subdued campaign, he has yet to land a knockout blow that will see him win the race for the leadership of the Conservative Party – and by default take the keys to Number 10 Downing Street, the official residence and office of the country’s prime minister. 

In the final secret ballot of the 313 Conservative MPs, Michael Gove, once a close ally of Johnson, secured 75 votes, having punched above his weight in the previous round of voting when he surged into second place.

In the previous leadership contest three years ago, Gove had scuppered his friend’s chances by declaring his own bid on the day Johnson was due to announce his candidacy. Gove said Johnson was simply “not up to the job” of leading the country.

Hunt came second in the fifth round of voting, the second to be held on Thursday, with 77 votes, while Johnson was given the support of 160 of the party’s MPs.

Prime Minister Theresa May earlier this month formally stepped down as party leader after her authority to govern collapsed following several failed attempts to win Parliament’s approval for a negotiated deal to leave the European Union, or Brexit.

Ten candidates stood in the first round of the MPs’ secret votes, and now they have been pared down to two. The decision on who will lead the country of some 65 million people will be put by postal ballot to the 160,000 members of the Conservative Party. The new prime minister will be named in the week of July 22.

May’s successor will face the same parliamentary arithmetic that prevented her from governing with a majority, along with a public which appears to be disenchanted with Brexit and the way it is being delivered, as well as the British political leadership as a whole. 

Head to head

Boris Johnson

The mop-haired former foreign secretary is widely known in Britain simply as “Boris”, no surname necessary. He has cultivated a reputation as a befuddled and bemused character on TV political comedy quiz shows, but is also fond of showing off his extensive education.

He is rarely far from cracking a joke in Latin, and few are in any doubt as to his intellect and linguistic agility. He served two full four-year terms as mayor of London but his experience in government’s top jobs is limited, and he infamously staged a photoshoot for his resignation as foreign secretary.

His gaffes are frequent, and while usually inconsequential, his misleading comments about Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s purpose in visiting Iran saw the British-Iranian mother, jailed by Tehran, hauled before a court where his remarks were used as “proof” she had been engaged in “propaganda against the regime”.

He is a “hard Brexiteer”, having first made his name as a Europe correspondent. Sacked by The Times for making up a quote, he became Brussels columnist for the Conservative-leaning Daily Telegraph, where he became “one of the greatest exponents of fake journalism”, according to former EU external affairs commissioner Chris Patten.

He has also used outright bigotry in his writing, using the words “piccaninnies” with “watermelon smiles” when referring to Africans. He has referred to gay men as “tank-topped bumboys” and insinuated that United States President Barack Obama had an “ancestral dislike” for Britain due to his being “part-Kenyan”.

Jeremy Hunt

The most controversial health secretary in recent memory, Hunt oversaw the imposition of a new junior doctors’ employment contract after negotiations with unions broke down.

Such was the discontent, doctors went on strike – the first such industrial action in 40 years. He also refused to award nurses a one percent pay raise.

Hunt has also faced criticism over his failure to declare part-ownership in a property company. It was revealed he bought a series of luxury apartments thanks to a substantial discount from a property developer who was a major Conservative Party donor. A spokesman said at the time it was “an honest administrative mistake”.

As foreign secretary, Hunt has been a frequent supporter of Britain’s friendship with Saudi Arabia, particularly when Riyadh has come into criticism for its actions in the war in Yemen and the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.