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A Palestinian rammed his vehicle into a cop car in Shomron in what the military was investigating as a terror attack.

The incident occurred at the Eli gas station, the scene of repeated acts of terrorism against Israelis.

“A Palestinian vehicle accelerated towards a police car and collided with it, there were no casualties,” according to the Israel Defense Forces.

“Troops caught the terrorist and transferred him to security forces for further investigation,” added the statement.

On Sunday, three Israeli police officers were killed in a drive-by shooting near the Tarqumiya checkpoint, some 7.5 miles northwest of Chevron in Yehuda.

They were named as Chief Inspector Arik Ben Eliyahu, 37, of Kiryat Gat, who is survived by his wife and three children; Command Sgt. Maj. Hadas Branch, 53, of Sde Moshe, who is survived by her husband, three children and granddaughter; and 1st Sgt. Roni Shakuri, 61, of Sderot, who is survived by his wife, daughter and granddaughter.

Shakuri’s other daughter, 1st Sgt. Mor Shakuri, 29, was killed on Oct. 7 while battling an attempt by Hamas terrorists to take control of the police station in Sderot, in southern Israel near the border with Gaza.

(JNS)

A Pakistani national, whom Canadian authorities arrested on Wednesday, planned to carry out an ISIS-styled, mass shooting terror attack against Jews in New York, the U.S. Justice Department alleged on Friday.

Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, 20, who also answers to Shahzeb Jadoon, “attempted to travel from Canada to New York City, where he intended to use automatic and semi-automatic weapons to carry out a mass shooting in support of ISIS at a Jewish center in Brooklyn, N.Y.,” per the complaint.

Khan allegedly distributed ISIS videos and literature and expressed support for ISIS on social media and via encrypted messages. Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham is a U.S.-designated terror organization.

The defendant allegedly wrote that he wanted to target “Israeli Jewish Chabads … scattered all around,” per the 19-page complaint.

The Justice Department alleges that Khan “conveyed that he hoped to carry out this attack on or around Oct. 7, 2024—which Khan recognized as the one year anniversary of the brutal terrorist attacks in Israel by Hamas, a designated foreign terror organization, which, on Oct. 7, 2023, launched a wave of violent, large-scale terrorist attacks in Israel that resulted in the deaths and hostage taking of hundreds of civilians, including American citizens.”

Khan allegedly told undercover officers that he wanted to “go for Oct. 7 or Oct 11, Yom kippur, a major festival for the Jews,” per the complaint. “Khan emphasized that ‘Oct. 7 and Oct. 11 are the best days for targeting the Jews,’ because ‘Oct. 7 they will surely have some protests and Oct. 11 is Yom Kippur,’ and ‘they don’t have any other major festival then till next summer.’”

“In selecting New York City as his target location, Khan told the undercover law enforcement officers that ‘New York is perfect to target jews’ because it has the ‘largest Jewish population In America,’ and, as such, ‘even if we don’t attack a event, we could rack up easily a lot of Jews,” the complaint adds.

The defendant told the undercover officers that “he intended to kill as many Jewish civilians as possible, proclaiming that ‘we are going to New York City to slaughter them,’” per the complaint, which added that Khan allegedly sent a photograph “of the specific area” where he planned to attack to the undercover officers.

Per the complaint, Khan also allegedly told the undercover officers not to wear beards, so they wouldn’t attract attention, and that “you guys will even have to attend some synagogue or Chabad sessions” to “check the insides of the buildings.” He told them it was necessary to identify emergency exits in buildings, “so we can trap them and kill them inside,” per the complaint.

“In addition, Khan also explained that they should not record their ISIS allegiance video, or ‘bayah,’ until later because it would run the risk of them being caught by law enforcement prior to the planned attack,” the complaint alleges.

One of several cities that Khan flagged had “more relaxed” gun laws, he allegedly told the undercover officers.

“What’s the point of living till you’re 70 and dying on a hospital bed when we can attain shahadah in our youths, Inshalah,” he said, per the complaint. (The complaint defines the first term as a declaration of faith and the second as God willing.)

“The defendant is alleged to have planned a terrorist attack in New York City around Oct. 7 of this year with the stated goal of slaughtering, in the name of ISIS, as many Jewish people as possible,” stated Merrick Garland, the U.S. attorney general.

“Thanks to the investigative work of the FBI, and the quick action of our Canadian law enforcement partners, the defendant was taken into custody,” Garland said. “Jewish communities—like all communities in this country—should not have to fear that they will be targeted by a hate-fueled terrorist attack.”

(JNS)

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are veering sharply in how they gear up for Tuesday’s presidential debate, setting up a showdown that reflects not just two separate visions for the country but two politicians who approach big moments very differently. The vice president is cloistered in a historic hotel in downtown Pittsburgh where she can focus on honing crisp two-minute answers, per the debate’s rules. She’s been working with aides since Thursday and chose a venue that allows the Democratic nominee the option of mingling with swing-state voters. Trump, the Republican nominee, publicly dismisses the value of studying for the debate. The former president is choosing instead to fill his days with campaign-related events on the premise that he’ll know what he needs to do once he steps on the debate stage at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. “You can go in with all the strategy you want but you have to sort of feel it out as the debate’s taking place,” he said during a town hall with Fox News host Sean Hannity. Trump then quoted former boxing great Mike Tyson, who said, “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face.” Harris has said she is prepared for Trump to rattle off insults and misrepresent facts, even as her campaign has seen value in focusing on the middle class and the prospects of a better future for the country. “We should be prepared for the fact that he is not burdened by telling the truth,” Harris said in a radio interview for the Rickey Smiley Morning Show. “He tends to fight for himself, not for the American people, and I think that’s going to come out during the course of the debate.” In her own preparation, Harris has the Democratic consultant Philippe Reines, a longtime aide to Hillary Clinton, portraying Trump. She likes to describe Trump as having a “playbook” of falsehoods to go after Democrats such as Clinton and former President Barack Obama. Harris has said she understands Trump on a deeper psychological level. She has tried in speeches like her remarks at the Democratic National Convention to show that she would be a stronger leader than him — an argument that gets at Trump’s own desire to project and show strength. Trump’s June 27 debate against President Joe Biden shook up the election, with Biden’s disastrous performance ultimately leading to him stepping aside as the Democratic nominee and endorsing Harris. Both campaigns know the first in-person meeting between Harris and Trump could be a decisive event in a tight race. Trump is preemptively criticizing the ABC News debate moderators, claiming he will not be treated fairly. But he said he plans to let Harris speak, just as he did during his debate with Biden. “I let him talk. I’m gonna let her talk,” he said during the Hannity town hall. Trump aides said that this time would be no different than the previous debate and that the former president would not be doing any more traditional prep. There are no stand-ins, no sets, no play-acting. Instead, they point to Trump’s frequent interviews, including taking questions at lengthy press conferences, sitting for hourlong podcasts, and participating in town halls with friendly hosts like Hannity. Trump also meets regularly with policy advisers who are experts […]

Boeing’s first astronaut mission ended Friday night with an empty capsule landing and two test pilots still in space, left behind until next year because NASA judged their return too risky. Six hours after departing the International Space Station, Starliner parachuted into New Mexico’s White Sands Missile Range, descending on autopilot through the desert darkness. It was an uneventful close to a drama that began with the June launch of Boeing’s long-delayed crew debut and quickly escalated into a dragged-out cliffhanger of a mission stricken by thruster failures and helium leaks. For months, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams’ return was in question as engineers struggled to understand the capsule’s problems. Boeing insisted after extensive testing that Starliner was safe to bring the two home, but NASA disagreed and booked a flight with SpaceX instead. Their SpaceX ride won’t launch until the end of this month, which means they’ll be up there until February — more than eight months after blasting off on what should have been a quick trip. Wilmore and Williams should have flown Starliner back to Earth by mid-June, a week after launching in it. But their ride to the space station was marred by the cascade of thruster trouble and helium loss, and NASA ultimately decided it was too risky to return them on Starliner. So with fresh software updates, the fully automated capsule left with their empty seats and blue spacesuits along with some old station equipment. “She’s on her way home,” Williams radioed as the white and blue-trimmed capsule undocked from the space station 260 miles (420 kilometers) over China and disappeared into the black void. Williams stayed up late to see how everything turned out. “A good landing, pretty awesome,” said Boeing’s Mission Control. Cameras on the space station and a pair of NASA planes caught the capsule as a white streak coming in for the touchdown, which drew cheer. There were some snags during reentry, including more thruster issues, but Starliner made a “bull’s-eye landing,” said NASA’s commercial crew program manager Steve Stich. Even with the safe return, “I think we made the right decision not to have Butch and Suni on board,” Stich said at a news conference early Saturday. “All of us feel happy about the successful landing. But then there’s a piece of us, all of us, that we wish it would have been the way we had planned it.” Boeing did not participate in the Houston news briefing. But two of the company’s top space and defense officials, Ted Colbert and Kay Sears, told employees in a note that they backed NASA’s ruling. “While this may not have been how we originally envisioned the test flight concluding, we support NASA’s decision for Starliner and are proud of how our team and spacecraft performed,” the executives wrote. Starliner’s crew demo capped a journey filled with delays and setbacks. After the space shuttles retired more than a decade ago, NASA hired Boeing and SpaceX for orbital taxi service. Boeing ran into so many problems on its first test flight with no one aboard in 2019 that it had to repeat it. The 2022 do-over uncovered even more flaws and the repair bill topped $1 billion. SpaceX’s crew ferry flight later this month will be its 10th for NASA since 2020. The […]

The United States has informed allies that it believes Iran has transferred short-range ballistic missiles to Russia for its war in Ukraine, according to two people familiar with the matter. They did not offer any details about how many weapons have been delivered or when the transfers may have occurred, but they confirmed the U.S. intelligence finding. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a matter that has not been publicly disclosed. The White House declined to confirm the weapons transfer but reiterated its concern that Iran is deepening its support of Russia. The White House has been warning Iran for months not to transfer ballistic missiles to Russia. “Any transfer of Iranian ballistic missiles to Russia would represent a dramatic escalation in Iran’s support for Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and lead to the killing of more Ukrainian civilians,” National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said in a statement. “This partnership threatens European security and illustrates how Iran’s destabilizing influence reaches beyond the Middle East and around the world.” The U.S. finding comes as the Kremlin tries to repel Ukraine’s surprise offensive that has led to the seizure of about 500 square miles (1,300 kilometers) of Russia’s Kursk region. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is pressing allies to allow his country to use Western-supplied missiles to strike deep inside Russia and hit sites from which Moscow launches aerial attacks. Iran, as it has with previous U.S. intelligence findings, denied providing Russia with weapons for its war in Ukraine. “Iran considers the provision of military assistance to the parties engaged in the conflict — which leads to increased human casualties, destruction of infrastructure, and a distancing from ceasefire negotiations — to be inhumane,” according to a statement from Iran’s mission to the United Nations. “Thus, not only does Iran abstain from engaging in such actions itself, but it also calls upon other countries to cease the supply of weapons to the sides involved in the conflict.” CIA Director William Burns, who was in London on Saturday for a joint appearance with his British intelligence counterpart, warned of the growing and “troubling” defense relationship involving Russia, China, Iran and North Korea that he said threatens both Ukraine and Western allies in the Middle East. The White House has repeatedly declassified and publicized intelligence findings that show North Korea has sent ammunition and missiles to Russia to use against Ukraine, while Iran supplies Moscow with attack drones and has assisted the Kremlin with building a drone-manufacturing factory. China has held back from providing Russians with weaponry but has surged sales to Russia of machine tools, microelectronics and other technology that Moscow in turn is using to produce missiles, tanks, aircraft and other weaponry, according to U.S. officials. The White House has been on edge for months about a possible deal between Iran and Russia. The Democratic administration said in January that U.S. intelligence officials had determined a Russian-Iran deal had not been completed, but officials were concerned that Russia’s negotiations to acquire missiles from Iran were actively advancing. Last September, according to the White House, Iran hosted a top Russian defense official to show off a range of ballistic missile systems, adding to the U.S. concern that a deal could come together. The U.S. and other countries have taken steps […]

Allan Lichtman, known for accurately predicting the outcome of 9 out of the last 10 U.S. presidential elections, has revealed his forecast for the upcoming race. According to Lichtman, Vice President Kamala Harris is poised to reclaim the White House for the Democrats. In a video first reported by The New York Times, Lichtman explained his prediction, which is based on his signature “13 keys” system. These “true-false” questions assess the strength and performance of the incumbent White House party and focus on factors such as economic conditions, policy success, and charisma of the candidates. Eight of the keys favor Harris, while three align with former President Donald Trump, Lichtman said. Lichtman, a professor at American University in Washington, D.C., cautioned that foreign policy remains a volatile factor. He highlighted the Biden administration’s involvement in the Gaza conflict as a potential turning point, but noted that even if two foreign policy keys were to flip, Harris would still have the advantage. Known for his decades of accurate forecasting, Lichtman urged voters to engage in the democratic process, saying, “At least that’s my prediction for this race, but the outcome is up to you, so get out and vote.” Lichtman’s only misstep in his predictive model came in the contentious 2000 election, where Republican George W. Bush narrowly defeated Democrat Al Gore. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, the running mate of Vice President Kamala Harris, voiced his support for anti-Israel protesters in Michigan during an interview on Thursday, arguing that demonstrators “are speaking out for all the right reasons.” His remarks were made in response to a question from WCMU, a public radio station in Michigan, regarding the Harris-Walz campaign’s stance on the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. “I think those folks who are speaking out loudly in Michigan are speaking out for all the right reasons. It’s a humanitarian crisis. It can’t stand the way it is, and we need to find a way that people can live together in this,” Walz said, referring to recent protests against Israel’s military actions in Gaza. “What we saw on October 7 was a horrific act of violence against the people of Israel,” Walz said, reaffirming that Israel has the right to defend itself and emphasizing that “the United States will always stand by that.” Notably, Walz did not mention Hamas or the murder of six hostages, including U.S. citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin, in his response. Instead, he focused on the need for a ceasefire and a two-state solution, expressing concern over the situation in Gaza. “The Palestinian people have every right to life and liberty themselves,” he added. Walz also indicated that the U.S. should pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to move towards a peace agreement. “We need the Netanyahu government to start moving in that direction,” he said, calling for a ceasefire and hostages’ release as part of efforts to achieve a sustainable two-state solution. Walz’s earlier appearances with a Muslim cleric who has shared antisemitic and pro-Hamas content have drawn scrutiny in recent months, and this interview doesn’t help his case in asserting that he is really pro-Israel. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

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The IDF stated on Motzei Shabbos that IDF fighter jets carried out an airstrike on Thursday on a terror command center hidden within the humanitarian area in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza that was being used by Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists. The operation, carried out “to remove an immediate threat,” was conducted under the direction of the Shin Bet, IDF Military Intelligence Directorate, and the Southern Command. A number of terrorists were eliminated in the strike, including two Islamic Jihad battalion commanders. One was named as Abdallah Khatib, commander of the Islamic Jihad’s Southern Deir al-Balah Battalion, who led the battalion’s terror acts during the October 7 massacre in Israel and later carried out terror attacks against Israel, including firing mortars and anti-tank missiles. The second commander was Hatem Abu Aljidian, the Islamic Jihad’s Eastern Deir al-Balah Battalion commander. He led and carried out terror attacks against IDF soldiers during the ground war in Gaza. (YWN’s Jerusalem desk is keeping you updated after tzeis ha’Shabbos in Israel)

An attempted terror attack occurred on the yishuv of Eli in Binyamin on Shabbos when a Palestinian car rammed into a police car at a gas station. B’Chasdei Hashem, the police car was empty at the time and no one was injured. The terrorist was arrested and transferred to the Shin Bet for questioning. The IDF confirmed: “A short while ago, a report was received regarding an attempted car-ramming attack at a gas station in Eli during which a Palestinian vehicle accelerated toward and rammed into a police car. No injuries were reported.” “IDF soldiers arrested the terrorist and he was transferred to security forces for further investigation.” (YWN’s Jerusalem desk is keeping you updated after tzeis ha’Shabbos in Israel)

A Pakistani national residing in Canada has been charged with attempting to provide material support to ISIS after allegedly plotting a mass shooting targeting Jewish communities in Brooklyn, New York. Federal prosecutors revealed the details on Friday, describing the alleged plan as an attempt to “slaughter as many Jewish people as possible.” Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, 20, was arrested in Canada earlier this week. According to the criminal complaint, he had been planning to travel to New York to carry out a terrorist attack at a Jewish center in Brooklyn. Khan began expressing his support for ISIS on social media and encrypted messaging platforms in November of last year, the complaint said. While Khan’s plot was described by an NYPD official as “aspirational” rather than fully operational, the investigation revealed his intent to target a Jewish center, though the specific location appeared flexible. Law enforcement officials also believe that Khan lacked access to a weapon, prompting him to communicate with undercover agents. Khan allegedly told the undercover agents about his plans for a “coordinated assault” involving AR-style rifles, aiming to target “Israeli Jewish chabads.” According to the charges, Khan expressed a preference for carrying out the attack on October 7 or October 11, which coincide with the anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel and Yom Kippur, respectively. Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a statement announcing the charges, saying, “The defendant is alleged to have planned a terrorist attack in New York City around October 7th of this year with the stated goal of slaughtering, in the name of ISIS, as many Jewish people as possible.” Garland added, “Jewish communities – like all communities in this country – should not have to fear that they will be targeted by a hate-fueled terrorist attack.” In response to the potential threat, the NYPD has announced plans to increase security in Jewish neighborhoods ahead of the high holy days. A security briefing for community leaders was already scheduled for Monday at NYPD headquarters. Khan faces one count of attempting to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization. If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu’s ruling Likud Party held a steady lead in the polls this week, with the premier’s approval rate remaining significantly higher than those of his main political rivals, according to a new Direct Polls survey by Channel 14 on Thursday.

Direct Polls, which correctly predicted the results of Israel’s most recent election in November 2022, surveyed a representative sample of 536 Israeli adults on Sept. 5. (The margin of error is plus or minus 4.6 percentage points at a confidence level of 95%, Direct Polls said.)

If a general election were to be held today, the Likud Party would secure 29 seats out of the Israeli parliament’s 120, down by one since last week.

Benny Gantz’s National Unity received the next most projected seats (17), followed by Yisrael Beiteinu (13), Yesh Atid and the Democrats (11 each), Shas (10), United Torah Judaism (eight), Otzma Yehudit and Ra’am (six each), Religious Zionism (five) and Hadash-Ta’al (four).

Mansour Abbas’s Islamist Ra’am Party gained one Knesset mandate at the expense of the Arab Hadash-Ta’al Party, while Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionism Party also rose by one seat.

No political camp would win a majority. Hence, Netanyahu or Gantz would only be able to form a coalition if members of the opposite bloc join or, alternatively, through the establishment of a unity government.

Respondents chose Netanyahu over Gantz as better suited for the job of prime minister by 43% to 27%. In a matchup with Yair Lapid of the Yesh Atid Party, Netanyahu was deemed more suitable by 45% to 29%.

The Likud Party has held 32 seats in the Knesset since the 2022 general election, in addition to the 32 seats held by his right-wing and religious allies. The next Israeli national vote is scheduled for 2026 unless the Netanyahu-led government collapses and early elections are called.

Last week’s poll recorded the largest projected number of Likud seats since Yerushalayim launched a defensive war against the Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip following the Oct. 7 cross-border attacks.

(JNS)

A history podcaster interviewed by right-wing commentator Tucker Carlson and boosted by billionaire X owner Elon Musk has received condemnation from the Yad Vashem Holocaust: the World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Yerushalayim.

“Recently, Darryl Cooper, in a podcast with Tucker Carlson, made statements that grossly misrepresent the German Nazi regime’s actions during Operation Barbarossa in 1941,” Yad Vashem said in a statement about the video released earlier this week.

“Cooper claimed that the Nazis were ‘unprepared’ to handle millions of prisoners of war and political dissidents, suggesting their brutality was a result of poor planning,” per the museum.

Yad Vashem called the claim “patently false,” responding that “the German invasion of the Soviet Union was long-planned and included genocidal strategies of dealing with the local Jewish population not as a response to logistical challenges, but as an ideological one.”

Dani Dayan, chairman of Yad Vashem, said “Tucker Carlson and his guest Darryl Cooper engaged in one of the most repugnant forms of Holocaust denial of recent years. These far-fetched conspiracy theories are not only dangerous and malevolent, they are antisemitic.”

In the interview, Cooper described Winston Churchill as the “the chief villain of the Second World War.”

Dan Michman, a professor and the head of Yad Vashem’s International Institute for Holocaust Research, said “Mr. Cooper isn’t known for having done any scholarly research on Nazism and the Holocaust, and his statements in this interview clearly demonstrate his ignorance.”

Musk deleted his X posting promoting the Carlson-Cooper interview, which he had initially described as “very interesting” and “worth watching.”

(JNS)

The 14-year-old boy accused of fatally shooting four people and wounding nine others at his Georgia high school made his first court appearance Friday morning – just hours after his father was arrested and charged with second-degree murder in connection with the attack.

The alleged shooter, Colt Gray, faces four counts of felony murder in connection with Wednesday’s shooting at Apalachee High School, which left two fellow students and two teachers dead. Barrow County District Attorney Brad Smith, whose office is prosecuting the case, said Friday that more charges could be filed against Gray but did not give a timeline.

Gray was brought into Barrow County Superior Court shortly after 8:30 a.m. through a side door, dressed in a green shirt and khaki pants, his long, bleached blond hair shaggy, and shackled at his wrists and feet. He did not look around the courtroom but quickly took a seat and identified himself for Piedmont Judicial Circuit Judge Currie M. Mingledorff II.

Mingledorff initially told Gray that the potential penalties included capital punishment. He later brought Gray back into court to amend that and told Gray that the penalties would not include death because he is under age 18. A preliminary hearing was set for Dec. 4.

Gray’s attorney, public defender Zane Harmon, said he was not requesting bond at this time.

Gray’s father, Colin Gray, appeared a short time later, dressed in striped gray jail attire and handcuffed and shackled as well. Asked to state his name, Colin Gray replied in a hoarse voice, so quietly that the judge ordered him to speak more loudly into a microphone.

The judge read through Colin Gray’s charges and informed him he faced a maximum 180 years in prison if convicted – including a 30-year maximum sentence on each of the second-degree murder charges. As the judge read through the charges, Colin Gray rocked back and forth in his chair.

The elder Gray’s attorney, public defender Donna Seagraves, told the judge she was not seeking bond “at this time.” She said she was representing Colin Gray temporarily and that, like his son, he planned to obtain “alternate” counsel later Friday. His preliminary hearing was also set for Dec. 4.

Several dozen friends and family members of the victims were seated in the first two rows of the third-floor courtroom. Court staff distributed boxes of tissues along the rows ahead of the hearing. Many sat quietly, staring at a rear entry door to the courtroom, as they awaited the suspect’s arrival.

Some family members wore sunglasses and wiped at tears, as victim-support staffers with the district attorney’s office consoled them. Others sat with their arms crossed, showing little emotion, as they silently stared at Colt Gray and his father as they were shuffled in and out of court.

Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith and more than a dozen armed deputies lined the walls of the third-floor courtroom at the Barrow County Courthouse, which was under heavy security Friday.

The younger Gray, a high school freshman, was arrested Wednesday after a brief confrontation at the school and is being held at a juvenile detention center in nearby Gainesville, Ga. State officials have said they plan to try the teen as an adult. Arrest warrants filed Thursday in the case accused Gray of using a “black, semiautomatic AR-15 style rifle” in the fatal attack.

Colin Gray, 54, was taken into custody Thursday on four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children in connection with the deadly shooting.

Chris Hosey, director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, said at a Thursday evening news conference that the elder Gray’s arrest was “directly connected with the actions of his son and allowing him to possess a weapon.” Arrest warrants filed against Colin Gray and obtained by The Post accused him of “providing a firearm to Colt Gray with knowledge that he was a threat to himself and others.”

The charges against Colin Gray came a day after the FBI’s Atlanta office and the sheriff’s office in Jackson County, Ga., a neighboring county to Barrow, revealed that they had investigated Colt Gray and questioned him and his father in May 2023 after being tipped off about menacing social media posts threatening a school shooting.

Colt Gray denied writing the posts and told officers he was concerned that anyone would suggest he would threaten to “shoot up a school, stating that he would never say such a thing, even in a joking manner,” according to records of the investigation obtained by The Washington Post.

According to the records, Colin Gray acknowledged having rifles and other guns in the home, but he told officers that his son was not allowed to use guns without supervision and that the boy did not have “unfettered access” to them.

Both father and son have been charged in the deaths of students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14, and teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53. The nine others injured by gunfire in the attack are expected to survive, Smith, the sheriff, said Thursday.

– – –

(c) Washington Post

Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu joins Fox & Friends to discuss the state of the negotiations with Hamas.

NEW YORK – A judge on Friday delayed Donald Trump’s hush money sentencing until after the November election, which means voters will cast ballots without knowing whether the Republican nominee could face jail time for his conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records.

Prosecutors did not object to a request from Trump’s attorneys to delay the sentencing, which had been scheduled for Sept. 18. New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan said it will instead happen on Nov. 26.

Trump was found guilty in May of trying to cover up the nature of a $130,000 payment  made weeks before the 2016 election. A Manhattan jury claimed that Trump broke the law when he misclassified his reimbursements for the payment as routine legal fees in an effort to hide the information from the public.

Trump faces up to four years in prison, but as a first-time offender he could receive a sentence that does not involve incarceration.

He is seeking to toss the guilty verdict altogether, based in part on a July 1 Supreme Court decision giving presidents broad protection for conduct carried out while in office. The case is one of four criminal indictments brought against Trump as he makes his third run for the White House.

While the Supreme Court immunity ruling stemmed from defense claims in Trump’s federal election obstruction case in D.C., his lawyers were quick to argue that it also applied to his case in New York state court. They said the decision meant some evidence should have been excluded from the trial and from the grand jury presentation.

Trump’s legal team has said it will also appeal the conviction on more traditional grounds, calling the verdict the result of flawed testimony from a chronic liar recruited by an overly zealous prosecutor.

(c) 2024, The Washington Post · Shayna Jacobs 

Research funded by the Jim Joseph Foundation, based on multiple years of surveys, suggests that a sizable cohort of students oppose the Jewish state and seek to socially ostracize their peers who disagree with them.

The 65-page report “A Year of Campus Conflict and Growth: An Over-Time Study of the Impact of the Israel-Hamas War on U.S. College Students,” released on Sept. 3, analyzes Jewish students’ experiences on campus in comparison to non-Jewish students. College Pulse, a survey research and analytics company, conducted the surveys, which included hour-long focus group sessions with dozens of students.

The study uses survey responses from the same group of students in April 2022; November and December 2023; and in March and April 2024. It found that one in five non-Jewish respondents did not want to be friends with supporters of Israel. The report also showed recognition of this trend with more than half of Jewish students saying those openly supporting Israel would pay a social price.

“This study, conducted over three years, reveals extraordinary detail about the experience of American college students during a historic period of tensions on campus,” said co-author Eitan Hersh, a political science professor Eitan Hersh at Tufts University and College Pulse.

Hersh said the study’s focus groups “give voice to students from wildly different backgrounds about what they think of Jewish students, Israel, and the protest movements at their schools.”

He added that “the survey analysis shows how differently Jewish and non-Jewish students experienced the last year on campus and hints at what can be expected in the future.”

(JNS)

While the death toll on Israel’s roads continues to climb, with 358 people killed in 2023 due to motor vehicle accidents, the ability to deter Palestinian drivers from violating the rules of the road continues to deteriorate.

Even in cases where Palestinians are issued tickets for life-threatening traffic infringements such as speeding or driving through red lights, there is little to no incentive for them to pay their fines, and Israeli police have no way to enforce them.

During a meeting this week of the Knesset Subcommittee for Yehuda and Shomron, the topic of law enforcement on roads in Yehuda and Shomron was discussed. The meeting, which was initiated by subcommittee chairman Tzvi Sukkot, revealed a troubling phenomenon.

Police representatives said during the Knesset discussion that 79% of tickets issued to Arabs in the region go unpaid. The police representatives added that there are almost no tools to enforce the payment of these tickets.

Out of 52,000 traffic tickets issued in Yehuda and Shomron annually, 70% go to Palestinian violators. Eighty percent of these tickets go paid. Some vehicles accumulate 20 or 30 tickets, and Palestinians disregard them.

The police representative at the meeting added that there is no monitoring system to track whether Palestinians pay for their tickets. A senior official in the Yehuda and Shomron District described the situation: “The police are working at full throttle but going nowhere.”

Pushing back against the police’s claim, the head of transportation at the Civil Administration revealed that there is an order that allows for the confiscation of vehicles 120 days after a fine is issued. This regulation has been in place since the 1990s but has not been enforced.

The police representative responded by saying that vehicle seizure operations in Yehuda and Shomron are effective but limited in scope. This year, 1,800 Palestinian vehicles that committed life-threatening violations were confiscated, but due to a shortage of manpower, only a portion of the required operations can be carried out.

The police also said that they have a difficult time enforcing the tickets against Palestinian drivers as there is no civil jurisdiction over them. In the past, Israel offered the Palestinian Authority the opportunity to enforce the tickets and keep the money collected, to make the fines effective, but that was refused.

Sukkot said, “The police are expanding enforcement, but it is far from enough. Even after the police issue fines, there is almost no incentive for Palestinians to pay them. When the roads of Yehuda and Shomron become a breeding ground for traffic violators, it costs us lives. This is the fourth discussion I’ve held in my committee on this issue and I intend to lead more discussions until the desired change is achieved.”
The Ministry of Transport and Road Safety has also recognized the dangers in Yehuda and Shomron and has therefore decided to push forward with plans to expand Route 60, the primary north-south artery that runs throughout the entirety of Yehuda and Shomron and beyond.

“Expanding the roads in this area is not only a basic need but also an important step security-wise,” said Transport Minister Miri Regev.

“During the previous [government] period, the necessary steps of developing the roads were not taken here, and we are rectifying this,” Regev said. “The road from Yerushalayim northwards will be expanded and doubled along its entire length; together, we are making history.”

Route 60 is currently being expanded from one lane to two in each direction from Yerushalayim southward through all of Gush Etzion, and eventually to Chevron.

To the north, construction is underway to expand the road to two lanes in each direction from Yerushalayim to Sha’ar Binyamin. Recently, a tender was issued to continue the expansion up to the British Police (HaMishtara HaBritit) Junction just north of Ofra. Plans are being developed to continue the expansion past Shiloh and Eli and then to the Tapuach Junction.

Minister Regev did not explain how the law of induced demand won’t inevitably result in the road widening project creating more traffic over time.

(JNS)

“The army is now seriously turning its attention to Yehuda and Shomron. The terrorists have raised their heads,” a regional Yehuda and Shomron security chief, who simultaneously is serving in the IDF reserves as part of the “Operation Summer Camp” anti-terror campaign in the territories that began on Aug. 28, told JNS on Wednesday.

“It could be that until now they [the terrorists] didn’t have the finances, since Hamas in Gaza was funding all attacks in Yehuda and Shomron, [including those carried out by Palestinian Islamic Jihad], but it is possible they have now gotten together the funding,” he added. “The army realizes that it must deal with this now, and quickly, especially before the Jewish holidays.”

Israel’s security establishment has indicated its intention to intensify the offensive in Yehuda and Shomron, following a sharp increase in attempted terrorist attacks in recent days.

The current operation is the largest in the region since 2002’s “Operation Defensive Shield” during the Second Intifada.

Last Friday night, terrorists from the Chevron area attempted coordinated car-bombing attacks in Gush Etzion, while on Monday a car laden with 49 kilograms of explosives was neutralized outside the Binyamin region community of Ateret.

In addition, three Israeli police officers were killed in a drive-by terrorist shooting on Sunday morning on Route 35 near Hebron. The al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an arm of Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah faction, took responsibility for the attack.

“As the army proceeds in its missions, you are going to have Palestinians who want to be ‘martyrs,’ and their deaths are going to cause a whirlpool of responses, including others who will attempt attacks,” the security chief told JNS.

“I think that in order to try and show the army that it is not effective, there will be attempts [at attacks] here, there and everywhere. Maybe even a terrorist attempt per day, like in the 2015 ‘knife intifada,’ over the next couple of months. From the army’s assessment, we know that just like the attempted suicide bombing in Tel Aviv a few weeks ago, they are going to try to infiltrate [Green Line] Israel and try to carry out attacks as well,” he added.

National Religious Party MK Simcha Rothman, who lives in the Gush Etzion community of Pnei Kedem, told JNS, “I think the operation in Tulkarem and Jenin is a start, but it is far from being enough. The main problem is the Palestinian Authority, which pays the terrorists—some of the terrorists themselves are employed by the P.A. in its security forces, with some trained by the U.S. They are behind many of the terrorist attacks we see in Yehuda and Shomron.

“Until we understand that the IDF must be responsible for security, and stop thinking the P.A. is an ally, we will sadly see more and more terrorist attacks. The current operations might solve small problems, but it won’t create a new reality in Yehuda and Shomron,” added Rothman.

“Sadly, residents of Yehuda and Shomron are used to terrorist attacks, but when you see bombings, booby-trapped cars and attempted infiltrations, it creates great worry. We all understand now [since Oct. 7] that the difference between Yehuda and Shomron and the rest of the country has become indistinguishable.

“[Kibbutz] Be’eri and [Kibbutz] Kfar Aza, weren’t so-called ‘settlements,’” Rothman continued. “Citizens of Israel in Sderot and Ofakim and all around are dealing with the same jihadist powers from Iran, Gaza, Yehuda and Shomron, the Houthis [in Yemen], etc. And sadly, you can find those same forces from Iran and Qatar in the mosques of New Jersey, New York, Los Angeles and Florida, because those are the same ideologies and the driving force behind terror.”

Binyamin Regional Council head and Yesha Council chairman Israel Ganz told JNS, “I demand a simple, principled approach to match the [military] actions with the threats. The army is working hard; soldiers and commanders are working tirelessly, for which we are all deeply grateful. However, if you don’t align the campaign with the threats, then you’re just chasing mosquitoes instead of draining the swamp.

“Therefore, my demand is clear: If we don’t act here as if we are in war, then war will catch up with us. The State of Israel needs to operate in Jenin as it does in Gaza, and in Chevron as in Rafah. We need to evacuate the [Palestinian] population and conduct a ‘mow the grass’ approach in the city centers and terror capitals, including razing terrorist neighborhoods and infrastructure to the ground,” he said.

Ganz noted that the IDF operation is having a strong impact on residents’ lives. “We feel the rise in terrorism on a daily basis and security is a lot tighter. That being said, the residents of Yehuda and Shomron are stronger now than ever before and are showing resilience. We have strong communities and value-driven families, and we say to the state leadership and the army: go full steam ahead towards victory on all fronts, we are behind you.’”

Religious Zionism Party MK Ohad Tal, who lives in Efrat, agreed with Rothman that the current military operation is insufficient.

“It’s definitely not enough; it’s just the beginning. The IDF plans to expand its activity against the terrorists, especially in northern Samaria. Israel understands that combating the terror cells in Yehuda and Shomron is inevitable. We know that Iran is smuggling enormous amounts of weapons through the border with Jordan, especially since the beginning of the war. These weapons are used to target innocent Israelis. We will not stand by and allow this to happen,” Tal said.

“The goal of the operation must be to wipe out the terror cells of Jenin, Tulkarem, Chevron and every place necessary, so that they won’t be able to harm and threaten Israeli lives. These terror attacks endanger not only residents of Yehuda and Shomron, but all Israelis,” he added. “As we saw only two weeks ago, a terrorist from Hebron carrying a bomb got to Tel Aviv—and only luck prevented a horrific result.”

(JNS)