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Karine Jean-Pierre Says It’s OK To Call Trump A ‘Threat’ To Democracy Despite Murder Plots: ‘Jan. 6! Jan. 6! Jan. 6!’
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre defended her choice to describe former President Donald Trump as a “threat” to democracy, specifically referencing his involvement in the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. She raised her voice and repeated the date multiple times when addressing the notion that such language might be fueling attempts on Trump’s life.
Jean-Pierre strongly criticized Trump, who is running for the Republican presidential nomination, by reiterating that he poses a danger to the democratic system. This came in response to a question from ABC News’ Selina Wang, who brought up Trump’s claim that the rhetoric against him was leading to efforts on his life, though Trump provided no evidence to support this assertion.
“President Biden has consistently been clear about the danger that the former president presents to our democracy,” Jean-Pierre stated. “He rejected the results of a legitimate election [in 2020] and incited 2,000 enraged individuals to go [to the US Capitol] in an effort to invalidate the outcome of a free and fair election.”
Jean-Pierre further emphasized that Trump’s criticisms wouldn’t deter the president or vice president from continuing to strongly speak out in defense of democracy. “We must be unwavering in our stance. We have to communicate this message with clarity,” she insisted.
The press briefing occurred just days after the arrest of 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh, who was found near Trump’s West Palm Beach, Fla., golf course with a rifle. This came after a July 13 incident in Butler, Pa., where a bullet grazed Trump’s ear and a rally attendee lost their life.
Routh had posted on X in April, using a phrase identical to one Biden and Harris have employed against Trump, stating that “DEMOCRACY is on the ballot.”
Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy confronted Jean-Pierre, questioning the appropriateness of her comments. “Just two days after another attempted assassination of Donald Trump, you’re here calling him a threat. How many more times does someone need to try to kill Trump before you reconsider your use of the word ‘threat’?” he asked.
Jean-Pierre responded forcefully, saying, “I completely reject the foundation of your question. The way you framed it is dangerous, especially with the American public listening,” she said, visibly upset.
She continued, saying that suggesting her remarks were stoking violence was unfounded, particularly when the administration had been explicit in condemning political violence. “What I have said about the former president concerning January 6 is based on facts,” she insisted.
Doocy pushed further, questioning if there was any worry that unstable individuals might take the White House’s rhetoric literally and act on it by attempting to harm Trump. “We are using specific examples,” Jean-Pierre responded, standing by her use of the word “threat.”
“We’re not just throwing this term around lightly. January 6, Peter. January 6. Do I need to keep repeating it? — January 6, 2021! That is a factual event, as documented,” she emphasized. Jean-Pierre also reiterated that the administration has condemned political violence repeatedly.
She concluded with a warning, urging caution in how questions were being posed. “We have to be mindful of the way questions are framed. People are watching, and what you said about us elevating political violence is concerning. This administration stands firm in its commitment to denounce any form of violent or inflammatory rhetoric,” she concluded.
{Matzav.com}
Lapid Discusses Hostage Deal with Obama in DC
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid met with former U.S. president Barack Obama in Washington on Monday, with the two political leaders discussing advancing a deal to return the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.
“I met with former President Barack Obama at his office in Washington,” the head of the Yesh Atid party tweeted on Tuesday morning.
“I thanked him for his public support and his efforts to secure the return of the Israeli hostages held in Gaza. I told him that we all need to work together to ensure a deal that will bring the hostages home,” he wrote.
Lapid also visited the White House on Monday, meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan to talk about the 101 hostages remaining in Gaza and a potential ceasefire agreement to secure their release after nearly a year of captivity.
He was also scheduled to meet on Monday with South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham during his D.C. diplomatic swing. JNS
{Matzav.com}
REWARD FOR HEZBOLLAH: MKs Call On PM To Revoke Israeli-Lebanese Gas Deal Signed By Lapid
Israel’s Nuclear Chief: Iran ‘Continues to Deceive’ the World
Iran continues to deceive the international community about the scope and aims of its nuclear activities, Israel Atomic Energy Commission director general Moshe Edri told attendees at the annual meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, Austria on Tuesday.
“There is no doubt that Iran conducted a military nuclear program aimed to produce several nuclear-weapon devices. Iran continues to advance this program by gaining relevant technology and knowledge, along with fissile material in alarming amounts,” Edri said in a speech.
The Israeli official noted that despite repeated resolutions by the IAEA’s board of governors in recent months, Tehran has “continuously failed to provide technically credible explanations regarding these activities, and continues to deceive the Agency and the international community.”
The possibility of a nuclear-armed Islamic Republic is “not an option that Israel, or the world, can, or should tolerate,” he stated, noting that Iran continues to “develop, test and deploy” long-range ballistic missiles that it could utilize for a widespread nuclear attack on the Jewish state.
Meanwhile, the Syrian regime has “followed the footsteps of its close ally,” pretending to cooperate with the IAEA, “while not admitting the full facts and not providing true answers” regarding its clandestine reactor in the Deir Al-Zour region of eastern Syria, according to Israel.
The international community should “stand behind the IAEA” as it seeks to receive “clear, full explanations” on this from Damascus “once and for all,” Edri stated, echoing similar remarks made at the summit in 2022.
In his comments on Tuesday to the conference, Edri also noted the attacks launched on Israel by Iran and its regional terror proxies over the past months, some of which, he said, have “openly targeted” nuclear facilities.
The national task of the Israel Atomic Energy Commission “is to guarantee the safety and security of our nuclear facilities that are openly targeted by Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran—even more so since Oct. 7,” Edri said, in reference to the Hamas-led cross-border massacre of more than 1,200 people in the northwestern Negev.
“Israel continues to demonstrate its responsible behavior in this regard and continues to take all necessary precautions to ensure that these facilities are operated according to the highest international safety and security standards to withstand these threats as required,” he added.
Iran has continued to ramp up enrichment in recent months, while arguing that its nuclear program is strictly peaceful. Tehran’s stockpile of 60%-enriched uranium has increased by at least 20.6 kilograms (45.5 pounds) since February, AFP reported on May 27, citing an IAEA report.
The confidential document, which was also seen by the Associated Press, revealed that Tehran had accumulated 142.1 kilograms (313.2 pounds) of uranium enriched up to 60%. This level of enrichment is just a technical step from 90% enrichment, considered weapons grade.
According to the IAEA definition, it is technically possible to create an atomic bomb with roughly 42 kilograms (92.5 pounds) of uranium enriched to 60% if the material is further enriched to 90%.
Iran has recently threatened a push towards the weapon of mass destruction. On May 9, an adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that Iran would weaponize its nuclear program if Israel “threatens its existence.”
Also in May, a lawmaker close to the Iranian regime suggested that the regime might already possess an atomic bomb, saying: “In my opinion, we have achieved nuclear weapons, but we do not announce it.”
An expansion underway at the Fordow enrichment plant could allow Iran to accumulate several bombs’ worth of nuclear fuel every month, The Washington Post reported in June, citing confidential documents.
While Tehran has restricted the IAEA’s ability to monitor its nuclear program, inspectors witnessed technicians installing advanced IR-6 centrifuges, per a confidential file shared with the agency’s members.
(JNS)
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REVENGE THREAT: Hezbollah Warns Israel of ‘Fair Punishment’ After Lebanon Pager Explosions
The Hezbollah terror group formally blamed Israel for the pager blasts that wounded at least 2,700 and killed eight of its operatives in Lebanon on Tuesday, warning the Jewish state will get “its fair punishment.
“After examining all the facts and data about the attack, we hold the Israeli enemy fully responsible for this criminal aggression,” Hezbollah said in an official statement, according to a translation by Lebanon’s Al Mayadeen channel, which is affiliated with the terrorist organization.
The Hezbollah statement added, “This treacherous and criminal enemy will certainly receive its just punishment for this sinful aggression from where it expects it or does not expect it,” per Al Mayadeen.
More than 2,700 Hezbollah terrorists were wounded and at least eight were killed across Lebanon on Tuesday when their communication devices exploded, Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad confirmed.
Approximately 200 Hezbollah terrorists were in critical condition in 100 different hospitals, Beirut’s health minister announced some three hours after the explosions were first reported at 3.30 p.m. local time.
Senior Hezbollah officials were said to have been wounded in the blasts. Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, was also hurt in one of the explosions, Tehran’s semi-official Mehr outlet reported.
In its first official statement on the incident, Hezbollah had said that the explosions, “the causes of which are still unknown,” killed at least three of its terrorist operatives, while wounding a large number of others.
The Israel Defense Forces declined to comment on the incident, which came just hours after the Israeli Cabinet added the return of citizens displaced from their homes in the north to the country’s war goals, bringing a potential major clash with Hezbollah closer to reality.
The IDF’s Home Front Command has reportedly informed local authorities of a possible escalation on the border with Lebanon but stressed that there are currently no changes to instructions for citizens. JNS
{Matzav.com Israel}
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British Airways, Air France, Lufthansa Suspend All Flights To Israel
Israeli Rabbinate’s Mandate Voided, Prompting Renewal Push
Roughly two months after the expiration of the mandate of both of Israel’s chief rabbis, their acting replacement is also out of a title as of Monday, along with the rest of the Chief Rabbinate Council.
The result of a political power struggle between the Rabbinate and the High Court of Justice over women’s representation and the clergy’s independence, this development may affect kosher certification and several other areas of life in Israel unless it’s addressed soon, according to both critics and advocates of the Rabbinate.
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Beyond its practical implications, the temporary breakdown within the Chief Rabbinate underlines growing tensions between an interventionist judiciary that critics say is excessively liberal, and state-employed clerics who opponents say are too rigid and inattentive to the needs of the public.
On Monday, the government submitted a bill that would extend the mandate of the Chief Rabbinate’s Council, the Rabbinate’s governing body, until Dec. 31. Separately, elections for chief rabbis are scheduled to be held this month.
The Council lost its legal mandate because of the rabbinate’s refusal to hold elections under the terms dictated in January by the High Court of Justice. Ruling on a petition by a feminist group, the court cited equality grounds in ordering the Rabbinate to consider appointing women to an elections-related position that the Rabbinate designates for rabbis only. Women cannot serve as rabbis in Orthodox Judaism.
The Rabbinate declined to hold elections under those terms, leading to the expiration of the mandate of the Sephardic and Ashkenazi chief rabbis on July 1 without successors. The court appeared to back down from this demand, facilitating the scheduling of elections for later this month. Meanwhile, though, the mandate of the Council, whose makeup is also determined in the elections, expired on Sept. 16, voiding the authority of its chair from continuing to fulfill the duties of the chief rabbis.
The bill extending the Council’s mandate will ensure the saga’s resolution, Yehuda Avidan, the director-general of the Religious Services Ministry, told JNS on Tuesday. He blamed the “overzealous court” for the impasse and added that the Rabbinate’s handling of the situation blocked judicial encroachment without compromising people in need of the institution’s services.
At stake are important areas of life entrusted to the Rabbinate, which in Israel is a state organ. It regulates kosher certification, conversion to Judaism and family and marital issues for Jews through the rabbinical court system, which is part of the judiciary and functions as a family court.
Kosher meat certification will not be affected because certification crews are already overseeing the production abroad (Israel imports most of its meat), according to a source within the Rabbinate. The crews will complete their missions, and the Council will have regained its mandate by the time they return, the source assured JNS.
Ritual circumcision, or milah, as well as divorces and marriages, are handled by religious councils, which are local municipal branches of the Rabbinate, the source added. The expiration of the Council’s mandate does not affect the local branches’ work but it does prevent the appointment of new staff, according to the source.
“In essence, you have a small gap that will be resolved quickly and remain unnoticeable to those who rely on the Rabbinate’s services,” said Avidan.
Rabbi Seth Farber, founder of the Jerusalem-based ITIM nonprofit, which has been a longtime critic of the Rabbinate, said in a statement that the crisis “shows we need a profound change in the religious establishment so it would be better connected and more diverse, but we have to begin by making it compliant to the law.”
Avidan dismissed Farber’s criticism and defended the decision not to hold elections in the Chief Rabbinate under terms dictated by the court.
“It was a classic slippery slope. The court’s demand that women be appointed to a position reserved for rabbis would have created a precedent that before long would lead to new demands to appoint women city rabbis and ultimately women chief rabbis. We value women and respect them but this does not comply with Jewish tradition, whose preservation the Rabbinate is entrusted to maintain,” Avidan told JNS.
The Rabbinate this month agreed to hold elections on Sept. 29 in Jerusalem. The decision to hold elections followed a High Court of Justice ruling on Aug. 8 that effectively lifted the court’s previous requirement that women be considered to serve under the title of “rabbi” on the Chief Rabbinate’s electing assembly of 150 people.
In the context of a 1980 law regulating the Chief Rabbinate’s work, the designation of “rabbi” may apply also to women versed in Jewish law, the court ruled in January. The Rabbinate must therefore consider appointing women to a category of 10 rabbis whom chief rabbis may by law appoint to the electing assembly, according to the ruling. Its Aug. 8 ruling cleared the path for scrapping the entire category of 10 appointed rabbis and allowed an election with only 140 delegates.
Half of the remaining 140 delegates comprise 70 municipal rabbis affiliated with the Chief Rabbinate, who are all men. The other half is made up of delegates who are not rabbis, including mayors, lawmakers, cabinet ministers, and other public representatives, some of whom are women.
“The court eventually realized it could not coerce the Rabbinate to declare women as rabbis or consider them for rabbinical positions, opening the road to an election. Better late than never,” said Avidan. JNS
{Matzav.com Israel}
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Ukrainian Special Forces Say they Attacked Russian Base Inside Syria
On Sunday, Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR) special forces conducted an operation attacking a Russian military base inside Syria, according to a source in Ukrainian military intelligence. The special forces attack, conducted 1,000 miles from Ukraine, targeted a UAV storage and manufacturing facility on the southeastern outskirts of Aleppo.
Video from the operation was obtained by the Kyiv Post, showing a HUR flag visible behind a berm near a garage used as a Russian base. Filmed by an intelligence officer taking part in the operation, the footage captures an explosion at the Russian facility followed by the detonation of ammunition. According to military experts, the footage suggests the explosions were triggered by small arms fire, not a larger weapon such as an RPG. The small arms fire was likely directed at pre-staged explosives inside the facility.
According to the Ukrainian special forces, the Russian base targeted in the attack was used to produce “camouflaged improvised explosive devices,” and for weapon storage.
Ukraine has reportedly carried out multiple attacks on Russian forces inside Syria, including an attack on Russian positions in the Golan Heights.
Russian forces have played in key role in helping Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad stay in power, however Russia has redeployed many of it’s forces to the Ukrainian front. Russia has also established recruitment centers in Syria to hire mercenaries to fight in Ukraine.
Back in 2023, the chief of Ukrainian special forces, Lt Gen Kyrylo Budanov, said that Ukraine would “destroy Russian war criminals anywhere in the world they may be.”
{Matzav.com}
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US, Egypt, Qatar Still Working On Revised Gaza Hostage Proposal
The United States is still working with Egypt and Qatar to come up with a revised Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Monday.
Mediators from Washington were in talks with their counterparts from Cairo and Doha on what the document must contain to ensure “it’s a proposal that can get the parties to an ultimate agreement,” said Miller, according to Reuters.
There is no timetable for presenting the new draft agreement, but “we are working expeditiously to try to develop that proposal,” he said, according to the report.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said last week that more than 90% of the issues have been agreed to by Israel and Hamas.
“So we’re down to a handful of issues, not even a handful of issues, that are hard but fully resolvable in our judgment. And as we’ve said before, when you get down to the last 10%, the last 10 meters, those are almost by definition the hardest ground to cover, but we believe that these are fully resolvable,” said Blinken.
“Right now, we are working with our Egyptian and Qatari counterparts to work together to bridge any remaining gaps, and in the coming time, very soon, we’ll put that before the parties and we’ll see what they say,” the top American diplomat continued.
In Monday’s comments, Miller confirmed the two main obstacles to reaching an agreement: Jerusalem’s insistence on maintaining security control of the buffer zone between Gaza and Egypt, called the Philadelphi Corridor; and specifics in regards to the Palestinian terrorists to be released from Israeli prisons for Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.
A Hamas delegation led by senior official Khalil al-Hayya met with mediators in Doha on Sept. 11, including Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Egypt’s intelligence chief Abbas Kamel.
The terrorist group currently holds 101 hostages in Gaza, including 97 out of the 251 abducted during the Oct. 7 attack. JNS
{Matzav.com Israel}