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The U.S. imposed sanctions on the former president of Haiti, Michel Joseph Martelly, Tuesday following accusations that he abused his influence to facilitate drug trafficking into the U.S. and sponsored gangs that have contributed to instability in the Caribbean country. The Treasury Department’s acting undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, Bradley T. Smith, said the action “emphasizes the significant and destabilizing role he and other corrupt political elites have played in perpetuating the ongoing crisis in Haiti.” Haiti is engulfed in gang violence while peaceful protesters are tear-gas sed by police as they call on law enforcement to help them stop the gangs that have been violently seizing control of neighborhoods. Hundreds of police officers from Kenya have arrived in Haiti for a U.N.-backed mission led by the East African country to deal with the gangs. A July United Nations report states that gang violence in Haiti has displaced more than 300,000 children since March — with many children living in makeshift shelters, including schools in poor hygienic conditions, placing them at risk of disease. Martelly, who served as president from 2011 to 2016, was previously sanctioned by the Canadian government in November 2022 for financing gangs. In January, a Haitian judge issued an arrest warrant for Martelly and more than 30 other high-ranking officials accused of government corruption, namely misappropriation of funds or equipment related to Haiti’s National Equipment Center. State Department official Vedant Patel said the Tuesday sanctions were meant to “promote accountability for all individuals whose activities contribute to gang violence and destabilize the political environment in Haiti, regardless of their rank or stature.” The U.S. uses a December 2021 executive order related to foreigners engaged in the drug trade as its authority to impose the sanctions. (AP)

Freed hostage Aviva Siegel reacts to meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, as cease-fire talks resume in a critical week in the Middle East.

Thirteen people were arrested during protests on the first day of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, most them related to a “brief breach” of security fencing “within sight and sound of the United Center,” the city’s police superintendent said Tuesday. More protests were planned throughout the week, including one Tuesday night outside the Israeli Consulate. However, attendance at the main rally on Monday was far below estimates of organizers who had predicted more than 20,000 would show up. Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling said Tuesday that the crowd was around 3,500 strong.

Sen. JD Vance on the DNC: “Tim Walz has been going around saying that he served in war and maybe they did it in Chicago so that he could actually, accurately say he visited a combat zone.

Iran said its response to the alleged Israeli killing of a Hamas leader in Tehran could take a long time, signaling that the Islamic Republic won’t rush the expected retaliation that had raised fears of a regional war in the Middle East.

“Time is on our side and it’s possible that the waiting period for this response will be long,” Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Spokesman Ali Mohammad Naeini was cited as saying by Iranian state TV.

“It’s possible that Iran’s response won’t be a repeat of past operations,” he said, adding that Israel “must await calculated and precise strikes at the appropriate time.”

Iran accuses Israel of killing Hamas’s political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility.

In April the IRGC fired an unprecedented barrage of missiles and drones at Israel in retaliation for an air strike on its consulate in Syria. The IRGC is a branch of Iran’s military that reports directly to the country’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

(c) Washington Post

“In my perfect world, every Republican is out of the country and all the immigrants come in. That’s what I want.” – DNC attendee

Border Police officers overnight Tuesday found 34 Palestinians who had entered Israel illegally in a Tel Aviv apartment complex. The Arabs were arrested and transferred to the Tel Aviv police for interrogation. An Israeli resident of Tel Aviv called the police on Monday and reported that there were illegal Palestinians in an apartment building in the Shapira neighborhood of south Tel Aviv. Her report followed the explosion in south Tel Aviv by a Palestinian suicide bomber who had entered Israel illegally and planned to carry out a mass-casualty attack but b’chasdei Hashem caused only his own gruesome death and the injury of one Israeli. Sheffi Paz, an activist for the rights of Jews in south Tel Aviv, responded to the report: “It takes a suicide bomber for the police to remember that the neighborhoods of south Tel Aviv are overrun with illegal infiltrators. Tonight, 37 infiltrators were arrested in the Shapira neighborhood. And I still haven’t received an answer to the question: Were their landlords also arrested?” On Sunday evening, Tel Aviv police officers arrested three Palestinian infiltrators who were working (illegally) at a construction site of a kindergarten in the city. They also arrested the infiltrators’ employer. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

A Palestinian taxi triggered a roadside bomb that had been planted in the Shomron city of Jenin with the intention of harming Israeli security forces, lightly wounding the driver, Hebrew media reported on Monday.

Footage published by Israel’s Kan News public broadcaster showed extensive damage to the taxi. No passengers were hurt in the incident, according to Arabic media reports.

Since the beginning of the war with Hamas on Oct. 7, the Israel Defense Forces has carried out intensive ground operations in the Jenin area, arresting hundreds of suspects and dismantling terror infrastructure, including explosives buried under roads, intended to kill IDF soldiers.

In late June, IDF Capt. Alon Sacgiu, 22, a commander in the Haruv Reconnaissance Unit of the military’s Kfir Brigade, was killed by such a bomb during counterterror operations in the Jenin camp.

Only days later, IDF Sgt. First Class (res.) Yehuda Geto, 22, was killed by a roadside bomb in the Nur Shams camp, east of Tulkarem in Shomron.

On Monday, Israeli security forces neutralized an improvised roadside explosive near the community of Chavat Gilad in northern Shomron.

“Earlier today, terrorists rolled a tire with a gas cylinder inside towards an axis near the village of Madama in the Shomron Brigade,” an Israel Defense Forces spokesperson said in a statement. There were no casualties, the army noted.

Yehuda and Shomron saw more than 500 Palestinian terrorist attacks each month on average in the first half of 2024, according to figures Rescuers Without Borders (Hatzalah Yehuda and Shomron) published on Aug. 1.

In the first six months of this year, Israeli first responders recorded some 3,272 acts of terrorism in the region, including 299 explosive charges.

(JNS)

King Charles III is visiting the seaside town of Southport to meet with survivors of the stabbing rampage that killed three young girls and sparked more than a week of unrest across the U.K. The monarch traveled to the community northwest of Liverpool on Tuesday for a private meeting where he will hear the experiences of some of the children who were attacked at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on July 29. Crowds cheered for the king as he arrived at Southport Town Hall, where mourners have placed bunches of flowers and cuddly toys in tribute to the slain children. Bebe King, 6, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9, were killed in the attack which was followed by rioting in Southport and across the country. Violence rocked Britain for more than a week after the stabbings, with crowds spouting anti-immigrant and Islamophobic slogans clashing with police. The disturbances were fueled by misinformation spread by right-wing activists using social media to falsely claim that a Muslim immigrant was behind the attack. Charles is also expected to meet with police, paramedics and other emergency service workers who responded to the attack and the disorder that followed. Local faith leaders will also attend. The U.K.’s worst unrest in more than a decade led to some 1,100 arrests. The government pledged that rioters who hurled bricks at police, looted shops and attacked mosques and hotels used to house asylum-seekers would feel “the full force of the law.” (AP)

Outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden said on Monday in a keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago that anti-Israel protesters “have a point.”

“Those protesters out on the street. They have a point. A lot of innocent people are being killed on both sides,” the 81-year-old told the United Center crowd on the first night of the convention after being introduced by First Lady Jill Biden and their daughter, Ashley Biden.

Four demonstrators were arrested after several dozen anti-Israel protesters breached an outer fence line on the north side of the indoor arena in the city’s Near West Side on Monday evening, ABC 7 Chicago reported.

The protesters attempted to disrupt Biden’s speech but were pushed back by Chicago police in riot gear, backed by U.S. Capitol police.

“Officers put on gas masks as some protesters tried to bring down a second fence set up in front of police,” according to the Associated Press.

“At no point was the inner perimeter breached,” the Chicago Police stated. “There was no threat to any protectees.”

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker told CNN that the breach was “brief.”

Although anti-Israel organizers said they expected some 20,000 protesters to descend on the Windy City for the DNC, only a few thousand seemed to have shown up, the AP reported, and reporters covering the event shared photos of fields of unclaimed antisemitic signs.

Footage and images circulated on social media purporting to show protesters openly supporting Hamas, a U.S.-designated terror organization. Protesters also accused Biden and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, who is running for president, of supporting genocide, the AP reported.

At least one protester was recorded waving a Hezbollah flag, according to Israel’s Channel 12.

Inside the United Center during Biden’s speech, audience members unfurled a banner reading: “Stop arming Israel.” A man is seen trying to rip it out of their hands. After the audience saw the banner, they began chanting, “We love Joe.”

“We’ll keep working to bring hostages home and end the war in Gaza and bring peace and security to the Middle East. As you know, I wrote a peace treaty for Gaza. A few days ago I put forward a proposal that brought us closer to doing that than we’ve done since Oct. 7,” Biden said.

“We’re working around the clock—my secretary of state—to prevent a wider war and reunite hostages with their families and surge humanitarian health and food assistance into Gaza now, to end the civilian suffering of the Palestinian people and finally deliver a ceasefire and end this war,” the president continued.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday urged the Hamas terror group to accept the latest proposal for a ceasefire-for-hostages deal with Israel, following meetings with senior officials in Yerushalayim.

“In a very constructive meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu today, he confirmed to me that Israel accepts the bridging proposal, that he supports it. It’s now incumbent on Hamas to do the same,” said Blinken.

“What I would say to Hamas and to its leadership is: If it genuinely cares about the Palestinian people that it purports to somehow represent, then it will say yes to this agreement, and it will work on clear understandings on how to implement it,” he told reporters.

“The single quickest, best, most effective way to relieve the terrible suffering of the Palestinians that was instigated by Hamas’s attack on Oct. 7 and the war that ensued is to complete this agreement,” he added.

Blinken arrived in Egypt on Tuesday ahead of negotiations on the Gaza ceasefire agreement.

Back in Chicago, families of abductees with American citizenship met with members of the Harris campaign, including Ilan Goldenberg, who was named last week its liaison to the Jewish community.

According to Channel 12, Goldenberg reiterated Harris’s commitment to Israel’s security alongside the efforts to reach a ceasefire deal and return the hostages. The meeting was described as good, with the positions expressed corresponding to those of the Biden administration.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), a member of the progressive “Squad” and a harsh critic of Israel, made the case for Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, against the ticket of Republican nominee Donald Trump and vice presidential choice Ohio Sen. JD Vance.

Harris “is working tirelessly to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and bringing hostages home,” Ocasio-Cortez said to cheers from the crowd.

The leader of Congregation Beth Shalom in Wilmington, Delaware, Michael Beals, who Biden has affectionately called his rabbi and who has campaigned for the president, recited the priestly blessing in Hebrew to conclude the first night of the DNC.

The convention is in Chicago until Thursday, with events at the United Center and McCormick Place.

(JNS)

CBS political correspondent Caitlin Huey-Burns confronted former President Donald Trump on his refusal to accept the outcome of the 2020 election during an interview in Pennsylvania on Monday. As Trump pledged to accept the results of the upcoming 2024 election, he clarified that his acceptance would depend on whether he deems the election “fair and free.” In the interview, which took place while Democrats launched their convention in Chicago, Huey-Burns questioned Trump about his stance on election integrity, his attacks on Vice President Kamala Harris, and his willingness to release his medical records — which Trump said he would “gladly do.” When asked directly if he would accept the results of the 2024 election, Trump responded, “If I see that we had a fair and free election, which I hope to be able to say, but if I see that, I will. You will never see anybody more honorable than me. I’m an honorable person.” When Huey-Burns pointed out that Trump did not accept the results of the previous election, he replied, “That’s right, because there were many problems with the last election. You know it, so do they, and so does everybody else.” Huey-Burns pushed back, citing that many legal cases were dropped. Trump countered by blaming the courts, saying, “No, no, they weren’t brought because the judges wouldn’t take them because they said it was after the election. Well, how else are you going to find out until after the election?” Trump also expressed optimism that changes made in the last four years would ensure a fair election in 2024. “Certainly, if for some reason I lose, and I think if I lose, this country will go into a tailspin the likes of which it’s never seen before, the likes of 1929 — but if I do, and it’s free and fair, absolutely, I will accept the results,” Trump said. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

According to a report by Channel 12, Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar has received the newly revised US mediation plan, which was endorsed by Qatar and Egypt and accepted by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday. However, Israeli sources believe that Sinwar is likely to maintain Hamas’s public stance, which is to reject the proposal.

On Monday, the Democratic National Convention (DNC) held its first-ever panel discussion on “Palestinian human rights,” a reflection of the growing influence of progressive activists within the Democratic Party regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The panel, organized by members of the “Uncommitted National Movement,” took place at a satellite location six miles from the main convention site in Chicago. The movement, which encourages voters to withhold support from President Joe Biden due to his backing of Israel’s military actions against Hamas in Gaza, aims to pressure Democratic leaders to shift their stance on the conflict. “This week, 30 Uncommitted delegates will be engaging with Democratic leaders inside the DNC, asking them to unite the party, win a ceasefire, and save Palestinian lives by no longer arming Israel,” the Uncommitted movement said in a statement on social media. “Democratic leaders need to know the delegates represent a grassroots movement.” The group has been vocal in its demands for the party to endorse a ceasefire and impose an arms embargo on Israel, which it claims will help end the ongoing conflict in Gaza. The movement accuses Israel of committing “genocide” in the Hamas-ruled territory and argues that halting U.S. military support would save lives. Top Democratic leaders have engaged in discussions with Uncommitted leaders in recent weeks, particularly given the importance of Arab American voters in key swing states like Michigan. Vice President Kamala Harris, the party’s nominee for the 2024 presidential election, recently met with Uncommitted leaders ahead of a campaign rally in Michigan, where she reportedly expressed openness to further discussions with pro-Palestinian activists. However, the Harris campaign has since denied any consideration of an arms embargo on Israel, saying that Harris “does not support an arms embargo on Israel” and remains committed to ensuring Israel can defend itself against threats from Iran and terrorist groups like Hamas. Harris also reportedly held a private meeting with Abdullah Hammoud, the mayor of Dearborn, Michigan, who has been outspoken in his criticism of Israel’s military operations in Gaza. Hammoud has accused Israel of committing “genocide” and “ethnic cleansing,” and has labeled Israel’s actions as perpetuating a “racist apartheid system.” (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

The Houthis in Yemen planned to carry out massive attacks on American warships and Israeli ports, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing the Iranian terror proxy group and European officials.

The attacks would have come in response to last month’s targeting killing of Hamas politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and Israeli strikes on terror targets in the Houthi-controlled port city of Hodeidah in Yemen.

Israel’s aerial assault on Hodeidah appeared to be the first on Yemeni soil since the terrorist group joined the war against Israel in support of Hamas last year. It came in retaliation for a deadly Houthi drone attack that killed an Israeli man and wounded four others in Tel Aviv.

The Houthis for months have been harassing commercial shipping in the Red Sea and launching drones and missiles at Israel.

According to the WSJ report, the Houthis and Iranian-backed militias in Iraq are itching for a more aggressive approach to Israel and American forces in the region. This is causing concern in Tehran, as it tries to find a way to respond to the Haniyeh assassination without provoking direct Israeli attacks on its soil that the Americans are warning could have devastating consequences for the regime.

(JNS)

Yoel and Mendy Levy, brothers who escaped from the Lev Tahor cult years ago, have tried to visit their widowed mother several times in recent months after eight long years of separation but have been cruelly driven away each time amid threats to their lives. The brothers have sent many letters to their mother over the years but the cult members refused to give them to her. A month ago, Mendy finally obtained permission from the cult leaders to see their mother. He booked two tickets to Guatemala but when the brothers reached the compound, they were blocked by cult members who claimed that their mother didn’t want to see them and threatened to harm them if they didn’t leave the compound. “We burst into bitter tears,” Mendy said. “Because we know the truth. Our mother loves us and how could it be she said she didn’t want to see us?” They returned to the States but had a breakthrough in the weeks afterward when one of the cult members, Uriel Yosef, personally assured them that they could meet their mother. They again traveled to Guatemala. But when they arrived there, Uriel Yosef wasn’t “available” and they were again denied entry. One of the cult leaders, an El-Salvadorian who joined the cult, even approached them holding a shechita knife and threatened to harm them if they didn’t leave the area. The brother tried again several days ago but this time they came with their a bodyguard. But to no avail – they were again expelled from the area amid threats to their lives. Donate to the Levy brother’s efforts in helping their family inside the cult and exposing the Lev Tahor abuse: Zelle or PayPal – mendylevy2@gmail.com   (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

Panama deported 29 Colombians on Tuesday on a flight that the government said was the first paid for by the United States under an agreement the two countries signed in July. The Colombians had entered Panama illegally through the Darien jungle, a path used by more than 500,000 migrants headed north last year. The vast majority of those were Venezuelans. But at least for now, Panama is not able to deport Venezuelans because the relationship between the two countries has turned tense since Panama — like most other countries in the region -– has refused to recognize the results of Venezuela’s election giving President Nicolas Maduro another term. The two countries have suspended their diplomatic relations. Panama President José Raúl Mulino, who took office July 1, pledged to stop that migration flow, an interest he shares with the U.S. government. Mulino had originally said the flights would be “voluntary” repatriations, but those deported Tuesday had criminal records, officials said. Roger Mojico, director of Panama’s National Immigration Service, told reporters Tuesday that Panama is speaking with other countries such as Ecuador and India about coordinating repatriation flights. (AP)

Israel will continue to press for a truce deal that will free as many living hostages as possible while retaining security control over key areas of Gaza, Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu stressed during a meeting with families of captives and fallen soldiers in Yerushalayim on Tuesday.

Yerushalayim is “making an effort to return the hostages under conditions that will allow a maximum number of captives to be released in the first stage of the deal,” he told members of the Tikva Forum for Families of Hostages and HaGvura—The Forum for Families of Fallen Heroes.

“I say this clearly—this is a goal I set,” Netanyahu said, adding: “But the other thing is to preserve our strategic security assets in the face of great pressures at home and from abroad, and we continue to stand on this.”

The premier said that the Israel Defense Forces continues to score gains against Hamas in Gaza, highlighting the capture of the Rafah Crossing and the Philadelphi Corridor, which runs along the Gaza-Egypt border, as well as the killing of top Hamas commander Mohammed Deif.

“The main thing: to eliminate Hamas and achieve victory. We are approaching it step by step,” he told the families who gathered at his office. “We [are working] with all our strength to dismantle the Hamas regime and eliminate their military capabilities, and it is progressing.”

Israel’s Ynet news outlet cited hostage families as saying that Netanyahu told them he informed U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken during their meeting in Yerushalayim on Monday that Yerushalayim would “under no circumstances” leave the Philadelphi Corridor and the Netzarim Corridor, which divides the northern and southern Gaza Strip.

One hundred and nine hostages, both living and dead, remain captive in the Gaza Strip, 319 days after the Hamas-led Oct. 7 invasion. Dozens are believed to be alive, an official involved in the talks revealed in June.

As indirect talks for a hostages-for-ceasefire deal are ongoing in Doha, Hamas has stressed that it will only consent to an agreement that includes an end to the war and a withdrawal of all Israeli forces from the enclave.

U.S. President Joe Biden accused the terrorist organization on Monday night of “backing away,” noting that “Israel says they can work it out.”

“It remains to be seen. We’re going to keep pushing,” Biden said as he boarded a plane after addressing the Democratic National Convention.

Hamas later issued a statement saying that Biden made “misleading claims” and demonstrated the U.S. administration’s “bias towards the Zionist occupation and the full partnership in the aggression and war of genocide against defenseless civilians in the Gaza Strip.”

“We call on the U.S. administration to reverse its policy of blind bias towards the Zionist war criminals, lift the political and military cover for the war of genocide waged by the fascist occupation army … and work seriously to stop it,” added the statement from the terrorist group.

Speaking with Israeli reporters in Tel Aviv on Monday evening, Blinken again urged Hamas to accept the latest proposal from mediators.

“In a very constructive meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu today, he confirmed to me that Israel accepts the bridging proposal, that he supports it. It’s now incumbent on Hamas to do the same,” he said.

“What I would say to Hamas and to its leadership is: If it genuinely cares about the Palestinian people that it purports to somehow represent, then it will say yes to this agreement, and it will work on clear understandings on how to implement it,” the diplomat stated.

(JNS)

As the Democratic National Convention kicked off, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz was celebrating, but attention was also drawn to a man whose murder sentence he had helped to commute. This same individual now faces charges for additional alleged crimes since his early release, which was supported by the now-Democratic vice presidential nominee.

Myron Burrell was originally sentenced to life imprisonment for the 2002 murder of 11-year-old Tyesha Edwards. Tyesha was tragically killed by a stray bullet while she was doing her homework. In 2020, Governor Walz, then a member of the Minnesota Board of Pardons, voted to commute Burrell’s sentence.

At the time of the shooting, Burrell was 16 years old. Law enforcement officials claimed that he had fired the shot intending to hit a rival gang member, but instead, it struck the young girl.

Since his commutation, Burrell has found himself back in legal trouble. In 2023, two years after his release, he was arrested twice—first for unlawful possession of a firearm and then for fifth-degree possession of a controlled substance.

{Matzav.com}

Small business owners overall are feeling positive about their business and achieving the goals they set for this year despite inflation and high labor costs, according to two new surveys. “At the mid-point of 2024, we asked small businesses to look back on the goals they set for the year, and we found that they’re satisfied with their progress and successes over the first half,” said Gina Taylor Cotter, executive vice president and general manager of American Express’ small business products. The American Express survey of more than 1,100 small business financial decision makers found that 83% of owners said that the past few years have required them to think more creatively than ever before, and 87% said that each year they feel more confident in their skills as business owners. The National Federation of Independent Business, meanwhile, said its Small Business Optimism Index rose 2.2 points in July to 93.7, the highest reading since February 2022. Still, it is the 31st consecutive month below the 50-year average of 98. Inflation remains the top issue among small business owners, with 25% reporting it as the single most important problem in operating their business. “Despite this increase in optimism, the road ahead remains tough for the nation’s small business owners,” said NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg. “Cost pressures, especially labor costs, continue to plague small business operations, impacting their bottom line.” (AP)