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Yesterday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy voiced their backing for Israel’s security while cautioning against any “escalatory action” that could hinder hopes for peace.

A joint statement from the UK and US governments followed a meeting between Blinken and Lammy in London. In it, Lammy “expressed the United Kingdom’s clear support for the ongoing mediation efforts by the United States, Egypt, and Qatar to conclude the agreement for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages.”

The statement emphasized that “both the United Kingdom and United States underlined their support for Israel’s security and the importance of avoiding any escalatory action in the region which would undermine the prospect for peace and progress towards a two-state solution.”

The statement further detailed their “shared commitment to securing a political agreement for a lasting security solution along the Blue Line that will allow Israeli and Lebanese civilians on both sides to return to their homes with safety and security.”

Additionally, Blinken and Lammy addressed the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza, reiterating calls for all involved in the conflict to ensure the protection of civilians. They urged Israel to facilitate aid access and ensure that UN and humanitarian organizations can carry out their work safely. They also highlighted the ongoing polio vaccination efforts and the need for cooperation from all parties, ensuring that health agencies, including the WHO, can vaccinate children in need.

Iran’s nuclear program was another topic of discussion, with Blinken and Lammy agreeing that “Iran’s nuclear program had never been more advanced and posed a clear threat to regional and global peace and security.”

The US has been pushing a framework for a ceasefire and the release of hostages, initially proposed by President Joe Biden in May, although Hamas has consistently rejected each version of the plan.

On Wednesday, Hamas stated again that its representatives were prepared to enforce an “immediate” ceasefire with Israel in Gaza, contingent on a previous US plan without new stipulations.

Blinken, on Tuesday, remained optimistic, downplaying concerns about the lack of a breakthrough on a hostage deal. He mentioned that the US would soon introduce a fresh proposal for a possible agreement.

“On the ceasefire, here’s what I can tell you: More than 90 percent of the issues have been agreed, decided. 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 percent, the last 10 meters, those are, almost by definition, the hardest ground to cover. But we believe that these are fully resolvable,” Blinken explained to reporters.

“We’re currently working closely with our Egyptian and Qatari partners to resolve the remaining gaps. And soon, very soon, we’ll present this to the involved parties and await their response,” he added.

{Matzav.com}

A new Channel 12 poll has found that a majority of Israelis would vote for former U.S. President Donald Trump if they were able to participate in the upcoming U.S. elections. According to the survey, 58% of respondents said they would cast their vote for Trump, while 25% indicated support for U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris. The remaining 17% said they were undecided. The poll also asked Israelis about the timing of their own elections, with 43% of respondents expressing a desire for Israeli elections to happen immediately. A further 19% favored opposition leaders Yair Lapid and Benny Gantz joining the current government, replacing far-right ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich. However, 28% of those surveyed preferred the current government to continue as it is. In terms of leadership preferences within Israel, former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett emerged as the most favored candidate to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Bennett led by a notable margin, with 40% support compared to Netanyahu’s 28%. Benny Gantz, leader of the National Unity Party, also polled ahead of Netanyahu, with 34% of respondents favoring him over the current premier’s 30%. In a comparison between Netanyahu and opposition leader Yair Lapid, Netanyahu narrowly led with 31% to Lapid’s 29%. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Mark Matson, a financial expert and author of Experiencing the American Dream, shared with Breitbart News his strong views on how Vice President Kamala Harris’s policies could jeopardize the American Dream, calling them a “destroyer” of that ideal.

Matson’s book, Experiencing the American Dream: How to Invest Your Time, Energy, and Money to Create an Extraordinary Life, which provides guidance on financial investments to secure a prosperous future for Americans, is set for release this Sunday.

During a conversation with Breitbart News host Matthew Boyle, the question was posed about whether the American Dream is becoming less attainable for many citizens.

Matson’s reply was firm: “We have to fight for it. This is really a fight for the future of the country. Are we going to go down the socialist, Communist road and have the Communist dream? Or, are we going to have the American Dream that’s funded by capitalism and free markets and entrepreneurship?”

He referred to a Wall Street Journal study that defines key components of the American Dream, such as:

• Homeownership
• Starting a family and raising children
• Sending children to college
• Enjoying a secure retirement

“All of these things became more difficult under this administration,” Matson remarked.

Matson further criticized Harris’s policy proposals, including higher taxes, price controls, and increased regulations, all of which he believes stand in opposition to the American Dream.

“These policies,” Matson declared, “are an American dream destroyer.”

Boyle later asked what actions a possible Trump administration could take to support Americans in achieving their dreams.

Matson emphasized the need to preserve the Trump-era tax cuts, warning that their expiration could result in tax hikes of 20 to 30 percent for Americans.

He also advocated for lower capital gains taxes and maintaining reduced corporate taxes.

According to Matson, Trump should “have capital gains stay at 20 percent or go down to zero. That’s already your money, you grew it to fulfill your family dreams. You should not be putting a 28 percent on corporations.”

By keeping corporate tax rates low, Matson argued, the U.S. would attract more businesses, leading to job creation and economic growth.

{Matzav.com}

Americans’ outlook on the economy improved for the second straight month in September, bolstered by lower prices for long-lasting goods such as cars and furniture. The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index ticked up to 69 in its preliminary reading, its highest level since May and up from 67.9 in August. The survey bottomed out in June 2022, when inflation peaked at 9.1%, and has since risen by about 40%, though it remains signficantly below pre-pandemic levels. “Consumers remain guarded as the looming election continues to generate substantial uncertainty,” said Joanne Hsu, director of consumer surveys at University of Michigan. Hsu also said that, “a growing share of both Republicans and Democrats now anticipate a Harris win.” The survey was conducted before Tuesday’s debate. Consumer sentiment rose among Democrats, but ticked down slightly among independents and Republicans. Rising consumer confidence can sometimes signal a greater willingness to spend, though Americans have largely continued to spend at a healthy pace even though their confidence, as measured in surveys, has been subdued. The economy expanded at a solid 3% annual rate in the April-June quarter, and retail spending picked up in July. Yet Americans have been saving less and running up more credit card debt, which has raised concerns among some economists that consumers will soon have to cut back, potentially slowing growth. (AP)

Members of Congress agree they must change the law so that Americans held hostage or wrongfully detained by terrorist groups or foreign governments don’t owe penalties for failing to pay taxes while they’re captive. But their attempt to address that problem is stuck in a fight over other legislation.

The Senate in May unanimously passed a measure that would prevent the Internal Revenue Service from assessing penalties to freed hostages who didn’t file or pay taxes during their ordeal. On Wednesday, the House Ways and Means Committee unanimously advanced similar legislation.

But the House committee packaged the hostage tax bill with a measure that would make it easier for the government to strip tax-exempt status from nonprofit groups over allegations of support for terrorism.

And because of an arcane procedural step Congress took to try to speed passage of the hostage bill, that move probably prevented it from becoming law.

The Senate used an obscure tool called a “deeming resolution” to approve the hostage provision – it unanimously declared that once the legislation passes the House, it would also be considered passed by the Senate. But if the bill is altered in any way in the House, the Senate’s action is moot.

The House bill, though, is different from the Senate’s because of the section on nonprofits. Free speech and pro-Palestinian advocacy groups oppose that provision, concerned that it could be leveraged to silence organizations with dissenting views or halt the work of humanitarian agencies that operate in areas controlled by terrorist entities, especially in the context of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. That opposition probably dooms the House bill’s chances in the Senate.

“Ways and Means, by adding an unrelated bill to it, guarantees that [the deeming resolution] won’t work and that we will either have to revise it, change it, send it back, or that we won’t get this done in this Congress,” Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), one of the hostage bill’s main supporters, told The Washington Post. “My hope is that the House will recognize they have a chance to just send this bill to us and it goes directly to the president’s desk.”

Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason T. Smith (R-Mo.), though, said in a meeting Wednesday that the two provisions were closely related. Terrorist group Hamas is believed to be holding seven Americans hostage in Gaza, four of whom are said to be alive. When they are released, they could face substantial tax penalties, Smith said.

“Our hearts break for the hostages kidnapped by Hamas on October 7th, including the Americans still being held captive. Russia and other nations continue to wrongfully detain other Americans abroad as well. The last thing these Americans and their families need are penalties from the IRS for a situation entirely outside of their control,” Smith said. “At the same time, U.S.-based organizations that enjoy not-for-profit status in our tax code while supporting terrorism or providing financial support to terrorist organizations should not be able to benefit from tax-exempt status.”

Groups that provide “support” to terrorist groups – defined in federal law as financial, material or logistical assistance, with exemptions for medicine and religious items – are already subject to having their nonprofit status revoked. They fall under the same provisions that regulate terrorist activity and financing, and those convicted under the statute could face a decades-long prison sentence. The House’s bill would create a new suspension and review process for nonprofit groups, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service.

Smith’s committee advanced the legislation by a 38-0 vote; Democratic Reps. Lloyd Doggett (Tex.) and Don Beyer (Va.) said they voted for the bill in committee but hoped it could be amended to limit the use of the nonprofit provision.

But there’s very little time left in the congressional session, so the Senate probably will not be able to consider the bill this year, and lawmakers will have to start the process from the beginning in 2025.

The legislation would have a negligible impact on federal finances but has an significant effect on individuals returning home from captivity.

When Post columnist Jason Rezaian returned to the United States in 2016 after 544 days in Iranian captivity, he paid a $6,000 tax penalty. Rezaian said in an interview that Smith’s assertion that his bill will help people held hostage by Hamas is based on a misunderstanding: The IRS has a long-standing practice of forgiveness for people who are held hostage by non-state organizations, including Hamas and groups like the Islamic State or Boko Haram, Rezaian said. The goal of the new bill is to expand that to people held by foreign governments, like Russia or China.

“When I returned home from Iran in 2016 after being imprisoned for nearly a year and a half, I found that the IRS had charged me with thousands of dollars in penalties for not filing my taxes on time,” Rezaian wrote in The Post last month, after several Americans were released from captivity in Russia. “The usual penalties had compounded. I was sleeping less than three hours a night, repeatedly waking from nightmares that I was back in prison. During the day, I was distracted and having trouble concentrating. So I neglected to sit down and address the problem.”

Kia Hamadanchy, senior policy counsel at the ACLU, said he has been urging members of Congress to vote against the bill because of the component on nonprofits’ tax exempt status.

The law already provides ways to strip organizations of their tax-exempt status if they provide material support for terrorism, he said; the proposed legislation broadens the government’s powers to do so in ways that Hamadanchy fears could be weaponized against nonprofits that fall out of favor with future White House administrations.

“This is really a way of trying to stifle dissent and chill speech,” he said.

(c) Washington Post

Former US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman responded to the Houthi missile attack on central Israel on Sunday morning by noting that the increasing aggression of Iran and its proxies are a direct result of the Biden/Harris administration’s policies of appeasement of Iran. “Israelis were awakened early this morning to sirens warning of an incoming hypersonic ballistic missile coming from the Houthis, an Iranian proxy in Yemen,” Friedman wrote. “Undoubtedly, this will provoke a war.” “Inevitably, Israel also will be at war with Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy in Lebanon. Hezbollah has been shooting missiles into northern Israel since October 7, forcing the evacuation of nearly 100,000 Israelis who remain refugees within their own country. “All of this ties back to the appeasement of Iran by the Biden/Harris administration — its failure to enforce sanctions which has permitted Iran to more than double its GDP since January 2021. That extra money is what funds all this turmoil. “Recall the ‘deal’ negotiated by Biden’s envoy — mistakenly agreed to by then Israeli PM Lapid — for Israel to surrender 100% of its claim in favor of Lebanon to gas fields in the Eastern Mediterranean. That was supposed to bring peace — instead it signaled extreme weakness and is likely to bring war. “The Biden/Harris administration has failed Israel, the entire region, and most of the world, with feckless and self-destructive policies. “Harris’ affirmation of Israel’s ‘right to defend itself ‘ a meaningless platitude — every nation has that right! Her insistence on a ‘two-state solution’ in the face of Palestinian terror signals that the Palestinians will never be held accountable for their malign activity. Her placating anti-American and anti-Israel radicals only emboldens their disruption of American life. And her continued appeasement of Iran will set the whole world on fire. “To my friends who think she’ll be OK because she can cook a brisket and her husband is Jewish — open your eyes!” (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

It is with great sadness that Matzav.com reports the petirah of Mrs. Kraindy (Weinberger) Pinkovics a”h. She was approximately thirty years old.

Kraindy, a beloved wife and mother, fell ill following the birth of her youngest child and, sadly, never recovered.

Kraindy was a member of the Somerset/East 7th Street community in Lakewood, NJ.

She is survived by her parents, R’ and Mrs. Mordechai Weinberger, her devoted husband, R’ Binyomin Pinkovics, and their five children.

The levayah will be held today at noon at Khal Chasan Sofer, located at 490 Manetta Avenue in Lakewood, followed by kevurah at the bais hachaim in Deans, NJ.

Yehi zichrah boruch.

{Matzav.com}

Donald Trump refused on Friday to condemn recent racist and conspiratorial comments from right-wing provocateur Laura Loomer, who traveled with him earlier this week to Tuesday night’s presidential debate and several 9/11 memorial events. “Laura’s been a supporter of mine,” Trump told reporters at a press conference near Los Angeles, where he was pressed on concerns from Republican allies about his ongoing association with Loomer, who once declared herself a “proud Islamophobe” and has a long history of promoting ugly and extreme conspiracies. Trump said Loomer has “strong opinions,” but insisted at the news conference he was unaware of her recent comments, including a post on X in which she played on racist stereotypes by writing that “the White House will smell like curry & White House speeches will be facilitated via a call center” if his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, wins in November. Harris is the daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants. “I don’t control Laura. Laura has to say what she wants,” Trump said. “I can’t tell Laura what to do.” Yet later, via his Truth Social account, Trump tried to distance himself more clearly from Loomer, saying, “I disagree with the statements she made” and describing her as “a private citizen and longtime supporter” who “doesn’t work for the Campaign.” Even in that post, though, Trump defended Loomer, writing that “like the many millions of people who support me, she is tired of watching the Radical Left Marxists and Fascists violently attack and smear me.” After the backlash, Trump seemed frustrated in a later post on his social media network in which he lashed out at the news media, and he had more bluster than usual that night onstage at a rally in Las Vegas, frequently shouting. Loomer’s appearances on the campaign trail with Trump have alarmed some top supporters, who have taken the rare move of publicly airing their concerns that he is hurting his chances against Harris, who is driving up Democratic enthusiasm that intensified with her debate performance Tuesday. Harris was campaigning Friday across Pennsylvania. Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene, the Georgia congresswoman known herself for spreading conspiracies, called the post about curry “appalling and extremely racist” and said it did not represent Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., called Loomer “a crazy conspiracy theorist who regularly utters disgusting garbage intended to divide Republicans,” and said a Democratic Party “plant couldn’t do a better job than she is doing to hurt President Trump’s chances of winning re-election.” Trump has a history of association with extremists, including dining in 2022 at his Mar-a-Lago club with Nick Fuentes, a far-right activist who had used his online platform to spew antisemitic and white nationalist rhetoric. Trump had said at the time that he “knew nothing about” Fuentes before his dinner with the rapper formerly known as Kanye West. Harris has not commented publicly on Loomer’s ties to Trump. But as has often been the case during his three White House runs, Trump has pulled the presidential campaign this week into a discussion of far-right conspiracies and unsubstantiated rumors with consequences. He brought up a discredited claim about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, hunting and eating pets at Tuesday’s presidential debate watched by more than 67 million people, as Harris repeatedly put him […]

The Republic of Paraguay will open its embassy in Yerushalayim by the end of 2024, in a sign of support for Israel in Latin America, Paraguayan Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez Lezcano said on Thursday.

The embassy move, which had been planned before the start of the war against Hamas in Gaza, is a diplomatic boon for Israel at a time when it has faced international opprobrium over the 11-month-old war triggered by the Hamas-led Oct. 7 massacre.

Paraguayan President Santiago Peña will travel to Israel for the inauguration of the embassy in Israel’s capital, Ramírez Lezcano said in an interview with JNS.

“It is the government’s intention to open the embassy in Jerusalem before the end of the year,” Ramírez Lezcano told JNS. “Work is being done on the logistical aspects for the opening.”

He added that preparations were underway for a state visit by the president this fall for the opening of the embassy.

“The upcoming embassy move shows that the relationship between Paraguay and Israel is entering a new era of unprecedented bilateral cooperation and growth,” said Leopoldo Martinez, Latin America director of the Washington-based-Israel Allies Foundation.

Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana is scheduled to travel to both Paraguay and Argentina next week, where he will meet the presidents of the two countries, both staunch Israel allies who have pledged to relocate their embassies to Yerushalayim.

Paraguay first moved its embassy from Tel Aviv to Yerushalayim in 2018, following then-President Donald Trump’s lead and becoming the third country to do so after the United States and Guatemala.

However, months later, the embassy was returned to Tel Aviv, setting off a diplomatic crisis with Israel. The surprise decision led Israel to shutter its embassy in Asunción, citing harm the Paraguayan move had caused to bilateral relations.

During his election campaign last year, Peña pledged that he would return the embassy to Yerushalayim.

“The State of Israel recognizes Jerusalem as its capital,” he said. “The seat of the parliament is in Jerusalem, the president is in Jerusalem. So who are we to question where they establish their own capital?”

Landlocked Paraguay has a long history of friendship with Israel, dating back to its vote for the creation of the Jewish state at the United Nations in 1947.

Five countries currently have their embassies in Israel’s capital: the United States, Guatemala, Honduras, Kosovo and Papua New Guinea.

All of the other countries that have ties with Israel maintain their embassies in Tel Aviv or in Tel Aviv suburbs due to the political sensitivities over the holy city.

Trump’s landmark decision to move the U.S. embassy to Yerushalayim in 2018 set the stage for other countries to follow suit in the following years, with additional nations expected to make similar announcements after a delay caused by the war against Hamas.

(JNS)

IDF forces discovered a terror tunnel near a hospital in the Palestinian city of Tulkarm in the northern Shomron last week. The tunnel, which was found near a hospital, had an entrance and no exit. The IDF assesses that it was still under construction. The IDF launched an investigation into the tunnel and upon completing it, will destroy the tunnel. The discovery confirms the fears of residents of Israeli yishuvim near Tulkarm in the Hefer Valley and southern Sharon who repeatedly reported hearing the sounds of digging following the October 7 assault. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

The Biden administration is cracking down on cheap products sold out of China by companies such as Temu and Shein by saying that companies are no longer exempt from tariffs simply by shipping goods that they claim to be worth less than $800. President Joe Biden would no longer exclude these “de minimis” imports from tariffs under a proposed rule released Friday to tax all imports if they’re covered under Sections 201 or 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, or Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. Importers mainly from China have used the de minimis exemption for shipments of $800 or less to flood the U.S. market. The number of these shipments has jumped from 140 million annually to over 1 billion a year, according to a White House statement. The action comes at a delicate moment for the world’s two largest economies. The United States has tried to lessen its reliance on Chinese products, protect emerging industries such as electric vehicles from Chinese competition and restrict China’s access to advanced computer chips. For its part, China has seen manufacturing and exports as essential for driving economic growth as it has struggled with deflation following pandemic-related lockdowns. Because of the existing exemption, it is harder for the U.S. government to block the importation of fentanyl and synthetic drug content that are banned. The government also stressed that Chinese e-commerce sites have abused the exemption to sell cheap clothing and textiles to U.S. consumers, possibly harming domestic workers and companies. The loss of the exemption could be a blow to Chinese companies such as Temu and Shein that compete by keeping their prices low and might now have to face additional scrutiny. The government said its Section 301 tariffs currently cover about 40% of U.S. imports, including 70% of textile and apparel imports from China. The proposed regulatory changes would also include new standards for de minimis shipments, such as a 10-digit tariffs classification number and details on the person claiming the exemption. (AP)

New York City lawmakers approved legislation Thursday to study the city’s significant role in slavery and consider reparations to descendants of enslaved people. If signed into law, the package of bills passed by the City Council would follow in the footsteps of several other municipalities across the U.S. that have sought ways to address the country’s dark history, as well as a separate New York state commission that began working this year. New York fully abolished slavery in 1827. But businesses, including the predecessors of some modern banks, continued to benefit financially from the slave trade — likely up until 1866. The lawmakers behind the proposals noted that the harms caused by the institution are still felt by Black Americans today. “The reparations movement is often misunderstood as merely a call for compensation,” Council Member Farah Louis, a Democrat who sponsored one of the bills, told the City Council on Thursday. She explained that systemic forms of oppression are still impacting people through redlining, environmental racism and services in predominantly Black neighborhoods that are underfunded. The bills still need to be signed by Democratic Mayor Eric Adams. City Hall signaled his support in a statement calling the legislation “another crucial step towards addressing systemic inequities, fostering reconciliation, and creating a more just and equitable future for all New Yorkers.” The bills would direct the city’s Commission on Racial Equity to suggest remedies to the legacy of slavery, including reparations. It would also create a truth and reconciliation process to establish historical facts about slavery in the state. One of the proposals would also require that the city install an informational sign on Wall Street in Manhattan to mark the site of New York’s first slave market, which operated between 1711 and 1762. A sign was placed nearby in 2015, but Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams, a Democrat who sponsored the legislation, said its location is inaccurate. The commission would work with the existing state commission, which is also considering the possibility of reparations. A report from the state panel, which held its first public meeting in late July, is expected in early 2025. The city effort wouldn’t need to produce recommendations until 2027. The city’s commission was created out of a 2021 racial justice initiative during then-Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration, which also recommended the city track data on the cost of living and add a commitment to remedy “past and continuing harms” to the city charter’s preamble. “Your call and your ancestors’ call for reparations had not gone unheard,” Linda Tigani, executive director of the racial equity commission, said at a news conference ahead of the council vote. A financial impact analysis of the bills estimated that the studies would cost $2.5 million. New York is the latest city to study reparations. Tulsa, Oklahoma, where a notorious massacre of Black residents took place in 1921, announced a similar commission last month. Evanston, Illinois, became the first city to offer reparations to Black residents and their descendants in 2021, including distributing some payments of $25,000 in 2023, according to PBS. The eligibility was based on harm suffered as a result of the city’s discriminatory housing policies or practices. San Francisco approved reparations in February, but the mayor later cut the funds, saying that reparations should instead be carried out by […]

Marc Lamont Hill, a professor at CUNY and a former correspondent for CNN, who was dismissed after calling for “a free Palestine from the river to the sea” during a speech at the United Nations, voiced his support for Hamas at a Congressional Black Caucus panel. The panel, which included Representatives Rashida Tlaib and Cori Bush, was covered by the Washington Free Beacon.

“As a non-Palestinian, it is not my role to dictate how people achieve their freedom. It’s not my place to tell people how to be free,” Hill remarked, referring to Hamas as “the democratically elected group that has been consistently undermined.”

While Hamas won the 2006 elections in Gaza, it took control by force in 2007, ousting the Palestinian Authority in a violent coup, and has since ruled without holding further elections for over 17 years.

Hill went on to say, “When we talk about Hamas, don’t portray them as just irrational or crazy.” He added that Hamas should not be criticized without considering “the context of Israeli settler states that …. abuse, steal land, kill people, and don’t adhere to treaties.”

The panel, titled “The Struggle for Black and Palestinian Liberation,” included figures such as Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO), Georgia State Representative Ruwa Romman, and former MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan.

Cori Bush was seen nodding in agreement as Hill defended Hamas, according to the Free Beacon. Hasan was the lone panelist to challenge Hill’s defense of the group.

Hill has a history of defending Hamas and its so-called ‘right’ to use violence. In 2014, he authored an opinion piece criticizing Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system. This system, which is purely defensive and intercepts rockets targeting civilian areas, was seen by Hill as diminishing Hamas’s leverage against Israel.

In 2018, during a speech at the United Nations on the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, Hill argued against the “fetishization of non-violence” for Palestinians and called for “a free Palestine from the river to the sea.” This phrase, which calls for the destruction of Israel, is a slogan used by Hamas.

Less than a month after the October 7 attack in which 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed and over 250 taken hostage, Hill appeared on Briahna Joy Gray’s “Bad Faith” show. He denied that Hamas is a terrorist organization and instead suggested it should be regarded as a legitimate “government.”

Earlier this month, Hill took issue with Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) over Torres’ defense of Israel and his criticism of Hamas’s violent methods. Hill dismissed Torres’ view, stating, “Making it seem as if Israel is some innocent nation-state surrounded by Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis is absurd.”

“You keep framing the free Palestine movement as if it’s inherently tied to violence, as if people under occupation and oppression don’t have the right to fight back,” he argued. “I’m not going to embrace this idea that we can only support Palestinians if they claim to be nonviolent. Sometimes violence is necessary. When faced with an oppressive, violent state, you absolutely must respond with violence.”

{Matzav.com}

Lakewood Alerts regrets to inform you of the tragic petirah of Mrs. Kreindel Yachat Pinkovics a”h, who was niftar Sunday morning. She was in her thirties. Mrs. Pinkovicz, née Weinberger, had collapsed several months ago days after the birth of her youngest child. Tragically, she never recovered. She is survived by her husband, R’ Binyomin yb”l, and five children. The Levaya will take place today at 12:00 PM at Khal Chasan Sofer, located at 490 Manetta Avenue in Lakewood. Kevurah will follow in Deans, NJ.

On Sunday, the IDF officially confirmed that Sergeant Ron Sherman, Corporal Nik Beizer, and Elia Toledano, whose remains were recovered last December, were killed by an IDF airstrike in the Gaza Strip.

The IDF explained that the investigation was carried out by officers from the Intelligence Directorate, operational commanders from the Israel Air Force (IAF), and officials from the Hostages and Missing Persons Headquarters within the Intelligence Directorate. These teams reviewed the circumstances surrounding the deaths of the three hostages, including the intelligence collected by the IDF since their abduction. The investigation, which was completed recently, followed thorough intelligence and operational efforts and took into account the security of the hostages.

The investigation’s findings indicate a strong likelihood that the hostages were killed as a result of a secondary effect from an IDF airstrike targeting Hamas Northern Brigade commander Ahmed Ghandour on November 10, 2023. While this assessment is highly probable based on the available evidence, it is not possible to conclusively determine the exact circumstances of their deaths. The assessment is informed by the location where their bodies were discovered relative to the impact of the strike, analysis of the strike’s effectiveness, intelligence data, pathological reports, and conclusions drawn by the Forensic Medicine Institute.

The investigation suggests that the three hostages were held within the tunnel network used by Ghandour. At the time of the strike, the IDF was unaware of the hostages’ presence in the targeted area. There was information indicating that the hostages might have been in a different location, leading to the area not being identified as one potentially housing hostages. During the conflict, the IDF has refrained from attacking locations suspected of housing hostages. The IDF utilizes a mechanism through the Hostages and Missing Persons Headquarters to minimize harm to hostages and invests considerable effort in gathering information about their whereabouts.

On December 14, the remains of the three hostages were recovered from the tunnel where Ghandour was located, thanks to precise intelligence on their location, and were subsequently brought to Israel for burial.

The Sherman family has been at the forefront of the quest for clarity regarding their son’s death. They inscribed on his grave: “Abducted, abandoned, and sacrificed in Gaza by the failed government during the disaster of October 7th, 2023.”

{Matzav.com}

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill Thursday bringing back tough criminal penalties targeting large-scale stealing schemes and smash-and-grab robberies that have fueled voter frustration across the state. The new law requires prosecutors to start imposing harsher sentences again for those who damage or destroy property valued at more than $50,000 while committing a felony. A similar law expired in 2018. The new law will sunset by 2030. “California already has some of the strictest retail and property crime laws in the nation — and we have made them even stronger with our recent legislation,” Newsom said in a statement. “We can be tough on crime while also being smart on crime — we don’t need to go back to broken policies of the last century.” The decision to bring back tough penalties comes as Democratic leaders continue to work to prove that they are tough enough on crime while trying to convince voters to reject a ballot measure that would bring even harsher sentences for repeat offenders of shoplifting and drug charges. While shoplifting has been a growing problem, large-scale, smash-and-grab thefts, in which groups of individuals brazenly rush into stores and take goods in plain sight, have become a crisis in California and elsewhere in recent years. Such crimes, often captured on video and posted on social media, have brought particular attention to the problem of retail theft in the state. The new law is part of a bipartisan legislative package of about a dozen bills aiming to crack down on thefts, making it easier to go after repeat shoplifters and auto thieves and increase penalties for those running professional reselling schemes. “Violent ‘sledgehammer crimes’ and flash-mob attacks by organized gangs must stop now,” Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, who authored the bill, said in a statement. “Our business owners and workers should not have to live in fear that these crimes will come to their doorstep.” The measure is also supported by the California Retailers Association, which said the new penalties would serve as “a deterrent against ‘smash and grabs’ and retail crime.” But opponents, including criminal justice advocates and public defenders, said the new law will result in more people behind bars for non-retail theft crimes. The measure increases prison time for a wide range of felony charges, they said. That means a person could receive a tougher sentence for offenses such as damaging vehicles while driving under the influence under the new law. They also criticized the new law for modeling after a plan proposed in a tougher-on-crime ballot initiative, which Newsom and Democratic lawmakers spent months lambasting and unsuccessfully fighting to keep off the November ballot. The new law will expire in five years, while the ballot measure proposes a plan to make the harsher penalties permanent. “If we’re opposed to it being permanent, why aren’t we opposed to it being temporary?” said Taina Vargas, executive director of Initiate Justice Action, about the new law. “This makes it apparent that, you know, certain individuals in the Legislature and the governor just want to give off the impression of doing something.” How to tackle crimes in California has become increasingly difficult to navigate in recent years for state Democrats, many of whom have spent the last decade championing progressive policies to depopulate jails and prisons and […]

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Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu on Sunday vowed to “exact a heavy price” from the Houthis in Yemen and “change the balance of power” along Israel’s northern border following rocket attacks from Yemen and Lebanon.

“The Houthis should have known by now that we exact a heavy price for any attempt to harm us. Those who need a reminder are invited to visit the port of Hodeidah,” said Netanyahu at the beginning of the weekly Cabinet meeting.

In July, a Houthi drone killed a man in central Tel Aviv, in response to which Israel struck Yemen’s Hodeidah port. The Iranian terrorist proxy has launched dozens of drones and missiles at Israel in support of Hamas in Gaza since Oct. 7.

On Sunday morning, the Houthis fired a surface-to-surface missile at Israel that detonated over the center of the country.

Hezbollah also launched dozens of rockets and a drone into northern Israel on Sunday, sparking several fires but causing no injuries.

The Israel Defense Forces said last night that the Israeli Air Force had struck Hezbollah weapons storage facilities in the Beqaa and Baalbek areas, deep inside Lebanon.

Hezbollah has attacked Israel hundreds of times since joining the war in support of Hamas on Oct. 8, 2023. In October, Israel evacuated some 60,000 residents of communities near the Lebanese border, who remain in state-subsidized accommodations.

“I’m attentive to the residents of the north,” Netanyahu told ministers on Sunday. “I’m talking with them and with community leaders in the north. I see their distress, I hear their cries,” he said, adding, “The status quo will not continue.”

This, he said, “requires a change in the balance of power on our northern border. We will do everything necessary to return our residents safely to their homes. I am committed to this, the government is committed to it and we will not settle for less than that.”

The prime minister invited Israel’s enemies to study the condition of Hamas in Gaza, where Israel has killed some 17,000 terrorists since Oct. 7, according to the IDF.

“Anyone who attacks us will not escape our reach. Hamas is already learning this in our determined action that will lead to its destruction and the release of all our hostages,” said Netanyahu. JNS

{Matzav.com Israel}