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Former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney on Wednesday said she would support Kamala Harris for president, ending weeks of speculation about how fully the member of a GOP dynasty-turned-Trump critic would embrace the Democratic ticket. Cheney, who co-chaired the House investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack, became a fierce Trump critic and was ousted in her 2022 Republican primary in Wyoming as a result, made her announcement at an event at Duke University. In a video posted on the social media network X, she finished by talking about the “danger” she believed Trump still poses to the country. “I don’t believe that we have the luxury of writing in candidates’ names, particularly in swing states,” she said. “As a conservative, as someone who believes in and cares about the Constitution, I have thought deeply about this. Because of the danger that Donald Trump poses, not only am I not voting for Donald Trump, but I will be voting for Kamala Harris.” The daughter of former vice president Dick Cheney, Liz Cheney has been perhaps Trump’s highest-profile Republican critic. She joins other Republicans like her former Jan. 6 committee member, former Rep. Adam Kinzinger and former Rep. Denver Riggleman, as backers of Harris. More than 200 alumni of the Bush administration and former Republican presidential campaigns of the late Sen. John McCain and Sen. Mitt Romney also announced their endorsement of Harris last week. Cheney was in House Republican leadership at the time of the Jan. 6 attack but broke with most of her caucus over Trump’s responsibility. She lost her leadership post and was one of the few Republicans willing to serve on the Jan. 6 committee, which was appointed by Democrats who controlled the House at the time. Now watch Cheney’s comments from 2020 about Kamala Harris below. (AP)

A Rembrandt discovered in an attic sold for $1.4 million. The 17th century painting, “Portrait of a Girl,” by Dutch artist Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn was discovered by art appraiser and auctioneer Kaja Veilleux in an attic in an estate in Camden, Maine. A label on the back of the frame noted that it was loaned to the Philadelphia Museum of Art for an exhibition in 1970. “On house calls, we often go in blind, not knowing what we’ll find,” he said in a statement. “The home was filled with wonderful pieces but it was in the attic, among stacks of art, that we found this remarkable portrait.” Rembrandt, born in 1606, was a prolific artist who focused on a variety of subjects, from portraits to landscapes to historical and biblical scenes. “Portrait of a Girl” was painted on an oak panel and mounted in a hand-carved gold Dutch frame, said Veilleux. An auction by Thomaston Place Auction Galleries yielded a fierce competition on Aug. 24, he said. In the end, a European collector paid $1.41 million for the painting. (AP)

The general strike that shut down Israel’s economy for several hours on Monday was a brief but long-awaited achievement for the country’s anti-government protest movement, whose activists had pressured the Histadrut labor union for months to join their cause.

However, the decision by Histadrut chairman Arnon Bar-David to acquiesce and finally declare a strike encountered legal pushback that some say has turned the achievement into a pyrrhic victory for the anti-government movement.

As at least 150,000 people protested across Israel over the government’s handling of the war in Gaza and in favor of a ceasefire with Hamas, a labor court on Monday ordered the Histadrut to end the strike. In declaring it, Bar-David said the strike was to protest the murder of six Israeli hostages by Hamas. Politics outside the Histadrut’s purview and mandate motivated the strike, the court determined.

The ruling may have eliminated large workers’ strikes from the protest movement’s arsenal, at least in the context of the war. It also underlined the limitations of the Histadrut as a political player. Yet Monday’s events also demonstrated the growing impatience and frustration of many Israelis over the slow-rolling war, which is nearing the one-year mark with Hamas still in existence and using hostages as leverage.

“The strike that the anti-government movement had sought so badly was a defeat on the legal front,” Shai Glick, the CEO of the B’Tsalmo, a Zionist, pro-Jewish human rights group, told JNS. However, Glick added, “The turnout for protests on Monday was major, reflecting a growing unease in society, not only among leftists, about the war’s progress.”

Bar-David, the Histadrut chairman, declared the strike hours after news broke that Hamas terrorists had murdered six hostages and left their bodies in a tunnel in Rafah, possibly for fear that they would be freed by nearby Israeli troops.

In a statement, Bar-David tied the strike to how “we must reach a deal [with Hamas] above all else.” He added: “We’re in a tailspin and we keep getting body bags. Only a strike will be shocking [enough] so I’ve decided to declare a general strike.”

Israel and Hamas are engaged in indirect talks for the release of dozens of Israeli hostages presumed to be held in Gaza. Hamas is demanding the release of many Palestinian prisoners and a ceasefire, as well as an Israeli pullout from Gaza. A main issue preventing a deal is Israel’s refusal to leave the Philadelphi Corridor—a move that could restore Hamas’s access to the border with Egypt.

Hamas is believed to have smuggled into Gaza countless tons of arms through the Philadelphi Corridor. The weapons were used to mount the murderous onslaught of Oct. 7, in which Hamas terrorists murdered some 1,200 Israelis and abducted another 251, in addition to launching thousands of rockets across the border. The onslaught triggered an Israeli ground offensive in Gaza amid exchanges of fire with Hezbollah in the north and rocket attacks from Yemen.

Bar-David also acknowledged the pressure on him by anti-government activists to declare a strike to pressure the government into accepting a deal with Hamas.

“I have demonstrated much responsibility so far, and it wasn’t easy,” he wrote in his statement announcing the strike.

The decision to declare a strike, whose cost to the economy has been estimated at 1.5 billion shekels ($407 million), may have satisfied some on the left but exposed Bar-David to harsh criticism from the right.

Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu said during a Cabinet meeting Monday that “Bar-David is strengthening [Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar with this strike. It’s like telling him: ‘Go on, murder along, we’re with you’.” Activists, including from NGO Im Tirtzu, protested outside Bar-David’s home over the strike, which the chairman had said would last 24 hours before the court canceled it.

Even before the court’s ruling, multiple municipalities and a major teacher’s union represented by the Histadrut said they would not strike.

“It was a failure, it was widely perceived as partisan and it undermined the Histadrut’s status as a true representative of the hundreds of thousands of employees it says that it represents,” Mordechai Tzivin, a prominent lawyer, told JNS.

But the truncated strike wasn’t necessarily a defeat for Bar-David, according to Glick of B’Tsalmo.

“Bar-David has been cautious in deploying the Histadrut in the service of the anti-government movement. It’s a risky move for him because it introduces unnecessary divisions into the Histadrut, potentially weakening it. By declaring a strike that the court is sure to end, Bar-David gets the anti-government pressure groups off his case,” Glick said.

Some supporters of the anti-government movement condemned the court’s ruling and lionized Bar-David for declaring the strike.

“The State of Israel is in a situation where there’s no longer any significance to the question of what lies within the mandate of any one official,” a senior financial analyst for the left-leaning TheMarker newspaper wrote. “When civilians are abandoned in captivity and hundreds of soldiers risk getting killed because of the government’s inability to end the war, anyone with leverage should use it, regardless of official position,” wrote analyst Hagai Amit.

Michael Kleiner, a former senior lawmaker in Netanyahu’s Likud Party, noted how Bar-David had already aligned the Histadrut with the anti-government movement in the past, when he declared a one-day strike in July 2023 against the Netanyahu government’s judicial reform legislation. That controversial strike also had partial participation, with only 2,000 out of 36,000 state employees participating.

Bar-David had been hard-pressed to explain why that strike was nonpartisan, Kleiner wrote in an op-ed in Ma’ariv. “He thought that he didn’t need to offer such explanations this time around because he had the support of the protest movement, relatives of hostages, and the friendly mainstream media,” Kleiner wrote.

However, Bar-David “did not take into account that the rules of the game have changed. Israelis have wised up and out of the [pre-Oct. 7] conception and the generals’ assurances that ceding land to the enemy is reversible,” Kleiner wrote. “Israelis will no longer obey the wacky whims of politically driven organizations that hitch a ride on the backs of the hostages’ relatives to attack the wartime economy.”

Monday’s partial strike did bring out many thousands to protest, Tzivin said. But following the strike, “that option, of shutting down the economy to strongarm the government, seems less likely to make a reappearance,” he added. “We may see some private corporations staging brief solidarity strikes, but major union shutdowns appear to be off the table.”

(JNS)

Hatzolah is at the scene of a pedestrian that was struck by a vehicle at 4th and Monmouth. Avoid the area. VIA LAKEWOOD ALERTS

Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, a Harvard alumnus who has been active in the fight against antisemitism in US universities and elsewhere following October 7, spoke out this week against Israeli leftists protesting against Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and the Israeli government. “With the benefit of perspective from a distance, I think the protesters in Israel are making a grave mistake,” he wrote on X. “By protesting Israel’s leadership one day after Hamas executed an American and five Israelis in cold blood, the protesters are rewarding Hamas for their barbaric acts and blaming their leadership for the loss. This is a very bad message to send to terrorists. I fear it will only embolden the enemy to execute more heinous acts.” “I understand that a large number of Israelis don’t like and/or trust Netanyahu but it is difficult if not impossible to defeat one’s enemies if the people don’t support their leadership during the war. “Israel has enough enemies abroad before being distracted by internecine battles within. First, win the war and do everything to get the hostages back, and then Israel can once again focus on politics. “Advice from a friend.” A former Labor MK said earlier this week that left-wing Israelis may have contributed to the launch of the October 7 assault by putting their hatred of Netanyahu ahead of any other goal and refusing to sit in a government with him. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

A tragic accident on Wednesday morning at the entrance to the Korean War Veterans Parkway in Annadale resulted in the death of 29-year-old Edan Darmoni z”l, a resident of Staten Island. According to police, Darmoni, who worked as a personal injury attorney, was approaching the merge from Drumgoole Road West onto the New Jersey-bound parkway when his Ferrari was involved in a single-vehicle collision. The car struck a tree and burst into flames, with debris scattered around the area. EMS responded to the 9:51 a.m. call and transported Darmoni to Staten Island University Hospital, where he was sadly pronounced dead. The investigation into the fatal crash is ongoing, with the NYPD working to determine the cause of the accident. Chesed Shel Emes worked with the NYPD as well as the Medical Examiner to ensure proper Kavod hames. Additional information will be published when it becomes available to YWN. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. discusses his decision to step aside and support former President Trump on ‘The Story.’

WATCH:

House Republicans have issued a subpoena demanding testimony from Secretary of State Antony Blinken as they wrap up a sprawling yearslong investigation into the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021. Rep. Michael McCaul, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, sent a subpoena letter late Tuesday ordering Blinken to appear before the committee by Sept. 19 or face a contempt of Congress charge. “You served as the final decision maker for the department on the withdrawal and evacuation,” McCaul wrote. He added that three years later, Blinken is “in a position to inform the Committee’s consideration of potential legislation aimed at helping prevent the catastrophic mistakes of the withdrawal, including potential reforms to the Department’s legislative authorization.” Matthew Miller, a State Department spokesman, said Blinken is unable to testify on the dates proposed by the committee as he will be traveling for diplomatic work the majority of September. He claimed the committee denied “reasonable alternatives” to the subpoena date. “The Secretary has testified before the Congress on Afghanistan more than 14 times — more than any other Cabinet-level official,” Miller said, adding that four of those times were directly before the Foreign Affairs committee at the request of McCaul. “It is disappointing that instead of continuing to engage with the Department in good faith, the Committee instead has issued yet another unnecessary subpoena.” The subpoena for Blinken’s testimony is the latest in a series of moves by McCaul and other House Republicans over the last 18 months to hold the Biden administration accountable for what they have called a “stunning failure of leadership” after Taliban forces seized the Afghan capital of Kabul, far more rapidly than U.S. intelligence had foreseen as American forces pulled out. The committee is expected to summarize its work in an investigative report to be released Monday, amid the contentious presidential election where Republican nominee Donald Trump has tried to elevate the withdrawal from Afghanistan as a campaign issue. While the GOP report is expected to place blame on President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, who is now the Democratic nominee for president, independent watchdog reports over the last three years have documented a much more nuanced and bipartisan case for which administration was at fault. A 2022 report by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, or SIGAR, concluded it was decisions made by both President Donald Trump and Biden to pull all U.S. troops out of Afghanistan that were key factors in the collapse of that nation’s military. That report mirrors assertions made by senior Pentagon and military leaders in the aftermath of the withdrawal. Military leaders have made clear that their recommendation was to leave about 2,500 U.S. troops in the country, but that plan was not approved. (AP)

By Rabbi Yair Hoffman It is well-known that the world of Brisk is one of meticulous observance of Mitzvos.  It is also well known that Rav Refoel Soloveitchik was the right-hand man of his saintly father, the Brisker Rav. A story is told by Rabbi Avrohom Chaim Brim (1922-2002) about Rav Refoel Soloveitchik (1924-1996), the son of the Brisker Rav.  One Erev Sukkos, Rabbi Brim was a bit desperate.  He had not found a suitable set of Arba Minim (the four kinds – a Lulav, an Esrog, Hadassim and Aravos) yet.  He asked Rav Refoel Soloveitchik that if he finds a better one than the one that he had obtained, if the Rav could sell him the lesser quality one and that he, Rav Chaim Brim, would purchase it at any price. Rav Soloveitchik answered, “Actually, I do not have a Sukkos set of Arba Minim yet, and I am not as concerned because if I do not find one, I can always use someone else’s.  I am concerned now and dealing with a different set of Arba Minim.  What Arba Minim do I mean? Hashem’s Arba Minim – the Levi, the Ger, the Yasom and the Almanah.  It is Erev Sukkos and many of the Yasomim and the Almanos do not have where to eat, where to stay, and what to do with themselves.  I need to worry about their accommodations and looking out for them.  The Arba Minim that you are seeking – I can always borrow.” The story is quite poignant because not only does it emphasize our Torah obligations to yesomim and almanos and Geirim, but it also alludes to the fact that they are not on everyone’s radar. The treatment of the Almanah is one that differentiates Klal Yisroel from the nations of the world.  If we look around, we do not see too many organizations that are geared toward helping Almanos.  Not so the true Torah way of life.  The emphasis on the Almanah is found throughout numerous Mitzvos and halachos. It is well-known that Rav Chaim Pinchos Scheinberg zt”l did not say any extraneous words on Shabbos.  He made one exception.  If there was any situation wherein an Almanah needed something, he picked himself up and attended to it, not measuring his words in any form of silence at all.  When matters were settled, he went back to his general silence. Rav Yaakov Chalofsky was very close to Rav Chaim Kanievsky zt”l and his saintly wife – Rebbitzen Bas Sheva.  Once, Rebbitzen Bas Sheva asked Rabbi Chalofsky to deliver some borsht she had made to a poor Almanah in the neighborhood.  He did so.  After he gave her the borsht she tearfully told him:  “I wait for this every day.  You have no idea, what this means to me – it give me chizuk – it strengthens me.  It shows that people do care.” Rebbitzen Rishel Kotler a”h was the wife of Rav Shneur Kotler and the mother of many of Lakewood’s Roshei Yeshiva (and mother-in-law).  Her practice was to call an almanah daily and speak to her on a regular basis and listen to her, so that she would have someone to talk with. It is not just Gedolei Torah who can do this Mitzvah – we can all do it and […]

It’s sad but unsurprising that antisemitic incidents have surged in London to the point that the government has launched a new bus route to help Jews “feel safe” when they travel. The new 310 route will run every 20 minutes between Stamford Hill and Golders Green, eliminating the need to change buses in the high-crime area of Finsbury Park. “I was struck by the conversations I’ve had in recent months with the Jewish community,” London Mayor Sadiq Khan told BBC London. “They were frightened because of a massive increase of antisemitism since Oct. 7 of last year. I was told stories by families who, when they changed buses from Stamford Hill to Golders Green at Finsbury Park, were frightened about the abuse they had received. We’ve heard stories about Jewish Londoners not leaving their homes because they’re worried about their safety. I don’t want any Londoner to be scared to leave their home because they’re worried about public transport.” “I think we’ve got to recognize the fear that Londoners feel who are Jewish; we’ve got to recognize the tremors of hate that are felt by Jewish people across the country. We’ve got to be good allies to our Jewish friends and neighbors.” The number of antisemitic incidents in the UK in 2023 was the highest in history since the data has been recorded, according to a report by the Community Security Trust. And most of the incidents took place before the advent of the new Labour government, which just made an outrageous decision to suspend 30 arms export licenses to Israel on the day that the levayos of six hostages murdered in cold blood by Hamas were taking place. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

Israel’s decisive defeat of Hamas in Gaza will facilitate regional peace with Saudi Arabia, whereas failure to achieve such a result is thwarting a deal, according to former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman.

Friedman, who served under former President Donald Trump when the Abraham Accords were signed four years ago, told JNS that U.S. pressure on Israel regarding the war was making the chances of regional peace more remote.

“Being a strong regional superpower that can manage its borders is what is admired in the Arab world,” he said in an interview with JNS. “The Saudis want to see a strong Israel defeating [the two countries’] common enemies.”

The Biden administration thought, he continued, “that by limiting Israel’s ability to prosecute the war they were preserving the opportunity for peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia; just the opposite. What makes the Arab world pay attention to Israel is Israel’s strength against the enemies their countries face as well. If you reduce that strength, you reduce the prospect of normalization.”

Motivated by hatred with or without the Saudis

The former ambassador, who conceded that no one could have imagined that the war against Hamas would drag on for nearly a year, downplayed assessments that terrorists carried out the Oct. 7 massacre to thwart an emerging deal with Saudi Arabia.

“They did it because they could,” he said. “Their motivation was hatred, with or without the Saudi initiative, and they did it because Israel let its guard down.”

Friedman voiced pessimism regarding a hostage deal between Israel and Hamas, despite recent remarks by U.S. President Joe Biden and top administration officials that a deal was close.

“I am not optimistic that they will ever make a deal,” he said.

A second term?

Friedman, who is based in the United States but travels to Israel several times a year for his “spiritual health,” said the Oct. 7 attacks have made him want his old job back, should Trump be re-elected in November.

“There is unfinished business, and course correction after four years of the Biden administration,” he said.

A proponent of Israeli sovereignty over the biblical heartland of Judea and Samaria with local autonomy for Palestinians, Friedman said Israel needs to change the deeply entrenched international paradigm of a two-state solution, which he called “fitting a square peg in a round hole,” by first changing its own mindset.

There must be a serious national discussion and consensus on the issue in Israel, he said, noting that it has been relegated to the Israeli far right, who he said have no credibility on the issue and don’t speak for the mainstream public at large.

“There is a vacuum on this issue … and leadership is not in place to make this happen,” he said. JNS

{Matzav.com}

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Known as a staunch defender of Israel on the international stage, Erdan will utilize his extensive experience to ensure Magen David Adom is fully prepared for the unprecedented challenges Israel faces

Senator Josh Hawley has revealed that whistleblowers informed him that the majority of agents assigned to protect Donald Trump during the attempted assassination at his Butler, Pennsylvania, rally in July were primarily personnel from Homeland Security, who had received limited training in protective duties.

Rather than being surrounded by a large contingent of Secret Service agents at the July 13 rally, Trump was largely safeguarded by Homeland Security agents who had only undergone online webinar training before the event, according to Hawley (R-Mo.), during an interview on “Jesse Watters Primetime” on Tuesday night.

“A two-hour, online webinar. And I’m told that half the time, the sounds to the webinar didn’t even work,” Hawley stated.

“Consider this: The former president of the US … is brought out on stage, with the majority of his protectors being undertrained and unqualified. They received only a webinar training, and even that was flawed,” he remarked with disbelief.

“This is absolutely outrageous.”

Hawley noted that the Homeland Security agents were reportedly diverted from child exploitation cases and other investigations to provide protection for Trump, a role they were not accustomed to.

He also criticized the Secret Service and FBI for their lack of transparency regarding the rally, where Trump narrowly escaped an assassination attempt by the shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks.

“The only reason we have this information is because of whistleblowers,” he said during his conversation with Watters.

Representative Clay Higgins (R-La.) recently disclosed that a SWAT team from Butler was actually the first to fire shots that damaged Crooks’ rifle and stopped the shooting spree before the Secret Service intervened.

During a congressional testimony on July 31, acting Secret Service director Ronald Rowe Jr. did not mention the local SWAT team’s involvement, Watters pointed out.

{Matzav.com}

America’s employers posted fewer job openings in July than they had the previous month, a sign that hiring could further cool in the coming months. The Labor Department reported Wednesday that there were 7.7 million open jobs in July, down from 7.9 million in June and the fewest since January 2021. Openings have fallen steadily this year, from nearly 8.8 million in January. Layoffs rose from 1.56 million to 1.76 million, the most since March 2023, though that level of job cuts is roughly consistent with pre-pandemic levels, when the unemployment rate was historically low. Layoffs have been unusually low since the economy’s rapid recovery from the pandemic recession, with many employers intent on holding onto their workers. Overall, Wednesday’s report painted a mixed picture of the job market. On the positive side, total hiring rose in July, to 5.5 million, after it had fallen to a four-year low of 5.2 million in June. And the number of people who quit their jobs ticked up slightly, to about 3.3 million. The number of quits is seen as a measure of the job market’s health: Workers typically quit when they already have a new job or when they’re confident they can find one. Still, quits remain far below the peak of 4.5 million reached in 2022, when many workers shifted jobs as the economy accelerated out of the pandemic recession. The spike in quits at that time helped drive up wage gains as companies jacked up pay to try to find or keep employees. The current lower level of quits suggests that wage increases will likely remain modest, which should help further cool inflation. Stephen Stanley, an economist at Santander, noted that July’s job openings are still about 7% above 2019 levels, when hiring was healthy. “Labor demand is still solid, albeit moderating,” he said. Wednesday’s figures indicate that fewer companies are seeking to add workers despite recent data showing that consumer spending is still growing. Last week, the government estimated that the economy expanded at a healthy 3% annual rate in the April-June quarter. In July, job openings fell sharply in health care and state and local government and also dropped in warehousing and transportation. Openings rose in manufacturing and professional and business services, a category that includes legal services and engineering and accounting. Even as openings have fallen for the past two years, there are still roughly 1.1 job openings for every unemployed person, Wednesday’s report showed. That reflects the economy’s continuing need for workers and marks a reversal from before the pandemic, when there were always more unemployed people than available jobs. The July report on job openings is the first of several measures this week of the labor market’s health that the Federal Reserve will be watching closely. If clear evidence emerges that hiring is faltering, the Fed might decide at its next meeting Sept. 17-18 to start cutting its benchmark interest rate by a relatively aggressive half-percentage point. If hiring remains mostly solid, however, a more typical quarter-point rate cut would be likelier. On Thursday, the government will report how many laid-off workers sought unemployment benefits last week. So far, most employers are largely holding onto their workers, rather than imposing layoffs, even though they have been slower to add jobs than they were earlier this […]

An overwhelming majority of Israelis support Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu’s negotiation positions regarding a hostage deal with Hamas and oppose anti-government demonstrations in Tel Aviv demanding an immediate deal at any price, according to a new, in-depth JNS poll.

Netanyahu’s positions are supported not only by coalition-party voters, but also by approximately one third of voters for opposition parties, the survey found.

Direct Polls conducted the survey on Monday evening both before and after the prime minister’s press conference, finding a significant disparity in Netanyahu’s favor in the latter sampling.

At the press conference, Netanyahu set out the rationale for his refusal to remove Israel Defense Forces troops from the border zone between Gaza and Egypt, known as the Philadelphi Corridor, its code name on IDF maps.

JNS asked respondents: “Do you believe Israel should support or oppose a deal that conditions the receipt of between 18-30 hostages on an IDF withdrawal from the Philadelphi Corridor for six weeks, during which Hamas will be able to rearm and smuggle hostages out of Gaza?”

Thirty-five percent of respondents overall said that Israel should agree to such a deal, while 62% opposed it. Three percent had no opinion.

Among coalition-party voters, 7% supported withdrawing from the Gaza-Egypt border, compared to 62% of opposition voters. Ninety-two percent of coalition voters opposed the withdrawal and 33% of opposition voters opposed withdrawing from the Philadelphi corridor.

Notably, 65% of opposition voters polled before the press conference supported withdrawing from the Philadelphi Corridor, and only 57% of opposition voters polled afterwards supported that position. Support for the withdrawal among coalition voters decreased from 8% to 5%.

The disparity between the way opposition party voters polled before and after Netanyahu’s press conference viewed mass anti-government protests on behalf of a hostage deal was even more apparent. Fifty-two percent of opposition party voters surveyed before Netanyahu’s press conference thought that the demonstrations advanced the goal of getting the hostages home. Thirty-two percent said that the demonstrations had no impact on whether or not a deal would be achieved that would get the hostages home. Sixteen percent said that the demonstrations decreased the chance of getting a hostage deal with Hamas.

After Netanyahu’s press conference, only 42% of opposition voters believed that the demonstrations increased the prospects for getting the hostages home. Thirty-nine percent said that the demonstrations didn’t affect their plight, and 19% said that the demonstrations decreased prospects for bringing them home.

Sixty-one percent of Israelis agreed with the sentence, “Only military pressure on Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and planned military actions including hostage rescue operations can lead to the release of the hostages.” Thirty-three percent agreed that “Continuing IDF operations in the Gaza tunnels endangers the hostages’ lives.”

Israelis are sharply split over whether Netanyahu bears responsibility for the execution of the hostages. Opposition voters support the claim 69% to 28%, while coalition voters oppose it 94%-6%.

The hostage deal Netanyahu has accepted involves three phases. In the first phase Israel would agree to free hundreds of Hamas terrorists from prison and significantly draw back its forces from Gaza while accepting a six-week ceasefire. Hamas in exchange would free 18-30 hostages. In two later phases of the deal, Hamas would release the rest of the hostages—alive and dead—in exchange for the further release of terrorists from prison and continuation of the ceasefire.

JNS asked Israelis if they believed Hamas would be willing to release additional hostages in later phases of the deal or would refuse to release them. Sixty-nine percent of Israelis (88% of coalition voters and 50% of opposition voters) believe Hamas will not release additional hostages. Only 24% of Israelis (10% of coalition voters and 38% of opposition voters) said that Hamas will be willing to advance along the deal and release additional hostages.

In other words, 69% of Israelis believe that between 83 and 71 hostages would be left behind in Gaza indefinitely.

Hamas’s negotiating position is that Israel must remove all of its forces from Gaza, including from the 3 kilometer wide security perimeter within Gaza along the border with Israel, the Netzarim Corridor that separates central and southern Gaza from northern Gaza, and the Philadelphi Corridor.

Seventy-three percent of Israelis, (95% of coalition party voters and 51% of opposition party voters) oppose Hamas’s demands. Twenty-two percent of Israelis support it, (4% of coalition voters and 40% of opposition voters).

A majority of Israelis do not trust the Biden-Harris administration’s commitments to support Israel if Hamas breaches the ceasefire-for-hostages deal. In response to JNS’s question, “Do you believe that the Biden-Harris administration will permit or block Israel from reinstating hostilities and reconquering Gaza to defeat Hamas if Hamas breaches the agreement,” 38% of Israelis said the United States would permit Israel to renew military operations; 56% said the United States would block Israel from renewing its military operations in Gaza. Only 14% of coalition voters believed the Biden-Harris administration would support a renewal of operations, while 61% of opposition voters trusted the administration’s support. Eighty-one percent of coalition voters said the United States would prevent Israel from renewing its operations if Hamas breaches a ceasefire deal, compared to 31% of opposition party voters.

On Sunday, Arnon Bar-David, the chairman of Israel’s main labor union, the Histadrut, declared a general strike in order to force the government to accept a hostage deal at all costs. A Labor court ruled the strike illegal on Monday afternoon and ordered it stopped immediately. The damage to the economy from the lost work hours is assessed at 2 billion shekels ($541 million).

JNS asked the public whether they believed that the strike advanced a hostage deal, had no impact on prospects for a hostage deal or damaged prospects for a hostage deal. Eighteen percent said the strike increased the prospects for a deal, 32% said it had no impact and 50% said it harmed prospects for a deal.

The heads of the anti-government protest groups active since January 2023 and the Hostage Families Forum, which represents a few dozen hostage families, have been cooperating informally since Oct. 7. In December 2023, former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak, the unofficial leader of the anti-government political groups organizing the protests, called for the anti-government groups to work behind the hostages’ families. On Tuesday it was reported that Barak’s associates will begin officially cooperating with the Hostage Families Forum from now on, effectively merging the group representing a fraction of the hostages’ families with the anti-government protest movement.

JNS asked the public whether it believed that the anti-government protest groups have joined the hostages’ families groups in order mainly to help secure their release, mainly to overthrow the government or to advance both goals equally. Fifty-five percent of Israelis (90% of coalition voters and 20% of opposition voters) said that the anti-government groups are helping the Hostages’ Families Forum to overthrow the government.

Twenty percent of Israelis (3% of coalition voters and 37% of opposition voters) said the anti-government groups were supporting the Hostage Families Forum to secure the hostages’ release.

Twenty-four percent of Israelis (7% of coalition voters and 41% of opposition voters) believed they were helping the Hostage Families Forum to advance both goals equally.

In light of Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s open opposition to the Security Cabinet’s decision to oppose all withdrawals from the Philadelphi Corridor, JNS asked whether Israelis believe he should quit or be fired, or whether he should remain in his position. Fifty-one percent of Israelis said that Gallant should be fired or resign.

Thirty-three percent (53% of coalition voters and 14% of opposition voters) said Gallant should resign.

Eighteen percent of Israelis (32% of coalition voters and 4% of opposition voters) said that Netanyahu should fire Gallant.

Forty-five percent of Israelis (13% of coalition voters and 76% of opposition voters) said he should remain in his position.

Similarly, 48% of Israelis believe that IDF Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Hertzi Halevy should either resign immediately or in the next four weeks and 41% believe that he should leave when the war is over. Only 7% believe he should remain in his position until the official conclusion of his term in 2025.

(JNS)

Former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. took aim at Vice President Kamala Harris during an interview with NewsNation, saying that she is not “worthy” of the presidency and questioning her ability to effectively communicate. Kennedy, who recently dropped out of the race and endorsed former President Donald Trump, suggested Harris would be unable to “put together an English sentence” or defend her policies in a debate. During his interview with host Chris Cuomo, Kennedy explained his decision to withdraw from the presidential race. “It became clear to me, Chris, that I was not gonna be allowed on the debating stage, which was really my only path to victory. I was already being boycotted by all of the mainstream media, the liberal media,” he said. Kennedy also cited polling data indicating that his continued candidacy would result in a victory for Harris in a hypothetical match-up against Trump. Kennedy voiced strong criticism of Harris, saying, “I don’t think that Vice President Harris is a worthy president of this country. I think we need to have a president who can give an interview, who can articulate a vision, who can put together an English sentence, who can articulate and defend her policies and her record, and who can engage in a debate.” “Vice President Harris’s speech at the convention made it very clear that she would continue the warfare state,” Kennedy concluded. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

A suspect is in custody after a shooting at a high school in Georgia that left four dead and nine more hospitalized, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

The shooting took place Wednesday at Apalachee High School in Barrow County, about 35 miles northeast of Atlanta.

“We urge anyone near the area to stay clear while authorities investigate,” the GBI posted on social media just after noon.

Roads leading into the area surrounding Apalachee High School were snarled by gridlocked traffic for a nearly two-mile perimeter surrounding the scene. Hundreds of empty vehicles were parked on the sides of the roads in this partially rural area, double-parked in ditches and left on sidewalks in nearby neighborhoods.

Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith told reporters Wednesday afternoon there were “multiple injuries” as a result of the shooting but that he probably wouldn’t be releasing more information before 4 p.m., when he hoped to hold a news conference.

He asked for patience from the community as they continue to investigate.

“This is going to take multiple days for us to get answers,” Smith said.

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens (D) wrote on social media that his prayers were “with the high school students, staff, and families affected by the act of violence in Winder, Georgia.” He added in a thread that he has been in touch with Atlanta police to “bolster patrols around our schools for the rest of the day out of an abundance of caution.”

Winder, Ga., is about 35 miles northeast of Atlanta, and it’s a part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. The city is home to about 29,500 people, according to 2020 census data. It’s known for its 1,816-acre Fort Yargo State Park and its historic railroad.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) posted on social media that he has sent “all available state resources” to the school and urged “all Georgians to join my family in praying for the safety of those in our classrooms.”

President Joe Biden wrote in a statement that he was mourning those slain by “more senseless gun violence” and thinking of the survivors.

“Students across the country are learning how to duck and cover instead of how to read and write. We cannot continue to accept this as normal,” he wrote.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called on Congress to pass gun-control legislation following the school shooting in Georgia.

“We need to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, require safe storage of firearms, invest in violence prevention programs and pass a national red-flag law,” Jean-Pierre told reporters. It was not immediately clear what kind of weapon was used in Wednesday’s shooting.

Later, she added: “We cannot allow this to happen in our communities. We cannot allow this to happen in our schools.”

Vice President Kamala Harris was briefed on the shooting before leaving Joint Base Andrews in Washington, according to a White House official. She will continue to receive updates as authorities gather more information, the official said.

Democratic vice-presidential nominee Tim Walz addressed the school shooting in a Georgia while meeting with campaign volunteers.

“This is tragic. We don’t know any of the details on it yet, but it’s a situation that’s all too common, and our hearts are out there right now,” he said. Work needs to be done to prevent such shootings in the future, he added.

(c) 2024, The Washington Post · Washington Post staff 

The Biden administration announced wide-ranging actions Wednesday meant to call out Russian influence in the upcoming U.S. presidential election, unsealing criminal charges against two employees of a Russian state-run media company and seizing internet domains used by the Kremlin to spread disinformation. The measures represented a U.S. government effort at disrupting a persistent threat from Russia that American officials have long warned has the potential to sow discord and create confusion among voters. Washington has said that Russia remains the primary threat to elections even as the FBI investigates a hack by Iran of Donald Trump’s campaign and an attempt breach of the Joe Biden-Kamala Harris campaign. One criminal case accuses two employees of RT, a Russian-state-funded media organization that was forced by the Justice Department to register as a foreign agent, of covertly funding a Tennessee-based content creation company to publish nearly 2,000 videos containing Russian propaganda. The defendants, who remain at large, used fake identities and the company was unaware it was being used by Russia. In the other action, officials announced the seizure of 32 internet domains that were used by the Kremlin to spread Russian propaganda and weaken global support for Ukraine. Attorney General Merrick Garland said the actions relate to Russia’s use of state media to enlist unwitting American influencers to spread propaganda and disinformation. Intelligence agencies have previously charged that Russia was using disinformation to try to interfere in the election. The new steps show the depth of U.S. concerns and signal legal actions against those suspected of being involved. “Today’s announcement highlights the lengths some foreign governments go to undermine American democratic institutions,” the State Department said. “But these foreign governments should also know that we will not tolerate foreign malign actors intentionally interfering and undermining free and fair elections.” In a speech last month, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said Russia remained the biggest threat to election integrity, accusing Russian President Vladimir Putin and “his proxies are using increasingly sophisticated techniques in their interference operations. They’re targeting specific voter demographics and swing-state voters to in an effort to manipulate presidential and congressional election outcomes. They’re intent on co-opting unwitting Americans on social media to push narratives advancing Russian interests.” Much of the concern around Russia centers on cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns designed to influence the November vote. The tactics include using state media like RT to advance anti-U.S. messages and content, as well as networks of fake websites and social media accounts that amplify the claims and inject them into American’s online conversations. Typically, these networks seize on polarizing political topics such as immigration, crime or the war in Gaza. In many cases, Americans may have no idea that the content they see online either originated or was amplified by the Kremlin. “Russia is taking a whole of government approach to influence the election including the presidential race,” an official from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said this summer during a briefing. The official spoke on condition of anonymity under rules worked out with that office. Groups linked to the Kremlin are increasingly hiring marketing and communications firms within Russia to outsource some of the work of creating digital propaganda while also covering their tracks, the officials said during the briefing with reporters. Two such firms were the subject […]

Revelations by Israel’s government about the United Nations Relief and Works Agency have shattered the group’s carefully cultivated image as a humanitarian organization, revealing it to be no less than an arm of Hamas in Gaza. However, little light has been thrown on UNRWA’s identical role in Judea and Samaria.

A new film, “UNRWA at War,” focuses on the educational side of UNRWA’s activities, in which children are taught not just to hate, but to kill. Just as it did in Gaza, UNRWA is inculcating children with the same genocidal creed in Judea and Samaria, only in this case for Fatah, the controlling party in the Palestinian Authority.

The roughly 20-minute film was released by the Jerusalem-based Center for Near East Policy Research on Sept. 1 and is available online.

The center’s director, David Bedein, told JNS that the movie shows what’s happening in Bethlehem. “That’s the next place they [the terrorists] are going to break out,” he said.

When could such an attack take place? “It could be as soon as tomorrow,” he said.

The film shows that terrorists, such as Dalal Mughrabi, a Fatah member who participated in the 1978 Coastal Road massacre in Israel, in which 38 Israeli civilians, including 13 children, were murdered, are routinely held up as heroes and role models in UNRWA schools. Images of Mughrabi and other terrorists adorn the schools’ walls.

In the film, Arab students in Judea and Samaria, products of UNRWA schools, speak of Mughrabi with reverence.

“She’s like my sister, like my mother. She’s part of our people,” says a boy from the Al-Amari refugee camp east of Ramallah. A girl of about six, also from Al-Amari, says, “Dhalal Mughrabi is a Palestinian martyr. She fought against the Jews. She blew them up.”

Bedein, who has been sounding the alarm regarding UNRWA for decades, describes the indoctrination the kids are receiving as “murder education.” UNRWA, he said, is a “machine” that produces genocidal children in a “cookie-cutter” manner.

Kutaiba Hatab, 15, attends the UNRWA Boys School in the Jalazone refugee camp north of Ramallah in Samaria. Asked in the film what he’s taught about the right of return, he says, “To fight, and to keep fighting, until Palestine is liberated!” He goes on to state that when he grows up, “I’ll be a jihadist and fight for Allah!”

“Do you hate Jews,” an interviewer asks Rada Abu-Hatab, 12, an UNRWA student in Jenin. “Yes, a lot,” she answers. “I want to fight and become a martyr and ascend to heaven with Allah!”

Mohammed Mahmud Khalil, an UNRWA student from Ein Arik, an Arab town near Ramallah, says, “What is the solution to Jerusalem? To kill the Jews. We’ll get rid of the Jews … With Allah’s help, I will become a holy warrior.”

All the children connected the Hamas invasion of Oct. 7 to the right of return, characterizing the gruesome attack as an effort to liberate the land from the Jews.

“Oct. 7 is related to the right of return because Hamas reconquered part of our land that was taken by the occupiers,” says Osama Belashe, an UNRWA student from Jalazone. “In school our teacher taught us we have to return. Even if Israel gives us compensation [to stay here] we have to return.”

For Bedein, the most important thing the film documents is that at UNRWA, children receive military training. In previous films, Bedein has shown that these training camps were set up near Israel Defense Forces bases.

He worries that Israel has been slow to adapt to the post-Oct. 7 reality. “They’re making the same mistake they made last October, not paying attention to the preparations for war in the UNRWA camps,” he said.

However, he sees signs of awakening, noting a recent Israel Army Radio report that the military intended to investigate military training at UNRWA camps.

And next week, Bedein is to present his findings to a Knesset committee. “People who did not take me seriously over a period of 36 years are now taking me seriously,” he said.

Incompetence, or willful blindness, on the part of the Israeli authorities is a recurring theme for Bedein.

He said the Foreign Ministry has a special division dedicated to overseeing UNRWA, yet its representatives were oblivious regarding the weapons held at UNRWA camps. He brought them to the Askar camp bordering Nablus (Shechem) to show them. “They had no idea about the guns,” he said.

Moreover, Israel never exercised what oversight it had, he said. “Israel has the power to veto anything in Palestinian education. What we learned from Oct. 7 is that they weren’t doing it,” he added.

“Back in the 1980s, I began this conversation with how humanitarian supplies were sold in the open market and with no supervision,” Bedein said. “And they [Israel] didn’t make any changes. There was no oversight. To say they’re not doing their job is an understatement,” he added.

Although many have argued for doing away with UNRWA, according to Bedein that’s not a realistic solution. The organization is too embedded in the territories and in the United Nations, and the General Assembly would never accept it, he argued. However, he continued, it is possible to change UNRWA from within by pointing out the absurd situation and demanding change.

“The theme of UNRWA education is ‘peace starts here,’” he said. “How could it possibly be that a U.N. social work agency would be using their education system to prepare kids for war?”

Bedein has put together a five-point plan for changing UNRWA from within:

1. Cancellation of the new UNRWA curriculum based on jihad.

2. Disarmament of UNRWA schools and cessation of paramilitary training.

3. Dismissing UNRWA employees affiliated with Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Fatah.

4. Resettling fourth- and fifth-generation refugees from the 1948 war rather than keeping them in perpetual refugee status.

5. Demanding an audit of donor funds.

He has met five times with Antonio Guterres, the U.N. secretary general, whom he said is open to his proposals.

While UNRWA was always corrupt, it wasn’t always the way it is now, he said.

Even the children going through the schools, while they spoke of “their homes in Jaffa,” didn’t talk about going back and killing everyone in Jaffa as they do now, he said.

“The change took place after 1992 when the PLO was put in charge by [then-Foreign Minister] Shimon Peres,” he said. “UNRWA was handed over to the PLO.”