Feed aggregator

A report from Columbia University’s task force on antisemitism released on Friday revealed disturbing details about the violent harassment faced by Jewish students on the campus of the once prestigious university following the October 7 assault on Israel. The 91-page report, based on testimony from over 500 students, revealed the extent of the antisemitic incidents, including physical altercations and verbal abuse, faced by Jewish students, especially those who are visibly observant.  The hostility and violence began immediately after the October 7 assault on Israel, well before the Israeli ground war in Gaza was launched. Students testified about having their necklaces ripped off their necks and being pinned against walls. Multiple people reported that visibly Jewish people simply walking past 116th Street  were stalked and verbally assaulted with statements such as “I hope you guys suffer” and “Go back to Poland.” “Students described being shoved, pushed to the ground, berated for showing support for Zionist causes, and watching Israeli flags burned,” the report said. Jewish students on campus were subject to vile rants from protestors, including “October 7 is going to be every day for you” and even “Kill your ——-self. And I’ll ——– kill you.” “On campus, my friends have been spit on, been called like terrible, terrible names, a very close friend of mine was called, a lover of genocide and then a lover of baby killing,” one student testified. “This was only a couple of days after October 7th.” Other students were subject to hearing chants such as “Yes Hamas, we love you, we support your rockets too,” or “We say justice you say how, burn Tel Aviv to the ground” and “kill another IDF soldier.” One student testified that she and her brother were pursued by protesters and chased off the campus. Students began avoiding walking alone on campus. One student said that walking on campus with a kippah or a visible Magen Dovid “could start World War III.” An Israeli student testified that when she went to seek medical care on campus in July, she heard two healthcare professionals speaking in the next room, one of whom was expressing refusal to treat her because of her Israeli identity. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

After learning of the murder of US citizen and hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin while in Hamas captivity, US President Joe Biden spoke with his parents Jon and Rachel.

A White House official told reporters on Sunday: “This morning, President Biden spoke with Rachel Goldberg and Jon Polin, to offer his condolences for the death of their son at the hands of Hamas.” Earlier, Biden had said that the murder of Hersh was ” heartbreaking, devastating, and tragic.”

Hersh’s levayah is expected to take place on Har Hamenuchos in Yersuahalayim on Monday.

Hersh was one of 8 Americans remaining in Hamas captivity.

He was murdered at point blank range within the past few days, along with 5 other hostages, according to the Israeli Health Ministry. Their bodies were located in a tunnel 65 feet underground, in the Rafah area. The terrorists who kept Hersh hostage appeared to have fled.

{Matzav.com} 

When Elon Musk bought Twitter and renamed it X, he didn’t do it alone. Though the billionaire tapped his vast wealth to cover the lion’s share of the $44 billion purchase price in 2022, he also relied on bank loans and a long list of investors, the full extent of which was only recently revealed.

At the time, analysts marveled at Musk’s ability to attract dozens of enthusiastic partners. Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who rolled nearly $2 billion in Twitter stock held by himself and a Saudi holding company into the private deal, tweeted at Musk: “I believe you will be an excellent leader for @Twitter to propel & maximise its great potential.”

Two years later, Alwaleed says he is still happy with his investment. But to others, the deal looks significantly less appealing. Under Musk, X’s valuation has cratered – as Musk has acknowledged – leaving it worth as little as half what he paid.

Since late last year, Fidelity has consistently valued the X stake in one of its funds 70 percent below the purchase price, a drop in valuation first reported by Axios. Figures released Friday show that Fidelity now values that stake about 72 percent lower than when Musk took over X, taking its overall portion of the company from a valuation of around $316 million to $88 million.

Based on a Washington Post analysis using Fidelity’s estimates, the eight largest initial investments that were reported to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission or otherwise publicly disclosed are worth about $5 billion less than when Musk bought X. His and his partners’ overall stake has shed $24 billion in value – a vaporization of wealth that has little parallel outside the realm of economic or industry-specific crashes, or devastating corporate scandals.

All but the second-largest investor declined or did not respond to a request for comment for this article. Fidelity declined to comment. Musk and X did not respond to requests for comment.

Among those shouldering the burden: Saudi and Qatari business leaders and royalty; Silicon Valley venture capital and tech investors; and Twitter co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey. Musk took out loans to cover the rest of the deal, borrowing more than $12 billion that banks have not been able to offload, news outlets have reported.

“Elon’s done a tremendous amount of wealth destruction since he’s purchased Twitter,” said Ross Gerber, who said he invested less than $1 million, a stake he now considers worthless.

“For the people who put capital into him for any amount,” Gerber said, “ … trying to explain to people how he lost” so much money “is not a fun conversation.”

Among top investors, Dorsey – whose stake has lost an estimated $720 million – has made his displeasure known. Last year, he said Musk shouldn’t have purchased Twitter after all, posting on social media that he didn’t think Musk “acted right after realizing his timing was bad.”

“It all went south,” Dorsey said.

But Alwaleed, X’s biggest investor after Musk himself, said in an interview with The Post that he values his and Kingdom Holding Co.’s X stake the same as when Musk took over the site: $1.9 billion, a figure he said was a “conservative” estimate.

“In our books, on my books personally, we are valuing at minimum [at] the entry level that we entered with,” he said last week. “There’s no devaluation whatsoever.”

The largest investors – those with stakes of $250 million or more – received the right to confidential business information as part of the deal, prompting concerns in Washington about the involvement of entities associated with foreign governments and their potential access to user data. Alwaleed said he received no concessions or formal influence as part of his agreement to invest, calling his motives purely financial. A spokesperson said Alwaleed and Kingdom Holding Co., which the prince chairs, receive the same set of business information available to other X and xAI investors.

Alwaleed, who said he and his team are in frequent contact with Musk, X CEO Linda Yaccarino and Jared Birchall, head of Musk’s family office, said outside valuations that suggest massive losses do not take into account X’s bets through xAI, Musk’s artificial intelligence start-up. Alwaleed and Kingdom Holding Co. have become one of xAI’s largest investors.

“When you evaluate X, you have to evaluate their ownership in xAI of 25 percent,” Alwaleed said. He also said X needs to prioritize revenue. “Clearly, the game right now is monetization, having advertisers coming to X.”

As a major shareholder in Twitter, Alwaleed initially opposed Musk’s purchase – not because he was “against Musk,” he said, but because he thought Musk’s offer of $54.20 per share was too low.

“My first call with Musk was: I was fighting to stay in the company,” he said, citing his belief that Twitter was worth more.

Because Musk turned Twitter into a private company, it’s hard to know its up-to-the-minute valuation. But some things about its financial picture are clear: Advertisers, its key source of revenue, fled after controversies – some caused by Musk himself. Some advertisers were also put off by his decision to gut content moderation while restoring thousands of accounts previously suspended for breaking the site’s rules.

The deal has also faced scrutiny. The SEC has an active fraud probe into Musk’s purchase of the site, examining his early accumulation of Twitter shares without disclosing his investment – a move that could have affected the share price. Some investors have received subpoenas as part of the probe.

Here’s are the largest initial investors in the deal, what their stakes were worth when they bought in and what they’re worth today, extrapolating from Fidelity’s calculations.

– – –

(c) Washington Post

Thousands of hotel workers in major cities across the country walked off the job Sunday morning in a strike wave expected to quickly reach other U.S. cities.

The initial strikes, which involve mostly Hilton, Marriott and Hyatt properties, will last three days. More than 10,000 workers walked out at hotels in San Francisco, San Jose, San Diego, Honolulu, Kauai, Boston, Seattle and Greenwich, Conn., early in the day. The strikes could spread later Sunday or Monday to other communities, including New Haven, Conn.; Baltimore; and Oakland, Calif.

The work stoppage threatens to cause disruptions on a busy holiday weekend. The Transportation Security Administration has said it expects this year to have the busiest Labor Day travel period on record.

As of Sunday morning, the strikes had affected 24 properties with more than 23,000 rooms, according to Unite Here, a national hospitality union with over 275,000 members, the majority of them women and people of color.

The union, which suffered major losses in membership during the height of the pandemic, says its workers are striking for higher pay, increased staffing and reduced workloads. It has accused hotels of using covid-era lockdowns as a pretext to permanently cut costs by axing employees and suspending guest services. As a result, the union says, members lost income and work, and those who remain endure “painful” working conditions.

“I’m on strike because I need higher wages,” Daniela Campusano, a housekeeper at Hilton’s Hampton Inn & Homewood Suites in Boston’s Seaport district, said in a statement Sunday. “I currently have two jobs, and I work about 65 hours a week. One job should be enough.”

Unite Here is asking guests with reservations at hotels with striking workers to “cancel your stay immediately” and “demand a refund without a cancellation fee.”

Hotel companies say they’re trying to cooperate with union members.

Michael D’Angelo, a Hyatt spokesperson, said in a statement that the company “has a long history of cooperation with the unions that represent our employees” and is “disappointed that UNITE HERE has chosen to strike while Hyatt remains willing to negotiate.”

The hotels have plans in place to “minimize impact on hotel operations” related to the strikes, D’Angelo said.

Hilton said it “makes every effort to maintain a cooperative and productive relationship” with the union, adding that the chain is “committed to negotiating in good faith to reach fair and reasonable agreements.”

Marriott did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Some 15,000 union members in 12 cities voted in August to authorize strikes, which could trigger the largest hotel strike in U.S. history if workers in more cities join. Union contracts covering housekeepers, front desk attendants, bellhops, restaurant waitstaff, cooks, bartenders and other workers in each of the cities expired in the weeks leading up to the strike, and the companies and union remained at an impasse early Sunday in contract negotiations.

“We’re on strike because the hotel industry has gotten off track,” Gwen Mills, Unite Here’s president, said in a statement Sunday morning. “Workers aren’t making enough to support their families. Many can no longer afford to live in the cities that they welcome guests to, and painful workloads are breaking their bodies.”

The union hopes to build on gains won in strikes and strike threats in 2023. Last summer, thousands of hotel workers in Los Angeles and the surrounding area participated in rolling strikes, winning higher wages and more equitable workload guarantees. And Detroit casino workers won an average 18 percent immediate pay raise and reduced workloads after a 47-day strike. In Nevada, the union’s powerful local won the biggest gains in close to 90 years for some 40,000 hospitality workers, after a mere strike threat.

Many U.S. hotels have kept covid-era cuts in place, with lower staffing, less frequent housekeeping, and fewer food and drink options, according to the union. Hotel staffing per occupied room fell by 13 percent from 2019 to 2022, it says.

Christian Carbajal, a 15-year employee at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront, is among the workers on strike Sunday. During the pandemic, the hotel shuttered Carbajal’s room-service department, transferring him to a position in the hotel’s grab-and-go market. Without the room-service tips, Carbajal says, he earns about $800 less a month.

The pay cut has forced him, his wife and two kids to move in with three other family members in a house farther from the hotel, he said. He and his wife have also adopted alternating work schedules – he at night and she during the day – to avoid child-care expenses.

“We’re being pushed to go on strike because we’re not being given fair pay,” Carbajal, who makes $23 an hour, told The Washington Post before the strike action began. “It’s bad that we’ve had to go this far to get better working conditions, to feel appreciated as someone with so many years of service.”

(c) Washington Post

An imam based in the city of Utica in upstate New York on Aug. 20 called on students to “take out” pro-Israel Columbia University business school professor Shai Davidai.

“If you’re able to take out somebody like that and make an example, that might shut up a hundred more,” Imam Tom Facchine said during the webinar titled “Islamic Political Activism” hosted by the Columbia University branch of Students for Justice in Palestine.

Instagram removed the video and permanently banned it from its platform, Columbia’s SJP said, according to The College Fix, which covers higher education and campus news.

Davidai posted the segment to his X account.

“That Shai Davidai guy: How do we get him in trouble? How do we create a situation in which he’s in jeopardy,” Facchine said.

Facchine, 35, was born in New Jersey and educated at Vasser College. He quit Christianity and became an atheist, and then a Marxist, before settling on Islam in 2010, when he converted, according to the New York Post.

The university launched a probe of Facchine’s comments with outside security experts, who concluded that his rhetoric “did not create conditions that require enhanced security measures,” the school’s vice president of public safety Gerald Lewis told Davidai, the Post reported.

“I will not be silenced—I know I’m speaking the truth. It feels like they put a target on my back with the explicit goal to take me down, to get me fired, to make up complaints about me,” Davidai told the paper.

Davidai entered the spotlight last October for his viral video blasting the school for failing to protect Jewish students against terrorism-supporting mobs, and for not banning pro-terrorism organizations on campus. He swore he would never send his daughter to Columbia.

(JNS)

Thousands of demonstrators have taken over the Ayalon Highway, with some setting off fireworks above the gathered crowds. In several areas, police officers are attempting to disperse the protesters and clear the highway, but they are struggling to manage the sheer number of people on the road.

The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a “militia” of Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah faction, claimed responsibility on Sunday for Friday’s double car bombings in the Gush Etzion region of Yehuda.

In an announcement posted on Telegram, Fatah’s “military” wing hailed the terrorists who carried out the “heroic Hebron operation,” naming them as Zahdi Nidal Abu Afifa and Muhammad Ihsan Yaqin Marqa.

The statement claimed that Friday’s car bombings were a response to “Zionist massacres in the Gaza Strip, the crimes of the occupation in the occupied West Bank and violations against the blessed Al-Aqsa mosque.

“The fighters of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades continue their heroic operations against the forces of the Zionist enemy within the Battle of Al-Aqsa Flood,” it said, referring to the Swords of Iron War initiated by Hamas on Oct. 7.

On Saturday, the Hamas terrorist group hailed the previous day’s “double heroic operation” after the car bombers wounded three Israelis. While stopping short of taking responsibility, it called it “a clear message that the resistance will be prolonged and sustained so long as the brutal occupation’s aggression and targeting of our people and land continue.”

In the first attack, a bomb was detonated at a gas station near the Gush Etzion Junction, prompting the IDF to dispatch soldiers to the scene. The terrorist opened fire on the troops, who killed him. A soldier was moderately wounded and an officer was lightly hurt in the exchange.

Shortly thereafter, a terrorist rammed his car through the gate to the nearby town of Karmei Tzur. A security guard drove after the terrorist and crashed into his vehicle, before getting out and shooting and killing him. The terrorist’s car exploded, and the guard was lightly injured in the attack.

On Saturday, security forces raided an explosive manufacturing factory in Hebron that produced the improvised bombs used in Friday’s attacks, the IDF and the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) said in a joint statement on Sunday.

The Israel Defense Forces believes that the Fatah terrorists who carried out the bombings, both from Chevron, coordinated their attacks.

Many members of Israel’s security brass support the Palestinian Authority’s control over parts of Yehuda and Shomron as a “moderating force,” as opposed to Hamas and other Iran-backed terrorist groups.

Members of Ramallah’s “security forces” have a long history of carrying out terrorist attacks against IDF soldiers and Israeli civilians. Last year, Fatah boasted that most of its “martyrs” served in the Palestinian Authority Security Forces.

On Sunday, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich urged Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu to order a broad counterterror campaign throughout Yehuda and Shomron, hours after Palestinian terrorists murdered three police officers in a drive-by shooting near Hebron.

“Gaza, Lebanon, and Judea and Samaria are part of the same Iranian choke ring that seeks to destroy the State of Israel,” Smotrich said. “We are proving in Gaza that there is a military solution to terrorism. We must prove this here in Yehuda and Shomron and in Lebanon against Hezbollah.”

In the six months of 2024, Yehuda and Shomron saw more than 500 Arab terrorist attacks each month on average, according to figures Rescuers Without Borders published on Aug. 1.

During that time, first responders recorded 3,272 acts of terrorism in the region, including 1,868 cases of rock-throwing, 456 attacks with Molotov cocktails, 299 explosive charges and 109 shootings.

Terrorists have killed 14 people and wounded more than 155 others in Judea and Samaria since the start of the year, the group said.

(JNS)

António Guterres, the United Nations secretary-general who has long been accused of Jew-hatred and anti-Israel bias, drew widespread criticism on Sunday for what he did not say in a statement about the six hostages, whom Hamas killed and whose names were released the prior night.

“I will never forget my meeting last October with the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin and other hostage families,” Guterres wrote. “Today’s tragic news is a devastating reminder of the need for the unconditional release of all hostages and an end to the nightmare of war in Gaza.”

Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, wrote that “Hamas just murdered six Israeli and American hostages by shooting them in the head. Why can’t you say so? Why can’t you condemn them?”

“Save your crocodile tears for someone who has an ounce of respect for your leadership,” wrote the Israeli diplomat Yaki Lopez.

“Won’t even say ‘Hamas.’ Won’t condemn the terror group that took Hersh, held him hostage for 330 days and murdered him,” wrote AIPAC. “Says it all.”

Israel Nitzan, a former Israeli diplomat, called the statement “cowardly and morally flawed,” adding, “why can’t Mr. Guterres condemn Hamas for brutally executing innocent hostages?”

“Hamas. The word is Hamas. Hamas did this. Say it,” wrote Matthew Levit, a senior fellow at The Washington Institute and director of its counterterrorism and intelligence program.

“Resign. Your failure to pressure, or even acknowledge Hamas, emboldened them,” wrote Esther Panitch, a Georgia state representative who is Jewish. “They know you are spineless.”

Arsen Ostrovsky, CEO at The International Legal Forum and senior fellow at the Misgav Institute for National Security and Zionist Strategy, called Guterres “a pathetic and cowardly excuse for a world leader,” who “can’t even bring himself to name Hamas or condemn them.” JNS

{Matzav.com Israel}

Agudath Israel is devastated beyond words by the heart-wrenching news that Israeli forces have recovered the bodies of six hostages cruelly held by Hamas terrorists in a tunnel beneath the city of Rafah. The hostages were reportedly murdered shortly before the arrival of the Israeli forces.

The hostages have been identified as: Master Sgt. Ori Danilo, Carmel Gat, Alexander Lebanon, Hersh Polin-Goldberg, Almog Sarusi, and Eden Yerushalmi. Hashem yinkom domom.

Our deepest condolences and heartfelt sympathies to the families and friends of these hostages whose lives were tragically cut short in such brutal fashion.

As we grapple with these losses, we continue to fervently pray for the immediate release of those still held captive, and for Divine protection of all who live in Eretz Yisroel under the threat of terror and war.

{Matzav.com}

A man was charged with felony aggravated assault after an alleged glass bottle attack on two Jewish students on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh, a city newspaper reported Saturday. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the 52-year-old suspect was also charged with simple assault, reckless endangering, resisting arrest and harassment. The Post-Gazette, citing a criminal complaint, said the man was seen on surveillance video sitting at a table across the street from the students as they walked near Pitt’s Cathedral of Learning on Friday evening. Police say he ran across the street and hit them from behind with the bottle. The students, who were wearing yarmulkas, were treated at the scene, the university said. One had cuts on his face, and the other had cuts on his neck, the Post-Gazette said, citing the criminal complaint. The suspect, who has no known affiliation with the school, was wearing a kaffiyeh, a traditional checkered scarf worn in the Middle East and increasingly displayed as a symbol of solidarity with Palestinians – and often Hamas. University leaders were in contact with the Hillel University Center as well as the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh. Agents from the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office were also sent to the scene to investigate the possibility of a hate crime, the newspaper said. The university called it an “appalling incident” but said there was no ongoing threat to the public. Counseling was being made available. “To be clear: Neither acts of violence nor antisemitism will be tolerated,” the university said in a statement. Court documents did not list an attorney for the suspect, and a listed number for him couldn’t be found Saturday. The incident came at the end of the first full week of fall semester classes and a few months after spring protests on the campus over the war in Gaza, one of which took place in front of the Cathedral of Learning. (AP)

Senator Lindsey Graham expressed his deep sorrow and anger on Sunday after learning that the remains of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, an Israeli-American, were found among the bodies of five other Israeli hostages in Gaza. He emphasized the need for the Biden administration to take strong action against Iran.

“He was murdered by Hamas,” the South Carolina senator said during an interview on ABC News’ “This Week.” Graham highlighted that Goldberg-Polin’s parents had done “everything in their power to help their son be released from captivity.”

“Hamas could care less about the hostages or the Palestinians,” Graham stated.

The hostages, identified as Goldberg-Polin, Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi, and Master Sgt. Ori Danino, were “brutally murdered by Hamas terrorists shortly before we reached them,” according to Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, who made the announcement on Sunday.

Graham also mentioned that the pressure on Iran must be intensified if there is any hope of rescuing the remaining hostages taken on October 7th of last year.

“Iran is the great Satan here,” the senator remarked. “Hamas is the junior partner. They’re barbaric, religious Nazis, Hamas; but they could care less about the Palestinian people. I would urge the Biden administration and Israel to hold Iran accountable for the fate of remaining hostages, and put on the target list or refineries in Iran if the hostages are not released.”

He also urged President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to make it clear to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that the things he holds dear are now at risk. “Until that happens, nobody is coming home,” Graham asserted.

{Matzav.com}

Tens of thousands of Israelis surged into the streets Sunday night after six more hostages were found dead in Gaza, chanting “Now! Now!” as they demanded that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cave to Hamas demands to bring the remaining captives home. The mass outpouring appeared to be the largest such demonstration in 11 months of war and protesters said it felt like a possible turning point, although the country is deeply divided. Israel’s largest trade union, the Histadrut, further pressured the government by calling a general strike for Monday, the first since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack that started the war. It aims to shut down or disrupt major sectors of the economy, including banking, health care and the country’s main airport – although the airport has not confirmed that it will go along with the strike. Thousands of people gathered Sunday night outside Netanyahu’s office in Jerusalem. In Tel Aviv, hostages’ relatives marched with coffins to symbolize the toll. “We really think that the government is making these decisions for its own conservation and not for the lives of the hostages, and we need to tell them, ‘Stop!’” said Shlomit Hacohen, a Tel Aviv resident. “Nothing is worse than knowing that they could have been saved,” said Dana Loutaly. “Sometimes it takes something so awful to shake people up and get them out into the streets.” Top security officials say the intense pressure on Hamas has created favorable conditions for a cease-fire deal. The army, noting the difficulty of rescue operations, has acknowledged that a deal is the only way to bring home large numbers of hostages safely. But critics have accused the prime minister of putting his personal interests over those of the hostages. The war’s end likely will lead to an investigation into his government’s failures in the Oct. 7 attacks, the government’s collapse and early elections. Some analysts said the public outcry over the six hostages who died could signal a new level of political pressure on Netanyahu. “I think this is an earthquake. This isn’t just one more step in the war,” said Nomi Bar-Yaacov, associate fellow in the International Security Program at Chatham House, shortly before Sunday’s protests. Divisions also have been exposed within the government. Senior military and security officials, including Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, have warned that time is running out. Israel’s Channel 12 reported that Netanyahu got into a shouting match at a security Cabinet meeting Thursday with Gallant, who accused him of prioritizing control of a strategic corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border — a major sticking point in the talks — over the lives of the hostages. “In the name of the state of Israel, I hold their families close to my heart and ask forgiveness,” Gallant said Sunday. The Cabinet was meeting Sunday night. A forum of hostage families has demanded a “complete halt of the country” to push for a cease-fire and hostage release. Even a mass outpouring of anger would not immediately threaten Netanyahu or his far right government. He still controls a majority in parliament. But he has caved in to public pressure before. A general strike last year helped lead to a delay in his controversial judicial overhaul. (AP)

As Israel intensifies its campaign to expose UNRWA’s complicity in terrorist activities, including its staff members’ role in the Oct. 7 attacks, the U.N. agency maintains a significant presence in Gaza and continues to operate in coordination with the Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) unit.

Over the next several days, an extensive inoculation drive will take place in the Strip, with aid organizations planning to administer roughly 1.5 million polio vaccines. The agency tasked with administering these vaccinations is none other than UNRWA, the very organization accused of collaborating with Hamas.

Israel has consented to humanitarian pauses in hostilities across several areas of the Gaza Strip to facilitate the vaccination effort. Health officials in Gaza recently announced the arrival of the first batch of polio vaccines, which are now stored in specialized facilities.

The IDF confirmed that the shipment of polio vaccines, totaling 1.255 million doses, passed through the Kerem Shalom Crossing. The army further noted that the operation was coordinated with the U.N. and the World Health Organization, adding that local and international medical teams will administer the vaccinations in the coming days.

Government sources said that while there’s no dispute regarding UNRWA’s ties to Hamas, the agency still plays an irreplaceable role in certain sectors within Gaza, particularly in education, where it has extensive infrastructure.

Consequently, UNRWA, which maintains detailed records of children in the Strip, was selected to oversee the vaccinations amid concerns of a polio outbreak. However, military sources indicate that UNRWA’s role in food distribution has diminished, though COGAT continues to engage with the organization. Unit sources report that collaboration with UNRWA has been scaled back following revelations of the organization’s staff involvement with Hamas.

Meanwhile, under the Israeli National Security Council’s oversight and approval, the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs is spearheading an online campaign aimed at exposing UNRWA’s true nature to the world.

An article published in the respected tech magazine Wired detailed how the Israeli campaign seeks to unmask the agency and highlight its employees’ involvement in the Oct. 7 attacks. The piece also suggested that the organization serves as a civilian front for Hamas.

The campaign’s primary objective is to sever UNRWA‘s financial lifeline from Western nations, with a focus on the United States. The effectiveness of this effort remains to be seen, but UNRWA’s spokesperson appears deeply concerned about damage to funding sources and donations. In 2023, the UNRWA USA NGO received $32 million in donations, a significant increase from the $5 million received the previous year.

However, the vast majority of UNRWA‘s budget is financed by national governments.

Adi Schwartz from the Misgav Institute for National Security and Zionist Strategy and Ben-Gurion University, an expert on UNRWA’s role in perpetuating the conflict, told Israel Hayom: “Israel has never made a strategic decision to completely sever ties with UNRWA.

“We won’t achieve the comprehensive victory that the prime minister and IDF speak of without dismantling this organization. One of the war’s key objectives was to neutralize Gaza as a threat to southern Israel. We must recognize that this goal is unattainable if we don’t challenge the Palestinian narrative, address the refugee issue, and confront UNRWA head-on,” he said.

“If children in Gaza continue to attend UNRWA schools, what lasting impact will eliminating thousands of terrorists have?” Schwartz continued.

“The evidence is clear for all to see, making this situation nothing short of scandalous. We have a defense minister, a government, a Cabinet, and a National Security Council. In my view, this represents an ongoing failure—we need to develop alternatives to UNRWA’s services. Why engage with them at all?

“It’s crucial to understand: UNRWA is like a chameleon—yesterday they distributed food, today they’re administering vaccines, and a month from now they’ll insist on the need to pave roads in Gaza,” Schwartz said.

The clearest evidence of cooperation between Hamas and UNRWA emerged in late August, when Hamas demanded in negotiations that the organization remain active in Gaza.

Schwartz comments, “Hamas’s insistence on UNRWA’s continued presence is just one more piece of evidence among thousands pointing to their collaboration. That’s why I reiterate: We cannot claim victory if UNRWA continues to operate, as this agency perpetuates the conflict. UNRWA must be removed from the equation for us to achieve a meaningful victory.”

Member of Knesset Yulia Malinovsky from Yisrael Beytenu is demanding an urgent hearing in the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee regarding the polio vaccination operation set to begin on Sunday.

In a letter to the committee chairman, MK Yuli Edelstein, Malinovsky writes: “As you know, last night journalist Shirit Avitan Cohen reported in Israel Hayom that the State of Israel has agreed to a humanitarian pause in Gaza for a polio vaccination campaign, with UNRWA designated as the leader of this operation. I must emphasize from the outset that it is inconceivable that a decision on a ceasefire, a decision so sensitive and significant for all citizens of Israel, would be made without an immediate discussion on this matter, with proper explanations provided.”

In her letter, Malinovsky, who initiated the bill to designate UNRWA a terrorist organization, highlighted the problematic nature of the government’s continued work with the agency.

“As you know, UNRWA has been found multiple times during the war and up to this stage to be cooperating and directly and clearly assisting in its support of the terrorist organization Hamas,” she wrote.

“It is unacceptable that despite these facts known to everyone that UNRWA will be declared the chief coordinator of the drive,” Malinovsky continued. “Beyond the fact that UNRWA workers take part in acts of terrorism, studies have proven that UNRWA has also presented distorted data to the UN on the humanitarian aid entering Gaza since the beginning of the war. Hence, it is inconceivable that despite these facts known to everyone, UNRWA will be declared the drive leader, and an in-depth discussion on this will not take place in the committee you head.”

According to Malinovsky, decisions on pauses in fighting may endanger the Israeli forces in the Strip and allow Hamas an opportunity to move the hostages from place to place and delay the ability to free them.

“It is inconceivable that the Knesset, the legislative authority, will not fulfill its purpose and maintain close parliamentary oversight over government decisions. Hence, even if the Knesset is currently in recess, it is necessary to hold an in-depth discussion on this issue, examine the implications of the decision, and oversee the work of the executive authority on this matter. Therefore, since the vaccination campaign will begin as early as this coming Sunday, I ask you to act as soon as possible to schedule a discussion on this issue in the committee you head, and the sooner the better,” she wrote.

As part of the vaccination campaign, international organizations operating in the Gaza Strip will work to inoculate hundreds of thousands of children against polio in three area:

On Sept. 1-3, vaccines will be given to children in central Gaza between 6 a.m. and 2 p.m.
On Sept. 4-6, vaccines will be given to children in southern Gaza between 6 a.m. and 2 p.m.
On Sept. 7-9, vaccines will be given to children in northern Gaza between 6 a.m. and 2 p.m.
At the end of each regional vaccination drive, a situation assessment will be conducted regarding the area.

The international community’s vaccination drive in the Gaza Strip will be carried out in coordination with the IDF through COGAT and the IDF Southern Command, allowing the population to safely reach the medical centers where vaccinations will be administered.

(JNS)

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has announced the release of a new “Hanukkah Forever” stamp to honor what is otherwise known as Chanukah, which this year begins on December 25 and ends on January 2. Designed by Antonio Alcalá, the stamp features an ocean-blue background, a white menorah, and nine floating yellow flames. The design incorporates irregular lines to evoke a sense of human presence. A first-day-of-issue dedication ceremony for the stamp is scheduled for September 19 at the Lillian and Albert Small Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. The event will be led by Michael Gordon, USPS government liaison director, and will include music and various activities. The ceremony is free and open to the public, with attendees encouraged to register online in advance. The “Hanukkah Forever” stamp follows the last Chanukah stamp release in 2022, which showcased the work of American Judaica artist Jeanette Kuvin Oren. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Following the discovery of six hostage bodies in Gaza by the IDF, including that of American citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin, UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged the unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas and called for an end to the ongoing conflict in Gaza. Guterres posted the following on his X account: “I will never forget my meeting last October with the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin and other hostage families. Today’s tragic news is a devastating reminder of the need for the unconditional release of all hostages and an end to the nightmare of war in Gaza,” Guterres stated”. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

At least one Israeli was seriously wounded when a Hezbollah anti-tank missile from Southern Lebanon scored a direct hit in the Galilee panhandle on Sunday afternoon, medical officials confirmed.

“A man in his 40s who was seriously wounded by Hezbollah fire in the north was brought to Rambam’s emergency room by helicopter,” Haifa’s Rambam Medical Center said in a statement, adding that the victim had been transferred after initial treatment at Tzafs’s Ziv Medical Center.

Hebrew media reports said that the man was wounded in a missile barrage on Moshav Kfar Yuval, located near the border with Lebanon.

According to reports in Lebanese media, IDF forces attacked Hezbollah terrorist targets in south Lebanon, including in the villages of Beit Lif, Beit Yahoun and Naqoura, following Sunday’s attack on the Galil.

On Sunday evening, air-raid sirens were repeatedly activated in Kibbutz Misgav Am, located opposite the Lebanese border, just west of Kfar Yuval, warning of incoming Hezbollah rocket fire from Lebanon.

Hezbollah has attacked the Jewish state nearly every day since Oct. 8, firing thousands of rockets, missiles and drones at Israel, killing more than 40 people and causing widespread damage. Tens of thousands of Israeli civilians remain internally displaced due to the ongoing violence.

On Aug. 25, some 100 Israeli Air Force fighter jets, directed by IDF intelligence, destroyed thousands of Hezbollah rocket launchers in Lebanon in a pre-emptive strike meant to stave off a large-scale attack on Israel’s densely populated central region.

The IDF estimated that its pre-emptive strike prevented the launch by Hezbollah of as many as 6,000 missiles, rockets and suicide drones.

Hezbollah subsequently launched more than 150 projectiles into Israel. According to Lebanon’s Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Mayadeen television channel, the terrorist group launched some 320 missiles and drones during the Aug. 25 attack.

The Iranian terrorist proxy released a statement according to which the launches were “stage one” of its retaliation for Israel’s assassination in Beirut in July of Hezbollah’s No. 2 “military” commander, Fuad Shukr.

Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu has repeatedly reiterated that the major flare-up with Hezbollah wasn’t “the end of the story.”

“We foiled a surprise attack by Hezbollah against the State of Israel. We destroyed thousands of intermediate-range rockets that were aimed at the Galilee and the Golan,” he said during a visit to the border area. “We thwarted all of the drones that were directed against the State of Israel, at the Galilee and the center of the country, and they were destroyed.”

However, while the IAF operation was “a great success, …I will not tell you that it was enough. On the contrary,” the Israeli leader continued.

The story will only end “when we are able to restore security and the residents safely to their homes,” Netanyahu said. “This is neither mere words nor a slogan—this is a national goal of the highest order. We are committed to it and will achieve it, with your help and with God’s.”

(JNS)

On Sunday, the Israeli Health Ministry announced that the six hostages whose bodies were recovered yesterday were murdered by Hamas terrorists by several gunshots at point-blank range.

According to forensic examinations conducted by the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Tel Aviv, the executions occurred within the past 48 to 72 hours, either on Thursday or early Friday morning. Evidence of being bound was found on one hostage, and all showed signs of neglect.

The hostage bodies were located in a tunnel 65 feet underground in the Rafah area, only about one kilometer away from the tunnel were hostage Farhan al-Qadi was found alive last week. No terrorists were found at the scene, having fled before the IDF arrived. It is unclear if they were killed in the fighting above ground, or made it to other parts of Gaza.

The murdered hostages were Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi, and Master Sergeant Ori Danino.

{Matzav.com}

The Histadrut labor federation, which represents some 800,000 Israeli trade unionists, on Sunday declared a general strike set to commence at 6 a.m. on Monday, shutting down large sectors of the economy to pressure the government to reach a hostages-for-ceasefire-and-terrorists-release deal with Hamas.

As part of the one-day strike, Ben-Gurion International Airport will cease take-offs and landings at 8 a.m. Public transportation will also be affected.

Pharmacies, hospitals, defense plants, food plants and special education will apparently continue to function.

The Histadrut’s decision came after its chairman, Arnon Bar–David, met with the families of Israeli hostages still held in Gaza, 331 days after the Palestinian terrorist organization’s Oct. 7 cross-border massacre.

“That Jews are being murdered in the tunnels of Gaza is unacceptable and it must be stopped,” Bar-David told reporters at a press conference.

“A deal must be reached; a deal is more important than anything else. I came to this conclusion after talking with many people in Israeli politics and many officers and officials in the security establishment,” he added.

Following the announcement of the impending shutdown, the Im Tirtzu Zionist movement sent a warning letter to Bar-David, threatening to hold him personally legally liable for damages caused by the “illegal” strike.

Earlier on Sunday, left-wing politicians blamed the government led by Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu for Hamas’s murder of six captives whose bodies were recovered over the weekend, with opposition leader Yair Lapid calling for a general strike.

“Netanyahu and the ‘death cabinet’ decided not to rescue the hostages,” Lapid’s Yesh Atid Party stated, urging the Histadrut, employers and local authorities to “shut down the economy. You can’t go on like this.”

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, backed by the Israel Business Forum, earlier on Sunday called for a strike to protest the lack of a deal to free the abductees. The Israel Business Forum represents private-sector employees from 200 of the country’s biggest companies.

The hostages whose bodies were recovered in an underground tunnel in Rafah in southern Gaza overnight Saturday were identified as Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, Eden Yerushalmi, 24, Almog Sarusi, 25, Alexander Lobanov, 32, Carmel Gat, 40, and Master Sgt. Ori Danino, 25.

Their deaths reduce the number of hostages remaining in the Gaza Strip to 101, with many believed to be no longer alive. A total of 251 people were kidnapped during the Hamas-led invasion on Oct. 7.

One hundred and five hostages, mostly women and children, were released in November as part of a ceasefire agreement, which Hamas broke when it refused to hand over the last group of female hostages, plus two children, and fired a volley of rockets at the Jewish state.

(JNS)

Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich, a member of Israel’s political-security cabinet, visited the site of the terror attack on Sunday morning near Chevron in which three police officers were murdered by terrorists, including one whose daughter was murdered battling Hamas terrorists in Sderot on October 7. Smotrich said at the site of the attack: “Here, where three police officers were murdered in cold blood, I appeal to the Prime Minister, members of the government and security officials: We’re a step away from an October 7th in Yehudah and Shomron, chalilah. We have an opportunity to do this time what we didn’t do in Gaza on the night between October 6th and 7th. We are receiving much more than indicative signs.” “The IDF must wage an all-out war in Yehudah and Shomron, not only in northern Shomron – here in Chevron, Yehudah, Gush Etzion and everywhere. Restore the checkpoints, break free of the ‘conceptizia,’ and eradicate terror. “The terror in Gaza, Lebanon and Yehudah and Shomron is one, part of the same Iranian chokehold that seeks to destroy the State of Israel. We will launch settlements in Yehudah and Shomron, cut off the hope that drives Arab terrorism, establish sovereignty in Yehudah and Shomron, and yes, we will eliminate terrorism on all fronts. “After three decades of the ‘there is no military solution to terrorism’ campaign, we are proving in Gaza that there is a military solution to terrorism. We must prove it here in Yehudah and Shomron and in Lebanon against Hezbollah,” Smotrich concluded. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)