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Argentina’s President, Javier Milei, strongly criticized the United Nations for its bias against Israel during his address at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday.

Milei condemned the UN for “voting against the State of Israel, the only country in the Middle East to defend liberal democracy.” He also pointed out the organization’s failure in addressing global terrorism, stating, “We have simultaneously shown a total inability to respond to the scourge of terrorism.”

Furthermore, Milei called attention to the troubling inclusion of oppressive regimes in the UN’s Human Rights Council. He remarked, “In this same house, that purports to defend human rights, we have also included bloody dictatorships in the Human Rights Council, including Cuba and Venezuela without reproach.”

Following his speech, Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, met with Milei to express his gratitude for the supportive remarks. Danon later posted on X, saying, “I was moved to hear the speech of the President of Argentina at the General Assembly. President Milei, you are a true friend of the State of Israel. In this hall where we were slandered all day, you showed courage and supported Israel! Thank you.”

Milei is known for his strong support of Israel and has announced plans to relocate Argentina’s embassy to Jerusalem. During his presidential campaign, he pledged that his first international trip as president would be to Israel – a promise he has already fulfilled.

In April, Milei demonstrated his backing of Israel once again, after Iran launched a barrage of rockets and drones targeting the country. “Argentina expresses solidarity and unwavering commitment to the State of Israel, in view of the attacks initiated by the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he said at the time.

Milei further emphasized Argentina’s stance, adding, “The Argentine Republic recognizes the right of nation states to defend themselves, and firmly supports the State of Israel in defending its sovereignty, especially against regimes that promote terrorism and seek to destroy Western civilization.”

{Matzav.com}

Paul Pelosi, husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, sold more than $500,000 worth of Visa stock just under three months before the credit card giant was hit with federal antitrust charges, according to public records.

The charges, filed on Tuesday, accuse Visa of illegally dominating the debit card market following a lengthy investigation by the Justice Department’s antitrust division.

According to court documents, Visa allegedly leveraged its market power to impose penalties on customers and merchants who opted for other payment processing options.

In addition, the lawsuit claims that Visa coerced financial technology companies into working with them by threatening penalties for those who chose not to cooperate.

Christopher Josephs, the tech entrepreneur behind the “Nancy Pelosi Stock Tracker” on X, shared a screenshot of a congressional filing on July 3. It indicated that Paul Pelosi had sold 2,000 shares of Visa, valued between $500,000 and $1 million.

The disclosure document noted the transaction was listed under “SP,” which refers to the sale being made by the spouse of the former speaker, Paul Pelosi, a venture capitalist and real estate investor based in San Francisco.

When Paul Pelosi sold the Visa shares, there was no public indication that a government lawsuit was on the horizon. Following the news of the legal action, Visa’s stock fell 5.5%, closing at $272.78.

In July, the “Nancy Pelosi Stock Tracker” account reported Paul Pelosi’s Visa stock sale.

“Speaker Pelosi does not own any stocks, and she has no prior knowledge or subsequent involvement in any transactions,” a spokesperson for Nancy Pelosi told The NY Post.

Despite this, critics argue that Nancy Pelosi’s position in Washington may give her access to confidential market-related information.

“At various critical inflection points in history, members of our government have engaged in trading at a time which their conflicts are called into question,” Ron Geffner, a former Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement attorney, told The Post.

Geffner cautioned against jumping to conclusions, suggesting the situation be fully assessed.

“Before public opinion judges Pelosi unfairly, it is important to determine who engaged in the transaction on her behalf as well as whether it was part of a broader change of her portfolio,” he added.

The July 3 filing also revealed Paul Pelosi sold 2,500 shares of Tesla and, around the same time, purchased stock in Nvidia and Broadcom.

Nancy Pelosi, though no longer House Speaker, remains an influential figure in the Democratic Party. Her wealth, largely tied to her and her husband’s extensive stock and investment portfolio, exceeds nine figures.

For years, Pelosi has resisted pressure from a bipartisan group of lawmakers seeking to ban members of Congress and their spouses from trading stocks due to potential conflicts of interest.

In 2021, Visa disclosed in regulatory filings that the Justice Department’s antitrust unit had requested information on possible violations related to competitive market practices, as reported by the Financial Times.

Federal antitrust authorities are said to be examining Visa’s relationships with companies like Square, Stripe, and PayPal.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the Justice Department is investigating whether Visa provided financial incentives to these firms to discourage the use of competing payment processors.

The investigation reportedly focuses on whether Visa pressured PayPal to encourage customers to use Visa-branded cards for transactions.

In another allegation, Visa is said to have offered reduced fees and other incentives to Square’s Cash App, but only if it directed customers toward Visa-branded transactions.

Visa confirmed that it had been asked to provide details about its business practices related to debit cards in the U.S.

“We believe Visa’s US debit practices are in compliance with applicable laws,” the company stated.

Last year, Visa disclosed that federal prosecutors had requested additional documentation as part of the ongoing investigation.

The company also affirmed that it was fully cooperating with authorities throughout the investigation.

{Matzav.com}

Today, the IDF announced the completion of a series of airstrikes targeting 60 Hezbollah positions linked to the group’s intelligence directorate. According to an official statement, IDF fighter jets carried out the operation, which successfully destroyed a range of critical infrastructure used by Hezbollah for intelligence gathering and operational planning. The strikes focused on command centers, surveillance tools, and other key assets utilized by Hezbollah to assess intelligence and strategize operations. The IDF described the operation as a direct effort to disrupt and weaken Hezbollah’s ability to monitor and respond to Israeli activities in the region. The destruction of these intelligence resources is seen as a significant blow to Hezbollah’s operational capabilities. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

IDF fighter jets have struck 60 terrorist targets belonging to Hezbollah’s intelligence directorate. The strikes destroyed intelligence-gathering tools, command centers, and additional infrastructure used by the enemy to build an intelligence situational assessment.

One year since Kevin McCarthy was booted from the House speaker’s office after Congress voted in a bipartisan way to prevent a federal government shutdown, the new House Speaker Mike Johnson finds himself courting, but so far avoiding, a similar political fate. Johnson is leading the House this week to vote on legislation to fund the government and ensure no interruption in federal services, but he’s similarly abandoning demands from his own hard-right Republican colleagues and relying on Democratic votes and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries to push the package to bipartisan approval. While Johnson appears to be in no imminent threat of being ousted — the way McCarthy lost his position in a historic vote last fall when eight hardline Republicans engineered a motion to vacate the speaker — the new leader’s ability to hold on to the speaker’s gavel for the long term is not at all certain. “It’s a tough job,” said McCarthy, who is now retired from Congress and watching from the sidelines. The government funding vote provides a notable capstone to what has been an extraordinary and tumultuous session of Congress with the House Republican majority that swept to power in January 2023, as lawmakers now prepare to face voters. The outcome of November’s election will determine the White House and control of Congress, and may very well decide Johnson’s political future. Colleagues are weighing whether to keep Johnson or try someone else as their leader ahead of internal party voting expected later in November after the election. “The vast majority support Speaker Johnson — it’s a shame that we’ve got like 10 people that always hold this over his head,” said Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, among the more centrist Republicans. “He’s a good man. He’s got a great heart,” Bacon said. “I think he’s learned a lot this year.” On the job for the past 11 months, Johnson had been an unlikely choice for the speaker’s gavel. The Louisiana congressman was a relatively unknown low-rung party leader, first elected to office in 2016 alongside Donald Trump, when he emerged as Republicans’ last-ditch consensus choice to replace McCarthy. Republicans had fought behind closed doors over who should become their new speaker after they took the historic step of ousting McCarthy — passing over their Majority Leader Steve Scalise, their GOP Whip Tom Emmer and hard-right Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, among others — before Johnson stepped up and won support, with Trump’s blessing. Johnson, a lawyer, had led one of Trump’s main legal cases challenging President Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election and could play a prominent role in the 2024 election amid potential legal challenges to the outcome. As the new speaker, Johnson inherited a bitterly divided House GOP majority and worked quickly to pick up the pieces. He cleaned out the speaker’s staff at the Capitol, moved in his own team — and closely aligned himself with Trump, throwing his support behind the indicted former president’s bid to retake the White House. Johnson prioritized several House initiatives, from the Biden impeachment inquiry to the House impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, that aligned tightly with Trump’s agenda. But the annual spending fights over the federal budget always loomed over Johnson’s term. With the Sept. 30 deadline signaling the end of the […]

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer made an accidental slip during his speech at the UK Labour Party conference in Liverpool, northwest England, when he asked for the return of “sausages” instead of hostages from Gaza.

“I call again for restraint and de-escalation at the border between Lebanon and Israel. I call again for all parties to step back from the brink. I call again for all parties to step back from the brink,” he stated, referring to the intensifying conflict in the area.

“I call again for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the return of the sausages – the hostages – and a recommitment to the two-state solution: recognized Palestinian state alongside a safe and secure Israel.”

During his address, Starmer was interrupted by a protester while discussing his vision for the future of Britain’s children.

“Every child, every person, deserves to be respected for the contribution they make,” he said, only to be interrupted by someone in the audience who called out, “Does that include the children of Gaza?”

After the interruption, Starmer continued his speech to applause from the audience.

“This guy’s obviously got a pass from the 2019 conference. We’ve changed the party,” Starmer responded with humor. “While he’s been protesting, we’ve been changing the party, that’s why we’ve got a Labour government.”

Starmer assumed the role of prime minister in July, following a sweeping electoral win for his party, ending 14 years of Conservative leadership. He took over the Labour Party from former leader Jeremy Corbyn, who had been repeatedly accused of allowing antisemitism within the party. Starmer, whose wife Victoria Alexander is Jewish, has worked hard to eliminate antisemitism from the party since taking charge.

Starmer’s administration has consistently called for a ceasefire in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, urging faster aid shipments to Gaza and demanding the release of all hostages taken during Hamas’ October 7 attack.

Earlier this month, the government also announced it would partially suspend arms exports to Israel, citing concerns that the equipment might violate humanitarian law, clarifying that it was “a legal decision” rather than a policy change.

{Matzav.com}

U.S. intelligence officials briefed former President Donald Trump on Tuesday about “real and specific threats from Iran to assassinate him in an effort to destabilize and sow chaos in the United States,” the Republican nominee’s campaign stated on Tuesday evening.

The “continued and coordinated attacks have heightened in the past few months,” according to intelligence officials, and “law-enforcement officials across all agencies are working to ensure President Trump is protected and the election is free from interference,” stated Steven Cheung, communications director for the campaign.

“Make no mistake, the terror regime in Iran loves the weakness of Kamala Harris, and is terrified of the strength and resolve of President Trump,” Cheung added. “He will let nothing stop him or get in his way to fight for the American people and to make America great again.”

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence has not commented publicly on the campaign’s claim.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Republican Jewish Coalition wrote that “the terrorist regime in Iran has worked to assassinate President Trump and former Trump officials, and continues to fund terrorist proxies like Hamas and Hezbollah.”

“So, naturally, the Biden-Harris admin rolls out the red carpet for Iran’s president at the United Nations,” the RJC wrote. “A total disgrace.” JNS

{Matzav.com}

The head of the IDF’s Northern Command Ori Gordin spoke to commanders and soldiers near the northern border on Wednesday. “We’ve entered another phase of the operation,” he said. ” It began with a very significant blow to Hezbollah’s capabilities, focusing on their  rocket firepower, and delivering a very substantial blow to the commanders and members of the organization.” “We need to change the security situation,” he emphasized. “We have to be very strongly prepared to enter [Lebanon] in a ground operation.” (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

Lebanon Health Minister Firass Abiad says at least 51 people have been killed and 223 wounded in Israeli air raids so far on Wednesday. Abiad gave the figures during a news conference in Beirut. YWN notes that these numbers do not differentiate between civilians and Hezbollah terrorists.

The Senate passed a bill on Tuesday with unanimous approval that strengthens Secret Service protection for those running for president and vice president. This move follows two assassination attempts targeting former President Donald Trump.

The legislation, called the Enhanced Presidential Security Act, will ensure that candidates for the presidency and vice presidency receive the same level of Secret Service protection as the sitting president and vice president.

After the House of Representatives approved the bill with a vote of 405-0 last week, it is now on its way to President Biden for his approval.

“In just 65 days, two unbalanced individuals have attempted to assassinate President Donald Trump, and one succeeded in shooting him in the head,” said Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), who introduced the bill in the Senate, in a statement. “It is unimaginable that this can happen in America today, and it requires swift action from Congress.”

“I am pleased to have the full backing of the Senate to pass the Enhanced Presidential Security Act,” Scott continued.

Scott emphasized that the hostile language directed at President Trump has made him a target, necessitating greater resources to protect him and his family.

“I appreciate my colleagues for passing this legislation, which will help safeguard President Trump and all future candidates for the presidency,” the senator said.

Representatives Mike Lawler (R-NY) and Ritchie Torres (D-NY) introduced the House version of the bill following the July 13 attempt on Trump’s life, when 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks shot the former president in the ear during a campaign event in Butler, Pennsylvania.

A second assassination attempt occurred just over two months later, on Sept. 15, when 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh set up a sniper’s nest near the sixth hole at Trump International Golf Club West Palm Beach, Florida. A Secret Service agent spotted Routh while Trump was putting on a nearby hole.

Routh was apprehended later that day and charged with attempted assassination. He had already faced federal weapons charges.

The Senate’s version of the bill also mandates that the Secret Service regularly provide updates on candidate protection to Congress, particularly every 15 days during presidential election years.

These reports will include details about threat levels, security strategies, expenses, staffing, and any unmet protection needs.

{Matzav.com}

The Israel Defense Forces early on Wednesday morning intercepted a surface-to-surface missile fired from Lebanon at central Israel.

Sirens were activated across the Gush Dan and Sharon regions, including in Tel Aviv, amid the intensifying conflict with Hezbollah.

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The Magen David Adom emergency service said it had not received any reports of injuries in the attack.

The projectile was reportedly downed by the David’s Sling system, which supplements the defense provided by the Iron Dome, Arrow 2 and Arrow 3.

David’s Sling can intercept “large-caliber rockets, short-range ballistic missiles and other developing threats,” according to the Israeli Air Force.

Footage circulating on social media appeared to show the interception above Tel Aviv.

The IDF Home Front Command said there was no change in directives for residents of central Israel, and that schools would open as usual.

Shortly following the attack, the Israeli Air Force struck the launcher from which the missile was fired in the area of Nafakhiyeh, located some 12 miles to the east of Tyre in Lebanon.

Iran’s Lebanese terror proxy Hezbollah took responsibility for the attack, which was reportedly the first time that a missile was fired from Lebanon at central Israel. The terrorist group claimed that it fired the missile at the headquarters of the Mossad intelligence agency because “the location is responsible for the explosion of beepers and communication devices and the elimination of senior officials.”

Hezbollah blamed Israel for last week’s series of deadly pager and walkie-talkie explosions across Lebanon that killed and wounded thousands of terrorists. Israel has not taken responsibility for those attacks but has taken credit for the recent targeting of high-ranking Hezbollah officials in Beirut.

On Monday afternoon, a Hezbollah rocket hit near the Israeli city of Ariel in central Samaria.

“Following the alerts that were activated at 5:12 p.m. in the Samaria area, approximately 10 launches were detected that crossed from the territory of Lebanon [into Israel], and falls were detected in an open area,” the IDF confirmed.

The rocket struck just outside a pre-military academy in Peduel, located just east of the security barrier in northern Samaria and less than 10 miles from Israel’s central region.

Damage was also caused to houses in the Palestinian village of Deir Istiya, Israel’s Army Radio reported.

On Sept. 15, Israeli air defenses intercepted fragments of a surface-to-surface missile launched from Yemen that exploded over central Israel.

Last month, Hamas fired two rockets from Gaza at Tel Aviv, in the Palestinian terror group’s first such attack since May. One rocket landed in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of central Israel, and the other fell short inside the Strip, according to the IDF.

In July, a Houthi drone killed a man in Tel Aviv, in response to which Israel struck Yemen’s Hodeidah port. The Iranian terror proxy has launched dozens of drones and missiles at Israel in support of Hamas since Oct. 7, 2023.

Meanwhile, the Israeli Air Force has struck over 1,600 Hezbollah terror targets in Southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley since Sunday, as part of “Operation Northern Arrows.”

On Tuesday, a 25-year-old man was moderately wounded by shrapnel during a Hezbollah rocket barrage from Lebanon towards the Mount Carmel area of northern Israel.

The Iranian terror proxy has fired more than 8,800 rockets, missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) toward Israel since Oct. 8. The strikes have forced over 60,000 Israelis to evacuate from northern communities, severely impacting daily life in the region. JNS

{Matzav.com Israel}

As Operation Northern Arrows, Wednesday began with an early morning launch of a Hezbollah rocket at Tel Aviv for the first time. Later in the morning, sirens were heard for the first time in Zichron Yaakov and Chof HaCarmel as Hezbollah fired a barrage at the area. About midday, Hezbollah fired a heavy rocket barrage of about 40 rockets at Tzfas. Most of the rockets were intercepted but one scored a direct hit on an assisted living facility, heavily damaging it. B’Chasdei Hashem no one was injured but the rocket fall caused a fire to break out. Meanwhile, the IDF continues to strike terror targets in Lebanon, carrying out over 100 strikes of Hezbollah sites with dozens of fighter jets since the morning. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

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An Iranian-backed militia in Iraq carried out three attacks on Israel overnight Tuesday and Wednesday morning. Shortly after midnight, drone infiltration sirens sounded in the Arava. The drone fell in an open area and Baruch Hashem caused no damage or injuries. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed responsibility for the strike, stating that it was launched at “a target near the Jordan Valley.” At about 3 a.m., drone infiltration sirens sounded in Ramat HaGaolan. Two drones fell in open areas, causing fires, but did not cause injuries or damage. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq again took responsiblity for the attack. On Wednesday morning at about 8:50 a.m., IDF fighter jets downed a drone that entered Israel through Syria. “Fighter jets intercepted an unmanned aerial vehicle south of the Kinneret,” the IDF spokesperson said. “The drone was launched from the east and crossed into Israeli territory from Syria. No damage or casualties were reported.” For the third time, the Islamic Resistance took responsiblity, saying it fired “at a target in Ramat HaGolan.” (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)  

Rocket sirens blared across Tel Aviv and central Israel early Wednesday morning, prompting residents to rush to bomb shelters as instructed by the IDF Home Front Command. The sirens were heard in several cities, including Tel Aviv and Netanya, following reports of incoming threats from the north. According to an official statement from the Israel Defense Forces, one surface-to-surface missile was detected crossing from Lebanon into Israeli airspace. The missile was successfully intercepted by the IDF’s Aerial Defense Array, preventing any damage or casualties. A video below shows what appears to be the moment of interception over Tel Aviv, with a defensive missile striking the incoming threat in mid-air. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

The Justice Department is suing Visa for allegedly using exclusionary agreements and its massive scale to illegally monopolize the debit card market.

Visa violated antitrust law by imposing a “web of exclusionary agreements” that penalize merchants who use alternative payment processors, the Justice Department said. The Visa monopoly harms consumers because the merchant fees are ultimately passed along through higher prices across myriad purchases, attorney general Merrick Garland argued.

“Visa’s unlawful conduct affects not just the price of one thing – but the price of nearly everything,” Garland said in a Tuesday press release.

The company said Tuesday that it could not comment until it sees the formal antitrust complaint. But it has known about the federal investigation for years; Visa disclosed in a March 2021 securities filing that it was informed of a Justice Department probe into its debit business.

The business at the center of the federal lawsuit charges fees to merchants when customers use debit or credit cards, or other Visa-branded products. Visa’s payment systems underpin trillions of dollars in transactions every year, including more than 60 percent of U.S. debit transactions, while amassing at least $7 billion in annual fees from merchants, according to the Justice Department.

Visa in its most recent quarter reported $8.9 billion in revenue, a 10 percent increase year-over-year as it saw strong growth in cross-border transactions.

The company uses agreements with vendors to press for terms that prevent other payment processors from developing the scale necessary to compete with Visa, the Justice Department said. Visa requires “volume commitments” from merchants and their financial institutions that force them to use Visa for most of their card transactions, regulators said.

“These agreements are priced so that, unless all or nearly all debit volume runs over Visa’s payment rails, large disloyalty penalties can be imposed on all Visa transactions,” the Justice Department said.

Visa also partnered with new entrants into the payments space rather than competing with them, effectively paying off any company that could offer a better or cheaper product, the Justice Department said.

Tuesday’s announcement is not the first legal action against Visa. In 2020 the Justice Department cited antitrust concerns in blocking Visa’s planned $5.3 billion acquisition of Plaid, a financial technology company that connects bank data to mobile apps and other systems.

Also, Visa and Mastercard since 2005 have been facing a class-action lawsuit over their card swipe fees. It was partially resolved through a $5.6 billion settlement last year, while a $30 billion settlement was rejected by a federal judge in June.

(c) Washington Post

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The Israel Defense Forces is destroying terror infrastructure in Southern Lebanon built up by Hezbollah over the past two decades, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Monday.

“A few weeks ago, we decided to shift the ‘center of gravity’ of our operations from the southern to the northern arena. Our goal is to ensure the safe return of [residents of] Israel’s northern communities to their homes,” Gallant said during a situation assessment at the command center of the IDF’s Operations Directorate.

“Over the course of one week, it may be determined that in many ways, [Hezbollah terror chief Hassan] Nasrallah remains alone at the top,” said Gallant. The terror group’s Radwan Force “suffered a fatal blow following the elimination of their top commanders, including regional and brigade commanders, and the staff led by [Ibrahim] Aqil,” he added.

“Entire units were taken out of battle as a result of the activities conducted at the beginning of the week in which numerous terrorists were injured,” continued the minister.

A targeted strike by the IDF in Beirut on Friday killed senior Hezbollah terrorist Aqil—alias Al-Hajj Abdul Khader—in the predominately Shi’ite Dahiyeh neighborhood.

Aqil was a member of Hezbollah’s top “military” body, the Jihad Council, which is subordinate to the Shura Council and under the direct control of Nasrallah. He was also responsible for the Radwan Force commandos and led Hezbollah’s tunnel project in Lebanon.

“Today is a significant peak—on this day we have taken out tens of thousands of rockets and precise munitions,” said Gallant. “What Hezbollah has built over a period of 20 years since the Second Lebanon War, is in fact being demolished by the IDF.”

“This is the most difficult week for Hezbollah since its establishment—the results speak for themselves. A blow has been dealt to the chain of command, to the terrorists themselves on different levels, to their shooting capabilities and to their morale,” he added.

Last Tuesday, at least 12 Hezbollah terrorists were killed and some 3,000 wounded across Lebanon when their pagers exploded. A day later, more than two dozen Hezbollah operatives were killed and 450 wounded when their hand-held radios exploded.

Nasrallah acknowledged on Thursday that Hezbollah had suffered an unparalleled blow, accusing Israel of responsibility and vowing revenge.

Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu said on Monday that Jerusalem was “chang[ing] the security balance of power in the north.

“For those who have not yet understood, I want to clarify Israel’s policy. We do not wait for a threat; we anticipate it. Everywhere, in every sector, at any time. We are destroying thousands of missiles and rockets that are directed at Israel’s cities and citizens,” said Netanyahu.

“Together, we will stand strong, together we will fight, and with God’s help, together we will win,” he added. JNS

{Matzav.com Israel}

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently discussed the pro-Palestinian demonstrations she witnessed at Columbia University last spring, sharing her concerns in an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria. As students return to campuses, Clinton expects tensions to rise again, with protests likely to reignite. During the interview, Clinton suggested that these protests were influenced by external forces rather than being organically led by students. “There were already existing groups within our country, and particularly on certain campuses like Columbia, who had talking points. They had a plan for protest and disruption. And I watched it sort of morph into something that was not student-led, even though students participated, but which had outside funding, outside direction,” she said. Clinton expressed uncertainty about the full scope of these influences, noting that students were often caught up in movements without fully understanding the broader context. “And I still to this day, I’m not quite sure. All that was going on with it. And a lot of students were caught up in that,” she said. She was particularly troubled by the portrayal of the Israel-Palestinian conflict on social media, which she found to be unbalanced and skewed against Israel. “A lot of the videos on social media gave not just a one-sided view of the conflict, but a totally anti-Israel, pro-Hamas, not just pro-Palestinian view,” Clinton added. The former presidential candidate, who began teaching at Columbia in 2023, also shared her frustrations with attempts to engage in meaningful dialogue with students involved in the protests. According to her, many lacked a comprehensive understanding of the history and complexities surrounding the Israel-Palestinian conflict. “And when I would ask, ‘Well, what about, do you know what happened in 2000 at Camp David? No. Do you know what happened in 1947? No. Do you know how difficult the relationships have been? No. Do you know that there are Arab Israelis and some are serving in the IDF? None of that.’ And this whole chanting of, you know, from the ‘river to the sea.’ What does that mean? What river? What sea? That’s what bothered me,” she explained. Clinton also expressed concern about the harassment of Jewish students during these protests, labeling the behavior as “nasty” and unacceptable. “This was screaming at students who were Jewish, it was blocking their entry into classes or into club activities. It was nasty,” Clinton remarked. She highlighted the troubling evidence of foreign influence and anti-Israel sentiment spread through platforms like TikTok, and emphasized that universities have a responsibility to protect students from harassment while still supporting free speech. “A university particularly has an obligation to, of course, protect free speech, but also to protect students against harassment and against the kind of behavior that interfered with their learning,” she concluded. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)