New Jersey has a new U.S. senator after the August resignation of Democrat Bob Menendez. Sen. George Helmy, a Democrat and former chief of staff to New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, was sworn in on Monday and will serve in office for about two months until the November election. Democratic Rep. Andy Kim and Republican hotelier Curtis Bashaw are vying for the seat in November and the winner will immediately replace Helmy. Menendez resigned in August after he was convicted on charges that he used his influence to meddle in three different state and federal criminal investigations. Prosecutors said he helped one bribe-paying friend get a multimillion-dollar deal with a Qatari investment fund and another keep a contract to provide religious certification for meat bound for Egypt. Murphy appointed Helmy to the temporary role after Menendez announced his intention to resign. Murphy said he picked Helmy because he understands the role after serving as an aide to New Jersey U.S. Sen. Cory Booker and the late New Jersey U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg. Booker, now the state’s senior senator, stood with Helmy as he was given the oath of office by Washington Sen. Patty Murray, who is the senior-most Democrat and serves as Senate president pro tempore. Helmy, 44, served as Murphy’s chief of staff from 2019 until 2023 and then served as an executive at one of the state’s largest health care providers, RWJBarnabas Health. He previously served as Booker’s state director in the Senate. He is the son of Egyptian parents who immigrated to New Jersey After he was sworn in, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer welcomed Helmy to the chamber and said that he was making history as the first member of the Coptic Orthodox Church to become a senator. Dozens of Helmy’s friends and family watched from the gallery above. “We wish him nothing but success and are ready to assist him however necessary in the weeks and months to come,” Schumer said. When Murphy announced his appointment, Helmy said he had never sought and would never seek elected office. He said he would focus on serving the public during his short stint in the Senate. “New Jersey deserves its full voice and representation in the whole of the United States Senate,” he said. Menendez was also convicted of taking actions that benefited Egypt’s government in exchange for bribes, including providing details on personnel at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo and ghostwriting a letter to fellow senators regarding lifting a hold on military aid to Egypt. FBI agents also said they found stacks of gold bars and $480,000 hidden in Menendez’s house. Menendez has denied all of the allegations against him and has said he’s planning to appeal the convictions. (AP)
In a head-scratching twist, a new survey reveals that American Jews overwhelmingly plan to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris in the upcoming presidential election. Yes, you read that right. The same Kamala Harris whose administration has been bending over backward to negotiate a ceasefire with Hamas – the very group holding Israeli hostages. According to the Jewish Democratic Council of America, a whopping 68% of Jewish voters are all in for Harris, while just 25% are sticking with Donald Trump, the man who moved the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem and brokered historic peace deals in the Middle East. Go figure. Even more baffling? The survey also shows that 87% of Jewish voters support the Biden administration’s push for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, as if releasing hostages, while certainly a noble pursuit, will somehow magically fix the chaos in Gaza and the terrorism that emanates from it. Despite the heated debates and Republican efforts to court Jewish voters post-October 7, the numbers have barely budged. It’s as if years of Democratic lip service have earned a permanent free pass from the Jewish electorate. Apparently, logic and past policies are irrelevant when it comes to election time. Some things, it seems, never change. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Former President Donald Trump is gearing up to put Vice President Kamala Harris on the hot seat during Tuesday night’s debate, aiming to hold her accountable for her career in public office, beginning with her controversial tenure as San Francisco district attorney. Trump’s campaign previewed the strategy in an exclusive chat with The Post on Monday, promising that Harris’ liberal record would be front and center. “Kamala Harris will be made to defend her crazy liberal record,” Trump campaign senior adviser Tim Murtaugh told The Post, ahead of the showdown at Philadelphia’s National Constitution Center. “She will not be able to escape from it. By the end of this debate, everyone will know her record.” Trump, 78, known for his off-the-cuff style, has said he hasn’t formally prepped for the ABC News debate, hinting that his strategy could be a last-minute decision. Murtaugh also suggested Harris, who’s been Vice President for three and a half years under the increasingly unpopular Joe Biden, will try to distance herself from her role in the administration — but Trump won’t let that happen. “That point will be made clear,” he emphasized. This debate comes on the heels of a New York Times/Siena College poll, which revealed that 61% of likely voters want a “major change” from the 81-year-old Biden, with 55% saying Harris would be “more of the same.” Harris, who has tried to moderate her stance on certain issues, claimed in a recent CNN interview that “my values have not changed,” but Murtaugh fired back: “That means she is the San Francisco liberal she always was. She’s just pretending not to be that.” Another Trump campaign insider told The Post that Trump plans to hammer Harris on her record as San Francisco’s top prosecutor. “Kamala Harris is going to have to remember the names of the people whose lives were lost in San Francisco due to her weak-on-crime policies,” the source said, pointing to criminals like Edwin Ramos, an illegal immigrant convicted of killing a father and his two sons in 2008. “President Trump is not going to let her get away with the lie that she is some law-and-order prosecutor,” the source added. Ramos, a Salvadoran national, had a juvenile record that local authorities failed to report to immigration because of San Francisco’s policy of not questioning legal status at the time, an issue Harris is expected to be grilled on. “These crimes, these criminals, these specific cases, she’s going to have to answer for,” Murtaugh said, signaling that Trump won’t let the debate pass without bringing up these controversies. Trump campaign senior adviser Jason Miller added that Harris will also be pressed on her role as Vice President and her lack of media presence. “For every new idea she puts forward, Harris has to explain both the damage she’s done to our economy as the sitting vice president, as well as why she hasn’t implemented any of these new plans during the last 3 1/2 years,” Miller said in a statement. Harris, for her part, has already hinted at how she’ll approach the debate, taking aim at Trump’s character. “We should be prepared for the fact that he is not burdened by telling the truth,” she said on the “Rickey Smiley Morning Show” on Friday. “He tends to fight for […]
Former employees of the company that owned an experimental submersible that imploded on its way to the wreck of the Titanic are scheduled to testify before a Coast Guard investigatory board at an upcoming hearing. The Titan submersible imploded in the North Atlantic in June 2023, killing all five people on board and setting off a worldwide debate about the future of private undersea exploration. The U.S. Coast Guard quickly convened a high-level investigation into what happened, and that inquiry is set to reach its public hearing phase on Sept. 16. OceanGate, the Washington state company that owned the Titan submersible, suspended operations after the implosion that killed company co-founder Stockton Rush and the others. Witnesses scheduled to appear during the upcoming hearing include Guillermo Sohnlein, who is another co-founder of OceanGate, as well as the company’s former engineering director, operations director and scientific director, according to documents provided by the Coast Guard. The public hearing “aims to uncover the facts surrounding the incident and develop recommendations to prevent similar tragedies in the future,” the Coast Guard said in a statement Friday. The ongoing Marine Board of Investigation is the highest level of marine casualty investigation conducted by the Coast Guard and is “tasked with examining the causes of the marine casualty and making recommendations to improve maritime safety,” the statement said. The hearing is taking place in Charleston County, South Carolina, and is scheduled to last two weeks. The board is expected to issue a report with evidence, conclusions and recommendations once its investigation is finished. OceanGate’s former director of administration, former finance director and other witnesses who worked for the company are also expected to testify. The witness list also includes numerous Coast Guard officials, scientists, government and industry officials and others. The Titan became the subject of scrutiny in the undersea exploration community in part because of its unconventional design and its creator’s decision to forgo standard independent checks. The implosion killed Rush and veteran Titanic explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet; two members of a prominent Pakistani family, Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman Dawood; and British adventurer Hamish Harding. The Titan made its final dive on June 18, 2023, losing contact with its support vessel about two hours later. When it was reported overdue, rescuers rushed ships, planes and other equipment to an area about 435 miles (700 kilometers) south of St. John’s, Newfoundland. The search for the submersible attracted worldwide attention as it became increasingly unlikely that anyone could have survived the loss of the vessel. Wreckage of the Titan was subsequently found on the ocean floor about 300 meters (330 yards) off the bow of the Titanic, Coast Guard officials said. The time frame for the investigation into the loss of the submersible was initially a year, but the inquiry has taken longer. The Coast Guard said in a July 2024 statement that the public hearing will “examine all aspects of the loss of the Titan, including pre-accident historical events, regulatory compliance, crewmember duties and qualifications, mechanical and structural systems, emergency response and the submersible industry.” The Titan had been making voyages to the Titanic wreckage site going back to 2021. The company has declined to comment publicly on the Coast Guard’s investigation. (AP)
The main suspect arrested in a dramatic operation on Highway 6 on Monday was a member of a terrorist cell from a village near Chevron who was en route to carry out a major terror attack in central Israel. Kan News reported that the Shin Bet provided intelligence information indicating that the suspect was on his way to central Israel in a shuttle van, along with 12 other illegal Palestinian workers. A helicopter and numerous security forces, including skilled Shin Bet operatives, were immediately deployed to Highway 6 to intercept the suspect and take him for questioning. No weapons or explosives were found on the suspect but it is possible that an explosive device was waiting for him inside Israel, near the site of the planned attack. The suspect was immediately transferred for interrogation, during which he revealed his plan, including the identities of two additional members of the terror cell. Security forces immediately raided the homes of the two additional suspects and arrested them. A search of their homes revealed numerous weapons, which were seized. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
The former head of food services for New York City public schools was sentenced to two years in prison on Monday for a bribery scandal that resulted in children being served chicken tenders contaminated with metal and bone. Eric Goldstein, the former school food chief, was sentenced in Brooklyn federal court along with three men who ran a vendor that had contracted with the city to provide school food — Blaine Iler, Michael Turley and Brian Twomey. Iler was sentenced to one year and a $10,000 fine, Turley to 15 months and Twomey to 15 months and a $10,000 fine. All four men were found guilty of bribery, conspiracy and other charges after a monthlong trial in 2023. “Eric Goldstein corruptly abused his high-ranking position of trust as a public official and pursued lucrative bribes at the expense of school children, many of whom rely on healthy meals provided by the New York City Department of Education,” U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement. Peace said Goldstein “prioritized lining his pockets with payoffs from his co-defendants” to ensure that the defendants’ food stayed in the schools even after plastic, bones and metal were found in the chicken. Messages seeking comment were sent to attorneys for Goldstein, Iler, Turley and Twomey. Goldstein oversaw school food as head of New York City’s Office of School Support Services from 2008 to 2018. Iler, Twomey and Turley had a company, SOMMA Food Group, that contracted with the city to provide school food. Around the same time, the three men and Goldstein formed another company to import grass-fed beef. Prosecutors argued that the venture was a way to pay Goldstein off. Prosecutors said the largest bribe payment was made in the fall of 2016 after the city school system had stopped serving SOMMA’s chicken tenders because an employee had choked on a bone in a supposedly boneless chicken tender. According to prosecutors, Iler, Turley and Twomey agreed on Nov 29, 2016, to pay a bribe Goldstein had asked for, and one day later Goldstein approved reintroducing SOMMA’s chicken products into the schools. SOMMA’s products were served in schools until April 2017 despite repeated complaints that the chicken tenders contained foreign objects, prosecutors said. (AP)
Ishay Ribo made history last Elul, becoming Jewish music’s first-ever performer to step out onto Madison Square Garden’s stage. Now, with his second performance at the world’s most famous arena just days away, he recalls that moment of immense emotion in a personal message to the audience. “There’s this moment of self-reflection,” he says, “You go on stage, you’re vulnerable.” Ribo’s heartfelt message comes as the New York area’s Jewish community—from secular to Chareidi and from Teaneck to Lakewood, Crown Heights, and Boro Park—gears up for his second historic Madison Square Garden performance on 12 Elul, 15 September. As part of his Elul tour, the evening promises a night of heartfelt prayer, togetherness, and comfort after a tragic year for the Jewish people worldwide. Ribo shares his immense gratitude when the music kicked in, erased all divides, and unlocked a profound feeling of togetherness with the audience. “The crowd surrounds you, the music brings you all together, and you lift your eyes to heaven and say, “Todah Hashem” To purchase tickets, visit: Ticketmaster
The Israeli Air Force eliminated three senior Hamas commanders in a targeted strike overnight Tuesday based on Shin Bet intelligence. The terrorists were operating from a terror command center embedded in the humanitarian zone in Khan Younis in southern Gaza. The IDF noted that “these terrorists were directly involved in the massacre on October 7 and have been advancing terror plots against IDF forces and the State of Israel in recent months.” The terrorists were identified as Osama Tabash, the head of the surveillance department in Hamas’ military intelligence division, Samer Ismail, the commander of Hamas’ aerial forces, and Ayman Mabhuh, another senior Hamas official. The IDF stated that “prior to the strike, extensive intelligence gathering was conducted along with continuous aerial observation in the hours leading up to the attack, confirming their presence in the area alongside other terrorists.” In response to [unreliable] Hamas reports that 40 people were killed in the strike and 60 were injured, the IDF dismissed these claims, stating: “In general and based on an initial investigation, the numbers released by the Gaza Strip’s Hamas propaganda office, which has been caught lying multiple times, do not accord with the information available to the IDF, the precise munitions used, and the accuracy of the strikes.” “Despite the many measures the IDF implements to allow Gazan residents to distance themselves from combat zones, including designating a humanitarian area, Hamas continues to embed its operatives and military infrastructure in the humanitarian area and systematically uses civilians as human shields.” (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
Calling it “unserious and unacceptable,” House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries rejected on Monday a proposal from Speaker Mike Johnson that links continued government funding for six months with a measure to require proof of citizenship when registering to vote. The response frames the spending battle to come over the next weeks as lawmakers work to reach consensus on a short-term spending bill that would prevent a partial government shutdown when the new fiscal year begins Oct. 1. Lawmakers hope to avoid a shutdown just weeks before voters go to the polls. Johnson is punting the final decisions on full-year spending into next year when a new president and Congress take over. He’s doing so at the urging of members within his conference who believe that Republicans will be in a better position next year to secure the funding and policy priorities they want. But Jeffries said the appropriations process should be wrapped up by this Congress, and the short-term measure should reflect that. It also needs to be free of “partisan policy changes,” Jeffries said. “There is no other viable path forward that protects the health, safety and economic well-being of hardworking American taxpayers,” Jeffries wrote in a letter to House Democrats released Monday. Lawmakers are returning to Washington this week following a traditional August recess spent mostly working in their home states and districts. They are not close to completing work on the dozen annual appropriations bills that will fund the agencies during the next fiscal year, so they’ll need to approve a stopgap measure. The House bill including the proof of citizenship mandate for voter registration complicates the effort. The voter registration measure is popular with House Republicans and has already passed once before in that chamber. The House Freedom Caucus, which generally includes the chamber’s most conservative members, called for it to be attached to the spending bill. Republicans say that requiring proof of citizenship would ensure that U.S. elections are only for American citizens, improving confidence in the nation’s federal election system, something that former President Donald Trump has sought to undermine over the years. Opponents say it is already against the law for noncitizens to vote in federal elections and that the document requirements would disenfranchise millions of Americans who do not have the necessary documents readily available when they get a chance to register. Trump and other Republicans have revved up their complaints about the issue of noncitizens voting with the influx of migrants across the U.S.-Mexico border under President Joe Biden’s administration. They are contending Democrats let them in to add them to the voter rolls. But the available evidence shows that noncitizen voting in federal elections is incredibly rare. Johnson called the proof of citizenship mandate a “righteous fight” as he entered the Capitol Monday afternoon. He said that even if a small percentage of people who have entered the U.S. illegally end up registering to vote, “they can throw the election. This is serious business.” Senate Democrats have also come out against Johnson’s proposal. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called the bill “pure partisan posturing.” “Speaker Johnson knows deep down that he needs to work with Democrats to get anything done,” Schumer said. The White House said that if the bill reaches Biden’s desk he will veto it. The veto threat […]
Likud MK Nissim Vaturi, a member of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, said in an interview on Monday morning that Israel will become embroiled in a war with Lebanon “in a matter of days.” “It’s just a matter of days before something develops,” Vaturi told Kan News. “Dahiyeh [Beirut suburb] will look like Gaza. There’s no other way. Prime Minister Netanyahu has the same opinion and that’s why it’s something that will unfold in the coming days,” He noted that Netanyahu briefed military officials on Sunday, telling them: “We have to finish this story. Iran’s strongest proxy in the north is Hezbollah in Lebanon and it’s time to deal with it.” Vaturi continued by describing the military solution to defeat Hezbollah. “We need to direct most of our forces to the north – with airstrikes like we saw in the previous preemptive attack and not stop for a few days, at least four to five days, and then a ground entry of IDF forces.” “I think the time has come to deal with the north. We can’t just stand by and watch ourselves lose the north. We will make a decision. Hezbollah isn’t willing to budge from the border so we need to tackle this with intense warfare. We’re out of patience.” (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
Two people who prosecutors say were motivated by white supremacist ideology were charged Monday with using the messaging app Telegram to encourage acts of violence against minorities, government officials and critical infrastructure in the United States. The defendants, identified as Dallas Erin Humber and Matthew Robert Allison, face 15 federal counts in the Eastern District of California. It was not immediately clear whether either had an attorney, but both were due in court either late Monday or Tuesday. Justice Department officials say the defendants used Telegram to transmit bomb-making materials, to distribute a list of potential targets for assassination — including a federal judge, a senator and a former U.S. attorney — and to celebrate perpetrators of prior acts of violence. The pair are accused of leading a collective of channels on Telegram known as “Terrorgram” that prosecutors say promotes white supremacy and violence. Their exhortations to violence included statements such as “Take Action Now” and “Do your part,” according to an indictment unsealed Monday. “I think it would be difficult to overstate, the danger and risks that that this group posed,” Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen, the Justice Department’s top national security official, said at a news conference. (AP)
During a book signing event at the Texas Tribune Festival in Austin on Saturday, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was heckled by conservative comedian Alex Strenger, who posed as a Democrat and mocked her phenomenal threat gained through her questionable stock trading practices. Strenger approached Pelosi, who was promoting her new book The Art of Power, and sarcastically hailed her as “the greatest options trader of all time,” before being escorted away by security. In a video posted on X (formerly Twitter), Strenger, wearing a COVID mask and Bernie Sanders cap, introduced himself as “Noah” and praised Pelosi for her defense of democracy. “It really means so, so much, you know?” he said, before shifting the conversation to his supposed fear of Donald Trump’s reelection. He stated that Trump’s imprisonment was “the only hope for democracy” and Pelosi agreed, replying, “We do.” The comedian then shifted to stock trading, asking Pelosi, “What stocks should I buy? Nancy, you’re the greatest options trader of all time,” referencing accusations that Pelosi has benefited from insider information through her husband Paul Pelosi’s stock trades. As security began to intervene, Strenger doubled down on the satire, saying, “Don’t y’all want to know what stocks she should buy? Come on.” Strenger’s comments alluded to ongoing scrutiny of the Pelosis’ financial activities. Paul Pelosi, a venture capitalist, has made headlines for stock trades coinciding with government actions, such as purchasing Microsoft shares before the company secured a defense contract and buying Nvidia shares ahead of the CHIPS Act vote. Despite a 65% gain in their stock options last year, Nancy Pelosi has consistently denied any involvement in her husband’s trading, insisting that he acts independently. Strenger was removed by security, but not before pointing to Pelosi’s substantial net worth and sarcastically claiming his only goal was to “close the wealth gap.” (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
The Michigan Supreme Court ruled Monday that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will remain on the state’s November presidential ballot, ending Kennedy’s efforts to withdraw his name to help support former President Donald Trump. Kennedy suspended his third-party presidential campaign and endorsed Trump in August. He sued Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat, on Aug. 30 in an attempt to remove his name from the ballot so as not to siphon votes away from Trump, who won Michigan by about 10,000 votes in 2016. Monday’s decision reverses an intermediate-level Court of Appeals ruling made Friday. It ensures that Kennedy’s name will appear on voters’ ballots in the valuable battleground state despite his withdrawal from the race. The court said in a brief order that Kennedy “has not shown an entitlement to this extraordinary relief, and we reverse.” “This plainly has nothing to do with ballot or election integrity,” Kennedy’s attorney, Aaron Siri, said in a written statement. “The aim is precisely the opposite — to have unwitting Michigan voters throw away their votes on a withdrawn candidate.” Angela Benander, spokesperson for Benson’s office, said the department is grateful for the high court’s “swift response.” “Clerks can now move forward with the ballot printing process to ensure absentee ballots will be delivered to voters by the federal deadlines,” Benander said in a written statement. Kennedy is attempting to withdraw his name from states where the presidential race will be close in November. He had scored a legal victory in North Carolina and suffered a setback in Wisconsin Friday. Justices nominated by Democrats currently hold a 4-3 majority on the Michigan Supreme Court. The order was unsigned and two Republican-nominated justices wrote a dissenting opinion. “We can only hope that the Secretary’s misguided action — now sanctioned with the imprimatur of this Court — will not have national implications,” the dissenting justices wrote. Kennedy was nominated for president by the Natural Law Party in Michigan. Benson had previously cited a state law saying candidates who are nominated and accept a minor party’s nomination “shall not be permitted to withdraw.” (AP)
Pollster Nate Silver is now predicting an Electoral College landslide for former President Donald Trump. According to Silver’s latest forecast, published on his blog Silver Bulletin, Trump now holds a 63.8 percent chance of winning the majority of the Electoral College vote, compared to Vice President Kamala Harris’s 36 percent. Silver’s model marks a stark change from earlier projections, which had favored Harris or suggested a narrow race. The shift comes after the release of Sunday’s New York Times/Siena College poll, one of Silver’s “highest rated pollsters,” which put Trump ahead of Harris by a margin of 48 percent to 47 percent — within the poll’s 3-point margin of error. Based on Silver’s model, Trump is now predicted to secure 312 electoral votes, a larger margin than his 304-vote victory against Hillary Clinton in 2016. Harris, by contrast, is forecasted to win 226 electoral votes. Silver’s model places Trump ahead in all the key swing states, positioning him strongly ahead of the ABC News-hosted presidential debate on Tuesday. However, Silver cautioned that the debate could still alter the current trajectory. While Silver’s forecast predicts a Trump victory in the Electoral College, it still gives Harris a slight edge in the popular vote, with a 56 percent chance of winning compared to Trump’s 44 percent. Despite Silver’s projection, other models present a more competitive race. RealClearPolitics has Harris narrowly ahead with 273 electoral votes, while Project 538 forecasts a win for Harris with 281 electoral votes to Trump’s 257. The race remains tight in several crucial battleground states. Meanwhile, CNN elections expert Harry Enten issued a stark warning to the Harris campaign, warning that her support in the critical swing state of Pennsylvania is rapidly eroding, and questioned whether picking the state’s governor, Josh Shapiro, as her running mate would have been a wiser decision than tapping Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. Watch Enten’s comments below. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Kate, the princess of Wales, has completed chemotherapy and will make a limited number of public appearances in the coming months, bolstering Britain’s royal family after it was rocked by the twin cancer diagnoses of the princess and King Charles III. The 42-year-old wife of Prince William on Monday released a video in which she appeared alongside her husband and children as she described how difficult the past nine months have been for her family and expressed “relief” at completing her course of treatment. “Life as you know it can change in an instant, and we have had to find a way to navigate the stormy waters and road unknown,’’ she said in the video, which was shot in a woodland near the family’s summer home in Norfolk. “The cancer journey is complex, scary and unpredictable for everyone, especially those closest to you. With humility, it also brings you face to face with your own vulnerabilities in a way you have never considered before, and with that, a new perspective on everything.” The royal family has been buffeted by health concerns for much of this year, beginning with the announcement in January that the king would receive treatment for an enlarged prostate and Kate would undergo abdominal surgery. In February, Buckingham Palace announced that Charles was receiving treatment for an undisclosed type of cancer. Six weeks later, Kate said she, too, was undergoing treatment for cancer, quieting the relentless speculation about her condition that had circulated on social media since her surgery. While the announcements triggered an outpouring of good wishes for the ailing royals, they also put the royal family under tremendous pressure. Queen Camilla and Princess Anne, the king’s sister, took on additional duties to cover the seemingly endless list of public events that make up the daily routine of the House of Windsor. William also took time off to support his wife and their three young children. Charles began his return to public duties in late April when he visited a cancer treatment center in London. He is scheduled to make the first long-haul trip since his diagnosis when he travels to Australia and Samoa in the fall. Kate said Monday that while she had completed her chemotherapy treatment, the path to full recovery would be long and she would “take each day as it comes.” “William and I are so grateful for the support we have received and have drawn great strength from all those who are helping us at this time,” she said. “Everyone’s kindness, empathy and compassion has been truly humbling.” In June, the princess acknowledged that she had good days and bad days while undergoing treatment. While she stepped away from most public duties during her treatment, Kate has made two appearances this year. First, during the king’s birthday parade in June, known as Trooping the Colour, and most recently during the men’s final at Wimbledon in July, where she received a standing ovation. “To all those who are continuing their own cancer journey — I remain with you, side by side, hand in hand,” Kate said Monday. “Out of darkness, can come light, so let that light shine bright.” (AP)
In yet another display of performative activism, a large Palestinian flag was draped across the Brooklyn tower of the Williamsburg Bridge during Monday morning’s rush hour. Because what better way to “raise awareness” than to inconvenience everyday New Yorkers just trying to get to work? Footage on Citizen captured two individuals, likely police officers, climbing up to remove the flag—because, of course, someone had to clean up the mess left behind by these “activists.” Meanwhile, patrol boats circled the base of the bridge as if this stunt was anything more than an annoyance. For reference, the Brooklyn tower stands at 310 feet, according to the New York City Department of Transportation, making the flag’s placement just dramatic enough for the attention these demonstrators seem to crave. This incident follows on the heels of anti-Israel protests at Columbia University and Barnard College last week, where two individuals were arrested. The Williamsburg Bridge has already seen its fair share of theatrics, including mass arrests during a “Shut It Down for Palestine” rally earlier this year. But surely, with enough flag-waving and bridge-blocking, real change is just around the corner. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
A poignant phrase echoes when 9/11 victims’ relatives gather each year to remember the loved ones they lost in the terror attacks. “I never got to meet you.” It is the sound of generational change at ground zero, where relatives read out victims’ names on every anniversary of the attacks. Nearly 3,000 people were killed when al-Qaida hijackers crashed four jetliners into the twin towers, the Pentagon and a field in southwest Pennsylvania on Sept. 11, 2001. Some names are read out by children or young adults who were born after the strikes. Last year’s observance featured 28 such young people among more than 140 readers. Young people are expected again at this year’s ceremony Wednesday. Some are the children of victims whose partners were pregnant. More of the young readers are victims’ nieces, nephews or grandchildren. They have inherited stories, photos, and a sense of solemn responsibility. Being a “9/11 family” reverberates through generations, and commemorating and understanding the Sept. 11 attacks one day will be up to a world with no first-hand memory of them. “It’s like you’re passing the torch on,” says Allan Aldycki, 13. He read the names of his grandfather and several other people the last two years, and plans to do so on on Wednesday. Aldycki keeps mementoes in his room from his grandfather Allan Tarasiewicz, a firefighter. The teen told the audience last year that he’s heard so much about his grandfather that it feels like he knew him, “but still, I wish I had a chance to really know you,” he added. Allan volunteered to be a reader because it makes him feel closer to his grandfather, and he hopes to have children who’ll participate. “It’s an honor to be able to teach them because you can let them know their heritage and what to never forget,” he said by phone from central New York. He said he already finds himself teaching peers who know little or nothing about 9/11. When it comes time for the ceremony, he looks up information about the lives of each person whose name he’s assigned to read. “He reflects on everything and understands the importance of what it means to somebody,” his mother, Melissa Tarasiewicz, said. Reciting the names of the dead is a tradition that extends beyond ground zero. War memorials honor fallen military members by speaking their names aloud. Some Jewish organizations host readings of Holocaust victims’ names on the international day of remembrance, Yom Hashoah. The names of the 168 people killed in the 1995 bombing of a federal building in Oklahoma City are read annually at the memorial there. On Sept. 11 anniversaries, the Pentagon’s ceremony includes military members or officials reading the names of the 184 people killed there. The Flight 93 National Memorial has victims’ relatives and friends read the list of the 40 passengers and crew members whose lives ended at the rural site near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The hourslong observance at the 9/11 Memorial in New York is almost exclusively dedicated to the names of the 2,977 victims at all three sites, plus the six people killed in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. All are read by relatives who volunteer and are chosen by lottery. Each is given a subset of names to render aloud. Readers also generally […]
Two IDF soldiers were lightly injured in a Hezbollah drone attack near Shlomi on Monday. The soldiers were evacuated to the hospital for treatment. In response to the attack, the IDF carried out airstrikes on a number of Hezbollah military sites in southern Lebanon Earlier on Monday, Hezbollah launched suicide drones at northern Israel, one of which hit a high-rise apartment building in Nahariya, only several buildings away from a kindergarten. B’Chasdei Hashem, there were no injuries but two apartments were badly damaged. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
Rabbi Dr. Elie Abadie, the former senior Rabbi of the Jewish Council of the Emirates and the Association of Gulf Jewish Communities, spoke to Arutz Sheva about how Jewish life in the UAE has changed since October 7. Rabbi Abadi began by describing how the Jewish community in the UAE flourished after the Abraham Accords, with the Jewish population increasing from 200 to over 1,500. “They built Jewish businesses, kosher restaurants, and shuls,” he said. “We were doing everything very publicly with the support of the government. The Emirati population was very welcoming.” However, things began to change post-October 7. “Many Israelis came back to Israel. The government was concerned for the safety of the Jewish people and communities and they requested that we be much more quiet in a sense, not to engender any animosity for either tourists or anybody who may live there who has animosity toward the Jewish people.” Due to the new security measures, Rabbi Abadie said that Jews don’t wear yarmulkes or other signs of Judaism on the streets and even refrain from gathering in shuls to daven. “The Jewish community continues to live, continues to work, continues to do what they need to do as residents of the place, but they are trying to live much more carefully.” Rabbi Abadi stressed that the government’s directives are intended for the Jewish community’s benefit, not an act against it. “The UAE is one of the safest countries in the world, probably number two or three in the world. So they’re very concerned about the population, including the Jewish population, and certainly, they don’t want any event against the Jewish community.” (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
