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Israel slams US for allowing UN resolution to pass, emboldening Hamas

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Israel's Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan (Aviv Hertz/TPS)

By World Israel News Staff

The United Nations Security Council resolution passed Monday demanding an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip will embolden the Hamas terror organization and hampers efforts to reach an agreement securing the release of Israeli hostages, Israel’s envoy to the UN said Tuesday.

Speaking with Israel National News, Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan excoriated not only the United Nations Security Council for passing a resolution Monday 14-0 demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, but also the Biden administration for allowing the resolution to pass.

The resolution separately calls for the release of Israeli captives held hostage in Gaza, but does not condition the ceasefire on the hostages’ release.

Erdan rejected States Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Greenfield-Thomas’ claim that the U.S. interprets the resolution as being non-binding and the ceasefire conditional on the release of Israeli captives.

“Even if the United States explains that, from their perspective, the decision is not binding and they link the release of hostages with the ceasefire, our enemy does not see it that way,” Erdan said.

“The Palestinian ambassador has already held a press conference explaining legally why the decision is binding and how they will try to promote it. This also opens the door to many legal initiatives against us around the world and to significant damage – hence our frustration and anger.”

Israel, Erdan continued, would ignore the resolution’s demand for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, but warned that the vote would encourage Hamas to raise its demands in hostage deal negotiations and thus make an agreement more difficult to achieve.

“The decision’s implication is zero – it will have no meaning from Israel’s perspective.”

“Hamas, on the other hand, understands that it cannot militarily defeat the IDF, and its hope is that the international community will pressure us and possibly impose sanctions so that we concede and agree to a ceasefire. Therefore, this decision plays into the hands of Hamas and sabotages our efforts to free hostages and our military effort.”

Monday’s resolution was drafted jointly by the delegations from Sierra Leone, Switzerland, Slovenia, South Korea, Malta, Japan, Mozambique, Ecuador, Algeria, and Guyana, and passed the Security Council 14-0, with only the U.S. abstaining.

The measure “demands an immediate ceasefire for the month of Ramadan respected by all parties leading to a permanent sustainable ceasefire” in the Gaza Strip.

HOSTAGE FAMILY MEMBERS AND ISRAELI FM TRAVEL TO UN TO DEMAND ACTION AGAINST HAMAS
Separately, the resolution “also demands the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, as well as ensuring humanitarian access to address their medical and other humanitarian needs, and further demands that the parties comply with their obligations under international law in relation to all persons they detain.”

In protest of the resolution’s passage and the Biden administration’s refusal to utilize the American veto in the Security Council, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday canceled a high-level delegation to Washington.

Jerusalem announced that “in light of the change in the American position, Prime Minister Netanyahu decided that the delegation will not depart.”

Netanyahu said that the changed U.S. position “hurts the war effort and the effort to release the hostages” by giving the Hamas terrorist organization hope that international pressure will bring about a ceasefire without freeing the captives.

Fire Dance: A Mesmerizing Film Explores the Lives of Hasidim in Tiberias 

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Fire Dance is a mesmerizing, mystical, erotic, and rather magnificent work; one filled with love for a community of Israeli hasidim in Tiberias, but a work which neither spares them, nor the viewer. Credit: IMDb.com

Fire Dance: A Mesmerizing Film Explores the Lives of Hasidim in Tiberias 

By:  Phyllis Chesler

Rama Burshtein-Shai has written and directed her best film yet. Fire Dance is a mesmerizing, mystical, erotic, and rather magnificent work; one filled with love for a community of Israeli hasidim in Tiberias, but a work which neither spares them, nor the viewer. It is a complex film about tribalism versus individual happiness; about passion and restraint.

Fire Dance is very bold, perhaps shockingly so. The first episode opens with a young hasidic girl’s rather gruesome suicide attempt, and ends with something totally unexpected, even surreal: from out of nowhere, a wild dog ferociously attacks another young hasidic girl–an assault which leaves her with a disfiguring, life-long scar on her face. Our would-be suicide believes that her jealousy of the more popular girl may have caused this disaster.

Days later, these characters, as well as the wildness of the desert, the sky over Yam Kinneret, still live within me, such is the power of this eight episode film. Cinematically, Burshtein-Shai proceeds slowly, with life-like pauses in a conversation, with time for each character to think.

We live at a time in which hasidic and haredi life has been denounced and famously filmed as cruel, intolerant, unjust, homophobic, misogynistic, medieval, (Unorthodox, Trembling Before God, Leaving the Fold, One of Us, My Unorthodox Life). Burshtein, does not avoid these themes; what she does is similar to what Shtisel, A Price Above Rubies, and The Women’s Balcony do, namely, she balances them out by presenting hasidic/haredi communities that are, at the same time, also filled with a longing for God, a belief that even mighty sinners (drug addicts, adulterers, violent hooligans,) can repent and be redeemed, that fallen souls can be rescued. Most moving, individuals within these communities are filled with incredible, humbling, deeds of loving kindness.

For example, in one scene, a Grand Rebbe is in the midst of an important meeting with other rabbis when a woman who has been waiting to speak to him starts screaming and refuses to stop. He interrupts his meeting to hear her out. She is utterly alone in the world and does not know what kind of new stove to buy. Surprisingly, the Rebbe immediately takes her into his own kitchen and shows her his oven and explains to her how it works.

Another example: The would-be suicide, Faigie Rosenberg, (Mia Ivryn, in her first ever role), is the kindest, the boldest, and the smartest of all the girls. She seeks out an older, distant female relative, Mrs. Epstein, a hoarder and, without being asked, totally cleans up her apartment. This woman is also agoraphobic and has not been outside for “seven years and some months.” Faige gently talks her through it and accompanies her outside.

Perhaps Rabbi Natan, (played by the very soulful Yehuda Levy), is the embodiment of chesed, loving kindness. He is a rabbi with a “troubled past,” who is known (and mistrusted) for helping women. He and his wife have organized a small sewing workshop for women who are mentally or cognitively disabled, non-employable, in order to ensure that they do not fall by the wayside. He also counsels women about their anguish, tries to help women obtain religious divorces–or he tries to get them and their husbands to reconcile lovingly when possible.

The unhappy, deprived women fall in love with him. They include our trouble hero Faigie. Some women demand religious divorces. One, Giti, goes on a hunger strike until she receives one. R. Natan experiences what Freud called transference (and maybe counter-transference). The besotted include Faigie who is at least half his age. Clearly, he is their Love Doctor, his combination of philosophical and mystical advice hypnotizes his female flock. The situation becomes untenable, harassment and violence erupt. Stones are thrown through windows, women are called “harlots.” Faige is thrown to the ground and beaten. R. Natan flees to the desert.

In all her films, Fill the Void (2012) and The Wedding Plan (2016), Burshtein-Shai romanticizes weddings and brides. It is as if each wedding re-enacts the first Creation story in Bereshit. Without one’s mate one can never be whole. While this is true for men as well, the filmmaker focuses mainly on the women, on their desire to be cherished, sung to, to not feel humiliated, to not be alone, to have children, to honor their parents. Their wedding dresses and their seats before the bedeken, when the women come to bless the bride, are Burshtein-Shai’s version of every film Disney ever made about a prince and princess and a happy ending. Fairy tales to which women are addicted.  All her brides are shy virgins–not Amazon warriors, corporate killers, or IDF soldiers.

Okay, it’s not my only cup of tea but it is very moving and visually powerful. Burshtein-Shai also depicts the kind of intense female bonding that rarely exists in the secular world.

However, she gilds no lilies. Feige’s mother Raizi, a widow, (Noa Koler), hits her, keeps verbally abusing her, never even took her for glasses until Feigie was seven years old. Her mother says, rather insanely to the astonished optometrist, “Yes, I told you, she’s blind as a bat.”

And yet, the women embrace each other, dance together, try to help each other; their loving relationships are very intense–they have only each other in their small, precious world.

I do not love the fact that Burshtein-Shai’s women, in all of her films, are a bit unbalanced, emotionally extreme, not at all restrained–even as they wrestle with their obligation to maintain the stability and survival of their communities, over and against their desire for happiness and romantic love. Their values are religious, not secular.

When R. Natan’s father, the community’s Rebbe dies, he has his will read aloud by his survivors, beginnng with his wife, his two sons, and his daughter. The love he openly professes for his wife is unparalleled, (except for the Song of Songs); it is almost embarassing. His advice: “The hardest thing is to judge everyone favorably, even the wicked.”

MS-13 Gang Leader On FBI’s Most-Wanted List Arrested At Border In San Diego

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Authored by Brad Jones via The Epoch Times,

A high-ranking leader of the international Mara Salvatrucha gang, better known as MS-13, was arrested on narco-terrorism charges at the U.S.-Mexican border in San Diego earlier this month.

Fredy Ivan Jandres-Parada, a leader of the international MS-13 gang, was arrested at the San Ysidro Port of Entry in San Diego on March 7, 2024. (Courtesy of FBI)

Federal authorities arrested Fredy Ivan Jandres-Parada, 48, also known as “Lucky De Park View“ at the San Ysidro Port of Entry March 7.

He has been charged for his alleged role in ordering numerous acts of violence against civilians, law enforcement, and rival gang members, as well as transnational drug distribution and extortion schemes.

The San Ysidro Port of Entry in San Ysidro, Calif., on Feb. 2, 2024. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

The suspect ranks among the senior leaders of MS-13’s Ranfla Nacional leadership council, formerly known as the Twelve Apostles of the Devil, which controls thousands of MS-13 members worldwide, according to the FBI.

The U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York, issued a federal warrant for his arrest in late December 2020, charging him with conspiracy to provide and conceal support and resources to terrorists, conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries, conspiracy to finance terrorism, and narco-terrorism conspiracy.

An indictment unsealed a month later reveals the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) strategy to target the upper echelon of MS-13 leadership—the Ranfla Nacional—in El Salvador to dismantle its command and ability to direct cliques in the U.S.

Such cliques are known to be in various Los Angeles neighborhoods known by an area or street including Hollywood, Park View, Normandie, Francis, Fulton, and Coronado, according to the 31-page indictment.

Trump’s Crackdown

A 2020 DOJ report on the department’s efforts to combat MS-13 estimated the gang had 10,000 members across the U.S. and tens of thousands more worldwide and is “responsible for violent crimes in the United States, including murders, extortion, arms and drug trafficking, assaults, rapes, human trafficking, robberies, and kidnappings.”

Less than a month after he was sworn into office, then-President Donald Trump issued an executive order directing “the whole-of-government” to develop and execute a comprehensive and decisive approach to dismantle transnational criminal organizations, including MS-13, to “restore safety for the American people,” the DOJ report states.

“For decades, MS-13 has exploited weaknesses in U.S. immigration enforcement policies to move its members in and out of the United States and to recruit new members who have arrived in the United States illegally,” according to the report.

It has infiltrated American cities and suburbs and established cliques in California, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, Massachusetts, Ohio, North Carolina, Georgia, and Texas, according to the DOJ report.

The San Ysidro border entryway near San Diego, Calif., on May 31, 2023. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

MS-13 members are mostly Salvadoran nationals or first-generation Salvadoran Americans, as well as Hondurans, Guatemalans, Mexicans, and other Central and South American immigrants, according to the FBI.

And a 2008 report from the agency deemed MS-13 a high-level threat in some parts of the U.S. and a medium threat nationwide, saying it often targets middle and high school students for recruitment.

But, in May 2018, then-President Trump took flak from political adversaries who accused him of calling illegal immigrants “animals,” while criticizing California’s sanctuary state policy at an immigration roundtable in Washington.

“We have people coming into the country, or trying to come in—and we’re stopping a lot of them,” President Trump said. “You wouldn’t believe how bad these people are. These aren’t people. These are animals.”

He made the remark in response to a question about gangs from a sheriff—and later said he was referring to MS-13, but at a National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C., a month later, U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, former House Speaker, chastised him over the remark.

“This is the first time in recent history where we have had a president who does not respect the dignity and worth of every person coming into our country, the recognition that immigration is the constant reinvigoration of America,” Ms. Pelosi said. “America has always been a nation of immigrants, enriched and blessed by each wave of newcomers to our shores. We truly believe, as people of faith, that we are all God’s children.”

 

Ms. Pelosi also received public backlash for saying there is “a spark of divinity” in every immigrant that demands “respect for every person—not animals, not inhuman, but children of God.”

“Immigrants keep faith in America’s promise of opportunity and we must keep faith with them by respecting … the dignity and worth of every person. We must reject language that calls them animals,” she said.

Meanwhile, CBS News reported March 24, that U.S. Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens has called the southern border a “national security threat” citing 140,000 known “gotaways” who were detected by cameras and sensors crossing into the U.S. illegally, but evaded apprehension in the last five months.

Mr. Owens told CBS the Border Patrol is “closing in” on one million apprehensions of migrants in between ports of entry along the U.S.-Mexico border in the 2024 fiscal year, which began in October.

President Trump, who is again running for president, continues to stress at his rallies the danger of MS-13 gangs, including their brutal machete attacks and other violent tactics.

The IRS Has 940,000 Unclaimed Tax Refunds From 2020 That Are About to Expire. Is One of Them Yours?

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FILE - The exterior of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) building in Washington on March 22, 2013. The IRS says it has collected an additional $360 million in overdue taxes from delinquent millionaires, as agency leadership tries to promote the latest work its done to modernize the agency with Inflation Reduction Act funding. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

(AP) — The IRS is warning taxpayers that they may be leaving more than $1 billion on the table.

 

The federal tax collector said Monday that roughly 940,000 people in the U.S. have until May 17 to submit tax returns for unclaimed refunds for tax year 2020, which totals more than $1 billion nationwide.

The average median refund is $932 for 2020. Texas (93,400), California (88,200), Florida (53,200) and New York (51,400) have the largest amount of people potentially eligible for these refunds.

IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said in a statement: “We want taxpayers to claim these refunds, but time is running out for people who may have overlooked or forgotten about these refunds. There’s a May 17 deadline to file these returns so taxpayers should start soon to make sure they don’t miss out.”

For people who need to file a return, the IRS advises taxpayers to request their W-2, 1098, 1099 or 5498 from their employer or bank — or order a free wage and income transcript using the “Get Transcript Online” tool at IRS.gov.

Taxpayers typically have three years to file and claim tax refunds, otherwise the money becomes the property of the U.S. Treasury.

Generally the deadline to claim old refunds falls around the April 15 tax deadline, but this year the three-year window for 2020 unfiled returns was postponed to May 17, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. But if taxpayers haven’t filed a return for tax year 2021 and 2022, any 2020 refunds would be withheld until they file for those years as well to make sure they don’t owe.

Werfel said “some people may not realize they may be owed a refund. We encourage people to review their files and start gathering records now, so they don’t run the risk of missing the May deadline.”

Tax season officially began on January 29.

According to the latest tax season statistics, more than 71.5 million individual tax filings have been submitted to the IRS this season.

Denouncing anti-Israel views ‘at the highest level’ would risk our jobs, Jewish UN staffers say

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The head of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres lambasted Israel in the aftermath of the Jenin operation. Credit: Facebook

By Mike Wagenheim
(JNS) Some 18 days before thousands of Hamas terrorists attacked Israel on Oct. 7, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “demanded” that António Guterres, secretary-general of the United Nations, “change the attitude of the organization’s institutions toward the State of Israel.”

Meeting with Guterres on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York City, Netanyahu added “that it was untenable that while major changes for the better were taking place in the entire world and in the Middle East, that the U.N. was unaffected and remained steadfast in its hostility to Israel,” per an Israeli readout.

Despite the global body’s long, documented history of antisemitism, Jewish U.N. employees who spoke anonymously to JNS said that their religious identities were not an issue before Oct. 7. Since Hamas’s terror attack, the current U.N. employees said, the United Nations has become a very uncomfortable place for Jews to work.

A longtime U.N. staffer, who works in development and does not have a last name that would typically be considered Jewish, told JNS that “you forget your nationality” when you join the world body. “If my name was, I don’t know, Goldstein or Rosenberg, they would maybe be different,” the employee said.

“You work as civil servants, which means that you are not here to defend the interests of your country,” the staffer said. “It’s the same for religion. When you join, they will never ask you which religion you are. It’s completely, completely secular.”

The employee, whose close network at work is aware of the person’s Jewish faith and familial connections to Israel, estimates that 10 other Jews also work in that particular U.N. agency.

After the Hamas attacks, the United Nations issued “a lot of reminders” telling employees to avoid taking sides or making statements on social media amid conflict, “particularly the conflict in Gaza,” the staffer said. “We are supposed to follow the values of the U.N.”

The staffer subsequently noticed colleagues posting about the plight of Gazans on social media, including on X and LinkedIn, with nary a word about the Israeli victims.

“We are in a situation where we have to stay quiet. Not to say anything. Be good civil servants. And to listen to the propaganda that is completely organized and supported at the highest level by the U.N.,” the staffer said.

“I was thinking that at some point I should speak out. But it’s also very difficult. We risk our jobs,” the person said, adding that the United Nations “is being instrumentalized by Hamas” and that Guterres fell “into that trap of propaganda.”

Presented with some of what the Jewish U.N. staffers said, Anne Bayefsky, director of the Touro Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust and president of Human Rights Voices, told JNS that the United Nations “is a cesspool of antisemitism.”

“The environment is incredibly hurtful, stressful and dangerous for any Jew or Israeli who cares deeply about the well-being of the state of Israel,” she added. “One can only imagine how difficult it is to actually work for such an organization and be dependent on its bureaucracy for one’s welfare.”

‘Right to be the victim’

The four Jewish U.N. employees who spoke to JNS described the U.N. environment for Jews as isolated, scary and typified by political advocacy gone off the rails after Oct. 7.

One of the four is an Israeli citizen, and the four all come from different countries and work at different agencies of the global body. JNS granted anonymity to all and is protecting their identities to avoid jeopardizing their employment.

UN headquarters
A view during the high-level week of the 78th session of the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 18, 2023. Credit: Laura Jarriel/U.N. Photo.

The Israeli is one of 164 working in the entire United Nations organization as of 2022, per official U.N. statistics. According to that data, 100 Israelis work at the United Nations; 14 at the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees; seven each at the World Food Programme and the U.N. International Children’s Emergency Fund; and half a dozen or fewer at 16 other U.N. agencies. No Israelis were listed in 2022 as employees of the now-embattled U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which is currently under investigation for its staff’s ties to Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups.

The United Nations does not maintain employment statistics on the basis of religious identity. Of 1,065 staff within the U.N. secretariat at the end of 2021, there were 12 Israelis—below the “desirable range” of 13 to 22 that the United Nations sets as a baseline according to a country’s population and other factors. The 164 Israelis of 125,436 total U.N. employees in 2022 represented about 0.13% of the entire U.N. staff, which is about the same percentage that Israelis represent globally.

In separate conversations, the U.N. employees told JNS that their Jewish identities played no factor in their jobs—for better or worse—prior to Oct. 7.

Right after Hamas’s brutal assault, the first employee told JNS that close colleagues asked the staffer if the person’s family was OK. But the employee was struck by how few made such an effort.

“There are crises in many countries in the world as we speak,” said the employee, who would ask a colleague from Congo or Sudan if the colleague was OK.

“We, as Jewish staff, were completely shocked when we realized that there was a collection which was organized for the Palestinian victims,” the employee said. “This came quickly after Oct. 7,” even before Israel sought to eradicate Hamas from the Gaza Strip.

“They were already claiming their right to be the victim. The Palestinian propaganda took place quickly, even in the U.N.,” the employee said. “The U.N. in general actually quickly took the side of the Palestinians.”

‘Very uncomfortable’

“It wasn’t until the attack that I started feeling very uncomfortable” at work, a second U.N. employee, who worked in the U.N. secretariat, the administrative part of the global body, on and after Oct. 7 told JNS.

The staffer felt so uneasy that the person left that position in the secretariat and now works in another part of the international body, which this person has found to have lower levels of politicization.

The U.N. secretariat “is purposely trying to hide as much as possible Hamas’s responsibility for the terror attacks,” the employee said. “It started to be very disturbing.”

The employee cited misinformation shared in the secretariat, as well as a refusal to discuss Hamas as a terrorist organization as the person’s reason to switch jobs. “It just became kind of a system that I realized that it wasn’t me who was going to be able to change it,” the person said.

UN Arafat
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan signs the book of condolences for former Palestinian Liberation Organization head Yasser Arafat at the complex where his tomb rests, March 14, 2005. Credit: Eskinder Debebe/U.N. Photo.

Biased ‘neutrality’

A manager at the United Nations told staff that no employee who had defended Israel would be invited to an event promoting U.N. work, under the guise, the second U.N. employee told JNS, of avoiding confrontations.

But there were many examples of people “standing up and yelling ‘Free Palestine’ or something similar in nature” at U.N. meetings and events, “with no push back from management,” the staffer said.

“Even this notion of neutrality is really a biased one because we need as civil servants to be neutral and impartial, but only when it comes to some topics,” the person said.

“I haven’t experienced any feeling of anti-Jewishness or antisemitism. I think the feeling is much more against Israel,” the person said. “But today, the two are becoming more and more difficult to separate, because we are in a moment where most Jewish people are united in support of Israel.”

A third Jewish U.N. employee, who works as a lawyer, told JNS that “the fact that I’m Jewish did not help me, but did not hinder me” pre-Oct. 7.

After Hamas’s attack, for reasons that “need no explanation,” the lawyer told JNS about being “more upfront” about the person’s Jewishness.

“It was only then that I started to hear from colleagues—not friends—convey the fact that they couldn’t care less about what happened on Oct. 7,” the lawyer said. “It was the first time in my life that I could see in front of me this reaction that there’s a story behind” the massacre.

The staffer noted that Guterres had said that “it is important to also recognize the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum.”

“From Oct. 7 until Israel started responding about a week later, everyone was like ‘Who knows? Who knows what happened? You know, those allegations,’” the U.N. lawyer said. “It set clear boundaries and a clear understanding of what people think about Israel and Jews.”

We, as Jewish staff, were completely shocked when we realized that there was a collection which was organized for the Palestinian victims.”

U.N. employee

The lawyer lamented the erosion of long-established U.N. guardrails.

“We have a duty not to take part in anything that’s happening or anything that we’re working with. We work with all the countries, with all issues,” the U.N. lawyer said.

“It’s part of the contract that we signed that says we have a duty of neutrality,” the staffer added. “You would have thought that in this conflict, as with other conflicts, people would remain professional and would keep this neutrality. That did not happen. Many people crossed that boundary.”

Colleagues didn’t direct comments directly at their Jewish co-worker “because they know that I would have reacted,” the lawyer told JNS. “But you hear it in the corridors.”

“Never in my life have I heard anyone here be outspoken about any other conflict,” the lawyer added. “Every day, we hear complaints or about violations of human rights by countries, but no one is outspoken or takes sides because we work with everyone. There was an exception here.”

Jewish UN
A detailed view of a lanyard during the “Standing With Israel” event, organized by the Permanent Mission of Israel to the United Nations on Oct. 13, 2024. Credit: Manuel Elías/U.N. Photo.

‘Complete silence’

The U.N. lawyer is unaware of United Nations staffers asking co-workers with family in Israel how the latter was doing immediately after Oct. 7. “On the contrary, there was complete silence,” the staffer told JNS.

Both the lawyer and the former employee of the secretariat, who now works elsewhere within the United Nations, told JNS that staff associations at some U.N. agencies drafted letters to Guterres expressing support for his actions and demanding a ceasefire. Some asked colleagues to sign their names on the letters, which means that the organizations have a list of who signed and who did not. (Staff associations function somewhat like unions and advocate for the rights and interests of personnel.)

“There’s not a single Jew or Israeli that I know that works for the U.N. that didn’t think, ‘Oh my God, where am I working? What are the values of the organization?’” the lawyer told JNS.

“We know that the U.N. is political, but we also knew that until now, the staff has remained outside of that because it’s our duty,” the staffer said. “But everyone broke that code.”

When South Africa brought the case accusing Israel of genocide before the International Court of Justice—the principal judicial U.N. arm based in The Hague—colleagues treated the case as must-see television, the U.N. lawyer said.

“Everyone on my floor said, ‘I have to stop. No, no. I cannot meet. I need to follow the ICJ,’” the employee said. “I’m like, ‘Did you know that last year, Ukraine also brought Russia to the ICJ? Did you know what the ICJ decided on that?”

“No one followed anything else but this process,” the lawyer said. “You start to wonder, how is that possible?”

A fourth Jewish employee who spoke to JNS described similar experiences. “The rule of the U.N. that you can’t express your political views has gone out the window,” the fourth employee said. “I don’t see anybody not expressing their political opinion.”

The staffer, who declined to have any details published about the person, including job description, agency or specific experiences for fear of retribution, said there is trepidation about identifying as Jewish at the United Nations.

“Lots of people are hiding the fact that they’re Jewish,” the employee said. “They’re not saying they’re Jewish out of fear.”

UN Holocaust
Detail of a participant attending the United Nations Holocaust Memorial Ceremony, held in observance of the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust (Jan. 27) on Jan. 26, 2024. Credit: Manuel Elías/U.N. Photo.

The employee told JNS that some Jews have left the United Nations due to it being “unbearable,” though some Jewish staffers remain because “it’s better to stay and influence. That is the consensus—to make sure that your voice is heard, and that you influence and change things from the inside, rather than giving up on it and leaving.”

Meirav Eilon Shahar, the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations and international organizations in Geneva, told JNS in a statement: “Since Oct. 7, it has become clear that the United Nations and international organizations have not only failed the State of Israel but also failed their own Israeli and Jewish employees.”

“For too many of them, their place of work has become a place of fear, isolation and discomfort, where all rules of impartiality and restraints have been disregarded,” the ambassador told JNS.

“Lots of people are hiding the fact that they’re Jewish. They’re not saying they’re Jewish out of fear.”
U.N. employee

She called “on the heads of the United Nations and all specialized agencies to act for the well-being and respect of all their staff, irrespective of their origin, faith, culture or background—or else these organizations will cease to embody the universal values they are meant to uphold.”

Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, told JNS that he has “been alarmed to hear from several U.N. employees who are Jewish, and employees from other international organizations, who have been subjected to a hostile work environment since Oct. 7.”

Since Hamas’s attack, “existing rules about U.N. employees pronouncing themselves on political matters have been trampled in the name of condemning Israel,” Neuer said.

U.N. officials “who’ve taken an oath to observe a code of conduct” in limiting political speech have been “in gross violation,” he told JNS. “It seems like the U.N. doesn’t care.”

“I sympathize with the Jewish employees at the U.N.,” Neuer added. “There aren’t many of them to be sure, because the U.N. has for many years not been an attractive place for Jews. But it’s only gotten worse.”

“It’s time for U.N. leaders to step up to the plate and condemn abuse of U.N. principles and defend the rights of all their employees,” he said.

JNS asked Guterres’s office to make Jewish U.N. employees available for an interview for this article on the record, but the office declined.

“The secretary-general has worked hard to foster an environment in which every staff member, regardless of religion, nationality or gender, feels included and protected,” the secretary-general’s office told JNS in a statement. “As someone who has been an unwavering voice against antisemitism throughout his life, he is concerned that some Jewish colleagues are feeling isolated or unheard due to the current conflict in the Middle East.”

“The secretary-general will not tolerate any actions or statements by staff members that violate the organization’s internal rules concerning the use of social media or violate their responsibilities as civil servants,” Guterres’s office added.

Israelis leave hostage talks after ‘ridiculous answer’ by Hamas to US proposal

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Photographs of Israelis still held hostage by Hamas terrorists in Gaza, at "Hostage Square" in Tel Aviv. March 10, 2024. (Miriam Alster/FLASH90)

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

Israel’s hostage negotiators decided to leave Qatar Tuesday after hearing Hamas’ stiffened response to the newest American proposal on the table.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “had drawn the red lines within which it was clear when it was impossible to move forward. It was therefore decided that the team would return to Israel,” said an Israeli official.

The negotiators, headed by Mossad chief David Barnea and including top officials of the Shabak and military Intelligence, had agreed to offer a 6-week ceasefire and the release of 700-800 Palestinian terrorists in exchange for 40 hostages who were female, children, older than 60, ailing, or wounded.

The list of prisoners also reportedly included many serving life sentences for attacking and murdering Israelis.

Other Israeli concessions included an IDF withdrawal from Gaza’s two main roads, allowing displaced Gazans to return north and humanitarian aid to enter freely.

“Hamas came back with a ridiculous answer that doesn’t relate at all to the suggested American compromise, with zero progress on the issue,” a senior Israeli official said. “They’ve climbed to the highest branches and demanded the release of many prisoners with blood on their hands and … the right to determine who those prisoners will be.”

 

“By contrast, Israel has come a long way and in some categories agreed to double the numbers it is willing to release,” the official added.

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) blamed the passage Monday of a United Nations Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire that was not linked to the hostages’ release for Hamas’ stance.

“Hamas’ position clearly proves that Hamas is not interested in the continuation of negotiations for a deal, and is an unfortunate testament to the damage of the Security Council’s decision,” it said in a statement.

“Israel will not give in to Hamas’ delusional demands and will continue to act to achieve all the war’s goals,” the Office added.

The U.S. abstained from the UNSC vote, allowing it to pass. Netanyahu’s office had said in response that de-linking the two issues “hurts the war effort and the effort to release the hostages because it gives Hamas hope that international pressure will allow them to get a ceasefire without releasing our hostages.”

A spokesman for the Qatari foreign ministry insisted that “the Israeli delegation did not withdraw.”

“The technical discussions are continuing between the sides within the framework of the negotiations,” said Majed al-Ansari. “There is no set time frame for the talks, but we are continuing with our partners in mediation efforts. I cannot comment on the progress of the talks.”

Baltimore Port’s Closure Threatens Inflation and Bigger Deficits

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(Breitbart) The Port of Baltimore has been brought to a standstill thanks to the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, creating risks to the U.S. economy of additional inflation, diminished productive capacity, and larger government deficits.

The Port of Baltimore was the 17th busiest port in the nation ranked by total tons in 2021, according to the latest data available from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. It is the fifth largest on the East Coast, outsized by the ports of New York-New Jersey; Virginia; Mobile, Alabama; and Savanah, Georgia.

Governor Wes Moore said last year that the port handled a record 52.3 million tons of foreign cargo, worth $80 billion, in 2023. That was a record high.

Moore described the port as”one of the largest economic generators” in Maryland.

It was the first in terms of the volume of automobiles and light trucks (including 847,158 cars and light trucks),roll on/roll off heavy farm and construction machinery, imported sugar, and imported gypsum, the governor’s office said.

It was ninth overall as measured by the volume of foreign cargo handled and ninth in terms of the value of foreign cargo., according to Moore.

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The closure of the port could create serious supply chain disruptions for both consumer goods and industrial imports that go into goods manufactured in the U.S. It’s unlikely that all of the lost capacity will be able to be absorbed by the other ports on the Eastern seaboard of the U.S.

This raises the danger of additional inflation in the U.S. Inflation has fallen from the very high levels seen in the first two years of the Biden administration but remains elevated by historical standards and above levels the Federal Reserve considers appropriate for a healthy economy. In the first two months of this year, inflation has come in unexpectedly high, creating worries that disinflation may have faded.

“The worst thing that can happen for the Fed, the worst thing that can happen for the economy, are these kinds of supply side shocks because what they do is they reduce the productive capacity of the US economy boost inflation at the same time,” Citigroup’s Andrew Hollenhorst said on Bloomberg TV’s Surveillance program Tuesday.

In addition to the supply constraints, the clearing of the harbor and the rebuilding of the bridge will require resources that would have otherwise been utilized elsewhere. This could add to pricing pressures.

If the U.S. government steps in to aid in financing the repairs, as is likely, that will increase the budget deficit at a time when federal borrowing is already historically very high. Further government spending could exacerbate inflation.

“This period of deflation in goods that we’ve been in for the last six months or so — we are probably coming out of that,” Hollenhorst said.

 

Prince Harry Among A-List Celebrities Named in $30 Million Sex Trafficking Lawsuit Against Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs

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Warner Todd Huston (Breitbart)

Prince Harry has been named in court documents in the sex trafficking lawsuit lodged against Bad Boy Records founder and media mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs.

The royal’s name appeared in the $30 million lawsuit filed by producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones who alleges that the music mogul participated on sexual misconduct, grooming, and sex trafficking.

According to the New York Post, the Duke of Sussex, 39, was one of several “A-List” celebrities whose names appear in the court documents.

The music mogul’s Los Angeles home was raided on Monday by federal agents in connection to the sex trafficking investigation.

“Investigators said across the coast, the music mogul’s Miami home was also raided Monday,” Fox News reported.

“SkyFOX flew over Combs’ home Monday afternoon and showed federal agents conducting their investigation at his home.,” it added. “FOX 11’s ground crew at the scene said the home was registered to Bad Boys Films, which is a division of Bad Boy Entertainment, along with one of Combs’ daughters.”

Combs forcefully denied the allegations, calling them “sickening” claims made by people “looking for a quick payday.”

“Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the awful things being alleged. I will fight for my name, my family and for the truth,” Combs said.

A male music producer also accused Combs of sexually assaulting him and forcing him to have sex with prostitutes. Diddy has denied those claims, as well.

The court papers featuring the Prince’s name do not allege that Harry did anything wrong. His name reportedly only appears once in the documents.

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Special rapporteur report ‘brings shame’ to UN Human Rights Council, Israel says

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Francesca Albanese, U.N. special rapporteur, briefs reporters at UN Headquarters. Credit: Loey Felipe/U.N. Photo.

(JNS) The Israeli mission to the United Nations in Geneva lambasted a U.N. official over the report “Anatomy of a Genocide,” which accuses Israel of carrying out crimes against humanity in its war against Hamas in Gaza.

“The very attempt to level the charge of genocide against Israel is an outrageous distortion of the Genocide Convention,” the Israeli mission stated.

“It is an attempt to empty the word ‘genocide’ of its unique force and special meaning and turn the convention itself into a tool of terrorists, who have total disdain for life and for the law, against those trying to defend against them,” it added.

Francesca Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur on the Palestinian-controlled territories, has a checkered history, including antisemitic statements. She regularly lays blame at Israel’s feet for problems in the longstanding Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Albanese presented her report, which accuses Israel of committing genocide as an “inherent part” of its founding and continued existence, to the U.N. Human Rights Council on Tuesday.

The special rapporteur’s report “brings shame to the Human Rights Council,” the Israeli mission stated. “It is clear by her previous statements, before and after the OCt. 7 massacre that, under the guise of the U.N., the special rapporteur continues her campaign of delegitimizing the very creation and existence of the state of Israel.”

The report focuses mainly on Israel’s counterterror operation against Hamas after the latter’s Oct. 7 massacre.

“Israel’s genocide on the Palestinians in Gaza is an escalatory stage of a longstanding settler colonial process of erasure,” Albanese wrote in the report.

“The ongoing Nakba must be stopped and remedied once and for all,” Albanese added. She used the word for “catastrophe” that Palestinians use for the events leading up to the creation of the modern State of Israel.

The report “began with the conclusion that Israel is committing genocide, and then tried to prove her distorted and politically-driven views with weak arguments and justifications,” the Israeli mission in Geneva stated.

The report does not examine Hamas’s regular attacks on Israel since the terror organization seized power in Gaza in 2007, including the Oct. 7 massacre.

“The special rapporteur firmly condemns the crimes committed by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups in Israel on Oct. 7 and urges accountability and the release of hostages,” per the report. “This report does not examine those events, as they are beyond the geographic scope of her mandate. Nor does it examine the situation in the West Bank, including east Jerusalem.”

Albanese claimed on Feb. 10 that the Oct. 7 victims “were not killed because of their Judaism but in response to Israel’s oppression.”

The U.N. official has long demonized Israel, blaming it for the terrorism it faces and criticizing Israel’s very existence.

“Before Oct. 7, the special rapporteur accused the Jewish lobby of subjugating America; dismissed Israeli security concerns as paranoia; talked of ‘Israel’s greed’; compared Israel’s actions of that to the Nazis and legitimized terrorist actions by Hamas and other terrorist organizations,” the Israeli mission in Geneva stated.

“Since the war, she has continued this campaign unabated, excusing and legitimizing the attacks of Oct. 7, dismissing their antisemitic nature and dismissing any concrete evidence of acts of savagery that were perpetrated on that day,” it added.

NYPD Police Officer Fatally Shot During Traffic Stop

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This photo provided by the New York City Police Department shows police officer Jonathan Diller, who was killed in the line of duty on Monday, March 25, 2024, in New York. According to the city's mayor and police, Diller was shot and killed during a traffic stop in the Far Rockaway section of Queens. The officer and his partner were part of the NYPD Critical Response Team. (New York City Police Department via AP)

(AP/TJV) — A New York City police officer was shot and killed Monday during a traffic stop, the city’s mayor said. It marked the first slaying of an NYPD officer in two years.

“We lost one of our sons today and it is extremely painful. It is extremely painful,” Mayor Eric Adams said, addressing reporters at a hospital in Queens.

The shooting happened just before 5:50 p.m. in the Far Rockaway section of Queens, police said. Officer Jonathan Diller and his partner were part of the NYPD Community Response Team and were conducting a traffic stop at the time.

As they approached the vehicle, the suspect pointed a gun toward the officers and shot Diller beneath his bullet-proof vest, said Police Commissioner Edward Caban, who identified the slain officer on X, formerly known as Twitter. He said Diller’s partner returned fire and shot one of the people in the vehicle, who was taken to an area hospital.

The suspect Guy Rivera had been arrested by the NYPD four times before the shooting, according to authorities. He was previously charged with hate crime charges and criminal possession of a substance, police said.

Jones had been arrested 14 times, according to authorities. He was recently charged with having a loaded firearm in April 2023.

Diller was taken to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center but could not be saved, officials said. A three-year veteran of the police department, he was married with a young child, Caban said.

“We struggle to find the words to express the tragedy of losing one of our own,” Caban said on X.

The police department’s chief of detectives, Joseph Kenny, said the two officers had initially initiated contact with the driver and his passenger because he was parked at a bus stop illegally. “He was asked to leave the car. He was given a lawful order numerous times to step out of the car. He refused. And when the officers took him out of the car, rather than stepping out of the car, he shot our officer.”

Witnesses described a chaotic scene.

“It happened so fast,” one bystander, Melissa Morgan, 39, told the Daily News. “The police officer fell on the floor and the other officers dragged the two guys out of the car. I was running for cover.”

Another witness, Deon Peters, told the New York Post he saw Diller on the ground.

“He was moving, he was saying ‘I’m hit, I’m hit,’” Peters said.

The slaying was the first of an NYPD officer since 2022, when two officers, Wilbert Mora, 27, and Jason Rivera, 22, were ambushed in a Harlem apartment building after responding to a domestic disturbance call.

Adams, who said he met with Diller’s grieving widow, called the shooting a “senseless act of violence.”

“Can I say it any clearer? It is the good guys against the bad guys,” he said. “And these bad guys are violent. They carry guns. And the symbol of our public safety, which is that police uniform, they have a total disregard for.”

Patrick Hendry, president of the Police Benevolent Association of New York, expressed anger over the shooting.

“These attacks on New York City police officers have to end right now,” he said. “We have a family upstairs that’s devastated. We have police officers in this hallway who lost a brother. It has to end now.”

NYC Subway Rider Is Pushed Onto Tracks and Killed, Latest in a Series of Attacks Underground

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(AP) — A subway rider was pushed onto the tracks and killed by a train, the latest in a string of violent episodes in New York City’s transit system that have prompted officials to beef up policing in the subway system.

The shoving victim, who has not been identified, was pushed onto the tracks inside an East Harlem subway station shortly before 7 p.m. Monday, police said. The operator of an oncoming No. 4 train was unable to stop and the person was killed, police said.

The suspected shover, Carlton McPherson, 24, was arrested on a murder charge, a police spokesperson said. No information about an attorney for McPherson was available Tuesday morning.

The fatal push happened on the same day that New York City officials announced a plan to send 800 more police officers into the subway system to crack down on fare evasion.

While officials have framed fare-beating as a problem because of lost revenue, they say it also contributes to a lawless atmosphere.

“The tone of law and order starts at the turnstiles,” NYPD Transit Chief Michael Kemper said at a news conference Monday.

Officials said overall crime in the transit system is down 15% so far this month compared to last year, but several high-profile shootings and slashings in the last few months have scared many commuters.

Earlier this month, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced she was sending National Guard troops to help conduct random bag checks in subway stations.

Hours before Monday’s news conference about the plan to send more officers into the system, a man was stabbed multiple times on a subway train in a dispute over smoking, police said. A suspect was arrested.

Cargo Ship Hits Baltimore’s Key Bridge, Bringing It Down. Rescuers Are Looking for People in Water

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(AP) — A container ship rammed into a major bridge in Baltimore early Tuesday, causing it to snap in several places and plunge into the river below. Several vehicles fell into the chilly waters, and rescuers were searching for at least seven people, six people are still unaccounted for.

Collapse’s cause: The ship, which is called Dali, reported losing power just before it struck a column on the bridge, authorities said.

 Search ongoing: Two people have been pulled from the water following the collapse; one was in serious condition. Rescuers are searching for six construction workers who were working on the bridge at the time of the collapse.

— Bridge location: The bridge, part of I-695, once spanned the Patapsco River, a vital artery that along with the Port of Baltimore is a hub for shipping on the East Coast.

Two people were rescued from the waters under the Francis Scott Key Bridge, one in serious condition, according to Baltimore Fire Chief James Wallace. He said authorities “may be looking for upwards of seven people” but said that number could change. It was not clear if the two rescued were included in the seven.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore says the cargo ship reported losing power just before it crashed and caused the bridge to collapse.

Moore said Tuesday that a mayday call from the ship allowed officials to limit traffic on the bridge before the crash.

A preliminary investigation suggests that the crash was an accident, and that there’s no credible evidence of a terrorist attack, Moore, a Democrat, said at a news conference near the collapsed bridge.

“This morning, our state is in shock,” he said.

It was not immediately clear what caused the cargo ship to crash into the bridge long before the busy morning commute in what one official called a “developing mass casualty event” in a major American city just outside of Washington.

The ship crashed into one of the bridge’s supports, causing the structure to snap and buckle at several points and tumble into the water in a matter of seconds — a shocking spectacle that was captured on video and posted on social media. The vessel caught fire, and thick, black smoke billowed out of it.

“Never would you think that you would see, physically see, the Key Bridge tumble down like that. It looked like something out of an action movie,” said Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, calling it “an unthinkable tragedy.”

Sonar has indicated that there are vehicles in the water, where the temperature was about 47 degrees Fahrenheit (8 degrees Celsius) in the early hours of Tuesday, according to a buoy that collects data for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Earlier, Kevin Cartwright, director of communications for the Baltimore Fire Department, told The Associated Press that several vehicles were on the bridge at the time of the collapse, including one the size of a tractor-trailer truck. The bridge came down in the middle of night when traffic would be lighter than during the day when thousands of cars traverse the span.

Cartwright called the collapse a “developing mass casualty event,” though he didn’t know at the time how many people were affected.

He added that some cargo appeared to be dangling from the bridge, which spans the Patapsco River at the entrance to a busy harbor. The river leads to the Port of Baltimore, a major hub for shipping on the East Coast. Opened in 1977, the bridge is named for the writer of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore declared a state of emergency and said he was working to get federal resources deployed. The FBI was also on the scene.

Synergy Marine Group — which owns and manages the ship called the Dali — confirmed the vessel hit a pillar of the bridge at about 1:30 a.m. while two pilots were in control. It said all crew members, including the pilots, were accounted for and there are no reports of any injuries.

Parts of the Francis Scott Key Bridge remain after a container ship collided with a support Tuesday, March 26, 2024 in Baltimore. The major bridge in Baltimore snapped and collapsed after a container ship rammed into it early Tuesday, and several vehicles fell into the river below. Rescuers were searching for multiple people in the water. (AP Photo/Steve Ruark)

The Dali was headed from Baltimore to Colombo, Sri Lanka, and flying under a Singapore flag, according to data from Marine Traffic. The container ship is about 985 feet (300 meters) long and about 157 feet (48 meters) wide, according to the website.

In 2001, a freight train carrying hazardous materials derailed in a tunnel in downtown Baltimore and caught fire, spewing black smoke into surrounding neighborhoods and forcing officials to temporarily close all major roads into the city.

The vessel appears to have crashed into one of the supports of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, according to a video posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. The ship caught fire, and thick, black smoke billowed out of it.

“This is a dire emergency,” Kevin Cartwright, director of communications for the Baltimore Fire Department, told The Associated Press. Though he said it was too early to know how many people were affected, he called the collapse a “developing mass casualty event.”

Emergency responders were searching for at least seven people believed to be in the water, Cartwright said. “Our focus right now is trying to rescue and recover these people,” he said.

 

He added that some cargo appeared to be dangling from the bridge, which spans the Patapsco River at the entrance to a busy harbor. The river leads to the Port of Baltimore, a major hub for shipping on the East Coast. Opened in 1977, the bridge is named for the writer of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore declared a state of emergency and said he was working to get federal resources deployed. The FBI was also on the scene.

Agencies received emergency calls around 1:30 a.m. reporting that a ship leaving Baltimore had struck a column on the bridge, according to Cartwright. Several vehicles were on the bridge at the time, including one the size of a tractor-trailer truck.

The temperature in the river was about 47 degrees Fahrenheit (8 degrees Celsius) in the early hours of Tuesday, according to a buoy that collects data for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

From a vantage point near the entrance to the bridge, jagged remnants of its steel frame were visible protruding from the water, with the on-ramp ending abruptly where the span once began.

 

The ship is called “Dali,” according to Cartwright. A vessel by that name was headed from Baltimore to Colombo, Sri Lanka, as its final destination, according to Marine Traffic and Vessel Finder. The ship was flying under a Singapore flag, WTOP radio station reported, citing Petty Officer Matthew West from the Coast Guard in Baltimore.

Mayor Brandon M. Scott and Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. posted that emergency personnel were responding and rescue efforts were underway.

“All lanes closed both directions for incident on I-695 Key Bridge. Traffic is being detoured,” the Maryland Transportation Authority posted on X.

In 2001, a freight train carrying hazardous materials derailed in a tunnel in downtown Baltimore and caught fire, spewing black smoke into surrounding neighborhoods and forcing officials to temporarily close all major roads into the city.

Diddy’s Home Raided By Homeland Security

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(Daily Caller) The home of music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs was raided by Homeland Security on Monday in connection with a sex trafficking investigation, Fox 11 News reported.

Combs’ Holmby Hills mansion was the subject of Monday’s raid, and reports indicate the famous rapper’s Miami home was also raided on the same day, according to Fox 11 News.

Helicopters hovering over the rapper’s estate showed federal agents conducting their search of his home. The investigation reportedly comes on the heels of numerous allegations that Diddy drugged and sexually assaulted young women over the course of his career.

 

Initial reports suggest the home is registered to Bad Boys Films, a division of Bad Boys Entertainment. One of Combs’ daughters is also reportedly listed on the home.

 

The alleged sexual assault crimes were reportedly committed in multiple states. A warrant of this magnitude suggests the state and local attorneys have been working together on the case against Diddy. It is believed the investigation centers around laptops, flash drives and any evidence that may connect the famous singer and producer to the crimes that he’s been accused of committing.

Diddy’s troubles reportedly erupted when famous R&B singer, and Diddy’s former girlfriend, Cassie launched a lawsuit against him in New York, alleging sexual abuse, among other allegations.

Cassie accused Diddy of forcing her to have sex with male prostitutes while he filmed them, and claimed he raped and beat her, over the course of their decades long relationship, according to Page Six.

One week later, two other women came forward with sexual assault claims against the rapper. One of those women, Joi Dickerson-Neal, accused Diddy of raping her, and claimed he possessed revenge porn that he threatened to use against her. She claimed she was drugged and raped, according to The New York Post.

 

This story continues to develop.

Hamas rejects Israeli offer, demands full ceasefire

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Palestinians celebrate on the street after Palestinian factions and Israel agreed on a ceasefire, in Gaza, May 13, 2023. (Atia Mohammed/Flash90)

By World Israel News Staff

The Hamas terror group rejected an Israeli proposal which would see a pause in the fighting and the release of hundreds of terrorists from Israeli prisons.

Instead, Hamas doubled down on their original demands for a total Israeli withdrawal from the coastal enclave and a permanent end to the war.

In a statement, Hamas blamed Prime Minister Benjamin “Netanyahu and his extreme government” for the “failure of negotiation efforts and for placing obstacles in the way of reaching an agreement until now.”

The terror group also said that they wanted a “real prisoner exchange deal.” This claim is significant, considering that recent reports indicated Jerusalem was prepared to release some 700 Palestinian terrorists – many of whom were convicted of murdering Israelis – in exchange for just 40 hostages.

Security blogger Abu Ali Express noted that Hamas’ rejection of the Israeli offer came just hours after the U.S. failed to veto a UN resolution which demanded a ceasefire, without a stipulation for the release of the hostages.

Washington’s refusal to veto the UN call for a ceasefire may have signaled to Hamas that Israel’s closest ally is growing impatient with the ongoing conflict.

Recent comments by Vice-President Kamala Harris that the U.S. may levy “consequences” against Israel should the IDF invade Rafah could also have strengthened Hamas’ perception that Jerusalem is facing increasing international pressure to stop the fighting.

Before the rejection by Hamas, some Israeli officials had expressed cautious optimism regarding the prospects of an agreement.

“Right now, we’re feeling 50/50 about the chances for a deal,” a member of the Israeli negotiating team told The Times of Israel on Sunday.

According to the Times of Israel, the main snag in the talks hinges on the number of high-profile Palestinian terrorists Israel is wiling to release from its prisons.

NY’s Faith-Based Affordable Housing Act May Address State’s Housing Crisis

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- State Senator Andrew Gounardes has proposed a groundbreaking solution in the form of the Faith-Based Affordable Housing Act. Credit: nysenate.gov

NY’s Faith-Based Affordable Housing Act May Address State’s Housing Crisis

Edited by: TJVNews.com

New York State’s housing crisis has reached critical levels, with affordable housing becoming increasingly scarce. State Senator Andrew Gounardes has proposed a groundbreaking solution in the form of the Faith-Based Affordable Housing Act. This legislation aims to empower religious institutions to contribute to solving the housing shortage by fast-tracking affordable housing projects, circumventing local zoning laws that have historically hindered such developments.

In December, Senator Gounardes introduced the Faith-Based Affordable Housing Act, recognizing the potential of religious institutions to address the housing crisis. Gounardes described New York’s zoning laws as “restrictive” and saw an opportunity to leverage faith-based organizations in providing affordable housing solutions. He emphasized the importance of respecting the unique character of communities across the state while urgently addressing the housing crisis.

At a rally on March 5th, Gounardes articulated his commitment to the bill, stating, “New York has a severe affordable housing crisis and our houses of worship are uniquely positioned to help.”

Unlike previous attempts that provided incentives for affordable housing, Gounardes’s plan directly addresses the barriers faced by faith-based organizations. The Faith-Based Affordable Housing Act would grant religious groups the right to develop on their own land, subject to specific criteria. It aims to streamline the development process by implementing a comprehensive training program on housing development for faith-based groups.

Moreover, the legislation proposes new zoning regulations designed to stimulate the construction of affordable housing. By eliminating the need for time-consuming environmental impact statements and site plan reviews, the bill seeks to expedite the building process. Notably, it mandates a strict 60-day timeline for issuing building permits, significantly reducing the time required for project approval.

The Faith-Based Affordable Housing Act has garnered attention from various stakeholders, each offering unique perspectives on its potential implications. They have applauded Senator Gounardes’ efforts to remove regulatory barriers and facilitate the involvement of faith-based organizations in addressing the housing crisis.

Mayor Eric Adams unveiled his ambitious “City of Yes for Housing Opportunity” plan, advocating for increased housing development as a means to revitalize New York City. His proposal aligns with the state legislation introduced by Senator Andrew Gounardes.

During a press conference on March 22nd, Mayor Adams expressed his support, stating, “Today we are saying ‘yes in G-d’s backyard,’ and enabling faith-based organizations and non-profits to convert old convents, school buildings and other properties into desperately-needed housing.”

Under the proposed legislation, faith-based groups in municipalities with fewer than 50,000 residents could build up to 30 units per acre, while larger areas could accommodate up to 50 units per acre. However, in New York City, where density is a pressing concern, Mayor Adams’ plan may necessitate different regulations to address the unique challenges of urban development.

Despite the widespread support for the legislation at the state level, some local officials have expressed reservations regarding its potential ramifications. Greenburgh Supervisor Paul Feiner highlighted concerns about the erosion of community character and the loss of control over zoning regulations.

Feiner cautioned against the exemption of faith-based organizations from zoning and planning laws, fearing that it could lead to abuse of the system. He expressed apprehension that landowners might exploit the legislation by falsely claiming religious affiliation to circumvent zoning restrictions.

While the legislation has garnered significant support in the Senate, with 18 sponsors, and additional backing in the Assembly, with 27 sponsors, local officials remain cautious about its implications.

 

Hamas Digs In on Hostages After Biden Betrays Israel at UN

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Nasser Nasser / Associated Press

Joel B. Pollak(Breitbart)

Hamas is reportedly refusing to accept Israel’s terms for a hostage deal and digging in on its demands after the Biden administration refused to veto a United Nations Security Council resolution on Monday calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.

The resolution did not require that Israeli hostages be released as a condition of a ceasefire — a requirement that the U.S. had made in previous proposals. Instead, the resolution simply mentioned the release of the remaining hostages.

Hamas saw that as a victory — as did nations like South Africa, which is currently pursuing a case against Israel at the International Court of Justice at The Hague, claiming that Israel is committing “genocide” in its war against Hamas.

Hamas praised the Security Council, and said that it was prepared to discuss the exchange of Israeli hostages (which it described as “prisoners”) for Palestinian terror convicts — but only after a ceasefire.

The Times of Israel reported: “Hamas says it has informed mediators that the terror group will stick to its original position on reaching a comprehensive ceasefire, which includes the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, a return of displaced Palestinians and a “real” exchange of prisoners.”

Egypt and Qatar, which are mediators in hostage talks, also praised the UN resolution, while Israel condemned it.

In effect, the resolution requires Israel to accept defeat in its main goal, which is to end Hamas as a military threat. The resolution therefore makes a hostage deal less likely than before — unless Israel is prepared to let Hamas win.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby claimed in a briefing Monday that the new resolution, from which the U.S. merely abstained, “does link hostages and a ceasefire.” But it does not make one depend on the other.

A draft U.S. resolution, which was vetoed by Russia and China last Friday, made a ceasefire dependent on the release of the Israeli hostages — indeed, that was one of the reasons cited by opponents of the U.S. draft for voting against it.

The White House claimed Monday that its position had not changed. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu disagreed, canceling a meeting between his senior aides and President Joe Biden’s aides to discuss their differences.

Kirby said that the Biden administration was “perplexed” by Netanyahu’s decision, and claimed Netanyahu was overreacting to the resolution by “choosing to create a perception of daylight here when they don’t need to do that.”

The Biden administration’s decision to abstain from the resolution recalls a similar decision by the Obama White House in its last weeks in 2016, when the U.S. abstained from U.N. Security Council Resolution 2334, which declared the Israeli presence across the 1949 armistice lines — including in the Old City of Jerusalem — illegal. The backlash against that decision led President Donald Trump to move the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent book, “The Zionist Conspiracy (and how to join it),” now available on Audible. He is also the author of the e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.