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Israeli Whose Husband Was Murdered on Oct. 7 Gives Birth to His Son

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(JNS) – Ella Chaimi, whose husband was murdered by Hamas during the terror group’s Oct. 7 massacre, has given birth to a healthy baby boy, the Rabin Medical Center’s Beilinson Hospital in Petach Tikvah announced on Tuesday.

Tal Chaimi, 41, died seven months ago defending Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak in the northwestern Negev. It was initially thought that he had been taken alive to the Gaza Strip, but evidence that came to light late last year indicates that he died during the Hamas assault, after which the terror group kidnapped his remains.

The child is the couple’s fourth.

“This birth is filled with mixed emotions as I welcome into the world our child, who brings with him lots of joy,” stated Chaimi, according to the hospital. “I also remember Tal, who was a wonderful husband and father. I wish he was here with us right now.”

Idit Engel, a midwife at Beilinson, said, “Every labor and delivery is special, but this one was even more so, as this baby brings joy to a family who has suffered so much tragedy.”

Ella and her family have been through devastation and I hope that this baby brings them much joy,” she added.

Professor Arnono Weisnizer, who heads Beilinson’s gynecology department, noted that the family “has been through dark times,” adding that “the birth of this baby is a light for them and for the people of Israel.”

“I have known Ella for many years and have cared for her during her previous pregnancies. I know her and her family well, having previously worked in the Gaza Envelope, and my heart breaks for what they have gone through,” he said.

NY Times Editor Rips Writer and Former Colleague, Bari Weiss

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The NYT’s executive editor criticized Bari Weiss, who has since launched the independent news outlet “The Free Press.” Credit: X.com

NY Times Editor Rips Writer and Former Colleague, Bari Weiss

By:  Ellen Cans

The New York Times’ executive editor publicly criticized former colleague Bari Weiss, who has since launched the independent news outlet “The Free Press.” As reported by the NY Post, Joe Kahn, who oversees all of the NY Times’ global newsroom operations, quipped about Weiss, telling Semafor  News, “she’s got a single note, and keeps playing it up over and over again.”  Weiss is also “missing a commitment to deeper reporting [at the Times] and a willingness to kind of look at issues from a 360 perspective that if you were only reading Bari Weiss’ version, you would expect never existed,”  Kahn  said.

Weiss worked as an opinion writer and editor at the NY Times from 2017 to 2020, and then left the Times and founded The Free Press in January 2021, expanding her Substack newsletter entitled “Common Sense”.  Weiss’ exit from the NY Times had made quite a stir, as the 40-year-old journalist had posted her resignation letter on her news organization’s website.

In it, she had criticized “the paper’s failure to anticipate the outcome of the 2016 election,” which Weiss said “meant that it didn’t have a firm grasp of the country it covers.”  “The lessons that ought to have followed the election — lessons about the importance of understanding other Americans, the necessity of resisting tribalism, and the centrality of the free exchange of ideas to a democratic society — have not been learned,” Weiss wrote, adding that “Twitter has become its ultimate editor” and the NY Times has become “a kind of a performance space.”

Weiss didn’t immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment regarding Kahn’s criticism.

Despite Kahn’s harsh words, he admitted to Semafor that he still reads The Free Press.

“She’s built a whole media organization around combating and what she sees is excess of The New York Times and elsewhere,” Kahn added of Weiss, noting that the site still has “valuable reporting.”  He added, “I think there’s some stuff that they’re doing that is worth paying attention to. Do I think she’s right about the [Times]? Not really, no.”

When asked about the upcoming election in November, and whether it’s his job to help Joe Biden win the matchup against GOP nominee Donald Trump, Kahn said that the NY Times is a “pillar” of democracy but not a tool of power. Kahn did admit, however that the Times presents “a much more favorable view of Biden’s conduct over foreign policy at a difficult time than the polling shows the general public believes.”  “I think the general public actually believes that he’s responsible for these wars, which  is ridiculous, based on the facts that we’ve reported,” Kahn told Semafor, adding that the Times doesn’t make a big deal about Biden’s age like other papers do.

AllSides, which measures media bias ratings for news organizations, has identified the NY Times as left leaning, meaning its content “aligns with liberal, progressive or left-wing thought and/or policy agendas.”  By AllSide’s standards, the Free Press has no lean and is categorized as “center”.

 

MIT Students Celebrate Israeli Independence Day Next to Anti-Israel Encampment

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By Elizabeth Weibel’s(Breitbart)

Students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) celebrated Israel’s upcoming Independence Day next to an anti-Israel encampment on campus.

In a video posted to X, students were seen listening to a speaker who remained hopeful that the encampment would be taken down “in the very near future.” Several people in the crowd could be seen draping the Israeli flag around their bodies.

“Hopefully, in the very near future, you’re going to see this encampment go down,” the speaker said. “That’s our goal.”

The speaker then invited students in the encampment to “celebrate” with the group, adding that they were “about to be suspended.”

“Everybody in the encampment is welcome here to celebrate with us, the State of Israel,” the speaker said. “Although they’re about to be suspended, some of them are in the process of being suspended and expelled. So, but, for now, you can come and celebrate with us if you still want to.”

On Monday, MIT Chancellor Melissa Nobles sent a letter to students threatening to place students on “interim academic suspension” if they did not leave the encampment by 2:30 p.m. on Monday.

In her letter, Nobles said the encampment, which was established on April 21, was “in violation of MIT policies.”

Despite most of the tents from the encampment being removed, protesters reclaimed their encampment later that evening.

In a statement issued on Monday, MIT President Sally Kornbluth, MIT Executive Vice President and Treasurer Glen Shor, and Nobles wrote:

At midday, Student Life staff handed a written advisory to students making clear that if they didn’t leave the encampment by 2:30 p.m., they would face discipline. By 2:30, most students had left the enclosed tent area. Five remained, and many students gathered right outside the encampment.

Around that time, a large number of outside demonstrators arrived, in part because of a call on social media to students in the area to join our students, and in part because of a planned public protest. Cambridge police and state police were present to assist MIT police in managing the crowd. At around 6:00 p.m., an individual jumped over the fencing surrounding the remaining tents, causing a surge, and soon the area was breached.

In response to the protesters reoccupying their encampment, Nobles issued a letter informing them that “dozens of interim suspensions and referrals to the Committee on Discipline,” had been made.

Boy Scout Movement Now Trans-Friendly ‘Authentic Self’ Group

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shutterstock

By Neil Munro

The Boy Scouts of America is changing its 114-year-old name, according to a statement from the tech sector CEO who runs the fabled organization, in what seems to be a bid to deny the reality that boys are different from girls.

The new sexually-neutral name –“Scouting America” — will send “a really strong message to everyone in America that they can come to this program, they can bring their authentic self,” said Roger Krone, the organization’s president and CEO.

Krone’s “authentic self” phrase matches language used by transgender activists who oppose the public recognition that boys and girls, women and men, have different needs and desires. The pro-transgender activists insist that young children can create their individual sexual persona and “gender,” regardless of their male or female nature.

“They can be who they are, and they will be welcomed here,” added Krone, who until recently was the chief of Leidos, a consulting company in defense and healthcare. The scouting organization’s National Executive Board also includes other business leaders.

Krone suggested that the organization’s focus on boys hinders recruitment at a time when more young boys are spending their time glued to semi-addictive social media machines.

 

The scouting organization was created in 1910 to encourage urban boys to channel their physical energy into hiking and camping. The focus recognized that young boys are different from young girls, and it proved highly successful as urban parents wanted their boys to build competence and confidence.

But times changed, and the organization accepted gay boys in 2013, validated gay leaders in 2015, and welcomed girls in 2018. The Associated Press reported on May 7:

After a high point over the last decade of over 2 million members in 2018, the organization currently services just over 1 million youths, including more than 176,000 girls and young women. Membership peaked in 1972 at almost 5 million.

The organization’s decision to ignore the differences between boys and girls was cheered by some adults. The AP reported:

Within days of the announcement that girls would be allowed, Bob Brady went to work. A father of two girls and a proud Eagle Scout himself, the New Jersey attorney eagerly formed an all-girls troop. At their first weekend gathering with other troops, the boys were happy to have the girls involved but some adult leaders seemed concerned, he recalled. Their worries seemed to melt away as soon as the girls led a traditional cheer around the campfire.

“You could see a change in the attitude of some of the doubters who weren’t sure and they realized, wait, these kids are exactly the same, they just happen to have ponytails,” said Brady. His daughters are among the 13 girls in his troop and the 6,000 girls nationwide who have achieved the vaunted Eagle Scout rank. [emphasis added]

Krone doubled down on the ideological claim that there are no significant differences — often described as “gender differences” — between the two complementary and cooperating sexes.

“Though our name will be new, our mission remains unchanged: we are committed to teaching young people to be Prepared. For Life,” Krone said in a statement. “This will be a simple but very important evolution as we seek to ensure that everyone feels welcome in Scouting.”

“Membership is at historic lows, right?” he told the AP. “Part of my job is to reduce all the barriers I possibly can for people to accept us as an organization and to join.”

Krone also suggested that scouts should respect each other, regardless of motives and merits. “Scouting America provides a welcoming, safe environment where youth can become the best version of themselves by learning from and respecting each other,” he added in the statement.

However, the scouts’ long-standing recognition of competition among boys and sexual distinctions between boys and girls has been an attraction for millions of young boys who preferred to avoid female company, oversight, and conflict.

Moreover, very few young boys claim to be transgender, suggesting that the group will gain few new members from the transgender-friendly policy.

The eclipse of the Boy Scouts was touted by journalists eager to celebrate its new “inclusive” nature denying the popular and useful recognition that men and women — and boys and girls — are equal, different, and complementary.

 

Ed Department probing Emory, Columbia, CUNY, UNC, Texas district over alleged Title VI violations

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U.S. Department of Education. Credit: DC Stock Photography/Shutterstock.

(JNS) The U.S. Department of Education announced on Tuesday that it is probing Columbia University, the City University of New York “central office,” Emory University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the North East Independent School District in San Antonio for allegedly violating Title VI in the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

The investigations relate to “shared ancestry,” which includes discrimination of Israelis and Jews. The department does not share details of its open investigations, but a listing on its website notes that Columbia and Emory as being probed for alleged Title VI violations based on “national origin discrimination involving religion.”

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Laura Diamond, assistant vice president of university communications at Emory University, confirmed to JNS that the Atlanta, Ga. private school received the Title VI complaint from the Education Department and that it intends to respond.

“We are unable to discuss an open investigation,” she told JNS.

Samantha Slater, director of communications for media relations at Columbia University, told JNS that “We’re going to decline comment on a pending investigation.”

JNS also sought comment from CUNY, UNC Chapel Hill and the San Antonio school district.

UNC Chapel Hill, which received an “F” grade from the Anti-Defamation League in its recent “report card” on campus antisemitism, was the target of a U.S. Education Department probe for alleged Title VI discrimination for “national origin discrimination involving religion” opened on Dec. 23.

Per a copy of the complaint that the department released, a professor at the public school referred to the existence of the State of Israel as “somewhat ridiculous,” and a speaker at a UNC event said that Zionism is a “cancer” and that “Oct. 7, for many of us from the region, was a beautiful day. It was a day on which we saw … men break out of a concentration camp.”

UNC Chapel Hill was also the target of a Title VI investigation related to alleged religious discrimination in February 2023.

There are currently eight open Title VI investigations probing CUNY based on potential violations related to religion.

 

Two Columbia Business School professors told JNS that the Education Department’s investigation of their employer is necessary.

“Antisemitic protests, threats and violence were a regular part of Columbia University life for more than six months,” Ran Kivetz, a marketing professor at the school, and Awi Federgruen, professor of management and chair of decision, risk and operations, told JNS in a joint statement.

“Columbia faculty members harassed Jewish students, whose tuition pays their salaries,” the two Columbia professors said. “The perpetrators of antisemitism on Columbia’s campus have not been disciplined.”

The duo, which has defended Israel against charges of causing starvation in Gaza, criticized the “inexplicable” decision of Columbia president Minouche Shafik to “appease the Hamas-supporters” by considering demands to boycott Israel.

“She also created a moral equivalency between the campus riots and past protests against apartheid in South Africa,” they said.

Voices Of Resilience, The Words of Survivors and Heroes of October 7th Are brought to the Stage

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The front page of the New York Times reads “Palestinian Militants Stage an Attack on Israel.” The Washington Post declares “Israel ‘At War’ After Hamas Attack.”  What is shockingly absent, what neither headline includes, is language that accurately describes what happened the day before. Nothing calls it what it was.

On October 7, terror came to Israel, with a level of precision, and on a scale she had never experienced before. The terrorists targeted  civilians, women, children, and peace-loving concertgoers. They committed acts of such extreme savage brutality that they defy imagination. For Jews, it was an emotional atomic bomb, the impact of which sent shockwaves that rocked and shook the souls of our people around the world. Including me.

 

I’ve felt helpless in the face of what has happened since that day. And those who would politicize or justify what happened that day, or even deny that it happened at all, spin the false narratives that have been flying through the ether of social media, screamed on college campuses, and poisoning the reporting of news since the October 8. Israel is constantly demonized, and those who simply believe in her right to exist are now the villains and oppressors of the world. The result is an exponential rise in overt antisemitism, considered by some to be just what we deserve.

 

But then this came along — the opportunity to do something positive in these turbulent times. Daunting in scope, it has been both an empowering and truly humbling experience.

 

October 7 is testimony — a collective sharing of traumatic memory. It isn’t political. It isn’t commentary.  Our only job was to find the balance between the devastation of what these people experienced, and the incredible force of hope and resilience that they embody, and to share that with the audience through the truth of their words. We committed ourselves as a company to ensure that the authentic voices of these remarkable people are heard so that others might be touched by their humanity and extraordinary resilience. And I have no doubt that you will be.

Shalom.

Geoffrey Cantor ( Director: October 7: In Their Own Words)

This astonishing play takes you into the heart of the October 7th attacks against Israelis of all ages, ethnicities, and circumstances.

Stories of horror and heroics are presented verbatim, using only the words of those who experienced the attacks and dealt with the aftermath.

Despite pain and loss, these are also stories of hope, resilience, and even humor.

Don’t miss this historic opportunity to bear witness to the tragedy and heroism of those who endured October 7th.  In their own words.

Never again is now.

When: Now thru-June 16, 2024
Where: Actors Temple Theatre
339 W. 47th St, NY 10036\

TJV Readers can get discounted tickets now, by clicking here: TICKET OFFER

Mayor Adams Announces Up to $15,000 Reward for Information Leading to Arrest and Conviction Against Those Who Vandalized World War I Memorial in Central Park

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Mayor Eric Adams: Thank you very much. I am Eric Adams, the mayor of this amazing city, New York, and, I can almost recall, like it was yesterday, that Commissioner Iscol came to me with a record dealing with the loss of my Uncle Joe, who died in Vietnam at 19-years-old.

He was hesitant to give it to me, because you think the pain of losing someone that fights to defend this country, you bury it. Then there was a sad reality of knowing, at 19, he lost his life defending this country.

That is why we’re here today. I want to be extremely clear. In spite of the unpopular notion that people don’t want to say it, I want to say it. I love America. I love America. I’m proud to be a citizen of America. The reason we are here is because of men and women like this statue behind us. We cannot remain silent when our symbols of freedom are desecrated by individuals who clearly hate our country and hate our way of life.

I am not going to remain silent. We should not remain silent, because our silence gives the belief that everything is okay and it is not okay. Not only was this statue desecrated, but down the block, another statue was desecrated. We know how important free speech is to this country. It’s the core of our democracy, one that many Americans, like the symbols of these men, fought and ensured that it would stay intact. It’s a unique qualification that this country is so proud to have.

The right to free speech, the right to protest the right, is something that we will always fight to keep in place. These heroes of World War I, who this memorial is honored by, and if you look closely and read the history of this memorial, it is not like others where they lift up generals and high-ranking individuals. This memorial is reflected of the common man, the common woman, everyday soldiers who died and sacrificed their lives on the field of battle. And it’s painful. It’s painful for me, and it’s painful for others, and I’m sure it’s painful for my two commissioners who are here, who fought and served this country, to watch this desecration take place right in front of them in the country that they defended and fought for.

Being vandalized by cowards, in the name of protest, one of the very freedoms that is enshrined in the memorial of the individuals who are here and died. And it’s at the face of what commissioner has done, Sue Donoghue, has done for years to keep our parks at the level of care and nurture. This is at the foot of what children play and what we believe should be a symbol of our strength.

They are crimes, and they will be treated as one. Today, I’m announcing $5,000 of my personal money for the arrest and conviction of the people responsible for this act. Crime Stoppers, they also joined me. They have announced a $10,000 reward as well in the Crime Stopper tips hotline. We’re going to be handing out these flyers for people in the areas who may have witnessed what happened. We’re going to canvas the area. We’re going to treat this crime with the seriousness that it deserves.

Detective Kenny is here, Commissioner Daughtry and Chief Chell, they’re here. This is a top priority for us to solve this crime. I’m not just putting my money where my mouth is. I’m going to put it where my heart is. My heart is in this city and in this country, and I would not stand by while people desecrate memorials for those who fought for democracy and human rights.

The same rights that they are calling for, they are desecrating the lives of people who fought for that. I want to assure New Yorkers that our city will not tolerate chaos and disorder, even if those who are creating it claim to be doing so in the name of peace. We want [you] to bring your anger and passion to the protests, but don’t bring your hate, don’t bring your violence and don’t bring your disorder. Threaten to change history, but let’s not threaten each other.

I want to thank everyone from the Parks Department and the Central Park Conservancy for immediately removing — you still see remnants of the graffiti that was placed here because of the porousness of the bricks, but they did a good job to immediately address the issues that’s in front of us with the desecration. Their quick response and cleanup sent the right message. We’re going to immediately respond, and we’re working to address the additional acts of vandalism just down the street at Grand Army Plaza, the Manhattan Grand Army Plaza, not the one in Brooklyn.

We’re going to be swift with our response. We’re going to be swift with our actions, and we’re going to be swift to ensure those who attempt to bring disorder to the city would not accomplish their task. This is the greatest city on the globe because it’s in the greatest country on the globe. We’re able to say that because of the men and women who placed their lives on the line to sacrifice for that freedom. One of those is the commissioner of the Office of Emergency Management who fought for this country. I want to bring him up now. Commissioner Iscol.

Commissioner Zach Iscol, New York City Emergency Management: Thank you, sir. Thank you. Thank you all for being here today. Mr. Mayor, thank you for your words. Thank you for your support for the veterans community and thank you for setting this standard.

Last summer, I took my son, Wolf, to Normandy for the 79th anniversary of Normandy in World War II. A different war than the memorial behind us, which is World War I. We walked the beaches where his great-grandfather, my grandfather, landed. We went to the cemetery at Normandy. There’s a quote on the wall at the cemetery that sort of amounts to the fact that Americans have fought overseas, and all that we’ve asked for is enough land to bury our dead. All that we’ve asked for is enough land to bury our dead.

As the mayor said, this memorial behind us is different than all the other memorials. This is a one to the Doughboys. This is one to the World War I men who went off and fought for our country. They believed in something. They believed in the promise of America. Over 500 of them didn’t make it home. On the way up here, I printed out the names of some of those men. I was looking at them, their ages, so much life that was unlived. I thought about my battalion. I served in one of the hardest-hit battalions of the Iraq War, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines.

We lost 33 Marines in combat. Over half our battalion, 576 Marines were wounded. I think about what those Marines and sailors gave their life for. I think about what we owe them in terms of what we do with our lives. Some of those guys that I served with, we have conversations ranging the political perspective.

Some of them have gone off and fought in Ukraine. Some of them are marching in these protests. Some of them are doing the best they can to give meaning to their lives because they were the ones fortunate enough to go home. With those Marines that I served with, we’ve had all sorts of conversations about things we vehemently disagree about. We’ve had conversations. The last way to have a conversation is doing what these folks did to this memorial. That is not the start of a conversation. That is desecration. I’m glad we live in a city and we have a mayor that won’t stand for that. I’m proud to bring up my colleague, the commissioner, Colonel James Hendon. James. Thank you.

Commissioner James Hendon, Department of Veterans’ Services: Thank you. Good afternoon. My name is James Hendon. I serve as commissioner for the New York City Department of Veterans’ Services. I just want to take a moment to speak about this monument in general, just from our friends at the Parks Department. Dedicated September 29, 1927, this is the 107th Infantry Memorial. It is one of eight World War I monuments in Central Park, and it’s Central Park’s largest war memorial.

Four point seven members — 4.7 million members of the U.S. Armed Forces served in World War or the Great War: 204,000 were wounded, 116,516 died. This monument recognizes 350 men who died from the 107th and 900 who were wounded over a two-day period. The lineage traces back to the Revolutionary War for the 107th, and the sculpture symbolizes seven men bursting through from the woods, breaking the Hindenburg Line in Germany in September of 1918. When we look at those who served, past and present, our commitment to these men and women and their families throughout time as a nation, a state, a city, as an administration, our commitment transcends death.

To pan back, the country’s been around for 247, going on 248 years, in that time, 45 Americans have served in 12 major conflicts, 1.5 million wounded in action, 81,000 missing, 658,088 killed. What is bitter in its irony is that all who sacrificed and all who died would sacrifice and die again in order to protect the rights and freedoms of the very people who burned the flag and vandalized this monument yesterday evening.

Of those who have and do fulfill military service, we are all races. We are all creeds. We are all genders, all disability types, all sexual orientations, all colors, all classes, all religions. That our allegiance is transcendent is what makes our country so strong. The power of America lies in our freedoms and our diversity.

With that, rather than give the vandals what they wanted and speaking about whatever they want it on their terms, we choose to take the narrative back and make sure that military veterans and their families know that this city and this administration has their back at all times.

As to our veteran community members, please know that the New York City Department of Veterans Services can be reached at 212-416-5250. Email is [email protected]. Website is nyc.gov/vets. Social media handle is @nycveterans. On issues ranging from healthcare to housing, to benefits, to culture, to education or employment, we’re here. To anyone who is angry right now, because I’m angry too, I just want to say that. To anyone who is angry right now, we urge you to turn that anger into positive actions. Take steps to help do right by our military sisters and brothers and their families, past and present. We owe them that. Thank you.

Mayor Adams: Thank you. Over to any questions, if there are any.

Question: John Townsend, CBS News. I saw the flier. It’s $10,000 for Crime Stoppers and an additional $5,000 from your own money, so $15,000. Right?

Mayor Adams: Yes. Yes. Yes. Dedicated in the name of my uncle, 19-year-old Uncle Joe.

Question: Newsmax, do you have any leads on who these people might be?

Mayor Adams: Chief of Detectives Kenny is, we are, tracing down the leads, and we’re asking anyone based on the fliers, the Crime Stoppers fliers, we’re going to be posting this around. Every information will help us, there’s a few social media leads we have, but we’re going to continue to focus on that, but we’re asking whomever, witness anything, to please let the New York City Police Department know

Here is what Stormy Daniels testified happened between her and Donald Trump

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In this courtroom sketch, Stormy Daniels testifies on the witness stand as Judge Juan Merchan looks on in Manhattan criminal court, Tuesday, May 7, 2024, in New York.. A photo of Donald Trump and Daniels from their first meeting is displayed on a monitor. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)

(AP) — Porn actor Stormy Daniels took the witness stand Tuesday in the hush money case against Donald Trump, who looked on as she detailed their alleged sexual encounter and the payment she got to keep it quiet.

Prosecutors allege Trump paid Daniels to keep quiet about the claims as he ran for president in 2016. Her testimony aired them very publicly as the presumptive Republican presidential nominee seeks to win the White House again.

Trump denies having sex with Daniels, and his lawyers unsuccessfully pushed for a mistrial midway through her testimony.

It’s the biggest spectacle yet in the first criminal trial of a former American president, now in its third week of testimony in Manhattan.

Here are some takeaways from Daniels’ testimony:

WHO IS STORMY DANIELS?

The case centers on a $130,000 payment to Daniels from Trump’s then-lawyer, Michael Cohen, in the final weeks of Trump’s 2016 campaign. Prosecutors say it was part of a scheme to illegally influence the campaign by burying negative stories about him.

In this courtroom sketch, Stormy Daniels testifies on the witness stand as Judge Juan Merchan looks on in Manhattan criminal court, Tuesday, May 7, 2024, in New York.. A photo of Donald Trump and Daniels from their first meeting is displayed on a monitor. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)
In this courtroom sketch, Stormy Daniels testifies on the witness stand as Judge Juan Merchan looks on in Manhattan criminal court, Tuesday, May 7, 2024, in New York.. A photo of Donald Trump and Daniels from their first meeting is displayed on a monitor. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)

His lawyers have sought to show that Trump was trying to protect his reputation and family — not his campaign — by shielding them from embarrassing stories about his personal life.

Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, told jurors that she started exotic dancing in high school and appearing in adult films at age 23, eventually moving on to direct more than 150 films and winning a roster of porn industry awards.

MEETING TRUMP

Daniels testified she first met and chatted with Trump at a 2006 Lake Tahoe celebrity golf outing where her studio was a sponsor.

He referred to her as “the smart one” and asked her if she wanted to go to dinner, she said. Daniels testified that she accepted Trump’s invitation because she wanted to avoid dinner with her co-workers and thought it might help her career. Trump had his bodyguard get her number, she said.

Stormy Daniels testifies in Manhattan criminal court, Tuesday, May 7, 2024, in New York, about the encounter in former President Donald Trump's hotel penthouse, showing how she found Trump in his bedroom lying on his bed. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)
Stormy Daniels testifies in Manhattan criminal court, Tuesday, May 7, 2024, in New York, about the encounter in former President Donald Trump’s hotel penthouse, showing how she found Trump in his bedroom lying on his bed. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)

When they met up later in his penthouse, she appreciated that he seemed interested in the business aspects of the industry rather than the “sexy stuff.” He also suggested putting her on his TV show, “The Apprentice,” a possibility she hoped could help establish her as a writer and director.

She left to use the bathroom and was startled to find Trump in his underwear when she returned, she said. She didn’t feel physically or verbally threatened but realized that he was “bigger and blocking the way,” she testified.

Stormy Daniels, second from left, exits the courthouse in New York, Tuesday, May 7, 2024. Porn actor Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, took the stand mid-morning Tuesday and testified about her alleged sexual encounter with Trump in 2006, among other things. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Stormy Daniels, second from left, exits the courthouse in New York, Tuesday, May 7, 2024. Porn actor Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, took the stand mid-morning Tuesday and testified about her alleged sexual encounter with Trump in 2006, among other things. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

“The next thing I know was: I was on the bed,” and they were having sex, Daniels recalled. The encounter was brief but left her “shaking,” she said. “I just wanted to leave,” she testified.

PAYMENTS FOR SILENCE

Daniels was asked if Trump ever told her to keep things between them confidential and said, “Absolutely not.” She said she learned in 2011 that a magazine had learned the story of their encounter and she agreed to do an interview for $15,000 to make money and “control the narrative.” The story never ran.

Former President Donald Trump gestures to reporters as he returns to the courtroom after a break in his trial, Tuesday, May 7, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, Pool)
Former President Donald Trump gestures to reporters as he returns to the courtroom after a break in his trial, Tuesday, May 7, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, Pool)
Former President Donald Trump, joined by his attorney Susan Necheles, left, sits at the defense table in Manhattan criminal court, Tuesday, May 7, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, Pool)
Former President Donald Trump, joined by his attorney Susan Necheles, left, sits at the defense table in Manhattan criminal court, Tuesday, May 7, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, Pool)

In 2016, when Trump was running for president, Daniels said she authorized her manager to shop the story around but did not initially receive interest from news outlets. She said that changed in October with the release of the “Access Hollywood” tape in which Trump bragged about grabbing women sexually without asking permission. She said she learned that Cohen wanted to buy her silence.

Midway through her testimony, Trump’s lawyers moved for a mistrial.

Defense lawyer Todd Blanche argued that Daniels’ testimony about the alleged encounter and other meetings with him had “nothing to do with this case,” and would unfairly prejudice the jury.

The judge rejected it, and he faulted defense attorneys for not raising more of their objections while she was testifying.

Before Daniels took the stand, Trump’s lawyers had tried to stop her from testifying about the encounter’s details, saying it was irrelevant in “a case about books and records.”

Prosecutors countered that Daniels’ testimony gets at what Trump was trying to hide and they were “very mindful” not to draw too much graphic detail. Before Daniels took the stand, they told the judge the testimony would be “really basic,” and would not “involve any details of genitalia.”

While the judge didn’t side with Trump’s lawyers, he acknowledged that some details were excessive. The objections could potentially be used by Trump’s lawyers if he is convicted and they file an appeal.

CROSS-EXAMINATION

Trump’s lawyers tried to attack Daniels’ credibility, suggesting she was motivated by money and that her account has shifted over the years.

“Am I correct that you hate President Trump?” Defense lawyer Susan Necheles asked Daniels at one point. Daniels acknowledged she did.

“And you want him to go to jail?” the lawyer asked.

“I want him to be held accountable,” Daniels said. Pressed again whether that meant going to jail, she said, “If he’s convicted.”

The defense pressed Daniels on the fact that she owes Trump hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees stemming from an unsuccessful defamation lawsuit and on a 2022 tweet in which she said she “will go to jail before I pay a penny.” Daniels dug in at times in the face of pointed questions, forcefully denying the idea that she had tried to extort Trump.

TRUMP IN COURT

Trump whispered frequently to his attorney during Daniels’ testimony, and his expression seemed to be pained at one point as she recounted details about the dinner she says they shared. He shook his head and appeared to say something under his breath as Daniels testified that Trump told her he didn’t sleep in the same room as his wife.

At one point, the judge told defense lawyers during a sidebar conversation — out of earshot of the jury and the public — that he could hear Trump “cursing audibly” and see him shaking his head, according to a transcript of the proceedings.

“I am speaking to you here at the bench because I don’t want to embarrass him,” Judge Juan Merchan told Blanche, Trump’s lawyer. Blanche assured the judge he would talk to his client.

“You need to speak to him. I won’t tolerate that,” the judge said.

On the way out of the courthouse, Trump called it “a very revealing day.” He didn’t address Daniels’ testimony explicitly but claimed the prosecutors’ case was “totally falling apart.”

A JARRING SPLIT SCREEN

Trump’s appearance in court Tuesday, like all other days he’s stuck in the courtroom, means he can’t be out on the campaign trail as he runs for president a third time. It’s a frequent source of his complaints, but Daniels’ testimony in particular might underscore how much of a distraction the trial is from the business of running for president.

While Trump was stuck in a Manhattan courthouse away from voters and unable to speak for much of the day, his rival, Democratic President Joe Biden, was attending a Holocaust remembrance ceremony and condemning antisemitism.

It’s an issue Trump has sought to use against Biden in the campaign by seizing on the protests at college campuses over the Israel-Hamas war.

____

Whitehurst reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Michael Sisak, Jennifer Peltz, Jake Offenhartz and Alanna Durkin Richer contributed to this story.

Hamas will no longer be able to steal food deliveries – here’s why

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Gazans in Rafah, protest Hamas control over aid, on February 28, 2024. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)

By Baruch Yedid, TPS

As Israeli forces took control of the Rafah border crossing and tanks were seen patrolling the length of the Gaza-Egypt border on Tuesday, residents of Rafah speculated what would happen next.

Some Palestinians told The Press of Service of Israel that they believe the Israel Defense Forces will remain for a long time at the border crossing and along the border itself to thwart Hamas weapons smuggling through subterranean tunnels leading into the Sinai.

“In such a case, there is a serious fear that the aid will not arrive, but on the other hand, maybe now that the IDF controls the aid that comes from Rafah, Hamas will not be able to take over,” one Palestinian who found refuge in a hospital told TPS-IL.

He added, “In a large part of the displaced persons’ tents in the entire area of southern Gaza, the residents can be heard cursing Yahya Sinwar as the one who brought disaster on them. We are now experiencing the greatest nakba in the history of the Palestinian people.”

Rafah’s Mayor, Ahmed al-Sufi told TPS-IL that around 150,000 residents of the city have fled and worries, “That there is not enough infrastructure and services in the areas of medicine, water, shelter and food in the open areas in Mawasi.”

He was referring to a humanitarian zone in southern Gaza’s coastal area where Israel instructed residents of certain Rafah areas to relocate.

Other residents were instructed to evacuate to a humanitarian zone in Khan Yunis.

Israel seized control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt after launching an overnight ground operation in parts of the southern Gaza city.

“Following intelligence that indicated that the Rafah Crossing in eastern Rafah was being used for terrorist purposes, IDF troops obtained operational control of the Gazan side of the crossing,” the army said.

Ground troops and fighter jets struck and eliminated Hamas terror targets in the Rafah area including military facilities and underground sites.

According to the IDF, 20 Hamas terrorists have been killed and three operational tunnel shafts were found since the operation began.

On Sunday, Hamas fired a barrage of rockets from the area of the Rafah border crossing and near an area where displaced Palestinians were sheltering in tents.

The barrage targeted the Kerem Shalom border crossing, killing four soldiers. Of all the Gaza border crossings, Kerem Shalom is equipped to handle the most humanitarian aid trucks daily.

The crossing has been closed since the attack.

Hamas’s control of the Rafah border crossing allowed it to hijack humanitarian aid deliveries from Egypt.

In recent days, residents of certain Rafah neighborhoods received phone calls, SMS messages, air-dropped flyers, and media broadcasts instructing them to evacuate to expanded humanitarian zones in Khan Yunis and the coastal area of Al-Mawasi.

The flyers included maps showing the affected zones, and aid organizations were updated on the evacuation plans.

Also receiving messages to evacuate were displaced Palestinians camping in a strip of land along the Gaza-Egypt border known as the Philadelphi corridor.

This buffer zone was created to prevent weapons smuggling after Israel disengaged from Gaza in 2006. But in 2007, Hamas violently seized control of Gaza from the PA.

The Egypt-Gaza border is politically sensitive, technically a demilitarized zone under the terms of the Camp David Accords signed in 1978.

At least 1,200 people were killed and 240 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Around 30 of the remaining 133 hostages are believed dead.

Judge in Trump’s classified documents case cancels May trial date; no new date set

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Judge Aileen Cannon (United States District Court)

(AP) — The federal judge in Florida presiding over the classified documents prosecution of former President Donald Trump has canceled the May 20 trial date, postponing it indefinitely.

The order from U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon had been expected in light of still-unresolved issues in the case and because Trump is currently on trial in a separate case in Manhattan charging him in connection with hush money payments during the 2016 presidential election. The New York case involves several of the same lawyers representing him in the federal case in Florida.

Cannon said in a five-page order Tuesday that it would be “imprudent” to finalize a new trial date now, casting further doubt on federal prosecutors’ ability to bring Trump to trial before the November presidential election.

Trump faces dozens of felony counts accusing him of illegally hoarding at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida classified documents that he took with him after he left the White House in 2021, and then obstructing the FBI’s efforts to get them back. He has pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing.

Trump faces four criminal cases as he seeks to reclaim the White House, but outside of the New York prosecution, it’s not clear that any of the other three will reach trial before the election.

The Supreme Court is weighing Trump’s arguments that he is immune from federal prosecution in a separate case from special counsel Jack Smith charging him with plotting to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Prosecutors in Fulton County, Georgia have also brought a separate case related to election subversion, though it’s not clear when that might reach trial.

PM: Goal of Rafah op is to return hostages and eliminate Hamas

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Photo Credit: AP

Hamas’s unilateral ceasefire proposal failed to thwart the Israel Defense Forces’ operation against the terror group’s last bastion of Rafah, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday evening.

“Hamas’s proposal was intended to torpedo our forces’ entry into Rafah. It did not happen,” the premier stated in remarks shared by his office.

“Last night, with the approval of the War Cabinet, I gave the order to operate in Rafah. Within hours, our forces raised Israeli flags at the Rafah Crossing and took down the Hamas banners,” said Netanyahu.

“Seizing the Rafah Crossing is a very significant step towards destroying the remaining military capabilities of Hamas, including the elimination of the four terrorist battalions in Rafah, and an important step to damage the governmental capabilities of Hamas,” he continued.

The Israeli leader reiterated that the ceasefire terms proposed by Hamas, which Egypt and Qatar devised without consulting with Jerusalem, are still “very far” from what the country’s War Cabinet deems acceptable.

“Israel will not allow Hamas to restore its evil regime in the Gaza Strip, Israel will not allow it to restore its military capabilities and continue to seek our destruction. Israel cannot accept a proposal that endangers the security of our citizens and the future of our country,” he explained.

The premier said he instructed the delegation to Cairo to “stand firm on the conditions needed for the release of our hostages; continue to stand firm on the essential requirements for guaranteeing Israel’s security.”

Meanwhile, the operation in Rafah will help achieve the destruction of Hamas and the return of the 132 hostages, according to Netanyahu.

“We have already proven with the previous release of the hostages—military pressure on Hamas is a prerequisite for the return of our hostages,” he charged.

‘Meant to present Israel as the refuser’

The IDF began operating in “a targeted manner” against Hamas sites in the eastern part of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Monday night.

The military announcement came minutes after Israel’s War Cabinet decided unanimously to “continue the operation in Rafah to exert military pressure on Hamas in order to promote the release of our hostages and the other goals of the war,” per a Prime Minister’s Office statement.

IDF ground troops took full control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah Crossing on Tuesday morning as tanks from the 401st Armored Brigade of the 162nd Division were deployed there.

The operation started as Hamas claimed it had accepted a ceasefire deal proposed by mediators, in what senior officials in Jerusalem described as “an exercise by Hamas meant to present Israel as the refuser.”

The United States did not inform Jerusalem in advance of Hamas’s “acceptance” of the hostage deal proposed by Egypt and Qatar, Axios reported on Tuesday, citing three Israeli officials.

Upon reading the Hamas statement, Israeli officials reportedly were surprised to see “many new elements” that were not contained in the previous proposal to which Israel had agreed and was presented to Hamas by the American, Egyptian and Qatari mediators 10 days earlier.

According to one source, CIA director William Burns and other Biden administration officials involved in the talks knew about the new proposal but didn’t inform the Israeli side. The new version was finalized at Doha on Monday morning with Washington’s knowledge.

In Holocaust Remembrance, Biden Condemns Antisemitism Sparked by College Protests and Gaza War

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President Joe Biden speaks at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum's Annual Days of Remembrance ceremony at the U.S. Capitol, Tuesday, May 7, 2024 in Washington. Statue of Freedom stands behind.(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

(AP) — President Joe Biden on Tuesday decried a “ferocious surge” in antisemitism on college campuses and around the globe in the months since Hamas attacked Israel and triggered a war in Gaza, using a ceremony to remember victims of the Holocaust to also denounce new waves of violence and hateful rhetoric toward Jews.

 

Biden said that on Oct. 7, Hamas “brought to life” that hatred with the killing of more than 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians, and warned that, already, people are beginning to forget who was responsible.

The president used his address to renew his declarations of unwavering support for Israel in its war against Hamas even as his relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has grown increasingly strained over Israel’s push to invade the southern Gaza city of Rafah, which would surely worsen the already dire humanitarian crisis for Palestinians.

The Democratic president has struggled to balance his support for Israel since the attack by Hamas — the deadliest day for Jews worldwide since the Holocaust — with his efforts to protect civilian life in Gaza.

While acknowledging the ceremony was taking place during “difficult times,” Biden made no explicit reference to the deaths of more than 34,700 Palestinians since the attack by Hamas led Israel to declare war in Gaza. The tally from the Hamas-run health ministry includes militants, but also many civilians caught up in the fighting.

“My commitment to the safety of the Jewish people, the security of Israel, and its right to exist as an independent Jewish state is ironclad, even when we disagree,” Biden said.

“We’re at risk of people not knowing the truth,” Biden said of the horrors of the Holocaust, when 6 million Jews were systematically killed by Nazi Germany and its collaborators. “This hatred continues to lie deep in the hearts of too many people in the world.”

Biden steered clear of the upcoming presidential election in his speech. But it played out in counterpoint to former President Donald Trump’s criticism of the incumbent for not doing more to combat antisemitism. Trump has a long personal history of rhetoric that invokes the language of Nazi Germany and plays on stereotypes of Jews in politics.

Biden’s remarks at the Capitol played out as pro-Palestinian protests — some of which have involved antisemitic chants and threats toward Jewish students and supporters of Israel — rock college campuses across the country.

“As Jews around the world still cope with the atrocity and trauma of that day and its aftermath, we’ve seen a ferocious surge of antisemitism in America and around the world,” Biden said.

“Not 75 years later, but just seven and a half months later, and people are already forgetting, they’re already forgetting, that Hamas unleashed this terror that it was Hamas that brutalized Israelis, that it was Hamas that took and continues to hold hostages,” Biden said. “I have not forgotten, nor have you. And we will not forget.”

The Capitol event, hosted by the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, also featured remarks from House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York. Holocaust survivors, local youth and elected officials took part in the remembrance ceremony, which included a recitation of the Jewish prayers for the dead.

The campus protests have posed a political challenge for Biden, whose coalition has historically relied on younger voters, many of whom are critical of his public support for Israel.

Biden said “There’s no place on any campus in America” or any place in America for antisemitism or threats of violence. He added, “We’re not a lawless country — we are a civil society”

In conjunction with Biden’s speech, his administration was announcing new steps to combat antisemitism on colleges campuses and beyond. The Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights was sending every school district and college in the nation a letter outlining examples of antisemitism and other hate that could lead to federal civil rights investigations.

The Department of Homeland Security was moving to educate schools and community groups about resources and funding available to promote campus safety and address threats. And the State Department’s special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism was meeting with technology companies on how to combat the rise in hateful conflict online.

On Monday, Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris and the first Jewish spouse of a nationally elected American leader, met with Jewish college students at the White House about the administration’s efforts to combat antisemitism. He heard students describe their own experiences with hatred, including threats of violence and hate speech, his office said.

Trump’s campaign on Monday released a video on Yom Hashoah, Israel’s Holocaust remembrance day, that aimed to contrast the 2024 presidential candidates’ responses on antisemitism.

The video shows images of Trump visiting Israel and speeches he has given pledging to stand with Jewish people and confront antisemitism, while showing footage of the protests on campuses and clips of Biden responding to protesters upset with his administration’s support for Israel in its war against Hamas.

One of the clips shows Biden saying, “They have a point,” but it does not include the next sentence in which Biden said, “We need to get a lot more care into Gaza.”

Biden campaign spokesman James Singer said in response that “President Biden stands against antisemitism and is committed to the safety of the Jewish community, and security of Israel — Donald Trump does not.”

 

Union Leader Plans To Sue Columbia After Workers Held ‘Hostage’ By Anti-Israel Protesters

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Pro-Hamas protesters demonstrate outside the main gate at Columbia University in New York City on Friday, April 26th. Credit: AP Photo/Aaron Morrison

(DCNF) The president of an international transit union intends to sue Columbia University after it allegedly failed to protect workers held “hostage” by Palestinian protesters who overtook one of the school’s buildings this month, according to Politico.

John Samuelsen of the Transport Workers Union, which oversees over 150,000 workers in a multitude of businesses, including the airline, transit, railroad and education fields, said that Columbia’s President Minouche Shafik waited too long to bring in police on April 30 after pro-Palestinian overtook Hamilton Hall, according to Politico. One worker had reportedly claimed to have been prevented from leaving the building by the protesters and Samuelsen said the union was looking into “legal action” to protect workers. (RELATED: Columbia Cancels Main Commencement Ceremony Amid Anti-Israel Protests)

“We’re exploiting every legal means at our disposal against Columbia, against the individual occupiers of the building … [who] thought that they could hold our custodians hostage to their ideology,” Samuelsen told Politico.

Protestors gather at the gates of Columbia University, in support of student protesters who barricaded themselves in Hamilton Hall, despite orders from university officials to disband or face suspension, during the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in New York City, U.S., April 30, 2024. (REUTERS/David Dee Delgado)

Protesters occupied the building after the university had implemented a mandatory suspension of anyone who had not cleared the encampment by 2 p.m. One maintenance worker claimed that they had been held “hostage” for a brief period as protesters shouted, “We will honor all the martyrs, all the parents, mothers, fathers.”

Mario Torres, one of the maintenance workers in the building at the time, said that he was swarmed by protesters who came in with zip ties, duct tape and masks, according to the Free Press. Torres fought with one of the protesters in an attempt to “protect the building” but worried about his family and how he was going to make it out.

“I was freaking out. At that point, I’m thinking about my family. How was I gonna get out? Through the window,” Torres told the Free Press.

The university eventually called in the New York Police Department the following evening, who showed up in riot gear and arrested dozens of protesters. Samuelsen, however, argued that was not enough and demanded in a letter sent to the university Monday it release the names of the protesters who occupied the building and footage of the incident, according to Politico.

Columbia announced Monday that it would no longer hold its main graduation ceremony due to the ongoing protests. The university said that they would opt for smaller “Class Days and school-level ceremonies” so students could celebrate “individually alongside their peers.” The University of Southern California also canceled its commencement ceremony due to safety concerns after protesters occupied the campus for weeks.

 

 

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Report: US failed to inform Israel before Hamas truce announcement

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Palestinians celebrate in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, after Hamas announced its approval of a ceasefire on May 6, 2024. Photo by Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90.

(JNS) The Biden administration did not inform Jerusalem in advance of Hamas’s “acceptance” on Monday of the latest hostage deal proposed by Egypt and Qatar, Axios reported on Tuesday, citing three Israeli officials.

The officials told the U.S. news outlet that the government was caught off guard by the Hamas announcement, the text of which it didn’t receive from the mediators until an hour after the terrorist group released its statement.

Upon reading the statement, Israeli officials reportedly were surprised to see “many new elements” that were not contained in the previous proposal to which Israel had agreed and was presented to Hamas by the American, Egyptian and Qatari mediators 10 days earlier.

“It looked like a whole new proposal,” one official told Axios political correspondent Barak Ravid.

Two senior Israeli officials said that the Egyptians gave Hamas a new proposal without coordinating it with Jerusalem. Another source familiar with the negotiations said that the U.S. invited Israel to Cairo over the weekend, but Jerusalem declined to send a delegation. One Israeli official said that it was a mistake not to have an Israeli team present at the talks.

According to the Israeli official, CIA Director William Burns and other Biden administration officials involved in the negotiations knew about the new proposal, but didn’t inform the Israeli side. The final version of the proposal was hashed out in Doha on Monday morning with the Biden administration’s knowledge.

Burns spoke on the phone with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Monday morning, a source said, but Gallant was also surprised when Hamas released the statement.

“Israel got played” by the U.S. and the mediators, two Israeli officials said. They drafted “a new deal” and were not transparent about it.

The Israeli officials said they suspect that the Biden administration gave Hamas guarantees via the Egyptians and Qataris about ending the war, which the terror group demands but which Jerusalem says is a nonstarter until Hamas is defeated, the hostages are released and Gaza never again poses a threat to Israel.

“We think the Americans conveyed the message to Hamas that it will be okay when it comes to ending the war,” one senior Israeli official said.

A U.S. official told Axios that the stated goal of the Biden administration is to “ensure that an initial six-week ceasefire would be built into something more enduring. The agreement lays out three phases for this purpose and it would be our aim to see all three phases completed with all the hostages returned to their families.”

The official said that the U.S. did not give any guarantees to Hamas about ending the war, and pushed back against the Israeli charges that they were left out of the process, saying that “American diplomats have been engaged with Israeli counterparts. There have been no surprises.”

Asked about the reports during a briefing Tuesday, U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby likewise stressed that Washington has had “sustained, ongoing normal” interactions with Israel since the start. “Nobody was hiding any footballs from anybody.”

Israel’s War Cabinet approved sending a delegation to Cairo for talks with the Egyptians and Qataris about the proposal that Hamas accepted, despite deep reservations. Burns is expected to be in the Egyptian capital when the Israel team arrives.

According to a report in Reuters, citing a senior Israeli official, Jerusalem was only sending a team of mid-ranking officials to Cairo on Tuesday to attempt to see if Hamas can be persuaded to change its position on the latest offer, which Jerusalem cannot accept.

“This delegation is made up of mid-level envoys. Were there a credible deal in the offing, the principals would be heading the delegation,” the official told Reuters.

Meanwhile, the New York Times, citing two sources familiar with the talks, reported that Hamas told mediators on Monday that some of the 33 hostages who would be released in the first phase of a ceasefire deal would not be alive.

The first group of the more than 100 captives still held in Gaza since the Oct. 7 massacre includes women, elderly men, the ill and wounded. Israel initially demanded 40 hostages in the “humanitarian” category, but came to believe that Hamas did not have that many who fit the criteria.

HILCO REAL ESTATE ANNOUNCES TWO COMMERCIAL CONDOMINIUMS AVAILABLE THROUGH A BANKRUPTCY SALE IN GREENWICH VILLAGE

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HILCO REAL ESTATE ANNOUNCES TWO COMMERCIAL CONDOMINIUMS AVAILABLE THROUGH A BANKRUPTCY SALE IN GREENWICH VILLAGE

Hilco Real Estate, LLC, announces May 17, 2024 as the bid deadline for the Chapter 11 bankruptcy sale of two commercial condominiums in New York City’s historic Greenwich Village. These condominiums occupy the first and second floor of the building located at 350-354 Avenue of the Americas. With 176 feet of prime, wraparound frontage on the corner of 6th Avenue and Washington Place, these offerings promise high visibility and heavy foot traffic.

The ground-floor retail space, totaling over 7,850± square feet and zoned C1, boasts 15-foot ceilings, exceptional location and can accommodate single or multiple tenants. While currently not built out, the versatile layout can be retrofitted, taking advantage of three separate entry points, which present a unique opportunity for various uses.

The second-floor space, spanning 8,942± square feet and zoned C2, offers ample flexibility for community-oriented endeavors. Previously occupied by a daycare, the space retains its built-out infrastructure, providing a turnkey solution for a new operator. This setup can also offer potential investors the ability to combine both floors and potentially increase the value for a prospective tenant.

The condominiums sit just one block from Washington Square Park and four blocks from NYU, ideally positioned to take advantage of excellent foot traffic. Additionally, eight subway lines, including the A, C, E, B, D, F, M and 1, and the PATH train are within walking distance, ensuring easy accessibility for both employees and customers.

Greenwich Village, on the west side of Lower Manhattan, is known for its history of fostering art and creativity, with notable former residents including Edgar Allen Poe, Jackson Pollack and Bob Dylan. The neighborhood also features multiple attractions, including Washington Square Park, the Village Vanguard jazz club, the Comedy Cellar, the historic Jefferson Market Library and several historic districts dedicated to preserving the Village’s character and charm. In addition to being lauded for its creative culture, Greenwich Village is home to New York University (NYU), The New School and Cooper Union, with over 64,000 students in attendance between the three universities. Despite the pandemic, the neighborhood also saw a 1.85% population increase from 2020 to 2021 and a 4.29% increase in median household income.

The sale of 350-354 Avenue of the Americas is being conducted by Order of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court District of the Southern District of New York (Manhattan), Bankruptcy Petition No. 23-10068-JPM, In re: Nuovo Ciao-Di LLC. Bids must be received on or before the deadline of May 17 at 5 p.m. (ET) and must be submitted on the Purchase and Sale Agreement available for review and download from Hilco Real Estate’s website.

Interested buyers should review the requirements in order to participate in the bankruptcy sale process available on Hilco Real Estate’s website. For further information, please contact Jonathan Cuticelli at (203) 561-8737 or [email protected].

Jewish man murdered in Egypt in possible terror attack

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Ziv Kiefer, center, the Israeli-Canadian businessman found dead in Alexandria. (Facebook)

By World Israel News Staff

A Jewish businessman has been found murdered in the Egyptian coastal city of Alexandria, Egyptian and Israeli media outlets reported Tuesday.

According to Hebrew news reports, the murder is being investigated as a possible terrorist attack.

The victim has been identified as Ziv Kiefer, a dual Israeli-Canadian citizen. Kiefer was reportedly visiting Egypt on business.

An Egyptian company owned by Kiefer is involved in the export of frozen fruits and vegetables.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry has been alerted to the incident and is investigating the matter in conjunction with the Israeli embassy in Cairo.

Local police are probing the circumstances surrounding the murder and are working to track down the perpetrators.

This is not the first time Israeli nationals have been murdered in Alexandria in recent years.

On October 8th, two Israeli citizens and an Egyptian tour guide were shot and killed in an attack on a group of Israeli tourists near Pompey’s Pillar in Alexandria’s Mansheya neighborhood, following the Hamas invasion of Israel on October 7th.

The gunman was later apprehended by local police, and claimed he was carried out the shooting after he was provoked and lost control of himself.