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Jews are ‘Destroying our People,’ Synagogue Shooter Told Police

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U.S. prosecutors added hate crime charges to the case against the gunman in a synagogue shooting in California last month that claimed the life of a 60-year-old worshiper.

Edited by: JV Staff

Federal officials announced Thursday that they have filed 109 hate crime charges against the man accused of a deadly attack on a Southern California synagogue, saying that after the suspect fled he called a 911 dispatcher to report that he had done it to “defend my nation” against the Jewish people, according to an AP report.

U.S. Attorney Robert S. Brewer Jr. said he will decide whether to seek the death penalty in the case against John T. Earnest stemming from last month’s shooting at Chabad of Poway, in a suburb north of San Diego. The new charges also include an earlier arson at a nearby mosque, as was reported by the AP.

“We will not allow our community members to be hunted in their houses of worship, where they should feel free and safe to exercise their right to practice their religion,” Brewer said at news conference in San Diego on Thursday to announce the charges.

The AP reported that the federal charges include murder for the killing of 60-year-old Lori Kaye, 60, who was hit twice as she prayed in the foyer. It also includes a charge for the attempted murder of 53 others.

Three people were wounded, including an 8-year-old girl, her uncle and Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, who was leading a service at the Chabad of Poway synagogue on the last day of Passover, a major Jewish holiday. Goldstein lost a finger.

According to a federal affidavit, Earnest legally bought a semi-automatic rifle from a licensed dealer in San Diego a day before the April 27 attack. He walked into the synagogue with the AR-15 style semi-automatic rifle that was fully loaded with a 10-round magazine. He wore a chest rig with five more magazines carrying a total of 50 bullets, according to the AP report.

He emptied his magazine. The shooting stopped as he struggled to reload it. That’s when several members of the congregation, including an off-duty Border Patrol Agent, chased Earnest from the synagogue, as was reported by the AP.

After the gunman fled the scene, he called 911 from his car and told a dispatcher that he had opened fire at a synagogue, thought he killed some people and said he did it because “I’m just trying to defend my nation from the Jewish people…They’re destroying our people,” according to the federal affidavit.

He went on to tell the dispatcher that he did it because “the Jewish people are destroying the white race.”

In a court appearance last month, Earnest pleaded not guilty to state charges of murder and attempted murder. In a separate case, he has pleaded not guilty to burning a mosque in nearby Escondido. (AP)

 

Trump Says John Kerry ‘Should be Prosecuted’ for Violating Logan Act in Terms of Iran Engagement

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Former Secretary of State and one-time Democratic party presidential candidate John Kerry became the target of President Trump’s wrath on Thursday when the POTUS accused the former chief diplomat of “breaking the law” by meeting with Iranian officials last year. President Trump even suggested that Kerry be prosecuted under the Logan Act.

Edited by: JV Staff

“You know John Kerry speaks to them a lot, and John Kerry tells them not to call. That’s a violation of the Logan Act, and frankly he should be prosecuted on that,” Trump told reporters at the White House.

“But my people don’t want to do anything, only the Democrats do that kind of stuff. If it were the opposite way, they’d prosecute him under the Logan Act,” he said.

According to a FOX News report, Trump appears to be partially referring to a reported meeting between Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif at the beginning of 2018, part of what the Boston Globe called “an aggressive yet stealthy” mission to put pressure on the Trump administration to keep the Iran nuclear deal.

Trump announced the U.S. withdrawal from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA) just a few months later, so the alleged plan was thwarted.

According to the Fox News report, Trump has repeatedly accused Kerry of being in violation of the Logan Act, which prohibits private citizens from negotiating on behalf of the U.S. government without authorization. No one has ever been successfully prosecuted under the law, however.

 

In September, Kerry acknowledged meeting with Zarif “three or four times” since leaving office, admitting to discussing the scrapped nuclear deal, among other issues.

“What I have done is tried to elicit from him what Iran might be willing to do in order to change the dynamic in the Middle East for the better,” Kerry said on Hugh Hewitt’s radio show, according to the Fox News report.

On Thursday, Trump indicated he believes the contact between Kerry and Tehran to be ongoing, accusing Kerry of having “many meetings and many phone calls and he’s telling them what to do — that is a total violation of the Logan Act.”

Kerry’s spokesperson pushed back on Trump’s remarks, calling them “simply wrong, end of story.”

“He’s wrong about the facts, wrong about the law, and sadly he’s been wrong about how to use diplomacy to keep America safe. Secretary Kerry helped negotiate a nuclear agreement that worked to solve an intractable problem,” the spokesman said.

“The world supported it then and supports it still. We’d hope the President would focus on solving foreign policy problems for America instead of attacking his predecessors for theater.”

Trump’s remarks came as the administration imposed sanctions on Tehran’s steel, aluminum, copper and iron sectors this week, the latest pressure the administration is putting on Iran’s already fragile economy. (Fox News)

 

Israel’s President Hosts Traditional Yom Haatzmaut Ceremony for Israel’s 71st Independence Day

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President Reuven (Ruvi) Rivlin hosted “All Israel From Jerusalem” and the traditional ceremony honoring 120 outstanding IDF soldiers for the fifth time from the gardens of Beit HaNasi in Jerusalem. Israel’s 71st Independence Day, Thursday 9 May / 4 Iyyar, was attended Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Benjamin Netanyahu, IDF Chief of Staff Lt-Gen Aviv Kochavi and current and former members of the IDF General Staff.

Edited by: JV Staff

The morning began with a fly-past in honor of the outstanding soldiers, who represent all branches of the IDF. The lead pilot of the fly-pass greeted the president and the soldiers as he flew over Beit HaNasi, saying “Mr President, Chief of Staff, we the pilots of the Israel Air Force greet you on behalf of the Israel Defense Forces with our best wishes for a Yom Haatzmaut Sameach – Happy Independence Day.” The president replied, saluting: “on behalf of the people of Israel I wish you Yom Haatzmaut Sameach – to you, the pilots of the IAF, soldiers of the IDF and their commanders in the air, on land and on the sea. Happy Independence Day, Israel!”
Immediately after the fly-past, the president and chief of staff reviewed and honor guard of the 120 outstanding solders, who were chosen on the recommendation of their commanders to receive the President’s Award for Excellence for their service and outstanding contribution to the IDF and the State of Israel.
Following the honor guard, the “All Israel from Jerusalem” event will be held on the lawns of Beit HaNasi – a festive salute to the spirit of Israel for Independence Day with songs and dancers from all across the country. During the event, a special video filmed with singer Boaz Sharabi and dozens of choirs and singing groups from across the country, kindergartners, gymnastic groups and dancers. Hundreds of people, a human mosaic of Israeli society, sang the song “Halevai / If Only”, composed by Boaz Sharabi with words by Ehud Manor.
The festivities were emceed this year by Rotem Abuhab, and included new and special arrangements of Israeli songs sung by Shimon Buskila, Maya Buskila and the Hebrews of Dimona. Tzipi Shavit surprised the president during his speech. The IDF’s singing groups also appeared, performing a medley of the songs of Yigal Bashan ז”ל as a special tribute.
“Dear citizens of Israel, I am proud to celebrate the State of Israel’s 71st birthday with you today! We have been here for 71 years, doing the unbelievable and overcoming together all the obstacles and building a home, Jewish and democratic, in the land of our ancestors, said the president at the beginning of his remarks.
He also noted that we are celebrating Yom Haatzmaut on the day victory over Nazi Germany is being celebrated: “Last week, we marked Holocaust Heroes’ and Martyrs’ Memorial Day, the victory of the spirit over human evil. Today, we mark together the triumph of good over bad, the liberation of the world from evil, and the right of the Jewish people to live in freedom in its land. Some of the heroes, the veterans who fought on the eastern and western fronts in Europe, 74 years ago, were able to make their home here in Israel in their old age and are with us today. Today, their children and grandchildren serve in the IDF, the strongest and most professional army in the region (and some might say in the world). Thanks to you, dear veterans, the soldiers who fought then, and thanks to the outstanding soldiers who defend us today – we are here, celebrating 71 years of success and growth. We are gathered here today to thank you.”
The president added “I would like to recognize the representatives of the bereaved families and the families of the soldiers missing in action who are honoring us with their presence today. Thanks to you, to the spirit, love of the country and dedication you imparted to your children, we can gather here today and to celebrate the existence of the State of Israel in safety. Even today, as the grief of loss is mixed with the joy of independence, I would like to say to you – we remember. We are committed. Committed to do everything to bring home every soldier, every son and daughter who served the State of Israel and its citizens.”
“I would like to send a message of strength and love to the residents of the south, who just this week dealt heroically with the atrocious attacks on them. I would also like to send our appreciation to the IDF soldiers and security forces who are at this moment doing their utmost to keep Israel secure on all its borders.”
Addressing the outstanding soldiers, the president said, “Rotem, our wonderful emcee, badgered you about the Hebrew language, so I decided to speak a bit differently, which I think is more ‘Israeli’. I can see here that we have ‘tznefim’ (slang for paratroopers) and ‘shironairim’ (artillery), ‘golanchikim’ (Golani) and ‘nachlawim’ (Nachal), ‘mohandesim’ (engineers) and ‘shushuistim’ (intelligence), green (land forces), white (navy), blue (air force) and berets of all colors of the rainbow, from purple to orange.
And so, to all those who at the induction base grabbed their kitbags with fire in their eyes and who got through basic training with close shaves and gleaming boots, to those who never ache to finish their time, never suffer from tiredness, who never tick off a countdown to their release, who never skipped guard duty, and never let staying on base for the weekend get to them, who get up early on Sunday, go out in their dress uniforms and don’t give in to army blues, who never complain that they’ve been badly done by, to those never slack off and who are full of fight because pride in the unit and mutual responsibility are the best way to be together, to those who have shown force of will and dedication (not just with the snacks at the canteen), who lent a hand – and sometimes two – to reach the goal, to protect the country, to get to the top, to be worthy of the President’s Award: you, who are not afraid of challenges, who are ready for the unexpected, who pull harder and stronger than anyone, you are Israel’s hope and spirit that beats within us, that leads us. You are here for us, serving and volunteering, and today it is our turn to give to you just a little something to brighten up your uniforms. On behalf of the citizens of Israel, and personally, I would like to thank you and salute you. Thank you for your spirit, for your commitment. Happy Independence Day to the IDF! Happy Independence Day, Israel! Chag Sameach!”

IDF Chief of Staff Lt-Gen Aviv Kochavi: “Every day, these soldiers and tens of thousands like them, guard our borders. The State of Israel is a fact, and to keep it safe the IDF works day and night. Excellence is to be found in locked rooms and on dark hilltops. It requires hours and days of hard work and begins with the most basic things – thorough orders, disciplined organization of a position, repeated exercises to improve skills and insistence on carrying out missions to the highest level.

This is personal example at its finest: emulating those who excel! This is leadership, and that is what we have come to appreciate and give thanks for. This morning is about personal excellence, but excellence must be the organizational heartbeat that drives every unit, command and branch. The families who are with us here today are the ground from which you grew, who gave you values and an example of excellence. Reality changes at a dizzying pace, and we must continue to adapt. That is why we have adopted the principle of readiness and adaptability.
We will do all we can to improve readiness, including with exercises, supplies and emergency stocks. And we will do what we can to fit ourselves to the challenges of today’s battlefield, to the challenges of the future and to improve the IDF’s offensive capability. Tens of thousands of soldiers come from the people each year and join the IDF, work for the state and return to the people as better and more committed citizens. I saw them during the recent fighting – as snipers on the borders, in the cockpit, in the battery command post and in the intelligence units. They work around the clock. They do security. I am proud of the soldiers of the IDF and of its officers, and proud of you, outstanding soldiers. Happy Independence Day!”

The event ended with the traditional photo of the 120 outstanding soldiers the president, the prime minister and minister of defence, the chief of staff and the members of the IDF General Staff.

Yahad – United for Israel’s Soldiers will award the 120 outstanding soldiers a grant for studies after they complete their service in the IDF. (GPO)

GOVERNOR CUOMO DIRECTS STATE LANDMARKS TO BE LIT IN BLUE AND WHITE IN RECOGNITION OF ISRAEL INDEPENDENCE DAY

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Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that the spire of One World Trade Center and the Kosciuszko Bridge will be lit in blue and white this evening in honor of Yom Ha’Atzmaut, Israel Independence Day.

 

“I am proud to join the Israeli people in celebrating the 71st anniversary of Israel’s independence and to reaffirm New York’s unwavering alliance with the State of Israel.

 

“In honor of this milestone and New York’s longstanding support for the people of Israel, I have directed One World Trade Center and the new Kosciuszko Bridge to be lit in the blue and white of the Israeli flag this evening.

 

“One World Trade Center’s breathtaking spire calls to mind the resilience New York and Israel share. The Kosciuszko Bridge reflects the progress and boldness that characterize the joint New York and Israeli spirit.

 

“I wish all Israeli people both at home and abroad a happy Yom Ha’Atzmaut. Chag Sameach.”

For the second time this week, a Hasidic man was punched in the head in an entirely unprovoked attack.

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Jewish Man Punched in the Head in Williamsburgh as Jew Hatred Escalates in NYC

Edited by: JV Staff

The attack occurred at 7:40 p.m., on the corner of Marcy Avenue and Rodney Street. Surveillance video shows a 39-year-old Hasidic man walking down the street when a dark-skinned teen comes up behind him and wordlessly slaps him on the side of his face, before fleeing. The man stumbled and fell against the wall of a building, and his hat and yarmulke were knocked off and before he could turn around, the attacker fled. There were no words exchanged. The NYPD’s Hate Crime Task Force is investigating this as a possible bias incident.


 

A spokesperson for Williamsburg Shomrim (WSPU) told the Yeshiva World News web site that a Hispanic man approached a Hasidic man walking at the intersection of Marcy Avenue and Rodney Street – in the heart of the Hasidic community – and punched him in the back of his head.

As was previously reported on the Yeshiva World News web site, this past Shabbos a Hasidic man was walking on Broadway near Lynch Street, when he was confronted by a group of thugs. Without saying a word, one of the men walked up to the victim and punched him in the face. Another suspect added some anti-semitic slurs at the man including “you (expletive removed) Jew!”

No arrests were made in that incident either.

Anyone with information in regards to either of these incidents is asked to call Crime stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) and WSPU at 718-237-0202. The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime stoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.

 

US Slaps New Sanctions on Iran as Tehran Suspends Some Parts of Nuclear Deal

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President Donald Trump imposed new sanctions Wednesday on Iran, hours after the Iranian president said he was pulling out of parts of the 2015 nuclear deal struck with world powers.

Edited by: JV Staff

Trump said in an executive order there would be new sanctions on Iranian metal exports: steel, aluminum, copper and iron.

U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil, its No. 1 moneymaker, have had a devastating effect on its economy. Iran’s metal industry is another major source of income.

“Because of our action, the Iranian regime is struggling to fund its campaign of violent terror, as its economy heads into an unprecedented depression, government revenue dries up and inflation spirals out of control,” Trump said. “We are successfully imposing the most powerful maximum pressure campaign ever witnessed, which today’s action will further strengthen. Tehran can expect further actions unless it fundamentally alters its conduct.”

Tensions between Iran and the United States have grown in the past week. The Pentagon sent aircraft carriers and nuclear-capable bombers to the region, accusing Iran of threatening U.S forces and planning “imminent” attacks.

Earlier Wednesday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced he was backing out of parts of the nuclear deal and would take further action in 60 days if European nations did not help Iran deal with the effects of U.S. sanctions.

Rouhani said if there was no sanctions relief within 60 days, Iran would resume uranium enrichment at higher levels.

Rouhani’s announcement came exactly one year after Trump pulled the U.S. out of the entire nuclear agreement between Iran and Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia, plus the European Union. Under the deal, Iran cut its uranium enrichment in exchange for economic benefits from sanctions relief, which it has yet to see.

“If the five countries join negotiations and help Iran to reach its benefits in the field of oil and banking, Iran will return to its commitments according to the nuclear deal,” Rouhani said. “We felt the deal needed surgery and that the yearlong sedatives have not delivered any result. This surgery is meant to save the deal, not destroy it.”

For now, Iran will stop selling enriched uranium and heavy water, which it had been doing to reduce its stockpiles.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Iran’s announcement to suspend compliance was “intentionally ambiguous.”

“We’ll have to wait to see what Iran’s actions actually are,” Pompeo said in London. “They’ve made a number of statements on actions they intend to do in order to get the world to jump. We’ll see what they actually do.”
Brian Hook, a top Pompeo adviser on Iran, accused Iran of “nuclear blackmail.”

France and Germany said Wednesday that they were determined to keep the nuclear agreement alive.

French Defense Minister Florence Parly said “nothing would be worse than Iran leaving this deal.”

Trump called nuclear accord a terrible deal, saying it was only temporary, did nothing about Iranian ballistic missiles and did not punish Iran for what he said was the country’s involvement in terrorism and Middle East conflicts. (VOA)

Israel’s 71st Independence Day Starts at Sundown with Much to Celebrate

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Israel prepares to celebrate Independence Day on Thursday with events around the country.

By: David Isaac

As Israel brings in its 71st birthday with singing, dancing, torch lighting and fireworks, the country has much to celebrate, particularly when viewed from a historical context in which generations of Jews dreamed of returning to the Land of Israel.

The first thing Israel can celebrate is its rising population, which enjoys one of the highest growth rates in the world. The Jewish State just surpassed 9 million people, a statistic recently released by Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics and widely reported in Israel’s press.

Seventy-four percent of the population, or 6.697 million people, are Jews while 1.890 million are Arabs (20.9%). Another 434,000 are of different religions or no religion (4.8%).

When Israel was established in 1948, the Jewish population stood at only 650,000 and the general population at 800,000.  The dramatic population growth is attributed to the large waves of aliyah, or immigration, in the 1950s and 1990s (which saw a major influx from the former Soviet Union) and natural growth rates. Since Israel’s birth, 3.2 million immigrants have arrived to the Jewish State.

As of Israel’s Independence Day last, the population has grown by 177,000 (a 2% increase). During the year, 188,000 babies were born, 31,000 immigrants arrived and 47,000 people passed away.

The U.S. is still home to the world’s largest Jewish population, but only by about a 100,000-wide margin. It’s clear that Israel will soon be able to boast the largest Jewish population on the planet.

Booming economy

Israel’s economic statistics are also none too shabby. “Israel is an international model of innovation,” said Shraga Brosh, president of the Manufacturers Association of Israel, with the publication of statistics showing the steep rise in the number of Israeli corporations since before the state was established.

In 2017, there were 13,500 corporations registered in Israel employing 378,641 workers. In 1936, there were 1,500 companies employing 28,000 workers.

In 1948, Israel’s industrial exports stood at 18 million. In 2018, exports approached 60 billion.

The most exciting part of Israel’s economy is its high-tech sector. The IVC Research Center, which analyzes data in Israeli high-tech, reports that between 1997-2019, Israeli exits totaled $152.06 billion.

Although somewhat ironically, the biggest exit last year was for a company founded in 1933. Frutarom was acquired by International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. for $7.1 billion. It’s a flavor and ingredients maker with 70,000 products that it markets to 30,000 customers worldwide.

Another exit in 2018 that made a media splash was PepsiCo’s purchase of SodaStream for $3.2 billion. The company, which is well-known for its successful do-it-yourself carbonation system, as well as to its popular, and often amusing, marketing campaigns employing celebrities like actress Scarlett Johansson and model Bar Rafaeli, is a source of national pride to Israelis.

While there are some worrying economic signs, such as Israel’s faltering per capita growth and its ballooning budget deficit, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears to be aware of the problem, commenting in April: “The only way to overcome deficits is by cutting the state budget. I did it, I proved this time after time, and at the same time cut taxes.”

Meanwhile, unemployment is low and tourism is breaking records. A record 4.1 million tourists visited Israel in 2018, up 14 percent from 2017, which was itself a record. The numbers continue to go through the roof. In the first three months of 2019, 1.14 million tourists came to Israel, up 14 percent from the same first-quarter period last year.

To the moon and beyond

Israel’s Genesis spacecraft might not have landed on the moon in the fashion desired, hitting it at 500 km/hour, but it was nonetheless deemed a remarkable achievement. Israel would have been only the fourth nation to soft-land a spacecraft on the moon, behind the U.S., Russia, and China.

Despite the setback, the main funder behind the project, Morris Kahn, a philanthropist and businessman, immediately announced a second attempt. “I think we gotta take Israel into space,” Mr. Kahn said.

Israel’s government has doubled own on its commitment, pledging $5.5 million to the development of the next lander.

“If at first you don’t succeed, you try again,” said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israelis took Genesis’s disappointing finish in the final moments of flight in remarkable stride. Perhaps it’s one more sign of their resilience. The Jewish people waited 1,000s of years to return to their homeland. They have it in them to wait another three years to reach the moon. (World Israel News)

Read more at: worldisraelnews.com

 

Victims of Anti-Semitic Attacks on US Synagogues at Center of Jewish Agency’s Yom HaZikaron Memorial Service

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Marnie Fienberg, the daughter-in-law of Joyce Fienberg, who was murdered in the Pittsburgh synagogue attack, lights a memorial torch together with Chairman of The Jewish Agency for Israel Isaac Herzog (Credit: Noam Sharon)

On Israel’s Remembrance Day for fallen soldiers and victims of terror, The Jewish Agency for Israel paid special tribute to the victims of the synagogue shootings in Pittsburgh and Poway

Edited by: JV Staff

Tributes to the 12 Jews killed in the synagogue shootings of October 2018 in Pittsburgh and April 2019 in the San Diego-area city of Poway took center stage today during The Jewish Agency for Israel’s memorial service for Yom HaZikaron, Israel’s annual day of remembrance for fallen soldiers and victims of terror attacks.

The special guests from Pittsburgh at Thursday morning’s ceremony at the Jewish Agency Courtyard in Jerusalem included Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh President and CEO Jeff Finkelstein; and Marnie Fienberg, the daughter-in-law of Joyce Fienberg, who was murdered in the Pittsburgh synagogue attack. Fienberg lit a memorial torch together with Chairman of The Jewish Agency for Israel Isaac Herzog, who personally invited her to attend the service.

“On this day, the Jews of the Diaspora unite in grief with all the residents of the State of Israel. And here, too, in Israel, we are united in grief with the Jewish families in the Diaspora, those who lost loved ones in terrorist acts and those whose children chose to wear their olive uniforms and gave their lives, protecting Israel,” said Herzog at the ceremony. “Zionism and our shared fate have been sanctified with their blood. Lone soldiers, Jewish volunteers from all over the world, and new immigrants who sacrificed their lives and fought shoulder to shoulder since the beginning of Israel’s independence. Their beating heart is in each and every one of us, whether a citizen of the state or a Jew in the Diaspora.”

According to The Jewish Agency, more than 200 Jews have been murdered in anti-Semitic incidents and terrorist attacks across the Diaspora since the State of Israel achieved independence in 1948, with the 11 victims of the shooting at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life Synagogue and the victim of the shooting at Chabad of Poway joining that list this year.

“The anti-Semites don’t care about our labels {Reconstructionist, Chabad, Conservative}, to them we’re all Jews,” said Finkelstein. “And to all of us, the work we do with the Jewish Agency and Federations has to be focused on building Jewish unity, because together we can defeat evil. Am Yisrael Chai.”

The Jewish Agency broadcast Thursday’s memorial service live on Facebook both in Hebrew and English, making it possible for Diaspora Jews to take part in the ceremony from afar. Other dignitaries in attendance included Aryeh Lightstone, Senior Advisor to U.S. Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, Chairman of the World Zionist Organization Avraham Duvdevani, CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America Rebecca Caspi, CEO of Jewish Federations of Canada-UIA Yossi Tanuri, Director of Legacy and Endowments at Keren Hayesod Dani Viterbo, and Vice Chair of the KKL-JNF Fund Executive Yair Lootsteen.

“During this tragedy, during these awful times, something amazing has happened. At our lowest point, we weren’t alone. There was support, love, and strength from all over the world, not just from our friends, from Jews everywhere…we felt that love, and love is what gets us through every single day,” said Fienberg. “We are inspired by you Israelis – proud Israeli soldiers and citizens. You never back away from a fight and we aren’t going to either. We are stronger together, in Pittsburgh, in the United States, and here in Israel.”

 

Rare Photo Collection From Israel’s War of Independence Revealed

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A collection of 26 photographs which were designated to be printed by newspapers during Israel’s War of Independence was revealed this past week. Several of the photos captured scenes that transpired on the Arab side of the war. One particularly fascinating photo depicts Arab forces at the port in Haifa surrendering to the IDF and Palyam (naval corps) soldiers who were waving the Israeli and Navy flags at the port for the very first time. The Israeli fighters are also seen welcoming the first Israeli Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion. The collection of photos will be put up for public auction next week in the Kedem Auction House in Jerusalem.

Among other fascinating scenes depicted in this rare photo collection include an Egyptian war plane being downed on a beach in Tel Aviv; a photo of Jordanian King Abdullah I and the Iraqi Regent Abd al-Ilah in Oman dressed in military garb only several weeks before the Arab armies invaded the State of Israel; and an altered photo of propaganda appearing to show a Palmach soldier surrendering to Arab soldiers. In actuality, the “Palmach soldier” was an Arab man dressed in an IDF uniform.

Jerusalem, which was under siege by Jordanian forces at the time, was in dire need of water, food, ammunition and medicine. Armored caravans carrying truckloads of equipment were dispatched to Jerusalem to provide for the residents. Some of the photos show sabotage attempts by Arab fighters including an image of an Arab guerrilla fighter ambushing Jewish caravans 8 km southwest of Jerusalem on Mount Caste and one of an Arab sharpshooter puncturing a water pipe that led to a Jewish community near Jerusalem. Arab women are also seen waiting on line in Jerusalem to receive rations of cooking oil.

Simultaneously in Haifa, the battle raged on for a bloody five months. As a mixed city under the British Mandate Palestine, the port in Haifa was one of the primary locations where Jews and Arabs worked side by side in relative harmony. Before the British ended the mandate, the Palmach had founded its naval corps under the command of Yohai Ben-Nun in an effort to ensure security for the port’s Jewish workers. Palyam’s significant role in protecting the workers was demonstrated on at least several occasions. During one such incident on February 4, 1948, members of the Palyam were urgently summoned to rescue two Jewish tractor drivers who were being chased away from their workplaces on the eastern section of the port by way of verbal threats and even gunshots. The Palyam members arrived at the scene with weapons in hand causing hundreds of Arab laborers to flee and ensuring the safe return of the Jewish workers.

Ben-Nun was subsequently invited to a discussion with several Arab dignitaries who explained that the escalation in hostilities was caused by non-laborers who were attempting to sabotage the peaceful coexistence at the port. The dignitaries also pledged to expel such individuals from the area. The fierce efforts and stance of the Palyam guaranteed the continuity of Jewish labor at the port that prevailed up to and proceeding the liberation of all areas of the city by the Haganah in April of 1948.

Maron Eran, co-owner of Kedem Auction House, which will be putting the photograph collection up for sale in the coming days, remarked: “We were excited with this remarkably rare and valuable collection. We hope it will reach the right owners who will put the photographs on exhibit in one of the many memorials or libraries documenting the history and achievements of the State of Israel in the years leading up to her independence.”

Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust in NYC Presents the Largest Exhibition on Auschwitz Featuring More Than 700 Original Objects Never Before Seen in North America

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The Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust today opened the most comprehensive Holocaust exhibition about Auschwitz ever exhibited in North America. Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. is produced in partnership with the international exhibition firm Musealia and the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in Poland. The groundbreaking exhibition has been curated by an international team of experts led by historian Dr. Robert Jan van Pelt. It runs through January 3, 2020 in New York City.

For the first time, 74 years after the liberation of Auschwitz, a traveling exhibition dedicated to the historical significance of the camp is being presented to a U.S. audience. The exhibition’s May 8 opening marks the anniversary of VE Day or Victory in Europe Day, 1945, when the Allies celebrated Nazi Germany’s surrender of its armed forces and the end of World War II in Europe.

Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. arrives in New York City after the exhibition completed a successful run at Madrid’s Arte Canal Exhibition Centre, where it was extended two times, drew more than 600,000 visitors, and was one of the most visited exhibitions in Europe last year. The exhibition explores the dual identity of the camp as a physical location—the largest documented mass murder site in human history—and as a symbol of the borderless manifestation of hatred and human barbarity.

Featuring more than 700 original objects and 400 photographs, mainly from the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, the New York presentation of the exhibition allows visitors to experience artifacts from more than 20 international museums and institutions on view for the first time in the North America, including hundreds of personal items—such as suitcases, eyeglasses, and shoes—that belonged to survivors and victims of Auschwitz. Other artifacts include: concrete posts that were part of the fence of the Auschwitz camp; part of an original barrack for prisoners from the Auschwitz III-Monowitz camp; a desk and other possessions of the first and the longest-serving Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss; a gas mask used by the SS; Picasso’s Lithograph of Prisoner; and an original German-made Model 2 freight train car used for the deportation of Jews to the ghettos and extermination camps in occupied Poland.

Museum of Jewish Heritage Board Vice Chairman George Klein visited the exhibition in Spain and recommended to his Board that they bring it to Lower Manhattan. The exhibition features artifacts and materials—never before seen in North America—on loan from more than 20 institutions and private collections around the world. In addition to the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum and the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust, participating institutions include Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, Auschwitz Jewish Center in Oświęcim, the Memorial and Museum Sachsenhausen in Oranienburg, and the Wiener Library for the Study of the Holocaust and Genocide in London.

Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. traces the development of Nazi ideology and tells the transformation of Auschwitz from an ordinary Polish town known as Oświęcim to the most significant Nazi site of the Holocaust—at which ca. 1 million Jews, and tens of thousands of others, were murdered. Victims included Polish political prisoners, Sinti and Roma, Soviet prisoners of war, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and those the Nazis deemed “homosexual,” “disabled,” “criminal,” “inferior,” or adversarial in countless other ways. In addition, the exhibition contains artifacts that depict the world of the perpetrators—SS men who created and operated the largest of the German Nazi concentration and extermination camps.

The Museum of Jewish Heritage has incorporated into the exhibition nearly 100 rare artifacts from its collection that relay the experience of survivors and liberators who found refuge in the greater New York area. These artifacts include: Alfred Kantor’s sketchbook and portfolio that contain over 150 original paintings and drawings from Theresienstadt, Auschwitz, and Schwarzheide; the trumpet that musician Louis Bannet (acclaimed as “the Dutch Louis Armstrong”) credits for saving his life while he was imprisoned in Auschwitz; visas issued by Chiune Sugihara, a Japanese diplomat in Lithuania often referred to as “Japan’s Oskar Schindler”; prisoner registration forms and identification cards; personal correspondence; tickets for passage on the St. Louis; and a rescued Torah scroll from the Bornplatz Synagogue in Hamburg.

Also on display from the Museum of Jewish Heritage collection will be Heinrich Himmler’s SS helmet and his annotated copy of Hitler’s Mein Kampf, as well as an anti-Jewish proclamation issued in 1551 by Ferdinand I that was given to Hermann Göring by German security chief Reinhard Heydrich on the occasion of Göring’s birthday. The proclamation required Jews to identify themselves with a “yellow ring” on their clothes. Heydrich noted that, 400 years later, the Nazis were completing Ferdinand’s work. These artifacts stand as evidence of a chapter of history that must never be forgotten.

“As the title of the exhibit suggests, Auschwitz is not ancient history but living memory, warning us to be vigilant, haunting us with the admonition ‘Never Again.’ It is a prod to look around the world and mark the ongoing atrocities against vulnerable people,” said Bruce C. Ratner, Chairman of the Museum’s Board of Trustees. “While we had all hoped after the Holocaust that the international community would come together to stop genocide, mass murder, and ethnic cleansing, these crimes continue. And there are more refugees today than at any time since the Second World War. So my hope for this exhibit is that it motivates all of us to make the connections between the world of the past and the world of the present, and to take a firm stand against hate, bigotry, ethnic violence, religious intolerance, and nationalist brutality of all kinds.”

Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. was conceived of by Musealia and the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum and curated by an international panel of experts, including world-renowned scholars Dr. Robert Jan van Pelt, Dr. Michael Berenbaum, and Paul Salmons, in an unprecedented collaboration with historians and curators at the Research Center at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, led by Dr. Piotr Setkiewicz.

“Auschwitz and the Shoah are not just another single, dramatic event in the linear history of humanity. It is a critical point in the history of Europe, and perhaps the world,” said Dr. Piotr M. A. Cywiński, Director of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum. “While commemorating the victims of Auschwitz we should also feel moral discomfort. Antisemitic, hateful, xenophobic ideologies that in the past led to the human catastrophe of Auschwitz, seem not to be erased from our lives today. They still poison people’s minds and influence our contemporary attitudes. That is why studying the Holocaust shouldn’t be limited to history classes. It must become part of curricula of political and civic education, ethics, media, and religious studies. This exhibition is one of the tools we can use,” he explained.

“Seventy-three years ago, after the world saw the haunting pictures from Auschwitz, no one in their right mind wanted to be associated with Nazis. But today, 73 years and three generations later, people have forgotten, or they never knew,” said Ron Lauder, Founder and Chairman of the The Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation Committee and President of the World Jewish Congress. “This exhibit reminds them, in the starkest ways, where anti-Semitism can ultimately lead and the world should never go there again. The title of this exhibit is so appropriate because this was not so long ago, and not so far away.”

“Auschwitz did not start with the gas chambers. Hatred does not happen overnight: it builds up slowly among people. It does so with words and thoughts, with small everyday acts, with prejudices,” said Luis Ferreiro, Director of Musealia and the exhibition project. “When we had the vision to create the exhibition, we conceived its narrative as an opportunity to better understand how such a place could come to exist, and as warning of where hatred can take us to.”

Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. is presented in the symbolic, hexagonally-shaped building at the Museum of Jewish Heritage. This 18,000-square-foot exhibition introduces artifacts and Holocaust survivor testimony through 20 thematic galleries. At the conclusion of this presentation, the Museum will debut its new permanent core exhibition.

Throughout its presentation of Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away., the Museum will host a series of related public, educational, and scholarly programming, featuring world-renowned experts on the Holocaust. The Museum also will expand its work with students in the tri-state area and introduce complementary educational tools for in-class and onsite use.

“All through the exhibition there are stories—stories about individuals and families, stories about communities and organizations, stories about ideologies that teach people to hate, and responses that reveal compassion and love. There are stories of victims, perpetrators, and bystanders, stories with heroes and villains—stories that all merge into an epic story of a continent marked by war and genocide,” said Dr. Robert Jan van Pelt, Chief Curator, who has published several books on the camp—including the award-winning Auschwitz, 1270 to the Present (1996) and The Case for Auschwitz (2002)—and participated as an expert witness in Deborah Lipstadt’s case against Holocaust denier David Irving.

Following the New York presentation, the exhibition is intended to tour other cities around the world. This destinations will be announced by Musealia and the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in the upcoming months and years.

Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. at the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust is made possible with lead support by Bruce C. Ratner, George and Adele Klein Family Foundation, Ingeborg and Ira Leon Rennert, and Larry and Klara Silverstein & Family. The exhibition is presented in part with major support by The David Berg Foundation, Patti Askwith Kenner, The Oster Family Foundation, and The Bernard and Anne Spitzer Charitable Trust. The New York premiere is made possible in part by Simon & Stefany Bergson with additional support from The Knapp Family Foundation.

Iran Deal Withdrawal One-Year Anniversary: How Did Left-Wing Jewish Groups Get Their Predictions So Wrong?

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On the one year anniversary of President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Iran Nuclear Deal, the Republican Jewish Coalition calls on left-wing Jewish groups, including J Street and the JDCA, to explain how they got their predictions on this and other pro-Israel foreign policy decisions of President Trump so wrong. RJC Executive Director Matt Brooks released the following statement:

It has been one year since President Trump withdrew our country from the Iran deal, a move that the Israeli government continues to support. Iran is still the most destabilizing force in the Middle East, but now their economy is severely crippled. President Obama gave Iran billions of dollars in American cash and relief from sanctions that resulted in well over $100 billion for the Iranian economy. Meanwhile, Iran was violating the deal by refusing to allow inspectors access to military facilities that contain nuclear-related laboratories. Most importantly, the deal only delayed Iran from legally producing a nuclear weapon until the next decade. Obama also refused to address the repressive regime’s funding of terrorist groups that killed more than 600 American soldiers in Iraq. Obama neither forced Iran to shutter its ballistic missile program nor requiredIran to recognize Israel’s legitimacy and permanence in the region. Today, President Trump has built a Middle East coalition, including Israel, to oppose Iranian aggression, and the new economic sanctions have made the mullahs weaker at home. Left-wing Jewish organizations, including J Street and the JDCA, opposed President Trump’s decision to withdraw. Now it is time for them to explain why they were so wrong and unable to see that this move would bolster our standing with Middle East allies while crippling the Iranian economy.

This isn’t the first time these groups have been embarrassingly wrong about President Trump’s foreign policy. They should explain to their members and the media why they were so wrong about President Trump’s decisions to recognize Israel’s choice of Jerusalem as its eternal capital of the country, to move the US embassy to Jerusalem, and to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. They incorrectly said that these moves would hurt US and Israeli standing in the Middle East and would lead to large-scale violence against Israel. The truth is that Israel has better relations with its Middle East neighbors than ever before, and the United States remains a trusted ally of stable Middle Eastern countries. Iran today continues to fund rocket attacks and terrorist activity against Israel, just like it did during the Obama years, and it has helped to crush the people of Syria. Furthermore, Arab states aren’t mobilizing against Israel, in fact news reports show that Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Oman, and the UAE are cooperating with Israel in ways rarely, if ever, seen before.

The truth is, these left-wing Jewish groups made these predictions because they hate President Trump, despite the fact that he’s the most pro-Israel President ever. They think they will never have to account for their utterly indefensible predictions of the impact President Trump’s foreign policy has on the world. The media and the Jewish community must not let them get away with it.

TRUMP: IMPOSING SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO THE IRON, STEEL, ALUMINUM, AND COPPER SECTORS OF IRAN

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By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA), the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (8 U.S.C. 1182(f)), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, find that:

It remains the policy of the United States to deny Iran all paths to both a nuclear weapon and intercontinental ballistic missiles, and to counter the totality of Iran’s malign influence in the Middle East. It is also the policy of the United States to deny the Iranian government revenue, including revenue derived from the export of products from Iran’s iron, steel, aluminum, and copper sectors, that may be used to provide funding and support for the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, terrorist groups and networks, campaigns of regional aggression, and military expansion.

In light of these findings and in order to take further steps with respect to the national emergency declared in Executive Order 12957 of March 15, 1995, and to supplement the authorities provided in the Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act of 2012 (subtitle D of title XII of Public Law 112-239), I hereby order:

Section 1. (a) All property and interests in property that are in the United States, that hereafter come within the United States, or that are or hereafter come within the possession or control of any United States person of the following persons are blocked and may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in: any person determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State:

(i) to be operating in the iron, steel, aluminum, or copper sector of Iran, or to be a person that owns, controls, or operates an entity that is part of the iron, steel, aluminum, or copper sector of Iran;

(ii) to have knowingly engaged, on or after the date of this order, in a significant transaction for the sale, supply, or transfer to Iran of significant goods or services used in connection with the iron, steel, aluminum, or copper sectors of Iran;

(iii) to have knowingly engaged, on or after the date of this order, in a significant transaction for the purchase, acquisition, sale, transport, or marketing of iron, iron products, aluminum, aluminum products, steel, steel products, copper, or copper products from Iran;

(iv) to have materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services in support of any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this section; or

(v) to be owned or controlled by, or to have acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this section.

(b) The prohibitions in this section apply except to the extent provided by statutes, or in regulations, orders, directives, or licenses that may be issued pursuant to this order, and notwithstanding any contract entered into or any license or permit granted before the date of this order.

Sec. 2. (a) The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, is hereby authorized to impose on a foreign financial institution the sanctions described in subsection (b) of this section upon determining that the foreign financial institution has, on or after the date of this order, knowingly conducted or facilitated any significant financial transaction:

(i) for the sale, supply, or transfer to Iran of significant goods or services used in connection with the iron, steel, aluminum, or copper sectors of Iran;

(ii) for the purchase, acquisition, sale, transport, or marketing of iron, iron products, aluminum, aluminum products, steel, steel products, copper, or copper products from Iran; or

(iii) for or on behalf of any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order.

(b) With respect to any foreign financial institution determined by the Secretary of the Treasury in accordance with this section to meet any of the criteria set forth in subsection (a)(i) through (a)(iii) of this section, the Secretary of the Treasury may prohibit the opening, and prohibit or impose strict conditions on maintaining, in the United States of a correspondent account or payable-through account by such foreign financial institution.

(c) The prohibitions in subsection (b) of this section apply except to the extent provided by statutes, or in regulations, orders, directives, or licenses that may be issued pursuant to this order, and notwithstanding any contract entered into or any license or permit granted before the date of this order.

Sec. 3. I hereby determine that the making of donations of the types of articles specified in section 203(b)(2) of IEEPA (50 U.S.C. 1702(b)(2)) by, to, or for the benefit of any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order would seriously impair my ability to deal with the national emergency declared in Executive Order 12957, and I hereby prohibit such donations as provided by this section.

Sec. 4. The prohibitions in section 1 of this order include:

(a) the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to subsection (a) of that section; and

(b) the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person.

Sec. 5. The unrestricted immigrant and nonimmigrant entry into the United States of aliens determined to meet one or more of the criteria in subsection 1(a) of this order would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, and the entry of such persons into the United States, as immigrants or nonimmigrants, is therefore hereby suspended. Such persons shall be treated as persons covered by section 1 of Proclamation 8693 of July 24, 2011 (Suspension of Entry of Aliens Subject to United Nations Security Council Travel Bans and International Emergency Economic Powers Act Sanctions).

Sec. 6. (a) Any transaction that evades or avoids, has the purpose of evading or avoiding, causes a violation of, or attempts to violate any of the prohibitions set forth in this order is prohibited.

(b) Any conspiracy formed to violate any of the prohibitions set forth in this order is prohibited.

Sec. 7. Nothing in this order shall apply to transactions for the conduct of the official business of the Federal Government or the United Nations (including its specialized agencies, programmes, funds, and related organizations) by employees, grantees, or contractors thereof.

Sec. 8. For the purposes of this order:

(a) the term “entity” means a partnership, association, trust, joint venture, corporation, group, subgroup, or other organization;

(b) the term “foreign financial institution” means any foreign entity that is engaged in the business of accepting deposits, making, granting, transferring, holding, or brokering loans or credits, or purchasing or selling foreign exchange, securities, commodity futures or options, or procuring purchasers and sellers thereof, as principal or agent. It includes, but is not limited to, depository institutions, banks, savings banks, money service businesses, trust companies, securities brokers and dealers, commodity futures and options brokers and dealers, forward contract and foreign exchange merchants, securities and commodities exchanges, clearing corporations, investment companies, employee benefit plans, dealers in precious metals, stones, or jewels, and holding companies, affiliates, or subsidiaries of any of the foregoing. The term does not include the international financial institutions identified in 22 U.S.C. 262r(c)(2), the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the North American Development Bank, or any other international financial institution so notified by the Secretary of the Treasury;

(c) the term “Government of Iran” includes the Government of Iran, any political subdivision, agency, or instrumentality thereof, including the Central Bank of Iran, and any person owned or controlled by, or acting for or on behalf of, the Government of Iran;

(d) the term “Iran” means the Government of Iran and the territory of Iran and any other territory or marine area, including the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, over which the Government of Iran claims sovereignty, sovereign rights, or jurisdiction, provided that the Government of Iran exercises partial or total de facto control over the area or derives a benefit from economic activity in the area pursuant to international arrangements;

(e) the term “knowingly,” with respect to conduct, a circumstance, or a result, means that a person has actual knowledge, or should have known, of the conduct, the circumstance, or the result;

(f) the term “person” means an individual or entity; and

(g) the term “United States person” means any United States citizen, permanent resident alien, entity organized under the laws of the United States or any jurisdiction within the United States (including foreign branches), or any person in the United States.

Sec. 9. For those persons whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order who might have a constitutional presence in the United States, I find that because of the ability to transfer funds or other assets instantaneously, prior notice to such persons of measures to be taken pursuant to this order would render those measures ineffectual. I therefore determine that for these measures to be effective in addressing the national emergency declared in Executive Order 12957, there need be no prior notice of a listing or determination made pursuant to section 1 of this order.

Sec. 10. The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, is hereby authorized to take such actions, including adopting rules and regulations, and to employ all powers granted to the President by IEEPA as may be necessary to implement this order. The Secretary of the Treasury may, consistent with applicable law, redelegate any of these functions within the Department of the Treasury. All agencies shall take all appropriate measures within their authority to implement this order.

Sec. 11. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.

(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

Sec. 12. The measures taken pursuant to this order are in response to actions of the Government of Iran occurring after the conclusion of the 1981 Algiers Accords, and are intended solely as a response to those later actions.

DONALD J. TRUMP

Rozic, Kaminsky Honor Israel Independence Day

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Ahead of Israel Independence Day, Assemblywoman Nily Rozic (D-Fresh
Meadows) and State Senator Todd Kaminsky (D-Long Island) adopted a resolution celebrating
Israel Independence Day. The resolution introduced congratulates the State of Israel on the 71st
anniversary of its independence and recognizes advancements made in the face of conflict and
oppression.
“As the first and only Israeli-born member elected to the State Legislature it is an honor to
celebrate this occasion,” said Assemblywoman Nily Rozic. “In addition to commemorating
Israel’s 71 years of statehood, we are also celebrating the shared interests and trusted relationship
between the people of New York and the people of Israel that grows stronger each year.”
“Israel is a world leader in technology, science and innovation, a stronghold of democracy, and
shares an unbreakable friendship with our State and its citizens,” said Senator Todd Kaminsky.
“I was honored to introduce a resolution reaffirming New York’s integral alliance with Israel,
and congratulating the Jewish homeland on 71 years and counting of independence, freedom and
advancements. I look forward to continuing to strengthen the integral strategic, economic and
cultural ties between New York and Israel.”
Israel Independence Day is celebrated this year on May 9th and marks 71 years of statehood for
Israel. Since its founding in 1948, Israel has rebuilt a nation, established a democracy, and
continues to strive for peace with security and dignity for itself and neighbors.

Ambassador Dani Dayan, Consul General of Israel in New York said: “It is with sincere
gratitude to my friend, Assemblywoman Rozic, that I commend her for this important initiative. I
would also like to thank Senator Kaminsky for carrying this important resolution in the Senate,
thereby confirming the close bond between Israel and New York. As we celebrate our 71st
Independence Day, the State of Israel is deeply appreciative of this resolution, as well as the
United States’ continued support.”

THE RECENT SPIKE OF ANTISEMITIC HATE CRIMES IN NYC; HASIDIC MAN PUNCHED IN BROOKLYN

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Just yesterday a Hasidic man was sucker-punched from behind by a hateful youngster out of the blue and unprovoked, why? Because the victim was visibly Jewish. This isn’t the first time Jews have been targeted in New York City, Brooklyn in particular, by angry antisemites, and it won’t be the last. What is seen on this most recent video resembles Nazi Germany in how they attacked Jews so publicly, shamelessly, and with glee. This wasn’t a robbery or the like, but pure hateful violence.

I challenge the city administration under whose watch this rise in antisemitism is occurring (to the tune of a 72% increase) by asking: what are you going to do about it? Flowery words about combating all forms of hatred won’t work. Ignoring the problem will only make it worse. So what will be done this time around so that New York City doesn’t turn into Nazi Germany?

And of the members of congress who peddle antisemitic tropes and claim to be fighting the forces of antisemitism, why are they suddenly silent when the perpetrator isn’t a white male?

We know the answer to all the above, and that’s why we will rely on none other than ourselves to fight antisemitism in all forms, shapes, and colors it appears in.

New Community Center Opens in “Fiddler’s” Picturesque Anatevk

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Anatevka, a small Jewish refugee town 30 km west of Kiev, hosted yesterday an official opening of a new Community Rehab Center – ‘Beit Shmuel’ – funded by the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress (EAJC) and its President, Dr. Michael Mirilashvili, and Alexander Levin, Chair of the Kiev Jewish Community and EAJC Vice-President.

The Center was named after Alexander Levin’s brother, Shmuel, who tragically lost his life a few years ago, and is dedicated to his memory. The new Center occupies an area of 1,800 sq. m and spans three floors. The space will serve various community needs and function as a medical rehabilitation center.

Rabbi Moshe Azman, a rabbi and Chabad shliach in Kiev, who bought this land together with the village of Anatevka, famous as a site of Sholom Aleichem’s story and a Hollywood musical, Fiddler on the Roof, which is based on it, 4 years ago to date, affixed mezuzahs on the doors of the Center and on one of the 7 houses of the Museum of Hasidism in Ukraine encircling it.

Several hundred people attended yesterday’s event, including Vyacheslav Kucher, Vice Governor of Kiev region, Vadim Rabinovich, EAJC First Vice-President and President of All-Ukrainian Jewish Congress, Boris Lozhkin, President of Jewish Confederation of Ukraine, as well as rabbis and high-ranking officials from across Ukraine, Israel, and the United States.

From the EAJC side, the ceremony was attended by Emmanuil Grinshpun, EAJC Vice-President, Haim Ben Yakov, EAJC CEO, Meny Bushueyv, EAJC Treasurer and Chief of Staff and Professor Zeev Hanin, Chair of Academic Council of EAJC Institute.

The EAJC delegation led by Michael Mirilashvili also visited Kiev on the occasion of the Kyiv Jewish Forum, the first international Jewish conference in Ukraine and one of the largest of its kind in Europe. EAJC was the partner of the Forum’s main organizer – the Jewish Confederation of Ukraine.

Following the official opening ceremony, the guests were invited for a tour of an adjoining heder, a Jewish day school for boys aged 5-13, and a unique wooden synagogue. The tour was followed by a celebratory luncheon for all the guests.

US-Iranian Tensions Rise; Conflict Imminent as Show of Military Might on Display

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The United States is speeding up the arrival of a naval aircraft carrier strike group to the Arabian Sea after concerns were verified that Iran may possibly be planning an attack against American or allied targets. A Defense Department official said that the USS Abraham Lincoln "aircraft carrier is currently operating in the U.S. European Command area of responsibility (AOR), but will expedite its arrival into the U.S. Central Command AOR in order to defend American forces and interests in the region." Photo Credit: US Navy

The United States is speeding up the arrival of a naval aircraft carrier strike group to the Arabian Sea after concerns were verified that Iran may possibly be planning an attack against American or allied targets.

A US Defense Department official told VOA news that, “The USS Abraham Lincoln “aircraft carrier is currently operating in the U.S. European Command area of responsibility (AOR), but will expedite its arrival into the U.S. Central Command AOR in order to defend American forces and interests in the region.”

An Israeli journalist, Barak Ravid, reports the Mossad intelligence agency alerted the United States that Iranian elements may be preparing to strike American or allied targets in the Gulf region. Photo Credit: Twitter

An Israeli journalist, Barak Ravid, reports the Mossad intelligence agency alerted the United States that Iranian elements may be preparing to strike American or allied targets in the Gulf region.

INN reported confirmed this assertion in a report on Monday that indicated that a significant portion of the information about Iran’s preparations for a terror attack against a US target or its Gulf allies were indeed obtained by Israeli intelligence, especially the Mossad.

Senior Israeli officials told Channel 13 News that the information obtained by the Mossad and other Israeli intelligence agencies was transferred to the Americans and was part of the basis for the American decision to reinforce their forces, sending another aircraft carrier to the Gulf, according to the INN report. Photo Credit: YouTube

Senior Israeli officials told Channel 13 News that the information obtained by the Mossad and other Israeli intelligence agencies was transferred to the Americans and was part of the basis for the American decision to reinforce their forces, sending another aircraft carrier to the Gulf, according to the INN report.

“It is still unclear to us what the Iranians are trying to do and how they are planning to do it,” Ravid quotes an Israeli intelligence officer as saying. “But it is clear to us that the Iranian temperature is on the rise as a result of the growing U.S. pressure campaign against them and they are considering retaliating against U.S. interests in the Gulf.”

Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, on Twitter, stated that the deployment of a naval carrier strike group and an air force bomber task force to the area “represents a prudent repositioning of assets in response to indications of a credible threat by Iranian regime forces.” Shanahan added: “We call on the Iranian regime to cease all provocation. We will hold the Iranian regime accountable for any attack on US forces or our interests.” Photo Credit: Wikipedia

Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, on Twitter, stated that the deployment of a naval carrier strike group and an air force bomber task force to the area “represents a prudent repositioning of assets in response to indications of a credible threat by Iranian regime forces.”

Shanahan added: “We call on the Iranian regime to cease all provocation. We will hold the Iranian regime accountable for any attack on US forces or our interests.”

National Security Adviser John Bolton on Sunday evening said, a “number of troubling and escalatory indications and warnings” linked to Iran prompted the United States to deploy an aircraft carrier strike group and bomber task force to the Middle East. The dispatch of the carrier strike group and the bomber task force is intended to “send a clear and unmistakable message to the Iranian regime that any attack on United States interests or on those of our allies will be met with unrelenting force,” added Bolton. Photo Credit: Shutterstock

The comments follow those made by National Security Adviser John Bolton on Sunday evening.

A “number of troubling and escalatory indications and warnings” linked to Iran prompted the United States to deploy an aircraft carrier strike group and bomber task force to the Middle East,” Bolton said in the statement.

The dispatch of the carrier strike group and the bomber task force is intended to “send a clear and unmistakable message to the Iranian regime that any attack on United States interests or on those of our allies will be met with unrelenting force,” added Bolton.

In addition to the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, the strike group included fighter jets, helicopters, destroyers and more than 6,000 sailors when it left its U.S. port in Virginia in early April.

The Nimitz-class carrier was in the Adriatic Sea as of May 1 when Albania’s president, Ilir Meta, visited the 333-meter-long vessel.

Bolton’s statement said the United States “is not seeking war with the Iranian regime, but we are fully prepared to respond to any attack, whether by proxy, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or regular Iranian forces.”

New America Foundation Fellow Ned Price says recent actions to sanction the IRGC and end sanctions waivers for some of the country’s biggest oil buyers make it seem like the Trump administration “seems intent on driving the Iranians into a corner.”

“The concern with Bolton’s threat — coming in the midst of a series of escalations from the Trump administration — underscores the concern that the administration is trying to goad the Iranians into an unwise and ill-considered reaction,” Price, a former spokesman for the Obama-era National Security Council, told VOA.

The Trump administration has been working to apply what it calls a “maximum pressure campaign” against Iran to try to get the country to change its behavior, including its sponsorship of terror groups and what the White House alleges is a ballistic missile program that threatens the United States.

In response to last month’s U.S. designation of the IRGC as a terrorist group, Iran responded by declaring the United States a state sponsor of terrorism and its forces in the Middle East as terror groups.

Daniel DePetris is a fellow at Defense Priorities, a research group that advocates that America maintain a strong, dynamic military but wants it to try to avoid being deployed in overseas wars. DePetris says that while Iran is meddlesome, the threats it poses can best be addressed with deterrence and diplomacy, according to the VOA report.

“Maximum pressure will fail to change the regime’s behavior, but it will ratchet up tensions between the U.S. and Iran, possibly inciting a crisis or war, something Trump promised to avoid during his campaign,” DePetris told VOA. “This is more evidence of a troublesome disconnect between the president and the people who ostensibly work under him. The Iranians are meddlesome actors, but they’re far from a threat to the U.S., the world’s only superpower.”

The vice president of the Heritage Foundation’s Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy praises the U.S. move.

“The U.S. is a global power with global interests and responsibilities,” James Jay Carafano told VOA. “It’s a powerful statement to demonstrate the U.S. is not distracted by a host of challenges in Venezuela, by provocations from North Korea, and yet, the U.S. has the resolve and capacity to show it can stand strong in the Middle East, as well.”

Bolton’s statement is raising concern in other countries. India, whose economy is largely fueled by imported crude — much of it from Middle East countries such as Iraq and Saudi Arabia — is worried about the security of sea lanes through which its energy supplies flow.

With its pressure campaign, the U.S. administration is trying to get Iran to halt activities such as supporting militant activities that destabilize the Middle East and threaten U.S. allies, including Israel, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said. Photo Credit: Shutterstock

With its pressure campaign, the U.S. administration is trying to get Iran to halt activities such as supporting militant activities that destabilize the Middle East and threaten U.S. allies, including Israel, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, according to an AP report.

“We have continued to see activity that leads us to believe that there’s escalation that may be taking place, and so we’re taking all the appropriate actions, both from a security perspective as well as our ability to make sure the president has a wide range of options in the event that something should actually take place,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters Monday in Finland.

“Our objective is to get the Islamic Republic of Iran to behave like a normal nation,” Pompeo added. “When they do that, we will welcome them back.”

“It is absolutely the case that we have seen escalatory actions from the Iranians and it is equally the case that we will hold the Iranians accountable for attacks on American interests,” Pompeo said. “If these actions take place, if they do by some third-party proxy, a militia group, Hezbollah, we will hold the Iranian leadership directly accountable for that.”

Asked about “escalatory actions,” Pompeo replied, “I don’t want to talk about what underlays it, but make no mistake, we have good reason to want to communicate clearly about how the Iranians should understand how we will respond to actions they may take.”

Mark Dubowitz, who studies Iran for the Washington-based policy institute Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said a credible threat of overwhelming force “will make war less likely.” “If past is prologue, the regime will always move aggressively forward when it senses American weakness and recoil when it sensed American strength,” Dubowitz said. Photo Credit: C-SPAN

According to the AP report, Mark Dubowitz, who studies Iran for the Washington-based policy institute Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said a credible threat of overwhelming force “will make war less likely.”

“If past is prologue, the regime will always move aggressively forward when it senses American weakness and recoil when it sensed American strength,” Dubowitz said.

The semi-official ISNA news agency on Monday quoted an anonymous official as saying that Iranian President Hassan Rouhani planned a broadcast address Wednesday and might discuss “counteractions” Tehran will take over America’s withdrawal from the international nuclear deal. Photo Credit: Shutterstock

The AP reported that in Iran, the semi-official ISNA news agency on Monday quoted an anonymous official as saying that Iranian President Hassan Rouhani planned a broadcast address Wednesday and might discuss “counteractions” Tehran will take over America’s withdrawal from the international nuclear deal.

“Partial and total reduction of some of Iran’s commitments and resumption of some nuclear activities which were ceased following JCPOA are the first step by Iran responding to US’ withdrawal from the nuclear deal and the lack of commitment from European countries to meet their vow,” ISNA reported.

The agreement limited Iran’s enrichment of uranium amid Western concerns that Tehran’s program could allow it to build nuclear weapons.

“Iran’s withdrawal from the nuclear deal is not considered as an option for now,” the report added.

President Trump is expected to announce further sanctions on Iran on Wednesday, Axios reported.

Newsweek reported that according to Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency, Keyvan Khosravi—a spokesperson for the Supreme National Security Council—issued a statement on the deployment of the carrier group and the bomber task force, announced by Bolton on Sunday.

“Bolton’s statement is a clumsy use of an out-of-date event for psychological warfare,” said Khosravi, according to Al Jazeera. He also suggested that Iranian forces had been tracking the carrier group since it arrived in the Mediterranean Sea 21 days ago.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif warned that a “B-team” around Trump—including Bolton and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—were pushing for conflict with Tehran, as was reported by Newsweek. “The B Team is pushing U.S. policy toward a disaster,” Zarif said. “The plot is to push Iran into taking action. And then use that,” he claimed. Photo Credit: Shutterstock

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif warned that a “B-team” around Trump—including Bolton and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—were pushing for conflict with Tehran, as was reported by Newsweek. “The B Team is pushing U.S. policy toward a disaster,” Zarif said. “The plot is to push Iran into taking action. And then use that,” he claimed.

The AP reported that the order to the carrier group would get the Abraham Lincoln into the Middle East about two weeks earlier than initially planned following exercises in the Mediterranean region, according to a U.S. defense official who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly, so spoke on the condition of anonymity. It forces the ships to cancel a planned stop in Croatia.

For years, the U.S. maintained a carrier presence in the Persian Gulf and Middle East region. During the height of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, there were two carriers in the area, but that was reduced to one.

Last year the administration decided to end the continuous carrier presence, and send a strike group only intermittently into the region. The U.S. Navy currently has no aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf, according to the AP report.

            (VOA, AP, Newsweek & INN)