He was not originally included on the roster of speakers at the National Day of Prayer at the White House, but Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, heroic senior rabbi of Chabad of Poway, drew tears from his listeners and words of grateful appreciation from President Donald Trump when the president spontaneously called him up to share his message of pride and strength in the face of evil. In the words of the president: “There was no one who expressed the horror and beauty of what you represent better than you did.”
By: Menachem Posner
Speaking with bandages on his hands and bags under his eyes following the harrowing anti-Semitic shooting at his synagogue last Saturday that resulted in the death of congregant Lori Gilbert Kaye, two others injured, and the loss of one of the rabbi’s fingers, Goldstein quoted the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory, who so often spoke of the vital need for moral education in American society. He noted how in the early 1980s, not long after the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan, the Rebbe began speaking of the dire importance of making a daily Moment of Silence a standard practice in public schools across the nation.
“Just five days ago,” said the rabbi, “Saturday morning, I faced evil and . . . darkness . . . right in our own house of worship, right at Chabad of Poway. I faced [the killer] and I had to make a decision. Do I run and hide or do I stand tall and fight and protect all those who are there? We cannot control what others do, but we can control how we react. My dear rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, taught me, that the way we react to darkness is with light. It was that moment that I made a decision, no matter what happens to me, I’m going to save as many people as possible. I should have been dead … The Rebbe taught me that as a Jew, you are a soldier of G d, you need to stand tall and stand fast do what it takes to change the world.
“My life has changed forever,” he continued, “but it changed so that I can make change, and that I can teach others to be mighty and tall. Many have asked me, ‘Rabbi, where do we go from here?’ … My response is what the Rebbe [said] when President Ronald Reagan was shot. The Rebbe said we need to go back to the basics and introduce a Moment of Silence in all public schools so that children from early childhood on can recognize that there is more good to the world, that they are valuable, there is accountability and every human being is created in G d’s image. If something good will come out of this terrible, terrible horrific event, let us bring a Moment of Silence to our public school system … ”
A Personal Request for a Moment of Silence in Schools
In addition to several Chabad-Lubavitch rabbis, Goldstein was accompanied by congregants and fellow heroes of the attack, Oscar Stewart, the combat veteran who chased the shooter from the synagogue; and Jonathan Morales, the off-duty border-patrol agent who took up the chase and managed to shoot the attacker’s car several times.
The president asked both men to share a few words. Like his rabbi, Morales quoted the Rebbe and asked his audience to increase in mitzvah observance and acts of goodness and kindness.
Following the rabbi’s emotional remarks, the president thanked him, saying that “truly your courage and grace and devotion touches every heart and soul in America.”
Before the National Day of Prayer gathering in the Rose Garden, Goldstein met President Trump in the Oval Office for a discussion that focused on how the next generation of young people could be influenced for good. “I asked him for a personal favor,” Goldstein told reporters gathered on the White House driveway. He described the Rebbe’s vision for a Moment of Silence: “To be able to introduce our children, at a very young age, to know that they are created in G d’s image, they are valuable, other human beings are valuable. There’s accountability; there’s a higher Deity.”
“I pray and I hope that from the darkness of this, a lot of good will happen.” (Chabad.org)
Social media platforms have indeed revolutionized the communication age in ways that were never thought possible. Now it appears that Instagram users can learn about the horrors and atrocities of the Holocaust through a new account that was open for this specific reason.
By: Edwina Seville
The NY Daily News reported that the Instagram account known as “Eva Stories” is predicated on the true diary entries of Eva Heyman, who in 1944 was killed by the Nazi murder machine in Europe. She was a young Jewish girl from Hungary when her life was snuffed out by the Nazi beasts.
The Daily News reported that the account officially launched on Wednesday, May 1st, to coincide with the official commemoration of Holocaust Remembrance Day in Israel.
The series will follow Eva over the course of 70 episodes, according to The New York Times. The production will depict Eva as she’s taken from her comfortable life in former-Hungary, transferred to a ghetto and relegated to the Auschwitz death camp, where she ultimately died, according to the Daily News.
The account posted a teaser for the project earlier this week: “What If a Girl in the Holocaust Had Instagram?”
The trailer, subtitled in Hebrew, begins with simple but cheery touchstones of adolescence, from selfies with Eva’s crush to having a laugh with adoring grandparents.
The Jerusalem Post reported that the team behind the project – which is spearheaded by billionaire Mati Kochavi and his daughter, Maya – said Thursday morning that it had already received more than 100 million views in its first 14 hours.
As of Thursday afternoon, the account had close to 800,000 followers.
Instagram stories are short photos or video clips that are posted online and disappear 24 hours later. But the project has used Instagram’s “highlight” feature to save the videos, pinning them to the Instagram account’s page for more permanent viewing.
“The memory of the Holocaust outside of Israel is disappearing,” Kochavi explained, noting it cost “less than $5 million” to bring to life. In his first public statement about the project, he noted, “In the digital age, when the attention span is low but the thrill span is high, and given the dwindling number of Holocaust survivors, it is imperative to find new models of testimony and memory.”
On Monday, the JPost reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged his social media fans to follow the account. On Wednesday, the official Instagram of the White House – with 4.7 million followers – promoted the project.
According to the JPost report, Comedian Sarah Silverman posted on Twitter late Wednesday: “Who’s watching @eva.stories on IG? Wow.”
Many have praised the project for its innovative storytelling aimed at the next generation. But others have criticized it for cheapening the memory of the Holocaust and turning a tale of genocide into a series of hashtags.
“Dumbing down history? Or bringing history to a new generation?” asked Andrew Stroehlein, European media director for Human Rights Watch on Twitter.
It appears that Israeli actress Gal Gadot will earn in the neighborhood of northward of $10 million for reprising her role as the one and only Wonder Woman for the fourth time in Wonder Woman 1984. Photo Credit: Shutterstock
Comic book aficionados are in store for a bonanza of big screen films that depict their favorite comic super heroes and villains in their glory. Those familiar with the iconic brand of DC Comics will be more than excited to learn that in the next two years, the comic book syndicate’s film division, known as DC Films, will release such blockbusters as Wonder Woman 1984, starring Gal Gadot, Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) starring Margot Robbie, and Joker starring Joaquin Phoenix
By: Billy Lundgarden
Ever wondered just how much money these actors earn for portraying comic book royalty? According to a report on the Heroic Hollywood web site, it appears that Israeli actress Gal Gadot will earn in the neighborhood of northward of $10 million for reprising her role as the one and only Wonder Woman for the fourth time in Wonder Woman 1984. In the director’s chair for the upcoming Wonder Woman flick will be Patty Jenkins, who will take home approximately $9 million for her directorial abilities. That appears to be a substantial upgrade from the $1 million she earned for the first film.
Hitting theaters later this year, the report on the celebrity site indicates that Joaquin Phoenix is expected to make $4.5 million for his efforts portraying Arthur Fleck in Joker. Coming next is Margot Robbie’s second outing as mentally disturbed anti-heroine, Harley Quinn, in Birds Of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) which will earn her somewhere in the $9-$10 million range.
The Jewish Voice reported last year that Gadot had gathered up gathering up some lucrative commercial endorsements as well. Gadot had entered into a deal with Reebok Sportswear that was reported at the time to be worth $10 million. That figure was published by the Israeli newspaper, Hadashot. The major manufacturer of athletic apparel has extended plaudits to Gadot; calling her “a worldwide symbol of confidence, defiant courage, and strength” in a statement that was posted on the Reebok web site.
Also on the Reebok web site, acolytes of the actress can download phone wallpapers “inspired by some of her most powerful quotes.”
As was reported last year, Gadot took to her Instagram account to engage her fans and followers Gadot declared that she was “pumped” about being a central figure in the Reebok sponsorship. She exhorted women to “Get ahead of the game! Get into the action!”
Gadot recalled her formative years when she said, “I was lucky enough to grow up with a mother who was a gym teacher, so the importance of having someone push me out of my comfort zone and being active – and the benefits of it – were ingrained in me as a young girl.”
Now that she has put her John Hancock on the Reebok endorsement contract, Gadot joins other prominent female personalities in the sports, culture and entertainment industries who have also been previous endorsers of Reebok products. They include Victoria Beckham, Gigi Hadid, and Ariana Grande.
Israel came to a standstill starting Wednesday night as it began to mark the Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Day.
By: Roseanne Tabachnik
Israel came to a standstill on Wednesday night as it began to mark the Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Day, Yom HaShoah, with an opening ceremony at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem.
President Reuven Rivlin and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered their speeches at the ceremony, honoring the six million Jews murdered by the Nazis during World War II.
“Eighty years have gone by since that war broke out where they planned and executed the methodical extermination of the six million of our brothers and sisters,” President Rivlin said.
In his speech, the president warned that Israel must not form alliances with extremists and racist groups, who fail to recognize their wrongdoing and responsibility in the Holocaust.
Mr. Rivlin continued to speak of Israel’s strength and power in modern times. “I am not afraid for us, for the State of Israel. The Jewish people are no longer weak. It is not defenseless. The State of Israel is not only a stable democracy, we’re also powerful.”
Prime Minister Netanyahu’s address followed Rivlin’s, emphasizing the significant role of Holocaust survivors in the state of Israel.
“I felt huge pain for this terrible disaster that befell us, but together with that, I felt a huge pride to represent our people who rose from the ashes in our independent state,” the prime minister said.
Netanyahu drew references to anti-Semitism rising around the world and in the U.S., hinting at the recent caricature published in the New York Times. “The publication of caricatures of hate towards Israel undermines the legitimacy of the Jewish state,” he said.
After Netanyahu’s speech, Holocaust survivor Bela Eizenman lit the first torch at the ceremony, followed by Shaul Lubovitz, Fanny Ben-Ami, Menachem Haberman, Sara Shapira, and Yehuda Mimon. Inspiring films describing their heroic survival during the Holocaust and the large families they raised in its wake were played before each one in turn lit a memorial torch.
A two-minute-long siren sounded throughout the country on Thursday at 10 a.m., during which the entire country stood in unison in a moment of silence in memory of the six million Holocaust victims.
In a related development, World Israel News has reported that a far-right faction of Poland’s parliament, Kukiz 15, chose Holocaust Remembrance Day to submit a bill to protect Poland against Jewish restitution claims for the Holocaust.
On Tuesday, punk rock musician turned politician Paweł Kukiz, who founded Kukiz 15, after doing surprisingly well in his 2015 run for president, posted on Facebook that “in order to protect Poland as much as possible against possible Jewish claims resulting from U.S. law 447, we are submitting a bill for the protection of property of the Republic of Poland against claims regarding non-hereditary property.”
Mr. Kukiz refers to the Justice for Uncompensated Survivors Today (JUST) Act, passed by the U.S. Congress in 2017, which “requires the Department of State to report to Congress assessing the national laws and enforceable policies of covered countries regarding the identification and return of, or restitution for, assets wrongfully seized or transferred during the Holocaust era.”
Kukiz 15 appears to be playing on Polish fears regarding the section of the law that deals with “the restitution of heirless property to assist needy Holocaust survivors.”
The Jewish Press quotes Polish news website wyborcza.pl, which says “the 447 right-wing law adopted by the U.S. Congress scares voters in Poland. … it serves to demand in the future compensation from the Polish state for real estate lost during World War II by Polish Jews. It is to apply to property for which there are no claims from former owners or their heirs.”
Kukiz 15 holds about 30 seats in the Sejm, Poland’s lower house of parliament. It won 42 percent among voters aged 18 to 29 in the 2015 presidential election. (TPS & World Israel News)
Read more at: worldisraelnews.com & Tazpit Press Service
Seems like bearing the surname of Clinton and being a direct descendant of the former president and Secretary of State can be a powerful tool for making a substantial and very easy profit.
By: Horace Steinbloom
The Daily Mail of the UK reported that records have emerged that indicate that former first daughter and now mother of two, Chelsea Clinton, 39, raked in $600,000 last year for her work as director of the boards of IAC and Expedia, (two companies owned by Barry Diller). The evidence that the Daily Mail reported on says that the “IAC board met just six times in 2018, while some members of the Expedia board were only obligated to attend two meetings last year.”
Barry Diller, the owner of these two successful companies is a billionaire businessman and longtime partner of designer Diane von Furstenberg, who is often spotted attending Broadway shows with Chelsea and her parents, according to the Daily Mail report.
Caption: The pilings for Diller Island, the futuristic park and performing arts venue, are being built. The dream is being sponsored by Barry Diller, the entertainment mogul, and his wife, fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg. With a hefty price tag of $250 million, the island is slated to open in spring of 2021.
Diller is not only an entertainment mogul but a very close friends of Chelsea’s parents, Bill & Hillary. In December of 2018, the Jewish Voice reported that the plans to build Diller Island on the West Side of Manhattan in the Hudson River had begun to materialize as pilings could be seen being built.
With a hefty price tag of $250 million, the island is slated to open in spring of 2021. The estimate budget jumped from a mere $35 million, mainly because of the design complexity and legal battles. The project struggled against seven years of planning and bureaucratic maneuvering while wrangling with an environmentalist opposition group, due to the protected status of the river.
The park, named after Mr. Diller, will feature a performing arts center, with a 700-seat amphitheater for music, dance and theater productions. As reported by the NY Times, British designer Thomas Heatherwick, is creating a 2.4-acre platform which will seem to rise out of the river like a green Neverland. The supports surrounding the perimeter will appear as clusters of Champagne-glass-shaped planting pots seemingly sprouting from pilings beneath the riverbed. The addition of two walkways, which will connect the park to the shoreline and make it part of Hudson River Park, are also already underway.
But back to Chelsea for a moment. The Daily Mail reported that when the market opened this past Friday, the trading prices of both IAC and Expedia revealed that compensation packages that the younger Clinton is receiving would amount to just over $400,000 of Expedia stock and shares in IAC. This pretty package with a bow on top adds up to a whopping $6.3 million for the first daughter and savvy businesswoman. Moreover, she has over $400,000 worth of Expedia stock, bringing her to over $6.7 million in combined stock from the two companies
The 10-K that was filed this week by Expedia shows that Chelsea’s total compensation package was $302,880 for the most recent fiscal year, according to the Daily Mail report.
Chelsea also picked up a cool $52,953 as a cash fee for assuming the role as director of the board and her stock award was $249,927. Other members of the boards of both companies were compensated in the same amount. She was required to attend just six meetings in her role at the company, where she has been on the board since 2011
It appears that Chelsea also represents the youth voice on the boards of the companies that she serves on. She is the youngest at age 39 and joins such people as producer Scott Rudin, 60, Uber CEO Khosrowshahi and Diller’s stepson Alexander von Furstenberg, both 49, and Courtnee Chun, who at 43 is the closest in age to Clinton, according to the Daily Mail report.
Venezuela's socialist government said Tuesday that an "attempted coup" was underway in Caracas, with opposition leader and U.S. recognized interim president Juan Guaido saying there was "no turning back" in his efforts to overthrow President Nicolas Maduro. Photo Credit: rt.com
Venezuela’s socialist government said Tuesday that an “attempted coup” was underway in Caracas, with opposition leader and U.S. recognized interim president Juan Guaido saying there was “no turning back” in his efforts to overthrow President Nicolas Maduro.
By: Ken Bredemeier
Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of the capital, with gunfire erupting and troops loyal to Maduro firing water cannons at protesters. Television footage showed one Venezuela National Guard vehicle running over demonstrators who were throwing rocks at the military.
In Washington, President Donald Trump said on Twitter he was “very closely” monitoring the situation, adding, “The United States stands with the People of Venezuela and their Freedom!”
Trump’s National Security Adviser John Bolton described the unfolding drama as “a very serious situation … a very delicate moment.” He called on top Venezuelan officials, including Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez, to convince military commanders to defect to Guaido.
“We want a peaceful transition of power,” Bolton said.
In video and Twitter messages, the U.S.-supported Guaido said, “Today brave soldiers, brave patriots, brave men supporting the constitution have answered our call.”
He declared, “The moment is now! The 24 states of the country have taken the path, no turning back, the future is ours. People and the Armed Forces united by the cessation of usurpation.”
But Maduro responded on Twitter, saying, “Nerves of Steel! I have spoken with the commanders of all the (defense regions and operational zones), who have expressed their total loyalty to the People, the Constitution and the Fatherland. I call for the maximum popular mobilization to assure the victory of Peace. We will overcome!”
Guaido said military troops had joined his effort to overthrow Maduro.
But the government’s communications minister, Jorge Rodriguez, said on Twitter, “We are currently facing and deactivating a small group of treacherous military personnel who took positions” near a military base “to promote a coup d’etat. We call on the people to remain on maximum alert to — with our glorious National Bolivarian Armed Forces — defeat the attempted coup and preserve peace.”
Maduro loyalists fired tear gas at demonstrators outside a military base.
Guaido appeared alongside opposition politician Leopoldo Lopez who had been put under house arrest by Maduro but said he had been “freed” by soldiers supporting Guaido.
Lopez posted a picture of men in uniform on Twitter, with the message, “Venezuela: the definitive phase to end the usurpation, Operation Liberty, has begun.”
Defense Minister Lopez asserted on Twitter that the situation in the military barracks and bases in the country was “normal” and that the military was “firmly in defense” of Maduro.
Despite widespread food and medical shortages and a failing economy in Venezuela, the socialist Maduro regime has clung to power with the support of most of the country’s military. Venezuela’s two biggest creditors, Russia and China, also have continued to support Maduro. But Bolton said, “We expect the Russians not to interfere.”
Meanwhile, the U.S., one of about 50 countries that has recognized Guaido as the country’s legitimate leader, has imposed sanctions on Caracas in an effort to curb its international oil sales.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, “Today interim President Juan Guaido announced start of Operación Libertad. The U.S. Government fully supports the Venezuelan people in their quest for freedom and democracy. Democracy cannot be defeated.” (VOA News)
Attorney General William Barr appeared before Congress on Wednesday to defend his handling of special counsel Robert Mueller’s March 22 report on Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election, saying the decision to release an early summary of the report was his and dismissing questions about his depiction of Mueller’s findings.
By: Masood Farivar
In a hearing marked by partisan acrimony, Democrats grilled the attorney general over his four-page summary letter to Congress and Mueller’s subsequent complaint about the summary. Democrats accused Barr of grossly understating evidence of President Donald Trump’s misconduct in the summary in an effort to justify his controversial decision to exonerate the president of obstruction of justice during the investigation.
“It was my baby whether or not to disclose it to the public,” Barr told the Senate Judiciary Committee. “I determined that it was in the public interest for the department to announce the investigation’s bottom-line conclusions — that is, the determination of whether a provable crime has been committed or not.” Much of the hearing focused on a letter Mueller wrote to Barr on March 27 in which the special counsel complained that Barr’s summary “did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance” his office’s work and conclusions and urged the attorney general to release the report’s executive summaries without delay. In a subsequent phone call, Barr said, the special counsel expressed concern about how his findings were being portrayed in the media. However, he said Mueller did not characterize the summary as either “misleading” or “inaccurate.”
Barr said he turned down the special counsel’s request because he did not want to release “additional portions of the report in piecemeal fashion, leading to public debate over incomplete information.” The Justice Department released a redacted version of the 448-page report on April 18. The special counsel wrote in his final report that the evidence was not sufficient to charge any Trump campaign member with conspiring with Russian government representatives to meddle in the 2016 election, but the office did not draw conclusions about whether the president had obstructed justice.
That left it to the attorney general “to determine whether the conduct described in the report constituted a crime,” Barr wrote in his March 24 summary letter to Congress, adding that he and his No. 2, outgoing Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, had examined the evidence and determined that it was not enough to support obstruction charges against Trump. Barr defended his decision, saying the lack of “an underlying crime” — in this case, the absence of a criminal conspiracy between Trump and Russia — made it difficult to prove Trump’s “criminal intent,” which is key in proving obstruction of justice. Asked by the committee chairman, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, if he “felt good” about his decision, Barr responded, “Yes.” The Mueller report examined 11 instances of potential obstruction of justice, including an attempt by Trump in June 2017, just weeks after Mueller’s appointment, to get the special counsel fired, and then get his then-White House counsel, Don McGahn, to deny a newspaper account about it.
But Barr defended the president’s right to fire a special counsel and said none of the episodes documented by Mueller constituted obstruction of justice. And when Democrats pressed him to denounce the president for getting underlings to lie on his behalf, Barr demurred. “I’m not in the business of determining when lies are told to the American people,” Barr said. “I’m in the business of determining whether a crime has been committed.”
Barr, a former attorney general in the administration of the late President George H.W. Bush in the 1990s, returned to the Justice Department in February after Trump tapped him last year to replace his first attorney general, Jeff Sessions, whom he fired in November. Barr’s confirmation hearing was dominated by questions about his expansive views of presidential powers and his past criticism of the Mueller investigation. In a 19-page memo last June to Rosenstein, who then oversaw the Russia investigation, Barr called the special counsel’s obstruction investigation “fatally conceived.”
Democrats accused Barr of bias. “You’re biased in the situation and you’ve not been objective,” said California Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris, a 2020 presidential candidate. Republicans came to Barr’s defense, with Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas accusing Democrats of impugning the attorney general’s integrity. Barr was also widely criticized for holding a news conference to discuss the findings of the Mueller report hours before either members of Congress or journalists had a chance to read it. The attorney general told reporters that the special counsel’s probe did not find that Trump or anyone in his campaign had coordinated with Russia in its efforts to influence the 2016 election, and that later, after he assumed power, Trump had “no corrupt intent” to obstruct the probe.
Barr said the president “took no act that in fact deprived” Mueller of “documents and witnesses necessary to complete his investigation.” The Justice Department informed the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday night that Barr would not testify at a planned hearing Thursday. This raises the prospect that Democrats will hold the nation’s top law enforcement official in contempt of Congress. (VOA News)
The Times editorial board calls itself “stalwart supporters” of Israel, while the cartoonist responsible for recent charges of anti-Semitism claimed that Trump encourages ‘the expansionist radicalism of Netanyahu.”
By: WIN Staff
Following expressions of outrage and demands for action over the publication of an anti-Semitic cartoon in the New York Times on April 25, the newspaper’s editorial board published an opinion piece on Tuesday, adding to two previous responses, one of which specifically came from New York Times opinion section, where the caricature appeared.
The board acknowledges that the cartoon had portrayed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a dog wearing a Star of David on a collar, leading U.S. President Donald Trump, depicted as a blind man wearing a skullcap, adding that “however it came to be published, the appearance of such an obviously bigoted cartoon in a mainstream publication is evidence of a profound danger — not only of anti-Semitism but of numbness to its creep, to the insidious way this ancient, enduring prejudice is once again working itself into public view and common conversation.”
The Times had previously claimed that “a single editor working without adequate oversight downloaded the syndicated cartoon and made the decision to include it.”
It added that “such imagery is always dangerous, and at a time when anti-Semitism is on the rise worldwide, it’s all the more unacceptable.”
The editorial board picks up on that theme in its op-ed article, writing “that Anti-Semitic imagery is particularly dangerous now” and referring to the deadly attack on a Chabad synagogue in the San Diego area on Saturday and the just-released report which shows that violent-anti-Semitic-attacks in the US doubled in 2018.
“For decades, most American Jews felt safe to practice their religion, but now they pass through metal detectors to enter synagogues and schools,” notes the editorial board
It also refers to “the even greater hostility and danger” to Jews in Europe.
The board defends its coverage of Israel, insisting that “we have been and remain stalwart supporters of Israel, and believe that good-faith criticism should work to strengthen it over the long term by helping it stay true to its democratic values. But anti-Zionism can clearly serve as a cover for anti-Semitism — and some criticism of Israel, as the cartoon demonstrated, is couched openly in anti-Semitic terms,” it adds.
However, Antonio Moreira Antunes, the cartoonist behind the controversial caricature, appeared unrepentant in an exclusive interview with the Jerusalem Post. Specifically, he told the Post, “What will be the reason why I cannot do a critique of Israeli policy without being immediately categorized as anti-Semitic? I have nothing against the Jews but I have many things against the politics of Israel.” He added, “I try to make critical cartoons of situations that seem to me wrong, unfair and undemocratic.”
The Post says that the cartoonist replied by e-mail to their questions but that he did not explain why he drew a skullcap on Trump’s head.
The Times has been called out by one of its own contributors, Bret Stephens, who wrote in his column that this case of anti-Semitism in the pages of the newspaper is not an isolated incident.
“The Times has a longstanding Jewish problem, dating back to World War II, when it mostly buried news about the Holocaust,” writes Stephens, “and continuing into the present day in the form of intensely adversarial coverage of Israel. The criticism goes double when it comes to the editorial pages, whose overall approach toward the Jewish State tends to range, with some notable exceptions, from tut-tutting disappointment to thunderous condemnation.” (World Israel News)
On May 1, more than 200 young leaders from 10 countries gathered in Krakow, Poland, to take part in the first-ever ‘Emerging Leadership Conference,’ a youth-led initiative to combat global anti-Semitism launched by the International March of the Living.
On Wednesday, May 1, the eve of Holocaust Memorial Day (Yom Hashoah), more than 200 young leaders from 10 countries – Jewish and non-Jewish – gathered at the Jageillonian University in Krakow, Poland, to take part in the first-ever ‘Emerging Leadership Conference,’ an initiative of the International March of the Living launched in response to the torrent of anti-Semitic events and growing global trend of hate crimes against Jews over the last two years. The conference included a wide-ranging discussion of the young leaders’ responsibilities as the new frontline in the war against anti-Semitism and centered on the development of a declaration launching a campaign to rally the support of their peers around the world.
Edited by: JV Staff
Bringing together students and young professionals from the United States, Canada, Panama, South Africa, Australia, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, and the UK, the conference was led by 20 youth delegates who experienced anti-Semitism firsthand on college campuses or in their personal lives.
“Our enemies are everywhere – in the universities, in the streets, and in the political arena. What happened here in Poland is happening in all other countries, and it is time to act,” said Alberto Levy, a Duke University graduate from Panama who began receiving death threats after a Twitter feud with an anti-Semite took a violent turn. “Therefore, we need to remember, to understand where we come from and the destructive impact of anti-Semitism and racism of any kind on humanity. We need to embrace the reality, to understand the world we are living in and the threats that we are dealing with. And we need to fight, to act, to stop being indifferent. We cannot be bystanders to any act of racism or intolerance because we need to set an example strong enough to brand anti-Semitism as simply unacceptable in the eyes of the masses.”
In addition to hearing from Levy, now a lawyer and a member of the Latin American Federation of Young Jews, and Izzy Lenga, a British young professional working with the UK Labour Party and the Jewish Labour Movement, the conference participants were also addressed by Baruch Adler, Vice-Chairman of the International March of the Living, Michael Soberman, Director of the International March of the Living’s Emerging Leaders Program and a Senior Educational Consultant for the iCenter for Israel Education, Dr. Zohar Raviv, International VP of Education for Taglit-Birthright Israel, and Rabbi Dr. Danny Schiff, Foundation Scholar at the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, who was well acquainted with all 11 victims of the Tree of Life synagogue shooting in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh last October.
“Some people say that anti-Semitism is on the rise, but perhaps it never really went away. In truth, it’s just emerging back into the light. Some say that Pittsburgh will go down in history as one of the many cities in which Jews were killed for being Jews. But the story is not so simple,” said Rabb Schiff when addressing the students. “It is true – there is rising anti-Semitism. But it is also true that there are those who want to embrace us and support us, to hold us up and help us rebuild. The Jewish people does not dwell alone, we have friends who want to offer their support. So if we are serious about combatting anti-Semitism, let us choose our allies and work together. Let’s not pretend that we are by ourselves.”
“Additionally, we must acknowledge that the best response to anti-Semitism is to embrace our Judaism ever so fervently and deliberately. Embracing Jewish life is the best way to frustrate the well-laid plans of anti-Semites. Every one of you can undermine their plans by committing to become the finest Jews imaginable.”
Following the lectures, the delegates were split into groups for interactive sessions facilitated by the youth delegates during which they worked on drafting defined portions of the ‘International Declaration Combating Anti-Semitism, Racism and Intolerance.’ When the students reconvened, the different parts were woven together to form a single, powerful statement, which will be read by the delegates on Thursday, May 2, during the closing ceremony of the 31st annual International March of the Living at Birkenau.
“Despite all of the wonderful things that my college gave me, it was a hotbed of anti-Semitism and anti-Israel activity, which made it really difficult and painful to express my truest identity. Those experiences woke me up to the reality that anti-Semitism exists in numerous forms, near and far,” said Hallie Goldstein, a youth delegate from San Francisco, CA, who plans on making Aliyah to Israel this fall. “Being a part of the March of the Living’s Emerging Leaders Program is such a blessing for me because it allows me to engage with likeminded individuals who are committed to fighting the same kind of bigotry that I encountered regularly in college. I am eager to get this campaign off the ground and make combating anti-Semitism a lifelong commitment.”
Prior to the conference, the 20 emerging leaders, all of whom previously participated in the March of the Living, spent four days touring Poland and discussing issues of anti-Semitism, racism and intolerance with Polish and European peers. They will now use the declaration as a launch pad to create a network of global young leaders that can be activated to advance March of the Living initiatives aimed at combating anti-Semitism, racism and intolerance. They will heavily promote the campaign via social media platforms under the hashtag #SayNoToAntisemitism.
On Thursday, May 2, more than 10,000 Jewish and non-Jewish youth from 40 countries and dozens of Holocaust survivors and dignitaries from around the world will participate in the 31st annual International March of the Living, an immersive Holocaust education experience – the largest of its kind – that brings tens of thousands of individuals to Poland every year to examine the roots of prejudice, intolerance and hatred. Since its inception in 1988, more than 300,000 participants from 52 countries have marched down the same 3-kilometer path leading from Auschwitz to Birkenau on Holocaust Memorial Day as a tribute to all victims of the Holocaust. Over the last 30 years, high-profile participants have included Israeli Prime Ministers, Presidents, Members of Knesset, Chiefs of Staff, and Ministers, as well as Presidents, Ministers of Education, intellectuals, and educators from around the world.
Phyllis Chesler asks: why has the NY Times refused to name the editor or editors who chose to run this cartoon? And why have these people not been fired?
The story below did not happen in Mecca or Islamabad. It happened in Manhattan
By: Professor Phyllis Chesler
Last night, my brother, who is legally blind, and who has a service dog, visited me. After dinner, when he called for a car service, I cautioned him to request someone who would accept a service dog. And so he did. Nevertheless, the dispatcher sent “Mahmoud” who absolutely refused to take the unclean, impure animal into his vehicle. My sightless brother, dog and all, was left on the street to call for another car. The driver was not apologetic. He was, rather, outraged, contemptuous, righteous. Many years ago, a dear friend who also had a service dog, was treated similarly by a Muslim driver. She refused to get out of the car but luckily she called me. I begged her to get out and she finally did so. He might have taken her on a wild ride and dropped her off on the side of a highway.
I am not talking about Mecca or Islamabad or Kabul. I am talking about Manhattan. Of course, not all Muslims….are hateful towards dogs. (I personally know many Muslims who treasure their dogs). And not all Muslims are….terrorists. But all the taxi drivers who refuse to take dogs—thereby, knowingly breaking the law, are Muslims. I have never heard of a Hindu, a Sikh, a Christian, a Jew, a Buddhist, or a Zoroastrian driver who refused a service animal or who was so willing to break the law in order to obey some other kind of law, custom, habit, or to engage in such rude prejudice. Thus, the abominable cartoon that the New York Times ran and which depicted Prime Minister Netanyahu as a dog is even more ominous than it seems. Muslims consider dogs to be impure, filthy, and they cannot come into contact with them. Dogs are not treasured pets. Dogs are not to be fed. They are to be left howling and starving in the streets—taunted, perhaps stoned by boys.
Cartoons all across the Nazi world and all across the Islamic world feature Jews as dogs, rats, octopuses, spiders—all creepy crawling things that must be exterminated. And the New York Times simply had no idea that this was so. Do you really believe that? I don’t. Listen: The Paper of Record has normalized Jew-hatred as fatefully as the United Nations has. They are the running dogs (so to speak) of this rapidly escalating surge of attacks on those who are visibly Jewish—not only in Europe or in Israel—but right here in America, in our synagogues and on our streets. Alas, I laid it all out at the beginning of the 21st century, I wrote my little heart out, and kept doing so, only to be told that I was imagining danger where none exists—and by some of the very people who are now beginning to repeat my lines, including the one about anti-Zionism=anti-Semitism. My own editor attacked me for this one insight. And then the world had its way with me. Please allow me to congratulate those who came out to demonstrate against the New York Times yesterday. But I must ask: Where were the large Jewish organizations, those under fifty, members of diverse congregations, and our non-Jewish allies? And why has the Paper refused to name the editor or editors who chose to run this cartoon? And why have these people not been fired?
And why do those who oppose genocide continue to advertise their wares in the New York Times? The advertisers should think carefully before doing so again. Even if we had the “yellow vests” demonstrating day after day, I doubt the Times would change its Jew-hating culture. The question is: What will? And: Is it too late? (INN)
The writer is a Ginsburg-Ingerman Fellow at the Middle East Forum, received the 2013 National Jewish Book Award, authored 18 books, including Women and Madness and The New Anti-Semitism, and 4 studies about honor killing, Her latest books are An American Bride in Kabul, A Family Conspiracy: Honor Killing and A Politically Incorrect Feminist.
The second anti-Semitic cartoon that the New York Times published within a week. This cartoon above shows an ominous looking Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as an evil version of the biblical Moses. The first cartoon that the NYT ran showed a blind President Donald Trump being led a dog of a German breed. Photo Credit: YouTube
A public funeral was held on Monday for Lori Gilbert-Kaye, 60, the woman who was shot and killed while attending a Passover service at Chabad of Poway on Shabbat.
A public funeral was held on Monday for Lori Gilbert-Kaye, 60, the woman who was shot and killed while attending a Passover service at Chabad of Poway on Shabbat.
Kaye was standing in the lobby of the synagogue just before 11:30 a.m. when she stepped between Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein (the Chabad rabbi) and gunman, John T. Earnest, 19, who fired several shots from what police described as a rifle, as was reported by INN.
Her husband, Dr. Howard Kaye, told the congregation that he performed CPR on his wife and that she died quickly.
“She did not suffer,” he said reassuringly, according to CBS News.
Kaye described the gunman as “lower than an animal” who was likely raised on a diet of blood and gore, according to the INN report.
At one point, he admitted that his thoughts were coming to him so quickly he was having trouble organizing them but he wanted to share the story of a peace pole his wife had erected at their home. The pole had a message “Peace prevail on Earth” in five different languages
“My wife was a person. Is a person who did so much good in her life. Whatever good she did always turned out. And whatever I did that might not have been good, she repaired and made me look good,” he said.
John T. Earnest pleaded not guilty to murder charges at his arraignment on Tuesday, according to an AP report. Sitting behind glass panes and wearing glasses, Earnest appeared to be looking straight at Judge Joseph Brannigan of San Diego County Superior Court, showing no emotion. Brannigan said Earnest would be held without bail, calling him “an obvious and extraordinary risk to public safety.” Photo Credit: Facebook
INN reported that Kaye’s daughter, Hannah Kaye, said she chose to a pink dress of her mother because she said her mother was a rainbow, her greatest advocate and her dancing partner.
“Our story was, is and will forever continue to be nothing short of extraordinary and remarkable,” she said.
“My mother gave me every opportunity I could have dreamed of. All of who I am today is a result from the experiences we had together.”
A friend recalled how Kaye was a large supporter of President Donald Trump, always had a gift to give a friend or loved one and watched several cable news channels and read several newspapers, according to the INN report.
“Lori died on Shabbat. Lori died on Passover. Lori died in a synagogue. And Lori died saving our Rabbi,” her friend said, according to CBS News.
At the end of the service, Rabbi Goldstein said the congregation would continue to work to make the world a better place and will continue to hold services in the face of danger.
“We don’t go down for one moment. We don’t allow anyone – no terrorist, no murderer, no evil – to shut us down,” he stressed.
At the time of the shooting about 100 congregants were worshipping when the deranged gunman struck. Not only did he murder Lori Kaye in cold blood but Earnest wounded the synagogue’s rabbi, Yisroel Goldstein; 8-year-old Noya Dahan; and her uncle Almog Peretz, according to a WIN report.
World Israel News reported that Goldstein, who lost one of his fingers, said he was preparing for a service and heard a loud sound, turned around and a saw a young man wearing sunglasses standing in front of him with a rifle.
“I couldn’t see his eyes. I couldn’t see his soul,” Goldstein said.
And then, Goldstein said, “miraculously the gun jammed.”
WIN reported that in the moments that followed, the rabbi said he wrapped his bloodied hand in a prayer shawl and addressed congregants outside, vowing to stay strong in the face of the deadly attack targeting his community.
“We are a Jewish nation that will stand tall. We will not let anyone take us down. Terrorism like this will not take us down,” Goldstein recalled telling the community.
Authorities said Earnest had no previous contact with law enforcement. Prosecutors are seeking a sentence of life without parole or the death penalty. Earnest pleaded not guilty to murder charges at his arraignment on Tuesday, according to an AP report. Sitting behind glass panes and wearing glasses, Earnest appeared to be looking straight at Judge Joseph Brannigan of San Diego County Superior Court, showing no emotion. Brannigan said Earnest would be held without bail, calling him “an obvious and extraordinary risk to public safety.”
Leonard Trinh, hate crimes prosecutor for the district attorney’s office, provided more details about the attack, saying Earnest fired eight to 10 rounds before his AR-style rifle jammed. Trinh also said Earnest had a tactical vest, helmet and 50 bullets at the time of his arrest.
Police searched Earnest’s house in San Diego and said he also was being investigated in connection with the March 24 arson attack at the mosque in nearby Escondido.
California State University in San Marcos was the institution of higher learning that John Earnest attended. He was a dean’s list student who was majoring in nursing. Photo Credit: news.csusm.edu
California State University, San Marcos, confirmed that Earnest was enrolled as a nursing student who was on the dean’s list.
After the gunman fired numerous rounds, the AR-type assault weapon might have malfunctioned, San Diego County Sheriff William Gore said, according to the World Israel News report.
An off-duty Border Patrol agent fired at the shooter as he fled, missing him but striking the getaway vehicle, the sheriff said.
WIN reported that Earnest called 911 to report the shooting, and when an officer found him on a roadway, he “pulled over, jumped out of his car with his hands up and was immediately taken into custody,” San Diego Police Chief David Nisleit said.
The rabbi, who described Kaye as a founding member of the congregation, said the attack could have harmed many more people had the shooter turned toward the sanctuary where so many were praying.
“Lori took the bullet for all of us,” Goldstein said, his hands wrapped in bandages. “She didn’t deserve to die.”
World Israel News reported that friends described Kaye as giving, warm and attentive to community members on their birthdays and when they were sick. A wife and mother, she loved gardening and made delicious challah for her family and friends, Roneet Lev said.
When the gunfire erupted, another worshipper, Shimon Abitbul, said he put his 2-year-old grandson on the floor and waited for a break in the shooting to grab the boy and sprint away.
Abitbul, who was visiting from Israel, said he was still coming to grips with the carnage.
“All of us are human beings,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if you are Jews or Christians or Muslims.”
Peretz, a visitor from Israel who was wounded in the leg, said he turned around after hearing gunfire and saw the shooter standing by the door. He grabbed his niece by the hand and carried out another child.
He then saw a group of children and got them running. “I tell them, ‘Go this way, go this way,” Peretz said.
Not only did Jew hating terrorist John Earnest murder Lori Kaye in cold blood but Earnest wounded the synagogue’s rabbi, Yisroel Goldstein (pictured above) 8-year-old Noya Dahan; and her uncle Almog Peretz. Photo Credit: Chabad.org
Earlier on Monday, the shooter, John Earnest, was formally charged with murder and attempted murder, with hate crime allegations.
Prior to the attack Earnest had published an anti-Semitic screed online in which he claimed responsibility for an arson attack against a mosque in the area weeks earlier.
Police investigating the shooting attack say Earnest acted alone and was not part of any organized group.
Authorities have also charged him with arson in connection to a fire last month at an Escondido mosque.
Earlier on Monday, Earnest’s parents denounced his actions as “evil” and said they had no clue what motivated him.
“We are shocked and deeply saddened by the terrible attack on the Chabad of Poway synagogue,” his parents said in a statement released by their attorney and quoted by AFP.
“But our sadness pales in comparison to the grief and anguish our son has caused for so many innocent people. He has killed and injured the faithful who were gathered in a sacred place on a sacred day.
“To our great shame, he is now part of the history of evil that has been perpetrated on Jewish people for centuries.”
“Our son’s actions were informed by people we do not know, and ideas we do not hold,” Earnest’s parents said.
“Like our other five children, he was raised in a family, a faith and a community that all rejected hate and taught that love must be the motive for everything we do,” said the parents.
“How our son was attracted to such darkness is a terrifying mystery to us, though we are confident that law enforcement will uncover many details of the path that he took to this evil and despicable act,” the statement said.
Chabad Lubavitch of Poway Synagogue was the sight of a horrific and deadly shooting on Shabbat, April 27th. Photo Credit: Chabad of Poway
WIN reported that Earll Pott, a family attorney who issued the statement, said the parents will not provide a legal defense for their son, who will likely be represented by a public defender. They asked for privacy.
The FBI revealed on Monday that it had received a warning about the Poway synagogue shooter five minutes before he carried out a deadly shooting attack, according to an INN report.
The FBI had received a warning about Earnest minutes before the attack, but did not have enough time to locate the suspect.In
Shortly before the attack was carried out Earnest posted an anti-Semitic manifesto on the 8-Chan board, an online community notorious for hosting extremists. In his manifesto Earnest accused the Jewish people of seeking to destroy the European race, accused President Trump of being controlled by Jews, and vowed to post a live-stream on Facebook of an attack on a Jewish target.
The deadly shooting in Poway that has shaken the community to the core marks the six month anniversary of the massacre that took place at the Tree of Life Synagogue in the Squirrel Hill section of Pittsburgh. On October 27, 2018, 11 elderly Jewish worshippers were shot to death by truck driver Robert Bowers, 46, of Baldwin, Pennsylvania. Bowers also posted anti-Jewish screeds on the internet prior to this deadly assault on those gathering at the synagogue to pray on Shabbat morning.
On Tuesday morning, the Jewish Press reported that Chabad Rabbi Uriel Vigler was attacked by an African-American man who physically threatened him and yelled anti-Semitic vulgarities. The assault happened on Lexington Avenue in Manhattan, as the Rabbi was making his way to morning prayers (Shacharit).
The assailant then ran away, and the rabbi did not need medical treatment.
Rabbi Vigler filed a complaint with the New York Police Department (NYPD).
In response to the attack, Rabbi Vigler told the TPS news agency: “I thought we were living in peace and tranquility in Manhattan. We won’t surrender to terror. We will continue to act with alacrity and full of love for every Jew and we will continue to spread light to the world.”
Rabbi Vigler is the rabbi of the Chabad Israel Center on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, and the director of the “Balev Echad” organization which empowers IDF soldiers who were wounded while serving in the army.
In a related development, the reprehensible anti-Semitic cartoon that appeared in the pages of the international edition of the New York Times has been at the center of a political maelstrom. Detractors of the NY Times have claimed that the iconic newspaper has essentially morphed into a contemporary version of the Nazi propaganda sheet, known as Der Sturmer.
On Monday evening, April 29, several hundred people gathered at the NY Times building on 8th Avenue in midtown to express their staunch opposition to the paper’s continual legacy of promoting anti-Semitism and establishing themselves as a tendentious repository of misinformation about Israel. Their coverage of all Israel related matters has been highly skewed and bigoted for many decades, despite the fact that pro-Israel advocacy groups have concretely challenged the veracity of the NY Times reportage.
While the well intentioned demonstration in front of the NY Times building attracted such prominent Jewish personalities as Professor Alan Dershowitz, and former Brooklyn Assemblyman Dov Hikind, among others, there appears to be a division among Jewish leaders on precisely what is the most effective path to traverse in order to not only confront the Times head on but to make the kind of formidable impact that result in dissuading the “Paper of Record” from tenaciously clinging to their current controversial editorial policy on Israel.
Professor Phyllis Chesler, a prolific writer, prescient scholar, leading academic and author of the ground breaking book “The New Anti-Semitism” said, “Demonstrations make for great optics, but the truth is for these gatherings to really be effective, we need rabbis, community leaders, organizational leaders, yeshiva principals and other respected personalities to bring out our Jewish youth. The paltry numbers of people that currently turn out to these demonstrations is more than embarrassing and definitely counterproductive.”
She added, “We need young people, en masse, at these demonstrations and we need them in the forefront of leadership roles as well. We need thousands in the streets expressing our positions, not just a few hundred and in many cases much less than that. While I both respect and greatly admire those who organized this demonstration at the Times building, I do question whether it was really worth it since the NY Times clearly has no intention of altering their anti-Israel propaganda policy because of this public display of angst.”
As a person who has written extensively on Israel and Jewish affairs for decades, and truly comprehends the nuances of the cognitive war that has been launched by a litany of adversaries in order to decimate the Jewish people and all that they represent, Chesler said we are living in the most dangerous of times. “Anti-Semitic incidents and Jew hating vitriol are at a fever pitch and tragically, I see even more of a dramatic escalation as each moment passes. It is really coming at us in a fast and furious fashion,” says Chesler who had offered a cogent analysis of this frightening phenomenon many years ago.
From her academic perch Chesler recalled that back in 1980 she approached the Hadassah organization as well as the United Nations and then the government of Israel with an offer to instruct people on how to scrupulously filter leftist rhetoric that is designed specifically to lambaste and flagrantly attack Israel.
“While these folks gave me a polite hearing, none of my suggestions on this matter got off the ground and that got me to thinking about the pervasive and well entrenched apathy in the Jewish world and how it can be combatted,” said Chesler.
She added that, “If Jewish organizational leaders would get together and start a campaign in which they could reach out to NY Times advertisers (many of whom are Jewish) and convince them to take their advertising dollars elsewhere, I believe that the NY Times will stand up and take notice. Losing this kind of substantial ad revenue would really help to debilitate them and that is the last thing that they need as they struggle to stay afloat financially.”
Asked what the next course of collective action should be in the war to stem the tide of this alarming rate of anti-Semitism, Chesler drew a heartfelt sigh and said, “Unity, strength and working together as we utilize highly effective modalities to make statements that will change the course of history. The clock continues to tick and time is running out.”
President Donald Trump is considering placing Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood on a U.S. list of foreign terrorist organizations, the White House said Tuesday. Photo Credit: Middle East Eye
President Donald Trump is considering placing Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood on a U.S. list of foreign terrorist organizations, the White House said Tuesday.
“The president has consulted with his national security team and leaders in the region who share his concern, and this designation is working its way through the internal process,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders wrote in an email to reporters.
Naming Egypt’s oldest Islamist movement a foreign terrorist organization would allow Washington to impose sanctions on any individual or group with links to the Muslim Brotherhood.
The Muslim Brotherhood responded by saying it is stronger than any politician’s decision.
“We will remain… steadfast in our work in accordance with our moderate and peaceful thinking in what we believe to be right, for honest and constructive cooperation, to serve the communities in which we live and humanity as a whole,” a Brotherhood statement reads.
The Muslim Brotherhood was founded in Egypt more than 90 years ago. It came to power when its candidate, Mohammed Morsi, won the 2012 presidential election. Morsi had led the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak a year earlier.
Current Egyptian President Abdel Fatah el-Sissi toppled Morsi in 2013, outlawed the Muslim Brotherhood, and threw Morsi and many of its leaders in jail.
El-Sissi has shown little tolerance for the opposition and any dissent.
El Sissi had urged Trump to take the step of designating the Muslim Brotherhood as a foreign terrorist organization during an April 9th visit to the White House, the New York Times reported on Tuesday, citing officials familiar with the matter.
After the meeting, Trump praised El Sissi as a “great president,” as a bipartisan group of politicians raised concerns about El Sissi’s record on human rights.
Many lawmakers and human rights groups have blasted al-Sissi for what they say have been numerous abuses and the recent successful referendum extending presidential terms which could allow him to rule until 2030.
Organized opposition to the referendum in Egypt was almost nonexistent.
According to an AP report, some people think the Muslim Brotherhood does not meet the legal criteria required for the designation. Others think the organization is too diverse and spread out across nations, making it difficult to enforce a one-size-fits-all description. There also questions about whether a designation would complicate U.S. diplomacy.
To meet the legal criteria for the designation, a group must engage in terrorist activity that threatens the security of Americans or the defense, foreign relations or economic interests of the United States.
According to the AP report, Jonathan Schanzer, with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington think tank, said some violent branches of the group could be designated, but other members support its extremist political views but not violence.
That “blurry” picture of the group was what discouraged earlier U.S. administrations from designating it, he said. The Muslim Brotherhood in Libya, Syria and Yemen have apparent ties to militants, while the group in Jordan bills itself as a political group, said Schanzer, who advises against a “blanket terrorist designation” of the group.
Venezuela's socialist government said Tuesday that an "attempted coup" was underway in Caracas, with opposition leader and U.S. recognized interim president Juan Guaido saying there was "no turning back" in his efforts to overthrow President Nicolas Maduro. Photo Credit: rt.com
Venezuela’s socialist government said Tuesday that an “attempted coup” was underway in Caracas, with opposition leader and U.S. recognized interim president Juan Guaido saying there was “no turning back” in his efforts to overthrow President Nicolas Maduro.
Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of the capital, with gunfire erupting and troops loyal to Maduro firing water cannons at protesters. Television footage showed one Venezuela National Guard vehicle running over demonstrators who were throwing rocks at the military.
In Washington, President Donald Trump said on Twitter he was “very closely” monitoring the situation, adding, “The United States stands with the People of Venezuela and their Freedom!”
Trump’s National Security Adviser John Bolton described the unfolding drama as “a very serious situation … a very delicate moment.” He called on top Venezuelan officials, including Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez, to convince military commanders to defect to Guaido.
“We want a peaceful transition of power,” Bolton said.
In video and Twitter messages, the U.S.-supported Guaido said, “Today brave soldiers, brave patriots, brave men supporting the constitution have answered our call.”
He declared, “The moment is now! The 24 states of the country have taken the path, no turning back, the future is ours. People and the Armed Forces united by the cessation of usurpation.”
But Maduro responded on Twitter, saying, “Nerves of Steel! I have spoken with the commanders of all the (defense regions and operational zones), who have expressed their total loyalty to the People, the Constitution and the Fatherland. I call for the maximum popular mobilization to assure the victory of Peace. We will overcome!”
Guaido said military troops had joined his effort to overthrow Maduro.
But the government’s communications minister, Jorge Rodriguez, said on Twitter, “We are currently facing and deactivating a small group of treacherous military personnel who took positions” near a military base “to promote a coup d’etat. We call on the people to remain on maximum alert to — with our glorious National Bolivarian Armed Forces — defeat the attempted coup and preserve peace.”
Maduro loyalists fired tear gas at demonstrators outside a military base.
Guaido appeared alongside opposition politician Leopoldo Lopez who had been put under house arrest by Maduro but said he had been “freed” by soldiers supporting Guaido.
Lopez posted a picture of men in uniform on Twitter, with the message, “Venezuela: the definitive phase to end the usurpation, Operation Liberty, has begun.”
Defense Minister Lopez asserted on Twitter that the situation in the military barracks and bases in the country was “normal” and that the military was “firmly in defense” of Maduro.
Despite widespread food and medical shortages and a failing economy in Venezuela, the socialist Maduro regime has clung to power with the support of most of the country’s military. Venezuela’s two biggest creditors, Russia and China, also have continued to support Maduro. But Bolton said, “We expect the Russians not to interfere.”
Meanwhile, the U.S., one of about 50 countries that has recognized Guaido as the country’s legitimate leader, has imposed sanctions on Caracas in an effort to curb its international oil sales.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, “Today interim President Juan Guaido announced start of Operación Libertad. The U.S. Government fully supports the Venezuelan people in their quest for freedom and democracy. Democracy cannot be defeated.”
A group of Democratic strategists that includes an individual who established a political action committee backing presidential candidate Joe Biden will lead a $60 million secret money "strategy center" for Democrats for the 2020 election cycle. Photo Credit: Shutterstock
Group will work with other liberal orgs, try to counter conservative media
A group of Democratic strategists that includes an individual who established a political action committee backing presidential candidate Joe Biden will lead a $60 million secret money “strategy center” for Democrats for the 2020 election cycle.
Future Majority, a Washington, D.C.-based strategy center that will work to “rebrand” the Democratic party, was launched with the intent of providing “strategic advice” to other liberal organizations, communications, and a “war room” to debunk “fake news” and “counter conservative social media,” Politico reports.
The group will focus on midwestern states for the 2020 presidential election including Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, according to Mark Riddle, the executive director of Future Majority.
“It’s no great secret that the presidential race will be won or lost in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio—if we can win back the narrative that the word ‘Democrat’ equals people who are fighting for folks who work hard every day, we can continue to win elections,” Riddle said of the effort. “If [Democrats] get defined as being about socialism and these other words people can hear about out of Washington, then I worry.”
Dan Sena, the executive director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee for the 2018 elections, will act as an adviser for the group. Julianna Smoot, who was a deputy director on President Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign, will also advise the nonprofit. The group has enlisted Democratic megadonors Philip Munger, son of Charles Munger, the vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, and Dan Tierney, who served as managing director of KCG Holdings, a global financial services company that was sold in 2017.
Future Majority will utilize PACs and is registered as a 501(c)(4) “dark money” nonprofit that does not have to disclose its donors. Actress Alyssa Milano was tapped by the group to help spread its content on social media sites, according to the report.
Despite Future Majority just now going public on its upcoming efforts for the 2020 elections, the group was incorporated more than a year ago in January 2018, according to its filings with the D.C. Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs.
Matthew Tompkins, a Democratic fundraiser, is listed as the group’s governor in its D.C. records.
On April 24, Tompkins established a separate committee named Biden PAC despite PACs not being able to contain the name of candidates, Federal Election Commission filings show. The same day it was established, the PAC amended its statement of organization and changed its name to the G Street PAC while removing Tompkins as its treasurer. The PAC will work to gather tens of millions of dollars and seeks to create an activist network in all 50 states for the former vice president. It will eventually be named the For the People PAC, the Hill reported. Biden’s campaign distanced itself from the efforts.
Future Majority’s incorporator is marked as Cathedral Strategies LLC, which does not appear to have a website. However, Cathedral Strategies’ own filings in D.C. show that the group was registered in 2013 by Brett Avery Seifried. The LLC’s license is currently revoked, its filings show.
Despite apologizing about the original cartoon, The New York Times published another cartoon, which appears to be anti-Semitic as well and has been widely circulated on twitter after being brought to light by Social Media legend ALX.
The cartoon originally published in The New York Times included an apparently blind President Donald Trump wearing a yarmulke while being led by a dog with the face of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Star of David collar.
Following the publication of the clearly anti-Semitic cartoon, Israeli cartoonist Shay Charka posted his edited version of the cartoon. In the new version he replaces President Trump’s face with a copy of The New York Times, and the face of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with a book of protocols that shows a snake winding its way around the world on the cover, and the Star of David dog collar tag with “BDS.”
Israeli cartoonist Shay Charka posted his edited version of the NYT anti-Semitic cartoon. In the new version he replaces President Trump’s face with a copy of The New York Times, and the face of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with a book of protocols that shows a snake winding its way around the world on the cover, and the Star of David dog collar tag with “BDS.”
The creator of the original cartoon, Antunes, who works under the mononym António, is a Portuguese cartoonist who has a history of publishing anti-Semitic cartoons. In 2006 a cartoon published during the Second Lebanon War depicts one leg tied up with explosives and attached to an Islamic crescent moon, and another leg – adorned with the American flag – attached to a bloody Star of David.
The New York Times originally issued a statement to appear in their Monday international edition which just said they erred in publishing the cartoon but made no mention of an apology. Only after receiving major backlash on twitter and elsewhere did they issue a second statement where they issued a formal apology.
Despite apologizing about the original cartoon, The New York Times published another cartoon, which appears to be anti-Semitic as well and has been widely circulated on twitter after being brought to light by Social Media legend ALX.
Jonathan Greenblatt, the CEO and National Direction of the ADL (Anti-Defamation League) tweeted “This is insensitive, inappropriate, and offensive. It shows once again that the @NYTimes needs to educate its staff about #antiSemitism. We call on them to take immediate action.”
Jason D. Greenblatt, assistant to President Trump, tweeted “Confounded & shocked by another terrible decision by @NYT. As our nation is grieving the deadly attack in #Poway, how did a cartoon like this make it into their paper…again?! We need answers!”
Writing at artvoice.com, attorney Omar Rosales — a former NXIVM member — says that help may be available to sex abuse victims of Keith Raniere, the alleged mastermind behind the self-empowerment cult NXIVM.
Headlined “Rosales: Day of reckoning coming for Bronfman-Raniere with NY Child Victims Act,” the piece begins by noting that it was on February 14, 2019, that New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the New York Child Victims Act (CVA) into law. The CVA extends the statute of limitations to prosecute child molesters in New York State and provides a one-year window for victims of child abuse to file lawsuits against their abusers and the institutions who allowed the abuse to continue.
“The legislation was a culmination of over 15 years of dedicated work by advocates and victims of sexual assault survivors to bring justice to the survivors of sexual abuse. For many years, the law was stalled in the New York Assembly by efforts from the state Catholic diocese,” Rosales points out. “However, Governor Cuomo noted that Pope Francis’s new efforts to address the sex abuse scandal and allow victims to seek assistance from Courts turned the tide in the bill’s favor.”
According to Rosales, the Child Victims Act makes three important changes to New York law:
– The statute of limitations for victims to file civil lawsuits has changed. Previously, victims had to file a lawsuit by age 23. Now, victims are allowed to file lawsuits up until the age of 55.
– If a victim did not previously sue by the time they were 23, they will have a one-year window of opportunity to sue the abuser and/or institution that employed the abuser. The window begins on August 14, 2019.
– Felony charges can now be sought against the abuser until the victim is 28 years old. Misdemeanor charges can now be sought against the abuser until the victim is 25 years old. The statute of limitations in criminal cases is no longer the time from when the criminal act occurred but relates to the age of the victim.
“The institutions that employed the abuser are now liable,” Rosales continues. “These include churches, schools, camps, Boy Scouts of America, and other institutions. This is important because, in many instances, the abuser worked under the cloak of a provider and was a person placed in a position of trust over the victim. Also, many times, the institution knew about the abuse but attempted to hide the crimes or discredit the victims. The institutions also tend to own property, assets, accounts that can be seized to satisfy a judgment. Whereas the abuser probably does not have the money to cover compensation for the victim, the institution can provide monetary compensation.”
