How has George Soros and his MoveOn.org movement, and the Muslim Brotherhood and its Nation of Islam, Black Lives Matter and Muslim Students’ Associations partners manage to drive a wedge between Israel and the Democratic party?
The US and Israel have been the closest of allies based on mutual interests and respect. Love and support for Israel has always been bipartisan. American Jews have overwhelmingly voted Democrat.
Radical leftists have intimidated political hopefuls for years. They are making Israel into a partisan issue with the Democrats adopting anti-Israel positions.
To quote Martin Luther King, “When people criticize Zionists, they mean Jews. You’re talking anti-Semitism.”
Our universities have been taken over by Jew-hating Islamists and their useful idiots who are ignorant of Middle East history. Their answer to the Hamas-Israel war is for Hamas to win. They support Hamas’ call to kill every Jew in the world. They support a Caliphate replacing our democracy.
The solution lies in the hands of President Biden. He must address the nation and condemn these anti-Semites with no reservations. He must defund any university who tolerates these demonstrations and fails to protect their Jewish students.
Students who have violated the law should face jail time. Fines paid by wealthy sponsors are not sufficient to curtail blatant racism. Foreign demonstrators must be immediately deported.
Jews have contributed too much to America to have to live in fear of radical Islamists. Muslims have earned 16 Nobel Prizes. Jews have won 965, 13 of them being Israelis.
America has to clean up its act.
Sincerely Len Bennett, Author of ‘Unfinished Work’ Ottawa, CANADA
The Far Left is a Clear & Present Danger
Dear Editor:
I think it’s very interesting that the “protesters” at Columbia declare themselves an “autonomous zone” where they enforce the rules, not the university or the police. The “Occupy Wall Street” protesters did the same thing. In Seattle and Portland and other places during the George Floyd riots, they also set up these tent encampments where the police were not supposed to go. These people are the real secessionists—not the tiny handful of far-right activists in Texas who say they want to secede, but are not really serious. It’s the far left, not the far right, who are the clear and present danger to our civil society. If history has taught us anything, it is that the far left is inherently evil and thoroughly corrupt, among other things. That is a fact that must be disseminated far and wide if we choose to even have a Western civilization for our future generations.
Sincerely, Joan Morgenheim Boro Park
Parents Should Not Send Their Kids to Columbia U
Dear Editor:
My sincerest thanks go out to Fern Sidman and the entire writing team at The Jewish Voice for your superlative reportage on the horrible protests at Columbia University. I think the university administrators are a bunch of hypocrites. If anti-black racists were marching at Columbia, you can bet the university would crack down on them. But when anti-Jewish racists march, suddenly all we hear is a lot of blather about free speech. I don’t buy it. No Jewish parents should ever send their children to study at Columbia ever again.
Sincerely, Maureen Kaine Brooklyn
Kudos to Speaker Mike Johnson
Dear Editor:
Kudos to Speaker of the House Mike Johnson for visiting Columbia University and speaking the truth about these vile Hamas supporting students. Notice that it’s only Republican leaders like Johnson who care enough to do that. I don’t see Senator Chuck Schumer or Rep. Nancy Pelosi coming to Columbia and challenging the extremists. No, they’re too busy denouncing the Israeli government. Political hacks such as these two, among others, should be voted out of office, forthwith. The voters will remember their silence in the face of visceral Jew hatred which is spreading like wildfire on our college campuse. Shame on them.
Sincerely, Nossan Berg Flatbush
Jewish Leaders Have Let Us Down
Dear Editor:
There was a time when if anti-Jewish demonstrators showed up at some major college campus, Jewish demonstrators would respond—quickly and vigorously. All we hear today is about frightened Jewish students refusing to come to campus. I am old enough to remember the Jewish Defense League from the late 1960s and early 1970s and the incredible impact they had in thwarting anti-Semitism, be it on campus or in our street. We need serious Jewish leaders to organize real and meaningful protests that will reach the ears of our elected officials and university leadership. It seems like our Jewish leaders are getting fat on big salaries and sending out furious press releases but not actually doing what needs to be done. I’m not giving another penny to any of these so called Jewish or Zionist organizations. However tragic it may be, they have let us down once again.
Sincerely, Mark Kugler Flatbush
Biden Uses 4-Year Old Hostage as Prop
Dear Editor:
I was disappointed to read, in your April 25 issue, about the visit by 4 year-old Abigail Edan to the White House. She’s far too young to have a conversation with the president or understand the meaning of her visit—meaning that the president was basically using her as a campaign prop. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan called the visit “a moment of joy.” Is he kidding? Abigail’s parents were murdered on October 7. She is headed for a lifetime of trauma, while Biden and Sullivan are busy pressuring Israel to stop pursuing Hamas, the killers of her parents. Color me disgusted!
Prominent billionaire investor George Soros. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak, File
Edited by: Fern Sidman
Over the past week, a wave of vehemently anti-Israel and pro-Hamas protests has swept across prominent U.S. college campuses, starting with a significant takeover at Columbia University’s Morningside Heights campus. This series of events has ignited a string of similar anti-Semitic protests at other prestigious institutions including Harvard, Yale, University of California, Berkeley, Ohio State University, and Emory University. According to a report that appeared on Friday in The New York Post, these protests are not isolated incidents but appear to be part of a coordinated effort by branches of the organization Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), a group reportedly funded by a network of nonprofits connected to prominent billionaire investor George Soros.
The initial protest that captured national attention began last week at Columbia University when students erected a tent city on the campus lawn. As was noted in the Post report, this demonstration quickly inspired similar actions at various universities across the country, forming what some are calling “copycat tent cities.” The pattern of these protests and their spread suggest a high level of organization and resources.
The SJP, which is at the forefront of these campus activities, is reportedly linked to the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR). Credit: uscpr.org
Investigations into the funding sources behind these protests reveal a complex network of financial support. The SJP, which is at the forefront of these campus activities, is reportedly linked to the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR). Indicated in the Post report was that this group not only supports but actively funds individuals they term as “fellows,” who are tasked with organizing anti-Israel campaigns that align with the objectives of Palestinian organizations.
These fellows are reportedly compensated for their efforts, with community-based fellows receiving up to $7,800 and campus-based fellows receiving between $2,880 and $3,660. As was noted in the Post report, their role involves dedicating around eight hours a week to organize and lead various campaigns. Training provided to these individuals emphasizes empowerment and action, with a clear goal to “rise up, to revolution.”
Further scrutiny reveals that USCPR has received significant financial support from George Soros’ Open Society Foundations, totaling at least $300,000 since 2017. In addition to Soros’ contributions, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund has also donated at least $355,000 since 2019, the Post report said. These contributions call attention to the level of backing that enables the sustained organization and execution of these protests.
At some institutions, these pro-Hamas protests have led to clashes with police, escalating tensions not only within campus bounds but in broader community interactions. Revealed in the Post report was that the presence of paid activists among the student demonstrators raises questions about the influence of external funding on student activism and the broader political implications of such movements.
Yalies4Palestine’s occupation of Yale’s Beinecke Plaza, an event that garnered coverage from the Yale Daily News. Photo Credit: Instagram
The rapid expansion of these anti-Israel protests and their organized nature, supported by significant financial resources from high-profile donors, suggest a deeply interconnected network of influence aimed at shaping discourse and policy on U.S. campuses regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The implications of this phenomenon are complex, affecting student life, university policies, and broader political dialogues.
Three individuals, known as “fellows” associated with the USCPR, have been pivotal in these movements, drawing significant attention due to their roles and the financial backing reportedly provided by entities linked to George Soros, as per the information provided in the Post report.
Nidaa Lafi, a former president of the University of Texas Students for Justice in Palestine, was recently observed delivering an emotionally charged address at an encampment at UT Dallas. Her speech focused on calling for an end to the conflict in Gaza. The Post reported that Lafi, who graduated last year with a degree in global business, is presently pursuing law at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Her activism is not confined to campus grounds; earlier in January, she made headlines when detained for obstructing President Biden’s motorcade during his visit to Dallas for the funeral of her former employer, Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson.
Another notable figure in these blatantly anti-Semitic protests is Craig Birckhead-Morton, a USCPR fellow at Yale University. His recent arrest for first-degree trespassing came as a result of Yalies4Palestine’s occupation of Yale’s Beinecke Plaza, an event that garnered coverage from the Yale Daily News, according to the information contained in the Post report. Following his release, Birckhead-Morton was seen addressing a sit-in in New Haven, continuing his advocacy despite the legal challenges. His political engagement also includes a previous internship with Maryland Representative John Sarbanes.
The most high-profile of these pro-Hamas activists is Malak Afaneh, co-president of the Berkeley Law Students for Justice in Palestine. Afaneh has been active at various anti-Israel protests on campus, becoming particularly noted for an incident where she recently disrupted a dinner at the law school dean’s residence, vocalizing anti-Israel slogans, as was previously reported in The Jewish Voice. According to the Post, this event escalated when she accused the dean’s wife of assault following a request to leave the event. Afaneh’s confrontational style has placed her at the center of media attention, highlighting her role in the protest movements.
George Soros has channeled billions into his Open Society Foundations, now overseen by his son, Alexander Soros. Photo Credit: Britannica.com
Last Wednesday, Columbia University’s Morningside Heights campus became the center of a significant protest titled the “Gaza Solidarity Encampment.” According to the information in the Post report, this action was organized by three groups—Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), and Within Our Lifetime. The Post also noted that the encampment featured students sleeping in tents purchased from Amazon and partaking in various provisions including pizza deliveries, Dunkin’ coffee, $12.50 sandwiches from Pret a Manger, organic tortilla chips, and $10 rotisserie chickens.
The operation and sustenance of the encampment appear to be well-funded, with financial analyses indicating that all three groups have received monetary support from sources linked to George Soros. Additionally, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, known for its philanthropic contributions to “sustainable development” and “peace-building,” has also provided funding to JVP. The Post report revealed that this fund is chaired by Joseph Pierson and includes notable figures such as David Rockefeller Jr., a descendant of the prominent Rockefeller oil dynasty.
Moreover, Felice Gelman, a retired Wall Street banker with a history of supporting pro-Palestinian causes, has played a significant role in funding the activities of SJP, JVP, and Within Our Lifetime, the Post added. Her contributions signify a robust financial network backing the groups involved in the encampment.
Both SJP and JVP have faced controversies at Columbia University. In November, the university expelled both groups citing reasons related to “threatening rhetoric and intimidation.” The information in the Post report also explained that this expulsion followed a statement by JVP on its website, which attributed the October 7 Hamas attack that killed 1,200 Israelis to “Israeli apartheid and occupation — and United States complicity in that oppression.” SJP, meanwhile, characterized the same terrorist strike as “a historic win.”
A recent analysis has shed light on the complex financial pathways through which George Soros and Felice Gelman’s funding reaches student activists, illuminating a network of nonprofits designed to somewhat obscure the origins of these contributions. The report in the Post said that this financial infrastructure plays a crucial role in supporting various protests and anti-Israel movements on campuses such as Columbia University, highlighting a sophisticated system of fiscal support that underpins the hate filled activism.
George Soros has channeled billions into his Open Society Foundations, now overseen by his son, Alexander Soros. Alexander’s prominence in this role is notable given his connections; he is partnered with Huma Abedin, a close aide to Hillary Clinton and estranged wife of Anthony Weiner, the Post report revealed. This layer of personal connections calls attention to the intertwined nature of political, social, and personal networks in the realms of philanthropy and activism.
The Open Society Foundations have allocated substantial sums, exceeding $20 million, to the Tides Foundation. Known as a “fiscal sponsor,” the Post reported that the Tides functions as a crucial intermediary, disbursing funds to smaller, often more directly activist-oriented groups. Highlighted in the Post report was that this method of funding is significant as it allows for larger philanthropic organizations to support grassroots activities without direct transactions, thereby maintaining a degree of separation that can be strategic for both donor and recipient.
Among the beneficiaries of this funding stream is Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), which received approximately $650,000 from the Open Society between 2017 and 2022. Detailed in the Post report was that JVP, advised by radically left-wing and anti-Israel figures such as academic Noam Chomsky and feminist author Naomi Klein, has been notably active in protests, particularly those at Columbia University. The organization’s involvement in campus activism took a contentious turn when one of its student members was expelled for participating in an event featuring the leader of a proscribed terrorist organization, the Post report added.
Further illustrating the breadth of Soros’s influence, his foundations have donated $132,000 to the Westchester People’s Action Coalition Foundation (WESPAC). Originally established in 1974 to address civil rights issues and oppose the Vietnam War, WESPAC has evolved to become a significant supporter of anti-Israel groups, including Within Our Lifetime and Students for Justice in Palestine, the Post report revealed. This funding reflects a shift from WESPAC’s historical focus towards more current geopolitical issues, aligning with a broader narrative of supporting progressive causes on a global scale.
The most high-profile of these pro-Hamas activists is Malak Afaneh, co-president of the Berkeley Law Students for Justice in Palestine. Credit: FoxNews.com
One notable example in the funding landscape is the involvement of the Sparkplug Foundation, a New York-based nonprofit that has played a significant role in funding SJP.
The Sparkplug Foundation is run by Felice Gelman and her husband, Yoram Gelman. In 2022, the couple directed a $20,000 donation to SJP through the Westchester People’s Action Coalition Foundation (WESPAC), as detailed in public filings, according to the Post report. This method of funding through another established nonprofit is not uncommon in the realm of philanthropy, where donors often prefer to maintain a level of discretion or leverage the established networks of existing organizations.
Felice Gelman’s involvement with WESPAC’s committee for Justice and Peace in the Middle East dates back to 2009, a period during which she was invited to Gaza by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), according to the information provided in the Post report. UNRWA itself has been a controversial entity, often criticized for its support of Hamas, a designated terrorist organization. Gelman’s engagement in these regions and issues underlines her deep involvement in and commitment to these causes.
Beyond her direct anti-Israel activism, Gelman also holds positions on the boards of several organizations that align with her views. The report in the Post said that these include the Bard Lifetime Learning Institute, an extension of the notably progressive Bard College, and the Jenin Freedom Theatre located in the Jenin refugee camp. These affiliations further cement her active participation in initiatives designed to ultimately destroy Israel.
Under the presidency of Howard Horowitz, who shifted his focus to Palestinian rights after living in Israel, WESPAC has extended its support not only to SJP but also to other groups such as Within Our Lifetime. The Post report mentioned that Horowitz, a former Orthodox Jew and a member of the New York chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), has openly embraced the anti-Israel cause, which is reflected in the organization’s funding decisions.
An interesting aspect of this funding network is the operational approach of Within Our Lifetime, which, by not registering as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, utilizes a legal loophole that allows it to withhold financial disclosures typically required of nonprofits, the Post explained. This lack of transparency raises questions about the extent and impact of financial contributions to such groups.
WESPAC ‘s fiscal sponsorship generally involves established nonprofits offering their legal and tax-exempt status to smaller groups or projects, facilitating the receipt of funds without the smaller entity needing its own nonprofit status, as was reported by the Post.
In the wake of reports and inquiries concerning the funding of activism, particularly those that may influence the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Open Society Foundations issued a statement to clarify and defend their position. Indicated in the Post report was that the spokesperson emphasized that the foundation has a long-standing commitment to combating all forms of racism and hate, including anti-Semitism and islamophobia. They highlighted that their funding activities are broad and inclusive, supporting groups that advocate for both Palestinian and Israeli rights, as well as seeking peaceful resolutions to conflicts.
Open Society Foundations also stressed that their financial contributions are transparent, publicly disclosed on their website, and fully compliant with U.S. laws, according to the information in the Post report.
The narrative around the funding and support of these anti-Israel activities is not fully balanced by the silence of other groups involved. After the story was published, other organizations besides Open Society Foundations did not provide comments or clarifications, leaving certain aspects of the funding and organizational structure less transparent to the public.
The Omer Count is an annual mitzvah. Every day, for seven weeks (49 days), we count how much time has elapsed since the second day of Passover (16 Nissan). Photo Credit: Art by Sefira Lightstone
By: Menachem Posner
The Omer Count Is 49 Days Long
The Omer Count is an annual mitzvah. Every day, for seven weeks (49 days), we count how much time has elapsed since the second day of Passover (16 Nissan).
We Count Days and Weeks
On the first day, we say, “Today is one day to the Omer.” Once we reach the seventh day, we count weeks as well, saying, “Today is seven days, which is one week to the Omer.” On the following day, we say, “Today is eight days, which is one week and one day to the Omer.”
It Ends the Night Before Shavuot
After 49 days have passed (on 5 Sivan), we say, “Today is 49 days, which is seven weeks to the Omer.” On the following day, number 50, we celebrate the holiday of Shavuot, which literally means “weeks.” Indeed, counting the 49 days actually brings about Shavuot. This means that one who crosses the International Date Line during the Omer may very well end up celebrating Shavuot on a different day from everyone else.
Omer Is a Measure of Grain
“Omer” is an ancient grain measurement (equivalent to approximately 43 oz.). On the first day of the Omer count (the second day of Passover), an omer of the barley from the fresh crop was offered in the Holy Temple, and after that day, grain from the new crop was allowed to be consumed.
Count Standing Up
The verse (Deuteronomy 16:9) tells us to begin counting the Omer when the scythe first meets the kamah, “standing [stalks].” Noting that the word “standing” is said in connection with this mitzvah, the sages tell us that it is ideal to stand when counting the Omer.
“Omer” is an ancient grain measurement (equivalent to approximately 43 oz.). ). Photo Credit: Art by Sefira Lightstone
We Say a Special Blessing
Like we would do before just about any mitzvah, when counting the Omer each night we say a blessing: “Blessed are you, L‑rd our G‑d, King of the Universe, Who sanctified us and commanded us regarding counting the Omer.”
We Count at Night
The best time to count the Omer is after evening services, right after the new Jewish day (which starts at nightfall) has begun, so that you have a full day ahead of you. In the event that you forgot to count at night, you can count the following day as well, but you do not say the customary blessing.
Every Day Counts
Omer is a unique mitzvah in that it spans 49 days. In the event that you missed a day entirely, you should continue to count each night just as before, but you do not say the customary blessing, since it is possible that the missed day invalidated the completion of your mitzvah.
The Sadducees Counted Differently
Scripture tells us to begin counting the Omer “on the day after the rest day.” Tradition understands this to mean the day after the (first day of) Passover. However, there were once Jewish splinter groups that interpreted it to mean that the count must always begin on a Sunday, which follows Shabbat, the day of rest. This approach was thoroughly negated by the sages.
Each Day Corresponds to Another Spiritual Facet
According to the Kabbalah, we each have seven middot (emotional elements): chessed (“kindness”), gevurah (“strength”), tiferet (“harmony”), netzach (“perseverance”), hod (“humility”), yesod (“foundation”), malchut (“royalty”). Each of these elements further comprises all seven attributes. Thus, we have “chessed of chessed” followed by “gevurah of chessed” etc. all the way to “yesod of malchut” and finally “malchut of malchut.” This makes for a total of 49 micro attributes, since 7×7=49.
On every day of the Omer count, we work on ourselves, attempting to refine the parts of our own personalities that correspond to that day’s attributes.
It Recalls the Anticipation for Sinai
The Exodus from Egypt happened on the first day of Passover, and the Revelation at Sinai happened on the day that would become Shavuot. It follows that from the day of the Exodus, the Israelites eagerly looked forward to the events that would happen at Sinai, counting the weeks and days until the time would arrive, each day refining themselves a bit more and raising their spiritual sensitivity. When we count the Omer, we relive their excitement and anticipation.
It’s the Only Mitzvah that Spans 3 Months
The holiday of Chanukah, when we light the menorah each night, starts during the month of Kislev and ends in the following month, Tevet. Counting the Omer takes the cake, however, spanning three months, starting in Nissan, continuing through Iyar, and concluding in Sivan.
Yep, There’s An App for That!
Remembering to count each night and making sure to count properly can be a challenge. To help you with your Omer count (besides for Shabbat and Jewish holidays, when technology is forbidden), Chabad.org’s team has created the super-popular Omer App. Download it and start using it—you’ll be glad you did!
Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Day (Yom Hashoah in Hebrew) is a national day of commemoration in Israel, on which the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust are memorialized. It is a solemn day, beginning at sunset on the 27th of the month of Nisan and ending the following evening, according to the traditional Jewish custom of marking a day. Places of entertainment are closed and memorial ceremonies are held throughout the country. The central ceremonies, in the evening and the following morning, are held at Yad Vashem and are broadcast live. Marking the start of the day-in the presence of the President of the State of Israel and the Prime Minister, dignitaries, survivors, children of survivors and their families, gather together with the general public to take part in the memorial ceremony at Yad Vashem in which six torches, representing the six million murdered Jews, are lit.
The following morning, the ceremony at Yad Vashem begins with the sounding of a siren for two minutes throughout the entire country. For the duration of the sounding, work is halted, people walking in the streets stop, cars pull off to the side of the road and everybody stands at silent attention in reverence to the victims of the Holocaust. Afterward, the focus of the ceremony at Yad Vashem is the laying of wreaths at the foot of the six torches, by dignitaries and the representatives of survivor groups and institutions. Other sites of remembrance in Israel, such as the Ghetto Fighters’ Kibbutz and Kibbutz Yad Mordechai, also host memorial ceremonies, as do schools, military bases, municipalities and places of work. Throughout the day, both the television and radio broadcast programs about the Holocaust. In recent years, other countries and Jewish communities have adopted Yom Hashoah, the 27th of Nisan, to mark their own day of memorial for the victims of the Holocaust.
The synagogue in Győr before World War II. Credit:
Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Day 2024 will be on Monday, May 6th. The State Opening Ceremony will be held at Yad Vashem on Sunday, May 5th at 20:00.
The Central Theme for Holocaust Remembrance Day 2024
A Lost World: The Destruction of the Jewish Communities
The Jewish community, a unique, autonomous social unit that characterized Jewish existence in the Diaspora through the ages, was dealt a fatal blow by the Holocaust. Thousands of prewar Jewish communities had served as a fundamental and critical framework in the lives of the Jewish people.
The Jewish community, a unique, autonomous social unit that characterized Jewish existence in the Diaspora through the ages, was dealt a fatal blow by the Holocaust. Thousands of prewar Jewish communities had served as a fundamental and critical framework in the lives of the Jewish people.
The Rabbinic adage, “All Jews are responsible for one another” was not a mere recommendation, but rather a practical axiom according to which traditional Jewish communities shaped their institutions and by which their leaders abided. A community’s authority encompassed all aspects of life and mandated the complete allegiance of its members. From the moment of their birth until their final breath, in joy and in sorrow, Jews were affiliated with their communal institutions, which provided them with an identity, and a social, educational, religious and economic network via such established organizations as synagogues, courts of law, Mikvaot (ritual baths), and shelters for the sick and the impoverished. Community figures represented their members vis-à-vis the authorities and served as a conduit of information from those authorities back to the community. Despite the singularity of each Jewish community in Christian Europe and the Islamic countries, there were marked similarities in the structure and operation of the various communities.
Jewish forced labor in Nadwórna during World War II. Credit: yadvashem.org
The modern era brought with it dramatic changes in the characteristics and behavioral patterns of the Jewish community, due to the forces of modernization and the intervention of governmental authorities. In many parts of Europe and the Mediterranean basin, a new form of Jewish community emerged: a “congregation of ritual observance”, focused primarily upon the accommodation of its members’ religious requirements, alongside provision of their social and economic needs. This shift strengthened the status of the Rabbi, and the importance of synagogues and Batei Midrash (houses of learning), which became the principal communal institutions.
Alongside such religious communities, there evolved, from the end of the 18th century and henceforth. alternatives to the traditional community. In Eastern Europe, Hasidic courts arose and regional Yeshivot (Talmudic academies) were established, the first of which opened in Volozhin in 1803. At the same time, figures from the “Jewish Enlightenment” movement labored to provide reformed social networks to the Jewish community. These communities did not require official recognition by the authorities, as their strength derived from the traditional connection between religious faith and social structure.
From the mid-19th century, a diverse ideological, political and national consciousness was awakened amongst the Jews, giving rise to a new sense of collective identity. This consciousness influenced the nature of the Jewish community and was expressed in the creation of new voluntary social frameworks that served as a modern, secular alternative to religious communal existence, in effect creating a civic society.
On the eve of World War II, the Jewish communities in the shtetls, mellahs, villages, towns and cities in the East and West were replete with philanthropic institutions, political parties, welfare and mutual assistance frameworks, representative bodies that liaised with the authorities and non-Jewish society, Jewish trade unions and immigrant organizations. These in turn facilitated the proliferation of educational and cultural institutions, youth movements, sports clubs, libraries, newspapers, theaters, orchestras and choirs. This abundance existed alongside the traditional Jewish institutions: synagogues, religious courts, Mikvaot, educational frameworks such as the Heder (Hebrew school), Talmud Torah (elementary school) and Beit Midrash, charitable institutions and the Hevra Kaddisha (burial society).
With the rise of the Nazis to power in Germany, and subsequently upon the establishment of German hegemony over most of Europe and large parts of North Africa, Jewish society was forcibly plunged into an extreme reality. Faced with persecution and daily terror, the Jews fought tenaciously to preserve their physical and spiritual existence. Their sense of shared destiny, mutual responsibility and solidarity persisted as the cornerstones of Jewish communal life, even during the Holocaust.
The establishment of the ghettos in Eastern Europe, as a consequence of Germany’s policy of segregation and isolation of the Jews, turned each Jewish community into a distinct, closed administrative unit, cut-off one from the other communities and from their surroundings. Throughout the conquered lands, many veteran Jewish leaderships ceased functioning, and were replaced by new communal administrations, imposed by the Germans. From then on, community leaders were forced to implement the orders of the German Nazi regime, and were made responsible for a wide range of functions that had routinely been handled by governmental and municipal institutions: food supply, employment, housing, health and sanitation, and even spheres that had previously been antithetical to the Diaspora Jewish heritage, such as the police and prisons. At the same time, the community continued to bear its previous responsibilities of accommodating religious needs, and providing education, welfare and burial services.
The systematic murder campaign waged against the Jews by the Nazis and their collaborators inflicted utter devastation upon thousands of communities in the German-occupied areas of Europe and North Africa; entire communities were decimated, and in many cases were totally obliterated.
Women and children during one of the deportations from Szydłowiec to the Treblinka extermination camp. Credit: YadVaShem.org
The post-Holocaust Jewish world found itself in a jarringly harsh new reality: millions of Jews had been murdered, and with them, an array of venerable communal institutions and a wealth of Jewish civilization had been obliterated. In many locations, survivors attempted, as best they could, to reconstitute and renew their communities. In Israel and other countries to which survivors immigrated, many formed Landsmannschaften, associations of survivors from specific places that served as communities of remembrance for many years after most of their original members had been murdered, their institutions destroyed and their survivors dispersed all over the world.
Hundreds of destroyed communities were commemorated in Yizkor (memorial) books. This was a monumental enterprise initiated by Holocaust survivors, together with community members who had left Europe before World War II in order to commemorate a glorious chapter of Jewish history: the Diaspora community.
The legacy of the Jewish community is one of the most magnificent and cherished treasures that Jewish history has bequeathed to us. The destruction of the communities during the Holocaust is a deep wound inflicted upon the body and soul of the Jewish people. Delving into the history of the Jewish community and studying its destruction helps to illustrate the enormity of the calamity and the catastrophic loss suffered by the Jewish people during and following the Shoah.
Cycling holds the key to enhancing your fitness prowess without subjecting your joints to undue strain, serving as a potent springboard to elevate your performance in higher-impact sports like running or tennis. Credit: blogs.bcm.edu
As spring unfolds its vibrant canvas, beckoning us outdoors with its gentle warmth and burgeoning beauty, there’s perhaps no better way to embrace the season’s splendor than atop a trusty bicycle. With the return of songbirds and the blossoming of daffodils, the allure of cycling becomes irresistible, as if your faithful 10-speed is whispering, “It’s time to ride.”
Yet, beyond the idyllic imagery of leisurely pedaling through sun-dappled lanes lies a profound truth: cycling offers far more than just a delightful way to spend a leisurely afternoon. According to a recently published report in the New York Times, It holds the key to enhancing your fitness prowess without subjecting your joints to undue strain, serving as a potent springboard to elevate your performance in higher-impact sports like running or tennis.
Seth Forman, a distinguished sports performance trainer based in New Jersey, attests to cycling’s rehabilitative prowess, particularly for individuals recovering from knee injuries. Drawing from his expertise, Forman emphasized to the NYT the transformative impact of cycling on cardiovascular health, a benefit that extends to lowering cancer mortality rates. However, despite its myriad virtues, cycling is not without its limitations.
“While cycling excels in cardiovascular conditioning, it may not suffice for bolstering bone health, as seen in weight-bearing sports like running,” Forman explained, when speaking with the NYT. The crux lies in the fact that the bike’s support system mitigates the load-bearing stress crucial for bone density enhancement.
To bridge this gap and ensure comprehensive fitness development, Forman told the NYT of the importance of integrating resistance training into one’s regimen. By complementing cycling with targeted strength-building exercises, individuals can cultivate a holistic approach to fitness, fortifying both cardiovascular endurance and skeletal integrity.
Contrary to common misconceptions, embarking on a fitness-focused cycling journey doesn’t necessitate exorbitant investments in high-tech gear or specialized attire. Also speaking to the NYT was Marilyn Chychota, a seasoned triathlon coach hailing from Tucson, Arizona, and a former professional athlete.
Chychota is an advocate for a holistic approach to cycling, emphasizing the significance of proper bike sizing for optimal comfort and performance. The NYT report indicated that a visit to the local bike shop serves as the inaugural step in this transformative journey, ensuring that riders find their perfect fit as they establish a symbiotic bond with their bicycles.
In the quest for optimal performance and endurance, Chychota, a seasoned triathlon coach, shared invaluable strategies tailored to riders of all levels, guiding them towards success one revolution at a time, the NYT report noted.
Chychota advocates for a gradual approach, emphasizing the importance of consistency and progression. “Start by riding for approximately 20 minutes, three times a week, maintaining a steady tempo,” she advises, the NYT report said. Aim for a perceived exertion level of five out of ten, allowing for comfortable conversation while maintaining a moderate level of effort.
As your fitness improves, gradually extend the duration of one weekly ride by approximately 10 minutes, aiming to reach a milestone of 90 minutes over the course of three months. Concurrently, incrementally increase the duration of your remaining rides, capping them at around 45 minutes to an hour, the NYT report added. This structured approach ensures a gradual buildup of endurance and stamina, whether you’re a novice cyclist or a seasoned rider emerging from a winter hiatus.
Steve Johnson, a seasoned travel writer based in Minneapolis, echoes Chychota’s sentiment, emphasizing the importance of consistency in training. Indicated in the NYT report was that Johnson’s strategy revolves around starting with shorter, easier rides and maintaining a regular cycling schedule, gradually increasing both frequency and intensity as the season progresses. By adhering to this regimen, Johnson finds himself embarking on long, challenging rides with confidence and vigor as summer approaches.
In the bustling heart of Baltimore, nestled amidst the urban landscape, Joe Traill stands as a beacon for cycling enthusiasts. His eponymous establishment, Joe’s Bike Shop, serves as a haven for riders seeking expertise and guidance. With decades of experience under his belt, Traill shared invaluable insights into the world of cycling with the NYT, offering pearls of wisdom to novices and seasoned riders alike.
Central to Traill’s philosophy is the belief that a well-fitted bike lays the foundation for a fulfilling riding experience. For customers of Joe’s Bike Shop, the promise of personalized attention extends beyond the point of sale, with complimentary sizing adjustments ensuring optimal comfort and performance, as was reported by the NYT. For those seeking a deeper level of customization, Traill advocates for the transformative potential of bike fittings. This more immersive option, typically starting at $100, encompasses a comprehensive assessment, including body measurements and flexibility analysis, tailored to unlock each rider’s full potential.
Navigating the diverse terrain of cycling options can be daunting, particularly for newcomers. As noted in the NYT report, Traill offers sage advice, encouraging riders to consider their preferred terrain before making a selection. For the undecided, he recommends the versatility of hybrid bikes, characterized by wider, more stable tires and flat handlebars, ideal for traversing both streets and trails with ease.
In an era marked by technological innovation, e-bikes emerge as a compelling alternative, especially for those residing in hilly locales or for those contemplating bike commuting. The NYT report indicated that Traill extolled the virtues of electric assistance, citing studies that indicate increased mileage and workout intensity among users. However, he issued a word of caution against online purchases, highlighting the potential safety hazards associated with off-brand versions.
Safety remains paramount in the realm of cycling, with Traill emphasizing the indispensable role of a quality helmet equipped with MIPS (Multiple Impact Protection System). The report in the NYT said that with prices starting at $50, investing in head protection ensures riders can confidently navigate the open road, shielded from potential harm.
As riders embark on their journey to elevate their cycling experience, Traill spoke of the significance of mastering the art of pedaling. With a focus on achieving a smooth pedal stroke, he advises starting in easy gears and gradually increasing cadence. The NYT report said that for those aspiring to reach new heights of performance, Traill recommends clipless pedals and specialized shoes, facilitating efficient power transfer throughout the entire pedal stroke. While initially daunting for beginners, the benefits of this advanced setup are undeniable, offering enhanced control and efficiency on the road.
For those seeking to elevate their fitness level, Chychota recommends incorporating hill training into their regimen. Once comfortable riding on flat terrain, tackling hills provides a dynamic challenge to push boundaries and enhance overall performance, the NYT report said. Start with short climbs, pushing hard for one minute before returning to a comfortable pace. Gradually increase the duration and intensity of these hill repeats, aiming to conquer longer climbs with each session.
Who would have ever expected that the first terror bases in the country would be on campus?
Anyone who was paying attention.
In 2008, David Horowitz traveled around the nation’s universities warning about “Hamas on Campus” and a “movement for a second Holocaust of the Jews” supported by Students for Justice in Palestine and the Muslim Student Association.
Not only MSA and SJP, but Jewish campus groups, including Hillel, now under assault by Hamas mobs, denounced Horowitz and the Freedom Center.
Our Islamo-fascism Awareness week, our posters naming terrorist students, and our “Wall of Truth” were condemned.
Now those same liberal organizations are wondering what happened.
What happened is that the generations of students became faculty. And when the Left and the Islamists felt strong enough, they stopped pretending and went to war.
A decade ago, SJP and MSA campus groups denied that they supported terrorism. Now they openly march for Hamas, celebrate dead terrorists as “martyrs” and put out statements in support of “armed resistance”.
After Oct 7 and the unprecedented show of support from Democrats and the Left, they have launched a nationwide campus intifada.
And they’re winning because long before the riots, they seized control of universities.
How could this happen, ask liberals who remained silent when leftists, Socialists, Marxists and even Communists, took over entire departments.
They signed on to every affirmative action and then DEI initiative which created new departments filled with activists who hated America.
Now they’re surprised that the Marxists in Ethnic Studies, Women’s Studies, LGBTQ Studies and numerous other identity politics departments whose only academic agenda is activism aren’t just rallying in support of Castro, the Viet Cong, the Sandinistas or the PLO, but are out there cheering the rape and murder of Jews, the way they once cheered the mass killings of Chinese shopkeepers, Russian Rabbis, Cambodian peasants, Cuban refugees, Nicaraguan Christians and all the other victims on the long march of their bloody cause around the world.
Most liberals failed to dissent from this. Some defended it as misguided idealism or a little harmless fun.
They had their own memories of being student radicals in their misguided youth.
And that’s all it was. A little harmless fun in Russian universities. A little marching around in uniforms in Berlin.
Some kicks and punches aimed at teachers in Beijing. Campus protests in the sixties in America and Europe.
And then riots, more riots and the mass deaths of millions.
Even as Hamas supporters lay siege to Columbia, Yale and any sizable liberal campus in the country with an SJP or MSA chapter, liberals are still missing the real point and origin of this.
Universities have a Hamas problem because they allowed themselves to be hijacked by leftists.
Ivy League campuses purged conservative and then moderate professors. They became political monocultures and echo chambers. Leftist ideas, no matter how horrifying, were accepted because there were no brakes and nothing to stop any kind of radical agenda.
And the same is becoming true of our society.
The liberal Jewish groups who condemned us in 2008 have not come around to understanding that it is their politics that opened the door to this, incubated and enabled it.
When Hatem Bazian, the co-founder of Students for Justice in Palestine, was leading antisemitic campaigns at San Francisco State University in the 90s, how many of them spoke out about him or the entire supportive infrastructure of leftist and minority campus groups that he used to prop up his attacks on Jewish students?
INCREASING ANTISEMITISM CALLS FOR INCREASING SECURITY
There would not be a ‘Hamas on Campus’ if there wasn’t a ‘Marxism on Campus’, ‘Black Nationalism on Campus’ and ‘Activism on Campus’.
For two generations, Jewish groups pushed back only against the worst excesses of anti-Israel campus groups, worked to find common ground with the groups and provided minimal support to faculty and students who spoke out.
And all of that failed miserably and led directly to Hamas dominating entire college campuses.
The David Horowitz Freedom Center fought to change that by bringing attention to terror faculty and students, and to the persecution of pro-Israel students and faculty.
But we did it with little to no support and the establishment hated us because we were never afraid to call the enemy by its true name.
When David Horowitz took the fight to the campuses, he called BDS “a Hamas-inspired genocidal campaign to destroy Israel” and named the anti-Israel groups a “movement for a second Holocaust of the Jews”.
Now that all of that has been proven to be undeniably true, it’s time for those who denounced him to accept the rest of his thesis.
This is not just a Hamas problem. It’s not just a problem isolated to Israel and Jews. It’s a crisis caused by leftist radical culture which jumps from one extremist revolutionary imperative to another.
This is a culture that thrives on violence and terror. Most of the students protesting for Hamas will look back on the encampments as an exciting harmless adventure.
Much like the campus protests that enabled the Cambodian genocide look like harmless fun to the students who used them as a chance to get high, hook up and have some fun before moving on.
Another generation will protest just as eagerly for ISIS as they now do for Hamas. They will call for the destruction of America as loudly as they now chant for the elimination of Israel.
And that is exactly what will happen unless we tell the truth about what is going on.
Kicking out “Hamas supporters” from campus is meaningless without changing the entire culture, purpose and meaning of the college experience.
David Horowitz didn’t just campaign against ‘Hamas on Campus’, he warned against Marxist indoctrination on college campuses.
The real crisis is not that college students support Hamas. That’s only a symptom of the true crisis which is that universities and schools have become indoctrination factories for the Left.
Until that changes, it’s only a question of which terrorists, faculty and students will support next.
Universities need to reintroduce academic freedom, diversity of thought, rigorous studies and critical thinking.
The purpose of higher education is supposed to be just that, education, not activism.
Until education is delinked from activism at every level, hate, division and terrorism will be the order of the day.
One of the most profound failures of the conservative movement is that it ceded academia along with the rest of the culture to the counterculture while dedicating itself to fighting government regulations.
What’s happening on campuses should be a wake-up call.
‘Hamas on Campus’ is a wake-up call for liberals, moderates and conservatives. But wake-up calls go nowhere unless they are tethered to a program of serious action.
The campus riots once again offer a clear choice between activist terror and academic life.
The nation’s universities must either be redeemed or destroyed. Either they return to their purpose as centers of research, study and thought or they’re nothing more than $90,000 a year CHAZs and should be defunded and eliminated as requirements for employment and public life.
Don’t just expel Hamas supporters, expel the toxic activist campus culture of the Marxist Left.
Pro-Palestinian protesters take part in a demonstration in London, Saturday, April 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Thomas Krych)
By Phyllis Chesler (published first by The American Spectator)
Have you noticed that young women all across America are demonstrating for Hamas, Iran, and Palestine? Why would such privileged and educated women, the heirs to the #MeToo movement and to Second and Third Wave Western feminisms, cheer for male rapists and male killers, arguably the most blood-thirsty and sadistic misogynists this side of Ghenghis Khan? Why side with Islamist barbarians who have jailed, tortured, and executed their own women over a slipped Islamic veil, and who would forcibly convert their Western female admirers to Islam, veil them as well, and coerce them into polygamous marriages?
[T]hey are privileged political opportunists posturing as victim-pariahs who feel that they are “occupied” by Western patriarchy.
Do these educated daughters of affluence understand that were they to express any views deemed dissident in Gaza, Teheran, or Kabul or, were they to announce that they were “queer” or gay, (which is how some of these activists identify themselves), that they would be instantly honor killed?
In the months since 10/7, in addition to the odious, faux-feminist silence about the gang-rapes of both women and men, the torture of babies and whole families, the kidnapping of civilians — a terrifying tsunami of hatred towards Israel, America, and Jews has exploded into non-stop jihadi-style, belligerent mobs, whose goal is to disrupt civil society and gain both attention and followers for their reprehensible views. The news of Hamas’s pogrom on steroids, unleashed their Jew hatred, and whetted the mob’s appetite for more of same.
Post Iran’s most recent attack on Israel, in the past few days in New York City, where I live, such activists camped out on the lawn at Columbia University “for Gaza,” “for Hamas,” endangering Jewish students, daring to be arrested. For the first time, Columbia’s President actually had them arrested. Although they were all quickly released, many returned later that same night, with celebrities in tow, to re-constitute their encampment. (READ MORE from Phyllis Chesler: Opera House Bigotry)
Those who were detained, included the daughter of Democratic Congresswoman and “Squad” member, Ilhan Omar; a young female intern for New York State Attorney General Letitia James; a third young woman who is about to intern for Democratic Senator Dick Durbin; and two daughters of corporate titans. Three of the five are Columbia students.
Are they stupid? Has their indoctrination into politically correct narratives utterly blinded them to reality? Do they wish to die? How are we meant to understand this?
Well, some women are famously known to propose marriage to convicted male serial killers, who primarily kill women. One woman actually married the jailed monster, Ted Bundy, got herself impregnated by him, and gave birth to a daughter.
Maybe this is a familiar form of female ambition, that Beauty can tame the Beast — an even darker version of “Fifty Shades of Gray,” in which girls are attracted to Bad Boys who will, fairy-tale style, ultimately love and marry them.
On the other hand, and rather paradoxically, the body language of these BLM/Antifa-style female activists is often rather male-like. Most of the female demonstrators are loud, aggressive, angry, arrogant, and young; they shout, bang drums, blow whistles, wear face masks, keffiyehs, sneakers, or combat boots. While Arab Muslim girls in hijab do participate, the majority seem to be bareheaded Caucasian students, and self-identifying lesbian, queer, and transgender activists.
The Jews and queers among them are not “self-hating” Jews or persecuted queers. Rather, they are privileged political opportunists posturing as victim-pariahs who feel that they are “occupied” by Western patriarchy, just as Palestine has allegedly been occupied by Israel. They are more obsessed with the rights of a country that has never existed than with the rights of their Muslim “sisters.”
This denial of facts, history, and reality about the Middle East, and especially about Islam’s long history of religious and gender apartheid, as well as its’ colonial and imperial past, is similar to another trendy delusion, namely the insistence that transwomen are women and transmen are men; that biology, genetics, anatomy, hormones, sex-specific genitalia, either do not exist or are not important. Like society, they, too, can all be perfected and at any cost. As one banner at the Columbia encampment proclaims: “Palestinian Return by Any Means Necessary.”
These arrogant lost souls are out there, all across America, chaining and gluing themselves to bridges, holding a never-ending series of Israeli Apartheid weeks, mounting tent cities on campuses, cursing, threatening, cornering, and chasing down Jewish students. Many strongly resist being removed and physically fight the police whom they accuse of having been trained by the IDF. However, in the rare instances that such protestors are handcuffed or arrested, they are outraged, insulted. Some smirk, some weep. (READ MORE: J Street Jerks Manipulate Wiesel’s Words)
Again, I must ask: Who are these female protestors? Is this just another Rite of Spring, an annual dance round the Maypole, or is it a more serious version of a communist uprising against capitalist America? In a sense, this is partly what’s happening. They do resemble the young communist Chinese Red Guards and the Stalinist mobs, ready to usher in and to celebrate the reigns of bloody terror to come.
Although both left-wing, foreign national, and Islamist sources have funded such motivating beliefs, I doubt that most of these activists are being funded to march and protest.
Their ideas are completely unoriginal and repetitive and routinely reduced to slogans. The signs and banners are visually arresting and seem to be professionally made. “End the Occupation.” “From the river to the sea Palestine will be free.” “Intifada, Intifada.” “Death to Israel, Death to America.” “End Israeli Apartheid.” “This is genocide.” “Hamas are Freedom Fighters.” “Long Live Hamas.”
We know that some mentally ill Muslim women have been manipulated into becoming suicide killers of Jews, Israelis, and of other Muslim women in the Arab world, and that some Muslim women have been threatened by Palestinian Islamists with being honor killed for an indiscretion and offered a chance to “cleanse” their names and go out in glory.
We are are also familiar with some high profile, educated, and well-to-do women, such as Aafia Siddiqui, aka Lady Al-Qaeda, who chose to make bombs for Jihad and attack American soldiers in Afghanistan, and autistic-schizophrenic savant, Margaret Marcus, aka Maryam Jameela, who fled America for Lahore, Pakistan, and became the English translator of Maulana Abu Ala Maudidi’s work. He was the founder of Jamaat-e-Islami. Both women hated Jews, Zionists, and America.
Are the American women demonstrating for the demons of 10/7 similarly mentally ill? Have they been coerced by threats of honor killing into supporting terrorism? The answer seems to be no.
These protestors are unpaid performers, action-artists, attention-grabbers, virtue-signalers. They are high on a new kind of drug, one which solidifies a false tribal identity. They are ignorant and intolerant, but, on their own, they are relatively powerless. However, as part of a murderous mob on the move, they are formidable, untouchable — perhaps beyond gender?
These pro-Jihad, anti-Israel protests are certainly one way to escape many of the ongoing and rather dangerous female realities in the West. This includes young girls agreeing to being choked by boys during sexual encounters (in which the girls do not experience orgasms); mentally ill teenagers opting to become transmen as part of a cult that is ruining their lives but enriching surgeons, drug companies, and mental health professionals. (READ MORE: Silence of the Feminist Lambs: Not a Word on Hamas Horrors)
These post-feminist realities include the continuing epidemic of sexual harassment, rape, and intimate partner violence in the West; the loss of women’s reproductive rights in America; the movement toward a gender identity based, not a sex-based equal rights amendment in America; the increase in trafficking and prostitution globally; the rise of transgender women who imperil women’s sports and women in women-only prison; the continuation of economic disparities which some young American women “solve” by finding Sugar Daddies and/or live-in boyfriends to help support them.
While I support same-sex unions, I do not privilege them above the tradition of heterosexual marriage and motherhood. These time-honored choices are also being challenged by legalized surrogacy, a practice in which women are viewed merely as “surrogate uteruses.” The availability of blow-up female sex dolls and the disappearance of womankind from what used to be Women’s Studies are signs of how dangerous the times have become.
Or: Is something else also at work? Are these female protestors for Hamas so afraid of freedom and so ill-equipped to handle it that they have chosen to appease and support the most dangerous demons on earth by supporting them?
AOC is not the only ideological machine that has weakened the control of the elected Democratic Party county leaders over the last decade. Photo Credit: AP
(Breitbart News) Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) slammed Democrat New York City Mayor Eric Adams and the presidents of Columbia Univeristy.
Ocasio-Cortez responded to a post on X which referred to remarks made by Adams during a press conference earlier, in which he said the protest at Columbia University had been “co-opted by professional outside agitators.”’
If any kid is hurt tonight, responsibility will fall on the mayor and univ presidents.
Other leaders and schools have found a safe, de-escalatory path. This is the opposite of leadership and endangers public safety. A nightmare in the making.
“If any kid is hurt tonight, responsibility will fall on the mayor and univ presidents,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote. “Other leaders and schools have found a safe, de-escalatory path. This is the opposite of leadership and endangers public safety.”
Ocasio-Cortez added that it was a “nightmare in the making.”
“I urge the Mayor to reverse course,” Ocasio-Cortez added.
Officers from the NYPD dressed in riot gear staged a raid of the campus and began removing anti-Israel protesters from Hamilton Hall, which protesters seized control of in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
Anti-Israel protesters were seen on video footage smashing the glass doors of Hamilton Hall, an academic building on campus, carrying barricades into the building, and hanging pro-Palestinian banners from the windows.
Hours after the building was occupied, the university announced that it was restricting access to its campus for the remainder of the spring semester and that students occupying the building would “face expulsion.”
On Monday, Columbia University had given anti-Israel protesters a 2:00 p.m. deadline to leave the encampment that was established on the campus.
In a statement on Tuesday, Columbia University said it was “left with no choice” after anti-Israel protesters occupied Hamilton Hall and “vandalized” and “blockaded” the building.
UC Berkeley’s hostility toward free speech is well-established. The school appears in the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education’s (FIRE) annual list of the ten worst colleges for free speech.
(A7) A Jewish law student at the University of California, Berkeley was punched in the face by an anti-Israel protester who was apparently serving as a “security guard” for the protesters.
In a video posted to social media by The Jewish News of Northern California editor Gabe Stutman, the student, Noah Cohen, was accosted by the female “guard” while he was attempting to film the anti-Israel protests on campus.
The woman asked Cohen, “Where you headed, man?”
Cohen replied, “Jay, you can’t do this.”
The woman then said, “Yes, I absolutely can.”
When Cohen said he would go to the police, the woman ran at him and attempted to grab him, ignoring his warnings not to touch him.
Cohen then appeared to stumble back and said that she just punched him in the face.
According to Stutman, the woman who assaulted Cohen did not seem to be a student or professor at the university and was older than the students.
Cohen told Stutman that the protests are peaceful “until you don’t comply.”
Related articles:
Pro-Israel counter-protester attacked, threatened with taser
White House condemns protesters’ takeover of Columbia building
Columbia U. is the testing ground for definitions of antisemitism
Columbia U protesters defy deadline to disperse
“And if someone wanted to walk into the entrance of California Hall with an Israeli flag on their back, it definitely would not be peaceful,” Cohen said.
The university administration and police are aware of the incident and are investigating it.
UC Berkeley spokesman Dan Mogulof told the New York Post that a criminal investigation has been opened.
The assault at UC Berkeley comes as a pro-Israel protester was assaulted and threatened with a taser at another University of California campus, UCLA.
Anti-Israel protesters at Columbia University, where the current wave of protests began two weeks ago, broke into a building on campus this morning, Hamilton Hall, and unfurled a large sign with the word “intifada.”
The protest at Columbia University was condemned today by White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates and White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby.
Bates said that President Joe Biden “condemns the use of the term ‘intifada,’ as he has the other tragic and dangerous hate speech displayed in recent days.”
“President Biden respects the right to free expression, but protests must be peaceful and lawful. Forcibly taking over buildings is not peaceful — it is wrong. And hate speech and hate symbols have no place in America,” Bates said.
Kirby, meanwhile, said that the protester’s actions do “not comport with the idea of peaceful protest.”
UC Berkeley has been the site of violence by anti-Israel protesters even before the current wave of protests began two weeks ago. In February, Jewish students were forced to evacuate a theater on-campus as a mob of anti-Israel protestors violently stormed a pro-Israel event.
Several hundred protestors chanted “Intifada! Intifada!” while banging on the doors of the Zellerbach Playhouse. A glass door was shattered by the protestors and multiple students were injured during the incident, including a young woman who was hurt while attempting to hold a door shut while the protestors attempted to break in.
Security guards ordered the event attendees to evacuate via underground tunnels out of the building for their own safety.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken calls Jewish settlements, “illegal by international law”, hours after terrorist attack near Maale Adumim kills one and wounds 7. Photo Credit: AP
(JNS) U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken touched down in Tel Aviv on Tuesday night, ahead of meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog and other top officials.
Blinken traveled to Jordan earlier Tuesday, visiting a warehouse of the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organization, where aid shipments from U.S. charities are gathered.
“I’m now able to go to Israel tomorrow and go over with the Israeli government the things that still need to be done if the test is going to be met of making sure that people have what they need,” Blinken told reporters in Amman.
“And I’ll be doing that tomorrow directly with Prime Minister Netanyahu and other members of the Israeli government,” he added.
Speaking at a World Economic Forum summit in Saudi Arabia earlier this week, Blinken urged Hamas to accept Israel’s “extraordinarily generous” hostages-for-ceasefire offer.
The top American diplomat is touring the region to press for a ceasefire as the Israeli military prepares to enter Rafah city in the southern Gaza Strip. Jerusalem says the operation in Hamas’s last bastion in Gaza is essential to winning the war, but the Biden administration opposes a full-scale invasion.
It is Blinken’s seventh Mideast diplomatic swing and ninth visit to Israel since the Oct. 7 Hamas-led massacre and ensuing war.
“Now, the quickest way to bring this to an end is to get to a ceasefire and the release of hostages. And as you said, there’s been an extraordinary effort that’s been made—and I really want to thank, profoundly, our friends from Qatar and Egypt who have been playing an instrumental role in trying to get this ceasefire and release of hostages—a major effort that’s been made over the last couple of months to get to that ceasefire, to get the hostages out,” Blinken said at the WEF meeting in Riyadh on Monday.
“And right now, as you said, Hamas has before it a proposal that is extraordinarily—extraordinarily—generous on the part of Israel. And in this moment, the only thing standing between the people of Gaza and a ceasefire is Hamas. They have to decide, and they have to decide quickly.”
Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Cameron also described the Israeli proposal as “generous” at the WEF summit on Monday.
Hamas reportedly met with Egyptian and Qatari mediators in Cairo on Monday to discuss the latest Israeli proposal, presented over the weekend, and are expected to deliver a response soon. A senior official with the terror group said on Sunday that they had “no major issues” with the most recent plan.
According to Cameron, the phased agreement includes potentially the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners for Israeli hostages during a 40-day pause in fighting, with the second stage involving talks on ending the war and planning for post-war control of Gaza.
“I hope Hamas do take this deal and frankly, all the pressure in the world and all the eyes in the world should be on them today saying ‘take that deal,’” said Cameron.
The New York Times, citing three Israeli officials, reported on Monday that Israel had lowered its demand from 40 hostages to be released immediately to 33. This is because Jerusalem now believes that some of the 40, which include women, the elderly and the sick, have died in captivity.
An estimated 133 hostages remain in Gaza, 129 of whom were among the 253 kidnapped by Hamas during its Oct. 7 onslaught on the northwestern Negev. The Israel Defense Forces has confirmed the deaths of 34 of the 129.
Hebrew media reported on Monday evening that an Israeli delegation was heading back to Cairo on Tuesday for talks on a potential deal.
Israel is readying an invasion of Rafah, where four of the final six Hamas battalions are concentrated. Noncombatants are being evacuated as part of these preparations, but Blinken said on Monday that the United States “has not yet seen a plan that gives us confidence that civilians can be effectively protected” and thus is still against the operation.
(DCNF) An anti-Israel protester who sought “humanitarian aid” for those who forcibly occupied a building on the campus of Columbia University appeared nonplussed when questioned by reporters.
Columbia students occupying Hamilton Hall are demanding the university provide them food so they can continue their occupation:
The protesters seized Hamilton Hall, an administration building on the Manhattan campus of the Ivy League school, early Monday morning, at one point preventing one of the workers in the building at the time from leaving while they demanded the school not take action against the demonstrators and end financial ties with Israel. The protester, identified as Johannah King-Slutzky by journalist Jordan Schachtel in a post on X, gave a press conference Tuesday where she discussed requests from the protesters occupying the building. (RELATED: Jewish Columbia Student Files Lawsuit Accusing School Of Failing To Protect Jewish Students)
A student fixes a Palestinian flag as student protesters bring tents and supplies back into the protest encampment in support of Palestinians after a midnight deadline for protesters to leave the encampment on campus passed and it was reported to have been extended to 8 a.m., during the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in New York City, U.S., April 23, 2024, REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs
A student fixes a Palestinian flag as student protesters bring tents and supplies back into the protest encampment in support of Palestinians after a midnight deadline for protesters to leave the encampment on campus passed and it was reported to have been extended to 8 a.m., during the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in New York City, U.S., April 23, 2024, REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs
“First of all, we’re saying that they’re obligated to provide food for students who paid for a meal plan here,” King-Slutzky said at the start of a video posted on X.
A reporter asked a question of King-Slutzky regarding the request for food and water.
“To allow it to be brought in,” King-Slutzky responded. “I guess it’s ultimately a question of what kind of community and obligation Columbia feels it has to its students. Do you want students to die of dehydration and starvation or get severely ill if they disagree with you? If the answer is no, then you should allow basic… I mean, it’s crazy to say because this is an Ivy League campus, but this is basic humanitarian aid we’re asking for, like could people please have a glass of water?”
“But they put themselves into that deliberately in that situation and position,” a reporter said.
King-Slutzky, who described herself in her biography on Columbia’s website as “a political strategist for leftist and progressive causes,” paused for a moment after the reporter’s question.
“No one is asking for anything,” she claimed. “We’re asking them to not violently stop us from bringing in basic humanitarian aid.”
King-Slutzky later admitted she did not know if any effort had been made to provide supplies, but reiterated they were looking for a commitment that food and water would be allowed into the building. (RELATED: ‘Useful Idiots’: Alan Dershowitz Rips Pro-Hamas Students, Compares Them To ‘Hitler Youth’)
The protest started when demonstrators lit flares and chanted anti-Israel slogans hours after Columbia University President Dr. Nemat Shafik was grilled by Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York during an April 17 House Education Committee hearing titled “Columbia In Crisis: Columbia University’s Response To Antisemitism,” Fox News reported.
Protesters at multiple demonstrations at Ivy League schools since a deadly attack by the radical Islamic terrorist group Hamas against Israel have made statements like “resistance is justified,” including an Oct. 15 protest where attendees chanted a slogan that has connotations of wiping out Israel after a Cornell University professor called the attacks “exhilarating.”
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Late on Tuesday evening, the NYPD took decisive action at Columbia University, addressing a prolonged and escalating conflict on campus. Responding to a situation that spiraled into violence, law enforcement was tasked with reclaiming control of Hamilton Hall, a significant and historical academic building, from a group characterized by the police as pro-terror and anti-Israel, as was reported by The New York Post on Tuesday evening.
For weeks, Columbia University had been the backdrop for intensifying protests, marred by growing discontent and disruptive actions. The situation reached a critical point when protesters, escalating their tactics, forcefully occupied Hamilton Hall, effectively paralyzing academic operations and challenging the institution’s governance, according to the information provided in the Post report. This bold maneuver prompted the university administration to call for NYPD intervention after substantial hesitance, signaling a shift towards restoring order and safeguarding its educational mission.
As the clock struck just past 9 PM, hundreds of NYPD officers, including specialists from the Emergency Service Unit, converged on the Morningside Heights campus. The report in the Post indicated that their target was clear, but the path was not. Protesters had barricaded the front doors of Hamilton Hall, displaying a brazen defiance that met the officers with both physical and symbolic barriers.
About 100 officers were deployed, arriving on buses ready to address the situation as it unfolded. Additional officers, equipped with riot gear and zip-tie handcuffs, were stationed strategically around the campus, poised for action, as per the Post report.
In a strategic response, the NYPD deployed its Mobile Adjustable Ramp System, a tactical vehicle that allowed officers equipped in riot gear to enter the building through a second-floor window, as per the information contained in the Post report. This maneuver was a testament to the complexity and tension of the operation, highlighting the lengths to which the police were prepared to go to secure the premises.
Assistant Commissioner Carlos Nieves noted the use of distraction devices, which were deployed to disorient the occupiers and facilitate a safer, more controlled breach. The Post reported that these devices, known in common parlance as “Flash Bangs” emit a “very loud bang” and as such, were instrumental in the successful execution of the operation.
The protestors, many of whom concealed their identities with surgical masks or keffiyehs—a scarf symbolizing Palestinian nationalism—were forcibly removed from Hamilton Hall and subsequently loaded onto NYPD buses, as was detailed in the Post report. During this operation, the emotional and confrontational nature of the protests was palpable. The report added that some demonstrators continued to express their stridently anti-Israel views vocally, while others were visibly distressed, with at least one individual observed crying amid the unfolding chaos.
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) May 1, 2024
Outside the immediate vicinity of the building, the tension spilled over to nearby areas, including off-campus housing. NYPD officers stationed there faced hostile receptions, with incendiary shouts comparing the NYPD, KKK, and Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), shedding light of the deep-seated animosity among some segments of the protestor group towards these institutions, the Post report said.
In response to the events that unfolded on Tuesday night, Columbia University issued a statement within minutes of police action on campus, expressing regret over the necessity of police intervention. According to the information in the Post report, the university detailed that the occupation, vandalism, and blockade of Hamilton Hall had escalated to a level that endangered community safety and forced public safety personnel out, leaving the administration with no other viable options but to act decisively to protect its community and prevent further escalation.
As the situation inside Hamilton Hall was brought under control, NYPD officers did not stop there. They moved on to the South Lawn, where protestors had set up a “mini tent city,” the Post reported. Despite a previously issued deadline by the university for vacating the area, the encampment had remained. The report in the Post also indicated that Assistant Commissioner Carlos Nieves confirmed that the individuals in the encampment were removed, signaling a comprehensive effort to clear all protest activities from the campus grounds.
Deputy Commissioner of Operations Kaz Daughtry described the operation as having “gone very well,” a testament to the NYPD’s planning and execution under challenging circumstances, the Post affirmed. The operation resulted in approximately 100 arrests, according to police sources.
This group of protesters, later charged with third-degree burglary, criminal mischief, and trespassing, had barricaded themselves inside, effectively disrupting the campus operations, the report in the Post said. Simultaneously, another group involved in a less aggressive but still unlawful protest on the South Lawn faced charges of trespassing and disorderly conduct.
Despite the dispersal of crowds and clearance of the protest sites on Tuesday evening, the NYPD planned to maintain a presence on Columbia’s campus through to the university’s commencement on May 15.
The Ivy League university’s administration stated that the decision to call in the NYPD was a direct response to the protestors’ actions, rather than the cause they advocated, the report in the Post noted.
The NYPD also took stringent measures to control the situation, which included blocking pedestrian and vehicular traffic along 114th Street and Broadway. This action came amid vocal opposition from onlookers, who expressed their disapproval with chants of “Shame, shame, shame!,” the Post report explained.
Approximately 45 minutes before police action commenced, Columbia University issued a shelter-in-place directive to its students due to “heightened activity” at the Morningside campus. Noted in the Post report was that this precautionary measure came with a stern warning that failure to comply would result in disciplinary action, indicating the seriousness with which the university was treating the potential threat to safety.
The onset of NYPD mobilization prompted a critical reaction from Columbia’s Chapter of the American Association of University Professors. Indicated in the information in the Post report was that the faculty body issued a scathing statement, condemning the university administration for not taking up the faculty’s proposals to defuse the tensions. The statement held the university leadership, including the president, senior staff, and the Board of Trustees, accountable for what it described as “disastrous lapses of judgment” that escalated the situation to the current crisis, the Post report added. The group expressed grave concerns about the potential for injuries resulting from police actions on campus, reflecting deep divisions between faculty and administration over handling the protest.
NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban had earlier confirmed the department’s readiness to intervene at Columbia University, similar to its response two weeks prior when student protesters first established a mini tent city. As per the Post report, Commissioner Caban emphasized, “Once the university asks for our help, the NYPD will be there ready to assist them.”
In a startling development, NYPD brass disclosed that the group that forcibly entered Hamilton Hall, causing considerable property damage, included individuals identified as “professional outside agitators,” according to the Post report. These individuals, not affiliated with Columbia University or the pro-Palestinian cause, employed aggressive tactics reminiscent of past rallies. Their methods included dragging metal barricades inside the building and using furniture to barricade doors, actions that significantly escalated the conflict.
The building, symbolically renamed “Hind’s Hall” by the protesters in memory of Hind Rajab—a young Palestinian victim of the Middle Eastern conflict—became the epicenter of the protest after the university threatened to suspend students who failed to leave the previously established encampment.
The protest at Columbia is part of a broader trend observed across elite universities in New York City and nationwide. The report in the Post recalled that on April 17, anti-Israel protesters set up dozens of tents on campus in solidarity with the Hamas, pro-terror cause. This initial act of protest quickly expanded, leading to significant disruptions and a robust response from the university and law enforcement.
Among those arrested was the daughter of Rep. Ilhan Omar, a prominent member of the “Squad,” highlighting the national interest and the high-profile nature of the incident. A was previously reported in the Post, In response to the protest, Columbia University imposed suspensions on involved students, threatening their eligibility for upcoming graduation.
Despite these measures, the protesters returned to campus within 24 hours, prompting the administration to attempt once again to disperse the demonstrators, the report in the Post indicated. The university’s efforts to control the situation struggled against the persistent and rowdy presence of the students. Prepared for further escalation, busloads of additional officers were on standby, though they ultimately were not deployed.
Palestinian mourners and gunmen wave the green Hamas flag at the funeral of a Palestinian terrorist who was killed in an Israeli military raid in Nur Shams, October 20, 2023. (Nasser Ishtayeh/Flash90
Paul Roland Bois
The White House has reportedly been considering whether or not to accept Palestinians from Gaza as refugees amid Israel’s war with Hamas.
According to internal federal documents obtained by CBS News, senior officials in the Biden administration and U.S. agencies have “discussed the practicality of different options to resettle Palestinians from Gaza who have immediate family members who are American citizens or permanent residents.”
The documents show that welcoming Palestinians under the United States Refugee Admissions Program has been proposed as a means to bring people into the country from war-torn Gaza. CBS News added:
Top U.S. officials have also discussed getting additional Palestinians out of Gaza and processing them as refugees if they have American relatives, the documents show. The plans would require coordination with Egypt, which has so far refused to welcome large numbers of people from Gaza.
Potential refugees would need to pass various security and medical screenings before they could be granted access to the United States and the numerous benefits associated with refugee resettlement in the country, including permanent residency, housing assistance, and a pathway to American citizenship.
While exact numbers are difficult to estimate, local public health officials say as many as 34,000 Palestinians have died in the Gaza conflict, while several hundred thousand have been displaced from their homes. Egypt and other neighboring countries in the region have refused to take in refugees. Israel launched its incursion into Gaza following the horrific October 7 terrorist attack at the hands of Hamas last year, which killed over 1,200 Israelis, most of whom were civilians, including women and children.
The White House Department of Homeland Security and the State Department have not commented on the report about the United States looking to import Palestinian refugees.
“The proposals to resettle certain Palestinians as refugees would mark a shift in longstanding U.S. government policy and practice. Since its inception in 1980, the U.S. refugee program has not resettled Palestinians in large numbers,” noted CBS News.
“Over the past decade, the U.S. has resettled more than 400,000 refugees fleeing violence and war across the globe. Fewer than 600 were Palestinian. In fiscal year 2023, the U.S. welcomed 56 Palestinian refugees, or 0.09% of the more than 60,000 refugees resettled during those 12 months, State Department statistics show,” it added.
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A mob of angry students attacked German Ambassador to the Palestinian Authority Oliver Owcza when he attempted to visit Birzeit University in the West Bank on Tuesday.
The mob chased Owcza off campus, surrounded his armored vehicle, and pelted it with rocks because students were furious about Germany’s support for Israel.
Owcza was visiting the university, which is located about six miles from Ramallah, for a meeting of European Union (EU) diplomats at the Palestinian Museum. A mob descended upon the venue, harassing all of the assembled EU heads of mission until they left the campus.
The German ambassador to the Palestinian Authority, Oliver Owcza, was chased, and his vehicle was attacked by students at Birzeit University in Ramallah earlier today. pic.twitter.com/slm7qI0I5B
“The students’ movement refused those visitors to come to the museum because of their position on the genocide in Gaza. For that, we asked them to leave,” one of the protest leaders said.
The mob seemed especially angry at Owcza, rushing him to his car with chants of “Out! Out!” and then attacking the vehicle. German Ambassador to Israel Steffen Seibert was also hounded from the museum by students who threw their shoes at him, breaking the windshield of his car as he tried to drive away.
The Palestinian Museum distanced itself from both the mob action and the EU diplomats. Administrators insisted they “did not invite any of the ambassadors from the countries who attended today” and received no “list of invitees’ names,” although they did admit to renting a room to the Belgian embassy.
The museum statement praised Belgium, “which has stood with the Palestinian voice and cause since the beginning of the aggression against our people in Gaza,” but added, “If we had known of the presence of ambassadors from non-supportive countries, we would have refused to rent the hall.”
The German government did not immediately release a statement, but Owcza posted a passive response to the attack on social media.
“Peaceful protest and dialogue always has its place,” he said. “We regret that today’s meeting of EU Heads of Missions at the National Museum in Birzeit was unduly interrupted by protesters. Nevertheless, we remain committed to constructively work with our Palestinian partners.”
The Palestinian mob’s anger against Germans may have been inflamed by news on Tuesday that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) would not order Germany to stop sending weapons and assistance to Israel.
The ICJ’s panel of judges voted 15-1 to reject a case brought by Nicaragua that claimed providing arms to Israel was tantamount to supporting genocide against the Palestinians of Gaza.
“Germany is not a party to the conflict in the Middle East — quite the contrary. We are working day and night towards a two-state solution. We are the biggest donors of humanitarian aid to the Palestinians,” the German Foreign Ministry said in response to the ruling.
(AP) — Law enforcement officers with an arrest warrant demanded that a man come out of a house in North Carolina before four were killed by gunfire, the victims unable to survive shots coming from inside the dwelling, a witness and officials said Tuesday.
Still reeling from Monday’s attack — the deadliest against U.S. law enforcement officers since 2016 — investigators in Charlotte said they weren’t sure whether there was a second shooter and that more work was needed to determine what happened.
“Charlotte isn’t going to be the last place that this happens,” Mayor Vi Lyles said, “but Charlotte will be the place that will heal — that will heal with dignity and respect for everyone.”
A task force made up of officers from different agencies had arrived in the suburban neighborhood to try to capture Terry Clark Hughes Jr., 39, who was wanted for possession of a firearm by an ex-felon and fleeing to elude in Lincoln County, North Carolina.
Those killed were identified as Sam Poloche and William Elliott of the North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections; Charlotte-Mecklenburg Officer Joshua Eyer; and Deputy U.S. Marshal Thomas Weeks. Four other officers were wounded in the shootout, and Hughes was also killed.
An AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, a 40-caliber handgun and ammunition were found at the scene.
An AR-15 is able to penetrate traditional body armor and allowed the shooter to “unload several rounds towards our officers within a matter of seconds,” said Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Johnny Jennings.
Multiple law enforcement vehicles respond in the neighborhood where several officers on a task force trying to serve a warrant were shot in Charlotte, N.C., Monday, April 29, 2024. (Melissa Melvin-Rodriguez/The Charlotte Observer via AP)
He said more than 100 spent rounds were found, though it wasn’t clear how many were fired by the suspect. At least 12 officers also fired guns.
“Even though officers were trying to take cover, they were at a disadvantage because the suspect was up at a higher level and they were returning fire from a lower position,” Jennings said, noting that the gunman was “shooting from upstairs.”
It was the deadliest day for U.S. law enforcement in one incident since five officers were killed by a sniper during a protest in Dallas in 2016.
Hughes’ criminal record in North Carolina goes back more than a decade. It includes prison time and convictions for breaking and entering, reckless driving, eluding arrest and illegally possessing a gun as a former felon, according to state records.
Members of FBI talk with each other at the scene of a shooting on Galway Drive in Charlotte, N.C., on Monday, April 29, 2024. (Khadejeh Nikouyeh/The Charlotte Observer via AP)
Star Pulliam, a cousin of Hughes, said he had just bought the home where the shootout occurred. Pulliam said the pair were close and talked nearly every day. She said Hughes was an electrician for more than 15 years. He posted short videos of complex electrical wiring on his LinkedIn profile.
Despite past struggles with the law, Pulliam said it seemed to her like Hughes “had been straightening his life out,” she said.
Saing Chhoeun, who lives next door, recalled hearing several demands that Hughes leave the home. There was no response, he said, but then a car alarm went off about the same time as gunfire.
He said an armored vehicle was subsequently parked between the house and the wounded officers to serve as protection during a rescue attempt. After a three-hour standoff, the home was torn open by specialty vehicles.
“I don’t know how many rounds were fired. But then it got quiet,” Chhoeun told The Associated Press.
Multiple law enforcement vehicles respond in the neighborhood where several officers on a task force trying to serve a warrant were shot in Charlotte, N.C., Monday, April 29, 2024. (Khadejeh Nikouyeh/The Charlotte Observer via AP)
Two females who were inside the house, including a minor, were cooperating and have not been charged, the police chief said, adding that investigators weren’t pursuing additional suspects.
Jennings said Monday that a second shooter was suspected of firing at police. But by Tuesday, he was backing off and said that possibility was still being checked.
Before taking questions from reporters, officials expressed sorrow and awe for the slain and wounded officers.
Eyer was recently honored as a Charlotte-Mecklenburg officer of the month, partly for working to get guns off the streets. Jennings said he was killed while responding to others who were facing gunfire at the scene.
“We saw … officers going into the line of fire to save their brothers in blue, who have gone down in the act of trying to keep our community safe,” Jennings said. “To me, that’s truly heroic.”
A Charlotte Mecklenburg police officer walks in the neighborhood where several officers on a task force trying to serve a warrant were shot in Charlotte, N.C., Monday, April 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
Residents in the neighborhood of modest brick homes expressed fear a day later.
“We’ve been here such a long time — you raise your children here — and then all the sudden you have this tragedy,” said Yearly Washington, who has lived there for 35 years.
The last marshal killed in the line of duty was in November 2018. Chase White was shot in Tucson, Arizona, by a man wanted for stalking local law enforcement.
The Carolinas Regional Fugitive Task Force, headquartered in Charlotte, is comprised of 70 federal, state and local agencies collaborating to capture crime suspects.
“This is a loss for the entire country,” said Marshals Service Director Ronald Davis, who traveled to Charlotte. “Losing a deputy, losing task force officers, is like losing a family member because, quite frankly, they are family members.”
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Contributing to this report were John Raby and Leah Willingham in Charleston, West Virginia; Sarah Brumfield in Silver Spring, Maryland; and Ed White in Detroit.
(JNS) The University of California, Los Angeles is allowing anti-Israel protesters to block Jewish students from entering the library of the state school in the city’s Westwood neighborhood, according to audio of a phone conversation between a parent and the UCLA police.
“Are the protestors allowed to not allow a student who pays tuition access to their class in the library?” the concerned mother is heard asking.
Parent @UCLA gave permission to release this audio of her phone call with @UCLAPD as they describe the school’s directive to allow protestors to restrict the movement of Jewish students.
“Are the protestors allowed to block students who are paying tuition from classes? No, but… pic.twitter.com/qBo9TKci3v
“No, they’re not allowed, but unfortunately they have kind of taken over that little area. … the police are not intervening with that right now and this is coming from the university,” the police representative says.
“So the university has taken a stance that they will not in fact allow or help Jewish students get to their classes? That this is going to be tolerated?” the parent asks.
“We have received a directive to not intervene at this time, yes,” the police representative answers.
The audio was posted by @stephsvox, who also posted a video of anti-Israel protesters taking over access to an area near the school library, demanding they show the right wristbands to enter and blocking “Zionists.” The protesters form a wall to prevent a student from entering as shouts of “Allahu Akbar,” which means “God is Greatest” in Arabic and was shouted by Hamas terrorists during the Oct. 7 atrocities in southern Israel, is heard in the background.
Here’s another one from an another friend’s son @ucla. Protestors take over access to area near school library demanding wrist bands and approval to each student passing.
“So you won’t let me in because I’m Jewish?”
“Ummm no… we have a couple Jewish students here … are you… pic.twitter.com/Vf4Kv0KVeS
“So you won’t let me in because I’m Jewish?” the student is heard asking.
“Ummm no… we have a couple Jewish students here. … are you a Zionist?” one of the protesters says back.
“Yes of course I am” the student says.
“Well yeah, we’re not gonna let Zionists in.”
The Jewish Faculty Resistance Group (JFRG) at UCLA, an organization of UCLA faculty, postdoctoral researchers and staff established to support Jewish students, noted in a statement on Sunday that numerous instances of antisemitism were reported at an anti-Israel encampment on campus.
These included protesters hurling antisemitic chants such as “Globalize the intifada,” and “From the river to the sea,” a Jewish student being physically assaulted for holding a sign that said, “Israel is not apartheid, come talk,” and another Jewish student verbally accosted by a professor and accused of supporting genocide for displaying an Israeli flag.
JFRG also noted “pro-Hamas students using posters with inverted red triangles—the same red triangles Hamas uses to mark victims for violence. These students are marking Jewish UCLA students for violence. A direct threat to the peace and safety of Jews at UCLA.
“These examples and the encampment’s exclusion of Jews from entering the public area of Royce Quad are against UC [University of California] policies and highlight the escalating intimidation and harassment against Jewish students on campus,” the JFRG said.
The group condemned the UCLA administration for failing to enforce its own rules and thus furthering the “isolation and exclusion of Jewish students and faculty.
“Even before the events of the past two weeks on college campuses, JFRG warned UCLA and the UC regents that their continued acquiescence to antisemitism on campus would result in further acts of antisemitism and even violence,” the group said.
“No matter how UC leadership spins it, they have allowed the UCLA campus to become a hostile and toxic environment for Jewish students and faculty,” JFRG added.
“The UC must enforce its policies under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, ensuring that Jewish students, faculty, and staff are protected from discrimination and harassment,” the group said.
Anti-Israel encampments have overtaken many college campuses in the United States in recent weeks, demanding that they divest from companies doing business with Israel. They have often veered into antisemitism and violence, with the epicenter at Columbia University in New York, where Jewish students are suing the school over its failure to protect them.
