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  • VR project features five survivors of Oct. 7 Hamas massacre

    Amelie Botbol|May 10, 2024

    (JNS) - "It all started after I joined the fight on Oct. 7 against Hamas terrorists invading the Israeli communities bordering the Gaza Strip," says Nimrod Palmach, CEO of Israel-is, which partners with producer Stephen D. Smith in the virtual reality "Be the Witness" initiative. Israel-is is an NGO dedicated to improving Israel's image. Part of the "Survived to Tell" project, "Be the Witness" features the stories of five survivors of the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre. Participants in the project wear VR goggles and relive the journey of one of five...

  • Blinken to Netanyahu: Israel must 'avoid further expansion' of war

    Troy O. Fritzhand|May 10, 2024

    (JNS) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Israeli leaders as part of his Middle East tour to Israel, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, his seventh trip to the Jewish state since the current Hamas war broke out on Oct. 7. Blinken met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, where they "discussed ongoing efforts to reach an immediate ceasefire in Gaza as part of a hostage deal and emphasized that it is Hamas that is standing in the way of a ceasefire," according to an official statement from the U.S...

  • Palestinian arrested in Israeli youth's terror murder

    May 10, 2024

    (JNS) — Israeli security forces arrested a Palestinian suspect in the April 12 terrorist murder of 14-year-old shepherd Binyamin Achimeir following an overnight raid in the Binyamin region of Samaria. “Overnight, in a joint operation of the Shin Bet, the Israel Police and the IDF, Ahmed Duabsha, 21 years old, a resident of the village of Duma in the Binyamin Brigade [area of deployment], was arrested by the soldiers of the Yamam [Border Police National Counter-Terrorism Unit] and the Shin Bet,” said the statement. Achimeir’s body was found by a...

  • UCLA allows anti-Israel protesters to block Jewish students

    May 10, 2024

    (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...

  • Clashes as UCLA declares pro-Hamas encampment 'unlawful'

    May 10, 2024

    (JNS) — A chaotic scene unfolded at the main campus of the University of California, Los Angeles in the Westwood neighborhood late Tuesday night as pro-Israel protesters confronted the pro-Hamas encampment there. There were reports of fights breaking out, resulting in injuries. An unverified video circulating online shows a pro-Hamas mob allegedly beating a Jewish student. According to social media accounts and local reporting, the university and city police were absent from the increasingly violent scene at UCLA. The school on Tuesday d...

  • Protesters at Penn seek clash, police refuse to clear encampment

    David Isaac|May 10, 2024

    (JNS) — As tensions escalate at a Gaza Solidarity Encampment at the University of Pennsylvania, administrators are taking a dialogue and de-escalation approach, possibly because they have no choice. Penn asked the Philadelphia Police Department to dismantle the encampment, but the police refused, the student-run Daily Pennsylvanian claimed on May 2. Police asked that the university first provide proof that the encampment “presents an imminent danger,” reported the paper, citing a source familiar with the matter. If accurate (and the Phila...

  • Columbia cancels commencement amid pro-Palestinian protests

    Andrew Lapin|May 10, 2024

    (New York Jewish Week) – Columbia University announced Monday that it would be canceling its commencement ceremony following weeks of pro-Palestinian protest, campus turmoil and hundreds of student arrests. Beginning nearly three weeks ago, the pro-Palestinian encampment at Columbia sparked a protest movement at dozens of campuses across the country. The Ivy League school, like other colleges, has struggled to contain the demonstrators. “These past few weeks have been incredibly difficult for our community,” Columbia said in a statement Monda...

  • From Michigan to Boston, pro-Palestinian protesters assert themselves at college graduations

    Philissa Cramer|May 10, 2024

    (JTA) — Dozens of students unfurled Palestinian flags and banners at the main commencement ceremony of the University of Michigan. A single student staged a provocative demonstration during a ceremony at Northeastern University, raising hands stained with red paint as a symbol of violence in Gaza. And a Palestinian student speaker used her speech to lambaste Israel’s war against Hamas at the University of Toledo. Such were the disruptions during the first major weekend of graduation ceremonies to take place amid a sweeping pro-Palestinian pro...

  • Columbia sued over failure to protect Jewish students

    Adi Nirman|May 10, 2024

    (Israel Hayom via JNS) — Columbia University is facing a class action lawsuit accusing it of failing to keep Jewish students safe amid the wave of anti-Israel protests that have disrupted the Ivy League campus. The anonymous student plaintiff filed the lawsuit on Apr. 29. It acknowledges the right to peaceful protest and open debate at colleges. However, the lawsuit alleges that a number of demonstrations have gone beyond acceptable bounds, “intimidating and harassing Jewish students and faculty members” as well as “inciting demonstrators to en...

  • Red Cross official exposed as Hamas stooge

    David Isaac|May 10, 2024

    (JNS) — In the latest example of a deep-seated anti-Israel bias within the International Committee of the Red Cross, the head of the ICRC’s office in Algeria and director of the Libya subdelegation has been outed as a pro-Hamas shill. Geneva-based, pro-Israel group U.N. Watch exposed the pro-terrorist sentiments of the ICRC official, who appears to be based in Montreal. “Meet Haythem ‘Ethan’ Abid. He runs the International Red Cross in Montreal. His job is to be neutral. But Abid marches in ‘Free Palestine’ rallies, posts Hamas videos saying...

  • Fatah, Hamas push for unity in China talks

    May 10, 2024

    (JNS) — Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah faction has reiterated its desire to reconcile with Hamas, China’s Foreign Ministry announced following talks in Beijing. Representatives of Fatah and Hamas recently held negotiations in the Chinese capital with a view to forging a Palestinian unity government. Fatah reportedly dispatched Azzam al-Ahmad, a member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, and Samir al-Rifai, a member of Fatah’s Central Committee. The Hamas delegation was led by the deputy head o...

  • Weekly roundup of world briefs

    May 10, 2024

    Israel opening its universities to besieged US Jewish students (JNS) — Israel has launched a program to facilitate the educational transfer of Jewish students from American universities under siege by pro-Hamas agitators. The Israeli Diaspora Affairs Ministry has issued the call to Israeli universities to absorb as many Jewish-American college students as possible, with the assistance of a data-driven program developed by Inbal Ratz-Gilmore and professor Yuval Sinai of the Kohelet Policy Forum, a Jerusalem-based think tank that promotes free-ma...

  • Jewish groups demand further action to combat antisemitism at Columbia

    Luke Tress|May 10, 2024

    (New York Jewish Week) – On Tuesday night, as police cleared protesters out of a Columbia University building and arrested more than 100 people, lawyer Gerard Filitti said fault lay with the students who had erected an unauthorized pro-Palestinian encampment at the school. But they’re not the only ones he blamed. Although Columbia’s administration had called in the NYPD, Fillitti said Tuesday’s clashes were the result of inaction by Columbia’s leadership — not just during the two weeks of the encampment, but in the more than six months sinc...

  • Israeli lawmaker to JNS: Israel must regain control of Gaza

    Amelie Botbol|May 10, 2024

    (JNS) — The only moral and rational conclusion that can be drawn from the horrors of Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre is that Israel must regain control of the Gaza Strip, Knesset member Amit Halevi (Likud) told JNS. “Israel had disengaged from Gaza, it was essentially a Palestinian state. The outcome was Oct. 7,” Halevi said on the sidelines of the Conservative Political Action Conference Hungary on Thursday. “From the river to the sea, Israel will be free: this should be the slogan chanted at Columbia University, Harvard, Yale and Berkeley,...

  • Lone soldiers tell of sense of purpose during war

    Adi Rubinstein|May 10, 2024

    (Israel Hayom via JNS) - The war in Gaza brought with it countless stories of heroism. Split-second decisions altered lives, demarcating a clear divide between before and after. However, many decisions evaded the spotlight. While they will not be enshrined in battle narratives, they bear witness to our existence here, the conflicts we wage, and the character of our military and people, particularly the younger generation. In recent months, Israel Hayom has chronicled the experiences of lone soldiers-those without close family in Israel who can...

  • Israel's military intelligence chief resigns, taking responsibility for Oct. 7 failures

    Ron Kampeas|May 3, 2024

    (JTA) - Israel's military intelligence chief, Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva, resigned, saying he assumed responsibility for the intelligence failures that failed to prevent the Oct. 7 Hamas invasion that launched the current war. The resignation letter Haliva sent Monday to the Israeli military chief of staff, Lt. Herzi Halevi, is unusual in that he assumed responsibility for the failures even before the launch of a state inquiry into the missteps that left Israel unprepared for the attack. "The intelligence division under my command did not live up...

  • UF takes stand against protests

    May 3, 2024

    The University of Florida has provided a list of “dos and don’ts” for on-campus protest activities. There are consequences for non-compliance. What is allowed: Speech, expressing viewpoints, holding signs in hands. What is not allowed: No amplified sound, no demonstrations inside buildings, no littering, no sleeping, no unmanned signs, no blocking ingress.egress, no building of structures (chairs, stakes, benches, tables), no camping (including tents, sleeping bags, pillows, etc.), no distruption, no threats, no violence, no weapons, any other...

  • Israeli hostages on video

    May 3, 2024

    (JNS) — On Saturday, Hamas released a video of two hostages—Omri Miran, 46, and Keith Siegel, 64. While the edited, three-minute-long video is undated, Miran says in it that he has been held captive for 202 days and Siegel mentions the Passover holiday, indicating that the video was filmed recently. The two men identify themselves, speak directly to their families and express their hopes for a deal to release the rest of the hostages. Siegel, a dual Israeli and U.S. citizen, was kidnapped along with his wife, Aviva Siegel, from their home in...

  • Camp J General Camp offers swimming and water play

    May 3, 2024

    Camp J General Camp offers a fun way to beat the heat this summer. The General Camp offers a water option as an add feature. Children will go to the beautiful Rosen Aquatic Center. They will have have swim sessions tailored to their skill level along with personalized instruction. The facility has certified instructors and lifeguards on duty. At the end, the children will receive a Certificate of Completion. The Water Play options are themed to make each week unique. Choose from Pirate Week, Shark Week, Hawaiian Luau Week, Flamingo Week and...

  • ICC may issue arrest warrant for Netanyahu, Gallant

    May 3, 2024

    (JNS) — Jerusalem believes that the International Criminal Court in The Hague will issue arrest warrants against senior officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Diplomatic efforts to thwart ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Ahmad Khan’s move have failed, Israel’s Channel 12 News reported. International arrest warrants are expected to be filed against Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, according the the report. The broadcaster said the warrants would likely be issued against the backg...

  • Israeli FM: Rafah op to be suspended if hostage deal secured

    Joshua Marks|May 3, 2024

    (JNS) — Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz said on Saturday that an imminent military operation in Rafah would be suspended if a hostage release deal is secured, calling it the top priority to free the remaining abductees taken by Hamas on Oct. 7. “The release of the hostages is the top priority for us,” the member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Security Cabinet told Channel 12, adding that “if there will be a deal, we will suspend the operation” in the last Hamas bastion in southernmost Gaza. Katz is not a member of the War Cabin...

  • Senate passes foreign aid package including billions for Israel

    JNS|May 3, 2024

    The U.S. Senate passed a $95 billion foreign aid package late Tuesday that includes $26 billion in wartime assistance for Israel and $9 billion in humanitarian aid, some of which will be allotted for the Gaza Strip. The bill passed the Senate on an overwhelming 79-18 vote after the House had approved the package Saturday, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden’s desk after months of delays. U.S. officials told AP that about $1 billion of the aid could be on its way shortly, with the bulk following in the coming weeks. “Tonight, a bip...

  • Brandeis extends transfer deadline, appealing to Jewish students distressed by campus anti-Israel unrest

    Philissa Cramer|May 3, 2024

    (JTA) — Brandeis University, the historically Jewish school outside Boston, has extended its transfer application deadline in a bid to appeal to students who are unhappy with their own schools’ responses to campus anti-Israel protests. The university announced the decision on Monday, as encampment protests spread from Columbia University to campuses across the United States. The protests, which take aim at the schools’ ties to Israel, are spurred by the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and have in some places included rhetoric that veers into antis...

  • Top Qatari official: No to negotiations with Israel

    May 3, 2024

    (JNS) — There can be no negotiations with Israel as the Jewish people are “slayers of prophets,” a top Qatari official told representatives at a recent Arab League summit, according to a translation of the speech the Middle East Media Research Institute published on Wednesday. Essa bin Ahmad al-Nassr, who serves on Doha’s Shura Council legislature and holds the rank of brigadier-general in the Qatari Armed Forces’ elite Emiri Guard protection unit, threatened the annihilation of the Jewish state. Qatar, which hosts Hamas leaders and has provi...

  • Unrest on American campuses: Yale police arrest 47 anti-Israel protesters as 'Gaza solidarity encampments' spread

    Andrew Bernard|May 3, 2024

    (JNS) — Yale University police arrested 47 anti-Israel protesters for trespassing on Monday morning, as “Gaza solidarity encampments” continue to disrupt college campuses across the country. After the arrests in New Haven, hundreds of students continued to rally while university maintenance workers cleared Yale’s central Beinecke Plaza of tents, the Yale Daily News student newspaper reported. Anti-Israel students formed the first of the encampments at Columbia University on Wednesday ahead of congressional testimony by Columbia preside...

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