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Man allegedly brandishes machete while driving by Jewish camp funded by Kars4Kids
(JTA) — The charity Kars4Kids is citing an incident outside its Jewish camp in upstate New York in pressing its case to arm staff.
In the July 23 incident, a man allegedly brandished a machete when approached by a staffer at The Zone, the Orthodox Jewish camp that Kars4Kids operates in Gilboa, New York, through Oorah, its Jewish education charity arm.
Robert O’Malley, a facility manager at The Zone, said he was directing buses out of the camp that morning when a man driving a green Jeep Cherokee wearing a Coast Guard veteran cap began yelling at him to “get the f— off the road,” according to O’Malley’s sworn July 30 statement, which the Jewish Telegraphic Agency obtained.
After O’Malley waved the man over, the man brandished a large knife, according to the statement filed with the Schoharie County Sheriff’s Office. In a photograph attached to the complaint, a man is holding up a machete through the open window of his car.
“The actions of this male made me fearful and scared,” O’Malley said in the complaint. The complaint does not say that the man said anything about the camp or campers’ Jewish identity, which resolved without violence.
The CEO of Oorah and Kars4Kids, Eliohu Mintz, and a camp staff member are challenging New York State’s concealed carry law in court, claiming that its restrictions leave staff and children vulnerable to antisemitic attacks. The law prohibits private citizens from carrying guns in places where religious activities are conducted.
The machete incident “vividly illustrates the very real, imminent and pressing need for staff of the camp to be properly armed,” Wendy Kirwan, Kars4Kids’ communications director, said in an email to JTA.
Kirwan said the incident took place in view of campers. July 23 was the final day of the camp’s first session.
Designated and trained security guards may carry guns at religious facilities in New York, but the Kars4Kids officials challenging the law are not part of the staff’s security staff. The staffer, Eric Schwartz, lives year-round on the grounds of the camp and said in the legal challenge to the state law that he had faced antisemitic incidents because he is “easily recognizable and identifiable to the public” as an Orthodox Jew.
Jewish security specialists, who have recently increased their attention to the summer camp sector, have said that arming rank-and-file Jews is not an effective deterrent against antisemitic attacks.
The Schoharie County sheriff’s office did not return a request for a status update on the complaint.
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The post Man allegedly brandishes machete while driving by Jewish camp funded by Kars4Kids appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Trump Hosts Qatari Prime Minister After Israeli Attack in Doha
Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani attends an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, following an Israeli attack on Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar, at UN headquarters in New York City, US, Sept. 11, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
US President Donald Trump held dinner with the Qatari prime minister in New York on Friday, days after US ally Israel attacked Hamas leaders in Doha.
Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas with an attack in Qatar on Tuesday, a strike that risked derailing US-backed efforts to broker a truce in Gaza and end the nearly two-year-old conflict. The attack was widely condemned in the Middle East and beyond as an act that could escalate tensions in a region already on edge.
Trump expressed annoyance about the strike in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and sought to assure the Qataris that such attacks would not happen again.
Trump and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani were joined by a top Trump adviser, US special envoy Steve Witkoff.
“Great dinner with POTUS. Just ended,” Qatar’s deputy chief of mission, Hamah Al-Muftah, said on X.
The White House confirmed the dinner had taken place but offered no details.
The session followed an hour-long meeting that al-Thani had at the White House on Friday with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
A source briefed on the meeting said they discussed Qatar’s future as a mediator in the region and defense cooperation in the wake of the Israeli strikes against Hamas in Doha.
Trump said he was unhappy with Israel’s strike, which he described as a unilateral action that did not advance US or Israeli interests.
Washington counts Qatar as a strong Gulf ally. Qatar has been a main mediator in long-running negotiations for a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza, for the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza and for a post-conflict plan for the territory.
Al-Thani blamed Israel on Tuesday for trying to sabotage chances for peace but said Qatar would not be deterred from its role as mediator.
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Trump Urges NATO Countries to Halt Russian Oil Purchases
US President Donald Trump gestures during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, Aug. 26, 2025. Photo: Jonathan Ernst via Reuters Connect
i24 News – US President Donald Trump issued a letter to NATO nations on Saturday, impressing upon them to stop purchasing Russian oil and impose major sanctions on the regime of Vladimir Putin to end its war in Ukraine.
“I am ready to do major Sanctions on Russia when all NATO Nations have agreed, and started, to do the same thing, and when all NATO Nations STOP BUYING OIL FROM RUSSIA. As you know, NATO’S commitment to WIN has been far less than 100%, and the purchase of Russian Oil, by some, has been shocking! It greatly weakens your negotiating position, and bargaining power, over Russia,” the message read.
“Anyway, I am ready to ‘go’ when you are. Just say when? I believe that this, plus NATO, as a group, placing 50% to 100% TARIFFS ON CHINA, to be fully withdrawn after the WAR with Russia and Ukraine is ended, will also be of great help in ENDING this deadly, but RIDICULOUS, WAR. China has a strong control, and even grip, over Russia, and these powerful Tariffs will break that grip.”
Trump’s post comes after the recent flight of multiple Russian drones into Poland, widely perceived an escalatory move by Russia as it was entering the airspace of a NATO ally. Poland intercepted the drones, yet Trump played down the severity of the incident and Russia’s motives by saying it “could have been a mistake.”
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Netanyahu Says Getting Rid of Hamas Chiefs in Qatar Would Remove Main Obstacle to Gaza Deal
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the US Independence Day reception, known as the annual “Fourth of July” celebration, hosted by Newsmax, in Jerusalem, Aug. 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/Pool
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that getting rid of Hamas chiefs living in Qatar would remove the main obstacle to releasing all hostages and ending the war in Gaza.
Israel on Tuesday targeted the Hamas leadership in Doha.