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Why ‘ceasefire’ might show up alongside ‘Trump’ and ‘Haley’ in New Hampshire primary results
(JTA) — Pro-Palestinian activists in New Hampshire have encouraged voters to fill in “ceasefire” on ballots as the state goes to the polls in one of the most watched primaries this cycle.
“We have to get out and show Biden that we’re not just asking for a ceasefire, we’re demanding it,” says the Vote Ceasefire website, launched to send a message to President Joe Biden to press Israel into a ceasefire in its war with Hamas. “And one of the most impactful ways to do that is through the power of your vote.”
A sample ballot on the campaign website shows how to fill in the blank space on the ballot with “ceasefire.” The campaign, launched by local peace activists, has the backing of some prominent state politicians, including Andru Volinsky, a former member of the five-member State’s Executive Council that functions as a check on the governor.
State election officials say they are expecting a larger-than-normal number of write-in votes, and organizers of the ceasefire write-in effort are pressing for the state to disclose just how many votes the write-in campaign draws. They want to influence contests in other states as well, particularly as it appears likely that both parties’ nominating contests will be resolved early in the primary season.
The effort comes as Biden’s backing for Israel’s war with Hamas is under attack from the party’s left, increasingly in Congress as well as among the progressive grassroots.
All eyes are on New Hampshire on Tuesday as Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor, hopes to mount a successful enough challenge to former President Donald Trump in the Republican primary to stay in the race. Trump has driven out virtually every other candidate.
Haley, who has the backing of much of the Republican Jewish establishment, adamantly opposes a ceasefire. Trump claims he could bring an end to the war “very fast,” although he does not say what that would entail.
Biden, who got the Democratic Party to rearrange its primary schedule to start next month in South Carolina, is not on the Democratic ballot, but New Hampshire is running a Democratic primary in any case, although it will not send delegates to the convention.
Long-shot candidates, including Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips and self-help author Marianne Williamson, who are both Jewish, are on the Democratic ballot. There is a local effort to write in Biden’s name as a means of discouraging the long shots from continuing their bids. The Democratic Majority for Israel, a pro-Israel Democratic political action committee, is encouraging voters to write in Biden’s name.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.