RSS
About 50 Survivors of Nova Music Festival Committed Suicide, Survivor Tells Israeli Lawmakers
The personal belongings of festival-goers are seen at the site of an attack on the Nova Festival by Hamas terrorists from Gaza, near Israel’s border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel, Oct. 12, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
i24 News — Following the Hamas-led massacre at the Nova Music Festival on Oct. 7, about fifty survivors have committed suicide, revealed Guy Ben Shimon.
Ben Shimon, a survivor of the massacre, spoke on Tuesday at a parliamentary hearing for a State Audit Commission on the treatment of the survivors of Oct. 7.
“Few people know, but there have been almost 50 suicides among the Nova survivors. This number, which was true two months ago, may have increased since,” Ben Shimon said, emphasizing that many of his friends who escaped the massacre could not recover from what they had experienced.
“There are many survivors who had to be forcibly hospitalized due to their psychological state. My friends are not getting out of bed, neither am I,” he described their condition since the Oct. 7 attack.
“I am practically unable to do anything. I had to get a dog to help me survive in my daily life. The goal for all of us is to return to work and function normally, but we cannot do it without adequate help,” Ben Shimon added.
The parliamentary hearing focused on alleged failures of the state bodies towards the survivors of Oct. 7. There were complaints about the difficulties, notably bureaucratic, that the survivors faced in getting their post-traumatic stress disorder recognized, as well as in receiving the needed care.
“Why should I constantly prove what I experienced? Why am I forced to go back to the details of what I experienced for them to believe me?” Naama Eitan, another survivor of the music festival, asked during the hearing.
“I participated in a study that monitored my pulse and other parameters and revealed how bad my health is. I sleep on average two hours a night. Each morning at seven o’clock, I relive the moments when I was hidden in the bushes with terrorists passing by me. I can no longer move on my own, I need to be constantly accompanied,” she described.
During the Hamas-led attack, 364 people were brutally murdered at the Nova Music Festival and dozens were taken to Gaza as hostages. In total, Palestinian terrorists led by Hamas massacred 1,200 people and kidnapped 253 others as hostages during their surprise invasion of southern Israel. Mounting evidence has revealed the terrorists perpetrated systematic sexual violence, including torture and mass gang rape, against Israelis during the onslaught.
According to recent studies, 600,000 Israelis were awaiting psychological support since Oct. 7.
The Israeli Ministry of Health says that they do not have any information or statistics about the claim made of 50 survivors who have committed suicide.
The post About 50 Survivors of Nova Music Festival Committed Suicide, Survivor Tells Israeli Lawmakers first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Treasure Trove: How the State of Israel prepared for the announcement of its independence
The ceremony at which the State of Israel was proclaimed started at 4 p.m. on Friday, May 14, 1948—the British Mandate was ending at midnight between Friday and Saturday, a final shot to the Jewish community, necessitating that the new state be declared before sundown. The ceremony took 32 minutes. It was only on the […]
The post Treasure Trove: How the State of Israel prepared for the announcement of its independence appeared first on The Canadian Jewish News.
RSS
Eurovision Song Contest Faces Anti-Israel Protests Ahead of Final
2023 Eurovision Song Contest winner Loreen performs on stage during the rehearsal of the Grand Final of the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest, in Malmo, Sweden, May 10, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger
Thousands of people protested in Malmo on Saturday against Israel‘s participation in Eurovision Song Contest, with the Israeli military campaign in Gaza casting a shadow over the final of the glitzy contest.
Eurovision organizers, who always bill the annual event as non-political, have resisted calls to exclude Israel, but requested that the lyrics of its entry be changed to remove what organizers called references to the deadly Hamas attack on Oct. 7 that triggered the war.
A large crowd of protesters gathered on the central square of the Swedish host city before marching towards the contest venue, waving Palestinian flags and shouting “Eurovision united by genocide” – a twist on the contest’s official slogan “United by music”.
“It’s important to show, like, we are going to stand on the right side for everyone. This could be any other country and we would still be standing here because this is about children, men and women who have been occupied for so many years,” said one protester on Saturday, Maryam, who gave only her first name.
Police estimated that between 6,000 and 8,000 people joined the demonstration.
The final, the culmination of the festival of catchy songs, gaudy costumes and tongue-in-cheek kitsch, kicks off at 1900 GMT.
In Malmo, French singer Slimane halted his rehearsal act on Saturday to say it had been a childhood dream of his to sing for peace.
“We need to be united by music,” Slimane said, referring to the official Eurovision slogan, followed by cheering from the crowd in the auditorium.
More than 10,000 anti-Israel campaigners, including climate activist Greta Thunberg, staged a non-violent protest ahead of the semi-final on Thursday.
A smaller group of pro-Israel supporters, including members of Malmo’s Jewish community, also staged a peaceful demonstration on Thursday, defending Israeli solo artist Eden Golan, 20, and her right to take part in the contest.
Pro-Palestinian protesters have complained of double standards as the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) that organizes the contest banned Russia from Eurovision in 2022 following its invasion of Ukraine.
Some 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 people taken hostage in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said his country will not stop the war until Hamas is eliminated.
DUTCH FANS DISAPPOINTED
In another Eurovision controversy this year, Dutch contestant Joost Klein was expelled on Saturday from the competition final after a complaint by a member of the production crew, the EBU said.
“While the legal process takes its course, it would not be appropriate for him (Joost) to continue in the Contest,” the EBU said in a statement.
A representative for Klein did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
According to Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS, Klein was filmed despite clearly made agreements, just after getting off stage after his performance at Thursday’s semi final.
“This wasn’t respected,” AVROTROS said in a post on social media platform X, adding “This led to a threatening movement from Joost towards the camera.”
Klein did not touch the camerawoman, according to AVROTROS, who said it found the artist’s penalty “very heavy and disproportionate.”
A Dutch fan, Frank Zwarthoed, said, “We are very, very, very disappointed… And it’s not good for the for the joy, we have in all the Dutch fans here that are present.”
Dutch viewers will still be allowed to vote for other contestants and the Dutch jury result will still be included in the final, the EBU has said.
Bookmakers have Croatia’s Baby Lasagna, real name Marko Purišić, 28, with “Rim Tim Tagi Dim,” as front-runner to win the contest, followed by Israel‘s Golan, with her song “Hurricane.”
Some booing was heard from the crowd before, during and after Golan’s performance in the semi-finals on Thursday, but there was also applause and Israeli flags being waved, according to a Reuters journalist in the auditorium.
The post Eurovision Song Contest Faces Anti-Israel Protests Ahead of Final first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Islamic Hardliners Cement Grip Over Iran’s Parliament After Election Runoff
An Iranian woman casts her vote during parliamentary elections at a polling station in Tehran, Iran, March 1, 2024. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS/ File Photo
i24 News – Iran’s hardliner Islamist on Saturday won the bulk of the remaining seats in an election run-off to claim full control of the Islamic Republic’s parliament.
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi has hailed the people’s participation in the parliamentary runoff election in the country, saying that he hopes the vote will help form a strong parliament. pic.twitter.com/BvuyemTAV4
— Tehran Times (@TehranTimes79) May 10, 2024
The result, tallied with that of the previous vote in March, gives hardliners 233 of the 290 seats in Iran’s parliament.
Hardliners seek more repressive restrictions in line with Islamic sharia, including demanding that women don veils in public. They are also defined by enmity toward the West, particularly the United States, and virulent antisemitism.
Those politicians calling for change in the country’s government, known broadly as reformists, have been for the most part barred from running in the election.
Vote counting began after the ballots closed late Friday, with the election authority publishing the names of the winners the day after.
Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi stated the election saw “good participation,” without elaborating. “All elected people have had a relatively good and acceptable” number of votes, he said.
The parliament in Iran plays a secondary role in governing the country though it can intensify pressure on the administration when deciding on the annual budget and other important bills. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has the final say in all important state matters.
The post Islamic Hardliners Cement Grip Over Iran’s Parliament After Election Runoff first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login