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Author Won’t Back Down After Receiving Hate for Publishing Children’s Book About Jewish Heritage Amid Gaza War
The cover of “Under the Rockets’ Glow: Shira’s Journey to Courage.” Photo: Screenshot
A first-time children’s book author who has been targeted with thousands of hate messages and negative comments and reviews online for publishing a book that highlights the Jewish people’s heritage amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war said he’s not letting the backlash have an effect on him.
“There’s Israeli soldiers who are putting their lives on the line to protect the land of Israel. If I take a little bit of heat online, it’s the least I can do if this is actually bringing value to people,” Roman Sandler, 34, told The Algemeiner on Wednesday. “I see the hate as kind of a corroboration that I’m on the right track because if you’re not pissing anyone off you’re not doing the right sort of thing. You’re not doing something important.”
The father of three self-published a children’s book in January titled Under the Rockets’ Glow: Shira’s Journey to Courage. It’s about a young girl named Shira and her father, who teaches her about her Jewish heritage and history, from Abraham to modern-day Israel, to help her find courage one night as rockets rain down outside her bedroom window. The story concludes with Shira falling asleep, feeling safe while dreaming about a world full of peace.
A portion of all proceeds from the book will be donated to the victims of the deadly Oct. 7 Hamas attacks in southern Israel, during which the terrorists slaughtered 1,200 people and took hundreds of others as hostages back to the Gaza Strip. The book is also dedicated to victims of the massacre and soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces who are “currently risking their lives to defend Israel and subdue evil in our midst.”
Sandler, who lives in California with his family, told The Algemeiner that he was inspired to write the children’s book after having a hard time explaining the gravity of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war to his five-year-old daughter, and not being able to find any decent resources to help her understand the situation. The author, whose wife has Israeli roots, also wanted to help children understand “the first principles of who we are as a [Jewish] people, why we’re in Israel, our connection to the land, and why it’s worth fighting for,” he explained.
“I didn’t think I did anything that controversial,” Sandler added. “But I think that even the sole point that the Jews have a stake to the land of Israel is unfortunately a controversial point.”
In February, the children’s book garnered the attention of Jewish actress and former Jeopardy! host Mayim Bialik, who praised it in an Instagram post. After the Big Bang Theory star posted about the book on social media, sales for Under the Rockets’ Glow went up tremendously, but Sandler and the book also began receiving hate messages from anti-Israel activists. The book was additionally review bombed on Amazon and Google, which dragged down its ratings, and Sandler was sent thousands of threatening messages on social media.
“I think just the fact that Mayim [Bialik] posted it as comforting to Israelis in present times just automatically to the pro-Palestinian movement makes it a bad thing because [to them], it can’t be comforting to Israelis and say the Jewish narrative without somehow infringing the Palestinian narrative,” Sandler told The Algemeiner. “I think that’s how they see it, unfortunately.”
Across TikTok, Facebook, X/Twitter, and other platforms, Sandler was called “genocidal zionist scum”; compared to Nazis; and falsely accused of promoting genocide for writing a “propaganda children’s book to indoctrinate israeli [sic] children with hateful lies, while tens of thousands of Palestinians die at the hands of this brutal illegal occupation.” His book was described as “Zionist trash” aimed at “radicalizing Jewish kids” and “glorifying ethnic cleansing.” It was also labeled as “Zionist propaganda designed to brainwash you and your little ones into supporting genocide.”
Photo: Screenshot
“Lying to kids about Israel’s barbarity is a Zionist tradition,” wrote one X user. Others encouraged pro-Palestinian individuals to leave negative reviews online for the book. However, most of the negative reviews left on the book’s Amazon page are from unverified purchases, Sandler noted, meaning they were written most likely by online users who have not even purchased and read Under the Rockets’ Glow.
Despite all the negativity that Sandler’s book has faced, many parents online have thanked him for writing a book that has helped their own children.
One Amazon reviewer, a parent from Israel, said the book has helped “comfort my children with their trauma” and “give them strength and hope” when Israel experiences rocket attacks.
“This book is beautiful and heartwarming, speaks about how we need to be brave and courageous, just like all of our Jewish ancestors as they faced similar hardships, and reminding them of our beautiful history of survival,” added the Amazon reviewer and verified purchaser. “My kids love reading it now eveynight [sic], and I often hold back tears reading it [to] them, trying to smile and be positive for them.”
“Oct. 7th is a dark day that is hard to explain to our kids,” said another reviewer and verified purchaser on Amazon. “But I think [Under the Rockets’ Glow] can give strength to the young Jewish children (and their parents!) in the US who have seen such a rise of antisemitism here that it often feels dangerous and scary. Thank you for helping provide that strength for our kids and helping them understand the Jewish people’s [connection] to the land of Israel.”
Under the Rockets’ Glow has also been praised as educational and helpful in having kids understand the Israel-Hamas war.
Photo: Screenshot
Sandler has no immediate plans to write another children’s book but is not ruling it out, despite the negativity he’s faced with his first publication. Reflecting on all the positivity surrounding Under the Rockets’ Glow, he said, “I think a lot of people are very glad this book exists, just because there is so much hate out there. [The book is] something that can say their story and provide context to their children in such hard times.”
Under the Rockets’ Glow: Shira’s Journey to Courage is available to purchase on Amazon as well as some independent Jewish bookstores in New York and Toronto, Canada.
The post Author Won’t Back Down After Receiving Hate for Publishing Children’s Book About Jewish Heritage Amid Gaza War first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Trump Open to Meeting Iran’s Leaders, Sees Chance of Nuclear Deal
US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters at the White House in Washington, DC, US, April 23, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
US President Donald Trump this week said he is open to meeting Iran’s supreme leader or president and that he thinks the two countries will strike a new deal on Tehran’s disputed nuclear program.
However, Trump, who in 2018 pulled the US out of a now moribund nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers, repeated a threat of military action against Iran unless a new pact is swiftly reached to prevent it developing nuclear weapons.
Trump, in an April 22 interview with Time magazine published on Friday, said “I think we’re going to make a deal with Iran” following indirect US-Iranian talks last week in which the side agreed to draw up a framework for a potential deal.
The Republican US president, speaking separately to reporters at the White House on Friday, reiterated his positive prognosis, saying: “Iran, I think, is going very well. We’ll see what happens.”
A US official said the discussions yielded “very good progress.”
Asked by Time whether he was open to meeting Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, an anti-Western hardliner who has the last say on all major state policies, or President Masoud Pezeshkian, Trump replied: “Sure.”
Expert-level talks are set to resume on Saturday in Oman, which has acted as intermediary between the longtime adversaries, with a third round of high-level nuclear discussions planned for the same day.
Israel, a close US ally and Iran’s major Middle East foe, has described the Islamic Republic’s escalating uranium enrichment program – a potential pathway to nuclear bombs – as an “existential threat.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for a complete dismantling of Iran’s nuclear capabilities, saying partial measures will not suffice to ensure Israel’s security.
Asked in the interview if he was concerned Netanyahu might drag the United States into a war with Iran, Trump said: “No.”
‘I’LL BE LEADING THE PACK’
However, when asked if the US would join a war against Iran should Israel take action, he responded: “I may go in very willingly if we can’t get a deal. If we don’t make a deal, I’ll be leading the pack.”
In March, Iran responded to a letter from Trump in which he urged it to negotiate a new deal by stating it would not engage in direct talks under maximum pressure and military threats but was open to indirect negotiations, as in the past.
Although the current talks have been indirect and mediated by Oman, US and Iranian officials did speak face-to-face briefly following the first round on April 12.
The last known face-to-face negotiations between the two countries took place under former US President Barack Obama during diplomacy that led to the 2015 nuclear accord.
Western powers accuse Iran of harboring a clandestine agenda to develop nuclear weapons capability by enriching uranium to a high level of fissile purity, above what they say is justifiable for a civilian atomic energy program.
Tehran says its nuclear program is wholly peaceful. The 2015 deal temporarily curbed its uranium enrichment activity in exchange for relief from international sanctions, but Iran resumed and accelerated enrichment after the Trump walkout in 2018.
The post Trump Open to Meeting Iran’s Leaders, Sees Chance of Nuclear Deal first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Trump Poised to Offer Saudi Arabia Over $100 Billion Arms Package, Sources Say
US President Donald speaking in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, DC on March 3, 2025. Photo: Leah Millis via Reuters Connect
The United States is poised to offer Saudi Arabia an arms package worth well over $100 billion, six sources with direct knowledge of the issue told Reuters, saying the proposal was being lined up for announcement during US President Donald Trump‘s visit to the kingdom in May.
The offered package comes after the administration of former President Joe Biden unsuccessfully tried to finalize a defense pact with Riyadh as part of a broad deal that envisioned Saudi Arabia normalizing ties with Israel.
The Biden proposal offered access to more advanced US weaponry in return for halting Chinese arms purchases and restricting Beijing’s investment in the country. Reuters could not establish if the Trump administration’s proposal includes similar requirements.
The White House and Saudi government communications office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
A US Defense official said: “Our defense relationship with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is stronger than ever under President Trump‘s leadership. Maintaining our security cooperation remains an important component of this partnership and we will continue to work with Saudi Arabia to address their defense needs.”
In his first term, Trump celebrated weapons sales to Saudi Arabia as good for US jobs.
Lockheed Martin Corp could supply a range of advanced weapons systems including C-130 transport aircraft, two of the sources said. One source said Lockheed would also supply missiles and radars.
RTX Corp, formerly known as Raytheon Technologies, is also expected to play a significant role in the package, which will include supplies from other major US defense contractors such as Boeing Co, Northrop Grumman Corp and General Atomics, said four of the sources.
All the sources declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter.
RTX, Northrop and General Atomics declined to comment. Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A Lockheed Martin spokesperson said foreign military sales are government-to-government transactions. Questions about sales to foreign governments are best addressed by the US government.
Reuters could not immediately establish how many of the deals on offer were new. Many have been in the works for some time, two of the sources said. For example, the kingdom first requested information about General Atomics’ drones in 2018, they said. Over the past 12 months, a deal for $20 billion of General Atomics’ MQ-9B SeaGuardian-style drones and other aircraft came into focus, according to one of the sources.
Several executives from defense companies are considering traveling to the region as a part of the delegation, three of the sources said.
The US has long supplied Saudi Arabia with weapons. In 2017, Trump proposed approximately $110 billion of sales to the kingdom.
As of 2018, only $14.5 billion of sales had been initiated and Congress began to question the deals in light of the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
In 2021, under Biden, Congress imposed a ban on sales of offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia over the Khashoggi killing and to pressure the kingdom to wind down its Yemen war, which had inflicted heavy civilian casualties.
Under US law, major international weapons deals must be reviewed by members of Congress before they are finalized.
The Biden administration began to soften its stance on Saudi Arabia in 2022 after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine impacted global oil supplies. The ban on offensive weapons sales was lifted in 2024, as Washington worked more closely with Riyadh in the aftermath of Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack to devise a plan for post-war Gaza.
A potential deal for Lockheed’s F-35 jets, which the kingdom has been reportedly interested in for years, is expected to be discussed, three of the sources said, while downplaying the chances for an F-35 deal being signed during the trip.
The United States guarantees that its close ally Israel receives more advanced American weapons than Arab states, giving it what is labeled a “Qualitative Military Edge” (QME) over its neighbors.
Israel has now owned F-35s for nine years, building multiple squadrons.
The post Trump Poised to Offer Saudi Arabia Over $100 Billion Arms Package, Sources Say first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Iran Summons Dutch Envoy to Protest Assassination Attempts Claim
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi looks on before a meeting with Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, in Tehran, Iran, Aug. 26, 2024. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
The Iranian foreign ministry summoned the Dutch ambassador to Tehran on Friday, the official IRNA news agency reported, a day after the Netherlands called in Iran‘s envoy over suspicions that Iran was behind two assassination attempts.
An Iranian foreign ministry official described the Dutch accusation as “laughable” and based on “suspicions or assumptions,” according to IRNA.
“It is regrettable that the Dutch diplomatic apparatus acts so easily on speculations injected by its security bodies and the Zionist regime [Israel], and even summons the Iranian ambassador over such an absurd fabrication,” the official, Alireza Yousefi, was quoted as saying.
The Netherlands summoned Iran‘s ambassador after the Dutch intelligence agency, known as the AIVD, said in its annual report published on Thursday that it was likely Iran was behind two assassination attempts in the Netherlands and Spain.
Two men were arrested in June 2024 in the Dutch town of Haarlem after an assassination attempt on an Iranian residing in the country, the report said.
One of the suspects was also believed to have been behind the failed assassination attempt on Spanish politician and Iran critic Alejo Vidal-Quadras in Madrid in November 2023, it said.
The post Iran Summons Dutch Envoy to Protest Assassination Attempts Claim first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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