Left-wing activists are condemning Sarah McBride, a Democrat from Delaware who earlier this month became the first transgender person elected to the US Congress, for previously expressing support for Israel. 

McBride, who was born male but now identifies as female, has a history of expressing support for Israel’s right to self-defense and sympathy for the victims of the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’s massacre across southern Israel last Oct. 7.

Upon discovering the lawmaker’s past public support of Israel, left-wing advocates slammed McBride, arguing that a “queer” politician should empathize with the plight of the Palestinians and adopt a stridently “anti-Zionist” stance. Progressives also slammed McBride for placing an “emphasis on Israeli safety” and taking a hard-line position against Iran, which US intelligence agencies have for years identified as the world’s foremost state sponsor of terrorism.

Anti-Israel activists have especially taken umbrage at the transgender lawmaker for repeatedly affirming Israel’s right to “defend itself” and referring to Hamas’s Oct. 7 invasion of the Jewish state as a “terrorist attack.” McBride has also rankled some left-wing advocates by calling for the release of the American hostages in Hamas-ruled Gaza and expressing support for continuing the transfer of US aid to Israel.

“Congress will most likely have the first trans member in history after November and she’s a zionist, beyond parody lmao,” one user wrote on X/Twitter.

“Don’t hate sarah Mcbride because she’s a trans woman, hate her because she’s a raging zionist,” another progressive posted.

“My take on Sarah McBride: I’d rather have 100 cıshetero congressmen who are anti-zionist than one trans woman who is a zionist. Identity politics shouldn’t matter at all when the stakes are genocidal,” another anti-Israel advocate said.

Over the course of McBride’s political career, which included serving in the Delaware state Senate, the lawmaker has adopted mainstream positions and rhetoric on Israel, undercutting expectations among certain corners of the ideological left that a transgender lawmaker should align with the radical fringes of the Democratic Party. Several aactivists on social media have argued that McBride’s parroting of so-called “Zionist talking points” represented a betrayal of the “queer” community. 

In an August 2023 interview with Jewish Insider, McBride demonstrated skepticism toward conditioning aid to Israel and “emphasized that federal law already contains protections to ensure that US aid ‘shouldn’t be used in ways that contradict our values.’” McBride also voiced “‘serious concerns about any policy that would single out Israel and treat it differently than other countries that we support through foreign aid’ or hold it ‘to a different standard.’”

McBride also expressed support for  the 2016 Memorandum of Understanding for US military aid to Israel, which included an increase of $8 billion in aid to the Jewish state.

During a debate for Congress in October, McBride said that “Israel without question has a right to defend itself against a terrorist attack like we saw on Oct. 7, to protect its citizens — and, in fact, it has a responsibility to protect its citizens — but it also has a responsibility to do that in the context of all applicable laws.”

McBride also vowed to seek avenues to advance Palestinian “security, economic security, and the right to self-determination.”

The publication Autostraddle, a self-described “news and entertainment site for LGBTQ+ women and other trans people,” published a story earlier this month headlined, “Sarah McBride Is a Zionist.”

“Even if Sarah McBride accomplishes other positive changes in Congress, even if her presence as a trans woman counteracts the rising transphobia in our country and her party, this will be tainted by her stance on Israel and the violence against Palestinians,” the author wrote to conclude the article. “I understand wanting a piece of good news after last week. But as long as McBride remains steadfast in her Zionism, I’ll be looking elsewhere.”

The post Left-Wing Activists Slam Incoming Trans US Lawmaker for Past Pro-Israel Comments first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Rabbi Zvi Kogan, the Chabad rabbi who was murdered in the United Arab Emirates last week, was a gregarious and kind person who had an infectious smile, recalled Rabbi Yehuda […]

The post Rabbi Zvi Kogan, the Chabad rabbi murdered in the UAE, remembered by close friend with roots in Montreal appeared first on The Canadian Jewish News.

Israel will have “zero tolerance” for any breach of a ceasefire deal in Lebanon and is prepared to act “with great force” in response to any such violations, Israel’s defense chief said on Tuesday.

“We will act against any threat, anytime, and anywhere,” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz told Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, the UN’s special envoy for Lebanon, when meeting her in Tel Aviv, according a statement from his office.

Katz also demanded “effective enforcement” from the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), the international peacekeeping organization in the country.

“If you don’t do it, we will, and with great force,” he said, according to the Israeli readout.

“Every house in southern Lebanon that is rebuilt and in which a terrorist base is established will be demolished, every rearming and regrouping by terrorists will be attacked, every attempt to smuggle weapons will be thwarted, and every threat to our forces or Israeli citizens will be immediately destroyed,” the Israeli defense chief added in his meeting.

Katz’s comments came hours before Israel’s security cabinet was expected to approve a ceasefire after nearly 14 months of fighting between Israel and the Lebanese terrorist organization Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Islamist group that wields significant influence across Lebanon.

Hezbollah has been launching barrages of rockets, missiles, and drones at northern Israel from neighboring Lebanon almost daily since Oct. 8 of last year, one day after the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’s invasion of the Jewish state from Gaza to the south.

The relentless attacks from Hezbollah have forced tens of thousands of Israelis to flee their homes in the north, and Israel has pledged to ensure their safe return.

Israel had been exchanging fire with Hezbollah but drastically escalated its military operations over the last two months, seeking to push the terrorist army further away from the border with Lebanon.

The US and France have been seeking to broker a ceasefire for months.

Diplomacy has largely focused on restoring and enforcing UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which calls for Hezbollah’s withdrawal to north of the Litani River (around 30 km, or 19 miles, from the Israeli border) and the disarmament of its forces in southern Lebanon, with the buffer zone under the jurisdiction of the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers.

Israel has insisted on retaining the right to conduct military operations against Hezbollah if the group attempts to rearm or rebuild its infrastructure — a stipulation that has met resistance from Lebanese officials, who argue it infringes on national sovereignty. Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon has said Israel would maintain an ability to strike southern Lebanon under any agreement.

During his meeting with the UN’s special envoy for Lebanon on Tuesday, Katz stressed that the implementation of the ceasefire must include effective enforcement and oversight, including preventing arms smuggling and domestic arms production by Hezbollah.

Retired Israeli Brig. Gen. Amir Avivi — who leads the Israel Defense and Security Forum, a group of former military commanders — recently told The Algemeiner that any deal must include Iran’s “full exit” from Lebanon and Israel’s freedom of action to prevent any future buildup of Hezbollah. Otherwise, he warned, the agreement would be “devastating” for the Jewish state.

Lebanon’s deputy parliament speaker, Elias Bou Saab, told Reuters the proposal under discussion would entail an Israeli military withdrawal from south Lebanon and regular Lebanese army troops deploying in the border region, long a Hezbollah stronghold, within 60 days.

He added that a sticking point over who would monitor compliance with the ceasefire was resolved in the last couple days, with an agreement to set up a five-country committee, including France and chaired by the United States.

Nabih Berri, the Hezbollah-aligned Lebanese parliamentary speaker, has been leading the Iran-backed terrorist group’s mediation efforts.

According to reports, Hezbollah will relocate its “heavy weapons” north of the Litani River as part of the expected ceasefire, and Israel has pledged to limit military action against violations by the Iranian proxy to situations where the Lebanese military fails to neutralize the threat, and only after consulting with the US.

In Washington, DC, American officials said on Monday that a truce was close but finalized.

“We don’t believe we have an agreement yet. We believe we’re close to an agreement. We believe that we have narrowed the gaps significantly, but there are still steps that we need to see taken. We hope that we can get there,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters during a press briefing.

White House national security spokesperson John Kirby expressed similar sentiments.

“We’re close,” he told reporters, but “nothing is done until everything is done.”

The post Israel Will Show ‘Zero Tolerance’ for Lebanon Ceasefire Violations, Defense Chief Tells UN Envoy first appeared on Algemeiner.com.