RSS
Connecticut State Rep. Who Attacked Primary Opponent for Being Jewish Faces Expulsion From Local Democratic Party
Connecticut state representative Anabel Figueroa. Photo: Screenshot
A state representative in Stamford, Connecticut may soon be ousted from the local Democratic Party for proclaiming that her primary opponent, Jonathan Jacobson, must not win office because he is Jewish, a statement that heightened concerns about the mainstreaming of antisemitic rhetoric.
“The Hispanic vote is going to determine on Aug. 13 who will win to represent or who will continue to represent you,” Figueroa said in a Spanish-language interview filmed on July 28. “We cannot permit a person who is of Jewish origin, of Jewish origin, to represent our community. It’s impossible.”
The comments were met with widespread backlash, and the Stamford Democratic City Committee (DCC) called on Figueroa to resign.
“The use of this blatant antisemitic and anti-democratic language is abhorrent, unacceptable, and contrary to our shared values as Democrats,” it wrote in a statement. “The sentiments expressed by Representative Figueroa in that video contradict the statement she issued yesterday in response to the antisemitic Facebook post shared by a DCC member, who is also one of her supporters.”
One of Figueroa’s supporters, who is also a member of the Stamford DCC, had also reportedly made antisemitic remarks about Jacobson.
Voters in the 148th District ultimately rejected Figueroa, electing Jacobson by a 25-point margin in the Democratic primary last month. However, the consequences of her campaign strategy, which offended many in the community — both Jewish and Latino — have outlasted the campaign season. On Aug. 28, the DCC voted unanimously to subject her to an “expulsion hearing,” a disciplinary process which may result in her banishment from the party. According to The Stamford Advocate, Figueroa will be afforded due process as well as an “advocate” who “will have 30 minutes” to contest the charges of misconduct in a hearing on Sept. 25.
“Anabel Figueroa has nobody to blame but herself for the situation that she created,” DCC chair Robin Druckman told the Advocate on Aug. 29. “Her words are her own and there is no missing context. Anyone can … hear and see for themselves that she not only used this abhorrent language but that she continues to do so.”
Figueroa’s apparent animosity toward Jewish politicians began earlier this year, when her political star fell after the DCC endorsed Jacobson for a state house seat for the 148th District which she had won in a special election in 2023, according to local media outlets. Outraged by being forced into a primary race, Figueroa lashed out at Jacobson and the party. In doing so, she fanned the flames of ethnic division and campaigned in part on the message that a Jewish representative would harm Latino citizens.
Later, a Figueroa surrogate and long time friend, Eva Padilla, launched more attacks in the same vein against Jacobson, casting suspicion on his ties to Israel and suggesting that he aimed to “steal” votes from Latinos.
“Her challenger is Israeli lawyer Jonathan Jacobson, a Stamford lawyer who doesn’t a damn about our wellbeing. This gentleman in my very personal opinion does not deserve to be involved in political positions where decisions are made that will benefit or harm our Latino community,” Padilla said in a message posted on Facebook. “On one occasion, he wanted to pass a law that was totally detrimental to our landscapers, obviously because the vast majority of them are Latinos … he wants our voice to end in this state.”
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
The post Connecticut State Rep. Who Attacked Primary Opponent for Being Jewish Faces Expulsion From Local Democratic Party first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
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.”
RSS
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.
RSS
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.