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Families of hostages, Jewish leaders plead to put politics aside and bring home Hamas captives
(New York Jewish Week) – In front of a crowd of 200 outside the United Nations, Navé Strauss described his cousin, Hagar — who loves traveling, trying new food, listening to Radiohead, and has three children, one of whom celebrated their 10th birthday on Oct. 6.
“Have I humanized it enough?” Strauss said. “Do you know this person? I’m sure you know this person. But she’s somewhere in Gaza and I don’t know where and I don’t know when I’m going to see her next.”
Like hundreds of other Israelis, Hagar and her three children are being held by Hamas, which took the captives when it invaded Israel from Gaza on Oct. 7, killing 1,400 and wounding thousands. At the gathering on Wednesday morning, relatives of the hostages pressed for their release and criticized the international response to the abductions.
Strauss, other family members of hostages and New York City politicians and Jewish leaders addressed the crowd, vowing to keep the hostages’ plight on the public agenda — and to prevent it from being subsumed by debate over the war between Hamas and Israel.
“I’m not interested in politics, I’m not interested in ‘othering,’” Strauss said. “There are children in danger.”
In all, Israel says it has notified the families of 199 hostages that their loved ones are in Gaza. Hamas says other terror groups operating in the territory are holding about 50 additional people. Hamas released footage of one of the captives on Monday, a video widely understood as a psychological ploy.
“We feel this viscerally in New York. We feel as if these children are our children,” said Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, who is Jewish. “Because of their pain we will not be silent. We are demanding the immediate and unconditional release of the hostages.”
Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, flanked by Israelis whose family members are held by Hamas, at a rally demanding their release, in New York City, October 18, 2023. (Luke Tress)
Flanked by students from the Ramaz School, an Orthodox day school in Manhattan, holding fliers with images of the captives, Levine said in Hebrew, “We’re not forgetting and we’re not giving up. We will do all we can to return them home in peace. We promise.”
Also at the rally at Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza were New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, who is Jewish; the chair of the City Council’s Jewish Caucus, Eric Dinowitz; other New York City lawmakers; and representatives of the New York Board of Rabbis, the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, the UJA-Federation of New York and the American Jewish Committee’s New York chapter; and Shany Granot-Lubaton, a prominent Israeli activist.
Several speakers lamented that the hostage crisis hasn’t drawn harsher condemnations, decrying what they said was a double standard against Israel.
“Kidnapping is very straightforward. Somehow that message gets lost,” Dinowitz said. “In every generation we face strife and challenges, and in every generation there are people who question our simple right to exist.”
Levine compared the situation to the global outcry when Boko Haram terrorists abducted 276 girls in Nigeria, sparking a massive international response.
“Where is that level of outrage now?” he said. “Where are the government denunciations? Where is the clear messaging from the United Nations? Where’s the outrage on social media?”
Israel supporters hold images of Hamas hostages at a rally demanding their release, in New York City, October 18, 2023. (Luke Tress)
Ahead of the protest, the Ramaz students led the crowd in a rendition of traditional Jewish songs calling for God to help those in distress and protect children. Attendees stood in a circle, some holding images of the hostages and Israeli flags. The conference wrapped up with the audience singing Israel’s national anthem, “Hatikvah.”
In the area around the plaza, fliers with photos of the captives and information about them were taped to streetlights and parking meters, part of an international campaign to raise awareness of the crisis.
Speakers largely did not address how Israel should conduct its war on Hamas or what the outcome of the fighting should be, though Strauss did suggest that arms should be laid down so that the hostage crisis could be addressed.
“There are actual human beings who are in danger right now,” Strauss told the crowd. “Drop the weapons, stop the fighting, prioritize the hostages.”
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The post Families of hostages, Jewish leaders plead to put politics aside and bring home Hamas captives appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Candace Owens Barred From New Zealand After Facing Similar Ban From Australia for Comments on Jews, Holocaust
Right-wing political commentator Candace Owens speaks during an event held by national conservative political movement ‘Turning Point’, in Detroit, Michigan, US, June, 14, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Rebecca Cook
Right-wing American political commentator and YouTube content creator Candace Owens has been denied a visa to enter New Zealand because she was banned from the nearby country Australia, immigration officials reportedly said on Thursday.
Owens was scheduled to embark on her first speaking tour across Australia and New Zealand in February and March of next year. The tour includes a stop in Auckland, New Zealand, on Feb. 28 and tickets remain on sale online.
Australia rejected her request for a visa last month. Australian Immigration Minister Tony Burke said the decision was made because of Owens’s past remarks, including her apparent denial that Nazis forcibly did medical experiments on Jews in concentration camps during World War II.
“From downplaying the impact of the Holocaust with comments about [Nazi doctor and war criminal Josef] Mengele through to claims that Muslims started slavery, Candace Owens has the capacity to incite discord in almost every direction,” Burke said at the time. “Australia’s national interest is best served when Candace Owens is somewhere else.
Jock Gilray, a spokesperson for New Zealand’s immigration agency, said on Thursday that Owens was refused an entertainer’s work permit for New Zealand because visas legally cannot be granted to someone who have been banned from another country, The Associated Press reported on Thursday. New Zealand officials did not refer to Owens’s past comments when announcing the denial of her visa.
Owens and the Australia-based promoter behind her speaking tour, Rocksman, have yet to comment on news regarding the ban from New Zealand but said in October that they will file a legal appeal to a federal judge in response to the ban from Australia. Owens commented on Burke’s decision to deny her a visa for Australia and blamed it partially on the alleged influence of the global “Zionist media empire.”
Owens, who has over 3 million subscribers on YouTube and hosts the podcast titled “Candace,” has promoted conspiracy theories and made numerous antisemitic comments about Israel, Jews, Zionists, and the Holocaust. She has also made controversial comments against Black Lives Matter, feminism, vaccines, and immigration.
The post Candace Owens Barred From New Zealand After Facing Similar Ban From Australia for Comments on Jews, Holocaust first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israeli Bus Attacked in West Bank, At Least Eight Injured
Israeli police officer works at the scene of a shooting attack near the Jewish settlement of Ariel, in the West Bank, Nov. 29, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Ammar Awad
A Palestinian opened fire on a Tel Aviv-bound Israeli bus near the Jewish settlement of Ariel in the West Bank on Friday, wounding at least eight people before he was killed by Israeli troops, the Israeli military said.
Israel‘s MDA medical service said four people suffered gunshot wounds, with three in a serious condition, and four others were hurt by flying glass.
The Palestinian Health Ministry identified the shooter as a 46-year-old local man. Hamas’s armed wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, said he belonged to the terrorist group.
Violence has surged across the West Bank since the start of the Hamas-Israel war in Gaza in October last year.
In the first six months of 2024, the West Bank experienced more than 500 Arab terrorist attacks each month on average, according to data made public by Hatzalah Judea and Samaria (Rescuers Without Borders).
Dozens of Israelis have been killed in Palestinian street attacks, Israeli authorities say, while hundreds of Palestinians — including armed fighters, stone-throwing youths, and civilian bystanders — have died in clashes with Israeli security forces.
The post Israeli Bus Attacked in West Bank, At Least Eight Injured first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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The Winds Are Blowing Agains the Jewish People; But the Response to Chaos and Violent Protests Could Lead to a Reversal
A Torah scroll is seen on display at the Babylonian Jewry Heritage Center in Or Yehuda, Israel, April 16, 2018. Photo: Reuters / Amir Cohen.
People are asking why we are now experiencing such a tsunami of hatred — a kind of Ma Nishtana moment. There are very different factors that have come together to create a perfect storm of conflicting world and ethical values. Old certainties have died, and new ones are flourishing, and not always for the best. One can look at this from different perspectives — the historical, the social, the religious, and the long-term instability of societies and governments.
For thousands of years, the fate and role of societies have been determined by the people who exercised power and what religion or gods they adhered to. Power rose or fell violently and unpredictably. Authorities cared little for human life. Religions were supposed to take care of morality. Winners determined the fate of humans — who was accepted and who was not, or merely tolerated. Every country was guilty at some stage of abuse, and benefited from servitude. This does not mean one cannot try to make things better.
Throughout history, rival religions competed for supremacy and Jews were always caught in the middle. Judaism found itself attacked both by religions and by secular ideologies. And many Jews themselves abandoned their religion and culture ,and joined the different and conflicting ideologies and fought for recognition and rights for everyone. We expected to be hated by the European devils of Stalin and Hitler. But we never believed we would be hated by so many Americans. By Harvards and Columbias.
The First and the Second Great Wars were watersheds. They created new global rivalries and exacerbated cultural opposites. The dream that a United Nations could bring peace has been shattered by its politics. The dove of peace is crippled, and the lion will not lie down with the lamb. As many societies have advanced technologically, and billions were raised out of poverty and servitude, people began to talk about rights instead of obligations. And different groups who felt poorly treated, began to demand respect and amelioration.
Unfortunately, like all such movements, they developed into orthodoxies that allowed for no dissent or criticism. The current curse in the West is wokeism. And in the east, it is the curse of totalitarianism.
Another important factor in a changing world is migration. In the past, people fled prejudice, wars, and oppression. Many wanted a freer life and opportunities. And they integrated into the host societies. Ease of travel and access have now meant that larger numbers are fleeing, bringing with them values directly in conflict with host societies. The Western world is being and will continue to be challenged by massive immigration because it needs more workers to fill the gaps left by declining birthrates. In itself this is not a problem. But by refusing to deal with the issue of integration, by burying heads in sands, and now by fearing to act to remove those inciting hatred, it is only stoking up more chaos for the future. In many places, the character of nations has already begun to change.
Multiculturalism, once seen as an ideal, is now becoming a problem. It has led to a choice, between cultural capitulation and an alliance of false brothers, religious fundamentalists allied with left-wing progressives to gain power despite opposing values. One day, they may overturn states from within.
Some will argue that Israel is the cause of world dysfunction. Strange that such a small people are thought to have such influence. Others argue that Israel was a mistake, and all other states that emerged from the ashes of the Ottoman Empire are legitimate. And they argue that Israel has no right to defend itself. All these are both nonsensical and evidence of prejudice. And they simply reiterate what the Bible foretold, that we are people who are alone, not appreciated by other nations (Numbers 23:9).
If the world is bent on tearing itself apart, we can only look on in despair for them. And do our best to ensure that we are well protected.
All is not lost. There are signs of a reaction. The winds that bring storms can also revive and refresh.
Florence, Italy, in the 15th century was the pinnacle of wealth, culture, and influence. Its banking families controlled the Western world. The Franciscan monk Savonarola (1452-1498) attacked the power and the wealth of the wealthy rulers. But he went too far in destroying great art, music, and what he saw as luxury. Instead, he enforced dull pious conformity. For a while, he was successful. But people soon tired of it, and in the end, he was burnt as a heretic. After the French Revolution came the Reign of Terror. Let us hope it won’t happen now.
The author is a writer and rabbi, based in New York.
The post The Winds Are Blowing Agains the Jewish People; But the Response to Chaos and Violent Protests Could Lead to a Reversal first appeared on Algemeiner.com.