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Iran’s Acting FM Meets Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad Leaders in Syria, Calls for Gaza Ceasefire

Iran’s acting foreign minister Ali Bagheri Kani attends a press conference with Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad in Damascus, Syria, June 4, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Yamam al Shaar

Iran’s acting foreign minister Ali Bagheri Kani on Tuesday met with leaders of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) in Syria, further underscoring the Iranian regime’s support for the terrorist groups as they fight Israeli forces in Gaza.

Bagheri Kani held meetings with key figures from the Palestinian terrorist factions at the Iranian embassy in Damascus, the Syrian capital.

Hamas, which rules Gaza, and PIJ have both long received extensive support from Iran, including funding, weapons, and training.

During his trip, Bagheri Kani also discussed Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza with his Syrian counterpart, Faisal Mekdad.

Bagheri Kani said at a joint press conference that he and Mekdad had discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the delivery of humanitarian aid without conditions.

The Iranian diplomat then met Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. According to Assad’s office, they discussed bilateral ties between the two allies and “developments in the occupied Palestinian territories.”

The meeting came one day after a general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a powerful Iranian military force and a US-designated terrorist organization, was killed in an alleged Israeli airstrike near the Syrian city of Aleppo. In recent years, Israel has allegedly launched several strikes against Iranian targets in Syria in order to prevent Tehran from building another terrorist front against the Jewish state.

Tuesday’s meeting also came after Assad met Iran’s so-called “supreme leader,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in Tehran last week to offer condolences for the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi. The late Iranian president died in a helicopter crash in northwestern Iran last month along with Bagheri Kani’s predecessor, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian.

The strong ties between Iran’s Islamist regime and Hamas were evident last month, when Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh delivered a eulogy for Raisi at a funeral in Iran. During his speech, Haniyeh thanked Raisi and Iran for their continued support of the “resistance factions in Gaza” and for creating, financing, and directing a “resistance axis” of Islamist, anti-Western militant organizations across the Middle East.

Before coming to Syria, Bagheri Kani traveled to Lebanon in his first trip abroad since becoming Iran’s acting top diplomat. In his day-long visit to Beirut, Bagheri Kani met top Lebanese officials as well as Hassan Nasrallah, the head Hezbollah, the powerful Iran-backed terrorist group based in Lebanon.

While Israel has been fighting Hamas to the south in Gaza, Hezbollah terrorists have been firing rockets daily at northern Israel, displacing tens of thousands of Israeli civilians.

Hamas’ Oct. 7 invasion of and massacre across southern Israel launched the war in Gaza. PIJ is a separate but allied terrorist organization in the Palestinian enclave that has also held Israeli hostages kidnapped during the Oct. 7 onslaught.

Khamenei claimed on Monday that the massacre occurred “just when the region needed it.” He added that there was a plan by “the Americans, the Zionists, of their supporters and of some of the countries in the region to change the equation in the region” — an apparent reference to ongoing, US-brokered efforts to foster a normalization agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Many observers have claimed the Oct. 7 atrocities were meant to force Israel into a war and undermine the push for a historic Israel-Saudi normalization agreement.

The post Iran’s Acting FM Meets Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad Leaders in Syria, Calls for Gaza Ceasefire first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Trump Taps Fiery Pro-Israel Congresswoman Elise Stefanik for UN Ambassador

US Nominee for Ambassador to the United Nations Elise Stefanik addressing the Israeli parliament on May 24, 2024. Photo: Office of Congresswoman Elise Stefanik.

US President-elect Donald Trump has selected Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY) to serve as his ambassador to the United Nations, a decision which, if confirmed by the US Senate, would ensure that a staunch pro-Israel advocate represents the incoming administration in the international body.

“I am honored to nominate Chairwoman Elise Stefanik to serve in my Cabinet as US ambassador to the United Nations,” Trump, who last Tuesday became the first former president elected to a nonconsecutive term in over a century, said in a statement first reported by the New York Post. “Elise is an incredibly, strong, tough and smart America First fighter.”

Stefanik, chair of the House Republican Conference, confirmed the news and issued her own statement on the nomination.

“I am truly honored to earn President Trump’s nomination to serve in his Cabinet as US Ambassador to the United Nations,” he lawmaker said. “During my conversation with President Trump, I shared how deeply humbled I am to accept his nomination and that I look forward to earning the support of my colleagues in the United States Senate.”

Stefanik continued, “President Trump’s historic landslide election has given hope to the American people and is a reminder that brighter days are ahead — both at home and abroad … America continues to be the beacon of the world, but we expect and must demand that our friends and allies be strong partners in the peace we seek.”

As The Algemeiner has previously reported, Stefanik is one of the leading pro-Israel voices in Washington, DC, having defended both the US-Israel alliance and the civil rights of Jewish students on college campuses, where aggressive pro-Hamas activists have launched campaigns of violence, obstruction, and intimidation aimed at forcing Jewish life underground and severing higher education institutions’ ties to Israel.

Stefanik, 40, a Harvard University alumnus from Albany, New York, currently serves on the US House committees for intelligence, armed services, and education and the workforce. In May, she delivered what her office described as a “historic” speech to the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, an address she used to express support for the Jewish state’s war with Hamas, as well as to explicate her views on the Islamic Republic of Iran’s destabilizing activities in the Middle East.

“I have been clear at home and I will be clear here: There is no excuse for an American president to block aid to Israel — aid that was duly passed by the Congress,” she said. “There is no excuse to ease sanctions on Iran, paying a $6 billion ransom to the world’s leading state sponsor of terror, or to dither and hide while our friends fight for their lives. No excuse. Full stop.”

She continued, “I’m proud to have sponsored, or backed, every measure to aid Israel that has come before the United States Congress. Every single on. It’s why, I, as a senior member on the House Armed Services Committee and Intelligence Committee, we have helped secure billions of dollars for the Iron Dome, David’s Sling, the Iron Beam, anti-tunneling technology, counter-UAS system, and further development of emerging technologies.”

At home, Stefanik has sharply interrogated university presidents over what many observers have perceived as indifference to antisemitic hatred on college campuses and a refusal to quell riotous demonstrations which disrupted academic activities for weeks on end during the 2023-2024 academic year. Several weeks before addressing the Knesset, Stefanik grilled Northwestern University president Michael Schill over the now-infamous Deering Meadow Agreement, which granted concessions to a pro-Hamas group that commandeered a section of campus and refused to surrender it unless the administration commenced a boycott of Israel. The agreement was a “unilateral capitulation,” Stefanik said, claiming that Schill’s actions created an impression that he opposed protecting Jewish students from violence.

“Let’s talk about what has occurred on this encampment,” Stefanik asserted. “Isn’t it true that a Jewish Northwestern student was assaulted?”

Stefanik went on to recount several more incidents of alleged antisemitic violence — including one in which a Jewish student was spit on — and harassment at Northwestern, pressing Schill to estimate when the school will complete its investigations of the criminal behavior.

In July, Stefanik sponsored legislation which would punish universities that fail to protect Jewish students from antisemitism. The University Accountability Act (UAA) proposed levying a tax on universities which, in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, declined to punish perpetrators of antisemitic behavior. The Protecting American Students Act (PASA), prompted by reports that foreign students overwhelmingly contribute to antisemitism on college campuses, called for taxing the endowments of universities that admit more foreign students than American ones.

A rising star in the Republican Party, Stefanik’s record as a public servant has had some controversy. In 2022, she refused to withdraw her endorsement of a congressional primary candidate, Carl Paladino, who once lauded Adolf Hitler as “the kind of leader we need today … somebody inspirational.” While Paladino apologized for his comments about the Nazi leader after they were reported — saying, “I understand that invoking Hitler in any context is a serious mistake and rightfully upsets people. I strongly condemn the murderous atrocities committed against the Jewish people by Hitler and the Nazis” — he accused the organization which reported his remarks, Media Matters, of reaching a “new low.”

Stefanik had previously pledged support for Paladino in a tweet which described him as a “friend,” “job creator,” and “conservative outsider who will be a tireless fighter for the people of New York.” Following reports of his comments, her office declined to state unequivocally whether she would continue to support his candidacy, saying only that “Congresswoman Stefanik has one of the strongest records in the US Congress condemning antisemitism and led and passed bipartisan legislation to expand Holocaust education.”

Ultimately, Stefanik threw her star power behind Paladino, campaigning for him and sponsoring a tele-rally which promoted his candidacy.

Stefanik is also one of several Republicans who did not oppose then-President Trump’s effort to halt the transfer of power following his general election loss to Democratic Party nominee Joe Biden, who defeated Trump in the Electoral College and won the popular vote. Echoing claims of widespread voter fraud in key battleground states, she voted against Congress certifying the results of the race in Pennsylvania, which Biden won by a slim 1.17 percent margin.

Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.

The post Trump Taps Fiery Pro-Israel Congresswoman Elise Stefanik for UN Ambassador first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Ex-IDF Soldier Becomes First Republican in 50 Years to Win New York State Assembly Seat in Long Island District

Daniel Norber of 16th District of New York

Daniel Norber was elected in November 2024 to represent the 16th District in the New York State Assembly. Photo: Screenshot

A former officer in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) became the first Republican to win a state assembly seat in northern Hempstead, Long Island in more than 50 years. 

Daniel Norber narrowly defeated two-term Democratic incumbent Gina Silitti to capture the 16th District of the New York State Assembly. The district encompasses most of Nassau County, an area which maintains a significant Jewish population. 

Norber’s victory came amid a huge surge in support for Republican candidates across the country. US President-elect Donald Trump won the 16th District by over 2,000 votes, assisting Norber, a dual US-Israeli citizen, secure victory in his history-making down-ballot race. 

The ex-IDF officer’s win also came in the midst of increasing antisemitism across the country. In the year following the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’s massacre across southern Israel last Oct. 7, Jewish families in Nassau County have reported being targeted with hate crimes

In September, a Jewish family in Nassau County alleged that a suspect urinated on their front door and yelled antisemitic slurs. Months earlier in April, county officials denounced antisemitic graffiti which covered the faces of hostages taken captive by Hamas during the Oct. 7 onslaught. Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, who is Jewish, has also accused Civil Service Employees Association Local 830, an 8,000-member local union, of antisemitism for distributing flyers depicting him with devil horns.  

Silitti, Norber’s opponent, found herself in hot water with the local Jewish community after one of her staffers bashed Israel on social media. 

“She wasn’t sensitive to what was going on. I felt she was out of touch,” Norber, 45, told the New York Post.

Though Norber focused his campaign on domestic issues such as bolstering law enforcement and cutting taxes, he believes that his support for Israel also helped him establish valuable inroads with the local Jewish community. Moreover, his grandparents endured the Holocaust and his mother ran away from communism in the Soviet Union.  

Norber was also on the ground in Israel during the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks with his wife and four kids. 

“It was the worst atrocity to Jews since the Holocaust. Israel is not the same anymore,” Norber said, according to the Post.

Norber has also touted a series of policies which would likely bolster Jewish safety in Nassau County. In the New York State Assembly, he aims to implement a statewide mask ban with the goal of preventing anonymity during protests — a popular tactic employed by activists during anti-Israel demonstrations to hid their identity. The lawmaker also wants to repeal cashless bail, with the intention of reducing the number of violent criminals on the streets.

The post Ex-IDF Soldier Becomes First Republican in 50 Years to Win New York State Assembly Seat in Long Island District first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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‘Challah for Ceasefire’?: Phoebe Maltz Bovy on watching the political tightrope in women’s media

In the before-times, a personal essay in a women’s magazine about home-baked challah, in which the writer discusses how this ritual connects them to their Jewish roots, would be a […]

The post ‘Challah for Ceasefire’?: Phoebe Maltz Bovy on watching the political tightrope in women’s media appeared first on The Canadian Jewish News.

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