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Lawsuit claims Rudy Giuliani said, ‘Get over the Passover. It was like 3,000 years ago.’
(JTA) — Rudy Giuliani, the former New York City mayor who became an aide to former President Donald Trump, mocked Jews for observing Passover, according to a lawsuit filed Monday by a former assistant who is accusing him of sexual assault and harassment.
“Jews want to go through their freaking Passover all the time, man oh man,” Guiliani once said, according to the complaint, which was filed on Monday in New York Supreme Court and indicates that the comments were recorded. “Get over the Passover. It was like 3,000 years ago. The red sea parted, big deal. It’s not the first time that happened.”
The statement that Jews regularly observe Passover is accurate. Retelling the story of the Israelite slaves’ exodus from Egypt each spring is one of the most widely observed Jewish practices, and is frequently cited as an inspiration by politicians (including the person who holds Giuliani’s old job, New York City Mayor Eric Adams).
Meanwhile, there is no historical record of the Red Sea ever parting. The Torah says that God was able to make the miracle happen with the help of Moses, who led the Israelites to freedom — but there is no evidence that such a phenomenon has happened before or since. Some have sought to offer scientific explanations for such an event.
The vast majority of the $10 million suit focuses on allegations by Nicole Dunphy, a former Giuliani associate, that he pressed her into sexual activity without her consent and harassed her continually almost as soon as she began working for him in January 2019.
The Jewish elements of the lawsuit were first reported by the Forward. In addition to mocking Jewish observance of Passover, Giuliani is also accused in the complaint of disparaging Jewish men’s penis sizes and commenting about the “‘freaking Arabs’ and Jews.” He also made racist comments about other groups, according to the suit.
Giuliani, who was New York City mayor from 1994 to 2001, and in 2021 was barred from practicing law in New York state due to his repeated false claims about the 2020 election. Through a spokesperson, he “vehemently” denied the allegations Monday to the Associated Press.
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The post Lawsuit claims Rudy Giuliani said, ‘Get over the Passover. It was like 3,000 years ago.’ appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Israeli Military Says It ‘Took Out’ Iran’s Caspian Sea Naval Capabilities
Illustrative: A group of Iranian Navy ships. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
Israel carried out strikes targeting the Iranian navy in the Caspian Sea for the first time on Wednesday, an Israeli military spokesperson said on Thursday, telling reporters that Iran’s naval capabilities in the inland sea had been largely disabled.
Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani said the Air Force had struck dozens of targets, including missile boats, a corvette, a shipyard used to build and repair vessels, and a command center.
“We have been able to take out their navy capabilities in the Caspian Sea,” he said in an online briefing with reporters.
“That is a systematic strike on all levels of their naval capabilities in the Caspian Sea.”
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US Approves Billions in Arms Sales to Middle East Countries
Smoke billows from Jebel Ali port after an Iranian attack, following United States and Israel strikes on Iran, United Arab Emirates, March 1, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Amr Alfik
The US State Department on Thursday approved potential arms sales to three Middle East countries worth more than $16.5 billion as the war with Iran intensifies.
The State Department approved the potential sale of missiles, drones, radar systems, and F-16 munitions and upgrades to the United Arab Emirates for a combined total of more than $8.4 billion, it said in statements.
Also approved were possible sales of lower-tier air and missile defense sensor radars to Kuwait for an estimated cost of $8 billion and aircraft and munitions support to Jordan for an estimated cost of $70.5 million.
The sales follow Iran’s attacks on energy infrastructure in response to Israeli attacks on its gas facilities, which marked the biggest escalation of the nearly three-week war, causing gas prices to surge and oil prices to rise further.
The State Department said the principal contractors in the sales will include RTX Corporation, Northrop Grumman, and Lockheed Martin Corporation.
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Two Men Appear in UK Court Accused of Spying on Israeli Embassy, Jewish Targets for Iran
Director General of MI5 Ken McCallum delivers the annual Director General’s Speech at Thames House, the headquarters of the UK’s Security Service, in London, Britain, Oct. 16, 2025. Photo: Jonathan Brady/Pool via REUTERS
Two men appeared in a London court on Thursday accused of being tasked by Iran to carry out hostile surveillance on the Israeli Embassy, Britain’s oldest synagogue, and other Jewish targets.
Nematollah Shahsavani, 40, a dual Iranian-British national, and Alireza Farasati, an Iranian national, 22, are accused of being involved in gathering information and undertaking reconnaissance of targets given to them by Iranian spy services over five weeks last summer.
As such, the alleged activities pre-dated the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran which began on Feb. 28.
Prosecutor Louise Attrill told London’s Westminster Magistrates Court that devices seized from the two men had contained a list of targets.
These included the Israeli Embassy, the Israeli Consulate, London’s Bevis Marks Synagogue, a Jewish community center, and the Community Security Trust, a charity which provides security advice for the country’s Jews.
Attrill said the evidence suggested Shahsavani, who had traveled to Iran last April and was stopped under counter-terrorism powers when he returned to Britain in August, had been given instructions by Iranian intelligence services, and he had tasked Farasati to carry out the surveillance.
The men did not enter a plea and were remanded in custody until their next hearing at London’s Old Bailey Court on April 17. Farasati’s lawyer Alphege Bell said his client was “no religious fanatic.”
British lawmakers and the domestic spy agency MI5 have long warned of threats posed by Iran, with accusations that Tehran was behind more than 20 suspected kidnap and assassination plots.
Iran has repeatedly denied such accusations, saying they are part of a campaign against it by hostile Western powers.
Vicki Evans, the senior national coordinator of Britain’s counter-terrorism police, said she hoped the investigation would reassure Jewish communities that police would act on any threats to their safety.