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Matisyahu to Perform at NYC Benefit Supporting Israel’s Southern Communities Impacted by Oct. 7 Hamas Attack
Matisyahu. Photo: Americans for Ben-Gurion University
Jewish reggae singer Matisyahu will perform at a benefit in New York City in September that will raise money to help rebuild and strengthen communities in southern Israel impacted by the deadly Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks.
The benefit, hosted by Americans for Ben-Gurion University (A4BGU), is called “One Day,” after Matisyahu’s popular song of the same name, and will take place on Sept. 22. It will be held two weeks prior to the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre in southern Israel. Ben-Gurion University (BGU) has a $1 billion global fundraising campaign called Way Forward to help support Israel’s future in the Negev region following the Oct. 7 atrocities, and the “One Day” event in New York will help raise funds for the campaign, which has already garnered more than $380 million.
“During such challenging times for Jews worldwide, it’s essential that we come together to advocate for our people, including by supporting organizations that are leading the way forward for Israel after Oct. 7,” Matisyahu said in a statement. “That’s precisely why I was inspired to use my voice for A4BGU and BGU, who are working to build the Israeli people’s resilience and are playing a central role in their road to recovery.”
Matisyahu dedicated his 2004 song “Warrior” to wounded Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers he met at an event coordinated by A4BGU in Aspen, Colorado. In May of this year, he released a song about antisemitism, and its music video was filmed at the site of the Nova music festival massacre on Oct. 7 and features survivors of the Hamas attack. He has been outspoken in support of Israel following Oct. 7 and talked earlier this month about how his solidarity with the Jewish state has resulted in him being dropped by his manager and having a number of his scheduled concerts cancelled.
“Matisyahu’s song ‘One Day’ expresses a hope for an end to violence and hate, as well as the start of a new era of peace and understanding. After Oct. 7, the world needs this message more than ever,” said Doug Seserman, CEO of A4BGU. “We are thrilled to have Matisyahu lend his voice towards A4BGU’s efforts around the rebuilding of Israel’s South, with Ben-Gurion University leading the way forward as the epicenter of the region and the key to its recovery.”
Among all the academic institutions in Israel, BGU had the highest number of students, faculty, and staff who were killed, injured, missing, kidnapped (including recently freed hostage Noa Argamani), displaced from their homes, and called to reserve duty with the IDF as a result of the Oct. 7 attacks, according to A4BGU. Hundreds of BGU community members are still in active duty. In the aftermath of the attacks, BGU students and faculty members have volunteered in hospitals throughout Israel, cared for children of IDF soldiers who were called up for reserve duty, and have hosted evacuated families, families of casualties, and army reservists in their homes and university dormitories.
The post Matisyahu to Perform at NYC Benefit Supporting Israel’s Southern Communities Impacted by Oct. 7 Hamas Attack first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israeli Strike on Tehran Kills Bodyguard of Slain Hezbollah Chief
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi lays a wreath as he visits the burial site of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, on the outskirts of Beirut, Lebanon, June 3, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
A member of Lebanese armed group Hezbollah was killed in an Israeli air strike on Tehran alongside a member of an Iran-aligned Iraqi armed group, a senior Lebanese security source told Reuters and the Iraqi group said on Saturday.
The source identified the Hezbollah member as Abu Ali Khalil, who had served as a bodyguard for Hezbollah’s slain chief Hassan Nasrallah. The source said Khalil had been on a religious pilgrimage to Iraq when he met up with a member of the Kataeb Sayyed Al-Shuhada group.
They traveled together to Tehran and were both killed in an Israeli strike there, along with Khalil’s son, the senior security source said. Hezbollah has not joined in Iran’s air strikes against Israel from Lebanon.
Kataeb Sayyed Al-Shuhada published a statement confirming that both the head of its security unit and Khalil had been killed in an Israeli strike.
Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli aerial attack on Beirut’s southern suburbs in September.
Israel and Iran have been trading strikes for nine consecutive days since Israel launched attacks on Iran, saying Tehran was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons. Iran has said it does not seek nuclear weapons.
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Hamas Financial Officer and Commander Eliminated by IDF in the Gaza Strip
Israeli soldiers operate during a ground operation in the southern Gaza Strip, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, July 3, 2024. Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), in cooperation with the General Security Service (Shin Bet), announced on Friday the killing of Ibrahim Abu Shamala, a senior financial official in Hamas’ military wing.
The operation took place on June 17th in the central Gaza Strip.
Abu Shamala held several key positions, including financial officer for Hamas’ military wing and assistant to Marwan Issa, the deputy commander of Hamas’ military wing until his elimination in March 2024.
He was responsible for managing all the financial resources of Hamas’ military wing in Gaza, overseeing the planning and execution of the group’s war budget. This involved handling and smuggling millions of dollars into the Gaza Strip to fund Hamas’ military operations.
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Report: Wary of Assassination by Israel, Khamenei Names 3 Potential Successors
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei waves during a meeting in Tehran, Iran, May 20, 2025. Photo: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
i24 News – Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei named three senior clerics as candidates to succeed him should he be killed, the New York Times reported on Saturday citing unnamed Iranian officials. It is understood the Ayatollah fears he could be assassinated in the coming days.
Khamenei reportedly mostly speaks with his commanders through a trusted aide now, suspending electronic communications.
Khamenei has designated three senior religious figures as candidates to replace him as well as choosing successors in the military chain of command in the likely event that additional senior officials be eliminated.
Earlier on Saturday Israel confirmed the elimination of Saeed Izadi and Bhanam Shahriari.
Shahriari, head of Iran’s Quds Force Weapons Transfer Unit, responsible for arming Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, was killed in an Israeli airstrike over 1,000 km from Israel in western Iran.
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