RSS
‘My Colleagues Don’t Have Spine to Defend Jews’: Musicians, Influencers Discuss Digital Advocacy for Hamas Hostages
(From left) Moderator Ido Daniel with panelists Daniel-Ryan Spaulding, Ashley Waxman-Bakshi, Daniel Braun, and David Draiman at an event on June 17, 2024. Montana Tucker participated via a live video that played on the screen behind the panelists. Photo: Screenshot
David Draiman, frontman of the American heavy metal band Disturbed, and musician Montana Tucker were among the panelists at an event in Israel on Monday that focused on media and digital advocacy for the hostages abducted from southern Israel on Oct. 7 by Hamas terrorists.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum hosted in Sderot an event titled “Impacting Public Opinion Under Fire,” and it featured a panel discussion about “impacting public opinion on the hostages through social media.” The panelists included stand-up comedian Daniel-Ryan Spaulding, beauty influencer Ashley Waxman-Bakshi, and Daniel Braun, who has over 4 million followers on TikTok.
“It’s very hard to be one of the only ones; one of the only prominent Jews supporting our people during this incredibly difficult time,” said Draiman.
The “Sound of Silence” singer is currently in Israel touring the country and visited some of the kibbutz areas impacted by the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks. The singer talked during the panel discussion on Monday about losing many friends in the music industry because of his avid support for Israel, especially following Oct. 7.
Draiman shared that he used to have dinner on a regular basis in Los Angles with “two very dear friends of mine” — Serj Tankian, lead singer of System Of A Down, and American guitarist and singer-songwriter Tom Morello from the band Rage Against the Machine. Tankian has accused Israel of committing “war crimes” and “genocide” during the Israel-Hamas war, and Morello was among the anti-Israel activists who pressured the Download music festival to remove Barclays Bank as a sponsor of the event because of its association with Israel.
“I used to pride myself on being a man who always tried to cross the divide with everyone everywhere all the time … I can’t even speak to these people anymore,” Draiman said. “There’s no point trying to convince someone who’s been so seduced by the narrative of the other side.”
“Most of my colleagues simply don’t have the spine and the wherewithal to stand fast and to stand true in defense of the Jewish people,” he added. “They simply don’t.”
Draiman admitted that he gets “250, 500 [and] sometimes 1,000” death threats a week. He also had to hire additional private security but is not bothered by what he is facing for showing solidarity with Israel.
“It’s all worth it and I’d do it 1,000 times over,” he explained. “What we’re fighting against is very unique and it’s hard to combat against a society that is uncivilized; that threatens people with death, with the death of their children, with harming their families. It’s very hard for it to go through one ear and out the other. But visiting Sdoret, the kibbutzim and being an addict of everything informational that has happened since Oct. 7 — it’s only convinced me to continue to push even harder. We’ll never give up. We will keep going and we will not be intimated by those who seek to intimidate us. We are not Jews with trembling knees.”
Tucker wore a gown to the 2024 Grammy Awards in February that featured an oversized yellow ribbon that said, “Bring Them Home,” calling for the release of the remaining hostages. She also wore a Star of David necklace. During Monday’s panel discussion, Tucker was asked by the panel’s moderator Ido Daniel about the backlash she received for wearing the gown, from members of the entertainment industry and others outside of the business.
Recalling her experience at the Grammys, she said, “when I walked off the red carpet, someone from the Recording Academy asked if I could leave because they were disappointed in my dress. They said it was too political and they don’t do politics at the Grammys … They proceeded to ask me if I could remove the ribbon. I said, ‘Absolutely not.’ And then I went back out there [on the red carpet] and two minutes later [Recording Academy CEO] Harvey Mason Jr. actually came up to me and said, ‘Thank you for wearing that dress. Let’s take your photo.’”
“But the stares I received all night were insane,” she added. “I made it to Us Weekly’s worst dressed at the Grammys list. But the love I received from the Jewish community was beyond incredible and some of the families of the hostages that I keep in contact with said they felt seen [and] heard. That’s why I will continue no matter what to use my platform, whether it’s at an award show or online, to call for the release of the hostages. I will always continue to do so until they are all home.”
Waxman-Bakshi’s cousin Agam Berger, 19, is still held in Hamas captivity in Gaza after being abducted during the Oct. 7 attack on the Nahal Oz military base. Waxman-Bakshi, a Canadian-born social media influencer who has a masters degree in counterterrorism and previously worked for Israel’s Ministry of Defense, has met with world leaders, including Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, members of the US Congress, and other politicians about the hostages.
She even spoke at the United Nations Human Rights Council on Wednesday, which was the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict. The UN Human Rights Council discussed a new report submitted by the Council’s Commission of Inquiry that concluded Hamas terrorists perpetrated sexual violence on Oct. 7, “primarily against Israeli women.”
Waxman-Bakshi talked during Monday’s panel discussion about how content creating ties in to her speaking out about the hostages. She said getting politicians to follow her on social media, continuing to engage with them, and “keeping that conversation going” furthers her advocacy regarding the hostages.
“Once my face continues to show up on their screen and in their parliaments, they stop and listen,” she said. “So I’m really in this unique position where I’m doing both. Both things need to be happening simultaneously — not only diplomatic work but also strategic work online.”
The full video of the panel discussion can be seen on the Facebook page of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
The post ‘My Colleagues Don’t Have Spine to Defend Jews’: Musicians, Influencers Discuss Digital Advocacy for Hamas Hostages first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself. Really?
JNS.org – If I asked you to name the most famous line in the Bible, what would you answer? While Shema Yisrael (“Hear O’Israel”) might get many votes, I imagine that the winning line would be “love thy neighbor as thyself” (Leviticus 19:18). Some religions refer to it as the Golden Rule, but all would agree that it is fundamental to any moral lifestyle. And it appears this week in our Torah reading, Kedoshim.
This is quite a tall order. Can we be expected to love other people as much as we love ourselves? Surely, this is an idealistic expectation. And yet, the Creator knows us better than we know ourselves. How can His Torah be so unrealistic?
The biblical commentaries offer a variety of explanations. Some, like Rambam (Maimonides), say that the focus should be on our behavior, rather than our feelings. We are expected to try our best or to treat others “as if” we genuinely love them.
Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, in his classic text called the Tanya, argues that the actual feelings of love are, in fact, achievable provided that we focus on a person’s spirituality rather than how they present themselves physically. If we can put the soul over the body, we can do it.
Allow me to share the interpretation of the Ramban (Nachmanides), a 13th-century Torah scholar from Spain. His interpretation of the verses preceding love thy neighbor is classic and powerful, yet simple and straightforward.
“Do not hate your brother in your heart. You shall rebuke him, but do not bear a sin because of him” by embarrassing him in public. “Do not take revenge, and do not bear a grudge against your people. You shall love your fellow as yourself, I am God” (Leviticus 19:17-18).
What is the connection between these verses? Why is revenge and grudge-bearing in the same paragraph as love your fellow as yourself?
A careful reading shows that within these two verses are no less than six biblical commandments. But what is their sequence all about, and what is the connection between them?
The Ramban explains it beautifully, showing how the sequence of verses is deliberate and highlighting the Torah’s profound yet practical advice on how to maintain healthy relationships.
Someone wronged you? Don’t hate him in your heart. Speak to him. Don’t let it fester until it bursts, and makes you bitter and sick.
Instead, talk it out. Confront the person. Of course, do it respectfully. Don’t embarrass anyone in public, so that you don’t bear a sin because of them. But don’t let your hurt eat you up. Communicate!
If you approach the person who wronged you—not with hate in your heart but with respectful reproof—one of two things will happen. Either he or she will apologize and explain their perspective on the matter. Or that it was a misunderstanding and will get sorted out between you. Either way, you will feel happier and healthier.
Then you will not feel the need to take revenge or even to bear a grudge.
Here, says the Ramban, is the connection between these two verses. And if you follow this advice, only then will you be able to observe the commandment to Love Thy Neighbor. If you never tell him why you are upset, another may be completely unaware of his or her wrongdoing, and it will remain as a wound inside you and may never go away.
To sum up: Honest communication is the key to loving people.
Now, tell me the truth. Did you know that not taking revenge is a biblical commandment? In some cultures in Africa, revenge is a mitzvah! I’ve heard radio talk-show hosts invite listeners to share how they took “sweet revenge” on someone, as if it’s some kind of accomplishment.
Furthermore, did you know that bearing a grudge is forbidden by biblical law?
Here in South Africa, people refer to a grudge by its Yiddish name, a faribel. In other countries, people call it a broiges. Whatever the terminology, the Torah states explicitly: “Thou shalt not bear a grudge!” Do not keep a faribel, a broiges or resentment of any kind toward someone you believe wronged you. Talk to that person. Share your feelings honestly. If you do it respectfully and do not demean the other’s dignity, then it can be resolved. Only then will you be able to love your fellow as yourself.
May all our grudges and feelings of resentment toward others be dealt with honestly and respectfully. May all our grudges be resolved as soon as possible. Then we will all be in a much better position to love our neighbors as ourselves.
The post Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself. Really? first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
‘Nonsense’: Huckabee Shoots Down Report Trump to Endorse Palestinian Statehood
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee looks on during the day he visits the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem’s Old City, April 18, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
i24 News – US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on Saturday dismissed as nonsensical the report that President Donald Trump would endorse Palestinian statehood during his tour to the Persian Gulf this week.
“This report is nonsense,” Huckabee harrumphed on his X account, blasting the Jerusalem Post as needing better sourced reporting. “Israel doesn’t have a better friend than the president of the United States.”
Trump is set to visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. The leader’s first trip overseas since he took office comes as Trump seeks the Gulf countries’ support in regional conflicts, including the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and curbing Iran’s advancing nuclear program.
However, reports citing administration insiders claimed that Trump has also set his sights on the ambitious goal of expanding the Abraham Accords. These agreements, initially signed in 2020, normalized relations between Israel and the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan. The accords are widely held to be among the most important achievements of the first Trump administration.
The post ‘Nonsense’: Huckabee Shoots Down Report Trump to Endorse Palestinian Statehood first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
US to Put Military Option Back on Table If No Immediate Progress in Iran Talks
US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy-designate Steve Witkoff gives a speech at the inaugural parade inside Capital One Arena on the inauguration day of Trump’s second presidential term, in Washington, DC, Jan. 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria
i24 News – Unless significant progress is registered in Sunday’s round of nuclear talks with Iran, the US will consider putting the military option back on the table, sources close to US envoy Steve Witkoff told i24NEWS.
American and Iranian representatives voiced optimism after the previous talks that took place in Oman and Rome, saying there was a friendly atmosphere despite the two countries’ decades of enmity.
However the two sides are not believed to have thrashed out the all-important technical details, and basic questions remain.
The source has also underscored the significance of the administration’s choice of Michael Anton, the State Department’s policy planning director, as the lead representative in the nuclear talks’ technical phases.
Anton is “an Iran expert and someone who knows how to cut a deal with Iran,” the source said, saying that the choice reflected Trump’s desire to secure the deal.
The post US to Put Military Option Back on Table If No Immediate Progress in Iran Talks first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login