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Nova Festival: Killed for the Crime of Being Jewish
The personal belongings of festival-goers are seen at the site of an attack on the Nova Festival by Hamas gunmen from Gaza, near Israel’s border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel. Photo: Reuters/Ronen Zvulun
I had a harrowing experience visiting southern Israel, and the site of the Nova music festival, where nearly 400 people were killed and approximately 40 were kidnapped by Hamas. It’s an empty field, with nothing around, bordered by tiny villages and trees. A one lane road approaches the empty barren field. One can imagine the terror these revelers felt at 6:30 AM, with terrorists arriving and machine gun fire all over. The bomb shelters remain — but they weren’t built to withstand terrorists entering them and shooting.
The site has become a place to visit in Israel; Israelis flock to the site to remember, as do IDF groups, families, and media. In time, this site will be a memorial like Babi Yar, or other places where Jews were slaughtered in history.
Standing at Nova, one hears the sounds of war — loud explosions are heard and planes fly overhead, as we are very close to the Gaza border. The only difference between now and the past massacre of Jews, is that now we have a state, we have an army, and there is a price to be paid for shedding Jewish blood.
All over the site, there are memorials and tributes to those slaughtered,
“Even if we won’t meet again in life, all the time you are with us in our hearts,” one sign reads. Another says, “Be sure to keep your light bright and shining.”
These were people who just wanted to celebrate life with their friends, enjoy listening to music, and to love one another — and they were slaughtered for the crime of being Jewish.
There was a family member crying at Nova, a young woman, the sister of someone who was killed at Nova. She had come to the site to “visit” her sister.
At the site, Rami Davidian — a hero of Nova who saved countless lives that day — told me his story. He showed me where bodies were mutilated, where women were tied to trees, and where the lucky ones escaped from. And from heroes like Rami, we also remember Jewish strength and resiliency amid horrific times.
Standing at the Nova festival, seeing the barren field where only a few months ago hundreds were killed, it’s very clear that the only possible answer today in February 2024 is the complete destruction of Hamas. During the Holocaust, the Nazis were roundly defeated and eliminated, and so too today, there is no other option but to completely defeat a regime that wants to kill every Jew that it can.
Ronn Torossian is an entrepreneur and philanthropist.
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Father of Israeli Wounded in New Orleans: ‘Part of his Skull is Missing’
A member of the National Guard Military Police stands, in the area where people were killed by a man driving a truck in an attack during New Year’s celebrations, in New Orleans, Louisiana, US, Jan. 2, 2025. PHoto: REUTERS/Octavio Jones
JNS.org – In an interview, Israeli Hagai Levin described the impact of the injuries sustained by his son Adi, a member of the IDF Armored Corps, during the New Year’s Day attack in New Orleans by an ISIS-inspired terrorist who murdered 14 people and wounded dozens of others. The terrorist also died.
“His state fluctuates, but I’m optimistic. I’ll bring my son home. His life will change—he’ll have metal rods in his arms and legs, an open head wound and part of his skull is missing,” Hagai said.
“There are still injuries we’ll fully understand only in a month when we begin the head rehabilitation process. But he’ll return to us, and for that, we’re moving our home from the Golan Heights to Tel Aviv to be closer to Tel HaShomer Hospital [Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan].”
Adi remains bedridden, as does his friend and fellow IDF soldier Y. (who chooses to remain anonymous out of safety concerns). “I miss everyone terribly and am deeply grateful to the Jewish community here for their support,” Y. said.
The pair’s visit to New Orleans was part of a planned three-month road trip that took them from Nebraska to Los Angeles and then on to Texas and Louisiana. They did not make it to their planned destination of Florida.
Having seen the security camera video of the attack, Hagai said that the vehicle driven by Shamsud-Din Jabbar “hit Adi head-on, crushing his legs and head, dragging him along the road, and pushing his friend to the side.”
While praising the hospital as operating at an “incredible standard” and saying that “we are receiving exceptional care,” Hagai said that “despite their travel insurance, a single day of hospitalization here costs roughly the equivalent of the entire annual budget of Israel’s healthcare system combined. The expenses will exceed a million dollars.
“We are facing a long recovery ahead. He’s spent two weeks in the emergency room and will need several months in rehabilitation with complex surgeries. We won’t return to Israel before April.” Hagai said.
The post Father of Israeli Wounded in New Orleans: ‘Part of his Skull is Missing’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Netanyahu Hosts Trump Envoy on Gaza Hostage Talks
Steve Witkoff, founder of the Witkoff Group, gestures during a rally for Donald Trump at Madison Square Garden, in New York, US, Oct. 27, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
JNS.org – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met on Saturday afternoon with President-elect Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, in what was described as a “surprise visit” to discuss the multilateral negotiations with Hamas for the release of Israeli hostages and a ceasefire in Gaza.
Witkoff arrived in Israel after talks in Doha with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.
Channel 12 cited a “senior Israeli” saying that Trump has been personally involved in the matter over the last couple of days, expressing his desire to urgently cement a deal before he enters office on Jan. 20.
Netanyahu is expected to hold a security assessment after which he will decide whether to send an Israeli delegation to Doha headed by Mossad and Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) chiefs David Barnea and Ronen Bar, respectively.
According to Ynet, “additional progress” has been made in the negotiations but disagreements remain.
The report mentioned the transition from stage one of the proposed truce—a “humanitarian” phase of releasing hostages—to stage two as the main hurdle. The sides are arguing about legal wordings and each is insisting on keeping a degree of “freedom of action,” Ynet reported.
Qatari-owned, London-based newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed quoted a senior Hamas official as saying, “The final vision of the agreement is finished. There are arrangements between the mediators regarding the announcement of the agreement. We are all waiting for the envoy of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to arrive in Doha and render his approval for the latest amendments.”
However, various Arab- and Hebrew-language reports gave conflicting reports on whether Hamas agreed to hand over a list of live hostages held in the Gaza Strip.
During a press conference at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., on Tuesday, Witkoff, a Jewish businessman and longtime friend of the president-elect, expressed optimism about the ongoing discussions.
“I believe they’re doing an excellent job in Doha,” Witkoff said. “I’m hopeful that by the [Jan. 20] inauguration, we’ll have positive news to share on behalf of the president. It’s really the president’s vision, his reputation, and his words that are driving these negotiations. So, hopefully, everything will come together, and lives will be saved.”
When asked whether a deal could be reached before his inauguration, Trump said, “There better be.” He reiterated his stark warning about the fallout for Hamas if the hostages are not released.
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Los Angeles Issues New Evacuation Orders as Thickening Smoke Causes Health Emergency
Flames rise from a structure as the Palisades fire burns during a windstorm on the west side of Los Angeles, California, US, Jan. 8, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ringo Chiu
i24 News – The Palisades fire raging in the Los Angeles region shifted east on Friday night, triggering new evacuation orders and further aggravating the titanic health and safety emergency in America’s second largest city.
Palisades is the largest of six simultaneous wildfires that have devastated Los Angeles County neighborhoods stretching across an area larger than San Francisco since Tuesday, killing at least 11 people and damaging or destroying around 12,000 structures. The numbers are expected to rise once it is safe enough for firefighters to conduct house-to-house searches.
The LA Department of Public Health said it had declared a local health emergency and issued a public health officer order in response “to the widespread impacts of the ongoing multiple critical fire events and windstorm conditions.”
The statement further said that “the fires, coupled with strong winds, have severely degraded air quality by releasing hazardous smoke and particulate matter, posing immediate and long-term risks to public health.”
Allegations of leadership failures and incompetence were flying, with Governor of California Gavin Newsom and LA Mayor Karen Bass singled out for opprobrium.
Newsom ordered state officials to determine why a 117 million-gallon (440 million-liter) reservoir was out of service and some hydrants ran dry, calling it “deeply troubling.”
Los Angeles fire chief, Kristin Crowley, said city leadership failed her department by not providing sufficient funds for firefighting. She also pointed out the lack of water. “When a firefighter comes up to a hydrant, we expect there’s going to be water,” she said.
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