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Randi Weingarten, teachers’ union leader, joins J Street board
WASHINGTON (JTA) — J Street announced that Randi Weingarten, a teachers’ union leader who has become a prominent voice in national debates over COVID-19 and education, is joining its board.
The liberal Israel lobby’s announcement on Wednesday said Weingarten would be joined by John Yarmuth, a retired Jewish Democratic congressman from Kentucky; Cary Sherman, a former top recording industry executive; and Jon Greenwald, a veteran diplomat.
J Street also announced that its longtime chairman, Alan Solomont — an eldercare entrepreneur, former ambassador to Spain and major donor to Democratic campaigns — would be replaced by Peter Frey, a New York City-based investor who is currently the group’s vice chairman.
Weingarten, 65, who has served as president of the American Federation of Teachers for 15 years, has been an outspoken advocate for union engagement with Israel and within the labor movement, and has pushed back against efforts to boycott or isolate the country.
She has also been a critic of its right-wing governments, and this year has joined leading American Jews who have endorsed the Israeli mass protest movement against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plans to overhaul Israel’s courts. Weingarten has appeared in the past at J Street conferences, and has aligned with the group’s effort to lobby Congress to speak out more forcefully against Israeli settlement in the West Bank.
Other stances Weingarten has taken have thrust her into culture-war debates. She became a lightning rod for conservative critics of teachers’ unions during the pandemic when she advocated keeping schools closed due to the spread of COVID. She has also been targeted for advocating for gender and racial equity within school systems. Mike Pompeo, the former secretary of state, recently called her “the most dangerous person in the world”.
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Trump Announces India and Pakistan ‘Agreed to a Full and Immediate Ceasefire’
US President Donald Trump attends the annual White House Easter Egg Roll, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, April 21, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Leah Millis
i24 News – US President Donald Trump on Saturday announced that India and Pakistan had agreed to a full and immediate ceasefire. “Congratulations to both Countries on using Common Sense and Great Intelligence,” he posted on social media. “Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar confirmed the ceasefire, saying Saudi Arabia and Turkey also played an important role in facilitating the deal.
The ceasefire follows weeks of clashes and cross-border missile and drone strikes triggered by a gun massacre of Indian tourists last month.
New Delhi has blamed jihadists from the Pakistan-based group Lashkar-e-Taiba, a UN-designated terrorist organization. Pakistan denies the charge.
Dozens of civilians have been killed on both sides.
The post Trump Announces India and Pakistan ‘Agreed to a Full and Immediate Ceasefire’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Latest Columbia Scandal Sees Over 65 Students Suspended, Including Maggie Gyllenhaal’s Daughter
Pro-Palestinian protesters are detained by NYPD after taking part in a demonstration at Butler Library on the Columbia University campus in New York, U.S., May 7, 2025. REUTERS/Dana Edwards
i24 News – In the latest antisemitism scandal at the prestigious New York institution, Columbia University suspended dozens of students and barred from campus alumni and others who took part in a chaotic and violent anti-Israel incident inside the school’s main library earlier in the week.
On May 7, the mask-clad mob forced its way into the library, injuring two public safety officers in the process. Once inside, they vandalized property, adorning the premises with Palestinian flags, scrawling “Columbia will burn” on a glass case, and declaring the library a “liberated zone.”
Some 75 protesters were arrested after refusing to comply with police directives, including Ramona Sarsgaard, daughter of Hollywood A-lister Maggie Gyllenhaal and actor Peter Sarsgaard.
The Ivy League university in Manhattan declined to say how long the disciplinary measures would be in place, saying only that the decisions are pending further investigation.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said his office will review the visa status of those who participated in the library takeover for possible deportation.
The post Latest Columbia Scandal Sees Over 65 Students Suspended, Including Maggie Gyllenhaal’s Daughter first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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US, Iran to Hold 4th Round of Nuclear Talks on Eve of Trump’s Gulf Tour
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi looks on before a meeting with Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, in Tehran, Iran, Aug. 26, 2024. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
i24 News – The United States and Iran will hold a fourth round of nuclear talks Sunday in Oman, officials said, just ahead of a visit to the region by President Donald Trump.
Trump, who will visit three other Gulf Arab monarchies next week, has voiced hope for reaching a deal with Tehran to curb its nuclear program that would avert an Israeli military strike on Iran’s uranium enrichment facilities that could ignite a wider war. He has refused, however, to rule out military action in the event the talks come to naught.
Iran’s top diplomat Abbas Araghchi said that Oman, the mediator in the talks, had proposed Sunday as the date and both sides accepted it.
“Negotiations are moving ahead and naturally, the more we advance, the more consultations we have, and the more time the delegations need to examine the issues,” he was quoted as saying by regime media. “But what’s important is that we are moving forward so that we gradually get into the details.”
Steve Witkoff, Trump’s personal friend serving as his globe-trotting negotiator, will take part in the talks.
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 post US, Iran to Hold 4th Round of Nuclear Talks on Eve of Trump’s Gulf Tour first appeared on Algemeiner.com.