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Rep. George Santos, who lied about being Jewish, arrested on federal criminal charges
(New York Jewish Week) — New York Republican Rep. George Santos, who spread a series of falsehoods about being Jewish and other parts of his life story, was arrested Wednesday on federal criminal charges on Long Island.
The indictment said that Santos — who has also gone by other names, including the last name Devolder — used donations to a fraudulent political fund for personal expenses, such as buying designer clothes and paying off his credit cards.
He was also accused of lying about his finances on congressional disclosure forms and receiving $24,000 in pandemic-era unemployment benefits while still employed at an investment firm. According to a financial disclosure form, Santos reported earning $750,000 a year from a family company, the Devolder Organization, but the charges unsealed on Wednesday allege that Santos never received that sum, nor the other millions in dividends he said came from the firm.
In total, Santos was charged with 13 counts, including wire fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds and making materially false statements to the House of Representatives.
Breon Peace, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a statement that this indictment “seeks to hold Santos accountable for various alleged fraudulent schemes and brazen misrepresentation.”
“Taken together, the allegations in the indictment charge Santos with relying on repeated dishonesty and deception to ascend to the halls of Congress and enrich himself,” Peace said. “He used political contributions to line his pockets, unlawfully applied for unemployment benefits that should have gone to New Yorkers who had lost their jobs due to the pandemic, and lied to the House of Representatives.”
Santos is expected to make a court appearance Wednesday. He also faces an inquiry by the House Ethics Committee as well as charges in Brazil.
After being elected to Congress in a Republican sweep of Long Island last November, Santos has drawn attention for allegedly lying about large parts of his education, resume and family history. Exposes about Santos cast doubt on a range of his claims, regarding everything from his purported career on Wall Street to his management of an animal welfare charity.
On the campaign trail, Santos repeatedly claimed to be Jewish. But reporting by a number of outlets, including the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, uncovered evidence that he has no Jewish ancestry. In response, Santos falsely said that he never claimed to be Jewish, calling himself “Jew-ish.”
Some Republican members of Congress, in New York and elsewhere, have called on Santos to resign, as have local Republican leaders in his district. But House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a Republican, signaled on Wednesday that Santos would be allowed to continue serving.
Anna Kaplan, a Jewish former Democratic state senator from Santos’ district, recently announced that she will run for his seat in next year’s election.
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The post Rep. George Santos, who lied about being Jewish, arrested on federal criminal charges appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Long Island town ordered to pay $19M after blocking Chabad synagogue construction
(JTA) — After nearly two decades of legal sparring, a town on Long Island has been ordered to pay a local Chabad center $19 million, settling claims that officials unlawfully blocked the construction of a synagogue on its rabbi’s property.
Rabbi Aaron Konikov and Lubavitch of Old Westbury sued the Village of Old Westbury in 2008, after the village passed a law in 2001 governing places of worship as Konikov sought to build a synagogue on his property.
Local officials enacted the law two years after Konikov planned a ceremony to announce a new building on the land where he already operates a synagogue. They decreed that houses of worship could be built only on plots of 12 acres or more. Konikov owns a 9-acre plot.
In October, U.S. District Judge Gary Brown ruled that the 2001 ordinance “unconstitutionally discriminates against the free exercise of religion and is therefore facially invalid.”
Old Westbury agreed to pay the plaintiffs in the suit $19 million as part of a consent decree, which was signed by Brown on March 18, Newsday reported this week.
“This consent decree may not be modified, changed or amended except in writing signed by each of the parties approved by the court,” Brown wrote. “Each party participated fully in the negotiation and drafting of the terms of this decree, and any ambiguity shall not be construed against any party.”
Kornikov did not respond to requests for comment on Monday. But he may soon be switching into construction mode for his long hoped-for synagogue, for which preliminary plans show a 20,875-square-foot building and an adjacent parking lot.
The $19 million payment will be made by the village’s insurance providers, and Lubavitch of Old Westbury has until Jan. 15, 2027, to apply for a special-use permit from the village to build a synagogue, according to Newsday.
The ruling marks a notable victory for emissaries of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, who have often been met with legal challenges when establishing centers. Last July, the Village of Atlantic Beach in New York agreed to pay Chabad of the Beaches $950,000 to settle a legal battle over the construction of a new community center.
This article originally appeared on JTA.org.
The post Long Island town ordered to pay $19M after blocking Chabad synagogue construction appeared first on The Forward.
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Iran claims synagogue in Tehran was ‘completely destroyed’ by US-Israeli strike
(JTA) — Iranian state media claimed on Tuesday that a synagogue in Tehran was “completely destroyed” by a U.S.-Israeli strike.
The claim was impossible to verify. Footage of the alleged attack on the Rafi-Niya Synagogue posted online showed open Hebrew prayer books scattered among the rubble of a building.
The synagogue was damaged when a nearby residential building in Tehran was attacked, according to Iranian news agencies. The Rafi-Niya Synagogue is located near Palestine Square, an epicenter of the Iranian regime’s anti-Israel propaganda.
The United States and Israel have been bombing sites in Tehran for more than a month since launching a war on the Islamic Republic regime. Israel emphasized that it does not target religious sites.
Homayoun Sameyah Najafabadi, the only Jewish representative in Iran’s parliament, condemned the attack in a video published by Iran’s official IRIB News outlet.
“The Zionist regime showed no mercy towards this community during the Jewish holidays and attacked one of our ancient and holy synagogues,” Najafabadi said. “Unfortunately, during this attack, the synagogue building was completely destroyed, and Torah scrolls remain under the rubble.”
About 8,000 Jews live in Iran and worship in dozens of synagogues. The war has exacerbated their delicate position, as they are technically granted freedom of religion but face peril if they demonstrate any connection to Israel or dissent against their government. Hundreds of Iranian Jews who have applied for refugee status because of religious persecution are trapped in the country after the United States halted refugee admissions.
The alleged attack comes one day after the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted footage of an undetonated missile on a street, writing that an “Iranian regime missile struck next to a mosque in Israel.”
“A regime that targets civilians and sacred spaces of all religions has no red lines,” the ministry wrote in a post on X. “Nothing is off limits for them.”
On Tuesday, the Israeli prime minister’s office issued a statement about the alleged damage to the Rafi-Niya synagogue. “Iran is firing missiles at civilians, Israel is striking terror infrastructure,” it said. “Missiles on civilians versus precision strikes on terror targets. That’s the difference.”
This article originally appeared on JTA.org.
The post Iran claims synagogue in Tehran was ‘completely destroyed’ by US-Israeli strike appeared first on The Forward.
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Attacker killed in gunfight outside closed Israeli consulate in Istanbul
(JTA) — One attacker was killed and two others injured in a gunfight with police outside the Israeli consulate in Istanbul on Tuesday morning.
The consulate has been largely closed since 2023, when the Oct. 7 attack on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza escalated diplomatic tensions between Turkey and Israel.
Turkish authorities said they had identified the three attackers in the incident, in which two police officers were also lightly injured. The man who was killed, whom they identified as Yunus ES, had “connections with a terrorist organization that exploits religion,” the Ministry of the Interior announced. It did not identify the organization.
Turkish authorities also did not immediately tie the incident to the consulate, noting that a major bank and other businesses were located closer to the firefight. They said the attackers had driven to Istanbul from Izmit, about an hour and a half away, and had brought both long-barreled guns and pistols.
The U.S. Embassy in Turkey issued a security alert for the area and Israel’s Foreign Ministry condemned the attack, saying that it targeted the Israeli Consulate.
“We appreciate the Turkish security forces’ swift action in thwarting this attack,” the ministry said on X. “Israeli missions around the world have been subjected to countless threats and terrorist attacks. Terror will not deter us.”
The incident comes at a moment of high alert for Jewish and Israeli sites around the world, with terror threats escalated amid the U.S.-Israel war on Iran. Bombings have damaged several Jewish institutions in Europe, with the latest incident being an explosion outside a pro-Israel Christian center in Nijkerk, Netherlands, over the weekend.
This article originally appeared on JTA.org.
The post Attacker killed in gunfight outside closed Israeli consulate in Istanbul appeared first on The Forward.