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Skydivers in California Form a Human Star of David in Solidarity With Israel, Against Antisemitism
A total of 50 skydivers gathered to form a human Star of David in the sky in solidarity with Israel amid its war against Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip.
Skydivers, with only a three-day notice, gathered at the skydiving center Skydive Perris in Southern California for the jump that took place on Nov. 11, Veterans Day. Most were locals, but others traveled from San Francisco, Arizona, Denver, and Iowa. They managed to create the Star of David in just one jump.
The skydive was organized by world champion skydiver, author, and coach Dan Brodsky-Chenfeld, who shared a video from the jump on social media on Monday. Brodsky-Chenfeld has led the USA’s four- and eight-person skydiving teams to multiple world championships, and also set a new world record for the largest freefall formation with a team that he assembled of 300 skydivers.
“Hate has a loud voice. Love needs to be louder,” Brodsky-Chenfeld said of the show of solidarity with Israel. He shared on YouTube last week an extended video from the jump, titled “Skydivers United Against Hate.” The clip shared the message that “skydivers are welcoming & inclusive. We embrace everyone who dreams of human flight. But the haters have a very loud voice. We will not stay quiet. This is us speaking out.”
Brodsky-Chenfeld talked to the Israeli news outlet Ynet about organizing the project.
“In the past year, there have been numerous instances of antisemitism in the United States against Jews and Israelis. Following the black Saturday on Oct. 7 and the war in Gaza, all the hatred and antisemitism intensified significantly. Everything became much worse, and I wanted to do something about it,” he said.
“It was amazing,” he added about the jump. “It involved a complex jump with six connected triangles. The last and only time I performed such a jump was in 1997 for a fundraising project for the Los Angeles Jewish community. We were fortunate because just a day after the scheduled jump, I had to undergo shoulder surgery, and our first jump turned out perfect, so everything worked out excellently.”
He told Ynet that out of the 50 skydivers who participated, only five were Jewish but everyone felt “a strong sense of unity and a desire to do something positive” He said the non-Jewish skydivers who joined in are his “good friends, skydivers of all ages, who love Israel and stand for humanity, against hatred and bigotry.”
The post Skydivers in California Form a Human Star of David in Solidarity With Israel, Against Antisemitism first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.