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Survivors of Holocaust and October 7 Speak Out Ahead of Holocaust Day

Nusia Bondriansky. Credit: Mishel Amzallag, IFCJ

As the world marks International Holocaust Remembrance Day with the horrors of October 7 still fresh, Holocaust survivors in Israel who also survived Hamas’ onslaught are reliving parts of their tortured childhood. 

Ruth Haran was the same age as her abducted great granddaughter, Yahel, when she went through the terrors of the Holocaust. Born in Romania in 1935, her mother said her birth, given its timing at the peak of Nazism’s advent, was “unlucky.”  Her father, born in Poland and forcibly exiled from Romania for not being a citizen, left his mother to fend for the family amid growing anti-Jewish violence in Romania. 

“For years we were on the run and I can still remember the freezing cold and the starving nights we had to endure during our run from the Nazis,” Haran said. 

Eight decades later, Haran said she experienced “a second Holocaust” when her kibbutz, Be’eri, was invaded on Oct. 7, murdering or kidnapping almost a tenth of the residents. 

Ahead of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Ruth Haran says she experienced a “second Holocaust” during the invasion of her kibbutz, Be’eri.

Her son, Avshalom, and two other family members were murdered. 

Seven other members of her family, including her daughter Sharon, son Noam, daughter-in-law Shoshan, grandchildren Adi and her husband Tal, and their two children, Neve and Yahel, were kidnapped to Gaza. Six were released. Tal remains in captivity. 

“I’ve endured pain before but this time it refuses to be internalized. I wake up and see the images [of Oct.7] in the night, it’s horrific,” Haran said in an interview with Israel’s Channel 12. 

“On the lawns outside, babies and children were scattered everywhere, dead bodies. I will never forget it.”

Haran is part of an exhibition called ‘Humans of the Holocaust’, by photographer Erez Kaganovitz, himself the grandson of Holocaust survivors. Kaganovitz has recently added several survivors of Oct. 7 to the project. 

Like Haran, Haim Ranaan, who is also part of Kaganovitz’s project, described October 7 as a “second Holocaust.” But unlike Haran, Ranaan, a co-founder of Be’eri, did not have any family members killed or murdered that day. “I don’t know what I would do if one of my grandchildren or great-grandchildren were kidnapped to Gaza,” he said. 

Also from Be’eri is Yosef Avi Yair Engel, the son of two Holocaust survivors and a grandfather of released hostage Ofir Engel, 17. 

“Don’t think only about what started 8 October,” Engel told journalists on Friday. “People are looking at the children of Gaza dying] but they have forgotten about the seventh of October.” 

“For me as a specialist about the Holocaust, it was a day out of the Holocaust. What I feel now is the same.” 

Yosi Shnaider, the third generation to holocaust survivors, is the cousin of Shiri Bibas, who was kidnapped from her home in Nir Oz with her two sons, Ariel, 4, and 9-month-old, Kfir. His aunt was also murdered. 

“Five generations of my family have been persecuted because they are Jews,” Shnaider told reporters. “In two days, 33% of Kfir’s life will have been in captivity.”

Shnaider compared the list of hostages set for release in November’s truce to Schindler’s List from the Holocaust. 

“We saw with this list of who will be alive, who isn’t, who will be freed and who will be kept in captivity,” he said. Every day of the staged prisoner swap, hopes were dashed as the Bibas family failed to appear on the list. “I don’t know if you can ever imagine it.” 

At 102 years old, Nusia Bondriansky suffered the atrocities of the Holocaust already as an adult. Bondriansky has a different take about October 7, although she wasn’t directly impacted by the atrocities that unfolded in the Gaza periphery communities. Living in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon, Bondriansky’s home, however, has been a target of Hamas rockets for nearly two decades. Beginning on October 8, the city sustained hundreds of direct impacts. Still, Bondriansky says at her age, she’s “not afraid of anything.”

“I actually want to look out the window and see how the Iron Dome manages to intercept the missiles,” she said. Her own house does not have a safe room and she’s too infirm to make it to the nearest public bomb shelter. These days, Bondriansky’s son looks after her and she also receives aid from the humanitarian organization, the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.

At 19 and pregnant, her life turned upside down overnight when World War II broke out. Her husband, who was enlisted in the Red Army, was killed, leaving her to flee Odessa after the Nazis came. Along with her sister, who was also pregnant, the two fled for many months, while bombs fell around them. She survived for years in Siberia, raising her son alone.

“Contrary to the feeling of fear I had in World War II, I feel safe. I live in Israel, we have an army that protects us,” she said. 

Bondriansky expressed sorrow over the deaths of IDF soldiers, which has reached 216 since Israel’s military campaign against Hamas began. 

“The most painful thing now is to hear about our young boys dying in the war. I am sad for everyone who died,” she said. 

The post Survivors of Holocaust and October 7 Speak Out Ahead of Holocaust Day first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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US Senators Urge Secretary of Homeland Security to Secure Northern Border From Gaza Refugees

US Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) speaking at a press conference about the United States restricting weapons for Israel, at the US Capitol, Washington, DC. Photo: Michael Brochstein/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect

Six US senators sent a letter to US Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas this week requesting that he increase security measures along the northern border in response to Canada accepting an influx of refugees from Gaza, the Palestinian enclave ruled by the terrorist group Hamas.

The six Republican lawmakers — Sens. Marco Rubio (FL), Ted Cruz (TX), Joni Ernst (IA), Tom Cotton (AK), Mike Braun (IN), and Josh Hawley (MO) — said they were “deeply concerned” that refugees from Gaza could sneak into the United States. The senators warned that allowing unvetted Palestinian refugees to cross the border poses a serious national security threat. 

“On May 27, 2024, the Government of Canada announced its intent to increase the number of Gazans who will be allowed into their country under temporary special measures,” the senators wrote. “We are deeply concerned and request heightened scrutiny by the US Department of Homeland Security should any of them attempt to enter the United States at ports of entry as well as between ports of entry.”

After arriving in Canada, the Palestinian refugees will be given a “Refugee Travel Document,” which serves as a valid form of identification, the letter claimed, adding that US Citizenship and Immigration Services recognizes these documents as a valid substitute for a passport. The senators warned that “individuals with ties to terrorist groups” could potentially enter into the United States. 

The letter argued that the US should maintain “common-sense terrorist screening and vetting” for any individual attempting to enter its borders from a foreign country. The lawmakers lamented that the Biden administration’s “”ax border enforcement” has rendered the country vulnerable to potential terrorist attacks. From April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024, the US Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Field Operations intercepted over 233 suspected terrorists at the northern border, according to the letter.

“[T]he possibility of terrorists crossing the US-Canada border is deeply concerning given the deep penetration of Gazan society by Hamas,” the senators wrote. “It would be irresponsible for the US to not take necessary heightened precautions when foreigners attempt to enter the United States.”

On Oct. 7, Hamas launched the ongoing war in Gaza with its Oct. 7 invasion of and massacre of 1,200 people across southern Israel. The Palestinian terrorist group also kidnapped over 250 hostages.

In response, Israel launched defensive military operations in Gaza with the aim of freeing the hostages and permanently dislodging Hamas from the neighboring enclave.

The vast majority of Palestinians in Gaza, as well as the West Bank, still support Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel that started the ongoing war, and they would prefer a “day after” scenario in which Hamas remains in control of Gaza rather than the Palestinian Authority, which governs in the West Bank, or other Arab countries, according to recent Palestinian polling. The same polling found that, when asked about support for Palestinian political parties and movements, a plurality chose Hamas.

US lawmakers are split along party lines as to whether the United States should accept refugees from Gaza. Republicans are largely opposed to importing refugees from  Gaza, arguing that individuals from the war-torn enclave present “a national security risk” to the United States.” In May, Ernst and Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) sent US President Joe Biden a letter, urging him not to accept any refugees from Gaza.

In June, however, a group of 70 Democratic lawmakers sent Mayorkas a letter, requesting he create “pathways” for more refugees of the Israel-Hamas war to resettle in America.

The post US Senators Urge Secretary of Homeland Security to Secure Northern Border From Gaza Refugees first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Video of Masked Man Vowing ‘Rivers of Blood’ at Paris Olympics Over Israel Support Appears to Be Fake, of Russia Origin

Screenshot of a widely circulated video published on social media showing a masked man vowing that “rivers of blood will flow” at the 2024 Paris Olympics due to France’s support for Israel. According to reports, the video appears to be fake and of Russian origin.

A widely circulated video published on social media this week showing a masked man vowing that “rivers of blood will flow” at the 2024 Paris Olympics due to France’s support for Israel appears to be fake and of Russian origin, according to reports.

The video — published on Tuesday on social media networks including X/Twitter and Telegram — featured a keffiyeh-clad man with his face covered, delivering an Arabic-language address threatening France with violence due to the country’s alleged support for Israel amid its ongoing war with Hamas in Gaza.

Addressing “the people of France” and “French President [Emmanuel] Macron,” the masked individual said, “You supported the Zionist regime in its criminal war against the people of Palestine. You provided Zionists with weapons; you helped murder our brothers and sisters, our children.”

“You invited the Zionists to the Olympic games. You will pay for what you have done!” continued the man, who wore a shirt adorned with a Palestinian flag. “Rivers of blood will flow through the streets of Paris. This day is approaching, God willing. Allah is the greatest.”

The video, published on X/Twitter by the account @endzionism24 and retweeted by Palestinian activist Ihab Hassan, ended with the speaker holding a prop severed head complete with fake blood up for the camera.

He is not a Palestinian:

A video clip has surfaced showing an individual wearing a keffiyeh and a Palestinian flag badge, threatening France with a “river of blood” at the Olympic Games.

It is glaringly obvious to any Arabic speaker that this person is not Arab; his dialect… pic.twitter.com/rwWGkkbiAi

— Ihab Hassan (@IhabHassane) July 23, 2024

Hassan and other social media users immediately noted that the man speaking was clearly not a native Arabic speaker, citing his reasonably fluent but awkward and occasionally incorrect pronunciation.

Many social media users aware of the mispronunciations seemed to blame Israel for the video, implying the clip was a false flag meant to fearmonger and demonize Palestinians and Muslims. They did not address the fact that Israel has access to hundreds of thousands of native Palestinian Arabic speakers who would sound far more convincing than the man in the video.

On Wednesday, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said that “French secret services and their partners have not been able to authenticate the veracity of this video.”

According to researchers at Microsoft, however, the video appears to be part of a Russian-linked disinformation campaign meant to disrupt the Olympics, which began with the opening ceremony on Friday.

The researchers from Microsoft’s Threat Analysis Center told NBC News that the clip appears to have come from a Russian disinformation group known as Storm-1516, an outgrowth of Russia’s Internet Research Agency.

The latest clip was linked to a similar disinformation video falsely alleging that Ukraine had sent arms to Hamas — a claim for which there is no evidence. According to the researchers, the more recent video appears to be part of a Russian scare campaign meant to disrupt the Olympics.

The video came just days before France’s rail infrastructure was hit on Friday, ahead of the start of the Olympics, with widespread acts of vandalism including arson attacks, paralyzing travel to Paris from the rest of France and Europe just hours before the opening ceremony of the Olympics. French authorities described the acts as “criminal” and “malicious.”

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said that the sabotage of France’s high-speed rail network was directed by Iran, which Western intelligence agencies have for years labeled as the world’s foremost state sponsor of terrorism.

“The sabotage of railway infrastructure across France ahead of the Olympics was planned and executed under the influence of Iran’s axis of evil and radical Islam,” Katz wrote on X/Twitter. “As I warned my French counterpart [Stéphane Séjourné] this week, based on information held by Israel, Iranians are planning terrorist attacks against the Israeli delegation and all Olympic participants. Increased preventive measures must be taken to thwart their plot. The free world must stop Iran now — before it’s too late.”

Katz was referring to a letter he sent on Thursday to Séjourné raising alarm bells about what he described as a plan by Iran to attack Israel’s Olympic delegation.

Darmanin and French National Police both announced previously that they are taking increased security measures to ensure the safety of Israel’s Olympic delegation while they are in Paris amid mounting threats. These measures include providing them with round the clock security from French police. The Israeli delegation will also receive additional security details from Israel’s Shin Bet security agency during the Olympics.

The post Video of Masked Man Vowing ‘Rivers of Blood’ at Paris Olympics Over Israel Support Appears to Be Fake, of Russia Origin first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Top St. Louis Newspaper Endorses US Rep. Cori Bush’s Opponent, Argues Incumbent’s Israel Stance Is ‘Disqualifying’

US Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) raises her fist as US Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) addresses a pro-Hamas demonstration in Washington, DC. Photo: Reuters/Allison Bailey

The editorial board of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the largest daily newspaper in Missouri, has endorsed the opponent of US Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO), pointing to the incumbent congresswoman’s lack of legislative accomplishments and stance on the Israel-Hamas war. 

The Post-Dispatch argued that Bush’s position on Israel and the Gaza war should be “disqualifying” for any elected representative. The outlet took umbrage with Bush for equating a close democratic ally of the US with a genocidal terrorist organization. 

Israel’s conduct of the war has been far from perfect, but it remains a democracy fighting for survival against an evil terrorist organization. Bush’s tendency to equate both sides — and even to side with the terrorists, as when she cast one of just two House votes against a resolution to bar Hamas members from the US — should in itself be disqualifying for re-election,” the editorial board wrote.

Bush has established herself as one of the most vocal critics of Israel in the US Congress. Only nine days after Hamas’ Oct. 7 slaughter of roughly 1,200 people in southern Israel, Bush called for an “immediate ceasefire” between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist group. As the war dragged on, Bush’s rhetoric toward Israel sharpened, with the congresswoman accusing the Jewish state of committing “genocide” in Gaza and “apartheid” in the West Bank. Bush has also accused Israel of inflicting a “famine” in Gaza without providing evidence. 

Bush seems more interested in pandering to the far-left fringes of the progressive movement than serving her constituents, the Post-Dispatch argued. Bush’s membership in “The Squad” — a clique of far-left progressive, anti-establishment lawmakers in the House of Representatives — has rendered her completely incapable of “accomplishing anything” in the halls of Congress, according to the newspaper.

The editorial board urged its readers to vote for Wesley Bell, pointing to his moderated approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as an example of his pragmatism and moral clarity. 

“On Israel, Bell offers an appropriately measured stance, acknowledging the need to protect Gazan civilians and work toward a two-state solution, while supporting America’s closest ally in the Middle East,” the outlet wrote. 

In contrast to Bush, Bell has expressed more sympathy to Israel’s military operations in Gaza, emphatically rejecting the notion that Israel’s actions in Gaza constitute “genocide” or “ethnic cleansing.”

Moreover, Bell has strengthened his ties with the Jewish community over the course of his campaign. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the foremost pro-Israel lobbying group in the US, donated a reported $5 million to Bell’s campaign through its United Democracy Project super PAC. A group of 30 St. Louis-area rabbis penned a letter endorsing Bell, accusing Bush of a “lack of decency, disregard for history, and for intentionally fueling antisemitism and hatred.” Bell also brought about an official “director of Jewish outreach” to increase turnout among the Jewish community. 

A poll commissioned by McLaughlin & Associates and sponsored by the CCA Action Fund, a pro-Bell super PAC, showed Bell with a commanding 56 percent to 33 percent lead over Bush. 

Supporters of Israel see the primary race as a prime opportunity to oust another opponent of the Jewish state from the halls of Congress. Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), a progressive lawmaker, lost his primary race to a pro-Israel challenger on June 25. Over the course of his reelection campaign, Bowman accused Israel of committing “genocide” and enacting “apartheid” against Palestinians. Bowman’s comments incensed Jewish constituents in the leafy suburbs of Westchester County, New York. 

Furthermore, observers are looking to the race as a potential indicator of the Democratic electorate’s position on Israel. Opinions of the Jewish state among Democrats have soured in the months following Oct. 7, calling into question whether anti-Israel views are still a liability with American liberals.

The post Top St. Louis Newspaper Endorses US Rep. Cori Bush’s Opponent, Argues Incumbent’s Israel Stance Is ‘Disqualifying’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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