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US States Order Flags at Half-Staff to Mark Oct. 7 Anniversary
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul delivering remarks on major legislation requiring colleges and universities in the state to strengthen hate crime policies. Photo: Darren McGee/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul
Multiple US states will lower their flags to half-mast during the day on Monday to mark the one-year anniversary of Hamas’s Oct. 7 terror attack in southern Israel.
“The hearts of Iowans go out to the innocent Israeli families and American citizens killed by Hamas,” stated Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, who ordered flags lowered at the state Capitol building and on all public grounds and sites in the state. (She encouraged individuals, businesses, schools and others to do the same.)
“Iran and its terrorist proxies continue to attack, as Israeli forces fight to protect their people against the forces of evil,” Reynolds added. “Iowa stands, as it always has, with Israel.”
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, ordered flags at state buildings at half-mast and that more than 12 landmarks—including several bridges, Empire State Plaza, Niagara Falls, Moynihan Train Hall and 1 World Trade Center—be lit up in yellow “in solidarity with Israel and the hostages still in captivity.”
“One year after the horrific atrocities committed against the people of Israel, my heart goes out to the victims and their families,” Hochul stated. “New York stands with Israel—today and every day.”
“As the home of the largest Jewish population outside of Israel, we will do everything in our power to defend against the forces of hatred and stand firmly against those who perpetuate it,” Hochul added.
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, a Republican, ordered that the state flag be flown at half-mast throughout Arkansas on Monday.
“Israel is right, and the terrorists are wrong,” she stated. “Arkansas stands with Israel, prays for Israel and supports Israel as they fight to defeat the terrorists and bring the hostages home.”
“This week, Iran launched a missile attack against Israel, emphasizing that this conflict is far from over,” Huckabee Sanders added. “Alongside the ongoing attacks against Israel, there has been a shocking rise in antisemitism and pro-Hamas protests in the United States. These activists deny Israel’s fundamental right to defend itself in this war between good and evil.”
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, and Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte, a Republican, also ordered flags at half-staff on Oct. 7.
“One year after the tragedies of Oct. 7, 2023, we continue to mourn the devastating losses and urge all parties to reach an agreement that immediately returns every hostage and puts an end to the continued suffering of civilians in Israel, Gaza and throughout the region,” Murphy stated.
“Our hearts go out to the families that have been shattered by the terrorist attacks on Oct. 7 and the humanitarian suffering that followed, and we continue to pray for a swift end to the war and restoration of peace across the region,” he added.
“In remembrance of the one-year anniversary of the horrific Oct. 7 terrorist attacks, I invite all Montanans to join me in remembering the innocent victims who were brutally murdered or injured during acts of war committed by Hamas and for the seven Americans still held hostage,” Gianforte stated.
“The State of Montana continues to stand with Israel and the Jewish people as they continue to face unspeakable persecution, hatred and terrorism,” he added.
The post US States Order Flags at Half-Staff to Mark Oct. 7 Anniversary first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Fresh conversations on the state of Canadian arts in a twice-monthly podcast from The CJN
Culturally Jewish debuted in April 2023 as an audio magazine highlighting stories of creators across Canada along with critical tips about new and upcoming events. Click here to listen and […]
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Trump Nominates Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee as US Ambassador to Israel
Mike Huckabee looks on as Donald Trump reacts during a campaign event at the Drexelbrook Catering and Event Center, in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, US, Oct. 29, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
US President-elect Donald Trump has nominated former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee to serve as the next US ambassador to Israel, adding another staunch ally of the Jewish state to a senior role in his incoming administration.
“I am pleased to announce that the highly respected former Governor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee, has been nominated to be the United States Ambassador to Israel,” Trump wrote in a statement on Tuesday.
“Mike has been a great public servant, governor, and leader in faith for many years. He loves Israel, and the people of Israel, and likewise, the people of Israel love him. Mike will work tirelessly to bring about peace in the Middle East!” Trump continued.
Huckabee, an evangelical Christian, has long been a stalwart ally of the Jewish state. He has repudiated the anti-Israel protests that erupted in the wake of Hamas’s massacre across southern Israel last Oct. 7 and criticized incumbent US President Joe Biden for sympathizing with anti-Israel protesters during his speech at the 2024 Democratic National Convention (DNC). The incoming ambassador also lambasted the anti-Israel encampments at elite universities, stating that there should be “outrage” over the targeting and mistreatment of Jewish college students.
Huckabee has defended Israel’s right to build settlements in the West Bank, acknowledging the Jewish people’s ties to the land dating back to the ancient world.
“There is no such thing as the West Bank — it’s Judea and Samaria,” Huckabee has said, referring to the biblical names for the area. “There is no such thing as settlements — they’re communities, they’re neighborhoods, they’re cities. There is no such thing as an occupation.”
During Huckabee’s 2008 US presidential campaign, he stated that “there’s really no such thing as a Palestinian,” and that land for a potential Palestinian state should be taken from other Arab states and not Israel.
Huckabee will replace the current ambassador to Israel, Jack Lew.
Trump’s pick for ambassador to Israel during his first term, David Friedman, praised the president-elect’s selection of Huckabee.
“I am thrilled by President Trump’s nomination of Governor Mike Huckabee as the next Ambassador to Israel. He is a dear friend and he will have my full support. Congrats Mike on getting the best job in the world!” Friedman wrote on X/Twitter.
During Trump’s first term in office, his administration helped foster the Abraham Accords, a series of landmark normalization agreements between Israel and its Arab neighbors. Trump also recognized Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights, a strategic region on Israel’s northern border previously controlled by Syria, and moved the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, recognizing the city as the Jewish state’s capital.
Over the course of his campaign, Trump promised to resume efforts to strengthen the Abraham Accords upon his return to the White House. He has also urged Israel to move faster with its military campaign to eradicate the Hamas terrorist group from the Gaza Strip.
The post Trump Nominates Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee as US Ambassador to Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Suspect Remanded Without Bail for Attempted Kidnapping of Jewish Boy in New York City
Masked male attempts to abduct Orthodox Jewish child in broad daylight in New York City on Nov. 9, 2024. Photo: Shomrim Crown Heights Rescue Patrol/Screenshot from social media
The man who was charged for attempting to abduct an Orthodox Jewish child in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York City this past weekend will remain in jail until he faces a judge again next month.
Stephan Stowe, 28, reportedly a gang member with 33 prior arrests, was arrested early Sunday and subsequently charged with attempted kidnapping and endangering the welfare of a child. Citing court documents released on Monday, CrownHeights.info reported that a judge refused bail for Stowe and ordered him to be remanded to Rikers Island prison until his next court date on Dec. 9.
The legal action came after a masked man was caught on video approaching a visibly Jewish father walking with his two sons and grabbing one of the children on Saturday afternoon, in broad daylight. He was unable to secure possession of the child, whose father fought back immediately and did not let go of his son. The assailant put the child down.
This video is shocking. A perpetrator grabbed a Chasidic child who was walking with his father today at approximately 3:30pm on Kingston near Lefferts Ave.
Something is clearly going on in Crown Heights—there have been incident after incident over the past two weeks.… pic.twitter.com/7nIkZWhssk
— Yaacov Behrman (@ChabadLubavitch) November 10, 2024
The video was widely circulated online and fueled concern about a wave of violent crimes targeting Jews in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn.
Following news of the arrest, a local Jewish leader praised what, for now, appears to be a victory for law and order advocates and a Jewish Brooklyn community reeling from a spate of hate crimes in recent weeks.
“The perpetrator has been arrested,” Yaacov Behrman, a liaison for Chabad Headquarters — the main New York base of the Hasidic movement — posted on X/Twitter. “Known to police, the perpetrator has allegedly been arrested over 30 times. He is under 30 years old and has also been arrested in [the] past for criminal possession of a weapon. What is wrong with our legal system? What is wrong with our society? How is this possible?”
Behrman also noted on Sunday that he spoke to the father, who expressed his appreciation for local police and Crown Heights Shomrim, a Jewish organization that monitors antisemitism and also serves as a neighborhood watch group. According to Behrman, the father also said that his kids were doing well.
Saturday’s attack was the fourth time in less than two weeks that an Orthodox resident of Crown Heights was targeted for violence and humiliation. In each case, the assailant was allegedly a Black male, a pattern of conduct which continues to strain Black-Jewish relations across the Five Boroughs.
Last Wednesday, a middle-aged Hasidic man was chased and beaten by two assailants after he refused to surrender his cell phone.
Earlier that week, an African American male smacked a 13-year-old Jewish boy who was commuting to school on his bike in the neighborhood, which is heavily Jewish.
Less than a week earlier, an assailant slashed a visibly Jewish man in the face as he was walking in Brooklyn.
Black-on-Jewish crime is a social issue which has been studied before. In 2022, a report published by Americans Against Antisemitism (AAA) showed that Orthodox Jews were the minority group most victimized by hate crimes in New York City and that 69 percent of their assailants were African American. Seventy-seven percent of the incidents took place taking in predominantly Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods in Brooklyn. Of all assaults that prompted criminal proceedings, just two resulted in convictions.
“We’ve never seen anything like this,” AAA founder and former New York State Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D) told The Algemeiner at the time. “Shouldn’t there be a plan for how we’re going to deal with it? What’s the answer? Education? We’ve been educating everybody forever for God’s sake, and things are just getting worse.”
The problem has become acute in recent years. In July 2023, for example, a 22-year-old Israeli Yeshiva student, who was identifiably Orthodox and visiting New York City for the summer holiday, was stabbed with a screwdriver by one of two men who attacked him after asking whether he was Jewish and had any money. The other punched him in the face. Earlier that year, 10- and 12-year-olds were attacked on Albany Avenue by four African American teens.
According to a report issued in August by New York state comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, antisemitic incidents accounted for a striking 65 percent of all felony hate crimes in New York City last year. The report added that throughout the state, nearly 44 percent of all recorded hate crime incidents and 88 percent of religious-based hate crimes targeted Jewish victims.
Meanwhile, according to a recent Algemeiner review of New York City Police Department (NYPD) hate crimes data, 385 antisemitic hate crimes have struck the New York City Jewish community since last October, when the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas perpetrated its Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel, unleashing a wave of anti-Jewish hatred unlike any seen in the post-World War II era.
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
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