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Kamala Harris praises ‘independent judiciary’ in speech at Israeli embassy event
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Speaking before one of the leading architects of the Israeli government’s judicial overhaul, Vice President Kamala Harris stressed the importance of independent courts in a democracy.
Harris’s speech on Tuesday came after a week in which opponents of the judicial overhaul — which would significantly weaken the Israeli Supreme Court — protested Israeli right-wing politicians at a series of events in New York City and elsewhere. Simcha Rothman, a far-right lawmaker who is a leading proponent of the judicial overhaul, was in attendance when the vice president spoke.
The event where Harris spoke was a gala celebrating Israel’s 75th birthday, and was hosted by the Israeli embassy at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. In her remarks, she praised the U.S.-Israel relationship as well as the Biden administration’s policies on Israel, including military aid and encouraging normalization between Israel and Arab states. But as she wrapped up she alluded to the judicial overhaul, which President Joe Biden has repeatedly criticized.
“Under President Joe Biden and our administration, America will continue to stand for the values that have been the bedrock of the U.S.-Israel relationship, which includes continuing to strengthen our democracies,” she said. She nodded toward the Israeli ambassador, Michael Herzog, and continued, “which, as the ambassador has said, are both built on strong institutions, checks and balances, and — I’ll add — an independent judiciary.”
There were whoops and cheers among the 2,000 or so attendees, which included many Jewish Democrats and leaders of Jewish organizations who have criticized the planned reforms.
On Sunday, a contingent of anti-overhaul protesters came to the Celebrate Israel parade in New York City, protesting right-wing Israeli politicians who were marching. A group also protested Israeli government ministers who spoke at the Jerusalem Post conference on Monday in New York, as well as other recent events where they appeared. On Friday night, Rothman grabbed a megaphone from a protester who was heckling him as he walked down the street, returning it soon afterward.
The protests in the United States are often organized by expatriate Israelis in solidarity with the mass demonstrations opposing the overhaul in Israel. Critics of the legislation view the courts as a bulwark protecting vulnerable populations including Arabs, women, LGBTQ Israelis and non-Orthodox Jews.
In her speech, Harris also referred to the recently unveiled Biden administration strategy to combat antisemitism, the product of a task force led by her Jewish husband, Douglas Emhoff, who also attended the embassy gala.
“When Israel is singled out because of anti-Jewish hatred that is antisemitism and that is unacceptable,” she said to applause.
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The post Kamala Harris praises ‘independent judiciary’ in speech at Israeli embassy event appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Jeffries Ends the Suspense, Endorses Mamdani in NY Mayor’s Race
Zohran Mamdani, a New York City mayoral candidate, speaks on Primary Day at a campaign news conference at Astoria Park in Queens, New York, United States, on June 24, 2025. Photo: Kyle Mazza vis Reuters Connect.
US Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, a top elected Democrat in the US Congress, on Friday endorsed Zohran Mamdani in the race for mayor of New York City, four months after the New York State assemblyman won the Democratic Party nomination.
The long delay in the House Democratic leader’s embrace of the 33-year-old self-described democratic socialist came after a steady stream of questions from journalists on whether he ever would go to bat for Mamdani, and as Republicans keep asserting that Democrats are too far-left for the nation.
“I deeply respect the will of the primary voters and the young people who have been inspired to participate in the electoral process,” Jeffries said in a statement. “Zohran Mamdani has relentlessly focused on addressing the affordability crisis and explicitly committed to being a mayor for all New Yorkers,” he said.
Jeffries’ Brooklyn congressional district is part of New York City.
His endorsement of Mamdani, who shocked political observers on June 24 with a convincing victory in the mayoral primary, comes just 11 days before the city’s November 4 general election.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, also of New York, has so far withheld any endorsement in the mayoral race.
Mamdani is running against a field of candidates that includes former Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo, who opposed him in the Democratic primary and is now running as an independent.
Republican President Donald Trump has called Mamdani a “communist” and has hinted that he might deploy the National Guard to New York if he becomes mayor.
Republicans in the deeply divided US Congress have taken cues from Trump and used terms such as “communists,” “socialists” and “Marxists” in an attempt to paint even less liberal Democrats as being out of step with the national electorate.
Next month’s New York City election, along with governors’ elections in Virginia and New Jersey, are being closely watched as possible indicators of each party’s prospects in 2026.
Midterm elections next year will determine whether Republicans hold onto their narrow majorities in the House and Senate, with many races already shaping up.
Jeffries said Mamdani has pledged to make public safety of New York’s large Jewish community a priority amid “a startling rise in antisemitic incidents.” Progressives and moderates within the Democratic Party have often been at odds over US policy toward Israel and its massive bombing campaign of Gaza over a two-year period, triggered by an attack within Israel by Hamas.
On Thursday, New York Mayor Eric Adams, who is not running for re-election, endorsed Cuomo in a move seen as attempting to undercut Mamdani.
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Netanyahu, Rubio Discuss Implementation of Gaza Ceasefire as Top US Diplomat Rounds Off One-Day Trip
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Prime Minister’s office in Jerusalem, Feb. 16, 2025. Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg/Pool via REUTERS
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a phone call with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday as the top US diplomat concluded his brief visit to Israel.
They discussed the outcomes of the visit and reaffirmed “the deep and enduring partnership between Israel and the United States,” according to a statement from Netanyahu’s office.
Netanyahu thanked Secretary Rubio for his steadfast support and for his “commitment to strengthening the US-Israel alliance during these challenging times.”
The Prime Minister and The Secretary of State emphasized their shared commitment to continue close cooperation to advancing the common interests and values that unite the United States and Israel, first and foremost, the return of the remaining deceased hostages and the disarming Hamas and demilitarization of Gaza.
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New book by Carol Matas to be the centrepiece of upcoming Jewish Heritage Centre Kristallnacht program
By MYRON LOVE Belle Jarniewski, the executive director of the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada, has high praise for Carol Matas’s newest book, ”A Storm Unleashed,” which is scheduled to be launched on Monday, November 10, at 7:00 P.M. at the Campus (in the multipurpose room) as part of our community’s annual commemoration of Kristallnacht – that infamous day in November, 1938, when the Nazis launched their first co-ordinated physical assault on Germany’s Jewish population.
Jarneiewski described the new novel as “striking” and a welcome new addition to Holocaust education in the school system.
Matas will be discussing her new novel on Novemebr 10 in conversation with Jarniewski and Holocaust educator Kelly Hiebert.
According to the author, “A Storm Unleashed” is the story of the Nazis’ little-studied dog breeding and training program. “I came across this program while doing research for an earlier book,” she says. “The program produced over 200,000 dogs who were instrumental in helping the Nazis with the round-ups, getting Jews onto the trains and in cowing prisoners in the concentration and death camps.”
As with most of Matas’s books, the central character is a teenager – 13-year-old Mia – who is living with her widowed Jewish father and her dog, Max, in Berlin. (Her mother wasn’t Jewish.) Her father happens to be a veterinarian who is pulled into this training program,” Matas notes.
Considered a “Mishlinge” (a child of one “Aryan” parent and a second Jewish parent), the novel traces Mia’s story from a happy childhood to the day-to-day nightmare that characterized Nazi Germany.
Carol Matas is another of many hidden gems in our community. In a writing career that is approaching 50 years, “A Storm Unleashed” is her 50th book. She is quietly introducing her 51st book, “Kai and the Golem,” with a reading to Grade 1 to 3 students at Gray Academy.
I first Interviewed Carol more than 45 years ago – for an article in the Jewish Post. As I recall, she had been an in-demand actor who started writing to fill her time between acting assignments. After her children were born, she retired from acting and devoted herself entirely to writing because it was a way to remain creative while at home raising children.
Her first books were in the science fiction genre. She soon began exploring issues of antisemitism and Jewish history with a focus on teenage Jewish main characters, written for a younger readership. In that earlier interview, she noted that her books were centered around Jewish themes.
In recent years. she reports, “she has been working with a new genre – picture books. “I worked with a mentor and learned a lot,” she says. “ I also have finished a dystopian novel about a world where all the Jews have been removed. One young girl slowly starts to uncover her Jewish heritage.
“I don’t have a publisher for that one yet.”
Matas says that she is happy to be able to continue writing. “I still enjoy it,” she concludes. “And I very much want to contribute to Holocaust education for young people. I think that that is very important.”
Interested readers can register for the Kristallnacht program by going online at jewishheritage@jhcwc.org or by phoning 204 477-7460. Proceeds from the sale of the book will go toward Holocaust education.