Due to fear of a security incident, Israelis in Shenir, Dan, Dafna, Ma'ayan Baruch, Gosher, Kfar Giladi, Meshgav Am, Menara, Yiftah, Malkiah, Sasa, Bar'am, Yaraon and Zabon are asked to lock themselves in their homes and enter the protected areas.
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Hezbollah targeting Israeli civilians with anti-tank missle in Dovev, Israel
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The third year of Joe Biden’s presidency has been a brutal one. And it’s about to get much worse — in a very personal way.
At a time of deep polarization, Americans of all political persuasions are united in rejecting Biden’s economic policies. Polls show 70% of voters believe the country is headed in the wrong direction and a majority rate the economy as poor.
His open-border policy is raising security alarms at the FBI and causing serious financial problems in cities run by fellow Democrats.
Beyond his policy failures, the president’s mental and physical declines are so pronounced that most voters don’t want him to seek a second term, including a majority of his own party.
Then there are the two regional wars that could erupt into global conflicts. Even as he leads the West’s long, costly support for Ukraine against the Russian invasion, Biden has been compelled to help Israel destroy Hamas, a stance dividing his party and leading to a shocking surge of antisemitism at home.
The crush of crises is more than trouble enough for any 80-year-old president facing a grueling re-election campaign, one where a New York Times poll showed him trailing Donald Trump in five of six battleground states.
And now comes the threat that hits closest to home: The president likely will be impeached by Republicans over his involvement in his family’s corrupt influence-peddling schemes.
All of Biden’s chickens are coming home to roost — at the same time.
Two teachers have been removed from a Los Angeles area charter school located at a synagogue after teaching a lesson to first graders about “genocide in Palestine,” according to school officials.
The teachers were ousted from the classroom — but not fired — from the Citizens of the World Charter School, which has classrooms at Adat Ari El Synagogue in the San Fernando Valley, KTLA reported.
Senior Rabbi Brian Schuldenfrei told reporters at a press conference on Friday that tensions at the school first emerged after “certain teachers” reached out to the school’s principal about Israeli flags hoisted around campus following Hamas’ Oct. 7 surprise attack on Israel.
“I know that this is a time to hold your community close, and perhaps the flags are intended for that – but do you know how long they will be up?” the principal, Hye-Won Gehring, emailed Schuldenrei after the teachers asked when they would be removed.
Schuldenfrei said he found the email offensive and likened it to asking Americans to take down American flags after the September 11th terrorist attacks. Gehring later apologized, he said.
He later learned that the same teachers who complained about the flags had taught a “human rights” lesson to first graders at the school — and posted about it online.
“After the lesson, one of the teachers proudly shared on Instagram, and I quote, ‘LOL but I did a lesson on the genocide in Palestine today w my first graders…,’” Schuldenfrie said. “The teacher went on to boast: ‘My fav was a kid who was like ‘What if they just gave the land back to Palestine and find somewhere else to live.”
The teacher added a heart emoji to the end of the post, he added.
The world needs to know that anyone who calls for the eradication of Israel is expressing a pernicious form of antisemitism, a denial of the right of Jews to live in our ancestral homeland,” Schuldenfrie continued. “The heart emoji … is perverse punctuation, dressing up hate in the guise of love.”
CWC executive director Melissa Kaplan apologized and vowed that the school would fully investigate the incident.
“CWC unequivocally condemns the social media posts by our staff members, including the use of the word “genocide” to describe Israel’s [response to the attack],” Kaplan said in a statement. “CWC unequivocally condemns the disturbing suggestion that Jews should leave the region, and we unequivocally condemn any lesson that creates bias or fear among our students.”
Gehring again apologized on Friday and announced she would be taking a two-week absence to complete sensitivity training.
The incident has been traumatizing for the local Jewish community, Schuldenfrie said, but added it is “heartening to see Citizens of the World take these first steps” and that hoped this could be a “learning moment.”
After the publication on Arutz Sheva - Israel National News showing a drastic decrease in nationalist crime this year compared to previous years, and in the shadow of the war, on Saturday evening, MK Tzvi Succot (Religious Zionism), chairman of the subcommittee on Jewish affairs, sent a letter to the Foreign Minister and the IDF Spokesman, in which he called on them to refute the allegations of settler violence.
Succot opened the letter by saying that
"In recent weeks, a false campaign has been carried out in the shadow of the war regarding 'settler violence.' Similar publications were in the New York Times, CNN, and many media outlets around the world."
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir was interviewed on Channel 12 News on Saturday night and commented on the surprise October 7 attack by Hamas, sparing no criticism from the Prime Minister.
"Netanyahu excluded me [from Cabinet discussions] and the truth must also be told, he excluded me on the basis that I demanded targeted eliminations [of terrorists]. His people said that I constantly wanted to set the region on fire. There was a mistake in the concept, both by Netanyahu and by others. I hope everyone understands that the concept was wrong," Ben Gvir said, before clarifying, "I have responsibility, I am a member of the government. But they didn't listen to me - they excluded me."
"There was a 'concept camp' here that talked about containment [of Hamas] and that Hamas was deterred, including Gantz, Bennett and Eizenkot. Stop beautifying history," added Ben Gvir. "When I joined this government, I thought differently - that targeted eliminations were needed. Maybe I should have pounded on the table. You can't come and tell me today that I didn't do all this – because of that, I was excluded from the Cabinet meetings."
Ben Gvir was asked if Netanyahu should resign and go to new elections, but dodged the question. "I'm sure that after the war everyone will be held accountable. Netanyahu will give clear answers. Right now I'm calling to conquer the Gaza Strip."
The minister also said, "I'm not shying away, the Prime Minister was also into a lot of concepts that today have been proven to clearly have been a mistake. I'm still fighting the ‘concept’. What are these pauses [in the fighting]? How can you allow pauses? I say to Netanyahu, go on a public diplomacy campaign in the US. The Americans wouldn't even let a bottle of water in. Let's spread the word in the US from coast to coast."
Biden Administration officials have contacted senior Israeli officials demanding clarifications on the speech given by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last night in which he stated that "We will continue to control security in the Gaza Strip for as long as it takes to prevent terrorism."
According to the report, the administration is attempting to understand what Netanyahu means when he says Israeli security control, what form that control will take, and how it will affect the situation in Gaza the day after the war, Kan Reshet Bet reported.
The Biden Administration has publicly opposed an Israeli "reoccupation" of Gaza following the war against Hamas. Last week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said: "It's also clear that Israel cannot occupy Gaza."
The Administration's favored candidate to rule Gaza after Hamas is deposed is the Palestinian Authority.
Israel completely withdrew from Gaza, expelling nearly 10,000 Jewish citizens, in 2005. Hamas won the parliamentary elections in Gaza in 2006 and then seized power in a violent revolt against the Palestinian Authority and has ruled Gaza ever since.
The Palestinian Authority continues to rule in Arab area of Judea and Samaria thanks to Israeli and foreign support. PA chairman Mahmoud Mahmoud Abbas is very unpopular due to widespread corruption in the PA and has not held elections in well over a decade. Polls show that a majority of Palestinian Arabs want him to resign.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday night gave a press conference with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, emphasizing that Israel will not agree to give up security control of Gaza.
"In every place where there is no Israeli security control, terror returns and forms a base for itself," he said.
