Yitzhak Yifat Central Figure in 1967 Photo Dies at 81

Yitzhak Yifat (center) and other Israeli paratroopers reach the Western Wall in Jerusalem, June 7, 1967

 The central figure in an iconic 1967 photograph of three paratroopers at the liberated Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem died on Saturday. Yitzhak Yifat was 81.

Yifat, 24 at the time the photo was taken, can be seen in the center of the photograph holding his helmet. The powerful image was taken just after the Old City was freed from Jordanian occupation during the Six-Day War.

Yifat, one of the first paratroopers to enter the Old City, is seen with fellow paratroopers Zion Karasenti and Haim Oshri.

 

They appear visibly moved as they gaze upwards at the Western Wall, which is the outer supporting wall of the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism.

The photo was nicknamed in Hebrew “The Crying Paratroopers” or “Paratroopers at the Western Wall.”

Their emotion was due in part to the fact that under Jordanian rule, (1949-1967), Jews were barred from entering the Old City.

The period of Jordanian rule of the eastern part of Jerusalem has been referred to as “among the most repugnantly intolerant of all.” 

Jordan destroyed all but one of the 35 synagogues in the eastern part of Jerusalem. They also desecrated the cemetery on the Mount of Olives and used tombstones for roads and latrines.

Tourists wanting to visit had to present baptismal certificates or other proof they weren’t Jews.

“Everyone talked about the Western Wall all the time, but we were new and we had never been there. That day was the first time any of us had ever been there,” Oshri told Channel 2 in 2017.

The photo was taken by David Rubinger, who died in 2017. An acclaimed photographer, he won the Israel Prize for Communications in 1997.

“I hardly remember the moment Rubinger took a picture of us. I remember that during the photoshoot Rubinger dropped to the floor and clicked his camera. Rubinger was a good man, a lover of the Israeli people and Israel and an excellent professional photographer,” Yifat said a few years ago of Rubinger, according to The Jerusalem Post.

After the war, Yifat became an obstetrician-gynecologist.

Just before the war, he was a grade-school teacher. Former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Danny Ayalon tweeted on July 2:

“In 1967, I was 11 years old. My school teacher was a man by the name of Yitzhak Yifat. One day, he didn’t show up to class. He remained absent the day after & I didn’t know what happened. The 6 Day War broke out & I finally found my teacher—on the front page of the newspaper.”

 

Mohammed Asaduzzaman, the recently elected Mayor of Brighton in the UK

 The British seaside town of Brighton and Hove has elected its first ever South Asian Muslim mayor.

Councillors unanimously voted for Mohammed Asaduzzaman, who was elected to Brighton & Hove City Council last May.

Council leader Bella Sankey said Mr Asaduzzaman was “warm, kind, funny and ambitious for our city”.

“Brighton and Hove can look forward to a mayor whose compassion has already left a mark on the city’s social, cultural, economic and political landscape,” she said.

Mr Asaduzzaman, who has lived in the city for 30 years, previously worked with the state minister for irrigation and water development in Bangladesh, and has a degree in political science.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, he provided 500 free meals to essential service providers.

He also pushed for vaccinations for those with uncertain immigration status, acted as an interpreter for those in legal need and gave support to victims of crime.

Ms Sankey added: “With three decades of residency in Brighton, he has woven himself into the very fabric of the community.

“His journey from Bangladesh to Brighton exemplifies a life dedicated to public service and community betterment.”

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Biden’s State Department Used Data from Anti-Israel Org To Compile ‘Report Card’ on Jewish State

 

The Biden administration produced an internal “report card” on Israeli activities in the West Bank based on data from a United Nations organization closely linked to the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement, according to government emails obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.

The report, based on data from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), was produced in January 2023, several months after an Israeli election virtually guaranteed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would return to power. At the time, the Biden administration was preparing for diplomatic clashes with the Netanyahu government. Those divisions are now on full display as the United States pressures Israel to preemptively ink a ceasefire deal with Hamas and stop defending itself from Hezbollah militants along its northern border.

An internal State Department email chain reviewed by the Free Beacon shows the creation and dissemination of the report on so-called Israeli settlement growth. U.S. officials described the report as an update from previous data compiled by the Biden administration on Israeli activities in the West Bank.

Prior to Hamas’s Oct. 7 terror strike on Israel, the construction of Jewish homes in contested areas of the West Bank was a central source of tension between the Biden administration and the Israeli government, particularly under Netanyahu. When Netanyahu’s conservative governing coalition retook power in 2023, the Biden administration appeared ready to clash with Israel over the issue.

Bette Midler Wants Biden to Arrest Republicans and Allow FBI to Use Deadly Force to Regain Democrat House Majority

 

Singer-actress Bette Midler, star of Disney’s Hocus Pocus 2, suggested that President Joe Biden arrest Republican members of Congress and allow the FBI to use deadly force in order regain Democrat House majority.

“Now that Joe has total immunity, many are urging him to be GOP ruthless. Here’s a suggestion for implementing his new powers,” Midler wrote in a Friday X post, sharing a screenshot from an opinion piece published by The New Republic.

Meet Keir Starmer’s Jewish wife, bringing Shabbat to No. 10 Downing Street

 

Lady Victoria Starmer, a Jewish woman with a rich cultural heritage and deep-rooted traditions, is the new British prime minister’s wife.

Intertwined with her Jewish upbringing, her life story plays a significant role in shaping the values and practices of her family.

From regularly observing Shabbat to maintaining strong connections with the Jewish community, Victoria’s influence extends beyond the domestic sphere into her husband’s, Labour Party leader Keir Starmer's, political career.

Lady Starmer’s steadfast commitment to her faith and cultural traditions, as well as her involvement in combating antisemitism, emphasizes the unique role she will play.

Originally Victoria Alexander, Starmer was born in 1963 in North London. 

Her father was of Polish-Jewish descent, and her mother, a community doctor, converted to Judaism upon marriage.

Growing up, Starmer was immersed in Jewish traditions and cultural practices, which played a significant role in shaping her values and outlook on life.

In the Starmer household, Jewish traditions are actively observed and cherished. Despite Keir being an atheist, the family regularly observes Shabbat, marking the weekly day of rest with family gatherings and traditional rituals.

Israeli Leftist Anatchists Plan 'Day of disruption'Sunday throughout Israel

  

Thousands of people protested Saturday evening on Kaplan Street in Tel Aviv and at several intersections across the country, demanding the approval of the deal with Hamas and the announcement of an election date.

At the end of the central protest at the Kaplan intersection in Tel Aviv, participants blocked the Ayalon highway northbound, and two were arrested. During the event, the police violently arrested Shahar Mor, the nephew of hostage Avraham Munder.

Sunday is planned to be a "day of disruption" to mark nine months since the October 7 massacre, and the protesters called on the public to join them in the strike "until all the hostages return."

Approximately 2,000 people attended the protest near the home of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Caesarea, set a submarine model on fire, and called, among other things, for his resignation.

Israel Goes Deep Inside Lebanon and Eliminates Key Hezbollah Commander

 The IDF eliminated another key Hezbollah commander in a town in the Baalbek district in the northeastern part of the country – a rare airstrike deep inside Lebanon.

The IDF said that the strike killed Meitham Mustafa Altaar, a key operative in Hezbollah’s air defense unit.

“Meitham led many of the unit’s activities and took part in the planning and carrying out of numerous terrorist attacks against Israelis,” the IDF spokesperson said. “Meitham also flew to Iran multiple times, where he gained knowledge and assisted in building up Hezbollah’s force and arsenal of Iranian weapons.”

“His elimination significantly harms the capabilities of Hezbollah’s air defense unit.”

Chief Rabbi of Gaza Dupes Squad Rep. Cori Bush Campaign

A parody social media account of the fake “Chief Rabbi of Gaza” has duped another Squad member.

The re-election campaign of stridently pro-Palestinian Rep. Cori Bush (D-Missouri) was considering a possible fundraiser with “Rabbi Linda Goldstein” — a bogus X account that spews anti-Israel bile to catfish eager-to-believe progressives.

The account — which previously fooled Bush’s congressional comrade Rep. Jamaal Bowman — reached out to Team Bush on June 23 with the fundraising idea, exchanges shared with The Post reveal.

“I’ve been bouncing around different cities since my congregation was displaced from Gaza after Israel’s invasion on October 7,” Goldstein wrote in an email to Ronika Moody, Bush’s finance and engagement director.

“Also – would [Bush] travel to the Gaza border for the fundraiser? The optics could be incredible!”

Moody responded on June 27, writing, “Cori is interested in hosting in Gaza and it’s something she has been trying to plan. Unfortunately, we have not been successful with that opportunity as of yet.”

“Theme is Gaza?” Moody asked.

Goldstein — who has boasted of using a menorah made of missiles and digging terror tunnels into American universities among other outlandish antics — suggested the fundraiser’s theme could be “the morality” of intifada.

“The topics are built around finding a final solution to the problem of Zionism,” added Goldstein, without a response from Bush’s campaign.

“Cori Bush is the perfect example of an ’empty suit’ antisemite.– completely clueless about how the Israel-Palestine conflict works, but eager to speak up because it gives her cover to publicly hate Jews,” said the man behind the parody account, a pro-Israel lawyer named Michael, who declined to give his last name.

Like Bowman, Bush is stridently pro-Palestine and polls suggest she is heading for a loss in the Aug 6 contest against St. Louis prosecutor Wesley Bell.

'Prosecutor's Office will find it difficult to press charges' Israelis who killed Oct 7 Terrorist

 

The State Prosecutor's Office will find it difficult to file against the suspects on charges of murder, and may be satisfied with an indictment for theft of weapons, according to Channel 13 News.

One of the two suspects in the murder of a terrorist from Hamas's elite Nukhba force, commented on the case for the first time from his grandfather's house, where he is under house arrest pending another decision.

The suspect is 22 years old from the town of Elkana. He commented: ''The murder of a Nukhba terrorist. It sounds absurd. The people of Israel and I went to the south to fight in the Gaza envelope, where the army did not arrive on the first day.''

Speaking to Ynet, he mentioned that he had served in a combat unit during his regular service. On October 7th, he called a police officer friend and another friend: "We raced south to fight, and already at 8:24 we were in a battle at the Sha'ar Hanegev Junction with four other elite soldiers who unfortunately were killed in action against the terrorists. There was high-intensity fighting there against the terrorists and we risked lives. My friend took a bullet in the shoulder and continued to fight."

The Economist Slams Biden With BRUTAL Magazine Cover And Editorial

 Liberal magazine The Economist published a scathing cover story on this week’s magazine cover criticizing President Biden’s age and fitness for office. The cover image, which featured an elderly person’s walker with a presidential seal next to the words “No way to run a country,” quickly went viral.

The corresponding editorial board column pulled no punches, slamming Biden’s debate performance and stating that he is “unfit” to be president. The board criticized Biden’s “mental decline” and his inability to “finish a sentence about Medicare,” questioning whether he should be trusted with the nuclear codes.

The Economist’s editorial followed similar calls from other publications, including The New York Times, The Boston Globe, and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, urging Biden to drop his re-election bid after the CNN Presidential Debate on June 27.

The magazine’s critique sparked widespread attention and debate, with some commentators noting that even liberal outlets are now questioning Biden’s fitness for office. Economist and podcaster Kip Herriage observed, “When the Economist turns on one of their own, it’s OVER.”