Over 545,000 New Yorkers left the state in 2022 —headed for Florida, Texas and farther

 

It’s an Empire State of decline.

Beset by high taxes and quality of life woes, 545,498 New Yorkers left for other states in 2022, according to US Census data.

Top destinations included Florida — the most popular choice — followed by New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania as well as more distant states like Texas and California.

The exodus was partly offset by more people moving to the Empire State in 2022 than any year over the last decade, with 301,000 new residents making the transition.

Despite that uptick, New York still suffered a net population loss of 244,000.

The departures have yet to impact New York City housing costs, with median rents continuing to hover near all-time post COVID-19 highs.

According to a recent report from real estate company Elliman, Manhattan median rents stood at $4,350 in September — up from $4,022 during the same period last year. 

The departures have yet to impact New York City housing costs, with median rents continuing to hover near all-time post COVID-19 highs.

According to a recent report from real estate company Elliman, Manhattan median rents stood at $4,350 in September — up from $4,022 during the same period last year. 

The departures have yet to impact New York City housing costs, with median rents continuing to hover near all-time post COVID-19 highs.

When the power goes, Hamas will be forced out of the tunnels

 

Hamas fears that in the coming days, the Gaza Strip will run out of fuel and there will be no electricity, which will cause the ventilation systems in the tunnels dug under the enclave to shut down, a security official told Walla today (Tuesday).

When the electricity runs out, the Hamas terrorists will be forced out of the tunnels into the open air, he claimed.

"According to a calculation made by the security establishment, and an analysis of the humanitarian situation in terms of supplies in general and the amount of fuel in particular in the Gaza Strip, in a short time we will see Hamas come under great pressure," said the source.

He also said that "the leaders, commanders, and activists - what interests the Hamas leadership is the fuel, not food and water. Why? Because most of its leadership and fighters are in tunnels deep underground. They need power to circulate air, operate the communication systems, and activate the rocket launchers.

Earlier today, the UNRWA refugee organization said that if fuel does not enter the Gaza Strip by tomorrow, the organization would be forced to stop its activities in Gaza.

IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari responded to the allegations and said: "Hamas has 500,000 liters of fuel, go ask them."

The “Shocking, Horrible" Remarks of UN Chief! May He Rot in Hell!

 

Israel is protesting after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appeared to try to explain the impetus behind the Hamas terror group’s attacks on Israel at a UN Security Council meeting on the Israel-Hamas.

“It is important to also recognize the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum,” Guterres said. “The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation. They have seen their land steadily devoured by settlements and plagued by violence; their economy stifled; their people displaced and their homes demolished. Their hopes for a political solution to their plight have been vanishing.”

Guterres added that “the grievances of the Palestinian people cannot justify the appalling attacks by Hamas. And those appalling attacks cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.”

Israeli envoy to the UN Gilad Erdan calls Guterres’s remarks “shocking,” “horrible,” and “totally detached from the reality of our region.”

“His comments… constitute a justification for terrorism and murder,” Erdan says. “It’s sad that a person with such views is the head of an organization that arose after the Holocaust.”

Dark are the days when the United Nations Secretary General condones terror.

Absolutely nothing can justify the slaughter of innocent civilians.
Now is the time to stand on the right side of history, or be judged by it.

Terror apologists cannot speak on behalf of the world.

— בני גנץ - Benny Gantz (@gantzbe) October 24, 2023

The @UN Secretary-General, who shows understanding for the campaign of mass murder of children, women, and the elderly, is not fit to lead the UN.

I call on him to resign immediately.

There is no justification or point in talking to those who show compassion for the most…

— Ambassador Gilad Erdan גלעד ארדן (@giladerdan1) October 24, 2023

IDF Stops major Hamas sea-borne infiltration attempt

 

Several terrorists were killed off Israel’s southern coast after attempting to infiltrate into the Jewish state from the Gaza Strip, the Israel Defense Forces said on Tuesday night.

“Sea Corps soldiers attacked a terror cell that tried to infiltrate into Israeli territory by sea in the Zikim area,” the IDF confirmed, adding that jets struck the structure in Gaza from where the terrorists left.

According to Israel’s Channel 12, at least 10 terrorists were killed.

Residents of Zikim and Karmia were ordered to lock themselves in their homes, the broadcaster said.

Later on Tuesday night, the IDF’s Homefront Command also issued infiltration warnings for the nearby community of Netiv HaAsara.

The military will continue to scan the area for terrorist infiltrations overnight Tuesday, Channel 12 reported, including on the beach of Ashkelon.

On Monday, the IDF announced that five senior Hamas commanders had been killed in recent days, as the military continues to strike thousands of Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip.

On Oct. 14, the IDF eliminated Murad Abu Murad, head of Hamas’s aerial array in the Gaza Strip. The array played a significant role in the terrorist group’s Oct. 7 massacre of western Negev communities, according to the military.

The four other aerial array commanders killed were identified by the IDF as Moethe Abdel Rahman, responsible for training; Othman Hamdan, commander of air defenses in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood; Muhammad Alrifi, responsible for the unit’s supplies in Gaza City; and Ghassan Shakfouh, responsible for the unit’s training in northern Gaza.

According to the IDF over 400 terrorist targets had been hit in the past 24 hours, including on Monday night the elimination of the deputy commanders of Hamas’s Nuseirat, Shati and Furqan battalions.

“Dozens” of Hamas gunmen preparing to fire rockets and carry out terrorist attacks were also killed, according to the military.

IDF fighter jets also struck terrorist infrastructure in the neighborhoods of Shuja’iyya, Shati, Jabalia, Daraj Tuffah and Zaytun, including a tunnel shaft that gave terrorists access to the coastline, command centers and staging grounds located in mosques.

Female IDF combat squad have killed 100 Hamas terrorists: ‘A strong squad’

 An all-female Israel Defense Forces unit eliminated nearly 100 Hamas terrorists, according to their commander — who cited it as proof there “are no more doubts about female combat soldiers.”

Israeli Caracal Battalion commander Lt.-Col. Or Ben-Yehuda praised her unit for its bravery in the southern Gaza Strip, where the female troops took down approximately 100 Hamas terrorists, the Jerusalem Post reported.

After the fighting broke out Oct. 7 when Hamas invaded Israel, Ben-Yehuda said she received a message reporting an infiltration of heavily armed terrorists near Sufa and Nirim and told her soldiers: “We are going out to eliminate terrorists. Infiltration into Israel is happening, and it’s spreading.

“Stay alert. We might cross paths. We are a strong squad,” she told her unit as they headed to Sufa.

Combat between the female battalion and the terrorists lasted nearly four hours and included large firefights. It took the IDF about 14 hours altogether to secure the base.

Th

“There are no more doubts about female combat soldiers, who have triumphed in every encounter with terrorists,” Ben-Yehuda said.

“At present, we are responsible for 11 towns and are preparing for any potential ground maneuvers to ensure the safety of the southern Gaza border area and the Egyptian border.”

3

A group of female IDF soldiers reportedly took down approximately 100 Hamas terrorists.

Israel Defense Forces

Members of the female troop have saved countless lives through medical care or by bravely landing helicopters while under fire, too, Ben-Yehuda said.

The commander also acknowledged the tank soldiers under her command who played a vital role in defending towns, including in Holit, a kibbutz near the Gaza Strip where at least 11 of its members were killed along with two migrant workers.

3

The commander said there are now “no doubts” about the capabilities of female soldiers.

AFP/Getty Images

Hamas accuses Israel of assassinating senior member in prison

Hamas on Monday accused Israel of killing a senior leader of the Palestinian terrorist group who was being held in an Israeli prison.

Hamas named the leader as Omar Daraghmeh, 58, from the city of Tubas in the north of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. It described his death as an "assassination."

The Israel Prison Service said earlier on Monday that a Palestinian prisoner born in 1965 had died after "feeling unwell and going to the prison clinic for tests." It did not name the prisoner, but said he was from the northern West Bank.

The Israel Prison Service said it was reviewing the circumstances of the prisoner's death. A spokesperson for the service did not immediately provide comment on Hamas' accusation that Daraghmeh was killed.

Israeli Hackers Claim They Shut Down Revolutionary Guards’ Nuclear Projects

 An Israel group calling itself WeRedEvils and Soldiers without Uniforms on Tuesday afternoon tweeted:

 “It’s us again. In the last few days, we managed to break into several systems of companies that deal with the construction and development of reactors and facilities related to the Revolutionary Guards in Iran, which was established by order of Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

It’s the group’s second cyber-attack on Iran in less than a week. Israeli cyber warfare experts believe the group is engaged in Ransomware, in which users’ access to their computers is encrypted, the files are taken hostage, and the information in the files is stolen.

On Monday at 8 PM, the group published 12 gigabytes worth of files that include information on IRGC officials such as email correspondence, IDs and passports, residential addresses of developers, development plans, physical locations of projects, and business plans.

Last week, WeRedEvils claimed it was behind the attack on Iran’s electric infrastructure that caused power outages throughout the country, especially in Tehran. Wednesday was a day from hell for Iranians, with numerous disruptions in large parts of the country. Subway traffic in Tehran was suspended, creating huge congestion on the roads and preventing rescue forces from reaching troubled areas where evacuations were needed.

Also last week, the group took responsibility for deleting the content of the well-known GazaNow Telegram channel, affecting its hundreds of thousands of followers; toppling pro-Hamas news and government websites; and leaking an estimated one million Iranian credit cards.

The group’s spokesperson told GeekTime: 

“Everyone should know that we are professional guys who know their job, some of us are in high-tech, some are veterans of elite military units, and some of us come from the private sector. The members of the group don’t know each other, the seniors do.”

The spokesperson added: “While I’m talking to you, there are dozens of attack attempts from cyber groups against Israel. This takes place every day. Most of them are not announced to the public, but there is no way to stop them. Yes, there is a way to defend against it, and in the meantime, the State of Israel is proving itself in this matter.”

The spokesperson also related that thousands of people are asking to join the group. However, he adds, the group is closed and does not allow joining, nor is it accepting donations, and there have been quite a few offers.

Israeli Flyers Dropped on Gaza Offer Cash for Info on Hostages

 

I was wondering, Hamas is holding over 200 hostages and not one Gazan knows about it?

There isn't one decent Gazan in the entire Gaza?

That's why I say that there isn't any "innocent Gazans!

The Israeli military began offering cash and protection for anyone who shares accurate information on the whereabouts of hostages held by militant group Hamas.

For more on the Israel-Hamas war, click here.

Gazans found the leaflets on the streets across Gaza on Tuesday after they’ve been dropped from Israeli aircraft, the latest in a slew of steps by Israel to locate some of the people Hamas is holding captive.

“If your will is to live in peace and to have a better future for your children, do the humanitarian deed immediately and share verified and valuable information about hostages being held in your area,” read the leaflets, written in Arabic and shared by the Israel Defense Forces. 

“The Israeli military assures you that it will invest maximum effort in providing security for you and your home, and you will receive a financial reward. We guarantee you complete confidentiality,” they said.

More than two weeks after Hamas attacked and killed around 1,400 Israelis, there are growing calls inside the country to rethink the scope of a ground invasion that had been expected any day. The fate of the hostages — estimated at around 200 including perhaps several dozen who are dead — is one of the main concerns that have so far held back the land incursion.

WH press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre Answer to rise of antisemitism... is We need to worry about Muslim Americans

 

Democratic Florida Rep. Jared Moskowitz slammed White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Monday for downplaying the potential for antisemitic hate crimes as Israel wages war against Hamas terrorists. 

Jean-Pierre argued that the White House hasn’t seen “any credible threats” against the Jewish community before flipping through her notes during Monday’s press briefing and declaring that Muslims and Arab Americans “have endured a disproportionate number of hate-fueled attacks.”

“What a weak answer. And why are you looking in the book? What’s the approved answer?” Moskowitz, who is Jewish, said in an X post.  

“The simple answer is yes, you are concerned about the rise of antisemitism. Of course we are also worried about hatred against Muslim Americans. Must do better,” the Florida lawmaker added. 

President Biden’s spokeswoman clarified after the briefing that the 80-year-old commander in chief is indeed “very concerned” about an increase in antisemitic violence. 

Democratic Florida Rep. Jared Moskowitz slammed White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Monday for downplaying the potential for antisemitic hate crimes as Israel wages war against Hamas terrorists. 

Jean-Pierre argued that the White House hasn’t seen “any credible threats” against the Jewish community before flipping through her notes during Monday’s press briefing and declaring that Muslims and Arab Americans “have endured a disproportionate number of hate-fueled attacks.”

“What a weak answer. And why are you looking in the book? What’s the approved answer?” Moskowitz, who is Jewish, said in an X post.  

“The simple answer is yes, you are concerned about the rise of antisemitism. Of course we are also worried about hatred against Muslim Americans. Must do better,” the Florida lawmaker added. 

President Biden’s spokeswoman clarified after the briefing that the 80-year-old commander in chief is indeed “very concerned” about an increase in antisemitic violence. 

Democratic Florida Rep. Jared Moskowitz slammed White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Monday for downplaying the potential for antisemitic hate crimes as Israel wages war against Hamas terrorists. 

Jean-Pierre argued that the White House hasn’t seen “any credible threats” against the Jewish community before flipping through her notes during Monday’s press briefing and declaring that Muslims and Arab Americans “have endured a disproportionate number of hate-fueled attacks.”

“What a weak answer. And why are you looking in the book? What’s the approved answer?” Moskowitz, who is Jewish, said in an X post.  

“The simple answer is yes, you are concerned about the rise of antisemitism. Of course we are also worried about hatred against Muslim Americans. Must do better,” the Florida lawmaker added. 

President Biden’s spokeswoman clarified after the briefing that the 80-year-old commander in chief is indeed “very concerned” about an increase in antisemitic violence. 

Jean-Pierre’s comments came days after FBI Director Christopher Wray warned about a possible rise in domestic threat reports amid Israel’s effort to rid Gaza of terrorists.

“We’re particularly vigilant to the possibility that lone actors in the United States could in some way, out of inspiration, misguided inspiration that they draw from the conflict in the Middle East,” Wray said in an interview with Fox News last Thursday. 

During a speech at the International Association of Chiefs of Police conference in San Diego earlier this month, Wray said there is “no question” that antisemitic threats are on the rise.

“History has been witness to antisemitic and other forms of violent extremism for far too long. Whether that be from foreign terrorist organizations, or those inspired by them, or domestic violent extremists motivated by their own racial animus, the targeting of a community because of their faith is totally unacceptable,” he told the crowd, according to the Hill. 

I was you, “Defender of the Palestinians,” and now I want to puke

 

For twenty-five years, I was a member of a tiny Trotskyist organization. I joined because I believed it was the path to a more just world and stayed because it had seized my soul. My group was notorious, even on the far left, for its extremism and sectarianism, but I’d have felt perfectly at home in the “Solidarity with Palestine” antisemitic carnivals now taking place around the world. The occasional placard, chant or demonstrator might trouble me—an overt blood libel here, a Rothschild conspiracy theory there—but I considered these aberrations: abhorrent certainly, necessary to fight, but easily separable from a righteous cause.

Freed hostage speaks: 'They kidnapped me on a motorcycle, beat me, I went through horrors'

 

Yocheved Lifshitz, one of the women freed from Hamas captivity on Monday night, spoke for the first time with media.

Lifshitz, whose husband is still held captive in Gaza, remains hospitalized at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv.

"My name is Yocheved Lifshitz, and I was born in 1983, in Israel," she began. "I thank you for coming to hear my tragedy and that of my friends."

"I went through horrors which we did not think, we did not know, that we would reach in such a situation. They went wild in the kibbutz, they kidnapped me, they laid me on the side of the motorcycle and drove on the plowed fields towards Gaza. During this time, they took my watch and my jewelry, and the shabab beat me with sticks. They blew up the fence, which they (Israel) built with two and a half billion shekel, and it didn't do anything."

"They raided our homes. There was no difference between elderly and youth, and they kidnapped them all. On the way, while I lay on the motorcycle, they hurt me a lot. They didn't break my ribs but it made it very hard for me to breathe."

Lifshitz's daughter then summarized her mother's words in English, adding, "There is a huge network of tunnels underneath, it looks like a spider web."

"When we arrived there, they first of all told us that they believe in the Quran and they will do us no harm, and we will receive the same conditions as they have," Yocheved continued. "We started walking in the tunnels, many kilometers, for a long time, and after two or three hours they separated five from Kibbutz Nir Oz and took them separately. They were next to us, watching us, a paramedic and a doctor of theirs also came."

She also said that she was taken, among a group of five hostages, and provided with medical treatment.

"We laid there on mattresses and we had a doctor on hand," she said. "They gave us medicines that we needed, or alternative medications."

"There was a boy with us who flew off the motorcycle and he had injuries to his hands, feet." She stressed that the group did receive medical care and the place was kept very clean, since, "At the end of the day, they were afraid of a plague."

"They divided us into groups by kibbutzes and residents. We ate what they ate: pitas, white cheese, and a cucumber were our meal for an entire day."

She also said that, "Hamas planned everything for a long time - they prepared everything necessary, including shampoo and hair conditioner. The lack of knowledge on the part of the IDF and Shin Bet really hurt us. We were the scapegoats of the government. The IDF did not take the balloons and field burnings seriously."

HaRav Grossman Put A Coin On The Soldier’s Head, He Regains Consciousness

 

Evyatar Zytuni, 26, a paratroops commander, was critically wounded in the battle against the Hamas animals at Kibbutz Kissfuim, next to the Gaza border, on Simchas Torah.

Zytuni was evacuated to Soroka Hospital in Be’er Sheva, where he was sedated and ventilated and has been unconscious ever since.

Last week, HaGaon HaRav Yitzchak Dovid Grossman of Migdal HaEmek visited the wounded at the hospital. During his visit, he stood by Evyatar’s bed, recited Tehillim and spoke words of chizzuk to his parents. He then took a special ancient coin from his pocket and briefly put it on Evyatar’s head as a segulah. Rav Grossman had received the coin from his Rebbe, the Lelover Rebbe, z’tl, about 50 years ago.

A few hour later, Evyatar woke up and told his parents: “Rav Grossman was here, he put an ancient coin on me – I felt a boom and I was pulled back to life.” Evyatar later said that he felt he regained consciousness from the power of HaRav Grossman’s tefillah and love.

Evyatar’s mother Natalie said: “HaRav Grossman stood next to Evyatar, davened and cried out to Shamayim. Then the Rav took out a coin from his wallet, placed it on Evyatar’s head, continued with his powerful tefillos, put the coin back and continued davening – all this while Evayar was unconscious. But after he woke up, he said that he felt a ‘thud,’ a ‘boom.’ We’ve been in shock ever since.”

After Evyatar regained conciousness, his parents called Rav Grossman to thank him. Evyatar told HaRav Grossman that due to the chizzuk in his emunah, he began putting on tefillin.

Natalie and her husband Yaron have barely been able to sleep since the war began. Apart from Evyatar’s serious injuries, they have two more sons serving as officers of combat brigades in the south and their oldest daughter is also an officer in the reserves.

Natalie has asked that Klal Yisrael daven for Evyatar’s refuah sheleimah as he is still in danger of having his leg amputated. Please daven for a refuah sheleimah for Evyatar ben Natalie b’toch shaar cholei Yisrael.

25 new immigrants move to Israel amid Hamas war

 

Twenty-five new immigrants arrived in Israel Thursday as the country wages a war with the Hamas terror organization.

The olim arrived courtesy of Nefesh B'Nefesh that worked in partnership with the Aliyah and Integration Ministry led by Minister Ofir Sofer, The Jewish Agency for Israel, Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael and JNF-USA.

Spanning in age from 19 to 79, the olim hail from across America, including New York, New Jersey, Florida, California, Maryland, Michigan, and Ohio. They plan to establish their new homes across Israel, from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv-Yafo, Haifa, Netanya, Beit Shemesh, Petah Tikva, Rosh Ha'ayin, Ma'ale Adumim, and beyond.

Israelis Now Finally asking where was the Army for 8 Hours? How did Hamas Know that the IDF would not come? They didn't look like they were in a rush?

 

סרט מטורף על המלחמה..איפה היה צה"ל?

 האם יש מישהו מבפנים ששיתף פעולה??