New York Times Melts Down After Israel Points Out Photographer’s Ties With Hamas

 

The New York Times lashed out in fury at Israel after one of its photographers was accused of being embedded with Hamas and having foreknowledge of the October 7 attack.

The photographer, Yousef Masoud, was recently given a Polk award for his work, following which the Israeli Consulate in New York sent a letter to the Polk Committee accusing the photojournalist of having deep ties with Hamas, along with another Times photographer, Samar Abu Elouf.

The letter said that Masoud had “public connections to Hamas and well-documented foreknowledge of the terror group’s plans for invasion, mortally compromising the integrity of his reporting.”

Stung by the accusation, the Times went on the attack, calling Masoud’s ties to Hamas a “fabrication” and “provably false.”

Look Carefully at These Photos and Tell me What you See?

 

Did you look? 

So what did you see?

Naaaa! It's not what you think. 

You won't believe this!

These are "shiva" houses!

They are sitting "shiva"!!!!!

Now look again! Can you tell???

These photos are of the Viznitzer Rebbes sitting Shiva! 

Not together, chas ve'sholom, though they are brothers. 

Notice the chairs the rebbes are sitting on?

Am I the only one thinking that this is insane?

The Skverer Rebbe of Monsey is also sitting Shiva, the same way, with "farenches" the benches that are set up like in a stadium, with hundreds of chassidim ogling .

Is this normal? 

I don't get it, is there no decency and humility left among our leaders?? 

Shas Reviving "Dead Rabbis' for endorsements!

 

Watch them Dragging Rav Landau to Beit Shemesh and Pushing a Speech for Him to Read!

 

Watch Degel Ha'Torah Campaign in Bnei-Brak, this is the Party of the Litvishe "gedoilim"

 

British Chareidim Demand in Galut that the Goyim Not interfere in Jewish Education

In the Goyishe Year 1290, England, the "malchus shel chessed" expelled all its Jews from its borders. 

Approximately 300 hundred years later William Shakespeare wrote The Merchant of Venice and in it he describes a Venetian Jewish moneylender named Shylock with the most vicious characterizations, describing his greediness and vengefulness. Mind you, Shakespeare had never even met a Jew! 

Under the British Mandate in 1929, the British animals in then Palestine stood by as Jews were raped, pillaged, and massacred in Chevron, by the bloodthirsty Arabs. 

In 1940's The British were in many ways worse than the Nazis as they turned back boats to Germany that were loaded with Jews who had escaped Concentration camps, and sent to be gassed.  Those that they did allow to pass thru they shipped to Cypris and placed them in Concentration Camps under horrible conditions, much ink has been spilled writing and recording the atrocities by the British savages. 1948 did not come soon enough. 

These rabbis protesting the Brits are the same ones that pull out the "Three Oaths" cards when it suits them. One of those "oaths" is "not to antagonize the goyim, especially in Galut" 

But listening to those speeches demanding that Goyim leave them alone, is hypocritical. If you live in the Galut, then follow the teachings that you preach and throw at the Zionists. Keep quiet and wait for the Mashiach to pick you up by the Eagles and bring you back home!

Mark Levin & Dershowitz say that Biden has turned on Israel and now backs Hamas!

 

The Jew Blinken Says Israeli Settlements in Eretz Yisrael Are Illegal

 

 Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Israeli settlements are “inconsistent with international law,” putting new pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and reversing a Trump-era argument that construction in Palestinian territory could go ahead.

Blinken’s remarks Friday at a press conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina, marked a return to a 1978 finding by the State Department’s legal adviser that also found the settlements violate the Geneva Conventions. In 2019, former President Donald Trump’s secretary of state, Michael Pompeo, announced the US was abandoning the 1978 decision, saying it “hasn’t advanced the cause of peace.”

“Our administration maintains firm opposition to settlement expansion,” Blinken said Friday. “In our judgment, this only weakens, it doesn’t strengthen, Israel’s security.” 

He added that new settlements are “inconsistent with international law,” language that’s drawn directly from the 1978 memo.

The conclusion marks a fresh break from Netanyahu for President Joe Biden’s administration, which has grown increasingly concerned about the high civilian death toll of Israel’s military campaign in the Gaza Strip in the months since Hamas militants launched an attack on Oct 7. Biden has also sought to restrain settler violence in the West Bank. 

“We are simply reaffirming the fundamental conclusion that these settlements are inconsistent with international law,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters Friday. “This is a position that has been consistent over a range of Republican and Democratic administrations. If there’s an administration that is being inconsistent, it was the previous one.”

Biden has called on Netanyahu to hold off the next stage of military action in Gaza, aimed at the city of Rafah in south, until he can provide a clear plan to help civilians. Earlier this month, Biden signed an executive order allowing the US to impose sanctions on settlers and officials involved in violence against Palestinians.

Thousands of New Settlement Homes in Response to Ma’ale Adumim Terror Attack

 

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced on Thursday evening that a decision was made to build thousands of new homes in response to the murderous terror attack this morning outside of Ma’ale Adumim.

Smotrich called it “an appropriate Zionist response.”

In the discussion that took place tonight, with the participation of Prime Minister Netanyahu, the Minister of Defense, the Minister of Finance and the Minister in the Ministry of Defense and the Minister for Strategic Affairs, it was decided to convene the Supreme Planning Council to approve thousands of housing units in the following communities in Judea and Samaria:

Maale Adumim about 2,350 units.
Kedar about 300 units.
Efrat 694 units.

Minister of Finance and Minister in the Ministry of Defense Bezalel Smotrich declared [translated], “Let every terrorist plotting to harm us know that any raising of a hand against the citizens of Israel will be met with a blow of death and destruction and the deepening of our eternal grip on the entire Land of Israel.”

Gush Etzion Regional Council Mayor, and Yesha Council Chairman, Shlomo Ne’eman said this about tonight’s government decision to fast-track the approval of thousands of new housing units in Judea and Samaria:

“We praise the decision to convene the Higher Planning Council in order to approve thousands of housing units in Ma’ale Adumim, Kedar, Gush Etzion, and Efrat, and thank the Prime Minister, Defense Minister, Finance Minister, and Minister of Strategic Affairs, on a Zionist response to this morning’s terrible terrorist attack. The development of Judea and Samaria is the appropriate response to anyone who tries to harm us or undermine our rights to the land. We hope that the rest of the housing units awaiting approval will be greenlighted as soon as possible. There is no need to wait for another deadly attack. Our enemies should know that we do not cower from acts of terrorism. We must continue to develop and establish our hold on all parts of the Land of Israel.”

Bibi to Biden "Ich kock dich uhn! ......"A pox on you"

 

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Thursday night submitted to the political and security cabinet his proposal for the day after Hamas in Gaza. The document contains principles that reflect a broad public consensus of the goals of the war, including establishing a civilian alternative to the rule of the terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip.

The plan contradicts several key points in President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s ambitious plans for the same day after. Israel will carve out a wide swath of land along the Gaza border to establish a security zone, presumably to shoot any local Arab who dares to come near the fence. The Americans have insisted on several occasions that Israel is not to acquire any territory inside Gaza. Also: Israel will determine who does what in Gaza for the foreseeable future. Egypt, the US, the Arab states, and anyone else out there are welcome to lend a hand, but no one tells Israel what to do.

Refreshing.

UNWRA will be expelled from Gaza, no ifs and buts. Israel will seek better agencies to care for the civilian population, the kind that doesn’t encourage terrorism, there must be some of those left.

Finally: no unilateral declarations of a Palestinian State, and no forced two-state solutions.

So, here’s how it works:

Zera Shimshon Parshas Veatah Tezaveh

Zera Shimshon Link

‘House of horrors’ as Harav Ahron Ramati Shlitah takes cushy deal after pleading guilty to enslaving 30 women

 A Jerusalem rabbi accused of enslaving 30 women in a cult-like home dubbed the “house of horrors” has pleaded guilty to lesser charges in return for a lax sentence of community service and cash compensation to his victims, according to reports.

Aharon Ramati had been charged with enslavement, minor assault and obstruction of justice among other charges, but reached a plea agreement for “holding people in conditions akin to slavery,” according to YNetNews.

The deal came with a cushy sentence of just nine months of community service and $34,000 in damages owed to his victims — and was reached after 11 of the women declined to testify against Ramati because they were too traumatized to face him.

The case grabbed headlines in Israel after Ramati’s 2020 arrest, with police labeling the rabbi a “cult leader” who used violence, intimidation and tales of eternal damnation to indoctrinate and control his victims.

“They had to ask him for permission for everything and consult him over every simple action,” police told the Times of Israel after his arrest.

Ramati began gathering women around him in 2008 by presenting himself as an enlightened religious leader who knew the “true path” to salvation, YNet reported.

He invited the women to live in his home, which he’d renamed the “Be’er Miriam Seminary,” where they lived on moldering mattresses spread throughout three bedrooms, had no hot water and faced constant leaks and decrepit conditions.

Ramati moved to a neighboring home as the ranks of his followers grew. At some points, more than 30 women were living within the cramped confines of the house, with some reports saying as many as 50 women along with children lived there, according to prosecutors.

The rabbi charged the women about $220 per month for a bed in the house, or about $170 per month to share a mattress with another resident, according to YNet.

While at the house, the women attended daily lessons where Ramati plied them with his teachings — which included renouncing all personal desires to focus their energies toward spirituality.

Ramati filled the void of personal responsibility for them, prosecutors argued, making all decisions for them and in turn taking large portions of their pay from jobs they worked outside of classes.

To control the women, prosecutors said Ramati frightened them by telling them they would face horrific harm at the hands of other-worldly forces if they disobeyed him, isolated them from their families and turned the women against one another to police each other.

One common punishment in the house was forcing the women to burn their fingers in fire to “simulate hell,” the Times of Israel reported, or making them eat hot peppers.

Rumors about Ramati’s conduct have surrounded him for years.

He was first arrested in 2015 but was released after several members of his group testified on his behalf.

American Oct. 7 Survivors Sue Associated Press For Aiding & Abetting Hamas

Several survivors of the October 7th Hamas massacre are suing the Associated Press of aiding and abetting Hamas by using freelance journalists embedded in the murderous terror organization, the New York Post reported on Wednesday.

The plaintiffs are Americans and Israeli-Americans who survived the massacre at the Nova music festival near Be’eri as well as family members of the victims. They are suing AP for damages under the Antiterrorism Act in a federal complaint, filed in the Southern District of Florida Wednesday evening by lawyers from the nonprofit National Jewish Advocacy Center.

The lawyers accuse AP of “materially supporting terrorism” by paying photojournalists affiliated with Hamas for photos taken during and after the October 7th assault.

“There is no doubt that AP’s photographers participated in the October 7th massacre, and that AP knew, or at the very least should have known, through simple due diligence, that the people they were paying were longstanding Hamas affiliates and full participants in the terrorist attack that they were also documenting,” the complaint states.

It also lists the names of four photographers whose images were purchased by AP, stating that they are “known Hamas associates who were gleefully embedded with the Hamas terrorists during the October 7th attacks.”

But the complaint mainly focuses on one photojournalist, Hassan Eslaiah, who was accused of being affiliated with Hamas even before October 7th. Eslaiah, who photographed some of the earliest photos of the attack, is accused in the complaint of closely accompanying the Hamas monsters as they tortured and murdered Israelis.

Eslaiah, who in 2020 was photographed with Yahya Sinwar as the Hamas leader was kissing his cheek, denies he had any advance knowledge of the attack or is tied to Hamas, according to the New York Times, which was also criticized for using his photos. Eslaiah did admit that he got a ride back to Gaza after the assault with Hamas terrorists.

According to the company, AP was well aware of Eslaiah’s ties to Hamas but chose to continue to pay for his photos.

“AP willfully chose to turn a blind eye to these facts, and instead profited from its terrorist photographer’s participation in the massacre through its publication of the ‘exclusive’ images, for which it certainly paid a premium, effectively funding a terrorist organization,” the suit alleges.

The Honest Reporting media watchdog first raised questions about the photos taken in the early hours of the Hamas invitation in November, speculating that six Gazan photographers had advance knowledge of the attack because they began “work” so early that day – coincidently on the Israeli-Gazan border.

AP denied the allegation, issuing a statement denying it had any knowledge of the Oct. 7 attack.

“The first pictures AP received from any freelancer show they were taken more than an hour after the attacks began,” AP’s vice president of corporate communications Lauren Easton said in the Nov. 9 statement. “No AP staff were at the border at the time of the attacks, nor did any AP staffer cross the border at any time.”

“We are no longer working with Hassan Eslaiah, who had been an occasional freelancer for AP and other international news organizations in Gaza.”

National Jewish Advocacy Center director Mark Goldfeder slammed AP: “Media organizations do not have any special right to act with impunity and pretend that they don’t know whom they are paying.”

“And as other cases have made clear, it does not matter that the people AP was paying, with whom they had longstanding relationships, were freelancers and not employees; the issue is that AP was furnishing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, not in what capacity the terrorists were cashing the checks.”

 

Prince William Whose Ancestors Expelled the Jews From England and Hung Jews in Palestine Wants Israel To Give in to Hamas

 In the wake of Prince William of Britain’s call to “End the war and free the hostages”, he has been sharply criticized for making a ‘political statement’ unbecoming to a future monarch.

Royal biographer Tom Bower didn’t mince words when discussing the prince’s conduct, calling it a “distaster” and declaring “What on earth was he thinking when he got involved in such a delicate matter?” Bower said that the prince had neglected to mention either the growing antisemitism in Britain after the Hamas attacks or the Hamas threats to continue their war until the destruction of Israel, which make his call to end the war due to the “terrible human cost of the conflict” superfluous.

Bower even questioned the prince’s ability to maintain his father and grandmother’s diplomacy, stating that: ‘This is a departure from what we expected. We thought he was a serious person trying to learn the trade!’

Bower said that the prince had been ill-advised and added “I see the hand of Lord Cameron [British foreign secretary] in all this, who somehow shifted into telling Israel to end the war and seek peace. Cameron doesn’t understand that you can’t have peace with Hamas which is dedicated to the destruction of Israel.”

Other pro-Israel groups and individuals also criticized the prince’s statement that “too many people have been killed”, as if the number of people who have died can by itself defeat an implacable foe that seeks nothing less than the eradication of Israel. One of them told the prince that “You could end this horrendous war by tea-time.Tell your Qatar & Jordan royal family chums to release the hostages and STOP FUNDING TERRORISM AGAINST JEWS & ISRAEL.”

Ezra "kapo" Friedlander's Favorite Senator Kaine, Barks "Don’t Send Israel Weapons ‘Likely to Be Used in Offensive Military Action"

 

Tim Kaine with Ezra Friedlander

Question: Is Ezra Friedlander a self-hating Jew? 

It sure seems that way! He promotes Qatar, the country that spreads more antisemitism throughout the world than Syria, Lebanon, and even Hamas!  He promoted the Obama Iran Deal (See side bar) he is on the payroll and chummy with Fat Nadler the sick perverted self hating Jew.And put the antisemite Kaine on his panel on " International Holocaust Remembrance Day 2024"

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), a former failed U.S. vice presidential candidate and former Virginia governor, is urging the White House to provide Israel only with “defensive” weapons and not those that could be used on what he called an “offensive” attack on Rafah.

“I understand from public reports that your administration plans to submit to Congress a notice for another major transfer of U.S. weapons to Israel for use in the war in Gaza,” the senator wrote to U.S. President Joe Biden. “I appreciate the administration’s intent to follow traditional Congressional notification procedures for this transfer; these provisions should be applied equally to all nations.”

Civil War in Viznitz as Viznitz rebbe from Bnei Brak Endorses Abutbul as Mayor of Beit Shemesh and His Own Son-in-Law defies Him endorses Grinberg !

 

If I hear the word "Daas Torah" one more time, I am going to scream! 

I grew up in Brooklyn amongst Holocaust survivors and went to both Chassidishe Yeshivas and to Yeshivas leaning to the Litvishe derech and never ever heard the term "Daas Torah" . This "Daas Torah" was invented by the Yeshivishe morons to elevate their obscure Roshei Yeshivas. The Chassidim would never accept the psaks or the "daas Torah" of the Yeshivishe "gedoilim" and the more modern learned YU would certainly laugh at their childish psaks, so to make themselves feel important they drag out their "senior she'be' seniors" make them into "world leaders" and now everyone must follow "Daas Torah" and if you don't then you are being mevaza Talmeidei Chachmim... 

Aye they are causing this themselves by putting 90 year-olds who have no clue what's going on around them in the political arenas which subjects them to mocking and ridicule, it's their very own fault and they are "asid leitein din ve'Cheshbon" 

I'll give an example from the last elections. I was traveling with my wife in Yerushalyim, suddenly I was caught in a traffic jam that lasted for over an hour and so I parked my car and went to see what was going on. I saw an avreich running, hat askew, peyos flying, and so I stopped him asked what was going on, and he said out of breath and panting that R' Chaim Kanievsky just arrived and he was going to address the crowds in a couple of minutes to encourage them to vote for Degel HaTorah. Keep in mind that this avreich was a grown man and I'm sure has a sizable family yet was so excited to drop his gemarra in some shul to hear someone say what he knew in advance was going to be said! 

I slowly approached the huge crowds and I noticed a dais high above the crowds and R' Chaim z'l sitting looking into a sefer. Someone placed a mike in front of him and it seems that the guy forgot to check if the mike was live, .....it was! 

Suddenly I hear Rav Chaim asking his grandson "vus tu ich do?" "what am I doing here?" 

This was in front of thousands of people, the majority of whom do not understand Yiddish. His grandson, Yanky, quickly shut the mike off and I walked away having seen and understood everything. 

R' Chaim z"l was dragged from Bnei Brak to Yerushalayim to be a "useful stooge" in Degel politics. He didn't want to be there and he wasn't sure where he was. 

So who is mocking and ridiculing Zekeinim, Talmedei Chachamim? The bloggers who report this atrocity or the ass'kanim that drag them there? 

In Beit Shemesh we are facing an election of a Mayor and a City Council, they don't have R' Chaim z"l to kick around anymore and so they dragged out the old feeble Rabbi Landau and he endorsed this Greenberg character (whom he doesn't know from a hole in the wall) in a Sports Stadium in Beit Shemesh that for years the Rabbis of Beit Shemesh said wasn't a place for any Yeshivah Bochur to walk into. But what won't we do for "tayre?"

Bring out the popcorn, now!

This election not only brought out the worst of those learning "tayre." It seems that the "tayre" had absolutely no effect on them, as they beat the hell out of IDF soldiers trying to vote, as I reported yesterday! 

Moshe Rabbeinu when he noticed a Jew raise his hand on another, called him a "rasha" mind you, the guy didn't even hit him, he just raised his hand to strike. 

But by the Chassidim things turned really nasty as the Viznitzer Rebbe of Bnei-Brak teamed up with Shas to endorse the failed Mayor Moshe Abutbul for Mayor. Keep in mind that the Viznitzer Rebbe lives in the rat-infested Bnei-Brak and now wants this for a city he doesn't live in. 

His son-in law, the Viznitzer Rav of Beit Shemesh wants none of that Bnei-Brak filth in the city that he does live in and so he endorsed Greenberg! Keep in mind All of the above pulled the made-up axiom "Daas Torah!" as their motto! 

So now that you have a smidgen of what is going on , tell me again which "Daas Torah" should I follow?

*דרמה נוספת בבית שמש: למרות עמדת חמיו מויזניץ - חתנו האדמו״ר הבכיר בבית שמש מכריז על תמיכה בשמואל גרינברג* 📢

*חדשות העיר:* עיתון ׳המבשר׳ שפורסם בדקות האחרונות חושף את תמיכת האדמו״ר מויזניץ בית שמש במועמד לראשות העיר שמואל גרינברג, וזאת, בניגוד לעמדתו של חמיו האדמו״ר מהר״י מויזניץ, שכפי שדיווחנו בעבר בחר להפר סיכומים מול גרינברג.

מדובר בדרמה של ממש שכן חמיו האדמו״ר מויזניץ ביקש מכולם לפעול למען אבוטבול, ובכל זאת חתנו מכריז באופן חד משמעי כי יש לפעול למען ניצחונו של שמואל גרינברג. ההכרזה מגיעה אחרי הרבה שמועות ודיווחים על עמדת ויזניץ בית שמש, שמנהיגה הוא האדמו״ר הבכיר ביותר בעיר. התמיכה צפויה להעביר כ-1,000 קולות לגרינברג.

Rep. Andy Ogles Shuts Down Pro-Hamas Activists: “You Know What? I Think We Should Kill Them All”

 

Rep. Andy Ogles has sparked a firestorm of hate against him from pro-Hamas miscreants after he was recorded advocating for the killing of every member of Hamas.

The video shows a woman questioning Ogles about his awareness of the “genocide happening right now in Palestine” and inquired whether he had advocated for a ceasefire. The conversation soon delved into a debate over the perpetration of “war crimes” by both sides involved in the conflict.

In a that has since made national headlines, Ogles responded to the woman’s probing with a powerful statement: “You know what? I think we should kill them all, if that makes you feel better. Everybody in Hamas.”

As the discussion progressed, further questions were posed to Ogles, touching on his empathy and familial connections, to which he retorted by highlighting the long-standing hostilities initiated by Hamas and Palestinians against Israel, asserting that it was time to “Pay the Piper.”

The dialogue took a more contentious turn as Ogles’ interlocutors criticized Israel’s role, labeling it an “occupier” and disputing historical claims to the land. Before concluding the interaction, Ogles starkly declared, “Death to Hamas.”

The identity of the individuals involved in the exchange, including their potential affiliations with any specific organizations, isn’t clear.

R’ Eli Stefansky Illustrates ‘Shomer Chinam’ by Using Animated Member of ‘Shomrim’

  During a lighthearted moment delivering a Daf Yomi shiur on Bava Kamma, renowned Maggid Shiur R’ Eli Stefansky used Brooklyn’s ‘Shomrim’ group to illustrate the concept of ‘Shomer Chinam’

State Dept Spokesman Reaffirms Administration’s Obsession on Palestinian Statehood

 US State Department Spokesman Matthew Miller reiterated the Biden administration’s obsession of establishing a Palestinian state, during a press briefing Wednesday.

In response to a question about where they want the conflict in Gaza to be headed, he replied: “In the short term, we want to see, as I said in response to several other questions, a temporary ceasefire that allows us to get the hostages out, bring more – bring more humanitarian assistance in.”

Miller continued, ““But we have also been very clear, and if you’ve looked at the Secretary’s many public comments on this, he’s been not just clear but quite detailed in what we want to see in the long term. And what we want to see in the long term is a durable agreement that allows – that brings about peace and security for both Israel and Palestinians through the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, with real security guarantees for Israel, Israel further integrated into the region. That is our long-term vision…Now, the first step in that is getting an agreement to get the hostages out while we work on this longer-term plan for the region.”

Later Miller was asked: “Matthew, the majority of the Israeli Knesset has voted today against the unilateral recognition of Palestinian statehood. How do you feel this step?”

He replied: “So I again will only continue to speak for the United States and what we are trying to pursue, and we are trying to pursue the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. We are focusing our diplomatic efforts on that, not just because we think – and again, you’ve heard the Secretary speak to this a number of times – not just because we think it’s in the interests of the Palestinian people but because we think it is in Israel’s short, medium, and long-term security interest as well…”

Miller added, “…you have heard the Secretary speak to this, that what we will do is continue to lay out what we think the best choice for the Government of Israel to make and the best choice for the Israeli people to make. Ultimately, Israel will have to make its own decisions, as every sovereign country does. We will present to them the ideas and plans that we are developing with our partners in the region, the commitments that other countries are willing to make to Israel’s security. And every country will have to make its decisions about its – how it’s going to proceed.”

Rooted in Their ‘Deepest Jewish Values,’ Five Self-Hating Jewish NYC State Officials Accuse Israel of ‘Mass Destruction’

 

Ezra Friedlander Shmoozing With the Jew antisemite Lander

 Note that one of the five vicious hating Jews is Brad Lander who is an intermarried member of the Reform faith. He is close to Chasidic lobbyist Ezra Friedlander, who supported him for years. Lander later employed Friedlander’s wife on his city council staff before becoming comptroller.

Two New York state senators and three city officials—an assembly member, a comptroller and a council member—penned an open letter claiming that their “deep” Jewish faith compels them to denounce Israel for “indiscriminate” bombing, among other war crimes.

“As New Yorkers, many of us have deep connections to Israel and are committed to the existence of a democratic Jewish state,” the five wrote on Tuesday. “We make no excuses for terrorists or their defenders, but we cannot support the actions of the current Israeli government.”

The signatories are senators Liz Krueger and Brad Holyman-Sigal, assembly member Harvey Epstein, city comptroller Brad Lander and city councilmember Lincoln Restler.

The five referred in the letter to Hamas’s “horrific” and “monstrous and indefensible” attack on Oct. 7, and said their position “is rooted in our deepest Jewish values—honoring the life, dignity and safety of all people.”

“We feel deep anguish over the insurmountable loss of life in the region—notably the tens of thousands of civilians,” they wrote. “Judaism teaches that all people are created in the image of God and all people are infinitely valuable.”

The quintet said that Hamas must release all the hostages. “The reality is that this will only happen through the same active negotiations that brought home the first 112 hostages,” they wrote. “Those negotiations must be the critical highest priority.”

The 112 number includes two hostages, whom Israel freed from Rafah earlier this month despite the Biden administration repeatedly putting public limits on what it considered acceptable Israeli military action in Rafah.

The quintet who signed the letter and the Biden administration have presented no evidence that negotiations were responsible for the two hostages whom the Israel Defense Forces freed, apparently based on intelligence about their whereabouts in Rafah.

In their letter, the five New York city and state lawmakers accused Israel of “the mass destruction of Gaza and the killing of civilians who are trapped in a war zone with no possibility to flee to safety.”

“Palestinians in Gaza have been killed in shocking numbers by indiscriminate, large-scale bombing, and the rest live in a state of constant fear, hunger and vulnerability to disease,” they stated. “The war there has also led to increased persecution against Palestinians living in the West Bank and violence from some Israeli settlers who are using the Gaza war to hasten the evictions of Palestinians from their land to expand settlements that are illegal under international law.”

They also appeared to blame the Jewish state for at least some Jew-hatred worldwide.

“Others throughout the mid-east, looking for reasons to destroy Israel, are attacking from the north and fomenting antisemitism and anti-Zionism throughout the world,” the five wrote.

The five lawmakers also stated that they stand in “solidarity with Israelis who are organizing to replace this historically unpopular government with one that stands for universal human rights, for democracy in Israel and for peace with its neighbors.” And they claimed that there is a “rapidly increasing number of antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents occurring right here in our diverse city.”

Extensive recent data has shown that Jew-hatred, which was already disproportionately high before Oct. 7, has been surging since Hamas’s attack. Anti-Muslim hate incidents have also risen in many places, but at significantly lower levels than have antisemitic incidents.

The five also said that the “extreme right in this country” is endangering life for Jews in the United States. Per recent data, the number of far left and of far right anti-Jewish incidents was nearly identical in 2023.

“As Jewish elected officials in both the City and State of New York, we thank President Biden for all his efforts to date, and we call upon the federal government of the United States to push for an end to this war as soon as possible,” the quintet concluded.