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Sunday, September 1, 2024

Jewish Columbia students were chased out of dorms, spat on, and pinned against walls: damning report

 

Jewish students at Columbia University were chased out of their dorms, received death threats, spat upon, stalked and pinned against walls, as the Ivy League school devolved into a cesspool of antisemitic hate in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7 murderous raid on Israel.

The new and disturbing details emerged from the lengthy, 91-page document released Friday by the school’s faculty-led antisemitism task force, which revealed the extent to which the hate permeated the institution.

“Students described being shoved, pushed to the ground, berated for showing support for Zionist causes, and watching Israeli flags burned,” the task force’s authors wrote.

“They recounted seeing drawings of swastikas in their dorms, students yelling pro-Hamas chants, and being denied access to public spaces and opportunities simply because they were Jewish or Israeli.”

Testimony from nearly five hundred Columbia students informed the report, which found visibly observant Jews had been pinned to the wall and had their jewelry ripped off while coming and going from synagogue. Others recounted being spat on and having been called ethnic slurs on campus.

One student, who had installed a mezuzah on her dorm’s doorway prior to the Israel-Hamas war, was forced to move out after people were pounding her door throughout the night beginning in October, demanding she explain the Jewish state’s war in Gaza. 

“If I walk on campus right now with my star out or kippah or say ‘am Yisrael chai,’ I could start World War III,” one anonymous student’s testimony read.

Instructors tasked with guiding and mentoring students instead contributed to the sense of isolation and unease among Jews and Israelis on campus, according to the report. 

One faculty member leading a class that delved into the Israel-Hamas conflict called a student who previously served in the IDF a murderer. Another professor extensively said a pair of Jewish donors to the university had “laundered” “dirty money” and “blood money.” 

During the spring, as protests and encampments roiled the school’s Morningside Heights campus, protesters, including outsiders and members of the university community, bellowed death threats at Jewish students. Demonstrators who held Israeli flags, meanwhile, recalled being assaulted. 

“There is a sense of personal threat, and we keep looking over our shoulders,” master’s student Omer Lubaton Granot, an Israeli veteran and father of a toddler, told an Israeli radio station in the wake of protesters seizing the academic building Hamilton Hall in April.

Councilman Eric Dinowitz (D-Bronx) described the students’ testimonies as “horrifying — and not surprising.” 

“These are stories we’ve been hearing about, as the report says, even before the encampments,” he told The Post, adding that antisemitism had been on the rise at college campuses even before Oct. 7

“Without any sort of consequence [for students and faculty] this sort of behavior will continue.” 

The task force offered several recommendations to address the issues detailed in the voluminous report, including improved anti-bias training for students and staff along with a new system for reporting complaints about antisemitism. 

The report was issued just days before Columbia’s fall semester begins and less then three weeks after embattled university president Minouhce Shafik suddenly resigned, citing the “period of turmoil” that marred her brief tenure at the school. 

Interim President Katrina Armstrong called the disturbing incidents “completely unacceptable” before rattling off new initiatives at the university aligning with the panel’s recommendations.  

“This is an opportunity to acknowledge the harm that has been done and to pledge to make the changes necessary to do better and to rededicate ourselves, as university leaders, as individuals, and as a community, to our core mission of teaching and research,” she said. 

Hysterical! Ex-Con Olmert signs with Arafat's nephew on the 'division of Jerusalem'

 

Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert an ex-con, signed with Nasser al-Qidwa, nephew of arch terrorist Yasser Arafat and a former Palestinian Authority official charged with foreign affairs management, on a proposal for 'an agreement between Israel and the Palestinians," according to Palestinian affairs commentator Ehud Yaari.

This agreement would lead to the establishment of a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders with the annexation of 4.4% of Judea and Samaria in exchange for transferring a similar area to the Palestinian state, including a corridor connecting Gaza to Judea and Samaria.

According to the proposal, a Palestinian administration would be established in the Gaza Strip after the IDF withdrawal, composed of technocrats rather than political figures.

The Palestinians would recognize the new Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem as part of the State of Israel, while the Arabic neighborhoods not included in Jerusalem's municipal boundaries before 1967 would be part of the Palestinian capital in Jerusalem.

The Old City would be managed by a trustee board in which representatives from 5 countries, including Israel and Palestine, would sit. The authority of the board would be determined by the UN Security Council. The parties would negotiate regarding the fate of Israeli towns and their residents as well as the issue of refugees. The possibility of positioning an international force along the Jordan River would also be examined.

Hamas Murders 6 Hostages, including Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Just Before IDF Forces Reach Them


 The family of hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin announced on Sunday morning that he was dead.

"With broken hearts, the Goldberg-Polin family is devastated to announce the death of their beloved son and brother, Hersh. The family thanks you all for your love and support and asks for privacy at this time," they said.

The family of hostage Eden Yerushalmi also announced that she was murdered in the captivity of Hamas. "With great sorrow we announce the murder of our Eden in the captivity of Hamas.”

The family of hostage Ori Danino also announced his murder.

Yitzhak Danino, Ori's brother, wrote in a post on Instagram, "I'm sorry my brother that I wasn't able to do everything and on time, I'll live with it forever. I know you'll watch over me from above and I can't believe I'm even able to talk about you like that."

The family of Carmel Gat also announced that she had been murdered while in captivity. Her cousin, Gil Dickmann, wrote on X, "The nightmare has come true. It was in our hands. Get out of your homes in order to stop the next murder."

On Saturday night, the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit confirmed that a number of bodies were located during combat in the Gaza Strip.

"At this time, the troops are still operating in the area and are carrying out a process to extract and identify the bodies that will last several hours. We ask to refrain from spreading rumors," the statement said.

Hersh Goldberg-Polin was kidnapped at the Nova Music Festival on October 7. He was wounded in the arm by a grenade that was thrown into a shelter in which he was hiding after fleeing the party.

In April, the terrorist organization Hamas published a sign of life from Hersh. In the footage published by Hamas, he is seen with his left arm amputated and reading messages against the Israeli leadership that Hamas dictated to him.

Hersh’s parents, Jon and Rachel. spoke during the recent Democratic National Convention which was held in Chicago.

Jon Polin said during the remarks, “This is a political convention, but needing our only son and all of the cherished hostages home is not a political issue. It is a humanitarian issue.”

He added that the families of the eight American hostages “are heartened that both Democratic and Republican leaders demonstrate their bipartisan support for our hostages being released” and said that both President Biden and Vice President Harris are “working tirelessly for a hostage and ceasefire deal that will bring our precious children, mothers, fathers, spouses, grandparents and grandchildren home and will stop the despair in Gaza.”

Rachel concluded the remarks by turning to her son and saying, “Hersh, if you can hear us, we love you. Stay strong. Survive.”

Two more hostages, Alexander Lobanov and Almog Sarusi, also died in captivity.

On Sunday morning, the IDF confirmed that the hostages had been murdered by their Hamas captors.

"Yesterday (Saturday), the IDF and ISA located and recovered the bodies of the hostages Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi, and Master Sergeant Ori Danino, from an underground tunnel in the Rafah area in the Gaza Strip and returned them to Israeli territory," the IDF stated.

"They were all taken hostage on October 7th and were murdered by the Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip.

"Following an identification procedure carried out by the National Institute of Forensic Medicine, the Israel Police, and the IDF Military Rabbinate, the IDF Manpower Directorate's Hostage team, which is responsible for accompanying the families of the hostages, notified their families. The IDF and ISA send their heartfelt condolences to the families.

"The IDF and Israeli security forces are operating with all means to bring home all the hostages as fast as possible," the IDF statement concluded.

The Hostages Families Forum said in a statement, "With deep sorrow, we once again announce the murder of 6 hostages. These 6 individuals were taken alive, endured the horrors of captivity, and were then coldly murdered."

Saturday, August 31, 2024

'Chaim Weizmann: A Biography': A revealing look at the life of Israel's first president


Born in 1874 in what he himself described as “one of the darkest and most forlorn corners of the Pale of Settlement,” Chaim Weizmann rose to become the confidant of world leaders and undisputed key figure in the long, complex, diplomatic struggle that led to the founding of the State of Israel. Indeed, on the day after the nation’s birth in May 1948, Weizmann, sick in bed in New York’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel, received a telegram signed by some of the new leaders of Israel headed by David Ben-Gurion. 

“We congratulate you on the founding of the Hebrew state,” it read. “There is no one who contributed as you did to its creation.” It concluded: “We look forward to the day on which we will have the privilege of seeing you as head of state.”

That day did, indeed, arrive. Weizmann, chosen to occupy the position by the Provisional State Council two days after independence, was formally elected president by the Knesset after Israel’s first parliamentary elections in February 1949. He held the office until his death on November 9, 1952. 

Eliyahu Rips, mathematician who claimed to find hidden code in Bible, dies at 75





liyahu Rips, one of the scientists who claimed to find a secret code in the Bible, died July 19 at the age of 75, The New York Times reported on Friday.

Born on December 12, 1948, in Latvia to Holocaust survivors, Rips was a math prodigy who began studying mathematics at the University of Latvia at the age of 16.

Five years later, he was committed to a mental health institution after trying to self-immolate near the university in protest against the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia. He was saved by some passersby, but was badly burnt.

He was at the institution for two years, during which he debunked the significant dimension subgroup conjecture mathematical proof. He was released in 1971 following a petition from the mathematics community and moved to Israel a year later where he received his doctorate from Hebrew University in 1975.

In 1994, Rips published a paper in the journal Statistical Science along with Yoav Rosenberg and Doron Witztum in which they claimed to have found a secret code in the Biblical book of Genesis.

Using a method they dubbed equidistant letter sequences, the paper’s writers said they had found the names and birthdates of several Jewish scholars who had lived thousands of years after the Bible was written.

The method involved taking all the words from the Torah and compressing them into a single strand of 304,805 letters.

A computerized search program then hunted for letters set a predetermined distance apart, and used them to form names and phrases with significance.

The paper inspired a book by Michael Drosnin who claimed he had found predictions of significant events in Genesis and the other four books of the Torah using the method.

In the book, Drosnin wrote that he had predicted the assassination of late prime minister Yitzhak Rabin a year before it happened, and had flown to Israel to warn him.

He also said he found predictions for the assassination of US President John F. Kennedy in 1963 and the death of Princess Diana in 1997.

In 1997, Rips, Witztum, Rosenberg, and Drosnin won the Ig Nobel Prize which is awarded for unusual contributions that “make people laugh and then make them think.” The four were awarded the prize for the literature category.

When it was first published, Rips et al’s paper was met with both support and skepticism, but in 1999, a team of researchers led by Dr. Brendan McKay published a 45-page paper in Statistical Science debunking the method.

McKay also answered a challenge by Drosnin who said that when “my critics find a message about the assassination of a prime minister encrypted in Moby Dick, I’ll believe them.”

McKay subsequently published proof that he had used the same method to find references to the assassinations of Martin Luther King, JFK, Rabin, Abraham Lincoln, and the death of Princess Diana among others.

Over the years, Rips distanced himself from Drosnin’s book and subsequent works of Bible code-breakers who used the method, but continued to believe in his original work.

Rips was also known for his contribution to the geometric group theory and discovered the Rips Machine method that is used in the field.

Rips was survived by his wife, Dvorah, five children, and more than 30 grandchildren, according to The New York Times.

Tim Walz's brother Jeff Says that Walz "Not the type of character you want making decisions about your future"


 Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz is not the “type of character” who should make decisions about America’s future, his older brother warned in a series of damning Facebook comments this week.

“I’m 100% opposed to all his ideology,”  Jeff Walz declared Friday evening about the far-left Minnesota governor and running mate of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.

And he has so little faith in his kid brother, Jeff Walz is now considering publicly endorsing former President Trump’s White House run, he told a Facebook poster who urged him to “Get on stage with President Trump and endorse him.”

“I’ve thought long and hard about doing something like that! I’m torn between that and just keeping my family out of it,” the 67-year-old Floridian wrote in a response which notched 449 likes.

“The stories I could tell. Not the type of character you want making decisions about your future,” he added.

Soros Sent His Son Alex to DemonRat Convention to let them know that He Owns Them!

Soros With Walz 
Alex Soros and his fiancee Huma Abedin 

 

Soros With Schumer


Soros with Clinton


A bevy of leading Democrats lined up party’s national convention to kiss the ring of left-wing megadonor Alex Soros, who showed his dominion over the pols by adding the photographs to his growing gallery on social media.

The snaps are a veritable who’s who of the party’s establishment powerbrokers — and those anointed as “rising stars.”

Many of the photos appear to have been taken from an airy skybox at the United Center in Chicago — where the party’s most elite donors paid up to $5 million to watch the action.  

“Who can blame a young upstart billionaire for showing off the collection of politicians he has in his pocket? He owns them and wants the world to know how well his pets treat him,” mocked Matt Wolking, a Republican strategist.

Also in tow with Soros was his new fiancee, former Rep. Anthony Weiner’s ex-wife Huma Abedin, who was Hillary Clinton’s longtime former aide.

Soros and Huma took a meeting — with iPhones are the ready — with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz — the party’s vice presidential nominee.

“Walzified! Walzpilled! Great to meet with our future VP, coach Walz here in Chicago,” Soros enthused.

On the night President Biden spoke, Soros enjoyed the remarks with former President Clinton and former Secretary of State HIllary Clinton. Also on hand were Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) and Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.).

On night two, Soros caught up with former President Obama and the Democrats’ Eminence Gris, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Soros has donated more than $600,000 to Pelosi and her Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee since 2010, Federal Election Commission records show.

He also gave his stamp of approval to Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett, who he blessed as a “rising star” of the party.

Other guest pols pictured alongside Soros during the convention included Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.

Soros also hobnobbed with New York’s top leaders, including Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer — a longtime friend. Soros has given Schumer’s Senate Majority PAC more than $5.5 million since 2016, FEC records show.

Soros and his father — hedge fund billionaire George Soros — are among the most prolific fundraisers in the Democratic Party. The 94-year-old patriarch gave more than $175 million to Democrats during the 2022 midterms, according to Federal Election Commission records. A nonprofit founded and funded by Papa Soros ponied up at least another $60 million for Democrats in 2024, records show.

Alex — his father’s successor — currently chairs the family’s Open Society Foundations, a $25 billion philanthropy that supports radical left-wing causes around the world.

More locally, Soros and his allies have invested heavily in races to install far-left district attorneys in major American cities who pursue priorities like “criminal justice reform” — instead of prosecuting. In the Big Apple, Alvin Bragg, a Soros acolyte, became Manhattan district attorney in 2022 and has allowed large swaths of criminal behavior to go unpunished.

Alex Soros contributed over $720,000 to the Biden Victory Fund in 2020 — making him one of the fund’s top donors. No similarly-sized check from the Soros scion has been written for the 2024 campaign, but his presence at the convention suggests the wallets may be out, critics said.

“The new Democratic Party is the party for out-of-touch rich elites from all over the world, so it is no surprise the drooling that went on over Alex Soros last week,” Sen Roger Marshall, (R-Kansas) told The Post.

NY imam Wants Columbia students to ‘take out’ pro-Israel professor

Imam Tom Facchine (left) Shai DavidaI (right)

 An upstate imam urged student activists to “take out” an outspoken, pro-Israel Columbia University professor who’s returning to the embattled Ivy this fall after a year of antisemitic hate.

Vassar-educated, Utica-based imam Tom Facchine made the plea about business school professor Shai Davidai during an Aug. 20 webinar called “Islamic Political Activism” with various Columbia student groups that promoted and broadcast it.

“That Shai Davidai guy: How do we get him in trouble? How do we create a situation in which he’s in jeopardy?” Facchine, 35, asked. “If you’re able to take out somebody like that and make an example, that might shut up a hundred more.”

The Jersey-born Facchine left Christianity to become atheist, found Marx in college and converted to Islam in 2010.

Davidai alerted Columbia honchos about the imam’s screed and the university launched a probe using outside security experts who concluded that the rhetoric “did not create conditions that require enhanced security measures,” according to an email from VP of public safety Gerald Lewis to Davidai and shared with The Post.

Undaunted by the imam’s “direct threat,” the professor told The Post: “I will not be silenced – I know I’m speaking the truth.

“It feels like they put a target on my back – with the explicit goal to take me down, to get me fired, to make up complaints about me.”

Davidai gained notoriety last October for his viral video blasting the school for failing to protect its Jewish students against terror-supporting mobs and vowing that he would never send his daughter to Columbia.

The nontenured Israeli native and married father of two was barred from campus at the end of last semester and has been under investigation by Columbia’s Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Office. He’ll be back this fall.

The machinations of “Imam Tom,” who enjoys espresso, hiking, and bird watching, according to his bio at the Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research, are indeed dangerous, the professor said.

“This is not some run-of-the-mill, uninformed individual [whipping] up students,” he added of the popular Muslim YouTube figure who serves as the resident scholar of the Utica Masjid mosque. “This is a radical extremist who knows exactly what he’s saying.”

Three days after the Hamas massacre on Oct. 7 that left more than 1,200 dead and 250 kidnapped, Facchine gushed that he supports the Palestinian “resistance” “100 percent – no ifs, ands or buts,” adding there are “no equivocations, no apologies, no condemnations.”

Any rebuke of the murder, rapes, dismemberment and decapitations are akin to “criticiz[ing] the table manners of a starving person,” he said.

He’s been shown filming outside of Columbia at the height of the tensions, encouraging the encampments that have engulfed the beleaguered school.

A Columbia spokesperson said, “Discrimination and harassment including hate language, calls for violence, and the targeting of any individuals or groups based on their beliefs, ancestry, religion, gender identity, or any other identity or affiliation have no place at Columbia.” Facchine did not return calls for comment.

Friday, August 30, 2024

'Train wreck for Harris': Kamala is ripped to shreds for 'word salad' CNN softball interview as ex-Obama strategist gives brutal verdict ahead of Trump debate showdown

 

Kamala Harris was last night ripped to shreds for her 'word salad' answers in a softball liberal media interview - her first since Joe Biden dropped out 40 days ago.

The Democratic nominee appeared beside her running mate Tim Walz for an hour-long broadcast - which in reality amounted to less than half an hour of actual questioning by Dana Bash.

The liberal commentariat claimed that she had succeeded by following the tenet of 'do no harm' during the pre-recorded broadcast from Savannah, Georgia.

But Harris' critics said she failed to address three issues that plague her campaign: the border crisis, red-hot inflation and the Biden health cover-up. 

David Axelrod, a former Obama strategist, gave a brutal verdict in CNN's post-game analysis, stating that Harris hadn't 'moved the ball forward that much.'

Scott Jennings, an ex-Bush advisor, issued the ominous warning that Donald Trump will be 'salivating' ahead of the presidential debate on September 10 - their first ever face-to-face meeting.

That sentiment was echoed by GOP polling guru Frank Luntz who tweeted: 'A lot of people think Kamala Harris has done well so far in this interview. I disagree – a good debater will find it easy to challenge her.'

He added: 'If tonight's interview is judged not on policy but on performance, Kamala Harris will be found lacking.' 

Bash, a CNN loyalist who has worked at the liberal network since graduating from college, was accused of failing to land any major blows. Harris HQ spun the interview as a great triumph. Donald Trump told his Truth Social followers it was 'BORING!!!'

Daily Mail columnist Andrew Neil said Harris was 'let off the hook on her part in the cover up of Biden's cognitive decline' and added that CNN gave a 'master class on how not to hold politicians to account'. 

Former Trump aide Steve Cortes called it a 'train wreck.'

Newsweek: Kamala Harris' Election Odds Deteriorated Noticeably With Bookmakers After CNN Interview

 

Kamala Harris's odds of winning the 2024 presidential election deteriorated noticeably after her CNN interview, which took place along with running mate Tim Walz, on Thursday evening, according to two leading bookmakers.

The vice president went from being the favorite to win with odds of 10/11 (52.4 percent) on Thursday to tied with Donald Trump on 19/20 (51.3 percent) each on Friday morning, according to the Star Sports betting company. Over the same period, Trump's odds of victory in November improved from 21/20 (48.8 percent) before the interview to 20/21 (51.2 percent), according to U.K. based bookmaker Betfair.

Thursday's interview with CNN's Dana Bash was the first time Harris faced unscripted questions in several weeks, a fact that had sparked intense criticism from Republican opponents. During the interview, Harris said she plans to "strengthen and support the middle class" if elected to the White House in November, adding the Biden administration had been required to "rescue the economy" after what she termed the "mismanagement" of the COVID-19 pandemic by Trump.

Speaking to Newsweek, Star Sports betting analyst William Kedjanyi said: "Vice President Harris is now tied at 19/20 with Republican candidate Donald Trump, drifting slightly from 10/11 yesterday. The Californian had been 5/6 in recent weeks but she has failed to surge ahead of Trump in the market.

"GOP supporters will hope Trump can now go on to tip the balance in his favor, before November's presidential election."

Betfair spokesperson Sam Rosbottom commented: "Before Kamala Harris' sit-down interview with CNN overnight, the Betfair Exchange market had more or less been neck and neck.

"While the lead in the betting has flip flopped throughout August, momentum is now with Trump and he has become the odds-on favorite again after being backed into 21/20."

Newsweek contacted the Kamala Harris and Donald Trump presidential election campaigns for comment on Friday by email outside of regular business hours.

During the CNN interview, Harris focused more on policy, vowing to "bring down the cost of everyday goods" by combating "price gouging" and to offer $25,000 tax credit for first time buyers. She also pledged to extend the child tax credit to $6,000 for families for the first year of their child's life.

Referring to the economy, Harris added: "We had to recover. I'm very proud of the work that we have done that has brought inflation down to less than 3 percent, the work that we have done to cap the cost of insulin at $35 a month for seniors.

"Donald Trump said that he was going to do a number of things, including allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices. Never happened. We did it."

Harris also paid an emotional tribute to President Joe Biden who she said "cares so deeply about the American people."

She added: "He is so smart and loyal to the American people... He has the intelligence, the commitment, and the judgment and disposition that I think the American people deserve in their president. By contrast, the former president has none of that."

When Harris, who is of Indian and Jamaican heritage, was asked to respond to Trump claim that she "happened to turn Black" for political gain she claimed the comment came from the "same old, tired playbook," adding: "Next question, please."

Zera Shimshon Parshas Re'eh

 

Media especially Chareidie Media Lying About Ben-Gvir's Ascension to Har Habyis!

 

Plot to attack Taylor Swift shows was intended to kill thousands ... CIA

 

The suspects in the foiled plot to attack Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna earlier this month sought to kill “tens of thousands” of fans before the CIA discovered intelligence that disrupted the planning, the agency’s deputy director said, according to The Associated Press.

The CIA alerted Austrian authorities about the plot, which was reportedly connected to the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist organization. This intelligence and the subsequent arrests led to the cancellation of three sold-out shows.

CIA Deputy Director David Cohen discussed the thwarted plot during the annual Intelligence and National Security Summit in Maryland this week.

“They were plotting to kill a huge number — tens of thousands of people at this concert, including I am sure many Americans — and were quite advanced in this,” Cohen said, according to AP. “The Austrians were able to make those arrests because the agency and our partners in the intelligence community provided them information about what this ISIS-connected group was planning to do.”

Austrian officials have identified the main suspect as a 19-year-old Austrian man, who was reportedly inspired by ISIS. He allegedly planned to target fans outside the stadium, where approximately 30,000 were expected to gather, using knives or homemade explosives. Inside the venue, an additional 65,000 fans were anticipated.

Three teenagers have been detained in connection with the investigation and are suspected of plotting a suicide attack.

Investigators found a stockpile of chemicals, explosive devices, detonators and €21,000 in counterfeit cash at the home of the main suspect, a 19-year-old ISIS sympathizer who had been radicalized online, authorities said.

Austria’s interior minister, Gerhard Karner, noted that assistance from other intelligence agencies was essential because Austrian investigators, unlike some foreign services, lack the legal authority to monitor text messages.

Swift addressed the cancellations last week after her London shows concluded.

“The reason for the cancellations filled me with a new sense of fear, and a tremendous amount of guilt because so many people had planned on coming to those shows. But I was also so grateful to the authorities because thanks to them, we were grieving concerts and not lives,” Swift wrote.

“I was heartened by the love and unity I saw in the fans who banded together. I decided that all of my energy had to go toward helping to protect the nearly half a million people I had coming to see the shows in London,” she continued. “My team and I worked hand in hand with stadium staff and British authorities every day in pursuit of that goal, and I want to thank them for everything they did for us.”

Rare Stone Seal Unearthed in Jerusalem From the First Bais Hamikdash Times!


  A rare and unique First Temple-era stone seal inscribed with a name in paleo-Hebrew script has been uncovered near Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced on Thursday.


The ancient black stone seal, which was unearthed in an excavation by the Temple Mount’s southern wall, is believed to date back 2,700 years, and was used by a senior official in the Kingdom of Judah’s administration, the state-run archaeological body said.

“The seal, made of black stone, is one of the most beautiful ever discovered in excavations in ancient Jerusalem, and is executed at the highest artistic level,” said Yuval Baruch and Navot Rom, who directed the excavations with funding by the City of David Foundation.

The object—which is engraved with reverse script, served its owner both as an amulet and as a signature for legal documents and certificates, according to the IAA.

It has a hole drilled through its length so that it could be strung onto a chain and be worn around the neck.

The artifact is engraved with the words “LeYehoʼezer ben Hoshʼayahu”—“For Yeho’ezer son of Hosh’ayahu”—in paleo-Hebrew script.

Experts said that the seal is an extremely rare and unusual discovery.

“This is the first time that a winged ‘genie’—a protective magical figure—has been found in Israeli and regional archaeology,” said Filip Vukosavović, IAA archaeologist and assyriologist. “Figures of winged demons are known in the Neo-Assyrian art of the 9th-7th centuries BCE, and they were considered a kind of protective demon.”

The seal was apparently made by a local craftsman, “a Judahite, who produced the amulet at the owner’s request. It was prepared at a very high artistic level,” Vukosavović said.

The name Yehoʼezer appears in the Bible (Chron. I 12:7) in its abbreviated form, Yoʼezer, one of King David’s fighters. In the Book of Jeremiah (43:2), which depicts events thought to have occurred during the same period the seal was in use, the name “Azariah ben Hosh’aya” appears. “Hosh’aya” is the abbreviated form of Hoshʼayahu.

“This is further evidence of the reading and writing abilities that existed in this period,” said Baruch. “Contrary to what may be commonly thought, it seems that literacy in this period was not the realm only of society’s elite. People knew how to read and write—at least at the basic level, for the needs of commerce.”

When Hosh’ayahu died, his son Yeho’ezer inherited the seal, and he “added his name and his father’s name on either side of the demon,” in an effort to “directly appropriate to himself the beneficial qualities he believed the talisman embodied as a magical item,” the archaeologists believe.

The paleo-Hebrew inscription “was done in a sloppy manner,” unlike the “careful engraving of the demon,” indicating that it could have been “Yehoʼezer himself who engraved the names on the object,” said professor Ronny Reich of the University of Haifa, who took part in the research.

“The spectacular and unique find opens another window for us into the days of the Kingdom of Judah during the First Temple period, and attests to that administration’s international connections,” said Israeli Heritage Minister Rabbi Amichai Eliyahu. “In doing so, it demonstrates the importance and centrality of Jerusalem already 2,700 years ago. It is impossible not to be moved by such an unmediated and direct encounter with a chapter of our past, a time in which the First Temple stood in all its glory.”

Additional information about the seal is to be presented to the public next week at the annual “City of David Research Conference,” which takes place on Wednesday, Sept. 4 in Jerusalem.