Top Polish Leaders Celebrate Hanukkah in Parliament After Antisemitic Incident
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Top Polish leaders joined members of the Jewish community for a Hanukkah celebration in parliament Thursday after a far-right lawmaker used a fire extinguisher to put out burning candles on a menorah earlier this week.
The attendance of the president, speaker of parliament and other top legislative officials sent the message that there is no tolerance in Poland for the kind of antisemitic behavior that erupted in parliament halls Tuesday, shocking the country and drawing widespread condemnation across the political spectrum. A woman was injured in the incident and was still in a hospital two days later.
Rabbi Shalom Ber Stambler of the Chabad community, who has organized the Hanukkah event in parliament for the 17th straight year, said: “We will dispel darkness through light, and we are lucky that a little light can dispel a lot of darkness.”
President Andrzej Duda stood by a large menorah as the parliament speaker, Szymon Holownia, lit a candle, with Jewish community members lighting the others on the eighth and last night of the Jewish festival of lights.
Duda and Holownia are among the highest leaders in Poland. The other top leader, Prime Minister Donald Tusk, was in Brussels for a European Union summit. He also strongly denounced the earlier antisemitic incident.
“This is the true face of Poland,” the country’s U.S.-born chief rabbi, Michael Schudrich, said. “We are all together.”
Grzegorz Braun is a lawmaker on the extreme right fringe who is considered one of the most controversial officials in Poland. On Tuesday he grabbed a red fire extinguisher and extinguished candles on a menorah that were lit for Hanukkah, creating disruption and scandal as a new pro-EU government was beginning its work. A Jewish community member tried to stop him, and he reacted by spraying her with the extinguisher chemical.
Braun, a member of the Confederation party, has in the past falsely claimed there is a plot to turn Poland into a “Jewish state.” In May, he violently disrupted a lecture by a Holocaust scholar, Jan Grabowski, at the German Historical Institute in Warsaw. He grabbed the historian’s microphone and banged it on the lectern before going to a loudspeaker, hitting it and knocking it over.
He was banned from the parliament building on Thursday.
Poland was once home to a large Jewish community that numbered nearly 3.5 million on the eve of the Holocaust. Almost all of Poland’s Jews were murdered by the Nazi German forces that occupied Poland in World War II.
Source: VosIzNeias
Republicans Pick IDF Veteran As Their Candidate To Replace George Santos
Republicans have picked a little-known county lawmaker who once served in the Israeli military as their candidate in a special election to replace ousted congressman George Santos, party officials said Thursday.
Nassau County legislator and former Israeli paratrooper Mazi Pilip will face off against Democratic former congressman Tom Suozzi in a Feb. 13 special election for the seat, which includes northern parts of Queens and Long Island.
The selection pits Pilip, a relatively unknown local lawmaker from Ethiopia, against a political veteran in Suozzi, who previously represented the district for six years during a lengthy career in Long Island politics.
In a statement, Republicans in Queens and Nassau County loosely outlined some of her potential policy positions and said she would bring a new perspective to the House.
“Pilip is an effective tax fighter who will prioritize public safety, economic recovery, border security and tax relief in Congress,” the statement read. “She will bring a fresh new perspective to Washington, starkly contrasting her from the candidate for the other major political party.”
The party will hold a formal announcement ceremony for Pilip on Friday. She did not immediately return a message left at her office.
The election is expected to draw significant attention as both parties zero in on New York as a potential battleground for control of the House.
Republicans picked Pilip after vetting a number of potential candidates following the expulsion of Santos from Congress earlier this month.
(AP)
Source: The Yeshiva World
Dolls and recorded crying: IDF soldiers discover advanced IED trap
As part of the searches conducted by reservists in the Gaza Strip, soldiers found a widespread decoy attempt intended to draw them into a Hamas tunnel network.
The attempt included loudspeakers attached to dolls and children’s backpacks found near the tunnel entrance.
Source: Arutz 7
Hamas attacks on Jews in Europe foiled
Mossad, Shin Bet reveal that Hamas terror cell was caught operating in Europe, plotting attack on Jewish, Israeli targets.
By World Israel News Staff
Hamas terrorists operating in multiple European countries plotted to murder Israelis and other Jews in a terrorist attack, Israeli security agencies revealed Thursday afternoon.
In a joint statement released by the Mossad intelligence agency and the Shin Bet internal security agency, it was disclosed that an attack by a Hamas terror cell in Denmark was thwarted recently, with local law enforcement officials arresting three terrorists.
Four other Hamas terrorists linked to the cell were arrested outside of Denmark, including three nabbed in Germany and one in the Netherlands.
German, Dutch, and Danish authorities confirmed the terrorists were planning attacks on Jewish targets.
The plots were “as serious as it gets,” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said.
The Mossad and Shin Bet lauded Danish security forces who coordinated the arrests across three countries.
“We commend our partners in the security and law enforcement agencies in Denmark for their successful counter-terrorist operation which culminated today in the arrests and in exposing the expansion of Hamas infrastructure to Europe, and we view with utmost importance the advancing of judicial proceedings against those involved.”
“The Hamas terrorist organization has been working relentlessly and exhaustively to expand its lethal operations to Europe, and thereby constitute a threat to the domestic security of these countries. The Mossad and the ISA will continue to combine forces and capabilities with their partners in the country and around the world in order to thwart Hamas’s intentions and eliminate its capabilities.”
Denmark recently announced that in light of the heightened security threats facing local Jews, military forces will be deployed to secure synagogues and other Jewish institutions.
Source: World Israel News
Hamas Use of UNRWA and USAID Sacks to Build Tunnels Raises Questions
By Sveta Listratov • 14 December, 2023
Jerusalem, 14 December, 2023 (TPS) — The discovery of UN and USAID sacks being used by Hamas to construct terror tunnels in Gaza raises new questions about the security of humanitarian aid falling into the hands of the terror group.
The Tazpit Press Service has learned that Israeli soldiers recently made an unusual discovery in a tunnel underneath Al Azhar University in central Gaza. Behind the tunnel’s concrete walls were large sacks belonging to the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The sacks were filled with sand, possibly intended to stabilize the tunnel before the concrete layer was added.
The Israel Defense Forces commander whose unit made the discovery told the Tazpit Press Service, “When the excavator dug it, we could clearly see that there were sacks and then the tunnel. We went down to look at the tunnel closely and saw the sacks there with captions of UNRWA and another American aid organization written on them.”
He added that “There was no aid in these sacks, no flour or anything else.”
It is not known how many such sacks were used as soldiers did not enter the tunnel, which was subsequently destroyed. But the commander confirmed to TPS that dozens of sacks were exposed.
The sacks “came up in several places where the tunnels were found, at least two places that I witnessed myself,” the commander told TPS.
“I was not shocked to discover these things, after all we have known for years that part of Hamas’s method is to use aid funds for terror purposes.”
UNRWA is a UN agency that supports Palestinian refugees. USAID is an independent agency of the United States government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance.
Questions Raised
In early December, Israeli soldiers discovered inside a home in northern Gaza more than 100 rockets hidden among UNRWA boxes.
In October, the UNRWA reported that fuel and humanitarian aid was stolen from one its compounds by trucks purporting to be from the Hamas-run Ministry of Health.
Raising further questions about the UN agency, one released hostages told Israeli reporter Almog Boker that he was held captive by a UNRWA teacher. The hostage said the teacher locked him away and barely fed or cared for his medical treatment.
In November, the U.K.-based Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education (IMPACT-se) issued a report detailing how at least 14 UNRWA teachers celebrated Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacres of Israelis on social media. The report included links and screenshots.
The report also noted that UNRWA curriculum helped fuel the massacre by noting that IMPACT-se was able to identify at least 118 participants in the Oct. 7 attack as former students of UNRWA schools.
Asked about the discovery of the UNRWA sacks, IMPACT-se COO Arik Agassi told TPS, “It is not surprising to find weapons hidden in UNRWA bags and it isn’t the first time that Hamas tunnels were discovered under UNRWA schools.”
The discovery casts significant doubts about UNRWA’s capacity to operate independently within the conflict, Agassi added.
USAID ceased all aid to Palestinians Judea, Samaria and Gaza at the Palestinian Authority’s request in 2019. The move was in response to legislation that would have allowed victims of Palestinian terror to sue the PA in US courts.
However, the US has provided 500,000 pounds of food assistance and plans for $100 million in aid to Gaza since the current ground war began.
At least 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on Oct. 7. Hamas currently holds 137 men, women, children, soldiers and foreigners captive in Gaza. Some people remain unaccounted for as Israeli authorities continue to identify bodies and search for human remains.
IDF Investigation Reveals Hamas Used Poisonous Gas To Kill Nahal Oz Soldiers
JERUSALEM (VINnews) — An investigation into the nature of the deaths of IDF observer corps soldiers serving on the Nahal Oz base on October 7 has revealed that they were killed by a toxic gas that caused suffocation and loss of consciousness within a few minutes of exposure.
According to a report published by Channel 12, the main findings of the investigation indicated that an unspecified but toxic flammable substance was apparently thrown through the entrance of the building which housed the soldiers’ command center. One of the soldiers at the entrance to the building attempted to extinguish the flames but was unsuccessful and the fire continued to spread.
“They set fire to materials that ignited and spread, which contained toxic gases that could cause suffocation in a few minutes or even less than that,” Channel 12 quoted the officer delivering the report as saying. The reporter added that the estimated time of a few minutes was an optimistic one.
As the fire continued to spread, the smoke began to enter the command center, where 22 people, including many of the observer corps soldiers, were hiding. In an attempt to ward off the smoke, the soldiers soaked some paper towels with water to fill the gap under the door but it didn’t work and the effects of the gas began to take hold.
“The soldiers began to leave the room and search for an exit. They were coughing and some couldn’t breathe,” the IDF officer told Channel 12. “Some told us that they felt they were stepping on some people, they tried to pick them up, and with the rest of their strength tried to call to them. They were simply surviving and trying to figure out how to get themselves out of there.”
When they reached the emergency exit, however, the soldiers realized that the door was on fire, and there was no way of opening it or even getting close to it. Those who were still able continued to search for an exit and eventually reached the bathrooms, where a small window led to the outside.
One of the officers climbed up to the window and smashed it, allowing him, five other officers and one surveillance soldier to escape the toxic inferno. The other fifteen soldiers in the command center died apparently asphyxiated by the noxious fumes. Six other soldiers from the base were taken hostage.
Source: VosIzNeias
MAJOR RECALL: Tesla Recalls 2 Million Cars to Fix Autopilot Safety Defect
Tesla is recalling nearly all its vehicles sold in the U.S., amounting to over 2 million cars, after a review of its Autopilot driving system found the need for a software update to address safety concerns.
The update will increase warnings and alerts for drivers and restrict the number of situations where Autopilot could be used. The move comes after a two-year investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration into crashes involving Tesla’s Autopilot.
According to the Model 3 owner’s manual, the Autopilot feature Autosteer allows Teslas to follow vehicles from a set distance and monitors lane markings, but the NHTSA discovered that in some cases, the driver “does not maintain responsibility for vehicle operation and is unprepared to intervene as necessary or fails to recognize when Autosteer is canceled or not engaged,” resulting in an “increased risk of a crash.” The safety recall report submitted on Tuesday stated that the automotive company did not agree with NHTSA’s findings but decided to administer the recall on Dec. 5. Read more at NBC News.
Source: Matzav/NBC News
Simultaneous rallies against antisemitism held in Berlin and Brussels
Data published last month by Rias revealed nearly 1,000 incidents — 29 per day — have occurred in Germany since the Hamas atrocities.
By Ben Cohen, The Algemeiner
Thousands of people took to the streets of Berlin and Brussels on Sunday in two demonstrations protesting the surge in antisemitic activity in Europe since the Oct. 7 Hamas pogrom in southern Israel.
In Berlin, police reported that 3,200 people had attended a march from the Tiergarten to the Brandenburg Gate, although organizers independently estimated that nearly four times that number had turned up. One of the speakers at the rally, the writer Michel Friedman, who also previously served as a president of the Central Council of German Jews, received loud applause when he declared, “Too few people have come.”
Friedman’s concern was echoed by Hubertus Heil, the federal government’s Minister of Labor. “Too many decent people are quiet,” Heil declared. “We don’t need a decent, silent majority. We need a clearly loud majority that stands up now and not later. Antisemitism must end.”
Attendees also heard from Bärbel Bas, the president of the Bundestag, Germany’s parliament, Israeli Ambassador Ron Prosor, and pop singer Roland Kaiser. The current president of the Central Council of German Jews, Josef Schuster, offered a bleak appraisal of the situation facing the more than 100,000 Jews in Germany, saying, “Sometimes I don’t recognize this country. Something is out of joint.”
A pro-Hamas counter-demonstration at the same time as the rally attracted 2,500 people, according to police. No arrests were made.
Separately, more than 4,000 people gathered in Brussels — the seat of the European Union — for a demonstration against antisemitism initiated by the Coordination Committee of Jewish Organizations of Belgium, the Forum of Jewish Organizations, and the Belgian League Against Antisemitism.
Participants waved signs declaring “You don’t have to be Jewish to fight antisemitism” along a route that passed both the Great Synagogue in the Belgian capital and its Jewish Museum.
Among the speakers at the Brussels event was Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission. “There should be no place for this hatred, especially here in Europe. And nothing justifies the rise of antisemitism. No war, no political argument can excuse it,” she stated.
Joël Rubinfeld, president of the Belgian League Against Antisemitism, told the protesters that Belgium had witnessed “a huge increase” in antisemitic hatred since the Oct. 7 atrocities.
“We are living in a very complicated period,” he said, adding that the rally sent “a message to the Jewish community of Belgium to tell them that they are not alone.”
Source: World Israel News/The Algemeiner
Anarchy in Gaza as Palestinian Fear of Hamas Breaks Down
By Baruch Yedid/TPS • 12 December, 2023
Jerusalem, 12 December, 2023 (TPS) — As Hamas’s ability to rule the Gaza Strip crumbles, Palestinian fear of the terror group is disappearing and leading towards anarchy.
The Tazpit Press Service has learned that residents openly criticize Hamas in front of TV cameras — once unthinkable — can call the Iran-backed Hamas “betrayers of the Palestinian people.”
In one notable incident, a resident of Gaza told Radio Hebron, which also broadcasts from the Strip, that “Mohammed Deif and Yahya Sinwar are sons of dogs.”
One Palestinian official told TPS, “Hamas’s central government has completely collapsed and the interior and police systems are also not fully functioning.”
There are no more rescue and civil defense teams and that residents are busy clearing the rubble from their homes.
Residents report widespread looting of food rations and medicines delivered from Arab countries through the Rafah border crossing. In particular, trucks are hijacked by armed Hamas operatives or criminals, who then sell the aid themselves.
One resident was filmed pointing to a bag of food clearly labeled with the words “not for sale” and being required to pay to pay 40 shekels ($10) for it.
There are also reports of black markets in the hundreds of shelters where Palestinians are staying, where food and medicine is sold.
TPS has also learned from Israeli sources that morale among Hamas’s fighting units in the northern areas of Gaza is severely damaged and there have been significant desertions following the killing of Northern Brigade commanders in Israeli air strikes.
Around 200 of these deserters were the Palestinians seen in photos on social media in their underwear surrendering to Israeli forces.
In southern Gaza, dozens of kitchens have opened on the sidewalks where volunteers distribute hot food to displaced Palestinians. Gas cylinders for cooking are in short supply after large numbers were stolen by Hamas operatives, sources told TPS.
Khan Yunis is Gaza’s second largest city is considered the capital of the Strip’s southern district. It is also regarded as a personal stronghold of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, whose family lives there.
Before the war, Hamas oversaw a civilian administration of around 50,000 employees.
At least 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on Oct. 7. Hamas currently holds 137 men, women, children, soldiers and foreigners captive in Gaza. Some people remain unaccounted for as Israeli authorities continue to identify bodies and search for human remains.