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If we really care about solving for antisemitism, and I believe this deeply, it’s not about having gotcha moments. And we’ve got to figure out how do we unpack all of it at the same time. But the ultimate answer for antisemitism is to teach, to expose young people to the Jewish community so that they understand our common humanity. This, this convening for too many people across America in education feels like the ultimate gotcha moment. It doesn’t sound like people are actually trying to solve for something that I believe we should be doing everything we can to solve for.

Persons: it’s, we’ve Locations: America

International humanitarian officials said the military operation had halted the flow of aid from Egypt into Gaza, exacerbating extreme hunger and privation in the besieged territory. “The situation is catastrophic in every sense of the word,” said Dr. Suhaib Hems, the head of Kuwait Hospital in Rafah, adding that 27 bodies and 150 wounded people had been brought to his facility since Israeli tanks entered the city. The Israeli military said it had killed about 20 people in Rafah, describing the dead as Hamas militants. Hamas said it had fired on Israeli soldiers on Tuesday at another vital aid crossing, near Kerem Shalom, along Gaza’s southern border with Israel. The Israeli military said that four mortar shells and two rockets had been launched toward Kerem Shalom from Rafah but that no injuries or damage were reported.

Persons: ”, Suhaib Hems Organizations: International, Kuwait Hospital Locations: Rafah, Gaza, Egypt, Kerem Shalom, Israel, Shalom

Israeli warplanes pounded targets in the southern Gaza city of Rafah on Monday as the military told about 110,000 people sheltering there to evacuate. Many people began to leave, fearing that Israel was moving ahead with its long-planned invasion of Rafah, despite stiff international pressure. A military spokesman would not say when troops might enter the crowded city, but described the evacuation as part of Israel’s plans to dismantle Hamas and to free hostages taken on Oct. 7. Hours after the evacuation order, the political leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, issued a statement that the group had accepted a new cease-fire proposal from Qatar and Egypt, which have acted as intermediaries in peace talks. The group and Israeli officials said it was not referring to the proposal that Israel recently agreed to, leaving the conflict unresolved.

Persons: Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu’s, “, Ismail Haniyeh Organizations: Hamas Locations: Gaza, Rafah, Qatar, Egypt, Israel

☆ Sam Ash Music Stores to Close After 100 Years In Business
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Michael Levenson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Sam Ash, the family-owned chain of music stores that supplied countless beginners and working musicians with guitars, drums and other instruments, is closing all of it locations after 100 years in business, it announced this week. Derek Ash, whose great-grandparents, Sam and Rose Ash, opened the first Sam Ash store in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn in 1924, said the company’s 42 locations could not compete in the era of online shopping. In March, Sam Ash announced it was closing 18 locations, with the hope of buying the company time to survive, Mr. Ash said. But he said that closing all the stores ended up being a “necessity.”“A lot of this has been the move to online shopping,” Mr. Ash, the company’s chief marketing officer, said in an interview. “There are so many choices, and to maintain a store with that much selection is very difficult.”

Persons: Sam Ash, Derek Ash, Rose Ash, Ash, Mr, ” Locations: Brownsville, Brooklyn

The police killed an armed student after an active shooter had been reported near a middle school in Mount Horeb, Wis., on Wednesday, the authorities said. “This could have been a far worse tragedy,” Mr. Kaul said. The authorities did not identify the person killed, but they said the student was a male, and a minor, who attended a Mount Horeb Area School District school. Officers with the Mount Horeb Police Department fired shots at the armed student, Mr. Kaul said. It was unclear whether the student fired back at the officers.

Persons: Josh Kaul, ” Mr, Kaul Organizations: Mount Horeb Area, District, Mount Horeb Police Department Locations: Mount Horeb, Wis, Wisconsin

☆ 4 Zebras Broke Free on a Highway. A Rodeo Clown Stepped In.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-29 | by ( Michael Levenson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Four zebras escaped from a trailer on a highway exit in Washington State on Sunday, leading dozens of residents, police officers and volunteers to join in an effort to corral them. Among them was a person with particular expertise in wrangling loose animals: David Danton, of Mount Vernon, Wash., who worked for nearly 15 years as a rodeo clown and rodeo bullfighter. He and his wife, Julie Danton, had been driving home from a cattle drive in eastern Washington when they stopped to help the police and neighbors capture the zebras in North Bend, Wash., about 30 miles east of Seattle. “It was kind of divine intervention — we happened to be in the exact spot and had the knowledge,” Ms. Danton said.

Persons: David Danton, Mount, Julie Danton, Ms, Danton Locations: Washington State, Mount Vernon, Wash, Washington, North Bend, Seattle

Israel welcomed a U.S. aid package signed by President Biden on Wednesday that will send about $15 billion in military aid to Israel, increasing American support for its closest Middle East ally despite strains in their relationship over Israel’s prosecution of the war in the Gaza Strip. “Our alliance is ironclad,” Israel Katz, the country’s foreign minister, said in a statement thanking Mr. Biden for signing the legislation. It was part of a long-stalled $95.3 billion in aid that had faced vehement opposition from some Republicans over its support for Ukraine, which is also part of the legislation, as is Taiwan. The aid for Israel includes more than $5 billion to replenish three of the country’s defense systems: Iron Dome, which intercepts rockets that fly in high arcs; David’s Sling, which shoots down drones, missiles and rockets; and Iron Beam, which was designed to use laser beams to destroy incoming projectiles. It also includes $1 billion to enhance the production and development of artillery and munitions and $2.4 billion for American military operations in the U.S. Central Command region, which includes the Middle East as well as parts of South Asia and East Africa.

Persons: Israel, Biden, ” Israel Katz, Mr Organizations: Ukraine, U.S . Central Command Locations: Israel, East, Gaza, Taiwan, South Asia, East Africa

☆ U.S. and Allies Penalize Iran for Striking Israel, and Try to Avert War
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Michael D. Shear | Michael Levenson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The United States and European allies joined together on Thursday to impose new sanctions on Iranian military leaders and weapon makers, seeking to punish Iran for its missile and drone attack on Israel last weekend, while imploring Israel not to retaliate so strongly as to risk a wider war. White House officials said the sanctions targeted leaders and entities connected to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Iran’s Defense Ministry and the Iranian government’s missile and drone programs. The sanctions also seek to block exports by Iran’s steel industry that bring Tehran billions of dollars in revenue, they said. “I’ve directed my team, including the Department of the Treasury, to continue to impose sanctions that further degrade Iran’s military industries,” President Biden said in a statement. “Let it be clear to all those who enable or support Iran’s attacks: The United States is committed to Israel’s security.”Britain said it had imposed sanctions on seven people and six entities linked to Iran’s regional military activity and its attack on Israel, which Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called a “reckless act and a dangerous escalation.”“These sanctions — announced with the U.S. — show we unequivocally condemn this behavior, and they will further limit Iran’s ability to destabilize the region,” Mr. Sunak said in a statement.

Persons: imploring, “ I’ve, Biden, Rishi Sunak, —, Mr, Sunak Organizations: Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Iran’s Defense Ministry, Department of, Treasury, ”, U.S Locations: States, Iran, Israel, imploring Israel, Iranian, Tehran, United States, Britain

☆ Israeli Response to Iran Attack Seems Inevitable, Despite Allies’ Pleas
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( Matthew Mpoke Bigg | Michael Levenson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

European diplomats traveled to Israel on Wednesday to make one more plea for restraint in response to the aerial attack that Iran launched this weekend, but Britain’s foreign secretary acknowledged that an Israeli reprisal seemed inevitable. “It is clear that the Israelis are making a decision to act,” the British foreign secretary, David Cameron, told the BBC, just before he met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. But Mr. Netanyahu, after meeting with Mr. Cameron and Germany’s foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, said that Israel would “do everything necessary to defend itself.”He thanked Israel’s allies for their “support in words and support in actions” in remarks before a cabinet meeting, according to his office. But, he added: “They also have all kinds of suggestions and advice. But I want to make it clear — we will make our own decisions.”

Persons: David Cameron, Benjamin Netanyahu, “, ”, Netanyahu, Tehran’s, Cameron, Annalena Baerbock, Israel, Israel’s Organizations: BBC Locations: Israel, Iran, United States, Britain, Germany

Israel’s war cabinet on Monday met to weigh possible responses to Iran’s missile and drone attack over the weekend, as the United States, Britain and other allies strongly urged Israel to show restraint and sought to de-escalate tensions between the two regional powers. Some far-right members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government called for a swift and forceful retaliation in response to Iran. There was no immediate public statement by the ministers, or by the Israeli prime minister. “We are weighing our steps,” Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, the Israeli military chief of staff, told Israeli soldiers on Monday in televised remarks during a visit to an Israeli air base. While the United States, Britain and France strongly condemned Iran’s assault and stepped in to help thwart it on Saturday, their calls for restraint highlighted the pressure Israel was facing to avoid a more direct confrontation with Iran.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu’s, Herzi Halevi, ” Mr, Netanyahu, Biden Locations: United States, Britain, Israel, Iran, Gaza, France

Israeli strikes on an aid convoy run by the charity group World Central Kitchen killed seven of its workers in the Gaza Strip, setting off international outrage and underscoring the risks to humanitarian workers trying to alleviate a looming famine. The aid workers — a Palestinian, an Australian, a Pole, three Britons and a dual U.S.-Canadian citizen — were traveling in two armored vehicles clearly marked with the World Central Kitchen logo and a third vehicle when they came under fire late Monday night, according to the charity. The convoy was hit despite having coordinated its movements with the Israeli military, the group said. The workers were leaving a warehouse in Deir al Balah, in central Gaza, where the team had unloaded more than 100 tons of humanitarian food aid that had arrived by boat on Monday, World Central Kitchen said. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who rarely comments on deadly strikes in Gaza, released a videotaped statement on Tuesday in which he appeared to acknowledge that the Israeli military was responsible.

Persons: —, Benjamin Netanyahu, Mr, Netanyahu, ”, Herzi Halevi Organizations: Kitchen Locations: Gaza, Australian, U.S, Deir al Balah, Israel

At least three senior commanders and four officers overseeing Iran’s covert operations in the Middle East were killed on Monday when Israeli warplanes struck a building in Damascus that is part of the Iranian Embassy complex, according to Iranian and Syrian officials. The strike in Damascus, the Syrian capital, appeared to be among the deadliest attacks in a yearslong shadow war between Israel and Iran that has included the assassinations of Iranian military leaders and nuclear scientists. That covert war has moved into the open as tensions between the countries have intensified over Israel’s military campaign in the Gaza Strip against Hamas, the Iranian-backed militia that led the Oct. 7 attack on Israel. Four Israeli officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence matters, confirmed that Israel had been behind the strike in Damascus, but denied that the building had diplomatic status.

Persons: Israel Organizations: Iranian Embassy, Hamas, Israel . Locations: Damascus, Iranian, Israel, Iran, Gaza

☆ It’s a Golden Age for Shipwreck Discoveries. Why?
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-23 | by ( Michael Levenson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Some were fabled vessels that have fascinated people for generations, like Endurance, Ernest Shackleton’s ship that sank in the Antarctic in 1915. No matter their place in history, more shipwrecks are being found these days than ever before, according to those who work in the rarefied world of deep-sea exploration. He added: “We’re in a transitional phase where the true period of deep-sea and ocean exploration in general is truly beginning.”So what’s behind the increase? Shipwreck hunters are also looking for wrecks for their historical value, rather than for sunken treasure. And climate change has intensified storms and beach erosion, exposing shipwrecks in shallow water.

Persons: Ernest Shackleton’s, ”, James P, Delgado Organizations: Technology Locations: Ironton, Lake Huron, Washington ,

☆ Landline Users Remain Proudly ‘Old-Fashioned’ in the Digital Age
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-16 | by ( Michael Levenson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

When millions of AT&T customers across the country briefly lost their cellphone service last month, Francella Jackson, 61, of Fairview Heights, Ill., said she picked up her well-worn Southwestern Bell push-button landline phone and called her friends “just so we could laugh at the people who could not use their phones.”“Why, isn’t it great that we can talk and have a great conversation?” she recalled saying. “We had a good laugh.”Derek Shaw, 68, of York, Pa., said he has an Android mobile phone, but prefers talking on his black cordless landline at home. The sound quality is better, he said, and the phone is easier to hold during long conversations. Mr. Shaw said that he also likes talking to people face to face rather than on Zoom and never got rid of his vinyl record collection when CDs got hot in the 1990s.

Persons: Francella Jackson, “, ”, Derek Shaw, Shaw Organizations: Bell Locations: Fairview Heights, Ill, York, Pa

The World Food Program said that its delivery, containing food for 25,000 people, was its first since Feb. 20 to the northern part of the enclave. For five months, aid groups had been able to reach northern Gaza only by entering through one of two southern border crossings, and then attempting a difficult and hazardous drive to the north. Little aid has reached northern Gaza after major relief groups suspended operations there, citing lawlessness, poor road conditions and Israeli restrictions on convoys. The convoy included one truck full of flour and five carrying food packages. “The significance of this is that it revives the hope of continued access to northern Gaza over land,” Ms. Etefa said.

Persons: Abeer Etefa, Ms, Etefa, “, ” Organizations: United Nations, Food Program, World Food Locations: Israel, Gaza, Be’eri

A ship hauling more than 200 tons of food for the Gaza Strip left Cyprus on Tuesday morning, in the first test of a maritime corridor designed to bring aid to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who the United Nations says are on the brink of starvation. The United Arab Emirates was providing financing and logistical support for the operation, he said. “We may fail, but the biggest failure will be not trying!” Mr. Andrés said on Tuesday on social media. With no end in sight to the war in Gaza, clashes flared anew along another front, Israel’s northern border, between Israeli forces and the militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon. Hezbollah and Hamas are allies, both backed by Iran, and the fighting along the Israel-Lebanon border has raised fears of a wider regional conflict.

Persons: Ursula von der Leyen, José Andrés, “, Andrés Organizations: Gaza, United Nations, United, Hezbollah Locations: Cyprus, United, Gaza, Spanish, United Arab Emirates, Israel, Lebanon, Iran

☆ Former Republican Candidate for U.S. House Is Charged With Murder
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-08 | by ( Orlando Mayorquin | Michael Levenson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A Republican candidate who ran unsuccessfully for Congress in Nevada in 2020 with the backing of President Donald J. Trump surrendered to the police on Wednesday after he was charged with killing a man in Las Vegas last year, his lawyers said. The Las Vegas police issued an arrest warrant earlier on Wednesday for the former candidate, Daniel Rodimer, 45, a onetime professional wrestler, after he was charged with murdering Christopher Tapp, 47, at a resort on the Las Vegas Strip on Oct. 29. Medical workers found Mr. Tapp “suffering from injuries as a result of a purported accident,” and took him to a hospital where he was pronounced dead, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said in a statement. Homicide detectives learned that Mr. Tapp had been in “an altercation inside a room” at the resort, the statement said. The Clark County medical examiner’s office ruled that Mr. Tapp died as a result of blunt-force trauma to the head.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Daniel Rodimer, Christopher Tapp, Tapp “, Tapp Organizations: Republican, Las Vegas, Las, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Locations: Nevada, Las Vegas, Clark

What they encountered was death and injury by the hundreds, according to witnesses and a doctor who treated the wounded, as Israeli forces opened fire toward desperate Palestinians who surged forward when aid trucks finally arrived before dawn on Thursday. “I saw things I never, ever thought I would see,” said Mohammed Al-Sholi, who had camped out overnight for a chance to get food for his family. On Friday, President Biden said the United States would begin airdropping aid to Gaza to help relieve the suffering there, as European leaders condemned Israel for the deaths of scores of hungry Palestinians who were killed as they surrounded the aid convoy. An Israeli military spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said on Thursday that Israeli soldiers had been trying to secure the convoy and fired “when the mob moved in a manner that endangered them.” But he said the soldiers had not fired on people seeking aid. The military has said that most of the people died in a stampede and that some were run over by the trucks in Gaza City.

Persons: “, ”, Mohammed Al, Sholi, Biden, Israel, Daniel Hagari Locations: United States, Gaza, Israeli, Gaza City

A top Hamas official on Wednesday appeared to raise the stakes for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, saying the militant group was ready to continue fighting and calling on Palestinians to defy Israeli restrictions and march to the Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem to pray at the start of Ramadan. That creates the prospect of clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces around the mosque, one of the holiest sites in Islam and a longtime flashpoint in relations with Israel. Israel has restricted access to the Aqsa mosque for West Bank Palestinians, and it has severely limited movement within the West Bank since the start of the war in Gaza. Matthew Miller, a State Department spokesman, declined on Wednesday to comment on Mr. Haniyeh’s call for a march to the mosque, which is part of a 35-acre site that is also holy for Jews, who call it the Temple Mount. “I would just say, as it pertains to Al Aqsa, we continue to urge Israel to facilitate access to Temple Mount for peaceful worshipers during Ramadan, consistent with past practice and that’ll continue to be our position,” Mr. Miller said.

Persons: Ismail Haniyeh, Ramadan, Matthew Miller, Haniyeh’s, “, Al Aqsa, ” Mr, Miller Organizations: West Bank, West Bank Palestinians, State Department Locations: Gaza, Jerusalem, Israel, Islam

Basem Naim, a Hamas spokesman, said in a text message that the militant group had yet to formally receive “any new proposals” since senior Israeli officials met with Qatari, Egyptian and U.S. mediators in Paris last week to advance a possible deal. Another Hamas official, Ahmad Abdelhadi, said that the group was sticking to its demand that Israel agree to a long-term cease-fire and that leaks about the talks were designed to pressure Hamas to soften its position. Qatar, a key mediator in the talks, also expressed caution on Tuesday, saying it could not comment on Mr. Biden’s view that negotiators were nearing an agreement. “The efforts are ongoing; all the parties are conducting regular meetings,” Majed al-Ansari, a spokesman for the Qatari foreign ministry, told reporters in Doha. “But for now, while we certainly hope it will be achieved as soon as possible, we don’t have anything in our hands so as to comment on that deadline.”

Persons: Israel, Biden, Basem Naim, Ahmad Abdelhadi, ” Mr, Abdelhadi, ” Majed al, Ansari, ” Organizations: Hamas, Qatari Locations: Gaza, Paris, Israel, Lebanese, Qatar, Doha

Israeli negotiators have offered a significant concession in cease-fire talks with Hamas, signaling that they might be open to releasing high-profile Palestinians jailed on terrorism charges in exchange for some Israeli hostages still being held in the Gaza Strip, according to two officials with knowledge of the talks. Mr. Netanyahu said that the Israeli military had presented a plan to the war cabinet to evacuate civilians from “areas of fighting” in Gaza. He appeared to be speaking of Israel’s long-expected invasion of Rafah, the southern city where more than half of Gaza’s population is sheltering, many in makeshift tents. On Sunday, he said an invasion could be “delayed somewhat” if Hamas agreed to release Israeli hostages. Speaking with reporters in New York on Monday, Mr. Biden sounded optimistic about a deal to pause the fighting.

Persons: Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, “ We’re, ”, we’ll Locations: Gaza, Rafah, New York

☆ A Century Later, 17 Wrongly Executed Black Soldiers Are Honored at Gravesites
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-22 | by ( Michael Levenson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

More than a century ago, 110 Black soldiers were convicted of murder, mutiny and other crimes at three military trials held at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio. Nineteen were hanged, including 13 on a single day, Dec. 11, 1917, in the largest mass execution of American soldiers by the Army. The soldiers’ families spent decades fighting to show that the men had been betrayed by the military. In November, they won a measure of justice when the Army secretary, Christine E. Wormuth, overturned the convictions and acknowledged that the soldiers “were wrongly treated because of their race and were not given fair trials.”On Thursday, several descendants of the soldiers gathered at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery as the Department of Veterans Affairs dedicated new headstones for 17 of the executed servicemen.

Persons: Fort Sam Houston, Christine E, “ Organizations: Fort, Army, Fort Sam, National Cemetery, Department of Veterans Affairs Locations: Fort Sam, San Antonio

A case charging former President Donald J. Trump and his allies with trying to subvert the 2020 election results in Georgia took a detour on Thursday into the details of the prosecutors’ romantic and financial lives — their sleeping arrangements, vacations and private bank accounts — in an unusual and highly contentious hearing. Lawyers for Mr. Trump and his co-defendants have argued that the Fulton County district attorney, Fani T. Willis, and the special prosecutor she hired to manage the case, Nathan J. Wade, should be disqualified from the case because their romantic and financial entanglements had created a conflict of interest. Ms. Willis and Mr. Wade forcefully rejected those accusations in testimony on Thursday, with Ms. Willis accusing the defense lawyers of spreading “lies.”“You think I’m on trial,” Ms. Willis told Ashleigh Merchant, a lawyer for Michael Roman, a former Trump campaign official who is a co-defendant in the case. “These people are on trial for trying to steal an election in 2020.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Fani, Willis, Nathan J, Wade, Mr, ” Ms, Ashleigh Merchant, Michael Roman, I’m Organizations: Mr, Trump, Fulton County Superior Court Locations: Georgia, Fulton County

Talks involving lower-level officials will continue for another three days, according to an Egyptian and an American official briefed on the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomacy. They described the negotiations on Tuesday as promising, but Israel and Hamas were still not close to a deal. A primary obstacle, according to another U.S. official, is a disagreement on how many Palestinians Israel would release from its prisons in exchange for the release of hostages held in Gaza by Hamas and its allies. Officials of Hamas, the armed group fighting Israel, were taking part in the negotiations indirectly, using Qatar and Egypt as intermediaries. Mr. Netanyahu has said that Israel will conduct such an offensive and has ordered the military to draw up plans to evacuate civilians from the city.

Persons: Biden, William J, Burns, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, Netanyahu Organizations: American, Hamas, United Nations Locations: Cairo, Gaza, Rafah, Israel, Egypt, Qatar, United States

In a statement announcing the orders on Friday, Mr. Netanyahu’s office did not give any details of when the evacuations might be carried out, when the Israeli military might enter the city or where people might go. Mr. Netanyahu’s office said it would be impossible to realize Israel’s goal of smashing Hamas’s rule in Gaza without destroying what it said were the group’s four battalions in Rafah, on Egypt’s border. The military’s “combined plan” would have to both “evacuate the civilian population and topple the battalions,” the statement said. “Any forceful action in Rafah would require the evacuation of the civilian population from combat zones,” it said. After Mr. Netanyahu said this week that he had ordered troops to prepare to enter Rafah, aid agencies, the United Nations and U.S. officials said the prospect of an incursion there was particularly alarming.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Biden, “, Netanyahu Organizations: United Nations Locations: Rafah, Gaza, Egypt’s

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