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Tag: oct 7

  • NYC Mayor’s Race: Mamdani offers statement after hours of silence on Israeli hostages’ return while Cuomo, Sliwa applaud their release | amNewYork

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    Republican Mayor nominee Curtis Sliwa (left), former Gov. and independent mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo, and Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani.

    Photos by Lloyd Mitchell

    Democratic mayoral nominee and frontrunner Zohran Mamdani waited more than 12 hours to address the release of the last remaining living Israeli hostages early on Monday morning — drawing criticism from rival Andrew Cuomo that he remained silent for too long.

    Cuomo, the former governor who is running as an independent, and GOP nominee Curtis Sliwa applauded in Monday morning statements the last hostages’ release from Hamas’ custody, which occurred during the early hours of Oct. 13, New York time. Mamdani’s statement came in at 4:21 p.m. Monday; by then, Cuomo had blasted the Democratic candidate in a social media post a short time earlier, charging, “His silence speaks volumes.”

    Mamdani, who is a staunch Israel critic and pro-Palestinian advocate, applauded both the return of the hostages and the end to Israel’s devastating military campaign in Gaza — which he again referred to as “a genocide” — that the overarching ceasefire deal brought.

    “Today’s scenes of Israelis and Palestinians are profoundly moving: Israeli hostages being freed and families reunited after years of fear, uncertainty, and torture; the first days in Gaza without relentless Israeli bombardment of Palestinians as families return to rubble and loved ones freed from detention,” Mamdani said in a statement. “There is finally a glimmer of hope that this ceasefire will hold and the long, difficult work of reconstruction can begin.”

    Much of Mamdani’s statement focused on holding the Israeli government accountable for the massive toll of death and destruction in Gaza.

    “We have watched as our tax dollars have funded a genocide,” he said. “The moral and human cost will be a lasting stain and requires accountability and real examination of our collective conscience and our government’s policies. The responsibility now lies with those of us who believe in peace to make sure it endures, and that it is just. Once aid is delivered, the wounded are cared for, and a lasting agreement secured, we cannot look away. We must work towards a future built upon justice, one without occupation and apartheid, and for a world where every person can live with safety and dignity.”

    amNewYork asked the Mamdani campaign about the reasons for the delayed statement, and is awaiting a response.

    On Monday, Hamas returned the 20 living hostages and the remains of at least four deceased hostages as part of a ceasefire deal between itself and Israel to bring the 24-month war in Gaza to an end.

    The conflict began with Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack, in which the group killed 1,200 Israelis and took 250 hostages. Israel’s military offensive has since claimed the lives of over 68,000 Palestinians, displaced most of Gaza’s population from their homes, and left most of the coastal enclave in ruins.

    Also, as part of the deal, Israel released nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners held inside its jails.

    ‘A moral moment’

    While Mamdani focused mostly on the end of the war in Gaza, Cuomo and Sliwa barely mentioned it, instead focusing mostly on the return of the hostages.

    Cuomo cast the event as “a moral moment, a reminder of our shared humanity and the sacred value of every life.”

    “For two long years, families have lived through unimaginable pain, sleepless nights, and endless heartache,” Cuomo said. “Today, their prayers have been answered, as the remaining hostages are finally home in the arms of their loved ones, where they belong.”

    The former governor also urged people not to forget the Oct. 7, 2023, onslaught where Hamas took the hostages, quoting Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor who documented his ordeal in the autobiography “Night” and won the 1986 Nobel Peace Prize for his life’s work advocating against violence, racism, and repression. 

    “Elie Wiesel once said, ‘The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference,’” Cuomo said. “Today, we reject indifference & choose remembrance. And we choose hope: hope that peace is possible.”

    Sliwa expressed similar sentiments in his own statement, in which he also credited President Trump with brokering the ceasefire deal. His praise came despite his rocky relationship with Trump.

    “After two long years, all the living hostages are now safely home! A massive weight has been lifted from their families’ shoulders,” Sliwa said. “The 20 surviving hostages are reunited with families and loved ones after 738 agonizing days in captivity. 7+3+8 = 18, which means Chai, which means “life” in Judaism. A number that embodies life, hope, and blessing. We pray that these hostages coming home can recover and live peacefully again.”

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    Ethan Stark-Miller

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  • Middle East peace deal opens the door to Donald Trump’s vanity | Opinion

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    Maybe praise for our Nobel Prize-worthy peacemaker president can turn his flaws into an addiction to being a legit history-making leader.

    Maybe praise for our Nobel Prize-worthy peacemaker president can turn his flaws into an addiction to being a legit history-making leader.

    USA Today Network file photo

    Donald Trump is a vain person who seeks outside validation and is deeply vulnerable to baseless flattery. He thinks putting lots of gold in the Oval Office makes it more awe-inspiring, as if the achievements of the people who put the president there are not enough, as visitors might misjudge American might without coating it in 24-karat leaf.

    The fact that Trump spent months brazenly panting after the Nobel Peace Prize is only the most obvious evidence of these character flaws. They may be the best thing about him.

    Now that Trump might actually deserve such accolades for a 20-point peace plan that has delivered on the first five points including a Gaza ceasefire and the first phase of an Israeli withdrawal days before the mutual release of hostages and prisoners, it might be smart for Democrats, our allies and those with loud opinionated voices in the media to take advantage of Trump’s vanity.

    Let us teach him what praise is like when it is truly deserved. Let us teach him what it is like to be regarded as a world historic figure for positive — and presidential — reasons like making peace in the Middle East, instead of being the vanguard of plodding global authoritarianism.

    There’s some signs that those with the loudest trumpets are not getting this tune. Barack Obama’s statement on the matter is a case in point:

    “After two years of unimaginable loss and suffering for Israeli families and the people of Gaza, we should all be encouraged and relieved that an end to the conflict is within sight; that those hostages still being held will be reunited with their families; and that vital aid can start reaching those inside Gaza whose lives have been shattered. More than that, though, it now falls on Israelis and Palestinians, with the support of the U.S. and the entire world community, to begin the hard task of rebuilding Gaza — and to commit to a process that, by recognizing the common humanity and basic rights of both peoples, can achieve a lasting peace.”

    You know what word is not in there? Trump. It is a fact that this achievement — fragile and preliminary as it is — would be nowhere without massive pressure from Trump. Without Trump’s masterful wielding of both American hard power and soft power in martialing an unprecedented international coalition for peace that was capable of pressuring a reluctant Israel, but more important a fanatical and suicidal Hamas, into getting to yes.

    The truly Trumpian touch is how first son-in-law Jared Kushner’s smarmy relationships with petrodollar-rich Arab states and the Donald’s reckless disregard for democratic norms, may have been the keys to building enough trust among a coalition of Israel’s corrupt, authoritarian neighbors to make peace a reality. Turkey’s Erdogan and Egypt’s el-Sisi would fall in line only for one of their own.

    If the Democrats, never-Trump Republicans, our neighbors and traditional allies avoid Obama’s partisan error and give Trump enough credit for his triumph, we may be able to do two critical things.

    One, we can keep his eye on the ball in the Middle East as he seeks more praise.

    The next phase of the 20-point plan is the most painful for Israel and Hamas. Israel must give amnesty to the collection of thugs, terrorists and propagandists who have spent decades plotting Jewish genocide that culminated in the war crimes of Oct. 7, 2023. Hamas must give up its power and arms, and at least some of its members must leave Gaza altogether.

    To make that a reality will require more of a miracle than the ceasefire we already have in place.

    Second, perhaps we can get Trump addicted to the right kind of attention. Perhaps he can turn his unique mind toward making the smart moves for a successful resolution of the Ukraine war and the longer-term Vladimir Putin problem that threatens NATO. It doesn’t have to take long to turn things around.

    Longer-term, perhaps we can induce Trump to focus his unique gift for asymmetrical diplomacy on facing down China in Asia through an unprecedented combination of trade, economic and military moves that could undermine Beijing’s dangerous rise to global power.

    Washington’s bipartisan consensus foreign policy has failed so far.

    Maybe the prospect of ending his term as the unexpected Nobel laureate president who actually deserved his prize could turn Trump’s attention away from the destructive folly of so many of his domestic policies.

    I know, that’s a big maybe, but overestimating the power of Trump’s vanity is the least of the dangers he brings to our republic.

    Related Stories from Fort Worth Star-Telegram

    David Mastio, a former deputy editorial page editor for the liberal USA TODAY and the conservative Washington Times, has worked in opinion journalism as a commentary editor, editorial writer and columnist for 30 years. He was also a speechwriter for the George W. Bush administration.

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    David Mastio

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  • Middle East peace deal opens the door to Donald Trump’s vanity | Opinion

    [ad_1]

    Maybe praise for our Nobel Prize-worthy peacemaker president can turn his flaws into an addiction to being a legit history-making leader.

    Maybe praise for our Nobel Prize-worthy peacemaker president can turn his flaws into an addiction to being a legit history-making leader.

    USA Today Network file photo

    Donald Trump is a vain person who seeks outside validation and is deeply vulnerable to baseless flattery. He thinks putting lots of gold in the Oval Office makes it more awe-inspiring, as if the achievements of the people who put the president there are not enough, as visitors might misjudge American might without coating it in 24-karat leaf.

    The fact that Trump spent months brazenly panting after the Nobel Peace Prize is only the most obvious evidence of these character flaws. They may be the best thing about him.

    Now that Trump might actually deserve such accolades for a 20-point peace plan that has delivered on the first five points including a Gaza ceasefire and the first phase of an Israeli withdrawal days before the mutual release of hostages and prisoners, it might be smart for Democrats, our allies and those with loud opinionated voices in the media to take advantage of Trump’s vanity.

    Let us teach him what praise is like when it is truly deserved. Let us teach him what it is like to be regarded as a world historic figure for positive — and presidential — reasons like making peace in the Middle East, instead of being the vanguard of plodding global authoritarianism.

    There’s some signs that those with the loudest trumpets are not getting this tune. Barack Obama’s statement on the matter is a case in point:

    “After two years of unimaginable loss and suffering for Israeli families and the people of Gaza, we should all be encouraged and relieved that an end to the conflict is within sight; that those hostages still being held will be reunited with their families; and that vital aid can start reaching those inside Gaza whose lives have been shattered. More than that, though, it now falls on Israelis and Palestinians, with the support of the U.S. and the entire world community, to begin the hard task of rebuilding Gaza — and to commit to a process that, by recognizing the common humanity and basic rights of both peoples, can achieve a lasting peace.”

    You know what word is not in there? Trump. It is a fact that this achievement — fragile and preliminary as it is — would be nowhere without massive pressure from Trump. Without Trump’s masterful wielding of both American hard power and soft power in martialing an unprecedented international coalition for peace that was capable of pressuring a reluctant Israel, but more important a fanatical and suicidal Hamas, into getting to yes.

    The truly Trumpian touch is how first son-in-law Jared Kushner’s smarmy relationships with petrodollar-rich Arab states and the Donald’s reckless disregard for democratic norms, may have been the keys to building enough trust among a coalition of Israel’s corrupt, authoritarian neighbors to make peace a reality. Turkey’s Erdogan and Egypt’s el-Sisi would fall in line only for one of their own.

    If the Democrats, never-Trump Republicans, our neighbors and traditional allies avoid Obama’s partisan error and give Trump enough credit for his triumph, we may be able to do two critical things.

    One, we can keep his eye on the ball in the Middle East as he seeks more praise.

    The next phase of the 20-point plan is the most painful for Israel and Hamas. Israel must give amnesty to the collection of thugs, terrorists and propagandists who have spent decades plotting Jewish genocide that culminated in the war crimes of Oct. 7, 2023. Hamas must give up its power and arms, and at least some of its members must leave Gaza altogether.

    To make that a reality will require more of a miracle than the ceasefire we already have in place.

    Second, perhaps we can get Trump addicted to the right kind of attention. Perhaps he can turn his unique mind toward making the smart moves for a successful resolution of the Ukraine war and the longer-term Vladimir Putin problem that threatens NATO. It doesn’t have to take long to turn things around.

    Longer-term, perhaps we can induce Trump to focus his unique gift for asymmetrical diplomacy on facing down China in Asia through an unprecedented combination of trade, economic and military moves that could undermine Beijing’s dangerous rise to global power.

    Washington’s bipartisan consensus foreign policy has failed so far.

    Maybe the prospect of ending his term as the unexpected Nobel laureate president who actually deserved his prize could turn Trump’s attention away from the destructive folly of so many of his domestic policies.

    I know, that’s a big maybe, but overestimating the power of Trump’s vanity is the least of the dangers he brings to our republic.

    Related Stories from Raleigh News & Observer

    David Mastio, a former deputy editorial page editor for the liberal USA TODAY and the conservative Washington Times, has worked in opinion journalism as a commentary editor, editorial writer and columnist for 30 years. He was also a speechwriter for the George W. Bush administration.

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    David Mastio

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  • Oct. 7th — One year later | LIVE

    Oct. 7th — One year later | LIVE

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    Israelis were holding vigils and somber ceremonies on Monday to mark a year since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack, the deadliest in the country’s history, which sparked the war in Gaza and scarred Israelis indelibly.

    The surprise cross-border attack, which caught Israel unprepared on a major Jewish holiday, shattered Israelis’ sense of security and shook their faith in their leaders and their military.

    Its aftershocks still ripple one year later. The war in Gaza rages on and Israel is fighting a new war against Hezbollah, which began attacking Israel on Oct. 8. There is also an escalating conflict with Iran – which backs both Hamas and Hezbollah militant groups – that threatens to drag the region into a far more dangerous conflagration.

    An attendant walks through a mural with portraits of the victims at the site of the Nova music festival, where hundreds of revelers were killed and abducted by Hamas

    (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit

    And on Monday, Hamas showed that it was still putting up a fight. It launched rockets that set off air raid sirens in Tel Aviv, as well as closer to the Gaza border.

    In Gaza, which is still buckling under the weight of the ongoing war, no formal commemorative event is planned. The massive destruction and displacement are a constant reminder of the retaliatory Israeli assault on the territory, which has no end in sight.

    Israelis were flocking to ceremonies, cemeteries and memorial sites around the country, remembering the hundreds of victims, the dozens of hostages still in captivity and the soldiers wounded or killed trying to save them.

    At 6:29 a.m. – the exact minute Hamas launched its attack – the families of those killed at the Nova music festival, joined by Israeli President Isaac Herzog, gathered at the site where almost 400 revelers were gunned down and from where many others were taken hostage.

    After briefly playing the same trance music that was blared during the festival, hundreds of family members and friends of the victims stood for a moment of silence. One woman’s piercing wail broke the silence as booms echoed from the fighting in Gaza, just a few kilometers away.

    “When we are here, we are near our loved ones. This is the time they danced and fled,” said Sigal Bar-On, whose niece, Yuval Bar-On, 25, and her fiancé Moshe Shuva, 34, were supposed to get married in December 2023.

    RELATED: 365 Days of Hope memorial honors those killed by Hamas

    At 6:31 a.m., four projectiles were launched from Gaza toward the very Israeli communities that came under fierce assault last year, the Israeli military said. The ceremony was not disrupted.

    Marking the moment Hamas’ attack began a year ago, the families of hostages still held in Gaza – about 100, a third of whom are said to be dead – gathered near Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Jerusalem residence and stood during a two-minute siren, replicating a custom from the the most solemn dates on the Israeli calendar, Holocaust Remembrance and Memorial Day.

    “We are here to remind (the hostages) that we haven’t forgotten them,” said Shiri Albag, whose daughter Liri is among the captives. Her message to Netanyahu: “We wont let you rest until all of them are back, every last one of them,” she told the crowd, which hoisted posters bearing the faces of the hostages.

    A group representing the families of hostages announced that another captive was dead. Idan Shtivi, 28, was snatched from the Nova music festival and was believed to be alive. Israeli media reported he was killed during the attack and his body was taken into Gaza.

    The flags at the Israeli Knesset were lowered to half-staff and an official state ceremony focusing on acts of bravery and hope is set to be aired on Monday evening. The ceremony was prerecorded without an audience – apparently to avoid potential disruptions – in the southern city of Ofakim, where over two dozen Israelis were killed.

    RELATED: A year later, Israeli survivors reflect on the lingering toll of October 7

    But anger at the government’s failure to prevent the attack and enduring frustration that it has not returned the remaining hostages prompted the families of those killed and taken captive to hold a separate event in Tel Aviv.

    That event had been set to draw tens of thousands of people but was scaled back drastically over prohibitions on large gatherings due to the threat of missile attacks from Iran and Hezbollah.

    Hamas’ attack, which killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and dragged some 250 into Gaza as hostages, continues to cast a shadow over daily life in Israel. For the dozens of hostages still in captivity, there is no end in sight to their struggle. Border communities have been upended and tens of thousands were displaced. Soldiers are being killed in Gaza and Lebanon. Israel faces ongoing international criticism over its wartime conduct, with two world courts examining its actions.

    The war in Gaza has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians, displaced most of the territory’s 2.3 million population and sparked a humanitarian crisis that has led to widespread hunger. It has also left the tiny coastal enclave ravaged beyond recognition as U.S.-led cease-fire efforts have repeatedly sputtered.

    Copyright © 2024 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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    AP

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  • Monday marks 1 year since Oct. 7 attack on Israelis that sparked the Israel-Hamas war

    Monday marks 1 year since Oct. 7 attack on Israelis that sparked the Israel-Hamas war

    [ad_1]

    Israelis were holding vigils and somber ceremonies on Monday to mark a year since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack, the deadliest in the country’s history, which sparked the war in Gaza and scarred Israelis indelibly.

    The surprise cross-border attack, which caught Israel unprepared on a major Jewish holiday, shattered Israelis’ sense of security and shook their faith in their leaders and their military.

    Its aftershocks still ripple one year later. The war in Gaza rages on and Israel is fighting a new war against Hezbollah, which began attacking Israel on Oct. 8. There is also an escalating conflict with Iran – which backs both Hamas and Hezbollah militant groups – that threatens to drag the region into a far more dangerous conflagration.

    An attendant walks through a mural with portraits of the victims at the site of the Nova music festival, where hundreds of revelers were killed and abducted by Hamas

    (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit

    And on Monday, Hamas showed that it was still putting up a fight. It launched rockets that set off air raid sirens in Tel Aviv, as well as closer to the Gaza border.

    In Gaza, which is still buckling under the weight of the ongoing war, no formal commemorative event is planned. The massive destruction and displacement are a constant reminder of the retaliatory Israeli assault on the territory, which has no end in sight.

    Israelis were flocking to ceremonies, cemeteries and memorial sites around the country, remembering the hundreds of victims, the dozens of hostages still in captivity and the soldiers wounded or killed trying to save them.

    At 6:29 a.m. – the exact minute Hamas launched its attack – the families of those killed at the Nova music festival, joined by Israeli President Isaac Herzog, gathered at the site where almost 400 revelers were gunned down and from where many others were taken hostage.

    After briefly playing the same trance music that was blared during the festival, hundreds of family members and friends of the victims stood for a moment of silence. One woman’s piercing wail broke the silence as booms echoed from the fighting in Gaza, just a few kilometers away.

    “When we are here, we are near our loved ones. This is the time they danced and fled,” said Sigal Bar-On, whose niece, Yuval Bar-On, 25, and her fiancé Moshe Shuva, 34, were supposed to get married in December 2023.

    RELATED: 365 Days of Hope memorial honors those killed by Hamas

    At 6:31 a.m., four projectiles were launched from Gaza toward the very Israeli communities that came under fierce assault last year, the Israeli military said. The ceremony was not disrupted.

    Marking the moment Hamas’ attack began a year ago, the families of hostages still held in Gaza – about 100, a third of whom are said to be dead – gathered near Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Jerusalem residence and stood during a two-minute siren, replicating a custom from the the most solemn dates on the Israeli calendar, Holocaust Remembrance and Memorial Day.

    “We are here to remind (the hostages) that we haven’t forgotten them,” said Shiri Albag, whose daughter Liri is among the captives. Her message to Netanyahu: “We wont let you rest until all of them are back, every last one of them,” she told the crowd, which hoisted posters bearing the faces of the hostages.

    A group representing the families of hostages announced that another captive was dead. Idan Shtivi, 28, was snatched from the Nova music festival and was believed to be alive. Israeli media reported he was killed during the attack and his body was taken into Gaza.

    The flags at the Israeli Knesset were lowered to half-staff and an official state ceremony focusing on acts of bravery and hope is set to be aired on Monday evening. The ceremony was prerecorded without an audience – apparently to avoid potential disruptions – in the southern city of Ofakim, where over two dozen Israelis were killed.

    RELATED: A year later, Israeli survivors reflect on the lingering toll of October 7

    But anger at the government’s failure to prevent the attack and enduring frustration that it has not returned the remaining hostages prompted the families of those killed and taken captive to hold a separate event in Tel Aviv.

    That event had been set to draw tens of thousands of people but was scaled back drastically over prohibitions on large gatherings due to the threat of missile attacks from Iran and Hezbollah.

    Hamas’ attack, which killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and dragged some 250 into Gaza as hostages, continues to cast a shadow over daily life in Israel. For the dozens of hostages still in captivity, there is no end in sight to their struggle. Border communities have been upended and tens of thousands were displaced. Soldiers are being killed in Gaza and Lebanon. Israel faces ongoing international criticism over its wartime conduct, with two world courts examining its actions.

    The war in Gaza has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians, displaced most of the territory’s 2.3 million population and sparked a humanitarian crisis that has led to widespread hunger. It has also left the tiny coastal enclave ravaged beyond recognition as U.S.-led cease-fire efforts have repeatedly sputtered.

    Copyright © 2024 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

    [ad_2]

    AP

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