Happily Divorced And After

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) criticized the Republican initiative to evict two senior Democrats from their Capitol offices.

Jeffries referred to the move to displace former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) as “petty, partisan and petulant.”

Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry‘s (R-N.C.) office instructed Pelosi to clear her office by Wednesday, while Hoyer was removed from his “hideaway office” the same morning. Jeffries expressed his disapproval of McHenry’s decision in an op-ed for The Washington Post.

Jeffries stated that following the narrow avoidance of a government shutdown and the historic ousting of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), “things only deteriorated from there.”

He accused House Republicans of lashing out and attempting to shift blame. The Democrats, according to Jeffries, have sought bipartisan solutions and a “way out” of the dysfunction created by the House Republicans.

“The House should be restructured to promote governance by consensus and facilitate up-or-down votes on bills that have strong bipartisan support,” Jeffries wrote.

He reinforced the Democrats’ commitment to finding a bipartisan path forward but emphasized that Republicans need to be willing to “break with MAGA extremism.”

This development comes in the wake of a historic vote in the House of Representatives, which saw Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) removed from his leadership role due to internal GOP discord. The motion to oust McCarthy was initiated by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) due to McCarthy’s cooperation with Democrats to prevent a government shutdown.

Pelosi, last month, had announced her decision to run again for reelection to regain control of the House and counter any potential return of former President Donald Trump. Her decision was influenced by her commitment to halt Trump’s possible return to power and cater to San Francisco’s “special needs.”

Meanwhile, Pelosi, on Friday, brushed off McHenry’s decision to boot her from her Capitol “hideaway office.” She called it “incidental” and said she had more important concerns. She added, “The office means nothing to me!”

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U.S. President Joe Biden called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday, emphasizing that Washington stands alongside Jerusalem and fully supports the Jewish state’s right to self defense in the wake of the deadly Hamas attack from Gaza.

Netanyahu thanked the U.S. president for the unreserved support and made it clear that a “forceful, prolonged campaign” is necessary, the Prime Minister’s Office said.

“We unequivocally condemn the appalling attacks by Hamas terrorists against Israel,” tweeted Secretary of State Antony Blinken. “We stand in solidarity with the people of Israel and extend our condolences for the Israeli lives lost in these attacks.”

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the Pentagon would work “to ensure that Israel has what it needs to defend itself and protect civilians from indiscriminate violence and terrorism.

“Our commitment to Israel’s right to defend itself remains unwavering, and I extend my condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in this abhorrent attack on civilians,” he said.

Earlier, acting U.S. Ambassador in Jerusalem Stephanie Hallett said she was “sickened by the images coming out of southern Israel of dead and wounded civilians at the hands of terrorists from Gaza. The United States stands with Israel.”

She added, “I condemn the indiscriminate rocket fire by Hamas terrorists against Israeli civilians. I am in contact with Israeli officials, and fully support Israel’s right to defend itself from such terrorist acts.”

Hamas killed more than 100 Israelis on Saturday in a massive offensive launched from the Gaza Strip, including firing more than 3,000 rockets and sending dozens of Palestinian terrorists to infiltrate the Jewish state.

Hamas claimed to be holding more than 35 Israelis hostage in Gaza.

More than 900 Israelis were evacuated to hospitals across the country, almost half to Soroka Medical Center in Beersheva and many to Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon.

Netanyahu convened the Security Cabinet at the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv.

“Since this morning, the State of Israel has been at war. Our first objective is to clear out the hostile forces that infiltrated our territory and restore the security and quiet to the communities that have been attacked,” said Netanyahu at the start of the meeting.

“The second objective, at the same time, is to exact an immense price from the enemy, within the Gaza Strip as well. The third objective is to reinforce other fronts so that nobody should mistakenly join this war,” he continued.

“We are at war. In war, one needs to be level-headed. I call on all citizens of Israel to unite in order to achieve our highest goal—victory in the war,” added the premier.

Netanyahu also spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte. Both leaders expressed full support for Israel’s right to defend itself, Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.

Produced in association with Jewish News Syndicate

(Additional reporting provided by JNS Reporter)

The head of the catholic Church, Pope Francis, on Sunday responded to the ongoing conflict in Israel in a statement to çongregants,  praying for the peace of Israel and appealing to an end in violence saying: “War is a failure. Every war is a failure.” 

This followed a Saturday dawn surprise attack where Hamas was able to infiltrate the heavily surveilled and guarded Israeli borders through land, air and sea after launching more than 2000 rockets across Israel. The militants took both soldiers and civilians hostage in the attack after penetrating several Israeli towns and army bases. 

Following the attacks by Hamas, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel was at war and launched retaliatory attacks against the terrorist group in Gaza. 

An Israeli official was also quoted by the media saying that the terrorists had been decimated in their hundreds. After the Sunday address to the congregants, Pope Francis appealed for peace in Israel. “Terrorism and war do not bring any solution, but only death and suffering for many innocent people,” said the Pope.

The Catholic head added that he was following the Israeli- Palestinian conflict ” with apprehension and sorrow” while expressing his solidarity with the victims.” The continuing bloodshed and declarations of war remind us once again of the urgent need to find a lasting and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian – Israeli conflict in this land,” said the Pope. 

The violence has so far claimed over 500 casualties from Israel and Palestine, including victims from the Hamas attack and Israeli retaliation.

Earlier in a statement, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa who heads the Catholic Church in Jerusalem also called for a de- escalation of the conflict calling the violence ” very concerning due to its extension and intensity”. The Pope, in his Sunday address added that ” there will be peace in Israel and Palestine” and urged the two to dialogue as a way of creating ” paths of reconciliation and peace”. 
 

Edited by Judy J. Rotich and Newsdesk Manager

A recent schism within the NFT finance-centric group, FloorDAO, has spotlighted the challenges and disagreements that can arise within such projects.

Originally, FloorDAO was on a mission to develop innovative products for “NFT-Fi.” However, a rift emerged when it transferred a whopping $2.5 million from its treasury, a mix of crypto tokens and NFTs, to a new faction named FloorkDAO.

This new group, driven by activist investors and joined by many disgruntled hZenger News, promptly initiated a redemption process, offering nearly $5 for each FLOOR token, a rate approaching its yearly high. Presently, the FLOOR token is valued at $3.88, reported CoinDesk. 

The crux of this division can be traced back to FloorDAO’s obligations to its FLOOR token investors. Originating from Olympus DAO, FloorDAO was conceptualized with the belief that its native token’s price should always remain above its treasury’s value.

Yet, when the FLOOR token’s price did dip below this threshold, the anticipated countermeasures were not implemented. Instead, a protocol revamp was proposed, depriving token-hZenger News of their voting privileges and access to the treasury.

Before the rollout of this upgrade, a portion of the FLOOR community began expressing their dissent. They reportedly pressed the project to grant them an exit, seeking their treasury share.

The emergence of FloorkDAO underscores the mounting influence of activist investors in decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs).

Several DAOs have grappled with challenges this year, with investors advocating for buyouts. While project insiders view this as a threat to the DAO, activist investors argue they are safeguarding their stakes and the interests of fellow token hZenger News.

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A BBC News guest has compared terrorist attacks on Israeli civilians to a major episode of Jewish resistance against the Nazis.

The comments came during a discussion on the United Kingdom’s national broadcaster of the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, following the incursion of Hamas terrorists into southern Israel on Saturday which has left hundreds of Israeli civilians dead and an unconfirmed number held hostage. There have been reports of sexual assault and torture. 

Speaking from Gaza City on Saturday evening, writer and educator Refaat Alareer told the news channel that today’s scenes were “legitimate and moral” and “exactly like the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.”

Lord Austin, a former Labour MP and independent member of the United Kingdom’s House of Lords responded to the clip via X (formerly Twitter), writing, “Needs to educate himself. Clearly knows nothing about Hamas, their appalling atrocities and even less about the Warsaw Ghetto and the uprising.”

In 2018 Alareer took to social media to accuse “most Jews of being evil,” and referred to Zionists as  “the most despicable filth.” He has also claimed that “all supporters of Israel would be cheering for the Nazis in the ’30s and ’40s,” and that “Israel is the root cause of evil.” 

What was The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising?

The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising was a major act of Jewish resistance against the Nazi occupation during World War II. The Warsaw Ghetto, located in the capital of Poland, Warsaw, was established by Nazi forces in 1940 as a segregated and confined area where hundreds of thousands of Jews were forced to live in extremely cramped and inhumane conditions.

In 1943, as the Nazis began the final stages of liquidating the ghetto and deporting its inhabitants to extermination camps, the ghetto’s Jewish inhabitants, primarily from various resistance organizations, initiated armed resistance against the Nazi forces who they were significantly outnumbered and outgunned by. 

The face-off lasted over a month before the Nazi forces brutally suppressed the uprising and the ghetto was razed to the ground, but the episode has become a symbol of Jewish resistance and the struggle for human rights and freedom during the Holocaust.

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The Hamas terrorist organization is keeping dozens of Americans hostage in the Gaza Strip, Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan said on Sunday.

“We don’t have all the names yet, we’re still working to get all the names of the missing people, civilians and soldiers, but as I said, dozens are Americans,” Erdan stated during an interview with Fox News.

Erdan spoke shortly after Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CNN that U.S. officials are working to verify reports of American citizens being killed or abducted by Hamas

“We have reports that several Americans were killed,” Blinken revealed on CNN’s “State of the Union” program.

“We are working overtime to verify that,” the top diplomat said, adding that there are also reports of missing U.S citizens.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appointed Brig. Gen. (res.) Gal Hirsch to coordinate the government efforts to locate missing persons.

Hamas killed at least 600 Israelis and wounded more than 2,000 since Saturday in a massive offensive launched from the Gaza Strip, including firing thousands of rockets and sending dozens of terrorists to infiltrate the Jewish state.

The terrorist group claims to have taken 163 Israeli captives to Gaza.

Channel 13 reported late Saturday afternoon that Israel has confirmed that at least 11 people have been taken hostage in the Hamas-ruled enclave.

In an update posted to its website on Sunday afternoon, the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem urged Americans to “follow local government advice to increase their security awareness and remain safe.”

“U.S. citizens in Israel who need assistance should contact the closest U.S. embassy or consulate using this crisis intake form. ?Family members can also submit information on behalf of a U.S. citizen family member,” read the notice.

Blinken in the interview also alluded to upcoming U.S. military aid to the Jewish state.

“We’re looking at specific additional requests that the Israelis have made. I think you’re likely to hear more about that later today,” he said.

“President Biden’s direction was to make sure that we’re providing Israel everything it needs in this moment to deal with the attacks from Hamas,” Blinken said.

Produced in association with Jewish News Syndicate

(Additional reporting provided by JNS Reporter)

Former President Donald Trump has invoked presidential immunity as a defense against federal charges related to his actions following the 2020 election.

The defense strategy is Trump’s boldest attempt yet to counter the indictment accusing him of spearheading a misinformation campaign after the election, which allegedly incited the Capitol riot.

Lawyers representing Trump have submitted a comprehensive 52-page document pushing back against the allegations.

The document underscores the unique privileges and duties of a sitting president. It also draws attention to Trump’s prior acquittal by the Senate on related accusations, suggesting that it grants him “absolute immunity” from subsequent legal actions, according to Politico.

The indictment claims that Trump orchestrated a broad misinformation campaign. This campaign aimed to exert pressure on states and then-Vice President Mike Pence to reverse the election outcome.

The events culminated in the violent Capitol breach by Trump’s supporters, attempting to halt Congress from confirming President Joe Biden’s victory. The trial is slated to commence on March 4.

Trump’s legal team believes that the prosecution’s primary argument hinges on the inherent presidential powers, such as speaking to the public, structuring his administration, liaising with Congress, enforcing election laws and upholding the Constitution.

They further argue that whether Trump genuinely believed the election was rigged is irrelevant when assessing his immunity.

However, the prosecution contends that Trump’s unyielding quest for power following the election veered into criminal behavior, according to Politico. Prosecutors argue that Trump exploited his presidential authority to further his objectives.

Another pivotal point raised by Trump’s defense is his Senate acquittal in an impeachment trial for similar behavior. They maintain that this acquittal shields Trump from prosecution for related deeds.

Notably, after the acquittal, Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell hinted that the criminal justice system would be a more fitting platform to hold former presidents who engaged in illegal conduct accountable.

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