Behind the Aegis
Behind the Aegis's Journal(Jewish Group) New Poll: Jewish Voters Overwhelmingly Support & Trust Kamala Harris, Oppose & Distrust Donald Trump
A new national poll of Jewish voters finds overwhelming support for Vice President Kamala Harris. Less than two months until the election, 72% of Jewish voters back Kamala Harris, while only 25% support Donald Trump in a head-to-head matchup. Nearly all – 91% – of Jewish voters are concerned about antisemitism in the United States, and Jewish voters trust Kamala Harris more than Donald Trump to fight antisemitism by nearly a three-to-one margin (60% – 23%). Harris’s lead over Trump by a 47-point margin (72% – 25%) is an improvement from Biden’s 41-point margin among Jewish voters in April (67% – 26%) when compared to an April poll of Jewish voters conducted by the Jewish Electorate Institute (JEI).
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68% of Jewish voters hold a favorable view of Kamala Harris, and 63% view Tim Walz favorably, compared to only 23% and 20% for Donald Trump and JD Vance.
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91% of Jewish voters are concerned about antisemitism in the United States, and by a 37-point margin, Jewish voters trust Kamala Harris more than Donald Trump to fight antisemitism (60%-23%).
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The future of democracy and abortion rank as the two top issues for Jewish voters, followed by the economy and inflation, climate change, and national security and foreign policy.
Israel ranked as the 9th most important issue for Jewish voters when deciding which candidate to support.
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This is a reminder: don't believe the anti-Semitic hype that is out there and be prepared to defend Jews, even after a Harris win!
Shirel Golan survived the Nova massacre but died by suicide. Online denial may be to blame
Many survivors of Oct. 7 have spent the past year testifying about what happened to them. They find meaning in speaking for those who no longer can — those who were murdered or abducted, as well as those who were silenced by their trauma.
But many of these survivors, especially young women who witnessed or experienced sexual violence at the Nova music festival, have told me over the past year that they feel like they are screaming into the void as they try to counter anti-Israel propaganda and misinformation online.
This weekend, we witnessed the tragic toll that can result from these survivors having to relive the most horrible day of their lives over and over again, from them being stuck in an endless loop of trauma. Shirel Golan, who was rescued by a police car as she fled the Nova site, died by suicide on her 22nd birthday, after twice being hospitalized with acute symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder including disassociation and withdrawal.
The brutal atrocities committed on Oct. 7, especially against the thousands of young people attending the Nova festival, were beyond imagination. I do not know how anyone experiences these horrors and moves on. Adding to the trauma of witnessing their friends hunted down, tortured, raped and murdered by terrorists, these survivors are also facing a world that refuses to believe their accounts.
Online, female hostages who have shared how they were sexually assaulted when in Hamas captivity have faced denial and mockery. “She is lying through her teeth and reading through a script,” read one of the more charitable replies to Amit Soussana’s testimony of being groped and forced to perform a sexual act on her captor.
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Shirel Golan died by suicide on October 20 at her residence in Porat, northwest Israel, close to Netanya.
Targeting Hillel, Antisemites and Anti-Israel Activists Push to Undermine Jewish Life on Campus
Hillel International, the premier Jewish on-campus organization that supports Jewish life at hundreds of colleges across the United States and abroad, has been one of the most frequent targets of anti-Israel activists and other antisemites in recent months, totaling more than a hundred incidents in the U.S. since Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. Jewish students and Hillel staff members have received threatening emails and phone calls; Hillel buildings have been vandalized and tagged with graffiti; and Hillel-sponsored events have been protested; and in some cases, anti-Israel student groups have even launched campaigns demanding that Hillel be banned entirely from universities.
Most recently, on July 19, 2024, an anti-Zionist student group at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee posted a message on social media declaring that “ANY organization or entity that supports Israel is not welcome at UWM,” calling out Hillel and the Jewish Federation by name. The post went on to ominously state that these organizations “will be treated accordingly as extremist criminals. Stay tuned.”
The university administration quickly denounced the threatening language, but UW-Milwaukee Popular University for Palestine — the group that published the original post and also served as a key organizer of the anti-Israel encampment at the school earlier in the spring — doubled down on its rhetoric in a follow-up post that reiterated that Zionist groups “will not be normalized or welcomed on our campus.” The group’s statement was endorsed by UW-Milwaukee’s chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) and others.
The university has since temporarily suspended the SJP chapter and those of SDS and YDSA.
This extreme anti-Zionist rhetoric that seeks to target and marginalize mainstream Jewish organizations reflects a concerning trend that has taken hold across the United States since October 7. This sentiment has manifested in direct actions against the American Jewish community on the ground and online. College campuses, in particular, have been a hotbed of antisemitic rhetoric and activity.
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Trump Called Harris 'Retarded,' Railed Against Jews Supporting Her
Former President Donald Trump called Vice President Kamala Harris “retarded” at a recent dinner in New York City, where he also railed against Jewish voters supporting her amid the White House race, according to a new report.
Trump made the comments during the event last month at Trump Tower in Manhattan, The New York Times reported Saturday. As the GOP presidential nominee complained about the number of Jewish voters backing his Democratic rival, he reportedly said that they needed their heads examined for not standing with him despite his support for Israel.
Trump has previously sought to put the blame on Jewish voters for a potential election loss this year.
The dinner event, where Trump also suggested that contributors to his campaign needed to do more for him, was attended by high-profile donors including billionaire hedge fund manager Paul Singer. Billionaire investment banker Warren Stephens was present as well, along with former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and her husband.
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(THIS IS THE JEWISH GROUP) May his/her memory be a blessing. (zikhrono livrakha (m.) / zikhronah livrakha (f.) )
(THIS IS THE JEWISH GROUP!!)MURDERED BY TERRORIST ORGANIZATION, HAMAS
BRING THEM HOME NOW!
Hostages STILL Being Held by Terrorist Organization, HAMAS
Alexander Trupanov, Ariel Cunio, Arbel Yahud, David Cunio, 33, Doron Steinbrecher, 30, Naama Levy, 19, Yousef Zyadna, 53, Elad Katzir, 47, Ohad Ben Ami, 55, Twin brothers Gali and Ziv Berman, 26, Shlomo Mansour, 85, Daniela Gilboa, 19, Matan Angrest, 21, Eli Sharabi, 55, Agam Berger, 19, Edan Alexander, 19, Kaid Farhan Elkadi, 52, Matan Zanguaker, 24, Eitan Horn, 37, and his brother Yair, 45, Keith Seigel, 64, Omri Miran, 46, Bipin Joshi, 23, Ilan Weiss, 58, Oded Lifshitz, 83, Omer Neutra, 22, Itzhk Elgarat, 68, Gadi Moses, 79, Nimrod Cohen, 19, Tsachi Idan, 51, Yarden Bibas, 34, Ronen Engel, 54, Karina Ariev, 19, Ofer Kalderon, 53, Omri Miran, 46, Liri Elbag, 18, Omer Shem Tov, 21, Idan Shtivi, 28, Yosef Ohana, 24, Avinatan Or, 30, Guy Gilboa-Dalal, 22, Eitan Mor, 23, Alon Ohel, 22, Maxim Kharkin, 35, Segev Kalfon, 26, Romi Lesham Gonen, 23, Bar Kuperstein, 21, Eliya Cohen, 26, Elkana Bohbot, 34, Rom Braslavski, 19, Omer Wenkert, 22, Evyatar David, 23, Ohad Yahalomi, 49, Tal Shoham, 38, Sagui Dekel-Chen, 35, Watchara Sriuan, 32, Thailand's government says that six of its citizens are still being held hostage in Gaza
Hostages MURDERED by Terrorist Organization, HAMAS
Bodies STILL Held by Terrorist Organization, HAMAS – Amiram Cooper, Chaim Peri, Yoram Metzger and Nadav Popplewell, Lior Rudaeff, 61, Elyakim Libman, 24, Thai hostages, Sonthaya Oakkharasr and Sudthisak Rinthalak, Uriel Baruch, 35, Shiri Bibas, 32, and her two young children, Ariel and Kfir.
Bodies Returned by Terrorist Organization, HAMAS -- Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi and Master Sgt Ori Danino. (Name withheld by request of family), Gadi Haggai, Ron Scherman, Nik Beizer, Tal Chaimi, an Israeli-Romanian citizen aged 41, Joshua Mollel, a 19-year-old Tanzanian student, 27-year-old Eden Zecharya, and 36-year-old Ziv Dado. Jonathan Samerano, 21, Sahar Baruch, 25, Dror Kaplun, 68, Aviv Atzili, 49, Arye Zalmanovich, 85, Ronen Engel, 54, Maya Goren, 56, Guy Iluz, 26, Ofir Tzarfati, 27, Ofra Keider, 70, and Eliyahu Margalit, 75. Tamir Adar, 38, Yossi Sharabi, Itay Svirsky, Inbar Heima.
Accidentally killed by Israel while escaping Terrorists, HAMAS -- Yotam Haim, 28, Samer Talalka, 22, and Alon Shamriz, 26.
Bodies recovered by Israel from Terrorist Organization, HAMAS - Abraham Munder, Alex Dancyg, Yagev Buchshtab, Chaim Peri, Yoram Metzger and Nadav Popplewell, Orion Hernandez, 30, Chanan Yablonka, 42, Michel Nisenbaum, 59, Shani Louk, 23, Amit Buskila, 27, Itzhak Gelerenter, 58, Ron Benjamin, 53, Noa Marciano, 19, Yehudit Weiss, 65.
Hostages Released from Terrorist group, HAMAS
Mia Leimberg, 17, her mother Gabriela, 59, and Mia's aunt Clara Marman, 63. Amit Soussana, 40, Mia Schem, 21, Aisha Zyadna, 16, and her brother Bilal, 18, Nili Margalit, 41, Ilana Gritzewsky 30, Raya Rotem, 54, Hila Rotem Shoshani, 13. Itay Regev, 18, and his sister, Maya Regev, 21; Amit Shani, 16, Ofir Engel, 18, Gali Tarshansky, 13, Yarden Roman-Gat, a 36, Raz Ben Ami, 57, and Moran Stella Yanai, 40, Liat Atzili, 49, Sapir Cohen, 29, Lena Trupanov, 50, and Irena Tati, 73, Roni Krivoi, 25, Sharon Aloni Cunio, 34, and her three-year-old twin daughters Ema and Yuly, Daniele Aloni, and her six-year-old daughter Emilia. Or Yaakov, 16, and his younger brother Yagil, who turned 13, Meirav Tal, 53, Rimon Buchshtab Kirsht, 36, Siblings Sahar Kalderon, 16, and Erez, 12, Karina Engel-Bart, 52, and her two daughters Mika Engel, 18, and Yuval Engel, 11, Eitan Yahalomi, 12.
Rescued from Terrorist group, HAMAS
Kaid Farhan Elkadi; Noa Argamani, 26, Almog Meir Jan, 22, Andrei Kozlov, 27, Shlomi Ziv, 41, Fernando Marman, 60, Louis Har, 70.
: זיכרונה לברכה? (f.) / זיכרונו לברכה? (m.)
A mile from the DNC, a giant pair of bloody sweatpants evokes the horror of Oct. 7
A mile from the DNC, a tribute to the Israeli hostages features a 22-foot replica of the bloody sweatpants worn by 19-year-old Naama Levy, one of the 100-plus Israelis still in captivity in Gaza. Photo by Jodi Rudoren
You can glimpse part of Tomer Peretz’s artwork from the street, but not really make out what it is; gray fabric splattered with paint flapping in the summer breeze a few feet from a wall of beige brick here in Chicago’s West Loop.
To really see it you have to walk inside the fenced-off lot festooned with Israeli and American flags, let the security guard check your bag and go through the metal detector. You have to pass by the giant milk cartons depicting some of the people killed and abducted by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7 and the charcoal sketches of the same victims hung on clotheslines under yellow balloons.
As you approach, you will see that the gray fabric is gathered with elastic at the bottom like sweatpants, and then you realize the splattered acrylic paint is meant to evoke blood. This is a 22-foot replica of the bloody sweatpants worn by 19-year-old Naama Levy, one of the 100-plus Israelis still in captivity in Gaza, in a video that went viral on Oct. 7 as one of the earliest hints of the sexual violence committed as part of the massacre.
“The idea is to touch people’s emotions and to stab them a little in the heart and the stomach,” Peretz, who grew up in Jerusalem and lives in Los Angeles, told me.
“When people see clothing with blood, it shrinks them, it makes them ask what it is,” he added. “If you drive downtown Chicago right now, you will see a lot of billboards and ads for clothing. Everything is so clean and so beautiful and so fashionable. The idea here is to create something that is a contrast. I see darkness right now, and I think it’s OK to show the darkness.”
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He wanted to throw an Idaho town's first Pride. Angry residents had other ideas.
In the beginning, Tom Wheeler didn’t expect he would need a fence. He wanted to give Canyon County, Idaho, its first Pride celebration, and when he imagined that day, he pictured a park without barriers, an open space where everyone was welcome.
But then the mayor said the event conflicted with her beliefs, and angry residents called for a protest. Wheeler was a real estate agent from Boise, an out-of-towner, and worse, gay.
Far-right extremists had already targeted another small-town Idaho Pride, and now, Wheeler’s event seemed to be at risk, too. His mother begged him to stay home. An uncle urged him to wear a bulletproof vest. At the very least, local officers said, he might want a barricade.
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At best, they hoped, they might raise $1,000 — enough for T-shirts and rainbow-colored streamers. In their planning documents, they estimated 50 people would attend.
Drag queen Cookie Pusss performs for the crowd at the festival. (Kyle Green for The Washington Post)
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NSHE Regent's Comments Against Jewish People Fuel Outrage And Safety Concerns
The Globe has received numerous emails from concerned jewish UNLV students and from concerned members of the jewish community in response to the remarks made by Regent Donald Sylvantee McMichael Sr. during a NSHE (Nevada System of Higher Education) board meeting on June 7. McMichael also serves as the Vice Chair of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. At that meeting, the Board of Regents narrowly passed (7-6) a policy amendment to define antisemitism in NSHE’s handbook. McMichael’s dissented.
“We have a small group of people — because they were set upon in World War II — have the notion that they can set themselves up in a higher position than anyone else in the United States…Some Jewish students are frightful to come to campus. Get in line,” McMichael’s said in the recorded audio. “There’s others who have been here a lot longer and who have been treated more poorly, and for you to come and say that, ‘Oh my gosh, just remember, it had been World War II, we had the Holocaust and they were in concentration camps. We still have concentration camps here in the United States,” he said, and then remarkably equated Native American Indian reservations to Hitler’s concentration camps.
To date, McMichael has not publicly apologized for his public statements and did not respond to The Globe’s request for comment.
Despite his loss for reelection on June 11, his comments continue to spark outrage and his video recording posted on X has gained national attention.
https://x.com/StopAntisemites/status/1802685276839411802
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Pride Month: A Story of Love and Acceptance
Pierre Seel was a teenager discovering young love when the Gestapo imprisoned him for being on a list of known gay men. He was subjected to violence and medical experimentation during six months at a Nazi camp. There he witnessed the brutal murder of his first love, a scene seared in his mind for the rest of his life.
When Pierre returned home, he was told not to speak of these experiences. Years later, his gravely ill mother finally said to him, "Tell me what they did to you." Watch our short Pride Month program to learn how Pierre shared his story in honor of the men who could not.
Host
Dr. Edna Friedberg, Historian, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Germany: Antisemitic incidents in Berlin hit record levels
A total of 1,270 antisemitic incidents were documented in Berlin in 2023, according to Germany's Federal Association of Departments for Research and Information on Antisemitism (RIAS).
The figure represents an almost 50% increase on the previous year and a record number of incidents in the capital in a single calendar year since RIAS began its work in 2015.
According to RIAS, over 60% of incidents were recorded between October 7, when the Palestinian militant Islamist group Hamas attacked Israel, killing around 1,200 Israelis and taking about 250 more hostages, and the end of 2023, by which time a humanitarian crisis had unfolded in Gaza following Israel's retaliatory operation.
What the RIAS report said about antisemitic incidents in Berlin
A total of 783 antisemitic incidents were recorded in Berlin after October 7, the annual report revealed.
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