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On Sunday morning in Longmeadow, Massachusetts, Ashley Thielen, the mother of two young children, let her one-year-old and three-year-old go to play at Bliss Park without expecting what would happen next.

Horrifyingly, she soon heard her toddler screaming, their skin marked with acid burns. After an investigation, authorities determined that an intruder had broken into the chemical storage room of the park’s pool and stolen muriatic acid: a corrosive substance commonly used for cleaning and maintaining a pool’s pH balance.

The children suffered second-degree burns to the palms of their hands and the bottoms of their feet. Thankfully, Thielen’s two children escaped with mostly superficial damage.

The acid had been poured on three slides, including the one that had caused the burns to the Thielen’s children. The horrifying incident reminds us of the importance of staying vigilant around our children and reporting suspicious activity to the authorities.

The acid pool was cleaned from the playground, but the slides remain closed until further notice. Longmeadow Police have asked anyone with burns to their hands, arms, clothing, or any information relating to the acid spill to come forward to the authorities.

Prosecutors said that Awawdeh walked up to the victim and called him a “dirty Jew” and said “F–k Israel, Hamas is going to kill all of you.”

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

A pro-Palestinian activist who brutally beat a Jewish man on a New York street and bragged afterwards that he’d “do it again” was sentenced to 18 months in jail on Tuesday.

In May 2021, Waseem Awawdeh, 25, and four other men targeted Joey Borgen, who was identifiably Jewish due to his kippah (yarmulke) as he walked to a pro-Israel rally in Manhattan.

Awawdeh and his accomplices pepper-sprayed, kicked, punched, and beat Borgen with crutches in the unprovoked attack, leaving the victim hospitalized with a concussion.

He was reportedly originally offered a lenient plea deal to serve six months in jail by liberal Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg, but that agreement was rescinded after widespread outrage from Jewish advocacy groups.

Awawdeh pleaded guilty to charges in April to attempted assault in the second degree as a hate crime and criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree, as part of a new plea deal that will see him serve up to 18 months in jail.

During a 2021 arraignment hearing shortly after the attack, prosecutors said that Awawdeh walked up to the victim and called him a “dirty Jew” and said “F–k Israel, Hamas is going to kill all of you.”

Prosecutors added that Awawdeh had bragged about his crime, telling a jailer, “If I could do it again, I would do it again. I have no problem doing it again.”

“I’ve heard of waves of hate increasing through the city, and maybe I was a little naive to think it would never happen to me,” Borgen told the New York Post following the assault.

“I’ve been in New York for my entire life and I would never in a million years have thought that it would get to this point where I would have to second guess wearing a yarmulke in public.”

Another participant in the attack, Faisal Elezzi, was sentenced to three years of probation and mandatory “anti-bias training” in April 2023.

Three other men are currently awaiting trial for their roles in the assault on Borgen.

The post Pro-Palestinian attacker of NY Jewish man sentenced to 18 months in jail appeared first on World Israel News.

The close-knit community in France, is mourning the tragic shooting death of 11-year-old Solaine Thornton and praying for the recovery of her parents. The devastating attack on the family during an outdoor barbecue has left the small town in anguish, and investigators have revealed details about the suspect and his motives.

Dirk Raats, 70, was a neighbor of the Thorntons and had been in a years-long dispute with them over their inherited garden. The situation boiled over Saturday night, when investigators believe Raats opened fire on the family from less than 30 feet away, shooting Solaine on a swing set and then her parents.

The animosity between the Raats and Thorntons began with the latter cutting down a large oak tree whose branches crossed their neighbor’s property. Though Raats and his wife tried to sue for damages, they ultimately lost the case. The couple then attempted unsuccessfully to resolve the conflict at a 2019 town hall.

Further complicating the tragedy is that Raats was allegedly under the influence of drugs at the time of the shooting. Police discovered several illegal firearms, including a 22-caliber rifle and a large amount of cannabis, at the suspects’ house.

However, Solaine’s 8-year-old sister Celeste had the presence of mind to run from the scene, seeking help from family friends Pierre and Frederique Leroy. The couple saw Rachel holding her bleeding daughter, screaming, and Adrian shouting from the pain of his injuries.

The senseless shooting of Solaine Thornton and the severe injuries of her parents is an unfathomable tragedy for the small community. People are working to come to terms with the senseless act, honoring young Solaine’s memory and praying for a speedy recovery for her parents.

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Video: War in Ukraine and Media Lies. Prof. Michel Chossudovsky

By Prof Michel Chossudovsky and Caroline Mailloux, June 13, 2023

Was the Kiev regime  behind the plot to blow-up the Kakhovka dam? “A war crime” against the Ukrainian people, …

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…

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Baerbock called on Brazil to align with Western countries on geopolitical matters, particularly the Ukraine war and China.

“I believe there will be lessons here from the exercise for us, as we prepare ourselves for the real event.”

By Yaakov Lappin, TPS

The Israel Defense Forces Home Front Command and the country’s civilian medical system in recent days rehearsed the wartime evacuation of special-needs patients from northern Israel.

The exercise, which took place in nine separate locations in the Shlomi Regional Council, around a kilometer from the Lebanese border, simulated an IDF directive to evacuate northern communities, according to Lt. Col. Merav Shabi Sultan, Head of the Home Front Command’s Community and Continuous Hospitalization Branch.

The drill, held last week, was part of the IDF’s two-week “Firm Hand” multi-arena war exercise.

Evacuating such patients involves significant challenges, said Sultan. For instance, while people would ordinarily only receive notice from their local municipality about where to gather to board evacuation buses, those with special needs require a succession of coordination steps, presumably under heavy fire.

Hezbollah is expected to rain down unprecedented numbers of rockets and mortar shells on northern regions in the event of a future war.

“When it comes to sick patients, you can’t evacuate if you don’t know whether the place they’re heading to can absorb them physically and care-wise, and has the facilities that the patient has at home,” said Sultan.

“The bulk of the mission is, as soon as possible, at the beginning of the event,  to actually deal with the evacuation process and enable the IDF  to really concentrate on fighting in the north, rather than concentrating on other missions,” she added.

The IDF’s assessment is that the Lebanese-Hezbollah front will form the most pressing arena in a future conflict and that communities in the area will have to vacate quickly.

“We are an implementation body of the Health Ministry, and therefore, all the preparations are being conducted jointly with it and other health bodies,” said Sultan, naming district health bureaus and Israel’s health funds as partners in the preparations.

The patients who will require the added assistance are often confined to wheelchairs, or lying in specialized care beds, with some suffering from blindness, deafness, or dependent on guide dogs. They will be moved to pre-selected care homes across the country, particularly in central Israel, in the event of war, with the Northern District Health Bureau overseeing the operation.

During the exercise, Israeli Navy personnel practiced getting the patients down multi-story buildings without elevators.

The evacuation would occur after health funds confirm via phone that the patients are ready to vacate and that transportation companies equipped for special-needs patients have been activated.

“I believe there will be lessons here from the exercise for us, as we prepare ourselves for the real event,” said Sultan.

“A military commander was responsible for the evacuation efforts, and a military force was assigned to the mission,” she said.

During the 2006 Second Lebanon War, Israel did not issue evacuation orders in the north, though many residents chose to head south.

The IDF Home Front Command is also observing other conflict zones, like Russia’s war in Ukraine, to help itself prepare for the challenges, while factoring in the intelligence assessments on Hezbollah firepower capabilities.

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“JewCE is designed to be an inclusive convention, celebrating an industry largely created by Members of the Tribe, and promoting diverse Jewish narratives in comics and graphic novel.”

By Shiryn Ghermezian, The Algemeiner

A one-day pop culture convention set to take place in New York City in November will be the first of its kind to celebrate characters, narratives and creators of Jewish comic books and graphic novels.

“JewCE: The Jewish Comics Experience” is being organized by the Center for Jewish History, which is the comprised of five partner organizations: American Jewish Historical Society, American Sephardi Federation, Leo Baeck Institute, Yeshiva University Museum and YIVO Institute for Jewish Research.

The convention will highlight the Jewish history of the comic book industry and the tradition of Jewish storytelling as it applies to the creation of comic books, and well as Jewish comic book and graphic novel narratives, themes, characters and creators. The event will include a minimum of 10 panels and workshops, the opportunity to meet 24 comic book artists and writers and other programming. Guests are also invited to visit the new Jews in Comics exhibit at the Center for Jewish History in advance of the convention.

“JewCE is designed to be an inclusive convention, celebrating an industry largely created by Members of the Tribe, and promoting diverse Jewish narratives in comics and graphic novel,” the Center for Jewish History said in its description of the event.

Tickets are already on sale for the convention, which will take place on Nov. 12, in-person and on Zoom, with a preview night on Nov. 11 in-person only at the Center for Jewish History. There will also be a JewCE Awards ceremony, to be held on preview night, that will celebrate diverse Jewish comics and graphic novels.

Nine awards will be presented by a panel of judges from the industry. The honors include a Combating Prejudice Award, a Book Award in Diverse Jewish Representation and the Macherke Award for Career Contributions to Jewish Comics.

“The Jewish Comics Experience has what it takes to make it to the major league of comic conventions and I could not be more proud to be a part of it,” Fabrice Sapolsky — a comic book creator, publisher and co-creator of JewCE — said in a released statement.

“Comic books, graphic novels, and sequential arts are amazing mediums to convey stories. This industry was founded by a group of young — mostly Jewish — creators in the 1930/40s. JewCE will keep honoring the past while promoting present-day storytellers and inspiring creators of tomorrow. It will be an inclusive journey into Jewish diversity through art and creativity.”

JewCE Co-Creator Dr. Miriam Eve Mora, who is also director of academic and public programs at the Center for Jewish History, called JewCE “a love letter to the creators themselves, Jewish and non-Jewish, who have worked to include Jewish characters in their stories, to demonstrate Jewish diversity across the pages, and to provide a visual and cultural home for Jewish readers of all ages to feel seen, included, and embraced.”

“At times only perceptible to those in the know, Jews have long had a home between the covers of comic books of all sorts,” she added. “JewCE brings that home to light, celebrating Jewish characters and creators of all ethnicities, nations of origin, religious observances, genders, sexual orientations, and political affiliations.”

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The Antiquities Authority confirmed that the figurine represented Hathor, an Egyptian goddess associated with fertility, strength, protection and wisdom.

By Pesach Benson, JNS

A woman strolling on Israel’s Palmachim Beach south of Tel Aviv found a 3,000-year-old figurine of an Egyptian goddess, which she turned over to archaeologists at the Israel Antiquities Authority.

Lydia Marner, 74, a resident of Lod and an Azerbaijani immigrant, said she and her husband noticed an object emerge from the sea one stormy day “about a month ago.”

Understanding she had found something significant, Marner contacted friends who were knowledgeable in archaeology, then reached out to the Antiquities Authority via its Facebook page.

Inspectors Dror Citron and Idan Horn were dispatched to examine the ancient figurine. After examining and cleaning the statuette, the Authority announced the find on Tuesday.

“I can’t believe I had the privilege of finding this. At first my husband laughed at me, but today the whole family already knows the amazing story that happened to me. I’m very happy that the honor of finding it fell to me,” Marner said.

The Antiquities Authority confirmed that the figurine represented Hathor, an Egyptian goddess associated with fertility, strength, protection and wisdom.

According to Amir Golani, an expert on the Bronze Age at the authority, “The Canaanites used to adopt ritual and religious customs of the Egyptians, who ruled our region at the time. Just like homes today, where you install a mezuzah or hang a picture of a saint on the wall, they used to place ritual figurines in a central place in the house, for good luck and protection from bad things.”

The statuette was made of clay that was embedded into a stone pattern, a process allowing people to quickly produce numerous such figurines, he explained.

“It can be recognized that this is Ella Hathor by her hairstyle, which simulates the horns of a bull, and by the prominent eyes and ears that were designed for her,” Golani said.

Marner’s discovery coincides with the launch of the Antiquities Authority’s “Return Them With a Click” campaign to encourage Israelis with artifacts in their homes to turn them over to the state.

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