Zionism Is No Longer a Winning Strategy: American Jewish Activist on Mamdani's Win
In a viral video on social media, the American activist said that Mamdani's victory sends an eye-opening message to politicians that Zionism is no longer a guarantee of electoral victory. Not a Guarantee for Victory
'What I like about Zohran Mamdani's win is that politicians are getting the message that being a Zionist is no longer a winning strategy, that is no longer a guarantee of electoral victory. It doesn't matter if you have AIPAC funding, it doesn't matter who endorses you. It doesn't matter which billionaires are backing your campaign,' Katherine Bogen said about Mamdani's victory.
'Being a Zionist is no longer a winning strategy because people are awake to human rights abuses of the State of Israel. People have compassion and empathy for all of Palestine, for Gaza, for the West Bank, for those who have been displaced,' she added. People Waking Up
'And I think that is a moral reckoning for our country. It is a moral reckoning for our political and electoral system. People are being mindful about who represents them and what that says to our neighbors on the global stage, what it says about the ethical core, the soul or spirit of America,' she said.
'I love that politicians are now getting the message 'you don't get a guarantee to success just because you align yourself with this fascistic ethnonationalist state and all of its money'. And I'm not saying Jews control all the money. I'm a Jewish girl; that's a very important caveat for me to offer here. I'm saying that AIPAC funding, CUFI (Christians United for Israel) funding, billionaire funding is no longer gonna win elections, if what you are touting is mass death,' the American Jewish activist noted.
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Saudi Gazette
19 hours ago
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'The Department's role is to ensure that the President is armed with the best possible military options for any scenario – and all options remain on the table.' But experts and former defense officials warn that supplies need to be ramped up significantly to deal with the shortfall. 'It is important to recognize the level of commitment and the level of expenditure here in defense of Israel is significant,' said a missile defense expert who has been tracking the US government's expenditure. 'The reports about THAAD expenditure are concerning. This is not the sort of thing that the US can afford to continue to do on and on,' he added. 'It was a major commitment to our Israeli ally, but missile defense interceptor capacity is definitely a concern, and THAAD is a very scarce resource.' A senior retired US army officer who asked not to be named said around 25% of THAAD's total inventory was used by US forces in Israel participating in the war effort. 'The (Department of Defense) is looking at wartime stockage levels of critical munitions and attempting to significantly increase annual production capacity, an effort that is long overdue,' the source said. US interceptor stockpile concerns preceded the 12-day war, according to four former senior US defense officials who say that the problem is most acute in inventories of high-end interceptors that are a key part of deterrence against China. 'What I can say without giving any numbers is I was surprised at how low some of the levels of readiness were,' said one former defense official who left his post in the last year. 'Stockpiles are dropping. We need more. We need them faster than they are being built,' said the same ex-official. 'This is a concern. It was a concern during the Biden administration. I'm sure it's a concern now during the Trump administration,' one former senior Biden defense official said. 'Air defense is relevant in all of the major theaters right now. And there's not enough systems. There's not enough interceptors. There's not enough production and there are not enough people working on it,' said Mara Karlin, former US Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy, Plans, and Capabilities under Biden. 'You have the challenge of something being both incredibly relevant and also there's a dearth of them,' she added. There are nine active THAAD batteries globally, according to manufacturer Lockheed Martin. The US military has seven of those and plans to have an eighth active by 2025, according to the Congressional Research Service. Data available in 2019 showed that five of the US' THAADs were stationed at bases in Texas, one in Guam and one in South Korea; by last year, the Pentagon had moved two of those batteries to the Middle East to protect Israel. Two others were delivered to the United Arab Emirates and have been used to intercept Houthi militant ballistic missiles. 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Analysis conducted by DC-based think tank Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA) estimated that THAADs – alongside Israel's Arrow-2 and Arrow-3 interceptors – downed 201 of Iran's 574 missiles, with 57 hitting populated areas. The report estimated that the US' THAAD system accounted for almost half of all interceptions, indicating that Israel's Arrow interceptor stockpiles were insufficient. Israel's Iron Dome system was designed to deflect shorter-range rockets than those being fired by Iran. 'After burning through a large portion of their available interceptors, the United States and Israel both face an urgent need to replenish stockpiles and sharply increase production rates,' Ari Cicurel, author of the report, wrote, estimating that it would take three to eight years to replenish at current production rates. According to data compiled by JINSA, interception rates lagged as the war wore on. 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Saudi Gazette
19 hours ago
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Trump calls to prosecute Beyoncé based on a nonexistent $11 million payment
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Saudi Gazette
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Von der Leyen and Trump strike EU-US trade deal with 15% tariff for the bloc
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That's very important for businesses on both sides of the Atlantic."Von der Leyen noted the 15% tariff would be "across-the-board" and "all-inclusive", blocking the application of other duties."It was tough negotiations (but) we came to a good conclusion," she said, highlighting the "openness" of the EU market, which Trump had vehemently leaders shook hands to applause in the room."We were able to make a deal that's satisfactory to both sides, so it's a very powerful deal. It's the biggest of all the deals," Trump 15% rate is lower than the 20% rate that Trump imposed, and later paused, in April as part of his contentious, self-styled "reciprocal tariffs", as well as the 30% rate that he threatened to slap in a letter sent to von der Leyen earlier this 15% rate is also inferior to the rates that other countries have negotiated with the White House in recent days, including Indonesia (19%) and the Philippines (19%), and matches the number granted to Japan (15%), a G7 it represents a painful concession, considering the talks began with von der Leyen offering a "zero-for-zero" tariff agreement. Through the back-and-forth process, von der Leyen repeatedly warned that "all options", including a never-used instrument against economic coercion, were on the table in case of an undesirable tensions mounted, the European Commission prepared several lists of retaliatory measures against US products worth €93 billion in never resorted to any tit-for-tat measure due to stark differences between member states. Some countries, like France and Spain, advocated a show of force against Washington, while others, like Germany and Italy, pushed for a quick ideological gap closed after Trump made his out-of-the-blue 30% threat, which prompted outrage across the bloc and hardened the mood towards Trump's arrival disrupted transatlantic commerce, EU-made products were subject to an average tariff rate of 4.8% upon entering US territory. Sunday's deal presumably entails an additional 10% to reach the 15% cars, which are today under a 27.5% tariff, will be brought under the 15% rate.A "zero-for-zero" scheme will apply to aircraft and related components, semiconductor equipment, critical raw materials and some chemical and agricultural products."We will keep working to add more products to this list," von der Leyen she explained, the bloc commits to spending over $250 billion per year on purchasing American liquefied natural gas (LNG), oil and nuclear fuels to replace Russian energy. The total pledge will amount to about $700 billion by the end of Trump's about what concessions, if any, the US had made in the talks, the Commission chief replied with a general remark about shared prosperity."The starting point was an imbalance, a surplus (of goods) on our side and a deficit on the US side. We wanted to rebalance the trade relation, and we wanted to do it in a way that trade goes on between the two of us across the Atlantic," she said."I think it's going to be great for both parties," Trump meeting in Scotland took place amid sky-high expectations due to the looming deadline of 1 August that Trump had imposed to force nations to either offer far-reaching concessions or face punishing der Leyen was accompanied by Maroš Šefčovič, the European Commissioner for Trade, who has been travelling across the two sides of the Atlantic Ocean in an attempt to gain a better understanding of the White House's maximalist was also joined by her powerful chef de cabinet, Björn Seibert; her trade advisor, Tomas Baert, and the Commission's director general for trade, Sabine the last stretch of negotiations, von der Leyen's team had realised that 15% was the lowest number that Trump was willing to settle for. The 15% rate was considered high for the bloc but palatable if paired with carve-outs for strategic sectors.A major concern along the way has been pharmaceuticals, which the EU exports in large volumes to the American market. The White House has opened a formal investigation into pharma products, a step that can pave the way for a tailor-made the start of the meeting, Trump said pharma would be excluded from the deal."We have to have them built and made in the United States, and we want them made in the United States," Trump told reporters. "Pharmaceuticals are very special. We can't be in a position where (...) we're relying on other countries."At the end of the meeting, von der Leyen said EU-made drugs would fall under the 15% rate but admitted Trump could take further action to address the matter "globally"."15% is certainly a challenge for some, but we should not forget that it keeps us access to the American market," she admitted, noting the bloc would continue to diversify its trade partners to create greater opportunities for European exporters and saga might soon take another twist: next week, a federal appeals court in the US will begin hearing arguments in a closely-watched lawsuit challenging Trump's authority to slap across-the-board tariffs under the pretext of a national emergency. — Euronews
