California Rep. Ro Khanna endorses Zohran Mamdani for New York mayor
July 17 (UPI) -- California Democratic congressional lawmaker Ro Khanna announced on Fox & Friends Thursday morning that he will endorse Zohran Mamdani for mayor of New York.
"He spent a lot of time talking about the cost of living in New York, in this country, and how we address it," Khanna said. He said Mamdani is a "very charismatic, relatable person."
Host Lawrence B. Jones asked Khanna if he agrees with Mamdani's views on Israel. Mamdani has said that if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came to New York, he'd have him arrested.
He answered that he doesn't agree with Mamdani on every issue. He argued that the Democratic party should focus more on the working class. It should work to raise wages and have a more economically populist agenda.
Since Mamdani won the Democratic primary for mayor, he's been seeking endorsements from higher-ranking progressives. Khanna fits that bill.
The endorsement came after a breakfast meeting in New York hosted by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., where Mamdani met with a variety of Democratic representatives.
Other endorsements Mamdani has gained include: Reps. Jerry Nadler,D-N.Y., and Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y. Espaillat initially endorsed former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Cuomo on Monday formally announced he is running as an independent for mayor, three weeks after he lost to Mamdani.
Former Mayor Eric Adams announced last month that he will also run as an independent.
Mamdani is expected to meet soon with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., The Hill reported.
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Los Angeles Times
2 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
Hunger-striking women demand Israel return the body of Palestinian activist killed in settler clash
UMM AL-KHAIR, West Bank — Nearly two dozen Bedouin women, enrobed in black, sat on the floor of a modest hut that baked under the desert sun of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The room was quiet, the women still. The women are on a hunger strike to call for Israeli authorities to release the body of a beloved community leader killed during a clash with a Jewish settler last week. They say they will continue until the man's remains are returned for burial in his hometown of Umm al-Khair. Witnesses said Awdah Al Hathaleen was shot and killed by a radical Israeli settler during a confrontation caught on video. Israeli authorities said they would only return the body if the family agrees to certain conditions that would 'prevent public disorder.' The villagers say those include limiting attendance for a funeral that would normally draw hundreds and burying him at night in a nearby city. 'We want him to be buried here in Umm al-Khair and have a respectable funeral without any conditions. What did we do to deserve this treatment? We did nothing,' said his mother, Khadra Hathaleen, 65, who is among the dozens of women, aged 15-70, from the village who are on strike. The hunger strike, in its sixth day Tuesday, marks a rare public protest by a group of Bedouin women accustomed to mourning in private. Their move reflects their anger over Awdah's death as well as what they perceive as Israel's attempt to dictate unreasonable conditions that violate their customs, beliefs, and right to the land beneath them. But beyond that, they say they have been forced to speak up after repeated settler attacks and Israeli raids have targeted their husbands, sons and fathers. Adding to their outrage, the settler suspected in the shooting, Yinon Levi, was quickly released by an Israeli court from his house arrest. The plight of Palestinians in this area of the West Bank, known as Masafer Yatta, was featured in 'No Other Land,' an Oscar-winning documentary about settler violence and life under Israeli military rule. Al Hathaleen, a political activist and an English teacher, was a contributor to the film and close friend of its Palestinian co-directors. It documents life in a region where Jewish residents are building new settlements and expanding old ones on hilltops ringing Palestinian villages — all while Israeli military bulldozers arrive frequently to demolish Palestinian homes they say amount to illegal construction. Palestinians say its nearly impossible to secure Israeli permits to build on their lands. Four Palestinians have been killed by settlers this year, according to UN data. Witnesses said that the confrontation that led to Al Hathaleen's death began after settler excavators began digging on village land. Some Palestinians threw stones after one excavator injured a young man from the village, witnesses said. The Israeli military said that during the confrontation Palestinians hurled rocks at an Israeli civilian, who opened fire toward the 'terrorists.' Levi, a well known settler who is under international sanctions for violence toward Palestinians, was briefly arrested last week. He was quickly freed from house arrest, with a judge ruling there was no proof that Levi fired the fatal bullets. Video shot by a Palestinian witness showed Levi firing a gun twice and tussling with a group of unarmed Palestinians. In the footage, Levi accused the group of throwing rocks at him. It did not show where his shots landed. But residents said that he fired the bullet that hit Al Hathaleen in the chest, and that no one else in the encounter was armed. Israeli military and police did not respond to requests for comment on who else could have fired the fatal shot. Levi could not be reached for comment; multiple calls to his phone went unanswered. Since the killing, Israeli forces returned to the village and arrested 18 men. Villagers said at least one remains in jail — the hunger strikers are also demanding his release. On Monday, a week after Al Hathaleen was killed, Levi was back within eyesight of the village, the sound of his excavators pummeling the ground audible from the hut where the hunger-striking women sat. To Sara Hathaleen, it was a reminder of the village's vulnerability. 'They come at 2 o'clock or 3 o'clock in the morning,' said the 39-year-old, who is Al Hathaleen's sister-in-law. 'It's like a horror, because we hear their cars and we know that they are coming for us. We don't know who will be next, or who they will take next.' Most of Umm al-Khair's residents are related — some closely, some distantly — and nearly all share the surname Hathaleen. Al Hathaleen and his wife use an alternate spelling. Sara Hathaleen said her own husband, Aziz, was detained by Israel after the killing and released Tuesday. 'We want to have a voice and to take part,' she said. 'The men are hurt by settlers or taken by the army, put in prison, and are not available.' Three of the women on strike — Al Hathaleen's mother, sister and widow — have needed medical attention, according to Sara Hathaleen. Israeli military and police did not respond to requests for comment on the strike. Myassar Hathaleen, 32, sat in the fasting hut with the other women. Since she stopped eating, her breast milk has dried up and she wakes at night to her infant crying to be breastfed. Her brother, Hamid, was arrested the day Al Hathaleen was killed and he has not yet been released. 'We're striking because the world needs to wake up,' said Myassar. 'We don't want to make any problems. We just want to live in justice, and in silence.' Hanady Al Hathaleen, 24, said that she will settle for nothing less than a proper burial for her husband in his hometown. 'Awdah was killed here because he was resistant, in his own way,' she said. 'He was killed here and he must be buried here. The land of Umm al-Khair drinks from his blood.' Frankel writes for the Associated Press.
New York Post
2 minutes ago
- New York Post
Shame on those who don't care about starving Israeli hostages
The horrific videos of starved-to-the-brink-of-death Evyatar David and Rom Braslavski should shock the conscience of the world — yet Israel-haters who've thundered about alleged mass starvation in Gaza have nothing to say after a look at the real thing. The footage evokes painful memories of the Holocaust, the war against the Jews, with Nazi concentration-camp prisoners transformed into skeletons. Both young men were healthy and strapping when kidnapped from the Nova Music Festival almost two years ago; today they're emaciated ghosts of their former selves. Advertisement 3 Israeli President Isaac Herzog displays a photo of Evyatar David, an Israeli man held hostage by Hamas. REUTERS Ever since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, propagandists have howled about the 'imminent' famine that they insisted Israel was causing in Gaza. 'Half a million people in Gaza are on the brink of famine while the rest are enduring emergency levels of hunger,' cried the UN World Food Programme, less than a week after Hamas slaughtered 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped 250 more. The 'brink' of famine kept stretching out farther and farther. In May of this year, the United Nations breathlessly warned that '14,000 babies in Gaza could die in the next 48 hours.' Advertisement This claim got retracted after a spokesman explained it meant 14,000 babies could die if they got no aid by March 2026. Last month, The New York Times ran a viral photo of a baby 'famine victim' who, it turned out, was actually suffering from genetic medical conditions. Uncropped pictures show tot's older brother standing by, looking sufficiently fed and healthy. Yes, Gazans are suffering. But Hamas — which routinely steals humanitarian aid meant for civilians — deserves the blame for its brutal and cynical use of the plight of the people as a weapon in the war of public opinion. Advertisement 3 Starving hostage Evyatar David in video footage. AP For all the wailing about 'mass starvation,' no one has been able to provide a picture of an adult truly starving to death in Gaza, much less of the kind of famine seen in historical pictures from verified periods of true, widespread hunger. That is, until Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad gave us videos of Rom Braslavski and Evyatar David, prisoners the terrorists are intentionally depriving of food to ramp up pressure on Israel to end its war. Yet the usual suspects who cry crocodile tears over Israel's 'genocide' have totally ignored the plight of two Israeli hostages being deliberately starved to death. Advertisement 3 Video still of Rom Braslavski, a hostage held in Gaza for nearly 700 days. AOC, Bernie Saunders and Zohran Mamdani have said nothing. Nor has the world rallied to Israel's side, offering serious help to defeat Hamas and save the hostages. Rom Braslavski's mother Tami issued a searing statement: 'Until now, you could only imagine how Rom and the other hostages are suffering,' she implores. 'Now you've seen it with your own eyes. I'm crying out to the world — what will you do about it?' Let her cry echo through the chamber of the UN General Assembly, the Democratic Party and the nerves and sinews of every apologist for Hamas and amplifier of its lies. Decent people of the world need to speak up — and act: Free the hostages now.
The Hill
2 minutes ago
- The Hill
Israel's mission to destroy Hamas is destroying its own reputation
Any discussion about ending the conflict in Gaza must acknowledge that Israel launched the war to safeguard the lives of its people. The events of Oct. 7 showed what Hamas is capable of, and the world should understand Israel's need to ensure an event like that never happens again. Israeli actions have been effective, and the country has achieved the short-term objective of denying Hamas the ability to threaten its citizens. Beyond that short-term goal, Israel is seeking to eliminate Hamas completely and remove the threat from Gaza forever. But there's no such thing as forever in geopolitics. Often, the best a state can do is manage situations with skill and tenacity until the underlying circumstances change. This was true for the U.S. during the Cold War, and it's true for a state like South Korea today. By seeking a permanent solution rather than accepting a limited victory, Israel is now doing more harm than good. Global sympathy continues to shift toward the Palestinians, and this is having an effect on the actions of governments, as more countries take the consequential step of recognizing a Palestinian State. Images of emaciated children in Gaza are searing into people's minds, even if not all of those images are presented accurately. These are the types of images that aren't easily forgotten — the type that endure for generations. Israel's decision to pause daytime military operations and allow more aid to reach Gaza was a necessary step in the right direction. It acknowledged that world opinion is turning decisively against Israel, even if the Israeli government continues to deny the existence of a humanitarian crisis. Israel is right that Hamas could end the fighting if it surrendered and left Gaza. Hamas's refusal is completely in keeping with its brutalist worldview, articulated by former leader Yahya Sinwar when he explained that Palestinian suffering was necessary to advance Hamas's political objectives. He then did everything he could to bring that suffering about. An organization like that won't ever make decisions in the best interests of its people. Hamas is disinclined to accept Israel's cease-fire conditions because it is a mafia-like organization more than a government with an army. Its primary interest is always the maintenance of power and privilege, and it's difficult to imagine it leaving Gaza voluntarily. If Hamas will not do what's right for the Palestinian people, that leaves only one actor capable of stopping the bloodshed. Halting military operations will be a gut-wrenching decision for Israel. The Israeli people would struggle to accept the continued existence of a terrorist organization guilty of rape and murder. As unsatisfying as the survival of Hamas will be, there isn't a good alternative. At some point, every successful country needs to substitute the rational for the emotional and recognize the limits of its power. Israel cannot continue to prosecute this war without irreparably damaging its international reputation. It must accept that fact, and it must halt the fighting. Already Israel's relationship with much of the European and American electorate is damaged and getting worse. The country is becoming a partisan issue in the U.S., where it once enjoyed near total bipartisan support. Even Republicans who have been steadfast in their support are beginning to waver. In early August, 24 Democratic senators voted to withhold military aid from Israel. Americans who unconditionally support Israel can accuse those who don't of being naïve or antisemitic. Maybe some of them are. In the end, what should matter to Israel is the reality that many Americans are changing their view of the country, risking the special relationship that's done so much to sustain Israel since its founding. Hamas is severely degraded even if it isn't destroyed. Its ability to threaten Israeli civilians is limited. Israel should accept the reality that it can't eliminate Hamas before global support for its actions collapse and shift its strategy accordingly. It should withdraw from most of Gaza and then robustly control the Israel-Gaza border. Oct. 7 was only effective, after all, because of the brittleness of Israeli defenses. Israel's intelligence and surveillance capabilities are formidable, even if that day showed they aren't invincible, and it's unlikely the country will be caught off guard again. Israeli military action in Gaza has been successful, if success is defined as making Israel safe in the near term. Trying to make Israel safe forever is a luxury it can't afford because of the constraints imposed by world opinion. Israel seemed to acknowledge this constraint with its decision to airdrop supplies and establish new aid corridors, but it's wrong to think these measures will turn the tide of global views. The U.S. should help Israel realize that continuing the war in Gaza is no longer in its best interest. The Israeli military has already returned the country to safety and continuing the conflict will lead to negative and far-reaching changes to Israel's relationship with the world. Israeli leaders need to weigh that outcome against the risk posed by Hamas's continued presence in Gaza. They're miscalculating if they conclude that global public sentiment matters less than the residual military threat from Hamas. By pursuing its maximalist aim, Israel is risking its standing in the world and its reputation as a moral actor. Because the nation self-identifies as the world's only Jewish state, perception of its actions plays a role in how Jewish people are seen around the world. Already, animosity toward Jews is rising. Sinwar knew that the way to hurt Israel was to create a situation where Palestinian children suffered and starved. By perpetuating the war in Gaza, the Israeli government is following Sinwar's script. This can't be in the best long-term interests of the country.
