Mass. political leaders mourn death of Kitty Dukakis
'She was a strong advocate for children, women and refugees, while also taking a leadership role in ensuring that the horrors of the Holocaust are never forgotten,' Healey said in the Saturday statement. 'She spoke courageously about her struggles with substance use disorder and mental health, which serves as an inspiration to us all to break down stigma and seek help.'
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Sen. Ed Markey said Dukakis broke barriers for women in government and leadership 'with a joy and selflessness that only brought us closer to her.'
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'Throughout her remarkable life, Kitty transformed her personal struggles into positive and persistent change - a proud legacy that continues to benefit our Commonwealth and our country,' Markey said in a statement.
Mayor Michelle Wu said the Dukakis family fostered a lasting spirit of kindness and joy across the state, inspiring people to help one another.
'It was so inspiring to know that they had built a life and also were living as examples of what it meant to do right in your community to speak out and to try every day to make life a little bit better for everyone around you,' Wu said.
Massachusetts Democratic Party Chair Steve Kerrigan echoed the positive impact Dukakis had on the community, specifically for refugees and the homeless. He
said it was her willingness to discuss her personal struggles when others were often afraid to talk about their private issues that made her unique.
'It was her courage in publicly sharing her struggles with depression and substance use disorder that truly defined her strength,' his statement posted on X said. 'Her honesty and bravery helped break down stigma, inspiring countless others to seek support and begin their own journeys of recovery.'
Rest in peace, Kitty Dukakis 💙
— MA Democratic Party (@MassDems)
Rep. Bill Keating
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Kitty Dukakis was a remarkable woman. Her courage in speaking in public about her personal struggles created hope and inspiration for countless individuals in need.
— Congressman Bill Keating (@USRepKeating)
'Our Commonwealth was lucky to have her as our First Lady. Kitty's legacy is one of resilience, compassion, and a commitment to making the world a better place,' he said.
Talia Lissauer can be reached at
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Miami Herald
9 hours ago
- Miami Herald
‘Can't be silent anymore': Hundreds march in Aventura to combat surge in antisemitism
American and Israeli colors lined the streets of Aventura, where a crowd of more than 500 people embarked Sunday on a three-mile march — escorted by police — to raise awareness for rising antisemitism at home and abroad. The rally, co-organized by Run for Their Lives and the South Florida-based Loving Moms United movement, comes nearly two years after the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel. The trauma of that day continued to reverberate in Jewish communities across the globe, recently reignited by a violent terror attack at a sister rally in Boulder, Colorado. The June 1 attack in Boulder — carried out on one of Run for Their Lives' sister marches — left 16 injured, including an 88-year-old Holocaust survivor. The assailant, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, reportedly in the U.S. illegally, used homemade Molotov cocktails and a flamethrower-like device to target peaceful marchers. Authorities say Soliman had plotted the assault for more than a year and told police he intended to 'kill all Zionist people.' He now faces over 100 felony charges, including attempted murder and hate crimes. The Boulder march, like in Aventura, was part of a global effort to raise awareness for the more than 50 hostages still believed to be held in Gaza following the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. The juxtaposition between the peaceful intentions of such rallies and the violence in Boulder weighed heavily on Sunday's participants in South Florida. Among the marchers was Jason Wasser, an Aventura native now living in Hollywood, whose childhood friend was among the Boulder victims. 'You would never think that in 2025 this would be the state of our country,' he said. 'Things seem ideal until they're not. Historically, it's always been the Jews who are first.' Israel has been locked in a devastating war with Hamas since Oct. 7, 2023, when Palestinian militants killed nearly 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took another 251 people hostage. The ensuing Israeli counteroffensive has resulted in the deaths of nearly 55,000 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry. Hamas is still holding 55 hostages, fewer than half of them alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Some of the marchers in Aventura on Sunday wore signs of the remaining hostages on their shirts to raise awareness. Cecile Mankes, a Jewish resident of Northwest Miami-Dade whose mother survived the Holocaust, walked wrapped around Country Club Drive in an Israeli flag and a blue, jewel-studded hat decorated with American and Israeli pins. 'Antisemitism has gotten to the point where we can't be silent anymore,' she said. 'I'm an American Jew first, not a Jewish American — there's a difference. I believe in this country more than anything in the world, I just don't know if it's safe for all of us anymore.' 'I am an American Jew first, not a Jewish American — there's a difference,' Mankes said. 'I believe in America. I am Jewish because I am. It's what I believe in.' Pearl Levitt, whose parents survived the Holocaust and once lived along the route of Sunday's march, shared an even more personal reflection. 'I'm glad they're not alive now,' Levitt said. 'They lost their parents. They were so sick from the camps. To have to look at this on the news and see it happening again — it would kill them.' Still, she walked proudly with hundreds of others. 'They think they can threaten us and kick us, but they'll never beat us down,' Levitt said. 'We're not going to let it happen again. And as upsetting as it is every day, we're just fighters, and we're going to fight for our rights.' Security for the Aventura march was tight. Aventura Chief of Police Michael Bentolila said 30 marked police cars escorted the rally, including an armored BearCat vehicle. Officers from the sheriff's office and North Miami Beach PD provided additional support. Vice Mayor Rachel Saltzman Friedland was also at the march, and told the Miami Herald that Aventura, home to many synagogues and a large Jewish population, had proactively implemented a zero-tolerance policy toward antisemitism before the war in Gaza escalated. 'We're on high alert at all times,' she said. 'We stand with Israel. We stand with the Jewish community. We stand with all communities — ending Jew hatred and ending antisemitism.' For Jaime and Janette Garmizo, who draped themselves in Israeli flags featuring yellow ribbons, the march was both personal and political. The flags were brought back from Hostages Square in Tel Aviv during a recent humanitarian aid trip. The yellow ribbons, interwoven into the Star of David on each flag, are meant to symbolize 'the unity Israel has to bring their hostages home, dead or alive,' Jaime said. Janette, through tears, added, 'Us Jews never lose faith. I wake up every day praying for good news.' The Garmizos' also wore dogtags bearing Hebrew inscriptions that read 'Bring them home.' Jaime wears his every day. Nathaly Haratz Kaswan, head of Loving Moms United, led the march wearing an Israeli-flag arm sleeve. She's become a key figure in hostage advocacy, even attending the State of the Union with Senator Rick Scott earlier this year. 'We are not ending this until they are all released,' she said. 'This is not over until then.' As the marchers reconvened at the Aventura Mall parking lot, they closed the march with recitals of the American and Israeli anthems. As attendees chanted 'Am Yisrael Chai,' the Hebrew saying meaning 'the people of Israel live,' Rabbi Yisroel Brusowankin of Chabad at Waterways told the Miami Herald that 'the only way forward is to continue living Jewishly — visibly, proudly and faithfully.' 'I think the haters are going to hate; antisemitism is the oldest hate in the world,' Brusowankin said. 'We're still here as a people because of our sacred mission, and nothing will stop that.'
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Yahoo
With DEI under attack, here's how Virginia's diverse slate of candidates talk about identity
It's the most diverse Republican ticket in Virginia history. In her bid for the commonwealth's top seat, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears could become the country's first Black woman governor. John Reid, as the nominee for lieutenant governor, is the first openly gay person on the state's ticket. And Jason Miyares, running for a second term as attorney general, was the first Hispanic man elected to statewide office in 2021. But while Earle-Sears and Reid have spoken openly about their identities, they, alongside the Republican party, have distanced themselves from diversity efforts more broadly. 'Here's my 'pride' flag,' Reid wrote on the social media platform X earlier this month alongside a photo of the U.S. flag. 'My goal as a modern Republican leader in Virginia is to find common values and goals amongst diverse people and help deliver a prosperous, peaceful, upstanding, and free society.' 'I'm running to work for you — not for headlines, and not for identity politics,' Earle-Sears posted on X in April. 'Yes, I'd be Virginia's first Black female governor. But that's not why I'm in this race. I'm running to lead and lift up every Virginian.' Republicans have simultaneously taken a hard line stance against initiatives such as DEI. Miyares was among the state attorneys general who signed onto a letter calling on Costco to remove its DEI practices. Earle-Sears's campaign did not respond to repeated requests for an interview for this story. But some analysts see her messaging as an intentional distancing of her identity from her politics. For example, she often highlights her experience as an immigrant from Jamaica over her experience specifically as a Black woman, said Jatia Wrighten, a political science professor at Virginia Commonwealth University who researches state legislatures, Black women and leadership. In one campaign ad, Earle-Sears says: 'A buck-seventy-five. When Dad came to America, that's all he had. But for a little girl in Jamaica, that little bit of change changed everything.' 'That is very different than how (other) Black women candidates talk about themselves and talk about their identity,' Wrighten said. 'Oftentimes, their identity is seen as a strength, and I think with (Sears), because she is a Republican Black woman, it's strategically beneficial to her if she underplays the fact that she is a Black woman.' Democrats also are running a diverse slate of candidates. A Black man and white woman are running for attorney general, and the crowded lieutenant governor field includes two Black men, an Indian-American woman, a Pakistani-American man, a Latino man and a white man. But that pool of diversity is less of a talking point than it might have been a few years ago, experts say. ___ In the last decade, Democrats at the national level have held onto their multiracial coalition, but Republicans have gained ground among non-white voters. In the 2024 presidential election, about 20% of Republican voters were people of color, compared with 10% in 2012. There's little evidence to suggest that in 2025, most voters feel compelled to vote for candidates who match their own identity, said Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabato's Crystal Ball, a political analysis newsletter from the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. Virginia's gubernatorial race already is historic — with the state guaranteed its first female governor. Earle-Sears' opponent is Abigail Spanberger, a former U.S. House member and intelligence officer who is white. 'There's not really any evidence to think that Winsome Earle-Sears should get some sort of bonus among Black voters for being a Black Republican,' Kondik said. 'There's been a bit of erosion for Democrats and Black voters, but you still expect Black voters to vote pretty overwhelmingly for Spanberger.' A recent poll commissioned by Virginia FREE, a pro-business advocacy organization, put Spanberger ahead in the governor's race by 4 points. When support was broken down by race, the poll found 32% of likely voters who are Black supported Earle-Sears over Spanberger. That's actually a little less than the percentage — 36 — of likely Black voters who said they approved of Gov. Glenn Youngkin's performance. Youngkin, a Republican, is white. In January, there were rumblings that Democratic U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott was considering a run for governor, apparently out of concern that Spanberger would be unable to drive Black voters to the polls. But Scott, who is Black and Filipino, never entered the race, and Spanberger became the Democratic nominee without a primary. 'I will say that Democrats are probably not getting quite as good of Black turnout as they would like, particularly in Southside Virginia and in Hampton Roads,' Kondik said. 'I think she's an underdog in this election, but if (Earle-Sears) were to win, it probably would be one of the factors that would go into her winning — not that she would be winning a substantially higher share of the Black vote than Republicans typically get, rather it would probably be that Black turnout is poor, and that Spanberger maybe isn't getting the kind of turnout she needs.' ___ Shortly after Reid became the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor, Youngkin called him and requested he step down from the race, pointing to a social media account that included reposts of images of men in states of undress and matched the username Reid uses for other social media platforms. At the time, Reid said the attacks were a direct result of him being openly gay. Youngkin's request was embraced by evangelical Christian groups but proved to be a miscalculation of where the bulk of the Republican party is — Reid refused to drop out. He said issues of identity were no longer preeminent among Republican voters. That's a change from the past decade he attributed in part to President Donald Trump. 'The social issues were at one point very polarizing, and Donald Trump, shockingly, is the one who opened up the tent of the Republican party and said, as long as you are solid and you're conservative and you're smart and you're willing to work hard, then you have a place at the table and you may even have a job in the administration and in the party,' Reid said in an interview. Earle-Sears has not appeared publicly alongside Reid since he became the nominee. Separately, recent reporting found that in 2024, she included a hand-written note stating her moral objection to a bill that prevents denying marriage licenses on the basis of sex, gender and race. Trump has appointed some LGBTQ people to his current administration, including Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, and Kennedy Center Executive Director Ric Grenell. At the same time, Trump has dramatically rolled back protections for LGBTQ people. Some candidates of color say Trump's rhetoric has toxified the political landscape. Democrat Levar Stoney, a Black candidate for lieutenant governor, said Virginia politics today feels more charged than when he first ran for Richmond mayor in 2016. 'People feel like they can do things, say things, that 10 years ago we would consider certainly disrespectful and in bad taste,' Stoney said. 'Go look at social media, and you will see it … It looks like misogyny, it's racism, xenophobia, you see it all throughout those social media platforms, and there's no accountability for it.' But several candidates this year said it's an encouraging sign both parties have changed to grow more accepting of candidates from different backgrounds. Ghazala Hashmi, the first Muslim state senator in Virginia, said she was initially inspired to run in 2019 in direct response to anti-Muslim statements from Trump. Now, she's one of six Democrats in the lieutenant governor's primary. 'We have probably the most diverse slate of candidates running statewide that Virginia has ever had before,' Hashmi said. 'And yet, it hasn't been a real topic of conversation, and in some ways, that's great news. That means we are accepting that diversity is really part of Virginia, and we are running candidates that look like Virginia.' Other Democratic candidates in the lieutenant governor's race also made clear they were not running solely, if at all, on identity politics. 'My immutable characteristic as a Latino does not define my policy imperatives,' said former prosecutor Victor Salgado. Salgado also rejected the idea that Republicans are more tolerant of a multiracial coalition than they were historically. 'I would question the premise that Republicans are running a diverse slate, because I don't think that they meant to,' he said, adding he thought establishment Republicans favored Pat Herrity, who dropped out of the election citing health concerns. Former Gov. Doug Wilder, the first Black governor in the country post-Reconstruction, thinks it's a good thing identity appears to be less of a focal point in the 2025 election. 'I never mentioned color, I never mentioned race,' he said, reflecting on the campaign before his 1989 election. 'It doesn't matter if it's a woman or a man. What have you done, what are you going to do, and how do I know that you can do it?' ___ While Virginia's Republican slate includes more diverse backgrounds, the candidates themselves have called for the dismantling of programming designed to promote diversity, equity and inclusion. 'I just think DEI is in the rearview mirror for most people,' Reid said. About 52% of Americans say DEI efforts in the workplace are a good thing, down from 56% last year, a Pew Research survey found. 'Democrats think minorities can't succeed without DEI — that we need their help, their labels, their permission,' Earle-Sears said in one post. 'But I'm the Lt. Gov. of Virginia — the former capital of the Confederacy. I didn't get here through victimhood — but through faith, education, and grit.' In interviews, Democratic candidates said they supported DEI policies — several criticized the weaponization of the phrase DEI in a way they said demonized people of color. Babur Lateef, chairman of the Prince William County School Board, said he would challenge Trump in court before he would let the president's administration dismantle DEI programming in the county schools. 'We didn't cut any program or rename any programs, and we are continuing to proceed as usual on the work we're doing with these communities and our schools,' Lateef said. 'We've completely just told the administration that we are not breaking any laws.' On social media, Earle-Sears has labeled Spanberger 'the DEI or die candidate.' The lieutenant governor praised University of Virginia's decision to shutter its DEI office in March and on social media repeatedly has shared a clip of Spanberger saying 'When we win here, we will be doing right by the people who have devoted themselves to the prospect of and the promise of diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility.' Meanwhile, Spanberger has not referenced DEI on her social media at all since June 2020, when she co-wrote an op-ed in the Richmond Times-Dispatch highlighting structural racism. When asked about her stance on DEI programming, she said in a statement, 'As a former intelligence officer, I can tell you that what has kept our nation safe — and made our human intelligence operations the best in the world — over the past few decades has been our understanding of the strength and benefit that comes from differing experiences, perspectives, skill sets, and backgrounds. Initiatives, employers, and communities that seek to leverage that diversity do so to their — and our shared — benefit.' Wrighten said Spanberger was likely trying to appeal to a more centrist audience by not explicitly endorsing DEI programming on the campaign. 'She's being strategic as well,' Wrighten said. 'She's not going to say negative things about DEI, but she's also not going to be a proponent of it because she knows that's going to isolate some of her base.' The fact that candidates are highlighting diversity less on the trail is a sign something has shifted, Wrighten said. 'We find ourselves in a political climate where the pendulum has shifted back to a time where we no longer celebrate these differences,' she said. 'We see these differences as threats to the American way of life. 'I think the lack of focus on these identities is a clear signal that something has shifted in the political climate, and that is absolutely reflected in the way we see these really diverse candidates running and what they are focusing on.' Kate Seltzer, 757-713-7881,
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Why Britain must not recognise Palestine
The West Bank was never taken from the Palestinians. When Israel conquered the territory in 1967 it was from the Jordanians, who had occupied it since 1948 before trying their luck at a genocide of the Jews. Regardless, if Jerusalem gave up the land in return for peace, it would make Israel just nine miles wide at its centre. Known as the 'Hadera-Gadera rectangle', that narrow waist holds half the population and much of the country's vital infrastructure, including Tel Aviv. A new Palestinian state would lie just over the border. After October 7, would you do it? The Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, is famously incompetent, and is currently enjoying the 20th year of the four-year term to which he was elected in 2005. He presides over a system of corruption and brutality; he holds a PhD in Holocaust revisionism from a Moscow university; and he offers cash incentives to those convicted of terror offences, with higher payments awarded for more serious crimes. Fancy the odds? When Israel pulled out of Gaza in 2005, it was in the naive belief that, from then on, even a single rocket from the Strip would meet with international condemnation, since the settlements and 'occupation' were no more. So that worked out well. A two-state solution would see the same policy applied on the West Bank. What could possibly go wrong? Sir Keir Starmer presumably thinks it's a great idea, because in nine days' time, Britain will join France and the Saudis in New York in talks about recognising a state of Palestine. Far easier to gamble with the lives of someone else's children than your own, I suppose. This would form the natural culmination of Britain's escalating hostility towards our ally, as it battles to defeat the jihadi group that carried out that orgy of butchery, mutilation and rape two years ago and has vowed to do the same again. Hostages are still in the catacombs. Yet Sir Keir dreams of a state of Palestine. War is hell. Israel – which neither wanted it nor started it – evacuates civilians before attacks and provides them with aid. Yet in Parliament last week, amid nods from MPs who have never known the inside of a bomb shelter, the Prime Minister branded Israel 'appalling'. As ever, Starmer's petty politicking blinds him to his own moral bankruptcy. Unilaterally recognising a state of Palestine is a contemptuous proposal. Dismissing Israel's existential security concerns is insult enough, but providing a reward for October 7 creates awful incentives for the future. Worse still, perhaps, is the narrative it would create. Britain's official policy would be to blame Israel for the lack of a Palestinian state, when the historical truth is the opposite. The Palestinians were first offered self-determination in 1947, but rejected it in favour of attempted genocide. They were offered it again during the Oslo Accords in the 1990s, but derailed it with a spate of suicide bombs that claimed the lives of many Israelis. In 2000, at Camp David, they were offered 96 per cent of the West Bank but turned it down. In 2008, prime minister Ehud Olmert offered 94 per cent of the territory with land swaps for the remainder, East Jerusalem as a Palestinian capital, and the Old City turned over to international control. Again, Abbas rejected it. Why? Because the true problem is the very existence of a Jewish country, which is seen as a rebuke by some to Arab honour. The Palestinians don't want a state alongside Israel. They want a state instead of it. This is what Britain would be supporting. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
