Israeli MP's Visa Revoked Hours Before Flight to Australia
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The Hill
44 minutes ago
- The Hill
Handwritten proof of Holocaust theft should compel Congress to act
In 1944, Hungarian officials sat down with pen and paper and recorded by hand the seizure of 90 Torah scrolls from Jewish families. This was not wartime chaos, but deliberate, state-organized cultural erasure. That document, buried for decades in microfilm archives, was recently made public for the first time through the Holocaust Art Recovery Initiative. It is a single page, handwritten in a steady but chilling script. It doesn't describe battles or casualties. It inventories sacred scrolls stolen from Jews who were soon to be deported. These 90 Torahs were part of a larger pattern of thousands of cultural, artistic and religious items looted by Nazi-allied regimes across Europe. In Hungary alone, tens of thousands of Jewish-owned artworks, books and ceremonial objects were systematically stolen, catalogued and in many cases absorbed into state museum collections. Families were erased. Their heritage was buried — sometimes literally. Today, many of those items remain in public institutions. And in the U.S., survivors and their heirs often face insurmountable legal barriers when trying to recover what was taken. That's why Congress must pass the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act Improvements of 2025, a bipartisan bill introduced in the Senate by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and in the House by Rep. Laurel Lee (R-Fla.). This legislation would strengthen and extend the original HEAR Act, first passed in 2016, which was designed to ensure Holocaust restitution claims could be heard on their merits. That law is set to expire in 2026. Without swift action, survivors and families may permanently lose access to justice. New evidence like the handwritten Torah document reinforces the urgency. This isn't theoretical. It's tangible. And it speaks to a broader truth: The Holocaust wasn't just a genocide of people — it was a systematic looting of culture, identity and memory. The legal fight is not easy. As recent cases like Republic of Hungary v. Simon demonstrate, foreign sovereign immunity laws, expired statutes of limitations and bureaucratic stonewalling have made it nearly impossible for families to recover what was taken. The HEAR Act Improvements of 2025 addresses these very challenges, extending the timeline and reinforcing the right to be heard in U.S. courts. More than 25 national organizations have endorsed the legislation, including the World Jewish Restitution Organization and the Claims Conference. They rightly note that each object stolen represents not just property, but a life interrupted — and a legacy denied. Restitution is not about money. It is about dignity. It is about accountability. And, yes, it is about history. When lawmakers see the original documents — handwritten proof of cultural theft — they begin to understand why this work cannot wait. Congress still has time to do the right thing. But the clock is ticking, and the handwriting is on the page. Jonathan H. Schwartz is a litigation partner at Taft-Detroit and co-founder of the Holocaust Art Recovery Initiative. He also serves as president emeritus of the Jewish Bar Association of Michigan and recently authored an evidence report on Hungarian Holocaust-era art theft.
NBC News
an hour ago
- NBC News
Hamas accepts an Arab ceasefire proposal on Gaza as Palestinian death toll passes 62,000
Hamas said Monday it has accepted a new proposal from Arab mediators for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip that would still need Israel's approval, as Gaza's Health Ministry said the Palestinian death toll from 22 months of war has passed 62,000. President Donald Trump meanwhile appeared to cast doubt on the long-running negotiations that Washington has mediated as well. "We will only see the return of the remaining hostages when Hamas is confronted and destroyed!!! The sooner this takes place, the better the chances of success will be," he posted on Truth Social. Israel announced plans to reoccupy Gaza City and other heavily populated areas after ceasefire talks appeared to break down last month, raising the possibility of a worsening humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, which experts say is sliding into famine. Plans to expand the offensive, in part aimed at pressuring Hamas, have sparked international outrage and infuriated many Israelis who fear for the remaining hostages taken in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that started the war. Hundreds of thousands took part in mass protests on Sunday calling for their return. 'Extensive efforts' to revive talks Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said mediators are "exerting extensive efforts" to revive a U.S. proposal for a 60-day ceasefire, during which some of the remaining 50 hostages would be released and the sides would negotiate a lasting ceasefire and the return of the rest. Abdelatty told The Associated Press they are inviting U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff to join the ceasefire talks. Abdelatty spoke to journalists during a visit to Egypt's Rafah crossing with Gaza, which has not functioned since Israel seized the Palestinian side in May 2024. He was accompanied by Mohammad Mustafa, the prime minister of the Palestinian Authority, which has been largely sidelined since the war began. Abdelatty said Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani had joined the talks, which include senior Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya, who arrived in Cairo last week. Abdelatty said they are open to other ideas, including for a comprehensive deal that would release all the hostages at once. Bassem Naim, a senior Hamas official, told the AP that the militant group had accepted the proposal introduced by the mediators, without elaborating. Diaa Rashwan, head of the Egypt State Information Service, told the AP that Egypt and Qatar have sent the Hamas-accepted proposal to Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video addressing the Israeli public that reports of Hamas' acceptance of the proposal showed that it is "under massive pressure." Netanyahu has vowed to continue the war until all the hostages are returned and Hamas has been disarmed, and to maintain lasting security control over Gaza. Hamas has said it will only release the remaining hostages in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal. Palestinian death toll surpasses 62,000 Hamas-led militants abducted 251 people and killed around 1,200, mostly civilians, in the attack that ignited the war. Around 20 of the hostages still in Gaza are believed by Israel to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefires or other deals. Gaza's Health Ministry said the Palestinian death toll from the war had climbed to 62,004, with another 156,230 people wounded. It does not say how many were civilians or combatants, but says women and children make up around half the dead. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals. The U.N. and many independent experts consider its figures to be the most reliable estimate of wartime casualties. Israel disputes its toll but has not provided its own. The ministry said 1,965 people have been killed while seeking humanitarian aid since May, either in the chaos around U.N. convoys or while heading to sites operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an Israeli-backed American contractor. Witnesses, health officials and the U.N. human rights office say Israeli forces have repeatedly fired toward crowds of people seeking aid. Israel says it has only fired warning shots at people who approached its forces. GHF says its armed contractors have only used pepper spray or fired into the air on rare occasions to prevent deadly crowding. More deaths linked to malnutrition Experts have warned that Israel's ongoing offensive is pushing Gaza toward famine, even after it eased a complete 2 1/2-month blockade on the territory in May. Gaza's Health Ministry said Monday that five more people, including two children, died of malnutrition-related causes. It says at least 112 children have died of malnutrition-related causes since the war began, and 151 adults have died since the ministry started tracking adult malnutrition deaths in June. Amnesty International on Monday accused Israel of "carrying out a deliberate campaign of starvation." Israel has rejected such allegations, saying it allows in enough food and accusing the U.N. of failing to promptly deliver it. U.N. agencies say they are hindered by Israeli restrictions and the breakdown of law and order in the territory, around three-quarters of which is now controlled by Israel.
NBC News
an hour ago
- NBC News
Hundreds of thousands protest Gaza war as frustration grows in Israel about new offensive
TEL AVIV — In the plaza that Israelis have christened 'Hostage Square, ' hundreds of thousands of people banged drums, shouted slogans and booed mentions of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others in his right-wing government. Some held pictures of those still in captivity in Gaza, others vented their frustration over plans for a new military offensive in some of the enclave's most populated area s that many Israelis fear could further endanger the lives of the remaining hostages, 20 to 50 of whom are believed to be alive. Among the demonstrators at Sunday's protest was Ruby Chen, the father of Itay Chen, an Israeli American soldier who was among the 1,200 killed in the Hamas-led terrorist attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, and whose body remains in Gaza. 'The Jewish Bible speaks about the Jewish life,' Chen told NBC News. 'Life comes before revenge, and that is exactly what we are asking for this government to remember.' The protest in Tel Aviv on Sunday was one of dozens organized nationwide, including outside of politicians' homes, at military headquarters and on major highways. Demonstrators blocked lanes and lit bonfires. Some restaurants and theaters closed in solidarity. Police said they arrested 38 people. The nationwide marches were on the same day as a general strike called by organizations representing relatives of those still in captivity. One of those groups, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, said in a statement that nearly 1 million people had attended rallies nationwide. In Hostage Square, the boisterous atmosphere softened as former hostages and family members of those still being held took to the largest of three soundstages to demand the release of the remaining hostages. Around 250 people were taken hostage on Oct. 7. Many of the speeches, signs and prepared videos appealed directly to President Donald Trump in English, pleading with him to compel Netanyahu to 'seal the deal' with Hamas. While Sunday's protests were among some of the largest and fiercest in 22 months of war, smaller demonstrations held on a weekly basis have yet to sway the government to end the conflict, which Netanyahu has said he is determined to continue until Hamas is completely destroyed. The prime minister and his top officials poured scorn on Sunday's demonstrations. 'Those who today call for an end to the war without defeating Hamas are not only hardening Hamas's position and delaying the release of our hostages, they are also ensuring that the horrors of Oct. 7 will be repeated,' the prime minister told his Cabinet on Sunday. His ultranationalist Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, one of the Cabinet's most hawkish right-wing voices, in a post on X called the protests a 'toxic and harmful campaign that plays into the hands of Hamas, buries the hostages in tunnels, and tries to bring the State of Israel to surrender to its enemies and endanger its security and future.' Their government's approach appears to have the backing of Trump. 'We will only see the return of the remaining hostages when Hamas is confronted and destroyed,' he wrote Monday on Truth Social. 'Play to WIN, or don't play at all!' While Israeli media reported that Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir met with senior officials on Sunday to finalize the plans for the expanded operations in Gaza, it remains unclear when the country's military will begin the new offensive in the north of the enclave and in what Netanyahu has called the 'central camps' of Gaza. The U.N. humanitarian office said last week that 1.35 million people were already in need of emergency shelter items in Gaza, so any armored incursion could displace hundreds of thousands of people, many of whom have been uprooted multiple times during a war that has killed more than 62,000 people, according to health officials in the Hamas-run enclave. Two children were among five people who died of malnutrition-related causes, the Gaza Health Ministry said Monday, bringing the total number of malnutrition-related deaths to 263. The United Nations also warned that levels of starvation and malnutrition in Gaza are at their highest since the war began. Much of the aid destined for Gaza has been prevented from entering since Israel imposed a total blockade in March after ending a ceasefire. Deliveries have since partially resumed, though aid organizations say the flow is far below what is needed. In Hostage Square, some held up pictures of emaciated Palestinians, but many simply wanted an end to the fighting and a deal to free those hostages who remain in Gaza. 'I'm sure that most of the Israelis are here with us now,' said Keren Leibovitz, 54, whose son Tomer was killed on Oct. 7, 2023, while he was serving in the Israeli military. Leibovitz added that before Israel worked on completely defeating Hamas, the majority of her countrymen 'want the war to end and they want the hostages to come back.'
