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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer warned on Wednesday against blaming Jewish Americans for the actions of Israel's government, as anti-Semitism swells in the US following the Israeli military response in Gaza to the October 7 Hamas attack.
The solidarity and sympathy many Americans felt for Jews after the attacks, which affected mostly civilians, has given way to “other, more disturbing voices”, Mr Schumer, a Democrat who is Jewish, wrote in an opinion piece in The New York Times.
“Today, too many Americans are exploiting arguments against Israel and leaping towards a virulent anti-Semitism. The normalisation and intensifying of this rise in hate is the danger many Jewish people fear most,” he wrote.
His comments came as the Senate planned to consider legislation including aid for Israel and Ukraine as soon as next week.
Anti-Semitic incidents in the US rose by about 400 per cent in over two weeks after October 7, the Anti-Defamation League, which fights anti-Semitism and other forms of bias, said in October.
Mr Schumer, who represents New York, cited boycotts and vandalism against Jewish-owned businesses “that have nothing to do with Israel” and Jewish students being harassed and assaulted on university campuses.
The senator said a Jewish high schoolteacher in New York City's Queens borough told him she had been forced to hide in a locked office from student protesters who were demanding she be fired because she attended a rally supporting Israel. He called the incident “anti-Semitism, pure and simple”.
“These are just a few examples, but they point to a troubling trend. Too often in Jewish history, legitimate criticism of Israeli policies or even older disputes over religious, economic and political issues have often crossed over into something darker, into attacking Jewish people simply for being Jewish,” Mr Schumer wrote.
Israel says the Hamas militant group killed about 1,200 people, from babies to grandparents, in personal, hand-to-hand combat that spread terror among Jewish people far beyond its borders.
The subsequent Israeli military assault on Gaza has killed more than 15,000 people, four in 10 of them children, according to health authorities in the small coastal enclave. The truce agreed to last week came after global pressure built for a ceasefire in the face of the rising death toll and devastation on the ground.
Mr Schumer warned against allowing criticism of Israel “to cross over into something different – into a denial of a Jewish state in any form, into open calls for the very destruction of Israel, while at the same time the self-determination of other peoples is exalted”.
He also touched on how Arab Americans have similar fears when they see a rise in Islamophobia and “horrific crimes like the gut-wrenching murder” of a six-year-old Palestinian-American boy in Chicago.
The Israel-Gaza war has divided Congress, prompting to date only about three dozen Democratic members to back calls for a full ceasefire, which Israel rejects as something that would let Hamas regroup.
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Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
The specs
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Transmission: 8-speed auto
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'Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore'
Rating: 3/5
Directed by: David Yates
Starring: Mads Mikkelson, Eddie Redmayne, Ezra Miller, Jude Law
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What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
Fatherland
Kele Okereke
(BMG)
If you go
The flights
There are various ways of getting to the southern Serengeti in Tanzania from the UAE. The exact route and airstrip depends on your overall trip itinerary and which camp you’re staying at.
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Kilimanjaro International Airport from Dh1,350 return, including taxes; this can be followed by a short flight from Kilimanjaro to the Serengeti with Coastal Aviation from about US$700 (Dh2,500) return, including taxes. Kenya Airways, Emirates and Etihad offer flights via Nairobi or Dar es Salaam.
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Stars: Tiger Shroff, Tara Sutaria, Ananya Pandey, Aditya Seal
1.5 stars
The specs
Engine: 1.6-litre 4-cyl turbo and dual electric motors
Power: 300hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 520Nm at 1,500-3,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.0L/100km
Price: from Dh199,900
On sale: now
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
