Israel
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President Joe Biden demanded that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu call an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict.
In the wake of a horrific airstrike gone wrong which claimed the lives of several aid workers from chef José Andrés’ World Central Kitchen, President Joe Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that an immediate ceasefire to the conflict with the Hamas militant organization was needed “to stabilize and improve the humanitarian situation and protect innocent civilians,” in Gaza, according to the White House.
Biden made the statement during a phone call to Netanyahu on Thursday (April 4) that lasted thirty minutes, stressing that Israel should “announce and implement a series of specific, concrete, and measurable steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering, and the safety of aid workers,” while stating that a policy shift towards Israel in the future by the United States, with representatives stating that he “made clear that U.S. policy with respect to Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel’s immediate action on these steps.” He stated that the strike that killed the World Central Kitchen was “unacceptable”, following up on earlier comments where he expressed his outrage.
Netanyahu had previously issued an apology after the strike, but José Andrés has demanded an independent investigation. “What I know is that we were targeted deliberately, nonstop until everybody was dead in this convoy,” he said in an interview. Seven workers including a dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada and a Palestinian died in the airstrike on Tuesday, which the IDF said was in error. World Central Kitchen representatives said they had prior clearance with the government to deliver aid in the region when hit.
In response, the Israeli government announced that they were opening new aid routes in Gaza, including a key one at the port of Ashdod and the Erez crossing at the northern part of the strip. The news was met positively, but with figures expressing a need for more transparency. U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken wanted clearer details and assurances that “the bottlenecks and other delays at crossings are being resolved.” The president of the European Council, Charles Michel, however, felt that the new routes were not enough in a post made on X, formerly Twitter adding to other international and domestic voices putting pressure on Israel.
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Chef José Andrés announced that members of his nonprofit World Central Kitchen were killed in Gaza by Israeli forces.
On Monday evening (April 1), the celebrity chef and esteemed humanitarian José Andrés announced that several members of his World Central Kitchen were killed in the Gaza Strip in a post on X, formerly Twitter. “Today, @WCK lost several of our brothers and sisters in an IDF air strike in Gaza,” he wrote, using the abbreviation for the Israeli Defense Forces. “I am heartbroken and grieving for their families and friends and our whole WCK family. These are people…angels…I served alongside in Ukraine, Gaza, Turkey, Morocco, Bahamas, Indonesia. They are not faceless…they are not nameless.” The incident places more pressure on Israel, which has been accused of overly aggressive actions since its conflict with Hamas began on October 7, 2023.
In his post, Andrés concluded: “The Israeli government needs to stop this indiscriminate killing. It needs to stop restricting humanitarian aid, stop killing civilians and aid workers, and stop using food as a weapon.” According to reports, the World Central Kitchen said that its seven workers and a Palestinian driver were traveling in a “deconflicted zone” in two armored cars bearing its logo. The vehicles were hit after leaving a warehouse in Deir al-Balah in the central area of the region. The nationalities of those killed also included a dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada, an Australian, and citizens of Poland and Canada. They had already arranged for travel with the Israeli military forces in the area before setting out.
The World Central Kitchen, which the 57-year-old chef founded in 2010, deploys in areas devastated by social and environmental disasters with members cooking and delivering meals to those in need. On Tuesday (April 2), it announced that it would pause aid operations in the area. “This is not only an attack against WCK, this is an attack on humanitarian organizations showing up in the most dire of situations where food is being used as a weapon of war,” the organization’s CEO, Erin Gore, said in a statement. “This is unforgivable.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged the incident in a video statement on Tuesday, saying in Hebrew “This happens in war,” before adding that the government is investigating and “will do everything so that thing does not happen again.”
It’s been six months since the devastating terrorist attack at Nova Music Festival in October 2023, where Hamas militants invaded the event at sunrise, killing 370 people from the concert and holding 44 people hostage at the electronic dance music festival celebrating the Jewish holiday Simchat Torah. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest […]
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Tiffany Haddish went over to Israel to learn about what’s happening in Israel and Gaza and got emotional responding to the backlash over a social media post she made.
On Wednesday (February 21), comedienne and actress Tiffany Haddish addressed her trip to Israel, which she chronicled in a social media post earning her swift backlash over her demeanor. When asked by TMZ’s Harvey Levin about why she would make that trip, Haddish responded: “I can’t believe everything that I read. I want to go see for myself. I want to talk to the people that’s here, that actually had family members that were hostages taken out of their own homes.”
Haddish went on to say that she intended to also go to Gaza, which has seen over 30,000 Palestinians killed during bombings and military actions by the Israeli Defense Forces in their retaliation campaign against the Hamas militant group’s assault on October 7th, 2023, that claimed 1,200 lives. “I care about both sides, I care about humanity,” the Girls Trip actress continued: “I know there’s a lot of the religious stuff going on, control of the land… It’s about human beings. Human beings, man.”
Haddish has some kinship with the Jewish people of Israel, having had her ancestry confirmed five years ago after DNA testing. The now-deleted Instagram video showed the 44-year-old on the plane flight with a drink in hand, joking around. The responses to it were swift and furious, with one commenter named Catrina writing “Sippin on a mimosa on your way to go see a genocide is INSANE.” Some applauded Haddish and wished her a safe journey. The video was then deleted, and she reportedly lost over 14,000 followers.
Levin asked Haddish about the responses to that video. “That’s what I’m trying to tell y’all. I’m doing this by myself. I don’t have a whole family of men, or a man supporting me. I’m doing it on my own,” she said, choking up. “I’m learning on my own.” She added, “The average female wouldn’t have the courage to go see for themselves. There’s a lot of scary a— b———s out here, and y’all can be scared. But I’m gonna go ahead and follow my instincts.” She also referenced Mo’Nique, who had recently called her out in her Club Shay Shay podcast interview. The latest post on her Instagram account, a repost from a group called Louder Creators, appears to be taking shots at her critics of the trip.
Shaul Greenglick, an Israeli soldier and Eurovision Song Contest hopeful, has died in combat amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza. The 26-year-old singer was one of three soldiers recently reported dead by the Israel Defense Forces, per The Times of Israel, following Israel’s intensified ground operations in Palestine. The country has been in active war […]
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An Israeli MMA fighter has taken credit for Ye aka Kanye West’s name on a military missile, bragging about it on social media.
Kanye West has become a part of the Israel-Hamas conflict, with his name having been scrawled onto a missile of the Israel Defense Forces.
An MMA fighter from Israel, Haim Gozali, claimed responsibility for the deed in a post made on X, formerly Twitter on Sunday (December 24). The post shows a picture of missiles, with one prominently displayed showing the message “Kanye West flying to Gaza Haim Gozali” on it. “You don’t like us Jewish. So we don’t like you too !!!”, the caption from Gozali’s post read.
The post was first made from the 50-year-old’s backup account, as Gozali had gotten his main account suspended from the social media platform for a week due to posting a photo of bombs emblazoned with the names of Khabib Nurmagomedov, Kazmat Chiamev, Belal Muhammed and Islam Makhachev.
The four fighters are all Muslim and have vocally expressed support for the people of Palestine. Gozali’s caption for that post read, “This is from me to the [rat emoji.” Gozali would repost the Kanye West photo through his main account after his suspension ended.
Gozali is a fifth-degree black belt jiu-jitsu practitioner who currently fights in Bellator MMA’s middleweight and light heavyweight divisions. He has served in the IDF previously, although there aren’t details on which unit it was in.
The fighter has been consistently vocal in his support of Israel, which has been waging war on the Hamas militant organization after a terror attack on October 7 which killed 1200 Israelis with 240 hostages being taken. In response, Israel’s military has operated daily air and artillery strikes in the Gaza region which have reportedly claimed over 20,000 lives according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
West, who has had a history of of antisemitic remarks dating back to last October when he first sent out the message “going death con 3 On Jewish people” on X, issued an apology in Hebrew on his Instagram page. The rapper’s apology was picked up on by Gozali, who has been reposting all news items about the bomb dedicated to the rapper on his X account.
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Actress Melissa Barrera has been cut from the upcoming Scream 7 movie over a social media post concerning the Israel-Hamas war.
On Tuesday (Nov. 21), Deadline reports that Melissa Barrera, who was one of the leads in the recent Scream movies had been dropped from the film by the production company, Spyglass Media Group. In a statement, Spyglass cited Barrera’s reposts on social media related to the Israel-Hamas conflic where she showed support for the Palestinians, which some perceived as antisemitic.
Barrera, who was previously in the film adaptation of Lin Manuel-Miranda’s In The Heights, was also a major figure in the Vida series on Starz before joining the Scream franchise. Previous posts that have been collated by people online show Barrera’s posts decrying the bloodshed in the region that was initiated by an attack on a concert near the Gaza Strip on October 7 by Hamas and the subsequent Israeli military intervention.
She reposted an image to her Instagram Stories in response to the news which read: “At the end of the day, I’d rather be excluded for who I include, than be included for who I exclude.”
“Spyglass’ stance is unequivocally clear: We have zero tolerance for antisemitism or the incitement of hate in any form, including false references to genocide, ethnic cleansing, Holocaust distortion or anything that flagrantly crosses the line into hate speech,” the statement issued by one of Spyglass’ representatives read. The company offered no further comment.
Melissa Barrera starred as Sam Carpenter, the older sister to Tara Carpenter, played by Jenna Ortega. Ortega has become a major star thanks in part to playing Tara Carpenter and also playing the titular role of Wednesday Addams in the Netflix series. On Wednesday (Nov. 22), word has spread that Ortega has asked Spyglass Media and Paramount, the studio behind the Scream movies to be let out of her contract over the dismissal of Barrera. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Ortega had actually expressed her desire not to return to the horror franchise two months ago.
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Source: Prince Williams / Getty / Cardi B
If you’re a political hopeful or veteran hoping for a Cardi B endorsement, it’s not coming. The Bronx rapper is washing her hands of politics.
The “Bodak Yellow” rapper is fed up with the current political system and expressed her frustrations during an Instagram Live session.
Cardi B, who has always been quite vocal about politics and what is happening in the country and globally, was BIG MAD about NYC Mayor Eric Adam’s proposed budget cuts.
Mayor Mixxy’s 5% budget cuts will affect a bunch of NYC departments to help compensate for the billions of dollars that the city has to spend to take care of asylum seekers who have come to the city.
The New York Post reports that Adams plans to cut $32 million from the sanitation department, $74 million from the FDNY, and $547 million from the Department of Education.
Adams will also be getting rid of a bunch of street garbage cans in the outer boroughs, and 34 popular cultural institutions like the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Museum of Natural History will see their budgets cut by $6 million, according to the New York Post.
Mayor Adams Reasoning For The Severe Cuts
Regardless of there being a legitimate reason for the severe cuts, the Grammy Award-winning artist is not here for them, claiming things like the city will be “drowning in rats” (that’s been a problem forever) due to cuts to sanitation and crime will “go through the roof” because of the cuts coming to the NYPD.
“In New York, there is a $120m budget cut that’s going to affect schools, public libraries, and the police department. And a $5m budget cut in sanitation … We are gonna be drowning in … rats,” Cardi B said during the live session.
Mayor Adams might be on the side of Cardi B, who warned that more cuts would be necessary without additional federal funding to help manage the influx of migrants in NYC.
Per The Guardian:
Migrant costs are going up, tax revenue growth is slowing, and [Covid-19] stimulus funding is drying up,” Adams said in a statement.
“No city should be left to handle a national humanitarian crisis largely on its own, and without the significant and timely support we need from Washington, today’s budget will be only the beginning.
Cardi B Is No Longer Endorsing Presidents
The Biden Administration has not agreed to Mayor Adam’s pleas for funding amid the growing criticism for the continued funding to help Ukraine fend off Russia’s invasion and Israel’s ongoing conflict with Hamas, something Bardi touched on in her passionate IG Live along with announcing she is no longer endorsing presidents.
“I’m endorsing no presidents no more,” Cardi B said. “Joe Biden is talking about, ‘Yeah, we can fund two wars,’… talking about, ‘Yeah, we got it, we’re the greatest nation.’ No … we’re not. We don’t got it, and we’re going through some shit right now. So say it!”
She continued, “We are really, really, really f**ked right now. No, we cannot fund these … wars.”
Someone asked if the country is going “broke,” she replied, “Yes, it is. We ain’t got McDonald’s money.” Despite her claims, the country has seen some solid economic numbers. You can read about that here.
Further condemning Biden’s alleged terrible handling of the economy and foreign policy, she said, “Feed that … to somebody else, twinkle, but don’t feed it to me.” She then promised to ” get to the bottom of it.”
We will await those findings.
X Users React
Elon Musk’s sorry platform X has been a hotbed for discourse since Israel began bombing Gaza in retaliation to Hamas’ brutal attack on October 7.
Many have called on political leaders, mainly Democrats, including President Joe Biden, to call for a ceasefire in protests across the globe.
Recently, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has been the target of many protests, and other Democrats. Still, some are pointing out the fact that the House of Representatives is currently under Republican control and are wondering why that energy isn’t being applied to the GOP and its batsh*t crazy members.
Many responded to Cardi B’s video by pointing out that she was aiming her valid criticisms in the wrong direction and that the Biden/Harris administration has nothing to do with New York City’s budget.
One thing is for sure: the upcoming presidential election will be a hot mess. We hope Cardi B and others understand that there is a lot on the line with a GOP hell-bent on “Making America White oops Great Again.”
Until then, you can see more reactions in the gallery below.
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2. Political Cardi is a hit with fans
6. Of course, you should not be shocked the MAGA folks will use this to their advantage.
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Kid Cudi made a public call supporting the people of Palestine and calling for a ceasefire in the war between Israel and the Hamas organization on social media.
On Sunday (Nov. 5), Kid Cudi weighed in with his take on the ongoing war between Israel and the Hamas organization that has been raging since the group’s attack and kidnapping of hostages. In a heartfelt message on Instagram, the rapper began: “The things I’ve been seeing in the news have been breaking my heart. I can’t watch what’s happening in the world and remain silent. I can’t imagine the pain people are feeling.”
Citing “generations of family members” dying as a spur to his speaking, the Entergalactic artist continued: “I know some people are gonna disagree with me, but that’s ok. As a Black man, I stand against all forms of oppression. And as an artist, I feel responsible to give a voice to the unheard, and to celebrate the spirit of all people through my work and my presence. It matters to me that my art represents my deepest beliefs about what I think humanity can look like.”
Kid Cudi expressed his support for the Jewish people, saying that he “condemned any violence” against them before adding: “But let’s be clear, supporting Palestinian liberation is not antisemitic, it’s human. Palestinians deserve their freedom. This isn’t politics, these are real lives. And I’m just a dude who gives a f–k about humanity.” The statement comes after several artists including Drake, Killer Mike, Kehlani, Macklemore and others sent an open letter to President Joe Biden and Congress demanding a ceasefire.
“I stand with the people of Palestine as they demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and an end to the ongoing genocide. My heart goes out to all my brothers and sisters of all faiths and backgrounds who are suffering. Free Palestine!! With Love, Scott,” Kid Cudi finished.
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Drake was the target of criticism from the likes of DJ Vlad and others for not speaking up about the Israel-Gaza conflict due to his Jewish heritage. The Canadian superstar joined with a number of other celebrities in signing a letter addressed to President Joe Biden calling for a ceasefire in the war-torn region.
Via a dedicated website, Artists4Ceasefire hosts a letter addressed to President Biden that calls to end the conflict that continues to see massive casualties on both sides. With much of the world learning of the conflict by way of varying sources, a clear picture of what is occurring between Israel and Palestine has been hard to completely clarify. There have been accounts from the ground from activists using what means they can to inform the public.
From Artists4Ceasefire:
We come together as artists and advocates, but most importantly as human beings witnessing the devastating loss of lives and unfolding horrors in Israel and Palestine.
We ask that, as President of the United States, you and the US Congress call for an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire in Gaza and Israel before another life is lost. More than 5,000 people have been killed in the last week and a half – a number any person of conscience knows is catastrophic. We believe all life is sacred, no matter faith or ethnicity and we condemn the killing of Palestinian and Israeli civilians.
We urge your administration, Congress, and all world leaders, to honor all of the lives in the Holy Land and call for and facilitate a ceasefire without delay – an end to the bombing of Gaza, and the safe release of hostages. Half of Gaza’s two million residents are children, and more than two thirds are refugees and their descendants being forced to flee their homes. Humanitarian aid must be allowed to reach them.
We believe that the United States can play a vital diplomatic role in ending the suffering and we are adding our voices to those from the US Congress, UNICEF, Doctors without Borders, The International Committee of The Red Cross, and so many others. Saving lives is a moral imperative. To echo UNICEF, “Compassion — and international law — must prevail.”
Among the dozens of stars to sign the letter, including Drake, other names present are Miguel, Diplo, Run The Jewels (El-P and Killer Mike), Vic Mensa, Jennifer Lopez, Mahershala Ali, Snoh Aalegra, and more.
Read the entire letter here.
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