National

F A S H I O N B O U T I Q U E

Brooklyn 5005 16th Avenue Cedarhurst 426 Central Avenue

www.shopmezzo.com

718.871.9402

Select styles / categories excluded. Buy one item get second of equal or lessor value free. O er valid until 1/13/21

The incident came amid a general escalation in attacks in Judea and Samaria in recent weeks. This past Tuesday, a Palestinian man was shot and killed after lunging at IDF soldiers protecting the Gush Etzion Junction south of Jerusalem.

Earlier this month, a 40-year-old mother was seriously injured when she was hit by a volley of rocks while returning home from work. She remains in critical condition at Ramat Gan’s Tel Hashomer Hospital and is said to suffer severe brain damage.

Trump Booted from Twitter

President Donald Trump lost his primary means of communication when he was permanently suspended from Twitter on Friday.

The tech giant said in a statement that it had removed the President’s account after he ran afoul of its community guidelines. The permanent suspension followed a temporary suspension of his personal account on Thursday, leading the President to tweet from his official government Twitter handle.

“After close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them – specifically how they are being received and interpreted on and off Twitter – we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence,” said Twitter.

The decision to ban the President for life comes after five people were killed when a mob stormed the Capitol on Wednesday. The violence shocked Americans and led a host of social media giants, including Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram, to freeze the President’s accounts temporarily.

In a statement, Twitter accused Trump of inciting the mob to break into the Capitol building and alleged that his alleged support of the riot was leading to more violence.

“Plans for future armed protests have already begun proliferating on and off Twitter, including a proposed secondary attack on the U.S. Capitol and state capitol buildings on January 17, 2021,” Twitter said.

“In the context of horrific events this week, we made it clear on Wednesday that additional violations of the Twitter Rules would potentially result in this very course of action,” the statement continued.

“Our public interest framework exists to enable the public to hear from elected officials and world leaders directly. It is built on a principle that the people have a right to hold power to account in the open.”

The ban deprives Trump of his main conduit to his supporters, complicating his plans to remain relevant on the U.S. political scene after he leaves office on January 20. For years, Trump has used Twitter as a means to bypass the traditional media and speak directly to his base, racking up 88 million followers.

But Trump began to tangle with Twitter earlier this year as the social media giant began to gradually limit his reach over accusations that the President was spreading disinformation. In May, Twitter began adding a warning label to Trump’s tweets and prevented users from liking or sharing his tweets that spoke of voter fraud.

Chicago Public Schools Reopen

Despite the threat of financial penalties, half of Chicago’s teachers stayed home this week as the city’s public school system reopened for the first time since last March.

Thousands of children returned to the classroom on Monday in the first phase of Chicago’s plan to reopen its public school system. The schools had remained closed since the initial COVID-19 outbreak due to pressure from the powerful teacher’s union, which alleged that

We are here for you! Don’t let the effects of quarantine get you down!

Get Refreshed for Fall

From non-surgical injections to face and body cosmetic surgery, we are here to give you the look you deserve!

Dr. Aviva Preminger is an Ivy League trained, Board Certified plastic surgeon, with degrees from Harvard, Cornell and Columbia, specializing in cosmetic and reconstructive plastic surgery of the face and body.

212-706-1900 www.PremingerMD.com

NEW YORK CITY 969 Park Avenue, Suite 1E New York, New York 10028

life is not perfect, but it is beautiful.

restarting in-person learning was unsafe.

According to data provided by Chicago Public Schools (CPS), only 60.2% staff showed up to work, including 49.7% of all teachers and 70% of educational staff. According to CPS CEO Janice Jackson, the low rate of attendees resulted from pressure from the Teachers Union not to return to the classroom.

Now, Chicago will begin penalizing teachers who continue to remain at home. Starting from this past Tuesday, those choosing not to return to work will be subject to disciplinary actions, from docked pay to the altogether termination of employment.

According to Teachers Union lawyer Thad Goodchild, withholding pay for teachers who failed to return to work over health concerns would be illegal. Saying that “all options are on the table,” Goodchild warned that the policy was liable to result in a city-wide strike “if CPS and the mayor retaliate against the teachers who have been directed to report in person on Monday.”

The unusual move to use the threat of disciplinary action against educators is the latest escalation in a war between City Hall and the powerful teacher’s union over school re-openings. While the majority of school districts across the United States have resumed in-person learning, Chicago’s Teachers Union has kept students home over what it says are fears of COVID-19.

The school system will now reopen in stages, starting with 6,000 pre-K students on Monday along with children with special needs. An additional 70,000 students in grades from kindergarten through eighth grade will return to school on February 1 for the first time in almost a year.

“What this all boils down to is giving families the option to make the best decision for themselves,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said, “many of whom rely upon their school communities to make sure that their children get a warm meal and a safe place to be so they can fulfill their God-given talents.”

Riot Arrests

When a mob descended upon the Capitol on Wednesday, lawmakers huddled under desks and feared for their lives. The melee resulted in the death of an Air Force vet who was shot by a police officer. A Capitol Police officer was killed when he was struck in the head by a protester with a fire extinguisher. Three other people died as a result of “medical emergencies” on Capitol grounds.

Since last week’s bedlam, federal and local authorities have begun arresting people who they said were involved. On Friday, the Justice Department announced that it had charged 13 people. Dozens of others have been charged in Superior Court in Washington, D.C., with unlawful entry, curfew violations and firearms-related crimes.

Jake Angeli, also known as Jacob Anthony Chansley, was arrested on Saturday. He was photographed in the Capitol with his face painted red, white, and blue and wearing a horned, fur headdress. He was also carrying a spear with an American flag on top. He was charged with one count of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, and one count of violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.

Angeli is refusing to eat while incarcerated. He says he only eats organic food, which is not being offered to him.

Adam Johnson was arrested by U.S. marshals on Friday night. Photographs of him holding Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s lectern circulated on social media in the days before his arrest. He was charged with one count of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, one count of theft of government property, and one count of violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.

Richard Barnett of Arkansas was photographed sitting with his feet up in Pelosi’s office. He was arrested on Friday. He was charged with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, violent entry, disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, and theft of public money, property, or records.

Eric Gavelek Munchel, 30, was

Israel’s in a state of emergency as it faces its third lockdown ISRAEL’S LOCKDOWN CRISIS

With an unemployment rate of over 23%, 1 IN 7 ISRAELIS ARE SKIPPING MEALS and 50% of Israelis are worried they CAN’T PAY RENT.

You can help our team deliver 110,000+ Meals-on-Wheels to the ELDERLY, HOMEBOUND and UNEMPLOYED each month.

THE NEED FOR DAILY MEALS TRIPLED 3x

DONATE AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

To make a donation visit our website at

mpdonate.org

shown in the Senate chamber wearing a military uniform. He was arrested in Nashville on Sunday. He was charged with one count of unlawfully entering a restricted building and one count of violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, the department said in a statement.

On Sunday, Larry R. Brock was arrested in Texas. He is a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, a graduate of the Air Force Academy and a combat veteran.

More arrests are expected over the next few weeks.

“We are far from done. The rioting and destruction we saw will not be tolerated by the FBI ... We will continue to investigate all allegations of criminal activity,” said Special Agent Steven D’Antuono, who heads the FBI’s Washington office. “Just because you’ve left the D.C. region, you can still expect a knock on the door if we find out that you were part of the criminal activity at the Capitol.”

Deutsche Bank, one of President Donald Trump’s main lenders, announced that it will no longer do business with Trump or his company. Trump owes the bank more than $300 million.

New York’s Signature Bank also said that it is closing Trump’s personal accounts and calling for his resignation. The bank is pledging to no longer do business with any members of Congress who objected to the certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s election last week.

“To witness a rioter sitting in the presiding chair of the U.S. Senate and our elected representatives being told to seek cover under their seats is appalling and an insult to the Republic,” Signature Bank said in a statement. “We witnessed the President of the United States encouraging the rioters and refraining from calling in the National Guard to protect the Congress in its performance of duty.”

The moves by Trump’s banks are the clearest signs yet of looming financial blowback to his business empire as he leaves office. A growing number of major financial institutions and other corporations have spoken out against the events of last week and announced plans to cut off financial support for Republican officials.

Deutsche Bank’s break with Trump follows years of intense public scrutiny and litigation triggered by its association with the president. After winning control of the House majority in 2018, Democrats launched an investigation into the bank’s dealings with Trump, issuing subpoenas that sparked a legal battle all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

88 Walton St, Suite B1 . Brooklyn, NY 11206 / Tel 877. 736.6283

Donations to American Friends of Meir Panim are tax deductible in the US registered under EIN number 20-1582478

A National

Deutsche Bank Drops Trump

Hymn?

A U.S. representative thinks that a new national hymn should be played alongside the “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

U.S. Rep. James Clyburn,

D-S.C., the House majority whip, says he wants to introduce a measure to make “Life Every Voice and Sing,” known as the black national anthem, to be played alongside the traditional “Star Spangled Banner.”

“To make it a national hymn, I think, would be an act of bringing the country together. It would say to people, ‘You aren’t singing a separate national anthem, you are singing the country’s national hymn,” said Clyburn, the highest-ranking black American in Congress. “The gesture itself would be an act of healing. Everybody can identify with that song.”

The song is an important part of African-American culture and history. For decades, it has been sung in black communities at school plays, awards programs, graduations and church services. Now, Clyburn says it’s time for it to also be sung in other communities.

“Lift Every Voice and Sing” was first written as a poem by James Weldon Johnson, a NAACP leader, in 1899 and later put to music by his brother, John Rosamond Johnson. It was first performed in public by schoolchildren in 1900 at a birthday celebration honoring former President Abraham Lincoln.

The NAACP would later adopt it as its official song.

Clyburn noted its early label as the “Negro national anthem.”

“I’ve always been skittish about that,” he said. “We should have one national anthem irrespective of whether you’re Black or white. So to give due honor and respect to the song we ought to name it the national hymn.”

The NFL announced last year that it would play “Lift Every Voice and Sing” and “The Star-Spangled Banner” before Week 1 games.

“The Star-Spangled Banner” was officially adopted as the national anthem in 1931. Anthems are often patriotic songs. Hymns are more religious and songs of praise.

Cuba: State Sponsor of Terrorism

This week, the Trump administration declared Cuba a state sponsor of terrorism , the latest in a series of actions aimed at undoing the Obamaera legacy of opening U.S. relations with the island nation just weeks before President-elect Joe Biden takes office.

“The Trump Administration has been focused from the start on denying the Castro regime the resources it uses to oppress its people at home, and countering its malign interference in Venezuela and the rest of the Western Hemisphere,” said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a statement. “With this action, we will once again hold Cuba’s government accountable and send a clear message: the Castro regime must end its support for international terrorism and subversion of U.S. justice.”

The State Department had briefed Congress on the impending move on Monday morning.

Cuba was placed on the list in 1982 under President Ronald Reagan but was removed in 2015 by President Barack Obama as part of a normalization of relations between the U.S. and Cuba. Placing Cuba back on the list before the Trump administration leaves office will present a major roadblock for efforts by incoming Biden officials to return to the Obama-era policy.

Reversing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s action would require the Biden administration to certify to Congress that there has been a fundamental change in leadership in Cuba and that the Cuban government is not supporting acts of international terrorism, has not for the previous six months, and will not do so in the future.

The designation results in restrictions on U.S. foreign assistance, a ban on U.S. arms exports and sales, controls on dual-use items that could be used for both military and civilian purposes, and the withdrawal of U.S. support for loans from global financial institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund or the World Bank.

The decision to place Cuba back on the terrorism list has been percolating for the past few months.

Among the reasons for the designation was Cuba’s refusal to extradite Joanne Chesimard, also known as Assata Shakur, an American who fled to Cuba after being convicted of killing a New Jersey state trooper in 1973. The State Department also cited Cuba’s denial of a Colombian request to extradite members of a guerilla group that claimed responsibility for a bombing in a police academy.

The Trump administration has systematically called out the Cuban government for backing socialist Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

“The Cuban intelligence and security apparatus has infiltrated Venezuela’s security and military forces,” said Pompeo’s statement, adding it assisted Maduro in maintaining “his stranglehold over his people while allowing terrorist organizations to operate.”

Iran, North Korea, and Syria are the only nations currently designated as state sponsors of terrorism, which requires the State Department to certify a country “repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism.” The Trump administration removed Sudan from the list last month shortly after they agreed to formally recognize Israel.

Apple Store, Google Ban Parler

Social media app Parler went offline on Monday after Amazon banned it from using its servers.

Parler describes itself as a “free speech app” and has become increasingly popular with conservatives fed up with de-platforming and shadow bans from social media giants such as Twitter and Facebook.

The app had used Amazon Web Services as its host since 2018. On Saturday, Amazon informed Parler that it would boot it from its servers after witnessing a “steady increase in this violent content on your website, all of which violates our terms.”

While promising to return “soon,” Parler CEO John Matze said that the task was becoming increasingly difficult because “every vendor

from text message services to email providers to our lawyers all ditched us too.”

“We’re going to try our best to get back online as quickly as possible, but we’re having a lot of trouble because every vendor we talk to says they won’t work with us because if Apple doesn’t approve and Google doesn’t approve, they won’t,” Matze told Fox News.

The move came after Google and Apple removed Parler from their app stores for failing to censor user content. Google said in a statement that its policies mandated platforms to moderate user content, including removing content deemed guilty of “hate speech” and banning extremist users. The company added that the decision to remove Parler came as part of its response to last week’s violent assault on the Capitol that left five people dead.

Parler refused to amend its content policy despite being removed from the two most popular app stores, with CEO John Matze vowing to never capitulate to pressure to censor his users.

“We will not cave to pressure from anti-competitive actors. We will and always have enforced our rules against violence and illegal activity. But we won’t cave to politically motivated companies and those authoritarians who hate free speech.” said Matze.

“Anyone who buys an Apple phone is apparently a user. Apparently, they know what is best for you by telling you which apps you may and may not use,” he added.

Largely unknown before 2020, Parler recently exploded in popularity among conservatives weary of being censored by tech giants. The platform added 1 million users in this past June alone and surged to the top of Apple’s app store after Twitter stepped up its content moderation policy following the presidential elections in November.

The ban on Parler came amid a larger de-platforming wave after last week’s Capitol rights, with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat freezing the accounts of a slew of prominent conservatives. On Saturday, Twitter took the unprecedented step of permanently banning President Donald Trump, removing his Twitter account with its 88 million followers.

Marathon Bomber Sues U.S. Gov’t

The Boston Marathon bomber is suing the federal government over what he alleges is the frequent mistreatment he suffers at the hands of prison guards.

In the $250,00 lawsuit he filed last Monday, 26-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev decried the “unreasonable and discriminatory” acts he is subjected to at Colorado’s Supermax prison. Included in the examples the jihadist gave were the confiscation of a shower cap he purchased at the prison commissary and the prison’s weekly three-shower limit.

Tsarnaev contended that prison staff took away his hat “because, by wearing it, I was ‘disrespecting’ the FBI and the victims” of the Marathon bombing. “There is no proof and no evidence to support (the) false accusation,” Tsarnaev wrote.

He added that the conditions were contributing to his “mental and physical decline.”

Tsarnaev had been nicknamed “White Hat” by FBI investigators for the headgear he was seen wearing on surveillance camera footage of the crime scene. The aforementioned baseball cap later became a critical piece of evidence that resulted in the terrorist being handed the death penalty.

Tsarnaev has been behind bars at the most highly protected prison in the United States since he and his brother killed three people by placing bombs in pressure cookers at the 2013 Boston Marathon. Two of the victims were killed in the blast; a police officer was murdered in a shootout with the two brothers.

The Chechen-born terrorist was then sentenced to death after being found guilty on 30 different criminal charges but had his sentence vacated on appeal in July. The Department of Justice has since appealed the decision to the Supreme Court.

Great Rate Van & Truck Rentals Cargo Vans • Trucks 10’ to 26’ Refrigerator/Freezer Trucks 16’ or 26’ Flatbeds Trucks

BRAND NEW 12 & 15 PASSENGER VANS AVAILABLE

Local & One way Rental

Business & Personal Rentals We Rent to 18 Years & up

Our Insurance covers the Box as well!

SUN-THURS 7am-7pm | FRI until 2 Hrs. Before Shabbos

CALL MEILICH SHNITZLER

718-474-7200 • 347-897-6021

LOWEST RENTAL PRICES & NEWEST TRUCK FLEET 76-02 Beach Channel Dr. Arverne, NY 11692

U.S. Bans 8 Chinese Apps

A new Executive Order signed by President Trump bans Americans from having any ties with companies behind eight Chinese apps.

The companies set to be blacklisted are Alipay, CamScanner, QQ Wallet, SHAREit, Tencent QQ, VMate, WeChat Pay, and WPS Office. Transactions with the aforementioned apps will be prohibited starting on March 10.

The Executive Order cites national security concerns, alleging that Chinese intelligence was exploiting the apps to collect data on U.S. citizens.

“By accessing personal electronic devices such as smartphones, tablets, and computers, Chinese connected software applications can access and capture vast swaths of information from users, including sensitive personally identifiable information and private information,” read the order.

“The pace and pervasiveness of the spread in the United States of certain connected mobile and desktop applications and other software developed or controlled by persons in the People’s Republic of China... continue to threaten the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States.”

The ban is the latest salvo from the Trump administration that has been using its final months to target Chinese companies operating in the U.S. The Pentagon alleges that China routinely orders private companies to transfer their data to Chinese intelligence, enabling them to hack American targets and compromise U.S. officials.

The recent crackdown included banning video-sharing app TikTok in August, which has since been overturned by a federal judge, and blacklisting Chinese tech behemoth Huawei. In early December, the U.S. blacklisted 18 leading Chinese tech firms for their ties to the People’s Liberation Army, including drone manufacturer SZ DJI Technology and chip-making giant SMIC.

The Department of Commerce said that the bans “stem from China’s military-civil fusion (MCF) doctrine and evidence of activities between SMIC and entities of concern in the Chinese military industrial complex.”

Impeachment Round Two

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi vowed to continue with the effort to impeach President Donald Trump for the second time following last week’s riot at the Capitol.

Ignoring calls from Republican lawmakers to hold off on removing Trump as his term winds down, Pelosi said in a letter to her colleagues on Monday that the president’s actions left him unfit to remain in office.

“We will act with urgency, because this President represents an imminent threat,” Pelosi wrote. “The horror of the ongoing assault on our democracy perpetrated by this President is intensified and so is the immediate need for action.”

On Monday, House Democrats filed an article of impeachment accusing Trump of “incitement to insurrection” for his role in the assault on the Capitol. The charge came after Republicans blocked a resolution calling on Vice President Mike Pence to remove Trump by invoking the 25th Amendment.

The articles of impeachment were introduced by Reps. Ciciline, Lieu, and Raskin and was cosponsored by more than 200 Democrats.

“President Trump gravely endangered the security of the United States and its institutions of Government. He threatened the integrity of the democratic system, interfered with the peaceful transition of power, and imperiled a coequal branch of Government. He thereby betrayed his trust as President, to the manifest injury of the people of the United States,” read the impeachment charge.

The measure is expected to pass easily in Congress due to the Democratic Party’s majority but would likely face pushback in the Senate. The Constitution requires 66 senators to impeach a sitting president, an extraordinary high threshold that Democrats would have a difficult time achieving. No impeachment effort has cleared the Senate in U.S. history, with Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton, and Trump all being acquitted.

One possibility being floated by Democratic Party lawmakers is to impeach Trump after he already leaves office on January 20. While Democrats would pass a resolution in Congress condemning the president in the strongest possible terms, they would delay the trial until after the first 100 days of Biden’s administration passed.

“Let’s give President-elect Biden the 100 days he needs to get his agenda off and running,” said Rep. Jim Clyburn, the third most senior House Democrat.

Pompeo Lifts Restrictions on Taiwan

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo lifted long-standing restrictions on contacts between U.S. officials and Taiwan in a policy shift likely to infuriate China.

Pompeo announced the change on Saturday evening, saying in a statement that the State Department’s previous guidelines “created complex internal restrictions to regulate our diplomats, servicemembers, and other officials’ interactions with their Taiwanese counterparts.

“The United States government took these actions unilaterally, in an attempt to appease the Communist regime in Beijing,” Pompeo added. “No more.

“Today I am announcing that I am lifting all of these self-imposed restrictions.”

Taiwan hailed Pompeo’s declaration, saying via its unofficial embassy in Washington that the move demonstrated the “strength and depth” of its ties with the U.S.

“Decades of discrimination, removed,” tweeted Hsiao Bi-khim, who serves as Taiwan’s unofficial ambassador to Washington. “A huge day in our bilateral relationship. I will cherish every opportunity.”

The change is likely to anger Beijing, which considers the island nation part of sovereign China and opposes Taiwanese independence. While the U.S. has never officially recognized Taiwan, it has traditionally supported the territory as a bulwark against communist China and is legally obligated to provide weapons “of a defensive nature” to the island.

The policy shift comes amid deteriorating U.S.-Sino relations that saw the Trump administration upgrade its ties with Taiwan as part of its effort to contain China’s influence on the world stage. If Washington has historically curbed its relationship with Taiwan in order to remain on good terms with China, the Trump administration has adopted the issue as a cudgel against Beijing.

WV Lawmaker Resigns

West Virginia legislator Derrick Evans resigned after being charged for participating in last week’s violent assault on the U.S. Capitol in Washington.

Evans announced his resignation in a public missive the newly-elected lawmaker sent on Saturday to West Virginia Governor Jim Justice. In the letter, Evans apologized and pledged to “take responsibility for my actions” during the now-infamous riot.

“I hereby resign as a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates, effective immediately,” Evans wrote. “The past few days have certainly been a difficult time for my