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Singapore to Open Embassy

Singapore will open an embassy in Tel Aviv, its foreign minister announced on Monday, more than a half century after the two countries established diplomatic ties.

A statement from Singapore’s foreign ministry said the new embassy will “serve as a focal point and support Singapore companies seeking to expand their collaboration with potential Israeli partners.”

“I welcome the government of Singapore’s decision to open an embassy in Israel for the first time since the establishment of relations,” Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said in a statement. “This represents another testament to the good and unique relations between the countries.”

The two countries have had diplomatic relations since 1969 and have since developed close security and business ties. Israel already operates an embassy in Singapore

Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan is in Israel as part of a Mideast tour that has included stops in the West Bank and Bahrain.

Singapore’s foreign ministry said its Balakrishnan told Lapid during their meeting in Jerusalem that their two countries “should deepen collaboration in emerging areas such as agri-food tech, health-tech, AI and digitalization, as the world emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Balakrishnan also used the opportunity to reiterate Singapore’s support for Palestinian statehood. “Singapore hopes that both the Israeli and Palestinian sides would find ways to engage in direct negotiations on the basis of a two-state solution,” he said.

Israel and Singapore have long enjoyed close military ties. The IDF helped Singapore create its armed forces after the country became independent in the mid-1960s.

However, due to Singapore’s relationship with its neighbors Malaysia and Indonesia, neither of which maintain formal ties with Israel, the country tends to downplay its connections to Israel and its meetings with Israeli officials. Indeed, Israeli officials have said that the decision to censor Defense Minister Benny Gantz’s trip in October was due to explicit requests from Singapore.

Singapore is Israel’s second-largest export destination in Asia after India. That is believed to include arms.

U.S. Veteran Sues Tehran for $1B

A U.S. Navy veteran jailed for nearly two years in Iran is suing the Iranian government. In the $1 billion suit, the veteran alleges that he was kidnapped, tortured, and held hostage.

According to the federal lawsuit, Michael White claims he suffered “prolonged and continuous” abuse during his time in prison, including being beaten and punched, whipped on his feet, deprived of food and drink, and pressured to falsely confess that he was a spy for the U.S. government.

The suit adds, “Mr. White endured this trauma for nearly two years, never knowing if or when he would be released and reunited with his family, repeatedly promised that his conditions would improve soon, only to be crushed psychologically when they did not.”

The lawsuit, filed in a Washington, D.C., federal court, has not yet been seen by the public.

It was not immediately clear if Iran planned to respond to the complaint or if it had a lawyer dealing with the case.

Internment Camp to Become Historic Site

U.S. President Joe Biden last week signed a bill designating a World War IIera internment camp as a national historic site.

Over 7,000 people, most of them U.S.

32 citizens, were detained at Camp Amache in Colorado between 1942 and 1945. The site, also known as the Granada RelocaThe Jewish Home | MARCH 24, 2022 tion Center, was one of ten sites where Japanese Americans were held during the war. Today, a cemetery, monument, and reconstructed structures mark the site of the former camp. The bipartisan legislation passed last month added the site to the National Park System. Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), one of the bill’s sponsors, said, “This moment is a testament to the Amache survivors, descendants, and advocates who never stopped pushing to get this done. Thanks to their work, future generations will now have the opportunity to learn about what happened at Amache and the Americans who were interned there.”

Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized the forced relocation of Japanese Americans living on the West Coast with Executive Order 9066. Over the spring of 1942, some 120,000 Japanese Americans were “evacuated” and placed into temporary “assembly centers” before being transferred to more permanent and isolated “relocation centers” like Granada.

Granada opened on August 27, 1942, and reached a peak population of 7,318 persons by February 1943, making it the smallest of the WRA camps (although the total number who passed through the camp during its three-year existence was over 10,000).

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America Loves Candy

A record $36.9 billion in candy, chocolate, gum, mints, and other confections were purchased in 2021, according to a new report by the National Confectioners Association.

Candy and chocolate sales in 2021 were 11% higher than in 2020 and 15.4% higher than in 2019. By 2026, sales are expected to reach $44.9 billion, representing 22% more than in 2021.

Part of the drive is expected to be due to social media, as 42% of TikTok users engage in food challenges. At the same time, 80-90% of Americans celebrate certain holidays by “sharing and gifting confectionery,” the report said.

The vast majority (71%) of consumers purchase most of their chocolate and candy at their primary grocery store, the trade group said. Chocolate represented a full $21.1 billion of the sales in 2021, followed by $12.7 billion in “non-chocolate” and $3.1 billion in gum and mints.

President & CEO of the National Confectioners Association John Downs remarked, “Consumers view chocolate and candy as special treats in a happy, balanced lifestyle.

“Our success in 2021 came in part as a result of Americans re-engaging with the confectionery seasons after a tumultuous 2020 in which we were often physically separated from family, friends and neighbors.”

Zelensky Implores Congress

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last Wednesday requested that the U.S. Congress do more to help Ukraine fight off the Russian invasion.

In a livestream viewed in the Capitol, Zelensky begged, “We need you right now. I call on you to do more.”

“Peace is more important than income,” he stressed, adding, “I see no sense in life if it cannot stop the deaths.”

During his speech, Zelensky said, “Remember Pearl Harbor, the terrible morning of December 7, 1941, when your sky was black from the planes attacking you. Remember September the 11th, a terrible day in 2001 when evil tried to turn your cities, independent territories, into battlefields. Our country experienced the same every day.

“I have a need, the need to protect our sky. I need your decision, your help.” He added, “Is this too much to ask, to create a no-fly zone over Ukraine? If this is too much to ask, we offer an alternative. You know what kind of defense systems we need, you know how much depends on the battlefield, on the ability to use powerful strong aviation to protect our people our freedom our land. Aircraft that can help Ukraine, help Europe. And you know that they exist, and you have them, but they are on earth and not in the Ukrainian sky.”

The United States has already sent Ukraine thousands of weapons, including Stinger missiles, anti-armor systems, UAVs, ammunition, guns, tactical gear, boats, helicopters, grenade launchers, and more.

Addressing U.S. President Joe Biden, Zelensky said, “You are the leader of the nation, of your great nation. I wish you to be the leader of the world. Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace. Peace for your country no longer depends just on your country; it also depends on those next to you. Today the Ukrainian people are not only defending Ukraine; we are fighting for the values of Europe.”

Biden later pledged ongoing U.S. aid to Ukraine and announced an additional $800 million in security assistance as he condemned Russia’s attacks in a speech

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“America is leading this effort, together with our allies and partners, providing enormous levels of security and humanitarian assistance that we’re adding to today and we’re going to continue to do more in the days and weeks ahead,” Biden said.

9 Mass Shootings in 1 Weekend

At least nine mass shootings across the U.S. last weekend left over 60 injured and eight dead.

One of the shootings, at a car show in Dumas, Arkansas, left one dead and at least 27 injured, including six children. That is the largest number injured at a single mass shooting event since 2019.

In New Iberia, Louisiana, five people, including a seven-month-old infant, were injured in a mass shooting, local police said. Three of the victims suffered non-life-threatening injuries, while two others, including the infant and an adult, were hospitalized in critical condition. By Monday, the infant’s condition was stable, and surgery was scheduled. The adult lost her left eye and had been released from the hospital.

In Norfolk, Virginia, two people were killed and three injured outside a restaurant. One of those killed was Virginian-Pilot newspaper reporter and former CNN news assistant Sierra Jenkins, 25, police said. Jenkins was leaving the restaurant when an argument started outside, followed by gunfire.

Another shooting, in Madison Heights, Virginia, left a 21-year-old mother of twins dead and four other people wounded, Amherst County Sheriff E.W. Viar Jr. reported.

A Houston, Texas, shooting outside a birthday party left one teenager dead and three wounded. Dallas, Texas, saw at least ten wounded, one of them critically, in a Saturday night shooting. A third shooting in the state, this time in Austin, occurred near a festival, and left four with “minor” injuries. The Austin shooting stemmed from “a disturbance between two groups of people” and is not believed to have been a random act, the Austin Police Department said.

In Fayetteville, North Carolina, three people were killed and three others wounded in a shooting at a hotel. According to the police department, “Detectives have determined the shooting is not random,” and anyone with information is asked to come forward.

Four people were shot at a party in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, when shots were fired “during an argument” at a party, the Milwaukee Police Department said. One of the victims, a 24-year-old man, was in critical condition.

All Survive CA Helicopter Crash

All six passengers who were aboard a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department helicopter that crashed Saturday in the Angeles National Forest are expected to survive, authorities said.

The helicopter was carrying five sheriff’s deputies and one doctor who was on a ride-along. The crew was on the way to assist the fire department in a rescue.

The crash happened just before 5 p.m. when the aircraft “suffered a hard landing and a rollover,” Sheriff Alex Villanueva said.

“We’re very thankful that everyone survived,” Villanueva added.

Standing outside the hospital, the sheriff stressed the importance of the helicopter crew, noting they do between 500 and 700 rescues a year.

“It was their turn to be rescued,” he said.

Hochul’s “Raise the Age” Fight

Youth service providers and advocates have condemned New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s attempt to include rollbacks for the state’s Raise the Age laws in the state budget.

Raise the Age increased NY’s age of

criminal responsibility from 16 years old to 18 years old. According to a coalition of groups, the state should be investigating in public safety solutions instead of rollbacks.

In a letter addressed to Hochul and legislative leaders, the groups wrote, “Rolling back Raise the Age will not make New York safer. While it is clear that the uptick in gun violence is an epidemic that requires action, the Raise the Age law is not responsible for this crisis.

“When a 16- or 17-year-old is arrested with a gun in New York, the goal should be to stop that young person from carrying guns in the future – not to punish him or her as an adult.

“We must not meet this moment by going backwards and returning to historically failed, retrograde policies that target Black and Latinx youth with adult prosecution – this will only cause harm to youth and communities and impede the equitable recovery that our state urgently needs.”

Hochul is attempting to tackle the rising violent crime that is prevalent on New York streets.

The 10-point public safety package proposed by the Democratic governor, who is running for reelection this year, would generally make more offenses bail eligible and offer judges more discretion by allowing them to explicitly consider a defendant’s criminal history for serious felonies.

The measure would also reverse some of the state bail law changes, which were championed by criminal justice advocates as a means to ensure that people would not remain incarcerated pre-trial because of their finances. Those same elements of New York’s bail reform have met fierce opposition from some in law enforcement and others.

A poll from Siena College found strong support among voters for further amending bail reforms, with 65% of polled voters saying bail reform laws should be amended to give judges more discretion based on an individual’s “dangerousness” level.

Hochul’s proposal is garnering intense opposition from Democratic lawmakers.

Denver Donates Bison to Tribes

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The city of Denver on Monday handed off 33 young, snorting bison to members of the Arapaho and Cheyenne tribes seeking to restore the iconic animals to their tribal lands.

“The goal is to someday have thousands of buffalo,” said Jordan Dresser, chairman of the Northern Arapaho. “We are growing the herd and had a calf born last year, which was a huge moment for us.”

For years, Denver auctioned off surplus bison from its two herds, descendants of the last wild bison in North America, to keep their numbers healthy. But in 2020, the city adopted a “land acknowledgment” calling for the dismantling of “ongoing legacies of oppression and inequities.” With that in mind, the City Council passed an ordinance last year to donate surplus bison to Indigenous tribes.

On Monday, the Northern Arapaho in Wyoming were given 15 bison, the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes in Oklahoma received 17, and the nonprofit Tall Bull Memorial Council in Colorado got one.

The move comes as tribes across the country are restoring bison, which they call buffalo, to their lands, where they play crucial roles in Native American culture and spirituality.

“They were not only our food, but they were our tools, our homes,” said Elma Brown, interim chief executive of the Northern Arapaho. “We have a pasture where we can go out and pray with them.”

For generations, Cheyenne and Arapaho hunters moved like waves across the