UK

Health secretary orders NHS to stop hiring DEI roles

Millicent Machell
23 October 2023

Steve Barclay told health bosses to publicly explain themselves if they disagreed -

Health Secretary Steve Barclay has ordered the NHS to stop recruiting for roles solely focused on diversity and inclusion.

In a letter to the heads of Integrated Care Boards, which manage local budgets, Barclay said the NHS’ budget would be wasted on DEI roles.

He wrote: “'Current live adverts include jobs with salaries of up to £96,376, which is above the basic full-time pay for a newly promoted consultant.

Keeping diversity on the agenda during tough times

“I do not consider that this represents value for money, even more so at a time when budgets are under pressure as we work to tackle the backlog left by the pandemic.”

He added that if organisations do not fall into line, they should publicly justify their decision.

He said: “I would appreciate it if you could work with NHS organisations in your area [to cease] recruitment into standalone DE&I roles and external subscriptions to redirect these resources into frontline patient care.”

“Should organisations wish to take a different path then they should be willing to justify in public why such roles add more value than additional medical or healthcare staff.”

Rethinking EDI in the NHS

The letter sparked criticism from health bosses, including a letter from the NHS confederation, a membership body for NHS services, calling Barclay’s intervention "concerning".

The NHS confederation’s letter read: “It appears that the NHS has not collectively done enough to explain the reasons why most NHS organisations [...] invest in roles which provide advice on EDI to improve staff experience and retention, as well as patient care.”

The organisation pointed out issues including tackling racism and misogyny among staff, as well as inequality in care for patients who have protected characteristics.

Could better HR save the NHS?

A government commissioned review in 2022 found DEI roles should be used to tackle discrimination in the NHS.

One recommendation from the review was to allocate further resources to inclusivity and employee support.

It read: “While we recognise the continuous pressure that the system will remain under, we strongly recommend a re-balancing of time and resource towards supporting and developing the workforce and argue that this will quickly repay the investment in the form of greater productivity, efficiency and quality.”

Nadia Nagamootoo, founder of DEI consultancy Avenir, said if DEI roles are banned in the NHS it will exacerbate healthcare inequalities.

She told HR magazine: "I see DEI roles as money going indirectly to frontline care. If NHS professionals have a single lens of care and aren’t aware of the differing needs between communities then frontline care risks under-serving certain minority groups.

"There are a number of examples, Covid being just one, where we can see the disparity in care between groups of people. This direction from the health secretary is short-sighted and highly concerning, and isn’t too far from the US Supreme Court rulings of recent months."

NHS junior doctors and consultants will meet Government for talks in bid to end strikes over pay and conditionsSenior doctors this week indicated they would vote for further strike action

By ELIZABETH HAIGH

DAILY MAIL;
21 October 2023

Junior doctors and consultants will meet Government officials for talks aimed at ending the long-running dispute over pay and conditions in the English NHS, after staff voted to ballot for further action next month.

The British Medical Association (BMA) said it had agreed to the talks, although the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said the issue of pay would not be on the table.

It comes after the BMA announced that specialist, associate specialist and specialty doctors, or SAS doctors, had voted in favour of a ballot on strike action in November on Friday.

The ballot, which ran between 25 September and 16 October, resulted in 88 percent of respondents voting in favour of further action.

The meeting is expected next week, although no date has yet been fixed, and is expected to try and prevent planned action between November 6 and 18.

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The British Medical Association (BMA) said it had agreed to the talks, although the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said the issue of pay would not be on the table


Junior doctors and consultants will meet Government officials for talks aimed at ending the long-running dispute over pay and conditions

Commenting on the ballot's outcome and the upcoming talks, SAS committee chair Ujjwala Mohite said doctors do not want to walkout and added she 'remained hopeful' of finding a solution.

She continued: 'SAS doctors are overworked and exhausted, and have had enough of not being properly valued for the vital work they do – something we have been hearing at a grassroots level for a long time and which was strongly echoed in today's overwhelming indicative ballot results.

'On top of chronic underinvestment and a lack of resource in the NHS, the last 15 years has seen real-terms pay for SAS doctors shrink by as much as 31 percent, and many are struggling to find reasons to stay in the health service.

'Like other hospital colleagues, many are now being pushed to reduce their hours or leave altogether, putting patient safety at risk and increasing pressures on the NHS.

'That's why, with four months of stagnant talks behind us so far, we must be prepared to take the next step and ballot for industrial action if we absolutely have to – and we will do this on 6 November if upcoming negotiations fail to achieve anything for our profession.'

Health Secretary Steve Barclay previously said he is 'keen to avoid a vote for strike action'.

A DHSC spokesperson said: 'We are pleased the BMA Junior Doctors' Committee has agreed to enter talks, in the hope we will find a resolution and end the dispute.

'We have been clear headline pay will not be on the table as doctors have already received a fair and reasonable pay rise as recommended by the independent pay review body, which we've accepted in full.


Health Secretary Steve Barclay previously said he is 'keen to avoid a vote for strike action' by consultant doctors

'This means doctors who started their hospital training this year have received a 10.3 percent pay increase, with the average junior doctor getting 8.8 percent.'

The BMA said: 'We have agreed to talks with DHSC.

'We will be meeting with them next week and will listen to what they have to say.'

Consultants are also due to meet with the Government in an effort to resolve their separate dispute.

Top hospital doctors represented by the BMA have said they will not call any more strikes until November to allow time for talks.

And the BMA has also said specialist, associate specialist and specialty (SAS) doctors in England will meet the Government for talks.

On the recent ballot, a spokesperson for the BMA said: 'SAS doctors in England have spoken and delivered a decisive YES result in the indicative ballot.

'The government has written to us and offered to meet with us next week. We have accepted their offer and will continue to negotiate in good faith.

'If talks with the government do not produce meaningful and detailed progress, we will move to a formal ballot on strike action which will be open from 6 November to 18 December.

'We will continue to use this mandate to fight on behalf of our members.

HEAR, HEAR!

Keir Starmer should be brave and scrap Lords in first term, says Scottish Labour chief

The Scottish Labour leader said his party should be 'brave' and act to reform the upper chamber when it has 'maximum political capital' in the early years of winning power

The Mirror has a long-running campaign to abolish the unelected House of Lords.

By Ashley Cowburn

Political Correspondent

Keir Starmer should abolish and replace the House of Lords in the first five years of a Labour government, Anas Sarwar has said.

The Scottish Labour leader said his party should be "brave" and act when it has "maximum political capital" in the early years if it wins power. He told an audience at the Institute for Government: "We have got to reform the House of Lords to make it more representative of the nations and regions.

Questioned on whether it should be within the first term, he said: "Look, for me, absolutely. I think you have your greatest political capital and your greatest ability to do big, bold, radical reform in your first term than you do in your second term. "I think if we're going to do big, brave reforms we should be brave enough to do them in the first Parliament".

Former PM Gordon Brown authored a report for Labour last year with proposals to scrap the "indefensible" House of Lords. It said the upper chamber - one of the world's largest second chambers - should be replaced with a new Assembly of the Nations and Regions of a much smaller size than the Lords at present. The Mirror has a long-running campaign to abolish the unelected House of Lords.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar with Keir Starmer after the Rutherglen by-election victory 

Mr Starmer said at the time he will consult on the plans and that it would be Labour's hope to usher in a new elected chamber within the first five years of being in power. But reports earlier this month claimed the proposals may not be a first-term commitment.

Quizzed on his stance by the Labour peer Baroness Pauline Bryan at the event, Mr Sarwar added: "You have your maximum political capital in the early days of a new government. "If you are going to do big, significant reform I think you have to do it early in the first term."

Mr Sarwar, who became Scottish Labour leader in 2021, also said winning seats north of the border would help deliver a UK Labour government. Reflecting on his party's stunning success at the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election earlier this month, he described it as a "huge leap forward" for Labour.

But he said Scottish Labour "still has a mountain to climb" ahead of the next general election and Scottish Parliament vote. The Scottish Labour leader claimed the "public has decided they want the Tories to lose" and are "beginning to decide they want the SNP to lose" north of the border. He added: "We still have work to do for them to believe Labour deserves to win and that I think is the big challenge for us"

UK
Voters Have Delivered A Brutal Verdict On Rishi Sunak's First Year As Prime Minister
New poll shows half the public believe he has been "poor" or "terrible".

By Kevin Schofield
24/10/2023


Voters are not happy with Rishi Sunak's performance as PM.
WPA POOL VIA GETTY IMAGES

Voters have delivered a brutal verdict on Rishi Sunak’s first year as prime minister.

A new poll by YouGov shows half the public believe he has been either “poor” or “terrible” at the job, while barely one in 10 rate him “great” or “good”.

And the proportion of Brits who think Sunak is competent, decisive or trustworthy has plummeted.


The findings are a damning indictment of the PM’s performance since he entered No.10 on October 25 last year.

At the time, Sunak promised to bring “integrity and accountability” to the job after the tumultuous premierships of Liz Truss and Boris Johnson.

But the YouGov poll suggests he has failed to turn around the government’s fortunes.

It showed that just 1% of people believe Sunak has been a “great” PM, with 10% saying he was been “good”.

One third - 33% - of voters think he has been “average”, 25% say he has been “poor” and the same number brand think he has been “terrible” at the job.

The PM’s personal reputation has also plummeted in a range of areas, the poll found.

Just 34% now say he is competent (down 16 points on a year ago), 30% say he is decisive (down 23 points), 20% think he is strong (down 19 points) and only 20% say he is trustworthy (down 10 points).

Matthew Smith, YouGov’s head of data journalism, said: “Rishi Sunak’s pitch to Conservative members at last year’s leadership contest was that he was the candidate of competence.

That prized reputation for competence is now gone, with the public now seeing him as incompetent by 46% to 34%. This represents a 40 point net drop, from +28 to -12.”

UK

Rishi Sunak Savaged As The Cap On Bankers' Bonuses Is Scrapped

The prime minister was accused of taking a leaf out of Liz Truss' playbook.

By Kevin Schofield
24/10/2023


Rishi Sunak is at the centre of controversy once again.
WPA POOL VIA GETTY IMAGES

Rishi Sunak has been slammed after it was confirmed that the cap on bankers’ bonuses is to be scrapped.

The Financial Conduct Authority confirmed that the measure - which has been in place since 2014 - will end on October 31.

Liz Truss’s chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng announced plans to axe the cap in last year’s disastrous mini-budget.

He said it would encourage banks to “invest here and pay taxes here”.

But the announcement, which comes on the eve of Sunak’s first anniversary as PM, has been condemned by Labour.

Darren Jones, shadow Treasury secretary, said: “Rishi Sunak is marking his anniversary of becoming prime minister by pushing ahead with Liz Truss’ plan to axe the cap on bankers’ bonuses. When Truss says jump, Sunak says how high.

“At a time when families are struggling with the cost of living and mortgages are rising, this decision tells you everything you need to know about the priorities of this out of touch Conservative government.”

Unison general secretary Christina McAnea said: “Anyone who thinks that making bankers even richer will achieve anything positive for the country is utterly deluded.

“It’s beyond belief that the disastrous policies of Liz Truss are being reheated. She trashed the economy and everyone else is still paying the price.

“This won’t win public sympathy for a government in desperate need of it.

“Ministers should be helping the millions struggling with rising bills, growing the economy and investing in crumbling public services, not allowing their wealthy pals to feather their nests further.”

Drew Henry, the SNP’s economy spokesperson said: “These shameful plans lay bare the priorities of Westminster: they care more about filling the pockets of bankers than helping vulnerable households through the cost of living crisis.

“While bankers rake in astronomical sums of money, households across the UK are having to choose between heating their home or feeding their families.”

The bonus cap was introduced as a way of curbing the excesses of the banking sector in the wake of the 2008 financial crash.

A Treasury spokesperson said: “Decisions on remuneration in the banking sector are for the Prudential Regulation Authority as the independent statutory regulator.”

London’s bankers can make unlimited bonuses again as UK axes cap

By Hanna Ziady, CNN
Tue October 24, 2023


The UK government believes lifting the cap on banker bonuses will help shore up London's position as an international financial hub.Jason Alden/Bloomberg/Getty Images
LondonCNN —

The UK has abandoned a cap on bankers’ bonuses, in its latest push to boost the competitiveness of London’s financial industry following Brexit.

The rule limiting banker bonuses to two times annual base pay was introduced a decade ago in the wake of the global financial crisis when the country was part of the European Union. It will be scrapped from October 31, the Prudential Regulation Authority said Tuesday.

“A bonus cap is not routinely imposed in other leading international financial centers outside the EU,” the regulator added, noting that the cap had been identified as “a factor in limiting labor mobility.”

The UK government has long been opposed to the cap and believes that lifting it will help shore up London’s position as an international financial hub. Brexit made access to Europe’s vast market for financial services more difficult and costly for UK-based banks, and London has lost some business to cities such as Paris, Frankfurt and Amsterdam.

The EU introduced the limit on banker bonuses as part of a package of measures aimed at reducing excessive risk taking and making the financial system safer. At the time there was also residual popular anger that taxpayers had to bail out banks that were paying huge sums to their top dealmakers, stoked by the fact that many people lost their jobs and homes in the recession that followed the crisis.

Shares in one of London's biggest IPOs this year have crashed 82%

The UK government unsuccessfully challenged the cap when it was put forward in 2013, arguing that it would lead to higher fixed salaries, undermining efforts to link banker pay more closely to long-term success.

Britain’s financial regulators have since echoed these concerns and the PRA said Tuesday that scrapping the cap would better align pay with performance. It would also allow firms to restructure pay faster, giving them “further flexibility over their cost base to deal with downturns,” the regulator added.

A spokesperson for UK Finance, a group representing banks, welcomed the end of the bonus cap, saying it “will ensure the financial services industry is globally competitive and make the UK a more attractive place to work for international professionals.”

However, the spokesperson added that the UK’s lengthy deferral period — which means some executives must wait seven years for their awards — “remains a disincentive to those looking to relocate” to the UK because it is longer than in the EU.

“We’re pleased to see that the financial regulators will take the deferral period into account in their wider review of the remuneration regime,” the spokesperson said.

The UK government has come under increasing pressure to deliver post-Brexit benefits for London, the center of Britain’s hugely important financial services sector. The city suffered a series of setbacks earlier this year when several British companies — most notably chipmaker ARM (ARM) — announced plans to list in New York.

Unraveling the Mystery of the Al Ahli Hospital Explosion

By Emmanuel Abara Benson•7 hours ago


Unraveling the Mystery of the Al Ahli Hospital Explosion

The recent shocking explosion at the Al Ahli hospital sparked a complex investigation, with a renowned investigative group, Bellingcat, delving into the depths of open-source information to unravel the truth.

The explosion triggered an extensive humanitarian catastrophe after claiming numerous lives. Initial estimates from the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry indicated a death toll exceeding 500, a figure later revised to 471. However, U.S. intelligence agencies and other sources suggest a lower count, somewhere between 100 and 300. The discord in these numbers underscores the challenges in verifying the aftermath in such volatile circumstances.

The Contested Cause: Missile Attack or Accidental Detonation?

The explosion’s cause has become a point of international contention. Was it a missile attack or an accidental detonation? Some nations, including Israel, the U.S., France, and Canada, have pointed towards a failed rocket launch by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) as the cause, based on intelligence reports. The PIJ, on the other hand, has vehemently denied these allegations, instead blaming an Israeli airstrike.

While the majority of subject matter experts lean towards the theory of a misfired rocket from within Gaza, some analysts have expressed doubts regarding the IDF’s explanation. The truth, it seems, is as elusive as the shadows that played upon the hospital’s walls in the moments before the explosion.

Protests and Public Outrage: The Global Response

The explosion has ignited a firestorm of protests across various countries, with people expressing their outrage and demanding accountability. From Canada to Yemen, the streets have echoed with cries for justice, sometimes escalating into violent confrontations with security forces.

Yet, amid the cacophony of claims, counterclaims, protests, and public outrage, the investigation continues. Bellingcat’s analysts are meticulously sifting through a wealth of open-source information, from social media posts to satellite images. Their findings, when available, may shed light on the truth and provide a much-needed sense of closure.

In the grand scheme of the Israel-Hamas conflict, the Al Ahli hospital explosion serves as a stark reminder of the human cost of war. It underscores the urgent need for thorough, unbiased investigations into such incidents, not just to establish the facts, but to ensure accountability and prevent future tragedies.

Gaza war sparks Arab fears of new Palestinian displacement
AFP
Tue, 24 October 2023

Tents for Palestinians seeking refuge are set up on the grounds of a UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees centre in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on October 19, 2023 (MAHMUD HAMS)

The sight of tent cities for Palestinians displaced within war-torn Gaza evokes dark historical memories for Israel's Arab neighbours, especially Egypt and Jordan.

"That's how the Nakba started," says the Gaza-based rights group Al Mezan, reflecting regional suspicions that Israel is planning to empty the coastal territory.

The Nakba, or "catastrophe", is how the Arab world refers to the exodus or forced displacement of 760,000 Palestinians in the war that led to the creation of Israel 75 years ago.


The fear of history repeating itself has been stoked as Israel has waged war on Hamas since the Islamist group killed 1,400 people in the October 7 attack on southern Israel.

The Gaza Strip is mostly populated by Palestinian refugees and their descendants, who have now endured over two weeks of withering bombardment that the Hamas-run health ministry says has killed over 5,000 people.

So Israeli warnings to evacuate the north of the territory ahead of a looming ground invasion have raised deeper historical fears, with one million Gazans already forced out of their homes.

The only possible way out of Gaza that is not controlled by Israel is the Rafah border crossing with Egypt.

Egypt has allowed aid convoys into Gaza through Rafah after Israel stopped bombing the Palestinian side under a US-brokered deal -- but there has been no mass flight of refugees heading the other way.

Egypt fears that throwing open the gates could facilitate Israeli plans for a forced mass eviction of Palestinians, many of whom are now homeless, sleeping in the open or sheltered in UN tents.

The Gaza-based Al Mezan Center for Human Rights said: "When we see the tents at the border today, it should give the chills to anyone who know Palestinian history -- the tents, that's how the Nakba started.

"Most of the people would rather die in Gaza than being made a refugee again."

- Security implications -

Israel has stressed its eviction order for northern Gaza aims to get Palestinian civilians out of harm's way as it goes after Hamas and hopes to rescue more than 220 hostages.

But the suspicion Israel is planning a mass eviction has been reinforced by former Israeli officials who have suggested in TV interviews that Egypt could build vast tent cities in its Sinai desert, with international funding.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has stressed that Israel as an occupying force has responsibility for Palestinian civilians under international law.

"If the idea is forced displacement, there is the Negev," he said, referring to the desert lands of southern Israel.

Jordan's King Abdullah II and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas have warned that if Israel managed to drive Palestinians out of Gaza, it may want to do the same in the occupied West Bank in future.

Egypt -- which has long suppressed the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas's Islamist ally -- also has reason to fear the security implications of hosting displaced Gazans on its territory.

The presence of Palestinians refugees and militant groups has previously pulled their host countries into conflict -- Jordan in the 1970s and Lebanon in the 1980s.

In Jordan, home to many Palestinians, the late King Hussein in the 1970s accused Palestinian fedayeen fighters of building a "state within a state" and seeking to take over the country.

- Sinai a 'red line' -

To prevent this, Jordan's Black September offensive drove Yasser Arafat's Palestine Liberation Organization to leave Jordan for Lebanon.

Lebanon's Christian parties had the same suspicion and fought the PLO during the civil war. Arafat and his fighters were forced to leave in the wake of Israel's full-scale invasion of Lebanon in 1982.

The PLO leadership dispersed to Tunisia and Yemen, while the occupied Palestinian territories were gripped by the first intifada or uprising from 1987.

The 1993 Oslo Accords were meant to usher in a Palestinian state, but that dream fizzled and serious talks have stalled for the past decade.

The idea of a substitute Palestinian homeland resurfaced under former US president Donald Trump, whose peace plan, rejected as biased by Palestinians, proposed an industrial zone in the Sinai to create jobs for Gazans.

Cairo too would dismiss it out of hand, analysts say.

"The Sinai is a red line for the Egyptians," said political scientist Sarah Daoud, who stressed that "this was already the case under Hosni Mubarak", the former president deposed in 2011.

"For Egypt, its territorial integrity is non-negotiable," she said.

The Sinai Peninsula, which Israel occupied from 1967, was the site of battles in which many Egyptian soldiers died, before Cairo regained it under its 1979 peace deal with Israel.

Sisi has warned that, if at some future stage Palestinian armed groups based on its lands were to attack Israel, that historic peace "will melt in our hands".

burs-sbh/fz/kir

Ultra-orthodox Jews wrestle with whether to serve in Gaza war

Michael BLUM
Tue, 24 October 2023 

Ultra-Orthodox Jews visit Israeli army soldiers to show their support as they deploy at a position near the border with Gaza in southern Israel on October 11, 2023. (Menahem KAHANA)

They were spared from the bloody Hamas attack on October 7 and they are exempt from military service.

Yet some ultra-Orthodox Jews have chosen to renounce that controversial privilege and join the Israeli army.

Dozens gathered outside a recruitment office in Tel Aviv this week, responding to an appeal by the army to all those who might have skills useful in the war against Hamas.


The army said that, in the end, 120 had enrolled and would be assigned to support missions, nursing or driving.

Journalists have not been permitted by Israeli authorities to speak with the new recruits.

The number may be modest, but the symbolism is nevertheless strong.

Under an agreement that dates to the foundation of Israel in 1948, Jewish men who choose to study the Torah full time in a yeshiva are granted an annual deferment from military service until the age of 26, at which point they become exempt.

That allows around 12,000 young men a year, according to a recent army report, to avoid obligatory national service that would otherwise last 32 months as well as the reserve duty for which discharged citizens are liable until the age of 40.

Religious women are automatically exempted from the 24-month conscription imposed on secular Israeli women.

There were few, if any, members of the Haredi community -- the Hebrew name for the ultra-Orthodox, meaning "those who tremble" at the word of God -- among the 1,400 killed by Hamas on October 7.

The all-night rave and the secular kibbutzim around Gaza where the Islamist militants killed hundreds of civilians, were not places were ultra-Orthodox Jews were likely to spend time.

Nor, because of their exemptions, were Haredi Jews likely to have been among those soldiers killed fighting to regain control from Hamas.

Instead, the ultra-Orthodox are active in charitable associations and, in particular, Zaka, an NGO that works to identify bodies and ensure proper Jewish burials.

Among those few Haredi Jews who do join the military, many serve in a unit that specialises in body retrievals.

- A newly urgent debate -

With the Israeli army likely to launch a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip, following on from its relentless aerial bombardment that the Hamas-run health ministry says has killed more than 5,000 people, mostly civilians, the decades-old debate around Haredi military exemptions has gained a new urgency.

The spiritual leaders of ultra-Orthodox Judaism, who account for around 12 per cent of the Israeli population, have called for a redoubling of prayers and a strengthening of religious practice.

Before the war started, a bill was due to be debated in the Israeli parliament on continuing the deferments for Haredi Jews.

The two ultra-Orthodox parties that were members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's pre-war government -- they provided 18 of 120 MPs -- supported his controversial judicial reforms in exchange for support on the law.

There have been calls, albeit rare ones, from within the ultra-Orthodox community to join the army and participate in the war effort in uniform.

Raphael Kreuzer, a rabbi from a modernising stream of Haredi Judaism, caused waves by calling for yeshiva students to enrol in the military.

"It is about our people, it is about us and we must act," he said, adding that students should demand that their rabbis "be part of the defence of their land".

"To say that tomorrow, all the yeshiva students will join the army, no, I don't think that's possible, but this is a real war... It is a religious duty to serve and protect your country," Yosef Taieb, an MP for the Sephardic ultra-Orthodox Shas party, told AFP.

"Everyone in their own way must help the army and the country to win this war," Taieb, a former combat soldier, added.

Such views, though, are far from universal in the Haredi community.

Images have spread widely on social media of a senior officer who had visited a yeshiva to urge students to put aside their books and enlist only to have rabbis and pupils try to silence him.

"I will continue to do so until 10,000 yeshiva students enlist," the officer, Erez Eshel, wrote in the right-wing newspaper Makor Rishon.

The army offers multiple options to religious Jews, allowing them to do military service without abandoning their way of life.

Nevertheless, only a few hundred are willing to take the risk of being ostracised by their communities.

And the vast majority of Haredi leaders remain hostile to any attempts to enrol their youngsters.

One rabbi even criticised the secular victims of Hamas the army is seeking to avenge.

Yaakov-Tzvi Boshkovski called the desert rave on the Jewish sabbath, at which Hamas killed 260 people, "a provocation in the face of the divine".

mib/ng/dcp/kir

Majority of young Americans believe Hamas terror attack 'can be justified': poll

The Oct. 7 raid saw Hamas terrorists storm Israeli border towns, seize 199 hostages, and kill roughly 1,200 civilians.


By Ben Whedon
October 23, 2023

While Americans overwhelmingly condemn the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel and largely back Jerusalem in the ongoing conflict with the Gaza-based terror group, young Americans are bucking the trend and a majority believe the brutal attack may be justified by the "grievance of Palestinians."

The Oct. 7 raid saw Hamas terrorists storm Israeli border towns, seize 199 hostages, and kill roughly 1,200 civilians. The attack stunned the Israel Defense Forces, which have since maintained a steady bombardment of the Gaza Strip in preparation for a possible land invasion.

While 76% of Americans believed the recent terror attack was not justified, according to a recent Harvard CAPS-Harris survey, 24% believed the attack "can be justified by the grievance of Palestinians." By age, the majority of almost every age bracket said the attack could not be justified except for respondents aged 18-24. Of those 51% felt Palestinian grievances could justify the Hamas attack, while 49% said they could not. Among those 25-34, the numbers were only slightly less understanding of the Hamas attack, with 48% saying it could be justified to 52% saying it could not.

The 18-24 bloc stood apart from other brackets on other questions as well. It backed Israel over Hamas 52% to 48%, with the closest group, those aged 25-34, doing so 71% to 29%. The youngest bracket was also the most inclined to term Hamas fighters "militants" rather than "terrorists," with 41% opting for the former term to 59% opting for the latter.

Young Americans also took the most charitable attitudes toward the Hamas raid, with 47% expressing the belief that the group focused its efforts on the Israeli military and 53% saying the group "indiscriminately targeted civilians." Curiously 68% of young people believe "it's true that Hamas terrorists killed 1,200 Israeli civilians by shooting them, raping and beheading people including whole families, kids and babies." Thirty-two percent deemed that account a "false story."

They further were least inclined to believe the Hamas raid was intended to spark a wider war. Though 57% of the bloc affirmed that belief, 43% said the attack was not intended to trigger a bigger conflict. Of the nearest group, again those 25-34, 76% said Hamas wanted to start a war while 24% said the terrorists did not.

Conducted October 18-19, the survey questioned 2,116 registered voters and has a margin of error of +/- 2%.

The latest Hamas raid has highlighted changing generational attitudes toward the Israel-Palestine conflict, with younger people increasingly supportive of the latter faction. Young people in elite institutions have ranked among the most vocal and a Harvard University student group's open letter attracted national scrutiny for its claim to hold "the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence."

Thirty-three other Harvard student groups signed on to the open letter, which the the Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee published. Harvard President Claudine Gay subsequently distanced the school from the student letter, saying "while our students have the right to speak for themselves, no student group — not even 30 student groups — speaks for Harvard University or its leadership."


Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.

Israel-Palestine war: Israeli police arrest Palestinian actor Maisa Abd Elhadi for 'incitement'

Officials accuse the star of praising 'terror' and 'hate speech' amidst a crackdown on dissent in Israel

Abd Elhadi was in the 2013 action movie 'World War Z' 

(AFP/Patrick Baz)

By MEE staff
Published date: 24 October 2023 

Israeli police have arrested Palestinian actor Maisa Abd Elhadi on accusations of incitement relating to posts she made on social media in the aftermath of the assault by Palestinian fighters in southern Israel on 7 October.

Israeli officials accuse Abd Elhadi of "spreading incitement and support for terrorism" for a series of comments she made.

Purported screenshots of one post show laughing emojis over an image of an elderly Israeli captive being taken to Gaza, with the caption "She is going on the adventure of her life".

In another post, she commented on the breach of Israel's barrier surrounding Gaza with the caption: "Let's go Berlin style" - a reference to Germans tearing down the Berlin Wall during the collapse of communist East Germany and the reunification of the country in 1989.

Abd Elhadi was initially arrested last week but was released under a home detention order until her second arrest on Tuesday.

On Tuesday morning, the Magistrate Court in the northern city of Nazareth, where Abd Elhadi lives, ordered that the actor be detained for two more days.

Abd Elhadi, a Palestinian with Israeli citizenship, is the latest to be caught up in Israel's crackdown on dissent in the aftermath of the attack in early October.

Dozens of Palestinians have been detained on accusations of "incitement" over posts made in relation to the attack on Israel, which killed around 1,400 Israelis, and Israel's subsequent assault on Gaza, which has killed more than 5,000 people.

The majority of those killed on both sides are civilians, many of them children.

In addition to police scrutiny of social media activity and other forms of activism, far-right vigilantes are reporting students and employees considered "disloyal" to Israel to their faculties and companies, resulting in the expulsion of students and firing of workers.

Jewish Israelis who have expressed solidarity with Gaza or concern over Israel's actions have also been targeted.

The journalist Israel Frey went into hiding after being set upon by a mob at his home in Tel Aviv.

Israel-Palestine war: Israeli officials 'unhappy' with released woman's description of captivity

Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, who was released by Hamas fighters, said she was beaten when abducted but later treated 'gently'

Yocheved Lifshitz (left) with fellow captive Nurit Yitzhak during their release (Screenshot)

By MEE staff
Published date: 24 October 2023

Israeli officials are reportedly unhappy with an interview given by an elderly former captive of Hamas in Gaza because she had not been well prepared for the statement.

In a press meeting on Tuesday, 85-year-old Yocheved Lifshitz, an Israeli captive released from Gaza on Monday evening, said she was beaten on 7 October, the day Palestinian fighters stormed southern Israel, but later treated "gently".

Sources told Israel's state-owned Kan News that the interview was a "mistake", adding that a "preliminary meeting" may not have been held with Lifshitz prior to her press statement and that if one had been held, not "all questions" to do with the preparation were asked.

Lifshitz is one of four Israelis who have been released after Hamas-led Palestinian fighters stormed Israeli communities near the Gaza Strip in an attack that killed around 1,400 Israelis, mostly civilians. Israel believes 220 captives are being held in Gaza.

The former Israeli hostage was one of the oldest held by Hamas in Gaza, and spent more than two weeks in captivity.

She was released alongside another captive, 79-year-old Nurit Yitzhak.

Lifshitz told reporters: "I've been through hell, I never thought that I would reach such a state. They [Palestinian fighters] went berserk in our kibbutz [and] put me on a motorcycle."

She went on to describe how children and the elderly were among those taken, calling the scenes "extremely painful".

Lifshitz added that she was hit by a stick en route to Gaza and made to walk several kilometres after reaching the area.
'Needs met'

According to the former hostage, a medic and later a doctor visited her while she was held by Hamas, to check on her condition. "They took care of every detail," she said.

Lifshitz said her captors "took care" of her needs. "They ensured that they eat the same food as we eat, white cheese and cucumbers," she added.

Retelling her mother's story, Lifshitz' daughter Sharone said: "When she first arrived, they [fighters] told them that they are Muslims and they won't hurt them."

When Lifshitz was asked why she shook hands with the Hamas fighter before her release, she replied: "They were gentle with us, our needs were supplied."

During the press statement, Lifshitz also condemned the Israeli army's lack of preparedness for the attack on 7 October, saying that "two billion" shekels had been spent on security systems that did not work.

She also attacked the government for its failures in the lead-up to the attack. "We were the government's scapegoat, we were abandoned. We went through hell," she said.

Family members had earlier told media outlets that the grandmother had previously worked to get medical aid to Palestinians in Gaza.

Oded Lifshitz, Yocheved's husband, is still missing and presumed to be held by Palestinian armed groups in Gaza, although his whereabouts or condition are not known.

Israel says that Hamas holds 22o of its citizens as prisoners, some of whom hold citizenship of different countries, but that number may in fact be higher, as dozens of people are still missing.

Hamas says 22 captives have been killed in Israel's bombardment of Gaza, which has killed at least 5,000 Palestinians, the vast majority of whom are civilians.

In an interview with Sky News broadcast on Tuesday, senior Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal said the group would release all of its hostages in exchange for an end to the bombardment of Gaza.

Israel-Gaza war: Freed hostage says Hamas were 'prepared' for kidnappings and IDF did not take warnings 'seriously'

Sky News
Tue, 24 October 2023 



Hamas were "really prepared" for kidnapping Israeli citizens and holding them captive, a hostage freed by the militants had told the press in Tel Aviv.

Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, said "each person [hostage] had a guard watching him or her" after they were taken down into a network of tunnels under Gaza that looked like a "spiderweb".

She said Hamas's surprise incursion on 7 October, where she was kidnapped along with more than 200 others, happened after Israel's Defence Forces (IDF) failed to take warnings from the militant group seriously.

Seated in a wheelchair, a frail-looking Mrs Lifshitz said Hamas treated her and the other hostages "gently" and had secret provisions for looking after them.

She said a doctor visited her and made sure she and other hostages received the same sort of medicines they had been taking in Israel.

Mrs Lifshitz added: "They seemed really prepared for it. They had concealed it for a long time, and they took care of all the needs that people need, [such as] shampoo and conditioner."

"They gave us pitta bread, hard cheese, some low-fat cream cheese and cucumber and that was our food for the entire day," she added.

'It was painful'

Mrs Lifshitz, who was taken from her home in Nir Oz, near the Gaza border, told how she was taken away by motorbike with her head on one side of the vehicle and her legs on the other.

She added that she was "taken through ploughed fields" and hit by Hamas fighters with sticks during the kidnapping.

"They didn't break my ribs but it was painful and I had difficulty breathing," Mrs Lifshitz said.

She added that she had to walk a "few kilometres" with one militant in front of her and another behind until she reached the tunnels.

Sharone Lifshitz, who lives in London, flew out to Tel Aviv and was by her mother's side, translating parts of her description from Hebrew into English as she spoke to the press this morning.

Sharone spoke about the humane treatment her mother says she received during her captivity after the violent kidnapping.

The freed hostage's daughter told journalists: "My mum is saying they [Hamas] were very friendly towards them. They took care of them.

"They were given medicine. They were treated. One of the men with them was badly injured from a motorbike accident on the way.

"One of the paramedics gave him medicine and antibiotics.

"The people were friendly and they kept the place very clean.

"My mum is saying they were very delicate and caring with them, and took care of all their needs."

She had earlier confirmed her mother was released on Monday evening.

Mrs Lifshitz later added the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) did not take the warnings of a possible Hamas incursion seriously before it happened.

She said Hamas had burnt fields and launched heavy shelling before its militants crossed the Israel-Gaza border.

Mrs Lifshitz also said the costly security fence meant to keep militants out "didn't help at all".

Hamas said it released Mrs Lifshitz and Nurit Cooper, 79, on humanitarian and "poor health grounds" but their husbands are still being held prisoner.

The two women and their husbands - aged 83 and 84 - were snatched from their homes as Hamas began its massacre on 7 October.

Earlier this week, the group released images of masked gunmen giving the women food and drink and leading them to the handover point, where Red Cross workers met them.

Only four of those kidnapped during the Hamas attack have so far been freed - the other two being a US mother and daughter last week.

With many hostages still held prisoner, the US is understood to have asked Israel to delay its ground invasion so more can be freed.

The British Foreign Office welcomed the release of the women and vowed to "continue to work tirelessly" on securing the release of more.

A spokeswoman said: "Our thoughts remain with the families of loved ones still being held captive, as they endure unimaginable anguish and worry at this time.

"We will continue to work tirelessly with Qatar, Israel and others to ensure all hostages come home safely."

A senior Hamas leader earlier told Sky News all civilians among the hostages would be released if Israel reduced the intensity of bombing Gaza.

"We want to stop the random bombardments, the total destruction, the genocide so that the al Qassam soldiers can take them from their places and hand them to the Red Cross or whoever," said Khaled Meshaal.

"We need the right conditions to allow them to be released," he claimed.

More than 5,000 Palestinians have now been killed and 15,000 wounded in Israeli airstrikes, Gaza's health ministry says.

Israel is preparing for an expected ground invasion, with tanks and thousands of troops waiting for days for the order to attack - a move that's likely to significantly increase casualties on both sides.

Defence minister Yoav Gallant told troops on Monday "it will come" and to keep preparing.

He said the attack would be from land, air and sea but gave no timeframe.

Around 1,400 people have been killed in Israel since the 7 October Hamas incursion, according to Israeli sources.

Netanyahu faces calls to sack new Israeli hostage envoy

Nataliya Vasilyeva
Tue, 24 October 2023 

Released hostages Judith and Natalie Raanan were pictured at the Gaza border with Mr Hirsch walking between them - Government of Israel/Reuters

Benjamin Netanyahu is facing pressure to sack his newly appointed hostage envoy after angry protestations about him taking centre stage in the release of captives held by Hamas.

Critics filed a petition to the Israeli prime minister on Gal Hirsch, a retired brigadier general of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), after his apparent attempt to make publicity out of the release of two US hostages on Friday.

Judith and Natalie Raanan, a mother and daughter, were pictured at the Gaza border on Friday evening, with IDF photographs showing Mr Hirsch walking between them.

He was wearing body armour, but the two women were not.

It comes as Mr Netanyahu’s popularity has fallen dramatically following the Hamas attacks. He had staked his reputation on his security credentials.

The appointment of Mr Hirsch raised eyebrows given his controversial role as former commander of the Galilee Brigades stationed near Israel’s border with Lebanon during the 2006 Second Lebanon War.

His promising career in the armed forces came to an abrupt halt when many blamed him for the disastrous battle of Bint Jbeil, in which two IDF soldiers were kidnapped and eight killed in the war’s fiercest fighting.

Soldiers were sent in to storm Bint Jbeil after the general bragged on TV about taking full control of the Lebanese town.

Seventeen days into the war with Hamas, Mr Netanyahu’s government faces rising anger from relatives of hostages for not doing enough to secure their release.
Appointment is ‘unacceptable’

Mr Hirsch, 59, is not known for any relevant experience in hostage negotiations or contacts in the region.

A prominent Israeli NGO advocating transparency and good governance on Monday filed a petition to Mr Netanyahu and the country’s attorney general, labelling Mr Hirsch’s appointment as “unacceptable”.

The Movement for Quality of Governance said: “Israeli citizens deserve to have a qualified coordinator rather than someone who got the role on a political basis.”

Earlier on Monday, an influential Israeli newspaper ran a scathing editorial titled “Go home, Gal Hirsch!”, accusing Mr Netanyahu of having “no serious intentions of working to free the hostages” and calling Mr Hirsch a “bad appointment”.

The article in the Left-leaning Haaretz newspaper said: “Even now, at Israel’s lowest moment, Netanyahu’s people are busy first and foremost with self-glorification, and to hell with the country.”

The Israeli government is still facing a dilemma whether to wait to negotiate a possible release of at least civilian hostages or go ahead with its promises of a ground invasion to reassert its position after Hamas’s cross-border raid was made possible by an embarrassing intelligence and military failure.

Gershon Baskin, who in 2011 negotiated with Hamas on the release of the IDF soldier Gilad Shalit in exchange for the release of 1,027 Palestinian inmates, told the Telegraph that time was running out for Israel.

“The window of opportunity is open as long as a ground operation hasn’t started,” said Mr Baskin, who serves as the Middle East director for the London-based advocacy group International Communities Organisation.

“Once it begins, it will make it much more difficult if not impossible to save the hostages.”

Mr Hirsch resigned from the Israeli armed forces a few months after the crisis in Lebanon in 2006 in response to public anger and frustration about the abductions and the failure at Bint Jbeil.

An inquiry found that his troops were poorly prepared for the fatal Hezbollah raid and abduction. Mr Hirsch at the time dismissed the inquiry as “agenda-driven”.

Mr Netanyahu’s office declined to comment.