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In Israel, Mamdani’s win in New York stirs alarm over shifting US attitudes

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In Israel, Mamdani’s win in New York stirs alarm over shifting US attitudes

JERUSALEM (AP) — The election of Zohran Mamdani as New York City’s next mayor has sent a chill across Israel as people come to terms with the victory of a politician propelled by an outspoken pro-Palestinian message that is rare in U.S. politics.

Israelis across the political spectrum fear that Mamdani’s election — in the city with the world’s second-largest Jewish population — could foreshadow icier relations with the U.S., Israel’s most important ally. Support for Mamdani from almost one-third of Jewish voters only added to the pain.

“Very bad,” said Hana Jaeger, a Jerusalem resident, assessing the news the day after the election. “For the Jews, for Israel, for everyone, it’s very bad. What else can you say?”

Mamdani’s campaign was animated by an array of local economic issues, such as the lack of affordable child care and housing. But in Israel, his pro-Palestinian platform is all that matters, and it was the strongest illustration yet of a change in attitudes showing a softening of support for Israel among the American public — particularly younger, Democratic voters. This change appears to have been expedited by anger over the brutal war in Gaza launched in response to Hamas’ October 2023 attack on Israel.

Israeli government officials expressed their outrage sharply, labeling Mamdani, who is Muslim, as an Israel-hating antisemite. Analysts said their heavy-handed reactions indicated just how concerned they are about the shifting political winds.

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“Even where there is a huge concentration of Jewish power, Jewish money, Jewish cultural and political influence — even in this place, an American can be elected with a clear anti-Israeli label on his lapel,” wrote Shmuel Rosner, an analyst at the Jewish People Policy Institute.

“What he did proves that standing up against Israel … can be politically profitable, or at least not harmful.”

Israelis react to the news

Israel has traditionally had a special connection with New York City. It is a popular destination for Israeli tourists and politicians, filled with kosher restaurants and home to an Israeli consulate that focuses heavily on relations with the Jewish community. Hebrew can often be heard on the streets and subways.

But throughout his campaign, the 34-year-old Mamdani, a far-left state lawmaker, alarmed Israelis by openly disavowing the pro-Israel stance traditionally adopted by New York’s mayoral hopefuls.

While he says he supports Israel’s right to exist, he describes any state or social hierarchy that favors Jews over others as incompatible with his belief in universal human rights.

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That’s a statement many Israelis view as an affront to the core premise of the country, which was founded as a refuge and homeland for Jews in the aftermath of the Holocaust. This vision has tested Israel’s democratic ideals; Palestinian citizens of Israel frequently suffer discrimination, and millions of Palestinians live under Israeli occupation in the West Bank.

Mamdani also has called the war in Gaza a genocide, a charge Israel’s government denies. He’s vowed to arrest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if the premier steps foot in the city and signaled he may cut ties with Israeli industry and academia over the devastating war in Gaza.

Such views have drawn accusations of antisemitism from mainstream Jewish groups and supporters of Israel. Still, Mamdani has repeatedly committed to fighting antisemitism and developed strong alliances with center-left Jewish leaders. The AP Voter Poll found that he won roughly 30% of the Jewish vote.

At his celebration party Tuesday night, Mamdani said, “we will build a City Hall that stands steadfast alongside Jewish New Yorkers and does not waver in the fight against the scourge of antisemitism.”

Israelis who tuned in Wednesday morning to the country’s popular Army Radio station during their morning commutes heard condemnations — and fear — related to Mamdani’s victory. Israel’s ambassador to the U.N., Danny Danon, speculated that the New York “Jewish community’s sense of security” might be harmed by Mamdani as mayor, as he has control over the city’s police force.

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Israel’s minister of diaspora affairs, Amichai Chikli, a member of Netanyahu’s nationalist Likud party, posted a stream of anti-Mamdani graphics on social media, including a retweeted photo of the Twin Towers being engulfed in flames after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, with the caption “New York already forgot.”

Chikli also encouraged Jews in New York to relocate to Israel. “The city that was once a symbol of global freedom has handed over its keys to a Hamas supporter,” he said in a social media post.

The extreme rhetoric reflected a deep-seated fear in Israel that American politics are headed in a new direction.

“For a long, long time, American domestic politics were dominated by pro-Israel politicians, pro-Israel views. In large part, they still are,” said Mairav Zonszein, a senior analyst with the International Crisis Group. “Mamdani’s win represents that American Jews, specifically the younger generation, are changing and there’s no longer this monopoly of pro-Israel politics in domestic U.S. politics.”

Netanyahu mostly quiet on Mamdani, emphasizes relationship with Trump

The Trump administration, which has been hostile to Mamdani, has largely supported Israel’s actions in Gaza. It is now working closely with Israel to determine the next phases of the reconstruction of Gaza and the ceasefire with Hamas.

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Netanyahu did not immediately comment on the Mamdani win. But his office tried Wednesday to remind Israelis that the country’s relationship with the U.S. was still strong.

“We have a bond that is stronger than ever between Israel and the United States right now,” government spokeswoman Shosh Bedrosian said at her daily briefing.

She said the election results did not “undermine the incredible, enormous relationship the prime minister has with President Trump.”

Palestinians celebrate Mamdani’s win

In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, the sentiment among Palestinians was far from gloomy.

“The election of Mr. Mamdani is truly inspiring,” said Palestinian politician Mustafa Barghouti. “It reflects a great uprising among the younger generation of the United States, including the Jewish young generation, against political and social injustice.”

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“It also shows that the Palestinian issue has become an internal election issue all over the world, including in the United States of America.”

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Israeli Strikes Kill a Journalist and Injure Another in Lebanon

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Israeli Strikes Kill a Journalist and Injure Another in Lebanon

Israeli strikes killed one journalist and wounded another in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, rattling a tenuous cease-fire between Israel and Lebanon.

The Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said the Israeli military had targeted the journalists in the town of Tayri, where they took shelter in a nearby house after an airstrike struck a vehicle in front of the car they were traveling in. About an hour and a half later, a second strike hit the house they were hiding in, according to a statement by a Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar, which employed the journalist who was killed.

The Lebanese Red Cross said its teams came under fire while trying to evacuate the journalists from the house, forcing them to withdraw. The rescue crews were targeted by a warning strike and machine-gun fire, the Lebanese health ministry said.

Zeinab Faraj, a photojournalist, was rescued from the house. The other journalist, Amal Khalil, who was a reporter for Al-Akhbar, remained trapped under rubble for hours before emergency medics recovered her body, according to the Lebanese Civil Defense.

In addition to Ms. Khalil, the two people in the car in front of her were killed in the strikes, Al-Akhbar reported.

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Amid the 10-day truce between Israel and Lebanon, Israel has continued strikes against what it says are Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, citing its right to self-defense. Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militia group, said that it had fired rockets and drones into Israel on Tuesday in response to what it said were violations of the cease-fire. Earlier on Wednesday, the Lebanese News Agency reported that an Israeli drone strike killed one person and wounded two others in another part of the country.

The Lebanese health ministry called the strikes in Tayri a “blatant double breach, involving both the obstruction of rescue efforts for a civilian known for her media and humanitarian work, and the direct targeting of an ambulance clearly marked with the Red Cross.”

The Israeli military denied in a statement that it had prevented rescuers from reaching the injured journalists, and said the incident was under investigation.

A spokeswoman for the Israeli military said Israeli forces had spotted two vehicles emerging from a military building used by Hezbollah. The military observed the vehicles cross what the spokeswoman called the forward defense line, determining the move to be a violation of the truce agreement.

The spokeswoman confirmed that the Israeli military had struck one of the vehicles and the building some of the occupants of the second vehicle had taken shelter in.

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Ms. Khalil had covered southern Lebanon, where Hezbollah exercises strong control, since at least 2006. In a tribute to Ms. Khalil, a colleague from Al-Akhbar said she embodied the resilience of the southern Lebanese through her relentless reporting, refusing to leave the front lines of war where thousands of Lebanese had been displaced.

“As with every act of aggression, wearing a press vest did not protect those who wore it from the treachery of the Israeli enemy,” Al-Akhbar said in a statement. “Instead, it has become a danger to journalists’ lives, as part of a systematic Israeli policy aimed at silencing anyone who seeks to expose the crimes and practices of the occupation.”

In a forceful statement on social media, Nawaf Salam, the Lebanese prime minister, accused the Israeli military of war crimes for targeting journalists and obstructing access to medical aid. He said that Lebanon would pursue action to ensure Israel is held accountable with international bodies.

The Committee to Protect Journalists said that it was outraged by the attack, and that it raised serious concerns of deliberate targeting.

“The repeated strikes on the same location, the targeting of an area where journalists were sheltering, and the obstruction of medical and humanitarian access constitute a grave breach of international humanitarian law,” said Sara Qudah, CPJ’s regional director for the Middle East and North Africa.

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Former Mexican beauty queen found shot dead as investigators examine possible family involvement: reports

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Former Mexican beauty queen found shot dead as investigators examine possible family involvement: reports

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A former Mexican beauty queen was found shot to death in her Mexico City apartment, with investigators examining the possible involvement of her mother-in-law, according to local reports.

Carolina Flores Gómez, 27, was found dead inside an apartment in the Polanco neighborhood, one of the city’s most affluent areas, Reporte Índigo, a Mexico-based news outlet, reported. 

Authorities said the death is being investigated as a homicide, after initial findings indicated she suffered a gunshot wound to the head. Emergency responders were called to the scene, where paramedics confirmed she showed no signs of life.

Prosecutors are investigating whether Flores Gómez’s mother-in-law, Erika María, as well as a man described in reports as her partner or husband, may have been involved in her death.

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CALIFORNIA HIKER’S BODY FOUND NAKED IN BIG SUR BACKCOUNTRY

Carolina Flores Gómez was found shot dead in her luxury apartment April 15 in Mexico City. Her mother-in-law has been named the main suspect in the suspected homicide. (Jam Press)

The man, identified as Alejandro, accused his mother of killing Flores Gómez, Mexican news outlet Azteca Guerrero reported.

The outlet also reported that the woman’s mother-in-law was present at the scene when the gun was fired and that authorities are looking into the timeline of when the incident was reported.

WIDOW, SON OF LATE CHICAGO COMMISSIONER FOUND SHOT DEAD INSIDE HOME IN SUSPECTED HOMICIDE

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Mexican prosecutors have opened a homicide with intent case in the death of former beauty queen Carolina Flores Gómez.  (Jam Press)

Preliminary reports cited by Mexican news outlet Diario Puntual indicate that a security guard at the building did not hear gunshots, adding uncertainty about how the crime occurred.

Authorities in Baja California, Mexico, also responded to the case, Diario Puntual reported.

CIA PERSONNEL KILLED IN MEXICO CRASH TIED TO CARTEL OPERATION; QUESTIONS MOUNT OVER US ROLE

Former beauty queen Carolina Flores Gómez, 27, was found dead in her Mexico City apartment. (Jam Press)

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Baja California Gov. Marina del Pilar Ávila Olmeda expressed solidarity with the victim’s family and called for the case to be clarified. 

State prosecutor María Elena Andrade Ramírez also said there is coordination with Mexico City authorities to support the investigation.

Flores Gómez previously competed in beauty pageants and was crowned Miss Teen Universe Baja California in 2017.

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The case has drawn attention in Mexico amid ongoing concerns about violence against women, with advocacy groups calling for a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding her death.

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The investigation into the matter is open and ongoing.

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‘Blockade and threats’: Iran blames US siege of ports for stalled talks

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‘Blockade and threats’: Iran blames US siege of ports for stalled talks
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