March 2022 – ahillwithaview.com

Disney Throws a Fit Over Florida But Keeps Mum on France, Tokyo, Even California

Originally published on March 31, 2022

https://www.cnsnews.com/commentary/moshe-hill/disney-throws-fit-over-florida-keeps-mum-france-tokyo-even-california

People from the Walt Disney Company participate in the annual LA Pride Parade in West Hollywood, Calif. (Photo credit: DAVID MCNEW/AFP via Getty Images)

After acquiring ESPN, Marvel, Star Wars, and 20th Century Fox, the Walt Disney Company is well versed in acquiring large and popular enterprises to bolster its own portfolio. They may have gone too far, though, when they acquired the reins of the Woke Mob by publicly kowtowing to a minute amount of their employees. Now they have to own that Woke Mob, and needless to say, it does not have the same return on investment as “The Avengers.”

Disney has been walking down this path for a while. They’ve placed content warnings on some of their most popular children’s movies, pushed critical race theory on employees, and even modified their own strict dress codes in the name of self-expression. Recently, they announced that they were adding a lesbian kiss into the animated film “Lightyear” because they bought into the lie that Florida’s Parental Rights Law is a “Don’t Say Gay” bill.

To show how far-left Disney has become, Christopher Rufo of City Journal documented Disney’s “Reimagine Tomorrow” event. Disney Corporate President Karey Burke boasted that she has “one transgender child and one pansexual child,” that Disney has “many, many, many LGBTQIA characters,” and that there need to be more “leads” who identify as LGBTQIA. Disney Production Coordinator Allen March pledged to emphasize “gender-nonconforming characters,” “canonical trans characters,” and “canonical bisexual characters.” Disney Diversity and Inclusion Manager Vivian Ware announced that all mentions of the words “ladies,” “gentlemen,” “boys,” and “girls” have been removed from the company’s theme parks.

In a company-wide memo, Disney CEO Bob Chapek said that he met with “Disney LGBTQ+ leaders to discuss controversial legislation pending in Florida that would impact their communities.” The since-passed legislation is only “controversial” because leftist activists made it so. By opening up this can of worms, Disney has a mess on its hands, because their corporate reach far exceeds Florida. Here are just a few locations that Disney has a major stake in, and how they do not conform with the leftist agenda.

Euro Disney.

Euro Disney is located in France, which has a variety of policies that the Left would oppose.

Until recently, France limited abortions to 12 weeks after the start of the woman’s last period. France recently passed an expansion to 14 weeks. They are far more restrictive on abortion than the American Left. In contrast, when Arkansas passed a law in 2019 limiting abortion from 20 weeks to 18 weeks, the ACLU vowed to sue.

In 2018, France passed a restrictive immigration bill, which “shortens asylum application deadlines, doubles the time for which illegal migrants can be detained, and introduces a one-year prison sentence for entering France illegally.”

In 2022, France reversed its pledge to curb its climate emissions by allowing coal plants to increase their production. Instead of the 700 hours they would be allowed to operate, they could operate 1,000 hours. France also uses nuclear energy, which is similarly hated by the left.

Tokyo Disney

If Disney’s LGBTQ+ leaders are concerned enough about Florida to meet with the CEO and make demands, they must really be pushing to stop all business in Japan. Compared to the United States, Japan is a hellscape.

In Japan, gay marriage is illegal, same-sex couples can’t adopt children, and there is no protection for anti-LGBT discrimination. To legally change your gender on state forms, you must be over 20 years old, unmarried, have no children under the age of 20, and have reassignment surgery and be sterilized. When this was upheld by court ruling in 2019, there were no demands from Disney LGBTQ+ leadership, no angry walkouts from Disney employees.

Japan is one of 11 countries that requires the father’s consent for an abortion. Abortion is limited to 22 weeks, making third trimester abortions illegal. When it comes to sustainability, Climate Action Tracker rated Japan’s climate targets as “Poor” and their financing to prevent climate change as “critically insufficient.”

In terms of the highly coveted diversity category, in 2013 Japan was called “the most homogenous” on par with North Korea. There is little racial diversity in the populace, and none in government leadership.

Disneyland California

It’s not just the foreign countries that fail the leftist litmus test. If Disney were truly honest, they would also pull out of California. California has failed over and over again to pass truly progressive legislation. California does not have universal healthcare. California did not extend the eviction moratorium placed during COVID. California did not pass bills backed by Black Lives Matter, one of which would have allowed an independent commission to review and remove police officers.

That’s not all. According to The Guardian, in the 2020 elections, California voters “sided with corporations on the future of gig work, decided against affirmative action, and nixed both stronger rent control and a new business tax that benefits schools and local governments.” These are standard policies that leftists adore, yet California is sorely lacking.

So it’s time for Disney to put its money where its mouth is. If they want to bow to the leftist agenda, they should close not only resort locations in Florida, but also those in France, Tokyo, and California. It should also not harbor at any of its cruise destinations, as every one of them violates progressive ideals. Alternatively, it could not get rid of this latest acquisition, because it’s just not worth the investment.

Moshe Hill is a senior fellow at Amariah, an America First Zionist organization. His work can be found on his blog, www.aHillwithaView.com. You can follow him on Twitter @TheMoHill and on Facebook @aHillwithaView.

Biden’s Blunders Highlight Trump’s Triumphs

Originally published March 30, 2022

https://www.queensjewishlink.com/index.php/opinion/6342-biden-s-blunders-highlight-trump-s-triumphs

Joe Biden has hands in weird position during CNN town hall

It would take the world’s largest industrial scale to measure the amount of ink the media used to disparage former-President Trump’s rhetoric on foreign policy. He was called a shill, a puppet, and a traitor – all while leading the world to an era of peace that any preceding president would envy. Examining President Biden’s disastrous gaffes and blunders from this week alone not only highlights those accomplishments, but exposes the lie that Trump was ever beholden to Russia.

For those who haven’t watched the news coverage, Biden’s failure during his European trip must be giving White House Communications a never-ending conniption. First he said that he would respond to Vladimir Putin’s use of a weapon of mass destruction “in kind,” implying that the United States would go so far as to nuke Russia. Then he spoke to American soldiers about what they would see in Ukraine, implying that they would be deployed there. Then he said, “with regards to food shortages, it’s gonna be real,” implying that this was a problem that Americans would face. And finally, he said that Putin “cannot remain in power,” implying that the United States would foment regime change in Russia.

Each one of these gaffes would have been terrible, but all together just shows how woefully incompetent Biden is and how unfit he is for office. To be clear, Putin is waiting for a predicate to use every weapon at his disposal to take Ukraine, or at least remain in power after the war is over. Biden gave him multiple excuses to stage an attack. He could say that the West is threatening to overthrow him, interfering in a foreign conflict, planning to send in troops, or promising nuclear retaliation to a lesser attack. Putin has the means and ability to brainwash his citizenry without evidence, all the more so with the statements that the American President made.

Rewinding back to 2018, when Trump and Putin met at the Helsinki Summit in Finland. In what seemed to be one of the worst moments in his Presidency, Trump appeared to publicly choose to believe Putin over his intelligence agencies when asked about election interference. “President Putin says it’s not Russia. I don’t see any reason why it would be,” he said when asked.

The reaction was predictable and intense. Everyone from Chuck Schumer to Paul Ryan to the newspaper salesman was lambasting Trump, claiming that he was giving Putin a free pass to interfere in American elections. With the benefit of hindsight, however, this may have been the proper move to keep Putin at bay – at least for a while.

Russia has been an American adversary for the better part of a century. Under Putin’s regime, they have made multiple encroachments into the Western sphere of influence. Between Georgia in 2008, Crimea in 2014, Syria in 2015, and Ukraine in 2022, Putin’s appetite to restore a Russian empire is painfully evident. Putin also worldly succeeded in widening the political divide when Russian ads were found on Facebook in 2016, giving the media the excuse they needed to claim that Trump’s win was illegitimate. Russia is clearly a top enemy of America.

Knowing this – and knowing that there is no desire in the American public to actually go to war – Trump played nice in public with Putin, but privately was far harsher with him than his predecessors. As reported by the New York Post in February, “one [story] has it that Trump — noting that Putin seized land from Georgia when George W. Bush was president and seized the Crimean peninsula when Barack Obama was president — warned Putin against a land grab on his watch.

“‘If you move against Ukraine while I’m president,’ Trump is said to have told the Russian leader, ‘I will hit Moscow.’”

Putin reportedly scoffed, “No way,” leading Trump to say, “All those beautiful golden turrets will be blown up.”

Compare this with what President Obama was caught on a hot mic telling Putin puppet Dmitri Medvedev: “on all these issues, but particularly missile defense, this can be solved, but it’s important for him to give me space…This is my last election. After my election I have more flexibility.” If there was any question to whom the flexibility would be given,” Medvedev responded, “I understand. I will transmit this information to Vladimir.”

So behind closed doors, Obama appeased Russia; Trump strong-armed them. The results spoke for themselves. In 2014, Putin took Crimea. In 2015, he extended Russian influence over Syria. Between 2017 and 2021, Putin was silent. Now, watching Biden blunder his way through a crisis he was too weak to prevent, it’s easy to reminisce to a time when the biggest threat coming out of Russia was a 2016 Facebook post with a few thousand likes.

Moshe Hill is a political columnist and Senior Fellow at Amariah, an America First Zionist organization. Moshe has a weekly column in the Queens Jewish Link, and has been published in Daily Wire, CNS News, and other outlets. You can follow Moshe on his blog www.aHillwithaView.com, facebook.com/aHillwithaView, and twitter.com/HillWithView.

How ‘It Takes a Village’ Turned Into ‘There’s No Such Thing as Other People’s Children’

Originally published March 18, 2022

https://www.cnsnews.com/commentary/moshe-hill/how-it-takes-village-turned-theres-no-such-thing-other-peoples-children

For the greater part of the last century, the Left has been systematically conquering every institution in American society. This was not some grand design implemented by a central power, rather it was a specific mindset that began with a small group.

That mindset was “the personal is political, the political is personal.” This can be seen everywhere, from Hollywood to Big Tech, but it is incredibly prevalent in schools. Before the country knew what was happening, the notion that parents have no say in their children became the very bedrock of the public education system.

Back in 1996, then-First Lady Hillary Clinton published the book “It Takes a Village,” borrowing from the old African proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child.” The message of the book was clear; every aspect of society is involved in the raising of children, not just the parents. Doctors, neighbors, grandparents, the government and — of course — teachers are all part of this “village.” This mentality didn’t originate with Clinton, but she certainly popularized it.

Republicans vocally opposed this mentality. In Bob Dole’s acceptance speech at the 1996 Republican National Convention, he challenged the verbiage directly:

“And after the virtual devastation of the American family, the rock upon which this country was founded, we are told that it takes a village, that is collective, and thus the state, to raise a child,” he told the crowd. “The state is now more involved than it ever has been in the raising of children. And children are now more neglected, more abused, and more mistreated than they have been in our time. This is not a coincidence. This is not a coincidence. And with all due respect, I am here to tell you it does not take a village to raise a child. It takes a family to raise a child.”

Yet despite this warning, Republicans continued to increase funding to the Department of Education. For the rest of the Clinton Administration, with Republicans in control of the House and Senate, the funding for elementary and secondary education increased by roughly 8-15% annually. Then, during the Bush Administration, the “No Child Left Behind” bill passed, and funding increased by 21% in 2001 and 17% in 2002, crossing the $30 billion mark.

So who benefited from this massive spending blowout? Certainly not children, whose test scores in reading, math, and science had flatlined or gone down a few years following “No Child Left Behind.” The only upward trend lines since 2002 belong to the asset allocation of the teachers unions. In 2002, the National Education Association (NEA), the nation’s largest teachers union, had around $160 million in assets. In 2019, it had over $411 million, an increase of over 150%. In that time, its membership increased by less than 12%. In that same time period, the second largest teachers union, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) increased its assets by 68% (from $79.8 million to $135 million) while its members increased at a commensurate rate.

These monstrous unions don’t stay out of the political discourse, content with merely molding young minds. They are in fact some of the largest political donors in the country. The NEA made over $32 million in partisan donations from 2000-2020, 91% to Democrats. The AFT donated $36 million, 99% to Democrats.

Meanwhile, the rhetoric around the importance of teachers increased as well. Teachers went from a part of a child’s life to the main role models for children to the only ones who care about children. This message had its first major breakthrough in 2013, in a MSNBC show promotion starring professor-turned-host Melissa Harris-Perry.

“We have never invested as much in public education as we should have because we have this private notion of children,” Harris-Perry says. “’Your kid is yours, and totally your responsibility.’ We haven’t had a very collective notion of ‘these are our children.’ So part of it is to break through our kind of private idea that kids belong to their parents, or kids belong to their families, and recognize that kids belong to whole communities.”

At the time, the backlash was so fierce and immediate that Harris-Perry wrote an explainer on MSNBC.

“Of course,” she wrote, “parents can and should raise their children with their own values….No individual household can do that alone. We have to build that world together.”

“Build that world together” is a euphemism for “teach children OUR values, even if they differ from yours.” That is what has been happening in both schools and entertainment. Countless children’s programs have been infused with woke propaganda, from transgender Gonzo on Muppet Babies to drag queens on Blue’s Clues. A 2020 episode of Arthur had two characters worrying about the history of racism in America. The interesting part of it — besides an aardvark and a rabbit interacting with black humans and no one being confused — is that the two 8 year-old boys don’t ask their parents for help. They call their teacher.

Through government spending and corporate propaganda, teachers, along with school boards, administrators, and union heads have convinced themselves that their values should be your children’s values. They don’t bother to hide it, either. Social media sites like TikTok are filled with posts by teachers bragging about how they are indoctrinating children in the latest woke trends.

Finally, during COVID, parents started to realize what was going on. After months of remote learning, parents got a much closer look behind that curtain, and they did not like what they saw. They began attending school board meetings, only to be called terrorists by the DOJ. They voted in droves for Glenn Youngkin in Virginia, only to have the school boards defy the governor’s orders.

Now, Democrats in Florida and around the country are protesting the Parental Rights In Education Bill. They are lying and saying that it’s a “Don’t Say Gay” bill, proudly posting themselves repeating the word “gay” over and over on social media. This is for a simple reason, as perfectly described by LGBT activist group Together Rising: “there’s no such thing as other people’s children.”

This is the natural evolution of “It takes a village.” Once the Left diluted the parental role, it was far easier to extricate the parent completely. This was done methodically, by giving the schools more money, by giving the teachers unions more power, and by creating a culture of dispensable parents. The only ones who have the means and ability to fight back are the parents themselves.

Dems Are Setting The Table To Bring Back COVID Restrictions

Originally published March 23, 2022

https://www.queensjewishlink.com/index.php/opinion/6287-dems-are-setting-the-table-to-bring-back-covid-restrictions

If you thought a mere invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces would put the Democrats’ appetite for totalitarian control of the populace behind us, think again. Restrictions are not gone; they were merely on hiatus until the news cycle tampered down. Now that the death and destruction in Europe is hitting the one-month mark, the short-attention span of the media is refocusing on the best money-maker since Trump: COVID!

Their joy began with a brand-new COVID variant entitled BA2. Apparently BA2 is a strain of Omicron, and the CDC says that it’s doubled each week for the past month, which makes it likely to be the next dominant strain in the US. What BA2 really is, is an excuse – an excuse that the powers that be will use to continue the COVID madness.

President Biden extended the federal mandate to mask on planes and trains through at least April 18. The rule was set to expire on March 18, but the CDC extended it in order to “help inform a revised policy framework for when, and under what circumstances, masks should be required in the public transportation corridor.”

The CDC is not known for actually putting the data that it gathers to good use. If it did, it would have informed the public that airplane travel has never been a vector of transmission. Or it would differentiate between different types of masks. Or they would admit that vaccinations and boosters do not prevent giving or receiving Omicron. Or that natural immunity is more effective than the vaccines themselves.

What the CDC is becoming known for is becoming yet another institution of American life that has lost all trust with the American people. Just last week, the CDC “adjusted” its data to remove 72,277 deaths from COVID across 26 states. This included 416 pediatric deaths, a drop of 24%. Reuters, citing the American Academy of Pediatrics, said, “Children accounted for about 19% of all COVID-19 cases, but less than 0.26% of cases resulted in death.”

In the beginning of March, New York finally lifted some of its COVID restrictions. Despite all scientific evidence to the contrary, however, they are still making children mask up. According to the New York Times, “Since children under the age of 5 are not yet eligible for vaccination, the city still requires them and all staff members that work with them to wear masks indoors.” Just to recap: Pediatric deaths were already low. The CDC revised the numbers downwards. Children under 5 already have a near zero chance of hospitalization and death from COVID, yet they still must mask. The icing on the cake is that at the end of February, the data revealed that the Pfizer shots are 12% effective in 5-11-year-olds.

That’s not all the insanity that New York City is doing. Newsday reported that Dr. Ashwin Vasan, the city’s new Health Commissioner, is keeping the private business vaccination mandate indefinitely. “I think it’s indefinite at this point,” he said. “You know, people who have tried to predict what’s going to happen in the future for this pandemic have repeatedly found egg on their face.”

The only ones with egg on their face should be the policymakers who put out this tripe. This policy is so insane that Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving, who famously refused to get vaccinated, can attend a home game without a vaccine or mask, but cannot play. The video of him doing just that went viral, prompting even the most ardent Leftists to mock the policy. Comedy Central host Trevor Noah roasted the decision. “I don’t get it. Why? Does the ball have a weak immune system?”

So what is Governor Kathy Hochul doing about this? She’s extending her own emergency powers, of course. Hochul quietly signed an Executive Order extending her powers until April 15. The basis of her extension is that New York hospitalizations with COVID are over 100 per day. According to Hochul, in a state of 20 million people, a 0.0005% hospitalization rate is too high for her to relinquish her authority back to the Legislature. If it jumps another ten-thousandths of a percentage point, she may have to declare herself Empress. As Congressman and candidate for Governor Lee Zeldin wrote in a statement: “It’s clear that [Hochul’s] lust for power and control has never been more prevalent.”

So no one should be surprised if and when the restrictions are put back into place. The table is being set, and few are noticing. Most people will just comply with whatever they are told, but if more and more people refuse to comply, then – and only then – will these restrictions finally be lifted forever.

Can New York Become A Battleground State?

Originally published March 16, 2022

https://www.queensjewishlink.com/index.php/opinion/6245-can-new-york-become-a-battleground-state

The midterm elections are eight months away, and candidates from all over the Empire State are gearing up for a long election season. With the dismal job being done by President Joe Biden and the Democratic Majorities in the House and Senate, candidates running for federal seats are looking forward to their races with a certain level of optimism. With the awful track record of Governor Kathy Hochul combined with the Supermajorities in the State Senate and Assembly, this may be the best chance that the GOP has had in decades to turn New York in their favor.

The most notable statewide elections are for the Governorship and U.S. Senate. Congressman Lee Zeldin, from Suffolk County, is currently the presumptive nominee for the GOP to run against Hochul. His ticket is rounded out by Alison Esposito, Michael Henry, and Paul Rodriguez for Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, and Comptroller, respectively.

The Zeldin team received great internal polling data showing that Zeldin is leading Hochul 45.5 percent to 44 percent. The survey was publicly released, and it showed that the top two issues for voters are crime and taxes, two issues that the Republicans have a distinct advantage in.

While Democrats gerrymandered the individual districts on both the state and federal level, obviously statewide elections are not affected by their partisan chicanery. If they feel sanguine about their chances, however, it’s for good reason. Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans 2-1 in the state, and a Republican Gubernatorial candidate hasn’t won statewide since 2002. However, there are distinct comparisons to be made between 2022 and 1994, when George Pataki upset Mario Cuomo.

The 1994 midterm elections were called the “Gingrich Revolution,” as House Minority Whip Newt Gingrich led a massive wave across the country. It was the first time Republicans had the majority in the House of Representative since 1955. And Bill Clinton wasn’t as unpopular as Biden is today; in fact, Clinton polled 12-16 points higher at the time than Biden does now. The simple message of Clinton being a “tax and spend” Democrat after a dozen years of Reaganomics was enough to sink the Democrats.

Look at what’s happening in New York now. Crime is skyrocketing – up 60% in New York City. Unemployment is stagnating, and inflation is destroying any wage gains that may have come. Gas prices are through the roof, the highest ever recorded. Taxes are so high that people are leaving in droves. Schools are failing. Even though the COVID-mania seems to have waned, it could come back at any point on a whim. People are angry, and rightfully so. Republicans will show up in large numbers, and Democratic voters may be depressed enough to stay home.

Zeldin, assuming he wins the nomination, should be ecstatic with this poll, even if it is an outlier. The campaign has barely begun, and he’s already showing grit against Hochul.

Of course, the main election-watchers are all betting on the Democrats. Cook Political Reports and Inside Elections both have New York as Solid D, and Sabato’s Crystal Ball has Likely D. So it may take something just shy of a miracle to swing those points. Here’s how it can be done.

Going by the trends in Virginia and New Jersey in 2021, there was approximately a 14-point shift from Democrats to Republicans between that election and the Presidential election in 2020. If Republicans can drive out the vote in big numbers in Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, and Upstate, and Democrats don’t show up in Manhattan, the Bronx, and Erie County, they have a strong chance. Queens and Brooklyn, while both strong Democratic enclaves, both had upsets in the City Council races in 2021, showing a strong groundswell of support for changing the status quo.

Another benefit for the Republicans is that status quo resistance will not play as heavy a factor. Hochul, while being the “incumbent,” is in her position because of the resignation of Andrew Cuomo. Cuomo, meanwhile, is starting to speak publicly again and release political ads rehabbing his image. Cuomo’s fall from grace was always going to be a drag on Hochul, who was associated with him for years. If he is more present in the race, possibly even on the ballot in a lesser role, moderates and independents may reflexively vote against him.

All that being said, this will not be a cakewalk for the GOP by any means. New York is deep blue territory, on par with California. It will take a lot of time, effort, money, and work to win this state. If there is a year where it could happen though, 2022 seems to be it. To many New Yorkers, this year is Do or Die.

The Disturbing And Repetitive Cycle Of History

Originally published March 9, 2022

https://www.queensjewishlink.com/index.php/opinion/6201-the-disturbing-and-repetitive-cycle-of-history

Ukraine Refugees 2022: Poland Rolls Out $1.7 Billion of Aid - Bloomberg

As Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine drags into its third week, imagine for a moment the terrible reality of the refugees who are being routed from their homes, and the homes of their ancestors, to avoid the devastation of war. The mothers who place their children on buses, hoping to see them again, the fathers who take up arms to defend their country, and the families that are torn apart in all the chaos. This is the reality of Putin’s aggression, but it draws a distinct parallel to many of the darkest hours in history.

In 1948, when the State of Israel was only a dream and a declaration, the armies of the surrounding nations announced their intention to wipe out every Jewish man, woman, and child who lived within her borders. The word went out to all the Arab villages to briefly evacuate to avoid becoming collateral damage, and not to worry, they’ll return home in a few weeks. Over 600,000 Arabs heeded the call, fleeing to Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Syria, the Gaza Strip, and Judea and Samaria (the West Bank).

Imagine if something similar happened today. Imagine if there were territories and villages in Ukraine that wanted Russia to invade. Imagine if, prior to Putin’s invasion, he told all these Russian sympathizers to get out of the way, head over to Belarus, Georgia, Crimea, or Russia itself to wait out the fighting until all the Ukrainians fled or were killed, and then they would finally have the Ukraine they wanted, which was another Russia proxy-state.

Now imagine, as many people around the world are praying will happen, that Ukraine defeats the invading army, forces them to retreat, and declares victory in the war. Now there is a refugee catastrophe on their hands, and they need to determine how to rebuild their state. Imagine if the Putin-sympathizing Ukrainians were told to just wait, because one day, the Russian forces will grow strong again, and the Ukrainians will be destroyed once and for all. Just wait.

Fast-forward 75 years. Is it possible to imagine that the great-grandchildren of these Russian sympathizers would still be refugees? That they would still be holding onto the promises of men that died decades before, house keys still in hand? That they would have committed countless terrorist attack on Ukraine over the decades, and still be labeled the victims of the long-forgotten war? Or that Ukraine would be debated in the international community of being an apartheid state?

To anyone unfamiliar with the sad history of the Jewish state, this would seem like an impossibility, something to be scoffed at. Everyone else, however, shakes their head in sadness that this is happening all over again.

So far, 1.5 million Ukrainian refugees, mostly women and children, have fled the war zone (according to the UN). That mind-boggling figure is the largest in Europe since World War II. To put it in perspective, go to a sold-out game in Yankee Stadium, look around, and multiply that by a factor of thirty.

The Jewish refugees are being helped by the Chief Rabbi of Ukraine, Rabbi Moshe Azman, who is staying in Kiev to organize the evacuation. His son-in-law, Chaim Klimovitsky, is in neighboring Moldova, receiving these migrants, giving them food, and working on transportation to Israel.

Israel, like it has for the entirety of its existence, welcomed the Jewish refugees with open arms. Israel is no stranger to accepting Jewish refugees from around the world. Between 1948 and 1970, hundreds of thousands of Holocaust survivors made their way to Israel, mostly from Central European countries of Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, and others. At the same time, nearly a million Jews were expelled from Arab nations (260,000 from Morocco alone). In the 1980s, Israel carried out missions to bring in Ethiopian Jews, and successfully emigrated almost 15,000 of them to the Jewish State.

This Ukrainian refugee crisis brings around a new challenge for the State of Israel: non-Jews who want to live there as well. No longer is Israel the war-torn, third-world country of the 1950s; it is now a thriving economy and democracy, the shining light of the Middle East. According to Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked, almost 90% of the 2,034 Ukrainian refugees that have already arrived in Israel are not Jewish. The Knesset will be meeting shortly on how to arrange for more refugees to come to the tiny nation.

This refugee crisis is caused by one man who is stuck with a 19th-century idea of how to run a nation. Putin’s idea of power and prestige is something that the world hasn’t seen in nearly a century, and the people of Ukraine are paying the price. The world waits in prayer that this war ends quickly, that the Ukrainian people are successful in defending their homeland, and these refugees get to return. The beginning of this crisis may follow the repetitive pattern of history, but hopefully the end will turn out differently for the Ukrainian people.

The Mandates Are Gone. Why Is New York State Fighting In Court To Keep Them?

Originally published March 9, 2022

https://www.queensjewishlink.com/index.php/opinion/6199-the-mandates-are-gone-why-is-new-york-state-fighting-in-court-to-keep-them

Letitia James drops out of NY's governor's race | Crain's New York Business

Last week, as the Democrats pat themselves on the back for lifting their boot off the necks of New Yorkers long enough for the masks to be removed, they surreptitiously filed a brief with the Appellate Court of New York. The purpose? To keep the option open that they can “reinstitute masking requirements in schools or any other indoor location if needed.” As anyone who has paid attention knows, “if needed” depends entirely on the poll numbers, not the scientific necessity.

This brief was the state’s attempt to overturn the ruling of Supreme Court Judge Rademaker. The ruling, which was made at the end of January, stated that the mask mandates was “a law that was promulgated and enacted unlawfully by an Executive branch state agency, and therefore void and unenforceable as a matter of law.”

The brief, which was filed on March 2, one day after restrictions in New York were lifted, claims that this ruling affects the state’s “rights and interests.” The issue is not that the state wants to reinstate masking at any time they want; they want the governor to be able to do it single-handedly.

The issue with masking, from a legal standpoint, was not that it was done, but how it was done. The separation of powers is an incredibly important aspect of American law. The legislature – in the states and federal governments – have consistently abdicated their responsibilities and given their power over to the executive branch. In the case of Governor Kathy Hochul, this includes the ability to mask anyone at any time, regardless of scientific need.

The state’s lawyers, realizing that the issue is likely moot because the political science caused Hochul to lift the mandates already, requested that Rademaker’s judgment should be vacated because it impairs the “ability to respond quickly and effectively to the still-ongoing and oft-evolving COVID-19 pandemic.” This is, frankly, ridiculous on its face. The argument essentially is that unless masks are mandated, people won’t wear them if case rates spike. By statistical data taken over the past few years, the opposite is true. People can, and do, choose to take extra precautions when there is a need for them in their area. However, Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James believe that unless they force you to wear a mask, no one will.

The state also lies about the need for masks in its brief. “The pandemic has also taken a toll on the physical, mental, and emotional health of children,” it says. “The highly transmissible Omicron variant caused a seven-fold increase in pediatric COVID-19 cases that require children to be hospitalized.” The state ignores the findings of its own data that showed that nearly half of COVID hospitalizations in New York were “with” COVID, not “from” COVID. The distinction is important. If a kid needs stitches and goes to the hospital, they could get a positive COVID result from him, regardless of symptoms. That is not a case of going to the hospital because of COVID, yet it counts in the statistics.

The state also touts the effectiveness of masks, and uses debunked science to do it. “A mask reduces the wearer’s discharge of virus-laden droplets,” the brief claims, despite the fact that far more case spread occurs because of airborne transmission, which most masks are completely ineffective at preventing. This has been the case since Omicron became the dominant strain in New York, and the brief itself admits that 99% of positive COVID cases are Omicron.

The state also pushes useless “studies” to make a convincing argument. “For example, a study conducted from July through September 2021, concluded that “[c]ounties without school mask requirements had larger increases in COVID-19 case rates after the start of school compared with counties that had school mask requirements.” Firstly, July through September is summer, when schools are closed. Secondly, Omicron didn’t appear until November, and that strain demolished any prior argument for masking. Citing that study is a clear obfuscation of the relevant facts.

The state also ignores the massive increase in speech-related issues in young children when they argue that “there are no significant adverse effects of mask-wearing for most healthy individuals.” At the same time, they claim that there are possible unknown long-term effects that COVID can have. They ignore a lack of data when it suits them, but cling onto a lack of data when they can as well.

The importance of this case cannot be understated. The courts are deciding the limitations on executive power in this state. If anyone enjoyed the past few years of restrictions, with zero positive identifiable results, they won’t care if Albany can force them and their families into compliance on a whim. The rest of us, who want to have some semblance of normalcy returning to our lives, must do whatever we can to ensure that no one person has that amount of power over us again. The only way to do that is at the ballot box, by electing people who are willing to give that power back to the people of this great state.

Don’t Forget What Democrats Did To You

Originally published March 2, 2022

https://www.queensjewishlink.com/index.php/opinion/6149-don-t-forget-what-democrats-did-to-you

New York Governor Kathy Hochul Disconcerting | National Review

Congratulations CDC and Kathy Hochul: You’re the Joey Tribbiani of public policy – always the last to understand what’s been going on the whole time.

This week, miraculously before President Joe Biden gave his State of the Union address, the CDC updated their masking requirements. Shortly after, New York Governor Kathy Hochul followed suit, and after nearly two years, children will be allowed to breathe again.

Should we thank them? Should we support these decisions with gratitude, political donations, or votes? Absolutely not. That is like thanking a bully for punching you in the stomach and not the face. That is like paying a mob boss after they broke your windows, hoping they won’t do it again. They deserve none of your gratitude.

This is because they did not change their policies because the science changed. We’ve known for over two years that children were not susceptible to COVID. We’ve known for over a year that asymptomatic spread does not occur. We’ve known for over eight months that vaccinations do not prevent someone from spreading or getting COVID. And we’ve known for four months that masks are useless against Omicron.

So what changed? Well, the powers that be will claim that we have gone over the Omicron curve. That curve peaked over a month ago. We know the trend data from South Africa and the United Kingdom, both of whom received Omicron before the United States and had the same trajectories. Additionally, these liars in Washington and Albany had no plans to end the masking mandates before Omicron was even discovered in South Africa. Mask mandates reappeared after a brief respite months before.

e, essentially nothing changed. Well, gas hit over $100 a barrel, inflation hit a 40-year high, and Russia invaded Ukraine – all while Joe Biden is preparing a speech that eloquently describes the wonderful job he did in his first year in office. So he needed a policy win. He needed a victory. So he told his CDC and Democrat governors around the country to drop the charade. The jig is up, the game is over, the gravy train has entered the station. Now he can jump in front of the end of these insane mandates and declare that he defeated COVID.

Are New York voters going to let them get away with this? In less than nine months’ time, citizens will flock to the polls to determine their representation in Albany and Washington, and can choose a new governor. The Democrats are banking on their partisan gerrymandered maps and the short memory of the average person to maintain their iron grip on the Empire State. One-party rule has not only created medical tyranny, it also caused skyrocketing crime and back-breaking taxes. Tens of thousands of people are fleeing to greener pastures and freer states. The Democrats must be sent a message.

It’s time to get active – and get angry. They’ll try to gaslight you, guilt you, and bully you. Don’t let them. Register to vote. Donate to candidates. Don’t let them get away with their political malpractice any longer. Fire them and their co-conspirators as fast as humanly possible.

New York GOP Nominates Lee Zeldin For Governor

Originally published March 2, 2022

https://www.queensjewishlink.com/index.php/opinion/6147-new-york-gop-nominates-lee-zeldin-for-governor

With the excitement that only a Democrat with a 38% approval rating can bring, hundreds of Republicans from around New York State filed into the Garden City Hotel this week to officially nominate their chosen candidates for statewide office. Nassau County Joe Cairo welcomed the crowd with open arms, and with a clear voice and strong majority, the 62 counties that make up the state chose Congressman Lee Zeldin to take on Governor Kathy Hochul in 2022.

Zeldin, who was there with his family, readily and enthusiastically accepted the endorsement of the GOP. “We are going to win this race,” Zeldin said during his nomination speech, “because we have to win this race. This isn’t a regular campaign. This is a rescue mission. A rescue mission to save our state.”

Zeldin certainly has a wide lane to run on against the incumbent governor, who is launching her first campaign for the office. Democrats have ruled New York with an iron fist during COVID, and had total Party control of Albany since 2019. Hochul is attempting to ingratiate herself to the public by finally lifting the mask mandates on businesses and schoolchildren, but she is relying on the short-term memory of her voters. Zeldin, who refers to mask mandates in schools as “unscientific child abuse,” has a strong record of following the data regarding masking, and demanded the mandates be lifted far before Hochul did.

The number one issue on every New Yorkers mind, however, is crime. Democrats passed the disastrous bail reform law in 2019 (a law so bad that one of its architects, Todd Kaminsky, got demolished in a run for Nassau Attorney General and is not seeking reelection in the State Senate). While Hochul claims to not want to defund the police, she chose Brian Benjamin, a staunch advocate for defunding the police, as her Lieutenant Governor.

Zeldin takes the opposite approach. He says that his run “is about restoring New York to glory. It’s about backing the blue unapologetically.” Zeldin’s congressional run was endorsed by multiple police unions, and he has a strong record on supporting the police. “Let’s recognize the inherent right to self-defense for our men and women in blue,” he says. In contrast with Hochul, Zeldin chose 24-year NYPD veteran Alison Esposito as his running mate.

Esposito was the commanding officer of the 70th Precinct in Brooklyn until she accepted the nomination. A lifelong New Yorker, this campaign will be Esposito’s first official foray into politics. She followed in footsteps of her father, retired NYPD Chief Michael Esposito, when she joined the NYPD. In her near quarter of a century on the force, she’s worked all over the city: on patrol, SWAT, and even attended the FBI Academy in Quantico. When she was asked to run, she saw an opportunity. “I wasn’t able to effect the change that I needed to from [the Commanding Officer’s] seat,” she said. “During the last few years I watched as the NYPD have been vilified and turned into public enemy number one. It has to stop. It stops now.”

Esposito, who said that she “never thought [she’d] leave the job,” shares Zeldin’s belief that parents know best on what their children need. “Imagine that,” she quipped, “a parent deciding what’s best for their children.” Then her tone got far more serious. “We are seeing a curriculum that teaches children to not only hate each other, not only hate this country, but hate themselves.’

While Zeldin did take 85% of the vote, that doesn’t mean that his journey to be the GOP nominee is over. Far before the election in November, there is a primary vote with three other candidates. Businessman Harry Wilson, Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, and political consultant Andrew Giuliani have all pledged to be on the ballot for the June primary election.

Zeldin is the top of a long ticket of Republicans looking to win statewide elections for the GOP. TV host Joe Pinion was nominated to run against Chuck Schumer for U.S. Senate. If elected, Pinion will be the first black Senator from New York. Michael Henry is taking on Letitia James for Attorney General, and Paul Rodriguez rounds out the ticket running for comptroller.

“This is one ticket. One team,” Zeldin said. “Taking nothing for granted…I’m not running to be an Emperor governor. I’m running so the people feel back in control of their government again. More local control, less Hochul control.”

Zeldin has the best shot that any Republican has had in a long time. Hochul never ran as a Governor before, and all signs indicate that people are fed up with Democrats.

“Losing this race is not an option,” Zeldin concluded, “for the first time in decades, we will have a Republican Governor once again.”

Candidate Profile: Stefano Forte

Originally published February 23, 2022

https://www.queensjewishlink.com/index.php/opinion/6103-candidate-profile-stefano-forte

2022 is already slated to be a big year for Republicans around the country. Given the massive failures of the Biden administration on both foreign and domestic policy, and the backlash that inevitably comes from said failures, Republicans have a massive opportunity.

New York State Democrats have done everything they can to minimize that opportunity, gerrymandering the districts for the State Assembly, State Senate and U.S. House in an egregious manner. To win, Republicans need to put forward dynamic and energetic candidates that appeal to a broad swath of voters.

Stefano Forte is running for State Senate in the 16th District, which includes Fresh Meadows, Whitestone, College Point, and other portions of Queens. Forte, who is of Greek, Italian, and Puerto Rican background, managed political campaigns prior to throwing his own hat in the ring. “My family instilled in me this belief that your neighborhood, your community, your city and state, is your responsibility,” he said. “Nobody is coming to save us, we need to save ourselves.”

The greatest challenge that New York faces is undoing the damage done by Democrats in 2019 when they passed the now infamous No Cash Bail law. “I decided to run after the events of 2019 and 2020,” Forte lamented. “What I saw shocked me; it brought a great sadness to my soul to see the people who we elected to keep our communities safe, abandoning us.”

The end of No Cash Bail is a common theme in Republican campaigns this year, as well it should be. Not only is the effect being felt every day with monstrous headlines of released perpetrators committing horrific acts, it’s also a political winner. Last November, unknown Anne Donnelly wiped the floor with longtime State Senator Todd Kaminsky for the Nassau County District Attorney’s race. Kaminsky, who was credited with writing a portion of the No Cash Bail law, has decided not to run for re-election.

The crime is hitting Asian and Jewish communities especially hard. “Criminals think these communities are easy targets,” Forte said. He recently met with some members of the neighborhood watch group Shomrim at the Chazaq event held this week. “Shomrim are truly heroes. We need them to be working with a strongly-funded police force. [The police have] been defunded and handcuffed so they can’t do their job.”

“My parents lived in the bad old days; they remember pre-Giuliani. Seeing these increased crimes, they are reminded of a bygone era.” On his campaign website, Forte describes late ‘90s and early 2000s New York as “a verifiable golden age: both violent and petty crime were low, businesses were thriving, education was a priority and the prospect of starting a family was within reach for most young people.”

In order to win, Republicans like Stefano will have to appeal to communities that historically voted Democrat, including the Jewish community. “Our path to victory runs through the Jewish community,” he said. “The readers of this paper. I believe the radical establishment in Albany have taken advantage of this community. They promise and promise and never deliver.”

Forte acknowledges the mistakes that the Republican Party has made in the past. “It’s the fault of the republicans. We have not gone to this community, we have not spoken to this community.” Forte shares a joke popularized by Curtis Sliwa during his unsuccessful Mayoral campaign: “We plan on going into these communities where they haven’t seen a Republican since Abraham Lincoln on a five-dollar bill.” Sliwa, who is still popular among New York Republicans, endorsed Forte. The founder of the Guardian Angels, Sliwa is well-versed on how bad New York crime can get.

Crime is not the only issue that Forte is tackling to restore New York. Education has become a national issue, especially in a post-COVID America where parents are finally waking up to what their children are being taught. This most famously led Governor Glenn Youngkin to victory in Democrat Virginia, but also caused a large recall vote in San Francisco. Three radically Leftist members of the school board were recalled with 75% of the vote. Such a feat would be unthinkable even a couple years ago. “Curriculums should be reviewable by parents,” says Forte, “and we must protect gifted and talented schools.”

Forte is also concerned about the dramatic consequences the governmental response to the pandemic had on small businesses. “I am proposing a 1-year tax moratorium on all small businesses in New York,” he said. “They were shut down here in the pandemic, so I believe they should not have to pay any state tax for at least a year so we can pay them back for the time they were closed during the pandemic.” The forced closures have caused suffering for small business owners throughout the country, and states like New York are losing out to far more tax-friendly Florida and Texas. This proposal certainly has enough merit in order to allow small business owners a chance to recover.

Forte knows that he is a part of a transcontinental wave. “We’re looking to build a movement,” he said. “We’re not just looking to build a small campaign. This campaign stopped being about me a long time ago.” The movement is a backlash for years of policy, as New Yorkers all over are finally done with the destructive policies that have ruined their state.