world news
Israeli hostages in Gaza: A man’s campaign to bring his brother home
Years ago, Michael Levy was in good spirits after winding down a Passover Seder at his parents’ home in Rishon Lezion. Levy, then 20 years old, shared a mischievous smile with his baby brother Or, then 12, and the two in unison rushed their middle brother who laughingly ran away to hide in one of the bedrooms, and the two brothers gleefully chased him – all three of them giggling along the way.
Their mother, exhausted after cooking a meal for the whole family, let out a weary chuckle at her boys, who never seemed to grow up when they were around each other.
At one point, while Or and Michael tried to get into the room, they charged against the door so hard that it broke off its hinges.
“We couldn’t stop laughing that night, we were wild,” Michael Levy said with a faraway smile. “I can’t stop thinking about that random day. When I close my eyes, I can’t forget how happy we were then.“I’m usually very serious, but when I was with Or, I felt like I could be a little kid again, young and carefree,” he said.
It’s one of the many crystal clear memories of his little brother that Levy keeps replaying in his mind. Or was abducted by Hamas terrorists on the morning of October 7.
OR LEVY was on his way to the Re’im Supernova music festival with his wife, Eynav. They packed up their bags early and left at the crack of dawn. When the young couple showed up at 6:30 a.m., they quickly understood that instead of attending a celebration of music, they had arrived at the gates of hell.
Terrorists infiltrated the scene, and rapid gunfire obstructed their ability to think clearly. Or attempted to escape the carnage – and for a short while, he did. At 9 a.m., he called his mother and said, “You have no idea what’s happening here. It’s bad.”
That was the last time the family heard from Or.
Authorities informed them that Or was most likely being held in captivity and that his wife had been murdered.
Their two-year-old son, Almog, is now being taken care of by family members, with the toddler frequently asking when he’ll be able to see his parents again.
“I didn’t even know Or planned to be there that day,” Michael said when he heard the news.
A campaign to bring home his brother held hostage by Hamas in Gaza
Like most Israelis, Michael was concerned when sirens broke that fateful early morning, but it wasn’t until his mother notified him later that Or was at the music festival that he realized this tragedy was one that very much hit close to home.
For the first few weeks since the attack, Michael has been studiously viewing all the footage of the massacre available to the public, trying to piece together what happened to his brother.
Now he’s moved on to the most important task: bringing Or home.
“My head functions by having certain missions to complete. My first mission was to figure out what happened to him. Now my mission is to bring him back. If I have to turn the world upside down to do so – so be it,” Michael said.
As such, he flew to New York to visit officials and members of the local Jewish community to tell Or’s story – one of the some 230 stories of the tragedy that has befallen men, women, children, and infants snatched from their loved ones, whose fate is as yet unknown.
In New York, he communicated a specific message to whomever he met.
“This isn’t about a war, or politics, or Jew vs Arab,” he said. “This is about good vs evil. Darkness vs light. This is not an Israel problem. Today it’s us. Tomorrow it’s them. It’ll be London, Paris, and New York. If you let terrorism win, it will be at your doorstep.”
THE TWO brothers, although they love each other very much, were not very close as adults due to life with its daily obligations often preventing them from meeting or catching up properly.
“We would talk every other week,” Michael said. “We were busy, you know? Life gets in the way. We would speak on the phone, here and there. I wish I had more time with him,” he said regretfully.
Even though Or was the little brother, Michael was always in awe of his abilities.
“Everything in life sort of came naturally to Or,” he said. “Friends gravitated toward him – he had so many, and they were close friends from all eras of his life.
“He was interested in everything. Even as a kid, he loved to break something only so he could figure out how to put it back together again.”
Naturally, then, Or, who never enrolled in higher education, was a self-taught computer programmer.
When the CEO of the start-up he worked for attended Eynav’s funeral, he approached Michael’s father and said, “‘Or was the best programmer I ever had,’” Michael recalled.
“‘How is that possible?’ my father asked, ‘since Or never went to school for computer programming,’” he said. “The CEO just nodded and said he stood by his statement. That’s really a testament to how smart, dedicated, and well-liked my brother is.”
Noticing the tenses used when Michael told this story, this reporter asked him if it was hurtful for him when people spoke about his brother in the past tense.
“I do it sometimes, too,” he said, shaking his head. “But I have to believe he’s still with us. That he’ll come through that door any minute now. That we’ll see a basketball game together abroad like we always talked about. That my mother will cook his favorite dish, that she’s been planning to make for weeks.”
“What would you say to Or if he were to walk into your home right now?” I asked.
With a smile, Michael responded, “I’ll hit him for everything he put us through.
“But if I could speak to him now, I’d tell him to be strong. We’re coming for you. I promised my parents he’s coming home,” he said resolutely.
Yet even under the levity, the pain and anguish of the past month have taken a toll on the eldest Levy brother, who is carrying the weight of the family’s hopes and fears on his shoulders.
“I feel like I’m living somebody else’s life. I don’t even recognize myself. Everybody who sees me now speaking to the media is surprised because I’m not a very outgoing person,” he said. “I’m certainly not one to talk about my personal life in the press.
“But this – this is important. I have to rise to the occasion because our goal is for Or to come home.”
The United States is deferring the removal of certain Lebanese citizens from the country, President Joe Biden said on Friday, citing humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon amid tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.
The deferred designation, which lasts 18 months, allows Lebanese citizens to remain in the country with the right to work, according to a memorandum Biden sent to the Department of Homeland Security.
“Humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon have significantly deteriorated due to tensions between Hezbollah and Israel,” Biden said in the memo.
“While I remain focused on de-escalating the situation and improving humanitarian conditions, many civilians remain in danger; therefore, I am directing the deferral of removal of certain Lebanese nationals who are present in the United States.”Increased attacks since Oct.7
Israel and Hezbollah have been trading fire since Hezbollah announced a “support front” with Palestinians shortly after its ally Hamas attacked southern Israeli border communities on Oct. 7, triggering Israel’s military assault in Gaza.
The fighting in Lebanon has killed more than 100 civilians and more than 300 Hezbollah fighters, according to a Reuters tally, and led to levels of destruction in Lebanese border towns and villages not seen since the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war.
On the Israeli side, 10 Israeli civilians, a foreign agricultural worker and 20 Israeli soldiers have been killed. Tens of thousands have been evacuated from both sides of the border.
Hezbollah is an Iran-backed terrorist group and the most powerful military and political force in Lebanon.
world news
Preparing for war: Haifa mayor describes city’s infrastructure changes tensions in North escalate
Haifa mayor Yona Yahav spoke this past Monday with Lior Rosenfeld on Radio North 104.5FM about the escalation of the war in the North and his entry into political office amidst the security situation.
Yahav began, “I cannot speak on behalf of the North as I don’t know exactly what’s happening there. No one updates me, as if we are not the largest and most important city in the North. Tomorrow, the Home Front Command is coming to see us for the first time, and we will see what they have to say. We are doing everything to ensure that the city itself and our residents are safe and know what to do in case, God forbid, missiles fall on us. They are more accurate than those in 2006.”
Yahav also discussed the city’s preparations for a war in the North.
“We are now changing the entire method of building public structures,” Yahav said. “We are preparing them for prolonged stays. The minimum will be four consecutive days in shelters and such buildings, which require preparation. For example, installing toilets, which we don’t have today, and we have given instructions to build them in places close to where new houses are being built. This has been fully understood, and developers have begun to understand that the talk about evacuation and reconstruction has undergone drastic changes in light of the security situation. For example, road width needs to be maintained for the sake of evacuating residents on these roads. These are things that were not considered until now and must now be taken into account.”
Yahav’s plans for the success of Haifa’s future
Yahav then discussed his appeal to the transportation minister to stop the Highway 23 Carmel Tunnels’ toll charge.
“We called on the transportation minister to stop the discrimination. Haifa and the North are always discriminated against compared to central Israel, and there’s no reason for this. There are huge tunnels dug in Jerusalem that do not cost residents any money to pass through. There’s no reason why the tunnels dug in Haifa should include a toll. I speak on behalf of Haifa residents, and we are preparing to petition if we do not receive an answer.”
Regarding his entry into his mayoral role about three months ago, Yahav said, “I found a completely ruined city. They destroyed the municipality, and it’s very difficult to move things around. I don’t understand how residents sat idly by and kept quiet. We are trying to go to government offices to fix relations, to get funds, to move projects to bring in fees – and we are doing all this in a short time.
“The ministers are acting openly and with the goodwill to help. I am now waiting for the money on the table. The casino building in Bat Galim will be a luxurious hotel on the Bat Galim seashore. This neighborhood will undergo a complete transformation and will be the most beautiful neighborhood in the country. It will also be the only neighborhood facing a recognized beach. We came to make a change, and we will succeed.”
In conclusion, he touched on the issue of wild boars: “You won’t be able to follow them because soon you won’t see them anymore.”
world news
‘Psychological operation’: Turkey condemns FM Katz social media post depicting toddler Erdogan
Turkey’s Foreign Affairs Ministry released a statement on Sunday condemning a social media post made by Foreign Minister Israel Katz, in which Katz presented Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan as a toddler on the lap of Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Katz, in a Sunday post on X, wrote “Erdogan @RTErdogan finances and arms terrorist organizations of Hamas to carry out attacks and murder against Israelis. The General Security Service captured a squad of students from Bir Zeit who were employed by the Hamas headquarters in Turkey to carry out murder attacks in Israel, through training and weapons and tens of thousands of dollars provided to them.
“Erdogan turned Turkey into a state that supports terrorism and subjects Turkey to the Iranian axis of evil in the name of extreme ideology and blatant anti-Semitism.”
Katz’s comments were made in reference to a recently thwarted terror attack planned by the student Hamas cell in Bir Zeit University, north of Ramallah. The attempted attack, the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) said, was directed by Hamas’s base in Turkey.ארדואן @RTErdogan מממן ומחמש ארגוני טרור של החמאס לביצוע פיגועים ורצח נגד ישראלים. שירות הביטחון הכללי לכד חוליית סטודנטים מביר זית שהופעלו ע”י מפקדת החמאס בטורקיה לביצוע פיגועי רצח בישראל, באמצעות אימונים ונשק ועשרות אלפי דולרים שסופקו להם.ארדואן הפך את טורקיה למדינה תומכת טרור… pic.twitter.com/R0SCjYdngN
— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) July 21, 2024
Turkey condemns the social media post
The Turkish ministry responded “The Israeli Foreign Minister is trying to hide Israel’s crimes against the Palestinians behind a series of lies, slander and disrespect.
“Israel’s dirty propaganda targeting Türkiye and President Erdoğan, and psychological operation attempts will not bear fruit.
“The members of the Netanyahu Government, who have killed nearly forty thousand Palestinians in Gaza and are now trying to start a regional war in order to stay in power, will be tried in international courts and held accountable for their crimes.
“Türkiye will continue to speak the truth and defend the right of the Palestinian people to live in justice and peace.”
The ministry cited data provided by the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.
Additionally, Turkey has repeatedly asserted that it does not categorize Hamas as a terrorist organization – despite its western allies acknowledging it as such and its proven attacks on Israeli civilians.
-
Solar Energy3 years agoDLR testing the use of molten salt in a solar power plant in Portugal
-
Camera3 years agoCharles ‘Chuck’ Geschke, co-founder of Adobe and inventor of the PDF, dies at 81
-
world news8 months ago
Gulf, France aid Gaza, Russia evacuates citizens
-
world news3 months ago
Jewish diaspora expresses concern as Iranian drones launch toward Israel
-
Camera3 years ago80,000MP panoramas: EarthCam announces world’s highest-resolution robotic webcam
-
TOP SCEINCE3 months agoCan animals count?
-
Solar Energy8 months agoGlencore eyes options on battery recycling project
-
Camera8 months agoDJI Air 3 vs. Mini 4 Pro: which compact drone is best?
