Transcript

10.16.25 · Washington Post

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Speaker 1: Welcome to the reading of the Washington Post for October sixteenth,
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twenty twenty five. As a reminder, Radio I as a
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reading service intended for people who are blind or have
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other disabilities and make it difficult to read printed material.
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Your reader for today, I'm Howard Klimen. We start with
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the front page headlines from the Washington Post. These are
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the stories on the front page this morning. First, Trump
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ordered to pause firings. Second, Trump authorizes covert Cia action
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and Venezuela. Next, Hamas reasserts control in Gaza. Next, more
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US Jews shielding identity poll finds, next study even light
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drinking can raise dementia risk. And finally dark visions of
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a return to Afghanistan. So now read those stories in
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full from the front page of the Washington and Post.
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The first one again headline, Judge orders Trump administration to
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pause shut down layoffs, and it's written by Merrill Cornfield
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and Hannah Nattinson. A federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump
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administration's plans to lay off thousands of federal workers during
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the government shutdown, siding with unions which have argued that
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the dismissals were illegal. Senior US District Judge Susan Ilston
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said Wednesday that the administration must halt its layoffs. Less
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than a week after aid agencies, Commerce, Education, Energy, the
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Environmental Protection Agency, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development,
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and Homeland Security and Treasury had issued reduction in force
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notices to more than forty one hundred workers. About half
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of the firings at the Center for Disease Control and
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Prevention were later reversed, but administration of officials and President
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Trump have promised further cuts, blaming Democrats for not agreeing
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to pass legislation to fund the government. The government has
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argued that agencies have brought authorities to reorganize workforces to
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confirm to the President's priorities, but the unions for federal
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workers on they argued that the layoffs were improperly handled,
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politically motivated, and based on a false premise that the
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shutdown allows the government not to continue its statutory requirements.
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They've also argued that the government's use of RIfS or
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reduction and forces an extensive process requiring promise severance payments
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during the shutdown would break the Anti Deficiency Act, which
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forbids the government from obligating or expending any money not
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appropriated by Congress. Trump administration officials had privately cautioned against
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proceeding with THERI because of that law. The Washington Post
3:02
previously reported that in accord hearing on the union's motion
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for a temporary restraining order, Judge Ilston, who was nominated
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the bench by President Bill Clinton in nineteen ninety five,
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said Wednesday that the administration has appeared not to follow
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the law when issuing the RIfS. She also raised concerns
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about the errors the government has made, initially giving inaccurate
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estimates of how many people were giving RAF notices at
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some agencies. She ordered the government to provide details about
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their planned RIfS within two days. The evidence suggests that
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the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of
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Personnel Management have taken advantage of the lapse in government
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spending and government functioning to assume all bets are off
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the laws don't apply to them anymore, she said. An
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attorney for the Justice to Department said a temporary restraining
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order wasn't warranted. The government has argued that there's no
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irreparable harm caused by the layoffs and that the temporary
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restraining order wouldn't stop dismissals that wouldn't take effect for
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two months anyway. The White House referred the Post to omb,
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which didn't immediately respond to a request for comment about
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the decision. Judge Elston said that she would enjoin the
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administration from issuing RIF notices and implementing ongoing RIfS in
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any area of government that includes anyone represented by the unions,
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That includes most government agencies. White House Budget Director Russell
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Vaunt told The Charlie Kirk Show on Wednesday that the
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administration planned to push ahead with layoffs, suggesting that the
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government may layoff more than ten thousand workers, though that
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was before the hearing. Administration officials have previous we discussed
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firings of fewer than sixteen thousand people, according to the Post.
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If there are policy opportunities to downsize the scope of
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the federal government, we want to use these opportunities. We're
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definitely talking thousands of people, Vought said. He added, we
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want to be very aggressive where we can be in
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shuddering the bureaucracy. Federal workers reacted with joy and some
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more mixed feelings to news of the judge's ruling Wednesday afternoon,
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several related to the judge comments about the human toll
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that the layoffs have had on workers. Miles Batson, executive
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vice president of a union for Environmental Protection Agency workers,
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said the decision supports his belief using the government shut
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down as a reason to fire employees is quote blatantly illegal.
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He said the unions will continue their legal battle no
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matter what the administration does, as is the custom recently.
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Decisions to inflict pain and fear on the federal workforce
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is the point, Batson said, adding that the firings and
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danger Americans who rely on government services. He added, as
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a judge said the human costs can't be tolerated. Some
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of those who were already dismissed during the shutdown said
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they saw Judge Elston's actions as it caused for tentative optimism.
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They might get their jobs back after all. I definitely
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agree with that judge, commented One staffer who lost her
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job at the Education Department, which was hit hard by
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shutdown firings. She spoke on the condition of anonymity for
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fear of retaliation. Still at the Department of Housing and
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Urban Development, and employee said she was hesitant to celebrate
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the judge's action too much. I'm sure it'll be overturned
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almost instantly, she said, also speaking on the case, condition
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of anonymity for for fear of retribution. Many dismissals last
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week hit a range of offices and had provided services
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and other resources to the country's most vulnerable, including disabled
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school children, low income families, and homeless people. That's according
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to workers and documents. Workers at six agencies were told
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that they were part of the RIfS. The EPA and
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Energy Department also told workers that they may receive RIF notices.
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Omb Senior advisor Stefan Billy wrote that in a court
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filing on Tuesday, Commerce, HHS, hud DHS recalled for load
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employees to work on the RIF process. Billy said ris
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generally required the government to provide employees at least sixty
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days advanced notice and to take a new account of
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workers veteran status, length of service whether that person can
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be reassigned. The administration has urged Democrats to vote for
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the House's stopgap spending bill, warning that firings would continue
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through the shutdown. At the same time, the administration has
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continued funding what it deems political priorities military service members
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pay and backfill for social safety net programs. Senate Democrats
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haven't moved on their continuing resolution votes since the shutdown began.
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Trump told reporters Tuesday, quote the Democrats are getting killed
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on the shutdown because we're closing up programs at our
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Democrat programs that we were opposed to. They're never going
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to come back in many cases, Trump added, so we're
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being able to do things that we were unable to
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do before. Omb also warned in a post on next
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Tuesday that it was quote making every preparation. Batten down
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the hatches and write out the Demo crats and transients,
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pay the troops, pay law enforcement, continue the RIfS and wait.
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Our next story, from the front page of today's Washington
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Post is headlined Trump says he has authorized covert CI
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action in Venezuela, and it's written by Warren Stropol, John Hudson,
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and Karen de Young. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that
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he had authorized the Central Intelligence Agency to conduct operations
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in Venezuela, markedly escalating US pressure on President Nicolas Maduro
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amid his string of lethal strikes against alledged drug trafficking
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boats in Caribbean waters off that country's coast. Trump declined
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to say whether he had authorized as ciaight to overthrow Maduro,
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a step some of his top national security aids have urged.
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I think Venezuela is feeling the heat, Trump said at
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a White House news conference. The president was asked about
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reports that he signed a highly classified document known as
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a Finding, that allows the CIA to conduct covert operations
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in foreign countries, ranging from clandestine information operations to training
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guerrilla opposition forces and conducting lethal strikes. Trump's order was
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reported earlier by The New York Times. The details of
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the new authorities now available to the CIA, They remain unclear,
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but people familiar with the matters and the spy agency
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has surged personnel to the Caribbean and Central America as
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part of the Trump administration's move against Western Hemisphere drug cartels.
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They're there to collect intelligence, not conduct arm operations, said
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the people, who, like some others, spoke on the condition
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of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. CIA surveillance drones are
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also the skies above Mexico searching for labs that make
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the deadly drug fentanyl, they said in a televised speech
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On Wednesday, Maduro denounced what he described as the CIA's
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record of regime change in Coupdeta and countries in Latin America,
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the Middle East and elsewhere. How long will the CIA
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continue to carry on with its coups, Well, Latin America
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doesn't want them, doesn't need them, and repudiates them, Maduro said.
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Venezuela's Foreign ministry reacted with quote extreme alarm to Trump's announcement,
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calling it a grave violation of international law and the
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United Nations Charter. In in a statement on Wednesday, the
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ministry also denounced the US operations in the Caribbean, which
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it said constitute a policy of aggression, threats, and harassment
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against Venezuela. It also accused Trump of trying to legitimize
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a regime change operation to seize Venezuela's oil resources. The
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ministry said it would bring a complaint before the UN
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Security Council today. Trump's top national security advisors have feuded
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bitterly over Venezuela policy and whether to seek the overthrow
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of Maduro, whom Washington accuses of stealing last year's Venezuelan
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presidential election. That course is favored by Secretary of state
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Marco Rubio. CIA director John Ratcliffe, one of the people, said,
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in August, Attorney General Palm Pambondi doubled a bounty for
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information leading to the rest of Maduro to fifty million dollars,
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calling him quote a threat to our national security. Trump
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has made no final decision on using force to overthrow
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the Venezuelan leader, one person familiar with the matter said,
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but Trump acknowledged considering military strikes against land based targets
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in Venezuela. We're certainly looking at land now because we've
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got the sea under control. Trump set the White House
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and the CIA declined to comment on the agency's new authorities.
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Trump's decision to confirm, even in general terms, is instructions
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to the CIA. That was very unusual. Trump said he
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authorized CIA in involvement because Venezuelan authorities have emptied their
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prisons into the US and because we have a lot
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of drugs coming in from Venezuela. The president added, despite
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the looming confrontation, Caracas has continued accepting deportation flights of
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its citizens from the US, which have occurred at a
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rate of about two a week in recent months. Venezuela
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is not considered a major source of fetanol or other
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synthetic opioids responsible for overdose deaths in America, and cocaine
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traffic through the Caribbean is mostly not bound for North
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American markets. The CIA is in playing a direct role
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in the lethal strikes against what the White House has
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described as drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean. That's according
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to current and former US officials. The five known attacks,
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which the Administration says I killed twenty seven people, are
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conducted by special operation units under Defense Department Command ARM,
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primarily with tactical military intelligence. CIA personnel are part of
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a Pentagon led group tracking drug boats in the Caribbean,
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but aren't involved in decisions about which targets are to
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be struck. According to one of the former officials, agency
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officials are leery of being too closely involved with the strikes,
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which some lawmakers have said may violate US and NAS
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international laws. According to the same source, At CIA headquarters,
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Ratcliffe has boosted funding and personnel for the newly formed
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Americas and Counter Narcotics Mission Center that's created by merging
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units dealing with the Western Hemisphere and counter drug issues.
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The center, led by a veteran agency case officer with
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a reputation for favoring aggressive action is quote feeling pretty empowered.
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According to a former CIA official in the Caribbean, the
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spy agency has traditionally employed a hub and spoke approach,
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with one CIA station covering several islands. The first former
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official set those teams are being reinforced with additional personnel.
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The people familiar with the matter set. The agency's counter
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narcotics programs in the Hemisphere have long centered on alliances
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with cooperative of governments such as Mexico, Colombia, and Peru.
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CIA officers train and vet local counter drug units and
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provide them with equipment and intelligence. One former CI official
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express concern that the agency's relationships in the region could
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be damaged and intelligence sharing on other topics curtailed if
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the United States acts unilaterally against drug traffickers in or
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around Venezuela and foments a popular backlash in Latin American
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nations leary of US intervention. The new authorities for CIA
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action are the latest menacing moves by the administration against
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Maduro's government, including up ramped up US air and naval
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activity in the Caribbean near Venezuela's coast. The Trump administration
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has said that Maduro has been in power for nearly
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thirteen years illegally stayed in office after stealing last year's election.
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While Trump has given strong rhetorical support to Venezuela's political
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opposition and escalated economic pressure on Maduro, he has said
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his goal is not regime change, but the effective declaration
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of war against what the administration says are Venezuela based
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narcotics traffickers. Could provide the administration with legal workaround. That's
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according to several people familiar with the administration's thinking. Maduro
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has been under a US indictment since twenty twenty. It
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accuses him of narco terrorism and conspiracy to flood the
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US with cocaine. The administration has focused on what it
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says is Maduro's role as head of the Cartel de
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Ls Souls, which Trump has designated a foreign terrorist organization
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for the alleged distribution of cocaine and fentanyl. Trump in
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recent weeks paused efforts by Richard Grinnell, the President's Special
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Mission's envoy, to negotiate a deal in which Maduro would
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offer up US control of Venezuela's rare minerals and oil
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assets and reduced ties with China, Russia, and Iran in
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exchange for Washington letting up on its pressure. Elliot Abrams,
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in charge of Venezuela policy and the State Department during
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Trump's first term, said that a covert finding by Trump
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doesn't necessarily mean only military action. To say that there
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might be something covert is not to say that it
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has to involve shooting, Abrams said, citing attempts to infiltrate
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the Venezuelan military or launch psychological operations that might cause
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Maduro to flee and exile. Another person familiar with recent
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US history in Venezuela said that a lack of solid
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intelligence on what was going on inside that country during
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Trump's first term it contributed to the failure of a
19:06
number of indirect attempts to foment military rebellion or Cosmoduro
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to step down. Trump has designated eight cartels as foreign
19:17
terrorist organizations, upping the stakes for US security agencies. Other
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intelligence agencies, including the National counter Terrorism Center, which was
19:28
established after the September eleventh terrorist attacks and focused on
19:33
Islamic militants, have shifted significantly to the counter narcotics fight.
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The top Democrats on national security committees in Congress issued
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a joint statement last month saying Trump has failed to
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state a clear military objective for the strikes against alleged
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drug trafficking boats off Venezuela and provided no explanation of
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how this use of the military could e end. While
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some in Congress fear Trump is seeking regime change in Caracas,
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other congressional aids told The Washington Post that the administration's
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CIA plans could be a psychological operation aimed at instilling
20:16
fear and confusion in Venezuela. Our next story from the
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front page of the Washington Post is headlined no amount
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of alcohol is safe, at least for dementia risk, study finds,
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and it's written by Richard Simmer. For years, the common
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wisdom and science was that a little bit of alcohol
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wasn't bad, even beneficial for your health, a hoast to moderation,
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But new research published in BMJ Evidence Based Medicine suggests
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that even light alcohol consumption can increase dementia risk. The
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finding comes from data of more than five hundred and
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fifty thousand adults ages fifty six to seventy two, as
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well as genetics information from two point four million study participants.
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It adds to evidence that even small amounts of alcohol
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can be harmful to our health, including increasing the risk
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of cancer or disrupting sleep. Excessive alcohol consumption more than
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twelve drinks per week and alcohol use disorder have long
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been linked to dementia, an umbrella term for different types
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of progressive cognitive impairment that includes Alzheimer's disease, but the
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science on an occasional glass of wine or beer had
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been more rosy. One influential study published back in two
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thousand and three seemed to suggest that people who had
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one drink a day were actually less likely to get
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dementia than those who didn't drink at all. For a
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long time, we thought that the healthiest way to approach
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drinking and rain health was to take a drink a day,
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According to Joel Galantnor, a professor of psychiatry, genetics, and
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neuroscience at Yale University School of Medicine and senior author
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of the study, Galantner himself would regularly have one drink
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a day because the data suggested that was a sweet
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spot for cognition, but the accumulating new evidence has caused
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him to avoid alcohol more than he used to. He said,
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I think people should be aware that even a small
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amount of alcohol intake may have negative cognitive effects down
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the line, said and he added, and if that's the
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most important thing to you, then you ought to reconsider
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drinking even a small amount. However, experts say that their
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goal is to give people the best data possible so
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they can manage their own risk, rather than to tell
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them how much to drink or not to drink. It's
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okay to drink, said Natalie zar, an Assistant professor of
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psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University. We shouldn't have
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a fear of the thing itself. We should enjoy alcohol
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at the right time, in the right place. But the
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effect of alcohol on our brain probably depends on the dose.
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If you reduce your intake, even if you're not stopping completely,
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then that'll probably benefit you, said Anya Tappawala, a senior
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clinical researcher and Honorary Consultant psychiatry at the University of Oxford.
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Previous study generally relied on self reported alcohol intake and
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repeatedly found a slight increase in dementia risk for non drinkers,
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lowest risk for light demoderate drinkers, and a much higher
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and increasing risk for heavy drinkers. When Gluntner and his
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colleagues looked at the self reported drinking data for their study,
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they found a similar risk profile, but relying only on
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self reported data has a number of issues. People may
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not reliably recall their drinking, and their current drinking habits
24:12
may not reflect their intake over their lifetime. Obviously, a
24:17
randomized control trial would be the gold standard to determine causality.
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That's not practical or ethical for this research question, according
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to Tappowalla. Instead, the researchers employed the next best thing,
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using a treasure trove of genomics data colled from two
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point four million people to predict how much people are
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likely to drink over their lifetime and allow them to
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then infer causation. They found that increasing alcohol intake invariably
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to increase dementia risk. Every threefold increase in drinking prevalence
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up lifetime dementia risk by fifteen percent. That is, increasing
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intake from one drink to three drinks per week, or
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from three drinks to nine drinks per week. Was associated
25:08
with a fifteen percent increased risk of dementia. The study
25:13
also countered previous research that found that alcohol was protective,
25:19
or that light to moderate drinkers had the lowest dementia
25:22
risk even when compared with non drinkers. Those who didn't
25:26
drink may have had a higher dimension risk because that
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cohort included people who may have been past drinkers who
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stopped drinking because of health problems such as cognitive decline.
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The study found that people who developed dementia reduce their
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drinking faster than those who didn't, suggesting that cognitive decline
25:48
could be causing people to drink less. That is, alcohol
25:53
consumption affects dementia, but the reverse is also true. Dementia
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affects alcohol consumption. If you drink habitually and you want
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to take a drink per day, it's not terribly harmful
26:05
to your brain health, but it's somewhat harmful. Galettner concluded
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alcohol may reduce our brain reserve, the biological hardware, making
26:15
our brain more vulnerable to other pathologies. According to Topowalla,
26:20
alcohol quickly permeates the cells of our body within minutes
26:24
of drinking, readily crossing the blood brain barrier. In the brain,
26:29
alcohol broadly amplifies neurotransmitters that inhibit neural activity, which dampens
26:36
part of the frontal cortex and releases dopamine, which is
26:40
why feeling buzzs can feel pleasant. While alcohol's acute effects
26:45
are well studied, the question of what it does chronically
26:49
is still really unknowns Our set alcohol is a neurotoxin
26:54
and heavy drinking and alcohol use disorder that's defined as
26:58
a problematic pattern of alcohol use is associated with widespread
27:03
atrophy in the brain, not limited to memory centers such
27:08
as a hippocampus. Alcohol related dementias may be distinct from
27:13
other types such as Alzheimer's, since it affects other brain
27:17
regions such as ethalmus andbellum more according to Tsar, another difference,
27:25
unlike Alzheimer's, which is progressive and lacks treatment, evidence for
27:30
alcohol related dementias suggests that if you want to quit drinking,
27:34
you'll get better, said Zar, who wrote a recent review
27:38
on alcohol's relationship to dementia. In studies of heavy drinkers
27:44
who stop, they can recover some cognition and brain volume.
27:48
This is one of those things you don't get with
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fronto temporal dementia you don't get with Alzheimer's. Zur said
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this atrophy recovery is not really understood, but Ti tsar
28:01
it's evidence that alcohol doesn't kill brain cells. If it
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was killing brain cells, there's no chance that you'd have
28:07
as much brain recovery as you do when you quit drinking,
28:11
she said. Previous research that carefully counted cells didn't find
28:16
much neuronal loss with alcohol exposure. She said, alcohol also
28:21
disrupts our brain's white matter. That's the insulation that wraps
28:25
around the cable like connections that allows neurons to communicate
28:29
with one another. White matter can regenerate, but alcohol probably
28:34
has quote a very profound effect on impairing my aleen
28:39
regenerations are said. Brain imaging studies have found harmful brain
28:44
outcomes even at one or two drinks a day when
28:47
consumed consistently over time. Topoala and her colleagues found that
28:51
moderate alcohol intake was associated with smaller gray matter and
28:57
increased iron in the brain, which has been linked to
29:00
neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. And if you
29:07
want to cut back on drinking, you can try out
29:10
challenges such as sober October or dry January. There's also
29:14
a boom in alcohol free beverages and alcohol free bars
29:19
can help you avoid the pressure to imbuy alcohol. For
29:24
heavier drinkers, working with the doctor is crucial to avoid
29:28
the potentially dangerous effects of withdrawing too quickly. Avoid binge drinking,
29:35
which is possibly more harmful for our brains. This may
29:38
because of a kindling effect. We're repeatedly soaking your brain
29:43
in alcohol and stopping leads to a mini withdrawal that
29:47
is thought to be more neurotoxic, Topawallas said. Our next story,
29:52
from the front page of Today's Washington Post is headlined
29:57
more US Jews shield identity in public amid anti Semitism fears,
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Post poll finds, and it's written by Michelle Borstein, Scott Clement,
30:08
and Emily Guskin. US Jews increasingly say they are hiding
30:13
their identity in a country where they believe they continue
30:17
to face significant antisemitism, and were slightly fewer than one
30:21
in five feel very safe. That's according to a Washington
30:25
Post poll the nation. Six million Jewish adults are also
30:30
skeptical of President Donald Trump's campaign to fight anti semitism
30:34
on college campuses, with nearly two thirds suggesting he's conducting
30:39
it for other reasons. According to the poll, Jews widely
30:43
disapprove of Trump's performance overall. The results show the poll
30:49
was conducted in early September, before Trump helped negotiate a
30:53
cease fire in the Israel Gaza war and the release
30:56
of Israeli hostages and Palestinian details. Nearly half of US
31:02
Jews say there is a lot of antisemitism in the US,
31:06
and a similar share say there is some that's numbers
31:10
almost identical to the results of a Pew Research Center
31:14
survey conducted five years ago. A third say they don't
31:19
feel safe in the United States, and two thirds report
31:22
seeing anti Semitic content online at least once a month.
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At the same time, a large majority seventy three percent
31:31
say they haven't been the target of anti Semitic remarks
31:34
online or in person during the past year. In one
31:39
clear development, the pole finds forty two percent of Jewish
31:42
Americans say they've avoided publicly wearing, carrying, or displaying anything
31:48
that might help people identify them as Jewish during the
31:52
past year. That's up from twenty six percent who said
31:56
that to a similar question in a twenty twenty three
32:00
poll by the American Jewish Committee, and from twenty three
32:03
percent in twenty twenty two, but it's similar to the
32:07
forty percent tracked by the group last year. Joan Rubin,
32:11
who's fifty five and works at a housing development in
32:15
the Bronx, said she recently stopped wearing a six pointed
32:19
star of David after someone in her neighborhood approached her
32:23
about the necklace. They said, oh, you like the idea
32:26
of killing babies. I said, no, of course not. And
32:30
then they said, then you better take that effing thing
32:33
off your neck, or maybe you need not to walk
32:35
around this neighborhood. Ruben recalled just eighteen percent of Jews
32:40
say they feel very safe in the US, while fifty
32:43
one percent say they feel somewhat safe, twenty six percent
32:48
say not too safe, and six percent say not at all.
32:53
There have been several high profile threats and attacks to
32:56
Jews and Jewish organizations in recent months. In April, an
33:01
attacker set fire to the residence of Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro,
33:06
who is Jewish, during the Passover holiday. Pennsylvania man pleaded
33:11
guilty to the charges on Tuesday, and in late May,
33:15
a gunman shot and killed two Israeli Embassy employees as
33:19
they left a reception at a Jewish museum in DC.
33:23
Less than two weeks later, a man in Boulder, Colorado
33:26
was accused of hurling molotov cocktails and a demonstration where
33:31
people had gathered to call for the release of Israeli
33:34
hostages in Gaza. These attacks are increasingly motivated by Israel's
33:40
conflict with Moss in Gaza. The Anti Deformation League concluded
33:45
that in June in twenty twenty four, fifty eight percent
33:49
of anti Semitic incidents contained elements related to Israel or Zionism.
33:55
According to the organization's annual Anti Semitism report that was
34:00
released this year. That's risen since the group began tracking
34:05
the data with a new definition two years ago. During
34:09
the months after the war began in twenty twenty three,
34:13
Jewish students and watchdog groups saw a series of anti
34:17
Semitic incidents on campuses. Jewish students at Cooper Union in
34:22
New York sheltered in a library as pro Palestinian demonstrators
34:27
banged on the glass walls of the building. At a
34:30
pro Palestinian protest near Tulane University in New Orleans, at
34:35
least two students were assaulted in a melee that began
34:39
when someone tried to burn an Israeli flag. In the
34:43
twenty twenty four to twenty twenty five school year, as
34:46
the war continued in Gaza, vandalism and assaults on campuses
34:50
were down sharply, but online anti Semitic bullying was up,
34:55
according to Hillale International, a Jewish student organization. The Post
35:01
poll finds Jewish women are more likely than men to
35:05
say they've avoided displaying Jewish symbols fifty one percent of
35:09
thirty six percent. Younger Jews also are more likely to
35:13
say that fifty three percent among those under age thirty five,
35:18
compared with forty five percent of those ages thirty five
35:22
to forty nine, forty percent among those ages fifty to
35:26
sixty four, and thirty four percent of those age sixty
35:30
five and older. The administration has cited fighting anti Jewish
35:35
harassment as a motivation for everything from deporting pro Palestinian
35:41
International students to cutting billions in science and medical research
35:46
grants from colleges that it says have tolerated bias against Jews,
35:51
but sixty nine percent say task force created by President
35:55
Trump won't be effective at reducing anti Semitism on college campuses,
36:01
and seventy one percent of US Jews disapproved generally of
36:05
the way Trump is handling his job. Asked in the
36:09
poll how effective the Joint Task Force to Combat Anti
36:13
Semitism based at the Department of Justice would be reducing
36:18
anti semitism on college campuses, twenty seven percent said not
36:23
too effective and forty two percent said not at all.
36:27
When asked what they believe the main goal of the
36:30
task force is, thirty five percent said to reduce anti
36:34
semitism on college campuses, forty five percent said the goal
36:39
is to make college campuses more politically conservative, and twenty
36:44
one percent offered other ideas. Those included attack his political enemies,
36:49
a certdominance over people in academia, and crack down on
36:54
free speech and dissent. The findings show US Jews react
36:59
to experience of anti semitism very differently, depending on their
37:04
expectations or when their ideas on the topic were formed.
37:08
That's according to Stacy Burdett, who's worked for decades on
37:13
anti Semitism prevention. For the most part, people are shocked
37:17
anti Semitism would re emerge again in our country, she said,
37:22
and added baby boomers and gen xers were raised in
37:26
America in which the Jewish story of marginalization and discrimination
37:31
and otherness was over. So yes, it's shocking. Adair Suskin,
37:37
CEO of New Jewish Narrative, a group that advocates a
37:40
pluralistic democratic Israel, said US Jews are trying to sort
37:45
through the rise in the number of anti Semitic incidents,
37:49
more openly anti Jewish hate online, and the complex effects
37:54
of the Israeli gas of war. Some have painted criticism
37:58
of Israel and its campaign in Gaza as motivated by
38:02
anti Jewish attitudes. We have to hold in our minds
38:06
at the same time that there is a serious increase
38:09
in virulent and deadly incidents and also a massive explosion
38:14
in the weaponization of anti Semitism in order to shut
38:18
down criticism of Israel, he said. The poll reveals a
38:22
Jewish community that is wary and divided about its domestic
38:27
political allies. Asked how friendly or unfriendly the GOP, the
38:32
Democratic Party, and Trump parted Jews, the poll finds all
38:36
three are seen as roughly equal That assessment is a
38:40
plunge for the Democratic Party since twenty twenty, when fifty
38:44
two percent of US Jews considered the party friendly, compared
38:48
with thirty six percent who say this today. Trump and
38:53
Republicans made gains over the same period. Reuben, who works
38:58
at the Bronx housing development, said she used to vote Democratic,
39:02
but has shifted right in recent years because some of
39:05
that party's leaders have intensely criticized Israel. Now she identifies
39:11
as Republican and voted for Trump last year. I've seen
39:15
the Democratic Party become less and less supportive of Israel.
39:19
Now it seems to have escalated to the point or
39:21
I don't feel confident that the Democrats are predicting us
39:25
against anti Semitism, Reuben said, and she added, I'm tending
39:29
towards feeling safer with Trump and the Republicans. It's just
39:33
a gut feeling. About three in ten American Jews say
39:37
the Democratic Party is unfriendly towards Jews. That's roughly triple
39:41
the proportion in a twenty twenty Pew survey and on
39:46
Power with twenty nine percent who say the Republican Party
39:49
is unfriendly. This shift is much harper among Jews who
39:54
identify or lean Republican. Burdett, who has worked with the
39:58
Antidefamation and the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, believes there's a
40:04
tribal emotional reason US Jews increasingly see the Democratic Party
40:09
as unfriendly, even as a overwhelmingly disapprove of Trump's presidency.
40:16
Most US Jews think of the Democratic Party as their home,
40:20
she said, and added Jews have been leaders of liberal
40:23
social movement through US history. When an anti Semitism is
40:28
in a liberal movement, it feels like the call is
40:32
coming from inside the house. But the Pole finds most
40:36
American Jews are skeptical of Trump. Among the roughly seven
40:40
to ten who disapprove generally of the way he's handling
40:43
his job, sixty four percent do so strongly. Sixty five
40:48
percent say he doesn't understand the concerns of Jewish Americans.
40:53
About thirty five percent see he understands Jewish Americans' concerns
40:58
at least somewhat well, including fifteen percent who say he
41:03
understands their concerns very well. Eden Stern, who's thirty and
41:07
lives in Arlington, Virginia and works in urban forestry, said
41:12
she sees Trump's siding of anti Semitism is more about
41:16
the power dynamic between him and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
41:21
Not in Yahoo. It's not about protecting American Jews. I
41:25
think it's more about political gains, Stern said. She said
41:29
GOP leaders have failed to consistently denounce anti Semitism when
41:34
it comes from their allies, some of whom have ties
41:37
to white supremacists. You can't say you're pro Jewish and
41:41
you're for the Jewish people in not denounced neo Nazis.
41:46
I don't think you can be both, she said. Post
41:49
election surveys showed Trump in twenty twenty four a gain
41:53
some support from Jewish voters compared with twenty twenty. Pew
41:57
Research Center surveys of Valley dated voters found thirty four
42:02
percent of Jewish voters supported Trump in twenty twenty four.
42:06
That's up from seven percent in twenty twenty. The Post
42:11
poll finds ninety seven percent of Jewish Trump voters approof
42:15
of his performance, including fifty one percent who do so strongly.
42:21
Stern is extremely critical of Israeli's campaign in Gaza, where
42:26
she believes the Jewish state has committed war crimes and genocide,
42:31
but she also sees the war being used to attack
42:34
US Jews. I see people posting about the war and
42:38
there's no religious context, but they'll say, oh, yeah, Jews
42:41
are the cause of all evil. They own the government
42:44
a generic anti semitic commentary. She said, there are divisions
42:49
among Jewish Americans as what they see as anti semitic behavior.
42:55
Just fifteen percent say criticizing Israel for any reason as
42:59
anti silic, and twenty two percent say it's anti semitic
43:03
to criticize Israel for its actions in Gaza. Roughly three
43:08
quarters I say challenging Israel's right to exist as a
43:12
Jewish state as anti semitic, and seventy one percent believe
43:16
it's anti semitic to suggest US Jews bear responsibility for
43:22
Israeli's action in Gaza. A small, or fifty four percent
43:27
majority say it's anti semitic to demand US universities divest
43:32
from companies and do business with Israel. Megan Rust, a
43:37
thirty seven year old state employee who lives in Lincoln, Nebraska,
43:41
said opposition to Zionism is getting muddled with anti Semitism,
43:46
which to her are different concepts. I am anti Zionists
43:51
for sure, and some people would say that's anti Semitic,
43:54
and then we have to get into a whole debate,
43:57
Russ said. Russ lives near the Universe City of Nebraska
44:01
campus and said she knows of no anti Semitic or
44:04
anti Israel incidents there or in the area. Generally, she
44:09
believes the topic is being used as a political football
44:13
to bring separation around among the country. Forty four percent
44:18
of Jewish Americans say there is a lot of anti
44:21
Semitism on college and university campuses. A similar percentage of
44:27
Jews under the age of thirty five, most of whom
44:30
have attended college in the past decade, hold the same view,
44:34
but are more likely than Jews in general to say
44:37
there is not much or none at all. Jewish Republicans
44:41
are more than twice as likely as Democrats to say
44:44
there is a lot of anti Semitism on college campuses
44:48
seventy six percent versus thirty one percent, with independence in
44:52
the middle and fifty percent. That contrasts with beliefs on
44:57
anti Semitism in the US, which are more divided forty
45:01
seven percent of Democrats and fifty three percent of Republicans.
45:06
The worst problem for Jews is social media and its
45:10
ability to amplify this hate. That's according to Pamela Nadell,
45:14
a historian of American Judaism at American University. What people
45:20
don't understand is the power of being attacked for this
45:23
aspect of one's identity, she added. The Washington Post poll
45:28
was conducted September two through ninth among a random national
45:33
sample of eight hundred and fifteen Jewish Americans drawn through
45:37
ssrs's Opinion Panel as an ongoing survey panel recruited through
45:43
random sampling of US households. The margin of sampling error
45:47
is plus or minus four point seven percentage points. The
45:52
sample includes adults who identify as Jewish by religion, as
45:56
well as those who identify as adults with no religious
45:59
effis filiation but Jewish ethnically, culturally, or through their family background,
46:05
and neither were raised Jewish or have a parent who
46:08
is Jewish. In all, seventy six percent of the sample
46:12
was Jewish by religion and twenty four percent was Jewish
46:16
without a religious affiliation. In her next story from the
46:20
front page of Today's Washington Post is headlined AMAS reasserts
46:25
control on streets of Gaza turning guns on its rivals,
46:30
and is written by Jerry shiah Ari Flanzeric and Hazim Belusha.
46:35
They blindfolded eight men accused of collaborating with Israel, made
46:40
them kneel, and executed them at point blank range on
46:44
a busy street in Gaza City. They send jeeps filled
46:48
with fighters to pursue the Estal militia, whose leaders said
46:52
it coordinates with Israel and had recently taken up arms
46:56
alongside other gangs. They hunted the mujah Dane clan until
47:00
the family, decimated after a gun battle, announced it would
47:04
pledge fieldy to the government of Gaza. Amas. AMAS may
47:09
have stopped fighting Israel, but it has launched a new
47:13
violent campaign to reassert control over local families and militias
47:18
that had challenged its power during the past two years
47:21
of war, including those who, according to the leaders of
47:25
two clans, had received support from Israel, whether by carrying
47:30
out armed graides in Dar al Balah and the central
47:33
Gaza Strip or holding public executions farther north in Gaza City.
47:39
AMAS is trying to send a clear message that after
47:43
months of hiding from Israeli fire, the militant group is
47:47
back as the only visible authority inside the Gaza strip.
47:51
That's according to rival militia leaders, Palestinian officials, and political analysts,
47:58
amass and enduring gripp has significant implications for the future
48:03
of Gaza and President Trump's peace plan with Israel. Largely
48:08
restrained now from attacking Hamas under the ceasefire supported by Trump,
48:14
the group is again ruling the streets, controlling what's left
48:17
of civil administration, and gaining leverage in the upcoming negotiations
48:22
over whether and how it will disarm and who will
48:26
rule Gaza. According to Trump's twenty point plan, Hamas will
48:31
eventually be required to decommission its weapons and not have
48:35
any role in governing governing Gaza, but the plan lacks details,
48:40
and Hamas is expected to bargain hard as a Phase
48:44
two talks unfold in the coming weeks. Are they obtaining
48:48
new cards for bargaining after the hostages are handed over? Perhaps,
48:53
said Mustafa Ibrahim, a Gaza based political analyst, Hamas could
48:59
maneuver on this issue and say we are present, we
49:02
are indispensable for imposing control. Ibrahimi added. For months, Hama's
49:09
leaders have pointed to the proliferation of rival clans and gangs,
49:14
including those quietly armed by Israel, is part of what
49:18
Israeli security analysts and media say was a divide and
49:22
conquer strategy during the war. They argue that Hamas should
49:26
be allowed to keep some light weapons for personal protection.
49:30
According to Arab mediators, Hamas is comfortable with the guarantees
49:35
provided by mediators that Israel will not restart the war,
49:40
but the gangs are an issue in Gaza, said Rashin
49:44
al Mohanadi, a fellow at the Middle East Council on
49:48
Global Affairs in Qatar. Amasa's argument, Mohanadi said, is that
49:53
negotiation negotiators should differentiate between weapons that can still be
49:59
held for personal protection, while heavier weapons should be given
50:04
up publicly. Hamas officials have said they're willing to relinquish
50:09
governance of Gaza. In private, however, they've argued that they
50:13
are part of the Gazen social and administrative fabric and
50:17
should continue to play a role, possibly as a rebranded
50:21
political party merged with other Palestinian factions. That's according to
50:26
Palestinian and other Arab officials that are familiar with the
50:31
peace talks, the details regarding disarmament and governance will have
50:36
to be ironed out in negotiations with Israel that could
50:39
last several months, if not longer. On Monday, Trump told
50:43
reporters on Air Force one that he would allow Hamas
50:47
to govern in the interim, and said Tuesday that he
50:50
wasn't bothered by the group's surprisal attacks. They did take
50:54
out a couple of gangs that were very bad, Trum
50:57
told reporters in the Oval office, and he added, they
51:00
did take them out, and they killed a number of
51:02
gang members, and that didn't bother me much, to be
51:05
honest with you. For its part, Hamas has touted its
51:09
crackdown as one of the many ways in which normalcy
51:12
and the group's leadership has returned to Gaza. After the
51:16
ceasefire with Israel took effect, Hamas announced the appointment of
51:20
five new governors who will rue who will administer rather
51:24
Gaza's devastated urban centers, and they circulated videos on social
51:29
media showing its gunmen directing traffic. A Maas run social
51:34
media accounts have described the clashes with rebel clans as
51:38
an effort to bring criminals to justice. Many of the
51:42
clans that rebelled against Hamas during the power of vacuum
51:45
created by the Israeli campaign were widely accused by Gozans
51:50
of engaging and smuggling, gun running, extortion, and the looting
51:55
of humanitarian aid trucks. Several Gozen factions, including a leading
52:00
tribal council, have voice their support for hamasa's efforts to
52:04
enforce the law and condemn those who collaborated with Israel.
52:09
Our merciful hand is extended to anyone who repents the
52:13
Ridia security forces, one of hamasa's internal security units said
52:19
in a statement on Tuesday, and added returning to the
52:22
national fold is still possible at this stage. Militia leaders
52:27
interviewed by the Post offered different estimates for how long
52:31
the violence will persist in what the repercussions will be,
52:36
But some Palestinian observers say they fear the internescent conflict
52:40
will be protracted and divide the Palestinian people. That may
52:45
serve the interests of Israel, which has been supplying anti
52:48
Hamas militias since the outbreak of the gas of war.
52:52
That's according to Israeli security analysts and two militia leaders themselves,
52:58
how many families have received threats from Hamas now these
53:01
families are demanding weapons to defend themselves, said Taufik Terrawi,
53:07
a former longtime longtime head of the Palestinian Authority intelligence service.
53:13
In He added, this is the expected scenario in the
53:17
few weeks civil war. Some Israeli security analysts have been
53:22
struck by Hamas's coordination and long term planning. Even as
53:27
a group came under withering fire from the Israel Defense
53:30
Forces in recent months, especially in Gaza City, Hamas seemed
53:35
to anticipate an eventual cease fire and shift its strategic priorities,
53:41
said Shlomo Mufaz, director of the government affiliated meyer AMID
53:46
Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center. It became clear and we
53:51
can see this from the Gaza City incursion, that Hamas
53:54
had largely abandoned confrontation with the IDF in favor of
53:59
strengthening its foothold internally for the day after saving webons,
54:04
preserving manpower, and planning re reprizals against clans who either
54:09
coordinated with Israel or threatened Hamas during the war, said Muffaz,
54:14
who formerly served as the Israeli military's top intelligence analysts.
54:20
In interviews, Klan and militia leaders say they also saw
54:24
Hamas move against them with methodical efficiency. One of the
54:29
first major clashes erupted before the ceasefire was announced. On
54:33
October third, roughly one hundred gunmen in Hamas uniforms arrived
54:38
in a neighborhood in Khan Yunis controlled by the Mujadis,
54:42
a prominent and outspoken family historically affiliated with Fatah, a
54:48
political party that rivaled Hamas. Said family members and anwar Rejib,
54:53
a spokesman for the political or Palestinian authority. Security forces
54:58
in the West Bank, armed with rifles and rocket propelled grenades,
55:03
AMAS fighters advanced in formation from four different directions, sparking
55:08
an intense firefight. They were only beaten back when an
55:12
Israeli drone noticed the attack and fired on Hamas. That's
55:16
according to Ali Mujada, a senior clan leader whose house
55:19
was targeted in the attack and also drone footage released
55:23
by the IDF. After the missile strike, Mujada klansmen dragged
55:29
an injured Hamas fighter into a house for interrogation and
55:33
were surprised by the planning that went into the attack.
55:36
He gave us names, locations, direct us, and showed us
55:40
more documents taken off the body of a dead Hamas fighter.
55:44
Mujada recalled were related posted by klansmen to telegram, and
55:49
it contained detailed operational instructions and aerial photographs of the
55:54
neighborhood with the targeted Mujada houses circled in black marker.
56:00
The Sahem or Piercing Arrow, a special unit that Hamas
56:03
formed during the war cracked down on armed groups engaged
56:07
in looting, aid and price gouging, claimed credit for the attack.
56:12
Mujada said one of the Sahim's functions has been collecting
56:16
intelligence on individuals or clans who break the law or
56:20
collaborate with Israel, and comply compiling a blacklist of those
56:25
who should be targeted for reprisal attacks. The Sahim are
56:30
commanders and intelligence people, drug enforcement captains, all of them experienced.
56:35
Mujada said. They are scattered around Gaza, usually in plane clothes,
56:40
hold up in hospitals or in ten cities among the refugees.
56:45
Mujada denied that his clan worked with Israel or systematically
56:49
engaged in looting. Many clan members did support Fetah, the
56:54
political party that controls the Palestinian authority based in the
56:58
West Bank. You joined the Islamic Jihad in the Hamas
57:02
military wing itself. Mujada said, most Majada klansmen aren't affiliated
57:08
with Hamas. Indeed, many lean toward Fetah. Said Rajib, the
57:12
Palestinian Authority security official. Hamas feared that, either of their
57:17
own accord or else in coordination with the Palestinian authority,
57:21
these families would revolt against their rule, and so Hamas
57:25
needed to nip this in the bud. It was a
57:28
preemptive strike. And this concludes the reading of the Washington
57:34
Post for today, October sixteenth, twenty twenty five. Your reader
57:38
for today, I'm Howard Kleiman. If you have any questions
57:42
or comments or suggestions concerning this program, please feel free
57:47
to call us at eight five nine four two two
57:50
six y three nine zero. Again, our number is eight
57:54
five nine four two two sixty three nine zero. Thanks
57:59
for listening, and now please stay tuned for continued programming
58:02
on Radio I