Federal Judge Dismisses Former Sheriff Villanueva's $25 Million Lawsuit Over 'Do Not Rehire' Designation
Villanueva was also accused in a separate complaint made by Esther Lim, a former justice deputy for county Supervisor Hilda Solis, that Villanueva repeatedly harassed women of color in social media livestream comments. According to Wilson, while the judge has now dismissed the last federal claim, there are still matters that the federal court "declines to exercise jurisdiction over" and are now left to the state court.'We're very pleased that the Sheriff's consequential complaints of defamation and emotional distress will move forward, and that we'll have the opportunity to hold the County of Los Angeles accountable in state court,' Carney Shegerian, Villanueva's attorney, stated.In 2022, Villanueva lost his reelection bid and subsequently failed in a primary election for a seat on the County Board of Supervisors.
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New York Post
7 minutes ago
- New York Post
Shame on those who don't care about starving Israeli hostages
The horrific videos of starved-to-the-brink-of-death Evyatar David and Rom Braslavski should shock the conscience of the world — yet Israel-haters who've thundered about alleged mass starvation in Gaza have nothing to say after a look at the real thing. The footage evokes painful memories of the Holocaust, the war against the Jews, with Nazi concentration-camp prisoners transformed into skeletons. Both young men were healthy and strapping when kidnapped from the Nova Music Festival almost two years ago; today they're emaciated ghosts of their former selves. Advertisement 3 Israeli President Isaac Herzog displays a photo of Evyatar David, an Israeli man held hostage by Hamas. REUTERS Ever since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, propagandists have howled about the 'imminent' famine that they insisted Israel was causing in Gaza. 'Half a million people in Gaza are on the brink of famine while the rest are enduring emergency levels of hunger,' cried the UN World Food Programme, less than a week after Hamas slaughtered 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped 250 more. The 'brink' of famine kept stretching out farther and farther. In May of this year, the United Nations breathlessly warned that '14,000 babies in Gaza could die in the next 48 hours.' Advertisement This claim got retracted after a spokesman explained it meant 14,000 babies could die if they got no aid by March 2026. Last month, The New York Times ran a viral photo of a baby 'famine victim' who, it turned out, was actually suffering from genetic medical conditions. Uncropped pictures show tot's older brother standing by, looking sufficiently fed and healthy. Yes, Gazans are suffering. But Hamas — which routinely steals humanitarian aid meant for civilians — deserves the blame for its brutal and cynical use of the plight of the people as a weapon in the war of public opinion. Advertisement 3 Starving hostage Evyatar David in video footage. AP For all the wailing about 'mass starvation,' no one has been able to provide a picture of an adult truly starving to death in Gaza, much less of the kind of famine seen in historical pictures from verified periods of true, widespread hunger. That is, until Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad gave us videos of Rom Braslavski and Evyatar David, prisoners the terrorists are intentionally depriving of food to ramp up pressure on Israel to end its war. Yet the usual suspects who cry crocodile tears over Israel's 'genocide' have totally ignored the plight of two Israeli hostages being deliberately starved to death. Advertisement 3 Video still of Rom Braslavski, a hostage held in Gaza for nearly 700 days. AOC, Bernie Saunders and Zohran Mamdani have said nothing. Nor has the world rallied to Israel's side, offering serious help to defeat Hamas and save the hostages. Rom Braslavski's mother Tami issued a searing statement: 'Until now, you could only imagine how Rom and the other hostages are suffering,' she implores. 'Now you've seen it with your own eyes. I'm crying out to the world — what will you do about it?' Let her cry echo through the chamber of the UN General Assembly, the Democratic Party and the nerves and sinews of every apologist for Hamas and amplifier of its lies. Decent people of the world need to speak up — and act: Free the hostages now.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Oxford's Miriam Margolyes: 'I'm not anti-Jewish, I'm anti-killing children'
Oxford celebrity Miriam Margolyes has hit back at calls to cancel her, stating she is not "anti-Jewish". The actress, who was born and grew up in the city, is well known to audiences around the world after starring as Professor Sprout in several of the Harry Potter films. Ms Margolyes was awarded an OBE in 2002 for services to drama, but there have been recent calls for this to be taken back. The 84-year-old, who is Jewish, recently spoke to The Big Issue about Israel's military campaign in Gaza. READ MORE: Miriam Margolyes blasts 'chickens**t' calls to take away OBE Miriam Margolyes was born in Oxford. She said that it reminded her of the Holocaust and added: 'The terrible thing I face is that Hitler won. "He changed us, made us like him.' The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) has responded to Ms Margolyes' remarks and has labelled them as 'repugnant'. A statement from the CAA said: "The fact she was born Jewish does not give her license to use her immense platform to spread anti-Jewish venom. READ MORE: 'This has to be the end of the road. She must be shunned by the showbiz world that has fawned and bowed until now.' Ms Margolyes, who is performing at the Edinburgh Fringe, has now hit back at the claims, stating that she is not anti-Jewish. "I'm not antisemitic, I'm anti-killing children," she said, as reported by Edinburgh Live. "I am criticising the Israeli government. But I am also criticising the Jewish people in the UK, the community that I belong to, which is not coming out in support of me. "I just want people not to kill each other."
New York Times
7 hours ago
- New York Times
On Gaza, Germany's Government Faces Pressure from All Sides
Germany has a unique relationship with Israel for obvious reasons. After the Holocaust, a reborn Germany has given Israel unbending support, almost alone among European nations. It is a stalwart Israeli ally, comparable even to the United States. But the tragedy of Gaza, multiplied by reports of malnutrition and even starvation, has put Chancellor Friedrich Merz, a conservative, in an uncomfortable position. Pressures are mounting on his government to take tough action against Israel and to use Germany's influence to push for an end to the war and to Palestinian suffering. German public opinion has tilted steeply against Israel over the last year. Mr. Merz's prime coalition partners, the center-left Social Democrats, are calling for halting or limiting weapons deliveries to Israel. Two of his most important European colleagues, President Emmanuel Macron of France and Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain, are moving to recognize Palestine as a state, even before an Israeli-Palestinian peace settlement defines that state. Like President Trump, Mr. Merz has ruled out such a step, arguing that a Palestinian state must emerge from negotiations between the two parties. But Germany wants the process to start. Mr. Merz also has pressure from his own party. Its political sibling, the Bavarian-based Christian Social Union, has been loud in demanding that Germany continue forthright support of Israel and its government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in its battle against Hamas. So Mr. Merz is weighing more modest measures, and has tried to work behind the scenes with both Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Trump. While publicly supportive of Israel, Mr. Merz has had several tough, even angry telephone conversations with Mr. Netanyahu, a senior German official said, urging him to come to an agreement for a cease-fire in Gaza and to allow much more food and medical aid into the enclave by road. Mr. Merz also joined Mr. Macron and Mr. Starmer in a call to Mr. Trump last Monday, urging him to put more pressure on Mr. Netanyahu to allow much more aid into Gaza, the official said, speaking anonymously, given the sensitivity of the subject. Mr. Merz is considering backing the European Commission's call for a partial suspension of the E.U.-Israel association agreement, which among other things allows for cooperation in technology and culture. It would be an important shift for Germany, even if a largely symbolic gesture, and something Mr. Merz's Social Democratic coalition partners have demanded. The Commission has proposed the partial suspension of Israel's access to Horizon Europe, the European Union program that funds research. But its proposal is very narrow and would not affect most projects. Europe itself is divided on the issue, so German support for a suspension may not be sufficient to enact even this move. Germany has provided aid for airdrops into Gaza from Jordan, and Mr. Merz last week sent his foreign minister, Johann Wadephul, to Israel and the West Bank to talk to Mr. Netanyahu and leading politicians. 'I came here with the goal of preventing a rift from opening between the European Union and Israel,' Mr. Wadephul said on Thursday in Jerusalem. 'This danger exists and both sides must work together to prevent it.' After his report back to Berlin, the government issued a carefully balanced statement noting that there was 'initial, slight progress in providing humanitarian aid' to Gaza, but it was 'far from sufficient to alleviate the emergency situation.' Israel is obligated to provide such aid 'with the support of the United Nations,' the statement said, while also noting, 'The German government is concerned about reports that large quantities of aid are being withheld by Hamas and criminal organizations.' Mr. Merz and Mr. Wadephul both expressed their horror over the weekend at the Hamas videos of emaciated Israeli hostages, demanding that they all be released as part of any cease-fire. Several of the hostages have German passports. Last week, some 200 German cultural figures published an open letter entitled: 'Don't let Gaza die, Mr. Merz.' The letter, echoing the Social Democrats, called for a halt to all German arms exports to Israel, support for the suspension of the E.U.-Israel association agreement and an immediate cease-fire and unhindered access for aid. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Germany has made great strides toward a tougher foreign and defense policy, becoming 'more relaxed' about increasing its military power and exercising European leadership, said Claudia Major, a security analyst with the German Marshall Fund in Berlin. 'But Israel is not a topic where the usual standards of debate apply,' she said. 'On issues of defending Israel and antisemitism, we tend to overreact.' After the Holocaust and the birth of a post-Nazi, democratic Germany, the promise was 'never again,' Ms. Major noted. After the Hamas invasion of Israel, she said, the slogan in Germany was, 'Never again is now.' For Germans at the time, Ms. Major said, 'everything was clear, and we know where our place is.' The long war and the destruction and privation in Gaza have created obvious fissures in society and in politics. But given German history, on Israel, 'we walk on egg shells,' Ms. Major said, adding, 'Whatever you do in Germany on this topic, you will be criticized.' The discussion is not over, with more meetings of the government scheduled on the issue. Derya Türk-Nachbaur, a Social Democrat legislator, said Germany should coordinate further on the European level, especially with France and Britain, to increase pressure on Israel and allow the partial suspension of the association agreement. Given the shift against Israel in German public opinion, 'Merz faces pressure on multiple fronts for more decisive action,' domestically, inside his own coalition and in Europe, said Thorsten Benner, director of the Global Public Policy Institute in Berlin. A poll in May, by the Bertelsmann Foundation, found that while 60 percent of Israelis have a positive or very positive opinion of Germany, only 36 percent of people in Germany view Israel positively, and 38 percent view it negatively. This represented a notable change from the last survey in 2021, when 46 percent of Germans had a positive opinion of Israel. The poll also showed that a declining number of Germans — only a third — said that Germany has responsibility toward Israel, and only a quarter that they felt a 'special responsibility.' There are other steps Mr. Merz might take, said Mr. Benner. He could impose sanctions on hard-right ministers in the Israeli government, as the Dutch have done or temporarily halt any weapons shipments to Israel, arguing that Israel has enough to defend itself for the moment. He could also bring more injured Gazan children to German hospitals. Mr. Merz has argued that Israelis listen to its bedrock supporters, like the United States and Germany, while discounting the criticism of countries like Sweden, Ireland and Spain, which had earlier recognized a Palestinian state. 'He says that they do listen to us,' Mr. Benner said. 'But he needs to have something to show for it, to show that it bears fruit.'
