Time Line of Ahmed al-Sharaa aka Abu Mohammad al-Golani/Jolani, President of Syria

 Nadene Goldfoot                                             

    Showing off letters of credence from Qatar, UAE, etc. 

"Abu Mohammad al-Golani (born Ahmed al-Sharaa) is the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)" under the name  of Jolani, "a Syrian militant group that played a key role in overthrowing President Bashar al-Assad, and he has worked to rebrand himself as a moderate, moving away from his past ties with al-Qaeda (Jabhat al-Nusra) by promoting pluralism, though the U.S. still designates him and his group as terrorists. He's known for his efforts to present a more tolerant face, seeking wider acceptance after consolidating power in northwest Syria. Controversy: Despite efforts to appear moderate, he remains a designated terrorist by the U.S. and other nations, with a $10 million bounty on his head, while striving to build stability", he says.  

2003: Joins al-Qaeda at age 21

2006:  Captured by the U.S. and held at Camp Bucca

2008:  Released from prison, joins Aabu BakR al-Baghdadi (Leader of                        ISIS)

2010: Appointed as the head of al-Qaeda operations in Mosul Province

2012:  Forms the al-Nusra Front, an al-Qaeda affiliate, and serves as its general emir.

2017:  Forms HTS, uniting al-Qaeda, al-Nusra, and ISIS under one                                         banner.

2024:  Appointed by jihadist factions as the President of Syria following the fall of the Assad Regime.  

A Controversial War For Some, A Real War To Israelis

 Nadene Goldfoot                                            

Seems like the Diaspora just doesn't see eye to eye when others find themselves in the midst of a war, a Declared War to let let world know they are being attacked and it's WAR!  They find, in their own safe quarters, that it must be controversial because they sure don't know why Jews are killing children, yes, that's what they see on their TV screens and come to only one conclusion.

Cast a Giant Shadow is a 1966 American action film based on the life of Colonel Mickey Marcus, and stars Kirk Douglas, Senta Berger, Yul Brynner, John Wayne, Frank Sinatra and Angie Dickinson. Melville Shavelson adapted, produced and directed. The film is a fictionalized account of the experiences of a real-life Jewish-American military officer, Colonel David "Mickey" Marcus, who commanded units of the fledgling Israel Defense Forces during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.

David Daniel "Mickey" Marcus was a United States Army colonel, later Israel's first general, who was a principal architect of the U.S. military's World War II civil-affairs policies, including the organization of the war-crimes trials in Germany and in Japan.  David Daniel Mickey Marcus, a tough Brooklyn street kid, rose by virtue of his courage and intelligence to help save Israel in 1948 and become its first general since Judah Maccabee. After a distinguished career in military and public service to the United States, the 46-year-old Marcus wrote his name forever in the annals of Israeli history.

Born to immigrant parents in 1902, Marcus grew up in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn where, to defend himself against neighborhood toughs, he learned to box. His high school athletic and academic record won him admission to West Point in 1920, from which he graduated with impressive scores. After completing his required service, Marcus went to law school and spent most of the 1930s as a Federal attorney in New York, helping bring Lucky Luciano to justice. As a reward, Mayor LaGuardia named Marcus Commissioner of Corrections for New York City.

In 1947, Marcus returned to civilian life. A few months later, the United Nations authorized the partition of Palestine and the eventual creation of a Jewish state. Within days, David Ben-Gurion asked Marcus to recruit an American officer to serve as military advisor to Israel. Failing in his attempts to recruit one of his friends, Marcus decided to volunteer himself. The U.S. War Department granted Marcus, who was a reservist, permission to accept the offer, provided Marcus not use his own name or rank and disguise his military record. This should explain to many how long Israelis have been fighting terrorists.                    

     writing assignment done in cocktail bar, not at action was also noted done by some reporters using hearsay, this way can spread

false reports, trusting in others in what the reporter hears, not

really sees.  Today people are seeing terrible things but not understanding how they came to happen...

Israel is very tiny, and has returned to their ancient homeland that the Romans had renamed as Palestine.  The population of Jews in Israel is approximately 7.15 to 7.3 million, with different figures depending on the specific definition of "Jewish population" used.  

I remember, being 91,actually seeing Palestinians staging such situations on purpose to get the raves on TV against the Jews. They're as good at acting as many of us, just never had the inclination, I guess, to do something with it. I've also seen children in their father's grip, learn to shoot and the ISIS group even having their children in on the beheading.

This "War" started in 1920 with attacks on Jewish homes with Husseini, the Sherif of Jerusalem.  It grew with Arafat taking the stage "Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement launched its first attacks against Israel in 1965, but he became a prominent figure in armed Palestinian resistance following the 1967 Six-Day War, which led to intensified guerrilla operations against Israel. Arafat supported the creation of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1964, which aimed to achieve a Palestinian state through armed struggle."  

By then, Jews were used to being attacked in Israel, and that's bad when it has to be common in one's daily life, like hearing the alarms to get into a bomb shelter, and you have but 2 minutes. You accept it.  It's the new norm.                                 

    October 11, 2023 attack on Israel

Hamas came along in 1987 as an offshoot of the Palestinian Muslim Brotherhood, officially founded by Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and his aide Abdul Aziz al-Rantissi. Its formation occurred at the start of the first Palestinian intifada (uprising) against Israel's "occupation".  Now the Muslim Brotherhood isn't even accepted in Egypt, let alone Israel.  It's the tough arm of the PLO.  They won the election their people had, their first experience, by the way.  It was in 1989 that they first attacked 1989: Hamas carried out its first significant attacks, which included the abduction and killing of two Israeli soldiers.  

Palestinians break into the Israeli side of Israel-Gaza border fence after gunmen infiltrated areas of southern Israel, October 7. REUTERS/Mohammed Fayq Abu Mostafa

         October 7, 2023 surprise attack on Israel

The large-scale bombings from Hamas hitting Israel began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a surprise attack on southern Israel. The attack involved thousands of rockets and ground forces, killing approximately 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, which in turn triggered a massive Israeli military offensive in Gaza.

 The hostages were taken in the ground attack when their attackers      and their citizens came in a frenzy attacking Jews ona Holiday of Succot, the last day of it, when they were also involved in a dancing music festival from Europe, and wereenjoying their youth and life itself. Hamas held a surprise attack on Jews. 

You in the Diaspora would scream if one rocket was shot into your neighborhood and you would demand immediate action from your army.  

WAR IS HELL. Everyone knows that phrase.  WWI certainly was, and so was WWII.  This wasn't a world war but a warof religion, actually since it was this terror group of Muslimswho wouldn't accept Jews returning legally to their ancient land of Israel.  Have their ever been other wars in the worldfought over religion?  Well, in India, there were the Muslimsand the Hindus with the Muslims being moved out and they formed Pakistan. 

Fighting between Muslims and Hindus in India has occurred for centuries, with roots dating back to the 7th and 8th centuries CE when Islam was first introduced to the region. The conflict has continued intermittently throughout history, with notable periods of intensified violence, including the 1947 partition and subsequent events in the 20th century. 

Other major religiously motivated wars include the Crusades (1096–1291), the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) in Europe, and the French Wars of Religion (1562–1598). Other examples include the Greek War of Independence and the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980's, though the religious component of the latter is debated.  

Not once did Israel do a thing except defend themselves against attacks.

 Hamas, who knew of Israel's reputation of being a defender of life, did rotten things like hide their ammunition in their homes,schools, mosques, hospitals, etc, and since that was working,they also hid behind their own people in these very places for workable attacking places.  Israel warned the people to get out of the wayusing every form of  systems possible, leaflets, bullhorns.   As part of its efforts to minimize civilian casualties in Gaza, the IDF makes phone calls and sends text messages to civilians residing in buildings designated for attack. In a video, you can hear a recording of an IDF soldier calling a Gazan to warn him of an impending airstrike in his vicinity.

 If they ignored the warnings, they were in the path of attack and were killed. In Hamas' eyes, this only helped their cause, and indeed, they have turned the world against Israel, for they all wear blinders. 

I can only conclude that those that are against Israel by not understanding why they are fighting because they are  anti-Semitic, for what they would be backing is the destruction again of 6 million Jews and their ancient country that they had been working on since 1881 to restore and even add to  its  beauty and its use being the land they were told to live in by G-d, the country of protection for them, the land welcoming them for a change.  There's no turning the other cheek here, Hamas is bent on total destruction.  

Could Trump's Dealings With Venezuela Affect Israel?

 Nadene Goldfoot                                                 

     As you can see, Columbia is Venezuela's neighbor that matters

The Trump administration is barely bothering to pretend that its increasingly belligerent stance toward Venezuela is just about tackling narcotics. President Donald Trump wants Nicolas Maduro out of power — and the only question is how much pressure the United States is prepared to deliver to make it so.  What's the story behind Venezuela and Israel?  Isn't everything blamed on Israel these days?  You know, the domino affect.....I look at it this way, how a country treats the Jewish people says something about how they will treat all people sooner rather than later.  See if I'm right.  

Sephardim Jews were the first Jews in Venezuela, arriving in  about 1850.There were anti-Semitic outbreaks at Coro in 1855 and 1902. Ever since 1492 during the Spanish Inquisition in Spain, Jews had been searching for lands to accept Jewish people.  The Pope was most powerful then and Jews were not allowed in most places.  

This was not yet 1880 when Jews were suffering from pogroms of Eastern Europe which caused the Aliyote of returning to Israel (then Palestine).  This settling in Venezuela started in 1850's and you know that their life was being made hell somewhere to pick up and go off to Venezuela, a country by 1811.  In 1850, Venezuela was at the beginning of a period of dictatorial rule under the Monagas brothers, following a period of political instability that had started after its secession from Gran Colombia in 1830. While the Liberal Party, which was in power, introduced some social reforms like abolishing slavery and extending suffrage, these laws were largely not implemented, and political and economic corruption was widespread. The nation's credit was poor, and the economy was stagnating.  

In the 20th century, Eastern European and German Jews entered the country until barred after WWII.   They played a leading role in developing the country's trade  and in modernizing the capital, Caracas.  

Jewish population in 1990 was 20,000, mostly in Caracas.  Some 90% of Jewish youth attend Jewish schools.  Venezuela's Jewish population is estimated to be around 6,000 people, based on data from around 2020 and 2021. While some sources provide a slightly different figure, such as 4,500, the number is significantly lower than it was in the past. The Jewish community has shrunk considerably due to emigration, with a peak population of about 25,000 in the 1990s. 

                      Hugo Chavez-big anti-Semite:  Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías:( 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) died at age 58, was a Venezuelan politician, revolutionary, and military officer who was the president of Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013, except for a brief period of forty-seven hours in 2002. Chávez was also leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when it merged with several other parties to form the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), which he led until 2012.

The relationship between Venezuela and Jews has evolved from being a refuge for Jewish refugees to a situation where political tensions and economic instability have led to significant Jewish emigration to places like Israel. 

Among destinations for the 15–16,000 Jews leaving Venezuela, the prime destination was the United States, particularly Miami, and the rest went to Israel. With the Crisis in Venezuela in the 2010s, Jewish emigration rapidly increased. This time emigrating Venezuelan Jews primarily went to Israel, as the devaluation of their property and other assets effectively closed off the options such as the United States or Panama.

While Venezuela has a history of supporting Israel, recent years have seen increasing antisemitic rhetoric from the government, particularly under the regimes of Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro, as they aligned with groups and nations critical of Israel. The Jewish community in Venezuela is now small and tight-knit, with many members choosing to leave due to ongoing instability and antisemitism. 

Hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans during the 2007 Venezuelan protests demonstrating against Chávez's proposed constitutional referendum.  On his way to really being an anti-Semite !  

Based on reports from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the U.S. Department of State, the Venezuelan government under President Hugo Chávez demonstrated significant anti-Semitic rhetoric and actions in 2010. The government's state-run media, as well as rallies and demonstrations, used anti-Israel and anti-Zionist sentiments as a pretext for anti-Semitic canards and imagery. 2010 was known as the Bolivarian Revolution.  

During an address on Chávez's birthday in 2011, he called on the middle classes and the private sector to get more involved in his Bolivarian Revolution, something he saw as "vital" to its success.

In August of 2011, Chávez announced that his government would nationalize Venezuela's gold industry, taking it over from Russian-controlled company Rusoro, while at the same time also moving the country's gold stocks, which were largely stored in western banks, to banks in allied countries such as Russia, China and Brazil.

To ensure that his Bolivarian Revolution became socially ingrained in Venezuela, Chávez discussed his wish to stand for re-election when his term ran out in 2013, and spoke of ruling beyond 2030.  Hugo Chávez died from a massive heart attack following a long battle with an undisclosed form of cancer. He died in 2013 at the age of 58, after undergoing multiple rounds of treatment and surgery in Cuba and Venezuela.  

Nicolás Maduro Moros (born 23 November 1962) age 63, is a Venezuelan politician and former union leader who has been serving as the president of Venezuela since 2013. A member of the United Socialist Party (PSUV), he previously served as the 24th vice president under President Hugo Chávez from 2012 to 2013 and was also the minister of foreign affairs from 2006 to 2012.  Beginning his working life as a bus driver, Maduro rose to become a trade union leader before being elected to the National Assembly in 2000. 

When interviewed by a female, Christiane Amanpour, he seemed very dense when asked about being a Democratic President.  He didn't know what that was, and thought that being elected was enough.  Christiane Amanpour has interviewed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro at least twice, most notably in a March 2014 interview. She has also interviewed opposition leader Juan Guaidó in January 2019, during the political crisis. I might add that Nicolás Maduro's education is limited; he did not graduate from high school and has no university degree. Instead of formal higher education, he pursued political training in Cuba and became a labor union leader, working as a bus driver in Caracas. He received political and union organizing training at a Communist youth school in Havana. 

 Due to the death of Chávez, Vice President Nicolás Maduro took over the presidential powers and duties for the remainder of Chávez's abbreviated term until presidential elections were held. Venezuela's constitution specifies that the speaker of the National Assembly, Diosdado Cabello, should assume the interim presidency if a president cannot be sworn in. Maduro remains in power as president as of 2025.

The Trump administration launched a major military and diplomatic escalation in its new war on drugs, sending an aircraft carrier to Latin America and sanctioning Colombia's president. It comes as the U.S. has increasingly targeted political leaders it opposes across the region, and as the military has launched an unprecedented number of deadly strikes in the Caribbean. Nick Schifrin reports.  The Trump administration launched a major military and diplomatic escalation in its new war on drugs, sending an aircraft carrier to Latin America and sanctioning Colombia's president. (What does this mean?  Certain crimes perpetrated by businesses, groups, and individuals can pose grave risks for countries—and by extension, businesses. To deter culprits from this behavior and promote compliance with global laws, sanctions are imposed to restrict resource flow to the bad actors.

 It comes as the U.S. has increasingly targeted political leaders it opposes across the region, and as the military has launched an unprecedented number of deadly strikes in the Caribbean. Nick Schifrin reports.

There have been successive U.S. strikes against alleged drug trafficking boats in the international waters off Venezuela, a buildup of military assets in the Caribbean and even an admission from Trump that he had authorized covert CIA action on the ground in Venezuela. Still, Trump claims he’s not pursuing “regime change.”

It's interesting to note that In the 16th century (1500's)  when Spanish colonization began in Venezuelan territory, the population of several indigenous peoples such as the Mariches (descendants of the Caribes) declined. Native caciques (leaders) such as Guaicaipuro (c. 1530–1568) and Tamanaco (died 1573) attempted to resist Spanish incursions, but the newcomers ultimately subdued them. The founder of Caracas, Diego de Losada, ultimately put Tamanaco to death.

• Christopher Columbus: 

  While Columbus's voyages opened the door for European exploration of the Americas starting in 1492, his initial belief was that he had reached the East Indies. He did not reach the mainland of South America until his fifth voyage in 1502. Columbus has recently been found to have had a Jewish connection by 
• a DNA test.  I know that the "Jewish Digest: of long ago, like the Readers'
• Digest, had an article telling of his letters to his son in Hebrew.  He was
• on the expedition but in the name of the Pope-a Catholic reason; and
• his ship had some Jews leaving Spain working in it.The deal was that what
• people they found were to be converted.  They did not know of Columbus's
• Jewish heritage. This had to be kept a secret. 
• 
  
•  He was not alone.  

  The discovery of the South American continent is credited to both the Portuguese expedition led by Pedro Álvares Cabral in 1500 and the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci, who explored the coast in 1501 and realized it was a "New World," not part of Asia. Indigenous peoples already inhabited the continent for thousands of years before any European arrival. 

Resource:

The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia

https://www.adl.org/#:~:text=New%20York%2C%20NY%2C%20June%2016%2C%202010%20%E2%80%A6,to%20be%20used%20as%20a%20political%20tool.%22.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Ch%C3%A1vez

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicol%C3%A1s_Maduro

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicol%C3%A1s_Maduro#:~:text=Education%20and%20union%20work%20Maduro%20attended%20a,Maduro%20did%20not%20graduate%20from%20high%20school.

Nazis Entering The Picture In Washington

 Nadene Goldfoot                                                  

  Husseini, Grand Mufti of Jerusalem before 1948, was also friends with Nazis; and now we have Americans falling for their line again. The Anti-Defamation League reports on its in-depth investigation into the membership of the National Socialist Movement (NSM) in America, which resulted in the complete or partial identification of just over 300 of the group's approximately 500 members and close associates nationwide.

There have been several recent news reports about Trump's associations with individuals accused of expressing antisemitic, white nationalist, or pro-Nazi views, many of whom are younger Republicans. These include:                             

Paul Joseph Ingrassia (born May 13, 1995) age 30,  is an American attorney and political commentator who has served as the White House liaison to the United States Department of Homeland Security since 2025. "Special Counsel of the United States" can refer to two distinct roles: the head of the Office of Special Counsel (OSC), which protects federal employees from retaliation, or a special counsel appointed by the Department of Justice to investigate specific cases, such as the one investigating the president, like Jack Smith. The OSC Special Counsel focuses on a range of prohibited personnel practices against government employees, including whistleblowing, and is appointed for a five-year term. A DOJ special counsel is a temporary, independent prosecutor appointed to investigate sensitive matters where there is a conflict of interest for the usual prosecuting authority. 

Ingrassia's tenure in the administration has been marked by controversy, including public reports about Ingrassia's racist text messages that led several Republican senators to oppose his nomination as Special Counsel of the United States. His appointment was postponed following public backlash over his lack of legal experience, rumored association with neo-Nazis, and prior comments denigrating federal workers.

Paul Ingrassia

• In October 2025, Politico reported on leaked text messages from 2017 in which Trump's nominee to lead the Office of Special Counsel, 30-year-old Paul Ingrassia, expressed racist and antisemitic views.
• In one text, Ingrassia wrote that he had a "Nazi streak," while in another, he suggested that the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday should be "tossed into the seventh circle of hell".
• The New York Times reported that Republicans were raising opposition to his nomination as a result.  What's the Democrats waiting for?  
• At least four Republican senators, including the Senate majority leader, signaled their opposition to Paul Ingrassia, the president’s pick to lead the Office of Special Counsel.

• Ingrassia has worked at Joseph D. McBride's law firm, The McBride Law Firm, representing clients accused of having participated in the January 6 Capitol attack. As noted in The Daily Dot, Ingrassia varied the way he represented his title and position at The McBride Law Firm, referring to himself as an "Associate Attorney," an "Associate," and a "Law Clerk" at various times on his personal Substack blog and social media channels in the period before he was admitted to the bar in New York. Despite not being a member of the bar, Ingrassia purported to represent Andrew Tate in his legal affairs. A press release from The McBride Law Firm issued July 19, 2023 called Ingrassia an Associate Attorney and member of Andrew Tate's "Legal Team."

  Ingrassia was admitted to the New York bar as an attorney on July 30, 2024.                                 

  

Timothy Hale-Cusanelli of New Jersey

• In September 2024, NPR reported that Trump's Bedminster golf club twice hosted convicted January 6 rioter Timothy Hale-Cusanelli, whom federal prosecutors have described as a "Nazi sympathizer" and a "white supremacist".
• He was an army reservist who had stormed the capitol and sentenced to 4 years from January 6th now making the news.  He claimed to the judge that he didn't know that Congress met at the Capitol, and the judge wouldn't buy it.  

•   At the time of the Capitol breach, Hale-Cusanelli was enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserves. Hale-Cusanelli worked as a contractor at a naval weapons station, where he had a “secret” security clearance, and has since been barred from the facility.

              Hale-Cusanelli was arrested on Jan. 15, 2021. He was found guilty by a jury on May 27, 2022, of a felony charge of obstruction of an official proceeding, and four related misdemeanors: entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct in a Capitol Building, and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol Building. At sentencing today, the Court found that Hale-Cusanelli obstructed justice during the trial, when he made certain statements under oath, and applied an enhancement to the sentence. Following his prison term, Hale-Cusanelli will be placed on three years of supervised release. He also must pay $2,000 in restitution.

  
  By the end of World War II, the association with Nazi leader Adolf Hitler made it unfashionable, leading to it being colloquially termed the "Hitler moustache".It is arguably illegal in Germany if you are doing it specifically to glorify or emulate Adolf Hitler. Being a neo-nazi is  illegal there.  Hale-Cusanelli has a history of making antisemitic comments and was pictured sporting a "Hitler mustache".Nazi sympathizer and Army reservist who stormed the Capitol sentenced to 4 years in Jan. 6 case. Federal prosecutors sought 6½ years in prison for Timothy Hale-Cusanelli of New Jersey. A judge called his claim he didn’t know Congress met at the Capitol a "risible lie."
• Following the reports, Jewish groups raised concerns about Hale-Cusanelli being given a prominent platform at the event.
• Even as he has made inroads with non-white voters, Trump has consistently drawn support from white nationalist and extremist groups while using racially divisive rhetoric. He promoted the false claim that Barack Obama, the nation’s first Black president, was not born in the U.S. In his 2024 campaign, he suggested immigrants commit violent crimes because “it’s in their genes,” a remark condemned by many as racist.
  Stout said his group opposes violence. Yet the Aryan Freedom Network openly advocates preparing for a “Racial Holy War.” It promotes white superiority ideology, seeks to unify elements of the broader white nationalist movement and actively recruits former members of other extremist groups.
  The Trump administration has scaled back efforts to counter domestic 
• extremism, redirecting resources toward immigration enforcement and
•  citing the southern border as the top security threat. The Federal 
• Bureau of Investigation has reduced staffing in its Domestic Terrorism Operations Section. The Department of Homeland Security has cut personnel in its violence prevention office.
• Around the country today, a more true form of democratic socialism is not only taking form but growing in the form of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). Following last year's election and the rise of self-proclaimed democratic socialist and Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), the group has reportedly seen its membership grow to about 25,000 people, according to The Guardian.
• Resource:  
• https://www.newsweek.com/nazis-democrats-socialists-alt-right-650572
•