The Times of Israel is liveblogging Tuesday’s events as they happen.
Pro-Palestinian protesters shout ‘shame’ at ‘complicit’ NYC cancer center
Pro-Palestinian protesters shout “shame” at a New York City cancer hospital that cooperates with medical centers in Israel.
“Another complicit institution: the Sloan Kettering Center,” an activist yells to the marching crowd of pro-Palestinians as they walk past the hospital.
“Make sure they hear you; they’re in the windows. On this day, shame on you. You support genocide, too,” the activist continues, as at least one child can be seen peering through the window.
Sloan Kettering has participated in collaborations with the Rambam Medical Center in Haifa, but the activist leading the chants against the New York hospital did not appear to mention this to fellow protesters who proceeded to shout “shame.”
Not a good look as pro-Palestinian protestors target a cancer hospital on New York’s Upper East Side. The Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center also houses a paediatric day hospital…
“Make sure they hear you, they’re in the windows”. pic.twitter.com/qKC7ma1v52
— Danny Morris (@DannyMMorris) January 15, 2024
US denounces ‘reckless’ Iranian missile strikes in Iraqi Kurdistan
The US condemns tonight’s Iranian attacks in Iraqi Kurdistan.
“We oppose Iran’s reckless missile strikes, which undermine Iraq’s stability,” says US State Department spokesman Matt Miller in a statement.
“We support the Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government’s efforts to meet the aspirations of the Iraqi people,” Miller adds.
Trump wins Iowa caucuses in crucial victory at the outset of GOP presidential campaign
DES MOINES, Iowa — Donald Trump wins the Iowa caucuses Monday, a crucial victory at the outset of the Republican primary that reinforces the former US president’s bond with his party’s voters even as he faces extraordinary legal challenges that could complicate his bid to return to the White House.
The magnitude of Trump’s success is still coming into focus, but the former president’s supporters endured a historic and life-threatening cold snap to participate in caucus meetings that unfolded in schools, churches and community centers across the state.
The results are just the first in what will be a monthslong effort for Trump to secure the GOP nomination a third consecutive time. But they send an unmistakable message to the Republican Party that the nomination is Trump’s to lose and crystalize the challenge facing his GOP opponents.
Former UN ambassador Nikki Haley and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis are Trump’s most prominent primary rivals. They are aiming for a second-place finish in Iowa that would give them at least some momentum heading into future races. Both are already pivoting their focus, with Haley poised to compete vigorously in New Hampshire, where she hopes to be more successful with the state’s independent voters heading into the January 23 primary. DeSantis, meanwhile, is heading straight to South Carolina, a conservative stronghold where the February 24 contest could prove pivotal, before then going to New Hampshire.
Iowa is an uneven predictor of who will ultimately lead Republicans into the general election. George W. Bush’s 2000 victory was the last time a Republican candidate won in Iowa and went on to become the party’s standard-bearer.
Iowa caucuses begin, kicking off 2024 Republican presidential primary
DES MOINES, Iowa — Voting begins in the Iowa caucuses, where former US president Donald Trump is aiming for a victory that sends a resounding message that neither life-threatening cold nor life-changing legal trouble can slow his march toward the Republican Party’s 2024 nomination.
The opening contest in the monthslong Republican primary process is unfolding inside more than 750 schools, churches and community centers where participants are gathering to debate their options before casting secret ballots.
The findings from AP VoteCast suggest that Trump is in a strong position as the caucuses began. He shows significant strength among urban, small- town and rural communities. Trump also performs well with evangelical Christians and those without a college degree. And a majority of caucusgoers say that they identify with Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement.
One relative weakness for Trump comes in the suburbs, where only about 4 in 10 support him.
AP VoteCast is a survey of more than 1,500 voters who said they planned to take part in Monday’s Republican caucuses in Iowa. The survey is conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
Philadelphia police investigating swastika spray-painted next to Holocaust memorial
PHILADELPHIA — Police have opened a vandalism investigation into the spray-painting of a swastika on a wall adjacent to a Holocaust memorial in Philadelphia over the weekend.
Authorities say the symbol, measuring about two feet by two feet and scrawled with green spray-paint, was reported Sunday on the wall adjacent to the Horowitz-Wasserman Holocaust Memorial Plaza next to the Ben Franklin Parkway a few blocks away from City Hall.
Surveillance video captured images of a man wearing a black mask and a dark jacket with a stripe across the chest and down the arms who appeared to scrawl the symbol on the wall at about 1:30 a.m. Sunday, officials said. The symbol was removed later in the day.
Eszter Kutas, executive director of the Philadelphia Holocaust Remembrance Foundation which manages the memorial, says news of the vandalism was “very, very upsetting, but not shocking for our community.”
Seeing rising antisemitism anywhere was very concerning, “but to have a hate symbol at a Holocaust memorial plaza is especially upsetting,” she tells WCAU-TV.
The memorial, perhaps the oldest public Holocaust monument in the United States, was commissioned in the 1950s by Holocaust survivors and other Jewish community members. The monument was erected in 1964 and the site was redesigned in 2018 with new educational installations and artifacts added.
IDF says soldier lightly hurt after being struck in firefight along Egyptian border
The Israel Defense Forces announces that a soldier was wounded in a firefight with suspected drug smugglers along the border with Egypt earlier tonight.
A statement from the military says the soldier was moderately hurt and taken to a hospital, adding that her condition has since improved and she is now listed as lightly wounded.
Iraqi officials say 4 civilians killed in Iranian missile attack, including Kurdish businessman
ERBIL, Iraq — A missile attack by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on targets in Iraq’s Erbil killed at least four civilians, officials say.
The Kurdistan security council says four people died and six others were wounded in the attack, while the Kurdistan Democratic Party says “a massive ballistic missile attack” has killed a number of civilians “including Peshraw Dizayee, the prominent Kurdish businessman.”