Category: Removed

Israel Removes All Remaining Tariffs On United States Imports

U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) (R) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands before delivering remarks following a meeting at the U.S. Capitol on February 07, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)

OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
1:14 PM – Tuesday, April 1, 2025

According to a joint statement released on Tuesday by the Finance Ministry, the Economy and Industry Ministry, and the Prime Minister’s Office — Israel has lifted all of its previous tariffs on United States goods.

The order to change the Trade Tariff and Protective Measures Order was approved by the Finance Committee and signed by Nir Barkat, Minister of Economy and Industry.

In 1985, the United States and Israel struck a free trade agreement that resulted in the complete exemption of almost all U.S. imports from tariffs.

“The joint statement clarified that, due to this, the tariff reduction will apply to a very limited number of products, primarily in the food and agricultural categories,” according to The Jerusalem Post, the oldest and largest English-language daily newspaper in Israel.

According to the statement, the strategic partnership between the two nations would grow if the remaining tariffs were lifted.

Israeli consumers would also profit from a possible drop in living expenses brought on by cheaper U.S. food and agricultural goods, the Israeli outlet continued.

“Canceling the tariffs on American goods is another step in the policy led by my government for over a decade to open the market to competition, introduce diversity into the economy, and reduce the cost of living,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated.

“In addition to the economic benefits for the economy and Israeli citizens, this move will further strengthen the alliance and ties between Israel and the United States. We will continue to work on reducing barriers and tariffs and reinforcing our special relationship with the United States,” he added.

Israeli Chairman of the Religious Zionist Party Bezalel Smotrich posted on X on Tuesday, praising the news.

Hebrew to English translation: “0% tariffs on imports from the U.S.! The current administration is a real opportunity to shape a new strategic economic future for countries, while strengthening the U.S.’s global leadership and Israel’s central role as an economic partner. I see great importance in deepening economic cooperation, promoting innovation, and strengthening financial and commercial ties between the countries, as recently stated by the U.S. and Israeli Treasury Departments. Lowering taxes will benefit the State of Israel and is in line with the government’s policy in the fight against the cost of living, and will even increase competition in the food sector.”

Economy and Industry Minister Nir Barkat, who previously served as mayor of Jerusalem between the years 2008–2018, chimed in with his own comments on the agreement as well.

“We will continue to strengthen the Israeli economy and the strategic ties between our countries. The cancellation of tariffs on imports from the United States is a complementary step to the longstanding trade relations between the two countries, which will promote additional economic cooperation in the future and lead to a reduction in imported product costs,” Barkat stated.

“We will continue working together to open new markets and create economic opportunities that will strengthen the Israeli economy and our solid partnership with the United States, while maintaining local production,” he continued.

However, the decision was met with opposition from others as well, notably from the Israel Farmers’ Federation — which argued that “this is a step that will bring disaster to local agriculture.”

Amit Yifrach, who chairs the federation and serves as Secretary General of the Moshav Movement, and Uri Dorman, the federation’s Secretary General, said in a joint statement that: “Particularly today, after October 7 [2023]… we must internalize the importance of agriculture to the last furrow and strengthen the farmers who live near the [Gaza] border.”

“There is no doubt that trade relations with the U.S. are important and appropriate, but we must ensure that we do not throw the baby out with the bathwater, harming food security and national security,” the joint statement continued.

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FEMA Official Removed From Role After Telling Hurricane Milton Relief Workers To Skip Homes With Trump Signs

he Federal Emergency Management Agency Headquarters, in Washington is photographed on October 8, 2024 in Washington, DC. FEMA is running low on personnel, with only 9% of staff available as Hurricane Milton, with 175 mph winds, approaches Tampa, FL; Compared to 25% availability in previous years. (Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
The Federal Emergency Management Agency Headquarters in Washington is photographed on October 8, 2024 in Washington, DC. FEMA is running low on personnel, with only 9% of staff available as Hurricane Milton, with 175 mph winds, approaches Tampa, FL; Compared to 25% availability in previous years. (Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)

OAN Staff Abril Elfi
10:50 AM – Saturday, November 9, 2024

SEE: https://www.oann.com/newsroom/fema-official-removed-from-role-after-telling-hurricane-milton-relief-workers-to-skip-homes-with-trump-signs/; republished below in full, unedited, for informational, educational, & research purposes:

A Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) official has been removed from her role after reportedly telling workers to skip houses with Trump signs during Hurricane Milton relief.

According to a report by the Daily Wire, a FEMA official, whose identity has not been disclosed by the agency, reportedly directed workers canvassing Lake Placid, Florida, to “avoid homes advertising Trump” while assessing residents for eligibility for federal aid.

The Daily Wire stated that government employees informed the outlet that at least 20 homes displaying Trump signs or flags were skipped over between late October and early November due to official’s “best practices” instructions.

Workers noted the exclusion in government systems, with messages like: “Trump signs no entry per leadership.”

A FEMA spokesperson told Fox News that it is “deeply disturbed” by the employee’s actions and says it is an “isolated incident.”

“FEMA helps all survivors regardless of their political preference or affiliation,” the spokesperson said via a statement. “While we believe this is an isolated incident, we have taken measures to remove the employee from their role and are investigating the matter to prevent this from happening ever again.”

It is currently unclear if the agent was fired from the agency altogether.

“The employee who issued this guidance had no authority and was given no direction to tell teams to avoid these homes and we are reaching out to the people who may not have been reached as a result of this incident,” the spokesperson said. “The agency has helped more than 365,000 households impacted by both Hurricanes Helene and Milton in Florida and provided nearly $900 million in direct assistance to survivors.”

“We are horrified that this took place and therefore have taken extreme action to correct the situation and have ensured that the matter was addressed at all levels,” they said.

FEMA agents were reportedly instructed not to assist homes displaying Trump signs in Highlands County, a strongly conservative region in south-central Florida, which was severely impacted by tornadoes, heavy rain, and flooding after Hurricane Ian struck in October.

President-elect Trump won nearly 70% of the vote in the area.

Governor Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) criticized the federal agency on Friday after learning about the directive, and announced that his administration would launch an investigation into FEMA’s actions.

“The blatant weaponization of government by partisan activists in the federal bureaucracy is yet another reason why the Biden-Harris administration is in its final days,” DeSantis wrote on X. “At my direction, the Division of Emergency Management is launching an investigation into the federal government’s targeted discrimination of Floridians who support Donald Trump. New leadership is on the way to D.C., and I’m optimistic that these partisan bureaucrats will be fired.”

The U.S. House Oversight Committee, led by Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), also criticized FEMA for failing to dismiss the officials responsible.

Comer pointed out the contrast, noting that while FEMA has not taken action, the IRS has reportedly tried to force out whistleblower Gary Shapley. Shapley, an IRS supervisory special agent, along with IRS criminal investigator Joseph Ziegler, brought allegations of political interference in the Hunter Biden investigation to Congress.

“FEMA hasn’t fired this person… But the IRS has been trying to force IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley out for blowing the whistle! We must hold these unelected bureaucrats accountable,” Comer wrote on X. “FEMA admits this happened but won't say if the bureaucrat responsible has been fired,” the House Oversight Committee wrote on X. “Democrats relentlessly defend the rules that insulate unelected bureaucrats from accountability and make it nearly impossible to fire bad employees. This is why we need President Trump’s reforms to make bureaucrats accountable.”

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New Jersey High School Yearbook Removes Names of Jewish Students, Replaces Their Photo with One of Muslim Students

By

SEE: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2024/06/new-jersey-high-school-yearbook-removes-names-of-jewish-students-replaces-their-photo-with-one-of-muslim-students; republished below in full, unedited, for informational, educational, & research purposes:

Just as protesters screaming “From the river to the sea/Palestine will be free” want Israel to disappear, in order to be replaced by a 23rd Arab state, some people in a New Jersey town wanted to make Jews disappear from this year’s high school yearbook. More on that sinister removal of a photograph of a Jewish group, and its replacement by a Muslim group in the yearbook, can be found here: “‘Blatant Antisemitic Act’: High School Yearbook Erases Jewish Students’ Names, Replaces Photo With Muslim Students,” by Jack Elbaum, Algemeiner, June 6, 2024:

A town in New Jersey has become the center of controversy after the local high school’s yearbook removed the names of Jewish students from a page and replaced their photo with one of Muslim students — an incident that the town’s mayor called a “blatant antisemitic act.”

The 2023-2024 yearbook for East Brunswick High School replaced a photo of the Jewish Student Union (JSU) with Muslim students and erased the names of the members of the JSU, leaving a large blank space on the page.

East Brunswick Mayor Brad Cohen expressed outrage over the incident and said new yearbooks would be ordered.

"At a minimum, I have … been assured that new yearbooks will be ordered and distributed with the correct pictures and names,” Cohen wrote in a Facebook post on Tuesday. “Hate has no place in East Brunswick and antisemitism will not be tolerated.”

Of course, it’s good that those yearbooks will be swiftly replaced. But what remains is the shock and pain felt by Jewish students and their parents when they first discovered the sinister replacement of a photograph of a Jewish student group and the removal, too, of their names.

Cohen announced there would be an investigation into the incident.

“The administration will need to determine: 1. How did this happen? 2. What person or persons are responsible? 3. Who are the yearbook advisers and who signed off on this page? 4. Did this act occur on the publisher's end? 5. How will perpetrators be held accountable? 6. "Does this constitute a hate crime and how will this be prosecuted?” the mayor added.

Dr. Victor Valeski, superintendent of the East Brunswick Public School System, has also addressed the incident.

“We are aware of an error in the yearbook,” Valeski said in an email on Tuesday. “We are working with the publisher to correct the yearbook. We are also investigating how the error occurred and will address that as appropriate at the conclusion of this investigation.”…

Was it merely an “error,” a slip by someone who by mistake removed a photograph of Jews and replaced it with one of Muslims, or was it, which is far more likely, a deliberate attempt at antisemitic sabotage, a way to remove Jews from the yearbook, which represents the collective memory of the students, so that those memories will be Judenrein?

This Case-of-the-Judenrein-Yearbook takes place at a time of steep rises in antisemitic acts that between 2022 and 2023 increased by 135 percent in K-12 schools, and by 321 percent at colleges and universities. Outside of schools, antisemitic acts among the general public soared by 140 percent.

Last month, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) opened an investigation into the Berkeley Unified School District in California based on a complaint that it has allowed “severe and persistent” antisemitism since Oct. 7, with Jewish students experiencing bullying and harassment.

In January, OCR also opened an investigation into the Oakland Unified School District after it hosted a “teach-in” that gave educators guidance on how to address Israel and the Middle Eastern conflict in their classrooms. Resources included the website “Decolonize Palestine,” which claims Israel is not a democracy and does not have the right to exist. It also claims that the creation of the state of Israel was a result of the “transference of Europe’s guilt onto the Palestinians.”…

Here we have Jewish students in the Berkeley School District enduring harassment and bullying, with no help provided to them by school administrators. And next door to Berkeley, things are even worse at the Oakland Unified School District, that distributes materials for classroom use, putting on a “Teach-in” to provide teachers with “Resources” for classroom discussion of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Among other things, those teachers were provided with the dreamy misinformation that Israel is not a democracy, and what’s more, the Jewish state “does not have the right to exist.” The Teach-in concluded by claiming that Israel was created not by the Zionists themselves, but by Europeans, who wanted to “transfer Europe’s guilt” for having allowed the Holocaust to happen by laying that guilt on the innocent Palestinians, who had done nothing to warrant Israeli enmity.

That Oakland School District Teach-in further calls for supporting the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement, whose aim is to isolate Israel from the rest of the world (the so-called “international community”), by way of preparation for the eradication of the Jewish state and its replacement by a 23rd Arab state. A pseudo-documentary that was also part of the Teach-in, claimed — with a straight face — that Israel wants to take over not just the West Bank and Gaza, but also parts of Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq, a preposterous charge for which there is not the slightest evidence. But the anti-Israel cabals working quietly across the land to gain power in our school systems, so that they can brainwash both the teachers, and the children, to hate Israel, are only just now being uncovered. And only now are pro-Israel groups beginning to fight back.

Maine: Star of David removed from town’s holiday light display after Muslim complaints

  BY 

SEE: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2023/11/maine-star-of-david-removed-from-towns-holiday-light-display-after-muslim-complaints;

Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.

It was powerfully generous of the Muslims in Westbrook to allow Christmas decorations. Not too very long from now, only Eid decorations will be allowed.

“Star of David in Westbrook’s holiday light display removed following complaints,” by Robert Lowell, Portland Press Herald, November 29, 2023 (thanks to Frank):

Members of the Arab American community were offended by the Jewish symbol in light of the Israel-Hamas war. The star has been replaced with a dreidel.

A Star of David has been removed from the city of Westbrook’s holiday light display following complaints from Arab American residents who “found it to be offensive in relation to the conflict currently in the Middle East,” according to Mayor Michael Foley….