‘We’ll get them out,’ Trump tells 7 released Israeli hostages in Oval Office meeting
(JTA) — President Donald Trump told a delegation of freed Israeli hostages in the Oval Office on Wednesday that he was confident that the remaining hostages in Gaza would be released.
“We’ll get them out,” Trump told the hostages, who traveled to the United States from Israel to advocate for the 59 hostages still in captivity after a temporary ceasefire.
Arranged in a row before him, the hostages praised the new president and told him that they believed that he holds special power to free the remaining hostages.
“My family and I, myself, we believe that you have been sent by God to release them,” said Omer Shem Tov, freed on Feb. 22, according to video from the meeting published by an Israeli journalist. “You’ve really helped. You have the power to do it.”
Naama Levy, a soldier freed early in the ceasefire, added, “You were our hope while we were there. Now you are their hope.”
Federal gov probing if University of California abided ‘antisemitic hostile work environment’
(JNS) — The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating whether the University of California, a public school system, tolerated Jew-hatred in violation of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Law, which bars religious discrimination in workplaces, the Federal Task Force to Combat Antisemitism announced on Wednesday.
“The investigation will assess whether University of California has engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination based on race, religion and national origin against its professors, staff and other employees by allowing an antisemitic hostile work environment to exist on its campuses,” the department stated.
“This Department of Justice will always defend Jewish Americans, protect civil rights and leverage our resources to eradicate institutional antisemitism in our nation’s universities,” stated Pam Bondi, the U.S. attorney general.
Leo Terrell, senior counsel to the assistant U.S. attorney general for civil rights and a member of the task force, stated that after Oct. 7, “there has been an outbreak of antisemitic incidents at leading institutions of higher education in America, including at my own alma mater at the UCLA campus of University of California.”
“The impact upon UC’s students has been the subject of considerable media attention and multiple federal investigations,” Terrell added.
Rubio: Trump has ‘lost his patience’ with Hamas over hostages
(JNS) — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed strong support for President Donald Trump’s ultimatum to Hamas, saying the president is done waiting for the terrorist group to release hostages in Gaza.
“He’s lost his patience with it,” Rubio told Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Wednesday. “He’s tired of watching videos of emaciated hostages being released, bodies turned over — sometimes the wrong ones — and these games being played.”
Following an Oval Office meeting with freed Israeli hostages earlier in the day, Trump issued a blunt warning on Truth Social: “Release all of the hostages now, not later … or it is over for you.” He vowed to provide Israel with “everything it needs to finish the job” if Hamas refuses.
The secretary of state praised Trump’s direct approach. “He doesn’t say things he doesn’t mean,” Rubio said. “If he says he’ll do something, he’ll do it. They better take that seriously.”
Trump posts ‘Shalom Hamas’ and says Gazans will be ‘DEAD’ if they keep holding hostages
(JTA) — President Donald Trump posted a message that began “Shalom Hamas,” and proceeded to threaten the terror group with destruction if it did not release the nearly 60 hostages it still holds.
“Shalom,” one of the most well-known Hebrew words, translates to hello, goodbye and peace. Trump offered the first two meanings in his Wednesday afternoon post on social media.
“‘Shalom Hamas’ means Hello and Goodbye — You can choose,” he wrote. “Release all of the Hostages now, not later, and immediately return all of the dead bodies of the people you murdered, or it is OVER for you. Only sick and twisted people keep bodies, and you are sick and twisted!”
The post came on an eventful day when it came to Hamas, Israel and the White House. In the morning, it was revealed that the Trump administration was negotiating directly with Hamas, a first for the United States, which designates Hamas as a terror group.
Then, later in the day, Trump met in the Oval Office with a group of seven freed hostages, who thanked him for his role in negotiating the ceasefire and release of 38 hostages that formally expired on Sunday. “We’ll get them out,” Trump said. The meeting came the day after he only briefly mentioned the war and hostages in a lengthy address to Congress.
