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Tuesday, December 2, 2025

NYC principal denies request for pro-Israel Holocaust survivor to speak at school — ‘given his messages’

A Brooklyn middle-school principal denied a parent’s request to have a Holocaust survivor speak to students about antisemitism — saying the victim’s pro-Israel views are not appropriate for a public school.

MS 447 Principal Arin Rusch wrote to the parent Nov. 18 claiming Nazi labor-camp survivor Sami Steigmann’s opinions would not be “right” for the Boerum Hill school.

“In looking at his website material, I also don’t think that Sami’s presentation is right for our public school setting, given his messages around Israel and Palestine,” Rusch claimed.

“I’d love to explore other speakers,” she said — insisting that lectures about the Holocaust — the Nazis’ slaughter of 6 million Jews during World War II — and combatting antisemitism are still welcome.

Steigmann, 85, does not discuss the Israel-Hamas war on his home page or in his bio.

During some posted online lectures, he makes it clear he’s a proud Jew who supports Israel and the Jewish state’s right to defend itself from enemies such as Hamas.

“What’s happening in the Middle East, we will prevail. We will win,” he said in a lecture posted on YouTube. “In every generation they tried to annihilate us. We prevailed.”

He also urges students to join STANDWITHUS — an international and non-partisan Israel education organization designed to inspire and teach people of all ages and backgrounds, challenge misinformation and fight antisemitism.

”Life is based on the choices we make. Choose wisely,” the elderly man writes in uplifting bits of wisdom posted on his homepage.

“Never be a bystander — be an UPSTANDER and part of the solution,” says Steigmann, who has received the Harmony Power Award at the city’s Museum of Tolerance and been honored by the state assembly “as an example of courage, compassion and for his work speaking with students and visitors to New York.”

Moshe Spern, president of the United Jewish Teachers, seethed in a Nov. 26 email to Brooklyn District 15 Superintendent Rafael Alvarez and aides to Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos that the nixing of the would-be speaker “begs the question of, ‘Are we now censoring Holocaust survivors for their views of Israel?’ ”

Spern, the grandson of a Holocaust survivor himself, called the principal’s stance “appalling,” “discriminatory and “personally offensive.

“There are only so many survivors out there who still speak,” Spern said.

“This is not meeting the moment,” Spern said — as the city and nation has been reeling from massive jumps in antisemitic acts in recent years. “This is sending a message to Jews in [New York City public Schools].”

He pointed to the mob of anti-Israel protesters who recently demonstrated outside the Manhattan Park East Synagogue uttering vile anti-Israel and antisemitic slurs. The synagogue’s chief rabbi, Arthur Schneier, is a Holocaust survivor.

Steigmann was born in what is now Ukraine on Dec. 21, 1939.

From 1941 through 1944, he was with his parents in the Ukraine at Mogilev-Podolsky, a labor camp in an area called Transnistria, according to his bio.

“My parents told me that I was subjected to Nazi medical experimentation but did not go into specifics (too painful to remember.),” he writes. “All I know is that I suffered all my life from neck, head and back problems. The severity was so great that I had days and weeks that I could not sit, lay down or walk (not all at the same time). My headaches were so severe that I was crying in pain.”

At one point, he was dying of starvation, and his life was saved by a German woman, who gave him milk, he said.

Brooklyn City Councilwoman Inna Vernikov, a Ukranian-born Jew, joined Spern in accusing Rusch of engaging in censorship and discrimination.

“It’s particularly abhorrent to deny someone who lived through the horrors of the Holocaust the opportunity to share his experience with students — particularly during a time when antisemitism is skyrocketing among our youth,” Vernikov told The Post.

“Not only is this behavior repugnant, but the school is potentially engaging in viewpoint discrimination in violation of the First Amendment and of Equal Protection that covers religious or ethnic discrimination. To see public schools engaging in this conduct is unsurprising, and we will not sit idly by.”

Rusch and the city Department of Education did not respond to Post requests for comment.

But Mayor Eric Adams’ office defended the principal’s decision that Steigmann “wasn’t the right fit” to speak at the school.

“Mayor Adams is dedicated to ensuring all New Yorkers — particularly our students and young adults — hear stories from the genocide and oppression of the Holocaust, so we never again perpetrate such evil,” a City Hall spokesman said.

“While this speaker wasn’t the right fit, we will continue to ensure our students hear from the living survivors of this history into the future.”

The Post reached out to Steigmann, who did not respond.

The situation is just the latest controversy in the city public school system that has outraged Jewish activists.

The chancellor was forced last year to apologize for linking a “Stop Gaza Genocide Toolkit” in a Department of Education newsletter, sparking outrage in the Jewish community.

An anti-Israel student riot at Hillcrest HS in Queens in November 2023 also forced a Jewish teacher who was targeted to take shelter in a locked office.

https://nypost.com/2025/12/02/us-news/nyc-principal-denies-request-for-holocaust-survivor-to-speak-at-school-given-his-messages/

Lee backs nuclear-armed S Korea, but says without U.S. support, prospect off table

The nuclear genie keeps trying to wriggle its way out of the bottle in South Korea, with President Lee Jae-myung addressing rumors about Seoul using the technology.

“It would be great to go nuclear. And hard. The problem is, is that realistically possible?” he asked his Cabinet on Tuesday in a televised meeting that was picked up by regional media.

Though President Trump has given a green light for the use of U.S.-developed nuclear reactors to power South Korea’s submarine fleet, Mr. Lee said that acquiring nuclear weapons — while desirable, given the threats the Asian democracy faces — was “impossible.”

His predecessor, Yoon Suk Yeol, had been the first president to publicly broach the matter in 2023, saying that if North Korea continued expanding its atomic arsenal, Seoul would consider the acquisition of nuclear arms.

Since then, the topic has been a frothy constant in subgovernmental discussions. Pundits, media and polling companies have all weighed in.

Mr. Lee, who took office in June and has since tried to strike a more diplomatic tone with South Korea’s adversaries like North Korea and China, put his foot down Tuesday.

“If we were to go nuclear, it would be impossible to gain the approval of the U.S. or the international community, and economic and international sanctions would immediately follow,” Mr. Lee said. “Would we be able to bear that?”

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/dec/2/lee-backs-nuclear-armed-south-korea-says-without-us-support-prospect/

'NYT: US said to be halting immigration across 19 nations'

The United States stopped processing immigration applications from 19 countries previously placed under a travel ban, The New York Times reported, citing officials at US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

That ban, announced in June, barred entry from nations including Iran, Sudan, Eritrea, Haiti and Somalia, while the new suspension now extends to green card and citizenship requests from applicants from those countries. Immigration lawyers reportedly said ceremonies and interviews were canceled on Tuesday without explanation, leaving applicants in the dark.

The move came in response to the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington last week, carried out by an Afghan asylum recipient. After the attack, US President Donald Trump called for a broader review of Afghan immigration and ordered tighter vetting of applicants from some other nations he described as "third world."

https://breakingthenews.net/Article/US-said-to-be-halting-immigration-across-19-nations/65284885

National Teachers Union Training Members To Promote LGBT Ideology, Parents Group Says

by Aaron Gifford via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The nation’s largest teachers union is planning a workshop on “Advancing LGBTQ+ Justice,” prompting criticism from a conservative national parent group that obtained the training handouts and released them to the public ahead of the session.

The National Education Association’s (NEA’s) next Focus Academy session is planned for Dec. 2 to Dec. 4. Participants will “develop a toolset of tactics for dismantling systems of privilege and oppression as it relates to LGBTQ+ educators and students,” the union’s website states.

The union’s national headquarters are in Washington, but the registration page does not disclose an address for the training. Upcoming Focus Academy sessions on advancing “racial justice” and winning school board elections are scheduled for early 2026.

Defending Education, a parent and research organization that opposes progressive curricula and policies such as transgender ideology, critical race theory, and diversity, equity, and inclusion in public schools, obtained and released the handout in November.

“The NEA is the largest teachers’ union in the country, and they have decided to vilify half the country in an upcoming training,” Erika Sanzi, Defending Education’s senior communications director, said in an email sent to The Epoch Times. “As far as they are concerned, the only reasons anyone could oppose their preferred ideologies are racism and transphobia, and they name Republicans as villains, in writing!”

The first section of the materials is a pronoun guide with “tips for using gender-neutral pronouns.”

The next section contains Cornell University’s “Transgender Guide to Transitioning and Gender Affirmation in the Workplace.”

A guide from the National LGBTQ Task Force lists “levels of expression and oppression.” This document is not limited to gender ideology and alleges discrimination against black and Hispanic public school children, immigrants, and women in the workplace.

The NEA’s policy on LGBT employee rights is included in the handout. It includes guidance on a recent Supreme Court ruling determining that parents are allowed to opt their children out of LGBT-related instruction for religious reasons.

“The decision only requires schools to provide opt-outs on the basis of sincerely held religious beliefs and practices,” the guidance states. “It does not require schools to grant opt-outs based on parent/guardian personal, political or ideological beliefs or preferences.”

The last section of the handout, “Transgender Youth and the Freedom to Be Ourselves: Building a Choir With a Race Class Narrative,” was commissioned by the Transgender Law Center. It accuses conservatives of exploiting people who identify as transgender.

“Over the last ten years, Republicans in state legislatures have increasingly turned to anti-transgender rhetoric and legislation as a powerful complement to their arsenal of racist dog whistles used to whip up fear and consolidate power,” the document states.

Defending Education’s position on the NEA materials is that the union wants teachers to train students to become social justice advocates instead of teaching them facts and skills.

“Their federal charter was granted because they promised to elevate the character and advance the interests of the professions of teaching; and to promote the cause of education in the United States,” Sanzi said in an email.

“Seeing as their leadership—and by extension, the organization itself—has morphed into a far-left insane asylum that is actively destroying the cause of education, that charter is no longer defensible.”

The NEA did not respond to a request for comment.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/national-teachers-union-training-members-promote-lgbt-ideology-parents-group-says

Alabama Zoning Commission Rejects Proposal For Muslim School After Town Erupts In Fury

A Hoover, Alabama zoning commission unanimously rejected a rezoning request Monday that would have allowed a Muslim K-12 academy to relocate to an office building in the Birmingham suburb, capping a contentious public hearing that packed roughly 170 residents into the room and erupted with heated testimony over concerns of growing Islamification of the area, 1819 News reports.

The Islamic Academy of Alabama, which has operated in neighboring Homewood since 1995 serving approximately 260 students, sought to move to a larger facility in Hoover's commercial corridor. The proposal was voted down 7-0 to sustained applause from the crowd of concerned residents.

The town's commissioners pointed to vehicular congestion in an already-strained commercial corridor and lingering questions about the property's long-term compatibility as grounds for denial.

John Padgett, whose residential property sits closest to the proposed location, challenged the traffic study's conclusion that the school would have zero impact on current conditions.

"I see the traffic backed up every morning already," Padgett reportedly told commissioners. "When they start, if you add a few hundred cars to that, it's gonna be backed up past the stop sign."

Padgett recounted a recent incident at an Airbnb next door to his home, carefully prefacing his remarks.

"I want to be very sensitive and careful in the way I say this," he began, noting that he didn't want to seem as though he was attacking a particular religion. "They weren't supposed to have any kind of big parties, but they had an Islamic wedding there."

Padgett described returning from a trip to find videos from neighbors showing dozens of cars—30 or 40, he estimated—parked throughout the neighborhood, including in his own driveway without permission, blocking his vehicles.

"They drove through my yard. Waving Islamic flags, out the window, and screaming things in Arabic," he said.

Several attendees brandished signs reading "Give an inch — Dearborn Michigan" and "Stop the 100 year plan"—pointed references to demographic shifts in Dearborn, Michigan, which is home to the largest Muslim population in the United States.

"You're going to have real problems with this community, I'm just telling you now," resident Bruce Davis warned commissioners. "There's going to be an influx of other people that are going to create a problem for this community and we might as well just face it."

The final public commenter drew applause as the unidentified woman recounted travels through the United Kingdom and issued stark warnings about parallel risks facing the United States. The female speaker described witnessing "the land that gave us the King James Bible, supposedly a Christian nation, overwhelmingly being taken over," according to 1819 News.

"The Muslims did not assimilate," she continued. "In fact, the Brits bent backwards to accommodate their demands over and over again, to the level of feeling the second-class citizens in their own country."

"The citizens could not even voice their grief because it was immediately associated with that type of phobia," she added. "They gave in an inch and were soon taken for rides, miles away, with no hope of landing back to familiarity."

Hoover Commission Chairman Mike Wood cut her off, steering the discussion back to zoning criteria. "We are here to look at whether this school was appropriately placed," he interjected. "We're not here for that. I'm sorry. We're not going to listen to that." The interruption sparked objections from the audience.

Lucas Gambino, who presented the case for the school, pushed back against the city's objections.

"We're not here to mislead anybody or trick anybody," Gambino said, addressing questions about the evolving scope of what was variously described as a community center, prayer center, or auxiliary facility.

Gambino argued against forcing the developer to wait indefinitely for an idealized tenant.

"The idea that holding these 200,000 square feet buildings hostage for a tech buyer to come in and occupy those buildings, when you have a developer that owns those buildings, that's paying significant carrying costs, on a monthly basis, for those buildings," Gambino explained. "It's gonna be asked to sit back and wait for a tech buyer to come in and occupy those buildings."

Initially, a motion to send the request to the city council without a recommendation was made, but it failed to receive a second. A motion to move the proposal forward with a recommendation to deny it then passed unanimously. The decision now moves to the Hoover City Council, which will likely take up the matter at its first January meeting.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/alabama-zoning-commission-rejects-proposal-muslim-school-after-town-erupts-fury

Acadia Healthcare Updates PLGL Reserves Following Annual Actuarial Review, Lowers 2025 Guidance

Adjusted EBITDA Guidance Reduced by $49M and EPS by $0.41, Driven Entirely by an Increase in Professional and General Liability Expenses

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/acadia-healthcare-updates-plgl-reserves-210500854.html

Enough with Obamacare’s 12-year failure — Congress, start here to unwind it

Few Americans lie awake at night worrying about the federal debt — so the Republicans’ plan to end “temporary” COVID-era Obamacare subsidies due to their exorbitant cost won’t win them votes.

It will save Uncle Sam money: A staggering 93% of Obamacare premiums are now paid directly by the federal government to health-insurance companies.

But will that bring victory in the coming midterm elections?

No.

That’s why Democrats are gloating that reducing the subsidies will mean higher costs for enrollees, and increase the number of Americans who go without insurance.

Because of it, Republicans “are going to get their clocks cleaned” in November, Sen. Chris Murphy (D- Conn.) predicts.

Democrats cynically insist on continuing to spend huge sums of taxpayers’ money — $450 billion over the next 10 years — to prop up lousy insurance, defending the indefensible because of its Obamacare label.

Even though Obamacare is an utter failure.

It was supposed to bend the cost curve, but premiums for a family of five can exceed $50,000 a year before subsidies, according to the KFF Health Insurance Marketplace Calculator.

Premiums are up 129% since the plans were launched in 2014, rising twice as fast as plans offered by employers and four times as fast as inflation.

Deductibles are outrageous, insurers deny claims 10 times as often as before Obamacare, and networks are so skimpy that it can take months to get doctor’s appointment.

Forget seeing an in-network specialist.

But Democrats are counting on the simple truth that something is better than nothing.

Politically, they’re right.

So Republicans who want to stop the skyrocketing subsidies must show their concern about the quality of care for patients — and start to fix what’s broken.

Armageddon is just weeks away. The enhanced subsidies will expire Jan. 1, immediately hiking costs for every Obamacare enrollee.

Republican lawmakers should offer to extend them, while phasing them out over one or two years.

In exchange, they must demand reforms that will improve the Obamacare experience as Congress considers a broad overhaul.

Republicans finally have a second chance to fix health care.

They should seize it.

Here’s the simple truth: If your insurance company routinely denies claims, or keeps the network so narrow that you can’t get a doctor’s appointment for months, you’re not really insured.

Both these problems should be fixed in the current session of Congress, with Republicans taking the lead.

In 2013, before Affordable Care Act regulations kicked in, insurers denied roughly 1.5% of claims, according to the American Medical Association.

Now ACA plans refuse to pay 17% of claims, and some nix 30% or more.

Congress should make those denial rates public for every consumer to see.

Insurers are also increasingly demanding prior authorization, even for routine prescriptions, often delaying care for weeks.

Some states are putting time limits on those rules, saying for example that if the insurer doesn’t respond within 48 hours, you’re good to go.

Whatever bill Republicans agree on to extend enhanced subsidies should crack down on these abuses.

Insurers are also gaming the system — deliberately offering narrow networks that exclude specialists and cancer hospitals in order to discourage people with serious health problems from choosing their plans.

Why?

Because the ACA prohibits insurers from charging sick people more than healthy ones.

Just 5% of the population accounts for more than 50% of health-care spending, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has found. It’s a fact of nature.

Asking insurers to cover the healthy and those with pre-existing conditions at the same price is like trying to feed a chihuahua and a Great Dane with equal amounts of kibble — yet that’s what the ACA requires.

President Barack Obama bragged his plan would protect people with pre-existing conditions — but now those people find themselves stuck in ACA plans without access to the specialty care they need.

Yet Congress can fix this problem, too.

We can continue allowing consumers to enroll without providing a health history, but once those with pre-existing conditions are in a plan, their insurer can request a special enhanced federal subsidy to cover their needs.

Call it an actuarially adjusted subsidy, a remedy also proposed by former House Speaker and health-policy expert Newt Gingrich.

It will eliminate the major reason insurers skimp on networks, plus lower premiums for the healthy, who are currently being overcharged.

As Armageddon nears, various Republicans are proposing to cap income eligibility for subsidies, and to curb the massive fraud in the system — all good and needed reforms.

But to defuse Democrats’ fearmongering, they also must improve the patient experience.

The ACA system is an expensive mess.

Pouring in even more taxpayer cash without insisting on immediate quality improvements, while kicking major reform down the road for the next Congress to handle, would be a betrayal.

Twelve years of Obamacare is enough.

Betsy McCaughey is a former lieutenant governor of New York.

https://nypost.com/2025/12/02/opinion/enough-with-obamacares-12-year-failure-congress-start-here-to-unwind-it/

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Tuesday, December 2, 2025