Risa A Levine

Citizen Advocacy and Grassroots Engagement is my legacy! youtube.com/watch?v=MIRDiL…

@MVZaGoGo @StevieVanZandt Those boots! I love them!

Stevie alert! He will be on the Jimmy Fallon show tonight. He’s wearing some cool boots. @StevieVanZandt

I am horrified by this morning's antisemitic graffiti in Queens. Targeting synagogues and Jewish homes is not just simply vandalism, but a hate crime meant to threaten and instill fear. Jewish New Yorkers deserve to worship and live without fear of intimidation. This city cannot tolerate it. I stand with the congregants of Machane Chodosh, the Rego Park Jewish Center, and every family targeted today. jns.org/news/u-s-news/…

Too many losses from this horrific disease. This radiation therapy is a cataclysmic change.

A student organization at an American university designed to support and include a group of students has nothing to do with the Israeli government’s policy decisions.  This is hateful and vile antisemitism, plain and simple. I thank @TheNewSchool admin for swiftly rejecting this action.

@melissadderosa I think you’re my new favorite democrat strategist. You’re far too reasonable to be part of this new Democrat party. You have a wonderful day. 🇺🇸

BREAKING: The Islamic Republic is preparing to hang eight women. Not a word from the international community or so-called human rights organizations.

@OrlyHar What a hero. We need to add Keren to our collective memory.

ביום הזיכרון הקרוב אני מבקשת לספר את סיפורה של קרן הבת שלי שנהרגה בלבנון. רס"ר קרן טנדלר ז"ל, הבת שלי, מכונאית מוטסת ראשונה במסוקי היסעור בצה"ל נהרגה בלבנון כאשר טיל ששיגרו מחבלי החיזבאללה פגע במסוק היסעור שלה ושל חבריה לאחר הנחתת כוחות של לוחמי צנחנים ושל חיל הרפואה בתוך שטח האויב בלבנון. לפני יציאתה לטיסה האחרונה אל תוך לבנון ביקשה קרן מאחיה הקטן שיביא לה סכין, על מנת שתוכל לחתוך ורידים במקרה ותפול בשבי. זה קרה יומיים לפני סיום מלחמת לבנון השנייה. הטיל פגע במסוק, כמה שניות לאחר הנחת הכוחות וכמה שניות לאחר שהמריא מהקרקע. לאחר הפגיעה, התלקח המסוק והתרסק לחלוטין בתוך איזו וואדי בשטח חיזבאללה . להבת אש ענקית האירה את דרום לבנון באותו לילה כתוצאה מפיצוץ המסוק. לוחמי הצנחנים, שחלקם היו במסוק כמה דקות לפני זה, נאלצו לחזות במחזה הנורא ובזכות תושייתם נמנעה חטיפת גופות צוות המסוק. את גופתה של קרן לא הצליחו למצוא. את ההודעה על כך שקרן נהרגה בלבנון ושכרגע הגופה שלה נעדרת קיבלנו ב-לילה שלאחר ה-12 באוגוסט 2006. לא רק שאיבדנו את קרן שלנו באופן כזה טראגי ופתאומי, היינו בטוחים שכבר לא תהיה גופה של קרן לקבור בקבר ישראל. על מנת למצוא את שרידי גופתה של קרן בלבנון, נשלחו לוחמי יחידות 669 ו"שלדג" אל תוך לבנון. מי שסייע להם בחיפושים היה סמג"ד של גדוד הצנחנים שהונחתו באזור ולאחר המלחמה הוענק לו גם צל"ש מח"ט על גבורתו. שלושה ימים לאחר הפלת המסוק מטיל חיזבאללה, נמצאו שרידי גופתה המפויחת של קרן מתחת לחלק מסוים של המסוק. לוחמי 669 ושלדג נאלצו להסתתר עם חלקי גופתה של קרן יום שלם במסתור בלבנון מחשש שמחבלי החיזבאללה מתצפתים עליהם . בחסות החשיכה, בליל ה-16 באוגוסט 2006 הובאה קרן משטח האויב בלבנון במסע רגלי ארוך לגבול ישראל ולקבר ישראל על ידי לוחמי 669 ושלדג, מלווים בלוחמי צנחנים. עברו 20 שנה מאז שקרן נהרגה. קרן נכון להיום, היא חיילת צה"ל והאישה היחידה שנהרגה בקרבות בלבנון, על שלל המלחמות של ישראל באזור. במהלך החודשים האחרונים, ניסיתי לפנות למי שרק יכולתי: דפים עם הרבה עוקבים, ידוענים ומשפיעני רשת, על מנת שיכתבו משהו על קרן. לצערי – ללא הצלחה. אני מבקשת מכם, אל תתנו לקרן ולזכרה להיזרק לפח האשפה של ההיסטוריה. קרן , שבועיים לפני שנהרגה בלבנון, כתבה ביומנה מכתב בו היא כואבת ועצובה על חיילים שנהרגים ופונה לאלוהים בבקשה שישמור על לוחמי צה"ל. כואב לי הלב לחשוב שקרן שלי תשכח ככה כאילו מעולם לא הייתה, גם אם עברו 20 שנה. קרן הייתה בתי היחידה, שלאחריה נולד בני ואחיה היחיד. אני ואבא של קרן כבר אנשים די מבוגרים . בנוסף אבא של קרן מתמודד בימים אלה עם מחלת הפרקינסון. המחשבה שלא יהיה מי שיספר וימשיך להעביר את סיפורה של קרן שלי שנהרגה עבור מדינת ישראל בגיל 26 לפני שזכתה להתחתן ולהביא לעולם ילדים משלה – קורעת לי את הנשמה ואת הלב. מבקשת מכם לא לתת לזה לקרות. ביום הזיכרון הקרוב שיעמוד בסימן 20 שנה לנפילתה של קרן בלבנון – ספרו את סיפורה של הבת שלי, רס"ר קרן טנדלר ז"ל, החיילת הראשונה (והיחידה) שנפלה בלבנון. תודה מכל הלב, ריואנה, אמא של קרן.

Absolutely disgusting and unacceptable. Every landlord who does this should be publicly named and shamed. This is not who New Yorkers are. If this happens to you or someone you know, please call my office immediately.

Jewish Democrats aren’t the only ones feeling politically homeless… moderate, normie Democrats are right there too. This is our party’s Tea Party moment—and it’s going to have real, lasting consequences.

@ICK_GalG Painful.

Eliya Cohen who survived Gaza after 505 in captivity was traveling outside of Israel and a random PR Jihad woman approached him to inform him about “starvation in Gaza” He told her: I’m going to take my food order, Google my name and we’ll talk. Then 👇🏻

Blistering version of @TheDoors Light My Fire by @springsteen @StevieVanZandt @MRibler and the Disciples of Soul tonight at the @SpringsteenCAM American Music Honors. Bruce hitting that Jim Morrison scream in the end and Stevie doing some gorgeous guitar work as The Ribler orchestrates the band masterfully! One for the ages! @MVZaGoGo

I was thirty-something years old when Iranian students dragged me into a room and told me I wasn't going anywhere. Four hundred and forty-four days later, I walked out. I've spent the decades since trying to make sense of what happened — and what keeps happening — between our two countries. So don't talk to me about Iran like it's an abstraction. I lived inside that confrontation. I felt it. Which is why I'm not ready to write off this ceasefire, even though everything about it is maddening. Negotiations in Pakistan may produce nothing. The talks could collapse before they get started. I've seen American diplomacy with Iran fail more times than I can count, and usually for the same reasons — too much pride, too little patience, and Israel holding a match in the corner of the room. But here's what I know in my bones: another war won't break Iran. We just tried. It didn't work. Iran doesn't break — it absorbs, it adapts, and it waits. I watched that stubbornness up close for 444 days. What bothers me most isn't that Iran is winning this moment — it's that we handed it to them. Tehran's framework is running these negotiations. Iran still controls the Strait of Hormuz. Still collecting tolls. Trump looked at their proposal and called it workable. I never thought I'd see the day, but here we are. Iran wants everything on the table — sanctions, enrichment rights, American troops out, and a deal that covers what's happening in Lebanon and Gaza too. That's a lot to swallow. And Israel, which wasn't invited to this conversation, is already making clear it has no intention of being constrained by it. That's the part that worries me the most. Because if Israel keeps bombing and Washington can't or won't stop it, none of this holds. And yet — and I say this as someone who has every reason to distrust Tehran — I don't think we go back to all-out war. Not because anyone has suddenly gotten wise, but because the math doesn't work. A second round ends the same way. Iran still controls the Strait. The global economy still flinches when Tehran flexes. What we're heading toward isn't peace. It's something smaller and more precarious — two countries silently agreeing not to destroy each other today, with no paperwork and no guarantees. I know what it's like to survive on something that fragile. For 444 days, that's all I had.

True. He failed on Oct7, failed to produce a decisive victory against any of our enemies since Oct7, burned all the bridges to the Democratic Party and has become toxic for many Republicans, and this is all before even discussing his internal record (surrender to Haredi parties, empowerment of Ben Gvir, employing Qatari moles in his office). To effectively fight the anti-Israeli wave all over the world, Israel needs new leadership.

We will never normalize antisemitism. Ever.

Thank you Congressman Nunn and @DWStweets !

@KeesBloklandPhD @RealBababanaras @knipoog50 She was held alone, they were separated almost immediately. She was alone the entire time she was held as a hostage.

The X post from @RealBababanaras describes the ordeal of Arbel Yehoud (also spelled Yahoud or Yehud), a real Israeli hostage from Kibbutz Nir Oz. She was kidnapped during the October 7, 2023 attacks by Palestinian Islamic Jihad (the post says “Hamas,” which is a minor inaccuracy as the groups operated together). She was held captive alone for exactly 482 days and released on January 30, 2025, as part of a Gaza ceasefire deal. Her reported experiences match the post almost word-for-word and are confirmed across multiple credible Israeli and international outlets: • Daily sexual abuse and harassment. • Starvation. • Physical abuse (including broken ribs). • Three suicide attempts (she directly quoted: “I tried to end it three times… I felt like I couldn’t go on”). • After release, she expressed wanting to fight for or “repay my debt to Israel.” These details come from her February 2026 interviews (e.g., Channel 12/ynet, Haaretz) and are corroborated by Wikipedia’s entry on her kidnapping, Times of Israel reporting, and others. She was held with her partner Ariel Cunio (released later), and her story has been widely covered. However, the attached photo in the post (the smiling woman in IDF uniform holding a rifle) is not real. It is a stylized, AI-generated digital artwork (watercolor/artistic rendering style with a heroic pose). Real photos of Arbel show her as a civilian; no authentic images match this one. A reply in the thread already calls it out as a “ridiculously fake A.I. image,” and the account @RealBababanaras has a history of mixing real news with AI fakes or sarcasm (per its bio and past fact-checks). In short: The story of Arbel’s bravery and suffering is tragically real and well-documented. The dramatic picture is fabricated for emotional impact. Always cross-check viral hostage posts with primary sources like Israeli media or verified hostage family statements, especially when images look overly polished or heroic.

The real story which should reach every human being. During 482 days of captivity, Hamas terrorists in Gaza subjected her to sexual abuse almost every day. They broke her ribs and kept her starving. She tried to take her own life three times while being held in Gaza, simply because she was Jewish. “I tried to end it three times,” Arbel says. “I felt like I couldn’t go on. There were moments when I thought that was the only way out.” The ordeal of Israeli woman hostage Arbel Yahoud is horrifying. She is truly an extraordinarily brave woman. After surviving 482 days in hell, when she returned, she asked how long it would take before she could fight again. “I want to fight for Israel. I want to repay my debt to Israel.” Salute to the brave lady. She is an inspiration for millions of peace loving people who are fighting against radical islamic terrorism.

As an Iranian, I hang my head in shame tonight. Those missiles that tore through Arad crushing homes, shattering lives, leaving children bleeding under rubble were launched in my country's name, by a regime I despise with every fiber of my being. Yet Israelis are the ones bleeding right now, taking these hits while fighting the very tyrants who enslave us. My Israeli sisters and brothers: I am profoundly grateful to you for every siren, every shelter, every wound you endure in this war against the mullahs' evil. Your courage is buying the chance for our freedom. With a broken heart: thank you, Israel. May your pain end soon, and may our chains break together ❤️🇮🇱🫂 #Arad #FreeIran #IranRevolution2026 #RezaPahlavi #IranWar‌ #IranMassacre‌

Love in the shelter...it takes all kinds!

Stay away, you're not helping! @BernieSanders