What Makes Our Vice President Vance Tick?

 Nadene Goldfoot                                          

      In meeting, Vance interrupted Zelensky and yelled that he should say THANK YOU !                                   

What stands out I notice in reading about Vance are many facts, but one in example is that Vance is the third-youngest vice president in U.S. history, as well as the first millennial to hold the office. To my 90 year old mind, this is something that may have caused his uncalled-for-interruption in the peace meeting that took place with Trump and Zelensky that I watched today, Friday, February 28, 2025, on YouTube.  Evidently he had a typical broken childhood full of problems with parents, something so many have lived through today.                                      

I found this most interesting.  Though educated as a lawyer, he got involved with book writing and movie-making:  

In June 2016, Harper published Vance's book, Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis. The memoir recounts the Appalachian culture and socioeconomic problems of Vance's small-town upbringing. Hillbilly Elegy was on The New York Times Best Seller list in 2016 and 2017. The Times listed it among "6 Books to Help Understand Trump's Win", and Vance was profiled in The Washington Post, which called him "the voice of the Rust Belt".  

                                           Also as a DVD movie

Hillbilly Elegy's success helped propel Vance into contact with social elites, and he began writing a column for The New York Times. Vance later said that his interactions with social elites from this time, particularly their perceived disdain for "the people he grew up with", helped shape his later views.

               James David Vance (born James Donald Bowman;August 2, 1984)                                                      Senate Official Portrait. ONLY 40 years old 

Vance has lots of appeal for people Trump loves.  Trump's two eldest sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, advocated for their father to choose Vance. Several media and industry figures are said to have lobbied for Vance to be on the presidential ticket, including Elon Musk, David O. Sacks, Tucker Carlson, and Peter Thiel, who first introduced Trump to Vance in 2021 The Heritage Foundation, which drafted Project 2025, privately advocated for Vance to be Trump's vice-presidential pick.                                                                            

In 2021 on Fox News he said, ""we are effectively run in this country via the Democrats, via our corporate oligarchs, by a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they've made and so they want to make the rest of the country miserable too."  His thing evidently is to really say outlandish things!                           

Vance wrote in his memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, that he was raised in a low-income family by his single mother and grandmother. In 2013, Vance met Usha Chilukuri while both were students at Yale Law School. In 2014, they married in Kentucky, in an interfaith marriage ceremony, as she is Hindu and he is Christian. Their wedding included a Bible reading by Vance's "best friend", Jamil Jivani, and the bride and groom were blessed by a Hindu pandit.                            

 ^{He opposes continued American military aid to Ukraine during the ongoing Russian invasion and prefers a negotiated peace.}

In August 2019, Vance was baptized and confirmed in the Catholic Church in a ceremony at St. Gertrude Priory in Cincinnati, Ohio. He chose Augustine of Hippo as his confirmation saint. Vance said he converted because he "became persuaded over time that Catholicism was true [...] and Augustine gave me a way to understand Christian faith in a strongly intellectual way", further describing Catholic theology's alignment with his political views. Vance was influenced to convert to Catholicism by Peter Thiel ." 

 Politico said o Vance:  KYIV — J.D. Vance has a lot to say about Ukraine, which is why Kyiv froze when Donald Trump chose the Ohio senator to be his running mate on Monday.

Vance adjusts a fallen sign during a campaign rally in Middletown, Ohio, in July 2021. There, he announced that he would be running for the US Senate seat being left by retiring Sen. Rob Portman

Just after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Vance, then a candidate for U.S. Senate, said: "I gotta be honest with you, I don't really care what happens to Ukraine one way or another." 

Starting from those first days of fighting, Vance has seized on Ukraine as one of his signature foreign policy issues. His isolationist position differentiates him from more conventional Republicans and also cements his ties with Trump's MAGA adherents.                                        

MAGA movement, nativist political movement that emerged in the United States during the 2016 presidential campaign of its putative leader, Donald Trump. Its name is derived from Trump’s 2016 campaign slogan “Make America Great Again,” which became a rallying cry for many Trump supporters during his candidacy, his first term as president (2017–21), and beyond.

Resource:

https://www.politico.eu/article/jd-vance-europe-russia-ukraine-donald-trump-kyiv-vp-pick-policy-us-elections-ohio-aid-war/

https://www.britannica.com/topic/MAGA-movement

So This Was A Peace Meeting?

 Nadene Goldfoot                                         

Get ready, debaters;  this is what you should not do.  Just watch CNN's presentation of Trump, Vance and Zelensky in their meeting seen today, Friday, the last day of February, the 28th!!!  This is how one of the viewers saw the three men discuss the dire situation Zelensky is in with Russia; with a President who trusts the word of Russia only because he hasn't blown that trust YET with Trump.  Zelensky was telling how how many times that trust was broken with himself.  

It was down to Zelensky explaining how Putin's Russia had been taking over Ukraine, including his explanation of dates and places, and all of a sudden Vance interrupted and quickly berating Zelensky for not saying THANK YOU to Trump for all of the USA's help.  

Zelensky could not get a word in.  Trump yelled and yelled along with Vance at Zelensky.

It all happened very fast.  This is my memory of something just a few minutes ago of my 90 1/2 year old mind.  Oy Vey!  

Further, already others have commented.  
Mr. Vance told Mr. Zelensky that it was “disrespectful” for him to come to the Oval Office and make his case in front of the news media, while Mr. Trump told the Ukrainian leader, “You’re not really in a good position right now.” Mr. Trump added, “You’re gambling with World War III.”

PS: "Forward mentioned this:  So was this about performative acts of gratitude, or something else? A week ago, remember, the Trump administration demanded that Israel vote against a U.N. resolution holding Russia responsible for the war. Israel complied, joining the dubious company of North Korea, Belarus, Hungary and Russia. The spectacle of a Jewish nation being forced into a kind of historical revisionism — as Jews around the world fight a constant battle against the forces of Holocaust denial — made the episode even more painful."  My comment is that I am shocked!  We all know that Russia invaded, and no one has good reason in invading another's country. That's no peaceful discussion about any situation!!! 

Update:  Whatever happened to lunch?  Was Zelensky kicked out without the promised meal?  

Resource:

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/02/28/us/trump-news 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/mollybohannon/2025/02/28/trump-zelenskyy-vance-face-off-in-oval-office-shouting-match-heres-everything-they-said/  Excellent with written wording of each.

Trump's Vision Of The Gaza Strip

 Nadene Goldfoot          

       The Gaza Strip, the ancient home of the Philistines that Israel gave to the Palestinians promoting PEACE,  is 41 kilometres (25 miles) long, from 6 to 12 km (3.7 to 7.5 mi) wide, and has a total area of 365 km² (141 sq mi).  It is highly overcrowded with 2.1 million Palestinians, people who still practice the right of men to have 4 wives and many children.  It has a high proportion of youth, with 43.5% being children 14 or younger and 50% under age of 18.                                  

Donald Trump shares AI-generated video of Gaza vision. What was Donald thinking when he pressed the SHARE BUTTON?  

When US President Donald Trump announced his plan for America to take over the Gaza Strip, everyone was stunned. That includes the man standing next to him, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. President Trump says everyone he’s spoken to loves the idea. But who has he spoken to?

In his first term as president, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner led efforts to broker peace in the region, and his approach makes this latest announcement make a lot more sense.

Donald Trump, our President of the United States of America, has had an ad made that he likes very much.  It's how Gaza is going to change in his hands.  It is to glitter like gold.  Everything seen like his image glitters with gold.  Las Vagas will have to do an update to keep up with Gaza to off all that Trump wants to see. 

 Donald Trump has shared a bizarre AI-generated video on his Truth Social platform showcasing what appears to be a vision of Gaza under his proposed plan. The footage, which the 78-year-old (79 on June 14, 2025) shared without comment, shows the war-ravaged territory before a caption appears: "Gaza 2025... What's Next?" It then goes on to show the area transformed into a Middle Eastern paradise with exotic beaches, Dubai-style skyscrapers, luxury yachts and people partying.

Evidently Jared, a modern Orthodox Jew, hasn't told Trump the values that Judaism stand for or has ever allowed in the past and of course is a Jewish state with the same ancient values. Everything that Trump has planned go against Judaism and is shocking. Gaza is not considered as a land of Israel, now or even in the past, but we did have Jews living there at one time. We don't know what Netanyahu and his government has planned for Gaza once Hamas, which the Israelis still have to deal with, are out of the picture. The Egyptian occupation of the Gaza Strip was briefly subsumed by Israel during the 1956 Suez Crisis and ended entirely during the 1967 Six-Day War, after which the territory became occupied by Israel with the establishment of the Israeli Military Governorate.

1994: Gaza under Palestinian AuthorityIn May 1994, following the Palestinian-Israeli agreements known as the Oslo Accords, a phased transfer of governmental authority to the Palestinians took place. Immediately, they started shooting at Israel.  Israel has been attacked and has had to defend her land for the past 31 years because of this "good will" move that will not be repeated again.  

Remember the Golden Calf that Moses saw when he returned from Mt. Sinai that Aaron couldn't stop the Israelites from making or dancing around?  What do you all think of when you read that?  Our ancestors must be turning in their graves at  that idea of Trump.  

“No more tunnels, no more fear,” the voice in the video sings. “Trump Gaza is finally here. Trump Gaza shining bright, golden future, brand new light.” The video also features children holding gold balloons also made to look like Trump and a renovated beachfront with luxury hotels and money flying in the air. It also shows a shot of a “Trump Gaza” building and toward the end, the U.S. president and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seem to be enjoying drinks in the sun, shirtless.

Oh yes, either all of the Gaza Strip or just Gaza City is to be called "Trump Gaza.", with his golden statue everywhere, as far as I can see in the clip. Israel is to have this in their back yard.  It's a change from an October 7th attack, all right, but its values are just all wrong!  It would be worse than living next door to Las Vegas. This vision of Trump's sure shows up the difference in what Israel's values and his are about LIFE.  Judaism emphasizes values such as justice, peace, love, and repairing the world.  Trump's idea of repairing Gaza is WILD!!!!! 

Resource:

Updated: 2/28/2025 6:30pm  Trump Gaza had disappeared .

Updated: 3/1/2025  6:06am, values and his are  ; last paragraph

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?tab=wm#inbox/FMfcgzQZTVlkDcbPqNrxmTPshrnQGcpp

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdUGdSEXkQU

https://myfox8.com/news/politics/us/donald-trump-shares-ai-video-of-gaza-development-with-gold-statue-of-himself/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybtb1nAghBM

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupation_of_the_Gaza_Strip_by_the_United_Arab_Republic#:~:text=The%20Egyptian%20occupation%20of%20the,of%20the%20Israeli%20Military%20Governorate.

Name of City, New Amsterdam, Only Half the Story Of Immigrating Jews

 Nadene Goldfoot                                                  

The director-general of New Netherland, Peter Stuyvesant, turning away 23 Jews needing to dock in New Amsterdam after fleeing from Brazil

Stuyvesant, himself a member of the Dutch Reformed Church, opposed religious pluralism and came into conflict with Lutherans, Jews, Roman Catholics, and Quakers as they attempted to build places of worship in the city and practice their faiths.

New Amsterdam was a Dutch settlement on Manhattan Island that became New York City. In 1624, 30 families established the Dutch colony of New Netherland on Governor's Island in New York Harbor. The following year, the Dutch established New Amsterdam at the southern tip of Manhattan. In 1664, the British took over New Amsterdam and renamed it New York after the Duke of York. The Dutch gave up their claim to New Amsterdam and the rest of the colony after the Second Anglo-Dutch War of 1665–67. 

                         Recife or Mauritsstad – capital of Nieuw Holland

Jews started settling in Brazil when the Inquisition reached Portugal, in the 16th century. They arrived in Brazil during the period of Dutch rule, setting up in Recife the first synagogue in the Americas, the Kahal Zur Israel Synagogue, as early as 1636. Most of those Jews were Sephardic Jews who had fled the Inquisition in Spain and Portugal to the religious freedom of the Netherlands.  Because of the Inquisition, a small number of Sephardic Jews also immigrated to Brazil during its early settlements and were known as "New Christians" - Conversos (pt.) or Marranos (sp.) — Jews obliged to convert to Roman Catholicism by the Portuguese crown.                                         

                          Flag of Dutch West India Company

The West India Company managed to conquer parts of Brazil from Portugal in 1630. That same year, the colony of New Holland was founded, with a capital in Mauritsstad (present-day Recife). In the meantime, the war demanded so many of its forces that the company had to operate under a permanent threat of bankruptcy. Many Sephardic Jews from Holland and England worked with the maritime trade of the Dutch West India Company, especially with the sugar production in the northeast of Brazil.

The first Jews who arrived in South America were Sephardic Jews who, after being expelled from Brazil by the Portuguese, settled in the northeast Dutch colony. Kahal Zur Israel Synagogue was the first synagogue in the Americas, established in Recife in 1636 and a community of about 1,450 Sephardic Jews lived there. 

When Portugal re-conquered Brazil in 1654, all Jews were expelled. Most fled to Holland. Some settled in the Indies. 

It was in early September, 23 Jewish refugees arrived from the Brazilian city of Recife, which had been conquered by the Portuguese in January 1654. The director-general of New Netherland, Peter Stuyvesant, sought to turn them away but was ultimately overruled by the directors of the Dutch West India Company in Amsterdam. When the Portuguese retook Recife in 1654, 23 Jews from the community escaped to the Dutch North American colony of New Amsterdam, that in 1664 would become New York City.  The first Dutch Jews known to have arrived in New Amsterdam arrived in 1654. First to arrive were Solomon Pietersen and Jacob Barsimson, who sailed during the summer of 1654 directly from Holland, with passports that gave them permission to trade in the colony.

 They had arrived in a small boat, so close to shore, only to be turned away by Stuyvesant.  They had to wait till others in New Amsterdam checked and found they were refugees of the city that gave them most of their business, and were given the word to ALLOW them into the city of New Amsterdam!  

So the Jews, as simple refugees from a war zone,  were not allowed in but as stockholders or people from the main business of New Amsterdam of Brazil, they were allowed to enter.  Business and money before feelings of doing the right thing!  According to affairs today, nothing has changed.

The twenty-three Jews decided to settle in New Amsterdam. The governor, Peter Stuyvesant, was violently opposed to having Jews corrupting his town. He sought permission from the Netherlands to expel them. The Dutch West India Company, pressured by influential Jews in Holland, refused.

Stuyvesant then tried to add a tax on Jews because he wouldn’t allow them to stand guard duty. The Jews petitioned and received the right to stand guard duty and to engage in wholesale and retail trade.

 Asser Levy, an Ashkenazi Jew who was one of the 23 refugees, eventually prospered and in 1661 became the first Jew to own a house in New Amsterdam, which also made him the first Jew known to have owned a house anywhere in North America.  

Levy was probably born in Amsterdam, where he lived for a time but was not given burgher (citizenship) rights.  Levy's wife was named Miriam. From Amsterdam, he moved to the New World; he was one of the 23 Jewish refugees who fled from Recife after the end of Dutch rule in the area although is not listed in the extant congregational minute books of the Brazilian Jewish community.   It is known that he eventually went to New Netherland, possibly arriving in New Amsterdam aboard the St. Catherine or St. Charles in early September 1654.  

Resource:

https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-first-new-york-jews/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asser_Levy

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Amsterdam

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_Brazil

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_West_India_Company