Yale dining halls allegedly remove 'Israeli' from name of 'popular,' longtime food item — then restore it after complaints



It seems dining halls at Yale University this week allegedly removed the word "Israeli" from the name "Israeli Couscous Salad with Spinach and Tomatoes" — a "popular food item" that's "been on the menu for years," according to Libs of TikTok.

— (@)

Of course, Libs of TikTok wondered, "Why would they do that?"

An answer may never come to light, but according to Sahar Tartak — the X user Libs of TikTok credited with providing the before-and-after photos — Yale put "Israeli" back in the name of the couscous salad after Jewish students called out the powers that be.

Here's a new photo posted Tuesday to X:

— (@)

The above image appears to show a placard with a stapled-on piece of paper showing the previous menu item's name — "Israeli Couscous Salad with Spinach and Tomatoes" — along with ingredients and nutritional information.

Tartak on Tuesday added that dining administrators emailed her the following: "Considering it is the main ingredient, it is appropriate to remain in the title, and we will correct this oversight."

How are folks reacting?

As for the reaction on social media, it appears pretty divided.

Those who follow Libs of TikTok appeared to be pro-Israel in their reactions to the name-change allegation:

Image source: X screenshot

But commenters on Tartak's post seemed decidedly anti-Israel in their reactions to the news that the word "Israeli" was restored:

Image source: X screenshot

Yale on Tuesday afternoon didn't immediately reply to Blaze News' request for comment on the name-change allegation.

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Actor in rainbow-colored monkey costume with fake penis, nipples, bare bottom appears at children's event at London library — and outrage erupts



An actor dressed in a rainbow-colored monkey costume outfitted with a fake penis, nipples, and bare bottom appeared at a children's event at a library in the United Kingdom, after which outrage erupted.

What are the details?

Video and images shared on social media over the weekend showed members of Mandinga Arts at Redbridge Libraries Summer Reading Challenge event at Goodmayes Library in east London, the Evening Standard reported.

The paper said the monkey costume included a fake penis and bare bottom; the Daily Mail reported that the costume also was adorned with fake nipples.

The event was meant to encourage children to read, the Evening Standard added.

Conservative campaigner Has Ahmed tweeted, "Apparently this is meant to encourage kids in Redbridge to pick up reading for summer. Please tell me the rationale behind these indecent costumes that were shown to families and done so publicly. Is this really necessary?"

Apparently this is meant to encourage kids in Redbridge to pick up reading for summer. Please tell me the rationale… https://t.co/idaveg6jnm

— Has Ahmed (@HasAhmed_) 1625942397.0

Columnist Janice Turner tweeted that she "would really love a detailed breakdown of the commissioning process" that let loose "Rainbow Dildo Butt Monkey as a means to teach children to read."

I mean how many librarian/councillor eyes had to behold the Rainbow Dildo Butt Monkey before he was released into t… https://t.co/EaWXtrpooK

— Janice Turner (@VictoriaPeckham) 1626003562.0

Redbridge Libraries have apologized and ensured it "will never happen again."

"During an event put on at the library today there was a performance by a Carnival Arts Company. Unfortunately one of the animal costumes was inappropriate which we were not aware of at the time of booking," the library tweeted. "We deeply apologize for the offense caused. This is being looked into ..."

However, the Daily Mail reported that the libraries initially said on social media, "if you've got it, flaunt it" in reference to the event.

Redbridge Council said that it did not arrange the event and that it was organized by Vision Redbridge Culture and Leisure (RCL), a registered charity and a non-profit organization, which has "since apologized to residents," the Evening Standard said.

Labour councillor Jas Athwal tweeted: 'I was appalled by the incident in Redbridge Libraries on Saturday. Completely inappropriate and deeply offensive performers were hired by independent contractor Vision who manage Redbridge libraries and leisure centers. As soon as I was made aware of the performers, I immediately contacted Vision and the event was stopped. I have launched a full and thorough investigation into how these performers were hired by Vision and will put stringent measures in place to ensure something like this can't happen again."

I was appalled by the event our independent leisure contractor organised at Redbridge Libraries on Saturday. I h… https://t.co/5c8LTWzWQQ

— Jas Athwal (@Jas_Athwal) 1626093044.0

Website of group behind monkey costume is down

Mandinga Arts tweeted, "We apologize for the offense caused while raising awareness of the reading campaign by Redbridge Libraries on 10 July. We never intended to offend residents. We respect everyone's individual opinion with no offense to any part. Actions are being taken, more information to follow."

And while the group's website as well as its Facebook and Instagram pages were down Tuesday, it appears folks already got a look at some of what the group features and shared their findings.

@Mandinga_Arts1 Pigs in bondage gear, references to stroking each other, wtf https://t.co/DHNsLquDvM

— Susan “The Actual Susan” McDonnell 💜🤍💚 (@sleeepysandy) 1626041224.0

Here's another tweet with an image we elected to not show. Content warning: Potentially offensive imagery.

The following clip shows images apparently from Mandinga Arts. Content warning: Potentially offensive imagery:

Mandinga Arts - Mandinga Walkabouts - Monkey Mayhemyoutu.be

Atheist activist group wants Bible removed from POW-MIA table at naval facility: 'Not every sailor is a white, straight Anglo-Saxon Christian male'



An atheist activist group is ordering a naval facility to remove a Bible from a POW-MIA table as its presence goes against the military's core values and hurts unity, morale, and diversity, Stars and Stripes reported.

What are the details?

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation last week sent a letter to Capt. John Montagnet — commander of Naval Air Facility Atsugi in Japan — after receiving 15 complaints about the Bible from personnel at the installation, MRFF founder Michael Weinstein told the paper.

The MRFF also sent the letter to Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as well as acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Harker, Stars and Stripes said.

POW-MIA tables — which honor missing and captured service members — often are set up in military dining facilities, the paper said, adding that official instructions concerning such tables say they must be round and include a white tablecloth, an empty chair, a black napkin, a single red rose, a yellow candle and ribbon, lemon slices, salt, and an overturned wine glass.

Stars and Stripes added that the regulation also says the displays include a Bible to represent "faith in a higher power and the pledge to our country, founded as one nation under God."

Weinstein, an Air Force veteran, told the paper "this is not a move against Christianity, but one toward inclusivity. Not every sailor is a white, straight Anglo-Saxon Christian male."

Weinstein noted to Stars and Stripes that he hadn't received a response from NAF Atsugi as of Monday.

What did the naval facility have to say?

Base spokesman Sam Samuelson told paper Monday he wasn't aware of the letter.

"The POW-MIA table here is a significant legacy display intended to memorialize and honor American POWs and MIAs among a varied military demographic and is certainly greater than the sum of its parts," Samuelson told Stars and Stripes. "We can absolutely balance the larger meaning of the table with appropriate policies and the interests of our diverse base culture."

More from the paper:

Over the past five years, the MRFF's petitions resulted in the removal of Bibles from POW-MIA tables at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio; four Veterans' Administration offices in Pennsylvania, Texas and Ohio; and an allergy clinic at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.

In 2018, the MRFF filed an inspector general complaint against the Navy over a Bible that was included in a POW-MIA table display at U.S. Naval Hospital Okinawa.

In May of 2019, the MRFF backed a federal lawsuit filed against the Manchester Veterans Administration Medical Center in New Hampshire for including a Bible on its POW-MIA table following complaints relayed through the foundation.

Weinstein said the goal of the MRFF is not to eliminate Bibles, but to promote religious diversity.

'Wrong on every possible level'

"The POW-MIA table is a somber and emotional display," Weinstein told Stars and Stripes. "Including a Bible alienates service members of other cultural or religious groups and is wrong on every possible level. No religious text, not just the Bible, has a place in that display. If the table included a Quran, Book of Mormon, or a Satanist text, there would be blood in the streets."

Gym holds maskless Christmas party in private home — and now city officials are investigating



Officials in Durham, North Carolina, are investigating after learning a fitness studio held a Christmas party in a private residence last weekend during which at least two dozen people gathered without masks, which violates state and local COVID-19 restrictions, WRAL-TV reported.

What are the details?

Triangle Krav Maga posted photos of the party on Facebook, the station said, adding that it featured movies, pizza, "quality booze," a white elephant exchange and other games, and a sleepover for kids.

"Sure beats sitting at home in a mask, doesn't it?" a Facebook post noted about the event, which WRAL said was deleted Tuesday morning after the station began asking questions about the party.

TKM owners Molotov Mitchell and his wife, Dr. Greer Gunther, didn't return multiple requests for comment, the station reported.

But Mitchell posted the following on his Facebook page late Tuesday afternoon:

What did city officials have to say?

Durham officials are investigating the party after receiving at least two complaints about it, city spokeswoman Amy Blalock told the station, adding that the city attorney's office was preparing a letter to send out Tuesday afternoon notifying Mitchell and Gunther of the complaints and reminding them of existing restrictions.

North Carolina currently limits indoor gatherings to 10 people in order to slow the spread of the coronavirus, WRAL said, and people are required to wear masks whenever they're with those not in their household.

More from the station:

Krav Maga, which means "contact combat" in Hebrew, is a self-defense and fighting system developed for the Israeli Defense Forces that emphasizes aggression and simultaneous defensive and offensive maneuvers.

The gym, at 4911 S. Alston Ave., also has kickboxing and firearms classes and provides stuntman training, according to its website.

Mitchell's online bio states that he has taught hand-to-hand combat and weapons training. He also is a former columnist for the far-right news site WorldNetDaily, and he ran for state Senate in 2014 against Democrat Josh Stein, now North Carolina's attorney general.

WRAL added that Gunther is in the second year of a child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship at the Duke University School of Medicine, and that Duke officials didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

But the News & Observer reported that some social media posts noted a Duke University psychiatrist at the party and encouraged people to contact the university — and with that Duke health officials issued the following statement Tuesday to the paper:

"At Duke Health, we are steadfast in our support of state public health mandates to fight COVID-19. We expect all of our health care providers to comply with these orders and to live our Duke values, specifically our commitment to caring for our patients and each other. While we do not comment on specific personnel matters, we take employee conduct very seriously and potential transgressions are managed according to our institutional policies and procedures."