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mnl777 co Thousands of Syrians gathered in Damascus’ main square and a historic mosque for the first Muslim Friday prayers since former President Bashar Assad was overthrown , a major symbolic moment for the country’s dramatic change of power. The rebels are now working to establish security and start a political transition after seizing the capital on Sunday. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made an unannounced visit to Iraq on Friday, pressing ahead with efforts to unify Middle East nations in support of a peaceful political transition in Syria. It’s part of Blinken’s 12th trip to the Mideast since the Israel-Hamas war erupted last year in Gaza but his first after Assad was ousted. The U.S. is also making a renewed push for an ceasefire in Gaza, where the war has plunged more than 2 million Palestinians into a severe humanitarian crisis. Israel’s war against Hamas has killed over 44,800 Palestinians in Gaza, more than half of them women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not say how many were combatants. The Israeli military says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence. The October 2023 Hamas attack that sparked the war killed some 1,200 people in Israel, mostly civilians, and around 250 others were taken hostage. Some 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third of whom are believed to be dead. Here's the latest: BEIRUT — Israeli warplanes launched airstrikes on Friday against sites in several cities in Syria, an opposition war monitor reported. Associated Press journalists heard loud explosions throughout the Syrian capital Damascus. There were no immediate reports of casualties. The strikes hit the summit of Mount Qasioun in Damascus, Khalkhala Airport in the countryside of Sweida and the Defense and Research Laboratories in Masyaf, located in the western countryside of Hama, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Earlier on Friday, Israeli strikes targeted six military sites in the countryside of Damascus and Sweida, the observatory said. Israel has conducted hundreds of airstrikes since the toppling of the Syrian regime, saying it seeks to neutralize potential threats following the ouster of Bashar Assad. The strikes have targeted weapons production sites, anti-aircraft batteries and airfields. Israel has also moved troops to occupy a buffer zone in the Golan Heights on its border with Syria. DAMASCUS, Syria — Russian forces and military vehicles were seen withdrawing from southern Syria on Friday toward their primary base in in the coastal city of Latakia. The Russian troop movement comes amid questions about whether Moscow will still be able to project power in the Middle East after the fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad. His rule was supported by Russia and he received asylum in Russia after being toppled Sunday. There are also questions about what a Russian pullback in Syria could mean for the war in Ukraine. Significant Russian military convoys were seen on the Damascus-Homs highway near Shinshar village heading north. The military vehicles, bearing Russian flags, included tanks and armored personnel carriers. The military equipment had been previously stationed in southern regions such as Daraa and Damascus. On Thursday, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that Russian forces were leaving bases in Ain Issa and Tel Al-Samn in the Al-Raqqah countryside. Satellite images released by Maxar Technologies on Friday show what appear to be cargo planes at a Russian military airfield in Syria with their nose cones opened to receive heavy equipment, along with helicopters being dismantled and prepared for transport. Earlier this week, all Russian naval ships departed the Syrian port of Tartus, according to a U.S. official. ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey's embassy in the Syrian capital of Damascus will reopen on Saturday for the first time since 2012, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Friday. In an interview with Turkey’s NTV television Fidan said a newly appointed interim charge d’affaires had left for Damascus on Friday together with his delegation. “It will be operational as of tomorrow,” he said. The embassy in Damascus had suspended operations in 2012 due to the escalating security conditions during the Syrian civil war. All embassy staff and their families were recalled to Turkey. The Syrian insurgents who overthrew Syrian President Bashar Assad on Sunday did so with vital help from Turkey. WASHINGTON — The U.S. military has transported out of Syria an American who disappeared seven months ago into former President Bashar Assad’s notorious prison system and was among the thousands released this week by rebels, a U.S. official said Friday. Travis Timmerman was flown out of Syria on a U.S. military helicopter, according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing operation. Timmerman, 29, told The Associated Press he had gone to Syria on a Christian pilgrimage and was not ill-treated while in Palestine Branch, a notorious detention facility operated by Syrian intelligence. He said he was freed by “the liberators who came into the prison and knocked the door down (of his cell) with a hammer.” Timmerman said he was released Monday morning alongside a young Syrian man and 70 female prisoners, some of whom had their children with them. He had been held separately from Syrian and other Arab prisoners and said he didn’t know of any other Americans held in the facility. — By Lolita C. Baldor THE HAGUE, Netherlands — A Dutch court on Friday rejected a bid from human rights groups to block weapons exports to Israel and trading with the occupied territories, after finding there were sufficient checks already in place to comply with international law. The ten organizations told The Hague District Court last month that they thought the Netherlands was in violation of the 1948 Genocide Convention, drawn up following World War II, by continuing to sell weapons to Israel more than a year into the conflict in Gaza. “The government uses my own tax money, that I pay, to kill my own family. I’ve lost 18 members of my own family,” Ahmed Abofoul, a legal adviser for the pro-Palestinian organization Al-Haq, one of the groups involved in the lawsuit, told the court during a hearing in November . The court ruling said that “it is not up to the interim relief judge to order the state to reconsider government policy. That is primarily a political responsibility.” Lawyers for the government argued it wasn’t up to a judge to decide foreign policy for the Netherlands. The activist groups pointed to several emergency orders from another court, the International Court of Justice, as confirming the obligation to stop weapons sales. In January, the top U.N. court said it was plausible Palestinians were being deprived of some rights protected under the Genocide Convention. The coalition said it will review the court’s ruling and is considering an appeal. CAIRO — Israeli attacks in and around a hospital in northern Gaza wounded three medical staff overnight into Friday and caused damage to the isolated medical facility, according to its director. Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya said Israeli quadcopter drones carrying explosives deliberately targeted the emergency and reception area of Kamal Adwan Hospital, where one doctor was wounded for a third time. Abu Safiya said “relentless” drone and artillery strikes throughout the night exploded “alarmingly close” to the hospital, heavily damaging nearby buildings and destroying most of the water tanks on the hospital’s roof and blowing out doors and windows. Kamal Adwan Hospital in the town of Beit Lahiya has been hit multiple times over the past two months since Israel launched a fierce military operation against Hamas in northern Gaza. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the strikes. “We demand international protection for the hospital and its staff,” Abu Safiya said in a statement released via the U.K.-based aid group Medical Aid for Palestinians, “as well as the entry of delegations with surgical expertise, medical supplies, and essential medications to ensure we can adequately serve the people we are treating.” Abu Safiya said there were 72 wounded patients at the hospital, one of the few medical facilities left in northern Gaza. He said he expected Israeli forces would allow a World Health Organization aid convoy to bring supplies to the hospital on Friday or Saturday, as well as a team of doctors from Indonesia. Israel has allowed almost no humanitarian or medical aid to enter the three besieged communities in northern Gaza — Beit Lahiya, Beit Hanoun and the urban Jabaliya refugee camp — and ordered tens of thousands to flee to nearby Gaza City. Israeli officials have said the three communities are mostly deserted, but the United Nations humanitarian office said Tuesday it believes around 65,000 to 75,000 people are still there, with little access to food, water, electricity or health care. Experts have warned that the north may be experiencing famine . BAGHDAD — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made an unannounced stop in Iraq on Friday on his latest visit to the Middle East aimed at stabilizing the situation in Syria to prevent further regional turmoil. Blinken met in Baghdad with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani as part of the hastily arranged trip, his 12th to the region since the Israel-Hamas war erupted last year but his first since the weekend ouster of Syrian strongman Bashar Assad. Blinken has already been to Jordan and Turkey on his current tour and will return to the Jordanian city of Aqaba for meetings on Saturday with Arab foreign ministers, Turkey’s foreign minister and the United Nations special envoy for Syria, the U.N. said. Blinken will try to unify support for an inclusive post-Assad transition that does not allow the Islamic State group to take advantage of the political vacuum in Syria and secures suspected chemical weapons stocks. In Baghdad, Blinken underscored “U.S. commitment to the U.S.-Iraq strategic partnership and to Iraq’s security, stability, and sovereignty,” the State Department said. “He will also discuss regional security opportunities and challenges, as well as enduring U.S. support for engagement with all communities in Syria to establish an inclusive transition,” it said in a statement. His trip comes as the Biden administration winds down with just over a month left before President-elect Donald Trump takes office. Trump has been highly critical of Biden’s approach to the Middle East and skeptical of the U.S. military presence in both Iraq and Syria. The U.S. and Iraq agreed in September to wrap up U.S.-led military operations against the Islamic State group in Iraq next year, although Assad’s ouster and the potential for the group taking advantage of a political vacuum in Syria could complicate the timing of the withdrawal, according to American officials. DAMASCUS — The kingdom of Bahrain sent a message Friday to Ahmad al-Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, the leader of the insurgency that toppled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. It said Bahrain is “fully prepared to consult with you continuously and to provide support in regional and international organizations to achieve what is in the interest of the brotherly Syrian people.” It added, “We look forward to Syria regaining its authentic role in the Arab League.” Bahrain is the current head of the Arab summit. Syria was readmitted to the Arab League last year after 12 years of ostracization. It is still unclear how the international community will deal officially with the new interim government in Syria. JERUSALEM - Israel’s defense minister told troops to prepare to remain through the winter months on the peak of Mount Hermon, Syria’s highest point, located in a swath of southern Syria that Israeli troops moved into after the fall of Damascus to insurgents. The comments by Defense Minister Israel Katz signaled that the military will extend its occupation of the zone along the border, which Israel says it seized to create a buffer zone. In a statement Friday, Katz said that holding the peak was of major importance for Israel’s security and that it would be necessary to build facilities there to sustain troops through the winter. The summit of Mount Hermon, the highest peak on the eastern Mediterranean coast at 2,814 meters (9,232 feet), gives a commanding view over the plains of southern Syria. It also positions Israeli troops about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the center of Damascus. The mount is divided between the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, Lebanon and Syria. Only the United States recognizes Israel’s control of the Golan Heights. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israeli troops would remain in the zone until another force across the border in Syria could guarantee security. Israeli troops moved into the zone -– set as a demilitarized area inside Syrian territory under truce deals that ended the 1973 Mideast war -- after the regime of Bashar al-Assad fell last weekend. ANKARA, Turkey -- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday there was “broad agreement” between Turkey and the United States on what they would like to see in Syria following the ouster of President Bashar Assad. “There’s broad agreement on what we would like to see going forward, starting with the interim government in Syria, one that is inclusive and non-sectarian and one that protects the rights of minorities and women” and does not “pose any kind of threat to any of Syria’s neighbors,” Blinken said in joint statements with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. The insurgent groups that toppled Assad in Syria have not made clear their policy or stance on Israel, whose military in recent days has bombed sites all over the country, saying it is trying to prevent weapons from falling into extremist hands. Blinken also said it was crucial to keep the Islamic State group under control. “We also discussed the imperative of continuing the efforts to keep ISIS down. Our countries worked very hard and gave a lot over many years to ensure the elimination of the territorial caliphate of ISIS to ensure that that threat doesn’t rear its head again,” Blinken said. The Turkish foreign minister said the two discussed ways of establishing prosperity in Syria and ending terrorism in the country. “Our priority is establishing stability in Syria as soon as possible, preventing terrorism from gaining ground, and ensuring that IS and the PKK aren’t dominant,” Fidan said, in a reference to the banned Kurdistan Workers Party. Blinken said: “We’re very focused on Syria, very focused on the opportunity that now is before us and before the Syrian people to move from out from under the shackles of Bashar al-Assad to a different and better future for the Syrian people, one that the Syrian people decide for themselves.” Blinken and Fidan said they had also discussed a ceasefire for Gaza. “We’ve seen in the last couple of weeks more encouraging signs that (a ceasefire) is possible,” Blinken said. Blinken, who is making his 12th trip to the Mideast since the Israel-Hamas war erupted last year but first since the weekend ouster of Assad, met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan late Thursday. The outgoing Biden administration is particularly concerned that a power vacuum in Syria could exacerbate already heightened tensions in the region, which is already wracked by multiple conflicts, and create conditions for the Islamic State group to regain territory and influence. Later Friday, Blinken is to return to Jordan for meetings on Saturday with Arab foreign ministers and senior officials from the European Union, the Arab League and the United Nations. ANKARA, Turkey -- Turkey has appointed a temporary charge d’affaires to reopen its embassy in Syria, Turkey’s state-run news agency reported. The Turkish Embassy in Damascus had suspended operations in 2012 due to the escalating security problems during the Syrian civil war and embassy staff and their families were recalled to Turkey. The Anadolu Agency said late Thursday that Turkey appointed Burhan Koroglu, its ambassador in Mauritania, to the post. UNITED NATIONS- – Two U.N. aid convoys were violently attacked in Gaza, making it virtually impossible for humanitarian agencies to operate without putting staff and civilians at risk, the U.N. food agency says. On Wednesday, a 70-truck convoy from Kerem Shalom was waiting for personnel to safeguard the food and other aid destined for central Gaza when there were reported attacks by Israeli forces in the nearby humanitarian zone, the U.N. World Food Program said Thursday. More than 50 people are now estimated to have died in the attacks, including civilians and local security personnel who had been expected to ensure the convoy’s safety, WFP said. The Rome-based agency said the convoy was forced to proceed from Kerem Shalom to central Gaza without any security arrangements, using the Philadelphi corridor, an Israeli-controlled route that had been recently approved and successfully utilized twice. On the way, WFP said, conflict and insecurity led to a loss of communication with the convoy for more than 12 hours. ”Eventually, the trucks were found but all food and aid supplies were looted,” the U.N. agency said. In a second incident, Israeli soldiers approached a WFP convoy moving out of the Kissufim crossing into central Gaza, fired warning shots, conducted extensive security checks, and temporarily detained drivers and staff, the agency said. “As the trucks were delayed, four out of the five trucks were lost to violent armed looting,” WFP said. UNITED NATIONS – The United Nations chief has a message for Israel: Stop the attacks on Syria. Secretary-General António Guterres is particularly concerned about several hundred Israeli airstrikes on several Syrian locations and stresses “the urgent need to de-escalate violence on all fronts throughout the country," U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters Thursday. The Israeli military said Tuesday it carried out more than 350 strikes in Syria over the previous 48 hours, hitting “most of the strategic weapons stockpiles” in the country to stop them from falling into the hands of extremists. Israel also acknowledged pushing into a buffer zone inside Syria following last week’s overthrow of President Bashar Assad. The buffer zone was established after Israel seized the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1973 war. Dujarric said Guterres condemns all actions violating the 1974 ceasefire agreement between the two countries that remain in force. And the U.N. chief calls on the parties to uphold the agreement and end “all unauthorized presence in the area of separation” and refrain from any action undermining the ceasefire and stability in the Golan Heights, the spokesman said.Semtech (NASDAQ:SMTC) Surprises With Q3 Sales, Stock Jumps 11.7%

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The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has given Elon Musk until Monday to respond to an offer to resolve a probe into the billionaire's $44-billion takeover of Twitter in 2022, Reuters reported quoting a source. The development, which signals the investigation may be nearing a conclusion, is the latest salvo in a year-long public feud between the top U.S. markets regulator and the world's richest man, as per a Reuters report. Musk on Thursday posted on X a copy of a letter sent by his lawyer to SEC Chair Gary Gensler saying the agency had given Musk 48 hours to agree to pay a penalty to settle the probe or face civil charges, and demanding to know whether Gensler was personally behind the development. Elon Musk's Twitter Venture The SEC has been investigating whether Musk broke securities laws in 2022 when he bought stock in Twitter, which Musk subsequently renamed X, as well as statements and filings he made in relation to the deal, previous disclosures show. According to the source, the agency has been probing Musk's SEC filing disclosing his Twitter share purchases, which was at least 10 days late, and whether he intended to benefit from that delay, which some academics have estimated saved Musk over $140 million. As part of the probe, the agency had asked a federal court to compel Musk to testify after the billionaire failed to show up to agreed depositions. 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A spokesperson with the SEC's public affairs office declined to comment. Musk's lawyer did not respond immediately to calls for comment. 48-Hour Deadline The SEC commonly tries to resolve probes through settlements rather than suing a defendant, but the initial 48-hour deadline was unusually tight, legal experts told Reuters. If Musk fails to respond, the SEC will likely proceed through a "Wells" notification process, a formal step in which the SEC outlines potential charges and allows Musk to respond, the source said. The Thursday letter Musk shared on X, which was signed by his attorney Alex Spiro, said the SEC has also reopened an investigation into Musk's brain-chip startup Neuralink. Neuralink did not respond to requests for comment. The nature of that inquiry is not clear, but U.S. lawmakers and animal-rights advocates have pressed the SEC to scrutinize comments Musk has made about the safety of Neuralink's implants. SEC After Elon Musk Since 2018 The SEC first sued Musk in 2018 during President-elect Donald Trump's first term, accusing him of breaking the law when he posted on social media that he had "funding secured" to take his electric carmaker Tesla private when the SEC found he had not. Despite ultimately settling and agreeing to an unusual arrangement requiring some of his posts to be vetted by an attorney, Musk subsequently disputed the SEC's findings in that case and has over the years accused the agency of harassment - claims Spiro reiterated in his Thursday letter. A major backer of Trump, Musk in the new administration will co-lead the new Department of Government Efficiency tasked with cutting government costs, potentially giving him some power over the SEC's workings. In his letter, Spiro intimated the SEC's bid to advance the probe may have been politically motivated. "We demand to know who directed these actions - whether it was you or the White House," Spiro wrote in the letter. But the source argued that failing to pursue what the SEC believes is a securities violation by Musk would in fact be the political move. FAQs What is new name of Twitter? New name of Twitter is 'X'. Who is owner of 'X'? Elon Musk is owner of 'X'. (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel )Crossnore Communities for Children is the recipient of a combined $5.55 million in financial commitments that will allow the Winston-Salem nonprofit group to expand statewide its professional foster parenting model known as Bridging Families. The Leon Levine Foundation is providing a $3.75 million grant, while the latest in a series of funding from the state Department of Health and Human Services comes in the form of a two-year, $1.8 million contract. Brett Loftis, Crossnore’s chief executive, said there are about 12,000 children in foster care in North Carolina. Crossnore has locations in Winston-Salem, Avery County, Hendersonville and, eventually, the metropolitan area around Charlotte. Crossnore’s Winston-Salem campus serves about 100 foster children. About 60 of them live on the Reynolda Road campus. Children typically are placed into temporary foster care because their homes are unsafe or because their families provide inadequate care. People are also reading... They can come from families who face alcohol or drug addiction, homelessness or possibly a grave illness. While in foster care, children receive professional mental health services, medical services, case management and educational assistance. Crossnore launched the Bridging Families model in 2021 with 10 affiliated homes as of March. The purpose of Bridging Families is to “address North Carolina’s current child welfare crisis by providing innovative, purpose-driven care for children and their families.” With the DHHS contract, the state has adopted Bridging Families as the state’s model for professional foster parenting. “This innovative model of care, utilizing professional foster parents, could change the face of foster care in our state,” Loftis said. “It moves beyond a volunteer-based foster parent system and completely reimagines how families whose children have been removed experience the foster care system. “Bridging Families alleviates many structural barriers of the current child welfare system, focusing on shared parenting, collaboration, quality time as a family, resource networking, and accelerated reunification,” Loftis said. “It also addresses a critical need for sibling groups, who are at risk of being separated if placed in traditional foster homes.” In Bridging Families, foster parents are salaried organization employees whose sole responsibilities are parenting the children in their care. “Bridging Families’ support for birth parents is increasing the chance that children in foster care can return home,” Katheryn Northington, a Crossnore board trustee, said in a March opinion article in the Winston-Salem Journal. Northington said the program shortens the length of time children stay in foster care, reducing the number of placements and the number of foster parents needed by the system.” “Instead of having to work outside the home, foster parenting is their work,” Northington said. “It also calls on foster parents to assist birth parents working to meet the conditions for reunification.” “Bridging Families supports the ultimate goal of foster care — to help families be stronger and healthier and live together again,” said Susan Osborne, NCDHHS Deputy Secretary for Opportunity and Well-Being. “This program, specializing in reunification of sibling groups, partners with families providing the supports they need so children can be reunified safely with their family as soon as possible.” To find out more about Bridging Families, go to crossnore.org/bridging-families . The grant and the DHHS contract are the latest in a series of financial contributions to Crossnore. In May, Crossnore received the largest gift — a $5 million anonymous pledge — in its more than 110-year history. The anonymous gift also enables Crossnore to secure an additional $3 million in matching funds for its charter school. The gift will be directed toward its $41 million The Promise of Home comprehensive campaign, specifically toward a charter school in Winston-Salem. The campaign is Crossnore’s first as a multi-campus organization. It is designed to provide support for its existing locations, as well as future efforts in the Metrolina region. The target date is August 2025 for opening the Crossnore charter school in the Edwards Building for kindergarten through fourth grade. Middle school building renovations will likely begin the following year, with plans to achieve full capacity for K-8th grade by August 2028. It expects to eventually reach an enrollment of 180 students. Loftis said more foster children than ever are dealing with trauma that might include abuse and neglect. The new charter school will specialize in helping children dealing with such trauma, with a staff trained in providing a healing environment, he said. The three main campaign components are: * $19.5 million for sustaining and strengthening Crossnore’s everyday systems and operations through investments in donor engagement, scholarships, technology, safety, transportation and diversity. * $12.75 million for renovation, new construction and re-purposing of buildings and other physical properties of Crossnore in Winston-Salem, Avery County and Hendersonville; * $8.75 million toward expansion and bolstering of Crossnore’s programs and services. Rep. Jeff Zenger, R-Forsyth, filed House Bill 950 on May 1, which would commit up to a $5 million grant for Crossnore to help address the foster care crisis in the state. However, the bill was not heard in committee. In May, Crossnore received a $4 million grant from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration for its Center for Trauma Resilient Communities initiative. The funds come from the ReCast: Resiliency in Communities after Stress and Trauma grant program. Crossnore said the grant will support a four-year project titled We Heal Together, which utilizes a community-driven “resilience framework” to mitigate the impact of trauma and violence that continues to afflict the East Winston community. The nonprofit said the grant could assist up to 1,200 residents with services. In March, DHHS awarded a contract to Crossnore to expand its Homebuilders services in a 15-county region that includes all of the Triad. The Homebuilders initiative involves an evidence-based intensive family preservation service, working with children who are at highest risk of entering or reentering the foster care system. The program debuted in October 2021 in Davidson, Forsyth, Guilford and Surry counties. The other participating counties are Alamance, Caswell, Chatham, Davie, Durham, Orange, Person, Randolph, Rockingham, Stokes and Yadkin. The goal is to remove the risk of harm to the child, instead of removing the child. Program staff work within a family’s home roughly 10 hours each week, three to five days per week, to reduce or remove risk factors and improve child safety to ensure children can stay safely at home with their family of origin. rcraver@wsjournal.com 336-727-7376 @rcraverWSJ Get local news delivered to your inbox! {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.

Hallmark continues to expand on their slate of Hanukkah films with their latest new addition, Hanukkah on the Rocks . This romantic-comedy stars Degrassi ‘s Stacey Farber and The Secret Life of The American Teenager ‘s Daren Kagasoff as two adults feeling lost in life just a week before Hanukkah. Luckily, they both end up finding some solace and purpose in a Chicago bar called Rocky’s, as well as its staff, patrons, and Hanukkah celebrations. But even as the holiday brings the two closer, they ‘ re unsure of the road ahead as the futures they’d planned clash with the new ones they inspire each other to chase. HANUKKAH ON THE ROCKS : STREAM IT OR SKIP IT? The Gist: Tory (Stacey Farber) is a driven workaholic who has always been fully committed to her job as a corporate lawyer in Chicago. But when she’s the casualty of a mass layoff, she’s left feeling both unsure and free for the first time since she began her job. Although Tory’s main, and seemingly only, social engagement is her grandma, Francis, AKA Bubby (Marina Stephenson Kerr), she resolves to keep her new unemployed status a secret from both her Bubby and parents who sacrificed so much to help her achieve her dreams. Tory only confides in her sister, Becca (Cora Matheson), who she’s finally able to spend more time with now that her demanding job isn’t weighing her down. With all of this free time on her hands, Tory is also able to spend more time with her Bubby, who soon sends her on a mission to purchase a specific brand of Hanukkah candles. But when just one store seems to have them in stock, she ends up squabbling with a Florida-based radiologist named Jay (Daren Kagasoff) over the last box. Jay ends up victorious, and she ends up following him to Rocky’s, an Old Town neighborhood dive bar with amazing annual Hanukkah celebrations and an even better cast of characters to welcome her in. In addition to Jay’s grandfather, a lovable longtime Rocky’s patron named Sam ( Double Dare ‘s own Marc Summers!!), there’s also the cook, Lottie (Lauren Cochrane), server Stacy-Lynn (Verity Marks), and aspiring novelist Anthony (Dan De Jaeger). Together, they form a warm community that welcomes Tory with open arms, especially after their bartender suddenly leaves for a romantic last-minute getaway to Cabo, leaving Tory to unexpectedly step in. Drawing on her stint as a bartender in college, as well as her innate love for helping others, Tory ends up being so good as the job that the folks at Rocky’s keep having her back throughout all of Hanukkah. At the same time, Jay, who only came to Chicago to convince Sam to move down to Florida with him and his parents, begins to see that maybe he’s the one who needs to consider moving... Especially as he and Tory start seriously falling for one another. Is there a way for Tory and Jay to make their budding romance work when they still have so many uncertainties in each of their own lives? And does Rocky’s (and its mysterious owner) hold the key to help them unlock the place they’re truly meant to be? What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: Hanukkah on the Rocks might remind you of the 2022 Hallmark Hanukkah movie, Hanukkah on Rye , and not just because of their similar titles. Julie Sherman Wolfe actually wrote both films, which each showcase Jewish holiday foods and traditions in their own way. The warm neighborhood pub vibe may also remind you of the beloved sitcom Cheers , especially considering both titles feature a bar owner named Sam. Performance Worth Watching: Lauren Cochrane is very natural and brings a great energy as Lottie. She’s a bit of a scene stealer thanks to her effortless charm and humor. Marina Stephenson Kerr is also pretty lovable and delightfully sassy as Bubby/Francis. Memorable Dialogue: Jay, while donning a gaudy pair of Hanukkah glasses at the Party Store: “I think these sunglasses were designed by Elton John Berkowitz.” Honorable mentions for Bubby’s lines “At least my granddaughter has a job!” and “I’m no snitch.” Now that’s the kind of person you want to have in your corner! A Holiday Tradition: Every year, Sam’s late wife, Celia, would throw incredible Hanukkah celebrations at her favorite bar, Rocky’s, a tradition he still attempts to keep alive even after she’s gone. Does the Title Make Any Sense?: Hanukkah on the Rocks absolutely makes sense. Not only does the story mostly revolve around a bar called Rocky’s, but Tory also creates a seasonal cocktail that’s dubbed a “Hanukkah on the Rocks” which also becomes the business’s new temporary name, so yeah, the title is pretty fitting! Our Take: Although it has been trying to diversify its filmography slowly but surely over the past few years, Hallmark still doesn’t have many Hanukkah movies. With that in mind, I think that the mere existence of this movie is a win for representation, and the writing also shows that care, research, and personal experience went into the portrayal of this Hanukkah story. Especially coming to this movie as someone who was raised Christian, there are plenty of things that may have felt unfamiliar, but that didn’t mean that as a viewer, I cared about them any less. After all, at the heart of Hanukkah on the Rocks is a story about community, tradition, and family, things that anyone can relate to. You don’t have to be Jewish to enjoy watching the festivities because both the characters at Rocky’s and the movie itself welcome everyone in with open arms. That being said, there are some critiques and gripes that I think viewers of any religion or creed could likely agree upon. First of all, it’s a bit ridiculous to suggest that there would be only one box of a specific Hanukkah candle in a city as big and diverse as Chicago, but hey, that’s just Hallmark movies for you, so we can give it a pass. However, a major part of any Hallmark movie tends to be the romance, and the one here between Tory and Jay was just okay. They had some genuinely enjoyable moments of interaction and chemistry, but these were weighed down by some especially cheesy moments and the somewhat two-dimensional nature of the characters, themselves. You’re telling me that Tory has lived in Chicago her entire life and has zero friends besides her Bubby? I know she’s a workaholic but that seems impossible! But I guess if she didn’t have time for her sister and nephew, she really didn’t have time for any friends, which is a bummer. Really, I just wish the characters were a little more fleshed out so they could feel a bit more real and therefore easier to invest in and connect to. Ultimately, the ensemble nature of this movie as well as the focus on celebrating Jewish culture and traditions help to make it feel worth watching for viewers of all backgrounds. I’m glad to see Hallmark go for something outside of their usual Christmas story, and I hope that they will continue to do so in the years ahead! Our Call: I wouldn’t say that Hanukkah on the Rocks is the most memorable or moving new holiday title streaming this year. Still, we can always use a new Hanukkah movie, especially one with as much genuine care for the traditions and spirit as this one seems to have. It’s just a nice and easy seasonal watch. STREAM IT for Bubby!