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>> Tonight on "NJ Spotlight News", a deadly we can in Gaza.

Over a dozen IDF soldiers and hundreds of Palestinians killed as Israel's prime minister doubles down on destroying Hamas.

>> A risk of the water war with the U.S. included.

>> Renovations are set to begin in Jersey City but it could impact thousands and come at a high price.

>> It's a complete opposite of what every bun wants.

>> Also, hunger in New Jersey.

Food pantries continue to see high demand this holiday season amid the rising cost of living in the state.

>> It's hard to get an exact number but around a million people in New Jersey are food insecure.

>> In the battles that turn the tide of the Revolutionary war are celebrated in the Garden State.

>> It's a fantastic sword that people don't see and don't talk about.

They don't realize the battlefield is still here.

>> "NJ Spotlight News" begins now.

♪ >> From NJPBS Studios, this is "NJ Spotlight News".

Briana: Good evening and thank for joining us -- Joanna: Thanks for joining us.

Many of us took a break to celebrate the Christmas holiday, but there was no break in the fighting in Gaza.

This week and was one of the deadliest since the war began, with new airstrikes in central Gaza hitting neighborhoods and killing at least 70 people, according to the Gaza health ministry, that estimates more than 20,000 people have died so far.

Leading to new calls for a peace agreement between Israel and Hamas.

Egypt presented a plan this week into the Israeli war Cabinet it would include the release of all is right hostages as well as create a Palestinian government structure in Gaza and the West Bank that would include Hamas.

It's one of several plans that have been proposed recently but rejected.

Israeli Prime Minister Bennett Netanyahu has only doubled down his commitment to destroy Hamas.

Palestinian protesters took to the streets around New Jersey and New York over the Christmas holiday.

One group organizing in the Short Hills mall on Christmas Eve and another group of Palestinian supporters outside St. Patrick's Cathedral in midtown Manhattan yesterday, calling for Christmas to be canceled as long as the fighting in Gaza continues.

Meanwhile, tension in Iraq escalated yesterday with airstrikes against militants who first fired drone strikes on U.S. soldiers stationed in Iraq, injuring two American soldiers and leaving one critical condition.

So what role can or will diplomacy pay in this -- as the war enters its 11th week?

Our guess is cofounder of the Quincy Institute for responsible statecraft that promotes diplomacy in U.S. foreign policy.

He joins me now to discuss.

Great to have you with us tonight.

We seem renewed calls now for this peace agreement to happen between Israel and Hamas, several proposals on the table, yet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he will not stop until Hamas is destroyed.

Are those goals even possible, and what role can diplomacy play in leading to a peace agreement or to those goals that Netanyahu himself has outlined?

>> They are certainly possible, but what Netanyahu is doing right now is making them less possible.

We are seeing major radicalization taking place right now because of the indiscriminate manner that is right is our bombing Gaza.

We know that from all of our own experiences in Iraq and Syria and Afghanistan that civilian deaths tend to be the exact thing that organizations like Hamas will used to recruit more people.

Donald Rumsfeld was complaining that for every insurgent U.S. was killing, three more are being created because of the manner the war was in conducted.

So whatever he is doing is making the problem much, much worse.

Joanna: Israel says they have a right to defend themselves.

I think the majority of the world agrees with that.

And yet at the same time, we see Netanyahu blaming Hamas for the more than 20,000 at this point Palestinians who have been killed in this conflict.

Should there be a different response from Israel, when you say the response is only making it worse, is there more diplomatic response that would be more appropriate?

>> Of course, absolutely.

There is nothing that says Israel has no point but to do things as it is doing right now.

It could have used special forces to go out and try to take out Hamas leadership but chose not to.

Israel is pursuing a path of what he calls voluntary immigration from Gaza.

Essentially this is ethnic cleansing.

He is trying to move the population from Gaza into Egypt, and part of the strategy is to demolish big parts of Gaza to make sure -- there's nothing that says this is the only path that Israel could've pursued.

I think it is fair to say that it has been limited because it continues the occupation of Gaza.

As long as that is the case, Israel will be engulfed in the cycle of violence.

The only way out of that is to actually have a two state solution.

Joanna: We size many folks were celebrating Christmas come with our protest popping up in New York and New Jersey.

Just such a deadly assault during this very holy time in what many perceive as the most holy region of the world.

What role do you believe the U.S. should be playing at this point to either encourage a cease-fire or a peace agreement, or some different approach by Israel?

>> The United States absolutely should be pushing for a cease-fire.

The last thing America needs is another war in the Middle East.

Right now, unless there is a cease-fire -- war -- Joanna: The Hudson County prosecutors office is being accused of violating the rights of inmates at the Hudson County jail for years, according to new lawsuit filed in federal court earlier this month.

The lawsuit brought by an inmate claims that County prosecutors illegally recorded own calls between inmates and their attorneys.

According to the lawsuit, the call recording begin in May 2020 when the Hudson County jail was closed to visitors due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Recording these calls is prohibited by state law and the lawsuit argues is a violation of constitutional rights.

The defendants named in the suit include a Hudson County prosecutor, former assistant prosecutor who is now a Superior Court judge, the head of the Hudson County Department of corrections, and several detectives who were working at the time.

The person who filed a lawsuit on behalf of himself and inmates in similar situations is currently serving a six year sentence for sexual assault.

He left the Hudson County jail in 2023 and is now held at the New Jersey adult diagnostic treatment center in Woodbridge.

If it is proven to be chewed -- true, that would be cast on many cases.

They have been ordered to stop recording the phone calls and institute new training to ensure it does not happen in the future and to award damages.

Jennifer has been confirmed by the legislature to be New Jersey's next public defender, succeeding the man who served in the role since 2011.

Her term will begin and will continue for six years.

Highlighting her's -- or years of service including a leadership role, it's a job that doesn't get a whole lot of attention, but plays a critical part New Jersey's criminal justice system.

Jennifer sat down with me recently to share her priorities as she prepares to take over this office.

Jennifer, great to have you with us.

Congratulations on your confirmation.

What is the role of the public defender here in the state of New Jersey?

>> Thank you so much.

The role of the public defender here in the state of New Jersey is to oversee an agency of 1200 employees, 650 of which are attorneys, and it is our responsibility to provide counsel to people who out the state who cannot afford counsel on their own.

And most people, when they think of us, think of us has criminal defense attorneys, and we do certainly represent people in criminal proceedings, and that is the largest percentage of our work, but we also represent both parents and children in child welfare proceedings and people in mental health courts, in recovery courts, and in some other smaller sub-practice areas throughout the state.

Joanna: We know when we look at the criminal justice system that it can be costly, and too often favors those who have wealth.

What is guaranteed for a person who needs to access some kind of defense?

>> Under our state and federal Constitution, there is a constitutional guarantee of a lawyer when you are charged in a criminal case.

So our lawyers work in our superior courts in the state of New Jersey representing people charged with indictable offenses.

Most people commonly refer to those as felony offenses about the state.

That can be everything from lower-level offenses like drug offenses all the way up to murder cases.

Joanna: In February, you will be replacing the man who served as our public defender before you.

In this role you have the opportunity to effect and implement some or recommend public policy.

What are your priorities?

>> I should start by clarifying that our role really is to represent clients in courtrooms and in cases.

So we are representing one client at a time across the state every day.

However, through that representation, we obviously do have a lot to say about public policy.

And I'm hoping that what our role can be is advising the people who make policy, be that legislators, the governor, other advocacy groups and commuting members throughout the state, on how the policies that they are creating effect people who are charged in cases or a litigant in a case on the ground, in terms of the world of criminal legal system, some of our priorities are changes in jury selection, the expansion of recovery and mental health courts, as well as police accountability and some police reform.

Joanna: How often are you actually testifying in hearings?

>> Not often, but I see our office doing a lot more of that in the future.

There are number of criminal justice policies, child welfare policies, mental health policies being abated every day in the legislature.

In just this past couple of weeks, we have seen many of them.

We have historically not had as much of a voice and that, but I see us as advisors to these policymakers and ICS doing more testifying in the future on issues that matter to our clients.

Joanna: Thank you so much, Jennifer.

Best of luck to you in this new role.

>> Thank you so much.

Thank you for having me.

Joanna: Repairs are set to begin at the start of the year and that will mean some pain for commuters, because trains will skip that station on weekends for the first half of the year.

Jersey City officials are pressing the port authority to reconsider that plan before residents and businesses see their lives and livelihoods compromised.

Our senior political correspondent has more on what is to come.

David: Just this past week and, ridership was getting back to pre-pandemic levels, and the service which most past writers will tell you was awfully inadequate to begin with is facing another significant cutback that will impact commuters and local businesses.

>> They will begin week enclosures at the much used Road Street station.

Councilman James Solomon represents this part of New Jersey.

>> It is a reversion to the old ways of doing things.

Late notice to elected officials in the community about a huge change to people's lives, and at least to date no real solution to allow people to access transit on weekends.

That isn't going to take them 30 extra minutes >> Out of their lives.

The plan announced just before Christmas includes station painting, replacing four tiles, installing support columns and installing new lighting.

The work will close the Westbound tracks are weekend from January to March, and then from April to June to New York and Hoboken.

We've determined that getting the work done on Grove Street in a reasonable timeframe will require partial closures over the weekend in order to maintain essential commuter service during the work week, says the Port Authority.

Jimmie Lee is president of safe streets JC, Pike and mass transit advocacy group.

He uses mass transit to travel to and from New York, Hoboken, Newark.

He says we can service was terrible before, during, and now even after the pandemic.

>> ridership has recovered to nearly 100% of it was pre-pandemic.

It's a complete opposite of what everyone wants.

Second, if you want people to go one stop further and then come back, they have to wait 40 minutes to do it, that is not reasonable.

>> She works weekends as a tour guide in Manhattan.

She moved downtown to be closer to a station.

The closures will add time and expense to her commute.

>> I will have to account for next to half hour to 35 minutes just to get to work.

I can see the World Trade Center as soon as I step out of my house, it's going to take me that much longer just to get to that point.

What if it is snowing?

How many dollars in Cooper's do I have to take -- in ubers do I have to take in weather when I cannot ride my bike?

>> It will be significant, especially to restaurants and bars who count on big weekends to stay in the black.

>> Those businesses need the foot traffic.

They need tourists coming to the restaurant on the weekends.

We need that access for small businesses, and then jobs.

People work on the weekends.

People need to get to their jobs and throughout the region.

>> Having shuttle buses and singletrack service are some of the suggestions to the port authority, none of which are planned at the moment.

Advocates and city officials say they will keep the pressure on the port authority, but they'd better hurry up because they are running out of time.

Closures are expected to start next weekend.

In Jersey City, I'm David Cruz, "NJ Spotlight News".

Joanna: Hunger and food insecurity needs are heightened around the holidays as the cost of basic needs are coupled with the added costs of the season.

Many of us focus on the hungry during this time, the banks and pantries around the state work to make -- meet those needs day in and day out.

As part of our ongoing series, Hungary New Jersey, spoke with the feel them to better understand how great the need for food support in the state really is.

>> We do dairy, cheese, milk, eggs, we do proteins, chicken, beef, pork, fish, shrimp sometimes if suppliers have it.

Most of the time it's canned goods, dry goods, stuff like rice, pasta, canned vegetables, sometimes frozen vegetables.

>> Just some of the items available at this food pantry in Newark.

Known as champion house number two, the United commuting Corporation opened this occasion on South 18th Street earlier this year after Executive Director said he noticed -- they noticed a rise in food insecurity.

>> The pandemic kind of wiped away some of the dust or the confusion on who actually needs, and so we started to see different faces, different demographics, especially when the city shut down and people were unable to travel and go to work.

We started seeing people with a higher level of income coming in , because of the uncertainty of putting food on their own table.

>> And rising inflation leading to higher cost for everyday necessities like rent and groceries, not making it any easier for many families.

>> Around three quarters of a million people in the state of New Jersey are food insecurity.

>> Elizabeth McCarthy is CEO of the food bank of New Jersey which distributes over 100 million pounds of food to those 750,000 people.

She says while the holiday season tends to shed light on the need for giving, food insecurity is an issue facing families all year round, so the organization is also focused on addressing the root causes of hunger.

>> We have several job-training programs, culinary as well as warehouse training, to try to get folks into the workforce or give them skills to increase their wages over time, jobs and benefits.

We also spent a lot of time educating people about benefits for which they are eligible.

So many people are eligible for snap, who don't know they are eligible or don't know how to apply.

We have a mobile unit that goes or we partner with other organizations in sin people to do hands on assistance to get people help to apply.

We have programs in schools for afterschool programs during the year and then summer programs to feed children there, and send home food to families also.

We know that if a child is food insecure, probably the family needs help also so we have family packets at the we sent home for the weekend.

>> Getting people back on their feet is an important goal for the United community corporations pantry.

>> We want to know why they've come and how we can help them not come again.

And so a lot of times, it's changes in jobs, maybe hours were cut, maybe someone got laid off in the household and they want to make sure they can fill the refrigerator so that it is a coverage for them and their family during that time.

And so people depend on these supplements.

We are not giving out enough food to feed the whole family for the whole week, but we are trying.

>> The pantry is open six days a week, but the organization also provides several community bridges across the city where residents can access food 24 hours a day.

I Melissa Rose Cooper for "NJ Spotlight News".

Joanna: Relief for breweries is coming to an end as strict rules are set to go back into effect that limit how they can run their business.

Breweries in the state have been restricted from serving food or holding more than 25 events a year, and they cannot for a beer before giving customers a tour of the facility.

But those rules were relaxed earlier this year as the legislature move forward a bill that would remove them for good, but Governor Murphy be to date -- vetoed it because it did not include broader liquor license reforms.

The legislature is already out on break until January.

Many breweries have said the uncertainty is pushing them out of business, and the Brewers Guild of New Jersey is requesting a six month extension on those relaxed rules.

Turning to Wall Street, stocks were up today in his final week of trading for the year.

Here's a look at how they closed.

♪ Christmas not hose a special significance in our state and nation's history.

It's a night that General George Washington turned the tide of the Revolutionary war and set the stage for his eventual victory over the Hessians, the Germans fighting for the British Army.

It all happen in our state's capital.

Ted Goldberg's in Trenton for a tour that's part of Patriots week, going on today through December 31, where a significant slice of our history comes to life.

>> Ralph Siegel is great at pointing out interesting stuff on the streets of Trenton.

>> They don't realize the battlefield is still here.

Streets are still here exactly as they were.

Well, not this one in particular.

>> His tour of Trenton as part of patriot week, and effort to help teach New Jerseyans not just where to find statues and hotdog vendors, but more about the important role their state played in the Revolutionary war.

>> Washings -- Washington's goal was to be in Morristown.

He's got to get these pieces off the board, and that is the battle plan.

>> He starts his tour by setting up the characters, including George Washington.

>> 44 years old, superb horsemen, height of his powers.

>> And what happened after the famous crossing of the Delaware, when Washington's ragtag army scored a shocking win over the German troops.

>> The Germans come marching out into the street.

Artillery fire, they marched back, and your the barbarian horde charging at them.

>> Washington's approach shattered the German defense led to a huge momentum shift in the war.

>> Artillery fire coming down the street.

He sees instantly what Washington is doing.

The private enemy of a fair field of battle.

>> The cannonball comes out of a six pounder, fully loaded and fired at about 700 miles an hour, that's about the speed of sound.

>> My spring, the British would've come and cleaned up and we would not be here standing and talking about the United States of America.

>> Patrick Murray is one of the states esteemed political experts, working to improve the state's historical sites ahead of 2026.

New Jersey is planning on a series of celebrations honoring the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

>> Is going to take some money to invest in some of the museums that we have in the area, kind of bringing them together in a cohesive kind of brand, so everybody understands how important these are and how they all work together.

>> He comes to the courthouse steps and reads the Declaration of Independence out loud.

>> He enjoys teaching people about American history.

>> I'm happy to be able to kick it off.

>> Bringing light to battles that don't get the lion share of attention.

>> He went up there and established the first historic Park in the United States in Morristown.

They should've done it here.

Morristown is where they went to rest after fighting here.

>> Investing in Revolutionary war sites here in the state, setting the scene for a massive celebration in 2026.

Joanna: That's going to do it for us tonight, but don't forget to download the "NJ Spotlight News" podcaster you look nice so you can listen any.

For the entire "NJ Spotlight News" news team, thanks for being with us.

We will see you right back here tomorrow night.

>> Serving the insurance needs of residents and businesses for more than 100 years, and by the PSEG foundation.

>> Look at these kids, what do you see?

I see myself.

I became an ESL teacher to get my students what I wanted when I came to this country.

The opportunity to learn, to dream, to achieve.

a chance to be known and to be an American.

My name is Julia and I am proud to be an NJEA member.

♪