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Wednesday, July 03, 2024

07/03 Links Pt2: CAIR: "Hamas followed Islamic Principles"; Geert Wilders: 'If Israel falls, the West falls'; How Archaeology Debunks the Israel ‘Colonizers’ Libel

From Ian:

ADL urges state AGs to investigate anti-Israel groups, alleging violations
The Anti-Defamation League is urging the attorney generals of New York and Arizona to investigate WESPAC (Westchester Peace Action Committee) and the Alliance for Global Justice, accusing the anti-Israel nonprofit groups of potentially running afoul of federal law. WESPAC has been accused of funding anti-Israel encampments on campuses.

In letters to New York Attorney General Letitia James and Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, Steven Sheinberg, the ADL’s chief legal officer, highlighted that the AFGJ sponsors the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, which Israel considers a subsidiary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terrorist group and which has supported Hamas.

“Samidoun’s status as a terrorist organization abroad, or at the very least its connection to known terrorist organizations, calls into question whether AFGJ and its board are exercising the appropriate level of oversight and control over its projects to ensure AFGJ’s charitable assets are being used consistent with its tax exemption,” Sheinberg wrote in his letter to James.

According to U.S. law, AFGJ is responsible for the activities Samidoun engages in, and can be held responsible for their activities, according to the letter.

“AFGJ’s administrative support and use of its own tax-exempt status permits Samidoun to operate in the United States and further potentially non-charitable aims under the guise of a public charity,” Sheinberg added.

The ADL further highlighted ambiguities around Samidoun’s activities, as well as AFGJ’s structure and legal status, as well as its financial activities.

In the letter to James, the ADL accused WESPAC of far surpassing its stated mandate of “current affairs education” by funding college campus protest groups that have distributed Hamas propaganda and supporting groups that have engaged in antisemitic harassment and expressed support for terrorism and the Nazis.

Sheinberg argued that these activities may exceed WESPAC’s authorized functions and bring into question whether it “truly has control and discretion over its funds.” He urged James to examine whether the state should block the group from engaging in such activities.
Teachers union vote surrounded by protests and accusations of antisemitism
The National Education Association will vote on several new business items in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday that are the subject of protests and accusations of antisemitism.

Educators for Palestine organized a rally in support of pro-Palestinian initiatives set to occur during the NEA’s annual Representative Assembly, and StandWithUs responded with a “counter-rally” coinciding with the pro-Palestinian demonstration to voice their concerns with the NBIs.

The two groups are scheduled to begin their rallies at 4:30 p.m. Delegates will be voting on items during the assembly, which will run from 10 a.m. on Thursday to 6 p.m. on Sunday. Eleven items spark protests and counterprotests

There are at least 11 NBIs causing controversy. Of the 13 obtained by the National Review, StandWithUs mentioned five, including three set to be voted on that call for the NEA to align itself with boycott, divestment, and sanctions initiatives, one asking the NEA to deny the connection between antisemitism and anti-Zionism, and one calling for the NEA to promote Palestinian narratives about the founding of Israel.

SWU, an international education organization that supports Israel and fights antisemitism, issued a June 24 statement condemning the NBIs as “antisemitic and anti-Israel” ahead of the assembly. The statement said the NBIs would “not only harm Jewish members, but also undermine the integrity of public education.”

“This rally is a way for us to voice our concerns and stand in solidarity with Jewish educators and students who deserve a safe and inclusive environment,” David Smokler, SWU director of K-12 education outreach, told the Washington Examiner. “By gathering publicly, we can highlight the urgent need for the NEA delegates to reject these biased proposals and reaffirm its commitment to an unbiased, fact-based education for all.”

“We believe that organizing a rally in front of the convention center during the NEA Representative Assembly is essential to bring attention to the deeply troubling nature of these antisemitic and anti-Israel New Business Items,” Smokler added.
Complaint claims teachers union in Canada ‘enabled’ antisemitism
A group of Jewish teachers in British Columbia has filed a complaint with Canada’s Human Rights Tribunal, describing antisemitic instances by colleagues and the union representing them.

“They’re concerned about people retaliating against them. They’re concerned about what they’ve experienced already and the potential for that to get ratcheted up,” said Paul Pulver, the Vancouver-based labor lawyer representing the teachers, who announced the filing on Tuesday.

He added that “these teachers are extremely upset. They’re fearful.”

The complaint states that the BC Teachers Federation “engaged in and enabled antisemitism.”

The group B.C. Teachers Against Antisemitism said union leaders caused “trauma and fear,” that members had been “intimidated and shamed.”


Knesset, House launch parliamentary friendship group to strengthen U.S.-Israel ties
The first-ever Knesset-House Parliamentary Friendship Group held its inaugural meeting in Jerusalem on Tuesday, with its American chairman Rep. David Kustoff (R-TN) and Israeli MKs Boaz Bismuth (Likud) and Idan Roll (Yesh Atid), as well as Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana in attendance.

The theme running through the event was shared democratic values between Israel and the U.S., and the need to protect those values from enemies who seek to destroy them.

Kustoff warned that “we are facing a rebuke of Western cultural values, a rejection of a free and liberated society, a direct attack on morality, truth, reason and goodwill. … We are fighting barbaric terrorism, combatting a global enemy. … The relationship between the U.S. and Israel is a true friendship, rooted not only in shared values, but the willingness to protect those values in the face of adversity.”

”In your fight to eradicate Hamas and any other genocidal extremist group that threatens your way of life, America is with you all the way …I will do everything in my power to make sure Israel has the tools Israel needs to defend herself,” he continued.

While Kustoff noted the bipartisan effort behind the parliamentary friendship group’s founding, which began with former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and continued with current Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) with the support of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), he also had barbs for the other side of the aisle.

”Sadly, some of my colleagues have forgotten [the importance of relations with Israel]. I was disappointed to see the highest ranking Jewish official in Congress … calling for an election by one of our allies,” Kustoff said, referring to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) speech criticizing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as an obstacle to peace.

”We don’t do that in the U.S.,” Kustoff added. “Let me assure you this doesn’t reflect the will of most of Congress or most Americans.”

Kustoff, one of only two Jewish Republicans in Congress, spoke of campaigning in his district, which includes Memphis and western Tennessee, and being asked what church he goes to when he knocked on doors.

“When I would answer ‘Temple Israel,’ the response immediately would be ‘I love Israel; what can we do to support Israel?’” he recounted. “It’s been gratifying … the overwhelming support Israel receives not only from the American Jewish community, but from friends in the Christian community.”
Doug Burgum emerges as veepstakes favorite of pro-Israel Republicans
As former President Donald Trump prepares to announce his running mate before this month’s GOP convention, some of the party’s leading pro-Israel donors are weighing in to voice their approval of North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who is a finalist on the vice presidential shortlist.

Burgum, a traditional conservative who briefly ran for president last year before dropping out and endorsing Trump, is not a household name to national audiences. But the wealthy former Microsoft executive has in recent months emerged as a top pick for vice president — and an attractive choice for some erstwhile Nikki Haley champions who have raised concerns about another leading contender, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), over his America First foreign policy views.

In contrast with Vance, one of the most outspoken opponents of aiding Ukraine in the Senate, Burgum — who has expressed support for continued military funding to Ukraine — is embracing a more hawkish foreign policy approach that has drawn admiration from establishment conservatives and major donors in the pro-Israel community.

Fred Zeidman, a top GOP donor who had backed Haley for president, said he was impressed with Burgum’s address at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual leadership summit in Las Vegas shortly after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks, when he met privately with the governor for an hour-long conversation that touched on Middle East policy.

“The thing that always stands out to me is his support of Israel — not only what he had to say about it in his speech, but also back in private conversation,” Zeidman said in an interview with Jewish Insider on Monday. “He understands it, and for that reason I don’t question his support under any circumstance.”

The North Dakota governor, 67, has frequently raised Middle East policy issues while campaigning for Trump in recent months, alleging that President Joe Biden has emboldened Iran and accusing Biden of “negotiating for the terrorists” after he said the U.S. would withhold weapons shipments to Israel if it went forward with an invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah, a Hamas stronghold.
RJC-backed challenger wins Virginia primary against incumbent who opposed Israel aid
John McGuire, a challenger backed by the Republican Jewish Coalition, defeated US Representative Bob Good, who marshaled opposition to emergency Israel aid, in a central Virginia primary.

The victory for the RJC is its latest in a Republican primary. Involvement in primaries was once a rare occurrence for partisan Jewish groups on both sides, but that has changed as both parties grapple with internal realignments over support for Israel. Two Jewish Democratic groups backed George Latimer, the Westchester county executive who last week defeated incumbent New York Representative Jamaal Bowman, a prominent Israel critic.

The Virginia Department of Elections posted the victory on Tuesday, two weeks after the razor-close election. McGuire, a state senator, won by 374 votes out of a total of some 63,000. Good said on X that he will exercise his right to ask for a recount.

The RJC targeted Good because he leads a faction that is increasingly inclined to demand that funding offsets be written into bills providing aid to Israel. Good and others on the far right have voted this past year against emergency funding for Israel in its war against Hamas.

“Let there be no doubt that the Republican Jewish Coalition means it when we say: If you stand against the Jewish community, if you stand against America’s strategic ally Israel, the RJC will work to defeat you,” the RJC said Tuesday in a statement, noting that it had also opposed Good-backed candidates who lost in Nebraska, Texas and West Virginia in earlier primaries this year.
'If Israel falls, the West falls': Geert Wilders is Europe's last stand against Islam
Many in Israel have never heard the name Geert Wilders, the leader of the Dutch right-wing Party for Freedom (PVV) that recently stormed the elections in his country. Anyone who reads this article will remember his name. I will discuss him in detail below.

After the world has turned against us, directly due to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his extremist messianic government, the first sparks of hope for change are beginning to emerge. And if this is indeed the case, it is not due to Netanyahu, who is detached and self-interested in his personal affairs - who continues to start fires remotely to keep the justified media fire away from him, but despite him.

Europe has shifted to the right because of Islam. Since October 7, Israel has also moved right. And looking for a sane state-liberal right, which in my view, is represented by Avigdor Lieberman, leader of Yisrael Beytenu. Other than those justifying the terrorist act, such as Gideon Levy, a journalist, and Ofer Cassif, a member of the Knesset for the Joint List, it is difficult to find even left-wing supporters who continue to empathize with the Palestinian militants.

Europeans are beginning to wake up to the occupation - the occupation of their countries by veils, hijabs, sharia laws, and thousands of mosques, increasing crime, and “Free Palestine" demonstrations, because of the opportunity given to Islamist immigrants to settle in their countries who, instead of assimilating into the local customs, insist on being open Islamists even in the countries hosting them, without generalizing. There are, of course, wonderful Muslims who spearhead ‘live and let live’. It goes without saying that alongside a large number of extremist Muslims involved in organizing activities against the modern Western world, there are, of course, many who prefer a quiet and peaceful life - and some of them even voted for Wilders.

There are governments in Europe that have made it clear that anti-Israel protests are equivalent to demonstrations against the country itself. For example - there are almost no Free Palestine demonstrations in the Czech Republic and Austria, but there are demonstrations in support of Israel.
4 Syrian-Palestinians among 8 arrested in Germany, Sweden for crimes against humanity
Investigators in Germany and Sweden on Wednesday arrested eight suspects allied with Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government over alleged participation in crimes against humanity in Syria, prosecutors in both countries said.

The suspects are accused of taking part in a “violent crackdown on a peaceful anti-government protest” in the Al-Yarmouk district in Damascus on July 13, 2012, Germany’s Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office said.

It said the four stateless Syrian Palestinians and Syrian national detained in Germany were “strongly suspected of killing and attempting to kill civilians, qualified as crimes against humanity and war crimes.”

It named the Syrian Palestinians as Jihad A., Mahmoud A., Sameer S. and Wael S. The Syrian national, identified as Mazhar J, is believed to have worked for the Syrian military intelligence service.

“They and other accessories specifically targeted the civilian protesters, shooting at them,” resulting in six deaths and other serious injuries, the prosecutor said.

The war between Assad’s troops and armed opposition groups, including Islamic State, erupted after the government repressed peaceful pro-democracy protests in 2011.

It has killed more than half a million people, forced millions to flee their homes, and ravaged Syria’s economy and infrastructure.

Wednesday’s arrests took place as a result of work carried out by an investigation team named “Caesar” after a defector who worked as a photographer for Syrian military police.

In 2013 he smuggled more than 50,000 photographs out of Syria, many of them documenting the deaths of prisoners in detention centers or military hospitals.
Lipstadt: Dilemma faced by French Jews in elections is similar to challenges for U.S. Jews
Since French President Emmanuel Macron called snap elections last month, French Jews have faced an agonizing choice: support a far-right party with historical ties to Holocaust deniers, or vote for Macron after he endorsed a far-left party with a prominent member who has called the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks a “legitimate action.”

Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt, the U.S. special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, called the “conundrum” facing French Jews a “microcosm … for so much of what we’re seeing,” she said. “Where do I go? If I’m a college student, where do I find my home? What’s a comfortable place to be?”

As a State Department official, Lipstadt’s remit is foreign policy: working with foreign governments to fix their own issues associated with antisemitism and advance shared global priorities combating hate. But she hinted that the discussions among French Jews who feel stuck between two political extremes that espouse different forms of antisemitism mirror those happening stateside. “I would guess that there’s some people who would not see it as that different from some conversations going on in the United States,” Lipstadt said.

In an interview with Jewish Insider on Monday, Lipstadt shared how the Oct. 7 attacks raised the stakes of her quest to combat antisemitism around the world, making progress ever more elusive — and more important.

“The situation is bad. But I think there are more and more individuals, countries [and] political leaders who are taking it seriously,” she said. “The mediums we get are high-level, which counts for a lot. I’m not just going to talk to some person who doesn’t really have the power to make the change.” (Since April, Lipstadt has traveled to eight countries, with two more on the docket for July. “I’m not doing it just to rack up the frequent flier miles,” she joked.)

Foreign officials do not always take Lipstadt seriously when they meet her, she said, especially those in countries where antisemitism is prevalent, although she did not name specific countries.

Sometimes, people will assume she represents the Jewish community and try to minimize her message. “No, I represent the United States government and the person to whom I directly report is Secretary [of State Tony] Blinken,” Lipstadt will answer, prompting apologies.
Ben-Dror Yemini: Amid the rise of the French extreme left and right, Jews are the ones losing
France is arriving to the runoffs battered and polarized. "This is a nightmare," said Ofer Bronstein, a French-Israeli adviser to Macron. He has nothing good to say about the far-right. He always held left-wing views but was not anti-Zionist.

He wrote a few days ago that Rima Hassan, the rising star in Mélenchon's party and a Syrian refugee of Palestinian descent was calling for the annihilation of Israel. He was attacked. "Anyone who chants 'from the river to the sea,' supports Israel's destruction and anyone who justifies Hamas also supports the destruction of Israel," Bronstein responded to his critics.

"There is a moderate left," he said, "but the alliance with Mélenchon, a man who thrives on hate and polarization, brought the far-right to victory. Rather than a Paris Olympics which the world could look up to, we will have the 1936 Berlin Olympics after Mélenchon has made the Palestinian question a cornerstone of his campaign. Hatred of Israel will translate to hatred of Jews."

As soon as the results of the first round of the elections came in, the left marched out into the streets. Hassan appeared in a keffiyeh, Palestinian flags were raised and the crowd chanted for Israel to get out of Palestine. Sinwar and the Iranians are happy. France be damned.

Violence has already begun. Macron warned it would come but his mistake was calling a snap election in the first place.

The dilemma facing the Jews is naturally greater. Most have traditionally voted for centrist parties. The sad question now is who do they fear more? A survey conducted among Jewish students revealed that 91% have been victims of at least one antisemitic incident. Seven percent of those included violence.

According to the survey, the fear of violence from the extreme left surpasses that of the far-right. While Mélenchon has emphasized the Palestinian issue, this is not the main dispute in France nor the sole reason for the far-right's growing strength. The true narrative centers on France's national identity, encompassing culture, immigration and the economy. And the Jews? Regardless of Sunday's ballot results, they will find themselves on the losing side.


Making Sense with Sam Harris: #373 — Anti-Zionism Is Antisemitism
Sam Harris speaks with Michal Cotler-Wunsh about the global rise of antisemitism. They discuss the bias against Israel at the United Nations, the nature of double standards, the precedent set by Israel in its conduct in the war in Gaza, the shapeshifting quality of antisemitism, anti-Zionism as the newest strain of Jew hatred, the “Zionism is racism” resolution at the U.N., the lie that Israel is an apartheid state, the notion that Israel is perpetrating a “genocide” against the Palestinians, the Marxist oppressed-oppressor narrative, the false moral equivalence between the atrocities committed by Hamas and the deaths of noncombatants in Gaza, the failure of the social justice movement to respond appropriately to events in Israel, what universities should have done after October 7th, reclaiming the meanings of words, extremism vs civilization, and other topics
. The 1936 Arab "Revolt" | Oren Kessler on what the FIRST First Intifada taught the Arabs
Explore the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with Oren Kessler, a journalist, political analyst, and author of the acclaimed book "Palestine 1936." In this episode, we delve into the roots of the conflict, key turning points, and the impact of historical narratives on the current situation.

In this conversation, we'll discuss Israel's withdrawal from Gaza in 2005, the Oslo Accords, the Six Day War of 1967, and the Arab rebellion of 1936-1939 — a pivotal but often overlooked period of violent upheaval against British rule and Jewish immigration.

Join us as Eylon Levy and Oren Kessler unravel how the echoes of past conflicts continue to reverberate in the Middle East today. Gain insights into the untold stories and historical truths that shape the complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Don't miss this enlightening discussion on the "Israel: State of the Nation."

00:00 - Coming Up
00:46 - Monologue
02:49 - Main Titles
03:07 - Does history repeat?
05:07 - Early 1900s Mandatory Palestine
09:31 - 1921: Amin al-Husseini: Grand Mufti & anti-Semite
11:32 - 1920s: Arab massacres of Jews
13:03 - 1930s: Jews flee Europe to Palestine
15:08 - 1930s: Izz ad-Din al-Qassam preaches Jihad
17:59 - 1936: Arab Revolt - the first First Intifada
19:15 - 1937: The Peel Commission report
24:44 - Arabs Divided: peace or violence
31:20 - Britain betrays the Jews
41:13 - Violence pays off
42:55 - The parallels between 1936 and Oct 7
48:24 - Game show
51:22 - Oct 7 legacy


University of Minnesota overtaken by ‘radical, pro-Hamas activists,’ House majority whip says
The University of Minnesota, a highly ranked public school in Minneapolis, allowed itself to be overrun by “radical, pro-Hamas activists” and is “on record endorsing a concept that has been used to justify terrorism and the antisemitic view that Israel should not exist,” according to Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), the U.S. House of Representatives majority whip.

Emmer penned a recent letter to Rebecca Cunningham, the university’s new president, asking her to “take action to undo the damage done by your predecessor to ensure the campus is a safe and nurturing environment for Jewish students, staff and faculty.”

The congressman had corresponded with Jeff Ettinger, the university’s previous president. Emmer wrote to Cunningham that her predecessor agreed to several terms to dismantle an illegal, anti-Israel encampment at the university, including a term he later said he didn’t understand, which “functionally implies the destruction of the State of Israel.”

“The University of Minnesota is now on record agreeing to the antisemitic sentiment that Israel should not exist,” he wrote. “This is abhorrent and completely unacceptable.”

He added that the group with which Ettinger came to an agreement, UMN Divest Coalition, says that the agreement calls for the right to “resist against the occupation,” which Emmer said “is a concept that currently and historically underlies Palestinian terrorist attacks against Israelis and Jews.”

The congressman sought clarity, by July 8, on what Cunningham is doing to fix the public school’s endorsement of the view that Israel has no right to exist, what the school is doing to protect Jews, and, given the university agreed to explore programs with Palestinian universities, what is it doing to make sure those schools aren’t tied to terror, as, he said, Birzeit University is.

“I look forward to working with you to cultivate a safe learning environment for Jewish students at the University of Minnesota,” he wrote.
UC Berkeley President Walks Back Positive Statements on Pro-Hamas Protesters, Israel Boycott
University of California, Berkeley chancellor Carol Christ has issued a message assuring Jewish faculty that the school will not boycott and divest from Israel, according to a letter shared with The Algemeiner.

The letter — written to the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Jewish Student Life and Campus Climate — followed concerns that Christ expressed agreement with the ideology and aims of pro-Hamas protesters in a previous missive announcing a settlement for ending a “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” in which students lived for several weeks and refused to leave unless the school adopted an anti-Israel stance. In it, Christ commended the protesters as “professional” and “productive” while describing Israel’s prosecution of its war against Hamas as “horrific,” sentiments that were reportedly dictated by the protesters as a condition of their cooperation.

“I plan to make a public statement by the end of the month sharing my personal support for government officials’ efforts to secure an immediate and permanent ceasefire,” Christ said. “Such support for the plight of Palestinians, including protest, should not be conflated with hatred or antisemitism.”

Christ, who will soon retire from academia, did say that the protesters’ demands for a boycott of Israel and divestment of holdings in countries linked to it are nonviable, but she hesitated to formally denounce the latter, saying only that it is prohibited under California law.

In the latest letter, however, Christ announced “new campus programs to provide antisemitism education to larger numbers of students, faculty, and staff.” Additionally, she said that her earlier comments do “not in any way, open the door to, or have anything to do with, divestment from entities based on the fact that they do business with Israel or are situated in Israel.” The outgoing chancellor also denounced rising antisemitism on the campus as “deeply disturbing” and expressed support for the school’s Jewish Studies and Israel Studies fields — statements that drew praise from Jewish faculty leader and political science professor Ron Hassner.

“The chancellor’s statement is evidence of Berkeley’s ongoing support for Jewish Studies and Israel studies. That, in turn, is a function of respect for our Jewish students and faculty community,” Hassner told The Algemeiner on Monday. “While masked anti-Israel protesters engaged in violence, racism, intimidation, and property destruction, the Jewish campus community responded with quiet dignity. While protesters made quixotic ‘foreign policy’ demands, the Jewish community called for safety, coexistence, and antisemitism education. I’m glad campus ignored the former and embraced the latter.”

Christ’s initial praise of pro-Hamas students troubled many on campus given their actions during the 2023-24 academic year, particularly after Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel.

In February, a mob of hundreds of student and non-student protesters shut down an event at the UC Berkeley Zellerbach Library featuring Israeli reservist Ran Bar-Yoshafat, forcing Jewish students to flee to a secret safe room as the protesters overwhelmed campus police.
HIDDEN CAM: "Hamas followed Islamic Principles"
Our latest V24 Investigates investigation into radical Islamism and antisemitism present on America’s university campuses exposes a highly concerning conversation between our undercover journalist and Dr. Isam Vaid, the Muslim Religious Life Scholar in the Emory University Office of Spiritual and Religious Life since 2008. He provides “regular religious practices on campus” and “contribute(s) to tradition-specific and interfaith presentations for the campus community” and “develop(s) multifaith scholarship for the future.” (This from his bio on Emory University’s website.)

When he is unaware that is he is being filmed he certainly does not come across as a proponent of bona fide “interfaith dialogue” and he makes statements such as:
- there is no such thing as Israeli civilians “and the reason they are not civilians is every single Israeli is obligated to serve in the IDF therefore you (Israelis) are a military target”
- ⁠”Hamas is a humanitarian organization that gives money to widows, sends children to school, and builds hospital(s).”
- ⁠The IDF created and funded Hamas and since Israel “created the monster, the monster will destroy you.”
- ⁠Coverage of Hamas atrocities is “misinformation” similar to what was spun “during the Iraq war” and suggestions of rape and beheadings of babies have been “debunked” and even the “Wall Street Journal said this was not coming from credible sources”
- ⁠”Hamas follows Islamic principles” and such acts as “raping, killing, and even cutting down trees are forbidden”
- ⁠”Wealthy Jewish donors made a lot of noise about antisemitism” and “Jewish students make up 20% of the student population” and “they threatened to pull out students” which would have been “a catastrophic financial loss” and “a real credible threat to the university”
- ⁠CAIR (Council on American Islamic Relations) and student groups pressured the school to focus on Islamophobia and by the third statement of the school, “Islamophobia came first and antisemitism second”
- Dr. Vaid works directly with CAIR and was given “a heads up” on their lawsuit against the school alleging the fostering of “an Islamophobic environment” (recall CAIR was an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation prosecution in 2007 whereby it was demonstrated they funneled money to U.S. designated terrorist ground
- ⁠Weighs in on the historical tribes of Israel and says specifically “the one tribe of Israel, the Yehuda, is the one causing all the trouble on Earth,…chaos on Earth”

This Muslim academic and cleric on Emory’s campus speaks more like an Islamist radical hatemonger than a professor in this historically great Atlanta university that has been referred to as the “Harvard of the South.” Perhaps Emory is taking too many cues from Harvard these days. Either way, there needs to be deeper investigation by statutory bodies as to what kind of Islamic radicalism is being inculcated in Muslim students by staff such as Dr. Vaid who is hiding behind a misdirecting public veil of “interfaith dialogue” as he preaches this sort of radicalism one on one to Muslims in his university sanctioned purview. In short, this is unacceptable on American university campuses and deeper investigations need to be undertaken post haste.




Detective from Metropolitan police lobbied university to boycott Israel
A detective from the Metropolitan Police lobbied a university to boycott Israeli institutions, the JC can reveal.

Micaela Rocha asked students at the Yenching Academy of Peking University, where she was studying for a master’s degree, to sign a letter asking the institution to sever ties with the Jewish state.

After the JC contacted the Met over the comments, a spokesman said the matter had been referred to the Professional Standards Unit and was pending investigation.

Under police regulations, officers are not permitted to engage in any form of political activity other than standing for election to a parish council.

The disclosure will stoke concerns about “two-tier policing” at the Met.

During anti-Israel marches in recent months demonstrators have chanted in support of the Houthi terror group and called for an “intifada”.

Former home secretary Suella Braverman insisted earlier this year that the force has treated pro-Palestine campaigners with “kid gloves” while Jews are intimidated and forced out of central London.

She wrote: "Chants of jihad on the streets have been condoned by the police; advisers to the Met have been found to hold repellent views; a man carrying a placard stating that ‘Hamas are terrorists’ was arrested, while those who are flagrantly antisemitic are waved on by the police.”

Rocha, described by Yenching Academy as “a Portuguese national living in the UK”, became a detective constable with London’s police force in 2020, where she was attached to Central East Command Unit covering Hackney and Tower Hamlets.
Revealed: NHS nurse met Hezbollah terror chief in Lebanon while on annual leave
A pro-Hezbollah nurse travelled to Lebanon while on paid leave from the NHS to interview a terror chief for a documentary about her “martyr” grandfather, the JC can reveal.

In a gushing post after the January meeting, trainee endoscopist Fatima Al-Subeiti related how the head of Hezbollah’s political wing in Lebanon, Muhammad Raad, heaped praise on her grandfather as a key player in the creation of the banned terror group.

Also at the meeting was Fatima’s sister, Batool, an engineer at Arup Group – a company with UK government defence contracts – who has celebrated the October 7 terror attacks and helped organise the anti-Israel Quds Day march in London.

A post shared by the sisters on Instagram in January states that their grandfather, Muhammad Hadi Al-Subeiti, was a founding member of the Islamic Da’wah Party, a Shia Islamist movement in Iraq, and helped the “formation of the Islamic resistance of Lebanon”.

They write that during the meeting the Hezbollah leader remarked on their grandfather’s “martyrdom” and said he would never forget the “strength and dynamism of his ideas”.

Tipped to succeed Hassan Nasrallah as the next secretary-general of the Iranian-backed faction, Raad is one of the most senior figures in the Iran-backed terror group.

Batool Subeiti regularly addresses students at UK universities and is a contributor to the Iran regime mouthpiece Press TV.

She appeared to celebrate Hamas’s massacres on southern Israel, describing the attack on social media as “unprecedented revenge”, and praising Hamas’s “creativity and execution”.

In photos of the meeting shared by the sisters, they described Raad as “one of the ideologues of the Lebanese resistance party (H e z b*ll*h)”. The post was still on Instagram at time of publication with the Hezbollah logo blurred out.


AJC lauds Supreme Court decision to remove online hate speech
The Supreme Court cast its decision on Monday on a case challenging Florida and Texas laws, Moody v. NetChoice, restricting the ability of technology companies to moderate offensive content online.

The American Jewish Committee released a statement on Tuesday heralding the move to support tech companies’ “legal right and moral obligation to exclude hateful speech from their platforms.”

The group had filed an amicus brief regarding the case in December.

This week, it said it welcomed the “Supreme Court decision in the two NetChoice cases examining this right.”

AJC called the ruling “an essential victory not only for the freedom of speech of the platforms but also for simple decency.”

Citing its State of Antisemitism in America 2023 Report, AJC noted that American Jews currently experience the most hate online with 62% of those surveyed “seeing or hearing antisemitism online or on social media in the past 12 months, including 6% who said this happened once, and 56% who said it happened more than once.”
Meta lifts ban on use of the word 'Shaheed' in its posts
Meta Platforms announced on Tuesday it would lift its comprehensive ban on the word “shaheed,” or martyr in English, following a year-long review by the company’s oversight board.

The word was previously banned under Meta’s Dangerous Organizations and Individuals Policy, stating that the use of the word “shaheed” always constituted praise.

The independently operated oversight board started its review because the use of “shaheed” led to more content removals on the company’s platforms than any other single word or phrase, according to Meta. The board completed their review in March and said Meta's policies on the term did not consider its various interpretations, leading to the deletion of content that was not meant to condone violence.

The term “shaheed” usually refers to someone who has died for their religion or a cause. But within the Israel-Palestinian conflict, it commonly refers to terrorists who have attacked Israelis or Jews.

This week Meta acknowledged the findings of the review, and said “its tests have revealed that “removing content when ‘shaheed’ was paired with otherwise violating content captures the most potentially harmful content without disproportionately impacting the voice.”

The company further explained that now they will only remove content with the term if it is paired with “one or more of three signals of violence,” including pictures of weapons or calls for violence.

The oversight board praised the lifting of the ban, saying that Meta's previous policy on the term had resulted in the censorship of many users across its platforms.
CNN Fires Hamas-linked Gaza Freelancer Exposed by HonestReporting
CNN announced Wednesday that it would no longer use a Gaza freelancer, whose ties to Hamas were exposed by HonestReporting.

Abdel Qader Sabbah photographed himself with a senior Hamas leader, served in a Hamas-run body to which he also provided work, praised terrorists, and shared anti-Israeli propaganda online, an HonestReporting investigation revealed.

Throughout the Israel-Hamas war, CNN has given a prominent platform to news reports by Sabbah, who has also worked for the Associated Press, and the exposure of his links to the terror group casts a long shadow over the network’s vetting procedures and journalistic standards.

“This freelance journalist has provided material used in stories for us and other outlets over the past nine months, during which time our own journalists have been barred from entering Gaza independently,” a CNN spokesman told HonestReporting. “We have reviewed this material carefully and are comfortable that it meets our standards. However, we were not aware of this individual’s historical social posts and recognize that they are highly offensive. In light of this, we will no longer be using his material going forward.”

Sabbah is the 11th journalist reassigned, suspended, or fired due to HonestReporting since August 2022.

The following details are based on a survey of Sabbah’s social media activity, predominantly on Facebook, where his connections and bias have been hidden in plain sight.

Abdel Qader Sabbah’s Links to Hamas
Sabbah, who describes himself on Facebook as a freelance journalist, director, and photographer, has proudly shared posts showing he had connections to Hamas figures and institutions run by the terror group.

In 2018, he posted a selfie taken with none other than senior Hamas leader Mahmoud A-Zahar, who had called for world domination with “no Zionists.”

In the photo, the two men are seen smiling, and the post caption reads in Arabic: “This morning, with commander Abu Khaled Al-Zahar, literature teacher…”


Journalist at US-Based Nonprofit Promoted Stabbing Israelis, Depicted Rescued Hostage as Pig Drinking Blood: Report
A journalist at a US-based nonprofit posted tutorials on how to commit stabbing attacks and depicted a rescued Israeli hostage as a pig drinking blood, according to newly surfaced social media posts.

Eitan Fischberger, a communications analyst and former Israel Defense Forces (IDF) staff sergeant who first broke the story on X/Twitter, alleged that Mahmoud Ajjour, a correspondent for The Palestine Chronicle, posted disturbing images and videos to his Instagram page.

Fischberger posted screenshots and screen recordings of the posts.

According to The Chronicle‘s website, Ajjour is a photojournalist and correspondent for the outlet, which is a US-based 501c3, or nonprofit organization.

One of the posted images depicted Noa Argamani — an Israeli who was kidnapped from the Nova music festival during Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in southern Israel, and then rescued in an IDF special operation last month — as a pig drinking blood from a Coca-Cola bottle.


Tracy-Ann Oberman: I have 112,000 followers but my love for Twitter is over
There is nothing more depressing than watching people you once liked re-posting some truly terrible things about your kinfolk, quoting truly awful people in the most ill-informed way, while believing they are on the side of the angels.

How many people have you unfollowed? I recently opened TikTok and then shut it because I had never seen such antisemitic propaganda since researching Hitler’s Mein Kampf. Poor young people. They don’t know how easily they’re being manipulated. It will take generations to get over this mass misinformation and indoctrination that has been so damaging to the Jews.

In the last month I’ve had a chronic bad back and non-stop flu and, after assuming that I was immune, I finally caught Covid, which knocked me for six. So I did the unthinkable and came off all social media. I also took a break from the news and even my phone. This was so difficult, going against every instinct that I have that the unexamined life is not worth living, and that the uninformed person is a Fool on the Hill.

But I loved it. When you live in your own bubble, nothing else exists. My phone isn’t pinging every two minutes with horror stories about the indignities suffered by Jews and Israelis around the world. Elections? What elections? I lived a life that took me back into a golden age before social media. My world instead was focused on the dozen people I love. I was no longer constantly looking like Munch’s The Scream or party to everybody’s inner thoughts, political opinions or skewered, manipulated prejudices. I could pretend that politicians can be trusted, David Bowie never died and Corbyn never existed. My health improved enormously.

But it hasn’t lasted. I was tempted to take a peek at X the other day and it was like opening the door to an insane asylum. I haven’t be able to wean myself off it completely. But I’m going to give it a bloody good try.


Toronto Star’s Shree Paradkar Devotes Column To Framing Opposition To Palestinian Propaganda As Racism
In a June 28 commentary published in the Toronto Star entitled: “Why the term ‘anti-Palestinian racism’ has an uphill climb to recognition,” columnist Shree Paradkar preyed upon the caring nature of Canadian values to distort narratives through an Orwellian inversion of reality — cheapening the experiences of other oppressed minority groups in the process.

Paradkar — a long-time serial anti-Israel offender with a bizarre obsession with reflexively attacking the Jewish State’s supporters and defending its detractors — failed to genuinely engage with any substantive reasons why common actions and beliefs of the pro-Palestinian movement are widely criticized as problematic, while arguing that opposition to such things is a “systemic” form of “racism” that deserves to be specifically named and included for equal mention in classroom discussions of historically significant scourges such as antisemitism, anti-Black racism, and anti-Indigenous racism and discrimination.

Paradkar stated that society unfairly “resists the term that describes the experiences of Palestinians worldwide: anti-Palestinian racism,” and that governments and school boards should formally adopt the term and “reckon” with it. She cited an explanation of the concept of anti-Palestinian racism as including anything that “excludes…their narratives.”

Any form of racism or hatred against any group of people based on their ethnic or national origin is unacceptable — including hatred directed at Palestinians. The vast majority of good-natured Canadians would agree unequivocally with this statement, as Paradkar is well aware.

That’s why the rest of her article is so hypocritical and disingenuous, and why its implications are so nefarious.


Ilhan Omar hit with ethics complaint over appearance with ex-Somali PM
A conservative watchdog group hit “Squad” Rep. Ilhan Omar with an ethics complaint Wednesday over an event she took part in last weekend that featured former Somalia Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire.

Khaire stumped for Omar (D-Minn.) and pushed to get out the vote for the congresswoman, which the American Accountability Foundation (AAF) claims may have violated the Federal Elections Campaign Act.

“We are deeply concerned by Ilhan Omar’s illegal campaign rally with the former Prime Minister of Somalia. Omar already has a long history of statements indicating her disdain for America and allegiance to Somalia, but this goes beyond statements,” AAF said in a statement.

“Now her campaign has taken action to involve a foreign leader in an American election. She must resign immediately and return every dollar raised for her at this disgraceful rally.”

Omar’s campaign counsel David Mitrani quickly fired back, telling The Post, “This ethics complaint is another attempt by the far-right to smear the Congresswoman.”

“Congresswoman Omar’s campaign had absolutely no involvement in requesting, coordinating, or facilitating Mr Khaire’s appearance or his comments, and accordingly there was no violation of law,” he said.

AAF asked the Office of Congressional Ethics to open an investigation into Omar and cited two possible infractions.


Campaigners seek to harness Gaza anger among UK Muslim voters
Shanaz Saddique is one of a surge of pro-Palestinian candidates hoping to mobilize Muslim votes at Britain's July 4 election by tapping into discontent over the two main political parties' positions on the war in Gaza.

Both the ruling Conservatives and the resurgent Labour party have said they want the fighting to stop but have also backed Israel's right to defend itself - angering some among the 3.9 million Muslims who make up 6.5% of Britain's population.

Few, if any, of the pro-Palestinian candidates running as independents or for non-mainstream parties will get elected to parliament, but "The Muslim Vote" campaign is looking to win enough votes to send a strong message to those who do.

"Gaza is ... not about a political argument. It's a human rights argument," Saddique, who is running to be elected as a Member of Parliament for Oldham East and Saddleworth north of Manchester told Reuters,

"We do not apologize for being the Gaza party."

The Muslim Vote campaign is advising voters to pick pro-Palestine candidates running as independents or from smaller parties like the left-wing Workers Party, which has put up 152 candidates including Saddique.

The party's outspoken leader George Galloway won a special election in March for a vacant parliamentary seat in Rochdale, a neighboring town to Oldham, which also has a big Muslim population, after Labour withdrew support from its candidate over a recording espousing conspiracy theories about Israel.
Financial Times covers up antisemitism in George Galloway's party
A Financial Times article on the Labour Party’s efforts to hold on to dozens of seats with sizeable Muslim populations in tomorrow’s election airbrushed the antisemitism plaguing one of the parties fielding the candidates. The piece (“Labour deploys activists to shore up vote in Muslim areas”, July 2), by Anna Gross and Jim Pickard, focuses primarily on the Workers Party of Britain (WPB), led by George Galloway.

In fact, Galloway himself – a terror supporter, conspiracy theorist and apologist for Vladimir Putin and Bashar al-Assad, who’s peddled antisemitism most of his career – is described in the FT piece as merely a “firebrand left-wing politician”.

Concerning Galloway’s Workers’ Party, the article informs readers that, in Oldham East, “Workers party candidate Shanaz Saddique is threatening to take a sizeable bite out of Labour’s vote…”, while neglecting to note that, on Instagram, Saddique said “Israel is behaving like Nazi Germany.” However, that’s just the tip of the iceberg concerning the extremist candidates representing WPB, a radical left party whose platform cites the “positive historical legacy of the Soviet Union”.

As The Times reported last month, Galloway’s party continues to back more than a dozen candidates – representing a tenth of the party’s slate – who’ve engaged in antisemitism or expressed support for Hamas. For instance, Kamran Khan, a candidate in east London, said Zionist Jews are “rapists”, “child killers” and support paedophilia. Khan also mocked Holocaust Remembrance Day, calling it a “galactic load of victimhood”, claimed America is controlled by a “Jewish mafia” and suggested that anyone who learnt about Jewish history would become a Nazi.

Dr Mehmood Jamshed, the Workers Party candidate for Mitcham & Morden, claimed on X that Hamas’s October 7 massacre was a “false flag operation” in which “no one was killed”. Chris Williamson, the party’s deputy leader, and co-host, with anti-Semite David Miller, on the Iranian PressTV show ‘Palestine Declassified’, praised the Oct. 7 attack as an “audacious military offensive by Palestinian freedom fighters”. He also accused Jews of “shrieking about supposed antisemitism”, which he characterised as a “deflection attempt” to cover up for “bloodthirsty Zionist fanatics…engaged in a genocide in Palestine”.

Colin Tasker, the WPB candidate for Dover & Deal in Kent, said that Zionist “scum” control Labour leader Keir Starmer. Jody McIntyre, who’s challenging Labour’s Jess Phillips in Birmingham Yardley, similarly suggested that Starmer is a puppet of Israel. Choudhry Yasir Iqbal, standing in Blaenau Gwent & Rhymney, said Israel is behind ISIS’s creation, and that Zionists are “behind most of the atrocities around the globe”. And, Harry Boota, the candidate in Bradford South, once said that “world financial institutions are controlled by Jews”.

Mez Derak, the Workers Party candidate in Finchley and Golders Green, shared an an article in 2019 describing Passover as “the celebration of the mass murder of children by an immoral and incompetent God.”


Israel to advance 6,000 housing units in Judea and Samaria
The Israeli government is advancing the approval of 6,016 housing units in dozens of towns throughout Judea and Samaria, the Supreme Planning Council of the Defense Ministry’s Civil Administration said on Tuesday.

The body was set to meet on Wednesday and Thursday to discuss the advancement of the building plans, some 2,400 of which were expected to receive final approval, Israel’s Channel 12 News broadcaster reported.

Among the projects on the agenda of the Supreme Planning Council is an initial request for 1,006 permits to expand Gevaot, near Alon Shvut in Gush Etzion, which currently consists of only a few dozen homes.

Towns expected to receive final permission include Immanuel (424 units), Mitzpe Yericho (365), Beitar Illit (312), Nokdim (290), Givat Ze’ev (228), Elon Moreh (186), Eli (152), Kiryat Arba (140), Almon (91), Etz Efraim (73), Tzofim (74), Ganei Modi’in (46), Metzad (six) and Shaare Tikvah (six).

Late last month, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for a series of measures to strengthen the Jewish state’s hold on Judea and Samaria in response to the Palestinians’ push for unilateral statehood and support for the International Criminal Court case against Israel.

Smotrich, who also has authority over civilian matters in Judea and Samaria, demanded the approval of 10,000 new housing units and the establishment of a new town for each country that recognizes “Palestine.”

Israel’s Security Cabinet reportedly signed off on Smotrich’s proposals during a meeting on Thursday night, approving the demanded building permits and moving to regularize the status of five outposts: Evyatar, Givat Asaf and Sde Efrayim in Samaria, and Adorayim and Heletz in Judea.

The decision was praised by Yesha Council chief Israel Ganz, who credited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with “making history, which is an integral part of the victory that the Jewish people need.” He also thanked Smotrich, “who led the big move with skill and wisdom.”
Report: State prosecutor seeking criminal probe against Ben-Gvir over Gaza ‘incitement’
Israel’s state attorney has requested permission to open a criminal probe into Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir over allegations of “incitement to violence” against Gazans, local media reported on Tuesday.

According to Israel’s Kan News broadcaster, prosecutor Amit Aisman has asked Israeli Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara for permission to launch the inquiry into the minister’s comments on the war against Hamas, claiming his immunity does not protect him in this case.

In the nine months since Hamas massacred 1,200 people, mainly Israeli Jews, during its Oct. 7 attack on the Jewish state, Ben-Gvir has repeatedly urged the government to eradicate the terrorist group.

“To destroy Hamas, we have to go into Rafah to the end, do a root canal. To return our hostages, we need to stop the fuel [supply to Gaza], establish that humanitarianism is only for humanitarianism,” the Otzma Yehudit Party leader stated in May remarks from the Temple Mount.

Ben-Gvir has also been pushing for the voluntary emigration of Palestinians and the resettlement of the Strip by Israeli civilians.

“Complete occupation of Gaza,” Ben-Gvir said on May 21. “Full Israeli control, including Jewish settlement and encouragement of voluntary emigration [for Gazans].” He said he would be willing to live in the enclave himself.

Kan News said Aisman’s request drew criticism from within the ranks of the Office of the State Attorney, with associates warning that the probe is unlikely to lead to charges.

Sources inside Aisman’s office told Kan that the request came against the background of the Jan. 26 International Court of Justice ruling ordering Israel to “punish the direct and public incitement to genocide.”
Israel transfers $116 million of withheld tax revenue to Palestinians
Israel transferred 435 million shekels ($116 million) of withheld tax revenue to the Palestinian Authority, the first such transfer since April, the Israeli and Palestinian finance ministries said on Wednesday.

Israel collects tax on goods that pass through Israel into the West Bank on behalf of the Palestinian Authority and transfers the revenue to Ramallah under a longstanding arrangement between the two sides.

Since the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has withheld sums earmarked for administration expenses in Gaza. Israel also deducts funds for electricity, water and costs to treat Palestinians in Israeli hospitals.

Even after these deductions, Palestinian officials say the amount is far below taxes collected each month.
Khaled Abu Toameh: Does the Palestinian Leadership Represent All Palestinians?
Palestinians who live abroad are calling for a voice in Palestinian decision-making, arguing that neither the Palestinian Authority nor the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) have the right to speak for all Palestinians.

In 2017, a portion of the Palestinian population residing outside the West Bank and Gaza Strip announced the formation of a group called the “Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad.” The group, which claims to represent 6-7 million Palestinians dispersed throughout more than 50 countries, is fiercely opposed to the Oslo Accords, signed between Israel and the PLO in 1993, and supports the “resistance” against Israel.

The group’s leaders say that the primary impetus behind its formation is the “marginalization” of Palestinians abroad since the signing of the Oslo Accords.

Prior to the agreement, there was a semi-consensus among the Palestinians that the PLO is the “sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.” After the signing of the Oslo Accords, however, the PLO leadership moved from Tunis and other Arab countries to the West Bank and Gaza Strip. As the PLO began concentrating the majority of its efforts on the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the organization’s ties with the Palestinians abroad increasingly deteriorated.

In the past three decades, the PLO Executive Committee, a crucial decision-making body, and other institutions associated with the organization have met regularly in Ramallah. The PLO no longer has offices in most Arab countries.
PMW: Palestinian Authority will pay more to today’s Martyr for slaying than it will to October 7 terrorists
An Israeli Arab stabbed two Israelis today in the city of Karmiel, murdering one and seriously wounding another. The PA rewards the families of Palestinian terrorists who are killed while perpetrating their crimes with a 6,000-shekel one-time reward and 1,400 shekels monthly for life. Since the terrorist who committed the attack today was an Israeli Arab, the PA will provide his family with that amount plus 21% for a total of 1,700 shekels a month for life.

Palestinian Media Watch exposed the Pay-for-Slay program in 2011, and the world has condemned it ever since, but PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has said (and PA television has broadcast) dozens of times that even if the PA has one penny left, it will continue to pay prisoners and Martyrs.


MEMRI: Iran-Backed Shi'ite Militias In Iraq Threaten To Attack U.S. Interests In Region If Israel Expands War Against Hizbullah
Amid the tension between Hizbullah and Israel, which has been growing in recent weeks, and amid the mutual threats they are exchanging to expand the scope of the war, the Iran-backed Shi'ite militias in Iraq are threatening that, if this happens, they will renew their attacks on U.S. interests in Iraq, Syria and throughout the region. It should be recalled that, in late January, the militias were compelled to suspend their attacks on U.S. interests – which were ostensibly carried out as part of their support for Hamas – due to America's retaliatory attacks against them and apparently also in response to pressure inside Iraq.[1]

In addition, the militias have expressed their willingness to aid Hizbullah in various ways, including by dispatching soldiers and arms to South Lebanon to help in the fight against Israel, and by escalating their drone and missile attacks against Israel.

The London-based Qatari daily Al-Arabi Al-Jadid reported today (July 3, 2024) that, in meetings they held over the weekend in Syria and Lebanon, militia officials agreed to compile "a list of U.S. targets" in Iraq and Syria that will be attacked if Israel carries out its threat to escalate the war in Lebanon. An official of the Shi'ite Iraqi Al-Nujaba militia clarified that, in such a situation, America's interests in the region "will not be safe."

Opposition websites in Syria have indeed reported in recent weeks that the militias continue to bring weapons, including missiles and drones, to their positions in eastern Syria, which are close to areas under the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces where U.S. troops are stationed.

While these threats may be intended to prevent Israel from escalating its operations against Hizbullah, it is also possible that the militias intend to use any escalation in Lebanon as an excuse to renew and intensify their attacks against the U.S. forces in Iraq, in order to force it to pull its troops from the country. Indeed, in the recent weeks the militias have threatened to renew the attacks if the negotiations between the Iraqi government and the U.S. about the presence of the American troops in the country does not yield results to their satisfaction.[2]

This report reviews the threats of the Shi'ite Iraqi militias to attack U.S. interests in the region if the war against Hizbullah intensifies.


EU lawmakers want Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps branded terrorist group
A group of European lawmakers is urging the European Union to place Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on an international terror list in a move that is gaining traction following elections that have seen a rightward shift across the continent.

The initiative comes two months after Iran fired more than 300 missiles and drones in an unprecedented direct attack on the Jewish state, and as the war against the Iranian-backed Hamas terror organization in the Gaza Strip rages for a ninth month.

A statement issued by 11 European lawmakers from eight countries and the European Parliament who convened this week for the annual Israel Allies Foundation (IAF) European Summit at the Dutch Parliament in The Hague called for the executive arm of the European Union to list the IRGC on the European list of terror organizations.

“We recognize the importance of addressing state-sponsored terrorism by the Iranian regime against the State of Israel and Jewish communities across Europe and therefore call on the European Commission to list the IRGC on the European terror list,” the statement read.

The parliamentarians at the two-day conference represented the Czech Republic, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Slovakia, Portugal and Estonia.

The gathering of faith-based lawmakers who lead the Israel caucuses in their respective parliaments also urged European governments to permanently defund the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) due to its direct ties to terrorism and pressed to transfer their responsibility to alternative U.N. agencies on the ground.

Some European governments, including Germany and Austria, have resumed funding UNRWA after a temporary suspension. The United States has kept a freeze in place following the bombshell revelations tying the organization to Hamas terrorism.


Germany delays plans to compensate Polish victims of World War II
Contrary to prior anticipations, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz did not announce an initiative to pay Polish citizens victimized in World War II by the Nazi regime during a press conference on Tuesday with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

“There is no such gesture that would satisfy Poles, there is no sum of money that would offset all that happened during World War II. And here there is no dispute between us either,” Tusk said on Tuesday.

Scholz said Germany would “endeavor to provide support for the victims” without offering specifics.

The plan would come following the previous Polish administration led by the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party, which had demanded $1 trillion in war reparations, a request Germany dismissed, citing previous agreements between the two countries following the conclusion of the Second World War.

The delay in a decision reportedly derives from German legislative concerns about the size of the payment and the potential for other European countries to make similar demands.
How Did Walter Rosenberg Escape Auschwitz?
Amidst the horrors of Auschwitz, Walter Rosenberg, a young Jewish prisoner, accomplished the unthinkable. Escaping the Nazis’ most notorious death camp with vital evidence in hand, Rosenberg revealed the atrocities of the camp to the world. From his harrowing journey of beatings and near-death experiences, to his meticulous documentation of Auschwitz, Walter’s story is one of unimaginable courage.

Later known as Rudolf Vrba, his detailed report revealed the grim reality of the Holocaust, saving lives and aiding in the pursuit of justice against Nazi war criminals.

Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:20 Walter Rosenberg's life before Auschwitz
01:53 Life in Auschwitz
03:34 The mission to tell the world about the Holocaust
05:50 Escape from Auschwitz
09:02 Warning the Hungarian Jewish community
11:22 Rudolph Kastner
13:19 Pressure on Hungary to end the deportations of Jews
13:56 Rudolph Vrba after the Holocaust


Italian PM condemns her far-right party’s youth wing for glorifying fascism
Italian Premier Giorgio Meloni has admonished the youth wing of her far-right Brothers of Italy party after an Italian news outlet published videos showing some of its members glorifying fascism.

“I have said and repeated dozens of times, but perhaps I need to repeat it: There is no space in Brothers of Italy for racist or antisemitic positions, just as there is no space for nostalgics of totalitarianism of the 1900s, or for any other show of stupid folklore,’’ Meloni said in a letter to her party published by Italian media on Tuesday.

The online news outlet Fanpage released the videos last month filmed with a hidden camera by a journalist posing as an activist with Brothers of Italy’s youth wing. They showed members of the group praising the fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, doing fascist salutes and yelling the Nazi cry “Sieg Heil.”

Meloni has decried the fascist regime’s anti-Jewish racial laws and the suppression of democracy, but critics have long said she has not done enough to distance herself from her party’s neo-fascist roots.

The Brothers of Italy has its origins in the Italian Social Movement, or MSI, which was founded in 1946 by former Mussolini officials and drew fascist sympathizers into its ranks. It remained a small far-right party until the 1990s, when it became the National Alliance and worked to distance itself from its neo-fascist past.

Meloni was a member of the youth branches of MSI and the National Alliance, and founded Brothers of Italy in 2012, keeping the tricolor flame symbol of the MSI in her party logo.
Accused killer of Samantha Woll: ‘I ain’t killed nobody, bro’
During the trial on Monday for the man accused of murdering Samantha Woll, a Jewish community leader in Michigan, prosecutors played video of defendant Michael Jackson-Bolanos responding to questions previously posed by Detroit Police Department Detective Patrick Lane and Sgt. Steve Ford.

When one of the detectives identified himself with the department’s homicide unit, Jackson-Bolanos replied, “I didn’t kill nobody. Hell no.”

The 29-year-old said on the video, “I don’t know s**t about no homicides. I’m not into that s**t. I don’t know nothing about no body. I didn’t encounter no body. … I ain’t killed nobody, bro.”

Woll, 40, was found stabbed to death outside her home in Detroit’s Lafayette Park neighborhood on Oct. 21, 2023. Investigators have consistently ruled out antisemitism as a motive.

The defendant initially suggested that a sale of sunglasses to a pawn shop had prompted his arrest.

Claiming that he was homeless, Jackson-Bolanos said he had found a pair of sunglasses and sold them at a pawn shop. He offered to pay back the owner. “I’m kind of nervous because I didn’t do nothing,” he said.

Regarding the prosecutors’ claim of Woll’s blood on Jackson-Bolanos’s clothing, he said: “I didn’t hurt nobody. I don’t care what you’re talking about with DNA on my coat, but I did not hurt nobody. … Y’all are really harassing me and playing me about something I didn’t do, bro.”
Suspect Arrested for Vandalizing Kosher Miami Bagel Shop
Miami police have arrested 28-year-old Kenneth Guerrera in connection with an antisemitic attack on a kosher bagel shop early on June 14 in the downtown section of the city. Guerrera is facing a charge of criminal mischief over $1,000, with a hate crime enhancement.



“FREE PALESTINE” and “STOP GENOCIDE” was slathered across the store windows last month in bright red paint, presumably intended to symbolize blood.

Jews Fight Back Against Antisemitic Mob Attacking Jewish LA Store Similar incidents have taken place in New York City and Los Angeles, among other cities, in recent months.

Pro-Hamas Goons Target Effy’s Cafe on NYC’s Upper West Side

Surveillance footage showed Guerrera spray-painting the hate on the front windows of the shop, police said. The attacker also ripped down an Israeli flag hanging over the entrance to the shop and spray-painted that too.

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez and Federal Judge Roy Altman both helped to clean the red paint and graffiti off the windows of the shop.

Owner Josh Nodel, who has a second bagel shop in Miami Beach, said both shops have been vandalized four times since the start of the October 7th war launched against Israel by Hamas terrorists in Gaza.

“It’s unbelievable,” Nodel told WPLG Local 10 News after the attack. “It’s an act of violence against the Jewish people and an act of violence against Florida law.”


StandWithUs: Yasmeen Ohebsion, a proud Iranian-American Jew and Zionist, on antisemitism in the US
An important message from Yasmeen Ohebsion, a proud #Iranian-American Jew & #Zionist from L.A., #Jewish community leader, and former Co-President of The Movement To Address Antisemitism. Yasmeen fights everyday to battle the ongoing #antisemitism in the US.


Keep Digging: How Archaeology Debunks the Israel ‘Colonizers’ Libel
Historians say…
Beyond archaeology, the writings of Flavius Josephus, a first-century Jewish historian, provide an insider experience of Jewish life and Roman governance in Judea. In his work Antiquities of the Jews, Josephus details the Roman administrative presence in the region, including the taxation policies implemented by the governor of Syria, Cyrenius. Flavius notes, “Moreover Cyrenius came himself into Judea, which was now added to the province of Syria, to take an account of their substance, and to dispose of Archelaus’s money.” This account emphasizes both Jewish property and economic activities in Roman Judea. Josephus’s comprehensive records serve as a critical source, underscoring the continuous Jewish involvement in this land across millennia.

Benjamin Tudela, the 12th-century author of The Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela, records Jewish activity at the Cave of Machpelah. Tudela, a Jew living in the Middle Ages, describes the religious practices being exercised distinctly at this place. He writes that casks of generations of Israelites are buried within the cave and that our forefathers constructed “a gate of iron” to protect those visiting their loved ones’ remains. Because of Tudela, the stories of connection between Jewish people and their ancestors buried in the Land of Israel resonate more deeply.

Lasting Jewish Practice
The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in the early 20th century provides arguably the most compelling evidence of the Jewish people’s enduring connection to their land and heritage. These ancient manuscripts, which date back to the last three centuries BCE and the first century CE, include the earliest known copies of the Hebrew Bible, providing invaluable insights into Jewish life, law, and beliefs during the Second Temple period. Written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, these scrolls are a powerful symbol of Jewish spiritual and intellectual resilience. Their survival over two millennia affirms the enduring legacy of Jewish scholarship and the community’s unwavering commitment to preserving their sacred texts.

Israel is the Jewish Homeland
When British ships landed in North America in the late 16th century, they didn’t dig up Shakespeare plays and find ancient coins minted in English. By definition, colonial powers are not indigenous to the places they colonize. Jews have maintained a continuous presence in Israel since Judaism’s inception, despite numerous conquerors that have come along and expelled the Jews from their land. These exiles are not only thoroughly documented in Jewish literature and cultural evolution, but in continuous archaeological findings. Failed attempts to eradicate the Jewish people from their land have reinforced the urgency of the lasting existence of a Jewish country.
Recent Excavations Support the Biblical Narrative of Ancient Judea’s Power
The book of Kings, describing the glory of King Solomon’s reign, states:
And this is the reason of the levy which king Solomon raised; for to build the house of the Lord, and his own house, and Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gezer. For Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up, and taken Gezer, and burnt it with fire, and slain the Canaanites that dwelt in the city, and given it for a present unto his daughter, Solomon’s wife. And Solomon built Gezer, and lower Beth Horon. . . . And all the cities of store that Solomon had, and cities for his chariots, and cities for his horsemen, and that which Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.

Archaeologists are divided about this and similar passages. There is no extrabiblical evidence of Solomon, but the real question for scholars is whether, around the time of David and Solomon, Judean monarchs ruled a large kingdom roughly the size of modern Israel, or just a small chiefdom comprising Jerusalem and surrounding hills. Recent excavations at Gezer, located in the lowlands west of the Judean hill country (known as the Shephelah), support the biblical story of a larger kingdom. Marek Dospel reports, citing the work of the two men who led these excavations:
Steven Ortiz and Samuel Wolff . . . present “new archaeological evidence from Gezer that in the time of Solomon, the city did indeed boast a monumental gate and administrative complex that was meant to convey power and authority over newly acquired territories in the Shephelah.”

“It was during Solomon’s reign, in the mid-10th century BCE, that Gezer underwent a radical change. It became a well-fortified city with a massive six-chambered gate, an adjoining casemate wall, and a large administrative building,” write Ortiz and Wolff. Their excavations “confirm that during the 10th century, Gezer was a fortified city most likely administered by a royal authority.”




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