Monday, August 26, 2024

08/26 Links Pt2: Anti-Zionist Campus Activists Admit It: Their Purpose Is To Silence Jews; Democrats Can No Longer Take the Jewish Vote for Granted; Back to School in Wartime

From Ian:

Jake Wallis Simons: As Israelis are left out of terror memorial, it is time to reform the UN
It is as plain as the nose on your face that the UN has become corrupted by autocratic antisemites, who have grown adept at appropriating its authority and language as cover for their Israelophobic and anti-western agendas. Seeing that many western progressives are not too keen on the Jews themselves, and understanding the pressure-points that can be prodded with words like “colonialism”, “racism” and “genocide, they take Israel as an easy proxy for western liberalism and power. They don’t care about playing by the rules. Meanwhile, blinded to the exploitation by a deep-seated progressive animus of their own, the European technocratic elites who should know better play a part in this deplorable charade, and ultimately their own demise.

Take, for example, the reaction of the UN to the death of the Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi in May. Here was the figurehead of one of the most malign nations on Earth, who as the “butcher of Tehran” became notorious for sending thousands of political prisoners to their deaths. Here was a man who spent his every waking moment undermining the global order, terrorising the innocent, brutally oppressing women and repressing democracy. Yet when he was killed in a helicopter crash, the UN lowered its flag to half-mast and paid tribute to him in the General Assembly, including a minute’s silence. Its clownish secretary-general, the aforementioned António Guterres, even saw fit to write a personal note of condolence.

It gets more sinister still. Less than a month one of Iran’s numerous client militia, Hamas, launched its attack on the civilians of southern Israel, the new chair of the UNHRC was announced at a meeting in Geneva. Step forward Ali Bahreini, Iran’s ambassador to the UN. Entirely predictably, Bahreini opened the session by berating “colonial policies” of sanctions against his Islamic regime, while delegates nodded along.

All of this leads to a single, radical conclusion: the UN must be radically reformed, if not dismantled and replaced, as Erdan demanded. The problem is clear. Given the fact that the majority of the world’s nation-states are not democracies, if you set up an organisation on the basis of equal membership for all, the autocracies will outweigh those who stand for freedom. From the point of view of the world’s dictators, the UN offers a wonderful opportunity for legitimacy, enabling them to pose as legitimate statesmen while robbing and suppressing their own people and subverting democracy abroad. It’s a simple question of numbers. As the 1960s Israeli diplomat Abba Eban once remarked: “If Algeria introduced a resolution declaring that the Earth was flat and that Israel had flattened it, it would pass by a vote of 164 to 13, with 26 abstentions.”

It is this moral relativism that lies at the heart of the scandalous state of the UN. From Putin to Xi, Maduro to the Ayatollah, the world’s worst regimes are given equal seats at the table as the democracies. For all of them, hatred of Jews and Israel provides the ideal cover under which to advance their own agendas of corruption, oppression and subversion. The aura surrounding the UN is of a global moral authority. As the coverage of the Gaza war has demonstrated most vividly, append those two letters to any allegation and the public will swallow it whole. What better Trojan horse for the dictator’s goals than this?

The German Enlightenment philosopher Immanuel Kant, in his short 1795 book Perpetual Peace, proposed the notion of a “League of Nations”, in which various nation states would hand authority in resolving disputes to a central body, thus reducing the necessity for conflict. This became a reality after the First World War and was transmuted into the UN after the Second World War. If Kant could see the state of the organisation today, however, he would be deeply shocked.

As Sir Roger Scruton wrote: “Kant was adamant that there can be no guarantee of peace unless the powers acceding to the treaty are republics. Republican government, as defined by Kant, both here and elsewhere in his political writings, means representative government under a rule of law, and his League was one that bound self-governing and sovereign nations, whose peoples enjoy the rights and duties of citizenship.”

It is time for the democracies to throw out their cretinous moral relativism and recognise that it is incumbent upon us to shape the globe according to our values. As the women of Iran will happily attest, democracy is simply better than autocracy. As the malign dictatorships of Russia, China and Iran form an ever-closer union, drawing in smaller allies like Venezuela and North Korea into an axis of repression, the fight is coming our way. If we are to win, and the world is to avoid anarchy and war in favour of stability and justice, the UN must begin to unapologetically project democratic values, and make membership dependent on conforming to them. The struggle must start now.
Seth Mandel: Anti-Zionist Campus Activists Admit It: Their Purpose Is To Silence Jews
Colleges in the hands of folks like Diermeier are in better shape going into the next stage in this fight because to a large degree, personnel is policy. So the schools that are just now taking their first steps in the right direction are trying to impose values that the institution itself has never modeled.

Additionally, the entire structure of the “safe space” generation of schooling was constructed in bad faith. Much like DEI and other race-essentialist competitions, no one was ever in danger from “Zionists” (read: Jews) on campus. The whole production had one specific goal, which anti-Zionist groups are finally elucidating in clear terms. Last week, an imam headlining a Zoom teach-in hosted by Columbia’s Students for Justice in Palestine said this about Jewish professor Shai Davidai, who has been hounded for his criticism of genocidal anti-Semitism:
“If there’s one professor, like that Shai Davidai guy, how do we get him in trouble? What are the ways in which his professorship is sort of tenuous, or maybe in jeopardy, or at what point will it be in jeopardy? How do we create a situation in which he’s in jeopardy? In a particular situation that might have more impact and it might silence—this is what the Zionists do—that might silence 100 other professors. If you’re able to take out somebody like that, and make an example of them, it might shut up 100 more…. What’s our biggest threat here? What’s our biggest opportunity? Which domino, if we knock it over, is going to knock 20 dominoes over?”

What too many administrators, journalists, and even groups like FIRE never understood (or never wanted to admit) was that if the anti-Israel movement on campus had one single ethos, it was: “How do we create a situation in which he’s in jeopardy?”

Free speech was always at the center of it, but just not the way it has been portrayed. The goal was to eliminate Jewish students’ freedom of speech (and, eventually, of association, and even of movement) on campus. The speech of Anti-Zionists was not in danger—though they were occasionally told not to take hostages in university buildings and not to set up Jew-free zones on campus. What they were protecting was their ability to silence others.

A school like Columbia, where a pro-Hamas student group holds events explicitly designed to extinguish basic civil rights on campus, is in more trouble than schools like Vanderbilt (and University of Chicago, Purdue, and others), because its students have no need to even hide the ball anymore. The institution has already been converted from a university into a theater of political warfare.

The fall of Columbia is a cautionary tale in what happens when important elite American institutions believe they can jettison, without consequences, the American values that made them important and elite in the first place.
Biden’s DNC speech: A strategic echo of Reagan's 1988 PLO move?
So, Ronald Reagan decided to do Bush a favor – the type of favor a departing administration would never do for a successor from another political party. Rather than force his friend George Bush to have to withstand criticism from supporters of Israel for the eventual decision to begin a dialogue with the PLO, Reagan decided to “take the bullet.”

He was completing his second term in office with high approval ratings and a reputation for having a good relationship with Israel. He figured he had little to lose by a switch in diplomatic norms.

In the dying days of his administration, Reagan allowed his secretary of state to announce a dialogue with the PLO. By having his administration do “the dirty work” that many expected Bush would have to do sometime over the next few years, Reagan increased the chances that the “blame” would not fall upon Bush.

To Bush’s credit, months later, after the PLO admitted to being involved in an attack on an Israeli bus, his administration broke off its channel of communications with the PLO.

FAST-FORWARD TO August 2024. One of the biggest concerns of the Democrats heading into the November elections is that the actions of the Biden administration in rearming Israel after October 7 will alienate voters in the large Arab community in the swing state of Michigan.

When Joe Biden took to the stage on the first night of the DNC, he could have spoken about his trip to Israel after the October 7 massacre. He could have spoken about being touched by his meetings with the many family members of Israeli and non-Israeli hostages in captivity in Gaza since October 7.

However, the president decided to address the conflict in a different manner. He told his audience that the protesters outside the convention center “have a point.” In fact, those protesters have many points – they believe that Zionism is evil, many of them support the massacre of October 7, and many of them shout (“From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”) for the genocide of the Jews.

With very few exceptions (perhaps none), those protesters were not making any “point” in favor of a two-state solution.

To many, the decision by the president to use his time in front of a national audience to say that those protesters “have a point” was very strange. However, the phenomenon is not as strange when looked at through the Reagan-Bush-December-1988 lens. A president who will soon leave office knows that he has very little to lose by taking an action that a mere few months (or maybe even just weeks) earlier would have violated political orthodoxy. And if he can help his successor – from his own party – it might be worth breaking from political orthodoxy.

In the case of Reagan, opening a dialogue with the PLO was intended to remove an eventual “headache” for the president who Reagan knew with certainty was going to succeed him. In the case of Biden, extending a hand to the pro-Hamas protesters was intended to help the candidate who Biden hopes will succeed him.

For the State of Israel, the big concern is not what Biden said from the podium at the DNC – but rather what it foreshadows for other moves Biden might make between election day, November 5, 2024, and January 20, 2025, to remove any possible “headache” for Kamala Harris.


When Democrats tell the Jews, ‘Let me be clear…’
In the case of Harris, we have no presidential record, so the only way we can determine if there is any substance in her attempt to reassure American Jews is to examine her party itself.

In politics, what is said means next to nothing. What is done or not done means everything. And on the most pressing American Jewish issues of the moment, there is a very great deal that the Democrats have not done:
1. The Democrats have not moved to investigate and prosecute antisemitic hate groups like CAIR, Students for Justice in Palestine and numerous others.
2. The Democrats have taken no effective measures against the antisemitic professoriate regime that unethically and illegally rules the higher education system. Even Democrats like Sen. Chuck Schumer, a self-styled “guardian” of the Jewish community, have refused to take any action whatsoever on the issue or the antisemitic mob violence the regime has unleashed. The only politicians who have attempted to do so—with some success—have been congressional Republicans.
3. The Democrats have not forced elected and appointed Democratic officials, especially in major cities like New York, to hold antisemites accountable by prosecuting them for their crimes and giving them long sentences. The failure to do so has enabled and compounded antisemitism through perpetual indulgence.
4. The Democrats have not launched a major investigation into the incitement, funding and orchestration of the current wave of antisemitism by domestic and foreign actors, especially on campus.
5. The Democrats have done and said literally nothing about the metastasizing of antisemitism in the Muslim-American community, 60% of which thinks the Oct. 7 massacre was justified. Nor have the Democrats stared down the numerous Muslim-American organizations fueling antisemitic mob violence across the country. Instead, the Democrats continue to repeat the lie that America is suffering from a “wave of Islamophobia,” even though the evidence of our eyes reveals no mobs of non-Muslims marching through major cities demanding the annihilation of Muslims—quite the opposite, in fact.
6. The Democrats have not forcefully repudiated the blood libel that Israel is committing systematic war crimes and “genocide” in Gaza. Indeed, some prominent Democrats like Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren have publicly endorsed it, inciting further antisemitic violence. Neither Warren nor any other offender has been criticized or penalized by party leaders.
7. The Democrats have not endorsed military action—by Israel or anyone else—against Iran, a genocidally antisemitic regime that has murdered thousands of Jews. This is despite considerable evidence that Iran is involved in fomenting antisemitic violence in the United States and interfering in the 2024 election.
8. The Democrats have not stopped patronizing and insulting American Jews through cheap scare tactics. Rather than face the antisemitism in their own party, Democrats relentlessly harp on right-wing antisemitism, as if the existence of the latter somehow refutes the existence of the former.
9. Above all, the Democrats have not done what they obviously must do: Purge their antisemitic wing. At the moment, the party appears to believe that it can appease the antisemites rather than expel them. Putting aside the moral bankruptcy of such a tactic, it is doomed to disastrous failure because it is impossible. Antisemitism is unappeasable; it will settle for nothing but genocide. One would assume that an ostensibly “anti-racist” party would deal with such a movement in short order. So far, the Democrats have chosen not to.

American Jews may or may not maintain their century-old loyalty to the Democrats in November. In some ways, however, it does not matter. The question is what the Jews, however they vote, will do now. Some, no doubt, will defect to the Republicans, but most likely will not for ideological or emotional reasons.

That is their right, of course, but Jews who wish to remain Democrats must understand that they face, in many ways, the more grievous ordeal. They are now tasked not only with fighting antisemitism but also redeeming the party to which they have dedicated their lives.

This is a difficult reality to face, but once faced, it is obvious what Jewish Democrats must do: They must demand that the party and, should she be victorious, a President Harris finally live up to their fine reassurances. Jewish Democrats should be clear that when a Democrat says “Let me be clear,” they are heard very clearly and the pledge that follows is taken very seriously indeed. Jewish Democrats must demand that their party do, at long last, what it has thus far refused to do: the right thing.
The Democrats Can No Longer Take the Jewish Vote for Granted
Since at least the 1930s, Jews have been one of the most reliable of Democratic constituencies. Nathan Diament believes something fundamental has changed:

American Jews supported President Joe Biden over former President Donald Trump by a margin of 61 percent to 23 percent, according to the American Jewish Committee’s annual Survey of American Jewish Opinion. (The poll was taken in March and April, before Vice-President Kamala Harris replaced Biden on the ticket.) But in the same survey, 85 percent of American Jewish adults said it’s important for the U.S. government to support Israel in the aftermath of October 7, and 57 percent reported feeling more connected to Israel or to their Jewish identity since the attack. That’s a vulnerability for Harris if her policy toward Israel or attitude toward Jewish Americans is perceived as weak.

It’s all well and good to showcase Jewish Democrats [as Democrats did at the convention], but the party owes voters an answer to a pressing question: will Harris embrace Biden’s mostly pro-Israel record, or will she succumb to radical and anti-Semitic voices in the party? If Democrats don’t demonstrate their support for Israel and American Jews, they’ll have a lot to worry about in the key swing states.

Pennsylvania, a state where Biden mustered an 81,000-vote victory in 2020, is the swing state with the most Jewish voters: nearly 434,000. . . . A poll commissioned by the Orthodox Union released August 2 showed a startling result: Pennsylvania’s Jewish vote was closely split 49 percent to 42 percent between Harris and Trump—a departure from the Democrats’ historical hold on Jewish voters.
Rejected DNC speaker championed by Uncommitted movement has long anti-Israel track record
The “Uncommitted” movement that failed to get a representative to speak on stage at the Democratic National Convention last week had pushed at least one potential speaker — Palestinian-American Georgia state Rep. Ruwa Romman — who downplayed the significance of the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks and, in her proposed remarks, compared Israeli hostages being held in Gaza to Palestinian detainees.

According to proposed remarks published by Mother Jones, Romman sought to speak at length about her family’s Palestinian identity and to praise the “beautiful, multifaith, multiracial, and multigenerational coalition rising from despair within our Democratic Party” which, she said, “stood together, demanding to enforce our laws on friend and foe alike to reach a ceasefire, end the killing of Palestinians, free all the Israeli and Palestinian hostages, and to begin the difficult work of building a path to collective peace and safety.”

She also planned to support Vice President Kamala Harris.

Romman has a long track record of questionable rhetoric. On the afternoon of Oct. 7, Romman issued an equivocal statement calling for “an immediate cease-fire and de-escalation” that made no explicit mention of Hamas, instead referring to the “horrific bloodshed” and “ongoing violence surrounding the Gaza Strip.”

“What we are seeing unfold is the result of decades of policy failures and an inability by leaders to come to a just solution for all living in the region,” Romman said. “We cannot keep pretending that Palestinian people do not exist or ignore the rise of settler violence aimed at them.”

She added that “the inability of leaders to come to a peace agreement has enabled violent stakeholders to fill the vacuum” and “lack of justice leads to violence and the only way we can increase safety in any community is by alleviating oppression.”

Romman said that “we absolutely can, and should condemn violence and terror,” without directly mentioning who the victims of that violence were, while specifically condemning “settler violence and terror” against Palestinians, which she said “has served as a rallying cry for this most recent escalation.”

Within the past few days, Romman has accused Israel of genocide and described it as a fascist government being enabled by the United States. And she said the Biden administration cannot be serious in its efforts to reach a cease-fire unless it stops sending weapons to Israel.
McMaster showcases his disagreements with Netanyahu in new memoir
Prior to Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attacks, retired Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster — who served as former President Donald Trump’s national security adviser — believed that Israeli leaders were too credulous in building relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin to constrain Iran’s influence in neighboring Syria, he recounts in a new memoir obtained by Jewish Insider.

McMaster conveyed his concerns to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a brief exchange on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, he writes, claiming that Putin was “using a ‘bait and switch’” by dangling a “promise to curtail Iran’s presence and influence in Syria while actually enabling Iran’s proxies on” Israel’s borders.

“Netanyahu smiled and said he had better return to his seat,” McMaster says in his memoir, At War With Ourselves: My Tour of Duty in the Trump White House, which will be published on Tuesday.

The Israeli prime minister, he observes, “would not abandon his delusional view of Putin’s intentions until after the horrific Hamas terrorist attacks.”

In the book, a critical look at Trump’s time in office, McMaster, who resigned in March 2018 after a year in the administration, describes his experiences navigating a number of sensitive Middle East policy conversations.

He recalls witnessing a particularly tense meeting in Bethlehem with Mahmoud Abbas, where Trump, during a visit to the region in May 2017, accused the Palestinian Authority leader of “murder” and spoke in a “threatening” tone.

McMaster attributes Trump’s hostility to a film that Netanyahu had screened for him the night before. McMaster writes that after a conversation with Trump, he surmised that the film “had spliced together footage of Abbas to make it appear that he had called for the murder of Israeli children.”

He assumes that Netanyahu “had shown the film not just to undermine Trump’s relationship with” Abbas, he says in the book, “but also to prevent the president from pushing harder for a moratorium on new Israeli West Bank settlements or for a two-state solution.”

McMaster’s telling confirms an account from the journalist Bob Woodward in his 2020 book Rage, which first reported on the allegedly doctored film. The details of the film screening have been disputed by Trump’s former ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, in a separate book.
Media, human rights groups urge EU to suspend accords with Israel, impose sanctions
Some 60 media and rights organizations on Monday urged the European Union to suspend a cooperation accord with Israel and impose sanctions, accusing the country of “massacring journalists” as it battles the Hamas terror group in Gaza.

“In response to the unprecedented number of journalists killed and other repeated press freedom violations by the Israeli authorities since the start of the war with Hamas, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and 59 other organizations are calling on the European Union to suspend its Association Agreement with Israel and to adopt targeted sanctions against those responsible,” the groups said in a joint statement.

The call came ahead of a meeting by EU foreign ministers in Brussels on August 29.

The period following Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and Israel’s retaliatory assault on the Gaza Strip “has been the deadliest for journalists in decades,” the letter said.

“More than 130 Palestinian journalists and media professionals have been killed by the Israeli armed forces in Gaza since 7 October. At least 30 of them were killed in the course of their work, three Lebanese journalists and an Israeli journalist have also been (killed) during the same period,” it said.

“The targeted or indiscriminate killing of journalists, whether committed deliberately or recklessly, is a war crime,” it added.

Israel has denied targeting journalists in the war zone and said it makes every effort to avoid harming civilians, blaming the high death toll on the fact that Hamas fights in densely populated urban areas and embeds itself deliberately among civilians who are used as human shields.

In a statement on December 16, the Israeli army said that it “has never, and will never, deliberately target journalists.”
Already under multi-state probe, MSCI allegedly penalizes Israeli banks that operate in Judea, Samaria
The state-owned Bank of China operates a branch in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, where Washington has assessed that China is committing genocide against the ethnic Uyghur population. Still, the major U.S. investment advisory firm MSCI gives the bank a “green” score in its social and human-rights categories, meaning it “is not involved in any major controversies,” though it could be involved “in minor or moderate controversies.”

The only controversy for which MSCI cites the Chinese bank is a “yellow” score—meaning that it “is involved in severe-to-moderate level controversies”—for bribery and fraud, per public data accessible via a search tool on the MSCI website.

Four Israeli banks—Bank Leumi, Bank Hapoalim, Israel Discount Bank and Bank Mizrahi-Tefahot—get “yellow” MSCI ratings, or “severe-to-moderate” levels of concern, in the categories of social and human rights concerns, per public data on the firm’s site. A source with knowledge of the more comprehensive information that MSCI provides to clients told JNS that the advisory firm ranks all four Israeli banks with “severe” controversy scores for doing business in Judea and Samaria, citing anti-Israel sources to bolster its claims.

Headquartered in New York, MSCI is already under a multi-state investigation for potential BDS—boycotting the State of Israel—practices for assigning the controversial ratings to at least nine companies conducting business in Judea and Samaria, including the Israeli defense contracting company Elbit. MSCI flagged the latter for building security and surveillance barriers designed to protect Israelis from terrorists.

In March, Ashley Moody, the Florida attorney general, announced that she was leading a coalition of 18 state attorneys general in investigating whether or not discrimination against Israel was at play.

“The allegations against MSCI are deeply disturbing, and we have called for a quick response from the company’s leadership directly addressing our concerns,” she said at the time. (JNS sought further comment from Moody.)

Experts told JNS that MSCI’s ratings of Israeli companies amount to “backdoor BDS.”
B’nai B’rith pushes back against efforts by FIFA to sanction Israeli soccer
B’nai B’rith International sent a letter last week to the leaders of top soccer organizations worldwide, voicing opposition to a campaign led by the Palestinian Football Association to urge FIFA to sanction the Israel Football Association.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino topped the list of nine recipients—all FIFA council members—in a copy of the Aug. 22 letter provided to JNS. Others included Patrice Motsepe, president of the Confederation of African Football, and Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, president of the Asian Football Confederation.

The Israeli association “is not connected to the war that Hamas started. Indeed, it has suffered—as has all of Israeli society—from Oct. 7, losing players and coaches during the massacre and in the fighting since,” read the letter signed by B’nai B’rith president Seth J. Riklin, B’nai B’rith CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin and B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem director Alan Schneider.

Mariaschin told JNS that it’s “another example of Palestinian-led BDS, this time being carried out on the field of play. It is war by other means to demonize Israel. FIFA and the international sporting community should reject this brazen politicization of the game of soccer.”

B’nai B’rith concluded by calling on the leaders “to use your good and high office to thwart any sanction against the IFA based on Israel’s just war of defense against Hamas and Hezbollah terrorist organizations.”
French students return to campus wary of renewed anti-Israel activism
With the beginning of the academic year in September, some French Jewish students are apprehensive about returning to campuses and facing renewed anti-Israel activity.

A representative of the Union of French Jewish (UEJF) students told The Jerusalem Post that, like other countries, French universities had been host to protests, building occupations, and encampments the previous academic year. She was worried that the incidents that had occurred throughout the year would continue in the new year.

Jewish students had experienced antisemitism and discrimination from their anti-Israel peers, and the union said that many university administrations had to be more responsive to secure the safety of Jewish students.

“I wanted to transfer to another university – maybe one in Israel – but my grades had suffered because of what’s been going on,” said a Jewish student at the Paris Institute of Political Studies (Science Po) who wished to remain unidentified.

In March she had been at the center of a major incident at the university when she was denied access to Comité Palestine’s 4 Hours 4 Palestine at the Émile-Boutmy amphitheater. The event featured lectures about Palestinian perspectives, refugees, Judaism, and anti-Zionism.

The group claimed that they had denied access to the student based on their history of harassment and intimidation of pro-Palestinian students. UEJF’s representative said that she had been singled out because of her identity in an act of antisemitism that drew condemnation from officials such as Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli and French Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin.

“I wanted to attend the event to listen,” said the student, who explained that rumors and lies about her had been spread online. She insisted that she had wished to genuinely attend the event and had no intention to disrupt the proceedings. There was no reason to have an event discussing Jews at a university she enrolled in and to have the ability to bar a Jew from entry, she said.
Intelligence analysts part of plans to monitor threats against Jewish students
Hillel International has partnered with the Secure Community Network (SCN) to launch “Operation SecureOurCampuses” to offer a variety of resources for Jewish groups this academic year.

“As we approach the fall, we know based on intelligence work, open-source reporting and telegraphing of intent by organized protest groups that we will anticipate a challenging environment on campus,” a spokesperson for SCN told JNS, noting a focus on 50 North American universities it described as “high-risk.”

Topping the list of services the program aims to provide are “full-time analysts dedicated to monitoring campus safety/security developments and providing intelligence and information-sharing support.”

SCN developed a new training program for the initiative that would instruct Jewish students on how to respond when confronted by protesters. Other training sessions teach situational awareness and responses to life-threatening events. The group will also provide security assessments for Jewish facilities on campus. SCN says it further aims to enhance coordination across Jewish organizations and consult on developing emergency plans.

“Creating vibrant Jewish life on campus depends on having safe environments for Jewish college students, which is why we are so proud to work alongside SCN in strengthening our security support for campus Hillels worldwide,” said Adam Lehman, president and CEO of Hillel International.

“We are committed to ensuring that members of the community feel safe and supported as they pursue their education,” said Michael Masters, SCN national director and CEO.

“Operation SecureOurCampuses, coordinated with key partners across the community and public safety, is a proactive measure to address these threats and work closely with our partners to protect every center of Jewish life on campus,” he stated. “We are committed to ensuring that members of the community feel safe and supported as they pursue their education—they should be able to walk across campuses free from fear, harassment or targeted violence.”
UCLA drops appeal against ruling of failure to protect Jewish students
The University of California, Los Angeles has chosen to accept a ruling that found it did not ensure equal access to the school for all students, including Jews.

Lawyers for the college withdrew an appeal on Friday filed following their defeat in Frankel v. Regents of the University of California, a suit filed by three students.

In his written decision, Judge Mark Scarsi called the situation on campus “so unimaginable and abhorrent to our constitutional guarantee of religious freedom that it bears repeating.”

UCLA spokeswoman Katherine Alvarado told The Washington Free Beacon that “we will abide by the injunction as this case makes its way through the courts.”

Mark Rienzi, the attorney who represented the students, said in a statement that “we’re glad to see UCLA in full retreat. Appealing Judge Scarsi’s very reasonable order to stop discriminating against Jews was always a bad idea.”

Rienzi called the appeal’s dismissal “the first step on the road to recovery of a campus that welcomes all, including its Jewish students.”
Ed. Dept. civil rights chief, UC Berkeley Law dean assail rising campus antisemitism
As another academic year begins, and universities face the specter of further division and antisemitism on campus, two prominent attorneys speaking on a panel on the sidelines of the Democratic National Convention offered a dire portrait of the state of hate at American universities.

One of them is the dean of a top law school. The other is the most senior official tasked with implementing civil rights policy at the U.S. Department of Education.

“I’m a 71-year-old Jewish man. I’ve heard antisemitic things throughout my life. But I’ve never seen the antisemitism on our campuses that’s been there since Oct. 7,” said Erwin Chemerinsky, a First Amendment expert and the dean of the University of California Berkeley law school. “My fear is that this isn’t going to get better anytime soon. We all hope that there’s going to be peace in Gaza and the release of all of the hostages, but what’s happened on campuses now is that the pro-Palestinian position has hardened to one that Israel should not exist at all.”

Chemerinsky described an antisemitic incident he faced in April, which garnered national headlines. He hosted an annual dinner at his home for students. Beforehand, some of them shared a flier with a caricature of Chemerinsky holding a blood knife. It read “No dinner with Zionist Chem while Gaza starves” — though the dean had never spoken about Israel publicly. At the dinner, a student berated him and his wife about the situation in Gaza and refused to leave.

“There was no basis for them targeting me other than that I was Jewish. I have no doubt that if it was a dean who wasn’t Jewish, they would have never done this,” Chemerinsky said at the event in Chicago, which was hosted by the advocacy group Zioness. “This is, of course, one incident on one campus, but representative of what we have seen so much across the United States.”
Students must be the ones to lead the fight against antisemitism
While my advocacy journey has not been long, I have learned several crucial lessons.

First, I realized that Jews need to forge alliances with other marginalized communities. Building bridges and fostering mutual support can create a united front against all forms of hatred.

Second, it is essential to educate others about the reality of the Israel-Hamas war, showing that Israel was not the aggressor and that Jews have always sought peace.

Finally, I learned the importance of resilience and persistence in the face of adversity. Advocacy is not a one-time effort but a continuous commitment to fighting for justice.

Organizing and participating in events promoting dialogue and understanding can inspire other minority groups to speak out and encourage those in our community to become allies. This collaborative, intersectional approach is crucial as it extends our impact beyond the Jewish community and helps create a more inclusive environment for all.

Moreover, our advocacy must also be reflected in our daily interactions. Each conversation we initiate, each story we share, and each myth we dispel can contribute to a broader understanding and respect for diversity.

In the past year, I’ve interviewed over 100 immigrants from around the world, learning from their stories and the obstacles they’ve overcome in search of a better life. These conversations can have profound effects, gradually changing schools’ atmospheres from ignorance and suspicion to knowledge and mutual respect.

Our mission as students is clear: We must be the torchbearers of tolerance and the champions of change. This responsibility entails educating others about the perils of antisemitism and the value of diversity. It involves standing up to injustice wherever we see it, whether in the classroom, on the sports field, or on social media.

As I prepare to apply to college, I watch students protest the war in Gaza and threaten the safety of Jewish community members. I worry not only for my safety but for the safety of the tens of thousands of other Jewish students.

We cannot simply scream at one another; we must take the time to educate and have an open and meaningful dialogue. Fighting against antisemitism is not just about combating hate; it’s about building a future where respect, understanding, and appreciation for all cultures are the norm.

Instead of simply shouting and banging drums on the lawns of universities, let’s be the generation that boldly confronts the challenges of our time with wisdom and courage. Let us carry forward the legacy of our ancestors with pride and determination, ensuring that the lessons of the past illuminate the path to a more inclusive, respectful world. By doing so, we honor our heritage and contribute to a lasting legacy of peace and understanding for future generations.
'Anti-Israel' Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi's substitution onto antisemitism committee makes 'mockery' of inquiry
The prospect of Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi being substituted onto a Senate Committee into antisemitism has been heavily criticised by Australian Jewish groups and the Coalition due to her party’s “anti-Israel movement” which could deter witnesses from giving evidence.

Ms Faruqi is set to replace the current Senate Standing Committees on Legal and Constitutional Affairs member for the Greens, Senator Michael Shoebridge, according to The Australian.

The Senate Committee will determine whether there should be a judicial inquiry into antisemitism on university campuses, which has been seen across the country since the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7.

Senator Faruqi’s participation in pro-Palestine protests, along with her downplaying of rallies and war memorial vandalism, have been seen as actions which “compromises the integrity” of the review into anti-Semitism.

Last month, Ms Faruqi said Labor should "implement the national anti-racism strategy rather than meddling with its mandate by creating new positions that eat into its remit” after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese appointed antisemitism special envoy Jillian Segal.

Ms Faruqi also accused the Liberal Party of trying to “weaponise anti-Semitism, to attack those who are standing up to Israel’s genocide in Gaza”.

Australian Jewish Association CEO Robert Gregory told SkyNews.com.au Senator Faruqi’s presence on the committee “makes a mockery of the inquiry”.

“Senator Faruqi was unable to unequivocally condemn a terrorist organisation and herself is guilty of sharing an image containing ugly antisemitism online. She has nothing to contribute to an inquiry into antisemitism, except perhaps to serve as an example of behaviour to avoid,” Mr Gregory said.

“Her presence makes a mockery of the inquiry. Victims of antisemitism may feel uncomfortable appearing before someone who conceivably shares some of the positions which are the focus of the inquiry.

“The Greens are the only significant antisemitic political party in Australia’s history. They are extremists and a threat to Jewish life in this country.”
Questions raised over Greens senator’s place on USYD antisemitism campus committee
Questions have been raised over Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi’s place on an antisemitism-at-campus committee.

Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin told the Australian Ms Faruqi's position “compromises the integrity of the commission and exposes victims of antisemitism to further harm. It could also deter victims from giving evidence.”

Sky News host Sharri Markson was joined by Shadow Education Minister Sarah Henderson to discuss the senator's place on the committee.




Faruqi demands correspondence be made public
The Senate has voted down a motion from the Greens aimed at Jewish community roof bodies.

On Wednesday, Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi put forward a motion targeting all correspondence the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has had with Jewish community organisations over the last year.

If passed, it would have required the Attorney General to make public any correspondence between the AHRC and anyone from the Executive Council of Australian Jewry; the Zionist Federation of Australia; the Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council, or the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies.

The targeted organisations have condemned her action.

Alon Cassuto, CEO of the Zionist Federation of Australia said “The Greens are unhealthily obsessed with the Jewish community. They are nothing but a Party of stunts, who promote division, hatred, and disunity to win votes”.

He said no other minority would be expected to put up with being incessantly targeted by the Greens.

Peter Wertheim, co-Chief Executive Officer of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry said “The Faruqi motion was an attempt at a witch-hunt targeting mainstream Jewish organisations. This was a disgraceful abuse of the democratic process, and its ignominious failure was fully deserved”.

David Ossip, President of the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies said “Senator Faruqi’s motion is underpinned by a dark, conspiratorial mindset which suggests that Jewish organisations are somehow acting in a nefarious or sinister manner by simply engaging with public agencies. She has rightly been condemned for this divisive and appalling motion, which she would be castigating if it was directed at any other community.”
Pro-Hamas imam calls to 'take out' Israeli professor at Columbia University
Columbia University professor Shai Davidai, who has been harassed in the past by antisemitic faculty and students, recently received threats from a Hamas-supporting imam. In a public video, the imam, Tom Facchine, is seen instructing the Students for Justice in Palestine group to act against the Israeli professor in order to "create a situation that gets him into trouble and takes him out."

The imam also said in the video that such an action could "silence" another 100 Jewish professors.

Davidai responded, posting on the X platform on Saturday night that "Students for 'Justice' in Palestine at Columbia invited an imam who instructed them to target me and "create a situation" that gets me in trouble." He also wrote: "Hey Columbia, Are you OK with a pro-terror student organization inviting a Hamas-supporting imam that's telling students to 'take out' one of your Jewish professors?"

Davidai published the disturbing video showing the imam addressing the group of students last week, instructing them on "how to deal with the Jewish faculty" at the academic institution. The Israeli researcher continued: "As a reminder, Students for 'Justice' in Palestine is the pro-terror organization responsible for illegal encampments on campus and the violent takeover of a university building. They honor suicide bombers as martyrs. They celebrate terror attacks against civilians. And they do so with Columbia's support."

Davidai also described the imam's record: "Who is this imam, Tom Facchine, who's teaching @Columbia students how to engage in 'Islamic Political Activism' (their words, not mine)? This is a guy who, on October 10 (a mere three days after the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust), openly supported the Hamas terrorists who raped, tortured, murdered, and slaughtered more than 1,450 people. Now he is being honored by @Columbia students.

Davidai also wrote: "Tom Facchine preaches at a mosque in Utica, NY, and enjoys all the freedoms of American civilizations. This doesn't stop him from preaching for Sharia law and stating that receiving "70 lashes" is merciful. Should this be allowed near university students? Is this what he means by targeting and stating that receiving '70 lashes' is mercy. Should this be allowed for university students?"
Anti-Israel activists protest event welcoming new Columbia University
Anti-Israel activists gathered outside Columbia University on Sunday to protest an event welcoming new students and the continued operation of the academic institution without adopting their policies against Israel, according to Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and the Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) coalition.

Activists in keffiyehs shouted and banged drums and pots outside the gate of the university in an attempt to cause noise that would disrupt the convocation and encourage new students to join their movement.

“Until Columbia divests, there will be no business as usual during a genocide,” Columbia SJP said on X.

CUAD alleged on Instagram that the university had displaced residents from Harlem with its Manhattanville campus and new Tel Aviv Global Center, and urged activists to join the protest to “Demand Columbia end the displacement from Harlem to Palestine!”

“We don’t want two states, we want ‘48,” activists chanted in a Palestinian Youth Movement video.In a picture shared on Instagram by Palestine Action US, one of the activists could be seen wearing a Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine pin. The PFLP is designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the US State Department.

The anti-Israel groups referred repeatedly to “Hind’s Hall,” their name for the university’s Hamilton Hall when activists occupied the building, assuring that the idea would persist.

Campus protest movement
Columbia University was the epicenter of the anti-Israel protest encampment movement, with a sprawling settlement of tents and structures erected on campus grounds from mid-April until May.

While dozens of students had been suspended and disciplined over the protests, Reuters reported last Tuesday that only five of the 80 still faced interim suspensions.
Anti-Israel Agitators Vandalize Cornell University Administrative Building to Kick Off New Academic Year
Anti-Israel students at Cornell University vandalized an administrative building on Monday, a provocation which marks an early test of the resolve of the interim president who announced new policies on “institutional neutrality,” discipline, and encampments around the time of incident.

According to the Cornell Daily Sun, the anti-Zionist agitators graffitied “Israel Bombs, Cornell pays” and “Blood is on your hands” on Day Hall. They also shattered the glazing of its front doors.

“We had to accept that the only way to make ourselves heard is by targeting the only thing the university administration really cares about: property,” the students told the paper. “With the start of this new academic year, the Cornell administration is trying desperately to upkeep a facade of normalcy knowing that, since last semester, they have been working tirelessly to uphold Cornell’s function as a fascist, classist, imperial machine.”

The students also took aim at interim president Michael Kotlikoff, who assumed office following the resignation of Martha Pollack earlier this summer. Accusing him of duplicity in managing a strike of the university’s employees, they supplied additional reasons for their actions.

“[He] has been antagonizing workers that keep this university running by engaging in bad-faith negotiations with the union and deploying scab workers — even himself — to undermine the solidarity of workers and power of the ongoing strike,” they explained.


'Symbols of Oct. 7 slaughter': Jewish group petitions for NYC keffiyeh ban - NYP
Some Jewish families and staffers are seeking a ban on the keffiyeh scarf, commonly associated with pro-Palestinian groups and identities, in New York, the New York Post reported in a Saturday exclusive.

Members of the New York United in Fighting Antisemitism group reportedly emailed Mayor Eric Adams, Schools Chancellor David Bank, and the United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew, who proposed the ban.

Why push for the ban?
The ban was allegedly proposed as the group claimed keffiyehs are “intimidating and frightening” to Jews as the scarf “promote[s] violence and hatred against Jews.”

“The keffiyehs worn in school and at school events are not merely cultural garments, they have been adopted as symbols in response to the slaughter of Jews on Oct. 7,” the group wrote.

“This symbol is prominently displayed at protests where chants, slogans, and signs openly call for the death of Israel and Jews,” it added.

At a number of international protests, individuals have used the keffiyeh to cover their faces, which has prevented their identification. For example, as reported by The Jerusalem Post, a man outside Columbia University shouted, “Remember the 7th of October!” in April, while another masked individual screamed, "Are you ready? The 7th of October is about to be every day. Every day. 7th of October is going to be every day for you."


How Misleading Journalism Fuels a Destructive Narrative on Israeli Settler Violence
There is a certain kind of journalism that is born out of ignorance, with an unwillingness to be fair. It’s the worst kind of journalism, especially when the writer fills his or her article with deep inaccuracies along the way.

This is an ongoing trend when it comes to Israeli settler violence and IDF activities in the West Bank. Let’s be clear: HonestReporting is not here to defend any political stances or make excuses for violence.

However, it is necessary to point out where the media got their facts wrong. This is true for Christina Lamb’s “Gun in hand, the Israeli settler tells the Palestinian: I will kill you” that she wrote for The Sunday Times.

Implication that Israeli settler violence is common & accepted by all settlers
But many in both communities believe that Israel has opened a second front in the West Bank where Jewish settlers backed by the government have ramped up occupation and violence against Palestinians to unprecedented levels.

The media have a tendency to group a fringe minority of Israeli settlers with the settler population as a whole. This creates a picture that all settlers are violent and extreme, while the overwhelming majority of them do not engage in violence and are simply Israeli citizens who, for any number of different reasons, live over the so-called Green Line.

In fact, there are constant Palestinian terror attacks carried out on Israeli settlers as well, which are rarely documented in the media and these are not mentioned at all in Lamb’s article. Just this last week, a Jewish security guard in the Bar-On industrial zone in the West Bank was beaten with a hammer by a Palestinian terrorist who then stole his gun. The guard, Gideon Peri succumbed to his wounds.

Ideally, she should have mentioned that regardless of one’s personal beliefs on an Israeli presence in the West Bank, settlers don’t deserve to be attacked or murdered either.

Lamb also fails to differentiate Palestinian terrorists from civilians killed in IDF raids and clashes, nor does she distinguish between settler violence and IDF operations.
Reuters Amends Bogus Quote Which Echoed Hamas Lie That Ben-Gvir Released Plans for Temple Mount Synagogue
In journalism, quotation marks are sacred, and anything which appears in between them must be an exact replication of what was said. Any deleted words or phrases must be noted with an ellipsis. But Reuters’ quote neither matched Ben-Gvir’s words nor contained an ellipsis indicating that it excludes certain parts of his statement. Reuters’ bungled quote completely erased Ben-Gvir’s acknowledgment that he cannot build a synagogue there. The media outlet’s mangled rendering of the exchange falsely suggests that Ben-Gvir had said that building a synagogue is policy, when in fact he said just the opposite.

Following CAMERA’s communication with Reuters, the media outlet amended the quote to more accurately state:
“The policy at the Temple Mount allows praying there. Period,” Ben-Gvir told an Army Radio interviewer. “The prime minister knew when I joined the government there would not be any discrimination. Muslims are allowed to pray and a Jew is not allowed to pray?”

Asked if he would build a synagogue on the site if he could, Ben-Gvir replied “Yes, Yes”.

In a second egregious factual error which Reuters has yet to correct, the article’s first paragraph fabricates: “Israel’s hardline Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir repeated a call for Jews to be allowed to pray at the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, drawing sharp criticism for inflaming tensions as ceasefire negotiators seek a deal to halt fighting in Gaza.” The far-right Israeli minister called for Jewish prayer to be permitted on the Temple Mount. He did not call for Jewish prayer to be permitted in the Al Aqsa mosque, which is located on the Temple Mount, and which occupies approximately one acre of the plaza’s total 36 acres.

While the Palestine Liberation Organization would love journalists to refer to the Temple Mount /Noble Sanctuary (Har Habayit in Hebrew or Haram Al-Sharif in Arabic) as the “Al Aqsa Mosque compound,” this partisan terminology is extremely misleading, and may explain the origin of Reuters’ misreporting that Ben-Gvir called for Jewish prayer in the mosque itself. (Notably, the headline uses the PLO’s preferred terminology of “Al-Aqsa mosque compound” to refer to the 36-acre plaza of which approximately just 2.5 percent constitutes the Al-Aqsa mosque.)

Israeli cabinet ministers have slammed Ben-Gvir’s Temple Mount activity as reckless. Indeed, not only did Hamas seize upon Ben-Gvir’s inflammatory statements to whip up violence, but the terror organization further fanned the flames by greatly embellishing Ben-Gvir’s already provocative pronouncements. Given the regional tinderbox, Western media outlets would do well to report with extreme caution and precision, rather than engaging in reckless misreporting liable to push the region toward an explosion that will affect the entire world, as the mufti put it.

CAMERA continues to urge Reuters to correct the false and inciting claim that Ben-Gvir called for Jewish prayer in the Al-Aqsa mosque. Stay tuned for any updates.
Terror group mouthpiece deletes article about affiliated journalist nominated for Emmy
Al-Hadaf, a Gaza-based outlet established by and serving as a mouthpiece for the terror-designated Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), deleted an article devoted to Bisan Owda, titled “Journalism in the Crosshairs of Politics... how Bisan Owda became a symbol of resistance journalism.”

This happened only days after Owda was the subject of a letter signed by 150 film industry professionals which demanded the Emmy Awards cancel her nomination over her past ties to the PFLP, which is designated by the US, EU, Canada, Israel, and other countries as a terrorist organization.

In late July 2024, the Emmy Awards nominated Bisan Atef Owda, a Palestinian content creator from Gaza, along with the Qatari-owned media outlet AJ+, for their series, It’s Bisan From Gaza and I’m Still Alive. The nomination was included in the category for Outstanding Hard News Feature Story: Short Form.

Following the nomination, it was discovered that Owda has portrayed herself as a member of the PFLP and has even spoken in PFLP events in the Gaza Strip in the past in full PFLP militant garb. Owda also oversaw celebrations. The article’s rapid takedown from the PFLP’s mouthpiece raised further concerns regarding Owda’s affiliation with the organization.

AJ+ (a subsidiary of Qatari mouthpiece Al Jazeera) has been ordered by the US Department of Justice to register as a foreign agent of the Qatari government under the United States Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA) because the outlet is “controlled and funded by the Government of Qatar.” Yet the outlet has refused to do so, thereby openly violating United States law. At the same time, Al Jazeera has been a hotbed for antisemitism, holocaust denial, and circulating Hamas propaganda and talking points.

For these reasons, 150 industry professionals signed a letter addressed to the National Academy of Television Arts and Services (NATAS) calling on them to rescind Owda’s nomination, which they believe contradicts the Academy’s own codes of conduct. Despite this, NATAS has doubled down on maintaining Owda’s nomination, claiming that despite the fact that she took part in the terrorist organization in the past, there is no further evidence that she is still part of the group.


BBC News silent on Hamas terrorists previously portrayed as ‘children’
Visitors to the BBC News website have not seen any coverage whatsoever of either of those incidents, meaning that audiences are unaware of the fact that at least two of those it portrayed last November as “children”, “teenagers” and “victims of Israel’s occupation” did indeed pose “a security threat” because they were Hamas operatives who returned to terrorist activities after their release.

That omission is of course all the more relevant given the BBC’s generous – if mostly speculative – coverage of current efforts to reach a ceasefire, which would include the release of hostages in exchange for more Palestinians being held in Israeli prisons.

Remarkably, a report on that topic by Lucy Williamson and Rushdi Abualouf which appeared on the BBC News website on August 24th under the headline “Israel-Gaza ceasefire: Is a deal still possible?” tells readers that:

“Compromises on prisoner exchanges are seen as easier for the group [Hamas] to swallow than accepting the continued presence of Israel’s army in Gaza, and checkpoints for residents moving north.”

By avoiding stories such as those of Tarek Daoud and Wael Masha, the BBC can continue to promote the notion of parity between Israelis and foreign nationals kidnapped and held hostage by Hamas and Palestinian prisoners held by Israel due to their involvement in violence, terrorism or terror related activities, just as it did ten months ago when it platformed Mustafa Barghouti.


PMW: Palestinian Authority summer camps: A place to idolize terrorists and envision a world without Israel
While the Olympics were being held in France to celebrate sports, the Palestinian Authority held a summer camp to celebrate the massacre of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics. The PA chose to name its largest summer camp, which hosts 150 children ages 7-13, after terrorist Salah Khalaf “Abu Iyad”—the head of the Black September terror organization and the mastermind behind the Munich Olympics massacre.

Salah Khalaf was not the only terrorist placed on a pedestal at the PA summer camp. Fatah terror leaders Khalil Al-Wazir—“Abu Jihad”—and Yasser Arafat were also placed on the camp’s banner in military garb to serve as role models, while the campers were taught to memorize the camp’s motto and pledged to follow the path of the three terrorists.

Posted text and picture: “#Announcement
All the lion cubs and flowers (i.e., boys and girls) participating in the Martyr Salah Khalaf ‘Abu Iyad’ summer camp are asked to memorize the Cry and Motto of the summer camp:
‘We are the lion cubs and flowers of Palestine
Education, knowledge, culture, and religion
My land, my country, and the Paradise of My Lord, all the wishes for Palestine
On your path, Yasser Arafat
On your path, Salah Khalaf ‘Abu Iyad’
On your path, ‘Abu Jihad’
All the lion cubs and flowers (i.e., children)
Al-Aqsa Mosque remains our first Qiblah (i.e., Muslim direction for prayer), and Jerusalem is the cradle of the civilizations”
[Beit Amin-Azzoun Atma sports club, Facebook page, Aug. 8, 2024]

The PA is proud to show how it educates children to follow the way of hate and terror. The Western-funded PA Security Forces led the summer camp activities as the children stood at attention dressed in t-shirts that also boasted terrorist Khalaf’s picture and name:
The camp banner is centered around a picture of terrorist Khalaf; On left: Terrorists Salah Khalaf, Yasser Arafat and “Abu Jihad,” in military uniforms; On right: Drawing of two children with a Palestinian flag on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem approaching the Dome of the Rock.
Text on sign: “Martyr Salah Khalaf camp, Beit Amin-Azzoun Atma sports club”
Logos from left to right: Beit Amin-Azzoun Atma sports club; Fatah's Lion Cubs and Flowers children’s movement; Fatah logo - a grenade, crossed rifles, and PA map of “Palestine” that presents all of Israel as “Palestine”; logo of the PLO Supreme Council for Youth and Sports.
[Beit Amin-Azzoun Atma sports club, Facebook page, Aug. 16, 2024]


PreOccupiedTerritory: Gaza Refugees Wary Of IDF Field ‘Hospital’ With No Basement, Terrorists, Or Restricted Areas (satire)
Residents of a tent camp in a humanitarian safe zone that Israel set up in advance of its ongoing incursion into Rafah voiced their suspicion today that the makeshift first aid and medical care facility in the camp cannot be genuine, since it bears none of the hallmarks of such a facility to which the residents have become accustomed, such as armed men roaming the hallways, entire subterranean levels off-limits even to the medical staff, or caches of weapons.

Suha Masri, 40, confessed her misgivings after taking her four-year-old daughter Maryam to the field hospital last week and seeing nothing but doctors, nurses, orderlies, and administrative personnel.

“It seemed off,” the mother of six acknowledged. “That’s not what a hospital looks like. I have no complaints about the care – they cleaned, disinfected, and stitched up the cut she got, then gave her some antibiotics and a whole list of instructions for me to follow at home, and to come back if it isn’t healing properly. That part was standard. But they didn’t have the normal features of a hospital. I get that it takes time to set up sub-basements and tunnels for fighters, and maybe it’s unreasonable to expect them to have those in place already, but at least the armed thugs who can go wherever they want while preventing anyone else from going to certain rooms or floors? This was nothing like Najjar Hospital.”

Others agreed. “How do they expect to deliver the same level of care without all the essentials?” wondered former Rafah resident Jibril Qadib, 68. “I’m not sure what will happen to me if I have to go in there. There hasn’t been a suspicious delivery with armed escorts in all the time I’ve been watching.”
Greek-flagged tanker in Red Sea still ablaze three days after Houthi attack
A Greek-flagged tanker repeatedly attacked by Yemen’s Houthi rebels in the Red Sea remains ablaze after it caught fire on August 23 but hasn’t sprung a major oil leak in the waterway, a European Union naval command said Monday.

The attack on the Sounion marks the most serious assault in weeks by the Iran-backed terrorists, who continue to target shipping through the Red Sea corridor in what they say is a show of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza amid the Israel-Hamas war.

Images published by the EU’s Operation Aspides, whose mission is to protect shipping in the area, showed smoke rising from multiple points along the Sounion’s deck and bridge Sunday.

Fires could be seen burning in at least nine locations on the deck of the vessel, which had been loaded with 150,000 tons of Iraqi crude oil — roughly 1 million barrels. Some flames appeared near hatches of the tanker’s oil tanks.

“So far there are no obvious signs of an oil spill,” the EU mission said.

Still, it says, the Sounion “is both a navigational and an imminent environmental hazard. This situation underlines that these kinds of attacks pose not only a threat against the freedom of navigation but also to the lives of seafarers, the environment, and subsequently the life of all citizens living in that region.”

The US State Department similarly warned about the ecological danger to the Red Sea, home to coral reefs and other natural habitats and wildlife.


Iran’s foreign minister vows ‘calculated’ response to killing of Hamas leader Haniyeh
Iran’s foreign minister again referenced on Sunday his country’s planned retaliation against Israel over the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31, saying it would be “measured.”

Abbas Araghchi said late Sunday that he made the remark in a telephone conversation with Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.

“Iran[‘s] reaction to Israeli terrorist attack in Tehran is definitive, and will be measured & well calculated,” Araghchi wrote on the social platform X. “We do not fear escalation, yet do not seek it — unlike Israel.”

A statement released by Iran’s foreign ministry on Monday added that Araghchi told his Italian counterpart that Tehran saw the killing of Haniyeh as “an unforgivable violation of Iran’s security and sovereignty.”

Israel has neither confirmed nor denied involvement in the assassination of Haniyeh, who was killed in a guesthouse in Tehran hours after attending a swearing-in ceremony for the new Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian. Nevertheless, Iran and Hamas have both blamed Jerusalem, and vowed to retaliate.

Tehran carried out an unprecedented missile and drone attack on Israel in April, after several members of its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were killed in in Iranian consular building in Damascus in a strike blamed on Israel.


Cleric who calls Jews 'enemies' of Islam denied use of Montreal theater amid speaking tour
A Canadian event featuring a Saudi cleric who has described Jews as enemies of Muslims was denied the use of a Montreal theater, Jewish groups announced on Friday, amid politicians’ outrage over his tour in the country.

A Sunday Penny Appeal charity event featuring Assim Al-Hakeem in Montreal was not hosted at the Rialto Theatre as originally planned after the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) and B’nai Brith Canada expressed concern about the Islamic preacher.

“Théâtre Rialto has informed us that they have canceled host Sheikh Assim Al-Hakeem’s event this weekend and will not host his tour stop,” CIJA said on social media on Friday. “The antisemitic and homophobic rhetoric spread by the Islamist hate preacher poses a threat to the safety and well-being of Mile End and Outremont, as well as to Montreal as a whole.”

The Eventbrite page for the Montreal Al-Hakeem lecture initially said that the location would be announced, but it and the pages for Saturday London and Tuesday Vancouver events were later deleted. Penny Appeal Canada website pages and Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok posts about Al-Hakeem and his tour were inaccessible as of Monday.

The event page for the cleric’s August 21 Winnipeg lecture at St. Peter’s Church remained available. B’nai Brith had called on the Church and the Archdiocese of Winnipeg to “publicly condemn the antisemitism they have enabled” on Thursday. The Winnipeg Archdiocese issued a Friday statement in which they claimed that the parish was instructed to tell the charity to disinvite the speaker, but “due to circumstances, the disinvitation did not occur.”

“The Archdiocese of Winnipeg has a policy of not permitting the use of parish facilities for political purposes, either domestic or foreign,” read the statement. “A speaker, Assim Al-Hakeem, was invited by the charity to address the people on the importance of charitable giving. Unfortunately, this speaker is known as a political activist.”
Italian party publishes blacklist of Jews, Israel supporters
The New Communist Party of Italy recently published a list of Italian Jews, among them well-known figures in politics, media and business, labeling them “Zionist agents” to be “condemned and fought” for supporting Israel.

The list, titled “Zionist Organizations and Agents in Italy,” contains more than 150 names organized by category.

Categories included companies from various economic sectors, such as financial, industry, technology and military, among them Ahava Dead Sea Laboratories, Electra Consumer Products, SodaStream International and Elbit Systems.

The list also named individuals in categories such as “Zionists in political parties or representatives of public organizations active in supporting the Zionist state of Israel” and “Zionists in the media and cultural spheres who support or promote the Zionist state in Italy.”

Prominent figures on the list include former journalist and current politician Senator Ester Mieli, former Italian Ambassador to Israel Luigi Mattiolo, former President of the Jewish Community of Rome Riccardo Pacifici, and journalists Maurizio Molinari and Emanuela Dviri.

The New Communist Party is a marginal force but its blacklist garnered widespread attention and scorn from politicians and the media.

The right-wing Brothers of Italy Party denounced the list. President of the Senate Ignazio La Russa, a co-founder of Brothers of Italy, said, “I find it very serious that the New Communist Party has published on its website names and surnames of politicians, journalists and entrepreneurs ‘guilty’ of having supported Israel.
Haredi man attacked in suspected hate crime in Switzerland
A 19-year-old ultra-Orthodox youth was attacked by two men of Middle Eastern descent in Sweden on Saturday. The Hasidic youth was walking on a street in the city of Davos, where he was vacationing with his family, who live in London.

As he was walking down the street, two men, aged between 20 and 25, approached him and proceeded to strike him in the face, knock off his kippah, spit on him and shout "Free Palestine," at him.

The Hasidic youth told ultra-Orthodox news outlet Behadrei Haredim that a non-Jewish passerby intervened on his behalf, picked up his kippah and returned it to him. He added he had a few moments to regain his composure thanks to the assistance. Afterward, he ran toward the hotel where his family was staying.

The assaulted youth mentioned that the two men who beat him weren’t residents of Switzerland. "They’re definitely of Middle Eastern origin, they chased after me, but when I reached the hotel, they left because they saw that there were many people there," he said.

Meanwhile, the local police were called to the scene. The officers who arrived took his statement and left the hotel. The 19-year-old mentioned the person who picked up his kippah and helped him provided his phone number to give to the police if they wanted to take his testimony and it was passed on to the police.
Nashville officials push for laws to limit future neo-Nazi protests
Leaders in Tennessee’s capital seek to implement measures to constrain the white supremacist activists spreading hate on the city’s streets after a flurry of activity this summer.

WTVF-5 reports that Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell, the Metro Council and the city’s Department of Law have collaborated on multiple proposed legal changes.

Measures include requiring buffer zones around demonstrations; prohibiting the display of distracting flags on overpasses; banning the distribution of leaflets on private property; and criminalizing face masks for reasons not exempted from medical, religious or costume purposes.

These efforts come following four demonstrations in the city by the Goyim Defense League on July 6, 14, 15 and 16.
Jerry Lewis’ infamous Holocaust movie is having a new moment.
In 1993, film critic Shawn Levy was working on a biography of Jerry Lewis when, sitting down with the comedian on his yacht, Levy gingerly asked him about “The Day the Clown Cried.”

Levy knew the film, Lewis’ unreleased Holocaust movie, was likely to be a touchy subject for the legendary funnyman. Even so, the response was apoplectic.

“I’ve never been yelled at like that in my entire life,” Levy recalled to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency three decades later. He recited the string of insults the once astronomically popular Jewish performer threw at him for having the gall to inquire about the movie: “‘You need a personality transplant. You’ve got some nerve.’”

Finally, in an epilogue that became so famous in comedy circles that Martin Short would later reenact it for dinner guests, Lewis ordered Levy off his yacht. The star also demanded the author’s tape recorder, then erased everything related to the discussion of the film that he directed and starred in before sending it back to his biographer. That meeting, Levy’s second with Lewis, would be his last.

Despite Lewis’ best efforts to bury it, “The Day the Clown Cried” remains an object of intense fascination for film buffs, one of the most bizarre and beguiling what-ifs in Hollywood history. The maudlin tragicomedy about a German clown ordered to entertain children at the Auschwitz death camps was filmed in the early 1970s but was never completed or released. Instead, rumors mounted that it was secretly the worst film of all time, and an embarrassed Lewis buried all records related to the movie. Apart from occasional bits of footage leaking online, it’s remained all but unseen.

Now, 53 years later, Lewis’ folly is reentering the public eye. A new German documentary about the movie is premiering at the Venice Film Festival later this month, and a Hollywood producer recently announced that he had acquired the rights to the original script, by Joan O’Brien and Charles Denton. That producer, Kia Jam, says he intends to mount a new version of the film as it was originally intended to be seen, without Lewis’ fingerprints.

“I’m not really interested in what somebody else did with the movie. I’m interested in making this movie, which we’re going to do,” Jam told JTA. He added that the original script “just absolutely floored me” and that he hasn’t seen the footage of Lewis’ version.
'Don't change who you are' Meet the NYPD’s highest-ever-ranking Orthodox Jew — a 9/11 hero who vows to fight antisemitic hate crime
This cop’s a mensch on a mission.

The NYPD recently promoted the department’s highest-ever-ranking Orthodox Jew — a 9/11 hero who wears a yarmulke on the job — as the city fights a wave of antisemitic hate crime.

Richie “Yechiel” Taylor was bumped up to deputy chief of the Community Affairs Bureau, the department’s sixth highest post, in February and is now urging New Yorkers to show off their religious pride.

“Don’t change who you are. Don’t take off your hijab, cross, turban or anything else you wear proudly that reflects your beliefs and way of life,” Taylor, 42, told The Post.

“There’s no need to hide who you are in this city,” he said, adding that applies to Jews wearing the star of David. “Be proud of who you are.”

The Torah-reading top cop, who has five daughters ages 2 to 20, said the NYPD is working tirelessly to stomp out hate crime.

“You are safe right where you are. I lead by example – I wear my yarmulke in uniform,” he said. “Your NYPD has your back.”

Though his strict religious observance includes Shabbat, from Friday to Saturday evenings, his motto of “always being on call” is completely kosher, according to Jewish law.

The Torah principle to save lives takes precedence over all else, even on days of rest — and Taylor considers taking emergency calls part of that exception, he said.

“It’s mostly regarding someone missing — a child or someone elderly,” he said, adding the day-of-rest calls range from one a week to one a month. “I’m always on call, and that includes Shabbos.”

Taylor grew up going to yeshivas in Brooklyn and knew from an early age he wanted to help people, he said.

At age 15, he became a police explorer for the 61st Precinct in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. Three years later, he began working as an EMT and soon bravely responded to the World Trade Center before the towers collapsed on 9/11.

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In the hours after the attack, Taylor treated “dazed” FDNY members at the Hatzalah command post near Ground Zero, many of whom were devastated over losing colleagues.


Back to School in Wartime
Workers tackled vacation-time maintenance, the whir of drills and bangs of hammered nails on the outside walls of the Alonim Shaar Hanegev Elementary School piercing the July morning’s quiet. Freshly painted welcome placards were done, nearly two months ahead of pupils’ arrival on Sept. 1 to begin the 2024-25 term. Signs in a classroom read, “Welcome, first grade, to Alonim” and “A successful school year.” In the administrative building’s foyer, another sign said, “We’re starting the year at Alonim. It begins with a step. It begins with a dream.”

The scene would be typical on a summer’s day, but this was in Sderot, a town of 30,000 in the northern Negev. Located just a mile from the northeast corner of the Gaza Strip, Sderot, which had suffered countless rockets launched by Palestinians since 2001, saw more than 70 of its people—police officers, civilian defenders, and residents—killed during Hamas’ Oct. 7 invasion.

As the Israel Defense Forces fought Hamas throughout the Strip in the ensuing months, security gradually returned to the Israeli side of the border area known as the Gaza Envelope, which includes Sderot and smaller communities. That led the national government to encourage residents to return home from the hotels and communities to which they’d been evacuated on Oct. 7—including by phasing out funding for their living expenses under relocation. In early March, with most residents back, Sderot’s schools reopened.

Approximately 90% of Sderot’s population is now back home, said Suzie Ben Harush, an Education Ministry spokeswoman who lives in the Negev. Approximately 26,000 children, in kindergarten through 12th grade, attend schools in the Gaza Envelope, she said.

A new academic year offers a fresh start—and Sderot certainly could use that. But while Sderot’s school plans seem set for 2024-25, questions remain elsewhere in the Gaza Envelope about what schools will open, where, and who will attend them.




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