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Saturday, November 02, 2024

11/02 Links: The Clash Between Academic Freedom and Antisemitism; Not Satire: BBC staff sign letter accusing broadcaster of pro-Israel bias

From Ian:

“Never Again”… Again
Freedom of speech propels democracy. But when employed incorrectly, we inch closer towards the kind of tyranny and oppression in Nazi Germany, when Jews were systematically silenced through censorship, propaganda and ultimately the Holocaust. In that dark time, Jewish books were burned and Jewish voices were excluded from public life and, as we are seeing again today, in academia.

The clash between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli Americans has been so intense because of our mutual right to free speech. But Columbia University’s temporary restriction of Shai Davidai — a Jewish Israeli professor at the Columbia Business School — from entering campus has infringed on this very right.

Davidai has spoken out against what he calls “pro-terror” protestors on campus since Oct. 7, 2023. He has encouraged students to film him confronting pro-Palestinian protestors. His confrontations are not intended to “harass” or “intimidate,” as Columbia claims, only to educate. Last week, at the University of Toronto, Davidai posted a video of an encounter with a student who claimed Israel’s history started in 1948. The student professed to understand the history of the Israel-Palestine conflict, but when asked about the Hebron massacre, the Great Arab Revolt or the British Mandate — all events prior to 1948 — he had zero clue about any of it.

Davidai ended by giving the student book recommendations and captioned the video: “The only cure for indoctrination is education. It’s OK not to know. It’s not OK to say that you do when you don’t, and it’s DEFINITELY not OK to protest something you have no idea about.”

Davidai believes that the rise in pro-Palestinian protests is largely due to ignorance. His mission is to educate and, for this, he has suffered consequences. People think he’s some kind of fanatic who deserves the academic equivalent of a time-out. But let’s examine the context and see if he’s really the maniac he’s been portrayed as on social media.

On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas invaded Israel, kidnapped 254 hostages, likely raped women and murdered 1,200 Israeli civilians — the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. At Columbia, on the anniversary of this genocide, Jewish students wanted a day to mourn. They gathered, wrapped themselves in the Israeli flag and called a prayer in Hebrew for the victims. But masked “Free Palestine” advocates felt a need to protest this mourning of mass rape and murder and vastly outnumbered the Jews gathered. These protesters were not peacefully demonstrating for peace between Israel and Palestine. They were promoting the opposite, shouting that there will be no peace until Palestine is victorious.

Davidai is seen as a radical for referring to these protestors as “pro-terror,” but Hamas is a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization by the United States Bureau of Counterterrorism. Protestors hold Hamas signs that read “glory to them.” Protestors shout “No peace” and “Globalize the Intifada.” They say this “speaks to liberation” and “to free Palestine from the apartheid regime and the military occupation.” For me it calls for freedom and for change. But to many Jews, this phrase is inextricable from the violence towards Israelis during the First and Second Intifadas. So the word “Intifada” feels as charged as if someone were to say “Holocaust.” A phrase that calls for aggressive resistance against Israel and those who support Israel around the globe. By the same token, “From the River to the Sea” is an implicit rallying cry for the ethnic cleansing of Israeli Jews from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. “There is only one solution” is a rejection of the co-existence of Israel and Palestine with shades of Hitler’s “final solution” to exterminate Jews from the face of the earth. As is “resistance by any means necessary.”

By any means necessary. Think about that. If that is not condoning the “means” of rape, the “means” of murder, the “means” of mutilating, defiling bodies and using people as human shields. If that is not condoning terrorism, I don’t know what is.
The Clash Between Academic Freedom and Antisemitism
Academics who cherish free speech have been pushed into a corner by the rapid rise of anti-Zionist and antisemitic rhetoric and action on our campuses. The concept of free speech covers speech we abhor and regard as not merely false but dangerous. As Justice Louis Brandeis said, the proper remedy for bad speech is more speech—to argue against that with which you disagree. That is a splendid concept, but what if that freedom of speech is abused by partisans who spread hatred and intimidate anyone who dares to respond to them?

University of Illinois professor Cary Nelson addresses that question in his book Hate Speech and Academic Freedom: The Antisemitic Assault on Basic Principles. As Nelson begins, “Antisemitism is on the rise worldwide and academia plays an important role in rationalizing its character and application, indeed in applauding and promoting antisemitism’s culture and political strategies.” Nelson surveys the stunning resurgence of antisemitism (usually presented as the merely political “anti-Zionism,” though, he argues, the two are hardly distinguishable) at American colleges and universities and ponders the correct response to it. Can we protect academic freedom without letting loose the vicious hatreds that caused so much misery in the last century?

After World War II, most people saw the Jews as the victims of a horrible ideology spun by the Nazis to justify conquest and mass murder. They wished the Jewish people well in their new state of Israel. Within just a few decades, however, many professors and public intellectuals had begun referring to Israel as an “apartheid state” and declaring that it was the worst human-rights violator on the planet.

Why this shocking turn? Nelson observes that many people on the left need “a community of pure victims” with whom they can declare their solidarity and from which they can recruit support for their agenda. The Palestinians fit that need. They are the victims, the Jews their oppressors. Facts and civility were readily abandoned as this narrative gained momentum.

The frenzy to attack the Israeli government (anti-Zionism) has spilled over into hatred directed at Jews anywhere (antisemitism). We saw that on display on many college campuses following the October 7 terror attacks by Hamas. Character assassination, bold lies, and violence have become normalized, and our academic leaders mostly look on helplessly, or even approvingly. Professors and speakers who adhere to the “Israelis are the new Nazis” line can say whatever they want, but woe betide someone who dares to rebut their claims. Many students get a steady diet of virulently anti-Israel rhetoric and never hear a word to the contrary.

To make matters worse, anti-Zionism has become institutionalized. We now find scholarly organizations adopting resolutions condemning Israel even though such controversies have nothing to do with their fields (e.g., anthropology), as well as academic departments putting forth declarations that embrace anti-Zionist viewpoints. (That is most often the case in those fields that are more about the grievances of the faculty than about conveying a body of knowledge.) As a result, young scholars who don’t buy into the demonization of Israel and the Jews (whether they are Jewish or not) realize that they have little hope of making it through their programs unless they can manage to hide their dissent from the antisemitic orthodoxy. That badly undermines the university as a place where truth is sought.

Another ugly aspect of the success of the antisemitic movement is that publishers are now getting in on the act. Nelson points out that the University of California Press is now upfront that it won’t consider manuscripts by authors who disagree with the “Israelis are the new Nazis” narrative. This is a spreading plague.


FreePress: SCOOP: The Nationwide Conspiracy to Indoctrinate Anti-Israel Students
Author Abigail Shrier breaks down her recent piece in The Free Press on the Kinderfada Revolution, a well-coordinated, national effort between teachers, activist organizations, and administrators to indoctrinate American children against Israel.


UK Conservative Party elects new pro-Israel leader Kemi Badenoch
The UK Conservative Party elected Kemi Badenoch as the party's new leader on Saturday after winning 57% of the vote, according to British media.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer congratulated Badenoch but also took aim at the party.

"Congratulations to Kemi Badenoch on being elected leader of the Conservative party," the Guardian cited Starmer as saying. "It’s been a long leadership election, but sadly, one thing is clear – the Conservatives have learned nothing since the British people resoundingly rejected them in July. It’s been a summer of yet more Conservative chaos and division.

"They could have spent the past four months listening to the public, taking responsibility for the mess they made, and changing their party. Instead, Kemi Badenoch’s election as leader shows they’re incapable of change."

History of being pro-Israel
Badenoch, a 44-year-old North West Essex MP, has a pro-Israel track record, according to Jewish News. She has reportedly publicly supported the Conservative Friends of Israel organization.

The newly elected party leader also told Sky News last month that Israel was showing “moral clarity in dealing with its enemies.”

Asked pointedly by a reporter if she would give Israel a "free pass" if she became PM, she responded ”It’s not about a free pass, Israel does have a right to defend itself. … If we look at what happened on October 7, we can see they cannot be complacent.”

She has recently visited the country and is currently involved in talks to set up a free trade agreement with the Jewish state.

Badenoch was also reportedly deeply critical of the weekly pro-Palestinian protests that have overtaken London and other major cities.

She claimed, according to Jewish News, ”Our streets were soon filled with hordes of joyous people, not appalled at the acts of terror or demanding the perpetrators be brought to justice, but instead protesting against Jews under the guise of attacking Israel.”


US to Iran: Avoid strikes or face unrestrained Israeli retaliation
The Biden administration recently cautioned Iran against launching another attack on Israel, emphasizing that it could not restrain an Israeli response if provoked again, Walla reported on Saturday evening.

The warning follows Iran’s October 1 attack on Israel, which retaliated against Israeli targeted operations. Israel's response included strikes on military targets but excluded strategic sites like nuclear and oil facilities. These facilities could be potential targets should Iran initiate further attacks.

A senior US official disclosed to Walla that Washington informed Tehran it would not be able to prevent Israel from reacting or ensure that any response would remain as limited and precise as before. This communication marked a rare direct message between the US and Iran.

According to a former Israeli official, the message was transmitted via the Swiss diplomatic channel, a longstanding conduit for US-Iran communications. The White House declined to comment, and the Iranian mission to the UN did not respond to requests for comment.

White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre reiterated on Friday that Iran should avoid any response, underlining continued US support for Israel in case of Iranian aggression. Pentagon spokesperson Gen. Pat Ryder announced additional military measures, including deploying destroyers for missile defense, a fighter squadron, refueling aircraft, and long-range B-52 bombers to the region. Ryder emphasized that US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has made clear the US would act decisively to protect its forces and interests should Iran or its proxies strike.
'Fully coordinated with Iran': Iraqi militias seek to ally with Islamic Republic on Israel response
Haidar al-Lami, a member of the political bureau of Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, an Iraqi terrorist militia, said that his organization was coordinating with Iran to strike Israel in a Saturday interview with the Hezbollah-affiliated Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar.

Al-Nujaba, a US-designated terrorist group, is "fully coordinated with Iran to organize the timing and location of this response," al-Lami told the Lebanese news organization.

He also told Al-Ahkbar that "the Islamic Republic has the right to target the Zionist entity from anywhere within Iraq."

He added that "the Islamic Resistance has not ceased its operations targeting critical sites within the entity [Israel].” He predicted that in the next round of blows, “the resistance will use more advanced missiles, in line with the anticipated escalation."

Another unnamed political official told Al-Ahkbar that "Iran possesses the capability to retaliate against Israel from anywhere, and it is by no means incapable."

Khamenei promises 'crushing response'
Al-Lami's interview comes after Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameini promised a "crushing response" to Israel's October 26 attack on Iranian military infrastructure. The Washington Post reported earlier this week that Iran's attack is expected to occur "in coming days," according to an anonymous senior Israeli official briefed on the matter.

According to al-Lami, his organization views the Israeli attack as a transgression.

"The Zionist entity, by attacking Iran, violated Iraqi airspace and international norms, with cooperation from the United States, despite its strategic framework agreement with Iraq and other security arrangements," al-Lami told Al-Akhbar.

"The current priority is to target Israel first, followed by US bases, as diplomacy and dialogue have proven ineffective, leaving only the language of strength and arms."

Axios reported that the Iranian attack could be launched from Iraq and might use a significant amount of drones and ballistic missiles. The attack could reportedly happen before the November 5 US presidential Elections.
First admission: Hamas confirms death of military chief Mohammed Deif
Hamas sources admitted to the death of Mohammed Deif, the former head of the Izzadin al-Qassam Brigades, the terror organization’s military wing, months after Israel confirmed his elimination, Arabic newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat reported last Friday.

The report from the Arabic source stated that the “terrorist organization’s leadership inside and outside the Gaza Strip received new indications confirming Deif’s assassination.”

The IDF announced back in July of this year that they eliminated Deif in a strike in the Al-Mawasi area near Khan Yunis, but Hamas denied that he was killed.

Sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that officials surrounding Deif confirmed that, after communication between them and Hamas’s leadership was restored, contact with Deif had been lost since the Israeli operation that targeted him.

Sources said that the officials surrounding Deif conveyed a written message confirming that contact with him had been lost and that a few days after the July 13 attack on him, half of a person’s body was found at the target’s location – which Asharq Al-Awsat report claims was likely to be Deif.

His supposed body was kept for many hours, and samples were taken from it before it was allowed to be buried in one of the cemeteries in Khan Yunis, according to the newspaper.

The samples confirmed to those responsible for Deif’s security that half the body belonged to him, Hamas sources indicated to the Arab news source. Doubts were nevertheless raised among some of those close to him and his family that he had truly been assassinated.

However, with the long period of his absence and the loss of communication with him, it became certain to al-Qassam Brigade leaders that he had indeed been killed, the report added.

Hamas sources explained to Asharq Al-Awsat that the delay in announcing the confirmation of Deif’s death to other leaders of Hamas was due to the difficulty of communication among them amid the current war.


Two IDF Givati Brigade soldiers fall in combat in southern Gaza
Staff Sergeant Itay Parizat and Staff Sergeant Yair Hananya, both serving in the Shaked Battalion of the Givati Brigade, fell in combat in northern Gaza, the IDF announced on Saturday evening.

Parizat was 20 years old and from Petah Tikva.

Hananya was 22 years old and from Mitzpe Netofa and was a platoon sergeant in the Shaked Battalion.

In the same incident, an additional soldier from the Shaked Battalion was severely wounded. The soldier was evacuated to a hospital for medical treatment.

According to the IDF's tally, the deaths of Staff Sergeants Parizat and Hananya raise the total of soldiers killed on or since October 7 of last year to 780.

Some 368 of this number were killed since the start of the military's ground operations in the Strip on October 27.


Shayetet 13 commandos captures senior Hezbollah official in northern
Shayetet 13 commandos landed in the coastal city of Batroun in northern Lebanon and captured a Hezbollah operative, Arab media reported, and a military official confirmed on Saturday evening.

The operative was transferred to Israeli territory and is being investigated by Unit 504, the military official noted.

Axios reporter Barak Ravid later reported on X/Twitter that an Israeli official confirmed the operation.

The terrorist captured, Emad Fadel Amhaz, is a senior member of Hezbollah, according to Al-Hadath. Reports also stated that he is part of the Lebanese Navy. Amhaz was arrested to be questioned about Hezbollah’s naval operations, the official told Ravid.

The operation was reportedly carried out in coordination with German naval forces operating as part of UNIFIL, Israeli media reported, citing claims by Lebanese officials.

More than two dozen in the operation
More than 25 people were involved in the operation, with a report by KAN saying that the IDF soldiers entered a cabin near the beach and kidnapped Amhaz, who was staying there alone.

Lebanon’s security forces are investigating the incident, N12 reported, citing Lebanese media.

Pro-Hezbollah journalist Hassan Illaik said in a post on X that a large group of Israeli troops made a landing in the resort town and captured the man before departing on speed boats.


IDF eliminates Hezbollah commander Jaafar Khader Faour,
The IDF eliminated Jaafar Khader Faour, the commander of the missile and rocket array of Hezbollah’s Nasser unit in southern Lebanon, the military announced on Saturday evening.

An Israel Air Force fighter jet, in cooperation with the Northern Command, killed Faour in the Jouaiyya area of southern Lebanon.

An additional commander of the drone unit was also eliminated, the IDF noted.

Faour was responsible for firing rockets and drones at northern Israel from eastern Lebanon. His unit was the first to fire at Israel on October 8, 2023, giving the order to begin the conflict along Israel’s northern border.

He was also responsible for firing rockets at the Golan Heights, which killed Israeli civilians, including Noa and Nir Baranes from Kibbutz Ortal, and the attack on Majdal Shams that killed 12 children, the military stated.

Faour was also responsible for the rocket fire on Metulla last Thursday, which resulted in the deaths of five civilians.
IDF uncovers Hamas weapons production tunnel in civilian area near Zeitoun, Gaza
Soldiers from the 5th Brigade located an underground tunnel route within the civilian population near Zeitoun containing a Hamas weapons manufacturing facility, the military announced on Saturday evening.

The troops operated under the direction of the 252nd Division.

The IDF reportedly located workshops and hundreds of supplies for producing rockets, shells, grenades, and diving equipment intended for terrorist infiltration by sea inside the structure.

The tunnel route contained several long-term living areas equipped with an oven, stove, food supplies, beds, and offices used by terrorists throughout the war, the military added.

Combat engineering troops, under the direction of Southern Command and in cooperation with the Yahalom Unit and the Defense Ministry's Engineering and Construction Directorate, located and dismantled the tunnel.

As a result, the weapons production capabilities were damaged and mitigated the possibility for Hamas to produce weapons, the military noted.


Hezbollah rocket fire increasingly targets Arab and Druze communities
Hezbollah rocket fire wounded 19 people in the town of Tira in Israel early Saturday morning, leaving four in moderate condition and the others with mild injuries. This is the latest example of Hezbollah killing and wounding people in Arab and Druze communities in recent weeks.

It is unclear why Hezbollah rocket fire is increasingly killing and wounding civilians. It appears that Hezbollah may be firing its rockets indiscriminately. In the first year of its war on Israel, when it launched thousands of rockets and drones, Hezbollah claimed that it was often targeting Israeli military sites.

In many cases, this resulted in sirens sounding in civilian areas and people rushing to shelters, fearing falling shrapnel from interceptions.

As Hezbollah expanded its attacks, the sirens have sounded more often because of long-range rockets and drones that threaten wide areas. One rocket fired from toward central Israel can result in sirens that send a million people to shelters in dozens of communities.

Targeting minority communities
The first major Hezbollah attack that led to the murder of members of minority communities in Israel was the attack on Majdal Shams in July 2024, killing 12 children and teens next to a soccer field.

On October 31, Mina and Carmi Hasson from Shfaram, a large town that includes Druze and Arabs, were killed by rockets that fell near Gilam junction, just west of their hometown. The mother and son were killed while out harvesting olives with their family.

Days prior, Hezbollah rocket fire also murdered 24-year-old Mohammed Naim in Tarshiha. Tarshiha is part of the larger combined municipality of Ma’alot-Tarshiha, which merges Arab and Jewish communities east of Nahariya in the hills of the Galilee.

On October 27, three people were wounded in the Arab town of Tamra, including a 57-year-old man who was in serious condition, along with a 21-year-old woman and a 13-year-old girl. Tamra is around 12 miles east of the coastal town of Acre.

On October 25, two people were killed and seven wounded in rocket fire that struck Majd el-Kurum, a large Arab town on Route 85 near Karmiel in the Galilee.

The killing of so many people in various Arab and Druze areas in Israel appears to be a new trend. In general, Hezbollah rocket fire over the last year has not killed large numbers of civilians. This changed in October.


Ben Gvir defends Otzma Yehudit MK who was dismissed from IDF over photo with graffiti in Lebanon home
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir comes to the defense of a lawmaker from his far-right Otzma Yehudit party who was dismissed from the IDF reserves after a photo circulated showing him posing with Hebrew graffiti in a home in southern Lebanon.

“MK Kreuzer, you are the pride of Otzma Yehudit, and you are the pride of the people of Israel,” Ben Gvir writes on X.

“Thank you for the dozens of reserve days you volunteered in the last year. Shame on the IDF command who fired you because of the publication of this photo.”

The photo, which was disseminated on social media yesterday, shows MK Yitzhak Kroizer surrounded by soldiers from his unit with “Office of MK Kroizer” spray-painted on one of the walls behind them.

Kroizer also posts on X, confirming his dismissal from the IDF and blaming the Haaretz daily newspaper for investigating the photo.

“I’ve had the privilege of fighting for you during over 100 days of reserve duty over the past year. I’ll continue to fight for you in the Knesset together with my friends from the Otzma Yehudit faction,” the MK vows.


Harris campaign targets different messages about Israel-Hamas war to Jewish, Arab-American voters
The Harris campaign is reportedly launching ads targeting Jewish and Arab-American voters with different messages regarding the ongoing war in the Middle East.

A report from CNN on Friday put a spotlight on Facebook ads from Vice President Kamala Harris last month appealing to Jewish voters in Pennsylvania.

“And let me be clear- I will always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself,” Harris says in the Facebook ad, which had been taken from her DNC convention speech.

“And I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself because the people of Israel must never again face the horror that a terrorist organization called Hamas caused on October 7, including unspeakable sexual violence and the massacre of young people at a music festival.”

After an edit, Harris adds, “And know this: I will never hesitate to take whatever action is necessary to defend our forces and our interests against Iran and Iran-backed terrorists.”

But, as CNN noted, the ad removed portions of Harris’ speech acknowledging the “heartbreaking” “suffering” that has taken place in Gaza.

Meanwhile, the Harris campaign launched a separate ad, this one aimed at Arab-Americans in Michigan, expressing solidarity with civilians in Gaza.

“What has happened in Gaza over the past nine months is devastating,” Harris says in the ad. “We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to the suffering and I will not be silent.”

In another speech featured in the same ad,” Harris says, “Our common humanity compels us to act.”

The video itself is captioned as “VP Harris has been working to end the suffering in Gaza.”


Tens of thousands join anti-Israel march to US embassy in London; man arrested for pro-terror placard
Tens of thousands of anti-Israel protesters are marching through the streets of London towards the US embassy, to call on Washington to stop arming Jerusalem amid its war on Iran-backed terror groups Hamas and Hezbollah.

Protesters wave Palestinian and Lebanese flags, and signs reading, “Free Palestine” and “End Israeli apartheid.”

London police say a man has been arrested at the protest after he was observed carrying a placard suspected of expressing support for a terror organization.

According to posts on social media, the sign read, “Resistance is not terrorism.”

Far-left lawmaker Jeremy Corbyn addresses the protest, which is organized by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign.

A small pro-Israel counter-protest gathers near the march waving British and Israeli flags and signs calling for the release of hostages held by terror groups in Gaza since Hamas’s brutal October 7, 2023, massacre.
Teacher suspended after saying mastermind of Oct 7 attack was a martyr
A teacher at a specialist school has been suspended after describing the mastermind of the Oct 7 attacks as a martyr.

Mohammad Dahlan, who teaches design and technology, made the remarks about Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar following his death last month.

Mr Dahlan was also reported to the police after posting online that “killing Zionists is an act of worship”.

In a string of social media posts, Mr Dahlan, who works at Burlington House School, an independent school in south west London which teaches pupils with specific learning difficulties, expressed his support for the terrorist group Hamas.

In November 2021, the Government announced that Hamas had become a proscribed terrorist organisation in the UK – meaning that its members or those who invite support for the group could be jailed for up to 14 years.

After it was alerted to the posts on Friday, Burlington House School immediately suspended Mr Dahlan and notified the Metropolitan Police.

A spokesman for the school said it had “a strict zero-tolerance policy towards any form of racism, anti-Semitism, or discriminatory behaviour, whether on or off school grounds”.

It comes as a report found that hate speech targeting Jewish people on social media surged by more than a third in the year following Israel’s military response to the Oct 7 attacks by Hamas.

The report by CyberWell, an independent non-profit organisation fighting the spread of anti-Semitism online, found calls justifying violence against Jews rose from 5.1 per cent to 13.3 per cent.


Anti-Israel group boasts ‘abducting’ busts of Israel’s first president from Manchester university
British police are investigating a robbery at the University of Manchester in which two busts of Israel’s first president were stolen, apparently by pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel activists.

Anti-Israel group Palestine Action posts footage on social media of two masked individuals smashing glass display cases to steal the busts from the University of Manchester.

“Palestine Action abduct sculptures of Israel’s first president, Chaim Weizmann, from the University of Manchester. Weizmann secured the Balfour Declaration, a British pledge written 107 years ago, which began the ethnic cleansing of Palestine by signing the land away,” the group posts on X.

Greater Manchester Police says the burglary was reported shortly before midnight last night, according to British media reports.


Could Your Donation Be Funding Terrorism?
The humanitarian situation in Gaza is dire amidst the ongoing Israel-Hamas War, and Columbia students and organizations, like Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), have mobilized to raise money for nonprofits and mutual aid pages.

But where in Gaza is this money going? A Sundial investigation reveals that several of CUAD’s fundraising partners have ties to terror-linked groups and U.S.-sanctioned entities.

First, CUAD, on numerous occasions, has collaborated with @savesheikhjarrahnow on Instagram, an influencer with more than 114,000 followers known to post content promoting the “axis of resistance.” Most recently, CUAD and @savesheikhjarrahnow made a collaborative post on September 9 fundraising to “help a pro-Palestinian student activist finish their degree” and stay housed.

Second, on June 18 CUAD promoted a litany of fundraisers supporting Palestinians and humanitarian efforts in Gaza, including Project Watermelon, Lina Shahid, and Operation Olive Branch.

Some of the funds raised from these groups make their way to Gaza through

a food kitchen called Ibrahim for Gaza. These organizations and individuals, including @savesheikhjarrahnow, have all promoted or collaborated with Ibrahim for Gaza, led by Ibrahim Ayyash.

From their Instagram page, there is no doubt that Ibrahim for Gaza engages in impactful humanitarian work—their videos and images show a food kitchen that regularly feeds families in Gaza and distributes essential humanitarian supplies.

However, for an ostensibly humanitarian organization, Ibrahim for Gaza has worryingly close ties to Hamas. Ibrahim Ayyash is the brother of Mustafa Ayyash, the founder and director of the Gaza Now news agency. On March 27, the United States Department of the Treasury sanctioned Gaza Now and Mustafa Ayyash for “fundraising for Hamas.” They are accused by both the U.S. and the United Kingdom of acting as “key financial facilitators” in a “Hamas-aligned terrorist fundraising network.”

On Instagram, Ibrahim Ayyash has publicly acknowledged that his brother is Mustafa Ayyash, and has posted in support of him. In June, Ibrahim wrote that Mustafa is a “journalist who works in secret” and “works tirelessly and persistently in publishing events and news inside the Gaza Strip.” In January (before the sanctions), Ibrahim for Gaza posted a video featuring what appears to be a baby formula distribution cosponsored by Gaza Now. Ibrahim for Gaza and Gaza Now also have at least eight staff overlaps, including Hossam Shabat, who appears in posts for both Ibrahim for Gaza and Gaza Now.


Twitch is platforming antisemitism and Israel hate
The Twitch streaming platform, at any given moment, is being watched by more people than any TV news network. Annually, 21.4 billion hours of content are consumed on Twitch. And this includes the antisemitism the platform is increasingly broadcasting into viewers’ heads.

If you’re older than a millennial, you probably haven’t heard of Twitch, now owned by Amazon. Three quarters of users are under 35. Twitch began in 2011 as a platform primarily for streaming games and today over 7 million people create Twitch content — ranging from gaming to comedy to, increasingly, videos that are anti-Jewish and pro-terror.

It’s a powerful and seemingly dangerous platform for reaching young minds.

On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists and thousands of Gazans invaded Israel, conducting the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. Less than a week later, while Israelis were still trying to identify the charred remains of innocents burned alive, the Twitch streaming platform appeared to side with . . . the terrorists. Changes to Twitch coding made it almost impossible for Israelis to become members of the platform.

This was first brought to light last May by an Israeli streamer named “Force,” who posted on X, “I’ve discovered around a month ago that A LOT of my longtime viewers have not been able to sign up to Twitch because they’re located in Israel, which is insane.”

Despite public outcry, Twitch took no action.

About a week ago, a subreddit thread noticed the sign-up snafus, too. Then it snowballed. One user posted, “Israeli here!, just checked and indeed found themselves banned from creating new accounts.”

Twitch denied trying to prevent users in Israel from joining the platform post-Oct. 7. Instead, they posted a claim on X that sign-ups from Israel via email were suspended following the Hamas attack to prevent violent content from being broadcast. Twitch claimed that sign-ups via mobile phone devices were still permitted.

But according to a report from Ynet, Israel’s largest media outlet, Israelis were reportedly blocked when trying to register via both email and mobile devices as of Oct. 20 — more than a year after the Hamas massacre. Threads on Reddit by Twitch users support Ynet’s claims. Yet only last month did Twitch finally address and correct the sign-up blocks after strong public outrage.

Worse yet is who and what Twitch does allow on its platform. As another Redditer posted, “They literally have streamers celebrating terrorism against Jews.”

One such streamer is Hasan Piker, who my organization StopAntisemitism named our Antisemite of the Week in April — and who in 2019 said that “America deserved 9/11, dude. F–k it, I’m saying it.”

More recently, Piker declared there was no evidence of mass rape or murder by Hamas last October. Even though the terror group live-streamed their gory pillaging of Israel, Piker-hosted streams where he denied or dismissed Hamas sexual violence, going as far as to say: “It doesn’t matter if f–king rapes happened on October 7th.”

This type of content violates Twitch’s community guidelines, which state, “Twitch does not allow content that depicts, glorifies, encourages, or supports terrorism, or violent extremist actors or acts.”

While Piker faced a temporary suspension in 2021 for using the word “cracker” to describe white people, he reportedly earns millions annually from the platform. He is so beloved by Twitch, that CEO Dan Clancy and Twitch employees celebrated the streamer’s birthday in July by singing to him live. Despite this outrage, Twitch has ignored the over 7,000 complaints our organization has sent to them about Piker’s behavior.

It’s not just Twitch users who traffic in hate, employees do too. The company’s Trust & Safety team, for instance, includes Fadzai Madzingira, who was suspended from a job at Ofcom, the UK’s independent communications regulator, due to her alleged anti-Israel bias. On Oct. 16, 2023, when Israel had yet to respond to the massacre, Madzingira allegedly accused Israel of “ethnic cleansing and genocide of Palestinians” in an Instagram post; yet Twitch thought her worthy of employment.
BBC staff sign letter accusing broadcaster of pro-Israel bias (not satire)
More than 100 BBC staff have signed a letter accusing their employer of pro-Israel bias.

Anonymous signatories have joined former Tory party chairman Baroness Sayeeda Warsi and pro-Palestine actress Juliet Stevenson in demanding that the corporation report “without fear or favour”.

In an open letter to Tim Davie, the director-general, they accused the BBC of failing to provide “fair and accurate” coverage of events in Gaza and of “dehumanising Palestinians”.

The letter sets out a series of demands, including that the BBC provide “historical context predating October 2023” when reporting on the war which broke out when Hamas terrorists killed more than 1,000 civilians and took 251 hostage.

The letter, also co-signed by historian William Dalrymple, pushed for the corporation to make it clear “when there is insufficient evidence to back up Israeli claims, and making clear where Israel is the perpetrator in article headlines”.

It adds: “Every television report, article and radio interview that has failed to robustly challenge Israeli claims has systematically dehumanised Palestinians.”

The letter is also signed by the Guardian columnist Owen Jones and Rizwana Hamid, the director of the Muslim Council of Britain’s Centre for Media Monitoring.

The letter comes after growing concerns among Jewish staff at the BBC about the corporation’s coverage of the conflict in the Middle East, and the threat of anti-Semitism at work.

In February, Mr Davie acknowledged anti-Semitism at the corporation for the first time and promised to stamp out “abhorrent” abuse.

He told staff in an email: “As many of you may have seen, sadly in recent weeks we have been alerted to some anti-Semitic behaviour by people who have worked with us.

“I want to be clear that there can be no place at the BBC for racist abuse of any kind, whether towards our Jewish colleagues or indeed colleagues from any background or belief.”

The pledge came after The Telegraph revealed comments by Dawn Queva, a BBC staffer, who wrote in Facebook posts that Jews were “Nazis” and white people “mutants” and “a virus”.


Germany’s coalition parties back resolution to protect Jewish life, address rising antisemitism
Germany’s ruling coalition parties – the Social Democrats (SPD), Greens, and Free Democrats (FDP) – have reached an agreement with the Union faction (CDU/CSU) on a joint draft resolution titled “Never Again Is Now: Protecting, Preserving, and Strengthening Jewish Life in Germany,” according to reports by Deutsche Welle, ZEIT ONLINE, and Süddeutsche Zeitung.

This resolution aims to protect Jewish life in Germany and is set to be introduced, debated, and voted on in the German Bundestag next week. Despite possible dissenters, a majority in Parliament is expected to support the resolution.

The resolution demands better protection of Jewish life in Germany, defining it as a state and societal task. It states that all forms of antisemitism are condemned and calls on the Federal Government and local governments to take measures against anti-Jewish hostility.

The draft resolution emphasizes that “the commitment to protect Jewish life in Germany is the common task of all democrats” and includes measures against antisemitism in state-funded areas, calling for reforms in education and the General Equal Treatment Act.

The deputy faction leaders Dirk Wiese (SPD), Konstantin von Notz (Greens), Konstantin Kuhle (FDP), and Andrea Lindholz (CSU) jointly stated: “Germany bears a special responsibility for the protection of Jewish life in Germany in light of the Shoah.”

Antisemitism levels unseen in decades
Since the brutal terrorist attack launched by Hamas against Israel on October 7, 2023, antisemitism in Germany has reached “a level not seen for decades.”

The resolution addresses this rise, noting that antisemitism and hostility toward Israel are widespread due to Islamist and anti-Israeli state indoctrination. Simultaneously, antisemitic conspiracy theories and völkisch (ethnic nationalist) thinking are on the rise, contributing to a climate of insecurity for Jews.

The participating factions state in the motion: “In recent months, the shocking extent of antisemitism has become clear, which is based on immigration from the countries of North Africa and the Near and Middle East, where antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment are widespread, also due to Islamist and anti-Israeli state indoctrination.”

The draft calls for “closing legal gaps and consistently exhausting repressive options,” particularly in criminal law, residence law, asylum law, and nationality law. It further states that the Federal Government should continue to “actively advocate for the existence and the legitimate security interests of the State of Israel.”
Premiering as missiles fly, ‘Reading Lolita in Tehran’ rewrites Israeli-Iranian script
On October 1, director Eran Riklis was in Italy preparing for the premiere of his latest film, “Reading Lolita in Tehran,” about a subversive Iranian book club. It was an inauspicious moment: Over a thousand miles away, his home country of Israel had just been attacked by hundreds of ballistic missiles fired from Iran, escalating fears of war.

Nearly one month later, on October 26, Riklis was back in Italy, onstage alongside most of the film’s Iranian cast, to receive two awards at the Rome Film Fest, an audience choice award and a special jury prize for the movie’s actresses.

Hours earlier, Israel had delivered its promised reprisal for the missile barrage, hitting Iranian military assets during an hours-long attack.

The award was something of a vindication for Riklis, who spent years trying to make the film based on the award-winning memoir by Azar Nafisi. With Israel convulsed by war and facing increased international criticism for its military actions, getting the movie onto the festival circuit had also been a challenge, with many Israeli artists and creations getting short shrift on the world stage.

“It’s very symbolic; it means that the Italian audience sat there and saw the film and wasn’t afraid of certain truths,” Riklis told the Times of Israel in an interview several days after the Rome ceremony.

The film had been rejected by several other festivals, though Riklis said it was difficult to fight those turning the film down without knowing the reason why. In some cases, the film was accepted, while some organizers expressed concerns about being subjected to anti-Israel protests should they screen the movie.

“Maybe they simply didn’t like the film,” he said of the rejections. “I don’t fear anything personally. The film is my statement. If people want to blame Israel for Gaza or the Palestinians, then let’s sit down and talk.”

The film will premiere in Israel around February, said Riklis.

Published in English in 2003, “Reading Lolita in Tehran” tells the story of Nafisi, an English literature professor and writer who returned to Iran from studying abroad in 1979, just as the Islamic Revolution was transforming the pro-Western state into a radical theocracy.

As part of her resistance to the new regime, she formed a secret book club with seven of her University of Tehran students, meeting at her house to discuss works of Western literature.
The 1956 Suez Crisis: Israel's geopolitical turning point
For most of its history, Israel’s wars have been reactive - responding to the actions of its Arab neighbors to ensure its own survival. Only on rare occasions does Israel make the first move, grabbing the initiative to prevent a more destructive conflict down the line. One such moment was the Suez Crisis of 1956.

The crisis was a pivotal moment in post-World War II geopolitics, marking a turning point for colonial powers, Middle Eastern nationalism, and Cold War tensions. Triggered by Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser’s nationalization of the Suez Canal, the crisis drew in global powers such as Britain, France, Israel, the United States, and the Soviet Union.

What started as a military intervention by Britain, France, and Israel to reclaim control of the strategic waterway and curtail Nasser’s influence quickly escalated into an international incident. The crisis underscored the declining influence of European colonial powers and solidified the emerging dominance of the US and the Soviet Union in global affairs. Furthermore, it reshaped the political landscape of the Middle East, planting the seeds for future conflicts.

By the 1950s, Egyptian nationalism had taken center stage under the leadership of Gamal Abdel Nasser, whose vision of pan-Arab unity aimed to challenge Western dominance in the region. The Suez Canal, a crucial maritime route connecting the Mediterranean to the Red Sea, was a symbol of Egypt’s colonial past, controlled by Britain since its construction in the late 19th century. For Britain and France, the canal was vital for global trade, particularly for the flow of oil from the Middle East. France also had additional motivations, particularly its concerns over Nasser’s support for Algerian independence movements.

Tensions escalated when the US withdrew funding for Egypt’s Aswan High Dam in 1956, prompting Nasser to nationalize the Suez Canal in July of that year.

“We shall not let imperialists or exploiters dominate us,” Nasser stated in Alexandria on July 26, 1956. “We shall not let history repeat itself once more. We have gone forward to build a strong Egypt. We go forward towards political and economic independence. We go forward towards a national economy for the sake of the whole people. But, whenever we look behind, we do so to destroy the traces of the past, the traces of slavery, exploitation and domination. Today, citizens, rights have been restored to their owners. Our rights in the Suez Canal have been restored to us after 100 years.”

This move was seen as a direct challenge to Western powers and set the stage for a military confrontation, as both Britain and France feared losing control of the canal and their influence in the Middle East.
Indigenous leaders rally in Jerusalem to affirm historical Jewish ties to the land
A group of about 60 Indigenous representatives from around the globe gathered at Jerusalem’s Western Wall Plaza on Monday, joining hands to show their support for Israel and the Jewish people.

The unique delegation marched from Jaffa Gate to the Western Wall through the alleys of the Old City, many of its members decked out in colorful traditional attire from a wide variety of Indigenous cultures, with beaded headbands, feathered headdresses, embroidered shawls, and woven textiles creating a lively and striking contrast to Jerusalem’s gray limestone walls.

Among the crowd, alongside symbols of Indigenous cultures, many waved Israeli flags to express their support for the country in a time of war. But the delegation was uniquely positioned to also convey another message: Jews are indigenous to the land of Israel.

The march was organized by the Indigenous Embassy Jerusalem (IEJ), a nonprofit established in February with the goal of providing representation in Israel’s capital for indigenous people from around the world, independently from their countries of origin.

“We really wanted to show our support for the Jews as indigenous people of this land,” said Sheree Trotter, co-director of IEJ together with former member of the New Zealand House of Representatives Hon Alfred Ngaro. Trotter, a Maori scholar and activist, is also a founder of the Holocaust and Antisemitism Foundation in her home country of New Zealand.

“There is a false narrative that has taken hold of the Western world, including the country where I live, that paints the Jews as the foreign colonizers who have dispossessed the indigenous Palestinians. We want to change that narrative,” she told The Times of Israel.

Those seeking to delegitimize the State of Israel often make the argument that Israel is a settler-colonial entity that should be dismantled and replaced with a Palestinian state “from the river to the sea.”

The Palestinian narrative is rooted in highlighting the Arab historical connection to the land, and Palestinian leaders and scholars assert that their ties precede the mass immigration of Jews that moved to the land with the Zionist movement in the 19th and 20th century — often omitting the thousands of years of deep connection between the Jewish people and the Land of Israel.

As the cohort reached the Western Wall plaza, its members caught the eye of worshipers, intrigued by their exotic outfits. Many cheered on the visitors and approached them to take photos with them, including a group of IDF soldiers, excited at the unusual encounter. A haredi man unexpectedly turned into a choir director and led the delegation in traditional Jewish songs such as “Hava Nagila” and “Jerusalem of Gold.”

For many in the delegation, the journey to Jerusalem represented more than just a physical pilgrimage. It was a meaningful public expression of their kinship with the Jewish people and their Zionism, which would be frowned upon in some of their countries of origin, even within their own tribal communities.




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