Tuesday, November 26, 2024

11/26 Links Pt2: Israel is treated like Shylock by the world; Study Shows DEI Programs ‘Increase Hostility’; College antisemites and their enablers think they’re the victims

From Ian:

Israel is treated like Shylock by the world
To satisfy its friends such as the US and the UK, Israel has to fulfill a fantasy straight out of a comic book. To have the right to self-defense, Israel has to be like Batman and never kill those who come to kill its children, a standard the nations who demand it of Israel know they are incapable of reaching themselves because it is impossible. Israel’s right to self-defense is conditional on it achieving the impossible.

To satisfy the antisemitic United Nations, even perfection is not enough, as that moral travesty of a Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, proved when he accused Israel of disproportionate force in an operation in 2023 in which not a single civilian was killed. Guterres is in the camp of Francesca Albanese in that the only thing Israelis are legally allowed to do is die.

The truth is that Israel is not Shylock, and should not be treated as such. Those attacking Israel are not merely spitting on Jews, calling them names and encouraging their children to leave the fold, like Antonio did They are seeking to butcher, to slaughter, to murder every Jew, down to the last child. To fight back is not a crime or a sin. It is not seeking a pound of flesh. It is the preservation of life. This is not the 16th Century or the 1930s. Jews have the right to live and can defend themselves if need be.

In their quest to treat Israel like Shylock, Israel’s critics and haters are in fact treating Israel like Antonio by telling Israel its only option, the only thing it is legally allowed to do under international law, is to commit suicide, to lie down and die, to be beheaded, burned in ovens, kidnapped, raped, and slaughtered in the millions. It is these haters of Israel who seek the real pounds of flesh and gallons of blood from innocent Jews.

Peace will come when that right to live and the right to defend Jewish lives is finally acknowledged, when the UN, the ICC, and the Arab and Muslim worlds stop pretending this is the time of Shakespeare, barely a century after the expulsion from Spain and hundreds of years before the concept of emancipation and giving Jews the rights of citizenship. There is no right to kill Jews with impunity as Antonio Guterres, Francesca Albanese, and Karim Khan are attempting to recreate.

Peace will come a lot sooner when Israel’s friends and allies stop treating it with condescension and stop saying “but” every time they acknowledge Israel’s right to defend itself.

Peace will come when the world is a place where Jews have rights with no “buts” or lawfare to strip those rights in practice, when the right to live is sanctified over the right of Nazis to kill, when friends and enemies alike stop acting like the world is a stage where the Jews are the eternal villains.

Peace will come when the real Shylocks at the ICC and the UN stop seeking their tons of flesh and oceans of blood from the Jews who they condemn for refusing to be slaughtered again.
Melanie Phillips: Mr Sammler's prescience
In 1970 the novelist Saul Bellow, a titan of American letters, published his masterpiece Mr Sammler’s Planet.

Its eponymous hero is a Holocaust survivor who, in a decaying New York City, sees into the heart of things. A calculated attack on a range of liberal pieties, the novel caused intense controversy. Sammler, and thus Bellow himself, was accused of being misanthropic, racist, sexist, and reactionary.

Not surprisingly, liberal literary America was outraged and affronted. Equally unsurprisingly, the book was brandished as proof that Bellow had “moved to the right”. This is, of course, the standard denunciation of irredeemable evil that has sunk countless reputations and careers on the jagged rocks of elite disgust — but is so often instead proof positive of the denounced individual’s clarity of vision and moral purpose.

So it was with Saul Bellow. Sammler is a latter-day prophet, seeing with his one functioning eye straight through liberal hypocrisy to call out civilisational decay.

What now seems all too familiar was all there in the novel — racial prejudice, sexual violence, civil disobedience and a no-holds-barred capacity to give offence, it seemed, to as many hyper-sensitive groups as possible. The premonition of today’s culture wars is striking.

Now Bellow’s son Adam has written in Sapir journal a reflection on the novel and the reputational charges levelled against his father. The result is an insightful, wry, luminous article (full disclosure: Adam is my publisher at Wicked Son — but it’s still a truly wonderful read).
Ta-Nehisi Coates: the dangers of black-and-white moralising
The longest chapter is the book’s most controversial. It is about Coates’s visit to Israel and the West Bank, when he attended the Palestine Festival of Literature. Here, he also received a tour from Israeli progressives associated with an anti-occupation group called Breaking the Silence.

This chapter is a one-sided diatribe against Israel. Consistent with his Manichaean view of the world, Coates casts Israelis as white colonisers and Palestinians as the oppressed enslaved, drawing a parallel between Jim Crow in the United States and Israel’s occupation of the West Bank. The terms ‘ethnic cleansing’ and ‘genocide’ (which are not regarded as being part of Jim Crow in the US) appear frequently, as do comparisons between Israel and the Nazis. In a heated exchange after the book was published, a CBS interviewer – perhaps justifiably – said Coates’s book ‘would not be out of place in the backpack of an extremist’.

French author and social critic Georges Bernanos once said that ‘the worst, the most corrupting lies are problems poorly stated’. So it is in The Message. Israel’s harassment of the West Bank Palestinians must certainly be addressed and ultimately ended. But an easy solution is not obvious, especially because so many Palestinians deny Israel’s right to exist (Coates appears to feel that way, too). Some even publicly celebrate every murderous attack on Israelis. Assuming Israel has the right to exist as a Jewish state, the problem with the two-state solution advanced by many is how to guarantee the nascent Palestinian state would not become another terror proxy on Israel’s border, should it be taken over by radical Islamists, as happened with Hamas in Gaza.

Coates seems deliberately incurious about this dilemma. He writes: ‘The second half of my trip… was not an empty declaration to “hear both sides”. I had no interest in hearing defences of the occupation and what struck me then as segregation.’ This lack of concern is certainly his right, but it is reasonable to expect more from a MacArthur ‘genius grant’ recipient and award-winning author – especially one who writes and presents himself as a moral arbiter.

Some cursory research would reveal that Coates’s take on the conflict being between ‘black’ Palestinians and ‘white’ Israelis is demonstrably in error. Israel is not a ‘white country’. Half its citizens are from North Africa or the Middle East, or are black. Nor is there an Israeli ‘apartheid’ regime. Despite being a Jewish state, Israel’s population is roughly one-fifth Arab, which is well-represented in government and the justice system. Conversely, there are 49 predominantly Muslim countries with very few Jews living in any of them. This is because most Jewish communities were forced to flee these countries for Israel. This is one of the reasons Israel must exist.

Far from being colonialists, as Coates suggests, much of the territory Israel has acquired since its founding in 1948 was not due to colonisation, but the result of four wars that aimed to eradicate Israel. These were wars that Arab countries started and lost.

Israel is certainly not ‘genocidal’, either. There is no genocide in Gaza or the West Bank – the population growth rate in both areas is among the highest in the world.


Coalition of 65 Jewish groups urge UN to blacklist Hamas for sexual violence
Eight Jewish women’s organizations organized a letter co-signed by 57 groups to urge the United Nations to take action in response to the systemic, gender-based violence perpetrated by Hamas as part of the terrorist group’s assault in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America, along with the Hadassah Foundation, Dinah Project, I Believe Israeli Women Global Movement, International Council of Jewish Women, Israel Women’s Network, Jewish Women International and National Council of Jewish Women drafted the letter, which was sent on Monday to U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres.

The correspondence called for the world body to take three actions, starting with declaring Hamas’s “documented systematic weaponization of sexual violence a crime against humanity” followed by “list Hamas in the Annex in 2025 Report of the Secretary-General on Conflict-Related Sexual Violence as a party credibly suspected of committing or being responsible for patterns of rape or other forms of sexual violence in situations of armed conflict.”

The groups also urged for “all states to adopt an international protocol for responding to conflict-related sexual violence when it occurs.”

Co-signers of the letter included the Coalition for Jewish Values, Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Jewish Federations of North America, Simon Wiesenthal Center, StandWithUs, Zioness Movement and Zionist Organization of America.

“Despite overwhelming evidence, U.N. leaders have not held Hamas accountable or taken decisive steps towards justice and accountability,” stated Carol Ann Schwartz, national president of Hadassah. “During this year’s ‘16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence,’ Hadassah and our partners call on the Secretary-General and other U.N. leaders to stand up and show that sexual violence against women and girls will never be tolerated or excused.”
'I was not afraid to die, I was afraid to be raped' - Nova survivor on Oct. 7 sex offenses
Tali Biner bore witness to the rape and sex offenses she heard taking place around her during Hamas’s October 7 attack at a conference hosted by the Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel on Tuesday.

Biner, an operating room nurse, hid in a caravan at the Nova music festival for seven hours on October 7, hearing the sounds of what she said was unmistakably rape.

“Rape has one sound,” said Biner, explaining that there are those who question how she could be sure that rape and sex offenses were taking place, since she could not see the attacks, but only hear what was happening.

“It is the sound of helplessness that turns into a loss of your own humanity.”

Biner said she heard shouts of women that “went on for a few minutes, which felt like hours, and ended in a spray [of bullets],” shouts that “split the heavens and cut the soul to pieces.”

“I was not afraid to die; I was afraid to be raped. I was afraid I would have to provide proof and explanations about the fact that my soul is not here anymore,” Biner said.

“For hours, I heard a man yelling, begging them to leave her alone,” she said, referring to a couple she remembers being attacked on October 7.

Biner explained that when she left the caravan where she was hiding, all of the things she had heard were given visual confirmation – “women with their legs spread, their underwear pushed aside and the shirt ripped off their bodies.”
I'm still in Gaza: Aviva Siegel speaks on year mark of her return in hostage deal
Asked about the one-year anniversary of her release from Hamas captivity, Aviva Siegel, whose husband, Keith, is still held hostage, said on Tuesday that she is not yet in a place to be happy at all.

“I’m still there with Keith and all the girls and all the hostages – still in Gaza,” she said, speaking at a conference held by the Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel on sex offenses on October 7 and in the Israel-Hamas War.

While her grueling schedule of public appearances aimed at advocating for the hostages is challenging, nothing is really hard, she explained.

“The only thing that is really hard is when I see Keith or think of Keith and think about the girls [who had been with her in captivity].”

Siegel is very concerned about the girls, she said, one of whom confided in her that one of her captors had touched her inappropriately.

Siegel believes that there were other instances of mistreatment of the girls that they did not share with her after her husband asked them not to share the difficult things with her to protect her.

Uncertainty for hostages
The hostages were forced to act as if everything was fine, even after their captors abused them, Siegel said, explaining that she was proud of the girl who revealed she had been attacked for being able to maintain the façade.Keith was also forced to act as if everything was fine after his captors shaved his entire body, she added.Siegel also highlighted the difficulty of living through constant bombardments in Gaza, sharing an instance in which Keith was taken away for questioning only to rush back with his captors when an explosion rocked the place they were being held.

“All the windows of the house shattered, and the shower door flew,” she described. “There is not a second where nothing is going on,” she said, describing the constant fear and danger posed to the hostages.



Siegel felt that she could taste death in captivity, watching her husband lose weight and struggle to breathe. She described a moment when he lay on a mattress, and she was afraid to even look at him.“I just hoped that I would die first,” she said.

Siegel is afraid to even think about Keith’s state now and couldn’t bring herself to watch a video of him in captivity – afraid to see his sadness and declined health.

Siegel emphasized the importance of the hostages being able to lean on each other and share their bad experiences. “I hope they are still able to tell each other what happened, and I hope that my Keith is not alone,” she said.
“I was preparing myself to die” - Hostage Speaks on the Anniversary of Her Release
One year ago, Aviva Siegel, a U.S. citizen, was held captive in Gaza for 51 days before her release under a week-long agreement last November. Her husband, Keith Siegel, 65, remains in captivity. Since gaining her freedom, Aviva has become a tireless advocate, working to keep attention on her husband’s situation and urging international leaders to secure his release. Her journey now embodies resilience and public activism as she balances supporting her family with her relentless campaign on Keith’s behalf.

Eylon sits down with Aviva to discuss her time in captivity, the return of Keith, what life has been like in the year since release and how the US and Israel can fight for the return of hostages. This wide ranging conversation pulls no punches in taking a hard look at the current situation on the ground in Israel from a perspective unique to Aviva.


A New Chapter for the Middle East? Evaluating the Implications of Political Normalisation and Trade Liberalisation Between Israel and Saudi Arabia
Background
President Joe Biden hoped to build on President Trump’s legacy by expanding the Abraham Accords to secure the ‘crown jewel’ of US foreign policy in the Middle East – normalisation between Israel and Saudi Arabia. Yet while the Israel-Hamas war halted the negotiations, and Saudi Arabia has been extremely critical of Israeli military operations, it seems normalisation remains on the table, even its pursuit is currently ‘toxic’ for Saudi Arabia, due to its reputation as the leader of the Muslim world and the animosity of its population towards Israel as the war in Gaza continues. Indeed, despite demands to suspend arms exports to Israel, calls for a two-state solution and recent accusations of Israeli ‘genocide’ in Gaza, Saudi Arabia has not responded with action. In fact, it was among the countries which blocked motions calling to cut ties with Israel and prevent it from receiving arms from nearby US bases at the joint OIC-Arab League summit in November 2023. Ultimately it seems the two nations’ shared economic and security concerns will persist beyond the conflict.

The recent election of Donald Trump fuelled speculations that a deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia may be back on the table, as the President-elect seeks to build on the Abraham Accords legacy of his first Administration. Even without normalisation, there is potential for greater economic and security cooperation between the Abraham Accords states, Israel and Saudi Arabia, which may be advanced with proactive leadership from the White House. Building on that, political normalisation and economic cooperation through a free trade agreement (FTA) between Israel and Saudi Arabia, driven by a combination of commercial and security factors, may act as a precursor to stable peace between the two states. Both countries have capacity to contribute to the other’s development and security goals. They have commercial incentives for cooperation and do not perceive each other as security threats because they have common enemies (radical Islamism, Iran and its proxies), common allies (the US) and an interest in regional stability. For these reasons, Saudi Arabia silently approved the Abraham Accords as the UAE and Bahrain could not have signed them without Saudi blessing. In the post-Abraham Accords world, Saudi-Israeli normalisation and economic cooperation would establish an economically interdependent ‘pro-US camp’ in the Middle East and ensure stability and security in the region without America’s direct involvement, opening a new chapter for the region.

This essay does not touch on the potential political challenges of Israeli-Saudi normalisation following the Israel-Hamas war and the formal Saudi demand that it should include a pathway to Palestinian statehood. Instead, it discusses both the opportunities for cooperation between Israel, Saudi Arabia and the Abraham Accords countries that may be achieved without formal Israeli-Saudi normalisation and those that may be unlocked through normalisation and trade liberalisation between the two states. Specifically, it estimates potential trade flow between Israel and Saudi Arabia, analyses whether the business community in both countries would be interested in the normalisation and identifies potential sectors for collaboration.

Conclusion
Observing the realisation of economic opportunities and mutually beneficial cooperation between Israel and the Abraham Accords nations, it is evident there is potential for regional collaboration involving these nations, as well as Saudi Arabia. Particularly in economic domain, through connectivity-enhancing infrastructure projects and a regional free trade area, and in the security sphere, in cybersecurity and air defence. Furthermore, there are hopes that normalisation and trade liberalisation via an FTA between Israel and Saudi Arabia, motivated by both commercial and security considerations, may provide a foundation for lasting peace and collaboration between the two states. Saudi-Israeli normalisation may generate $2.7-2.9bn, while an FTA would bring the trade flow to $3.7-4bn, and may increase as greater social and business connectivity. Gains from trade will likely be concentrated in the ICT, energy, water, machinery, chemicals and metals sectors, and the business community in both countries is likely to support the normalisation.
Why Erdogan’s Turkey undermines US and NATO security interests
TRUMP’S CHOICE for secretary of state, Marco Rubio, champions stronger relations with Turkish adversaries, Greece and Cyprus. Rubio led a bipartisan initiative with 45 senators “condemning the human rights situation in Turkey” in 2021.

According to the Greek Reporter, “The Florida senator’s…nomination has already sparked concern in Ankara, particularly due to his past criticism of Turkey’s 2019 offensive in Syria, his opposition to Erdogan’s relationship with Maduro, and his characterization of Turkey’s government as authoritarian, alongside Russia, China, and Venezuela.”

The Washington Examiner states, “Rubio has been publicly critical of many of Erdogan’s policy positions and believes he is detrimental to and undermining US security interests.”

Both sides of the aisle see Turkey as a problem. During his confirmation hearings for secretary of state in 2021, Antony Blinken said, “Turkey is not acting like an ally. The idea that a so-called strategic partner of ours would actually be in line with one of our biggest strategic competitors in Russia is unacceptable.”

Mike Waltz, Trump’s selection for national security advisor, is another strong supporter of Israel as well as of the Iraqi Kurds. Erdogan not only has a visceral hatred of Israel, but his animosity extends to all Kurdish groups as supporters of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party. This militant group has been fighting for Kurdish rights in Turkey as a beleaguered minority for decades.

But it is the Syrian Kurds who are a particular target of Erdogan. He ethnically cleansed hundreds of thousands of Kurds from northwest Syria, creating a Turkish-controlled region that is a Sunni Islamist enclave, undermining America’s Syrian Kurdish allies who were indispensable in defeating ISIS and who, at our behest, hold in custody thousands of ISIS members and their families.

So, what should the Trump administration demand of Turkey?
End financing and giving sanctuary to Hamas.
End the ethnic cleansing of the Syrian Kurds. If we abandon the Kurdish Syria Democratic Forces, which are indispensable in preventing the reemergence of ISIS, it could force US boots back on the ground. It will also signal to our allies worldwide that we are a fair-weather friend.
Hand over the Russian S-400 system so we can learn how to make our F-35 fleet invulnerable to the “axis of aggressors” communications jams.
Stop helping the Iranian economy as the Trump administration prepares to restart maximum pressure sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
Revisit the Biden administration’s sale of F-16 fighters until Turkey aligns with our interests and acts like an ally and a member of NATO.
For leverage, threaten the removal of the US Incirlik Air Base in Turkey, which is important but not indispensable.

According to the Cato Institute’s Jason Cohen, “US policymakers often operate under the assumption that sending more weapons to…strategic partners provides Washington leverage over the recipients. Yet, Turkey serves as the latest example that the opposite is true. In Turkey’s case, the weaker ally is dictating US policy.”

Mr. Trump, keep your friends close and your enemies closer. But remember, no matter how much Erdogan flatters you, he remains an American adversary trying to take advantage of you and our national security interests.
Kushner brothers, Ivanka Trump, Karlie Kloss pledge $2 million to UAE Chabad
Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of President-elect Donald Trump, pledged on Monday that he and his wife, Ivanka Trump, would donate $1 million to Chabad of the United Arab Emirates in the wake of the killing of Rabbi Zvi Kogan.

Kushner, who was one of the architects of the 2020 Abraham Accords that established relations between Israel and the UAE, said the Emirates is committed to fostering harmony between Jews and Muslims.

“In the UAE, people of all faiths and backgrounds thrive together in an environment of mutual understanding and respect,” Kushner wrote. “Ivanka and I will be donating $1 million to the Chabad of UAE and will redouble our efforts to work with the Jewish community and the country’s leadership to build a resilient, vibrant Jewish community in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.”

“To all who wish to aggravate these historic divides, know that your efforts only strengthen the resolve of the Jewish community to contribute to societies that respect and welcome us,” he added. “History has shown that those who embrace the Jewish people benefit, and those who persecute the Jewish people ultimately face spectacular defeat.”

Kushner’s brother Joshua announced that he and his wife, the fashion model Karlie Kloss, would match Jared and Ivanka’s $1 million pledge.
UAE thanks Turkey for helping to arrest suspects in killing of Israeli rabbi
The United Arab Emirates foreign ministry announced on Tuesday that Turkish authorities assisted in the arrest of the suspects accused of murdering an Israeli rabbi in the UAE.

In a statement carried by the state news agency, the ministry thanked Turkish authorities for "their cooperation in arresting the perpetrators" without providing further details.

Emirati authorities have said they arrested three Uzbek men for the suspected murder of Zvi Kogan, a 28-year-old rabbi who had been living in the UAE and was also a Moldovan national.

The circumstances of Kogan's death have not been disclosed, and it is unclear if Emirati authorities have established a motive or where the three suspects were when they were arrested.

Israeli officials have said Kogan was targeted because he was Jewish and branded his killing as an antisemitic attack. Israeli agencies are assisting in the investigation.


Biden admin exec order allowing US to sanction Americans undermining West Bank 'stability' prompts lawsuit
A Biden administration executive order that allows the U.S. to sanction American Jews living in the West Bank prompted a group of Israelis to file suit against the lame-duck administration, challenging the constitutionality of the first of its kind sanction regime.

Following the Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel, President Biden signed an executive order (EO) in February, imposing sanctions on "persons undermining peace, security, and stability in the West Bank." As a result, the sanctioned individuals have had their bank accounts frozen, credit cards canceled and faced an inability to conduct basic life activities. Critics say the move allows the administration to sanction Jews in Israel who disagree with the administration’s policies, which they believe to be a violation of the constitutional rights of U.S. citizens in Israel and their supporters in America.

Biden said, in announcing the EO, that "the situation in the West Bank-in particular high levels of extremist settler violence, forced displacement of people and villages, and property destruction-has reached intolerable levels and constitutes a serious threat to the peace, security, and stability of the West Bank and Gaza, Israel, and the broader Middle East region."

In response, the American Christian nonprofit, Texans for Israel, and several American Jews living in Israel filed a lawsuit in federal court in August, challenging the EO on the grounds that it was a violation of their free speech rights, as well as their rights to due-process and equal-protection under the law.

"The scope of this sanctioning authority is unprecedented, as it targets beliefs held by many, if not most Americans," the lawsuit states.

Eugene Kontorovich, a professor at George Mason University Law School, who is a member of the legal team challenging the sanctions in federal court, told Fox News Digital that sanctions like those detailed in the lawsuit have been leveraged as a way to silence policy disagreements.

"The shocking thing is, after October 7, in February, while Israel has been in a war for its survival against an Iranian axis of multiple countries, the Biden administration took this time to implement a new and unprecedented sanctions regime targeted at Israelis and their supporters in America," because they simply don't agree with the administration's foreign policy, Kontorovich said.

If the Biden administration is permitted to enforce such sanctions, Kontorovich also said it could lead to retaliatory behavior from a different administration down the line.

"The Executive Order, if you read it carefully, says people who ‘destabilize’ the West Bank, and they're basically saying that the viewpoints that they have are bad for the West Bank... through vague and tenuous connections," Kontorovich said to Fox News Digital.

"They happen to have the power now, but obviously, if this is allowed, then it can be used both ways and that's why it's important to uphold constitutional rights in a neutral and fair way," he said.

In addition, the EO also stipulates anyone who engages in "violence" or "threat of violence" in the West Bank can be sanctioned, but Kontorovich argues that "violence" is defined by anti-Israel groups and can be applied to Jews who defend themselves in the face of a violent Palestinian attacker in an "arbitrary" way.


Jews were key to Dave McCormick’s win in Pa. after he stood up for Israel and against antisemitism
On Thursday night, Sen. Bob Casey finally did what he should have done the day after the election: He called Dave McCormick and conceded.

It was an upset Casey didn’t expect and struggled to accept; the race was a Rocky-like story for Pennsylvania Republicans.

How did McCormick pull it off? In a year where moral clarity in the fight against antisemitism and outspoken support of Israel was too often viewed as controversial, McCormick’s bold approach was critical.

For over a year, the race has been deeply personal for me. On the morning of Oct. 7, 2023, I spoke with Dave and was struck by his clear thinking, excellent questions and sincere desire to understand the full scope of the crisis.

From that day on, I volunteered my time and committed resources to support Dave and his campaign.

Throughout that fall, Dave confronted antisemitism in Pennsylvania with moral clarity and strong leadership.

In a scene reminiscent of 1930s Germany, in early December, a group of pro-Hamas protesters stood outside a Philadelphia restaurant owned by an Israeli-American and chanted “Goldie, Goldie, you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide.”

Dave immediately responded on X: “This ‘protest’ is despicable — antisemitism, plain and simple. I call on everyone who cares about our Jewish community to support Goldie’s. There are more supporters who care than antisemites who hate.”

That evening, Dave and his team invited a group of local Jewish leaders to dine with him the next day at the restaurant.

Notably, he did not make a press event or photo-op out of the visit. He simply wanted to support the restaurant and Jewish community.

A few days later, when the University of Pennsylvania’s president could not clearly condemn calls for the genocide of Jews, Casey was silent.

But Dave immediately called for her resignation, the first statewide leader to do so.
Jonathan Tobin: College antisemites and their enablers think they’re the victims
The irony to this is that it is exactly Trump’s election win that provides the best hope for effective action against campus antisemitism. He promised a real crackdown, involving cutting off funding for universities that tolerate pro-Hamas mobs intimidating Jewish students and deporting those foreign students (many of whom come from the Arab and Muslim nations) who take part in pro-Hamas, pro-terror activities.

Those who truly care about Jewish security should hope that Trump keeps this promise in the same manner as the way he kept his vow to move the U.S. embassy to Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in his first term. Given the pro-Israel and philo-semitic beliefs of his cabinet appointments for his second term, there’s every reason to hope that this will happen.

That’s a plan of action that will not only help American Jews. There’s good reason to believe that the Trump 2.0 Department of Justice will begin action to target those institutions that engage in racial discrimination in the name of DEI policies, rather than enabling it as it did under the Biden and Obama administrations. If so, the result will be a much-needed turning of the tide that will roll back the leftist takeover of education that helped exacerbate racial, ethnic and religious division.

Rather than worrying about repressing antisemites on campus, people of goodwill—whether liberal or conservative, Democrat or Republican, Jewish or non-Jewish—should applaud the justified punishment of those who have mainstreamed and normalized antisemitism since Oct. 7. Those who oppose such measures are defending hate, not free speech.


New Bombshell Study Shows DEI Programs ‘Increase Hostility’
One of the most profound and honest conversations I’ve ever had on the subject of DEI came courtesy of a DEI advocate I spoke with last year. I asked her a simple question: if she believed in DEI as a useful element of corporate policy in theory, why is it that so many DEI programs fail in practice? Her honest answer: “We have to be very robust in our methodology, and we haven’t been. Being able to articulate the meaning of the D, E, and I is critical. If you can’t present it to highlight the fundamental good in the training, it doesn’t work.” An obvious answer, perhaps — but a telling one. The reason for the diversity downshift in American culture, in many cases, is a practitioner issue: DEI proponents have, in many instances, failed to make the argument of why such training is a fundamental good. To the contrary, we’re seeing a growing body of evidence that DEI’s fundamental good, just maybe, was profoundly oversold.

On Monday, we got our first look at a critical scientific finding that’s lending new support to the arguments of DEI’s strongest critics — and taking flack from progressive media outlets set on not giving it the coverage it clearly deserves. A study from the Network Contagion Research Institute, released in collaboration with the Rutgers University Social Perception Lab, examined the effects of exposure to training that emphasizes awareness of/opposition to “systemic oppression.” Its goal was answering the question at the core of the DEI debate: do diversity programs that highlight systemic oppression actually reduce bias and improve group dynamics by “increas[ing] empathy,” or do they “increase hostility” towards those that antiracist philosophy paints as oppressive?

The study had subjects read either (1) an essay containing typical antiracist arguments about white supremacy and race discrimination, or (2) a control essay about corn production. After reading, subjects analyzed a race-neutral hypothetical interaction: a student applying to an elite university and having their application rejected by an admissions officer. Subjects who read the antiracist essay, which contained excerpts from antiracist figures such as Ibram X. Kendi and Robin DiAngelo, viewed the student’s rejection through what the study deemed hostile attribution bias, perceiving the admissions officer as discriminatory, unfair, and guilty of ‘microaggressions.’

The subjects who were primed with antiracist literature:
Demonstrated an increased willingness to punish the admissions officer in the hypothetical scenario, despite the scenario not mentioning the race of the student.
Viewed real-life court cases as discriminatory that the control subjects perceived as fair
Viewed entire people groups (Hindus) as more racially discriminatory after reading material on caste discrimination

The study explained the risk of DEI programs focused on oppressed/oppressor class groupings in the following way: “[DEI] interventions may foster authoritarian mindsets, particularly when anti-oppressive narratives exist within an ideological and vindictive monoculture.” In other words, the oppressor/oppressed distinctions reflected in many modern DEI narratives can actually increase bias, hostility, and attribution of discriminatory beliefs among groups, as opposed to decreasing them. This finding suggests that exposure to ‘antiracist’ narratives decreases people’s ability to view situations rationally; if biased by a preconceived narrative of discrimination, people are more inclined to see discrimination at play in interactions that an unbiased observer might perceive as perfectly fair and reasonable.
‘Globalize the intifada’ means it’s coming to a street near you
It sounds rather abstract when pro-Hamas demonstrators scream “Globalize the intifada!” Intifada, that’s an Israeli thing, right?

In fact, intifada means “uprising” in Arabic. It designates terrorism by Palestinians against Israeli sovereignty in the indigenous Jewish homeland. Today, those supporting this terrorism have broadened it, “globalized” it, to describe attacks worldwide on Jews specifically and Western institutions generally.

It seems to be working. In Amsterdam, just a few weeks ago, mobs of Muslim men hunted down and assaulted Jews as crowds cheered them on. Similar attacks took place days later in Antwerp, Belgium and Berlin. In Hanoi, Vietnam, a Jewish family was ejected by a store owner, who yelled “Free Palestine” while giving them the middle finger.

If those examples seem too remote, consider these: In Los Angeles, a Jewish man was killed by a blow to the head by a pro-Hamas protester. In Oakland, Calif., a man wearing a cap with the star of David on it was ejected by a Muslim coffee shop owner for being Jewish. The home of the Jewish president of the University of Washington was attacked and spray-painted with pro-Palestinian messages threatening the president, and in Chicago, a man walking to synagogue was shot in what police call a terror attack.

“Globalize the intifada” means two things: Attacking Jews simply because they are Jews and justifying it in the name of the Palestinian cause and attempting to destroy, not just Jews and Israel, but also the United States and Western civilization in general, because they represent an “empire” of oppression.

While the seemingly random antisemitic incidents above bespeak an alarming trend, perhaps most unnerving is a report by the Capital Research Center that exposes an actual game plan to commit domestic terrorism.
American victim of Second Intifada suicide bombing ‘retraumatized’ by Hamas support in US
More than two decades on from suffering horrific injuries in a Hamas terror attack, a New Jersey resident says she and other victims have been “retraumatized” by ongoing support for Hamas on American streets and university campuses.

Sarri Singer, a Lakewood native, was volunteering in Israel when she was seriously wounded in the Davidka Square suicide bombing on a Jerusalem 14A bus on June 11, 2003. The Palestinian terrorist, dressed as an Orthodox Jew, had boarded the bus at the Mahane Yehuda market stop on Jaffa Road.

The attack killed 17 people, including the woman sitting next to Singer, and wounded over 100 more.

Singer, bleeding and burned on her hair and face, was extracted from the bus, with pieces of shrapnel lodged in her neck, shoulders and mouth. She suffered a fractured clavicle and popped eardrums, spending 12 days in the hospital before returning to the Garden State post-surgery. A memorial at 95 Jaffa Road in Jerusalem for the 17 people slain by a Hamas terrorist at Davidka Square in 2003. Photo by Avi1111 via Wikimedia Commons.

Singer told JNS she hopes the incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump can clamp down on the disturbing sights of Hamas support in America before what has happened in Israel is replicated at home.

“My biggest thing in the political world, if you want to put it that way, is our safety and security, which has been a heightened fear for me over the last few years,” said Singer, who said she doesn’t delve much into politics.

Singer, who went to high school and college in the United States, said there has always been an element of antisemitism around. But, she said there has been as of late “this sort of carte blanche, that people can just say whatever they want, and there’s no repercussion for it.”

She said her work as the founder and director of Strength to Strength, a nonprofit organization established to bring survivors of terrorism and their families together globally to heal, has given her insights into what is taking place aboard.
Controversial Muslim nonprofit CAIR once ‘linked to Hamas’ must reveal donors after ex-employee claims it accepts foreign funding
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) will be forced to open its books and reveal its sources of funding after a defamation suit it filed against a former employee completely backfired.

US Magistrate Judge David Schultz ruled Monday that CAIR’s donors, funding sources — potentially including foreign ones — and any assets owned by the group are all within the “scope of permissible discovery” as part of former chapter leader Lori Saroya’s lawsuit against the controversial Muslim rights group.

Saroya filed a federal defamation complaint against CAIR in January after the group dropped its own lawsuit against the former employee, which accused her of embarking on a “defamation campaign” against the organization, including by implying that CAIR is funded by foreign governments and terrorist organizations.

CAIR alleged that Saroya’s statements — posted on social media, in comment sections and emailed to the group’s supporters — damaged the organization’s ability to fundraise and build partnerships, but it ultimately dropped the lawsuit in January 2022 over fears that Saroya’s legal team would “demand the names of CAIR supporters who have donated to us.”

Saroya’s lawyer, Jeffrey Robbins, described Monday’s ruling as “the mother of all legal boomerangs.”

“It’s a very important ruling,” Robbins said of the Minnesota district court judge’s order, in an interview with The Post, noting that the ruling is “very methodical, very careful, very detailed and very analytical.”

Robbins explained that the order will force CAIR to “turn over evidence about everything from fundraising practices, such as having raised money from foreign sources and concealed it; whether it deceived donors; whether it mismanaged donor money; whether it retaliated against employees or threatened to retaliate against employees for raising concerns about sexual harassment or the like.”


A return to calm on campus
In recent weeks, there has been a palpable shift on campus. Classes feel more collaborative, students have returned to relaxing on the Main Green and we’ve all been able to watch the leaves fall as autumn settles in. The atmosphere is more peaceful as the divisive protests that dominated campus for months are notably absent. This refreshing calm is largely due to the recent suspension of Brown’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, a group that has, for the past year, been one of the most vocal and visible campus-affiliated organizations at Brown, often through protest and disruption.

Since SJP's suspension, campus life has regained a tranquility that many of us haven't felt since before Oct. 7, 2023.

Over the past year, SJP’s demonstrations were frequently accompanied by chants, banners and calls to action that created an air of tension on campus, especially for those who felt targeted by their rhetoric. Beyond the protests themselves, the atmosphere fostered by these events coincided with an increase in hostile encounters, public confrontations and incidents of harassment. At times, simple acts such as attending classes, walking between buildings or going to the library meant running the risk of uncomfortable and potentially combative interactions with protesters. The very idea of a safe space on campus became an elusive concept for many Jewish students, including myself, who have faced ostracization and outright hostility from students affiliated with SJP.

SJP’s past actions consistently crossed the boundaries of respectful activism. Their protests have mirrored national messaging that has often contained language and imagery targeting Jewish students and even evoking calls for the erasure of Israel. SJP’s behavior was not merely an expression of political belief but was beyond the bounds of what should be tolerated on a college campus. The National Students for Justice in Palestine’s support for organizations with known terrorist affiliations raised serious concerns about whether their activism was aimed at constructive change or at perpetuating fear. Now, without their disruptions, campus has once again become a place where students can focus on their studies and activities in a calmer, safer environment.

SJP’s suspension — following their repulsive behavior at the Corporation meeting on Oct. 18 outlined by Executive Vice President for Planning and Policy Russell Carey in an email to the Brown community — has brought relief to campus overnight, with many feeling the positive effects. The quiet has allowed students to refocus on their studies, clubs and friendships without the looming concern of chants on the Main Green calling for “only one solution, intifada revolution” and rhetoric such as “glory to our martyrs.” Some of the same “martyrs” these protestors praise sexually assaulted women and children, kidnapped hundreds and murdered over 1,200 people on October 7. It should go without saying that a student group who supports this behavior deserves condemnation, not financial backing and official recognition from the University.


Anti-Israel activists target Hillel as protester tactics turn more ‘blatantly antisemitic’
When anti-Israel activists at Columbia University disrupted an event last Thursday at the school’s Kraft Center for Jewish Student Life featuring Axios reporter Barak Ravid — calling out the Hillel’s Jewish benefactor Robert Kraft, for whom the building is named, by name and referring to Ravid, who is Israeli, as a “henchman of genocide” — the personal nature of the attacks caught the attention of antisemitism watchers.

“We are continuing to see more of Hillel — and even sometimes Chabad on Campus and big Jewish donors — being cited by name,” Shira Goodman, vice president of advocacy and national affairs at the Anti-Defamation League, told Jewish Insider.

Goodman noted that calls for universities to defund or disassociate from Hillel intensified in the spring amid the anti-Israel encampment movement on campuses nationwide. “They try to hide it behind Israel, or the ‘Zionist entity,’ but they really are targeting the center of Jewish life on campus; places where students go to eat, pray and be with other students, not necessarily to engage in activities related to Israel.”

“So it does seem, to us,” Goodman continued, “to be blatantly antisemitic.”

Despite crackdowns by universities around the country against anti-Israel protests, the incident at the Kraft Center for Jewish Life at Columbia was particularly egregious.

Dozens of protesters gathered outside the center on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, holding signs that read “Abolish Birthright Land Back” and “Robert Kraft, Your Hands are Red.” Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a coalition of student groups, promoted the protest in an Instagram post calling for Columbia to “sever all ties with Hillel.” A flyer handed out at the protest reportedly read, “Don’t get us started on the Kraft Center.”

In the Instagram post ahead of the demonstration, CUAD wrote that “[C]olumbia has invited yet another henchman of genocide to speak on our campus,” referring to Axios journalist Ravid, and encouraged supporters to “wear a mask and keffiyeh, come with friends and noisemakers, and bring the pressure!!”

The post also called for an academic boycott of the dual-degree program with Tel Aviv University and “all study abroad programs, fellowships, and research collaborations” with universities in Israel.

“It is a shame that instead of attending the event, listening to what I had to say, asking questions and having a dialogue the students chose to walk outside in the rain and chant false and stupid accusations against me,” Ravid tweeted.


Israeli defense minister orders construction of Jordan border fence
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered the construction of a security barrier along the entire border with Jordan to thwart terrorist infiltrations from the east, the Defense Ministry said on Tuesday, announcing that “detailed engineering planning” has gotten underway.

An initial section of the fence, complete with surveillance equipment, will be built as part of the planning phrase, the ministry announced.

The planning phase, which alone is expected to last several months, is “intended to advance the readiness of the defense establishment for the establishment of a barrier on the border with Jordan, in accordance with the decisions of the political echelon on the issue,” the statement added.

The eastern frontier with Jordan extends almost 200 miles, making it the Jewish state’s longest border.

Jerusalem signed a peace treaty with Jordan in 1994, but the Hashemite Kingdom has a majority Palestinian populace and it has taken an increasingly hostile tone since the Hamas-led Oct. 7 massacre of some 1,200 people in southern Israel and the ensuing war in the Gaza Strip.

There is mounting concern in the Jewish state’s security establishment that pro-Iranian terrorists could attempt to penetrate the border to commit an attack similar to Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023 massacre. The army is working to prevent such a scenario, including by reinforcing its troops.

According to official assessments, around 600 people enter Israel illegally from Jordan every month. By comparison, in all of 2023, security forces arrested fewer than 90 infiltrators from Jordan.

Over a year ago, the Israeli government announced its intention to build a security barrier along the eastern border to thwart Iranian efforts to smuggle weapons and know-how to terrorists in Judea and Samaria.


How Hamas Keeps Its Grip on Gaza's Aid
A different kind of conflict has emerged within Gaza in recent weeks.

Hamas is now fighting crime families and mobs who dare to interfere with Gaza's primary source of power and revenue - international humanitarian aid.

Hamas has a special unit called Saham (arrow in Arabic) to eliminate its opponents, and in recent weeks it has reportedly killed dozens of gang members.

On Monday, two unit members were killed during a raid on a Jargoun area gang compound in Khan Yunis, where the gang was trading in smuggled cigarettes.

Five gang members were killed in the raid, with footage of the confrontation spreading across social media.

Saham operatives move in civilian clothes to avoid IDF detection, wearing masks.

Unit members have been documented executing civilians, beating them with iron rods, and even firing RPG rockets at smugglers' vehicles.

The attention given to the Saham unit underscores the struggle for control over Gaza.


Why Jewish organizations need a road map to defeat antisemitism
GOOD NEWS – a promising model for such collaboration already exists. Every summer, ICC holds a Fields Professionals Retreat with leaders from their various coalition partners, including Hillel, AJC, StandwithUS, and more.

An akin concept – facilitated by an independent representative – should be expanded, inviting members from all Jewish and pro-Israel organizations in the United States. Its members should reconvene every month to discuss updates related to their strategy. The representative can be an appointed official from the US government’s Office of the Special Envoy to Combat and Monitor Antisemitism or the Jewish liaison to the White House.

Such involvement from the government in addressing antisemitism has become inevitable, as the issue has already escalated to the federal level. For instance, proposed legislation like the Deterrence Act and the Antisemitism Awareness Act, hearings held by the Committee on Education and the Workforce and the Ways and Means Committee, and the White House’s National Strategy to Combat Antisemitism have all spotlighted and addressed the problem. These efforts have included testimony from experts at the ADL and members of antisemitism task forces.

While the government should not interfere in crafting the road map, it can play a constructive role by requiring monthly updates on the strategy to Washington. This effort would ensure that tangible progress in combating antisemitism – beyond simply increasing resource allocations and organizing unity conferences – is being made.

One example in which Congress and Jewish organizations can work together is by creating a technology platform that could manifest as an app, with one reporting portal connected to the Committee on Education and the Workforce or the Office of the Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism. Such a platform can also serve as a resource for students, delineating federal and state rights, for instance where BDS is and isn’t legal, conduct that violates time, place, and manner restrictions, or how to file a Title VI complaint.

Creating a road map with a clearly defined strategy will not be a seamless process. All Jewish organizations – like businesses – compete for donations and, thus, against each other. However, they can no longer compete in this way if they want to win the battle against global antisemitism and help protect the Jewish community.

In the words of Sun Tzu, author of The Art of War, “Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” What the road map and strategy look like is up for the collective of Jewish organizations to decide, but they must sharpen their tactics and develop a strategy. Sharpening their tactics means slimming down duplicate efforts and engaging in robust debates among each other and deciding which educational materials, conferences, and social media campaigns to platform in a strategic manner.

In their book, Conflict, Andrew Roberts and David Petraeus emphasize the importance of implementing key leadership decision-making principles during a struggle. The first concept is getting the big picture correct. This road map represents that big picture, and for the sake of the Jewish future, Jewish organizations have the duty to get it right.
UKLFI: Holocaust Denial – what Role should the Law Play?
This is a recording of a UKLFI Charitable Trust webinar on "Holocaust Denial – what Role should the Law Play?" with Professor Aleksandra Gliszczynska-Grabias, chaired by Natasha Hausdorff. It took place on Monday 25 November 2024.

This webinar discusses Holocaust distortion in two perspectives: (1) "regular" distortion via memory laws and (2) current distortion in the context of the 7/10 pogrom and its aftermath. Can and should law be used to counteract such distortion and denial?




One in six French people under 35 thinks country better off if some Jews left, survey finds
More than one in six (17%) young people in France, under the age of 35, believes that it would be good for the nation if some Jewish people emigrated, compared to 12% of the general French population that thought France would benefit from Jews departing.

That’s according to a survey commissioned by the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France, which noted that the overall number (12%) represented a 100% increase over 2020 when 6% of the general population said France would be better off if some Jews left.

The survey was conducted a year after the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. It found that 46% of the French populace harbored at least six of the 16 antisemitic prejudices about which respondents were asked.

The most common antisemitic belief, the survey found, is that “Jews are very close-knit among themselves. They are more attached to Israel than to France, and they have powerful lobbies that intervene at the highest level.”

Brice Teinturier, the CEO of Ipsos, which conducted this survey, stated that “almost a quarter of those surveyed think that Jews are not really French like the others, up 6 points” from 2020, per an English translation of the survey.

“The Palestinian cause becomes a license to hate,” stated Yonathan Arfi, president of the council.
Israel right to single out Canada for antisemitism
The National Post newspaper described it as “a rare move.” On Oct. 14 of this year the Israeli Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism issued a report on antisemitism in Canada. Despite the increase in Jew-hate throughout the West since Oct. 7, 2023, Canada has been chosen as the basis of a report by the Israeli government. And most Canadians paying attention would agree Israel was right to single out their country.

Canada has extensive hate legislation resulting in statistics being carefully collected. In the one year period following the horrific terrorists acts of October 2023, antisemitic incidents in the country increased 670% over the preceding 12 months. These acts included shooting at or setting fire to Jewish institutions like schools and synagogues as well as more minor acts of vandalism. Also there have been numerous incidences of harassing, threatening or assaulting people solely because they are or perceived to be Jews.

In many of these less serious incidents, police in major cities are present watching but do nothing to prevent these antisemitic acts or hold the perpetrators accountable. Of the recent hate crimes, 70% were directed at Jews. People of the Jewish faith only comprise 1.4% of Canada’s population.

One reason for the explosion of antisemitism in Canada can be attributed to politicians who are in positions of power. These include, but are not limited to, mayors, provincial premiers and the prime minister and his cabinet. By their comments or inaction to the plight of the country’s Jews, they actively or passively encourage the increasing Jew-hate. One of the latest examples, perhaps the most egregious, is that of Carolyn Parrish.

Parrish is the mayor of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada’s 7th largest city with a population of about 800,000. It is located adjacent to Toronto’s western boundary and is part of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).

A couple of weeks ago a poster appeared online. A named group said they planned to honour Yahya Sinwar on Nov. 26, the 40th day after the Hamas leader was eliminated by Israel. It was announced the event would be held on city of Mississauga property. If the idea of honouring Sinwar wasn’t bad enough, the organizers put poppies on the photo and used the phrase “Lest We Forget”, equating the late terrorist leader to those Canadians who served and who often gave up their lives serving in the country’s armed forces. Absolutely disgusting.
Dutch government creates new national strategy for combatting antisemitism
In the pursuit of a “Netherlands without antisemitism,” the Dutch government has unveiled a five-year national strategy for combating antisemitism.

The new strategy is to take a multi-year approach, and the cabinet will review its efficacy and take extra measures on a yearly basis. It is to be coordinated by the Justice and Security Ministry, and the national coordinator for combating antisemitism unit is to play a central role in advising the cabinet, as well as ensuring the implementation of policy.

“With the current strategy, the government makes it clear that the fight against antisemitism concerns all Dutch people,” the cabinet said. “We all have a responsibility, as a society, to combat antisemitism and the insecurity of Jews. The Netherlands stands for an open, reasonable, and tolerant society. Jewish life is a very explicit part of that.”

Some €4.5 million has been set aside for the initiative.

According to the cabinet statement, the Dutch Jewish community, which numbers 50,000 (0.3% of the total population), “lives in great insecurity” and “without freedom.”

A task force, led by the Justice and Security Ministry, will be established immediately and last for at least a year. It will have a particular focus on antisemitism within university settings, and will take on tasks such as the banning of antisemitic speakers at colleges.

The cabinet added that the task force will consist of representatives from a range of ministries, including mayors, the education sector, the sports sector, the cultural sector, the public transport sector, and other social parties. Representatives of the Jewish community will also form part of the task force.


Teenage girl hospitalised after suspected antisemitic attack in Stamford Hill
A teenage girl has been rushed to hospital with serious but non-life changing head injuries following a suspected antisemitic attack in Stamford Hill on Monday evening.

The “abhorrent hate crime” occurred when a group of Jewish girls were walking to a rehearsal in east London.

The group were “pelted with glass bottles” by a man on a balcony at Woodberry Down Estate, according to neighbourhood watch group Shomrim.

“This attack on innocent young Jewish girls has shocked the community,” Shomrim said in a tweet on Tuesday.

One 16-year-old girl suffered head and facial injuries during the attack and was rushed to Royal London Hospital by Hatzola Ambulance volunteers.

The group posted on X: “Shomrim are supporting the victims and their families whilst @MPSHackney investigate this abhorrent hate crime.”
London police probing assault of Jewish girl as potential hate crime
The Metropolitan Police is investigating an assault of a 16-year-old Jewish girl in London’s heavily Jewish Stamford Hills neighborhood as “a potential antisemitic hate crime,” a police spokesperson told JNS.

“Officers were called to the Woodberry Down Estate in Hackney following reports of an assault,” on Monday night, the Metropolitan Police told JNS. “A group of schoolgirls had been walking through the estate when a bottle was thrown from the upper floor of a building.”

A bottle hit the unnamed 16-year-old in the head, requiring hospitalization. “Her injuries have since been assessed as non-life changing,” police told JNS. “Officers attended the scene to carry out initial inquiries but were unable to locate the suspect. An investigation is ongoing.”
Massachusetts man faces up to 30 years for bomb threats on synagogues
John Reardon, 59, of Millis, Mass., pleaded guilty on Monday to three charges related to phone calls he made threatening to kill members of the Jewish community and bomb synagogues.

On Jan. 25, Reardon left voicemail messages with threats of violence at two Massachusetts synagogues—the first in Attleboro and then the second in Sharon—within 10 minutes. After Reardon was arrested, law enforcement discovered that he had also made 98 harassing and intimidating calls to the Israeli Consulate in Boston between Oct. 7, 2023, and Jan. 29, 2024.

“This defendant’s threats to bomb synagogues and kill Jewish children stoked fear in the hearts of congregants at a time when Jews are already facing a disturbing increase in threats,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said.

Reardon pleaded guilty to one count of obstruction of free exercise of religious beliefs by threat of force, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.


Official report finds Jew-hatred nearly doubled in Texas from 2022 to 2023
Antisemitic incidents nearly doubled from 2022 to 2023 and “remained elevated through the first nine months of 2024,” according to the 2024 Study on Antisemitism in Texas from the Texas Holocaust, Genocide and Antisemitism Advisory Commission, part of a state agency.

The commission, which first released an antisemitism report two years ago, also found that “anti-Zionist rhetoric frequently escalates into harassment” on campuses and Jew-hatred was “reported in K-12 schools, including incidents where Jewish students were threatened.”

Houston and Austin were also among the 10 worst U.S. cities when it came to the distribution of antisemitic fliers, per the report, which noted that 200,000 Jews live in the state.

Kenneth Goldberg, chair of the commission, stated that “from campuses to communities, our commission has been actively fighting back so that Texans can come together to fight this scourge.”

He added that under Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, “the State of Texas has made clear that antisemitism, whether disguised as a political protest or blatant hate, is unacceptable in any form.”

Among the report’s recommendations are penalizing those who wear masks while committing hate crimes, adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) ’s working definition of Jew-hatred in K-12 schools and providing antisemitism training throughout educational institutions.


Israeli study finds gene mutation that may cause autism, possibly enabling treatment
In a breakthrough, Tel Aviv University researchers say they have identified a gene mutation in the brain that might be a cause of genetically based autism.

The discovery of the mutation in the SHANK3 gene, responsible for about one million cases of autism worldwide, could lead to effective treatment of that type of autism.

The study was led by Prof. Boaz Barak and doctoral student Inbar Fischer from the university’s School of Neuroscience and Psychological Sciences, Prof. Ben Maoz from the Faculty of Engineering, and Prof. Shani Stern from the University of Haifa’s Department of Neurobiology.

“This technology will help us develop treatments that could help ameliorate some of the symptoms of autism,” Barak and Fischer told The Times of Israel in a teleconference call.

The study was published two weeks ago in the peer-reviewed journal, Science Advances.

SHANK3 autism
People with SHANK3 autism, like other forms of autism, may have delayed or absent speech, difficulties with social interaction, motor impairment, and repetitive behaviors.

There is a spectrum of severity, however, and some people have milder symptoms or fewer intellectual impairments than others.

In a healthy brain, Barak said, cells send messages to one another via synapses. These synapses help people think, learn, talk, and feel.

But damage to the SHANK3 can disrupt these message transmissions, impairing the brain’s development and functioning. People with SHANK3 autism have faulty synapses that affect the communication network between the brain’s neurons.


John Spencer: Difficult Megacity Fight Seen in Mumbai
On Nov. 26, 2008, 10 Pakistan-based terrorists simultaneously attacked and laid siege to multiple sites across Mumbai—a megacity of about 18 million people—bringing the city to a standstill for more than two days. The attack was meant to overwhelm both the city and its security forces, creating a sense that the entire city was under assault. It took Indian security forces over 60 hours to end the attack. Often referred to as India’s 9/11, the attacks were planned and orchestrated with what seemed to be impressive military precision—so much so that the world was shocked by the attackers’ tactics, their brutality, and the attacks’ exposure of the vulnerabilities of large urban areas to state-sponsored terrorism.

The terrorists infiltrated Mumbai from the sea by blending into the megacity’s littoral flows using a hijacked Indian fishing boat to get near the coast, then transferring into small inflatable boats, brightly colored to look like the colorful fishing boats common along the shores of the slums around the city, where they landed in two groups. The terrorists dressed in Western clothes and carried backpacks similar to those of low-budget tourists.

Some of the 2008 terrorists came ashore at this fishing slum in Mumbai, India.

Multiple Targets
Once on land, the 10 attackers split further, into four groups, and walked or took taxis to their objectives. There were five primary objectives around the city: a cafe frequented by tourists, the city’s main train station, a Jewish community center and two luxury hotels. Once the terrorists reached their objectives, they immediately attacked anyone in sight with AK-47 rifles, grenades and other weapons. Despite the geographic separation of the targeted sites around the city, they were struck nearly simultaneously. The two hotels and community center were besieged for up to 60 hours. The attackers killed approximately 174 civilians before Indian security forces finally subdued them, capturing one and killing the other nine.

Over multiple days, our West Point research team walked the streets and sites of the city—which the terrorists had turned into a battlefield. We followed the teams’ routes from their amphibious landings to their individual objectives. We studied the physical aspects of each site as well as their significance to the city and the reasons the terrorists targeted them. We spoke to Indian civilians who were present during the attacks, as well as to security experts to understand how India has modified its security practices since the attacks.

Size and Complexity
There are many lessons to be learned from studying the Mumbai attacks. The events, for example, illuminate the roles of proxies in hybrid warfare. Among the most contemporarily relevant lessons relate to the challenges of operating in a megacity.

While the U.S. military has operated in urban terrain, it has never conducted large-scale offensive or defensive operations in a megacity. Most definitions of megacities are based on a population size of more than 10 million. But it is these cities’ complexity more than their sheer size that makes them such challenging environments. Some believe the U.S. Army should not try to prepare for operations in megacities simply because doing so isn’t possible—the scale and complexity are beyond the Army’s capabilities. Others argue that the Army must be capable of operating in megacities, but it is unprepared.

During our research in Mumbai, we were witness to what urban specialists have long counseled: that major urban areas are complex, adaptive systems with massive flows of people, resources and requirements woven together by intricate webs of social, economic and governance strands down to the neighborhood level. Under these conditions, there are constant tensions between the need for security and allowing the flows of the city to work unhindered. Striking a balance is consequently difficult.




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