Friday, December 13, 2024

12/13 Links Pt2: The unhinged crusade to find Israel guilty of genocide; Trials expose logistics, planning behind Amsterdam pogrom

From Ian:

Brendan O'Neill: The unhinged crusade to find Israel guilty of genocide
It seems Ireland is looking for a way around this intellectual annoyance, around humanity’s pesky insistence on maintaining a moral distinction between the tragedy of war and the crime of genocide. ‘Ireland’s view’ of genocide is ‘broader’ than the ICJ’s, says Micheál Martin, with incalculable pomposity. Our definition of genocide, he says, is one that ‘prioritises the protection of civilian life’. His self-regarding prattle is not only imperious and deluded – it is opaque, too. Intentionally so, I would say. To speak of ‘genocide’ in the same breath as threats to ‘civilian life’ dilutes the calamity of genocide to an unforgiving degree. Is everyone who threatens ‘civilian life’ a genocidaire? A school shooter? A nutter with a knife? It is preposterous. And dangerous.

It seems Ireland wants to ‘liberate’ the ICJ from its quaint attachment to the morally reasoned belief that genocide requires genocidal intent. And it isn’t alone. Last week, Amnesty International ‘concluded’, like a kangaroo court of the most conceited people you can imagine, that ‘Israel is commiting genocide’. And in its report making this accusation – an accusation it never made against Saudi Arabia over Yemen, or America over Iraq, or Turkey over Kurdistan – it moaned that there is too often an ‘overly cramped interpretation’ of the crime of genocide. Such narrow interpretations can ‘effectively preclude a finding of genocide in a context of armed conflict’, it said.

They really want to find Israel guilty of genocide, hey? Even if it means entirely redefining genocide. Even if it means setting fire to decades of jurisprudence on this gravest of crimes. Even if it means sacrificing truth itself. No price is too high, it seems, in the zealous crusade to single out the Jewish nation as the most genocidal nation. UN loon Francesca Albanese says Israel is guilty of ‘domicide, urbicide, scholasticide, medicide, cultural genocide and… ecocide’. This is religious gibberish, a speaking in tongues designed not to prove any case against Israel but simply to tar it with the suffix of ‘cide’ in order that people might think, ‘Wow, it’s just like Nazi Germany’. Albanese says sometimes the crime of genocide can involve ‘no killing at all’. I’m calling it: these people are insane.

To redefine genocide because you want to see Israelis in the slammer is a very serious matter. It will potentially lead to Israelis being found guilty of a crime they have not committed. Watering down the requirement of genocidal intent for Israel’s war on Hamas would entail Israelis being accused of genocide when all they’ve done is fight a war. Worse, applying a looser definition of genocide to Israel’s actions than was applied to, say, Sudan’s recent wars or the butchery in Syria under Assad is the living, breathing definition of bias. To judge Israel not only by a different moral standard but also by a different legal standard is, in my view, undiluted bigotry. People will fume if you call it anti-Semitism, but can they give another explanation for this twisting of conventions and changing of rules in order that the Jewish nation might be found guilty of the crime once infamously inflicted on the Jews themselves? I’m all ears.

Back to Ireland. What drives the Irish elites’ curious animosity for Israel? Why do Dublin liberals and leftists fume against the Jewish State even more noisily and ridiculously than other chattering classes in Europe? It seems to me that having switched from the Catholic religion to the woke religion, Ireland is apt indeed to fall under the spell of Israelophobia. For both these religions have issues with Jews. The former had a tendency to see them as Christ killers, the latter paints them as Palestine killers. The one feared their spilling of Christian blood, the other obsesses over their ‘letting’ of Palestinian blood. Ireland should leave Israel to defeat the anti-Semites that wish to destroy it, and turn its mirror of judgement back on itself.
Trials expose logistics, planning behind Amsterdam pogrom
More than a month after dozens of Arab men went on a so-called “Jew hunt” for Israeli soccer fans in Amsterdam, the trials of seven suspects revealed this week new information on the logistics of the event that shocked Jews and others worldwide.

The information, which was revealed on Wednesday at a court in Amsterdam, exposed the antisemitic agitation of the alleged perpetrators, and also how organizers worked for days to bus in culprits from across the Netherlands to ambush Israelis, whom the attackers often referred to simply as “Jews.”

The new information contradicts the popular narrative in the Netherlands that the assaults of Nov. 7 were a spontaneous reaction to Israeli soccer fans’ provocations.

Instead, it conforms with reports by Israeli authorities, including the National Center for Combating Antisemitism under Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Minister Amichai Chikli, which found ties between the attacks and Hamas.

Some of the revelations in the indictments come from transcripts lifted from correspondence within WhatsApp groups that police had infiltrated and monitored, yet failed to use the information to prevent the assaults.

A defendant identified as Rachid O., 26, from Utrecht allegedly shared locations throughout the night of Nov. 7 of “cancer Jews to beat up,” as he wrote, to the 900 members of the main WhatsApp group of that night’s “Jew hunt,” as participants called the series of assaults.

(“Cancer Jew” is a common antisemitic term in Dutch.)

The group was initially titled “Free Palstine” [sic] but renamed “Neighborhood Home 2,” in a possible attempt to camouflage it.

The assaults by members of the group and others were against Maccabi fans returning from a soccer match between their Maccabi Tel Aviv and the local Ajax team. More than 20 Maccabi fans were wounded in the assaults, which many Jews and others in the Netherlands called a pogrom.

Police were deployed in large numbers near the stadium but failed to protect the Israelis in the city center, where they walked into an ambush that had been planned days in advance by Arab men, including dozens of taxi drivers, the indictments showed.
Former national security official pens book to ‘arm’ Americans with answers to why Israel matters
Victoria Coates first went to Israel 10-and-a-half years ago, in May 2014, with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), for whom she was senior national security adviser. “At this point, I actually have no idea how many times I’ve been there,” Coates told JNS in her art-filled office at Heritage Foundation, where she is vice president of the national security and foreign policy institute.

Coates’s favorite trip to the Jewish state was during Christmas in 2019. “I was there with my husband, and we go into the room at the King David and there’s a card on the table that says ‘Dear guest,’ you know whatever. And they scratched it out and they wrote, ‘Dear Dr. Coates, welcome home,’” she told JNS. “My husband said, ‘That’s sweet, but do you realize you don’t live here?’ Actually right now, I don’t know.”

During a wide-ranging interview with JNS, which ran about an hour, Coates wore necklaces with a Jerusalem cross and a Philadelphia Eagles logo. She is Christian and divides her time between Washington and the City of Brotherly Love. The former deputy national security advisor for the Middle East and North Africa under President Donald Trump is also a staunch Zionist, whose book The Battle for the Jewish State: How Israel—and America—Can Win is due out on Dec. 17 from Encounter Books.

“The purpose of this book is to explain why the pro-Israel side is correct and to chart a safe course at a moment when the U.S.-Israel alliance hangs in the balance,” she writes in the book, which she penned before the outcome was known of the November U.S. presidential election. (“I really wish the Israelis had tipped me off that they were going to take out Nasrallah and Sinwar,” she told JNS, referring to senior leaders of Hezbollah and Hamas. “I would have liked to include that.”)

Regardless of who won the election, “the good news is that the pro-Israel side still comprises a significant majority of Americans, but with the balance shifting among the younger demographic,” she writes, “we cannot assume that it will prevail without concerted effort against an increasingly aggressive threat.”

She notes in the book the difference, which “could not be more stark,” between the “successful, if unorthodox, approach to the Middle East under President Trump and the decades of bipartisan failure most recently manifested in the Biden-Harris administration.”

Coates was in Israel in July 2014 when Phil Gordon, an adviser to President Barack Obama, delivered a speech. “As the rockets were starting to fly, he said, ‘You’ve got to give them a state,’” she told JNS. “I was going to Naftali Fraenkel’s shiva and I’m like, there’s something wrong here with these people and with what they’re doing.” (The latter was one of the teens kidnapped from Gush Etzion and murdered.)

“Being in the administration, and being on the inside and so close to what actually happens, that’s where I think it was important that it’s somebody who’s not Jewish, who is American to say, ‘Here is the value.’ I am Christian,” she said. “But the value of the relationship transcends my religious interest in the Holy Land.”


Leon Uris, master and commander of the written word
Last August marked the centennial of the birth of author Leon Uris, yet it passed with little commemoration in the Jewish cultural sphere. This absence is understandable as world Jewry is likely facing its greatest challenges since the end of World War II or, at least, since 1967. Many of us felt despair before the turning point in Israel’s war with Hezbollah. Even now, we grieve for the hostages, and for family members and friends who served in Gaza or Southern Lebanon. Still, it is important to summon the emotional energy to honor someone who inspired countless people in the United States and played a pivotal role in the awakening of Soviet Jewry.

Uris, proudly remembered as an “American Marine, Jewish Writer,” as is inscribed on his gravestone, was born in Baltimore on Aug. 3, 1924. His father was an immigrant from Poland via British Mandatory Palestine who had Americanized the family name from Yerushalmi to Uris. A high school dropout, Uris enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps at age 17 during World War II. He channeled his passion for storytelling into novels that resonated worldwide, even as literary critics often dismissed them. His numerous works, including Battle Cry (1953), Exodus (1958), Mila 18 (1961), QB VII (1970) and Trinity (1976), became enduring symbols of resilience and the indomitable fighting spirit of his characters.

I had the privilege of meeting Leon Uris in person in the fall of 1989 during his B’nai B’rith-sponsored visit to the Soviet Union. However, my first “meeting” with him occurred long before that October night in Leningrad—through his book, or rather the book, Exodus.

Published in 1958, Exodus was a monumental work that intensely impacted Soviet Jewry, one that can only be fully understood in historical terms. For nearly 50 years, Jews behind the Iron Curtain were systematically stripped of every foundational tenet of basic Jewish life. They were denied religious education and observance, and had no access to cultural outlets like independent Jewish newspapers and magazines, and other critical elements necessary to sustain a vibrant and healthy community known as Am Yisroel.

Exodus arrived at the perfect moment for the right people. Soviet Jews, still trembling from the collective trauma of the Holocaust, were facing the relentless pressures of a totalitarian regime determined to crush individuality and transform its citizens into faceless, soulless products of the Soviet system. However, Stalin’s death and the subsequent though short-lived thaw gave Soviet Jews a fighting chance.

Uris’s book offered an electrifying counter to the Soviet narrative. It told Soviet Jews about a different kind of Jew—one who was proud of their heritage, one who could fight back against oppression, and, perhaps most importantly, one who could win. The story of resilient, defiant Jews standing tall inspired a sense of proud hope that had been suppressed for decades.

Numerous accounts tell of Jewish activists in the former Soviet Union who risked their lives to translate the book, captivated by its story and message. One of the most extraordinary efforts was undertaken by Gulag prisoners, who painstakingly created a handwritten copy. Smuggling the manuscript past the KGB’s rigorous searches and out of the labor camp itself was nothing short of miraculous.

From there, Exodus began a triumphant journey through the hearts and minds of Soviet Jews, and sometimes, even non-Jews. Hand-typed and handwritten copies battled the Soviet propaganda machine—Pravdas newspaper, TV programs and radio broadcasts—and emerged victorious. For 30 years, Exodus served as a rebellious force, until owning or reading it was no longer a criminal act.
Calcutta’s Jewish Community Is Safe but Shrinking
While the Jews of Calcutta live in a multicultural city with a large Muslim population, not unlike Toronto and Montreal, they do not exhibit the fears that Canadian Jews reasonably have. This Jewish community was founded in the 18th century by enterprising emigrants from Aleppo, Baghdad, and elsewhere in the Middle East, and its members are thus known as Baghdadis. Yet despite high levels of tolerance increasingly rare in the diaspora, the community is shrinking. Sayan Lodh reports on attending the funeral of one of Calcutta’s last Jewish grandees, Flower Silliman:

The often-empty synagogue was again full of life, filled with people whose lives Flower touched in one way or another.

Hebrew and English songs were performed by Catholic students, originally from Mizoram, attending college in Calcutta. A family friend, Aparna Guha, sang “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” while Muslim students of the city’s Jewish Girls School—Flower had been the school’s oldest living alumnus—sang “Shalom Aleichem.” . . .

Calcutta’s Baghdadi Jewish community has fewer than twenty members. . . . Nearly all the remaining Jewish institutions (synagogues, schools, and cemetery) of Calcutta are now maintained by Muslim caretakers. Moreover, most of the students in the city’s two Jewish schools are Muslim. Due to similarities in religious and dietary rituals, Jews in Calcutta primarily employ Muslims as [domestic] helpers and cooks.
Why Israelis are fed up with the UN Palestinian ‘refugee’ agency
Israel‘s Parliament recently passed a law that bans the United Nations Relief and Works Agency from operating inside the country, including East Jerusalem. A second law, also passed in October, categorizes the aid organization as a “terror group,” which would make it illegal for Israeli officials and state agencies to interact with UNRWA officials.

That’s assuming the government implements the law at the end of January 2025. Without Israeli entry permits and coordination with the Israeli military, UNRWA cannot work effectively in Gaza or the West Bank.

UNRWA, which was created in 1949 to care for Palestinians displaced during the 1948 Middle East war, called the legislation “outrageous and reprehensible.” If implemented, “the ban will sever essential lifelines — healthcare, mental health counseling, food assistance, water, education, and more,” the aid organization said. The governments of several nations warned of “devastating consequences” and urged Israel to abide by its international obligations and “keep the reserve privileges and immunities of UNRWA untouched.”

The Knesset vote followed a year of deliberations and mounting evidence that UNRWA ignored Hamas’s construction of a tunnel right under UNRWA’s Gaza headquarters and knowingly employed terrorists, often in UNRWA’s school system.

Two recent independent investigations appear to bolster Israel’s claims about UNRWA schools and their role in indoctrinating impressionable students.

An investigation conducted by the New York Times published on Dec. 8 found that “at least 24” people employed by UNRWA in 24 schools were members of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, or another militant group. The majority were principals or deputy principals, and the rest were school counselors, according to records discovered by the Israel Defense Forces in Gaza and reviewed by the outlet.

“The seized records – coupled with interviews of current and former UNRWA employees, residents, and former students in Gaza – offer the most detailed evidence yet of the extent of Hamas’s presence inside UNRWA schools. In several cases, educators remained employed by UNRWA even after Israel provided written warnings that they were militants,” the outlet said.

The fact that the head of Hamas in Lebanon was a school principal and a former head of UNRWA’s teachers’ union in Lebanon only reinforces Israel’s contentions, the outlet noted.

The outlet’s findings reinforced much of what UN Watch, a watchdog NGO that monitors all activities at the United Nations, has been reporting for years, based on what UNRWA employees publish on social media, in chat groups, and on the internet. It shares its findings with the U.N., Israel, and other nations.


Dutch Parliament trims funding to UNRWA over terror ties
The Dutch Parliament voted on Thursday to decrease funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) over its ties to terrorism.

The decision is a diplomatic victory for Israel, which severed ties with the U.N.’s Palestinian aid organization over it connections with Hamas and other terrorist groups, and a sign of no-confidence among some of Israel’s European allies that are looking for alternative avenues to provide aid.

The parliamentary measure, which was approved by a vote of 88-49, will see the Netherlands cut annual funding to UNRWA by €4 million a year, starting next month. This past year it gave the organization €19 million.

“UNRWA as an organization has been in disrepute for repeated violations of neutrality and for some of its employees who glorified violence in telegram groups,” the budget amendment states. “In addition, there have been serious allegations against employees who participated in the October 7, [2023, massacre] or the terrorist organizations Hamas and Hezbollah.”

An Israeli intelligence report released last January showed that at least a dozen UNRWA employees actively participated Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre, and that the agency has hundreds of “military operatives” belonging to Hamas and other terrorist groups on its payroll.

The revelations prompted 17 countries—led by the United States and Germany, UNRWA’s biggest donors— to suspend funding. With the exception of the U.S., all have since resumed funding due to concern over the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

The Dutch funding cuts will be rerouted to other aid organizations that offer humanitarian assistance to Gaza.


Australian government’s conduct gravely disappointing
In three speeches at the UN at the end of September, Foreign Minister Penny Wong’s main themes were pushing for a timeline for the recognition of a Palestinian state prior to the conclusion of negotiations, and for a ceasefire. Pushing for recognition of a Palestinian state simply rewards and encourages the Palestinian intransigence that has prevented one until now. It also rewards the terrorism that caused the war which clearly prompted Wong’s initiative.

The Government has also refused to oppose anti-Israel lawfare in the International Criminal Court (ICC) and International Court of Justice. This is despite the fact that the ICC decision to issue warrants against Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant blatantly breached the Court’s own rules – it’s only meant to act against countries whose legal systems won’t investigate their own leaders, unlike Israel’s.

Disappointingly, PM Albanese hasn’t even visited Israel since October 7. Wong did, belatedly, in January, but unlike many other dignitaries, refused to visit the sites of the Hamas atrocities.

It was also galling that the Israeli Ambassador was, in June, dressed down by a junior minister and warned Australia wouldn’t support Israel if it went to war with Hezbollah to stop the rocket attacks that drove more than 60,000 Israelis from their homes.

Then there was the tragic accidental killing of aid worker Zomi Frankcom and her colleagues in an April 1 drone strike. Wong insisted on calling Israel’s strike “intentional”, even after investigations by our own specifically appointed Special Adviser found it was mistaken identity.

Even on the one-year anniversary of October 7, the government couldn’t contain its condolence motion to that day’s victims, also calling for a ceasefire and a two-state solution.

The constant attacks on Israel’s conduct have undoubtedly contributed to the sharp rise in antisemitism since October last year. The government has condemned the antisemitism, but even here, its conduct has been gravely disappointing.

The government has been less strong than it could have been regarding the often antisemitic aspects of the anti-Israel demonstrations and camps. It is also galling that government figures have seemingly felt unable to discuss antisemitism without adding “and Islamophobia”, as if antisemitism on its own is insufficiently significant.

One area of great angst has been Jewish students and staff feeling unsafe on university campuses. The government blocked an Opposition bill to establish a judicial enquiry, clearly the best way to deal with this confronting challenge. Instead, it referred the problem to a parliamentary committee with fewer investigative powers and open to politicisation.

The government’s own calculations no doubt inform its actions. However, the overall effect has been to degrade Australia’s relationship with our most important Middle Eastern partner, while making Australia’s Jewish community, suffering its worst ever wave of antisemitism, feel more isolated. Indeed, it is strongly arguable that government actions have inadvertently contributed to that antisemitism itself.
‘Insensitive’: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese slammed over tone-deaf remarks telling Jewish leaders 'Arabs are doing it really tough'
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been slammed after telling prominent members of the Jewish community, “Arabs are doing it really tough at the moment”.

Sky News host Sharri Markson revealed on Thursday night that the Prime Minister made the "insensitive" remarks last week prior to the firebombing of Melbourne’s Adass Israel Synagogue.

However, the comments came not too long after an antisemitic attack in Woollahra, a prominent Jewish suburb, where cars and buildings were vandalised with anti-Israel graffiti last month.

The community was hit by a second antisemitic attack on Wednesday, which included a car being set alight and buildings vandalised.

The Jewish leaders are understood to have been shocked by the Prime Minister's “tone deaf and insensitive comments”, Markson said.

She said they “immediately responded by telling Albanese that the Jewish community was doing it tough as well”.

“Albanese's comments show he has failed to understand the gravity of the antisemitism crisis that's erupted over the past 14 month," she said.

Social media users agreed after Markson shared the segment to Instagram, with many sharing the view he's "not worthy" of his position.

"The ignorance of this man is gobsmacking!!", one said.

Others questioned "why he even bothered to turn up", with one saying: "It wasn't because he cares, it was only for the optics. This government needs to be gone!"

"What weak leadership I don’t agree with him or Penny Wong!"," another commented.

"Lol what a joke - yet the Australian Jewish community still welcomes him and others into our sacred spaces like they are friends ?! Why?!", a fourth user said .


ZFA seeks urgent visa clarification from Home Affairs Minister
The Zionist Federation of Australia (ZFA) has requested clarification from the Minister for Home Affairs Tony Burke on recent reports of shifts to Australia’s issuing of visas to Israelis, resulting in visa denials or significant delays.

It comes after reports Israeli siblings Omer and Ella Berger were stuck in Thailand waiting for visas for Australia after being told they would have to provide a detailed statement on their military service.

The Berger family of Sydney was set to celebrate the birthday their 99-year-old matriarch Jolan Berger, a Holocaust survivor.

According to The Nightly, six members of the family applied for Australian visas two months ago. All were granted immediately except for Omer and Ella, who were told to submit 13-page documents designed to vet combatants in foreign wars, and government officials.

The questions included: have you ever participated in any physical or psychological abuse against prisoners or civilians; have you ever been a guard/official at a detention centre, prison or transit camp; have you ever participated in the crime of genocide or a war crime?

Ella, a member of the IDF’s Intelligence Corps, eventually gave up waiting for a visa and returned to Israel.

The latest incident follows Australia’s refusal to grant for visa for former Israeli justice minister Ayelet Shaked, with ZFA noting there has been an increase in wait times for visas to be issued to Israelis, from a few days previously, to over a month recently.

“There is a strong belief within the community that this has led to, what can only be described, as a form of shadow bans or additional barriers in visa processing that has previously not been problematic before October 7 2023, and the subsequent conflict,” ZFA said in a statement.


Former dolphin trainer Labor MP claims phone hacked after ‘fake’ WhatsApp message revealed
Labor MP Sam Lim has blamed hackers for a WhatsApp message under his name which claimed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a “hegemon”.

Lim claimed the message posted in a WhatsApp channel he ran is fake and suggested his phone may have been “compromised”.

Now, the Australian Jewish Association has called for Lim’s resignation in a letter sent to the Tangney MP – who was a former WA police officer and dolphin trainer – on Thursday after receiving a screenshot of the message.

The message included a quote he claimed could be attributed to Albanese made in response to “Murdoch mercenaries and others”.

“What I’ll say is this. Mr Netanyahu should consider that the bombing of a synagogue in Australia is likely the manifestation of a few despondent radicals who had had enough of the continued aerial bombing of thousands of innocent children and women in Gaza by his single-minded troops,” the message reads.

“Australia is a robust democracy. We do not encourage violence to those whom we do not warm to. If he continues to blame me and other world leaders, he might well be remembered in history as another hegemon who blamed everyone else for his crime against innocent civilians.”

Albanese’s office confirmed the Prime Minister never said the supposed quote, but declined to comment further.

The screenshot began circulating late on Tuesday and ended up in the hands of the association and other prominent Jewish advocacy groups like Friends of Israel WA by Wednesday.

On Wednesday afternoon Lim’s office told this masthead the message was fabricated and Albanese did not say the quote.
Hammer-wielding man threatens Australian Jewish bakery patrons
A hammer-wielding man entered an Australian Jewish bakery last Friday and verbally abused Jewish community members, according to the Community Security Group Victoria and the Australian Jewish Association.

Victoria Police removed the man from Glick's Balaclava branch. CSG said that it assisted the staff and remained on site until law enforcement arrived.

AJA blamed the Labor Party-led government as high-profile antisemitic violent incidents continued to occur in the country.


Sen. Ted Cruz: Trump DOJ Will 'Go After' Campus Antisemitism
President-elect Donald Trump's Justice Department, attorney general, and FBI will help bring the end of the Biden administration era of antisemitism on college campuses, according to Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.

"Next year with a new Department of Justice, a new attorney general, and a new director of the FBI, you're going to see the federal government going after antisemitism on college campuses," Cruz told Sunday's "The Cats Roundtable" on 77 WABC FM-N.Y.

"You're going to see federal investigations. You're going to see federal prosecutions."

Trump has also said in his campaign rallies that he would look into deportation for foreign students or revoking their foreign student visas for those "who hate our country."

House Education Committee Republicans released a report in October detailing the spate of antisemitism on college campuses for over a year, and now the Trump administration is going to move to protect Jewish students, according to Cruz.

"So, whether it's Columbia University or NYU or universities across the country in blue states that have tolerated and encouraged antisemitism, you're going to suddenly see what it means to have a Department of Justice enforcing the civil rights laws and protecting Jewish students on campus," Cruz told host John Catsimatidis.

The House investigation's four main findings, The Hill reported:
Colleges and universities made "astounding" concessions to protesters.
Schools chose to "withhold support from Jewish students."
Schools failed to discipline student's antisemitic actions.
Schools were hostile to the House investigation.
Jewish Students Are Fighting Back | EP 21 Eden & Lishi
Welcome to the 21st episode of "Here I Am with Shai Davidai," a podcast that delves into the rising tide of antisemitism through insightful discussions with top Jewish advocates.

In this episode Shai and guests Eden and Lisha discuss their experiences as Jewish and pro-Israel advocates on campus, particularly in the context of rising anti-Semitism and anti-Israel sentiments.

Eden and Lisha share their personal journeys and the challenges they face in maintaining their Jewish identity and Zionist beliefs amidst a hostile environment. They discuss the formation and roles of two student organizations: Student Supporting Israel (SSI) and Aria, which aim to advocate for Israel and educate students about Jewish and Israeli issues. The conversation highlights the difficulties of engaging in dialogue with opposing groups, the impact of anti-Semitic rhetoric on campus, and the importance of education and advocacy in combating misinformation and prejudice.

The episode also touches on the broader implications of these campus dynamics, including the role of faculty and administration in addressing discrimination and supporting free speech. Eden and Lisha emphasize the need for Jewish students to stand up for their rights and the importance of building alliances with non-Jewish allies.


FDD: FDD Morning Brief | feat. Olivia Reingold (Dec. 13)
Since 10/7, academic institutions have been exposed. @JSchanzer chats w/ @TheFP's @Olivia_Reingold, who's gone undercover more than once during anti-#Israel campus protests & conferences. Tune in.




Univeristy of Michigan fires DEI administrator for antisemitic statements
The University of Michigan has fired an administrator in its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) office for allegedly making antisemitic comments during a conversation with two professors at an academic conference in late March.

Rachel Dawson, the former director of the Office of Academic Multicultural Initiatives, was accused of saying that “the university is controlled by wealthy Jews” and “we don’t work with Jews. They are wealthy and privileged, and take care of themselves,” according to documents obtained by CNN.

She is also accused of stating that “Jewish people have ‘no genetic DNA’ that would connect them to the land of Israel.”

The former administrator denies making the statements that led to her firing on Dec. 10 and plans to sue the university.

“The law is extremely clear that public employees are protected by their First Amendment rights,” Dawson’s lawyer said.

The New York Times reported that a university spokeswoman declined to confirm on Dec. 12 whether Dawson had been fired, saying that the university would not comment on personnel matters.


PA lawmaker demands accountability at UPenn after prof praises Luigi Mangione
A Pennsylvania congressman fired off a scathing letter overnight to the University of Pennsylvania’s president demanding the firing of a left-wing professor whose social media posts lauded Luigi Mangione, the suspect accused of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

In his letter, GOP Rep. Dan Meuser called for Cinema & Media Studies professor Julia Alekseyeva’s firing and noted the university had just finished weathering another scandal relating to its soft response to antisemitic and pro-Hamas protests.

Alekseyeva made her online accounts private this week after blowback for saying – among other things – that she is proud to be a UPenn Quaker like the accused killer. Thompson's murder sparked a left-wing outcry depicting a simmering anger toward the insurance industry that led to online celebrations in other quarters.

Alekseyeva posted a TikTok video of herself smiling as "Do You Hear The People Sing?" from the French musical "Les Miserables" played. The play tells the story of a peasant imprisoned for stealing food and his ensuing quest for redemption.

"I am writing to express my profound concern regarding the recent actions of Assistant Professor Julia Alekseyeva… which appear to celebrate the alleged actions of Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the tragic murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson," Meuser wrote to UPenn interim President J. Larry Jameson.

Meuser noted Alekseyeva proudly connected Mangione to the University City, West Philadelphia school and that she had labeled him "the icon we all need and deserve."

The educator, who was reportedly born in the Ukrainian USSR and moved with her family to Chicago in the 1990s, also refers to herself as a "socialist and ardent anti-fascist" on her website.

Meuser, seen as a potential top contender in the 2026 gubernatorial contest against Democrat Josh Shapiro, called Alekseyeva’s behavior "outrageous" and said it violates the "basic ideals of a civilized society."


London school cancels ‘fast for Gaza’
A school in Tower Hamlets, east London, has cancelled a planned hunger strike after the JC revealed that it was asking children as young as 11 to fast for Gaza.

The planned strike at George Green’s School (GGS) was set to take place today (Friday) but has been called off following the JC’s report.

GGS had asked children to take part in a “collective fast for Gaza,” the second hunger strike organised by the school’s administration in aid of Gaza.

After doubling down on the hunger strike on Wednesday, the school made the last-minute decision on Thursday to drop the planned action.

A Jewish parent at the school said: “It is definitely good news that my child will not be pressured into fasting today.”

Nearly half of children in Tower Hamlets grow up below the poverty line and the school was slammed for encouraging children in London’s poorest borough - where all pupils receive free school meals - not to eat.

GGS will return the £3,188 that was donated to the hunger strike in aid of Unicef’s (The United Nations Children's Fund) Gaza appeal. The charity that also campaigns for nutritious meals for school-aged children did not respond to the JC when asked if it supported hunger strikes in school.

In a letter to parents on Thursday, Principal Jon Ryder said the school had faced “some unpleasant commentary on social media” and “abusive emails” directed at staff. He confirmed that GGS would “re-evaluate” the hunger in the New Year.

“As an inclusive school that values diversity and good community relations we also intend to take the opportunity to engage further with students, staff and parents to ensure that the non-political and humanitarian nature of our fundraising is clearly understood.

“As a Unicef Gold Award Rights Respecting School, we are deeply committed to raising money for charity,” Ryder added.

However, a non-uniform day next week in aid of Unicef’s Gaza appeal is still set to go ahead.

The Jewish mother said her child would participate reluctantly: “Even more obvious than not eating is wearing non-uniform. I will send my kid to school in non-uniform and with money for Unicef even though I desperately do not want to do that.”
UVA’s Administration Has Willfully Ignored Its Longstanding Antisemitism Problem
The Daily Progress recently reported on perhaps the most staggering antisemitic incident in what has become a long list of antisemitic incidents at the University of Virginia.

According to the story, a Jewish student had been continuously subjected to antisemitic ridicule and bullying by one of his housemates, which culminated in written threats and ultimately the alleged perpetrator brandishing a gun at him in his own room. The target of these threats courageously reported the incident to the police and the alleged offender was arrested, released on bail and reportedly suspended from classes. Another housemate who allegedly supplied the perpetrator with the gun was also suspended from classes.

Quite an outrageous story—but one you wouldn’t know about if you hadn’t read it in the DP—because neither the UVA administration nor any of its news organs has publicly commented on it. This is not surprising since this has been the administration’s modus operandi when it comes to antisemitic behavior. Yet given the fact that three UVA students were murdered by a handgun just two years ago, one would expect a serious public reaction to this event by the administration.


Dramatic drop in illegal Palestinian construction in Area C
The Regavim movement, an organization dedicated to the protection of Israel’s national lands and resources, released a comprehensive report this week showing an unprecedented decline in illegal Palestinian construction in Area C of Judea and Samaria.

This marks the first time in a decade that illegal construction has dropped, accompanied by increased enforcement by Israel’s Civil Administration.

Regavim’s research division recently completed its analysis of a full aerial survey, comparing photographs taken in May 2024 to those from June 2023. After anchoring each structure to precise GPS coordinates and creating a layered map of all structures in the region, Regavim’s analysts computed the differential. The results show an overall increase of 2,868 illegal structures over the 11-month period between the surveys, but the monthly average of construction starts—260—represents a significant decline from the previous years (2018–2023), marking a drastic drop in the pace of construction.

Regavim credits this reduction in construction to a shift in the Civil Administration’s enforcement strategy, which now targets larger, permanent structures in key locations, such as highways and strategic points along the seam-line buffer zone, rather than smaller, temporary ones. According to Regavim, “A plausible explanation for the significant reduction in new illegal constructions can largely be attributed to the strategic selection of enforcement cases by the Civil Administration.”

This shift in strategy signifies a new approach compared to previous years, with a clear focus on demolishing high-impact structures.

The report states that in the first 10 months of 2024, the Civil Administration demolished 602 illegal Arab-built structures in Area C, compared to only 306 in all of 2023.


Can a Weakened Iran Survive?
Between the explosion of thousands of Hizballah pagers on September 17 and now, Iran’s geopolitical clout has shrunk dramatically: Hizballah, Iran’s most important striking force, has retreated to lick its wounds; Iranian influence in Syria has collapsed; Iran’s attempts to attack Israel via Gaza have proved self-defeating; its missile and drone arsenal have proved impotent; and its territorial defenses have proved useless in the face of Israeli airpower. Edward Luttwak considers what might happen next:

The myth of Iranian power was ironically propagated by the United States itself. Right at the start of his first term, in January 2009, Barack Obama was terrified that he would be maneuvered into fighting a war against Iran. . . . Obama started his tenure by apologizing for America’s erstwhile support for the shah. And beyond showing contrition for the past, the then-president also set a new rule, one that lasted all the way to October 2024: Iran may attack anyone, but none may attack Iran.

[Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s] variegated fighters, in light trucks and jeeps, could have been stopped by a few hundred well-trained soldiers. But neither Hizballah nor Iran’s own Revolutionary Guards could react. Hizballah no longer has any large units capable of crossing the border to fight rebels in Syria, as they had done so many times before. As for the Revolutionary Guards, they were commandeering civilian airliners to fly troops into Damascus airport to support Assad. But then Israel made clear that it would not allow Iran’s troops so close to its border, and Iran no longer had credible counter-threats.

Now Iran’s population is discovering that it has spent decades in poverty to pay for the massive build-up of the Revolutionary Guards and all their militias. And for what? They have elaborate bases and showy headquarters, but their expensive ballistic missiles can only be used against defenseless Arabs, not Israel with its Arrow interceptors. As for Hizballah, clearly it cannot even defend itself, let alone Iran’s remaining allies in the region. Perhaps, in short, the dictatorship will finally be challenged in the streets of Iran’s cities, at scale and in earnest.


Jew-hate ‘grave threat to democratic values,’ says US official to Europe
Tim Hanway, deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Mission to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), said the United States shares a global “commitment to combating discrimination and all forms of intolerance.”

Hanway’s statement follows recent reports on tolerance and discrimination from three personal representatives of the OSCE’s chairperson-in-office.

In his address to the council on Dec. 12, Hanway told the authors of the reports that their “work remains vital, especially as we confront the alarming rise in antisemitism that we have witnessed since” the Hamas-led terror attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

“Jewish communities throughout the world are contending with levels of uncertainty, insecurity and danger not experienced since the Second World War,” Hanway said. “Media have reported on thousands of incidents involving vandalism or destruction of Jewish sites, and harassment of, threats against, and physical attacks on Jewish individuals.”

“Antisemitism constitutes a grave threat to democratic values, national security, and international stability,” he added.

Hanway noted the danger of rogue regimes fueling hate in support of their authoritarian agendas.

“Russia, Iran and other malign actors are trying to exploit antisemitism to sow division and distrust within and among democratic nations—this poses a threat to democracy itself,” Hanway said.

He applauded the countries and multilateral organizations that joined the United States in endorsing the Global Guidelines for Countering Antisemitism, which were launched in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in July.
Epping town council objects to public menorah
A town council has objected to a licencing application to put up a menorah over Chanukah in its town centre.

Epping Town Council has refused the licence on the grounds that the traditional candelabra would be "insensitive to other religious groups” according to a Facebook petition in support of the menorah.

According to the post, the town council also cited disruption to the town’s Monday market even though Chabad of Epping, the organisers of the menorah, have chosen a location which is away from the market stalls and have offered to take the menorah down on market day.

A spokesman for Chabad of Epping said they felt “significant concern regarding the Epping Town Council's objection to the menorah's proposed location, despite there being no disruption to the market or public space”.

He added: “We continue to work collaboratively with Epping Forest District Council and Essex County Council, both of whom have been very supportive, and remain hopeful that permission will be granted for the menorah to stand prominently, allowing the Jewish community of Epping to celebrate Chanukah together with our neighbours.”

A public menorah has been in Epping for the past four years, but in a less central location. Reasons given for the proposed change include vandalism of a previous, shorter menorah.




The Five WESTERN WALLs (The big one, the small one, the two underground ones and the corner one)
0:00 - 1:07 - Intro
1:07 - 2:56 - The foundation of the Western Wall
2:56 - 4:40 - The Western & Southern Wall
4:40 - 6:00 - The Western Wall tunnels
6:00 - 9:07 - The Small Western Wall
9:07 - 13:30 - The Western Wall




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This blog may be a labor of love for me, but it takes a lot of effort, time and money. For 20 years and 40,000 articles I have been providing accurate, original news that would have remained unnoticed. I've written hundreds of scoops and sometimes my reporting ends up making a real difference. I appreciate any donations you can give to keep this blog going.

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