Tuesday, December 24, 2024

12/24 Links Pt2: A Hanukkah for "Oct. 8 Jews"; Why Jews Wrote Your Favorite Christmas Songs; Amsterdam court hands ‘lenient’ sentences to five ‘pogrom’ culprits

From Ian:

A Hanukkah for "Oct. 8 Jews"
The desire of many Jews to disappear into America's melting pot did not work. Beginning on Oct. 8, 2023, the day after the worst attack against Jews since the Holocaust - and long before the Israel Defense Forces began their response in Gaza - some protesters in U.S. cities began rallying in the streets for the terrorists who had slaughtered and abducted Jewish civilians.

For many American Jews, Oct. 8 was a wake-up call. Jews looked around expecting support and, instead, found themselves more alone than they could have imagined. Many alliances, nurtured through decades of civil rights activism, philanthropy to non-Jewish causes (not least universities) and coalition-building turned out to be a mirage. Statements from many supposed friends were equivocal at best. For Jews who had placed their faith in assimilation or allyship as a shield against antisemitism, the disillusionment was profound.

Oct. 8 Jews see now that assimilation is no guarantee of safety or acceptance. Countless nonobservant American Jews have been jolted awake. Synagogues have seen rising attendance, Jewish schools are growing, and even those who once distanced themselves from their heritage are reconnecting with it.

Writing to a Jewish congregation in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1790, George Washington blessed the community: "May the Children of the Stock of Abraham, who dwell in this land, continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other Inhabitants; while every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and figtree, and there shall be none to make him afraid."
How “Kratsmakh” Became the Yiddish Word for Christmas
So we read in first chapter of the Mishnaic tractate of Avodah Zarah or “Idolatry,” which deals with the precautions that Jews must take to avoid participating, if only unintentionally, in the religious rites of the non-Jewish inhabitants of the Roman empire, in whose province of Syria Palestina the Mishnah was compiled in the 3rd century CE. Although each of these three holidays disappeared along with the empire itself, the first two, and possibly the third, are connected, each in its own way, to the New Year’s, Hanukkah, and Christmas that are celebrated this week. Let’s take a look at them.

The Roman calends or calendae, the Kalenda of the Mishnah, was the first day of every month of the year. All the calendae were holidays in Rome and its territories, the most important of them being the calends of January. This was the Roman year’s first month, named for the god Janus, the keeper of doors and portals who ushered in the new year. Celebrated with sacrifices to him and public feasts, the calends of January are described in the Gemara, the Talmud’s commentary on the Mishnah, as taking place eight days after the winter solstice, that is, at the end of December—and it was the proximity of January 1 to the solstice, on which the daylight hours begin to lengthen again after growing progressively shorter from June on, that made it the new year’s first day, as it has continued to be ever since.

The Mishnah’s Satarnuna is the Roman Saturnalia. Originally a one-day holiday dedicated to the god Saturn that took place on December 17, Saturnalia had by the 1st century BCE become a seven-day festivity. Its carnival-like atmosphere featured gift-giving, gambling, and the lighting of candles—and if this reminds you a bit of Hanukkah, which takes place at the same time of the year, it’s no coincidence. It is generally accepted by historians of the period that Saturnalia influenced Hanukkah, the celebration of which began in the 2nd century BCE with the victory of the Maccabees over the Seleucid Greeks but acquired new customs later on when the Jewish communities of the eastern Mediterranean passed from Greek to Roman rule. One of these was the lighting of Hanukkah candles, which appears not to have been part of the original holiday.

Which brings us to Kratesim, spelled קרטסים in traditional editions of the Mishnah and Gemara. As modern scholars have pointed out, this is the result of an ancient or early medieval scribal error, the correct form of the word being קרטסיס or Kratesis. (The Hebrew letters ס and ם, samekh and final mem, are easily confused.) A Greek word formed from the verb krateo, to rule (think of “democrat” or “autocrat”), kratesis means “coming to rule” or “acquiring power,” and was the name of a holiday, observed only in the eastern or Greek-speaking regions of the Roman empire, that fell annually in late summer.




Christmas, the Greatest Jewish American Holiday
In America, this promised land, Christmas is a Jewish holiday. Our Christmas soundtrack, which resounds from every mall, drugstore and grocery, was mostly composed by Jews. “Let It Snow,” “Silver Bells,” “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “Winter Wonderland,” “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire),” “A Holly, Jolly Christmas,” “Santa Baby”—all are the work of Jewish songwriters. Hollywood, that Jewish American mecca, gave us Miracle on 34th Street and It’s a Wonderful Life. The artificial Christmas tree was invented by a World War II bomber pilot named Si Spiegel, whose crew was made up of five Catholics, two Jews and one WASP.

To hear the songwriter Jews tell it, Christmas is not about the birth of the savior but instead comfort, cheer, and goodwill toward men. Jewish American Christmas takes the place of that hopeless earlier universalism, the socialist dream cherished by so many Jews, which never quite caught on in America and led to catastrophic results in Europe. The long history of this Jewish universalism begins in the rabbinical period with the Aleinu prayer, which foresees the time when all humanity, following the Jews, will abandon idolatry. It comes to a neatly paradoxical conclusion in modern Christmas, when the Jews embraced American capitalism’s branch of idol worship, the gift-giving juggernaut that swamps all ethnic and religious lines. Hanukkah and Kwanzaa orbit our major celebration, so that shopping rhythms can coincide.

Jewish Christmas is unashamedly capitalist, its prime symbol a tree with presents piled high all around, and in this way, it banishes the religious character of the holiday. Jewish composers’ Christmas songs feature snow, reindeer, Santa, fireplaces, and trees sparkling with lights, rather than the infant Jesus. First God gave Moses the Ten Commandments and then he gave Irving Berlin “White Christmas,” Philip Roth wrote in Operation Shylock. Berlin’s song was a gift to the gentiles that allowed the Jews a respite from persecution.

The two greatest masterpieces of American Jewish Christmas music both have a sad yearning about them—Berlin’s “White Christmas” and Phil Spector’s “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home).” The two men were starkly different, Berlin dapper and reserved, Spector a raving narcissist and megalomaniac. But they had something in common, too. Jews in a gentile world, both were perpetually on the outside looking in. The pang of sadness that we sometimes feel in the midst of the holiday’s merriment was especially present to these two Jewish geniuses, who spent their lives commandeering the non-Jewish mass culture that makes America both fake and heartfelt, freewheeling and suffocating, the congenial yet utterly lonely land that it is.

Irving Berlin, born Israel Baline in Russia in 1888, once said his earliest memory was cowering on a blanket in the road while watching his house being burned down by Cossacks. In 1893, the Balines came to America, where Christmas and Easter were times of joy and peace, rather than occasions for Jews to hide from the pogromists who liked to kill and rape them on Christian holidays.
Eli Lake: Why Jews Wrote Your Favorite Christmas Songs
Merry Christmas, Honestly listeners! We hope you’ve been enjoying the parties, the spirit of charity, the lights, the tree at Rockefeller Center, the schmaltzy movies, and of course, the infectious Christmas music everywhere you turn.

But did you know that the Americans who wrote nearly all of the Christmas classics were . . . Jewish?

Indeed, many of the writers of your favorite Christmas jingles were the children of parents who had fled Russia and other parts of Eastern Europe during the great wave of immigration between 1880 and 1920. Sammy Cahn, the son of Galician Jewish immigrants, wrote the words to “Let it Snow!” and was known as Frank Sinatra’s personal lyricist. There is also Mel Torme, the singer-songwriter responsible for composing the timeless “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire.” His father fled Belarus for America in the early 20th century. Frank Loesser, a titan of Broadway and Hollywood musicals, wrote the slightly naughty “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.” He was born into a middle-class Jewish family, his father having left Germany in the 1890s to avoid serving in the Kaiser’s military. Johnny Marks, the man who gave us “Rudolph, the Red Nosed Reindeer,” “A Holly Jolly Christmas,” and “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”—yes, he was also one of the chosens.

Then there’s the greatest American composer of them all, Irving Berlin. His “White Christmas” is one of the biggest-selling singles in the history of American music. Berlin’s earliest memory was of watching his family’s home burn to the ground in a pogrom as his family fled Siberia for Belarus before emigrating to NYC in 1893.

Today, Free Press columnist Eli Lake explores why and how it was that American Jews helped create the sound of American Christmas. We hope you enjoy this delightful and surprising jaunt through musical history. Happy holidays!
Why Eating Chinese Food on Christmas Is a Sacred Tradition for American Jews
Mile End opened in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, at the beginning of 2008, a deli specializing in Montreal Jewish cuisine: smoked meat instead of pastrami; poutine instead of cheese fries; those flat, sweet things they serve up there instead of what New Yorkers call bagels. Foodies loved the sandwiches. Hipsters loved the Brownstone Brooklyn setting, the Stumptown coffee, and the brunch, which is just exotic enough to be adventurous and just familiar enough to be, well, brunch.

Then, Mile End began to offer an ambitious dinner menu that took your Eastern European Jewish grandmother’s evergreens and ran them through up-to-the-minute, fat-happy trends: shmaltzed radishes, veal cholent, kasha varnishkes with confit gizzards. What was this cool Canadian place doing serving traditional food? “To me, this is what deli is,” Montreal-born Noah Bermanoff, the place’s founder and co-owner, said earlier this week. “I’m not trying super-hard to be Montreal. I’m trying super-hard to serve food as I know it.”

So take a guess what Mile End is serving on Christmas Day. That’s right: Chinese food.

Titled a “traditional Jewish Christmas,” the prix fixe—served to two seatings on Christmas Eve and four on Christmas Day and made right in the kitchen—will start with wonton eggdrop soup, continue to roast duck with smoked-meat fried rice and Chinese broccoli, and end with fortune cookies and orange wedges. It’s your traditional Chinese meal, made hip, and—with that crucial addition of smoked meat—brushed gently with Mile End’s idiosyncrasy.

But it’s not a twee hipster affect or a one-chuckle joke; it’s a stark claim—almost a polemic. You will not go to Mile End on Christmas because you happened to feel like fried rice. You will go to proudly proclaim your Jewish-American identity. And yet even as the meal is mining this phenomenon, it also recognizes that, more than ever before, Jews are just another brand of white person, and so, especially, for young Jews, simply going to the local lo mein joint may not be enough.
Demographics Don't Lie: The Decline of the Christian Population in PA- and Hamas-Controlled Areas
The Christian population living under Palestinian Authority (PA) and Hamas rule has steeply declined. In 1922, Christians constituted 11% of the population of geographical Palestine. In 1946, they constituted 8%, reflecting the greater relative growth of Jews and Muslims due to immigration.

In 1967, Christians in Judea and Samaria were 6% of the population. In 1997 they constituted 1.5% of the total Palestinian population, in 2007 - 1.2%, and in 2017 - 1%.

In Bethlehem, Christians frequently face violence and intimidation, and are left defenseless. A member of the Protestant clergy explained: "Christians feel unprotected due to the failure of the PA police to intervene on their behalf in confrontations with Muslims."

In 1950, Bethlehem and the surrounding villages were 86% Christian. By 2017, Bethlehem's Christian population had dwindled to 10%. The mass exodus of the Christians risks undermining the survival of Christianity in its birthplace.

Palestinian Christians report systematic employment discrimination, forcing many to leave their communities to seek opportunities elsewhere.

A 2022 study indicated a strong desire among Gaza's Christian population to emigrate, twice as strong as that of Muslims. This explains how the Christian population of Gaza dwindled from 5,000 people before Hamas took control to just 1,000 in October 2023.


Ukraine’s Jews Prepare for Chanukah During Wartime
Jewish communities in Ukraine are preparing to celebrate their third Chanukah under wartime conditions, hoping that light will dispel the darkness brought by the ongoing conflict.

The Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine (FJCU) is organizing extensive holiday activities, continuing a tradition since its establishment in the 1990s.

The light of Chanukah will reach 169 Jewish communities in the country, even in some places with only a few Jewish residents. Working through the federation, Chabad emissaries will operate in cities and districts nationwide.

Despite freezing temperatures, Jewish Relief Network Ukraine (JRNU) warehouses across Ukraine are packing thousands of festive kits for distribution to the Jewish population.

Central candle-lighting ceremonies will be held in city centers, with the main national ceremony taking place in Kyiv’s Maidan Square with public officials and foreign ambassadors in attendance. These ceremonies will be made possible through special permits from authorities to allow Jews to celebrate Chanukah publicly, despite the war with Russia.

Billboards announcing lighting ceremonies are being displayed in major city centers as part of the religious obligation to publicize the miracle of Chanukah.

This year, “Heroes of Ukraine,” Jews who were wounded on the Russian front and received medals for heroic combat actions, will be honored with lighting the central menorahs, recognizing their representation of the fight for freedom and personal sacrifice.

In cities under bombardment, central menorah-lighting ceremonies traditionally held outdoors will move inside synagogues.

“We are at war, with daily bombings,” said Rabbi Nachum Ehrentroi, rabbi of the city of Zaporizhzhia, on the banks of the Dnieper River in the country’s southeast. “It’s life-threatening for people to gather on the street; it’s absolutely forbidden.

“We will hold large lighting ceremonies every evening in the synagogue with an expected attendance of 450 Jews. We have a shelter in the synagogue adjacent to the lighting area, and in case of an attack, God forbid, we can immediately go down to the shelter,” he said.
Amsterdam court hands ‘lenient’ sentences to five ‘pogrom’ culprits
A Dutch court on Tuesday passed the first five sentences over last month’s attacks against Israelis in Amsterdam, prescribing punishments critics said were inappropriately mild.

The sentences, the heaviest of which was six months in prison, prompted indignation from Dutch Jews, who were shocked by the coordinated mass assaults by dozens of Arabs and Muslims on fans of Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv team who were in Amsterdam for a match.

Herman Loonstein, a prominent lawyer and Jewish community activist, said the prosecution bore some of the responsibility for the sentences, which he found excessively lenient.

“The prosecution rushed this but at the expense of their preparedness,” he told JNS. “A better preparation could have led to an attempted homicide indictment,” which did not happen.

The Center for Information and Documentation on Israel, or CIDI, called the sentences “a regrettable sign,” but added that it was “good that prison sentences were imposed and that community service alone was not enough. This shows that the legal order is also shocked.”

Brigitte Wielheesen, a veteran journalist who is Jewish, called the sentences “meager” considering the maximum terms of 4.5-12 years for the prosecuted offenses. “Are aggravating factors, such as discriminatory aspects and major social impact, not taken into account?” she queried.

Defendant Sefa Ö., 32, received the heaviest sentence of six months in prison, De Telegraaf reported. The prosecution had sought two years. A hairdresser whose wife is pregnant, he was filmed kicking a man against a moving tram and punching another who was already lying on the ground.

Umutcan A., a 24-year-old man from The Hague, was sentenced to a month behind bars instead of the five months requested. He was seen kicking a man in the face and stealing a scarf from another victim. He described his actions as a “Jew hunt” in text messages, according to the indictment.
Jewish activists quit Volt, call for apology over pogrom and antisemitism
A Dutch political activist who left the progressive Volt Netherlands political party over its response to the November pogrom in Amsterdam called upon his former party to publicly apologize for its approach to antisemitism, in general, and the pogrom in particular.

“In the Netherlands, talking about antisemitism gets you in trouble,” said Ariel, who wished to only be known by his first name.

The 23-year-old recounted to The Jerusalem Post how he had been rebuffed when he attempted to convince the Amsterdam branch of Volt to issue a statement against antisemitism.

Ariel described himself as a loyal Volt activist who had handed out flyers, organized events, and did staffing internships for the local party. Antisemitism and identity politics were never at the top of his agenda.

The October 7 massacre was a trigger point, but what truly shocked him was October 8 when protesters expressed favor for Hamas and were “against the hostages.” While antisemitic slurs and violence against the police were common at the beginning and later included harassment of Holocaust events, Ariel didn’t feel responsible or believe he could change anything.


'The Vatican was silent during the Holocaust, now it spreads modern blood libels’: MK Chikli
Minister of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Amichai Chikli has accused the Vatican of spreading “modern blood libels” against Israel and condemned the Canadian and Australian governments for policies he claimed have emboldened a surge in global antisemitism.

Speaking in the Knesset on Tuesday to mark Jewish Diaspora Week, Chikli directed sharp criticism at Pope Francis, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and Australia’s Labor government.

“It is deeply disheartening to see the Pope – leader of an institution that was silent during the Holocaust – now promoting modern blood libels against the Jewish state,” Chikli declared.

He specifically referenced Pope Francis’s claims that Israeli soldiers target Palestinian children, which Chikli described as “lies with no foundation in reality.” “The claim that Israel commits genocide is not just false – it is a blood libel of the worst kind,” he added.

Chikli also condemned the Pope’s participation in displays portraying Jesus as a Palestinian nationalist wrapped in a keffiyeh. “Jesus was born to a Jewish mother, lived as a Jew, and died as a Jew,” he said, emphasizing that the portrayal erases historical truth.
Millions of Christians are under Islamist assault, so Pope Francis targets the Jews
Christians face persecution, discrimination, forced conversion and even mass murder for their faith in many parts of the Muslim world, yet Pope Francis, in his upcoming book called Hope, calls for an investigation to see if the Jews are committing a “genocide” against Palestinian Muslims in the Gaza Strip.

The Jews are not committing genocide against Muslims in Gaza, whose population grew almost 3% last year. Muslims, however, are committing mass murder via jihad against Christians in Africa. Yet the pope cowers from defending his own flock.

Africa has become the epicenter of radical Islamic terrorism. Murderous jihad attacks against Christians abound in Nigeria, Mali, Burkina Faso, Egypt, Niger, the Central African Republic, Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Cameroon.

The number of Christians intentionally killed, let alone tortured, raped, kidnapped and forcibly converted to Islam far exceeds the number of Gazans killed unintentionally as Israel directs its fire at terrorists who hide behind civilians. Indeed, Israel is defending its Jewish population from the very same jihadist assaults faced by African Christians.

Thousands of houses, shops and businesses belonging to Christians, in addition to churches and other Christian buildings such as schools, hospitals and cemeteries in those African nations, have been attacked, damaged, bombed, looted, closed, destroyed, burned down and/or confiscated by jihadists whose declared goals are to conquer and rule over Christian communities. According to a 2024 report by the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, the number of African refugees, internally displaced persons and asylum seekers grew by 14% in the past year to more than 45 million people. There is no call from the pope to investigate.
Poilievre tells Winnipeg Jewish Review in an exclusive interview that he will defund all those with a Woke Anti-semitic Agenda
Pierre Poilievre told the Winnipeg Jewish Review in an exclusive telephone interview Dec 18, 2024 that he will not tolerate and will “defund” “all of those with a woke anti-Semitic agenda” including at universities who receive federal funding, as well as all federally funded museums. He re-iterated that he plans to “defund” all “those who are imposing a radical, terrifying, toxic ideology” and this will apply to “everything that the federal government controls.” He stated “I will fire government officials throughout my administration who are imposing a toxic woke ideology.”

Poilievre said under a future Poilevre administration, “there will be a crackdown on all terrorist networks that Trudeau has allowed on our streets.” He said that laws would be passed that give serious consequences to those involved in perpetuating radicalism in our streets. “We will also screen incoming immigrants” to Canada to ensure that they "have no terrorist links, "he added.

Poilievre noted that under a future Poilevre administration antisemities would not receive federal funding. He made reference to the example of Laith Marouf. The Department of Canadian Heritage in November 2023 had to take legal action to recoup funds it paid to a consultant, Laif Marouf. The federal government had to terminate a contract with the Community Media Advocacy Centre after it granted the group more than $122,000 for projects to help combat racism. It demanded the money back after Laith Marouf, a senior consultant with the centre, was accused of posting antisemitic content on X. One of Marouf’s posts read: "You know all those loud mouthed bags of human feces, a.k.a. the Jewish White Supremacists; when we liberate Palestine and they have to go back to where they come from, they will return to being low voiced bitches of thier (sic) Christian/Secular White Supremacist Masters."

Regarding the Canadian Museum of Human Rights, Poilievre stated “The Museum will be there to honour our history and to tell our stories, not to impose toxic woke ideologies against our people.

Poilievre stated that “shuls” will be protected since he will “re-inforce security infrastructure grants by “expanding the eligibility for funds” and “simplifying” things such that funding will be granted more quickly.

In regard to Israel, Poilievre noted that “I will remove any ban on the sale of military equipment to Israel” that was imposed by the Trudeau government. He added that “I do not recognize the legitimacy of the ICC [International Criminal Court] and Prime Minister Netanyahu would be welcomed here [in Canada] as a friend,” and an "ally."
I Graduated UCLA in May; But My Fight for Israel On and Off Campus Has Just Begun
It has been six months since I graduated from UCLA, and my life looks a lot different now than it did as a Bruin.

The shift from being a student — a title that brought me immense pride and purpose — to navigating the uncertainty of a post-grad life has been both freeing and disorienting. This period of uncertainty, paired with the endless opportunities it presents, looms over me daily as I navigate the “figuring-it-out” chapter of my young twenties.

Yet amid the consistent changes and challenges of this transition, I’ve noticed glimpses of an unfamiliar sense of calm. At first, I couldn’t identify its source — it wasn’t as though life after graduation had suddenly become easier. But on the anniversary of October 7 — a day meant solely for grief, honor, and respect — the feeling made sense.

UCLA administrators continue not to enforce the changes they said they’ve made — such as time, place, and manner policies or a Four-Point Plan for a “safer and stronger” community — to conduct on campus, thereby allowing disruptive anti-Israel protests to continue.

However, reading about the Students for Justice in Palestine protest in the news felt starkly different than experiencing it on campus. For the first time in a year, there was a degree of separation between my heartbreak over what my community continues to endure, and the false narratives and blatant antisemitism perpetuated on college campuses.

The chants of “365 days of genocide” and “Israel is a terrorist state” felt no less painful this year, but I wasn’t forced to face them in person.

This distance did not make the commemoration of October 7 any less excruciating, nor does it make the image of 100 hostages continuing to be tortured underground any less vivid. It does not lessen the frustration of watching a preparatory emergency exit video at my temple during the High Holidays, or the anger that political leaders continue to advocate for ceasefires and two-state solutions while Hamas militants are embedded within UNRWA’s school systems.

But not having to worry about being blocked from the library or hearing “From the River to the Sea” echo across campus minutes before taking a final exam has made every day since graduation feel a little bit lighter. I’ve also noticed something else — or, more accurately, the absence of something. What happened to the flurry of social media posts my peers once shared about the campus protests and the ongoing war?
University of Michigan sued by SJP for alleged free-speech violations
Pro-Palestinian student activists filed a lawsuit on Dec. 20 against leaders of the University of Michigan, alleging violations of their constitutional rights.

”This lawsuit arises from defendants’ violations of free speech, due process and equal protection rights resulting from retaliation and discrimination against students based on the content of their speech and based on students’ viewpoint on issues of significant interest to the university community and to the public at large,” the lawsuit states.

The group Students Allied for Freedom and Equality—a Students for Justice in Palestine chapter—announced the legal action against the university’s board of regents, president Santa Ono and Martino Harmon, vice president of Student Life

“As long as the struggle continues in Gaza, it will continue globally, on our campus, and in our streets,” the group said in a statement. “Our movement has only grown stronger in the face of repression and targeted attacks—the demand for divestment and accountability is larger than an organization or a small group of students. It is a people’s movement made up of students, staff, faculty and our community members—and we will be victorious.”

This is the latest in recent activities within the university calling for divestment from and institutional action against Israel. On Dec. 9, pro-Palestinian activists targeted the home of University of Michigan regent Jordan Acker for the third time, throwing heavy objects through his windows and vandalizing his vehicle with anti-Israel graffiti.
2024 Man of the Year: Columbia’s Mystery Photographer
There’s only one thing the Washington Free Beacon loves more than exposing the rank anti-Semitism of Ivy League administrators: exposing the bigotry of a trio of Ivy League administrators on the same day.

The Free Beacon couldn’t have done it without the help of the righteous Columbia graduate who snapped photos of four Columbia deans exchanging hostile text messages about their colleagues during a panel on Jewish life.

The deans used vomit emojis to describe a rabbi’s op-ed, mocked the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, and accused Brian Cohen, the head of Columbia Hillel, of milking the moment for "$$$$."

Fortunately for the Jewish people, the crafty Columbia graduate was sitting behind them and capturing their every text. After the Free Beacon published photographs of the messages, administrators Susan Chang-Kim, Cristen Kromm, and Matthew Patashnick were placed on leave and permanently stripped of their posts. All three resigned on August 8.

Nobody’s perfect, and our unsung hero was unable to dislodge a fourth administrator—the dean of Columbia College, Josef Sorett—who took part in the bigoted banter. The silver lining is that Sorett has a proven talent for humiliating his university. When a Free Beacon reporter knocked on his door to ask about the text messages, for example, Sorett—who has advocated for defunding the police—called the cops on her.
ZOA slams Columbia’s decision for pro-Hamas educator to teach Zionism
The leaders of the Zionist Organization of America contacted Dr. Katrina Armstrong, an internist and interim president of Columbia University, to express their concerns about plans for Joseph Massad, a professor of Arab politics, to teach a course on Zionism.

It is especially concerning considering that Columbia made news over the past year for its anti-Jewish rallies, rhetoric and pro-Palestinian tent encampments, as well as the takeover of Hamilton Hall by protesters at the end of April.

Morton Klein, national president of the ZOA, wrote a letter to Armstrong on Tuesday, also penned by Jonathan Ginsburg, managing director of ZOA campus and the campus coordinator for the New England and West Coast regions; and attorney Susan Tuchman, director of the group’s Center for Law and Justice.

“We were horrified to learn that Columbia University has decided to allow Joseph Massad to continue teaching a course on Jewish history and Zionism, scheduled for the spring semester,” the three Jewish leaders wrote.

The letter stated that Massad “has advocated for Israel’s destruction, praised terrorism against Israeli Jews, blamed Jews for antisemitism, denied the Jewish people’s connection to the Land of Israel and praised the terrorist group Hamas’s massacre in Israel on October 7, 2023.”

ZOA noted that Massad had described the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas terror attacks as “astounding” and “awesome.” He also labeled Palestinian terrorism as “anti-colonial resistance” and “real and exemplary bravery.”

Klein, Ginsburg and Tuchman warned that “especially at this time of soaring antisemitism, Massad will encourage Jew- and Israel-hatred among Columbia students, instead of building knowledge and understanding.”


‘Offensive comments’: New revelations of antisemitism at Sydney University
Sky News host Caroline Marcus speaks out against the rising antisemitism on Australian university campuses.

“Sydney University and its handling of Jew-hatred and anti-Israel protests on campus has been one of the biggest stories of the year,” Ms Marcus said.

“Now I can reveal a formal complaint has been made about yet another staff member for making offensive comments about Jews online.”




BBC editor subjected to ‘vile and sinister’ antisemitic abuse sparked by Owen Jones report
The man at the centre of “vile and sinister” attacks by Guardian writer Owen Jones has been subjected to a torrent of antisemitic abuse, Jewish News has learned.

Jones wrote a long-form “investigation” into the BBC’s coverage of the war between Israel and Hamas, which was published by the online outlet, Drop Site News. In it, Jones claimed to have spoken to “13 current and former staffers, who mapped out the extensive bias in the BBC’s coverage”; he said that the focus of their complaints, all made anonymously “for fear of professional retribution”, was the BBC News Online Middle East editor, Raffi Berg.

According to Jones, Berg “sets the tone for the BBC’s digital output on Israel and Palestine”, adding that the journalists to whom he spoke “allege that internal complaints about how the BBC covers Gaza have been repeatedly brushed aside. “‘This guy’s [Berg] entire job is to water down everything that’s too critical of Israel’,” one former BBC journalist said”.

Jones claimed: “In addition to what they see as a collective management failure, journalists expressed concerns over bias in the shaping of the Middle East index of the BBC news website. Several allege that Berg ‘micromanages’ this section, ensuring that it fails to uphold impartiality. ‘Many of us have raised concerns that Raffi has the power to reframe every story, and we are ignored,’ one told me.

“BBC journalists also point to Tim Davie, the director general of the BBC, and Deborah Turness, the CEO of BBC’s news division, as standing in the way of change. Both are aware of the outrage against Berg, the journalists said.

“‘Almost every correspondent you know has an issue with him,” one claimed. ‘He has been named in multiple meetings, but they just ignore it.’”

A source close to Berg said the Middle East editor has described Jones’ investigation as “vile and sinister”. Berg told the source that Jones had “triggered the biggest torrent of antisemitic abuse against him which he had ever experienced in his life”.

He is now understood to be considering legal action.
Fatah announces intention to ban Al Jazeera from operating in the West Bank
Fatah reportedly announced on Monday its decision to ban the Qatari state-owned media Al Jazeera from operating in the West Bank, according to Israeli media, citing Palestinian reports.

Fatah accused the Qatari news outlet of incitement amid the clashes between the Palestinian Authority security forces and terrorist factions in the West Bank city of Jenin.

Fatah condemned the Qatari-headquartered network saying it was sowing division in "our Arab homeland in general and in Palestine in particular." It encouraged Palestinians not to cooperate with the network.

Forces of the PA, which exercises limited self-rule in the West Bank, moved into Jenin in early December, clashing daily with fighters from Hamas and Islamic Jihad, both of which are supported by Iran.

The standoff has fueled bitter anger on both sides, deepening the divisions which have long existed between the Palestinian factions and their supporters.


CBC As It Happens Features Extended Speech Of Scottish Artist Accusing Israel Of Genocide, Followed By Guest Next Day Saying The Same Thing
A former Lebanese Member of Parliament blaming Israel for Hezbollah’s terrorism. A Lebanese doctor telling the stories of war from inside Lebanon, though no similar story was told from the Israeli perspective. A former US State Department official accusing Israel of preventing aid from entering Gaza.

A staffer from the disgraced UNRWA agency, a report on Lebanon during the Hezbollah-Israel war (which somehow didn’t mention Hezbollah), a guest accusing Israel of causing famine in Gaza.

These are just some of the segments in recent weeks on the CBC radio program As It Happens, hosted by Chris Howden and Nil Köksal.

During that period, not a single pro-Israel guest was featured on the program. And in virtually all cases, the guests, while making extensive anti-Israel claims, did so without any meaningful challenge or pushback from their hosts, and rarely even the most fundamental of context was missing, as well.

On the December 4 episode of As It Happens, co-host Chris Howden introduced the next segment by telling listeners about Scottish artist Jasleen Kaur, who won the 2024 Turner Prize in art. Ostensibly seeing that as an opportunity, the program played an extended clip of Kaur from her acceptance speech, not speaking about her art, but making anti-Israel statements.

Israel Strongly Disputes Genocide Allegations
The clip, presented without commentary or context about her charges, featured Kaur saying “I stand firmly with” anti-Israel protesters who were outside the venue where she accepted her prize. She called for organizations to “sever ties with organizations” connected with Israel, due to what she termed “a genocide of Palestinian people,” before ending her speech with the words “we need a proper ceasefire now, arms embargo now, Free Palestine.”

Howden’s failure to offer any context of the speech is in sharp contrast to just moments earlier when, in featuring a brief clip of a Fox News host opining on an American annexation of Canada, Howden prefaced the clip by mocking the newsman’s “latest wisdom,” clearly in a sarcastic tone. Yet when Kaur, in making an unfounded, dangerous and hateful accusation of “genocide” against Israel, nothing was offered to listeners at all about the scandalous nature of Kaur’s comments.
Two-thirds of Palestinians want Hamas in new Gaza government, survey finds
Close to two-thirds of Palestinians in Gaza, Judea and Samaria prefer for Hamas terrorists to be part of, or even lead, a Palestinian governing body that would control the Strip after the current war with Israel concludes, according to a new Arab opinion poll published over the weekend.

The Ramallah-based Arab World for Research and Development (AWRAD) polling firm surveyed 704 Palestinian adults between Nov. 27 and Dec. 2. (The margin of error is plus or minus 3.7 percentage points, AWRAD said.)

According to the poll, 47% of Palestinians say they would put their trust in a government of “national unity” that would include Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah faction, which currently governs swaths of Judea and Samaria, as well as Hamas, the terror group that ruled Gaza until it was destroyed by the Israel Defense Forces in recent months.

Meanwhile, 17% of the surveyed Palestinians told AWRAD they favor a return to the situation in which Gaza is ruled solely by Hamas terrorists.

In Judea and Samaria, respondents showed significantly more support for Hamas than for the Western-backed P.A., with 25% expressing support for the Islamist terrorist organization, compared to just 10% for the P.A.

Hamas led the bloody terror attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, during which 1,200 people were murdered, thousands more were wounded and over 250 innocents were taken as hostages to the Strip.

Asked about possible P.A. presidential candidates if Ramallah would call its first vote in almost 19 years, Marwan Barghouti, a convicted terrorist murderer affiliated with Fatah serving multiple life sentences in Israel, received the most support of all possible candidates for P.A. chief.

In June, the Palestinians’ satisfaction with Hamas’s performance in the war against Israel reached its highest point since the Oct. 7 massacre, while support for the Palestinian Authority and Fatah plummeted.
Beaten, hung from the ceiling: Gazans speak out against Hamas brutality
As the war steadily continues, some Gazans are risking their safety to share their frustrations with life under Hamas and their hopes for a different future, a Sunday report by The Sunday Times revealed. To protect their safety, all names in the report have been changed.

Yasir, one of those interviewed, expressed anger at the lack of global understanding of everyday Gazans’ perspectives. “Why do others always speak for us?” he asked a sentiment echoed by others in the Times report.

He and his friend Badr are among the founders of Ekhteyar, an anonymous online platform created to provide a space for Gazans to share their thoughts. Launched in August, Ekhteyar (Arabic for “choice”) has already received contributions from over 100 people.

Yasir explained that Gazans are eager to have a platform to voice their frustrations, hopes, and fears. “We need leaders whose love for Palestine outweighs their hatred for the occupation,” one contributor wrote. Another criticized Hamas’s military tactics, arguing that “strength should be measured by the cost of conflict, not the range of rockets.”

The Times report highlights growing discontent with Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007 following a violent power struggle with Fatah. Many Gazans feel trapped under its control, and polling cited by the report reflects their disillusionment. The Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research found that support for Hamas has fallen to 35% during the current conflict. Separate polling by the Tony Blair Institute suggests that only 7% of Gazans want Hamas to govern the territory after the war.

Hicham, a construction worker in his late thirties, said his opinion of Hamas shifted drastically after the October 7 attacks on Israel. “They made a grave mistake,” he said. “They used civilian homes to fire rockets, leaving residents to face the consequences while protecting their members underground.” He added that food and resources were distributed exclusively to Hamas members while civilians starved. His father was killed during the war, and his house was destroyed in an Israeli airstrike after Hamas used it to launch rockets.


Iraq unearths remains of Kurds in Saddam Hussein-era mass grave
A mass grave has been uncovered in Iraq that, authorities say, contains the remains of Kurds, including women and children, who were killed nearly four decades ago under Saddam Hussein's regime.

Between 1987 and 1988, the Iraqi leader ordered operations against on Kurdish guerrillas in country’s north, including the use of chemical weapons, accusing them of collaborating with Iran during the Iran-Iraq war from 1980 to 1988.

The operations, particularly the Anfal campaign of 1988, led to mass killings and disappearances of civilians and the destruction of thousands of villages. As many as 180,000 people are estimated to have been killed.

Since the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled Saddam, hundreds of mass graves have been uncovered at sites across the country including the desert in Al Muthana province, about 300 kilometres south of Baghdad.

The latest mass grave discovery, in the Tel Al Sheikhiya desert, is one of the largest linked to the Anfal campaign and “contains the remains of countless innocent victims, including women and children, whose lives were stolen by the former regime”, Shanaz Ibrahim Ahmed, Iraq’s first lady, said during a visit to the site on Sunday.
Dutch supermarket Spar accused of helping Iran evade sanctions - report
Dutch supermarket chain Spar has been accused of helping Iran evade international sanctions, according to a report by Dutch newspaper de Volkskrant.

Leaked internal documents from a whistleblower suggest that Spar's license in Iran was used to facilitate transactions involving Iran’s Revolutionary Guard (IRGC).

Despite Dutch Ambassador Frank Mollen promoting Spar's operations in Tehran as an example of successful business engagement in August 2022, the documents reveal that Spar Iran was allegedly involved in questionable activities, such as importing Western technology and issuing Schengen visas for individuals connected to the IRGC.

Blue River, managing Spar's Iran operations, allegedly acquired Western equipment, like HP servers and laptops, under false pretenses, claiming they were for supermarket use. Security experts noted such technology is unnecessary for a small grocery chain.

Concerns also emerged over Spar Iran's S-Pay voucher system, which allows Iranians abroad to send credits to relatives in Iran. Leaked emails suggest plans to convert these vouchers into cash, potentially violating sanctions.


Terror suspect in court accused of plotting mustard gas attack
A 20-year-old man has appeared in court accused of plotting a terrorist attack after he was allegedly caught with a recipe for mustard gas.

Jordan Richardson, of Oliver Close, Howden, near Goole, East Yorkshire, was at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Monday accused of engaging in conduct in preparation of an act of terrorism.

He was arrested on December 19 after he allegedly made Instagram posts expressing his support for the terrorist group known as Islamic State.

When arrested, he was found with a document that is said to have set out an attack plan, referring to weapons and killing bystanders, the court was told.

He also had a handwritten recipe for sulphur mustard, a toxic “blister agent”, it is claimed.

Prosecutor David Cawthorne told the court that the recipe had been assessed as viable by experts, and was the kind of gas that could be put in a grenade.

Richardson’s home was searched and police found a crossbow and a knife, the court was told.

Searches of digital devices showed he had expressed a desire to kill or harm infidels and members of the Jewish population, it is alleged.
Mural of Holocaust Survivors in Italy Completely Painted Over in Antisemitic Vandalism
A mural in Milan, Italy, that depicts two Holocaust survivors was recently painted over by vandals, who defaced the artwork last month as well.

The mural, located in Milan’s Piazzale Loreto, was painted by renowned Italian contemporary pop artist and activist aleXsandro Palombo and unveiled on Sept. 28. It shows Italian Senate member for life Liliana Segre and Italian author Sami Modiano, two survivors of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp during the Holocaust. They are dressed in a striped uniform, worn by concentration camp inmates, underneath bulletproof jackets with yellow Stars of David badges that have the word “Jude” in the center. The badges resemble the ones Jews were forced to wear by the Nazis during World War II. The mural is titled “Anti-Semitism, History Repeating.”

Palombo shared on Dec. 2 that vandals painted over the entire mural with white paint, erasing it completely. He said in a released statement that he felt “profoundly embarrassed” by the vandalism. He described it as “an offense after the offense” and “the best way to hide antisemitism at a time when antisemitism is spreading and someone has also decided to deny honorary citizenship to a woman who survived the Holocaust.”

Palombo was referring to Pinero, a small town near Turin in Italy that recently rejected efforts to grant honorary citizenship to Segre. A public educator on the topic of the Holocaust, Italy’s President Sergio Mattarella named Segre a senator for life in 2018. This past November, the City Council of Pinero rejected a motion to confer honorary citizenship to Segre as a symbol in the fight against antisemitism. The move sparked controversy, especially in light of the fact that it took place not long after Pinero Mayor Luca Salvai displayed a Palestinian flag on the balcony of the town hall.

Palombo’s mural of Segre and Modiano was previously vandalized on Nov. 11. The yellow Stars of David and the faces of the Holocaust survivors were scraped off.
Man hands himself in to police after Melbourne parliament neo-Nazi protest
A man has turned himself in to police after a neo-Nazi protest on the steps of parliament in Melbourne.

The group took to the steps of parliament on the edge of the CBD on Friday, copping insults and verbal attacks from members of the public.

When police arrived, the group ran away.

A 29-year-old man turned himself in to police on Monday night and has been released as police gather more information.

Images posted online show 19 people in matching black pants, jackets and balaclavas standing outside the parliament.

One man wore the same uniform but with a cap instead of a balaclava. His face could be seen.

The group displayed a sign reading “Jews hate freedom”.

There were also placards on display saying “Stop killing people of Iran”, “another execution in Iran”, and a portrait of Donald Trump with fist raised after he was shot in July. NewsWire understands the Nazi protesters arrived before a separate group who were protesting against Iran.


‘Big development’: TV host blasts neo-Nazi group over anti-Jewish rally
Sky News host Caroline Marcus reveals a “big development” concerning the anti-Jewish rally held on the steps of Victoria’s parliament.

“I exposed these neo-Nazis trying to hold Melbourne and this country to ransom, calling for white men to fight back against Jews and for Jews ‘to go’,” Ms Marcus said.

“I revealed police had executed a search warrant on an address in Wantirna South in Melbourne’s east yesterday in relation to the antisemitic sign the men were holding.

“We now understand that address to be the home of Joel Davis, the group’s ringleader.”


Great-grandson of Mussolini scores first goal for Juve Stabia, fans celebrate with fascist salute
During a recent Serie B match, Romano Floriani Mussolini, the 21-year-old great-grandson of former Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, scored his first professional goal for Juve Stabia, leading to controversial celebrations by fans. After the goal, many supporters performed fascist salutes and chanted his surname, actions that have sparked significant backlash in Italy.

According to Il Fatto Quotidiano, the goal was celebrated in the stadium with fascist salutes, as spectators performed the 'Roman Salute' and chanted his surname, reflecting the latent fascism in Italian stadiums. Videos circulating online show Juve Stabia supporters raising their hands and chanting in unison "Mussolini" after the goal, prompting police examination of the incident, as reported by T-Online.

The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) has launched an investigation into the disturbing incidents during the Serie B match, with the federation's employees sending a report to the sports judge for ruling, according to France Info. The incident highlights the ongoing presence of far-right elements in Italian football, with repeated fascist scandals particularly noted at clubs like Lazio Rome, Mussolini's home club, as stated by Stern.

Who is Romano Floriani Mussolini?
Romano Floriani Mussolini is a right-back on loan from Serie A club Lazio to SS Juve Stabia, where he aims to continue his development and accumulate playing time. He has played 19 matches this season, scoring one goal and providing two assists, according to France Info. Mussolini is the son of Alessandra Mussolini, a former politician and granddaughter of Benito Mussolini. Alessandra Mussolini served as a senator and a member of the European Parliament for the Forward Italy (FI) party and was formerly a member of the post-fascist party MSI (Italian Social Movement), as reported by Chosun Ilbo.

In response to the controversy, Juve Stabia issued a statement on its website rejecting all accusations of fascism. The club stated: "And since the stadium has a speaker and an audio system, it is specified that following a goal of Juve Stabia, the name of the player who scored the goal is announced by our speaker and from the public the surname with emphasis and raising the arms to the sky in a sign of sporting exultation for their own team that represents their city," as reported by ANSA.
Jude Law Hunts Neo-Nazis in ‘The Order’
Jude Law is usually the romantic lead. In The Order, he is a tough FBI agent hunting neo-Nazis. Based on the book The Silent Brotherhood by Kevin Flynn and Gary Gerhardt, it chronicles the actions of a white supremacist group that robbed and assassinated Jewish radio host Alan Berg in June 1984.

Law does a fine job as Terry Husk, a man who knows he is up against very bad people. Nicholas Hoult is convincing as the villain, Bob Matthews. He doesn’t look imposing physically, but Hoult is able to use a lack of expression to convey evil.

Jewish comedian Marc Maron plays Berg, and while he does a good job, I would have liked to see him get more screen time. We only hear a bit of what he said on the radio, as he’s arguing with antisemitic callers.

It’s not very glamorous in Idaho, and this is a gritty film that is better than you’d expect it to be, while the source material is also more harrowing than you could imagine. The film makes reference to The Turner Diaries, a science fiction book that was actually a primer and guide for racists and antisemites. Written by William Luther Pierce under the pseudonym of Andrew Macdonald, it depicts a revolution in America where Jews and non-whites are murdered. Timothy McVeigh, a domestic terrorist who carried out the bombing of the Federal building in Oklahoma City, was found with pages of The Turner Diaries.

Jurnee Smollett does a decent job as a woman helping to try to take down part of the Aryan nation. Many viewers would expect more explosives, more blood, more violence, and a big love story between Law and an actress, but the makers of the film resist all of the common expectations to present a film that stands out for being a bit more realistic than you’d expect.

While the film doesn’t go deep into why these men are racist, antisemitic, and bent on killing, it’s true that they follow a leader. In our current climate of rising antisemitism, one can only hope that the Federal authorities are on top of things and the threats from these leaders and these groups are monitored — as well as the possibility of agents from other countries that could have been sent as sleeper cells.


Study: $10B theft from Syria’s vanished Jewish community
The value of property confiscated from Syria’s Jewish community exceeds $10 billion in contemporary terms, according to a landmark study published on Monday in the United States and Israel. The research also documents that the once-thriving community has dwindled to just four known Jewish residents in Syria today.

The comprehensive findings come from Justice for Jews from Arab Countries (JJAC), a Jewish-American organization, following an exhaustive six-year investigation. The study is part of a broader research initiative, with findings on 10 additional Arab countries scheduled for release in the coming months.

According to the JJAC, Jewish communities had established deep roots across North Africa and the Middle East over thousands of years, with their presence predating Islam by a millennium. The organization notes that the mass exodus of these Jewish populations from 11 countries in the 20th century stands as one of the largest forced displacements of modern times.

The study documents Syrian Jewry as one of the region’s most ancient communities, with a verified presence in Aleppo and Damascus extending back 2,500 years. The community developed extensive international commercial networks, establishing trading and banking relationships reaching as far as India.

The post-World War II era marked the beginning of intensified persecution of Syria’s Jewish communities. They endured widespread property confiscation, severe restrictions on movement, systematic economic marginalization, violent attacks and sustained government harassment. These pressures precipitated a dramatic demographic decline.

From a population of approximately 50,000 Jews at the century’s start, numbers fell to roughly 30,000 by Israel’s establishment. Within a decade, only 5,000 remained. By 1991, the community had virtually disappeared, with reports indicating only one hundred Jews still in Syria. The overwhelming majority sought refuge in Israel.
There’s light! Venue steps in to host rejected Jewish singer
A popular Charedi musician has praised a London theatre as a beacon to other music venues when it offered to host him after the JC revealed that other London clubs had refused to stage his concerts.

Benny Friedman (right), an American rabbi who is one of the leading artists in the Orthodox pop scene, had spent “months” trying to secure a venue for the London leg of his UK tour in early January but found himself repeatedly snubbed, amid a climate of antisemitism in the arts.

In a video posted online, Friedman, whose best known hits include Today! and I’m a Jew and I’m Proud, said venues declined to participate because the show was “too pro-Israel”.

One venue, The Clapham Grand, initially agreed to host him but abruptly pulled out last week – less than a day after tickets for the show went on sale – citing “security concerns”.

A day after JC reported the story, The Lighthouse in Camberwell, which had reportedly read about the difficulties faced by Friedman, said it would host the concert.

Friedman, who has 65,000 followers on social media, said it was “incredibly fitting” the new venue should be named The Lighthouse, as it “perfectly symbolises the role its playing for the Jewish community across England. We couldn’t be prouder to bring this concert to life despite the challenges we’ve faced.”

Up to 2,800 members of the Chasidic community are expected to attend the January 6 concert, with coaches being organised to the venue from Golders Green and Stamford Hill.

“We are looking forward to an incredible night,” Friedman said.

He is due to perform a second gig in Manchester on January 7, the second UK concert in his global “Am Yisrael Chai” Tour.

Friedman told the JC he was particularly shocked that finding a venue had been so difficult because there had been an “overwhelming” demand for him to perform in London, more than any other city in the world, he said.


Charity raises £43 million to support 7 October victims
A philanthropic initiative that launched in October 2023 has helped raise more than £43 million since the massacre on Simchat Torah last year.

In one year, The Merit Spread Foundation has raised millions from donors and delivered to various projects covering multiple social benefit causes relating to the war. The Foundation has also established an endowment with a unique “matching” programme to serve its donors’ long-term goals.

Having conducted extensive research into potential partners for its work and appreciating the involvement and commitment of the Jewish community in the UK towards Israel, Merit is now seeking to expand its activities in the UK.

A spokesperson said Merit will “focus on causes supporting both the State of Israel and Jewish causes, engaging with individual philanthropists, community organisations, and businesses that share the values of Zionism, Jewish heritage, and the safe existence of Jews, wherever they may be.”

Merit Spread Foundation founder Alon Tal said: “Since 7 October, many began to reevaluate the way in which and how to contribute to Israel and the Jewish world, but, unfortunately, public services and systems in Israel and around the Jewish Diaspora were found to be faltering, overwhelmed or had to quickly pivot towards meeting the extreme challenges that emerged.”

“There was a sense of urgency and emergency among donors across the globe. In an age when traditional structures have often faltered under the weight of inefficiency, outmoded business practices, and a desperate need for proficiency, a transformative vision emerged in the philanthropic world, which Merit Spread has sought to fill.”

Working with established philanthropists, family foundations, leading high-tech companies, and Israeli companies the Merit Spread Foundation became the leading channel for raising funds for the victims of the 7 October massacre and the war that followed.

Among many other initiatives, the Foundation has helped to support the hostages and their families, created an endowment for orphans of the war, formed a mental health support programme for the wives of combat soldiers, provided housing solutions to the evacuees from the Gaza envelop communities, offered a variety of solutions to soldiers and civilians suffering from PTSD, in cooperation with professional caregivers, and memorialising the heroes of the IDF.




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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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