Monday, March 10, 2025
Trump’s young confidante on why he ‘supports the people of Israel’
For 29-year-old Elizabeth Pipko, Donald Trump has been much more than a boss. In her incredible life story, the American president constitutes a defining event, no less.Daniel Pipes: Review: The Only Jew in the Room Searching for Understanding in an Arab Islamic College
A person who changed the course of her life from the moment she became aware of his political work. An almost divine factor who taught her no less than any rabbi she met in the synagogues she attended. A mentor, a spiritual teacher.
“Trump completely changed my life,” she says. “So, my entire life has focused around Donald Trump for about eight years, a little bit longer. So, I don’t think my brain has realized yet what it means to not be in a campaign and not be fighting for Donald Trump, because that’s all we know.
“My husband [Darren Centinello, who was the campaign’s digital director] and I used to joke that we’d get divorced after the election was over because we didn’t know if we had anything else to talk about. After all, all we talked about was Donald Trump. … I met my husband through the campaign.”
Considering that joining his team was the moment that helped Pipko emerge from the lowest point of her life, it’s understandable.
Today, she is one of the women closest to the president’s ear. After working with him for eight years, and being a spokesperson for the Republican Party, coordinating campaign fundraising and helping him reach the White House twice, Pipko is one of Donald’s confidantes, and to a large extent, this involves explaining the Jewish and Israeli views to him on the current war in Gaza.
She regularly appears in studios and gives interviews, makes regular television appearances, and defends Israel passionately. She condemns progressive nonsense, points out woke hypocrisy, and raises awareness of problematic-to-outrageous statements by people in positions of power in higher education institutions in the U.S.
After 24 years in the Israel Defense Forces, much of it focused on the West Bank and Gaza, Lt. Col. (ret.) Avi Shalev, a Jew, made the unique decision in his late 40s to devote two-day weekends for the next 1½ years to acquiring a graduate-level teaching certificate from the Al-Qasimi Academic College of Education in the Israeli Muslim-majority town of Baqa al-Gharbiya. Founded in 1989 with a distinctly Islamic orientation, the college offers B.A.s and M.A.s. The Only Jew builds on his real-time notes to present a sometimes boisterous, sometimes anguished account of his unusual experience.Fake plan to attack Australia synagogue fabricated by organized crime, police say
Shalev keeps it personal and stays away from politics but he always remains aware of the topsy-turvy situation whereby he, a former member of Israel's power elite, voluntarily subjects himself to linguistic, religious, and social marginality at Al-Qasimi.
The Only Jew contains many observations of value. On Jerusalem: "In Arab and Islamic public consciousness there has never been a Jewish Temple in Jerusalem." When he disagreed with this consensus, he met with frank disbelief: "A Jewish temple in Jerusalem? Come on, ya Avi. Who told you this lie? There was always a mosque there, it's a well-known fact."
A wave of serious arson and vandalism attacks against Jewish New South Wales (NSW) targets, including the Dural caravan faux terrorism plot, was part of an organized crime ring’s plan to distract law enforcement and obtain reduced prison sentences in exchange for aiding in the police’s investigation, Australian Federal Police (AFP) National Security Deputy Commissioner Krissy Barrett and Deputy Police Commissioner for the state of New South Wales David Hudson said Monday in a joint press briefing – following the mass arrest of 11 suspects.
Organized domestic and foreign criminal elements, some of them indicated by Barrett to be in prison, were hiring petty criminals to target the Sydney area Jewish community.
Hudson said that there were many motivations for the crime, but as of yet, the investigations had not uncovered any antisemitic animus. Instead, it appeared that organized crime had decided to exploit escalating antisemitism in Australia since October 7, which included a wave of lesser anti-Jewish criminal acts, to sow confusion and disorder with fourteen different attacks in addition to the Dural incident.
Criminals had been submitting false terrorism tips ever since the Dural ruse in which a caravan laden with mining explosives was discovered in a rural property with a note indicating that a synagogue was a target.
In the Dural case, the plan was to divert law enforcement resources so that criminals could carry out other actions, but more so, Hudson and Barrett explained that the mastermind behind the scheme hoped to provide information about fake plots in return for reduced sentences and other benefits.
In one example given by Barrett, criminals fabricated a terrorist plot involving obtaining high-powered firearms, which a criminal offered to provide information for in exchange for reduced drug trafficking charges.
“Too many criminals are accused of paying others to carry out antisemitic or terrorism incidents to get our attention or divert our resources,” said Barrett. “And too many offenders working in the criminal gig economy are accepting these tasks for money.”
Jonathan Tobin: The anti-Trump resistance rushes to defend campus antisemites
As for efforts to deport Khalil, this, too, is a welcome development.Free Speech, Consequences, and the Extraordinary Case of Mahmoud Khalil
Khalil, of Palestinian Arab origin, was born in Syria. He worked for the Hamas-linked UNRWA refugee agency before coming to the United States for his graduate education and obtained a green card, which enabled him to stay and find work.
He has every right to believe and say what he likes, even if it is hateful. But non-citizens, even green-card holders, are not entitled to pursue activities that aid terrorist organizations and advance hateful ideologies like antisemitism. And that’s exactly what he did at Columbia as he helped organize the pro-Hamas demonstrations, illegal encampments and occupations of buildings as well as inciting violence against Jews.
As former federal prosecutor Andrew McCarthy noted in National Review, even if Khalil hasn’t been charged with a crime, he is liable to deportation because he led a group that supports terrorism. “If the government can prove that Khalil was in a campus group that endorsed or espoused Hamas’s atrocities against Israel, it should be able to deport him regardless of his LPR [green card] status,” McCarthy points out. “And if it can deport him, there are likely to be thousands of others who can be deported, too — and should be.”
The Trump administration will likely face a long legal battle to throw him out of the United States. But to claim—as those who seek Israel’s destruction like writer Peter Beinart or fellow Times columnist Lydia Pogreen do—that he has been “abducted by ICE” or that his free speech is being repressed is not only untrue. It’s a form of gaslighting intended to divert us from the fact that his activities, which they support, were aimed at suppressing the speech of Jews. Foreign terror supporters have no intrinsic right to remain in the United States to violate U.S. laws and endanger American citizens.
That is true whether or not it is Trump or anyone else who is enforcing the law and seeking to protect Jewish citizens.
Predictably, the usual chorus of Israel-hating politicians such as Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) supported Khalil’s right to victimize Jews on behalf of Hamas. New York State Attorney General Letitia James is a Democrat who weaponized her office to engage in lawfare against Trump. So, it was unsurprising that she also weighed in to say she was “extremely concerned” about Khalil’s plight even though she often pretends to support the Jewish community when seeking their votes. More surprising was the fact that the X account of the Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee led by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) chimed in by posting their demand that the Jew-hater Khalil be freed.
Even worse, Amy Spitalnick the head of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, a left-wing group that claims to speak for the entire American Jewish community, also opposed Khalil’s arrest. For the JCPA, defense of Jewish rights is clearly secondary to their partisan political agenda.
Even if you oppose the president and believe the worst about his policies, if you care about the crisis in American education and the resulting surge in antisemitism, then you should be applauding his effort to do something about these problems.
Instead, the anti-Trump resistance is rallying to the defense of academic institutions that have abandoned a belief in equal rights, in addition to terror supporters like Khalil. Some on the political left do so because they think that Trump must be opposed on every front. Others have been so indoctrinated in woke ideology that they feel they must back the silencing of supporters of Jewish rights as well as the Western canon. Either way, opponents of the president’s efforts to roll back the woke tide and defend Jewish students are not only wrong; they have put themselves on the side of the advocates of Jew-hatred, not the U.S. Constitution.
The Role of UniversitiesLetitia James ‘extremely concerned’ about arrest of man accused of leading Jew-hatred at Columbia
Columbia University, like many other institutions, has long claimed to be a bastion of tolerance and inclusivity. Yet, it has allowed an environment where mobs have harassed Jewish students and created a climate of fear. Would the university permit the same treatment toward any other minority group?
(A larger question looms: Why are Jews so uniquely maligned? Why, throughout history, have they been subject to such extraordinary levels of hatred? I have thoughts on the matter, which I hope to share in a subsequent essay.)
The idea that a student can publicly align themselves with a recognized terrorist organization—one that openly seeks the destruction of Jews worldwide—without consequence is not just absurd; it is dangerous. Universities must decide whether they are places of genuine academic discourse or breeding grounds for extremism masquerading as free expression.
Consequences for Non-Citizens
Mahmoud Khalil is not a U.S. citizen. He is in the U.S. on a green card, which comes with privileges but also responsibilities. No country is obligated to allow a non-citizen to remain if they engage in activities that promote violence. The U.S. government’s actions in this case may be rare, but they are not unprecedented, nor are they unjustified.
If someone holding a green card were advocating for the destruction of America, we wouldn’t blink at their removal. If a foreign student openly created materials praising and calling for support of ISIS, they wouldn’t remain in the country for long. Why should it be any different when it comes to Hamas?
Is it because Hamas has specifically called for the death of Jews and carried out their threats? And is it, as I suspect, because there exists a latent or manifest denigration of Jews—especially when they become either too numerous or too successful?
Students of history are all too aware that history does, indeed, repeat itself.
The Path Forward
Mahmoud Khalil’s case is a harbinger, a warning, a wake-up call. It is a reminder that while free speech is a cherished right, it is not a shield for those who incite violence or pledge allegiance to terror.
It is also a wake-up call for universities, for the government, and for all of us. There is nothing normal or right-minded about allowing advocacy for terrorism to flourish in institutions meant to foster learning and dialogue.
If Khalil is deported, it will not be for exercising free speech—it will be for inciting violence.
The line has been drawn. It is long past time to enforce it.
Letitia James, the New York attorney general, defended the former Columbia University student who was arrested by federal agents on Saturday night for allegedly supporting Hamas and who reportedly let anti-Israel protests on the Ivy League campus.Anti-Israel activists call for mass 'takeover' of US campuses to counter crackdown
“I am extremely concerned about the arrest and detention of Mahmoud Khalil, an advocate and legal permanent resident of Palestinian descent,” James stated on Monday.
She added that her office “is monitoring the situation” and has been in contact with Khalil’s lawyer.
Anti-Israel activist groups called on students, staff, and faculty to engage in a walk out and a take over of central campus spaces on Tuesday, according to a call to action published Monday by the National Students for Justice in Palestine (NSJP).
“We call on the widest swath of organizations, formations, and individuals to walk out of class, take over central spaces on campus, and assert our mass power,” the NSJP said on social media. “In the face of the state’s existential attacks on the student movement and popular education, we declare that we, the united students, faculty, staff, and workers, are the university.”
Published across social media platforms and endorsed by eight activist groups, including the Palestinian Youth Movement, City University of New York for Palestine, and the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights Action, the call to action came in response to a crackdown on campus protests by the US government.
The anti-Israel groups said that the US President Donald Trump administration’s Friday decision to cancel grants and contracts to Columbia University worth $400 million was only the beginning of what they characterized as the president’s desire to control academia. Other universities would be leveraged in such a fashion, they said.
“Campus and community unity in the face of fascist attacks is critical in this moment,” read the joint statement.
The NSJP said that Columbia University was being punished for failing to “eradicate” the post-October 7 massacre protest movement, but regardless of their actions, universities would be controlled by the federal government because “the state views intellectual and academic freedom as an existential threat to the ruling class.”
'Capitulation to Zionists'
Columbia University Apartheid Divest, which has led recent protest actions such as occupying campus buildings, said on Instagram on Sunday that Columbia had been punished even though it “bent over backward to satiate the Zionist death machine.”
“It is more clear than ever that no level of capitulation to Zionists will be enough. Now that we’ve seen that submission won’t help us, perhaps we can try a new tactic, one that has been preached in our seminars for decades: Organized resistance to obvious injustice.”
The Monday joint statement did not mention the alleged Saturday arrest and Green Card revocation of Columbia School of International and Public Affairs student and protest leader Mahmoud Khalil, but the NSJP supported a Sunday petition calling for the activist’s release and for Columbia not to allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement on campus.
The petition, which had also been shared by walk out endorsers such as Within Out Lifetime, had garnered over 750,000 signatures by Monday morning.
I notice they aren't protesting on campus, which means arresting and deporting is working
— Ari Hoffman 🎗 (@thehoffather) March 9, 2025
Amazing what withholding federal funds will do https://t.co/JXL9s995dc
Layla Saliba and Maryam Iqbal are two of the pro-Hamas leaders at @Columbia.
— Shai Davidai (@ShaiDavidai) March 9, 2025
Here they are spreading lies about me.
If anything happens to me, you now know who to hold responsible.
To be clear: Mahmoud Khalil was detained because he broke the law and his green card… pic.twitter.com/Fg16bC5QKV
A professor at @Columbia admitting he was part of the violent takeover at @BarnardCollege last week. pic.twitter.com/8QbCvKW67k
— Shai Davidai (@ShaiDavidai) March 10, 2025
How did this alleged Hamas fanboy get into the UK?
It beggars belief that someone like Wadee could ever end up in Britain. He has now been arrested by Immigration Enforcement, but the Home Office initially refused to confirm what it knew about his background and even whether he was roaming free. Given that Home Office officials have previously admitted that they don’t actually know the whereabouts of large numbers of asylum seekers, it was not unreasonable to assume that Wadee could well have been wandering the UK unimpeded.Palestinian migrant to UK who called to 'kill all Jews' arrested
Nor would it be a great surprise if Wadee’s asylum plea is eventually accepted. In recent weeks, there have been numerous cases where even convicted criminals and extremists have been granted asylum in the UK on spurious ‘human rights’ grounds. Last year, an ISIS propagandist from Sudan was not only able to successfully claim asylum, but also British citizenship. Even after British intelligence services discovered his terrorist sympathies, he was unable to be deported under the European Convention on Human Rights, because he could potentially face torture and persecution in Sudan. This was despite the fact that he had been routinely travelling back and forth between Sudan and the UK for years.
Worse, demonstrating support for a terror group can sometimes help to bolster, rather than hinder, an asylum claim. Just last month, a Nigerian woman who tried and failed eight times to claim asylum was given the right to stay in the UK on her ninth attempt – only after she joined the Indigenous People of Biafra, a terror group proscribed by the Nigerian government. The judge even acknowledged that she had joined up ‘solely to create an asylum claim’, but let her stay anyway.
Britain’s border crisis is now a ticking timebomb. Our incompetent, virtue-signalling elites have failed to secure our borders and have allowed our asylum system to be routinely abused. This can only end in tragedy.
A Palestinian man was arrested after illegally crossing the English Channel into the UK on a dinghy, according to reports on Monday.Politician who questioned how many Jews were killed in Holocaust gets seat on Isle of Man Parliament
Abu Wadei, in his 30s from Khan Yunis, was among 235 migrants who arrived on boats on Thursday morning. He is currently in detention after being apprehended by immigration officers.
His arrest comes after an investigation posted by the Campaign Against Antisemitism, which noted that he had previously attended events led by Yahya Sinwar, the late Gazan leader of Hamas who was killed by the IDF last year.
"We welcome the reported arrest of Abu Wadei," the Campaign Against Antisemitism said in a statement. "It is evident that he poses a threat to the safety of the Jewish community and to the British public more widely. Clearly he should not be at liberty in the UK. We are now asking the Home Office to confirm that this case will be expedited and we are seeking assurances on the anticipated timeframes. We are also asking why nobody seemed to have worked out who he was until our investigators exposed him."
His social media accounts show him posing with an AK-47 assault rifle and calling in a video for God to "punish the Jews and those who support them… Oh Allah, kill them all and do not leave a single one of them."
A businessman who dismissed antisemitism as “meaningless”, questioned the number of Jews murdered in the Holocaust and cast doubt on Hamas atrocities has been handed a seat in the Legislative Council of the Parliament – or Tynwald – on the Isle of Man.Amazon workers equate release of ex-hostage Sasha Troufanov with terrorists’ release
Gary Clueit's appointment to the island’s upper chamber on March 4 has sparked outrage, with Manx Jewish community member Michael Josem condemning the Member of the House of Keys (MHKs) who nominated Clueit as “incapable of the judgement required for Tynwald.”
The JC has seen a dossier of evidence about Clueit that was sent to MHKs by Josem before they selected the Legislative Council.
Josen wrote: “Mr Gary Clueit has been associated with the Twitter/X account ‘GClueit’. This account was created in August 2018 and was used to make public statements relating to Mr Clueit’s previous unsuccessful Legislative Council candidacy.
Amazon workers spread conspiracy theories about Israeli control of American leaders and drew an equivalence between Palestinian terrorists and Sasha Troufanov, an employee of the company who was taken hostage by Palestinian Islamic Jihad on Oct. 7, 2023, and released last month, Jewish Insider learned over the weekend.NYC Comptroller Brad Lander accused of ‘divesting’ pension funds from Israel
In messages viewed by JI from an Amazon employee Slack channel called “#arabs,” one staffer wrote: “Yes Hamas will release 3 Israelis, one being Sasha, in exchange for 369 Palestinian hostages kept in Israeli dungeons.” Over 40 employees sent emojis expressing approval.
One responded: “Praying Israel doesn’t re-kidnap them again after their long awaited release, as has been the case many times.”
An Israeli employee noted in the channel that the Palestinians the original poster referred to as “hostages” included Ahmed Barghouti, who was involved in several terrorist attacks in which 12 Israelis were murdered; Mantzur Sharim, who was involved in a mass shooting at an event hall in Hadera in which six Israelis were killed and 26 wounded; and Nael Obeid, convicted in connection to the 2003 Cafe Hillel bombing in which seven Israelis were murdered and 57 wounded.
“Are you praying for these ‘hostages’?” she wrote.
According to an Amazon source, the Israeli employee’s message was deleted by moderators soon after.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy did not publicly refer to Troufanov being held hostage during the 498 days the Amazon Web Services engineer was captive in Gaza. After Troufanov’s February release, Jassy wrote to Amazon employees that he was “incredibly relieved.” Jassy said the company “had a dedicated team working behind the scenes with experts to support efforts to secure their release and to ensure that we did the right thing for them and their safety (including painfully not commenting publicly for fear that we would negatively impact their ability to be released or how they were treated in captivity).”
Israeli media reported that Troufanov was in isolation for most of the 16 months that he was held hostage and underwent physical abuse.
It’s a tale of two investment strategies.New Jersey city declared 'capital of Palestine' by mayor in fiery speech
New York City Comptroller and mayoral candidate Brad Lander is being accused of “divesting” city pension funds from government bonds of the State of Israel — allegedly breaking from his predecessors and state counterpart in a politically charged move.
New York City first invested $30 million in State of Israel Bonds in 1974 under former city Comptroller Harrison Goldin, via the pension funds for educators, the Teachers Retirement pension system.
Over the years, successive city Comptrollers Bill Thompson, John Liu and Scott Stringer have reinvested in State of Israel bonds when bonds matured.
The New York State pension system, run by state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, also has $363.9 million invested in the Jewish State.
Israel bonds are considered a solid investment, accumulating about 5% returns on average per year, records show.
But Lander’s office said that the pension funds of government employees of New York City — the municipality with the largest Jewish population outside of Israel — is now only $1.17 million.
Only the Police Pension Fund owns a small position of $1.17 million in Israeli Yankee bonds.
Lander’s office claimed that the New York City pension funds do not invest directly in foreign sovereign debt — the bonds of other countries.
But investors in Israeli bonds said Lander is full of it — because prior comptrollers have.
Jeffrey Wiesenfeld, a former CUNY trustee and Israel bond investor, accused Lander of engaging in “passive divestment” by not reinvesting in Israel bonds when ones held expire.
“Lander is divesting from Israel for political reasons. He wants to be allied with his pro-Jihadi, anti-Israel contingent,” Wiesenfeld said.
He also claimed Lander is violating his fiduciary duties because Israel bonds post positive returns for investors.
Paterson, New Jersey, is “the capital of Palestine in the United States,” according to Mayor Andre Sayegh, at an event on February 28 marking the start of Ramadan.
Sayegh also called Paterson the “fourth holiest city in the world” after Jerusalem, Mecca, and Medina.
He also called the city the "Mecca of New Jersey."
Andre Sayegh was born in New Jersey to a Syrian mother and a Lebanese father.
Paterson is home to a growing Palestinian population with Palestinian flags and Arabic signage reportedly lining its streets.
Reported supporting organizations
The Hilal Lighting Ceremony where these statements took place was supported by organizations with strong pro-Palestinian ties, such as the Palestinian American Community Center (PACC) and the Islamic Center of Passaic County (ICPC), both of which have faced scrutiny for their controversial pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel rhetoric, according to a JFeed report.
Other pro-Palestinian adjustments in Paterson over recent years have included renaming Main Street to "Palestine Way," pushing the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, and declaring Paterson as a Palestinian-Islamic hub.
“Paterson (New Jersey) is the capital of Palestine in the United States of America.”
— 𝗡𝗶𝗼𝗵 𝗕𝗲𝗿𝗴 ♛ ✡︎ (@NiohBerg) March 9, 2025
Excuse me?
pic.twitter.com/NrWPFy4v1D
Stephen Pollard: LSE is telling Jewish students: we do not care about you
Ed Dept to act on ‘backlog’ from Biden admin of complaints of Jew-hatred
Call Me Back: Bonus Episode: Are ANY colleges confronting the madness? - With Andrew Martin & Santa Ono
Last week, three federal agencies — including the Department of Education — announced a comprehensive review of the funding relationships between the federal government and Columbia University in regards to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. Like most universities, Columbia receives a great deal of federal funding.Nadler, Espaillat say Trump admin cutting Columbia funding ‘war on education, science’
The Federal Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism, created by the Trump Administration, announced that it will visit 10 university campuses that have seen a shocking rise in antisemitism since October 7, 2023.
According to Education Secretary Linda McMahon, “Americans have watched in horror for more than a year now, as Jewish students have been assaulted and harassed on elite university campuses. Unlawful encampments and demonstrations have completely paralyzed day-to-day campus operations, depriving Jewish students of learning opportunities to which they are entitled. Institutions that receive federal funds have a responsibility to protect all students from discrimination. Columbia’s apparent failure to uphold their end of this basic agreement raises very serious questions about the institution’s fitness to continue doing business with the United States government.”
According to Maya Sulkin in the Free Press, “even though Columbia formed a Task Force on Antisemitism weeks after Hamas’s invasion of Israel on October 7, 2023, and issued two reports that revealed shocking instances of Jew hate on campus—not just among students but professors and administrators—the college has done little to root out the problem.”As a result, on Friday the Trump Administration announced the cancellation of $400 million in federal grants to and contracts with Columbia.
Following these developments, one could be left with the impression that higher education is doomed. Yetwe were struck by the reaction from the Call Me Back community to a conversation we had with the Chancellor of Vanderbilt University, Daniel Diermeier, last November, in an episode titled “How Vanderbilt University is getting it right.” It reminded us that some universities have impressively navigated the past 16 months.
Vanderbilt is one of them. Another is Washington University. The Chancellors of both universities (Washington University Chancellor Andrew Martin and Vanderbilt’s Diermeier) recently issued a set of principles that every university should be able to adopt. They summarized these principles in a piece in the Chronicle of Higher Education, titled: “Universities Must Reject Creeping Politicization.” You can read it here:
There have been other universities, like the University of Michigan, which in the months after October 7, 2023 experienced massive disruptions. Yet according to conversations we have had with current Jewish students, the university administration has been doing much better than others. University of Michigan President Santa Ono has taken promising steps on a number of fronts, including the University’s relationship with Israel, that could also serve as a model.
So, against the backdrop of chaos at Columbia and Barnard this past week, we sat down with WashU’s Andrew Martin and Michigan’s Santa Ono at the ADL’s “Never is Now” Summit in New York City, for a candid conversation about what has happened at each of their universities, lessons learned, and charting a path forward.
Reps. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) and Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.) said on Friday that the Trump administration’s decision to cut some $400 million in federal grants and contracts to Columbia University “isn’t about combating antisemitism.”Harvard Fires Librarian Caught Tearing Down Posters of Babies Murdered by Hamas
“It’s about the Trump administration’s war on education and science,” the congressmen stated. “If the Trump administration were as serious about antisemitism as they claim, they would not have filled their ranks with unapologetic antisemites.”
The Democrats said that the canceled grants “support the discovery of life-saving cures and critical research.” They added that “slashing this funding will not protect the Jewish students Trump claims to defend but will instead undermine their academic futures.”
The congressmen said the Trump administration’s announcement “does nothing to keep Jewish students safe and sends a chilling message that universities must align with the MAGA agenda or face financial ruin.”
The Republican Party of New York stated that “New York Dems are all talk and no action on antisemitism.”
“Memo to Democrats: This is what defending Jewish students actually looks like,” the party said. “Students targeted by radical mobs need action—not empty rhetoric.”
David Harris, former CEO of the American Jewish Committee who is executive vice chair of the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy, wrote that as Nadler’s constituent, he is “appalled” by the congressman’s position.
“President Trump’s decision to cut $400 million in federal funds to Columbia is spot on,” Harris added, directing his comment at Nadler. “Columbia had 16 months to stop rabid antisemitism on campus. It didn’t. (Nor did you help.) Maybe it’ll now get the message.”
Harvard University has fired an employee who was caught ripping down posters of the Bibas children, who were taken hostage by Hamas during its October 7, 2023, attack on Israel and later murdered by the terrorist group.Sen. Rick Scott reintroduces bill to expand Title VI and increase penalties for violating universities
Jonathan Tuttle, formerly a cataloger of published materials at the university's Radcliffe Institute, was filmed removing the posters during a Harvard Out of Occupied Palestine rally on March 3. The posters featured the faces of nine-month-old Kfir Bibas and four-year-old Ariel Bibas, the youngest hostages Hamas took during its October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. The Bibas children and their mother, Shiri Bibas, were later killed in Hamas captivity.
Tuttle's dismissal, first reported by the Harvard Crimson, comes as the Trump administration investigates Harvard and nine other universities over their response to anti-Semitic protests on campus, which have spiked since the October 7 attack. The administration's anti-Semitism task force on Friday revoked around $400 million in federal grants and contracts to Columbia University for failing to curb anti-Semitic incidents.
Tuttle did not respond to the Crimson's request for comment.
Radcliffe Institute dean Tomiko Brown-Nagin condemned Tuttle's actions, saying they are in violation of Harvard's policies and not protected under the First Amendment.
"Disruptive behaviors—including property destruction or defacement and acts of vandalism that seek to suppress or censor the speech of others—are not protected speech," Brown-Nagin wrote in a letter to Radcliffe affiliates. "They are behaviors that constitute misconduct; they violate multiple Harvard and Radcliffe rules and may also be punished under criminal law."
Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) reintroduced legislation last week targeting universities that have failed to stem the surge of antisemitism taking place on college campuses.
Scott originally introduced the Preventing Antisemitic Harassment on Campus Act last October with then-Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), now the secretary of state, as anti-Israel encampments had begun reemerging on some campuses ahead of the presidential election.
The legislation would expand Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 — which currently bans discrimination on the basis of race, color or national origin — to include religious discrimination and implement “clear and escalating penalties for institutions of higher education (IHEs) that are repeat violators.” It would also direct the Department of Education to “oversee private lawsuits against colleges receiving federal financial aid related to antisemitism.”
“Following Iran-backed Hamas’s attack on Israel, we saw a drastic rise in antisemitic attacks in the United States with anti-Israel mobs taking over campuses, and we’ve seen an unacceptable failure from leadership at higher education institutions to take action to condemn these mobs and protect Jewish students. Jewish students were afraid to go to class, fearful of the violence these pro-terrorist mobs threatened. That can’t happen,” Scott said in a statement.
Reviewed by: Adam Levick: Night of Power: The Betrayal of the Middle East By: Robert Fisk
That his peers routinely fêted Robert Fisk (1946-2020) as a great Middle East reporter says more about the media echo chamber than the quality of his work. The Independent, for whom he wrote for three decades, praised his “courage in questioning official government narratives.” A more accurate assessment would highlight his frequent inaccuracies, his penchant for conspiracy theories, his malign obsession with Israel, and his use of antisemitic tropes.GUARDIAN ARTICLES ERASE THE 1,200 MURDERED ON OCT. 7TH.
Fisk’s posthumous book Night of Power offers selections from his last twenty years of reporting. Inadvertently, it clarifies that his hostility toward Israel was but a subset of his antipathy toward the West in general. Like so many others influenced by postcolonial thought, Fisk imputes responsibility for Arab and Muslim political dysfunction not to Arabs and Muslims but to the United Kingdom and the United States.
For example, his coverage of post-Saddam Iraq attributes its ills to the “trauma, chaos and stress” of the U.S.-led invasion and occupation. He blames acts of self-immolation on the streets of Baghdad on the “West’s political and physical cruelty.” He also suggests, revealing his conspiratorial mindset, that the U.S. government actively coordinated the deployment of suicide bombers to provoke an Iraqi civil war. More broadly, Fisk responds to Islamist violence by asking, “What did we do to make them so angry?”
Those fond of Fisk’s takes on Israel and Jews will not be disappointed by Night of Power. “Israel’s friends in the US, American Jewish leaders, and the Israel lobby,” he claims, were most responsible for the U.S. decision to invade Iraq.
Fisk’s chapters on Israel rely heavily on such anti-Zionist and antisemitic Jews as Avi Shlaim, Ilan Pappe, Gideon Levy, and Israel Shahak. Shahak, for those unfamiliar with his oeuvre, argued that “Israeli Jews [and] most Jews ... are undergoing a process of Nazification” and also that Jews worship Satan.
Unlike armchair and fly-in journalists, Fisk did travel the Middle East but it did him little good, as he interpreted what he saw through a political lens corrupted by illiberal and toxic ideologies.
Since Oct. 7th, 2023, the Guardian, institutionally unable to see Palestinians as anything other than victims, began almost immediately to spin Hamas’s barbaric antisemitic murder spree as a story about Israel’s ‘disproportionate’ response to the attack. As we documented at the time, beginning a mere week after the massacre, and before the IDF launched their ground invasion, the outlet published 11 pieces over a two week period promoting the libel that Israel was embarking on a campaign of “ethnic cleansing” or “genocide”.BBC CONTINUES TO AVOID THE REAL STORY OF MASAFER YATTA
In addition to their promotion of that specific Palestinian talking point, their coverage – as we’ve shown in countless posts – has been effectively pro-Hamas. This includes their uncritical promotion of practically every unevidenced libel against Israel, while rendering the terror group which carried out the grotesque mass murder, rape, sexual mutilation and torture of Jews, and which, during the ensuing war, intentionally put Gaza civilians in harm’s way by their systemic use of human shields, practically invisible.
However, we’ve recently noticed that their standard formulation when mentioning Palestinian and Israeli casualties appears to be changing. Typically, at some point in even their most biased, one-sided reports, it’s noted that the war started when 1,200 were killed in Israel, and 250 taken hostage, during the Oct. 7th Hamas attacks, after which they cite the Palestinian death toll – albeit, one which usually omits that the figures are provided by Hamas.
Of late, even this minimal information on Hamas’s unprovoked, antisemitic atrocity which largely targeted civilians, isn’t now always provided.
On March 3rd a report appeared on the BBC News website’s ‘Middle East’ page under the headline “West Bank documentary maker criticises US policy in Oscars speech”. Credited to US based BBC North America editor Christal Hayes and originally including a video which has since been removed, that report opens by telling readers that:BBC NEWS CONTINUES TO PROMOTE UNVERIFIED HAMAS DENIALS OF AID THEFT
“An Israeli journalist has said US foreign policy “is helping to block” a path towards a political solution in the Middle East as he picked up a best documentary Oscar for No Other Land, a feature set in the occupied West Bank.
The acceptance speech at the 97th Academy Awards was one of the most overtly political moments of the night.
Yuval Abraham said his life was very different to that of his colleague, Palestinian journalist Basel Adra. “When I look at Basel, I see my brother, but we are unequal,” Abraham told the audience.”
Later in the report, readers find the following:
“Adra thanked the Academy and said he became a father two months ago.
“I hope to my daughter that she will not have to live the same life I am living now, always fearing settlers’ violence, home demolitions and forceful displacements.”
He said the film reflected “the harsh reality we have been enduring for decades”.”
Hayes’ portrayal of the film’s subject matter is confined to one sentence:
“The film follows the fight over Masafer Yatta, a community of around 20 villages, and the friendship between Adra and Abraham.”
The ‘context’ she provides includes the BBC’s inevitable mantra on “international law” but makes no mention of the Oslo Accords and the fact that Masafer Yatta is located in Area C, which according to that agreement signed by the PLO as the representative of the Palestinians, remains under Israeli control pending final status negotiations.
“Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967. Israeli settlements in the territory are considered illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this. They have expanded over the past 55 [sic] years, becoming a focal point of violence and conflicting claims over land.”
Hayes’ failure to provide her readers with any relevant and factual context concerning the subject matter of film and its creators’ “overtly political” statements is particularly significant in light of the fact that the BBC has previously avoided providing such information. In 2022 the BBC produced several items relating to Masafer Yatta, none of which told the whole story accurately and impartially.
In May 2022 listeners to BBC World Service radio heard about “the 1,000 Palestinians who look set to be evicted from their homes in an area in the southern occupied West Bank after Israel’s Supreme Court rejected an appeal filed by Palestinian villagers against their land being declared a so-called firing zone to be used for training exercises by the Israeli military.” [emphasis added]
Since the early stages of the war which began as a result of Hamas’ unprecedented attacks on Israel on October 7th 2023, the BBC has avoided providing its audiences with any serious reporting on the topic of Hamas theft of humanitarian aid.A NEW CAMERA REPORT ON BBC ARABIC
Over a year ago, in February 2024, the corporation’s international editor told BBC audiences that “[b]ecause we are not permitted to enter Gaza, we cannot check Israel’s claims that Hamas is stealing the food”. In May 2024 the BBC ignored a US State Department statement about thirty aid trucks having been seized by Hamas.
Last month alone the BBC chose to ignore a story about Hamas operatives accusing their leaders of hoarding humanitarian aid as well as reports about Hamas taxing the augmented aid supplies which entered the Gaza Strip following the ceasefire.
Remarkably, the restrictions on access to the Gaza Strip and the resulting inability to ‘check claims’ has not prevented the BBC from promoting narratives concerning famine and starvation in that territory.
The BBC has had well over a year to investigate the issue of Hamas theft and/or taxing of aid sent by the international community but has shown no serious interest in doing so. Fifteen months into the war, BBC audiences are still seeing the same uncritical amplification of monotone Hamas denials which the BBC has been promoting for months.
CAMERA has published a special report titled “BBC Arabic: News or Propaganda” which addresses over four years of content produced by that branch of the BBC World Service.ARAB LEAGUE TALKING POINTS GO UNCHALLENGED ON TWO BBC PLATFORMS
“BBC Arabic is a foreign language service that broadcasts 24 hours a day from London and Cairo to the Middle East, across TV, radio and online.
It is the BBC World Service’s largest, most heavily funded and most influential foreign-language service. It is part funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and reaches a weekly audience of 38 million people across the Arab-speaking world.
Far from embedding the values of the BBC, BBC Arabic has become synonymous with toxic hostility against Israel and, at times, anti-Jewish racism. It has given a platform to murderous terrorists, presented apologists for terror as independent ‘experts’, allowed extreme views to go unchallenged in interviews and echoed the language of Hamas.
It has subjected Israeli guests to biased and hostile questioning, downplayed attacks on Israelis and failed to swiftly remove antisemitic comments posted online.
BBC Arabic staff who posted in support of the barbaric rape, murder and kidnap of innocent men, women and children on 7 October 2023 continue to work for the organisation.
This document charts four years under Tim Davie’s leadership in which senior executives and the BBC Board have failed to stamp out the extraordinary bias within BBC Arabic despite repeated demands for change.”
As reported by The Times:
“Kemi Badenoch has called for “wholesale reform” of the BBC Arabic channel after a report accused it of “appalling antisemitism and anti-Israel bias”.
The Conservative leader wrote to Tim Davie, the director-general, to set out concerns about the World Service channel on Friday, weeks after warning that her party will withdraw its support for the licence fee if the BBC fails to tackle her concerns about bias. […]
Badenoch’s letter came after a report from the media watchdog the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis (Camera), which accused the channel of “anti-Israel bias, toxic antisemitism and the promotion of Hamas propaganda”.
The 33-page report covers claims spanning four years, including providing a “platform to terrorists”, presenting apologists as independent “experts” and allowing extreme views to go unchallenged in interviews. It also accused BBC Arabic of echoing Hamas language.”
The full report can be found here.
The March 5th edition of the BBC Radio 4 ‘Today’ programme included an item (from 2:45:41 here) relating to a meeting of the Arab League in Cairo the previous day. Remarkably, that item did very little to inform the BBC’s domestic radio audiences about the content of a proposal put forward by the Arab League, with two of the three questions posed to the contributor relating to other topics.Israel arrests Nablus pair for alleged Hamas financing
Also notable was the failure of the presenter, Amol Rajan, to challenge any of his interviewee’s problematic statements or point out his omissions.
Rajan: “Arab leaders are attending an emergency summit in Cairo today [sic]. The 22-member League of Arab States has approved an Egyptian proposal for a phased reconstruction of Gaza. You may recall a few weeks ago President Trump talked about moving the population of Gaza out of Gaza in order to build something like the Riviera of the Middle East. This is the point at which his defenders say don’t take the president too literally. And of course Arab leaders have a very different plan now. They say it will take 5 years, they want 53 billion dollars to fund the reconstruction and they want to reassert the primacy of the PA – the Palestinian Authority – eventually restoring them to power and shutting Hamas out. Israel has rejected the plan.”
Rajan’s introduction of his interviewee failed to point out to listeners that, like the authors of the proposal, he is Egyptian and the first question related not to the Arab League’s proposal but to his interviewee’s already publicised rejection of that earlier one put forward by the US administration.
Israeli security forces have arrested two Palestinians from Nablus (Shechem) on suspicion of receiving funds from the Hamas terrorist organization to finance attacks in Judea and Samaria, authorities announced on Monday.PMW: Palestinian Authority continues to support terror
According to the Judea and Samaria District Police in coordination with the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), the suspects contacted Hamas operatives abroad to secure financial support.
Investigators seized a total of $35,200 and 33,000 shekels during the probe.
The suspects face charges related to hostile contacts and financing terrorism.
In a separate incident, Israeli police said on Monday that they had arrested two Palestinians at the Carmel Junction in Judea after discovering an M16 rifle and a loaded magazine in their vehicle. The suspects were transferred to the regional crime investigation unit for further questioning.
The Palestinian Authority continues its relentless glorification of terrorists who murder Israelis. The PA's official daily, once again, has described the murderer of 7 people as a "Martyr" [Shahid in Arabic], meaning that he died while carrying out an idyllic act desired by Allah.PMW: Rajoub: Trump crackdown on Palestinian Authority “constitutes an incentive” to achieve unity with Hamas
"Yesterday, the occupation authorities blew up the homes of the Martyr, Mohammed Rashad Mesek, and the injured prisoner, Ahmed Abdul Fattah Al-Himouni, from the city of Hebron, who carried out "Operation Jaffa" last year in which several Israelis were killed and injured…"
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, March 6, 2025]
The PA is describing the terror attack in Jaffa on October 1, 2004 that killed Victor Shimshon Green, Revital Bronstein, Shahar Goldman, Nadia Sokolenco, Ilia Nozadze, and Jonas Chrosis as well as Inbar Segev Vigder, who was shielding her nine-month-old son, Ari.
According to the PA's Islamist ideology, the "Martyr" Mesek and prisoner Al-Himouni are now both placed among an elite group of people whom PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has described as "the stars in the sky of the Palestinian people."
Instead of taking the new Trump administration's policies to heart and distancing itself from terror, the Palestinian Authority is further embracing terror by reaching out to Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
The PA understands that it does not enjoy popular support amongst the Palestinian public while Hamas has become a leading political force thanks in large part to its success in massacring Israelis on October 7. The PA realizes that it needs to include Hamas in the leadership in order to survive politically.
This is primarily a marriage of convenience. The PA does not have the support of the Palestinian public, so it needs Hamas. Hamas cannot easily receive international funding, so it has a use for the PA. They are both willing to work together in order to promote their greater cause of hating and terrorizing Israel.
This strategy was recently articulated by top PA official Jibril Rajoub, who would "support building bilateral rapprochement between Fatah and Hamas…so that our strategic option in the next stage will be comprehensive popular resistance":
Hezbollah chief vows to block Israeli presence in Lebanon
Hezbollah will not tolerate any Israeli military presence in Southern Lebanon, the Iranian terrorist proxy’s Secretary-General Naim Qassem declared on Sunday.IDF: Recap: Nasrallah’s Terrorist Reign
In a televised interview with Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Manar television, Qassem accused the Jewish state of multiple ceasefire violations, warning that the Israel-Lebanon truce will not hold.
“I say to the Israelis—if you stay in these positions, how long do you think it will last? The resistance will not allow you to remain there,” he said. “If the occupation persists, the army, the people and the resistance will confront it. We have no ties to any agreement between the U.S. and Israel.”
The IDF confirmed last month that its forces would remain in five outposts in Southern Lebanon beyond the ceasefire deadline of Feb. 18. Israel’s decision to keep boots on the ground in Lebanon was made in conjunction with the Trump administration.
It was Qassem’s first interview since taking leadership of the terrorist group in late October following Israel’s targeted killing of his predecessor Hassan Nasrallah.
Qassem also claimed that rebuilding war-affected areas was the responsibility of the Lebanese state, while reaffirming Hezbollah’s continued role in the country’s political and military landscape.
Nasrallah has been buried along with his terrorism.
US reportedly warns Iraq of consequences if it doesn’t ensure kidnapped Israeli freed
The US has warned Iraq’s prime minister that there will be consequences unless he ensures the release of kidnapped Russian-Israeli academic Elizabeth Tsurkov, the Qatari newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported Monday, citing two Iraqi officials.Rare document sheds light on the Damascus Blood Libel, 185 years later
The Trump administration threatened “political and economic consequences” if they did not resolve the issue, said the Qatari newspaper.
Iraq’s national security adviser said last week that authorities were actively searching for Tsurkov, a doctoral student at Princeton University and fellow at the New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy who is believed to have been held by Islamist terrorists since March 2023.
Israeli authorities have blamed the Iran-backed Iraqi terror group Kataeb Hezbollah, though no group has claimed responsibility for her disappearance.
The two Iraqi officials told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that the government is enlisting the help of Shiite political leaders to secure Tsurkov’s release.
US President Donald Trump’s hostage envoy Adam Boehler has sent direct messages to Iraqi premier Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and “threatened a package of US punitive measures against Iraq, political and economic, if Tsurkov’s detention continued, and considered that the Iraqi government is responsible for returning her as soon as possible,” one official said.
A newly uncovered document at the Alliance Museum, a virtual museum dedicated to preserving the heritage of Jewish communities linked to the Alliance Israélite Universelle, offers fresh insight into one of the most infamous antisemitic incidents of the 19th century: the Damascus Blood Libel of 1840.'Stronger than fear': New book honors righteous gentiles, Holocaust survivors they saved
The document, titled "Persecutions Against the Jews of Damascus," was published in Paris in the same year and sold for 1 franc and 75 centimes. Its rediscovery provides a rare contemporary account of the dramatic events that reverberated throughout the Jewish world.
Before “fake news” gained traction in the modern day, the Damascus Blood Libel became a clear example of the damage that could be done. On February 5, 1840, a Capuchin monk, Father Thomas, and his Muslim servant disappeared mysteriously. Their disappearance fueled the fire for a false and malicious rumor quickly spread, alleging that the city’s Jews had kidnapped and murdered them to use their blood for baking Passover matzah.
The French consul in Damascus at the time was known for his antisemitic views and took the opportunity to take the allegations and formally accuse the Jewish community of ritual murder. This led to severe repercussions — Jewish leaders were arrested, subjected to brutal torture, and many were coerced into giving false confessions. The wave of persecution shocked the global Jewish community, triggering an unprecedented international effort to intervene on behalf of Damascus Jewry.
Jewish leaders called for action in response to Damascus Blood Libel
The case garnered the attention of prominent Jewish figures including Sir Moses Montefiore and Adolphe Crémieux—the latter would later become the first president of Alliance Israélite Universelle. Montefiore and Crémieux embarked on a mission to Egypt, meeting with ruler Muhammad Ali to advocate for the release of the imprisoned Jews and to clear the community’s name.
Their efforts did not fall flat, with detainees eventually being freed and Ali ordering the execution of the governor of Damascus. Still, the damage was done, forever impacting and scarring the Jewish community of Damascus.
The Damascus Community exhibition at the Alliance Museum provides a deeply immersive look at Jewish life in the city before and after the blood libel. Through testimonies, rare documents, and historical photographs, visitors can explore how the community endured fear and hostility in the aftermath of the accusations. Many Jewish residents, unable to feel safe in their own city, fled to Aleppo, Beirut, and Jerusalem to escape further persecution.
The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference) published "Stronger Than Fear," which profiles Righteous Rescuers from nine countries along with stories of the Jewish people they saved. The initiative joins Israel's longstanding efforts to honor those who protected Jews during the Shoah.Artist stands by Netanyahu-Hitler painting after exhibition ban
At an event launching the collection in Limoges, France, Holocaust survivors will meet the children and grandchildren of the Righteous Rescuers who saved them. In other instances, living Righteous Rescuers will meet descendants of Holocaust survivors they helped save.
"During the Shoah, thousands of individuals across Europe risked their own lives to save Jews from the Nazis," President of the Claims Conference Gideon Taylor said. "Today, only about 150 of those Righteous Rescuers are still with us. The Claims Conference has been a long-time supporter and funder of many Righteous Rescuer programs around the world, and we are proud to continue honoring their sacrifice with this publication."
The gathering will include Jewish siblings Dr. Sophia Joachims, 89, and Mark (Manek) Schonwetter, 91, who were born in Poland and survived the Holocaust thanks to a Righteous Rescuer family that hid them. Survivor Colette Zeif from Paris will also attend. After her mother was deported to Auschwitz in 1942, Colette and her elder sister Jacqueline were taken in by the couple Marguerite and Charles Bayrand in Limoges, who presented them as their own children.
Rüdiger Mahlo, Representative of the Claims Conference in Europe, emphasized the educational importance of these stories: "The history of the Righteous Rescuers extends beyond the lives they saved. They demonstrate the courage needed to speak out, to act, and to choose empathy over apathy. The transmission of these stories is at the core of educating every generation on the Holocaust."
Bronislawa Bakun, a Righteous Rescuer from Janów/Sokólka in Poland who rescued more than 12 Jews from persecution and death, offered a powerful yet humble perspective: "We simply did what one does when one is human."
Greg Schneider, Executive Vice President of the Claims Conference, noted that the publication provides 36 portraits of Righteous Rescuers who together saved more than 220 Jews. "Each portrait is a living example of humanity and courage," he said. "The Claims Conference is committed to passing their legacy of strength and active compassion on to future generations."
An artist whose painting depicting Benjamin Netanyahu and Adolf Hitler morphing into one another has defended his work after it was removed from an art fair.NJ man admits aiding ISIS, faces 10 years, $250k fine
Monster, by James Earley, was pulled from The Other Art Fair in London’s Truman Building after the opening night for allegedly violating the event’s terms and conditions.
The piece, part of the artist’s Racism and Colonialism collection, has since been sold to a private buyer for £3,750. Earley, responding to the backlash, said he has faced “waves of hate and insults” and claimed that pressure from critics has led galleries and art platforms to distance themselves from him.
He wrote on his website: “I strongly disagree that art should be censored, and I will not be silenced,” and urged supporters to share his work online.
Addressing accusations of antisemitism, Earley told Jewish News: “I am not antisemitic. I have previously created paintings that call out the horrors of the Holocaust and how evil that period of our history is. I’ve been to Auschwitz and crumbled as I learnt the cruelty that took place there. I just want all the violence to stop, whether it’s done by Hamas or the IDF. My views are of Netanyahu and not the people of Israel.”
The painting, according to Earley, is meant to illustrate how “monsters such as Netanyahu and Hitler are created and ultimately how we defeat them.”
Describing his work as an oil painting of an imaginary book, he explained: “I have painted the faces in a realism style, painting stitches as the two faces are stuck together like Frankenstein. Gradually, the black and white painting of Hitler comes to life as the colour from Netanyahu gradually spreads. A monster wakes up another monster and the world suffers.”
Kyse S. Abushanab, 27, of Budd Lake, N.J., pleaded guilty in U.S. district court on Friday to hiding his efforts to help ISIS, a U.S.-designated terror group. When he is sentenced on Sept. 24, he faces up to 10 years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines, per the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey.This Muslim scholar wants to revive the ‘Judeo-Islamic tradition,’ starting with Moses
“The crime that Kyse Abushanab admitted to today threatened the safety of Americans both here and abroad,” stated John Giordano, U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey.
“Kyse Abushanab gathered and distributed training materials on the making and use of bombs and explosives to ISIS supporters. He concealed these activities through various means, including using encrypted messaging platforms,” Giordano stated. “Abushanab’s activities are a stark reminder that terrorist organizations like ISIS are intent on compromising the safety of Americans around the world.”
“At a time when terrorist attacks are fresh in the minds of Americans everywhere, this thwarted effort should serve as a warning to all ISIS and violent extremist ideologists everywhere,” stated Terence Reilly, FBI-Newark acting special agent in charge.
“The FBI Newark Joint Terrorism Task Force will work tirelessly to stop you and your misguided ideology before you harm innocent victims,” Reilly stated.
Wishing to better understand Islam, a Christian friend once asked US-based Turkish writer, intellectual and journalist Mustafa Akyol to recommend an English translation of the Quran for him to read. A few weeks later, after completing Muhammad Abdel-Haleem’s “The Qur’an: A New Translation,” the friend continued his conversation with Akyol. He had some thoughts and had been grappling with some passages that he found notably opaque or troublesome — yet one thing struck him as the biggest surprise of all.Morocco’s Spanish-speaking Jewish minority illuminated in prizewinning book
“I was expecting to read about the life of Muhammad, but instead I read about the life of Moses more than anything else,” the friend wrote.
Moses is mentioned 137 times in the Quran, while Muhammad is mentioned just four times. And who is the second most common character in Islam’s holiest text? Another figure from the Jewish Bible — Moses’s nemesis, Pharaoh.
That certainly is not by chance, as Akyol points out in his new book, “The Islamic Moses: How the Prophet Inspired Jews and Muslims to Flourish Together and Change the World.”
The biblical characters and narrative were, in fact, intentionally central to the new faith Muhammad was cultivating and promoting across Arabia and beyond some 14 centuries ago.
Moses and his story were emulated by Muhammad, and the parallels are not hard to spot. Both men started as unlikely leaders — Moses, slow of speech, and Muhammad illiterate — and yet both ultimately led massively successful migratory, nation-building and military efforts alongside the establishment of new religious-legal systems: Jewish halacha and Islamic sharia.
In the book, Akyol examines further theological parallels, yet also explores historical encounters between the Jewish and Islamic worlds. The author finds these interactions especially important in the current geopolitical climate, in which many forget that for much of history, the Judeo-Islamic tradition was much more peaceful, fruitful and coherent than the Judeo-Christian one.
When Dr. Aviad Moreno was growing up, he sensed that his family was somehow different from the other Israelis from Morocco who surrounded him in Beersheba.Morocco adds three Jewish monuments to national heritage list
“In the 1980s, Beersheba was a hub for North African immigrants,” Aviad told The Times of Israel in a video interview. “I was immersed in Moroccan traditions that I came to love and associate with my Israeli identity. Yet, my family’s migration story from Morocco was far more complex.”
Among others, Moreno noticed that his parents and grandparents migrated multiple times before reaching Israel, including to Venezuela and the US. His family attended an Ashkenazi synagogue instead of a Sephardi one. And his father’s first language was Spanish.
“The contrast between my family’s story and the Moroccan narratives I learned as an Israeli always fascinated me,” he said.
As he became older, Moreno started to realize that his family’s experience was not unique but was similar to that of others who belonged to a distinct group within Moroccan Jewry: a Spanish-speaking Jewish minority. This realization prompted him to begin exploring the history, traditions and identity of some 30,000 Jews in northern Morocco who developed a kinship with modern Spain, medieval Sepharad, and the broader Spanish-speaking world.
Moreno started his work as a community member and continued it as an academic at the Ben Gurion University of the Negev. His journey has culminated in the book “Entwined Homelands, Empowered Diasporas: Hispanic Moroccan Jews and Their Globalizing Community” (Indiana University Press), which won one of this year’s National Jewish Book Awards. The awards’ winners will be honored by the Jewish Book Council at their annual event on March 12.
“The Jews of northern Morocco trace their origins to the expulsion from the Iberian Peninsula in the late 15th century, but unlike other Jewish communities in Morocco, they maintained a deep cultural connection to Spain,” Moreno said.
The Moroccan Culture Ministry officially listed three Jewish monuments from the city of Asilah on the country's national heritage list, a February 20 announcement said.Purim in Israel 100 years ago: A glimpse into rarly holiday celebrations
The monuments include the Kahal Synagogue, Asilah's historic Jewish cemetery, and a mikveh (ritual bath) and oven attached to the synagogue.
The Kahal Synagogue was built in 1824 but remained dilapidated and abandoned for years. It was rebuilt and reopened in 2022, along with the mikveh and hammam.
Moroccan Jewish community submits request
The addition of the sites to the heritage list comes after the Moroccan Jewish community submitted a request to have the venues recognized as official historical places in January 2024.
This decision places these monuments under the protection of a local law that concerns the historic conservation of monuments, sites, inscriptions, art objects, and antiquities.
Three rare archival photos documenting Purim celebrations in the Land of Israel during the 1920s have been unveiled from the Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF) photo archive. They offer a captivating look at children celebrating the holiday in the Land of Israel long before costumes became a booming industry. Taken during a time when the streets were filled with thousands of people, these photos offer a glimpse into a more intimate and creative Purim experience.
Captured by Shmuel Joseph Schweig—one of the most well-known photographers of the Yishuv during the early years of Zionist life in Israel—they also showcase the vibrant spirit of the era. KKL-JNF Rare Purim Photo 2025A young child dressed as a sailor, wearing a uniform and hat, Tel Aviv, 1928. Credit: Joseph Schweig, KKL-JNF Photo Archive.
In the first photo, taken in March 1928, a young child is dressed as a sailor, wearing a uniform and hat. The costume represents a KKL-JNF ship, symbolizing the arrival of Jewish people to the shores of the land.
Another image shows a child dressed as a citrus tree, a strong symbol of Israeli and Zionist identity. The costume is crafted from leaves and branches—and adorned with real oranges—creating a striking visual representation of the connection between the land and its people.
The third, taken in 1926, captures two children: one dressed in a split costume with one half in black and the other in white, and the second child wearing a dress decorated with Jewish symbols, including Stars of David and boxes from KKL-JNF.
“These photos provide a fascinating historical window, not only into Purim celebrations but also into the early days of Israeli society,” says Efrat Sinai, head of the archives department at KKL-JNF.
“They show how both children and adults created colorful, imaginative celebrations with the limited resources available to them—long before costume stores or a commercial industry surrounded the holiday,” she said. “They capture the natural joy, Zionist values and the sense of community that was being formed during that time.”
‘New Day Will Rise’: Israel reveals entry for 2025 Eurovision Song Contest
Yuval Raphael will represent Israel at the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest in Switzerland with “New Day Will Rise,” the country’s Kan public broadcaster announced on Sunday as it officially revealed the Jewish state’s entry.
The three-minute song, sung by Raphael and written by Israeli singer and songwriter Keren Peles, is primarily in English, with several lines in French and Hebrew. Raphael is set to perform in the second half of the second semi-final on May 15.
“New day will rise/Life will go on/ Everyone cries/Don’t cry alone/Darkness will fade/All the pain will go by/But we will stay/Even if you say goodbye,” Raphael sings in English in the power ballad’s chorus.
The Hebrew is a line from the biblical Shir Hashirim, the Song of Songs, which translates to: “Vast floods cannot quench love, nor rivers drown it,” while the French is a translation of the English portions of the song.
In a statement on Sunday, Raphael said that “for me, the song represents the healing that we all need and the optimism for the days ahead—our future. The song speaks about our strength, all of ours, our shared hope, the support and love of such beautiful people in our country.”
Peles said the entry represents the “new sunrise” that the Jewish state is longing for after Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, cross-border massacre and the subsequent ground war with the terror organization in the Gaza Strip.
Rabbi Leo Dee: Dear Yarden Bibas, here are the lessons I’ve learned since my wife and daughters were killed by terrorists
You won’t remember me from your shiva, since more than 10,000 people turned out to comfort you in your mourning for Shiri, Ariel and Kfir. I hugged you and told you, “There are no words.” That was the only message that I could accept from the people who came to our shiva. I lost my wife and two of my daughters in a terror attack two years ago in the Jordan Valley. You survived 500 days of hell in Hamas’ terror tunnels, and emerged into a different hell when you discovered that your precious family had been destroyed. When it comes to trauma, one cannot compare, but perhaps there are some lessons that I have learned over the past two years that could help you now and in the hard months that lie ahead. They may also be helpful to other people who are struggling with grief or trauma.
Firstly, you will no doubt be given tranquillisers and sleeping pills to get you through the first few weeks of grief, as I was. I found that I couldn’t breathe without them. But after six weeks I realised that they were hampering my recovery, so I quickly sought out an acupuncturist. After one or two sessions I quit all the tablets and managed to breathe and sleep without them. I recommend you try to do the same. At some point I believe that you need to feel the full pain in order to start climbing out of the pit of grief that you’re in.
Secondly, you, like me, may be set up to meet regularly with top psychologists. After ten sessions, I quit. I quit because I found that I panicked before each session, cried throughout the session, and felt miserable for days after until the next session came around. My psychologist told me at the first meeting, “I have never seen anything like your trauma, there is nothing like it in the textbooks. Let’s learn together.” I discovered that psychology was not going to help me. Perhaps if I had a deep seated anxiety caused by something in my youth, it would help to talk to someone about it, to uncover the roots of my pain. But I knew what was causing my pain, and so do you. I didn’t need to discuss it every week with a stranger.
So, what did help me? Friends and family. I was fortunate that in my community of Efrat, people knew what to do. I was appointed a secretary during the shiva; she took all my calls and arranged my time for weeks afterward, packing my days full of meetings with those who wished to talk, interview or involve me in their projects. That was a life-saver. You will probably not be able to organise your own life for weeks or months, or cope with your macabre “celebrity” status, so find someone to help you as soon as possible (perhaps one of your friends reading this can volunteer).
— Ari Hoffman 🎗 (@thehoffather) March 10, 2025
|
"He's an Anti-Zionist Too!" cartoon book (December 2024) PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism (February 2022) |
 |
Buy
