Thursday, March 27, 2025

03/27 Links Pt2: I can no longer forgive the Israeli Left; Columbia Is a Basket Case Because of Its Faculty; Hostages and Missing Families Forum nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

From Ian:

I can no longer forgive the Israeli Left
What’s more, the Israeli Left (a minority after all) has spent decades trying to convince the world, and the rest of Israel, that peace comes from surrender, that empathy will melt away hatred. That if we just humanize our enemy, they will stop trying to dehumanize us.

It was a beautiful dream. But October 7th killed that dream. And the Israeli Left’s unwillingness to face that truth — their insistence on mourning the collapse of their ideology more than the collapse of our safety — is a betrayal I cannot overlook.

On October 14, 2023 — exactly one week following October 7th — I said to my Israeli cousin: “Just watch, in a few weeks or months the Israeli Left will take to the streets, wailing and screaming about how the real crime isn’t what Hamas did to us, but how our own government responded. They’ll say the hostages are being forgotten, that the war is immoral, that Bibi is the devil, and that somehow, somehow, Israel is to blame for all of this.”

And sure enough — they did. Like clockwork. As if the bodies weren’t still being identified, as if the screams of that day had faded into background noise, they reemerged not with unity, but with slogans. Not with a vision for victory, but with recycled protests and righteous outrage aimed not at Gaza, but at Jerusalem.

The Israeli Left, in its current form, has not only failed to process the lessons of October 7th; it has exploited this war to reassert its own failed ideology. Every development in this war, every tragedy, every difficult decision has been twisted into another excuse to demonize the Israeli right.

The hostages — those we all pray for, cry for, march for — have become, for many on the left, not a symbol of our shared pain, but a political weapon. Instead of focusing solely on the inhumanity of those who hold them captive, they direct their fury inward, using the hostages as a bludgeon against the government, as if Israel is the jailer, not the victim.

They cheered the resignation of the Shin Bet chief not because it offered clarity or accountability, but because it gave them one more scalp in their campaign against a government they loathe — a loathing that runs deeper than policy differences. It’s not really about Netanyahu anymore. It hasn’t been for a while. It’s about the Israeli left’s total inability to reconcile with a nation that has, time and again, rejected its utopian vision in favor of realism and resilience.

In their worldview, the true enemy isn’t Hamas or Hezbollah or the Houthis — it’s the right. It’s the settlers. It’s the religious. It’s the Zionist who believes in Jewish power and defense and sovereignty. And that hatred has blinded them. It has made them incapable of unity, incapable of reflection, incapable of change.

This has nothing to do with holding leaders accountable and everything to do with salvaging a broken ideology. They do not oppose the war because they think it’s unjust. They oppose the war because it confirms what they most fear: that their decades-long program of appeasement, withdrawal, and moral relativism has utterly failed.

Ultimately, we gain nothing by blaming each other — nothing, that is, except offering our enemies a victory they could never achieve on the battlefield.

But blame is not the same as accountability. And if the Israeli Left wants to regain the moral high ground they so desperately cling to, they must start by acknowledging who attacked us, who raped, murdered, and kidnapped us — and who didn’t.

Forgiveness starts with truth. Until then, I can’t forgive you.
Seth Mandel: Columbia Is a Basket Case Because of Its Faculty
Most of the demands that the Trump administration submitted to Columbia University consist of actions the school needs to take in order to stop its slide into irrelevance. This is a Jerry Maguire “Help me help you” situation, where common-sense reforms to restore order to campus and regain a measure of academic discipline are obligations the school should want to meet.

The university administration’s fear of its students has turned the school into an asylum run by the inmates. But what if putting the asylum back in charge of the inmates won’t make much of a difference? The students are acting like feral maniacs, it’s true; but it turns out their professors want them that way.

The Free Press obtained the transcript of a faculty Zoom meeting with interim President Katrina Armstrong in which Armstrong “promised that there would be ‘no change to masking,’ and ‘no change to our admissions procedures,’ both of which the administration has demanded.” Armstrong said the same about other key administration demands, even though the university has signaled to the White House that it will comply.

The Washington Free Beacon goes into some more detail on the meeting:
“Throughout the discussion, Armstrong—who assumed the presidency on an interim basis in August after former Columbia president Minouche Shafik resigned just over a year into the job—fielded questions from furious faculty members. One described the Trump administration’s actions as ‘the most significant assault on academic culture in my lifetime,’ while others pressed her about why the university had not countersued the government.

“None of the faculty members, however, raised concerns about the treatment of Jewish and Israeli students on campus or about the conduct of protesters, which led to the cancellation of in-person classes and the school’s graduation ceremony at the close of the last academic year, as well as to the Trump administration’s concern about the climate on the Morningside Heights campus. Just a year ago, a rabbi affiliated with Columbia urged Jewish students to leave campus to celebrate Passover and not to return until conditions on campus had improved.”

To review, in order to again be eligible for federal funding, Columbia has been told to centralize its disciplinary process; ban masks with health-related and religious exemptions, so that campus rules can be enforced and to reduce student vandalism and hostage-taking; adopt a consistent definition of anti-Semitism so that its rules are clear to all; give its provost oversight powers over its particularly lunacy-ridden Middle East department; and a few others.
What Columbia University President Katrina Armstrong Really Told Faculty Members About Changes the School Is Making
Nothing to see here.

That’s what Columbia University president Katrina Armstrong told approximately 75 faculty members who assembled on a Saturday morning Zoom call to hear from her about a letter sent by the school to the Trump administration on Friday outlining a series of steps Columbia says it is taking to address "legitimate concerns raised both from within and without our Columbia community, including by our regulators" about the eruption of anti-Semitism on campus in the wake of the Oct. 7 attacks.

Throughout the conversation, which lasted approximately 75 minutes and included Columbia provost Angela Olinto and general counsel Felice Rosan, Armstrong and Olinto downplayed or denied that change was underway, particularly when it came to meeting the Trump administration’s demand to put the school’s Middle East, South Asian, and African Studies department under academic receivership.

"This is not a receivership," Olinto told the group. "The provost will not be writing or controlling anything. It's the faculty," she continued, adding, "Your department is totally independent."

Columbia’s Middle East Studies department has been a flashpoint in the disputes that have roiled the university since Oct. 7, with critics citing its faculty members as a leading source of anti-Semitism. One of them, Joseph Massad, described the Hamas massacre as "awesome."

Armstrong went on to say the school had made "no changes" to rules surrounding the sorts of masked protests that plagued the university last year, though Friday’s letter announced that masks are no longer allowed "for the purpose of concealing one’s identity in the commission of violations of University policies or state, municipal, or federal laws."

The Washington Free Beacon obtained a transcript of the meeting, which seems to have been created because Columbia administrators were unable to disable the Zoom function that generates an audio transcript. The transcript itself captures administrators struggling to prevent the software from creating a transcript and then moving forward without success.

"I am unable to turn it off, for technical reasons, so we’re all just going to have to understand," an unnamed administrator said at the outset. "This meeting is being transcribed. If you are the requester of this, I would ask you to turn it off."

"Yeah, that seems to be the default. I keep telling my people to stop this thing," Olinto, the provost, responded.

Throughout the discussion, Armstrong—who assumed the presidency on an interim basis in August after former Columbia president Minouche Shafik resigned just over a year into the job—fielded questions from furious faculty members. One described the Trump administration’s actions as "the most significant assault on academic culture in my lifetime," while others pressed her about why the university had not countersued the government.


Trump’s stance on antisemitism a model for the world—Israeli minister
The uncompromising stance taken by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump in the fight against Jew-hatred furnishes a splendid example for the world, Israel’s Minister of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Amichai Chikli said on Thursday.

“What we are seeing today from the current U.S. administration under the leadership of President Trump this is how you fight antisemitism,” Chikli said at a conference on combating antisemitism, which was held at the Jerusalem International Convention Center on Wednesday and Thursday.

“This is the complete opposite of the previous administration’s approach, which preferred issuing reports, collaborations with pro-Hamas elements such as CAIR [the Council on American–Islamic Relations], and very little action,” he added.

The Israeli minister opened the international event by noting that in the fight against antisemitism, which has surged around the world following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led massacre in southern Israel, we do not need “efforts” but rather a “full-scale war.”

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar also praised Trump for his crackdown on antisemitic rioters on U.S. campuses and the “bold steps” he has taken to hold universities accountable for allowing Jew-hatred.

“Decisive action against antisemitism makes the free world safer,” Sa’ar said. “We are seeing the results in America.”

Sylvan Adams, who was recently appointed president of the Israel chapter of the World Jewish Congress, said that whether or not one supports all of the American leader’s policies, we can unequivocally thank President Trump, for his strong actions on antisemitism.

“We have never had a better friend in the White House,” he said. “This should not be a controversial statement in the Jewish world.”

The conference made headlines even before it opened due to the participation of several far-right European lawmakers, most pointedly from France, who are staunchly pro-Israel, causing several European officials to pull out, including U.K. Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis.

But the French-Israeli jurist Arno Klarsfeld, whose parents, Serge and Beate Klarsfeld, led the hunt for Nazis war criminals, said that the change of Israeli policy toward engaging with far-right European parties and the invitations to their lawmakers were wise and warranted.

“The extreme left has become the extreme right and the extreme right has become the party that favors Israel, that favors the Jews,” he said. “The danger for Jews in France is the radical left and the Islamists. It is obvious for anyone who is honest.”


Non-Muslims could be victims of Islamophobia under Angela Rayner’s new terms
People mistakenly identified as Muslims could be victims of Islamophobia under Angela Rayner’s new definition.

The Deputy Prime Minister, whose department oversees community relations, has proposed that other faith groups who could be perceived as Muslim will be covered by her planned new definition for Islamophobia or anti-Muslim hatred.

This could include atheists as well as Sikhs, Hindus, Jain and Buddhists, according to the terms of reference for a new working group she has set up to advise ministers and draw up a non-statutory definition of Islamophobia.

The five-member group, chaired by Dominic Grieve, the former Tory attorney general, has been tasked with providing advice to Ms Rayner on “appropriate and sensitive language to describe, understand and define unacceptable treatment, prejudice, discrimination and hate targeting Muslims or anyone who is perceived to be Muslim”.

The terms, published on Monday, stated: “This should include advice regarding the merits of government adopting a non-statutory definition of unacceptable treatment of Muslims and anyone perceived to be Muslim, including what a proposed definition should be.”


Bernie Sanders and J Street are jeopardizing Israel’s security
As my son fights for the IDF, Bernie Sanders and J Street are jeopardizing his security
When Bernie Sanders and 18 other senators voted to block the sale of American-made weapons to Israel last year, they knew they were backing a failed effort. They knew the broad, bipartisan, pro-Israel consensus in the Senate would prevail and that America would continue to stand by Israel as it fights a multi-front war.

Yet Sanders and his allies – goaded by groups like J Street, Justice Democrats, and Jewish Voice for Peace – led an effort to stick it to Israel’s government and “send a message” to the prime minister.

Now, as the war continues and Israel looks to America for vital support, they’re at it again.

Bernie Sanders has introduced seven more resolutions to block a new package of arms sales to Israel. Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal is leading four others in the House. Both members working to block weapons to our ally are endorsed by J Street. They are once again playing politics with Israel’s security, and lives are at stake. I know, because my son is one of them.

Jacob has spent over 250 days in reserve since October 7, and spent the majority of that time on the frontlines (he is currently not in uniform but, like all reservists, could be called back any time). I could not be more proud of him, and the courageous young men and women alongside him, who are fighting to protect the Jewish homeland.

But I am thousands of miles away.

J Street and its allies don’t seem to care about my many sleepless nights wondering if my son is safe. They know that the terrorists he’s fighting hide among civilians and booby-trap buildings where they know soldiers will enter. They’ve watched with all of us as Israel used American weapons to degrade Hamas and Hezbollah, destroy tens of thousands of ready-to-fire missiles, and dismantle hundreds of terror tunnels.

Yet inexplicably, they would rather leave my son and his fellow soldiers more exposed to the terrorists.
NJ gubernatorial candidate Baraka applauded violent rhetoric by Louis Farrakhan
New Jersey gubernatorial candidate Ras Baraka was a speaker at an event with Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan in the early 2000s and applauded violent rhetoric by the controversial preacher.

Baraka, now the mayor of Newark, N.J., was the deputy mayor at the time, a role he held from 2002 to 2005. Following strong debate performances, Baraka has been seen as surging in a crowded field of Democratic candidates in the gubernatorial race.

Farrakhan has been repeatedly condemned for antisemitic, homophobic and racist comments.

During a 2004 speech in Newark at which Baraka was a featured guest, Farrakhan expressed disagreement with the nonviolent philosophy of Martin Luther King Jr. and voiced support for violent retaliation, comments that elicited approval from Baraka.

“The cracker hit you on your jaw, you break his neck, that’s the way we think,” Farrakhan said, to loud applause from the gathered crowd. In a video of the event posted by the Nation of Islam, Baraka can be seen rising to his feet and applauding that comment.

Later in the speech, Baraka can again be seen standing and applauding comments by Farrakan accusing the government of sowing violence and dissent in the Black community, including framing Black people for killing police.

“You’re dealing with a devil, man. You’re not dealing with righteous people,” Farrakhan said. “This cracker is the real devil, and you better wake up and realize that.”

In a lengthy statement to Jewish Insider, Baraka rejected accusations of antisemitism and said that he attended the event because it was focused on supporting a truce between major rival gangs.
‘Snow White’ producer’s son unloads on ‘immature’ Rachel Zegler for anti-Israel comments: ‘Her actions hurt the film’
This fairy tale does not have a happy ending.

The son of “Snow White” producer Marc Platt slammed Rachel Zegler, 23, as “immature” and narcissistic after it was revealed his father flew to New York to speak to the film’s lead actress when she went political on X.

Jonah Platt, 38, brother of actor Ben Platt, issued a scathing response to one negative commenter on his Instagram.

The comment read, “Your dad flew to NYC to reprimand a young actress?” in reference to Variety’s bombshell report this week of the behind-the-scenes drama involving Disney and Zegler, whose pro-Palestine and anti-Trump comments production execs are blaming for the movie’s poor showing at the box office.

“Any words on this? Cuz that’s creepy as hell and uncalled for. People have the right to free speech no? Shame on your father,” the user added.

That’s when Jonah unloaded, revealing what he thought of the situation — and the actress who plays Snow White in Disney’s newly released live-action remake.

“You really want to do this?” Platt responded.

“Yeah, my dad, the producer of the enormous piece of Disney IP with hundreds of millions of dollars on the line, had to leave his family to fly across the country to reprimand his 20-year-old employee for dragging her personal politics into the middle of promoting the movie for which she signed a multi-million dollar contract to get paid and do publicity for,” he wrote.

He made it clear that Zegler’s “actions clearly hurt the film’s box office.” While “Snow White” was No. 1 during its debut weekend, it grossed $87 million worldwide — a paltry amount for its $270 million budget.

“Free speech does not mean you’re allowed to say whatever you want in your private employment without repercussions,” Platt continued. “Tens of thousands of people worked on that film and she hijacked the conversation for her own immature desires at the risk of the colleagues and crew and blue collar workers who depend on that movie to be successful.”

He ended his lengthy rant by stating, “Narcissism is not something to be coddled or encouraged.”


Israel Advocacy Movement: How Piers Morgan is Getting Rich from Antisemitism

Trump Admin Eyes Ban on Foreign Students at 'Pro-Hamas' Universities
The Trump administration is weighing a plan to bar universities from enrolling foreign students if too many of the students are "pro-Hamas," senior officials told Axios.

"Every institution that has foreign students … will go through some sort of review," an official said. "You can have so many bad apples in one place that it leads to decertification of the school. … I don't think we're at that point yet. But it is not an empty threat."

Universities will also likely receive subpoenas in which they will have to provide "any information that they know about students who have actively participated in violent protests," a Justice Department official told Axios.

The warning comes after Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier this month launched the "Catch and Revoke" initiative, using AI tools to identify foreign nationals who voice support for Hamas or other designated terror groups and then revoke their student visas.

More than 300 foreign students have had their visas revoked since the "Catch and Revoke" initiative launched, an official told Axios. The United States has around 1.5 million student visa-holders as part of the Student and Exchange Visitor Program.

The Trump administration has targeted a slew of universities, including Columbia University, UCLA, Harvard University, and the University of Pennsylvania, for failing to curb anti-Semitism on campus. Columbia has received the brunt of the crackdown, with the federal government revoking more than $430 million in grants and contracts to the Ivy League school.
Lawmakers re-introduce bill to pull federal funding from college campuses over antisemitism
A group of Senate and House lawmakers, most of whom are Republicans, is set to re-introduce legislation on Thursday that would prohibit federal funding to any university that allows antisemitic events on its campus.

The Stop Antisemitism on College Campuses Act would prohibit federal funding to any college that “authorize[s], facilitate[s], provide[s] funding for or otherwise support[s] any event promoting antisemitism on campus,” as defined by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism.

The legislation is being sponsored by Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) and Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY), with co-sponsors including Sens. Bernie Moreno (R-OH), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Katie Britt (R-AL), Steve Daines (R-MT) and James Lankford (R-OK), and Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Abe Hamadeh (R-AZ), Stephanie Bice (R-OK), Don Bacon (R-NE), Andrew Garbarino (R-NY), Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ), Nick LaLota (R-NY), Claudia Tenney (R-NY) and Tom Suozzi (D-NY).

Suozzi is currently the only Democratic supporter of the bill.

“The intention of taxpayer dollars for universities is to educate students, not promote and foster hate. We’ve witnessed campuses across our nation turn into cesspools for anti-Jewish, anti-Israel activists,” Scott said in a statement. “Let’s make one thing clear: federal funding is a privilege and not a right. Rooting out hate wherever it rears its ugly head will always be in fashion. I remain dedicated to defending the rights of Jewish students to attend class peacefully.”

The bill’s introduction comes ahead of a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing on antisemitism on Thursday morning. Scott is a member of the committee.

“As chair of the MENA Subcommittee and a strong supporter of Israel and the Jewish community, I’m committed to ensuring our universities take antisemitism seriously – holding offenders accountable and preventing incidents before they occur,” Lawler said in a statement. “That’s why I’m reintroducing the Stop Antisemitism on College Campuses Act, which will stop universities from allowing antisemitism events on campus in the first place.”


House to vote on anti-Israel Tlaib amendments to university donation disclosure bill
The House is set to vote on Thursday on a pair of amendments, introduced by Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), to a bill expanding requirements for universities to disclose foreign donations from U.S. adversaries. The amendments appear designed to target universities’ relationships with Israel.

The base legislation, known as the DETERRENT Act, has been backed by some Jewish community groups in response to concerns that Qatari, Iranian and other foreign donations are driving antisemitic and anti-Israel activity and attitudes on college campuses.

The bill lowers the threshold for countries to report foreign donations from $250,000 to $50,000, and requires them to disclose donations of any size from specific countries of concern.

Tlaib’s amendments seem designed to utilize the legislation to target Israel, introducing language that would require schools to report investments in any country defending a case before the International Court of Justice relating to accusations of war crimes or genocide, any country with any official facing an active arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court or any country that the secretary of state deems responsible for violations of international law and human rights.

The other Tlaib amendment would require schools to disclose any donations from countries facing similar criteria.

AIPAC is urging supporters to tell lawmakers to oppose the amendments, arguing that they place Israel in the same category as U.S. adversaries such as Iran, Russia, China and North Korea, based on the pretext of the controversial ICC and ICJ cases.

AIPAC said the amendments — which are almost certain to fail given likely opposition from both Republicans and some Democrats — would be “a victory for the discriminatory boycott, divestment and sanction (BDS) campaign against the Jewish state.”

All Democrats on the House Education and Workforce Committee voted against the DETERRENT Act earlier this year, arguing that it would be both ineffective and needlessly burdensome, though 31 Democrats supported it on the House floor in the previous Congress.

Democrats are now also arguing that it’s hypocritical for Republicans to provide additional responsibilities to the Department of Education when the Trump administration is slashing its staff and attempting to eliminate the department entirely.


New Jersey-based Palestinian American Community Center to Host PFLP Terrorist and Rep. Rashida Tlaib
The New Jersey-based Palestinian American Community Center (PACC), a tax-exempt nonprofit with 501(c)(3) status, is set to hold its 7th annual conference from April 3-6, 2025, under the title “Grounded in Action: Exploring the Power of The Palestinian Diaspora.” The first three days will take place on site in New Jersey, while the fourth day will be held virtually. Among the featured speakers on day four is Wisam Rafeedie, a member of the U.S.-designated terror group the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).

Furthermore, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib is scheduled to speak at one of the conference’s "Youth Day" events, to introduce young children to “resistance through storytelling.” Members of National Students for Justice in Palestine (NSJP) and the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) are also set to speak at the conference. Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib scheduled to speak to children about “resistance through storytelling. Credit: PACC & PACC’s Facebook page

Jewish Onliner contacted PACC for comment ahead of this article’s publication, specifically regarding the involvement of the PFLP’s Wisam Rafeedie. The organization did not respond to the request. However, following the inquiry, PACC appears to have taken steps to obscure Rafeedie’s involvement in the event.

The current conference page on PACC’s website no longer lists speaker names or images, aside from Rep. Rashida Tlaib and her son, whereas the full lineup was visible just days ago. Despite this change, publicly available posts on PACC’s Facebook page still displays Rafeedie’s image and lists him as a featured speaker. PACC conference speaker lineup for day 4. Credit: PACC Facebook page

Speaking to Jewish Onliner, Tom Fitton, President of the watchdog group Judicial Watch, remarked that “Federal law enforcement should be interested in this event.” The PFLP’s Wisam Rafeedie

On the fourth day of the conference, PFLP member Wisam Rafeedie, is scheduled to speak virtually on the topic of “Centering Palestinian Political Prisoners.” In May, 2024, Rafeedie spoke virtually at the “People’s Conference for Palestine” where he defended Hamas’ Oct. 7th massacre and downplayed the well-documented atrocities committed by Hamas and other invaders.

Rafeedie also made statements such as, “Zionists lie like they breathe” and “There is no longer a place for the two-state solution for any Palestinian. The only solution is one democratic Palestinian state on all Palestinian land, which will end the Zionist project in Palestine.” Rafeedie was previously imprisoned by Israel for terror activity: Credit: Al Bawab

Rafeedie’s continued affiliation with the PFLP is also a matter of public record. In 2021, he participated in a Zoom event as part of the “Ghassan Kanafani Symposium”, in reference to the former PFLP leader. The event featured other senior PFLP officials, such as, Nidal Abdel Aal, who was the head of the groups’ Lebanon branch and was eliminated by the IDF for his role in planning multiple terror attacks. The event also featured Maher Harb, a PFLP leader from Nablus. A photo of Rafeedie from 2016 shows him proudly displaying a poster of convicted PFLP terrorist, Georges Ibrahim Abdallah.
House committees investigating connections between federal NGO funding and 2023 Israel judicial protests
The House Judiciary Committee and House Foreign Affairs Committee are jointly investigating six organizations that received federal funding during the Biden administration to determine if those grants were intended to target Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s political standing during the 2023 judicial reform protests.

The letters announcing the probes, obtained by Jewish Insider, were sent by Reps. Jim Jordan (R-OH), chairman of the Judiciary Committee, and Brian Mast (R-FL), who chairs the Foreign Affairs Committee, to the Jewish Communal Fund, Middle East Dialogue Network, Movement for Quality Government in Israel, PEF Israel Endowment Funds, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors and Blue and White Future on Wednesday evening.

Each of the groups received federal funding and was reportedly directly or indirectly involved in supporting the judicial reform protests.

In the letters, Jordan and Mast accuse the Biden administration of sending funds to the groups for the purpose of “attempting to undermine Israel’s democratically elected government,” which the lawmakers describe as an attack on civil liberties and potentially criminal.

The inquiries request documentation and communications from the organizations about the funding applications, any communications between the NGOs in question and details about how the funds were spent, with an April 9 deadline.


Senate Education Committee Launches Campus Protest Probe Into Terror-Linked American Muslims for Palestine
The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions launched a probe into American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), a prominent Hamas-linked advocacy group, over its role in fueling anti-Israel demonstrations on American college campuses, the Washington Free Beacon has learned.

Committee chairman Bill Cassidy (R., La.) sent a letter to AMP’s founder and chairman Hatem Bazian on Wednesday demanding the nonprofit hand over documents and records detailing the group’s financial and logistical involvement in supporting college protests in the aftermath of Hamas’s Oct. 7 terrorist attack. Bazian, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, has argued that "it’s about time we had an intifada in this country."

"Reports of individuals with ties to terrorist groups or their affiliates engaging with students on college campuses are cause for the highest alarm," Cassidy wrote in the letter. "Activity that threatens the safety of others is not constitutionally protected free speech, and conduct that violates campus rules should not be tolerated."

"While college campuses should welcome free speech and the free exchange of ideas," he continued, "they should never be havens for terrorist organizations or their affiliates to engage with college students or instigate conflict for their own political purposes."

The probe comes as the Trump administration moves forward with its efforts to deport pro-Hamas visa holders and pull funding from schools that fail to protect Jewish students. The administration has revoked the visa and green card of Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate student and prominent pro-Hamas protest leader. It has also slashed more than $430 million in federal funding to the Ivy League school and is now eyeing sanctions against the international funders bankrolling pro-Hamas demonstrations.

At least nine individuals involved with AMP and its sister organization, Americans for Justice in Palestine, are alleged to have ties to Hamas. The letter names AMP executive director Osama Abuirshaid, who was featured on the website of Hamas’s militant wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, who were responsible for the Oct. 7 attack. Last spring Abuirshaid personally visited anti-Israel encampments at Columbia and George Washington University to encourage participants.

The letter also names Salah Sarsour, one of the group’s board members, who is alleged to have played a direct role in fundraising for a Hamas front group in the late 1990s, according to an FBI memorandum. Other AMP associates, like Jamal Said and Mohammed El-Mezain, are tied to the Holy Land Foundation—a sham charity founded by a top Hamas official—which was shut down by the U.S. government after it was discovered the foundation had sent approximately $12.4 million to support Hamas.


Harvard Suspends Partnership With Palestinian School That Hosted Hamas Military Parades
Harvard University's School of Public Health announced Wednesday that it has suspended its research partnership with Birzeit University, a West Bank school that has hosted military parades in honor of Hamas.

Harvard decided to freeze its ties to Birzeit as part of an internal review of its François-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights and will consider permanently severing the relationship when the investigation concludes later this spring, spokeswoman Stephanie Simon told the Harvard Crimson.

The move comes after months of pressure on Harvard to end the partnership with Birzeit, which has described itself as "a thorn in the side of the occupation," the Washington Free Beacon reported. In late 2021, the Palestinian university hosted a pair of military parades celebrating the founding anniversaries of both Hamas and another terror group, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R., N.Y.) and dozens of other House Republicans in July wrote a letter calling on Harvard administrators to "immediately end" its relationship with Birzeit. Former Harvard president Lawrence Summers echoed the demand days later in an X post.

The Harvard Jewish Alumni Alliance in a May report also condemned the collaboration, warning that it amplifies "false narratives and hate."

Alliance president Eric Fleiss told Jewish Insider this week that the group is "disappointed that it took this long for Harvard to suspend relations with a university that, among other misdeeds, blatantly discriminates against Israeli Jews by barring them from campus, elects would-be terrorists to student government and hosts Hamas and PFLP parades on campus."

"We are gratified that they have finally done it and hope that their review of the relationship will lead them to recognize a permanent termination," Fleiss added.


How the MTA embraced misinformation and lost our trust
The Massachusetts Teachers Association, MTA, the state’s largest teachers’ union, is empowered to grant recertification credits to teachers—a responsibility that requires objectivity and adherence to educational standards.

When it comes to teaching the Israel-Hamas conflict, however, the MTA has betrayed that responsibility and lost our trust by pursuing a one-sided and biased approach to the subject.

The MTA’s conduct isn’t unique. Teachers’ unions across the country have taken extreme positions on a variety of topics, which may be why just 30% of parents trust them to deliver an unbiased education, according to a recent nationwide THINC Foundation survey of nearly 1,500 parents.

Just two months after Hamas’s brutal terrorist attack against Israeli civilians on Oct. 7, the union adopted a motion calling for a ceasefire that would have left Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, in control of Gaza.

The motion further urged the National Education Association, America’s largest teachers’ union, to pressure then-President Joe Biden to halt support for Israel’s defense, which it characterized as a “genocidal war on the Palestinian people.”

These claims aren’t just factually incorrect—they’re inflammatory. Israel is holding Hamas accountable for the most devastating terrorist attack in the nation’s history. Far from targeting Palestinians as a population, Israel has taken unprecedented measures to avoid civilian casualties, which military experts say have proven effective. The MTA’s claim of genocide is a lie that insults victims of actual genocides and misleads students who are trying to evaluate international conflicts.

The MTA’s problematic approach extends into its professional development programs. In a March 2024 “anti-racism” webinar, speakers known for their anti-Israel views spread falsehoods about the Israel-Hamas conflict, misrepresented Zionism and accused Jewish organizations of propaganda while conspicuously omitting any mention of Hamas’s terrorist status or its atrocities.

Likewise, a June 2024 MTA webinar on antisemitism ignored the continuous Jewish presence in Israel spanning thousands of years, falsely portrayed Palestinian national identity as dating back centuries rather than emerging in the 1960s, and omitted historical Arab violence against the Jewish minority in dozens of nations while depicting Jews as the sole aggressors.

Rather than addressing these concerns, the MTA, which teachers can opt out of whenever they want, has doubled down, tasking an individual with known anti-Israel inclinations to create curricular materials that present revisionist history that erases the complexities of the conflict.
After Nasrallah Mourner's Expulsion From US, CAIR Tells Non-Citizens: Travel With Burner Phones To Avoid Deportation
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is advising non-citizens to take "proactive steps"—like using a burner phone—to avoid deportation after traveling abroad as the Trump administration cracks down on foreigners who support terrorism.

During the anti-Israel group’s annual Ramadan fundraiser webinar on Sunday, which the Washington Free Beacon attended, CAIR attorneys and policy experts told the 1,300 attendees that visa and green card holders should delete apps and pictures from their phones before returning to the United States. For foreign citizens who remain in America, the speakers recommended taking a back seat at protests for the time being. The CAIR crew also said President Donald Trump’s order to remove foreigners who pose terror threats targeted the Islamic community, with one calling it a "pre-Muslim ban."

"Delete some of the apps, some pictures you have on your phone. Things that you think are maybe innocent, but in this day and age, with the Mahmoud Khalil’s case [sic], what are they charging with all this—it’s not my job as an immigration attorney to make the community fearful, but be smart about what we’re doing," said Spojmie Nasiri, an immigration attorney on CAIR’s National Board of Directors.

"Maybe buy a burner phone, or maybe have a backup phone," she added. Nasiri also warned that non-citizens’ phones are subject to searches after traveling abroad and recommended setting up two-factor authentication and turning off facial recognition.



Since taking office, Trump has pursued his campaign promise to deport pro-Hamas foreigners, with the State Department revoking a number of visas this month. Among them was Khalil, a Columbia University graduate student and vocal pro-Hamas activist, whom federal authorities arrested after his visa and green card were canceled. Momodou Taal, a Cornell University graduate student who has celebrated Hamas’s Oct. 7 attacks, similarly had his visa revoked last week.

And although Nasiri didn’t point to a specific example, her guidance echoes the case of Rasha Alawieh, a Brown University assistant professor of medicine. Earlier this month, Alawieh, an H-1B visa holder, was deported after Customs and Border Protection agents discovered "sympathetic photos and videos" of prominent Hezbollah figures in the deleted items folder of her cell phone. She was traveling back to the United States after attending the funeral of slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in February.

During Sunday’s event, CAIR attorney Gadeir Abbas advised noncitizens to scale back their involvement in activism, encouraging them to instead "let your citizen colleagues step to the forefront."

"I think one thing to keep in mind is … it’s better for Palestine if you stay in the country," Abbas told attendees. "If you’re a citizen, there’s risk, and if you’re not a citizen of any kind—green card holder, visa holder of any kind—you have all the risks that the citizen has, plus all the risks associated with your ongoing status inside the United States."
Macklemore film on Columbia Univ. protests and Mahmoud Khalil funded by Marxist network
An upcoming anti-Israel documentary film celebrating the illegal student encampments at Columbia University — and featuring protest leader Mahmoud Khalil — is being produced by rapper Macklemore and by groups funded by a Marxist financial network with potential links to the Chinese Communist Party.

The new movie, titled "The Encampments," is executive produced by the anti-Israel rapper and is also produced by BreakThrough Media (BT Media). In turn, that is a group closely tied to the financial network of wealthy Marxist businessman Neville Roy Singham, who sold his Thoughtworks tech company in 2017 and has used the money to fund openly communist endeavors.

Singham, the tech guru with offices in China, has been described as a “comrade” of — and is a financial backer of — "The People’s Forum," a Marxist revolutionary group based in New York City that has been integral to backing the Columbia protests and protests for Khalil, as Just the News detailed in an extensive investigative report. The People’s Forum has been promoting the documentary on social media and held a meeting this week to discuss the upcoming premiere.

Aligned with Hamas
Khalil, a leader in the pro-Palestine and anti-Israel encampments at Columbia University, was detained earlier this month by the Trump administration. The Department of Homeland Security argued that he “led activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization.” The People’s Forum helped organize some of the campus chaos and is now also organizing protests to free Khalil.

The new movie is also being distributed by an anti-Israel and pro-Palestine studio called Watermelon Pictures, which says on their website that "Our mission is to shift culture on a large scale by bringing Palestinian cinema, and other untold stories, to broad audiences in a way that entertains, inspires, and activates audiences."

The movie premiered at CPH:DOX in Copenhagen this week, and it is slated to open at the Angelika Film Center in New York on March 28. Far left-leaning entertainment publications such as Deadline and Variety have written up positive promotions of the encampments documentary. While Axios and others have written about the upcoming film, none have mentioned the Marxist billionaire’s financial links to the groups behind the movie, nor have those outlets described the pro-Hamas bent of many of the film’s producers.


Shai Davidai on Mahmoud Khalil deportation, antisemitism on campus
While supporters of Mahmoud Khalil say his deportation case is a matter of free speech, Columbia University Associate Professor Shai Davidai points out it is over 'his illegal activities on campus and for breaking the conditions of his green card'




As Turkish student held, Rubio says US revoked visas of over 300 anti-Israel ‘lunatics’
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday that he has canceled the visas of more than 300 “lunatics” in a crackdown against anti-Israel activism on American university campuses, including that of a Turkish student detained in Boston.

Asked during a visit to Guyana to confirm reports of 300 visas stripped, Rubio said: “Maybe more than 300 at this point. We do it every day, every time I find one of these lunatics.”

Rubio said the US would not provide visas for people who participate in movements involved in “vandalizing universities, harassing students taking over buildings.”

He did not provide evidence that Rumeysa Ozturk, who had co-authored an anti-Israel op-ed in a Tufts University student newspaper, was involved in those activities.

Ozturk, a 30-year-old doctoral student at Tufts, was detained Tuesday shortly after she left her home in the Boston suburb of Somerville. US government lawyers said in a court document Thursday that Ozturk had already been moved out of Massachusetts by the time her lawyer secured a court order that she be kept in the state.

She was moved to a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Basile, Louisiana, the lawyers said, adding that they had informed Ozturk’s lawyers that she was being moved there and helped facilitate contact with her Wednesday night.

A senior spokesperson for the US Department of Homeland Security said federal authorities detained Ozturk and revoked her visa after an investigation found she had “engaged in activities in support of Hamas, a foreign terrorist organization that relishes the killing of Americans.” The DHS did not provide evidence for the allegation.

“A visa is a privilege, not a right,” the spokesperson said. “Glorifying and supporting terrorists who kill Americans is grounds for visa issuance to be terminated. This is common sense security.”


Jews at UCL ‘terrorised’ by students amid demands of ‘Zionists off campus’
University College London (UCL) was the first university in England to admit Jews in 1826 but, two centuries later, Jewish students and faculty claim the institution has strayed from its founding commitment to educational equality.

Speaking to the JC, eleven Jewish staff members have made allegations of a climate of intimidation and accused UCL of failing to tackle hostility towards Jews, while students have reported a litany of incidents which, they say, expose a pervasive campus bias against Israel and, in many cases, Jews.

Last week, more than 70 masked students rallied outside the university chanting: “No more hiding, no more fear, Zionists not welcome here,” and calling for intifada. Some apparently came from the nearby School of Oriental and African Studies (Soas) and Birkbeck, alongside unaffiliated London activists.

“The language they use is chilling,” said Dov Forman, a second-year UCL history student, social media influencer and JC columnist. He claimed that the college is grappling with a growing issue of “rogue professors inviting speakers who would never have been welcomed on a British campus in previous years”.

Indeed, the latest protest erupted after Francesca Albanese, the UN’s rapporteur on Palestine – who has a history of making statements, seen by some as antisemitic – was invited to speak at the university.

Initially asked by a student group, her talk was later backed by a UCL history lecturer, prompting outrage from the pro-Israel non-student group Stop the Hate, which planned a demonstration.

In response, UCL Action for Palestine and its alumni wing mobilised a counter-protest, vowing to keep “Zionists and fascists off our campus.”


Manchester student motion condemned for supporting terrorism
Pro-Israel groups have condemned a motion being debated at the University of Manchester Students’ Union, accusing it of legitimising terrorism and expressing support for the Hamas-led 7 October massacre.

The motion, titled Solidarity with Palestine, urges the university and union to back the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign, revoke the IHRA definition of antisemitism, and cut ties with Israeli institutions and companies.

Most controversially, Clause 7 of the motion states: “In recognising that, as an occupied nation, the people of Palestine have the right to armed resistance under international law.”

A University of Manchester spokesperson said: “We consider aspects of this motion to be wholly unacceptable and have raised serious concerns with the Students’ Union regarding its wording, particularly where it risks undermining the principles of equality, safety, and wellbeing.”

They added: “We are committed to upholding free speech and fostering respectful debate within the law. However, we will not tolerate abuse or discrimination of any kind towards members of our community.”

In a public statement, the Jewish Representative Council of Greater Manchester & Region said the motion contains “many lies and falsehoods” and warned that Clause 7 is particularly alarming. The group described it as a “one-sided, shameful statement” that “supports the murderous terrorist atrocities committed by Hamas”, adding that it “explicitly calls their actions legal and justified, whilst not condemning Palestinian terror attacks against Israeli civilians”.

Hamas, which carried out the October attack killing more than 1,200 people, mostly civilians, is a proscribed terrorist organisation in the UK. The JRC warned that public support for such a group could breach counter-terrorism laws.

“As such, it is clear evidence of public support for Hamas and must be reported to counter-terror police,” the Council added. “Any organisation or charity, such as the Manchester University Students’ Union, who adopts this is guilty of the same crime.”


‘I hadn’t experienced antisemitism before October 7’ says ex pro footballer
Ex-footballer Joe Jacobson said this week that he had never experienced antisemitism in his football career until October 7.

Speaking as part of a sporting panel at the ORT UK business breakfast on Thursday, Joe, who played for Wycombe Wanderers FC until last year, said: “It was only after what happened on October 7 that I started getting a little bit of stick on social media.

“People reacted to a post that I made. There was no controversy about the post – I’d made sure that I had gone through all the comms and media people.

“It got to a point where people were threatening to turn up at the club and barricade the stadium gates on match day.”

He recalled how the club provided extra security for him. “I didn’t really realise what was going on but the club had arranged for a player to come with me, someone to meet me at my car and escort me in. Usually, you can have pictures with fans but I wasn’t able to do that either and it wasn’t until later that I realised why.”

Also on the panel, which was moderated by sports lawyer and podcaster Daniel Geey, were presenter and broadcaster Talia Lazarus and top sports agent Leon Angel, head of CAA Base. Leon noted that antisemitism in football had “got a lot worse” since October 7. “I’ve got a lot of Israeli players who can only go to certain teams.

“One of my players was in Berlin and looking to move and we had to consider which club he would go to. One of the Italian clubs, because of their ownership, would not take an Israeli player and there was a British club that wouldn’t take a player from Israel on the basis that their captain was very pro-Palestinian.”
Call to ‘target Zionists… find out where they are’ is NOT a criminal offence, say police
Claims by disgraced academic David Miller that “there are Zionists everywhere… find out where they are” do not count as a criminal offence, the Metropolitan Police has told Jewish News.

In a post on Monday evening, using the hashtag #DismantleZionism, Miller wrote: “Protests are not enough. Listen to our brothers and sisters in Gaza. Those who are interested in ending this genocide must begin by targeting those responsible near them: the entire Zionist movement globally must live in fear of accountability until it is dismantled and its ideology eradicated. And let’s be clear, there are Zionists everywhere. In every town and city. Find out where they are.””

Other posts by Miller directly target high street retailer River Island, calling for shoppers to boycott the business “owned by the Lewis family of genocidaires”.

Responding to Jewish News today, a Met Police spokesperson said: “On Tuesday, 25 March we received an allegation relating to a post that had been published on X the previous day.

“Officers have carefully considered the wording of the post and have concluded that it does not meet the threshold for a criminal offence. The person who reported the matter to us has been spoken to and the rationale for the officers’ decision has been explained.

“While the threshold for an offence may not have been met in this case, we understand why the posts caused significant concern, particularly at a time when fear and uncertainty in Jewish communities is already at a heightened level.

“Since October 7 2023 we have seen a concerning increase in antisemitic hate crime. Officers have been working closely with community members and key partners, including the Community Security Trust, to provide advice, reassurance and a visible presence particularly in those areas with larger Jewish populations.

“We have made more than 300 arrests for anti-Jewish hate crime offences. Where the evidence meets the threshold for us to take action we absolutely will.”
Feds arrest East Bay man who ‘researched mass shootings’ targeting Jews
Federal law enforcement officials have arrested a 21-year-old Brentwood man who allegedly sought to build a machine gun using an illegal device made with a 3D printer and was looking to target Jews.

It was the second arrest in six months for Noah Kanaye Bauer, who was picked up by Brentwood police on Sept. 6, 2024, after a call about someone possessing a gun at a grocery store. Police said they arrested Bauer with a “Glock style firearm” and searched his home, where they reported finding computer content on mass shootings and antisemitic conspiracy theories.

According to court documents, Bauer told police he had been radicalized online.

Federal authorities picked up the case after drawing the attention of the FBI’s Domestic Terrorism Squad, which investigates “activities of U.S. citizens motivated by extremist ideological beliefs,” according to a government affidavit, leading to Bauer’s March 11 arrest.

The federal case cites numerous findings by the Brentwood police, who in their search of Bauer’s home also discovered a 3D printer, 3D printed pistol frames and a machine gun conversion device, capable of making a standard pistol fully automatic, according to a March 10 FBI complaint.

Because conversion devices are classified as machine guns under federal law, Bauer has been charged with a section violation of the federal penal code (transfer or possession of a machine gun), the complaint said.

“A search of his home revealed that he has been researching mass shootings and attempting to find locations with significant Jewish populations,” according to federal prosecutors representing the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California.

Officers in Brentwood, a city of about 60,000 in eastern Contra Costa County, also said they found search queries on how to construct a “full auto assault shotgun,” as well as information on known mass shooters. The police said Bauer appeared to be a member of several channels on the encrypted messaging app Telegram that circulated antisemitic content.

“Some of the channels to which Bauer was subscribed published known antisemitic and white supremacist content,” the government prosecutors said, “including Holocaust denial, ‘race purity’ arguments, and ‘great replacement’ conspiracy theories… He told the police that his beliefs about Jews arose while watching YouTube.”


How to be a Jewish comedian – Jewish World Weekly
On this week's episode of Jewish World Weekly, Emily Frances speaks to Her wet Block about the World Zionist Congress elections that are currently underway; comedian Modi on how to navigate Jewish comedy post October 7th and in countries which have historically been hostile towards the Jews; and Amado Spagnoletto about one of the oldest Queen Esther Megillahs that is on display in Ferrara, Italy. Also featuring a report on group of Jewish women from Los Angeles who have set up their own shelter to supply those who lost their homes during the Eaton Fires, and Nicole Zedeck visits New York as disability group Shalva celebrates its 35th anniversary




Lawmakers nominate Hostages and Missing Families Forum for Nobel Peace Prize
A bipartisan group of House members sent a letter earlier this week to urge the Nobel Committee to award the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents and advocates for those kidnapped by Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups on Oct. 7, 2023, with the Nobel Peace Prize.

The letter, led by Reps. Brad Schneider (D-IL) and Max Miller (R-OH), argues the organization should receive the high international honor for its work to raise awareness about the plight of the hostages in Gaza. Schneider formally nominated the hostage forum for the honor earlier this year, prior to the deadline; this letter comes in support of that effort, a source familiar with the situation explained.

“The Nobel Peace Prize has long honored those who elevate humanity’s highest ideals in the face of oppression,” the lawmakers said. “In honoring the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, the Committee would reaffirm a fundamental truth: that every life is sacred, that no act of terror can erase our shared humanity, and that the pursuit of justice must never waver. Their nomination is not just about the hostages. It is about the essential principle that the world cannot look away.”

The letter praises the forum members for their “extraordinary grace and humanity” and work to show the world “the humanity of all those suffering the devastation of war” in the face of the hardships faced by their families and repeated failures to reach agreements to free their family members from Hamas captivity.

“Through unfathomable anguish and heartbreak, these families have become the conscience of the world, steadfastly reminding the world that their loved ones are not bargaining chips or statistics, but human beings — each with names, stories, and families waiting to embrace them,” the letter reads.

It also highlights the work that the forum has done to advocate to governments, international organizations and civil society to raise awareness of the hostages, pursue Hamas in both courts of law and public opinion, generate international support and provide psychological and medical support to the hostage families.

“In the wake of Hamas’ barbaric attacks, the families of those taken hostage or missing channeled their grief into action — mobilizing a remarkable global movement to keep their loved ones at the forefront of diplomatic negotiations, demanding accountability, and advocating for all those suffering the devastations of war,” Schneider said in a statement.


‘We love you the most’: Orange-tinted Bibas family gravestone unveiled
A month after Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas were laid to rest in Israel, the gravestone for the three slain hostages was unveiled at a family ceremony on Thursday.

An orange-tinted slab marks the final resting place of Shiri and her two young sons, who were kidnapped from their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, 2023, and murdered by their captors in Gaza in late November 2023. Their bodies were returned to Israel by Hamas last month and buried together in a single casket.

The orange color came to symbolize the effort to free the Bibas family, inspired by the vivid orange hair of Ariel and Kfir.

Shiri, who was 32 when she was killed, is memorialized on the stone as “the best daughter, wife, mother and sister we could ask for. Funny, sensitive, loving and watching over everyone always,” the inscription reads, noting that her nickname was “mishmish,” meaning apricot in Hebrew.

The inscription for Ariel, nicknamed “Chuki,” who was 4 when he was murdered, says he was “a wonderful son, mischievous and funny, with a bashful smile. Beloved by everyone, a child of light and love.”

Kfir, who was slain before his 1st birthday, is remembered as “loving hugs and cuddles, a sweet and captivating baby, always with a smile and rolling laughter,” with the nickname “pupik,” which means belly button.

The headstone also includes English lyrics from the song “I Thank You Child” by Zakk Wylde: “It was you who made living all worth the while/ Oh lovin’ you it’s the best.” Underneath it, the family wrote in Hebrew: “We love you the most and always, you’ll always be in our hearts.”


Yazidi rescued from Gaza by Israel thought she was ‘going to be stuck there forever’
An Iraqi Yazidi woman who was kidnapped to Gaza and rescued by Israel during the war in the Strip has spoken to Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth.

“I told myself I was going to be stuck there forever,” Fawzi Amin Sido tells the paper (the comments are translated to English here from the Hebrew in which they were published). “I was sad because I started to realize that’s it, I would never see my family again. I didn’t even know if they were alive or dead.”

Sido was kidnapped by ISIS in 2014 at the age of 11 and trafficked to the Gaza Strip. Israeli forces extracted her in coordination with other nations and transferred her home to her family in Iraq.

Sido says she underwent rape, sexual assault and other forms of abuse by multiple men throughout her years in captivity. She has left behind two children born in the Gaza enclave.

“Life in the Gaza Strip was very difficult, and every step was accompanied by immense hardship,” she says. “There is no freedom, people constantly tell you what to do. This led me to very difficult mental places and also to suicide attempts. I felt like I was going crazy.”

“I look at everything that happened to me there in Gaza as a nightmare or a bad dream, as if it didn’t even happen to me. Now that I’m in Germany, I’m in an emotional storm. I was happy to return home, but I mourn the fact that I had to leave my children behind in Gaza. One of the things that kept me sane was that I wrote every day. I would like to continue that, but now I need a blank, clean page.”




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