Wednesday, April 09, 2025
How a Lawsuit From Oct. 7 Victims, Including Bibas Family Uncle, Could Cripple Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera has long courted controversy for platforming terrorists across the Middle East, where it is banned from operating in Israel and some Arab countries for promoting extremist ideologies. But the Qatar-funded network's support for Hamas terrorists isn't just confined to the region, according to a new lawsuit from October 7 victims, which alleges for the first time that Al Jazeera's American arm directly supports the terror group's operations.AMIA prosecutor requests international arrest warrant for Khamenei
American victims of Hamas's Oct. 7, 2023, terror spree sued Al Jazeera and its American affiliate—Al Jazeera International, a limited liability company registered in Delaware—in February. Among the plaintiffs is Maurice Shnaider, whose niece, Shiri Bibas, was kidnapped and killed along with her two small children, Ariel and Kfir.
The victims are petitioning the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to hold Al Jazeera's American enterprise liable for "providing substantial assistance" to Hamas and its militant ally, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), both of which are U.S.-designated terror outfits. The suit identifies at least a half-dozen Al Jazeera employees who double as Hamas and PIJ operatives and accuses the outlet of conspiring with these terror groups from the lead-up to October 7 until now.
While Al Jazeera is headquartered in Doha, Qatar, where senior Hamas members lived in luxury, it operates 70 bureaus worldwide, including one in Washington, D.C. Its hub in the nation's capital hosts more than 100 staffers, many of whom are credentialed to cover Congress. The outlet's presence on Capitol Hill has long driven concerns among GOP lawmakers, who have unsuccessfully tried for years to revoke its privileged status and force it to register as a foreign agent.
Since Hamas is not designated as a terrorist organization in Qatar, the October 7 victims are turning to the American court system, where they can seek financial penalties against Al Jazeera under the Anti-Terrorism Act. By naming Al Jazeera International as a defendant in the case, they are hoping to prove that the network's Washington, D.C., branch knowingly provided material support to Hamas and PIJ.
"There are far too many coincidences and connections between the Hamas terrorists who attacked innocent Israelis and the reporters from Al Jazeera who mysteriously were amongst the first to breach into the Jewish State from Gaza and accompany the murderers as they killed, maimed and raped innocent Jews," Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, the lawyer handling the case, told the Washington Free Beacon. "We intend to prove that Al Jazeera is the communication arm of the Gaza terror groups."
If successful, Darshan-Leitner said, the suit "will financially devastate Al Jazeera and shut down its operations in the United States and beyond."
The suit points to evidence that the Al Jazeera channels accessible within D.C. promote terrorism. The network's UpFront program, for instance, has repeatedly aired "terrorist-related content" via Al Jazeera English and other channels owned by the company, most of which are accessible within the district, according to the lawsuit. In other cases, Al Jazeera "featured interviews with individuals affiliated with terrorist organizations and showcased Al Jazeera employees who are Hamas operatives," the lawsuit alleges.
Sebastián Basso, the lead prosecutor in the AMIA bombing case, has requested a national and international arrest warrant against Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei due to his direct involvement in the bombing of the Jewish community center in Buenos Aires in 1994, according to Argentinian daily Clarín on Wednesday.Western myths about Palestinians vs. what they say and do
In 1994, the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina Jewish community center was bombed, killing 85 and wounding 300. Hezbollah is believed to be behind the attack, with Iranian backing and support.
According to Basso, Khamenei “led the decision to carry out a bomb attack in Buenos Aires in July 1994 and issued executive order (fatwa) 39 to carry it out.”
Basso requested of Argentinian Federal Judge Daniel Rafecas that Khamenei “be called to give a statement in relation to his involvement in the attack on the AMIA headquarters on July 18, 1994, along with the other Iranian suspects mentioned in this report.”
Khamenei “sponsored an armed organization that operates clandestinely outside of Lebanese territory and is linked to the Hezbollah movement, which for decades has carried out numerous attacks on the lives and property of people that must be clarified as terrorist acts, including the AMIA attack,” Basso stated.
Basso requested that Interpol be notified “for the purpose of executing the arrest.” He also ordered Argentina’s federal security forces to arrest Khamenei if he steps on Argentinian soil.
Clarín noted that this represents a shift from the position of previous prosecutors and intelligence agents, who saw Khamenei as having immunity due to his official role.
Well-meaning liberal Americans sympathize with the Arab-Palestinian cause because of the group’s determined, decades-long struggle against Israel’s superior military might. Recently, that favoritism among Democrats for the first time shifted to a majority who support the Palestinians over Israel.
But if supporters of the Palestinians knew the whole truth, as the Palestinians tell it, they might reverse their sympathies. Indeed, when we listen to what the Palestinians say, and what they do, their underdog image is betrayed by belligerent goals, cruel methods and values anathema to Western civilization.
Understandably, liberals sympathize with the Palestinians out of “humanitarian” instincts. To them, the Palestinians are an oppressed group fighting bravely for their freedom. These defenders see Israel, the Palestinians’ foe, as having, for 78 years, tried to deny innocent people self-determination and their rightful share of a Middle East homeland.
But this sympathetic portrait of Arab-Palestinians is purely the product of Western projection—an imagined assignment to the Palestinians of motives, goals and values characteristic of a Western mindset. Western liberals are often shocked when they’re exposed to the portrait Palestinians paint of themselves—as Arabs and as Muslims—which embodies characteristics in direct contradiction to peace-loving Western values and aspirations.
Perhaps the most significant reason the Palestinians are still fighting is that Israel and its Western allies continue to offer what we think the Palestinians want—or should want—rather than what they actually do want. Westerners have steadfastly believed that Palestinians want a state and to live in peace with Israel, and that Israel is preventing the Palestinians from achieving this goal.
The problem turns out to be ours. Palestinians tell us what they want and pursue what they want, but we ignore their message. We prefer our enlightened translation. To gain insight into this contradiction, it helps to highlight exactly what the Palestinians tell us—and what they tell themselves—about their goals and values.
To get a handle on this disconnect, let’s compare Westerners’ two greatest myths about Palestinian goals and values with what Palestinians say and do regarding the major issues affecting peace in the Middle East.
Seth Mandel: Agitators and Double Standards
And yet, one can’t help but wonder. Over the weekend, as I wrote yesterday, two Labour Party MPs were refused entry to Israel. They claimed to be on a parliamentary delegation but were not. And they had advocated in the past for boycotting or otherwise sanctioning Israel, which is grounds to be denied entry.Melanie Phillips: Wartime Israel deports two shills for the other side -- British Labour MPs
Starmer threw a fit: “this is no way to treat British parliamentarians.” Foreign Secretary David Lammy compared Israel to China. Another Labour MP accused Israel of acting out of racism.
So the Telegraph asked Starmer’s office if the prime minister was aware of the fact that the UK’s own Foreign Office says the following about travel to Israel: “Foreign nationals can legally be refused entry if they: have publicly called for a boycott of Israel or Israeli settlements, [or] belong to an organisation which has called for a boycott.”
The prime minister was aware of the travel notice. The Telegraph then asked Starmer’s office whether the prime minister believed that such rules apply to everyone, or whether there is a “two-tier” system in which, say, MPs can disregard the rules by which everyone else must live.
Starmer’s spokesman responded: “The Foreign Office advice obviously applies to everyone. But as the Foreign Secretary said yesterday, our position is very clear. We think it is counterproductive for British MPs on a parliamentary delegation to be detained and refused entry.”
So it’s counterproductive for Israel to enforce a single standard? Just trying to keep track.
Starmer and Lammy are making a show of solidarity with their own parliamentarian, but they might want to consider how “productive” it is for their party’s anti-Zionist crackpots to lie, as they reportedly did, to Israeli officials when trying to enter that country, during wartime, as part of a stunt to collect propaganda for Israel’s enemies to use against it. The whole thing was childish and only magnifies the perception that Starmer has no control over his party and that Lammy is in over his head. It would be productive for everyone to grow up.
The two MPs claimed to be a parliamentary delegation. They were not. Their sponsors had never registered them as such with Israel, the country into which they were entering. The Conservative party leader, Kemi Badenoch, has pointed out that the two MPs went against the advice of their own government. For on its website it states plainly that if MPs travel to Israel they could be refused entry if they have called for sanctions and boycotts against it.Israel blocked Labour MPs legally, No 10 admits
Badenoch deserves plaudits for her robust, calm and evidence-based support of Israel’s right to control its border, which she has maintained against hysterical and insulting barracking from the Labour benches. The extent to which people seem to lose their reason on the subject of Israel was further illustrated by the behaviour of Iain Dale, an LBC radio presenter who was interviewing Natasha Hausdorff, the legal director of UK Lawyers for Israel.
Hausdorff attempted to correct a number of misrepresentations about the barred MPs that had been made on Dale’s show. As she pointed out one falsehood after another — no, Israel had not stopped being a democracy; no, the MPs weren’t an official parliamentary delegation; no, this wasn’t about free speech but about peddling smears and falsehoods which meant Israel was entitled to view the presence of these two MPs as not conducive to the public good — Dale became more and more agitated.
It was indeed all about free speech! he declared. The two MPs hadn’t gone there to stir up hatred! Hausdorff’s claims of misrepresentation were disgraceful! She had insulted both him and his previous guest!
When Hausdorff pointed out that Britain had barred parliamentarians such as Geert Wilders, Dale spluttered that there was no comparison because Wilders was a racist. When she pointed out that Israel’s rules prohibit entry for people who have called for a boycott, Dale declared “no normal democracy behaves in this way”. When she speculated that the whole incident might have been a PR stunt to create a diplomatic incident, Dale called this a “disgraceful allegation with no proof at all”. When she said that in previous interviews Dale had never allowed her to correct misrepresentations without telling her she was being rude, Dale cut her off and ended the interview.
Which, considering his ringing support for free speech, was a little ironic.
There’s another alarming issue here. Some people have questioned why these two MPs — one representing Sheffield Central, the other Earley and Woodley in Berkshire — were spending time posturing abroad over an issue of no concern to their constituents. But according to the MPs, their constituents want them to get involved in the Middle East.
That’s almost certainly because of the increasing number of Muslim voters for whom “Palestine” is an issue which not only concerns them but which they think therefore should properly involve their MP, along with mundane issues such as the cost of living or the state of the health service.
A number of British MPs now represent a growing constituency for whom the Islamic world supersedes British domestic interests.
A group of 20 predominantly Labour MPs and peers recently launched a campaign to build an airport in Pakistani-controlled Kashmir. The group included Tahir Ali, MP for Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley — in a city where strikes by garbage collectors have left the streets covered in rat-infested piles of trash.
In Parliament, MPs spent more than an hour and 17 minutes discussing the removal of the two MPs from Israel — nearly double the amount of time spent discussing the possible closure of Scunthorpe steelworks earlier in the day.
It’s not just that so many MPs have lost their minds over Israel. They are beginning to abandon the nation that parliament represents.
Britain. The state of it.
Israel acted legally when it refused entry to two Labour MPs, Downing Street has admitted.Inside the UK Media’s Tantrum Over BDS-Backing Lawmakers Denied Entry by Israel
Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, condemned Benjamin Netanyahu’s government after Yuan Yang and Abtisam Mohamed were turned away from the country and deported on Saturday.
The Israeli immigration ministry justified its decision by claiming Ms Yang and Ms Mohamed, who have both previously backed a boycott of some Israeli goods, were planning to spread “anti-Israel hatred”.
Foreign Office advice on travel to Israel states: “Foreign nationals can legally be refused entry if they: have publicly called for a boycott of Israel or Israeli settlements, [or] belong to an organisation which has called for a boycott.”
Asked whether Sir Keir believed this advice was wrong, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “Well, we’ve said that, and the Foreign Secretary has said that, we think it’s unacceptable and deeply concerning for two British MPs on a parliamentary delegation to be detained and refused entry.”
The spokesman was then asked whether there was a “two-tier” system or whether the advice applied to everyone, including Ms Yang and Ms Mohamed.
He replied: “The Foreign Office advice obviously applies to everyone. But as the Foreign Secretary said yesterday, our position is very clear.
“We think it is counterproductive for British MPs on a parliamentary delegation to be detained and refused entry.
“And he’s made clear to his counterparts in the Israeli government that it’s no way to treat British parliamentarians, and it’s why we’ve been in contact with the MPs to offer our support.”
Border security and a visa policy. There isn’t a single sovereign state in the world that doesn’t have both.Patron of charity behind failed Israel trip shared video by ex Ku Klux Klan leader
The United Kingdom certainly does — a robust one, no less. For Palestinians, a visa is mandatory to enter the UK, whether for tourism, family visits, business, or study — short stay or long.
In addition to a visa, Palestinians must present a valid passport, proof of accommodation (hotel booking or invitation from a local host), evidence of financial means (bank statements, employer letter, etc.), and a return or onward travel ticket. Processing is time-consuming, often expensive, and far from guaranteed.
The irony of this, however, has been lost on British Labour MPs Abtisam Mohamed and Yuan Yang, who apparently believed their parliamentary status placed them above the entry requirements enforced on ordinary visitors when they arrived in Israel last week.
Upon landing at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport and telling border authorities they were on a “parliamentary delegation to visit humanitarian aid projects in the West Bank,” they were found to have misrepresented the nature of their visit, denied entry, and promptly deported — just like anyone else who flouts standard entry procedures.
The two MPs were, in fact, on a trip arranged by Caabu — the Council for Arab-British Understanding — a lobby group that specialises in escorting British parliamentarians on carefully choreographed “fact-finding” tours of the West Bank. According to NGO Monitor, Caabu’s stated aim is to “counter the Israel lobby” in British politics — a mission it advances by promoting inflammatory, evidence-free accusations of “ethnic cleansing” and “apartheid,” under the guise of educational outreach.
In the aftermath of Hamas’s October 7 massacre, Caabu’s director, Chris Doyle, stopped just short of defending the atrocities outright, instead casting them as the inevitable “reaction” to decades of Israeli policy. “Hell in Gaza,” he warned, “will never equal heaven in Israel.” A grimly revealing insight into Caabu’s wider agenda.
For Mohamed, though, this wasn’t a matter of border policy, as she told the House of Commons, but an act of “control and censorship” — part of a broader effort, she claimed, to suppress those trying to “expose” Israel. She went further still, casting her routine deportation as political repression and invoking the familiar antisemitic dog whistle: “No state, however powerful, should be beyond criticism.”
One must assume, then, that Mohamed also views the UK’s visa system — which requires Palestinians to navigate layers of bureaucracy and reserves the right to deny them entry — as an example of a state’s unrestrained power.
A patron of a charity that organised for two Labour MPs to visit the West Bank shared an anti-Semitic video by a former Ku Klux Klan leader.How Friends of Terror in Britain Target Those Who Fight It in Israel
Abtisam Mohamed and Yuan Yang, Labour MPs for Sheffield Central and Earley and Woodley respectively, were turned away at Israel’s border on Saturday because they had travelled to the country to spread “anti-Israel hatred”, the country’s authorities said.
They were part of a parliamentary delegation to the West Bank that had been organised by Medical Aid for Palestinians (Map) and the Council for Arab-British Understanding (Caabu).
It can now be revealed Dr Swee Chai Ang, a founding trustee and honorary patron of Map, shared a video by David Duke, the former KKK grand wizard, titled “CNN Goldman Sachs & the Zio Matrix” in 2014.
The video features an extended rant by Duke in which he claimed “the Zionist matrix of power controls media, politics and banking” and that “some of the Jewish elite practices racism and tribalism to advance their supremacist agenda”.
Sending the video to her contacts via email, Dr Ang wrote: “This is a shocking video, please watch. This is not about Palestine – it is about all of us!”
Approached by The Telegraph at the time, Dr Ang said: “I didn’t know who David Duke was, or that he was connected to the Ku Klux Klan. I am concerned that if there is any truth in the video, that Jews control the media, politics and banking, what on earth is going on? I was worried.”
Last week, the 76-year-old orthopaedic surgeon at Barts Health NHS Trust was barred from addressing a BMA conference after her decision to share the material emerged.
The Labour MPs’ trip to the West Bank was one of many previous cross-party delegations run by Caabu and Map going back more than a decade.
The Guardian and the BBC reported that ten British citizens have been accused of committing war crimes in Gaza. The report in question covers the period from October 2023 to May 2024 and was submitted by three parties: renowned British barrister Michael Mansfield, the Gaza-based Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), and the British-based Public Interest Law Centre (PILC).Seth Mandel: Jewish Leaders Are Right To Publicly Excoriate Andy Kim
Michael Mansfield, nicknamed “Moneybags Mansfield” and dubbed a “Champagne socialist,” built his career on representing underdogs, earning a reputation as a people’s lawyer. That career also brought him substantial financial gain—an income reportedly around £300,000.
This striking contrast between the lawyer’s wealth and his radical left-wing rhetoric can raise some concerns regarding his own moral integrity and consistency. But it all pales once compared to the troubling background of the other co-filer of the report.
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights and Its Ties to Terror
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), based in Gaza, is the second entity behind the complaint. According to extensive documentation by NGO Monitor, PCHR has longstanding ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)—a terror organization designated as such by the EU, US, Canada, and Israel.
The PFLP’s long history includes suicide bombings, shootings, and assassinations. It also played a role in the brutal October 7 attack on Israeli civilians.
Despite all of it, Raji Sourani, an acclaimed human rights defender and the director of PCHR, has never distanced himself from the group. And why would he do it to his dear alma mater? Yes, you read it right. The Palestinian Center for Human Rights’s director was a member of PFLP. In a 2014 statement, years after assuming his leadership role, Sourani said:
“I was in the ranks of the Popular Front, and there were comrades who taught us with their own hands. This organization has given us much more. We hope that the direction and the sense of belonging that were planted inside us will remain in our minds. We don’t apologize and don’t regret our past, we are proud that once we were members of this organization and we fought in its ranks.”
So, it comes as no surprise that PFLP members have attended events hosted by PCHR.
And it comes as even less of a surprise that neither The Guardian nor the BBC mentioned PCHR’s ties to terrorists.
Sourani presents himself as a defender of human rights – the rights that, by definition, are supposed to belong to every human being — yet he has never expressed public sorrow for the victims of October 7, nor condemned the attack as inhumane. But once again, why would he do that if Sourani is proud that he was a member of the very organization whose members were among the terrorists attacking Israelis on October 7? And how can one expect a person like him to genuinely champion universal human rights?
Of all the times Bob Menendez stood up for Israel or the American Jewish community, his vote to confirm David Friedman as Trump’s ambassador to Israel has always stood out to me. Friedman was subject to an absurd smear campaign led by previous U.S. ambassadors to Israel—an unprecedented partisan breach by Democrats. Menendez crossed the aisle, displaying what actual bipartisan support for Israel looks like.NJ governor, senators call for probe over death of 14-year-old from their state killed in Judea, Samaria
He was, alas, corrupt as the day is long, and it finally caught up with him, costing him his Senate seat. He was replaced by Andy Kim, a fellow Democrat who, in his quest to differentiate himself from Menendez, has adopted an ideology of ignorance on foreign affairs.
Word of advice to Sen. Kim: You can be knowledgeable without being corrupt.
Last week, Kim voted for Bernie Sanders’s partial arms embargo against Israel. He made it clear that his intention is to prevent Israel from taking offensive measures against the terrorist entities that attack it. Instead, Kim prefers a sort of Fortress Israel—a Jewish state sustained by defensive systems only. “I have long supported systems like Iron Dome and David’s Sling that protect scores of Israelis from terrorist groups and other common adversaries like Iran and Iranian proxies,” Kim said in a statement. He added that “getting bogged down with prolonged conflict in Gaza will pull resources away from securing Israel from its greatest threat—Iran.”
In other words, Israel should not have the weapons necessary to win the conflict in Gaza quickly; therefore, Kim believes, it must leave Gaza and hunker down in case Iranian missiles come flying.
Earlier in his career, Kim had worked as an adviser both for Gen. David Petraeus in Afghanistan and for President Obama’s national-security team in the White House. It is clear that, sadly for American and for the world, Kim learned the most from the latter position.
Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) called on Tuesday for an investigation into the death of a New Jersey teenager, whom Israel Defense Forces soldiers killed in Judea and Samaria.5 critical reasons why the next antisemitism envoy must think bigger
The New Jersey senator told JNS that ongoing violence in the area is a threat to peace in the region and that U.S. President Donald Trump needs to insist on getting a complete picture of the incident that led to the death of Amer Mohammad Saada Rabee, 14, who grew up in Saddle River, N.J.
Rabee reportedly was throwing rocks when he was shot and killed.
“Donald Trump should be asking for accountability and for a real investigation into what happened,” Booker told JNS at the U.S. Capitol. “When children are dying like this, it is horrifically tragic. It should cause anguish amongst everyone to see children dying.”
“It’s a violation of Jewish values, a violation of Muslim values, a violation of Christian values,” the senator said. “There needs to be an investigation of what was going on and how it happened.”
The state’s junior senator, Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.), stated that Rabee’s death is “a tragedy and a reminder of the urgency and importance of doing everything we can to lower hostilities and find a path to a sustainable peace between Israelis and Palestinians.”
Antisemitism is rising at alarming levels – both worldwide and right here at home. That makes the selection of the next special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism one of the most consequential decisions left for President Donald Trump’s administration. As Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks warned, "Antisemitism is the world’s most reliable early warning sign of a major threat to freedom… It matters to all of us."Senate committee postpones vote on Antisemitism Awareness Act
It is imperative, then, that the next special envoy takes a broader, more assertive approach than any of their predecessors.
The role of the special envoy, as outlined by the U.S. Department of State and enshrined in legislation, has been largely focused on foreign policy – documenting and addressing antisemitism abroad, shaping U.S. responses, and strategizing ways to curb this ancient hatred on the global stage.
Pro-Palestinian protesters at Harvard University
Every time conflict erupts in the Middle East, antisemitic incidents in the U.S. surge by 400%. (Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images)
In the past, some who have held this office have essentially ignored antisemitism at home, citing these duties as if they imposed jurisdictional constraints. The reality, however, is that global and domestic antisemitism are inextricably linked – and the next special envoy must understand and address that from day one.
Here are five critical reasons why the new envoy must wield their authority to fight antisemitism without artificial borders:
1. Geopolitical Tensions Drive Antisemitism Everywhere
Every time conflict erupts in the Middle East, antisemitic incidents in the U.S. surge by 400%. It is an undeniable pattern. The special envoy must be ready to push back immediately and forcefully against targeted campaigns of misinformation, scapegoating and conspiracy theories – often led by foreign state actors, that turn Jewish communities and institutions into targets. And whenever anti-Zionism is used as a thinly veiled disguise for outright Jew-hatred, including at the United Nations or the International Criminal Court, the envoy must call it out for what it really is.
2. International Institutions Give Cover to Antisemitism
International organizations that have long histories of institutional bias against Jews, including, for example, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, often use their massive platforms to give credence and cover to antisemites both foreign and domestic. Time and again, they distort laws, manipulate norms, and promote falsehoods that fuel anti-Jewish blood libels. The special envoy must not remain silent – they must correct the record every single time, with citations.
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee postponed a Wednesday meeting in which the committee was expected to vote on the Antisemitism Awareness Act and another piece of antisemitism legislation.Lipstadt says Trump admin ‘weaponized’ antisemitism in higher ed policy
A notice about the delay issued by the committee did not include a new date for the vote, and cited lawmaker attendance issues as the reason for delaying the meeting.
HELP Committee Chairman Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) have pledged to move the legislation forward this Congress. The bill is a priority for the Jewish community that was not brought up in the Senate in the previous term.
“Chairman Cassidy is committed to moving the Antisemitism Awareness Act through the Committee process,” a committee spokesperson said.
The panel was also set to vote on Cassidy’s Protecting Students on Campus Act at Wednesday’s meeting.
Some Republicans on the HELP Committee are potential opponents of the Antisemitism Awareness Act, though at least a few committee Democrats are co-sponsors of the bill and would be likely to support it.
Two weeks after Donald Trump was elected president for a second time in November, Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt — then the U.S. special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism — said she believed the Trump administration would take antisemitism seriously.
Now, in her first public comments about Trump’s recent actions to address the rise of antisemitism on college campuses, Lipstadt is raising concerns about the way the president is tackling the issue.
“I think it’s been weaponized,” she told Jewish Insider in an interview on Monday. “I think they [the administration] take it seriously. But I think the approach has not been as productive as it should be.”
For the three years Lipstadt served in the Biden administration, she was unable to speak about domestic matters from her diplomatic perch at the State Department, particularly after domestic politics threatened to sink her nomination. She had to work to win over Republican senators who were concerned with her partisan tweets.
Since leaving government in January, Lipstadt has made clear her outrage at the way elite universities struggled to rein in antisemitism after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks. She wrote in The Free Press in March that the very institution of higher education “could well collapse” if administrators don’t seriously address antisemitism and the illiberal environment on their campuses.
But Lipstadt, a renowned Holocaust historian, isn’t ready to burn it all down, and she worries about the consequences of Trump’s threats to pull billions of dollars from American universities. “I’m not willing to say, ‘Oh, well, forget it. Columbia should close down,’ or whatever it might be: research on AIDS, research on pneumonia, research on cancer, research on so many different things,” said Lipstadt, who plans to return to her longtime academic home of Emory University as a distinguished professor this summer.
Lipstadt described herself as being “a schizophrenic person in the middle” in her assessment of Trump’s approach to antisemitism at American colleges and universities. She called the recent actions taken by Columbia University in response to demands from the White House “important steps,” ideas that Jewish students had first raised to indifferent administrators a year ago — with little progress until Trump stepped in to pressure Columbia.
After her disgraceful job "combating" anti-Semitism in the worst year for American anti-Semitism since the 1930s, I think Lipstadt should take a seat and seal her lips. https://t.co/SEiMjp4COp
— John Podhoretz (@jpodhoretz) April 9, 2025
Obama's call for academic freedom must include Jewish and Israeli voices
Former US president Barack Obama called on American universities to “stand up” against perceived threats to academic freedom posed by the Trump administration during a speech at Hamilton College last Thursday.IDF, Defense Ministry to recognize civilian heroes of Oct. 7
In his speech, he urged universities to ask themselves, “Are we, in fact, doing things right? Have we violated our own values, our own code? Have we violated the law in any way?”
He added, “We believe in freedom of speech, but do we stand up for it when someone says things that infuriate us, that are wrong or hurtful? Do we still believe in it?”
The former leader of the free world was not wrong. Academic limitations can only harm, and both sides of the coin are negative.
But while Obama seemed to be referencing the limitations pressed upon universities due to concerns over increased antisemitism and pro-Hamas sentiments on campus, his point reflects in the exact opposite direction.
He seemed to be suggesting that the students’ freedom of speech was being impeded upon, saying, “The idea of canceling a speaker who comes to your campus, trying to shout them down and not letting them speak, even if I find their ideas obnoxious, well, not only is that not what universities should be about; that’s not what America should be about.
“You let them speak, and then you tell them why they’re wrong. That’s how you win the argument.”
The problem here is that this happens practically every day when a speaker is Jewish, Israeli, or has simply expressed Zionist sentiments in the past.
The Israel Defense Forces and Israeli Defense Ministry, working alongside the National Insurance Institute, announced plans on Wednesday to formally acknowledge civilians’ courage during the Hamas invasion of Oct. 7, 2025.Nova festival massacre documentary airs on Amazon Prime
According to the announcement, the recognition will extend to individuals who actively defended others during the assault, civilians who were held hostage and killed in Gaza, and members of the security forces who were off duty but lost their lives in related terror incidents during the conflict.
As part of the tribute, military personnel will be present at the funerals of these individuals, and their gravestones will be allowed to feature a special plaque with the national symbol, acknowledging their exceptional status.
Yes Studios has announced that #NOVA, the powerful, moving documentary that captures the Hamas terrorist attacks at the October 7, 2023 Supernova music festival (also called the Nova Festival) is now available on Amazon’s Prime Video streaming service around the world.Red Cross HQ lit up in call for action for Gaza hostages
Hamas terrorists executed more than 350 partygoers and festival staff and kidnapped 44. Of those who were kidnapped, 14 have returned alive and 17 were murdered; the rest are still held captive in Gaza.
#NOVA, directed by Dan Pe’er, is composed of video and audio clips from the Nova festival, taken by victims, survivors, and the terrorists, and completed just months after the horrific events took place. The real-time footage chronicles the tragic events of that day as they unfolded in nerve-wracking detail. #NOVA was produced by Kastina Communications for Yes Docu; yes Studios is the documentary’s international distributor.
One of the terrified festivalgoers, heard in a frantic call to her father in the documentary, turned out to be Yuval Raphael, who became Israel’s representative to the Eurovision Song Contest this year. She will perform a song that references the massacre in the competition.
“#NOVA is one of our most talked-about and controversial films, and always attracted a huge amount of interest when we held exclusive screenings at selected international venues,” said Sharon Levi, managing director of yes Studios. “We are, therefore, honored that this extraordinary documentary has just arrived on Prime Video, making it readily available to meet the significant ongoing global demand that we know still exists.
Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) lit up the UK headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in yellow this week, calling on the humanitarian body to take stronger action for the 59 hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza.
The move, which comes just days before Passover, was accompanied by the message “Let my people go!” – a reference to the biblical Exodus and a call for liberation.
“As the Jewish community prepares to celebrate Passover, a festival commemorating Jewish liberation, our thoughts are still with the 59 hostages being held hostage in the captivity of antisemitic genocidal Hamas terrorists,” said a CAA spokesperson.
The charity criticised what it called “lacklustre and vapid” international efforts to secure the hostages’ release, singling out the ICRC for its perceived inaction.
“Many in the Jewish world no longer regard the ICRC as much more than a glorified taxi service,” the spokesperson said. “Sitting aside for months as hostages languish in abominable conditions and then patiently waiting as psychopathic terrorists parade their traumatised captives onstage in grotesque ceremonies before carting them away as though nothing had happened.”
The ICRC has stated that “for the hostages in Gaza, the Red Cross is neutral” but denies being a bystander. CAA rejected that claim: “Tell that to the Jewish people waiting for their brethren to return. ICRC, we say to you: Let my people go!”
We lit up the UK headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross (@ICRC) yellow for the hostages held by Hamas, and said: “Let my people go!”
— Campaign Against Antisemitism (@antisemitism) April 9, 2025
As the Jewish community prepares to celebrate Passover, a festival commemorating Jewish liberation, our thoughts are still… pic.twitter.com/cX4oollwdg
'I'm scared of what we've become,' former hostage Liri Albag says
Former hostage Liri Albag, an IDF observer who was taken captive during the October 7 massacre and later released from captivity during the latest ceasefire in January, stated that she is "scared of what we've become" in a post on her personal Instagram on Wednesday evening.‘We owe our lives to you’: Former Gaza hostages implore Trump to help free the rest
"I read the comments, I read the threats I've received, and I'm not scared," Albag began, commenting that she is "not scared of the comments themselves" or even to "meet one of the people who wrote such things to me," but she clarified that she is scared of someone who could wish for "someone to remain in captivity."
She added that she "wouldn't wish that on her enemies," and that comments making fun of her weight reminded her of "those terrorists who mocked me; who made sure every day to remind me that I am fat."
"Death and revenge" should be wished on "Hamas and our enemies, not on me," Albag added.
She explains that the comments came after she stated in an interview that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is responsible for the failures of October 7.
However, she added in the post that "the entire security establishment, Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), IDF leadership, and Military Intelligence are all guilty, and that she has also stated this in the past.
Hamas is the enemy!
First and foremost, she commented, "Hamas is responsible for the nightmare of the state, I will never forget these terrorists for a moment, and I want to personally have my revenge against them. Hamas is the enemy!"
But, she continued, "I didn't think I would get such a response from the people of Israel. And the hardest part? This division is worse than our enemies. This is not how you win!"
"You have no idea how much I appreciate the IDF soldiers and security forces, how much I appreciate those who were wounded physically and mentally, how much it hurts me for every soldier or civilian who fell in the war for our country and to rescue the hostages," she continued.
"I know many fallen, they are my friends!" she added.
US President Donald Trump honored freed captives Iair Horn, Keith Siegel and Aviva Siegel during an event in Washington Tuesday, inviting them onstage, where the captives thanked the president for his efforts to bring them home.
“Hamas is just a disaster, their level of hatred,” Trump told the National Republican Congressional Committee, calling the three former hostages “brave souls.”
“These people [the ex-captives] — what they had to go through… is just horrible,” he added, mentioning a group of hostages released from Hamas captivity whom he recently hosted in the Oval Office.
After greeting the trio, Trump gestured them to the podium, leading the crowd in a round of applause as they reached the stage.
“President Trump, you saved my life. You saved the lives of 33 hostages,” Israeli-American Keith Siegel told the president, referring to those freed during the first stage of the ceasefire and hostage release deal that lapsed last month. “You set the hostage crisis at the highest priority. You got 33 of us home alive. We all owe our lives to you.”
He urged Trump to “please continue your tremendous efforts and tremendous actions and tremendous accomplishments. We’ll get, with your help, all of the remaining 59 hostages still in Gaza back home.”
His wife, Aviva Siegel, who was released during a ceasefire in November 2023, thanked Trump for “bringing my Keith home,” saying that while all of their family was delighted by his return, “I am the most happiest.”
“We need you to bring all the hostages home. There are 24 that are alive and 59 to come home to their families, just like I received Keith,” she said, noting that Horn’s brother Eitan is still a hostage in Gaza.
Iair Horn spoke last, saying, “I’ve been in hell for 498 days. I’ve been held in hell with Hamas terrorists.”
“We didn’t see the light but… when we heard President Trump get elected, we knew, we knew, that there’s now someone who makes things happen,” he said.
WATCH: During his speech;Trump stopped to bring three former hostages on stage.
— Awesome Jew (@Awesome_Jew_) April 9, 2025
Freed American hostage Keith Seigel said: “I am here and I am alive. President Trump, you saved my life. You saved the life of 33 hostages because of your efforts.”pic.twitter.com/ZqHeyw71pu
US Will Deny Visas, Green Cards Over Anti-Semitic Social Media Activity, Trump Admin Says
The Trump administration announced Wednesday that it will start using "antisemitic activity on social media and the physical harassment of Jewish individuals" as grounds to deny green cards, student visas, and other immigration benefits.
Effective immediately, the Department of Homeland Security "will consider social media content that indicates an alien endorsing, espousing, promoting, or supporting antisemitic terrorism, antisemitic terrorist organizations, or other antisemitic activity as a negative factor … when adjudicating immigration benefit requests," the agency wrote in a press release.
The announcement comes as the Trump administration ramps up its crackdown on anti-Semitism on college campuses and beyond. President Donald Trump signed an executive order in late January to "combat anti-Semitism" nationwide and has vowed to revoke federal funding from any school that fails to protect Jewish students and rein in anti-Semitic protests.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in late March that the administration has canceled the student visas of more than 300 foreign nationals, including Cornell University graduate student Momodou Taal, a Gambian and British dual national who led pro-Hamas demonstrations at Cornell and repeatedly advocated for the destruction of the United States and for terrorism against Israel.
According to Wednesday's press release, the Department of Homeland Security will target "those who support antisemitic terrorism, violent antisemitic ideologies and antisemitic terrorist organizations such as Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah," or the Houthis.
"There is no room in the United States for the rest of the world's terrorist sympathizers, and we are under no obligation to admit them or let them stay here," said Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin.
Link to press release from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services: https://t.co/w3UvcTzJx9
— Ben B@dejo (@BenTelAviv) April 9, 2025
Trump admin reportedly freezes $1b to Cornell, $790m to Northwestern citing civil rights
After auditing $9 billion in federal grants and contracts to Harvard University, cutting $500 million from Brown University, $400 million from Columbia University and $210 million to Princeton University over alleged mishandling of Jew-hatred on campus, the Trump administration has reportedly frozen $1 billion in federal funding at Cornell University and $790 million at Northwestern University, multiple publications reported.Northwestern SJP Chapter, Quoting PFLP Terrorists, Urges Members to 'Build an Intifada' and 'Destroy Amerika'
The White House cited civil rights violations at the New York and Illinois private schools, reportedly. The Trump administration has not commented on the reports. Cornell told Fox News that it learned about the freeze from news reports but hadn’t heard from the administration.
The New York Times reported that two Trump administration officials confirmed that the funding was frozen from Cornell and Northwestern and that the paused monies relate to funding from the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Defense, Education and Health and Human Services.
The American Jewish Committee stated on Tuesday that universities must take action to prevent Jew-hatred on campus, but “the broad, sweeping and devastating cuts in federal funding that a growing number of American research universities have been subjected to in recent weeks, under the auspices of combating antisemitism, will damage America’s standing as a center of innovation and research excellence.”
“Funding cuts or freezes are essential tools of last resort when addressing discrimination in federally funded programs,” the AJC stated.
“All efforts to remedy problems in educational institutions—including those to rectify antisemitism—must be plainly understood, publicly transparent and specifically targeted to address the problem, and must not curtail the autonomy and academic freedom of higher education institutions that allow them to pursue their essential work,” it added.
Northwestern University's Students for Justice in Palestine chapter held an anarchist training session for its members at which it cited propaganda from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terror group urging U.S. students to "build an Intifada" and "destroy amerika."Georgetown Student Association holding BDS vote over Passover
Northwestern's Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter featured two radical pamphlets as part of its materials for the Thursday training, titled "Organizing Safety 101." One of those, an anarchist pamphlet, quoted a PFLP leader and called on students to "build an Intifada" so they could "destroy amerika." The other, crafted by the SJP chapter, featured a PFLP cartoon on the cover and encouraged students to "channel [their] anger" so they could "aid in the fight" against Israel.
The event coincides with the Trump administration’s intensifying efforts to address anti-Semitism on college campuses across the nation, slashing more than $430 million in federal funds at Columbia University and threatening to cut another $9 billion in grants and contracts at Harvard University. And on Tuesday, the Trump administration froze $790 million at Northwestern amid a civil rights investigation, the New York Times reported.
Still, a Northwestern graduate student told the Washington Free Beacon he doubts the university will take action to address the anti-Semitic training. He said seeing the SJP pamphlet, which was passed out on campus and obtained by the Free Beacon, made his "stomach drop."
"Seeing the [SJP] pamphlet made my stomach drop. If you put that next to Nazi or Communist propaganda from back in the day, you would not be able to tell the difference. This is how they signal their true intentions- getting rid of Jews everywhere," he said. "It’s terrifying that they are planning out how to subvert the university’s rules and get away with it. Unfortunately, it’s likely that they will because Northwestern has an extensive track record of refusing to enforce their own rules."
Northwestern did not respond to a request for comment.
The anarchist pamphlet included in the SJP chapter’s training, titled "The Battle of Hind’s Hall, From Our Side Of The Barricades," was produced by Unity of Fields, a self-described "militant front against the US-NATO-zionist axis of imperialism." The anarchist group has played a significant role in fomenting unrest at Columbia University, most prominently when radicals stormed Hamilton Hall and symbolically renamed it "Hind’s Hall" last spring.
The pamphlet opens with a quote from Ghassan Kanafani, a PFLP leader, and suggests that in order "to destroy amerika," students on college campuses nationwide must violently escalate.
Georgetown University Student Association bypassed its standard protocols to bring forth a referendum on university divestment from companies and academic institutions with ties to Israel — deciding to hold the vote over the Passover holiday.
Sixteen of the 28 members of the GUSA voted in favor of a resolution to put the divestment question before the undergraduate student body April 14-16. The initial vote, held earlier this week, was done in secret and without the approval of the senate’s Policy and Advocacy Committee — breaking from typical procedure, the university’s student newspaper, The Hoya, reported. The referendum will require at least 25% turnout and a simple majority of voters in favor to pass.
“Any student referendum provides a sense of the student body’s views on an issue,” a university spokesperson told Jewish Insider. “Student referendums do not create university policy and are not binding on the university.”
Still, Jewish leaders on campus told JI that the vote is creating a “troubling” campus climate and expressed concern about the unusual way in which it unfolded.
“The students are deeply disappointed by the rushed and irregular nature of this process, which bypassed the regular protocols of GUSA,” said Rabbi Menachem Shemtov, who leads Georgetown Chabad. “Additionally, scheduling the vote on a Jewish holiday is not only insensitive from the start, but sets a troubling tone that only descends from there. Many Jewish students are out of town and observing the holiday at the time of the vote, effectively excluding them from the process.”
Ayelet Kaplan, a freshman representative for the Jewish Student Association, called on “all of my Georgetown peers to speak out and against this referendum.”
“It’s one thing to disagree, even vehemently, on geopolitical issues,” Kaplan said. “It’s another thing to subvert your own procedures, as GUSA did, to bring forth a vote that not only has no effect on how the university invests its money but also reveals an underlying bias against the only liberal democracy in the Middle East.”
Georgetown holds investments in companies including Google’s holding company Alphabet and Amazon, both of which have provided technology to the Israel Defense Forces.
VICTORY: Last night, the Educational Policy and Governance Committee and the Faculty Advisory Council at @Macalester College voted against ending study-away programs at Israeli universities.#BDSisBS pic.twitter.com/EsKkpzP4Nv
— Israel War Room (@IsraelWarRoom) April 9, 2025
Tennessee passes bill prohibiting antisemitic bias in state schools
The Tennessee General Assembly passed a bill in the state House and Senate on Monday addressing and prohibiting antisemitic discrimination in the state’s public schools, colleges and universities, the Combat Antisemitism Movement announced.
The CAM-supported bill—sponsored by Rusty Grills, a Republican state representative, and Paul Rose, a Republican state senator—passed by 79-11 and 29-1 margins in the state House and Senate, respectively. It now heads to Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee for further action.
The legislation would “send a powerful message that Tennessee is taking proactive steps to protect its Jewish community,” said David Soffer, CAM director of state engagement, at a recent legislative hearing at the state capitol in Nashville.
“It will also demonstrate to the rest of the nation that Tennessee is committed to combating hatred in all its forms and ensuring the safety and dignity of all students, faculty members and staff members,” he said.
The legislation, which defines antisemitism using the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition, “requires the integration of the definition into student, faculty, and employee codes of conduct or anti-discrimination policies,” according to CAM. It also allows the Tennessee Department of Education to use the IHRA definition to determine discrimination in Title VI cases.
Link: https://t.co/aaIVPoAruv
— Ben B@dejo (@BenTelAviv) April 9, 2025
EXPOSED! 6th grade teacher Hala Karim "It's not terrorism if Arabs do it!" pic.twitter.com/1uhD6BBsrS
— Canary Mission (@canarymission) April 9, 2025
— Canary Mission (@canarymission) April 9, 2025
Wasim Muhammad’s antisemitism has no place at @WellsFargo - and we hope they agree.
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) April 9, 2025
Concerned? kristy.fercho@wellsfargo.com
Muhammad's posts are archived here:
- https://t.co/rhSGfEumNo
- https://t.co/9LCfKgvKYc
- https://t.co/zwZwPDmkWK pic.twitter.com/bRc7HILZA9
BBC Arabic guests spread anti-Israel conspiracies and Holocaust comparisons
Two contributors who appeared on BBC Arabic had previously spread conspiracy theories about Israel in recent media appearances.
Egyptian diplomats Mostafa Elfeki and Mohamed Higazy, who were both interviewed on BBC Arabic’s Egypt MeanTime in February, had repeatedly spread falsehoods that vilified Israel and compared the Jewish state’s actions to the Holocaust during appearances on other channels, according to materials shown to the JC by the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis (Camera), a Boston-based NGO.
While the two men did not make these comments on the BBC, the decision to invite them on after making such comments elsewhere raises questions about the BBC’s judgment and apparent willingness to provide a platform to individuals who spread antisemitic hate speech and misinformation, following concerns raised by the Jewish community about its reporting on the Middle East, particularly on its Arabic-language service.
A spokesperson for the BBC said: “BBC News Arabic is committed to hearing from a range of contributors with a variety of views and perspectives from across Egypt and the wider Middle East. Throughout our coverage, our journalists routinely question and challenge the views of contributors on air and will continue to do so.”
Someone recorded a UK imam at an Islamic conference in Norway revealing what they claim is the truth about Islam. According to the recording, Islam is not merely a religion but a political system, complete with its own military force the Muslims and a fighting doctrine known as… pic.twitter.com/DarVGUaNc0
— Jason (@jason1Patterson) April 8, 2025
Khan Younis, Gaza Strip Islamic Scholar Sheikh Bilal Al-Ghalban on Al-Jazeera TV: Allah Gathered the Jews in to a “Mass Grave” in Palestine Unbeknownst to Them pic.twitter.com/5NkHZi7ijI
— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) April 9, 2025
I mean really parched. pic.twitter.com/qktrxe0iv0
— Eitan Fischberger (@EFischberger) April 9, 2025
Khalifa Halabi comments on Telegram about the video I shared below:
— Imshin (@imshin) April 9, 2025
"How is it possible that Hamas still enjoys such widespread support?
As we have written before and shown here, Hamas has been working for decades to engineer the minds of Gazans.
Since the military coup in… https://t.co/hpy6yZR2Td
Gaza journalist Motas Aziza admits viral video of hungry girl was staged. The scene, which became a symbol of Gaza suffering, was exposed as fake after careful analysis.
— BrightMind-Community (@BrightmindC) April 9, 2025
Following the debunking, the original creator removed the video from their account.
Via @GAZAWOOD1 pic.twitter.com/GyFlOVfgnq
Bro's back!
— GAZAWOOD - the PALLYWOOD saga (@GAZAWOOD1) April 8, 2025
Earlier he shifted weight from leg to leg—now one’s suddenly gone.
The stance and shape match a known trick shown in the video here.
Since his past injuries kept changing spots and weren’t consistent, we assumed this one isn’t real either.
(Thanks @CherylWroteIt!) pic.twitter.com/8gcDnzDPQe
Thailandy Restaurant in Gaza City.
— Imshin (@imshin) April 9, 2025
Instagram stories timestamp: 2 hours ago to 12 minutes ago#TheGazaYouDontSee
Link in 1st comment https://t.co/70pykDZWFU pic.twitter.com/9jfngQ8XYO
New dessert at Thailandy Restaurant in Gaza.
— Imshin (@imshin) April 9, 2025
Instagram timestamp: 23 hours ago#TheGazaYouDontSee
Link in 1st comment pic.twitter.com/GnU17YQQBZ
Another Sign That Syria’s al-Sharaa is Not the Moderate He Claims to Be
Now there is another worrisome sign that Ahmed al-Sharaa may not be the moderate he claims to be. For he has appointed a most immoderate Sunni cleric to be the Grand Mufti of Syria. More on this appointment can be found here: “Ahmed al-Sharaa’s Pick for Syria’s Mufti Shows He Is No Moderate,” by Kamal Chomani, Middle East Forum, April 3, 2025:Defaced Holocaust artwork finds new home in Rome museum
Self-appointed Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s recent appointment of Sheikh Osama Al-Rifa’i to be Syria’s Grand Mufti and al-Sharaa’s announcement of the transitional Syrian government signals the new regime will continue to disregard Syria’s ethnic and religious diversity. Al-Rifa’i previously was head of the Syrian Islamic Council in Istanbul, which largely carried water for Turkey.
Al-Rifa’i’s appointment especially concerns minorities given his 2018 anti-Kurdish fatwa that greenlighted the Turkish invasion of Kurdish territories, and the Turkish forces’ subsequent ethnic cleansing and cultural eradication.
Al-Rifa’i’s fatwa began with a condemnation of the Syrian Democratic Forces, the largely Kurdish militia that allied with the United States against the Islamic State, for working with Americans and said, “Fighting the Syrian Democratic Forces is jihad in the way of God.” In its seventh point, the fatwa legitimized cooperation with Turkey’s military operations. “We do not see a legitimate obstacle to cooperating with the Turkish government in fighting criminals,” it explained….
The “criminals” Turkey claims to be fighting in Syria are the Kurds in the Syrian Democratic Forces who are fighting only to keep their autonomy in northeast Syria, while the Turkish army is trying to suppress them. Osama al-Rifa’i is in the pocket of Erdogan, who was no doubt delighted when al-Sharaa appointed him to be the Grand Mufti of Syria.
A Holocaust artwork vandalized in an antisemitic attack in Italy went on display Tuesday at the Museum of the Shoah in Rome.Rabbi who found ‘Free Palestine’ graffiti on matzah box says he will order more than ever this year
The mural, “The Star of David” Edith Bruck, depicts the Hungarian-born writer and Holocaust survivor Edith Bruck in the striped uniform of deportees in Nazi concentration camps while proudly holding the flag of Israel. It will become part of the museum’s permanent collection, alongside another piece by the same artist, aptly named “Anti-Semitism, History Repeating.”
“The mural must live because it was vandalized, and so it will live, and everything related to memory and what I have personally experienced must live,” the 93-year-old Bruck said at the Tuesday inauguration event.
The mural, designed by the contemporary Italian artist aleXsandro Palombo, was vandalized in January around International Holocaust Remembrance Day while on display in Milan.
“Today, we are here to reiterate that memory cannot be erased, neither by paint nor by the hatred of those who attempt to rewrite history,” said museum president Mario Venezia. “We will continue to defend it, to honor the survivors and for all new generations who believe in the value of knowledge and respect.”
A London Chabad rabbi who received a box of matzah with anti-Israel graffiti on it says he is going to order more than ever this year in defiance of the message.Argentine politician indicted for antisemitism after 'Zionist Nazi' comments
On Sunday, Rabbi Ephraim Carlebach of the Chabad of Greenwich & Docklands was clearing up for Pesach when he discovered the words “Free Palestine” and “Gaza” scrawled on the packaging of the matzah boxes.
The package was part of a distribution campaign led by the European Jewish Association in partnership with the Rabbinical Center of Europe (RCE) and the Bassad organisation, through which 120,000 packages of matzah are sent to more than 600 Jewish communities across Europe.
The Chabad of Greenwich & Docklands has been receiving such packages for the last five years and, until this year, had never run into any issues. The operation requires a “tremendous” number of volunteers to distribute matzah boxes all over Greenwich, Docklands and Canary Wharf, with about 250 families benefitting, the rabbi said.
Vanina Biasi, an Argentine national deputy from the Workers’ Party, was prosecuted for antisemitism and violating Anti-Discrimination Law 23.592, according to a ruling by Argentine Federal Judge Daniel Rafecas.EJA calls for Swedish MP to apologize or be expelled for sharing antisemitic image
Monday’s prosecution follows a series of social media posts made by Biasi between November 2023 and January 2024 in which she used terms such as “Zionist Nazis” and accused Israel of genocide.
A lien has been placed on Biasi’s assets for 10 million pesos. If Biasi is found guilty of inciting hatred or promoting discriminatory propaganda under Law 23.592, she could face a prison sentence ranging from one month to three years.
Biasi’s posts included references to the “Zionist state” as “Nazi” due to its practices and ideology, likening Zionism to genocide and apartheid, and accusing the “Zionist narrative” of manipulating facts to justify its actions.
She also made statements such as, “I understand that a propagandist of a terrorist, genocidal, and child-killing state would be upset to read this, but their bullying will not silence me.”
The head of advocacy at the European Jewish Association on Tuesday called on the leader of the Swedish Left, Nooshi Dadgostar, to compel party MP Lorena Delgado Varas to apologize for sharing antisemitic imagery online.
In a repost on X since deleted, Delgado Varas shared an image of a dark, shadowy hand marked with an Israeli flag controlling a pair of hands marked with an American flag, which in turn controlled toy soldiers marked with the flags of Ukraine, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Canada.
The caption underneath the image read: “The Zionist Jews control the world,” followed by a diatribe about intimidation.
In her post, Delgado Varas wrote: “I think we should reverse the hands? Israhell is nothing but a colonial tool for the U.S. and its interests in the Middle East.”
The image echoes the worst Nazi propaganda, which frequently employed illustrations of a Jewish hand, or tentacles, controlling the world.
A left wing Swedish MP called Lorena Delgado Veras retweets this Nazi-like mage which comes with the words ‘the Zionist Jews control the world’. pic.twitter.com/0FKQuAqUMg
— Nicole Lampert (@nicolelampert) April 8, 2025
Police: Man points gun, uses antisemitic slur during altercation outside Paramus ShopRite
A Maywood man was arrested on multiple charges Friday after police say he used an antisemitic slur and pointed a handgun at a man outside a Paramus supermarket.
On Friday at approximately 12:32 p.m., police responded to a 911 call in the parking lot of the Route 4 ShopRite. The caller told officers that during an altercation, a man identified as Joseph Koppinger, 35, of Maywood, "used an antisemitic slur and pointed a firearm at him before fleeing the scene in a white Ford Mustang."
According to police, the victim says the dispute began when Koppinger opened his car door, hitting the victim's parked vehicle. A verbal altercation took place before Koppinger headed into the ShopRite, returning a short time later.
"When he returned, he again struck the victim’s car door with his own door and shouted a slur," Police Chief Robert Guidetti said in a statement. "He then drove a short distance, stopped in front of the victim’s car, and pointed a handgun directly at the victim before leaving the area."
After we revealed that Abu Wadei was part of a Hamas-endorsed unit responsible for violence on the Gaza-Israel border and used antisemitic rhetoric at foreign rallies and online, he has been arrested by British authorities on immigration charges.
— Campaign Against Antisemitism (@antisemitism) April 9, 2025
Our solicitors have now written… https://t.co/0WIHi0mhmk pic.twitter.com/HdM301YtWL
Kazakh textbooks praised for respecting Judaism, criticised for mixed messages on Israel
Kazakhstan’s education curriculum teaches respect for Judaism and highlights Jewish contributions to the world but gives inconsistent accounts of the Arab-Israeli conflict, a new report reveals.Writer reissues 1931 novel ‘Rabbi Burns’ in response to Hollywood Jewish exhibit row
The study, released today by IMPACT-se, an international institute monitoring education, assessed over 100 textbooks published in Kazakhstan between 2015 and 2023. The analysis was conducted in partnership with the Ruderman Family Foundation.
Researchers found Judaism was presented respectfully, highlighting Jewish beliefs, traditions and historical significance, as well as Jewish contributions to global culture and science. The textbooks also address antisemitism, largely in relation to the Nazi genocide during World War II. However, notably absent from textbooks are terms like “Holocaust”, “concentration camps”, and “ghettos”, suggesting gaps in Holocaust education.
When addressing Israel and the Arab-Israeli conflict, textbooks showed significant variation. Some provided balanced coverage of events such as the 1947 UN Partition Plan and subsequent peace negotiations. Others portrayed Israel negatively, describing its policies as aggressive and destabilising.
Jay Ruderman, President of the Ruderman Family Foundation, welcomed the positive portrayal of Judaism, stating, “Kazakhstan stands at an important crossroads between East and West. It is therefore very encouraging to see that the country’s curriculum places great importance on cultural inclusivity and peace.”
When the Academy Museum in Los Angeles was accused of antisemitism over its exhibit on Hollywood’s Jewish founders, one Jewish film historian and author in Los Angeles looked to respond using a different medium: the written word.
Sam Wasson, best known for bestselling books on film history and figures such as Francis Ford Coppolla, is selling a reissue of “Rabbi Burns,” a 1931 satire by Aben Kandel. Wasson is publishing the novel through his boutique Felix Farmer Press.
“Rabbi Burns” follows a Los Angeles rabbi who endeavors to build a “million-dollar temple” (equivalent to more than $20 million in 2025) — and who considers entering the movie business. The book is a satire of the real-life story of Edgar Magnin, the longtime senior rabbi of Wilshire Boulevard Temple, a congregation whose history dates back to the 19th century and which dedicated a new building in 1929.
Magnin led the congregation for more than 60 years, and its walls are adorned with art gifted from many key Hollywood players thanks to Magnin’s close relationships in the film industry, according to the Academy Museum’s website. Today, the synagogue is the oldest in Los Angeles.
“It’s frank and funny and fearless about Jewishness,” said Wasson to The Hollywood Reporter about the book. “Always proud and critical. One of the Jewish muscles is criticism and interpretation. That’s what the moguls had: the ability to interpret their audience.”
The reissue was inspired by outcry from Hollywood’s Jewish community last year, when hundreds of Jewish figures in the film industry said a long-awaited exhibit about Jews in Hollywood at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures was antisemitic.
The exhibit was created after a protest from the Jewish community over two years earlier, when the museum debuted without a permanent exhibit dedicated to Hollywood’s Jewish founders.
“It feels important to share this book with this community right now,” Felix Farmer Press co-founder Brandon Millan told The Hollywood Reporter.
After his 12th win in a row, Israeli MMA fighter Ilay Barzilay wears a shirt in honor of Yarden Bibas and calls for Trump to help release the remaining 59 hostages.
— The Persian Jewess (@persianjewess) April 8, 2025
His shirt reads: “Yarden Bibas, be strong, the people of Israel and I are with you.” 🫶 pic.twitter.com/mTJRiDXq7q
Israel concludes humanitarian mission in Thailand earthquake zone
An Israeli delegation of experts sent to Thailand to assist in search and rescue efforts in the aftermath of a major earthquake has completed its mission, the military said Wednesday.
The team of 21 experts, consisting of engineers, doctors and rescue professionals, assisted Thai authorities over the last 10 days with technological expertise on the ground to assist in locating trapped individuals.
The 7.7 magnitude quake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand on March 28, killing over 3,650 people, nearly all of them in Myanmar where it was centered. It was one of the most powerful quakes in Southeast Asia over the last century. About two dozen people died in Thailand’s capital Bangkok, mostly from a high-rise building under construction collapsed by the quake.
🔶Following the devastating earthquake last week, IDF National Rescue Unit experts joined the Israeli emergency mission to Thailand.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) April 9, 2025
Our officers worked shoulder-to-shoulder with Thai authorities to help locate people trapped beneath the rubble.
As the delegation returns home,… pic.twitter.com/PegoloADFn
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