Friday, April 25, 2025

04/25 Links Pt2: Harvard Is an Islamist Outpost; The age-old link between antisemitism and misogyny; Ireland’s anti-Semitism laces ignorance with self-righteousness

From Ian:

Ruth Wisse: Harvard Is an Islamist Outpost
The most useful of many political functions of anti-Zionism—as with antisemitism before Jews returned to their homeland—is building coalitions of grievance and blame against a small nation with a universally inflated and mostly negative image. This galvanizing enmity has united the pan-Arab and Islamist alliance against Israel since 1948. It powered the red-green coalition at the United Nations and seeds anti-Israel campus coalitions that are anti-American in all but name. Attacking only the Jews—now only Israel—is its key to becoming the world’s most powerful antidemocratic ideology.

The goal of destroying Israel remains central to Arab and Islamist identity and was admitted to Harvard along with some foreign students and investors. The Education Department reports the university received more than $100 million from the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bangladesh between January 2020 and October 2024.

In 2007 I began warning successive presidents and deans that academic standards were being violated by the substitution of anti-Israel propaganda for a comprehensive program in the Center for Middle East Studies. They acknowledged the problem but refused to address it. As long as other institutions took Muslim money and ignored the war against the Jews, why should Harvard be holier than the pope?

Oct. 7, like Kristallnacht in 1938, forced some people to confront what they had tried to ignore. Students and faculty celebrating the atrocities against Israel could have been perpetrating them, given the chance. A committee of the new Harvard Jewish Alumni Alliance investigated the campus “hatred” and found it “worse than we had anticipated.” Ideological anti-Zionism governed not only the Center for Middle East Studies but also the School of Public Health and the Divinity School and figured in departments ranging alphabetically from anthropology and African American Studies to the Weatherhead Institute of International Affairs, and academically from music to the medical school. Harvard undertook a similar review only under pressure from Congress.

The university had taken steps to prevent campus unrest—by curtailing the Jewish and Christian presence. The Semitic Museum, established by Jacob Schiff in 1907 to make the same point as the Abraham Accords about the common sources of the three religions, was renamed the Museum of the Ancient Near East. The only vestige of Schiff’s intention remains in carved stone above the entrance. Archeological projects in Israel were discontinued and museum collections that once centered on the Bible and Jerusalem were refocused on the pyramids. The Harvard Divinity School restructured its curriculum to reflect that it was no longer a Christian or Unitarian seminary but a “pluralistic” religious-studies program.

Just when Harvard’s proud heritage should have been strengthened, biblical studies were degraded, and its traditions put on the defensive—Christianity even more than Judaism. Islamism was on the rise against America in decline.

There are still good people and programs at Harvard, and I am grateful for my time there. In an ideal world the government wouldn’t micromanage universities. But if Harvard shirks its responsibility to shore up the foundations of America and allows itself to be hijacked by an Islamist-inspired grievance coalition, why would it expect any support from the government?
The age-old link between antisemitism and misogyny
Whether this is what most trans people want is an open question. We only hear the loudest, most extreme advocates of a cohort whose national numbers are unclear, and whose consensus view is thus unknowable. How many trans people are more concerned with, say, the lack of tailored healthcare, but have very good reasons not to put themselves in the issue’s white hot spotlight, we can only guess.

It’s worth noting that trans rights are not inherently incompatible with the interests of women. To navigate a way forward between the sex-based rights of women and the equally valid civil rights of trans people is possible. But not when one side forever rejects – furiously, implacably, intractably – any hint of such an accommodation. If that sounds familiar to any Jewish person who supports a two-state solution in the Israel-Palestine conflict, and despairs at just who Israel is supposed to negotiate with towards such a goal, then well it might.

This is what happens when an initially legitimate cause becomes a quasi-religious hybrid of a fandom and a cult. Thus does Hamas’ butchery of Jews and cruel oppression of its own people become “legitimate resistance”; thus does misgendering a rapist in a blond wig become a more grievous offence than the predator’s own. The welfare, the real lives, of the people involved are sidelined in favour of what gratifies their self-selecting advocates: the thrill of absolutism; the utter absence of doubt or self-reflection; the gleeful, self-valorising flights of grandiose rhetoric; the cosplay; above all, the joy of lighting upon an enemy for whom one’s exultant hatred far surpasses one’s advertised compassion for those one champions.

It is revealing that at the apex of The Good People™’s demonology stand the twin evils: Zionist and Terf. Jews and women. Jack Holland’s 2006 book Misogyny, which bears the subtitle The World’s Oldest Prejudice, details the frequent historical conjunction with the second-oldest. This unholy alliance offers a perfect example of what The Good People™ would call intersectionality; one to which their cognitive dissonance blinds them, given their camp’s delight in directing vitriolic abuse towards insubordinate Jewish women in particular. Antisemitism and misogyny: hand in glove down the ages, long before the state of Israel was ever dreamt of, long before gender identity was conceptualised. There is perhaps no vanity more risible than the unblinking conviction of The Good People™ that they are “on the right side of history” as they refashion for the 21st century its two most archaic wrongs.
Seth Mandel: Zoning Out the Jews
It’s not difficult to suss out town officials’ motives. Last year, Mayor Derek Armstead was recorded telling school officials that hiring practices should be in accord with “what has to happen in order to keep our community being taken over by guys with big hats and curls.”

Landa wondered why towns keep doing this to themselves: Clifton, Toms River, and Jackson (towns near where I was born and raised) all tried zoning discrimination and eventually all lost lawsuits.

But there’s another aspect to this that has always bothered me. Having reported on land-use law and property disputes in New Jersey early in my career, one theme was hammered home: Residents wanted construction that wouldn’t add school-aged children to the town’s population, because that would cost the public-school system more money and that, in turn, would necessitate higher property taxes.

What happens when a large group of Orthodox Jews moves into town? It’s a municipal dream come true: They don’t put kids in the school system, so their taxes essentially subsidize the existing student population, and because of holidays and other observances they spend less time on roads and using other public services.

Orthodox Jews tend to be a massive gift to a town’s finances, paying into services they don’t use and driving up property values. The only reason to work so hard to prevent them from living in your town is if you hate Jews more than you like the town you claim to serve. Anti-Semitism is self-defeating, rarely more so than for a municipal official.

And that’s the truly disturbing thing about the rise in anti-Semitism in America. Jew-hatred trumps every other concern. It is irrational, and much of the time its purveyors cannot be reasoned with. In Jersey City in 2019, it ended in a mass shooting of Jewish establishments.

And as always, the supposed provocation is Jews merely living somewhere. A chunk of America is trying to drag the country back to where it was 100 years ago regarding its treatment of Jews. And some of the worst cases barely make headlines outside of local news.


Rescued Hamas Hostage Noa Argamani References Coachella While Urging Public to Visit Nova Exhibit
Noa Argamani urged the public on Thursday night to visit the Nova Festival exhibit commemorating the Hamas terrorist attack at the music event on Oct. 7, 2023, while also calling for the release of the remaining hostages being held captive by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The 27-year-old, who is featured in the 2025 TIME100 list of the 100 most influential people in the world, attended the 19th annual TIME100 Gala on Thursday night in New York City. During a red carpet interview with TIME, she spoke about her emotional visit to the exhibit “Nova: Oct. 7 6:29 AM, The Moment Music Stood Still” months earlier when it was open in New York City. The large-scale traveling exhibit about the Nova attack recently opened in Toronto after successful runs in Tel Aviv, New York, Los Angeles, and Miami.

Argamani was abducted by Hamas terrorists during their deadly rampage at the Nova Music Festival in Re’im, Israel, on Oct. 7, 2023. She was held captive in Gaza for 245 days until she was rescued by the Israel Defense Forces during a heroic operation in June 2024.

“Because I was at the Nova music festival and a lot of my friends were murdered, it was really difficult for me to come [to the exhibit] and see what happened to them,” Argamani said. “Because I carry a lot. I know my story and the story of my friends who have been murdered in captivity. It was too much to handle. Too much to carry.”

Nevertheless, she encouraged every person to visit the exhibit, before mentioning another major music event – the recent Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. She said about the exhibit: “I think it’s something everybody should [visit] because, as you saw what happened now in Coachella, these kids, I’m part of them, I come to the Nova music festival just to have fun, to dance, to enjoy my life … it’s definitely a pure situation. A party for peace and love.”


Former hostage Ron Krivoi: No one can truly understand what it’s like down in the tunnels
Former hostage Ron Krivoi has spoken out for the first time about his time in captivity and about the abuse suffered by the young man he met in the tunnels, Matan Angrest. Angrest, a hostage soldier, is still held in Gaza, Krivoi, an Israeli-Russian citizen, was taken hostage from the Nova music festival and was freed during the November 2023 ceasefire, in a Hamas nod to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“As a person, I’m a quiet man, I live my life. That’s why I didn’t give interviews, I just continued my life as it was before – that’s what I asked for, to return to my life,” he tells Channel 12.

Krivoi, a soundman, was working at Nova when terrorists struck, massacring hundreds, raping, abusing and taking dozens hostage to Gaza.

Krivoi was first held for some time in a Gaza apartment. At one point, the house was bombed by the Israeli military and Krivoi was able to escape his captors, trying to make his way through devastated Gaza for several days before being recaptured.

“Once someone saw me – it ended badly. The people who caught me beat me up. It wasn’t simple. I went through something there… When they caught me and brought me back, the people who beat me were ordinary Gazans who took out all their frustration on me,” he says.

Of the tunnel he was then taken to, Krivoi says, “These aren’t the tunnels you see in pictures. We were in something really small, deep underground. There wasn’t even a floor – we were on sand, and the mattresses were all moldy. We were inside a very, very small cage. Honestly, about a meter and a half by a meter and a half, and we had to lie down and rest in it – you couldn’t stand. No height, no toilets, no food. We were five people, we ate one small dish with some canned food and a pita that we divided among us. I was there for 51 days and lost nine kilograms of body weight.”

Krivoi says soldier Matan Angrest arrived a day after he did, and was “completely, completely terrified.” Angrest was in a tank that was attacked by terrorists on October 7. The rest of the crew were killed.

“The interrogations he went through happened while still in Israeli territory – that’s where it started. They already connected him to a car battery on the way and tried to revive him. Using car batteries, they electrocuted him,” Krivoi says. “They weren’t able to interrogate him. He probably wasn’t even in a condition to speak because he was badly injured. His injuries were very severe.”


Political hypocrisy under guise of broad Jewish coalition
The Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA), under CEO Amy Spitalnick, released a letter last week titled “Broad coalition of mainstream Jewish organizations release statement rejecting false choice between Jewish safety and democracy.” In it, Spitalnick, a former press secretary for the group J Street, and the other signatories questioned the motives of the Trump administration to rein in antisemitism on college campuses and suggested that something more nefarious was at play, something threatening “democracy.”

The JCPA letter stated: “In recent weeks, escalating federal actions have used the guise of fighting antisemitism to justify stripping students of due process rights when they face arrest and/or deportation, as well as to threaten billions in academic research and education funding.”

“We reject any policies or actions that foment or take advantage of antisemitism and pit communities against one another,” the letter went on to say, “and we unequivocally condemn the exploitation of our community’s real concerns about antisemitism to undermine democratic norms and rights, including the rule of law, the right of due process, and/or the freedoms of speech, press and peaceful protest.”

Apparently, the JCPA sees a conspiracy where the Republicans hide their malign activities behind the “guise” of helping Jews and believe that Trump will “take advantage” of the civil unrest. It sounds like the JCPA views victimized Jews as fortuitous tools of Trump.

Did the JCPA or any of the coalition’s 10 Reform and Conservative administrations explore the Democratic Party’s flabby response to campus antisemitism, or the skyrocketing hate crime in America against Jews, or the half-baked condemnations of how the Israel Defense Forces conducted war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip after Oct. 7, 2023, and its meddling in Israeli politics?

Did the JCPA or any of the organizations that signed onto the letter pen critical commentaries about the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran or former President Joe Biden’s slow-walking supplies to Israel after Oct. 7? What about the Robert Malley Iran security-clearance mess? Crickets.
Why Israelis criticising Israel is fine but that FT letter was anything but
That said, I also recognise that some of the criticism expressed by the letter-writers is being openly aired in Israel. But Israelis vote. Israelis serve in the army. Israelis live or die by the actions of their government so any criticism, however harsh, by any Israeli – ideally inside Israel – is fine by me (and I imagine fine by most British Jews.)

But criticism of the Israeli government in Israel is very different from a renegade group of brain-washed, virtue-signalling useful idiots using manipulation – possibly even outright deception – to mislead by creating the illusion that their personal misguided and unrepresentative views are a majority view.

And not just misleading, but actively dishonest because a week or so earlier the Board had dismissed a call from the group to release a statement condemning “Israel’s decision” to “resume” its “offensive in Gaza,” on the grounds that the group was echoing the Islamist terrorists’ version rather than the facts.

But despite having been informed that their version of events was based on Hamas’s version of events, or that they did not reflect the Board’s view, they refused to be deflected from their course, and went ahead with their letter regardless.

As previously stated, any criticism of the Israeli government by any Israel is fine – though, I repeat, ideally if expressed in Israel. But not so fine in Britain at a time when British Jews are fighting a tsunami of misinformation and disinformation about Israel that has led to a terrifying surge in anti-Jewish racism.

And at such a time, it is especially abhorrent that a group whose members clearly base their view of the conflict on the very same misinformation and disinformation, has made it seem that their profoundly misguided views are “representative” of British Jews.

Through their – at best “disingenuous” – actions, this unrepresentative minority has helped to invert reality by making it seem that a majority of British Jews believe the Gaza lies and the terrorist distortions. They have made us appear complicit in Israel-hate. But most heinous of all, they have turned us into ammunition that Israel’s enemies can use against Israel and us.

Their actions are unforgiveable, and the BoD executive need to deal with these deluded, virtue-signallers more swiftly, more decisively, in a way that the media will find it harder to ignore.
Poll shows most Jewish voters anti-Trump, but more receptive to his handling of antisemitism
More than 7 in 10 American Jews disapprove of President Donald Trump’s job performance, a new poll found, but he is making some inroads with Jewish voters on his handling of antisemitism, compared to his first-term standing.

The poll, administered by Democratic pollster Mark Mellman for the Jewish Electoral Institute (JEI) between April 15-18 and released on Wednesday, found that Trump’s overall approval rating among Jewish voters is at 24%, with 72% disapproving. The results suggest there hasn’t been much of a shift since the election: Trump won 26% of the Jewish vote, according to Mellman’s post-election survey conducted last December.

The poll also found large majorities of the 800 registered American Jewish voters who were surveyed opposing his policies on tariffs, cuts to the federal government, and threats to law firms.

“American Jewish voters are deeply distressed about the direction in which Donald Trump is taking the country and oppose many of his key policies. Indeed, a majority of Jewish voters disapprove of his job performance overall and disapprove of the way Trump is handling antisemitism,” Mellman said.

But on the issue of handling antisemitism in America, Trump receives higher marks from Jewish voters. The poll found 31% of Jewish voters approve of the way he’s dealing with antisemitism, while 56% disapprove. His current rating on antisemitism is markedly better than it was in his first term: When Mellman asked a similar question in JEI’s 2018 poll of Jewish voters, Trump’s disapproval rating on handling antisemitism was much higher (71%).

Among Jews under 30, many of whom have attended college recently or are currently university students, Trump’s numbers are also in better shape. One-third of younger Jewish voters said they approve of Trump’s handling of antisemitism, while just a narrow majority (52%) disapprove.
Jewish Senate Dems accuse Trump of weaponizing antisemitism to attack universities
A group of Jewish Senate Democrats accused President Donald Trump of weaponizing antisemitism as a pretext to withhold funding from and punish colleges and universities, moves they said in a letter on Thursday “undermine the work of combating antisemitism” and ultimately make Jewish students “less safe.”

“We are extremely troubled and disturbed by your broad and extra-legal attacks against universities and higher education institutions as well as members of their communities, which seem to go far beyond combatting antisemitism, using what is a real crisis as a pretext to attack people and institutions who do not agree with you,” the lawmakers, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), antisemitism task force co-chair Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) wrote to the president.

“It has become abundantly clear that for this administration, the stated goal of fighting antisemitism — which is needed now more than ever, and for which we stand ready to work in a bipartisan way on real solution — is simply a means to an end to attack our nation’s universities and public schools and their ability to function as multifaceted and vital institutions of higher learning and to protect free speech and the civil liberties of their students and employees,” they continued.

The letter points to Trump’s attacks on Harvard University, including the freezing of billions of dollars in funding and threats to revoke its tax-exempt status, as the most prominent examples of the administration’s efforts, which they say “go far beyond constructive and necessary efforts” to support Jewish students.

They said the administration instead appears to be trying to change “the way the university functions” and impose significant penalties “in ways wholly unrelated to combating antisemitism.” The lawmakers instead accused Trump of trying to undermine or destroy these colleges under the “guise” of antisemitism.

“We strongly support efforts to ensure universities uphold their duty to protect students from unlawful discrimination and harassment, but we reject your administration’s policies of defunding and punishing universities out of spite, as they actually undermine the work of combating antisemitism,” the letter continues, “ultimately only making Jews less safe by pitting Jewish safety against other communities and undermining the freedoms and democratic norms that have allowed Jewish communities, and so many others, to thrive in the United States.”


When recognition becomes evasion: Europe’s Palestinian statehood campaign
“Here is France’s position—it is clear: Yes, to peace. Yes, to Israel’s security. Yes, to a Palestinian state without Hamas.”
— President Emmanuel Macron of France

This April 11 tweet from the French president masks a policy—or more broadly, a growing problem in Europe itself. The countries currently leading the move to recognize a Palestinian state—France, Spain, Ireland and Norway—are not doing so as part of a rational political process, but because of domestic political pressure with tumultuous demonstrations, a public arena dominated by Muslim voices and militant campuses.

Unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state has become an act of domestic appeasement—and just for that reason, it constitutes a dangerous strategic misstep.

It is born out of reactivity, not responsibility. It is motivated by the need to appear moral, but ignores the destructive consequences for Israel’s security, regional stability and the future of the Palestinians themselves.

In France, where about 6.8 million Muslims live (about 10% of the population), the Israeli–Palestinian conflict has become a major domestic issue. After Hamas’s Oct. 7 attacks, Macron initially expressed support for Israel, but he quickly shifted gears. The declaration of support for a Palestinian state, amid the fighting, was aimed no less at a domestic audience than at external ears.

In the background to this declaration was a spike of 400% in antisemitic incidents; banned demonstrations that were held nonetheless in the streets of Paris; and an unprecedented boost for the radical La France Insoumise (LFI) party led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, which garnered 62% support among Muslims compared to only 8% of the public as a whole. Macron understood that if he did not signal to the street that he was listening, the political center would lose its grip.

In Spain, too, where some 2.5 million Muslims live, the discourse has become a domestic one. The Sánchez government, comprised of the socialists and their partners from the radical left (Sumar), announced its official recognition of “Palestine” in April 2024. That declaration did not stem only from ideological commitment; it was also a direct response to growing public pressure.

In more than 50 cities, mass demonstrations were held under the rubric “Stop the genocide.” Strikes were announced at universities, and academic associations demanded that ties with Israeli institutions be cut. Spain’s deputy prime minister, Yolanda Díaz, even proclaimed “From the river to the sea”—sparking international condemnation but boosting her status among the Muslim population. Here, too, recognizing Palestine was primarily a domestic political maneuver.
Ireland’s anti-Semitism laces ignorance with self-righteousness
This is quite clearly propagating an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory. One member has posed with a book of speeches of Hassan Nasrallah, the now dead leader of the genocidal Hezbollah and a virulent Jew hater.

The Israelophobia (let’s be generous for a moment) is baked into the band’s overarching political agenda that is staunchly anti-British and pro-IRA. That in itself is not surprising, since, in both Northern Ireland and the Republic, an identification of Palestine with Ireland under British rule is now orthodoxy among significant sections of the population. This association is not approximate, but literal. Pointing out the differences between Britain’s actions in Ireland and the links of Jewish people to Israel falls on deaf ears.

It would be impossible to whitewash Britain’s relationship with Ireland out of Irish culture – or to remove anti-British sentiment from Irish youth’s sense of identity. But how that militancy has metastasised into an anti-Israel and anti-Semitic narrative is alarming.

God knows there is enough anti-Semitism in the UK, but the Irish version laces its ignorance with self-righteousness and moral certainty. That is a very dangerous cocktail indeed and is evidenced by the testimonies of Irish Jews who speak of feeling isolated and abused.

There is a hostility to Israel that extends beyond Millennials and Gen Z. Indeed, it goes as far as the statements of the 84-year-old president Michael Higgins, who was accused earlier this year of politicising a Holocaust Memorial Day commemoration in Dublin by criticising Israel. He denies anti-Semitism, but this has done nothing to change Ireland’s growing reputation as the most anti-Semitic country in Western Europe.

The thing that is most disturbing (in a competitive field) about Kneecap is that they have venerated terrorists at music festivals, despite knowing that it was at the Nova festival in Israel that some of Hamas’s worst atrocities were committed. No doubt the band would equate this “armed resistance” with the armed resistance of the IRA and others, but we are talking about murdering, torturing, raping and kidnapping teenagers from a rave, including many who were not Israeli or Jewish. To legitimise this as “resistance” at their own music festivals is utterly toxic, but intoxicating for their privileged audience.

With all this talk of Ireland’s youth, it should be remembered that the great James Joyce satirised Irish antisemitism over 100 years ago. In the second chapter of Ulysses, the teacher Mr Deasy confides in Stephen Dedalus:

“Ireland, they say, has the honour of being the only country which never persecuted the Jews. Do you know that? No. And do you know why?”

“Why sir?” Stephen asked, beginning to smile.

“Because she never let them in,” Mr. Deasy said solemnly.
UKLFI: Counter-terrorism police investigate Kneecap following UKLFI report
UK counter-terrorism police are investigating the Northern Irish hip hop band, Kneecap, following a report to the police about the band by UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) a month ago.

The band had waved and wrapped themselves in a Hezbollah flag during a concert at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town and led a chant of “Ooh Aah Hezbollah!” This can be seen in a video of the incident, which took place on 21 November 2024.

Kneecap had previously posted on X on 8 October 2023, just one day after the horrendous massacre of Israelis the previous day “Solidarity with the Palestinian struggle”, along with a photo of the band, standing under a Palestinian flag.

When Kneecap played at the Coachella festival in the USA on 18 April 2025, they were reported to have whipped up anti-Israel hatred amongst the crowd. They showed large screens on stage, with the slogans“fuck Israel, free Palestine” and “free free Palestine”, and led the audience in anti-Israel chants.

This behaviour was particularly egregious at a music festival, given that hundreds of young Israelis had been brutally murdered, raped and tortured at a similar music festival on 7 October 2023.

UKLFI has also written to all the UK venues where Kneecap is due to perform over the summer, to warn them of the risks of allowing them to perform. These include Glastonbury, the Green Man Festival in Wales, the Eden Project in Cornwall, Finsbury Park and Brockwell Park, as well as Wythenshawe Park, Manchester.

A spokesperson for UKLFI said: “This band appears to enjoy courting controversy. However, if this involves support for terrorists as well as whipping up anti-Israel hatred amongst its audience, then they should be aware that they are not above the law.”


Controversial Irish Hip-Hop Group Kneecap Parts Ways With Booking Agency (Exclusive)
Controversial Irish hip-hop group Kneecap parted ways with their booking agency Independent Artist Group, sources confirm to The Hollywood Reporter.

It’s unclear what led to the band’s split from the agency, which took place between the first and second weekends of the Coachella music festival. After their weekend one set, the band claimed Coachella had censored their pro-Palestine messages from the festival’s official livestream. Kneecap had faced significant backlash from Jewish music executives and groups after their weekend two set, after sharing a “fuck Israel, free Palestine” message on stage. (Weekend two’s Kneecap performance was not livestreamed, but images of the onstage projections circulated widely on social media.)

A representative for IAG (which counts Billy Joel, Metallica and Mary J. Blige on its artist roster) confirmed the agency no longer represents Kneecap but didn’t provide any further details. IAG was formed in 2023 with the merger of midsize agencies APA and AGI. Kneecap’s management didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment. Sources confirm to THR that with the departure from IAG, the agency is no longer a sponsor for the band’s U.S. work visas, which raises the question of Kneecap’s status to play U.S. shows. Outside of the U.S., Kneecap is repped by Primary Talent International.

It’s common for U.S. booking agencies to serve as visa sponsors for international acts, and if their relationship with an artist ends, that sponsorship goes with it. All of the band’s shows listed on their website for the summer are outside the U.S. as Kneecap are expected to play several major festivals including Primavera Sound in Spain and Glastonbury in England in June, but they do have a mostly sold out U.S. tour slated to start in October, so for those shows to go on without a hitch, the visas need to be sorted by then.


Moment Irish rappers Kneecap tell cheering concert-goers to 'kill your local MP' and shout 'the only good Tory is a dead Tory' - as band face terror probe over 'pro Hamas' chants
Irish Republican band Kneecap which is being investigated by counter-terrorism police over pro-Hamas chants urged its fans to 'kill your local MP' at a concert in London.

Video footage has emerged of the rap group telling a jeering audience 'the only good Tory is a dead Tory' while performing at a gig in Electric Ballroom in London.

In the video a member of the Northern Irish band - which is set to play at Glastonbury later this year - said: 'We're still under British occupation in Ireland.

'We still have old men in London making decisions that affect my life in Ireland.

'And even worse, they're f***ing Tories.

'The only good Tory is a dead Tory.

'Kill your local MP.'

Shadow Secretary of State for Justice Robert Jenrick told the Daily Mail: 'The police should be investigating Kneecap immediately for potential terrorism offences and inciting violence.

'If a band were to glorify a proscribed far-right group, action would have been taken. It's inexplicable discrepancies like this that create the perception of two-tier policing.'

The bands remarks - which were made in November 2023 - are amongst a series of controversial comments the group has made during performances.


Justice and Jihad: How Radical Islam and the Progressive Left Seek to Undermine America
At Columbia University, one professor described the October 7 Hamas massacre as a triumph for Palestinian resistance. That professor continues to receive government-backed funding.

The institutions that once safeguarded truth and education are now being used as tools of indoctrination.

This is not a debate over policy. It is a fight for the future of our country. We must stop viewing this as a foreign affairs issue. This is an American issue that affects every citizen, regardless of background or political affiliation.

If we allow our civic institutions to be overtaken by extremist ideologies, if we excuse those who glorify jihad in the name of justice, we will endanger the very freedoms that define us.

The Path Forward
The United States must respond with strength and moral clarity. Organizations that promote violence must lose their nonprofit status. Educational institutions that accept foreign funds must face scrutiny and accountability. Public officials must call out and reject this alliance between radical Islam and the far-left. And progressive leaders must draw a clear line between social justice and extremist ideology.

At the same time, we must offer a better path forward. We must renew our commitment to truth, liberty, and individual rights. We must protect the integrity of our education system and restore trust in our institutions. We must raise a generation that understands both the privilege and the responsibility of living in a free society.

This campaign to divide and destroy our nation thrives on confusion. It relies on fear, chaos, and the silence of those who should know better. We must not remain silent.

America has always faced adversity with courage and conviction. We have overcome external enemies and internal division before. And with resolve, unity, and a renewed sense of purpose, we will do so again.

The future of our country is still in our hands. Let us rise to meet this challenge with clarity, strength, and hope.
Agudath Israel: Harvard Should Have Combated Antisemitism as Vehemently as It Now Wars With the Feds
Agudath Israel of America, an over 100-year-old organization representing American Orthodox Jewry, is disappointed that Harvard University has chosen to sue the Trump administration rather than address – or, according to media reports, even discuss – requests by the federal government that Harvard make significant reforms to rectify the endemic antisemitism that has been allowed to fester on its campuses.

In its annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents: 2024, released on Tuesday, the ADL (Anti-Defamation League) reported that incidents on college and university campuses rose more steeply than in any other location, climbing 84% over the prior year. Indeed, Agudath Israel of America has fielded complaints from students nationwide as campuses have descended into dangerous, anarchic cesspools of Jew-hatred since October 7th. Several lawsuits by Jewish students and federal Title VI investigations are outstanding against Harvard specifically.

This dire situation requires stiff interventions.

But instead of working with federal regulators to correct the situation, as Columbia University and other colleges recently and correctly have done, Harvard chose to fight the administration wholesale. This approach benefits no one. Federal funding will be tied up, research will be halted, and Jewish students will remain less protected as the case wends its way through the courts.


Antisemitism data illustrates the ‘new normal’
Perhaps the most significant aspect of the ADL report was its finding that nearly 60% of the incidents in 2024 were related to the Jewish state. “Increasingly, extreme actors in the anti-Israel space have incorporated antisemitic rhetoric into their activism; it has become commonplace for perpetrators across the political spectrum to voice hatred of Israel or conspiracy theories about the state in a range of antisemitic attacks,” the ADL noted.

Among the offenders creating this poisonous atmosphere were Students for Justice in Palestine, sundry groups on the far left and our very own fifth column—the spectacularly misnamed “Jewish Voice for Peace.” Additionally, slogans urging Israel’s destruction and chants of “We don’t want no Zionists here” are not restricted to public spaces but instead are increasingly present outside Jewish-owned businesses, Jewish schools from K-12, synagogues and community centers. College campuses are, of course, the riskiest locations with nearly 1,500 incidents involving offenders who would no doubt call themselves “anti-Zionists” and leave it at that.

In the same week that the ADL released its report, Tel Aviv University published its annual report on antisemitism worldwide, which made for similarly depressing reading. That report noted a decline in incidents during 2024 from their peak in the closing months of 2023, when Israel was still reeling from the venom of the Hamas assault. “The sad truth is that antisemitism reared its head at the moment when the Jewish state appeared weaker than ever and under existential threat,” noted the report’s editor, professor Uriya Shavit. Even so, the 2024 decrease was not uniform: Australia, Canada, Spain and Italy were among countries recording a rise in outrages targeting Jews compared with the previous year. Clearly, some people like to kick the Jews at the very moment when they are down, while others take a more long-term view.

The fact that so many incidents were logged in the immediate aftermath of the Oct. 7 slaughter tells us that, just as in the Muslim world, the fundamental issue is not what Israel does, but the mere fact that Israel is. This reality manifests at every single pro-Palestinian—more precisely, pro-Hamas—demonstration. Some protesters will carry signs urging Israel to “stop bombing hospitals,” which is a gross misrepresentation of the IDF’s tactics, with its implication that Israel seeks to deliberately kill Palestinian civilians, but not necessarily antisemitic.

The point is that the majority of demonstrators seem more motivated by the prospect of destroying Israel than they are by the plight of the Palestinians. That is why chants urging the “liberation” of Palestine “from the river to the sea” and banners condemning “Zionism” are far more common. It also helps to explain why the pro-Hamas movement has studiously ignored the spread of anti-Hamas protests in Gaza, which, in recent days, have included calls to release the hostages still in Hamas captivity not because of any humanitarian reasons, but because growing numbers of Gazans have final twigged that their lives would be infinitely easier if Hamas would just back down.

The ongoing symbiosis of hatred of Israel with classical antisemitism can be twisted to make the point—as some anti-Zionists do, particularly those who identify as Jews—that Israel’s existence is the principal source of antisemitism today. Within the Jewish community, that needs to be countered with the message that we cannot succumb to victim-blaming. Outside of the Jewish community, we need to stress over and again that the security of the Jews will never again be left to non-Jews.

In both spaces, Jews need to walk with their heads held high, knowing in their hearts that we do not have to apologize for Israel. That may seem obvious, but I write these words in the anticipation that future audits undertaken by the ADL or anyone else are likely to remain consistent over the next few years, and may even worsen as conspiracy theories about Jewish influence and Israeli power that are not directly connected to the Palestinians take hold.


Mahmoud Abbas Condemns Hamas While It’s Down
Addressing a recent meeting of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s Central Committee, Mahmoud Abbas criticized Hamas more sharply than he has previously (at least in public), calling them “sons of dogs.” The eighty-nine-year-old Palestinian Authority president urged the terrorist group to “stop the war of extermination in Gaza” and “hand over the American hostages.” The editors of the New York Sun comment:

Mr. Abbas has long been at odds with Hamas, which violently ousted his Fatah party from Gaza in 2007. The tone of today’s outburst, though, is new. Comparing rivals to canines, which Arabs consider dirty, is startling. Its motivation, though, was unrelated to the plight of the 59 remaining hostages, including 23 living ones. Instead, it was an attempt to use an opportune moment for reviving Abbas’s receding clout.

[W]hile Hamas’s popularity among Palestinians soared after its orgy of killing on October 7, 2023, it is now sinking. The terrorists are hoarding Gaza aid caches that Israel declines to replenish. As the war drags on, anti-Hamas protests rage across the Strip. Polls show that Hamas’s previously elevated support among West Bank Arabs is also down. Striking the iron while it’s hot, Abbas apparently longs to retake center stage. Can he?

Diminishing support for Hamas is yet to match the contempt Arabs feel toward Abbas himself. Hamas considers him irrelevant for what it calls “the resistance.”

[Meanwhile], Abbas is yet to condemn Hamas’s October 7 massacre. His recent announcement of ending alms for terror is a ruse.

Abbas, it’s worth noting, hasn’t saved all his epithets for Hamas. He also twice said of the Americans, “may their fathers be cursed.” Of course, after a long career of anti-Semitic incitement, Abbas can’t be expected to have a moral awakening. Nor is there much incentive for him to fake one. But, like the protests in Gaza, Abbas’s recent diatribe is a sign that Hamas is perceived as weak and that its stock is sinking.
PA no different, Chikli says after Abbas calls Hamas ‘sons of dogs’
In rare televised remarks broadcast from Ramallah on Wednesday, Abbas had called on Hamas to “end its control over Gaza, hand over all its affairs to the Palestine Liberation Organization and the legitimate Palestinian National Authority, refrain from carrying arms, transform into a political party that operates according to the laws of the Palestinian state and adheres to international legitimacy.

Abbas accused the rival terrorist group of “inflicting severe damage to the Palestinian cause” since it took control of the Strip in a 2007 coup.

“The first priority is to stop the war of extermination in the Gaza Strip,” declared the octogenarian P.A. chairman. Abbas added, “This must be stopped—hundreds are being killed every day. Why don’t you hand over the American hostages? Sons of dogs, release those you are holding and put an end to this story. Shut down their [Israel’s] excuses. End this!”

It was not clear whether Abbas, who has yet to publicly condemn Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, killings and hostage-takings, called for the release of all 59 remaining captives, or only Americans.

Members of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a “military” arm of Abbas’s Fatah movement, participated in the Oct. 7 attacks, and the P.A. has financially rewarded Oct. 7 terrorists through its “pay-for-slay” fund.

Egypt and China-brokered reconciliation talks between Fatah and Hamas, which violently took over control of the Gaza Strip from the Palestinian Authority in June 2007, have apparently broken down since the latter terrorist group announced the signing of a deal in July.

P.A. sources previously told Sky News Arabia that Hamas had approved a three-phase plan leading to “complete reconciliation” and the Gaza-based terrorist group joining the Palestine Liberation Organization, which controls the P.A., under a “unified Palestinian-Arab vision.”

The Islamist group reportedly gave its blessing to Abbas’s proposal to establish a “government of technocrats” whose purpose would be the reconstruction of Gaza after the war prompted by the Oct. 7 onslaught.
PLO creates position of vice president, seen as possible successor to Abbas
The Palestine Liberation Organization on Thursday announced the creation of a vice presidency under 89-year-old leader Mahmoud Abbas, who has not specified a successor.

The PLO Central Council’s decision came as Abbas seeks greater relevance and a role in postwar planning for the Gaza Strip after having been largely sidelined by the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

After a two-day meeting, the council voted to create the role of vice chairman of the PLO Executive Committee. This position would also be referred to as the vice president of the State of Palestine, which the Palestinians hope will one day receive full international recognition.

The expectation is that whoever holds that role would be the front-runner to succeed Abbas — though it is unclear when or exactly how it would be filled. Abbas is to choose his vice president from among the other 15 members of the PLO’s executive committee.

The PLO is the internationally recognized representative of the Palestinian people and oversees the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited autonomy in less than half of the West Bank. Abbas has led both entities for two decades after being democratically elected in 2005, but has refused to hold elections since.

The chain-smoking political veteran has clung to power since his mandate expired in 2009 and has not named a successor. Polls in recent years have shown plummeting support for him and his Fatah party, while the terror group Hamas has increased in popularity.

Western and Arab donor countries have demanded reforms in the Palestinian Authority for it to play a role in postwar Gaza. The authority is deeply unpopular and faces long-standing allegations of corruption and poor governance. Appointing an heir apparent could be aimed at appeasing his critics.


With Help from Russia, Iran Has Expanded Its Terror Network into Northwest Africa
On April 11, the South Carolina congressman Joe Wilson announced a plan to introduce legislation designating the Polisario Front as a terrorist group, noting that it serves the interests of Russia and Iran. This guerrilla force is based in Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony of uncertain status, much of which is under Moroccan control. Amine Ayoub explains that Polisario increasingly resembles Iranian proxies in the Middle East, and fits into a larger project of destabilization in the region:

Let’s stop pretending the Polisario is a harmless separatist group. They’re not freedom fighters. They’re Iran-backed mercenaries operating from Algerian soil, funded by Tehran’s Quds Force, trained by Hizballah operatives, and increasingly useful to Moscow.

Credible intelligence—including U.S. and French reports—shows that Hizballah operatives have trained Polisario fighters in the Tindouf camps in Algeria. Iran’s fingerprints are all over this. Their goal? Bleed Morocco, destabilize North Africa, and open a new corridor for jihadist infiltration and Russian disinformation.

And the timing isn’t coincidental. As Morocco deepens ties with Israel and the U.S., the Iran-Hizballah axis sees the Western Sahara as the perfect place to retaliate. . . . And Algeria, increasingly aligned with Russia and China, has no problem letting Hizballah trainers operate on its soil—so long as the guns are pointed at Morocco.


Reform UK candidates shared posts praising Hitler and pushed Rothschild conspiracies
A candidate for Reform UK in next week’s local elections reposted shared a meme praising Hitler, while others shared material from a known neo-Nazi group and pushed antisemitic Rothschild conspiracies on social media.

The exposé by anti-racist watchdog Hope Not Hate uncovered a slew of extremist content shared by Reform candidates standing in Doncaster.

Mark Broadhurst, who is set to contest the Hatfield ward, reposted an image of Hitler with the caption: “For f*** sake, if I had chosen Muslims I would have been a f***ing legend [sic].”

Meanwhile Steve Plater, who is standing for Nigel Farage’s party in the Adwick-le-Street and Carcroft ward, has reposted articles from Patriotic Alternative (PA), a far-right organisation banned from several social media platforms.

The group was the subject of a year-long investigation by BBC News, which uncovered its members extreme views regarding migration, including one who reportedly said of immigrants who refused deportation: “The only way to get rid of them will be to kill every single one of them.”

One post reshared by Plater claimed that Britain is living under a “multicultural and anti-White tyranny,” according to Hope Not Hate.

And Guy Aston, another Reform candidate, has liked a post blaming Jewish banking families – the Rothschilds, Warburgs and Baruchs – for “funding Kalergi’s genocidal ideology.”

The so-called “Kalergi Plan” is a conspiracy theory that claims white Europeans are being deliberately replaced as part of a hidden agenda to “make unique races and cultures extinct”.

Likewise, Howard Rimmer, standing in the Roman Ridge ward, has repeatedly shared material from the Traditional Britain Group (TBG), another far-right organisation.


‘Tatami,’ First Feature Film Co-Directed by Israeli, Iranian Filmmakers, to Be Released Nationwide This Summer
A political sports thriller that is the first-ever feature film co-directed by Israeli and Iranian filmmakers will be released in select theaters nationwide on June 13 from XYZ Films.

“Tatami” was co-directed by Iranian and French Cannes Best Actress winner Zar Amir-Ebrahimi – who also stars in the film – alongside Israeli Academy Award winner Guy Nattiv, whose past credits include “Golda,” starring Helen Mirren, and the Oscar-winning short “Skin.” Nattiv co-wrote the script of “Tatami” with Paris-based Iranian actress and screenwriter Elham Erfani, who was also the film’s casting director. Ebrahimi traveled to Israel for her first time ever to edit “Tatami.”

Iran and Israel have no diplomatic relations, and the Iranian regime does not recognize the Jewish state. The Islamic Republic supports terrorist operations against the state of Israel and is the chief international backer of Hamas, the US-designated terrorist organization that orchestrated the massacre across southern Israel that took place on Oct. 7, 2023. Iranian military commanders and even diplomats have recently praised the Oct. 7 Hamas attack.

Iran also has a long-standing policy of not allowing its athletes to compete against opponents from Israel dating back to 1979, when the Islamist regime seized power. Iranian athletes are often pressured by their coaches and the country’s sports federations to either pull out of matches or intentionally lose to avoid competing against an opponent from Israel. “Tatami,” which is about an Iranian judo athlete, is inspired by true events and references Iran’s ban on its athletes competing against Israelis.

In “Tatami,” an Iranian judoka named Leila – played by American Iranian-Chilean actress Arienne Mandi from “The L Word” – is on the verge of winning gold at the judo world championships when she is ordered to withdraw to avoid facing an Israeli opponent in the finals. She is told by the Islamic Republic that she must fake an injury and pull out of the competition, or face being labeled a traitor by her home country for competing against an Israeli athlete. Leila must decide if she will cave to the pressure or continue competing for the gold medal. Amir-Ebrahimi plays Leila’s coach, and the film also stars Jaime Ray Newman and Ash Goldeh. Tatami is a type of mat used during judo bouts.


Let My People In!
Moving from western to eastern Africa, we come to Ethiopia, which has recently been plunged again into internecine conflict. A few thousand members of Beta Israel, as the local Jewish population call themselves, still remain in the country. Most wish to come to Israel, but bureaucratic and logistical hurdles, as well as questions about their Jewish status, have made this difficult. Richard Hidary reports on a recent visit, which began with prayer in an Addis Ababa synagogue:

We found 100 men already gathered, sitting on wooden benches, wrapped in turquoise-striped talitot, about half wearing tefillin. On the other side of a hanging cloth m’hitsah was an equal number of women in patterned long dresses and elegant white headscarves. The hazan on the front stage recited each section of the service twice: first in Amharic, a Semitic language that sounds soft and soothing, and then again in Hebrew, perfectly pronounced according to the Sephardi rite. The prayers were familiar, as were the Torah scrolls and the Koren siddurim with translation (to Amharic). Except for the fact that the prayers were twice as long due to the rendition in Amharic, I felt right at home.

But everything else was a culture shock. The synagogue roof and walls were made from corrugated metal lined with tarp and colorful cloths. One dark-brown cloth was embroidered with a memorial to relatives who had perished during the walk to Sudan. The mud floor led out to a backyard with a mikveh and an outhouse with no running water.

Since 1991, 55,000 more members of Beta Israel have made aliyah, so the total Ethiopian Jewish population in Israel has grown to 180,000 strong. Seventy-three percent of Ethiopian Israelis who have arrived since 1991 enroll their kids in religious schools—much higher than the national average—demonstrating their devotion to Torah and halakhic practice. They also serve with distinction in the IDF, volunteering in combat units that engage in some of the most difficult fighting. Although just 2 percent of the total Israeli population, Ethiopians count for a disproportionately high ratio (about 5 percent) of IDF deaths since October 7.
Israeli robotics team withdraws from world finals to honour Shabbat
An Israeli high school robotics team has withdrawn from the final rounds of an international STEM competition in the United States in order to honour Shabbat.

Trigon 5990, a team of religious boys from Modi’in’s Amit network, had reached the final stages of the prestigious FIRST Robotics Competition in Houston, Texas. But with matches scheduled for Saturday, the team made the decision to step back rather than violate their Shabbat observance.

Ranked 27th globally out of more than 3,600 teams, Trigon was one of eight Israeli groups to qualify for the finals. Despite knowing the championship might coincide with Shabbat, the boys participated up to the very end of Friday’s rounds.

Speaking to Jewish News, Ahuva Ravid-Saffir, a parent of one of the Trigon students, reflected on the significance of the team’s choice, “Almost 100 years ago, my grandfather, an American Jew, encountered numerous obstacles that delayed, and nearly prevented him, from pursuing higher education and earning his doctorate because of his commitment to observing Sabbath.

“This week, his great-grandson and his teammates stood before teams and representatives from around the world and declared that they live by their values and honour the traditions of their people. Their decision was met with resounding applause that lasted for a full minute.”
Mossad agents, heroes to light torches on Independence Day
Three members of the Mossad who carried out a covert operation in Lebanon targeting Hezbollah’s communications infrastructure have been selected to light a torch at the opening ceremony for Israel’s 77th Independence Day next week, Transport Minister Miri Regev announced.

The agents, whose identities remain classified, were responsible for disabling thousands of pager devices used by Hezbollah operatives across Lebanon. According to Regev, the operation dealt a significant blow to the Iranian-backed terrorist group’s coordination efforts and is a landmark achievement in psychological warfare.

Joining them is IDF soldier Elisha Medan, who lost both legs in an explosion in Gaza that killed four fellow soldiers. Medan, who has become a symbol of resilience and national unity, has dedicated himself to public service through lectures and advocacy.

Other torch lighters include:
Emily Damari, a former hostage held by Hamas for 471 days, now recognized nationwide for her endurance and strength.
Eli Sharabi, whose two brothers were murdered in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas massacre and whose third brother remains in captivity. Sharabi has emerged as a leading voice for hostage families.
Ben Shapiro, a U.S.-based conservative commentator and co-founder of The Daily Wire, known for his outspoken support of Israel in international forums.
Oren Smadja, Israeli Olympic medalist and judo coach, honoring the memory of his son, IDF soldier Yonatan Smadja, who was killed in action in Gaza.
Lt. Col. Faiz Fares, a Druze IDF commander who led rescue operations during the Oct. 7 attacks, personally saving dozens under fire.
Lt. Col. (res.) Hagit Alon Ahrar, who continues to serve in the IDF reserves after her son was killed in a Hezbollah drone strike. A longtime educator, she has been a voice of perseverance and patriotism.
Israel's oldest survivor passes away on Holocaust Remembrance Day at age 110
The oldest Holocaust survivor in Israel, Nechama Grossman, passed away at the age of 110 on Thursday, the Arad Municipality announced on Friday morning.

Nechama Grossman's death coincided with Holocaust Remembrance Day in Israel.

Just two days earlier, The Jerusalem Post mentioned Grossman in a report about the Claims Conference's new demographic projections.

Her son, Vladimir Shvetz, said, "My mother is one of the world's oldest Holocaust survivors."

He added that his mother had lived through the worst of humanity, and she survived. She raised her children, her grandchildren, and her great-grandchildren with the message that unchecked hatred cannot win.

“We must remember her story, remember the Holocaust, remember all the survivors, and learn from it so that her past does not become our future,” said Shvetz.

Her funeral is set to take place on Friday at 15:00 in the cemetery in Arad.
Eddy Boas: The Lost Train
April 15 is the 80th anniversary when British troops liberated the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. That is the camp where I spent 14 months of my life, as a 4-5 year old. British troops surrounded the camp and negotiated a peaceful handover and on April 15, 1945, British troops entered Bergen-Belsen without a shot being fired. The German SS guards were keen to leave the camp as SS soldiers were dying of typhus.

After the British entered, they found 10,000 unburied bodies scattered throughout the camp. and 50,000 to 60,000 ill and starving prisoners, including about 500 children under the age of 14. Prisoners were dying of starvation and typhus.

Bergen-Belsen was not just a camp for Jews. It also held POWs, political prisoners and gay community prisoners. Most Jews were kept in an area called Star Camp, where my mother, my four-year-older brother, and I were kept, in Barrack 22. My father was in Barrack 11.

Bergen-Belsen started as a POW camp, though towards the end, it was a death camp, where nearly 60,000 were murdered, including up to 3,000 children. The British army entered Bergen-Belsen carrying movie cameras. Unfortunately, the British government decided that the film was too explicit and could not be shown to the public. Finally, in 2014, the movie, entitled, “Night Will Fall,” was released.

After evacuating Bergen-Belsen and taking into account that many British troops were dying of typhus, the British decided to burn Bergen-Belsen down, barrack by barrack.

On April 15, 1945, the day the British liberated the camp, I, my father, my mother, and my brother were on a train to nowhere. It became known as the “Lost Train.” German command had decided that all the Jews who had been kept in Star Camp, in total, about 6,000, were to be transported, in three trains, to Theresienstadt, in what was then known as Czechoslovakia.
Australia to host first-ever Holocaust Survivors' Reunion at NSW Parliament in response to rising antisemitism since October 7 terror attacks
Australia will host its first-ever Holocaust Survivors’ Reunion in the hope that it will become an annual event.

The reunion is the brainchild of survivor Eddy Boas in response to rising antisemitism since the October 7 terror attacks on Israel in 2023.

Mr Boas says he hopes up to 150 survivors will attend the in-person lunch at NSW Parliament on June 1, while others will be able to join via Zoom.

The 85-year-old, who survived the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp as a child, said he came up with the idea early last year after seeing unprecedented levels of antisemitism in his adopted country. Jewish Labor MP ‘blocked’ by party officials from appearing on Sky News Australia

“Holocaust survivors were in angst and I can tell you, I don’t get scared too often in life, but I started to think about all this antisemitism that suddenly broke out in Australia, which I would have never expected in my life to see,” Mr Boas told Sky News.

“I know what antisemitism is all about. I had never experienced antisemitism [before] in Australia.”

Australia has one of the largest communities of Holocaust survivors in the world – about 35,000 emigrated here in the aftermath of World War II.

Last year, there were 2,500 living survivors recorded in Australia, according to the Claims Conference, a non-profit which helps secure compensation for Holocaust survivors around the world.

Mr Boas says while states have held smaller events for survivors, it’s his understanding that this is the first national reunion of its kind.

And one surprising topic will be off the table.

“One of the things that I made sure of, we were not going to talk about the Holocaust,” Mr Boas said.

“I want this to be a joyful luncheon. We all know about the Holocaust.

“Let’s celebrate living in Australia. We’ve all – majority, I can’t speak for everybody – have had a good life in Australia. I certainly have.
Australia to host first-ever Holocaust Survivors' Reunion

‘We beat the enemy, didn’t we, girls?’ Holocaust survivor tells freed hostage soldiers
At Auschwitz for the annual March of the Living, Maggie Megidish and her daughter, rescued hostage Ori, stood among a delegation of survivors of both the Holocaust and October 7. The visit stirred memories of their own ordeal.

When a Holocaust survivor spoke of the hunger she endured in the camp, Maggie said she was transported back to the weeks she barely ate, tormented by thoughts of her daughter in captivity.

“With every bite, or every sip of water, I wondered if she, too, was getting any food,” she recalled.

Eighty Holocaust survivors were set to take part in this year’s March of the Living, some for the first time, marking 80 years since the liberation of the concentration camps. But on Wednesday evening, just hours before she was meant to depart for Auschwitz, 94-year-old survivor Eve Kugler died in her London home.

That same evening, before news of her death became public, a video featuring Kugler was broadcast at the March of the Living opening ceremony.

March of the Living president Phyllis Greenberg Heideman reflected on the weight of this year’s delegation, saying, “It will probably be their last time in this godforsaken place, Auschwitz-Birkenau.”

Draped in Israeli flags by the infamous Auschwitz gate bearing the words “Work will set you free,” Ori Megidish and fellow IDF observation soldier Agam Berger, who were both abducted by Hamas and later freed — the first in an IDF rescue operation within weeks and the second in a hostage deal after nearly 16 months — stood for several minutes embracing Holocaust survivors Irene Shashar and Gita Kaufman.

“We beat the enemy, didn’t we, girls?” Shashar said through tears. “We went through horrors, but despite everything, we are here, standing firm in the face of such evil.”




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

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