Wednesday, May 28, 2025

05/28 Links Pt2: 600 days in the dark: Social media campaign highlights grim hostage landmark; What France’s ‘Peace’ Conference Is Really About; If you hate Israel, you hate Jews. Own it

From Ian:

Seth Mandel: On Holocaust Envy
Holocaust envy, then, is a demented inversion of the current conflict’s modern origin story, a way for some Palestinians to wipe the slate of guilt clean and claim a false moral equivalence with their would-be victims.

For Europe, it’s even simpler. The Holocaust is not Europe’s only modern legacy, of course. But it is the continent’s ever-present demon. Some in Europe choose to attempt to dispel this demon by denying it ever happened. Others do so by erasing the level of evil attached to the great crime of the 20th century: If the Jews are capable of perpetrating such atrocities too, then nothing more is owed them.

Both of these explanations rely on the belief that the Holocaust was not unique.

But what if it was unique? What accounts for Holocaust envy in that case? One answer is that the Holocaust becomes a trump card; for the anti-Semites whose self-perception is based on their victimhood, the Holocaust inspires literal jealousy. For Europeans, if the Holocaust is unique then it can only be mitigated by the unique evil of its descendants. Thus, we come full circle and the Jews are back to being a problem the world has to deal with.

There is another angle to this. The Polish philosopher Stanislaw Krajewski last year proposed a brilliant theory on Holocaust envy and the role that its perceived uniqueness plays in the minds of those who would appropriate Jewish suffering for their own ends.

Krajewski points out that many people believe that the ability to attribute a death to a Holocaust-level act “somehow ennobles them… it is not just any death.” The killings of the Holocaust were not themselves noble deaths, however, he notes: they were intentionally humiliating.

Instead, one must think of the Holocaust as a holy war against the Jews: “let us recall that the great murder actions often began on Jewish holidays.… What is more, such acts as public desecration of Torah scrolls were also a favorite way to show who was superior. Apparently, the task was not only to kill Jews, but also to humiliate and destroy the Jewish religion. In a world without Jews—and this was Hitler’s dream—Judaism would have disappeared anyway, but by choosing such dates and introducing such behaviors, it was possible to immediately show the superiority of the German order over everything Jewish. And above all, it was possible to demonstrate to Jews, as well as everyone else, that the Jewish tradition, its most sacred moments, its sacred objects would be of no help.”

The Nazis, then, took the Bible very seriously. And the Bible’s main theme is the “election of the Jews.” The Holocaust was a revolt against God’s having chosen the Jewish people. To be the victims of the Holocaust, therefore, meant first being the one and only chosen nation. And that is both unique and ennobling—and the source of a poisoned global public discourse about Israel.
If you hate Israel, you hate Jews. Own it
I knew it in my guts to be true, long before 7 October. Now the Chief Rabbi’s gone and said it. Out loud. In public. Good on him. If you are anti-Zionist, then yes, you are anti-Jewish. And not just a bit anti-Jewish, either. You hate – for whatever sinister motive – not just the idea of a Jewish state but Judaism itself.

The anti-Zionist movement that’s metastasised like mould across the left and much of the Muslim world is not some noble stand against colonialism. It’s grubby pound-shop Jew hate.

Being a campaigning anti-Zionist – that is, opposing Israel’s right to exist ‘From the river to the sea’ – is not a political stand like campaigning for lower taxes and a better-funded NHS. It’s loaded, venomous, visceral and oozes from a very dark place.

Where does this darkness often start? In vast swathes of the Middle East and campuses worldwide, anti-Zionism isn’t a reasoned evidence-based judgment. It’s baked in. Inculcated. Handed down. In textbooks, in sermons. On BBC Arabic. A steady drip-feed from childhood casting Jews as horned demons, blood drinkers and well poisoners. It’s a horror show.

Children deserve formative years, not deformative years. Then we wonder why some of those same communities here in Britain call for a global intifada on Oxford Street.

You still think it’s just about Gaza? Grow up.
Because Words Matter and Lies Kill: Julius Streicher, The Man Who Was Hanged for His Words
On October 16, 1946, Julius Streicher stood on the gallows in Nuremberg. He was not a general. He never commanded an army. He didn’t sign deportation orders or operate gas chambers. But he was hanged for crimes against humanity.

His weapon was not a gun. It was a pen and ink.

As the publisher of the virulently antisemitic newspaper Der Stürmer, Streicher relentlessly dehumanized Jews. His cartoons depicted grotesque caricatures. His headlines screamed conspiracies. His editorials encouraged hatred. And though he did not kill with his own hands, the Nuremberg Tribunal made clear: the lies he told fueled the murder machine. His incitement, they said, paved the way to the Holocaust.

He was convicted not for what he did, but for what he made others believe.

Because today, we are once again witnessing a barrage of lies. Not from Nazi presses, but from podiums at the United Nations. From op-ed pages of major newspapers and media organizations. From university lecture halls and international NGOs.

Israel, the world's only Jewish state, fighting an existential war after the worse terror attack in modern history, is portrayed not merely as flawed, but as demonic. A regime of pure evil. Accused of genocide, apartheid, ethnic cleansing—terms that carry moral weight but are tossed like stones, untethered from facts. We are told that the IDF targets children, that Zionism is racism, that the Jewish right to self-determination is colonialism in disguise.

Four years ago today, the United Nations launched what would become one of the most brazenly biased initiatives in its history: the so-called Commission of Inquiry led by Navi Pillay. Billed as an “independent” investigation, it has functioned as a permanent inquisition against the world’s only Jewish state—without precedent, without balance, and without end in sight. No other nation has been subjected to such an open-ended mandate of scrutiny and condemnation. This is not accountability; it is persecution masquerading as principle. Like Streicher’s Stürmer, the commission cloaks its obsession in the language of justice, but its purpose is clear: to isolate, delegitimize, and ultimately dismantle Israel through the steady drip of falsehoods dressed as findings. The hate is institutional now—and history is watching.


Seth Mandel: What France’s ‘Peace’ Conference Is Really About
France is making final preparations to solve the Arab-Israeli conflict. If all goes according to plan, world peace will be inaugurated by June 20, the final day of a UN conference co-hosted by France and Saudi Arabia.

Or it may not. “Paris has been forced to downgrade expectations of the conference,” reports Politico.

What is President Emmanuel Macron thinking, exactly? Well, he had this idea: What if a bunch of countries got together, and the main European states—France and the UK, most significantly—recognized a Palestinian state, and in return a bunch of Arab countries would recognize Israel?

How likely is all this to happen? Not very. “European recognition of the Palestinian territories could ‘encourage Arab nations to define their conditions for normalizing relations with Israel,’” one diplomat told Politico, while a second diplomat suggested that “France was hoping Middle Eastern states would still take ‘steps’ toward normalization at the conference.”

So there you have it: Going into the conference, there is zero chance the Arab states will recognize Israel. There is still a chance that France will recognize a Palestinian state and encourage the UK to do so.

In other words: It isn’t a peace conference at all, it’s a Euro-Arab confab to beat up on Israel.

How original.

What it means, specifically, to recognize a Palestinian state remains unexplained, even after some European states have claimed to have done so. Since there was no previous sovereign Palestinian state in the area, we don’t know what the new state’s borders would be.

In practice, then, this would all appear to amount to nothing. But that’s not actually the case. A story in the Wall Street Journal on the International Criminal Court suggests the direction this would take, and it would bring material harm to Israel and more war but definitely no peace.


Melanie Phillips: The true heritage of the West
While in Washington DC, I sat down to discuss my new book with Victoria Coates, Vice-President of the Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy at the Heritage Foundation and a former deputy national security adviser to President Donald Trump in his first administration.

We discussed the vital role of biblical religion in creating the civilised values of the west; how the onslaught on those values by the west’s cultural elites hasn’t made their societies either happy or rational; and how the west has the means of rescuing itself if it learns key lessons in resilience from the Jewish people, whose unique selling point is cultural survival.

As Victoria says, the message of the book is ultimately a hopeful one in its call for a coalition of those from every grouping, culture and ethnicity, and people from all religions and none, who love and admire the west and want to uphold and defend its core principles — and who could thus change the cultural climate from demoralisation to inspiration.
Melanie Phillips: A Note from the Resistance

600 days in the dark: Social media campaign highlights grim hostage landmark
A social media campaign to mark 600 days since 7 October 2023, when 251 hostages were dragged into Gaza by Hamas terrorists, has been launched today by the Board of Deputies.

With 58 hostages remaining in captivity, the communal group is calling on all Jewish organisations, individuals, and allies to show their support by changing the picture on their social media profiles.

The 58 hostages in Gaza are: Alon Ohel, Ariel Cunio, Avinatan Or, Bar Kupershtein, Bipin Joshi, David Cunio, Eitan Horn, Eitan Mor, Elkana Bohbot, Evyatar David, Gali Berman, Guy Gilboa-Dalal, Matan Angrest, Matan Zangauker, Maksym Harkin, Nattapong Pinta, Nimrod Cohen, Omri Miran, Rom Braslavski, Segev Kalfon, Tamir Nimrodi, Yosef-Chaim Ohana, Ziv Berman, Amiram Cooper, Arye Zalmanovich, Assaf Hamami, Aviv Atzili, Daniel Oz, Daniel Peretz, Dror Or, Eitan Levy, Eliyahu Margalit, Gad Haggai, Guy Illouz, Idan Shtivi, Ilan Weiss, Inbar Hayman, Itay Chen, Joshua Loitu Mollel, Judi Weinstein, Lior Rudaeff, Many Godard, Muhammad Al-Atarash, Ofra Keidar, Omer Neutra, Ran Gvili, Ronen Engel, Sahar Baruch, Shay Levinson, Sonthaya Oakkharasri, Sudthisak Rinthalak, Tal Haimi, Tamir Adar, Uriel Baruch, Yair Yaakov, Yonatan Samerano, Yossi Sharabi ad Hadar Goldin.

Board of Deputies president Phil Rosenberg said: “The hostages, taken in such brutal circumstances on 7th October 2023 have now experienced 600 days of agony in awful conditions at the mercy of Hamas. We must remember their plight and ensure that their stories stay in the public consciousness. To change your social media profile costs nothing and takes next to no time but if enough of us do it, we can make a significant impact. Please join us.”

Nivi Feldman, UK Lead, Hostages and Missing Families Forum, told Jewish News: “It has been 600 long days and nights since the terrorist organisation Hamas kidnapped over 241 babies, children, men and women. Today, 58 are still held hostage. Don’t let them be forgotten. Don’t let the world forget that when they were taken, a piece of all of us was taken. Until every one of them is brought home, we cannot — and will not — stop advocating for their return.”


After Capital Jewish Museum killings, 33 senators call for $500 million in nonprofit security funding
A bipartisan group of 33 senators — mostly Democrats — sent a letter last week urging Senate Appropriations Committee leaders to provide $500 million for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program in 2026, matching the record-high request from a group of House members earlier this month.

The letter was sent the day following the murder of two Israeli Embassy employees outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, an attack that led a coalition of Jewish groups to call for increasing funding for the program, which provides synagogues and nonprofits with grants to improve their security, to $1 billion. The funding request in the Senate letter likely would have been finalized prior to the attack.

It’s not clear, at this point, whether lawmakers might seek to revise their requests to come closer to the $1 billion level, or how feasible either request level might be. The Trump administration had proposed cuts to non-emergency grant programs at the Federal Emergency Management Agency and has not yet offered a specific proposal for the NSGP. The $500 million request is nearly double the NSGP’s current funding level of $274.5 million.

“The threat of violence is unfortunately increasing at places of worship across our country at alarming rates,” the Senate letter reads. “There has been an increase in hoax bomb and active shooter threats against houses of worship to interrupt services and intimidate the worshipers. There has also been an increase in antisemitic and anti-Muslim incidents across the country following the October 7 attack in Israel.”

The letter outlines a series of attacks on houses of worship across the country, including synagogues, which the signatories said “highlight the ever-increasing need for the NSGP.”


Rubio condemns ‘Free, free, Palestine’ chant as emblem of Jew-hatred
“‘Free, free, Palestine’– the chilling slogan shouted by a Washington attacker after murdering two Jewish museum-goers – exemplifies the death-driven hatred of antisemitism,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday.

Speaking at the International Conference to Combat Antisemitism in Jerusalem, Rubio condemned the chant as an “emblem of Jew-hatred” and warned that there can be no compromise with antisemitism.

The top US diplomat began by expressing gratitude to Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar for the invitation and regretting that he could not attend in person.

He recalled Golda Meir’s quip that “it took Moses 40 years to find the only place in the Middle East with no oil,” then added, “Israel’s wealth lay not under the ground, but in its people,” whom he described as “exiles, pilgrims, and dreamers from around the world” who “made the desert bloom into a hi-tech superpower.”

He contrasted Israel’s success with its neighbors’ choices, saying they “failed to appreciate how following Israel’s example could have brought prosperity to the region. Instead, they chose war. They decided to impoverish their people in a futile effort to destroy Israel. They succeeded in the former while failing in the latter.”

Turning to the scourge of antisemitism, Rubio called it “the world’s oldest bigotry, and given that we are all here today, it is also the world’s most futile.” He traced its historical roots from pharaohs and emperors to Adolf Hitler, “an idea he shares with Hamas today,” and noted that “these regimes and empires have crumbled into dust, but Israel stands and the Jewish people prospers.”

He added, “I pray for the day when the entire world will recognize the futility of antisemitism, when leaders will abandon self-destructive hatred and forge a new future in partnership with Israel.”


‘Sarah, we will continue your mission’: DC Jewish museum shooting victim mourned at Kansas City funeral
Rabbi Doug Alpert did not utter the name of the man accused of killing Sarah Milgrim as he presided over her funeral on Tuesday.

But before reciting El Maleh Rahamim, a prayer memorializing the dead, Alpert appeared to address the alleged gunman.

“What a horrible disservice to not see her for who she was and all she had done to further peace with courage and dignity,” said Alpert.

“Because if you really wanted to know how to give Palestinians a better life, a life of humanity and dignity, you could have asked Sarah,” he said, adding, “If you’re really interested in doing something for Gaza to end the blockade and get needed aid into Gaza, you could have asked Sarah. … And if you were really interested in creating solutions to the seemingly endless conflict that separates Jews and Muslims, Israelis and Palestinians, you could have asked Sarah.”

Standing before Milgrim’s coffin, which was draped in an Israeli flag, Alpert finished his litany with audible anger: “And if you really cared, if you’re about more than cancelling voices that made you uncomfortable, about more than shouting slogans and waving a gun, then damn it, why didn’t you ask Sarah?”

The funeral at Congregation Beth Torah in Overland Park, Kansas, took place more than five days after Milgrim and her boyfriend, Yaron Lischinsky, were shot to death. The attack occurred late Wednesday night outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., where the victims had just attended an event hosted by the American Jewish Committee that focused in part on humanitarian aid in Gaza.

Both Milgrim and Lischinsky were employees of the Israeli embassy in Washington. Their alleged killer — a far-left activist from Chicago — shouted “Free Palestine” as he was arrested.

Milgrim had been shunned by some former friends for taking a role working for the Israeli government, multiple speakers said at the funeral. The speakers all said Milgrim’s commitment to Israel, and to acting on her beliefs, ran deep. They praised her family — mother Nancy, father Robert and brother Jacob — as beloved members of the local Jewish community.


DSA caucus praise of embassy shooter ‘grotseque,’ Torres says
The Democratic Socialists of America’s Liberation Caucus on Tuesday praised Elias Rodriguez, 31, the suspected gunman in the killing of Israeli embassy staffers Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Milgrim, 26, in Washington, D.C., and called for Rodriguez’s freedom.

“Elias Rodriguez’s targeted attack on two Israeli diplomatic staff on May 21, 2025, was a legitimate act of resistance against the zionist state and its genocidal campaign in Gaza,” reads the beginning of a statement from the Free Elias Rodriguez Organizing Committee.

The DSA Liberation Caucus wrote that this was an “excellent statement that we are proud to add our name to,” adding “Free Elias Rodriguez and all political prisoners.”

Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), a long proponent of Israel, condemned the DSA—whose members include Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.)—for their “grotesque” statement.

“The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) has publicly endorsed the barbaric murder of a young Jewish and Israeli couple,” Torres wrote. “Its call to ‘Free Elias Rodriguez’ is a grotesque attempt to glorify a cold-blooded murderer.”

“After being shot, Sarah Milgrim struggled to crawl away,” he added. “Elias Rodriguez walked over and executed her at point-blank range. This is the antisemitic demon the DSA has chosen to lionize.”

When pressed on whether DSA endorsed the post from the Liberation Caucus, the organization directed JNS to a statement it posted to X on Wednesday.

“Democratic Socialists of America seek to democratically transform our society and reject vigilante violence,” the organization wrote. “We condemn the murder of Israeli embassy workers. Any statement otherwise is not the stance of DSA.”


Nicola Sturgeon hosts ‘antisemitic’ director’s film premiere
Nicola Sturgeon has come under attack for inviting a controversial director accused of antisemitism to screen a premiere of his film at Holyrood.

The Scottish Tories said the former first minister had “once again” shown poor judgment for sponsoring a film screening by Samir Mehanovic, a Bosnian immigrant to the UK who has a track record of making inflammatory statements.

In 2021, the Edinburgh-based director claimed Israel was “using [the] same tactics as Hitler’s Nazis”, a statement that meets the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism.

Sturgeon said she did not agree with the remarks made by Mehanovic but believed his film, Hijabi, raised important issues. The film is about British women who wear a hijab and their experiences of Islamophobia in the UK.

Mehanović previously urged Ukrainian people, as well as Russians, to “drop the guns” when Vladimir Putin invaded in 2022.

He also has ties with RT, the Russian propaganda station, having screened a documentary on the channel while attacking British broadcasters for refusing to do the same.
UKLFI: Psychotherapists’ Chief Executive apologises for use of term genocide
The British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP) has apologised for a reference to “genocide” in Gaza, in its professional publication.

In the April issue of CBT Today, BABCP published a piece about Islamophobia, which referred to “the genocide taking place in Gaza”. Following a number of complaints from BABCP members and others, including UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI), the chief executive of BABCP has decided not to refer to a genocide in Gaza in future.

He acknowledges that this term remains contested and is the subject of an ongoing legal case in the International Court of Justice.

Tommy McIlravey, Chief Executive Officer of BABCP has told UK Lawyers for Israel:

“We will no longer allow the unqualified use of contested terms – such as ‘genocide’ in relation to the events in Gaza – to appear in our publications”

BABCP has also introduced further measures to counter antisemitism:
It is exploring if it can bring forward their already planned training around antisemitism for CBT therapists, which is part of its wider antiracism CPD programme
It has published an article by Dr Sandi Mann about impact of antisemitism on mental health in the May issue of “CBT Today”
UKLFI: Exam Board removes English Language GCSE question paper featuring Doctor in Gaza Hospital
An English language GCSE paper that featured a surgeon describing his experiences in a Gaza Hospital during a war has been removed by Pearson Edexcel. It has also issued a “take-down” notice to a third party website, “Revision World”, requesting that they remove the content as a matter of urgency. Pearson’s anti-piracy team will undertake a global search to attempt to ensure the material is not available on any other websites.

UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) wrote to Pearson highlighting the pro-Palestinian bias in their Pearson Edexcel English Language International GCSE exam paper, dated June 2023. The exam paper had also been available on other GCSE revision websites.

In this paper, students were examined on their ability to retrieve and summarise information from an extract describing Dr John Nott’s experiences operating on a child in Shifa Hospital, Gaza, during a time of war.

UKLFI pointed out to Pearson that the biased extract, covering controversial political issues, could have distressed students who are supportive of Israel during the exam, and placed them in an invidious position when answering the related exam questions. Students could also have been concerned that their answers would be examined with a similar bias. Students who take this exam as a mock or use it as a practise paper could suffer similar detriment.

UKLFI warned Pearson that the provision of this exam could potentially breach:
equalities law relating to discrimination against groups based on the protected characteristics of race, religion or belief;
the prohibition on political indoctrination in the Education Act 1996;
the government’s policy on political impartiality in schools; and
the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation’s rules and guidance.

UKLFI requested that Pearson ensure that this exam is removed from circulation.
Cal Poly Hit with Anti-Semitism Investigation Amid Allegations That It Told Students To 'Hide Their Jewish Identity'
The Trump administration opened an investigation into anti-Semitism at California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, after anti-Israel activists allegedly pelted their Jewish classmates with fake blood, and administrators encouraged the students to "hide their Jewish identity to avoid being targeted."

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) launched the investigation in response to a civil rights complaint from the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under the Law, the legal advocacy group said on Tuesday.

Jewish students at Cal Poly have accused administrators of ignoring anti-Jewish attacks and allowing an atmosphere of anti-Semitism to spread on campus, the Washington Free Beacon reported in March.

According to the Brandeis Center complaint, pro-Hamas protesters disrupted a vigil for victims of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks by drawing a "Zio Corner" chalk circle around attendees and throwing red paint at Jewish students meant to represent the "blood of martyrs."

Activists also held a demonstration adjacent to a religious ceremony for the Jewish High Holiday of Sukkot and wrote chalk messages directed at the Jewish students that said, "Go Away Nazis."

After a Jewish religious object was stolen from the Sukkot celebration one night, administrators reportedly advised Jewish students to limit their religious observance to the daytime to avoid being targeted.

"By telling Jewish students who complained of anti-Semitism to hide evidence of their Jewish identity, the university not only dismissed the Jewish students’ concerns, it also shirked its responsibility to take prompt and effective action to address anti-Semitic incidents on its campus," the Brandeis Center complaint reads.

The probe is part of a broader Trump administration effort to crack down on campus anti-Semitism and racial discrimination. The General Services Administration on Tuesday instructed federal agencies to cut all remaining funding to Harvard University, noting the school’s allegedly "discriminatory" practices, including "anti-Semitic action that suggests the institution has a disturbing lack of concern for the safety and wellbeing of Jewish students."


AFP’S PULITZER FINALIST PHOTOGRAPHERS: BROKEN NEWS PHOTOGRAPHY
Early this month, four Agence France Presse photographers working in the Gaza Strip were named as Pulitzer Prize finalists for their “Breaking News Photography.”

“This recognition is a tribute not only to the talent and bravery of these photographers, but also to AFP’s steadfast commitment to documenting events with accuracy and integrity, wherever they unfold,” Phil Chetwynd, AFP’s global news editor gushed. “We are deeply grateful to Mahmud, Omar, Said, and Bashar, whose work gives voice to those caught in the heart of the conflict.”

Some of these photographers had previously been awarded prizes in a separate competition, Pictures Of the Year International (POY).

But zooming in on two of these individuals – Omar al-Qatta and Bashar Taleb – exposes them as the very picture of broken news photography.

Giving Voice to Terrorists
AFP photographer Omar Al-Qattaa has indeed given voice to those in the heart of the conflict. Specifically, he has repeatedly cheered terrorists who carried out attacks against Israelis.

Posting about a March 2023 attack in Tel Aviv, in which one civilian was killed, Al-Qattaa selected the song “Inn Ann,” which glorifies violence against Israel, as the soundtrack to a video from the attack.

Praising a January 2023 attack in Jerusalem, which killed seven civilians in ages ranging from 14 to 68, Al-Qattaa shared a 1998 headline about the perpetrator’s grandfather, allegedly killed by “Jewish terrorists”, adding:
Today, after 25 years, [someone] bearing the same name comes out of his spawn to avenge his grandfather and Palesine with the strongest revenge, carrying out an operation of self-sacrifice [lit. “redemption”] in occupied Jerusalem, killing 8 Zionists [in fact, 7]

Regarding a March 2022 attack in Bnei Brak near Tel Aviv, which killed four civilians aged 29 to 36 and an Israeli police officer, Al-Qattaa wrote: “If only the rifle could cheer ❤️”

Al-Qattaa’s now deleted X post in which he extols Abu Obeida, “Oh terror of the Jews”

Not content to give voice only to terrorists, Al-Qattaa weighed in on their victims’ tortured screams. Celebrating a January 2023 stabbing attack in Jerusalem (no fatalities), Al-Qattaa eulogized: “your screams are music [to the ears].”


HOW IS THE BBC HANDLING ITS OWN PROMOTION OF ‘14,000 BABIES’ DISINFORMATION?
As we noted last week, on May 20th the BBC News website posted a filmed report titled “Gazan babies will die without aid – UN humanitarian chief” shortly after the interview from which that clip is taken had been aired on BBC Radio 4’s ‘Today’ programme.

“A UN humanitarian chief has said 14,000 babies in Gaza could die in the next 48 hours if lorries of aid do not reach communities in the Strip.”

As also noted, nearly twelve hours after that interview had been aired and promoted on multiple BBC platforms, the BBC News website published a report which includes an explanation as to why Fletcher’s claim that “there are 14,000 babies that will die in the next 48 hours unless we can reach them” was in fact disinformation based on the distortion of projections appearing in an IPC report.

Nevertheless – as documented in our post – that filmed report remained on the BBC News website’s ‘Middle East’ page with no footnote added to clarify to audiences that Fletcher’s claims were inaccurate and misleading.

Moreover, BBC News website editors chose to leave that disinformation in place for seven consecutive days.
BBC Verify once again promotes ‘500 trucks’ misinformation
As can be seen in its synopsis, that report was presented by Jake Horton, with “[v]erification by Paul Brown, Benedict Garman and Sherie Ryder”.

Horton begins by telling viewers that:
Horton: “Israel has blocked humanitarian aid from getting into Gaza since early March, saying this would put pressure on Hamas to release hostages. Israel has also said they’re stealing aid, which Hamas denies.”

Notably, Horton has nothing at all to tell BBC audiences about the augmented amounts of humanitarian aid – mostly food – which entered the Gaza Strip in 25,200 trucks between January 19th and March 2nd 2025.

Neither do Horton’s amplification of Hamas denials of aid theft come as a surprise, seeing as the BBC has assiduously avoided conducting any serious journalism on that issue since late 2023, all the while quoting and promoting Hamas denials.

Horton goes on to make a statement which shows that despite three members of BBC Verify staff having worked on this report, verification was not conducted.

Horton: “According to the UN, before the war about 500 trucks a day crossed into the Strip. On Monday, five aid trucks reportedly entered. The UN said this was a drop in the ocean of what is urgently needed, warning of widespread starvation.”

As was noted here well over a year ago when the BBC published a backgrounder promoting a similar narrative of imminent starvation:

“As clarified by COGAT (and supported by UN data) on average, only 70 of the 500 trucks a day which entered the Gaza Strip before October 7th were carrying food.”

Of course Paul Brown, Benedict Garman and Sherie Ryder are by no means the only BBC employees who apparently hold the belief that there is no need to fact check claims made by the UN. Additional examples of that misinformation suggesting that before the war 500 food trucks entered the Gaza Strip daily which have appeared in recent days include the following:


Israel to denaturalize, deport convicted terrorists
Israel will soon begin revoking the citizenship of and deporting terrorists, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced on Wednesday.

In a joint statement with Knesset Member Ofir Katz, the defense minister said that four terrorists are already in the advanced stages of the deportation process. Procedures have also been initiated for hundreds of others under existing legal frameworks.

The move comes after a two-year delay in enforcement. Katz said he had ordered the relevant defense bodies to provide the Interior Ministry with the necessary data to revoke citizenship and implement deportations without further delay.

“I promised—and I delivered,” Katz wrote on his Telegram account. “Starting today, the process of revoking the citizenship and deporting Israeli terrorists will begin.”

“Those who choose murder and hatred will be deported, their citizenship will be revoked, and they will pay the full price,” he added. “We will continue to act with an iron fist against terrorism. We will not allow terrorists to sit here in comfort—we will pursue them inside and out.”


Hungary appoints antisemitism envoy
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has named his minister of European Union affairs, János Bóka, as the country’s envoy for combating antisemitism.

The announcement came on Monday during a cultural event in Budapest hosted by MERKAZ—The Hebrew and Israeli Cultural Centre, marking 77 years since Israel’s founding.

“The Government of Hungary has a long-standing policy of zero tolerance towards any manifestation of antisemitism. The Hungarian Government remains committed to this policy,” Bóka wrote on X.

“We guarantee the security of the diverse and vibrant Jewish communities in Hungary and promote their development. We feel responsible for the security and prosperity of all European Jewish communities, as European Jewish life is part of our common European heritage,” Bóka added.

He told attendees on Monday that the government’s commitment to standing against antisemitism includes forms disguised as anti-Zionist or anti-Israel.

Bóka said his role will include developing policy recommendations, maintaining dialogue with international and E.U. institutions, and promoting domestic and international initiatives to combat antisemitism.

“This is more than symbolic. It shows true commitment,” Maya Kadosh, Israel’s ambassador to Hungary, said regarding the appointment, deeming it a statement of responsibility and leadership.
UKLFI: Glasgow Festival cancels Kneecap performance
The hip hop band Kneecap is no longer performing at the TRNSMT festival in Glasgow, following “concerns expressed by the Police about the safety at the event”.

UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) had raised concerns about the forthcoming performance to the police, the local council and the venue in Scotland regarding potential breaches of the Terrorism Act 2000 and of the Public Order Act 1986.

Kneecap has posted news about the cancellation on X, but they have also said that they are going to play at O2 Academy instead of at the TRNSMT festival. Kneecap wrote in their message: “Due to concerns expressed by the Police about safety at the event, Kneecap can no longer perform at TRNSMT.”

Kneecap were scheduled to perform at TRNSMIT on 11 July 2025. Police Scotland are quoted in the London Standard as saying “any decision on the line-up is for TRNSMT organisers, and that no prior consultation with the force was made before acts were booked.”

UKLFI wrote to all the venues where Kneecap is set to play this summer, warning them about the likelihood that Kneecap would repeat this kind of behaviour. UKLFI pointed out a long list of offensive and arguably illegal incidents involving the band.


The Crowd Knew Better
The now-familiar Eurovision vitriol toward Israel began even before the contest, when public broadcasters from six participating countries pushed to exclude Israel from the event, comparing it to Russia as an aggressor state. Then, after Raphael’s song, “New Day Will Rise,” received the most votes from audiences, the Spanish Broadcasting Authority (RTVE) demanded a reassessment of the voting system. Despite denying RTVE’s request, the European Broadcasting Union, which oversees the event, excluded Raphael from the contest’s official video clip last week, even after she finished second.

I should’ve seen it coming.

For a while now, RTVE has been turning every artistic or sporting event into a chance to brainwash viewers with political talking points. Since May 2024, when Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez caved to pressure from his communist coalition partners and recognized the “Palestinian state,” the socialist government’s stance has been deeply anti-Israel, adopting measure after measure against Jerusalem. Just weeks ago, Sánchez, buckling again to his coalition allies in order to cling to power, canceled an arms contract with an Israeli company, sparking a fresh row.

That was the backdrop when Eurovision rolled around. It didn’t shock me to hear RTVE’s presenters, during the second semifinal, attack Israel without even mentioning that its representative, Yuval Raphael, is a survivor of the brutal October 2023 attack: “The victims of Israeli attacks in Gaza now exceed 50,000, including over 15,000 children, according to the United Nations,” they remarked simply.

The European Broadcasting Union reprimanded Spain for breaking the rules by injecting politics into the broadcast and threatened fines if it happened again during the final. RTVE’s politicized leadership doubled down, airing a black screen just before the final with this text: “In the face of human rights, silence is not an option. Peace and justice for Palestine.” Proof that this was a government-coordinated move came when, moments later, numerous socialist ministers and high-ranking officials—including RTVE’s president—flooded Twitter with similar anti-Israel, pro-Palestine messages, urging Spaniards to vote against Israel.

On social media, Spain’s far-left amplifiers launched a similar campaign to boycott Israel’s singer through the public vote, a move echoed in other EU countries. In fact, Belgium’s public broadcaster replaced Israel’s performance with an inflammatory message: “We condemn the human rights violations by the State of Israel. Furthermore, the State of Israel is destroying press freedom. For this reason, we briefly interrupt the broadcast. #CeasefireNow #StopGenocide.” Seeing this coordinated international leftist attack on Israel, I was reminded of G.K. Chesterton’s line from The Everlasting Man: “A dead thing can go with the stream, but only a living thing can go against it.” Who was the dead thing, and who was the living one in this story? The voters knew the answer.

By the time voting started, the widespread boycott campaign, orchestrated by leftist European governments, was in full swing. Several of these governments had been pushing in recent weeks for the European Union to review its association agreement with Israel, based on Article 2, which allows suspension of bilateral commitments in cases of serious human-rights violations. That review process began on May 20, triggering an unprecedented diplomatic crisis with Israel. The Spanish government, even though Spain is scarred by terrorism, has taken the same path. It has supported a bill to impose an arms embargo on Israel, and extending to other defense areas—a decision that ignores how Israeli military technology has helped thwart attacks in Spain, from the ETA terrorists years ago to jihadists today.

This anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian fanaticism is not only unjust but reckless—and the public sees this plainly. In a repudiation of the official propaganda campaigns, voters across Europe swung overwhelmingly for Raphael.

The governments that poured public resources into rigging the public vote against Israel suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of their own European citizens. The public voters’ decision sends a clear message to their elites: We are sick of barbarism. We recognize which side represents the living and which stands for death.

The campaign’s resounding failure was particularly pronounced in Spain, where, despite the Sánchez government’s all-out efforts, Raphael received a historic number of points, topping the public vote. Spaniards sided with Israel. The amplifiers who had tweeted, “I’m proud my public broadcaster is standing up to Israel’s genocide in Gaza,” were soon posting sad messages like, “I’m ashamed to be Spanish right now.”

The affair unveiled two fascinating realities. First, Europe is full of leftist governments that are either in the minority or losing popularity, with little care for the broader sentiments of their citizens. Second, public broadcast viewers are deeply irritated by their governments’ attempts at political manipulation, especially in the context of an artistic event—even more so in this case, when the government campaign sought to align an entire nation with terrorists and against victims such as Raphael, a survivor of the Nova music festival massacre. In contrast, European citizens showered Raphael with words and votes of affection. That counts for much more than the sectarianism of corrupt leaders.

Who knows? Maybe the Eurovision popular vote is an indication that Europeans no longer want to be slaves to political elites who side with terrorists.
Chabad of Poway to host screening of film ‘Guns & Moses’
Chabad of Poway will host a pre-release screening of the film, “Guns & Moses,” which tells the story of small-town rabbi Mo Zaltzman, who becomes an unlikely gunfighter after a violent attack on his community.

The screening, which is open to the public, will be at 12:30 p.m. Sunday, June 8 at the synagogue, 16934 Chabad Way.

Salvador Litvak, the director and co-writer with his wife, Nina, said he was inspired to write “Guns & Moses” after the April 27, 2019 shooting at Chabad of Poway. Fifty-four people were inside Chabad of Poway for a Sabbath service when John T. Earnest opened fire, killing Lori Gilbert-Kaye, 60. Founding Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, 8-year-old Noya Dahan and her uncle Almog Peretz, 34, were injured.

Litvak said he attended the funeral of Gilbert-Kaye and interviewed Rabbi Goldstein after the incident and was moved by the tragedy and emotion of the congregants.

“I watched the rabbi become a national news figure,” said the Los Angeles resident. “He was calling on people to do something good and meaningful in the name of this murdered woman so something good could come out of this.”

Scheduled for release in theaters nationwide on July 18, the movie follows Rabbi Zaltzman, who is initially averse to violence but is forced to defend his synagogue and community after the attack, Litvak said. Guided by a Holocaust survivor and a veteran mayor, he confronts enemies and moral dilemmas while learning to use a gun.

The film stars Mark Feuerstein as Rabbi Mo Zaltzman in addition to Neal McDonough, Alona Tal, Christopher Lloyd and Dermot Mulroney.

Litvak said a murder occurs at a synagogue at the beginning of “Guns & Moses,” but all is not as it seems. Because the police will not investigate the crime, the rabbi becomes the detective.
GUNS & MOSES, Official Trailer - Atlanta Jewish Film Festival 25th Anniversary
A charismatic Chabad rabbi in the High Desert unexpectedly becomes a gunslinger after a fierce attack on his close-knit community. Rabbi Mo Zaltzman (Mark Feuerstein) abhors violence, but when his synagogue is riddled with bullets and a congregant assaulted, he reluctantly steps in as a protector. Guided by a Holocaust survivor (Christopher Lloyd) with a shadowed past and a veteran mayor (Neal McDonough), Mo converts into an improbable hero. Confronting enemies and moral dilemmas, Mo’s pursuit tests his faith and resilience, unraveling a larger conspiracy. Inspired by real events, this tongue-in-cheek, neo-Western thriller fuses intense action with a striking aesthetic, redefining the Jewish hero and challenging the myth of redemptive violence.


A little-known Jewish tragedy is told in new film
A powerful new short documentary, The 2,000 Kidnapped Jewish Children, has just been released online by the HispanoJewish Foundation of Madrid and the Jewish community of Porto.

It sheds light on a little-known but harrowing chapter in Jewish history – one that is especially relevant in light of the October 7, 2023, kidnappings by Hamas of 251 people from Israel, with 58 still being held after 600 days in captivity. The film is dedicated to the hostages and their families.

The movie starts as Spanish Jews in 1492 are given just weeks to convert to Christianity or flee, and over 100,000 seek shelter in Portugal, where they are met with more cruelty and oppression. The film, which is a docu-drama in Portuguese, Spanish, and Hebrew, with English narration and English subtitles, focuses on 2,000 Jewish children, aged eight and under, who were seized by order of King Joao II of Portugal in 1493.

Their families were unable to pay the high ransom demanded by the Portuguese crown. As punishment, their children were forcibly converted and deported to the uninhabited and crocodile-infested island of Sao Tomé, an island in the Gulf of Guinea, 7,500 km. from home. The tragedy of the deported children

The film details the torments of the ship voyage, where they were kept next to violent convicts and given contaminated water and inadequate food. Disease was rampant, and only the strongest survived.

Hundreds perished on the way, with the ship’s crew tossing their dead bodies overboard every morning. Their parents, left behind in Europe, pleaded with the Portuguese king for their return, but their pleas fell on deaf ears.

“The agony of having our children stolen is something Jews have felt many times in history,” David Hatchwell Altaras, president of the HispanoJewish Foundation, said. “We can only imagine the anguish of the parents of those 2,000 children, taken by force and shipped across the ocean centuries ago.

“Through this film, we can connect to Jews taken by force throughout history, including, and especially, those ripped from their homes and the Nova music festival on October 7.”




Buy EoZ's books  on Amazon!

"He's an Anti-Zionist Too!" cartoon book (December 2024)

PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism (February 2022)

    
 

 



AddToAny

Printfriendly

EoZTV Podcast

Podcast URL

Subscribe in podnovaSubscribe with FeedlyAdd to netvibes
addtomyyahoo4Subscribe with SubToMe

search eoz

comments

Speaking

Speaking

translate

E-Book

For $18 donation








Sample Text

EoZ's Most Popular Posts in recent years

Search2

Hasbys!

Hasbys!

2019 Nobel Peace Prize nominee

Elder of Ziyon - حـكـيـم صـهـيـون



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.

Donate!

Donate to fight for Israel!

Monthly subscription:
Payment options


One time donation:

Follow EoZ on Twitter!

Interesting Blogs

Show All

Blog Archive

Copyright © Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News | Powered by Blogger
Blogger Templates