Tuesday, June 10, 2025

06/10 Links Pt2: Huckabee: US no longer endorses Palestinian state; US sanctions Hamas, PFLP-linked sham charities; Pathetic Britain has sanctioned Ben-Gvir and Smotrich

From Ian:

Seth Mandel: Actually, Threatening Jewish Students Is Bad
In other words, she posted a picture of herself celebrating the worst daylong mass murder of Jews since the Holocaust. Since Israel had not yet gone into Gaza—by Oct. 12 they were still collecting bodies—her caption was at least revealing: The “genocide” accusation has no correlation whatsoever with what was actually happening on the ground. But a false accusation of genocide is the less-egregious part of a post in which the other part celebrates an attempt to wipe out the Jewish people.

As for the “anti-Zionist vibes only” part of her message: At American universities, “Zionist” means “Jew” and no one really pretends otherwise. Even in the best possible explanation, this professor was announcing that she “only” hated about 90 percent of Jews.

After Finkelstein got the call from the provost, she decided to go all-in. She added to her Instagram stories a post written by a Palestinian-American who had this to say: “Do not cower to Zionists. Shame them. Do not welcome them in your spaces. Do not make them feel comfortable. Why should those genocide loving fascists be treated any different than any other flat out racist. Don’t normalize Zionism. Don’t normalize Zionists taking up space.”

These are the words of a person who is deeply dispirited by the fact of Jews continuing to live. It is a barbaric thing for a professor at a famously Jew-friendly university to endorse. It is a barbaric thing for a professor anywhere at any time and at any university to endorse. It is a post that at least implicitly threatens her students, which I assume is a big no-no even at elite universities.

Writes the Times: “Finkelstein was told not to return to campus and locked out of her email. Her classes would be reassigned to an adjunct professor while the college hired an outside firm to investigate.”

I would think so!

After an investigation, she was fired—and as we now know, it was not for her politics. You may believe a teacher shouldn’t be fired for alerting her students that if they are Jewish they should expect to be publicly shamed in her presence, but you cannot say she was fired for her opinions or beliefs, rancid as they are.

The fact that Finkelstein made that insane post right after being told by her provost that the school was under federal investigation (likely) for her anti-Semitism demonstrates another relevant fact: she was trying to get fired, and she was doing so by publicly telling her boss to take a long walk off a short pier.

So Finkelstein got what she wanted. What, then, does the writer spend the remaining thousands of words of the article on? Well, the rest of the piece is about the cases of other professors who have over the years been fired for actual speech. In other words, the entire article is framed around Finkelstein, but Finkelstein is the one example that does not fit the thesis. This is the making of a martyr, and the people who claim Finkelstein was wronged are doing great damage to the cause of academic freedom by equating it with lunatic behavior that has nothing to do with it.
Seth Mandel: The Crypto Jew-Haters
Whenever someone says “couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy,” they always mean “literally anyone else it could have happened to would have deserved it less.” And that’s why, when I read that an anti-Semitic crytpo-currency company started by a white supremacist was imploding over credible allegations of financial fraud, I thought: that couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.

The guy in question is Stew Peters, a true American renaissance man. He first tried his hand at a hip-hop career, but that didn’t get far. He went on to become a bounty hunter, and a fairly infamous one at that. But the bounty hunting, too, ended in tears.

Peters is now finding some success as an internet personality and podcaster—think Father Coughlin with a spread collar and a YouTube channel. Although the popularity of anti-Semitic influencers has been climbing, Peters isn’t too happy about it, grumbling on a recent show that the more mainstream personalities dabbling in the “Jewish Question” were mere “controlled opposition.” Not Stew Peters—he was a slimeball before it was cool.

But like a skinhead version of Icarus, Peters appears to have flown too close to the sun.

In April, Peters launched $JPROOF, a digital currency of a kind known as “memecoins.” These are like Bitcoin but meant to capitalize on some ideological trend. It’s a great vehicle for financial grift. “This serves as a moment in which we break away from this Rothschild Jew-run Talmudic cabal financial system,” he announced, essentially just vomiting a string of neo-Nazi buzzwords.

As if this wasn’t enough of a red flag, some crypto commentators began sounding the alarm right away. One called attention to the fact that Peters controlled most of the token supply, opening it up to manipulation. Essentially the concern was that Peters could buy up the coin and then transfer and sell it, which would drive down the value just as it would a stock that saw a substantial sell-off. In that case, Peters would profit off of the initial buy-up and get to re-invest his money in a more stable currency—again, similar to the manipulation of a young stock. Peters also reportedly didn’t follow the transparency process for legitimate crypto currency.

Well, this pump-and-dump scam is pretty much what JPROOF customers are now alleging happened. Lucas Gage, another prominent white nationalist in Peters’ circle, announced he’d lost big on JPROOF, and then he and others investigated and found that the coin’s insiders were intentionally “draining [its] liquidity.”

Said Gage: “I feel betrayed.”

Well that’s a shame. Others in the white-nationalist crypto community said much the same. And if you can’t trust a burned-out bounty hunter who broadcasts anti-Jewish tirades on the internet, who can you trust?
'Idle' worship Israeli Embassy shooter Elias Rodriguez’s has sick ‘fan club’ growing online: ‘Not people, they are demons’
Elias Rodriguez is accused of brutally murdering two Israeli embassy staffers — but a sick fan club cheering on his action is growing around him.

A twisted online community has exploded supporting the suspected terrorist: Writing him letters in jail, petitioning for his release, and celebrating his crime as part of the so-called “global intifada.”

The Post infiltrated several popular Telegram channels which circulate op-eds, petitions and even stickers in support of the accused murderer.

Rodriguez, 31, is charged with shooting Yaron Lichinsky, 28, and Sarah Pilgrim, 26, late on May 21 as they were leaving a Young Diplomats Reception held at the Capital Jewish Museum in DC.

The victims, who were a couple, both worked at the Israeli Embassy. Chicago native Rodriguez is now charged with two counts of first-degree murder and is being held in jail as prosecutors determine a full list of charges against him.

Depraved Rodriguez, who had ties to radical left-wing groups, reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack that night while chanting “Free Palestine” which has since made him the subject of praise online.

A video of Rodriguez’s arrest posted to Resistance News Network, a pro-Palestinian Telegram channel with more than 165,000 followers, received tremendous positive attention. 404 users reacted with a heart-on-fire emoji, and 192 more with a salute emoji.

Individuals on the Tariq el-Tahrir Youth and Student Network Telegram channel were encouraged to print out stickers of Rodriguez and to “distribute them everywhere! Long live the armed anti-imperialist resistance!”

Especially disturbing strings of comments about Rodriguez and racist hate directed towards Lichinsky and Pilgrim were left by members of GAZA NOW IN ENGLISH, a Telegram channel with more than 200,000 members.

An image of Rodriguez posted to the channel the day after the attack praised him for, “in a moment of courage, [deciding] to make his voice heard and [confronting] the murderers with boldness,” despite both of his victims being entirely innocent diplomats.

“Great man even though he’s a Christian/atheist worm,” one channel member responded. Another wrote, “Blessed… two zionists off to their promised land in HELL!!!”

“Go go go rodriguesz [sic], another shooter are welcomed,” a third user wrote. Another said, “This should happen all over the world in each and every country.”


Huckabee: US no longer endorses Palestinian state, can be formed 'elsewhere' in Middle East
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee suggested that a Palestinian state could be formed in the territories of other Middle Eastern nations, since there is "no room" in the West Bank, he told Bloomberg in an interview published on Tuesday.

Huckabee added that the United States no longer wholeheartedly endorses an independent state for Palestinians, saying he "does not think" the issue remains a US policy.

Bloomberg quoted Huckabee as stating that "unless there are some significant things that happen that change the culture, there’s no room for it," in regard to establishing a Palestinian state in the West Bank.

He added that such changes will likely not occur "in our lifetime." Huckabee criticizes France's attempt to recognize a Palestinian state
Last week, Huckabee criticized France's decision to organize a UN conference that would see the recognition of a Palestinian state within a two-state solution, The Jerusalem Post previously reported.

"It's incredibly inappropriate in the midst of a war that Israel is dealing with to go out to present something that Israelis are steadfast against," he told Fox News in an interview. "If France is really so determined to see a Palestinian state, I've got a suggestion for them: carve out a piece of the French Riviera and create a Palestinian state.

"They're welcome to do that, but they're not welcome to impose that kind of pressure on a sovereign nation. I find it revolting that they think they have a right to do that sort of thing. I hope they reconsider. But, the United States will not be part of this."
The Free Press: Israel Amb. Mike Huckabee on Gaza Aid, Iran, & MAGA’s Foreign Policy War
There are people who have résumés we might call “diverse” or “wide-ranging.” And then there are people like Mike Huckabee, who, at age 69, has seemingly crammed several lifetimes’ worth of careers into one.

He was a televangelist. He was governor of Arkansas for over a decade. He ran for president and won the Iowa caucuses. He hosted his own show on Fox News for seven years. He’s written books on everything from Christmas to weight loss.

And now he’s America’s ambassador to Israel. And he’s filling that post at a moment when the longtime status quo in the region is being completely upended. Israel is inching closer to eradicating Hamas in Gaza—but the day-after plan is unclear. Iran is feared to be on the cusp of developing nuclear weapons, and Trump and Steve Witkoff are working hard on a renewed Iran nuclear deal.

Arab countries like Saudi Arabia, and even Syria, could normalize relations with Israel. But Islamist terror groups are trying to derail any attempts at lasting peace. And American adversaries like China and Russia are trying to take advantage of any instability in the region. Suffice it to say, it’s a time of great uncertainty.

Meanwhile, Huckabee is, in some way, redefining what it means to be Israel’s ambassador. He’s been outspoken in criticizing inaccurate press accounts about the conflict, and he’s been ardent in his support of the Jewish state. And while most ambassadors exist behind the scenes, Mike Huckabee has been in front of the cameras, making the case for Israel and its war with Hamas directly to Americans. It could even be argued that he’s making a better case for Israel than the Israeli government itself.

So today on Honestly, Ambassador Huckabee discusses all of that and more with Bari Weiss—the rise of antisemitism in the U.S. and the West more broadly, the future of America’s involvement in the Middle East, and the fight between doves and hawks in Trump’s 2.0 presidency.

One final note: This interview ended abruptly. The ambassador took a call from Israel, and at 10 p.m., the rocket sirens blared and he had 90 seconds to get to the shelter. It’s something normalized in Israeli life. Talk to any parents, and they’ll talk about having to wake up their kids several times a week because of these sirens. But it also serves as a constant reminder of the persistent threat that Israel faces, and not just from Hamas.




US sanctions Hamas, PFLP-linked sham charities
The U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions against five people and five charities that it said support Hamas’s terror activities under the pretense of humanitarian work inside and outside of Gaza.

The federal government also sanctioned another charity linked to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine on Tuesday.

“Today’s action underscores the importance of safeguarding the charitable sector from abuse by terrorists like Hamas and the PFLP, who continue to leverage sham charities as fronts for funding their terrorist and military operations,” stated Michael Faulkender, the deputy U.S. treasury secretary.

“Treasury will continue to use all available tools to prevent Hamas, the PFLP and other terrorist actors from exploiting the humanitarian situation in Gaza to fund their violent activities at the expense of their own people,” Faulkender stated.

The entities sanctioned include the Gaza-based Al Weam Charitable Society, the Turkey-based Filistin Vakfi, the Algerian-based El Baraka Association for Charitable and Humanitarian Work, the Netherlands-based Israa Charitable Foundation and the Italy-based Associazione Benefica.

Al Weam is accused of employing Hamas members and of being “clandestinely controlled by Hamas and fully integrated into Hamas’s military wing.”

The five individuals designated on Tuesday are leaders associated with those entities.

The department noted that Hamas and PFLP have a long history of abusing non-profit organizations and charities, often at the expense of the Palestinian people.

The Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, based in Judea and Samaria, was also sanctioned on Tuesday. The Treasury Department said that the organization “purports to represent the interests of Palestinian prisoners” but has “long supported and is affiliated with the PFLP.”


UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Norway sanction Israeli ministers
The United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Norway announced Tuesday that they are imposing personal sanctions on Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir for what they described as "incitement to violence against Palestinians." This marks the first instance of Western countries sanctioning sitting ministers in the Israeli government.

According to the official statement, Ben-Gvir and Smotrich were "responsible for incitement, promotion, and support of activities constituting serious violations of the right not to be subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, especially acts of aggression and violence against Palestinians in the West Bank."

The statement further asserted that "Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich incited extreme violence and grave violations of Palestinian human rights. Such actions are unacceptable."

The sanctions include asset freezes, travel bans to the sanctioning countries, and business restrictions. Although both men serve in the Israeli government, Ben-Gvir as National Security Minister and Smotrich as Finance Minister and an additional minister in the Defense Ministry, the sanctions were imposed on them "in their personal capacity," the statement emphasized.

Despite the sanctions, the countries affirmed their "strong friendship with the people of Israel" and pledged continued cooperation with the Israeli government. The declaration also reiterated calls for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages, while stating that "Hamas cannot have any future role in governing Gaza."

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy had previously indicated that Britain was preparing sanctions over statements he described as "monstrous." Addressing the House of Commons last month, he said: "We are entering a new and darker phase in this conflict. Prime Minister Netanyahu's government is planning to expel the residents of Gaza to a southern corner, while allowing them only a fraction of the aid they desperately need."
Smotrich threatens Palestinian economic collapse over UK sanctions
Responding to the sanctions threat during an event in Hebron, Smotrich directly challenged Britain's motivations. "They decided to impose sanctions on me because I am preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state," he declared. "The natural response will also be practical, but the verbal response is contempt for the White Paper. Britain already tried once to prevent us from settling the cradle of our homeland, and will not be allowed to do it again. We are determined to continue building."

Sources within Smotrich's circle confirmed to Israel Hayom that the minister possesses the necessary authority to execute his threatened economic measures. These would encompass immediately terminating tax revenue transfers that Israel collects for the Palestinian Authority and dismantling legal-economic frameworks that currently protect Israeli banks maintaining relationships with Palestinian financial institutions.

The threatened actions could severely impact Palestinian economic stability, as Israel serves as the primary collector of customs and tax revenues on behalf of the Palestinian Authority under existing agreements.
Rubio censures five nations imposing sanctions on Ben-Gvir, Smotrich
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio criticized five countries on Tuesday that placed sanctions on two Israeli cabinet members.

Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway and the United Kingdom announced that they would impose sanctions on Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s finance minister, and Itamar Ben-Gvir, its minister of national security, for allegedly “inciting violence” against Palestinian Arabs in Judea and Samaria.

“The United States condemns the sanctions imposed by the governments of the United Kingdom, Canada, Norway, New Zealand and Australia on two sitting members of the Israeli cabinet,” said Rubio in a statement. “These sanctions do not advance U.S.-led efforts to achieve a ceasefire, bring all hostages home and end the war.”

“We reject any notion of equivalence: Hamas is a terrorist organization that committed unspeakable atrocities, continues to hold innocent civilians hostage and prevents the people of Gaza from living in peace,” he stated. “We remind our partners not to forget who the real enemy is. The United States urges the reversal of the sanctions and stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Israel.”


In first, Palestinian Authority’s Abbas condemns Hamas October 7 attack
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas condemned Hamas’s October 7 attack for the first time on Tuesday, while reiterating his call for the terror group to release the remaining hostages in Gaza.

“What Hamas did in October 2023 in killing and taking civilians hostage is unacceptable and condemnable and Hamas must immediately release all hostages,” Abbas wrote in a letter to French President Emmanuel Macron and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who this month will co-chair a UN conference aimed at advancing a two-state solution.

While Abbas has long rejected violence as a means for advancing Palestinian self-determination, he has refrained from specifically publicly condemning Hamas’s actions on October 7, with at least one of his aides arguing that he wouldn’t do so while Israel’s wide-scale offensive in Gaza was ongoing.

But Abbas is also looking to gain support from the international community so that the PA can replace Hamas as the governing authority in Gaza.

In recent months, he has repeatedly condemned Hamas, while also instituting a series of reforms, including one that would end the PA’s controversial policy of rewarding the families of Palestinian security prisoners and slain terrorists who had carried out attacks against Israelis.

Abbas’s letter comes a week before the UN’s two-state solution conference, which Ramallah is hoping will be used as a platform for France and other countries to recognize a Palestinian state.

Abbas’s comments could make it easier for Western countries to further boost the PA, which Israel has repeatedly called out for failing to unequivocally condemn the October 7 onslaught. Jerusalem did not comment on Abbas’s Tuesday letter, though it has spoken out adamantly against next week’s UN conference and even blocked the recent entry of a Saudi-led delegation of Arab foreign ministers to Ramallah on the grounds that they were planning to advance a two-state solution — a framework that Israel claims would pose a security threat.


UKLFI: UN Human Rights Office accused of violating due process when compiling BDS Blacklist.
The United Nations’ Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is accused of violating rights to a fair and due process in compiling its database of companies allegedly carrying on activities giving rise to human rights concerns in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank).

The OHCHR is tasked under Resolution A/HRC/RES/31/36[i] of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to produce a database of all business enterprises involved in the activities specified in paragraph 96 of Report A/HRC/22/63.[ii] (see below for details).

Companies on this list are targeted for boycotts and divestment, so there can be serious economic and reputational consequences for any company which is included on it.

However, UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) have been informed that in its purported “research”, the OHCHR has been receiving unverified information from unidentified sources alleging that certain businesses have engaged in the specified activities.

The OHCHR then refuses to provide even the most basic information with respect to the nature or substance of the allegations to the businesses concerned. If the businesses request specific information to enable them to address the allegations, the OHCHR only provides standard form responses and no factual information.

Targeted businesses are unable to defend themselves effectively by refuting the anonymous allegations. There could also be potential manipulation of the OHCHR’s process by competitors, politically motivated actors, or anyone wishing harm upon these businesses.

The OHCHR thus violates the targeted businesses’ right to a fair and due process, which includes the presumption of innocence and the right to be informed of the nature and source of the allegations brought against oneself, including in proceedings that are akin to judicial proceedings.
Spanish UN resolution calls for ‘all measures necessary’ against Israel
Spain intends to put an anti-Israel resolution, which it drafted, up for a vote during an emergency session of the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday.

Penned with the Palestinian Authority and other allies, the resolution calls on member states to “individually and collectively take all measures necessary” to ensure that the Jewish state complies with international law.

The draft demands an “immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire” in the Israel-Hamas war, reiterating a previous demand for the “immediate, dignified and unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas and other groups.”

Pedro Sánchez, the Spanish prime minister, previewed the resolution a month ago in an address to the Spanish Parliament, telling lawmakers that it would push for “urgent measures to stop the killing of innocent civilians and ensure humanitarian aid” in Gaza.

Israel and Spain have faced increasingly hostile diplomatic tensions. Sánchez is a member of Spain’s Socialist Party and has been among Europe’s most vocal critics of Israel’s prosecution of the war against Hamas.

Spain recognized a Palestinian state last year, introduced a weapons embargo on Israel and joined South Africa’s genocide lawsuit against Israel at the International Court of Justice, the principal U.N. judicial arm.

Days before Sánchez announced last month that he intended to submit the resolution before the U.N. General Assembly, the Israeli Ministry for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism said that Spain, with Ireland and South Africa, was among the “countries that enable antisemitism through their selective criticism of Israel and abuse of the language of human rights.”


Georgetown, CUNY, Berkeley leaders to testify at House ed panel meeting
A House Committee on Education and Workforce meeting, slated for July 9, will address the role that faculty, funding and ideology play in Jew-hatred within institutions of higher education, the committee said.

Robert Groves, interim president of Georgetown University, is scheduled to testify, as are City University of New York chancellor Félix Matos Rodríguez and University of California, Berkeley chancellor Rich Lyons.

“We continue to see antisemitic hatred festering at schools across the country,” stated Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.), the committee chair.

“While much of the discussion has focused on the devastating effects of antisemitism, this hearing will focus on the underlying factors instigating antisemitic upheaval and hatred on campus,” Walberg said.

“Until these factors, such as foreign funding and antisemitic student and faculty groups, are addressed, antisemitism will persist on college campuses,” the congressman stated. “Our committee is building on its promise to protect Jewish students and faculty while many university leaders refuse to hold agitators of this bigotry, hatred and discrimination accountable.”
The Student Intifada Escalates at the University of Washington
A suspended student group is supporting an organization that the United States and Canada have deemed a terrorist entity, taking over an engineering building at the University of Washington.

Students United for Palestinian Equality and Return at the University of Washington (SUPER UW) was suspended from campus after refusing to cooperate with university administrators who were investigating vandalism after demonstrations in 2024. However, that suspension seems to be in name only, as SUPER UW has been allowed to hold tabling events on campus, with some reportedly handing out Hamas’ pamphlets (according to a Canary Mission video) and selling t-shirts promoting “resistance.”

On May 5, SUPER UW published a manifesto stating, “WE DEMAND: UW will no longer be complicit in genocide.” SUPER UW explained they were answering “the call” and entered “a new global phase of repression and resistance, both in the international student movement and on the ground in Palestine.” It is even more concerning who may have issued the call.

In May 2024 Samidoun published “A call from the Palestinian student movement in Gaza: Time for revolutionary escalation of the global intifada.” Samidoun is not limiting their call to university students but is also calling for high school students to participate in the “global intifada.” This is another example of university campus influence on K-12 education, demonstrating the need for transparency, not only in higher education, but in K-12 schools.

“Today we turn to high school students all over the world to participate widely in the struggles and activities of the university student movement, organizing demonstrations, sit-ins, and vigils, writing petitions and letters, and organizing educational days about the Palestinian struggle and the goals of the Palestinian people for liberation and return. Secondary schools constitute a strong fortress and a great support for university students everywhere,” the statement said.

SUPER UW explicitly supports Samidoun, issuing a “Solidarity Statement with Samidoun Against Ongoing Repression” after the terrorist designation by the governments of Canada and the United States.
Campus bookstore in San Diego peddles Palestinian propaganda
Groundwork Books is a longstanding student-run, not-for-profit “workers cooperative” focused on social action. Although not directly funded by the University of California, San Diego, it sits in the heart of the Old Student Center in a university-owned building where it champions anti-Israel ideas.

The bookstore has a long history of fighting for righteous causes, such as equal rights for women and the safety of immigrants. It developed a facade of embracing justice and equality while championing a pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel movement that goes against every one of their core values by pushing antisemitic propaganda and publicly endorsing acts of terror and violence against Jews.

Groundwork’s website mentions that they have collaborated with Students for Justice in Palestine, an unregistered student organization at UCSD that was given a Cease and Desist order in May of 2024 for its participation in illegal and dangerous activity, such as creating tent encampments on campus, denying access to officials for safety inspections and even possessing weapons.

In the store itself is a Palestinian flag hung by the window, posters in Arabic covering the walls, and stands littered with various pamphlets containing symbols and words directly inciting violence and praising violent activity.

These posters include a photo of Ghassan Kanafani, a well-known member of the terrorist group, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, known for plane hijackings and the mass murder of Jews. Another poster celebrates glory to the “workers,” otherwise known as the Arab colonial invaders influenced by former Nazi collaborators, who fought against Israel in the 1948 war for self-determination.

One flier uses debunked maps of Israel to smear archaeology, claiming that these studies are an excuse to continue oppressing Palestinians and parroting the falsehood that Jews have no claim to their ancestral homeland.
Williams College Pre-Commencement Crashed by Pro-Hamas Vandal
A Williams College student has been charged with vandalism and resisting arrest for an incident this past weekend in which pro-Hamas graffiti was sprayed on campus property and an American flag was displaced by a Palestinian one.

The student, 20-year-old Falls Church, Virginia, native Liam Carey, tied himself to a flagpole at the scene of the crime in Massachusetts, according to The Berkshire Eagle, a local paper. Having been discovered just hours before Williams College was to hold its annual commencement activities, he represents the latest attempt of a pro-Hamas activist to hijack the final weeks of the school year with a public gesture.

According to the Eagle, the incident was afforded passing recognition during President Maud Mandel’s speech, in which she hinted at “some protest activities this weekend.”

“Today is a time for seniors to feel good about their accomplishments, and families and friends are here from around the world to celebrate,” Mandel continued. “So, I won’t go on at length, but I wanted to acknowledge that broader context that we are all involved in right now. We’ll no doubt go back to those discussions, but I hope today we can all come together and honor the spirit of this commencement celebration.”

During the ceremony, however, Brodie Joseph Leo, who graduated with dual degrees in Arabic and environmental science, commandeered a microphone after receiving his diploma to scream “Free Palestine,” the Eagle said. The perpetrators of both the firebombing of a pro-Israel rally in Colorado earlier this month and the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington, DC, last month shouted “Free Palestine” during or after the attack, according to federal authorities.

Williams College was the latest school to be targeted by pro-Hamas activists at the end of the academic year.

In May, a pro-Hamas group at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, which calls itself the “New Deal Coalition” (NDC) occupied the anteroom of the Parkhurst Hall administrative building but limited the demonstration to business hours, as its members went home when it was shuttered at 6 pm. Before leaving the building, however, the group contributed to injuries sustained by a member of President Sian Beilock’s staff and an officer of the school’s Department of Safety and Security officer, according to The Dartmouth, the college’s official campus newspaper.
‘Amoral abomination’: Lawmakers criticize NY Regents exam guide for Jew-hatred
Congress members denounced a study guide for the 10th-grade New York State Regents exams, which appeared to refer to Zionism as “extreme nationalism,” state that “every war ended with Israel gaining more land,” and refer to both Israeli and Palestinian “terrorism,” per an image that StopAntisemitism posted.

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) said New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York Democrats “own this vile antisemitism on New York State Regents exams.”

“A total amoral abomination,” Stefanik said. “This raging antisemitism in New York is appeased and promoted by Kathy Hochul and her failing antisemitic N.Y. Democrat Party. Enough is enough.”

Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) stated that “this is precisely why I fought to pass legislation in New York, over the objections of Assembly Democrats, to make sure New York taught the Holocaust and to determine what materials were being used.”

“It’s precisely why I’m fighting to pass the Antisemitism Awareness Act, to ensure we define antisemitism and enforce Title VI,” the congressman said. “Gov. Kathy Hochul and the New York State Education Department need to act immediately to rectify this insanity.”

David Friedman, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel, stated that “10th graders now study for the New York State Regents exam by learning to hate Israel.”

Yaakov Kaplan, vice chair of Brooklyn Community Board 12, said an individual teacher issued the study guide, not the state.

“I hope the school district this teacher is associated with will take the appropriate action,” he said.


Hamas is playing the BBC like a fiddle
The BBC’s Jeremy Bowen has written a lengthy piece arguing that Israel has violated the laws of war in Gaza. Based on interviews with the Red Cross, the Norwegian Refugee Council and a carefully selected group of legal experts and academics, Bowen leaves readers with the impression that Israel is a serial and malign violator of international law which has possibly committed genocide against the Palestinians.

This one sided, deeply anti-Israeli diatribe is neither shocking nor surprising. It fits neatly with the corporation’s failure to examine the war with any semblance of objectivity, fairness or neutrality.

Indeed, there is one major fault in his piece which suffuses so many other media misrepresentations of the conflict, something one might call HDS: Hamas Disappearing Syndrome. There is no mention of how Hamas has embedded itself throughout Gaza’s civilian infrastructure, taken control of its economy and created food insecurity by looting and selling aid at exorbitant prices. The focus is purely on the temporary Israeli blockade.

Nor does Bowen talk about Hamas’s cynical war tactics, especially its decision to turn Gaza’s residential areas into a gigantic human shield. He does not mention the extensive tunnel system built by Hamas, one whose shafts are strategically connected to residential structures, such as schools, mosques and hospitals. He is oblivious to how Hamas has booby trapped civilian homes, entailing a vast amount of destruction by the IDF as a necessary war aim.

There is nothing in Bowen’s report about how Hamas has stored and used its weapons within civilian structures, including the firing of RPGs at Israeli troops from the steps of the Al Quds hospital, the use of Shifa hospital as a command and control centre for its fighters and the use of UN schools, including UNRWA facilities, to store caches of weapons and documents. For Bowen, it is as if Hamas has no fingerprints in Gaza at all.

Instead, he cites the numbers of Palestinians killed in the war, relying on Hamas figures that are quite remarkably deemed credible. He interviews the president of the Red Cross, Mirjana Spoljaric, who describes Gaza as ‘worse than hell on earth’ and who says that Israel’s actions run counter to the Geneva Convention.

Leaving aside the fact that comments such as these violate the Red Cross’s neutrality, Spolijaric ought to be ashamed that her organisation has failed in its duty towards Israeli hostages, acting more like an Uber service than a credible international player.
In BBC Arabic’s echo chamber, British Jews are presented as living in a ‘bubble’
In recent years, one of the most common ways for BBC Arabic editors to keep their audience inside the echo chamber of Palestinian propaganda has been the service’s cultural programmes. From folk music to wildlife, equestrianism to local cuisine, human interest items emerge as an easy method of introducing hateful or violent perspectives, without the need to balance them with alternative views from the Israeli side.

British license fee payers are growing more impatient with BBC Arabic’s evident failure to challenge this choir of incitement where ’proper’ news is concerned. Culture programmes, on the other hand, are still a realm in which the BBC does not feel as pressured to include the broader context of the conflict to counter contributors who, for example, deny Jewish history or make unfounded speculations about Israelis.

Even news-focused cultural segments can comfortably use the same trick of featuring a partisan commentator as the item’s main voice and this can often go unnoticed – though thankfully, not always, as seen in 2021 when the Corporation publicly apologised after airing a cosy discussion with Ahlam Tamimi, one of the terrorists responsible for the 2001 Sbarro bombing.

At post-October 7 BBC Arabic, it is the theme of art and culture which most frequently serves as a means to that end.

Not long ago, it was revealed how a seemingly innocent item about “national consciousness through the art of storytelling” in fact whitewashed a song in praise of murderers who killed innocent Jews in 1929 Mandatory Palestine.

Furthermore, the BBC film crew, which was present throughout the same storytelling act, edited out parts in which the Palestinian performer in question used antisemitic stereotypes and unambiguously called for violence against “the Zionist enemy”.


Seth Frantzman: UNIFIL faces harassment in Lebanon as gov’t promises ‘security’
UNIFIL said that freedom of movement is a basic condition for implementing its mandate, after an incident in southern Lebanon in which local residents harassed its patrol.

The report in Al-Akhbar, Lebanon, described the recent incident that occurred amid Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, saying that he has been striving to restore security to the country.

Further, the incident took place in the midst of rumors that the UNIFIL mandate could end this year. Since pro-Hezbollah activists appear to be harassing the patrols, this might indicate that a power vacuum could be emerging in southern Lebanon that the government is not filling.

According to Al Arabiya, UNIFIL said that its peacekeepers were on a planned patrol. The patrol was “confronted by a group of individuals in civilian clothing in the vicinity of Hallusiyat al Tahta, in southern Lebanon,” the UN Interim Force in Lebanon said.

Al Arabiya reported that “the group attempted to obstruct the patrol using aggressive means, including throwing stones at the peacekeepers... one peacekeeper was struck.” The UN organization said that “it is unacceptable that UNIFIL peacekeepers continue to be targeted.”

Al Arabiya added that “the past weeks saw several confrontations between people in south Lebanon, where Hezbollah holds sway, and UN peacekeepers.”

Given that one of its peacekeepers was beaten or struck in the recent attack, although he was not seriously wounded, UNIFIL personnel responded with “non-lethal measures to ensure the safety of the patrol and those present,” Al-Akhbar noted.

Moreover, the Lebanese Armed Forces were “immediately notified and arrived at the scene shortly thereafter.”


Country Club Suspends Orthodox Jewish Family Over Viral Prayer Video, Sparking $50M Lawsuit
The Dhillon Law Group (@DhillonLaw) filed a $50 million federal lawsuit against a prestigious South Florida country club for suspending an Orthodox Jewish family from its facilities, citing a viral social media video that included the wrapping of tefillin, a traditional Jewish prayer ritual, as “offensive religious conduct.”

The lawsuit, Scharf v. Boca Grove Property Owner’s Association, Inc., was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

The video, which has garnered over 962,000 views and was posted by @countryclubadjacent, which has more than 947,000 followers, shows Jewish influencer and comedian Jake Adams being assisted in donning tefillin by Isaac Scharf during a golf outing at Boca Grove Country Club in December 2024.

Shortly after the video’s release, Boca Grove suspended Scharf from all amenities for 90 days, stating the footage “contained references to religious practices that have been deemed offensive to a reasonable person.” The suspension was later extended to Scharf’s wife and five children, including their one-year-old daughter, effectively banning the family from the clubhouse, gym, pool, and all community events.

“This may be the most egregious religious discrimination case I’ve ever handled,” said Dhillon Law Group partner Matthew Sarelson, who represents the family. “Boca Grove didn’t just target one man — they punished an entire family for participating in an innocuous act of Jewish faith.”

The lawsuit alleges violations of the federal Fair Housing Act and accuses Boca Grove of discriminatorily targeting Orthodox Jews with its grievance process. The complaint also details broader patterns of exclusion, including the cancellation of kosher dining options and the dismantling of walking paths used on the Sabbath.

“This wasn’t about enforcing a policy. It was about sending a message to Orthodox Jews that they’re not welcome,” said Dhillon Law Group associate Jacob Roth.


Nova Scotia man charged with promoting genocide for threatening Jews
B’nai Brith Canada stated on Tuesday that its complaint led to criminal charges against Luke Alexander MacDonnell, 22, for allegedly calling for Israelis to be killed.

“B’nai Brith Canada observed MacDonnell using social media to make threats targeting Jewish people,” said Richard Robertson, the nonprofit’s research and advocacy director. “We alerted law enforcement, who acted in short order to prevent him from causing harm.”

The Nova Scotia man is accused of stating online that “I want all Israelis murdered,” and that he wanted to “see all Zios killed.”

“In a chilling message to his followers, MacDonnell also called on anyone who was armed to ‘go out and kill, injure, take prisoners and bomb,’” B’nai Brith stated.

The New Glasgow Regional Police stated that it charged MacDonnell “in relation to a hate crime that occurred in New Glasgow.”

Police received a report of a hate crime on June 5, and the following day, “responded to a report of postings of online hate speech that occurred from a New Glasgow residence.” Police investigators “learned that the man allegedly posted several hateful messages targeting Jewish communities,” the department stated.


Israeli runners harassed at South Africa’s Comrades Marathon
Half a dozen Israeli runners who participated in the annual Comrades Marathon in South Africa on Sunday, June 8, were harassed during the race by members of the ANC Youth League for the province of KwaZulu-Natal (ANCYL-KZN).

Prior to the marathon, their names and race numbers were made public in a statement released by the ANCYL-KZN. The statement also called for the exclusion of Israeli runners.

The Comrades Marathon is the world’s oldest ultramarathon and was named to honor the camaraderie among the diverse participants. The 2025 Comrades Marathon attracted some 19,000 runners from more than 80 countries. The race is run in the province of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) from the city of Pietermaritzburg to Durban.

Members of the ANCYL KZN, draped in or waving Palestinian flags, tracked and pestered the runners as they ran. Some carried signs accusing Israel of “war crimes” and others yelled abuse such as “Down, down Israel, you are not welcome here; this is not your land. Go home!”

The ANCYL KZN had called on the Comrades Marathon organizers to “reverse” their decision to allow Israelis to compete and then published their names and race numbers, which made it easy for them to be tracked while running.

It said in a statement, “Symbolic acts on international solidarity must translate into tangible actions. Allowing representatives of an apartheid state to participate in an event as iconic and morally significant as the Comrades Marathon sends a dangerous and conflicting message, one that undermines the very principles this race has come to embody such as unity, sacrifice and justice.”


Florida post office renamed for Jewish lawyer who prosecuted Nazis
Naming a post office in Delray Beach, Fla., after Benjamin Berell Ferencz, a Jewish lawyer who prosecuted Nazis during the Nuremberg trials, is an effort to “not only remember the man” but also to “reaffirm the values he stood for: justice, human dignity and the courage to speak out against hate,” Rep. Lois Frankel (D-Fla.) stated.

Speaking alongside local leaders, Jewish representatives, U.S. Postal Service officials and Ferencz’s daughter, Nina Dale, at a ceremony on Monday, the congresswoman said that the renaming comes after “two horrific acts of antisemitic violence,” in Washington, D.C., and Boulder, Colo.

Having “devoted his life to combating antisemitism and advancing international law,” Ferencz’s “legacy is more urgent and inspiring than ever,” she said.

“May the Benjamin Berell Ferencz Post Office be a lasting symbol of those values—a place that reminds us all to stand firm against antisemitism and all forms of hatred and division,” she said. “That’s something we should all commit to, and hopefully everyone who walks through that door feels the same way.”

In 2022, Frankel led a successful effort to award Ferencz, a longtime resident of Palm Beach County, a Congressional Gold Medal.

“Mr. Ferencz’s life was a masterclass in courage, justice and humanity,” she said on Monday. “During World War II, Benjamin served in the U.S. Army and was later assigned to gather evidence of Nazi war crimes. That mission led him to the gates of concentration camps, where he witnessed unspeakable horrors.”
Argentine president vows support for Israel at Western Wall
Argentinian President Javier Milei started his official state visit to Israel on Monday with an emotional pledge at Jerusalem’s Western Wall that he will “always stand” with the Jewish state, which he called “the cause of the West.”

The Argentine leader, who is on his second visit to Israel in as many years and has emerged as one of Israel’s most vocal supporters around the globe, reinforced that message at the Jerusalem holy site.

“I want you to know that my support for Israel comes from the heart, because I believe this is a just cause—the cause of the West,” he said, adding, “I will always stand by your side.”

Milei, who came directly to the Western Wall upon his arrival from Spain, was greeted at the site by cheers and songs of support. Argentinian President Javier Milei (center) with Argentina’s Ambassador to Israel Axel Wahnish (right) and Rabbi of the Western Wall Shmuel Rabinovitch, June 10, 2025. Photo courtesy of Argentina’s Embassy in Israel.

Accompanying Milei were Argentina’s Ambassador to Israel Axel Wahnish, with whom the Catholic leader studied the Bible before his election, Argentinian Foreign Minister Gerardo Werthein and Milei’s sister, Karina Milei, who serves as secretary general to the presidency.

The official, four-day visit will include meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog, as well as with Argentinian-Israeli victims of the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas massacre, a keynote address at Israel’s parliament on Wednesday and a lecture at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem on Thursday.

Milei will also be awarded the Genesis Prize and, as first reported in JNS, is scheduled to announce long-awaited direct flights between Buenos Aires and Tel Aviv.


The Secret Jewish History of Frederick Forsyth
Forsyth was never a fan of the Foreign Office, convinced it was filled with incompetents and anti-Semites.The latter, he said “was a tradition and goes back to St. John Philby, advisor to Ibn Saud and of course [T.E.] Lawrence and the Arab uprising.”

Forsyth refers to the period around World War I when the Brits encouraged Arabs to rebel against the Ottoman Empire and Philby hoped to install Saud as leader of one Arab nation that covered most of the Middle East.

“I think a lot of those mandarins — meaning senior civil servants — appreciated the attitude of deference from the [Arab] lower classes, who bowed to sheiks and muftis. Those fancies appreciated that.

“Jews tended to answer back and that wasn’t at all an attitude liked inside the foreign office. We were the British after all. We installed Saud and then King Abdullah. Meanwhile Jews like Chaim Weizmann and David Ben-Gurion were in New York making trouble with the newly founded U.N. And that didn’t receive the approval of these snobs.”

Working as a freelancer in Africa, Forsyth decided to visit Israel. “It was the spring after the Six Day War and there was a kind of euphoria cum optimism cum expectations that all would be wonderful. We doubled in size. We have the West Bank. We have the Golan Heights. We defeated three Arab armies and three Arab Air Forces.

“But there was an unawareness of what was going to happen. The thinking was this was going to be wine and roses all the way. The young Israelis I met then had no idea of the complexities of governing another race. We British had that experience.”

On the trip he met a number of prominent Israelis and got to spend time with Ben-Gurion, who “was one of the greatest men I ever met.”
Bestselling thriller opened eyes of world to threat against Israel
In my view, he succeeded. But his novel also helped publicise the tragedy of the Holocaust in the early 1970s in a way that was more accessible than newspaper stories of factual events or non-fiction accounts by survivors that were beginning to emerge of what had happened to the Jewish people in the War.

For those of you who haven’t read The Odessa File, here’s a quick plot summary. Kennedy’s assassination in Dallas coincides with the suicide in Hamburg of Salomon Tauber, a camp survivor. He explains why he will kill himself in his diary.

The novel’s hero, Peter Miller, a non-Jewish freelance journalist, as Forsyth had been, reads the diary, given to him by a friendly policeman.

It triggers Miller’s hunt for Eduard Roschmann, the notorious former commandant of the Riga concentration camp. But now he has a new name and he appears to be a successful German businessman.

Miller comes to the attention of Odessa, an acronym for a shadowy organisation protecting former SS men in post-war Germany. Roschmann is heavily involved in facilitating the manufacture in Egypt of rockets, armed with nuclear warheads and plague material.

Mossad recruits Miller to help them destroy this threat to Israel. Miller is hunting Roschmann for very personal reasons, whilst the Odessa is trying to find and kill him.

Simon Wiesenthal gave Forsyth invaluable help with details of senior Nazis still at large in 1963-4 when this book, like Jackal, is set.

Between 1945 and the late 1950s there were no major popular works of fiction in English about the Holocaust. The dam was breached spectacularly by Leon Uris in 1958 with Exodus, which he followed with Mila 18.
The Odessa File (1974) ORIGINAL TRAILER

Guy Sasson defends Roland Garros title, dedicates win to fallen soldier
Guy Sasson made history once again at Roland Garros, capturing his second consecutive Quad Wheelchair Singles title with a commanding 6-4, 7-5 victory over top-seeded Dutchman Niels Vink in the final on Court 14.

The win punctuated a dream tournament for the 45-year-old Israeli, who also partnered with Vink to win the doubles title just a day earlier, defeating South Africa’s Donald Ramphadi and Turkey’s Ahmet Kaplan 6-3, 6-4.

Sasson, currently ranked No. 3 in the world, started the final on fire, racing out to a 4-0 lead in the opening set by breaking Vink twice. A rain delay of nearly 40 minutes briefly halted the momentum, and when play resumed, Vink fought back with renewed energy. But Sasson held his nerve, closing out the first set and edging the second after nearly two hours of intense play.

This back-to-back triumph at Roland Garros is especially meaningful for Sasson, who became the first Israeli to win the Quad Singles title at the prestigious French Grand Slam in 2024 and now successfully defended his crown in 2025.

His path to the top has been nothing short of inspirational: after suffering a spinal injury in a skiing accident in 2015, Sasson refused to give up and climbed his way into the elite ranks of international wheelchair tennis.Overcome with emotion after the win, Sasson praised his opponent and doubles partner.

“I want to say to Niels and all the fans who came to see us today – you don’t understand how hard it is to beat this guy. He’s the No. 1 player in the world, and for good reason. I’ve played him four times this season and he destroyed me every time. Every training session, I was thinking about how I could finally beat him. This victory means so much to me. Niels, I appreciate you and love you. You led us to the doubles title, and I’m so thankful.”




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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.

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