Monday, June 23, 2025

06/23 Links Pt2: Tyrannical Regimes and the Westerners Who Love Them; ‘Jew hatred is a form of ideological brain worms’; Israeli economy defies war fears as Tel Aviv stocks surge to record highs

From Ian:

Seth Mandel: Tyrannical Regimes and the Westerners Who Love Them
Iranian actress and activist Nazanin Boniadi has issued a heartfelt plea to the Western protest class that I fear will fall on deaf ears. Just as the Palestinians who have made it out of Gaza and can speak freely tried, in vain, to convince the anti-Zionist demonstrators to not lionize Hamas, so are Iranian democracy activists learning about the Western fascination and identification with tyrannical regimes.

The Iranian regime “unleashes its fury, first and foremost, on its own people,” Boniadi told PBS’s Newshour. The regime has shut down Internet access across Iran and has been arresting dissidents to ensure that those who want freedom cannot organize against the government while it is weak. Therefore “we have to separate the Islamic Republic from Iran because most of the Iranian people believe [the regime] is an occupying force.”

She closed with a plea: “I urge Westerners, please, if you want to stand for Iran and the Iranian people and their sovereignty, please don’t conflate that with the Islamic Republic’s sovereignty, they are two different things. Do not raise the Islamic Republic’s flag in your rallies. That is a slap in the face to every dissident, every Iranian who has risked everything for freedom.”

Yet of course this weekend there were those very Islamic Republic of Iran flags on the streets of New York City. The flags of Hamas and Hezbollah—which are also, by the way, Islamic Republic of Iran flags, technically—were replaced by the logo of a tyrannical regime in Tehran. In London, where Boniadi grew up, Islamic Republic flags intermingled with large signs displaying the face of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the words “choose the right side of history.”

To the protesters in the West, the “right side of history” is the unrelenting oppression and repression of the Iranian people.

Just how upside-down is the world of campus-style activism can be seen in another sign going around the world of “pro-Palestinian” activism. Students for Justice in Palestine, the overarching organizing arm of the Hamas support network on campus, has been promoting a new line: “The Empire Will Fall: From Gaza to Tehran.”

This is meant to evoke both places as graveyards of Western capitalist and militarist “imperialism,” but I had to pause for a moment to make sure I was reading it right. Because the empire that runs from Gaza to Tehran (or the reverse) is falling. But it’s certainly not an American one.
Brendan O'Neill: The ‘Forever War’ we should really be worried about
The absolution of Iran by both leftists and rightists speaks to the wholesale evacuation of moral principle from the ‘anti-war’ position. What poses as ‘anti-imperialism’ today is often just anti-Westernism: a politics of grating historical guilt and showy self-loathing that views the wicked West as the author of every global calamity and nations like Iran as the hapless NPCs of world affairs. Ironically, there’s the pungent whiff of racial infantilism in these hot takes. Non-Western nations are reduced to child-like entities, so morally primitive that they lack the capacity to take responsibility for what they do. There is nothing ‘progressive’ in this imperious paternalism that feverishly demonises the nations of the West and acquits the Jew-killers of the East.

Handwringing abounds over Trump’s strikes on Iran and the possibility that this is yet another ‘Forever War’. It remains to be seen whether America’s strikes turn into something bigger, something more destabilising. But what worries me right now is the blindness of political actors across the West to the true Forever War, the Forever War that started this current war. That is, the war of Iran against the Jewish nation; the war of Islamism against the Jews; the war of tyrannical theocracy against democracy.

For the 46 years of its existence, the Islamic Republic has been devoted to the destruction of the Jewish State. Its military policy, education system and annual Quds Day are infused with this grim dream of annihilating the ‘Zionist regime’. Iranian children are taught to hate Israel. The Israeli flag is set alight on official parades. The proxies of Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis are funded and trained to the end of attacking Israel and slaughtering its people. Iran backed Hamas throughout the Second Intifada when it vaporised young Israelis in discotheques and pizza restaurants, and in the run-up to 7 October when it visited such fascist horrors upon southern Israel. There’s your Forever War – not Trump’s 18-hour mission against Iran’s nuclear sites but Iran’s almost 50-year mission to lay apocalyptic waste to the world’s only Jewish nation.

It’s not clear whether America’s strikes will temper hostilities in the Middle East or destabilise things further. But, at this moment, there are other morally pressing questions to ask. Why do so many in the West fail to take seriously the threat posed by Iranian tyranny? Why are they so blasé about the ceaseless targeting of Israel by Jew-hating militias? Why do so many of our educated seem to sympathise more with the bigots of Tehran than with the Jews of those kibbutzim decimated by Tehran’s barbarous emissaries? That some in the West have shed more tears over the destruction of Iranian infrastructure than they did over the destruction of the 70-year-old Jew Ofra Kedar shines the harshest light on our moral crisis.
Gad Saad: ‘Jew hatred is a form of ideological brain worms’
Since 7 October 2023, anti-Semitism has exploded across the West. Violent attacks on synagogues and ‘hate marches’ against Israel are now a feature of life in every Western capital. The well educated and woke in the cultural elite seem especially vulnerable to this dangerous way of thinking. New life has been breathed into the oldest hatred.

Gad Saad – evolutionary psychologist and author of The Parasitic Mind – witnessed a similar surge in anti-Semitism when he grew up in Lebanon in the 1970s. He sat down with spiked’s Fraser Myers to discuss what’s gone wrong in the West and how we can confront the mindset that produces this poison. You can watch the full conversation here.

Fraser Myers: What resonances are there between your upbringing in Lebanon and what we’re experiencing in the West today?

Gad Saad: I was among the last remaining Jews in Lebanon in the mid-1970s. Most of my extended family had already left – maybe they read the writing on the wall better than my parents did. Or maybe my parents read the writing on the wall and chose to ignore it.

It was a brutally nasty civil war, where former neighbours became arch enemies. During the first year, we saw things that no human being should see or experience. My parents took several return trips to Lebanon after we had emigrated to Canada, and on one of them, they were kidnapped by Fatah. So many of the things that we see today – the kidnapping of hostages and so on – are things that I lived through in my childhood.

Myers: When you were younger, one of the boys you were at school with said he wanted to be a ‘Jew killer’ when he grew up.

Saad: That’s right. In The Parasitic Mind, I’m trying to demonstrate that Jew hatred is not something that just arose as part of the civil war. When I was five years old, the president of Egypt, Gamal Abdel Nasser, died. The people were lamenting in the streets in Beirut, screaming, ‘Death to Jews, death to Jews’. When I turned to my mother to ask why, she said, ‘Keep your head down’. That was the first time I saw what endemic Jew hatred looked like.


At highest level, UN comfortable with wildly-inconsistent Gaza data
António Guterres, the U.N. secretary-general, released the annual United Nations report on children and armed conflict on June 17, and for the second straight year, the “list of shame” included Israeli armed and security forces.

The U.N. chief’s report states that the global body verified “the killing of 1,259 Palestinian children—662 boys, 597 girls,” in Gaza, “and the process of attribution is ongoing.” The United Nations received reports of the deaths of an additional 4,470 children in the Gaza Strip in 2024, which are pending verification, per the new report.

The next day, on June 18, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs released a “reported impact snapshot” of Gaza, which states that 15,613 children have been killed in the Strip since Oct. 7, 2023. That figure overcounts—by about 92%—the verified number of children in Gaza who have died, per Guterress’s report. (OCHA’s figure counts since Oct. 7, 2023, while the secretary-general’s report covers the year of 2024.)

If the United Nations verified each of the 4,470 “pending” verifications, that would bring the total detailed in Guterres’s report to about 37% of the total that OCHA claimed had been killed.

JNS asked the United Nations why it continues to publish statistics like the one from OCHA when it has more reliable numbers, like those which Virginia Gamba, special representative of the U.N. secretary-general for children and armed conflict, compiled and which appear in Guterres’s report.

“Regarding the conflict in Gaza, we have always been very transparent as to the source of the casualty figures as being from the local Ministry of Health, which is the only and most thorough source out there,” Stéphane Dujarric, a spokesman for Guterres, told JNS of the Hamas-run ministry in Gaza. “As we’ve also said numerous times, we have found over the years that data reported by this source was broadly accurate.”

All of the data in the new report, which Gamba’s office produced, “for Gaza or anywhere else around the world, is verified by the United Nations as per monitoring and reporting standards, in accordance with her mandate,” the longtime U.N. spokesman and former ABC journalist told JNS.

“Therefore, and her office makes it clear, they represent only the tip of the iceberg or a minimum, often due to access and security constraints,” Dujarric told JNS. “Actual numbers are likely much higher, and the United Nations continues to work through large numbers of reported cases to verify those.”
Hamas Responds to Stepped-Up Humanitarian Efforts by Shooting Gazans
With all the focus on Iran, it’s easy to forget that war still continues in Gaza. On Saturday, the IDF recovered the bodies of Yonatan Samrano, Ofra Kedar, and Shai Levinson, all three of whom were murdered on October 7.

Meanwhile, the current focus of the war in many ways revolves around the distribution of food by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which has been steadily expanding its efforts. Hamas is trying its best to undermine it by murdering Gazans. Elliott Abrams comments:

[I]n incident after incident, people lining up for food have been shot and many others scared away. Hamas’s reasoning is simple: control of food is control of the population for Hamas, a source of power as well as cash (when it sells the food on the black market). If Gazans do not need Hamas to eat, its power is badly diminished.

In those efforts to stop the food distribution, it has the support of various United Nations agencies including UNRWA. This will be no surprise in view of years of collaboration between UNRWA and Hamas, but it is no less shameful for that. Hamas reacts to accusations against it by its own accusations that such shootings are all the work of Israel. But Israel is supporting the GHF and trying to undermine Hamas’s control of food distribution. It has no motive for shooting Gazans lined up at GHF sites, and no explanation is ever offered for why it might be doing so. In fact, Hamas is also killing Gazans lining up at UN sites to get food, as MSNBC reported after first falsely stating on June 20 that the killings were at a GHF site.

So the scene is remarkable: an effort to distribute food is denounced by the United Nations, which should in fact be supporting it in every way possible. In this sense the United Nations is acting as Hamas is: it would apparently rather not see food distributed than see it brought in outside UN channels.
Visegrad24: How Food Became Gaza’s Most Dangerous Weapon
Former British Army officer Andrew Fox explains why delivering humanitarian aid in Gaza has become so complex and politically charged.

He breaks down how Hamas has used aid as a tool of control, how Israel—working with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation—is now trying to bypass that system, and what this means for the broader war strategy. Fox also explores the risks, including rising international backlash, and whether Israel’s tactical success could come at a strategic cost.




Watchdog opens case into British charity amid concerns funds end up with Hamas
A Palestinian boy carries a pot with food collected at a charity kitchen providing hot meals in Gaza City on June 18, 2025 Counter-terror police are investigating claims that cash raised for children may end up funding Hamas Credit: Omar al-Qattaa/AFP

The charities watchdog has opened a compliance case into a British charity over “serious allegations” that the money it raises for families in Gaza ends up with Hamas.

The Charity Commission is examining the way that Save One Life UK distributes the money it collects in the UK.

The London-based charity is already being investigated by counter-terror police over claims the cash it distributes for children and their families may end up in the coffers of the banned terror group.

The Telegraph revealed earlier this year that concerns have been raised about an alleged lack of control over the way the funds raised are spent.

But the Charity Commission, which regulates all charities operating in Britain, has now opened a preliminary investigation – known as a regulatory compliance case – following allegations made about Save One Life UK.

A spokesman for the watchdog said: “We are aware of serious allegations made about Save One Life, which the charity also promptly reported to us. As a result, we have opened a regulatory compliance case to allow us to gather more information.

“As part of this, we have engaged with the charity’s trustees and are currently assessing both the charity’s activities and the trustees’ oversight, particularly in relation to the application of its funds overseas.”

The charity has raised more than £5 million in the past five years, with most of its aid directed to Gaza since the start of Israel’s military retaliation to the Oct 7 attacks by Hamas in 2023.

A complaint about Save One Life UK’s activities was submitted to the Metropolitan Police in April, via the Government’s online system for reporting material promoting terrorism or extremism.

Scotland Yard sources said the complaint was “passed on to the counter-terrorism internet referral unit for investigation”.


IDF destroys 1.5 miles of terror tunnels in Gaza
Israel Defense Forces soldiers operating in the Jabalia area of the northern Gaza Strip dismantled more than 2.5 kilometers (1.5 miles) of terrorist tunnels, the military said on Monday.

Troops from the 401st “Iron Tracks” Armored Brigade, operating under the command of the 162nd Division, uncovered tunnels used by Hamas terrorists for extended stays.

Since the beginning of “Operation Gideon’s Chariots” on June 13, hundreds of terrorists have been killed in intense battles, IDF Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said on Monday.

In the Khan Yunis area, the IDF’s 36th Division continues its operations to detect infrastructure and eliminate terrorists, he added.

Defrin noted that in other regions as well—including the Central and Northern Commands—Israeli troops “remain deployed in defensive and offensive positions to protect the residents of Israel.”

On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that security forces recovered the bodies of three hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The operation, carried out by the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) and the IDF on Saturday, brought back the remains of Ofra Keidar, Yonatan Samerano and Staff Sgt. Shay Levinson. All three were abducted and killed during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas.


IDF strikes Hezbollah terror infrastructure in Lebanon
The Israel Defense Forces announced on Monday night that it had struck infrastructure belonging to the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorist army in Lebanon.

“A short while ago, the IDF struck military sites belonging to Hezbollah, containing rocket and missile launchers, along with weapons storage facilities north of the Litani River in Lebanon,” the IDF stated.

The Israeli military noted that the terrorist organization’s continued presence in the area constituted a “blatant violation” of the ceasefire understandings between Jerusalem and Beirut set in November 2024.

The IDF “will continue to operate in order to remove any threat posed to the State of Israel,” Monday’s statement said.

According to Israel’s Ynet news outlet, Monday’s attacks targeted Hezbollah structures in the Nabatieh region of Southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah is expected to remain on the sidelines of Iran’s war with the Jewish state for now, a terrorist spokesman told Newsweek on Sunday.

The terrorist said “the issue remains subject to developments,” leaving open the possibility of Hezbollah’s later involvement, while stressing that the Islamic Republic “certainly has its own military capabilities.”

On Nov. 27, 2024, Israel and Lebanon signed a ceasefire agreement aimed at ending more than a year of cross-border clashes between Israel and Hezbollah. The terrorist organization began attacking the Jewish state in support of Hamas following the terror group’s attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.


Eli Sharabi breaks Israeli sales record with memoir penned after Hamas captivity
Freed hostage Eli Sharabi has broken the Israeli record for fastest-selling book with Hostage, a raw memoir of his 491 days in Hamas captivity.

The book, which sold 20,000 copies in its first week, earned Sharabi the Golden Book Award on Monday – just four months after his release in a ceasefire deal brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the US.

Speaking during the online award ceremony, Sharabi, 52, said he wrote the book “to show how much you can choose the cards in your hand, you can make the choice to live and how to live.”

The former tech executive was kidnapped from Kibbutz Be’eri on 7 October. His wife, Lianne, and daughters Noiya, 16, and Yahel, 13, were murdered in the Hamas attack. His brother Yossi was also taken hostage and later killed. His body is still being held in Gaza.

Sharabi was held with fellow hostages Alon Ohel, Or Levy and Eliya Cohen. During their months in captivity, he said, they taught Cohen English using the only book they had – a novel by Leigh Bardugo.

“We taught Eliya English and he read the book a few times, he learnt English in captivity,” Sharabi recalled.

Written in just two months, Hostage is the first memoir published by a released captive. Sharabi said it was also written for those still inside Gaza – including 23-year-old Ohel, who remains in Hamas hands.

“I can’t stop thinking about them and acting for them, so that they come home – and they will,” he said.
After meeting a freed hostage Lammy reminds MPs how Hamas use starvation as weapon
David Lammy twice referenced a meeting he had earlier on Monday with released hostage Eli Sharabi as he delivered a crucial Commons statement outlining the UK position on the Iran and wider conflict in the Middle East.

The Foreign Secretary had hosted Sharabi in his Westminster office, where he gave Lammy a deeply personal account of the torture and starvation he suffered during 440 days of brutal Hamas captivity.

Sharabi also implored the UK to ensure that even during the Israel-Iran crisis the hostages remained a priority, and questioned him on what the UK is doing to help secure the release of the 50 remaining hostages.

Eli Sharabi outside the Foreign Office with representatives including lawyers Adam Wagner and Adam Rose

Later as he delivered a statement to MPs, Lammy was questioned by the Labour MP Jessica Morden about the situation in Gaza, and the need for the UK to continue pressing for more aid to get into the region.

He responded saying:”This morning I sat in my office with Eli Sharabi who managed to get out of a Hamas cell, but lost many family members during that journey.

“He talked about the starvation he experienced – going down to 44 kilograms after being 70 when he went in.

“It was humbling to hear his story. And to be reminded that the humanitarian catastrophe affected everyone in Gaza.

“He did say that Hamas ate plenty, and watched him, and others with him, starve.”

Earlier, as he began his statement , Lammy told MPs that the government would not overlook the “catastrophic” plight of Gazans and the hostages and the ordeal for their loved ones.

He added:”Today I met Eli Sharabi, held in chains by Iranian-backed terrorists.

“Who was released only to discover they had murdered his family.”

During the meeting Sharabi had told Lammy about the 440 days he was mostly held 50 metres underground, shackled, starved, humiliated and tortured.

He told him about food arriving as aid packages for the Hamas terrorists, who ate four or five times a day.

By contrast, he and his three fellow hostages were fed once a day – a bowl of plain pasta or a pitta, and were permitted to “shower” once every four to six weeks, from a bucket of cold water. He told Mr Lammy there were rats and cockroaches, and that it was hell.


UKLFI: Natasha Hausdorff on the Ben Leo Tonight program, GB News.
Natasha Hausdorff, UKLFI Charitable Trust Legal Director, explains the legality of Israel's "Rising Lion" operation against Iran's nuclear programme and discusses the situation in Gaza on Ben Leo Tonight on GBNews.


UKLFI: Natasha Hausdorff discusses international law on World Mizrachi's Global Tefillah
Natasha Hausdorff, UKLFI Charitable Trust's Legal Director, speaks in World Mizrachi's Global Tefillah about the legality of Israeli and US actions to prevent Iran obtaining nuclear weapons and the example set to the world.


Jonathan Sacerdoti: "You don't kill the King"—Iran’s regime is crumbling, but what comes next? Dr Tamar Eilam Gindin
Dr Tamar Eilam Gindin talks to Jonathan Sacerdoti about the unraveling Islamic Republic of Iran, the cultural forces shaping its future, and why eliminating its leader may not be the best strategic move. This sharp, timely conversation offers unparalleled insight into Iran’s identity pendulum, the role of secularism, and what comes next in this critical moment for the Middle East and the world.

We discuss:
Whether killing Iran’s Supreme Leader would help or harm regime change
The deep cultural importance of honour and martyrdom in Iranian politics
Why Israel and Iran’s people may have more in common than their governments
How the regime uses Iran’s Jewish community for propaganda
The shifting identity of Iran—from Islamic rule to secular revival
What the West gets wrong about supporting uprisings in Iran


00:00 - Should we kill Khamenei?
03:20 - Are Iran and Israel secretly aligned?
06:40 - What happens if the regime falls but the leader survives?
10:00 - Can disgrace defeat a dictator?
13:20 - Who really runs Iran?
16:40 - Is the Islamic Republic collapsing?
20:00 - What happened to Iran’s $80 billion gamble?
23:20 - Why did Iran cancel its hijab law?
26:40 - Can ancient pride defeat political Islam?
30:00 - Is Iran already secular?
33:20 - Why does the West keep getting Iran wrong?
36:40 - Are Iran’s Jews free—or hostages?
40:00 - What does the regime fear most?
43:20 - Should Israel push for revolution?
46:40 - What makes Iranians say “enough”?
50:00 - Could water and power outages spark revolt?
53:20 - Will the regime’s fall bring chaos?
56:40 - Is Reza Pahlavi the answer?
60:00 - Has Persian identity survived Islam?
63:20 - How close are we to the endgame?


Winston Marshall: “This is far from over!” The Next Great War Begins | Eylon Levy
Former Israeli government spokesman, Eylon Levy joins The Winston Marshall Show to break down the recent wave of attacks between Israel and Iran—and what they signal for the future of the Middle East.

Levy details how the Islamic Republic’s fingerprints are all over the region’s escalating chaos: from Hamas’s massacre on October 7th, to missile strikes launched from Syria and Iraq, to Hezbollah’s mounting aggression in the north. He warns that Iran’s proxy war is entering a new phase.

We discuss wavering support, the failure of Western deterrence, and why the global community’s obsession with “proportionality” is empowering the very forces threatening regional—and global—stability.

All this—Iranian escalation, proxy terror, Western weakness, and the gathering storm on Israel’s borders…

0:00 Introduction
3:20 What's happening
7:15 The Problem With Western Media
10:48 What the Left Gets Wrong About Israel
14:32 The ‘Decolonization’ Narrative
19:40 Is Israel Winning the Media War?
25:10 The Iranian Threat & Israel’s Dilemma
29:30 The Disinformation Playbook
34:45 The Global Rise of Antisemitism
38:00 Why Israel Is Fighting for the West
41:45 TikTok Genocide Deniers & Online Hate
45:30 The Limits of International Law
49:00 What Happens After Hamas?
52:40 Eylon’s Message to the World


Avi Yemini: This isn’t journalism, it’s EXTREMISM — And YOU’RE paying for It



Poll: Cuomo has slim lead in NYC mayoral race
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo leads anti-Israel state Rep. Zohran Mamdani by just 3 percentage points in the June 24 Democratic primary, according to a new Emerson College

The survey allowed voters to rank up to five candidates in order of preference and found former Gov. Andrew Cuomo leading with 35% support, followed closely by anti-Israel Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani at 32%. New York City Comptroller Brad Lander received 13%, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams 8%, and former Comptroller Scott Stringer 3%, with 4% of voters still undecided ahead of Tuesday’s election.

The survey was conducted from June 18 to 20 among 833 likely Democratic primary voters in New York City, including those who had already voted early.

New York City’s “ranked” voting system allows voters to list multiple candidates in order of preference. Their votes are redistributed when lower-ranked candidates are removed. The new poll conducted up to 8 ranked-choice voting simulations.

The ranked-choice voting simulation over eight rounds ends with Mamdani at 52% and Cuomo at 48%.


Scuffles with police as Palestine Action stages protest against government ban
Scuffles broke out as police clashed with a small number of around 600 Palestine Activists who staged a protest opposing the Government’s move to proscribe the group as a terrorist organisation.

Officers attempted to detain several activists who were wearing black face coverings during Monday’s protest, which had been moved from its original location outside parliament to Trafalgar Square instead after the Metropolitan Police imposed an exclusion zone.

The Met later confirmed they made 13 arrests at the protest in support of Palestine Action.

Six people were arrested on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker and two on suspicion of obstructing a constable in the execution of their duty, the Metropolitan Police said.

One person was arrested on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence after they were allegedly heard to shout racial abuse towards the protest.

When crowds remained in the area beyond Scotland Yard’s ordered 3pm end time, four people were arrested on suspicion of breaching Public Order Act conditions.

“While the protest initially began in a peaceful manner, officers faced violence when they went into the crowd to speak to three individuals whose behaviour was arousing suspicion,” a Met Police spokesperson said.

“This sequence of events repeated itself on multiple occasions, with officers being surrounded on each occasion they tried to deal with an incident.”

On Monday, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper confirmed she had decided to proscribe Palestine Action under section 3 of the Terrorism Act 2000.


The right side of history
What does it take for a demonstrator, marching through central London, to hold a placard declaring that a regime that maims and blinds young women for the ‘crime’ of wanting to choose how they dress is on the right side of history?

Why is it that so many women on that same march happily chanted “We Stand With Iran” while dressed in a way that would see them beaten and imprisoned by that same Iranian regime, and despite all the horrors it perpetrates on its own people, most of whom would be glad to see the back of it (even if they don’t welcome Israeli and American bombs)?

It was entirely predictable that the pro-Palestinian movement that has solidified on our streets and online since October 7 would swing firmly behind Iran once Israel - and now the United States - bombed Iran’s nuclear and other military facilities. That the Iranian regime hangs gay men from cranes was never going to stop Owen Jones from choosing the Iranian side in this war. Any discussions about the true intentions of Iran’s nuclear programme, the state of international negotiations, and the possible ways this conflict now plays out are a distraction from the only thing that matters: the belief that Israel is always in the wrong, that its actions are never justified, and that everything it does is a crime of inhumane cruelty that exceeds rational explanation. All else flows from that; all is justified in opposition to it.

Hence the idea that Ayatollah Khamenei is leading the right side of history, as that placard declared. Yet Khamenei is, amongst other things, a fully committed and fervent antisemitic conspiracy theorist. In his 2005 message to Hajj pilgrims, Khamenei spoke of “the big Western and Zionist capitalists, who are the real backstage actors of all imperialist governments.” He has warned of “bloodsucker capitalists and Zionists, and the global Zionist network, which possesses most of the global media” and said “The claws of the Zionist financial powers and companies are so firmly sunk into the American government, its officials and the Congress that they have to look out for their interests... The money, power and capital of the Zionists have their impact.” More recently he has tweeted that “Zionist capitalists were a plague for the whole world” and that “The Western powers are a mafia… At the top of this mafia stand the prominent Zionist merchants, and the politicians obey them.”

It’s like a bingo card of antisemitic tropes and conspiracy memes, all from the mouth of Iran’s Supreme Leader, the man who controls its foreign policy and its nuclear programme. This conspiratorial antisemitism derives from Ayatollah Khomeini himself and runs through Iranian state institutions. Iranian officials regularly claimed that ISIS was a Zionist invention to undermine Islam, even when European governments were trying to enlist Iran’s help in tackling ISIS in the Middle East. When Iran’s Press TV lost its Ofcom licence in 2011 for broadcasting the forced interrogation of an imprisoned Iranian opposition activist, their response was to quote the Protocols of the Elders of Zion as supposed proof that the world’s media is controlled by “the American Jewish Lobby.” Press TV now broadcasts David Miller’s Palestine Declassified that is, by some distance, the most antisemitic media currently produced in the UK (why this is allowed to happen is beyond me).


After being released from detention, anti-Israel activist Mahmoud Khalil addresses NIAC rally
One day after former Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil was released from the immigration detention center where he had been held for three months, the anti-Israel activist appeared at a rally in New York City organized by a group accused of ties to the Iranian regime protesting the U.S.’ weekend airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

“Mahmoud Khalil is a freedom fighter … who refuses to remain silent while watching a genocide in Palestine,” Khalil told a cheering crowd on Sunday, where he led anti-Israel chants including, “From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will be Free,” at the People’s Forum protest, a demonstration organized by the National Iranian-American Council to protest the U.S. military strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites.

Iranian dissidents and critics of NIAC, a U.S.-based Iranian-American advocacy group that calls for diplomacy with the Iranian regime and was critical of the Biden administration’s approach to Israel and the Middle East, accuse the group of being tied to the regime.

Khalil, who grew up in Syria but is of Palestinian descent and living in the U.S. on a green card, led last year’s anti-Israel campus protests at Columbia against the war in Gaza and subsequent negotiations with university administrators. He was detained in March and released on Saturday after U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz said it would be “highly, highly unusual” for the government to continue detaining a legal U.S. resident who was unlikely to flee and hadn’t been accused of any violence.

Khalil’s release was met with support from some left-wing lawmakers.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who met Khalil at New Jersey’s Newark-Liberty International Airport a day after he was freed from a federal immigration facility in Louisiana, said that his detention by the Trump administration violated the First Amendment and was “an affront to every American.”


Georgetown University ‘appalled’ by department chair’s call for Iran to strike U.S. base
Georgetown University administration said it was “appalled” after a prominent faculty member called for Iran to conduct a “symbolic strike” on a U.S. military base in a social media post on Sunday.

“We are reviewing this matter to see if further action is warranted,” a spokesperson for the university told Jewish Insider on Monday, noting that the administration is “appalled” by the since-deleted tweet by Jonathan Brown, a tenured professor and chair of the university’s Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies and Alwaleed bin Talal chair of Islamic Civilization in the School of Foreign Service, who has a history of spreading anti-Israel vitriol.

On Sunday, one day after the U.S. struck three Iranian nuclear facilities, Brown tweeted: “I’m not an expert, but I assume Iran could still get a bomb easily. I hope Iran does some symbolic strike on a base, then everyone stops.”

Brown, who is the son-in-law of convicted terror supporter Sami Al-Arian and has gone on several X tirades since the Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attacks slamming Israel — including calling the country “insanely racist” — deleted his tweet on Monday, claiming that it was misinterpreted.

“I deleted my previous tweet because a lot of people were interpreting it as a call for violence,” Brown wrote. “That’s not what I intended. I have two immediate family members in the US military who’ve served abroad and wouldn’t want any harm to befall American soldiers… or anyone!”

The condemnation of Brown’s post comes as the House Education and Workforce Committee has called on Georgetown’s interim president, Robert Groves, to testify on July 9 about its handling of campus antisemitism. The funding Georgetown has received from Qatar, in connection with its Qatar campus, has come under intense scrutiny in the wake of Oct. 7.

At a time when some elite universities are acquiescing to the Trump administration’s demands to crack down on antisemitic activity on campus, Georgetown has pushed back. In March, for example, the administration issued statements supportive of Badar Khan Suri, a university professor and postdoctoral scholar who was detained by federal authorities.


‘Recurring trend’: Wikipedia demoting pro-Israel content, experts say
Wikipedia editors decided to roll a page on the “destruction of Israel in Iranian policy,” which garnered more than 62,000 page views in the past 30 days, into a larger article called “Iran-Israel relations.”

Experts told JNS that, while discussions were underway on whether to delete the page or combine it with another, it ought to be a standalone article.

Max Abrahms, an associate professor of political science at Northeastern University, said at the time that if the page was deleted or merged, “Israel will be less popular, the Islamic Republic will be more popular and readers will be stupider.”

The “closer,” Wikipedia’s term for someone uninvolved in the topic brought in to look for a consensus of editors and decide what to do with the page, stated that “it appears most appropriate to merge into the parent article and discuss the content there first.”

Shlomit Aharoni Lir, a research fellow at the University of Haifa who studies Wikipedia, participated in the discussion on the online encyclopedia about what should be done with the page.

“The article provided a focused and well-sourced examination of a documented policy that is particularly relevant to understanding current events,” she told JNS.


Jerusalem slams Chinese diplomat’s deleted Israel-Nazis comparison
Israel’s ambassador to Japan on Thursday condemned a social media post shared by a senior Chinese diplomat that equated Israel with Nazi Germany.

“This shameful incitement to use Nazi symbols to condemn Israel is not only highly disgraceful, but also anti-Semitic, dangerous and a grave insult to the memory of the Holocaust,” wrote the ambassador, Gilad Cohen, on X.

He was reacting to the June 14 post on X by Xue Jian, the consul general of China in Osaka, which he later removed, which featured a table with two columns, Israel and Nazi Germany, and characteristics that the table’s creator suggested the two entities shared.

The characteristics included: “The Nazis persecuted Jews / The Jews persecute; We are a sacred, chosen people; Invest most of their national resources in the military; Ignore international law; settle on conquered lands.” The final lane read: “”America is the enemy” for Nazi Germany and “America is an ATM” for Israel.

In his statement, Cohen wrote: “I strongly urge the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs to take immediate and decisive action. Antisemitism and incitement to hatred have no place in Japan.”

The Chinese embassy in Israel did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the issue.

Xue’s post came one day after Israel struck Iranian regime targets, triggering an ongoing conflict that escalated on Sunday when the United States bombed three Iranian nuclear program sites. Israel has been pummelling Iran, mostly with its air force, since June 13. Iran has fired hundreds of rockets into Israel, killing at least two dozen people.
Man charged over Stamford Hill synagogue break-in as police say no evidence of antisemitic motive
A man has been charged in connection with a break-in at Gur Synagogue in Stamford Hill, where Torah scrolls were desecrated and damage was caused to religious furnishings.

Edward Stafford, 43, of Kyverdale Road, Hackney, was charged with burglary and possession of an offensive weapon following the incident, which was reported to police at 7:08am on Friday, 20 June. He is accused of stealing a small amount of cash and two radios from the synagogue, located on Lampard Grove.

Stafford was remanded in custody and is due to appear at Highbury Magistrates’ Court on Monday, 23 June.

A 36-year-old woman was also arrested in connection with the incident but was released with no further action. Lockers ransacked and belongings strewn across the floor at Gur Synagogue following an overnight break-in.

Despite the ransacking of lockers and Torah scrolls being thrown to the ground, police told Jewish News there is currently no information to suggest this is an antisemitic attack.

The synagogue was cordoned off for forensic examination on Friday morning as images of torn religious texts and damaged wooden panels circulated on social media.


Israeli economy defies war fears as Tel Aviv stocks surge to record highs
In a remarkable show of resilience, Israel’s economy is not just withstanding the pressure of war with Iran—it’s thriving.

On Sunday, the day after the US attacked nuclear sites in Iran, the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) surged to an all-time high, as markets responded positively. The broad Tel Aviv 125 index rose 1.3%, while the blue-chip TA-35 index climbed 1.2% in early trading.

Investor confidence is rising on the back of Israel’s military momentum and growing speculation over possible political shifts in Tehran. Following the attacks, the TASE closed its best week since May 2020, with 38 of the 55 stock indexes under the TASE’s index hitting all-time highs.

But with regional and global tensions at a peak, many observers are left scratching their heads: How is it possible for a country under such threat to see its markets soar? Matthew Salter, former director of trade at UK Embassy Tel Aviv

Matthew Salter, the former trade director at the UK Embassy in Tel Aviv, told Jewish News: “It will be almost incredulous to many, that given the war headlines and photos coming out of the region, that markets would be showing signs of euphoria. Indeed, markets in Israel are up for the year by about 20% and 10% just over the last month alone.

“It would seem that the markets are pricing in a scenario of upcoming stability and possibly an era of new opportunities in the Middle East. It is true that the rating agencies have sounded more of a note of caution over the last couple of weeks in the eventuality that the war drags on for an extended period of time, but for now investors into Israeli companies are signalling an optimistic belief that there will be a quick and positive outcome to the conflict.”

Professor Asher Blass, owner of Economic Research and Consulting Group (ERCG) and former chief economist at the Bank of Israel, said: “It appears that investors feels that what has happened over the past year or so with the Israeli markets and industries provides a significant investment opportunity.

“If you look at the different industries, the stock prices of construction companies have performed well and investors seem to be optimistic about defence stocks. It is possible that AI and cyber, which seem to have contributed to the success of the military mission, may also be attractive going forward.”




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