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Tuesday, July 01, 2025

07/01 Links Pt2: Why those Glasto chants felt so personal to British Jews; Virginia School Hit with Civil Rights Complaint over Environment 'Hostile to Jews'

From Ian:

Why those Glasto chants felt so personal to British Jews
I’m just a middle-aged mum, so it should be no shock that I’d never heard of Bob Vylan until the Glastonbury controversy. In all honesty, I don’t care about frontman Pascal Robinson-Foster’s views on Israel or Jews. He’s just another celeb with a microphone and a weird obsession with the world’s only Jewish state. It was the response of the audience that was far more disturbing. Thanks to the good ol’ Beeb’s livestreamed hate, you could hear a Glastonbury crowd only too happy to chant along. Given the middle-aged make-up of that crowd, there were likely many parents there, too, happily calling for the death of teenage IDF soldiers.

How do they square these chants with their no doubt virtuous self-image? What kinds of valuable moral lessons do they think they will be able to offer their offspring when they get their kicks wishing death on a whole nation, while they take selfies and drink overpriced cider in a field? v They will claim that they were just attacking Israel’s military, not the Israeli nation itself. But they’re not fooling anyone. Without the IDF there is no Israel. If you bray and cheer for the death of those standing between Israel and those who want to annihilate it, then we know what that means – you want Israel to cease to exist.

In its ‘diversity statement’, Glastonbury claims to stand against ‘discrimination of any sort’, and states that it was ‘established to celebrate music, culture and togetherness’. That was not what was being celebrated on Saturday. A performer and a large crowd were celebrating the death of Jews.

Those chill Glasto hippies, the ‘cool’ mums and dads and the keffiyeh set might want to think about another music festival that took place less than two years ago, on 7 October. That was the occasion for another group to celebrate the death of Jews, in the form of a real-life massacre. Hamas terrorists raped and killed their way through the Nova music festival, murdering 378 Israelis and taking 44 hostage.

No doubt Glasto’s Israel haters will claim their chanting was a political protest for a progressive cause. But it wasn’t. Whether they realise it or not, they were wishing death on the families and friends of their fellow Brits. Shame on each and every one of them.
David Collier: The NUJ is hostile to Jewish journalists
For several years I had a press card to provide a layer of security while covering hostile street protests. My recent experience with the National Union of Journalists shows how behind the scenes, British Jews are being ‘othered’ by hostile actors and excluded from society. This is a personal journey of abuse and discrimination.

The need to be protected
Those who have been following my work for a long time are aware that I frequently take to the streets to report on anti-Israel demonstrations taking place. This is an important part of what I do. Just to give one example – it was only because I was on the streets reporting from the al-Quds demonstration in 2017, that I captured footage of the IHRC’s Nazim Ali publicly blaming Zionists for the Grenfell disaster. This led to the Pharmaceutical Council’s fitness-to-practise hearings that were to find some of his statements antisemitic. If we are not there – antisemitic ideologies become free to develop and spread unchallenged.

Over the years my identity became known, and with publications such as Electronic Intifada targeting me in several articles, a risk factor entered the frame. Not only was I receiving threats online on a daily basis, but many of the key anti-Israel agitators on the streets knew who I was. At a protest outside SOAS, one of a group who had made online threats to ‘bash my head in with a baseball bat’, made ‘cut throat’ signs when he spotted me. This is the atmosphere I work in and it does not always stop with gestures. I have been physically assaulted on the street twice and my car has been vandalised outside of my home.

As a way of helping to protect myself it became important for me to carry a press card.

The National Union of Journalists
The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) is the most common press card issuer in the UK, issuing ‘more than half of the cards in circulation’. So back in about 2016 – I joined and received a press card. I was clearly a news gatherer who needed protection – and the NUJ supplied it.

The NUJ are quite clear about the dangers of being a journalist in the rising toxic atmosphere on our streets and has recently launched a new online reporting mechanism to help build up a picture of ‘the intimidation, threats and violence they (journalists) are facing simply for doing their jobs’.

But over time my research had evolved, and the need for me to cover anti-Israel demonstrations on the streets dwindled. As a result I let my last press card expire without renewal. The expiry date? October 2023.

The need for a new application
Everything changed following October 7.

As Jews across the world were still reeling from the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, 100,000s of people took to UK streets waving Palestinian flags. Amongst them were people calling for Jihad, holding up signs of support for Hezbollah, or defending the actions of Hamas.

I went back to the streets. But one evening, as the police tried to control a tense situation – they told me I needed to go and stand with the protestors – forcing me to stand alongside the anti-Israel activists who often threaten me. I did try to explain, but their position was clear. If I did not have a press card to produce, I could either join the protestors or leave. I chose to leave.

It was time for me to reapply. I had done it twice before, so did not give it much thought. I made the application in April 2024 expecting a swift turnaround. This time however, things were going to go very differently.
Hard Rock Singer Makes Bold Political Statement Following Controversial Festival Performance
Hard rock band Disturbed may be best known to some fans for their brooding version of the Simon & Garfunkel classic “The Sound of Silence,” but singer David Draiman is being anything but silent in response to some politically charged statements made from the stage over the weekend at the U.K.’s Glastonbury Festival.

Although he doesn’t mention the artist by name, Draiman is likely referring to rap punk duo Bob Vylan, which led the crowd in chants calling for “death” to the Israeli military during their set.

“ I just wanted to speak my mind a little bit about the events of this past weekend,” Draiman says in a video shared to Instagram. “No one should ever use any stage at any festival anywhere in the world to incite hatred and violence against anyone. I think it's disgusting. I think it's irresponsible and contrary to the whole reason people get together at these festivals to begin with.”

Draiman went on to question the motives of Bob Vylan.

“More importantly, just from a human perspective, what exactly do you really think you're going to achieve here? You know, death to the IDF. Every citizen of the state of Israel has to serve. Every citizen. So you're saying that the majority of world Jews should die, should be killed? That's what you're saying. Good luck with that. Iran saw how easy that wasn't so I'm not sure what you want, what you're trying to achieve other than virtue signaling and instant fame that this selling of Jew hatred has seen to gift everyone with these days.”
Ian Austin Fmr MP: BBC hit new low allowing rap star to call for murder of Jews – sinister move goes beyond double standards
Over the weekend, it broadcast around the world disgraceful scenes of thousands of people chanting demands to murder Jewish people.

It sends hundreds of staff and spends millions broadcasting Glastonbury every year, but no one thought to pull the plug when Pascal Robinson-Foster — who ludicrously calls himself Bobby Vylan — ranted about working for a “f***ing Zionist” and then led the crowd in chanting “death, death to the IDF”.

Let’s be clear: That is a call for the murder of Jewish people.

First, because most members of the Israeli armed forces are Jewish.

But second, because the IDF prevents the mass murder of Israel’s Jewish citizens.

Whether it is the racist terrorists Hamas and Hezbollah on Israel’s borders or Iran trying to build nuclear weapons, without the IDF, Israel would be destroyed and its Jewish citizens murdered.

That is what was broadcast on Saturday.

The BBC’s own rules say: “Broadcasting hate speech can constitute a criminal offence if it is intended or likely to stir up hatred relating to race, or intended to stir up hatred relating to religious belief.”

Its director-general Tim Davie should already have sacked whoever allowed this to happen.

And if, as Attorney General Richard Hermer claimed last week, it is “disgusting” to suggest the law is not being applied equally and impartially, then the police must take tough action too.

They and the courts must act as quickly now as they did when Lucy Connolly was prosecuted for whipping up a mob with a call to commit racist violence after the Southport murders last year.

And we are entitled to ask why the leader of Palestine Action won’t face trial until next year for offences committed in 2023.

Or why the police announced last week that the ridiculous rappers Kneecap won’t be prosecuted for telling a crowd: “The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP.”

But we have long since got used to different standards being applied by the BBC, politicians, the police and prosecutors when it comes to Israel.

Report after report has shown the BBC’s consistent and systemic bias.

Take one example: In October 2023, the BBC rushed to cover an explosion at the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza.

Pompous international editor Jeremy Bowen claimed it had been “destroyed” and “flattened”.

Another BBC correspondent said it was hard to see what could have caused it, “other than an Israeli airstrike or several airstrikes”.

Millions saw those reports, including in the Middle East where riots took place.


Hen Mazzig: The Sight of Hundreds in England Chanting for "Death to the IDF" Crossed a Line
This year, the Glastonbury Music Festival in southwest England offered a disturbing new performance - a chant: "Death to the IDF" - broadcast to millions by the BBC. For anyone with a modicum of historical awareness, this wasn't protest music. It was a chilling echo of a hatred as old as Europe itself. Some will say it's just a slogan, just theater. But history has taught us that these words are never "just words."

If this were simply about holding armies to account for harming innocents, where are the chants for "Death to the U.S. Army" for Iraq and Afghanistan, or "Death to the British Army" for the legacy of empire and more recent wars? No one at Glastonbury, or any British festival, would ever dream of it. The armies of these countries have killed far more civilians, yet are not reduced to symbols of existential evil in polite society. This rage, this fury, is reserved only for the world's only Jewish army.

The IDF is the fragile buffer between Jews and the abyss of history. We are not paranoid, the world has turn a blind eye to our genocide in living memory, and remind us today they would do it again. This is not an abstract fear. On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists massacred hundreds at the Nova music festival in Israel while simultaneously targeting Jewish families in their homes. The IDF was all that stood between my family and absolute annihilation planned by Hamas.

Ultimately, these protests, these chants make Israelis feel like the entire world is against them, that any concession towards peace will inevitably come at the expense of their security, because the world will never support them. The message is unmistakable: you are alone, so you must fend for yourself. And so we will.
Police drop investigation into Kneecap’s ‘kill your MP’ comments
Police have confirmed they will take no further action over controversial on-stage remarks made by a member of Northern Irish rap group Kneecap, following a year-long investigation into alleged incitement to violence.

The probe was launched after footage circulated online in 2023 appearing to show a band member telling a crowd: “The only good Tory is a dead Tory,” and allegedly urging them to “kill your MP”.

In a statement issued on Monday, the Metropolitan Police said its Counter Terrorism Command had completed a “thorough investigation”, which included interviewing one individual under caution and seeking advice from the Crown Prosecution Service.

“A range of offences were considered,” the statement read. “However, given the time elapsed between the events in the video and it being brought to police attention, any potential summary-only offences were beyond the statutory time limit for prosecution.”

The force said it had also assessed indictable offences but concluded that “based on all of the current evidence available, a decision has been made that no further action will be taken at this time”.

“We understand the impact this decision may have on MPs and their staff,” the statement continued, adding that police “take the safety and security of MPs extremely seriously” and advising concerned parliamentarians to contact their local liaison from Operation Bridger – the nationwide police security program for MPs.

The case is separate from a high-profile investigation into band member Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh – known by his stage name Mo Chara – who was charged under the Terrorism Act 2000 for allegedly displaying support for a proscribed organisation.

That charge relates to footage from a 2023 performance in London, where he was seen draped in a Hezbollah flag and shouting “Up Hamas, up Hezbollah”.
Glastonbury denies family connection kept Kneecap on festival bill
Glastonbury has strongly denied that strong ties between the founder of Kneecap’s record label and the husband of the festival’s co-organiser led to a decision to keep the highly controversial band as part of the festival’s line-up.

As reported by the Daily Express, Nick Dewey, the husband of Glastonbury co-organiser Emily Eavis, is a close friend of Jeff Barrett, founder of Heavenly Recordings, which signed Kneecap in September 2023. Dewey told the paper that Barrett was one of his “dearest and oldest friends”, but said that he “wouldn’t dream of putting pressure. I wouldn’t need to do that. The group are making their own success, partly helped along by the press.”

Kneecap were widely condemned earlier this year after reports emerged of the band encouraging a crowd to “kill your local MP”, as well as footage appearing to show one of the band members holding a Hezbollah flag on stage while shouting “Up Hamas, Up Hezbollah.” That individual, Mo Charah, has been charged under the Terrorism Act 2000 for allegedly displaying support for a proscribed organisation.

Despite a number of high profile individuals, including both the Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, criticising Glastonbury’s decision to keep the band as part of the festival line-up, Kneecap’s performance was not cancelled. While on stage, the band thanked Glastonbury for keeping them on the bill.

Glastonbury told the Express: “We categorically deny that that Nick Dewey had any involvement in giving Kneecap a platform at Glastonbury 2025.”
BBC director-general was at Glastonbury during Bob Vylan performance
The BBC’s director-general was at Glastonbury Festival when Bob Vylan led chants of “Death, death to the IDF (Israel Defence Forces)” that were broadcast live.

It is understood Tim Davie was on a visit to meet staff at the Somerset music event on Saturday afternoon and was informed after Bobby Vylan, one half of the British rap punk duo, led his audience in chants that also included “Free, free Palestine”.

The performance at the West Holts Stage was livestreamed by the BBC but the organisation later expressed regret for not stopping its broadcast of the “unacceptable” set.

A BBC spokesperson said: “The director-general was informed of the incident after the performance and at that point he was clear it should not feature in any other Glastonbury coverage.”

The news of Mr Davie’s presence at the festival comes as the Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis berated the BBC for what he called “the airing of vile Jew-hatred” and the broadcaster’s “belated and mishandled response”.

The corporation has faced strong criticism for continuing to livestream the performance on iPlayer with on-screen warnings about discriminatory language.

Broadcasting regulator Ofcom saying it was “very concerned” by the decision and the Culture Secretary claimed the issue should have been foreseeable and constituted “a problem of leadership” for the BBC.


Glastonbury 2025: ‘Hatred against Jews’ is being ‘mainstreamed’
Author Ayaan Hirsi Ali says hatred against Jews is being mainstreamed.

This comes amid the English music festival Glastonbury, where rap duo Bob Vylan began chanting anti-Israel rhetoric.

“Hatred against Jews is being mainstreamed,” Ms Ali told Sky News host Steve Price.

“If you look at, if you watch very closely … don’t focus on the rap or the artist, look at the audience.

“The audience is enraptured by this.”


Bari Weiss: People making a 'sideshow' out of rapper's US visa revocation | CUOMO
Journalist Bari Weiss says while U.K rapper Bob Vylan had the right to chant "death to the IDF" during his set at Glastonbury, the U.S. also has the right to revoke his visa for his upcoming tour for saying the phrase. Weiss said people do not see the bigger picture of antisemitism with his statement.




"Horrendously OFFENSIVE!" | Kneecap And Bob Vylan To Be INVESTIGATED Over Glastonbury Chants
In a statement posted on Instagram captioned “Silence is not an option”, punk group Bob Vylan said they were being “targeted for speaking up” following widespread criticism of “Death to the IDF” chants they led during their set at Glastonbury on Saturday, which have been branded antisemitic and are being probed by police.

The statement said: “Today, a good many people would have you believe a punk band is the number one threat to world peace. Last week it was a Palestine pressure group, the week before that it was another band.

“We are not for the death of jews, arabs or any other race or group of people. We are for the dismantling of a violent military machine. A machine whose own soldiers were told to use “unnecessary lethal force” against innocent civilians waiting for aid.”

Talk’s Julia Hartley-Brewer is joined by author Jake Wallis Simons, who criticises the BBC for allowing the sets to go on for too long.


"Propaganda War Going On" | BBC's 'BAD MISTAKE' At Glastonbury, Says Former Executive

UKLFI: Bob Vylans’ Manchester show Cancelled
UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) wrote to the Academy Music Group, owners of the Trafford Park venue, warning them that the show should be cancelled, given the risk that the punk duo would repeat their offensive display of antisemitic chants. UKLFI listed the potential breaches of the law if the punk duo were allowed to play.

Pascal Robinson-Foster, aka Bobby Vylan, one of the duo in the Bob Vylan band, is already under investigation by Dorset police following UKLFI reporting his potential breaches of sections 5 and 18 of the Public Order Act on Saturday 28 June at the Glastonbury Festival. He led the crowd in chants of “Death, Death to the IDF” and “Free, Free Palestine”, as well as shouting that “From the River to the Sea Palestine Shall be Free, Inshallah”.

Robinson-Foster also engaged in an antisemitic rant, sharing with the audience that he used to work for a record label and his boss “would speak very strongly about his support for Israel” and the unnamed boss also signed a letter condemning Kneecap. Bob Vylan continued: “Who do I see on that f***ing list of names but that bald headed c*** I used to f***ing work for. So look, we’ve done it all, alright? From working in bars to working for f***ing Zionists. And if we can do this, I promise you, you can do absolutely anything that you put your mind to.”

Manchester Jewish Groups also called for Bob Vylan’s performance to be cancelled.

UKLFI pointed out to the owners of the venue that if Robinson-Foster repeated the kind of language used at Glastonbury, he was likely to breach
section 5 Public Order Act 1986 for using threating and abusive words within the hearing of a person or persons likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress and
section 18(1) Public Order Act 1986 for using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour, whereby having regard to all the circumstances racial hatred was likely to be stirred up.

Since the Glastonbury concert, Robinson-Foster has been dropped by his agents United Talent Agency and the U.S. State Department has revoked the visas of the Bob Vylan duo. They were scheduled to support American-Canadian singer Grandson on his tour starting in Spokane, Washington in October. US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau wrote: “Foreigners who glorify violence and hatred are not welcome visitors to our country.”


Former Obama Staffer Who Wished Death on Trump Finds New Work for Zohran Mamdani
A former Obama administration staffer who once publicly wished death on President Donald Trump has found new work as a communications consultant for Zohran Mamdani.

Mamdani—a democratic socialist who has called for "seizing the means of production"—triumphed in New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary last week and officially secured the nomination on Tuesday, making him an instant frontrunner in the November general election.

His campaign paid Zara Rahim $3,500 for communications consulting in May, records show. Before working for Mamdani, Rahim was best known for expressing her hope that Trump would die of coronavirus after he contracted the disease in fall 2020.

"It’s been against my moral identity to tweet this for the past four years, but, I hope he dies," Rahim posted on X in October of that year, just days after Trump’s diagnosis. She later deleted the post.

"This f—ing rules," she later added after locking her X account, the Independent reported at the time.


Irish lawmakers begin vetting West Bank-goods ban, intensifying rift with Jerusalem
Ireland’s Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade opened two days of hearings on Tuesday for the Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2025, the government-backed measure that would criminalize imports from West Bank settlements judged illegal under international law.

Senior officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs briefed TDs and senators on the draft, which the Cabinet approved on May 27. The general scheme treats settlement produce as “prohibited goods” under the Customs Act, carrying fines or seizure at the border.

Services were left out after the attorney-general warned that banning them could breach European Union single-market rules — a point several committee members signaled they will challenge as hearings continue on Wednesday with testimony from Senator Frances Black, author of the original 2018 Occupied Territories Bill.

Although trade in settlement goods is tiny, just €685,000 over four years, according to official estimates, Dublin’s move is widely seen as a test case that other EU capitals hostile to Israel’s war in Gaza may emulate.

Last month, nine member states led by Belgium and Spain urged Brussels to consider an EU-wide ban on settlement commerce, citing last year’s International Court of Justice advisory opinion that declared the occupation illegal.
Muslim preacher Wissam Haddad breached racial discrimination act in series of speeches, court finds
A Muslim preacher who made “fundamentally racist” and “anti-Semitic” remarks in a series of speeches in which he described Jewish people as “treacherous” and “vile” has been found in breach of the racial discrimination act.

Wissam Haddad fronted a four-day hearing in the Federal Court last month over a series of speeches he gave in November 2023 in which he described Jewish people as “vile”, “treacherous”, “mischievous” and “wicked and scheming”.

Proceedings were launched by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry’s (ECAJ) co-chief executive Peter Wertheim AM and deputy president Robert Goot AO SC against Mr Haddad, whose name is William and who is also known as Abu Ousayd,

ECAJ argued the speeches constituted unlawful discrimination, with a lengthy statement of claim containing alleged transcripts of the speeches, including excerpts that claimed Jewish people “used to kill their own prophets” and described Jewish people as “descendants of apes and pigs”.

Mr Haddad claimed he was referring to Islamic scripture in most cases.

The proceedings also extended to the Al Madina Dawah Centre (AMDC) for posting videos of the speeches online via Facebook and Rumble.

Justice Angus Stewart on Tuesday found Mr Haddad and AMDC did breach the racial discrimination act in delivering and publishing the speeches online, which he said included “fundamentally racist and anti-Semitic” age-old tropes against Jewish people which were reasonably likely to offend, insult, humiliate and intimidate Jewish people in Australia.

“That is all the more so because the lectures were delivered at a time of heightened vulnerability and fragility experienced by Jews in Australia following the attack by Hamas on 7 October 2023, Israel’s bombardment and blockade of Gaza in response, and resultant solidarity protests and other actions in Australia,” Justice Stewart said in his judgment.

He also said Islamic theology experts found the Koran and the Hadith didn’t teach that Jews had inherent negative qualities of people, with Mr Haddad’s and AMDC’s expert Sheikh Ibrahim telling the court “Islam does not encourage hatred towards Jews”.
Decision to take Islamic preacher to court ‘vindicated’
“This case was not about freedom of expression or freedom of religion; it was about antisemitism and the abuse of those freedoms to promote antisemitism,” said Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) co-CEO Peter Wertheim.

It took Justice Angus Stewart less than 15 minutes to deliver his ruling that Islamic preacher Wissam Haddad had breached the racial discrimination act by portraying Jews as ‘vile’, ‘wicked’ and ‘descendants of apes in pigs’ in a series of lectures posted online.

Haddad himself missed the bulk of his sentencing after arriving late to the NSW Federal Court, with his supporters shielding him from the rain and cameras with umbrellas. Despite being ordered by the court to remove the lectures from social media and pay the legal costs of the case, Haddad appeared unapologetic as he left court.

Speaking to reporters following the judgement, Wertheim said he assumes Haddad will honour the court orders.

“I’m assuming that he will get legal advice that in this country, court orders are binding on everybody,” he said.

“If not, then we’re going to be back here in a contempt case.”

Proceedings were launched against Haddad by Wertheim and Goot when, “it became evident that the responsible authorities in Australia could not or would not act to protect vulnerable members of our community from hate mongering, threats and violence,” said Wertheim.

“That decision has been vindicated by the judgement that has just been handed down. It confirms that the days when Jewish communities and the Jewish people can be vilified and targeted with impunity are long gone.”
Influencer raised nearly €500k for 'needy Palestinians' but splashed donations on expensive cars and Rolex watches, court hears
An influencer who raised nearly €500k while claiming to fundraise for Palestinians in need spent donations on expensive cars, luxury watches, and designer bags.

The 34-year-old, who goes by Abdel Hamid on social media, pocketed the money through 37 online appeals made between 2021 and October 2024, a court heard.

Hamid, from Germany, garnered hundreds of thousands of followers on TikTok and Instagram before using the platforms to promote his alleged fundraising.

But, only a fraction of the money actually went to those in need.

Hamid confessed to committing donation fraud during his trial at Düsseldorf Regional Court on Monday.

Following a fundraising appeal 'for Palestine,' he gained €78,000 and purchased a BMW for €71,600 shortly after.

In total, he has pocketed €497,090.31.

The influencer also collected social benefits from the job center and a separate investigation is underway for welfare fraud, according to Bild.

When he was arrested in October 2024, investigators reportedly seized €20,000 in cash, along with luxury handbags, Rolex watches, and a limousine that was towed away.
Prestigious Virginia K-8 School Hit with Civil Rights Complaint over Environment 'Hostile to Jews'
The prestigious Nysmith School in Northern Virginia received a civil rights complaint Tuesday for allegedly expelling three Jewish students who faced anti-Semitic harassment and whom the school’s headmaster told to "toughen up" after they reported the conduct.

The Nysmith School, known as one of the top 10 institutions in the country for students between kindergarten and eighth grade, allegedly expelled Brian Vazquez and Ashok Roy’s three Jewish children in March, after the parents complained about its "unwillingness to respond to anti-Semitic harassment of their 11-year-old daughter," according to a copy of the complaint the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law filed with Virginia attorney general Jason Miyares.

The complaint accuses the tony school—a feeder institution for the elite Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Falls Church—of fostering an environment "that is hostile to Jews," suggesting that the hatred displayed on America’s college campuses has also infected younger students.

The school "allowed anti-Semitism to take root in her class" over the course of several months, including with a social studies project that saw students promote Adolf Hitler as a "strong historical leader." That project "was shared with the entire school community" and contributed to "a pattern of persistent and severe anti-Semitic harassment," the complaint alleges.

The parents notified Headmaster Kenneth R. Nysmith, the school’s owner and namesake, that the bullying began shortly after Hamas’s Oct. 7 terror spree and intensified in the following months. After the headmaster "decided to hang a Palestinian flag in the school gym, the harassment of their daughter grew more severe," according to the complaint.

When the family raised the issue again with Nysmith earlier this year, he told them their daughter should "toughen up" and abruptly ended their meeting. Two days after that confrontation, on March 13 of this year, Nysmith allegedly informed the family by email "that all three children were expelled effective immediately, days before their mid-semester report cards, and long after the application periods for other local schools had passed."

The Brandeis Center filed its complaint under Virginia’s Human Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on religion and shared ancestry.

"The actions of Nysmith School against these three young children are disgraceful," Brandeis Center chairman Kenneth Marcus said in a statement. "Through its actions, the administration sent a clear message: bullying is acceptable, as long as it’s against Jewish families."


Jewish Teen Hid in Locked Classroom as Anti-Semitic Mob Pounded on Door: Lawsuit
A Seattle teen feared for her life in a locked classroom as a mob of students pounded on the door, "threatening to physically assault her based on her Jewish identity," according to a recently filed lawsuit.

The incident was the culmination of anti-Semitic harassment the student, referred to in the complaint as M.K.L., had endured for months, leaving the now-15-year-old with "terrifying nightmares and flashbacks," the June 12 suit her parents filed against Seattle Public Schools alleges. School officials repeatedly failed to address the harassment and refused to turn over surveillance footage, according to the complaint.

They’ve also said there was never video of the mob outside the classroom. But the plaintiff’s lawyers cast doubt on that claim, with one accusing the school of failing to preserve the footage.

"We know that they have cameras because they’ve also released some other unrelated footage," one attorney, Seth Rosenberg, told the Washington Free Beacon. "They seem to have kept the things that aren’t helpful and apparently not kept the things that are."

M.K.L., "terrified that she will be attacked by her former peers," has not returned to campus since hiding from the mob, according to the complaint.

The lawsuit comes as the Department of Education aims to resolve nearly 200 anti-Semitism complaints that piled up during the Biden administration, which instead focused on cases involving pronoun usage and "bans" on age-inappropriate school books.

Nathan Hale High School students began harassing M.K.L.—then a freshman who received special education for an anxiety disorder—on a daily basis for being Jewish following Hamas’s Oct. 7 terror attack, according to the complaint. Over the school year, she was told to "kill herself" for being Jewish, was surrounded and had her face spat on while enduring anti-Semitic sentiments, and repeatedly saw swastikas drawn throughout the school, including on her folder and softball team’s bench.
A doctor’s notes from the BMA conference
Of course, that motion was overwhelmingly accepted. This conference, and the behaviour of its members, needs to be seen in the context of the wider trade union movement, because the BMA is effectively the Doctors and Medical Students Union. It has a spectrum of members, from medical students to retired members. To attend the ARM and vote you have to pass election scrutiny by regional / local groups or by “branches of practice”. And like many unions over a number of years, more radical elements have been organising to ensure that they are represented at such annual meetings in force.

And as with other unions, when it comes to the topic of antisemitism, there are always a few Jewish anti-Zionist members who stand at the ready to lead the charge. The BMA is no different. Jewish anti-Zionist BMA members spoke strongly in favour not only of the motion about the IHRA clause but also of the other two motions on international affairs that had been accepted for ARM debate. Both were highly critical of Israel. They included some throat clearing on the subject of antisemitism being very bad (no joking) and the need for the BMA to foster antisemitism training. This has itself been contentious: it was only with difficulty that the JMA was able to convince the BMA that the CST and the Antisemitism Policy Trust (APT), organisations not possessed of the idea that Israel is the most evil nation in the world, should be the providers of such training. It is significant that after the ARM, to make sure that the wider membership is aware of the BMA’s priorities, extracts from the Jewish anti-Zionist BMA members speeches were included in the weekly newsletter, without any suggestion that some members may have alternative views.

But to return to the ARM itself. I looked around the room. The doctors wholeheartedly cheering such damaging motions were those who I am supposed to work with to promote fair terms and conditions of service for all doctors, who were supposed to be my peers in debates about professionalism and professional regulation, and to respect my views about academic medicine…. yet they were swallowing the notion that most Jews in the UK, those like me, should be stigmatised and frightened. It reminded me of the Jewish novelist and playwright, Elias Canetti’s observation of what happens when mob rule takes over a crowd.

Rather like in Canetti’s description there were other people who felt marginalised. At the time I felt very much alone, but one colleague bravely questioned the debate; several Sikhs, Hindus and Christians came to speak to me; and long-standing colleagues have continued to message me with thoughts and reflections.

To me the crowd priorities in that hall seemed warped and twisted. I am an immunopathologist, and I can tell you that there is a disaster looming with regards to vaccinations – falling take-up of medicines which have helped to protect countless people mean that diseases which were all but defeated make a terrible return. British medicine, via the notorious 1999 Andrew Wakefield article in The Lancet, has a direct responsibility in connection with this, even if it is America, via Donald Trump and his health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, who are now triggering the lion’s share of the damage.

The ARM has the power to debate emergency motions, and one might have expected that this topic would be raised then. Regrettably none of the 25 proposed emergency motions distributed were on vaccination – but 13 of them were about Israel and war. and an emergency motion calling into question the Israeli Medical Association’s membership of the World Medical Association was given high priority. I was called to speak in this debate – apparently it was now safe for me to do so, given this was not a direct discussion on antisemitism itself. I couldn’t help but wonder whether, had I been called on the earlier motion, the BMA might have been forced to include some of my comments in their newsletter, instead of a solely Jewish anti-Zionist view.

I have wrestled with the question of whether to stay in the BMA or whether to leave. At the ARM in 2023 – prior to 7 October – ironically I was asked to speak on advocacy for religious freedoms on behalf of all faith groups. In my talk I cited a well-known quote from a Talmudic sage “It is not up to you to finish the task, but you are not free to avoid it.” The quandary faced by British Jewish doctors who are struggling with the decision of whether to stay or leave the BMA is, I believe, connected to this. Would the act of resigning be an example of avoiding such a task of which the Talmud speaks?

Irrespective of the decision about membership, it is, regrettably, our necessary and continuing obligation to continue to tackle the task of combatting pernicious antisemitism in medicine.
BDS win: Int'l Sociological Association suspends membership of Israel due to 'Gaza genocide'
The International Sociological Association has suspended the collective membership of the Israeli Sociological Society, a significant win for the BDS movement and its push for the boycott of Israeli institutions.

The suspension is part of the ISA’s broader position of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza and its “stance against genocide.”

The ISA was founded by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization as a nonprofit dedicated to the field of sociology and social sciences. It leads the field, alongside the International Institute of Sociology.

In a statement on Sunday, the ISA reaffirmed that it has no institutional relationships with Israeli public institutions. It added that it regretted not taking a clear position condemning the situation in Gaza and that the suspension of the Israeli Sociological Society “reflects the extraordinary gravity of the current situation.”

It comes ahead of the convening of the Fifth Sociological Forum of the International Sociological Association, scheduled to be held at Mohammed V University in Rabat, Morocco, from July 6-11. Sunday’s decision seemingly came as a result of significant pressure from the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel as well as the international BDS movement, both of which have since praised the suspension.
Oxford and Cambridge spent more than £615,000 on pro-Palestine protest clean-ups
The University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford have incurred over £615,000 in combined costs because of pro-Palestine encampments and protests, the JC can reveal.

The top universities footed bills related to clean-ups, security and legal support after facing months of student-led action related to the war in Gaza.

For both institutions, some of the costs were also due to stunts by Palestine Action, the direct-action group that the Home Secretary plans to proscribe under anti-terror laws.

According to figures recently obtained by the JC through a Freedom of Information (FoI) request, Cambridge spent £255,000 in costs related to the student ‘occupations’ of Greenwich House and Senate House Yard, and the vandalism of the Old Schools and Senate House.

Members of Cambridge for Palestine occupied Greenwich House – the administrative centre of the university – for 15 days last year between November 22 and December 6.

The building houses commercially sensitive and personal information relating to the institution.

Meanwhile, Senate House Lawn, where students gather after graduating, has been occupied multiple times since October 7, 2023 – notably in May 2024 and again in November.

The bill from the two occupations was £230,000 according to Cambridge, including legal fees, security costs, alternative arrangements for graduation and an electronic security sweep of Greenwich House.

The non-legal costs included: £63,000 for security, £5,800 for the electronic security sweep, £1,200 for Greenwich House cleaning costs and £2,000 for the use of Great St Mary’s for alternative graduation arrangements.
Columbia President Claire Shipman Privately Said School Needed To Add an 'Arab' Board Member—and Remove a Jewish One
Before she became the acting president of Columbia University, Claire Shipman argued that the school needed to get an "Arab on our board" and suggested that a Jewish trustee should be removed over her pro-Israel advocacy, according to text messages obtained by the House Committee on Education and Workforce.

"We need to get somebody from the middle east [sic] or who is Arab on our board," Shipman, then the co-chair of Columbia’s board of trustees, wrote in a message on January 17, 2024. "Quickly I think. Somehow."

A week later, Shipman told a colleague that Shoshana Shendelman, one of the board’s most outspoken critics of campus anti-Semitism, had been "extraordinarily unhelpful," adding, "I just don’t think she should be on the board."

The messages were included in a letter sent to Columbia on Tuesday by committee chair Tim Walberg (R., Mich.) and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R., NY). Addressing Shipman by name, the committee requested "clarifications on the attached correspondence," arguing that it appeared to downplay anti-Semitism on Columbia's campus and could even violate civil rights law.

The remark about needing an Arab board member "raises troubling questions regarding Columbia’s priorities just months after the October 7th attack, which was the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust," they wrote. "Were Columbia to … appoint someone to the board specifically because of their national origin, it would implicate TItle VI concerns."

The exchanges about Shendelman, they continued, "raise the question of why you appeared to be in favor of removing one of the board’s most outspoken Jewish advocates at a time when Columbia students were facing a shocking level of fear and hostility."


Columnist at Belgian news channel fired for defending Israel
On June 16, a debate took place on a program of the LN24 French-speaking channel, a day after a pro-Palestinian demonstration in the center of Brussels.

The panel of commentators included Alain Kupchik, director of the Institute of the Jewish Audiovisual Memory (IMAJ).

As the word “genocide” was used several times to describe the situation in Gaza, notably by the program host, Kupchik took the floor and denounced the imputation.

“I’ve heard so many inaccuracies that are taken for proven certainties that I’m flabbergasted,’’ he said.

“The aid trucks have never stopped arriving in Gaza. It’s all very well to make covers of L’Humanité [the French Communist daily] calling Netanyahu the starver of Gaza, but it’s a hoax. At the same time as this Humanité cover, there are stories on TikTok of Gazans eating Nutella pancakes. In my opinion, famine isn’t exactly that,” he added.

Kupchik refuted the accusation of famine and pointed out that in the “last two weeks, 20 million meals have been distributed by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.”

He also recalled the “genocidal savagery” of the perpetrators of the Oct. 7, 2023, pogroms, who “filmed, broadcast and assumed responsibility” for their crimes. And he responded to another panel member by saying that “there has never been a country called Palestine.”

Kupchik denounced certain “Palestinian stagings,” speaking in particular of “Pallywood” and “an anti-Jewish propaganda operation.”


Cartoonists held in Turkey for depicting Mohammed and ‘Musa’
Police in Turkey detained four cartoonists on Monday in connection with the publication of a caricature they interpreted as depicting Moses and Mohammed fraternizing in heaven as Jews and Muslims fight below them.

The detention of the cartoonists, who are affiliated with the LeMan satirical magazine, followed the gathering of angry protesters outside the publication’s headquarters, CNN reported.

Indignation over the depiction of Mohammed, which in forbidden according to prevalent interpretations of Islam, had brewed online in recent days, leading to the protests and the cartoonists’ arrests, Hay Eytan Cohen Yanarocak, a Turkey expert at Tel Aviv University’s Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies, told JNS.

The arrests are an unusual escalation in the level of intervention by authorities on matters that upset religious Muslim sensibilities, he said.

The crackdown “came from bottom up. Social media triggered the street. So people came there, began to protest and since today’s Turkish government is marketing itself as very sensitive towards religious affairs, obviously they had to do something, as well as to preserve public order,” he said.


Brazil’s senate inaugurates ‘Israel Friendship Day’
The Federal Senate of Brazil last week passed a law that inaugurated an official day of friendship with Israel, in a rebuke of the government’s hostility toward the Jewish state under President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

The Brazilian Senate, where right and centrist opposition parties have a majority over Lula’s socialist Workers’ Party, in May passed the law promulgating April 12 as “Brazil–Israel Friendship Day.”

But the law only became official on June 25, after the expiration of the period allowing a veto by Lula. He has repeatedly accused Israel of committing genocide.

Allowing the bill to pass may have been a relatively easy concession for Lula’s party, which needs to curry favor with the opposition to get legislation passed on matters that are of more consequence to the Brazilian voter.

Davi Alcolumbre, the president of the Federal Senate of Brazil and the author of the legislation, noted that the law was a revival of an earlier attempt to pass it under former president Dilma Rousseff of Lula’s party, who vetoed it in 2013. The new law comprises a single sentence that merely asserts that Brazil-Israel Friendship Day occurs on April 12.

The date was selected because on that day in 1951, Brazil opened its embassy in Israel.
Israel’s Rafael wins Romanian tender for anti-aircraft missile system
Romania’s Defense Ministry announced on Monday that Israeli defense contractor Rafael Advanced Defense Systems secured a parliamentary-approved tender for a short-range anti-aircraft missile system.

While parliament has approved the contract, the Defense Ministry has yet to publish details, keeping the specific system’s identity undisclosed.

Defense analysts estimated that the selected platform is Rafael’s SPYDER air-defense system, which has been adopted by multiple European nations. This truck-mounted platform features launchers for Python-5 missiles equipped with radar and active infrared homing technology, providing effectiveness against diverse aerial threats, including unmanned aircraft, helicopters and fighter aircraft.

The SPYDER configuration comprises a launch vehicle, a command-and-control unit, and a support vehicle that resupplies missiles to the launcher. The system demonstrated operational effectiveness during Israel’s recent war with Hezbollah on the northern front.

Romania’s latest defense procurement follows approximately one month after it decided to acquire 41 Iron Dome launchers. Similar to the current announcement, that contract also remains unpublished, leaving unclear the precise configuration of the acquisition.
Tel Aviv ranks No. 4 in Global Startup Ecosystems
Tel Aviv ranks as the No. 4 Global Startup Ecosystem, moving up one spot from last year in the 2025 Global Startup Ecosystem Report (GSER), it was revealed on June 12 at VivaTech in Paris, an annual technology conference dedicated to innovation and startups.

A Global Ecosystem is measured by the size and performance based on the accumulated tech startup value created from capital exits and funding.

Widely regarded as the world’s most comprehensive research on startup ecosystems, the GSER, now in its 13th year, analyzes data from more than 5 million companies across 350-plus entrepreneurial innovation ecosystems worldwide, according to a statement released by Israel’s Government Press Office on Monday.

“Tel Aviv’s position as the No. 4 Global Startup Ecosystem continues to impress as it maintains its edge against cities three to 10 times its size,” said J.F. Gauthier, founder and CEO of Startup Genome, which produces the report.

“This attests to the strength of its innovation ecosystem and the commitment of its leaders to fostering startup success. We value our ongoing collaboration with Tel Aviv Global,” he said.
Israeli cybersecurity firm raises $359m, reaching $4.8b valuation
A Tel Aviv-based cybersecurity unicorn announced on Monday that it has raised $359 million in funding, bringing its valuation to over $4.8 billion.

The Israeli tech firm Cato Networks offers enterprise security and networking through a single cloud platform. Founded a decade ago by Shlomo Kramer, co-founder of Checkpoint and Imperva, and Gur Shatz, a co-founder of Incapsula, the company has become a prominent player in the cybersecurity industry.

The latest funding for the company was led by the London-based Vitruvian Partners and Israeli growth fund ION Crossover Partners, along with existing investors including California-based Lightspeed Venture Partners, Acrew Capital, and Chicago-based Adams Street Partners.

The boost for the Israeli cybersecurity industry comes just weeks after Israeli data security startup Cyera announced it had raised $540 million in a private funding round, doubling its valuation to $6 billion over the past seven months.
travelingisrael.com: Yemenite Jewry – A Story of Survival, Faith… and Dance Moves
In this second episode of my series on Jewish communities in the Arab world, we explore one of the most ancient and unique: the Jews of Yemen.

From biblical incense routes to forced conversions, from Maimonides’ letter of hope to Operation “On Wings of Eagles,” this is the story of a community that survived exile, poverty, discrimination — and still created poetry, music, and unshakable spiritual strength.

We’ll visit Rehovot’s Yemenite neighborhoods, walk through their hidden history, and talk about what happened — and what’s still happening today.

💡 What makes Yemenite Jews so unique?
🌴 Why did they arrive in Israel before the “white colonialists”?
🕯️ And why was Alaska Airlines involved in a biblical prophecy?




'I wanted to show what happened on Oct 7': Yariv Mozer discusses Emmy-winning doc.
‘The story of October 7 will never end until the last hostage is released,” said Yariv Mozer in an interview in New York two days after his documentary, We Will Dance Again, which tells the story of the Nova music festival massacre, won an Emmy for Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary on Thursday.

“Those guys who were in the migunit [outdoor bomb shelter] and spoke in the film, their friend, Alon Ohel, is still in the tunnels of Gaza. And he’s alive and we all know he’s alive,” he said, referring to several of the interviewees in We Will Dance Again, who fled the music festival and hid in a bomb shelter, where some were slaughtered, some were taken hostage, and some were rescued.

While most directors would sit back and savor their win, Mozer is still filled with the sense of urgency about the massacre and the remaining hostages that drove him to make the film, although he acknowledged that it was a huge milestone for him.

“The Emmy for me is a personal dream, as a filmmaker, as a TV creator,” he said. “But on this particular film, I felt it’s something bigger. It’s a national thing, but it’s more than that, because I think now the whole Jewish people feel that they’re under attack, you feel more antisemitism, and to get this kind of recognition for such a film is huge.”

He also spoke of his pride at the film being awarded a Television Academy Honor, a distinction given to just a few films a year by the organization that awards the Emmys, in May.

It wasn’t easy to create such an in-depth film about the horrific killing of more than 370 people at the deadliest single site of the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7, 2023, but Mozer is an eclectic and experienced filmmaker.

Early on in his career, he made the drama Snails in the Rain, about a student grappling with his sexual identity, and he has made documentaries on a wide variety of subjects, including The Devil’s Confession: The Lost Eichmann Tapes, Golda’s War Diaries, and The Invisible Men, a look at gay Palestinians in Israel. All of his other work prepared him to make We Will Dance Again.
‘I didn’t know if I was alive or dead’: Heroic 21-year-old recalls miraculous survival on 7 Oct
A hero of the October 7 attacks has spoken of how she “is grateful to have reached the age of 21” as she recalled how Hamas mercilessly hunted her and her IDF comrades that horrific morning.

Eden Ram was serving as an officer on what was supposed to be her last day at a base 20 kilometres from Gaza when it was stormed by terrorists. Now aged just 21, she reduced 530 guests at the annual Beit Halochem dinner to silence as she recalled how two of her comrades were gunned down as they tried to flee from gunfire and another was killed, before a photo of his body was sent to her and the victim’s mother.

“I thought it couldn’t get worse but that was just the beginning,” she told the audience on Monday. “At first we thought we’d be safe in the command room. But we were six people and only had two weapons so we didn’t have a chance. We heard the terrorists coming closer and I thought we were all going to die so I started to say goodbye to my family. I didn’t think I’d see them again.

“In a few seconds everything went black and they started to shoot at everyone. When they thought everyone was dead they searched the room for documents and took photos of the bodies to prove what they did. I still remember the terrorists’ screams of happiness.

“Four of my friends got killed in the command room and just me and one other survived. I didn’t know if I was alive or dead. I didn’t know what death felt like. I lay there for hours with 12 bullets in my body not knowing if I was going to bleed to death. I decided to play dead. I waited for 4 long hours in pain feeling like I was slowing dying.”

Having spent three months fighting for her life in hospital, Eden – who received a prolonged standing ovation – is still undergoing treatment for physical and mental wounds. But she recalled how Beit Halochem’s centre in Jerusalem had become “like my second home. There I don’t have to feel shame about my injuries or scars. There are people who understand me there”.

Since the start of the war with Hamas, 14000 additional injured veterans have relied on Beit Halochem’s state-of-the-art rehabilitation centres for help. BHUK trustee Orly Wolfson took guests on a video journey through the five current centres, and the newest one in Ashdod, whose opening has been brought forward to early next year in response to increasing demand.

Dinner chairs Katie Cutler and Michaela Meyohas said: “While we are in London, our thoughts are in Israel. In the midst of the darkness there is a light: that light is Beit halochem. It is a home, a place where healing begins and dignity is rebuilt and noone walks alone.”

The event was also addressed by Omri Rozenblit, a lieutenant who suffered severe injuries when a bomb exploded in Khan Yunis, collapsing a house on top of him 91 days into the war. He lost his left leg and part of his face had to be reconstructed.

He said: “I don’t regret a thing because I know all my soldiers are fine, living a wonderful life and I managed to accomplish my responsibility. I’m a proud guy so I won’t ask for anything from anyone . But today I’m speaking for thousands of brothers and sisters who went to Gaza and were injured. They need your support to recover and get back to life.” Turning to his mother who had travelled with him from Israel, he said: “Without you I wouldn’t be able to stand here today. I love you.”

The event raised £1.7 million and BH UK chief executive Spencer Gelding said: “Our supporters have once again risen to the challenge to help meet the increasing demand on Beit Halochem’s vital services. Eden and Omri are just two of the 14000 extra heroes the charity is supporting since October 7 and it was an honour to have them with us in London to hear their incredible stories of leadership and survival.”




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