Friday, July 18, 2025

07/18 Links Pt2: The Christian Case for Standing with Israel; Keith and Aviva Siegel, Hamas hostage survivors: "This is the worst thing that can happen to a human being".

From Ian:

The Christian Case for Standing with Israel
Yesterday’s newsletter mentioned a recent speech, laced with anti-Semitic and anti-Israel invective, delivered by the media personality Tucker Carlson. This was but the latest installment of Carlson’s turn to hatred of Israel, anti-Semitism, and anti-Americanism, which has come alongside more frequent signaling of his own religiosity. All of this was also on display in his recent interview with Senator Ted Cruz, whose pro-Israel views are fairly typical of conservative evangelical Christians.

In response, a few prominent right-leaning American Protestant leaders jumped into the fray, with some, like Rich Lusk, attacking Cruz. Lusk argued, on theological and scriptural grounds, that Old Testament promises to Israel have since been transferred to Christian believers.

It’s not the place of Jews to tell Christians what to believe about salvation or how to read their sacred texts, but two lines in Lusk’s article jumped out at me. First:

The modern nation of Israel is a secular state that rejects the gospel. . . . As Paul says, “Concerning the gospel, they are enemies” (Romans 11:28)—enemies with a future, yes, but still enemies for now.

If Israel is a secular state, then it is neutral about the gospel and other religious doctrine. But Lusk needs to make this leap to demonstrate that modern Jews are “enemies.” Then, in the very last paragraph, there is this:

The true Israel of God is not located on a strip of land in the Middle East. It is not launching missiles at Iran or hiding behind an Iron Dome.

It’s subtle, but Lusk seems to be implying that Israel (the country) is somehow cowardly because of its technological genius and efforts to protect its citizens, and at the same time aggressive by “launching missiles at Iran”—although the missiles were fired from planes flying over enemy territory. Lusk could have said, “the true Israel of God isn’t busy fixing roads and holding elections.” But instead he invokes popular anti-Israel slurs. Thus he pretends to make an argument that Christians should see the Jewish state as a state like any other, but is in fact arguing that they should see it as evil.

In response to this exercise in anti-Semitism, the Anglican theologian Gerald R. McDermott offers a learned and vigorous rebuttal. He concludes:

Does this mean the state of Israel is a direct fulfillment of biblical prophecy, as Cruz suggested? No. Nor does it mean Christians must ratify every policy of the Israeli government. But the last two centuries have shown that God’s covenanted people need a state to protect them from those who would destroy them.

In other words, it’s McDermott, not Lusk, who is open to the possibility of taking the Jews simply as they are, without invoking divine prophecy. In a separate takedown aimed at a different anti-Semitic preacher, McDermott adds:

Christians should denounce this new anti-Semitism among their own. . . . If we do not call out this unbiblical ignorance and hatred, future generations will ask us what we ask about the churches of Europe in the first half of the 20th century: how could they not see? Why did they not speak up?
Rightwing Anti-Semites Seek to Undermine America’s Moral Authority on the World Stage
Last week, at a major gathering of young American conservatives, the Internet talk-show host Tucker Carlson complained of undue Israeli influence over U.S. foreign policy, made insinuations about Jewish disloyalty, and averred that the deceased investor-cum-procurer Jeffrey Epstein was a Mossad agent. Such rhetoric is typical of Carlson, who is also a sharp critic of American support for its Middle Eastern allies against Iran, for Ukraine in its war with Russia, and for Great Britain in its war with the Axis. And he represents a growing segment of opinion on the American right that is no longer confined to the fever swamps.

Rebeccah Heinrichs examines the worldview behind Carlson’s anti-Americanism, which she dubs the “1939 Project” in an analogy to the series of New York Times articles arguing that America’s original sin occurred in 1619:

Carlson’s views might seem outlandish, but he isn’t dumb. He is among the savviest operators out there. And he is well aware that anti-Israel invective and conspiracy thinking attracts attention in a culture that has lost trust in expertise and institutions—and is hunting for a scapegoat for America’s very real challenges.

But if the 1939 Project people are right, and Winston Churchill was in fact the warmonger, and if Hitler really wanted peace and perhaps had a point about the outsize and nefarious impact of Jewish people, and if the United States was wrong to drop the atomic bombs, then NATO was a mistake, the ties to the nation of Israel is a mistake, and none of the post-World War II international order is worth maintaining today, let alone restoring or defending.

[The goal is] to loosen the affection and support Americans feel for and have for our allies in Europe and Israel. This is necessary to weaken the American people’s support for U.S. statecraft in the world, whether in the form of sanctions, military deployments, or military action in defense of its allies and stated and official interests. Their increasingly casual anti-Semitism is not simply evil—it is strategic. It has become the glue that binds the various strains of the insurgent ideology.


187: Keith and Aviva Siegel, Hamas hostage survivors: "This is the worst thing that can happen to a human being".
Today, we’re honoured to share the agonising recollections of Keith and Aviva Siegel, survivors of Hamas captivity in Gaza.

They came to London and addressed the media at the Israeli Embassy in Kensington.

Abducted from their Kibbutz Kfar Aza home on October 7, 2023, Aviva endured 51 days, Keith 484, facing starvation, abuse, and torture, even attempts to force conversion to Islam.

Now reunited, they talk tirelessly for hostages still held.

I won’t sugar coat or redact any of what they said.

It’s most distressing in places. It brought me to tears when they talked about the Bibas family.

But please don’t turn off, don’t look away. Share with as many as you can because as Aviva says, if Hamas are allowed to do this, a worldwide tyranny becomes allowed and tolerated.

This is their mission to bring every hostage home.
Here I Am With Shai Davidai: A very personal interview with Shai's wife | EP 48 Yardenne Greenspan
In this episode of "Here I Am," host Shai Davidai sits down with his wife, Yardenne Greenspan, for an intimate and powerful conversation. Together, they reflect on their personal experiences as Israeli Jews, the impact of October 7th, and the challenges of maintaining identity and resilience in the face of adversity. Yardenne shares her journey of self-discovery, the complexities of being openly Israeli, and the difficult choices many Jews face in today’s world. The episode also touches on their family’s response to crisis, community activism, and the importance of authenticity and empathy. Join Shai and Yardenne for a moving discussion about identity, courage, and the meaning of belonging.


Israel and Civilization: The Fate of the Jewish Nation and the Destiny of the West with Josh Hammer
Rising antisemitism, multiculturalism, and postmodern relativism currently threaten the well being and security of Israel and the Jewish people. Josh Hammer argues that the West’s survival hinges on Israel’s strength and the Jewish people’s right to self-determination. From the trauma of October 7, 2023, to global anti-Israel sentiment, the stakes are clear: a proud Jewish heritage is vital to the West’s endurance. How does Israel stand as the West’s bulwark against Islamist terrorism and secular nihilism? What does a grand alliance of Jews and Christians mean for the future of civilization?

Josh Hammer is senior editor-at-large of Newsweek, and a fellow with the Edmund Burke Foundation and Palm Beach Freedom Institute. He hosts The Josh Hammer Show, a Newsweek podcast and syndicated radio program, and is a frequent pundit and essayist on political, legal, and cultural issues. He previously served as an editor at the Daily Wire, and his work has appeared in outlets including the Los Angeles Times, New York Post, Daily Mail, National Review, The Spectator, Townhall, Fortune, Fox Business, the Jerusalem Post, the Times of Israel, The Forward, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, and Jewish Journal. Josh holds a degree in economics from Duke University and a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School.


What if British culture is part of the problem?
A culture of self-centred victimhood is profoundly destructive. It’s closely related to the spirit of narcissistic self-abasement that the liberal elites excel at. When their members self-flagellate about what an awful and racist country Britain has always been, what they’re really doing is presenting themselves as more self-aware than, and morally superior to, you or me. Ostentatious self-abasement is the ultimate expression of sickly self-regard.

It’s right that we should talk openly about Islamism and the deficiencies of other cultures. But we will never be able to do so properly until we sort our own heads out first. Tebbit spoke his mind and so should you

Whatever you might have thought of Norman Tebbit, the Tory grandee who died last week aged 94, one thing is for sure: he wouldn’t have cared.

That was his abiding virtue. He didn’t worry about respectable opinion or fashionable politics, whether it was that of the centrists or ‘wets’ in his own Conservative Party, or anywhere else. His politics, as he put it himself, were those of the ‘man in the pub’. They survive today in the attitude of today’s global ‘deplorables’: an approach to politics that is honest, frank, unfashionable and increasingly outspoken.

Lord Tebbit died in an age antithetical to the spirit in which he lived. The 21st century is a time in which too many obsess about the opinions of others. They do so at an individual level, seeking approval on social media or affirmation through choice of pronouns. And at a political level, in which the centrists and EU-philes exhort us to take heed of Britain’s ‘reputation’ before making any unilateral decisions on the international stage.

Tebbit didn’t worry about his reputation or ‘standing’. Nor should you.
Douglas Murray libel trial closes with barrister defending Hijab’s ‘provocative’ online conduct
The barrister representing Mohammed Hijab described his client as “provocative, a bit of a smart-alec, a bit too cocky” but insisted that lawyers for The Spectator and its associate editor Douglas Murray had failed to substantiate serious claims against him.

Mark Henderson, delivering closing remarks at the end of a four-day libel trial at the Royal Courts of Justice, said the defendants had been “unable to find” more than three examples of problematic behaviour “out of thousands of hours of footage posted online [on YouTube]”.

Hijab, a social media influencer with more than a million YouTube subscribers, is suing The Spectator and Murray over a 2022 article that alleged his presence in Leicester and a speech to a crowd of masked men had contributed to intercommunal violence and race riots between Muslims and Hindus in the city.

Henderson dismissed suggestions that Hijab was using the proceedings to “pursue a vendetta” against Murray, who chose not to appear in court during the hearing.

Much of Hijab’s complaint turned on whether his remarks in Leicester, which alluded to the actions of a far right nationalist group called Hindutva, could be taken to mean all British Hindus. He had told the Leicester crowd: “I’m saying this directly to all the so-called Hindutva wannabe gangsters: Don’t ever come out like that again”. He also led calls of “Allahu Akbar”.

Murray — who declined to attend the court hearing — had written that Hijab had “cropped up” in Leicester to “whip up his followers” and that he had told the crowd that “Hijab claimed that the Hindus must live in fear because they have been reincarnated as such ‘pathetic, weak cowardly people’. ‘I’d rather be an animal,’ he went on,” Murray wrote.

Hijab says that the article cost him financially through damage to his reputation, but lawyers for the Spectator and Murray say that as a public figure who has regularly engaged in controversial actions, Hijab’s behaviour is already subject to scrutiny. Any “adverse consequences” to the YouTuber stem from his own behaviour, not the article, lawyers for the magazine and Murray say.

William Bennett KC, on behalf of Murray, told Mr Justice Johnson, sitting at the Royal Courts of Justice, that while Hijab was asking the court to vindicate his reputation, “we say that he has the reputation he deserves: a man who whips up crowds when it has been dangerous to do, a street agitator, who has acted in this manner on a number of occasions”.

Mr Bennett focused on three appearances by Hijab: Leicester, a protest outside the Israeli embassy in London on May 23 2021, and a “provocative” visit to Golders Green on Saturday May 22 2021, in which Hijab sought to engage with Jewish passers-by about Israel’s actions in Gaza. Video clips of the Golders Green event showed Hijab standing next to a van which bore images of dead Palestinian children plus Holocaust images, while a number of people, apparently Jewish, crossed the street away from him in order to avoid answering questions about the Israel/Palestine situation.
Mandy Patinkin went from hero to hypocrite
For a prominent Jew to criticise Netanyahu on the subject of Gaza is a matter of his own opinion. But for that same prominent Jew, in the same conversation, to say nothing about the plight of the hostages or the evil of Hamas is a shaming disgrace.

Patinkin went further, spouting the antisemitic trope that likens Israel’s actions in Gaza to the Holocaust by describing them as a genocide. Perhaps he and his brood have not yet seen the IDF’s 45-minute compilation of Hamas’s self-taped actual genocidal horrors of 7 October? Maybe they are unaware of the terrorists’ acts of murder and despicable cruelty, recorded alongside scenes of jubilant Gazans who beat the living Israeli hostages and desecrated the Israeli dead as they were driven through the crowded streets?

Unsurprisingly Patinkin’s outburst landed well with the audience that he was playing to, with the most cursory search of social media reactions to his podcast revealing that it is being celebrated by those who would wish him dead alongside the entire Jewish people.

Patinkin should step back from his tragically misguided activism and leave The Princess Bride on the shelf where it belongs. Instead he should watch Tom Shoval’s humbling and devastating movie from earlier this year, Letter To David, a film dedicated to David Cunio, an actor with whom Shoval had worked in 2015 and who, together with David’s younger brother Ariel, was taken hostage from Kibbutz Nir Oz on 7 October. After 650 horrific days, the brothers are still held captive in Gaza.

Two Jewish actors, albeit relatively unknown, David Cunio is a man of unimaginable strength and integrity. By contrast, Mandy Patinkin, who has known the highest reaches of global fame and recognition, is found to be little more than a fool.
'It's the Greatest Honor of My Life': Israel-Hating American Woman Gushes Over Visit to Iran, Calls US 'Genocidal' After NPR Named Her 'a Good Citizen'
An anti-Israel activist whom NPR touted in recent years in a segment on "how to be a good citizen"—citing her campaign work on behalf of Sen. Ed Markey (D., Mass.)—filmed a pro-Iran propaganda video from an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps facility this week.

Calla Walsh, a 20-year-old socialist from Massachusetts, traveled to Tehran as part of a delegation hosted by World Service of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, part of a propaganda junket to portray Iran as resilient in the aftermath of the U.S. military bombings of Iran’s nuclear facilities and IRGC outposts last month. Clad in a hijab, Walsh said it was "the greatest honor of my life" to visit Iran, which she said was "under genocidal siege" by the United States, and the "Zionist entity."

"It is a great honor to be surrounded by the indigenously produced drones and missiles and military equipment that are actively resisting this genocide and this imperialism," said Walsh.

Walsh’s propaganda tour caps off a meteoric rise in radical activism, a path spurred on by news organizations like NPR, the New York Times, and the Boston Globe, all of which have portrayed Walsh as an enthusiastic activist paving the way for young Democrats.

NPR, which had its federal funding cut by President Donald Trump and Congress this week because of liberal bias, featured Walsh in a June 2021 segment, "How to Be a Citizen: Being Involved in Civic Life at a Young Age." Walsh, 17 years old at the time, was highlighted as an example of how to be a "good citizen" over her progressive activism, and her organizing on behalf of Markey.

"I think the driving factor that pushed me to get involved in politics was the climate crisis because I had always grown up, you know, knowing that there was this existential threat to my generation," Walsh told NPR.

The Times hailed Walsh as an "ardent" leader of the so-called Markeyverse, a group of Massachusetts teenagers who campaigned for Markey. Walsh was "representative of an influential new force in Democratic politics," according to the Times, which noted that Walsh has also campaigned for Sens. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.), as well as Boston mayor Michelle Wu. In 2021, the Globe cheered Walsh as "a force in the world of climate activism," and praised her in 2022 after she protested her high school over a homework assignment that asked students to list the benefits of imperialism.

Walsh has embraced the anti-Israel cause in the wake of Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on the Jewish state. She cofounded Unity of Fields, a radical group that advocates violence against Israel and American police officers. Walsh was indicted in November 2023 for vandalizing the New Hampshire factory of Elbit Systems, an Israeli defense contractor, and later sentenced to 60 days in jail.
Ireland’s Chief Rabbi slams country’s ‘demonisation’ of Israel over settlements bill
The Chief Rabbi of Ireland has accused the country’s leadership of “demonising” Israel while “courting” the Iranian regime, as the Irish government considers a national ban on West Bank settlement goods.

The proposed ‘Occupied Territories Bill’, which is currently being debated in the Oireachtas [Irish Parliament] foreign affairs committee, seeks to specifically ban trade in goods between Ireland and Israeli settlements. It does not currently include a ban on trade in services, although it is widely anticipated that committee members will attempt to add that to the intended legislation. The Bill enjoys bipartisan support in Ireland and is expected to go before the Dail [the lower, principal chamber of the Irish Parliament] in autumn.

It is understood that one of the goals of the legislation is to start a precedent for more EU states to pass similar boycotts, mostly of a symbolic nature .

The Chief Rabbi of Ireland, Yoni Wieder, told Jewish News: “This bill, like much of the political rhetoric that has emerged from the Oreichtas in response to the war, singles out and demonises Israel, while doing nothing to hold Hamas accountable”

“Ireland has warmed its relationship with the Iranian regime, an actor deeply complicit in the events of 7 October. Less than a year after Iran facilitated the Hamas massacre, Ireland opened an embassy in Tehran.

“In July of last year, President Higgins sent a condolence letter to Iran for the death of Ebrahim Raisi—a dictator responsible for torture and mass murder and many other evils.

“This is the regime Ireland is courting diplomatically, while intensifying condemnation of Israel.”

Israel withdrew its ambassador, Dana Erlich, from Dublin last year in protest of the Irish government’s anti-Israel stance—one of the reasons cited was the governing party, Fianna Fáil, allowing this Bill – originally proposed by independent Senator Frances Black – to be taken forward by the legislature.

While Ireland is unlikely to feel ramifications in the EU if it passes such as bill, there is a significant possibility of severe repercussions affecting its relationship with the United States.

More than 30 US states have passed strict anti-BDS laws , including bans on investment of state funds in companies that support BDS activities. In some cases, there are also prohibitions on companies which support BDS operating in or doing business with such states.
Maurice Cohen describes life as a Jew in Ireland today
Opening statement of Maurice Cohen, Chair of the Jewish Representative Council of Ireland, to the Foreign Affairs & Trade Committee of the Irish Parliament. "I always thought of myself as an Irishman who happened to be Jewish. Now I know that I am just a Jew living in Ireland." "It's performance politics dressed as principle. We are not helping Palestinians, we are just congratulating ourselves."


Australia's Special Envoy to Combat Anti-Semitism Should Quit in Disgust
Australia’s Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism should quit in disgust.

The Albanese Government’s insistence that it cannot consider the recommendations of her report into antisemitism - until they receive a report into Islamophobia - is as absurd as it is shameful.

It is now clear that the government-appointed envoy is being used by Anthony Albanese as a fig leaf to cover his intent to do nothing about attacks on Jews.

Jillian Segal took her job seriously when she was tasked with guiding the government on a plan to tackle rampant Jew hatred.

She met with communities, she compiled data, she listened to the fear and pain gripping Jewish Australians, and she has produced a report brimming with practical recommendations.

But instead of responding with urgency, the government has taken that report and shoved it into the “pending” pile.

Education Minister Jason Clare insisted this week that the government would not even consider recommendations to combat antisemitism until it had received a report on Islamophobia - in about a month from now.

Apparently, the security of Jewish Australians must now be tethered to a totally unrelated review.

And if a synagogue, or three, burn down in the meantime?

Ooops. Or is it Inshallah?

So the Jewish community must now sit tight while the government draws moral equivalence between mobs calling for ‘death to Jews’ and ... what exactly?

There’s no comparable epidemic of attacks on Islamic schools, mosques, or businesses in this country.

There are no halal cafés being attacked. No Islamic childcare centres needing armed guards.

But hey, political correctness - not to mention firming up votes in Western Sydney - demands balance.


David Collier: Whitewash – Peter Johnston and the BBC’s Gaza Cover-Up
A major red flag
The Peter Johnston report’s treatment of how the scandal broke is itself a red flag. It states: ‘following initial transmission of the programme, allegations were made in the press regarding the family connections of the Narrator.’

This is simply not true. Allegations were not ‘made in the press’. A detailed, evidence-based exposé was published on www.david-collier.com. The initial breach was uncovered by a single external researcher – me. I clearly had access to material the BBC missed – so contacting me to see what else I had found would have been a vital step in any serious review of events.

Not contacting me reflects either a desire to limit the scope or a fear of legitimising a critic, both of which are red flags in terms of transparency, professionalism and accountability.

This omission seriously undermines the integrity of the entire review.

The single failing
The Johnston review acknowledges only a single editorial failure, but this barely scratches the surface of the errors uncovered.

What about the case of Zakaria Sarsak, another child featured in the programme, later found in photographs posing with Hamas fighters? Or Renad Attallah, the 10-year-old chef, whose father reportedly served as a police captain, yet another Hamas enforcer hidden behind the scenes.

And what of the multiple crew members whose social media accounts celebrated the October 7 massacre – and praised other terrorist attacks against Israelis.

The review claims that social media checks were conducted and ‘no issues were found’, which is either false or signals incompetence. Either way, the claim that there was only one editorial failure is not remotely credible.

The BBC’s editorial position is that the vast majority of Gazans are innocent civilians, and that Hamas is merely the controlling authority. But in this documentary, three of the four featured children had visible ties to Hamas: Abdullah – his father a senior official; Renad – her father reportedly a Hamas police captain; Zakaria – photographed with Hamas fighters. Several crew members also openly signalled support for Hamas online.

If, as the BBC claims, most of Gaza remains unconnected to the terror group, how does it explain the fact that nearly every individual in Gaza connected with this documentary, has Hamas imprinted on their foreheads? An unlucky coincidence? And why is this critical question not raised in the review?

From the outset, it appears that individuals involved in the production may have been deliberately concealing key affiliations from the BBC – and that the BBC, in turn, was remarkably willing to be deceived. It was this toxic combination of ideological infiltration and institutional complacency that led to the scandal that followed the documentary’s release.
Stephen Pollard: The BBC’s mountainous ignorance, hidden behind a smug air of superiority
Iwas about to write that it is inconceivable that a senior news editor with as long and storied a career as the BBC’s head of news, Deborah Turness, could be unaware that both wings of Hamas are proscribed - or even unaware that the idea of two separate wings is itself little more than a fiction pushed for years by those who believe Hamas is a legitimate organisation. But it clearly isn’t inconceivable, because it’s true.

In a leaked video of Turness addressing BBC staff in the wake of the BBC’s report into the catastrophic editorial failure that led to it showing the documentary Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone, without mentioning that it was narrated by the son of a Hamas minister in Gaza – who had been paid for his participation – the BBC’s head of news said that the father was “a member of the Hamas-run government, which is different to being part of the military wing of Hamas” and that “we need to continually remind people of the difference”.

The more I think about this, the more telling it seems. At its most basic, it would be astonishing if even a junior reporter covering these issues was unaware that for the past four years Hamas as a whole has been a proscribed organisation on the basis that “the approach of distinguishing between the various parts of Hamas is artificial” and that it is “a complex but single terrorist organisation”.

That the most senior editor in BBC News hasn’t a clue about one of the most basic facts about Hamas is so revealing about the BBC and its coverage of Gaza and Israel. Because, shocking as it should be, it also helps to explain so much about the BBC’s reporting, much of which is plain wrong, and much of which treats the Hamas government – the so-called political wing, which Turness is so keen to tell viewers are simply a bunch of politicians rather than the terrorists they really are – as some sort of middle eastern version of the Nobel prize committee. As Hillel Neuer dryly put it: “It’s really important that we are clear that BBC News has a pro-terrorist wing, and a completely separate wing that are just idiots.”

Anyone who has more than a superficial knowledge of the region – gleaned, one might say, from the superficial knowledge of the BBC’s reporting – realises the danger of those such as Turness, who drive coverage of the region and behave as if they are possessed of knowledge and understanding denied to the masses but who, in reality, are possessed only of mountainous ignorance.
BBC to roll out anti-Semitism awareness training after string of scandals
The BBC is set to introduce new anti-Semitism awareness training following a string of scandals, The Telegraph understands.

Tim Davie, the director-general, has moved to reassure Jewish members of staff concerned about the corporation’s culture and leadership amid allegations that it is institutionally anti-Semitic.

The BBC has come under fire over “catastrophic failures” that include the broadcasting of Bob Vylan’s Glastonbury set, in which the rapper chanted “death to the IDF”.

It was also criticised for airing a documentary about the war in Gaza that had prominently featured the son of a Hamas official, a family connection not disclosed to viewers at the time.

The BBC’s leadership is planning now to roll out expanded anti-Semitism training. Modules addressing anti-Jewish sentiment are being devised by HR specialists, insiders said.

Managers may be offered further specialist training to help with decision-making around sensitive subjects.

Sources said the new training material was intended to deal specifically with anti-Semitism and would be separate from courses to educate staff on the intricacies of the Israel-Hamas conflict.

The BBC’s coverage of the conflict, including its refusal to call Hamas “terrorists”, has eroded confidence among some Jewish members of staff.


Police drop investigation into Kneecap’s Glastonbury set
The police have dropped their investigation into Kneecap’s Glastonbury performance, citing “insufficient evidence” in their decision to take no further action.

Avon and Somerset police had previously announced that they had launched a criminal investigation into two performances at the UK’s biggest music festival; one by the Northern-Irish rap band, the other by punk-duo Bob Vylan.

However, on Friday the force said that there was “insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction for any offence”, having taken advice from the Crown Prosecution Service. They added that “Kneecap was informed of that decision earlier today.”

Kneecap have made regular headlines with regards to their anti-Israel stance over the last couple of years, with other controversial comments including a November 2023 performance during which one of the band said ““The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP.”

The same member of the band, who performs under the name Mo Charah, was charged with a terror offence in May after allegedly displaying a flag in support of proscribed organisation Hezbollah. A video also appeared to show a band member shouting “Up Hamas, Up Hezbollah.”

Prior to Glastonbury, the Prime Minister and Culture Secretary had condemned the festival’s organisers for failing to cancel the band’s performance. Unlike many other performances, the BBC did not livestream Kneecap’s set, but did livestream Bob Vylan’s set, failing to cut the live feed despite rants about “Zionists” and calls of “death to the IDF”. The police did not provide an update on their investigation into the Bob Vylan set.
Saint-Cloud pulls £34k over Kneecap gig after terror chants and IDF death calls
The French town of Saint-Cloud has pulled its £34,000 grant to one of France’s biggest music festivals after discovering Irish rap group Kneecap was on the bill.

The funding for Rock-en-Seine was approved before the full lineup was confirmed, but Saint-Cloud officials say they withdrew it on 3 July following revelations about the Belfast trio’s conduct and past statements.

“Saint-Cloud respects artistic freedom,” said a town hall statement. “But it does not finance political action, nor demands, and even less calls to violence, such as calls to kill lawmakers, whatever their nationality.”

Kneecap, who rap in Irish and English, have made headlines for repeatedly denouncing Israel, displaying terrorist symbols and using inflammatory language. At California’s Coachella festival in April, they projected the words “F*** Israel, Free Palestine” and accused Israel of genocide. Shows in Scotland and Germany were subsequently cancelled over safety fears and backlash.

Band member Liam O’Hanna, 27 – known on stage as Mo Chara – is currently facing a terror charge after allegedly waving a Hezbollah flag at a London concert last November. He pleaded not guilty.
Zohran Mamdani Said He Helped Edit the Writings of His Father, a Radical Academic Who Has Called for a 'Third Intifadah,' To Make Them 'More Accessible'
Democratic nominee for New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani said he has helped his father, a radical Columbia University professor who has called for a "Third Intifadah," edit his writings in an attempt to "stay engaged" with his work, audio reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon shows.

"I will help my parents, like editing their speeches or writings, just as, like, a fresh eye, to make it more accessible," he said during a resurfaced 2017 interview on the AirGo podcast. "And that's awesome, because I also get to stay engaged with what they're saying and doing."

The comments raise new questions about Mamdani’s support for the extremist views of his father, Mahmood Mamdani. The elder Mamdani’s latest book, dedicated to his son, repeatedly equates Jews with Nazis, rails against the "Judaization" of Israel by "Ashkenazi elites," and claims that Israel’s existence proves that Hitler’s "Final Solution" worked. He has also appeared to justify suicide bombers as simply a "category of soldier" and called for a "Third Intifadah against settler colonialism."

Mahmood Mamdani, who "specializes in the study of colonialism," according to his Columbia bio, played down any intellectual influence he may have had over his son in an interview with the New York Times last month.

"He’s his own person," the elder Mamdani said. "Now, of course what we do as his parents is part of the environment in which he grew up, and he couldn’t help but engage with it. That doesn’t mean anything is reflected back on us."

Zohran Mamdani, though, said during the podcast interview that his father has played a large role in shaping his ideas.

"I’ve always been forced to reckon with things from an early age about what’s going on," he said. "But obviously, as you get older, you can get more in depth about things. And I can actually read what it is that he’d like me to read from time to time."

The Democratic mayoral nominee said his upbringing was steeped in his father’s work.

"I grew up, like, going to his lectures, book talks, book launches, that kind of stuff," he said. "So, I heard a lot of the main arguments of a lot of the pieces."

The revelation that Mamdani edits his father’s writings comes amid scrutiny on his views of Israel and Jews. He told a group of New York business leaders on Tuesday night that he stands by "the idea" that the slogan "Globalize the Intifada" represents. The slogan, as the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum noted in a condemnation of Mamdani, has been used to inspire the murder of Jews around the world for decades.

Mahmood Mamdani wrote in his 2020 book, Neither Settler Nor Native, that Jews have exploited the historical memory of the Holocaust in order to commit their own atrocities.


Why are US socialists so anti-Israel? Scholar lays out Soviet roots of anti-Zionist rhetoric
Part of a continuum
The Soviet anti-Zionist campaign often placed Jews front and center, because “they realized when Jews do that, when Jews attack Zionism, it always sounds more credible, and it also diminishes accusations of antisemitism,” Tabarovsky said. The Soviets started the effort with the Yevsektsiya, a Jewish section of the Communist Party set up in 1918. The Yevsektsiya persecuted other Jews, aiming to eliminate religious practice, Zionist activity and use of the Hebrew language. The section was later purged, and most of its leadership died in prison or labor camps by the late 1930s.

Similarly, anti-Israel activists in New York give a prominent platform to Naturei Karta, an independent, tiny, fringe, anti-Zionist group that appears at nearly every protest.

The Soviet propagandists also pioneered the idea that anti-Zionism and antisemitism are separate. Modern echoes of this philosophy were heard when, for example, Mamdani told a crowd of anti-Zionist Jews in 2021, “In the anti-Zionist movement that I believe in and belong to, there is no room for antisemitism.”

This runs counter to the IHRA definition of antisemitism, in use by New York City’s government, which says it is antisemitic to deny Jews the right to self-determination.

Some of the New York activist groups also have international ties. The far-left People’s Forum and ANSWER Coalition, which organize anti-Israel protests, reportedly have financial backing from a Chinese-linked propaganda network pushing a socialist, anti-Western narrative. (Not all far-left groups in New York are anti-Israel; the Socialist Workers Party is staunchly pro-Israel.)

Mamdani has Jewish supporters, has acknowledged the problem of antisemitism, and has released his own plans for combating anti-Jewish discrimination. His partner in the primary election, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, is Jewish and protested for Soviet Jews in his youth.

Mamdani has protested against Israel alongside socialist and Arab-led pro-Palestinian groups, accused Israel of genocide, apartheid, and settler-colonialism, said the New York state government is a “bastion of Zionist thought,” and called for an anti-Israel “global movement” to challenge apartheid and white supremacy.

Tabarvosky views Mamdani’s success as less of a turning point than part of a continuum that took off with the election of the so-called Squad in the 2010s, including New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who was elected to Congress as a member of the DSA in 2019. She later lost the backing of the DSA’s national chapter after she hosted a panel on antisemitism, but is still endorsed by New York City’s branch of the party. Mamdani has opened the door for more, similar candidates, Tabarovsky said.

“I think we really need to be paying attention and taking seriously what he’s saying,” Tabarovsky said.




Harvard obstructed investigations, rewarded Jewish student’s attackers, lawsuit alleges
After Yoav Segev was attacked on Harvard University’s campus in October 2023, shortly after the Oct. 7 attacks, the university further victimized him, according to a new lawsuit which the Jewish student filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

“Harvard did everything it could to defend, protect and reward the assailants; to impede the criminal investigation; and to prevent Mr. Segev from obtaining administrative relief from the university,” per the complaint, which National Review obtained.

“After Oct. 7, 2023, antisemitism exploded on Harvard’s campus,” Mark Pinkert, partner at Holtzman Vogel, who is representing Segev, told JNS. “Amidst the chaos and protests, Yoav Segev was violently assaulted by student-employees, simply because he is Jewish.”

Segev is “pursuing justice against Harvard not only for failing to protect him and other Jewish students but for defending and rewarding antisemitism,” the attorney told JNS. “This type of treatment would be unimaginable for other minorities at Harvard, except Jews.”

The student was taking video on his phone on Harvard’s campus in 2023 during an anti-Israel “die in,” when protesters told him to leave. Segev said he had a right to be there and remained. Per the complaint, he was then surrounded by people wearing keffiyehs, who grabbed him “violently.”

The suit alleges that after Segev filed a complaint with the university, Harvard told him it couldn’t discipline the attackers, since Segev wanted to remain unnamed. Harvard conducted a “sham” investigation in January 2024 but declined to share the results with Segev, per the complaint.

The suit further alleges that Segev had sought to join lawsuits against Harvard anonymously but that Harvard publicized information that made it easy for people to identify him and the Harvard Crimson, a student paper, published an article naming him as part of a suit.


Jenrick calls for Reform UK to ‘boot’ out ex-chair over antisemitic social media post
Robert Jenrick has called for Reform UK to give ex-chairman Zia Yusaf the “boot” over his apology for “liking” an antisemitic social media post attacking the Tory politician “as a traitor for having a Jewish wife and family.”

In an increasingly toxic row Rael Braverman, the Jewish husband of Tory former minister Suella, also confirmed he had quit Nigel Farage’s party because of attacks on his wife by Yusaf.

On Friday it emerged that Yusaf, who now heads up Reform’s government efficiency department, had liked a social media post that branded the Conservative minister Robert Jenrick a “traitorous zogbot with a Jewish wife and family.”

Yusef apologised on Friday suggesting “one of the team” was responsible after his own social media platform on X liked that extreme far-right post which also suggested Jews were responsible for “importing brown savages to rape our women and children.”

A far-right account on X named British Racial Chauvinism had initially posted:”Reminder that Jenrick is a traitorous Zogbot with a Jewish wife and family.

“I’m sure its unrelated that he imported infinite brown savages to rape our women and children.”

A Jewish user on X who posts under the name @ZoomerHistorian, had exposed how Yusef’s account had liked the post.

But in an angry response to Yusef’s explanation that a member of his team had “liked” the post, Jenrick wrote on X:”I call bullshit.


A Hundred Years of Mein Kampf
One hundred years ago, on July 18, 1925, a failed revolutionary in a Bavarian prison cell published his worldview. Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf—half autobiography, half ideological blueprint is published—becoming one of the most influential and deadly documents of the 20th century. It outlined the extermination of Jews, the conquest of Eastern Europe, and the rebirth of Germany through racial purity and political violence and what will become the Third Reich.

At first, the world didn’t take him seriously. That was the first mistake.

Written during a brief prison sentence, after Hitler’s failed Beer Hall Putsch in 1923, Mein Kampf laid out his worldview in chilling detail. Jews were the eternal enemy. Marxism was a Jewish plot. Democracy was a tool of decay. Lebensraum—living space—had to be seized in the East. Germany’s rebirth required not only purification, but war. No description available.

At the time, few Germans read it. Fewer took it seriously. But when Hitler rose to power in 1933, Mein Kampf became a sacred text of the Nazi state. Newlyweds received it as a gift. Soldiers carried it in their packs. Teachers used it in classrooms. Hitler made a fortune from Mein Kampf. Not only did he excuse himself from paying tax, after he became Chancellor the German state bought millions of copies. By 1945, over 12 million copies had been distributed in Germany alone. The Holocaust did not come out of nowhere. It was printed, published, and footnoted—well in advance.

Outside Germany, Mein Kampf was quickly translated. Some presented it as a warning. Others sold it as a curiosity. Either way, the message was diluted—and the urgency ignored. This sanitization contributed to the normalization and gradual spread of antisemitic ideas outside Germany, as the true extremity of Hitler’s hatred was obscured, allowing antisemitism to seep into mainstream discourse with less resistance and warning.

Its English-language translations tell their own story of delay, distortion, and denial. The first version, published in 1933—seven years after its German release—was an abridgment, stripped of much of its venom, most likely censored with Nazi approval. James Vincent Murphy, the translator's identity was concealed, and it wasn’t until 1939, on the eve of war, that unabridged editions by Houghton Mifflin in the U.S. and by Hutchinson in the U.K appeared in Britain and America—too late to awaken the public. By the time the full text arrived, Hitler’s vision was already being realized in blood and fire.

Even in the U.S., the book found fans. Father Charles Coughlin, the infamous pro-fascist priest, praised Nazi ideology. American isolationists dismissed Hitler as Europe’s problem. Few understood the global implications—until it was too late. And even then, the book endured.
The untold story of an Indian businessman who outwitted the Nazis to save Jewish lives in Austria
In a book published last year, Vinay Gupta delves into the story of his maternal grandfather and his incredible wartime activities:

In 1938, Kundan Lal, then forty-five, travelled from India to Vienna for medical treatment for diabetes and hemorrhoids. During his recovery in hospital, he encountered Alfred and Lucy Wachsler, a young Jewish couple expecting their first child. Through them, he witnessed the worsening climate for Jews in Austria following Hitler’s annexation. Instead of turning away, he quietly stepped into action.

Kundan Lal began offering job contracts, some through fictitious firms, to help Jewish families secure visas to India. He had no legal authority, no political clout, and no obligation. What he had was resolve. Kundan Lal placed newspaper ads in Austria offering employment in woodworking and textiles in India. These ads served one purpose: to create legal documentation that would enable Jewish professionals to escape Europe. . . . Between early 1938 and February 1939, he rescued five Jewish families.

The Wachsler and Schafranek families moved into homes Kundan Lal had built side by side. Alfred Wachsler established a furniture workshop, crafting elegant pieces with local artisans and Burmese teak. Some of that furniture still survives. In 1939, the Schafraneks launched one of India’s earliest plywood factories in a shed behind their new home, determined to build something lasting in their new country.


Israeli-American poker pro Michael Mizrachi wins £8M main event at World Series of Poker
Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi, an Israeli-American poker champion who has made a name for himself as one of the most prolific players in the game’s history, won the main event title at the World Series of Poker on Wednesday.

Mizrachi, a Jewish Florida native, won his eighth World Series of Poker bracelet at the showdown Wednesday, tying him for the fifth most of all time and marking his first win in the competition’s main event. He also took home the £8 million first prize.

“I had a lot of faith. My favorite hand’s 44, I’m 44 years old. This was all meant to be,” Mizrachi told ESPN. “This is the best day of my life.”

For Mizrachi, whose father was born in Israel after his family fled Iraq, representing his Israeli heritage took centre stage during his WSOP victory.

During the main event, Mizrachi wore a dog tag around his neck symbolising his solidarity with the Israeli hostages held in Gaza by Hamas, and also displayed a tattoo of the Israeli flag on his arm.

During the celebration of Mizrachi’s first main event win, members of the Poker Hall of Fame also announced he would be its newest member, according to ESPN, adding him to a long list of Jewish inductees including New York native Erik Seidel and Holocaust survivor Henry Orenstein.




Buy EoZ's books  on Amazon!

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

PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism (February 2022)

    
 

 



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

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