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Tuesday, July 22, 2025

07/22 Links Pt2: A Techno-Dystopian Era of Anti-Semitism; Trump Withdraws from UNESCO; Ireland's Antisemitic Obsession; Ozzy Osbourne, heavy metal legend and Israel advocate, dies aged 76

From Ian:

Seth Mandel: A Techno-Dystopian Era of Anti-Semitism
The pretense for the arrest appears to be nonspecific—that is, these particular Israelis weren’t considered suspect beyond the fact that they, like most Israeli adults, did their mandated national service.

The organization connected to the detainment is a very important part of this story. As I wrote in January, the Hind Rajab Foundation is not actually a human-rights group. Its founder and leader is a former Hezbollah member and military trainee. He fooled Belgian authorities into giving him asylum, where he founded a hate group that was behind anti-Semitic riots in Europe.

Hind Rajab, then, is an outgrowth of Middle Eastern terrorist groups’ strategy of seeding homegrown anti-Semitic extremism in Europe. After the Jewish tourists’ arrest and alleged beating, Hind Rajab celebrated: “The suspects were identified and arrested with a clear show of force at the Tomorrowland festival in Boom.”

Such thuggish talk is perfectly in character for a group that essentially acts as a modern version of 20th century European street fascists.

But in the great spirit of “ISIS in place,” anti-Semites seeking to draw up lists of Jews to harass don’t need to be personally trained by Hezbollah or be located in places so familiar with Nazi tactics. Activists in Canada have created a website (which I obviously won’t link here) seeking to list the names, ages, locations and other personal information of any Canadian Jews who have served with the IDF.

But the site goes a step further, indicating where such “Jew lists” are headed. Visitors to the site are told that Canadians ought to know who these Jews are and “the networks they’re a part of that may have influenced their decision to join the military.”

In other words, the names and locations of their parents, employers and the Jewish schools, Jewish youth groups and Jewish university groups they attended or participated in. Since Oct. 7, 2023, anti-Semites have opened fire on Canadian Jewish schools several times. Other Jewish establishments have been firebombed, stoned and vandalized.
Melanie Phillips: Britain waves the white flag to Islamization and illegal immigration
Ever since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led atrocities against Israelis, British Jews have run a gauntlet of hatred, intimidation and attacks, both verbal and physical, as the direct result of incitement based on a systematic campaign of demonization and eye-watering falsehoods about Israel’s behavior in Gaza.

Through distortion, decontextualization and outright lies, Britain’s media — led by the BBC and Sky — have channeled Hamas propaganda day in, day out.

They have wickedly misrepresented Israel’s just and agonizing war to defend itself against extermination and its attempts to safeguard as far as possible the lives of Gazan civilians being used as human shields and cannon fodder as genocide and war crimes.

With Israelis being painted as diabolical child-killers, British Jews find themselves being personally accused of “killing babies” and restaurants and pubs refusing to serve “Zionists.”

No other group is spoken of in such a vile manner. No other people is subjected to such profound and obsessional injustice. No other nation is told it has no right to its own country and its national-liberation movement is a source of evil.

Yet instead of defending the country’s Jews against this pre-pogrom incitement, the Starmer government has poured petrol on the flames by parroting the same Hamas lies about Israelis killing “too many” civilians or depriving Gazans of food — this while Israel and America are providing millions of meals to Gazans for the first time receiving food aid that’s not being stolen from them by Hamas.

Starmer’s behavior displays the dire effects of the alliance that’s been forged between Western liberals and Islamist radicals.

It’s laying waste to America’s Democratic Party and found its most alarming expression in Zohran Mamdani, the Islamist poised to become New York mayor.

He too channels Hamas lies about Israel; he too will make his city’s Jewish community more unsafe; he too will undermine America’s security.

Americans should gaze upon Britain and be warned.
Jake Wallis Simons: David Lammy is unfit to be Britain’s Foreign Secretary
Yet Lammy and the rest of this atrocious Government has been entirely taken in by the disinformation. When’s the last time you heard our Foreign Secretary criticising Hamas or their enablers in the West?

UNRWA employees reportedly took part in the atrocities of October 7. At least 1,200 of them, according to Israeli intelligence, are card-carrying members of Hamas or Islamic Jihad. Has the Foreign Secretary ever made mention of that?

His interview with BBC Breakfast this morning was a case in point. All the usual slurs were present. In an exhibition of preening self-fashioning, he stated that he was “sickened” and “appalled” by Israel.

Jerusalem’s actions were “grotesque”, he said, as Lammy had seen “innocent children holding out their hand for food… shot and killed in the way that we have seen in the last few days”.

The Foreign Secretary might as well have delivered a speech entitled “your foreign policy is in the hands of a man who is fool enough to believe Hamas propaganda”. Lammy declared that if Israel failed to reach a ceasefire in Gaza, Britain would impose further sanctions upon it.

Does Lammy really think that it is purely in Israel’s gift to reach a ceasefire? Doesn’t it take two to fight a war? Again and again, negotiations in Qatar have been derailed by Hamas, which strings the talks along only to scuttle them at the last minute. Why? Because it understands that if it released the hostages, it would soon be out of power.

For Israel to unilaterally withdraw from Gaza now, with its citizens still in the catacombs and the jihadis still clutching the levers of power, would only store up further atrocities, war and unrest in the future.

Israel has tried unilateral withdrawal in the past. In 2005, it pulled all Israelis out of Gaza, handing over the keys to the Palestinians. The result? A terror state in which every aspect of governance was geared purely towards the deaths of the Jews.

Lammy’s short-sightedness is beyond belief. But it is not just Israel that the Foreign Secretary is betraying. It is the West as a whole, which accelerates towards its final decline with every jihadi victory.


Trump Withdraws US from UN Cultural Agency Over 'Woke' Agenda and Anti-Israel Bias
The Trump administration announced Tuesday that the United States will withdraw from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), citing the organization's "woke" agenda and anti-Israel bias.

"President Trump has decided to withdraw from UNESCO—which supports woke, divisive cultural and social causes," White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly wrote on X. "The President will always put America First. Our membership in all international organizations must align with our national interests."

State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said in a press release that UNESCO promotes "a globalist, ideological agenda for international development at odds with our America First foreign policy" and has seen "the proliferation of anti-Israel rhetoric within the organization."

"Like many UN organizations, UNESCO strayed from its founding mission," Bruce wrote on X. "Going forward, U.S. participation in international organizations must make America safer, stronger, and more prosperous."

Trump in February signed an executive order directing officials to review America's participation in UNESCO, with a focus on identifying "anti-Semitism or anti-Israel sentiment within the organization." In that order, Trump also pulled the United States out of the U.N. Human Rights Council and halted funding to UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees.

"I've always felt that the U.N. has tremendous potential," Trump said at the time. "It's not living up to that potential right now. It really hasn't for a long time."


Parents of teen slain in Sbarro pizzeria bombing meet with US District Attorney Jeanine Pirro
The parents of U.S. teen Malki Roth, murdered in the Sbarro pizzeria bombing in Jerusalem in August 2001, met with Jeanine Pirro, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, in a July 17 video conference to discuss the extradition of their daughter’s killer from Jordan.

Other senior members of the U.S. Department of Justice involved in the case took part in the meeting in Washington, D.C., which focused on what the Roths termed “concrete steps” to advance the extradition of Ahlam Tamimi.

Although an extradition treaty exists between the United States and Jordan, the Roths have struggled to obtain justice.

“My wife Frimet and I have been unsuccessful for more than a decade in our efforts to engage with any senior U.S. official. We have wanted them to hear us directly, to look us in the eyes as we speak of our daughter, Malki Roth, a 15-year-old American citizen murdered in a horrific terrorist attack,” Arnold Roth said at the meeting.

Pirro assured the Roths that the case remains a priority for the Justice Department and that she would do everything in her power to make the Tamimi extradition happen.

She expressed “in strongly emotional terms identification with our cause and understanding of what we’ve been through,” Roth told JNS.

However, Pirro noted that it wasn’t entirely up to her, as other departments of the U.S. government were involved.
Debra Messing: My inconvenient Jewish fear
I've spoken out, marched, signed petitions, testified before Congress, and shown up for communities facing injustice, violence, and inequity, for people who felt unseen or unsafe. For 25 years, no one has questioned my commitment to social justice.

But now, when the people being threatened are my own, when I speak out against calls for the extermination of Jews, I am suddenly contemptible. Every post I share on social media, no matter how apolitical, is inundated with hateful comments.

I did not expect to see the shadow of antisemitism growing in places I had always trusted. In rooms that had always felt safe. Among people who say they stand for the vulnerable. Leaders who once stood for all marginalized people suddenly grew quiet when the hate was directed at Jews.

Progressives often speak about listening to the lived experiences of those who have been hurt. But when Jewish people speak about our fear, our trauma, our history, our murdered families, we are too often met with silence. Or suspicion. Or conditional solidarity.

Some say "Globalize the intifada" is a call for justice. But for those of us who know what the word intifada has meant in practice, it's historical and personal. It's the bombing of a Jerusalem cafe and the murder of a bride the night before her wedding. It's a school bus full of young children snuffed out by a suicide bomber. These are not metaphors. These are memories for many Jews. This language that references mass civilian murder means death to Jews everywhere.

Hate has always found a way to survive. What troubles me is the way it is being rationalized. Dismissed. The way it is reframed as something noble by those who should know better.

Jewish safety and progressive values should never be in conflict. I still believe in the progressive vision. But if it can't make space for my community, then it's not what it claims to be.
Homeland Insecurity: Unraveling DHS Funding of Terror-Linked and Extremist Groups
America faces an internal threat that is far more insidious than we care to admit. Homeland Insecurity: Unraveling DHS Funding of Terror-Linked and Extremist Groups, by Benjamin Baird and Anna Stanley, reveals how Department of Homeland Security funds—your tax dollars—flow directly to organizations with documented connections to foreign terrorist entities and radical ideologies.

The evidence in this report speaks with brutal clarity. DHS has allocated over $25 million to groups associated with Hamas, Hezbollah, the Muslim Brotherhood, and the Islamic Republic of Iran. Mosques that hosted 9/11 hijackers received federal grants, institutions promoting antisemitic views secured government largesse, and organizations under the influence of foreign regimes have enjoyed American financial support.

This unprecedented funding continues unabated. Morning comes and the bureaucratic machinery whirs on, issuing checks to ideological extremists while claiming to protect our homeland. Washington’s left hand fortifies the very threats its right hand aims to neutralize.

A river of federal money winds through America’s Islamic institutions, watering a landscape of extremism that grows unchecked. Security grants are used to fortify radical compounds, counter-terrorism dollars empower those who denounce our values, and disaster relief enriches organizations with troubling histories.

Solutions demand political courage. We must reform vetting procedures, enhance transparency, and acknowledge ideological motivations behind violent extremism. The pages that follow offer a roadmap toward funding programs that protect rather than imperil American security.

This investigation transcends partisan divides. Congressional oversight committees must examine these findings with clear eyes. Taxpayers deserve assurance that federal funds strengthen America rather than organizations that undermine our fundamental interests. The evidence stands before you, unadorned yet devastating.
How an influencer mum's trip to Israel triggered a referral to anti-radicalisation police... and to officers knocking on her door
A mother was referred to anti-radicalisation group Prevent and investigated by the police over concerns she had been radicalised because she had visited Israel.

Holly Passmore, 43, was stunned to find officers at her door two weeks after her visit to the country.

The single mother-of-two, who is not Jewish, had been part of a delegation of social media influencers invited by the Israeli embassy for a trip that included visiting Kfar Aza, one of the kibbutzim where British hostage Emily Damari was abducted by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023.

The police demanded to know why she had visited Israel, whether she was planning to go back and whether she felt safe to go there.

‘I asked them, “What do you think happened? That the Jews kidnapped me?”’ said Ms Passmore, who has had an interest in Jewish people after studying the Holocaust for her degree. ‘I kept saying to them, “I don’t understand why you are here” and they said only that they were there to check on me.’

She said when the officers first knocked on the door of her County Durham home and explained they were there to talk about safeguarding, she worried it was about her autistic son.

‘But then they mentioned Israel and said, “We aren’t here about your son, but about you, we’ve had a complaint”. I was absolutely gobsmacked,’ said Ms Passmore of the July 4 visit.

‘Then they came out with all these questions, “When did you go? Why did you go? Who did you go with? Why are you interested in this?” I said to them, ‘Is this real?’
Ireland's Antisemitic Obsession
In recent years, antagonism toward Israel has practically become Ireland's national sport. Ireland is now poised to become the first European country to criminalize the import of goods produced in Judea and Samaria. This would be in direct conflict with EU law, which states that only the EU itself can determine the trade policy of its member states.

Under American law, U.S. companies - including those operating in Ireland - are barred from participating in boycotts not endorsed by Washington. Such companies employ more than 10% of Ireland's workforce. If forced to choose between violating U.S. or Irish law, many may opt to relocate, delivering a blow to the Irish economy.

Morally, Ireland's decision to single out Judea and Samaria while ignoring far more egregious regions around the world is shameful. Dublin is not leading any similar crusades against companies operating in China's Xinjiang region, where millions of Muslims are persecuted.

Practically speaking, this law would also harm Palestinians. Many Palestinians work in factories and businesses in these areas. What do Irish lawmakers think will happen to these workers if these companies are boycotted?
Children’s entertainer Ms Rachel condemns Hamas after backlash over Gaza appeals
Children’s entertainer Ms Rachel, known for her “toddler learning videos” on YouTube, has issued a statement condemning Hamas and the horrors of October 7 following backlash over her public appeals for Gaza.

The American social media star, real name Rachel Accurso, has previously posted to her personal platforms calling for greater action to alleviate the humanitarian situation in the Strip, as well as referencing the conflict in the educational videos she produces for children.

In one video, she displayed a photograph of an emaciated child while holding her own baby, saying: “Dear world leaders, please help this baby.

"Please look her in the eyes for one minute...and think about a baby you love.

"There’s no way that we all don’t know that you can’t kill 15,000 kids and you can’t be about to let 14,000 kids starve.”

The former figure appeared to be based on data released by the Gaza Ministry of Health, which is run by the Hamas government and has repeatedly been proven to manipulate death toll statistics, while the latter is seemingly a reference to a subsequently debunked claim, made by a UN official in May, that 14,000 Gazan children were at risk of starving to death within 48 hours.

Accurso also drew criticism for filming a “letter of the day” video, aimed at children to help them learn the alphabet, featuring “my friend Motaz” – Palestinian journalist Motaz Azaiza.

Azaiza has faced criticism for his anti-Israel advocacy, with one Instagram post saying: “F*** Israel. Every day, every minute and whenever I take a breath.”

Another was captioned: “Israel likes to kill us and you like to watch.

"You like to watch and even enjoy it because the whole world didn’t stop it from happening.”

The video featuring Azaiza has since been deleted.
Mahmoud Khalil Lashes Out After CNN Asks If He Condemns Hamas: 'Disingenuous and Absurd To Ask Such Questions'
Mahmoud Khalil refused to condemn Hamas on Tuesday and instead lashed out at CNN for asking him to, calling that line of questioning "disingenuous and absurd."

"Just to be clear here, do you specifically condemn Hamas, a designated terrorist organization in the United States, not just for their action on Oct. 7?" CNN’s Pamela Brown asked Khalil.

"I condemn the killing of all civilians. Full stop. I don't want to get into it," Khalil told the Situation Room cohost. When Brown asked again, Khalil said, "I hate this selective outrage of condemnation, because this wouldn't lead to a constructive conversation."

"To me, it‘s always, as I said, disingenuous and absurd to ask such questions when literally 62,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel," he continued. "And that‘s why I wouldn‘t really engage much into such questions on condemnation or not. Because selective condemnation wouldn‘t get us anywhere. It’s just like hypocrite [sic] to be honest."

Khalil met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Tuesday to discuss the Israel-Hamas conflict. Rep. Summer Lee (D., Pa.) posted a photo with Khalil, saying they had a "productive meeting" and that "we must continue fighting back."

Khalil was a leader in anti-Semitic protests at Columbia University, serving as a negotiator during spring 2024 encampments. Video footage placed him at an illegal protest at Barnard College, during which agitators disseminated Hamas propaganda. He was arrested days later, after the Trump administration revoked his visa and green card as part of its crackdown on student visa holders who support terror groups.


Study that claims ‘small group’ of US professors hate Jews finds 54% call Israel ‘apartheid’
A new report from the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies at Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass., claims that only a minority of professors at colleges and universities in the United States are antisemitic.

It found that 54% of respondents said Israel is an “apartheid” state, and 71% would present a “variety of perspectives” on whether the Jewish state can be classified as “apartheid.” Among non-Jewish professors, 11% said that American Jews are too powerful.

The Anti-Defamation League has said that calling the Jewish state “apartheid” is “inaccurate, offensive, and often used to delegitimize and denigrate Israel as a whole.” The Jewish Federations of North America has said calling Israel “apartheid” is “antisemitic, offensive and false.”

The new Brandeis study finds that 14% of respondents strongly agreed, 18% agreed, and 22% somewhat agreed that Israel is an “apartheid” state. Of the 45% who disagreed, 16% did so strongly and 15% did so somewhat.

Conducted during the spring semester, the report is based on an online survey of 2,335 professors, sampled from 146 universities in the United States, all of which were designated as having “very high research activity” in the 2021 Carnegie Classifications.

‘Dealing with questions’ on Israel

While American professors tend to be liberal, there’s “very little evidence that they’re imposing their particular political positions on students, in particular, in the area of teaching about dealing with questions about Israel,” Leonard Saxe, director of the Cohen Center and its affiliate, the Steinhardt Social Research Institute, told JNS.

Saxe, one of the authors of the new report, is also the Klutznick professor of contemporary Jewish studies and social policy at Brandeis.

The report states that “more than two-thirds of faculty identified as liberal, while one third identified as moderate or conservative.”
University of Kentucky suspends professor who called for global military action against Israel
The University of Kentucky, a highly-ranked public school based in Lexington, put a law professor on leave on Friday for penning and circulating a petition that demands “that every country in the world make war on Israel immediately and until such time as Israel has submitted permanently and unconditionally to the government of Palestine everywhere from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.”

Ramsi Woodcock, a professor at the school’s J. David Rosenberg College of Law, signed the petition, which calls Israel “the last major Western colony remaining in Africa or the Middle East” and says that the Jewish state “has committed genocide, extermination and forced displacement against the native population of Palestine since her inception in 1948.”

Eli Capilouto, president of the university, stated that the public school had learned of “an online petition calling for the destruction of a people based on national origin” and that it “appears to be authored by a university employee, who is circulating it broadly online.”

“We condemn any call for violence, and the views expressed online certainly do not represent the institution’s views. They express hate,” stated Dr. Capilouto, who trained as a dentist. “The views expressed by this employee, if accurately attributed, are repugnant.”

The employee “has been removed, pending an investigation, from any teaching and classroom responsibilities,” the university president said. (JNS sought comment J. David Rosenberg, the law school’s namesake and a senior partner at the Cincinnati law firm Keating Muething and Klekamp.)
Half of Jewish teachers face antisemitism at school, union survey reveals
More than half of Jewish teachers in the UK have experienced antisemitism in school settings since May 2023, according to new figures from a leading education union.

In a survey conducted by NASUWT, the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers, 51 percent of Jewish teaching staff said they had been subjected to antisemitic incidents in their workplace.

The findings – first reported by The Telegraph – reveal a disturbing rise in abuse, with Jewish educators describing repeated incidents of swastika graffiti, chants of “Free Palestine” directed at them by students, and even explicit slurs including “f— the Jews”.

One teacher recalled: “On multiple occasions, students have shouted ‘Free Palestine’ at me. On another occasion, someone shouted ‘f— the Jews’ outside a meeting of Jewish students.”

A total of 44 percent of respondents reported seeing swastikas daubed at school, while 39 percent said they had witnessed or been targeted by Nazi-related comments. Nearly half (47 percent) reported general insults and taunts, and 56 percent described antisemitic “jokes and banter”.

More than three-quarters of those working in non-faith schools – 79 percent – said they had experienced antisemitism, compared to 29 percent of those in faith-based settings.

The abuse ranged from outright verbal slurs to subtler stereotypes. Some Jewish teachers were told it wasn’t racist to say, “Jews are rich”, while others reported assumptions that they were Israeli, not British.


Columbia’s finally cracking down on its Jew-hating goons. What took so long?
It sure is about time: Columbia University is finally starting to deal with the vile, antisemitic hooligans on its campus.

What took so long?

The Ivy League school is set to discipline more than 70 pro-Palestinian students for rampaging through Butler Library in May and for their involvement in last year’s encampment.

Most face suspensions of one to three years, and some will be permanently expelled.

The punishments are well-deserved: Students in the library were cramming for final exams last May. The tuition money they forked over gave them the right to use that library and the rest of Columbia’s facilities.

What right did the Keffiyeh Klan have to deny these kids what they paid for?

Their antics last year were even more selfish and outrageous.

They set up tents, preventing others from using public campus space, took over an academic building and harassed Jews.

“To create a thriving academic community, there must be respect for each other and the institution’s fundamental work, policies and rules,” a Columbia spokesperson said. Hear, hear!

The agitators should be grateful their punishments are only suspensions and expulsions: Last year, cops arrested some of them after they took over Hamilton Hall, yet bleeding-heart Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg dropped the charges against most of them.

Columbia’s action comes after the school announced other small steps to curb campus Jew-hatred. It plans to hire more staff to investigate discrimination cases, for example, and will no longer meet with a virulent anti-Israel student group behind most of the chaos.
Campus crackdown Columbia finally punishes anti-Israel rioters over violent library takeover, slaps dozens of students with suspensions, expulsions
Dozens of Columbia University anti-Israel rabble-rousers were slapped with hefty suspensions and a handful were fully expelled after they took part in the recent violent takeover of a campus library and last year’s notorious tent encampment, The Post has learned.

More than 70 students are set to be punished for their involvement in the hugely disruptive Butler Library chaos that unfolded on May 7, as well as the encampment that popped up on the Morningside Heights campus in spring 2024, sources familiar with the disciplinary action said.

More than 80% of those will be hit with suspensions between one and three years, with the majority being hit with two-year suspensions, the sources said.

Those involved were informed of their punishments on Monday following a probe by the elite school’s University Judicial Board.

“Our institution must focus on delivering on its academic mission for our community. And to create a thriving academic community, there must be respect for each other and the institution’s fundamental work, policies, and rules,” a Columbia spokesperson said in a statement.

“Disruptions to academic activities are in violation of University policies and Rules, and such violations will necessarily generate consequences. The speed with which our updated UJB system has offered an equitable resolution to the community and students involved is a testament to the hard work of this institution to improve its processes.”


James O’Brien sparks fury after reading out antisemitic ‘blood libel’ about Jewish children live on air
The presenter James O’Brien has been condemned for spreading “a modern blood libel on national radio” after reading out a message from a listener to his show claiming that Jewish children in the UK are taught that Arabs are subhuman.

At around the one hour fifty mark during his show – three hours focused almost entirely on Israel’s actions in Gaza which included claims from O’Brien that his “media colleagues” had been far too focused on a few words said on a stage at Glastonbury than on the situation in Gaza – the LBC radio host read out a comment from a listener:

“I’m fascinated by objectivity, which is why I’m going to read out this from Chris, because you do find yourself wondering how people can be looking at the same world you’re looking at and arriving at such completely different conclusions – the polling we looked at in Ha’aretz, displaying support not just for ethnic cleansing, but also for genocide, on levels that many of us would find terrifying.

“And of course it’s not confined, as Chris writes from Oxford – ‘I’m loving the show’ – thank you, Chris – ‘and the high quality of callers today, but I do think it’s worth saying that these warped views are not just an Israeli problem. My wife was brought up Jewish and at Shabbat school in a leafy Hertfordshire town she was taught that one Jewish life is worth thousands of Arab lives, and that Arabs are cockroaches to be crushed. Whilst young children are being taught such hatred and dehumanisation, undoubtedly on both sides’ – as Chris points out – ‘then they will always be able to justify death and cruelty, and it does indeed start young. There is a danger perhaps that we only ever hear one side of the dehumanisation and propaganda processes’.”

A shortened version of this excerpt of O’Brien’s show was subsequently shared online by LBC in video form, with the tagline “’At Shabbat school, my wife was taught that one Jewish life is worth a thousand Arab lives’. Listener Chris outlines to James O’Brien the ‘danger’ of ‘propaganda processes’ spreading.” The video was hurriedly deleted by LBC after it sparked furious backlash from British Jews

While there is certainly a concept of “Sunday school”, or cheder, for Jewish children, there is no such thing as ‘Shabbat school’.


Israel asserts authority over Cave of Patriarchs after Palestinians block renovation plans
Israel recently reassumed administrative control over the Cave of the Patriarchs in the Judean city of Hebron after Palestinian Authority and Islamic officials refused to coordinate on renovations at the holy site, JNS has learned.

Jerusalem decided to start a process to transfer authority from the Islamic trust that has managed the site to the Kiryat Arba-Hebron Religious Council to improve infrastructure for Jewish worshippers, Hebron’s international spokesperson confirmed to JNS on Tuesday.

Among the projects that are being advanced by the Israeli government are a plan to build a new roof over the Jacob’s Courtyard, where Jewish prayers are held, as well as the installation of a fire safety system. Both plans have long been delayed to P.A. opposition.

The Israeli Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) unit confirmed to JNS on Tuesday that, acting on orders of the political echelon, it was advancing “required planning procedures for the purpose of roofing the courtyard of the Tomb of the Patriarchs, for the benefit of all populations praying at the site.”

“It is emphasized that roofing the compound will not affect the prayer arrangements or the status quo at the Tomb of the Patriarchs,” it said.
21 months after Oct. 7, IDF soldiers return stolen tractor to Jewish state
Israel Defense Forces soldiers serving in Beit Hanoun in northeastern Gaza discovered a tractor there that terrorists had stolen during the massacre in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Hebrew media reported on Monday.

The agricultural vehicle was found during the weekend, 21 months after Hamas-led terrorists took it from the border community of Kibbutz Kfar Aza during the cross-border assault, according to Channel 14 News.

“We are on an important mission today—we are returning to the Gaza Envelope [border region] one of the tractors that were stolen from there,” a soldier explains in a video obtained by the broadcaster.

Kfar Aza, located some three miles from the Gaza Strip, was among the hardest hit communities on Oct. 7, with 62 residents murdered and 19 taken hostage, some of whom remain there after 654 days.

The IDF is continuing to press ahead with its ground operations across Gaza as part of “Operation Gideon’s Chariots,” a campaign with the stated goal of dismantling Hamas’s remaining military capabilities, taking control of key areas in Gaza and securing the release of 50 remaining hostages.

On Sunday, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir conducted a field tour and situational assessment in the coastal enclave, accompanied by Maj. Gen. Yaniv Asor, head of the IDF Southern Command, and top officers.

“You are operating with courage in a war that is as just as can be,” Zamir told troops in Shejaiya in the northern Strip. “Our objectives, and your achievements, will lead to a lasting security shift for years to come.”

The chief of staff also emphasized that the progress made as part of “Operation Gideon’s Chariots” continues to drive Hamas terrorists closer to defeat and may open the door to a potential hostage deal.


'This Time the Israeli Effort Is Different': How Assassinations of Iranian Scientists Set Back Tehran's Nuclear Program
The 19 Iranian nuclear scientists Israel assassinated during the 12-Day War were some of the most experienced technical minds the Islamic Republic employed A view of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility 250 km (155 miles) south of the Iranian capital Tehran, March 30, 2005. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi/

Israel successfully assassinated 19 senior Iranian nuclear scientists during the 12-Day War, depriving Tehran’s atomic "weapons program of its most capable and experienced personnel," according to a new intelligence assessment by a leading nonproliferation organization.

The military campaign evaporated decades of nuclear know-how, striking at the heart of Tehran’s weapons program in a way kinetic attacks could not, according to the Institute for Science and International Security.

"This act weakened Iran’s base for building nuclear weapons, eliminating needed expertise and hard-to-get management experience," the organization determined. "This time the Israeli effort is different, and recovering may be far more difficult and take far longer."

The report comes as American and Israeli intelligence agencies work to assess the physical damage at Iran’s top three nuclear sites, including the mountain bunker at Fordow. While an initial classified report by the Defense Intelligence Agency suggested only "moderate damage" to Tehran’s uranium enrichment sites, the findings were quickly discredited as "low confidence" and based on Iranian propaganda. Fresh assessments indicate that American bunker buster bombs "badly damaged, and potentially destroyed" Fordow while two other facilities "were destroyed and could take years to rebuild," according to the New York Times.

The question now is whether Iran has the personnel capable of rebuilding these complex facilities and conducting the scientific work necessary to assemble a functional bomb. The institute’s assessment suggests Iran is facing an uphill battle, particularly as Israel continues to threaten the country’s remaining nuclear scientists.

"In a highly secretive program such as Iran’s nuclear weapons program, highly cognizant of the risk of leaks, it is likely that full knowledge of the most sensitive, most current developments of the program and how individual parts were intended to work together existed only in the heads of a few," the report states. "Those Iranians who choose to work on producing nuclear weapons in the future will possess less information and expertise, while facing increased personal risks, resulting in an overall notably greater challenge in building the weapon itself."

The 19 scientists whom both Israel and Iran confirmed to be dead possessed nuclear knowledge spanning decades, much of which centered on explosives, nuclear coding, and ballistic missiles.

Six of the scientists have expertise in "explosives or multipoint initiation of explosives," according to the institute. At least three were top exports in "nuclear coding or simulation relevant to nuclear weapons development." Another four were highly trained in "neutron initiators," a critical component in nuclear weapons, and two were linked to Tehran’s effort to procure foreign technology needed to power a bomb.

Four additional scientists were experts in the "diagnostics associated with testing components of nuclear weapons," while seven others had "experience working on ballistic missiles," gas centrifuges, and "nuclear propulsion for submarines."
Artificial Intelligence in the Iran War Established a New Standard for Military Effectiveness
The 2025 Israel-Iran war marked the first large-scale military conflict in which artificial intelligence (AI) was indispensable to battlefield operations. The coordinated Israeli-American strikes on Iran's nuclear infrastructure were the outcome of a meticulously orchestrated digital war plan that leveraged AI to enable unprecedented tempo, reach, and precision.

The Israeli Air Force neutralized thousands of high-value targets within 12 days, a level of effectiveness made possible by the deployment of AI systems capable of operating semi-independently across Iranian skies. These systems fused data from multiple sensors, reconnaissance platforms, satellites, and cyber-intelligence feeds to deliver high-resolution, real-time situational awareness - all without requiring continuous human intervention.

Israeli forces initiated the campaign with a high-tempo, multi-domain strike. Dozens of long-range platforms, both manned and unmanned, penetrated Iranian airspace in near-simultaneous waves. Artificial intelligence systems processed incoming intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance data in real time, detecting and prioritizing targets through pattern recognition and behavior prediction. Precision firepower was directed at operational chokepoints, command bunkers, and strategic launch sites, generating systemic disruption across Iranian military infrastructure.

The speed of the operation limited Iran's ability to recover, reorient, or protect its remaining capabilities. Precision - the ability to strike only high-value, time-sensitive targets - was equally important. AI systems supported battle damage assessment, reprioritization of targets, autonomous threat avoidance, and dynamic retasking of airborne assets, allowing for adaptive battlefield dominance in a highly fluid, high-threat environment.

AI served as a force multiplier - accelerating the tempo of decision-making, enhancing the quality of data fusion, and optimizing strike efficiency. But all final strike authorizations required human validation. The June 2025 campaign was a demonstration of what happens when AI-enabled warfare reaches maturity, establishing a new standard for military effectiveness.
Iran's Generals Tighten Grip on Country after Israeli Strikes
The Islamic Republic has launched its most aggressive domestic security crackdown in years, following the Iran-Israel war. Military checkpoints have turned Tehran into something resembling Baghdad or Damascus. Tehran resident Javad, 36, said, "The regime is now far more brutal than it was before the war. They arrest random people in neighborhoods and detain them for days - not because they've committed a crime, but to intimidate the local population."

Abdollah Shahbazi, a former intelligence officer, said, "High and mid-level officials are in a situation similar to members of underground guerrilla groups in their own country. They must change safe houses every night and distance themselves from communication devices like mobile phones for fear of assassination." He said it has become clear that "an active force from Mossad's Iranian network is operating on the ground."

Since mid-June, authorities have detained hundreds of people, accusing them of spying for Israel's Mossad intelligence service or assisting Israeli strikes. At least six executions have taken place.

On Thursday, Iranian armed forces killed four members of a family after opening fire on vehicles they thought were "suspicious" near a military base in central Iran. Iranian media reported that the victims included a young couple and their five-year-old daughter. Two other family members remain in critical condition. The shooting sparked a backlash on social media, with Iranians saying the regime is "taking revenge on its own people after losing the war to Israel."


Football fans restore grave of British goalkeeper who defied the Nazis
A British footballer who refused to give the Nazi salute during a 1934 tour of Germany has been honoured by supporters across rival clubs, who joined forces to restore his long-forgotten grave.

Jack Kirby, the Derby County goalkeeper at the time, made a quiet but courageous stand against Nazi ideology when he declined to raise his arm during pre-match ceremonies in Hitler’s Germany – defying both the regime and pressure from British officials to conform.

A now-famous photograph from the tour shows Kirby standing alone, arms firmly by his side, as his teammates salute beside him.

His story might have been lost to history if not for Kal Singh Dhindsa, a Derby supporter and historian who discovered the image and launched a campaign to restore Kirby’s weather-damaged headstone in South Derbyshire.

“What an inspirational player, having the bravery to stand up to Hitler and Nazi Germany,” Dhindsa told the Daily Mirror.

Kirby’s quiet defiance took place during a period of rising fascism across Europe. The team faced pressure from both Nazi officials and the British Foreign Office to observe local protocols, but Kirby refused at every match on the tour.

Born in 1909 in the mining village of Overseal, he worked underground before signing with Derby County in 1929. He made 191 appearances for the club throughout the 1930s, including during the controversial Germany tour.

When Dhindsa visited Kirby’s grave, he found the headstone weathered and barely legible. Donations quickly poured in from fans across English football – including fierce rivals in Nottingham Forest – to fund the restoration.

“It was lovely to see the football world come together to honour such a man,” Dhindsa said.

The restored grave was unveiled in a recent ceremony attended by family and supporters. Kirby’s great-niece, Rachel Kirby, said her family had always admired his principled stand.
Knife-wielding Palestinian supporter threatens Jews in Switzerland
A group of yeshivah students walking in the street in Lucerne, Switzerland, on Saturday night were attacked by a man who spat on them and threatened them with a knife.

It was 8:30 p.m. when the yeshivah students approached Lucerne’s train station. The man approached and asked, “Are you Jews?”

Before the group could answer, he spat at them.

The students rushed toward the station’s plaza. But the man, described by witnesses as Arab, pursued them. Then he pulled out a knife and shouted pro-Palestinian slogans.

Sensing the escalating danger, passersby intervened and the assailant fled. No one was injured.

Police who were called to the scene could not found the attacker.

“It was terrifying,” one student posted on social media. “We tried to walk away, but he wouldn’t stop. Those people saved us.”

Due to Shabbat restrictions, the students, among them Israelis, could not file a formal complaint until after the Sabbath, and with Swiss police stations closed on Sundays except for emergencies, they were told to return on Monday.

According to JFeed website, it is possible that security cameras at the busy station recorded the incident, offering police a lead to identify the assailant.

The attack comes amid a rise in antisemitism in Switzerland.

According to the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities (SIG), antisemitic incidents surged 43% in 2024, with 221 cases in German-, Italian- and Romansh-speaking regions, up from 155 in 2023. Verbal abuse and antisemitic comments accounted for 65.5% of the incidents.

In Switzerland, 32% of Jews avoid wearing visible Jewish symbols, up from 19.5% in 2020, with 28% considering emigration due to safety fears.


‘Extraordinary’ 600 year old Ethiopian Jewish texts to be unveiled to general public
Two ‘exceptional’ 15th century texts from the Ethiopian Jewish community will soon be made available for digital public viewing by Tel Aviv University scholars, with the keepers of the original works believed to have risked their lives to bring them to Israel.

The Orit books of Beta Israel, which contain the first five books of the Torah as well as the books of Joshua, Judges and Ruth, were found in the private homes of kessim (Ethiopian-Jewish priests) living in Israel, by members of TAU’s biblical studies department.

The university’s ‘Guardians’ programme is dedicated to studying, preserving, and continuing the biblical heritage of Ethiopian Jewry. Largely inaccessible to the public due to preservation concerns, the digitisation process of these extraordinary “living books”, some of which are still used in prayer houses, has only recently been completed.

They were originally discovered during a June 2024 travelling workshop across Israel, held in collaboration with the Ethiopian Jewry Heritage Centre and the National Library of Israel, which documented the books and established the digital archive of Beta Israel’s scriptures.

Tel Aviv University’s professor Dalit Rom-Shiloni said: “The Orit of Beta Israel includes the Five Books of the Torah, as well as the Books of Joshua, Judges, and Ruth. So far, we have documented four Orit books, including the two from the 15th century, as well as 13 other sacred books.”

All the sacred books of Ethiopian Jewry are written in Ge’ez, a language known only to the kessim, or Jewish priests and passed down through generations from father to son.

Rom-Shiloni adds: “The books were carefully guarded and preserved, with some of their owners even risking their lives to bring them to Israel.
Avera Mengistu discharged from hospital 5 months after release from Hamas captivity
Avera Mengistu, who was freed from Hamas captivity earlier this year after spending more than a decade as a hostage in the Gaza Strip, was discharged from the hospital on Tuesday after five months of treatment.

His family said that he would now be moved to sheltered accommodations adapted to his needs.

“I still can’t believe that he’s here with us,” Mengistu’s sister Alemnesh said, in a statement distributed by his family to Hebrew media outlets.

“I’m extremely proud of the path and the change he has been through since his return from captivity, with all the difficulties and ups and downs,” she said. “He has undergone a significant healing process.”

Mengistu, 38, entered the Gaza Strip of his own accord in 2014, amid mental distress. He was arrested by Hamas shortly after entering the coastal enclave.

The terror group claimed he was an Israeli soldier, although he was never drafted to the military, having been declared not medically fit for service back in 2003.

On-and-off negotiations over the years failed to bring about Mengistu’s release until this February, when he was freed with several other captives during a ceasefire and hostage release deal.

In total, Mengistu spent 3,821 days in captivity.


Islamic Jihad claims to lose contact with captors of hostage Rom Braslavski
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group claimed Tuesday that it has lost contact with the captors holding Israeli hostage Rom Braslavski, and that his fate is currently unknown.

The Gaza-based group said in a statement that the loss of communication occurred after the Israel Defense Forces operated in the area where he was being held. Israel Defense Forces ground troops entered the central Gaza city of Deir al-Balah on Monday for the first time, after avoiding it largely because hostages are thought to be held there.

Braslavski, who was taken hostage from the Nova music festival in the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023, is one of the 50 hostages still held captive in Gaza. At least 20 of the captives are thought to be alive, and around half would be released under a ceasefire deal being negotiated between Israel and Hamas in Qatar.

PIJ has made statements and claims in the past that have not always proven reliable. Israel has accused the group, like Hamas, of conducting psychological warfare. PIJ released a video of Braslavski in April, likely scripted by his captors, in which he said he was experiencing “hell” and displayed signs of illness.

The Braslavski family responded to the terror group’s announcement on Tuesday with its own statement, taking the government to task. His relatives demanded a meeting with either Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz, or IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir.

“We want to know where our son is. We want those responsible to sit with us and relay the situation, not fragments of information or partial truths,” the family said in the statement. “We are broken and in pain. We demand answers from our country about our beloved Rom.”

The family’s statement said military and government leaders have not responded to their messages or updated them, and that “no one knows where Rom is. Neither the IDF nor Islamic Jihad knows anything. The only thing we were ever told is that he is being held alone.”

It also criticized politicians for “placing territory before hostages.” And it singled out recent comments by Orit Strock, the minister of national missions and settlements, who said the IDF shouldn’t avoid fighting in areas where hostages are being held.
October 7 - Heroic Stories: MDA Paramedic Alisa & Inbar | Tevel (Part 1)
On October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists from Gaza infiltrated innocent communities in southern Israel. Rushing to help on the front lines were heroic medics, IDF soldiers, police officers, firefighters, search and rescue teams, and more. Several individuals came forward to share their firsthand experiences from that devastating day. These are their stories:
Part 1 - The story of MDA Paramedic Alisa Krant and her sister Inbar Bohadana. This important project was made possible by Tevel Ashkelon, a leadership and public diplomacy program of StandWithUs


October 7 - Heroic Stories: MDA EMT-A Netanel & Hadar | Tevel (Part 2)
Part 2 - The story of MDA Emergency Medical Technician-Ambulance Netanel Koren and his daughter Hadar.


October 7 - Heroic Stories: MDA EMT-A Itay Amar | Tevel (Part 3) Part 3 - The story of MDA Emergency Medical Technician-Ambulance Itay Amar.

October 7 - Heroic Stories: United Hatzalah Medic, Slava Shatzki | Tevel (Part 4)
Part 4 - The story of United Hatzalah medic Slava Shatzki.


Ozzy Osbourne, heavy metal legend and Israel advocate, dies aged 76
In an interview with The Jewish Chronicle last year, Sharon Osbourne recalled her husband’s fondness for Judaism, saying he wanted to understand all the hate that many Jews face and noting that the rocker was confused as to why antisemitism was so rife.

Ozzy played in Israel several times. His first show was headlining Ozzfest in Tel Aviv’s Hayarkon Park, prior to which Ozzy and Sharon spent a day visiting Jerusalem’s Old City, the Kotel and Yad Vashem. Eight years later, the musician was back again on his No More Tours 2 farewell tour, performing in Rishon LeZion.

More than this though, Ozzy was a fierce defender of Israel and the Jewish people. In 2025, he and Sharon joined more than 200 figures in the entertainment and business world, signing an open letter demanding an inquiry into “systematic bias against Israel” at the BBC.

He also came out against Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) for using an unauthorised Black Sabbath sample on a new song. On X, Osbourne refused to grant the rapper permission because of his antisemitic views.

“@KANYEWEST ASKED PERMISSION TO SAMPLE A SECTION OF A 1983 LIVE PERFORMANCE OF “IRON MAN” FROM THE US FESTIVAL WITHOUT VOCALS & WAS REFUSED PERMISSION BECAUSE HE IS AN ANTISEMITE AND HAS CAUSED UNTOLD HEARTACHE TO MANY,” he wrote. “HE WENT AHEAD AND USED THE SAMPLE ANYWAY AT HIS ALBUM LISTENING PARTY LAST NIGHT. I WANT NO ASSOCIATION WITH THIS MAN!”




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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