Thursday, July 31, 2025

07/31 Links Pt2: Anti-Israel virtue-signaling on Gaza is immoral; Zohran's Father Wrote of 'Moral Equivalence' Between 9/11 and US War on Terror; DiCaprio moves forward with eco-hotel at Herzliya Marina

From Ian:

Jonathan Tobin: Anti-Israel virtue-signaling on Gaza is immoral
As has been the case for decades, those who criticize or condemn Israel act as if the Palestinians have no moral agency for their conduct or fate.

Instead, Israel-bashers and the “more in sorrow than anger” critics who lament its alleged betrayal of Jewish traditions seem to think that the Palestinians have no responsibility for what has happened and must be saved from the consequences of their actions, no matter how often they reject peace or even just a cessation of hostilities. They don’t care that Israel has fought this war with greater morality and concern for the safety of civilians than in any prior instance of urban combat. Instead, they demand something unique in history: that an aggrieved combatant in a war forced upon them assume complete responsibility for the enemy population even before their opponents surrender.

Israel has gone a long way toward doing just that by allowing aid into Gaza throughout the current conflict. Even that unprecedented gesture has not been enough to silence critics.

Israel isn’t perfect, and neither is Netanyahu. But the prime minister’s resolve in pursuing his country’s war goals in the face of overwhelming American pressure prior to Trump returning to office in January and the drumbeat of unfair international opprobrium since Oct. 8 has enhanced his country’s security immeasurably. Treating the continuation of the war until victory as merely a cynical political ploy on his part or a hateful desire for revenge on the Palestinians is unfair. It also does real damage to Israel’s ability to defend itself against enemies that are still seeking to shed Jewish blood.

That’s why it’s vital to understand that the Jewish virtue-signaling about Gaza is more than just misguided moral posturing.

By taking sides against Israel and joining the chorus of those who seek to delegitimize its self-defense and force an end to the war in a way that clearly grants a triumph to Hamas, these “as a Jew” critics, like Stewart or Patinkin, are giving aid and comfort to genocidal Islamists that is as real as the suffering of the Palestinians. The same is true of many in the Reform movement who have allowed their progressive politics to get in the way of the religious denomination’s moral compass.

It’s also important to point out that those who make these criticisms have no answers as to how Israel can defend itself in a way that will not harm Palestinian civilians, while at the same time, Hamas is determined to maximize their suffering. Anguish about the situation of the Palestinians won’t make things better for them. On the contrary, by lending their voices to the information war against Israel, they ensure that they remain under the thumb of Hamas and others who are similarly committed to the destruction of the Jewish state.

Joining the mob
Though those who speak for Israel and the IDF can always do better, the information war against Israel that is being conducted in bad faith won’t be won by better communication strategies. The only way through is for Jerusalem to stick to its justified demands for an end to Hamas rule in Gaza and for those who care about the Jewish state to give it their backing, despite the temptation to join the mobs smearing it.

Virtue-signaling about Gaza starvation isn’t a reflection of Jewish values. It is a gift to the enemies of the Jewish people, whose goal is the shedding of more Jewish blood.

War remains, as it has always been: sheer hell. The only moral way to end this one is with Hamas’s surrender of control of every inch of Gaza and freedom for all of the hostages. Those who deviate from those demands are doing great harm to both sides in this war to feel good about themselves and to stay in sync with liberal political fashion. And that’s not merely wrong, but deeply, deeply immoral.
Kurt Schlichter: Reject the Moral Blackmail of the Marxist/Jihadi Axis
Our enemies have no moral standing. Everything they say is a lie. We cannot let them morally browbeat us into choosing suicide. The ugly truth is that Jews can’t die in enough numbers for their enemies to stop hating them. But that also applies to those of us who are not Jewish. Our Marxist/jihadi enemies would not break stride if they made their Holocaust II fantasy come true (their perverse fantasy of “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” means free of breathing Jews) and would immediately get onto killing the rest of us. That’s why I’m going to side with civilization and continue to advocate for the total destruction of the Marxist/jihadist enemy.

The Gazans are enduring hardships, but this is not a bug. It is a feature. Bad things should happen to people who start wars, particularly with grotesque rape and murder sprees. This tends to discourage future wars, but understand that the Marxist/jihadi doesn’t want to discourage future wars. The Marxist/jihadi wants to win future wars and intends to do so by morally hamstringing those fighting against it.

Israel should have cut off all food, water, and power to Gaza on October 7. That’s how sieges work. It should have attacked with unrestrained fury until the enemy was completely annihilated. That’s how wars are fought, with the objective being victory. It’s how they’ve always been fought throughout history. When did it suddenly become the duty of the side winning a war to start taking care of the enemy’s logistical needs during the war? I find it bizarre that not only would some people expect the forces of civilization to fight in a manner unknown to human beings before last week – somehow the righteous besieger is now responsible for the logistic support of those resisting the siege – but that people within the scope of civilization would accept this concept.

We are under no moral obligation to allow the enemies of civilization to survive. That means finish Hamas. If their families suffer as a result of their conduct, they are free to relieve that suffering by total and unconditional surrender. Enemies of humanity must be defeated. Anybody who is a friend of the swamp of human waste known as Hamas is an enemy of humanity.

The only way we can lose the war against the semi-human savages of Marxist/jihadi barbarism is to choose to be defeated. That choice manifests as refusing to win the war in the way that human beings have won wars for 5,000 years. The choice to embrace brand-new rules and norms that have never existed within the history of conflict, which somehow shield the aggressor from righteous retribution, is a suicidal one, and we must have no part of it.

Remember, the Marxist/jihadi axis and their pathetic, morally illiterate American and other Western allies would gleefully cheer as you are actively exterminated. If we submit to their moral blackmail, they will have the chance to exterminate you actively, and they will do it. The only way they can defeat you is if you are both weak and stupid enough to submit. Reject the aptly named David French and his fellow submissives.

The answer to the Gaza problem is to annihilate Hamas and anybody helping it. It is to inflict righteous retribution such that no one dares start another war. This is what history teaches. This is the way.
Seth Mandel: Democrats, anti-Zionism, and the Worst Interview of All Time
The truly soul-crushing part of Sen. Elissa Slotkin’s interview on Breaking Points yesterday comes when she tells the progressive host about running in an election while the Israel-Gaza conflict was raging:
“There was no issue that was more difficult for me in this last, I would say six years but certainly in this last election, other than this issue, because it’s personal.”

Slotkin is Jewish. She came to office, first as a member of the House, as a moderate Democrat with a background in national security. But in office, she has steadily become a vocal critic of Israel and gone noticeably quiet on the issue of anti-Semitism. The worse the domestic situation for Jews became, the greater her indifference to it seemed to be.

So when she went on a show known for its anti-Zionist conspiracy theories (the first question to Slotkin yesterday was about whether Jeffrey Epstein was an intelligence asset, perhaps run by Israel) and its overt reliance on Hamas propaganda for its broadcasts, it could have been a “Sister Souljah moment” for Slotkin, an opportunity to push back on the hate.

Then she said “it’s personal,” and I thought we’d get a statement of pride in her Jewish faith. Instead, Slotkin said this:

“There was no issue that was more difficult for me in this last, I would say six years but certainly in this last election, other than this issue, because it’s personal: I’m a Middle East analyst by training.”

The genocidal war against the Jews and the explosion of anti-Semitism in her state and beyond is personal to this Jewish senator, because she’s… a Middle East analyst by training.

I’ve rewatched the clip several times, each time hoping I was hallucinating. But, like the old joke about the guy who watches reruns of the evening news, it always ended the same way.

The interview itself is not an especially easy watch. It’s as if the Hindenburg and Chernobyl had coincided. At one point hostess Krystal Ball asked Slotkin why she even agreed to appear on their show. It was the only good question she or her cohost asked Slotkin.


Mahmood Mamdani, Credited With Shaping Son Zohran's Thinking, Wrote of 'Moral Equivalence' Between 9/11 and US War on Terror
New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani's father wrote shortly after 9/11 that there was a "moral equivalence" between the al Qaeda attack and retaliatory U.S. bombing of Afghanistan.

"There is an eerie similarity between the American bombing of Iraq and Afghanistan and the al-Qaeda bombing of embassies in Nairobi and Dar-es-Salaam and of the Twin Towers on 9/11," Mahmood Mamdani, a professor at Columbia University, wrote in his 2004 book, Good Muslim, Bad Muslim. He added that there is a "moral equivalence between the two."

"[B]oth testify that, when it comes to the contest for power, the rest of the world exists only as collateral."

The elder Mamdani also proclaimed in previously unreported writings a "growing common ground between the perpetrators of 9/11 and the official response to it called 'the war on terror,'" arguing that there was no moral difference between the U.S. government and the terrorist organization that killed nearly 3,000 civilians at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

"Both [the U.S. and al-Qaeda] are informed by highly ideological worldviews, which each articulates in a highly religious political language, one that is self-righteous," he wrote. "The righteousness of self goes alongside the demonization of the other as evil."

Mahmood Mamdani's comments could raise new questions for his democratic socialist son during his campaign for mayor of New York City, where al Qaeda killed 2,606 civilians in its attack on the World Trade Center. Zohran Mamdani has said he stays "engaged" with his father's work and has helped edit his writing and speeches to make them "more accessible," the Washington Free Beacon reported earlier this month.

While the younger Mamdani has not spoken much about the Sept. 11 attacks during his campaign, he recently said he stands by "the idea" of the "globalize the intifada" slogan after receiving condemnation from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial and Museum.

He also once blamed the FBI for al Qaeda leader Anwar al-Awlaqi's decision to join the terrorist group.

"Why no proper interrogation of what it means for @FBI to have conducted extensive [surveillance] into #al-Awlaki’s private life?" he wrote in a 2015 Twitter post, the Dispatch reported. "Why no further discussion of how #al-Awlaki’s knowledge of [surveillance] eventually led to him to #alqaeda?"

The argument echoes his father's writing, in which the Columbia professor claimed that the CIA was behind Osama bin Laden and his rise to power.


We urgently need to talk about Qatar
There are many people who howl about supposed Israeli influence and control over a variety of Western countries. Such people seem neither to know or care that within the last few decades the Qatari regime, via its QIA sovereign wealth fund, has invested eye-wateringly large sums of money into the economies of key Western nations. Recent reporting has shown that besides the recent Trump-associated spending, since 2012 Qatar has poured $33.4 billion into American businesses and real estate, and $6.25 billion into US universities. In France, the Emirate – which has a population of 300,000 – has invested tens of billions in the last decade, with a 2024 deal between the two countries seeing Qatar pledge to invest a further 10 billion Euros into key sectors of the French economy. And then we come to the UK, where in the last two decades Qatar has built up more than £100 billion – yes, that’s a ‘b’ – in assets, including in UK property, infrastructure and key businesses.

One doesn’t have to engage in bizarre conspiracy theories about direct control to understand that such a level of investment brings a great deal of indirect power – spoken or unspoken. No Western nation would reasonably want to go out of its way to make an enemy of a wildly wealthy Emirate that seems to be almost begging to shower it with money. A Times article on the subject in 2023 noted that “research commissioned by the gas-rich state claims its companies owned in the UK made revenues of £1.3 trillion from 2008 to 2022… in the City and Westminster it is seen as a cash cow.” And we haven’t even touched on the use of Qatar’s Al Udeid air force base by both the United States and the UK.

In December 2024, the Qatari charade played out in the UK, during a state visit of the Emirate’s royal couple. At a Buckingham Palace banquet, Qatar’s Emir was praised for his “tireless mediation efforts over the past year in pursuit of peace”.

And so it goes on. Like dominos, France, Britain and Canada (where Qatar has started small, incidentally announcing a £200 million investment last month) have all now expressed plans to recognise a Palestinian state, without the ending of Hamas as a necessary prerequisite. In the meantime, none of them have openly called upon Qatar to end what they must know it could have ended a long time ago – and none of them will.

They say that money talks, but real money doesn’t need to talk. It just sits there, lets governments notice its presence, and allows them to consider what would happen if it went away.


US sanctions ‘going to harm me,’ Francesca Albanese says
The U.S. government sanctions individuals and entities to deter what it considers to be dangerous behavior and to encourage changes in line with U.S. policy. Francesca Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur for Palestinian rights who has a long history of anti-Israel remarks, told the Associated Press on July 29 that the U.S. sanctions issued against her this month are hurting her and her family.

“My daughter is American. I’ve been living in the United States, and I have some assets there. So, of course, it’s going to harm me,” Albanese told the AP. “What can I do? I did everything I did in good faith, and knowing that, my commitment to justice is more important than personal interests.”

It’s very serious to be on the list of the people sanctioned by the United States,” Albanese told the wire in Rome. She said that those sanctioned, like her, “cannot have financial interactions or credit cards with any American bank,” the AP reported.

Washington sanctioned Albanese in early July, after she sent letters to U.S. entities accusing them of complicity in alleged Israeli crimes and recommending that the International Criminal Court, to which Washington is not a signatory, investigate them.

“The United States has repeatedly condemned and objected to the biased and malicious activities of Albanese that have long made her unfit for service as a special rapporteur,” Marco Rubio, the U.S. secretary of state, said on July 9. “Albanese has spewed unabashed antisemitism, expressed support for terrorism and open contempt for the United States, Israel and the West.”

The Trump administration sought to have Albanese removed from her position, which the United Nations considers to be an “independent expert,” accusing her of carrying out a “campaign of political and economic warfare” against the United States and Israel.

The United States, Germany, France and Canada have decried Albanese’s antisemitic statements.
Belgium refers case of two IDF soldiers to ICC following Tomorrowland arrest
The case of the two IDF soldiers arrested at the Tomorrowland Festival by Belgian authorities has been referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC), the Belgian federal prosecutor’s office announced on Wednesday.

The prosecutor received complaints about the two soldiers – said to have served in the IDF’s Givati Brigade – from the anti-Israel Hind Rajab Foundation, on July 18 and 19.

The foundation accused the soldiers of participating in “the systematic destruction of civilian infrastructure in Gaza and in carrying out mass atrocities against the Palestinian population.” It also accused them of torture, unlawful detention, the deliberate destruction of homes and hospitals, and direct attacks on civilians.

After analyzing the complaints, the federal prosecutor’s office decided to transfer the files to the ICC, noting the desire for the “proper administration of justice and in accordance with Belgium’s international obligations, as provided for in Article 14/10 of the previous title of the Code of Criminal Procedure.”

Hind Rajab Foundation encourages ICC involvement
Hind Rajab responded to the news of the ICC referral with “cautious encouragement,” but criticized the Belgian prosecutor for not going further.

“In our view, the suspects should not only have been arrested, but also detained and either prosecuted in Belgium or extradited to the ICC,” Human Rights Foundation (HRF) said in a statement on Wednesday.

“Belgium has the legal basis and responsibility to do so. The current interpretation of its jurisdiction is, in our opinion, unnecessarily limited.”

The HRF went on to urge the ICC to act “without delay and issue arrest warrants against the suspects.”

The two soldiers, however, are no longer believed to be in Belgium, having reportedly traveled to the Netherlands shortly after being released by Belgian law enforcement, following their interrogation.
Nicole Lampert: Edinburgh’s shameful cancellation of Jewish comedians
Two Jewish comedians, Rachel Creeger and Philip Simon, had their Edinburgh Fringe Festival slots cancelled last week thanks to alleged ‘safety concerns’. Simon was also dropped from a second venue in Edinburgh for his social-media posts calling, among other things, for the return of the Israeli hostages.

I wish I was making this up, but in 2025, being Jewish is considered a safety risk. Whistlebinkles, the venue that was slated to host Creeger and Simon’s gigs, decided to cancel the shows when bar staff expressed fears of feeling ‘unsafe’. These concerns were reportedly raised when the venue was told it would need extra police protection to guarantee the safety of Jewish acts.

Rachel is a friend of mine. I’ve seen her show, Ultimate Jewish Mother, and it mainly features laughs about motherhood and how to make good chicken soup. She is the only female Orthodox Jew on the comedy circuit and the only dangerous thing about her is that she may drown you in love and cuddles. Each year at the Edinburgh Fringe, she hosts Friday night dinners for other Jews and makes sure there is kosher food for everyone who needs it. It makes me sick to think her presence at a comedy venue might lead to anyone feeling ‘unsafe’.

Philip Simon was not only taken off the line-up at Whistlebinkles, he was then barred from the Banshee Labyrinth, too. The management cited its ‘duty of care to our customers and staff members’. Having monitored his social media, the venue said it was ‘inappropriate’ to host anyone whose ‘views and actions align with the rhetoric and symbology of groups associated with humanitarian violations’ – ie, Israel. The supposedly offending tweets included images from a vigil for Israeli hostages, a call to ‘stand strong against terror’ and a plea not to forget the rape victims of 7 October 2023. All demands for peace, in other words.
Scots MP branded 'despicable' over sickening insult to Israeli hostages in Gaza
A Scottish MP has been condemned for ‘despicable’ comments justifying Hamas holding innocent Israelis hostage as it’s ‘the only bargaining power’ the terror group has left.

Angus MacDonald provoked outrage after claiming if the terror group released the hostages they seized in 2023 then Israel would ‘obliterate’ Palestine.

The Liberal Democrats are now facing calls to suspend the MP for his ‘vile moral bankruptcy’ about the innocent victims of Hamas.

Anti-Semitism campaigners joined political opponents in condemning the remarks, made in response to one of his constituents on social media site Facebook.

Mr MacDonald, who represents Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire, last night refused to issue an apology to the families of innocent Israeli hostages and the Scottish Lib Dems defended the comments and claimed he was not justifying or defending hostage-taking.

Sammy Stein, chairman of the Glasgow Friends of Israel group, said: ‘I believe it is particularly despicable of Angus MacDonald MP to defend the right of Hamas, an internationally proscribed terrorist organisation, to kidnap and hold innocent Israelis, including women, kids, babies and the elderly, most of whom were kidnapped from their homes on October 7 2023.Angus MacDonald

‘There is absolutely no doubt that if Hamas released the hostages, the fighting would stop. MacDonald is delusional if he believes that continuing to hold them would persuade Israel to agree to a ceasefire.
French politician vocally fights antisemitism as her country is poised to recognize Palestine
For Shannon Seban, antisemitism is anything but academic. As an outspoken young politician and a rising figure in the country’s large Jewish community, she’s experienced up close the abusive scourge that has bedeviled France for centuries. Now, with the publication of her provocative new book, “Française, juive et alors?” (“French, Jewish and So What?”), Seban is increasingly the target of anti-Jewish hate, including death threats.

“Given the current reality, I am concerned for my safety,” she told The Times of Israel during a recent interview at a café in Paris’s 15th arrondissement. “I’m aware of the risk and I’m cautious, but I don’t want to be put under police protection on a daily basis. I also don’t want to cry that I’m a victim. I’m not. This is a fight and I’m combative.”

Last summer, as a candidate in parliamentary elections, Seban unexpectedly found herself in the spotlight. Facing considerable hostility due to her Jewish identity while campaigning in a Paris suburb, including people screaming at her, “Get out of here, you filthy Zionist,” the Interior Ministry put her under special police protection, attracting French and foreign media coverage.

“It didn’t matter that I was promoting peace and spoke about eventual recognition of a Palestinian state,” Seban says. “Because I was known as Jewish, that meant for some people I was a dirty Zionist and I killed children.”

Not long after French President Emmanuel Macron announced on July 24 that France would officially recognize a Palestinian state in September, Seban voiced her opposition publicly.

“Recognizing a Palestinian state without prior peace, without a structured political process, without guarantees for Israel’s security or a deep reform of the Palestinian Authority, is not only pointless, it’s counterproductive,” she later told The Times of Israel.

“Such a move must be the culmination of a peace process, not its starting point. It must be conditional on the release of all hostages held in Gaza, the disarmament of Hamas, a genuine reform of the Palestinian Authority and mutual recognition between both states. Anything else is diplomatic recklessness and moral surrender.”


‘Critical’ omission of Zionism in UCLA settlement with Jewish students, professor says
Judea Pearl, a University of California, Los Angeles computer-science professor and father of Jewish Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, who was kidnapped and murdered in Pakistan in 2002, had harsh words for UCLA after it settled with three Jewish students on Tuesday.

“There’s no mention of the word ‘Zionism’” in the agreement, a “critical and devastating” omission, Pearl told JNS.

Under the $6.45 million settlement, the public university will fund its own Initiative to Combat Antisemitism with $320,000 and will donate $2.33 million to eight groups that fight Jew-hatred.

The president of the Daniel Pearl Foundation, the professor told JNS that neglecting to mention Zionism in the settlement “weaponizes the conflation of anti-Zionism and antisemitism and gives Israel’s enemies on campus the ability to avoid consequences.”

Jewish organizations are mentioned, but Jewish faculty members, like he, are not, Pearl said. He told JNS that the university should have consulted with Jewish professors before signing the agreement.

“I think we have done more for students than most of the organizations mentioned,” he said.

The Jewish plaintiffs deserve “tremendous credit” for reaching an “unprecedented settlement in terms of size and publicity,” according to Pearl.

The professor said the UCLA chancellor ought to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of Jew-hatred and affirm that “he who denies the Jewish people the right for a homeland is committing an antisemitic form of anti-Zionism.”

Doing so is “so simple” and clearly different from criticizing Israeli government policy, Pearl told JNS.
Trump administration refers Harvard to Justice Department in civil rights probe
US President Donald Trump’s administration has sent a letter to Harvard University saying it has referred the school to the US Justice Department to address allegations of “Harvard’s antisemitic discrimination.”

In late June, the Trump administration said an investigation had concluded Harvard violated federal civil rights law for failing to address harassment of Jewish and Israeli students.

Critics, rights experts and some faculty said such probes are a pretext to assert federal control over schools and threaten academic freedom and free speech.

Harvard has been embroiled in talks and a legal fight with the Trump administration, seeking the restoration of billions of dollars of frozen federal funds for medical research and other programs. It sued the Trump administration earlier this year.

“The parties’ several months’ engagement has been fruitless,” said the letter dated Wednesday from the US Department of Health and Human Services to Harvard’s leadership. “OCR (Office for Civil Rights) therefore has no choice but to refer the matter to DOJ to initiate appropriate proceedings to address Harvard’s antisemitic discrimination.”

The letter was sent a day after Harvard informed its staff that it will comply with the Trump administration’s demands that it turn over employment forms for thousands of university employees, but for the time being was not sharing records for those employed in roles only available to students.

In an email to university employees sent on Tuesday, Harvard said that earlier this month it received a notice of inspection and a related subpoena from the Department of Homeland Security, seeking to inspect the I-9, or Employment Eligibility Verification, forms and supporting documentation for university employees.
Harvard Launches New Academic Partnerships With Israel Amid Trump Funding Fight
Harvard University has announced new partnerships with Israeli academic institutions, a move which appears aimed at reversing an impression that the institution is ideologically anti-Zionist and content with antisemitic discrimination being an allegedly daily occurrence on its campus.

As first reported by The Harvard Crimson, Harvard will hold a study abroad program, in partnership with Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, for undergraduate students and a postdoctoral fellowship in which Harvard Medical School faculty will mentor and train newly credentialed Israeli scientists in biomedical research as preparation for the next stages of their careers. The campus paper — which in 2022 endorsed the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel — said the programs constitute a “dramatic expansion of the university’s academic and institutional ties to Israel.”

Speaking to the Crimson, Harvard vice provost for international affairs Mark Elliot trumpeted the announcement as a positive development and, notably, as a continuation, not a beginning, of Harvard’s “engagement with institutions of higher education across Israel.” Elliot also said Harvard is planning “increased academic collaboration across the region in the coming years.”

The new partnerships with Israel come only months after Harvard paused its relationship with a higher education institution located in the West Bank. They also coincide with the university’s titanic legal fight against the federal government to reclaim over $3 billion worth of taxpayer-funded research grants and contracts the Trump administration impounded to pressure school officials into a process of rehabilitation and reform that will see it discontinue a slew of practices conservatives have cited as causing campus antisemitism, as well as the hollowing out of American values.

Since that first step, the Trump administration has continued backing Harvard into a corner.

In June, the Trump administration issued it a “notice of violation” of civil rights law following an investigation which examined how it responded to dozens of antisemitic incidents reported by Jewish students since the 2023-2024 academic year.

Sent by the Joint Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, it charged that Harvard willfully exposed Jewish students to a deluge of racist and antisemitic abuse following the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, massacre across southern Israel, which precipitated a surge in anti-Zionist activity on the campus. It concluded with a threat to cancel all federal funding for Harvard.

Amid this policy offensive, interim Harvard president Alan Garber held a phone call with major donors in which he “confirmed in response to a question from [Harvard Corporation Fellow David Rubenstein] that talks had resumed” but “declined to share specifics of how Harvard expected to settle with the White House.”
Brown reaches deal with Trump administration, agrees to several steps against antisemitism
Brown University will pay $50 million to Rhode Island workforce development organizations in a deal with the Trump administration that restores lost US federal research funding and ends investigations into alleged discrimination, including against Jews at the Ivy League school, officials said Wednesday.

The university also agreed to several concessions in line with President Donald Trump’s political agenda. Brown will adopt the government’s definition of “male” and “female,” for example, and must remove any consideration of race from the admissions process.

Brown President Christina H. Paxson said the deal preserves Brown’s academic independence. The terms include a clause saying the government cannot dictate curriculum or the content of academic speech at Brown.

“The university’s foremost priority throughout discussions with the government was remaining true to our academic mission, our core values and who we are as a community at Brown,” Paxson wrote.

It is the latest deal between an Ivy League school and the Trump administration, which has used its control of federal funding to push for reforms at colleges Trump decries as overrun by liberalism and antisemitism. The administration also has launched investigations into diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, saying they discriminate against white and Asian American students.

The Brown deal has similarities with one signed last week by Columbia University, which the government called a roadmap for other universities. Unlike that agreement, however, Brown’s does not include an outside monitor.

The three-year agreement with Brown restores dozens of suspended grants and contracts. It also calls for the federal government to reimburse Brown for $50 million in unpaid federal grant costs.
French university rejects Gaza student over ‘hateful’ antisemitic online posts
A top French university said Wednesday that it had canceled the enrollment of a student from Gaza because of social media posts by her that the country’s interior ministry called “hateful.”

Screenshots from social media indicated the woman, identified in French outlets as Nour Atallah, 25, had reposted messages calling for the killing of Jews. Her accounts appeared to have since been deactivated.

Atallah had been offered a place at the Sciences Po Lille university following a recommendation by the French consulate in Jerusalem, the school said. Following the recommendation by French diplomats, the woman initially lived at the home of the university’s director while she waited for permanent lodgings, Sciences Po said.

But the school said that after consultations with the education ministry and regional authorities, it “decided to cancel this student’s planned registration at our establishment.”

Some of the posts “come into direct contradiction with the values upheld by Sciences Po Lille, which fights against all forms of racism, antisemitism and discrimination, as well as against any type of incitement to hatred, against any population whatsoever,” the university added in a post on X.

The rescission of Atallah’s enrollment came days after French President Emmanuel Macron announced that the country, which is home to Europe’s largest Jewish population, would recognize a Palestinian state in September. The decision, against the backdrop of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, provoked anger among French Jewish leaders as well as Israeli officials, who called it a reward for the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack that began the war.


TikTok's new hate speech manager is former IDF soldier and proud Zionist
TikTok has hired a “proud” American Jewish former IDF soldier – Erica Mindel – as its new hate speech manager.

Mindel’s LinkedIn profile shows she entered the position of Public Policy Manager, Hate Speech in July. The position involves developing and driving the company’s positions on hate speech, according to the job description.

It also involves “spearheading long-term policy strategies” regarding hate speech, monitoring online content, and advocating for the company’s policy stances. It specifically states that the position involves “serving as a subject matter expert on antisemitism and hate speech in internal and external meetings” and “analyzing hate speech trends, focusing on antisemitic content.”

Mindel’s previous role, from 2022 to 2025, was as a contractor for the US State Department during the Biden administration. She worked for Deborah Lipstadt, the special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism.

Prior to that, she spent two years at the American Jewish Committee (AJC) as its assistant director of program development. On her LinkedIn, she says she was responsible for “developing and managing high-level advocacy and policy delegations to Israel for political, press/media, religious and civic and academic thought leaders.”

Monitoring hate speech online
Mindel has a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Government from the University of Michigan, and a master’s in Public Policy from Johns Hopkins.

During an AJC video in 2023, she explained that she was raised as a traditional and conservative Jew, and took a ten-month gap program in Israel after she graduated from college. She spoke of how, during her first month at university, a BDS motion was brought and she dedicated herself “wholeheartedly” to combating it.

She spoke of how she realized how “passionate her Zionist identity” was during 2014’s Operation Protective Edge.

“I knew the well-being of Jews worldwide and the security of Israel would be issues of lifelong importance to me,” she said.
TikTok deletes beauty boss’s video blaming Israel for 9/11, World Wars and 7 October
TikTok has removed a video posted by Huda Beauty founder Huda Kattan in which she claimed that Israel was responsible for “every world war”, the 9/11 terror attacks, and the 7 October Hamas massacre – sparking renewed outrage from Jewish groups and urgent calls for UK retailers to cut ties with her brand.

In the video, posted to her 1.7 million TikTok followers on Sunday, the Iraqi-American influencer claimed: “I had a feeling, I was like, were they behind every world war? Yes. Behind 11 September? Absolutely.”

She went on to suggest there was “evidence” that Israel was responsible not only for 9/11 and the 2023 Hamas attacks, which killed around 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage, but also for both World Wars – despite the modern state of Israel not existing at the time.

Kattan also repeated a range of other conspiracy theories, including the unfounded claim that Israel protects paedophiles.


‘Yahya’ soars up baby name leaderboard
The name ‘Yahya’ saw a larger increase in baby name popularity than any other male name in the top 100 in the UK last year.

The name, which is shared by the former leader of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar, gained 33 places in ranking from the previous year to become the 93rd most popular male name in the UK in 2024. Five hundred and eighty-three newborn boys in total were named Yahya last year in the UK.

Yahya Sinwar, who became leader of the terror group’s operations in the Gaza Strip in 2017, is considered to be the architect of the October 7 attacks, which saw some 1,200 people brutally murdered in Israel, about 250 taken captive and was the impetus behind the subsequent ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.

While there is no definite correlation between the increased popularity of the name and support for the terrorist also bearing the name, the calendar year from which the data is taken began just over two months after October 7.


Israel evacuates diplomats from UAE after identifying heightened security risk
Israel was reportedly evacuating most of its diplomatic mission staff in the United Arab Emirates on Thursday after the National Security Council sharpened its travel warning for Israelis staying in the Gulf country.

“We are emphasizing this travel warning given our understanding that terrorist organizations (the Iranians, Hamas, Hezbollah and Global Jihad) are increasing their efforts to harm Israel,” the NSC said in a statement.

The NSC warned of possible attempts to target Israeli and Jewish individuals in the UAE, especially around Jewish holidays and Shabbat.

There was no immediate comment from the UAE’s foreign ministry.

The Kan public broadcaster said those ordered to leave included Israel’s Ambassador to the UAE Yossi Shelley, who is said to already be at risk of losing his post due to complaints of misconduct.

Israel is concerned about retaliatory attacks following its recent military operation against Iran and as it faces mounting international pressure over the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.

In March, the UAE sentenced three people to death for the murder of an Israeli-Moldovan rabbi who was killed in November in the Gulf country. Such crimes are rare in the UAE, which is largely viewed as one of the safest places in the Middle East.


US, European countries condemn Iran for plotting killings, abductions in their territories
The United States and 13 European nations condemned attempts by the Iranian regime’s intelligence services to kill, kidnap and harass people, including Jewish citizens, in their respective territories on Thursday.

“We are united in our opposition to the attempts of Iranian intelligence services to kill, kidnap, and harass people in Europe and North America in clear violation of our sovereignty,” according to the joint statement published by the United States, the United Kingdom, Albania, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden.

The Tehran regime is “increasingly collaborating with international criminal organizations to target journalists, dissidents, Jewish citizens and current and former officials,” read the statement shared by the U.S. Department of State. “This is unacceptable.”

The 14 governments stressed that they view the Islamic Republic’s attacks, “regardless of the target,” as violations of their sovereignty.

“We are committed to working together to prevent these actions from happening, and we call on the Iranian authorities to immediately put an end to such illegal activities in our respective territories,” the governments stated.

Tehran tried to hire assassins to kill politicians, including U.S. President Donald Trump, former U.S. President Joe Biden and former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, according to FBI documents released last year.

A federal jury in March convicted two senior members of an Eastern European crime group who were ordered by the regime to kill a prominent Iranian-American dissident living in New York.


Trolls make sick Luigi Mangione-inspired memes about Blackstone executive Wesley LePatner who was killed in NYC shooting
Sick social media trolls celebrated the death of Wesley LePatner, the Blackstone executive killed in Monday’s midtown mass shooting, sharing depraved Luigi Mangione-inspired memes.

A photo of LePatner with the phrase “LUIGI’D” stamped in red across the face of the former senior managing director of Blackstone circulated on the internet following the shooting spree at 345 Park Ave. on Monday.

“Wesley LePatner, CEO of Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust, has been evicted from the mortal plane,” read the tasteless post shared on Facebook to thousands of likes.

The dreadful post referenced the infamous Luigi Mangione, accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on the streets of Midtown Manhattan in a targeted assassination on Dec. 4.

Mangione has become a cult-figure in some gutter-minded circles, which valorize the alleged assassin as a courageous critic of the healthcare industry.


Auschwitz Museum launches global digital tool to fight Holocaust denial online
The Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum has launched a new global initiative to combat Holocaust denial, providing a public-facing tool that allows users to directly challenge falsehoods circulating online.

The Stop Denial campaign compiles historical evidence, survivor testimony, photographs and academic research to refute the most common denialist claims related to the Nazi death camp.

“Today, there are very few survivors left,” said Dr Piotr M.A. Cywiński, director of the Museum. “And so antisemitic, xenophobic, and populist voices grow louder, trying to profit from lies. Let us show that we are greater in number, that truth is stronger.”

The site currently addresses 14 claims, including widely circulated conspiracies that crematoria were incapable of burning large numbers of bodies, that Zyklon B was only used for disinfection, and that the International Red Cross found nothing objectionable at the camp.

Users encountering Holocaust denial on social media are encouraged to copy and paste direct response links from the site into comment threads to correct misinformation in real time. A submission form also allows users to flag new or evolving denial narratives for inclusion in future updates.

“Fighting deniers online is extremely difficult work,” said Dr Igor Bartosik of the museum’s Research Centre, who helped develop the initiative. “Their goal is not the search for truth, but the desecration of the memory of the victims.”


‘Kill All the Jews’: FBI Investigates Attack at New York Kosher Restaurant as Possible Hate Crime
A recent assault in New York targeting Jewish diners, who suffered several injuries and said they were also verbally accosted with antisemitic slurs, is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as a possible hate crime, The Algemeiner has learned.

Bita Golbari, 51, a New York resident, told The Algemeiner that the FBI called her on Tuesday to discuss the incident that happened during the early morning hours of July 20 inside and then in front of a kosher restaurant in Queens called Sezam, which serves Russian and Central Asian cuisine. Public affairs officials at the FBI’s New York field office did not respond by press time to a request for comment on the bureau’s involvement in the case.

Officers of the New York City Police Department’s (NYPD) 112th Precinct who were at the scene of the crime filled out two complaint reports about the violent attack that were obtained by The Algemeiner. Neither police report classified the incident as a hate crime, just an assault with an intent to cause injury. The Algemeiner made multiple efforts to speak to the detective in charge of the case but to no avail. The NYPD’s Office of the Deputy Commissioner, Public Information did not respond to a request for comment on why the assault was not being investigated as a possible hate crime.

Golbari was having dinner with her husband and several other Jewish couples at Sezam late at night on July 19 before the violence ensued. She said there was a table nearby with several men and, around midnight, they brought two women from outside the restaurant to join the table. Golbari’s close friend, Elham, 45, was with her at the restaurant that night.

“From the beginning of the night, I saw there was a table next to us with a few men sitting at it, and they were staring at us. They were looking at our table,” Elham, who chose not to provide her last name out of fear for her safety, told The Algemeiner. “My spot [at our table] was really close to them. I was really scared, so I moved my chair to the other side to sit next to my other friend. I didn’t give them attention; I just moved my spot.”

The two women who came into the restaurant at around midnight were responsible for starting the violence and uttered antisemitic slurs, but the men at their table also participated in physically assaulting Golbari’s family and friends, Golbari told The Algemeiner.

The altercation began when Golbari’s group was getting ready to leave the restaurant at around 1 am. Elham could not find her handbag and noticed that one of the women at the nearby table had taken it, she explained. Elham approached the woman and asked why she took her bag. In response, the female attacker pulled Elham’s hair and threw her down. The other woman joined in and started hitting Elham as she remained on the floor.

“Hitting me on my head, my belly, my back, my neck,” Elham recalled. “They were pulling my hair. And then I heard the other guys come and they all started hitting me. I was thinking I was dying. I was screaming for help. My husband heard and came to help me. Then they started hitting my husband. His face was full of blood. His arm was bleeding.”

Elham’s husband was pushed, thrown on the floor, punched and kicked, she said.
Six to Stand Trial Over 1982 Attack on Jewish Restaurant in Paris
French judges on Thursday ordered a trial for six people in a special terrorism court over an attack on a Jewish restaurant in Paris 43 years ago in which six people were killed and at least 20 others were injured, a judicial source said.

The bombing and shooting assault on the Jo Goldenberg restaurant in the heart of the Jewish district of the Marais quarter in August 1982 was the deadliest antisemitic attack in France at the time since World War II.

It came amid a wave of violence involving Palestinian terrorists. There has been no previous trial related to the case.

Earlier this month, the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office (PNAT) had requested the trial of Walid Abdulrahman Abu Zayed, suspected of being one of the gunmen behind the attack and detained in France since the end of 2020.

Arrest warrants for the suspects have been issued, although in the case of four of them it is not known whether they are currently in France. No date has been set for the trial as the suspects have 10 days to appeal.
Principal breaks silence following abuse of Jewish students at Melbourne Museum
The principal of high school students who targeted young children on a school excursion in Melbourne has launched an investigation into the “completely deplorable” behaviour.

Abhorrent abuse was hurled at a group of Jewish primary school students from Mount Scopus Memorial College during an excursion to Melbourne Museum.

The year 5 students, aged between 10 and 11, were called "dirty Jews" by high school students, amid chants of “free, free Palestine”.

The teenagers were from Gladstone Park Secondary College in Melbourne’s outer northwest, the Herald Sun revealed.

Principal Veronica Hoy called out the behaviour from some of her teenage students as “deeply traumatic and unacceptable”.

“The behaviour of a group of some of our students at Melbourne Museum was completely deplorable,” she told the Herald Sun.

“Racism has no place in or outside of the classroom.”

The incident outraged families of the young students, with one parent saying on social media that his son had been called a "dirty Jew", and labelled the act "pure, unadulterated antisemitism".


Suspect in Melbourne synagogue arson attack faces court
A suspected arsonist accused of destroying a Melbourne synagogue appeared in court Thursday, seven months after the crime shocked the nation and triggered a large-scale investigation.

Giovanni Laulu, 21, appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates Court after his arrest at a Melbourne home on Wednesday.

Police allege Laulu is one of three masked men who spread a liquid accelerant around the interior of the Adass Israel Synagogue, then set it alight before dawn on December 6. A worshiper preparing for morning prayers suffered minor burns.

Laulu is the first suspect to be caught, but police have foreshadowed more arrests. Police suspect there are also accomplices who planned the attack from overseas.

Laulu was charged with arson, reckless conduct, endangering life, and car theft.

Laulu confirmed his name but otherwise remained silent during the brief court appearance. He did not enter pleas or apply to be released on bail.


DiCaprio moves forward with eco-hotel at Herzliya Marina
Hollywood actor and environmental activist Leonardo DiCaprio, in partnership with the Israeli real estate firm Hagag Group, is moving ahead with plans for a massive eco-luxury hotel at Herzliya Marina, along Israel’s central coast just north of Tel Aviv.

According to the Israeli business daily Globes, the Tel Aviv District Planning and Building Committee has approved construction of the 51,000-square-meter project.

DiCaprio, who dated Israeli supermodel Bar Refaeli from 2005 to 2011, holds a 10% stake in the project, while the remaining shares are owned by the Hagag Group, and brothers Ahikam and Lior Cohen.

The report said the 14-floor hotel will feature 365 rooms, with an 8,000-square-meter parking garage also approved as part of the development.

The project was initially announced in March 2018 with plans for 180 suites across two six-story buildings, but it has since expanded dramatically.

DiCaprio’s environmental activism has played a central role in shaping the Herzliya Marina hotel, which is being designed to meet U.S. Green Building Council standards and attain LEED certification, positioning it as one of Israel’s most sustainable hospitality ventures.

DiCaprio has previously been involved in several ventures in Israel, including investments in Mobli, a social-media startup, and Aleph Farms, a cultivated meat company.
2,000-year-old ‘Redemption of Zion’ coin reveals turmoil before Jerusalem’s destruction
A bronze coin minted in the fourth year of the Jewish Great Revolt against the Romans has been uncovered near the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced Thursday. The small artifact offers a glimpse into the final, dramatic months that preceded the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE, when the rebels already sensed their downfall was imminent.

The coin was found earlier this month during excavations in the Jerusalem Archaeological Garden – Davidson Center, conducted by the IAA in collaboration with the City of David and Jewish Quarter Reconstruction and Development Company.

The obverse of the coin features a goblet alongside the inscription “For the Redemption of Zion.” On the reverse appear a lulav and two etrogim (palm fronds and citrons used ceremonially on the festival of Sukkot), accompanied by the words “Year Four.”

“What’s unique about the coins minted in that final year is the shift in language,” Yanniv David Levy, a researcher and curator in the IAA Coin Department, told The Times of Israel over the phone.

“In earlier years, the inscription read ‘For the Freedom of Zion,’” he explained. “This change suggests a shift in the atmosphere in Jerusalem. Although the Romans had not yet taken the city, it’s likely that people already sensed the end was near.”

According to Levy, having realized that freedom was no longer within reach, the rebels turned their hopes toward divine intervention.

“Freedom is something people can strive for through their own human actions,” he said. “But a plea for redemption suggests they were no longer relying on themselves — it was a cry for divine intervention.”

The inscription isn’t the only notable change found on coins minted during the fourth year of the revolt — the period between the Hebrew month of Nissan (March–April) 69 CE and Adar (February–March) 70 CE.


Former child slave's thoughts on #israel | EP 50 Simon Deng Pt. 1
In this powerful episode (Part 1 of 2) of "Here I Am," host Shai Davidai sits down with Simon Deng, a former South Sudanese slave and renowned human rights activist. Simon shares his harrowing childhood experiences—growing up in a war-torn village, witnessing violence, and ultimately being kidnapped and forced into slavery at the age of nine. He recounts the trauma of being separated from his family, the brutal realities of life as a child slave, and the resilience that helped him survive.

Simon also reflects on his journey to freedom and his mission to be a voice for the voiceless, using his story to advocate for human rights and justice. This deeply moving conversation sheds light on the ongoing struggles faced by many and the enduring power of hope and activism.






Buy EoZ's books  on Amazon!

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

PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism (February 2022)

    
 

 



AddToAny

Printfriendly

EoZTV Podcast

Podcast URL

Subscribe in podnovaSubscribe with FeedlyAdd to netvibes
addtomyyahoo4Subscribe with SubToMe

search eoz

comments

Speaking

Speaking

translate

E-Book

For $18 donation








Sample Text

EoZ's Most Popular Posts in recent years

Search2

Hasbys!

Hasbys!

2019 Nobel Peace Prize nominee

Elder of Ziyon - حـكـيـم صـهـيـون



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

Donate!

Donate to fight for Israel!

Monthly subscription:
Payment options


One time donation:

Follow EoZ on Twitter!

Interesting Blogs

Show All

Blog Archive

Copyright © Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News | Powered by Blogger
Blogger Templates