Thursday, August 14, 2025

08/14 Links Pt2: Communism’s early anti-Zionism campaign; Murdered Hamas hostage Itzik Elgert tortured to death; Toronto film festival backtracks on 7 October documentary ban

From Ian:

Yisrael Medad: Communism’s early anti-Zionism campaign
Izabella Tabarovsky published an important essay last year in Tablet magazine titled “Zombie Anti-Zionism.” Its thesis is that the left is still addicted to “warmed-over Soviet anti-Zionist propaganda from half a century ago.”

That propaganda targeted “the Soviet-sponsored Third World” and started around 1967. Specifically, “the precise language used by the anti-Israel left today to condemn the Jewish state has been a conventional part of left-wing discourse for decades, and that it originated in the USSR,” beginning in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

In an earlier piece, she noted that 10 anti-Israel academics and BDS activists had established an Institute for the Critical Study of Zionism, a step “toward rebuilding the long-forgotten Soviet discipline of “scientific anti-Zionism” on American college campuses. Its aim is “to support the delinking of the study of Zionism from Jewish Studies” and “to reclaim academia and public discourse for the study of Zionism.”

Tabarovsky is a senior advisor at the Kennan Institute, specializing in Eastern European history, and a scholar of Soviet anti-Zionism and contemporary left-wing antisemitism. In an Instagram post promoting her Zombie characterization piece, she emphasizes that the Soviets, after the Six-Day War in June 1967, revved up a linguistic campaign to undermine Israel. They “equated it with the central cause animating the Western left at the time: the war in Vietnam.”

They used terms such as “imperialist Zionist propaganda” and “anti-colonialism,” and promoted the “progressive and peace-loving” involvement of the Soviet Union. Israel was a “white imperial outpost.”

The Kremlin did indeed write the script. Spinoffs of this theme include a YouTube clip that goes back to the 1950s. However, they did not create, as it were, a Palestinian identity.

True, the idea that the Arab residents of Mandate Palestine viewed themselves as Southern Syrians, into the mid-1920s and on, is an important part of the ideological conflict. In 1926, it was suggested to call the Mandate “Southern Syria,” and back in 1920, at least until December, reunification with the territory of Syria was the local Arabs’ representative demand, as was clearly made.

But what was the role of the Communist ideology? And does today’s progressive approach echo it?


Seth Mandel: Mamdani Makes It Easy
The DSA held its national convention this weekend and did us all the favor of making clear that it is self-consciously incompatible with public service.

According to the Algemeiner, the first example of this was the passing of a resolution affirming the DSA’s adoption of Thawabit, “the principles originally set by the Palestinian National Council in 1977 and repeatedly reaffirmed since.” Accordingly, the resolution made it an expellable offense to say “Israel has a right to defend itself” or to “have knowingly provided material aid to Israel,” among others.

As a socialist organization, it’s not surprising that the DSA has instituted totalitarian-style Stalinist rules or that the group considers free speech among its primary threats. But I suppose they’ve at least simplified the process by making clear that if you want to know what to do and what not to do, just check with the Palestinian National Council first.

The other notable part of the convention was the existence of a resolution censuring Ocasio-Cortez for being too pro-Israel, which is a bit like accusing Gargamel’s cat of being too pro-Smurf. AOC’s biggest offense appears to be reversing her opposition to Iron Dome, the purely defensive Israeli missile-defense program whose only role in the conflict is to lower the total number of Jews killed by Palestinian terrorists. The resolution was not voted on but may be at a future conference.

Ethan Eblaghie, a co-author of the resolution, told City & State: “What this resolution … aims to do is for us to be able to indicate very clearly with Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez’s office that this is something that we feel very strongly is unacceptable, and that for us to continue to have any sort of productive working relationship with her, we would like to see her take much stronger positions.”

Eblaghie didn’t seem to think AOC would actually be expelled. The likely reason is that the DSA is too cowardly to do anything about her near-but-not-total disregard for Israeli civilians. But a better reason for her to avoid expulsion would be for Ocasio-Cortez to walk away from the organization of her own free will. Why would any politician want the grand wizards of the DSA exerting influence over them?

More important, why would any politician want their name to be associated with a classic race-war hate group?
Brendan O'Neill: As Bono now knows, you criticise Hamas at your peril
The backlash has been mad. Bono’s statement is ‘word soup’, says the Twittermob. It’s ‘billionaire pacifism’. He’s making excuses for Israel, the nutters cry, having clearly been brainwashed by its ‘right to self-defence’ blather. Yes, how mad to think the Jewish State should have the right to defend itself from an army of anti-Semites hell-bent on its obliteration. Some accuse U2 of ‘dripping in Israeli blood money’, because of course the only reason someone would slam Hamas and defend ‘Israel’s right to exist’ is because they’d been thrown a few shekels.

The Irish Independent wonders if Bono’s comments are ‘too little, too late’. It reports on the ‘furious’ response to his statement, including from academics in Dublin who say he’s giving too much ‘justification for Israel’. Irish singer Mary Coughlan branded Bono’s statement ‘very, very weak [and] very, very measured’. Measured! What a crime. Music journalist Louise Bruton said Bono should have been braver, sooner, like Kneecap.

And there you have it. We must cheer the hip-hop trio who celebrated the butchery of 7 October 2023 by posting a photo of themselves grinning like loons alongside the words ‘Solidarity with the Palestinian struggle’ on 8 October. And we must condemn the band that says Hamas is ‘evil’. Bow down to the balaclava-wearing eejits who yelp ‘Up Hamas’ and rage against the old guard of Irish rock who rightly accuse Hamas of racist mass murder. Cosy up to neo-fascists and you’re a hero – criticise neo-fascists and you’re clearly a blood-moneyed billionaire who deserves public shaming.

You couldn’t ask for better proof that popular culture has fallen under the spell not only of Israelophobia but of Islamo-fascism itself. The slavish conformism of the anti-Israel mania has blinded the cultural elites to balance, truth and basic moral decency. Bono’s true transgression is that he says he didn’t ‘speak out’ earlier because he felt ‘uncertainty in the face of obvious complexity’. Uncertainty? Complexity? These are verboten emotions under the rule of the keffiyeh mob. Only the most brutally reductive and fact-lite posturing is permitted. Israel is evil. Gaza is innocent. The End. Deviate from these cultish diktats forged more from bigotry than reality and you will be branded one of the Jews’ money-grubbing stooges.

Hopefully, Bono now knows there is no appeasing the neo-religious fury of Israelophobia. Only obsequious prostration before their commandments of loathing for Israel will suffice. 7 October was designed to ‘sow the seeds for a global intifada’, he said in his statement. Indeed – and the fruits of that global intifada can be seen in the fact that even an established rocker like you now criticises Jew-killers at your peril. Forget slamming Israel for likes, guys. It won’t work. Instead turn your ire on that very ‘global intifada’ that poses such a dire threat to Jews, liberty, the souls of our young and culture itself.


Toronto film festival backtracks on 7 October documentary refusal
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) appears to have backtracked on a decision to cancel a screening of a documentary about the 7 October attacks, with the festival CEO saying that he “remain[s] committed to working with the filmmaker to meet TIFF’s screening requirements to allow the film to be screened at this year’s festival.”

The decision follows widespread anger at reports that the festival had withdrawn its invitation to screen The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue, a Canadian documentary telling the story of retired Israel Defence Forces General Noam Tibon’s perilous 7 October mission to rescue his family from Hamas terrorists.

The documentary makers had strongly condemned the festival’s decision, saying they were “shocked and saddened that a venerable film festival has defied its mission and censored its own programming… We are not political filmmakers, nor are we activists; we are storytellers. We remain defiant, we will release the film, and we invite audiences… to make up their own mind.”

A TIFF spokesperson told Deadline the decision was taken because “general requirements for inclusion in the festival, and conditions that were requested when the film was initially invited, were not met, including legal clearance of all footage.” This led people to question whether the film festival was somehow asking the documentary creators to ask Hamas for permission to use some of the footage filmed by its terrorists on 7 October as they carried out their mass slaughter.

Gideon Sa’ar, Israel’s Foreign Minister, tweeted: “Toronto International Film Festival just cancelled the screening of a film about the October 7 massacre because there was no “legal clearance” from Hamas for their GoPro massacre videos. This festival would have asked Hitler or Goebbels for copyright on Auschwitz footage. Of course, the festival is about to screen five Palestinian films. This vicious and sickening decision must be cancelled immediately!”

Israel’s Consul General to Toronto, Idit Shamir, characterised TIFF’s decision as “absolutely depraved”, condemning the festival’s “grotesque logic: October 7th survivors need copyright clearance from Hamas butchers to screen footage of their own massacre. Apparently victims must now file paperwork with their executioners for film rights. This is psychological warfare against Jewish trauma disguised as administrative protocol.”


October 8: Unbiased Discretion Advised | EP 52 Wendy Sachs
In this episode, Emmy Award-winning producer and director Wendy Sachs joins host Shai Davidai for an insightful conversation. Wendy shares her journey as a secular Jew with a strong Jewish identity, reflecting on her formative experiences at a Jewish day school in Miami and her transformative trip to Israel as a teenager. She discusses her early activism, her passion for journalism, and how her love for Israel shaped her career path.

Wendy and Shai dive into the making of her documentary film "October 8th," exploring the personal and political impact of recent events in Israel and the U.S. Wendy recounts her experience on October 7th, the reactions within her professional and social circles, and the challenges of navigating identity, activism, and journalism in today’s climate. The episode offers a candid look at Jewish identity, the complexities of political alliances, and the power of storytelling.


Co-author of Dinah Project to ‘Post’:‘ Blacklisting Hamas is 'historic justice’ for Oct. 7 victims
The blacklisting of Hamas by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in the Thursday report on conflict-related sexual violence on October 7 is a historic statement, worthy of its own merit, and has the potential to bring justice one step closer for the victims, Prof. Ruth Halperin-Kaddari, who co-authored the report with the all-female team at The Dinah Project, told The Jerusalem Post in an interview on Thursday.

The five-person team, nestled under Bar Ilan University’s Rackman Center for the Advancement of the Status of Women, includes founding members Col. (res.) Sharon Zagagi-Pinhas and retired judge Nava Ben-Or, as well as Eetta Prince-Gibson and Nurit Jacobs-Yinon.

The report, released last month, called to use all of the evidentiary tools at the justice system’s disposal to reach indictments - including other evidence, which are just as strong and acceptable in criminal law, like eyewitness testimonies and those of first-responders.

This type of evidence does have legal precedent use, and is, per the report, the most appropriate framework through which to bring about justice, given the chaotic and widespread nature of the October 7 massacre attack. The full report can be read at thedinahproject.org.

'Significant and positive responses to report'
Halperin-Kaddari said that the responses to the report were “very significant and positive.”

“We found that there was an openness to accept our conclusions - without the usual argumentative rejections. The work was deep, comprehensive and clear, and we also came as an independent academic body - rather than that of public service or public leadership... Essentially, no one has done this before us,” she explained.

The conclusions of the report purport to extend far beyond Israel and to where conflict-related sexual violence exists in other places. For about as long as there have been conflict and wars, sexual violence has often followed. The UN has highlighted over the years that sexual violence is often deliberately used as a tactic of war - to terrorize, humiliate, displace, and shatter communities.


Murdered Hamas hostage Itzik Elgert tortured to death, autopsy reveals
Itzik Elgert, an Israeli hostage whose body was returned in February in the framework of a hostage deal with Hamas, was tortured to death during interrogation in captivity, his brother Danny Elgert revealed in a post on X/Twitter on Thursday.

“Today, after my brother’s autopsy, the facts are clear: Itzik did not die of a heart attack. He was tortured to death,” his brother wrote.

According to Danny, the autopsy found that Elgert’s injuries, including multiple broken ribs, a fractured nose, and broken toes, were sustained by brutal physical abuse.

“He was murdered with extreme cruelty,” Danny added.

Autopsy showed severity of trauma
Although the forensic institute was unable to declare Elgert’s precise cause of death legally, its findings concluded that the severity and nature of the fractures were consistent with the sort of trauma that causes death if inflicted on a living body.

Elgert’s brother slammed the government’s handling of the hostage situation, implicitly blaming Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: “Cause of death – Mr. Neglect,” he wrote.

Roughly six weeks earlier, Danny had described the circumstances surrounding his brother’s disappearance. He said that Hamas interrogators believed Elgert was a pilot, in part due to an eagle tattoo on his arm, and took him away for questioning. He never returned.

“My brother was with hostage Edan Alexander. The terrorists suspected that he was a pilot because of his tattoo. They then took him away, and he never came back,” Danny recalled. “Idan asked where he was, and they told him: ‘He’s gone.’”

“Itzik is dead, murdered, because they thought he was a pilot,” Elgert’s brother said.


‘New York Times’ erases one of the ancient Jewish Temples in Jerusalem
A controversial article in The New York Times, which discusses the artistic pursuits of a terrorist freed from Israeli prison, appears to deny one of the ancient Jewish temples in Jerusalem.

The article about convicted terrorist Zakaria Zubeidi notes “a provocative visit by an Israeli leader, accompanied by hundreds of police officers, to a major mosque complex in Jerusalem that is built on the site of an ancient Jewish temple.”

The Times doesn’t say why it was so provocative for Ariel Sharon to visit the most holy site for Jews in 2000. An article about that visit, to which the paper links in the new piece, states that “the complex, known to Muslims as Haram al Sharif, or the Noble Sanctuary, contains Al Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, sacred shrines of Islam. It is revered by Jews as the site of the First and Second Temples as well as the place where Abraham was prepared to sacrifice his son, Isaac.”

JNS sought comment from the Times about whether the new article reflects the paper’s editorial view that only the first Jewish Temple or only the second Jewish Temple stood on the site in Jerusalem.

The Associated Press style guide, which many journalists see as the discipline’s “bible,” notes in its entry for the “Temple Mount” that the site is “the walled, elevated area in Jerusalem’s Old City that was the site of the ancient Jewish temples.”

A 2005 Times article stated that “Jews believe that the site, also known as the Temple Mount, housed the second temple, which was destroyed by the Romans in A.D. 70.” The Washington Post reported in a 2023 article that “in Jewish tradition, the Temple Mount is the site where the First and Second Temples once stood,” appearing to equate that Jewish view with Muslim’s belief that the site is “the place where the prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven.”

“There is zero debate that two temples stood in that place in scholarly literature. Mohammed’s ascent ‘happens’ from there only because it is the Temple site,” Lawrence Schiffman, professor of Hebrew and Judaic studies at New York University, told JNS in 2023.

“The story about Muhammad going on a miraculous horse all the way from Arabia to Jerusalem and ascending to heaven is a religious belief. It’s like saying that Jacob prayed there,” Schiffman told JNS. “They are trying to be neutral, but that confuses the facts.”
Israel Advocacy Movement: We Caught Sky News Lying About Israeli Settlers

Why London Jews fear for their future in the capital
Stamford Hill, where many ultra-orthodox Jews as well as secular ones live, has become a particularly difficult place to live. Avrumi Sampson, who works in security, refuses to hide and advocates for the return of the hostages still being held in Gaza. His dog Molly has a coat embroidered with the words “Bring Them Home”. He sends me videos of people attacking him as a “genocide supporter” and “child killer”.

But it’s not just Jewish areas. Natalie says she feels she is being stalked because of her religion. She sends me photographs of chilling graffiti near her house: “Natalie baby killer supporter”; “Natalie Israeli witch”; “Natalie Israeli Nazi”.

“I live in Camden and I am being harassed by certain individuals who I have reported to the police several times now,” she says. “I can’t walk my dogs without seeing antisemitic graffiti and some of it is aimed at me. It is starting to affect my wellbeing and mental health.”

In both Natalie and Jade’s case, the Met say that they are investigating reports of hate crime, but no arrests have been made.

Claire Waxman, London Victims’ Commissioner, said she is “deeply concerned” about the “high levels of antisemitism” in the capital, adding, “World events can never be used to justify hatred for a community … For victims and the Jewish community to have confidence, the police and CPS must act robustly.”

A spokesperson for London Mayor Sadiq Khan said: “The Mayor is leading from the front to ensure the police take a zero-tolerance approach to antisemitism and is investing a record £15.9m to help combat hatred, intolerance and extremism.”

October 7 uncorked what has been called the world’s oldest hatred. The war in Israel and Gaza sadly sees no end in sight, but one day it will end. For London’s Jews the question, however, remains: what will happen to this hatred and will we still have a future here?
How Hamas turned kids into terrorists with TV show featuring jihadi mouse, bloodthirsty bunny
While little information is publicly known about the estimated 3,000 Hamas fighters who conducted the Oct. 7 slaughter, ages 16-35 are considered “fighting age” for men—meaning many of those combatants grew up watching their favorite plushy woodland creatures get executed by Jews on afterschool television.

“It’s not just the ‘Pioneers’ TV show. It was amplified and reinforced by the textbooks that the children would read in school that demonized Jews and basically referred to Jews as apes and pigs and other dirty animals,” Bloom says.

What do you think? Post a comment.

A 2008 analysis of Palestinian schoolbooks found a passage comparing Jews to “invading snakes.” In popular media, a late 1990s Palestinian magazine article explained that Jews are the actual sons of apes and, due to the shame felt by this, the “Jewish ape Darwin” invented the theory of evolution and applied it to all humans.

Bloom, who has studied genocide, extremist movements, and child soldiers across the world, says it reminds her of the Taliban and ISIS—both of whom held public beheadings and required children of the community to attend.

“It’s not exactly the same because killing Farfour was fake. But it’s this idea of exposing children to obscene levels of violence. And it creates a preparedness to justify violence and to choose violence over other options.”


The Dangerous Direction of Ms. Rachel’s Pro-Palestinian Misinformation
Where Does Ms. Rachel’s “Pro-Palestinian” Advocacy Lead?
It is troubling enough that one of the most influential figures in early childhood education feels compelled to take a public stand on a complex geopolitical conflict she concedes she does not understand in depth.

It is more troubling that she has repeatedly spread falsehoods about it and lent her platform to a man who defended a massacre of civilians—including babies, children, and entire families—in their homes.

When someone with Ms. Rachel’s reach presents herself as a trusted educator while misinforming millions of parents about one of the most volatile conflicts in the world, the damage is not confined to the headlines. It shapes how the next generation will understand history, morality, and truth itself.

That is why it matters. Not because a children’s entertainer has political opinions – but because those opinions are wrapped in a brand that parents trust implicitly, and delivered to an audience too young to know the difference between fact and fiction.

If Ms. Rachel wants to be an advocate for children everywhere, she should start by committing to accuracy and condemning all atrocities, no matter the perpetrator.

The bottom line: Misinformation about Israel spreads fastest when it comes from unexpected sources – especially from figures trusted with children’s education, because their words carry an assumption of authority and moral responsibility. That’s why exposing it matters.


Israel gives ‘collaborators’ tortured by Ramallah $29m in PA funds
Israel has transferred 110 million shekels (approximately $29 million) in frozen Palestinian Authority tax revenues to 52 Palestinians who were arrested and tortured by the P.A. for assisting Israeli security forces in preventing terrorist attacks, Hebrew media reported on Tuesday.

The transfer of the funds marked the conclusion of a legal battle led by the Arbus, Kedem, Tzur law firm, which has represented the Palestinian victims, as well as Israeli terror victims, in Jerusalem District Court proceedings.

“This is a dramatic step by the State of Israel,” attorneys Barak Kedem and Aryeh Arbus told Israel National News, noting that “even today, dozens of Palestinians come to our office who were tortured by Abu Mazen’s P.A., solely because they helped Israel prevent terrorism,” referring to P.A. leader Mahmoud Abbas.

“It is important that everyone out there who helps Israel in various ways knows that, when the time comes, Israel will assist them,” they added.

A spokesman for Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich told JNS on Tuesday that every court decision requiring the P.A. to pay damages to terror victims or to Palestinians persecuted for aiding Israel is now executed promptly, with funds deducted from Ramallah’s tax revenues.


Will Iran Get the Bomb?
More than a month after the Israeli and U.S. attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities and scientists, the full extent of the damage to the Iranian nuclear program remains unclear. Yet, the exact extent of the material damage is secondary.

Iran does not have to reconstitute the whole of its program to be able to produce a nuclear weapon and could, in fact, probably do so relatively quickly, should it decide to.

The more challenging question is over the impact of the "12-day war" on Iran's assessments and decision-making as to the value and feasibility of developing a credible nuclear deterrent.

Recent developments have probably reinforced incentives for Iran to pursue a nuclear weapon.

The attacks have made painfully clear the ineffectiveness of Iran's other capabilities to deter and defend against attacks on its territory.

In light of the Israeli degradation of both Hamas and Hizbullah and following the underwhelming performance of Iranian missiles, the limitations of Iran's "forward defense" strategy have become clear.

However, intent to develop a nuclear deterrent is not sufficient. A single nuclear warhead - or even a small arsenal of nine or ten nuclear weapons - would not be a survivable deterrent.

Such a small stockpile would be immediately targeted by Israel and, probably, the U.S.

As the war demonstrated, Iran's air and missile defenses are unable to meet the requirements of defending Iran against a concerted Israeli attack.
US court allows torture case against Iran's former spy chief to proceed
Afederal court in the United States has rejected multiple motions by Parviz Sabeti, a onetime security chief in pre-revolutionary Iran, to dismiss a landmark lawsuit accusing him of aiding and abetting the torture of dissidents in the 1970s.

In a ruling issued on Tuesday, the US District Court for the Middle District of Florida allowed the case against Sabeti to move forward under the Torture Victim Protection Act, finding that the plaintiffs—three former political prisoners now living in the United States—had presented sufficient allegations to support their claims.

Sabeti served as a top official in Iran's secret police, SAVAK, from 1973 to 1978. He resurfaced publicly during Iran’s widespread 2022 protests after decades out of view.

Plaintiffs allege that the torture methods he oversaw—including electrocution, beatings and suspension by the wrists—left a legacy later adopted by the Islamic Republic.

The court cited historical records and other sources to support the plaintiffs’ contention that Sabeti provided “knowing substantial assistance” to agents who carried out detentions and torture aimed at suppressing opposition to the Shah’s government.

It also accepted allegations that he exercised “effective control” over those agents.
Human Rights Watch calls Israeli strike on Iran’s Evin Prison ‘apparent war crime’
Human Rights Watch alleged Thursday that an Israeli airstrike on a notorious Iranian prison was “an apparent war crime,” while also accusing Tehran of harming and disappearing prisoners after the attack.

Israel struck Evin Prison in Tehran, one of Iran’s most notorious detention facilities for political activists and dissidents, on June 23, during its 12-day war with the Islamic Republic.

The strikes during visiting hours hit Evin Prison’s main southern entrance, another northern entrance, and other areas of the complex, destroying buildings that had medical facilities and prison wards.

The Iranian authorities initially said at least 71 people were killed during the airstrike, among them civilians, including inmates, visiting relatives, and prison staff. Iranian media later raised that number to 80.

It was unclear why Israel targeted the prison, but it came amid a wave of strikes on the penultimate day of the war that hit key assets and symbols of the Iranian regime in Tehran, including facilities belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and the “Destruction of Israel” countdown clock.

Human Rights Watch said the attack was “unlawfully indiscriminate” and that there was no evidence of an advance warning or a military target before striking the prison complex, which it estimates holds over 1,500 prisoners.

“To make matters worse, Israeli forces put at grave risk prisoners who were already victims of Iranian authorities’ brutal repression,” said Michael Page, the rights group’s deputy Middle East director.

Human Rights Watch said prisoners were subject to “ill-treatment and violence” both as they were being taken out of the prison following the attack and as they were returned.


Huda Beauty founder Huda Kattan defends claiming Israel caused both world wars
Beauty business owner Huda Kattan has defended herself against accusations of antisemitism after she echoed a series of antisemitic conspiracy theories about Israel – including the claim that Israel caused both world wars.

“I feel compelled as a human to speak out for other human beings, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that, and it’s also not fair that you can’t criticise the actions of Israel without being mislabeled,” said Kattan.

The Huda Beauty founder has faced calls to have her brand removed from Sephora stores after she posted a video on TikTok earlier this month in which she accused Israel of being behind World War I, World War II, the 9/11 terrorist attacks and Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

“The only way we can fight superpowers is as a people united, we’re not gonna be able to fight the evil systems that have been put in place, that have been manipulating the system for literally centuries, unless we do this together,” said Kattan in the video, which TikTok told CNN it had removed for violating its community guidelines. “It’s absolutely crazy. Like I had a feeling, I was like, were they behind every world war? Yes. Behind September 11? Absolutely.”

In the video, Kattan also accused Israel of “hiding paedophiles,” a claim that appeared to echo longstanding antisemitic conspiracy theories and centuries-old blood libels that falsely portray Jews as sexually deviant or complicit in crimes against children.

Kattan’s social media tirade, which comes amid a flurry of criticism of Israel because of its military campaign in Gaza, drew a swift and fierce backlash. The American Jewish Committee reposted the video on X along with the accusation that Kattan was “using her massive platform to spread vile antisemitic conspiracy theories — accusing Jews of harvesting the organs of Palestinians, causing 9/11, and running global paedophile rings.”

Kattan has 1.8 million followers on TikTok, and Huda Beauty has over 57 million followers on Instagram. She founded the beauty brand in 2013, which brings in roughly $200 million in annual sales and was valued at $1.2 billion in 2017, according to Forbes.
Holocaust museum in Guatemala vandalized by anti-Israel activists
The Museum of the Holocaust—Museo del Holocausto in Guatemala City was vandalized this week by pro-Palestinian activists, in a rare incident of antisemitism in the Central American country, the museum’s director said on Thursday.

The vandals spray-painted “Gaza Viva” on the museum’s walls in Guatemala City on Sunday night, and affixed some 18 posters referencing the Gaza Strip.

“With all the problems happening in far-away Guatemala with criminal gangs, it is disturbing how a small group of people is using the excuse of the war in Gaza to target the Jews,” Marco Gonzalez, director of the museum, told JNS on Thursday.

The vandalism took place the night after about two dozen pro-Palestinian protesters held a small demonstration in Guatemala City, he said.

Security cameras caught the images of three vandals just before midnight, the museum director said. No arrests have been made in the case.

The museum, which opened in 2016 and is operated by a Paris-based Christian organization, is the only Holocaust museum in Central America.

“We stand firm in the face of the international antisemitism that attacked our monument; with the Jewish people and their friends, we say: No to antisemitism disguised as defense of the Palestinians,” said Father Patrick Desbois, founder of the Holocaust research organization Yahad-In Unum, which runs the Museo del Holocausto. “We will not stop teaching the Holocaust to new generations, so that tomorrow Guatemala will be free of hatred and antisemitism.”
Holocaust memorial defaced in Bulgaria by neo-Nazi group
The regional prosecutor’s office in Burgas, Bulgaria, has launched an independent investigation following an act of vandalism against the city’s Holocaust memorial. The monument, dedicated to those who helped save the Jewish community of Burgas during World War II, was defaced with stickers covering the engraved historical text.

The stickers bore the image of General Hristo Lukov, leader of the pro-Nazi Union of Bulgarian National Legions in the 1940s. Local prosecutors ordered the Burgas police to investigate, including reviewing security camera footage to identify those responsible and interviewing potential witnesses.

The memorial, built a decade ago by the Alef Center for Jewish-Bulgarian Cooperation, commemorates acts of humanity and resistance to Nazi crimes in Burgas during the war. The Alef Center condemned the vandalism as a “brazen antisemitic and xenophobic act carried out in a vibrant urban area.” The organization noted that, days after the incident, the stickers still had not been removed — a failure they said reflected an administrative lapse and a challenge to local authorities tasked with protecting historical memory, democratic values, and human dignity.

Erected by descendants of Jews who were saved, the memorial symbolizes gratitude to the people of Burgas who showed humanity and opposed the Nazis during the war. “Defiling the monument of gratitude is a disgrace to Burgas and to all of Bulgaria,” the Alef Center said. “This is a test — whether we will allow darkness, hatred, and ignorance to silence the light of memory.”




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