Wednesday, September 10, 2025

09/10 Links Pt2: RIP Charlie Kirk: American Patriot, Faithful Christian, Ardent Zionist; Seinfeld compares 'Free Palestine' movement to Ku Klux Klan; The Whistleblower Hoax That Fooled the World

From Ian:

Jerry Seinfeld compares 'Free Palestine' movement to Ku Klux Klan in surprise university speech
Comedian and actor Jerry Seinfeld compared the "Free Palestine" movement to the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), likening the former's rhetoric to the white supremacist organization based on their antisemitism.

Seinfeld made these claims, which The Hollywood Reporter described as "inflammatory," during a surprise appearance at an event at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.

“Free Palestine is, to me, just — you’re free to say you don’t like Jews. Just say you don’t like Jews,” the university's student newspaper, The Duke Chronicle, quoted him as saying.

“By saying Free Palestine, you’re not admitting what you really think," he continued. "So it’s actually — compared to the Ku Klux Klan, I’m actually thinking the Klan is actually a little better here because they can come right out and say, ‘We don’t like Blacks, we don’t like Jews.’ Okay, that’s honest.”

The student newspaper cited an email sent by the university spokesperson that Duke doesn't preview the remarks of speakers and that the institution doesn't endorse the remarks of those invited to speak. The spokesperson added that the university's Chabad organized Seinfeld's arrival at the event, alongside other student groups and the university.

The president of the student Chabad group, Mason Herman, told NBC News that "the event was highlighting the fact that there are more than 40 hostages still in Gaza. To one, raise awareness of that fact, and two, to share their plight while in captivity. And to share Omer's story."

Seinfeld at university to introduce Shem Tov and his spiritual journey
The famed comedian made the speech before introducing former Israeli hostage Omer Shem Tov, who was held in Gaza for 505 days. The event was only open to students and faculty of Duke, and Shem Tov was invited to share his spiritual journey while in Hamas captivity, according to the spokesperson. Seinfeld also asked that his appearance not be announced beforehand.

Seinfeld had already given a speech at Duke last year while receiving an honorary degree, where dozens of students walked out due to the comedian's support of Israel, with some chanting "Free Palestine."
Yair Lapid: The UN is a stage for hypocrisy: It’s time for democracies to exit
In 2021, while I was serving as Israel’s foreign minister, the U.N. General Assembly passed a series of resolutions against Israel. A year later, in 2022, when I was prime minister, the General Assembly passed yet another series of resolutions against Israel.

Nobody cared. No one burst into my office waving a piece of paper in panic. We didn’t huddle in front of the television, holding sweaty hands and waiting for the vote. Israel’s U.N. ambassador didn’t call me, choking back tears, to confess he felt like a failure. The fact that the U.N. meets and votes against Israel is like rain in London: that’s just what it does. They gather, deliver the same speech as last year, vote the same way as last year, and then head to dinner at Wolfgang’s on Park Avenue.

The idea for the United Nations was born out of a desire by democratic nations to promote liberal values and human rights. Its foundation is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 21 declares that the organization will advance democracy around the world, so that everywhere there will be "periodic and genuine elections… guaranteeing the free expression of the will of the people." It only lacks five words: Or you won’t be admitted.

A mix of post-colonial guilt and ideological laziness led the U.N. to admit more and more non-democratic states. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, of the U.N.’s 193 member states, only 25 are "full democracies," with another 46 "flawed democracies." In other words, in every vote, on every budget, in every resolution, non-democracies hold an automatic majority. And they use it without the slightest qualm.

That’s how Iran sat on the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women in 2022, as Mahsa Amini was murdered. Syria chaired the Conference on Disarmament in 2018 while gassing its own citizens. North Korea presided over that very same disarmament conference in 2022 while openly brandishing nuclear weapons and firing ballistic missiles at Japan. China currently serves on the Human Rights Council — apparently because it cares so deeply about human rights.

And all this before we even touch the U.N.’s obsessive bias — sorry, there’s no better word — against Israel. I am the last person to claim Israel is perfect or mistake-free. I disagree with most of what the current government does, especially in Gaza (I supported the strike in Iran and the operation against Hezbollah in Lebanon). Still, the U.N.’s treatment of Israel is the diplomatic equivalent of a psychotic episode. Israel makes up 0.1% of the world’s population, yet accounts for more than 60% of the U.N.’s condemnatory resolutions in the past decade.
US Jewish leaders refuse to meet Macron in New York
Emmanuel Macron sought to set up a meeting with U.S. Jewish leaders on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly later this month in New York City, but the only available times for the French president were during Rosh Hashanah.

It won’t take place for that reason, although the leaders wouldn’t have met with Macron anyway, a source invited to the meeting told JNS.

“I think the organizations, for the most part, would not have participated,” the source said. “The guy has a 15% popularity rating in France. It’s not our job to help him out.”

Macron has said that France will recognize a Palestinian state this month. The source, who told JNS that AIPAC, the Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Committee would have likely been among those invited to meet with the French president, said Jewish leaders would have balked at the meeting for broader reasons than Paris opting to recognize a Palestinian state and rising Jew-hatred in France.

It’s more “the climate” that would let the president say, “‘Look, the American Jews met with me,’ regardless of the content,” the source said. (JNS sought comment from the French embassy in Washington and from Macron’s office.)

If American Jewish leaders had met with Macron, they would have taken a hard line with the French president, including his “statements on Israel, the failure to respond to antisemitism,” his decision to recognize a Palestinian state and to try to convince others to do so, per the source.
Israeli ambassador pushes back on ‘ethnic cleansing’ charge from Democrats
Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, rejected charges by two Senate Democrats that Israel is engaged in “ethnic cleansing” of Palestinians, ahead of a major Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip and increasing violence between Israelis and Palestinians in the West Bank.

Leiter, in a statement to The Hill on Tuesday, took exception with the conclusion reached by Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Oreg.), who described their impressions of Israel’s war against Hamas as aimed at forcing the flight of Palestinians from Gaza, and policies in the West Bank as squeezing Palestinians into enclaves or being forced out of the territory.

“The charge of ‘ethnic cleansing’ against Israel is false and dangerous. It is not a legal definition but a political label, used to inflame tensions, spread hate, and fuel antisemitism,” Leiter said in a statement.

“Israel does not deport Palestinians because of their identity. Israel has, rather, temporarily removed non-combatant populations from war-zones in order to guarantee their safety.”

Ethnic cleansing is not a crime formally defined under international law, but its practice – namely a policy of forced or coerced displacement of a certain group of people – can constitute crimes against humanity and be part of a larger legal determination of genocide, according to the United Nations.

Van Hollen and Merkley, speaking to reporters last week, said they were granted limited views of the Gaza Strip but looked into the city of Rafah from the border with Egypt. They said what once was a vibrant city had been reduced to rubble, the city razed to the ground, serving as one example of what they said was a large-scale campaign to influence the “voluntary emptying of Gaza its population, in other words, pushing people out of Gaza.”

Leiter said the use of terms like “ethnic cleansing” was creating a false narrative that “incites rather than informs.”

“This war is against Hamas, the group that carried out the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust,” he said, referring to Hamas’s terrorist attack against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which killed approximately 1,200 people, took more than 250 hostage and triggered the wider war.

“It is not a war against the people of Gaza. The goal is to defend Israel’s borders and restore security for our people.”


RIP Charlie Kirk: American Patriot, Faithful Christian, Ardent Zionist
Conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, the 31-year-old father of two and founder of Turning Point USA, was shot and killed in broad daylight Wednesday at a Utah Valley University event in what Utah governor Spencer Cox described as a "political assassination."

The event marked the first stop of Kirk's "American Comeback" campus tour. Sitting under his signature "Prove Me Wrong" tent, Kirk spoke for roughly 20 minutes before a single shot rang out, reportedly from roughly 200 yards away, as Kirk began to answer a question about transgender shooters. A gruesome video from the event shows a bullet hitting Kirk in the neck.

Kirk, who founded Turning Point USA in 2012 and saw it expand to campuses across the country, did more than virtually anybody over the past decade to bring young people to the conservative cause. He started a podcast, "The Charlie Kirk Show," in 2017. During that time, he became a close friend and ally of President Donald Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance, and other top GOP lawmakers.

It was Trump who announced his death on Wednesday on his Truth Social platform, describing him as "great" and "legendary."

"No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie," he said.

Kirk is survived by his wife, Erika Frantzve, and their two young children.

Kirk was also an outspoken supporter of Israel, jousting with anti-Israel students on campuses in the U.S. and abroad.

"The war started because 1,300 Jews were killed and 200 were taken hostage," he said of Israel's war on Hamas at a Cambridge University debate this summer. "When you declare war on Israel, expect a firestorm in reaction."

"The IDF, when they do something right, they get no credit. When they do life-saving surgeries of a Gazan child, they get no credit," he continued. "But when they happen to bomb a place where they are operating their military from—which we now know from third-party verified sources, hundreds of Hamas military operations are in mosques, schools, and hospitals—I'm sorry. ... Hamas started the war."
Yehuda Teitelbaum: A Turning Point
What is most alarming today is the way violence is rationalized and even celebrated. The shooting of a public figure is no longer met with universal condemnation. Online, it is greeted with jokes and applause. Politicians issue carefully hedged statements, condemning violence in principle while avoiding any serious reflection on how their own rhetoric fuels it. New York City is about to elect a mayor who embodies all of these toxic ideas. This is what decay looks like. Not just the act of violence itself, but the culture that refuses to name its causes.

If this continues, the consequences will not be limited to public figures. Ordinary citizens will begin to believe that speaking their mind is dangerous. They will self-censor. They will retreat from civic life. The result will not be peace but silence, and silence in a democracy is fatal. When people fear that words might cost them their safety, the only voices left will be the most reckless, the most extreme, the most willing to risk everything.

Charlie’s shooting is more than an attack on one man. It is an attack on the belief that persuasion can still work, that Americans can argue instead of kill. If that belief dies, democracy dies with it.

There is still a choice. America can decide that this is the line, that political violence will be met with the full weight of the law, no matter who commits it. Leaders can say plainly that they will not tolerate it, not from their allies, not from their enemies. Citizens can decide to stop rewarding those who dehumanize and start listening to those who argue in good faith.

If we fail to do that, the spiral will tighten. The next assassination attempt will come sooner. The applause online will grow louder. Fear will replace trust. And the country will slip further into a place where bullets, not ballots, decide who has the right to speak.

Today should not only be remembered as the day Charlie Kirk was shot. It should be remembered as the day America was forced to confront whether it still believes in free speech, debate, and the right to disagree without fear of death. If we cannot recover that belief, we will lose the republic that depends on it.


Israeli, world officials give condolences, condemn Charlie Kirk assassination
Numerous Israeli officials gave their condolences and condemned the assassination of conservative political commentator Charlie Kirk between Wednesday night and Thursday morning.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed that he had spoken to Kirk two weeks ago and invited him to Israel, describing him as a "lion-hearted friend" of the Jewish state. "Sadly, that visit will not take place," he said.

"Kirk was murdered for speaking truth and defending freedom," he added in a post on X/Twitter. "He fought the lies and stood tall for Judeo-Christian civilization. We lost an incredible human being. His boundless pride in America and his valiant belief in free speech will leave a lasting impact. Rest in peace."

Netanyahu's son, Yair, said that Kirk "recognized that our shared Judeo-Christian civilization is under existential threat from both radical Islam and the radical left."

Israeli President Isaac Herzog lamented the assassination, stating that, "Israel has lost a true friend and huge ally. I strongly condemn this terrible act of violence, and together with all the Israeli people, send my thoughts and prayers to Charlie’s wife, children, and all his loved ones."

Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana said, "I never had the privilege of meeting Charlie Kirk, but I had the privilege of knowing him. Like many millions around the world, I enjoyed listening to his reasoned explanations, his clear thinking, and his ironclad arguments with which he fought for the entire free world," he added.

"The collusion between the global Left and radical Islam is the greatest danger to humanity today," National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said in his own statement regarding Kirk's assassination. "Charlie Kirk saw the danger and warned about it. But the bullets of the despicable murderer struck him. Thank you, Charlie, for your support of Israel and for your struggle for a better world."

Transportation Minister Miri Regev commented that Kirk was murdered "only because the propaganda machine couldn't handle him. Charlie was a true friend and one of Israel's biggest supporters. He raised a brave voice and fought lies for the sake of truth and justice."

Education Minister Yoav Kisch said that Kirk's murder "is the direct result of the dangerous incitement taking place on US campuses. "
Charlie Kirk ‘murdered for speaking truth, defending freedom,’ Netanyahu says
U.S. President Donald Trump ordered flags at half-mast until Sept. 14 to honor Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, whom the president called “great and even legendary,” and who was shot and killed at a campus event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday afternoon.

“No one understood or had the heart of the youth in the United States of America better than Charlie,” Trump stated. “He was loved and admired by all, especially me, and now he is no longer with us.”

Video footage from the event suggested that Kirk was hit by a bullet in his neck. Kash Patel, the FBI director, stated on Wednesday evening that someone was detained and then released, and the investigation is ongoing.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Kirk was a “lion-hearted friend of Israel,” who “was murdered for speaking truth and defending freedom.” Kirk “fought the lies and stood tall for Judeo-Christian civilization,” the Israeli prime minister said. “I spoke to him only two weeks ago and invited him to Israel. Sadly, that visit will not take place.”

Danny Danon, Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, stated that Kirk, 31, was “a friend and an exceptional leader,” whose “unique voice influenced many young people in the United States and left a lasting mark on an entire generation.”


Terror Ignored, Jews Targeted


The Numbers the World Ignores
According to Israel National News, by April 2025, 934 people had been killed in terror attacks since October 7th, 2023. Let that sink in: nearly a thousand dead in less than two years. That number does not include the thousands wounded, the lives permanently shattered.

Between October 2023 and January 2024 alone, 2,600 terror incidents were documented, rock-throwing, Molotov cocktails, shootings, car-rammings. In all of 2024, there were over 6,300 attacks in Judea and Samaria. Twenty-seven Israelis were killed, more than 300 wounded, and countless more traumatized.

These are not statistics. They are mothers who will never see their sons again, children who will grow up without fathers, communities left in perpetual mourning.

Major Attacks Since October 7
Tunnels Checkpoint, November 16, 2023: Three Hamas militants opened fire on soldiers and civilians near Jerusalem, killing one and injuring five.
Route 55 Shooting, January 6, 2025: Palestinian gunmen murdered three Israelis in cold blood on a West Bank highway.
Jerusalem Bus Stop, September 8, 2025: The Ramot Junction massacre, where six people were gunned down waiting for public transport.

And these are just the large-scale attacks. The daily “smaller” assaults, stones, knives, firebombs, rarely make headlines, but they terrorize entire communities. Diaspora Jews Are Not Safe Either

This wave of violence is not confined to Israel. Since October 7th, Jews around the world have been attacked in London, Paris, Berlin, Los Angeles, and Sydney. Synagogues are defaced. Jewish schools require police protection. Jewish students on Western campuses are harassed and beaten simply for being Jewish.

Anti-Semitism, dressed up as “anti-Zionism,” has become socially acceptable. The slogan “From the river to the sea” is not a call for peace, it is a genocidal demand for the eradication of Israel. And yet it is chanted freely in capitals across the West.

The Moral Compass Is Broken
When terrorists are glorified, when murderers are excused, when Jews are blamed for their own slaughter, humanity’s moral compass is shattered. The world is rewarding terror, just as it once rewarded appeasement. And appeasement then, as now, only guarantees more bloodshed.

This is why we must change the narrative. For the sake of our children, for the sake of the future, we must confront lies with truth. Israel is not an apartheid state, it is a democracy fighting for survival against jihadist death cults. Terrorists are not “resistance fighters”, they are murderers of innocents.

The choice is clear. Either we stand with Israel, or we stand with terror. Either we learn from history, or we repeat it.

The blood of innocent Israelis must never again be ignored.
Joshua Namm: Jew Haters Lie Like We Breathe. We Need To Accept That.
Not only did the worldwide media happily present the lies as fact, but a famine watchdog group, affiliated with the U.N., the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), changed its definition of “famine” in order to further propagate the lie. The New York Times, CNN, NPR, and ABC News all happily used the IPC’s reporting, with the newly manipulated metrics, to accuse Israel of mass starvation.

Then there is the issue of France, Canada, Australia, and probably The UK recognizing a “Palestinian” state. Islamist Jew haters viciously attack the civilian population of Israel, they kidnap hundreds of people, and the attackers are rewarded with their own state.

The world is even doing what it can to stop us from reminding the world of exactly what took place on October 7, 2023. The Toronto Film Festival pulled a documentary (since reinstated after massive pressure from the pro-Israel public) on October 7th. Why? They insanely claimed that the filmmakers didn’t procure the rights to the footage from Hamas’ GoPro cameras used during the animalistic attacks.

Even with this (and sadly much more – I can’t even begin to scratch the surface each month), people still ask why this is happening. Why the double standards? Why are there Hamas supporters all over the West? Why do so many college students support Hamas? Why many members of minorities, who Jews historically stood by during their own struggles, hate us now? Why is Europe doing almost nothing to stop antisemitism? Etc. etc. etc.

The answer to ANY questions like this is: antisemitism. They do what they do because they hate us. There is no deeper meaning, there is no nuance, there are no rational explanation - for any of it.

Yet people still try to explain it rationally or pretend that there must be some other answer than they just hate us.

People have hated us for over 3,000 years. They hated us before Israel existed. They hated us before Netanyahu was on the scene. They hated us before Israel went to war against Hamas.

As my father would have said “They hate us because they hate us.”

A very good, longtime friend (he is also a Chabadnik), wrote me recently, and we discussed how our attitudes have changed since October 7th. I said this to him:

“I always knew that as Jews, we occupy a different place in the world, but the hope that society has evolved in any way is gone. Which is ok with me in a way because I always knew that as Jews, we could only rely on each other. People don't change in the big picture (individuals are a different story). I wouldn't trade being a Jew for ANYTHING. So, if this is what we're supposed to go through now, it's still a tiny fraction of what our ancestors went through. We had it much easier than they ever did for 70 years, especially in the West, and now that is changing. B'H we had it so good for so long. Look what that period did for Chabad, and as a result the entire Jewish people.”

So stop looking for reasons. This is the way it is. Identify antisemitism, then fight it ANY way you can, but be proud that as Jews, this is just how it is. If that’s not satisfying enough, remember that it is impossible to overvalue being a Jew. We all know that this is part of it. Ultimately, thank G-d, we always prevail. We will this time too. Concentrate on the infinite beauty of Jewishness, be aware of our enemies, fight back, but look for intellectual satisfaction with Judaism – what our enemies think is their problem.

Never be afraid. Never give up.

Am Yisrael Chai.
The Free Press: Gazan Boy Found Alive. The Whistleblower Hoax That Fooled the World
On July 28, a man named Anthony “Tony” Aguilar went on a small, YouTube-streamed Zoom call and, toward the end of an hourlong conversation, told a story that set the internet ablaze.

Aguilar, a former contractor with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a U.S.- and Israel-backed aid organization, recounted a heart-wrenching incident that took place in May, in the early days of GHF’s operations: A Gazan boy he called Amir had walked 12 kilometers to reach the aid site, thanked Aguilar for the food, kissed his hand—and moments later, was gunned down by the IDF.

Within hours of the Zoom call’s publication, Quincy Institute co-founder Trita Parsi shared an excerpt of it on X. His accompanying post, which focuses on the plight of Amir and erroneously states the boy is five years old, has been viewed more than five million times. The story spread like wildfire.

Within a few days, international outlets turned social clips into news hits: France 24 aired an exclusive with Aguilar; Al Jazeera centered coverage on “Amir.” In the U.S., Tucker Carlson interviewed Aguilar on his show—twice in a single week; MSNBC’s weekend prime-time program aired the special report headlined “10-Year-Old Palestinian Boy ‘Gunned Down’ After Receiving Food Aid.” Aguilar even brought a printout of the boy’s photo to Capitol Hill to brief Senator Chris Van Hollen in person.

Before the basic facts of Aguilar’s sensational testimony could be verified, the narrative had been established: Israel murdered an innocent boy.

Through August, the tale metastasized across languages and platforms—TikTok edits, AI-generated cartoons, aggregator accounts—repeating the same beats: the arduous 12-kilometer walk, the hand kiss, the fatal shots.

Then the core claim collapsed. In Tanya Lukyanova's latest video report, she looks at how a lie spread around the world—and how it slowly unraveled.




MSNBC Quietly Deletes Report With False Claim That IDF Killed Gazan Boy
MSNBC has "quietly deleted" a report featuring the false allegation that the Israel Defense Forces killed a Gazan boy seeking aid, the Daily Wire first reported.

MSNBC removed the report, featuring a video and caption and headlined "Whistleblower: 10-Year-Old Palestinian Boy 'Gunned Down' After Receiving Food Aid," after the boy, who is actually eight, was found alive and safe with his mother, the Daily Wire's Kassy Akiva reported Wednesday in an X post. The Daily Wire "asked MSNBC for an explanation and they responded with: 'no comment from the network,'" according to Akiva's post.

The Washington Free Beacon confirmed that links to the original piece go to MSNBC's homepage. As of publication time, a video with the same headline, featuring the false allegations, is available on MSNBC's YouTube channel.

MSNBC was one of several mainstream media outlets that quickly reported on the allegations, which came from Tony Aguilar, a former contractor for the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Aguilar repeatedly claimed that the Israeli military had shot and killed the boy, Abdul Rahim "Abood" Muhammad Hamden, in May as Hamden sought aid at one of the foundation's sites. Aguilar described Hamden's supposed last moments in vivid detail and said that the IDF fired a "shot to the torso" and "a shot to the leg," killing the boy.

In its now-deleted caption, MSNBC wrote that Aguilar "describes what he saw on the ground in Gaza while trying to distribute aid to hungry Palestinians, including meeting a young 10-year-old boy," according to an Internet Archive capture of the webpage.

"Moments later, he says Amir was 'gunned down' and killed," MSNBC went on.

The boy is alive and has been safely evacuated from Gaza with his mother, according to video footage and new reports last week.


BBC silent after widely promoted ‘whistleblower’ found to have lied
Bowen did not bother to inform BBC audiences that – as was noted here in late July after footage and images of the same child had appeared in additional BBC content – Mohammed in fact suffers from Cerebral Palsy. No explanatory note has been added to that video, which is still available on YouTube.

It has long been obvious that the BBC is fully self-conscripted to the promotion of PR campaign narratives on topics such as the GHF, the deaths of journalists, alleged famine and alleged genocide.

As these examples of content produced by a senior member of BBC staff once again demonstrate, not only are professional standards such as fact-checking and validating the reliability of sources thrown by the wayside, but the political motivations behind that self-conscription mean that even if additional information later emerges, reports are not updated to apprise audiences that they had not in fact been told the whole story.
Australian Police Arrest Alleged Perpetrator Behind 4 Antisemitic Attacks, Including Child-Care Center Torching
Australian authorities have charged a 27-year-old man who they say directed multiple acts of vandalism and antisemitic arson attacks against Sydney’s Jewish population.

Police on Wednesday named the suspect as Tarek Zahabe, who was arrested in July but only publicly revealed this week as the alleged organizer of four crimes in January. Investigators say he orchestrated the attacks and instructed Kye Pickering, his alleged 26-year-old accomplice.

The alleged crimes occurred in less than a month. On Jan. 10, swastikas were sprayed across the Allawah Synagogue in southern Sydney. A week later, on Jan. 17, vandals attacked the former home of Alex Ryvchin, co-executive chief officer of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry. They splashed red paint and torched four cars on the street, scrawling “f**k Jews” on one of the vehicles. On Jan. 21, a child-care center near the Maroubra Synagogue was set on fire and vandalized with antisemitic graffiti. Finally, on Jan. 30, a Jewish school in Maroubra was also targeted with spray-painted slurs.

Police allege Zahabe directed and coordinated each of these actions, while Pickering executed much of the damage.

Zahabe faces two counts of participating in a criminal group and one count of knowingly or recklessly directing such a group. Pickering has been charged with destroying property, participating in the conspiracy, and displaying Nazi symbols in public. Both are scheduled to appear before the Downing Centre Local Court on Oct. 30.

In Australia, the public display of swastikas and other Nazi iconography carries penalties as high as 12 months’ imprisonment or a fine of $11,000.

Some Australian states enforce stiffer penalties for those intent on promoting the Third Reich, such as Victoria with fines reaching $23,000 and 12 months in jail. In Western Australia, Nazi advocates face fines of $24,000 with as much as five years behind bars.

The arrests resulted from the efforts of Strike Force Pearl, a counterterrorism investigation launched after a wave of incidents targeting Sydney’s Jewish community. Authorities have linked Zahabe’s alleged actions to a broader set of more than a dozen attacks across the summer, including one case in which a caravan filled with explosives was discovered on the city’s outskirts.

“We thank the NSW [New South Wales] Police for their efforts and determination in bringing these alleged offenders to justice,” David Ossip, president of the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies, said in a statement. “Many in the community will sleep more soundly in the knowledge that at least some of these attackers are no longer a threat but big questions remain about the role of Iran in these events.”
Footy player stood down as NSW Police reveal perpetrators believed Jewish leader was inside when they attacked wrong house
Sky News can exclusively reveal New South Wales Police now have evidence a shocking antisemitic attack on the former home of Jewish community leader was targeted – perpetrators wrongly believing Alex Ryvchin and his family were sleeping aside.

The confirmation comes almost eight months after the arson and graffiti attack on the Dover Heights home, in Sydney’s east, in the early hours of January 17.

At the time, the attack was only suspected to have been targeted at Mr Ryvchin, as he told media in a press conference outside the house hours after the incident.

“As the Premier said this morning, for them to hit this house, my former house, of all the houses of all the streets in this neighbourhood, would be one hell of a coincidence,” Mr Ryvchin had said.

Sky News can also reveal a rugby league player has been stood down by NSW Rugby League over his role in the incident.

Bailey Coombes, a front rower who has played first-grade for the Woy Woy Roosters, based on NSW’s Central Coast, was convicted of being an accessory before the fact in the arson attack on the Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive’s prior home.

According to documents filed in Downing Centre Local Court, the 25-year-old had driven 90 minutes from his Umina Beach home to Camperdown, in Sydney’s inner-west, on January 16 to deliver four fire extinguishers filled with red paint to a co-accused, who cannot be identified.

One of the extinguishers was later used in the attack on the Military Road address to splash the home’s front wall with what was meant to look like blood.

The plan to hand over the extinguishers was discussed on the encrypted app Signal with the group name “ex” – a reference to fire extinguishers, in which Mr Coombes went by the codename “TG2” and the co-accused “Smurf”.

They were being directed by a third co-accused, who also cannot be named, but went by the codename “Henry Bound”.
Film fest rocked by anti-Israel protests before Oct. 7 doc premiere
A documentary about the Hamas terror attacks against Israel that the Toronto International Film Festival originally blocked premiered Wednesday after the organizers relented in the face of widespread outrage.

The reason “The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue” was nixed seemed highly dubious — the fest claimed that, among other reasons, the filmmakers did not secure permission from Hamas to use livestreamed body-cam footage from the terrorist group’s attackers.

After widespread backlash — the video clips had been extensively used in news broadcasts already — TIFF reinstated the documentary to its lineup, giving it a single screening at Roy Thomson Hall in downtown Toronto, one of the festival’s marquee venues.

Introducing the film, TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey took the stage to scattered boos from the crowd.

The festival’s leader accepted sole responsibility for scrapping the movie from the 2025 schedule in front of a 2,000-strong audience.

“I want to apologize, especially to the Jewish community, for mistakes that I made in the lead up to this day,” Bailey said.

“Today’s screening is an important one, and I ask each one of you here to join in a collective act of simply watching a film together with openness and respect.”

An hour before the premiere, large, vocal protests broke out on opposite sides of Simcoe Street outside — both pro and anti-Israel.

The Palestine faction held a large banner reading, “Israel: The greatest shame of the Jewish people.”

Many on the opposite end, in support of Israel, waved specially made flags that were half Canadian and half Israeli.
Belgians cancel Munich Philharmonic over Israeli music director
The Flanders Festival Ghent, under pressure from activist groups and Belgian political authorities, has disinvited the Munich Philharmonic from a planned concert on September 18th.

The reason given for the cancellation was that Lahav Shani, who was born in Tel Aviv, also serves as the music director of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.

Munich has responded as follows:
The authorities of the City of Munich and the Munich Philharmonic are appalled by this decision. In both his artistic work and personal conduct, Lahav Shani stands for dialogue, humanism, and mutual understanding. We firmly reject the practice of placing Israeli artists under general suspicion and subjecting them to collective punishment. Excluding individuals from the stage, the concert hall, or other public venues based on their ethnic origin or religious affiliation constitutes an attack on fundamental European and democratic values.

Dieter Reiter, Mayor of the City of Munich: “The Munich Philharmonic, as cultural ambassadors of the City of Munich, stand for openness, diversity, and dialogue — whether at home in Munich or on tour to concert halls across Europe and around the world. I find the decision of the festival’s organizers utterly incomprehensible. The City of Munich, and I personally, stand firmly with the Munich Philharmonic and with their future chief conductor, Lahav Shani.”

The cancellation is profoundly shocking, a limp capitulation by the Belgians to mob rule. Shani is a peace campaigner whose close association with Daniel Barenboim underlines his position on the Middle East conflict. Ghent is the third largest city in Belgium.

We wonder what Belgian musicians must be thinking tonight.

UPDATE: Here’s the rickety reasoning from Ghent:
This decision was made based on our deepest conviction that music should be a source of connection and reconciliation. Ghent Festival of Flanders aims, first and foremost, to be a place where artists, audiences, and staff can experience music in a context of respect and safety.

Lahav Shani has spoken out several times in the past in favor of peace and reconciliation, but in light of his position as chief conductor of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, we cannot provide sufficient clarity regarding his stance on the genocidal regime in Tel Aviv. In line with the call from the Minister of Culture, the Ghent city council, and the Ghent cultural sector, we choose not to enter into collaborations with partners who do not unequivocally distance themselves from these principles.

Given the current inhumane situation, which is also causing emotional reactions in our society, we do not consider it advisable to proceed with this concert. We choose to maintain the serenity of our festival and guarantee the concert experience for both visitors and musicians.

The rest of the program of the Ghent Festival of Flanders, which runs from September 12th to October 2nd, will continue unabated. The Ghent Festival remains committed to the universal power of music.
For Coren, anti-Jewish racism is just piddling violence and faeces
Thousands march against antisemitism, 7th September 2025. Campaign Against Antisemitism.

I am sure that my fellow British Jews will rejoice in the news that antisemitism in the UK has been solved! Well, not exactly solved, but at least held to be not important enough to make a fuss about.

Such appears to be the view of Giles Coren, writing in today’s Times. He was at the rally against antisemitism in November 2023, he informs readers of Britain’s paper of record – apparently it was a “fun afternoon”, which might mystify those who went because antisemitism had soared in Britain in the immediate aftermath of Hamas having murdered 1,200 men, women and children in Israel. But now the fun, it would appear, is over. Giles did not attend last Sunday’s march, along with many others, he believes, who did attend the first.

Why? “Maybe, like me, they thought that, set against the horrors visited upon Gaza in the past two years, a bit of name-calling and some rude graffiti look, frankly, a bit piddling,” says Giles. “Perhaps, like me, they did not want to risk being associated, at any level, with the killing that has gone on, the targeting of doctors and journalists, the double-taps, the forced evacuations, the blocking of aid and the apparent policy of forced starvation… Perhaps, like me, they thought that the single most important thing the Jews, some Jews, can do to mitigate global antisemitism is to stop the assault.”

Well, personally I didn’t attend Sunday’s march because I had prior family commitments. But I can’t believe I hadn’t thought about Giles’ point before. If only I had realised that I could have just flicked through my phone contacts until I reached the one named *Oh God, not him again*, given Bibi a call and ended this thing right now. Mind you, given that Netanyahu has no problem ignoring the hundreds of thousands of Israelis – larger than the UK’s entire Jewish population – who regularly march calling for an end to the war in Gaza, I’m not sure that my efforts would have tipped the scales. But who knows?
Edinburgh University pressed to confront rising antisemitism
The leadership of Edinburgh University has been warned that it must take action against rising antisemitism.

UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) has written to the Vice-Chancellor and Head of Equality, Diversity & Inclusion at Edinburgh University, expressing serious concern that antisemitism is being allowed to take root on campus and that incidents of unlawful discrimination, harassment, and criminal offences have not been addressed in line with the University’s legal duties.

Further, the cultural shift signalled by the University’s reconsideration of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism and its uncritical adoption of its ‘Race Review’ risks entrenching a climate in which hostility towards Jewish staff and students is normalised.

Jewish students and staff report a marked decline in their quality of life at Edinburgh University since 7 October 2023. UKLFI has urged the University to comply with its legal obligations and take meaningful steps towards resolving these issues.

Concerns raised with the University point to a sustained pattern of threatening and disruptive activity on campus. Reportedly protesters have appeared masked, brandishing mock rifles, naming staff perceived as supportive of Israel, and disrupting classrooms, libraries, and offices with chants such as “From the River to the Sea” , “Globalise the Intifada” and “Down with Zionism”.

Access to key buildings, including the Main Library, has been obstructed through occupations and unauthorised banners. Reports suggest as many as 19 recent graduation ceremonies were disrupted by protesters.

Accounts suggest that Jewish students and staff have been directly targeted on the basis of their actual or presumed Jewish or Zionist identity. The University’s Justice for Palestine Society, in particular, has been accused of grossly offensive social media posts, including portraying a terrorist attack in a manner likely to cause offence and calling for Israel’s destruction with the statement, “Israel cannot be allowed to exist at all”.
ADL survey finds 73% of Jewish college faculty witnessed antisemitism from fellow staff
A startling new study by the Anti-Defamation League finds that a solid majority of Jewish college faculty members observed antisemitic sentiment or activities not only from students — but also from other staffers and school-endorsed campus groups.

Many of the 209 current or former employees of US colleges or universities who identified as Jewish reported “patterns of hostility, institutional inaction, and personal tolls” as a result of either their faith or their stated or assumed support for Israel in the survey, which the ADL conducted in concert with the Academic Engagement Network.

Among those surveyed, 72.3% reported observing “anti-Jewish activities or statements” from faculty, administrators or staff on campus.

Additionally, 44% said they were aware of an organized chapter of Faculty for Justice in Palestine (FJP) on campus, of which an overwhelming majority said engaged in “anti-Israel programming” (77.2%); “organized anti-Israel protests and demonstrations (79.4%); and “endorsed anti-Israel divestment campaigns” (84.8%).

“Faculty in my department overwhelmingly signed a remonstrance calling for the firing of the university’s president because she broke up a pro-Palestinian demonstration in which students tried to set up encampments…Faculty are not talking to me because they know I’m a Zionist,” a respondent shared in a testimonial.

Another said they were “excluded, ignored, minimized, and belittled on the DEI committee because of my (real and perceived) Zionism, which I do not make a point of expressing.”
Northwestern University's New President Was Force Behind Controversial Relationship With Qatar
Northwestern University on Tuesday announced that former president Henry S. Bienen, who led the university from 1995 to 2009, will replace outgoing president Michael Schill.

Northwestern's satellite campus in Qatar marred Schill's tenure, particularly in the wake of the Oct. 7 terror attacks that drew attention to the foreign and domestic sources fueling campus anti-Semitism. So it is perhaps ironic that Northwestern has tapped the man who launched the university's Qatar campus to replace him.

Bienen established the university's Qatar campus during his first stint as president, signing a contract with the Hamas-allied Gulf state that prohibits students and faculty in Doha from criticizing the Qatari regime.

The Qatar Foundation, founded by former emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, approached Bienen in early 2006, near the end of his tenure, asking him whether Northwestern would be interested in joining the ranks of American universities establishing footprints in the Middle East.

"I was getting a lot of e-mails—there was a boom in the Gulf," Bienen told student publication North by Northwestern in October 2008. The Qatar Foundation gave more than half a billion dollars to Northwestern between 2007 and 2024, and Bienen indicated he understood the potential financial windfall at the time. He told the Daily Northwestern in 2007 that there were "no negatives for the university financially," as "whatever costs the university will incur will be reimbursed-plus."

By February 2008, Bienen had visited the fledgling campus in Education City. "I'm really pleased with the Qatar initiative after having spent three days there," he told the Daily Northwestern. "The scale of what's going on is really amazing."


CAIR Running 'Coordinated National Campaign' To Promote Pro-Terrorist, Anti-Israel Materials in US Public Schools, Investigation Finds
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is running a "coordinated national campaign" to spread pro-terrorist, anti-Israel materials into U.S. public schools, beyond the previously reported programs in Pennsylvania and Delaware, according to a new investigation.

"CAIR's efforts to sanitize the Sept. 11 attacks to K-12 students extend far beyond Philadelphia and Delaware, spanning New Jersey, Oklahoma, Florida, and Illinois in what appears to be a coordinated national campaign," Jewish Onliner wrote in a Wednesday X thread, accusing CAIR of deliberately seeking to "systematically indoctrinate American students" across the country.

The report comes just a day after Sen. Tom Cotton (R., Ark.) called on the Department of Education to investigate CAIR for running "possibly illegal" anti-Israel educational initiatives in public schools across Pennsylvania and Delaware. The lesson plans, which CAIR's Philadelphia office created in partnership with the two states' K-12 schools, include instructions against using such terms as "jihadists" and "radical Islamic terrorists" when discussing 9/11. Such materials "perpetuate pro-terrorist, anti-Israel rhetoric," Cotton wrote in his letter to Secretary of Education Linda McMahon.

CAIR, whose executive director celebrated Hamas's Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack on Israel, is already under congressional investigation for its support of pro-Hamas protests across the United States. Cotton has also asked the IRS to formally investigate CAIR over violations of its tax-exempt status, citing "ties to terrorist organizations, including Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood," the Washington Free Beacon first reported.

Jewish Onliner in its thread noted that "CAIR Philadelphia credits CAIR National and CAIR LA for curating the majority of the content," which suggests that "the educational materials aren't local initiatives—they're being developed and distributed by CAIR's national organization across multiple chapters."

"CAIR Oklahoma hosts the identical 9/11 teaching guide," the thread goes on, "BUT the document bears CAIR's NATIONAL HQ address in Washington DC—not Oklahoma's local office, unlike CAIR Philadelphia's. Further confirmation of centralized coordination from CAIR's main headquarters."


Man arrested after antisemitic abuse in Golders Green
A man has been arrested after allegedly shouting antisemitic abuse at the busy junction of Finchley Road and Bridge Lane.

Community security volunteers from Shomrim North West London responded swiftly to reports of the suspect shouting “vile” abuse on the street on Tuesday. They detained him until police arrived, at which point officers carried out the arrest.

The arrest follows a series of other antisemitic incidents that have unsettled the community, including faeces smeared on synagogues and walkways, and a bucket of urine thrown towards a Jewish school. Those incidents are being investigated separately as religiously motivated criminal damage.

A Shomrim spokesperson said: “This is now the sixth antisemitic incident locally in just over a week. Whether verbal abuse on the street or desecration of synagogues, it is all part of the same hatred that our community faces. Shomrim will continue to act quickly to protect the public and work with police to ensure offenders are brought to justice.”
Man linked to Neo-Nazi groups pleads guilty to attempting to destroy Nashville energy facility
A Tennessee man associated with Neo-Nazi groups pleaded guilty to attempting to destroy an energy facility in Nashville using a weapon of mass destruction, the U.S. Department of Justice announced on Tuesday.

In August 2024, Skyler Philippi, 24, of Columbia, Tenn., told undercover agents that he had written a “manifesto” outlining his intent to attack “high tax cities or industrial areas to let the kikes lose money,” using a slur for Jewish people. The department said he had previous affiliations with white supremacist and Neo-Nazi groups, the Atomwaffen Division and the National Alliance.

“For months, Philippi planned what he had hoped would be a devastating attack on Nashville’s energy infrastructure,” said John Eisenberg, U.S. assistant attorney general for national security. “Motivated by a violent ideology, Philippi wanted ‘to do something big.’ Instead, the FBI disrupted his plans, and Philippi now awaits sentencing.”

Court documents state Philippi said to undercover agents in July 2024 that he intended to fly a self-built drone with explosives into Nashville electrical substations. In August 2024, he ordered C-4 and other explosives from the undercover agents.

On Nov. 2, 2024, he met with the agents at a hotel and participated in a “Nordic ritual,” according to the Justice Department, stating, “This is where the New Age begins.” The group then drove to the operation site, where Philippi was taken into custody.

Philippi faces a maximum penalty of life in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 8, 2026.


Edwards Lifesciences completes $497 million acquisition of Israel’s Vectorious
Edwards Lifesciences, one of the world's leading medical device companies specializing in heart disease treatment, has completed the acquisition of Israeli startup Vectorious Medical Technologies in a $497 million cash transaction. This is the total sum being paid following the second phase of the deal: Edwards acquired about 52% of the company two years ago and is now purchasing the remaining 48%.

Vectorious was founded in 2011 by Dr. Eyal Orion and Oren Goldstein and grew out of the RAD Biomed incubator, established by the late Yehuda Zisapel and Prof. Nava Zisapel. To date, the company has raised only $35 million. It employs approximately 120 people, all based in Israel.

The company has five classes of shares: ordinary shares and four types of preferred shares, which makes it difficult to determine the exact holding ratios at the time of sale. The main shareholders include the Zisapel family (through RAD Biomed, RAD Communications, and private holdings), Ari Steimatzky, Zohar Gilon, and Ari Raved together with his wife, Roni. The controlling stake is held by Edwards, which, even prior to the current transaction, owned all Class C preferred shares and thus controlled more than half of the company’s share capital. Additional foreign shareholders include Broadview Ventures, Fresenius Medical Care Ventures, and the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. Among the founders who still hold shares are Dr. Eyal Orion and Oren Goldstein, along with several other investors with relatively small stakes, including Dr. Gur Aryeh Mintzer.

Vectorious has developed an advanced treatment method for patients suffering from heart failure, a chronic disease caused by impaired function of the heart muscle and a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Its technology, the V-LAP system, is a tiny, battery-free sensor implanted in a minimally invasive procedure in the left atrium of the heart. The device measures left atrial pressure (LAP), a key early indicator of worsening heart failure.
Israeli startup RedC Biotech aims to replace donors with lab-grown blood from stem cells
An Israeli biotech startup is developing technology it says could revolutionize the global blood supply by producing universal red blood cells from stem cells on an industrial scale.

RedC Biotech, founded by Dr. Ari Gargir, is working to cultivate red blood cells in large bioreactors, potentially generating hundreds of transfusion-ready units at a time. The company’s goal is to provide a reliable and cost-effective supply of blood to hospitals worldwide, bypassing the limits of human donation.

“In advanced countries like Israel, Europe and the Far East, there are transient shortages, occasional shortages,” Gargir said. “In less advanced countries and regions, there are great shortages, and many people die from insufficient blood or blood that is not at the right standards.”

The process begins with stem cells, which can divide and expand indefinitely under the right conditions. “If they’re getting the right cues and the right signals, they can become every cell type in the body,” Gargir explained. “The vision is that one day we’re going to be producing in very large bioreactors, thousands of liters at a time. Each one of these vessels will produce hundreds of blood units, which will be harvested, tested, packed, and sent to hospitals around the world.” The company’s lead scientist, Dr. Oren Inzelberg Yifa, a specialist in stem cell cultivation, said the project immediately drew him in. “I read about the company and saw that it was something that interested me,” he said. “This is something I can contribute to with my knowledge.”

For Gargir, the mission is personal. “Thirty-five years ago, when I was a biology student, I went paragliding and I crashed and I lost a lot of blood,” he recalled. “A blood transfusion like this saved my life.”

He said the technology could save millions. “You won’t need any donor. You will have one blood type that can fit everybody,” Gargir said. “About 2 million people die around the world from blood loss every year. If we can make blood available everywhere and at every time, we can save many of those lives.”


After 903 days, Elizabeth Tsurkov lands in Israel after captivity in Iraq
Elizabeth Tsurkov, the Russian-Israeli researcher who was held hostage by Kataib Hezbollah in Iraq for 903 days, landed in Israel on Wednesday evening and arrived at Sheba Medical Center for treatment.

The Prime Minister's Office and Mossad welcomed her return, stating, "Elizabeth Tsurkov, who was held hostage in Iraq and released last night, has landed in Israel."

The Mossad chief thanked his Cypriot counterpart for assisting with Tsurkov's humanitarian transfer through Cyprus to Israel.

At the airport, Tsurkov was met by a senior representative from Hostage and Missing Persons Coordinator Gal Hirsch's team and a medical team. She will be taken to a hospital for examinations as part of the "hostage return protocol."

A researcher from Princeton University, she had initially arrived in Iraq through her Russian passport to conduct research on behalf of the institution, according to the Prime Minister's Office. Her initial kidnapping had not been disclosed for the first few months, and she had previously been reported missing.

"There's no feeling like seeing someone freed and realizing it actually happened," US Special Envoy for Hostage Response Adam Boehler told The Jerusalem Post in a Wednesday interview.
‘I had to get her out of there’ says hero cab driver who saved elderly woman from Jerusalem terror attack
On Monday morning, the people of Jerusalem faced another in a long series of terror attacks that claimed the lives of six people and left dozens more injured.

But in the aftermath of the chaos, many who watched the footage saw the bravery of an Israeli cab driver who stewarded his elderly passenger out of his cab and away from the gunfire.

He was praised as a hero by many on social media and even received a call from Israel’s president Isaac Herzog. But Igal Kol, the 61-year-old cab driver from Jerusalem, said he didn’t think twice about putting himself in harm’s way.

“I heard bullets whistle over my head, but I couldn’t leave that woman in my taxi. What if, God forbid, something happened to her," Igal Kol, 61, from Jerusalem, told The Jewish Chronicle.

Igal was driving an 85-year-old woman in his taxi on Monday morning when Palestinian terrorists opened fire near the Ramot junction.

Six people were killed and a dozen more were wounded. The terrorists were shot dead at the scene by a soldier from the IDF’s ultra-Orthodox Hasmonean Brigade and another armed civilian.

“Construction work was underway on the train, and traffic was heavy. As we drove down toward the junction, I saw a bus stopped—and then I heard automatic gunfire,” Igal said.

“I served in the army in a Golani combat unit, so I know how to identify gunfire. I realized immediately it was a terror attack. I saw people running from the bus stop—there must have been about 70 or 80 people there,” he continued.




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