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Monday, September 15, 2025

09/15 Links Pt2: Howard Jacobson: The Unremitting Responsibility; 21 US state AGs back Oct. 7 victims lawsuit by against anti-Israel activists

From Ian:

Howard Jacobson: The Unremitting Responsibility
In June 2006, a young Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, was captured by Palestinian militants and abducted to the Gaza Strip. Five years later, he was returned to Israel in exchange for the release of more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners. Among the released was Yahya Sinwar, mastermind of the October 7 massacre. But that’s an irony for another time. As is the question of what new atrocities might follow from the more recent exchange of prisoners for hostages. Yahya Sinwar is said to have read nothing but Jewish books in the time he was incarcerated. If the massacre is anything to go by, his studies were more the scholasticism of opportunism and contempt than a labor of love. By the time Sinwar was released, there was said to be no weakness in the Jewish psyche in which he wasn’t versed, not least the willingness of Jews to pay any price to get their own people returned.

How to describe that weakness, if weakness it is, has exercised the minds of commentators on both sides of the conflict. Jews have been immemorially accused of driving hard bargains. So why are we such soft touches when it comes to swapping prisoners for hostages? Do we love our own to the point of recklessness? Or is this to misdescribe what is in reality spiritual arrogance? Do we compute the value of Jewish life on a different scale from the one we use to compute the value of the lives of non-Jews?

Shortly after the release of Shalit in 2011, the late Deborah Orr, a well-regarded journalist for The Guardian, put the following gloss on the swap of 1,000 Palestinian prisoners for one Israeli soldier:
The deal is widely viewed as a victory for Hamas. . . . Conversely, it is being seen by some as a sign of weakness in Israel’s rightwing prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

All this, I fear, is simply an indication of how inured the world has become to the obscene idea that Israeli lives are more important than Palestinian lives. “Obscene” that we should think so contemptibly of Israelis? Or “obscene” of Israelis to think so contemptibly of Palestinians?

As her argument proceeded, it became clear that Orr meant the latter. Of the Palestinians, she said, “There is something abject in their eagerness to accept a transfer that tacitly acknowledges what so many Zionists believe — that the lives of the chosen are of hugely greater consequence than those of their unfortunate neighbours.”

There is nothing new about upending Jewishness to make its sanctity show as self-importance and its virtues show as vices, but this version of topsy-turvydom is especially odious. At a stroke, the exorbitant price that militants had set for the release of a hostage they had held for five years, with little word of his well-being, was reconfigured as Israel’s gesture of contempt, the final proof of its disdain for non-Jewish lives. For this preposterous scenario to have even a shred of plausibility, the infantilized Palestinians must be painted as having no role in the framing of the deal beyond an eager and abject acceptance of its terms, and the Jews must be returned to the desert of Deuteronomy where God called them His treasured possession. Holy in their own eyes as a consequence, Jews became the model of moral heinousness for ever after.

I knew Deborah Orr. I worked with her briefly at The Independent before the sirens of The Guardian whistled her over. Her piece was a mystery to me because while it bore all the marks of classic antisemitism with a screw loose, she had never, in the time I’d known her, shown any predisposition to antisemitic views beyond a bit of de rigueur anti-Zionism. In fairness to her and The Guardian, the piece from which I’ve quoted came with a later footnote and apology acknowledging that the use of the word chosen was “inconsistent with Guardian guidelines.” But the apology felt grudging, and the piece was not withdrawn.

Views similar to Orr’s have since resurfaced as the negotiations for the return of the October 7 hostages have stuttered along. Yet again, on talk radio and the like, Israel’s acceptance of Hamas’s bloated terms is adduced as proof that it considers itself a chosen people and holds the lives of others in contempt. If this fantasy won’t go away (somehow despite The Guardian’s footnote), it can only be because retaining it is too useful in justifying Jew-hate. Who, after all, can ever love a person who believes he is better than you because God told him so?
21 US state AGs back lawsuit filed by Oct. 7 victims against NYC anti-Israel activists
The attorneys general of 21 US states last week backed a lawsuit that October 7 victims filed against leading anti-Israel protesters in New York, in a significant show of support.

The lawsuit, filed in March in the federal Southern District of New York court, accused the activists of acting as “Hamas’ propaganda arm” in New York City and its Columbia University campus, in violation of federal anti-terrorism laws.

Immediately after the October 7 invasion, Hamas called for support from the “resistance abroad” and released a manifesto titled “Our Narrative.” The defendants followed those directives to aid the terrorist group, the lawsuit claimed.

The Columbia activists also shared statements supporting designated terror groups on the Telegram messaging app, such as tributes to the late Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah and Hamas’s Yahya Sinwar, distributed Hamas material on campus, and celebrated the October 7 attack on its anniversary, the lawsuit said.

The attorneys general, echoing the complaint in the lawsuit, accused the activists of spreading terrorist propaganda, citing, for example, a “Day of Resistance Toolkit” that some of the activists shared on October 8, 2023.

The toolkit, published by National Students for Justice in Palestine, included instructions for activists, talking points for defending the Hamas attack, orders to organize “Day of Resistance” protests, and stated that activists were part of a “unity intifada” that was fighting Israel from Gaza.

“All Palestinian factions in Gaza appear to be participating under unified command,” the toolkit said. “We as Palestinian students in exile are PART of this movement, not in solidarity with this movement.”

The attorneys general argued that the statements and protests amounted to material support for Hamas, a US-designated terrorist group, in violation of the federal Anti-Terrorism Act, and that it was in their states’ broader interest to oppose terrorism.
Board of Deputies launches comprehensive 7 October resource
The Board of Deputies has launched a new comprehensive online platform designed to enable people to fully understand the scope of the tragedy of 7 October, with the aim of “countering the misinformation and disinformation” and to make it clear that “we’re not just talking about numbers, we’re talking about lives.”

The Remembering 7th October: Resource i includes testimonies and interviews from survivors, hostages, and eyewitnesses, as well as accounts of the heroes who acted with courage and compassion on that day. Multimedia content is also present – including graphic material which is clearly signposted.

Describing the new resource, Phil Rosenberg, President of the Board, said: “Our community has been clear – we must not let the victims or the truth of that day fade from memory. This resource stands as evidence, as testimony, and as a teaching tool. It is for now and for the future.”

Adam Ma’anit, Communications Manager at the Board, lost two family members on 7 October. His 18 year-old cousin, Maayan Idan, was murdered by Hamas on 7 October, dying in her father’s arms. Her father, Tzachi, was then marched into captivity by Hamas, where he was subsequently killed – his remains were handed over by the terrorist organisation in February.

Speaking to Jewish News, Adam said that a lot of people had come to the Board, “and told us that they think that the one of the biggest problems they have is that it’s really difficult to know where to go to find certain bits of information about 7 October…there’s no central place where it’s all being kept.” He paid tribute to the incredible work done by some organisations, including the Hostages and Missing Families Forum and the October 7th Mapping Project, but said that “we wanted one resource that can be a starting point for people to really find all of the necessary information that they need or they’re looking for; one that is very much focused on the victims and the hostages and the families and also the heroes.”

The resource includes documents which map the massacre in full, a number of documentaries focused on the tragedy, interviews with released hostages and videos of hostage family members. It also includes videos of those who survived the Nova festival massacre, and a special section, as Adam mentions, on the heroes of 7 October; people who did everything they could to save others – often sacrificing their own lives in the process. Jake Marlowe, for example, was one of the British victims of 7 October – he was working as security at the Nova festival.


Antisemites Push Baseless Lies to Blame Jews and Israel for Assassination of Charlie Kirk
The horrific assassination of U.S. activist and media personality Charlie Kirk during a speaking event in Utah on Wednesday sent shock waves across the globe and underscored the growing threat of political violence fueled by unchecked hatred and extremism.

While the arrest of 22-year-old suspect Tyler Robinson was announced on Friday morning, the investigation was just getting underway, and the exact motives behind the shooting have yet to be officially determined.

Nevertheless, antisemites have already exploited Kirk’s death to advance a hateful agenda, asserting without evidence that the State of Israel was responsible for Kirk’s murder. Similar narratives have already proliferated on social media several previous times this year, including in response to wildfires in Los Angeles and Jerusalem. Claims that Israel was behind the 1963 assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy have also gained renewed popularity in antisemitic circles in recent times.

The reflexive scapegoating of Jews or Israel for tragic events is not a new trend. In his 2013 book Anti-Judaism: The Western Tradition, medievalist David Nirenberg highlighted the two-millennia-long persistence of this phenomenon, describing it as the “product of a history that had encoded the threat of Judaism into some of the basic concepts of Western thought, regenerating that threat in new forms fitting for new period.”

Constructing a Conspiracy
In the aftermath of Kirk’s assassination, antisemites on social media drew attention to a nearly month-old X post by Harrison Smith. A journalist for the far-right media outlet Infowars, Smith had previously accused Israel of murdering Jeffrey Epstein and of preventing President Donald Trump from releasing the so-called “Epstein files.” He also falsely asserted that a “global government” was running world affairs from Israel.

In an X post dated August 13, Harrison claimed that he was told by someone close to Kirk that “Charlie thinks Israel will kill him if he turns against them.” Following the shooting of Kirk, antisemites quickly turned to this month-old post to “prove” that Israel had murdered Kirk for “turning against them”:
The president-elect’s celebration of Charlie Kirk’s murder shames the Oxford Union
So what is to be done about Abaraonye? It is clearly perverse for someone who holds free speech in such contempt to lead the world’s most prestigious debating society. It is as preposterous as letting Tommy Robinson run the Liberal Democrats, or putting Abu Hamza in charge of Prevent.

Indeed, any president of the Oxford Union should be expected to tolerate far more controversial guests than a conservative like Charlie Kirk. Past speakers have included everyone from Nick Griffin and Marine Le Pen to Malcolm X and Colonel Gaddafi. Would conservative speakers be prepared to show up to an Abaraonye-run Oxford Union, knowing the president might be okay with them being shot? If Abaraonye had any sense, he would recognise this is not the role for him. He would take note of the damage he has done to the Oxford Union’s reputation and offer his resignation.

Yet, at the same time, the summary cancellation of Abaraonye should be resisted, too. There is a growing clamour not only to have him removed as the head of a debating society, despite being democratically elected, but also expelled from his university course. This would be an extraordinary overreach and a blatant attack on the right of the Oxford Union membership to set its own rules and choose its own officials. (In any case, the Oxford Union’s leadership says it does not have the power to unilaterally dismiss Abaraonye anyway.) Plus, he has every right to express repulsive views without being hounded off of campus entirely.

If Abaraonye’s fate is to be decided by anyone, it should be by the Oxford Union’s membership. According to the society’s constitution, 150 members can sign a petition to demand a confidence vote. This is surely the best, most democratic way forward. Just as political parties and organisations can oust their leaders, should they act disgracefully, so it is with the Oxford Union. Let’s see. Meanwhile, as horrendous as his comments were, talk of him being kicked off his course should be resisted by anyone who opposes campus cancel culture.

Whatever else happens next, it’s important to remember that George Abaraonye is not an isolated case. Free speech is now held in such contempt that its sworn enemies can climb the ranks of the world’s foremost debating society. It will take far more than a change at the top of the Oxford Union to stop the rot.


FBI Arrests 2 Utah Men for Planting Bomb Under News Vehicle as Media Flock To Cover Charlie Kirk Assassination
The FBI has arrested two men who allegedly placed an incendiary device beneath a Fox 13 News vehicle in Magna, Utah, which is located roughly an hour away from the site of the Charlie Kirk assassination.

The suspects—Adeeb Nasir, 58, and Adil Justice Ahmed Nasir, 31—are facing "multiple charges, including Threat of Terrorism, Possessing Weapons of Mass Destruction, and Possessing Explosive Devices," Fox 13 reported. The men had lit the incendiary device, which police first discovered Friday and confirmed to be real, but it "failed to function," officials said.

While authorities have not released information regarding a possible motive, the incident comes as news media have flocked to Utah since the September 10 assassination of prominent conservative activist Charlie Kirk, which took place about an hour south of Magna. Police on Friday arrested Utah resident Tyler Robinson, who possessed bullets engraved with the words "Hey fascist! Catch!" and lived with a transgender partner, for the murder.

During a Saturday search of the Nasirs' Magna home, the FBI and local officials found explosives, firearms, and illegal narcotics, prompting an evacuation of the neighborhood, the Associated Press reported based on court records. Investigators also discovered at least two devices later determined to be "hoax weapons of mass destruction," according to the AP.

Both suspects had protective orders prohibiting them from possessing firearms, Fox 13 reported based on a statement from the Salt Lake City Police Department.


Hochul endorses Mamdani, cites latter’s ‘courage, urgency, optimism’
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, wrote in The New York Times on Sunday that she is endorsing Zohran Mamdani, a state representative with a long history of denouncing Israel, for New York City mayor, giving the Democratic socialist his most high-profile backing to date.

“I didn’t leave my conversations with Mr. Mamdani aligned with him on every issue,” she wrote. “But I am confident that he has the courage, urgency and optimism New York City needs to lead it through the challenges of this moment.”

Mamdani beat Andrew Cuomo, a former New York governor, by more than a dozen points in the Democratic primary and leads a field of three general election opponents.

The Democratic establishment had distanced itself somewhat from Mamdani, who has a history of ties to Jew-hatred and anti-Israel activists, and who is running on a socialist platform in the capitalist center of the country. (Mamdani has also said that he would have Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrested should the Israeli premier come to the city.)

“In the past few months, I’ve had frank conversations with him. We’ve had our disagreements,” Hochul wrote. “But in our conversations, I heard a leader who shares my commitment to a New York where children can grow up safe in their neighborhoods and where opportunity is within reach for every family.”

“I heard a leader who is focused on making New York City affordable, a goal I enthusiastically support,” she wrote.

Hochul wrote that she discussed “the need to combat the rise of antisemitism urgently and unequivocally” with Mamdani and that she’s “been glad to see him meet with Jewish leaders across the city, listening and addressing their concerns directly.”

Mamdani reportedly met with some 10 Jewish elected officials in New York in July, in an effort organized by Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.). Mamdani also attended a town hall sponsored by the UJA-Federation of New York and pledged to appoint a senior adviser to tackle Jew-hatred in the city.


Doubling down on Israel-bashing: Zohran Mamdani at his MOST sincere
We can’t help wondering why Zohran Mamdani is doubling down on his anti-Israel fervor even as he tries to soften his far-left edges on other issues in the mayoral campaign’s final two months.

He last week pointedly informed The New York Times that he still plans to arrest Benjamin Netanyahu if Israel’s prime minister dares show his face in Zoh’s NYC, claiming Gotham must be a “city that stands up for international law.”

This is anti-Israel propaganda piled on propaganda, with a solid dose of legal fantasy: That “arrest warrant” from International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Kahn, announced bare days after he took the job with zero pretense of evidence-gathering, doesn’t apply in the United States.

Washington, like several other major powers, has never recognized the ICC (founded in 2002) because it’s plainly prone to politicization, with the Bibi “warrants” a prime example.

Which means the New York police would be obligated to defy Mayor Mamdani’s illegal order to arrest Netanyahu.

And if Zoh managed to corrupt the NYPD enough to create a unit that would try such a stunt, they’d have to battle federal security to get anywhere near the Israeli leader.

All this vow really does is reinforce Mamdani’s lifelong hatred of the Jewish state.

Taking the Jew-bashing up another notch, he’s let it be known he’ll reverse Mayor Eric Adams’ executive order adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism as the city’s standard.

Under the IHRA approach, calling to destroy the state of Israel, calling it a Nazi state or blaming American Jews for Israeli actions all count as antisemitic; Mamdani says that’s too confining for him.

Indeed, Zohran wants to destroy Israel and has pushed for state laws to punish local synagogues for supporting it.

And he can’t be an antisemite: Some of his best friends are Jews!

Mamdani has also announced he won’t interfere with pro-Hamas rioters’ “First Amendment” activities, including blocking traffic or taking over university buildings (and he plans to disband the NYPD’s Strategic Response Group, which handles major unrest events as well as terrorist acts).

Instead of arrests, Mamdani prefers “dialogue”; let’s see how that goes when anti-Israel mobs camp out in front of the Lincoln Tunnel or march down Eastern Parkway and attack synagogues.


Dem Ohio state senator receives blowback after boycotting legislative trip to Israel
Beth Liston, a Democratic Ohio state senator, stated on Friday that she canceled her plans to join a legislative trip to Israel.

“My hope had been to learn and ask tough questions of the Israeli government actions, particularly related to humanitarian aid in Gaza,” she stated. “I am grateful to the constituents who helped me see the harm of this approach.”

Liston said that she studied “history books, news articles, non-governmental organization publications and congressional reports” to prepare for the trip and met with “Jewish and Palestinian constituents to arm myself against biased one-sided perspectives, and with a list of things to ask.”

“What I decided was that I didn’t just need to guard against propaganda. I was the propaganda in this sponsored trip,” she stated. “I did not want to be used as a tool in support of the Israeli government actions. I cancelled the trip.”

The state senator drew criticism, including from another state lawmaker.

“I am on this trip and you have just been used,” stated Esther Panitch, a Georgia state representative and a Democrat, who is the only Jewish member of the Georgia state legislature. “You would be welcome to ask the hard questions.”

“What those opposing don’t want you to see are the burned out civilian homes where whole families were set on fire to burn alive, to hear about the thousands of Gazan civilians who also crossed the border that day to rape, behead and pillage,” Panitch said.

“To meet with Muslim, Druze and Christian lawmakers, to see fully integrated cities, to see signs in Arabic, Hebrew and English, to meet Israelis of all colors and religions,” Panitch added. “It’s just too bad you took a spot from someone who, clearly unlike you, could see right from wrong.”
Axed children’s hospital event would have endangered Jewish staff, Australian doctor tells 'Post'
Doctors at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne have condemned the cancellation of a roundtable on “Children and War” after a Jewish peer warned that it may endanger Jewish staff members and families.

Dr. Doron Samuell, an Australian psychiatrist and economist, wrote to the RCH’s CEO, Peter Steer, last Tuesday ahead of the event, which was set to take place this Wednesday.

In Samuell's letter, which has been shared with The Jerusalem Post, he warned Steer that the event may pose a psychosocial health and safety risk, and therefore asked that it be canceled.

He expressed concern that the RCH was “inadvertently providing a platform for groups that have engaged in hateful, partisan campaigns against Israel and its supporters.”

Samuell also told Steer that he had obligations within the framework of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004, under which the RCH has a duty to ensure employees are not exposed to risks arising from the school’s own activists.

Additionally, Samuell said that the panel’s composition signaled “a one-sided attack on Israel.”

“Whatever one’s personal views, these are not neutral briefings,” he continued, adding that a “hospital-branded session dominated by such advocacy predictably signals hostility to Jewish identities and increases the risk of moral injury, vicarious trauma, and harmful workplace behaviors.”

Especially considering the documented surge in antisemitism in Australia, Samuell said, this event would contribute to a distressing and potentially harmful interaction for Jewish clinicians.

Steer responded to Samuell last Wednesday, September 10, thanking him for expressing his concerns and announcing the cancellation of the event.

The RCH’s CEO said that while its forums are intended to deepen knowledge, share expertise, and support the well-being of children, “in this case, the framing of the session and the sensitivities surrounding it may carry risks of distress that outweigh the intended value and would not reflect our values as a hospital community.”

None of the speakers had published research into children at war
Speaking exclusively to the Post on Monday, Samuell discussed what he deemed the one-sided nature of the planned event.

“If you look at organizations and individuals who were supposed to speak, none of them have published research into children at war,” he said.

Among the panelists was Alison Moebus from Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières – MSF), who, Samuell said, wrote a biased report on Israel titled “Gaza Death Trap: MSF Report Exposes Israel’s Campaign of Total Destruction.”

Sue Wareham, the president of the Medical Association for Prevention of War (MAPW), was also going to participate. She has referred to the Israel-Hamas War as the “genocide of the people of Gaza” and has urged the abandonment of Australia’s “warm and close” relationship with Israel.

Finally, Prof. Tilman Ruff, the chair of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, which has focused on “Israeli nuclear threats,” was set to be yet another guest speaker at the event.

“I put it to the CEO that this was not the appropriate platform,” Samuell told the Post. “The [individuals] have lots of different places to say what they want to say, but to do it in the workplace is not appropriate.”
Vuelta a España: Israeli team overcomes protests to secure ‘outstanding results’
Despite disruptions from anti-Israel protesters at the Vuelta a España cycling race, Israel–Premier Tech continued competing, with one member of the team claiming the Best Young Rider jersey.

The final stage of the race in Madrid on Sunday was abandoned after hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters tore down barriers, clashed with police and forced riders off course.

“In the face of considerable adversity, our riders focused on their race, producing one of the best Grand Tours in our team’s history,” IPT owner Sylvan Adams told JNS.

“This marks our second top-five performance [for a rider in the general classification] at a Grand Tour this season, reflecting the team’s growth in the right direction. A top-five finish, a jersey win and four podiums [in various stages of the race] are outstanding results that virtually ensure our return to the WorldTour next season. I’m very proud of this team,” he added.

IPT rider Matthew Riccitello made history on Saturday by securing the Best Young Rider title, receiving the white jersey—a first in the team’s history.

“Coming into the Vuelta, I didn’t know what to expect. To finish fifth overall and take the white jersey feels incredible. It’s not just my result—it belongs to the whole team, who supported me every day despite everything we faced,” Riccitello told JNS.
International Cycling Union Slams Spanish PM for Backing Violent Anti-Israel Protesters
The International Cycling Union slammed Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Monday for remarks praising violent anti-Israel protesters who forced the cancelation of a recent race in Spain.

La Vuelta, Spain’s elite cycling race, came to an abrupt halt Sunday as anti-Israel protesters blocked the course to protest the inclusion of an Israeli team, forcing the cancelation of the final stage. They had collided with cyclists in earlier stages.

Sanchez, who leads a viciously anti-Israel government, praised the protesters. The Jerusalem Post reported:
Israel should be excluded from all international competitions as long as the Gaza War goes on, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said, during a Monday meeting with party members and other left-wing officials.

“It’s important that sports organizations think about the ethics of including Israel in their international competitions,” Sanchez said. “Why was Russia kicked out after invading Ukraine and not Israel after it invaded Gaza?”

Sanchez overlooked the fact that Israel was invaded first — by Hamas terrorists, on October 7, 2023.

The International Cycling Union responded: “We regret the fact that the Spanish Prime Minister and his government have supported actions that could hinder the smooth running of a sporting competition and, in some cases, expressed their admiration for the demonstrators.” It also said the prime minister’s remarks had been contrary to the “Olympic values of unity, mutual respect, and peace.”
Proposed UCLA settlement to reportedly bar school from admitting antisemitic foreign
A proposed settlement between the Trump administration and the University of California, Los Angeles would reportedly prohibit the public school from admitting foreign students likely to engage in “antisemitic disruptions or harassment,” The Los Angeles Times reported.

Foreign students who are “anti-Western” and “anti-American” would also be barred, according to the paper, which reported that it saw a copy of the proposed settlement.

The school would pay $200 million annually for five years and create a $172 million fund to compensate those who experience civil-rights violations on campus, per the draft settlement. The agreement would also require UCLA to ban overnight protests and protesters from wearing masks.

An outside monitor would reportedly oversee the public school’s compliance with the agreement. (The U.S. Department of Justice declined to comment.)
New Report Reveals How Qatari Money Compromised Northwestern University
A comprehensive new report released by the Washington D.C.-based Middle East Forum has unveiled troubling details about Northwestern University's financial ties to Qatar and its employment of faculty members with documented connections to Hamas. The findings emerge as the embattled institution faces intensifying federal scrutiny, with President Michael Schill recently announcing his departure amid ongoing investigations.

Yet in an ironic twist, the university has appointed Henry S. Biene — who is both the original architect of the controversial Qatar partnership and currently sits on the advisory board of the Qatari Foundation — as interim president to replace Schill.

Presidential Resignation Follows Congressional Hearing Revelations
The timing of the report's release is striking, coming just days after Northwestern President Michael Schill announced his resignation following a disastrous congressional hearing that exposed the university's troubling relationship with Qatar. House Committee testimony revealed that Northwestern's contract with the Qatar Foundation includes clauses that effectively prohibit students and faculty from criticizing the Qatari regime, the Washington Free Beacon reported on September 5th.

During his August testimony with House Education and Workforce Committee staffers, Schill disclosed that Qatar has provided Northwestern with $737 million since the university opened its Doha campus in 2008. The contract stipulates that all Northwestern personnel "shall be subject to the applicable laws and regulations of the State of Qatar, and shall respect the cultural, religious and social customs of the State of Qatar," restrictions that extend to Northwestern's main Illinois campus.

The report also documents how Qatar's massive investment has facilitated what researchers describe as a "bilateral academic, financial, and ideological integration" between the campuses. Faculty members with dual appointments regularly transport anti-Israel narratives between Doha and Evanston, contributing to the hostile environment for Jewish students that prompted federal Title VI investigations.


‘Washington Post’ fires anti-Israel opinion writer after posts about Kirk
One of the Washington Post’s most vehemently anti-Israel writers revealed on Monday that she has been fired after posting an incorrect quote and making incendiary statements about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

Karen Attiah, a columnist and former global opinions editor at the Post, claimed in a Substack post that she was fired the previous week for “speaking out against political violence, racial double standards and America’s apathy toward guns.”

According to Attiah, the Post said that a series of posts she made in the wake of the Sept. 10 killing of Kirk were “unacceptable” and “gross misconduct” and constituted “endangering the physical safety of colleagues.”

Attiah, who is black, wrote that her removal was “part of a broader purge of black voices from academia, business, government and media,” citing one of her own columns.

She also claimed that her only direct reference to Kirk was from “his own words on record,” but she incorrectly quoted him as disparaging “black women,” a phrase that Kirk did not use in the underlying quote.

A Washington Post spokesperson told JNS that the paper would not comment on personnel matters.

During her tenure as a writer and editor at the Post, Attiah was one of the most prominent anti-Israel voices at the paper.

On Oct. 7, 2023, while the Hamas attacks in southern Israel were still ongoing, she reposted a tweet asking about the terrorist massacre: “What did y’all think decolonization meant? Vibes? Papers? Essays? losers.”

About one-third of her columns since Oct. 7 have been about the war against Hamas, with headlines that include “We cannot stand by and watch Israel commit atrocities”—published six days after the attack—and “destroying Gaza’s cultural heritage is a crime against humanity.”

She also frequently attempted to connect American racial politics to claims about Israeli “colonialism” and “oppression” of Palestinians.
Honest Reporting, November 2023: How The Washington Post’s Karen Attiah Defames Israel Online & in Print

‘Desperate Housewives’ star Marcia Cross branded ‘Antisemite of the Week’ by Jewish watchdog group
“Desperate Housewives” actress Marcia Cross has been branded “Antisemite of the Week” by a Jewish watchdog group for bashing Israel and spreading “antisemitic rhetoric.”

The Emmy-nominated star, 63, is a pro-Palestinian activist who has accused Israel of genocide, including through starvation, and says the United States and other countries are aiding and abetting the Jewish state’s atrocities in Gaza.

The actress previously shared a post claiming “gas chambers” were “far more merciful” than starvation – a grotesque comparison of the murder of Jews during the Holocaust with the Gaza war, said the group StopAntisemitism.

“Her posts recycle classic antisemitic tropes, trivialize Jewish suffering, and deny Jewish legitimacy – language that puts Jewish communities at real risk both online and offline,” said StopAntisemitism founder Liora Rez, whose group labeled Cross its “Antisemite of the Week.”

Cross had posted numerous other statements on her X and Instagram accounts about the war in Gaza and painted Israel as the villain, though Hamas provoked the war by invading Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking dozens of hostages.

“”F*** YOU ISRAEL AND ALL OF YOUR SUPPORTERS USA GERMANY FRANCE,” Cross also wrote Aug. 10.

“YOU ARE THE BILE OF THE UNIVERSE AND THE ROT AT THE CORE OF ANYTHING DECENT,” she said of the Jewish state and supporters.

“The entire population is being starved to death. Hostages included. To lie and say the photos of starving human beings are doctored is the lowest of lows. -and the antisemitism card is over,” Cross said Aug. 5 on X.

She also has spewed antisemitic tropes about Israel “controlling” US politicians, including former Democratic Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden and current Republican President Trump.

Cross claimed that “@KamalaHarris was next to join the fools of the Netanyahu show” in another post, referring to Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the former US veep.

She shared a post of an Aug. 31 “day of action, too.

“From every river to every sea, end US complicity,” the announcement said. “Break the siege on Gaza. Support global flotilla.” Start your day with all you need to know

Cross shared another post on her Instagram page that said, “What’s the point of Holocaust museums if they are silent in the face of genocide?”
Israeli brother, sister arrested in Athens after attacked by Palestinians
A 29-year-old Israeli and his sister were attacked on Saturday by three Palestinian men in Syntagma Square in Athens while on vacation, Hebrew media reported.

Six plastic poles and Palestinian flags that were found in the possessions of the Palestinians were confiscated by the police, Greek media reported.

All five persons involved in the incident were arrested by Greek authorities.

“At Syntagma Square, in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a confrontation occurred between five foreigners. Two Israeli citizens—a 30-year-old woman and a 29-year-old man—clashed with three Palestinian men aged 27, 26, and 25,” Athens police said, according to Ynet.

Israel’s broadcaster Channel 13 reported that the two siblings were still in custody under difficult conditions.

The brother, who is a disabled Israel Defense Forces veteran, was initially held in a cell with Muslim detainees, the report stated.

His father, visiting him in detention, “created a scene,” according to the report, after which the son was transferred to a solitary cell “without much food.”

Channel 13 presented still images of the Israeli, his face blurred, that showed red scars at the front and back of his head.

Speaking with the Israeli broadcaster, his father described the incident over the phone.

The Palestinians “saw them in the square, probably identified them as Jews, I don’t know how, and started hitting them. They scratched his back, dropped him on the floor and hit him with their flag [poles],” the father said.

The father moreover related that his son was “all shaking. They put him in a cell with 10 Arabs. They almost killed him. I started yelling and they transferred him to a separate cell. His whole body is bruised. Poor boy! And there’s no one here to treat him,” per Channel 13.


Pro-Palestinian crowd in California beats hostage’s cousin for speaking Hebrew
A group of approximately 20 pro-Palestinian protesters attacked a man speaking Hebrew at Santa Monica Pier earlier this month.

Ariel Yaakov Marciano, the cousin of murdered Gaza hostage, Guy Illouz, whose body remains in Hamas terror captivity in the Gaza Strip, described the event to Jewish Journal, a Jewish community outlet for the Greater Los Angeles area, where Santa Monica is located. Antisemitism is at a record high. We're keeping our eyes on it >>

He explained to the outlet that he was visiting Los Angeles for his cousin's bar mitzvah when he noticed the demonstrators. He was wearing a Star of David necklace and speaking to an Israeli from Las Vegas that he had met in Hebrew, recounting that "they realized we were Israeli."

"At that point, they attacked me. One of them hit me on the back of the head, and I started bleeding. Others pushed me around and tore the necklace off my neck. I pushed one of the masked attackers, and then they all jumped on me," he told the outlet.

He claimed that on his way to the police station, while shouting “God bless Israel,” he was pepper-sprayed by one of the protesters.

He alleged that the police "didn't do anything, but I can't really blame them," as there were "too many demonstrators and there's nothing much the police can do against so many."


Rubio, Netanyahu, and Huckabee inaugurate fully exposed Pilgrimage Road in Jerusalem
After years of excavation, Israel on Monday unveiled the fully exposed Pilgrimage Road in the City of David, a circa first-century route linking the Pool of Siloam to the foot of the Temple Mount. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attended the evening ceremony alongside US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee.

The road runs roughly 600 meters and is now open end-to-end, according to organizers.

Rubio called it “an extraordinary archaeological site,” framing his appearance as a celebration of shared heritage. The visit came during his trip to Israel for meetings with Netanyahu and other officials.

Netanyahu said the unveiling reflected the Jewish people’s ancient bond with Jerusalem and vowed the city would remain united. Huckabee praised the excavation as a moment that “lets the stones speak,” underscoring the continuity of Jewish presence in the city.

Archaeologists say the stepped street served as Jerusalem’s main thoroughfare for pilgrims during the Second Temple period. The Israel Antiquities Authority has led the dig with the City of David organization, which operates the national park site. The stretch from the Pool of Siloam up the Tyropoeon Valley to the mount measures about 600 meters and is approximately eight meters wide.

Rubio helps inagurate Pilgrim's Road
Monday’s inauguration also highlighted growing international recognition of the site. In January 2021, the US Embassy in Jerusalem, together with the US Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad, recognized the City of David as a testament to America’s Judeo-Christian heritage and founding principles. In June 2025, Argentina presented a commemorative plaque at the City of David during President Javier Milei’s visit, acknowledging the site’s significance.

The excavation has drawn criticism from Palestinians and international bodies that view the site, located in east Jerusalem’s Silwan neighborhood, as part of occupied territory and object to settler-led involvement in its operation. Rubio’s visit and the inauguration were described by opponents as politically charged, while organizers emphasized the project’s archaeological value.


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