Tuesday, December 02, 2025

12/02 Links Pt2: Ireland should venerate Chaim Herzog; FM Sa’ar to Irish ambassador: ‘You cannot deceive the world’; UK police used fake evidence to justify ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans

From Ian:

Seth Mandel: Let Anti-Semites Dig Themselves Out of Trouble
Chaim Herzog was also the father of current Israeli President Isaac Herzog. During the Gaza war, anti-Israel activists spurred on a campaign to get the Dublin city council to rename the park. The undisguised hatefulness of the petition inspired disgust even from Ireland’s prime minister. Amid the Jewish community’s uproar, a social media campaign to quash the name change from Irish Jewish activist Rachel Moiselle took off. Israel weighed in. Dublin backed off, pulling the petition at least for now.

It was a victory for the Jewish community’s determination to make its voice heard even amid the atmosphere of anti-Semitic intimidation prevailing in Ireland.

In other words, this was decidedly not what anti-Jewish activists wanted, in contrast to Aladwan’s case. Yet the reaction was the same. “The optics will appear to show these senior Irish politicians carrying out the instructions of the Israeli lobby, and it’s very hard to argue with a view when we see the actual result,” one council member said, according to JTA. Another added: “This was a full court press by the Zionist lobby, and they think they will win it. They will not win this.” A third: “I’m further convinced that whatever phone calls was made to our CEO and to other officials probably emanated from Israeli intelligence attached to the Israeli Defense Force.”

Should it matter to the Jewish community that pro-Palestinian Dubliners are angry about this result and claiming that it confirms the truth of popular anti-Semitic conspiracy theories?

This is a question American Jews were asking themselves during the uproar over remarks made by Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts: If Roberts was forced to resign, would that make it look like there really was a “venomous coalition” of “globalists” pulling the strings and setting their own rules?

Taken together, the three preceding examples give us the answer. The first and second cases tell us that anti-Semites will respond to any successful assertion of Jewish rights and dignity in identical ways, raising the specter of a powerful Jewish puppeteering cabal. The third case shows us that those inclined to scapegoat Jews or to paint them as disloyal will do so as a first, not as a last, line of defense. And no one who complained of Jewish influence will change their mind when the person under fire—in this case Roberts—suffers no professional consequences.

Anti-Semitism is a matryoshka doll of conspiracy theories, and conspiracy theories are famously resistant to facts that would otherwise undermine their animating assumptions. Jews should stand up for themselves because it’s the right thing to do. Conspiracy theorists deserve no veto power. It is not the Jewish community’s obligation to save anti-Semites from the consequences of their own actions.
Stephen Daisley: Ireland should venerate Chaim Herzog
Ireland is a case study in the futility of trying to distinguish anti-Zionism from anti-Semitism. Discussions about Israel aren’t marked by criticism of the contemptible Netanyahu government nor philosophical dispute with the moral claims of Zionism. It’s unhinged fixation, righteous fury, and an invincible credulity towards even the most dubious accusations, provided the finger is being pointed Zionwards. Some of the discourse wouldn’t be out of place at Friday prayers in Tehran.

It’s wild. They’ve thrown off every yoke of state Catholicism except the keen interest in perfidis Judaeis. Israel is the ultimate malefactor of the Irish imagination, the bogeyman of Dublin politics and Dublin media, and a national myth posits the republic as a modern-day David taking on Goliath, when most Israelis would struggle to locate Ireland on a map and the rest think it’s still part of Britain. Mind you, the tendency of its activists and ideologues to declare themselves ‘Paddystinians’ makes sense. Palestine is the only occupation the Irish left shows an interest in anymore.

The thing is, though, there are about three Jews in all of Ireland. (Okay, two to three thousand.) It’s like being obsessed with the scourge of ninjas, dedicating your life to documenting the crimes of ninjas, convinced that ninjas control the world, organising boycotts of ninja-owned businesses, but you live in Sweden and there are no ninja-owned shops and not enough ninjas to fill a Volvo hatchback, let alone form a local chapter of the international ninja conspiracy.

Should Britain stage an intervention? Take Ireland out for a pint and subtly work anti-Semitism into the conversation? We’re not making any accusations, mate; we’re just wondering if everything’s okay at home. Wife all right? Kids doing well at school? You still handing out those Protocols of the Elders of Zion pamphlets down Grafton Street every Saturday? You know, maybe it’s time to move on because the Jews don’t actually run the world, the Mossad isn’t monitoring you, there’s no genocide in Gaza, and I’m almost certain the profits from Medjool dates don’t go directly to AIPAC.

Oh, and drop the Chaim Herzog thing. People are starting to talk. The fella was an Irish Jew who made history. A park is the least we can do.
JPost Editorial: The Jerusalem Post marks 93 years as a link to Israel and the Jewish world
Ninety-three years after its first issue, The Jerusalem Post is still, at heart, a letter from home for Jews and friends of Israel across the world.

What began in 1932 as The Palestine Post, a modest English-language paper printed in a small Jerusalem office, has grown into something far larger than its founders could have imagined: a global conversation, a daily heartbeat of the Jewish world.

In its early years, the paper served a small community of diplomats, journalists, and new immigrants who needed reliable news in English from Mandatory Palestine.

It reported on the struggles of a people seeking self-determination and on the painful battles that marked Israel’s birth. For those who arrived from London, New York, Johannesburg, or Melbourne, unfolding the paper was a way of understanding their new home.

After 1948, The Palestine Post became The Jerusalem Post, reflecting the transformation of the Yishuv into the sovereign State of Israel. That change of name signaled that the paper saw itself as an institution bound up with the story of the Jewish state.

Today, most of our readers are not in Israel at all. They are Jews and friends of Israel in Los Angeles and London, Paris and Panama, Johannesburg, Sydney, Buenos Aires, and small communities where there is no longer a robust local Jewish press.

For them, The Jerusalem Post has become not only an Israeli newspaper in English but a kind of global town square, a place where the arguments, anxieties, hopes, and achievements of the Jewish people are reported, debated, and preserved.


Israel doesn’t need charity anymore, it needs serious Jewish investment
The new Zionism
Bill Ackman articulated the underlying principle best: “I have always been a strong believer that while philanthropy can solve some problems, capitalism can solve many more.”

The old Zionism was transactional: American Jews earned money in America and sent some to Israel as charity. That worked when Israel needed milk money and emergency relief. But Israel in 2025 doesn’t need charity. It needs what every thriving economy needs: investment capital that believes in its future.

The new Zionism should be reciprocal: Diaspora Jews invest capital in Israel as a smart allocation, not charity. Instead of 1948 donations to plant trees and drain swamps, invest in Israeli companies and funds delivering competitive returns while building Israel’s economic strength. Simultaneously, ensure portfolios exclude entities funding antisemitism, supporting the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement, or working against Jewish safety.

The questions are straightforward: What percentage of your endowment is invested in Israel? If it’s zero, why? And do you know if your portfolio inadvertently funds those working against you?

The old Zionism was about sending checks. The new Zionism is about deploying capital – putting your money where your mission is. The opportunity is now. The returns are proven. The strategic imperative is clear. When it mattered most, where was your capital?
Manhattan Institute poll finds 17% of GOP members are ‘anti-Jewish Republicans’
Some 17% of GOP supporters are “anti-Jewish Republicans” with beliefs including Holocaust denial or the view that Israel is a “settler-colonial state” that drags the United States “into wars we have no business in,” according to a poll which the conservative Manhattan Institute released on Monday.

The survey defined current GOP supporters as either registered Republicans or voters who backed U.S. President Donald Trump in 2024, regardless of formal party affiliation.

It found that 37% of these Republicans believe the Holocaust “was greatly exaggerated or did not happen as historians describe,” with 77% of Hispanic GOP voters, 66% of black GOP voters and 54% of male GOP voters under 50-years-old holding that view.

The institute defined an “anti-Jewish Republican” as any respondent who either self-identified as racist and antisemitic or believed that both the Holocaust was exaggerated and that Israel is a “settler-colonial state.” Some 12% of GOP voters described themselves as having “hostility to, or prejudice against, Jewish people.”

In line with recent national surveys of voters, the poll found a sharp age divide in attitudes towards Israel and Jews.

“Anti-Jewish Republicans are typically younger, disproportionately male, more likely to be college-educated and significantly more likely to be new entrant Republicans,” or voters who cast their first ballot for Trump in 2024, the survey authors wrote.

“They are also more racially diverse. Consistent church attendance is one of the strongest predictors of rejecting these attitudes,” they wrote. “Infrequent church attendance is, all else equal, one of the strongest predictors of falling into this segment.”


US evangelical leader calls Tucker Carlson’s anti-Israel line ‘worse than Nazi Party platform’
A prominent US evangelical leader has warned that parts of the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement are turning against Israel with rhetoric he says is “worse” than the Nazi Party platform of 1920, as he brings more than 1,000 pastors and Christian influencers to Israel to push back.

Dr. Mike Evans, founder of the Friends of Zion (FOZ) Heritage Center and Museum in Jerusalem, told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday that a “very serious” anti-Israel current has emerged inside parts of the American Right, led by influential media figures close to senior US officials.

“Right now we are having a movement within the MAGA movement that is anti-Israel,” Evans said. “It is very serious because it is led by Tucker Carlson, who is very close to the vice president. He is coming out and saying worse things presently than the Nazi Party said at their platform in 1920.”

Evans claimed that Gulf states hostile to Israel, especially Qatar, have invested heavily in American universities and media and are now using artificial intelligence to shape the views of young Americans, including young evangelicals.

“Qatar has put hundreds of billions into the United States and into the university campuses, and now they are using the big ‘Antichrist monster’ of them all, AI, to poison the minds of the young people,” he said.
ADL, AJC slam ‘outrageous’ report blaming Jews, ‘whiteness’ for threats to academia
American Jewish organizations on Monday slammed a recent report by the National Communication Association’s Task Force on Academic Freedom and Tenure in which Israel is portrayed as a “settler-colonial state” engaged in “genocidal violence,” saying the report peddles “antisemitic conspiracy theories.”

In a joint statement, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), American Jewish Committee (AJC) and Academic Engagement Network (AEN) called the suggestion in the academic organization’s report that ‘Zionists’ are engaging alongside white supremacists in efforts to undermine academic freedom “outrageous.” The NCA, a not-for-profit academic association, describes itself as an “indispensable community of thousands of communication scholars and teachers” from the US and worldwide.

Israel has been the target of a flurry of academic boycotts since Hamas launched the October 7, 2023, assault on southern Israel, and the subsequent war in Gaza. More than a thousand boycotts of Israeli researchers and institutions have been tallied over the past two years by an Association of Israeli Universities task force dedicated to combating boycotts.

The war also sparked widespread anti-Israel protests on campuses across the US, with many of them featuring antisemitism and targeting of Jewish students. US President Donald Trump has led a crackdown on schools that tolerated antisemitism, although critics have charged that he is using the issue as an excuse to undermine the colleges.

However, the NCA report represented “an egregious moral lapse” that “resorts to antisemitic conspiracy theories in order to account for the current state of academic freedom at American universities,” the Jewish organizations said.

The NCA’s 60-page report charges that academic freedoms are under attack by what it describes as “organized networks of disinformation and hate from the right” aiming to silence scholars who challenge established power.
Pope tells Erdogan two-state solution ‘only’ path forward in Middle East
Following a visit in Turkey last week, Pope Leo XIV said that he had spoken with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan about their shared support for a two-state solution, which Leo called the “only solution” to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Leo’s comments to reporters Sunday came while he traveled from Turkey to Lebanon on the papal plane as part of his first international tour since being elected to the papacy in May.

During his address, Leo thanked Erdogan, who has consistently voiced support for Hamas and fostered hostile relations with Israel, for helping coordinate the trip and for hosting him on his personal helicopter.

Asked by a reporter whether he had spoken with Erdogan about the conflict in Gaza, Leo said that the Turkish leader was “certainly in agreement” about the proposal for a two-state solution, adding that he believed that Turkey has an “important role that it could play in all of this.”

Leo also said that he hoped to play a “mediating role” in the conflict and criticised Israel for rejecting a two-state solution. (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long rejected Palestinian statehood, and the U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas does not include provisions for a Palestinian state, though it positions itself as part of a roadmap to statehood.

“We all know that at present Israel still does not accept this solution, but we see it is the only solution that could offer, let us say, an answer to the conflict they continue to live,” Leo said in Italian to reporters. “We are also friends of Israel, and we are trying to act as a mediating voice for both sides, helping to bring about a solution that is fair for everyone.”
Eurovision gears up for ‘watershed’ vote on Israel participation amid boycott calls
The Eurovision Song Contest faces a “watershed moment” on Thursday when members of the body that organizes the contest may vote on whether Israel can compete in 2026, with some nations threatening to withdraw if it is not excluded due to the Gaza war.

European Broadcasting Union members will convene to discuss new rules designed to prevent governments and third parties from disproportionately promoting songs to influence voters after controversy following this year’s competition in Switzerland, where Israel’s Yuval Raphael ran away with the popular vote and finished second overall.

The voting changes, aimed at appeasing some angry member states, are yet another sign indicating the European Broadcasting Union is leaning toward allowing Israel to remain in the competition, after it scrapped a vote planned for this month on the issue.

If members are not convinced the rules are adequate, there will be a vote on participation, the EBU said, without naming Israel specifically.

Public broadcasters from Slovenia, Ireland, Spain and the Netherlands have all threatened to boycott the event, scheduled for May in Austria, if Israel is allowed to take part, citing concern over the humanitarian situation in Gaza amid Israel’s war against Hamas.

The controversy over Israel’s participation heavily overshadowed the 2023 and 2024 Eurovision contests, with most international media coverage of those competitions focusing on the efforts to bar Jerusalem.
CNN To Sponsor Qatar’s 'Doha Forum' Featuring Lineup of America- and Israel-Bashing Arab Officials
Less than a year after opening a Qatari bureau underwritten by the sheikhs in Doha, CNN will co-sponsor a Qatari government confab next week featuring a slew of Israel-bashing Arab officials and spokesmen for America’s enemies.

The Doha Forum is an annual event that claims to bring together foreign leaders to discuss the Middle East and spotlight Qatar's "well-intentioned" diplomatic efforts. Its theme—"Justice in Action: Beyond Promises to Progress"—reflects the forum's "mission to foster meaningful dialogue," according to its executive director, Qatari foreign affairs ministry official Mubarak Ajlan Al-Kuwari. Such dialogue does not include criticism of the Qatari regime or flag, which is criminalized in the Gulf state, as is any online content the regime considers harmful. A Jordanian media manager for Qatar's 2022 World Cup, for example, was sentenced to five years in prison for voicing concern over the regime's treatment of migrant workers.

The forum’s speakers include Qatari prime minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, who has condemned Arab states that normalize relations with Israel. He will be interviewed by CNN correspondent Christiane Amanpour, who said in October that Israeli hostages tortured by Hamas were likely treated better than the average Gazan. Other speakers include Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif; a Saudi professor and "specialist of Saudi-Israel relations," Abdulaziz Aluwaisheg, who has accused the Jewish state of attempting to "ethnically cleanse" Gazans; Palestinian parliament member Mustafa Barghouti, who has accused Israel of carrying out a "huge genocide" in Gaza; a former U.N. official and "respected public international lawyer" Mona Ali Khalil, who has accused Israel of "xenophobic and racial discrimination amounting to apartheid." CNN's United Arab Emirates-based correspondent, Eleni Giokos, will lead a panel on "Global Trade Tensions" sponsored by Qatar's Ministry of Finance.

Those officials will take the Doha Forum stage for Israel-focused panels like "Iran and the Changing Regional Security Environment," which is slated to feature Zarif. A summary of the panel asserts that Israel "initiated a war against Iran" when it attacked the country’s nuclear facilities in June, with America’s assistance, describing the 12-day war as an "unprecedented event" that "shattered the regional balance and compelled nations to rethink their security strategies." It does not mention Iran's proxies Hamas and Hezbollah, which have carried out relentless attacks on Israeli civilians.

CNN's sponsorship of the forum comes as the left-wing network plants its flag in Qatar. It announced an expansion to the Hamas-friendly Gulf monarchy in February, establishing an office in Doha's Media City, where Qatar has provided tens of millions of dollars to incentivize media companies to establish operations there.
I was at the Oxford Union’s latest Israel debate – they haven’t learnt their lesson
On 13 November, the Oxford Union debated the motion “This House Believes that Israel is a greater threat to regional stability than Iran”. Three of the scheduled speakers, including Norman Finkelstein, did not attend- as is customary for the Union. Some students worried that the debate would echo the chaos of November 2024. Others, I’m sure, hoped it would.

The chairman of the committee of the Oxford Union opened for the proposition. In an effort to establish a good-faith basis, he bravely prefaced his argument by stating his respect for the state of Israel- only to be met with a barrage of boos. The crux of this debate was then revealed: although the Union can try and tame the institutional antisemitism that brews within, they are powerless against the restless rows of students that sit before them.

Indeed, in stark contrast to the November 2024 debate, Union leaders seemed to have made an active effort to limit the anti-Israel spiral that had previously unfolded. In the face of expensive legal fees, international criticism, and even a police investigation, it would be difficult for the Union to continue to allow such explicit antisemitic rhetoric. This pressure allowed for careful boundary setting within the Union. There was an overall level of calmness maintained in the first half of the debate.

Mohammad Shtayyeh, the first guest speaker to argue for the proposition, was in no way incentivised to show similar tact. Shtayyeh was Palestinian Authority Prime Minister from 2019 to 2024, a current Fatah member and ally of Mahmoud Abbas. “Israel is an expansionist colonial state” he shouted; and would continue to claim throughout his speech. Without a doubt aware of the willingness of his audience to believe any conspiracy against Israel, he labelled the country a “theocratic” state. Even so far as claiming that the “most important doctrine for the destabilisation of the region” was Greater Israel. Such claims are not only disappointing, but dangerous. It’s not only academic integrity at stake here. With every creative phrase painting a false picture of Israel, Shtayyeh sentences our Jewish and Israeli students to further marginalisation. Many will continue to hide their heritage upon witnessing the demonisation of their identity on such a wide platform. Particularly when such demonisation is received so eagerly by the Oxford student body, who exalt Shtayyeh as a visionary.

Upon claiming that “Israel designed its policy on the basis of racial discrimination”, Shtayyeh pointed to Mizrahi and Ethiopian Jews as victims of such discrimination. This is a strategic weaponization of many in the West’s ignorance of Israel’s rich diversity. It perpetuates the antisemitic myth that Israel, and the nation it represents, is a European one. Indeed, to recognise the reality of Mizrahi and Ethiopian Jewish communities would be to acknowledge the fundamental need for Israel’s existence.

Throughout his bitter ramblings against the state of Israel, Shtayyeh never actually addressed the debate motion. Iran, its crimes and cruelty, were neglected in his speech.
The Other Side of the Coin: Anti-Semitism in Sports
In a Europe grappling with a surge in hate, Bratislava has emerged as an unexpected yet powerful platform for a long-overdue dialogue. From November 25 to 26, the Slovak capital hosted a groundbreaking international event called “The Other Side of the Coin: Antisemitism in Sports.” This was the first conference of its kind on the continent—timely, well-attended, and rooted in the understanding that one of the world’s most beloved arenas of fairness and unity is no longer shielded from the damaging effects of antisemitism.

The event, the only one of its kind on the European continent, filled the conference room of the Hotel Tatra and was part of the third year of the Festival of Jewish Culture MAZEL TOV.

The opening day alone attracted over 50 participants from Ukraine, Slovakia, the United States, Israel, Germany, Hungary, and beyond. The bustling hall at Hotel Tatra was more than just a venue; it was a clear indication of how deeply this issue resonates, reaching far beyond the realm of sports.

The conference was supported by the Ambassador of the United States of America Gautam Rana and Ambassador of the State of Israel Eitan Levon with their personal participation, emphasizing the seriousness and relevance of the topic of antisemitism not only in sports. The official representatives of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Embassy of Ukraine in Slovakia also attended.
Dublin’s anti-Israel war on history at Herzog Park may end up with Ireland losing
The urge to tear down statues and strip names from public buildings has always seemed to me an imperial one. To enter that foreign country we call the past and sit in judgment on the dead is a form of adventurism that makes the mere conquest of space look pedestrian by comparison. It’s unlikely the members of Dublin city council view themselves in colonial terms. But then again, when, to borrow a phrase from a Mitchell and Webb sketch, has anyone in a rainbow lanyard ever paused to ask: “Are we the baddies?”

The council’s proposal to rename Herzog Park – named after Chaim Herzog, the Irish-born former president of Israel – to something more supportive of Palestine (with “Free Palestine Park” floated as one option) prompted international criticism, and has elicited blushes even from Irish ministers who are usually frosty towards Israel.

The Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, seemed to grasp the optics of posthumously unpersoning an Irish Jew for the actions of the current Israeli government. “The proposal is a denial of our history and will without any doubt be seen as antisemitic,” he said, calling for it to be scrapped.

Even if the proposal was not conceived to wound Ireland’s small Jewish community, it was at least strikingly indifferent to how they might perceive it. Rathgar, where Herzog Park sits, is home to a sizeable Jewish population and is close to the city’s only Jewish school. The park matters to Dublin’s Jews and to the city’s history, not least because Herzog, who grew up nearby, is one of Ireland’s most accomplished sons.

The Herzog family are as close as Israel comes to royalty, and their Irishness was not incidental to their political ascent. Chaim’s father, Rabbi Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog, was the first chief rabbi of Ireland and enjoyed the confidence of Eamon de Valera. He was known as “the Sinn Féin Rebbe” for his support of Irish republicanism, elements of which he helped transmit – both good and bad – to British-run Palestine when he became chief rabbi there in the 1930s.

This was far from the only cross-pollination between Irish and Jewish nationalism, an awkward inheritance for modern Irish republicans whose heroes helped inspire the founding of the very state many of them now feel has no right to exist. In the 1940s, Yitzak Shamir adopted “Michael” as a nom de guerre in honour of Michael Collins, while Avram Stern, founder of the Irgun Zionist militia, translated a 1924 book titled The Victory of Sinn Féin into Hebrew.

Whatever one thinks of Sinn Féin or the Irgun, both of which employed lamentable terrorist tactics, it requires a certain childishness to judge historical actors solely by contemporary sensibilities. Irish republicans happily grant themselves that latitude when discussing their own past, and even the violence of Hamas, yet extend little of it to Israel.

To deny it to Chaim Herzog, who took pride in his Irish roots and lived an unquestionably accomplished life, is particularly small-minded. He served in both the Haganah, the Jewish militia that became the Israel Defence Force, and the British Army. He founded a law firm that became the largest in Israel before entering politics and eventually becoming the country’s president, where he remained a political moderate and consistently advocated for a two state solution.
‘You cannot deceive the world’: Sa’ar, Irish ambassador spar at Foreign Ministry event
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and Irish Ambassador Sonya McGuinness on Tuesday engaged in a public argument at a Foreign Ministry event over the Dublin City Council’s now-shelved campaign to rename a city park named for Israel’s sixth president, Irish-born Chaim Herzog.

In a question to Sa’ar at an event for honorary consuls-general, McGuinness said that the fight against antisemitism must be “carefully managed and not used for political gain.”

“Don’t you think facts are important?” she asked, apparently taking issue with Sa’ar’s characterization of the fight over the park’s name. The foreign minister on Saturday cast the plans as a result of Ireland’s “antisemitic and anti-Israeli obsession.”

Sa’ar responded by saying that Dublin only acted once they had been publicly accused of antisemite and trying to erase the country’s Jewish history.

“Tell me, please, why it was published on Friday, this antisemitic proposed decision of the City Council of Dublin, and nothing happened until Saturday, when I attacked that, and the president of the State of Israel attacked it?” he responded, referring to Chaim Herzog’s son, President Isaac Herzog. “And only then your foreign minister and your prime minister woke up.”

“There is nothing in your system right now that can defend you from that virus of antisemitism,” he continued, “except external pressure and exposing the antisemitic nature of this government.”

“We will continue to expose you until you understand that you cannot deceive the world,” Sa’ar concluded.


Dublin city councilors accuse ‘Zionist lobby’ of quashing proposal to rename Herzog Park
Dublin’s City Council was divided Monday night over a proposal to postpone voting on stripping the name of an Irish-born Israeli president from a city park, with dozens of members voting to move forward with the controversial renaming.

The council ultimately voted to send the “denaming” proposal for Herzog Park back to a planning committee, but not before council members spent more than an hour commenting on the proposal and the outcry it drew from Irish, Israeli and Jewish leaders.

Several criticized Israel and said they wanted to see the park named for an Irish Jew whose contributions came at home. Some denounced the “Zionist lobby” and “Israeli lobby” for intervening in the renaming effort.

Pat Dunne, of the United Left party, told chief executive Richard Shakespeare, who proposed postponing the vote on procedural grounds, that he believed the Israeli army was responsible for the outcry. The meeting was livestreamed.

“I’m further convinced that whatever phone calls were made to our CEO and to other officials probably emanated from Israeli intelligence attached to the Israeli Defense Force [sic] because they’re active in every issue in relation to Palestine,” Dunne said. “Trace it all the way back, Richard, and you’ll find that’s the source.”

About criticism of the renaming plan from the Irish president and foreign minister, another council member, Cieran Perry, said, “The optics will appear to show these senior Irish politicians carrying out the instructions of the Israeli lobby, and it’s very hard to argue with a view when we see the actual result.”

Ciarán Ó Meachair accused Herzog of having “raped, murdered and pillaged innocent civilians” and said he would continue to press for a renaming, suggesting the British Jewish communist politician Max Levitas, who died in 2018.


UK police used fake evidence to justify ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans, chief admits
The UK’s West Midlands Police used fictitious evidence to justify its advice to ban Israeli fans of the Maccabi Tel Aviv soccer team from attending a match in Birmingham last month, the force’s chief admitted to a parliamentary committee Monday, as MPs grilled police brass on the basis of their controversial decision.

The Aston Villa soccer club announced in October that no Maccabi fans would be allowed at a November match following a police assessment that classified the event as “high risk” and suggested banning Israeli fans from the stadium.

In the report presented to the club that suggested banning Israeli fans, police presented information about a 2023 match between Maccabi and West Ham, which the report said was the Israeli club’s “last appearance on UK soil to date.”

“The most recent match Maccabi played in the UK was against West Ham in the Europa Conference League on Nov 9, 2023,” the report read.

However, no such match was played, and Maccabi has never faced off against the East London club.

When grilled about the fact that this fictitious match was included in his force’s report, Chief Constable Craig Guildford admitted to the Home Affairs Committee that such an event “didn’t happen.”

“West Ham have never played Tel Aviv. On that day, West Ham played Olympiacos of Greece and beat them one-nil,” Guilford told the parliamentary committee.


Harvard ‘blacklisted’ Jewish students from event, court documents allege
Harvard University administrators “blacklisted” Jewish students, whom it deemed “protesters” rather than “peaceful,” from an event in November 2023, according to documents filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

The document, which a lawyer for one of the students filed on Nov. 17, opposed Harvard’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed in July. The suit alleges that anti-Israel protesters attacked Yoav Segev, who recently graduated from Harvard, on Oct. 18, 2023—not even two weeks after Oct. 7.

Per the suit, Segev, who was then a Harvard student, was targeted for being Jewish. The university continued to victimize Segev by obstructing investigations into the matter and rewarding his alleged attackers, the suit alleges.

Segev’s lawyer alleges that when the student tried to register for the November 2023 event, Harvard staff at the registration table had separate lists for Jewish students who were “protesters” or “peaceful.”

“Harvard administrators told Mr. Segev and others who objected to Jewish blacklisting that it was ‘not a big deal,’” the filing alleges. (JNS sought comment from the university.)

“No one doubts for a second that Harvard would have taken swift, aggressive and public action to enforce its policies had the victim been one of Harvard’s ‘favored’ minorities,” the filing alleges.

JNS asked Mark Pinkert, a partner at Holtzman Vogel representing Segev, if there is documentation of the alleged lists of “peaceful” and “protesting” Jews. “We can’t share more than the public filings,” Pinkert said, of the ongoing lawsuit.


Two Jerusalem Arabs sentenced for bomb plot near Knesset
A Jerusalem court sentenced two eastern Jerusalem residents to prison on Tuesday for plotting a bombing attack near the Knesset, according to the State Prosecutor’s Office.

Mustafa Abd Al-Nabi received a 12-year sentence, while Ahmad Natasha was sentenced to five years, plus a suspended term.

The Jerusalem District Court convicted the men of planning the terror attack near Israel’s parliament building.

Israeli security forces recently broke up a major Hamas terror network in the Judean city of Bethlehem, including a cell in the advanced stages of preparing an attack. Over 50 operatives were arrested and weapons confiscated in more than 15 separate operations.


Jewish groups decry two years probation for man who attacked Jewish students in Chicago
The two years of probation that Adam Erkan, 20, received for attacking two Jewish DePaul University students in Chicago is “regrettable” and a “profound failure,” Jewish groups in the city told JNS.

“When a convicted attacker walks away with probation and community service after admitting to a targeted assault, it signals that violence against Jews does not carry serious consequences in this city,” Daniel Schwartz, president and co-founder of the Chicago Jewish Alliance, told JNS.

“What happened inside the courtroom is a profound failure,” he said. “That message is dangerous, far beyond one campus.” (JNS sought comment from the Cook County state’s attorney’s office.)

“The guilty plea acknowledges what happened,” but “the sentence fails to match the gravity of the crime,” Schwartz said.

“Chicago cannot claim to care about equity or safety while treating violence against Jews as a low-priority offense,” he told JNS. “Targeted violence must carry meaningful consequences if Jewish people in this city are to believe they are protected.”

Jay Tcath, executive vice president of the Jewish United Fund, told JNS that it is “regrettable that a plea was accepted for punishment so far short of the maximum possible penalties,” even though it is important that Erkan pleaded guilty and that he served more than 200 days in custody.

“We have shared these concerns with the state’s attorney’s office,” he said.

Erkan pleaded guilty to battery and causing bodily harm on Tuesday and was sentenced to two years probation and 100 hours of community service, according to ABC7 Chicago. A second attacker has yet to be caught.

Michael Kaminsky and Max Long, both of whom are Jewish, were attacked by two masked assailants in November 2024. Kaminsky sustained a wrist injury that required surgery and Long suffered a concussion.
Israeli assaulted in Kathmandu
An Israeli tourist was attacked in the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu on Monday night by a group of local men, apparently because they heard him speaking Hebrew, Ynet reported on Tuesday.

Almog Armoza, 25, told the Hebrew outlet he had been walking to his hostel, which is often frequented by Israeli visitors to Kathmandu, when a group of unknown men struck him from behind with an iron rod.

“If I hadn’t managed to run, there’s a good chance I wouldn’t be alive today,” he said. “If the first blow had knocked me out, it could have ended differently.”

Armoza said he had been recording a voice message in Hebrew when he was ambushed. “They came from behind. There were a few seconds between the first hit and the second because they thought I would collapse. I turned around and saw three to five people. One grabbed my jacket and another hit me again, opening my head,” he told Ynet.

The victim managed to kick one attacker, and ran some 500 feet toward the hostel. “They chased me, but when they saw I was getting close to the entrance, where there is security, they ran off,” he said.

He was evacuated to a hospital after alerting local police. “I probably lost a liter of blood,” Armoza told Ynet. “They stitched me up and did an MRI.”

Armoza said he did not believe the attack was an attempted robbery. “My phone was in my hand and they didn’t go for it,” he said. “I have traveled the world for three years. This isn’t how robberies are done.”

“The level of violence was meant to kill,” concluded Armoza, who missed his flight back to Israel due to his hospitalization.
Grandma charged over anti-Israel graffiti after string of incidents in Sydney's eastern suburbs
Police have charged a 71-year-old grandmother over a string of anti-Israel graffiti incidents in Sydney's eastern suburbs.

Sky News can exclusively reveal that on Tuesday evening, around 6.45pm, NSW Police visited the home of Rose Bay acupuncturist, Shona Barker, charging her with six graffiti offences.

The charges include four counts of intentionally mark premises without consent - aggravated, and two counts of intentionally mark premises without prescribed consent.

Ms Barker was issued a court attendance notice to appear before Downing Centre Local Court on Friday, January 16, 2026.

The grandmother is accused of being behind a wave of graffiti attacks that have defaced public property, real estate signs and residential buildings over a six-month period.

The charges tonight come after a dramatic few days - and it’s all thanks to the ingenuity of the local community.

Frustrated by the ongoing attacks, local Jewish residents set up discreet surveillance cameras and quietly gathered evidence - determined to uncover whoever was responsible.

It was only through their undercover detective work, over a three-month period, that the mystery was cracked.

The residents first captured the alleged culprit on camera in August, after setting up a motion-activated camera overnight at a position where there had been repeated vandalism.

"We decided to take matters into our own hands so little by little we worked out predictable patterns of where and when, and we thought if we can identify her and maybe film her doing it we can present that to the police and they can help make it stop,” one local said.
Hungary raises flag over new embassy branch in Jerusalem
Hungary, one of Israel’s closest allies in Europe, raises its flag over a new embassy branch it is opening in Jerusalem.

The Hungarian Academy in Jerusalem, a cultural center located next to the YMCA in Jerusalem’s Talbiyeh neighborhood, will officially open its doors early next year, Hungary’s Embassy tells The Times of Israel. The director will arrive in January.

The Czech Republic has an embassy branch facing Hungary’s new cultural center, and Slovakia has one down the street.

Hungary has operated a trade office in Jerusalem since 2019. Its primary embassy branch is in Tel Aviv.

Seven countries have embassies in Jerusalem: The US, Guatemala, Honduras, Kosovo, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay and Fiji. Other countries’ embassies are located in Tel Aviv.


Thailand Buys Israel's Barak Air Defense System
The Royal Thai Air Force has selected the Barak MX air and missile defense system from Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) as part of its plan to upgrade national base protection.

It would become the most advanced air defense asset in Thailand's arsenal.

Thailand's decision comes amid growing regional concerns. Neighboring states such as Cambodia and Myanmar are fielding long-range strike assets including China's PHL-03 rocket systems and North Korea's Scud-class ballistic missiles.

The proliferation of UAVs, loitering munitions, and cruise missiles further increases the need for reliable intercept solutions.
India to Procure More Israeli Drones
India has initiated the procurement of more Israeli Heron MK-II drones, developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), according to sources in the Israeli defense industry.

Discussions are also now underway to manufacture the advanced UAV in India.

Heron drones are primarily deployed for long-range surveillance on both the Chinese and Pakistani frontiers and have proven highly effective.
Bakery chain Gail’s rises above anti-Zionist activists with sales of £278m
Bakery chain Gail’s appears to have risen above calls for boycotts from anti-Israel activists, enjoying an annual sales increase of almost 20 per cent and plans for dozens of new openings.

Founded in 2005 by Israeli baker Yael (Gail) Mejia, the upmarket bakery chain operates from 185 sites, with the vast majority based in London. Following the breakout of the Israel-Hamas war, Gail’s became the target of anti-Zionist activists who threatened boycotts, along with many who objected to its presence on their high streets on the grounds of gentrification. Meija no longer has any financial involvement in the company.

But Gail’s appears to have risen above the calls for boycotts from vocal anti-Israel campaigners judging by its latest annual figures. Sales rocketed from £232 million at the end of February 2024 to £278m at the same time last year – an increase of nearly 20 per cent, according to financial results filed at Companies House.

The chain opened 36 new branches nationwide in the financial year to 2025, and is due to establish a further 40 by February 2026.

Last summer, hundreds of people signed a petition objecting to the opening of a Gail’s in an east London neighbourhood, with several citing the bakery’s “Zionist” credentials as a reason for their opposition.

Over 1,800 people signed the petition, which claimed Walthamstow Village High Street "faces a threat to its uniqueness with the prospect of Gail’s, a large-scale bakery chain, setting up shop on it.”

The petition stated it was “protecting the unique identity of our community [and] safeguarding the soul of a beloved neighbourhood”.

But some signatories’ comments suggested it was the bakery’s Israeli roots to which they objected.

One supporter wrote on the online petition: “Love local independent bakeries and hate Zionist moguls.”

The business said in a statement released at the time: “Gail’s is a UK-based business with no specific connections to any country or government outside of the UK and does not fund Israel.”

Its most recent accounts state: “Over the year, trading was strong with the group opening 36 new retail bakeries and continuing to see healthy growth in our established locations.




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