Thursday, January 08, 2026

01/08 Links Pt2: Australia must answer this question before it investigates Bondi; Hamas document casts shadow over former EU envoy’s role in Gaza; Georgetown Taps Hamas Apologist Mehdi Hasan as Visiting Fellow

From Ian:

Hamas document casts shadow over former EU envoy’s role in Gaza
In the document, dated 28 September 2021, officials from Gaza’s Hamas-run interior ministry describe Kühn von Burgsdorff as “a professional figure” who “strongly supports and sympathises with the Palestinians”.

“He is demanding [that the EU] open official channels to engage with Hamas, but the public policy of the EU dismisses this,” the document states.

At the same time, Hamas officials acknowledge that the envoy’s stance did not reflect the EU’s institutional position and could change with his departure.

“The positive approach and inclinations of the EU representative to the Palestinian territories and his sympathy with the Palestinian cause are a personal approach, and this might change when the current EU representative changes, since the European position is committed to the red lines of American policies,” the document reads.

Asked about Hamas’ assessment of his conduct, Kühn von Burgsdorff told Euractiv that he acted fully within his mandate.

“I have defended the internationally enshrined right to self-determination of the Palestinian people in full compliance with and implementation of applicable EU policy,” he said.

He added that he consistently represented Brussels’ official position. “At no point have I made public statements that contradicted the EU’s officially adopted policy towards Israel and Palestine,” he said.

Last year, Kühn von Burgsdorff contributed two op-eds to Euractiv on the Gaza conflict, including one under the headline “The EU’s moral collapse”.

‘Jerusalemite martyrs’

The Hamas report also claims that Kühn von Burgsdorff was “hated by both the Israeli occupation and the Palestinian Authority” due to his solidarity with “Jerusalemite martyrs” whose homes were demolished, and his expressions of sympathy following the death in custody of Nizar Banat, a Palestinian activist and critic of the Palestinian Authority.

The document recommends strengthening coordination and communication between the EU and “Palestinian political, governmental and [Hamas] movement parties”.

Olga Deutsch, vice-president of NGO Monitor, said the documents confirm that Kühn von Burgsdorff “actively worked to undermine official EU anti-terror vetting policies”.

“It is deeply troubling to see a senior EU diplomat engage in open, ideological political advocacy, particularly when it serves an EU-designated terror group,” Deutsch told Euractiv. “In Hamas’ own words, he even ‘demanded’ the opening of official EU channels to engage with a proscribed terror organisation – an appalling subversion of EU regulations and a blatant contradiction of the Union’s public policy.”

She added that the EU must significantly strengthen its internal controls and vetting mechanisms. “How can the EU guarantee that its grantees are not engaging in terror glorification if it cannot even vouch for its own diplomats?” she said.
Amnesty International Refuses to Admit That Hamas Wants to Kill All Jews and Annihilate Israel
In its nearly 200-page report on the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, “Targeting Civilians: Murder, Hostage-Taking and Other Violations by Palestinian Armed Groups in Israel and Gaza,” Amnesty International omitted years of statements by Hamas leaders and language from its charter demonstrating genocidal intent against Jews.

This omission renders Amnesty’s account of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack fundamentally flawed — because it disregards strong evidence of Hamas’ genocidal intent and distorts both the nature of the massacre and Israel’s response.

According to the former Deputy Director of Amnesty’s now defunct Israel branch, Yariv Mohar, this report on Hamas’ attack was delayed by eight months. It had already been nearly finalized by the same time the organization released its December 2024 report, titled, “‘You Feel Like You Are Subhuman’: Israel’s Genocide Against Palestinians in Gaza.”

The organization, according to Mohar, told Israeli staff that the two reports would be published within weeks of one another.

According to Mohar, Amnesty delayed the Hamas report to keep the focus on Gaza, fearing that highlighting Hamas’ atrocities would undermine efforts to end the war. Mohar added that this was driven by a belief that Western audiences prefer a simplified moral narrative, and also because of Amnesty’s fear of backlash from its ultra-radical activist base.

Notably, the non-profit’s substantially longer Gaza report in 2024 used several out-of-context and debunked quotes by Israeli leaders to portray them as having genocidal intent.

Conversely, Amnesty’s treatment of Hamas sharply downplays the terror group’s own explicit ideology and objectives.

Hamas’ charter calls for the complete destruction of Israel as a condition for the liberation of Palestine, achieved through holy war (jihad). The charter specifically states that Hamas’ “struggle” is “against the Jews.”
Press Emblem Campaign Is the Latest Press Rights Org to Count Terrorists as Journalists
Since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war in 2023, the purportedly high number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces has been a consistent focus of mainstream media, social media pundits, and rights organizations.

At HonestReporting, we have been tracking this trend, noting that studies conducted by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on journalists killed in Gaza include a significant number of Palestinians who are affiliated with Hamas, Islamic Jihad, or other Gaza-based terror groups. This affiliation takes the form of serving in a military capacity on behalf of these terror groups, working for media organizations owned and operated by the terror groups, and spreading propaganda on their behalf.

Now we can add another press freedom organization to the ranks of those that whitewash terror-affiliated journalists and diminish the integrity of journalism in the Gaza Strip.

The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC), a Geneva-based organization that “aims at strengthening the legal protection and safety of journalists in zones of conflict and civil unrest or in dangerous missions,” has released its end-of-the-year statistics on journalists killed around the world in 2025.

According to the PEC, almost half the journalists killed in 2025 were killed in the Gaza Strip. However, a closer look at the 60 journalists reportedly killed in Gaza named by the PEC, 23 (roughly 38%) have some form of affiliation with Palestinian terror groups, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

Among these 23 terror-affiliated journalists are nine who are alleged to have been terror operatives active in the Gaza Strip, 13 who worked for terror-affiliated media organizations, and one who served as a terror propagandist.


Australia must answer this question before it investigates Bondi
The Australian Government has just announced it will hold a Royal Commission in response to the Bondi terrorist attack. Jewish Australians are being encouraged to see this as a serious step.

Before anything moves forward, before terms of reference are drafted, before scope or timeframes are agreed, Jewish organizations need to insist on one thing. Without it, any Royal Commission risks being structurally incapable of addressing the problem it is meant to examine.

In Australia today, contemporary Jew-hatred most commonly presents as anti-Zionism. It involves the targeting, delegitimization and collective vilification of Jews through hostility to Israel’s right to exist.

This is no longer marginal. Slogans such as “from the river to the sea,” which explicitly call for the destruction of the Jewish state, are now commonplace at protests, on campuses, in workplaces and online. These are not abstract political critiques. They are eliminationist demands, and Jewish communities experience them as such.

The Bondi attack did not occur in isolation. It followed years in which this form of hostility has been normalized and left largely unaddressed. That failure makes one question unavoidable: whether Australian law even recognizes this form of discrimination.

Before agreeing to participate in, endorse, or legitimize any Royal Commission, Jewish organizations should require the Australian Government to seek and publish a clear answer from the Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commissions, at both state and federal level, to a simple question:

Is Zionism a protected attribute under Australian anti-discrimination and equal opportunity law?

This is not a technical detail to be resolved later. It is the threshold issue.

If Zionism is a protected attribute, because it is central to Jewish identity for most Jews, then existing laws are not being enforced. Discrimination is occurring openly across universities, healthcare, unions, professional bodies and other public institutions.

If Zionism is not protected, then Jewish Australians are being told that a core part of their identity falls outside legal protection altogether.

Either conclusion carries serious consequences. Proceeding to create terms of reference without clarity avoids them.

An inquiry cannot meaningfully assess institutional failure if it has not first established whether the harm being experienced is even recognized in law.
Joshua Namm: “Never Again” Vs. “Here We Go Again”: The Choice Is Ours
In fact, one of shooters (who were a father and son) at Bondi was flagged by the Australian government as an adherent of ISIS. Knowing that, they allowed him to stay in the country and allowed his father to own several firearms in a country known for its ridiculously strict gun control laws. Possibly, because some government official feared being called “Islamophobic” rather than not issue the permits.

That is insanity.

And there is another dark scenario. As Joshua Hoffman (of the excellent Substack “Future Of Jewish”) recently pointed out:
“Since October 7th, the Australian government has both implicitly and explicitly sided with Hamas, elevated “Islamophobia” to a central political talking point despite the absence of any serious threat to Australian Muslims, and repeatedly ignored credible threats and actual violence directed at Jews, Jewish communities, and Jewish institutions….According to a senior Israeli intelligence official, Israel’s foreign intelligence service provided Australian authorities with concrete warnings well before the Bondi Beach attack. These warnings concerned what the official described as Iranian-directed terror activity operating inside Australia.”

Incredibly, while they claimed that the father and son terrorist team had pipe bombs, and ISIS flag in their car, no proof of such a discovery was ever provided

The contention being that Iran was behind the Bondi Beach massacre, and that the Australian government covered for Iran. It would have seemed totally absurd to me two years ago. Now it makes total sense. Israel dismantled Iran’s ability to wage real war, so it makes sense that it is using proxies in the West, just as it has in Israel for decades, to wage war on the West. Australia may very well have been protecting Iran from consequences that its leftist government finds distasteful.

Australia’s principal reaction was, of course, to blame the guns in addition to ISIS. Every attack on a Jew is initially blamed on anything other than antisemitism, and not only in Australia, but all over the world.

The other culprit in this is the media, who also love nothing more than corroborating the “anything but the Jews” narratives.

Immediately after Bondi, the media tried framing it vaguely as “violence” or some kind of “public safety” issue. Despite the fact that it happened to Jews, at a Chabad event, celebrating Chanukah.

Of course the usual chorus of imbecilic celebrities also chimed in demanding stricter gun control instead of condemning Jew-hatred. Imagine their behavior if the attack was on gays, blacks, transgender people, Asians, or members of the Northern Senegalese albino transgender left-handed blind street musician community – they always rally behind their favored groups, and Jews are NEVER part of that equation.

After the media began (because it had no choice at that point) to acknowledge that the attack was specifically on Jews and that the attackers were (SHOCK) Arab-Muslims, their response was to overtly humanize the terrorists who carried out the attack. Newsweek’s headline is typical, but only one example of many: “Mom of Bondi terror attack suspect says he was a ‘good boy.’”

It can make you sick.

But don’t be sick! Be brave! Be proud of being a Jew! They always underestimate our massive resolve and still don’t get that attacking us on our holidays only reminds us (once again) of who we really are. An attack on Chanukah is especially ironic given that the message IS: We are a G-dly nation of warriors (both spiritually and physically) who love peace, but are more than capable of incredible resolve, resilience, and courage: and we can only be pushed so far.

Let’s choose “never again” because “here we go again” is deadly...and emotionally exhausting.

Never be afraid. Never give up.


Bondi Hero Gefen Bitton Cleared for Medical Flight to Israel After Indonesian Delay
Gefen Bitton, the Israeli national hailed as a hero for confronting a gunman during the deadly Bondi Beach Hanukkah massacre last month, has been cleared to fly home to Israel for specialized medical treatment following a brief diplomatic holdup with Indonesian authorities.

The 34-year-old Bitton, who was critically wounded in the December 14, 2025, antisemitic terror attack that claimed 15 lives, had been scheduled to depart Sydney on a humanitarian medical flight organized by Jewish organizations early Thursday morning.

However, the flight was stalled when Indonesian officials withheld clearance for the aircraft to traverse their airspace, leaving Bitton in what advocates described as "limbo."

Australian officials attributed the holdup to a paperwork issue, and after diplomatic efforts, Indonesian approval was granted Thursday afternoon, allowing the flight to proceed.

Bitton, whose condition has improved but remains serious, is en route to Israel for further rehabilitation, having been visited in the hospital by Albanese earlier this week.

Bitton's heroism during the attack, where he attempted to stop one of the assailants, has been widely recognized. On January 7, he was granted permanent Australian residency while recovering, providing him access to Medicare and the right to live and work in the country.


‘Catastrophically mismanaged’: Jewish leaders fume at Bondi Commissioner pick
Jewish community leaders are quietly fuming over Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's decision to appoint former High Court justice Virginia Bell to lead the Commonwealth Royal Commission into the Bondi terror attack.

After weeks of resisting calls from community leaders, victims' families, law enforcement and security experts, and luminaries from the worlds of business and sport, Mr Albanese on Thursday performed a major U-turn and announced a federal inquiry into the tragedy which claimed 15 innocent lives.

The Prime Minister insisted he had been "listening to the calls" for a royal commission, claiming his hesitancy to announce a probe simply reflected a desire to choose "the course of action that will make a positive difference".

Mr Albanese also confirmed Ms Bell would head the inquiry, following revelations on Wednesday evening the former High Court justice was his preferred choice.

News of her likely appointment was greeted with strong criticism from some Jewish leaders and prominent community members.

Former treasurer Josh Frydenberg was scathing, declaring it was "unthinkable" Mr Albanese would appoint a candidate who did not enjoy the complete backing of the Jewish community.
‘You are weak’: Albanese blasted for causing victims ‘further grief’ in Royal Commission row
Anthony Albanese has been brutally grilled on whether he is a "weak leader" following his decision to call a Royal Commission into the Bondi attack after caving to public pressure.

The Prime Minister announced the Royal Commission on Thursday, 25 days after the horrific shooting on December 14 last year in which 15 people were gunned down while celebrating a Hanukkah event at the iconic Australian landmark.

Mr Albanese joined ABC'S 7.30 show on Thursday night to discuss the decision and was questioned by host Michael Rowland on whether he felt responsible for causing "further grief" to the victims after resisting public pressure for more than three weeks.

The host asked whether he was "worried people will see you as a weak leader, following rather than leading".

Mr Albanese hit back and said he had spoken with the families and other community leaders in the lead-up to making the decision.

He argued that "what people want in their leader is someone who will listen and adjust positions" based on these types of discussions with the people of Australia.

"In a great democracy, we want to hear from people. We want people to participate... people expressing their views is a good thing," he continued.

"Governments should be open to listening and we have done that. We've also done it in a way which makes sure that what we're not doing is deferring action."
‘Inexplicable obstinacy’: Public advocacy pushing Albanese to ‘see the light’
Liberal Senator Dave Sharma says he’s “encouraged” by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese appearing to “see the light” on a Bondi attack Royal Commission.

“I’ve been pleased to see some movement by the Prime Minister towards a Royal Commission after some inexplicable obstinacy,”

“I think it’s unfortunate that the family members of victims… have had to engage in an open and public advocacy campaign for the Prime Minister to see the light.”


Adelaide Writers’ Week drops Palestinian author Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah after Bondi tragedy, cites ‘ culturally sensitive’ concerns
A prominent Palestinian-Australian writer has accused the Adelaide Writers’ Week of “racism and censorship” and attempting to associate her with the Bondi Beach terror attack after she was abruptly removed from the festival’s program.

Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah, who had been scheduled to appear following the release of her 2025 book Discipline, was advised on Thursday that she would no longer take part in the 2026 event. Her profile was quietly taken down from the Writers’ Week website the same morning.

In a statement, the Adelaide Festival board confirmed it had made the decision after weeks of internal review.

“We have today advised scheduled writer Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah that the board has formed the judgment that we do not wish to proceed with her scheduled appearance at next month’s Writers’ Week,” the board said.

“While we do not suggest in any way that Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah’s or her writings have any connection with the tragedy at Bondi, given her past statements we have formed the view that it would not be culturally sensitive to continue to program her at this unprecedented time so soon after Bondi.”

The board said the move came amid broader reflection following the deadly Bondi attack, which it said had intensified national grief and community tensions.

“As an organisation and as people, we have been shocked and saddened by the tragic events at Bondi,” the statement said.

“We have been further saddened by the national grief and the significant heightening of both community tensions and the community debate.”


Somaliland Official Defends Israel Ties amid Arab Backlash
Hersi Ali Haji Hassan, chairman of Somaliland's ruling Waddani party, fiercely defended his government's decision to normalize relations with Israel in an interview with Al Jazeera on Wednesday.

He argued that Somaliland was forced to look to Israel for legitimacy after being ignored by the international community for decades.

"There is no choice before us but to welcome any country that recognizes our existential right," he said.

"We have been an independent state for 34 years. The rejection of the Arab League does not matter to us at all. They did not accept us as a member...and we did not receive any attention from Arab countries."

"Normalization with Israel is not limited to Somaliland. Many Arab and Islamic countries have broad political and economic relations with Israel, such as Egypt, Turkey, Jordan, and the UAE."

"We deal with Israel politically. Political dealing is not something religion forbids."
Somaliland official confirms talks with Israel on hosting a military base
An official in Somaliland on Thursday told Israeli media that ties with Jerusalem have led to discussions on potentially setting up an Israeli military base in the African self-ruled territory.

Somaliland, a breakaway region of Somalia that Israel recently recognized as a state — the first country to do so — has previously denied Somali accusations that the relations include “the resettlement of Palestinians or the establishment of military bases in Somaliland.”

But Israel’s Channel 12 news cited Deqa Qasim, the director of the political department in Hargeisa’s Foreign Ministry, as saying in an interview that such a military base is on the table and being discussed, though whether it will be established depends on the content of an agreement between the sides after they open reciprocal embassies.

Qasim was further quoted as saying security cooperation with Israel will include the fight against terror and involve the maritime arena, while touting potential economic opportunities such as investments in Somaliland’s natural resources.

“We see significant opportunity for real cooperation,” she said.

Somaliland is strategically placed near the coast of Yemen, where the Iran-backed Houthis control much of the country and fired dozens of ballistic missiles at Israel during the war against Hamas in Gaza.
Lord Walney warns pro-Palestine Action protest logic could extend to support for Hamas
Crossbench peer Lord Walney has suggested that those calling for the right to protest in support of Palestine Action would, by the same logic, support the right to protest peacefully for Hamas or other violent organisations.

The government’s former adviser on political violence and disruption reasoned with peers:“If you follow the logic of those arguing that people who were protesting in support of Palestine Action should not face legal charge, is it not the case that they would then have to say that support for any terrorist organisation, if it was so-called peaceful, should be allowed—so you should be able to peacefully give your support for Hamas or any violent organisation?

“If that is their argument, they need to properly say it, because many people would have problems with that,” added the former Labour MP.

A debate in the House of Lords spotlighted the ongoing struggle to balance the right to protest with national security concerns, as peers clashed over amendments to legislation governing demonstrations and the proscription of organisations under terrorism laws.

Central to the discussion was the Government’s recent decision to proscribe Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation under the Terrorism Act 2000.

Several Lords raised concerns that this move made “any expression of support” for the group—no matter how peaceful—potentially grounds for prosecution. Lord Marks (Liberal Democrat) pressed the Government on whether this unintended consequence meant it was time to review the law.

“The proscription… means that any expression of support, however peaceable, renders it illegal and renders the person expressing such support liable to being prosecuted,” he argued.

Home Office minister Lord Hanson of Flint defended the Government’s decision, saying, “The right to free speech is extremely important… but if a determination is made under the Terrorism Act 2000 that an organisation has crossed that threshold, the Government have a duty to act.”
Police ‘lied and lied again’ over Maccabi fan ban
West Midlands Police “lied and lied again” to justify a ban on Israeli fans attending a Europa League football match at Aston Villa, an MP has said.

Nick Timothy said key intelligence was missing from the official reports of meetings where the decision was made.

It adds to the pressure on Craig Guildford, the force’s chief constable, to resign over the recommendation that Maccabi Tel Aviv fans should be banned from the match at Villa Park, in Birmingham, last November.

Mr Guildford faces accusations that the decision was politically motivated rather than based on genuine safety concerns, and that he misled Parliament with his version of events during appearances before a committee of MPs.

Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, has claimed that the force capitulated to “Islamists” in the local community demanding a ban and then “collaborated with them to cover it up”.

Both Mrs Badenoch and Mr Timothy say Mr Guildford’s position is now untenable and he should be sacked.


The curious case of Alaa Abd El-Fattah
For its part, the British government has said that it knew nothing about Fattah’s repugnant views, something repeated by the senior Conservatives who called for his release. That may well be the case, but it surely exposes as hollow the pronouncements made by British politicians to care about national security. The least one can expect from the authorities is basic due diligence on those being allowed to settle in the United Kingdom.

By not doing so, this government and the previous one has spat in the faces of Jews who are already reeling from the mass shooting during Chanukah at Bondi Beach that left 15 people dead. Moreover, they are insulting the vast majority of law-abiding and decent people in Britain who reject extremism, among them moderate Muslims who reject political extremism and violence.

Most people in Britain do not seek to close the borders to all newcomers. But they rightly insist that new citizens should share national values, reject violence and integrate fully in society. Gaining citizenship should be a privilege not a right. It is a two-way contract between individuals and the countries they seek to join, not a one way ticket to freedom.

With a Tory administration granting him citizenship in the first place, and Labour Party ministers rolling out the red carpet and making his arrival here a top priority, we have a political class that is bumbling, incompetent and harmful to the national interest. Indeed, between them, they make Inspector Clouseau look like a towering genius.

We urgently need to restore good character tests in cases like that of Alaa Abd El-Fattah, which may mean leaving the European Convention on Human Rights altogether. Applicants should be law abiding, tolerant and willing to participate in a democratic society. Discrimination, far from being a dirty word, is exactly what people should demand, ensuring that people with vile views stay out while those who can contribute to wider society are given the chance to flourish.

Given Britain’s centrality to the war on terror and the battle against Islamist extremism, any tolerance for antisemitism and radicalism will seem like an abject surrender to terror.
NHS doctor has tribunal hearing over “objectively antisemitic” social media posts
An NHS doctor who shared videos claiming that “Zionists” were responsible for 9/11 as well as both World Wars, is currently having her case heard by the Medical Practitioner Tribunal Service.

The hearing into the conduct of Dr Najmiah Ahmad, a consultant working for the NHS’s Frimley Health foundation trust in Surrey, began yesterday. The MPTS indicated that “the tribunal will inquire into the allegation that, in or around December 2023 to January 2024, Dr Ahmad reposted two comments on social media, one of which included an image, which were objectively antisemitic, seriously offensive and motivated by racial or religious hostility and/or prejudice against Jews.”

According to a report by the Daily Mail, the tribunal service misconduct hearing, which began yesterday, heard that Dr Ahmed had shared social media posts regarding 9/11, one of which said “The Zionist owned-and-controlled mainstream media has suppressed this important story for years. Are you surprised? 9/11 was an inside job, The Zionist owned-and-controlled US government was complicit.”

According to the paper, Katie Nowell, barrister for the General Medical Council (GMC), told the tribunal that a complaint about Ahmad’s conduct was received in February 2024 from the Jewish Medical Association (JMA), citing her social media posts.

As revealed by the ‘GnasherJew’ social media account, other posts shared by Dr Ahmad included a video referring to America in late 2023, saying that “in the exact same way as Zionists lit a fire in Germany to get the German Jews to go to Palestine, the Zionists are doing the exact same thing in the United States right now…the whole goal of World War I and World War II was to create Israel and to destroy strong sovereign nations like Germany, Italy and Japan and create a one-world government.” Ahmad shared the video, writing “I’ve always wanted to know why Hitler was hellbent on killing.”

In another post, Ahmad shared a video on “The hidden history of the incredibly evil Khazarian mafia”, by two contributors to the Neo-Nazi ‘Veterans Today’ website. The DR shared it with the caption “for my own watching. Learning each day.”

According to the Mail, Ahmad told the tribunal “I don’t hate Jews”, and said that “it’s a foreign thing for me to learn about antisemitism. It’s not a Southeast Asian thing to grow up learning about it in school. I had a steep learning curve.
Qatar is biggest foreign funder of US colleges, per Education Department
Qatar has been the largest source of foreign funding for U.S. higher education institutions, according to data displayed in a new U.S Department of Education portal.

The portal, which went live on Jan. 2, explains that, under Section 117 of the Higher Education Act of 1965, federally funded universities are required to disclose, twice annually, any gifts and contracts from a foreign source that are worth at least $250,000 in a calendar year.

Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.), chair of the House Education and Workforce Committee, told JNS that “our college campuses are being flooded with foreign cash, but every single dollar given by our adversaries comes with strings attached.”

“America’s adversaries exploit these financial ties to steal research, spread divisive propaganda, push indoctrination and undermine free speech,” Walberg said.

“Enough is enough,” he added. “The Trump administration is making the reporting of foreign funds easier and more transparent so we can protect our students and the integrity of American education.”

Kenneth Marcus, chairman and CEO of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law and a former assistant U.S. secretary of education for civil rights, told JNS that he’s “glad that the Trump administration is bringing greater transparency to the enormous amount of foreign money that’s coming into our higher education system.”

According to the dashboard, Qatar was the source of around $6.6 billion to U.S. universities, followed by Germany ($4.4 billion), England ($4.3 billion), China ($4.1 billion), Canada ($4 billion) and Saudi Arabia ($3.9 billion).

Of the schools that received funds from Qatar, Cornell University topped the list with $2.3 billion, followed by Carnegie Mellon University ($1 billion), Texas A&M University ($992.8 million) and Georgetown University ($971.1 million).
Cooper Union Settles Lawsuit With Jewish Students Forced To Hide From Anti-Israel Mob
Cooper Union agreed to address campus anti-Semitism to resolve a discrimination lawsuit brought by Jewish students who said the school failed to protect them from anti-Semitic attacks after they were trapped inside a library by a swarm of anti-Israel protesters.

The settlement, announced Thursday, requires Cooper Union to pay unspecified compensation to the plaintiffs, prohibit demonstrators from wearing masks to conceal their identities, create a Title VI coordinator to monitor cases of discrimination and harassment (including those based on anti-Zionism), and train employees and students on school policies. The college also agreed to address complaints based on Jewish or Israeli identity or ancestry "with equal care, consistency, and urgency" as any other protected group.

Cooper Union, a private college in Manhattan, is the latest to settle a lawsuit alleging anti-Semitic or anti-Israel discrimination, with elite schools like the University of California, Berkeley, University of California, Los Angeles, Harvard University, New York University, and Barnard College also entering into settlements. Others, however, are ongoing—the Brandeis Center, which represented the plaintiff in the Berkeley case, is also engaged in another lawsuit against Berkeley, alleging the "longstanding, unchecked spread of anti-Semitism" endangered Jewish students and faculty on campus.

Just weeks after Hamas’s Oct. 7 terrorist attack, anti-Israel protesters cornered 10 Jewish students inside the Cooper Union library. The agitators banged on the locked doors and the large floor-to-ceiling windows as they chanted "globalize the intifada" and demanded to be let in. The Jewish students were trapped for nearly 20 minutes—administrators never ran to their aid and the radicals escaped without punishment.


Georgetown Taps Hamas Apologist Mehdi Hasan as Visiting Fellow
Georgetown University has enlisted Hamas apologist and former MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan as a visiting fellow to lead a discussion series that "will explore the role of debate, media, and persuasion in our deeply polarized society."

As a Georgetown Institute of Politics and Public Service Spring 2026 Fellow, Hasan's discussion group will center on the topic "Who's Afraid of a Tough Question? Debate, Division, and Democracy in a Polarized Age." The four-week series will "challenge" students with questions like "Are calls for 'unity' and 'civility' sincere - or politically convenient?"

Hasan posted to X on Wednesday, "I'm looking forward to doing this and debating and discussing with the students. Thanks @georgetown and @GUPolitics."

Georgetown's decision to bring on Hasan follows years of the journalist making polarizing and inaccurate remarks. MSNBC canceled his show in November 2023 after he spent weeks disparaging Israel following Hamas's Oct. 7 terror attack. After leaving the network, Hasan tweeted and then deleted a post arguing that the "Gaza genocide" was "worse than a lot of previous genocides - Rwanda, even the Holocaust." As a media figure in the United Kingdom, Hasan referred to non-Muslims as "animals."

Hasan came under fire last fall after bursting into laughter at a "joke" about Rep. Brian Mast's missing legs, which the Florida Republican lost after stepping on an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan in September 2010 during Operation Enduring Freedom.

After leaving MSNBC, Hasan founded Zeteo, a far-left media platform that charges $12 a month to "support Mehdi's brand of accountability journalism." The online publication has featured figures like Hasan Piker, the far-left streamer who once said "America deserved 9/11" and used a Zeteo appearance to lament the United States' triumph over the USSR.
Why Won't Yale’s Program for the Study of Antisemitism Discuss Anti-Zionism?
When Yale launched the Program for the Study of Antisemitism (YPSA) in 2011, it was hailed as an academic effort to examine the longest hatred with rigor and depth. Fourteen years later, the program again promised scholarly rigor and attention to both ancient and contemporary antisemitism, including contested topics such as Zionism. Now almost a year after its 2025 relaunch, the YPSA has developed into an institutional effort to dodge the hardest questions surrounding antisemitism. The program avoids analyzing antisemitism in modern anti-Zionist movements by confining itself to safer historical and abstract discussions.

YPSA’s 2025 work was dominated by lectures, book talks, and conferences, mostly co-sponsored by other Yale organizations, often making them indistinguishable from general humanities and Jewish studies programming elsewhere at the university. Most of YPSA’s recent events such as The Many Lives of Anne Frank, The Fate of Bulgaria’s Jews during WWII, and Poetry and Memory, address topics worthy of study on their own, but taken together they situate Jews as a secondary subject within broader historical and cultural narratives, rather than as the central analytical focus of antisemitism itself.

When YPSA does address Zionism or contemporary antisemitism directly, it does so from a safe analytical distance, primarily offering conceptual overviews. An event such as The Ideology of Settler Colonialism and the Israel-Palestine Conflict treats anti-Zionism as an intellectual object rather than a critical movement whose rhetoric and practices contribute directly to antisemitism. Another talk titled Campus Antisemitism, Past and Present, functions as an introductory conversation focused on the personal experiences and institutional background of the YPSA’s new managing director. In both cases, the program’s emphasis on framing and retrospection creates a noticeable distance from examining how antisemitism operates within contemporary political movements, including anti-Zionist ones.

The same safe distance characterizes YPSA’s limited research output. The program’s most visible research release in 2025 is a survey of anti-Israel and antisemitic attitudes among young voters, which presents data with minimal interpretation, offering little effort to explain how those attitudes function or intersect with broader antisemitic trends.


US court dismisses lawsuit by Palestinian Americans demanding to be rescued from Gaza
A federal judge dismissed on Thursday a lawsuit demanding the US government conduct emergency rescues of Palestinian Americans and family members who are trapped in Gaza and trying to escape hardships caused by the war between Israel and Hamas.

Chief Judge Virginia Kendall of the US District Court in Chicago said she lacked the power and tools to evaluate “delicate foreign policy decisions” belonging to the government’s Executive Branch, while expressing sympathy with “the impossible positions in which many of the plaintiffs have found themselves.”

Nine Palestinian Americans, all US citizens or lawful permanent residents, sued in December 2024, accusing the US government of violating their constitutional right to equal protection by abandoning them in a war zone and not evacuating them as readily as it would evacuate other Americans.

They said destroyed homes, food shortages, poor medical care, mental anguish and other hardships imposed a “mandatory, non-discretionary duty” on the government to evacuate people from Gaza.

But the judge said she was ill-equipped to address how to coordinate an evacuation with neighboring countries, how to shepherd evacuees through dangerous “red zones,” which people are eligible for evacuations, and how the nonexistent US diplomatic presence in Gaza would complicate the process.

“Endeavoring to answer these questions — and many more like them — from the comfort of chambers is both undoable and would also invade the political branches’ constitutionally committed tasks of determining when, how, and under what circumstances evacuations from war zones should proceed,” Kendall wrote.

The judge also said available evidence showed the US government has developed an evacuation plan, and the nine plaintiffs had either been evacuated or rejected offers that did not cover immediate family members.
I Worked at a Palestinian Summer Camp
When I worked for a reconciliation organization and lived in the largely Palestinian Christian town of Beit Sahour last summer, there were multiple aspects of Palestinian society that disturbed me. What I found most discomforting was its overwhelming celebration of martyrdom - glorifying those Palestinians who sacrificed themselves in the name of "Palestine."

After witnessing a large crowd of young children chanting "we will die to make Palestine live" at the summer camp where I volunteered, a Palestinian teenager asked me: "What have we [Palestinians] ever done wrong?" I responded by mentioning the dozens of suicide bombings that took place in Israeli civilian areas during the Second Intifada. She replied: "But those are acts of resistance." Living in the West Bank taught me that most Palestinians, regardless of religion, have long bought into the Islamist celebration of martyrdom.

Palestinian society's extremism and fetishization of death are encouraged (or mandated) by the Palestinian leadership in a mindset shared by both the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Hamas. Israeli peace activist Gershon Baskin told me that because Hamas's "political-religious philosophy...is based on the sanctification of death," they're more than happy to never surrender.

The nearly universal celebration of martyrdom across Palestinian society demonstrates that extremism is deeply entrenched within Palestinian culture. Consequently, Israel will never exist comfortably unless it tackles this Palestinian issue.
Hamas entrenches rule on backs of Gazans: report
Hamas has been reasserting its rule over half the Gaza Strip ever since Phase 1 of the truce with Israel came into effect on Oct. 10, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.

Refusing to give up its power and disarm, as the planned Phase 2 of the Trump peace plan stipulates, the terrorist group has sent civil servants back to work, has been collecting taxes—including from Palestinians living in tents—and has opened courts for those who can afford to utilize them, the report reads.

Bloomberg interviewed merchants, vendors, restaurant owners and ordinary residents, who described an overall feeling of resignation.

“Our livelihoods are shattered. Why aren’t [Hamas] letting us make a living?” a vendor who agreed to be identified only by his first name, Ahmed, was quoted as saying.

Gaza resident Maisara Mohammed published on Facebook a screenshot of the Hamas-run Land Authority’s notice giving him one week to pay two years of accrued fees.

“This is after my house, my apartment and the building I had were destroyed,” the report cited him as writing.

Political science professor Mkhaimar Abusada told Bloomberg, “Hamas is taking advantage of delaying the second phase of Trump’s plan by rebuilding its political and security control” in the territory it still holds.


Antisemitic hate crimes made up majority of New York City cases in 2025
Antisemitic incidents accounted for the clear majority of reported hate crimes in New York City last year, according to newly released police figures, underlining what senior officers describe as the city’s most persistent hate threat.

Data published by the New York Police Department shows that 330 of the 576 hate crime incidents recorded in 2025 targeted Jewish people – around 57 percent of the total. The figures relate to reported or suspected incidents rather than convictions and may be reclassified if investigators later determine there was no discriminatory motive.

While the NYPD reported a 12 percent overall drop in hate incidents compared with 2024, and a three percent fall in antisemitic cases specifically, Jewish New Yorkers remained disproportionately affected. Despite making up roughly one in ten of the city’s population, Jews accounted for nearly six in ten victims of recorded hate incidents.

Other reported cases included 45 incidents targeting Black people, 30 Islamophobic attacks, 25 against Asians, eight targeting Hispanic individuals, and 11 directed at white people. Police also recorded 28 incidents based on gender, 16 involving unspecified ethnicities and 31 against unspecified religious groups.

Addressing the figures, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said: “These numbers remain far too high and antisemitism continues to be the most persistent hate threat that we face.”

The data was released just days after New York’s mayor, Zohran Mamdani, formally took office. One of his first actions was to revoke the city’s adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism – a move that has prompted concern among Jewish groups.

The IHRA definition, used by governments and institutions worldwide, is intended to help identify and combat antisemitism. Critics argue it risks conflating hatred of Jews with criticism of Israel, particularly over the war in Gaza, while supporters say it provides vital clarity at a time of rising anti-Jewish hostility.
Rock thrower hits Jewish 8-year-old girl through bus window on NJ highway, fractures her skull
An 8-year-old Jewish girl was hospitalized with a fractured skull after being struck by a rock, which was thrown through a window on the bus she was aboard, on the New Jersey Turnpike in Teaneck on Wednesday afternoon.

The New Jersey State Police told JNS that it is seeking public assistance in its investigation of an aggravated assault, to which it responded at around 2:10 p.m. yesterday. The incident took place near exit 70A/B on the turnpike, it said.

“Based on a preliminary investigation, a rock was thrown at a school bus traveling northbound in the right lane,” it told JNS. “The rock shattered a side window and struck an 8-year-old student, causing serious injuries.” (JNS asked the state police if it is probing the incident as a potential hate crime.)

A spokesman for the school, Bergen County’s Yeshivat Noam, told JNS that “we do not yet know the motive behind the incident, and it would be premature to draw conclusions.”

“There were no visible markings on the bus identifying it as a Jewish school bus,” the spokesman said.

“The safety and well-being of our students is our highest priority,” stated Rabbi Chaim Hagler, head of school at Yeshivat Noam. “Our focus remains on supporting the injured student and her family, as well as ensuring the emotional health of our entire student body.”

According to a letter that the 25-year-old, co-ed, Modern Orthodox day school in Paramus sent to parents on Thursday, the student “is alert and stable, but she will require surgery to ensure the injury heals properly.”

“I’m praying for the student and her family and hope she makes a full recovery from this terrifying incident,” Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) told JNS.

“I’m in close touch with the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office as law enforcement continues their investigation,” the congressman added.

The rock was the size of a baseball, according to reporting in Yeshiva World News, which said that the surgery taking place at Hackensack University Medical Center.
Belgian consulate won’t renew passports of Jewish family in Judea
A Belgian Jewish group accused Brussels on Thursday of applying antisemitic policies after its Jerusalem consulate refused to renew the passport of a Jewish woman living in Judea.

The refusal earlier this week is “an illegal form of discrimination by Belgium against its own citizens,” Ralph Pais, vice president of Belgium’s Jewish Information and Documentation Center (JID), told JNS. While the consulate services Arabs from Judea and Samaria, Jews are denied that service, he stated.

In an email viewed by JNS, a consular employee wrote to the woman to inform her that she and any of her relatives residing at her address are not eligible for consular services.

The email did not mention whether the consular section in Ramat Gan near Tel Aviv would be able to provide the woman and her relatives with services. It suggested that international law prevented any Belgian consular section from handling her request. The Ramat Gan consular section did not reply to JNS on the matter by press time.

“After reviewing our population records, we have determined that you have settled in a settlement that is not recognized under international law, to which Belgium is bound,” the email said. It used the politically loaded term “colony” to denote the locale where the woman resides.

The decision appears to be part of a series of measures against Israel introduced in September by the foreign ministry under Maxime Prévot.

By extending the ban to the members of the woman’s family residing at her address without individual assessment, the consulate imposed “a collective and indiscriminate measure against Belgian citizens,” Pais also said.

Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, who assumed office in February, had appeared to diverge from the anti-Israel policies of his predecessor, Alexander de Croo. De Wever said he was skeptical of recognizing Palestinian statehood and that his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, would not be arrested if he visited, despite a warrant for his arrest issued by the International Criminal Court in The Hague.


Israel's Elbit to Sell Active Vehicle Protection System to Sweden for NATO
Israel's Elbit Systems has received new contracts totaling $150 million from Sweden's BAE Systems Hagglunds for its Iron Fist Active Protection System (APS) for ground vehicles.

The system will be installed on CV90 Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFVs) operated by a number of European NATO members.

At a high-profile live-fire demonstration in Europe in September, Iron Fist successfully intercepted more than a dozen 120 mm. tank rounds.

Elbit says the Iron Fist is an advanced hard-kill active protection system that "delivers 360-degree protection against various anti-armor threats, including anti-tank rockets, anti-tank guided missiles, unmanned aerial systems, and loitering munitions, in both open terrain and complex urban environments."
Israel's Elbit Expands U.S. Production with Sigma Howitzer
Elbit America, the U.S. unit of Israeli defense electronics company Elbit Systems, recently completed manufacturing the first model of the Sigma NG 155 mm self-propelled howitzer at its plant in South Carolina.

The model complies with President Trump's policy of relying on American production.

As part of the construction of the artillery gun barrel, U.S. components were brought to Israel to Elbit facilities, so that the company's employees could provide their experience, and then sent back to be installed in the remotely controlled turret system.
IDF Reservist Develops Combat Refrigerator to Save Lives
IDF reservist and industrial design graduate Oz Lotati, 29, noticed that there was no reliable way to keep lifesaving blood supplies properly cooled in the field.

Lotati created a portable, rugged blood cooler specifically for soldiers and field medical teams.

It contains an active cooling mechanism with a compact compressor and advanced insulation to maintain a stable temperature.

The cooler runs on standard military radio batteries already used by soldiers, and can also connect to vehicle power outlets, generators, electric sockets or even solar panels. It integrates directly into the gear of a medic or soldier, and is engineered to withstand movement, heavy loads and combat conditions.

"The goal is that blood reaches the wounded quickly and at top quality," Lotati says. "I want to make lifesaving treatment accessible even in the most remote and dangerous parts of the battlefield, under fire - not just back at the hospital."

"I saw with my own eyes what it means to be in the field without available blood, and if this product saves even one soldier then I've fulfilled my mission."




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

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