Tuesday, January 20, 2026

01/20 Links Pt2: The Death and Legacy of Jerusalem’s Champion, Gabriel Barkay; Australia to observe national day of mourning to honour Bondi terror victims

From Ian:

Seth Mandel: The Death and Legacy of Jerusalem’s Champion, Gabriel Barkay
Barkay, who was born Gabriel Breslauer in Budapest in 1944, is associated with two particularly famous projects. In 1979, Barkay discovered the Ketef Hinnom scrolls in Jerusalem. Once successfully unrolled and translated, it became clear they contained a passage from the Book of Numbers dated to the Iron Age, making them the earliest known biblical text in existence.

The other is the Temple Mount sifting project. In 1999 and 2000, the Muslim authorities at the Mount illegally undertook a massive construction project and removed 9,000 tons of earth, destroying artifacts in the process and dumping the rest of the dirt in the Kidron Valley. Their goal was to replace the history-rich earth with an unauthorized mosque. Barkay led a broad group of Israelis who protested the ongoing destruction and then helped get funding for a project of volunteers to sift through the dirt discarded from the Temple site. That work continues today.

Because the truth has what you might call a “pro-Israel bias,” reality is controversial. Hence the acknowledgements in Barkay’s obituaries that his work was sometimes characterized as “right-wing.” Here is how the New York Times obituary phrases it:

“In 2005, he and others founded the Temple Mount Sifting Project, a crowdsourced program to examine the estimated 400 truckloads of dirt taken from the site. Since then, volunteers have identified about a half-million artifacts.

“The project was sometimes criticized as a tool of right-wing Israeli governments eager to establish historical claim to the Temple Mount.”

You’ll notice that it is considered “right-wing” because the facts of the case are politically unhelpful to the left wing. When it comes to Jews and Israel, the truth is considered provocative. It’s worth noting that this story was about the Arab authorities attempting to destroy hundreds of thousands of ancient artifacts—a crime against humanity that is described here with the same neutrality one might employ to describe the decision to take the dog for a walk. It is the Israeli archaeologists’ response to that crime—to ask that the crime not be carried out—that is deemed political. People can be very touchy when reminded of the existence of Jews.

Barkay’s dismissal of such pettiness was on the mark: “Sneezing in Jerusalem is an intensive political activity,” he told The Times of Israel in 2019. “You could turn your head to the right, or the left.”

Indeed, one lesson of Barkay’s life is that the Jewish people should not treat their own rights and existence and history as a delicate subject. People offended by the truth only deserve to hear the truth more often. And if they face resistance, Jews should raise their voices. As Huckabee advised the audience in Jerusalem last month:

“The Jewish people have the greatest story in the world. So tell it. It’s a wonderful story to be told. And you have the receipts. You have the Bible. And for heaven’s sakes, I would say use it and tell it with courage and boldness. Never speak it with apology as if, well, I don’t want to bring this up, but just so you know, we kind of have a place here. No, I think you say: Do you realize that our history traces back 3,800 years and we can follow the linear progress of that history from then until now. And there are prophecies throughout the entire Old Testament that say things that we are watching before our eyes.”
US Holocaust museum board cites years-long absences in call to oust Sanders
Members of the governing board of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum have asked Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to remove Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) from the United States Holocaust Memorial Council amid reports that the senator has not attended a single meeting in 18 years.

Sanders was appointed to the council in 2007. The board, which meets twice a year to oversee the D.C. museum’s mission, programming and educational work, is composed of both presidential and congressional appointees. According to attendance records reviewed by board members and provided to the New York Post, Sanders “has missed every meeting of the board since his appointment.”

In a Jan. 13 letter to Schumer signed by a dozen council members, the board wrote that Sanders “has rarely, if ever, attended council meetings or participated meaningfully in the work of the council since his appointment.”

The council also raised concerns about some of Sanders’s public statements on “contemporary genocidal conflicts, including characterizations widely viewed as inconsistent with the principles of Holocaust remembrance and genocide prevention.”

Sanders has been an outspoken critic of Israeli policy, calling for an end to U.S. military aid to Israel and describing Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza “a genocide.” The letter stated that those stances bring into question Sanders’s “alignment with the mission of the museum and its governing body.”

“In the current context, with Jew-hatred and Holocaust distortion rising globally, it is imperative that Senate-appointed representatives on the council are fully engaged and steadfastly supportive of its mission,” the letter states.
'Moderate' Abigail Spanberger Appoints Two Qatari Lobbyists To Serve on George Mason University Board
Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D., Va.) has appointed two Qatari lobbyists to serve on George Mason University’s board of visitors, a Washington Free Beacon review has found.

Spanberger, who was sworn into office on Saturday, tapped former Reps. James Moran (D., Va.) and Tom Davis (R., Va.) to serve on George Mason’s 16-person board of visitors, which advises the school on "policy-making and oversight." After retiring from Congress in 2015, Moran launched Moran Global Strategies, which registered as a foreign agent of the Qatari embassy in April 2023. Davis, who resigned from Congress in 2008, is a lobbyist at Holland & Knight, which subcontracts with Moran’s firm on its Qatari lobbying contract.

Qatar, an oil-rich Gulf monarchy that harbors Hamas, has paid Moran’s firm $2.3 million through August 2025 to advance "bilateral relations" with the United States, according to foreign agent disclosures. Moran Global Strategies has, in turn, paid Holland & Knight $35,000 per month for its lobbying services. Davis is listed as Moran’s "principal point of contact" in the Qatari lobbying contract, records show.

The appointments are a sharp departure from the "moderate" image Spanberger presented to the public during the campaign.

Moran, who served 24 years in the House, has lobbied his former colleagues on behalf of Qatar on educational issues, according to lobbying disclosures. In July, he met with two members of the House Education and Workforce Committee prior to a hearing on "antisemitism in higher education," disclosures show. Moran was spotted in the audience at the hearing, seated behind Georgetown University president Robert Groves, Jewish Insider reported.

Last March, Moran contacted an aide to Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine (D.), whose wife previously served as interim president of George Mason, regarding "outreach on Qatar's higher education funding," according to disclosures. Holland & Knight and Davis have lobbied Republican lawmakers on education issues regarding Qatar. Davis met Rep. Kevin Kiley (R., Calif.) on June 25 for a "discussion" about the Committee on Education and Workforce, according to lobbying records.
Activist probed for anti-Israel posts no longer assistant attorney general of Michigan, state tells JNS
Zena Ozeir lists her current role on LinkedIn as assistant attorney general of the state of Michigan—a role that she has held since June 2023, per her profile.

The office of Dana Nessel, Michigan attorney general and a Democrat, told JNS exclusively that Ozeir does not currently hold that position.

“Zena Ozeir is no longer employed by the Michigan Department of Attorney General,” Kimberly Bush, Nessel’s director of public information and education, told JNS.

JNS sought comment from Nessel’s office about whether Ozeir was dismissed, and if so, whether it was as a result of a probe by the state office of her social media posts.

In June 2024, Nessel’s office told the Detroit News that it was investigating social-media posts in which Ozeir appeared to direct expletives at America and Israel.

Ozeir allegedly wrote on Instagram that “every accusation made by the Zionist entity is an admission. F**k them, f**k America, f**k genocide apologists. F**k anyone who peddles Zionist propaganda or gives any legitimacy to their criminal enterprise of a ‘country.’”

She made her handle private after the Detroit News sought comment from Nessel’s office, the paper said.

On Jan. 17, Ozeir was a panelist at an in-person event, which the group Palestine Solidarity Grand Rapids hosted in the city, per one of its social media posts. The event was hosted at the Fountain Street Church Sanctuary, per a flier, which identifies Ozeir as an “attorney, activist and USPCN member.” (The latter refers to the U.S. Palestinian Community Network, which “works closely with and unequivocally supports Students for Justice in Palestine,” per its site.)

The event flyer calls for the Holy Land 5—leaders of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, who were convicted in 2008 of funnelling millions of dollars to Hamas—to be freed.


Australia to observe national day of mourning to honour Bondi terror victims
Australia will observe a national day of mourning this week to honour the victims of the the Bondi Beach terror attack.

Australian flags on all government buildings will be lowered to half mast and the public will be invited to to observe a minute’s silence at 7:01pm Australian Eastern Daylight Time – the time zone used in Sydney in the summer months – and to leave a candle on their doorstep or in their window.

A theme for the day has been selected by the Chabad Bondi community – “Light will win, a gathering of unity and remembrance”.

National institutions in the country’s capital, Canberra, and across the state of New South Wales will be illuminated in the evening, according to Australia’s Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, which today announced the day.

A commemorative installation created at the request of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) will see light beams projected into the sky at 15 locations around the country, one for each of the victims killed by terrorists during the antisemitic shooting on December 14, when members of the community gathered on Bondi Beach at a Chabad-run family event to celebrate the first night of Chanukah.

Announcing the day of mourning, prime minister Anthony Albanase said: “It is also a time for Australians of all faiths and backgrounds to come together, share a meal and spend time with family and friends and to individually or together undertake mitzvahs [acts of kindness] for Bondi.”


Australian PM condemns Melbourne antisemitic attack as calls grow to outlaw ‘globalise the intifada’
Five Jewish teenagers were forced to “run for their lives” after alleged Nazi slogans were shouted at them in Melbourne, as Australia’s prime minister condemned the incident and pressure intensified to outlaw protest chants Jewish groups say incite violence.

Victoria Police said the boys, aged 15 and 16, had finished evening studies and were walking home in St Kilda East on Monday night when a white ute, later confirmed stolen, drove past and allegedly yelled antisemitic abuse.

Acting commander Adrian Healy said the vehicle then pulled over, performed a U-turn and “deliberately drove at them” as the boys crossed the road, before running a red light and “scouring the area, continuing to look for them”.

No one was injured, but police said the ute remained nearby for several minutes before leaving. Two male persons of interest have been identified, and detectives are investigating whether the suspects are linked to other offences in the area, including aggravated burglaries and vehicle theft.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the alleged attack as an “antisemitic hate incident” that “has no place in our country”, saying it would have been a “terrifying ordeal” for the boys to be targeted for their Jewish faith.

“At a time when Australians are joining with the Jewish community in sorrow and solidarity, it is beyond disgusting to see these cowards shouting Nazi slogans at young people,“ Albanese said. “I want to see the perpetrators face the full force of the law.”

The father of one of the boys, Adass community leader Chayim Klein, said the teenagers were “resilient” but shaken by what had happened.

“They were just coming out of school when the white ute was circling, screaming antisemitic abuse at them,” he said, adding that the alleged perpetrators performed a Nazi salute.

“They are the grandchildren of Holocaust survivors… but they literally ran for their lives.”

Victoria premier Jacinta Allan said antisemitic behaviour “has absolutely no place here in Victoria” and stressed that Nazi salutes are banned under state law. “That salute is banned here in Victoria; you can be prosecuted for that, and Victoria police will be investigating,” she said.

The incident occurred close to the Adass Israel synagogue, built by Holocaust survivors, which was itself targeted in an arson attack in December 2024.
Ute attempts to drive into Jewish children
Victoria Police are investigating. Detectives from the Moorabbin Crime Investigation Unit told The AJN, “Police have been told a group of up to five boys were on Glen Eira Road about 9.50pm when a white ute drove past. It’s alleged the occupants of the vehicle yelled antisemitic abuse and then stopped a short distance away. The victims ran across the road and the ute subsequently performed a U-turn and drove towards the victims. Fortunately, no one was injured, and the vehicle drove from the scene.”

The detectives said they had identified two persons of interest and were investigating, and that the offenders were likely linked to a series of offences in the area including aggravated burglaries and vehicle theft.

During a press conference on Tuesday, Acting Commander of Southern Metropolitan Region Adrian Healy said the vehicle was stolen in Victoria and has NSW registration.

Healy said it was “an absolute disgraceful event, and we’re certainly throwing everything we can at this to catch the offenders as soon as possible.”

Asked if police will increase their presence in Jewish neighbourhoods, he said that police continue to patrol the area and have done so since Operation Park was initiated in October 2023.

“We have a very robust operation called Operation Park, which has been in operation since October 2023 and as a result of that operation, we have numerous vehicles everyday patrolling places of interest around this area [St Kilda] and Ripponlea area. Since that time, we’ve conducted over 10,000 patrols of those addresses, 13,000 patrols of areas of significance, and as a result of Operation Park, we’ve also arrested 265 people for antisemitic commentary or behaviour,” Healy said.

The JCCV stated that the perpetrators “must be arrested and face the new, stronger anti-vilification laws.” Adding, “This attack took place just metres from the Adass Israel Synagogue, the site of an Iran-sponsored terror attack on Jewish Victorians in 2024.”

Abramovich described the incident to The Herald Sun as an example of “attempted terror”, “A vehicle turned into a weapon. Children turned into prey,” he said.

“If Jewish teenagers can be hunted in the open, metres from a synagogue that was firebombed last year, then something in this country has already snapped. “No parent should have to wonder whether their child will make it home because of who they are. “If we don’t crush this ticking time bomb now, the next chase won’t end with boys escaping.”
Melbourne Jewish teens threatened, ‘Heil Hitler’ yelled as car nearly struck boy

Theologians Refute Jerusalem Patriarchs’ Statement Criticizing Christian Zionism
Christian theologians are excoriating a statement from the Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem, which condemns Christian Zionism as a “damaging” ideology used to “mislead the public, sow confusion, and harm the unity of our flock.”

The January 17, 2026, declaration went viral on social media after antisemitic influencers, the United Nations Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, and the Heritage Foundation’s vice president, Roger Severino (who later deleted his tweet), weaponized it to attack Christians who support Israel.

The statement, which is part of a concerted effort from anti-Israel activists on the left and the “woke right” to discredit evangelical Christians who constitute the backbone of U.S. support for Israel, follows former Fox News host Tucker Carlson’s attack on Christian Zionism as a “Christian heresy” and a “brain virus” in an interview with neo-Nazi podcaster Nick Fuentes.

While the unsigned declaration claims that the unnamed leaders “alone” represent the churches in the Holy Land in matters of “religious, communal, and pastoral life,” previous signed statements reveal that the body includes the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox and Eastern and Roman Catholic prelates, as well as Lutherans and Episcopalians. Pope Leo XIV’s envoy Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa is the highest-profile cleric in the organization.

In their statement, the church leaders attack individuals welcomed by Israel “at official levels both locally and internationally,” alluding to 150 evangelical journalists and 1,000 pastors invited by the Israeli government to recent conferences in Jerusalem, warning them not to interfere in the “internal life of the churches.”

The statement does not clarify the term “Christian Zionism,” which the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem defines as Christians supporting “the Jewish people’s right to return to their homeland.” Top Catholic theologians like André Villeneuve and Gavin D’Costa even affirm “Catholic Zionism,” with Villeneuve arguing that Zionists can be Jewish, Christian, or non-religious.

Zionism “is not the product of nineteenth-century Protestant dispensationalism but is deeply rooted in Scripture,” explains Villeneuve, a professor at Michigan’s Sacred Heart Major Seminary. “If God’s gifts and calling to Israel are irrevocable, then this must include the gift of the land and Israel’s calling to live in it.”

“The unconditional gift of the election of the Jewish people is the theological foundation of Catholic Zionism,” writes D’Costa, a lecturer at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, Rome. “Many New Testament texts support the notion that Catholics should endorse Zionism. Jesus himself was a Jewish Christian Zionist.”

“Ironically, these bishops decry Christian Zionism when their own church has proclaimed the precise truths they condemn,” Anglican theologian Gerald McDermott, distinguished professor of Theology at Jerusalem Seminary, observes.

McDermott explains how Vatican II’s Nostra Aetate quotes Romans 9 to affirm that today’s Jews retain the “sonship and the glory and the covenants and the law and the worship and the promises,” and in 1991, Pope John Paul II referred to the return of Jews to the “mountains of Israel” in the last centuries as a fulfillment of Ezekiel’s promise.


Huckabee: No one church speaks for all Christians
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee issued a statement on X/Twitter on Tuesday defending evangelical support for Israel after senior church leaders in Jerusalem warned that “Christian Zionism” was among “damaging ideologies” they said were harming Christian unity in the Holy Land.

In his post, Huckabee wrote that he respected “traditional, liturgical churches” and their views, and said no single sect of Christianity should claim exclusive authority to speak for Christians worldwide on matters of faith in the Holy Land.

He described himself as part of a “global and growing evangelical tradition” that emphasizes the authority of Scripture and “the faithfulness of God in keeping His covenants,” including “His covenant with Abraham and the Jewish people.”

Huckabee further argued that Christian faith was rooted in Judaism, and linked the “Judeo-Christian worldview” to the development of Western civilization and the United States.

The idea of God breaking a covenant, he said, was unacceptable to believers who treat Scripture as the authority of the church, adding that this theological premise shaped his view of the Jewish people’s connection to the land.

Addressing the term “Christian Zionism,” Huckabee said it was frequently used as an insult aimed at “free-church believers” worldwide. He defined a “Zionist” as someone who accepts that the Jewish people have a right to live in their “ancient, indigenous, and Biblical homeland,” and he said this position reflected commitment to biblical revelation to “Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,” rather than support for any specific government or policy.


NYC campus activists peddling propaganda directly from Hamas encouraging violence against Jews: terrifying study
Activists on Big Apple college campuses are among those in the US who are peddling propaganda directly from Hamas that “encourage[s] acts of violence against Jews,” a terrifying new study has found.

“Protestors and activists are not merely praising the activity of terror groups; they are actively sharing their official propaganda, disseminating communiqués, videos, and other materials directly onto mainstream platforms,” wrote the Anti-Defamation League Center on Extremism in its study titled, “Digital Couriers: How U.S. Anti-Israel Activists Amplify Terror Propaganda on Mainstream Platforms.”

The distribution of such hate on Telegram and other social-media platforms, including X and Instagram, since the Palestinian terror group Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel “shows the increased normalization of rhetoric and messaging from terror organizations that overtly encourage acts of violence against Israel and Jewish people,” the report said.

“This shared material, which openly praises violent actions and actors, comes at a time of heightened danger for Jews worldwide with increased incidents of deadly antisemitic attacks,” researchers said.

“American Jews specifically have been navigating an unprecedentedly high threat landscape, marked by record levels of antisemitic incidents across the U.S.”

The terrorists’ propaganda is picked up from the official channels and platforms of the deadly hate groups and translated into English and distributed by other pro-Hamas intermediary channels, the study said.

Resistance News Network — a radical antisemitic, anti-Zionist, English-language Telegram channel with more than 150,000 subscribers and which promotes violence against Israel — is one of the popular pass-along accounts.


Terror group paraphernalia sold at fundraiser in New York youth center
Vendors sold paraphernalia for US-designated terrorist groups during a fundraiser held at a New York City youth center on Sunday, according to videos posted online.

The footage showed tables at the event arrayed with keychains, pins and stickers in support of Hamas, Hezbollah and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).

The US State Department has designated all three groups as Foreign Terrorist Organizations.

The fundraiser took place at the Muslim American Society Youth Center in Brooklyn, according to the social media posts. Organizers billed the event, called Thrift4Sudan, as an exhibit and pop-up store, and said the proceeds would “go to Sudan.”

At the event, vendors sold items with the images of the late terrorist leaders Yahya Sinwar of Hamas, and Hassan Nasrallah of Hezbollah, the logos of the PFLP and Hamas, and a masked figure resembling the late Hamas spokesperson Abu Obeida.


Swastikas spray-painted on Bulgaria synagogue
Unidentified individuals spray-painted swastikas on a synagogue in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, over the weekend, a former leader of the country’s Jewish community told JNS.

Police have no suspects in custody in connection with the incident, Alexander Oscar, the former president of the Organization of the Jews in Bulgaria “Shalom,” told JNS.

Antisemitic incidents are rare in Bulgaria, which had roughly 2,000 people who identified as Jewish in 2020, according to a report published that year.

The Zion Synagogue of Plovdiv was built in the 19th century atop the foundations of an earlier synagogue, constructed in 1711. The interior features an intricate wooden Torah ark and frescoes restored in the 2000s with donations from the U.S. Commission for the Preservation of American Heritage Abroad.

The ruins of a far earlier synagogue, dating back to the late 3rd century CE, were discovered in Plovdiv in the 1980s, during the construction of a block of flats. Its mosaics were moved to the local archaeology museum.


Israel taps Noam Bettan to represent country at 2026 Eurovision
Noam Bettan, 27, a singer born in Israel to French immigrant parents, has been selected as Israel’s entrant for this year’s Eurovision Song Contest.

Bettan, who hails from Ra’anana, will represent his country at the competition in Vienna in May after winning this season of “Hakochav Haba” (Rising Star) during the grand finale Tuesday night.

When this season of Rising Star premiered in November, Israel’s inclusion in this year’s contest hung in the balance, as a growing chorus of artists and fans were calling for it to be barred from the competition over its war against Hamas in Gaza.

But last month, members of the European Broadcasting Union voted overwhelmingly not to kick Israel out of the competition, a move which prompted Ireland, Iceland, the Netherlands, Spain and Slovenia to boycott this year’s contest in protest.

Bettan is aware that he will not be welcomed to the contest with open arms by everyone, but he said he won’t let it faze him.

“It’s entering the lion’s den,” Bettan said during an interview Tuesday morning with the Kan Gimmel radio station. “But I can say that seeing those few Israeli flags in the audience — you look at that, and you know that you have a whole nation behind you, and you’re their voice. It’s truly a privilege.”

The song he will sing at the contest is expected to be unveiled in March after being selected by a committee convened by the Kan public broadcaster, which organizes Israel’s participation in the contest.




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