Monday, March 09, 2026

03/09 Links Pt2: Is October 7 the Exemplar of the ‘Palestinian Cause?’ The Western Left Says Yes; Australian PM Will Grant Iranian Women’s Soccer Players Asylum

From Ian:

Seth Mandel: Is October 7 the Exemplar of the ‘Palestinian Cause?’ The Western Left Says Yes
Duwaji and the Times both speak like any Western leftist about the conflict. But the larger question is whether they are correct. Is it true that, as the Times reports, the Palestinian cause is what Hamas and hundreds of other Gazans did on October 7?

Again, the Hamas apologists who brand child murder as “resistance” seem to think they’re helping the Palestinians somehow. But this euphemism game has exactly the opposite effect: In the public’s mind, it connects the Palestinians to the worst actions of their worst representatives.

Many people would support the “Palestinian cause” if it were defined as self-determination in the areas currently governed by Palestinian institutions. Fewer would support the “Palestinian cause” as the Times describes it: unfiltered bloodletting.

For example: Palestinians kidnapped a baby, then killed him with their own hands and mutilated his corpse to hide their work. Hamas soldiers then put the remains in a coffin and danced around with it in a public ceremony.

Is this the Palestinian cause, or is it an aberration? Is it the rule or the exception? The Palestinians’ so-called supporters in the West say it is the cause in its purest expression.

Jared Kushner, who represents the Trump administration, doesn’t believe that. Nor do most Israelis (and certainly they did not before October 7). Which is to say: The parties who are supposedly irredeemably biased against the Palestinians would never talk about them in the kind of harsh, dehumanizing terms that their champions use.

Which tells us much about these champions. Whatever the Palestinians might consider their “cause,” the pro-Palestine movement in the West lustily describes it as a nightmarish, phantasmagoric horror show. And they absolutely cannot get enough of it.

They might be wrong about the Palestinians—that is, Palestinians themselves may still believe in a cause with more noble ambitions. But we are not wrong about these Western activists: They have traded human decency for a life of fetishized and demented violence, especially against Jews. They have become something truly monstrous, and they want us all to know it.
The Architecture of Unseeing
How Ireland's Anti-Israel Obsession Became a Case Study in Collective Intellectual Dishonesty

I. The Mechanics of Collective Delusion
As used in popular psychology, “gaslighting” describes a form of coercive control whereby the perpetrator manipulates the victim into questioning his or her own sanity, memory, or perception of reality, adding up over time to a profound assault on that person’s sense of self. Most frequently noted in abusive domestic relationships, gaslighting is also prominent in the workplace, where targeted employees are manipulated into an alternate reality where they can do nothing right and are blamed for everything that goes wrong, which erodes their competency, confidence, and productivity.

Gaslighting can be traumatic on an individual level, but when scaled up from the personal to the political, it can become a powerful sociological weapon. Political polarization, now prevalent across the West, has metastasized into a system of collective gaslighting that ever more aggressively demands a culture of intellectual dishonesty, requires people to “unsee” what is plainly visible, and ultimately degrades the critical faculties and moral clarity of an entire society. The phenomenon has mutated far beyond differences of policy to become a clash of manufactured realities, to the point where belonging to a polarized tribe necessitates wholesale denial of factual evidence and observable truth.

Living in Ireland, I have become acutely aware of this dynamic as it has shaped our current obsessive discourse regarding Israel. Especially since October 7, 2023, this Middle Eastern conflict has become for the Irish an epistemological and ontological fracture that forces people to ignore history, marginalize a minority community, and court profound political and economic self-harm, all while claiming the moral high ground. What has unfolded in Ireland over the past two and a half years is not merely a foreign policy disagreement; it is the wholesale capture of a national consciousness by a single, simplifying narrative so totalizing in its grip that it has begun to corrode the very institutions (diplomatic, cultural, sporting, economic) upon which the country’s international standing rests.

What makes Ireland’s case particularly instructive, and particularly poignant, is the size of its Jewish community. Numbering around 2,500 to 3,000 people, Irish Jews have watched with growing alarm as a political consensus has hardened around them, transforming the country they call home into what Israel’s Ministry for Diaspora Affairs has characterized as one of the most hostile environments for Jewish life in Europe. That a nation of five million people, fond of proclaiming its historical empathy for the oppressed, could so comprehensively fail to see what it is doing to its own smallest minority is the central paradox of this post. It is a paradox sustained by the architecture of unseeing.


Defiant and proud — Australian Jews speak out in first ABC National Forum
Ronni Kahn has many titles — Australian Local Hero of the Year, social entrepreneur, book author, and proud grandmother.

After spending more than four decades in this country and founding a charity that has delivered more than 350 million meals to fellow Australians in need, she says two letters signal that she belongs here — AO.

Since the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas on Israel and the war in Gaza, Kahn's sense of acceptance — and her resolve to live openly as both an Australian and a Jew — has been tested like never before.

Kahn was born in South Africa and lived in Israel for 20 years.

A number of years after her brother-in-law was killed in the 1973 Yom Kippur War, she migrated to Australia as a young mother.

Healing after Bondi massacre
Daughter in law Katie and granddaughter Lucy holding up pic of Marika Pogany, who was killed at Bondi massacre.

After a massacre at Bondi Beach, Sydney's Jewish community unites to mourn and honour Bondi's Jewish legacy.

She says she never questioned her Jewish identity in Israel.

But after moving to Sydney, maintaining her Jewish heritage and traditions required greater commitment.

"In Israel, you don't have to question your Jewishness," she said.

"When we moved to Australia, I did not put my children into Jewish schools, because we came here to live in a multi-faith country and I was not going to be defined by my Jewishness."

Kahn's AO was awarded in 2019 for her work at the head of one of Australia's leading charities, one she founded as a proudly multicultural and multi-faith organisation.

But Kahn says her desire to give back to society through charitable acts springs from a fundamental tenet of Jewish faith known as Tikkun Olam — to help repair the world.

Kahn spoke to the ABC as part of the first ABC National Forum, which airs tonight on ABC TV and Radio National at 8:30pm.

Along with authors, teachers, students, parents and grandparents, Kahn will tell her story of life in Australia as a Jew, and her community's determination not to be defined by the hatred of antisemitism.

'Jews are not safe in Australia anymore'
Kahn says she never experienced antisemitism before October 7 — she was aware of it, but it did not directly impact her life. But she says something changed after Hamas attacked Israel and the war in Gaza.

"I took my grandkids to play in a park not far from a synagogue. They had erected concrete barriers around it, and there was a policeman in the vicinity. And I suddenly had a vision, one of the kids was on the slide and the other on the swings, and I thought, 'what if someone came to attack us — what would I do, which child would I save?'

"I grabbed the kids, and I said, 'Let's go home.'"
ABC National Forum focuses on the lives and experiences of Jewish Australians
The first ABC National Forum will focus on the lives and experiences of Jewish Australians, including issues arising from the Bondi terrorist attack. David Speers facilitates a wide-ranging conversation among the audience.


Two heroes who were among the first responders in terrorist attack on Sydney's Bondi Beach fall in LOVE and are set to wed
Two heroes who were among the first responders to the Bondi terrorist attack have fallen in love and will marry later this year.

Before December 14, romance was the last thing on the minds of content creator James McIntosh, 46, and physiotherapist Alexandra 'Lexi' Edmondson, 35.

The pair were new friends, having just completed an eight‑week surf lifesaving course together.

They were with another friend on their way to Bondi Surf Club's Christmas party when their lives changed forever.

Two alleged gunmen had just opened fire at a Jewish Chanukah by the Sea celebration at the beach, where 15 were killed and dozens more wounded.

The pair raced to render first aid to seven victims between them, including a man who was shot in the leg.

A newspaper photo showed Mr McIntosh and Ms Edmondson helping several police officers carry the wounded survivor to a makeshift triage area for further treatment.

Feelings later emerged as the pair drove the injured man to hospital.
AFL’s silence on antisemitism called out by sports legend
AFL legend Gerard Healy has raised concerns over the AFL’s silence on the Bondi massacre and antisemitism, calling it a “really big issue”.


Australian PM Will Grant Iranian Women’s Soccer Players Asylum After Trump Mounts Pressure Campaign
President Donald Trump on Monday successfully urged Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese to grant the Iranian women’s soccer team diplomatic protection after the hardline regime branded them "wartime traitors" for refusing to sing the Islamic Republic’s national anthem during a game last week.

Trump initially said Australia would be "making a terrible humanitarian mistake" if it forced the players to return to Iran after their act of defiance against the regime. The players, he said, would "most likely be killed" and he urged Albanese to grant them asylum.

Trump also pledged that the United States would welcome the players if Australia did not allow them to stay. It was initially unclear whether the Australian government would offer the team asylum. Matt Thistlethwaite, assistant minister for foreign affairs and trade, said earlier on Monday that the government could not "go into individual circumstances for privacy reasons," according to the Times of Israel. The Australian embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The State Department directed inquiries to the White House, which referred the Washington Free Beacon to Trump's Truth Social posts.

Two hours later, Trump announced that he held a phone call with Albanese and confirmed that five players had "already been taken care of, and the rest are on their way." He noted, though, that others on the team are choosing to return to Iran "because they are worried about the safety of their families, including threats to those family members if they don’t return."

"In any event, the Prime Minister is doing a very good job having to do with this rather delicate situation," Trump continued in a post on Truth Social. "God bless Australia!"

The 25-player soccer team drew Tehran’s ire last week after its members stood silent on the field as the Islamic Republic’s anthem played, an act of rebellion against the hardline Iranian regime during its military conflict with the United States and Israel. The players who return home will likely face repercussions from the regime, which on Sunday appointed the late Ali Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, as its next supreme leader.

The Islamic Republic has a history of imprisoning and even executing athletes who protest against its government. The regime tortured and executed prominent wrestler Navid Afkari in 2020 after he participated in anti-government protests in 2018 and did the same to karate champion Mohammad Mehdi Karami, who took part in the 2022 wave of demonstrations, in 2023. The regime also sentenced soccer player Amir Reza Nasr Azadani to death for participating in those protests.

The regime reportedly forced the women’s soccer team to reverse course and sing the national anthem before matches on Thursday and Saturday. Several players were seen flashing the international signal for "help" from their bus over the weekend, suggesting they faced imminent danger. Supporters rallied around the team’s bus after a loss on Sunday, shouting, "Save our girls."

Five members of the team have fled their hotel in Australia and have received shelter from police, CNN reported Monday, while others may follow suit after Trump’s intervention.


Meet the Muslim-American Businessman Bankrolling 'Squad' Dems, Anti-AIPAC Outfits, and… Marjorie Taylor Greene and Thomas Massie
A Muslim-American businessman has funneled nearly $150,000 to "Squad" Democrats, a super PAC aimed at countering the influence of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC)—and two Republicans, Rep. Thomas Massie (Ky.) and former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.).

Sam Mahrouq, a Texas-based real estate, tech, and auto dealership tycoon who said he was born in a Palestinian refugee camp, shelled out $7,000 to Massie last year, the maximum allowed per cycle, FEC filings show. His wife Rania, daughter Raneem, and son Zaid Mahrouq each gave the same amount. Another $7,000 donation came from a Mohammad Mahrouq—the FEC filing shows that his address matches the rest of the family's and that he is employed by Ikon Technologies, a large software firm Sam Mahrouq founded and owns, but no other information could be found about him.

Sam Mahrouq also donated $9,000 to Greene and her People Over Politicians PAC.

The contributions place Massie and Greene alongside far-left figures: Since 2019, the Mahrouqs have sent nearly $21,000 to Rep. Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.), more than $18,500 to Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D., Mich.), $1,000 to Rep. Summer Lee (D., Pa.), and $5,000 to former Rep. Cori Bush (D., Mo.).

Massie, who describes himself as "Kentucky's most conservative congressman," has attracted support from other left-wing figures as he opposes President Donald Trump's foreign policy moves and as Trump's political operation wages a campaign to defeat him in a primary.

In August, Massie met with leaders of the Integrity Political Action Committee shortly after the group formed a coalition with the Democratic Socialists of America to combat ICE's "crackdown on immigration violations." Around the same time, the PAC's chairman, Rafed Aljoboury, contributed $500 to Massie's campaign.
"15 Months of Hell": Jewish Teacher Suing Elite UN School For Forcing Her Out
The United Nations presents itself as the world’s “moral authority on tolerance, human rights, and coexistence.” Just blocks from UN headquarters in Manhattan sits one of its most prestigious affiliated institutions, the United Nations International School, a private academy charging up to $50,000 a year to educate the children of diplomats and global elites.

But according to a lawsuit filed in New York, a Jewish teacher who spent three decades at the school says those ideals are a sham when it comes to antisemitism.

The lawsuit traces the start of the conflict to 2022, when UNIS closed its Queens campus and transferred Sébag to its Manhattan campus.

There, she began sharing an office with two other French teachers, including Nehad Soliman. According to the lawsuit, Soliman soon began making repeated antisemitic and anti-French remarks, including statements that:
“Jews are driven by money”
“Jews control UNIS and New York”
“French people are inherently racist”

The complaint alleges that these remarks quickly escalated into confrontational behavior. Instead of investigating the harassment she documented, the school allegedly launched a 15-month investigation into her, ignored eight formal complaints, and allowed the environment to deteriorate until severe depression and medical complications forced her out of the school.

The lawsuit raises broader institutional questions about the school’s funding and governance.

Public records cited in the filing indicate that UNIS has received more than $110 million in donations and pledges from foreign governments since roughly 2011.

Among the largest contributors are the State of Qatar and the Sultanate of Oman.


John Anderson: Why the West Condemns Israel but Ignores Iranians | Brendan O'Neill
In this conversation, Brendan O’Neill joins John to discuss the global reaction to October 7 and what it reveals about the state of Western culture. They examine why protests and activism erupted across university campuses, how narratives about Israel spread rapidly through Western institutions, and why many of these institutions appeared to respond with hostility rather than solidarity.

The discussion also explores the role of identity politics, social media, and shifting cultural attitudes in shaping Western democracies. O’Neill suggests that these reactions reflect a deeper loss of confidence within Western institutions in their own values and historical foundations. This is a thoughtful conversation that sheds light on the prevalence of anti-Semitism in the West.




Levi Strauss Heir Dan Goldman Distances Himself From Pro-Israel Wife Who ‘Liked’ Social Media Post From ‘God Bless Donald Trump’
Rep. Dan Goldman (D., N.Y.) has a girl problem. The Levi Strauss heir, best known for serving as lead counsel in the first impeachment of Donald Trump, was forced to distance himself from his own wife to avoid alienating a core Democratic constituency: terrorist supporters.

Goldman threw his wife, Corinne Levy Goldman, under the bus this week after left-wing activists in his Manhattan district circulated screenshots of social media posts she had "liked" in the aftermath of Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist massacre. In a statement to the New York Times, the congressman insisted that his wife does "not speak for me." Like many married couples, he explained, they do not always share the same views—particularly when one of them is trying to survive a Democratic primary in a district where hostility toward Israel has become something of a litmus test.

The controversy stems from nearly a dozen social media posts that Mrs. Goldman liked or shared in the weeks after the Hamas attack, which many Democratic voters embraced as a triumph of "anti-colonial resistance." The Goldman family was in Israel at the time.

Among the posts Mrs. Goldman liked was a widely circulated meme from the popular account @EndWokeness mocking the slogan "Jews for Palestine" as "Chickens for KFC." She also liked posts suggesting that Western activists who chant "Free Palestine" might consider relocating to Gaza and living under Hamas rule. Another post came from the account "God Bless Donald Trump," which praised Hoover Institution fellow Victor Davis Hanson for arguing that the United States should revoke visas for visitors from places such as Iran and the Palestinian territories if Hamas executed American hostages.

Left-wing activists quickly seized on the posts, circulating screenshots and bringing them up at town halls in an effort to weaken Goldman's credibility with pro-Hamas Democrats. The congressman faces a tough primary challenge from former New York City comptroller Brad Lander, an outspoken critic of Israel. Goldman's critics argue that his wife's social media activity was proof that he also hated Hamas, which would put him at odds with the anti-Western values of his constituents. The congressman's district includes portions of Manhattan and Brooklyn, where anti-Israel activism has flourished since the Gaza war began.

Goldman told the Times that his wife's antagonism toward terrorists and their supporters did not reflect his own views.

"Like most married couples, my wife and I do not always share the same views, and any tweets she has liked as a private citizen do not speak for me," he said. "As an elected official and public figure, my record, votes and public statements are the only reflection of my beliefs."


‘Strike, Strike Tel Aviv’: Mamdani Introduced at Ramadan Celebration by Extremist Who Called on Hamas To Bomb Jewish State
Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D., N.Y.) celebrated Ramadan last week at a Staten Island mosque where he was introduced by an extremist who has called on Hamas to strike Tel Aviv and led a crowd in chants for "intifada."

"He’s joining us today, straight from City Hall, to not only welcome us into this blessed month of Ramadan, but to also join the largest Muslim congregation here in Staten Island," Abdullah Akl said during his introductory remarks at the Muslim American Society (MAS) in Staten Island. "I am very excited to announce the new mayor of New York City, Mayor Zohran Mamdani."

A smiling Mamdani delivered brief remarks in which he said it was "such a privilege and a pleasure" to be with Akl and the other attendees.

Akl, the political director of MAS New York, first came to prominence in 2024 when he led a chant to "strike" Tel Aviv during a protest in New York City. Then a graduate student at Harvard Extension School, Akl called former Hamas spokesman Abu Obeida—whom Israel killed in August 2025—"our beloved," the Washington Free Beacon reported at the time.

"Strike, strike Tel Aviv, Abu Obeida, our beloved," Akl said before leading a crowd of hundreds in chants for "intifada."

Akl spent his time at Harvard Extension School using his social media accounts to call for "intifada" against Jews, argue that "there is no state called Israel," and encourage others to "teach [their] children that the Zionist entity is an enemy," posts reviewed by the Free Beacon show. Harvard administrators launched an investigation into Akl’s conduct, though pro-Hamas extremist group Within Our Lifetime said it led a successful campaign to pressure the university into dropping its probe and described Akl as a "beloved organizer." He was also arrested at a pro-Hamas protest in September 2024.

The Harvard Extension School graduate has been involved in anti-Israel radicalism for several years. On July 4, 2021, he led chanting at a rally where demonstrators burned both U.S. and Israeli flags, yelling, "From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free." At another rally in 2021, he said, "We don’t want no two-state, we want all of it."


The Human Rights Façade: How Euro-Med Uses Wikipedia to Amplify Hamas Narratives
Laundering Allegations Through Human Rights Language
Euro-Med has repeatedly circulated claims that mirror some of the most extreme anti-Israel propaganda narratives circulating in the region. Among them are accusations that Israeli authorities harvest organs from Palestinian bodies and that executions have taken place inside hospitals in Gaza.

These allegations echo historic accusations made against Jews over centuries, including claims that Jews secretly desecrate bodies, mutilate the dead, or harvest organs from their victims. What makes such claims especially troubling is not only their content but the evidentiary basis behind them. In many instances, the allegations are presented without verifiable documentation, relying on unnamed sources, uncorroborated testimony, or claims that cannot be independently confirmed.

Yet once these narratives are issued under the banner of a human rights organization, they acquire an aura of institutional credibility. That perceived authority is then amplified through repetition. Journalists searching for sources on the Gaza war frequently cite Euro-Med as a human rights watchdog. Often, those citations appear without meaningful context about the organization’s leadership, political activism, or funding transparency.

The result is a familiar mechanism of narrative laundering. A politically aligned advocacy organization produces allegations framed as human rights documentation. Journalists cite those allegations as credible claims. Once reported, they circulate globally through commentary, social media, and activist networks as established facts. At each stage of the process, the original source becomes less visible, while the narrative itself becomes more entrenched.

Narrative Warfare in the Information Ecosystem
Euro-Med’s activities illustrate a broader dynamic within the information battlespace surrounding the Israel–Hamas war.

The machine shaping international perception of the conflict extends far beyond armed groups or state actors. It includes activist networks, social media amplification, academic advocacy, legal petitions in international courts, and sympathetic media coverage. Within this ecosystem, organizations presenting themselves as neutral human rights monitors become particularly powerful vehicles for political messaging.

The language of human rights carries enormous symbolic authority. It signals impartiality, ethical legitimacy, and universal moral concern. When that language is deployed by organizations functioning primarily as political advocates, the distinction between documentation and propaganda begins to dissolve.

Once narratives enter the global information environment under the banner of human rights reporting, they quickly influence public perception, media coverage, academic discourse, political debate, and even international legal processes. By the time the credibility of the original source is questioned, the narrative itself has often already become embedded in public consciousness.

Why Source Scrutiny Matters
Scrutiny of sources is therefore not a peripheral issue in wartime reporting. It is central to whether the public receives information or propaganda. Investigating potential violations of international law is an essential function of credible human rights work. But such investigations require transparency, methodological rigor, and independence from political movements engaged in armed conflict. When those standards are absent, the language of human rights can become a tool of political warfare.

The Israel–Hamas war is not only a military confrontation. It is also a global struggle over narrative, legitimacy, and moral authority, with competing actors seeking to frame the conflict in ways that mobilize international sympathy and shape diplomatic outcomes. Within that struggle, initiatives like Euro-Med’s WikiRights program demonstrate how the informational terrain itself has become a contested battlefield.

Because when advocacy organizations operating within the ideological orbit of militant movements are treated as neutral human rights authorities, the result is not greater clarity about the conflict. It is the successful laundering of propaganda through institutions that claim to defend truth.
The “Scholasticide” Smear: How Euro-Med Distorts Gaza’s Education Story
Euro-Med also points to Israeli strikes on schools and educational institutions as evidence of deliberate attacks on Gaza’s educational infrastructure.

But the NGO conspicuously omits a critical factor: Hamas and other terrorist groups routinely used these facilities for military purposes. In fact, Hamas is not mentioned once in Euro-Med’s report.

A review of IDF reports throughout the war reveals numerous examples of terror infrastructure embedded within educational sites, including:
A Hamas and Islamic Jihad command-and-control center on the former grounds of the Faami Aljerjawi School in Gaza City
A terror tunnel shaft discovered in the yard of a kindergarten in Rafah
Islamic Jihad’s head of operations located and killed while hiding on the grounds of the Fahed al-Sabah School in northern Gaza
Weapons caches – including explosives, ammunition, and mortars – discovered in a school in the Jabaliya area
A 10-kilometer terror tunnel running from Gaza City toward Zeitoun that passed beneath Israa University

These examples demonstrate that Gaza’s terrorist organizations systematically embedded military infrastructure within civilian educational facilities – a clear violation of international law.

Damage to these institutions, therefore, was not the result of a campaign against education but rather the consequence of Hamas’ deliberate militarization of civilian spaces.

Euro-Med further cites Israel’s continued blockade and restrictions on certain building materials entering Gaza as evidence of “scholasticide.”

In reality, these restrictions apply to dual-use materials that can be repurposed for military construction – particularly for rebuilding Hamas’ extensive tunnel network and other terror infrastructure.

The policy is directly tied to the fact that Hamas continues to control large parts of Gaza and remains committed to rebuilding its military capabilities.

Finally, Euro-Med’s report ignores developments that undermine its narrative entirely.

Despite the disruptions caused by the war, educational life in Gaza has begun to resume:
More than 200 medical students graduated in January 2026, following two years of interrupted studies.
56,000 students celebrated their high school graduation in November 2025.
Al-Azhar University in Gaza reopened its doors to prospective students less than three weeks after the ceasefire took effect.

These developments hardly suggest the destruction of Gaza’s educational system.

The reality is far simpler than the libelous narrative advanced by Euro-Med.

The deaths of students and the damage to schools are tragic consequences of a war initiated by Hamas on October 7 and intensified by the group’s strategy of embedding military infrastructure within civilian areas.

Labeling those consequences “scholasticide” does not illuminate the reality of the conflict.

It distorts it.
124 groups tell University of California regents to act on report of anti-Israel profs fueling Jew-hatred
More than 120 organizations, many of them Jewish, signed a letter calling on the University of California regents to act on a recent AMCHA Initiative report on Jew-hatred, about which 350 former and current scholars at the public school system penned a letter last month.

Tammi Rossman-Benjamin, co-founder and director of the AMCHA Initiative, which organized and also signed onto the letter, told JNS that “we were hearing from different groups about the report and how outrageous it was.”

The many signatories suggest “that it’s not just a Jewish issue, that it’s not just a conservative issue, that it’s not just a legal issue,” she said. “That it’s really a human issue, that really people from all walks of life represented by these organizations are losing confidence in the university rapidly.”

JNS saw an exclusive copy of the letter, whose signatories include B’nai B’rith International, Zionist Organization of America, Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, Combat Antisemitism Movement and Lawfare Project, as well as Christians and Jews United for Israel, Defending Education and National Association of Scholars

The report, which is the focus of the letter, suggests that professors are a key driver of rising Jew-hatred at the public university system.

“UC’s instructional authority, official unit communications and UC-branded platforms should not be used to carry organized political advocacy into the university’s academic life as an institutional program,” the letter states.

“In the cases documented in the report, that politicization has centered on organized anti-Israel activism and has helped fuel a surge of antisemitism and hostile or exclusionary conditions for Jewish students and others perceived as ‘Zionist’ or ‘pro-Israel,’” it adds. “When institutional authority is used this way, political agendas can appear to carry the university’s endorsement, academic norms break down and affected students face harassment, intimidation and exclusion.”

The letter states that the regents should enforce current UC policies and enhance them where necessary, and discuss the report at their next meeting. (JNS sought comment from the UC system.)

“The issue is not just about Jews and Israel. The issue is about misuse of the institution,” Rossman-Benjamin told JNS. “It’s a general issue. Stop politicization.”
ABC’s embarrassing correction after falsely claiming US bombed Gaza
The ABC has been forced to issue an embarrassing correction after falsely claiming the United States bombed Palestinians in Gaza.

In an analysis piece published on Sunday, business reporter Gareth Hutchens wrongly said the US was involved in Israel’s war on the Palestinian enclave.

Within 24 hours after the story was published, the taxpayer-funded public broadcaster admitted the wild claim was blatantly false.

“An analysis piece published on Sunday 9 March (sic) stated that both the United States and Israel were responsible for bombing of Palestinians in Gaza,” the correction said.

“This was incorrect. The story was updated to remove reference to the United States and an editors (sic) note has been posted.”

The editor’s note does not clearly indicate which section of the story included the misinformation or if it was repeated multiple times.

It also says an earlier version of the column simply “suggested” the US had bombed Gaza, in contrast to the official correction.

Hutchens’ piece focused on the Australia-Canada bilateral relationship before shifting to Canberra’s intelligence sharing with the US.

In the amended article, Hutchens suggested the joint Australian-US intelligence base Pine Gap may have had a role in the bombing of Gaza.


45 MPs and Peers insist Starmer must apologise for UK colonial actions in Palestine
Forty-five MPs and peers have backed an open letter calling for Keir Starmer to formally apologise for Britain’s actions in colonial Palestine between 1917 and 1948.

The letter, drafted by leading human rights KCs Ben Emmerson and Danny Friedman, begins by stating:”In 1947 Britain gave away Palestine, a land we had no right to give, even under the laws of the time.”

It accuses Britain of failingto recognise Arab self-determination, lacking proper legal authority for the Balfour Declaration and for the subsequent Mandate, and committed war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Signatories include Layla Moran MP, Labour MPs Richard Burgon, John McDonnell and Graham Leadbitter, the Greens deputy leader Mothin Ali, and Ismail Patel, chair of the Friends of Al-Aqsa group, alongside peers Lord Hendy KC, Baroness Sheehan and Stephen Flynn.

The letter claims that while the Starmer government’s recognition of Palestine last year was progress, “recognition alone is not sufficient. ”

It states:”An apology wouldn’t solve the conflict, but is an initial first step to Britain making peace with its own past. Britain can play a truly unique role in future peace talks and reconstruction, strengthening our hand in resolving this crisis.”

The letter continues:”Keir Starmer should apologise so we can move towards healing this open wound. ”

It quotes a 91-year-old Palestinian philanthropist, Munib Al-Masri, as lead petitioner, who says: “I was a child when I was shot by British soldiers, and I still carry that memory — and shrapnel — in my body. But my story is just one among thousands.

“What Britain did in Palestine did not end when it left in 1948. The policies and violence of that period contributed to the conditions that led to the calamity we are experiencing today. An official apology is about recognising that history and the harm it continues to cause.”
Pro-Palestine supporters flood Green Party to force ‘Zionism is racist’ policy
Far-Left factions within the Green Party are mobilising anti-Zionist activists to join the organisation and force through a “Zionism is Racism” motion.

Pro-Palestine advocates are being instructed on how to join the Green Party before its spring conference by senior politicians.

The movement hopes to prioritise an anti-Israel agenda and secure passage of the controversial motion.

On Friday night, Jewish groups accused the Green Party of “entryism” – the tactic of infiltrating an existing political party with the goal of influencing it from within.

They warned that this motion, if adopted, could make the party “a vehicle for racists”.

In February, Faaiz Hasan, the Pakistan-born Green Party councillor for West Central London and a member of the Muslim Greens, spoke to 500 paying subscribers on the Crispin Flintoff Show, a weekly online programme.

Mr Hasan urged anti-Zionists to join the Greens to commit the political organisation to an “anti-Zionist position”.

He said: “I understand some comrades on this call have reservations about the Greens. But the reality is we are the only force on the Left fighting.

“We literally are proposing a motion to our conference which says Zionism is racism and we want to commit the Green Party to an anti-Zionist position.

“Join the Greens. Help us get these things passed through our motions and our internal democracy.”

Mr Hasan added that the plan was to take the Green Party to a more pro-Palestine stance “both electorally and internally”.

Meanwhile, campaigners from the “Greens Anti-Zionist Alliance” and the “Greens 4 Palestine” are urging their supporters to join the Green Party specifically to help “stop Zionism”.

A video posted on Instagram maps out a four-step strategy which includes joining the Greens, making sure the motion is ranked as high priority, and then voting it through.

Individuals are able to join the Green Party with full voting rights and access to conferences for just £6 a year.


Nick Fuentes apologized for assaulting a Jewish woman. This is her story
Recently Nick Fuentes, the far-right influencer and unrepentant antisemite and misogynist, did something unusual for him: He apologized to a Jew.

Sort of.

The apology was court-ordered, and Fuentes himself was not present for it. His attorney handed a note to the recipient, 59-year-old Marla Rose, and quickly demanded it back before it could appear in public.

And it had nothing to do with Fuentes’s hate speech, but rather with a misdemeanor battery charge stemming from the 27-year-old streamer’s assault of Rose in late 2024 as she approached his front door.

Yet the incident and its aftermath have become one of the few ways in which Fuentes has been held accountable for some of his actions as his public influence has continued to grow. And for Rose, a freelance writer and self-described “jack-of-all-trades progressive activist” who does not typically foreground her Jewish identity, her up-close encounters with Fuentes have proved an education in other ways.

“My Jewish identity is also forged by social justice, of the history of speaking up for those who are oppressed,” she said in an interview. “I think that Jewish people have a long and beautiful history of social justice.”

Rose grew up in a family of “High Holiday Jews,” as she describes it, who came originally from Russia and Ukraine. While her mother held a leadership role with the sisterhood of their local synagogue, today she doesn’t involve herself much in religious life; she also identifies as agnostic. And despite Fuentes’s constant torrent of antisemitic invective online, Rose said her own Jewish identity had little bearing on her decision to walk up to his door — though it wasn’t entirely absent, either.

“My culturally Jewish background is very aligned with what I did,” she said. “My heroes are people like Emma Goldman” — the Jewish socialist leader of the early 20th century.
Bullets are flying because Canada’s leaders are looking away
A shooting incident at a boxing gym in Richmond Hill, Ontario, owned by Salar Gholami, an Iranian-Canadian dissident who had spent years organizing pro-freedom rallies against the mullahs in Tehran, rocked the Greater Toronto area. Seventeen bullets shattered his windows and walls just hours after reports emerged of the Feb. 28 death of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Another shooting took place on March 2, when gunmen opened fire on Temple Emanu-El in North York. Members of the congregation had finished celebrating one of the most joyful holidays in the Jewish calendar, the holiday of Purim. Most were barely out the door when the shots rang out, while some were still inside.

Sadly, these are the predictable consequences of a political culture in Canada that has spent years signaling to extremists that the lives of those who oppose radical Islamist regimes are acceptable targets, especially Jewish lives.

Canadian Jews and others who oppose radical Islam have watched the leadership of their cities and the national leadership of the country fail to prevent the spread of radicalization for years. The mayor of Toronto positioned herself as a champion of progressive causes, going as far as to support Palestinian causes and calling the war in Gaza a genocide. Yet in her own city, she looked the other way as antisemitic hate crimes soared.

The country’s prime minister, Mark Carney, has gone even further, adopting language that demonizes Israel and echoes the talking points of those who would celebrate its destruction. He declared his support for a Palestinian state before the last Israeli hostage even left the Hamas-run Gaza Strip. When leaders at the highest levels of government treat the Jewish community as a political inconvenience rather than a community worthy of protection, they send a signal. That signal travels fast. Now it has arrived, in the form of bullets.


Explosion damages synagogue in Belgium
A powerful explosion rocked the façade of a synagogue in Liège, Belgium, early on Monday morning, resulting in no injuries.

Authorities are investigating the cause of the explosion that took place around 4 a.m., damaging buildings and property, the Le Matin daily reported. The incident has not yet been determined to be an attack on the synagogue, AFP reported.

Prime Minister Bart De Wever suggested the motive was antisemitic, writing on X: “Antisemitism is an attack on our values and our society, and we must fight it unequivocally.” He added: “We stand in solidarity with the Jewish community in Liège and across the country.”

The blast shattered some of the windows of the Synagogue de Liège on Léon Frédéricq Street, police told AFP. The area has been cordoned off as federal and local police investigate the blast, the report said.

Michael Freilich, a Jewish Orthodox lawmaker from De Wever’s New Flemish Alliance party, tied the incident to what he described as judicial failures to punish antisemitic crimes.

“When antisemitism is not a priority for prosecutors, with dozens of cases dismissed, an atmosphere of impunity is created,” Freilich wrote on X. “Physical attacks are, sadly, a predictable consequence. The zero-tolerance promised once against antisemitic acts is running up against a lethargic justice system. My appeal to the government: finally act on this.”

The synagogue affected was established in 1899. It also serves as a Jewish museum.


Jerusalem’s chords bridge lit up with US, Israeli flags
Jerusalem’s Chords Bridge was lighted on Sunday night with the American and Israeli flags as an appreciation gesture to the Washington administration led by U.S. President Donald Trump and the American people in the wake of the war against Iran.

Watch below the blue-and-white and red-blue-and-white flags shine in the capital’s iconic landmark.




Buy EoZ's books  on Amazon!

"He's an Anti-Zionist Too!" cartoon book (December 2024)

PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism (February 2022)

    
 

 



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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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