Tuesday, April 07, 2026

04/06 Links Pt2: The Jewish Passion for Freedom and Human Rights Was Hijacked by the West; Why Israeli Youth Remain Positive during War

From Ian:

Gerald M. Steinberg: The Jewish Passion for Freedom and Human Rights Was Hijacked by the West
Freedom and human rights are universal values, and Jews have often been at the forefront of these struggles, playing central roles in the creation of the modern human rights movement, forged in the shadow of the Holocaust. They built strong institutions tasked with implementing these principles. But now these institutions and their leaders have betrayed the moral force behind their creation. They stand for and reinforce hate and demonization directed at Israel.

Rene Cassin, a Jewish jurist from France, was a principal drafter of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Raphael Lemkin (who coined the term "genocide") was a principal author of the Genocide Convention.

Peter Benenson, a journalist from a prominent Jewish and Zionist family in Britain, founded Amnesty International, turning it into a political superpower. Robert L. Bernstein, the head of Random House publishers, built Helsinki Watch to report on Soviet compliance with the human rights components of the U.S.-Soviet detente known as the Helsinki Accords. The organization expanded into Human Rights Watch. Bernard Kouchner, a French Jew, helped found Doctors Without Borders.

When the founders of all three institutions retired, their legacy and moral principles were abandoned. The new leaders were anti-Western, anti-American, and anti-Israel ideologues for whom the rhetoric of human rights was a convenient political weapon. They went from false claims against Israel of "war crimes" to the poisonous accusation of "genocide" - a heinous form of Holocaust inversion. In 2009, Bernstein began to denounce the organization he created - Human Rights Watch - for turning Israel into a pariah state.

The hostile takeover of the principles of freedom and human rights, and the institutions that claim to embody them, has done tremendous damage, not only to the Jewish people but also to the moral values themselves.
A Jew Among Jews By Abe Greenwald
Via Commentary Newsletter, sign up here.
During Passover, the Free Press published a beautiful piece by Olivia Reingold titled “I Am an October 8 Jew.” In it, she describes how, after October 7, she began to reclaim the Jewish heritage she had all but abandoned as a child. Eventually, Reingold would find herself moved to tears during a recent Shabbat service, “a day that used to mean nothing to me, except more time to scroll online or work.”

I can’t say that I’m an October 8 Jew, as I was devoted to the cause well before then. But something about my Judaism has also changed since October 7.

I’ve long been a passionate Zionist, and I’ve felt that I owe everything to God. While I am a devoted believer, however, I’m a very negligent observer. Having come fully to embrace my Judaism only in adulthood, I’ve done slightly more than the bare minimum to maintain a personal sense of Jewish tradition.

Beginning a few decades ago, I went about kosher eating in my own way (and I’ve got my biblical justifications for it). I wrap tefillin in phases, the way others might go to the gym, slack off, and then resume. I pore over the Hebrew Bible regularly but in no regimented fashion. I tread lightly and humbly into the Talmud.

All of which is to say, I have cobbled together my own version of observance and continue to fine-tune it. Many Jews do the same.

Judaism, as I came to it, was about my relationship with my God, my place in history, and my inheritance. A lot of “my” was involved in this, but somehow “my people” barely came up.

October 7 changed me in this important respect. Before that day, I had never felt much of an ongoing obligation to my fellow Jews around the world. Of course, whenever I heard news of threatened or assaulted Jews, the bonds of history and faith would take hold. But they would once again recede. I didn’t think a great deal about how my actions or words affected the Jews of Australia, Asia, Europe, and elsewhere.
Betrayal of the Kurds shows why Jews depend on Israel
This is why Jews need the state of Israel. It is a lesson delivered by the Holocaust and by every atrocity and injustice meted out to the powerless ever since. Israel must hold. And its situation is precarious. It is tiny and vastly outnumbered by its enemies. Around 15km wide at its narrowest point, the country has no strategic depth, nowhere for it to retreat to in the event of a military defeat.

So Israel must fight to survive. It can never rest or become complacent. It must be powerful.

But it must also be smart. Tactical brilliance must be accompanied by the kind of strategic and political foresight that has been unforgivably absent for far too long.

And central to this is finding an accommodation, not just with Iran – when the pathologically murderous Islamic Republic is finally gone – but with another of the world’s stateless people: the Palestinians. Right now, there is no leadership – on either side – to make this possible. But Israel cannot abandon peace, not just because it is a moral imperative, but because it is a strategic one.

It is here that my mind returns to a line from, of all things, the TV series The Wire. Gang leader Avon Barksdale is standing by the hospital bed of a comatose friend, talking to his nephew D’Angelo Barksdale about the inescapable logic of “the game” – the brutal ​​system in which they all live. “The thing is, you only gotta fuck up once. Be a little slow, be a little late, just once,” he says. “And how you ain’t gon’ never be slow? Never be late?”

From Rojava to Baltimore to Gaza and Tehran the point is the same: to survive in “the game” – be it drug dealing or the far more brutal world of geopolitics – being strong is unignorably necessary. But it is not sufficient. Avon knows that his only future is jail or death.

Thankfully, Israel’s options are broader. But it must internalise Avon’s words – because no one wins every war forever. At some point, you will be slow, you will be late. You must defeat your enemies. But you must also make peace with them – or you will never find peace yourself.
US Court of Appeals affirms $655.5 million judgement against PLO, Palestinian Authority
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has reinstated a $655.5 million judgement against the Palestine Liberation Organization and Palestinian Authority for supporting terrorist attacks and making payments to the perpetrators.

In a March 30 decision, the three-judge panel reversed its previous decision to throw out the case following a 2025 Supreme Court decision in a similar suit and the passage of a 2019 federal law designed to enable the victims of terrorism to pursue civil court cases against the perpetrators.

The plaintiffs in the case, Waldman v. Palestine Liberation Org, are a group of U.S. citizens injured during terrorist attacks in Israel or the estates and survivors of victims killed in those attacks.

In 2004, they filed suit against the PLO and PA under the Anti-Terrorism Act. After a seven-week trial, a jury returned a verdict in their favor, and the district court judge entered a judgement against the Palestinian organizations for nearly $656 million.

In the succeeding two decades, the plaintiffs have largely been stymied on appeal, with the PA and PLO successfully arguing that the courts lacked jurisdiction.

In 2025, the Supreme Court decided in Fuld v. Palestine Liberation Organization to reverse and remand the 2nd Circuit’s most recent decision to toss out the Waldman case and clarified the jurisdictional question.

The 2nd Circuit’s new decision granted the plaintiffs’ motion to affirm the district court’s original judgement in light of the Supreme Court decision.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry welcomed the ruling on Monday.

“A major step in holding the Palestinian authority accountable for its long-lasting terror support—financially and legally,” it stated.


Wireless festival boss defends decision to invite Kanye West to headline event
The head of the company responsible for the Wireless Festival has defended the announcement that Kanye West will headline the event, talking about “forgiveness and giving people a second chance” and saying “we are not giving him a platform to extol opinion of whatever nature.”

In a statement on Sunday evening, Melvin Benn, Managing Director of Festival Republic, described living on a Kibbutz half a century ago and being “pro Jew and the Jewish state… What Ye has said in the past about Jews and Hitler is as abhorrent to me as it is to the Jewish community, the Prime Minister and others that have commented and – taking him at his word – to Ye now also.”

Kanye West, who is one of the best-selling rap artists of all time, has had two two major and extended episodes in which he has described himself as a Nazi and publicly disparaged Jewish people. During the first, in 2022, he talked about going “Deathcon 3 [sic] on Jewish people”, claimed that he was being targeted by “the Jewish media” said “I am a Nazi”, and “there’s a a lot of things I love about Hitler”. He was ultimately dropped by sports giant Adidas, with whom he had previously enjoyed a successful and highly lucrative partnership, via the “Yeezy” trainer line.

Having apologised to the Jewish community in 2023, in 2025 West publicly revoked that apology, saying, “I’m never apologising for my Jewish comments. I can say whatever the f— I wanna say forever”. He went on to describe himself as “a Nazi” again and in May 2025 released a song called “Heil Hitler”. He purchased a Superbowl ad which directed people to buy merchandise from his website, including clothes featuring a black swastika. As a result, West was dropped by his talent agency and banned from entering Australia.

In the wake of the announcement by Wireless festival last week that Kanye West would be headlining, every single major Jewish community organisation in this country condemned it, as did the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Education. Earlier on Monday it was reported that government ministers were actively considering whether or not to approve any visa application by West to enter the country.

On Sunday, Pepsi, the lead sponsor of the festival, announced that it would be withdrawing its sponsorship. Diageo and Paypal, two of the festival’s other major backers, have since followed suit. There were significant questions as to why Wireless had not responded to any requests for comment since its announcement last Monday.

In his statement, Benn also referred to “having had a person in my life for the last 15 years who suffers from mental illness”. He went on to say that “Forgiveness and giving people a second chance are becoming a lost virtue in this ever-increasing divisive world and I would ask people to reflect on their instant comments of disgust at the likelihood of him performing (as was mine) and offer some forgiveness and hope to him as I have decided to do.”

Benn also said that “Ye’s music is played on commercial radio stations in this country. It is available via live streams and downloads in this country without comment or vitriol from anyone and he has a legal right to come into the country and to perform in this country. He is intended to come in and perform.
Tottenham rejects Kanye West concert bid over antisemitism concerns
Tottenham Hotspur has rejected a request by Kanye West to perform at its home stadium in London, citing the rapper’s history of antisemitic statements and the club’s close ties to the Jewish community.

West, 46, who has legally changed his name to Ye, sought to hold concerts at the stadium as part of the promotion of his new album. However, the north London club made clear it would not allow the performance to go ahead, given the sensitivity surrounding its fan base and the club’s historical identity.

Tottenham has a large and dedicated Jewish following, and the club has long embraced that connection. Club sources told British media that hosting a figure who has made a series of offensive remarks about Jews “would constitute a direct affront to fans and the community.”

A source at the club told The Sun: “We are proud of our heritage and our ties to the Jewish community. There is no place for antisemitism at Tottenham, and hosting someone who has promoted such views is simply not on the table.”

Following the rejection, the artist turned to the Wireless Festival, which accepted the proposal and announced him as the headline act for all three days of the event, set to take place at Finsbury Park on July 10–12. The move, however, has sparked a sharp backlash, already leading major sponsors to withdraw.

“It is deeply concerning Kanye West has been booked to perform at Wireless despite his previous antisemitic remarks and celebration of Nazism,” Starmer told The Sun in an interview. “Antisemitism in any form is abhorrent and must be confronted firmly wherever it appears. Everyone has a responsibility to ensure Britain is a place where Jewish people feel safe.”
Jonathan Sacerdoti: Kanye West should be barred from UK as a foreign hate preacher. Plus Brent council twins with Nablus
Jonathan Sacerdoti urges the Home Secretary to bar entry to the UK for the singer who released Nazi song. Plus the LGBTQ+ campaign to visit Nablus as London's Brent council twins with the Palestinian city.


Online algorithms are driving Israel’s global reputation crisis
The algorithm is killing Israel’s reputation, among many other things.

Israel’s narrative, with its heavy reliance on understanding historical complexity and nuance, has a built-in disadvantage. The human brain, never designed to handle hundreds of digital stimulations, craves simplicity in the face of growing complexity. Information overload, orchestrated by the merciless algorithm, pushes people to adopt a binary worldview.

The algorithm creates an “illusion of knowledge,” causing people to feel that they have enough information to form an opinion.

Thus amid the ongoing wars – with Hamas, Iran, Hezbollah –Israel’s reputation is deteriorating, especially among the younger generation, which is characterized by an abysmal attention span and lack of depth.

The good news is that superficiality works both ways and therefore can also present an opportunity.

According to a new and comprehensive AI study conducted by one of the most celebrated market research companies in the United States, the younger generation’s disdain of Israel is not a result of any deep-seated convictions.

It is a trend driven by the urge to engage in virtue signaling.

The study clearly indicates that young people are highly impressionable and persuadable.

Israel must invest heavily and consistently in engaging this demographic through a combination of facts and emotional stimulation. If Israel can execute this properly, it might be able to move the needle in its favor.
What Piers Morgan Gets Wrong About “Let Journalists Into Gaza”
Piers Morgan’s (@piersmorgan) frequent go-to argument in discussions on Israel is harping on the fact that foreign journalists still cannot enter Gaza independently. He uses this as a recurring counter-argument, suggesting that if the Israeli narrative were true, they should simply let the media in to verify it. But he goes further than that. He claims the restriction suggests Israel is concealing things it does not want the world to see. The implication is clear: there are hidden atrocities that would be devastating if exposed, and foreign journalists would be the ones to uncover this concealed truth, something Israel desperately wants to avoid.

The claim that Israel is hiding something terrible does not hold up when you consider that Gaza is not an information vacuum. There are already numerous journalists inside. Local reporters and correspondents are operating continuously. Al Jazeera maintains a constant on-the-ground presence through local journalists in Gaza, including Hani Mahmoud , Hind Khoudary, and Tareq Abu Azzoum, all of whom provide regular live reporting. Journalist Wafaa Shurafa reports from inside Gaza for outlets like the AP and Washington Post . Anas Baba reports from Gaza for NPR, covering daily life and conditions on the ground. Nidal al-Mughrabi serves as Reuters’ correspondent based in the Gaza Strip, Mahmud Hams reports from inside Gaza for AFP, as does Mohamed Solaimane for Turkish outlet TRT World and others. These are not isolated cases. They represent a continuous stream of reporting, with journalists producing video, interviews, and live updates throughout the war, alongside social media posts from inside Gaza.

Internet access is widespread in Gaza, so there is no barrier to getting information out in real time. If Israel were trying to hide something, cutting off communications would be the obvious first step. We have seen exactly that in other conflicts. Iran, for example, has repeatedly imposed internet blackouts in order to restrict the flow of information and maintain control.

If there were a specific concealed atrocity or hidden reality, what exactly is stopping it from being shown? What exactly would a foreign journalist uncover that the many local journalists and tens of thousands of Gazans with smartphones and social media accounts cannot? Hamas controls the population centers across Gaza and the internal flow of information. If there were evidence of large, undisclosed crimes, it would be amplified, not suppressed.

Morgan never clearly articulates what is supposedly being hidden. It cannot be fatalities. Those have been reported throughout the war by the Gaza Ministry of Health , including cases where bodies are not recovered, with Gazans able to submit deaths through reporting mechanisms such as online forms. The current figure stands at roughly 72,000, including combatants. Months into the ceasefire, there is no evidence of large, previously unreported deaths. It cannot be the scale of destruction. That is already extensively documented through satellite imagery, on-the-ground footage, and UN reporting. Entire neighborhoods reduced to rubble, a consequence of urban warfare and destruction of hundreds of kilometers of tunnels, have been visible to the world for months.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali: Tucker Carlson made his most outlandish claim yet: Now, AYAAN HIRSI ALI exposes the provocateur, leaving him no option... but to admit he's gotten it all wrong
Tucker reads the symptoms well enough. It is the remedy he reaches for that gives cause for alarm.

He watches the Arab Gulf states project confidence onto the world stage and mistakes what was renounced for what was retained. The skylines are real, the sovereign wealth funds are real, the global ambition is real. What he gets wrong is what produced them. Tucker sees this vitality and attributes it to Islamic identity, to some civilizational coherence the secular West has abandoned. He has the causation exactly backwards. The Gulf states are thriving precisely because they retreated from Sharia, not because they embraced it. Ayaan Hirsi Ali is a Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Founder of the AHA Foundation and Contributor to the Restoring the West Substack

Ayaan Hirsi Ali is a Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Founder of the AHA Foundation and Contributor to the Restoring the West Substack

For decades, Saudi Arabia and its neighbors bankrolled the global export of Wahhabist orthodoxy—blaming Jews and Israel for the negative consequences of their actions, funding madrassas from Karachi to Cologne, paying the salaries of imams who preached that music was haram, that women were chattel, and that apostates deserved death.

They could afford the piety because oil paid for everything. Then came the reckoning. Oil revenues grew volatile; the young population wanted jobs, not just theology. The world economy beckoned.

And so the trade-off was made, quietly but decisively. Less Sharia, more prosperity. Saudi Arabia expelled or sidelined the Muslim Brotherhood. The UAE built a Ministry of Tolerance and Coexistence. Qatar hosts American military bases and serves alcohol in its hotels. These governments came to understand, through hard experience, what Tucker has not yet grasped.

He imagines Sharia as a kind of spiritual seasoning for a modern society. It was never designed to be that. Sharia is total. It is a system that governs diet and dress, commerce and criminal punishment, family law and foreign policy.

You cannot have Sharia and a stock exchange, Sharia and women in the workforce, Sharia and a tourism industry, without something fundamental giving way. The Gulf chose the economy. They chose pragmatism. And their Islamists—the true believers who wanted the authentic version—were shown the door.

Many of those Islamists are now headquartered in Europe and proclaim to want to conquer it. I speak of all this from personal knowledge. My father described Chop-Chop Square—Riyadh's public execution ground, where beheadings and floggings were carried out before assembled crowds in God's name—in a voice carrying the wound of a man who had seen something he could not unsee and wished he had never seen.

He needed his children to understand that the place we slept, ate, and went to school in was also the place that did this. I did not need to be told twice that this was Sharia in operation: the hudud punishments prescribed in the Quran, applied with complete fidelity to the text.

Sharia's record is long and legible. Tucker should acquaint himself with it.


Hamas demanding guarantees of IDF withdrawal before discussing disarmament
Hamas representatives have told mediators they will not discuss disarmament before receiving guarantees that the Israel Defense Forces will fully withdraw from the Gaza Strip, three sources told ‌Reuters on Thursday.

The terrorist group met with Egyptian, Qatari and Turkish mediators in Cairo on Wednesday and Thursday to give its first response to a disarmament proposal presented by U.S. President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace, two Egyptian sources and a Palestinian official told the wire agency.

Hamas presented several demands and proposed amendments to the Board’s plan, including an end to Israeli “violations,” implementation of the entire ceasefire plan and an IDF withdrawal ⁠from the enclave, the two Egyptian sources said. The sources said Hamas refused to discuss laying down weapons before those issues are addressed.

Another source with direct knowledge of the Board of Peace’s thinking said that Hamas’s response meant that talks were ‌unlikely to lead to a breakthrough. The source said that the terrorists were supposed to meet with mediators again next week.

Hamas officials declined to comment to Reuters on the content of the meetings. The Israeli government and the Board of Peace did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Nickolay Mladenov, the Board of Peace’s high representative for Gaza, said on Wednesday that “all sides have endorsed the plan, the international community has supported it, now is the time to agree to the framework for its implementation.”

The Board of Peace continues to work toward a Gaza “that is reconstructed and secured by the transitional Palestinian administration ... free of weapons and tunnels, and reunified with the reformed and legitimate Palestinian Authority,” he tweeted.


IAF slays Hamas weapons smuggler in Gaza strike
The Israeli Air Force over the weekend killed a Hamas terrorist operative who was involved in smuggling weapons into the Gaza Strip, the military said on Monday.

Ali Ahmad Ali Amrain “worked to supply various weapons for the Hamas terrorist organization, which were used to carry out terror attacks throughout the Gaza Strip,” it stated.

The Israeli military “struck and eliminated the terrorist in order to remove the threat posed to IDF troops,” it added.

Several steps were taken to mitigate harm to noncombatants, including the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance and “additional intelligence,” the statement continued.

The army stressed that its soldiers remain deployed in accordance with the U.S.-brokered Oct. 10, 2025, ceasefire deal “and will continue to operate to remove any immediate threat.”

The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s “military wing,” on Sunday denounced calls for its disarmament under U.S. President Donald Trump’s ceasefire plan “extremely dangerous.”

Abu Obeida, a nom de guerre used by Hamas spokesmen, said Washington’s demands for disarmament were “nothing but an overt attempt to continue the genocide against our people, something we will not accept under any ‌circumstances.”


Hoover Institution: Ben Shapiro and The Battle For The Soul of Conservatism
Is conservatism losing its way? Ben Shapiro says yes—and explains why. In this candid interview, Shapiro takes aim at conspiracy culture, fractures inside the right, and the growing distrust of institutions reshaping American politics. From college campuses to foreign policy to the future of media, this is a blunt assessment of where the movement stands—and where it could be headed next.


‘These hate preachers get through the net’: Concerns raised over visa system failure
AJAC Executive Manager Joel Burnie discusses Australia's cancellation of the visa of an Islamic hate preacher.

“It is incredibly shocking that a quick Google search of these personalities would have found exactly what good journalists and other community members were able to find,” Mr Burnie told Sky News host Chris Kenny.

“In the past two and a half years, this government has presided over an explosion of antisemitism.

“These two very clear hate preachers get through the net, and it appears as though there was no net to begin with.”




Frankfurt cinema declines to participate in Jewish film festival, drawing backlash
A German cinema’s decision not to participate in a local Jewish film festival is spurring allegations of antisemitism, even as its manager says the move was financial.

The Jewish Community of Frankfurt announced last week that the Astor Film Lounge did not wish to host movies during Jewish Film Days this year. The cinema, it said, had cited its workers’ reluctance to staff movies that are part of the biennial festival, as well as concerns about the security required to host Jewish events.

“The decision unequivocally signifies that Jewish life, Jewish people, and a Jewish media presence are no longer welcome at the Astor Film Lounge,” the community said in a statement.

“This line of reasoning is not only disappointing, but sends a devastating societal signal: If Jewish life and Jewish presence are suppressed out of fear of potential reactions, then this effectively amounts to a capitulation to antisemitic pressure,” the statement continued. “The fact that Jewish life can only take place under police protection is already shameful. That this necessity for police protection is now being used as a pretext to completely prevent Jewish events is a scandal.”

But the cinema’s managing director, Tom Flebbe, contested the Jewish Community of Frankfurt’s interpretation of events. In a statement cited in a leading local newspaper, he said the theater had withdrawn this year for economic reasons, as only 40 to 50 guests had come to screenings last year.

Flebbe said a lower-level manager had made unauthorized and inaccurate remarks about security concerns.

“Economic viability is a legitimate and necessary basis for business decisions — regardless of the thematic context of an event,” Flebbe said, adding that other joint projects with the Jewish community will continue as planned.

“The ASTOR Film Lounge MyZeil views Jewish life as a natural and welcome part of this society,” the statement concluded. “The decision against participating in the 2026 Jewish Film Days is not against Jewish people, Jewish culture, or Jewish presence. It is the result of a careful consideration of economic factors. We regret that our reasoning has been interpreted in this way and stand by our decision.”
Australia, UNESCO open pilot program to train educators on combating Jew-hatred in schools
Australia has launched a pilot program in the country’s schools to help educators identify and address antisemitism in the classroom.

The initiative, developed by the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in partnership with the Australian government, was formally rolled out on March 17 at a policy dialogue focused on a national approach to antisemitism in education.

The program is being piloted over six months in New South Wales and Victoria, with plans for a nationwide expansion. It brings together federal and state education authorities, as well as public, independent, Catholic, Jewish and Islamic school systems, officials said.

The effort follows the terrorist attack at a Chanukah celebration on Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Dec. 14, 2025, where a father and son killed 15 people and wounded dozens in what authorities described as an antisemitic, Islamic State-inspired assault.

Australian officials said the attackers acted alone but were motivated by extremist ideology, marking the country’s deadliest mass shooting in nearly three decades.

In the wake of the attack, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the creation of an antisemitism education task force to strengthen prevention and response efforts in schools.

The UNESCO program aligns with that initiative, Jillian Segal, Australia’s special envoy to combat antisemitism, told JNS, describing it as a key component of the government’s broader strategy.

The training is designed to deepen educators’ understanding of both historical and contemporary antisemitism, while equipping them with practical tools to respond to incidents and manage sensitive classroom discussions.
How ‘progressive’ K-12 education promotes bigotry in California
Jewish students and educators in K-12 schools across the country are experiencing a surge of antisemitism, often in proudly “progressive” communities.

In those environments, antisemitism is often perceived as a solely right-wing phenomenon that conjures up images of Groyper bros hoisting tiki torches and chanting “Jews will not replace us.”

There is little to no awareness of how progressive movements have become fertile ground for a hypocritical form of the world’s oldest hatred.

Far-left groups like the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), which have gained influence in teachers unions, are rooted in anti-Westernism, anti-Americanism, anti-capitalism, and anti-Zionism – all of which often lead to antisemitism.

They seek to tear down the meritocratic and pluralistic values that have empowered Jews and other minorities to achieve safety and prosperity.

And since the vast majority of Jewish Americans support and feel connected to Israel, Jewish identity itself has become suspect in many progressive circles. Jewish students often report hiding their identity and connection to Israel to avoid being branded “colonizers,” “oppressors,” or “genocide supporters.”

The problem has gotten so bad that StandWithUs joined the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law in a lawsuit against the state of California, the California State Board of Education, the state Department of Education, and state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond “on behalf of Jewish parents whose children have been, and continue to be, the subjects of cruel, persistent, and pervasive antisemitism in their California public schools.”

We had hoped that when a 2023 lawsuit against the Santa Ana School District succeeded in prohibiting the district from pushing antisemitic materials in class, the rest of the state would have heard the message, but it clearly has not.


Where have the Jewish memorial monuments in Melbourne disappeared to?
The Australian Jewish Association reported Monday night a troubling incident at Caulfield Park, where several historically significant memorials have disappeared. Community members are working to determine whether the removals were due to planned municipal work or deliberate vandalism, but the lack of prior notice has raised concerns of a targeted act against Jewish and national heritage.

Among the missing sites is the memorial plaque marking the Battle of Beersheba, commemorating the charge of the Light Horse in 1917, widely regarded as the last successful cavalry charge in history. Also gone is the plaque honoring Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish diplomat credited with saving tens of thousands of Jews during the Holocaust. A tree planted in his memory in the park has also been affected.

In addition, a central memorial stone near the “Lone Pine” tree has disappeared. The stone bore the names of 298 residents of the Caulfield area who were killed in World War I, serving as a key site of remembrance for the local community.

The removal of these memorials represents a significant loss to both local and national heritage. The monuments reflected the historical ties between the Jewish community, Australia’s military legacy, and events connected to the Land of Israel.

The incident comes amid a broader rise in antisemitic incidents across Australia in recent months, heightening concern within the community as authorities work to clarify the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of the memorials.


Israel's Elbit Systems signs $750 million deal for missile systems with Greece
After years of delays, Elbit Systems announced on Monday that it has secured a contract worth approximately $750 million to provide Precise and Universal Launching System (PULS) rocket artillery to Greece.

The deal was finalized as a government to government agreement between the Defense Ministry and the Hellenic Ministry of National Defense.

The four-year long contract will include an additional "ten years of follow-on maintenance and support services" according to Elbit.

Also included is the delivery of PULS launchers along with a diverse munitions package. This package consists of training rockets, operational precision-guided rockets for various ranges, and loitering munitions.

The PULS system is designed to launch both unguided and guided projectiles. Elbit noted that the launchers are pod-agnostic, meaning they can be integrated onto various wheeled or tracked vehicles already in use by the Greek military, which the company claims reduces long-term training and maintenance costs.

Under Greek government policy, Elbit will partner with local Greek defense industries to produce the systems. This arrangement includes a transfer of technology and technical know how to domestic Greek firms.

"Greece joins additional NATO countries that have selected the PULS system," Elbit CEO Bezhalel Machlis said, adding that the project further strengthens the longstanding and successful cooperation between the company and the Hellenic Ministry of National Defense.
Publicis acquires bootstrapped Israeli startup AdgeAI for $100 million
The Israeli company, which was founded less than three years ago, has developed AI agents that automate marketing decisions across major platforms.

French advertising group Publicis has acquired Israeli startup AdgeAI. The company, which operated on a bootstrap model and had not raised external capital, is being sold for an estimated $100 million. The companies did not disclose the value of the deal when it was announced earlier this month.

AdgeAI was founded just days before the October 7 attacks by Eyal Ben Shalom (CEO) and his brother Asaf Ben Shalom (CTO). A partner to some of the world’s biggest brands and platforms, Adge’s AI-powered analytics platform optimizes creative and video performance by analysing engagement and conversion data, identifying the most effective creative elements, and delivering actionable insights that guide content strategy and improve ROI across campaigns.

The company previously took part in Meta’s AI accelerator program in Israel. Over the past year, it appointed Adam Raz as CMO and Udi Avital as Chief Creative Officer, both former Meta executives.

Publicis is acquiring AdgeAI’s technology to integrate it into its internal product systems, aiming to provide clients with more advanced creative and performance tools. At the same time, AdgeAI is expected to continue operating and expanding its product within the fast-growing brand marketing space.

The company has developed a platform of autonomous AI agents designed for marketing and growth teams in large organizations. Unlike basic generative AI tools that assist with content creation, AdgeAI’s system manages end-to-end marketing strategies. It analyzes campaign performance data and independently adjusts execution to maximize return on investment. The agents integrate with organizational data and marketing systems such as Salesforce and Google Ads, allowing them to act directly on campaigns.
Why Israeli Youth Remain Positive during War
One of the most striking findings of the latest World Happiness Report is that young Israeli adults under 25 ranked 3rd in the world in life satisfaction scores, says Anat Fanti, a happiness and well-being researcher at Bar-Ilan University. This is in contrast to a well-being crisis among young adults in the U.S. who rank in 60th place.

"The 2026 report is dedicated to the impact of social media use on the well-being of young people," she explains. "It applies particularly to platforms driven by algorithmically selected content, like TikTok, that pushes young people to endlessly scroll through negative or distressing content online. Such platforms tend to show a distinctly negative correlation with mental well-being."

"It's not that Israeli youth are unaffected...but in Israel, at 18, you join the military and your life changes. There's the moment when the young adult from the social media world meets real life in its full intensity, especially in the past 2.5 years of war. Young people here can't really live in the illusion of social media - they're forced to confront reality."

"In Israel, the reality encountered within the IDF...ultimately produces something far healthier - far more communal and meaningful. In 2025, Israeli youth ranked first in the world in the quality of their social connections. That contributes enormously to happiness and well-being."

"Young adults 25 and under in Israel are those serving in the military and doing reserve duty, carrying an enormous weight of responsibility towards the entire population. That's the sense of meaning and clear purpose that Israeli existence provides, in addition to the fact that Israel is a country with an extraordinary family and friendship infrastructure, where everyone feels that every soldier in the IDF is their own child."

"These young people are our future. They are negatively affected by social media like every other young person in the world, but in the end, they are more grounded through real-life situations, their friends, their family, and the entire country's social support and mutual generosity."
Holocaust survivor celebrates her 105th birthday dancing in a bomb shelter
A 105-year-old Holocaust survivor celebrated her birthday in a Haifa bomb shelter last week as Iranian missiles targeted the Jewish state.

A video released by the Embassy of Israel to the US, shows Miriam, who lives in Israel, dancing, determined to not let the war stop her from enjoying her birthday.

The embassy posted on X: “Even as sirens sounded and missiles fell, the celebration didn’t stop. A lifetime of resilience on full display.

Singer Regev Hod. serenaded Miriam, who was pictured dancing with her friends, many of whom were also centenarians. Many waved Israeli flags.

Comments under the post read: “Am Yisrael chai” and “God [loves] her.”

During Pesach many Israelis had to hold their seders in bomb shelters. Before the festival there were reports of weddings being held in bomb shelters, and at the start of the war, there were Purim celebrations. Soldiers serving in Lebanon read the Megillah Esther in their bunker.

But Israeli resilience, does little to stop the Iranian missiles coming in – and sometimes, even the Iron Dome can’t catch them.




Buy EoZ's books  on Amazon!

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

PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism (February 2022)

    
 

 



AddToAny

Printfriendly

EoZTV Podcast

Podcast URL

Subscribe in podnovaSubscribe with FeedlyAdd to netvibes
addtomyyahoo4Subscribe with SubToMe

search eoz

comments

Speaking

Speaking

translate

E-Book

For $18 donation








Sample Text

EoZ's Most Popular Posts in recent years

Search2

Hasbys!

Hasbys!

2019 Nobel Peace Prize nominee

Elder of Ziyon - حـكـيـم صـهـيـون



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.

Donate!

Donate to fight for Israel!

Monthly subscription:
Payment options


One time donation:

Follow EoZ on Twitter!

Interesting Blogs

Show All

Blog Archive

Copyright © Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News | Powered by Blogger
Blogger Templates