Friday, April 24, 2026

04/23 Links Pt2: Why Doesn't Everyone Love the Jews?; If the fire-bombed synagogues had been mosques, the Government would respond very differently

From Ian:

Stephen Daisley: Why Doesn't Everyone Love the Jews?
As the tide of antisemitism rises once more, a familiar question is posed: why do they hate the Jews? The answers are the same as before: ethnic and religious prejudice, political fanaticism, the conspiratorial mindset, each feeding and being fed by jealousy, ignorance and resentment.

Antisemitism is not a philosophy arrived at by reason. In fact, it's a volcanic madness that is always there, waiting to erupt at the first rumblings of societal instability, economic precarity, or spiritual disorder. There might be more to gain from flipping the question on its head: why doesn't everyone love the Jews?

It's a thought that has occurred to this gentile more than once because, truth be told, Jews are kind of awesome. The original scribes and scholars of the Bible, defiers of pharaohs, and humblers of empires. Source of modern law and ethics; composers of some of civilization's finest music, art and literature; bearers of an ancient covenant across two millennia of exile. Survivors of extermination; revivers of a nation and a language; and innovators in agriculture, medicine and technology. All this, plus Gal Gadot.

There is surely sufficient truth to foster a culture of philosemitism, by which I mean a respect and admiration for Jewish civilization and its fruits; for institutions, practices and teachings whose benefits stretch far beyond Jews and Jewish communities.

In practical terms, philosemitism means countering the ignorance of others, counseling your children in respect for Jewish people and revulsion for those who despise them, refusing to remain silent when Jews are targeted for harm or hatred.

Former Chief Rabbi of Britain Jonathan Sacks said: "The way a culture treats its Jews is the best indicator of its humanity or lack of it." That culture must move beyond thinking of Jews as a minority to be accommodated and understand them as rightful co-authors of the culture.
Moral Collapse Goes Mainstream By Abe Greenwald
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The liberal establishment has decided it can’t get enough of Hamas enthusiast and 9/11 fan, Hasan Piker. Democratic midterm candidates campaign with him by their side, and the New York Times seems determined to give him a daily platform. Yesterday, for example, on the Times’ homepage you could find a podcast featuring Piker in conversation with the writers Nadja Spiegelman and Jia Tolentino. The nominal topic was what Spiegelman dubbed “microlooting”—stealing items from corporate-owned stores as an act of political resistance. But the discussion quickly turned into a celebration of crime and terrorism committed in the name of justice.

Piker noted that he’s “pro-piracy all the way” and said “we gotta get back to cool crimes” such as “bank robbery, stealing priceless artifacts, things of that nature.” Tolentino believes that when it comes to “stealing with a purpose,” “we love that in America.” She also thinks that blowing up pipelines should be legal and private schools should be outlawed.

It's three cheers for piracy, robbery, and terrorism on the homepage of the New York Times! The podcast seems to have shocked many people. They can’t understand how we’ve gotten here.

I can. It’s precisely the kind of thing I would expect to see from a culture that’s turned against its Jews. Piker, like New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and a bunch of woke-right podcasters, has been celebrated by the liberals for his brazen anti-Semitic incitement in the years since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023. That’s what made him, and so many others, a beloved star of the left and, eventually, the liberal establishment.

When a culture decides to protect and even reward people for promoting anti-Jewish terrorism—you know, intifada—that culture breaks the civic bonds that hold society together. If you think you can get away with encouraging Jew-hatred while preserving taboos and proscriptions on other destructive impulses, you’re in for a wild ride.

In permitting and elevating anti-Semitism, leftists and liberals have not only sanctioned violent bigotry, which is ruinous enough. They’ve unleashed a tsunami of evil. Because anti-Semitism is fundamentally a form of scapegoating, they’ve sanctioned the idea that victims are responsible for the transgressions committed against them. This legitimizes all manner of thuggery.
Pondering what makes Greta Thunberg and her ilk tick?
Why is the left so bitterly opposed to Israel? There are plenty of reasons why this should not be the case.

Yes, many Jews may look “white” to most people (of course, a great many do not). But most Israelis come from North Africa and other countries in the Mideast—Morocco, Yemen, Iraq. Of course, insofar as the right-wing fever swamp fringes are concerned, they are not even counted as belonging in the white category; “they will not replace us” is their motto. So, they are in effect non-white, and for all intents and purposes should be beloved of the left.

It cannot be denied that, considering this perspective, the underdog deserves special appreciation.

Well, Israel has a population of nearly 10 million people and is surrounded by 23 Arab countries hosting roughly 1 billion people. The governments of all of them—at least until the 2020 Abraham Accords—hated Zionism and Zionists with a purple passion. This country occupies far less than 1% of the entire land mass of the Middle East; yet, as some of its regional neighbors purport, it should be kicked out. Or rather, eliminated.

It is the “Little Satan,” according to Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis and other terror groups that target civilians. And it works with its ally, the “Big Satan,” aka the United States.

They point their fingers at the joint war against Iran as an example. Yes, the same Iran that happens to be launching missiles right now at fellow Arab states. Where is all the protesting against that?

And still, the left sees Israelis as colonizers. (That’s very bad, in case you haven’t been paying attention.) And so it goes, they deserve to be targeted by terror regimes and related outfits. (Aren’t they bad?)

The Jews have been in the Holy Land for some 3,500 years. The Arabs only arrived a few scant centuries ago. The Al-Aqsa mosque lies above the Jewish Second Temple, which is perched on top of the Jewish First Temple. So the natives, beloved of the left, are the Jews; the interlopers are the Arabs.

It could have gone the other way, but it didn’t. The order is the order. History is history.

But maybe not according to Greta Thunberg.


If the fire-bombed synagogues had been mosques, the Government would respond very differently
You can tell this is deadly serious because even the BBC has suddenly started running concerned stories. On Monday night, Panorama had a special report: Antisemitism: Why British Jews Are Afraid. One cause the reporter forgot to mention was the BBC’s own role in stirring up hatred of Israel and Jews. I can’t think how that got left out.

In May last year, Radio 4’s Today programme interviewed a UN official, Tom Fletcher, who said that 14,000 babies will die in Gaza in the next 48 hours if Israel’s blockade isn’t lifted. The interviewer did not query that extraordinary 14,000 figure nor did they ask, “Where are all these starving babies?” The horrifying BBC story spread around the world and was cited in Parliament. But it wasn’t true. The UN admitted it was a “misrepresentation” and Tom Fletcher said in future he would need to be “more precise” with his words. It was actually a blood libel against the Jews that was given huge airtime by the national broadcaster.

No wonder Jews often cite the BBC as a reason they are leaving Britain. I attended one Holocaust memorial event where the mere mention of the BBC’s international editor, Jeremy of Arabia Bowen, caused booing and jeering. I am in no doubt that the BBC has blood on its hands. The new director-general should urgently release The Balen Report, which was written by senior broadcast journalist Malcolm Balen in 2004 after examining hundreds of hours of BBC coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It was commissioned after persistent complaints from the public and the Israeli government of allegations of anti-Israel bias. We can guess why it hasn’t been published.

Jews are among our most valuable and patriotic citizens. If you start naming all the ways Jews have contributed to national life, it’s hard to stop. Fashion, textiles, jewellery, hospitality, hotels, restaurants, smoked salmon (thanks to my friend Lance Forman). Department stores (bless Mr Marks and Mr Spencer), suit hire (Moss Bros), commercial property, Black cab-driving, bookselling, psychotherapy, banking, law, architecture, pop music (Amy Winehouse from an Ashkenazi Jewish family in north London), classical music, academia, philosophy, advertising, publishing, history (David and Anna Abulafia), journalism and politics (Disraeli, Nigel and Dominic Lawson), cookery (Nigella!), comedy, novels, children’s fiction (The Tiger Who Came to Tea by Jewish refugee from Nazi Germany, Judith Kerr) comic novels (Howard Jacobson take a bow).

Play-writing – Harold Pinter, Arnold Wesker, Tom Stoppard – where would British theatre be without Jews? Sir Nick Hytner, Sam Mendes, Nancy Meckler, Jonathan Miller – amazing Jewish directors all.

British TV – Lew Grade, our greatest showbiz mogul, and his nephew Michael Grade, Prof Sir Simon Schama (he can fit in at least three other categories), Stephen Poliakoff, Jack Rosenthal, Kay Mellor, Maureen Lipman, the fringe that is Claudia Winkleman. Artists – Frank Auerbach, Leon Kossof, David Bomberg, Lucian Freud – the history of modern British art was painted by Jews.

Jews shaped the country we live in. Why should they leave? Millions of us don’t want them to go, although we are too quiet about it, I dare say. But go they will if this vile hatred is allowed to spread unchecked. If cowardly politicians continue to appease those who hate them, and who hate us too. If the Jews leave Britain, it won’t be Britain any more because we will have lost not just them, but what it means to be us.
Eight more suspects detained in London on suspicion of plotting attacks on Jewish sites
Counterterrorism police officers in London have arrested eight people in connection with an alleged conspiracy to commit arson at a Jewish community institution, the Metropolitan Police said on Tuesday.

“While it is believed that the intended target of this conspiracy is a venue related to the Jewish community, the specific target or venue is not known,” according to a police statement.

The arrests follow the indictment of a 17-year-old male on Tuesday, allegedly for starting a fire on Saturday at the Kenton United Synagogue, which caused minor damage to a room, and no injuries.

The arrests are part of a police response to a string of arson incidents, including the torching on March 23 of four ambulances belonging to the Hatzola Jewish group in Golders Green, London.

Three of the eight arrests by Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP) detectives took place in Harpenden, north of London, on Sunday night, according to police. The detainees were aged 24, 25 and 26, police said, and they have been released on bail.

On Monday, police arrested a 25-year-old man in nearby Stevenage and three others, a 26-year-old man and two women aged 50 and 59, near Birmingham. On Tuesday, police arrested a 39-year-old man in Ealing in connection with an “investigation following the discovery of jars of a non-hazardous substance in Kensington Gardens,” according to the the police statement.

A search was “ongoing at a premise in east London,” police also said on Tuesday.

Since the attack on the Hatzola ambulances, a total of 23 people have been arrested in connection with that incident or similar ones, police also said. Eight people have been charged with arson-related offences, while 13 people remain in custody or on bail under active police investigation.
Starmer slams Polanski over ‘disgraceful’ antisemitism comments
Keir Starmer has launched a scathing attack on Zack Polanski after he spoke of British Jews facing “perceived” and “actual” antisemitism, branding the Green Party’s leader’s observation as “disgraceful.”

Speaking to Jewish News during his visit to Kenton United Synagogue in north-west London—where he surveyed the aftermath of last weekend’s antisemitic arson attack and met with Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, United Synagogue leaders, and members of the congregation—the Prime Minister was asked for his response to Polanski’s remarks about rising antisemitism.

Starmer told Jewish News: “I think it’s disgraceful, and to even suggest that this is a perception of the reality is to totally misunderstand antisemitism.

“This is very real. It’s visceral, and it’s felt throughout the whole community, and anybody denying or belittling that is guilty of all the usual assumptions in relation to antisemitism.”

He added:”It’s really important. I have no doubt in my mind about just how real this is and the impact it’s having.

“You have families and individuals who are worried about whether they can wear their traditional clothing and jewellery in public when they have to hide their identity, which is very, very real. You have people who’ve been subjected to an attack in this very synagogue who are clearly feeling very fearful, and I think it’s disgraceful for anybody to suggest otherwise.”

Starmer’s criticism followed Polanski’s interview with Haaretz, in which the Green Party leader acknowledged the rise in antisemitic attacks affecting the community.

Polanski said:”Now, there’s a conversation to be had about whether it’s a perception of unsafety or whether it’s actual unsafety, but neither are acceptable.”

He had also accused the Labour Party of “weaponising” antisemitism claims against Green Party candidates in the lead-up to the local elections.
Green party faces questions about social media posts of half a dozen other candidates
The Green Party is facing further questions about another half-dozen of its local council election candidates, including an individual who claimed “Zionists” in the Soviet Union “killed 20 million Christians”, another who suggested Israel is harvesting organs from Palestinians “to help alter [the] DNA of Zionists to claim land”, and another who referred to “Jewish cockroaches”.

As reported in a series of articles by The Spectator, Green Party candidates in London, Bournemouth and Walsall have posted or shared highly questionable images and statements – often within the last 2 years. These include Feda Shahin, who in a videoed speech last year, said that “Before the Holocaust… do you know that the Zionists, before that, actually, during the Bolshevik [period], killed 20 million Christians. The committee that decided to kill these 20 million Christians had 500 people [on it], 480 of these people were Zionists.”

There were no ‘Zionists’ in the higher echelons of the Communist party, although there were some Jews. There was no such “committee” that decided to carry out any such mass murder.

Shahin, who is standing in Bournemouth’s Central, Westbourne and West Cliff ward, also gave a speech in February of this year in which she reportedly described Jeffrey Epstein’s private island as “a symbol of the headquarters of the Zionists who are trying to control the world.”

In London, Sabine Mairey, standing in Lambeth’s Clapham ward, shared a video on social media which described a recent terror attack in Michigan; the video was captioned: “Ramming a synagogue isn’t antisemitism. It’s revenge.” Mairey also shared a social media post suggesting that Israel is worse than Nazi Germany, writing about what she described as “the Israeli society enjoying the annihilation and displacement of Gazans by watching and blocking food trucks, whilst the Nazis had to hide what they were doing.”

This comes even as another previously identified Green candidate in Lambeth, Saiqa Ali, has been found to have shared further highly questionable images on her social media accounts. As reported last week, content shared by Ali included a poster claiming Donald Trump is “owned by Jews”, while another showed a caricature of a Jewish Israeli crying, along with the caption: “Don’t you know the rules?? We went through the Holocaust and now we get to kill everyone, forever!!” A third showed the globe caught in a stranglehold by a serpent emblazoned with the Israeli flag. In a caption alongside, Ali had written: “It’s time to cut the head of [sic] this snake.” She also separately posted that ““Today England has a government overrepresented with Zionists Jews [sic] and it appears they care more for Israel than England”, and wrote that in 2001, “Israel creates false flag attack on US soil”
Man arrested after ‘shocking’ antisemitic attack video circulates on social media
Thames Valley police have confirmed that an individual has been arrested, after a video showing an individual verbally and physically harassing a Jewish man in Slough circulated widely on social media today.

In the video, understood to have been taken on Monday afternoon on Elliman avenue in the Berkshire town, a Jewish man doing building work in the area was approached by an individual on a bicycle and subjected to verbal abuse, including the epithets ‘f***ing babykiller’ and “dirty mother***ing Jew” and a “dirty mother***ing Zionist little f***ing pig”. The individual also used physical force several times, trying to prevent the Jewish man from filming him.

Passing motorists condemned the abuser, who also repeatedly threatened to break the Jewish man’s jaw and accused him of “killing kids in Palestine”. A pedestrian passer by also approached, attempting to defuse the situation. The individual eventually got back on his bike and left the vicinity.

The police told Jewish News: “We have arrested a man following a hate-related incident in Slough.

“We are aware of a video circulating online in relation to the incident, which we were called to at 4.36pm on Monday (20/4).

“It was reported that a man in his 20s had been threatened on Elliman Avenue. Verbally abusive, antisemitic comments were made and attempts were also made to snatch his phone from his hand.

“Since we received this report, we have been carrying out a number of enquiries and have now arrested a 48-year-old man from Slough on suspicion of racially/religiously aggravated assault and racially/religiously aggravated public order. He is currently in police custody.”


West Midlands Police launches anti-Jewish racism training after Maccabi fan ban scandal
West Midlands Police has delivered its first anti-Jewish racism training session, marking what senior officers describe as a “considerable step forward” in efforts to rebuild trust following last year’s controversial ban on Israeli football fans.

The force, led by Acting Chief Constable Scott Green, began the programme after three months of planning and consultation with Jewish community groups. The initiative comes in the wake of the widely criticised decision to restrict supporters of Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv, a move that led to the early retirement of the force’s former Chief Constable, Craig Guildford.

Police said the training is part of a wider programme to improve “cultural competency” across the force, which has already included sessions on Black history and will next address anti-Muslim hate.

The newly introduced module focuses on Jewish history, identity and contemporary life in Britain, including the community’s relationship with Israel. Officers, staff and volunteers will receive the training after a pilot session was delivered this week to senior leadership.

Green said the programme formed part of a wider effort to repair relations with communities following what he previously acknowledged as a damaging episode.

“When appointed as Acting Chief Constable in January, I immediately issued an apology on behalf of the force for the direct impact our actions had on trust and confidence,” he said. “Since then, I have personally led extensive work to rebuild those relationships.”

He added that engagement with Jewish stakeholders had been “integral” in shaping the training and ensuring the force better understands the communities it serves.

“It is important to highlight that we are not undergoing training about antisemitism but about what we now understand to be anti-Jewish racism,” Green said.
Israel appoints its first Christian ambassador as envoy to Christian world
Israel has named its first Christian ambassador, George Deek, as special envoy to the Christian world, aiming to deepen ties with communities worldwide, the Foreign Ministry announced on Thursday.

A distinguished veteran diplomat who most recently served as Israel’s ambassador to Azerbaijan, Deek is a prominent member of the Arab Christian community in Jaffa. His father, Youssef Deek, long served as chairman of the Orthodox Christian community in Jaffa.

“The State of Israel attaches great importance to its relations with the Christian world and with its Christian friends around the world,” Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said in a statement. “I am confident that George, a respected and experienced diplomat, will greatly contribute to the friendship and strengthening of the ties between the State of Israel and the Christian world.”

The newly created role at a time of global international turbulence seeks to buttress Israel’s relations with the Christian world.

“This is a very timely and much-needed move by Israel to officially appoint its ranking Arab Christian diplomat as special envoy to the Christian world,” David Parsons, senior vice president and spokesman of the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem, told JNS. “Given the current war and especially the spread of anti-Zionism in Christian circles, it will definitely help to have an Israeli Arab Christian telling the truth about Israel’s democratic values worldwide.”

“This is a very good step in the right direction and needs to be expanded to facilitate coordination between all government ministries and municipalities dealing with Christian communities,” said David Rosen, former international director of interreligious affairs at the American Jewish Committee. “I hope this heralds a deeper understanding by the Government of Israel of how relations with the local Christian communities impact the international standing of both the State of Israel and the well-being of Jewish communities around the world.”
Venice Biennale jury excludes Israel, Russia from artist awards as EU threatens funding cut
Jurors at the Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition said on Thursday they would not consider artists from countries whose leaders are facing charges at the International Criminal Court, an apparent reference to Israel and Russia.

The five jury members, who will select the winners of the Golden and Silver Lion awards among the 110 participants, said they felt compelled to commit "to the defense of human rights" as part of their role at the event, which opens on May 9.

"This jury will refrain from the consideration of those countries whose leaders are currently charged with crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court," they said in a statement, without naming Russia and Israel.

The ICC has issued arrest warrants for sitting leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, for alleged war crimes committed against children in Ukraine, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Israel-Hamas War.

The Israeli and Russian embassies in Rome did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.
Dem Nominee for UMich Board of Regents Defended Alleged Terrorist Charged With Plotting ISIS-Linked Halloween Attack
A Democratic nominee for the University of Michigan's Board of Regents defended an alleged ISIS terrorist who is on trial for plotting to shoot up gay nightclubs in a Detroit suburb over Halloween weekend, court records show.

Dearborn lawyer Amir Makled, who caught flack earlier this month for reposting praise for Hezbollah on social media, served as the defense attorney for Mohmed Ali, a Dearborn man who was arrested for the alleged terror plot by the FBI on Oct. 31, 2025, according to the records. Ali and two other defendants plotted to "conduct a terrorist attack in the United States on behalf of the designated foreign terrorist organization ('FTO') ISIS," the criminal complaint against them states.

Makled secured the Michigan Democratic Party's nomination for the University of Michigan's board, a position that is elected statewide, during the party's convention on Sunday. He could face further questions over his views on terrorism and extremist ideology as a result of his history with Ali.

Makled began representing Ali immediately after his arrest. He withdrew as Ali's attorney in February—roughly one month after he launched his Board of Regents campaign—because Ali could no longer afford to retain him, court filings show. Before leaving the case, however, he professed Ali's innocence, portraying the accused terrorist as a gun enthusiast who would soon be exonerated.

Makled, speaking to CNN in the days after Ali's arrest, argued that the Department of Justice had not yet charged Ali and the other alleged terrorists because the case against them was weak. He said the arrestees had "a lawful interest in recreational firearms" and that a thorough review of the "facts" would show "there was never any planned 'mass-casualty' event or coordinated terror plot of any kind." Makled also suggested that the arrests were part of a racist campaign against the city of Dearborn, which has the largest Muslim population per capita of any city in the country.

"We continue to be targeted and always looked at with a sense of suspicion. Dearborn's used to this," Makled said. "This community doesn't want to be held in that light of suspicion anymore, and it doesn't deserve to be." He went on to "demand an apology" from FBI director Kash Patel if the arrests proved to be mistaken.

That apology never came. Federal prosecutors charged Ali and another accused terrorist, Majed Mahmoud, on Nov. 3, 2025, and released a criminal complaint outlining a wide array of evidence against them.
Elissa Slotkin denounces Democratic UM regent nominee Amir Makled
Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) joined other Michigan Democrats in condemning Amir Makled, a Democratic nominee for regent of the University of Michigan, over Makled’s past comments on social media expressing antisemitic sentiments and support for terrorism.

“I’m going to have a problem with any candidate — Democrat, Republican or independent — who shares antisemitic and hateful posts on social media. Especially when they refuse to disavow those comments or show remorse,” Slotkin said in a statement to Jewish Insider on Thursday, in response to a question about Makled.

Makled was nominated for the post at the Michigan Democratic Party convention last weekend, replacing Jewish and pro-Israel regent Jordan Acker, who has been repeatedly harassed and has had his home vandalized by anti-Israel campus activists.

The convention, which also featured aggressive heckling of pro-Israel speakers, has left prominent Jewish Democrats in the state feeling alienated and unmoored from their party.

Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-MI) similarly criticized Makled, and Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) more broadly criticized the behavior of activists at the convention.
Jewish groups protest as California sends out antisemitic conspiracies in voter guide
Jewish groups protested to California’s secretary of state this week after her office sent out a guide to voters that included antisemitic conspiracies in a statement from a candidate.

The office of Shirley Weber, California’s secretary of state, started sending out a guide to voters statewide this week with information about the state’s June primaries.

The 64-page booklet, mailed to every household in the state with a registered voter, has information about all the candidates who will appear on ballots and instructions on voting procedures.

The booklet has each candidate’s name, party, and a personal statement.

A fringe candidate for governor, far-right activist Don J. Grundmann, who is not affiliated with any party, submitted a statement rife with antisemitic conspiracies that was included in the guide

The statement says Israel assassinated Charlie Kirk with the knowledge of the US government; Israel murdered US sailors on the USS Liberty in 1967; Israelis perpetrated the 9/11 terror attack; and that Israel plans to “suitcase nuke” the US.

“We are ‘goyim’ (less than human/animals/cattle) that they will enslave,” the statement says. “Talmud — their Bible — says Christ boiling in in [sic] Israel allowed/planned/promoted Hamas attack (they murdered their own people) to justify genocide and steal billion$.”

“Christian Zionism = soul poison. Talmudic ‘Judeo-Christian values’ don’t exist,” the statement said.

The statement includes links to antisemitic, far-right websites. One of the sites is a collection of antisemitic and racist fliers from the Goyim Defense League. Another link in the statement leads to a website for a group called the National Straight Pride Coalition, headed by Grundmann.


AJA: Understanding & Confronting Antizionism with Joshua Dabelstein, Movement Against Antizionism (MAAZ)
Understanding and Confronting Antizionism

Why is antizionism the single greatest threat facing Jews in the Diaspora today?

Explore real world examples and leave with a toolkit that will help you confront this hatred.

Joshua Dabelstein, Australian head of Movement Against Antizionism (MAAZ)

Joshua Dabelstein is an Australian writer and former antizionist activist who is the Australian head of the Movement Against Antizionism (MAAZ)




Hasan Piker: When Terror Apologetics Become Mainstream Discourse
The recent exchange between Jon Favreau and Hasan Piker on the Pod Save America podcast was revealing not simply because of what was said, but because of how it was treated. What should have been a clear moral confrontation over support for a terrorist movement instead became, at points, a conversation about rhetoric, presentation, and political strategy. That shift matters because it shows how openly extremist ideas have been absorbed into mainstream commentary.

Piker openly defended his statement that Hamas is “a thousand times better” than Israel, said he would “vote for Hamas,” and framed October 7 as the reaction of an oppressed people after decades of alleged Israeli “ethnic cleansing,” “apartheid,” and “subjugation.” He described the massacre as “unbelievably violent,” yet even that wording functioned more as a factual description than a moral condemnation. The brutality was acknowledged, but the legitimacy of the attack as resistance was left standing.

That distinction is critical. One can describe an atrocity as horrific while still excusing it. Saying an event was violent is not the same as saying it was wrong. In Piker’s framing, October 7 was tragic perhaps, excessive perhaps, but fundamentally understandable. The burden of blame shifted away from those who planned and carried out the massacre and back onto Israel itself.

Favreau even asked Piker whether he felt a responsibility to choose his words more carefully or at least in ways less likely to be misconstrued. That moment was revealing. It suggested the problem was not praise for Hamas itself, but the branding of that praise. The issue was reframed from moral substance to communications strategy.

When Pushback Misses the Point
Favreau did challenge Piker in places, but much of the pushback operated on the level of tactics rather than principle. He argued that October 7 had been catastrophic for Palestinians and that violent resistance movements are often less successful. Whatever the intention, that framework was itself revealing. The central issue with October 7 was not whether it was politically effective. It was that Jews were hunted, tortured, raped, burned alive, kidnapped, and murdered because they were Jews.

Yet even criticism of Hamas often displaced Israelis from the moral center of the story. Jewish victims became secondary to a discussion about Palestinian political outcomes. The massacre was analyzed less as evil than as a failed strategy.

At moments, the conversation appeared to drift from challenge into coaching. Rather than drawing a hard moral line, it risked implying that Piker’s real mistake was messaging. Instead of defending Hamas so openly, he should simply emphasize “what Israel has done.” In effect, the problem became not the justification of terror, but the bluntness of the justification.

This is how radical ideas are laundered into respectable discourse. Raw apologetics for violence are translated into the language of grievance, anti-colonial theory, structural oppression, and communications discipline. The substance remains. Only the packaging changes.


Tucker Carlson calls campaign to shame a country club for barring a Jewish toddler ‘repulsive’
Catherine Rampell, the economist and pundit, likes telling the story about how her father once launched a public campaign against a Palm Beach country club when it banned his 4-year-old son from attending a birthday party because he is Jewish.

Now, Tucker Carlson has turned the anecdote into a sinister and “repulsive” tale of a crusade against folks who just want to hang out together.

Carlson substantially misrepresented Rampell’s anecdote, turning it into what Rampell on Wednesday said was “a coded story in defense of antisemitic and racist country clubs.”

Carlson, the far-right firebrand who sits at the center of the Republican Party’s schism over antisemitism, on Tuesday interviewed his brother Buckley on his streaming show about their shared disaffection for President Donald Trump over launching the Iran war. Tucker Carlson was, until recently, close to Trump, and Buckley Carlson was a speechwriter for the president.

The brothers in the podcast discussed Trump’s purported distaste for WASPs, shorthand for White Anglo-Saxon Protestants who are descended from immigrants who arrived in the Americas in the 17th and 18th centuries. Trump’s grandfather was German-born, and his mother was Scottish.


Pro-Palestinian author quits publisher in scorched earth email after 5,000 copies of a children's book are 'pulped'
An award-winning pro-Palestinian writer has sensationally quit her publisher after claiming they 'capitulated to a smear campaign' by cancelling and 'pulping' thousands of copies of a children's picture book.

Randa Abdel-Fattah's resignation email to the University of Queensland Press (UQP), was published to social media on Thursday.

Her letter, shared by the podcast Lamestream, cited the publisher's decision to axe all copies of Bila, a river cycle, written by First Nations poet Jazz Money and illustrated by Matt Chun.

It followed reports by Rupert Murdoch's The Australian newspaper that Mr Chun had gone on a 'tirade against Jews and Zionists' in a newsletter titled 'We Don't Mourn Fascists' following the Bondi Beach terror attack.
.....
In Mr Chun's article, he claimed 'misinformation disseminated' following the Bondi shooting where 15 innocent people were killed.

'On 14 December, an event hosted by the Zionist Jewish-supremacist organisation Chabad was targeted by shooters on Bondi Beach,' he wrote.

'While this was immediately and widely reported as an 'antisemitic attack' at an 'innocent Hannukah gathering', Chabad is in fact a network of centres and institutions which actively, publicly, and extensively helps to facilitate the ongoing Zionist and Euro-American imperialist holocaust of Palestine.

'Progressive organisations and community leaders hurriedly produced an avalanche of formal public statements, rushing to co-sign the Zionist rhetoric of 'rising antisemitism', 'terrorism', and 'social cohesion'.


Former top Toronto cop says antisemitic senior officers managed anti-Israel protests
Former Toronto homicide inspector Hank Idsinga tells CBC News, Canada’s public broadcaster, that antisemitism is rife in police ranks.

The network describes Idsinga, a 34-year police veteran, as “once the most well-known cop in Canada’s biggest city,” citing his leading role in prominent murder cases.

Idsinga says a senior officer labeled a kosher barbecue as a “Jew-cue,” and said of a Jewish cop, “The only reason he gets away with this is because he’s a fucking Jew.”

The same officer later said, “I can’t believe we have to pander to this fucking Jew,” ahead of a meeting with a Jewish lawyer, Idsinga says.

Idsinga says his grandfather was a Holocaust victim, but that he kept his identity quiet, so other officers were comfortable speaking candidly around him.

Idsinga also reports anti-black racism and general “dysfunction in the senior ranks,” adding that there are many more examples of racism and antisemitism, including surrounding anti-Israel protests.

“If you look at those senior officers who are still in control when we have our post-October 7th protests going on, and everyone’s scratching their head and saying, ‘Why aren’t the police doing anything here? Why are we not seeing a response when it’s this particular community that’s being victimized?’ and that very well might explain some of it,” he says.
Ex Toronto homicide cop details ‘dysfunction in the senior ranks’
Former homicide inspector Hank Idsinga has written a book about what he says happens behind the closed doors of Canada’s biggest police force. In an exclusive interview with CBC News chief correspondent Adrienne Arsenault, he details allegations of antisemitism and anti-Black racism in the senior ranks — claims the Toronto Police Service say they can’t substantiate.

The National is the flagship of CBC News, showcasing award-winning journalism from across Canada and around the world. Led by Chief Correspondent Adrienne Arsenault, our team of trusted reporters helps you make sense of the world, wherever you are.


Prominent activist’s chilling jail-time manifesto details rationale for Oct. 7 hate in US
On April 30, 2024, clashes broke out between anti-Zionist protesters and pro-Israel counter-demonstrators at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Footage from the scene showed those involved shoving, kicking and using sticks to beat one another as days of tensions over the war in Gaza burst into outright violence.

Watching a livestream of the altercation was Casey Goonan, a far-left activist from California’s Bay Area. The following day, Goonan moved into a protest encampment at the University of California, Berkeley, declaring that he was “on strike from life.”

Weeks later, Goonan carried out a series of arson attacks that led to his arrest. In September, a federal court sentenced him to more than 19 years in prison; US Attorney General Pam Bondi called Goonan a “domestic terrorist” who could have claimed “untold lives.”

Federal prosecutors said Goonan placed a bag with six Molotov cocktails under a police vehicle and lit the bag on fire, igniting the car. Video showed a black-clad figure setting the blaze and fleeing the scene, minutes before officers doused the fire.

Prosecutors said Goonan had also attempted to firebomb a federal courthouse in Oakland and had set three fires on the UC Berkeley campus. He pleaded guilty to damaging property with fire, a felony.

While he was in jail, awaiting his trial, Goonan outlined his ideology and activities in a document released last week that provided a detailed view into the radical flank of the far-left anti-Zionist network in the US. The document described Goonan’s motivations, the activists’ philosophy and the role of outside agitators on campuses.

A group of Goonan’s supporters released the 209-page document, titled “Lines in the Sand,” to mark Palestinian Prisoners’ Day, saying Goonan had written the missive in the Santa Rita Jail.

Much of the document is focused on Israel, while other sections include Goonan’s poetry, critiques of the academy, analyses of protest tactics and discussions about activist strategy in his circle. The claims in the document could not be independently corroborated, although details in Goonan’s account align with statements from prosecutors.


Berkeley Law SJP Hosts Palestinian Car Bomber Released in Oct 7 Hostage Deal
The University of California Berkeley law school's Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter hosted a convicted Palestinian terrorist who detonated a car bomb that burned an Israeli police officer, an event a spokesman for the school told the Washington Free Beacon is "Constitutionally protected expression."

Israa Jaabis, who was freed from prison early as part of an Oct. 7 hostage exchange, thanked the group for making her feel "there is someone who cares about us."

Jaabis, left disfigured from the explosion, joined a video call as part of a Monday event titled "Teach-in: Palestinian Political Prisoners Day," which the SJP chapter hosted in a Berkeley Law classroom, the Jerusalem Post first reported.

"Firstly, I would like to thank [the students] for their attentiveness, for listening with their hearts," Jaabis said in a clip the Berkeley Law SJP chapter posted to Instagram. "For many reasons, even their attendance is enough to make us feel—as liberated Palestinian prisoners—that there is someone who cares about us. There are those who are in solidarity with us; those who support us and do not abandon us."

"Your attendance in particular—as law students—makes us hopeful that there remains some humanity [in the world]; that there is someone to support us in the future, delivering our message to the international community, and amplifying our call to liberate Palestinian prisoners," she added.

In 2015, Jaabis shouted "Allahu akbar" and detonated a gas canister in her car after she was stopped by an Israeli officer, according to Israeli police. The officer's face and chest were burned, and Jaabis lost several fingers and also suffered severe burns. Israeli authorities found handwritten notes in her possession expressing support for "martyrs" and believed she was en route to Israel to carry out a suicide bombing.

Jaabis served eight years in prison before her early release in November 2023. While incarcerated, she asked the Israeli government to fund cosmetic nose surgery, but was denied, the Times of Israel reported.

Berkeley Law spokesman Alex Shapiro said the school "has a non-discretionary obligation to abide by and support the First Amendment in a completely content neutral manner."

"We do not have the legal ability to sanction or censor Constitutionally protected expression," he told the Free Beacon. "However, as UC Berkeley has repeatedly informed the student body, if any campus community member feels threatened, they are encouraged to contact the Office for the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination. OPHD provides support to those harmed, investigates all allegations, and the campus takes appropriate steps following any findings."

The event is the latest example of UC Berkeley's SJP chapters promoting figures and symbols tied to terrorism—activity the university has repeatedly said falls under free speech protections. UC Berkeley, for instance, allows its SJP chapter to include an inverted red triangle—a symbol Hamas uses to denote Israeli targets—in its logo, which is displayed on an official university webpage for the group and is permitted to appear at its sanctioned events on campus. Berkeley's online "Free Speech FAQ" says incitement to "commit acts of violence" is not protected, and terrorism experts said the Hamas triangle is "absolutely" an example of such incitement, the Free Beacon reported.

In October, the university's Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine chapter endorsed SJP national's post echoing Hamas in calling for the "death to all collaborators" with Israel after Gaza-based propagandist Saleh al-Jafarawi was killed. Berkeley's Bears for Palestine, another recognized student group, defended an April 2024 Iranian attack on Israel, blaming it on the Jewish state.


Hamas hostage tears into UCLA over vile condemnation — as council chief issues furious statement
The survivor of brutal torture at the hands of Hamas has a message for the UCLA student leaders who condemned his speaking appearance on campus.

“If you are willing to silence a survivor of 505 days in captivity to protect a preconceived narrative, it’s worth pausing,” Omer Shem Tov exclusively told The California Post, after the university’s Undergraduate Students Association Council blasted his April 14 visit to the school to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day.

“When a worldview requires you to override your own values, something is misaligned. The hope is that it’s the worldview that changes — because the values are worth keeping.”

The student association issued a statement after the event saying that a “single narrative was elevated” in Shem Tov’s appearance, adding the event organized by the school’s Jewish organization didn’t provide a Palestinian perspective.

“While we affirm the humanity of all people impacted by violence, we reject the selective platforming of narratives that obscure the broader reality of ongoing state violence,” the student association added.

Shem Tov, who was taken hostage by Hamas in the October 7 attacks, was released from captivity in February 2025 after being held in the darkness of underground tunnels for more than a year and a half.

The students association’s president, Diego Bollo, told The Post that he was not present at the council meeting where members voted to issue the statement and that it passed by a “bare majority.”

“I acknowledge that this reflects a lapse in oversight on my part as President, and I take responsibility for that institutional shortcoming. To address this issue, I am initiating a review immediately of our internal processes for drafting and releasing public statements,” Bollo said.

“I deeply value free speech and free expression on our campus. I have worked throughout my term to ensure that the university supports all student groups in hosting speakers and a wide range of programming. Free speech is a principle I do not compromise on — regardless of the nature or subject of any given event,” he added.
ADL files complaint against Florida school district for ignoring antisemitic bullying
A new complaint filed with the Department of Education accuses a northwestern Florida school district of violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act by ignoring years of antisemitic harassment against a Jewish student, including Nazi salutes performed in the classroom.

The complaint, filed Thursday with the DOE’s Office for Civil Rights by the Anti-Defamation League and Akerman law firm, requests that the agency initiate an investigation into the Bay County School District over allegations that the student, who is currently in 11th grade, faced antisemitic discrimination consistently since elementary school.

Approximately 27,000 students are enrolled in Bay District K-12 public schools, which operates 49 schools. Bay County has one of the smallest Jewish communities in Florida, with fewer than 1,000 Jewish individuals.

The student — who is one of the only Jewish students in the district— is referred to throughout the complaint as “Student A.” He said he was forced to transfer out of A. Crawford Mosely High School mid-year as a result of the bullying and has suffered adverse mental health impacts and academic challenges. Before transfering, the student said he made the decision to hide his Star of David necklace, wearing it inside his shirt so it was not visible to classmates.

Incidents alleged in the complaint, while the student was still enrolled at Mosley High School, included a group of students in a media studies class presenting two PowerPoint projects, in August and September 2025, which displayed antisemitic conspiracy theories portraying Jews as powerful, greedy, manipulative and in control of banks, the media and government.

The students performed Sieg Heil salutes and mockingly wore yarmulkes while making the presentation. None of the student presenters were Jewish. The teachers present in the classroom did nothing to stop it, even as the presentations did not address the assignment, according to the complaint — which alleges that one teacher laughed during one of the presentations.
Williams College locking Orthodox Jew out of dorm ‘in freezing cold on regular basis,’ per complaint filed with federal gov
Williams College, a nearly 235-year-old private liberal arts school in Williamstown, Mass., is denying an Orthodox Jewish student proper religious accommodations, according to a complaint that the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law filed to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on Thursday.

The complaint, which was shared with JNS, alleges that the college denied requests from the student, whose name is redacted, to receive a physical key to his dormitory to use on Shabbat, when his faith prohibits using an electronic key card.

The school rejected his request, citing vague “security” concerns, per the complaint, which means he has to wait outside his dorm building until another student arrives and lets him in.

Williams College suggested that during Shabbat, the student could knock on the door of a campus office and ask for an escort to his building. The complaint described that recommendation as “equally, if not more, uncertain, inconvenient and lengthy than the untenable process he was already enduring.”

A spokesman for the college told JNS that “Williams has no tolerance for antisemitism or discrimination. We are devoted to ensuring that all students have access to appropriate living spaces, dining options and our full range of learning opportunities.”

“The college’s leaders and chaplains are strongly committed to working with students and their families to address student concerns,” the spokesman said. “We welcome the opportunity to continue that dialogue with the student and the Brandeis Center in order to ensure a welcoming and inclusive educational environment.”

In February, the student met with Maud Mandel, the president of the college and a Judaic studies scholar, about the issue. She denied his request and said that using a physical key would “trigger an alarm,” per the complaint.

“He’s locked out of his dorm in the freezing cold on a regular basis, sometimes over an hour, and made repeated requests to the college to figure out a way to rectify this,” Rachel Balaban, senior litigation counsel at the Brandeis Center, told JNS.

“Nothing was done about it, so we felt we needed to pursue this on behalf of the student and other students in his position at Williams,” Balaban said. “This student’s ability to exercise, freely, his religion should not be incompatible with his equally important right to fully participate in residential life at Williams.”
SF Bay Area school retaliated against Jewish student for reporting antisemitism, lawsuit alleges
A Jewish student was removed from a San Francisco Bay Area public high school academic program in retaliation for reporting “severe” Jew-hatred that she experienced on campus, according to a lawsuit filed on Tuesday.

The Deborah Project and the law firm Ropes and Gray, filed the suit against the San Leandro Unified School District, which has about a dozen schools with some 9,000 students.

The suit alleges that Eden Horwitz, a senior at San Leandro High School, has faced “relentless” harassment at the school since Oct. 7 while enrolled in the school’s social justice academy program. (JNS sought comment from the district.)

The program begins in the 10th grade and has a selective application process, per the suit.

“The program promised intersectional education, solidarity, inclusion, and it really proved to be the opposite of that for Eden,” Elana Stern, an associate at the firm, told JNS.

Horwitz’s classmates “branded her a ‘Zionist’ as a slur, were accusing her of ‘genocide’” and the program taught students that it was “inherently wrong” to support Israel or Zionism, according to Stern.

The program did not provide instruction on the Holocaust, Stern told JNS. She added that Horwitz stopped wearing her Star of David necklace on campus out of safety concerns.

Complaints from Horwitz and her mother, Montana, about Jew-hatred in the school were dismissed, according to Stern, including a “particularly egregious” incident, she said, in which Erica Viray Santos, the academy’s lead teacher, asked Eden if her classmates didn’t like her because she’s “Jewish, or just unlikable?”

Viray Santos is listed as a defendant in the suit.

The complaint alleges that school-sponsored events had “from the river to the sea” chants, and the school “permitted these activities without offering countervailing perspectives or taking any measures to protect the security and well-being of Jewish students.”
Trump admin investigates New York City Ed Dept over alleged Jew-hatred
The U.S. Department of Education announced on Thursday that it is investigating allegations of Jew-hatred within the New York City Department of Education.

The federal agency stated that it is investigating reports that employees at the New York City department held “Palestine, Zionism and Resistance” webinars.

Dominique Ellison, associate press secretary for the New York City department, told JNS that the department is reviewing the notice.

It is also probing allegations that a group called NYC Educators for Palestine, which Ellison told JNS was not connected to New York City Public Schools, is teaching children that Zionists are “genocidal white supremacists” and that Hamas should be supported.

Kimberly Richey, assistant secretary for civil rights at the department, stated that the allegations are “appalling.”

“No child should be taught by his or her teachers to hate their peers,” she said. “Neither should Jewish children be taught that being Jewish somehow makes them inherently guilty or proponents of hate and violence.”

The department is investigating whether the New York City department violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.

“Discrimination has no place in our schools, and, unlike the previous administration, the Trump administration will not turn a blind eye to antisemitic harassment,” Richey stated.


Misleading and Unreliable: The Guardian’s Sexual Assault Story Unravels
Compromised Source
Beyond this, the article rests almost entirely on a document produced by the West Bank Protection Consortium, described as a humanitarian initiative led by the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).

That description suggests neutrality. The reality is more complex.

The NRC is not an independent investigative body. It is part of an NGO network that has faced repeated scrutiny for political bias. According to NGO Monitor, some NRC members have previously been exposed as having ties to Hamas and the PFLP — both proscribed terror groups.

None of this context appears in the report.

And once the source is properly understood, the evidentiary gaps become impossible to ignore:
Testimonies are anonymous
No dates or locations are provided
No complaints were filed
No forensic evidence is presented
No independent verification exists

Despite this, the report draws sweeping conclusions, even linking alleged sexual abuse to Palestinian displacement:
Other forms of reported violence include urinating on Palestinians, taking and distributing humiliating photographs of bound and stripped individuals, stalking women who are using latrines, and threatening sexual violence against women. The case studies are anonymised because of the stigma surrounding sexual violence.

Sexualised attacks were hastening the displacement of Palestinians, according to the report. More than two-thirds of households surveyed identified rising violence against women and children, including sexual harassment targeting girls, as a tipping point in their decision to leave, the consortium said.

What readers are given, then, is not substantiated reporting but a chain of unverified claims filtered through a politicized framework. That would normally trigger caution. But for The Guardian’s Graham-Harrison, it becomes the foundation of the narrative. All the more striking given that a veteran reporter, familiar with the IDF’s strict stance against misconduct within its ranks, does not appear to question this narrative.

This is not how serious reporting on sexual violence should be handled. The gravity of such allegations demands the highest standards of verification, precisely because of their impact. Presenting them without scrutiny, while omitting critical context about the source and about the army’s response, is not responsible journalism.
BBC News amplifies a convicted terrorist’s unverified claims
She fails to inform BBC audiences that Barghouti was elected to the Fatah Central Committee in 2009 while already serving his prison term, or that Fatah recently announced that terrorists who have been imprisoned for more than 20 years will be granted leadership positions, as members in the upcoming Eighth Fatah Conference.

Knell goes on to amplify a politically motivated but redundant comparison:
Many Palestinians view the 66-year-old as their equivalent of South Africa’s Nelson Mandela and point to his ability to unite different political factions and his past rapport with Israeli leaders.

Knell promotes a link to a social media post from Barghouti’s lawyer promoting unverified allegations against the Israeli Prison Service which was put out on April 14. She does not, however, bother to inform her readers that Ben Marmarelli identifies (among other things) as “Anti-Zionist” or that he has previously made unsubstantiated claims relating to the IPS. In fact, the BBC interviewed Marmarelli last year on precisely that topic but apparently decided not to use the material.

Now, however, the BBC has chosen to promote claims made by the lawyer who last December described it as “pro-genocide and pro-apartheid.” The fact that Yolande Knell did not confirm the allegations – and failed to provide audiences with the full range of information concerning the convicted terrorist who made them – apparently does not worry the corporation that claims to provide “news you can trust.”


Missouri adopts IHRA definition of Jew-hatred for state schools
Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe, a Republican, signed legislation adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism as a guiding standard for identifying anti-Jewish bias in public schools and higher educational institutions across the state.

Kehoe signed the bill, and three other pieces of legislation, into law in his office at the Missouri State Capitol on Thursday. At the bill signing, the governor welcomed Ayellet Black, deputy consul general of Israel in Miami, and members of the Missouri and international Jewish community who were present.

“We understand that antisemitism has no place in our state,” Kehoe said. “It’s also a fundamental right of every student to be able to learn free from hate.”

“Missouri stands with Israel and its people and we want to make sure that the world understands that,” he said.

The measure, HB 2061, first introduced by Republican state representative George Hruza, requires K-12 schools and public colleges to incorporate the IHRA definition into student, faculty and employee codes of conduct.

It directs institutions to treat antisemitism in the same manner as race-based discrimination and to prohibit conduct that creates a climate of fear or intimidation.

It also establishes reporting and enforcement mechanisms, requiring that educational institutions report complaints to designated coordinators, who are tasked with investigating allegations and referring unresolved violations to federal authorities.
North Carolina teen charged for conspiracy to drive car into Congregation Beth Israel in Houston
A North Carolina teen was charged with two counts of felony conspiracy on Wednesday for plotting to “kill as many Jews as possible” at Congregation Beth Israel in Houston, according to court records.

Angelina Han Hicks, 18, of Lexington, N.C., conspired with two unidentified individuals to commit murder and homicide “against members of the congregation of Beth Israel Synagogue,” according to prosecutors. A juvenile was also charged in Harris County, Texas.

According to court records, Hicks allegedly plotted to carry out “assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, inflicting serious injury” by “driving through the congregation at a synagogue.”

The Jewish Federation of Greater Houston stated that the congregation and The Shlenker School on the Beth Israel campus were informed by the Houston Police Department of the threats on Wednesday, and that “out of an abundance of caution, Beth Israel made the decision to close for the day.”

The court noted that the other two individuals have not yet been apprehended.

Hicks is scheduled to appear in Davidson County District Court on May 13. Her bond was set at $10 million.
Minnesota man who tried to join ISIS sentenced to more than eight years
A Minneapolis man who tried to join ISIS after months of consuming propaganda and contacting operatives abroad was sentenced on Wednesday to eight years in federal prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota.

Abdisatar Ahmed Hassan, 23, who was born in Kenya to parents from Somalia, was sentenced to 102 months in prison, followed by 15 years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to attempting to provide material support to a designated terrorist organization.

According to the affidavit, Hassan attempted twice in December 2024 to travel from Minneapolis to Somalia on one-way tickets, with no return plans. During a later airport interview, he admitted to supporting ISIS and spreading its propaganda, stating, “What America thinks is terrorists is actually justice.”

A search of his devices revealed extensive ISIS-related materials, including files such as “The Life of a Mujahideen,” “The Month of Jihad,” and “The Return of the Caliphate,” along with manuals on weapons and tactics.

After he was turned away from travel, he continued posting pro-ISIS content online and praising terrorist attacks, including the New Orleans attack on Jan. 1, 2025, which resulted in the deaths of 14 people, according to the affidavit.
Long Island father and teen son arrested for swastika graffiti, explosive materials in home
A father and his teenage son were arrested Wednesday after an investigation into swastika graffiti at the teen’s school led police to search their home, where authorities said they found chemicals used to make explosives.

The arrests stemmed from an investigation into swastika graffiti found in a boys’ bathroom at Syosset High School on Long Island. After police determined that a 15-year-old student had drawn the swastika, the Nassau County Police Department sent officers to his home.

There, the teen told the officers about the explosive materials, according to prosecutors. He said his father had purchased the chemicals for him to build rockets.

During the subsequent search of the home, police found “highly unstable” materials that had been combined to make explosives, including nitroglycerin, multiple acids, oxidizers, and fuels. They began to evacuate people in adjacent homes, fearing an explosion.

The teen was not identified by police due to his age. Francisco Sanles, 48, who was arrested at the scene, has pleaded not guilty to seven criminal counts, including criminal possession of a weapon and endangering the welfare of a child. His son was charged with five counts, including criminal possession of a weapon, criminal mischief, aggravated harassment, and making graffiti.


Group of over 250 Bnei Menashe immigrants from India lands in Israel
More than 250 Indians claiming descent from a biblical tribe landed at Ben Gurion Airport on Thursday, as part of a government operation to relocate them to Israel.

At around 10 p.m at Ben Gurion Airport, the newcomers, bleary-eyed from a long flight, passed under an arch of blue-and-white balloons and shuffled with their luggage down a red carpet unfurled at the entrance to Terminal 1. Well-wishers, many from their own community, cheered them while waving small Israeli flags as a rendition of “Oseh Shalom” played through loudspeakers.

Men in the community were wearing either knitted kippahs or hats, while married women wore head coverings, as is customary in Orthodox Judaism.

They were the first Bnei Menashe to arrive in Israel since the government decided in November to fund the immigration of thousands more community members from the states of Mizoram and Manipur in northeast India.

The Bnei Menashe community, which claims descent from the biblical tribe of Manasseh, has been slowly making its way to Israel since the 1990s. Regardless of whether their claim to Israelite ancestry holds up, the community’s slow trickle into Israel was bound to speed up after the government approved a decision to relocate the remaining 6,000 members of the community to Israel by 2030 — dubbed Operation Wings of Dawn.

The group that landed today marked the first group of several, as the government plans to fly 1,200 people to the country over the course of 2026. Two additional flights are scheduled in the next two weeks, according to the Aliyah and Integration Ministry.


National Holocaust Museum announces major Google partnership
he National Holocaust Museum is now included on the Google Arts & Culture platform, where people around the globe can virtually view its artefacts and explore its exhibitions.

The museum, which is physically located in rural Nottinghamshire, has digitised 271 objects from its collection, which will be accessible alongside detailed captions and archival information.

Through the platform, people can now also take full tours of the museum site through Google Street View, exploring it from the comfort of their homes.

Professor Maiken Umbach, innovation officer at the museum, said the project is “a brilliant example of what a combination of curatorial and educational expertise with modern technology can achieve”.

Users of the platform will be able to do a virtual walkthrough of the museum’s Memorial Gardens and its The Journey Exhibition. The latter, recently redeveloped, immerses the visitor in a young boy’s journey as he flees Nazi Germany on the Kindertransport.

The museum has also created five new online exhibitions for the platform, and its heads view the partnership as a significant step towards widening access to Holocaust education.

“By working with Google Arts & Culture, we are ensuring that the stories we safeguard in Nottinghamshire can be accessed by people everywhere, regardless of geography,” said Adam Dawson MBE, chairman of the museum.

“At a time when Holocaust education is more vital than ever, expanding our reach globally is not just an opportunity – it is a responsibility,” he said.




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