Monday, May 04, 2026

05/03 Links: Let's Put an End to Ingrained Jew Hate in Britain; Here’s how to crush Tehran in three moves; The Deafening Lies about Israel; Clash Report, Unmasked

From Ian:

Lord David Frost: Let's Put an End to Ingrained Jew Hate in Britain
I thought Jewish people were surely as safe in Britain as anyone else. Apparently the British Jewish community must now live in fear. It sees its schools and synagogues under airport-style security and watches its children drilled in responses to attacks - while the rest of the population need do none of these things.

Sadly, security at Jewish institutions has been necessary since the mid-1990s in response to largely foreign-inspired Palestinian and Islamist terrorism. But what we have been seeing recently is different. Our Jewish fellow citizens fear to wear Jewish symbols in the street, to overtly identify as Jewish, and, it seems nowadays, even to go about their normal business in Jewish areas. In short, they are facing a growing campaign of intimidation and systematic incitement to violence.

This has happened because we have let it happen. The political and social response to the Gaza war - caused, let us not forget, by a horrific pogrom of murder, rape, and mutilation - has created a hostile environment. The Government's recognition of "Palestine" - an action which has made precisely zero difference on the ground - has only served to legitimize all those who want to think that "Zionists" are bad people and deserve everything they get.

We don't have to put up with the terrorizing of Jewish people in Britain. We are going to have to over-correct until something like normality has returned. For now, pro-Palestine marches should be prohibited. Open expressions of antisemitism in the mass media, in mosques, or on the streets need to be banned and prosecuted. We should deport foreign nationals who are guilty of this and revoke British citizenship for those who have acquired it. We need exemplary prosecutions and sentences for any kind of violence or intimidation of the Jewish community.

In short, we need to get tough if we are to reset the norms of civilized behavior in a democratic liberal state. I don't particularly welcome any of this. But for now, either we ignore the problem and see it get ever worse and ever harder to tackle, or we face up to it while we still can. Do we want to be the generation that let the Jewish community be intimidated into silence or out of the country? Shame on us if we do. But I think, even nowadays, we are better than that.
Kemi Badenoch: Extremists spreading Jew hate have no place in Britain
This is what the Green Party is pandering to – that alliance between the so-called progressive Left with the Islamist extremists – to the extent that they don’t even talk about the environment anymore. It is this ideology which has infiltrated many parts of our society and normalised hostility towards Jews.

The first place to start is a moratorium on marches relating to Israel and Palestine because they are being used as a cover to promote violence and intimidation against Jews. When these marches first started, I was Equalities Minister. My view then was that those who glorify the massacre of Jews have no place on our streets.

Next, we should crack down on hate preaching, extremist organisations, and ideologies that glorify violence and undermine Britain.

Back in 2021, a convoy of cars draped in Palestinian flags drove through Jewish neighbourhoods while a man’s voice, amplified by a megaphone, shouted: “F*** the Jews, rape their daughters.” These men were arrested, but the CPS dropped the charges. If people get away with this sort of hatred, and this sort of behaviour has no consequences, then these crimes will escalate.

The Prevent programme must be more vigilant when it comes to cases that pose a credible threat to Jews. There is a disturbing mismatch between the proportion of Prevent’s caseload on Islamist extremism, which is just 10 per cent, and the head of MI5 saying that three quarters of their counter-terrorism caseload is Islamist extremists.

The Golders Green stabbing suspect, Essa Suleiman, was known to Prevent, but his case was closed. Now is the time for a comprehensive audit of counter-terrorism investigations involving anti-Semitic motivation to ensure nothing is missed. The Prime Minister needs to be bold if he’s going to deal with this threat. Warm words and more money for security are not enough.

The Iranian regime and its proxies are fuelling anti-Semitism on British soil. Just this week we learnt that the Iranian Embassy in London urged Iranians in Britain to recruit their children as martyrs and “sacrifice their lives for the homeland”. Britain should not be a recruiting ground for extremism.

I have offered to work with Sir Keir Starmer to fast-track legislation to ban the Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC). But he should implement Jonathan Hall KC’s recommendations and designate the IRGC as a hostile force and criminalise recruitment or displays of support for them.

Britain has been a sanctuary for Jews for hundreds of years and must continue to be so. Israel cannot be the only safe country in the world for Jews, who have been driven out of so much of the Middle East. We must all play our part in making anti-Semitism shameful. It cannot remain acceptable in supposedly polite dinner party conversations.

The Conservative Party is clear: if you want to spread hatred and violence towards Jews, you are not welcome in Britain.
Australia to hold first antisemitism commission hearing after Bondi Beach interim report
The Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion is set to begin its first block of hearings on Monday, following the presentation of an interim report regarding the Bondi Beach massacre.

The commission, formed in the wake of the December terrorist attack to investigate government and societal failings, will hold the hearings through May 15.

The first hearings will focus on defining antisemitism and examining its historical and contemporary manifestations, and listening to the experiences of Jewish Australians, as well as on metrics for assessing levels of antisemitism in institutions and society.

Several major Jewish Australian institutions said in a joint statement that the hearings would be an opportunity for community members to have their voices heard, and that they hoped the commission would use their testimonies to develop practical recommendations.

“Giving evidence about these experiences takes courage,” said the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, Australian Israel and Jewish Affairs Council, Zionist Federation of Australia, National Council of Jewish Women Australia, Dor Foundation, New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies, and Jewish Community Council of Victoria.

“Many of those appearing are speaking publicly for the first time. They are doing so because they believe this country can be better and because they want the commissioner to hear their truths and recommend changes that will make all Australians safer.”

The Jewish groups said that students would speak about rising campus hostility, while congregants would share what it was like to visit Jewish sites under armed guard and how workplaces had become uncomfortable.


The Deafening Lies about Israel
For quite some time now, lies about Jews and Israel have become the dominant public discourse, drowning out every other description of reality. Regarding Lebanon, we read and hear in the media that Israel seeks to occupy part of the country, and that its soldiers continue fighting despite a ceasefire, while the Lebanese population suffers.

The truth is this: Israel is trying to prevent Hizbullah from terrorizing its population, as it has done for years. Children do not go to school. Sirens sound incessantly. Drones and missiles destroy, wound and kill. Entire communities have been paralyzed - economically and socially.

A second falsehood is that intercepting the Global Sumud Flotilla constituted a violation of international law. Imagine dozens of vessels filled with sympathizers of terrorism from Spain, France and Italy - not delivering aid, but intent on confrontation - attempting to land on your shores. Any country would act to prevent such a scenario for obvious security reasons. Moreover, the law of armed conflict makes clear that a declared naval blockade is lawful in international waters.
UKLFI: Divestment and the Law
This is a recording of a UKLFI Charitable Trust webinar on Divestment and the Law With Prof. Max Schanzenbach and Dan Harris, chaired by Natasha Hausdorff. It took place on Thursday, 30 April.

Major investment funds are coming under increasing pressure to divest from companies on grounds related to Israel or the supply of military equipment. In this webinar leading experts will discuss whether and in what circumstances such divestments are permitted under UK and US law.


UKLFI: Natasha Hausdorff challenges false propaganda despite repeated interruptions on LBC
This recording includes comments on whether restrictions should now be placed on anti-Israel marches in London and other British cities, as well as strongly disputed allegations regarding casualty figures in Gaza, war crimes and genocide.

Unfortunately, Natasha Hausdorff was repeatedly interrupted by the interviewer when she tried to set out the inaccuracy of these allegations. It seems that many interviewers cannot stand to hear the expression of any view that supports Israel - as soon as a person interviewed starts to deploy facts contradicting the false propaganda the interviewer interrupts to prevent the truth being told.

For details of Gaza casualties according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry down to 10 November 2025, see this thread by Gabriel Epstein.

This shows that even according to this information (which may itself be distorted by Hamas propaganda):
1. A much higher % of males of fighting age died than of females of the same ages, indicating that Israeli military action targeted combatants and was not indiscriminate.
2. A much higher % of male teenagers died than of female teenagers, indicating that a significant number teenagers, who are classified as children, were killed because they were combatants.
3. The claim initiated by Hamas and disgracefully maintained by the BBC, that 70% of those killed were women and children, is false.

The claim stated by Owen Jones, that the IDF has admitted that 83% of those killed were civilians, is completely bogus, as Chief Magistrate Goldspring found in paragraph 81a of this recent ruling:

The details provided by the Gaza Health Ministry do not identify how they died. They probably include around 10,000 who died of natural causes: see Salo Aizenberg.

Thousands more may well have been killed by Palestinian fire - rockets falling short, explosive devices, and crossfire. They certainly include 471 allegedly killed in the explosion outside Al Ahli hospital caused by a Palestinian rocket that fell short. Well over a thousand other Palestinian rockets also fell short; each of them may have killed dozens of people.




Eitan Fischberger: Clash Report, Unmasked
Clash Report presents itself as a neutral conflict news aggregator, but it is the English-language division of a Turkish media company with deep ties to the Erdoğan family and Turkish state agencies. The company behind it, Monolog Medya, was a contractor for two branches of the Erdoğan political family — his personal charitable foundation and the flagship festival of his son-in-law Selçuk Bayraktar, Turkey’s drone billionaire. Monolog Medya’s director is a veteran of TRT, Turkey’s state broadcaster.

Clash Report’s editors are TRT alumni, its only advertiser is a Turkish state defense contractor, and its podcast host promotes Muslim Brotherhood leaders. When Western politicians and journalists share Clash Report, they are amplifying an Erdoğan-adjacent influence operation dressed up as breaking news. To be more specific:
- Clash Report is the name of a prominent English-language news aggregator X account. The account frequently goes viral, with its content shared by U.S. senators, congressmen, prominent influencers, podcasters, and tech figures. Interspersed among its news posts, however, are numerous instances of conspiratorial, antisemitic, and anti-American content.
- A Turkish company called Monolog Medya Bilişim Eğitim Reklam ve Organizasyon Ltd. Şti. runs a Turkish-language news platform called GDH (”Gündeme Dair Haberler” — “News About the Agenda”). Clash Report is GDH’s English-language division. The three are the same operation: one company, one editorial team, two brands in two languages.
- Monolog Medya’s director and owner, Cüneyt Polat, is a former Digital Media Director at Turkey’s state broadcaster TRT. His company lists a client called TÜRGEV — the personal charitable foundation of the Erdoğan family, marking one of two separate Erdoğan family connections — the second, the Bayraktar contracting relationship, is described below.
- Monolog Medya operated backend servers for Teknofest — Turkey’s state-backed technology festival run by Selçuk Bayraktar’s T3 Foundation. Selçuk Bayraktar is Erdoğan’s son-in-law and owner of Baykar, Turkey’s flagship drone manufacturer.
- Clash Report’s Chief Editor is Kamer Kurunç. Among its staff is Mehmet A. Kancı, a TRT Haber Special Reports Coordinator and writer for Anadolu Ajansı (another state-run outlet).
- The Clash Report X account sat dormant for five years, then activated on February 28, 2020 — the night Turkey launched Operation Spring Shield in Syria. By the next day it had 49,200 followers.

Why Clash Report Matters
Spend any time on X following politics and military conflicts, and you’ve undoubtedly encountered Clash Report. Drone footage, conflict maps, breaking strike updates, political developments in America and Europe, all in English, all timestamped within minutes of events. Major Western reporters quote it. Wire services reference it. Politicans retweet it. Even national governments engage with it. The brand presents itself, in its own words, as your source for unbiased, data-driven news and analysis on global conflicts.

Anyone familiar with influence operations will recognize Clash Report for what it really is. After some old-fashioned sleuthing, I’ve identified the company behind it, the people running it, and their ties to the Turkish state media apparatus — including one operator who pushes a Muslim Brotherhood agenda — even as the brand takes deliberate steps to obscure its Turkish origins.
Richard Goldberg: Here’s how to crush Tehran in three moves
The small group of Islamist regime loyalists now ruling Iran by committee may be able to fool the world with AI-generated propaganda videos, paper statements attributed to an invisible ayatollah and ChatGPT-scripted posts on X, but they can’t escape the reality of an American naval blockade pushing their economy off the cliff.

President Trump has the upper hand.

His best path forward is to pursue three lines of effort in parallel: Sustain the blockade and accompanying economic warfare to destabilize the regime’s hold on the state; remake the world in America’s energy dominance image to mitigate long-term price impacts while undermining China’s global ambition to defeat the United States; and order the US military to forge a path through the Strait of Hormuz to restore freedom of navigation on our terms not Tehran’s.

You might call the latter Operation Epic Passage — a combined naval and air mission of self-defense that offers escort to tankers and restores freedom of navigation, all while making clear to Tehran the devastating consequences of breaking cease-fire.

You might also call it “Blockade Plus.”

Whether Iran’s oil storage completely runs out in a day or a month, Iran is no longer exporting oil — the lifeblood of its economy — or petrochemicals, steel or any other product at a level needed to keep the government afloat, banks capitalized and employees paid.

The currency is in free fall, domestic prices are skyrocketing, reserves are being drained and escape hatches — sanctions evasion routes the regime typically relies upon — are getting closed soon after they open.

A gasoline shortage comes next.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s Operation Economic Fury is more than just a naval blockade.

Every department and agency in the U.S. Government has been directed to prioritize economic warfare against the Revolutionary Guard.

The intelligence community is now laser focused on this objective in a way it hasn’t been in some years.
Poll: Majority in U.S. Back Stopping Iran from Obtaining a Nuclear Weapon
A new national survey from the Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll taken on April 23-26, 2026, found that 74% of Americans think it is in the U.S.' interests to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, including 60% of Democrats, 91% of Republicans, and 70% of Independents.
74% said they support Israel over Hamas, including 66% of Democrats, 86% of Republicans, and 68% of Independents.
76% agreed that there are terrorist groups on Israel's borders, including 70% of Democrats, 83% of Republicans, and 75% of Independents.
76% said Hizbullah should be required to disarm as part of a long-term peace agreement between Israel and Lebanon, including 70% of Democrats, 87% of Republicans, and 70% of Independents.
74% think the U.S. is winning in the war with Iran, including 60% of Democrats, 91% of Republicans, and 70% of Independents.
65% agree that Iran is a national security threat to the U.S., including 53% of Democrats, 81% of Republicans, and 59% of Independents.
The Board of Peace Speaks Up about Hamas -
Hamas has been drumming up talk of "engineered starvation" in Gaza again. But this time, the new Board of Peace has responded. "Since the ceasefire last October, the Board of Peace has SIGNIFICANTLY scaled up support for the people of Gaza," the organization wrote Thursday. "Food aid is reaching 3 times more people than before." Aid trucks are no longer diverted from reaching their destinations en masse, and child malnutrition cases have plummeted.

"The next critical step in Gaza's recovery," the Board added, is "finalizing the process by which Hamas decommissions its weapons and allows for the transition to a new government that will lead the redevelopment of this war-torn region." But Hamas is refusing to disarm.

"The 'flotilla' heading to Gaza is the performative love-boat activism of people who know nothing of and care even less for the condition of Gazans. For those actually wanting to help Gaza, here is a suggestion: use whatever influence you have to maintain the pressure on Hamas so they fulfill their obligations to pave the way forward for the communities they destroyed."

Amid the Iran war, Hamas has avoided scrutiny for blowing past the Board of Peace's April 14 deadline to accept its disarmament plan. This is a continuing breach of the ceasefire by Hamas, which means Israel will have to continue holding territory and using force to keep the terrorists off balance. Israel won't let Hamas rebuild the jihadist fief next door. Now the Board of Peace won't give Hamas its usual free lane in the propaganda war either.


My son wants to study in London, as I once did – but Britain’s failure to protect its Jews gives me pause
Which raises the question that the British political class is most desperate to avoid: is there something specifically British about how this is going wrong?

There is – call it Anglo-wokeism, for want of a better term. It is not identical to the American variety. It is more genteel, more establishment, more deeply embedded in the institutions – the BBC, the Foreign Office, the universities, the Crown Prosecution Service, the senior ranks of the Metropolitan Police, the major charities – and far less contested by any countervailing institutional force.

American wokeism faces a Republican Party, Fox News, and a tenured conservative intelligentsia. British Anglo-wokeism faces, effectively, no one. The Conservative Party that governed for 14 years did not seriously challenge it; it adopted its assumptions while complaining about its tone. The result is a political culture in which a particular set of fears – of being called racist, of being seen as “Islamophobic”, of being on the wrong side of “community relations” – has become the supreme regulating principle of public life. Higher than the rule of law, higher than the protection of minorities and higher than the truth.

We have seen it before, in this exact country, very recently. The grooming-gangs scandal – the systematic rape of thousands of working-class British girls, over decades, in town after town, by gangs of predominantly British-Pakistani men – was not a failure of intelligence. The police, the councils and the social workers all knew. They did not act because acting would have required them to name a pattern that crossed the line of what could be politely said in 21st century Britain. The Jay Report on Rotherham documented this with a clarity that should have ended careers and changed institutions. It changed almost nothing. The same mechanism – the same supremacy of “do not be called racist” over “protect the victims” – is the mechanism now operating against British Jews. Different victims but identical mechanism, political class, and silence dressed up as tolerance.

The second specifically British problem is that the country has no idea how to fight things that are not technically illegal. Britain is excellent at counter-terrorism. MI5 stops the bombs and the plots that reach the prosecution stage are usually prosecuted competently. What Britain cannot handle – what no British institution has begun to develop tools against – is the dense fabric of legal but corrosive activity that surrounds the violence and feeds it: Muslim Brotherhood networks, weekly marches, campus encampments, slogans, BBC vocabulary, boycott motions, academic conferences, social-media ecosystems, the influencer who travels to Golders Green on Shabbat to film himself accosting Orthodox Jews. None of this is a crime under British law as currently interpreted and yet all of it produces the climate in which the crimes happen. And the British state, paralysed by a tradition of free-speech tradition that it applies selectively and a fear of being called illiberal that it applies promiscuously, has decided it cannot touch any of it. The marches got their permits, the chant leaders got their interviews, the encampments got their negotiations, the Muslim Brotherhood organisations grow without being challenged – and the men with the knives got their permission slip.

Underneath all of this is something newer than classical antisemitism and harder to fight. It is not the racial, nationalist antisemitism of the 1930s; it is a configuration in which the old accusations against the Jews – domination, exploitation, criminality – are recycled into the language of radical anti-Zionism, fused with Islamist themes, and laundered through the moral vocabulary of the contemporary Western left: anti-colonialism, anti-racism, the global South against the global North.

“Zionism” becomes the new name for the devil. “Genocide” becomes the routine descriptor for a Jewish state defending itself – a word forged in the murder of European Jewry, now repurposed weekly to describe the survivors’ children. The Hatzola arsonists, the Golders Green attacker, the Manchester killer are not deviants from this discourse. They have heard, week after week, that the Jewish presence in their country is illegitimate, settler-colonial, genocidal, and they have drawn the inference. The marches did not cause the stabbing but the marches and the stabbing share a vocabulary, and that vocabulary is the British political class’s gift to the men with the knives.


Jonathan Sacerdoti: The case that shows jihadism is for losers
If anyone needs proof that jihadism is for losers, they need only look at the case of Abdullah Albadri. He was found guilty yesterday at the Old Bailey of preparation of terrorist acts and two offences of possession of a bladed article in a public place. On 28 April last year, he travelled across London to the Israeli embassy in Kensington, wrapped his head and face in a red-and-white shemagh, put on sunglasses, armed himself with two knives, and tried to climb the perimeter fence. Armed diplomatic protection officers stopped him within seconds.

That was the whole grand operation. An hour of theatrical pilgrimage through London, a martyrdom note, two knives, a costume, a fence, and then the ground.

Albadri was a would-be refugee who had entered the United Kingdom illegally by small boat from France. Twice. The first time, in August 2021, he claimed asylum. But he was so stupid he then deported himself accidentally while waiting for his asylum decision by hitching a lift in a lorry he thought was taking him to Manchester. Instead, he found himself back in France. Even as an illegal infiltrator he was a failure.

He came again on 12 April last year. The next day he was taken to the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Basingstoke, a four-star mid range business hotel just 20 minutes’ drive away from the 17th-century house where Jane Austen spent her later years, now a museum. Free hotel – result! However, three days later he was told that because he had already applied for asylum, his new claim was being treated as a ‘further submission’, and he did not qualify for accommodation. Out he went. At least this insane free accommodation for illegals system has rules, no doubt designed to teach the traditional British value of fair play.

Clearly disappointed by his failure, and disillusioned by his own mental simplicity, he turned to religion to seek reward. That is where jihad comes in. As a religious concept, it takes damaged men, humiliated men, thwarted men, bored men, men with grudges against the world and disappointment in themselves, and gives them a script in which failure becomes sacrifice. The nobody becomes a martyr. The drifter becomes a soldier of God. The man sleeping rough and washing in mosques (though none of them raised the alarm) becomes, in his own mind, an actor in sacred history.

The Israeli criminologist Anat Berko has spent years excavating that psychology. Her book The Path to Paradise is based on interviews with failed Palestinian suicide bombers and their dispatchers, and shows how suicide terrorism often recruits from the terrain of shame, humiliation, social failure, wounded pride and fantasy. She later wrote The Smarter Bomb, which explored how women and children could also benefit from this warped ideology, showing how pressure, dishonour, manipulation and the promise of spiritual elevation can be fused into a machinery of death for them as well.

In her research, Dr Berko sat for many hours with would-be bombers and dispatchers, listening to the gap between the cosmic language and the squalid human material underneath it. Berko and others in the field describe how Islamic martyrdom offers redemption of honour for those who are homosexual, have been raped, sexually abused, committed adultery or failed in some other way. One dispatcher spoke of looking for ‘sad young men’ and approaching them with promises of paradise. Then the sacred script arrives.
Irish state broadcaster in anti-Semitism row over Boy George interview
In the aftermath of the assaults, the pop star said he had received abuse online over his messages of solidarity with the Jewish community.

Boy George said: “For me personally, growing up I have had so many beautiful Jewish friends and I still have. Being asked to turn against the whole race of people is not acceptable to me and I am getting a lot of abuse for it but I don’t really care.”

In response, Kielty said: “You have attacks on the Jewish community and the backdrop of that obviously is the horrors in Gaza and this is a complex thing.

“I know you have always spoken out that violence is never the answer.”

Boy George then asked the audience whether they knew any Jewish people, but was met by silence.

After the broadcast, Holocaust Awareness Ireland described the interview as “extraordinary” and accused RTÉ of being “disturbingly unbalanced” in its coverage of Israel and Jewish people.

Writing on X, a spokesman said:

Kielty’s father, Jack, was shot dead in 1988 in Dundrum, by loyalist paramilitaries. Three men were convicted of the killing, but freed after the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.

The Campaign Against Antisemitism said it was shocking that Kielty’s reaction to the attempted murder of two Jewish people was to refer to the conflict in Gaza.

A spokesman said: “Boy George has been a steadfast supporter of the Jewish community in this difficult period, enduring online abuse for daring to stand up for this embattled minority. We are enormously grateful for his lonely voice standing up for Jews.

“What a contrast to Patrick Kielty, whose first reaction when Jews are stabbed on the streets of Britain is to reference Gaza.

“As long as people continue to seek ‘context’ and ‘rationale’ for violence against Jewish people, that violence will persist, and they will have had a hand in it.”


‘Tsunami of antisemitism’ flowing throughout the UK
Journalist and Author Melanie Phillips says there is a “tsunami of antisemitism” flowing throughout the UK.

Ms Phillips told Sky News Australia that it’s not too “dissimilar” to what Jewish Australians are also facing.

“They are simply not addressing the root causes.”




The grotesque comparison of the Golders Green attacker to George Floyd
The horrific news of a knifeman attacking Jewish people in Golders Green has dominated global headlines. Yet in some circles, the image of the attacker held on the ground by police is getting as much traction as the actual knife crime.

Slowly, the rhetoric that the man being kicked is actually the victim of alleged police brutality is being peddled – to my utter dismay. Worse still, ludicrous comparisons are being made with George Floyd, and it sends shivers down my spine that people are buying into this and, in doing so, detract from what is really going on. The topic in many chat forums has turned to the wellbeing of the attacker.

What of the wellbeing of the attacked men? The thousands of families affected – people who will no doubt be afraid to leave their homes because of fears of attacks like these?

To even dare to compare the man who stepped out that day with the intention of harming innocent people to an actual victim like George Floyd is incomprehensible.

George Floyd was a black man who was murdered by a white police officer in Minnesota in May 2020. One of the four police officers who arrived on the scene, Derek Chauvin, knelt on Floyd's neck and back for over nine minutes, killing him.

The alleged Golders Green attacker's situation was completely different. The Somali-born migrant with a history of violent attacks was nothing like Floyd.

The alleged knifeman was stopped by police who tackled him to the ground, tasered him, and kicked him – but he wasn’t seriously injured, let alone murdered. Had this happened in another country, in continental Europe where police are routinely armed, he might not be breathing to tell the tale.

However, what disturbs me the most is the rhetoric coming from people in positions of power, who have turned the attention away from these racist attacks on Jews.

Step forward Zack Polanski, who has been slammed for criticising the police officers who detained the alleged Golders Green attacker.

The Green Party leader reshared a post condemning the officers for kicking the terror attack suspect in the head when he refused to drop his weapon.


Trump says US to begin escorting ships out of Persian Gulf through Strait of Hormuz
The US will start guiding ships out of the Strait of Hormuz from Monday morning (Middle East Time), according to a Sunday statement by US President Donald Trump shared on Truth Social.

"This process, Project Freedom, will begin Monday morning, Middle East time. I am fully aware that my representatives are having very positive discussions with the country of Iran, and that these discussions could lead to something very positive for all," he said in the statement.

According to Trump, the operation will be centered on helping the vessels leave the Persian Gulf, with countries asking "the United States if we could help free up their Ships, which are locked up in the Strait."

"They are merely neutral and innocent bystanders! For the good of Iran, the Middle East, and the United States, we have told these Countries that we will guide their Ships safely out of these restricted Waterways, so that they can freely and ably get on with their business," he added.

According to his statement, the ships to be escorted out "will not be returning until the area becomes safe for navigation," and he calls the operation a "humanitarian process" to save the crews of ships trapped in the Gulf.

"If, in any way, this Humanitarian process is interfered with, that interference will, unfortunately, have to be dealt with forcefully," he warned at the end of the post.

The US Central Command later stated that its contribution to Project Freedom would include "guided-missile destroyers, over 100 land and sea-based aircraft, multi-domain unmanned platforms, and 15,000 service members."

“Our support for this defensive mission is essential to regional security and the global economy as we also maintain the naval blockade,” stated Adm. Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander.

Israeli journalist and Axios reporter Barak Ravid said on X that, according to two US officials, this new initiative would not necessarily include US Navy ships escorting commercial ships.

He further detailed that US Navy vessels would be "in the vicinity" of the shipping lanes in case Iran attacked the tankers, while also providing the ships with information on where to sail to avoid the Iranian deep-sea mines.


Israel approves procurement of two fighter squadrons from the United States
The Ministerial Committee on Procurement has approved the Israel Defense Ministry’s plan to acquire two fighter squadrons from the United States simultaneously—an additional F-35 squadron and a second F-15IA squadron.

“The deals, valued at tens of billions of shekels, include full fleet integration into the Israeli Air Force, comprehensive sustainment, spare parts and logistics support,” the ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

The move marks “the first step in executing the IDF’s decade-long force buildup plan, approved by the prime minister and defense minister under a dedicated 350-billion-shekel budget (approximately $95 billion),” according to the statement.

Defense Minister Israel Katz and Defense Ministry Director-General Maj. Gen. (res.) Amir Baram brought the procurement before the committee “as part of the ministry’s broader strategy to strengthen readiness ahead of a demanding decade for Israeli security.

“The new squadrons will serve as a cornerstone of the IDF’s long-term force development, addressing evolving regional threats and preserving Israel’s strategic air superiority,” the statement said.

Following the approval, Baram directed the Defense Ministry’s mission to the United States “to move forward with finalizing the agreements with American government and military counterparts in the coming period.”
US approves $992.4 million sale of laser-guided rockets to Israel
The U.S. State Department approved a possible sale of $992.4 million worth of laser-guided rockets, or “advanced precision kill weapon system” and relevant equipment, Foggy Bottom said on Friday.

Israel sought 10,000 of the APKWS equipment, which is made by BAE Systems, the State Department said.

“The secretary of state has determined and provided detailed justification that an emergency exists that requires the immediate sale to Israel of the above defense articles and defense services is in the national security interests of the United States, thereby waiving the congressional review requirements,” the department said.

“The proposed sale will improve Israel’s capability to meet current and future threats, strengthen its homeland defense and serve as a deterrent to regional threats,” it added. “Israel will have no difficulty absorbing these articles and services into its armed forces.”

According to the U.S. Navy, APKWS is “intended as an inexpensive way to destroy targets while limiting collateral damage in close combat.”

BAE Systems says that the weapon “has also proven itself capable in air-to-air targeting of unmanned aerial vehicles and low-flying cruise missiles, as part of a counter-unmanned aerial system, as well as in ground-to-ground lethality fired from launchers mounted on vehicles and remote weapon stations.”
Hezbollah rockets, drones target Israeli forces in Southern Lebanon
Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorists launched several rockets and drones at Israeli soldiers on Sunday, according to the Israel Defense Forces. No injuries were reported.

“A short while ago, an interceptor was launched toward a suspicious aerial target that was identified in the area in which IDF soldiers are operating in Southern Lebanon,” the military stated. “The results of the interception are under review.”

In additional incidents throughout the day on Sunday, several projectiles and explosive drones fired by Hezbollah struck near IDF soldiers, the army said.

The terrorist group overnight on Saturday also launched several rockets and drones at Israeli soldiers, with no injuries reported.

Hezbollah began firing rockets and drones at Israel on March 2, after the Jewish state’s targeted killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Feb. 28.

In response to the terrorist organization’s violation of the U.S.-brokered Nov. 27, 2024, truce agreement, Jerusalem launched an aerial campaign against Hezbollah and ordered the IDF to advance and take control of additional areas in Southern Lebanon to halt cross-border attacks.


Terrorist killed in Gaza after approaching IDF troops
Israel Defense Forces ground troops killed a Palestinian terrorist during operations in the southern Gaza Strip on Sunday, the military said.

The terrorist approached the troops in the area of the ceasefire-instituted Yellow Line, “posing an immediate threat to them,” the IDF stated.

On Saturday, ground troops killed at least three terrorists in the southern Gaza Strip after they crossed the truce line and approached troops, the military said.

According to the IDF, soldiers identified four terrorists who crossed the Yellow Line, which separates areas held by the IDF from those under Hamas control in accordance with the U.S.-brokered Oct. 10, 2025, ceasefire.

The suspects advanced toward troops, prompting soldiers to open fire to eliminate the “immediate threat,” the military said.

“Three terrorists were eliminated, and an additional hit was identified,” the IDF stated.


Four Palestinians charged for planning ISIS-inspired attacks across Israel
Three Palestinian men and one minor were indicted on terrorism charges Sunday for allegedly planning Islamic State-inspired terror attacks on civilians and security forces, the State Attorney’s Office announced.

The suspects, Majed Halayla, 31, Mohammed Sabah, 22, and Omar Abu al-Amal, 26, and an unnamed 16-year-old, all residents of East Jerusalem, were charged in the Jerusalem District Court with a series of security offenses.

The charges included membership in a terrorist organization, recruitment to a terrorist organization, and conspiracy to commit an act of terror involving aggravated murder.

The four suspects allegedly functioned as a cell inspired by the Islamic State terror group, studying methods for carrying out attacks involving shootings, car rammings, and the use of explosive devices.

“The defendants worked to advance the plan, including by gathering intelligence on potential targets, learning how to use weapons, and planning military-style training in preparation for carrying out the attacks,” the indictment said.

Some of their targets included Jerusalem’s Damascus Gate and the West Bank settlement of Kiryat Arba near Hebron, prosecutors said.
Taking the Wind Out of the Gaza Flotilla's Sails
The stunning preemptive interception of the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla far from Israel's shores was a model of professionalism, discipline and strategic clarity. Once again, the IDF, the Navy and Israel's intelligence services demonstrated that national security can be defended firmly, intelligently and without unnecessary drama. There were no injuries, no chaos, no televised confrontation, and no manufactured spectacle for these activists eager to provoke headlines.

This time Israel moved fast and sucked all the wind out of their sails. There was no grandstanding, no CNN, no Gretas, and no opportunity to turn sailors defending their country into villains for international consumption.

The naval blockade of Gaza has been widely recognized in international law as a lawful security measure when properly declared and enforced. In that context, publicly declared attempts to breach a lawful sea blockade must be viewed as unlawful extremist conduct rather than legitimate protest or humanitarian action. Accordingly, Israel is required to take the necessary and proportionate measures available under international law to enforce its rights and ensure the integrity of the blockade, including actions on the high seas.


Leaders of Gaza-bound flotilla arrive in Israel after naval interception near Greece
Two leading participants in the latest Gaza protest flotilla arrived in Israel for questioning on Saturday after being detained by the Israeli Navy near Greece on April 29-30.

Saif Abu Keshek and Thiago Ávila, members of the Hamas-linked Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad (PCPA), “will be transferred for questioning by law enforcement authorities,” the Israeli Foreign Ministry stated.

Abu Keshek, who hold Spanish citizenship, is suspected of affiliation with a terrorist organization due to his leading role in the PCPA, the statement noted. Ávila, a Brazilian, is suspected of “illegal activity” as part of his membership in the Hamas front group.

“Both will receive a consular visit from the representatives of their respective countries in Israel,” the ministry said.

The Foreign Ministry on Friday dismissed the Global Sumud (“Steadfastness”) Flotilla as a “provocation,” saying the effort was intended to draw attention away from Hamas’s refusal to lay down its weapons.

According to the statement, approximately 175 activists involved in the flotilla were released in Crete after the Greek government agreed to allow them to disembark. Israel thanked Athens for its cooperation, saying the move helped prevent escalation.

Jerusalem reiterated that it would continue to enforce its “lawful naval blockade” of the Hamas-controlled Gaza coast.

“For this to stop happening, there should have been a more consequential approach in the past, under which those who come here pay a price. This is an offense. These individuals are attempting to violate the law, whether Israeli or international, and I believe a harsher approach is warranted,” Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel told JNS on Sunday.

“We know that one of the figures behind several of the flotillas, including the ‘Cuba flotilla,’ attended the funeral of former Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah. We also know that many of them are sponsored by organizations linked to Hamas. We understand the source of these efforts, and anyone attempting to whitewash them to justify such actions risks creating a dangerous precedent that could ultimately backfire,” she said.

“The ships should be confiscated, and I believe that would serve as a stronger deterrent, making clear there is a price to pay,” Haskel added.
Court extends detention of 2 Gaza flotilla activists accused of Hamas links
The Ashkelon Magistrate’s Court approved a two-day extension to the detention of two foreign activists from a Gaza-bound flotilla who were brought to Israel for questioning, a rights group representing them told AFP on Sunday.

The activists, Spanish national Saif Abu Keshek and Brazilian Thiago Avila, were among more than 170 detained by Israel last week when the flotilla was intercepted by the Israeli Navy in international waters. The remainder were all freed on Friday in Greece, while Abu Keshek and Avila were brought to Israel on suspicion of ties to a group the US says acts on behalf of the terror group Hamas.

“The court extended their detention by two days,” said Miriam Azem, international advocacy coordinator at the rights group Adalah, of Abu Keshek and Avila.

Israeli authorities had asked to extend their detention by four days, Azem said earlier.

Spain’s foreign ministry called for the “immediate release” of Spanish-Palestinian activist Abu Keshek.

“The government of Spain demands his immediate release,” the ministry said in a comment sent to AFP, adding that the Spanish consul in Tel Aviv accompanied Abu Keshek, who is being “illegally detained,” to the hearing.

In a separate statement, Adalah said the state attorney had presented a list of suspected offenses committed by the pair, including “assisting the enemy during wartime” and “membership in and providing services to a terrorist organization.”

Adalah challenged the state’s jurisdiction, arguing that the activists were seized in international waters.

The group’s lawyers told the court that Avila and Abu Keshek had testified to “severe physical abuse amounting to torture, including being beaten and held in isolation and blindfolded for days at sea.”

No formal charges were filed against the two, it said.

“Both activists are continuing their hunger strike in protest of their unlawful detention and ill-treatment,” the group added.


Ask Haviv Anything: 112: Why the world Is obsessed with Zionism, with Alana Newhouse
The world feels unmoored. Identity is contested, nations are uncertain, and a technology-altered future feels increasingly abstract and vaguely threatening. So much is happening, so much is at stake. So why is everyone suddenly talking about the Jews?

In this episode, Haviv sits down with writer and Tablet magazine founder Alana Newhouse to explore a striking idea: that the global obsession with Zionism isn’t really about Jews at all. It’s about something the modern West has lost -- and isn’t sure how to rebuild.

From post-nationalism to technological upheaval to political extremism, we consider Alana's thesis that Zionism is less an ideology and more a kind of “social technology” for building meaning, cohesion and a future worth striving for -- and the uncomfortable but fascinating possibility that what looks like obsessive bigotry might actually be a kind of yearning.

Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Zionism and Its Relevance
02:43 Understanding the Obsession with Zionism
06:07 The Role of National Identity in Crisis
08:43 The Misdiagnosis of Nationalism's Role in Conflict
11:20 The Failure of Post-Nationalism
13:25 Zionism as a Solution to Identity Crises
16:27 The Unique Strengths of Israeli Society
18:31 Defining Zionism as a Social Technology
21:50 Zionism's Forward-Looking Vision for Societies
24:27 Conclusion: Building a Cohesive Future
33:03 Understanding Ethnos and Identity
34:08 The Role of National Identity in the UK
36:54 The Impact of Digital Technologies on Society
40:41 Agency and Community in Identity Formation
41:51 Practical Steps for Cultural Renewal
45:32 Risk-Taking and Innovation in Society
49:41 Building Distinctiveness and National Ethos
51:07 Empowerment and Individual Agency
55:19 The Future of National Identity and Culture




Rahm, Tucker share positive views on Graham Platner
Former U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel, a likely Democratic presidential candidate, on Friday signaled his backing for Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner, who has drawn scrutiny over his far-left views and decades-old Nazi tattoo that he recently covered up.

“I would hope at this point in the process he understands what a Nazi symbol is,” Emanuel said. “He’s going to have to make his way. And the Democrats — he’ll be the nominee — should support his candidacy,” Emanuel told CNN’s Kasie Hunt.

Asked by Hunt if he was personally backing Platner, Emanuel said, “If he’s the Democratic nominee, I’m going to help him if he wants my help, absolutely.”

“You have to put an end to Donald Trump,” Emanuel added.

Emanuel, who served as mayor of Chicago from 2011-2019, later quipped about a meeting with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a vocal critic of Israel, after Mamdani’s election as mayor. “I told him when I first met him, I said, ‘I don’t know who’s going to hate this meeting more, my rabbi or AOC,’ but we had an honest meeting … an honest discussion about what to face as mayor,” he said.

Platner is now the expected Democratic nominee against Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) after the Democratic establishment’s favored candidate, Maine Gov. Janet Mills, dropped out of the race on Thursday. Mills, despite holding a strong political track record, consistently trailed Platner in primary polling since launching her campaign.

Over the weekend, Platner’s campaign also drew support from another unexpected voice: far-right podcaster Tucker Carlson.

In a lengthy interview with The New York Times, Carlson said he “appreciated” Platner’s foreign policy views, and plans to meet with the candidate. “I appreciate how different [his foreign policy views] are from everybody else in his party,” Carlson said.


Far-left Pa. candidate pushed Bondi Beach conspiracy theory
Pennsylvania state Rep. Chris Rabb — a Democrat seeking the House seat of retiring Rep. Dwight Evans (D-PA) — shared an Instagram post blaming the massacre of Jewish Australians at a Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach on “Zionists,” the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

In the aftermath of the attack, in which 14 were killed and 40 injured, Rabb’s account shared disinformation insinuating the slaughter was a false flag perpetrated by Israeli interests.

“We all know the gunmen were likely Zionists themselves,” read the post, which used an emoji in the place of the word “gun.”

Shortly after the attack, the alleged assailants were identified as a father and son whom authorities linked to an offshoot of the Islamic State. Rabb’s post further lamented that Ahmed al-Ahmed, a Muslim Syrian immigrant who intervened, had not received broader acknowledgment for his “hero” role of disarming one of the attackers.

A Rabb campaign spokesperson asserted to the Inquirer that the candidate not only did not share the post himself, but that he had “no knowledge” of it, and blamed a former staffer for posting it. The campaign did not respond to a request from Jewish Insider for the employee’s name, and the details of their departure.

Rabb is locked in a tight race with state Sen. Sharif Street and Dr. Ala Stanford. In recent weeks, Rabb was endorsed by Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Maxwell Frost (D-FL), and received the backing of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. He’s also gotten the backing of far-left streamer Hasan Piker and the Democratic Socialists of America.


Muslim election candidates in Birmingham for George Galloway's Workers Party of Britain gave out sweets to celebrate Iran's 'success' against 'the Zionists'
Radical Muslim election candidates in Birmingham handed out sweets to celebrate Iran's 'success' against 'the Zionists', The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

In a video posted online, Wajad Burkey and Sardar Khan, both members of George Galloway's Workers Party of Britain, posed with a box of sweets and praised Iran after it blocked the Strait of Hormuz and secured a ceasefire in the war with Israel and the US.

The shocking footage comes amid growing fears that after 14 years of disastrous Labour rule, England's second city is on the brink of falling under the control of a coalition of sectarian Muslim politicians.

The Workers Party in Birmingham has formed a pact with the pro–Gaza Independent Candidate Alliance (IAC), led by Akhmed Yakoob, a Lamborghini–driving lawyer with a large following on TikTok.

Polls suggest that with no party expected to win an outright majority, the Workers Party and IAC could form one of the biggest groups on the city council – and potentially be kingmakers in any coalition deal.

The MoS has discovered that radical politicians in Birmingham are declaring their support for Iran as part of their pitch to voters.

In footage posted in April, Mr Burkey, an estate agent and candidate in Bordesley Green, explains how Mr Khan, a candidate in Bromford & Hodge Hill, had visited his office to celebrate Iran's resistance.

He said: 'Today we are celebrating the success of [the] Iranian government against the Zionists.

'So, Brother Sardar Khan, the councillor candidate for Hodge Hill, has brought sweets and is distributing sweets everywhere.

'Congratulations to the whole Muslim world for a huge success for Iran,' he added.

Lord Austin, the former Labour MP for Dudley North, last night described the candidates' backing of Iran as 'nothing short of traitorous.' He added: 'These Birmingham candidates openly express their support for a regime that wants to annihilate Britain and the West.

'They support a brutal racist dictatorship that murdered 35,000 people in two days earlier this year for daring to protest against the regime.

'It exports terrorism across the Middle East and Europe, and its agents have orchestrated more than 20 attacks here in the UK.

'This disgusting clip ought to receive attention from Britain's counter terror police.'


Cornell president bumps into protesters blocking his car after event with anti-Israel speaker
Michael Kotlikoff, president of Cornell University, reportedly drove into someone, who was blocking his car as he sought to drive away after a debate on the Ithaca, N.Y., campus about Israel and the Palestinians.

The Daily Sun, a student paper, reported that Kotlikoff “drove his car into a Cornell student and ran over the foot of a recent graduate” on Thursday evening and that the recent graduate said that his foot was “painful” to “walk on.”

The incident took place after Kotlikoff introduced a talk, in a broader debate series, by Norman Finkelstein, a Jewish former professor who has been accused widely of being both anti-Israel and antisemitic, titled “Resolved, Israel was not justified in its response to Oct. 7.”

Kotlikoff stated that the event, which Cornell Progressives, Cornellians for Israel and Students for Justice in Palestine sponsored, was “vigorous and civil, and an example of the kind of open discourse that we prize in our academic community.”

“As I left the event room, I was accosted by a group of several individuals in the hall, among them students and non-students. These individuals are known to Cornell [Students for a Democratic Cornell] for their past conduct, including a long history of ongoing verbal and online abuse toward numerous members of Cornell’s administration and staff, as well as disruptive protest resulting, in the case of two individuals, in bans from campus,” he stated.


Norwegian university professor: October 7 attacks 'most beautiful thing to happen in our century'
A Norwegian university professor called the October 7 Hamas attacks “the most beautiful thing that has happened in our century.”

Bassam Hussein, a project management professor at Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim, made the comments during an April 21 lecture organized by the Socialist Forum.

During his section about conflict in the Middle East, Hussein called October 7 “the most beautiful thing that has happened in our century,” adding that it revealed, “there is no such thing as Israeli superiority.”

“Israel sold Jewish immigrants an idea. A kind of five-star settler life there. They told Jewish immigrants: come to us. Here you will get the finest life. You will get a home, a house, an apartment, a car, a job financed by Americans. And the only thing you have to do is serve in the army for 18 months. And that’s it. Then you can go and live. You can also have citizenship and everything. This is paradise. October 7 proved that this is not true at all.

“October 7 showed that no matter how strong you are, you still have vulnerabilities. And an intelligent, smart Palestinian military leader with 400 people can actually hurt them badly. So Israel became like a kind of dragon, a huge dragon spitting fire in all directions, that got a needle in its backside. That’s it. A needle in the backside.”

He also stated his belief that Israel’s ambitions are greater than being a regional power and that the Jewish state wishes to “take over the Western empire.”

“Remember that the State of Israel is really a continuation of European colonialism, just like the United States, just like Canada, and just like Australia. It is the same mentality. And therefore, I fear that this is Israel’s plan: to take over as a regional – no, as a global power.”


Holocaust memorial vandalized in Italy
Israel’s Foreign Ministry on Saturday denounced as “moral depravity” the desecration of a Holocaust memorial in Turin, Italy, over the weekend.

“Only moral depravity could drive those who vandalized the stumbling blocks commemorating Jews deported to Nazi death camps,” the ministry tweeted, adding, “This is not a protest. It is hatred.”

The small brass “stones” comprising the memorial are part of a 1995 memorial art project across European cities, and are engraved with the name, date of birth, date of arrest, date of death (when known) and the concentration camp of the victim. They are placed on the buildings where the victim used to live.

Earlier this year, a mural depicting Holocaust survivor and Jewish Italian chemist Primo Levi that was created for International Holocaust Remembrance Day was vandalized mere days after it was unveiled in Milan.


Australian Jewish group receives mailbox death threat
An Australian Jewish advocacy group received in its mailbox a death threat that ended with the sentence “kill and fumigate all Jews,” the group said on Sunday.

A staff member of the Australian Jewish Association collected mail and discovered a letter containing a death threat,” AJA CEO Robert Gregory wrote on X.

The author of the letter, which is now the subject of a police investigation, inveighed in it against both Israel and Jewish people, threatening to “gang rape all Jews” and asserting: “I work with Hezbollah.”

The author, who prefaced the letter with what was supposedly the author’s name and place of work in Sydney, threatened to kill Jews “like Hitler fumigate all Jews” [sic], adding, “You will not get away with damages in Lebanon.”

The letter was “not an isolated incident,” Gregory wrote, adding that the AJA has received numerous death threats since Oct. 7, 2023. Almost all Australian Jews have experienced antisemitism, he added.

“These narratives have become increasingly common within sections of the pro-Palestinian movement. When such falsehoods are normalized, it is Jewish Australians who often bear the consequences,” Gregory added.

On Dec. 14, 2025, two gunmen, allegedly Islamists, a father and a son, staged a terrorist attack that led to the death of 15 people at a Chanukah party on Bondi Beach in Sydney. The father was killed in a fire exchange, and the son is standing trial.

The government launched a committee of inquiry into antisemitism in Australia following the shooting. The committee is set to convene for the first time on Monday. “Tomorrow marks the first day of hearings for the Royal Commission into antisemitism. We expect that antisemitic threats like this, which have become far too common, will be front and center in its considerations,” the AJA head said.
Israeli FM thanks North Macedonia for arresting seven suspects in antisemitic arson
North Macedonia authorities arrested seven suspects on Thursday in connection with an arson attack on the Beth Yaakov Synagogue in the country’s capital on April 12.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar on Friday thanked the government of North Macedonia and its Foreign Minister Timčo Mucunski for the “swift and determined action” to hold the perpetrators accountable.

The government’s conduct underscores its commitment to safeguarding the Jewish community in Skopje, Sa’ar said.

The Balkan country’s intelligence service said on Friday that the Islamic State terrorist group is linked to the torching incident, Euronews reported.

No injuries were reported, but the entrance to the building was scorched, the report said.

Two individuals, ages 21 and 38, have been charged with terrorism-related offenses, the police said.

The attack last month was the first antisemitic assault in North Macedonia since World War II, outlet Balkan View reported.

The synagogue in Skopje, the only functioning synagogue in the country, serves the small Jewish community of North Macedonia of about 200 people, most of whom live in the capital.


After Maryland teacher’s death, 200-piece Judaica collection finds new life in Jewish museum
As Rae Ann Kaylie sat on her mother’s couch in the wake of her death, the Judaica felt overwhelming.

Over 50 menorahs adorned the shelves. A dozen seder plates had been meticulously hung alongside a trove of Jewish art on each wall. And countless dreidels, kiddush cups and shofars filled every corner of the 1,100-square-foot home in Rockville, Maryland.

There were so many hamsas hanging near the entrance, Kaylie joked, “Whoa, Mom, what on earth? Like, how much evil eye do we have in here?”

For 35 years, Kaylie’s mother, Deborah Brodie, had amassed a collection of over 200 Jewish ritual objects, which she had used as a hands-on classroom for her Hebrew school students with special needs. Among the collection, Brodie had also obtained a Torah from eBay, which her students used to practice for their b’nai mitzvah.

“She wasn’t the one who was like, ‘Oh, don’t touch it. You’re going to break it,’” Kaylie said. “She was like, ‘Touch it, here, take a bunch,’ you know what I mean, and that was really cool about her entire collection.”

Brodie — known as “Bubbie Cookie” to her family — had not built the collection alone. Her longtime partner, Jay Brill, whom she met through a Washington Jewish Week personals ad in 1986, was alongside her throughout the journey, traveling with her to all 50 states to sell Jewish jewelry and a computerized Hebrew-learning program they created together. Deborah Brodie and Jay Brill spent decades building a vast collection of Judaica that will now be housed at the Lillian and Albert Small Capital Jewish Museum. (Courtesy Rae Ann Kaylie via JTA)

Over the years, the couple attended both B’nai Shalom and Shaare Tefila Congregation, two Conservative synagogues in Olney, Maryland. Toward the end of their lives, they attended Chabad of Olney, whose rabbi officiated their funerals.

But after Brodie, 76, and Brill, 74, died in February just 19 days apart, Kaylie said she and her family were faced with a painful question: What would happen to the couple’s lifetime of Jewish devotion in their absence?

“We all picked something we wanted, but then, you know, you don’t want to sell it, you don’t want to make any money off of it,” Kaylie said. “It was just trying to figure out, like, what can we do to further her passion, her vision?”




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

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