Tuesday, May 12, 2026

05/11 Links Pt2: Journalism Succumbs To Its Wounds; I’m a Democrat. My Party Has a Double Standard on Antisemitism; I Walked TEL AVIV to JERUSALEM. The Real Israel No One Shows You.

From Ian:

John Podhoretz: Abe Foxman, 1940-2026
The “Jews who care” were the ones Abe Foxman, the most important and probably the most beloved American Jewish communal leader of his day, spoke for. He knew the difference between the Jews who care and others in his kishkes, based on his own extraordinary life story of the century. Born to Polish Jews in Belarus, his parents left him as a baby in the care of his nanny while they were sent to a ghetto.

He was given a false name and baptized as a Catholic. Miraculously, his mother escaped, returned to Vilnius, and herself posed as a local Catholic so she could provide money for Abe’s care. Then his father was liberated and came back after the war—at which point the nanny would not give him up, believing that she had saved his soul through his baptism and that he should remain in her care as a Catholic. Custody battles ensued, which the Foxmans finally won before making it to America in 1950. Abe was 10. He went to City College and then got a law degree before beginning to work as a Jewish activist. Abe made reference in many speeches to “the day I took off the cross.” And yet he and his parents remained grateful to the nanny and helped her until her passing. As they remained grateful to be Jews, in spite of having been targeted for death for being so. They raised Abe Orthodox, sent him to yeshiva, and while he attained a law degree and could have assimilated into the larger American melting pot to put the trauma of his first 10 years behind him, an Orthodox Jew he remained until his passing on Sunday at the age of 86.

The point here is that he saw his mission and obligation in the defense of Jews against the scourge of anti-Semitism. If that anti-Semitism came from the right, he attacked it. If it came from the left, he attacked it. If it came from white people, he attacked it. If it came from black people, he attacked it. If it was hidden inside anti-Zionism, he attacked it. If it was hidden in conversations about rapacious capitalists, he attacked it. He was utterly consistent. His mission was his mission and he pursued it unfailingly.

Which is why, in one of the more shameful moments in communal Jewish organizational history, he was coup’ed out of the ADL—simply because he wasn’t helpful enough to the cause of Jewish liberalism. His replacement, Jonathan Greenblatt, spent years muddying the institution’s mission and letting leftists off the hook by prioritizing liberal apologia until October 7 woke even Greenblatt up to the undeniable fact that the predominant threat is from the left. Had Abe been there, the clarity would not have been that hard to achieve.
I’m a Democrat. My Party Has a Double Standard on Antisemitism.
In 2017, Democratic leaders denounced the white supremacists who marched in Charlottesville chanting “Jews will not replace us.” In 2022, Democrats took Donald Trump to task for having dinner with Nick Fuentes, an antisemite and a white supremacist. Across the Democratic Party’s ideological spectrum, right-wing hate is consistently condemned.

But today, too many Democrats are noticeably and shamefully silent when antisemitism comes from the far left — at a moment when the Anti-Defamation League is reporting a surge of antisemitic incidents in the past three years.

It’s a glaring double standard.

Consider the response to — really, the embrace of — Hasan Piker, a prominent left-wing commentator with millions of online followers. He referred to Orthodox Jews as “inbred” and said “America deserved 9/11,” both statements he halfheartedly walked back. He said that Hamas — a designated terrorist organization that has killed Americans and taken Americans hostage — is “a thousand times better” than Israel, America’s ally, which he called a “fascist settler colonial apartheid state” — a statement he stands by. None of this should be waved away as mere edgy commentary. Mr. Piker traffics in antisemitic and anti-American extremism that has been met by silence from many on the Democratic left.

Sadly, we’ve seen several prominent Democrats appear on his show and even campaign with him, granting his views legitimacy.

I’ve spoken to congressional colleagues who have privately told me that many things Mr. Piker has said are disgusting. Yet they’ll say nothing about it in public, even as they rightly rush to condemn President Trump for his unending barrage of offensive comments and social media posts. I understand that speaking up isn’t easy — if you do, there are many on the left who will heckle you in public and troll you online. But whether we’re elected officials, candidates, organizers or activists, we should remember that our constituents don’t expect us to take the easy path. It takes far more courage to stand up to those who have long claimed to be in your corner than to oppose your political opponents. That’s what principled leadership is all about. But we’re not always seeing it.

At their recent party convention, Michigan Democrats nominated a candidate to run for a seat on the University of Michigan’s Board of Regents who had shared a social media post praising the former leader of Hezbollah as a martyr and another post that invoked age-old antisemitic tropes by referring to Israelis as “demons” who “lie, steal, cheat, murder and blackmail.”

Last month, most Senate Democrats voted for two measures that would have blocked sales of military equipment to Israel, with some arguing that among the reasons for their votes was their assessment of Israel’s human rights record. Is this turnabout a legitimate departure from decades of American foreign policy? Or — more likely — is it a politically convenient stance that coincides with a small but vocal and growing segment of the political left making opposition to support for Israel a new litmus test?
Seth Mandel: Journalism Succumbs To Its Wounds
The famous saying attributed to Jean-Paul Sartre holds that “the anti-Semite doesn’t accuse the Jew of stealing because he actually believes he stole. He accuses the Jew of stealing because he enjoys watching the Jew empty his pockets to prove his innocence.”

That is no doubt as true today as ever, regardless of the quote’s origins. And it immediately comes to mind when watching, in real time, the evolution in the latest in a long line of accusations about the nefarious trained militarism of Zionist animals. Whereas many of these rumors—my favorite being the griffin vulture that Arab governments claimed had been trained as a Mossad spy—had an air of levity about them, the new one most certainly does not. And that is the idea that Zionist dogs are trained to rape Arabs.

The anti-Zionist activists who started or popularized the rumors have made clear that there is no evidence in their favor. That didn’t stop the sick-minded anti-Israel protesters from adopting the talking point, as demonstrators did in London. From there, however, it has moved to the pages of the New York Times, where Nicholas Kristof repeats it.

I watched other sensational “reports” of Israeli perfidy circulate among people who treated them as fact recently and thought about how the question of whether Western journalism will ever recover from its alliance with the machinery of Hamas propaganda appears to have been answered. No.

I saw a video of a woman wearing a “PRESS” vest in Southern Lebanon, (though her bio lists no affiliation) and proceed to read a list of talking points off of a card and then say “I just received a heartbreaking report”—please note the wording—of an Israeli drone following a girl riding a scooter and shooting at her until she was mortally wounded.

Usually the reporter reports. But when it comes to Israel, activists costumed as journalists “receive” reports and then continue the game of telephone. “Somebody told me” is not reporting, but you can report out what somebody told you. Reporters know the difference, or should.


Experts slam New York Times column alleging dogs used in sexual abuse of Palestinian prisoners
An opinion piece published in The New York Times on Monday alleged that, despite an absence of evidence, Israel utilizes sexual violence against Palestinians as part of its “security apparatus,” citing the conspiracy theory that Israeli guards coach dogs to sexually assault Palestinian prisoners.

The piece prompted sharp criticism from analysts, academics and former officials, who accused columnist Nicholas Kristof of relying on unsubstantiated claims and inflammatory rhetoric.

Jacqueline Carroll, a former sexual-crimes prosecutor in Cook County, Ill., and founder of an extremism consulting group, told JNS that an allegation of sexual violence “comes down to evidence.”

“If they can provide legitimate evidence, then they should be listened to,” Carroll said. “People believe what they see in the media more than they search out the actual facts and truth.”

In his column, Kristof acknowledges that “there is no evidence that Israeli leaders order rapes” and that he relied on conversations with 14 individuals who “said they had been sexually assaulted by Israeli settlers or members of the security forces.”

The column cited reports from the United Nations and the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, including allegations that Israeli guards used dogs to sexually assault Palestinian detainees. Critics of the column described those claims, which have recently gained traction among anti-Israel activist groups, as baseless and accused Kristof of amplifying propaganda.

“Utter depravity from Nick for parroting such cartoonishly evil Hamas propaganda that would make Goebbels blush,” Eitan Fischberger, a Middle East analyst, stated. He also noted that the dog conspiracy theory “is the handiwork of Ramy Abdu, head of the Hamas front group called Euro-Med.”

Gerald N. Steinberg, founder of NGO Monitor, wrote that the column was “perhaps the most toxic and idiotic pieces that Nick Kristof has put his name on.”

“A mix of lies sold by a Hamas-front propaganda NGO with zero credibility,” he said, pointing to Euro-Med, “and ‘eyewitness testimony’ from Hamas terrorists.”
Daniel Friedman: The New York Times Has Been Repeatedly Tricked Into Publishing Disinformation By Palestinians
New York Times columnist Nick Kristof published a dubiously sourced column repeating anatomically implausible claims that Israelis use trained dogs to rape Palestinian detainees. The accusations this article contains and the sources Kristof cites have already been substantially debunked, and the column is likely to be hit with a significant editor's note substantially walking back the claims it contains.

However, this isn't the first time Palestinian sources have successfully placed disinformation in the pages of the New York Times. This article will discuss three major incidents in which the New York Times was forced to append major corrections to articles written in reliance on Palestinian sources, because those sources had lied to them. Refaat Alareer perpetrated a sophisticated disinformation operation on the Times In 2021, The New York Times published an article by journalist Patrick Kingsley about the Palestinian poet and Professor Refaat Alareer teaching Israeli poetry to his students in Gaza.

Alareer arranged for Kingsley to come to one of his classes and then shared a poem by the Israeli poet Yehuda Amichai, to show that “Jerusalem can be the place where we all come together, regardless of religion and faith.” The reporter left believing that, students were learning pro-peace messaging in a Hamas-run university in Gaza.

However, on Twitter, Refaat Alareer was known for raging anti-Jewish bigotry and ranting about "Zios," and the pro-Israel organization CAMERA didn't have to look very hard to prove he had duped the Times reporter. It turned out, Refaat had posted a video on YouTube of him teaching the same poem to a class that did not have a Times reporter present, and the message was entirely different. He called the poem "horrible" and "dangerous" and described it as a deceitful Jewish trick to whitewash colonization.

The Times was forced to publish a major correction to the story, which was added to the online version of the article, admitting their source deceived them, that the thrust of the story was false, and essentially retracting it.

After the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, it became clear that operations like this to place disinformation in mainstream media were part of Hamas's campaign to convince Israel, Europe and the US that it was moderating in order to lull them into complacency before its attack.

On October 7, Alareer did television appearances on behalf of Hamas while gloating and reveling over the killings of Jews on social media. When he saw reports of a baby being put in an oven, he quote tweeted it, asking: "With or without baking powder?"

On the 6th of December, 2023, Israel killed Refaat Alareer in an airstrike. His poem "If I Should Die" has become a staple of pro-Palestine protests since his death.


British Jewish actor in Tony-nominated ‘Giant’ blasts UK’s ‘Islamofascism’ — and has an urgent warning for New Yorkers
One of the British stars of the Tony-nominated show “Giant” is battling antisemitism in art and in life — and he has a dire warning for New Yorkers.

Elliot Levey plays Jewish publisher Tom Maschler opposite John Lithgow’s Roald Dahl in the critically acclaimed Broadway hit, a drama about the famous children’s author’s antisemitism.

The show originated in London where Levey lives with his family.

There, the actor would have to dodge mobs of rabid anti-Israel protesters waving Palestinian flags and keffiyehs every Saturday on his way to the West End theatre where the show was staged.

“[There were] thousands calling to globalize the intifada, which means to kill Jews around the world,” Levey, a self-proclaimed “proud Jew,” told The Post.

Working on Broadway has been a welcome reprieve.

“New York is the safest place for Jews on the planet,” he said.

It got so bad in London that Levey, a 52-year-old who was raised Orthodox and is now a secular Jew, would opt to bike to work from his home in the suburb of Muswell Hill just to avoid the Tube-bound, keffiyeh-wearing mobs pre-show.

The Leeds native, who was once the only Jew in school, mourns for his mother country, where the Jewish population is “dwindling.”

“It’s a numbers game – here you’re safe. You have numbers,” said the married father-of-three, noting that there’s just an “insignificant rump” of Anglo Jewry left in Britain.

According to the UK’s 2021 census, less than 300,000 people in the country identified as Jewish.

In the UK, antisemitism has struck too close to home.

Last year, his 21-year-old son, Jacob, was called a “f–king Jew” for wearing a Star of David necklace on a “posh” London street.

In April, the synagogue in north London where his oldest son, Samuel, was bar mitzvahed – Finchley Reform Synagogue – was targeted in an attempted firebomb. Thankfully, the molotov cocktail failed to ignite.

Levey is especially concerned after last week’s council elections in England saw gains for the far-left Green Party, which has targeted Muslim voters and been accused of “Islamofascism.”
A community asking how Britain allowed things to get this bad
Things felt different on the Tube. As opposed to a sleepy Sunday crowd, riding the Edgware branch of the Northern Line via Charing Cross resembled being in shul on one of the High Holy Days. People recognising one another. Saying hello to friends. I was waiting for someone to lay out a kiddish table.

There was a true, uplifting sense of community, despite the reason we were all heading towards central London.

Walking towards the rally against antisemitism initially felt almost celebratory too, even with the layers of security. (Away from a football stadium, I’ve never seen so many police officers.)

Sadly, though, one of the first things I came across as I walked down Whitehall was a man with a placard reading: “The fact that people are conflating Jews and Zionists means more people are being antisemitic.”

It’s an increasingly common line from the left, and no doubt this particular gentleman thought he was being clever. I’m concerned for the village that spent Sunday without its idiot.

As I got towards the stage, music was playing and people were waving flags – Israeli, British and Iranian, mostly, although I spotted an Irish one too.

Then things got serious. Suddenly, I had a moment of despair. Of realisation. How had it come to this? In the UK, in 2026, how were Jews still having to protest hatred against us, having been the target of murder, arson and stabbings?

As well as religious leaders, not least the chief rabbi, speakers from across the political spectrum addressed the crowd.

They got a mixed reception.

Kemi Badenoch was cheered like a rockstar. She seems to be the only senior politician that truly “gets it”. During a rousing address, the Tory leader recalled being in Nigeria when 300 schoolgirls were stolen by Islamist extremists, barely any returning.
The most moving thing at the antisemitism rally? The non-Jews who came
As we walked up to the airport-style security for the rally against antisemitism, my non-Jewish friend Jane Price wondered aloud, ‘Why do they have this and not for the pro-Palestine demos?’

I explained that this was to keep out the people who wanted to hurt us, and stringent security was always required when Jews met in big numbers. The penny dropped. Airports, after all, only started their checking for weapons after a string of dangerous and deadly hostage attacks in the name of the Palestinian cause.

Jane was one of thousands of non-Jewish allies who joined their friends and neighbours at the demonstration on Sunday.

An Australian journalist, she reached out to me to ask if she could accompany me to the event. ‘I don’t know why anyone wouldn’t want to join,’ she says. ‘7 October opened my eyes to a lot of what was going on. The Bondi attacks hit home. I wanted to show there were a lot of people who stand for decency.’

She was one of many. Marketeer Ewen Sturgeon attended with his Jewish girlfriend. ‘The UK should be a place where everyone feels safe to be,’ he said. ‘It’s what Britain stands for. The recent increase in antisemitism does not belong here.’

Next to him stood Tiffanie Darke, a journalist who added, ‘I’ve watched my Jewish friends feel increasingly threatened and frightened over the last year, and it’s incredibly upsetting. I’m standing up for them, for all Jewish people and for Britain.’

There was a huge contingent of Iranians. Nadir Tahmesei waved a pre-revolution flag. ‘We are happy to stand with the Jewish people as they have stood with us,’ he said. People need to be aware of the extremism that is spreading all over the world. It needs to be addressed before it is too late.’

Heading the Iranian contingent was activist Lily Moo, who has been speaking up for the Jewish people since 7 October.

‘Iranians have always been allies of Israel,’ she said. ‘That has been in silence under the Islamic regime inside Iran, but loudly and openly in the diaspora. As we have witnessed over the past two and a half years, the lion and sun flag has flown next to the Star of David in countries across the world. Iranians will always be with our Jewish friends.’

Another staunch long-term ally is the Rev. Hayley Ace, who runs Christians Against Antisemitism and who took a day off church to be at the event.

‘There are many Christians who decided not to go to church today because they wanted to stand with the Jewish community,’ she says. ‘We feel just as strongly about this, that our country is unrecognisable. We had two Jews killed last year going to worship; it’s outrageous, and our country is unrecognisable. We need the government to do more than empty platitudes, which is what I feel they have been doing for the past two years. There are many Christians who feel like me.’

And it wasn’t just the Christians. A group called Feminists Against Antisemitism, started last year, held a stunning banner. Susan McDonnell, one of the group’s founders, said, ‘If we didn’t stand with Jews, how could I live with myself?
The BBC is failing, just when it should be more vigilant>
“I think I first really thought about [antisemitism] when I was at a concert with my older sister. I went to see Sabrina Carpenter with her, and we heard Hebrew; we started joining in. Someone, one of the people we’d made friends with, asked, ‘What country are you guys from? Israel?’ An older man overheard it and started screaming, ‘You’ve committed a genocide! You’re killing babies!’ He saw me and my sister sitting there crying, and he just carried on. He didn’t care.”

Those were the words of 16-year-old Libby, a Jewish girl from London, in an interview on May 1 with the British Broadcasting Corporation. Libby spoke with presenter Anna Foster on the BBC’s Radio 4 flagship politics program “Today” just two days after an assailant stabbed two Jewish men in the street in Golders Green, a well-known Jewish neighborhood in North London.

The BBC has dedicated a huge amount of coverage to the latest wave in a stream of antisemitic attacks in the United Kingdom. Too often, however, this coverage has focused on whether the violence and threats targeting British Jews represent simply “misplaced anger” at the actions of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Some media personalities have even argued that British Jews should not be attacked because the victims’ stance on Israel isn’t known. The unspoken suggestion, of course, is that those who do support Israel may be “fair game.”

Take BBC Newscast presenter Paddy O’Connell’s May 2 framing: “What lies at the heart of it is an argument over when people take their hatred for the actions of the Israeli state to a read-across to behave against Jews. That is the kind of starting point for the problems ... the big error, the big crime, is the read-across to attack Jewish people in Britain assuming you know what they think, assuming you know their political views because they are Jewish.”

There are serious problems with this framing. At CAMERA, we have addressed this victim-blaming stance on multiple occasions. Given the (problematic) belief that violence against Jews in the United Kingdom is simply misplaced anger at Israel, shouldn’t the BBC be more vigilant than ever in platforming unproven allegations against the Jewish state?

If the BBC’s editorial teams truly believe that anger at Israel translates directly into violence against Jews, then surely the country’s national broadcaster should rigorously require proof before reporting anti-Israel allegations as fact and insist on qualifying unproven allegations as such.

Instead, speakers on BBC Radio 4, BBC World Service radio and BBC One TV accused Israel of genocide at least 15 times in the week following the attacks in Golders Green. In most cases, guests leveled the toxic accusation, but on at least one occasion, a BBC correspondent joined the chorus of demonization.
I deleted a young woman’s Jewish identity from the internet
For the past few years, Jewish News has received a chilling trickle of emails. Modest emails. Apologetic emails. One, maybe two a month, from people asking if we might possibly help them stop existing online as a Jew.

The requests are never dramatic and always polite. The sender would simply like their name removed from an old story on the Jewish News website. It could be a 2018 report about a talent show. A 2021 article about a charity supper. A 2022 feature about synagogue panel debate. Or a 2024 opinion piece about Passover.

None of the emailers are public figures. They are ordinary British Jews who, until a few years ago, were proud to appear in the Jewish News but now scan their Google search results with a knot in their stomach, fearful a future employer might see they are Jewish and, therefore, consider them unemployable.

The latest landed in my inbox on Sunday. It was from a young woman who, back in 2021, aged 16, had been mentioned in passing in a fun article about a prize-giving event. She’s happy for me to share some of what she wrote.

“As I begin my professional career, I am taking steps to manage my online presence, and this article currently appears prominently in search results for my name. I would therefore be very grateful if you could remove the article from your website; or anonymise my name by replacing it with initials.”

What strikes you is her polite embarrassment. Her painfully courteous tone. She hates to cause any fuss. She would just prefer, all things considered, to no longer be publicly identifiable as a Jew.

She went on to praise the value of online archives and editorial integrity, before, again, with excruciating courtesy, asking if she could simply and surreptitiously vanish from our pages.

I did what she asked, hovering over the delete button for a few heartbreaking seconds, ashamed of what I was doing and why I was doing it, but mostly ashamed of Britain – which had made a young woman think this a sensible career move. Every time I delete one of these articles I feel the same shame. Followed by boiling anger.

Something has shifted psychologically, socially and professionally for Jewish people in this country. Everybody knows it, even those who make a career out of pretending otherwise.


Tower Hamlets posters label IDF soldier ‘Labour’s monster’
Posters calling an IDF soldier “Labour’s monster” have been reported to police over allegations they would “stir up hatred against Jewish people” ahead of last week’s local elections.

The flyers were among a series of anti-Israel messages put up by Labour’s opponents around Shadwell station in the days running up to the vote.

The picture in question showed an Orthodox Israeli soldier grimacing at a Palestinian woman and was originally taken by Italian photographer Pietro Masturzo in the West Bank.

It was used on the front cover of Italian magazine Espresso, under the headline: “Abuse”.

Ambassador Jonathan Peled, Israel's top diplomat in Rome, said at the time of the cover last month that the picture was “manipulative”.

“The image distorts the complex reality with which Israel must coexist, promoting stereotypes and hatred,” Paled wrote.

According to the Telegraph, a complaint was lodged with the Metropolitan Police alleging that the posters breached the Public Order Act as the image was “selected to appear menacing”.

“The monstrous characterisation is anchored specifically in Jewish religious identity markers, not Israeli military conduct generally. This stirs up hatred against Jewish people,” the complaint reportedly read.
Jewish women ‘whipped’ and child ‘punched’ in separate Stamford Hill attacks
A man has been arrested after allegedly whipping Jewish women with a belt in Stamford Hill.

The alleged assault, which happened on Sunday afternoon, saw the suspect reportedly attacking multiple visibly Orthodox women at a bus stop in Clapton Common, according to Shomrim

The suspect also yelled a “torrent of horrible [verbal] racial abuse” and spat at a Shomrim officer, the security service added.

“[Our] volunteers responded within a couple of minutes and detained the suspect. He was subsequently arrested by [the Metropolitan Police] for racially aggravated public order offences and assault,” a spokesperson wrote on X.

“[The] suspect has been charged with five offences and was remanded to appear in court. We appeal for any further witnesses and victims to come forward.”

The police said: “Francis Achile, 64, of Kyverdale Road, N16 will appear at Thames Magistrates' Court on Monday, May 11 charged with aggravated assault, two counts of assault by beating, racially aggravated harassment, racially aggravated assault.

“Police were called to reports of a man shouting at a group of Jewish people on Clapton Common, Hackney at around 15:45hrs on Sunday, May 10.

“Officers responded in minutes and arrested the 64-year-old.”

Meanwhile, just hours later, a Jewish child was punched outside his school as well as another man in nearby Amhurst Park.

The female suspect was also said to have shouted “antisemitic abuse” as she carried out the assault.

She was subsequently arrested on suspicion of racially aggravated assault.
Man charged after assault on three Jewish people in Enfield
A man has been charged with five offences after allegedly assaulting Jewish people in Enfield on Saturday.

The incident occurred in the early hours of the morning on Southbury Road. Three people, two men, aged 58 and 26, and a woman, aged 53, sustained injuries, according to the Metropolitan Police, but none required medical attention.

A man in his 30s was subsequently arrested, taken into custody, and charged on Sunday with assault, racially or religiously aggravated assault, threatening or abusive behaviour to cause fear or provoke violence, racially or religiously aggravated harassment and threatening or abusive behaviour to cause harassment, alarm or distress.

He has been remanded in custody to appear at Highbury Magistrates’ Court on Monday, 11 May.

Detective Superintendent Marco Bardetti, who oversees policing in Enfield and Haringey, said: “The Met has made it abundantly clear that we treat reports of alleged antisemitic hate crime with the utmost seriousness and diligence, as demonstrated by the swift arrest and charge following this incident.

“We will continue working closely with Jewish communities across London to provide reassurance and ensure people feel safe in their daily lives.”


Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice leaves Dem party, citing rise in antisemitism
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice David Wecht announced Monday he has left the Democratic party, citing “anti-Jewish” actions and “acquiescence to Jew-hatred” within the party, including from elected officials.

“Acquiescence to Jew-hatred is now disturbingly common among activists, leaders and even many elected officials in the Democratic Party. I can no longer abide this,” wrote Wecht, who was elected as a Democrat in 2015. He added that he is no longer affiliated with any political party.

A former vice-chair of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, Wecht wrote that he and his wife were married at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life Congregation, the site of the 2018 synagogue shooting. “That terror came from the right,” he wrote. “Jew-hatred has always festered on the fringe of that sector.”

But, Wecht continued, “in the quarter century that has passed” since his leadership position, “the Democratic Party has changed.”

“Nazi tattoos, jihadist chants, intimidation and attacks at synagogues, and other hateful anti-Jewish invective and actions are minimized, ignored, and even coddled,” he wrote.
DMFI works to block antisemitic activist from winning Dem nomination in Texas swing district
Democratic Majority for Israel’s political arm is kicking off an ad campaign on Tuesday to boost Johnny Garcia, a sheriff’s deputy in Bexar County, Texas, in his Democratic runoff election later this month against Maureen Galindo, a San Antonio activist who has faced scrutiny for trafficking in antisemitic tropes.

“It’s not about what politicians say. It’s about what they do,” a new mailer from DMFI PAC says, while touting Garcia’s pledges to cut healthcare costs and invest in public schools as well as his background in law enforcement. “Johnny Garcia has always stood up and fought for working people across Texas.”

The mailer, first shared with Jewish Insider, is part of a six-figure expenditure, a spokesperson for DMFI PAC confirmed.

With two weeks until the May 26 runoff, DMFI PAC is now prioritizing the race for Texas’ redrawn 35th Congressional District, a red-leaning open seat in the San Antonio area that national Democratic leaders believe could be competitive in November, depending on the nominee.

“Democrats need candidates who can build broad coalitions and win in November,” Brian Romick, the chair of DMFI PAC, told JI. “Johnny Garcia is a coalition builder who supports a strong U.S.-Israel relationship and has been clear in standing against antisemitism. His opponent, on the other hand, proudly embraces vile, antisemitic conspiracies and if she advances could put a Democratic House majority at risk.”

The mailers come as Galindo receives some unexpected help from a new pop-up super PAC linked to Republicans, called Lead Left PAC, that is spending in the race to bolster her bid, recent filings show, raising suspicions that the GOP is meddling in a Democratic contest to prop up a weaker candidate.
California judge rules Jewish prosecutor must step aside from anti-Israel protester case
A judge in Santa Clara County ordered a Jewish prosecutor to recuse himself from a case against anti-Israel student protesters at Stanford University after the prosecutor described the incident as antisemitic in campaign literature.

District Attorney Jeff Rosen “is allowed to take a strong stance against crime in the community, against antisemitism. But caution and care need to be taken when utilizing active litigation in campaign communication,” Judge Kelley Paul said last week from the bench.

Rosen’s case against five anti-Israel protesters who occupied Stanford President Richard Saller’s office in June 2024 ended in a mistrial in February following a hung jury. He quickly announced plans for a retrial.

But the defendants’ attorneys alleged that Rosen had a conflict of interest, which included utilizing the case on a campaign page titled “fighting antisemitism” and using the website — which includes a video of Rosen giving a speech at San Jose Hillel claiming “antisemitism is anti-American” — in a December fundraising email blast, The Stanford Daily reported. Rosen is seeking reelection to the district attorney’s office this November.

Referencing that video, Paul said that the lawsuit “is not a hate crime” and that Rosen had overstepped when framing it as such.

The protesters, who barricaded themselves in a university building to demand divestment from companies linked to the Israel-Hamas war, face felony vandalism and conspiracy charges following the break-in that caused an estimated $300,000 in damages. They do not face hate crimes charges.
Ask Haviv Anything: 114: Why don’t we talk about Egypt?
Welcome to our new short-form episodes interspersed with the regular interviews that dive into an often-asked question about Israel, Jews and the Middle East.

Our current question: why don’t we talk about Egypt?

If you like what we do here, please consider joining our Patreon community at / askhavivanything or our Substack at https://havivgur.substack.com/. You can also Buy Me a Coffee at https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur. It helps us keep the lights on. Patreon and Substack are also the platforms where you can ask the questions that guide the topics we cover on the podcast, join our great discussions where listeners share news and valuable resources, and take part in our monthly livestreams where Haviv answers your questions live.

Chapters
00:00 The Historical Role of Egypt in Palestinian Nationalism
10:05 Egypt's Contemporary Stance on Palestinian Statehood




Israel blocks antisemitic YouTuber Tyler Oliveira from entering country
Israel blocked the entry of a notoriously antisemitic social media personality on Monday, stopping him at Ben Gurion Airport and deporting him back to the United States.

Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli said that Tyler Oliveira, who posted a series of videos earlier this year about Jews “invading” communities in New York and New Jersey, was not allowed entry into Israel.

Chikli told the Channel 14 TV station that “the party is over. Whoever comes here with the goal of sowing hatred can go back where they came from. The rule is clear: Whoever incites against us simply won’t be here.”

Oliveira, a controversial YouTube personality with millions of followers, was spotted on Sunday boarding an El Al flight to Tel Aviv. Many social media users expressed concern about his planned activity in Israel, considering his past videos.

Last month, Oliveira posted on X: “You guys think Israel will let me into the country?” On Monday, Chikli quoted the post and added a one-word response: “No.”
Daniel Mael: Tucker Carlson’s Transformation: What Happened to Conservatism?
“Tucker Carlson is not conservative.”

That’s one of the major claims Professor Jeffrey Lax makes in this powerful interview analyzing Tucker Carlson’s recent New York Times appearance and the ideological shift reshaping modern political media.

The conversation explores anti-Semitism, media influence, misinformation, Israel, online radicalization, and the growing power of influencers who build audiences through outrage, conspiracy, and political resentment.

Professor Lax breaks down how media personalities shape public perception, manipulate narratives, and redefine political identity in the digital age — and why millions continue to follow them.




Northwestern's President Says He's 'Positive About the Relationship' Between the University and Hamas-Friendly Qatar
Interim Northwestern University president Henry Bienen said Monday that he is "positive about the relationship" between the university and the Hamas-friendly Gulf state of Qatar. That relationship, which Bienen initiated during his first stint leading Northwestern from 1995 to 2009, includes a contract that prohibits students and faculty at the university's Doha campus from criticizing the Qatari regime.

"I think it's fair to say Qatar is very eager that we renew the relationship," Bienen told the Daily Northwestern when asked about a review to determine whether the university will continue operating in Qatar past the 2028 academic year, when its contract expires. "So that's a process of discussion back and forth. And that process is ongoing. … Of course, Qatar is a board decision. I have my ideas. I'm positive about the relationship, frankly."

As the Washington Free Beacon reported in September, Northwestern's contract with Qatar holds that "NU, NU-Q, and their respective employees, students, faculty, families, contractors and agents, shall be subject to the applicable laws and regulations of the State of Qatar, and shall respect the cultural, religious and social customs of the State of Qatar."

Qatar's penal code criminalizes criticism of its government and bans the sharing of online content the regime deems harmful. After Hamas's Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack, the regime also demanded that U.S. universities operating satellite campuses "be aligned and in touch" on official communications, the Free Beacon reported in March. Northwestern's school in Qatar "intentionally chose not to circulate" an Oct. 13, 2023, message to students condemning the attack as "abhorrent and horrific," the House committee noted that month.

Bienen, who took over as interim president in September, established the university's presence in Qatar during his first stint as president, saying at the time that Northwestern's students in Qatar would "make an impact" and "improve the world." Those students take classes from instructors like Ibrahim Abusharif, who teaches the Doha Seminar for U.S. students on the Qatari campus. Abusharif cofounded and served as treasurer of the Quranic Literary Institute, a nonprofit that faced a civil forfeiture action in 1999 for allegedly funneling money to Hamas and was found liable for aiding and abetting the terror group in a 2008 lawsuit.
After question from JNS, Montana commerce department removes website reference appearing to recognize Palestinian state
The Montana Department of Commerce, a state office, removed a reference on its website that appeared to recognize an independent Palestinian country after JNS sought comment from the state on Monday.

The U.S. government does not recognize a state of “Palestine.”

The Montana department stated that All American Pharmaceutical, of Billings, is to receive the 2025 Montana Exporter of the Year Award.

“All American Pharmaceutical is a significant employer in Billings, with 100 employees in the state and another 15 outside of Montana,” the state initially said on its website. “Last year, AAP exported over $5.4 million worth of products to Canada, Egypt, European Union, Japan, Kuwait, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, United Kingdom and United Arab Emirates.”

Mitch Staley, chief marketing officer for the Montana Department of Commerce, told JNS that the department “does not recognize Palestine as a country.”

“This list was provided by All American Pharmaceutical and is the company’s information,” Staley said.

The webpage now says that “All American Pharmaceutical is a significant employer in Billings, with 100 employees in the state and another 15 outside of Montana. Last year, AAP exported over $5.4 million worth of products.”


Australian Broadcasting Corporation coverage of Gaza war fueled antisemitism, ABC Watch claims
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) has shown continued journalistic bias in its coverage of the Israel-Gaza conflict, independent research group ABC Watch claimed in its new report, which has been submitted to the Royal Commission into antisemitism.

ABC is a publicly funded national broadcaster and, as such, has a legal and ethical obligation to report impartially and objectively.

ABC Watch, however, found that the ABC has repeatedly failed to meet that obligation, and has either wittingly or unwittingly promoted “extremist narratives that vilify Israel and, by extension, Jews.”

This, it said, contributes to antisemitism within the Australian community, which in some instances has resulted in intimidation, doxxing, harassment, arson attacks, and the Bondi shooting.

One of the examples given in the report is that ABC maintained a “famine” narrative by the repeated use of distressing imagery of children with severe pre-existing genetic or medical conditions, falsely presented as victims of starvation caused by Israel, despite available medical explanations and the presence of healthy family members.

One of the most noteworthy cases is that of Muhammad Zakariya Ayyoub al-Matouq, who was born with cerebral palsy. Despite this, on July 27, 2025, his image was shown during an interview with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and framed as proof of starvation, with Albanese condemning Israel for “breaching international law.”

ABC Watch said that, by failing to show the cause of emaciation was genetic, the ABC broadcast a false claim.


Boycotts, beats and bling: Eurovision’s 70th edition kicks off in Vienna
Singers from 35 countries have descended on Vienna, Austria, for the colorful, flamboyant and eyebrow-raising annual competition known as the Eurovision Song Contest, celebrating its 70th anniversary this year.

And for the third-year running, the center of the controversy and headlines about the contest have focused on Israel’s participation, with a number of protests expected throughout the week amid a heavy police presence.

On Tuesday evening, Israel’s Noam Bettan will take to the stage to perform “Michelle,” a pop song that’s a slight departure from the ballads the country sent in 2024 and 2025 amid ongoing war.

Austria’s public broadcaster, ORF, said that it will not deploy anti-booing technology nor ban Palestinian flags from the audience. Such flags were allowed last year but were not particularly noticeable in the crowd. Two protesters, however, tried to rush the stage during Israel’s performance last year, but were blocked by security – something that was not seen during the live broadcast.

Bettan – who told The Times of Israel he has been practicing to the sounds of boos – is seen as a long shot to win this year’s contest, but is highly likely to qualify for the grand final on Saturday.
NYT’s Eurovision ‘investigation’ into Israel misses the point
It’s not unusual for the New York Times to condemn Israel, but what’s new is that the newspaper condemned Israel Monday over an issue it has previously expressed little interest in: Eurovision.

In an article headlined “How Israel Turned Eurovision’s Stage Into a Soft Power Tool,” The New York Times excoriated Israel for promoting its Eurovision contestants over the last few years. “A New York Times investigation found a well-organized campaign by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government that embraced Eurovision as a soft power tool,” the article states.

Americans are famously indifferent to the Eurovision Song Contest, so perhaps The New York Times reporters could not have been expected to know that every participating country uses its participation in Eurovision to promote its country’s image abroad. All contestants participate in short videos separate from their performances, and while this may shock and outrage New York Times reporters, these videos show vibrant cityscapes, gorgeous scenery, and picturesque local traditions. They do not show slums or highlight issues and problems in each country. No Eurovision video that I can recall ever mentioned unemployment, poverty, or government corruption. So, it could reasonably be said that all participating countries have “embraced Eurovision as a soft power tool” since the song contest began in 1956.

Eurovision has always been political and promotional
While The New York Times article admits that there is no set limit for how much a government can spend promoting its representative to Eurovision, and writes that, “There is no evidence that Israel, as some Eurovision fans speculated, used bots or other covert tactics to manipulate the vote,” the article nevertheless tries to find something amiss in Israel’s conduct.

The New York Times seems to be responding to two instances in which Israel has been accused of breaking Eurovision rules and then exonerated. The first came last year, when Yuval Raphael won the televote for her performance of the song “New Day Will Rise” in the 2025 competition, finishing second overall. Looking for a way to square their animosity toward Israel with the love the audience showed Raphael, some European public broadcasters and Eurovision artists discovered that Israel’s Foreign Ministry had run ads promoting Raphael and zeroed in on this as the reason she won the televote. No one noted the irony in the fact that this is the first time in history that ads by Israel’s Foreign Ministry have been credited with having had worldwide influence, but let’s just focus on the question at hand: whether these ads were a violation of Eurovision rules.


Child’s desert discovery leads to rare Roman-era archaeological find
An 8-year-old Israeli boy discovered a rare 1,700-year-old statuette fragment dating to the Roman period while hiking with his family in the Ramon Crater in the Negev Desert, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced on Monday.

“I was looking for special things on the ground that I could show in class,” said Dor Wolynitz of Rehovot. “Suddenly, I noticed an interesting stone with stripes lying on the ground and picked it up. It seemed unusual, so I showed it to Akiva, an archaeologist and my dad’s friend who was with us on our trip.”

The fragment, measuring about six by six centimeters, depicts part of a human figure draped in flowing folds of fabric resembling a cloak. Archaeologists date it to approximately 1,700 years ago. Although the fragment lacks identifying marks, Goldenhersh said archaeologists believe it may depict the Roman god Jupiter or Zeus-Dushara, a Nabatean deity associated with Zeus.

“At first I thought it was a fossil,” said Akiva Goldenhersh, a supervisor in the Israel Antiquities Authority’s Antiquities Theft Prevention Unit. “But then I noticed the sculpted folds of the garment, and I was very excited.”

The artifact was examined in Israel Antiquities Authority laboratories by geologist Nimrod Wieler, who determined it was made of phosphorite, a mineral common in the Negev.

“Being made of local material reasonably indicates the statuette was made in Israel and not imported,” said Goldenhersh.

According to Goldenhersh, the artistic style and clothing point to a Roman-period origin. The figure appears wrapped in a himation, a heavy outer garment common in classical Greek and Roman dress.

“The manner of sculpting the folds and the choice of such a delicate material indicate a very high level of skill on the part of the artist,” he said.

“This tiny find reflects the combination of local traditions with influences from the classical world,” Goldenhersh added.




travelingisrael.com: I Walked TEL AVIV to JERUSALEM. The Real Israel No One Shows You.
Join me on a 110km journey on foot from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Along the way, I discover the hidden faces of Israel and the stories that usually remain untold.




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Elder of Ziyon - حـكـيـم صـهـيـون



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

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