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Saturday, June 06, 2026

06/05 Links Pt2: Sam Harris: Why I Won’t Debate Critics of Israel; Diaspora communities under antisemitic fire ask to immigrate to America; Muslim police assoc: Zionism a ‘manifestation of anti-Muslim hatred’

From Ian:

Ruthie Blum: A welcome effort to douse modern-day blood libels
Yechiel Leiter, Israel’s ambassador to the United States, deserves kudos for taking on the Sisyphean task of refuting pernicious falsehoods about the Jewish state. The result of his and his team’s research is a booklet called Manufacturing a Modern Blood Libel: Genocide, Starvation and the Language of Dehumanization, which he introduced in a May 28 video on social media.

Explaining the impetus for the project, he describes the way in which insidious accusations against Israel began to spread around the world in the immediate aftermath of the Hamas-led massacre on Oct. 7, 2023, “while families still searched for their loved-ones on blood-stained streets and before any military ground operation had begun.”

It’s time, he says in the clip, to “set the record straight,” pointing to recent “fictitious claims that Israel trains dogs to rape prisoners,” published in The New York Times opinion section. Such outrageous assertions, he adds, “are no different than [those] of the Middle Ages—that Jews use blood in their food and poison wells.”

He concludes by reminding viewers that “hateful lies spread faster than truth,” urging the public to download and read the free booklet, in order to “understand the facts, restore meaning to words and [restore] dignity to the State of Israel and the Jewish people.”

The timing of the compendium’s release couldn’t be more auspicious, as it coincided with the decision by the United Nations to add Israel, alongside Hamas, to a blacklist of entities guilty of conflict-related sexual violence. This is despite the United Nations having been furnished with ample evidence that while Hamas used sexual assault as a tool of war in Gaza, Israel did no such thing.

Thankfully, the latest report—this one by the Civil Commission on Oct. 7th Crimes by Hamas Against Women and Children, titled “Silenced No More; Sexual Terror Unveiled”—is available with the pamphlet offered by Leiter and his embassy staff. But, of course, it’s of no interest to U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres or his antisemitic ilk.

Calling Guterres’s “political” move a “moral disgrace,” Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon declared a freezing of all relations with the secretary-general’s office. Good for Danon.

The question is whether it will make any difference in the larger scheme of things. The same can be asked about Leiter’s important endeavor.

Which brings us to the age-old and tiresome refrain about Israel’s “poor public diplomacy.” Indeed, whenever the world attacks the Jewish state, the response by concerned Israelis and pro-Zionist voices in the Diaspora is to blame a lack of sufficient hasbara. The anti-Israel chorus, at home and abroad, has a different view: that the problem isn’t one of P.R., but rather of evil policies.

Both attitudes are wrong, certainly the latter. The former, at least, contains a plea for us to do better at making our case. The trouble is that the outcry involves finding fault with the government for not conveying a sound, swift message.
Why are they really boycotting AIPAC? Bigotry
The anti-AIPAC push must be seen in the context of the surge in antisemitism since the Hamas-led Palestinian Arab attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Since then, the mainstream media’s embrace of Hamas propaganda about “genocide” has distorted discussions about the Middle East to the point at which the disconnect from the reality of the conflict is so great that liberals and even some on the right accept the lies as unchallenged truth.

In this manner, Israel is falsely accused of what its opponents actually wish to do. And the genocidal war that is actually being waged against it by Iran and its Islamist terror proxies, like Hamas and Hezbollah, is either ignored or rationalized as a just cause.

Democrats are afraid
But there should be no reticence in calling out the rhetoric about AIPAC not merely as deceptive, but as an ancient prejudice dressed up in the clothes of 21st-century progressive intellectual fashion. The vicious narrative about AIPAC’s being a conspiracy to support “genocide” is so pervasive that even many Jewish Democrats won’t denounce it.

Some, like Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro,who claims to support Israel while opposing its government, rightly worries about the blurring of the distinction between AIPAC and money raised by Jewish citizens. But even he dodged questions about whether he would take money from AIPAC supporters in 2028, demonstrating that he fears taking on the anti-Israel prejudices of his party’s intersectional base.

At the same time, a lobby devoted specifically to funding Democrats running for the House who are against Israel got laudatory coverage in The New York Times. And just this week, Democrats nominated a candidate for a New Jersey House seat in a deep- blue district who has a history of volunteering for an Al Qaeda-linked group in the 1990s and was a friendly witness for the defendant in the 1995 trial of the so-called “Blind Sheikh,” Omar Abdel-Rahman, the Egyptian cleric whose followers had bombed the World Trade Center two years earlier.

Adam Hamaway, currently a plastic surgeon who is now set to enter Congress next January, like Chris Rabb in Philadelphia, won his primary against less extreme opponents by being the loudest to cry “genocide” while railing against AIPAC.

The liberal press calls such politicians “progressives.” But the truth is that they and those in the media who are mainstreaming the narrative about AIPAC’s malign influence are bigots whose goal is to drive pro-Israel Jews and Christians out of the public square. Their efforts are depicted as a righteous cause, while the work of millions of Americans to ensure that Israel lives and that an alliance that is in their country’s interest thrives are smeared as puppets whose strings are pulled by a shadowy Jewish plot.

Whatever one may think about AIPAC or what an ideal system for campaign fundraising might look like, the effort to demonize it is just another antisemitic conspiracy theory.
Muslim police association identifies Zionism as ‘manifestation of anti-Muslim hatred’
British Jewish groups have described their intention to raise serious concerns with government and law enforcement, after revelations that a policy paper from the representative body for Muslim police officers in the UK identifies Zionism as “one of the manifestations of anti-Muslim hatred”, refers to the IDF as a “Zionist terrorist group”, and describes “alarming and unverified stories about acts of violence” on 7 October.

As reported by The Spectator, the National Association of Muslim Police (NAMP) published the paper, written by its then-Vice President, Khaldoun Kabbani, last year. The NAMP is reportedly affiliated to more than a dozen police forces around the country, including West Midlands police, West Yorkshire police, Greater Manchester police and Police Scotland.

The policy paper in question also claims that “Zionists” are guilty of “misuse of the Holocaust” when describing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, before going on to misuse it themselves, saying that “the process of dehumanisation by the Nazis towards the Jewish people highlights a broader mechanism of oppression, where dominant groups suppress empathy through propaganda and indoctrination to facilitate cruelty. This mechanism is not confined to the past but is observed in contemporary conflicts, such as the situation between the Israeli Government and Military and Palestinians.”

As The Spectator describes, the NAMP document refers to “Zionist terrorist groups including the IDF” and says that “Zionism represents one of the manifestations of anti-Muslim hatred, stripping Muslims of their humanity.”

The paper claims that “Zionist terrorist groups” committed 16 different “genocides” against Palestinians between 1948 and the present day, while containing no mention of the killings carried out by Palestinians during the same period.

It also maintains that “throughout history, including before, during, and after the Holocaust, a horrific manifestation of European anti-Semitism, Jews sought refuge in the lands of Muslims specifically Palestine. In 1947, as Jewish refugees arrived by ships, they unfolded banners stating, “The Germans destroyed our families and homes – don’t destroy our hope.” The Arab world initially welcomed them with open arms, but these efforts were ultimately undermined by covert Zionist colonial agendas.”

In reality, there was significant antisemitism towards Jews within many Muslim societies over the centuries, with Jews often treated as second class citizens and subjected to murderous assaults. In the wake of the creation of the State of Israel, numerous Muslim countries effectively ethnically cleansed their newly formed states of Jewish communities which had lived there for millennia.

The NAMP paper also describes what it calls “alarming and unverified stories about acts of violence” committed by Hamas on 7 October 2023, “including claims of beheadings and assaults. These reports have significantly contributed to increasing hatred towards Islam.”


Diaspora communities under antisemitic fire ask to immigrate to America, per State Dept official
Spanish, French, British and Canadian Jewish communities have contacted officials at the U.S. State Department to explore the possibility of a pathway through which they could immigrate to the United States under refugee or other protected-status avenues, JNS has learned.

The communities have done so, JNS has learned, given the rise of Jew-hatred in their home countries.

A State Department official confirmed the information. There is no indication that the department has moved forward on the requests, or what position it might hold.

Yehuda Kaploun, a rabbi and the State Department’s special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, declined to comment directly on the information that JNS received.

“It is the government’s responsibility in those countries to make certain that the Jewish community has safety, security and the ability to practice their religion free from any type of harm,” he told JNS. “The U.S. government demands it.”


Terrell says new Justice Dept role brings ‘100% support’ for combating Jew-hatred
Leo Terrell announced on Wednesday that he will serve as senior counsel to the U.S. Office of the Associate Attorney General, telling JNS that the new role gives him broader authority to advance the Trump administration’s efforts to combat antisemitism.

Terrell said the position, in which he will work alongside Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, gives him “a whole new lease on my job duties and responsibilities.”

“The biggest difference is 100% support,” he told JNS. “It’s the support and the ability to create new policies and programs to combat antisemitism.”

Among the initiatives he cited is a planned 15-city national antisemitism awareness and action tour, which the U.S. Department of Justice announced last month.

“I submitted it to them, and they said, ‘Great, go with it,’” he told JNS. “They didn’t say, ‘Let’s think about it.’ They said, ‘Do it.’”

Terrell said the tour, which is expected to begin in August, will focus on cities where he believes local officials have failed to respond adequately to antisemitic incidents. Rather than targeting elected officials, he said the events will engage community stakeholders and provide resources for victims.

“On a local level, in cities like Los Angeles, Boston, Detroit, New York and Philadelphia, the local prosecutors are doing nothing,” he said. “They’re not prosecuting hate crimes. The local teachers unions are implementing antisemitic curriculum. In these cities, there is a ‘Jewish tax’ that requires Jewish community stakeholders to pay for outrageous security fees.”

“We’re going to give victims methods and remedies to directly contact us immediately on antisemitic behavior,” he told JNS.
Father of teen killed in Sbarro bombing accuses BBC Arabic of ‘protecting Jew killer
The father of a teenager murdered in a suicide bombing during the Second Intifada has accused BBC Arabic of helping to cultivate the image of her killer as a "resistance figure" after the broadcaster rejected a complaint over its description of the convicted terrorist as merely being “accused” of involvement in the attack, despite her repeatedly claiming responsibility for it.

Arnold Roth, whose 15-year-old daughter Malki was killed in the 2001 bombing of Jerusalem's Sbarro pizza restaurant, criticised the broadcaster after its Arabic-language service refused to amend a report referring to Ahlam Tamimi as being “accused” of participating in the attack, despite her publicly boasting about her role in the deadly attack.

“It should not be left to the victims of a vicious killer of children who is kept safe from prosecutors to have to point out to the massively funded BBC how its journalism is failing,” Roth, who will mark 25 years since his daughter’s murder this August, told the JC.

The BBC Arabic article, published in February 2025, stated that “Washington accuses Ahlam Tamimi of participating in a 2001 suicide attack that targeted a restaurant in West Jerusalem and killed 16 people, including Israelis and Americans.”

The report noted that an Israeli court convicted Tamimi for her role in the attack and that she spent eight years in an Israeli prison before being released in 2011 as part of a prisoner exchange deal with Hamas.

But it did not mention Tamimi's own repeated admissions about orchestrating the bombing, which killed 15 people and injured more than 100. She described the attack as “my operation” and said: “Allah granted me success.”

The rejection of the complaint about the story on BBC Arabic comes despite the corporation broadcasting an apology on its Arabic channel in 2020 after describing Tamimi as merely "accused" in a separate report.

When media watchdog Camera (Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis) complained about the latest report, a process lasting 230 working days, nearly five times longer than the period set out in the corporation's complaints framework, ultimately ended with its complaint being rejected.


Terror washing: how extremists exploit Britain’s charitable sector
Britain is rightly proud of its charitable sector. Charities feed families, support the vulnerable, care for the elderly and provide welfare services beyond the NHS. Yet sentimentality must never replace scrutiny, particularly at a time of growing extremist activity and malign foreign interference in the West, increasingly pursued not only through violence but also through access to mainstream institutions and society, including, alarmingly, parts of the charitable ecosystem itself.

Terrorism today does not operate solely through masked gunmen belonging to clandestine cells. Increasingly, it functions through concentric circles of influence.

At the centre lie terrorist groups and hostile regimes such as Hamas, Hezbollah and the Islamic Republic of Iran. Around them sit propagandists, charities, and protest movements that can provide political cover and social legitimacy, repackaging extremist narratives in the language of human rights and free speech. Essentially, these actors serve as a bridge through which extremism is laundered into respectable public discourse. In effect these groups are engaging in “terror washing”.

Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, whose chairman, Ramy Abdu, was identified by Israel’s Ministry of Defence in 2013 as linked to alleged Hamas-front institutions in Europe. Abdu was identified as living in the UK at the time. Euro-Med’s predecessor entity, Euromid Observer for Human Rights, was designated in 2015.

Euro-Med was reportedly the source for an incendiary allegation that Israel trained dogs to rape Palestinian prisoners that was featured in an opinion piece authored by Nicholas Kristof in the New York Times and widely circulated throughout the media. Euro-Med’s claim was also disseminated by UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese. That is just one example.

This week, it was reported that Israeli entities were added to a UN blacklist on sexual violence, likely relying on the outrageous Euro-med allegation. As documented by NGO Monitor, where I work, the compilation of this and other UN blacklists is based in large part on uncritically repeating unverified claims of NGOs, several of which are linked to designated terror organisations. According to Israeli officials, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres was shown clear evidence refuting these claims and yet rejected this information, instead choosing to credit Hamas propaganda sources.

Promotion of outrageous claims by media outlets and UN officials obscures the original sketchy provenance, yet furthers the ongoing demonisation of Israel and targeting of Jewish communities in the diaspora.
Sam Harris: Why I Won’t Debate Critics of Israel
Many readers and podcast listeners have been dismayed by my enduring support for Israel and now urge me to debate someone—really anyone—drawn from a growing cast of scholars, grifters, and moral lunatics who have made that beleaguered country their professional or psychiatric obsession. The Making Sense Community seems to have inherited this infatuation, leading to some heated exchanges in recent days. I’ve explained my position on Israel across several podcasts and in my public talks, but it might help to summarize it here.

First, my general attitude: I’m not interested in exploring all the ways that Israel has missed the mark—from Prime Minister Netanyahu’s corrupt alliance with the far right, to the many crimes committed by settlers in the West Bank, to the deaths of innocent noncombatants in several wars—because none of these failings, however grave, will alter my sense that (1) the ethical difference between Israel and her enemies remains vast, and (2) the global preoccupation with the Jewish state, as though it were the worst villain among nations, is contemptible, being the product of perennial lies and delusions.

Next, a simple heuristic: As I suggested in at least one Community thread already, if my intransigence on these matters mystifies you, it might help to understand that, for whatever reason, I think militant Islam is ten times worse than you think it is. When I talk about “jihadists” and their various groups—Hamas, Hezbollah, al-Qaeda, the Islamic State, the IRGC, etc.—I’m talking about people who I consider to be worse than Nazis (jihadists being, essentially, Nazis who are certain of Paradise). My views about the conflict in the Middle East will not fundamentally change unless my critics produce evidence that Israel has become as evil as her enemies.

However, you can rest assured that if the IDF morphs into a death cult that uses its own civilian population as human shields (and yet somehow remains widely popular), if ordinary Israelis begin to celebrate martyrdom above every earthly priority, producing generations of bright-eyed, suicidal fanatics, if the residents of Tel Aviv condone the taking of Palestinian infants, old women, and other noncombatants as hostages and then gather in crowds of thousands, baying for their blood—if, in other words, the Israelis begin to resemble the Palestinians, then I won’t care who wins this war. Short of this, there remains a world of difference between the two sides, and I believe that we should focus on how brutalizing it is for any free society to confront enemies that can sincerely claim to “love death” more than everyone else loves life—for this has been Israel’s predicament for the better part of a century.

The problem in the Middle East is not, and has never been, the existence of the state of Israel. The problem is jihadism, Islamism, Islamic extremism, Islamofascism, militant Islam—or whatever words you want to use to describe the belligerence and triumphal lunacy of those who take the most pernicious doctrines of Islam too seriously.


Tikvah: Ayaan Hirsi Ali on the Islamist Threat and the Crisis of Western Civilization | Tikvah Podcast
What does Western civilization require to defend itself against those seeking to destroy it? And can secular liberalism supply us with the tools to do so?

For the past two decades, Ayaan Hirsi Ali has been one of the world's preeminent defenders of liberal values and the West. Born in Somalia and raised across Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, and Kenya, she fled to the Netherlands in 1992 to escape an arranged marriage. and then became a member of the Dutch Parliament in 2003.

She collaborated with noted filmmaker Theo van Gogh on the short film Submission, which explored the treatment of women in Islam. When van Gogh was murdered by a Dutch Islamist in 2004, a death threat addressed to her was pinned to his chest with a knife. She has subsequently been forced into periods of hiding and heightened security.

Ali is the author of "Infidel" and "Heretic," and for twenty years was among the world's most prominent atheists. In November 2023, she announced that she had become a Christian.

In this conversation, recorded live before members of the Tikvah Society in New York City, Hirsi Ali discusses her diagnosis of what political Islam is doing to Europe and America, and her argument that the assault on Jews and Jewish life is not merely a Jewish problem, but a leading indicator of the West’s broader civilizational vulnerability.

She also explains what called her from to Christianity, and why she believes the West cannot defend itself without recovering its biblical foundations.

00:00 Introduction
04:25 Growing Up Muslim
13:10 What Islamism Produces
15:36 From Atheism to Christianity
26:37 What Christianity Offers the West
33:29 The State of Europe
37:50 Gradualism: Political Islam's Long Game
44:39 Anti-Semitism as a Civilizational Symptom
49:10 What the West Can Learn from Israel


travelingisrael.com: Qatar is crushing Israel.
While Israel plays defense with "Hasbara," Qatar is completely crushing the information war with billions of dollars. Discover how a radical dictatorship is weaponizing Western values to destroy the West from within.




Mamdani-backed Congress candidate defends joining Oct. 8 rally celebrating Hamas atrocities
Darializa Avila Chevalier, a candidate for Congress in New York City, has defended participating in an anti-Israel, pro-Hamas rally on October 8, 2023, the day after the Hamas onslaught in Israel, an event that saw participants celebrate the high number of Israeli fatalities in the worst terror attack in the Jewish state’s history.

Avila Chevalier, 32, is running against US Rep. Adriano Espaillat for New York’s 13th Congressional District in Upper Manhattan and parts of the Bronx.

Avila Chevalier is a far-left, anti-Israel activist, and while Espaillat has longstanding progressive bona fides, he is a centrist Democrat when it comes to Israel.

The race is another test case for how anti-Israel activism is roiling US politics, particularly on the left, and illustrates the struggle between the Democratic Party’s centrist establishment and its far-left wing.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani endorsed Avila Chevalier last week, giving her campaign a major boost. Espaillat had endorsed Mamdani in the general election and Mamdani had reportedly pledged to support Espaillat’s congressional run. Mamdani’s about-face shook confidence in his trustworthiness among some political operatives in the city, Politico reported.

Images of Avila Chevalier at the anti-Israel rally over two-and-a-half years ago circulated after the endorsement. Avila Chevalier was not well known at the time and her participation in the rally had been previously reported by Canary Mission.

Times of Israel footage from the rally showed Avila Chevalier, wearing a keffiyeh, standing next to a protester holding a sign that said, “Zionism is genocide.”

The Times Square rally was largely a celebration of the Hamas invasion, which saw terrorist invaders slaughter more than 1,200 people in southern Israel, mostly civilians, and take 251 hostage.


Palestine Action activists facing jail bid to remove judge with ‘pro-Israel bias’ claim
Palestine Action activists have accused the judge overseeing their trial of bias, alleging he holds “a personal conviction that the Israeli government should be free to break international law.”

They are seeking to have him removed from sentencing, following their conviction for causing £1 million of damage at an Israeli defence firm’s UK base.

Last month, a jury at Woolwich Crown Court found Charlotte Head, Samuel Corner, Leona Kamio, and Fatema Rajwani guilty of criminal damage at the Elbit Systems factory in Bristol, committed in the early hours of August 6, 2024.

All four are due to be sentenced next Friday.

At that hearing, Mr Justice Johnson is expected to consider whether their crime had a “terrorist connection” and whether this should result in longer prison terms.

In an unprecedented move, the activists plan to request the judge’s removal from the case at a hearing at the Old Bailey on Monday.

Their application follows the judge’s recent referral of defence barrister Rajiv Menon KC for possible contempt of court proceedings.

Judge Johnson had told the jurors that if the defendants believed they had been morally justified in smashing up Elbit’s property, that would not be a “lawful excuse.”

In his closing speech at the first trial, Menon cited a famous 17th-century Old Bailey case, emphasising that juries can independently decide cases according to their convictions and are not bound by a judge’s orders to convict.

Johnson argued that Menon’s remarks “invited the jury to disregard my directions,” which he considered a breach of fair trial rules.


More than a quarter of British students say 7 October massacre was ‘defensible’
More than one in four British undergraduates believe Hamas’s 7 October massacre was “defensible”, according to a new survey that highlights a distinct divide between students and the wider public.

As reported by The Telegraph, the poll found that 28 percent of students aged 18 to 21 viewed the attacks as defensible, despite Hamas terrorists murdering around 1,200 people and kidnapping 251 others during the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust.

Just over a third of students described the atrocities as indefensible, while 37 percent said they were unsure.

The findings come from a survey of 1,018 undergraduates conducted by the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) and polling company Savanta.

HEPI said the results suggest students are considerably more sympathetic to Hamas than the general public.

A comparison with previous national polling found only a small minority of adults believed the attacks were justified.

The report stated: “Although ‘justified’ might be regarded as qualitatively different to ‘defensible’ and although there was a two-year gap between the YouGov and HEPI/Savanta polls, it nonetheless seems highly likely that a larger proportion of students than adults as a whole regard Hamas’s attacks on 7 October, 2023 as justifiable.”

The survey also found that students were overwhelmingly critical of Israel’s military response in Gaza. Half described Israel’s actions as “indefensible”, while only 18 percent said the response was defensible. Nearly a third said they did not know.

Responding to the findings, Union of Jewish Students president Louis Danker said: “This latest horrifying statistic is further evidence of a troubling pattern identified in UJS’s recent report, Time for Change. A substantial proportion of students in the UK in 2026 are willing to defend the indefensible actions of a proscribed terrorist group.

“This latest report is indicative of the polarisation and toxicity of debate on campus that leaves Jewish students searching for allyship. Universities must ensure they are not creating permissive environments for extremist views.”
Qatar Foundation International reportedly ‘winding down’ operations in US
Qatar Foundation International, the U.S. member of the Doha-based nonprofit foundation headed by the Qatari royal family, told partners this week that it is “winding down its operations,” according to a screenshot of an email circulated on social media.

Qatar Foundation International describes itself as a nonprofit organization focused on expanding Arabic-language education.

The Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy released a report on May 28 stating that the entity directed more than $65 million between 2009 and 2025 to more than 220 educational programs in the United States and worked with universities, K-12 schools, education networks and teacher-training programs.

It did so as part of “a sophisticated influence operation designed to shape American educational narratives regarding Middle Eastern issues,” the institute said, one that goes beyond simply expanding Arabic education.

Mika Hackner, director of research at the North American Values Institute, provided JNS with a screenshot of what she said was the email from Qatar Foundation International, adding that it was sent to people and organizations it funds or with which the group has contractual obligations.

The email states that Qatar Foundation International is “committed to ensuring an orderly transition for our community and working collaboratively so that existing programs may conclude or evolve responsibly with local institutions.”

“We hope that QFI’s legacy—and the programs, partnerships and communities that now carry it forward—will continue to advance Arabic language education and inspire future generations of learners,” it states. (JNS sought comment from the foundation.)

Hackner told JNS that “there has been a lot of attention paid to QFI and its influence in our K-12 classrooms.”

“I think it’s more than likely they want that attention on QFI, not QFI’s influence, to ‘wind down,’ so while, as the email suggests, QFI might be ending its operations, we’ll see them redirect that influence through different channels,” she said.
Anti-Zionist Jewish professors seek inclusion in Columbia antisemitism settlement
Several anti-Zionist Jewish professors at Columbia University filed claims with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission seeking inclusion as eligible claimants in a $21 million settlement fund established to resolve allegations that the university subjected employees to antisemitic, anti-Israeli harassment.

While the deadline to submit claims expired on Tuesday, the group of professors said some potential claimants did not apply earlier because they feared retaliation from the Ivy League school or the federal government.

The settlement stems from an EEOC investigation alleging that Columbia subjected employees to harassment based on their Jewish faith, Jewish ancestry or Israeli national origin following the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. The fund is part of a broader agreement between Columbia and the federal government.

Raeefa Shams, director of communications and programming at Academic Engagement Network, told JNS that “it is egregious that anti-Zionist Jewish faculty at Columbia University are claiming that they were discriminated against for their views.”

“Many of these faculty helped to create an atmosphere where Jewish, Zionist and Israeli faculty and students felt excluded, unwelcome, and even physically threatened,” Shams said. “They provided the intellectual scaffolding for the actions of student demonstrators. For them to now use topsy-turvy definitions of antisemitism to bolster their claims is absurd.”

Amy Werman, a former senior lecturer in discipline at the Columbia School of Social Work who retired in 2025, told JNS that “as a former full-time faculty member who retired because of antisemitism, my focus is on the members of the Columbia community who were harmed for supporting Israel and standing up to antisemitism on campus.”

“I trust that the EEOC will be able to distinguish the merits of those deserving of compensation amongst all claimants,” she said.

In a statement, the group wrote that, “immediately after Oct. 7, 2023, Columbia University’s leadership issued statements, implemented policies, engaged its disciplinary procedures and took many other actions that made clear that it would brook no tolerance for members of the community who held beliefs or views that conflicted in any way with an ardently pro-Zionist and pro-Israeli position, even, or especially if, those community members were Jewish.”


Instagram pushes mainstream wellness users toward antisemitic content, watchdog says
Instagram’s recommendation algorithm can easily direct users from mainstream self-improvement content to virulent antisemitic material and Nazi propaganda, according to an investigation published Wednesday by an antisemitism watchdog.

For the project, the Antisemitism Research Center of the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) used two neutral persona accounts following mainstream creators in the field of fitness and wellness, engaging in three daily sessions of 45 minutes online.

To prevent algorithmic bias, researchers strictly observed the feeds without liking, sharing or commenting on any posts, the report said.

Without any active user intent, both accounts were rapidly served content promoting conspiracy theories and explicit hate speech.

By the third day, 31 percent of the wellness account’s content and 18% of the fitness account’s content consisted of explicit antisemitism, CAM said.

Over the three days, 32% of wellness videos and 24% of fitness videos contained coded or explicit antisemitism.

“Despite different starting points, both accounts were independently routed toward the same antisemitic narrative clusters, tropes, scapegoating logic, and, in several cases, the same specific pieces of content,” the report noted. “This suggests the issue is not only a community-level phenomenon but a deeper failure in the algorithmic architecture.”

The report is intended as an “exploratory, hypothesis-generating piece of research,” not a statistically valid survey, with several methodological limitations, including its small sample size, CAM said.

Meta did not respond to a request for comment before this article’s publication.

The topics were chosen for their proximity to anti-establishment or conspiratorial narratives, the watchdog says.
Wikipedia softens ‘public image of extremists’ like Hasan Piker, analyst says
The Wikipedia page for Hasan Piker, a far-left streamer who has called the Israel Defense Forces a “Nazi army” and Orthodox Jews “inbred,” has received more than 327,000 views in the past 30 days.

At the top of the page, it states that he has “regularly spoken about the Gaza war, advocating for Palestinians and criticizing the Israeli government.” Readers must scroll down quite a bit to learn that he has praised Hamas, a U.S.-designated terror organization.

Despite an editor recommending it, the page does not note that the U.S. Department of the Treasury reportedly subpoenaed the streamer, who has 2.8 million followers on Twitch and has hosted multiple Democratic politicians on his show, regarding a recent trip to Cuba.

An editor stated in the page’s “talk” section that the crowdsourced encyclopedia should wait for more details to come out before including that detail.

Toby Dershowitz, senior adviser at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told JNS that “a look under the hood shows that anonymous editors hold sway over how figures like Hasan Piker are publicly portrayed.”

“Through structural changes to text, strategic placement of controversies and calls for ‘balance,’ they soften the public image of extremists,” she said, “even when the factual record is so one-sided that balance for its own sake is unwarranted.”

‘Bias within the Wikipedia community’

Piker’s entry has one paragraph, out of some 3,000 words, that addresses allegations of Jew-hatred directly.

The paragraph notes that Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) accused him of antisemitism, and Piker denied it. The entry also states that he called Orthodox Jews in Israel “inbred” and that he later regretted saying it.

It cites reporting from The New Yorker, which reported that “when Piker is criticized by the right, it’s usually for soft-pedaling the brutality of Hamas, or the Houthis,” and from Vox stating that Piker has “lack of issue” with Hezbollah, which is also a U.S.-designated terror group.

Editors opposed a suggestion that the entry should mention Reps. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) and Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) introducing a resolution in April decrying Piker and Candace Owens, another antisemitic podcaster. Editors stated that it was too soon to determine if the resolution would have any real impact on Piker.


Don’t use taxpayer funds for Kanye West concert, Florida senator tells Tampa venue
Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) urged the Tampa Sports Authority Board of Directors not to use taxpayer-funded resources to to aid in an upcoming Kanye West concert at a publicly owned venue in Hillsborough County.

The first of two concerts is slated for June 26 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.

“Kanye West’s consistent antisemitic attacks are an affront to the values of the people of the Hillsborough community,” Scott wrote in a letter sent on Thursday. “He has openly praised Nazis, called himself one and slandered Jews across the world.”

“It is troubling that a stadium supported by taxpayer dollars would openly subsidize an event led by an artist known for pushing this dangerous, hateful rhetoric, especially with Florida having one of the largest Jewish populations in our country,” he wrote.

Scott said that “no taxpayer dollars should be used to give a vocal antisemite a stage in Florida” and offered his office’s resources to the board to “take appropriate action to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

Luis Viera, a member of the Tampa City Council, said that “the right to be heard does not include the right to be taken seriously or supported.”

“Free speech is not the issue with Kanye West having two concerts in Tampa at Raymond James Stadium,” he said. “He has a right to his speech, but the community has a moral duty to respond.”

“Kanye West tragically evolved over the years into an artist who spewed hateful antisemitism,” Viera stated. “I have been personally saddened by his descent. In an age of rampant and accepted bigotry, Tampa stands tall against shameful hate and antisemitism.”
Associate of Heaton Park synagogue attacker admits Defence Academy plan
An Islamic extremist has admitted planning a terror attack on the UK’s Defence Academy with the man who went on to kill two men during a knife rampage at a Manchester synagogue.

Mohammad Bashir, 31, admitted a charge of preparation of terrorist acts when he appeared in the dock of the Old Bailey on Friday.

The charge states that on August 14 2025, with the intention of committing an act of terrorism or assisting Jihad Al‑Shamie to do so, he drove him to the UK Defence Academy to carry out hostile reconnaissance of the location.

The trip to the academy in Shrivenham, Oxfordshire, came weeks before Al-Shamie launched his attack on the Heaton Park Synagogue in Crumpsall last October 2.

On that date, worshippers Melvin Cravitz and Adrian Daulby were killed after 35-year-old Al-Shamie, a Syrian-born UK citizen, drove his Kia Picanto into the gates of the synagogue and began attacking with a knife, wearing a fake suicide belt.

He was shot dead by armed police as he carried out the attack.

Bashir was arrested at Manchester Airport on November 27 but was not charged in relation to the synagogue attack.

The defendant had previously denied preparation of terrorist acts by assisting Al‑Shamie.

He had also pleaded not guilty to three counts of disseminating terrorist publications relating to Jihad and martyrdom on a WhatsApp chat group on dates in November and December 2024.

Prosecutor Jonathan Polnay KC told the court these charges were part of the background to the more serious charge, which Bashir had admitted.
Pair to deny setting light to former synagogue
Two men have indicated not guilty pleas over an alleged arson attack at a former synagogue in London.

Dominic Charles-Turner, 31, and Moses Edwards, 45, are charged with arson with intent to endanger life at the building in Nelson Street, Whitechapel.

The court heard there were two explosions followed by fire at the entrance and gates of the synagogue, which had been closed since 2020 but still displayed Jewish symbols.

London Fire Brigade were called at 5.11am on 5 May within minutes of the attack by two people wearing tracksuits with hoods up.

Six wine bottles were recovered from the scene, two badly damaged by fire and some later found to contain petrol accelerant.

On Friday, Turner and Edwards, both of east London, appeared at the Old Bailey for a preliminary hearing before Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb.

The senior judge said the case would be heard by the Recorder of London, Judge Mark Lucraft KC, at the Old Bailey.

A plea hearing was set for 18 September and a trial from 28 April next year, with a time estimate of two to three weeks.

Barristers for both defendants indicated they would plead not guilty to the charge against them.
Suspect arrested for arson at Montreal synagogue, the latest antisemitic attack in Canada
Canadian police arrested a suspect Friday morning after an overnight arson attack on a synagogue in Montreal, the latest act of violence targeting the Jewish community as antisemitism surges in Canada.

There were no injuries in the attack on Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom, which suffered minor burn damage before the fire was extinguished. A window was also smashed, with the apparent aim of setting a blaze inside the synagogue.

The CBC public broadcaster identified the suspect as Steven Luu, 38. Among the charges he faces are arson and possession of incendiary and explosive materials, but is not currently suspected of a hate crime, though police said the investigation was continuing.

The synagogue was also targeted last year when a swastika was spray-painted on the building.

In an email to Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom congregants, Rabbi Lisa Grushcow decried “the scourge of antisemitism” and called for law enforcement to do more, saying that “responding requires being proactive, not reactive.”

“Naming the ways in which external conflicts are being imported. Recognizing that while criticism of Israel can be legitimate, when the Jewish state and those who love it are libeled, violence against Jews is the result,” she said. “Politicians need courage. Law enforcement needs support. Neighborhoods need good neighbors.”

Speaking with the Canadian Jewish News, Grushcow added that “we are unfortunately not surprised” by the attack.

Canadian Jewish leaders demand action after attempted arson at Quebec synagogue
Canadian Jewish leaders renewed calls for stronger action against antisemitism after a man allegedly attempted to set fire to a Montreal-area synagogue early on June 5.

Police responded shortly after midnight to Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom in Westmount, Quebec, after receiving a 911 call reporting a break-in. Authorities said a 38-year-old man broke a window and attempted to ignite a fire inside the synagogue before being arrested at the scene. The building sustained only minor damage and was unoccupied at the time.

“The safety of our residents, institutions and community gathering places remains a top priority for the city,” Westmount Mayor Michael Stern said following the incident.

In an email to congregants, Rabbi Lisa Grushcow urged community members to address the broader climate fueling antisemitic violence.

“Responding requires being proactive, not reactive,” she wrote. “Naming the ways in which external conflicts are being imported. Recognizing that while criticism of Israel can be legitimate, when the Jewish state and those who love it are libeled, violence against Jews is the result.”

Paola Samuel, B’nai Brith Canada’s regional director for Quebec and Atlantic Canada, stated that she had been in touch with law enforcement partners, urging them “to investigate the incident as an act of terrorism.”

“Incidents such as this are why we have been calling on the federal government to recognize that Canada is in a national crisis of antisemitism,” she said. “Hate motivated arson, vandalism and attacks should not be normal, and yet, they are becoming a daily reality for Jewish Canadians.”

“Words alone will not stop these repeated, antisemitic attacks,” she added.


Celtic soccer fans protest tapping of Robbie Keane as coach over stint in Tel Aviv
Celtic’s interest in appointing Robbie Keane as its new manager has sparked anger among the marquee Scottish soccer club’s pro-Palestinian fans due to his previous role with Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Keane is the leading contender to take charge of the Scottish champions after reportedly entering talks with the club’s principal shareholder, Dermot Desmond.

Keane, a former star striker who is Ireland’s all-time top goalscorer, enjoyed a prolific loan spell at Celtic in 2010.

In June 2023, prior to the Hamas-led October 7 invasion, he signed a two-year contract to become the head coach of Maccabi Tel Aviv, saying in a statement that he was “delighted to take on this challenge at Maccabi.”

But he left after just a year amid the war in Gaza, following the team’s 2024 championship season, a decision he called “difficult.”

Nevertheless, his choice to stay in Israel after October 7 and the beginning of the subsequent war in Gaza sparked criticism in Ireland and turned a vocal section of the Celtic fan base against him.

Celtic supporters have displayed Palestinian flags at matches throughout the conflict.

Now graffiti and banners opposing the prospect of Keane becoming manager have appeared outside Celtic’s stadium in Glasgow.

A statement from a group called Celtic Fans for the Liberation of Palestine said hiring Keane “would be deeply divisive among the support.”





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Reclaiming the Covenant on America's 250th (May 2026)

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

PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism (February 2022)

    

 

 

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