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Thursday, June 18, 2026

06/17 Links Pt2: The Squeezing of Jewish Life in Britain; Israeli flag removed at World Cup match as Palestinian flags remain; Tel Aviv remains world’s fourth-largest startup ecosystem despite wartime pressures

From Ian:

It’s Not Biased if It’s Against Jews
To paraphrase Law & Order, in the American legal system, bias-motivated offenses are considered especially reprehensible. Punching someone is bad. Punching them for racist reasons is worse. So various laws, both criminal and civil, prescribe enhanced penalties in those situations. Sometimes the racism is unmistakable. At other times, it’s hidden behind code words or dog whistles—thugs, urban, globalists, etc.—or seemingly neutral markers like hair and dress. No matter; courts, prosecutors, and legislators have become quite adept at sniffing out crafty bigotry.

Yet the invocation of Zionism has, inexplicably, thrown them all for a loop. In the United States and across the globe, participants in purportedly anti-Zionist movements are committing crimes and civil offenses. Sometimes they harm Jews. Sometimes they harm non-Jews. But, in all cases, the people who commit these crimes—as well as their legions of defenders—argue that there is no bias. Any animus, they insist, is not antisemitic or anti-Jewish. It is anti-Zionist. Some of their best friends, these assailants are quick to add, are Jews.

As much as these claims have been dissected, debated and, regularly, debunked in a variety of settings, the courts are just beginning to weigh in. Will they treat the targeting of alleged “Zionists” as purely political—and thus not evidence of racial or religious bias? Or will they see it as integral to the racial and/or religious identity of American Jews?

Earlier this month, a federal district court judge in New York gave us a sneak peek at how the U.S. legal system might resolve what many see as yet another ham-fisted effort to work around long-standing civil rights laws. The results weren’t pretty. The court adopted a number of conclusions that, if accepted by other courts, would substantially weaken the civil rights of those harmed by anti-Zionist campaigns of harassment and violence. That’s bad news for Jews, their allies, and anyone else who happened to get in the anti-Zionists’ way.

If allowed to stand, the ruling could embolden more anti-Jewish agitators, effectively furnishing them with a virtual blueprint to harass without violating the KKK Act.

Mariano Torres and Lester Wilson, the men at the center of the New York case, got in the way. Neither Torres nor Wilson is Jewish. They are janitors employed by Columbia University. And like so many trying to go about their studies or jobs in Morningside Heights or around the country since Oct. 7, 2023, Torres and Wilson found their efforts impeded—and their lives imperiled—by those obsessed with Jews and Israel, the Jewish state.

On April 30, 2024, this obsession turned riotous. Masked militants, armed with hammers, knives, bolt cutters, chains, and zip ties, stormed Hamilton Hall and confronted the two working men. Torres and Wilson each refused to yield, which drew the ire of the rioters who then assaulted the janitors, detained them, sought to bribe them, and slurred them as “Jew lovers,” “Jew workers,” and “Zionists.” Eventually, according to their lawsuit, Torres fled, and Wilson was forced out of the building. The rioters, meanwhile, kept going. They seized the building, broke windows to chain the doors shut, barricaded themselves inside, and unfurled banners declaring an “intifada.”

Torres and Wilson later filed a civil rights lawsuit. With the help of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law and the Torridon Law firm, the pair relied on the Civil Rights Act of 1871, also known as the Ku Klux Klan Act, to argue that they were victimized by an anti-Jewish riot. A provision of that law prohibits people from conspiring to deprive “any person or class of persons of the equal protection of the laws.” To satisfy that equal protection component, plaintiffs must generally show that the conspiracy was motivated by “some racial or perhaps otherwise class-based, invidiously discriminatory animus.”

According to Torres and Wilson’s complaint, that’s precisely what occurred: The rioters, motivated by anti-Jewish animus, had conspired to deprive equal protection of the laws to people who are or are perceived to be Jews or supporters of Jews.

The clear focus of the lawsuit was illegal conduct, not speech. Torres and Wilson sought damages for alleged assault and battery during an illegal building occupation. They weren’t concerned with the rioters’ opinions on world affairs. They were concerned with the crowbars, rope, chains, and zip ties. They were concerned with their seizure of university property. They were concerned with being detained and threatened.

Torres and Wilson also happened to understand the nature of the riot because, allegedly, the rioters made it clear. Jews and those presumed to side with (or, gasp, love) Jews were the problem.

This is precisely the type of situation Congress anticipated when enacting the KKK Act—that is, the supercharging of ordinary crimes into far more socially corrosive hate crimes based on evidence of discriminatory animus. Yet the court twisted itself, the facts, and the law in knots, rendering an error-filled decision that had the effect of widening what we see as an emerging anti-Zionism exception to civil rights law. So long as you scream about Zionists and not Jews (or, as in this case, even if you interchangeably slur Zionists and Jews as you brandish knives and hammers), the courts will give you a hall pass.
Nearly a third of Canadians believe antisemitism has become more acceptable, survey finds
Nearly one-third of Canadians believe that antisemitism or anti-Jewish attitudes are becoming more acceptable in the country, according to a new poll.

The Leger survey, conducted on behalf of the Association for Canadian Studies, found that 31 per cent held that view, while the highest level of agreement was concentrated among university students (37 per cent), men (38 per cent) and Canadians between the ages of 18 and 34 (35 per cent). English speakers were more than twice (35 per cent) as likely to agree with the statement as opposed to just 16 per cent of Francophones.

Slightly over a fifth (22 per cent) of Canadians agreed that “Israel’s military actions in Gaza justify negative attitudes toward Jewish people in Canada,” as opposed to nearly half (49 per cent) of respondents who disagreed. Canadians aged 18 to 34 (26 per cent) and men (29 per cent) were most likely to agree with the statement.

“The findings suggest that condemnation alone has not been enough. While many leaders have denounced antisemitism since October 7, the survey shows that a significant minority of Canadians still believe that events in the Middle East justify negative attitudes toward Jewish Canadians,” Jack Jedwab, president of the Association for Canadian Studies, told National Post in a written statement.

Roughly one-sixth (17 per cent) of Canadians surveyed agreed that they have become more negative toward Jews since the October 7 terrorist attacks on Israel, while a majority (62 per cent) disagreed with the statement. Women (68 per cent), college students (66 per cent) and Canadians over 55 (69 per cent) were the most likely to disagree with the statement. Those born outside of Canada were more likely to agree (24 per cent) than respondents born in the country (16 per cent).

A similar split was seen on the question of whether “Jews in Canada are responsible for the actions of the Israeli government.” Nine per cent of all respondents and eight per cent of people born in Canada agreed, while nearly twice the number of respondents born outside of the country (15 per cent) agreed. Strong majorities of respondents born in Canada (73 per cent) and outside the country (62 per cent) disagreed with the statement.

“It suggests that public education should not only focus on people who hold openly antisemitic views, but also on the much larger group that may not recognize when criticism about Israel becomes rhetoric that targets Jews and that presents a threat to Jewish Canadians’ sense of safety and belonging,” Jedwab said.


EU foreign policy chief Kallas likened Israel’s treatment of Palestinians to apartheid—report
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas compared Israel’s treatment of Palestinians to South Africa’s apartheid era, speaking during closed-doors high-level talks in Mexico City last month, E.U. affairs news website Euractiv reported, citing officials and diplomats.

Kallas, a former Estonian prime minister who took up her post as the European Union’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy in December 2024, visited Mexico City on May 20-22 as part of an E.U. delegation attending a summit. During closed-door meetings with Mexican government representatives, Kallas compared Israel’s treatment of Palestinians in Gaza, Judea and Samaria to the racist policies of apartheid South Africa, according to the report.

Officials and diplomats, including those present at the meeting, told Euractiv that she described how moved she was by a visit last year to South Africa and its apartheid museum in Johannesburg.

“The comparison with apartheid is unacceptable and not E.U. policy. It is a big problem if she is making these kinds of statements while officially representing the E.U. on the world stage,” said one E.U. diplomat, according to Euractiv.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry did not respond to a request for comment on the matter.

Kallas ‘fueling the antisemitism fire in Europe’

Rabbi Menachem Margolin, chairman of the Brussels-based European Jewish Association (EJA), which represents Jewish communities across the continent, said that Kallas’s comments are “fueling the antisemitism fire in Europe.”

“Apartheid, just like genocide, is a very important word. It carries weight and is pregnant with emotional and historical meaning. To use it in such a context diminishes it. It is an absolute falsehood: There is absolutely nothing that even resembles apartheid in Israel,’’ said Margolin, adding that “it also plays directly into the hands of those... responsible for the antisemitism crisis that is plaguing the continent and making life so incredibly difficult for European Jewry.”

Kallas “should know that Jewish activists played a disproportionately large role in the South African anti-apartheid movement. Driven by a cultural history of persecution, many risked their lives, imprisonment, and exile to fight the regime as lawyers, underground operatives, and political leaders,” he continued.

“Kaja Kallas, through her words, is directly adding fuel to the antisemitic fire. The EJA urges foreign ministers to recognize this danger, and to distance themselves from her remarks,” Margolin concluded.
EU mulls targeting trade with Israel over Judea and Samaria — report
Following a deadlock in attempts to slap Israel with E.U. sanctions, the European Commission is working on a plan to restrict trade with Israel in connection with its presence in Judea and Samaria, according to diplomats cited by the Euronews website on Tuesday.

The nature of the restrictions envisioned is unknown, Euronews reported, but it quoted E.U. foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas as focusing on what she called “trade with illegal settlements”—a disputed term referring to Israeli communities in Judea, Samaria, eastern Jerusalem and the Golan.

Spain, Ireland and France are pushing for anti-Israel action by the European Union, according to the report. Other countries, including the Czech Republic and Germany, have blocked several attempts to pass formal sanctions, which requite consensus among the bloc’s 27 member states, the report said.

Despite this, the European Commission intends to propose a less direct form of sanction through trade.

The E.U. Commissioner for the Mediterranean, Dubravka Šuica, said on Monday that given the strong push from some member states to punish Israel, the Commission would prepare some options before the next ministerial meeting on 13 July, according to Euronews. Šuica made the remark during a meeting of foreign affairs ministers in Luxembourg on Monday, according to the report.

“Only products originating in Israel proper are granted trade preferences under the EU-Israel Association Agreement—products from Occupied Palestinian Territory are denied preferential treatment when imported into the EU,” a Commission spokesperson told Euronews.
UKLFI: Natasha Hausdorff examines legal claims about the "Great Israeli Real Estate Event"
A property exhibition intended to connect British Jews and other overseas buyers with homes in Israel became the focus of a major political, legal and public order controversy.

The Great Israeli Real Estate Event faced calls for cancellation from more than 100 MPs and peers, criticism from London Mayor Sadiq Khan, and opposition from Green Party leader Zack Polanski, amid allegations that properties in Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria were being marketed illegally to British buyers.

The venue withdrew and the exhibition was relocated to a synagogue in north-west London. Large protests outside the synagogue followed. Police made multiple arrests, while Jewish community groups expressed concern that misinformation and false claims about the event had helped create an atmosphere of hostility and intimidation.

In this interview, UKLFI Charitable Trust Legal Director, Natasha Hausdorff, examines whether there is any evidential basis for allegations of criminality, and what international law says about transactions between private parties relating to properties in the West Bank.

The discussion explores the legal status of Judea and Samaria, the Oslo framework, the application and scope of Article 49(6) of the Fourth Geneva Convention, the history of Gush Etzion, comparisons with Northern Cyprus and the implications of protests outside a synagogue.

Natasha further considers the role of politicians, campaign groups and public authorities in shaping public perceptions of Israel-related issues, and whether false representations of international law risk undermining both the Jewish community and the credibility of the international legal order itself.

Chapters:
00:00 Introduction and context
01:22 What actually matters?
03:08 Sadiq Khan, allegations of criminality & legal reality
05:31 Are property transactions in Judea and Samaria unlawful?
08:35 Gush Etzion, historical context & alleged double standards
10:43 Northern Cyprus & selective application of international law
12:42 Protests outside a synagogue & intimidation
17:15 What this reveals about Britain, Israel & international law


David Collier: The Squeezing of Jewish Life in Britain
The attack on British Jews is relentless, Jewish life is being squeezed out of the UK, and the recent uproar over a property event in a synagogue in Edgware is just the latest example.

You may respond: “but, but settlements”.

And I will say this: If you have become emotionally invested in arguments over real estate from “disputed territories” in Israel being sold at a London venue, then you have fallen into a well-prepared trap that helps to squeeze Jewish life out of the UK.

This is not a joke, and it is not an overstatement.

If you are not personally looking to purchase property in Israel, then ask yourself a simple question: why did you hear about this event at all?

You heard about this event because extremist groups such as the Palestinian Youth Movement are working to suffocate all Zionist identity in the UK. Without their witch-hunt and escalation, nobody would have heard about this event to begin with.

And their opposition does not stop at the “Green Line”.

Which means you have been manipulated into “moral outrage” by those who want Israel destroyed. Not against them – but in ways that help advance their goals. Only Israel

Let me start at the beginning. Why Israel? There are many “disputed” or “occupied” territories in our world, and some of them are actively marketed as attractive real estate investments.

Northern Cyprus is considered occupied territory by the UK, and in political circles there is enough friction to cause rebuke and a resignation when a British MP oversteps with an official visit. Yet I have Turkish Cypriot friends who freely purchase homes in Northern Cyprus and there are regular real estate events in London which offer very attractive investment opportunities there. There is a large one taking place at the London Excel in October:

How about Morocco? This is Morocco Now, a state-backed Moroccan investment campaign, openly advertising across Sadiq Khan’s TfL network. Morocco Now actively promotes development and investment in the disputed territory of Western Sahara, including places like Laayoune and Dakhla. Somehow this does not trigger national outrage.

Morocco Now, Western Sahara
Will outlets such as Sky News really be interested in what Moroccan property opportunities are, or are not, being advertised at the upcoming Property Investor event at the Excel in London in October 2026?

Many of the same activist ecosystems obsessively focused on Israeli property show remarkably little interest in Pakistani territorial disputes, Baloch repression or Chinese-backed development projects in places such as Gwadar – all openly marketed in the UK without national outrage.

In this image, Sadiq Khan’s TfL is seen once again helping to promote these investment opportunities through the streets of London:

This is not whataboutery, but rather a question of legal and ethical consistency. The outrage ecosystem only fully activates around Israel. Why is it only when Israeli property is involved that we see protests, political intervention, extraordinary security measures and national media attention?

Either activists and politicians genuinely object to property investment linked to disputed territory – or Israel is being treated by an entirely different standard.


Islamism, the Muslim Brotherhood and the limits of Labour’s resolve
So between the distinct pathologies of the contemporary Labour party and the permanent State, non-violent Islamism tends to be lost in what one No. 10 insider terms “a valley of death” between MI5, the Home Office and the MHCLG – and a plethora of relevant “operationally independent” regulators such as Ofsted and Ofcom. Ministers are frequently told by Mandarins they cannot pre-empt the deliberations of these bodies, which then become part of what one Whitehall veteran called the “learned helplessness of the system”.

Where the State does act, it acts narrowly and on the cheap. For example, there is currently a dedicated police operation directed at Hamas in Britain; but despite the proscription of both the political and the armed wings of Hamas, this operation is accorded a low high priority – a casualty of the security establishment’s settled posture of dealing first with what then-MI5 Director General Jonathan Evans termed the “crocodiles closest to the boat” rather than more “upstream” ideological challenges.

That instinct is understandable. Finite resources should go to the most immediate threats to life. But it is also a false economy. The surging attacks on Jews – as at Heaton Park, or in Golders Green – did not emerge from nowhere. They are the “downstream” consequence of an ideological climate that has been allowed to fester, in which the Muslim Brotherhood and, no less importantly in this country, its sub-Continental cognates incubate the antisemitism that later erupts into violence. To ignore the upstream generation of a threat because it is not yet lapping over the boat is to guarantee a steady supply of further crocodiles.

Nowhere is British timidity clearer than in the simple act of saying out loud who is not welcome. In Denmark, the immigration service publishes a list of overseas clerics banned from the country; fifteen names appear on it, two of them from the UK.

During the Home Secretaryship of Jacqui Smith in the Gordon Brown era, the Home Office named those excluded. However, the Home Office has published no such list since 2009 – for fear of legal challenge. Indeed, in 2014. a Coalition Home Office Minister confirmed to the Commons that the then government would not resume identifying those it had barred.

Why, a dozen years down the line, should the current crop of ministers have their options curtailed in the present very different set of circumstances – by a policy commitment made back in the lifetime of the Coalition?

This forms the background to today’s Oral Question in the Upper House from Lord Goodman of Wycombe – a significant voice in the debate – asking the Home Office whether it intends to identify any individuals, groups or organisations in the State of Extremism report it has promised.

Goodman contends that counter-extremism has thus long been the poor and unglamorous relation of counter-terrorism. After all, the Home Office’s Homeland Security Group employs well over a thousand people. Can it really be the case that this behemoth really has no capacity to address these issues? And if not, why not?

Indeed, why can’t Thames House, whose numbers have risen from under 2,000 officers during the Cold War to over 5,500 today, spare a few desk officers to address non-violent Islamist extremism – when in the pre-War, wartime and Cold War eras, tackling both non-violent fascism and non-violent communism (and other far left movements) were its stock-in-trade?

The subject is ripe for re-examination in the light of wider global developments. There is a growing consciousness in Whitehall that sections of insurgent movements, such as the Taliban in Afghanistan, have “gone political” in some measure, entering their respective governments; moreover, Afghanistan has a substantial diaspora community here.

So does the “inclusion-moderation” hypothesis apply to Islamists in the UKin this era – and at what price? The key conclusion of the Farr-Jenkins review was that engagement with political Islamists has been tried many times and has never worked; we do not shape their views – rather, they shape ours.

At last, a real debate about the future of conventional and nuclear defence is taking place in this country. It’s now high time we had one on non-violent threats within our borders as well.
Explosive dossier that reveals escalating row between Jewish group and pro-Palestinian Greens
The JC has obtained a dossier of exchanges between Greens for Palestine and Jewish Greens over the past few months revealing deeply concerning attitudes towards Jews within the party. Many of the emails suggest Jews are being held responsible for the actions of Israel and other matters over which they have no responsibility. The exchanges took place within the context of a row over a proposed motion branding Zionism as racism. Here the JC is publishing long passages from the emails amid calls for an investigation by the Equality and Human Rights Commission watchdog.

New Year’s Eve, 2025 – ‘Zionism is racism’ motion is raised
The first message regarding the planned “Zionism is racism” motion took place on New Year’s Eve last year.

An attachment containing the motion was sent to Jewish Greens. “We are writing in advance of submission to consult with you on the attached motion drafted/ supported by Palestinian members of the Green Party,” Greens for Palestine said in an email.

January 5, 2026 – Jewish Greens raise concern over consultation on motion
Jewish Greens replied saying: “I don’t think emailing SIGs [Special interest groups] three days before posting a motion onto the Agenda Forum counts as a consultation, especially during what is considered a holiday period.”

Greens for Palestine responded a day later complaining that they hadn’t even been told about the publication of a different motion, which the Jewish Group later clarified hadn’t even been submitted by them.

January 15 – Jewish Greens push back against singling out of Israel
Jewish Greens made their objections to the planned motion crystal clear.

“The response to the idea that ‘Zionism is racism’ received an almost universally hostile response, and I think that the majority of our members would prefer that it wasn’t brought forward in the current form.”

Even though some members of the left-wing party did think that it was accurate to describe Zionism as “settler-colonialism”, there were still concerns that Israel was being singled out in a way the United States and Canada – which, they claimed, could also be described as settler-colonial states – were not.

“Instead of viewing Israel as an exception from the international norm, it should be viewed as a particularly violent representation of it. If international policy were to reflect this, it should extend the analysis of racism as essential to much modern statecraft beyond Israel to other similar states,” Jewish Greens said.

The group also asked questions about what Greens for Palestine meant when condemning “Zionist propaganda” and to make clear that they did not support Hamas and other terrorist groups.

“The statement about armed struggle suggests that every group has the right to resist oppression, including through the use of force. This is not disputed. However, we are talking specifically about a political context where a significant portion of political actors, including Hamas and PIJ, are committed to using violence against civilians as a methodology of resistance. The general view amongst the officers' group was this should be acknowledged.”
Greens for Palestine activists warn MPs banning IRGC would ‘support genocidal Israel’
Green Party activists have urged their own MP to vote against the banning of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), claiming proscription would support a “genocidal Israeli plan” and make the party “complicit in the violence of US imperialism”.

Leaked WhatsApp messages seen by the JC show members of the Greens for Palestine group lobbying North Herefordshire MP Ellie Chowns, the party’s leader in Westminster, ahead of Wednesday’s vote on the National Security Bill.

The bill would allow the Home Office to proscribe state-linked actors, including the Iranian paramilitary, in a similar manner to non-state terrorist groups. It has been introduced by the government after several high-profile attacks on the Jewish community were allegedly linked to the IRGC and the Iranian regime.

But the Green activists describe the IRGC as “the main force defending the peoples of Iran” and urge members to pressure Chowns, who lost to Zack Polanski in the Green Party leadership election last year, to vote against the legislation to ban the group.

One message circulated in the group declared: “WE NEED YOUR HELP… It has come to our attention that Green MP, Ellie Chowns plans to vote in favour of the upcoming 'National Security Bill', which is a pre-step to the proscription [of] the IRGC.”

The post defended the Iranian organisation, which has been linked to the mass killing of Iranian civilians during anti-regime protests in the past year, stating: “The IRGC are the main force defending the peoples of Iran against Western imperial violence.

“Proscribing them – and any national liberation movement – is simply falling in line with imperialism.”
Hackney Greens’ Israeli ‘genocide’ divestment pledge hits legal hurdles
Hackney’s new Green Party led council is faces claims it is already encountering administrative and legal gridlock over its election pledge to immediately divest the borough’s pension fund from companies allegedly complicit in “genocide” in Gaza.

At last month’s local elections, Zack Polanski’s Green Party won a commanding majority of 42 seats in the North London borough, centering their campaign on a pledge to “Cut all Council Ties with Israel’s Genocide in Gaza.”

Before the Greens took office, Zoë Garbett—now Hackney’s mayor—and her colleagues repeatedly called on the previous Labour administration to support “immediate unilateral divestment” from companies profiting from Israel’s military operations and occupation.

However, Town Hall insiders note that the Green administration’s flagship ethical investment policy directly conflicts with the strict regulatory frameworks of the London Collective Investment Vehicle (London CIV), which manages the pooled pension funds of 32 London boroughs.

Under recent Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) reforms, individual borough councils can no longer quickly divest from specific equities on their own.

The LCIV requires a “critical mass” of agreement among member boroughs to trigger blanket asset exclusions, creating a significant bottleneck for localised Green policies.

Because assets are pooled across all 32 London local authorities in the LCIV mega-fund, individual councils cannot unilaterally block specific stocks. To exclude assets based on ethics, geopolitics, or human rights, a substantial coalition of member funds must demand the same restriction.

An opposition Labour member commented: “Mayor Garbett campaigned on promises of swift, radical action, but we are now seeing the inevitable pivot into reality.

“You cannot run a multi-million-pound public pension fund on emotional rhetoric when you are legally and structurally bound to a regional investment pool.”


Hind Rajab Foundation demands US arrests dual citizen IDF veteran at World Cup match
The Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF), a pro-Palestinian organization that pursues IDF soldiers who served in Gaza when they travel abroad, demanded on Tuesday that the US Justice Department arrest a dual Israeli-American IDF veteran who arrived in Los Angeles for World Cup matches.

The HRF, whose founder and director is affiliated with Hezbollah, previously filed a complaint against him when he was vacationing in Sri Lanka in May.

The organization reiterates its claims that he is an IDF soldier in "D" Company of the 603rd Combat Engineering Battalion, which operates under the 7th Armored Brigade.

According to the foundation, he is a young man who volunteered for service following the events of October 7, 2023, and was subsequently deployed to the Gaza Strip, where he participated in military activity that was extensively documented by the organization's "investigators."

HRF claims that the 603rd Battalion has become, "based on extensive documentation," a central unit in the widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure in the Gaza Strip.

Although it is defined as an engineering unit whose duties include mine clearance and fortification, the foundation claims its activity in practice focused on the systematic destruction of civilian areas.
Israeli flag removed at World Cup match as Palestinian flags remain
An Israeli flag was removed from a fan at a FIFA World Cup match between Iran and New Zealand while Palestinian flags nearby were reportedly left untouched, Hebrew media reported Wednesday.

The incident, filmed inside the stadium and circulated on social media, showed stewards asking a fan to hand over an Israeli flag during Iran’s opening match of the 2026 World Cup, Israel Hayom reported. The fan pointed to Palestinian flags being held a few rows away and accused the stewards of applying the rules unevenly.

“Why don’t you tell them to take down their flag?” the fan said, according to Israel Hayom. “This feels like antisemitism. When you take that flag down, I’ll take mine down.”

The stewards reportedly told the fan the Israeli flag had to be removed for safety reasons and said the order did not come from them personally. Israel Hayom reported that the fan eventually handed over the flag after being told he would receive it back later. In another part of the video, a steward reportedly told him flags of teams playing in the match were allowed, a rule that would not explain why Palestinian flags were left visible.

The video spread quickly on X, where Israeli and pro-Israel accounts accused FIFA and stadium staff of enforcing flag rules selectively. One Hebrew-language post sharing the video said the fan was told flags of countries not playing in the tournament were banned, while Palestinian flags were not removed. American sports writer Martin Lieberman also shared the clip and criticized FIFA over the “safety” explanation.

Walla Sport, part of The Jerusalem Post’s media group, separately reported that the Iran-New Zealand match became a political protest arena. According to Walla’s Idan Kvaler, Israeli flags were seen in the stands alongside Palestinian flags, Iranian flags, and the pre-revolutionary Iranian Lion and Sun flag, which FIFA had sought to block from stadiums.


Canada pledges $100m. for Palestinian aid amid UNRWA staff Hamas controversy
Canadian foreign minister Anita Anand announced the country would provide an additional $100 million in funding to support the UN, the Red Cross, the Red Crescent, and other NGOs last week, within days of UNRWA confirming it had terminated the contracts of 70 staff members in Gaza for ties with UNRWA, according to a statement by the foreign ministry.

The funding assistance brings Canada’s total contribution to $500 million for the Palestinian territories. The financial assistance will reportedly help provide emergency medical assistance, food and nutrition, water, sanitation, shelter, protection services, and stabilization initiatives.

“Today, Canada announced $100 million in funding to deliver urgent humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza and the West Bank. The funding will be delivered through the UN, Red Cross, and NGO partners, bringing our overall humanitarian assistance to over half a billion dollars,” Anand announced.

“In addition, we also launched the International Peace Fund for Israel and Palestine with the UK and Australia to support civil society organizations in their grassroots work to build peace between Israelis and Palestinians. To this end, we put forward a $1.8 million commitment. We will keep working with both Israelis and Palestinians and thank all civil society organizations present in Paris today for their contributions.”

UNRWA's official announcement statement on the terminations claimed that the action was taken "to mitigate safety and security risks for the refugees the Agency serves," and it emphasized that Israel had not provided any evidence to back up its accusations, and that the employees' firing was not intended to be a validation of those claims.


Russia Sanctions UN Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer
The Russian government has imposed a permanent entry ban on UN Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer, placing him on a list of 103 Canadian citizens sanctioned by Moscow for what it described as involvement in “anti-Russian activities.”

The announcement was made yesterday by Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which accused those named of “discrediting the constitutional order and foreign policy” of Russia and of activities “aimed at the unlawful confiscation of sovereign Russian state assets.”

Those blacklisted along with Neuer include Canadian cabinet ministers, senators, MPs, the defence chief and Canada’s former ambassador to Russia, William Westdal.

Neuer, a Canadian citizen and international human rights advocate, led the campaign to expel Russia from the UN Human Rights Council, and works closely with Russian dissidents to fight abuses by the Putin regime.

UN Watch, an independent non-governmental human rights organization based in Switzerland, which leads the 25-NGO coalition that holds the annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy, has campaigned for the freedom of imprisoned Russian dissidents, including Vladimir Kara-Murza, hosted democracy leaders such as Garry Kasparov and family members of Alexei Navalny, and amplified the voices of Ukrainian victims of Russian aggression. (Click here to see UN Watch’s action for human rights in Russia.)

Over two decades, Neuer has often taken the floor at the United Nations to challenge Russia’s human rights record.

Neuer was recently honored in Canada with the King Charles III Coronation Medal, for making an outstanding achievement abroad that brings credit to Canada.

“Badge of Honor”

“Being banned by Vladimir Putin’s regime is not a punishment, but a badge of honor,” said Neuer. “Russia is one of the world’s leading jailers of political opponents, a serial violator of human rights, and the aggressor in a brutal war against Ukraine. If speaking out for freedom, democracy, and human rights earns me a place on the Kremlin’s blacklist, then I accept it proudly.”

“Russia can add my name to whatever list it wants. It won’t change the facts, and it won’t change our work,” said Neuer. “The Kremlin’s blacklist is not a deterrent. It only motivates us to keep fighting the Kremlin’s repression. We will continue standing with Russian dissidents, exposing human rights abuses, speaking for the victims of Russia’s aggression.”


UKLFI: Israel on Trial: Examining the History, the Evidence, and the Law — Webinar with Roy Altman
United States District Judge Roy K. Altman joins Natasha Hausdorff, Legal Director of UKLFI Charitable Trust, to discuss his bestselling new book, Israel on Trial: Examining the History, the Evidence, and the Law.

Drawing on his experience as a federal judge, former prosecutor and legal commentator, Judge Altman explains why many of the most common allegations levelled against Israel are fundamentally legal claims that should be tested using evidence, legal standards and objective reasoning rather than political slogans.

The discussion explores the origins of the book following the October 7 attacks, the importance of engaging with false allegations rather than ignoring them, and how the rules of evidence used in courts can help distinguish fact from fiction in an age of misinformation.

Judge Altman also examines the historical, archaeological and legal foundations of Jewish indigeneity and statehood, the application of international law to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the doctrine of uti possidetis juris, and competing claims regarding occupation, colonialism, apartheid and self-determination.

The webinar goes on to analyse the allegation of genocide against Israel, the role of international institutions, the International Court of Justice, advisory opinions, judicial impartiality, and the challenges posed by lawfare and political advocacy in international legal forums.

The conversation concludes with a discussion about judicial fact-finding visits to Israel, the importance of direct observation and evidence, and practical advice for those defending Israel's case in courts, universities, media organisations and international institutions.

About the speaker
Judge Roy K. Altman serves as a United States District Judge and is the author of *Israel on Trial: Examining the History, the Evidence, and the Law*. A graduate of Yale Law School, former editor of the Yale Law Journal and former federal prosecutor, he has written extensively on law, antisemitism, Israel and Western democratic values.


travelingisrael.com: Why Arabs Actually Lose.
They had every advantage — numbers, land, oil money, international sympathy. And they still lost. Let me fill in the blanks for you...


Washington state Republican raises concern over rival’s refusal to label Hamas a terror group
Natalie Poulson, the Republican candidate for Washington state’s 3rd legislative district state House seat, expressed concern about rising Jew-hatred in the state after recent comments by her likely Democratic opponent, Luc Jasmin III.

Poulson is expected to face Jasmin, the eastern Washington outreach coordinator for Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson, in the general election in November if he advances from the Aug. 4 primary. Jasmin is one of three Democrats running for the open seat, which has been held by Democrat Timm Ormsby since 2003.

Jasmin told JNS recently that he didn’t think it would be “fair” to answer if Hamas is a terror organization, because “I don’t think it’s fair for me to label any group, because I’m not in it.”

The Democrat spoke to JNS amid calls for his father, a member of the state human rights commissions, to resign after making antisemitic remarks at a meeting of the panel last year. The state commission recently posted video footage from the meeting.

Poulson told JNS that “it is impossible to look at the situation that involves Hamas and not see terrorism.”

“Look at what Hamas is doing to its own people,” she said. “It’s using them as pawns.”

Poulson questioned how someone who works in the governor’s office could be unfamiliar with Hamas being a U.S. designated terrorist group. Washington designated it as such in 1997. Jasmin’s lack of knowledge of that is “discrediting,” she said.

“That being said, what has come out of his work with the governor’s office?” she said. “I’ve done some research and haven’t really found very much.”
San Diego man accused of raising hundreds of thousands for Hamas under pretense of Gaza charity
Reda Mazen Rida Sabassi, 38, of San Diego, was arrested on fives charges for allegedly transferring $116,000 to a Hamas member in Turkey and trying to convert $382,000 into cryptocurrency to deliver to people connected to the terror group, the U.S. Justice Department said on Wednesday.

Sabassi faces charges of terrorism, sanctions-evasion, wire fraud, money laundering and false statement, and up to 85 years in prison, the department said.

The United States has designated Hamas as a terror organization since 1997.

The Justice Department alleges that all in all, Sabassi used online, crowd-sourced charity drives to raise about $600,000 ostensibly for humanitarian aid in Gaza but in fact funneled money to Hamas-related groups and used some of the monies for his personal expenses, including rent and credit card payments.

According to the complaint, Sabassi promoted Hamas online openly, created and shared an hour-long compilation video of the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre in southern Israel and maintained close contact with Gaza Now, a Hamas-linked fundraising organization sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department.

“The defendant exploited the barbaric acts of terror perpetrated on Oct. 7, 2023, to attract donors to his fraudulent ‘humanitarian’ causes,” stated John Eisenberg, assistant U.S. attorney general for national security. “He allegedly raised hundreds of thousands of dollars through this scheme, which he then funneled to Hamas to help finance that group’s terror and violence and to line his own pockets.”

According to court filings, Sabassi and a co-conspirator discussed disguising fundraising efforts behind charitable branding and joked about naming a campaign after Hamas’s military wing before settling on the name of Sabassi’s nonprofit, Ikram.


Democratic socialist who accuses Israel of genocide leads DC mayoral primary
A democratic socialist who has sharply criticized Israel and pledged to defend Jews from antisemitism is in the lead in Tuesday’s Democratic primary for mayor in Washington, DC, possibly putting the nation’s capital on track to elect a progressive leader.

Janeese Lewis George, a DC councilmember, had received just over half of the 65 percent of votes that had been counted by Wednesday morning. Kenyan McDuffie, a moderate and former city councilmember, was in a distant second place.

The election is DC’s first using ranked-choice voting, so it could take some time to reach a final tabulation, and the results could change. Still, the early results have ignited optimism among Lewis George’s supporters — and concern among her critics, who include Jewish leaders in the city and beyond.

Some Jewish leaders have criticized Lewis George, who has accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, for vowing that, if she is elected, she would not attend “events focused on obfuscating the realities of occupation or promoting Zionism and apartheid” or join “political junkets to Israel.” She made those promises in responses to a questionnaire from the Metro DC Democratic Socialists of America, which subsequently endorsed her.

The race set up a fight over the future of Washington, DC, where the vast majority of voters are Democrats and the threat of US President Donald Trump’s interference in city affairs loomed large over the ballot box. The winner is heavily favored to win the general election in November and succeed Democratic Mayor Muriel E. Bowser, who is retiring after 12 years in office.

It also has fueled a national discourse about the growing viability of left-wing, pro-Palestinian leaders in local politics. Some have likened Lewis George to Zohran Mamdani, the democratic socialist elected mayor in New York City last year. A left-wing candidate is also poised to potentially become mayor of Los Angeles, while Chicago has had a progressive Democrat who is sharply critical of Israel since 2023.
‘Not a Close Call’: Left-Wing Group Declines To Endorse Socialist in Tight House Race Over ‘Point-Blank’ Refusal To Condemn Hamas
A left-wing New York political club declined to endorse Darializa Avila Chevalier, a democratic socialist backed by Zohran Mamdani, following her "point-blank" refusal to condemn Hamas and its Oct. 7 massacre.

Broadway Democrats voted against endorsing any candidate running for New York’s 13th Congressional District after a "spirited meeting," while its leaders, Curtis Arluck and Paula Diamond Roman, supported the Democratic incumbent, Rep. Adriano Espaillat, the group wrote in a Thursday newsletter.

"We usually support the younger, more progressive candidate," Arluck and Diamond Roman wrote. "But we cannot do this in the 13th District Congressional race, and it is not a close call."

"That is because Espaillat’s chief challenger, Darializa Avila Chevalier, refuses to condemn Hamas or anything about it, its October 7th and hundreds of other murderous assaults on Israeli people, its execution of its own political dissidents, its theocratic view of government and what a society is, its misogyny, its homophobia, its racism," the pair continued. "These statements about Chevalier’s positions are not mere rumor; at our own endorsement meeting, when asked to condemn Hamas and its October 7th attacks, she point-blank refused, turning the question into yet another attack on Israel."

During the March 12 meeting, Chevalier said, "‘The premise of that question, to me, ignores the 75 years of occupation that the Palestinian people have been subjected to and the conditions that folks were living under before this genocide began.’"

Chevalier otherwise appears to align with the brand of left-wing candidates Broadway Democrats typically endorses, including Mamdani, though Arluck acknowledged that he "falls too much into the ‘Free Palestine’ camp," giving "encouragement to the murderous leaders of Hamas." The group has also routinely supported candidates the Working Families Party has run or endorsed.


HHS to investigate American Psychological Association over alleged Jew-hatred, anti-Israel bias
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is investigating the American Psychological Association following allegations of antisemitic discrimination, the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law announced on Wednesday.

The Brandeis Center filed a complaint with HHS on Aug. 8, 2025, alleging that the APA has “become one of the worst purveyors of antisemitism and extremist ideology in healthcare.” The complaint states that the association, which has more than 172,000 members, receives millions of dollars in federal funding annually.

“We are very pleased that HHS has recognized these problems and is investigating the APA,” Rebecca Harris, a litigation staff attorney at the Brandeis Center, told JNS. (JNS sought comment from HHS and the APA.)

The complaint alleges that Jewish and Israeli current and former APA members reported that the association promoted “Decolonizing Therapy,” which treats Zionism as a mental illness. Harris said the association sponsors continuing education courses that psychologists are required to take to maintain their licenses, and states entrust it with accrediting those courses.

“You have anti-Israel activist psychologists teaching courses about ‘psychic militancy’ and teaching about how to incorporate the ‘resistance’ or the ‘Palestinian liberation struggle’ into the clinical practice of mental health care,” Harris told JNS. She added that these teachers also use mental health terminology, like calling Zionists “psychotic,” that “advances political activism that is dangerous to Americans, but particularly Jewish Americans.”

The complaint also alleges that the association’s conferences have featured sessions promoting “Decolonizing Therapy” and portraying the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel as attacks on military targets. It further cites messages sent by association members through listservs that “glorify Hamas, call for boycotts of Israel, compare Gaza to the Warsaw ghetto and pray for Israel’s destruction.”
Seattle community colleges district reviewing professor for anti-Israel email
The compliance office at Seattle Colleges District, which operates three community colleges with 35,000 students, is reviewing an email that David Quintero, a tenured Spanish language and literature professor who has taught at Seattle Central College for three decades, sent to a faculty listserv stating that the school should not employ Israelis.

JNS viewed the email, in which Quintero wrote to colleagues that it is a “problematic security level” that “Zionist Israelis with dual citizenship are looking for work all over the world and the United States.”

“Now we are going to have racist, genocidal, rapist killers sitting next to us?” he wrote. “How do they passed the security background check? Are our institutions ready to apply the federal, state, county and municipalities laws that apply to our own citizens, most ethnic minorities, or are going to except these criminals?”

The Seattle Colleges District states in its social media guidelines, which it links from its homepage, that it won’t tolerate “threats or personal attacks” or discrimination on the basis of religion or national origin.

In its academic freedom policies, it states that it “has the right to impose, and has imposed, reasonable restrictions intended to maintain an efficient, professional,and ethical workplace” and that staff are expected to follow district policies, including on “discrimination and harassment.”

Hana Gala, a business management professor at the school, told JNS that “this is not the first incident.”

“There was one following Oct. 7 that was so nasty I had to raise my voice,” she said.

The listserv was “designed specifically as a platform that the administration does not oversee,” she told JNS. “However, it is still a platform hosted by the colleges,” and “as any employer, they are responsible for preventing a creation of hostile work environment.”

“I am the one always encouraging students to get comfortable with opposing ideas,” Gala said. “This is not it.”


Germany records highest-ever number of antisemitic incidents
The number of antisemitic incidents documented in Germany in 2025 rose slightly from the previous year to a record 8,725, the Berlin-based Federal Association of Departments for Research and Information on Antisemitism (RIAS) said in its annual report on Wednesday.

“The number of incidents has remained consistently high since Oct. 7, 2023, and continues to affect the lives of Jewish people,” the report said, adding that “Israel-related antisemitism” accounted for 68% of all incidents.

The 2025 tally, up by 98 incidents from 2024, included 178 assaults and 257 cases involving threats.

The 2022 tally stood at 2,480 incidents.

Among the incidents documented in the 2025 report was a case in Kehl, a western border town near Strasbourg, where four members of the Jewish community were insulted and spat on outside a Jewish prayer room. In the central state of Hesse, a rabbi was shoved in a supermarket in front of his children and had his cellphone snatched. The perpetrators referenced Israel during the attack, according to RIAS.

The report documented four cases of “extreme violence,” including a terrorist attack at the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe in Berlin.
Israel rebukes Belarus leader over Holocaust comparison
Israel on Tuesday condemned remarks made by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko likening Israeli actions against Hamas in Gaza to the Holocaust.

“The remarks made by the President of Belarus—a country that knows all too well the horrors of the Holocaust committed on its own soil—in his interview with Al Arabiya are unacceptable and deeply disturbing,” said Israel’s Foreign Ministry.

“Any comparison between the Holocaust of the Jewish people and Israel’s just war against terrorism must be unequivocally rejected. Equally appalling is the revival of vile, outdated antisemitic conspiracies that should have long been consigned to history,” the statement continued.

Al Arabiya quoted Lukashenko, an autocratic ruler and ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, as saying: “Israel needs to be more careful and more cautious here. They have already received such a reputation in the international community that there is nowhere further to fall after bombing Gaza. It is a Holocaust.”

He added: “What Holocaust can Israelis speak of when they have killed so many people, especially women and children? They have wiped everything off the face of the Earth there. They are even planning to build some kind of resort on the bones of those people. It is complete nonsense.”


Travelodge to introduce antisemitism training for staff following ‘Free Palestine’ TV message
Travelodge is set to introduce antisemitism awareness training for staff across its hotels following an incident in which two visibly Jewish guests found the message "Free Palestine" displayed on the TV screens in their rooms.

Earlier this month, the two men were checking into the hotel chain's Manor House branch in north London when they discovered the message. One of the guests also alleged that he was met with hostility from a member of staff at the front desk.

Travelodge's chief executive, Jo Boydell, subsequently described the incident as "antisemitic", confirming that it had been reported to police and that an urgent internal investigation had been launched.

Now, the hotel chain has told the JC that the investigation is nearing completion but has been unable to identify the person responsible for placing the message on the television.

The company also confirmed it is in discussions with the Antisemitism Policy Trust about introducing antisemitism and cultural sensitivity training for staff.

A Travelodge spokesperson said: “We have treated this incident very seriously from the outset as there is no place for antisemitism in this country and we took action immediately to address this.

“We are now very close to concluding a robust internal investigation, but unfortunately, it has not been possible to determine exactly how or when the message was put on this individual TV. However, our internal focus on our policy of zero tolerance to discrimination, including antisemitism, will continue, and we are currently in discussions with a leading organisation in the Jewish community to facilitate an appropriate training programme on cultural sensitivity and antisemitism.”

The spokesperson added: “Our CEO has spoken with the guest to express our apologies for their experience. We have also been engaging closely with leaders and groups within the Jewish community to reiterate our absolute zero-tolerance stance on antisemitism and any form of discrimination and our commitment to ensuring that the Jewish community feels safe and welcome at all of our hotels.”
Raisin industry heir Bruce Lion charged in antisemitic harassment case in LA
Bruce Lion, a maverick in the San Joaquin Valley’s raisin industry, was charged Tuesday with three felony counts of making threats against his Pacific Palisades neighbor.

The 64-year-old Lion was arrested Saturday after allegedly hurling antisemitic insults at his Jewish neighbor.

Lion, a member of the family that owns one of the largest raisin enterprises in the region, is currently in a Los Angeles County jail on a $50,000 bond.

Charged with 'intent to terrorize'
He is charged with one count of using threats or force because of someone’s beliefs and two counts of threatening “ to commit a crime with intent to terrorize.” Lion is expected to be arraigned on Wednesday.

Lion's neighbor, Rabbi Zushe Cunin, told the California Post that he has been targeted by Lion since March, when Lion moved into the $5.3 million mansion next door to his Chabad.

The rabbi accused Lion of interrupting a congregation at his home while shouting antisemitic statements in front of children, according to the Post.

“It was horrific,” Cunin told the Post. “I’ve never experienced it, especially in front of kids. Little children. In this country, to have to see this kind of hatred and antisemitism is just unacceptable.”

During the late 1990s, Lion, his father, Al Lion Jr., and brothers managed Lion Raisins, the family’s 120-year-old business based in Selma.

Although Bruce Lion is hailed by some in the raisin industry as a leader, Fresno County Superior Court records also reveal his troubled past. In 2019, he pleaded no contest to a charge of making criminal threats. That same year, he pleaded no contest to a charge of assault and battery.


Tel Aviv remains world’s fourth-largest startup ecosystem despite wartime pressures
For the third consecutive year, Tel Aviv has been ranked the world’s fourth most valuable startup ecosystem, with a value of $250.3 billion, according to Startup Genome’s 2026 Global Startup Ecosystem Report (GSER). The report was unveiled this week at the VivaTech conference in Paris and shows the Israeli city behind only Silicon Valley, New York and London.

Strong subsectors included cybersecurity, which the report called “a defining pillar of Tel Aviv’s innovation economy”; AI, big data & analytics, highlighting Apple’s acquisition of AI startup Q.AI for nearly $2 billion; and life sciences, reinforced by research institutions, international partnerships, and sector convenings that connect startups with investors and clinicians.

Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai described the city’s innovation as “part of the identity of the city and its way of life,” crediting the municipality’s continued efforts “to support, assist and be home to the leading Israeli startups driving the global industry, as well as to some of the most important and largest international companies in the world.”

Startup Genome founder and president Marc Penzel added: “What sets Tel Aviv apart globally isn’t just its ranking, but the concentrated depth of talent and innovation driving it—especially in AI and big data, cyber and life sciences. Holding the world’s 4th place year after year signals an ecosystem that has built a sustained competitive advantage in the sectors defining the evolving global economy.”





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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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