Brendan O'Neill: Ceuta and the dangerous insanity of anti-Zionism
From the left, the Palestinian-American writer Susan Abulhawa said the rushing of Ceuta was ‘completely engineered’ by Israel and its allies. Their dastardly aim? To ‘re-educate’ Spain and force it to ‘fall back in line with Western imperial objectives’. Rich-boy keffiyeh clown Hasan Piker echoed this drivel, titillating his Ivy League followers by saying Israel and America ‘got the Moroccan government to send, like, 40,000 people into Spanish administered territory’. It was ‘classic Israel’, he said: a ‘shameless’ effort to destabilise a critical nation.Motherland Blues
That there is no proof whatsoever that someone in the Jewish State phoned up Morocco and said ‘Unleash the migrants’ matters not one jot to the Israel haters. Indeed, conspiracy theorists are positively allergic to facts. Badger them for proof that the Jews engineered the Ceuta crisis, or coolly explain to them how Building 7 fell on 9/11, and they’ll say you’ve been ‘got at’. Evidence itself is suspect in the loony bin of anti-West conspiracism. They just scream ‘Israel launched an Islamic invasion of Spain!’ – as Alex Jones did – and hope that the loudness of their claims will drown out the insanity of them.
In Spain itself, lefty influencer Ana Alcalde – also known as ‘Gaza Barbie’ after she sailed to Gaza on one of those dumb flotillas – said Ceuta was part of a ‘plan’ to ‘take down’ the government of Pedro Sánchez. Even a Spanish official – transport minister Óscar Puente Santiago – hinted that the long fingers of the Jewish State were wrapping round the neck of Spain. ‘Well, things are starting to get pretty clear’, he said in response to an Israeli official’s tweet about Spain’s ‘colonial enclaves’ in North Africa. His tweet was interpreted by many as support for ‘the growing conspiracy theory’ that Israel ‘helped orchestrate the large-scale migrant incursion’.
This Jew-blaming that spread through the digital highways faster than the Moroccan men barged into Ceuta captures how unhinged and lethal anti-Zionism has become. It confirmed that it is the undisputed heir to classical Jew hatred. Jews were once accused of inflicting plague, poison and social mayhem on Europe. Now the Jewish nation is accused of inflicting ‘swarms’ of migrants on Europe. These conspiracy theories might be separated by centuries, but they share two striking things in common. First, a glaring lack of proof, the wilful sacrifice of reasoned thought at the altar of a neo-religious conviction that despicable ‘foreign’ elements are masterminding our moral downfall. And secondly, the Jews. It’s them again. The Jewish people brought plague to Europe, now the Jewish nation is bringing ‘plagues’ of foreigners. Different millennium, same vile racism.
The Ceuta conspiracy theory also shines a light on the double bigotry of the woke ideology. In the woke universe, a demented animus for the world’s only Jewish state sits comfortably alongside a cloying, patrician pity for Muslims. The Jews are seen as the sinister authors of every earthly wrong, and Muslims as the hapless victims of those wrongs. So in the Ceuta theory, we see the Jewish nation re-imagined as demonically powerful and we see the wholesale stripping of Moroccan Muslims of any agency whatsoever. They become mere tools, instructed on how to act by the wily Jewish State. The neo-racialists of the credentialled classes see the world as being inhabited by devils and children, the former requiring their performative fury, the latter their aristocratic sympathy. Muslims are dehumanised too under the rule of the hyper-racialists.
Anti-Zionism has become the suffocating religion of the cultural establishment. Every social ill – from war to broken borders to the rise of the far right – is giddily traced back to Israel. Not only does this hang yet more target signs around the necks of Jews, it also obscures the truth about Europe’s social problems. It is our own governments’ suicidal abandonment of the ideal of national sovereignty that has caused the migrant crisis, not the hand-rubbing plotting of the Jews of the Holy Land. Like their forebears in the pitchfork Middle Ages, anti-Zionists prefer to live in a house of lies than to confront the truth of their world, and themselves.
Yet the Ukraine war was already eroding the logic behind that restraint. By the summer of 2022, after failing to achieve a rapid victory and expending large quantities of precision-guided weaponry, Moscow had turned to Tehran for attack drones. Russian officials visited an Iranian airfield twice to inspect weapons-capable systems; deliveries followed, and Iranian-designed Shaheds soon became a central component of Russia’s attacks on Ukrainian cities and civilian infrastructure. Iran, one of the powers Russia had previously attempted to balance in Syria, was becoming an increasingly important supplier to the Russian war effort.Engineering Hate
At roughly the same time, Moscow began withdrawing or repositioning some personnel and equipment from Syria to meet the demands of the Ukraine front. In August 2022, satellite imagery indicated that Russia had removed an S-300 air-defense battery from Syria and shipped it toward the Black Sea, apparently to reinforce defenses closer to the Ukrainian theater. Russia did not abandon its principal Syrian bases, but reports of withdrawals and repositioning suggested that Iran and Hezbollah were seeking to fill some of the resulting gaps. The contradiction was becoming difficult to ignore: Israel was preserving its accommodation with Moscow partly because Russia could restrain Iran in Syria, even as Russia’s battlefield failures made it more dependent on Iranian weapons and less capable of performing that restraining role.
The community most exposed by this ambiguity was not in Jerusalem. When the invasion began, Russia’s core Jewish community still numbered roughly 155,000 people, along with a much larger population estimated at around 600,000 eligible for Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return. Three days after the invasion, Boruch Gorin, a senior spokesman for Russia’s Chabad-affiliated Federation of Jewish Communities, wrote bluntly on Facebook, “Stop the war!” On March 2, Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar—nicknamed “Putin’s Rabbi,” given their close relationship—issued his own carefully worded appeal to “stop this madness to prevent future deaths.” Their statements were striking because Putin had spent two decades cultivating a tacit compact with Chabad: After 70 years in which the Soviet state had repressed religious life and sharply constrained Jewish practice, the Kremlin supported the rebuilding of Jewish institutions, while Chabad’s leaders generally avoided confronting the government.
By the summer of 2022, Moscow was pressuring the institutions connecting Russian Jews to Israel. Russia’s Justice Ministry asked a Moscow court to dissolve the Russian branch of the Jewish Agency, the organization responsible for facilitating aliyah. The case was formally framed around alleged violations of Russian privacy law, but it unfolded amid deteriorating relations with Israel and a growing exodus of Russian citizens. By July, nearly 20,000 immigrants had arrived in Israel from Russia since the invasion began, with similar numbers arriving from Ukraine. Then Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid initially warned that closing the agency would be “a grave event” with consequences for bilateral relations, then softened his language, emphasizing Israel’s readiness for dialogue while “maintaining the important relations between the countries.”
The same community Putin had long presented as evidence of his tolerance could now serve as leverage against Israel. In October, Alexei Pavlov, an assistant secretary of Russia’s Security Council, described Chabad as a supremacist cult in the state-owned newspaper Argumenty i Fakty. Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev subsequently apologized, saying the remarks were erroneous, and stressed that they did not represent the council’s official position. Even so, the episode alarmed Russian Jewish leaders: Former Moscow chief rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt urged Jews who were able to leave Russia to do so, while Boruch Gorin warned that official antisemitism would mean “the end of a Jewish presence in Russia.”
Putin’s own rhetoric was shifting as well. At the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in June 2023, he defended Russia’s absurd claim that it was fighting to “denazify” Ukraine by turning directly to Zelenskyy’s Jewish identity. “I have a lot of Jewish friends,” Putin said. “They say that Zelenskyy is not Jewish, that he is a disgrace to the Jewish people.” Putin, who had spent two decades presenting himself as a protector of Russian Jews and a guardian of Holocaust memory, was now claiming the authority to distinguish authentic Jews from shameful ones and conscripting Jewish suffering into the ideological justification for his war.
After Oct. 7, the deterioration became even harder to disguise. Moscow blamed the conflict’s eruption largely on the failure of American policy and intensified its criticism of Israel’s campaign in Gaza, while Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the bombardment violated international law and risked producing a catastrophe lasting decades. Less than three weeks after the massacre, Russia hosted a Hamas delegation led by senior official Moussa Abu Marzouk in Moscow, prompting an angry Israeli protest that the Kremlin was sending “a message legitimizing terrorism against Israelis.”
Days later, an antisemitic mob stormed the airport in Russia’s Makhachkala, Dagestan, searching for rumored Jewish and Israeli passengers arriving on a flight from Tel Aviv. Hundreds of men overran the terminal and runway, inspecting vehicles and demanding to see passengers’ documents. Putin condemned the violence only indirectly, blaming Ukrainian agents acting on behalf of Western intelligence services, without presenting evidence, rather than confronting the antisemitism animating the riot. The Kremlin did not organize the mob, and Russian authorities later prosecuted participants; by July 2025, Russian courts had sentenced 135 people in connection with the riot. But the episode exposed how quickly official anti-Western and anti-Israeli narratives could merge with older hatreds inside Russia itself.
By then, well over 40,000 Russian citizens eligible under the Law of Return had immigrated to Israel. Those who remained belonged to a community Moscow and Jerusalem had spent two decades treating as a strategic asset: evidence of Putin’s professed tolerance, and an electoral and demographic constituency in Israel.
However, the rupture did not happen. Israel preserved its access to Russia, while Moscow stopped short of severing relations with Jerusalem. But beneath that continuity, the arrangement was decaying. Russia was becoming more dependent on Iran, less capable of regulating Syria, more willing to pressure Jewish institutions, and increasingly prepared to align itself diplomatically and rhetorically against Israel. The relationship survived Ukraine and Oct. 7. The strategic logic that had sustained it did not.
REVIEW: 'Unsafe At MIT: A Chronicle of a Campus War on the Jews' by Yossi Sheffi
Yossi Sheffi is the author of this intensely disturbing book about the experience of American and Israeli Jews on campus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the aftermath of the October 7 massacre. Sheffi holds an endowed chair in engineering systems at MIT and is a member of the faculty in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, the Institute for Data, Systems, and Society, and the Operations Research Center. He is a leading expert in supply chain management and the author of nine books in his areas of professional expertise. He has been a member of the MIT faculty for almost 50 years.
Sheffi's 10th book is also the first of its kind. Sheffi commissioned an unnamed journalist to interview dozens of American and Israeli Jewish undergraduate and graduate students, postdocs, and faculty about their experience on campus following October 7. Based on those interviews, the text of the book consists largely of a chronological narrative of the 2023-24 school year recounting their experience.
As the introduction puts it, "This is the story of what it felt like to those whose lives and studies were turned upside down." Like Ken Kesey's fictional One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Unsafe at MIT takes us inside the asylum at MIT.
Sheffi's narrative demonstrates that the anti-Israel and antisemitic inmates ran the asylum. By contrast with One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest's Nurse Ratched, MIT president Sally Kornbluth proved herself to be a spineless weasel. Kornbluth's betrayal of the applicable rules governing student protest on campus is one of the book's most powerful motifs. Unlike her counterparts at Columbia and Harvard, Kornbluth nevertheless kept her job.
Sheffi himself is an Israeli immigrant to the United States. He was born in Mandatory Palestine. He emigrated to the United States from Jerusalem in 1975 to pursue his graduate studies at MIT. Many of the students and postdocs interviewed are Israelis with a background of service in the Israel Defense Forces. Sheffi does not make a point of it, but MIT appears to be unusual in this respect. The pain of these students permeates the book.
MIT is a magnet for those seeking the development of technical expertise that has made Israel a multidimensional powerhouse. October 7 hit these students hard. MIT provides a window onto the wave of hatred of Jews and the Jewish state that manifested itself on elite campuses following the massacre. It should be noted that the students whose experience forms the core of this story are mostly identified only by first names or pseudonymous first names.
Simon & Schuster Gives Book Deal to Palestinian Writer Who Calls Jews ‘Ghouls,’ ‘Cockroaches’ and ‘Demons’: Publisher Praises Her ‘Lyrical’ Books
A disgraced Palestinian author who has openly celebrated the murder of Jews and Christians has received a coveted book deal from Simon & Schuster, the prestigious New York City publishing house, the Washington Free Beacon can report.
Susan Abulhawa, who has attacked "Jewish Supremacist Vampires" and called Hamas's Oct. 7 massacre "a spectacular moment," has reached an agreement for Atria Books, a Simon & Schuster imprint, to republish two of her novels in September.
Jessica Laino, a spokeswoman for Simon & Schuster, sent a press release in July to the Free Beacon trumpeting the news and praising Abulhawa's "signature lyrical voice" and "nuanced characters."
Laino said Atria would rerelease Abulhawa's past novels Mornings in Jenin and The Blue Between Sky and Water on Sept. 29, 2026.
Atria is a prestigious imprint that has published bestselling authors such as Colleen Hoover, Brad Thor, Janet Evanovich, and Philippa Gregory.
Abulhawa first came to wide public attention months after the Free Beacon revealed that Rama Duwaji, the N-word-slinging, Oct. 7-celebrating wife of Mayor Zohran Mamdani, had provided illustrations for an essay published in the Abulhawa book Every Moment Is a Life.
The essay was published in February in Everything Is Political—an offshoot of self-described "environmental & social justice nonprofit organization" Slow Factory.
Abulhawa's record of posting explosive content denigrating Jews and celebrating violence was evident long before the Duwaji collaboration.
In one December 2025 post on X, Abulhawa wrote that Israelis are "rootless, soulless ghouls" and in September of that year called Israel a "cultureless, rootless human aberration in the form of a manufactured 'nation,'" adding that "we live in the time of jewish supremacist demons."
Also in September, Abulhawa described a pro-Israel commentator as a "lying Jewish supremacist cockroach" and bemoaned "Dual loyalty zionists."
Abulhawa described Israelis as "demonic parasite[s]" in a November post in which she said "Israel must be dismantled if humanity is going to have any chance at a moral future" and in another post said "we will have our revenge someday" against the "sons of satan."
The torrent of hate even led Mamdani—a long-documented opposer of Israel—to condemn his wife's erstwhile collaborator.
"I think that that rhetoric is patently unacceptable. I think it's reprehensible," Mamdani said of Abulhawa at a March 13 press conference, when asked about his wife's artistic collaboration with the writer (Mamdani claims Duwaji didn't know about the postings).
Abulhawa's hate-filled rants have continued even after Simon & Schuster announced the book deal. In a July 31 post on X Abulhawa declared the Holocaust had "lost its meaning" and that "the whole world is sick of hearing about it."
"These clowns invoke that genocide with every perceived slight," Abulhawa complained. "There is an extreme overrepresentation of Jews in every branch of government, media, and culture."
Susan Abulhawa has attacked “Jewish Supremacist Vampires” and called Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre “a spectacular moment.”
— Washington Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) August 3, 2026
That does not appear to be an impediment for Atria Books, a Simon & Schuster imprint that reached an agreement with Abulhawa to republish two of her novels in… pic.twitter.com/5DrHdf8E5A
She has also bemoaned “Dual loyalty zionists” and said, “Israel must be dismantled if humanity is going to have any chance at a moral future.” pic.twitter.com/5C0VJhrb26
— Washington Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) August 3, 2026
2/
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) August 3, 2026
Yeah, we're really not feeling the concern. pic.twitter.com/TDgtExV3AH
Tomorrow, the Royal Commission will examine the protest at the Sydney Opera House on October 9, 2023.
— Australian Jewish Association (@AustralianJA) August 3, 2026
Interestingly, they chose not to call AJA for that block even though we could shed light on an important aspect.
It was AJA who first obtained and released the footage of the… pic.twitter.com/msDbSdnvPH
They treat our tax money with such disrespect
— Australian Jewish Association (@AustralianJA) August 3, 2026
"Creative Australia did not attempt to recoup a grant from controversial author Matt Chun, even though he has been under police investigation for his newsletter attacking victims of the Bondi mass shooting, it was revealed."
Do you… pic.twitter.com/QTrjKQvRVa
That didn't take long.
— Australian Jewish Association (@AustralianJA) August 3, 2026
The memorial has been vandalised.
Because this is the reality for Jews in this country. pic.twitter.com/bY85tNmRsL
This week the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion is going to hear about protests & policing. So it's worth reminiscing on Palestinian protests in Australia since October 9th 2023. Nasser Mashni leads this one with his mission to "make Palestine palatable." pic.twitter.com/I1xuajbrVw
— Hava Mendelle (@havamendelle) August 3, 2026
Ben Shapiro: This INSANE Clip Shows The True THREAT Of Islam
Oxford Union holds a debate over whether Islam is a threat to the West… and advocates for Islam proceed to own themselves; the horseshoe Right, led by Tucker Carlson, prepares for a third party launch; and Sophie Cunningham is so hated by the WNBA that she’s called for fouls when someone elbows her in the face.
2/ Here he explains “Islamic Foreign Policy”, in which “the Zionists have to go”, by which he means “those people who have designs in the Muslim world and want to take resources and want to attack and kill Muslims and occupy Muslim land, as they have done in Israel and occupied… pic.twitter.com/uZK0XOlB92
— Jonathan Sacerdoti (@jonsac) August 3, 2026
4/ Perhaps most shocking for me is how Abdullah al-Andalusi, who debated against me in Oxford, explains the Islamic punishment of chopping off a thief’s hands. He says it has been portrayed as barbaric, but “people don’t understand the conditions” which he lays out. So for those… pic.twitter.com/x9urHzEp7y
— Jonathan Sacerdoti (@jonsac) August 3, 2026
6/ A 2015 report in The Independent says that “for almost two years” he was employed at Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, which has statutory responsibility for the inspection of the police forces of England and Wales. The report quotes an HMIC spokesman saying he “was…
— Jonathan Sacerdoti (@jonsac) August 3, 2026
Since Zohran Mamdani took office as Mayor of New York City, there has been a troubling rise in hate crimes targeting Jews across the city.
— Danny Danon 🇮🇱 דני דנון (@dannydanon) August 3, 2026
This is not just our opinion. The NYPD’s own statistics show a sharp increase in antisemitic hate crimes since January 2026.@NYCMayor… pic.twitter.com/CHug5HSqjj
Call me Back: Is Abdul El-Sayed Bigger Than Mamdani? - with Mark Halperin
Why could the upcoming Michigan Democratic Senate primary signal a seismic shift about the Democratic party and U.S. policy on Israel? As Michigan Democrats prepare to choose a nominee for the U.S. Senate, Dan Senor sits down with political journalist Mark Halperin to discuss why this race has become a flashpoint in the debate over Israel, progressive politics, and the future of the Democratic Party. They examine why progressives are demonizing Israel and AIPAC, the role of The New York Times and other media in shifting the debate, and why Abdul El‑Sayed’s campaign may have implications that extend to the 2028 presidential election.
In this episode:
1. Why the Michigan Senate primary matters more than ever
2. How Israel became the defining issue in this race
3. Surprising changes inside the Democratic coalition
4. How the New York Times and social media impacts the narrative
5. Who is Abdul El‑Sayed and what’s behind his success
6. Why El-Sayed could be more influential than Mayor Mamdani
7. Implications of an El-Sayed victory for 2028 Democratic politics
This Michigan Imam and big El-Sayed backer:
— U.S. Senator John Fetterman (@SenFettermanPA) August 3, 2026
Pro-
✔️ Hamas
✔️ Hezbollah
✔️ Iran
This explains why they were both “sad” after we incinerated Khamenei. pic.twitter.com/RI8DIlHvcy
CAIR is working "in ways that you see and ways that you don't"
— Canary Mission (@canarymission) August 2, 2026
Abdul El-Sayed has deep ties to the Council on American–Islamic Relations (CAIR) and has helped fundraise for them for years.
Is El-Sayed a Democrat, or merely running to advance CAIR’s agenda? pic.twitter.com/m1T8NyOj19
Extremist Michigan Imam Who Hosted El-Sayed Urges Followers To Turn Out To Vote and 'Deal the Zionist a Blow,' Frames Primary as Epic Fight Against 'Puppet' of Israel
Michigan imam Hassan Qazwini forcefully urged his congregants to turn out in force for Abdul El-Sayed on Tuesday, casting the Democratic Senate primary as an epic battle between a "clean" candidate and a "Zionist candidate" involved in a "plot being schemed by the pro-Israeli lobby."
Qazwini—the head of the Islamic Institute of America who has been accused by socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) of "spreading antisemitic conspiracy theories"—encouraged congregants in sermons on July 24 and July 31 to support El-Sayed over primary opponent Haley Stevens. His sermons are part of an 11th-hour push on behalf of El-Sayed that makes clear the imam views Israel as the central issue in the Senate race.
The support is mutual. El-Sayed headlined the grand opening of the Islamic Institute of America on June 6, offering "hearty congratulations" to Qazwini and praising his "incredible masjid," a 67,000-square-foot facility that features five golden domes.
In a July 24 sermon, Qazwini called Stevens, a pro-Israel moderate, a "puppet" of Israel and invoked tropes about Jewish influence and money, while framing a vote for El-Sayed as both a "moral responsibility" and a "religious duty."
"Israel cares about its own interest and the money, the cash the U.S. pays it, because Israel and the pro-Israeli lobby, all they see in America … is a cash cow," said Qazwini, whose father was appointed to Iran's judiciary by Iran's first supreme leader, Ayatollah Khomeini.
"Beware of the plot being schemed by the pro-Israeli lobby for you. They don't care about you, Michiganders. All they care about [is] their own interest," Qazwini went on. Qazwini, who formally endorsed El-Sayed last week, also urged worshippers to view their votes as a "huge and powerful weapon" to strike back at "Zionists."
Michigan Shiite Scholar Mohammed Qazwini: It Is Mandatory to Support Brother Abdul El-Sayed; Every Muslim Man and Woman Has an Obligation to Elect Him Because He Is a Muslim and Will Support Muslim Issues in This Country pic.twitter.com/dCwezhuu3V
— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) August 3, 2026
Dearborn Heights Shiite Scholar Hassan Qazwini Ahead of Senate Primary Elections: Voting Is a Religious Duty – You Have a Powerful Weapon, Don't Fail to Use It; Israel and Its Lobby Treat America as a Cash Cow; Michiganders Should Beware of AIPAC's Plots Against Them pic.twitter.com/8sOoPAtpA8
— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) August 3, 2026
AIPAC draws attention in Michigan Senate primary, but voters say it is not top issue
Working as a morning producer for Detroit’s Local 4 television station, Noelle Gray has had a front-row seat to the flood of political advertising in Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary.
Amid the barrage, one thing stood out to her: how much money AIPAC was pouring into the race between US Rep. Haley Stevens, a pro-Israel moderate, and former county health official Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive and staunch Israel critic.
“It concerns me a little bit because it makes me a little leery of foreign interests being infiltrated into the state of Michigan,” said Gray, 27, who on Sunday stopped by her polling place in the Detroit suburb of Oak Park to vote early. “I want to support somebody who is for the state of Michigan. I love Michigan. Born and raised here my entire life, and it worries me on corporate and international interests. Are you really focused on Michiganders?”
Ultimately, Gray said, spending by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s affiliated super PAC did not drive her vote. She voted for El-Sayed because of her concerns about data centers and immigration enforcement under ICE.
“I would hope putting someone in the position of our Senate will represent our interests, keep us safe, but also protect the people who are here,” Gray said of her decision.
The lobby has become nearly impossible to miss in the race. AIPAC’s super PAC has spent over $30 million to support Stevens’ campaign, toppling its previous records in a bid to prevent one of its most vocal Democratic critics from reaching the Senate.
El-Sayed, who is currently leading Stevens by as much as 16 points in recent polling, has made opposition to the group a defining feature of his campaign, inveighing against AIPAC in the debates ahead of Tuesday’s primary and in his attack ads against Stevens. “AIPAC is perfectly fine with either Congresswoman Stevens or Mike Rogers,” El-Sayed wrote in a post on X earlier this month, referring to the Republican Senate nominee. “If either of them win, Israel wins.”
Polling in Michigan suggests widespread opposition to AIPAC among Democratic voters. A survey conducted earlier this month of 500 likely Michigan Democratic primary voters on behalf of Detroit News/WDIV-TV found that 49% have an unfavorable opinion of AIPAC, while 12% view AIPAC favorably, and 39% were neutral. An April poll conducted by Data for Progress for Zeteo and Drop Site News, both of which frequently criticize Israel, found that 64% of likely Democratic primary voters said they are less likely to support a Senate candidate who receives AIPAC donations.
Josh Pasek, a professor of communication and media and political science at the University of Michigan, said that he did not think the “bulk of voters” in the state were voting primarily based on issues concerning Israel and AIPAC.
“I think most people care a whole lot more about substantive issues,” Pasek said. He added, however, that the issue was particularly important for Jewish and Muslim voters, the populations of which he said were “sizeable” in the state. Michigan is home to more than 240,000 Muslims and roughly 129,000 Jews.
These "comedians" had a bake sale for AIPAC to show their support for Abdul El-Sayed.
— Hen Mazzig (@HenMazzig) August 3, 2026
This was after they went viral for harassing workers at a UPS store.
The most ridiculous part isn't that Michiganders genuinely just bought cupcakes from them to support their stated cause.… pic.twitter.com/jVGCPCI6xV
Melat Kiros backtracks from conciliatory tone on Israel, antisemitism after far-left backlash
Far-left Colorado congressional candidate Melat Kiros backtracked on Sunday from her conciliatory tone in a PBS interview on the need for progressives to formulate a policy on Israel that does not engage in antisemitism.
Appearing on “Firing Line with Margaret Hoover” on Saturday morning, Kiros, who ousted incumbent Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) in a Denver-area district in June, said her “greatest concern right now is that the State of Israel is losing support all across the political spectrum” and that progressives are “leaving a vacuum” for far-right commentators like Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens to fill by “pretending to care about Palestinian safety when really it’s just masking their overt hatred for Jewish people.”
“If we are not presenting our vision of what we believe in with our democratic values — that extends not to the Palestinian people but to the Israeli people and the Jewish people — you know, that land has a distinctly Jewish character, a distinctly Christian character, a distinctly Muslim character,” she said. “We, I think, are doing a disservice to the people of that region by not offering our progressive vision in a way that isn’t immediately swatted down as, you know, bigoted or antisemitism.”
Kiros’ comments marked a short-lived departure from her stances on the campaign trail, where she had been vocally critical of Israel and was criticized for refusing to deem the 2025 firebombing attack on a march raising awareness for Israeli hostages in Boulder as antisemitic. Her candidacy came after she was fired from the law firm Sidley Austin in 2023 for writing a public letter denouncing the hundreds of law firms that signed a petition calling on law schools to do a better job addressing antisemitism on their campuses, a letter she said wrongly conflated criticism of Israel with antisemitism.
The 29-year-old doctoral student, who was backed by the Democratic Socialists of America in her campaign, quickly reversed course after the interview aired. Responding on Sunday to criticism on X from Al Jazeera producer Sana Saeed, Kiros said she “fumbled this line, plain and simple.”
“To be clear, my foreign policy priority is ending Israel’s occupation, apartheid, and genocide in Palestine. I also reject the notion that anti-Zionism is antisemitism, and it’s important that we distinguish the two in order to combat actual antisemitism,” she continued.
Remember when Mamdani refused to attend the Israel Day Parade because of his "views on the Israeli government."
— Yehuda Teitelbaum (@chalavyishmael) August 3, 2026
Well today, Zohran attended the Ecuadorian parade in NYC.
So let’s take a quick look at Ecuador’s human rights record.
To start, Ecuador’s own Truth Commission… pic.twitter.com/1jiegUZ2qt
She also tagged AIPAC Tracker in a campaign post.
— Yehuda Teitelbaum (@chalavyishmael) August 3, 2026
That account has called evidence of Hamas sexual violence “rape propaganda."
One of its founders has described herself as a Marxist and lives in Germany while working to influence American politics. pic.twitter.com/1C4aXv31Nt
Mirah Wood, co-chair of DSA’s Middle East and Africa subcommittee, describes Hamas terrorists as loving and tender men who hand flowers to children.
— Yehuda Teitelbaum (@chalavyishmael) August 3, 2026
Her own tenderness consists of telling Jews they come from “the most inbred population on earth.”
Her account is now private. https://t.co/8YRhTSCIbW pic.twitter.com/68s99RNnhZ
Congressional candidate Oliver Larkin is "over the moon" to be endorsed by DSA. Here he is rubbing shoulders with DSA leader Cliff Connolly, a man who glorifies Hamas, openly defends the October 7 massacre, and thinks the U.S. is the world's "Great Satan."
— Canary Mission (@canarymission) August 3, 2026
Larkin, are these the… pic.twitter.com/k5lxEQMFoH
Tucker Carlson and guest Darryl Cooper claim that backlash against Islam is a recent op pushed by Jews (such as @LauraLoomer): "One of the grossest things that has come out, in just the last couple of years, really since Gaza."
— Nathan Livingstone (MilkBarTV) (@TheMilkBarTV) August 4, 2026
This is a claim Carlson has been pushing for quite… pic.twitter.com/mDhkmppPPc
Palestinist @_ZachFoster argues it can't be that Palestinists burned down the montreal restaurant because they would prefer to do it while Jews are inside.
— Yossi Gestetner (@YossiGestetner) August 3, 2026
Palestinists don't even get how poisonously-depraved they are. https://t.co/OOKvw5a5aa
NYPost Editorial: No blame-Israel conspiracy theory is too dumb for Hasan Piker & Co.
Proving again that there’s nothing — nothing! — they can’t blame on the Jews, lefties are claiming the bum-rush of 50,000 people across the Morocco/Spanish border was an Israeli plot.
Top DSA influencer and 9/11 enthusiast Hasan Piker, between campaign stops for socialist insurgents in Democratic primaries, told his Twitch audience: “Israel and America got the Moroccan government to send like 40,000 people into Spanish administered territory.”
Why and how did Israel manage that, Hasan? “I dunno, man,” he explained with his usual insight. “It’s not my damn fault.”
But it’s not just the puerile podcaster pushing this poppycock: Kenneth Roth, the longtime head of Human Rights Watch, thinks he knows Israel’s motive for supposedly tricking 50,000 Moroccans into climbing barbed-wire fences to invade Ceuta.
Spain, Roth explains, “controls both sides” of the Strait of Gibraltar and could “potentially block Israeli access to the Atlantic,” just as Iran blocked the Strait of Hormuz — so it makes sense that Jerusalem wants its nominal ally Morocco in charge of Gibraltar-adjacent Ceuta.
Yet Spain doesn’t “control both sides” of that strait; Britain owns Gibraltar.
And Tehran “closed” the Strait of Hormuz as a Hail Mary response to intense US-Israeli bombing; the idea that Madrid would risk the world’s wrath by closing an international waterway out of pique over Gaza is laughable.
Other marble-minded antisemites, including Young Turks host Ana Kasparian and actor Javier Bardem, also pushed the conspiracy theory.
Of course, this follows recent claims that the Jewish state was behind everything from Charlie Kirk’s assassination to Egypt’s loss in the World Cup Round of 16 to the implosion of Graham Platner’s candidacy in Maine.
Spain’s migration crisis in Ceuta became the latest excuse to blame Israel.
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) August 3, 2026
What was presented as geopolitical analysis relied on the antisemitic “hidden hand” trope, and was broadcast in different languages and across the political spectrum.#Spain #Ceuta #Israel pic.twitter.com/7h9qp3dti5
1/7
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) August 3, 2026
Why did tens of thousands of Moroccans suddenly cross into Ceuta?
Why were pro-Israel voices discussing Spain’s African enclaves – and was Spain being “punished”?
Was Israel behind it?
Here's the real story. 🧵 pic.twitter.com/sNhsDEDBlO
3/7
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) August 3, 2026
Spain’s double standard becomes even clearer when you understand Ceuta’s unusual status.
Ceuta and Melilla are Spanish-controlled cities on the North African mainland. Morocco claims both, while Spain insists they are integral parts of its territory.
They are also the…
5/7
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) August 3, 2026
Spain eventually backed down.
In 2022, after months of pressure from Rabat, Madrid abruptly endorsed Morocco’s Western Sahara autonomy proposal as the “most serious, credible and realistic” basis for resolving the dispute.
Spain stopped short of formally recognizing…
7/7
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) August 3, 2026
What evidence shows Israel organized, financed or coordinated the Ceuta crossing?
None.
The crisis grew out of Spain’s own border and migration policies: a Supreme Court ruling, trafficking networks and Madrid’s dependence on Morocco to enforce the border.
Spain helped…
The March (1990 film)What is going on? Algeria isn't exactly friends with Morocco. It's "hard to believe" that Islamic countries that hate each other would ever collude to invade the West!
— Leslie Kajomovitz (@kikas6652) August 3, 2026
Not to mention, we were told none of the "minors" who "entered" Ceuta would ever reach Europe, and that "most… https://t.co/u82yl64MCd
The March is a 1990 British drama film directed by David Wheatley that was originally aired by BBC1 for "One World Week". The plot concerns a charismatic Muslim leader from Sudan who leads 250,000 Africans on a 3,000-mile march towards Europe with the slogan "We are poor because you are rich."[2]
The owner of the Palestinian cafe Shakeshuka in London spread the lie that “dark forces” of Israel and US were behind the Ceuta crisis. Pedro Sanchez said it was human traffickers exploiting a legal ruling in Spain. These conspiracies create hate against Jews. pic.twitter.com/LUA4ZKEZEJ
— Heidi Bachram (@HeidiBachram) August 3, 2026
Here’s him hugging Holocaust denier Sarah Wilkinson and that’s not the only horrible person he’s embraced. Shakeshuka is a den of hate. https://t.co/Nwqu3e7UiY
— Heidi Bachram (@HeidiBachram) August 3, 2026
Post any outrageous lie (the more egregious, the better) about Israel and what it did or does. Sprinkle some gore details you invented right in your head to attract more attention, and here you go - online antisemitic mob will bring you thousands of likes for your monetization https://t.co/jC7oOHdPLh pic.twitter.com/vbUUpy3BVi
— Michael Elgort (@just_whatever) August 3, 2026
No discernible shift among progressive LGBT activists, groups on Islamist threat after Berlin attack, experts say
In June, participants at a Pride event in San Francisco told Scott Wiener, a Jewish California Democratic state senator, that he has “been terrible on Gaza” and that he “stopped being queer the moment you started supporting Israel.” They did so even though the politician, who is gay, has accused Israel of committing “genocide.”Exclusive: British antisemitic influencer who blamed Israel for Berlin Pride attack exposed as convicted attempted robber
Weeks later, an Islamist attacker killed a woman and injured 29 people at a Berlin Pride event. Officials have identified the attacker as Abdul Ballout, a German citizen of Lebanese descent who officials say tried to join ISIS and published terror propaganda on social media. Police shot and killed Ballout.
Experts told JNS there doesn’t seem to be a shift since the attack in the ways that progressive LGBT activists and groups view the threat of Islamism.
“Maybe individuals, but publicly not at all,” Deborah Lipstadt, a former U.S. special envoy to monitor and combat Jew-hatred and current Dorot professor of modern Jewish history and Holocaust studies at Emory University, told JNS.
“There’s long been what scholars call and analysts call a ‘red-green alliance,’ an alliance between the Muslim world (green) and the far-left (red) world,” she said.
“They agree on nothing,” she told JNS. “Think about it. Feminism, type of government, economy. But the one thing on which they march in lockstep is Jew-hatred” and “hostility and opposition to Israel as a Jewish state.”
“It’s an absurd coalition but a very dangerous one,” she said. “It reeks with self-righteousness and a sense of shared victimhood.”
JNS asked Lipstadt what it would take for there to be a shift. She said that she thinks back to how both “Islamist jihadists” and the “Iranian liberal left” welcomed Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s return to Iran in 1979.
“They were sure that with the arrival of the ayatollah, in fact he promised them as such, there would be freedom and liberty the way there wasn’t under the shah,” she told JNS. “Look who they’re murdering on the streets now. Look who they’re hanging.”
“At the very, very most generous, I would say the naivete of the LGBTQ community is astounding,” Lipstadt said.
A British antisemitic influencer with over half a million followers was convicted of attempted robbery and sentenced to nearly two years behind bars, the JC can reveal.
The JC has identified Josh Kent-Smith, 28, from Basildon, Essex, as the man behind The Saviour account.
Operating under his online pseudonym, Kent-Smith has travelled to strictly-Orthodox neighbourhoods to question visibly Jewish people about Israel and Jeffrey Epstein, and has claimed Israel was behind acts of Islamist terrorism, including last week's car-ramming attack at Berlin Pride.
But, in 2019, before becoming an online content creator, he pleaded guilty to an attempted robbery and was sentenced to one year and nine months in prison.
In a post from 2024, Kent-Smith stated that, around the time he got out of prison, he began learning “the truth about what’s going on in this world”.
“I realised my enemy was not on my doorstep, but my enemy was the global Zionist elites that tax us into oblivion and start endless wars and commit genocides on the world stage.”
Using the Saviour alias, he began to gain significant traction online following the October 7 terror attack, with most of his content focusing on the Gaza War and featuring him expressing his fervently anti-Israel views and promoting antisemitic conspiracy theories.
In recent months, he has taken to visiting Stamford Hill and Golders Green to ask visibly Jewish people their thoughts on “Israel, Palestine… and the Epstein regime”. In one video, he purchased and wore a kippah in an attempt to go “undercover as a Jew”. Those who expressed anti-Zionist views were described by him as “good Jews”.
He has also appeared to justify the October 7 atrocities on multiple occasions.
On October 8, 2023 – the day after the massacre – Kent-Smith referred to its perpetrators as “the resistance”, said those killed were “settlers”, and the day itself marked “a significant milestone in Palestinian resistance history”. He has also later claimed that “half the people that died on October 7 were actually killed by [Israel]” through what is known as the “Hannibal directive”.
Rancid antizionist ‘The Saviour’ went into Golders Green for the THIRD TIME to harass Jews and got chased out. He found boys saying “Am Yisrael Chai” intimidating. Poor Saviour. pic.twitter.com/zG51qAjNKS
— Heidi Bachram (@HeidiBachram) August 2, 2026
2/ "one life-saving action at a time." pic.twitter.com/q5UswZBjxF
— Subversive Force (@SubversiveForce) August 3, 2026
4/ Fellow Barclays 5 convicted criminal Mohammed Malik had some more fun with The Met last week. https://t.co/OWSXA7uMz2
— Subversive Force (@SubversiveForce) August 3, 2026
I’ve had enough of your hypocrisy and ignorance, @gretathunberg.
— Luai Ahmed (@JustLuai) August 2, 2026
Why are you obsessed with Europe’s colonial past and slavery but not Arabs’ colonial present and modern day slavery?
Who are you to speak of “consequences” when your politics have completely destroyed Sweden? pic.twitter.com/xzM1qFpGPS
I find it bizarre that Hamas attack a music festival and slaughter loads of young people who are just there to have a good time, and other music festivals are like, "Omg wow, Hamas, 😍 how wonderful, we love you." https://t.co/HViqyTpPYL
— Leo Kearse - see me on tour! Links in bio (@LeoKearse) August 3, 2026
Very selective picking of quotes from Bernadette McAlliskey. Further, the assertion that Kneecap treat this subject with ‘seriousness’ is simply outrageous. It is a grotesque insult to our intelligence. https://t.co/TDKCb29Zzs pic.twitter.com/brWuQQx4F4
— Rachel Moiselle (@RachelMoiselle) August 3, 2026
Apparently “Zionists” control the British police.
— Alex Hearn (@hearnimator) August 3, 2026
These people inhabit a fantasy world that used to be the preserve of the far-right pic.twitter.com/tRKrF8QfZw
‘Sexy terrorist’ flotilla woman has had her encampment taken down in Barcelona already. She’s upset because her Netanyahu dartboard was in danger of being confiscated. Such pointless drama. pic.twitter.com/Hp8CF4oQaw
— Heidi Bachram (@HeidiBachram) August 3, 2026
Pro-Pal in Japan follows a “Zionist” Dad with his young son around the streets who are just trying to walk away from him. He tells them to say Free Palestine and even chases them into a shop. These ppl are UNHINGED. pic.twitter.com/XtlTT2vIu2
— Heidi Bachram (@HeidiBachram) August 3, 2026
The first ever Arab festival in the UK happened in London at the weekend and they played this shoe throwing game at the faces of people. Netanyahu was of course the primary target. Not a great advert for culture. pic.twitter.com/kTKxMNibxc
— Heidi Bachram (@HeidiBachram) August 3, 2026
Nashville Bookstore Cancels Book Launch of Jewish Author Behind ‘White. Blonde. Jew’ After Anti-Zionist Social Media Campaign
A newly opened independent bookstore in Nashville, Tennessee, has cancelled a book launch event with “White. Blonde. Jew” author, photographer and activist Alyssa Rosenheck scheduled for later this month after facing backlash on social media from anti-Zionist activists.
“As a proud Jewish author who values free speech and who strongly believes in the power of words to change hearts and minds – and as someone who has always supported independent booksellers – I’m saddened and deeply disappointed at the state of affairs that led to my cancellation,” the Nashville-based author, who is a founding member of Artists Against Antisemitism, said in a social media post. “This entire episode raises important questions about whether our society truly values the First Amendment, freedom of speech, and the ability of authors to express controversial or unpopular views without being cancelled for them.”
“White. Blonde. Jew” is a call to reject extremism and defend intellectual freedom, while exploring topics such as antisemitism and efforts to combat it through truth, historical context, and moral clarity. The book highlights Rosenheck’s trips to Israel and the Gaza region following the deadly Hamas-led terrorist attack on Oct. 7, 2023, and her meetings with politicians, combat heroes, former hostages and families impacted by the war.
“White. Blonde. Jew” is scheduled to be released on Aug. 18 and Bell Bird Books, located in the Wedgewood Village neighborhood, was set to host Rosenheck on Aug. 20 for a book launch event. However, shortly after being announced, the event received social media backlash by critics who accused the bookstore and Rosenheck of promoting Zionism and called on the establishment to boycott the Jewish author and Israel advocate.
Rosenheck said in an Instagram post on Friday that Bell Bird Books told her days earlier it felt it could no longer promote her or her upcoming Nashville book launch. The bookstore then cancelled her book launch at the establishment, removed the event announcement from its Instagram page and deleted all publicity about the book launch, without issuing a statement about the cancellation and why, according to Rosenheck. The author explained that being “proudly Jewish,” and condemning antisemitism and extremism, “shouldn’t be controversial – they should be openly and freely discussed.”
“When bookstores cancel authors under pressure from activists, they are silencing speech and making a mockery of the First Amendment. Worse, they are rejecting the American tradition of giving writers the freedom to discuss and defend their opinions in the public square,” she added. “Jewish authors should have the freedom to participate in the marketplace of ideas without organized pressure campaigns seeking to silence us, and institutions and businesses should have the courage to stand up to public pressure. No business that pretends to give a voice to all points of view should kowtow to the bigots who would silence an author because of her religion or her strongly held beliefs.”
Rosenheck concluded by saying that a new venue in Nashville for her book launch, and potentially a new date, will be announced soon. All ticket holders for the original event at Bell Bird Books will be refunded. “I look forward to gathering with those who lead with curiosity and who believe ideas should be met with discussion,” she said. “I remain committed to this conversation, and it is far from over.”
A Statement Regarding the Cancellation of My Nashville Book Launch: On Sunday, July 26, Bell Bird Books communicated it no longer felt it could continue promoting either me or my upcoming Nashville book launch for White. Blonde. Jew.
— Alyssa Rosenheck (@AlyssaRosenheck) July 31, 2026
Two days later on July 28th, the bookstore… pic.twitter.com/QitfVmhSIK
I would like the opportunity to address the "security concerns" Bell Bird Books has cited after capitulating to an online pressure campaign and canceling my book launch, because the security excuse does not align with what actually occurred.
— Alyssa Rosenheck (@AlyssaRosenheck) August 3, 2026
On July 23, I personally retained a… pic.twitter.com/bJNrnzChtU
This is crazy.
— Nicole Lampert (@nicolelampert) August 3, 2026
Apparently question marks are signs of white colonial Jewish colonialism.
Or something? https://t.co/rGG2QP6azE
President Paxson, Who Made Brown an Ivy Bright Spot, Says She Will Leave
Christina Paxson, who led Brown University to new strengths while many of her Ivy League peers were forced to resign under pressure, announced she is stepping down voluntarily at the end of this academic year.Children filmed chanting, ‘We will crush Zionism’ at Peak District summer school
When Paxson took over as president of Brown University in July 2012, the campus had a reputation for left-leaning activism. It still does. Yet while Vanderbilt’s Daniel Diermeier, Yeshiva University’s Ari Berman, and even Dartmouth’s Sian Beilock have grabbed more headlines for challenging campus conformism, Paxson has in a more understated way accumulated her own reputation among sophisticated observers for having steered Brown in the direction of intellectual rigor, open inquiry, and civil discourse. She was doing this years before the backlash to the post-October 7, 2023, pro-Hamas paroxysms on college campus that exposed the rot and added urgency to the drive for viewpoint diversity.
Among her accomplishments:
— She brought Air Force and Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps programs back to Brown in 2016 through partnerships with Holy Cross and the Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
— She managed to win faculty support in 2022 for establishing a Center for Philosophy, Politics and Economics, overcoming initial opposition from faculty concerned about funding from Charles Koch and the center’s libertarian tilt.
— She was an ally and participant in efforts to build a thriving Jewish community at Brown. In 2017, she spoke at an event marking the expansion of the Providence eruv, a legal boundary that allows Orthodox Jews to carry objects or to push strollers—actions otherwise prohibited—on shabbat. In November 2022, she announced kosher dining coming to Brown’s largest dining hall. During her presidency, the Jewish undergraduate population at Brown has soared, in marked contrast to other Ivy League institutions, where it has dwindled.
A youth group has posted footage on social media showing scenes from its summer school, where over 100 young attendees were filmed chanting in Arabic: “We will crush Zionism” and “Young people, rise up, our revolution is an Arab revolution.”
The four-day event was held by the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) at the YHA Edale Activity Centre in the Peak District.
Instagram footage shows a woman leading a group of mainly young girls, along with several boys, in the inflammatory chants.
In a separate Instagram post, PYM Britain shared photos from an event in North Kensington, West London — a community football tournament for children, with participation from local schools and community groups.
A photograph from the tournament shows five children from behind, and notably, two are wearing shirts numbered 7 and 10 — a clear reference to the October 7, 2023.
Another photo from the event shows a male organiser presenting medals while wearing a shirt emblazoned with the number 40 and the slogan “The future is decolonial.”
Photos and videos from both the summer school and the recent football tournament in London have raised concerns that young people in Britain are being indoctrinated into hardline anti-Zionist positions.
There are also fears that youth are being encouraged to celebrate terrorist ideology under the guise of supporting the Palestinian cause.
Rachel Dawson was terminated from her DEI position at the U of Michigan after making antisemitic remarks.
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) August 3, 2026
She sued for discrimination.
And lost. https://t.co/vD5yxTVLRU pic.twitter.com/kzwvM1kvYz
Connecticut - Stephanie Lockhart is named in a lawsuit alleging antisemitism, left her position as principal at a top 10 district, and started a new one paying upwards of $175k annually in the inner city. https://t.co/rKfSJw04OL pic.twitter.com/jgVwsdROY5
— WATCH StopAntisemitism (@WATCH_K12) August 4, 2026
Meet Sophie Stringer. Sophie was caught posting on X a GIF of a child being harmed after he says his favorite country is Israel.
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) August 4, 2026
Sophie needs to be kept away from children.
According to LinkedIn, Sophie also manages social media for Rhizome Comedy. https://t.co/66N2E83wxH pic.twitter.com/ZZf0SptYj2
The official French 🇫🇷 public transportation app has made it impossible for Israeli phone numbers to register.
— Hen Mazzig (@HenMazzig) August 3, 2026
Read that again. A public transportation rider with an Israeli phone number can't use France's public transportation app, while visitors from every other country can.… pic.twitter.com/xMBTQOApSr
Palestinianism has a miraculous power of turning wine into water. pic.twitter.com/cgl4FaIEOi
— Joo (@JoosyJew) August 3, 2026
Jake Wallis Simons: The BBC has finally upheld a complaint – astonishingly, it’s for alleged pro-Israel bias
So the BBC has upheld a complaint! That’s the good news. The bad news, however, is that it declared that it had been wrong to interview a former chair of Labour Friends of Israel without informing audiences of his links to the country.A Week of Jeremy Bowen: Analysis or Opinion?
In other words, our national broadcaster seems to suspect itself of being in league with a plot to hide a pro-Israel bias from audiences. When you are pointing the finger at yourself as part of an Israelophobic conspiracy theory, that takes the insanity to a whole new level.
The case involves Lord Walney, a former Labour MP who became a crossbench peer in 2020. He appeared on the BBC to discuss Palestine Action in his capacity as the government’s former independent adviser on political violence and disruption.
His expertise on the matter is extensive. His excellent “Protecting our Democracy from Coercion” report, produced for the Conservative government, made a number of powerful recommendations about combating violent protest and disruption, from Just Stop Oil to the Gaza marches. (The new Labour government put it in the bin.)
When I interviewed him on my podcast, The Brink, the peer described how a sensible solution for repressing Palestine Action was contained in his mothballed report
“One of my recommendations,” he said, “was that we could have a new bar for, effectively, for prescription below the terrorist threshold. This is a criminal protest organisation… You wouldn’t call them terrorists. You wouldn’t have an up to 12-year criminal penalty.
“You’d hopefully avoid some of this debate, and with Palestine action, you could have stopped them on that five-year journey before they reached the process where they were finally proscribed.”
The genius of this new category, which would ban the group without equating it with Islamic State, was so obvious that it was quite astonishing that it was disregarded by the Government in favour of the cack-handed approach we have seen.
Why on Earth did the government ignore Lord Walney’s eminently sensible recommendations? According to a report in the Times last October, the government reviewed his role as “anti-extremism” tsar “months after he warned that far-left groups were trying to undermine UK laws”.
In other words, his hugely illuminating report, the result of years of hard work – which covered all types of extremism, not just the hard-Left – was dismissed by the Labour government because he had fallen out of favour with the Left.
Which brings us back to the BBC. As the JC reported last year, during the Gaza war, Auntie’s internal complaints unit rejected every appeal against the BBC Arabic service submitted by US-based pro-Israel media watchdog, the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis (Camera), which lodged more than 100 complaints.
By contrast, when it comes to Lord Walney’s supposed connections to Israel – which, on the face of it, look eminently innocent and reasonable (what on Earth is wrong with Labour Friends of Israel?) – the broadcaster throws up its hands and blames itself for being part of the Zionist lobby, or something.
On a positive note, I suppose it shows that the BBC does have some capacity for admitting wrongdoing. The only problem is that it has quite the logjam of failures to address, and top of the list should be its bias against all things Israel. One day, perhaps. One day.
Jeremy Bowen is the BBC International Editor. He’s an extremely well-respected journalist with an immense amount of experience, having covered conflict, mainly in the Middle East, for most of his long and impressive career. His position, and his status as a household name among those who routinely turn to the BBC for news, mean that his voice carries exceptional weight.
The flagship BBC news programmes turn to Bowen for his analysis of developments in the Middle East, to demystify and explain events in a complex region that most audiences have little background on. When Bowen speaks, millions of people listen. That makes him a load bearing beam in the BBC architecture of impartiality and accuracy. Unfortunately for the licence fee payer, that beam might have some cracks.
Looking at three appearances across BBC TV and radio between July 17 and July 25, we can examine how Bowen blurs the lines between analysis and opinion within his own ideological framework, and how that clashes with the necessary constraints on BBC reporting, as opposed to a newspaper column or op-ed.
We all exist within our own cultural bubble. Our interpretations of events are filtered through our own pre-existing beliefs and outlook. As Bowen himself argued in 2006:
“We all come from somewhere; we all have a prism through which we see the world; we all have an education, and views and experiences. It’s a false objective to be objective.”
Unfortunately, at the BBC, objectivity is in the job description, and this requires an awareness of one’s own biases and cultural backdrop. This week, despite making this very point himself twenty years ago, Bowen inadvertently showed us the cultural sphere in which his opinions ferment. On Radio 4’s Today program on July 17 Bowen used as a source what he called an:
extensive and impressive piece of reporting in the Guardian
The reporting in question is actually more of an opinion piece, full of speculation and possibilities, some of which have already been proved wrong in the two weeks since it was published, and the paper itself holds a well-established anti-Israel position. The Guardian may be loved and respected among the British liberal middle class, but it could hardly be accused of impartiality. In a second telling slip, on July 25 as evidence for the claim that the Israeli Government is trying to seize more territory in the West Bank, Bowen referred to Haaretz as:
“the leading Israeli newspaper”
Haaretz is a niche left-wing outlet which by their own figures only has 6.1% readership share. It seems likely that even they would be surprised to hear themselves described as “the leading Israeli newspaper”.
Bowen’s choices of source and how he elevates them with language like “impressive” and “leading” show us far more about where his own biases lie than they do about the conflict. When we use an appeal to authority we show who we believe holds authority. For Bowen, that is deeply and openly partisan newspapers. This shows us that he is failing to separate his own world view and politics from his reporting, despite his own words:
“You have got to be aware of what your own prejudices and principles are and put them to one side in a box.”
One key area of that worldview appears to be related to Palestinian agency, or the lack thereof. Bowen’s reporting does not seem to be able to grasp the concept of Palestinians as adults with agency and responsibility over their actions and decisions.
Reminder: On 10/7, Palestinians sought out and murdered the Israelis, who spent decades driving Gazans to Israeli hospitals for treatment. https://t.co/JqYawCBcPd
— Solly & Yossi (@Ok_Solly) August 3, 2026
Lebanon arrests former Palestinian envoy to face PA graft charges
Lebanese authorities arrested the former Palestinian ambassador to Beirut on Monday ahead of his extradition to face corruption charges back home, a Lebanese judicial official told AFP.Jews targeted in 70% of all NYC hate crimes in July — NYPD
Lebanon’s public prosecutor “issued an arrest warrant for former Palestinian ambassador Ashraf Dabbour on Monday after questioning him,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
The official added that the judiciary “transferred the file to the government to inform the Palestinian Authority that Dabbour is detained in Lebanon, and requested that his judicial file be sent to Lebanon… in preparation for handing him over” to the PA.
Dabbour, ambassador to Beirut from 2012 to 2025, was previously arrested upon arriving at the country’s airport in April at the request of the PA, over charges of corruption and embezzlement of funds during his tenure in Lebanon.
He was then placed under a travel ban.
In a video posted on his Facebook page in May, Dabbour denied the accusations, saying they aimed to tarnish his reputation.
In an April Facebook post, Dabbour accused Yasser Abbas, the son of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, of “exploiting his control over the security services and his influence within the authority to use them to settle his personal scores… by pursuing me with arrest warrants from one place to another.”
The Palestinian Authority has vowed to undergo a series of radical reforms after US President Donald Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace outline laid out a plan under which the PA would take control of the Strip after undergoing an unspecified “reform program.”
Within the pockets of the West Bank that it administers, the PA is notorious for corruption. Critics say the system lined the pockets of elites with tax proceeds and international aid, while funneling much of what was left to a massive security apparatus trained to crack down on dissent at the behest of its patrons.
Jews were targeted in 70% of all hate crimes in New York City in July, as the number of hate crimes against Jews and other groups continued to increase since New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani took office at the start of the year.SCOOP: Washington state human rights panelist, who resigned over Jew-hatred remark, didn’t disclose in application his son works for the governor
Since January 1, 2026, when Mamdani took office, overall hate crimes are up 9.4% compared to the same period last year — from 329 last year to 360 this year.
Confirmed anti-Jewish hate crimes have increased 8.5% this year, with 205 so far this year compared to 189 over the same period last year.
Jews were targeted in 57% of all hate crimes in the city so far this year, the NYPD says. Jews make up around 10% of the city’s population.
Hate crimes against Asians, Black people, and White people are down this year, while incidents against Hispanic people, Muslims, and crimes motivated by sexual orientation and gender have increased.
Last month, Jews were targeted in 23 confirmed hate crimes, or 70% of the total of 33 incidents in the city, a higher proportion than usual. The figure is 53% higher than in July 2025.
“The work to uproot antisemitism out of this city is one that will continue until we see hate crimes come to an end in the city,” Mamdani says at a press conference.
“I remain deeply concerned and very troubled by the unacceptable spike in all hate crimes, particularly driven by those targeting Jewish New Yorkers,” City Council Speaker Julie Menin says in a statement.
When Luc fils Jasmin applied to join the Washington State Human Rights Commission, an official state panel, he failed to disclose that his son, Luc Jasmin III, was eastern Washington outreach representative to the state’s governor, according to a copy of his Jan. 27, 2023, application, which JNS obtained.Justice Department sues Montgomery County, in Maryland, for banning firearms in synagogues
The governor is responsible for appointing and removing commissioners.
The younger Jasmin, who still works in that state position for which he draws a salary, is running to represent the second position of the state’s third district in the state House—a race in which Gov. Bob Ferguson has endorsed him.
JNS reported that the elder Jasmin said at a meeting of the state panel that “it seems like the Jewish people keep on crying and crying and crying and crying—always crying over the antisemitism.” He later apologized exclusively to JNS and resigned.
When JNS initially sought comment from the elder Jasmin about his antisemitic remarks, his son, the state House hopeful, returned the call to speak on behalf of his father. At the time, Luc Jasmin III told JNS that his father “applied just like everyone else.” In the course of the conversation, the younger Jasmin told JNS that he couldn’t say if Hamas is a terror organization. “I don’t think it’s fair to me to label any group, because I’m not in it,” he said.
Natalie Poulson, the younger Jasmin’s Republican opponent, called his refusal to label Hamas a terror group “discrediting.”
The younger Jasmin raised more than $83,000 for his campaign and has spent about $81,000, according to his disclosure forms. His campaign, which he has self-funded in part and to which his father has donated, owes $7,945 to WinPower Strategies, a political consultancy that names Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) as a client.
The primary is scheduled for Aug. 4. The top two candidates, regardless of affiliation, will face off in the general election.
In the January 2023 application that JNS obtained, the elder Jasmin listed his son as one of his professional references, but didn’t note that it was his son or that his son worked for the governor. He listed his son as program coordinator for the Carl Maxey Center, a nonprofit in Spokane, Wash., and left a line about his “relationship” to the reference blank. He described a relationship to the three other references he provided.
The U.S. Justice Department sued Montgomery County, Md., on Monday, asking a federal court to block the enforcement of new restrictions on carrying firearms in and around synagogues.Israeli soccer star Turgeman scores goal amid Montreal crowd’s chants of ‘Death to Israel’
The lawsuit follows a Justice Department warning on Friday that the county should refrain from enforcing the ordinance against religious congregants or face a legal challenge.
Jacob Huebert, an attorney for the Silver Spring Jewish Center, which is suing the county, told JNS that the synagogue is “pleased that the Justice Department is joining us in the fight against this unconstitutional ban.”
Expedited Bill 23-26, signed on July 27, prohibits firearms in or within 100 yards of houses of worship, parks, schools, libraries and other “places of public assembly,” exempting law-enforcement officers and hired security guards.
The Justice Department said the ordinance’s “prohibitions effectively prevent carrying of firearms throughout much of the county without a legitimate purpose.”
The government stated in court filings that “as a practical matter, the enormous scope of the Exclusion Zone makes it almost impossible for a citizen to walk through town to shop, to dine or engage in any other common activity of daily life without likely entering the Exclusion Zone multiple times in a single trip, and thereby, becoming a criminal.”
The prohibited locations encompass “at least 10,000 parcels comprising over 7,900 acres,” or more than 26% of the county, before accounting for the buffer zones, according to the filing.
“The ban on firearms in places of worship, where the place of worship welcomes firearms, places a uniquely unsupportable burden on the right to bear arms,” the Justice Department stated in the filing. “If there is any place where people are entitled to feel safe and to defend themselves, it is at a place of worship.”
In the face of chants of “Death to Israel,” Israeli striker Dor Turgeman responded with a goal last night in a Major League Soccer match between his New England Revolution and CF Montréal that ended in a 2-2 draw.
Throughout the match at Montreal’s Stade Saputo, a section of fans targeted the 22-year-old star with anti-Israel slurs, according to reports. But Turgeman delivered his response on the pitch in the 36th minute, with a goal that doubled New England’s early lead to 2-0.
Turgeman then celebrated directly in front of the opposing team’s fans with his arms outstretched. That escalated tensions on the field.
As fans threw cups and bottles on the field, Montréal goalkeeper Sebastian Breza confronted and shoved Turgeman to the ground, drawing a yellow card.
Turgeman, raised in Ashdod, signed with the New England Revolution last year after winning two Israeli Premier League titles with Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Opposing goalie more upset Israeli scorer showed up the fanbase more than he let up the goal pic.twitter.com/IpEaIFCNy1
— Jake Donnelly (@RedWhiteBlueJew) August 2, 2026
🇮🇱 ISRAELI STAR SILENCES HATE WITH A GOAL
— Mossad Commentary (@MOSSADil) August 2, 2026
Israeli striker Dor Turgeman answered chants of “Death to Israel” from sections of the crowd at CF Montréal’s Stade Saputo the best way possible—by scoring for the New England Revolution. He then celebrated in front of the home… pic.twitter.com/W21KaCxw8W
Statement from the New England Revolution pic.twitter.com/ylItbbwrkz
— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) August 3, 2026
Visa to buy Israeli cyber firm for $2.4 billion to fight AI-driven scams
Credit-card giant Visa Inc. has agreed to buy Israeli online fraud and financial crime detection provider BioCatch for $2.4 billion to bolster its cybersecurity tools and protect consumers and institutions from the growing threat of AI-driven account takeovers and scams.Airline staff honoured for ensuring friend of rabbi killed in Bondi massacre got to his funeral on time
Visa said it is acquiring BioCatch from London-based private equity firm Permira and other investors. As part of the deal, the Israeli pioneer in the field of behavioral biometrics will become part of Visa, but will continue to operate with the same team. The transaction is expected to close by the end of Visa’s fiscal second quarter of 2027, pending customary regulatory approvals and conditions.
“Account takeovers and scams cost the global economy over $1 trillion annually and AI is enabling these attacks at unprecedented scale,” said Andrew Torre, Visa president of value-added services. “BioCatch will help our clients stop fraud before it reaches the point of payment.”
Over the past five years, Visa has invested more than $13 billion in technology and infrastructure to safeguard its payments ecosystem and reduce fraud rates.
“The reality is, as a society and industry, we are not winning this fight,” said BioCatch CEO Gadi Mazor. “By every metric, the bad actors (increasingly and primarily organized crime) perpetrating fraud, scams, and financial crime continue to enjoy greater returns, explosive growth, and a wealth of new tools to help them scale, innovate, and hone their attacks.”
“Banks and markets deploying BioCatch represent the one exception to this trend,” Mazor asserted.
American Airlines has been given an award for making sure a childhood friend of the London-born rabbi killed in the Bondi Beach massacre could get to his funeral in Sydney on time.
Distraught passenger Eli Rutman was certain to miss his connection at Los Angeles when his initial flight from Miami was delayed by two hours.
He was on his way to the funeral of Rabbi Eli Schlanger, one of 15 people killed in the December 2025 terrorist attack.
But after discovering why he was travelling, the airline’s employees worked across multiple departments to overcome the delay, held back the Sydney flight for him, and beat scheduling complications and ticketing issues so he could make it.
The carrier has now received a medal from the Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation (AJCF).
The award recognises what the foundation described as an “extraordinary act of compassion and moral leadership”.
Managers at Los Angeles International Airport secured approval to delay the Sydney flight’s departure, despite the operational pressure to maintain an on-time schedule for long-haul international flights.
The airline also arranged for Rutman’s domestic flight to arrive at a gate just two gates from the Sydney departure in LA, moved him to a seat near the front of the aircraft so he could disembark first, and escorted him directly to his onward flight.
When efforts to transfer his existing ticket from the original carrier proved unsuccessful, American Airlines waived the fare altogether and flew him to Sydney free of charge.
The Sydney service ultimately departed just 46 minutes behind schedule.
Israel's national anthem rang out at the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, as Israeli athletes proudly took the podium.
— StandWithUs (@StandWithUs) August 3, 2026
Making the moment even more meaningful, Israeli Ambassador to the UAE Yossi Shelley presented the medals to the Israeli… pic.twitter.com/AusgIZPrzZ
History made for Israeli lacrosse 🥍🥉🇮🇱
— Israel ישראל (@Israel) August 3, 2026
Israel’s women’s national team won bronze at the World Lacrosse Championship in Japan, earning the country's first ever medal at the tournament 👏
A remarkable achievement and another proud milestone for Israeli sport. Congratulations to… pic.twitter.com/O7DJNqvEGF
This morning Boy George has been banned from Bandcamp where his song fighting Jew hatred was available for download.
— Eve Barlow (@Eve_Barlow) August 3, 2026
Last week, my friend Alyssa Rosenheck had her book launch cancelled because her book is about fighting Jew hate.
Did you hear about the kosher restaurant that…
Sue Clowes designed these shirts as, apparently, she and Boy George liked the Hebrew alphabet. A mistranslation of Culture Club to 'Tarbut Agadah' (Legend Culture) makes it even better, in my opinion.
— Joo (@JoosyJew) August 3, 2026
Get them back on the shelves and I'll take one. https://t.co/LGvfztclRI pic.twitter.com/rbWl0xSpsB
Oh, AI, how I love you! 🤣
— Hillel Fuld (@HilzFuld) August 3, 2026
This is epic (NSFW language). pic.twitter.com/HvBerZpsH0
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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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