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Thursday, October 15, 2026

10/14 Links Pt2: This Is Not the London I Grew Up In; Dublin hotel cancels 70 rooms booked for conference on combating antisemitism; Anti-Semitic extremists to be banned from running charities

From Ian:

This Is Not the London I Grew Up In
I grew up with London’s history of resilience in the face of war and terrorism. Now a giant statue of a man convicted of five murders has appeared above a London street, his handcuffed hands raised as a symbol of Palestinian resistance.

I was born within the sound of Bow Bells. That makes me a Cockney, an Eastender, and someone who still feels a very personal connection to London, however many years I have lived away from it.

So when I saw the photograph of a giant statue of Marwan Barghouti displayed above a London street, I felt something considerably stronger than disappointment.

The statue has appeared on the balcony of Palestine House in High Holborn, against an enormous Palestinian flag. It depicts Barghouti with his hands raised above his head, joined by handcuffs. From the street, the figure presents an unmistakable image of defiance, intended to transform a convicted terrorist into a symbol of Palestinian resistance.

I understand perfectly well what the people responsible for this display want us to see. A prisoner, defiant despite his captivity, presented as a man struggling for freedom.

What the image doesn’t tell us is why he is in prison.

In May 2004, an Israeli court convicted Barghouti of five murders connected to three terrorist attacks during the Second Intifada. Among the victims was a Greek Orthodox monk murdered in the West Bank in 2001. An Israeli woman was killed near Givat Ze’ev in January 2002, while three people were murdered in an attack on a Tel Aviv seafood restaurant that March.

Barghouti was sentenced to five consecutive life terms plus 40 years. He rejected the legitimacy of the Israeli proceedings, and his supporters continue to challenge the convictions. Nevertheless, the court’s findings are part of the historical record, documented at the time by The Guardian⁠.

There is something particularly revealing about the statue’s design. The handcuffs are not an incidental detail. They are the entire visual argument.

By emphasizing Barghouti’s imprisonment, the display directs attention away from the people whose murders resulted in his conviction. The viewer is invited to identify with the prisoner rather than consider his victims. It is an effective piece of political imagery, and I suspect that is precisely why it was chosen.

This is not even the first attempt to give Barghouti a prominent place in London. In June, campaigners tried to install a statue of him in Parliament Square. Police intervened and prevented the installation.

The Mandela comparison comes from the campaign surrounding Barghouti itself. Supporters seeking his release have promoted him internationally as a “Palestinian Mandela,” presenting his imprisonment as part of a struggle for national liberation. It is a powerful piece of political branding, but one that risks obscuring a fundamental part of Barghouti’s history: he is serving five life sentences following his conviction for five murders.
Where should Canadian Jews go? Where is the Promised Land?
Lederman's article was interesting and timely, but I was surprised there was no mention of Israel. While it is true, as she notes, that Canada and the US share a common language and culture, Canada and Israel are a closer match when it comes to social support in areas like health and education, not to mention, for Jews, history, and religion.

She does mention that her maternal grandparents obtained visas to go to British Mandate Palestine, but did not go and were murdered in Treblinka.

However, many of the Jews who had to go did, and are still going. In fact, about half of the more than 7.5 million Jews living in Israel today are either immigrants or descendants of immigrants, most from either the post-war DP camps of Europe, the Arab/Muslim world, or the former Soviet Union.

A small but steadily increasing stream of immigrants has also arrived from North America. The Israel Central Bureau of Statistics indicates that about 16,000 Canadians have made aliyah since the establishment of the state in 1948.

Israel’s Aliyah and Integration Ministry reported that 440 Canadian Jews moved to Israel from September 2025 to September 2026. Another 1,000 Canadian Jews have opened new aliyah files. This is a formal process, including an interview with a representative of the Jewish Agency and the submission of documents, including birth certificates and marriage records.

While the Tulsa initiative has received a significant number of inquiries from Canadians, the number of families who have actually made the move so far is quite small, according to an article in The Forward by Benyamin Cohen.

It quotes Jewish Canadian journalist Jesse Brown: “There’s a sadness,” he said about the Jewish exodus from Canada. “I’m not enthused or compelled by what I see as a ‘re-shtetling.’”

The Canadian Jewish population, about 400,000, is almost as large as that of France, the third largest Jewish community in the world. Antisemitism is a serious problem there as well. This year, 4,000 French Jews made aliyah, about 10 times the Canadian number.

A 2026 Canadian survey cited by Lederman indicates that one quarter of Canadian Jews are planning to leave Canada or are thinking seriously about it, and there are no signs that the antisemitism experienced by Canadian Jews is abating. While I don’t think we will see a stampede of Jews leaving Canada, I do think the numbers leaving will gradually increase.

As in the French example, Israel will be their primary destination. After all, in the final analysis, it turns out that America is not the Promised Land.


Dublin hotel reportedly cancels 70 rooms booked for conference on combating antisemitism
A Dublin hotel allegedly cancelled reservations for an international convention focused on fighting antisemitism, upon discovering the nature of the conference.

As reported by Israeli media, The Herbert Park Hotel in Ballsbridge, Dublin had initially confirmed the reservations for 70 rooms to accommodate delegates from all 27 EU member states for the fifteenth international conference of ‘Special Envoys & Coordinators Combating Antisemitism’ (SECCA).

The initiative is a civilian diplomatic gathering supported by the World Jewish Congress and the European Commission, taking place in Ireland.

However, Maurice Cohen, chairman of the Jewish Representative Council of Ireland. reportedly told a meeting at Ireland’s Foreign Ministry that the hotel reversed its decision after discovering the purpose of the gathering, with hotel management questioning whether the conference had any connection to the Israeli military.

Responding to the reports of the cancellation, Chief Rabbi of Ireland Yoni Wieder said: “The Herbert Park Hotel is actually quite familiar with Jewish guests. There’s a large multinational company based nearby, and Israelis and other Jewish visitors frequently stay there. I know that a catering company under my supervision regularly sends kosher meals up to the hotel. To the best of my knowledge, there’s never been any problem in the past, so that makes this particularly disappointing coming from the Herbert.

“I’d be interested to know who actually made the decision to cancel the booking, and why. It’s certainly possible that they were worried about attracting controversy or protests outside the hotel, rather than having an objection to the conference themselves. But that’s just my own speculation, and I simply don’t know. And regardless, that’s still not an excuse.

“And how ironic is it that delegates should come to Dublin for a conference on combating antisemitism, only to learn that their original hotel accommodation had been cancelled, apparently because of the very nature of the conference they were attending. Sadly, these things don’t come as much of a surprise anymore.”

Posting on Twitter/X in response to the allegations, Alan Shatter, Ireland’s former Minister for Justice and a board member of Israel Council on Foreign Relations, wrote: “The Herbert Park Hotel in Ballsbridge, Dublin cancelled a booking for 70 rooms upon learning the booking of the rooms was for a group of people from 27 EU states attending a conference in Dublin this week on antisemitism associated with Ireland’s EU presidency. A vile illustration of the issue to be addressed.”

Calling the alleged incident “deeply disturbing”, The European Jewish Congress said: “As revealed by Maurice Cohen, Chairman of our Irish affiliate, the Jewish Representative Council of Ireland, hotel management also questioned whether the gathering was connected to the Israel Defence Forces, despite it being a civilian diplomatic conference attended by representatives from across Europe, including the European Jewish Congress. This is deeply disturbing.”

It adds that a hotel reportedly cancelling accommodation “for participants in a conference dedicated to combating antisemitism, while raising questions about supposed links to the Israeli military, reflects precisely the kind of prejudice and suspicion that such gatherings seek to confront. Having participated in the conference ourselves, we stand firmly with our Irish affiliate and share its serious concerns.”

“We call on the hotel to provide a clear explanation for its decision and recognise the gravity of what has occurred. It is profoundly troubling that those working to combat antisemitism should themselves encounter such treatment. Jewish organisations and those standing against hatred must never face exclusion or discrimination because of their work.”

Rabbi Menachem Margolin, chairman of the European Jewish Association, said: “Officials appointed by European governments to protect Jews could not get a hotel room because the subject was Jews. This is exactly why that conference exists. Ireland holds the EU presidency. I expect the Irish government to say clearly that this is unacceptable.”

The Secca conference saw World Jewish Congress officials, together with local community and Jewish organisational leaders, meet with Ireland’s Taoiseach, Miche谩l Martin.

The gathering, which included visits to the European headquarters of Tik Tok and Meta, brought dozens of representatives of WJC-affiliated Jewish communities and organizations together with 39 government delegates from 28 countries and representatives from seven multilateral institutions. Representatives of the J7 Jewish communities were among the attendees, having previously held a separate event in the UK, hosted by the Board of Deputies.

In just six months in 2025, the estimated 2,200 members of the Irish Jewish community reported 143 antisemitic incidents.


Anti-Semitic extremists to be banned from running charities
Extremists convicted of preaching anti-Semitic hate will be automatically banned from running charities.

Under plans announced by the Government, anyone convicted of a hate-related offence will be disqualified from acting as a charity trustee or senior manager.

The move, announced in a consultation by the culture department, extends the current rules that apply to those convicted of terrorism and other serious offences.

The CC will also be given powers to ban people from charities if they are suspected of promoting violence or racial or religious hatred.

It previously received complaints about charity bosses and senior figures promoting anti-Semitic hatred.

Since October 2023, when Hamas launched its terror attack on Israel, the CC has investigated more than 400 cases of hate speech, with 70 referred to police where criminal offences may have been committed.

Ministers have proposed a consultation on how the new powers should operate, including how they can protect charities without threatening free speech and campaigning.

Vicky Foxcroft, the civil society minister, said: “Charities do incredible work in every community across the country, supported and trusted by the public. The vast majority are well run and make an enormous contribution to society.

“But where people seek to use charities as a platform to promote hatred or violence, we need to make sure the CC has the powers it needs to act.

“Our proposals would strengthen the safeguards around charities while protecting legitimate debate and campaigning. We want to hear from charities, trustees and the wider public on our plans so that we get them right in practice.”

Among previous cases where the CC has taken action is that of Harun Abdur Rashid Holmes, a preacher associated with Nottingham Islam Information Point, who was banned from acting as a charity trustee for three years over anti-Semitic sermons and inciting violence.

In his sermon in November 2023, a month after the Oct 7 Hamas attack, he said: “The hour will not begin until the Muslims fight the Jews and the Muslims will kill them until a Jew hides behind a rock or a tree.”


Albanese government terminates Islamic media group's $308,000 taxpayer grant after it claimed Sydney's antisemitic attacks were 'all a sham'
The federal government plans to revoke a $308,000 grant awarded to an Islamic media group after it published online content claiming several antisemitic attacks in Sydney were 'all a sham'.

The Department of Home Affairs had initially awarded Western Sydney-based OnePath Network a taxpayer-funded grant through the Multicultural Media Transformation and Sustainability Program in April.

The funding was intended to 'strengthen social cohesion while increasing tolerance and understanding between individuals and groups in Australia'.

YouTube videos posted online by OnePath containing vile claims have since resurfaced.

One video claimed several incidents, including the January 2025 firebombing of a Sydney Jewish childcare centre, were 'all fake', The Daily Telegraph reported.

Multicultural Affairs Minister Anne Aly told question time in parliament on Wednesday that the Department of Home Affairs had issued OnePath with a 'notice of intention to terminate' and was 'in the process of revoking the grant'.

She has also asked the department to advance incoming tools to scan public statements of those who apply to prevent issues in the future.

One of the videos posted to YouTube by OnePath Network featured Islamic scholar Dr Ovamir Anjum claiming that Zionists were enemies of Islam.

'We have serious enemies. Mortal enemies, whether we like it or not,' he said.

'Zionists are, Jewish supremacists as some other scholars call them, are mortal enemies of Islam.'

A third video called 'The Staged Anti-Semitic Attacks that Shook Australia' uploaded in May 2025 described antisemitic incidents, including the firebombing incident, along with the swastikas on cars and graffiti targeting synagogues as 'fake'.

'But amid it all, there was one glaring problem. It was all fake,' presenter Kamal Saleh claimed.

'The Jewish child care centre firebombing, the swastikas on the cars, the graffiti on the synagogues, the explosive laden caravan, it was all a sham.'

The host then went on to compare Israel's military actions in Gaza to the Holocaust.

'Many would argue there's no moral difference between putting people in gas chambers and burning people alive inside tents,' Mr Saleh said.

'I don't know about you, but I kind of get Nazi vibes.'


Blakeman blasts Hochul on Jew-hatred, calls Mamdani ‘antisemite’ in NY gubernatorial debate
Bruce Blakeman, Nassau County executive and Republican nominee for New York governor, accused Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, of failing to protect Jewish New Yorkers and “campaigning around” New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who has drawn criticism frequently from New York Jewish and Israeli leaders.

“Zohran Mamdani is an antisemite,” Blakeman said during a gubernatorial debate on Tuesday night. “The first thing he did as mayor, with all the issues that faced New York City—the first thing he did was sign an executive order to water down the definition of antisemitism.”

“Shame on you, mayor,” he said of Mamdani, before returning to his opponent in the race. “You are campaigning around this state with a guy who doesn’t believe in American values.”

Mamdani “talks about collectivism,” which means that “you take personal property rights away. You take other people’s property rights,” Blakeman said.

Blakeman, who is Jewish, has made combating antisemitism a central issue in his campaign.

He told JNS in September that if elected, he would “take action” against Mamdani to stop him from making anti-Israel statements.

The debate, which ran for about an hour, was the only scheduled televised face-off between the candidates ahead of the Nov. 3 election. It aired live at 7 p.m. on Spectrum News and was moderated by political anchors Errol Louis and Susan Arbetter. (Louis and Spectrum have yet to respond to a week-old query from JNS about the reporter appearing to agree with Mamdani that Israel is guilty of “genocide.”)


New York City Comptroller, With Mamdani’s Backing, Abandons Vow to Buy Israel Bonds
New York City comptroller Mark Levine is the latest Democratic politician to throw Israel under the bus, declaring that he is "heartbroken at the state of politics in the country right now," and that he would break his campaign promise to invest some city pension funds in Israel bonds.

Levine made his comments in an interview with the New York Times, which described the citywide elected official as "criticizing the government of Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister who is up for re-election this month."

Levine joins the governor of Pennsylvania, Democrat Josh Shapiro, and the Democratic leader in the U.S. Senate, Chuck Schumer, who used to be pro-Israel and who now, according to President Trump, has become "like a Palestinian," in publicly denouncing Netanyahu.

Levine’s announcement won immediate praise from the mayor of New York, Zohran Mamdani, who has been a strident boycott-Israel activist since his days as a student at Bowdoin College. "I welcome the comptroller’s decision," Mamdani said at a Wednesday October 14 press event. "I don't believe that our city should purchase Israel bonds. ... this is the decision that the comptroller is making, and it's one that I support."

An Israel Bonds spokesman, Nate Miller, said the bonds are a solid investment and that the organization hopes to meet with the comptroller. "Comptroller Levine pledged many times to restore New York City’s investment in Israel Bonds and had it right when he called them ‘a long-term safe and secure investment.’ That remains true," Miller said in a statement to the Washington Free Beacon. "The State of Israel has made every payment of principal and interest on its bonds, on time, since 1951, including every payment owed to New York City’s pension funds over nearly fifty years. The Israeli economy behind Israel bonds remains strong. Moody’s projects growth accelerating to 5 percent next year with inflation near only 2 percent, and Israel’s technology sector, nearly a fifth of GDP, drives more than half of the country’s exports. Moreover, Israel’s debt-to-GDP ratio remains significantly below the OECD average, by approximately 40 percentage points."

Miller added that, "Many of Israel Bonds investors around the world, including many local governments across the United States, continue to make clear that Israel Bonds deliver a strong and steady return: since October 2023, institutional and retail investors have bought more than $8.5 billion in Israel Bonds. The New York City Comptroller has said his office’s analysis is ongoing, and we look forward to sitting down with him and his team."

Israel’s economy has been so strong that even after the previous comptroller, Brad Lander, performatively divested from Israel bonds, the annual report for the New York City Employee Retirement System disclosed $36.1 million in New Israeli Shekel-denominated investments as of June 30, 2025, up from $21.6 million worth the previous year. Lander endorsed Mamdani for mayor, then ran a winning congressional primary campaign against an incumbent Democratic congressman, Dan Goldman, almost entirely on the basis that Goldman had been too supportive of the "genocide" in Gaza, the U.S.-Israel relationship, and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.


Abdul El-Sayed Defended 'Friend' Jailed for Funding Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood in Since-Deleted Substack Article
In a 2021 article on a since-deleted Substack account, the left-wing Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed defended a man he described as his "friend" after he was jailed for funding the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. The man, Mohamed Soltan, is the son of a senior Muslim Brotherhood official who called to kill "those Zionists" and argued for "obliterating America."

The October 2021 article, headlined "The hypocrisy of police rejecting vaccine requirements," warned of the "bluntest form of government power" wielded by police in the United States, asking readers to "imagine living long ago under a monarch whose caprice could have you arbitrarily taxed … or jailed or hanged."

"But you don't even have to go back in time," El-Sayed continued. "Go to Egypt, where the personal whims of a dictator may mean you'll find yourself in the bowels of an Egyptian prison, as happened to my friend Mohamed Soltan, an American citizen."

Soltan was born in Egypt to Salah Soltan, a former professor of Islamic Law at Cairo University and "senior member" of the Muslim Brotherhood. The elder Soltan was one of 50 Muslim Brotherhood leaders charged with spearheading the 2013 protests aimed at reinstating Egypt's deposed president, Mohamed Morsi, a longtime Brotherhood leader who chaired the Islamic group's Freedom and Justice Party. Mohamed Soltan was sentenced to life in prison in Egypt, according to NBC News, which reported that he "faced terrorism-related charges, including belonging to the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood." ABC News described Soltan as "one of the main liaisons" between the Muslim Brotherhood and the press.

Lorenzo Vidino, the director of the Program on Extremism at George Washington University, described the elder Soltan as "Brotherhood royalty," noting his service on the organization's most important jurisprudential bodies in both North America and Europe, and the younger Soltan as "the polished version of the father."

El-Sayed made no mention of the Muslim Brotherhood, Soltan's father, or the circumstances surrounding Soltan's arrest in his Substack post, instead linking to a Georgetown University School of Foreign Service article saying Soltan "spent nearly two years as a political prisoner in what he describes as 'an Egyptian dungeon.'" El-Sayed set his Substack publication, The Incision, to private as he faced criticism on the campaign trail for old posts and videos.

The Substack post marks the latest example of El-Sayed's close personal ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist group that spawned Hamas in Gaza in the 1980s. Though El-Sayed told Meet the Press on Sunday that neither he nor his family have connections to the Brotherhood, his half-sister, University of Chicago professor Eman Abdelhadi, has said that her "family has long been MB," the Washington Free Beacon reported. She has also discussed her and El-Sayed's mother's "activism in the Muslim Brotherhood during the early 70s while she was in college" in Egypt.


Uncovered Video: El-Sayed Was Radical ‘Queer’ Sister’s Guardian and Dowry Manager in Her Sharia Marriage–Years After She Said Family Had ‘Long Been Muslim Brotherhood’
Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed served as his "queer Muslim" half-sister's legal guardian in a Sharia marriage a decade ago, according to a documentary obtained by the Washington Free Beacon. He performed the sacred duties years after the sister said her family "had long been MB," or Muslim Brotherhood, something El-Sayed denied on Sunday.

Coming Around, an obscure documentary released in 2023, follows Eman Abdelhadi as she "weighs the decision to come out to her devout Muslim mother." The Free Beacon obtained a copy of the film.

"To postpone coming out" to her and El-Sayed's mother, Fatten Elkomy, Abdelhadi marries her boyfriend, Q, "to give the appearance of strictly hetero relationship interests," according to a plot summary.

El-Sayed is seen in the documentary during Abdelhadi's November 2016 wedding to Q. El-Sayed, who served at the time as Detroit's health director, is not seen in the film, but he is recognizable by his voice and a flash of his hand bearing a ring that El-Sayed often wears.

El-Sayed is heard telling Q about the dowry process, which under Islamic law requires the groom to give money to the bride, which she maintains as property separate from her husband. Abdelhadi told her mother that she wanted Q to pay a "symbolic" dowry of just $1, stating, "I don't believe in the dowry stuff."

The wedding ceremony was conducted under "Shariah" law, according to an Islamic marriage certificate seen in the documentary as El-Sayed—an expert on Sharia law who told the New York Times he had an "obligation" to follow it until the day he dies—walks Q through the dowry process.

"This marriage ceremony of the following couple has been conducted according to the Islamic Law (Shariah)," the document states.

"Between now and the marriage, he has to give her a dollar," El-Sayed says.

"Okay, are we all good with that?" El-Sayed is heard asking about the $1 dowry.

El-Sayed's role in the process appears to be that of a "wali," or male legal guardian of a bride during an Islamic marriage ceremony. Abdelhadi's father, who was Palestinian, passed away when she was young.

It's not clear that the marriage ceremony—which appears to have happened in the Midwest—was legal under U.S. state law. A thorough public records search found no marriage certificate for either bride or groom.
'Hearsay': Abdul El-Sayed Dismisses Sister's Claims About Family's Muslim Brotherhood Activism
Left-wing Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed dismissed his sister’s claims that their Egyptian relatives are members of the Muslim Brotherhood as "hearsay" in a heated exchange with Tom Llamas of NBC News. El-Sayed denied any personal knowledge of his family's deep ties to the Islamist organization.

Llamas pressed El-Sayed about social media posts from El-Sayed’s sister, Eman Abdelhadi, in which she said her family has "long been" in the Muslim Brotherhood. Abdelhadi said her relatives in Egypt have been "jailed" over their ties to the group, according to the posts, which were first reported by the Washington Free Beacon. She also said that her and El-Sayed’s mother, Fatten Elkomy, was active in the Brotherhood as a college student in Egypt in the 1970s.

The posts came to light after El-Sayed told Meet the Press on Sunday that neither he nor his family have ties to the Brotherhood. El-Sayed bristled when Llamas asked him to "just explain" them.

"You want to ask me about what was happening in Egypt in 1970? Are you serious?" El-Sayed said. "I get it, but you were asked a question," Llamas responded. "Yeah, I'm telling you, like, we—I have no ties. We have no ties," El-Sayed said. "So your mother had no ties?" asked Llamas. "I have never had these conversations with my mother," said El-Sayed. "Like, you're using hearsay evidence from a tweet. This is not serious."

When Llamas noted that El-Sayed has "gone after the president for truthfulness," El-Sayed responded, "Are you insinuating that somehow I was lying?" "I don't know. That's why I'm asking," Llamas responded.

El-Sayed was born in Michigan in 1984 to Elkomy and Mohamed El-Sayed, who is also Egyptian. Though he was raised by his father and stepmother after his parents split when he was a toddler, El-Sayed kept close ties to Elkomy and Abdelhadi. He called Elkomy in a Mother's Day campaign video. Years earlier, in 2020, he sent money to Abdelhadi on Venmo for their mother’s birthday gift. He also served as guardian for Abdelhadi at her 2016 wedding, which was conducted under Sharia law and which featured Elkomy, the Free Beacon reported.


Thank God for Metallica and the Lost Art of Shutting Up
Perhaps the only thing worse than the above-mentioned scenario is paying good money to see a musician whose songs you love, whose politics you neither know nor particularly care to know, only to discover halfway through the concert that you've apparently purchased a ticket to a political rally, complete with declarations of "Free Palestine," denunciations of Donald Trump or a sermon about the supposed destruction of America by the radical left. Because God forbid we should be allowed to enjoy a guitar solo without first establishing where everyone stands on the Middle East.

Just look at Ed Sheeran, whose tour became a geopolitical circus after opening act Macklemore declared "Free Palestine" onstage, prompting objections from stadium owners, Macklemore's removal, solidarity withdrawals by other performers and Sheeran himself having to explain the whole damn mess (in the public's defense, Sheeran dug his own grave on this one).

Nothing is safe anymore: we can't watch television in peace, we can't eat dinner in peace, we can't travel in peace, we can't listen to music in peace and we certainly can't lie in bed scrolling through social media in peace, although admittedly that last one might be our own fault, because somewhere along the way celebrities decided that possessing a microphone and a reasonably attractive face qualified them to deliver unsolicited lectures on geopolitics, and the rest of us were there to listen.

And so I would like to thank Metallica frontman James Hetfield, who, addressing fans at the Sphere in Las Vegas on Saturday, thanked them for spending their time and money to see the band before declaring, "Metallica is not here, like some other entertainers, to influence you with their bullshit," explaining that the point was to forget about the outside world and that the band's agenda was "love, energy and heavy music, baby!"

Imagine that! How revolutionary and un-American! A musician acknowledging that people have paid to hear music rather than his political opinions. Mind-boggling.

There is something almost punk about a famous band deciding that the stage is for music, that the audience is there to hear songs rather than sermons, and that perhaps the most radical thing an artist can do in 2026 is resist the apparently irresistible urge to tell everyone else what to think.

We don't need our musicians to be politically illiterate or morally indifferent... but we also do not need to know about their literacy or morality. We just need them to make good songs and remember that sometimes a concert is a concert and the greatest gift they can give an exhausted American public is the blessed, liberating, exciting, unique and increasingly unfamiliar pleasure of shutting up and playing the music.


Rapper Macklemore who was axed from Ed Sheeran tour announces new Wembley Arena gig that will benefit 'extremist' group that said Hamas' hostage-taking was 'legitimate'
Macklemore's upcoming gig at Wembley is set to benefit an 'extremist' group that claimed the taking of hostages by Hamas on October 7 was 'legitimate'.

Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) Britain has also called for a 'siege' on Labour MPs over their stance on Gaza.

But the group has been chosen as one of the beneficiaries of Macklemore's Free Palestine concert in London on October 30.

The controversial US rapper announced he would perform at Wembley Arena, as well as in Paris and Dublin, after he was kicked off Ed Sheeran's tour for making pro-Palestine comments on stage, last month.

Several American venues told promoters they would not allow the 43-year-old, whose real name is Benjamin Hammond Haggerty, to perform after he used his opening set to chant 'Free Palestine' and deliver a politically motivated speech.

The furore, which began at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, escalated into a full-blown row and threatened to engulf Sheeran's tour after his other support acts withdrew in solidarity with the rapper.

Now the Macklemore & Friends: Free Palestine tour is scheduled to arrive at Wembley Arena just weeks after the anniversary of the Hamas atrocities.

The proceeds will go to a series of groups supporting 'Palestine and the Palestinian movement'.

Concerns have been raised over the inclusion of PYM Britain, which politicians and Jewish community leaders describe as 'extremist'.

They claim PYM Britain has expressed support for proscribed terror group Hamas by calling October 7 a 'prison break' and 'fundamentally just'.

After the massacre, which resulted in the murder of 1,200 people and 250 kidnappings, PYM Britain posted on X: 'When people are occupied, resistance is justified'.
Irish author Sally Rooney's books no longer sold in UK over support for banned Palestine Action
Irish novelist Sally Rooney's books will no longer be sold in Britain over her plans to use her royalties to support Palestine Action, a pro-Palestinian group banned as a terrorist organization, Rooney and her publisher said on Wednesday.

The bestselling author, known for novels including Normal People and Conversations with Friends, has been a vocal supporter of Palestine Action, including after it was proscribed by the British government under terrorism laws last year.

Rooney previously said in a witness statement submitted to London's High Court, in support of a legal challenge over the ban on Palestine Action, that her plans could lead to her books being withdrawn from sale in Britain.

Her publisher Faber said on Wednesday that it had agreed with Rooney that "we can no longer supply her works in the UK in any format," though it would sell her works elsewhere.

"Current legislation in the UK has led to circumstances where Faber cannot pass on UK earnings to Sally Rooney for her work," Faber said in a statement.

Palestine action banned after break-in at Royal Air Force base
"To sell a writer's work and not be able to pass on earnings is an unconscionable situation for a publisher."

Rooney said in a statement: "I have made every effort to be honest with the public about my beliefs and intentions and I am wholly prepared to accept the consequences."

Palestine Action, which had increasingly targeted Israel-linked defense companies, was banned shortly after a June 2025 break-in at the Royal Air Force's Brize Norton base.


British PM condemns Green Party for ‘Zionism is racism’ motion, rules out partnership
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham on Wednesday condemned the Green Party’s “Zionism is racism” motion and ruled out a future partnership with the faction.

Speaking in the House of Commons, the Labour prime minister said the motion “is wrong, it is antisemitic, and this side of the House will have nothing to do with it,” as he was asked if he would rule out cooperating with the Green Party following its “descent into the most abhorrent antisemitism.”

The Greens’ motion also called for the establishment of “a single democratic Palestinian state across all of historic Palestine” — thereby eliminating Israel.

“We will always take the right response when it comes to any partnerships we have with other parties,” added Burnham, who has been sharply critical of Israel and whose government introduced broad sanctions against Israeli settlements last month. “We cannot support a partnership with a party that holds the position that has recently been adopted.”

Burham’s remarks came as Labour has been regaining in popularity among left-wing voters at the expense of the Green Party, whose leader Zach Polanski last week lost an election to Labour for a vacated parliamentary seat just days after the Zionism is Racism motion passed.


UK Green Party gambling on anti-Israel politics, former deputy leader warns 'Post'
The UK Green Party has undergone an ideological transformation that has accelerated under leader Zack Polanski, with antisemitism, Islamist influence, and electoral opportunism increasingly shaping its political direction, its former deputy leader Shahrar Ali told The Jerusalem Post in an interview on Tuesday.

Ali warned that the changes are no longer simply an internal Green Party matter, but pose a danger to wider British society.

“When a political party, any political party that has de facto power, gets into positions of influence, and that gets subverted and corrupted beyond recognition, it’s a danger to society.”

Ali has been a member of the Green Party for “the best part” of 20 years. He served as deputy leader of the Green Party of England and Wales from 2014 to 2016, and as the party’s policing and domestic safety spokesperson in 2021.

Ali has a history of disciplinary disputes with the party. In 2022, he launched legal action against the Greens over alleged discrimination concerning his gender-critical beliefs, later securing a ruling that his dismissal had been procedurally unfair and that he had been subjected to “unlawful discrimination.”

He was excluded from the party for two years in September 2024 over comments on the same issue, and was suspended again on October 7, 2026, following his condemnation of the “Zionism is racism” motion and his calls for voters not to support the Greens.

For Ali, these “weaponized disciplinary processes” indicate increasing extremism within the party. “I was criticizing the motion long before the time it was passed, way back in spring, when it first reared its ugly head at the Spring conference,” he told the Post.


Busboys and Poets CEO Andy Shallal adds ‘Free Palestine’ drink to menu, alienating Jewish patrons
Andy Shallal, the founder and CEO of the restaurant and bookstore chain Busboys and Poets, has spent two decades building the Washington-area chain into a hub for progressive politics and anti-Israel advocacy.

Now, that activism is literally on the menu.

The chain’s newest drink is a $14 cocktail called “Free Palestine,” which is made of Tito’s vodka and watermelon, and was offered for free earlier this month to the first 100 customers who filmed and posted a promotional video of themselves saying the slogan.

The drink launch follows a series of events that the restaurant has hosted featuring speakers hostile to Israel, even as Shallal says he has spent decades promoting dialogue between Arabs and Jews. The restaurant’s 2024 Palestine Week event series featured Linda Sarsour, a controversial Palestinian activist with a history of antisemitic and anti-Israel stances.

Busboys and Poets operates eight locations throughout the Washington metropolitan area. Its 14th Street location has a mural painted on the wall showing a group of left-wing leaders and activists sitting at a table together; one of the legs of the table has the words “Long Live the Intifada” painted on top of it, and another says “From the River to the Sea, free Palestine.”

Jewish patrons say the new drink signals the latest shift that makes them feel unwelcome in the restaurant. The slogan “Free Palestine” carries particular weight in the Washington area, where federal prosecutors allege the man accused of killing Israeli Embassy staffers Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim outside the Capital Jewish Museum in May 2025 shouted the phrase after the shooting.

“That is not simply putting a political message on a menu,” Jacob Silver, a local political commentator writing for a Montgomery County Republican club blog, wrote. “It is a script. It is a social-media campaign. And in Washington, of all places, Busboys and Poets should understand why some Jewish customers are going to find it deeply offensive.”
Victoria Police launch internal investigation after officer ‘throat grabbed’ Avi Yemini at pro-Palestine October 7 rally
Victoria Police have launched an official investigation after a Jewish activist and commentator was “throat grabbed” while reporting on an October 7 vigil “honouring Palestinian martyrs”.

Lawyers representing Rebel News correspondent Avi Yemini wrote to Victoria Police last week alleging an officer grabbed him by the throat before saying words to the effect of “I live in North Caulfield… I’ll f***ing see you around”.

In an official response sent out on Wednesday, Victoria Police’s Conduct and Professional Standards Division informed Yemini they would be conducting a “formal investigation” into the incident.

In their legal letter sent to Victoria Police, Yemini’s legal representatives said the incident had been “totally disproportionate” and unnecessary.

“The throat grab plainly constituted a battery consisting of intentional physical contact without consent or lawful justification,” the legal letter states.

“The act was totally disproportionate and not necessary to either prevent an indictable offence or effect a lawful arrest, and therefore cannot be justified under s 462A of the Crimes Act 1958 (Vic).

“The officer’s accompanying remarks were clearly designed to menace and intimidate our client.”

The letter also accuses police of continually impeding Yemini’s work as a journalist by threatening him with arrest if he continued to report on the event.

The incident occurred outside Victoria’s State Library last week after Yemini confronted a Hamas supporter at the pro-Palestine “vigil for Gaza”.

The Vigil for Gaza was promoted as a “sit-in service” and commemoration “honouring Palestinian martyrs of Zionist genocide”.

It was held on the third anniversary of the October 7 attack when Hamas terrorists murdered approximately 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped a further 251.

Footage live-streamed by Yemini and uploaded to YouTube shows the event was relatively subdued until the Rebel News correspondent confronted well-known Palestinian activist Ihab Al Azhari.

“This is the guy who said he wants October 7 to happen again and again. Still free to roam our streets,” Yemini declared.

Mr Al Azhari has previously professed his support for Hamas’s actions, declaring in 2024 that October 7 was “just the beginning”.

“Seven of October is the bloody beginning of it. You're going to have plenty 7 of Octobers coming, plenty of it,” a video published by The Australian shows him saying.

“And the next time 7 of October is going to be to kick your ass out.”


Jewish Council of Scotland urges University of Edinburgh not to drop IHRA definition
In response, the Jewish Council of Scotland said: “IHRA recognises that legitimate criticism of Israel is not antisemitic. Academic freedom and protection from antisemitism must go hand in hand.

“The university should retain this clear framework and ensure complaints are investigated promptly and consistently.”

The Times cited Professor Sam Spiegel, chairman of global studies and international development at the university and a member of the steering committee of the university’s Jewish staff network, supporting the change.

“The motion is designed to help the community to appreciate the range of Jewish perspectives and beliefs, and to be consistent with the key principle that a university’s role is to promote recognition of diversity, rather than impose one definition to the exclusion of others,” he said.

Last month, Professor Spiegel, alongside another academic who is on the staff network’s steering committee, were among signatories to a public letter addressed to the foreign secretary urging him to implement “comprehensive” sanctions against Israel. As well as rejecting the notion that sanctions against Israel encouraged antisemitism in the UK, they wrote that “for us, the Holocaust impels us, as Jews, to act against racism and genocide. To us, “Never Again” means refusing to be a perpetrator or bystander to oppression, whoever the victim might be”.

Jewish News further understands that more than half of those academics listed as members of the steering group of the university’s Jewish staff network have signed open letters calling for a boycott of Israel.
Reggio Emilia mayor walks back anti-Israel litmus test for preschool educators
The mayor of Reggio Emilia, Italy, defended the city’s handling of a controversy where Israeli and American Jewish preschool teachers were asked to condemn Israel’s actions in Gaza before being permitted to join a trip to his town, denying that the pledge was a requirement to attend.

Marco Massari, speaking to the city council on Monday, said the city’s Charter for Democratic and Participatory Education, a document associated with Reggio Emilia’s early childhood education approach, was intended to be open for discussion, not a requirement that visitors sign on to a particular position.

Massari’s remarks came after more than 70 educators from Jewish schools canceled a planned visit after being asked to sign a statement declaring, “I distance myself from the occupation of Gaza and the violation of children’s and human beings’ rights in the occupied territories as well as in every places [sic] in the world,” according to a screenshot obtained by Jewish Insider.

The mayor’s clarification also came following outreach from the State Department, as noted by Ambassador Yehuda Kaploun, the U.S. special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, who said on Wednesday that he welcomes “Massari’s reaffirmation that American Jewish educators are welcome in his city, regardless of their identity or beliefs, and his expressed desire to resume the educational exchange.”

“We appreciate the strong cooperation with local law enforcement to help ensure visiting educators can participate safely, free from intimidation or political pressure,” said Kaploun.

The educators — members of the U.S.-based Paradigm Project — were scheduled to travel to Reggio Emilia, Italy, from Oct. 11–16. Their goal was to study the Reggio Emilia Approach to early childhood education, a method long embraced by Jewish preschools, and bring those insights back to their classrooms.

Massari said that there may have been a misunderstanding with the teachers of the Jewish schools who chose to postpone the trip, adding that “we will clarify it, but Reggio has not asked and does not ask those who work in schools around the world to undergo political or religious examinations.”
Lawyer for Haverford prof accused of stalking Jewish colleague says, as a Muslim, he shouldn’t be detained
An attorney for Guangtian Ha, assistant professor of religion at Haverford College, who is accused of threatening and stalking a Jewish Israeli colleague and the latter’s family, argued that Ha shouldn’t be detained because he is a practicing Muslim.

As a practicing Muslim, the 42-year-old is therefore not “a danger to anyone,” his lawyer argued.

A Chinese native who lives in Pennsylvania as a U.S. lawful permanent resident, he faces a federal count of cyberstalking and up to five years in prison if convicted, the U.S. Department of Justice stated.

FBI agents arrested him on Oct. 6, and he was ordered held in federal custody pending trial on Tuesday, after prosecutors alleged that he told his wife that they should leave the country.

Defense attorney Susan Lin sought Ha’s release with monitoring, citing her client’s lack of a criminal record. “The allegations describe entirely virtual contact with no physical contact,” she said.

In her opposition to pretrial detention, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on Tuesday, Lin said that Ha’s family “has been Muslim for generations, and he practices Islam.”

Ha “attends weekly Friday prayers with an Islamic religious group in the Philadelphia area,” and he doesn’t own a gun, she said.

Ha is accused of sending at least 54 threatening messages to the victim, including, “the Fuhrer is coming, rats.” On Feb. 27, he allegedly mocked the victim’s efforts to protect his home, writing that “the goyim have woken up, Jew. Run. Flee. Leave. Blurring your home on Google Map and installing a security camera next to your mailbox won’t help.”

In messages on May 10, Ha allegedly wrote, “Jump, fat Jew,” and “Eliminate the Jewish cockroaches. Exterminate the Jewish state. You will have nowhere to go. Your family has no future in the U.S. Give it another 10 years, and you shall see a true Holocaust.”

The next day, Ha sent a message that included the victim’s address and writing that “cameras won’t help you,” according to court filings.

Scott Reid, a magistrate judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, initially ordered Ha detained as prosecutors prepared their detention request, according to court filings.


Around 40% of accounts amplifying Mario Nawfal’s X posts show bot-like signals, CAM study shows
Around 40% of the unique accounts amplifying the most-shared posts by news aggregator Mario Nawfal exhibit strong signals of being bots, fake profiles, or inauthentic accounts, according to a study by the Antisemitism Research Center of the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM).

The study, released on Tuesday, is titled “Bot-Like Amplification on X: Findings from CAM’s Study of the @MarioNawfal Amplifier Network,” and was conducted between August 29 and October 12, analyzing 10,015 unique X/Twitter accounts that amplified 230 of the most-shared original posts published by Nawfal.

Nawfal is a Lebanese-Australian entrepreneur, business influencer, podcast host, and political commentator who co-founded NFT Technologies and serves as CEO and founder of IBC Group.

Nawfal runs a news-aggregation account on the platform with roughly 3.95 million followers. Using public data from the official X API, 4,054 of these accounts showed strong bot-like signals, the report stated.
EU decries postponement of Palestinian elections
The European Union on Wednesday criticized the Palestinian Authority for postponing legislative and presidential elections until September 2027, saying Palestinians have waited too long to choose their leaders.

“The EU deeply regrets the decision,” Kaja Kallas, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, stated. The legislative elections had been scheduled for Nov. 28, while the presidential vote was due in early 2027. The Palestinian Authority announced that both are now set for Sept. 11, 2027.

“Acknowledging the challenges and limitations facing the Palestinian Authority, we reiterate the importance of organizing legislative and presidential elections as soon as possible,” Kallas said, urging alignment with previous commitments made by Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas.

Abbas had previously pledged to hold elections as part of efforts to secure international support for Palestinian statehood. The repeated delays have drawn criticism from Israeli officials and international partners.

“Democratic and transparent elections” are “long overdue,” she added, saying Palestinians “must be able to vote to elect their leadership and representatives to their institutions.”

The foreign ministers of Australia, Canada, France and the United Kingdom expressed similar concerns in a joint statement on Tuesday, warning that the latest postponement would further undermine confidence in democratic institutions.

“An entire generation of Palestinians has reached adulthood without the opportunity to choose their elected representatives,” the ministers said, calling on the PA to reconsider the decision and hold elections without further delay.

Abbas announced the postponement on Saturday, citing Israeli restrictions, security concerns and deteriorating conditions in the Palestinian territories, including Gaza, as obstacles to free and fair elections.


Jerusalem mufti issues fatwa banning purchase of olive products from settlements in West Bank
A fatwa (a legal ruling on a point of Islamic law) against buying olive products from settlers was issued by the grand mufti of Jerusalem and the Palestinian Territories and head of the Supreme Fatwa Council, Sheikh Muhammad Ahmad Hussein, in response to the rise of settler attacks on the olive industry.

The legal ruling was given on Tuesday in response to escalating settler violence, specifically against olive trees this harvest season, Hussein’s office published.

“The basic principle is the prohibition of buying something stolen, because its seller does not own it, nor does he have the right to dispose of it; Buying it encourages theft, cooperates in sin and aggression, and endorses wrongdoing,” Hussein said.

“The sin is magnified if buying stolen goods encourages the enemies to seize the lands of the Palestinians, plunder their resources, and displace their people from them.”

Based on this ruling, the Grand Mufti insisted it was forbidden to purchase olive products “stolen from Palestinian trees and sold by settlers, due to the great evils involved.”


Bipartisan Pennsylvania lawmakers introduce bill to adopt IHRA definition of Jew-hatred
A day after JNS reported that Andrea Martin, a new Jewish human relations commissioner in Pennsylvania, hopes that the state will amend its statutes to include the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism, a bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced a measure to that effect.

Judith Schwank, a Democratic Pennsylvania state senator, introduced SB 1489 on Tuesday. The bill drew three Republican and six Democrat co-sponsors and was referred to the state Senate’s state government panel. (JNS sought comment from Schwank.)

The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission and, more recently, the state attorney general have adopted the IHRA definition, but it has not been codified in state law.

Martin told JNS on Wednesday that she had spoken with two of the bill’s cosponsors, one Democrat and one Republican, about the importance of the definition.

“We are all very excited about this development,” she told JNS.

Steve Rosenberg, regional director of the North American Values Institute in Philadelphia, told JNS that the state “has been trying to address antisemitism through limited legislation since 2014, and 12 years later, Jewish students are still paying the price for our failure to get serious about it.”

The bill would amend Pennsylvania’s consolidated statutes to include the IHRA definition and its contemporary examples of antisemitism. These include comparing Israeli policy to that of the Nazis, applying a double standard to Israel by demanding behavior not expected of other democratic nations and claiming that Israel’s existence is racist.
Vegan charity claims ‘gas chamber’ advert was ‘censored’ despite previous apology
A vegan charity that had expressed regret to Jewish News regarding its bus advert ‘Next stop, the gas chamber’ has now posted a blog that complains about the ad being “censored”.

Juliet Gellatley, founder and director of Viva, told Jewish News shortly before Transport for London banned the campaign, which ran on the outside of double-decker vehicles in north London, that she understood the “horrific associations” of the words ‘gas chamber’.

Gellatley had said: “We fully appreciate the uniquely horrific associations that the words ‘gas chamber’ have with the Holocaust and no comparison with the Holocaust was intended.”

But in a post on the charity’s website this week Craig Thorpe, coordinator of Viva’s public campaigns, wrote of the gas chamber advert: “Viva is once again being censored for telling people the truth about animal agriculture. We used those words because they describe what happens.”

He added: “These installations are chambers filled with gas. Conscious pigs are lowered into a chamber or pit containing extremely high concentrations of carbon dioxide, where they struggle for breath and suffer severe distress before they lose consciousness. ‘Next stop’ referred to the journey pigs make to these killing systems. It was never meant to cast bus passengers as victims.”

Thorpe went on to defend the adverts as local to Uxbridge, even though they were seen on buses in Mill Hill and Burnt Oak, 14 miles away from Uxbridge.

“Our ads targeted Uxbridge because that is where Pilgrim’s Europe, one of the UK’s biggest pork producers, quietly bases its headquarters… Our bus adverts used simple messaging to raise awareness, calling on people to find out more and take action.”

TfL, which had originally approved the advert, reversed that decision following contacted from this newspaper. It said at the time: “We continuously work to ensure public transport is a safe environment for everyone and always consider how an advert may be received.” After reviewing its decision it had ordered the ads to be removed “as soon as possible”.
Man arrested for allegedly shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ in Manhattan synagogue
Shear Nobles, of Philadelphia, was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly disrupting services on July 21, 2025, at Shuva Israel, a Sephardic synagogue in Manhattan, and shouting Allahu Akbar.

New York City Police Department officers arrested the 48-year-old in Midtown Manhattan and charged him with aggravated harassment and disruption of religious service, the NYPD said.

Nobles entered the synagogue on July 21, 2025, at around 7:15 p.m. and used his cell phone to record “inside the location without authorization” and entered the sanctuary “while religious services were in session,” the NYPD said.

In the sanctuary where congregants were praying, he “stated loudly Allahu Akbar, causing fear and annoyance for all attending service,” the department said at the time. No injuries were reported.

The NYPD said that its hate crime task force was part of the investigation.

A man with the same name, physical description and city of origin, who would now be about 48, was arrested for defiant trespassing in 1996, theft and assault in 1997 and possession of a controlled substance and criminal conspiracy in 2000. (JNS sought comment from the NYPD.)

The same person was also arrested for burglary in 2005 and was indicted and convicted for possessing a gun and ammunition as a convicted felon in 2007, according to court records from the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania.
Soldier who ‘hates black, Asian, Muslim and Jewish people’ and had homemade cannon is jailed
A soldier who posted “hateful, racist” messages has been jailed for almost four years after a “homemade cannon” was found following raids at his home and quarters.

British Army chef Mark Broadhurst, 28, was arrested at Catterick Garrison, North Yorkshire, in September 2024 and a range of weaponry and explosive substances was then found at his home in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, Sheffield Crown Court was told.

When police raided his quarters at the barracks and his home address, they found gun powder and a homemade cannon, described by an expert as “crude” and similar to a 14th century gun.

He was also found to have crossbows and bolts, six large knives and a baseball bat.

Mr Justice Hilliard jailed him for 46 months after the soldier admitted possessing explosives and a firearms offence.

At a previous hearing, Broadhurst denied the offences were terror-related, but the judge found that he was trying to impress other members of extreme right-wing groups and encourage them in their violent, racist and anti-authority ideology.

Matthew Donkin KC, prosecuting, said most of the activity surrounding the offending happened before he joined the army.

Counter terror police became aware of Broadhurst while carrying out investigations on other members of extreme right-wing groups and saw his messages on two online forums.

Mr Donkin said: “The things he was posting were hateful, racist, aggressive and they demonstrated clear, extreme right-wing beliefs and views.”

The messages demonstrated a hatred of “black, Asian, Muslim and Jewish people”, the prosecution said.

He made references to anarchy, the end of society and his preparedness to bring this about, the Crown said.

He wanted to be “in history books and criminal records” for terrorism and killing police officers, the court heard.

And he shared the online order he made for the ingredients to make gunpowder.
Morocco opens first state-funded museum dedicated to Jewish culture in Arab world
The new Museum of Moroccan Jewish Culture opened its doors in the city of Fes on Monday, marking the first time in history that an Arab-Muslim country has allocated public funds to establish a museum entirely dedicated to Jewish culture.

According to Morocco's National Foundation of Museums, the 1,700 square meters space invites visitors on a journey into the heart of Moroccan Jewish life and Judaism through a rich and diverse collection of ritual and everyday objects, archaeological, ethnographic and artistic artifacts, archives and rare manuscripts, crafts, traditions, as well as practices and testimonies handed down through the 2500 of Jewish history in the country.

Exhibition galleries display Jewish religious artifacts from Arab World
Local media said the exhibition galleries explore communal institutions, including synagogues, Hebrew schools and rabbinical courts, as well as traditions associated with birth, bar mitzvahs, weddings, funerals and religious holidays. Objects on display include Torah scrolls, prayer shawls, marriage contracts, circumcision chairs, bridal costumes and jewelry.

Traditional crafts also feature prominently, including a reconstructed jeweler’s workshop, tools, silver ornaments, textiles, regional clothing and musical instruments. Audiovisual and digital installations complement the collections, while dedicated spaces will host educational activities for children and school groups.

The front of the building features a brass inscription in four languages: Arabic, Amazigh, Hebrew, and French.

The museum was designed with the involvement of the Moroccan Jewish community, represented in particular by Serge Berdugo, Founding President of the Foundation for Moroccan Jewish Cultural Heritage.

Construction of the museum was initiated by King Mohammed VI during his visit to Fez in April 2019, as part of a program to rehabilitate and showcase the old medina.
Colombia becomes 10th country with embassy in Jerusalem
Colombia on Wednesday morning opened its embassy in Jerusalem, the 10th foreign diplomatic mission in the Israeli capital.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, joined by Colombian Foreign Minister Omar Bula Escobar, Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion and Israel’s ambassador to Colombia, Vivian Aisen, said after signing the embassy’s guest book that it was a “historical day for the relations between Colombia and Israel, which is also an important day for Jerusalem, our capital.”

During the ceremony, the embassy sign was unveiled and Sa’ar affixed a mezuzah at the entrance.

In a post on X shortly after the ceremony, Sa’ar said Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella had pledged during a meeting in Buenos Aires, before his election, to move Colombia’s embassy to Jerusalem immediately upon becoming president.

“He promised—and fulfilled,” Sa’ar wrote, adding that the number of embassies in Jerusalem had doubled since he took office less than two years ago. “There will be more, God willing—and soon!”

“Opening an embassy in Jerusalem is not only recognition of the simple political fact that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital,” Sa’ar said at the ceremony. “It is also recognition of a historical truth that no honest person can deny.”

“Today, we are taking a concrete step towards restoring diplomatic relations between our countries, relations that should never have been broken,” Escobar said at the ceremony, according to Israel’s Foreign Ministry. “Israel is a strategic partner. It always has been, and from now on, it will be an even stronger one.”
Israel, Colombia restore free trade deal ahead of Jerusalem embassy inauguration
Israel and Colombia have restored their free trade agreement “in a further significant step to strengthen diplomatic and economic ties,” Israel’s Foreign Ministry announced on Tuesday.

Following the understandings reached between Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and his Colombian counterpart, Omar Bula Escobar, during their meeting in Washington on July 15, the two countries completed an exchange of diplomatic notes on Tuesday formally reversing the decision of former president Gustavo Petro to terminate the free trade agreement with Israel.

Colombia had long been considered one of Israel’s closest partners in Latin America, maintaining extensive cooperation in trade, agriculture and security before relations deteriorated under Petro.

“In just two months, we have reversed most of the negative consequences of the Petro era and opened new doors in Israel-Colombia relations,” said Sa’ar.
Nicole Lampert: ‘Let them hate me’: Why Boy George refuses to be cancelled for a pro-Jewish song
George lives in north London and was in Golders Green when two Jewish men were stabbed in the area in April. Speaking of his tears as he felt the “panic in the air”, he said: “We need to make our Jewish community know we support them.” Instead, trolls attacked him on social media.

A few days later, he was asked about his pro-Jewish stance while on Irish TV’s Late Late Show by host Patrick Kielty, who brought up the “backdrop of that obviously is the horrors in Gaza and this is a complex thing”. George, undeterred, told him: “Well, you don’t blame a whole nation for what’s going on in America or in Russia or anywhere else.”

George, who was performing for San Marino in the Eurovision contest in May, then made sure to hug the Israeli contestant Noam Bettan, who had faced a horrendous global response, including numerous calls for him to be excluded from the competition.

He’s carried on in the same vein. We Will Dance Again is due to be formally released as a single on Friday, meaning it will become available on services such as Spotify and Apple Music.

Now he’s planning a trip to Israel to perform in a few weeks’ time, one of the first major international stars to appear there since October 7. The first night, on November 4 in Tel Aviv, has already sold out, and tickets for a newly announced second show, on November 7, are selling fast. He’s also planning a tour in the UK at the end of this year.

At the moment, George is still struggling to find British musicians willing to play with him, but he says the show will go on. “It has been interesting trying to find people that are brave enough to come. But it’s cool. I can do it on my own like Ed Sheeran if I have to,” he said.

“The people on the other side, they are very noisy; they have won this media narrative. But I just know Jewish people, and I know they are good people and they just want to live.”

Kemsley adds: “He has always been an agitator, innovator, unapologetic. And this is a continuation of that; saying something he believes and expressing it through his artistry. I am very proud of him.”
As Queens designates ‘Spider-Man Way,’ NY state Assembly member thinks of his Holocaust survivor grandparents
Peter Parker, better known as Spider-Man, was born in Forest Hills, as the comic book backstory goes. So too were the grandparents of New York state Assembly member Sam Berger.

“As the grandson of Holocaust survivors, who settled in Forest Hills and rebuilt their lives in Queens, I’m especially proud to see Spider-Man Way recognized in the very community they helped build,” Berger told JNS, of the newly named street in the Queens neighborhood in New York City.

“My grandparents may not have had superpowers, but they understood that with the opportunity to build a new life came a responsibility to give back and leave their community better than they found it,” he said.

Berger, who represents the area and advocated for the street naming, connected that legacy to the Jewish creators, who helped shape American comic books, including Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Will Eisner, Joe Simon, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.

Lee penned the Spider-Man comics, while Steve Ditko illustrated them.

“Through their stories, they helped generations understand that our greatest strength isn’t measured by our powers or achievements, but by how we use them to stand up for others and make the world around us a little better,” Berger told JNS.

“That’s a legacy worth celebrating, and one that makes Spider-Man Way especially meaningful here in Queens,” he said.





 


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