Mideast War blowback
ASPartOfMe
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22 Aug 2025, 1:54 pm
ASPartOfMe wrote:
US judge equates Israeli flag with Jewish identity
Quote:
A Jewish legal advocacy group hailed a legal breakthrough in court battles against antisemitism after a US federal judge last week equated the Israeli flag with “the Jewish race.”
The judge’s decision sets a new legal standard that can be used to protect Jews targeted in anti-Zionist attacks, said the National Jewish Advocacy Center, a nonprofit that represented the plaintiff.
Pro-Israel Jewish activist Kimmara Sumrall filed the lawsuit in a federal district court in Washington, DC, last month. Sumrall alleged that she was attacked at a pro-Israel demonstration in Washington in November 2024 while wearing an Israeli flag tied around her neck as a cape.
An anti-Israel activist at the protest approached Sumrall from behind and yanked on the Israeli flag, briefly choking Sumrall. A police officer witnessed the incident and arrested the assailant at the scene, the complaint said.
The anti-Israel protest was organized by Code Pink, a far-left activist group that often demonstrates against Israel. Both the assailant and the pro-Israel activist regularly attended dueling protests in the capital. Sumrall said she had received death threats related to her activism after the attack, causing her to fear for her safety.
The lawsuit, like others filed by Jewish Israel supporters around the US, argued that Zionism is a facet of the faith and not a political position. Jewish legal advocates have used the interpretation of Zionism to protect pro-Israel Jews and combat anti-Zionism under US civil rights protections that cover religion, race and national origin, but not politics. The argument has been widely used in cases involving Title VI of the US Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars discrimination in programs that receive federal financial assistance, such as universities.
The lawsuit said Sumrall had been targeted in the attack due to her race, religion and national origin, and sought damages and a restraining order barring the assailant from approaching Sumrall.
Lawyers for the defendant argued that she had been acquitted of assault charges in criminal court. The defense said that the defendant’s keffiyeh had tangled with Sumrall’s flag when the two bumped into each other at the protest, and that there had been no malicious contact between the two. The legal team also argued that the lawsuit was “conflating honest and widespread criticism of Israel’s policies in Palestine with anti-Jewish hate,” and that the incident was not discriminatory.
The restraining order would prevent the alleged assailant from attending protests, violating her First Amendment rights, since both women attend the same events on opposing sides, the defense said.
The judge in the case, District Judge Trevor N. McFadden, sided with Sumrall, saying that the defendant “purposefully discriminated against her on the basis of race” and that she had likely committed battery, citing testimony from the arresting police officer. The officer had declined to testify in criminal court, where assault needs to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, a higher bar than in a civil case.
“That battery was direct evidence of discrimination that likely would not have occurred but for racial animus,” the judge said in a court filing last week.
“Purposefully yanking on an Israeli flag tied around a Jewish person’s neck to choke them is direct evidence of racial discrimination. The Star of David — emblazoned upon the Israeli flag — symbolizes the Jewish race,” the judge said, comparing attacks against the Star of David to using racial slurs against Black people, and dismissing the defense’s argument that such an offense could be “an objection to state policies.”
The defendant “did not have reason to think Sumrall was herself affiliated with the Israeli government. Rather, it is much more likely that she was intentionally attacking a Jewish person wearing a Jewish flag as a symbol of her racial heritage,” the judge said, upholding a restraining order against the defendant.
Mainen said the ruling was significant because it established case law equating attacks against the Star of David and Israeli flag with antisemitism. Case law is formed by judges writing opinions on individual cases that guide legal interpretations in future cases. Case law differs from legal precedents in that precedents are binding, meaning they are rulings that courts must adhere to, while case law serves as a guidepost.
In future lawsuits alleging antisemitism stemming from anti-Israel activism, for example, plaintiffs will be able to cite the Sumrall lawsuit as evidence that there is a legal standard equating anti-Zionism with anti-Jewish discrimination. Mainen said the case would likely be “heavily cited” in the future.
The lawsuit also made novel use of an obscure federal legal provision dating back to the Civil War era aimed at combating racial discrimination. The provision, first enacted as the Civil Rights Act of 1866, guarantees equal rights for all racial groups, and Jews have been recognized by the Supreme Court as a race for purposes of civil rights law. The provision elevates racially motivated assault from state court to federal court.
“If I’m on the street and I hit someone, assault and battery, that’s not really a federal crime. That’s a state crime. But if I’m on the street and I hit someone because of their race, this law federalizes that violent act,” Mainen said. “It allows you to sue in federal court when there’s a hate crime component to it. This case in DC was the first post-October 7 case, and it’s possibly the first ever antisemitism case to use this to apply it to antisemitic violence.”
Code Pink decried the decision in a statement, saying, “The lawsuit’s dangerous claim that criticism of Israel’s government and its flag — a political symbol of a state currently responsible for mass civilian deaths in Gaza — amounts to antisemitism.”
“This false conflation seeks to criminalize political speech, even though many critics of Israel’s policies are themselves Jewish. It is an effort to erase the critical distinction between opposing a government’s actions and attacking a religion,” Code Pink said.
The judge’s decision sets a new legal standard that can be used to protect Jews targeted in anti-Zionist attacks, said the National Jewish Advocacy Center, a nonprofit that represented the plaintiff.
Pro-Israel Jewish activist Kimmara Sumrall filed the lawsuit in a federal district court in Washington, DC, last month. Sumrall alleged that she was attacked at a pro-Israel demonstration in Washington in November 2024 while wearing an Israeli flag tied around her neck as a cape.
An anti-Israel activist at the protest approached Sumrall from behind and yanked on the Israeli flag, briefly choking Sumrall. A police officer witnessed the incident and arrested the assailant at the scene, the complaint said.
The anti-Israel protest was organized by Code Pink, a far-left activist group that often demonstrates against Israel. Both the assailant and the pro-Israel activist regularly attended dueling protests in the capital. Sumrall said she had received death threats related to her activism after the attack, causing her to fear for her safety.
The lawsuit, like others filed by Jewish Israel supporters around the US, argued that Zionism is a facet of the faith and not a political position. Jewish legal advocates have used the interpretation of Zionism to protect pro-Israel Jews and combat anti-Zionism under US civil rights protections that cover religion, race and national origin, but not politics. The argument has been widely used in cases involving Title VI of the US Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars discrimination in programs that receive federal financial assistance, such as universities.
The lawsuit said Sumrall had been targeted in the attack due to her race, religion and national origin, and sought damages and a restraining order barring the assailant from approaching Sumrall.
Lawyers for the defendant argued that she had been acquitted of assault charges in criminal court. The defense said that the defendant’s keffiyeh had tangled with Sumrall’s flag when the two bumped into each other at the protest, and that there had been no malicious contact between the two. The legal team also argued that the lawsuit was “conflating honest and widespread criticism of Israel’s policies in Palestine with anti-Jewish hate,” and that the incident was not discriminatory.
The restraining order would prevent the alleged assailant from attending protests, violating her First Amendment rights, since both women attend the same events on opposing sides, the defense said.
The judge in the case, District Judge Trevor N. McFadden, sided with Sumrall, saying that the defendant “purposefully discriminated against her on the basis of race” and that she had likely committed battery, citing testimony from the arresting police officer. The officer had declined to testify in criminal court, where assault needs to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, a higher bar than in a civil case.
“That battery was direct evidence of discrimination that likely would not have occurred but for racial animus,” the judge said in a court filing last week.
“Purposefully yanking on an Israeli flag tied around a Jewish person’s neck to choke them is direct evidence of racial discrimination. The Star of David — emblazoned upon the Israeli flag — symbolizes the Jewish race,” the judge said, comparing attacks against the Star of David to using racial slurs against Black people, and dismissing the defense’s argument that such an offense could be “an objection to state policies.”
The defendant “did not have reason to think Sumrall was herself affiliated with the Israeli government. Rather, it is much more likely that she was intentionally attacking a Jewish person wearing a Jewish flag as a symbol of her racial heritage,” the judge said, upholding a restraining order against the defendant.
Mainen said the ruling was significant because it established case law equating attacks against the Star of David and Israeli flag with antisemitism. Case law is formed by judges writing opinions on individual cases that guide legal interpretations in future cases. Case law differs from legal precedents in that precedents are binding, meaning they are rulings that courts must adhere to, while case law serves as a guidepost.
In future lawsuits alleging antisemitism stemming from anti-Israel activism, for example, plaintiffs will be able to cite the Sumrall lawsuit as evidence that there is a legal standard equating anti-Zionism with anti-Jewish discrimination. Mainen said the case would likely be “heavily cited” in the future.
The lawsuit also made novel use of an obscure federal legal provision dating back to the Civil War era aimed at combating racial discrimination. The provision, first enacted as the Civil Rights Act of 1866, guarantees equal rights for all racial groups, and Jews have been recognized by the Supreme Court as a race for purposes of civil rights law. The provision elevates racially motivated assault from state court to federal court.
“If I’m on the street and I hit someone, assault and battery, that’s not really a federal crime. That’s a state crime. But if I’m on the street and I hit someone because of their race, this law federalizes that violent act,” Mainen said. “It allows you to sue in federal court when there’s a hate crime component to it. This case in DC was the first post-October 7 case, and it’s possibly the first ever antisemitism case to use this to apply it to antisemitic violence.”
Code Pink decried the decision in a statement, saying, “The lawsuit’s dangerous claim that criticism of Israel’s government and its flag — a political symbol of a state currently responsible for mass civilian deaths in Gaza — amounts to antisemitism.”
“This false conflation seeks to criminalize political speech, even though many critics of Israel’s policies are themselves Jewish. It is an effort to erase the critical distinction between opposing a government’s actions and attacking a religion,” Code Pink said.
US Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green repeats falsity that it’s illegal to burn Israel’s flag in the U.S.
Quote:
US. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on Tuesday repeated a falsehood that it is illegal to burn an Israeli flag in the United States, a statement highlighting how disinformation spread online can reach the halls of power and a broad audience.
The Times of Israel reported last week that a judge in a federal court in Washington, DC, in a civil lawsuit had equated the Israeli flag with Jewish identity.
The headline of the article was shared widely by right-wing influencers online, who falsely claimed that the judge had made it illegal to burn the Israeli flag.
“It’s now illegal to burn an Israeli flag in the United States but still legal to burn an American flag. We’re an Occupied nation,” the right-wing commentator Stew Peters said on X, echoing a claim made by an array of influencers, many with hundreds of thousands of followers.
The assertion is false. The judge’s opinion did not create new criminal law, and does not apply to legitimate protest protected by the First Amendment. The judge’s statement, and the article, made no mention of burning Israeli flags, which remains legal.
“The case law is clear that burning any flag is perfectly legal with the exception that, like anything else, it cannot be done with the purpose of threatening someone with violence,” Matthew Mainen, one of the lawyers representing the plaintiff in the case, told The Times of Israel. “You can’t burn any flag, including the American flag, if it could be considered a true threat or incitement of imminent lawless action.”
The judge in the case, Trump appointee Trevor McFadden, equated the flag with Jewish people because the flag bears the Star of David, a symbol of Judaism.
“What McFadden’s ruling does accomplish is that if you burn a Jewish person’s Israeli flag with the requisite intent to intimidate — and it is clearly illegal to burn someone else’s property without their permission — that would be correctly labeled as an antisemitic hate crime,” Mainen said.
The false claims online still garnered millions of views, and corrections posted alongside their assertions gained little traction.
After the claim circulated for several days, Greene, a far-right Republican from Georgia, repeated the assertion in an interview with Megyn Kelly, a conservative media personality with millions of followers.
“Israel is the only country I know of that has some sort of incredible influence and control over nearly every single one of my colleagues and it is — I don’t know how to explain it,” Greene said.
“This just came from Judge McFadden — he just had a ruling that you can burn any flag in the United States of America, including our own American flag, except you can’t burn the Israeli flag in America,” she said.
“That’s a violation of the First Amendment, blatant, and it will be struck down as soon as it goes up on appeal. What a ridiculous notion,” said Kelly, who was unfamiliar with the case.
Greene’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
The rhetoric echoes antisemitic tropes that claim Israel holds sway over the American government, a common charge among the far right. The claims are similar to age-old antisemitic conspiracies that a cabal of Jews pulls the strings of power from the shadows, a notion popularized by the antisemitic fabrication The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, first published in Russia in the early 1900s.
The disinformation was also shared, to a lesser extent, by leftist and pro-Palestinian activists in an example of the so-called horseshoe theory. The theory says the political spectrum is less of a straight line than a horseshoe shape in which the far left and far right move toward each other as they get away from the center.
“In the United States, you can burn the American flag — the Supreme Court has said so for decades. But now, according to this ruling, burning or tearing the Israeli flag could make you guilty of racial hatred. The one national flag protected in American law today isn’t our own. It’s Israel’s,” the leftist activist Shaun King wrote.
The Times of Israel reported last week that a judge in a federal court in Washington, DC, in a civil lawsuit had equated the Israeli flag with Jewish identity.
The headline of the article was shared widely by right-wing influencers online, who falsely claimed that the judge had made it illegal to burn the Israeli flag.
“It’s now illegal to burn an Israeli flag in the United States but still legal to burn an American flag. We’re an Occupied nation,” the right-wing commentator Stew Peters said on X, echoing a claim made by an array of influencers, many with hundreds of thousands of followers.
The assertion is false. The judge’s opinion did not create new criminal law, and does not apply to legitimate protest protected by the First Amendment. The judge’s statement, and the article, made no mention of burning Israeli flags, which remains legal.
“The case law is clear that burning any flag is perfectly legal with the exception that, like anything else, it cannot be done with the purpose of threatening someone with violence,” Matthew Mainen, one of the lawyers representing the plaintiff in the case, told The Times of Israel. “You can’t burn any flag, including the American flag, if it could be considered a true threat or incitement of imminent lawless action.”
The judge in the case, Trump appointee Trevor McFadden, equated the flag with Jewish people because the flag bears the Star of David, a symbol of Judaism.
“What McFadden’s ruling does accomplish is that if you burn a Jewish person’s Israeli flag with the requisite intent to intimidate — and it is clearly illegal to burn someone else’s property without their permission — that would be correctly labeled as an antisemitic hate crime,” Mainen said.
The false claims online still garnered millions of views, and corrections posted alongside their assertions gained little traction.
After the claim circulated for several days, Greene, a far-right Republican from Georgia, repeated the assertion in an interview with Megyn Kelly, a conservative media personality with millions of followers.
“Israel is the only country I know of that has some sort of incredible influence and control over nearly every single one of my colleagues and it is — I don’t know how to explain it,” Greene said.
“This just came from Judge McFadden — he just had a ruling that you can burn any flag in the United States of America, including our own American flag, except you can’t burn the Israeli flag in America,” she said.
“That’s a violation of the First Amendment, blatant, and it will be struck down as soon as it goes up on appeal. What a ridiculous notion,” said Kelly, who was unfamiliar with the case.
Greene’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
The rhetoric echoes antisemitic tropes that claim Israel holds sway over the American government, a common charge among the far right. The claims are similar to age-old antisemitic conspiracies that a cabal of Jews pulls the strings of power from the shadows, a notion popularized by the antisemitic fabrication The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, first published in Russia in the early 1900s.
The disinformation was also shared, to a lesser extent, by leftist and pro-Palestinian activists in an example of the so-called horseshoe theory. The theory says the political spectrum is less of a straight line than a horseshoe shape in which the far left and far right move toward each other as they get away from the center.
“In the United States, you can burn the American flag — the Supreme Court has said so for decades. But now, according to this ruling, burning or tearing the Israeli flag could make you guilty of racial hatred. The one national flag protected in American law today isn’t our own. It’s Israel’s,” the leftist activist Shaun King wrote.
_________________
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“You are autistic enough. And you always have been”
Professionally Identified and joined WP August 26, 2013
DSM 5: Autism Spectrum Disorder, DSM IV: Aspergers Moderate Severity.
ASPartOfMe
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24 Aug 2025, 1:17 am
Irish president calls for a UN military intervention in Gaza
Quote:
The UN General Assembly should establish “a force to be put together to guarantee humanitarian access," Irish media reported Irish President Michael D. Higgins as saying on Saturday.
During an interview with Ireland’s public service broadcaster RTE, the president explained how the UN charter allows for the Secretary General to send armed forces out even if the Security Council vetoes the initiative.
“If a certain proportion of the committee of the General Assembly supported, even if the Security Council uses the veto to block it, the secretary general can call for a force to be put together to guarantee humanitarian access," he said.
"The main thing is, I think, for a global reassertion of the importance of the General Assembly,” he added.
The UN General Assembly should establish “a force to be put together to guarantee humanitarian access," Irish media reported Irish President Michael D. Higgins as saying on Saturday.
During an interview with Ireland’s public service broadcaster RTE, the president explained how the UN charter allows for the Secretary General to send armed forces out even if the Security Council vetoes the initiative.
“If a certain proportion of the committee of the General Assembly supported, even if the Security Council uses the veto to block it, the secretary general can call for a force to be put together to guarantee humanitarian access," he said.
"The main thing is, I think, for a global reassertion of the importance of the General Assembly,” he added.
The other thing which is now proposed is, in fact, breaking the link between the West Bank and Gaza. The realm of unaccountability is the most dangerous threat to democracy.”
During an interview with Ireland’s public service broadcaster RTE, the president explained how the UN charter allows for the Secretary General to send armed forces out even if the Security Council vetoes the initiative.
“If a certain proportion of the committee of the General Assembly supported, even if the Security Council uses the veto to block it, the secretary general can call for a force to be put together to guarantee humanitarian access," he said.
"The main thing is, I think, for a global reassertion of the importance of the General Assembly,” he added.
The UN General Assembly should establish “a force to be put together to guarantee humanitarian access," Irish media reported Irish President Michael D. Higgins as saying on Saturday.
During an interview with Ireland’s public service broadcaster RTE, the president explained how the UN charter allows for the Secretary General to send armed forces out even if the Security Council vetoes the initiative.
“If a certain proportion of the committee of the General Assembly supported, even if the Security Council uses the veto to block it, the secretary general can call for a force to be put together to guarantee humanitarian access," he said.
"The main thing is, I think, for a global reassertion of the importance of the General Assembly,” he added.
The other thing which is now proposed is, in fact, breaking the link between the West Bank and Gaza. The realm of unaccountability is the most dangerous threat to democracy.”
Irish medical consultants demand state not give sick children Israeli medicine
Quote:
Over 50 consultants at Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) demanded that the state not give medication manufactured by the Israeli company Teva Pharmaceuticals, where “viable alternatives” are available, according to Irish media reports.
Teva, an Israeli multinational manufacturer of both generic and specialist medication, has a strong presence in Ireland despite the country’s recent push to adopt policies encouraging the boycott of Israeli goods.
Teva reportedly responded to the consults’ demand by stating any boycott of its medicine could “impose a risk on the health and well-being” of patients.
In a letter to CHI chief executive Lucy Nugent and Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill on Friday, 57 pediatric consultants claimed they were concerned about “the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, which has been widely recognized as meeting the legal definition of genocide by leading international authorities, including the United Nations and the International Court of Justice.”
We respectfully request that CHI take immediate steps to discontinue the procurement and use of pharmaceuticals manufactured by Teva where viable alternatives exist,” the letter continued.
The consultants accused Teva of operating ”under the jurisdiction of and contributing to the economy of a state currently under investigation for genocide.”
As an Israeli company, paying tax to the Israeli government, the consultants further alleged, it “directly funds the diplomatic and military resources employed by the Israeli government to carry out a genocide and silence dissent domestically and internationally.”
“The company provides Israeli forces with medical supplies and donations. These resources have been used to slaughter patients, health professionals, and utterly destroy the healthcare infrastructure in Gaza,” the letter continued.
Ireland's public service struggles to give up Israeli innovation
This is not the first time that public services in Ireland have been asked to bear the burden of declining relations with Israel.
In March, it was reported that Ireland’s police force, the Garda Síochána, was fighting against pressure to give up Israeli technology, which helped solve violent crimes.
Gardaí Commissioner Drew Harris said Cellebrite was essential for extracting data from computers and phones that could solve crimes - including violent crimes like murders.
Teva, an Israeli multinational manufacturer of both generic and specialist medication, has a strong presence in Ireland despite the country’s recent push to adopt policies encouraging the boycott of Israeli goods.
Teva reportedly responded to the consults’ demand by stating any boycott of its medicine could “impose a risk on the health and well-being” of patients.
In a letter to CHI chief executive Lucy Nugent and Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill on Friday, 57 pediatric consultants claimed they were concerned about “the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, which has been widely recognized as meeting the legal definition of genocide by leading international authorities, including the United Nations and the International Court of Justice.”
We respectfully request that CHI take immediate steps to discontinue the procurement and use of pharmaceuticals manufactured by Teva where viable alternatives exist,” the letter continued.
The consultants accused Teva of operating ”under the jurisdiction of and contributing to the economy of a state currently under investigation for genocide.”
As an Israeli company, paying tax to the Israeli government, the consultants further alleged, it “directly funds the diplomatic and military resources employed by the Israeli government to carry out a genocide and silence dissent domestically and internationally.”
“The company provides Israeli forces with medical supplies and donations. These resources have been used to slaughter patients, health professionals, and utterly destroy the healthcare infrastructure in Gaza,” the letter continued.
Ireland's public service struggles to give up Israeli innovation
This is not the first time that public services in Ireland have been asked to bear the burden of declining relations with Israel.
In March, it was reported that Ireland’s police force, the Garda Síochána, was fighting against pressure to give up Israeli technology, which helped solve violent crimes.
Gardaí Commissioner Drew Harris said Cellebrite was essential for extracting data from computers and phones that could solve crimes - including violent crimes like murders.
Dutch FM resigns over blocked Israel sanctions, party officials follow
Quote:
Five ministers and four state secretaries followed Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp out after his efforts to issue new sanctions against the Israeli leadership were blocked by other government members, Dutch media reported Friday.
After failing to garner support for his plans on Friday, he announced, "I'm going home now and I'm going to write my resignation letter," according to De Telegraf.
“I felt resistance in the cabinet against more measures as a result of what is happening in Gaza City and the occupied West Bank at the moment,” he later said in a statement following his resignation.
Sources told De Telegraf that Veldkamp quit despite a compromise that would have seen an import ban on Israeli settlement goods.
Social Affairs Minister Eddy van Hijum, Interior Minister Judith Uitermark, Education, Culture, and Science Minister Eppo Bruins, Health, Welfare, and Sport Minister Daniëlle Jansen, and several junior ministers, all from the New Social Contract (NSC) party, resigned shortly after, according to Dutch News.
After failing to garner support for his plans on Friday, he announced, "I'm going home now and I'm going to write my resignation letter," according to De Telegraf.
“I felt resistance in the cabinet against more measures as a result of what is happening in Gaza City and the occupied West Bank at the moment,” he later said in a statement following his resignation.
Sources told De Telegraf that Veldkamp quit despite a compromise that would have seen an import ban on Israeli settlement goods.
Social Affairs Minister Eddy van Hijum, Interior Minister Judith Uitermark, Education, Culture, and Science Minister Eppo Bruins, Health, Welfare, and Sport Minister Daniëlle Jansen, and several junior ministers, all from the New Social Contract (NSC) party, resigned shortly after, according to Dutch News.
French resort manager arrested for antisemitism after denying entry to 150 Israeli kids
Quote:
A group of Israeli children, aged 8 to 16, were refused entry to a leisure park in Porté-Puymorens (France) by the manager on Thursday, despite having made a reservation, the Perpignan prosecutor's office confirmed.
The 52-year-old manager said he had banned the group on account of "personal convictions."
An investigation has been opened, and the manager has been taken into custody on account of "discrimination based on religion in the context of the offer or the fortune of a good or service."
The prosecutor's office announced that this is punishable by a maximum sentence of three years in prison. The manager is not previously known to the justice system.
Israelis assaulted in the Netherlands
Two Israelis were attacked at the Center Parcs De Kempervennen in the Netherlands, the Foreign Ministry confirmed on Twitter/ X on Thursday
The Israeli nationals are understood to be receiving treatment from a hospital in Eindhoven for wounds sustained from the attack, which was carried out by multiple local residents.
Before the attack, Dutch media outlet Jonet reported that pro-Palestinian activists had secretly recorded the Israelis, and their image was shared online. The footage of the Israeli families reportedly appeared on the social media page of the Amsterdam branch of Students for Justice in Palestine, according to Omroep Flevoland.
The 52-year-old manager said he had banned the group on account of "personal convictions."
An investigation has been opened, and the manager has been taken into custody on account of "discrimination based on religion in the context of the offer or the fortune of a good or service."
The prosecutor's office announced that this is punishable by a maximum sentence of three years in prison. The manager is not previously known to the justice system.
Israelis assaulted in the Netherlands
Two Israelis were attacked at the Center Parcs De Kempervennen in the Netherlands, the Foreign Ministry confirmed on Twitter/ X on Thursday
The Israeli nationals are understood to be receiving treatment from a hospital in Eindhoven for wounds sustained from the attack, which was carried out by multiple local residents.
Before the attack, Dutch media outlet Jonet reported that pro-Palestinian activists had secretly recorded the Israelis, and their image was shared online. The footage of the Israeli families reportedly appeared on the social media page of the Amsterdam branch of Students for Justice in Palestine, according to Omroep Flevoland.
Jews commemorating hostages splattered with red paint in Frankfurt
Quote:
Members of Germany’s Jewish community were attacked with red paint while hosting an event on Friday evening in Gruneburgpark to commemorate the remaining 50 hostages being held by Hamas, according to German media reports.
While placing photos of the 50 hostages on posts at the park, masked attackers reportedly sprayed the people attending the event with red paint.
While placing photos of the 50 hostages on posts at the park, masked attackers reportedly sprayed the people attending the event with red paint.
Pro-Palestinian encampment
The park housed a pro-Palestinian encampment, according to Tagesschau.
Camp spokesperson Sebastian Blessing told the site he was unaware of the incident and claimed, “We continue to have no problem showing solidarity with the Gaza hostages. But we also don’t understand why our event is repeatedly disrupted.”
Blessing claimed that two people from the camp had been physically attacked over the past week.
While placing photos of the 50 hostages on posts at the park, masked attackers reportedly sprayed the people attending the event with red paint.
While placing photos of the 50 hostages on posts at the park, masked attackers reportedly sprayed the people attending the event with red paint.
Pro-Palestinian encampment
The park housed a pro-Palestinian encampment, according to Tagesschau.
Camp spokesperson Sebastian Blessing told the site he was unaware of the incident and claimed, “We continue to have no problem showing solidarity with the Gaza hostages. But we also don’t understand why our event is repeatedly disrupted.”
Blessing claimed that two people from the camp had been physically attacked over the past week.
_________________
“Self Acceptance is a process not a performance”
“You are autistic enough. And you always have been”
Professionally Identified and joined WP August 26, 2013
DSM 5: Autism Spectrum Disorder, DSM IV: Aspergers Moderate Severity.
24 Aug 2025, 7:57 am
It's problematic that people on "both sides" equate Israel and Jews when it suits their agenda. Like that US judge
in the court ruling about the Israeli flag and Jewish identity and like the people attacking innocent European or US Jews for the crimes of Israel. I think you have to make a clear distinction between Israel and Jews if you want to fight antisemtitism.
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English is not my first language.
ASPartOfMe
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24 Aug 2025, 10:19 am
BillyTree wrote:
It's problematic that people on "both sides" equate Israel and Jews when it suits their agenda. Like that US judge
in the court ruling about the Israeli flag and Jewish identity and like the people attacking innocent European or US Jews for the crimes of Israel. I think you have to make a clear distinction between Israel and Jews if you want to fight antisemtitism.
in the court ruling about the Israeli flag and Jewish identity and like the people attacking innocent European or US Jews for the crimes of Israel. I think you have to make a clear distinction between Israel and Jews if you want to fight antisemtitism.
In a perfect world Jews and Israel would be thought of as two distinct concepts. There are two main issues with un conflating Jews and Israel.
Most Jews either support Israel or at least feel a connection to it. Israel is mentioned in important Jewish prayers. If mainstream Jewish organizations keep on saying you can’t separate Judaism from zionism how can it be expected that gentiles will separate the two?
Anti zionism is very popular at the moment but being openly prejudiced against Jews is still for the most part unacceptable. Being anti zionist provides an acceptable way for being antisemitic making it impossible in most cases to determine motive.
Real world example. A noisy protest outside of a synagogue. At first glance it seems anti Jewish, disrupting Jews at their place of worship. But in most cases that synagogue is supporting Israel in some way.
_________________
“Self Acceptance is a process not a performance”
“You are autistic enough. And you always have been”
Professionally Identified and joined WP August 26, 2013
DSM 5: Autism Spectrum Disorder, DSM IV: Aspergers Moderate Severity.
ASPartOfMe
Veteran
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Age: 68
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28 Aug 2025, 9:59 am
UK party leader to boycott state dinner for Trump over Gaza war
Quote:
A UK opposition party leader announced Wednesday that he will boycott a banquet thrown by King Charles during Donald Trump’s state visit to Britain next month over the US president’s stance on the war in Gaza.
Liberal Democrats leader Ed Davey said he wants to send a “strong message” by declining the invitation to the lavish dinner.
Trump is due to visit the UK from September 17 to 19 for an unprecedented second state visit, which will include a banquet thrown in his honor by the king.
“I feel a responsibility to do whatever I can to ensure the people in Gaza are not forgotten during the pomp and ceremony,” Davey, leader of the third-largest party in parliament, wrote in The Guardian on Wednesday.
“Boycotting the state banquet is not something I ever wanted to do, but I believe it is the only way I can send a message to both Trump and [UK Prime Minister Keir] Starmer that they cannot close their eyes and wish this away,” he added.
The opposition Conservative party criticized the decision as “an act of deep disrespect.”
But Davey told BBC Radio 4 on Thursday “no disrespect is meant to the king.”
The US leader’s 2019 state visit, during his first term, was marred by large protests, and demonstrations are already planned for the forthcoming trip.
Several politicians, including then-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, also boycotted Trump’s state dinner at Buckingham Palace in 2019.
Liberal Democrats leader Ed Davey said he wants to send a “strong message” by declining the invitation to the lavish dinner.
Trump is due to visit the UK from September 17 to 19 for an unprecedented second state visit, which will include a banquet thrown in his honor by the king.
“I feel a responsibility to do whatever I can to ensure the people in Gaza are not forgotten during the pomp and ceremony,” Davey, leader of the third-largest party in parliament, wrote in The Guardian on Wednesday.
“Boycotting the state banquet is not something I ever wanted to do, but I believe it is the only way I can send a message to both Trump and [UK Prime Minister Keir] Starmer that they cannot close their eyes and wish this away,” he added.
The opposition Conservative party criticized the decision as “an act of deep disrespect.”
But Davey told BBC Radio 4 on Thursday “no disrespect is meant to the king.”
The US leader’s 2019 state visit, during his first term, was marred by large protests, and demonstrations are already planned for the forthcoming trip.
Several politicians, including then-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, also boycotted Trump’s state dinner at Buckingham Palace in 2019.
Most Americans see famine in Gaza, blame Hamas; 18-24-year-olds back Hamas over Israel in war
Quote:
Most Americans believe there is a famine in Gaza, but hold the Hamas terror group responsible, according to an August Harvard/Harris poll conducted as reports of the crisis led news in the US.
The survey found that 69% of respondents believed accusations that there is a famine in Gaza. More Democrats — 78% — believed the accusations than the 65% of Republicans and Independents.
A majority of 61% held Hamas responsible for the famine. Democrats were split over which side was responsible, while 74% of Republicans and 60% of Independents blamed the terror group.
Overall, 26% of Americans favored Hamas over Israel.
Most respondents — 58% — said Israel should only make a deal to release the Israeli hostages if Hamas leaves Gaza.
The poll, released on Monday, queried 2,025 registered US voters on August 20-21 and had a margin of error of 2.2 points.
The monthly poll was carried out by Harvard University’s Center for American Political Studies and The Harris Poll, a US survey company.
A separate survey released on Wednesday found that 37% of Americans sympathized more with the Palestinians, while 36% favored the Israelis. The finding marked an all-time high for the Palestinians and a record low for Israelis since the poll began asking the question in 2001.
The Quinnipac University poll said that 60% of respondents were against the United States sending more military aid to Israel for the war against Hamas, while 32% were in favor. The Quinnipac survey asked about aid specifically for fighting Hamas, while the Harvard/Harris poll asked about general military aid for Israel, without mentioning Gaza or Hamas.
The Quinnipac survey also found that half of respondents believed Israel was committing genocide, while 35% did not, and the rest did not answer or did not know.
For Democrats, 77% believed Israel was guilty of genocide, compared to 20% of Republicans.
The survey found that 69% of respondents believed accusations that there is a famine in Gaza. More Democrats — 78% — believed the accusations than the 65% of Republicans and Independents.
A majority of 61% held Hamas responsible for the famine. Democrats were split over which side was responsible, while 74% of Republicans and 60% of Independents blamed the terror group.
Overall, 26% of Americans favored Hamas over Israel.
Most respondents — 58% — said Israel should only make a deal to release the Israeli hostages if Hamas leaves Gaza.
The poll, released on Monday, queried 2,025 registered US voters on August 20-21 and had a margin of error of 2.2 points.
The monthly poll was carried out by Harvard University’s Center for American Political Studies and The Harris Poll, a US survey company.
A separate survey released on Wednesday found that 37% of Americans sympathized more with the Palestinians, while 36% favored the Israelis. The finding marked an all-time high for the Palestinians and a record low for Israelis since the poll began asking the question in 2001.
The Quinnipac University poll said that 60% of respondents were against the United States sending more military aid to Israel for the war against Hamas, while 32% were in favor. The Quinnipac survey asked about aid specifically for fighting Hamas, while the Harvard/Harris poll asked about general military aid for Israel, without mentioning Gaza or Hamas.
The Quinnipac survey also found that half of respondents believed Israel was committing genocide, while 35% did not, and the rest did not answer or did not know.
For Democrats, 77% believed Israel was guilty of genocide, compared to 20% of Republicans.
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Professionally Identified and joined WP August 26, 2013
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29 Aug 2025, 9:36 pm
The writer is a former chief editor of the Associated Press in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East; ex-chairman of the Foreign Press Association in Jerusalem; and author of two books about Israel.
Netanyahu’s government is alienating Israel’s lifeline in Washington
Quote:
For decades, American Jews were Israel’s lifeline in Washington: a vital bridge to securing military aid, diplomatic cover, and bipartisan consensus. That bond is now fraying under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as Israel drifts toward the messianic Right and alienates the non-Orthodox majority of the Diaspora.
This has been brought to a boil by despair at the continuation and threatened escalation of the stupendously ugly Gaza war. Almost every conversation I have with American Jews – historic supporters of Israel all – eventually touches upon this issue.
They worry about children becoming anti-Zionist. Some are contemplating cutting ties with pro-Israel groups. Even if the war ends, the deeper ruptures will remain unless Israel corrects course.
The core divergence is between a mostly liberal, pluralistic American Jewry and an Israel increasingly defined by religious nationalism and partisan alliance with US President Donald Trump, and this began before the war.
Netanyahu’s attempted judicial overhaul, meant to gut the independence of Israel’s courts and entrench his rule, shocked American Jews raised to see democracy as a Jewish value. The very state created as a bulwark against oppression began to resemble today’s authoritarian Hungary, Turkey, or even Russia.
His coalition of haredi and settler extremists only deepened the alienation. The ultra-Orthodox, with their refusal to share economic or military burdens, and the settlers, dreaming of permanent annexation of areas housing millions of disenfranchised Palestinians, embody everything most American Jews – of whom fewer than one in five identify as Orthodox – fervently reject.
AMERICAN JEWS, like Israelis, were traumatized by the Hamas atrocities of October 7, and in the immediate aftermath, attachment to Israel spiked. But as the war dragged on, skepticism set in.
A May survey by the Jewish Voters Resource Center of 800 registered Jewish voters found that nearly two-thirds believe Netanyahu renewed the Gaza campaign for political reasons rather than security, and almost three-fourths (72%) believe doing so makes hostage deaths more likely.
His personal standing is dismal: just a third favorable (34%) against 61% unfavorable. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky is the singularly more popular Jewish global political figure: He enjoys 77% favorability among American Jews.
Kamala Harris, mocked in Israel, is popular with most, while Trump – lionized in Israel – is despised: only a quarter (26%) approve of his presidency, and majorities call him dangerous and even antisemitic. Yet Netanyahu has allied with Trump’s MAGA Right.
The wider American context intensifies the danger. Pew data show that younger Americans in particular are souring on Israel. Among those under 30, just 38% say Israel’s reasons for fighting Hamas are valid, and only 24% express favorability toward the Israeli government – compared with more than half among those over 50.
Support for US military aid to Israel among the youngest adults is a mere 16%, compared with 3.5 times as many among seniors (56%). Within the Jewish community, the same generational rift is evident: young Jews are less attached to Israel, less concerned about antisemitism, and more open to criticism of Zionism itself.
That last point may be the most decisive. Groups such as IfNotNow and Jewish Voice for Peace have mobilized Jewish youth, who explicitly reject the conflation of Judaism and Zionism.
Tzedek Chicago, a progressive synagogue, has even adopted anti-Zionism as a core value. In August 2025, over 1,000 rabbis – including many from traditionally pro-Israel denominations – signed a public letter calling for increased aid to Gaza.
Politically, Zohran Mamdani’s successful run for the Democratic mayoral nomination in New York, despite his support for BDS and refusal to endorse Israel as a Jewish state, drew significant support from young Jewish voters. What was once a fringe position is entering the mainstream of Jewish communal life.
Israel's most effective advocates are American Jews
THE CONSEQUENCES are easy to foresee. If American Jews disengage, Israel loses its most effective advocates in Washington.
The bipartisan consensus unravels. Democrats, who receive a huge disproportion of their donations from Jews, are already drifting away, and may eventually refuse to supply weapons or shield Israel at the United Nations.
Israel’s export-dependent economy would be vulnerable to sanctions and boycotts. The security doctrine that assumes America will always replenish the arsenal collapses. Israel would find itself isolated and exposed.
This is devastating, when much of Israeli power rests on US support. In the early decades of the state, Washington’s tilt toward Israel was not inevitable. The Cold War could easily have nudged it toward Arab regimes.
What tipped the balance was the activism of American Jews: their lobbying, their fundraising, their cultural influence, and their insistence that supporting Israel was consistent with America’s democratic values. To squander that inheritance now is an act of strategic madness.
Yet, that is precisely what Netanyahu’s government is doing. By continuing a devastating that was once an imperative but has become a fiasco – and that almost the whole world, most Israelis and Israel own security establishment at this point oppose – and by eroding democracy, empowering extremists, and aligning with Trump’s America rather than America as a whole, Israel is alienating the very people who secured its lifeline.
To fix this, Israel must end the war and recommit to democratic norms. It must curb the power of the ultra-Orthodox parties and integrate the self-ghettoized community into a modern economy.
It must seek disengagement from Palestinians rather than endless domination. It must preserve bipartisan support in Washington and cease to alienate Europe, collectively its largest trading partner.
Most of all, Israel’s leaders must understand that American Jews are not to be taken for granted. They are not distant relatives to be ignored or even scolded.
My own assessment is that if Netanyahu and his coalition remain in power, which is sadly conceivable, this rupture will become irreparable.
Young American Jews will continue to turn away, the bipartisan consensus will unravel, and Israel will drift toward isolation. At that point, its very survival will be in danger. Israel still has time to avert this fate, but that time is running out.
This has been brought to a boil by despair at the continuation and threatened escalation of the stupendously ugly Gaza war. Almost every conversation I have with American Jews – historic supporters of Israel all – eventually touches upon this issue.
They worry about children becoming anti-Zionist. Some are contemplating cutting ties with pro-Israel groups. Even if the war ends, the deeper ruptures will remain unless Israel corrects course.
The core divergence is between a mostly liberal, pluralistic American Jewry and an Israel increasingly defined by religious nationalism and partisan alliance with US President Donald Trump, and this began before the war.
Netanyahu’s attempted judicial overhaul, meant to gut the independence of Israel’s courts and entrench his rule, shocked American Jews raised to see democracy as a Jewish value. The very state created as a bulwark against oppression began to resemble today’s authoritarian Hungary, Turkey, or even Russia.
His coalition of haredi and settler extremists only deepened the alienation. The ultra-Orthodox, with their refusal to share economic or military burdens, and the settlers, dreaming of permanent annexation of areas housing millions of disenfranchised Palestinians, embody everything most American Jews – of whom fewer than one in five identify as Orthodox – fervently reject.
AMERICAN JEWS, like Israelis, were traumatized by the Hamas atrocities of October 7, and in the immediate aftermath, attachment to Israel spiked. But as the war dragged on, skepticism set in.
A May survey by the Jewish Voters Resource Center of 800 registered Jewish voters found that nearly two-thirds believe Netanyahu renewed the Gaza campaign for political reasons rather than security, and almost three-fourths (72%) believe doing so makes hostage deaths more likely.
His personal standing is dismal: just a third favorable (34%) against 61% unfavorable. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky is the singularly more popular Jewish global political figure: He enjoys 77% favorability among American Jews.
Kamala Harris, mocked in Israel, is popular with most, while Trump – lionized in Israel – is despised: only a quarter (26%) approve of his presidency, and majorities call him dangerous and even antisemitic. Yet Netanyahu has allied with Trump’s MAGA Right.
The wider American context intensifies the danger. Pew data show that younger Americans in particular are souring on Israel. Among those under 30, just 38% say Israel’s reasons for fighting Hamas are valid, and only 24% express favorability toward the Israeli government – compared with more than half among those over 50.
Support for US military aid to Israel among the youngest adults is a mere 16%, compared with 3.5 times as many among seniors (56%). Within the Jewish community, the same generational rift is evident: young Jews are less attached to Israel, less concerned about antisemitism, and more open to criticism of Zionism itself.
That last point may be the most decisive. Groups such as IfNotNow and Jewish Voice for Peace have mobilized Jewish youth, who explicitly reject the conflation of Judaism and Zionism.
Tzedek Chicago, a progressive synagogue, has even adopted anti-Zionism as a core value. In August 2025, over 1,000 rabbis – including many from traditionally pro-Israel denominations – signed a public letter calling for increased aid to Gaza.
Politically, Zohran Mamdani’s successful run for the Democratic mayoral nomination in New York, despite his support for BDS and refusal to endorse Israel as a Jewish state, drew significant support from young Jewish voters. What was once a fringe position is entering the mainstream of Jewish communal life.
Israel's most effective advocates are American Jews
THE CONSEQUENCES are easy to foresee. If American Jews disengage, Israel loses its most effective advocates in Washington.
The bipartisan consensus unravels. Democrats, who receive a huge disproportion of their donations from Jews, are already drifting away, and may eventually refuse to supply weapons or shield Israel at the United Nations.
Israel’s export-dependent economy would be vulnerable to sanctions and boycotts. The security doctrine that assumes America will always replenish the arsenal collapses. Israel would find itself isolated and exposed.
This is devastating, when much of Israeli power rests on US support. In the early decades of the state, Washington’s tilt toward Israel was not inevitable. The Cold War could easily have nudged it toward Arab regimes.
What tipped the balance was the activism of American Jews: their lobbying, their fundraising, their cultural influence, and their insistence that supporting Israel was consistent with America’s democratic values. To squander that inheritance now is an act of strategic madness.
Yet, that is precisely what Netanyahu’s government is doing. By continuing a devastating that was once an imperative but has become a fiasco – and that almost the whole world, most Israelis and Israel own security establishment at this point oppose – and by eroding democracy, empowering extremists, and aligning with Trump’s America rather than America as a whole, Israel is alienating the very people who secured its lifeline.
To fix this, Israel must end the war and recommit to democratic norms. It must curb the power of the ultra-Orthodox parties and integrate the self-ghettoized community into a modern economy.
It must seek disengagement from Palestinians rather than endless domination. It must preserve bipartisan support in Washington and cease to alienate Europe, collectively its largest trading partner.
Most of all, Israel’s leaders must understand that American Jews are not to be taken for granted. They are not distant relatives to be ignored or even scolded.
My own assessment is that if Netanyahu and his coalition remain in power, which is sadly conceivable, this rupture will become irreparable.
Young American Jews will continue to turn away, the bipartisan consensus will unravel, and Israel will drift toward isolation. At that point, its very survival will be in danger. Israel still has time to avert this fate, but that time is running out.
Boulder Israeli hostage march that was firebombed is now relocating amid ongoing harassment
Quote:
The Boulder, Colorado chapter of Run For Their Lives, the Israeli hostage awareness event that was firebombed in June, will no longer publicize its demonstrations after weeks of continued threats, including from a local political candidate.
“Participants are facing a level of harassment that makes it impossible to continue safely in public view,” Brandon Rattiner, senior director of the local Jewish Community Relations Council, said in a statement.
The Boulder march, one of more than 230 chapters around the world held weekly to draw attention to the Israeli hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza, was attacked on June 1 by a man who threw Molotov cocktails at participants. Thirteen people were injured, and one 82-year-old woman later died.
Since then, anti-Israel counter-demonstrators have targeted the group, according to local Jewish leaders. Protesters have called Run For Their Lives participants “genocidal c–t,” “racist,” and “Nazi,” and mentioned the lead organizer’s children, according to videos reviewed by JCRC.
Video posted to social media by a pro-Palestinian counter-demonstrator shows clashes. One from Aug. 17 documents the counter-demonstrator, Eric Gross, shouting, “More than 1,000 children under the age of 1 murdered by the IDF” and someone in the Run For Their Lives group appearing to respond, “Not enough.” Gross then trails the group along Boulder’s Pearl Street Mall, where the marches have taken place, singling out the woman he said made the comment, who ultimately left under police protection, according to the video.
The march disavowed the comment in a statement this week, saying, “We are aware of a social media post of our August 17 walk where an inappropriate and offensive comment was made by one of our walkers. This individual’s comment in no way reflects the views of Run For Their Lives.” The group also said the woman accused of having made the comment did not, in fact, make it and that she had faced threats as a result of the video.
Antisemitic city councilman candidate
Aaron Stone, who is running for Boulder City Council, has been one of the more vocal counterprotesters and allegedly called Rachel Amaru, the founder of the Boulder chapter of Run for Their Lives, a “Nazi,” according to CBS Colorado.
Amaru told 9News that “100% I’m being attacked because I’m Jewish,” adding that, “calling a Jew in Boulder right now a ‘Nazi’ is so over the top.”
When asked if he regretted calling Amaru a “Nazi,” Stone told CBS Colorado that he agreed “it is a very strong word to use.” But he defended protesting against the group.
“I’m not seeing a Jewish person,” Stone said. “I’m seeing someone who is walking down the street talking about 20 hostages and ignoring the 2 million Palestinian hostages that are being kept in Gaza.”
Starting at this weekend’s event, the group will not publicly advertise the locations of their marches, and will add heavy security to undisclosed locations, according to the JCRC. It is a move that other Jewish and Israeli events have made to evade pro-Palestinian protests during the war in Gaza.
Boulder City Council member Tara Winer, who is Jewish, told 9News that she had been marching with the group several weeks ago but decided to leave after experiencing the antisemitic chants.
“Participants are facing a level of harassment that makes it impossible to continue safely in public view,” Brandon Rattiner, senior director of the local Jewish Community Relations Council, said in a statement.
The Boulder march, one of more than 230 chapters around the world held weekly to draw attention to the Israeli hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza, was attacked on June 1 by a man who threw Molotov cocktails at participants. Thirteen people were injured, and one 82-year-old woman later died.
Since then, anti-Israel counter-demonstrators have targeted the group, according to local Jewish leaders. Protesters have called Run For Their Lives participants “genocidal c–t,” “racist,” and “Nazi,” and mentioned the lead organizer’s children, according to videos reviewed by JCRC.
Video posted to social media by a pro-Palestinian counter-demonstrator shows clashes. One from Aug. 17 documents the counter-demonstrator, Eric Gross, shouting, “More than 1,000 children under the age of 1 murdered by the IDF” and someone in the Run For Their Lives group appearing to respond, “Not enough.” Gross then trails the group along Boulder’s Pearl Street Mall, where the marches have taken place, singling out the woman he said made the comment, who ultimately left under police protection, according to the video.
The march disavowed the comment in a statement this week, saying, “We are aware of a social media post of our August 17 walk where an inappropriate and offensive comment was made by one of our walkers. This individual’s comment in no way reflects the views of Run For Their Lives.” The group also said the woman accused of having made the comment did not, in fact, make it and that she had faced threats as a result of the video.
Antisemitic city councilman candidate
Aaron Stone, who is running for Boulder City Council, has been one of the more vocal counterprotesters and allegedly called Rachel Amaru, the founder of the Boulder chapter of Run for Their Lives, a “Nazi,” according to CBS Colorado.
Amaru told 9News that “100% I’m being attacked because I’m Jewish,” adding that, “calling a Jew in Boulder right now a ‘Nazi’ is so over the top.”
When asked if he regretted calling Amaru a “Nazi,” Stone told CBS Colorado that he agreed “it is a very strong word to use.” But he defended protesting against the group.
“I’m not seeing a Jewish person,” Stone said. “I’m seeing someone who is walking down the street talking about 20 hostages and ignoring the 2 million Palestinian hostages that are being kept in Gaza.”
Starting at this weekend’s event, the group will not publicly advertise the locations of their marches, and will add heavy security to undisclosed locations, according to the JCRC. It is a move that other Jewish and Israeli events have made to evade pro-Palestinian protests during the war in Gaza.
Boulder City Council member Tara Winer, who is Jewish, told 9News that she had been marching with the group several weeks ago but decided to leave after experiencing the antisemitic chants.
Activists smear red paint on home of NY Times’ Jewish editor: ‘Joe Kahn lies Gaza dies’
Quote:
The home of the Jewish editor-in-chief of The New York Times, Joseph Kahn, was vandalized by anti-Israel activists Friday, with red paint splattered across his apartment building’s walls and front steps.
The vandalism in Greenwich Village apparently took place overnight.
A message scrawled on the pavement read, “Joe Kahn lies Gaza dies”
The paper’s headquarters in Manhattan was defaced last month with red paint and a similar message.
The vandalism in Greenwich Village apparently took place overnight.
A message scrawled on the pavement read, “Joe Kahn lies Gaza dies”
The paper’s headquarters in Manhattan was defaced last month with red paint and a similar message.
_________________
“Self Acceptance is a process not a performance”
“You are autistic enough. And you always have been”
Professionally Identified and joined WP August 26, 2013
DSM 5: Autism Spectrum Disorder, DSM IV: Aspergers Moderate Severity.
ASPartOfMe
Veteran
Joined: 25 Aug 2013
Age: 68
Gender: Male
Posts: 39,637
Location: Long Island, New York
31 Aug 2025, 5:21 am
Fearing arrest on ‘war crimes’ charges, Jewish Agency head cancels South Africa trip
Quote:
The chairman of the Jewish Agency, Maj. Gen. (res.) Doron Almog, has canceled a planned trip to South Africa due to fears that authorities in that country could seek his arrest, the agency said Sunday.
The decision was made as a precaution, in order to avoid the risk of potential legal and diplomatic problems arising during the visit, the agency said.p
While Almog retired from the IDF in 2003 and has not been involved in the war in Gaza, there have been previous attempts to issue international arrest warrants for him.
Almog enlisted in the Israel Defense Forces in 1969, serving in the Paratroopers’ Reconnaissance Company — including during the famed 1976 raid on Entebbe — and rose through the military’s ranks over the next three and a half decades to the position of Southern Command chief, retiring in 2003.
Almog was at the center of international controversy in 2005 after Palestinian activists in the United Kingdom got a court to issue an arrest warrant for him over his role in the demolition of a Palestinian home in the Gaza Strip, which they said amounted to a war crime.
Almog was made aware of the arrest warrant after he and his wife touched down in the UK. To avoid an incident, he stayed on the plane and flew back to Israel on it. The arrest warrant was later rescinded and the British foreign secretary apologized.
Almog has chaired the Jewish Agency since 2022.
Despite the cancellation of Almog’s trip to South Africa, the Jewish Agency’s operations with Jewish communities in 66 countries remain uninterrupted, the organization noted. The organization works around the world to strengthen Jewish identity, encourage immigration to Israel, and support integration and community development.
The decision was made as a precaution, in order to avoid the risk of potential legal and diplomatic problems arising during the visit, the agency said.p
While Almog retired from the IDF in 2003 and has not been involved in the war in Gaza, there have been previous attempts to issue international arrest warrants for him.
Almog enlisted in the Israel Defense Forces in 1969, serving in the Paratroopers’ Reconnaissance Company — including during the famed 1976 raid on Entebbe — and rose through the military’s ranks over the next three and a half decades to the position of Southern Command chief, retiring in 2003.
Almog was at the center of international controversy in 2005 after Palestinian activists in the United Kingdom got a court to issue an arrest warrant for him over his role in the demolition of a Palestinian home in the Gaza Strip, which they said amounted to a war crime.
Almog was made aware of the arrest warrant after he and his wife touched down in the UK. To avoid an incident, he stayed on the plane and flew back to Israel on it. The arrest warrant was later rescinded and the British foreign secretary apologized.
Almog has chaired the Jewish Agency since 2022.
Despite the cancellation of Almog’s trip to South Africa, the Jewish Agency’s operations with Jewish communities in 66 countries remain uninterrupted, the organization noted. The organization works around the world to strengthen Jewish identity, encourage immigration to Israel, and support integration and community development.
Norway seeks to fend off US scrutiny after divesting from Caterpillar to protest Israel
Quote:
Norway’s prime minister said on Friday he had contacted US Senator Lindsey Graham to try to defuse a controversy over a decision by the Norwegian sovereign fund to sell all its shares in construction equipment group Caterpillar on ethics grounds.
Norway’s $2 trillion sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, said on Monday it had divested from Caterpillar over ethical concerns due to the company’s supply to Israel of bulldozers used in the Gaza Strip and West Bank.
Caterpillar did not comment on the wealth fund’s move.
Graham, an ally of US President Donald Trump, said on Thursday that Norway should reconsider its decision or risk facing new American trade tariffs on its exports or have visa travel restrictions imposed on the fund’s managers.
“Your decision to punish Caterpillar, an American company, because Israel uses their product is beyond offensive,” Graham wrote on X. “I would urge you to reconsider your shortsighted decision,” he later added.
About 52% of the fund’s assets, more than $1 trillion, were held in the US as of June 30, spread across equities, Treasuries and real estate.
Arm’s length
Management of the assets is designed to be at arms-length from the government, and the decisions on which companies to divest from are made by the board of the central bank, which operates the fund.
The Caterpillar divestment was decided at the recommendation of the fund’s Council on Ethics, a public body set up by the Ministry of Finance to check that firms in the portfolio of the fund meet ethical guidelines set by Norway’s parliament.
“Yesterday afternoon (Thursday), the prime minister informed Senator Lindsey Graham about the organization of the pension fund via a text message,” State Secretary Kristoffer Thoner of Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere’s office said in a statement to Reuters.
“The decision to exclude companies is an independent decision made by the board of Norges Bank, in accordance with the established framework,” he added.
“This is not a political decision.”
Graham confirmed he had received the message, Thoner said.
Norway’s $2 trillion sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, said on Monday it had divested from Caterpillar over ethical concerns due to the company’s supply to Israel of bulldozers used in the Gaza Strip and West Bank.
Caterpillar did not comment on the wealth fund’s move.
Graham, an ally of US President Donald Trump, said on Thursday that Norway should reconsider its decision or risk facing new American trade tariffs on its exports or have visa travel restrictions imposed on the fund’s managers.
“Your decision to punish Caterpillar, an American company, because Israel uses their product is beyond offensive,” Graham wrote on X. “I would urge you to reconsider your shortsighted decision,” he later added.
About 52% of the fund’s assets, more than $1 trillion, were held in the US as of June 30, spread across equities, Treasuries and real estate.
Arm’s length
Management of the assets is designed to be at arms-length from the government, and the decisions on which companies to divest from are made by the board of the central bank, which operates the fund.
The Caterpillar divestment was decided at the recommendation of the fund’s Council on Ethics, a public body set up by the Ministry of Finance to check that firms in the portfolio of the fund meet ethical guidelines set by Norway’s parliament.
“Yesterday afternoon (Thursday), the prime minister informed Senator Lindsey Graham about the organization of the pension fund via a text message,” State Secretary Kristoffer Thoner of Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere’s office said in a statement to Reuters.
“The decision to exclude companies is an independent decision made by the board of Norges Bank, in accordance with the established framework,” he added.
“This is not a political decision.”
Graham confirmed he had received the message, Thoner said.
UK bars Israeli officials from arms fair
Quote:
London arms fair next month, a UK government spokesperson said Friday, amid worsening diplomatic relations between London and Jerusalem over the Gaza conflict.
“We can confirm that no Israeli government delegation will be invited to attend DSEI UK 2025” in September, said a British defense ministry statement.
Israeli defense companies — such as Elbit Systems, Rafael, Israel Aerospace Industries and Uvision — will still be allowed to attend the biennial event. But Israel slammed the move as “discrimination.”
The Israeli government’s decision to further escalate its military operation in Gaza is wrong,” the British defense ministry said in its statement. “There must be a diplomatic solution to end this war now, with an immediate ceasefire, the return of the hostages and a surge in humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza.”
The Israeli government’s decision to further escalate its military operation in Gaza is wrong,” the British defense ministry said in its statement. “There must be a diplomatic solution to end this war now, with an immediate ceasefire, the return of the hostages and a surge in humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza.”
“We can confirm that no Israeli government delegation will be invited to attend DSEI UK 2025” in September, said a British defense ministry statement.
Israeli defense companies — such as Elbit Systems, Rafael, Israel Aerospace Industries and Uvision — will still be allowed to attend the biennial event. But Israel slammed the move as “discrimination.”
The Israeli government’s decision to further escalate its military operation in Gaza is wrong,” the British defense ministry said in its statement. “There must be a diplomatic solution to end this war now, with an immediate ceasefire, the return of the hostages and a surge in humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza.”
The Israeli government’s decision to further escalate its military operation in Gaza is wrong,” the British defense ministry said in its statement. “There must be a diplomatic solution to end this war now, with an immediate ceasefire, the return of the hostages and a surge in humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza.”
_________________
“Self Acceptance is a process not a performance”
“You are autistic enough. And you always have been”
Professionally Identified and joined WP August 26, 2013
DSM 5: Autism Spectrum Disorder, DSM IV: Aspergers Moderate Severity.
ASPartOfMe
Veteran
Joined: 25 Aug 2013
Age: 68
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03 Sep 2025, 8:28 pm
'Certainly not a Zionist': New leader of UK Greens is vocally pro-Palestine Jew
Quote:
The UK’s Green Party has voted in its first Jewish leader, the vocally anti-Israel and pro-Palestine northerner Zack Polanski.
Polanski, 42, who won with 20,411 votes from party members, has referred to himself as “proud to be Jewish” but “certainly not a Zionist.” Further, he views being called a Zionist as a criticism, tweeting on January 29, 2024 that it was “s*****” for someone to “see someone Jewish and prefer to tweet Zionist at them.”
He told The Guardian in May that he grew up “very Zionist,” but his stance today very much opposes that of his childhood. In almost every interview, Polanski speaks of the “genocide in Gaza” or “Israel’s genocide,” including during an interview with Good Morning Britain on Wednesday.
He is an outspoken supporter of the Palestinian cause and a frequent participant at pro-Palestine events. Polanski was a guest speaker at a Palestine Solidarity Campaign rally in January 2025 and at a BDS conference in July 2025.
He also stood out in support of Palestine Action when it was proscribed as a terror group in July 2025, writing on social media “They can ban groups, but it won’t stop us demanding an end to the genocide. Whether Palestine Action is for the next hour or after... Support action for Palestine to stop arms sales to Israel to stop the killing of innocent people. They can never ban our collective humanity.”
“Israel kills a child every 45 minutes,” he tweeted on June 29. “We are all Palestine Action.”
When asked in a recent interview about his relationship with Jeremy Corbyn, Polanski said he was “absolutely aligned” with the former Labour leader’s stance on Palestine. He was also vehemently against Israel’s attacks on Iran in June 2025, writing on X/Twitter on June 16, “Israel’s attack on Iran is illegal,” and on June 22, “Iran was negotiating – when Israel launched a war on them. The US joined in – and now our prime minister basically says ‘well they were asking for it.’”
Polanski is also vocally against British arms exports to Israel, repeatedly calling for this to be halted.
Use of Judaism to legitimize claims
He repeatedly draws on his Jewish identity to grant legitimacy to his claims about Israel and tries to speak for the Jewish community as a whole when expressing his views. For example, on December 31, 2024, he condemned the Board of Deputies for British Jews for a statement in support of Israel. “Being Israeli and being a British Jew are two separate things,” he wrote. “[It’s] antisemitic to conflate them. If they were representing Judaism, they would speak out against genocide.” He has, in fact, in the past called the Board the “Board of Deputies for the Israeli government.”
Again on November 26, 2024, he tweeted, “You do not protect Jewish people by the constant conflation with Israel and antisemitism.”
Polanski, 42, who won with 20,411 votes from party members, has referred to himself as “proud to be Jewish” but “certainly not a Zionist.” Further, he views being called a Zionist as a criticism, tweeting on January 29, 2024 that it was “s*****” for someone to “see someone Jewish and prefer to tweet Zionist at them.”
He told The Guardian in May that he grew up “very Zionist,” but his stance today very much opposes that of his childhood. In almost every interview, Polanski speaks of the “genocide in Gaza” or “Israel’s genocide,” including during an interview with Good Morning Britain on Wednesday.
He is an outspoken supporter of the Palestinian cause and a frequent participant at pro-Palestine events. Polanski was a guest speaker at a Palestine Solidarity Campaign rally in January 2025 and at a BDS conference in July 2025.
He also stood out in support of Palestine Action when it was proscribed as a terror group in July 2025, writing on social media “They can ban groups, but it won’t stop us demanding an end to the genocide. Whether Palestine Action is for the next hour or after... Support action for Palestine to stop arms sales to Israel to stop the killing of innocent people. They can never ban our collective humanity.”
“Israel kills a child every 45 minutes,” he tweeted on June 29. “We are all Palestine Action.”
When asked in a recent interview about his relationship with Jeremy Corbyn, Polanski said he was “absolutely aligned” with the former Labour leader’s stance on Palestine. He was also vehemently against Israel’s attacks on Iran in June 2025, writing on X/Twitter on June 16, “Israel’s attack on Iran is illegal,” and on June 22, “Iran was negotiating – when Israel launched a war on them. The US joined in – and now our prime minister basically says ‘well they were asking for it.’”
Polanski is also vocally against British arms exports to Israel, repeatedly calling for this to be halted.
Use of Judaism to legitimize claims
He repeatedly draws on his Jewish identity to grant legitimacy to his claims about Israel and tries to speak for the Jewish community as a whole when expressing his views. For example, on December 31, 2024, he condemned the Board of Deputies for British Jews for a statement in support of Israel. “Being Israeli and being a British Jew are two separate things,” he wrote. “[It’s] antisemitic to conflate them. If they were representing Judaism, they would speak out against genocide.” He has, in fact, in the past called the Board the “Board of Deputies for the Israeli government.”
Again on November 26, 2024, he tweeted, “You do not protect Jewish people by the constant conflation with Israel and antisemitism.”
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07 Sep 2025, 10:44 pm
Poll: Almost half of Brits believe Israel treats Palestinians the way Nazis treated Jews
Quote:
More than one in five British adults now hold entrenched antisemitic views, according to a survey published Sunday, while almost half think Israel treats the Palestinians like the Nazis treated the Jews.
The poll, conducted by YouGov in collaboration with Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA), found that 21 percent of the British public agrees with at least four antisemitic statements. That was nearly double the level recorded in 2021, and the highest figure since the survey was first taken a decade ago.
Results are based on an online survey conducted on September 1-2. The results were published ahead of CAA’s march against antisemitism scheduled for Sunday afternoon, and a day after London police said they had arrested around 425 people at a demonstration in support of Palestine Action, a pro-Palestinian group proscribed by the government as a terrorist organization.
Nearly half of respondents (45%) said they believe Israel treats Palestinians like Nazis treated Jews, a sharp rise from 33% last year. Among 18- to 24-year-olds, that figure reached as high as 60 percent.
Overall, half (51%) of the British public, and 60% of young people, believe that antisemitism has increased in the UK since October 2023. Fifty-four percent said they do not know what “Zionism” means.
Young Britons expressed particularly troubling views. Almost half (49%) said they were uncomfortable spending time with people who openly support Israel, and only 31% agreed that Israel has a right to exist as a Jewish homeland. Nearly a fifth (19%) of young people said Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, in which the terror organization killed some 1,200 people and kidnapped 251, was justified.
About 10% of young people expressed a favorable view of Hamas, and 14% said they opposed classifying it as a terrorist organization.
The country is divided on the frequent pro-Palestine marches, with 32% viewing them negatively and 29% viewing them positively. However, a significant 69% said they believe the marches are achieving not very much or nothing at all, and 58% believe that the organizers of the protests should bear the costs of policing and clean-up, rather than taxpayers.
Participants in the survey were asked to respond to 12 statements — six relating to Judeophobic antisemitism and six relating to anti-Zionist antisemitism, as prescribed in the Generalised Antisemitism Scale devised by Daniel Allington of King’s College London, David Hirsh of Goldsmiths, and Louise Katz (then) of the University of Derby.
The study was published as antisemitic incidents in the United Kingdom continue to hover near record levels.
The poll, conducted by YouGov in collaboration with Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA), found that 21 percent of the British public agrees with at least four antisemitic statements. That was nearly double the level recorded in 2021, and the highest figure since the survey was first taken a decade ago.
Results are based on an online survey conducted on September 1-2. The results were published ahead of CAA’s march against antisemitism scheduled for Sunday afternoon, and a day after London police said they had arrested around 425 people at a demonstration in support of Palestine Action, a pro-Palestinian group proscribed by the government as a terrorist organization.
Nearly half of respondents (45%) said they believe Israel treats Palestinians like Nazis treated Jews, a sharp rise from 33% last year. Among 18- to 24-year-olds, that figure reached as high as 60 percent.
Overall, half (51%) of the British public, and 60% of young people, believe that antisemitism has increased in the UK since October 2023. Fifty-four percent said they do not know what “Zionism” means.
Young Britons expressed particularly troubling views. Almost half (49%) said they were uncomfortable spending time with people who openly support Israel, and only 31% agreed that Israel has a right to exist as a Jewish homeland. Nearly a fifth (19%) of young people said Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, in which the terror organization killed some 1,200 people and kidnapped 251, was justified.
About 10% of young people expressed a favorable view of Hamas, and 14% said they opposed classifying it as a terrorist organization.
The country is divided on the frequent pro-Palestine marches, with 32% viewing them negatively and 29% viewing them positively. However, a significant 69% said they believe the marches are achieving not very much or nothing at all, and 58% believe that the organizers of the protests should bear the costs of policing and clean-up, rather than taxpayers.
Participants in the survey were asked to respond to 12 statements — six relating to Judeophobic antisemitism and six relating to anti-Zionist antisemitism, as prescribed in the Generalised Antisemitism Scale devised by Daniel Allington of King’s College London, David Hirsh of Goldsmiths, and Louise Katz (then) of the University of Derby.
The study was published as antisemitic incidents in the United Kingdom continue to hover near record levels.
Almost 900 people were arrested at London Palestine Action protest, police say
Quote:
British police said on Sunday they had arrested almost 900 people at a demonstration the previous day in support of Palestine Action, and the government appealed for people to stop demonstrating in support of the banned campaign group.
Britain proscribed Palestine Action under anti-terrorism legislation in July after some of its members broke into a Royal Air Force base and damaged military planes.
That followed vandalism and incidents targeting defense firms in Britain with links to Israel. The group accuses Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government of complicity in what it says are Israeli war crimes in Gaza.
Hundreds of Palestine Action supporters have since been arrested at demonstrations, many of them over the age of 60. London police said 890 had been held following a protest near parliament in central London on Saturday, the highest number of detentions from a single such protest to date.
Of those, 857 were detained for showing support for a banned group, while 17 were arrested for assaults on officers after police said the protest turned violent.
"The violence we encountered during the operation was coordinated and carried out by a group of people ... intent on creating as much disorder as possible," said Deputy Assistant Commissioner Claire Smart.
The protest organizers, a group called Defend Our Juries, said that among those arrested were priests, war veterans, and healthcare workers, and that they included many elderly and some disabled.
"These mass acts of defiance will continue until the ban is lifted," a spokesperson said.
Discourse over Palestine Action terrorist designation
Palestine Action's proscription puts the group alongside al Qaeda and Islamic State, making it a crime to support or belong to the organization, punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
Human rights groups have criticized the ban as disproportionate and say it limits the freedom of expression of peaceful protesters.
Britain proscribed Palestine Action under anti-terrorism legislation in July after some of its members broke into a Royal Air Force base and damaged military planes.
That followed vandalism and incidents targeting defense firms in Britain with links to Israel. The group accuses Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government of complicity in what it says are Israeli war crimes in Gaza.
Hundreds of Palestine Action supporters have since been arrested at demonstrations, many of them over the age of 60. London police said 890 had been held following a protest near parliament in central London on Saturday, the highest number of detentions from a single such protest to date.
Of those, 857 were detained for showing support for a banned group, while 17 were arrested for assaults on officers after police said the protest turned violent.
"The violence we encountered during the operation was coordinated and carried out by a group of people ... intent on creating as much disorder as possible," said Deputy Assistant Commissioner Claire Smart.
The protest organizers, a group called Defend Our Juries, said that among those arrested were priests, war veterans, and healthcare workers, and that they included many elderly and some disabled.
"These mass acts of defiance will continue until the ban is lifted," a spokesperson said.
Discourse over Palestine Action terrorist designation
Palestine Action's proscription puts the group alongside al Qaeda and Islamic State, making it a crime to support or belong to the organization, punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
Human rights groups have criticized the ban as disproportionate and say it limits the freedom of expression of peaceful protesters.
UK museum postpones Jewish life exhibit due to ‘potential risks at sensitive time’
Quote:
A UK museum recently postponed an exhibition on Jewish life in a seaside town due to “potential risks at a sensitive time,” according to British media.
The Telegraph reported Friday that the Russell-Cotes Museum in Bournemouth had been set to open an exhibition on Jewish life in the town between 1880 and 2020.
Reached for comment by the newspaper, the museum said that while the exhibition will not open in November after an assessment of the potential risks, the institution is working to reschedule it.
“Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum is an important heritage asset housing culturally significant art,” the museum said. “In planning all exhibitions, we carefully assess any potential risks. We recognize this is a sensitive time and due to requirements related to this event, the museum has decided to postpone the exhibition and is working with the organizers to reschedule it for a later date.”
Days earlier, UK police arrested a man over an attack in Bournemouth the week before during which a Jewish teen was shot in the head with an air rifle outside a synagogue. The same day, a swastika was found spraypainted on a Jewish home in the same neighborhood. Police said they were investigating both incidents as antisemitic hate crimes.
The Community Security Trust (CST), a nonprofit providing security protection to British Jews, said in August that antisemitic incidents recorded in the UK neared record levels in first half of 2025.
The figure represents a 25 percent drop from the all-time high of 2,019 incidents in the same period in 2024, but it is the second-highest total ever for a six-month period, with more than 200 incidents a month.
BBC still uses journalist who said Jews should be burned ‘like Hitler did’
According to a separate Telegraph report Saturday, the BBC has continued to feature a Gazan journalist on its Arabic channel months after it was found that he posted a slew of antisemitic social media posts, including one calling to “burn the Jews like Hitler did.”
Samer Elzaenen, 33, was uploading antisemitic and anti-Israel content to social media as far back as 2011, the newspaper reported in April, and continued to do so even after he began providing correspondence for BBC Arabic in the wake of the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led onslaught in southern Israel and the start of the Gaza war.
In a Facebook post in 2011, Elzaenen wrote: “My message to the Zionist Jews: We are going to take our land back, we love death for Allah’s sake, the same way you love life. We shall burn you as Hitler did, but this time we won’t have a single one of you left.”
Then, more than a decade later, in 2022, he wrote: “When things go awry for us, shoot the Jews, it fixes everything.”
According to The Telegraph, Elzaenen has praised over 30 terror attacks against Israeli civilians, including a February 2023 car-ramming attack that killed two boys and a 20-year-old man in Jerusalem.
In the aftermath of the October 7 assault, in which some 1,200 people were killed, mostly civilians, and 251 were seized as hostages, Elzaenen praised the Hamas “resistance fighters” who led the onslaught.
After the initial Telegraph report, the BBC told the newspaper that Elzaenen is not an employee of the company and that the BBC uses “a range of eyewitness accounts from the Strip,” since its journalists are not allowed to enter during the war.
“These are not BBC members of staff or part of the BBC’s reporting team,” the spokesperson said. “We were not aware of the individuals’ social media activity prior to hearing from them on air. We are absolutely clear that there is no place for antisemitism on our services.”
Months later, the BBC Arabic channel has continued to feature Elzaenen as a frequent commentator on Palestinian affairs and the Gaza war, despite the revelations about his antisemitic posts.
Responding for comment on the follow-up report, the BBC admitted to the Telegraph that Elzaenen “should not have been used as an expert contributor.”
The Telegraph reported Friday that the Russell-Cotes Museum in Bournemouth had been set to open an exhibition on Jewish life in the town between 1880 and 2020.
Reached for comment by the newspaper, the museum said that while the exhibition will not open in November after an assessment of the potential risks, the institution is working to reschedule it.
“Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum is an important heritage asset housing culturally significant art,” the museum said. “In planning all exhibitions, we carefully assess any potential risks. We recognize this is a sensitive time and due to requirements related to this event, the museum has decided to postpone the exhibition and is working with the organizers to reschedule it for a later date.”
Days earlier, UK police arrested a man over an attack in Bournemouth the week before during which a Jewish teen was shot in the head with an air rifle outside a synagogue. The same day, a swastika was found spraypainted on a Jewish home in the same neighborhood. Police said they were investigating both incidents as antisemitic hate crimes.
The Community Security Trust (CST), a nonprofit providing security protection to British Jews, said in August that antisemitic incidents recorded in the UK neared record levels in first half of 2025.
The figure represents a 25 percent drop from the all-time high of 2,019 incidents in the same period in 2024, but it is the second-highest total ever for a six-month period, with more than 200 incidents a month.
BBC still uses journalist who said Jews should be burned ‘like Hitler did’
According to a separate Telegraph report Saturday, the BBC has continued to feature a Gazan journalist on its Arabic channel months after it was found that he posted a slew of antisemitic social media posts, including one calling to “burn the Jews like Hitler did.”
Samer Elzaenen, 33, was uploading antisemitic and anti-Israel content to social media as far back as 2011, the newspaper reported in April, and continued to do so even after he began providing correspondence for BBC Arabic in the wake of the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led onslaught in southern Israel and the start of the Gaza war.
In a Facebook post in 2011, Elzaenen wrote: “My message to the Zionist Jews: We are going to take our land back, we love death for Allah’s sake, the same way you love life. We shall burn you as Hitler did, but this time we won’t have a single one of you left.”
Then, more than a decade later, in 2022, he wrote: “When things go awry for us, shoot the Jews, it fixes everything.”
According to The Telegraph, Elzaenen has praised over 30 terror attacks against Israeli civilians, including a February 2023 car-ramming attack that killed two boys and a 20-year-old man in Jerusalem.
In the aftermath of the October 7 assault, in which some 1,200 people were killed, mostly civilians, and 251 were seized as hostages, Elzaenen praised the Hamas “resistance fighters” who led the onslaught.
After the initial Telegraph report, the BBC told the newspaper that Elzaenen is not an employee of the company and that the BBC uses “a range of eyewitness accounts from the Strip,” since its journalists are not allowed to enter during the war.
“These are not BBC members of staff or part of the BBC’s reporting team,” the spokesperson said. “We were not aware of the individuals’ social media activity prior to hearing from them on air. We are absolutely clear that there is no place for antisemitism on our services.”
Months later, the BBC Arabic channel has continued to feature Elzaenen as a frequent commentator on Palestinian affairs and the Gaza war, despite the revelations about his antisemitic posts.
Responding for comment on the follow-up report, the BBC admitted to the Telegraph that Elzaenen “should not have been used as an expert contributor.”
Anti-Israel and pro-Israel protesters clash
Quote:
A Sydney area anti-Israel protest devolved into a brawl with pro-Israel counter protesters on Sunday, after Jewish groups expressed concern about the allegedly provocative nature of holding a demonstration in an area with a high concentration of Jewish Australians.
The New South Wales Police said that it was still making inquiries into the Father's Day Bondi Beach brawl, and that there were no reports of injuries or arrests by the end of the day. There were no further incidents after the brawl, and the protest reportedly dissipated at noon. Police had maintained a heavy presence "to ensure community safety" in response to the unauthorized protest organized by Jews Against the Occupation 48 Australia.
The anti-Israel group said that the beach event was held in support of the Global Sumud Flotilla, which set sail from Barcelona last Sunday to attempt a blockade run to Gaza. The activist also explained that they were marking Father's Day in commemoration of the Palestinians who had lost their children or fathers during the war.
"The event showed there is a strong anti-Zionist Jewish voice speaking out against Israel's genocide and expansionism," Jews Against Occupation said on Facebook. "And a wide range of local human rights groups had endorsed and participated in this peaceful action."
The group, which waved Palestinian flags, said that pro-Israel counter-protesters arrived to hurl threats and obscenities at them. Jewish and non-Jewish activists waving Australian and Israeli flags stood along the beach opposite the anti-Israel groups.
Pro-Israel group Lions of Zion organized the counter protest, stating in a Friday Instagram post that they would not allow "hate" or "support for terror" to be brought into their "backyard."
The New South Wales Police said that it was still making inquiries into the Father's Day Bondi Beach brawl, and that there were no reports of injuries or arrests by the end of the day. There were no further incidents after the brawl, and the protest reportedly dissipated at noon. Police had maintained a heavy presence "to ensure community safety" in response to the unauthorized protest organized by Jews Against the Occupation 48 Australia.
The anti-Israel group said that the beach event was held in support of the Global Sumud Flotilla, which set sail from Barcelona last Sunday to attempt a blockade run to Gaza. The activist also explained that they were marking Father's Day in commemoration of the Palestinians who had lost their children or fathers during the war.
"The event showed there is a strong anti-Zionist Jewish voice speaking out against Israel's genocide and expansionism," Jews Against Occupation said on Facebook. "And a wide range of local human rights groups had endorsed and participated in this peaceful action."
The group, which waved Palestinian flags, said that pro-Israel counter-protesters arrived to hurl threats and obscenities at them. Jewish and non-Jewish activists waving Australian and Israeli flags stood along the beach opposite the anti-Israel groups.
Pro-Israel group Lions of Zion organized the counter protest, stating in a Friday Instagram post that they would not allow "hate" or "support for terror" to be brought into their "backyard."
Tens of thousands march in anti-Israel protest in central Brussels
Quote:
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Brussels on Sunday to express support for the Palestinian cause, days after Belgium’s foreign minister said the European Union’s credibility was “collapsing” because of its failure to act.
Police put the turnout at 70,000, while the organizers said 120,000 had marched through the capital.
Many of those who took part were dressed in red and carried red cards, symbolizing calls for tougher measures against Israel to protect the civilians in Gaza.
“Some people dreamt of the fall of the Berlin Wall,” Ismet Gumusboga, a 60-year-old security worker, told AFP. “Me, I dream of a Palestinian state for the Palestinians, where they can live like any other people.”
Samuele Toppi, a 27-year-old student, flagged the city’s role as a focal point for international politics.
Gregory Mauze, spokesman for the Belgo-Palestinian association ABP, said: “In the face of the ongoing genocide, the measures taken are not yet adequate.”
On Friday, Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot told AFP that the EU’s credibility on foreign policy was “collapsing” because of the bloc’s failure to act over Israel’s war in Gaza.
Belgium has said it will recognize the State of Palestine at this month’s UN General Assembly, and has imposed new sanctions against Israel.
However Brussels also said that its recognition of Palestine will only be declared by royal decree “when the last hostage has been released and Hamas no longer exercises any form of governance over Palestine.” A Belgian official told The Times of Israel last week that Belgium will not take formal measures, like opening an embassy, until Hamas is disarmed and excluded from any governing role.
Police put the turnout at 70,000, while the organizers said 120,000 had marched through the capital.
Many of those who took part were dressed in red and carried red cards, symbolizing calls for tougher measures against Israel to protect the civilians in Gaza.
“Some people dreamt of the fall of the Berlin Wall,” Ismet Gumusboga, a 60-year-old security worker, told AFP. “Me, I dream of a Palestinian state for the Palestinians, where they can live like any other people.”
Samuele Toppi, a 27-year-old student, flagged the city’s role as a focal point for international politics.
Gregory Mauze, spokesman for the Belgo-Palestinian association ABP, said: “In the face of the ongoing genocide, the measures taken are not yet adequate.”
On Friday, Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot told AFP that the EU’s credibility on foreign policy was “collapsing” because of the bloc’s failure to act over Israel’s war in Gaza.
Belgium has said it will recognize the State of Palestine at this month’s UN General Assembly, and has imposed new sanctions against Israel.
However Brussels also said that its recognition of Palestine will only be declared by royal decree “when the last hostage has been released and Hamas no longer exercises any form of governance over Palestine.” A Belgian official told The Times of Israel last week that Belgium will not take formal measures, like opening an embassy, until Hamas is disarmed and excluded from any governing role.
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“You are autistic enough. And you always have been”
Professionally Identified and joined WP August 26, 2013
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09 Sep 2025, 9:30 am
Activists say Gaza aid boat set to test Israel's blockade attacked by drone in Tunisia
Quote:
The activist group sending a flotilla of aid boats to try to reach Gaza — Global Sumud Flotilla — said Tuesday that one of its vessels was attacked by a drone overnight while docked in Tunisia. The group said all six passengers who had been traveling on the boat were safe. The Associated Press reported the flotilla's most famous members, including climate activist Greta Thunberg, had been traveling on the boat, though it was unclear who was on board at the time of the alleged strike.
Thunberg was part of a separate Gaza flotilla that was stopped by Israeli forces earlier this year, too.
The Global Sumud Flotilla shared what it said was security camera video of the attack, which appears to show a ball of flames dropping from above and hitting the boat.
"Last night, I was on the deck on the back part of the ship and I heard a drone," Miguel Duarte, a Portuguese citizen, said at a news conference hosted by the group on Tuesday. "I came out of the cover of the deck to see a drone hovering about three or four meters (yards) above my head, called my fellow crew members, two of us stood there with the drone above our head, then we saw the drone move to the forward part of the deck. It stood a few seconds on top of a bunch of life jackets, and then dropped a bomb”.
Duarte said the "bomb exploded, there was a big flame, a fire on board immediately. We picked up fire extinguishers, fought the fire successfully, and everyone was safe, fortunately."
Tunisia's National Guard initially denied that a drone strike had occurred, saying that, "according to initial inspections, the fire was caused by flames breaking out in one of the life jackets aboard the ship, due to a lighter or a cigarette butt. There is no evidence of any hostile act or external targeting."
However, a spokesperson for the Global Sumud Flotilla later told CBS News that the Tunisian authority's statements had been published before they saw the group's video. The spokesperson said that based on that video, the Tunisian authorities had decided to create a special committee to investigate the incident.
We appreciate the effort that they are making to investigate, and we are waiting pending the final outcome," the flotilla spokesperson told CBS News.
Tunisia's Interior Ministry did not immediately respond to CBS News' request for comment on an investigation.
Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to CBS News' request for comment on the incident in Tunisia.
The Global Sumud Flotilla, which hopes to transport humanitarian aid materials to Gaza and create publicity of the dire humanitarian situation there, set off from Spain just over a week ago
Thunberg was part of a separate Gaza flotilla that was stopped by Israeli forces earlier this year, too.
The Global Sumud Flotilla shared what it said was security camera video of the attack, which appears to show a ball of flames dropping from above and hitting the boat.
"Last night, I was on the deck on the back part of the ship and I heard a drone," Miguel Duarte, a Portuguese citizen, said at a news conference hosted by the group on Tuesday. "I came out of the cover of the deck to see a drone hovering about three or four meters (yards) above my head, called my fellow crew members, two of us stood there with the drone above our head, then we saw the drone move to the forward part of the deck. It stood a few seconds on top of a bunch of life jackets, and then dropped a bomb”.
Duarte said the "bomb exploded, there was a big flame, a fire on board immediately. We picked up fire extinguishers, fought the fire successfully, and everyone was safe, fortunately."
Tunisia's National Guard initially denied that a drone strike had occurred, saying that, "according to initial inspections, the fire was caused by flames breaking out in one of the life jackets aboard the ship, due to a lighter or a cigarette butt. There is no evidence of any hostile act or external targeting."
However, a spokesperson for the Global Sumud Flotilla later told CBS News that the Tunisian authority's statements had been published before they saw the group's video. The spokesperson said that based on that video, the Tunisian authorities had decided to create a special committee to investigate the incident.
We appreciate the effort that they are making to investigate, and we are waiting pending the final outcome," the flotilla spokesperson told CBS News.
Tunisia's Interior Ministry did not immediately respond to CBS News' request for comment on an investigation.
Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to CBS News' request for comment on the incident in Tunisia.
The Global Sumud Flotilla, which hopes to transport humanitarian aid materials to Gaza and create publicity of the dire humanitarian situation there, set off from Spain just over a week ago
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“Self Acceptance is a process not a performance”
“You are autistic enough. And you always have been”
Professionally Identified and joined WP August 26, 2013
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09 Sep 2025, 9:07 pm
Jakeb wrote:
Does anyone here take Thunberg seriously?
The media does. The Israelis react as if they are afraid of her popularity.
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“Self Acceptance is a process not a performance”
“You are autistic enough. And you always have been”
Professionally Identified and joined WP August 26, 2013
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11 Sep 2025, 7:12 am
Footage shows second claimed attack on Greta Thunberg Gaza flotilla
"Campaigners say a vessel, part of a flotilla carrying aid to Gaza, has been struck in a suspected drone attack. It's the second such suspected attack in two days.
Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg is amongst the activists travelling to Gaza with the flotilla to try and break Israel's naval blockade.
BBC Verify has been analysing footage of the incident and has spoken to two weapons experts who say a device found on board after the attack appears to be a grenade. Merlyn Thomas reports."
Quotes from the weapon experts in the clip:
"These features are common but not exclusive to some models of Israeli hand grenades."
"Israeli forces are known to have used UAV-delivered incendiary munitions on previous occasions."
"It is clearly some kind of greande...most likely delivered by drone."
_________________
English is not my first language.
