Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

07/24 Links Pt2: Melanie Phillips: A tsunami of lies; Global Intifada, Local Mayor; Streeting’s cynical smears against Israel prove he’s not fit for office

2026-07-25T00:54:32.306-04:00

From Ian:

Melanie Phillips: A tsunami of lies

The threat posed by Mamdani needs to be identified correctly. He’s using far-left populism to advance the destruction of America. But he doesn’t want to replace it with a rainbow-hued nirvana. He wants to replace it with Islam.

Despite his adherence to Shia Islam, Mamdani’s behavior corresponds to the strategy of the Sunni Muslim Brotherhood, which has set out how it will conquer America by infiltrating democratic institutions and using them to push the Islamist agenda.

Mamdani constantly makes references to Islam. He has cheered the growth of Islam in the city, repeatedly visits mosques and Islamic centers including ones linked to the Iranian regime, and said that America should follow the example of Islam and Mohammed’s teaching on migration and sanctuary.

Not only does the mayor need to be called out as an Islamist plant; action needs to be taken against him as a danger to America.

Pointing out that Mamdani could be denaturalized and deported, the head of UN Watch, Hillel Neuer, has said that the U.S. Department of Justice should investigate evidence that before becoming an American citizen in 2018 he “knowingly provided funds or services to Hamas or another terrorist group—and concealed this from immigration authorities.”

The monumental onslaught on truth and facts about Israel has knocked the West off its moral compass. A despairing Ferguson wrote that, as a teacher, his aim was to ensure that people learned the lessons of history, including the vital lesson that antisemitic rhetoric can be translated into genocidal reality if it’s adopted by a modern state. “Yet today,” he laments, “I see this hatred normalized, the Holocaust trivialized.”

Ferguson implies that reason itself has been defeated. Such demoralization, while entirely understandable, risks becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Truth is being defeated because none of the custodians of the public sphere is standing up for it. People need to start calling out the agents of this contagion and holding their feet to the fire. And that includes Jews calling out Jewish anti-Zionists, too.

Andrew Fox: Streeting’s cynical smears against Israel prove he’s not fit for office

The High Level Military Group, comprising retired senior officers and officials from Nato countries, entered Gaza and questioned IDF personnel. Its submission to the International Criminal Court described Israel’s civilian-harm precautions as unprecedented and rejected the claim that the conduct of operations showed an intent by senior leaders to starve civilians or commit unlawful killings.

That judgment is also mine: Israel’s institutional policy is to operate within the law of armed conflict. No serious military observer expects a force in a long, brutal war to avoid all individual crimes. Gaza has credible cases requiring investigation and, where proved, prosecution.

Amid the social media outcry, no evidence whatsoever has been presented of a systematic policy of targeting or massacring civilians, nor of deliberate or carpet bombing. At the same time, we may certainly identify incidents that may indicate individual war crimes. The distinction between individual criminality and state policy is elementary. Streeting blurs it.

The most revealing absence from his analysis is Hamas. Gaza was not a neutral city over which Israel chose to pour fire. The IDF confronted a battlefield Hamas had spent years engineering. It built an extensive tunnel system, concealed shafts and weapons in civilian structures, booby-trapped buildings and roads, fought from densely populated areas, and denied the IDF clean targets. My own analysis of Gaza’s destruction found that much of the damage stemmed from ground manoeuvres, engineering demolitions, and the neutralisation of IEDs and tunnels, rather than air strikes alone.

Armoured bulldozers, explosive breaches, and tunnel collapses produced the lunar landscape now presented on social media as self-evident proof of criminality. Those images record a battle within a militarised enclave. They are not a legal judgment.

Hamas designed this terrain both tactically and narratively. By embedding military infrastructure throughout the civilian environment, it forced Israel into destructive urban combat and then presented every collapsed building and civilian death as evidence of criminal intent. Its information operation depends on removing Hamas from the frame. Streeting has obliged. He spoke of Israeli standards without addressing the adversary’s tunnels, IEDs, hostages, or the systematic exploitation of civilian sites.

Britain should scrutinise its allies and friendship does not require silence. Criticism from a defence secretary must be grounded in military analysis, not in televised devastation and casualty figures whose legal significance is routinely misunderstood. Streeting’s job now includes understanding how an enemy weaponises law, media and civilian suffering against democracies. A minister susceptible to that approach will impose impossible standards on allies, only to see those same standards used against British troops in the next urban war.

Streeting should ask the Ministry of Defence lawyers and operators for a serious review. If he still believes Israel fell below British standards, he should publish the basis: which incidents, which intelligence, which legal test and which British comparator. If he cannot, he should withdraw the charge. A defence secretary who cannot distinguish the horror of urban warfare from evidence of unlawful warfare is unfit for office.

Editor's Notes: Germany’s ‘good Jews’ thought they were safe, New York should pay attention

On Tuesday night, the mayor of New York posted a two-minute video to explain that he cannot arrest Benjamin Netanyahu.

He had been promising to arrest him since December 2024. At some point, the city’s lawyers told him what any first-year law student could have told him, and so he made a video. That was the news in it. The other hundred seconds were the reason he bothered.

Israel was targeting neonatal care centers. It was starving countless people. It was gunning down hundreds of aid workers and journalists. Americans were paying for the bombs that do the killing. Netanyahu was the architect of a horrific genocide, a war criminal, not welcome in New York City. Washington should arrest him instead.

October 7 did not come up. There is only one “bad” country outside the United States, and it’s Israel. Not China. Not the Islamic Republic of Iran. Not North Korea. Only Israel.

By Wednesday morning, Zohran Mamdani was at City Hall suggesting New Yorkers go protest Netanyahu at the United Nations in September. Protest, he said, is one of the bedrocks of this city. He also said he is committed to representing all New Yorkers, whether they agree with him or not.

The UJA-Federation, which does not usually talk this way, opened its statement with “Shame on you.” The Orthodox Union said the video “endangers Jewish New Yorkers” and that the mayor peddles “lies and misinformation that risk inciting further violence against Jews.” Gadi Eisenkot, who has spent his political career trying to get Netanyahu out of office, called it “pure antisemitism, with no basis in fact.”

Eight months ago, 33% of Jewish voters in the city put him there.

That number is what sent me into the German archives. Jews backing a movement that hates them is not a new story. I wanted to know how close the match was.

More of it matched than I wanted. Some of it does not match at all.

Max Naumann
Max Naumann was not a crank. Berlin attorney. Captain in the Bavarian Army. Iron Cross First and Second Class, 15 months at the front. When he founded the Association of German National Jews in 1921, respectable people signed up, including the chief editor of one of Germany’s biggest daily papers. The Encyclopaedia Judaica notes he had money behind him, from established quarters of German Jewry.

His theory was that antisemitism is a reaction. Germans were not born hating Jews. They were reacting to things Jews did. To the Eastern European Jews showing up with foreign manners. To Zionists saying out loud that their loyalty was somewhere else. To Jewish writers who made fun of German patriotism. Take away the provocation and the hatred goes with it.

Everything else follows from that. If Jews cause it, Jews can stop it. Naumann wrote it out in his first bulletin in September 1921: Every decent antisemite admits decent Jews exist but calls them exceptions, and he will stop being an antisemite once we prove “we are not a handful of deserters but an army.”

NYPost Editorial: Mayor Mamdani’s constant anti-Israel obsessions endanger NYC’s Jews

Mayor Zohran Mamdani is a “no room for hate” hypocrite: His obsessive Israel-bashing — and the ravings of his rabid pro-Palestinian besties — encourages antisemitic violence.

Tuesday night, he released an incendiary video repeating (again) a litany of lies about Israeli’s war of self-defense against the Hamas terrorists and urging mass demonstrations when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu next comes to town.

Thursday, an attacker shouting “Allahu Akbar” stabbed two men — a Jew in a yarmulke and an Asian — on the Upper West Side; the mayor responded with noises about hate and mental illness.

But it’s not generic hate that encourages such targeted bloodshed, however unstable the perp might be: It’s very specific incitement that points the violent at a chosen class of victims.

Mamdani needs to admit that his speech has consequences.

This town (and much of the nation) has seen a growing wave of Israel-bashing ever since Hamas invaded Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, to kill, rape and seize hostages.

And antisemitic attacks have been soaring ever since.

Mamdani’s “this is a city where we have no tolerance for hatred of any kind” blather is a transparent lie as long as he keeps up his incitement.

If the mayor wants a more peaceful city, he needs to quit spouting hate; if he doesn’t stop, then he wants the violence.

Publicly obsessing over Gaza or anything else in the Middle East has nothing to do with his office — which is more than just a day job, as he well knows.

What do you think? Be the first to comment.

Though even his day-job duties should make him hesitate before again calling for mass demonstrations during the coming UN General Assembly: Dealing with such pointless protests falls on the NYPD rank and file, who are already exhausted from the long hours of OT during the World Cup, the Knicks’ playoff run and massive America 250 celebrations.

Quit fanning the flames, Mr. Mayor.

Just stop.

Global Intifada, Local Mayor By Abe Greenwald

Via Commentary Newsletter, sign up here.
A lot of people continue to miss the point of Mamdani’s mayoralty.

The prospect of Mamdani arriving at the scene of an anti-Semitic hate crime put me in mind of a comic event from my youth. There was a very wild and reckless kid in my high school—bad grades, drinking, drugs, the works. One day, he was told that he was so low on community-service credits that he might not be able to attend graduation. So he scrambled to join whatever student club meeting was being held that afternoon and start racking up points. It was a meeting of Students Against Drugs, and when he walked in the door, the entire room froze for a second, stared at him, and then broke out in hysterical laughter.

Mamdani’s appearance at the scene of the crime would be a joke, an opportunistic ploy for community-service credits. But, unlike most politicians, he doesn’t seek such credits.

Mamdani sought the mayoralty in order to raise the temperature. That was the idea, and it’s going according to plan. He wants to make the city—and the world—unbearably hot for Jews. He’s been deliberately raising the temperature since he took office. His office accused a synagogue under attack of encouraging the violation of international law by hosting an event on the practicalities of making Aliyah. He refused to attend the Israel Day parade. He’s called AIPAC “monsters,” set the pitchfork brigade on Netanyahu, and much more.

The movement to globalize the intifada is itself already global. It’s reached every corner of the world. But it requires people to serve in command positions at the local level. In New York, that’s Mamdani.

Yes, he was elected as the head of the city’s government. Accordingly, he lives in Gracie Mansion and works out of City Hall, so people expect him to act in keeping with the responsibilities of the office. But it’s less valuable to think of Mamdani as a mayor than as the regional emissary of the worldwide campaign to globalize the intifada. He’s the local face of a global enterprise. Mamdani has alluded to it himself. When he said on Wednesday that his embrace of a “universal politics” is behind his push to arrest Netanyahu, he was consciously speaking the rhetoric of a borderless ideological movement.

His first allegiance is to that movement, and his mayoralty is devoted to advancing its aims. Judged by that standard, he’s a runaway success.

Shai Davidai: The Seven-Word T-Shirt Test

I don’t know how, but I noticed that something was off before he even opened his mouth.

Surrounded by crowds of people eating lunch, NYU students posing for graduation photos, and tourists soaking up the early summer sun, my mother and I sat in the shade, people-watching and taking in the improbable peacefulness of Elizabeth Street Garden. Then, as if out of nowhere, a tattooed, long-haired man—someone who looked as though, in another life, he might have been part of my social circle—did a double take at my shirt.

“Are you proud of what you’re wearing?” he asked, his irritation unmistakable.

“I am,” I replied. “I actually made it.”

That was all it took.

Keeping his distance not out of respect, but—so I could only assume—out of pure hatred, he began shouting. Before long, he launched into one ideological talking point after another, citing debunked statistics, making false accusations, and recycling slogans he seemed to mistake for arguments. Though I remained calm, responded respectfully, and repeatedly tried to engage him in civil conversation, he only grew more agitated. Eventually, he told my mother and me to go back to where we came from.

He wasn’t drunk. He wasn’t high. He wasn’t mentally unwell. He was just another hate-filled guy eating lunch in downtown Manhattan.

Though my mother wanted to leave, I refused. I would not let a hateful stranger drive us out of a public garden. I would not let his tirade determine where I could or could not be. If I ever “went back to where I came from,” it would not be because a full-grown adult, consumed by hatred and throwing a childlike tantrum, had ordered me to. Keeping my voice calm, my posture steady, and my temper in check, I stood my ground. Only after I returned home did my hands begin to shake.

I was not shaken because one man hated me. I was shaken by how casually that hatred had erupted in one of the most beautiful corners of New York City. I was shaken because hatred had simply become part of the landscape. I was shaken because nobody seemed to even bat an eye.

I hadn’t insulted him. I hadn’t threatened him. I hadn’t mocked him or even looked in his direction before he spoke to me. I hadn’t started a conversation, let alone an argument. My mother and I had simply been sitting in the shade, enjoying a beautiful afternoon in one of New York City’s most peaceful public gardens. All it took was a black cotton T-shirt.

Mamdani walked right through our broken windows

Windows kept on breaking over the next two decades, as SJP chapters brought their yearly demands that universities sever ties with Israeli universities. The chapters pushed their divestment resolutions, boycott votes and campaigns to end study-abroad programs and research partnerships with ruthless persistence.

And what guidance did administrators receive from Jewish leadership? When the ADL began tracking “anti-Israel” activism in 2010, it framed anti-Zionism as something that may “cross the line into antisemitism” when it demonizes, delegitimizes or applies double standards to Israel. But that is precisely what anti-Zionism, by definition, does. There was and is no line to cross.

Yet because major Jewish organizations adopted this language, administrators who looked to them for guidance understood anti-Zionism as something that might become bigoted under certain conditions rather than as something inherently directed at Jewish collective identity.

Indeed, in 2019, even those who crafted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism, which was, by design, meant to include demonization of Israel, never named the hateful ideology at the heart of this demonization: anti-Zionism.

The fifth window broke inside the faculty lounge. This one mattered more than all the student activism combined, because professors conferred intellectual legitimacy on the movement.

Anti-Zionist events came to be routinely sponsored by academic departments. AMCHA Initiative studies from 2015 and 2016 found that campuses with even one faculty boycotter were at least four times more likely to suffer incidents of anti-Jewish hostility. The escalation culminated in the founding of the Institute for the Critical Study of Zionism at the University of California, Santa Cruz in 2021, an academic body whose very premise is that Zionism and Jewish identity are an object fit for “critical study” the way one studies white supremacy.

The window-breakers no longer needed to break in. They had faculty offices, department budgets, and now, an institute.

Then came the broken door. In 2023, Faculty for Justice in Palestine was created, growing to more than 80 chapters and giving professors an organized national vehicle for the movement, followed by the encampments—the seizure of the physical campus itself. FJP and SJP chapters called for “Zionists” to be removed from campuses, the banning of Hillel and Chabad, and the harassment and vandalization of “Zionist” institutions.

The vandals had kicked in the door and occupied the house.

Even then, staring at the smashed-in door, our institutions could not name what had broken it. Even the ADL’s 2022 statement that “Anti-Zionism is antisemitic, in intent or effect” pivoted almost immediately to a discussion of political criticism, rather than defining anti-Zionism or naming its core libels.

Here lies the confusion behind every unrepaired window: The American Jewish community persistently conflates anti-Zionism with policy disagreement, debates over borders, government decisions or dissatisfaction with an Israeli leader. That is not what anti-Zionism is. Its political vocabulary is not accidental. It is a totalizing hate of the Jewish people embodied in the Jewish state.

It was all left for the taking. And taken it has been—in city halls, schools, medicine, Hollywood and the arts, media rooms.

Mamdani did not break the windows. He walked through the shattered panes because those who were supposed to protect Jews against defamation remained silent about anti-Zionism.

“Mayor Mamdani, I’m an Arab Muslim Israeli, and let me tell you why you’re wrong.” Lourd Atia debunks all of Zohran Mamdani’s lies and shares the truth about what life is really like for her in Israel. pic.twitter.com/feHg61bZeB
— Noa Tishby (@noatishby) July 24, 2026

NYC Jewish leaders call on Mamdani to stop ‘fanning flames of hatred’ after UWS stabbings — but he only offers canned response

City Jewish leaders Friday demanded Mayor Zohran Mamdani “stop fanning the flames of hatred and division” after a nut stabbed a religious man in a suspected antisemitic hate crime on the Upper West Side — but Hizzoner offered nothing more than a canned tepid response.

Raul Morales, 51, allegedly yelled “Allahu Akbar!” as he attacked the two victims — Moshe Yezhak Grunhaus, a 50-year-old Jewish man, and Chok Sung, a 57-year-old Asian man — in vicious separate attacks blocks from Central Park and minutes apart Thursday afternoon, police said.

“We’re horrified and heartbroken by yesterday’s attacks. But to be clear, we’re no longer surprised,” said UJA-Federation of New York CEO Eric Goldstein at a press conference Friday.

“When the mayor of New York repeatedly uses his platform to relentlessly single out and demonize Israel, the world’s only Jewish state, and calls those who support it ‘monsters’,’ he contributes to a climate in which Jewish New Yorkers are increasingly targeted and unsafe,” Goldstein claimed.

“Mayor Mamdani, stop fanning the flames of hatred and division. The consequences are not abstract, they are playing out on our streets. But make no mistake, we are not going anywhere.”

While a slew of top city officials swiftly issued statements condemning Thursday’s attacks fewer than two hours after they occurred, Mamdani did not address them until after Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch shared details of the case hours later.

And even then, the mayor nearly copy and pasted the language from the top cop’s post.

Given a chance by The Post on Friday to take a strong stance against such attacks, Mamdani continued to give his formulaic takes on such situations.

Attempted murder hate crimes charges for man accused of stabbing visibly Jewish, Asian men in NYC

Raul Morales, 51, who allegedly yelled “Alahu akbar” while stabbing a Jewish man and an Asian man on Thursday on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, has been charged with attempted murder as a hate crime, the New York City Police Department told JNS.

Morales faces charges of “attempted murder as a hate crime, attempted murder, assault as a hate crime, two counts of assault and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon,” the NYPD said.

Jewish groups have blamed Zohran Mamdani, mayor of New York City, for inciting the attack. Days prior, the mayor released a video calling the Israeli prime minister a “war criminal” and calling on federal authorities to arrest him when he comes to the Big Apple for the United Nations General Assembly in September.

Mamdani stated on Friday of the suspect that he is “thankful that he is being held accountable and hope he will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

“Our administration will always stand against bigotry and do everything in our power to root out antisemitism, racism and hateful acts of all kinds,” Mamdani said.

Suspected UWS stabber’s calm claim to his roommate before rampage revealed – as cops probe possible hate link

The stunned roommate of the nut who allegedly attacked two Upper West Side victims said Friday that the man calmly told him he was just going for a walk in the park before the violence — as cops carted off items from their home including a Koran and book on Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara.

The roomie recounted his seemingly blasé encounter with ex-con Raul Morales, 51 — who has now been charged with an antisemitic hate crime in one of the attacks — to NYPD investigators in Spanish at their apartment on Amsterdam Avenue near West 88th Street in Manhattan.

The roommate said Morales — a former drug parolee and an apparent onetime Brooklyn security guard — did not appear angry or agitated, leaving him shocked at what cops said was to come.

Neighbors at the building, which is near Central Park, also said they had no inkling Morales could allegedly pull off such violence.

“Never displayed anything,’’ said a resident who only identified himself as Tony J, 54.

“That’s why when I seen him yesterday coming out the building in handcuffs, I was like, ‘What the f–k is he locked up for?” he said of Morales.

“It blew my mind.

“He was always nice. he’s like, never no problem,’’ said Tony, adding he’d seen Morales at the building for years. “He was never a head case, and he didn’t display no mental problems or nothing like that.

“Every time I see him, he was always, ‘Hey, how you doing?’ Super, super cordial. … That’s why if he had a mental break, I have not the slightest idea.

He’s looking forward to watching soccer and eating chips with you when you come visit the wonderful humans at Rikers. https://t.co/nNoqr2WnKM
— Lizzy Savetsky (@LizzySavetsky) July 24, 2026

Cops fume as Mamdani urges New Yorkers to take to streets to protest Netanyahu after arrest fail: ‘Edge of chaos’

Mayor Zohran Mamdani is telling New Yorkers to take to the streets to protest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he visits the Big Apple — and it has NYPD cops fuming.

New York’s Finest just put in superhuman duty to keep the five boroughs safe during the FIFA World Cup, the Knicks NBA title, Independence Day and a massive America 250 celebration that brought millions into the city — and now will have to keep their guards up as the lefty mayor fans the flames.

“The mayor’s activist posturing puts police officers on the street in a terrible position,” NYPD Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry said. “Protests during the UN General Assembly are nothing new, but when the mayor of the city is actively calling for demonstrations, violent agitators will assume they have permission to cause as much havoc as possible.

“Those same agitators know that the NYPD’s protest response is already hamstrung by the dangerous lawsuit settlement the city signed over the PBA’s opposition,” Hendry said. “The mayor’s heated rhetoric could be enough to push demonstrations over the edge into chaos.”

Mamdani has been obsessing over Netanyahu since he was on the campaign trail last year, and vowed to have him arrested if he set foot in the city due to a 2024 warrant from the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes in Gaza.

The mayor was forced to backtrack this week by admitting he didn’t have the juice to do it — but urged New Yorkers to protest Netanyahu, which means more work for the NYPD.

“This is a city where, if anyone feels a level of frustration or opposition, protest is something that we will always respect,” he told reporters at City Hall this week. “That New Yorkers can express themselves, whether they are in support or in opposition, no matter on whatever topic.

CAIR defends Mamdani after NYC stabbing, drawing backlash from Jewish groups

As Jewish organizations linked New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s rhetoric about Israel to an antisemitic stabbing in Manhattan, the Council on American-Islamic Relations defended the mayor without mentioning the attack, which one Jewish group described as “gaslighting.”

In a statement issued on July 24, CAIR and its New York chapter “expressed solidarity with Mayor Zohran Mamdani and condemned Israel advocacy groups for their ‘dishonest and dangerous’ conflation of Benjamin Netanyahu and his genocidal government with the American Jewish community.”

“Israel advocacy groups have spent the past week falsely claiming that criticism of Benjamin Netanyahu is somehow the same thing as criticizing the Jewish community,” CAIR stated.

The statement did not reference Thursday’s stabbing or the recent spike in antisemitic violence in New York.

Jewish leaders criticized both CAIR’s defense of Mamdani and its silence on the attack.

Morton Klein, national president of the Zionist Organization of America, told JNS that CAIR’s statement is an example of why the group is “on the terrorist list” in states like Texas and Florida.

“CAIR’s latest defense of terrorist-enabler Mamdani, one day after Mamdani’s reckless Jew-hating lying screed inspired two ‘Allahu Akbar’ terrorist attacks, is despicable and grotesque and dangerous,” Klein said.

“No wonder CAIR was formally labeled an unindicted co-conspirator of the murderous group Hamas,” Klein said.

Federal prosecutors named CAIR an unindicted co-conspirator in the 2007 Holy Land Foundation terrorism-financing case, a designation the organization has long disputed and which later became the subject of due-process litigation.

Daniel S. Mariaschin, B’nai B’rith International honorary CEO and senior advisor, told JNS that “CAIR’s reckless and irresponsible parroting of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s campaign against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, built on bogus charges, is simply a cover for Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s deeply held hatred and obsession with the state of Israel.”

Commentary Podcast: A Stabbing in New York Today we discuss the creeping danger to Jews and Israelis everywhere after yesterday's stabbing in New York City and reports that the stabber shouted "Allah Akbar," as well as how Zohran Mamdani's minimal response contrasts with sterner comments from other officials. Plus, the Jews who lend legitimacy to those who hate them.

Ben Shapiro: Two Attacks, Two Very Different Reactions

Yesterday, there was an awful attack in New York City and GUESS WHAT the attack shouted before he stabbed people. Yep. It rhymes with Hallahu Hakbar. We examine Zohran Mamdani’s reaction, the media cover-up, and a shooting in Wisconsin that has the BLM crowd rallying again.

This dude was literally in a mosque last week where they openly prayed for the death of all non-Muslims https://t.co/ZiBoA5ruxn
— Jonah Platt (@JonahPlatt) July 24, 2026

Jewish stabbing victim named, ‘especially frustrating’ since Moshe Grunhaus was in process of leaving Manhattan to move to Florida, sources say

Mark Treyger, CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, identified the 50-year-old man, who was wearing a kippah when he was stabbed on Manhattan’s Upper West Side on Thursday during the fast of Tisha B’Av, as Moshe Yezhak Grunhaus.

According to public profiles, Grunhaus has an M.B.A. and works in financial services. One site states that he lives in New York and another in Surfside, Fla. Multiple sources with knowledge told JNS that Grunhaus was in the process of moving from Manhattan to Florida. One source said that the move may be at least in part due to frustrations about Mamdani.

Another source, who wasn’t sure of the victim’s motivation for moving, told JNS that he was in the city “tying up loose ends” ahead of the move when he was attacked with a screwdriver.

“It’s extra upsetting, because he was on his way out of New York and heading toward Florida,” a friend of the victim’s told JNS. “It’s especially frustrating, because he was tying loose ends up in the city to head to Florida. This is such an upsetting and traumatic way to leave Manhattan.”

Speaking at the press conference, which the JCRC hosted with the UJA-Federation of New York and other partners at the Jewish Center on Manhattan’s Upper West Side on Friday morning, Rabbi Yosie Levine, of the Jewish Center, a Modern Orthodox congregation, said that “when a member of our community was stabbed on his way out of the synagogue, the evil we gathered to remember stopped belonging to the past. Suddenly, it was right here in the present.”

“When public officials repeatedly cast the Jewish community as a stand-in for the actions of the Israeli government, they create a climate in which Jews become targets,” he said. “When I was growing up, the only time we saw security outside my synagogue or Jewish day school was when the mayor came to speak. The police were there to protect him.”

“Today, every time the mayor speaks, we need the police to protect us,” he said.

“Jewish life in America is starting to feel like Jewish life in Europe: armed guards, bulletproof glass and the constant fear that yesterday’s rhetoric will turn into today’s assault,” Levine said. “He was just trying to pray at his synagogue, and now we’re the ones praying for his recovery.”

“If a Jew can’t feel safe walking home from shul in broad daylight on a Thursday afternoon on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, then something has gone profoundly wrong—not only for the Jewish community but for our city,” he said.

Moshe Yezhak Grunhaus, the Jewish man stabbed yesterday in Manhattan, was in the process of moving to Florida.

He was leaving Florida because he was afraid of a New York under Mamdani. I'm sure plenty scoffed when they found out.

And then, as he was leaving synagogue, he was… pic.twitter.com/iChYGtCAhA
— Hen Mazzig (@HenMazzig) July 24, 2026

“@NYCMayor: Stop fanning the flames of hatred and division. The consequences are not abstract. They’re playing out on our streets. But make no mistake, we’re not going anywhere.”

This morning, with @jcrcny, we gathered alongside a broad coalition of communal leaders and elected… pic.twitter.com/C0N1yWWMJL
— UJA-Federation of New York (@UJAfedNY) July 24, 2026

Heartbreaking and powerful message from Rabbi Shlomo Farhi, the chief rabbi of Manhattan's safra synagogue, on today's horrific stabbing on the Upper West Side. pic.twitter.com/HYQHUHWvP5
— Rabbi Poupko (@RabbiPoupko) July 23, 2026

I just spoke with Rabbi Yosie Levine who met with stabbing victim Moshe Grunhaus a few hours ago in the hospital. Grunhaus is recovering and is thinking about getting home. Levine spoke about Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s recent video statements: pic.twitter.com/t7YFQMzP8i
— Anna Schecter (@annaschecter) July 24, 2026

After every antisemitic attack, synagogues and schools ask the same questions:

More guards?
More cameras?
More barriers?

Jewish communities are forced to spend millions of dollars every year on security just to keep our doors open.

Imagine what our communities could build if… https://t.co/2u5tx5TSxX
— Sydney Altfield (@sydneyaltfield) July 24, 2026

In interview day after Jew stabbed in NYC, Mamdani tells interviewer his biggest error was being photographed eating burrito on train

The day after a Jewish man wearing a kippah was stabbed in New York City on the fast day of Tisha B’Av, Zohran Mamdani, mayor of New York City, was asked in an interview what his biggest “fumble” has been.

Jewish leaders have called for the mayor to apologize and temper his future rhetoric, after he released a video calling the Israeli prime minister a “war criminal” and saying that he ought to be arrested. The Jewish leaders say that the mayor is inciting violence against Jews.

When Tone Kapone, of the “Shade Room,” asked the mayor what his biggest mistake had been, Mamdani focused elsewhere than where Jewish leaders are hoping he’d introspect.

“Biggest fumble,” he said. “You know, someone was talking to me about this today. It wasn’t even when I was the mayor, but it still lives with me, which is eating a burrito on the train and taking a photo of it. Shouldn’t have done it.”

The mayor also accused Israel of “genocide” twice in the interview.

Fetterman on Mamdani: I know you’re angry at Netanyahu because he killed a lot of people you admire. pic.twitter.com/pWwrxJsj7o
— Acyn (@Acyn) July 23, 2026

Mamdani is an Islamist agent and conspiracist. He should be nowhere near power. Instead, dumb Americans gave him a seat at the top of one of the greatest cities in the world. https://t.co/WeKYUzHQMa
— Joo (@JoosyJew) July 24, 2026

A violent extremist stabbed a Jewish New Yorker and an Asian New Yorker while shouting “Allahu Akbar.”

The attacks serve as a bloody reminder that we are living in an age of heightened hatred and antisemitism, with hate crimes against the Jewish community reaching levels rarely…
— Ritchie Torres (@RitchieTorres) July 24, 2026

UPDATE:

After sending me photos of the torn posters earlier today, my friend walked by again and caught someone in the act.

He appears to be wearing a keffiyeh.

What kind of lunatic sees a poster marking where a Jewish man was stabbed and decides it has to come down? https://t.co/8GHhheCjib pic.twitter.com/TULSGf34tv
— Yehuda Teitelbaum (@chalavyishmael) July 24, 2026

"These attacks that I paved the way for are horrifying." https://t.co/UtTYjVZgdo pic.twitter.com/ejqDRme4NH
— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) July 24, 2026

Left-wing MPs invited Hamas-linked activist to address them in Parliament just weeks after he was sanctioned by the US

Andy Burnham is under pressure to explain the 'jaw-dropping naivety' of his MPs after they invited an alleged Hamas-linked activist to Parliament offices just weeks after being sanctioned by the US.

Saif Hashim Kamel Abukishek was one of four individuals cited for being a 'central figure' in the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad (PCPA), as well as being on the steering committee of the Global Sumud Flotilla.

The US Treasury said the PCPA was 'established with funding from Hamas's International Relations Bureau and Hamas directs its activity through the placement of Hamas officials throughout the organisation'.

Meanwhile the Global Sumud Flotilla, organised by PCPA, was accused of 'attempting to access Gaza in support of Hamas'. Israeli authorities subsequently stopped the boats and arrested the activists.

Abukishek, a Palestinian-Spanish dual national, is currently listed on the Global Sumud Flotilla's website as a steering committee member. The group's UK arm denied he or the organisation has any links to terrorism in a statement to Daily Mail.

Within just weeks of the sanctions, which were imposed in May, Abukishek was invited to speak within the grounds of Parliament.

The 'Global Sumud Flotilla' event was hosted on June 8 in Room Q of Portcullis House. Abukishek, who was born in Nablus, West Bank and now lives in Spain, spoke alongside other flotilla participants who had been detained by Israel.

Labour MP Neil Duncan-Jordan, who represents Poole, was named as hosting the event which was attended by fellow party MPs Richard Burgon (Leeds East), Lorraine Beavers (Blackpool North and Fleetwood) and Steve Witherden (Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr).

David Collier: An Open Letter to Lewis Goodall of LBC: Why Were You So Afraid of the Truth?

Derailment, Arrogance, and Endless Misinformation
By this stage, the imbalance in legal expertise was becoming increasingly apparent. Faced with someone who understood the subject in great depth, you did not rebut her analysis. Instead, you resorted to interruption, diversion and dismissive rhetoric in an apparent attempt to prevent her from fully explaining her case.

You suddenly brought up internal Israeli political issues, claiming a group of prominent Israelis were threatening legal action against their own government over their support for terrorism in the West Bank and its continued expansion of settlements.

They hadn’t.

You were not merely derailing the interview. Based on every Hebrew report I have been able to locate, you were also misleading your audience. The letter you reference, which has not been made public – does not seem to have referenced settlement expansion at all.

Given this, your particular claim is so misleading it deserves an on-air retraction.

Barely halfway through the interview, you found yourself preventing the discussion from returning to the question you had originally raised. What began as an opportunity to discuss misleading legal positions – ended with you using the second half of the interview talking over your guest and further misleading your audience.

You switched from the misrepresentation of the letter, to distorting the words of Israel Katz as he recently toured Gaza.

It was not simply what you said. As the interview progressed, your impatience became increasingly obvious. The interruptions became more frequent.

Your facial expressions increasingly conveyed exasperation and intellectual mockery.

You appeared irritated that she had the knowledge to counter your position with ease.

Every time Hausdorff began explaining a legal proposition – you changed the subject.

The Guardian became Article 49. Article 49 became a UN resolution. The UN resolution became a misrepresentation of internal Israeli division. That division became the distorted words of Israel Katz. Katz became dispossession. You were not testing her legal argument – you were ensuring it was never fully made.

It was not simply rudeness. It reflected something far more fundamental.

Dear Iain, I would encourage you to listen back to the clip before continuing to misrepresent it. It was a year ago, so perhaps you should be forgiven.

I certainly didn’t insult anyone, unless you consider the truth to be insulting? It is possible that Michael Mansfield shares… https://t.co/IcSneG1gDR pic.twitter.com/42KPOy6bEp
— Natasha Hausdorff (@HausdorffMedia) July 24, 2026

'ALP needs realty check on Gaza'.

The @australian editorial, quoting my friend, the courageous human rights activist @afalkhatib. pic.twitter.com/GVAjcLVNAX
— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Ostrov_A) July 24, 2026

'I grew up in Gaza, Hamas betrayed us.'

Incredibly powerful article in the @australian, by the courageous human rights activist @afalkhatib, and someone I am deeply proud to call a friend. Should be compulsory reading by all who truly care about peace and future of Gaza. pic.twitter.com/GwxcRnIrou
— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Ostrov_A) July 24, 2026

Hatred does not distinguish. Heartbreaking testimony at the Royal Commission on Antisemitism & Social Cohesion yesterday by Australian Jewish MP @JulianLeeser, who painfully recounted his son asking 'are we safe' after Bondi. pic.twitter.com/j5ovxoKWrA
— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Ostrov_A) July 24, 2026

'The shame of antisemitism.'@dailytelegraph editorial on how the sickening incident at Bondi massacre site, where a woman allegedly called an Australian Jewish leader “evil Zionist” is another unwelcome allegation of vile antisemitism dressing itself up in ideological clothes. pic.twitter.com/uCzRrdjONP
— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Ostrov_A) July 24, 2026

🔴 BIG UPDATE: A public servant accused of calling a Jewish leader an ‘evil Zionist’ at the Bondi massacre site was on bail at the time of the altercation for allegedly orchestrating a bomb hoax outside a synagogue! https://t.co/ojrpVPIbRT pic.twitter.com/3K0C5DeV2G
— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Ostrov_A) July 24, 2026

Mentally ill.

Worth noting that the UK charges have been pending for decades and this isn’t an American prosecution, but Tucker’s obsessive hate for the Jewish state and love for sex traffickers who share that hate doesn’t allow room for such basic facts. https://t.co/YVT2MRwknl
— AG (@AGHamilton29) July 24, 2026

The antisemites in our Parliament have thoughtfully corralled themselves onto a list.

The next time somebody takes it upon themselves to murder a Jew on the back of these blood libels, it’ll be easy to know which politicians have blood on their hands.

👇🏻 https://t.co/viEFTYEe0v
— Andrew Fox (@Mr_Andrew_Fox) July 24, 2026

I’m sure 👍

El-Kurd who penned the charming words “they harvest organs of the martyred / feed their warriors our own”, mocks the hostages, complains you can’t hijack planes or throw Molotov cocktails any more, calls Oct 7 “retaliation”, and wishes death on “every single Zionist” https://t.co/dBsq0lsFsN pic.twitter.com/5z6vodHndh
— Joo (@JoosyJew) July 24, 2026

Greens will de-twin Hackney with Haifa (one of the most mixed, diverse, free cities in Israel, home to 36,000 Arabs)

The Greens will twin Manchester with Ramallah, where effectively zero Jews live and entrance to the city has signs saying entry is a danger to Israeli lives. https://t.co/j6rAftpdHc
— Joo (@JoosyJew) July 24, 2026

This is Ramallah police station. The image captures the moment after a Palestinian mob lynched two Jews, and mutilated their bodies. Aziz Salha proudly shows his blood stained hands.

Ramallah is the city the Greens want to twin Manchester with. pic.twitter.com/WdXOPxTpNP
— David Collier (@mishtal) July 24, 2026

Turkey does not meet legal requirements to receive F-35, State Department says

Turkey still does not meet the legal requirements to rejoin the F-35 fighter jet program, the US State Department said in a letter to Congress obtained by The Jerusalem Post.

The July 22 letter, sent by the State Department’s Bureau of Legislative Affairs on behalf of US President Donald Trump in response to a letter from Rep. Wesley Bell (D-Missouri), reiterated that Washington’s policy toward Turkey’s participation in the F-35 program remains unchanged and is fully consistent with the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) and Section 1245 of the Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act.

According to the letter, no F-35 aircraft can be transferred to Turkey until Ankara fully complies with US law. That includes resolving the dispute over its acquisition of the Russian-made S-400 air defense system by no longer possessing the system or any related equipment, providing assurances that it will not acquire the system again, and meeting all remaining statutory certification requirements.

“Turkey has not yet met these conditions,” the State Department wrote. The department added that any process aimed at resolving the S-400 issue must be “transparent, lawful, and consistent with our national security interests.”

Referring to President Trump’s recent bilateral meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, the letter said Washington will continue to engage with Ankara to resolve the S-400 issue while also strengthening NATO cooperation.

The letter described the broader US-Turkey relationship as one based on shared security interests and balanced bilateral trade, while stressing that Washington will continue engaging Turkey on areas of mutual interest “while holding Turkey accountable when its actions undermine US interests.”

There is great confusion about what Decolonization and indeed Colonization means.
The fact is: it means very little except 'a culture or mindset you dont like.' For whatever reason. And that usually means: the West. Since the West decolonized long ago, it really means the… https://t.co/mVD46KGWmn
— S Sebag Montefiore (@simonmontefiore) July 24, 2026

Imam Hamaad El-Ameen at Chattanooga, TN Friday Sermon: The Fourth of July Has Nothing to Do with Us; It Is Not a Declaration of Independence for Us; Our Allegiance Is to Allah pic.twitter.com/wadcWXjQOV
— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) July 24, 2026

Why are we pretending that a 20-something actress taking a pro-Palestine position is brave or subversive? 90 percent of her peers agree with her, and it guarantees her continued access to progressive social spaces. If she had anything other than a strident pro-Palestine position,… https://t.co/ia5sAm6wLa
— Corey Walker 🇺🇸 (@CoreyWriting) July 24, 2026

The lady who harassed this poor intern is named Sumer Mobarak. She's absolutely insane.

She is constantly on Capitol Hill harassing politicians. She is obsessed with Marco Rubio. She interrupted his hearing and got arrested for it.

Now, she is attacking a young intern. She… https://t.co/hZpCtmSn7s pic.twitter.com/DVfRDuvYbi
— Angela Van Der Pluym (@anjewla90) July 24, 2026

Antizionists are STILL harassing Jewish Senator Scott Weiner. This time they want him to submit to the ‘right to return’ which is basically a sneaky way to destroy Israel. They are relentless bullies and antisemites. pic.twitter.com/qt37vgbs21
— Heidi Bachram (@HeidiBachram) July 24, 2026

I’m glad they got convicted for this but we don’t need Greta stirring things up. Definitely not conducive to the public good. Who does she think she is. pic.twitter.com/J8fjOMTjRE
— Heidi Bachram (@HeidiBachram) July 24, 2026

Weird pro-Pal cosplays as a Holocaust victim and sits in a dog cage pretending it’s a concentration camp. They play narcissistic games with the industrial slaughter of 6 million Jews. Sick. pic.twitter.com/kbaqOQbEbS
— Heidi Bachram (@HeidiBachram) July 24, 2026

Malaysia envoy summoned by US over expulsion of American-Israeli dual citizen

Malaysia’s ambassador to the United States was summoned by the US State Department to explain Kuala Lumpur’s position on Israel, state media reported, citing the country’s foreign minister.

Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan said Ambassador Muhammad Shahrul Ikram Yaakob told the State Department that Malaysia’s longstanding policy of not recognizing Israel was not new.

“It has always been Malaysia’s policy. Our immigration policy does not recognize the State of Israel or the Zionist regime. This has long been our position.”

“There was an individual with dual citizenship, the US and Israel, who entered Malaysia using his US passport. However, subsequent checks revealed that he also held Israeli citizenship, and we asked him to leave,” Bernama cited Mohamad as saying late on Thursday.

Reuters has sought comment from the US embassy in Malaysia.

The row was triggered after Network School, the “digital nomad” community founded in Malaysia by US investor Balaji Srinivasan, came under scrutiny after social media users alleged that it included participants from Israel.

Malaysia does not have diplomatic ties with Israel and is known to be a staunch supporter of the Palestinian cause.

An immigration probe into the Network School followed, and authorities found that all its participants had valid travel documents. However, it was eventually shut down by authorities on Tuesday.

Eight US congressmen later sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressing outrage over Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s plan to track down and immediately deport any Israeli citizens found in Malaysia.

They urged the State Department to review US security and economic ties with Malaysia.

They also called on the State Department to cut off funding for the International Military Education and Training program, which provides professional US training for Malaysian military personnel, unless the decision is reversed within 15 days.

UKLFI challenges London cinema over “No Zionists” menus

UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) has written to a London cinema after discovering that its cocktail menus appeared to declare that Zionists were not welcome at the venue.

A printed menu bearing the branding of The Arzner, a queer-friendly cinema and bar, stated on its front cover: “No Sexists”, “No Racists”, “No Transphobes”, “No Zionists” and “No Fascists”.

The menu was reportedly in use at the premises on 18 July 2026.

UKLFI has written to the Arzner, warning that the wording is discriminatory and likely to breach the Equality Act 2010.

UKLFI said that placing “No Zionists” alongside prohibitions on racists and fascists portrayed Zionists as an inherently objectionable class of people and announced to customers that they were unwelcome.

The letter explained that Zionism, in its core sense, is the belief that the Jewish people are entitled to national self-determination in their historic homeland. It does not necessarily entail support for any particular Israeli government, policy, boundary or military action.

UKLFI distinguished legitimate criticism of Israeli policies from the exclusion of people who support the continued existence of a Jewish state.

The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism identifies “denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination” — including by claiming that Israel’s existence is a racist endeavour — as a possible example of contemporary antisemitism.

UKLFI said The Arzner was a service provider for the purposes of Part 3 of the Equality Act and was therefore prohibited from discriminating against customers because of protected characteristics.

The letter argued that a policy of refusing admission or service to Zionists could amount to direct discrimination because of philosophical belief.

Harvard Touts ‘Counter-Zionist’ Professor, Palestinian Liberation Erotic Poetry Journal as Evidence of Progress Against Jew-Hate

Adding a course taught by a professor who accuses Israel of genocide. Hiring another professor who describes his own work as "counter-Zionist." Launching a student journal of erotic poetry and "support for Palestinian Liberation." Appointing another scholar to a visiting professorship that already existed and has been refilled annually for nearly a decade. Adding a course on antisemitism taught by a professor who backs a definition of antisemitism embraced by boycott-Israel advocates.

Harvard and ten of the nation’s biggest-name appellate lawyers are brazenly trying to pass all these steps off to federal judges as proof that the university is moving to address what even the university itself concedes in its latest court filing has been "disturbing, offensive, and vile treatment of Jewish students."

Harvard’s legal, political, and public relations strategy in its faceoff with the Trump administration over billions in federal research funding became clearer this week with court filings in a case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, President and Fellows of Harvard College v. US Department of Health and Human Services. The federal government also filed a memorandum of law this week in a similar case, United States v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, which is before Judge Richard Stearns in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

What Harvard has not done is survey Jewish students or the campus as a whole to see whether what it found in 2024—that Jewish students get an inferior campus experience—has changed. The government’s federal filing notes Harvard’s own past finding that "substantial numbers of Jewish students indicated experiencing discomfort and alienation at Harvard … 26% felt physically unsafe and 44% felt mentally unsafe. Nearly half (49%) felt their well-being was not supported at Harvard … Almost 60% of Jewish students indicated they had experienced some form of discrimination, stereotyping, or negative bias on campus due to their views on current events." Harvard hasn’t collected or disclosed new or updated data on that, either.

Instead, Harvard’s ten outside lawyers, led by former George W. Bush administration solicitor general Paul Clement and including former Scalia clerk Scott Lehotsky, former Trump Organization lawyer and current Fox Corp. director William Burck, and former U.S. attorney for Massachusetts Joshua Levy, tell the court in its latest filing that "Harvard implemented many changes aimed at ensuring its campus is safe, fair, and welcoming to Jewish and Israeli students." An 11th outside Harvard lawyer, Scott Keller, recently withdrew from the case to take the job of general counsel of Chevron.

After the L.A. fires, a group of kids supported by a fire victims charity came together to create a mural at the Pasadena Jewish Temple & Center with a message of unity: “We are all responsible for each other.”

For the 2nd time, the mural was vandalized with antisemitic… pic.twitter.com/XBt0B6A9Hn
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) July 25, 2026

Israel begins preparing for 2,000-year anniversary of Jesus’s baptism

Israel has begun its preparations for the 2,000th anniversary of the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River, which will be marked in 2030.

The Foreign Ministry has established a working group led by Israeli Ambassador George Deek to coordinate with Christian leaders worldwide and manage the expected influx of millions of pilgrims for “an event of profound spiritual significance for more than two billion Christians worldwide.”

The milestone commemorates two millennia since the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River, roughly 6 miles east of Jericho and just north of the Dead Sea.

Many scholars date Jesus’s baptism to the year 27–29, while others place it around 30, depending on how they interpret the chronology in the Gospels and the reign of Emperor Tiberius.

“For me as a Christian and as Israel’s special envoy to the Christian world, this mission is deeply personal,” Deek told JNS on Wednesday. “It is an opportunity for Israel to honor the Christian heritage of the Holy Land, strengthen its dialogue with Christian communities worldwide, and ensure that pilgrims who come here can experience the places at the heart of their faith with dignity, safety and a true sense of welcome.”

Around 185,000 Israelis are Christian, accounting for just under 2% of the population, according to data published by the Central Bureau of Statistics last year.

Nearly 80% of the Christians in Israel are Arab.

Jesse Jackson’s daughter reveals she has converted to Judaism

Jesse Jackson’s daughter has revealed that she has converted to Judaism, describing how the late civil rights leader supported her decision and even joined her at a synagogue before his death.

Writing in an opinion piece for The Washington Post, Ashley L. Jackson said she completed her conversion on 12 June after what she described as a years-long spiritual journey shaped by study, illness and a growing connection to Jewish life.

Jackson, a writer, producer and founder of the nonprofit Push The Next Generation, said her father attended a Shabbat service at her synagogue two years before he died, where he joined in the celebration despite coming from a Baptist Christian background.

She wrote: “As the Saturday morning service proceeded, my father sat in the front row – holding my hand, dancing to prayers in a language he did not speak, eating the Sunkist candies the congregation had tossed to celebrate a bar mitzvah.”

Reflecting on her decision to become Jewish, Jackson said she had found a faith that matched the values she had been raised with.

“I was raised to believe that faith must lead to action,” she wrote. “In Judaism, I found an enduring expression of this belief.”

She said she had long been struck by Judaism’s emphasis on learning, ritual and the concept of Tikkun olam – repairing the world – adding that the sound of the shofar during her first Rosh Hashanah moved her deeply.

Jackson also reflected on becoming both Black and Jewish, saying the identity carried both challenges and hope.

She wrote that “racism and antisemitism can surface in even the most intimate and familiar spaces”, but also described “the meeting of two diasporas” and the shared histories of Black and Jewish communities.

In the essay, Jackson argued that the long-standing relationship between African Americans and Jewish Americans had become increasingly strained in recent years, despite both communities sharing traditions rooted in the pursuit of justice and human dignity.

“About 1 percent of American Jews identify as Black,” she wrote. “Their experience – my experience – shows that the alienation between these two communities can be overcome.”

Jackson also recalled the emotional reception her father received when Rabbi Sharon Brous invited him forward for a blessing during his synagogue visit.

Waverley, Woollahra Councils unveil October 7 memorial

A permanent public artwork commemorating the continuing impact of the October 7, 2023 attacks on the Jewish community has been unveiled at Christison Park in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, jointly commissioned by Woollahra and Waverley councils.

The sculpture, titled “In Them We See Ourselves”, was unveiled on Friday by Woollahra Mayor Sarah Dixson and Waverley Mayor Will Nemesh, alongside NSW Jewish Board of Deputies CEO Michele Goldman, who acted as master of ceremonies. Fragments of weathered corten steel rise from the ground and lean inward to form a sheltered space at the centre, which visitors are invited to enter and sit within, the ocean beyond.

Dixson said the park had not been chosen at random. Around 12,000 people had filled Christison Park for the United Together vigil marking the first anniversary of the attack, in one of the largest gatherings the municipality had ever seen.

“People came here to mourn the victims, to stand with survivors and their families, and to call for the hostages to be brought home,” she said.

She said the events of October 7 had not been experienced from afar. “They were deeply personal, touching family members and friends, and the grief and fear that followed has been felt in our streets, our schools, workplaces, and places of worship ever since.” She noted that both the Woollahra and Waverley mayors were Jewish, and that Woollahra Council had been led by a mayor or deputy mayor of Jewish heritage since December 2021.

Dixson said the project began with a resolution of Woollahra Council in October 2024, seeking Waverley’s partnership in commissioning an artwork representing both councils’ ongoing support for those affected by the attack. Four shortlisted artists developed concept proposals, which were assessed by a joint committee comprising both councils’ arts panels, the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies and the mayors.

“In them we see ourselves was selected because it best answered that brief,” she said. “The work speaks of fracture and of protection, of grief and of endurance. It acknowledges what has been broken, and it offers refuge.”

AJA's Robert Gregory was honoured to be invited to attend the unveiling of a permanent public memorial in Sydney commemorating the victims of the October 7 massacre and the ongoing pain felt throughout the Jewish world.

The sculpture, titled “In Them We See Ourselves” was… pic.twitter.com/Kam0UWbIsR
— Australian Jewish Association (@AustralianJA) July 24, 2026

At a time of rising antisemitism, Israeli musician @idanraichel reflects on "the global connection of the Jewish people" in the wake of the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre, speaking at the StandWithUs International Conference in Las Vegas. pic.twitter.com/FtOVuIjopr
— StandWithUs (@StandWithUs) July 24, 2026

Buy EoZ's books on Amazon!

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

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

PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism (February 2022)

07/24 Links Pt1: Two Israelis killed in Samaria terrorist attack; ICC removes Karim Khan as prosecutor; Mojtaba Khamenei more interested in nuclear weapons than predecessor

2026-07-25T00:25:22.445-04:00

From Ian:

JPost Editorial: We deserve better: Three years after October 7, Israel still waits for an investigation

Nearly three years after the October 7 massacre, Israelis are still waiting for one of the most basic obligations the outgoing government owes its citizens: A full, independent investigation into the worst security failure in the country’s history.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government informed the High Court of Justice that it will not be able to complete legislation establishing its proposed political commission to investigate the failures surrounding Hamas’s October 7 massacre.

In response to petitions challenging its failure to establish the probe, the government said the legislation would instead be completed after the October 27 elections. Further attacking the judiciary, it also argued that “it is not appropriate for the court to rule on the matter or intervene in it.”

The government’s explanation for the delay should be unacceptable to every Israeli.

Much has been argued – both in the Knesset and on Israel’s streets – over whether a political commission or a state commission of inquiry is the appropriate mechanism. The coalition has repeatedly opposed a state commission, standing firmly behind its objections to an independent inquiry.

Its first argument has been that it is impractical and inappropriate to investigate the events surrounding October 7 while Israel remains at war. The second is that Chief Justice Isaac Amit is not viewed as legitimate by many members of the coalition, raising concerns that any commission he appoints would lack public confidence among a significant segment of the public. 'Scheduling constraints' prevented Oct. 7 probe legislation finalization

Even if the government’s objections to a state commission are genuine, they still do not explain why it failed to follow through on its own proposal for a political probe – one specifically designed to address those concerns by replacing Supreme Court appointments to the committee with members selected through a Knesset-led process.

According to the government’s response to the High Court, the legislation could not be finalized because of “scheduling constraints.”

That justification is nothing short of insulting.

Members of this government have spent nearly three years hearing the pleas of bereaved families demanding a commission of inquiry. They have heard them inside the Knesset. They have heard them outside their homes and offices, where grieving relatives have stood for months demanding answers, accountability, and transparency.

Some of those Israelis lost sons, daughters, spouses, parents, and friends on October 7. Others fought for up to 505 days until their loved ones returned from Hamas captivity. All have carried an unimaginable burden while waiting for the state to confront its own failures.

Responding to those families by citing legislative scheduling conflicts is a slap in the face.

The explanation becomes even harder to accept when viewed alongside the coalition’s legislative blitz carried out during the Knesset’s final weeks before its dissolution.

In those weeks, the coalition found time to pass legislation it considered politically essential: A bill preventing the enforcement of draft orders against ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students, legislation enshrining Torah study as a fundamental value in Israel’s Basic Law, a bill restructuring the powers of the attorney-general, and sweeping reforms to Israel’s broadcasting sector.

In passing said bills, the government demonstrated that when legislation is considered urgent by the prime minister, it can move with remarkable speed.

Trump admin’s $200 million to Red Cross offers chance to press it over Oct. 7 hostages, B’nai B’rith tells JNS

The Trump administration should use Thursday’s announcement that it is providing more than $200 million to the International Committee of the Red Cross, as well as the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, to demand that the ICRC “show accountability for its shameful performance during the Israeli hostage crisis,” Rabbi Eric Fusfield, director of legislative affairs at B’nai B’rith International, told JNS.

The U.S. State Department stated that the aid to the ICRC and IFRC will go toward disaster and humanitarian assistance. “Today’s contributions support organizations that respond quickly when disasters strike, provide unparalleled access to people in need in conflict settings, and leverage preexisting worldwide disaster and humanitarian response infrastructure,” it said.

Fusfield told JNS that “the ICRC failed every test with respect to Israelis held captive by Hamas terrorists.”

“They never met with the hostages, never assured them comfort or medical supplies, never demanded proof of life and never did anything to speed their release,” he said. “The ICRC has much to answer for, and the U.S. and the international community should demand those answers.”

Two Israelis killed in Samaria terrorist attack

Two Israelis were killed and six wounded in a terrorist shooting attack near Havat Gilad in Samaria on Friday morning after a group of Israelis hiking in the area was attacked by Palestinians, according to Magen David Adom and the Israeli military.

The victims were identified as Benayahu Melet, 32, a member of the community’s rapid-response security team and its agriculture director, and Maj. Yuval Ezra, 27, from Herzliya, a commander in the 411th Battalion of the 282nd Artillery Brigade, who later succumbed to his wounds.

Melet rushed to assist the group of hikers after they came under attack from terrorists near the community, which is not far from the Palestinian village of Tell. He was shot and killed by several terrorists during the rescue effort. He is survived by his wife and two daughters, aged 12 and 13.

Magen David Adom said its paramedics evacuated six wounded Israelis from the site, one in serious condition, one in moderate condition and four others who sustained light wounds.

Informed sources told JNS that a group of experienced hikers was hiking in the area when several Palestinian terrorists attacked them, stole their weapons and opened fire. IDF troops, security forces and medical teams were dispatched to the scene.

The IDF said the primary terrorist who carried out the attack was killed by soldiers immediately after opening fire on the Israeli civilians, and troops recovered the weapon he had stolen during the assault. Three other Palestinians were killed and four wounded in an ensuing gunfight, it said.

The military said Central Command chief Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth led a joint situational assessment with representatives of the Judea and Samaria Division, the Israel Police’s Judea and Samaria District and the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet).

Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan also arrived at the scene of the attack, where he conducted a situational assessment with security officials.

“Terror will not break us,” Dagan said. “The response must be offensive: We must relentlessly pursue the terrorists and strike terrorism with full force. At the same time, we must continue to build, develop and strengthen the communities in Samaria. Anyone who tries to harm us should know that the result will be a stronger and greater Samaria.”

The Jewish hikers in indigenous Israel had two options.

Either shoot the Arab invaders or try to warn them to back away and risk getting murdered.

They chose the second option.

They were murdered in their own homeland by violent Arab settlers.

But since it wasn’t Jews who… https://t.co/zwG5bVc1rH
— AP (@Average_NY_Guy) July 24, 2026

The IDF soldiers are giving the Palestinist the benefit of the doubt that he isn't a savage barbarian so they didn't eliminate him despite him grabbing the gun from the guard. https://t.co/zGPDjmHQag
— Yossi Gestetner (@YossiGestetner) July 24, 2026

Contrary to the accusations of being quick to use lethal force against Palestinians, the video clearly shows that the security coordinator and the soldiers could have opened fire earlier but did not, until the weapon was seized. pic.twitter.com/wSnSoRJSkf
— Amit Segal (@AmitSegal) July 24, 2026

Nablus hospital raid: Two terrorists involved in Havat Gilad shooting arrested

IDF Spokesperson’s Unit and the Shin Bet said Friday afternoon that two terrorists who participated in the morning shooting attack near Havat Gilad in Samaria were arrested during an operation in the heart of Nablus. “The terrorists, who were wounded during the attack, were evacuated to a hospital in the city of Nablus where they were arrested by the forces and transferred for further questioning by security forces,” the joint statement said.

The statement added that “the identities of all the terrorists who took part in the attack are known and the forces are working to arrest them.” The hospital arrests were carried out by Duvdevan fighters under the command of the Samaria Brigade and with Shin Bet intelligence guidance.

In Friday morning’s shooting attack, Maj. Yuval Ezra, a battery commander, and Benayahu Mellet, 32, a member of Havat Gilad’s alert squad team, were killed. Ezra, 27, from Herzliya, commanded a battery in the 411th Battalion of the 282nd Fire Brigade in the Artillery Corps. Mellet, 32, a father of two daughters, was a member of the community security squad and responsible for agriculture at Havat Gilad.

Central Command chief Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth held a discussion with settlement leaders following the attack and said: “During the incident, four terrorists were eliminated at the scene, including the terrorist who carried out the shooting. The stolen weapon was also recovered by the IDF. We have more arrests to carry out. Following the recent events, particularly this morning’s incident, there is concern of escalation throughout Judea and Samaria, and we are carrying out offensive operations to prevent the area from igniting and using all means at our disposal.”

He added that the IDF is also preparing for possible copycat attacks. “IDF forces in the Judea and Samaria Division are preparing to carry out significant counterterrorism operations and are working to arrest all the terrorists involved in the attack,” he said. “For this purpose, we have also rushed additional units here. We have much work ahead of us. We are launching a broad operation in the Central Command area. We will act in every way to halt the escalation and restore calm here. The security of residents is our guiding principle. The forces are operating with determination, operational aggressiveness and composure to prevent additional incidents.”

Before the shooting attack, security forces and additional settlers were documented clashing with Palestinians in the area where a group of Israeli hikers had arrived. During the violent clashes, one Israeli, wearing civilian clothing, was seen kicking a Palestinian and shouting at him to move away. The Palestinian then grabbed the weapon from the Israeli and began shooting, striking Benayahu Mellet. In response, security forces and Israelis at the scene fired at him.

Hiking in the area requires prior coordination with the IDF, but security officials said the military was not aware of the trip and that this constituted a serious issue. According to the officials, the incident began with a hike in the area, and in the early morning hours a violent confrontation broke out between dozens of Palestinians and the group of hikers in the Palestinian village. The officials said IDF forces were then dispatched, and when the command team from the 411th Battalion arrived at the scene, a violent confrontation involving gunfire developed.

Security officials said the entire incident took place inside the village and that all weapons involved, including those located at the scene, are now in the possession of security forces. “The entire incident took place on the southern side of the village. Before the incident, settlers fired into the air, and the IDF is investigating everyone who fired, including members of the hiking group,” they added. “When the commanders arrive at the scene, they enter a chaotic event. The entire incident is in the southern part of the village. The fighters and forces then worked to remove all those involved, some of them children.”

🚨 SUSPECTS LINKED TO DEADLY SAMARIA ATTACK DETAINED IN SHECHEM HOSPITAL

IDF forces reportedly detained a group of Arabs inside a hospital in Shechem (Nablus) over their alleged involvement in today’s terrorist attack that killed Benayahu Melat, HY”D.

Further details are… pic.twitter.com/2OgxMoClr7
— Mossad Commentary (@MOSSADil) July 24, 2026

Israel needs to stop the insanity.

Stop doing the same thing over and over and over again expecting different results.

Oslo made Israel more dangerous. Destroy it.

No more Area A, B and C.

Israel is for Israelis.

Stop striving for peace. Demand safety and security. https://t.co/6tc2cLyvtE pic.twitter.com/dRKr3dpILx
— Jake Donnelly (@RedWhiteBlueJew) July 24, 2026

Hundreds attend funeral of Benayahu Mellet, killed in West Bank terror attack

Hundreds accompanied Benayahu Mellet, a member of Havat Gilad’s emergency response team, to his final resting place Friday afternoon. Mellet was killed in a terror attack earlier that morning. Maj. Yuval Ezra, a battery commander in the Artillery Corps, was also killed in the attack. Mellet is survived by his wife and two daughters.

“Fourteen years together, which ended in a moment. You always jumped first to every place and came back last from every incident. This time, too, there was no question,” his wife Esther said in her eulogy. “It was clear to me that you were there. I was not worried when I saw all the helicopters because you always come back. Only this time you did not come back at all. If it is any consolation, you received military recognition — as a soldier who went out to defend those who needed it. You deserve this so much.”

Esther spoke about what occupied Benayahu’s thoughts moments before he rushed to the scene: “This land, this soil, this nation — they occupied you day and night. Just this morning you were working on establishing two new settlement outposts, and from there you were called to the incident. And this is truly your legacy. Khirbat Kafrur, Mivtar Six, and at the site of the murder there will be Jewish communities, flourishing and thriving. I was told they have already gone up there. You were privileged.”

Mellet was buried next to Rabbi Raziel Shevach, who was murdered in a 2018 terror attack near Havat Gilad. He is the second person buried in the cemetery there. Esther spoke of the chilling connection between them — their age when they were killed.

“You are being buried next to a holy man, Rabbi Raziel Shevach. This is exactly how you would have wanted it. He was just like you, 32 years old.”

The widow ended her eulogy with a message from their daughters: “Tair Eretz says you were the best and funniest father. And thank you for 12 years that you were with me. I love you more than anything and I already miss you. I, and the land of Israel, and Tair Eretz, will find the strength to cope. You can rest now.”

“Benayahu was a holy man. People here spoke about what he did for the Land of Israel, so I want to say there were other sides to Benayahu — everything he did in his life, he did with great seriousness,” his mother Segula said in her eulogy. “This was not the first time he was shot at. When he was in first grade, we were helping establish Adei Ad. Arabs shot at him there as well. All the bullets flew over his head. He came and said, ‘Arabs shot at me.’ From childhood, this child absorbed the battles of God.”

His father, Boaz Mellet, said Benayahu was “a beloved son, loving, a lover of the land, a lover of the City of the Patriarchs.” He said Benayahu knew the entire West Bank region. “Only good came from having you with us all these years. Your whole life was devoted and dedicated, with sacrifice, for the sake of the people of Israel. A loving person, a man of peace,” he added.

In his remarks at the funeral, Mellet’s father called on them to dismantle the Palestinian Authority. “All those who told us ‘a fully right-wing government’ — your term is still short. Your opportunity is now to seize the final moment and dismantle the terrorist organization that everyone knows is a terrorist organization — the Palestinian Authority. It is an organization whose entire purpose is the destruction of the State of Israel. We do not need to wait for the next October 7-style war,” he said.

Benyahu Melat, a member of the Havat Gilad emergency response team and responsible for agriculture in the community - was murdered in the shooting attack this morning in the Palestinian village of Tel.

Melat (32) is a father of two daughters, and he jumped to help the group of… pic.twitter.com/BWIhAIhRIA
— Eli Afriat 🇮🇱 (@EliAfriatISR) July 24, 2026

The victim of today's terror attack near Havat Gilad, in the West Bank/Judea and Samaria, has been named - Bnayahu Malat, 32, a resident of Havat Gilad, member of the community's emergency response team, and the farm's agriculture manager.

When a group of hikers in the area came… pic.twitter.com/xIZ26gr6An
— StandWithUs (@StandWithUs) July 24, 2026

IDF soldier Major Yuval Ezra (27) tragically fell in today’s terror attack near Havat Gilad, in the West Bank/Judea and Samaria.

May his memory be a blessing. 🕯️🇮🇱 pic.twitter.com/VXU9kxrom0
— StandWithUs (@StandWithUs) July 24, 2026

2/10
Here is what happened, according to the IDF’s preliminary investigation:

A group of Israelis, including children, was hiking near the Palestinian village of Tell and entered Areas A and B without coordinating with the military.

They were attacked by dozens of Palestinians,…
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) July 24, 2026

4/10
Two Israelis were killed:

Master Sgt. (res.) Benayahu Mellet, 32, a member of Havat Gilad’s emergency response squad who had rushed to help the hikers.

Maj. Yuval Ezra, 27, an IDF artillery battery commander who arrived as Israeli forces attempted to bring the incident…
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) July 24, 2026

6/10
Now look at how @guardian, @washingtonpost and @BBCWorld framed the story.

Palestinian deaths. “Settlers.” The wider narrative of “settler violence.”

The framing assigns guilt before it explains the attack. pic.twitter.com/8D1s94f4Uk
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) July 24, 2026

8/10
The UN’s own figures expose the imbalance.

OCHA recorded that in the West Bank during 2025:

• Palestinians killed 17 Israelis, including one child.
• Israeli settlers killed nine Palestinians.

Yet “settler violence” became an international media narrative. Palestinian…
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) July 24, 2026

10/10
This is why Israel conducts raids, mans checkpoints and deploys troops in the West Bank.

If an operation follows, coverage will begin with “occupation” and “settler violence” – not the terror networks behind it.

The media rewriting cause as consequence.
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) July 24, 2026

VIDEO: A Palestinist executes a Jew in a way that the @piersmorgan and @cenkuygur shows have you believe that the IDF does this routinely yet there is no video of it. https://t.co/YgmeU6y5j2
— Yossi Gestetner (@YossiGestetner) July 24, 2026

What about the armed Palestinian terrorists who carried out a shooting attack against innocent Israeli civilians this morning, murdering two people, Yuval Ezra and Benayahu Mellet, and injuring several others?

This was the third terrorist attack targeting Israelis in the area in… https://t.co/aYvTliQR4d
— Danny Danon 🇮🇱 דני דנון (@dannydanon) July 24, 2026

Israeli civilian, IDF soldier wounded in two Palestinian stabbing attacks in Samaria

Two separate Palestinian stabbing attacks in Samaria on Thursday left an Israeli civilian seriously wounded and an IDF soldier lightly injured, while the attackers were killed by an armed civilian and Israeli troops, authorities said.

Two Palestinians stabbed a 51-year-old Israeli man on Thursday while he and other Israelis attempted to extinguish a fire near Derech Avraham Farm, southeast of Nablus in Samaria, the Israel Defense Forces said. An Israeli civilian at the scene witnessed the terrorist attack and killed the two terrorists, the military said.

In a separate terrorist attack on Thursday afternoon, a Palestinian stabbed a Paratroopers Brigade soldier in the leg at a recently established IDF post near Ganim in northern Samaria. The soldier sustained light wounds, and fellow troops at the scene shot and killed the attacker.

The victim of the first attack was evacuated by helicopter by the Israeli Air Force’s Unit 669 combat search-and-rescue unit for further treatment at a hospital. He sustained serious wounds, the Magen David Adom national emergency service said.

IDF soldiers launched searches in the Beit Furik area and imposed a temporary cordon, the army added.

Defense Minister Israel Katz identified the victim as Itamar Cohen.

“I wish a speedy recovery to Itamar Cohen, one of the founders of the agricultural farms in Judea and Samaria, who was wounded in a terrorist attack near Alon Moreh. I strengthen him and his family members and pray for his complete healing,” Katz wrote on X.

He added that Palestinian terrorism has declined by more than 80% due to the government’s “aggressive policy,” but cautioned that “we must not be mistaken—the Palestinian terrorism still exists, and we continue to act against it at all times and in all places.”

Katz said that just as Israeli security forces dismantled terrorist infrastructure in Jenin, Tulkarem and Nur Shams, they would not hesitate to do the same in additional villages and camps.

“Terrorism will not deter us or achieve its goal. On the contrary—just as we established 104 new communities and legalized 160 farms—we will continue to strengthen the settlements … as part of the State of Israel’s security strategy, and to continue developing Judea and Samaria while maintaining uncompromising security for its residents and for the security of all Israeli citizens,” he said.

BLOOD-THIRSTY ANNIMALS: SICKENING SCENES FROM SHECHEM

Supporters of terrorism gathered in Nablus to celebrate today’s deadly attack, which murdered one Israeli and wounded two others.

Celebrating the murder of civilians is not “resistance.” It is a glorification of terrorism. pic.twitter.com/ZgclrMeHZ1
— Mossad Commentary (@MOSSADil) July 24, 2026

Stephen Pollard: The strange relationship between Qatar and the ICC

The allegations against Khan first emerged in October 2024. The most striking aspect of his defence is that Qatar appears to have effectively been his crisis PR manager. This has involved utilising media organisations funded by Qatar, such as al-Jazeera, and publications understood to be close to Qatar, such as Middle East Eye, to who Khan gave an interview in which he responded to the harassment allegations in detail. He was also interviewed by the former Al-Jazeera journalist, Mehdi Hasan, on his platform Zeteo.

Allies of Khan have said that the woman’s allegations against him are a smear by Israel in response to his 2024 decision to issue an arrest warrant against Benjamin Netanyahu and the former Israeli defence minister, Yoav Gallant. It has been reported that evidence has been sought linking the complainant to Israel, although none has been found; had any emerged, you can be sure it would have swiftly been made public.

Earlier this year, the Wall Street Journal reported that one witness statement related to the case claimed that the Qatari government promised to ‘look after’ Khan if he moved against Netanyahu. According to the WSJ, the statement was then sent to the FBI. The statement also asserts that an intelligence operation in defence of Khan targeted two Americans: the senior ICC official who first reported the allegations, Tom Lynch; and the late Senator Lindsey Graham, who Khan said in an interview with Middle East Eye told him on a conference call in May 2024 that the ICC ‘is for Africa and thugs like Putin’, and not for Israel and the US. In addition, it has been reported that the Dutch counter-terror agency, the NCTV, has interviewed other ICC officials targeted by the operation.

A lawyer for Khan told the WSJ: ‘Our client was not offered or given (and would not have sought or accepted) any “promise” by any state (whether Qatar or any other) to “look after” him if he applied for the arrest warrants.’

But Qatar’s embrace of Khan is far from unique. It built strong ties with the ICC’s first chief prosecutor, the Argentine Luis Moreno Ocampo, who served from 2003-2012. Publicly available travel records, conference agendas and other meetings show a set of personal, financial and reputational links between Ocampo and key Qatari figures. Ocampo was in post during the Arab Spring, a series of uprisings which Qatar sponsored when it saw the regional advantage they could facilitate, and which it then used to position itself as a regional player.

Ocampo’s diary shows increasing engagements in Doha around this time. In May 2011, he travelled there for a conference funded by the Qatari authorities, overseen by Attorney General Ali bin Fetais Al-Marri and formally framed as part of a push to deepen engagement between the ICC and Arab states.

After Ocampo retired from the ICC, he became heavily linked to initiatives associated with the Qatar Foundation, the organisation chaired by members of the Al Thani family. His biography appeared on the website of the foundation’s education conferences and he was reported as participating in programs tied to Education Above All, the flagship project led by Sheikha Moza Bint Nasser, the former emir’s wife, formalising his role in Qatar’s global soft power ecosystem.

In 2016, the Panama Papers exposed Ocampo’s use of offshore financial structures, indicating that during and after his tenure at the ICC he controlled companies registered in jurisdictions known for their secrecy and received substantial payments through overseas accounts. Ocampo has said that he ‘did not do anything wrong’.

Qatar has not had only an arms’ length involvement. It has had a direct involvement in the International Court of Justice as a party to one of its most notorious cases. After getting independence in 1972, Qatar was in dispute with its neighbour Bahrain over maritime and territorial borders. The case eventually went to the ICJ in 1991. The case has become iconic not only because it dragged on for a decade but because Qatar submitted 82 forged documents to the ICJ, including fake maps, stamps, and falsified archives. It is a damning comment on the ICJ’s jurisprudence that not only did the ICJ not condemn Qatar, but some arguments for the final decision even relied on the forgeries.

Qatar’s dealings with the ICC, the ICJ and their personnel should prompt searching questions about where diplomacy and international law ends and where covert influence and state power begins – and specifically about who ultimately controls the levers of supposedly ‘independent’ international law.

ICC removes Karim Khan as prosecutor amid sexual misconduct allegations

Member states of the International Criminal Court voted on Friday to remove chief prosecutor Karim Khan following a roughly 18-month-long investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct, Reuters reported.

In a secret ballot held at United Nations headquarters in New York City, 82 of the ICC’s 125 member states voted to dismiss Khan, according to diplomatic sources cited by the outlet. A minimum of 63 votes was required for his removal.

The allegations against Khan first surfaced in 2024. He has denied wrongdoing, saying the accusations are unfounded and criticizing the disciplinary process as unlawful and lacking evidence.

Khan had been on voluntary leave since May and was suspended as prosecutor in June after the ICC’s governing bureau determined that he had committed serious misconduct. His deputies carried out his duties during his absence. The U.K.’s Bar Standards Board also suspended Khan from practicing as a barrister in England and Wales while it considers the allegations.

In a July 16 interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, Khan’s accuser, identified at her request as “Sarah,” described what she said was a pattern of escalating misconduct in the workplace. She alleged that Khan gradually crossed personal and professional boundaries, including through unwanted physical contact.

“[There was] the pawing, the physical nature of it, but it didn’t start that way,” she said. “Because it was kind of like encroachments on the boundaries slowly, not just physically but emotionally as well.”

Sarah, a Malaysian lawyer and mother of one, began working at the ICC as an intern in 2017 and later became one of Khan’s assistants, according to CNN.

The decision comes after Khan drew international scrutiny in 2024 when he sought arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes related to Israel’s war against Hamas following the terrorist group’s attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, stated that Khan “believed that by launching a political witch hunt against Israel and issuing a politically motivated arrest warrant against Prime Minister Netanyahu, the world would ignore the grave sexual misconduct allegations against him. He was wrong.”

He added that Khan “sought to scapegoat Israel in an attempt to divert attention from his own misconduct. The international community rejected that cynical attempt today.”

“Those who attempt to prosecute Israel will not escape accountability—they will also lose the trust of the international community,” Danon said. “The attacks against Israel, which were intended to distract from his disgraceful conduct, did not save Karim Khan, and they will not help Zohran Mamdani either.”

Venezuela quitting ICC is a start for @marcorubio's "dismantling" policy, but it won't prevent prosecutions of U.S. personnel so long as the Court is in business. Dramatic steps are required for that, such as pressuring major donor states like Japan, or institution-wide… https://t.co/EbaHQKwxsK
— Eugene Kontorovich (@EVKontorovich) July 24, 2026

“Israel made me a bit rapey” pic.twitter.com/5rBl5wnkSX
— Joo (@JoosyJew) July 24, 2026

UN human rights chief wins unprecedented 2nd term despite opposition from US, Israel

The United Nations General Assembly voted overwhelmingly on Friday to extend the term of UN Human Rights chief Volker Turk for four more years, in spite of opposition from Israel, the United States and Russia.

Turk has been a harsh critic of Israel’s conduct in Gaza.

UN member nations rejected a US proposal to delay the vote until the end of next week as well as a Russian proposal to extend Türk’s term just until the end of the year. The vote in the 193-member General Assembly to reappoint Türk was 144-10, with 13 abstentions.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who has worked closely with Turk in the past and steps down in December, proposed the second four-year term for Turk when his existing term expires in October.

No other human rights chief has served two full terms.

The Foreign Ministry had called Guterres’s re-proposal of Turk a “moral failure” and said the choice should be left to the secretary-general’s successor.

Turk has condemned what he calls Israel’s “mass killing” in Gaza, while some, including his own staff, have expressed regret that he did not call the killings a genocide — an allegation Israel vehemently denies.

While Turk got strong support, the votes and speeches also reflected concern that Guterres quietly nominated the Austrian lawyer this month after private consultations, with no public discussion.

US deputy ambassador Jeff Bartos warned before the vote that reappointing Turk would prove that the General Assembly “is dysfunctional” and that the vote “was quietly shoved onto the agenda at the last minute to bypass meaningful review.

“Make no mistake, if this assembly tolerates procedural overreach, backroom deals and the misuse of UN posts, there will be consequences,” he warned. “The United States will immediately reassess our engagement, participation and funding.”

UNESCO designates Samaria’s Sebastia, Lebanese castles as World Heritage sites over Israeli objections

A committee of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization voted on Friday to designate Sebastia, an archaeological site in Samaria, and five medieval castles in southern Lebanon on the World Heritage List and the List of World Heritage in Danger, despite Israeli objections that the decisions were politically motivated.

Sebastia, a hilltop northwest of Shechem, is widely identified by scholars as the site of ancient Samaria, the capital of the biblical Kingdom of Israel established by King Omri. The site is also traditionally believed by Christians and Muslims to contain the tomb of John the Baptist.

Sebastia is in the West Bank village of the same name, which lies under Palestinian Authority administration. The archaeological park itself is in Area C, where Israel retains full civil and security control under the Oslo Accords, while parts of the surrounding village are in Area B, under Palestinian civil administration and Israeli security control.

The Palestinian delegation first nominated Sebastia for World Heritage status in 2012, arguing that the site has suffered from inadequate preservation and development.

“Any discussion of Sebastia must recognize, explicitly, the ancient Jewish presence and connection to this land. Yet the Palestinian submission deliberately ignores this historic fact,” said Nina Ben-Ami, Israel’s deputy director general for the U.N. and international organizations, during Friday’s session in Busan, South Korea. “In doing so, it seeks to erase the people of Israel’s connection to the Land of Israel. It is a travesty.”

Ben-Ami said illegal Palestinian road construction and antiquities looting, not Israeli administration, pose the greatest threats to the site.

“The site requires stable stewardship and management, consistent conservation standards and unrestricted archaeological research. Maintaining Israel’s administrative responsibility is the best means to safeguard Sebastia’s integrity,” she told the World Heritage Committee. “If UNESCO allows Sebastia to be listed in this manner, it is evidence of the extent that politicization has permeated the organization, and it is a mockery of history.”

Israel withdrew from UNESCO in 2019, accusing the agency of persistent anti-Israel bias and of minimizing Jewish historical ties to the region.

Allegations at UNESCO regarding Sebastia deliberately erase one fundamental truth: Sebastia is one of the most significant ancient Jewish heritage sites in the Land of Israel.

Israeli Representative @NinaBenAmi to UNESCO:

“Any discussion of Sebastia must recognize, explicitly,… pic.twitter.com/2bVguVV0iE
— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) July 24, 2026

Allegations today at UNESCO that the Beaufort site is endangered because it is “presently under direct Israeli military occupation” are outrageous.

It is the terrorist organization Hezbollah who is endangering Lebanon's historical sites, including the Beaufort. During more than… pic.twitter.com/HpHzK0WkL3
— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) July 24, 2026

The UN created UNKRA to rebuild war-torn Korea. It completed its mission and shut down.

UNRWA was also created as a temporary agency. More than 75 years later, it spends over $1 billion a year and registers nearly 6 million people, including descendants.

One agency worked… pic.twitter.com/96olAUJ4Ec
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) July 24, 2026

US assesses Mojtaba Khamenei more interested in nuclear weapons than predecessor

US intelligence agencies believe Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is even more interested in acquiring a nuclear weapon than his father and predecessor was, according to a Friday New York Times report citing officials briefed on the information.

The intelligence agencies believe that the killing of former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during the opening days of the US and Israel’s military operations against Iran in February intensified Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.

Officials noted that much of the information regarding Khamenei’s views came from before the start of the war, as the new supreme leader has been in hiding since he was injured in the strike that killed his father.

The officials, according to the NYT report, also stated that his communication with other Iranian officials has been limited as he avoids public appearances for fear of being targeted in further airstrikes.

While intelligence agencies assessed that Iran has not made moves to restart nuclear enrichment and weapons development, steps have been taken to preserve nuclear assets damaged by US and Israeli strikes.

If Iran had moved to repair the damage and restart enrichment immediately after the strikes, their nuclear progress may only have been set back by six months, according to the assessments.

Part of the effort to preserve remaining nuclear assets included moving centrifuges to the heavily fortified underground complex of Pickaxe Mountain, US officials said, potentially allowing Iran to maintain access to equipment needed to enrich uranium and build a nuclear weapon. New supreme leader drops predecessor's facade of hesitation

While the former supreme leader publicly denied that he was pursuing a nuclear weapon, Iranian efforts to build its nuclear capabilities did continue.

US Intelligence officials, citing public statements and conversations intercepted before the war, asserted that Khamenei did not put forth the same facade of hesitancy and was interested in furthering enrichment and weapons programs.

According to the NYT, US officials at the end of the Biden administration believed Iran was looking into developing a crude form of nuclear weapons.

Iran said to threaten Israel, reject US ceasefire proposal passed along by Iraqi PM

Iran on Thursday rejected a ceasefire proposal passed along from the United States by Iraqi mediators, The New York Times reported, citing Iranian and Iraqi officials, as the US staged its 13th straight night of strikes against the Islamic Republic.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi had traveled to Iran that day, with a proposal formulated shortly after he met with US President Donald Trump in the White House earlier this month.

Iranian officials told the newspaper, however, that they were not interested in a “temporary deal” that would not address the final status of the Strait of Hormuz, a key sticking point in negotiations.

Al-Zaidi’s office said he visited Tehran to call for peace and dialogue, and promised not to allow Iraqi territory to be used for attacks on Iran.

Trump, meanwhile, warned that the United States would use Iranian money under Washington’s possession or control to pay for “any and all damages” done to ships and cargo by strikes in and around the Gulf.

“Please let this statement serve to represent, until further notice, that from this point forth, any and all damages done to Ships, Cargo, or anything related thereto, will be paid for by Iranian Money that the United States has in its possession, and controls,” Trump wrote on the Truth Social platform.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded: “Seizing another nation’s assets to pay for unrelated future claims is an incendiary precedent.”

“Those who celebrate or profit from such funds should remember: once governments normalize confiscation, no one’s assets are safe,” Araghchi wrote on social media. “Ensuing chaos will not be pretty or peaceful.”

US ‘Locked and loaded’ for ‘higher level’ attacks on Iran, Trump says

U.S. President Donald Trump said that he was ready to launch a “higher level” of attacks against Iran on Friday, as the two countries continue negotiations.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said that U.S. forces were “locked and loaded” for those strikes.

The president said that he had two options available for an exit strategy from the conflict.

“There’s a military exit, where we just keep going just the way we are, and we can even make it a heavier dose, and it’s knocking out everything they have,” Trump said. “Or there’s a smarter strategy that you make a deal, and they want to make a deal. I just don’t think they’re ready yet.”In an interview with Axios on Thursday, Trump said he was “close” to a decision on carrying out a “massive attack” against Iran, as the stalemate over the Strait of Hormuz continues.

A reporter asked Trump on Friday what the tipping point for that decision would be.

“Maybe there won’t be a tipping point and maybe there will,” he said. “We’re locked and loaded. We’re ready to go, but we’re talking.”

Earlier in July, Trump said that he believed that the Memorandum of Understanding that he and Iran had signed was “over” and that Iranian leaders were “scum,” after the Islamic Republic continued to carry out attacks on shipping in the Persian Gulf. He informed Congress on July 10 that the ceasefire with Iran ended three days prior. Since then, the United States has carried out nearly two weeks of nightly air strikes, as Iran continues to carry out missile and drone attacks across the region. Four U.S. soldiers died in Iraq and Jordan last week as a result of those attacks, bringing the American death toll in the conflict to 18.

With Iran continuing to choke off shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, Trump wrote on Wednesday that he would bomb an Iranian bridge or power plant for every ship that Iran attacked.

On Friday, he declined to answer a question about whether such strikes would constitute war crimes.

Iranian leaders have continued to use defiant rhetoric about the war, even as Trump speculated during the press conference that they might “cry uncle” or “go into a cave and hide.”

“Iran says it will kill one U.S. service member for every Iranian killed,” Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, stated on Friday.

Trump noted that the United States had killed previous Iranian leaders, who failed to give him the negotiating responses that he sought.

Bahrain, Kuwait reportedly carried out secret Iran air strikes

Bahrain and Kuwait secretly attacked military targets inside Iran earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

The Persian Gulf monarchies carried out air strikes on Iranian drone- and missile-storage depots, along with other targets, after sustaining months of Iranian missile and drone attacks since the war began in late February.

The strikes mark the first time that the two countries conducted offensive operations inside the Islamic Republic and follow a similar round of unacknowledged strikes carried out by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates earlier in the war.

The UAE reportedly provided Bahrain and Kuwait with targeting intelligence and provided defensive air cover for the strikes.

Arab countries allied to the United States have been the targets of the vast majority of Iran’s missile and drone attacks since the start of the war.

Iran claims frequently that it is targeting U.S. military bases in those countries, but its attacks have also struck civilian infrastructure, including a state-owned oil refinery in Bahrain and Kuwaiti power and desalination plants.

🇺🇸 CENTCOM COMPLETES 13TH CONSECUTIVE NIGHT OF STRIKES AGAINST IRAN

According to a statement from U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), U.S. forces conducted strikes overnight on July 23 targeting what CENTCOM described as Iranian military command centers, drone storage facilities,… pic.twitter.com/pdNeXSpIyX
— Mossad Commentary (@MOSSADil) July 24, 2026

Pakistan army chief leveraged private oil venture with IRGC head to shield Saudi Arabia

Pakistani military chief Asim Munir leveraged a joint oil transport venture with Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps chief Ahmad Vahidi to secure an agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia under which Tehran agreed to halt attacks against the Gulf kingdom, three officials familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel this week.

The agreement mediated by Munir was struck in late March, while the US-Israeli war against Iran was still in its early weeks, a Middle East diplomat, a Middle Eastern intelligence official and a third official familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel on condition of anonymity.

After coming under repeated Iranian fire during the first month of the war, along with other countries in the region, Saudi Arabia went largely unscathed after the deal was inked, according to the three officials.

To mediate the agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia, Munir dangled the continued operation of a joint venture with Vahidi that has been quietly transporting oil from Iran to Pakistan since late last year.

The company tied to both military generals has paid massive dividends for the pair, particularly during the ongoing US blockade of Iranian ports.

After over three months of no Iran-attributed attacks on Saudi Arabia, Tehran fired a missile at the Gulf kingdom over the weekend.

Following the attack, Munir sent a warning to Vahidi that such conduct risked the continued operation of their joint venture, the Middle Eastern diplomat said. No missiles have been fired at Saudi Arabia since.

Explaining Munir’s motivation in brokering the deal, the Middle Eastern intelligence official said Pakistan is interested in boosting its ties with Saudi Arabia, particularly if done in a manner where Riyadh becomes more reliant on Islamabad.

Iran International: Are US strikes laying the groundwork for a wider Iran war? | Eye for Iran | EP 113 |

What is the United States really trying to achieve with its expanding military campaign inside Iran?

As US strikes move deeper into Iran, targeting military sites, logistics networks and critical infrastructure, many are asking: What is Washington's endgame? At the same time, executions inside Iran are accelerating as the world's attention remains fixed on the war, while Gulf states brace for what could come next.

In Episode 113 of Eye for Iran, we examine what the US strikes on Iran really add up to, why executions are increasing during the conflict and how the war is reshaping security across the Persian Gulf.

John Spencer — Executive Director of the Urban Warfare Institute, retired US Army officer and renowned war scholar — explains what the United States is trying to achieve inside Iran, why Bandar Abbas has become a strategic focus and whether Washington is preparing for a broader phase of the campaign.

Azadeh Afsahi, founder of Iran House, Shahin Milani, Executive Director of the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, and Brandon Silver, Director of Policy and Projects at the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, examine the surge in executions inside Iran and explain why they believe the Islamic Republic fears its own people as much as it fears foreign militaries. Why the Islamic Republic is using the war to ramp up executions as the worlds attention focus on the bombs and not the hangings.

Saad Bin Tefla Al-Ajmi, former Minister of Information of Kuwait, explains how Gulf states are responding as the conflict moves closer to their borders, why Kuwait has become increasingly vulnerable and why he believes Iran faces its own "chalice of poison" moment.

Former Congressman Peter Meijer makes Democrat Rep. Ro Khanna look like an absolute fool on live television.

Khanna tried to attack President Trump over Iran by claiming Barack Obama was more “effective.”

That’s when Meijer — who served in Iraq — dropped one brutal reminder… pic.twitter.com/UkpDj5Paff
— Overton (@overton_news) July 24, 2026

Auchincloss: Voting against aid to Israel was a vote against the Iran war

Of the 103 House Democrats who voted to cut off the $3.3 billion in U.S. aid to Israel last week, few came as more of a surprise than Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA), a Jewish Democrat who has generally been a reliable pro-Israel vote in the House.

Auchincloss, in an interview with Jewish Insider this week, said that he approached the vote as a protest of the war with Iran, and argued that the vote wasn’t anti-Israel.

“This president, in conjunction with Prime Minister Netanyahu, has launched an illegal, catastrophic war that nine out of 10 Israelis think has led to Iranian gains, and that even fewer of my constituents support,” Auchincloss said. “And foreign military financing is a form of appropriations for a war I believe to be illegal and unwise.”

He also pointed to comments by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling for the U.S. to phase out aid to Israel over the next 10 years, arguing that Democrats can’t be expected to take a position on aid “to the right of Netanyahu” — though the Israeli prime minister hasn’t called for an immediate halt to aid.

“That grant of foreign military financing is a privilege that Congress grants annually to both our head of government and to counterparty heads of government,” Auchincloss said. “Every year, Congress has the right — Congress has the responsibility — to determine whether that privilege is warranted. Given Trump and Netanyahu’s decision-making about this debacle with Iran, I do not think it is warranted.”

He said he would evaluate his position on future FMF to Israel on a year-by-year basis depending on whether he believes such aid is deserved. “That’s not only my right as a member of Congress, that’s my responsibility — particularly when 18 Americans have died overseas.”

But he said that he continues to support the U.S-Israel relationship and said the U.S. should continue to work to preserve Israel’s qualitative military edge (QME), and suggested he would not, at this point, support a cutoff of support for Israeli missile-defense systems or an embargo on Israel buying U.S. systems with its own funds.

He said he also believes in continued U.S. support for the Abraham Accords and other efforts to bring Israel and the region closer together, including through the India-Middle East-Europe Corridor (IMEC).

This is the NDAA FY2025.

It uses the same type of language related to Israel including the word “integrate” - Yet there was never any merger.

This year’s NDAA is the same old stuff, only it’s less comprehensive.

The lies will cost us the SAVE Act. pic.twitter.com/ahzlT47vGT
— Cam Higby 🇺🇸 (@camhigby) July 24, 2026

They’re all tweaking about this letter, but it’s literally Netanyahu saying he wants to end financial aid to Israel.

It, just like the NDAA says nothing about a merger. pic.twitter.com/k9YDA8RrGr
— Cam Higby 🇺🇸 (@camhigby) July 24, 2026

Reminder that the lie that the NDAA "merge[s] the U.S. and Israeli militaries" was invented by RESPONSIBLE STATECRAFT, a think tank funded by Iranian Trita Parsi, an open IRGC agent who is under federal investigation.

You are all repeating Iranian propaganda. You are retards. https://t.co/54eQsuKRi6 pic.twitter.com/2KVgo0nd0N
— Matt Forney (@mattforney) July 23, 2026

WHOA: Tucker just called for President Trump and the congressmen pushing for American-Israeli military cooperation in the NDAA to face Nuremberg-style treason charges pic.twitter.com/gQCVlQZ3Ei
— Eitan Fischberger (@EFischberger) July 24, 2026

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The Phrase That Makes Antisemitism More Justified to the Left

2026-07-24T07:41:44.224-04:00

Liberals have historically protested the loudest against prejudice of every kind. This includes traditional antisemitism of the "Elders of Zion" type, people targeting Jews because they are Jewish.

Yet in the 30 months since October 2023, as antisemitic incidents in the United States have surged. Jews now the target of more raw hate crimes than any other group. we are not seeing anything close to a proportionate liberal outcry.

Why not?

A recent study, by psychologists Jordan Moon, Michael Barlev, and Steven Neuberg, helps explain. One reason, it turns out, is structural rather than incidental: hating Israel functions as a license for hating Jews, and it is a license that works almost exclusively on the political left.

The researchers asked 270 Americans to rate a series of fictional people, each described in a single sentence as disliking a minority group. One version read: "[Name] doesn't like Jews." No further explanation. Rated on a 7-point scale, this person was disliked by everyone — and disliked most by the most left-wing respondents in the study, more than by the more conservative ones. So far, the finding matches what everyone already believed: liberals are the most reliably intolerant of intolerance.

Then the researchers added six words: "...because [Name] strongly disapproves of Israel and its war in Gaza."

This barely made a difference among the most conservative respondents. Liberal ratings, however, moved dramatically — from the single harshest judgment recorded anywhere in the study to a score statistically indistinguishable from how the most right-wing respondents treat an antisemite with a similar excuse.

Adding that phrase made the far-left's opinion of an antisemite rise to virtually the same level as the most far-right respondent. Those six words took the demographic most opposed to prejudice and made them, for that one sentence, essentially as forgiving of antisemites as their ideological opposites - an increase of about 1.5 points on a seven point scale from extreme dislike to extreme like for the most liberal.

No other prejudice showed a statistically significant shift when given similar justifications.

It isn't that liberals have become generally tolerant of antisemitism — absent a justification, they remain its sharpest critics, by a wide margin, exactly as their reputation suggests. It's that one particular justification has been granted an exemption nothing else gets. The researchers tested a comparable excuse for anti-Black prejudice ("more likely to commit crime") and anti-Muslim prejudice ("culture conflicts with Western values"); neither moved liberal raters at all. Only the Israel-Gaza justification worked, and it worked by a wide margin, and it worked only on the left.

Mediation analysis in the same study points to why: liberals who heard the Gaza justification inferred that the speaker shared their politics, and inferred he probably wasn't bigoted more generally — just narrowly focused on this one issue.

Interestingly, the word "Gaza" seems to be a major reason for the needle to move. When the wording of the justification was "because [Name] believes that Israel violates the human rights of Palestinians," there was still a liberal shift, but smaller.

Generations of the mantra "anti-Zionism isn't antisemitism," produces this kind of result. Once a movement insists loudly enough that opposition to Israel carries no risk of being mistaken for hatred of Jews, it isn't just providing cover for people who already sincerely hold that distinction. It is training an entire audience — the audience claimed to be most committed to fighting prejudice — to suspend its own judgment about antisemitism the instant the word "Israel" enters the sentence.

Which helps explain the increase of anti-Zionist attacks on synagogues. Antisemitism is increasingly justified by antizionism.

Buy EoZ's books on Amazon!

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

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

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