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The Jewish left is grappling, sometimes painfully, with how to respond to Hamas’ attack
(JTA) — In his first posts about Hamas’ massacre of Israeli civilians, progressive writer Joshua Leifer expressed horror at the accounts of atrocities that were emerging from southern Israel.
He also lamented the range of progressive organizations and figures who appeared to condone or even celebrate the attack — leaving him with “a deep sense that the left abroad has lost the values it was supposed to stand for.”
“I thought we were leftists because we wanted a world without war, torture, the killing of families & children in their beds,” Leifer posted on X. “Self-professed human rights defenders, even would-be colleagues are celebrating and glorifying unspeakable acts that violate the most basic elements of human life. I feel sick.”
The thread of posts — which Leifer later expanded into an article for the left-wing journal Dissent — struck a chord among other Jews on the left. The progressive Jewish writer Peter Beinart shared Leifer’s thread, saying it “captures my feelings exactly.”
Some progressive figures and organizations, from local Black Lives Matter chapters to the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, have appeared to condone or even celebrate the massacre — which killed 1,300 people, largely civilians — as an act of resistance against an illegal occupation. Some Jewish leftists have mourned the slaughter while placing the blame squarely on Israel.
And others who have also spent their careers opposing Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory are now decrying their ideological allies’ refusal to condemn the killing of civilians — in some cases their friends or relatives.
“For the people who are most connected to people in Israel, this is a really, really hard and disheartening time,” said Arielle Angel, editor-in-chief of the progressive magazine Jewish Currents. “Because what they see is people totally dismissing the value of the lives of people that they know and that they think should not be considered collateral damage.”
At the same time, Angel said, Jewish leftists are confronting another tension: They are reckoning with the mass killing of Israeli civilians by Hamas — and also continue to oppose Israel’s occupation and airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, which the terror group governs.
“I think this is a new moment,” she said. “If you’re talking to American Jewish leftists, there’s a split in terms of where their energy is going right now.”
She added later, “I’m very scared about the future of the left in this moment.”
Some on the left, including at least one Jewish writer, openly celebrated the attack shortly after it began.
On Saturday, as Hamas attackers were still in Israel, Rivkah Brown, a journalist for the U.K.’s Novara Media, posted on X that the assault should mark “a day of celebration for supporters of democracy and human rights worldwide, as Gazans break out of their open-air prison.” The New York City Democratic Socialists of America promoted a rally expressing “solidarity with the Palestinian people and their right to resist 75 years of occupation and apartheid.”
And in the immediate wake of the massacre, some left-wing Jewish organizations said blame lay with Israel. IfNotNow, which opposes Israel’s occupation, said of the murdered Israelis that “their blood is on the hands of the Israeli government, the US government which funds and excuses their recklessness, and every international leader who continues to turn a blind eye to decades of Palestinian oppression.”
Jewish Voice for Peace, an anti-Zionist group, acknowledged the “unprecedented assault” and the hundreds of Israeli casualties in an Oct. 7 statement that did not mention Hamas.
“Israeli apartheid and occupation — and United States complicity in that oppression — are the source of all this violence,” the statement said. “Inevitably, oppressed people everywhere will seek — and gain — their freedom.”
Other groups such as Jews for Racial and Economic Justice tread a middle ground, saying, “We recognize that attacks on civilians by Hamas are neither justifiable nor unprovoked.”
Several days later, as the scale of the atrocities became clear, some of those activists walked back or qualified their statements. On Tuesday, New York City’s DSA said it mourned “the loss of life in the region” and apologized “for the confusion our post caused and for not making our values explicit.” It deleted its original tweet.
Brown also deleted her tweet and apologized on Wednesday. “I responded too quickly and in a moment of heightened emotion,” she said. “Witnessing Palestinians defy decades of oppression hardened me to the suffering of Israeli civilians, including my friends and family, and I regret that. I’m sorry.”
On the same day, Jewish Voice for Peace released another statement saying that it “mourns deeply for the over 1200 Israelis killed, the families destroyed, including many of our own, and fears for the lives of Israelis taken hostage.”
The group added, “the massacres committed by Hamas against Israeli civilians are horrific war crimes. There is no justification in international law for the indiscriminate killing of civilians or the holding of civilian hostages.”
On Wednesday, JVP spokesperson Sonya Meyerson-Knox said the group felt it was caught in a precarious position — fearing that public expressions of grief for Israeli civilians would fuel a harsher military response against Gaza.
“We were feeling the incredible pressure of needing to say something that we hope addresses both our fear and our grief and our sorrow and our anger, and that doesn’t allow any of that to be used as fodder for the Israeli government and the United States government warmongering,” Meyerson-Knox said. “Many of us are feeling compelled to process our grief through a hard pivot to a prevention of a scale of death that is utterly inconceivable.”
The Israel Defense Forces has repeatedly said it abides by international law and takes measures to prevent civilian casualties, including by risking its own troops to reduce collateral damage. Human rights organizations and the United Nations have cast doubt on those claims and harshly criticized the conduct of Israel’s military, while other bodies — in addition to the United States and other allies — have defended Israeli actions.
Angel said other activists on the Jewish left shared concerns similar to the ones expressed by Meyerson-Knox.
“Even people who are not expressing grief right now are grieving, and it’s a question of whether they think that that grief is the most important thing, and what they think that public expression of grief is going to do,” Angel said. “People are afraid that there’s going to be a Palestinian genocide.”
The high death toll among Israelis on Saturday had forced a reckoning for some on the Jewish left, since in previous conflicts more Palestinians were killed, Angel said, though she added that the balance of casualties was shifting as Israel carried out airstrikes in Gaza.
“We have never seen Israeli casualties, at least in one event, that exceeded Palestinian casualties,” she said, stressing that she still believed the conflict is rooted in Israel’s occupation despite the death toll. “We have become practiced at answering that and at trying to help people see that. We are not practiced at a situation like this.”
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American Jewish Tourists Attacked and Robbed in Venice, Authorities Investigate Possible Hate Crime
An Italian flag on display in Rome. Photo: Reuters/Guglielmo Mangiapane.
An American Jewish couple visiting Venice was violently attacked and robbed by three unidentified suspects, prompting authorities to investigate if the crime was fueled by religious hatred or a random act of violence.
According to initial Italian reports, the two Orthodox Jewish tourists were sprayed with water while one of the attackers used a dog on a leash to intimidate them. As they were distracted, another assailant grabbed their cell phones, and they fled the scene.
This latest incident near the Rialto Bridge, one of the busiest areas in the city, was reported by the local Jewish community and is now under investigation by Italian police.
Authorities say it is unclear whether the attack was motivated by antisemitism, robbery, or another reason, especially since the victims, who do not speak Italian, returned to the US without filing a formal complaint, according to Italian media reports.
State police are now trying to contact the two victims to get their account of the incident, while reviewing nearby surveillance footage to clarify the circumstances of the attack and identify the three suspects, who remain at large.
Even without a formal complaint, if the incident is determined to be a robbery or an antisemitic attack, authorities can pursue the case ex officio, and the investigation will continue regardless of the victims’ involvement.
The incident comes amid a surge in antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment across Europe and around the world since the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
In Italy, Jewish individuals have been facing a surge in hostility and targeted attacks, including vandalism of murals and businesses, as well as physical assaults. Community leaders warn that such incidents are becoming more frequent amid growing tensions related to the war in Gaza.
Last month, a Jewish man from France and his child were verbally assaulted at a gas station near Milan by a group of pro-Palestinian supporters who shouted antisemitic slurs after seeing the child wearing a kippah, yelling phrases such as “Free Palestine” and “murderers” as they passed by.
In a separate incident, a masked individual targeted a synagogue in Rome, spray-painting a swastika and antisemitic slogans — “Sieg Heil” (“Hail Victory”) and “Juden Raus” (“Jews Out”) — on a sign near the entrance.
In May, a restaurant in Naples forced an Israeli family to leave, telling them, “Zionists are not welcome here.”
Earlier this year, a homeless Egyptian man in Rome attacked a Jewish boy and injured a shopkeeper who tried to intervene. In a separate incident, anti-Israel protesters defaced a synagogue with graffiti reading “Justice for a Free Gaza.”
Last year, a hotel manager in Rome canceled an Israeli couple’s reservation just one day before their trip, accusing them of genocide and telling them the hotel would “be happy to grant free cancellation.”
“We inform you that the Israeli people as those responsible for genocide are not welcome customers in our structure,” the hotel manager told the Israeli couple.
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JetBlue Kosher Meal Incident Sparks Outrage Amid Rising Antisemitic Incidents on Airlines
A kosher meal served on a JetBlue flight was defaced with the slur “Zionazi,” sparking widespread outrage and prompting an ongoing investigation. Photo: Screenshot
A Jewish passenger aboard a JetBlue flight was reportedly served a kosher meal labeled with the slur “Zionazi,” sparking widespread outrage as the latest in a wave of recent antisemitic incidents across multiple airlines.
The incident was first reported by the US-based group StopAntisemitism, which published an image of the defaced meal on social media.
“Whoever is responsible for this must be immediately fired,” the statement read. “This is 1941 and Jews will NOT put up with this hate.”
StopAntisemitism is sickened to see a @JetBlue passenger receive his kosher meal with “zionazi” written on it.
Whomever is responsible for this must be immediately fired – this is 1941 and Jews will NOT put up with this hate. pic.twitter.com/HNr0hVrhgD
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) August 8, 2025
In a press release, JetBlue confirmed it has launched an ongoing investigation to determine which flight was involved, emphasizing that no complaints or reports have been filed by customers so far.
“We have zero tolerance for hate, bias, or discrimination,” the statement read. “If we determine that any individual associated with JetBlue or our catering partners was involved, we will take swift and appropriate action.”
This latest incident came after a similar report days earlier on an Iberia Airlines flight from Buenos Aires to Madrid, where a Jewish passenger found “Free Palestine” written on their kosher meal tray, prompting the Spanish airline to launch an investigation.
“Iberia is conducting a comprehensive investigation, involving both its internal teams and external catering suppliers, to fully understand the incident and implement all necessary corrective actions,” the airline told The Algemeiner.
“We unequivocally condemn all forms of discrimination, hate speech, and any behavior that violates the dignity of individuals,” the statement said. “These actions are completely unacceptable and contradict the core values of respect and inclusion that define our company’s identity.”
In a separate incident, Spanish airline Vueling faced backlash after forcibly removing a group of French Jewish teenagers from a flight from Valencia to Paris, allegedly for singing in Hebrew.
The forced removal of the group has triggered political outrage in France, after their group leader was handcuffed by Spanish police and a government minister insulted the teens as “Israeli brats.”
The Spanish low-cost airline denied the allegations, insisting the incident was not related to religion but rather that the group was removed because of its members’ “highly combative attitude that was putting the safety of the flight at risk.”
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‘This Is Outrageous’: Netanyahu Repeats Threat to Sue NYT for Defamation Over Skeletal Child Photo
The New York Times newspaper. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday repeated his interest in filing a lawsuit against The New York Times, following the newspaper’s misleading use of a photo depicting an emaciated Palestinian child in Gaza.
In a press conference, Netanyahu noted the historical pattern of Jewish demonization before mass violence, including through Medieval blood libels which crescendoed with the Holocaust.
“Today the Jewish state is being maligned in a similar way,” Netanyahu said. “And the international press has bought hook, line, and sinker Hamas statistics, Hamas claims, Hamas forgeries, and Hamas photographs. For example, these three children.” He pointed to a screen which featured images of tiny, skeletal bodies, allegedly the result of an Israel-enabled famine in pursuit of a genocide against the Palestinian people.
Netanyahu identified the first one as Osama Al-Rakab and said, “He is in Italy getting treatment because Israel got him out. That’s what he looks like today. He has a genetic disease that damages the lung and digestive system and makes it hard to absorb nutrients and gain weight. So Israel facilitated Osama’s travel to Italy where he got the medical aid that transformed his position.”
Continuing explaining the stories behind the photographs, Netanyahu named the second child featured, Abdul Qader al-Fayoumi, and said, “He suffers from a genetic neurological disorder, spinal muscular atrophy, a degenerative condition that causes muscle wasting, weakness, and severe weight loss. Unrelated to nutrition, this was the real cause of his frail appearance, not starvation. In fact, he was treated in Israel in 2018, but it doesn’t help because it’s a congenital disease and it defies most treatment.”
Gesturing to the screen again toward a logo of The New York Times, Netanyahu said, “The third one is the most celebrated one. This is a New York Times cover photo on the front page of Mohammed Zakaria Ayoub and his mother.”
The image appeared in the July 30 article “Young, Old and Sick Starve to Death in Gaza: ‘There Is Nothing.’” After the initial story went viral, The Times had to add an editors’ note revealing that the 18-month-old boy maintained pre-existing health issues that contributed to his current condition.
The prime minister explained that the child “is suffering from a genetic illness you’re familiar with. It’s called cerebral palsy. His mother is well-fed and his brother is healthy.”
Netanyahu walked back to the podium and said, “I’m looking right now into the possibility of a governmental suit against the New York Times because this is outrageous.” He held up his fingers to indicate a tiny square and added, “Of course a correction was postage size, I don’t know where it was buried. But this is outrageous; these are the three most celebrated photos, and they’re all fake.”
Israel’s prime minister then returned to his introductory point about medieval blood libels, saying, “It’s the kind of malignant lies that were leveled at the Jewish people in the Middle Ages, and we won’t suffer, we won’t allow it to go unchallenged, and this is the purpose of this press conference. I hope you will open your eyes to a simple fact: Hamas lies.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he is looking to sue the New York Times for spreading ‘malignant lies’ about the starvation of Gazan civilians. pic.twitter.com/lnl7L5oGkr
— Adam Milstein (@AdamMilstein) August 10, 2025
Netanyahu had previously declared his support for filing a lawsuit against the New York Times in a Thursday interview with Bill Hemmer on Fox News.
“I’m actually looking at whether a country can sue The New York Times,” Netanyahu said. “And I’m looking into it right now, because I think it’s such a … it’s such clear defamation.”
Referencing Ayoub, Netanyahu told Hemmer that the image was “supposed to then represent all these supposedly starving children” but that “they put in this picture of a child who has cerebral palsy.”
In a statement to Fox News, a spokesperson for the Times pushed back against Netanyahu’s threats of a lawsuit, saying, “Children in Gaza are malnourished and starving, as New York Times reporters and others have documented. Mr. Netanyahu is referring to an update we made to a story about how the food crisis is affecting the civilian population. After publication, we learned that a child shown in that story — in addition to being severely malnourished — also had pre-existing health problems. That additional information gave readers a greater understanding of his situation.”
The spokesperson added that “attempts to threaten independent media providing vital information and accountability to the public are unfortunately an increasingly common playbook, but journalists continue to report from Gaza for The Times, bravely, sensitively, and at personal risk, so that readers can see firsthand the consequences of the war.”