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Jewish Civil Rights Group Hold ‘Emergency Rally’ Outside NYC Department of Education
Protesters gathered at CUNY Chancellor Felix V. Matos Rodriguez’s office under the mantra ‘End Jew Hatred’ to protest growing antisemitism within CUNY and their campuses on Sept. 12, 2023. Photo by Meir Chaimowitz/NurPhoto via Reuters Connect
Jewish civil rights nonprofit End Jew Hatred (EJH) held an “emergency rally” outside the New York City Department of Education (DOE) on Wednesday to call for eradicating antisemitism in public schools.
Organized in partnership with New York City Public School Alliance — which describes itself as an advocacy group — the demonstration follows a series of disturbing incidents and expressions of pro-Hamas sentiment on New York City public school campuses since Oct. 7, including pro-Hamas walkouts led by teachers, mass demonstrations in which students screamed “globalize the intifada,” and the mobbing of a teacher who posted pro-Israel content on social media, which resulted in her hiding in an office.
The groups are urging New York City Public School Chancellor David Banks to protect Jewish and pro-Israel staff by increasing Jewish representation in the DOE, monitoring educational content that contributes to delegitimizing Israel and Zionism, and adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism — a tool used by hundreds of governing institutions, including the US State Department, European Union, and the United Nations and supported by lawmakers across the political spectrum.
“Chancellor Banks has failed to act on rising Jew-hatred across the NYC public school system,” Adar Rubin, EJH director of mobilization, said in a press release issued on Wednesday. “We need understanding for the unique trauma experienced by Jewish students and teachers, and immediate action to address antisemitism in a manner that embraces and supports Jewish identity in all its forms, including indigeneity to Israel and the Middle East.”
According to the New York Post, the New York City Department of Education (DOE) announced last Monday new policies for addressing “Islamophobia, antisemitism, or any other form of bigotry” as well as empowering school administrators to discipline students who commit acts of harassment and intimidation, which New York City Schools have been restrained from doing since the Obama administration, when progressives in the US Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) began launching civil rights investigations against public schools that suspended disruptive and violent students, a measure they accused of perpetuating racism.
“We cannot and we will not have schools where students feel like they can do whatever they want without accountability for their actions,” Banks said last Monday during a press conference about the reforms. “That is no way to run a school system, and we will not allow that to happen, certainly not on my watch.”
Under the Biden administration, New York City’s DOE is being investigated for ignoring antisemitism, in contravention of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
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Israel Rejects Critical EU Report Ahead of Ministers’ Meeting
FILE PHOTO: Smoke rises from Gaza after an explosion, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, June 11, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo
Israel has rejected a European Union report saying it may be breaching human rights obligations in Gaza and the West Bank as a “moral and methodological failure,” according to a document seen by Reuters on Sunday.
The note, sent to EU officials ahead of a foreign ministers’ meeting on Monday, said the report by the bloc’s diplomatic service failed to consider Israel’s challenges and was based on inaccurate information.
“The Foreign Ministry of the State of Israel rejects the document … and finds it to be a complete moral and methodological failure,” the note said, adding that it should be dismissed entirely.
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Pope Leo Urges International Diplomacy to Prevent ‘Irreparable Abyss’
FILE PHOTO: Pope Leo XIV holds a Jubilee audience on the occasion of the Jubilee of Sport, at St. Peter’s Basilica, at the Vatican June 14, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Yara Nardi/File Photo
Pope Leo on Sunday said the international community must strive to avoid war that risks opening an “irreparable abyss,” and that diplomacy should take the place of conflict.
US forces struck Iran’s three main nuclear sites overnight, joining an Israeli assault in a major new escalation of conflict in the Middle East as Tehran vowed to defend itself.
“Every member of the international community has a moral responsibility: to stop the tragedy of war before it becomes an irreparable abyss,” Pope Leo said during his weekly prayer with pilgrims.
“No armed victory can compensate for the pain of mothers, the fear of children, the stolen future. Let diplomacy silence the weapons, let nations chart their future with peace efforts, not with violence and bloody conflicts,” he added.
“In this dramatic scenario, which includes Israel and Palestine, the daily suffering of the population, especially in Gaza and other territories, risks being forgotten, where the need for adequate humanitarian support is becoming increasingly urgent,” Pope Leo said.
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El Al Says to Start Rescue Flights Out of Israel Starting on Monday, After Getting 25,000 Applications
FILE PHOTO: Aircraft belonging to Israel’s state carrier El Al and Israir among other airlines, are parked at Larnaca International Airport, in Larnaca, Cyprus June 16, 2025. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou/File Photo
Israeli airline El Al said it would resume flights out of Tel Aviv airport on Monday, as the government began to allow limited “rescue” flights in the midst of the Middle East conflict and US bombing of Iran.
El Al said it had received 25,000 applications for flights out of Israel since it opened a web site for requests on Saturday, although government rules will limit flights to 50 passengers each, it added in a Sunday statement.
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