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South African Jews Forcibly Removed While Protesting Minister’s Call to Intensify Pro-Hamas Campus Protests
Jewish protesters being harassed outside the Sandton Convention Center in South Africa. Photo: Provided by South African Jewish Board of Deputies
South Africa’s Jewish community on Friday protested Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor’s recent call for students and university leaders to intensify the anti-Israel demonstrations that have engulfed college campuses across the US, chanting “no space for Jew hate” as they were forcibly removed despite demonstrating peacefully.
Members of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) and South African Union of Jewish Students (SAUJS) gathered at the entrance of the Sandton Convention Center, a major venue for hosting events in South Africa, to protest what they described as an incitement to violence and antisemitism by a senior government official.
The Jewish activists were met with verbal and even physical abuse, with some people attending a conference at the center pointing and shouting “Zionist” at them in an accusatory tone.. In one case, someone physically pulled a poster out of a protester’s hands, spat in her face, and told her to “f—k off,” according to the SAJBD.
The police ended up physically relocating the protesters from outside the entrance of the convention center as they shouted, “No space for Jew hate.”
The SAJBD noted that the peaceful demonstration was solely meant to raise awareness about the threat to the safety of Jewish students on university campuses and was limited to 15 people, thereby within in the legal parameters for a public gathering.
The protest was in response to comments that Pandor made while delivering a lecture at the University of Johannesburg on Wednesday.
Titling her lecture “The Responsibility of the Academy in a Time of Genocide,” Pandor urged greater university and student activism and boycotts against Israel for what she called its “scholasticide” and “systemic obliteration of education” in Gaza.
Pandor accused Israel of deliberately targeting schools and libraries during its military campaign in Gaza, the Palestinian enclave ruled by the Hamas terror group.
Hamas launched the ongoing conflict with its Oct. 7 invasion of southern Israel and massacre of civilians, leading the Israeli military to launch a campaign aimed at destroying the terror organization and freeing the hostages kidnapped during its onslaught. Pandor did not mention that Hamas terrorists embed themselves within Gaza’s civilian population and commandeer civilian facilities like hospitals, schools, and mosques to run operations and direct attacks.
During her speech, Pandor encouraged those in attendance to become anti-Israel activists.
“My expectation is after our talk you will become activists,” she said. “As educators, advocates, activists, civil society and state structures, we should all play a role in the global struggle in search of truth and justice.”
She added, “It is our collective responsibility to raise our voices in solidarity with the people of Palestine who are fighting for their survival in the midst of the genocidal campaign being waged against them.”
Pandor then turned to the anti-Israel, pro-Hamas demonstrations that have erupted across university campuses over the past month, calling on South Africa to do more in support of the movement.
“We are also buoyed by the growing mobilization on college campuses across the world in support of the just cause for freedom and justice of the people of Palestine,” she said. “We hope that this unprecedented activism by students in the US will also spur greater activism among student movements here in South Africa, and spur more vocal support from our university administrators, some of whom have remained silent.”
For over three weeks, university students have been amassing in the hundreds at a growing number of schools, taking over sections of campus by setting up “Gaza Solidarity Encampments” and refusing to leave unless administrators condemn and boycott Israel. Footage of the protests has shown demonstrators chanting in support of Hamas, calling for the destruction of Israel, and even threatening to harm members of the Jewish community on campus. In many cases, activists have also lambasted the US and Western civilization more broadly.
The protests initially erupted across the US but have since spread to university campuses around the world, primarily in the West.
In a statement shared with The Algemeiner, SAJBD national director Wendy Kahn lambasted Pandor’s comments.
“We were horrified that Minister Pandor at a lecture at the University of Johannesburg called to import the violence and antisemitism that is plaguing university campuses in the United States to our local campuses in South Africa. What an irresponsible call,” said Kahn, who noted that Pandor’s remarks came as students were preparing for their final examinations.
“Can you imagine if this starts to incite violence and intimidation on our own campuses in our country?” she continued. “We should do everything to make sure the education of our students continues and is not compromised in any way. This would compromise not only Jewish students who will experience the antisemitism but all the students at our universities where there will be a stand-still to education.”
The SAJBD called on Pandor to retract her remarks encouraging campus demonstrations against Israel, arguing that such rhetoric risked being especially dangerous just three weeks out from South Africa’s general elections.
“This is unacceptable,” Kahn concluded. “We call on you to stop this kind of incitement. It doesn’t belong in South Africa.”
South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) has been one of the harshest critics of Israel since Oct. 7.
South Africa temporarily withdrew its diplomats from Israel and shuttered its embassy in Tel Aviv shortly after the Oct. 7 Hamas pogrom, saying that the Pretoria government was “extremely concerned at the continued killing of children and innocent civilians” in Gaza.
In December, South Africa hosted two Hamas officials who attended a government-sponsored conference in solidarity with the Palestinians. One of the officials had been sanctioned by the US government for his role with the terrorist organization.
Earlier this year, the South African government failed in its bid to argue before the International Court of Justice that Israel’s defensive war in Gaza constituted a “genocide.”
The post South African Jews Forcibly Removed While Protesting Minister’s Call to Intensify Pro-Hamas Campus Protests first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Iran Moves to Restore Ties With Bahrain, Egypt Amid Rising Middle East Tensions
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi attends a press conference following a meeting with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia, April 18, 2025. Photo: Tatyana Makeyeva/Pool via REUTERS
Iran has begun efforts to restore diplomatic relations with Bahrain and Egypt, signaling a potential shift in regional alliances as tensions escalate across the Middle East.
On Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced that Iran has officially begun the process of restoring diplomatic ties with Bahrain and Egypt after years of strained relations.
Since Iran normalized relations with Saudi Arabia in 2023, Araghchi said Tehran has made several requests to renew ties with Bahrain, with ongoing efforts expected to soon yield positive results.
In 2016, Bahrain severed diplomatic ties with Iran, following Saudi Arabia’s decision to cut relations after an attack on its embassy in Tehran, which was sparked by Riyadh’s execution of a prominent Shia Muslim cleric.
In 2023, Tehran and Riyadh reached an agreement in Beijing to restore diplomatic relations and reopen their embassies and diplomatic missions.
Since then, the Islamic Republic has taken further steps to strengthen its relationship with Bahrain. Last year, Araghchi met with Bahrain’s King, Hamad bin Isa al Khalifa, in the country’s capital to discuss bilateral ties and the latest regional developments.
Bahrain normalized relations with Israel, which Iranian leaders regularly say they seek to destroy, in 2020 as part of the US-brokered Abraham Accords.
As for Egypt, the country severed diplomatic relations with Tehran in 1980 following Iran’s 1979 Islamic revolution and Egypt’s recognition of Israel.
Araghchi said ties between the two countries have strengthened significantly, with regular high-level meetings and continuous dialogue.
Iran’s expanding relationship with Egypt comes at a time of increased tension between Cairo and Jerusalem, amid Israeli accusations that Egypt has violated their peace agreement.
Israeli defense officials have previously expressed growing concern over Cairo’s military buildup and armed presence in the Sinai Peninsula.
These concerns come amid escalating tensions between Israel and Egypt since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, particularly over the Philadelphi Corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border, where Cairo has demanded Jerusalem withdraw its forces.
While details about Egypt’s military buildup remain unclear, “satellite images have shown the movement of tanks and battalions that exceed the limits set by the Camp David Accords,” Mariam Wahba, research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), told The Algemeiner.
Under the 1979 peace treaty, Egypt can request permission from Israel to deploy more than the 47 battalions allowed. However, some estimates suggest that there are currently camps for 180 battalions.
“The Camp David Accords have long been a pillar of peace and stability in the Middle East,” Wahba explained. “A breakdown of the agreement would have serious implications, not just for Israel and Egypt but for the broader region. It could embolden actors like Iran and its proxies to exploit tensions and could lead to increased militarization along Israel’s southern border.”
The post Iran Moves to Restore Ties With Bahrain, Egypt Amid Rising Middle East Tensions first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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EU to Review Agreement With Israel Over Gaza Concerns, Kallas Says
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission Kaja Kallas attends a press conference with Moldova’s President Maia Sandu following their meeting in Chisinau, Moldova, April 24, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Vladislav Culiomza
The European Union will review a pact governing its political and economic ties with Israel due to the “catastrophic” situation in Gaza, EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas said on Tuesday after a meeting of the bloc’s foreign ministers.
International pressure on Israel has mounted in recent days amid complaints about the lack of humanitarian aid reaching Gaza and as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government launched a new military offensive against the Hamas terrorist group in the enclave.
Kallas said a “strong majority” of the ministers meeting in Brussels favored such a review of the agreement with Israel, known as an association agreement, in light of events in Gaza.
Diplomats said 17 of 27 EU members backed the review, which will focus on whether Israel is complying with a human rights clause in the agreement, and was proposed by Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp.
“The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The aid that Israel has allowed in is of course welcomed, but it’s a drop in the ocean. Aid must flow immediately, without obstruction and at scale, because this is what is needed,” Kallas told reporters.
There was no immediate comment from Israel on the EU decision. Israeli officials have said their operations in Gaza are necessary to destroy Hamas, the Palestinian group responsible for the Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel. Hamas also kidnapped several hostages that Israel is trying to free from captivity in Gaza.
Under the pact, which came into force in 2000, the EU and Israel agreed that their relationship “shall be based on respect for human rights and democratic principles, which guides their internal and international policy.”
In a letter proposing a review, Veldkamp raised concerns about Israeli policies “exacerbating an already dire humanitarian situation.”
He also cited “statements by Israeli cabinet members about a permanent presence that alludes to a reoccupation of (parts of) the Gaza Strip, Syria and Lebanon” and a “further worsening of the situation in the West Bank.”
On Tuesday, Dutch minister Veldkamp called the review “a very important and powerful signal,” echoing sentiments of officials from France and Ireland.
But others did not back a review. Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky suggested the bloc could hold a meeting with Israel under the association agreement to raise concerns.
Kallas said EU sanctions on Israeli settlers in the West Bank had been prepared but have so far been blocked by one member state. Diplomats said that country was Hungary.
The post EU to Review Agreement With Israel Over Gaza Concerns, Kallas Says first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Syrian Leadership Approved Return of Executed Spy Eli Cohen’s Belongings to Israel, Sources Say
Nadia, widow of Israeli spy Eli Cohen, looks at photographs depicting her late husband during an interview with Reuters in Herzliya, Israel, Oct. 6, 2019. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
Syria’s leadership approved the handover of the belongings of long-dead spy Eli Cohen to Israel in a bid to ease Israeli hostility and show goodwill to US President Donald Trump, three sources told Reuters.
Israel announced its recovery of the trove of documents, photographs, and personal possessions relating to Cohen on Sunday, saying its spy agency Mossad had worked with an unnamed foreign intelligence agency to secure the material.
However, a Syrian security source, an adviser to Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, and a person familiar with backchannel talks between the countries said the archive of material was in fact offered to Israel as an indirect gesture by Sharaa as he seeks to cool tensions and build Trump’s confidence.
Cohen, who was hanged in 1965 in a downtown Damascus square after infiltrating Syria’s political elite, is still regarded as a hero in Israel and Mossad’s most celebrated spy for uncovering military secrets that aided its lightning victory in the 1967 Middle East war.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described Cohen on Sunday as a legend and “the greatest intelligence agent in the annals of the state.”
While Israel has long sought to recover his body for reburial at home, the return of his archive held for 60 years by Syrian intelligence was hailed by Mossad as “an achievement of the highest moral order.”
Israel has not publicly revealed how the archive came into its possession, saying only that it was the result of “a covert and complex Mossad operation, in cooperation with an allied foreign intelligence service.”
Netanyahu’s office, Syrian officials, and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Syria’s role in Israel‘s recovery of the Cohen archive.
COHEN DOSSIER
After rebels led by Sharaa suddenly ousted President Bashar al-Assad in December, ending his family’s 54-year-long rule, they found the Cohen dossier in a state security building, according to the Syrian security source.
Sharaa and his foreign advisers quickly decided to use the material as leverage, the source added.
The Syrian security source said Sharaa had realized that the Cohen archive was important to the Israelis and that its return could amount to a significant diplomatic gesture.
Ending Israeli attacks on Syria and improving relations with the United States and other Western countries are vital for Sharaa as he seeks to revive his shattered country after 14 years of civil war.
Israel regards Sharaa and his ex-insurgents, who once formed the al Qaeda faction in Syria, as unreconstructed jihadists. Israeli forces staged an incursion into border areas last year and have repeatedly bombed targets in support of Syria’s minority Druze sect.
This month, Reuters reported that the United Arab Emirates had set up a backchannel for talks between Israel and Syria that included efforts to build confidence between the sides.
There have also been other indirect channels for talks, according to two people familiar with the matter.
In the talks, Syria agreed to measures including returning the remains of Cohen as well as three Israeli soldiers killed while fighting Syrian forces in Lebanon in the early 1980s, a person familiar with those talks said. The body of one of those soldiers, Zvi Feldman, has been returned, Israel said last week.
The return of the Cohen archive came in the context of those confidence-building measures and was done with Sharaa’s direct approval, the person said.
Last week, Trump held a surprise meeting with Sharaa in Saudi Arabia where he urged him to normalize ties with Israel and announced that he would lift sanctions on Syria.
Syrian officials have said they want peace with all states in the region, and Sharaa confirmed this month that Damascus had carried out indirect talks with Israel via states it has ties with in order to calm the situation.
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