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‘Blatant Antisemitic Act’: High School Yearbook Erases Jewish Students’ Names, Replaces Photo With Muslim Students
The 2023-2024 yearbook for East Brunswick High School in New Jersey replaced a photo of the Jewish Student Union (JSU) with Muslim students and erased the names of the JSU members. Photo: Screenshot from StopAntisemitism on X/Twitter
A town in New Jersey has become the center of controversy after the local high school’s yearbook removed the names of Jewish students from a page and replaced their photo with one of Muslim students — an incident that the town’s mayor called a “blatant antisemitic act.”
The 2023-2024 yearbook for East Brunswick High School replaced a photo of the Jewish Student Union (JSU) with Muslim students and erased the names of the members of the JSU, leaving a large blank space on the page.
East Brunswick Mayor Brad Cohen expressed outrage over the incident and said new yearbooks will be ordered.
“At a minimum, I have … been assured that new yearbooks will be ordered and distributed with the correct pictures and names,” Cohen wrote in a Facebook post on Tuesday. “Hate has no place in East Brunswick and antisemitism will not be tolerated.”
Cohen announced there would be an investigation into the incident.
“The administration will need to determine: 1. How did this happen? 2. What person or persons are responsible? 3. Who are the yearbook advisers and who signed off on this page? 4. Did this act occur at the publisher end? 5. How will perpetrators be held accountable? 6. Does this constitute a hate crime and how will this be prosecuted?” the mayor added.
Dr. Victor Valeski, superintendent of the East Brunswick Public School System, has also addressed the incident.
“We are aware of an error in the yearbook,” Valeskia said in an email on Tuesday. “We are working with the publisher to correct the yearbook. We are also investigating how the error occurred and will address that as appropriate at the conclusion of this investigation.”
Valeski also apologized for the “disappointment it has caused” and pledged to “rectify this situation.”
In an update to the community on Wednesday, the superintendent specifically apologized for “the hurt, pain, and anguish this event has caused our Jewish students, their families, and the impact this continues to have on the entire [East Brunswick] community,” according to local reports.
“We do not tolerate bias and we investigate all reported antisemitism,” he explained.
The incident comes at a time when antisemitism in both K-12 and higher education has been skyrocketing to record levels amid the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, which began when Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists invaded southern on Israel on Oct. 7, murdered 1,200 people, and took more than 250 hostages.
In the US last year, antisemitic incidents at K-12 schools increased by 135 percent, while such outrages on university campuses soared by a staggering 321 percent, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).
Overall, antisemitism in the US surged to catastrophic and unprecedented levels in 2023, rising a harrowing 140 percent. The majority of the incidents occurred in the aftermath of Oct. 7, when the ADL recorded a steep rise in antisemitic outrages.
Schools have been major hubs of the spike in antisemitism.
Last month, the US Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) opened an investigation into the Berkeley Unified School District in California based on a complaint that it has allowed “severe and persistent” antisemitism since Oct. 7, with Jewish students experiencing bullying and harassment.
In January, OCR also opened an investigation into the Oakland Unified School District after it hosted a “teach-in” that gave educators guidance on how to address Israel and the Middle Eastern conflict in their classrooms. Resources included the website “Decolonize Palestine,” which claims Israel is not a democracy and does not have the right to exist. It also claims the creation of the state of Israel was a result of the “transference of Europe’s guilt onto the Palestinians.”
The teach-in also promoted the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement — which seeks to isolate Israel from the international community as a step toward the Jewish state’s eventual elimination — and a documentary that falsely claims Israel wants to take over not only the West Bank and Gaza, but also parts of Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq.
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French Official Tells Paper Arab Countries Will Condemn Hamas, Trying to Get Palestinian Statehood Recognized
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot speaks to the media on the day he attends the European Union Foreign Ministers council in Brussels, Belgium, July 15, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Yves Herman
Arab countries will for the first time condemn Hamas and call for its disarmament early next week at a United Nations ministerial event in New York, a move meant to lure more European countries to recognize Palestinian statehood, France’s foreign minister said on Saturday.
In an exclusive interview with French weekly Le Journal du Dimanche, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot said the move was part of a long-planned initiative between France and Saudi Arabia.
“For the first time, Arab countries will condemn Hamas and call for its disarmament, which will seal its definitive isolation. European countries will in turn confirm their intention to recognize the State of Palestine. Half of European countries have done so, all others are considering it,” Barrot told the JDD.
“The British Prime Minister has stated his intention to do so. Germany is considering it at a later stage. We will launch an appeal in New York for other countries to join us in order to set in motion an even more ambitious and demanding process that will culminate on September 21,” Barrot added.
On Thursday French President Emmanuel Macron announced France would formally recognize the state of Palestine at the U.N. General Assembly on September 21, drawing condemnation from the U.S. and Israel.
Earlier on Saturday Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni called it counterproductive to recognize a Palestinian state before it is established.
On Friday a German government spokesperson said there were no plans to recognize a Palestinian state in the short term.
At the upcoming United Nations event on Monday and Tuesday, France and Saudi Arabia plan to lay out a proposed post-war roadmap leading to a two-state solution covering security, reconstruction and governance, which will be compatible with the Abraham Accords negotiated by US President Trump, Barrot said.
The French minister added that in coming weeks the European Commission would take a tougher stance on Israel and demand a stop on building of any new settlement projects in the West Bank, and also an end to militarized policing of humanitarian aid distribution.
Barrot also called on fellow European countries to demand a removal of the financial blockade on the Palestinian authority so it can receive 2 billion euros he said it is owed.
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Jordan and UAE Drop Aid Into Gaza in First Airdrop in Months, Jordanian Source Says
An airplane drops humanitarian aid over Gaza as seen from northern Gaza Strip July 27, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Jordan and the United Arab Emirates parachuted 25 tons of aid into the Gaza Strip on Sunday in their first airdrop in months, a Jordanian official source said.
The official said the air drops were not a substitute for delivery by land.
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Trump Says Israel Will Have to Decide on Next Steps in Gaza, Pledges More Aid
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 8, 2025. Photo: Kevin Lamarque via Reuters Connect.
US President Donald Trump said on Sunday Israel would have to make a decision on next steps in Gaza, adding that he did not know what would happen after the collapse of ceasefire and hostage-release negotiations with the Hamas terrorist group.
Trump underscored the importance of securing the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, saying they had suddenly “hardened” up on the issue, and said the US would provide more aid to the war-torn Palestinian enclave.
“They don’t want to give them back, and so Israel is going to have to make a decision,” Trump told reporters at the start of a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at his golf property in Turnberry, Scotland.
“I know what I’d do, but I don’t think it’s appropriate that I say it. But Israel is going to have to make a decision,” he said, while also claiming, without evidence, that Hamas members were stealing food coming into Gaza and selling it.
Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu both appeared on Friday to abandon Gaza ceasefire negotiations with Hamas, saying it had become clear that the Palestinian group did not want a deal.
Netanyahu said Israel was now mulling “alternative” options to achieve its goals of bringing its hostages home from Gaza and ending Hamas rule in the enclave.
Trump said he believed Hamas leaders would now be “hunted down,” telling reporters: “Hamas really didn’t want to make a deal. I think they want to die. And it’s very bad. And it got to be to a point where you’re going to have to finish the job.”
US TO PROVIDE MORE AID, TRUMP SAYS
Trump on Sunday said the US would provide more humanitarian aid to Gaza, where concerns are mounting about the worsening hunger, but wanted other countries to participate as well. He said he would discuss the issue with von der Leyen.
“We’re giving a lot of money, a lot of food, a lot of everything,” he said. “If we weren’t there, I think people would have starved, frankly. They would have starved, and it’s not like they’re eating well.”
He said he had spoken with Netanyahu and discussed a number of issues, including Iran. He said and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer would also discuss Israel when they meet at Trump’s golf property in Turnberry on Monday.
Trump also noted said the United States was not acknowledged for earlier food aid for Gaza.
“No other country gave anything,” he said, calling out European countries in particular. “It makes you feel a little bad when you do that and, you know, you have other countries not giving anything… Nobody gave but us. And nobody said, Gee, thank you very much. And it would be nice to have at least a thank you.”
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