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Slain Hamas Leader Haniyeh Buried in Qatar Amid Vows of Revenge Against Israel
Mourners carry the coffin of assassinated Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh during his funeral ceremony in Tehran, Iran, Aug. 1, 2024. Photo: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency) Handout via REUTERS
Hamas’ top leader Ismail Haniyeh was buried in Qatar on Friday following his assassination in the Iranian capital Tehran, and his possible successor told mourners his death would only make the Palestinian terrorist group more determined in its war against Israel.
Haniyeh’s death was one in a series of killings of senior Hamas figures as the war in Gaza between Hamas and Israel nears its 11th month and concern grows that the conflict is spreading across the Middle East.
Hamas and Iran have both accused Israel of carrying out the assassination and have pledged to retaliate against their foe. Israel has not claimed responsibility for the death nor denied it.
Haniyeh was laid to rest in a cemetery in the city of Lusail after a funeral ceremony at the Iman Mohamed Ibn Abd Al-Wahhab Mosque in Qatar’s capital Doha.
His coffin, draped in the Palestinian flag, was carried in a procession past hundreds of people along with the casket of his bodyguard, who was killed in the same attack in Tehran on Wednesday.
Mourners at the ceremony included Khaled Meshaal, who is tipped to be the new Hamas leader. Other senior Hamas officials and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani also attended.
Speaking at the mosque, where Haniyeh’s body was laid for prayers, Meshaal said his death would only make the group more determined to continue its fight for a “free Palestine.” There would be no concessions over its principles and no recognition of Israel, he said.
“Palestine will remain from the river to the sea … and the Zionists [Israel] have no place on the land of Palestine, regardless of how many they kill of us,” Meshaal said in a video released by Hamas.
Haniyeh’s death was a big loss to the Islamist terror group but it would not alter their course, he said.
“Our enemies don’t learn the lesson, they have been killing our leaders for over 100 years, what happened? When a leader ascends [to heaven] another leader comes,” he said.
Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters by phone: “Our message to the occupation [Israel] today is that you are sinking deep in the mud and your end is getting closer than ever. The blood of Haniyeh will change all equations.”
Haniyeh was killed by a missile that hit him directly in a state guesthouse in Tehran where he was staying, senior Hamas official Khalil Al-Hayya said in Tehran.
The strike was one of several recent hits that have killed senior figures in Hamas or the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah in a conflict that is now stretching from Gaza to the Red Sea and the Lebanon-Israel border and beyond. Hamas and Hezbollah are both backed by Iran, which provides the internationally designated terrorist organizations with weapons, funding, and training.
In the United States, US President Joe Biden said Haniyeh’s killing was not helpful to international efforts to secure a ceasefire in the war in Gaza.
“It doesn’t help,” Biden told reporters on Thursday, when asked if the action ruined the chances of a truce.
Qatar, which hosts several top Hamas officials, has been leading the peace effort along with Egypt and the United States, Israel‘s main ally.
Haniyeh, who was on the US State Department’s Specially Designated Global Terrorists list, played a leading role in Gaza ceasefire negotiations amid Israel’s military offensive in the Palestinian enclave.
Appointed to the Hamas top job in 2017, Haniyeh moved between Turkey and Doha, escaping the travel curbs of the blockaded Gaza Strip.
Israel has announced that an air strike it mounted last month assassinated Hamas military leader Mohammed Deif in Gaza. Hamas has not confirmed or denied the death of Deif.
Hezbollah said that its senior military commander Fuad Shukr had been killed in an Israeli strike on a building in Beirut on Tuesday and it vowed a “definite” response to his killing.
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Far-Left Antisemitism Surged 324.8% Around the World in 2024, New Report Finds

A pro-Hamas march in London, United Kingdom, Feb. 17, 2024. Photo: Chrissa Giannakoudi via Reuters Connect
Global antisemitism surged by a staggering 108 percent in 2024 compared to the prior year, fueled largely by far-left ideology, according to a new report.
The Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM), a coalition of hundreds of organizations that fight anti-Jewish bigotry around the world, has released its annual report of antisemitic incidents, identifying 6,326 total cases last year with the vast majority — 4,329, or 68.4 percent — fueled by far-left ideology, a reversal from the group’s 2022 research in which the far right dominated and the 2023 findings which found a parity between the political spectrum’s two extremes.
“We are now facing the most severe wave of antisemitism since the end of the Second World War, a phenomenon that demands urgent global attention,” the CAM report states in its introduction. “Jewish communities worldwide have been subjected to an unrelenting onslaught of violence, harassment, and systemic discrimination, fueled by a fusion of far-left, far-right, and Islamist extremism. The international failure to combat this resurgence threatens the very security and stability of Jewish life around the world.”
CAM’s researchers found that incidents motivated by far-left beliefs had increased 324.8 percent from 2023 and Islamist-centered incidents (461) jumped 54.8 percent, while far-right-driven incidents (461) had fallen 54.8 percent. CAM attributed “radicalized social movements, media disinformation campaigns, and efforts to target Jewish communities under the guise of anti-Israel activism” as the primary culprits behind the jump in leftist antisemitism. The group also stated that Islamist recruitment tactics specifically target “vulnerable individuals susceptible to radicalization.”
To explain for the drop in right-wing incidents, the report’s authors suggested that “amid widespread and intensive media coverage of the Israel-Hamas war and related protests, political activity, and antisemitism – typical of far-left and Islamist circles – relatively less coverage is dedicated to far-right antisemitic incidents.”
While the report documents an increase in anti-Israel antisemitic speech, it also explains that classical antisemitism remains more likely to motivate hate crimes including vandalism, threats, and assaults.
“Far-right incidents are slightly more likely to manifest as violence and much more likely to involve vandalism than far-left incidents,” the report states, noting that 4.6 percent (21 of 461) of far-right incidents included violence or threats, compared to 3 percent (132 of 4,329) of far-left incidents. “Such trends suggest that far-right antisemites have a greater propensity than far-left antisemites to damage property or harm others,” CAM said.
Of the 6,326 total recorded incidents, 4,907 (77.6 percent) involved hate speech, 822 (13 percent) included vandalism, and 597 (9.4 percent) manifested as physical violence or threats.
The report also noted an increase of 63.7 percent in antisemitic incidents (712) which analysts could not identify with an ideology. These comprised 11.3 percent of the year’s total.
Incidents on campus also drew special attention from researchers, with 1,069 recorded at universities globally, up 120.8 percent compared to 2023 and by 198 percent compared to 2022. CAM’s analysts identified that periods with the highest incidents took place in mid-April and mid-May, correlating with when student activists’ anti-Israel protests hit their peaks.
Groups named as responsible for these demonstrations include Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), Faculty for Justice in Palestine (FJP), and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP). “These groups have systematically targeted Jewish students through social exclusion, harassment campaigns, and the dissemination of antisemitic propaganda disguised as political discourse,” the report states.
Researchers also offered a geographic picture of incidents, finding that 70.6 percent took place in the United States (2,553) and Western Europe (1,916). The states with the most incidents were New York (668), California (329), Washington, DC (157), Illinois (145), and Pennsylvania (142), comprising 56.4 percent of US incidents. Factors cited for these states’ higher numbers include the presence of large cities and universities.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) also released an annual audit of antisemitic incidents last month, with its research focused on the US and drawing from direct reports the group had received. Researchers counted 9,354 incidents, a 5 percent increase from 2023’s 8,873 incidents, a 344 percent increase over the past five years, and an 893 percent explosion over the past 10 years.
“The rise of antisemitism in 2024 is not a historical aberration — it is a defining moment in modern history,” CAM said when announcing the report. “Without resolute action now, the world risks entering a new dark era where antisemitism is once again condoned, allowed to fester, and institutionalized. Such a process creates a downward spiral, as hate begets hate, leading to the persecution and violence that have typified the Jewish experience over the millennia.”
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Trump Vows to Pursue ‘Total Dismantlement’ of Iranian Nuclear Program

US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters at the White House in Washington, DC, US, April 23, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
US President Donald Trump said his goal to achieve the complete “dismantlement” of Iran’s nuclear program during a Sunday interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
Trump made the comments during a sit-down discussion anchor Kristen Welker.
“Total dismantlement. Yes, that is all I would accept,” Trump told Welker regarding Iran’s nuclear program. The comments
The US president cautioned that the “world will be destroyed” if Tehran is able to acquire a nuclear weapon.
“I want Iran to be really successful, really great, really fantastic. The only thing they can’t have is a nuclear weapon,” Trump added. “If they want to be successful, that’s OK. I want them to be so successful.”
The president’s comments come amid increasing pressure by Republican lawmakers to clearly outline his position on whether the US should take a more forceful stand against Tehran’s nuclear program, which Western officials believe is ultimately meant to build nuclear weapons. Iran claims its nuclear activities are only for civilian energy purposes.
Trump indicated that he would accept the creation of a civilian nuclear program for Iran, echoing comments from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that the White House would support giving Tehran “a pathway to a civil, peaceful nuclear program.”
Tehran has repeatedly claimed that its nuclear program is for civilian purposes rather than building weapons. However, the UN’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), reported last year that Iran had greatly accelerated uranium enrichment to close to weapons grade.
The UK, France, and Germany said in a statement at the time that there is no “credible civilian justification” for Iran’s recent nuclear activity, arguing it “gives Iran the capability to rapidly produce sufficient fissile material for multiple nuclear weapons.”
Lawmakers and analysts who wish for a tough US posture toward Iran have expressed concern about the ongoing US-Iran talks to reach a nuclear deal, arguing the Trump administration has seemingly vacillated positions on Iran’s nuclear efforts.
US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff drew backlash last month when, during a Fox News interview, he suggested that Iran would be allowed to pursue a nuclear program for so-called civilian purposes, saying that Iran “does not need to enrich past 3.67 percent.” The next day, Witkoff backtracked on these remarks, writing on X/Twitter that Tehran must “stop and eliminate its nuclear enrichment and weaponization program.”
Some members of the former Obama administration have expressed cautious optimism that the approach of Trump and his team to the current nuclear talks might mirror the steps they took to reach the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the 2015 deal which placed temporary restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of major international sanctions. Trump withdrew the US from the accord during his first presidential term in 2018, arguing it was too weak and would undermine American interests.
However, many high-profile lawmakers believe that the Trump administration should aggressively pursue the complete destruction of the Iranian nuclear program, arguing that such a program poses a substantial threat not only to Israel but also to the United States.
“We cannot negotiate with Iran. It’s time to destroy their nuclear program and neutralize the remaining capabilities of its proxies. I remain steadfast with Israel. Provide whatever is necessary to carry this out,” Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) posted on X/Twitter on Sunday.
Israel has been among the most vocal proponents of dismantling Iran’s nuclear program, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arguing that the US should pursue a “Libyan option” to eliminate the possibility of Tehran acquiring a nuclear weapon by overseeing the destruction of Iran’s nuclear installations and the dismantling of equipment.
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Swarthmore College Anti-Israel Encampment Thwarted, 9 Arrested

Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) occupy a section of Swarthmore College on April 30-May 3, 2025. (Protesters’ faces were obfuscated by SJP, not The Algemeiner). Photo: Screenshot.
Nine students and non-students were arrested by law enforcement at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania on Saturday after they disobeyed orders to clear a pro-Hamas encampment which illegally occupied the institution’s Trotter Lawn section of campus.
According to The Phoenix, Swarthmore College’s independent campus newspaper, the encampment was stationed by Students for Justice in Palestine, a campus group which has been linked to Islamist terrorist organizations, on Wednesday evening in an attempt to “revive” similar demonstrations staged last year. Naming the encampment the “Hossam Shabat Liberated Zone,” SJP called on its supporters to “escalate” and establish a “site of colonial resistence” [sic] from which to demand divestment from companies holding economic ties to Israel.
No sooner had SJP done so than Swarthmore president Val Smith denounced the group for uttering “abhorrent statements celebrating violence and promoting hate” and directed school staff to begin removing lawn furniture SJP had moved to Trotter Lawn to support its occupation of it. Later, the Phoenix added, the Smith College Police Department formally alerted SJP that its members will be trespassed from the area, distributing a notice which cited Pennsylvania law as cause for the arrest of the participating demonstrators.
Developments slowed to a creep over the next three days, however, as Smith refrained from ordering arresting the students to provide them a chance to voluntarily comply with an ultimatum to leave Trotter Lawn by 11p m on Friday, after which time they would be detained and charged with a crime. Meanwhile, faculty and provost Kathleen Howard launched their own diplomatic effort, promising students “less severe” disciplinary sanctions in exchange for their abandoning the protest before the ultimatum expired. Some SJP members repelled their offers even, setting up the following morning’s confrontation with law enforcement.
According to the Phoenix, officers drawn from eight local departments responded to Swarthmore College’s plea for assistance with restoring order at 7:45 am on Saturday. Nine protesters were ultimately arrested, two of whom are students who were given interim suspensions. Seven of their classmates received a similar punishment before the demonstration was finally quelled. Accusations of police misconduct abounded after the police action but none that can, as of yet, be verified by video evidence.
“We tried talking with the protesters, but they refused to engage in any substantive conversation about ending the encampment,” Smith said in a statement issued after the encampment ended. “SJP continued to use social media to urge individuals from beyond Swarthmore to come to campus. In addition to placing the community at risk, the promotion of the protest on social media drew the attention of law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, who urged us to bring the encampment to an end as quickly as possible.”
She continued, “Some believe we acted too quickly and too forcefully; others will feel just as strongly that we waited too long to intervene. These divergent views reflect the complexity of a situation in which every path forward was fraught. Ultimately, I carry the responsibility of ensuring the safety and security of our entire community, and I acted with that interest in mind.”
On Sunday, SJP issued a volley of statements reviling America, Israel, Swarthmore College, law enforcement, and capitalism.
“Swarthmore enlisted a fascist brigade to secure a property financed by the commodification of violence,” the group said. “This is the logical conclusion of decades of actively financing and profiting off of apartheid, settler colonialism, and genocide. The ‘comfort’ that we receive from our scholarships, housing, and food, is funded by investments that actively destroy the world around it.”
Swarthmore College’s relatively swift dispersal of the encampment comes amid the Trump administration’s crackdown on who government officials have described as antisemitic, pro-Hamas protesters and the “woke” elite colleges who allegedly harbor them even as they violate the civil rights of Jewish students. Since March, government officials have been slashing federal funds previously awarded to universities over their apparent refusing to discipline such students and enact reforms which, conservatives believe, would prevent their being admitted to prestigious higher education institutions in the first place.
Swarthmore was the recipient of $2.8 million in federal grants in fiscal year 2024, according to the Phoenix, which amounts to “slightly more than 1 percent of its $234 million in revenue for the year.”
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
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