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These Outrageous Antisemitic Incidents Occurred Across the US in July
US Capitol Police and NYPD officers clash with anti-Israel demonstrators, on the day Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a joint meeting of Congress, on Capitol Hill, in Washington, DC, July 24, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Umit Bektas
Many of the anti-Israel protests in July were centered on the visit of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the US. A variety of American Palestinian groups urged Netanyahu to be “arrested.” Prior to Netanyahu’s speech before Congress, some 200 protestors were arrested in the Capitol Rotunda. Mobs also besieged the hotel where he was staying, with Palestinian Youth Movement infiltrators filming themselves releasing maggot and insects, and pulling fire alarms overnight.
Prior to the speech, thousands of protestors mobbed Washington, D.C., burning American flags and waving Hamas flags, assaulting police, and vandalizing monuments with graffiti including “Hamas is coming.”
Classic antisemitic imagery, including Netanyahu depicted as a demon with horns and fangs dripping blood, were common. Police, including many brought in from other cities, used tear gas to disperse the crowds, but US Park Police later reported that less than three dozen members were deployed to protect monuments. Those arrested were later released, and many charges were dropped.
The riots were condemned from across the political spectrum, including the White House.
Other pro-Hamas protest activities during the month included:
July 4th disruptions in major cities including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Boston, which featured burning the American flag.
Vandalizing a Seattle Holocaust museum with the words “Genocide in Gaza.” Local police declared the act was not a hate crime.
A planned protest outside a Michigan Holocaust museum and demands that the museum condemn Israel.
Protestors who unfurled pro-Hamas banners from the roof of the Australian parliament building.
The Royal Palace on Dam Square in Amsterdam being vandalized by pro-Hamas activists with red paint, which they stated “symbolizes the blood of the Palestinians that is currently flowing through the streets of Gaza.”
Emailed bomb threats “in the name of Palestine” forced the evacuation of the Pennsylvania Capitol Complex.
An Israeli owned factory in New York City was attacked along with two in Britain with alleged connections to Israel. A non-Jewish owned diner on Long Island with hostage posters in the windows was also vandalized.
Attacks on synagogues and Jewish institutions were routine in July:
Protests outside a New York City synagogue hosting an Israeli real estate fair.
A Pittsburgh synagogue and the Jewish Federation headquarters were vandalized.
A Los Angeles synagogue was vandalized twice in one week.
Vandalizing a Sydney synagogue with a banner reading “sanction Israel.”
A thwarted plot to destroy an Athens synagogue resulted in arrests. This followed attacks on a Chabad house and an Israeli owned hotel.
Two Toronto synagogues were attacked, and a school and a school bus were burned.
Elsewhere, a variety of symbols associated with Jews continue to be appropriated for the Hamas cause. One especially obscene example was an Anne Frank statue in Amsterdam that was vandalized with the word “Gaza.”
In Bergen, Norway, a mural of Anne Frank wearing a keffiyah sparked controversy. The anonymous artist claimed that “The killings of the innocent women and children in Gaza must stop now. I feel sure that Anne Frank … would support me in this demand.”
Students
Reports indicate that anti-Israel students are investing heavily in summer training activities. A number of Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) summer camps sponsored by the National Students for Justice in Palestine have been noted, including at the University of Massachusetts, Smith College, and San Francisco State University.
Threats against universities and Jewish students also escalated in July. Unionized student workers associated with the United Auto Workers at Columbia University voted to endorse BDS, and threaten to strike if its demands are not met.
At New York University, the administration condemned the People’s Solidarity Coalition aka the People’s Front, which had issued a statement embracing “armed struggle” as part of its efforts to “dismantle NYU’s involvement in settler-colonial occupation, genocide and imperial wars. We localize the Palestinian liberation struggle within the imperialist University, and take up the fight against NYU’s global empire, which collaborates in the interests of Zionist colonialism and U.S. imperialism.”
In another example, the University of Wisconsin Madison SJP chapter threatened that “We will no longer normalize genocidal extremists walking on our campus. … ANY organization or entity that supports Israel is not welcome at UWM. This includes the local extremist groups such as Hillel, Jewish Federation, etc.”
The larger revolutionary framework of anti-Israel and anti-American protests was described in a posting by the University of Illinois Chicago SJP, which stated “Inshallah amerikkka and israel will fall within our life time. Death to all police and colonial empires.”
The repercussions of the post-October 7 campus unrest continue to reverberate for university administrations. One report indicates that the protests cost the University of California system $29 million, with UCLA alone incurring $10 million in security and $400,000 in cleanup expenses.
Several universities have quietly announced that divestment from Israel is not being considered, including the University of Pennsylvania and the University of California system. The University of Minnesota regents proposed to sidestep the issue with an “investment neutrality” policy, while the University of Edinburgh has postponed consideration indefinitely. The London School of Economics stated that divestment was effectively impossible.
Disciplinary action against pro-Hamas protestors continues to emerge:
At Northwestern University, three employees and one graduate student were arrested for obstructing police, who were attempting to break up an encampment. Charges were then dropped by the Cook County prosecutor.
Two additional protestors at the University of Illinois were charged, bringing the total to five.
Pro-Hamas students at the University of Texas were suspended for two years.
At Harvard University, suspended students were reinstated after faculty complaints, and their diplomas were conferred.
A variety of pro-Hamas student groups at George Washington University were reportedly being sanctioned.
In Britain, the universities of Nottingham and Birmingham obtained court orders disbanding campus encampments.
The University of Melbourne has reportedly threatened to expel pro-Hamas protestors after disciplinary proceeding. The protestors complained that “surveillance technology” had been used to identify them.
Other universities continue to make a variety of concessions to protestors:
After negotiations with the pro-Hamas elements encampment, the University of Wisconsin-Madison apparently agreed to cut ties with two Israeli companies and to condemn the “plausible genocide” by Gazans.
The University of Liège announced that it was conceding to student demands to confirm it had no collaborations with Israeli universities, that it would request a review by the European Council on Israeli participation in European-wide projects, and that it was rejecting a series of donations and collaboration with specific companies.
University of Toronto encampment participants were provided with amnesty by the university as a condition for vacating the campus.
The University of Windsor agreed encampment demands to accept more “scholars at risk” and students from Gaza, “enhanced anti-racism initiatives,” and to greater investment transparency.
Cambridge University agreed to review its investments as part of an agreement with the pro-Hamas encampment. It also confirmed it did not have investments in specific Israeli companies.
University administrations continue to adopt a variety of measures to ensure the fall semester will be quiet. The University of California Regents voted to ban political statements by academic departments. The move comes after numerous departments posted anti-Israel statements on their websites, particularly after October 7.
Restrictions on protests were also instituted by the Indiana University regents, and have been proposed at Harvard University, including a ban on overnight camping. Most substantively, a Federal court has ordered UCLA to develop a plan to protect Jewish students from the discrimination and harassment that underpinned the 20224 encampments.
But while antisemitism task forces, invariably paired with “Islamophobia” task forces, have provided useful documentation of campus harassment and intimidation, their mostly modest recommendations have been ignored.
Efforts to “educate” staff members regarding antisemitism within the existing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) mechanisms that dominate campuses have thus far been unsuccessful.
Faculty
As faculty prepare for the fall semester, a number of developments point to the continued domination of campus politics and discourse by the anti-Israel movement. Unions remain key mechanisms for anti-Israel forces to maintain control:
A petition circulated at Rutgers University calls on the faculty to demand the school’s American Association of University Professors-American Federation of Teachers members call for divestment and for cutting ties with Tel Aviv University.
Six Jewish faculty at the City University of New York (CUNY) have sent a Petition for a Writ of Certiorari to the US Court of Appeals asking to hear their case against the Professional Staff Congress.
A series of resolutions proposed at the American Federation of Teachers convention demanding an end to US military aid to Israel and protect pro-Palestinian protestors were removed from consideration by the leadership as “unconstitutional.”
A series of resolutions were proposed to the National Education Association convention supporting BDS, demanding the end of US military aid to Israel, and supporting teaching about the “Nakba.” The convention and consideration of the resolutions was halted by a strike of union staff.
The isolation of Israeli academia at the hands of international colleagues continues to expand. New reports indicate that the number of foreign students applying to study at leading Israeli universities has declined precipitously since October 7, and many international faculty are planning on leaving. The declines are especially critical in the hard sciences and life sciences, with local academics warning that Israel may become a closed scientific monoculture on par with China or Iran. Most analysts cite the impact of the BDS movement and fear of having a record of Israeli collaboration. Other reports cite a growing wave of Israeli academics leaving the country for overseas positions. Most, however, cite domestic politics, the security situation, and the high cost of living.
More positively, an open letter signed by some 3,000 academics denounced Israel boycotts.
The author is a contributor to SPME, where a version of this article was first published.
The post These Outrageous Antisemitic Incidents Occurred Across the US in July first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Syria’s Sharaa Says Talks With Israel Could Yield Results ‘In Coming Days’
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks at the opening ceremony of the 62nd Damascus International Fair, the first edition held since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, in Damascus, Syria, Aug. 27, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa said on Wednesday that ongoing negotiations with Israel to reach a security pact could lead to results “in the coming days.”
He told reporters in Damascus the security pact was a “necessity” and that it would need to respect Syria’s airspace and territorial unity and be monitored by the United Nations.
Syria and Israel are in talks to reach an agreement that Damascus hopes will secure a halt to Israeli airstrikes and the withdrawal of Israeli troops who have pushed into southern Syria.
Reuters reported this week that Washington was pressuring Syria to reach a deal before world leaders gather next week for the UN General Assembly in New York.
But Sharaa, in a briefing with journalists including Reuters ahead of his expected trip to New York to attend the meeting, denied the US was putting any pressure on Syria and said instead that it was playing a mediating role.
He said Israel had carried out more than 1,000 strikes on Syria and conducted more than 400 ground incursions since Dec. 8, when the rebel offensive he led toppled former Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad.
Sharaa said Israel’s actions were contradicting the stated American policy of a stable and unified Syria, which he said was “very dangerous.”
He said Damascus was seeking a deal similar to a 1974 disengagement agreement between Israel and Syria that created a demilitarized zone between the two countries.
He said Syria sought the withdrawal of Israeli troops but that Israel wanted to remain at strategic locations it seized after Dec. 8, including Mount Hermon. Israeli ministers have publicly said Israel intends to keep control of the sites.
He said if the security pact succeeds, other agreements could be reached. He did not provide details, but said a peace agreement or normalization deal like the US-mediated Abraham Accords, under which several Muslim-majority countries agreed to normalize diplomatic ties with Israel, was not currently on the table.
He also said it was too early to discuss the fate of the Golan Heights because it was “a big deal.”
Reuters reported this week that Israel had ruled out handing back the zone, which Donald Trump unilaterally recognized as Israeli during his first term as US president.
“It’s a difficult case – you have negotiations between a Damascene and a Jew,” Sharaa told reporters, smiling.
SECURITY PACT DERAILED IN JULY
Sharaa also said Syria and Israel had been just “four to five days” away from reaching the basis of a security pact in July, but that developments in the southern province of Sweida had derailed those discussions.
Syrian troops were deployed to Sweida in July to quell fighting between Druze armed factions and Bedouin fighters. But the violence worsened, with Syrian forces accused of execution-style killings and Israel striking southern Syria, the defense ministry in Damascus and near the presidential palace.
Sharaa on Wednesday described the strikes near the presidential palace as “not a message, but a declaration of war,” and said Syria had still refrained from responding militarily to preserve the negotiations.
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Anti-Israel Activists Gear Up to ‘Flood’ UN General Assembly
US Capitol Police and NYPD officers clash with anti-Israel demonstrators, on the day Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a joint meeting of Congress, on Capitol Hill, in Washington, DC, July 24, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Umit Bektas
Anti-Israel groups are planning a wave of raucous protests in New York City during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) over the next several days, prompting concerns that the demonstrations could descend into antisemitic rhetoric and intimidation.
A coalition of anti-Israel activists is organizing the protests in and around UN headquarters to coincide with speeches from Middle Eastern leaders and appearances by US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The demonstrations are expected to draw large crowds and feature prominent pro-Palestinian voices, some of whom have been criticized for trafficking in antisemitic tropes, in addition to calling for the destruction of Israe.
Organizers of the demonstrations have promoted the coordinated events on social media as an opportunity to pressure world leaders to hold Israel accountable for its military campaign against Hamas in Gaza, with some messaging framed in sharply hostile terms.
On Sunday, for example, activists shouted at Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon.
“Zionism is terrorism. All you guys are terrorists committing ethnic cleansing and genocide in Gaza and Palestine. Shame on you, Zionist animals,” they shouted.
BREAKING: PRO-PALESTINE PROTESTORS CONFRONT “ISRAELI” AMBASSADOR DANNY DANON AT THE UNITED NATIONS
1/5 pic.twitter.com/4G1VYEMGzV
— Within Our Lifetime (@WOLPalestine) September 14, 2025
The Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM), warned on its website that the scale and tone of the planned demonstrations risk crossing the line from political protest into hate speech, arguing that anti-Israel activists are attempting to hijack the UN gathering to spread antisemitism and delegitimize the Jewish state’s right to exist.
Outside the UN last week, masked protesters belonging to the activist group INDECLINE kicked a realistic replica of Netanyahu’s decapitated head as though it were a soccer ball.
US activist group plays soccer with Bibi’s mock decapitated HEAD right outside NYC UN HQ
Peep shot at 00:40
Footage posted by INDECLINE collective just as UN General Assembly about to kick off
‘Following the game, ball was donated to Palestinian Genocide Museum’ pic.twitter.com/TQ84sgZhKr
— RT (@RT_com) September 9, 2025
Within Our Lifetime (WOL), a radical anti-Israel activist group, has vowed to “flood” the UNGA on behalf of the pro-Palestine movement.
WOL, one of the most prolific anti-Israel activist groups, came under immense fire after it organized a protest against an exhibition to honor the victims of the Oct. 7 massacre at the Nova Music Festival in southern Israel. During the event, the group chanted “resistance is justified when people are occupied!” and “Israel, go to hell!”
“We will be there to confront them with the truth: Their silence and inaction enable genocide. The world cannot continue as if Gaza does not exist,” WOL said of its planned demonstrations in New York. “This is the time to make our voices impossible to ignore. Come to New York by any means necessary, to stand, to march, to demand the UN act and end the siege.”
Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM), two other anti-Israel organizations that have helped organize widespread demonstrations against the Jewish state during the war in Gaza, also announced they are planning a march from Times Square to the UN headquarters on Friday.
“The time is now for each and every UN member state to uphold their duty under international law: sanction Israel and end the genocide,” the groups said in a statement.
JVP, an organization that purports to fight for “Palestinian liberation,” has positioned itself as a staunch adversary of the Jewish state. The group argued in a 2021 booklet that Jews should not write Hebrew liturgy because hearing the language would be “deeply traumatizing” to Palestinians. JVP has repeatedly defended the Oct. 7 massacre of roughly 1,200 people in southern Israel by Hamas as a justified “resistance.” Chapters of the organization have urged other self-described “progressives” to throw their support behind Hamas and other terrorist groups against Israel
Similarly, PYM, another radical anti-Israel group, has repeatedly defended terrorism and violence against the Jewish state. PYM has organized many anti-Israel protests in the two years following the Oct. 7 attacks in the Jewish state. Recently, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AK) called for a federal investigation into the organization after Aisha Nizar, one of the group’s leaders, urged supporters to sabotage the US supply chain for the F-35 fighter jet, one of the most advanced US military assets and a critical component of Israel’s defense.
The UN General Assembly has historically been a flashpoint for heated debate over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Previous gatherings have seen dueling demonstrations outside the Manhattan venue, with pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian groups both seeking to influence the international spotlight.
While warning about the demonstrations, CAM noted it recently launched a new mobile app, Report It, that allows users worldwide to quickly and securely report antisemitic incidents in real time.
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Nina Davidson Presses Universities to Back Words With Action as Jewish Students Return to Campus Amid Antisemitism Crisis
Nina Davidson on The Algemeiner’s ‘J100’ podcast. Photo: Screenshot
Philanthropist Nina Davidson, who served on the board of Barnard College, has called on universities to pair tough rhetoric on combatting antisemitism with enforcement as Jewish students returned to campuses for the new academic year.
“Years ago, The Algemeiner had published a list ranking the most antisemitic colleges in the country. And number one was Columbia,” Davidson recalled on a recent episode of The Algemeiner‘s “J100” podcast. “As a board member and as someone who was representing the institution, it really upset me … At the board meeting, I brought it up and I said, ‘What are we going to do about this?’”
Host David Cohen, chief executive officer of The Algemeiner, explained he had revisited Davidson’s remarks while she was being honored for her work at The Algemeiner‘s 8th annual J100 gala, held in October 2021, noting their continued relevance.
“It could have been the same speech in 2025,” he said, underscoring how longstanding concerns about campus antisemitism, while having intensified in the aftermath of Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre across southern Israel, are not new.
Davidson argued that universities already possess the tools to protect students – codes of conduct, time-place-manner rules, and consequences for threats or targeted harassment – but too often fail to apply them evenly. “Statements are not enough,” she said, arguing that institutions need to enforce their rules and set a precedent that there will be consequences for individuals who refuse to follow them.
She also said that stakeholders – alumni, parents, and donors – are reassessing their relationships with schools that, in their view, have not safeguarded Jewish students. While supportive of open debate, Davidson distinguished between protest and intimidation, calling for leadership that protects expression while ensuring campus safety.
The episode surveyed specific pressure points that administrators will face this fall: repeat anti-Israel encampments, disruptions of Jewish programming, and the challenge of distinguishing political speech from conduct that violates university rules. “Unless schools draw those lines now,” Davidson warned, “they’ll be scrambling once the next crisis hits.”
Cohen closed by framing the discussion as a test of institutional credibility, asking whether universities will “turn policy into protection” in real time. Davidson agreed, pointing to students who “need to know the rules aren’t just on paper.”
The full conversation is available on The Algemeiner’s “J100” podcast.