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Al Jazeera Reports Fake Poll Claiming Half of Israelis Support Sexual Assault of Palestinian Prisoners
The Al Jazeera Media Network logo is seen on its headquarters building in Doha, Qatar, June 8, 2017. Photo: REUTERS/Naseem Zeitoon
The Qatar-based news network Al Jazeera reported a fake poll on Thursday claiming nearly half of Israelis support sexually assaulting Palestinian prisoners who are in Israeli jails.
The news outlet posted the fake poll on its Arabic language X/Twitter account with a custom graphic and a caption reading, “47% of Israelis support sexual assaults on Palestinian prisoners, according to a poll by Israel’s Channel 12.”
It has since deleted the tweet.
BREAKING: Al Jazeera just posted the fabricated poll that Rashida Tlaib promoted yesterday.
Al Jazeera — and its Qatari overlords — are the enemies. pic.twitter.com/Llf5puzbmN
— Eitan Fischberger (@EFischberger) August 8, 2024
The specific origin of the fake poll is unknown, but an image of it has made its way around anti-Israel social media circles within the past week.
Many users pointed out that it should have been obvious the poll was a fake because the question was clearly pasted in later and was not a part of the original image.
Nevertheless, it was posted by professors at American universities and even a member of the US Congress.
Rutgers University professor Noura Erakat posted the fake graphic with the caption, “When you tell a society it has a right to commit genocide, surely they believe they have the right to rape.”
US Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) retweeted Erakat’s post.
A @RutgersU professor posted a digitally altered photo accusing Israelis of supporting a soldiers right to rape Palestinians. As close to an actual blood libel as you’ll get in my opinion. It was RT’d by @RashidaTlaib, a US congresswoman.
Hope it is deleted w an apology soon. pic.twitter.com/i8FhmtDyUD
— David/Dovid Bashevkin (@DBashIdeas) August 8, 2024
Erakat later deleted the post and wrote, “Rep Tlaib trusted me & posting this wo cross checking was my mistake.”
She continued, “But surely u understand how one would take this poll to be true in light of video of gang rape of a Palestinian detainee & Knesset + public debate on whether such rape should be ok. THAT is the disgrace, Alex.”
In recent weeks, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has arrested guards at the Sde Teiman detention facility who allegedly sexually assaulted a Palestinian prisoner. Video later came out of the assault taking place behind a wall of guards apparently aimed at making sure the cameras did not catch it.
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller called the allegations “horrific” and said, “There ought to be zero tolerance of any sexual abuse, rape, of any detainees, period.”
The detention facility has come under scrutiny for months after CNN reported on whistleblowers who revealed that torture and humiliation of prisoners allegedly took place there. It may soon be shut down and Israeli documents show that only 28 prisoners remain in the facility.
This is not the first time Al Jazeera has promoted misinformation it has later had to retract.
In 2019, it produced a video claiming the Zionist movement misrepresented the Holocaust. It was posted on Al Jazeera’s younger, more hip channel called AJ+ with the caption, “Gas ovens killed millions of Jews…So the story says. How true is the #Holocaust and how did the Zionists benefit from it?”
Two journalists were suspended over the incident.
More recently, Al Jazeera in June reported on footage of a dog from the Oketz canine unit of the IDF appearing to attack an elderly Palestinian woman. The brutal scene sparked outcry against the IDF online and throughout the Arab world.
According to the IDF, however, the German Shepherd in the video was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists, who subsequently used it to film the attack before killing the animal and booby-trapping its body with explosives in the event that Israeli soldiers tried to retrieve their canine comrade.
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Brooklyn Nets Select Israeli Basketball Players Ben Saraf, Danny Wolf in NBA Draft
The opening tip between the Brooklyn Nets and Washington Wizards, at Barclays Center, in Brooklyn, New York, Dec. 13, 2020. Photo: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect
In a landmark night for Israeli basketball, Ben Saraf and Danny Wolf were selected in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft by the Brooklyn Nets, marking the first time two Israeli players have been drafted in the same year.
Saraf, a 19-year-old guard known for his explosive athleticism and creative playmaking, was taken with the 26th pick. A standout with Maccabi Rishon LeZion and a rising star on Israel’s youth national teams, Saraf gained international attention with his electrifying scoring and commanding court presence.
With the 27th pick, the Nets selected 7-foot center Danny Wolf out of the University of Michigan. Wolf, who holds dual US-Israeli citizenship and represented Israel at the U-20 level, brings a versatile skill set, including sharp passing, perimeter shooting, and a strong feel for the game. After his name was called, Wolf grew emotional in an on-air interview, crediting his family for helping him reach the moment.
“I have the two greatest brothers in the world; I have an unbelievable sister who I love,” Wolf said. “They all helped me get to where I am today, and they’re going to help me get to where I am going to go in this league.”
The historic double-pick adds to the growing wave of Israeli presence on the NBA stage, led by Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija, who just completed a breakout 2024–25 season. After being traded to Portland last summer, Avdija thrived as a starter, averaging 16.9 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 3.8 assists. In March alone, he posted 23.4 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game, including two triple-doubles.
“I don’t think I’ve played like this before … I knew I had it in me. But I’m not really thinking about it. I’m just playing. I’m just free,” Avdija told reporters in March
With Saraf and Wolf joining Avdija, Israel’s basketball pipeline has reached unprecedented visibility. Israeli President Isaac Herzog called the moment “a national celebration for sports and youth,” and Israeli sports commentators widely hailed the night as “historic.”
Both Saraf and Wolf are expected to suit up for the Nets’ Summer League team in July. As the two rookies begin their NBA journey, they join a growing generation of Israeli athletes proving that their game belongs on basketball’s biggest stage.
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Iran Denies Any Meeting With US Next Week, Foreign Minister Says
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 currently has no plan to meet with the United States, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Thursday in an interview on state TV, contradicting US President Donald Trump’s statement that Washington planned to have talks with Iran next week.
The Iranian foreign minister said Tehran was assessing whether talks with the US were in its interest, following five previous rounds of negotiations that were cut short by Israel and the US attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities.
The US and Israel said the strikes were meant to curb Iran’s ability to create nuclear weapons, while Iran says its nuclear program is solely geared toward civilian use.
Araqchi said the damages to nuclear sites “were not little” and that relevant authorities were figuring out the new realities of Iran’s nuclear program, which he said would inform Iran’s future diplomatic stance.
The post Iran Denies Any Meeting With US Next Week, Foreign Minister Says first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Ireland Becomes First European Nation to Advance Ban on Trade With Israeli Settlements
A pro-Hamas demonstration in Ireland led by nationalist party Sinn Fein. Photo: Reuters/Clodagh Kilcoyne
Ireland has become the first European nation to push forward legislation banning trade with Israeli communities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem — an effort officials say is meant “to address the horrifying situation” in the Gaza Strip.
On Wednesday, Irish Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Simon Harris announced that the legislation has already been approved by the government and will now move to the parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade for pre-legislative scrutiny.
“Ireland is speaking up and speaking out against the genocidal activity in Gaza,” Harris said during a press conference.
The Irish diplomat also told reporters he hopes the “real benefit” of the legislation will be to encourage other countries to follow suit, “because it is important that every country uses every lever at its disposal.”
Today Ireland becomes the first country in Europe to bring forward legislation to ban trade with the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Ireland is speaking up and speaking out against the genocidal activity in Gaza.
Every country must pull every lever at its disposal. pic.twitter.com/Z4RTjqntEY— Simon Harris TD (@SimonHarrisTD) June 24, 2025
Joining a growing number of EU member states aiming to curb Israel’s defensive campaign against the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, Ireland’s decision comes after a 2024 advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared Israel’s presence in the West Bank and East Jerusalem illegal.
The ICJ ruled that third countries must avoid trade or investment that supports “the illegal situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”
Once implemented, the law will criminalize the importation of goods from Israeli settlements into Ireland, empowering customs officials to inspect, seize, and confiscate any such shipments.
“The situation in Palestine remains a matter of deep public concern,” Harris said. “I have made it consistently clear that this government will use all levers at its disposal to address the horrifying situation on the ground and to contribute to long-term efforts to achieve a sustainable peace on the basis of the two-state solution.”
“Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory are illegal and threaten the viability of the two-state solution,” the Irish diplomat continued. “This is the longstanding position of the European Union and our international partners. Furthermore, this is the clear position under international law.”
Harris also urged the EU to comply with the ICJ’s ruling by taking a more decisive and “adequate response” regarding imports from Israeli settlements.
“This is an issue that I will continue to press at EU level, and I reiterated my call for concrete proposals from the European Commission at the Foreign Affairs Council this week,” he said.
Last week, Ireland and eight other EU member states — Finland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden — called on the European Commission to draft proposals for how EU countries can halt trade and imports with Israeli settlements, in line with obligations set out by the ICJ.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar condemned the latest move by European countries, calling it “shameful” and a misguided attempt to undermine Israel while it faces “existential” threats from Iran and its proxies, including Hamas.
“It is regrettable that even when Israel is fighting an existential threat which is in Europe’s vital interest — there are those who can’t resist their anti-Israeli obsession,” the top Israeli diplomat said in a post on X.
It is regrettable that even when Israel fighting an existential threat which is in Europe vital interest – there are those who can’t resist their anti-Israeli obsession.
Shameful! https://t.co/lxm9qm8sM1— Gideon Sa’ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) June 19, 2025
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