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Sympathy to Scorn: The Fight Against Anti-Israel Media Coverage Since October 7
Partygoers at the Supernova Psy-Trance Festival who filmed the events that unfolded on Oct. 7, 2023. Photo: Yes Studios
There are few words left that can fully encapsulate the sheer horror of October 7, 2023 — the day when Hamas terrorists, alongside Palestinian civilians, unleashed an unfathomable wave of barbarity and bloodlust on defenseless men, women, and children.
The brutality they inflicted is almost unspeakable, and the fear and anguish endured by the victims continue to haunt those who survived.
Some survivors, along with those held hostage in Gaza and later freed in prisoner exchanges, have bravely shared their stories, while many remain too traumatized to speak. Heartbroken families who exchanged their final words with loved ones trapped inside their homes by armed terrorists have also shared their grief. First responders and emergency personnel who rushed to the scene have detailed, in raw terms, the atrocities they witnessed and the lives they struggled to save.
But the voices we will never hear belong to those who endured the very worst of Hamas’ barbarism — those who were tortured, sexually assaulted, mutilated, and murdered in cold blood.
Many of these horrific acts were captured by the body cameras of the terrorists themselves, who filmed not only the slaughter but also their sickening pride in committing such violence. Their actions, and the sadistic glee they reveled in, reveal the depth of cruelty and hatred that October 7 has come to represent.
October 7th marked the single deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust. In those immediate hours, there was a fleeting moment when the world — or at least the media — seemed united in grief. As Israelis and Jews across the Diaspora wept over the unfathomable brutality inflicted upon their community, it appeared that the world too was mourning.
However, for some in the media, the words “Never Again,” or the resonant “Never Again is Now,” echoed in the aftermath of October 7, were not to be taken literally.
Once Israel began its defensive response against Hamas — a genocidal terrorist group openly committed to repeating the October 7 massacre until Israel and its people are wiped from the earth — the backlash from certain corners of the media was swift, disproportionate, and relentless.
The narrative shifted from grief and horror, to harsh criticism of Israel’s right to defend itself, betraying the brief sense of solidarity that had momentarily surfaced.
Indeed, barely 72 hours had passed since the first wave of Hamas terrorists crossed the border, when the media began laying the foundation for what would soon become a widespread and reckless accusation: that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza.
The “genocide libel” is not new — far from it.
However, the speed and ease with which it was embraced by those who should know better was staggering.
Take Reuters on October 10, when they published a piece with a headline quoting the Palestinian UN envoy accusing Israel of launching a “genocidal campaign against Gaza.”
This accusation, made by Riyad H. Mansour, was based on false claims — none of the alleged actions amounting to genocide had occurred, including the use of “starvation as a method of warfare” or an “attempt to eradicate their national existence.” Yet, Reuters ran with the incendiary headline regardless. From that moment, the dye was set, and the narrative began to take shape. Despite all facts to the contrary, the genocide accusation would take on a life of its own, stubbornly persisting in public discourse.
The Attempted Mainstreaming of October 7 Revisionism
One of the key tactics used to delegitimize Israel’s right to self-defense — and, by extension, its very right to exist — is the spread of October 7 revisionism. This campaign either denies aspects of Hamas’ crimes or downplays the massacre altogether. While these narratives didn’t necessarily originate in the media, those seeking Israel’s destruction have found willing enablers — whether unwitting or deliberate — within mainstream outlets to advance their cause.
This campaign has centered on three main points: denying the sexual violence committed by Hamas terrorists, framing the attack as a legitimate act of resistance, and claiming that Israel is exploiting October 7 to “occupy” Gaza.
Denial of Hamas Sexual Violence
The denial of Hamas’ well-documented sexual crimes began with conspiracy outlets like The Intercept and The Grayzone, but these narratives gained some legitimacy through a minority of mainstream media coverage.
Political podcaster Brianna Joy Gray, for example, suggested that believing Israeli women were raped was an “overreach” because none had “offered testimony.” Gray was later fired from The Hill after rolling her eyes at Yarden Gonen, the sister of hostage Romi Gonen, who was appealing for her to believe the accounts of Israeli victims.
Masha Gessen contributed to this narrative in The New Yorker, with a feature that purported to “investigate” the sexual violence on October 7, only to ultimately accuse Israel of “weaponizing” these crimes.
While Gessen did not outright deny that sexual violence occurred, the piece downplayed its extent and gravity, casting doubt on a UN investigation led by Pramila Patten and dismissing witness testimony.
#MashaGessen Tells #BigLies About #10/7 #Rapes
In the New Yorker, Gessen, a freakish anti-Zionist, claims that the #IDF also allegedly rapes Arabs, that all wars involve rapes–there’s nothing to see here. Move right on.
Not so fast. Rape has always been a spoil of war, not a…
— Phyllis Chesler (@Phyllischesler) July 21, 2024
However, organizations like HonestReporting countered this denial early on, preventing the falsehood from gaining a foothold or becoming widespread in mainstream media.
Claiming to be a “report on eight months of claim & counter-claim” about the sexual violence against Israelis on Oct 7, @thetimes foreign correspondent @scribblercat & @gabrielle_siviais’ story is nothing more than a muddle of victim-blaming & bias. https://t.co/hDoKgnyjc0
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) June 9, 2024
Framing the Hamas Massacre as a Legitimate Act of “Resistance”
Another narrative that originated in the antisemitic corners of the Internet has been amplified by sections of the mainstream media: the claim that Hamas’ October 7 attack was a legitimate act of resistance.
The BBC, in particular, has come under significant scrutiny.
An analysis of four months of its coverage, starting on October 7, uncovered a staggering 1,500 breaches of its own editorial guidelines.
This investigation, led by UK lawyer Trevor Asserson and his firm, involved a team of around 20 lawyers and 20 data scientists. It exposed systemic failures in maintaining impartiality and accuracy. Among the findings was the BBC’s frequent portrayal of Hamas in sympathetic terms, particularly as a “resistance movement,” with its fighters referred to as “soldiers.” One of the most egregious examples was a headline that described Hamas’ October 7 assault as a “spectacular” operation.
Numerous other mainstream outlets have also echoed this narrative of “resistance.” However, continued efforts to counter this grotesque framing have been effective in pushing back against the spread of this dangerous revisionism.
Hinting Israel is Using October 7 as a Pretext to Occupy Gaza
From CNN to the BBC, parts of the media have pushed the narrative that Israel will use the Hamas massacre as an excuse to seize Gaza.
This misleading claim relies on statements from a small group of right-wing Israeli politicians, who do not represent the broader Israeli population or government, to imply that Israel’s long-term strategy is to occupy the Strip.
Guardian columnist Owen Jones, who has also cast doubt on Hamas’s sexual violence, falsely claimed on Good Morning Britain that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had laid the first stone of a new settlement in Gaza.
After HonestReporting revealed that Jones had mistranslated Netanyahu’s speech — he was actually referring to a destroyed kibbutz in the Gaza Envelope, outside of Gaza — Jones issued a correction.
More lies from @OwenJones84 who falsely claimed on @ITV‘s @GMB that Israeli PM Netanyahu was in northern Gaza “laying a rock” for a new settlement & talking about rebuilding Gaza settlements.
Actually, Netanyahu was in the south of Israel, not northern Gaza, laying the… pic.twitter.com/AuLW5ALeSt
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) December 3, 2023
Just want to correct an error I made on @GMB on Thursday.
On my way to the studios, I read this tweet which was widely circulated and understood as Benjamin Netanyahu committing to building new settlements on the Gaza Strip.
In fact it was a Google Translate error which… https://t.co/8BgBLVpbWF
— Owen Jones (@owenjonesjourno) December 3, 2023
Exposing and Confronting October 7 Distortion
The battle against the distortion of October 7’s atrocities has demonstrated that swift, decisive action is essential to stopping dangerous falsehoods from taking root. The screening of Bearing Witness –– a film that reveals Hamas’ body cam footage of the massacre — was an unflinching and effective way of showing the brutal reality to journalists and key figures. The film struck a careful balance between honoring the memories of the victims and survivors, while ensuring the truth was communicated to the wider public.
Organizations like mine — HonestReporting — have been relentless in exposing those who spread revisionist lies, actively shaming individuals and media outlets that seek to downplay or distort the reality of Hamas’ brutality. Left unchecked, these falsehoods risk becoming entrenched in public consciousness, much like the insidious “genocide libel.”
But HonestReporting’s efforts show that it is possible to stop these distortions before they metastasize into accepted narratives. The truth is not just a countermeasure — it’s a weapon against the lies proliferating online, in social media, and in print.
The author is a contributor to HonestReporting, a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.
The post Sympathy to Scorn: The Fight Against Anti-Israel Media Coverage Since October 7 first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Anti-Zionists Are Excluding LGBTQ+ Jews From Pride Spaces, New Report Says
Jews of Pride members are seen marching in the Pride parade 2025, part of LGBTQ+ community’s Midsumma Festival. Photo: Alexander Bogatyrev / SOPA Images via Reuters Connect.
Anti-Israel activists in the LGBTQ+ community are subjecting Zionist Jews to extreme levels of discrimination, including expulsions from major progressive groups and even physical assault, according to a new report by the nonprofit A Wider Bridge.
The release of the report — titled “Unsafe Spaces: Addressing Antisemitism Against LGBTQ+ Jews and Ensuring Pride Safety” — comes as LGBTQ community members across the Western world observe Pride Month, a period of festivities which celebrate the expansion of social and legal rights that have allowed gays to live more freely and authentically than ever in human history. For pro-Israel Jews, however, Pride Month 2025 is a challenging moment, as anti-Zionism has creeped into and crowded out many queer spaces which once welcomed them with open arms.
From online forums to the streets, the maltreatment and “erasure” of Jewish queer identity is severe, the report explains. Eighty-two percent of LGBTQ Jews have reported being expelled from social media channels or harassed on them, A Wider Bridge noted.
Earlier this year, NYC Dyke March, a public demonstration held by members of the lesbian community in New York City, banned self-proclaimed “Zionists” from its annual event, citing a desire to stand against the so-called “genocide” occurring in Gaza. Last year, the NYC Dyke March came under scrutiny after organizers settled on “genocide” as the theme of its 2024 event. In a statement, decrying “ethnic cleansing, violence, and dehumanization,” the organization compared the ongoing war in Gaza, to mass killings occurring in Ethiopia, Myanmar, and Sudan.
Also in 2024, the Dyke March Committee formally barred “Zionists” from participating in the Pride March, and during the event Jews were attacked and heckled after being seen wearing the Star of David on their clothing. That same year, an LGBTQ-friendly bar in the Brooklyn borough of New York City refused to hold a screening party for the Eurovision talent competition due to the participation of an Israeli contestant.
Forced, mass exiles are taking place in response to this new reality, the report added. Forty-three percent of queer Jews say they are leaving online forums; 40 percent abstain from participating in LGBTQ social events; and 30 percent said their decision was driven by precipitous deterioration of the manner in which they are treated. The only conclusion to draw, the report said, is that the Pride movement is “no longer universally safe or inclusive.”
“What we have found since Oct. 7 and what the report points to is that the explosion of antisemitism that the whole Jewish community has experienced has in some ways grown even more exponentially in the LGBTQ community,” Rabbi Denise Eger, interim executive director of A Wider Bridge and former president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, told The Algemeiner during an interview on Friday. “What we’re seeing around now as Pride marches and organizations put on their celebration s is institutional discrimination and outright boycotts.”
Eger went on to note that antisemitism in LGBTQ communities is all the more distressing due to the outsized contributions, legal and political, which Jewish gays and lesbians have made towards fostering a society that is more inclusive of non-heteronormative identities and relationships.
“Look at who were the early leaders of the LGBTQ civil rights movement — Harvey Milk, one of the first openly gay elected officials in the US, was a Jewish man. Edith Windsor, who brought one of the first marriage equality cases that we won at the Supreme Court, and her attorney, Roberta Kaplan, who won it — these are LGBTQ heroes, not just LGBTQ ‘Jewish’ heroes and heroines,” Eger continued. “So, for LGBTQ Jews to be continually shut out of these spaces is paralyzing, shocking, and horrifying, and LGBTQ Jews are asking where is their home.”
She added, “These are difficult times, but together, the whole Jewish community, including the LGBTQ part of the Jewish community, can stand strong and be resilient in the face of all this, just as the Jewish people have done throughout our history. We have the tools within our tradition to keep us strong and to help us educate. And yes, I believe so much, as a rabbi, that we can and must help change the world for the better. That’s what we are called to do as the Jewish people.”
As previously reported by The Algemeiner, recorded incidents of antisemitism in the US continue to increase year over year, breaking all previous annual records.
In 2024, as reported by the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) annual audit, there were 9,354 antisemitic incidents — an average of 25.6 a day — across the US, creating an atmosphere of hate not experienced in the nearly thirty years since the ADL began tracking such data in 1979. Incidents of harassment, vandalism, and assault all increased by double digits, and for the first time ever a majority of outrages — 58 percent — were related to the existence of Israel as the world’s only Jewish state.
The Algemeiner parsed the ADL’s data, finding dramatic rises in incidents on college campuses, which saw the largest growth in 2024. The 1,694 incidents tallied by the ADL amounted to an 84 percent increase over the previous year. Additionally, antisemites were emboldened to commit more offenses in public in 2024 than they did in 2023, perpetrating 19 percent more attacks on Jewish people, pro-Israel demonstrators, and businesses perceived as being Jewish-owned or affiliated with Jews.
“Hatred toward Israel was a driving force behind antisemitism across the US, with more than half of all antisemitic incidents referencing Israel or Zionism,” said Oren Segal, ADL senior vice president for counter-extremism and intelligence. “These incidents, along with all those documented in the audit, serve as a clear reminder that silence is not an option. Good people must stand up, push back, and confront antisemitism wherever it appears. And that starts with understanding what fuels it and learning to recognize it in all its forms.”
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
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Two UK Men Convicted, Jailed Following November Antisemitic Harassment
Illustrative: A pro-Hamas march in London, United Kingdom, Feb. 17, 2024. Photo: Chrissa Giannakoudi via Reuters Connect
A court in the United Kingdom on Thursday sentenced Hussein Altamimi, 22, and Ali Alanzi, 30, to prison sentences of eight months and seven months respectively, for charges stemming from an incident at London’s Western Marble Arch Synagogue in November 2024, according to British media.
The two men received convictions for yelling at four Jewish worshipers such phrases as “Jews aren’t welcome here,” “you don’t belong here,” and “f—king Jew.” They also repeatedly screamed “free Palestine.”
The incident grew violent when Altamimi hit one victim’s arm to try and prevent her from filming the abuse. Alanzi also hurled liquid from an alcoholic drink toward one person. When police arrived to arrest the pair, he assaulted one of the officers.
The court convicted both men of four counts of religiously aggravated public order offenses and religiously aggravated assault. Alanzi also received a conviction for attacking the officer and will endure an additional 12 weeks’ incarceration due to a previous suspended sentence.
On Friday, the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) described its reaction to the hate crime prosecutions on X in one word: “Vindicated.”
Altamimi also faced additional charges and guilty verdicts related to a July 2023 incident which included racial abuse and striking a police officer.
“The CPS is working closely with the police to tackle hate crime, making sure that perpetrators who target victims because of their religion, race, sexuality, gender identity, or disability are brought to justice,” Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) lawyer Anna Hindmarsh said following the trial. “We know that hate crimes have a significant impact on victims and the wider community, and we will continue to support victims and witnesses who come forward to report any examples of hate crime they have experienced.”
The convictions against Altamimi and Alanzi are part of a historic surge in antisemitic acts in the United Kingdom.
The UK experienced its second-worst year for antisemitism in 2024, despite recording an 18 percent drop in antisemitic incidents from the previous year’s all-time high, according to a report released in February.
The Community Security Trust (CST), a nonprofit charity that advises Britain’s Jewish community on security matters, released data showing it recorded 3,528 antisemitic incidents for 2024, a drop of 18 percent from the 4,296 in 2023. These numbers compare to 1,662 antisemitic incidents in 2022, 2,261 in 2021, and 1,684 in 2020.
In the 12 months following Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel, CST counted 5,583 antisemitic incidents in the UK, an increase from 204 percent from the same period the previous year.
Many of the incidents involved violence targeting the Jewish community.
Last month, On May 26, a group of six or seven men attacked three Jewish boys at the Hampstead Underground Station in North London, requiring hospitalization for one. CAA said that “this report is yet another stark reminder of the growing threat facing Jewish communities, including children.”
Another antisemitic assault occurred in Manchester in February, when an unidentified individual hit a Jewish man with what was believed to be a bottle, shattering the victim’s glasses.
The heavily Orthodox Jewish neighborhood of Stamford Hill in Hackney saw an antisemitic act last week when vandals targeted a Jewish-owned investment firm, smashing its windows and splashing red paint. The group Palestine Action claimed responsibility for the crime, as it had done previously for similar acts at the University of Cambridge’s endowment fund headquarters and the BBC’s New Broadcasting House.
“This should be treated as [an] antisemitic incident without any doubt. [The owners] are visibly Jewish people; the people who run the business and this business itself have nothing to do with Israel,” said Rabbi Herschel Gluck, president of Jewish security service Shomrim’s branch in Stamford Hill.
Days earlier, residents of Brighton in southeastern England discovered antisemitic vandalism at a memorial created to honor the victims of the Hamas-led Oct. 7 terror attacks.
“There have been over 40 attacks on the site including vandalism, theft, and graffiti. The abuse has been relentless,” Heidi Bachram, who volunteers to maintain the memorial, told The Jewish Chronicle at the time. “It’s shocking that grief for innocents is met with such violence. The hate won’t stop us, and every night, a different victim’s story will be told [at the memorial]. We will never let them be forgotten.”
In April, according to prosecutors, Abdullah Sabah Albadri, 33, attempted to climb a wall outside of the Israeli embassy in London while carrying a “martyrdom note.”
Prosecutor Kristel Pous said that Albadri told police that he wanted to “do something to send a message to the Israeli government to stop the war.”
The Israeli embassy stated in response to the foiled attack that “we thank the British security forces for their immediate response and ongoing efforts to secure the embassy.” It vowed that “the embassy of Israel will not be deterred by any terror threat and will continue to represent Israel with pride in the UK.”
The post Two UK Men Convicted, Jailed Following November Antisemitic Harassment first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Large Pro-Israel Event in Texas ‘Indefinitely Postponed’ Due to Threats of Terrorism
A protester holds a sign that reads, ”From the river to the sea Palestine will be free” during a pro-Palestinian emergency demonstration outside the Consulate General of Israel in Houston, Texas, on March 19, 2025. Photo: Reginald Mathalone via Reuters Connect
The 2025 Israel Summit in Dallas, Texas has been indefinitely postponed in response to what organizers described as intensifying threats of terrorism.
Prior to the cancellation, the event was expecting over 1,000 attendees. The Israel Summit had already undergone a last-minute venue change due to mounting safety concerns. The gathering, scheduled for June 9–11, was set to feature prominent voices from both the Jewish and Christian pro-Israel communities.
Former US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, who had been scheduled to speak at the event, commented on the cancellation on social media: “This is what America looks like in 2025. A peaceful pro-Israel gathering with more than a thousand participants had to be scrapped because of threats from violent extremists.”
Ten days prior to this year’s event, local police and intelligence officials in Dallas alerted organizers that the gathering had been upgraded to a “high-threat event.”
According to Josiah Hilton, host of the Israel Guys show, which was scheduled to co-host the event with HaYovel, the organizers had to produce “a mandatory security plan with a substantial budget estimated in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
The organizers then moved the Israel Summit to a facility in an isolated area of Kenneth, Texas. However, the event was forced to cancel after the Palestinian Youth Movement Dallas and Jewish Voice for Peace, a pair of anti-Israel, pro-Hamas organizations, revealed its location to their followers.
“[T]he Genocide Summit had to change plans last minute in desperation due to them claiming to be ‘under attack.’ The reality is they understand DFW’s commitment to confronting the extremist ideology that is Zionism,” Palestinian Youth Movement Dallas wrote on Instagram.
However, the organizers stated that they are going to hold the pro-Israel event “in the near future,” and vowed to “come back bigger and stronger, with more people.”
Hilton said that the cancellation reflects “the growing normalization of antisemitic threats and anti-Israel extremists, which are fueling intimidation and silencing voices of support for Israel across the United States.”
The cancellation of the Israel Summit also reflects growing concern regarding potential violence against supporters of the Jewish state. Last month, two Israeli embassy staffers, Yaron Lipschinsky and Sarah Milgrim, were murdered while exiting an event hosted by the American Jewish Committee (AJC) at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, DC. Then this past Sunday, an assailant firebombed a pro-Israel rally in Boulder, Colorado, injuring 15 people and a dog.
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