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Teen Vogue’s Anti-Israel Narratives Amplify Hamas Talking Points
The bodies of people, some of them elderly, lie on a street after they were killed during a mass-infiltration by Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip, in Sderot, southern Israel, Oct. 7, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Ammar Awad
Once known as a publication offering beauty, fashion, and lifestyle advice to teenage girls, Teen Vogue has evolved into an outlet that frequently platforms one-sided narratives, featuring writers who have openly expressed their support for terrorism and anti-Israel rhetoric online.
Esraa Abo Qamar’s piece, “Scholasticide in Gaza Means There Are Almost No Schools or Colleges Left” is just the latest to be published in Teen Vogue’s new anti-Israel mission.
The story of Esraa Abo Qamar — who goes by Esraa Sameer on social media — is undoubtedly emotional and likely resonates deeply with Teen Vogue’s target audience. As a student at the Islamic University of Gaza, Esraa had to halt her studies in October 2023 due to the outbreak of the war. Any student passionate about their education would be heartbroken to learn that a girl the same age would be forced to abandon their studies because of conflict.
Esraa frames Israel as the perpetrator in this story, leveraging her op-ed to falsely accuse Israel of not only committing genocide, but also “scholasticide,” whereby Israel is framed as deliberately destroying the education system in Gaza.
The term “scholasticide” was termed by none other than a former Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) official,
Karma Nabulsi. Nabulsi worked as an international spokesperson for the PLO from 1977-1990, when the organization was at its height of launching attacks against Israel. Using an emotionally charged and baseless term coined by a former member of a terrorist organization raises serious doubts about its credibility.
Not once does Esraa mention the real culprit of the destruction of Gaza’s educational system — Hamas. Esraa fails to acknowledge that Hamas has hijacked the education system in Gaza to promote its own extremist agenda that prioritizes the destruction of the State of Israel over providing youth with a meaningful education.
This education system has clearly worked to indoctrinate Esraa, who gleefully celebrated the Iranian regime’s October 1 missile attacks on her social media, writing “God is the greatest” over a video of missiles and calling it the “best view of my life.”
Esraa’s Instagram story on the night of the Iranian regime’s missile attack, October 1, 2024.
Apparently, the education of Israeli students is less important, as Esraa omits that one of those missiles hit a school in Gedera.
Of course, the Hamas-run education system in Gaza doesn’t teach accurate history. Otherwise, Esraa would remember that Israel has not ruled Gaza for most of her life. While Esraa writes that Gazans have suffered under “violent military rule and apartheid” since 1948, her emotionally charged perspective on the history of Palestinians overlooks critical historical facts.
Egypt controlled the Gaza Strip from 1948 until 1967, when Israel took over the territory in a defensive war. Esraa further omits that Israel has not governed Gaza since 2005, when Israel disengaged from the territory. Since 2007, Gaza has been under the control of Hamas, which has imposed a brutal and oppressive regime that focuses on terrorizing Israelis and uprooting the Jewish State rather than taking care of its own civilians.
Part of Hamas’ terrorism strategy comes from embedding themselves in civilian locations. In fact, Hamas has systematically taken advantage of the Islamic University of Gaza since the institution’s founding, using it as an outpost to indoctrinate students with the ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood. On multiple occasions since October 7th, Hamas has used the university to manufacture weapons and launch anti-tank missiles. In other instances, Hamas’ own misfired rockets have hit schools in Gaza.
The accusations that Israel destroyed Gaza’s water and sanitation sites and “weaponized starvation” similarly fall short when all the facts are presented. Since the start of the war, Israel has coordinated more than 1.3 million tons of aid to be distributed in the Gaza Strip and has worked to increase the supply of clean water throughout the war.
This is a UNICEF water desalination plant in Khan Yunis, Gaza. @Cogatonline assisted in coordinating its repair, and it now supplies 20,000 cubic meters of water to the people of Gaza every day.
There is no mass dehydration. There is no genocide. They’re all lying to you. pic.twitter.com/DeYxvpa0mn
— Eitan Fischberger (@EFischberger) December 19, 2024
However, these facts don’t matter to Esraa, who merely states in passing the reason for the war starting in the first place — Hamas’ vicious terror attacks on October 7, 2023, which stole the lives of more than 1,200 Israelis, many of whom were students and young adults.
If facts don’t matter to Esraa, then neither do definitions, as she purposefully misrepresents Zionism to be a “religious nationalist ideology,” rather than the desire for the Jewish people to live in their historic national homeland.
Students protesting this in the US aren’t simply “activists” as Esraa claims but are rather denying the Jewish people of a basic right. Moreover, the pioneers of Israel were largely secular Zionists and founded the state on that approach rather than on religious ideals.
Esraa does get one thing right in her article — war kills dreams. Unfortunately, Hamas has chosen to perpetuate a prolonged conflict against the Jewish people, depriving innocent individuals of their right to education and peace.
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 Teen Vogue’s Anti-Israel Narratives Amplify Hamas Talking Points first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Trump Insists US Will ‘Take’ Gaza, Jordan’s King Stays Mum on Palestinian Relocation During White House Visit
US President Donald Trump meets with Jordan’s King Abdullah at the White House in Washington, DC, Feb. 11, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
US President Donald Trump insisted that America will “take” Gaza and that other countries in the Middle East will absorb the Palestinians currently residing in the enclave while meeting with King Abdullah II of Jordan in the White House on Tuesday.
“There’s nothing to buy. We will have Gaza. No reason to buy. There is nothing to buy,” Trump said.
The president suggested that the damage incurred by the ongoing Israel-Hamas war has corroded Gaza’s value and that the United States will simply seize the enclave. However, he did not detail how he plans to facilitate or finance the reconstruction of Gaza.
“It’s Gaza. It’s a war-torn area. We’re going to take it. We’re going to hold it. We’re going to cherish it,” Trump added.
Nonetheless, the president vowed that the US will energize Gaza’s economy and turn the territory into a “diamond” and “tremendous asset” for the Middle East. Trump maintained that Gaza possesses the potential to become a “great economic development” for the region, touting its scenic location on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.
However, the president lamented that seemingly “every 10 years” Gaza erupts into explosive warfare, resulting in “death and destruction” for its civilians.
Trump added that he believes “99 percent” that the United States could strike an agreement with Egypt to relocate the residents of Gaza, where the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas ruled before the war and remains the strongest faction.
When asked what he thought of Trump’s ambitions to transfer Palestinian civilians to Egypt, Abdullah revealed that Egypt and other Arab countries are planning to meet in Saudi Arabia to discuss the future of Gaza. Abdullah refused to speak extensively about Trump’s stated goal of removing Palestinians from Gaza, advising reporters to “not get ahead of ourselves” and wait for Arab countries to deliberate about the matter.
“It’s hard to make this work in a way that’s good for everybody,” Abdullah said.
Though the Jordanian king would not commit to taking in large numbers of Palestinians, he said Jordan would be willing to “take 2,000 children that are cancer children or are in [a] very ill state” while Arab countries “wait for the Egyptians to present their plan on how we can work with the president to work on Gaza challenges.”
During Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the White House last week, Trump called on Egypt, Jordan, and other Arab states in the region to take in Palestinians from Gaza after nearly 16 months of war between Israel and the Hamas. Arab leaders have adamantly rejected Trump’s proposal.
Last week, the US president expressed similar sentiments as he did on Tuesday, saying that the US would “take over” the Gaza Strip to build the war-torn Palestinian enclave back up. However, many members of the US Congress across both parties pushed back on Trump’s declaration, accusing him of endangering American troops, destabilizing the Middle East, and floating an ethnic cleansing campaign in Gaza. Trump has also stated that Palestinians would not have the “right to return” to Gaza after being relocated and said no US troops would be needed for his plan without elaborating.
Following his meeting with Trump, Abdullah took to social media to call for a permanent end to the war in Gaza and the creation of a Palestinian state.
“This is the unified Arab position. Rebuilding Gaza without displacing the Palestinians and addressing the dire humanitarian situation should be the priority for all,” he wrote on X/Twitter.
“Achieving just peace on the basis of the two-state solution is the way to ensure regional stability. This requires US leadership. President Trump is a man of peace. He was instrumental in securing the Gaza ceasefire. We look to US and all stakeholders in ensuring it holds,” the Jordanian king added.
The post Trump Insists US Will ‘Take’ Gaza, Jordan’s King Stays Mum on Palestinian Relocation During White House Visit first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Bowdoin College Clears ‘Gaza Encampment’
Anti-Zionist Bowdoin College students storming the Smith Union administrative building on the evening of Feb. 6, 2025, to occupy it in protest of what they said are the college’s links to Israel. Photo: Screenshot
Bowdoin College in Maine has negotiated an end to an anti-Zionist group’s occupation of an administrative building without acceding to any of its demands for a boycott of Israel, The Bowdoin Orient reported on Monday.
The group Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP)had installed an encampment inside Smith Union on Thursday night in response to US President Donald Trump’s proposing that the US “take over” the Gaza Strip and transform it into a hub for tourism and economic dynamism. The roughly 50 students who resided inside the building vowed not to leave until the Bowdoin officials agree to adopt the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel.
Following the action, Bowdoin officials promptly moved to deescalate the situation by counseling the students to mind the “gravity of situation” in which they placed themselves, with senior associate dean Katie Toro-Ferrari warning that their behavior “could put them on the path where they are jeopardizing their ability to remain as Bowdoin students.” No sooner had it sent this communication than it began issuing temporary suspensions to students who rejected appeals to leave Smith Union and return to normal student life.
“You will be placed on temporary suspension, effective immediately, pending a college disciplinary process,” Bowdoin vice president Jim Hoppe wrote to the protesters in a letter, copies of which were sent to their parents. “During your immediate suspension, you may not attend your Spring 2025 courses … Your family will receive a copy of this letter. This temporary status will continue until further notice.”
Facing threats of severer sanctions, SJP agreed to vacate Smith Union on Monday and shared that they had issued a plea for mercy in discussions with college officials which called for them to “understand a context of good faith for the students who have engaged in this action.” By that time, several students had already left the building, according to the Orient.
Republicans in Washington, DC have said that disruptive and extremist political activity on college campuses “will no longer be tolerated in the Trump administration.” Meanwhile, the new US president has enacted a slew of policies aimed at reining in disruptive and discriminatory behavior.
Continuing work started during his first administration — when Trump issued Executive Order 13899 to ensure that civil rights law apply equally Jews — Trump’s recent “Additional Measures to Combat Antisemitism” calls for “using all appropriate legal tools to prosecute, remove, or otherwise … hold to account perpetrators of unlawful antisemitic harassment and violence.” The order also requires each government agency to write a report explaining how it can be of help in carrying out its enforcement. Another major provision of the order calls for the deportation of extremist “alien” student activists, whose support for terrorist organizations, intellectual and material, such as Hamas contributed to fostering antisemitism, violence, and property destruction.
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
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Hamas Rebuffs Trump’s ‘Worthless’ Call for Israel to Resume War if Terror Group Refuses to Release Hostages
Then-US President-elect Donald Trump makes remarks at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, US, Jan. 7, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria
Hamas has rebuffed US President Donald Trump’s warning that he’ll “let hell break out” if the Palestinian terrorist group does not release all the Israeli hostages still being held in Gaza, saying that the American leader’s threats are “worthless and only complicate matters.”
“Trump must remember that there is an agreement that must be respected by both parties, and this is the only way to get the prisoners back,” Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhr told multiple press agencies, referring to the Gaza ceasefire and hostage-release deal between the terrorist group and Israel. “The language of threats is worthless and only complicates matters.”
On Monday, Trump advised Israel to cancel the ceasefire and said he would “let hell break out” if Hamas refused to release the remaining hostages. Trump’s comments echoed statements made by his national security adviser, Mike Waltz, last month that the White House would support Israel resuming the war in Gaza if Hamas violated the ceasefire agreement.
“As far as I’m concerned, if all of the hostages aren’t returned by Saturday at 12 o’clock … I would say, cancel it [the hostage deal] and all bets are off and let hell break out,” Trump told reporters on Monday. “I’d say they ought to be returned by 12 o’clock on Saturday, and if they’re not returned — all of them — not in dribs and drabs, not two and one and three and four and two — Saturday at 12 o’clock. And after that, I would say, all hell is going to break out.”
Trump cautioned that Israel might want to override him on the issue and said he might speak to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Trump’s comments came after Hamas announced on Monday that it would stop releasing Israeli hostages until further notice over alleged violations of the ceasefire deal. Hamas spokesperson Abu Obeida claimed that Israel has prevented Palestinians from returning to northern Gaza, conducted strikes throughout the Gaza Strip, and impeded the delivery of humanitarian goods.
“The resistance leadership has closely monitored the enemy’s violations and its failure to uphold the terms of the agreement,” Obeida said.
The Israel Defense Forces has insisted that its strikes were conducted for defensive purposes, saying that its soldiers have “operated to distance suspects who posed a threat to them in different areas of the Gaza Strip.”
“The IDF is committed to fully implementing the conditions of the agreement for the return of the hostages,” the military wrote in a statement, adding that their forces are “prepared for any scenario and will continue to take any necessary actions to thwart immediate threat to IDF soldiers.”
Meanwhile, Israel said last week that 12,600 trucks of aid had arrived in Gaza since the beginning of the deal on Jan. 19.
Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists started the war in Gaza when they murdered 1,200 people and kidnapped 251 hostages during their invasion of southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Israel responded with a military campaign aimed at freeing the hostages and dismantling Hamas’s military and governing capabilities in the neighboring enclave. The conflict raged for nearly 16 months until both sides agreed to last month’s ceasefire and hostage-release deal, the first phase of which is set to last six weeks.
Under phase one, Hamas agreed to free a total of 33 Israeli hostages, eight of whom are deceased, and in exchange, Israel would release over 1,900 Palestinian prisoners, many of whom are serving multiple life sentences for terrorist activity. Meanwhile, fighting in Gaza will stop as negotiators work on agreeing to a second phase of the agreement, which is expected to include Hamas releasing all remaining hostages held in Gaza and the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the enclave.
So far, 16 of the 33 hostages in Gaza have been released within the first phase of the ceasefire.
The three latest hostages were released on Saturday. Their strikingly thin and emaciated bodies sparked international outrage about Hamas’s treatment of the hostages, with Trump comparing the captives to Holocaust survivors.
The details of the second phase of the ceasefire are still being negotiated. However, Israel has reportedly presented the White House with a plan to advance the truce with Hamas.
The post Hamas Rebuffs Trump’s ‘Worthless’ Call for Israel to Resume War if Terror Group Refuses to Release Hostages first appeared on Algemeiner.com.