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Countering the Oct. 7 Deniers
Neo-Nazis from the so-called “Goyim Defense League” display a Holocaust denial banner in San Antonio, Texas. Photo: Twitter.
JNS.org – Jews have long been accustomed to being history’s double victims. We are victims of its most murderous currents and the victims of subsequent attempts to revise, play down or even outright deny these episodes of bloodshed, usually emanating from the perpetrators themselves or their fellow travelers.
The most glaring example of this trend is Holocaust denial. And the one thing we have learned from dealing with the deniers is that they are impervious to fact and reason. They engage in denial because their hatred of Jews predisposes them to conspiracy theories about Jewish power and Jewish dishonesty. You can patiently explain the milestones of the Nazi genocide—the anti-Jewish legislation of the 1930s, the Wannsee Conference convened by the Nazis in 1942, the shift in the method of killing from extermination by gunfire to industrialized slaughter in gas chambers and the obsessive antisemitic ideology underlying all this—but you’d be wasting your breath on these people.
There are other examples outside of the Holocaust. In the Arab and Islamic worlds, where antisemitism ironically runs rampant, the myth that Jewish communities lived in peaceful harmony with their Muslim neighbors until the Zionists began “colonizing Palestine” prevails. Among Communist apologists—sadly, a growing trend today, more than 30 years after the Cold War ended—the Soviet wartime dictator Josef Stalin is seen as a symbol of anti-fascism, whose postwar antisemitic campaign, reminiscent of the excesses of Russia’s imperial czars, is portrayed in these circles as a willful “Zionist” attack on his reputation.
The Hamas-led pogrom in Israel on Oct. 7, has not been spared from these efforts. But while the methods are much the same as the examples I cited—especially by taking small nuggets of fact and turning them into full-blown conspiracy theories—the context is different. Technology now provides a platform for anyone to declare himself or herself a “historian” or a “journalist,” and to purvey lies by turns monstrous and ridiculous using those professions as a cover. The Wall Street Journal’s Gerard Baker put it best in a recent opinion piece analyzing the spread of antisemitic tropes on the nationalist right: “Our culture is dominated by people with epic levels of historical, economic and scientific ignorance.”
When it comes to the Oct. 7 atrocities, there have been similarly epic levels of social media posts denying the gang rapes, mutilations and mass slaughter that took place on that dark day. One popular theme spread by organizations like “Code Pink,” a pro-Russian advocacy group based in the United States that masquerades as a peace movement, and online publications like the Grayzone, which functions as an outlet for Russian and Iranian propaganda, is that Israel itself was responsible for the vast majority of civilian deaths, rather than the Hamas terrorists and the thousands of ordinary Palestinians who joined them for the onslaught.
The underlying claim here is that the so-called “Hannibal Directive”—an Israeli military protocol introduced in 1986 to prevent the capture of Israel Defense Forces personnel by terrorist groups, which was abandoned by the military’s top brass in 2016—was operational during the assault. “The Hannibal Directive,” noted the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, an independent organization that monitors political and religious extremism around the world, “has been central to false claims that Israeli security forces killed as many or more civilians than Hamas, and in downplaying well-documented war crimes against civilians.”
Last week, a report prepared for the British parliament on the Oct. 7 pogrom entered this melee. Written by Lord Andrew Roberts, the eminent historian whose output includes magisterial biographies of Napoleon Bonaparte and Winston Churchill, the harrowing report is the most comprehensive account of the Hamas land invasion issued so far. It painstakingly documents the unfolding of the slaughter across more than 40 distinct locations. It spares no details, and so we learn, inter alia, how 3-year-old Abigail Idan, daughter of the murdered Ynet journalist Roee Idan, “crawled out from under her father’s body and took refuge at a neighbor’s house.” Or how Bar Kislev, a resident of Kibbutz Kfar Aza, watched from hiding as a squad of killers, some as young as 14, broke into apartment after apartment screaming “Kill the Jews!”, pausing for snacks and cigarettes along the way. Or how the body of Itai Hadar, a 28-year-old attending the Psyduck festival (a smaller psychedelic trance music party that took place at the same time as the better-known Nova festival a few kilometers away), was booby-trapped with grenades after his murder. Indeed, the 381 pages of the report are replete with stories like these, all of them forensically accounted for.
Yet, as Roberts explains in his foreword to the report, its purpose was not simply to provide a comprehensive record of what happened. “Holocaust denial took a few years to take root in pockets of society, but on 7 October 2023 it took only hours for people to claim that the massacres in southern Israel had not taken place,” he wrote. The report, therefore, was prepared “to counter such pernicious views and to lay down incontrovertible proof—for now, and for the years to come—that nearly 1,200 innocent people were indeed murdered by Hamas and its allies, and very often in scenes of sadistic barbarism not seen in world history since the [Imperial Japanese Army’s] Rape of Nanjing in 1937.”
In the days since the report was released, Roberts’ social media accounts have been inundated with abuse from Oct. 7 deniers. “This is the kind of thing we’re up against, and why people should read the Report and decide for themselves if it’s ‘Zionist propaganda,’ or detailed, fully footnoted and irrefutable proof of the atrocities from multifarious impeccable sources,” he posted in response to one such missive. I don’t believe that Roberts seriously thinks that his report will change the minds of those in thrall to the denial agenda. The abiding value of his work is that, when it comes to the detail and quality of his research, it offers an impressive counterweight for undecided readers who will encounter the deniers as they seek the truth.
Even so, given the epistemic crisis that envelopes public discourse these days, we would be naïve to expect that everyone will be persuaded of the truth. Like the struggle against antisemitism, the struggle against denialism has no end in sight.
The post Countering the Oct. 7 Deniers first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Surge of Antisemitic Incidents Rocks France Amid Growing Security Concerns
The Paris Holocaust Memorial, three synagogues, and a Jewish restaurant were all vandalized with green paint last weekend. Photo: Screenshot
France has been hit by a wave of antisemitic incidents in recent days, despite increased security at Jewish sites nationwide following last month’s antisemitic shooting in Washington, DC — prompting urgent calls from the country’s Jewish community for stronger government action amid growing fears of escalating violence.
On Friday, a French rabbi was violently assaulted by three drunken individuals in the town of Deauville, located in the Normandy region of northwestern France.
According to local police, Rabbi Eli Lemel — a prominent figure in French Jewry — was attacked around 3:30 pm by three men who approached him, repeatedly punched him in the stomach, and shouted antisemitic slurs.
French authorities have launched an investigation into the assault, but no arrests have been made so far.
After the incident, Lemel called on the Jewish community to draw spiritual strength amid the increasing hostility that Jews are facing across France.
“I’m deeply moved by the outpouring of support following the attack. Thank God, I’m okay,” the Jewish leader wrote in a post on X. “I was struck and verbally abused in a language I didn’t understand.”
In a separate incident, a 21-year-old man was arrested on Saturday after climbing a synagogue in the town of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine in north-central France, removing an Israeli flag from its façade, and attempting to set it on fire.
According to local media, the suspect — who was already known to authorities for prior offenses — confessed to committing the attack and admitted to being intoxicated at the time.
French police confirmed that the man is being charged with trespassing in a place of worship, theft by climbing, and causing damage to property on religious grounds.
The local Jewish community has voiced deep concern following this incident, viewing it as part of a broader surge in hostility targeting Jewish institutions across France.
Sandrine Dos Santos, the city’s mayor, expressed “[her] solidarity, as well as that of the city, toward the Jewish community directly targeted by these unacceptable antisemitic acts.”
“Faced with the increase in violence, our commitment against discrimination remains unwavering and will not waver. We repeat it loud and clear: no form of racism or rejection of others has a place in Poissy,” the French leader said.
In a separate incident on Saturday, three Serbs were arrested near Antibes in southeastern France, suspected of painting several Jewish community buildings green in Paris — an act currently under investigation as possible foreign interference.
Last weekend, the Paris Holocaust Memorial, three synagogues, and a Jewish restaurant were all vandalized with green paint in an incident denounced by the French government.
On Monday, an elementary school in Lyon, east-central France, was set on fire and defaced with antisemitic and pro-Palestinian slogans, as well as swastikas, marking one of the latest antisemitic incidents to impact France in recent days.
As the school had no direct connections to the Jewish community, local police have launched an investigation to determine the motive behind the attack.
French authorities reported that the fire was limited to the outdoor bathrooms, causing no significant damage to the school. They also found antisemitic graffiti and swastikas in three classrooms.
Yonathan Arfi, president of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France (CRIF), denounced the attack, saying that “the Palestinian cause is used as justification for burning down a school” and that the “Nazification of Israel serves as fuel for crass antisemitism.”
“When a populist pro-Palestinian narrative is allowed to take hold, it is French Jews who ultimately pay the price,” Arfi wrote in a post on X. “The twisted use of the Palestinian cause is turning into a rallying cry of hatred against both Jews and the Republic itself.”
Voilà où nous en sommes !
La cause palestinienne sert de justification pour incendier une école
Quand on laisse gagner un discours populiste propalestinien, ce sont les Français juifs qui en paient le prix.… https://t.co/dMaQBnbfqi
— Yonathan Arfi (@Yonathan_Arfi) June 1, 2025
Beyond France, other European countries have also experienced a surge in antisemitic incidents in recent weeks.
On Monday, several headstones were vandalized at a Jewish cemetery in a suburb of Belgrade, located in north-central Serbia, marking the second such incident in the country in recent weeks.
The post Surge of Antisemitic Incidents Rocks France Amid Growing Security Concerns first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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US Vetoes UN Security Council Demand for Gaza Ceasefire
Smoke rises from Gaza after an explosion, as seen from Israel, June 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
The United States vetoed a UN Security Council demand on Wednesday for an “immediate, unconditional, and permanent ceasefire” between Israel and Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in Gaza and unhindered aid access across the enclave.
“The United States has been clear we would not support any measure that fails to condemn Hamas and does not call for Hamas to disarm and leave Gaza,” Acting US Ambassador to the UN Dorothy Shea told the council before the vote.
“This resolution would undermine diplomatic efforts to reach a ceasefire that reflects the realities on the ground, and embolden Hamas,” she said of the text that was put forward by 10 countries on the 15-member council.
The remaining 14 council members voted in favor of the draft resolution.
Israel has rejected calls for an unconditional or permanent ceasefire, saying Hamas cannot stay in Gaza. It has renewed its military offensive in Gaza – also seeking to free hostages held by Hamas – since ending a two-month ceasefire in March.
The war in Gaza has raged since 2023 after Hamas terrorists killed 1,200 people in Israel in an Oct. 7 attack and took some 250 hostages back to the enclave.
The post US Vetoes UN Security Council Demand for Gaza Ceasefire first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Trump Picks Lawyer Who Called Oct. 7 Attack a ‘Psyop’ to Lead Federal Watchdog Agency
Paul Ingrassia. Photo: Screenshot
Paul Ingrassia, a 29-year-old lawyer who was recently nominated by US President Donald Trump to lead a federal agency dedicated to combating corruption and protecting whistleblowers, seemingly dismissed the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2o23, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel as a “psyop,” or “psychological operation, in resurfaced social media posts.
“This ‘war’ is yet another psyop to distract Americans from celebrating Columbus Day,” Ingrassia wrote on X/Twitter on Oct. 8, 2023.
“I think we could all admit at this stage that Israel/Palestine, much like Ukraine before it, and BLM before that, and covid/vaccine before that, was another psyop,” he posted a week later. “But sadly, people fell for it. And they’ll fall for the next one too.”
On the actual day of the Oct. 7 massacre, Ingrassia compared illegal immigration into the US to the Hamas-led onslaught.
“The amount of energy everyone has put into condemning Hamas (and prior to that, the Ukraine conflict) over the past 24 hours should be the same amount of energy we put into condemning our wide open border, which is a war comparable to the attack on Israel in terms of bloodshed — but made worse by the fact that it’s occurring in our very own backyard,” he posted. “We shouldn’t be beating the war drum, however tragic the events may be overseas, until we resolve our domestic problems first.”
Trump announced last week that he picked Ingrassia to serve as head of the US Office of Special Counsel, a position that requires confirmation by the Senate.
The Office of Special Counsel is an independent federal ethics agency that works to ensure fairness and accountability within the government. Ingrassia’s role, if he is confirmed, would involve investigating claims of wrongdoing, such as retaliation against whistleblowers or improper political activity in the workplace. The official can recommend disciplinary action and reports serious findings to Congress, helping to protect federal employees and uphold the integrity of the civil service system.
Ingrassia also maintains a relationship with and defends alleged sex trafficker Andrew Tate, who has promoted antisemitic conspiracy theories on social media. Tate wrote on X/Twitter that he refuses to “listen to women, Mexicans, or Jews” and that Jewish people are “subverting Western populations into mass genetic suicide” by advancing what he described as misguided immigration policy. Tate has also accused Israel of committing a “genocide” in Gaza against Palestinians and engaged in Holocaust denialism.
The furor surrounding Ingrassia is the latest dustup the Trump administration has had regarding controversial personnel and antisemitism.
The Trump administration’s appointment of Kingsley Wilson as deputy press secretary at the Department of Defense also sparked widespread criticism due to her history of promoting antisemitic conspiracy theories and extremist views. Wilson, formerly associated with the Center for Renewing America, has a documented history of social media posts endorsing white supremacist ideologies, including claims about the 1915 lynching of Leo Frank — a Jewish man whose wrongful conviction and subsequent murder galvanized the founding of the Anti-Defamation League. In 2023, she tweeted that Frank “raped & murdered a 13-year-old girl,” a statement aligning with neo-Nazi narratives.
Late last month, the Pentagon announced that Wilson will be promoted and serve as the department’s new press secretary.
The post Trump Picks Lawyer Who Called Oct. 7 Attack a ‘Psyop’ to Lead Federal Watchdog Agency first appeared on Algemeiner.com.