RSS
Pro-Israel Democrats Blast Washington Post Over ‘Antisemitic Tropes’ in Coverage of ‘Extremist’ Jewish Activists
Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish doctoral student at Tufts University in Somerville, Massachusetts, poses in an undated photograph provided by her family and obtained by Reuters on March 29, 2025. Photo: Courtesy of the Ozturk family/Handout via REUTERS
A US group advocating pro-Israel policies within the Democratic Party has lambasted the Washington Post for promoting what it described as “antisemitic tropes” in a front-page news story published on Saturday.
The article — headlined “A militant Zionist group threatens activists online with a ‘deport list’” — profiled the resurgence of Betar, an organization with roots going back a century which has chosen to embrace a hardball style in confronting — critics say threatening — anti-Israel protesters.
Betar, a right-wing Jewish group, says that it has assembled a list of foreign students who have engaged in pro-Hamas advocacy, calling on the Trump administration to deport them for supporting a US-designated terrorist organization. The Post noted that there is no evidence that Betar’s research has contributed to any deportations.
Another controversial tactic Betar employs is advocating for pro-Israel supporters to hand pagers to pro-Hamas activists, a move some regard as a threat of violence given its reference to a successful Israeli operation to explode the pagers used by members of the Hezbollah terrorist organization in Lebanon.
The group Democratic Majority for Israel (DMFI) took issue with the Post‘s coverage of Betar, saying it pushed “antisemitic tropes” by suggesting, without concrete evidence, that the small Jewish organization has had significant influence on the Trump administration pursuing its policy of deporting non-citizen students who allegedly support Hamas and other terrorist groups.
Beginning with clarification that “Betar does not speak for us,” DFMI President and CEO Mark Mellman then ran down a list of values DMFI supports including the US constitution, freedom of speech, the presumption of innocence, holding accountable those who harass Jewish students, and that “convicted criminals who are not citizens can be returned to their home countries and that our country is stronger when this process demonstrates adherence to the law.”
Mellman said that DMFI was “taken aback that, at a time of rising antisemitism, the Washington Post would echo antisemitic tropes by publishing a front-page story suggesting a small, extremist group is responsible for Donald Trump’s deportation policy. The decision is especially troubling when the Post admits, in the story’s fifth paragraph, that it ‘couldn’t determine whether the group played a role in the Trump administration’s decision to target deportees.’”
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) includes Betar in its “Glossary of Extremism and Hate.” The entry describes how the organization “adopts the far-right Kahanist slogan calling for Jewish armament, ‘Every Jew, a .22,’ openly embraces Islamophobia and harasses Muslims online and in person. The group has indicated that they would like to work with the Proud Boys, a far-right extremist group with a history of antisemitism and Islamophobia, to ‘counter Islamic jihadis.’”
The ADL also notes that Betar “posted a video of an individual shouting Islamophobic slurs outside of a mosque with the caption, ‘We protest mosques.’”
Betar rejects accusations of extremism.
“This claim that Betar, the youth movement associated with the Revisionist Zionist movement, is extremist is a mischaracterization that overlooks its historical context and ideological evolution,” the organization said in a Monday statement on X. “Founded in 1923 by Ze’ev Jabotinsky, Betar was originally conceived as a Zionist organization aimed at fostering Jewish nationalism and preparing Jews for the defense of the Jewish homeland. However, labeling Betar as ‘extremist’ in the modern context fails to recognize its integral role in shaping mainstream Zionism and its evolution into a broad-based ideological movement.”
Betar described how its “core ideology” had “always focused on Jewish self-defense, the establishment of a Jewish state in the historical land of Israel, and the revival of Hebrew culture. These principles align with the broader goals of Zionism, which advocated for the return of Jews to their ancestral homeland and the establishment of a sovereign Jewish state.”
Betar said that to call the group extremist “is to misunderstand the historical trajectory of Zionism itself. The movement has always been dedicated to the vision of a Jewish homeland, and its advocacy for this cause, far from being an extremist position, is one shared by the majority of Israeli society and is enshrined in the foundational principles of the modern State of Israel. To call Betar extremist is to call Zionism extremist.”
Following the arrest of Tufts graduate student Rumeysa Ozturk, Betar wrote Wednesday on X accompanied by an American flag emoji that “she was on our list. Many more jihadis are. We will be making a new submission Monday with approximately 1800 more jihadis. Submit to us candidates with proof for @ICEgov to consider!”
On Friday, US District Judge Denise Casper in Boston halted Ozturk’s deportation, requesting a response by Tuesday from the Trump administration to a complaint by the Turkish student. As of Monday, Ozturk remains in custody at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Basile, Louisiana and she reportedly suffered an asthma attack while in transit to the facility.
The post Pro-Israel Democrats Blast Washington Post Over ‘Antisemitic Tropes’ in Coverage of ‘Extremist’ Jewish Activists first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
New ‘Report It’ App Allows Users to Expose Antisemitic Incidents in Real Time
Car in New South Wales, Australia graffitied with antisemitic message. The word “F**k” has been removed from this image. Photo: Screenshot
The Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) launched this week a new mobile app that allows users worldwide to quickly and securely report antisemitic incidents in real time.
Report It is available for download in the Apple Store and Google Play. Users can easily share details of antisemitic incidents through the app – such as date, location, and even photos or videos – and verified reports are then forwarded to local leaders, law enforcement, media outlets, and community organizations who can intervene and respond when necessary. Users of Report It also have the option to remain anonymous when reporting an incident and their personal details are never shared.
“Research and reports have consistently demonstrated that the overwhelming majority of antisemitic incidents are unreported, frequently because of a mistrust of authorities, a lack of awareness of reporting systems, bureaucratic hurdles, and excessive ‘red tape,’” CAM CEO Sacha Roytman said in a released statement. “With Report It, we are giving every individual a quick, safe, and effective way to shine a light on hate, hold perpetrators accountable, and drive meaningful change. Together, we can fight back against antisemitism and build safer, stronger communities.”
A survey commissioned by CAM last year revealed that 3.5 million Jewish Americans personally experienced antisemitism following the Hamas-led terrorist attack in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. CAM’s Antisemitism Research Center (ARC) has monitored more than 12,000 antisemitic incidents across the world in the last half decade, including acts of graffiti, vandalism, harassment, discrimination, incitement, threats, and violence.
Each submission on the Report It app “contributes to a clearer picture of the scale of antisemitism and strengthens advocacy for stronger protections and policies,” CAM said in a press release. “CAM calls on individuals everywhere to join the fight against antisemitism: See it. Report it. Stop it.”
RSS
Europeans Likely to Initiate UN Sanctions Process on Iran on Thursday, Sources Say
France’s President Emmanuel Macron, Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer pose as they meet on the sidelines of the two-day NATO’s Heads of State and Government summit, in The Hague, Netherlands, June 24, 2025. Photo: Ludovic Marin/Pool via REUTERS
Britain, France, and Germany are likely to begin the process of reimposing UN sanctions on Iran on Thursday but hope Tehran will provide commitments over its nuclear program within 30 days that will convince them to defer concrete action, four diplomats said.
The trio, known as the E3, met Iran on Tuesday to try to revive diplomacy over the nuclear program before they lose the ability in mid-October to restore sanctions on Tehran that were lifted under a 2015 nuclear accord with world powers.
Three European diplomats and a Western diplomat said Tuesday’s talks did not yield sufficiently tangible commitments from Iran, although they believed there was scope for further diplomacy in the coming weeks.
They said the E3 had decided to start triggering the so-called snapback of UN sanctions, possibly as early as Thursday, over accusations that Iran has violated the 2015 deal with world powers that aimed to prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon.
The West says the advancement of Iran‘s nuclear program goes beyond civilian needs, while Tehran denies it is seeking nuclear weapons.
The UN process takes 30 days before sanctions that would cover Iran‘s financial, banking, hydrocarbons, and defense sectors were restored.
“The real negotiations will start once the letter [to the UN Security Council] is submitted,” the Western diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
A German foreign ministry spokesperson said triggering the snapback remained an option for the E3. The British and French foreign ministries did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Tehran has warned of a “harsh response” if sanctions are reinstated.
NUCLEAR INSPECTORS
UN nuclear inspectors have returned to Iran for the first time since it suspended cooperation with them in the wake of Israel and the United States’ attacks on its nuclear sites in June, Iranian state media reported on Wednesday.
International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said on Tuesday they had been allowed into the country, although there was no agreement on what they would actually be allowed to do there or whether they would have access to nuclear facilities.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi also told lawmakers Tehran had not reached an agreement on how it would resume full work with the watchdog, parliament news agency ICANA reported.
The E3 have offered to delay the snapback for as much as six months to enable serious negotiations if Iran resumes full UN inspections – which would also seek to account for Iran‘s large stock of enriched uranium that has not been verified since the attacks – and engages in talks with the United States.
Iran has been enriching uranium to up to 60 percent fissile purity, a short step from the roughly 90 percent of weapons-grade, and had enough material enriched to that level, if refined further, for six nuclear weapons, before the strikes by Israel started on June 13, according the IAEA.
Actually producing a weapon would take more time, however, and the IAEA has said that while it cannot guarantee Tehran’s nuclear program is entirely peaceful, it has no credible indication of a coordinated weapons project in the Islamic Republic.
Iran and the United States had held several rounds of talks before June.
One diplomat said Iran had shown signs of readiness to resume negotiations with the US in Tuesday’s meeting with the E3. An Iranian source said it would only do so “if Washington guarantees there will be no [military] strikes during the talks.”
RSS
Iran Link to Australian Synagogue Attack Uncovered Via Funding Trail, Spy Agency Says
A flag flutters above the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Canberra, Australia, Aug. 26, 2025. Photo: Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has expelled Iran’s ambassador, accusing Iran of orchestrating at least two antisemitic attacks on Australian soil. Photo: REUTERS/Peter Hobson
Australia’s intelligence agency traced the funding of hooded criminals who allegedly set fire to a Melbourne synagogue, linking the antisemitic attack to Iran, officials said, even as those charged with the crime were likely unaware Tehran was their puppet master.
A 20-year-old local man, Younes Ali Younes, appeared in Melbourne’s Magistrates Court on Wednesday charged with the Dec. 6 arson attack on the Adass Israel synagogue and theft of a car. He did not enter a plea and did not seek bail. His lawyer declined to comment to Reuters.
A day earlier Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Australia’s intelligence agencies had shown the attack, and another in Sydney last year, were directed by the Iranian government, and expelled Tehran’s ambassador, becoming the latest Western government to accuse Iran of carrying out hostile covert activities on its soil.
Security services in Britain and Sweden warned last year that Tehran was using criminal proxies to carry out its violent attacks in those countries, with London saying it had disrupted 20 Iran–linked plots since 2022. A dozen other countries have condemned what they called a surge in assassination, kidnapping, and harassment plots by Iranian intelligence services.
Australia’s spy chief Mike Burgess said a series of “cut outs,” an intelligence term for intermediaries, were used to conceal Iran‘s involvement in the attacks, and warned that it may have orchestrated others.
Security forces “have done rather extraordinary work to trace the source of the funding of these criminal elements who’ve been used as tools of the Iranian regime,” Albanese told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on Tuesday.
The investigation worked backwards through payments made onshore and offshore to “petty and sometimes not so petty criminals,” he said in parliament on Wednesday.
Albanese was briefed by the Australian Security Intelligence Organization on Monday on evidence of a “supply chain” that he said linked the attacks to offshore individuals and Tehran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Australia’s diplomats in Iran were discreetly told to leave, making it out of Iranian airspace just after midnight, he said.
A public announcement, with Albanese flanked by his spy chief and foreign and home affairs ministers, came on Tuesday, prompting accolades from Israel.
Iran‘s Foreign Ministry said it “absolutely rejected” Australia’s accusation.
The turning point in the investigation came weeks earlier, as Australian Federal Police and the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) seized mobile phones and digital devices from suspects arrested in Victoria state over the synagogue attack – and highlighted a stolen blue Volkswagen Golf sedan used in unrelated attacks.
CCTV footage of the night of Dec. 6 released by police shows three hooded figures unloading red jerry cans of fuel from the boot of the car, one of whom was wielding an axe, at the entrance of the synagogue and setting it alight before speeding away.
Victoria’s Joint Counter Terrorism Team alleged Younes, 20, stole the car to carry out the attack and recklessly endangered lives by setting fire to the A$20 million synagogue when people were inside, a charge sheet shows. No one was wounded in the attack.
A co-accused, Giovanni Laulu, 21, appeared in court last month on the same charges.
Police have referred to the sedan as a “communal crime car” linked to other attacks that were not politically motivated.
In a press conference on July 30 to announce seven search warrants had been executed and a man arrested over the synagogue attack, the Australian Federal Police’s then deputy commissioner Krissy Barrett said it was politically motivated and involved offshore criminals.
“We suspect these criminals worked with criminal associates in Victoria to carry out the arson attack,” she said, also confirming a major Australian crime figure deported to Iraq in 2023 was “one of our ongoing lines of inquiry.”
Police were working with the Five Eyes intelligence network that also includes Britain, the United States, Canada, and New Zealand, she said.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke told ABC Radio on Wednesday that those involved locally would not have necessarily known “who had started it.”
“You have a series of intermediaries so that people performing different actions don’t in fact know who is directing them or don’t necessarily know who is directing them,” he said.