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‘AEPi Will Not Be Intimidated’: Jewish Fraternity Responds to Vandalism of House at University of Arizona
Graffiti sprayed on the perimeter wall of the Alpha Epsilon Pi house at the University of Arizona as seen on April 8, 2024. Photo: Screenshot via Alpha Epsilon Pi
The national office of Alpha Epsilon Pi (AEPi), the largest college Jewish fraternity in the US, has condemned recent vandalism of the house of one of its chapters at the University of Arizona, expressing resolve in the face of rising antisemitism across the country.
On Sunday, someone graffitied “What side of history will you be on?” on the perimeter wall of the AEPi house, an apparent allusion to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
“Once again, an AEPi house has been vandalized with antisemitic graffiti in a transparent attempt to intimidate Jewish students,” AEPi chief executive officer Rob Derdiger said in a statement on Monday. “Administrators at the University of Arizona — and on campuses throughout North America — must commit to protecting its Jewish students by holding those groups responsible for these actions accountable by removing their recognition and expelling students from school who violate the university’s code of conduct.”
Antisemitism targeting AEPi at the University of Arizona is not new, according to numerous reports by local media. In 2014, a rival fraternity, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, broke into their house and proceeded to assault several AEPi members while shouting antisemitic epithets, according to school officials.
In recent months, two professors have been suspended for allegedly defending Hamas’ massacre of Israeli civilians on Oct. 7 and, as reported by the Arizona Jewish Post, Jewish students have been spit on during vigils commemorating Israelis whom Hamas murdered.
In Monday’s statement, Derdiger said “AEPi will not be intimidated,” adding, “We will continue to work to advocate — lawfully and peacefully — for Israel.”
Founded at New York University in 1913, Alpha Epsilon Pi is the largest Jewish fraternity in the world, with over 150 chapters spread across four countries and 100,000 alumni. Every year, its chapters hold “Walks to Remember,” a march around campus that commemorates victims of the Holocaust. Last May, the national office named a new deputy director in Andrew Feuerstein, who will lead the organization’s efforts to raise funds and sustain relationships with alumni.
Incidents at other universities in Arizona have drawn the attention of state lawmakers, who voted in February to grant Jewish students the right to withhold student fees from groups, such as Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), that allegedly promote antisemitism. Just weeks after Oct. 7, Arizona State University’s (ASU) SJP chapter broke school rules to help bring Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) to campus. At the time, the lawmaker had been widely criticized for uttering a wave of virulent comments attacking the Jewish state, including those in which she accused Israel of genocide and erroneously blamed the Jewish state for a rocket that exploded near Al Ahli hospital in Gaza.
The event would not have been the first time that ASU’s SJP chapter hosted a public figure accused of antisemitism. In 2021, it invited Mohammed El-Kurd to address students, using about $10,000 in student government funding to pay for the event. The Palestinian writer has trafficked in antisemitic tropes, demonized Zionism, and falsely accused Israelis of eating the organs of Palestinians, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).
As The Algemeiner has previously reported, AEPi chapters have been targets of antisemitic hate crimes across the country, including several eggings of their off-campus houses at Rutgers University. Last August, the fraternity announced that it was teaming up with the ADL to launch the AEPi Antisemitism Response Center, a “centralized system for reporting and tracking antisemitic incidents on campuses.”
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
The post ‘AEPi Will Not Be Intimidated’: Jewish Fraternity Responds to Vandalism of House at University of Arizona first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Canada Is Evaluating Ties With Israel After Qatar Attack, Foreign Minister Says
Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand speaks during a High-level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution at UN headquarters in New York City, US, July 28, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Jeenah Moon
Canada is evaluating its relationship with Israel after the attack on Hamas leaders in Qatar, foreign minister Anita Anand said on Wednesday, in the latest sign of unhappiness with the Israeli government.
Anand reiterated that Canada considered the attack to be unacceptable, especially given Qatari attempts to mediate a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
Anand made her comments when asked whether Canada might follow the lead of the European Commission, which said it would propose the suspension of trade-related measures in a European Union agreement with Israel.
“We are evaluating our relationship with Israel,” Anand told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of the ruling Liberal Party in Edmonton.
Asked specifically whether Canada was considering any kinds of sanctions against Israel, she replied: “We will continue to evaluate our next steps.”
Canada has noticeably hardened its line on Israel under Prime Minister Mark Carney, who replaced Justin Trudeau in March. Carney announced in July that Canada would recognize Palestinian statehood, angering Israel.
Trudeau was generally supportive of Israel‘s campaign against Hamas, while occasionally criticizing actions of the Israeli military.
Carney on Tuesday condemned the Israeli airstrike, calling it “an intolerable expansion of violence” that risked escalating conflict throughout the region.
He said last month that Israel‘s plan to take control of Gaza City was “wrong”.
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Iran Says More Talks Needed to Bring About IAEA Inspections
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi speaks during a meeting with foreign ambassadors in Tehran, Iran, July 12, 2025. Photo: Hamid Forootan/Iranian Foreign Ministry/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
A new agreement between Iran and the UN nuclear watchdog does not guarantee inspectors’ access to Iranian nuclear sites and Tehran wants further talks on how inspections are carried out, the country’s foreign minister said on Wednesday.
Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reached a deal on Tuesday on resuming inspections at sites including those bombed by the US and Israel but gave no specifics, and Tehran said the deal was off if international sanctions were re-imposed.
“I have to reiterate the agreement does not currently provide access to IAEA inspectors, apart from the Bushehr nuclear plant,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told state TV in an interview.
“Based on reports that Iran will issue in the future, the nature of access will have to be discussed at an appropriate time,” he added.
Diplomats said the devil would be in the details of Tuesday’s agreement. No joint press conference was held in Cairo to provide details on what the IAEA has been calling “modalities” regarding the resumption of inspections.
The agreement comes against the backdrop of an ongoing threat by European powers to re-impose international sanctions against Iran that were lifted under a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and major powers.
The IAEA‘s Grossi said in a statement on Wednesday that the “technical document” agreed provided for “a clear understanding of the procedures for inspection, notifications, and implementation.”
“These include all facilities and installations in Iran and also contemplates the required reporting on all the attacked facilities, including the nuclear material present at those.”
While Iran‘s enrichment sites have been badly damaged or destroyed, it is less clear what has happened to the stockpile, which includes uranium enriched to up to 60 percent purity, a short step from the roughly 90 percent required for weapons-grade.
Araqchi said the IAEA‘s board of governors’ meeting on Wednesday would be crucial concerning how cooperation with the IAEA develops.
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Israel Attacks Sanaa, Al-Jawf in Latest Strikes on Houthis in Yemen
Smoke billows following an Israeli air strike in Sanaa, Yemen, Sept. 10, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
Israel struck the Yemeni capital Sanaa and the northern province of al–Jawf on Wednesday, with the Iran-backed Houthis rebels who control much of Yemen saying it killed nine people and wounded 118 others in an initial toll.
The strikes are the latest in a series of attacks and counterstrikes between Israel and Houthi terrorists in Yemen, part of a spillover from the war in Gaza.
The Israeli military said it had struck military camps, the headquarters of the Houthi military “propaganda” department, and a fuel storage site.
The Houthi’s military spokesperson denied in a statement later that Israel targeted missile launchers. “Its strikes targeted purely civilian targets,” he said.
He added that two newspapers were targeted, with journalists and passers-by falling between dead and wounded.
Sanaa residents told Reuters the attack was on a hideout between two mountains that is used as a command and control headquarters. The extent of any damage was not immediately clear.
The Israeli strikes also targeted the Houthi defense ministry, witnesses said.
The attack came days after an Aug. 30 strike on Sanaa killed the prime minister of the Houthi-run government and several ministers, in the first such assault to target senior officials.
“The strikes were carried out in response to attacks led by the Houthi terror regime against the State of Israel, during which unmanned aerial vehicles and surface-to-surface missiles were launched toward Israeli territory,” the Israeli military said.
The Iran-aligned Houthis, an internationally designated terrorist group, have attacked vessels in the Red Sea in what they describe as acts of solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza.
They have also fired missiles towards Israel, most of which have been intercepted. Israel has responded with strikes on Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, including the vital Hodeidah port.