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Anti-Defamation League announces new outpost in Brooklyn, the ‘epicenter’ of antisemitic assaults
(New York Jewish Week) — In a recent report on rising antisemitism in the United States, the Anti-Defamation League called Brooklyn “the epicenter of assaults.” Now, the group is opening an office in the borough to respond to antisemitic incidents there.
The Brooklyn office will open at the end of next month with a staff of two, and will work under the auspices of the ADL’s New York-New Jersey regional office. Brooklyn is home to some 600,000 Jews – a number that, according to the most recent available figures, represents a majority of New York City’s Jewish population and nearly a quarter of the borough’s residents. Brooklyn is also home to several large Hasidic communities.
“Brooklyn is the most Jewish place in the United States,” Scott Richman, the ADL’s regional director for New York and New Jersey, said in a statement. “We look forward to deepening our work in the Jewish community with our allies and partners to counter the rising tide of antisemitism and all forms of hate.”
The announcement comes days after the ADL partnered with other Jewish security organizations in New York and New Jersey to form a new umbrella group called the Jewish Security Alliance.
The ADL’s annual national audit of antisemitism in 2022, published last week, found that the majority of last year’s 111 antisemitic assaults targeted Orthodox Jews. Nearly half of the total assaults tallied, 52, took place in Brooklyn alone.
The audit reported a 36% rise in incidents nationwide compared to the previous year, and said that there was a 39% increase in antisemitic incidents in New York state.
Visibly Orthodox Jews in Brooklyn have been the target of street attacks for years, and in 2022, according to the ADL, that continued to be the case. The group said that in May, a Hasidic bus driver was shot with a BB gun by a group of teenagers and another Jew was shot with a BB gun in front of a synagogue; in October, a woman slapped a Jewish teenager, without provocation, in front of the headquarters of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement in Crown Heights.
ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement that “Brooklyn requires a stronger ADL presence on the ground so that we can better address the needs of a community that unfortunately is one of the epicenters for antisemitism in this country.”
Greenblatt added, “The new office will be tasked to respond directly to antisemitic incidents in Brooklyn, and to work directly with law enforcement and community leaders in responding to acts of hate and tend bridges of understanding and acceptance.”
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The post Anti-Defamation League announces new outpost in Brooklyn, the ‘epicenter’ of antisemitic assaults appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Iran to Boycott World Cup Draw Over Visa Restrictions
Soccer Football – World Cup Playoff Tournament and European Playoff draws – FIFA Headquarters, Zurich, Switzerland- November 20, 2025 The original FIFA World Cup trophy is kept on display during the draws. Photo: REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
Iran intends to boycott next week’s World Cup draw due to the limited number of visas allocated to the country’s football federation.
According to the Tehran Times, the United States issued visas to only four members of Iran‘s delegation, with requests for three additional visas denied, including one for Iranian Football Federation (FFIRI) President Mehdi Taj.
“We have informed FIFA that the decisions taken are unrelated to sport and that the members of the Iranian delegation will not participate in the World Cup draw,” FFIRI spokesman Mehdi Alavi said on Friday, per the report.
Alavi said the federation has been in contact with FIFA in an effort to resolve the situation.
The World Cup draw will take place on Dec. 5 at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
The expanded 48-team World Cup is being hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19, 2026. Matches will be played at 16 venues, including three in Mexico and two in Canada.
The draw will sort the teams into 12 groups of four. The top two teams from each group and the eight best third-place teams will advance to the knockout stage.
Iran has secured a spot in its fourth consecutive World Cup and seventh appearance overall.
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Dublin to Rename Chaim Herzog Park in a Move Slammed as Attempt to Erase Jewish History
Anti-Israel demonstrators stand outside the Israeli embassy after Ireland has announced it will recognize a Palestinian state, in Dublin, Ireland, May 22, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Molly Darlington
i24 News – Citing the Gaza war, Dublin city council voted to rename a park honoring Israel’s sixth president, the Irish-born Chaim Herzog, in further manifestation of anti-Israel sentiment in the country.
While a new name is yet to be chosen, reports cite efforts by pro-Palestinian activists to change it to the “Free Palestine Park.”
Former Irish justice minister Alan Shatter harshly criticized the vote, charging that “Dublin City Council has now gone full on Nazi & a committee of the Council has determined it should erase Jewish/Irish history. Herzog Park in Rathgar is named after Chaim Herzog, Israel’s 6th President, brought up in Dublin by his father, Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog, a friend of Eamon De Valera, who was Chief Rabbi of Ireland & Israel’s first Chief Rabbi… Some councillors want the Park renamed ‘Free Palestine Park.”
The Jewish Representative Council of Ireland issued a statement regarding the renaming of Herzog Park.
“It sends a hurtful and isolating message to a small minority community that has contributed to Ireland for centuries. We call on Dublin City Councillors to reject this motion. The removal of the Herzog name from this park would be widely understood as an attempt to erase our Irish Jewish history.”
A virtuoso diplomat and an intellectual giant, Herzog had served in a variety of roles throughout his storied career, including a memorable stint as the ambassador to the United Nations, where in 1975 he delivered a speech condemning the Soviet-engineered resolution to brand Zionism as a form of racism. The address is now regarded as a classic, along with the oration from the same session by the US Ambassador Daniel Patrick Moynihan.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar slammed the decision, saying that Ireland’s “antisemitic and anti-Israel obsession is sickening.”
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Qatar’s Al Thani to Visit Beirut Wednesday to Meet with Lebanon’s Leaders
Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani makes statements to the media with then-US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in Doha, Qatar, Oct. 13, 2023. Photo: Jacquelyn Martin/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed Al Thani will visit Beirut on Wednesday to meet with Lebanon’s leaders, Al-Jadeed reported Saturday.
The visit comes “as part of an effort inseparable from the efforts by Egypt in coordination with Arab countries, foremost among them Saudi Arabia.”
The trip coincides with a sensitive period for the country, ravaged by war and deep economic crisis.
Lebanon is under growing pressure from both Israel and the United States to more swiftly disarm Hezbollah and other Islamist groups across the country, with Israel increasingly inclined to stop the Shiite militia from rearming and rebuilding its infrastructure.
Hezbollah was left devastated in the aftermath of a nine-day war last year, that saw Israel take out its command structure and lay waste to a significant proportion of its missile arsenal.