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Bari Weiss, crusader against antisemitism, takes leading role in Elon Musk’s push to limit Twitter moderation
(JTA) — Bari Weiss, a prominent commentator on antisemitism in the United States, is taking a leading role in Elon Musk’s efforts to reshape Twitter by criticizing the platform’s past efforts to combat bigotry and harassment.
Starting last Thursday, Weiss has been releasing Twitter threads with what she and another opinion journalist, former Rolling Stone writer Matt Taibbi, have deemed the “Twitter Files” — instances of how former Twitter moderators removed content they deemed as false or dangerous.
Making use of unusual access to Twitter’s internal records and systems, Weiss and Taibbi have made the case that Twitter has been subject to politically motivated decisions about what to remove by a “secret group” of high-level executives.
Those executives were tasked with executing Twitter’s moderation policies in sensitive cases, and the leaked communications show them doing so in politically neutral terms. But Weiss and Taibbi have argued that the suspensions doled out to conservative accounts, including former President Donald Trump, reflected a deep bias at the company.
Twitter shut down its Trust and Safety Council advisory group, which included 100 independent civil and human rights organizations, on Monday night. The group was formed in 2016 to address hate speech, child exploitation and other issues stemming from Twitter activity.
Musk’s supporters have been receptive, even forcing into hiding on Monday Yoel Roth, the Jewish former head of trust and safety at Twitter that Musk has falsely accused of stoking pedophilia and who has been targeted in Weiss’ tweets as well.
Weiss’ Twitter activism puts her at odds with a leading U.S. antisemitism watchdog, the Anti-Defamation League, which has long pushed for stricter moderation on Twitter and called for an advertiser boycott after Musk acquired the platform and expressions of hate spiked on it.
Weiss — who first vaulted into public view for calling out what she said was antisemitism on her college campus, and who quit a columnist job at The New York Times over what she described as bullying from colleagues — has worked with the ADL in the past. In conjunction with her 2019 book “How to Fight Antisemitism,” she has appeared at multiple events with the organization, as recently as November.
Now, she is a leading voice opposing what the ADL’s leadership says is one of the most pressing issues compromising American Jews’ safety.
The ADL declined to comment on Weiss’ involvement with Musk’s new moderation strategies. Weiss did not return requests for an interview.
Since Roth resigned from Twitter last month, he and Musk have exchanged criticisms on the platform. Over the weekend, Musk misrepresented a snippet from Roth’s graduate dissertation, writing: “Looks like Yoel is arguing in favor of children being able to access adult Internet services.”
On Monday night, Musk tweeted a phrase with a rabbit emoji that has become popular with followers of the QAnon conspiracy theory movement. He denied that he was referring to the movement or aiming a tweet at its followers, but QAnon communities across different platforms responded with excitement to his tweet, Vice News reported.
Accusations of pedophilia against public figures are commonplace in QAnon, which experts say also draws on antisemitic tropes.
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The post Bari Weiss, crusader against antisemitism, takes leading role in Elon Musk’s push to limit Twitter moderation appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Trump Curious Why Iran Has Not ‘Capitulated’ Amid US Military Buildup, Says Witkoff
US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff delivers a press conference upon the signing of the declaration on deploying post-ceasefire force in Ukraine, during the so-called ‘Coalition of the Willing’ summit, at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, Jan. 6, 2026. Photo: Ludovic Marin/Pool via REUTERS
US President Donald Trump is curious as to why Iran has not yet “capitulated” and agreed to curb its nuclear program, as Washington builds up its military capability in the Middle East, Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff said.
“I don’t want to use the word ‘frustrated,’ because he understands he has plenty of alternatives, but he’s curious as to why they haven’t… I don’t want to use the word ‘capitulated,’ but why they haven’t capitulated,” Witkoff said during an interview on Saturday with Fox News’ “My View with Lara Trump,” hosted by the president’s daughter-in-law.
“Why, under this pressure, with the amount of seapower and naval power over there, why haven’t they come to us and said, ‘We profess we don’t want a weapon, so here’s what we’re prepared to do’? And yet it’s sort of hard to get them to that place.”
Trump has ordered a huge buildup of forces in the Middle East and preparations for a potential multi-week air attack on Iran. Iran has threatened to strike US bases if it is attacked.
IRAN DENIES SEEKING NUCLEAR WEAPONS
The United States wants Iran to give up enriched uranium which Washington says can potentially be used to make a bomb, as well as stop supporting terrorists in the Middle East and accept limits to its missile program.
Tehran says its nuclear program is peaceful but it is willing to accept some curbs on it in return for the lifting of financial sanctions. It rejects tying this to other issues such as missiles and support for armed groups.
“They’ve been enriching well beyond the number that you need for civil nuclear. It’s up to 60 percent [fissile purity],” Witkoff said. “They’re probably a week away from having industrial, industrial-grade bomb-making material, and that’s really dangerous.”
A senior Iranian official told Reuters on Sunday that Iran and the United States still have differing views over sanctions relief in talks.
Witkoff also said he has met at Trump’s direction with Iranian opposition figure Reza Pahlavi, son of the shah ousted in Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution. He did not provide further details of the meeting.
Pahlavi, who lives in exile, served as a rallying figure for some of Iran’s opposition during anti-government demonstrations last month in which thousands of people are believed to have been killed, the worst domestic unrest since the revolution era.
Earlier in February, Pahlavi said US military intervention in Iran could save lives, and urged Washington not to spend too long negotiating with Tehran’s clerical rulers on a nuclear deal.
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US-Iran Talks Expected Friday if Iran Sends Nuclear Proposal Soon, Axios Reports
Atomic symbol and USA and Iranian flags are seen in this illustration taken, September 8, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
United States negotiators are ready to hold another round of talks with Iran on Friday in Geneva if they receive a detailed Iranian proposal for a nuclear deal in the next 48 hours, Axios reported on Sunday, citing a senior US official.
Reuters could not immediately verify the report.
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Khamenei Designates Larijani to Lead Iran’s Affairs During Protests, Military Threats
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani speaks after meeting with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, in Beirut, Lebanon, Aug. 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Aziz Taher
i24 News – Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has reportedly assigned significant authority to former Revolutionary Guards commander and longtime political figure Ali Larijani in response to rising US and Israeli military threats, as well as nationwide unrest, according to a report by The New York Times.
The newspaper cites Iranian officials, members of the Revolutionary Guards, and former diplomats, noting that Khamenei has issued detailed instructions on succession and emergency decision-making should he be targeted in a potential strike.
Larijani, currently a top national security official, has been tasked with managing state affairs, overseeing the crackdown on protests, coordinating sensitive nuclear discussions with Washington, and liaising with allied nations including Russia, Qatar, and Oman.
“Larijani has been entrusted with responsibilities that cover both domestic security and international relations, effectively acting as Khamenei’s right-hand man during this period of heightened tension,” the report states.
Officials say Khamenei has prepared multiple layers of succession for key political and military positions and delegated powers to a close circle of confidants. While Larijani is not considered a likely successor to the Supreme Leader due to insufficient religious credentials, he is described as one of the regime’s most trusted crisis managers.
Iran has reportedly placed its armed forces on high alert, deployed missile systems near Iraq and in the Persian Gulf, and intensified military exercises. Special forces, intelligence units, and Basij militia battalions are prepared to deploy to major cities to suppress unrest and monitor suspected foreign operatives if conflict escalates.
The move comes amid continued diplomatic engagement over Tehran’s nuclear program. Despite ongoing negotiations, officials say Iran is operating under the assumption that a U.S. military strike is “inevitable and imminent.”
According to the report, Larijani tops the list of emergency successors, followed by Parliament Speaker General Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, with former president Hassan Rouhani also named as a potential fallback in extraordinary circumstances.