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Barnard College Settles Antisemitism Lawsuit

Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) members occupying an administrative building at Barnard College on Feb. 26, 2025. Photo: Screenshot
Barnard College in New York City has settled a lawsuit brought by 36 Jewish students who accused the administrations of Barnard and the affiliated Columbia University of failing to address a toxic outbreak of antisemitism that roiled their campuses following Hamas’ homicidal rampage across southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
In a joint press release issued on Monday, Barnard and the students’ legal representatives — StandWithUs Center for Legal Justice (SCLJ) and Kasowtiz LLP — said the terms of the settlement benefit all parties, providing for new education initiatives on antisemitism, updates to the college’s antidiscrimination policies, and new rules to block students from holding unauthorized, surprise protests that disrupt academic life.
“Antisemitism, discrimination, and harassment in any form are antithetical to values Barnard College champions,” Barnard President Laura Ann Rosenbury said in a statement. “Today’s settlement reflects our ongoing commitment to maintaining a campus that is safe, welcoming, and inclusive for all members of our community. These new measures, including enhanced training and a dedicated Title VI coordinator, build on Barnard’s existing policies and make our standards and expectations for treating one another, both on and off campus, crystal clear. We look forward to continued partnership and collaboration in support of all members of the Barnard community.”
Barnard administrators themselves effectively facilitated anti-Zionist activity on campus, according to the students’ complaint, citing an incident in which school officials invited anti-Israel activist Hatem Bazian, best known for saying “It’s about time we had an intifada in [the US],” to speak at a “Day of Dialogue” event in January, 2024. While Jewish community advocates criticized the invitation for platforming ideologies which openly call for the destruction of Israel, the college defended Bazian as a “renowned scholar.”
Meanwhile, pro-Hamas students allegedly responded to dog whistles they heard emanating from the administration.
“Why are you here?” a pro-Hamas activist asked a Jewish student identified in court documents as John Doe, during a period of campus unrest, several days after Bazian spoke on campus. “Are you here as a Jew? … Well, we’re fighting against you.”
In a major victory for Jewish students, the college also agreed never to engage with Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), which emerged after the Oct. 7 attacks as one of the most militant anti-Israel groups in American higher education for its role in building takeovers and physical assaults on Jewish students.
“Antisemitism should never be normalized or accepted,” SCLJ executive director Carly Gammill said in Monday’s press release. “Jewish students have every right to expect — and demand — that their campus environments are free from hostility toward their protected identities, and we understand this settlement as a demonstration of Barnard’s commitment to ensuring equal treatment for its Jewish students.
The students’ suit also names Columbia University, which is independently litigating the matter, as a defendant.
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
The post Barnard College Settles Antisemitism Lawsuit first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Report: IDF Probes Whether Houthis Used Iranian Cluster Bomb-Bearing Missile

Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi addresses followers via a video link at the al-Shaab Mosque, formerly al-Saleh Mosque, in Sanaa, Yemen, Feb. 6, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
i24 News – The Israeli military said Saturday it launched a probe into the failure of its defenses to fully intercept a missile launched by Yemen’s Houthi jihadists, parts of which struck not far from the Ben Gurion airport on Friday night.
According to the Ynet website, one of the hypotheses being examined is that the projectile contained cluster munitions, similar to those used by Iran to fire at Israeli cities during the 12-day war in June. Cluster munitions pose a challenge to interceptors as they disperse smaller explosives over a wide area.
In June, Iran fired several missiles carrying scattered small bombs with the aim of increasing civilian casualties.
The IDF said on Saturday that its initial review suggests the ballistic missile from Yemen likely fragmented in mid-air. Five interceptors from various systems engaged with the missile, including THAAD, Arrow, David Sling & Iron Dome.
Authorities said that shrapnel impacted a house in the central Israeli moshav of Ginaton, yet no one was hurt, with the fragment landing in the house’s backyard.
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Iran Forces Kill Six Militants, IRNA Reports, Israel Link Seen

The Iranian flag is seen flying over a street in Tehran, Iran, Feb. 3, 2023. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Iranian security forces shot dead six militants in a clash in southeastern Iran on Saturday, a day after armed rebels killed five police officers in the restive region, the official news agency IRNA reported.
IRNA said evidence showed the group was linked to Israel and may have been trained by Israel‘s Mossad spy agency. There was no immediate Israeli reaction to the allegation.
Another two members of the militant group were arrested, the report said. All but one of the militants were foreign, it added, without giving their nationality.
Iranian police said this month they had arrested as many as 21,000 suspects during the 12-day war with Israel in June.
Iran’s southeast has been the scene of sporadic clashes between security forces and armed groups, including Sunni militants and separatists who say they are fighting for greater rights and autonomy.
Tehran says some of them have ties to foreign powers and are involved in cross-border smuggling and insurgency.
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Benny Gantz Urges Time-Limited National Unity Government to Further Chances of Hostage Deal

Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz attends his party’s meeting at the Knesset, Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, June 27, 2022. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
i24 News – Blue and White Party leader Benny Gantz on Saturday called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition politicians to form a temporary national unity government to further the chances of bringing home the hostages held in Gaza.
Addressing Netanyahu, Yair Lapid and Avigdor Liberman, Gantz said that the proposed government’s two supreme priorities would be the release of Israeli hostages held by the jihadists of Hamas and instituting universal conscription in Israel by ending the exemption from military service enjoyed by the ultra-Orthodox.
Upon attainment of the goals, the government would dissolve and call an election.
“The government’s term will begin with a hostage deal that brings everyone home,” Gantz said in a video address. “Within weeks, we will formulate an enlistment outline that would see our ultra-Orthodox brethren drafted to the military and ease the burden on those already serving. Finally, we will announce an agreed-upon election date in the spring of 2026 and pass a law to dissolve the Knesset [Israeli parliament] accordingly. This is what’s right for Israel.”