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Canadians who moved to Israel celebrate the ongoing hostage releases—amid caution that the deal remains fragile
Thursday saw the release of eight more hostages, including five Thai nationals, and three Israeli citizens who were held for 482 days: Gadi Mozes, 80, Arbel Yehoud, 29, and 20-year-old Agam Berger, who was one of seven soldiers kidnapped by terrorists from the Nahal Oz military post on Oct. 7, 2023.
Berger’s name resonated around the Jewish world thanks to images of her life, like a video of her playing violin in her bedroom. Stories abound of the young woman’s adherence to a life of service and faith, who was reported to frequently engage in prayer in captivity and showing defiance to her captors when asked to perform chores on Shabbat, while comforting her fellow captives by braiding their hair.
Agam Berger’s cousin Ashley Waxman Bakshi is an Israeli-Canadian online influencer who has been a vocal advocate for the hostages. She slammed the Canadian government last March over the motion to halt arms sales to Israel and resume funding for UNRWA.
“We’re obviously overjoyed,” she told The CJN from Israel just hours after Berger’s release. “It’s just hard to believe when you want something so bad, that it actually happened.”
Like many, she was appalled at the staged display by Hamas during the release, and had a message for Canadians who “still don’t get it. If everyday Canadian citizens can’t see the difference between the Gazan mob surrounding the hostages and the absolute farce of this terrorist organization dressing up Agam in a fake IDF uniform, when she was kidnapped in pyjamas, and parade her by herself in front of a crowd as some sort of victory while all of Gaza around them is completely destroyed; if they can’t see the difference between good and evil, then there’s some serious moral work that needs to be done in our country.”
While elated that her cousin is home, Waxman Bakshi warned about the fragility of the entire process, not only negotiations but actual timing and procedure involved. She noted that just a few days ago she intervened to put the brakes on a viralsocial media campaign to have all girls braid their hair for today.
“While these kind of things sound like they help and make people feel good, they actually endanger the hostages and the deal if it gets back to the terrorists holding her that what she did may have been a signal of life. We don’t want to endanger her by giving her increased value to the terrorists keeping her.”
That’s an important distinction she says, between listening to family members and just wanting to do good. “That’s what we mean when we say everything is so fragile, we can’t breathe until they’re home. We don’t want anything to draw attention.”
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Zina Rakhamilova, a Tel Aviv resident raised in Toronto, has spent a lot of time in Hostage Square with the hostage families. The digital marketer—who specializes in Israeli non-governmental organizations and political causes—agrees that everyone “must try to be as discreet as possible not to endanger their status.”
Hours before the Thursday morning release, the mood she said, “like always is very mixed, because on the one hand we’re very excited that Agam and Arbel are on their way home,” but added people were very worried about Gadi Mozes’ status, given confusion over unofficial, unsubstantiated claims about who was alive and who was not.
“It’s definitely part of Hamas’ psychological campaign of terror” she told The CJN, “because we know they’re supposed to release the living hostages first.” It’s important to note says Rakhamilova, that this comes “not even days after back-to-back terror attacks in Tel Aviv, so beyond the emotional torture all of this is taking on everybody, just being outside feels harrowing. We’re continually on edge; we have to watch our backs and we’re doing the best we can.”
As a Canadian she said, “the truth is I’m more concerned for friends and family in Canada than my own status here in Tel Aviv, watching how antisemitism has grown in Canada since Oct. 7, with kosher restaurants and schools and synagogues targeted and attacked.” She lauded Justin Trudeau’s recent statement “that Hamas can no longer rule Gaza, but really, it’s under his leadership that antisemitism has become so bad that people feel so comfortable doing Nazi salutes openly in the streets of Montreal. I’m a lot more worried for the well-being of Jewish Canadians than my own safety or status here.”
As for the mood surrounding the hostage release, she said “people need to understand we do really feel like one united family here, and until anything is made public by the government, prime minister’s office or IDF, saying anything or discussing details is just unethical, and everyone feels that way. We will not go into any details until we know anything for sure.”
After meeting with relatives of Shiri and Yarden Bibas—who were kidnapped on Oct. 7 along with their two young sons, Kfir and Ariel—she said “we’re really worried about them and we don’t know what their status is, but we don’t want to be willing negative things. The family themselves have said they have not lost hope and so our obligation and that of the people outside the family, is to follow their lead and be there for them whatever that is.
“Personally, it’s awful, so many of us feel sick to our stomachs, constantly on high stress, high alert and knowing about the release of known terrorists.”
Ariel Bibas turns five today in Hamas captivity.
I took this video outside the Bibas home on day 265, it is now day 304.
Why isn’t the world freaking out over these children being held by terrorists? Bring them home NOW! pic.twitter.com/HMolDz37VJ
— Zina Rakhamilova (@itsmezina__) August 5, 2024
While personally supportive of the deal, Rakhamilova said she understands “how devastating a price” Israel is paying. “There are people we know who are going to be personally affected by the terrorists being released.” The murderer of Hillel Fuld’s brother, Ari, and the bombers responsible for the deadly 2002 attack on Hebrew University are also scheduled to be released.
“These are hard emotions, but you still see what’s really beautiful: So many people being directly affected, that they’re so happy that the hostages are coming home.
“The lesson is we need to be as kind as possible to one another during all this.”
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Thai nationals Thenna Pongsak, Sathian Suwannakham, Sriaoun Watchara, Seathao Bannawat, and Rumnao Surasak also kidnapped on Oct. 7, 2023, were released as well, following a week of uncertainty that threatened to derail the first phase of the ceasefire and hostage release plan.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group who holding Arbel Yehoud did not release her last Saturday along with four female military observers, as originally agreed. Israel was prepared to block access to Northern Gaza, also part of the original plan, until her release was arranged.
She is a teacher who snatched from Kibbutz Nir Oz where her family has lived for generations. The only presumed but unverified evidence of her being alive came in the form of a video released by Palestinian Islamic Jihad earlier this month.
Gadi Mozes, also of Nir Oz, was also released on Thursday. His partner Efrat Katz was killed during a battle between IDF gunships and Hamas fighters, her daughter and two grandchildren were kidnapped and released in the first hostage deal.
Last Saturday, four other female IDF observers—Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa and Naama Levy—were the second group of hostages to be released in the plan, following the release of Emily Damari, Romi Gonen and Doron Steinbrecher a week earlier.
The post Canadians who moved to Israel celebrate the ongoing hostage releases—amid caution that the deal remains fragile appeared first on The Canadian Jewish News.
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Dutch Nurse Under Police Investigation for Alleged Threats Against Israeli Patients
Pro-Hamas demonstrators march in the Dutch city of Nijmegen. Photo: Reuters/Romy Arroyo Fernandez
A Muslim nurse in the Netherlands is under police investigation after allegedly threatening to administer lethal injections to Israeli patients — an incident that has sparked public outrage and intensified fears over rising antisemitism and patient safety in Europe’s health-care systems.
The comments were widely circulated by Israeli influencer Max Veifer, who also exposed a recent case in Australia where two nurses were suspended for two years over antisemitic threats and remarks.
In a video shared on social media, Veifer denounced Dutch-Muslim nurse Batisma Chayat Sa’id’s remarks as a serious violation of medical ethics.
“Someone like that should be prosecuted and barred from treating patients. Imagine your grandparents being cared for by someone so hateful,” the Israeli influencer said.
Zorgwekkende dreiging op Instagram: Nederlandse verpleegkundige is bereid om “zionisten een extra spuitje te geven” en bereid “zionisten te laten sterven binnen de gezondheidszorg.” pic.twitter.com/xTnXNi1wH5
— CIDI
(@CIDI_nieuws) July 29, 2025
The incident was sparked when an Israeli-Dutch woman living in the Netherlands commented on a social media post by far-right politician Geert Wilders, who cautioned about what he called the country’s looming radical Islamization by 2050.
A social media account belonging to the Muslim nurse also commented on the post, claiming it would happen by 2027, to which the Israeli woman responded, “Your dream is our nightmare. But people wake up from nightmares. Our Netherlands, our Israel.”
“Nothing belongs to you! My grandparents built the Netherlands. I was born and raised here, and I will do everything in my power to help this country get rid of the Zionist cancer,” the nurse further replied.
“You know what I’m doing with Zionists — giving an extra injection as a nurse specialist. Letting them go to heaven!” Sa’id continued.
When the Israeli woman threatened to report her, Sa’id replied: “Haha, try your best! I don’t have a boss — I’m the boss! All Zionists can die, inside healthcare and beyond, and I’m happy to help with that!”
Shortly after her posts gained widespread attention, Sa’id deleted all her social media accounts, insisting that her identity had been stolen and that she was not responsible for such comments.
On Wednesday, local police detained Sa’id for questioning, but she denied the allegations, asserting that someone had impersonated her online.
“It seems someone is pretending to be me, posting false and defamatory statements,” the nurse said. “I want to make it clear — I hold no hatred toward Jews or any people, race, religion, or identity.”
Even after announcing plans to file an identity theft complaint, she faces skepticism from authorities, who have assigned a digital forensics expert to scrutinize her online accounts.
Last year, an account under her name also posted threatening messages aimed at Jewish people, including “Your time will come — don’t spare anyone,” and another in which she described the burial of Israelis in Gaza as “a dream come true.”
Earlier this year, two Australian nurses — Ahmad Rashad Nadir and Sarah Abu Lebdeh — gained international attention after they were seen in an online video posing as doctors and making inflammatory statements during a night-shift conversation with Veifer.
The widely circulated footage, which sparked international outrage and condemnation, showed Abu Lebdeh declaring she would refuse to treat Israeli patients and instead kill them, while Nadir made a throat-slitting gesture and claimed he had already killed many.
Following the incident, New South Wales authorities in Australia suspended their nursing registrations and banned them from working as nurses nationwide.
They were also charged with federal offenses, including threatening violence against a group and using a carriage service to threaten, menace, and harass. If convicted, they face up to 22 years in prison.
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French Authorities Halt Gaza Evacuations After Palestinian Student Expelled Over Viral Antisemitic Posts
Anti-Israel demonstration supporting the BDS movement, Paris France, June 8, 2024. Photo: Claire Serie / Hans Lucas via Reuters Connect
French authorities have halted evacuations from Gaza after a Palestinian student was expelled from the prestigious Sciences Po Lille and placed under investigation, following the viral circulation of hundreds of antisemitic posts praising Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and calling for the murder of Jews.
The incident drew widespread condemnation and public outrage, prompting French ministers to demand answers and call for an investigation into how the Gazan student was allowed into the country in the first place.
On Friday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot announced that all further evacuations from Gaza would be suspended pending the completion of the investigation into the student’s background.
After receiving a scholarship, 25-year-old Nour Atalla, a Palestinian from Gaza, arrived in the country in early July to begin her master’s degree in law and communications this fall at the Institute of Political Science in Lille, northern France.
Barrot confirmed that discussions are ongoing about the student’s possible return to Gaza, making clear that she must leave the country pending the investigation’s outcome.
“She has no place at Sciences Po, nor in France,” the top French diplomat said.
On Thursday, local authorities reported that a criminal investigation is underway into Atalla, with the public prosecutor in Lille confirming the case was opened for “apology of terrorism, apology of crimes against humanity using an online public communication service.”
Barrot admitted lapses in the screening process that allowed her entry and has mandated a comprehensive review of everyone evacuated from Gaza to France.
“The security checks, carried out by the French services and Israeli authorities, did not detect the antisemitic content,” the French diplomat said.
Atalla is one of 292 Gazans admitted to the country following a court ruling that opened the door for Gazans to seek refugee status based on their nationality.
She was offered a place at Sciences Po Lille University based on “academic excellence” and following a recommendation by the French consulate in Jerusalem.
On Wednesday, the university announced it had revoked Atalla’s enrollment after hundreds of her past antisemitic and violent social media posts went viral, sparking widespread condemnation from political leaders and members of the local Jewish community.
In several of these posts, she glorified Hitler, praised Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre across southern Israel, called for the execution of Israeli hostages and the killing of Jews, and expressed support for terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah.
In one post, Atalla shared a video of Hitler giving a speech about Jews, writing, “Kill their young and their old. Show them no mercy … And kill them everywhere.”
In another post shared on Oct. 7, 2023, the day of the deadliest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, she wrote, “We must do everything we can to match the bloodshed — as much as possible.”
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Florida State University Student Suspended for Allegedly Assaulting Jewish Classmate at Gym
Female student at Florida State University, believed to be graduate student Eden Deckerhoff, who allegedly assaulted male Jewish classmate at gym on campus. Photo: Screenshot/StopAntisemitism
Florida State University has suspended a female student who allegedly assaulted a Jewish male classmate at the Leach Student Recreation Center on Thursday after noticing his wearing apparel issued by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
“F—k Israel, Free Palestine. Put it [the video] on Barstool FSU. I really don’t give a f—k,” the woman said before shoving the man, according to video taken by the victim, who filmed the encounter. “You’re an ignorant son of a b—h.”
According to StopAntisemitism, a Jewish civil rights advocacy group, the assailant is graduate student Eden Deckerhoff. Florida State University (FSU) reportedly employs her mother, Rosalyn Deckerhoff, as a teaching professor in its College of Social Work.
“The matter is being reviewed for potential criminal charges and for charges under the FSU Student Code of Conduct,” the university said in a statement on Tuesday. “While this process is underway, the student shown prominently in the video has been prohibited from returning to campus. Our commitment to swiftly and effectively responding to incidents of hate is unwavering. We appreciate the prompt report of this incident, which allowed us to address this instance of antisemitism without delay.”
It continued, “Florida State University strongly condemns antisemitism in all forms and follows Florida law, which protects Jewish students and employees from discrimination motivated by antisemitism, harassment, intimidation, and violence.”
The incident is a surprise occurrence at FSU, which has not come under the same scrutiny as many other US universities for allegedly allowing antisemitism to fester on campus.
In 2024, as a tide of antisemitic discrimination swept across the US, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) directed the state university system to streamline the transfer process for Jewish students seeking to leave a school where they have a “well-founded fear of antisemitic persecution.”
Under the new policy, the State University System of Florida and the Florida College System may waive certain transfer application requirements that would “unnecessarily” delay transferring from one school to the next. The policy also affords Jewish students more time to submit their applications and relieves them of minimum credit requirements that would also prevent or delay their matriculating at a new campus.
“With leaders of so-called elite universities enabling antisemitic activities rather than protecting their students from threats and harassment, it is understandable that many Jewish students are looking for alternatives and looking to Florida,” DeSantis, who was seeking the 2024 Republican nomination for president of the United States at the time, said in a press release. “Throughout my tenure as governor, we have implemented measures to safeguard our Jewish communities from hatred in the K-20 school system, and with this announcement, we want to again make it clear that Jewish students are welcome to live and learn in Florida, where they will be respected and not persecuted due to their faith.”
DeSantis had previously enacted policies to curb extreme anti-Zionist activity on higher education campuses in Florida.
Following the Hamas-led massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, the state’s university system, working in consultation with the governor, directed public universities to “deactivate” chapters of the national group Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) for defending Hamas following the Palestinian terrorist group’s invasion of the Jewish state earlier that month. In a memo, State University System of Florida chancellor Ray Rodrigues referenced how, following Hamas’s onslaught, the National Students for Justice in Palestine organization called for a “Day of Resistance” on college campuses across the US, distributing propaganda aimed at demonizing Israel and seemingly defending Hamas.
In December 2021, DeSantis’ office issued a statement advising Florida State University not to allow the Middle East Studies Association (MESA), with which it was an institutional partner, from operating a boycott of Israel on its campus. The association had just moved towards — and ultimately arrived at — an endorsement of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel.
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.