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Debra Messing at Israel Film Festival Event Discusses ‘Dismantling Virulent Jew Hatred’ Through Film
(From left) IFF Founder and Executive Director Meir Feningstein, IFF honoree Debra Messing, and Jonah Platt. Photo: Michelle Mivzari
Jewish Emmy and SAG Award-winning actress Debra Messing was honored at a luncheon in Beverly Hills, Calif., leading up to the start of the 37th Israel Film Festival (IFF) in Los Angeles.
Messing — who is also a human rights activist and the executive producer of the documentary “October 8” about the rise of antisemitism on college campuses – received the 2025 IFF Achievement in Film and Television Award at the event on June 6. The award was presented to her by Jewish podcaster and actor Jonah Platt.
“I have always believed that storytelling is the most powerful tool we have to reveal humanity in all its shapes, and facets; to inspire empathy, to illuminate truths and to give voice to those who’s peoplehood and cultures have been ignored,” the former “Will & Grace” star said upon accepting her award. “That is the beauty of film and television. Stories help us remember our shared humanity.”
“They challenge prejudice, bridge divides, and preserve culture,” she added. “They show us what’s possible. And that is what the Israel Film Festival has done for nearly four decades. Especially now, when so many Israeli films are being denied entry into festivals or pulled from platforms — it’s more vital than ever that we support Israeli filmmakers; that we watch their work and help amplify their art. Because they are telling stories that matter. Stories of resilience, innovation, survival, family, and identity. These stories are a potent way to help dismantle the virulent Jew hatred, and erasure of Israel’s sovereignty.”
Those in attendance at the luncheon included Yehuda and Yotam Cohen, the father and brother of Hamas hostage Nimrod Cohen, who has been held captive for over 600 days. They addressed the audience and called for the immediate release of all hostages abducted by Hamas-led terrorists during their deadly rampage across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Also at the luncheon, Rabbi Marvin Hier — founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, its Museum of Tolerance, and Moriah Films — received the 2025 IFF Humanitarian Award. Film producer Brad Krevoy presented the award to Hier, who is also the recipient of two Academy Awards.
“I believe the role of film in shaping our values and future will only grow,” Hier said in his acceptance speech. “Your work has never been as important and necessary as it is today, at a time when our world needs more guidance than ever. As our sages teach us, the Heavens belong to God, but the earth was given to man, it is up to us to tell our story to secure our destiny, to confront the bigots and haters! As long as we continue to do that, Netzach Yisrael Lo Yeshaker. The eternity of Israel will never be forsaken. Am Yisrael Chai! [Long live Israel].”
The luncheon took place at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills and Beverly Hills Mayor Sharona R. Nazarian issued a proclamation to Meir Fenigstein, founder and executive director of the Israeli Film Festival.
“I am very proud that no matter what is happening in the world and in Israel we are producing this event year after year,” said Fenigstein. “I feel it’s my mission to bring us all together and celebrate films, each other and the Jewish contribution to cinema. This has been a challenging time for all of us since Oct. 7 as cultural events like these are facing boycotts worldwide. This is not just an entertainment event. This festival shows our contributions to the arts, society, and humanity.”
The 37th Israel Film Festival in Los Angeles will take place from Nov. 5–20. It will highlight Israel’s film and television industry, and provides opportunities for cooperation, distribution, and co-production between American and Israeli film and television industries.
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Antisemitic Incidents at Argentina Local Soccer Match Spark Official Investigations, Condemnations
Fans of Argentinian soccer club All Boys marched through the streets before their match against Atlanta soccer club, carrying a coffin draped with an Israeli flag alongside Iranian and Palestinian flags. Photo: Screenshot
Argentinian authorities and soccer officials have launched investigations following antisemitic incidents by Club Atlético All Boys fans during Sunday’s local match against Atlanta.
Atlanta, a soccer team based in the Villa Crespo neighborhood of Buenos Aires, has deep historical ties to Argentina’s Jewish community, which has long been a significant presence in the area.
This latest antisemitic incident took place outside the stadium before the game had even started.
All Boys fans were seen waving Palestinian and Iranian flags, carrying a coffin draped with an Israeli flag, and handing out flyers bearing messages like “Free Palestine” and “Israel and Atlanta are the same crap.”
Before a football match today against the Argentine sports club Atlanta, which is closely associated with the Jewish community, fans of the opposing team, All Boys, waved Islamic Republic and Palestinian flags while parading a coffin draped in an Israeli flag through the streets.… pic.twitter.com/IQs4v6eoFz
— Hen Mazzig (@HenMazzig) June 29, 2025
Then, during the match — which ended in a 0-0 draw — a drone carrying a Palestinian flag flew over the stadium, while some fans reportedly chanted anti-Israel slogans.
Local police confirmed they have issued citations to individuals accused of inciting public disorder and related offenses.
On Monday, the Argentine Football Association (AFA) condemned the incidents as “abhorrent” and confirmed the organization has opened a formal inquiry into the events.
“This is not folklore. This is discrimination,” the statement reads.
Argentina’s Security Minister Patricia Bullrich also announced that a criminal complaint has been filed, citing “acts of violence, expressions of racial and religious hatred, and public intimidation.”
In a post on X, the Delegation of Argentine Israelite Associations (DAIA), the country’s Jewish umbrella organization, condemned the incidents and called on both local authorities and the soccer officials to “take firm action against these acts of hatred.”
“We urge the authorities to take all necessary actions and apply the full force of the law,” the statement reads. “Violence and discrimination must have no place in our society.”
Repudiamos enérgicamente las expresiones antisemitas ocurridas hoy en las inmediaciones del estadio Malvinas Argentinas.
Exigimos a las autoridades correspondientes, a la AFA y al Club All Boys que actúen con firmeza ante estos hechos de odio.
La violencia y la discriminación no… pic.twitter.com/3AmY7IQscY— DAIA (@DAIAArgentina) June 29, 2025
Since the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Argentina has experienced a surge in antisemitic incidents and anti-Jewish hate crimes.
According to a recent report by DAIA, Argentina experienced a 15 percent increase in antisemitic activity last year, with 687 anti-Jewish hate crimes recorded — up from 598 incidents in 2023 — marking a significant rise nationwide.
The study indicates that 66 percent of the antisemitic incidents originated in the digital realm, with a significant rise in Nazi symbols and conspiracy theories, but there was also a 34 percent increase in reported physical assaults, with such hate crimes rising in schools and neighborhoods.
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Iranian nuclear program degraded by up to two years, Pentagon says
A satellite image of Iran’s Fordow nuclear facility. Photo: File.
The Pentagon said on Wednesday that US strikes 10 days ago had degraded Iran’s nuclear program by up to two years, suggesting the U.S. military operation likely achieved its goals despite a far more cautious initial assessment that leaked to the public.
Sean Parnell, a Pentagon spokesman, offered the figure at a briefing to reporters, adding that the official estimate was “probably closer to two years.” Parnell did not provide evidence to back up his assessment.
“We have degraded their program by one to two years, at least intel assessments inside the Department [of Defense] assess that,” Parnell told a news briefing.
U.S. military bombers carried out strikes against three Iranian nuclear facilities on June 22 using more than a dozen 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs and more than two dozen Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles.
The evolving U.S. intelligence about the impact of the strikes is being closely watched, after President Donald Trump said almost immediately after they took place that Iran’s program had been obliterated, language echoed by Parnell at Wednesday’s briefing.
Such conclusions often take the U.S. intelligence community weeks or more to determine.
“All of the intelligence that we’ve seen [has] led us to believe that Iran’s — those facilities especially, have been completely obliterated,” Parnell said.
Over the weekend, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, said that Iran could be producing enriched uranium in a few months, raising doubts about how effective US strikes to destroy Tehran’s nuclear program have been.
Several experts have also cautioned that Iran likely moved a stockpile of near weapons-grade highly enriched uranium out of the deeply buried Fordow site before the strikes and could be hiding it.
But US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said last week he was unaware of intelligence suggesting Iran had moved its highly enriched uranium to shield it from US strikes.
A preliminary assessment last week from the Defense Intelligence Agency suggested that the strikes may have only set back Iran’s nuclear program by months. But Trump administration officials said that assessment was low confidence and had been overtaken by intelligence showing Iran’s nuclear program was severely damaged.
According to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, the strikes on the Fordow nuclear site caused severe damage.
“No one exactly knows what has transpired in Fordow. That being said, what we know so far is that the facilities have been seriously and heavily damaged,” Araqchi said in the interview broadcast by CBS News on Tuesday.
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Switzerland Moves to Close Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s Geneva Office Over Legal Irregularities
Palestinians carry aid supplies received from the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in the central Gaza Strip, May 29, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ramadan Abed/File Photo
Switzerland has moved to shut down the Geneva office of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a US- and Israeli-backed aid group, citing legal irregularities in its establishment.
The GHF began distributing food packages in Gaza in late May, implementing a new aid delivery model aimed at preventing the diversion of supplies by Hamas, as Israel continues its defensive military campaign against the Palestinian terrorist group.
The initiative has drawn criticism from the UN and international organizations, some of which have claimed that Jerusalem is causing starvation in the war-torn enclave.
Israel has vehemently denied such accusations, noting that, until its recently imposed blockade, it had provided significant humanitarian aid in the enclave throughout the war.
Israeli officials have also said much of the aid that flows into Gaza is stolen by Hamas, which uses it for terrorist operations and sells the rest at high prices to Gazan civilians.
With a subsidiary registered in Geneva, the GHF — headquartered in Delaware — reports having delivered over 56 million meals to Palestinians in just one month.
According to a regulatory announcement published Wednesday in the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce, the Federal Supervisory Authority for Foundations (ESA) may order the dissolution of the GHF if no creditors come forward within the legal 30-day period.
The Trump administration did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the Swiss decision to shut down its Geneva office.
“The GHF confirmed to the ESA that it had never carried out activities in Switzerland … and that it intends to dissolve the Geneva-registered branch,” the ESA said in a statement.
Last week, Geneva authorities gave the GHF a 30-day deadline to address legal shortcomings or risk facing enforcement measures.
Under local laws and regulations, the foundation failed to meet several requirements: it did not appoint a board member authorized to sign documents domiciled in Switzerland, did not have the minimum three board members, lacked a Swiss bank account and valid address, and operated without an auditing body.
The GHF operates independently from UN-backed mechanisms, which Hamas has sought to reinstate, arguing that these vehicles are more neutral.
Israeli and American officials have rejected those calls, saying Hamas previously exploited UN-run systems to siphon aid for its war effort.
The UN has denied those allegations while expressing concerns that the GHF’s approach forces civilians to risk their safety by traveling long distances across active conflict zones to reach food distribution points.
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