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December Was Filled with Outrage on Campus and Elsewhere; Here’s What Happened
Throughout December, campus BDS and antisemitism remained shaped by the ongoing war in Gaza.
The main event of the month was the appearance of the presidents of Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before a House committee investigating antisemitism on campus.
Most controversially, the presidents were asked if calls for genocide against Jews would be protected speech.
Then-UPenn president Liz Magill stated that “If the speech turns into conduct, it can be harassment, yes,” adding that “It is a context dependent decision.” The answer was echoed by Harvard president Claudine Gay, who stated that “it depends on the context,” and MIT president Sally Kornbluth, who noted the school would act “if the speech turns into conduct.” Gay added that calls for intifada were “evil,” and “personally abhorrent,”and “at odds with the values of Harvard,” but declined to say whether they violated university policies.
The presidents’ inept responses provoked a firestorm of criticism from the White House, the public, lawmakers, and alums, and resulted in Magill’s and Gay’s resignations, along with the head of Penn’s board of trustees.
The donor revolt against academia that began in October when universities faltered in issuing statements condemning Hamas widened in December. Several elite institutions, especially Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania, reported losing major gifts, missing fundraising targets, lowering the “donor door” for special consideration, and expressing the need to reestablish relationships with alumni.
At the same time, the Hamas attack and the BDS-inspired campus responses have made the larger problem of academia’s intellectual and political monoculture more broadly understood.
This situation has long been cast in terms of political parties, such as the near absolute dominance of Democratic voters and donors within the humanities and social sciences. But the intellectual aspect was fully revealed by support for Hamas’ atrocities from students and professors defending “decolonization” and violence.
In response to the donor revolt at the University of Pennsylvania, some 900 faculty members signed a letter expressing opposition to what was described as “attempts by trustees, donors, and other external actors to interfere with our academic policies and to undermine academic freedom.”
Donor objections to specific presidents and policies, above all Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and their powerful bureaucracies, have been in the open since October. Reports from Princeton and elsewhere have shown that concerns from Jewish students are dismissed and even ridiculed by DEI bureaucrats. As calls to dismantle DEI bureaucracies have increased, Jewish organizations have sought to integrate Jewish concerns within existing DEI initiatives. These run counter to the emerging political wave against DEI as a whole.
Faculty members remain at the forefront of “pro-Palestine” activities on campus. “Faculty for Justice in Palestine” chapters continue to be formed, including at Rutgers University, Princeton University, the University of Michigan, the University of Massachusetts, the University of Hawaii, and elsewhere. The groups are formed under the aegis of the leading BDS organization, the US Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel.
Faculty groups in December also shifted to issuing statements affirming their right to “academic freedom.” This was cast exclusively terms of “Israel/Palestine” and demands that faculty be given absolute impunity to explicitly politicize pedagogy.
UCLA faculty demanded the university, “Publicly reject the deliberately mendacious and misleading conflation of criticism of the Israeli state with antisemitism,” and “Offer resources, services and accommodations to students, faculty, and staff affected by the genocide in Palestine and mounting repression campaigns.”
University of Wisconsin faculty stated that, “using stereotypes about Jewish people in criticism of Israel would indeed be antisemitic, but simple critique (or even condemnation) of the state of Israel must be protected as part of a healthy educational discourse.”
Swarthmore College faculty claimed that, “The suggestion that the classroom is not a political space or that the College is a neutral institution that is in some way hermetically sealed from our broader geopolitical context contradicts the College’s commitment to rigorous scholarship that engages with the most pressing contemporary issues. This fantasy also obscures the College’s ongoing complicity with U.S. militarism.”
The notion that faculty are among the real victims in campus politics is also widespread. Middle East studies faculty continue to complain that they are being “silenced” and that “academic repression” surrounding “Israel-Palestine” is “widespread.”
Revelations also continue to emerge regarding the antisemitic content forced into K-12 education through ethnic studies curricula, which cast Israelis and Jews as oppressors.
Despite a stream of revelations regarding teachers effectively preaching jihad in the classroom, few have been removed, particularly in systems such as New York City, where union regulations make it nearly impossible. Reports also note the widespread presence of Democratic Socialists of America’ members in schools and on school boards providing protection for anti-Israel and anti-capitalist propaganda. Statements such as that from the Massachusetts Teachers Union accusing the US of complicity in “genocide” confirms the far left and anti-Israel orientation of these groups.
Fortunately in California, the epicenter of ethnic studies, a University of California committee narrowly decided to drop ethnic studies as an admission requirement for the state university system. This would have forced high schools across the state to present such courses, which are have been developed by anti-Israel faculty.
The impacts of anti-Israel sentiment in academia after October 7 has also been felt in informal boycotts of Israeli faculty and institutions. Publications, invitations, collaborations, and requests for sharing of materials and data have reportedly been slowed. These boycotts have the potential for harming Israel’s economic and academic standings, and may have an impact on global science, given Israel’s outsized contributions.
Campus protests continued during December. Sit-ins were undertaken at Swarthmore College, the University of Massachusetts, Vassar College, Stanford University, Harvard University, Occidental College, and New York University, among others.
Many protests were aimed at disrupting university operations. University trustees, presidents, and Jewish events were particular targets:
BDS supporters also undertook a variety of illegal activities. A student referendum on BDS at the University of Michigan was canceled by the administration after pro-Palestinian students illegally accessed a campus wide email system to send messages. At George Washington University, students illegally recorded the university president and edited the audio to make it appear she had expressed “anti-Palestinian” views.
Consistent with the explicit calls to “Globalize the intifada,” public protests and riots ostensibly in support of the “Palestinian cause” were widespread in December. Transportation was specifically targeted. Traffic was stopped on bridges in the New York City area, the 110 freeway in Los Angeles, and the Bay Bridge in Oakland, access roads to JFK Airport, O’Hare Airport, and countless other locations. Grand Central Station, Penn Station, and other rail links were also targeted. Numerous sites including the Lincoln Memorial were vandalized with Free Gaza graffiti.
Christmas and festive celebrations and shopping were disrupted in parks, malls, stores and public venues ,such as midtown Manhattan and London, by protestors declaring “Christmas is canceled.” Assaults and arrests were reported. Protests were also held on Christmas morning outside the homes of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and national Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. Efforts to shut down New Year’s celebrations were made in major cities.
The situation in Gaza was the ostensible motive but the actions were undertaken by pro-Palestinian groups as well as a wide array of communist and social groups including The People’s Forum and the Party for Socialism and Liberation. The support for “Palestine” given by climate change personality Greta Thunberg demonstrated the unity of these and other far left causes.
Another direct reflection of “Globalize the Intifada” protests were hundreds of bomb threats and swatting threats called in to Jewish institutions, apparently from outside the US. Violent protests were held outside of Jewish owned business in cities including Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York City. Property crimes directed against Jewish owned businesses and other sites in New York City also rose 85% in December. S
Shabbat services at Temple Beth Am in Los Angeles were relocated for the first time in history after a pro-Hamas demonstration was scheduled in a park across the street.
The House of Representatives also passed a resolution condemning the October 7 attack and stating that anti-Zionism is a form of antisemitism. The measure passed 311-14 but 92 Democrats voted “present.” The pro-BDS “Squad” comprised the no votes along with Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY).
The increasingly wide distribution of Muslim communities in the US and their growing political action around the single issue of opposing Israel is a growing factor in future electoral calculations, particularly in states such as Michigan, Virginia, and New Jersey.
At the same time pro-Hamas activists have continued to target Democrats. In one incident a Michigan Democratic Party holiday event was disrupted when members of the Palestinian Youth Movement and Party for Socialism and Liberation entered the venue to harass Congresswoman Shri Thanedar (D-MI). The resulting fight sent several individuals to the hospital. Congressman Ritchie Torres (D-NY) was harassed by pro-Hamas protestors at the 92nd Street Y who shouted “Ritchie Torres, you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide.” Pro-Hamas protestors also vandalized the offices of several Democratic Congressmen. as well as the home of Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA). The willingness to attack politicians is a grave escalation in the war against Israel in the US.
The author is a contributor to SPME, where a version of this article was first published.
The post December Was Filled with Outrage on Campus and Elsewhere; Here’s What Happened first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Hamas Says No Interim Hostage Deal Possible Without Work Toward Permanent Ceasefire
Explosions send smoke into the air in Gaza, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, July 17, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
The spokesperson for Hamas’s armed wing said on Friday that while the Palestinian terrorist group favors reaching an interim truce in the Gaza war, if such an agreement is not reached in current negotiations it could revert to insisting on a full package deal to end the conflict.
Hamas has previously offered to release all the hostages held in Gaza and conclude a permanent ceasefire agreement, and Israel has refused, Abu Ubaida added in a televised speech.
Arab mediators Qatar and Egypt, backed by the United States, have hosted more than 10 days of talks on a US-backed proposal for a 60-day truce in the war.
Israeli officials were not immediately available for comment on the eve of the Jewish Sabbath.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement on a call he had with Pope Leo on Friday that Israel‘s efforts to secure a hostage release deal and 60-day ceasefire “have so far not been reciprocated by Hamas.”
As part of the potential deal, 10 hostages held in Gaza would be returned along with the bodies of 18 others, spread out over 60 days. In exchange, Israel would release a number of detained Palestinians.
“If the enemy remains obstinate and evades this round as it has done every time before, we cannot guarantee a return to partial deals or the proposal of the 10 captives,” said Abu Ubaida.
Disputes remain over maps of Israeli army withdrawals, aid delivery mechanisms into Gaza, and guarantees that any eventual truce would lead to ending the war, said two Hamas officials who spoke to Reuters on Friday.
The officials said the talks have not reached a breakthrough on the issues under discussion.
Hamas says any agreement must lead to ending the war, while Netanyahu says the war will only end once Hamas is disarmed and its leaders expelled from Gaza.
Almost 1,650 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed as a result of the conflict, including 1,200 killed in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on southern Israel, according to Israeli tallies. Over 250 hostages were kidnapped during Hamas’s Oct. 7 onslaught.
Israel responded with an ongoing military campaign aimed at freeing the hostages and dismantling Hamas’s military and governing capabilities in neighboring Gaza.
The post Hamas Says No Interim Hostage Deal Possible Without Work Toward Permanent Ceasefire first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Iran Marks 31st Anniversary of AMIA Bombing by Slamming Argentina’s ‘Baseless’ Accusations, Blaming Israel
People hold images of the victims of the 1994 bombing attack on the Argentine Israeli Mutual Association (AMIA) community center, marking the 30th anniversary of the attack, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, July 18, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Irina Dambrauskas
Iran on Friday marked the 31st anniversary of the 1994 bombing of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) Jewish community center in Buenos Aires by slamming Argentina for what it called “baseless” accusations over Tehran’s alleged role in the terrorist attack and accusing Israel of politicizing the atrocity to influence the investigation and judicial process.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on the anniversary of Argentina’s deadliest terrorist attack, which killed 85 people and wounded more than 300.
“While completely rejecting the accusations against Iranian citizens, the Islamic Republic of Iran condemns attempts by certain Argentine factions to pressure the judiciary into issuing baseless charges and politically motivated rulings,” the statement read.
“Reaffirming that the charges against its citizens are unfounded, the Islamic Republic of Iran insists on restoring their reputation and calls for an end to this staged legal proceeding,” it continued.
Last month, a federal judge in Argentina ordered the trial in absentia of 10 Iranian and Lebanese nationals suspected of orchestrating the attack in Buenos Aires.
The ten suspects set to stand trial include former Iranian and Lebanese ministers and diplomats, all of whom are subject to international arrest warrants issued by Argentina for their alleged roles in the terrorist attack.
In its statement on Friday, Iran also accused Israel of influencing the investigation to advance a political campaign against the Islamist regime in Tehran, claiming the case has been used to serve Israeli interests and hinder efforts to uncover the truth.
“From the outset, elements and entities linked to the Zionist regime [Israel] exploited this suspicious explosion, pushing the investigation down a false and misleading path, among whose consequences was to disrupt the long‑standing relations between the people of Iran and Argentina,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry said.
“Clear, undeniable evidence now shows the Zionist regime and its affiliates exerting influence on the Argentine judiciary to frame Iranian nationals,” the statement continued.
In April, lead prosecutor Sebastián Basso — who took over the case after the 2015 murder of his predecessor, Alberto Nisman — requested that federal Judge Daniel Rafecas issue national and international arrest warrants for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei over his alleged involvement in the attack.
Since 2006, Argentine authorities have sought the arrest of eight Iranians — including former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who died in 2017 — yet more than three decades after the deadly bombing, all suspects remain still at large.
In a post on X, the Delegation of Argentine Israelite Associations (DAIA), the country’s Jewish umbrella organization, released a statement commemorating the 31st anniversary of the bombing.
“It was a brutal attack on Argentina, its democracy, and its rule of law,” the group said. “At DAIA, we continue to demand truth and justice — because impunity is painful, and memory is a commitment to both the present and the future.”
31 años del atentado a la AMIA – DAIA. 31 años sin justicia.
El 18 de julio de 1994, un atentado terrorista dejó 85 personas muertas y más de 300 heridas. Fue un ataque brutal contra la Argentina, su democracia y su Estado de derecho.
Desde la DAIA, seguimos exigiendo verdad y… pic.twitter.com/kV2ReGNTIk
— DAIA (@DAIAArgentina) July 18, 2025
Despite Argentina’s longstanding belief that Lebanon’s Shiite Hezbollah terrorist group carried out the devastating attack at Iran’s request, the 1994 bombing has never been claimed or officially solved.
Meanwhile, Tehran has consistently denied any involvement and refused to arrest or extradite any suspects.
To this day, the decades-long investigation into the terrorist attack has been plagued by allegations of witness tampering, evidence manipulation, cover-ups, and annulled trials.
In 2006, former prosecutor Nisman formally charged Iran for orchestrating the attack and Hezbollah for carrying it out.
Nine years later, he accused former Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner — currently under house arrest on corruption charges — of attempting to cover up the crime and block efforts to extradite the suspects behind the AMIA atrocity in return for Iranian oil.
Nisman was killed later that year, and to this day, both his case and murder remain unresolved and under ongoing investigation.
The alleged cover-up was reportedly formalized through the memorandum of understanding signed in 2013 between Kirchner’s government and Iranian authorities, with the stated goal of cooperating to investigate the AMIA bombing.
The post Iran Marks 31st Anniversary of AMIA Bombing by Slamming Argentina’s ‘Baseless’ Accusations, Blaming Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Jordan Reveals Muslim Brotherhood Operating Vast Illegal Funding Network Tied to Gaza Donations, Political Campaigns
Murad Adailah, the head of Jordan’s Muslim Brotherhood, attends an interview with Reuters in Amman, Jordan, Sept. 7, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Jehad Shelbak
The Muslim Brotherhood, one of the Arab world’s oldest and most influential Islamist movements, has been implicated in a wide-ranging network of illegal financial activities in Jordan and abroad, according to a new investigative report.
Investigations conducted by Jordanian authorities — along with evidence gathered from seized materials — revealed that the Muslim Brotherhood raised tens of millions of Jordanian dinars through various illegal activities, the Jordan news agency (Petra) reported this week.
With operations intensifying over the past eight years, the report showed that the group’s complex financial network was funded through various sources, including illegal donations, profits from investments in Jordan and abroad, and monthly fees paid by members inside and outside the country.
The report also indicated that the Muslim Brotherhood has taken advantage of the war in Gaza to raise donations illegally.
Out of all donations meant for Gaza, the group provided no information on where the funds came from, how much was collected, or how they were distributed, and failed to work with any international or relief organizations to manage the transfers properly.
Rather, the investigations revealed that the Islamist network used illicit financial mechanisms to transfer funds abroad.
According to Jordanian authorities, the group gathered more than JD 30 million (around $42 million) over recent years.
With funds transferred to several Arab, regional, and foreign countries, part of the money was allegedly used to finance domestic political campaigns in 2024, as well as illegal activities and cells.
In April, Jordan outlawed the Muslim Brotherhood, the country’s most vocal opposition group, and confiscated its assets after members of the Islamist movement were found to be linked to a sabotage plot.
The movement’s political arm in Jordan, the Islamic Action Front, became the largest political grouping in parliament after elections last September, although most seats are still held by supporters of the government.
Opponents of the group, which is banned in most Arab countries, label it a terrorist organization. However, the movement claims it renounced violence decades ago and now promotes its Islamist agenda through peaceful means.
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