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‘Don’t Let Her In, She’s a Zionist!’ Macron Leads Condemnation of Pro-Hamas Protest at Top Paris University
French President Emmanuel Macron at a ceremony in Paris to commemorate French victims of the Oct. 7 Hamas pogrom in Israel. Photo: Reuters/Gonzalo Fuentes
French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday led a chorus of condemnation of a group of pro-Hamas students who blockaded a lecture hall at one of the country’s most prestigious academic institutions, preventing Jewish students from accessing the space.
On Tuesday, more than one hundred students at the Sciences Po — formally known as the Paris Institute of Political Studies, a public research university — occupied an amphitheater which they renamed “Gaza.” The action was part of a day-long pro-Palestinian mobilization across universities in Europe, resulting in the cancelation of a scheduled class.
Jewish students who attempted to enter the theater reported that they were physically prevented from doing so. One Jewish student was regaled with cries of “she’s a Zionist, don’t let her in.” However, that account was disputed by one of the protest’s organizers, who told the AFP news agency on condition of anonymity that while the female student was blocked, on the grounds that she had allegedly “bullied and intimidated” pro-Hamas students, others Jewish students were permitted to enter.
The spectacle drew strong condemnation from leading French politicians. Addressing the Council of Ministers, Macron denounced the protest as “unspeakable and completely intolerable.” A spokesperson for his office added later that while the French president “firmly” believed that “university establishments are autonomous … this autonomy in no way justifies the slightest beginning of separatism.”
Other cabinet ministers echoed the president. “What happened has a name: antisemitism,” Equality Minister Aurora Berge declared in a post on X/Twitter, while Higher Education Minister Sylvie Retailleau asserted that at French universities, “[I]t is intolerable and shocking to suffer the slightest discrimination, the slightest incitement to hatred.” Valérie Pécresse, the president of the Paris region, also voiced her disgust, saying that “the Palestinian cause deserves better than these antisemitic barbs worthy of the worst hours of the history of France.”
The Union of Jewish Students in France (UEJF), whose members were confronted at the protest, said separately that “UEJF students are attacked as Jews and Zionists. We call for the immediate lifting of the blockade and exemplary sanctions against these students.”
The management of Sciences Po meanwhile issued an official condemnation of the protest, pledging disciplinary action against “these intolerable acts.”
An open letter published in the news outlet Le Figaro provided a platform to students opposed to the protest to express their anguish at “the painful phrase ‘Don’t let her in, she’s a Zionist.’”
The letter stated: “Nothing in these words deserves its place in our school. No place in our democracy should accept them. These words are proof of absolute bankruptcy. The very meaning of our institution and our commitment as students has been chipped and in this space that has opened since [the Hamas pogrom of] Oct. 7 we do not want to let any monsters pass. These words go against who we are.”
The post ‘Don’t Let Her In, She’s a Zionist!’ Macron Leads Condemnation of Pro-Hamas Protest at Top Paris University first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Beersheba Resident Arrested on Suspicion of Espionage for Iran
Doron Bokobza, who was indicted after Iran recruited him to collect intelligence Photo: i24/ Social media / 27A
i24 News – An indictment was filed against a resident of Beersheba, Doron Bokobza, who contacted Iranian intelligence and offered to sell them information including secrets to the nuclear research facility in Dimona.
In February, Bokobza was arrested on suspicion of committing security offenses, involving contact with Iranian police intelligence agents and carrying out tasks for them in exchange for money. He claimed to have access and knowledge of the nuclear facility.
According to the indictment filed against him, last December, Bokobza approached an Iranian recruiter via the Telegram app, writing: “I am Israeli, I want to cross over to you.” When asked by the recruiter why he was interested in doing so, the defendant replied that it was due to the government and his difficult financial situation.
Bokobza allegedly photographed military installations and transferred information to the Iranian handlers several days later.
The post Beersheba Resident Arrested on Suspicion of Espionage for Iran first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Captive IDF Soldier Nimrod Cohen Identified from Horn Video Hamas Released
Nimrod Cohen, an IDF soldier who was kidnapped on October 7, 2023, by Gazan terrorists and has been held for more than 500 days. Photo: Hostages and Missing Families Forum
i24 News – The family of the Israeli soldier Nimrod Cohen, held captive in the Gaza Strip, said on Saturday that they had identified their son in the video published the day before by Hamas.
In this recording, Eitan and Iair Horn, Sagui Dekel-Chen, and other hostages whose faces have been blurred can be seen. The Cohen family says they recognized Nimrod, who appears wearing a t-shirt and bearing a characteristic tattoo.
In the video broadcast with the agreement of the Horn family, brothers Eitan and Iair are seen embracing. Iair Horn, freed on the 498th day of the war, declares: “They are making me leave my little brother here, to die,” while his brother Eitan, still in captivity, adds: “It is illogical to separate families in this way.”
“Get everyone out and don’t separate families, don’t destroy our lives,” Eitan said in the video. “Tell mom and dad to continue the protests and for this government to sign phase two to bring us all home.” He addressed the Prime Minister directly: “[Benjamin] Netanyahu, if you have a bit of heart, sign, sign today.”
Father Yehuda Cohen said during a demonstration of hostage families that his “son Nimrod is a soldier who was kidnapped from a burning tank. He is alive and he, like all the hostages, begs us from this hell to save them now. All of them, and all at once.”
“We are addressing President Trump – there are still 59 hostages in Gaza who are living a Holocaust,” he added. “Netanyahu is trying to sabotage your agreement, Mr. President. He is the one creating the current crisis in the negotiations. Don’t let him fail the agreement.”
About two weeks ago, Cohen revealed in an interview with Channel 12 that the family had received a message from Nimrod. “We got news from him last week, from two hostages who spent eight months with him in the tunnels,” the father explained. “I’m doing fine, don’t worry about me. I love you,” Nimrod conveyed to his parents through the former captives.
The post Captive IDF Soldier Nimrod Cohen Identified from Horn Video Hamas Released first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israel’s Right-Wing Camp Hails Order to Block Goods from Entering Gaza
Jewish Power party leader Itamar Ben-Gvir speaks following the announcement of exit polls in Israel’s general election, at his party headquarters in Jerusalem November 2, 2022. REUTERS/Corinna Kern
i24 News – Israel’s right wing hailed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision on Sunday to halt goods and supplies from being brought to the Gaza Strip, demanding that hostages continue being released.
“I welcome the decision to halt the humanitarian aid, if it is implemented,” said former national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir. “The decision has finally been made – better late than never. This should be the policy until the last of the hostages is returned. Now is the time to open the gates of hell, to shut off the electricity and water, to return to war, and most importantly, not to settle for just half of the hostages, but to return to President Trump’s ultimatum all the hostages immediately or hell will break loose on Gaza.”
Ben Gvir referred to US President Donald Trump’s warning that “all hell” would break out if all the hostages are not returned, while saying that it was ultimately Israel’s decision.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, another right-wing firebrand, said that “the decision we made tonight to completely halt the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza until Hamas is destroyed or completely surrenders and all our hostages are returned is an important step in the right direction.”
He called for Israel to continue until “complete victory.”
Meanwhile, the far-right Order 9 movement, which opposed the entry of goods including humanitarian assistance into Gaza, said that its activists “reached the Kerem Shalom crossing area and it is indeed closed. We will stand guard that it will indeed remain so until the last of the kidnapped are returned”
“The transfer of aid that has strengthened the murderous terrorist organization Hamas for the past year and a half will stop until all the kidnapped are returned,” the movement said. “For many months, we have fought tooth and nail against the terrible failure to transfer aid to the enemy, which has now become clear that it will strengthen it for many months to come. We are now on the ground and will continue to stand guard well, and to ensure that this severe harm to the kidnapped will stop.”
The post Israel’s Right-Wing Camp Hails Order to Block Goods from Entering Gaza first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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