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Duke Parents and Faculty Respond to Hate-Filled Indoctrination at School; Will Federal Government Act?
Duke University. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
More than 100 Duke University alumni and parents have signed a letter to the university, expressing serious concerns about what they describe as “extremism” by Frances Hasso, Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Gender, Sexuality and Feminist Studies.
The letter encapsulates details that I initially reported. It articulates serious concerns regarding Hasso’s upcoming instruction of the school’s Global Palestine course this Fall. They write:
Professor Hasso has a long and public history of hostility and antipathy toward Israel and Zionists. In just the past year and a half, Professor Hasso has questioned allegations of rape and sexual torture of Israelis from Hamas on October 7 asserting “No one was raped on October 7.” Hasso recently shared a post alleging that “Israel keeps trying to kill Israeli hostages… all as [an] excuse to prolong the Genocidal plan of erasing two million Palestinians from Gaza. Israel’s priorities are Nazi’s war-time policies – fastracking Genocide (Final Solution).” She also previously posted on X: “HAMAS OFFICIALLY DEFEATS ISRAEL!” and “The US empire cannot end soon enough.”
The alumni and parents add:
Surely Duke can find a more qualified and objective teacher for such a sensitive subject matter… At an absolute minimum, it should be co-taught by a historian with a background in Israeli and Middle Eastern studies to counter Professor Hasso’s extremism.
Following my reports earlier this month, additional information regarding Hasso has come to light.
Earlier this week, and also in February, Hasso publicly referred to Israel as “Israhell.”
In February, she posted, “Zionists should zip it, always” and earlier this month reposted, “It is our duty to confront zionists wherever they appear [sic].”
I firmly believe that Duke administrators would consider such statements — if directed towards any other group of people, such as Palestinians or Muslims — to be hostile.
The vast majority of American Jews support Israel. How exactly are Jewish and pro-Israel students expected to feel welcomed and valued in Hasso’s class, and in the gender studies department with her publicly stated belief that “Zionists should zip it, always”?
In April, Hasso alleged that Israel or Jews may have employed a “tactical nuke” in Lebanon. She wrote on X, “Thinking abt [about] ’20 Beirut port explosion, framed as corruption, but prob Zio use of tactical nuke.”
As reported by the BBC and Scientific American, tactical nuclear weapons have never been deployed in warfare, and no nuclear weapon has been utilized in conflict since World War II.
An investigation by Human Rights Watch, an organization recognized for its highly critical stance towards Israel, found that the 2020 Beirut port explosion was a “non-nuclear explosion” and attributed responsibility to Lebanese officials, recommending they face sanctions.
Yet Hasso publicly says that the port explosion in Beirut is probably due to “Zio use of tactical nuke.” Even if she were to later claim this was an exaggeration, this is clearly a hostile and aggressive environment for any student who supports Israel’s right to exist, like the vast majority of Jews, and also the vast majority of Americans.
In a further escalation of her assertion, Hasso employed the antisemitic term “Zio” in her statement. The Jewish Journal explains Zio is “a derogatory code word for Jews invented by white supremacists.”
Hasso has repeatedly made social media posts using this despicable slur.
In 2023, Hasso made a social media post calling the Auschwitz Memorial account on X “bullshit.”
On Sunday, Hasso reposted, “Israel and America are two of the most evil countries in the world.”
How can any students — besides that hate both America and Israel — feel they are in an open learning environment when they study with Hasso?
The Duke alumni and parents concluded their letter to President Price by writing:
We appreciate your leadership at Duke in preventing the campus antisemitism that has plagued so many other elite US universities. We continue to fully support your efforts to ensure that Duke remains a welcoming place for all students, including Jewish and pro-Israel students. We hope that you will agree that this course taught by Professor Hasso would surely not be commensurate with that important goal.
Given the prolonged time that Hasso has been allowed to spew these views, it is time for Duke President Vincent Price and his senior administration to be considered complicit. If Duke does not take serious action, the Federal government should focus on the Duke administration, much as it has done with Harvard and Columbia.
Peter Reitzes writes about issues related to antisemitism and Israel.
The post Duke Parents and Faculty Respond to Hate-Filled Indoctrination at School; Will Federal Government Act? first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Tourists Stranded in Israel as Sirens Sound, Missiles Fly, Planes Grounded
FILE PHOTO: A worker at Ben Gurion International Airport in Israel sits at the arrivals terminal as all flights from and to the airport are indicated cancel, following an Israeli attack on Iran. June 13, 2025 Photo: REUTERS/Tomer Appelbaum
Woken by air raid sirens, hurrying to bomb shelters, scouring travel sites for escape routes — thousands of tourists in Israel have found their holiday plans upended by the country’s conflict with Iran.
Israel launched a surprise attack on Iran in the early hours of Friday, shutting down the national airspace and telling people to remain where they were as the arch Middle East foes traded deadly blows.
The violence has left around 40,000 tourists blocked in Israel, according to the Ministry of Tourism. Airlines are cancelling flights until further notice, leaving travelers to decide whether to wait it out or seek costly detours through neighboring countries.
Justin Joyner, from California, is on holiday in Jerusalem with his father John, who lives in Nevada, and his son. They had expected some possible disruption, with Israel locked in a months-long conflict against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.
But, like most locals, they did not foresee a whole new war.
“We didn’t expect Israel to attack Iran. That is a completely different level of escalation,” Joyner said from his hotel in East Jerusalem, which, for the past two nights, has seen Iranian ballistic missiles flash overhead like a rain of meteorites.
“It’s unsettling to feel the shockwaves of intercepted missiles above you, and to take your family down to a bomb shelter. That’s just something we don’t think about in America,” he said.
Dr. Greer Glazer, who lives in Cleveland and was in Jerusalem for a nursing training program, faces a race down 10 flights of stairs in her hotel to reach the shelter when sirens sound — as they have done regularly since Friday night.
“I feel safe,” she said, “but waking from a dead sleep and running to the safe room, that’s been the hardest. My family is scared to death … They think it’s 24/7 destruction, but it’s not like that.”
THE JORDAN ROUTE
Glazer had been due to return home on June 29, but is looking to bring forward her departure. The easiest exit route is via land crossings into neighboring Jordan and then a flight out of Amman airport which has been operating in daylight hours.
Israeli media reported that the transgender US influencer Caitlyn Jenner, who only flew into Israel on Thursday for Tel Aviv’s since-canceled Gay Pride Parade, had left through Jordan.
Hours earlier, she had been photographed drinking a glass of red wine in a bomb shelter. “What an incredible way it has been to celebrate Shabbat,” she wrote on X.
Not everyone is rushing to leave.
Karen Tuhrim is visiting from London to see her daughter, who lives in Tel Aviv. “Within two days of being here, Israel attacked Iran. So now I’m stuck,” she said.
Unlike Jerusalem, Tel Aviv has taken direct hits from the Iranian missiles and Tuhrim has had to dip in and out of her hotel’s shelter. But she said she felt safe and was happy to be near her daughter.
“For me, personally, at the moment, I feel better being here than in London, watching it all on the news, knowing my daughter is here. So, for now, we’re good.”
Israel’s Ministry of Tourism has set up a round-the-clock virtual help desk in English and Hebrew for stranded travelers.
But for anyone stuck here, all the museums are closed until further notice, entrance to the Old City of Jerusalem is barred to non-residents and many shops remain shuttered.
“The streets and shops are empty,” said Jerusalem resident Anwar Abu Lafi, who saw no quick end to the gloom.
“People are yearning for a break, to find something good in this existing darkness. We are deluding ourselves into thinking that the future will be better,” he said.
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4 Killed by Missile in Arab Town of Tamra, Including a Mother and Her Two Daughters
Illustrative: A Magen David Adom ambulance. Photo: David King via Wikimedia Commons.
i24 News – In the early hours of Sunday morning, the Arab town of Tamra in northern Israel was struck by an Iranian missile, tragically claiming the lives of four women from the same family, including a mother and her two daughters, aged 13 and 20.
The missile caused severe damage, nearly collapsing the three- to four-story building where they lived.
Emergency services responded quickly, evacuating 14 injured individuals and providing care for eight others suffering from shock at Rambam Hospital in Haifa.
Despite the devastation, the community and first responders showed remarkable resilience and solidarity, working tirelessly to assist those affected.
Eli Bin, director general of Magen David Adom, described the scene as one of severe destruction but praised the swift and professional response of rescue teams. Paramedic Adnan Abu Rumi, one of the first on site, emphasized the dedication of emergency personnel in managing the crisis.
Residents like Hamudi, who was injured but survived, shared heartfelt accounts of the sudden impact, underscoring the strength of families and neighbors coming together in difficult times.
The post 4 Killed by Missile in Arab Town of Tamra, Including a Mother and Her Two Daughters first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Trump Sees Peace Between Iran and Israel Soon, Eyes Putin Role
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech during a session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. Photo: Reuters/Maxim Shemetov
Despite evidence that the conflict between Israel and Iran is escalating, US President Donald Trump expressed optimism on Sunday that peace would come soon and cited the possibility that Russia’s Vladimir Putin could help.
In a social media post, Trump said there were many unspecified meetings about the issue happening and encouraged the two countries to make a deal. And in an interview with ABC News, he said he was open to Putin, whose forces invaded Ukraine and who has resisted Trump’s attempts to broker a ceasefire with Kyiv, serving as a mediator.
Israel and Iran launched fresh attacks on each other overnight into Sunday, killing scores.
“Iran and Israel should make a deal, and will make a deal,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social site. “We will have PEACE, soon, between Israel and Iran! Many calls and meetings now taking place.”
Trump did not offer any details about the meetings or evidence of progress toward peace. His assertion contradicted comments by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said on Saturday that Israel’s campaign against Iran would intensify.
A White House spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on how Trump and the White House were working to de-escalate the situation in the Middle East.
Trump told ABC News that Iran wanted to make a deal and indicated something like the Israel strikes would accelerate that. “Something like this had to happen because I think even from both sides, but something like this had to happen. They want to talk, and they will be talking,” Trump said, according to ABC reporter Rachel Scott. “May have forced a deal to go quicker, actually.”
The United States has engaged in talks with Iran about its nuclear program and Trump has told reporters previously that the talks were going well. But another round of discussions scheduled for Sunday in Oman was canceled after the Israeli and Iranian strikes.
Trump said he and Putin had discussed the situation in the Middle East on Saturday in a call that focused more on that conflict than the Russian war in Ukraine.
“He is ready. He called me about it,” Trump said about Putin serving as a mediator, according to Scott. “We had a long talk about it. We talked about this more than his situation. This is something I believe is going to get resolved.”
Trump, who portrays himself as a peacemaker and has drawn criticism from his political base for not being able to prevent the Israel-Iran conflict, cited other disputes that he took responsibility for solving, including between India and Pakistan, and lamented not receiving more praise for doing so.
“I do a lot, and never get credit for anything, but that’s OK, the PEOPLE understand. MAKE THE MIDDLE EAST GREAT AGAIN!” he wrote on Truth Social.
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