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Exhibit About Nova Music Festival Massacre Coming to New York in Spring
The personal belongings of festival-goers are seen at the site of an attack on the Nova Festival by Hamas terrorists from Gaza, near Israel’s border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel, Oct. 12, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
An exhibition about the deadly terrorist attack at the Nova Music Festival in southern Israel that took place on Oct. 7 will open in New York City later this month, organizers announced last week.
The installation — titled “Nova: Oct. 7 6:29 AM, The Moment Music Stood Still” — will come to New York following a 10-week run in Tel Aviv. It will be open to the public, although the exact date and location have yet to be announced. The “6:29 am” references the time when Hamas terrorists began invading the music festival, killing 370 people from the concert and taking dozens of others as hostages back to the Gaza Strip.
The large-scale remembrance installation features items salvaged from the site of the music festival attack, including scorched cars, bullet-riddled bathroom stalls, festival decorations, and personal belongings left behind. The exhibit will also have a “healing tent,” which organizers explained as a lighthouse promoting the theme “we will dance again.” Survivors of the brutal attack will be attending the exhibition, according to Billboard magazine.
“Through video screens combining unique documentation from the Nova party, artistic projections, and other means, we will be able, if only for a moment, to return to the difficult moments that occurred on site,” Nova co-founder Omri Sassi said while describing the exhibit when it was first announced in December.
The exhibit was organized by producers of the Nova Music Festival, and Jewish record executive Scooter Braun helped bring it to New York. He said last week he was inspired to do so after visiting Israel in December, when he met with survivors of the Nova attack and saw the exhibit during its run in Tel Aviv.
“People need to understand it could have been any of us, at any festival,” Braun explained in an Instagram post where he announced the exhibit’s opening in New York. “Music must remain a safe place. Because of that friends and I have teamed up with the founders of Nova to bring this exhibition to NYC. It is an in-depth remembrance of the brutal October 7th attack.”
Donations from the exhibition will go to the Nova Healing Journey, an initiative that supports mental health treatment for survivors of the Oct. 7 attack and their families.
“I hope with this exhibition we can hold in our hearts that you can have compassion for all people,” Braun added. “One human’s suffering does not negate another’s … whether it be Israeli or Palestinian. You can call out for those in need of aid and still hold in your heart space for those suffering because of lost loved ones and loved ones still held hostage. If for any reason acknowledging those affected by the Nova massacre bothers you … please ask yourself why. In the meantime we will not forget them and we will dance again.”
The post Exhibit About Nova Music Festival Massacre Coming to New York in Spring first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Pope Leo XIV’s First Message to Jewish Community Was ‘Extraordinary,’ American Rabbi Says

Pope Leo XIV holds an audience with representatives of the media in Paul VI hall at the Vatican, May 12, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane
Rabbi Noam Marans, director of interreligious affairs at the American Jewish Committee (AJC), spoke with The Algemeiner this week about being among a number of faith leaders to meet with newly elected Pope Leo XIV, and why he has optimism for Catholic-Jewish relations.
“In his remarks [to a couple hundred faith leaders this month], he [Leo] had a few minutes directly speaking to the Jewish people. And those words were extremely important at a time of challenge in Catholic-Jewish relations,” Marans said. “His remarks to the Jewish people have actually been extraordinary.”
Leo — who was elected to become the next bishop of Rome and head of the Catholic Church earlier this month following the death of Pope Francis in late April, becoming the first American to hold the position — reportedly said, “Even in these difficult times, marked by conflicts and misunderstandings, it is necessary to continue the momentum of this precious dialogue of ours.”
“This is an extraordinary sentence to be saying on his first message to the Jewish people,” Marans explained. “I mean, he’s referring to now, not the history of the relationship. Why is this important? Because the pope is demonstrating, is recognizing that there have been challenges in recent months. During the waning days of Pope Francis’ tenure.”
Francis, Leo’s predecessor, had become an increasingly vocal critic of Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza in the months before his death.
During his pontificate, Francis strongly condemned antisemitism and promoted interfaith dialogue between Jewish and Catholic communities. However, he also drew the ire of pro-Israel supporters and Jewish leaders, including the chief rabbi of Rome, for his sharp words against the Jewish state.
This is not the first time in Leo’s new role that he has reached out to the Jewish community. On May 8, he sent a letter to Marans that emphasized his commitment to strengthening the Catholic Church’s “dialogue and cooperation” with the world’s Jewish communities.
“Trusting in the assistance of the Almighty, I pledge to continue and strengthen the Church’s dialogue and cooperation with the Jewish people in the spirit of the Second Vatican Council’s declaration Nostra Aetate,” he wrote.
The Nostra Aetate was a declaration from the Second Vatican Council and promulgated in 1965 by Pope Paul VI that called for dialogue and respect between Christianity and other religions.
“I left that meeting and my entire visit here with optimism. But since I’m a Jewish leader, I tend towards guarded optimism,” Marans said of his meeting with Leo.
In some ways, Marans continued, he expects Leo to be a continuation of Francis. “That means that he will be condemning antisemitism. Using his bully pulpit in a very productive way. The way that Francis did. Describing it as sin against God and un-Christian.”
However, despite the fact that he expects there also to be criticism of Israel, Marans said that he thinks “it will probably be delivered less extemporaneously and more diplomatically” than it was by Francis.
In his first Sunday blessing, Leo took time to comment on the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. He called for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of the hostages that the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas took during its Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel.
“I am deeply saddened by what is happening in Gaza,” Leo said. “May a ceasefire immediately come into effect … Let humanitarian aid be given to the exhausted civilian population, and let all hostages be freed.”
And in a post on X on Wednesday, Leo wrote, “The situation in the Gaza Strip is increasingly worrying and painful. I renew my heartfelt appeal to allow the entry of dignified humanitarian aid and to bring an end to the hostilities, whose heart-rending price is borne by children, the elderly, and the sick.”
When asked what particularly stuck out to him about the meeting with Leo, Marans said that “the letter to me, and in the speech, he reaffirmed his commitment to Nostra Aetate. And that is the central pillar. The rest is commentary.”
He continued, explaining, “It was a warm environment,” and that “He was very welcoming of the Jewish community. We sense that he understands the relationship that he’s prioritizing.”
Underscoring the strong Jewish-Catholic relationship, Marans said, “Imagine a world in which we’re dealing with the pain of antisemitism that we’ve had in Europe for many years, and now in America, and not having people like Cardinal Timothy Dolan of the Archbishop of New York speaking out all the time. Not having the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops working with us on an amazing project … to work together collaboratively to counter antisemitism.”
Having the strong relationship that the two communities have today, despite the challenges, Marans said, would be “unimaginable 15 years ago, let alone 100 years ago.”
The post Pope Leo XIV’s First Message to Jewish Community Was ‘Extraordinary,’ American Rabbi Says first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Irish Rap Group Kneecap Vows to Fight Terrorism Charge Over Band Member’s Alleged Hezbollah Support

Members of Kneecap pose on the red carpet at the Irish Film and Television Academy (IFTA) Awards in Dublin, Ireland, Feb. 14, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
A member of Irish hip hop trio Kneecap has been charged with a terrorism offense in the United Kingdom for displaying a flag in support of the Hezbollah terrorist organization, London’s Metropolitan Police said on Wednesday.
Liam O’Hanna, 27, of Belfast has been charged with displaying a flag “in support of Hezbollah, a proscribed organization” following an investigation by the Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism Command.
The charge is related to a flag that O’Hanna displayed during a Kneecap concert in November 2024 at the O2 Forum in London. The Metropolitan Police said the musician displayed the flag “in such a way or in such circumstances as to arouse reasonable suspicion that he is a supporter of a proscribed organization, namely Hezbollah,” in violation of the UK’s Terrorism Act of 2000.
“Officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command were made aware on Tuesday, April 22 of an online video from the event. An investigation was carried out, which led to the Crown Prosecution Service authorizing the above charge,” police said in a statement. O’Hanna is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on June 18.
Kneecap said in a statement on X they believe the terrorism charge is an effort “to prosecute artists who dare speak out.” The trio claimed O’Hanna displayed a flag that had been thrown on stage, and did not mention Hezbollah by name even once in their lengthy statement.
“We deny this ‘offense’ and will vehemently defend ourselves,” Kneecap said. “This is political policing. This is a carnival of distraction. We are not the story. Genocide is. … We are on the right side of history. You are not. We will fight you in court. We will win. Free Palestine.”
In their statement, the group also condemned the British government for supporting Israel and claimed British leaders “have abetted slaughter and famine in Gaza, just as they did in Ireland for centuries.”
“The IDF [Israel Defense Forces] units they arm and fly spy plane missions for are the real terrorists,” they claimed.
The Algemeiner previously reported that counter-terrorism police in the UK were investigating the band from Northern Ireland after videos emerged online that showed a Kneecap member shout “up Hamas, up Hezbollah” while having a Hezbollah flag draped over his shoulder during the 2024 concert in London. Hezbollah and Hamas are designated by the UK as terrorist organizations, and it is illegal in the country to express support for the two Iran-backed Islamist groups.
Counter-terrorism police were also investigating footage from a 2023 Kneecap concert in which a band member called for the killing of British Members of Parliament [MPs]. A Kneecap member had shouted on stage: “The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP.” Two British MPs, Jo Cox and David Amess, have been murdered in the last 10 years.
In April, Kneecap apologized to the families of Cox and Amess in a released statement and said they have never supported Hamas or Hezbollah. The trio claimed videos from their concerts in 2023 and 2024 have been “deliberately taken out of all context” as part of a “smear campaign” against the group because of its criticism of Israel’s military actions in the Gaza Strip during the Israel-Hamas war. Kneecap has been publicly critical of Israel on social media and on stage during their concerts.
During the band’s set at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April, Kneecap projected on the backdrop of their stage messages that said “F–k Israel, Free Palestine” and “Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people.” They also led the crowd at Coachella to chant “Free, Free Palestine.”
A number of their scheduled performances at music festivals this summer have been canceled by organizers because of the band’s controversial comments. Organizers of the Glastonbury Festival scheduled for June are also facing increasing pressure from British politicians and members of the entertainment industry to remove Kneecap from its lineup of performers. The UK’s Communities Minister Gordon Lyons said on Monday he thinks the UK and Irish governments should “consider their actions” in relation to providing any funding to Kneecap.
The post Irish Rap Group Kneecap Vows to Fight Terrorism Charge Over Band Member’s Alleged Hezbollah Support first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Campus Antisemitism Film by Rapper Kosha Dillz Gets New Release Date After Chicago Venue Cancels Screening

Israeli-American rapper Kosha Dillz performs his new song “Bring the family home,” his response to Hamas’s attacks, in front of a Jewish bakery in lower Manhattan, US, Oct. 11, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Aleksandra Michalska.
An arts theater and non-profit organization in Chicago that supports independent films has rescheduled a screening of a documentary about campus antisemitism by Israeli-American rapper and comedian Kosha Dillz after abruptly canceling the event due to security concerns and out of “an abundance of caution.”
The filmmaker and activist, whose real name is Rami Matan Even-Esh, told The Algemeiner on Wednesday night that after discussions with the venue Facets, the screening of his film “Bring the Family Home” has been rescheduled for June 22. Facets apologized on May 16 for initially canceling the screening that was scheduled for three days earlier.
“Facets Film Forum respects the First Amendment, its protection of free speech and the right to express views through film,” board co-chairs Rich Moskal and Tamara Bohorquez said in a released statement. “We regret any unintended offense our decision to cancel a privately organized, public film screening caused the filmmaker, those seeking to attend the event, and members of our community who have experienced or witnessed oppression or discrimination in any form.”
Established in 1975, Facets is a non-profit organization that focuses on independent film exhibition, distribution, and education, according to its website. It rents out its venue in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood for private screenings and other events.
“Bring the Family Home” is a work-in-progress documentary about the explosion of antisemitism on US college campuses after the Hamas terrorist attack on Oct. 7, 2023, in southern Israel. The film features first-hand accounts of Jewish students who have experienced tensions, exclusion, and violence at their schools. Kosha Dillz interviewed anti-Israel protesters on college campuses and was sometimes harassed and attacked in the process. The film largely focuses on anti-Israel encampments and sentiments at DePaul University and Northwestern University. Facets is located down the street from DePaul.
Kosha Dillz self-funded “Bring the Family Home,” which shares the same name as a song he released in response to the Oct. 7 attack and kidnappings. It is his first documentary film.
The filmmaker and the Chicago Jewish Alliance (CJA) together organized a premiere of an unfinished cut of the film at Facets on May 13. In a statement shared on Friday, Facets said it approved on April 18 a rental request to screen an unfinished version of the documentary at the downtown Chicago theater. The screening on May 13 was an opportunity to share the project with the community and also a chance to film the documentary’s final cut.
A mere three hours before the screening last week, however, Facets canceled the event. Kosha Dillz told The Algemeiner that Facets said the decision was made due to safety and security concerns. The venue said their patrons and staff would not “feel safe” if the scheduled event took place, the filmmaker also noted in a social media post. However, Kosha Dillz believes the screening was canceled for other reasons.
“[Facets] says ‘safety’ and ‘concern’ but ultimately it’s about someone who is Israel[i]/Jewish that has a different point of view but can’t share the same space,” he told The Algemeiner. “They got pressure and were not aware of how BDS [boycott, divestment, and sanctions]/cancellation campaigns work … and the more popular something becomes, the more likely this will happen. I simply didn’t think it’d happen to me either.”
“To get inundated with the calls and threats, I don’t actually blame them [for canceling the screening],” he added.
Before formally telling Kosha Dillz about the screening being canceled, Facets also removed the marquee outside the venue that advertised “Bring the Family Home” because the venue was receiving complaints about the signage, according to the filmmaker.
“Exclusion is the new form of bigotry,” said Kosha Dillz. “Facets decision to cancel this film under pressure speaks volumes about the silent discrimination that exists in spaces that claim to champion diverse perspectives.”
The Chicago Jewish Alliance posted a series of messages on social media condemning the venue’s decision and also published an open letter blasting Facets following the cancellation, saying that the move left many members of Chicago’s Jewish community “hurt and stunned.” CJA additionally launched an email campaign, urging supporters to send emails to the theater’s leadership about the cancellation. It accused Facets of antisemitism and claimed the venue is “silencing Jews.”
“You canceled a Jewish event because it made people uncomfortable. That is antisemitism,” CJA wrote in an Instagram post. “The film was literally called ‘Bring the Family Home,’ about restoring peace. And you chose fear over integrity.”
“Facets claims to champion diversity, equity, and inclusion. But those values seem to vanish when it comes to a proud, outspoken Jewish artist,” read the message that CJA drafted as part of its email campaign. “You didn’t cancel the film because of safety. You canceled it because of discomfort with Jewish visibility. This wasn’t just an inconvenience for dozens of attendees. It was a disgrace. And it sent a message loud and clear: Jewish advocacy is unwelcome at your theater.”
CJA claimed that Facets also blocked the Jewish group on social media. “This isn’t brave. It’s cowardice hiding behind a film reel,” the group wrote in a social media post. “You can’t claim to affirm our shared humanity while silencing our story.”
Facets explained in a released statement on May 16 that on the day of the screening, some community members contacted them and expressed “questions and concerns about the event.” Facets leadership added that while talking to Kosha Dillz when he arrived onsite for the screening earlier in the day, they were told that event organizers took a “precautionary step” and arranged private security for the film screening.
“However, as a very small nonprofit organization with limited staff, Facets determined that we were simply not prepared to provide the level of onsite staffing and coordination necessary to support that evening’s film screening,” the venue said. Facets explained that “in an abundance of caution,” it made the “difficult decision” to cancel the screening set to take place that night.
“In retrospect, we realize this was an overreaction and inconsistent with our mission,” Facets further noted. It concluded by saying that the leadership team at Facets is reviewing its “staffing protocols and training to ensure we are well-prepared to fulfill our commitment to support all future rental events.”
The venue posted a since-deleted statement on Instagram about the cancellation and said that it is “firmly not an antisemitic organization.”
“The cancellation of this event was not an act of antisemitism, but a decision rooted in our commitment to ensuring that hate has no place in our space. Based on the public posts made by Kosha Dillz and the overall tone surrounding the event, we determined that proceeding would not align with our values or our responsibility to protect the safety and well-being of our community,” Facets wrote in the post, without further elaborating about the specific issues it had with the event. “We reject antisemitism in all forms — just as we reject Islamophobia, anti-Palestinian racism, and any form of hate or dehumanization,” the venue also said in the now-deleted message.
Facets additionally claimed that its decision to cancel the screening “was made to uphold a safe, inclusive, and respectful environment for all who attend events at Facets.”
Kosha Dillz ended up premiering his documentary on May 13 at the Wilmette Theatre in the North Shore suburb of Chicago to a “packed house.” The screening was followed by a panel discussion and Q&A with the filmmaker and DePaul University student Michael Kaminsky, who was violently attacked and faced threats on campus for voicing support for Israel. Kaminsky appears in “Bring the Family Home.”
Both Facets and the Wilmette Theatre have screened “No Other Land,” an Oscar-winning documentary that is critical of Israel’s military actions in the West Bank and depicts the Jewish state as violent land grabbers and oppressors.
Kosha Dillz told The Algemeiner he is appreciative that Facets was open to having a dialogue about rescheduling the screening. “I am happy they are making it right and we are working through it,” he said.
“I think we are all handling it the best we can,” he added on Wednesday. “For myself, I can say it is difficult to handle as emotions are high for what I experienced. I don’t think we can force anyone to do anything. We offered to have a happy ending, and they agreed to screen our work in progress just as the[y] screen ‘No Other Land’ or another rental. Not sure we are gonna be best friends by tomorrow, but the collective gesture is symbolic in a world where people are othered and ostracized permanently.”
“We might be small compared to bigger theatres and filmmakers, but I think this is happening everywhere and people can refer to what we are doing to hold discussions,” he noted.
Facets did not respond to The Algemeiner‘s request for comment about the cancellation and rescheduling of the “Bring the Family Home” screening.
The Wilmette screening of “Bring the Family Home” will be featured in the documentary’s final cut, and the cancellation at Facets will also be documented in the film. Kosha Dillz plans to return to Chicago in the coming weeks to complete filming and speak with more students, and community members.
“We’re all on the same team of ‘let’s get along,’ ‘let’s stop the war,’ ‘let’s return the hostages,’” Kosha Dillz said in a released statement. “I just didn’t expect that message to be so radical that it would get me canceled at a 50-year-old institution for my very first film screening.”
Watch the trailer for “Bring the Family Home” below.
The post Campus Antisemitism Film by Rapper Kosha Dillz Gets New Release Date After Chicago Venue Cancels Screening first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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