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French Cops Prevent Students From Mounting Pro-Palestinian Demonstration at Elite Paris University
French police block pro-Palestinian students at the Sciences Po university in Paris from staging a demonstration. Photo: Reuters/Noemie Coissac
French police on Thursday prevented pro-Palestinian students at the Sciences Po university in Paris from staging a demonstration, deepening the conflict over antisemitism and free speech that has engulfed the elite institution.
Students arriving for the evening protest at the main campus on rue Saint-Guillaume were confronted by a cordon of police officers who blocked them from access. About 20 students gathered for a simultaneous protest at another campus building a few blocks away, chanting “Free Palestine” and “This isn’t a war, it’s a genocide” before being dispersed by police.
Concern over the impact of the conflict in Gaza on student life at the Sciences Po — formally known as the Paris Institute of Political Studies, a public research university — came into sharp focus earlier this week when a group of pro-Hamas students blockaded a lecture hall, allegedly preventing Jewish students from accessing the space.
The Union of Jewish Students in France (UEJF), whose members were confronted at the protest, said in a statement that “UEJF students are attacked as Jews and Zionists. We call for the immediate lifting of the blockade and exemplary sanctions against these students.” One Jewish student said she was regaled with cries of “she’s a Zionist, don’t let her in.”
The spectacle drew strong condemnation from leading French politicians, among them President Emmanuel Macron. Addressing the Council of Ministers on Wednesday, Macron denounced the protest as “unspeakable and completely intolerable.”
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.”
The condemnation continued throughout the week, with Prime Minister Gabriel Attal warning on Thursday that “an active minority wants to impose a dominant form of thought within this institution.” Separately, French Senate President Gérard Larcher told an interviewer from the France 2 broadcaster that “Sciences Po cannot become an Islamo-leftist bunker.”
Far left parliamentarians rose to the defense of the students — who gathered under the banner of Urgence Palestine, a pro-Hamas collective — echoing their claim that the allegations of antisemitism and discrimination had been fabricated.
“No, the incident was not trivial. Better: it did not take place!” Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the leader of La France Insoumise (LFI), stated, while his colleague Aymeric Caron described the students as the “victims of a cabal.”
Following the Hamas pogrom in southern Israel on Oct. 7, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin attempted to impose an outright ban on pro-Palestinian demonstrations, citing fears over public disorder. That order was subsequently modified by the Council of State, which ruled that demonstrations could be banned by the police on a case-by-case basis.
In his remarks on Thursday, Attal pronounced France as “lucky at this stage to be relatively spared by a movement that we have seen develop in a certain number of countries, particularly in the Anglo-Saxon world. I do not want Sciences Po or any other university to become the entry point for the arrival of this thought.”
Speaking to the Turkish state broadcaster TRT at Thursday’s aborted protest, several students angrily disputed the UEJF’s account of Tuesday’s pro-Palestinian sit-in at the Sciences Po.
“Our comrades have been wrongly accused and defamed of having made antisemitic remarks, while this is absolutely not the case,” said one student, who gave her name as Lea. Another student, who gave his name as Hugo, insisted that the morning’s events had been orderly, with lectures on the topic of the Palestinians, with a protest mounted at lunchtime that ended after half-an-hour. Hugo argued that the reaction to the protest was the result of a “media frenzy,” adding that he had participated in order to obtain “a clear political reaction, including from Sciences Po, to demand a ceasefire in Gaza.”
In a statement on Thursday, the French Jewish communal organization Crif called for a parliamentary commission into antisemitism in higher education.
“The antisemitic atmosphere at some universities must be fought firmly or our democracy will suffocate,” Crif stated.
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Brooklyn Nets Select Israeli Basketball Players Ben Saraf, Danny Wolf in NBA Draft
The opening tip between the Brooklyn Nets and Washington Wizards, at Barclays Center, in Brooklyn, New York, Dec. 13, 2020. Photo: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect
In a landmark night for Israeli basketball, Ben Saraf and Danny Wolf were selected in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft by the Brooklyn Nets, marking the first time two Israeli players have been drafted in the same year.
Saraf, a 19-year-old guard known for his explosive athleticism and creative playmaking, was taken with the 26th pick. A standout with Maccabi Rishon LeZion and a rising star on Israel’s youth national teams, Saraf gained international attention with his electrifying scoring and commanding court presence.
With the 27th pick, the Nets selected 7-foot center Danny Wolf out of the University of Michigan. Wolf, who holds dual US-Israeli citizenship and represented Israel at the U-20 level, brings a versatile skill set, including sharp passing, perimeter shooting, and a strong feel for the game. After his name was called, Wolf grew emotional in an on-air interview, crediting his family for helping him reach the moment.
“I have the two greatest brothers in the world; I have an unbelievable sister who I love,” Wolf said. “They all helped me get to where I am today, and they’re going to help me get to where I am going to go in this league.”
The historic double-pick adds to the growing wave of Israeli presence on the NBA stage, led by Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija, who just completed a breakout 2024–25 season. After being traded to Portland last summer, Avdija thrived as a starter, averaging 16.9 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 3.8 assists. In March alone, he posted 23.4 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game, including two triple-doubles.
“I don’t think I’ve played like this before … I knew I had it in me. But I’m not really thinking about it. I’m just playing. I’m just free,” Avdija told reporters in March
With Saraf and Wolf joining Avdija, Israel’s basketball pipeline has reached unprecedented visibility. Israeli President Isaac Herzog called the moment “a national celebration for sports and youth,” and Israeli sports commentators widely hailed the night as “historic.”
Both Saraf and Wolf are expected to suit up for the Nets’ Summer League team in July. As the two rookies begin their NBA journey, they join a growing generation of Israeli athletes proving that their game belongs on basketball’s biggest stage.
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Iran Denies Any Meeting With US Next Week, Foreign Minister Says
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi attends a press conference following a meeting with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia, April 18, 2025. Photo: Tatyana Makeyeva/Pool via REUTERS
Iran currently has no plan to meet with the United States, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Thursday in an interview on state TV, contradicting US President Donald Trump’s statement that Washington planned to have talks with Iran next week.
The Iranian foreign minister said Tehran was assessing whether talks with the US were in its interest, following five previous rounds of negotiations that were cut short by Israel and the US attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities.
The US and Israel said the strikes were meant to curb Iran’s ability to create nuclear weapons, while Iran says its nuclear program is solely geared toward civilian use.
Araqchi said the damages to nuclear sites “were not little” and that relevant authorities were figuring out the new realities of Iran’s nuclear program, which he said would inform Iran’s future diplomatic stance.
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Ireland Becomes First European Nation to Advance Ban on Trade With Israeli Settlements
A pro-Hamas demonstration in Ireland led by nationalist party Sinn Fein. Photo: Reuters/Clodagh Kilcoyne
Ireland has become the first European nation to push forward legislation banning trade with Israeli communities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem — an effort officials say is meant “to address the horrifying situation” in the Gaza Strip.
On Wednesday, Irish Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Simon Harris announced that the legislation has already been approved by the government and will now move to the parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade for pre-legislative scrutiny.
“Ireland is speaking up and speaking out against the genocidal activity in Gaza,” Harris said during a press conference.
The Irish diplomat also told reporters he hopes the “real benefit” of the legislation will be to encourage other countries to follow suit, “because it is important that every country uses every lever at its disposal.”
Today Ireland becomes the first country in Europe to bring forward legislation to ban trade with the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Ireland is speaking up and speaking out against the genocidal activity in Gaza.
Every country must pull every lever at its disposal. pic.twitter.com/Z4RTjqntEY— Simon Harris TD (@SimonHarrisTD) June 24, 2025
Joining a growing number of EU member states aiming to curb Israel’s defensive campaign against the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, Ireland’s decision comes after a 2024 advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared Israel’s presence in the West Bank and East Jerusalem illegal.
The ICJ ruled that third countries must avoid trade or investment that supports “the illegal situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”
Once implemented, the law will criminalize the importation of goods from Israeli settlements into Ireland, empowering customs officials to inspect, seize, and confiscate any such shipments.
“The situation in Palestine remains a matter of deep public concern,” Harris said. “I have made it consistently clear that this government will use all levers at its disposal to address the horrifying situation on the ground and to contribute to long-term efforts to achieve a sustainable peace on the basis of the two-state solution.”
“Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory are illegal and threaten the viability of the two-state solution,” the Irish diplomat continued. “This is the longstanding position of the European Union and our international partners. Furthermore, this is the clear position under international law.”
Harris also urged the EU to comply with the ICJ’s ruling by taking a more decisive and “adequate response” regarding imports from Israeli settlements.
“This is an issue that I will continue to press at EU level, and I reiterated my call for concrete proposals from the European Commission at the Foreign Affairs Council this week,” he said.
Last week, Ireland and eight other EU member states — Finland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden — called on the European Commission to draft proposals for how EU countries can halt trade and imports with Israeli settlements, in line with obligations set out by the ICJ.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar condemned the latest move by European countries, calling it “shameful” and a misguided attempt to undermine Israel while it faces “existential” threats from Iran and its proxies, including Hamas.
“It is regrettable that even when Israel is fighting an existential threat which is in Europe’s vital interest — there are those who can’t resist their anti-Israeli obsession,” the top Israeli diplomat said in a post on X.
It is regrettable that even when Israel fighting an existential threat which is in Europe vital interest – there are those who can’t resist their anti-Israeli obsession.
Shameful! https://t.co/lxm9qm8sM1— Gideon Sa’ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) June 19, 2025
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