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George Washington University Students Hold ‘Jewish Pride’ Rally as Pro-Hamas Encampment Remains on Campus
“Show Your Jewish Pride” rally at George Washington University G Street Park on May 2, 2024. Photo: Dion J. Pierre
Washington, DC — George Washington University (GW) was the stage of two dueling demonstrations on Thursday as Jewish students held a rally just a block away from the school’s pro-Hamas encampment, an illegal occupation of school property which has become an emblem of surging campus antisemitism in America.
“When Jewish students across the country are harassed — yelled at, spat on, concerned, and blocked from the very places they have a right to be — we respond with songs of hope and humanity, as a community,” GW senior Sabrina Soffer told a crowd of hundreds that gathered in blistering heat. “This is our defiance. We respond to slurs by mobs wishing our existence away by flying our flags high — tapestries of our past and present, our people and purpose.”
The rally, titled “Show Your Jewish Pride,” was a student-led initiative organized by a consortium of student groups, including GW for Israel (GWI), Students Supporting Israel (SSI), and the Jewish Students Association (JSA). Soffer, their principal leader and organizer, has appeared all over national media to spread awareness of rising antisemitism, and, last year, she delivered a soaring speech before hundreds of thousands of people at the March for Israel in Washington, DC.
Nearly a dozen speakers addressed the crowd on Thursday as Israeli and American flags rippled in the wind. One of them, Leat Corinne Unger, drove to Washington from New York to advocate the release of the more than 100 Israeli hostages still held captive in Gaza by the Hamas terrorist group. One of them is her cousin, Omer Shem Tov, who was abducted while attending the Nova Music Festival in Israel on Oct. 7.
“He is my cousin. He was 20 when he was kidnapped. He celebrated his 21st birthday three weeks into captivity, and it’s been 209 days since we last heard from him,” Unger told The Algemeiner during an interview. “It’s a nightmare that has lasted for 209 days. I hope that everyone will remember that we’re all fighting numerous battles on many fronts, but the most important priority is to bring our brothers and sisters home. I don’t think we can be whole, healed, and proud until they’re home. Even after Omer gets home, if there is anyone who is still there, I’m going to be fighting for them.”
Unger added that Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel upended her life.
“It changed me and put everything into perspective,” she continued. “I’m no longer a speech pathologist. I’m no longer a learning specialist. I’m no longer a director of a school. I’m now a full fledged advocate of my people.”
Since Oct. 7, antisemitic incidents have reached record levels around the world, including in the US and Europe.
Another speaker on Thursday, pro-Israel activist and social media influencer Lizzy Savetsky, told The Algemeiner that showing solidarity with Jewish students has become her life’s mission.
“I think this is the most important work that I could be doing right now,” she said. “Fighting antisemitism is overwhelming. It’s a global issue, but what we’re seeing on college campuses right now and the lack of protection and the lack of advocacy for Jewish students is shocking and extremely disturbing. So I just want to be there for them and let them know they’re not alone. I can’t imagine what it would feel like to be a Jewish student on campus right now.”
Following the event, Savetsky resolved to walk through GW’s pro-Hamas encampment and invited The Algemeiner to join her. Wearing a t-shirt that said “Shalom” — which means “peace” in Hebrew and is often used as a greeting — she was promptly noticed by two protesters who proceeded to follow her every step while lodging accusations of anti-Palestinian racism. Others soon noticed her presence, and the mass of students and faculty erupted into chants of “Zionist go home!”
Savetsky was accompanied by Lauren Kagen, a social media director for the Israel on Campus Coalition (ICC).
“What was most shocking was the presence of faculty,” Savetsky told The Algemeiner after the encounter. “This is supposed to be an educational institution, and how can Jewish students feel safe attending their classes when their professors are out there protesting against them? But I am so proud of our people and who we are. Our love will prevail over their hate, and seeing all of that just encourages me to keep on fighting.”
The Metropolitan Police Department has declined to help George Washington University remove the pro-Hamas encampment from campus, according to numerous reports. Republican lawmakers have called for the students to be arrested.
“They are in blatant violation of university policy, but we won’t be intimidated,” GW senior Skyler Sieradzky said.
GW has been one of many college campuses to be engulfed in the anti-Israel demonstrations that have swept across the country.
For over two weeks, university students have been amassing in the hundreds at a growing number of schools, taking over sections of campuses by setting up “Gaza Solidarity Encampments” and refusing to leave unless administrators condemn and boycott Israel. Footage of the protests has shown demonstrators chanting in support of Hamas, calling for the destruction of Israel, and even threatening to harm members of the Jewish community on campus. In many cases, activists have also lambasted the US and Western civilization more broadly.
The protests initially erupted across the US but have since spread to university campuses around the world, primarily in the West. The Algemeiner has reported on how in many instances the faculty, rather than the students, have been the key forces driving the demonstrations and keeping university presidents on their heels.
The protests have erupted amid a surge in antisemitism on university campuses. In the months since Oct. 7, anti-Zionist activists inspired by Hamas’ barbarity have bullied and even assaulted Jewish students while demanding that colleges implement a full boycott of Israel — an action that would purge schools of Jews and Zionists, experts have told The Algemeiner. According to the Anti-Defamation League, antisemitic incidents on college campus rose 321 percent in 2023, disrupting the academic lives of Jewish students and leaving them uncertain about the fate of the American Jewish community.
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
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US State Department Revokes Visas of UK Punk Rap Act Bob Vylan Amid Outrage Over Duo’s Chants of ‘Death to the IDF’
Bob Vylan music duo performance at Glastonbury Festival (Source: FLIKR)
The US State Department has revoked the visas for the English punk rap duo Bob Vylan amid ongoing outrage over their weekend performance at the Glastonbury Festival, in which the pair chanted “Death to the IDF.”
The State Department’s decision to cancel their visas would preclude a planned fall concert tour of the US by the British rappers.
“The [US State Department] has revoked the US visas for the members of the Bob Vylan band in light of their hateful tirade at Glastonbury, including leading the crowd in death chants. Foreigners who glorify violence and hatred are not welcome visitors to our country,” Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau wrote on X/Twitter on Monday.
During a June 28 set at Glastonbury Festival, Bob Vylan’s Pascal Robinson-Foster ignited a firestorm by leading the crowd in chants of “Death, death, to the IDF,” referring to the Israel Defense Forces. He also complained about working for a “f—ing Zionist” during the set.
The video of the performance went viral, sparking outrage across the globe.
The BBC, which streamed the performance live, issued an on‑screen warning but continued its broadcast, prompting criticism by government officials for failing to cut the feed.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer and festival organizers condemned the IDF chant as hate speech and incitement to violence. The Israeli Embassy in London denounced the language as “inflammatory and hateful.”
“Millions of people tuned in to enjoy Glastonbury this weekend across the BBC’s output but one performance within our livestreams included comments that were deeply offensive,” the BBC said in a statement following the event.
“These abhorrent chants, which included calls for the death of members of the Israeli Defense Forces … have no place in any civil society,” Leo Terrell, Chair of the US Department of Justice Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, declared Sunday in a statement posted on X.
Citing the act’s US tour plans, Terrell said his task force would be “reaching out to the U.S. Department of State on Monday to determine what measures are available to address the situation and to prevent the promotion of violent antisemitic rhetoric in the United States.”
British authorities, meanwhile, have launched a formal investigation into Bob Vylan’s controversial appearance at Glastonbury. Avon and Somerset Police confirmed they are reviewing footage and working with the Crown Prosecution Service to determine whether the performance constitutes a hate crime or incitement to violence.
United Talent Agency (UTA), one of the premier entertainment talent agencies, dropped the duo, claming “antisemitic sentiments expressed by the group were utterly unacceptable.”
The band defended their performance on social media as necessary protest, stating that “teaching our children to speak up for the change they want and need is the only way that we make this world a better place.”
The post US State Department Revokes Visas of UK Punk Rap Act Bob Vylan Amid Outrage Over Duo’s Chants of ‘Death to the IDF’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Dem House Leader Hakeem Jeffries Urges Mamdani to ‘Aggressively Address’ Antisemitism in NYC if Elected Mayor
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY). Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
US House Democratic leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (NY) urged Democratic nominee for mayor of New York Zohran Mamdani to “aggressively address the rise in antisemitism” if he wins the general election in November.
“‘Globalizing the intifada’ by way of example is not an acceptable phrasing,” Jeffries said Sunday on ABC’s This Week. “He’s going to have to clarify his position on that as he moves forward.”
“With respect to the Jewish communities that I represent, I think our nominee is going to have to convince folks that he is prepared to aggressively address the rise in antisemitism in the city of New York, which has been an unacceptable development,” he added.
Jeffries’s comments come as Mamdani has been receiving an onslaught of criticism for defending the controversial phrase “globalize the intifada.”
Mamdani first defended the phrase during an appearance on the popular Bulwark Podcast. The progressive firebrand stated that he feels “less comfortable with the banning of certain words.” He invoked the US Holocaust Museum in his defense, saying that the museum used the word intifada “when translating the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising into Arabic, because it’s a word that means ‘struggle.’”
The Holocaust Museum repudiated Mamdani in a statement, calling his comments “offensive.”
Mamdani has continued to defend the slogan despite ongoing criticism, arguing that pro-Palestine advocates perceive it as a call for “universal human rights.”
Mamdani, the 33‑year‑old state assembly member and proud democratic socialist, defeated former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and other candidates in a lopsided first‑round win in the city’s Democratic primary for mayor, notching approximately 43.5 percent of first‑choice votes compared to Cuomo’s 36.4 percent.
The election results have alarmed members of the local Jewish community, who expressed deep concern over his past criticism of Israel and defense of antisemitic rhetoric.
“Mamdani’s election is the greatest existential threat to a metropolitan Jewish population since the election of the notorious antisemite Karl Lueger in Vienna,” Rabbi Marc Schneier, one of the most prominent Jewish leaders in New York City, said in a statement. “Jewish leaders must come together as a united force to prevent a mass Jewish Exodus from New York City.”
Some key Democratic leaders in New York, such as US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Gov. Kathy Hochul, have congratulated and complimented Mamdani, but have not yet issued an explicit endorsement. Each official has signaled interest in meeting with Mamdani prior to making a decision on a formal endorsement.
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Israel Eyes Ties With Syria and Lebanon After Iran War
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar attends a press conference with German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (not pictured) in Berlin, Germany, June 5, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Christian Mang
Israel is interested in establishing formal diplomatic relations with long-standing adversaries Syria and Lebanon, but the status of the Golan Heights is non-negotiable, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Monday.
Israeli leaders argue that with its rival Iran weakened by this month’s 12-day war, other countries in the region have an opportunity to forge ties with Israel.
The Middle East has been upended by nearly two years of war in Gaza, during which Israel also carried out airstrikes and ground operations in Lebanon targeting Iran-backed Hezbollah, and by the overthrow of former Syrian leader and Iran ally Bashar al-Assad.
In 2020, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco became the first Arab states to establish ties with Israel since Jordan in 1994 and Egypt in 1979. The normalization agreements with Israel were deeply unpopular in the Arab world.
“We have an interest in adding countries such as Syria and Lebanon, our neighbors, to the circle of peace and normalization, while safeguarding Israel‘s essential and security interests,” Saar said at a press conference in Jerusalem.
“The Golan will remain part of the State of Israel,” he said.
Israel annexed the Golan Heights in 1981 after capturing the territory from Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War. While much of the international community regards the Golan as occupied Syrian land, US President Donald Trump recognized Israeli sovereignty over it during his first term in office.
Following Assad’s ousting, Israeli forces moved further into Syrian territory.
A senior Syrian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Syria would never give up the Golan Heights, describing it as an integral part of Syrian territory.
The official also said that normalization efforts with Israel must be part of the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative and not carried out through a separate track.
A spokesperson for Syria‘s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The 2002 initiative proposed Arab normalization with Israel in exchange for its withdrawal from territories including the Golan Heights, the West Bank, and Gaza. It also called for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Throughout the war in Gaza, regional power Saudi Arabia has repeatedly said that establishing ties with Israel was conditional on the creation of an independent Palestinian state.
Israel‘s Saar said it was “not constructive” for other states to condition normalization on Palestinian statehood.
“Our view is that a Palestinian state will threaten the security of the State of Israel,” he said.
In May, Reuters reported that Israel and Syria‘s new Islamist rulers had established direct contact and held face-to-face meetings aimed at de-escalating tensions and preventing renewed conflict along their shared border.
The same month, US President Donald Trump announced the US would lift sanctions on Syria and met Syria‘s new president, urging him to normalize ties with Israel.
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