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‘I’m Speaking Up Against Evil’: Israeli Columbia University Professor Addresses Smear Campaign
Anti-Israel students protest at Columbia University in New York City. Photo: Reuters/Jeenah Moon
Columbia University professor Shai Davidai, a Jewish Israeli, defended his right to condemn Hamas’ atrocities on Thursday after learning that an anonymous group of graduate students has accused him of anti-Palestinian racism and demanded a professional association of which he is a member to publicly censure him.
Anti-Zionist TikTok influencer Jessica Burbank first reported the accusations the graduate students lodged in a letter to the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP), an organization founded in 1974 to promote the social psychology field and its usefulness to society. Comprising over 7,500 student and faculty members, it provides invaluable funding and networking opportunities.
Accusing Davidai of “targeting individuals — especially Palestinians and students of color,” the students’ letter describes his efforts to hold pro-Hamas student groups accountable for harassing Jewish students and defending terror as “decolonization” as “blatant dereliction of duty with respect to his responsibilities and ethical standards as a professor and faculty member of SPSP.” The students additionally accused him of promoting “doxxing” and “misrepresenting” the views of pro-Hamas groups, all of whom have defended Hamas’ atrocities on Oct. 7 while calling for a ceasefire, a strategy they have employed to portray themselves as a pro-peace movement.
On Thursday, Professor Davidai told The Algemeiner that the man depicted in the letter is not someone his community, students, and peers would recognize, and he accepts that enduring assaults on his character is a consequence of defending the Jewish people wherever they are, be it Israel or New York City.
“Look, I’m speaking up against evil, and against the support of evil,” he said. “I’m willing to take the reputational hits because people that won’t like me for saying what I’m saying — I don’t need them to like me. This isn’t about the performative virtue signaling that is en vogue right now. This is about having a moral compass and standing up for what’s right.”
Davidai went on to express concern that his colleagues in the field have not defended him, a silence which suggests that criminating pro-Israel activists with baseless accusations will not be denounced or resisted even by moderates holding nuanced views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Israel’s war against Hamas.
“If I have to pay the price, I’ll pay the price. Thousands and thousands of Jews and non-Jews contact me to say that calling out pro-Hamas support on US college campuses is the right thing to do,” he continued. “And the irony is that I won’t be silenced. They might take away my reputation. They might take away my job and my career. But I’m not the kind of person who will be quiet now that there’s a personal cost for telling the truth. They’re just proving my point.”
Davidai first achieved national notoriety after delivering a thunderous speech before a crowd of students and others gathered on campus in which he called the school’s president a “coward” for refusing to condemn Hamas apologists and anti-Zionist demonstrations on campus.
“I’m talking to you as a dad, and I want you to know we cannot protect your children from pro-terror student organizations, because the president of Columbia University will not speak out,” Davidai said to the students, whom he asked to film and send the remarks to their parents. “Citizens of the US are right now kidnapped in Gaza, and yet the president of the university is allowing — is giving — her support to pro-terror student organizations.”
In many ways, becoming a public figure has been a detriment, Davidai said. His email is flooded daily with notes from antisemites accusing him of being an “Elder of Zion” and a “genocidal baby killer.”
His colleagues, furious that his exposing antisemitism and left-wing radicalism at Columbia University has caused important donors to pull their support from the school, have never commented on the hate mail even though they are always copied as recipients of it, he alleged.
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
The post ‘I’m Speaking Up Against Evil’: Israeli Columbia University Professor Addresses Smear Campaign first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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‘Never Again Means Now’: Trump Issues Proclamation Recognizing Holocaust Remembrance Day
US President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office, on the day he signs executive orders, at the White House in Washington, DC, March 6, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
US President Donald Trump issued a proclamation on Wednesday night recognizing Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Day, also known as Yom HaShoah, acknowledging the six million Jews murdered by the Nazis during World War II.
“On Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, and during this week of solemn remembrance, we honor the blessed memories of the six million Jewish men, women, and children who were viciously slaughtered by the genocidal Nazi regime and their collaborators — one of the bleakest hours in human history,” Trump said in a statement.
Yom HaShoah is dedicated to remembering the six million Jews who were murdered during the Holocaust, along with millions of other victims of the Nazi genocide. The somber annual commemoration, which is observed primarily in Israel and by Jewish communities worldwide, typically falls in April or May, on the 27th of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar.
“During these Days of Remembrance of Victims of the Holocaust, we reflect upon the dark affront to human dignity posed by Nazis,” Trump said. “We cherish the eternal memories of all those whose lives were lost to the deadly scourge of anti-Semitism. Above all, we vow to never forget the atrocities of the Holocaust. We declare that never again means now.”
Trump emphasized the continued threat of antisemitism, particularly in the wake of the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks on Israel. He warned of what he described as a surge in antisemitic incidents in the United States, especially on college campuses, which he referred to as “leftist, anti-American.”
Reaffirming his administration’s commitment to tackling antisemitism, Trump pointed to an executive order he signed that ordered the federal government to combat anti-Jewish harassment with all necessary legal force. This includes investigating antisemitic discrimination and, in some cases, deporting resident aliens who break US laws.
“The poison of antisemitism tragically still exists,” Trump said, pledging to confront hatred and discrimination.
During his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump vowed to deport non-citizens who express support for Hamas and other antisemitic terrorist organizations. He has also promised not to import refugees from “terror-infested” parts of the world, deeming them hotbeds of antisemitism and anti-American sentiment.
“We will deport the foreign jihad sympathizers, and we will deport them very quickly. And Hamas supporters will be gone,” Trump said during one campaign stop. “If you hate America, if you want to eliminate Israel, then we don’t want you in our country. We really don’t want you in our country.”
The administration has come under intense scrutiny for apprehending and revoking the visas of non-citizens who have participated in pro-Hamas demonstrations, arguing that they pose a national security threat to the US. Moreover, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it will monitor social media platforms for antisemitic speech and conduct as a basis for denying permanent residency status and immigration benefits. However, critics of these efforts argue that the Trump administration’s crackdown on antisemitism has undermined free speech rights.
The post ‘Never Again Means Now’: Trump Issues Proclamation Recognizing Holocaust Remembrance Day first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Meta Israel Launches Fifth Annual Holocaust Remembrance Day Instagram Project With Israeli Celebrities
Eden Golan meeting with a Holocaust survivor as part of the initiative “Sharing Memories.” Photo: Provided
Meta Israel launched on Wednesday its fifth annual Holocaust remembrance project in which prominent Israeli public figures share testimonies of Holocaust survivors on their Instagram accounts, in an effort to connect their stories with younger generations in honor of Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Day.
“Sharing Memories,” an initiative that started in 2020, will include this year testimonies of Holocaust survivors who were impacted by the Hamas massacre on Oct. 7, 2023. Some of the survivors are residents of communities near the Israel-Gaza border and were directly affected by the Oct. 7 attack. Twenty of their stories were posted on social media as an Instagram Reels by 20 Israeli celebrities, including actors, singers, models, reality stars, and social media influencers. These well-known individuals met with the Holocaust survivor they with paired with, listened to their story during an intimate conversation, and documented the survivor’s testimony in a video they then uploaded on their Instagram page.
This year’s participants include model Eden Fines; Eden Golan, Israel’s representative in the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest; influencer and entrepreneur Einav Booblil; Olympic bronze medalist and judoka Peter Paltchik; “The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem” stars Hila Saada and Yuval Scharf; reality television star Yiftach Ramon and singer Valerie Hamaty. The leading Israeli figures have more than 7 million Instagram followers combined. As part of “Sharing Memories,” a special meeting was also organized in Munich between Munich-born Holocaust survivor Charlotte Knobloch and Daniel Peretz, the goalkeeper for Israel’s national soccer team and FC Bayern Munich who currently lives in Germany.
The videos created for “Sharing Memories” were uploaded on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day, which began Wednesday night. This year, the content will also be broadcast throughout Ben Gurion International Airport. QR codes at boarding gates and check-in counters will allow travelers to scan and view the full videos. The clips will additionally be shown on EL AL in-flight entertainment systems, both inbound and outbound flights to and from Israel, during the week of Holocaust Remembrance Day.
As part of a collaboration with Yes, the Israeli broadcast satellite television provider, all project videos will also be available for viewing in Israel on STING+ and yesVOD.
“For five years now, we’ve had the privilege of meeting with Holocaust survivors who open their hearts and share the most painful moments of their lives, so we can remember, learn, and carry their stories forward,” said Adi Soffer Teeni, vice president and general manager of Meta Platforms in Israel. “But this year, perhaps more than ever, we understood that their story is not only one of survival; it’s one of resilience and rebuilding. The Holocaust survivors did not just endure the horrors, they built lives: they came to Israel, raised families, created communities, and built a future. Now, their stories of rebuilding take on renewed meaning. More than ever, we can draw strength from their testimonies: how to rise after horror, hold on to hope, and choose optimism and life. This is not just remembrance. It’s a legacy for the next generation.”
One Holocaust and Oct. 7 survivor highlighted in “Sharing Memories” is Bella Haim. Born in Poland in 1938, she survived the Holocaust by hiding in an orphanage until the end of World War II. Haim lives in Kibbutz Gvulot and is the grandmother of Yotam Haim, a resident of Kibbutz Kfar Aza who was kidnapped by Hamas and taken to the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7, 2023. She met with Israeli rap duo Ness & Stilla, who created the song “Harbu Darbu,” to share her story of survival. She also played for the musicians the last voice message she received from her grandson mere moments before he was taken hostage. He later escaped captivity but was accidentally killed, along with two other hostages, by IDF troops in December 2023.
Mirjam Beit Talmi Szpiro, 90, endured her father being murdered by the Nazis in Germany in 1935. She survived the Holocaust in hiding and now lives in Kibbutz Zikim. She survived the Oct. 7 attack, by sheltering in her safe room. She met with Israeli actor Yehuda Levi to talk about her experiences for the “Sharing Memories” initiative.
The project also highlights the survival story of Arale Dvir. He was born in Poland and escaped to Siberia on a freight train before fleeing to Uzbekistan, where his mother and sister died. Upon his arrival in Israel, he was adopted by a family in Kibbutz Sa’ad, where he survived the Oct. 7 Hamas attack. He still lives in Kibbutz Sa’ad and met with Israeli content creator Einav Bublil to share his story for the project.
Knobloch, who met with Peretz in Munich, shared memories of Kristallnacht, the infamous Nazi assault on the German Jewish community on Nov. 9-10, 1938. After surviving the Holocaust, Knobloch returned to Munich and, alongside her father, she reestablished the Jewish community there, which is now the largest in Germany. The city’s Jewish Center was inaugurated in 2006, and it includes kindergartens, schools, a Jewish museum, and a grand synagogue.
Other well-known Israeli participants of this year’s “Sharing Memories” initiative include Adi Himelbloy, Adva Dadon, Daniel Shalibo, Eitam Dror, Alin Golan and Liam Golan, Ifat Hilleli Avraham, Moran Tarasov, Neta Barzani, Roi Harel, Yarden Harel. The Holocaust survivors who took part in this year’s project are Adela Moreno, Arie Pinsker, Gideon Lotan, David Sivor, Dina Shmueli, Tommy Shaham, Yona Amit, Yoske Hershkovitz, Yechiel Frenkel, Lea Balint, Miriam Harel, Nina Aviov, Naftali Rosendorn, Aliza Landau, Tzipora Grant, and Sara Perry.
“Sharing Memories” is a collaboration between Meta Israel and Shem VeNer (Our 6 Million), a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the memory of the Holocaust for future generations. The project has already featured more than 100 creators, artists, and influencers. Content shared on social media as part of the “Sharing Memories” campaign has garnered over 40 million views in Israel and around the world.
“We are proud to take part in this year’s project to honor Holocaust survivors, listen to their stories, and preserve their living testimony for generations to come,” said Ruha Vaknin Sha’ar, CEO of Our 6 Million. “As their numbers dwindle, our responsibility grows.”
The post Meta Israel Launches Fifth Annual Holocaust Remembrance Day Instagram Project With Israeli Celebrities first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Spain Scraps Purchase of Israeli Bullets After Internal Pressure
Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez speaks to the media on the day of his meeting with Ireland’s Prime Minister Simon Harris to discuss recognizing a Palestinian state, in Dublin, Ireland, April 12, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
The Spanish government has unilaterally cancelled a contract to purchase ammunition rounds for its police force from an Israeli firm, a government source said on Thursday, ceding to pressure from its hard-left junior coalition partner Sumar.
Spain, a long-time critic of Israel’s policies in the Palestinian territories, pledged in October 2023 to stop selling weapons to Israel over its war with Hamas in Gaza and last year widened that commitment to include weapons purchases from Israel.
However, on April 17 as Spaniards geared up for the Easter holiday weekend, the government filed paperwork confirming the deal on the government tenders website.
The purchase, worth 6.6 million euros ($7.53 million), includes the acquisition of more than 15 million 9-mm rounds from Israel’s IMI Systems, owned by Elbit Systems and represented in Spain by Guardian LTD Israel.
The decision drew a sharp rebuke on Wednesday from coalition partner Sumar, with one of the groups within Sumar, Izquierda Unida, threatening to withdraw from the minority coalition government.
The Interior Ministry responded that it had been advised by the state attorney that breaking the contract would mean paying the full amount without receiving the shipment.
On Thursday, a government source said it had decided to stick to its October 2023 commitment not to provide Israeli companies with arms or revenue flows “and nor will it do so in future.”
The source said the Israeli company would be denied permission to import the defense material by the Spanish authorities on “public interest” grounds, the Interior Ministry would rescind the contract and government lawyers would respond to any subsequent legal claims.
Internal divisions over defense spending have already rattled the ruling coalition, threatening to deprive Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez of precious votes in parliament to pass legislation.
On Tuesday, Sanchez further angered Sumar, a platform of left-wing parties that controls five ministries led by deputy premier Yolanda Diaz, by announcing a wider plan to boost defense spending by 10.47 billion euros to meet NATO targets.
The minority government has struggled to pass legislation since securing a new term by cobbling together an alliance of left-wing and regional separatist parties in 2023.
($1 = 0.8767 euros)
The post Spain Scraps Purchase of Israeli Bullets After Internal Pressure first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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