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Incitement Encouraging Violence Against Jews Can No Longer Be Ignored; and Jews Who Participate Must Not Be Tolerated

A pro-Hamas protester with a sign comparing the Auschwitz extermination camp with the current war in Gaza at a demonstration in Paris. Photo: Reuters/Henrique Campos

Last week, a disturbing scene unfolded in the streets of Teaneck, New Jersey. A rally turned into a violent mob, with chants calling for harm against the local Jewish community. These weren’t protests against policies — they were direct threats and attempts to intimidate Jews at places of worship.

This was no routine political demonstration exercising free speech. It was incitement against the local Jewish community, and the larger American Jewish community at large.

The only reason this mob descended on Teaneck was because it is home to one of the largest Orthodox Jewish populations in the United States. Their sole target was the Jewish community itself.

Most chillingly, the protesters turned their vitriol on a synagogue that was hosting ZAKA — an apolitical organization responsible for handling the bodies of Jews for interment, and burying the victims of the October 7 massacre according to ritual traditions. To threaten and attempt to attack those whose role is to ensure kavod ha-met — reverence for the deceased — is an abhorrent violation of human decency and dignity.

This was not an isolated incident either. From Los Angeles to London, we’ve seen an escalating trend of rallies and protests devolving into naked antisemitism, and attempts to harass, intimidate, and terrorize Jewish communities. The perpetrators are fueled by age-old hatreds that are newly energized. They are frustrated because the IDF is too strong, so they take out their aggression on Jewish civilians. Hamas started this war by attacking Israeli civilians, and now, their followers and supporters have learned this tactic and are going after Jewish civilians the world over.

We must draw an unambiguous line. Peaceful protest is a hallmark of democracy, whether objecting to governmental policies or advocating for causes. But when protests metastasize into direct incitements to violence, the paths of peace have been abandoned.

Some may argue that even the most odious chants are protected speech. I disagree. The famous example is that you cannot falsely yell “fire” in a crowded theater, and claim free speech.

Rabble-rousing rhetoric that puts lives at intentional risk is not free speech, but rather provocation with the potential to incite violence — which crosses a bright red line.

We have seen this line crossed time and time again. Academic administrators acted properly when firing faculty members who claimed that genocidal chants against Jews are protected speech. Law enforcement has thankfully started arresting and prosecuting domestic extremists whose virulent speech is a match to domestic terrorism’s powder keg.

The chants and actions in Teaneck — and similar scenes globally — have reached beyond protected speech and into incitement. When protesters move to directly harass, intimidate, and verbally attack worshipers at their synagogues — and Jews in their homes — the right to peaceful protest ends. It becomes illegal harassment, incitement, and a true threat to public safety.

Therefore, I call on municipal leaders, state governments, and Federal law enforcement to treat these “protests” as they would any other situation involving criminal harassment, trespassing, threats, incitement, and potential violence. Aggressive deterrent measures and prosecutions are now required to protect public safety and the civil rights of Jewish communities. We are very thankful to the local police forces who are working tirelessly to keep the peace at these rallies. Unfortunately, they are just barely hanging on, and more steps need to be taken.

More critically, I appeal to all people of conscience — especially those identifying as Jewish — to join in resolutely condemning the Jews who knowingly participate in these vile displays of antisemitism under the guise of “protest.”

If you join a rally featuring blatant antisemitic slurs, bigotry, and calls for violence against your own people, you have turned your back on the Jewish community. There is no room in our ranks for Jews who participate in calls for violence against other Jews. Period. Whether they are Neturei Karta members, or belong to other denominations, this type of behavior has no place in the Jewish community. I call upon all national and local Jewish institutions to come together and join me in saying this clearly with one voice.

Rabbi Steven Burg, Aish’s CEO, also serves on the Board of Governors of the Jewish Agency, as an Executive Board Member of the Rabbinical Council of America, and a Board Member of Yeshiva University High Schools and Naaleh High School. Prior to Aish, Rabbi Burg was the Eastern Director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, where he oversaw the Museum of Tolerance in New York City and contributed to the Center’s fight against antisemitism.  

The post Incitement Encouraging Violence Against Jews Can No Longer Be Ignored; and Jews Who Participate Must Not Be Tolerated first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Lebanon Must Disarm Hezbollah to Have a Shot at Better Days, Says US Envoy

Thomas Barrack at the Brooklyn Federal Courthouse in Brooklyn, New York, U.S., November 4, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

i24 News – Lebanon’s daunting social, economic and political issues would not get resolved unless the state persists in the efforts to disarm Hezbollah, the Iranian proxy behind so much of the unrest and destruction, special US envoy Tom Barrack told The National.

“You have Israel on one side, you have Iran on the other, and now you have Syria manifesting itself so quickly that if Lebanon doesn’t move, it’s going to be Bilad Al Sham again,” he said, using the historical Arabic name for the region sometimes known as “larger Syria.”

The official stressed the need to follow through on promises to disarm the Iranian proxy, which suffered severe blows from Israel in the past year, including the elimination of its entire leadership, and is considered a weakened though still dangerous jihadist outfit.

“There are issues that we have to arm wrestle with each other over to come to a final conclusion. Remember, we have an agreement, it was a great agreement. The problem is, nobody followed it,” he told The National.

Barrack spoke on the heels of a trip to Beirut, where he proposed a diplomatic plan for the region involving the full disarmament of Hezbollah by the Lebanese state.

The post Lebanon Must Disarm Hezbollah to Have a Shot at Better Days, Says US Envoy first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Report: Putin Urges Iran to Accept ‘Zero Enrichment’ Nuclear Deal With US

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of a cultural forum dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the birth of the Turkmen poet and philosopher Magtymguly Fragi, in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Oct. 11, 2024. Photo: Sputnik/Alexander Scherbak/Pool via REUTERS

i24 News – Russian President Vladimir Putin has told Iranian leadership that he supports the idea of a nuclear deal in which Iran is unable to enrich uranium, the Axios website reported on Saturday. The Russian strongman also relayed the message to his American counterpart, President Donald Trump, the report said.

Iranian news agency Tasnim issued a denial, citing an “informed source” as saying Putin had not sent any message to Iran in this regard.

Also on Saturday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that “Any negotiated solution must respect Iran’s right to enrichment. No agreement without recognizing our right to enrichment. If negotiations occur, the only topic will be the nuclear program. No other issues, especially defense or military matters, will be on the agenda.”

The post Report: Putin Urges Iran to Accept ‘Zero Enrichment’ Nuclear Deal With US first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Syria’s Al-Sharaa Attending At Least One Meeting With Israeli Officials in Azerbaijan

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron after a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, May 7, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq/Pool

i24 News – Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa is attending at least one meeting with Israeli officials in Azerbaijan today, despite sources in Damascus claiming he wasn’t attending, a Syrian source close to President Al-Sharaa tells i24NEWS.

The Syrian source stated that this is a series of two or three meetings between the sides, with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani also in attendance, along with Ahmed Al-Dalati, the Syrian government’s liaison for security meetings with Israel.

The high-level Israeli delegation includes a special envoy of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, as well as security and military figures.

The purpose of the meetings is to discuss further details of the security agreement to be signed between Israel and Syria, the Iranian threat in Syria and Lebanon, Hezbollah’s weapons, the weapons of Palestinian militias, the Palestinians camps in Lebanon, and the future of Palestinian refugees from Gaza in the region.

The possibility of opening an Israeli coordination office in Damascus, without diplomatic status, might also be discussed.

The source stated that the decision to hold the meetings in Azerbaijan, made by Israel and the US, is intended to send a message to Iran.

The post Syria’s Al-Sharaa Attending At Least One Meeting With Israeli Officials in Azerbaijan first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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