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Ivy League Failing Jewish Students, New ADL “Report Card” Says
Pro-Hamas students rallying at Harvard University. Photo: Reuters/Brian Snyder
Ivy League universities in the US have performed abysmally in addressing antisemitism on their campuses this academic year, according to the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) first ever Campus Antisemitism Report Card.
Released on Thursday, just weeks before the end of spring term, the report’s grades are based on two criteria, “What’s Happening on Campus” and “University Policies and Responsive Action.” In total, the ADL graded 85 colleges and universities across the US, only two of which — Brandeis University and Elon University — merited “As.”
No Ivy League school earned better than a “C,” a mark awarded to Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. Five others — Columbia University, Brown University, Cornell University, and University of Pennsylvania — received “D’s” while Harvard University and Princeton University received failing “F” grades.
“Every campus should get an A — that’s not grade inflation, that’s the minimum that every group on every campus expects,” ADL chief executive officer Jonathan Greenblatt said in a press release announcing the report. “They deserve a learning environment free from antisemitism and hate. But that hasn’t been the experience with antisemitism running rampant on campus since even before October 7.”
He added, “At a time when antisemitic incidents on campus are at historic levels, administrators need to adopt new policies to address this scourge and have the willingness to enforce existing codes of conduct to ensure all students are safe.”
Harvard’s receiving an “F” comes amid a period described as a low point in its history. America’s oldest and, arguably, most important institution of higher education, it has since Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel been accused of fostering a culture of racial grievance, academic dishonesty, and antisemitism.
As scenes of Hamas terrorists abducting children and desecrating dead bodies circulated worldwide, 31 student groups at Harvard, led by the Palestine Solidarity Committee (PSC) issued a statement blaming Israel for the attack and accusing the Jewish state of operating an “open air prison” in Gaza, despite that the Israeli military withdrew from the territory in 2005. In the weeks that followed, anti-Zionists stormed the campus screaming “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” and “globalize the intifada,” terrorizing Jewish students and preventing some from attending class.
In November, a mob of anti-Zionists — including Ibrahim Bharmal, editor of the prestigious Harvard Law Review — followed, surrounded, and intimidated a Jewish student. “Shame! Shame! Shame! Shame!” the crush of people screamed in a call-and-response chant into the ears of the student who —as seen in the footage — was forced to duck and dash the crowd to free himself from the cluster of bodies that encircled him.
Princeton University has also had its share of antisemitic outrages, the ADL noted in its report. Last year, Mohammed el-Kurd, who has falsely accused Israelis of eating the organs of Palestinians spoke on campus. After Oct. 7, a student’s illustration of an Israeli flag was desecrated and anti-Zionist groups have roamed the campus chanting “long live the intifada,” a call for acts of terrorism targeting innocent civilians.
In the fall of 2023, the school was criticized for teaching Right to Maim, a book accused by academics of being “pseudo-scholarship” for trafficking in antisemitic blood libels rooted in medieval conspiracies that Jews murdered Christian children and drank their blood during Passover. Because of these incidents and more, Princeton University is being investigated by the US Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR).
“It’s time for campuses to step up and protect our children from the hate and antisemitism that has proliferated on college campuses across the country this year,” Emma Law-Oppman, an administrator of the fast growing Facebook group Mothers Against College Antisemitism (M.A.C.A.), said on Thursday. “It is our hope that ADL’s Report Card serves as a much needed wake up call for schools to prioritize creating a safe and welcoming environment for all students. At M.A.C.A, our members are fully prepared and energized to demand a massive change from school leadership across the country.”
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
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Iran ‘Has No Proxies,’ Khamenei Says as His Allies Languish
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting with a group of students in Tehran, Iran, Nov. 2, 2022. Photo: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
JNS.org – The official X account of Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, rejected the term “proxy” for Iranian-backed militias on Sunday.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran doesn’t have proxy forces. If we decide to take action [against the enemy], we don’t need proxy forces,” read the text on Khamenei’s English-language account.
This statement follows setbacks for Iran’s terrorist proxies in the Middle East: Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis in Yemen, and the Assad regime in Syria. The text seems to distance Tehran from these events, amid economic struggles and speculation about the Iranian regime’s vulnerabilities.
“They say that the Islamic Republic has lost its proxies in the region,” a related post by Khamenei said. But “Yemen fights due to their faith. Hezbollah, Hamas, and Islamic Jihad fight because their beliefs compel them to do so.”
US forces attacked the Houthis in Yemen on Saturday, while Israel targeted power stations and Hodeidah port after recent rocket and drone launches on Israel. Hezbollah suffered significant losses and agreed to withdraw south of Lebanon’s Litani River. Hamas lost control of most of Gaza, and its leaders have been killed along with many of its fighters.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday that Israel had “split [Iran’s] Axis right down the middle.”
Khamenei’s X account on Sunday appeared to counter. “The Zionists try to show they’re the victors. You wretched people! Where have you won? Have you won in Gaza? Have you destroyed Hamas? Have you freed your own prisoners? Is this victory to kill over 40,000 people without being able to achieve even one of your goals?”
Another post added, “You Zionists haven’t won; you’ve been defeated,” vowing that “the courageous, devout, young people of Syria will definitely expel you from there.”
The Iranian rial hit a record low last week, trading at 777,000 to the dollar. Internal protests over economic issues and religious coercion, including women’s dress codes, continue to challenge the regime. Donald Trump’s upcoming presidency may exacerbate tensions, especially after his campaign linked Iran to attempts to assassinate him.
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Reports: 90% of 3-Stage Ceasefire, Hostage Release Deal Completed
Israelis protest against the government and to show support for the hostages who were kidnapped during the deadly Oct. 7, 2023 attack, amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Nov. 30, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
i24 News – A ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas is 90% complete, according to a report in the BBC on Sunday.
Egyptian media said that 34 Israeli hostages are set to be released in the first stage of a deal, although the terrorist organization is demanding additional compensation for male soldiers held.
A senior Israeli official said Jerusalem has received “signs of life” from the hostages, according to a report in the Times of Israel.
Outstanding issues includes lists of hostages slated to be released as well as which are living and dead, although Hamas has stated it does not know where every one of the captives taken in the terrorist onslaught of October 7, 2023, is being held.
Another issue is the question of Israeli presence in the Gaza Strip, with Hamas reportedly backing down on its demand that all IDF soldiers leave. Instead, the Israeli army will reportedly remain in the Netzarim and Philadelphi Corridors for the duration of the ceasefire, with a withdrawal planned for later stages, when a civilian authority takes over administration of the Palestinian enclave.
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Germany Confirms Saudi Warning about Perpetrator of Christmas Market Attack
A Saudi flag flutters atop Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul, Turkey October 20, 2018. Photo: REUTERS File Photo
i24 News – German authorities confirmed on Sunday that Saudi Arabia had warned them last year about the suspect in the car-ramming attack at the Christmas market in Magdeburg over the weekend.
The head of the Federal Criminal Police Office (Germany’s equivalent to the FBI), Holger Münch, told German media that his office received a tip from Saudi Arabia in November 2023, which led the authorities to carry out “appropriate investigative steps.” However, Germany decided that the warnings were not serious, as the perpetrator had no criminal background.
“The suspect, Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, also published a large number of extremist posts online,” Münch said. “He was also in contact with various authorities, voicing insults and even threats. However, it is unknown if he committed any acts of violence.” He added that the warnings turned out to be non-specific. The Federal Office for Immigration and Refugees also reported on X that it had received a tip about the suspect at the end of last summer.
The incident began Friday evening, when the Saudi-German slammed into people with his BMW in a crowded Christmas market area in the city of Magdeburg, running over a large group of people. Five people were killed in the event, which German authorities have not yet defined as a terrorist attack. Today the name of one of the victims was published, a 9-year-old boy named Andre Gleissner. Abdulmohsen is reportedly a 50-year-old doctor with no criminal record who hailed from Saudi Arabia, but in later years became an atheist and spoke out against Islam. He had a permanent refugee status in Germany, for fear of persecution in Saudi Arabia.
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