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Jewish Civil Rights Group Hold ‘Emergency Rally’ Outside NYC Department of Education
Protesters gathered at CUNY Chancellor Felix V. Matos Rodriguez’s office under the mantra ‘End Jew Hatred’ to protest growing antisemitism within CUNY and their campuses on Sept. 12, 2023. Photo by Meir Chaimowitz/NurPhoto via Reuters Connect
Jewish civil rights nonprofit End Jew Hatred (EJH) held an “emergency rally” outside the New York City Department of Education (DOE) on Wednesday to call for eradicating antisemitism in public schools.
Organized in partnership with New York City Public School Alliance — which describes itself as an advocacy group — the demonstration follows a series of disturbing incidents and expressions of pro-Hamas sentiment on New York City public school campuses since Oct. 7, including pro-Hamas walkouts led by teachers, mass demonstrations in which students screamed “globalize the intifada,” and the mobbing of a teacher who posted pro-Israel content on social media, which resulted in her hiding in an office.
The groups are urging New York City Public School Chancellor David Banks to protect Jewish and pro-Israel staff by increasing Jewish representation in the DOE, monitoring educational content that contributes to delegitimizing Israel and Zionism, and adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism — a tool used by hundreds of governing institutions, including the US State Department, European Union, and the United Nations and supported by lawmakers across the political spectrum.
“Chancellor Banks has failed to act on rising Jew-hatred across the NYC public school system,” Adar Rubin, EJH director of mobilization, said in a press release issued on Wednesday. “We need understanding for the unique trauma experienced by Jewish students and teachers, and immediate action to address antisemitism in a manner that embraces and supports Jewish identity in all its forms, including indigeneity to Israel and the Middle East.”
According to the New York Post, the New York City Department of Education (DOE) announced last Monday new policies for addressing “Islamophobia, antisemitism, or any other form of bigotry” as well as empowering school administrators to discipline students who commit acts of harassment and intimidation, which New York City Schools have been restrained from doing since the Obama administration, when progressives in the US Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) began launching civil rights investigations against public schools that suspended disruptive and violent students, a measure they accused of perpetuating racism.
“We cannot and we will not have schools where students feel like they can do whatever they want without accountability for their actions,” Banks said last Monday during a press conference about the reforms. “That is no way to run a school system, and we will not allow that to happen, certainly not on my watch.”
Under the Biden administration, New York City’s DOE is being investigated for ignoring antisemitism, in contravention of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
The post Jewish Civil Rights Group Hold ‘Emergency Rally’ Outside NYC Department of Education first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.