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Jewish students barricade in Cooper Union library as protesters chant ‘Free Palestine,’ on day of protest across NYC campuses
(New York Jewish Week) — Jewish students at a New York City college were locked in their school’s library for 20 minutes as pro-Palestinian demonstrators pounded on the doors and shouted slogans.
The incident on Wednesday night at Cooper Union, a private college in downtown Manhattan, occurred after pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel students held dueling rallies. It came on a day when, at a New York University protest nearby, a protester waved a sign showing a Star of David in a trash can. Meanwhile, further uptown at Columbia, supporters of Israel rallied and decried that school’s administration.
Footage from the incident at Cooper Union showed a group of Jewish students in the library, while protesters outside pounded on the building’s doors and windows, chanting “Free Palestine,” waving signs advocating a boycott of Israel and calling for a ceasefire in Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. Building staff had made the decision to lock the doors.
The NYPD has been in touch with the school and present on its campus, and told the New York Jewish Week that there was no property damage, nor criminal reports or injuries during the incident. But Jewish students who spoke to CBS said they felt threatened.
“It was tense, people were nervous,” said one student who appeared in footage of the incident and spoke to CBS but did not give her name. “They were specifically acting very aggressive in those spaces where outwardly Jewish students were sitting.”
CBS reported that the pro-Palestinian protesters released a statement saying, “Our protest was not targeting any individual student or faculty but the institution itself.” The statement also disavowed antisemitism.
In a statement to the New York Jewish Week, Cooper Union said, “The library was closed for approximately 20 minutes late this afternoon while student protestors moved through our building. Some students who were previously in the library remained there during this time.”
Jewish leaders as well as city and state officials have condemned the incident. The regional director for the Anti-Defamation League, Scott Richman, said he had spoken with Cooper Union students and was “shocked” by their account of the incident. ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said, “This intimidation of students is appalling,” and demanded that the college keep Jewish students safe. The school has not issued any public statements.
The American Jewish Committee, New York Governor Kathy Hochul and Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine also expressed alarm over the incident. Levine said the NYPD had been involved and were reviewing security footage of the incident for more information.
Student groups in New York and nationwide, meanwhile, staged a walkout in support of the Palestinians on Wednesday.
A pro-Palestinian rally in Washington Square Park, near NYU’s campus, featured a demonstrator with an antisemitic sign reading, “Please keep the world clean,” and a figure placing a Star of David in a trash bin. Video from the event showed dozens of demonstrators chanting “globalize the intifada.”
Police and Jewish security groups have reported a spike in antisemitic incidents since the start of the war in the New York region and around the country. Recent incidents in New York, where Jews are targeted by hate crimes far more than any other group, have ranged from physical assaults to racist graffiti and harassment.
Columbia and other Ivy League colleges have been rocked by controversy since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, as pro-Palestinian student organizations came out in support of the terror group’s Oct. 7 attack. After Israel began its counteroffensive against Hamas, protests against the Jewish state intensified, including in recent days.
At Columbia on Wednesday, hundreds students and supporters lined Broadway outside the school’s gates, waving Israeli flags and holding images of Hamas hostages in a display of support for Jewish students and criticism of the administration due to its perceived inaction in the face of threats to Jews.
The demonstrators at the rally chanted “end Jew hatred” and “free Gaza from Hamas,” as a passing truck with an electronic billboard displayed images of the captives held in Gaza and other students streamed by.
Students chanted “shame on you,” in a message directed at the university’s leadership, which some demonstrators said had allowed a hostile atmosphere for Jews as student groups applauded the Hamas attack and barred “Zionists” from an on campus event.
“The university is not doing anything, not condemning any of the terror acts that happened,” said an Israeli Columbia student, Noa Gorecki.
“It’s just disappointing that this kind of university chooses to behave like that and we’re doing everything we can,” she said, adding that Jewish students felt “unsafe, scared, angry.”
The rally was organized by the local advocacy group End Jew Hatred to “empower” Jewish students due to inaction from administrators, said Gerard Filitti, an activist with the organization who is not a student.
“It’s very difficult for Jewish students to feel safe, let alone to be heard,” Filitti said. “The administration can’t be equivocal.”
Filitti, a senior counsel with the nonprofit Lawfare project, a group that takes legal action on behalf of pro-Israel students, said he expected litigation against universities due to their conduct since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas, which killed and wounded thousands. Pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel rallies have spread across campuses in the wake of the attack, and a range of student groups and faculty members have praised the attack.
“College campuses are not keeping Jewish students or faculty safe and they’re obligated to do so,” he said. “They’re allowing an environment that’s hostile to the point that they can’t enjoy the same benefits as any other student, and that’s not legal.”
Some parents came to the rally to support their Jewish children at Columbia, after the students reported feeling unsafe. Other participants were not affiliated with the university, but came to show support.
“There’s little we can do here while our family and our friends are fighting in Israel so we want to try to do our part,” said Will Lerer, a Yeshiva University student.
On Oct. 9, before Israel’s military response had caused significant damage, Columbia’s Students for Justice in Palestine said it “stands in full solidarity with Palestinian resistance” and called the Hamas attack “an unprecedented historic moment for the Palestinians.”
A 19-year-old attacked an Israeli student with a stick outside Columbia’s main library in the wake of the attack, resulting in hate crimes charges.
Columbia student branches of Students for Justice in Palestine and the anti-Zionist Jewish Voice for Peace announced a walkout on Wednesday as part of a national student protest against “the siege and genocide in Gaza.” The student groups demanded the university divest from Israel and for students to “stand against the university’s support for a genocidal and settler-colonial regime.”
Columbia postponed an annual fundraising drive that was scheduled for Wednesday, saying it was “not the appropriate time” for the event. Several prominent donors have pulled funds from other Ivy League schools, including Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania, in recent weeks due to alleged antisemitism and the university administrations’ response to the war.
On Oct. 12, three Columbia administrators released a statement on the conflict, condemning antisemitism and Islamophobia and saying, “We reject and will not tolerate hate speech, violence, or the threat or any acts of violence in our community.”
Last week, university president Minouche Shafik called for civility on campus and condemned online harassment, saying some students had been victimized by doxing. The statements did not condemn Hamas.
Jews and supporters of Israel on campus have called for Shafik to do more. An Israeli professor, Shai Davidai, made a viral speech last week directed at parents, saying, “I want you to know we cannot protect your children from pro-terror student organizations.”
“None of the presidents of universities all around the country are willing to take a stand. This is what cowards do and I’ll name it now, President Minouche Shafik of Columbia University, you are a coward,” he said.
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The post Jewish students barricade in Cooper Union library as protesters chant ‘Free Palestine,’ on day of protest across NYC campuses appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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US Senators Urge Secretary of Homeland Security to Secure Northern Border From Gaza Refugees
US Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) speaking at a press conference about the United States restricting weapons for Israel, at the US Capitol, Washington, DC. Photo: Michael Brochstein/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect
Six US senators sent a letter to US Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas this week requesting that he increase security measures along the northern border in response to Canada accepting an influx of refugees from Gaza, the Palestinian enclave ruled by the terrorist group Hamas.
The six Republican lawmakers — Sens. Marco Rubio (FL), Ted Cruz (TX), Joni Ernst (IA), Tom Cotton (AK), Mike Braun (IN), and Josh Hawley (MO) — said they were “deeply concerned” that refugees from Gaza could sneak into the United States. The senators warned that allowing unvetted Palestinian refugees to cross the border poses a serious national security threat.
“On May 27, 2024, the Government of Canada announced its intent to increase the number of Gazans who will be allowed into their country under temporary special measures,” the senators wrote. “We are deeply concerned and request heightened scrutiny by the US Department of Homeland Security should any of them attempt to enter the United States at ports of entry as well as between ports of entry.”
After arriving in Canada, the Palestinian refugees will be given a “Refugee Travel Document,” which serves as a valid form of identification, the letter claimed, adding that US Citizenship and Immigration Services recognizes these documents as a valid substitute for a passport. The senators warned that “individuals with ties to terrorist groups” could potentially enter into the United States.
The letter argued that the US should maintain “common-sense terrorist screening and vetting” for any individual attempting to enter its borders from a foreign country. The lawmakers lamented that the Biden administration’s “”ax border enforcement” has rendered the country vulnerable to potential terrorist attacks. From April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024, the US Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Field Operations intercepted over 233 suspected terrorists at the northern border, according to the letter.
“[T]he possibility of terrorists crossing the US-Canada border is deeply concerning given the deep penetration of Gazan society by Hamas,” the senators wrote. “It would be irresponsible for the US to not take necessary heightened precautions when foreigners attempt to enter the United States.”
On Oct. 7, Hamas launched the ongoing war in Gaza with its Oct. 7 invasion of and massacre of 1,200 people across southern Israel. The Palestinian terrorist group also kidnapped over 250 hostages.
In response, Israel launched defensive military operations in Gaza with the aim of freeing the hostages and permanently dislodging Hamas from the neighboring enclave.
The vast majority of Palestinians in Gaza, as well as the West Bank, still support Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel that started the ongoing war, and they would prefer a “day after” scenario in which Hamas remains in control of Gaza rather than the Palestinian Authority, which governs in the West Bank, or other Arab countries, according to recent Palestinian polling. The same polling found that, when asked about support for Palestinian political parties and movements, a plurality chose Hamas.
US lawmakers are split along party lines as to whether the United States should accept refugees from Gaza. Republicans are largely opposed to importing refugees from Gaza, arguing that individuals from the war-torn enclave present “a national security risk” to the United States.” In May, Ernst and Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) sent US President Joe Biden a letter, urging him not to accept any refugees from Gaza.
In June, however, a group of 70 Democratic lawmakers sent Mayorkas a letter, requesting he create “pathways” for more refugees of the Israel-Hamas war to resettle in America.
The post US Senators Urge Secretary of Homeland Security to Secure Northern Border From Gaza Refugees first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Video of Masked Man Vowing ‘Rivers of Blood’ at Paris Olympics Over Israel Support Appears to Be Fake, of Russia Origin
Screenshot of a widely circulated video published on social media showing a masked man vowing that “rivers of blood will flow” at the 2024 Paris Olympics due to France’s support for Israel. According to reports, the video appears to be fake and of Russian origin.
A widely circulated video published on social media this week showing a masked man vowing that “rivers of blood will flow” at the 2024 Paris Olympics due to France’s support for Israel appears to be fake and of Russian origin, according to reports.
The video — published on Tuesday on social media networks including X/Twitter and Telegram — featured a keffiyeh-clad man with his face covered, delivering an Arabic-language address threatening France with violence due to the country’s alleged support for Israel amid its ongoing war with Hamas in Gaza.
Addressing “the people of France” and “French President [Emmanuel] Macron,” the masked individual said, “You supported the Zionist regime in its criminal war against the people of Palestine. You provided Zionists with weapons; you helped murder our brothers and sisters, our children.”
“You invited the Zionists to the Olympic games. You will pay for what you have done!” continued the man, who wore a shirt adorned with a Palestinian flag. “Rivers of blood will flow through the streets of Paris. This day is approaching, God willing. Allah is the greatest.”
The video, published on X/Twitter by the account @endzionism24 and retweeted by Palestinian activist Ihab Hassan, ended with the speaker holding a prop severed head complete with fake blood up for the camera.
He is not a Palestinian:
A video clip has surfaced showing an individual wearing a keffiyeh and a Palestinian flag badge, threatening France with a “river of blood” at the Olympic Games.
It is glaringly obvious to any Arabic speaker that this person is not Arab; his dialect… pic.twitter.com/rwWGkkbiAi
— Ihab Hassan (@IhabHassane) July 23, 2024
Hassan and other social media users immediately noted that the man speaking was clearly not a native Arabic speaker, citing his reasonably fluent but awkward and occasionally incorrect pronunciation.
Many social media users aware of the mispronunciations seemed to blame Israel for the video, implying the clip was a false flag meant to fearmonger and demonize Palestinians and Muslims. They did not address the fact that Israel has access to hundreds of thousands of native Palestinian Arabic speakers who would sound far more convincing than the man in the video.
On Wednesday, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said that “French secret services and their partners have not been able to authenticate the veracity of this video.”
According to researchers at Microsoft, however, the video appears to be part of a Russian-linked disinformation campaign meant to disrupt the Olympics, which began with the opening ceremony on Friday.
The researchers from Microsoft’s Threat Analysis Center told NBC News that the clip appears to have come from a Russian disinformation group known as Storm-1516, an outgrowth of Russia’s Internet Research Agency.
The latest clip was linked to a similar disinformation video falsely alleging that Ukraine had sent arms to Hamas — a claim for which there is no evidence. According to the researchers, the more recent video appears to be part of a Russian scare campaign meant to disrupt the Olympics.
The video came just days before France’s rail infrastructure was hit on Friday, ahead of the start of the Olympics, with widespread acts of vandalism including arson attacks, paralyzing travel to Paris from the rest of France and Europe just hours before the opening ceremony of the Olympics. French authorities described the acts as “criminal” and “malicious.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said that the sabotage of France’s high-speed rail network was directed by Iran, which Western intelligence agencies have for years labeled as the world’s foremost state sponsor of terrorism.
“The sabotage of railway infrastructure across France ahead of the Olympics was planned and executed under the influence of Iran’s axis of evil and radical Islam,” Katz wrote on X/Twitter. “As I warned my French counterpart [Stéphane Séjourné] this week, based on information held by Israel, Iranians are planning terrorist attacks against the Israeli delegation and all Olympic participants. Increased preventive measures must be taken to thwart their plot. The free world must stop Iran now — before it’s too late.”
Katz was referring to a letter he sent on Thursday to Séjourné raising alarm bells about what he described as a plan by Iran to attack Israel’s Olympic delegation.
Darmanin and French National Police both announced previously that they are taking increased security measures to ensure the safety of Israel’s Olympic delegation while they are in Paris amid mounting threats. These measures include providing them with round the clock security from French police. The Israeli delegation will also receive additional security details from Israel’s Shin Bet security agency during the Olympics.
The post Video of Masked Man Vowing ‘Rivers of Blood’ at Paris Olympics Over Israel Support Appears to Be Fake, of Russia Origin first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Top St. Louis Newspaper Endorses US Rep. Cori Bush’s Opponent, Argues Incumbent’s Israel Stance Is ‘Disqualifying’
US Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) raises her fist as US Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) addresses a pro-Hamas demonstration in Washington, DC. Photo: Reuters/Allison Bailey
The editorial board of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the largest daily newspaper in Missouri, has endorsed the opponent of US Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO), pointing to the incumbent congresswoman’s lack of legislative accomplishments and stance on the Israel-Hamas war.
The Post-Dispatch argued that Bush’s position on Israel and the Gaza war should be “disqualifying” for any elected representative. The outlet took umbrage with Bush for equating a close democratic ally of the US with a genocidal terrorist organization.
“Israel’s conduct of the war has been far from perfect, but it remains a democracy fighting for survival against an evil terrorist organization. Bush’s tendency to equate both sides — and even to side with the terrorists, as when she cast one of just two House votes against a resolution to bar Hamas members from the US — should in itself be disqualifying for re-election,” the editorial board wrote.
Bush has established herself as one of the most vocal critics of Israel in the US Congress. Only nine days after Hamas’ Oct. 7 slaughter of roughly 1,200 people in southern Israel, Bush called for an “immediate ceasefire” between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist group. As the war dragged on, Bush’s rhetoric toward Israel sharpened, with the congresswoman accusing the Jewish state of committing “genocide” in Gaza and “apartheid” in the West Bank. Bush has also accused Israel of inflicting a “famine” in Gaza without providing evidence.
Bush seems more interested in pandering to the far-left fringes of the progressive movement than serving her constituents, the Post-Dispatch argued. Bush’s membership in “The Squad” — a clique of far-left progressive, anti-establishment lawmakers in the House of Representatives — has rendered her completely incapable of “accomplishing anything” in the halls of Congress, according to the newspaper.
The editorial board urged its readers to vote for Wesley Bell, pointing to his moderated approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as an example of his pragmatism and moral clarity.
“On Israel, Bell offers an appropriately measured stance, acknowledging the need to protect Gazan civilians and work toward a two-state solution, while supporting America’s closest ally in the Middle East,” the outlet wrote.
In contrast to Bush, Bell has expressed more sympathy to Israel’s military operations in Gaza, emphatically rejecting the notion that Israel’s actions in Gaza constitute “genocide” or “ethnic cleansing.”
Moreover, Bell has strengthened his ties with the Jewish community over the course of his campaign. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the foremost pro-Israel lobbying group in the US, donated a reported $5 million to Bell’s campaign through its United Democracy Project super PAC. A group of 30 St. Louis-area rabbis penned a letter endorsing Bell, accusing Bush of a “lack of decency, disregard for history, and for intentionally fueling antisemitism and hatred.” Bell also brought about an official “director of Jewish outreach” to increase turnout among the Jewish community.
A poll commissioned by McLaughlin & Associates and sponsored by the CCA Action Fund, a pro-Bell super PAC, showed Bell with a commanding 56 percent to 33 percent lead over Bush.
Supporters of Israel see the primary race as a prime opportunity to oust another opponent of the Jewish state from the halls of Congress. Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), a progressive lawmaker, lost his primary race to a pro-Israel challenger on June 25. Over the course of his reelection campaign, Bowman accused Israel of committing “genocide” and enacting “apartheid” against Palestinians. Bowman’s comments incensed Jewish constituents in the leafy suburbs of Westchester County, New York.
Furthermore, observers are looking to the race as a potential indicator of the Democratic electorate’s position on Israel. Opinions of the Jewish state among Democrats have soured in the months following Oct. 7, calling into question whether anti-Israel views are still a liability with American liberals.
The post Top St. Louis Newspaper Endorses US Rep. Cori Bush’s Opponent, Argues Incumbent’s Israel Stance Is ‘Disqualifying’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.