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‘My Colleagues Don’t Have Spine to Defend Jews’: Musicians, Influencers Discuss Digital Advocacy for Hamas Hostages

(From left) Moderator Ido Daniel with panelists Daniel-Ryan Spaulding, Ashley Waxman-Bakshi, Daniel Braun, and David Draiman at an event on June 17, 2024. Montana Tucker participated via a live video that played on the screen behind the panelists. Photo: Screenshot

David Draiman, frontman of the American heavy metal band Disturbed, and musician Montana Tucker were among the panelists at an event in Israel on Monday that focused on media and digital advocacy for the hostages abducted from southern Israel on Oct. 7 by Hamas terrorists.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum hosted in Sderot an event titled “Impacting Public Opinion Under Fire,” and it featured a panel discussion about “impacting public opinion on the hostages through social media.” The panelists included stand-up comedian Daniel-Ryan Spaulding, beauty influencer Ashley Waxman-Bakshi, and Daniel Braun, who has over 4 million followers on TikTok.

“It’s very hard to be one of the only ones; one of the only prominent Jews supporting our people during this incredibly difficult time,” said Draiman.

The “Sound of Silence” singer is currently in Israel touring the country and visited some of the kibbutz areas impacted by the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks. The singer talked during the panel discussion on Monday about losing many friends in the music industry because of his avid support for Israel, especially following Oct. 7.

Draiman shared that he used to have dinner on a regular basis in Los Angles with “two very dear friends of mine” — Serj Tankian, lead singer of System Of A Down, and American guitarist and singer-songwriter Tom Morello from the band Rage Against the Machine. Tankian has accused Israel of committing “war crimes” and “genocide” during the Israel-Hamas war, and Morello was among the anti-Israel activists who pressured the Download music festival to remove Barclays Bank as a sponsor of the event because of its association with Israel.

“I used to pride myself on being a man who always tried to cross the divide with everyone everywhere all the time … I can’t even speak to these people anymore,” Draiman said. “There’s no point trying to convince someone who’s been so seduced by the narrative of the other side.”

“Most of my colleagues simply don’t have the spine and the wherewithal to stand fast and to stand true in defense of the Jewish people,” he added. “They simply don’t.”

Draiman admitted that he gets “250, 500 [and] sometimes 1,000” death threats a week. He also had to hire additional private security but is not bothered by what he is facing for showing solidarity with Israel.

“It’s all worth it and I’d do it 1,000 times over,” he explained. “What we’re fighting against is very unique and it’s hard to combat against a society that is uncivilized; that threatens people with death, with the death of their children, with harming their families. It’s very hard for it to go through one ear and out the other. But visiting Sdoret, the kibbutzim and being an addict of everything informational that has happened since Oct. 7 — it’s only convinced me to continue to push even harder. We’ll never give up. We will keep going and we will not be intimated by those who seek to intimidate us. We are not Jews with trembling knees.”

Tucker wore a gown to the 2024 Grammy Awards in February that featured an oversized yellow ribbon that said, “Bring Them Home,” calling for the release of the remaining hostages. She also wore a Star of David necklace. During Monday’s panel discussion, Tucker was asked by the panel’s moderator Ido Daniel about the backlash she received for wearing the gown, from members of the entertainment industry and others outside of the business.

Recalling her experience at the Grammys, she said, “when I walked off the red carpet, someone from the Recording Academy asked if I could leave because they were disappointed in my dress. They said it was too political and they don’t do politics at the Grammys … They proceeded to ask me if I could remove the ribbon. I said, ‘Absolutely not.’ And then I went back out there [on the red carpet] and two minutes later [Recording Academy CEO] Harvey Mason Jr. actually came up to me and said, ‘Thank you for wearing that dress. Let’s take your photo.’”

“But the stares I received all night were insane,” she added. “I made it to Us Weekly’s worst dressed at the Grammys list. But the love I received from the Jewish community was beyond incredible and some of the families of the hostages that I keep in contact with said they felt seen [and] heard. That’s why I will continue no matter what to use my platform, whether it’s at an award show or online, to call for the release of the hostages. I will always continue to do so until they are all home.”

Waxman-Bakshi’s cousin Agam Berger, 19, is still held in Hamas captivity in Gaza after being abducted during the Oct. 7 attack on the Nahal Oz military base. Waxman-Bakshi, a Canadian-born social media influencer who has a masters degree in counterterrorism and previously worked for Israel’s Ministry of Defense, has met with world leaders, including Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, members of the US Congress, and other politicians about the hostages.

She even spoke at the United Nations Human Rights Council on Wednesday, which was the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict. The UN Human Rights Council discussed a new report submitted by the Council’s Commission of Inquiry that concluded Hamas terrorists perpetrated sexual violence on Oct. 7, “primarily against Israeli women.”

Waxman-Bakshi talked during Monday’s panel discussion about how content creating ties in to her speaking out about the hostages. She said getting politicians to follow her on social media, continuing to engage with them, and “keeping that conversation going” furthers her advocacy regarding the hostages.

“Once my face continues to show up on their screen and in their parliaments, they stop and listen,” she said. “So I’m really in this unique position where I’m doing both. Both things need to be happening simultaneously — not only diplomatic work but also strategic work online.”

The full video of the panel discussion can be seen on the Facebook page of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.

The post ‘My Colleagues Don’t Have Spine to Defend Jews’: Musicians, Influencers Discuss Digital Advocacy for Hamas Hostages first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Sen. Rick Scott Donates Salary to US Holocaust Memorial Museum

US Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) on Capitol Hill in Washington, US, Dec. 7, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

US Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) announced on Wednesday that he will donate a portion of his Senate salary to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, underscoring what he called the urgent need to combat antisemitism at home and abroad as threats to Jewish communities escalate.

Scott, who has given part of his congressional salary since joining the Senate in 2019, said his gift was motivated by the growing dangers facing Jewish people and the importance of ensuring younger generations understand the Holocaust.

“Ann and I are proud to support the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Years ago, Ann and I brought our daughters to the Auschwitz memorial and museum in Poland because it was so important to us that they learned about the Holocaust and understood the horrors that occurred,” he said in a statement.

“It’s so important that every generation understands the atrocities of the Holocaust, and the museum does an incredible job teaching those lessons to millions of people every year. By sharing the stories of those who survived and those who were murdered, providing critical resources to educators, and reminding each of us what it means when we say ‘Never Again,’ it is a vital institution,” he added.

Scott also recounted taking his daughters years ago to Auschwitz in Poland, describing the visit as an effort to show them the catastrophic consequences of unchecked hatred against Jews.

The senator tied his donation to the approaching second anniversary of the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of southern Israel, the deadliest single-day massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. Palestinian terrorists killed 1,200 people and kidnapped 251 hostages during the onslaught.

“As we approach the second anniversary of Oct. 7, Ann and I are proud to support the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s meaningful work defending the truth of the Holocaust and their important efforts to teach its relevance for today,” Scott said.

Scott’s office did not disclose the specific amount of the donation.

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Texas State University Silent on Status of Professor Who Incited Violent Attack on Jews at Public Library

West Asheville Library in North Carolina. Photo: Screenshot/buncombecounty.org.

Texas State University is refusing to disclose whether it still currently employs a far-left professor who was filmed inciting a riotous assault on three pro-Israel individuals who peacefully spectated an anti-Israel presentation that was held in June 2024 at the West Asheville Library in North Carolina.

As previously reported by The Algemeiner, two of the victims, David Moritz and Monica Buckley, are Jewish, and one is cancer patient Bob Campbell, an 80-year-old military veteran. Their assailants kicked, punched, and dragged them out of the event, titled “Strategic Lessons From the Palestinian Resistance,” after Texas State University assistant professor of philosophy Idris Atsu Robinson spotted them in the audience and invited the 60-80 anti-Israel partisans in attendance to decide their fates.

At one point during harrowing footage taken of the incident, Robinson suggested that the encounter could lead to “murder.” At no point did he deescalate the situation and even seemed to find humor in igniting the passions of a mob.

Responding to an Algemeiner inquiry on Thursday, a Texas State media relations official declined to comment on Robinson’s employment status, saying the university “does not discuss personnel matters.”

The university has been asked before to account for its handling of Robinson.

In June, the StandWithUs Saidoff Legal Department, a pro-Israel nonprofit that seeks to combat antisemitism, notified the school of Robinson’s conduct and rhetoric. According to StandWithUs, “university sources” confirmed that he will not be teaching during the fall semester of the 2025-2026 academic year. However, the university would not comment on the matter “due to the confidential nature of personnel matters,” making it unclear whether Robinson is still employed by Texas State and will teach there in the future.

StandWithUs says Texas State should state Robinson’s employment status, share findings amassed during an internal investigation of him, and produce any previous complaints which accused him of wrongdoing.

“It is critical that universities protect Jewish and Zionist students by refusing to provide a classroom platform to faculty members unlawfully promoting antisemitic hate and violence,” Michael Scheinman, Saidoff Legal Department assistant director of campus and community affairs, told The Algemeiner on Wednesday. “Schools that do not act and fail to implement strong safeguards risk exposing their students to the same hatred and violence suffered by the victims of this attack.”

He added, “StandWithUS Saidoff Legal continues to support the victims of this horrendous hate incident by coordinating with law enforcement, helping to identify masked perpetrators, and urging Texas State University to condemn the antisemitic conduct that contributed to this violence.”

By his own words, Robinson took immense pride in what transpired in Asheville, North Carolina last year. Commenting on the matter the next day while being interviewed on a podcast produced by the organizers of the event, he argued for “popular riots” and “divine violence,” saying explicitly that “terrorists” reserve the right to “take the life of the oppressor.”

“My arms are chewed up,” Campbell, a Navy veteran, told The Algemeiner during an interview which followed the assault. He added that medical staff at a local US Veterans Affairs facility identified “severe contusions” on his body.

“What really upset me — I was [lying] on the floor, and this big guy was on top of me,” Campbell recalled. “The librarian came to the door, looked me right in the eye, turned around and walked back and didn’t do a damn thing. Didn’t call the police.”

The activists proved equally merciless to the other victims, putting Moritz in a headlock and heaving Buckley outside and ordering her not to free herself from their grip.

Expressions of anti-Zionism are escalating to violence more frequently, as previously reported by The Algemeiner.

Earlier this month, Eden Deckerhoff — a female student at Florida State University (FSU) — allegedly assaulted a Jewish male classmate at the Leach Student Recreation Center after noticing his wearing apparel issued by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

“F—k Israel, Free Palestine. Put it [the video] on Barstool FSU. I really don’t give a f—k,” the woman said before shoving the man, according to video taken by the victim. “You’re an ignorant son of a b—h.” Deckerhoff has since been charged with misdemeanor battery.

According to the Tallahassee Democrat, Deckerhoff has denied assaulting the student when questioned by investigators, telling them, “No I did not shove him at all; I never put my hands on him.” However, law enforcement charged her with misdemeanor battery and described the incident in court documents as seen in viral footage of the incident, acknowledging that Deckerhoff “appears to touch [the man’s] left shoulder.” Despite her denial, the Democrat noted, she has offered to apologize.

In June, a gunman murdered two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington, DC, while they exited an event at the Capital Jewish Museum hosted by a major Jewish organization. The suspect charged for the double murder, 31-year-old Elias Rodriguez from Chicago, yelled “Free Palestine” while being arrested by police after the shooting, according to video of the incident. The FBI affidavit supporting the criminal charges against Rodriguez stated that he told law enforcement he “did it for Gaza.”

Less than two weeks later, a man firebombed a crowd of people who were participating in a demonstration to raise awareness of the Israeli hostages who remain imprisoned by Hamas in Gaza. A victim of the attack, Karen Diamond, 82, later died, having sustained severe, fatal injuries.

Another antisemitic incident motivated by anti-Zionism occurred in San Francisco, where an assailant identified by law enforcement as Juan Diaz-Rivas and others allegedly beat up a Jewish victim in the middle of the night. Diaz-Rivas and his friends approached the victim while shouting “F—k the Jews, Free Palestine,” according to local prosecutors.

“[O]ne of them punched the victim, who fell to the ground, hit his head and lost consciousness,” the San Francisco district attorney’s office said in a statement. “Allegedly, Mr. Diaz-Rivas and others in the group continued to punch and kick the victim while he was down. A worker at a nearby business heard the altercation and antisemitic language and attempted to intervene. While trying to help the victim, he was kicked and punched.”

According to the latest data released by the FBI, antisemitic hate crimes in the US have been tallying to break all previous statistical records. In 2024, even as hate crimes decreased overall, those perpetrated against Jews increased by 5.8 percent in 2024 to 1,938, the largest total recorded in over 30 years of the FBI’s counting them. Jewish American groups have noted that this surge, which included 178 assaults, is being experienced by a demographic group which constitutes just 2 percent of the US population.

A striking 69 percent of all religion-based hate crimes that were reported to the FBI in 2024 targeted Jews, with 2,041 out of 2,942 total such incidents being antisemitic in nature. Muslims were targeted the next highest amount as the victims of 256 offenses, or about 9 percent of the total.

Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.

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Europeans Launch UN Sanctions Process Against Iran, Drawing Tehran’s Ire

Satellite image shows buildings at Isfahan Nuclear Technology Center, before Israel launched an attack on Iran targeting nuclear facilities, in Isfahan, Iran, May 17, 2025. Photo: Planet Labs PBC via REUTERS

Britain, France, and Germany on Thursday launched a 30-day process to reimpose UN sanctions on Iran over its disputed nuclear program, a step likely to stoke tensions two months after Israel and the United States bombed Iran.

A senior Iranian official quickly accused the three European powers of harming diplomacy and vowed that Tehran would not bow to pressure over the move by the E3 to launch the so-called “snapback mechanism.”

The three powers feared they would otherwise lose the prerogative in mid-October to restore sanctions on Tehran that were lifted under a 2015 nuclear accord with world powers.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the decision did not signal the end of diplomacy. His German counterpart Johann Wadephul urged Iran to now fully cooperate with the UN nuclear watchdog agency and commit to direct talks with the United States over the next month.

A senior Iranian official told Reuters the decision was “illegal and regrettable” but left the door open for engagement.

“The move is an action against diplomacy, not a chance for it. Diplomacy with Europe will continue,” the official said, adding: “Iran will not concede under pressure.”

The UN Security Council is due to meet behind closed doors on Friday at the request of the E3 to discuss the snapback move against the Islamic Republic, diplomats said.

Iran and the E3 have held several rounds of talks since Israel and the US bombed its nuclear installations in mid-June, aiming to agree to defer the snapback mechanism. But the E3 deemed that talks in Geneva on Tuesday did not yield sufficient signals of readiness for a new deal from Iran.

The E3 acted on Thursday over accusations that Iran has violated the 2015 deal that aimed to prevent it developing a nuclear weapons capability in return for a lifting of international sanctions. The E3, along with Russia, China, and the United States, were party to that accord.

US President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of that accord in 2018 during his first term, calling the deal one-sided in Iran‘s favor, and it unraveled in ensuing years as Iran abandoned limits set on its enrichment of uranium.

Trump’s second administration held fruitless indirect negotiations earlier this year with Tehran.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio welcomed the E3 move and said Washington remained available for direct engagement with Iran “in furtherance of a peaceful, enduring resolution to the Iran nuclear issue.”

An Iranian source said Tehran would do so only “if Washington guarantees there will be no [military] strikes during the talks.”

The E3 said they hoped Iran would engage by the end of September to allay concerns about its nuclear agenda sufficiently for them to defer concrete action.

“The E3 are committed to using every diplomatic tool available to ensure Iran never develops a nuclear weapon,” including the snapback mechanism, they said in a letter sent to the UN Security Council and seen by Reuters.

“The E3’s commitment to a diplomatic solution nonetheless remains steadfast.”

Iran has previously warned of a “harsh response” if sanctions are reinstated, and the Iranian official said it was reviewing its options, including withdrawing from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

The E3 had offered to extend the snapback for as much as six months to enable serious negotiations if Iran restored access for UN nuclear inspectors – who would also seek to account for Iran‘s large stock of enriched uranium whose status has been unknown since the June war – and engages in talks with the U.S.

Calling the E3 decision inevitable, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said it was an “important step in the diplomatic campaign to counter the Iranian regime’s nuclear ambitions.”

GROWING FRUSTRATION IN IRAN

The UN process takes 30 days before sanctions that would hit Iran‘s financial, banking, hydrocarbons, and defense sectors are restored.

Russia and China, strategic partners of Iran, finalized a draft Security Council resolution on Thursday that would extend the 2015 nuclear deal for six months and urge all parties to immediately resume negotiations.

But they have not yet asked for a vote.

“The world is at crossroads,” Russia’s deputy UN Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy told reporters. “One option is peace, diplomacy, goodwill … Another option is a kind of diplomacy at the barrel of the gun.”

The specter of renewed sanctions is stirring frustration in Iran, where economic anxiety is rising and political divisions are deepening, three insiders close to the government said.

Iranian leaders are split over how to respond — with anti-Western hardliners urging defiance and confrontation, while moderates advocate diplomacy.

Iran has been enriching uranium to up to 60 percent fissile purity, a short step from the roughly 90 percent of bomb-grade, and had enough material enriched to that level, if refined further, for six nuclear weapons, before the airstrikes by Israel started on June 13, according to the IAEA, the UN nuclear watchdog.

Actually manufacturing a weapon would take more time, however, and the IAEA has said that while it cannot guarantee Tehran‘s nuclear program is entirely peaceful, it has no credible indication of a coordinated weapons project.

The West says the advancement of Iran‘s nuclear program goes beyond civilian needs, while Tehran says it wants nuclear energy only for peaceful purposes.

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