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My University Failed to Stop Anti-Jewish Hate at a Recent ‘Week of Rage’ Demonstration

Concordia University, Montreal, Canada. Photo: Concordia University / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/concordiauniversity/5279916243)

Jewish students worldwide were bracing themselves for what would happen on campuses on October 7, 2024 — a year after Palestinian terrorists led by Hamas waged the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust.

Since the start of the war, police in Montreal have reported 325 demonstrations in connection with the conflict, and more than 288 possible hate crimes against Jewish Québécois over the last year, resulting in 41 arrests.

Starting on this past October 7, Students for Palestine’s Honour and Resistance (SPHR) Concordia and other anti-Israel protest groups on campus planned to show “administrations why they must divest and end their complicity in the genocide in Gaza,” during their so-called “Week of Rage.”

Based on SPHR Concordia’s prior actions — such as repeatedly vandalizing school buildings with antisemitic hate, forcing the Concordia University Sir George Williams Campus (SGW) campus into lockdown by disrupting and blocking classes during their “National Day of Action,” and  threateningly encircling a Jewish person at one of their protests, I and my peers had valid concerns regarding our safety.

SPHR’s recent history also includes rioting at Jewish and Israeli clubs’ tables on campus, repeatedly calling for an “Intifada,” and stating that the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack in Israel was an act of justifiable “resistance.”

In response, Jewish Concordia students, along with a well known pro-Israel student group, StartUp Nation Montreal, and Hillel Concordia demanded that the school’s administration “uphold its responsibility to ensure [students’] safety and security.”

Though the school did not respond immediately, a Quebec judge barred certain pro-Palestinian groups and activists from blocking access to any part of Concordia, or attempting to disrupt classes five days before the October 7 anniversary.

The following day, a message penned by two members of the school administration’s leadership team outlined how exactly the university would be “[taking] steps to support a climate of safety and respect on campus.”

Of course, neither act curtailed any of the planned anti-Israel antics.

On October 7, 2024, while numerous Jewish organizations on campus held a 1,000 person vigil for the victims and the current captives still held by Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups, anti-Israel protestors were busy barging through police barriers, vandalizing a construction site for a new education building known to be funded by “Zionists,” and flooding the streets with protestors shouting “the student intifada lives on,” while SPHR and its partners declared their desire to “commemorate the historic breach of the colonial border wall and a year of Palestine’s historic resistance.”

Anti-Israel protestors were also seen “barging through a metal fence, which was erected by Montreal police, after McGill University announced that access to campus would be restricted to students, faculty and essential visitors from Oct. 5 to Oct. 11.”

video posted on X showed protestors attacking “ Sylvan Adam’s Sports Science Institute (SASSI) which hopes to establish a permanent partnership with Tel-Aviv University,” stating that, “the site was met with shattered glass and paint, affirming that there will be no peace so long as McGill continues to partner with institutions complicit in genocide.”

According to local reporting, “hundreds of people still protesting broke into small groups, dispersing in all directions,” which prompted the authorities to dispatch “an army of more than 80 SPVM officers, over a dozen Sûreté du Québec (SQ) officers and campus security.”

Since then, Montreal has had multiple dramatic expressions of anti-Israel antisemitism that have continued to veer into outright politically motivated violence. We continue to see countless horrific incidents, such as a Second Cup franchisee at the Jewish General Hospital calling for the final solution,  and performing the Nazi salute, as well as cars being lit ablaze by rioters at an anti-NATO protest.

How loud must we shout before politicians enact laws restricting this behavior, and school administrators better enforce the code of conduct policies at their universities?

Jacqueline Snidman-Stren is a student at Concordia University and a 2024-2025 CAMERA Fellow.

The post My University Failed to Stop Anti-Jewish Hate at a Recent ‘Week of Rage’ Demonstration first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Germany’s Scholz Rebukes Vance, Defends Europe’s Stance on Hate Speech and Far Right

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz speaks to the media after he met former prisoners following the largest prisoner exchange between Russia and the West in decades, at the military area of Cologne Bonn Airport in Cologne, Germany, August 1, 2024. Photo: Christoph Reichwein/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz delivered a strong rebuke on Saturday to US Vice President JD Vance’s attack on Europe’s stance toward hate speech and the far right, saying it was not right for others to tell Germany and Europe what to do.

Vance lambasted European leaders on Friday, the first day of the Munich Security Conference, accusing them of censoring free speech and criticizing German mainstream parties’ “firewall” against the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).

“That is not appropriate, especially not among friends and allies. We firmly reject that,” Scholz told the conference on Saturday, adding there were “good reasons” not to work with the AfD.

The anti-immigration party, currently polling at around 20% ahead of Germany’s February 23 national election, has pariah status among other major German parties in a country with a taboo about ultranationalist politics because of its Nazi past.

“Never again fascism, never again racism, never again aggressive war. That is why an overwhelming majority in our country opposes anyone who glorifies or justifies criminal National Socialism,” Scholz said, referring to the ideology of Adolf Hitler’s 1933-45 Nazi regime.

Vance met on Friday with the leader of AfD, after endorsing the party as a political partner — a stance Berlin dismissed as unwelcome election interference.

Referring more broadly to Vance’s criticism of Europe’s curtailing of hate speech, which he has likened to censorship, Scholz said: “Today’s democracies in Germany and Europe are founded on the historic awareness and realization that democracies can be destroyed by radical anti-democrats.

“And this is why we’ve created institutions that ensure that our democracies can defend themselves against their enemies, and rules that do not restrict or limit our freedom but protect it.”

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot added his voice to the defense of Europe’s stance on hate speech.

“No one is required to adopt our model but no one can impose theirs on us,” Barrot said on X from Munich. “Freedom of speech is guaranteed in Europe.”

UKRAINE

The prospect of talks to end the Ukraine-Russia war had been expected to dominate the annual Munich conference after a phone call between US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin this week, but Vance barely mentioned Russia or Ukraine in his speech to the gathering on Friday.

Instead, he said the threat to Europe that worried him most was not Russia or China but what he called a retreat from fundamental values of protecting free speech – as well as immigration, which he said was “out of control” in Europe.

Many conference delegates watched Vance’s speech in stunned silence. There was little applause as he delivered his remarks.

Asked by the panel moderator if he thought there was anything in Vance’s speech worth reflecting on, Scholz drew laughter and applause in the crowd when he responded, in a deadpan manner: “You mean all these very relevant discussions about Ukraine and security in Europe?”

The post Germany’s Scholz Rebukes Vance, Defends Europe’s Stance on Hate Speech and Far Right first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Trump Team to Start Russia-Ukraine Peace Talks in Saudi Arabia in Coming Days, Politico Reports

US Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL) speaks on Day 1 of the Republican National Convention (RNC) at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US, July 15, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Mike Segar

Senior officials from US President Donald Trump’s administration will start peace talks with Russian and Ukrainian negotiators in Saudi Arabia in the coming days, Politico reported on Saturday, citing sources familiar with the plan.

US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Saudi Arabia, the report said. Special envoy for Ukraine-Russia talks, Keith Kellogg, will not be in attendance, according to the report.

The post Trump Team to Start Russia-Ukraine Peace Talks in Saudi Arabia in Coming Days, Politico Reports first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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UN Peacekeeping Mission Deputy Commander Injured After Convoy Attacked in Beirut

FILE PHOTO: A UN peacekeepers (UNIFIL) vehicle is seen next to piled up debris at Beirut’s port, Lebanon October 23, 2020. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/File Photo

The outgoing deputy force commander of the United Nations Interim Force (UNIFIL) in Lebanon was injured on Friday after a convoy taking peacekeepers to Beirut airport was “violently attacked,” UNIFIL said.

The mission demanded a full and immediate investigation by Lebanese authorities and for all perpetrators to be brought to justice, it said in a statement.

Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun condemned the attack on Saturday, saying that security forces would not tolerate anyone who tries to destabilize the country, according to a statement from his office.

The French government also condemned the attack.

“France calls on the Lebanese security forces to guarantee the security of blue-helmet peacekeeping forces, and calls on Lebanon’s judicial authorities to shed all light on this unacceptable attack and to go after those responsible,” the French foreign ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

Lebanon’s Interior Minister Ahmad al-Hajjar called for an emergency meeting before noon on Saturday to discuss the security situation, Lebanese state news agency NNA reported.

“He affirmed the Lebanese government’s rejection of this assault that is considered a crime against UNIFIL forces,” NNA reported, citing the minister.

He also gave instructions to work on identifying the perpetrators and referring them to the relevant judicial authorities.

The minister told reporters on Saturday that more than 25 people had been detained for investigation over the attack.

The United States earlier condemned the attack. A State Department statement said the attack was carried out “reportedly by a group of Hezbollah supporters”, referring to the Iran-backed militant group in Lebanon.

The post UN Peacekeeping Mission Deputy Commander Injured After Convoy Attacked in Beirut first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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