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New Partnership Aims to Revive Black-Jewish Alliance
American Jewish Congress (AJC) Rabbi Joachim Prinz and Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) leader Martin Luther King Jr. — as well as other civil rights leaders, including a young John Lewis — meeting with US President John F. Kennedy in the Oval Office of the White House following the civil rights march on Washington DC, on Aug. 28, 1963. Photo: Library of Congress via Reuters Connect.
A new partnership has its sights set on reviving the formidable Black-Jewish alliance, which toppled the Jim Crow laws in the segregated south in the 1960s and prompted a massive expansion of social and civil rights in the US.
The Academic Engagement Network (AEN), a nonprofit which promotes academic freedom and free speech, is partnering with South Carolina State University and Voorhees University — two Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) — on a project that will involve hosting a series of student and faculty seminars on the history of “Black-Jewish solidarity,” from the creation of Rosenwald Schools for Black children following the abolition of slavery to the advent of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement.
“As Jewish scholars fled Nazi Germany, they unfortunately found many barriers in the US academy,” AEN executive director Miriam Elman said in a press release sent out Thursday. “But an exception were HBCUs that provided visas and employment to 50 German Jewish scholars, saving their lives. Black and Jewish communities in the US forged a unique bond as a result of these experiences.”
Elman added, “This initiative will drawn on this inspiring history by empowering HBCUs to help combat contemporary antisemitism and disturbing efforts by extremists to create divisions between Black and Jewish communities.”
Funded by an AEN Antisemitism Education Initiative grant — a project aimed at promoting awareness of diversity in the Jewish community and campus antisemitism — the seminars will also cover the history of antisemitism, Zionism and Jewish self-determination, and the ways in which Jews and Blacks can come together to oppose contemporary antisemitism and anti-Black racism in an age of rising hate.
“This grant may mark a new beginning, but the bond between our communities is not new — it is steeped in history,” Voorhees University president Ronnie Hopkins proclaimed in Thursday’s press release. “Our students are poised to become the future leaders of various fields, including industry, business, science, and law. It is imperative they are equipped to combat all forms of hatred, including antisemitism.”
The seminar’s launching at South Carolina State University, founded with a land grant in 1896, is special, AEN said on Thursday, noting that the school is home to the only Anne Frank Center in the US, of which there are only three in the world.
“At the heart of this approach is the emphasis on creating inclusive and diverse spaces,” University of South Carolina professor Devin Randolph said. “I see this endeavor as something truly invaluable, drawing from a legacy of resilience and aspirations for a future marked by understanding and progress.”
On Friday, Rabbi Meir Muller, another University of South Carolina professor, told The Algemeiner in a statement that HBCUs are best suited for leading the fight against antisemitism that exploded at college campuses across the US after Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel — a problem, he averred, which is not present on HBCU campuses.
“This initiative seeks to empower HBCU faculty and students to foster a nuanced understanding of an advocacy for pro-Jewish and Israeli perspectives,” Muller explained. “Our goal is to spread this message of solidarity and mutual respect to all HBCUs and throughout the country, reaching all communities and peoples.”
AEN’s partnership with HBCUs comes amid a concerted effort to foster good feelings between the Black and Jewish communities, which have at times drifted apart due to vehement disagreements over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and racial privilege, as well as the rise of antisemitic Black nationalist movements. Last July, this project was boosted by the relaunching of the Black-Jewish Congressional Caucus, a bipartisan group of elected officials.
“Recent surveys and studies show a disturbing rate of antisemitic attitudes among Black Americans, especially young people, and HBCUs have a critically important role to play as allies with the Jewish community to counter antisemitism,” Elman told The Algemeiner on Friday. “This groundbreaking initiative could not have gotten off the ground without the firm commitment from senior leaders at Voorhees University and South Carolina State. AEN is grateful for their support in piloting the project and looks forward to seeing the initiative expand to more HBCUs in South Carolina and beyond.”
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
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Antisemitic Incidents at Argentina Local Soccer Match Spark Official Investigations, Condemnations
Fans of Argentinian soccer club All Boys marched through the streets before their match against Atlanta soccer club, carrying a coffin draped with an Israeli flag alongside Iranian and Palestinian flags. Photo: Screenshot
Argentinian authorities and soccer officials have launched investigations following antisemitic incidents by Club Atlético All Boys fans during Sunday’s local match against Atlanta.
Atlanta, a soccer team based in the Villa Crespo neighborhood of Buenos Aires, has deep historical ties to Argentina’s Jewish community, which has long been a significant presence in the area.
This latest antisemitic incident took place outside the stadium before the game had even started.
All Boys fans were seen waving Palestinian and Iranian flags, carrying a coffin draped with an Israeli flag, and handing out flyers bearing messages like “Free Palestine” and “Israel and Atlanta are the same crap.”
Before a football match today against the Argentine sports club Atlanta, which is closely associated with the Jewish community, fans of the opposing team, All Boys, waved Islamic Republic and Palestinian flags while parading a coffin draped in an Israeli flag through the streets.… pic.twitter.com/IQs4v6eoFz
— Hen Mazzig (@HenMazzig) June 29, 2025
Then, during the match — which ended in a 0-0 draw — a drone carrying a Palestinian flag flew over the stadium, while some fans reportedly chanted anti-Israel slogans.
Local police confirmed they have issued citations to individuals accused of inciting public disorder and related offenses.
On Monday, the Argentine Football Association (AFA) condemned the incidents as “abhorrent” and confirmed the organization has opened a formal inquiry into the events.
“This is not folklore. This is discrimination,” the statement reads.
Argentina’s Security Minister Patricia Bullrich also announced that a criminal complaint has been filed, citing “acts of violence, expressions of racial and religious hatred, and public intimidation.”
In a post on X, the Delegation of Argentine Israelite Associations (DAIA), the country’s Jewish umbrella organization, condemned the incidents and called on both local authorities and the soccer officials to “take firm action against these acts of hatred.”
“We urge the authorities to take all necessary actions and apply the full force of the law,” the statement reads. “Violence and discrimination must have no place in our society.”
Repudiamos enérgicamente las expresiones antisemitas ocurridas hoy en las inmediaciones del estadio Malvinas Argentinas.
Exigimos a las autoridades correspondientes, a la AFA y al Club All Boys que actúen con firmeza ante estos hechos de odio.
La violencia y la discriminación no… pic.twitter.com/3AmY7IQscY— DAIA (@DAIAArgentina) June 29, 2025
Since the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Argentina has experienced a surge in antisemitic incidents and anti-Jewish hate crimes.
According to a recent report by DAIA, Argentina experienced a 15 percent increase in antisemitic activity last year, with 687 anti-Jewish hate crimes recorded — up from 598 incidents in 2023 — marking a significant rise nationwide.
The study indicates that 66 percent of the antisemitic incidents originated in the digital realm, with a significant rise in Nazi symbols and conspiracy theories, but there was also a 34 percent increase in reported physical assaults, with such hate crimes rising in schools and neighborhoods.
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Iranian nuclear program degraded by up to two years, Pentagon says
A satellite image of Iran’s Fordow nuclear facility. Photo: File.
The Pentagon said on Wednesday that US strikes 10 days ago had degraded Iran’s nuclear program by up to two years, suggesting the U.S. military operation likely achieved its goals despite a far more cautious initial assessment that leaked to the public.
Sean Parnell, a Pentagon spokesman, offered the figure at a briefing to reporters, adding that the official estimate was “probably closer to two years.” Parnell did not provide evidence to back up his assessment.
“We have degraded their program by one to two years, at least intel assessments inside the Department [of Defense] assess that,” Parnell told a news briefing.
U.S. military bombers carried out strikes against three Iranian nuclear facilities on June 22 using more than a dozen 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs and more than two dozen Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles.
The evolving U.S. intelligence about the impact of the strikes is being closely watched, after President Donald Trump said almost immediately after they took place that Iran’s program had been obliterated, language echoed by Parnell at Wednesday’s briefing.
Such conclusions often take the U.S. intelligence community weeks or more to determine.
“All of the intelligence that we’ve seen [has] led us to believe that Iran’s — those facilities especially, have been completely obliterated,” Parnell said.
Over the weekend, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, said that Iran could be producing enriched uranium in a few months, raising doubts about how effective US strikes to destroy Tehran’s nuclear program have been.
Several experts have also cautioned that Iran likely moved a stockpile of near weapons-grade highly enriched uranium out of the deeply buried Fordow site before the strikes and could be hiding it.
But US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said last week he was unaware of intelligence suggesting Iran had moved its highly enriched uranium to shield it from US strikes.
A preliminary assessment last week from the Defense Intelligence Agency suggested that the strikes may have only set back Iran’s nuclear program by months. But Trump administration officials said that assessment was low confidence and had been overtaken by intelligence showing Iran’s nuclear program was severely damaged.
According to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, the strikes on the Fordow nuclear site caused severe damage.
“No one exactly knows what has transpired in Fordow. That being said, what we know so far is that the facilities have been seriously and heavily damaged,” Araqchi said in the interview broadcast by CBS News on Tuesday.
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Switzerland Moves to Close Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s Geneva Office Over Legal Irregularities
Palestinians carry aid supplies received from the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in the central Gaza Strip, May 29, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ramadan Abed/File Photo
Switzerland has moved to shut down the Geneva office of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a US- and Israeli-backed aid group, citing legal irregularities in its establishment.
The GHF began distributing food packages in Gaza in late May, implementing a new aid delivery model aimed at preventing the diversion of supplies by Hamas, as Israel continues its defensive military campaign against the Palestinian terrorist group.
The initiative has drawn criticism from the UN and international organizations, some of which have claimed that Jerusalem is causing starvation in the war-torn enclave.
Israel has vehemently denied such accusations, noting that, until its recently imposed blockade, it had provided significant humanitarian aid in the enclave throughout the war.
Israeli officials have also said much of the aid that flows into Gaza is stolen by Hamas, which uses it for terrorist operations and sells the rest at high prices to Gazan civilians.
With a subsidiary registered in Geneva, the GHF — headquartered in Delaware — reports having delivered over 56 million meals to Palestinians in just one month.
According to a regulatory announcement published Wednesday in the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce, the Federal Supervisory Authority for Foundations (ESA) may order the dissolution of the GHF if no creditors come forward within the legal 30-day period.
The Trump administration did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the Swiss decision to shut down its Geneva office.
“The GHF confirmed to the ESA that it had never carried out activities in Switzerland … and that it intends to dissolve the Geneva-registered branch,” the ESA said in a statement.
Last week, Geneva authorities gave the GHF a 30-day deadline to address legal shortcomings or risk facing enforcement measures.
Under local laws and regulations, the foundation failed to meet several requirements: it did not appoint a board member authorized to sign documents domiciled in Switzerland, did not have the minimum three board members, lacked a Swiss bank account and valid address, and operated without an auditing body.
The GHF operates independently from UN-backed mechanisms, which Hamas has sought to reinstate, arguing that these vehicles are more neutral.
Israeli and American officials have rejected those calls, saying Hamas previously exploited UN-run systems to siphon aid for its war effort.
The UN has denied those allegations while expressing concerns that the GHF’s approach forces civilians to risk their safety by traveling long distances across active conflict zones to reach food distribution points.
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