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North Carolina Lawmaker Accused of Antisemitism for Repeated Attacks on ‘Zios,’ Israel
Raleigh City Council member Mary Black. Photo: Screenshot
A member of the Raleigh City Council in North Carolina who recently filed for re-election has come under fire for regularly attacking Israel and Zionists, despite her job having no apparent responsibilities concerning Middle Eastern affairs.
Mary Black, 30, describes herself as “an intersectional environmentalist” — which, she told a local newspaper, “requires me to evaluate all issues through a justice and equity lens.” The lawmaker’s intense focus on the world’s lone Jewish state and its supporters has fueled accusations of antisemitism, with local Jewish and even fellow progressive leaders questioning why she is spending a disproportionate amount of her time concerned with such issues rather than the needs of her constituents.
Black has notably been outspoken on the issue of Israel and the Palestinians at Raleigh City Council meetings, publicly accusing other council members of “looking for any reason” to shut down conversation on an Israel-Hamas ceasefire resolution. During the time a ceasefire resolution was before the council, Black posted on Threads, a social media platform similar to X/Twitter: “I was gifted a kuffiyeh tonight for pushing a ceasefire vote. It’s red. I’m happy.” The Gaza ceasefire resolution did not pass.
Beyond pushing to focus on Israel at City Council meetings, Black has also shared images and videos of herself on Threads speaking at a local pro-Palestinian rally with the comment, “I am the only City Councilor to speak publicly in support of Palestine…#Free Palestine.” Black introduced herself at the rally this way: “My name is Mary Black. I am a Raleigh City Council member.”
Black later took to Threads to complain about someone taking issue with her speaking at the event. “Someone just emailed my city email and wanted to discuss why I spoke at a ceasefire rally,” she posted. “I told them that’s not an appropriate use of my city time (also just no).”
The local lawmaker has shown her anti-Israel activism most frequently on social media. Using the name @mary.poppinn, Black is active on Threads, where she regularly derides Israel and its supporters.
In a post about Israel invoking the Holocaust, Black wrote on Threads: “Imagine. To survive a death camp, find liberation, just to then slaughter, rape, and massacre men, women, and children for land without remorse is the definition of unhealed trauma.” The lawmaker appeared to be comparing Israel’s policy toward the Palestinians with the Nazis’ systematic murder of six million Jews during World War II.
In 2022, Black was endorsed by the Wake County Democratic Party.
The Algemeiner reached out to the party for additional information and comment for this story. However, hours after making this request, this author was blocked from reading Black’s Threads account. Sources sent The Algemeiner Black’s next post in which she complained about being “canceled” by the media
In other social media posts, Black has used the hateful, pejorative term “zios” as well as “xionist” and “zionologists.”
A column in the New York Times pointed out that “Zio” is “an insult used by the Ku Klux Klan.” A column in The Forward, a progressive Jewish publication, stated that “Zio” is “a pejorative brought into prominence by former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke and often deployed by white supremacists.”
However, while the term has generally been deployed by far-right extremists, it has more recently been used as well by anti-Israel activists on the progressive far left. A column in the Jewish Journal explained that “Zio” is a “derogatory code word for Jews invented by white supremacists. Despite its right-wing extremist roots, the term has been re-popularized by anti-Israel activists, normalizing violent antisemitic vernacular among self-identified progressives.”
Such language “incites hatred and hatred leads to violence,” Raleigh resident and Jewish community leader Dr. Michael Ross told The Algemeiner.
Meanwhile, Dr. Adam Goldstein, a local Democratic leader, told The Algemeiner that Black’s “support of violence, against Israel, against Zionists, against Jews, and even against political opponents displays blatant antisemitism and is an embarrassment to the people of Raleigh.”
In June, Black shared a post on Threads severely critical of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the foremost pro-Israel lobbying organization in the US, in which she commented, “F—k yeah” before signing her post “-a city councilor.”
Black recently announced having received the endorsement of the newly formed Solidarity with Humanity, which describes itself as “North Carolina’s first and only grassroots political action committee (PAC) building power for Palestinian freedom.”
Black recently attended the group’s fundraiser billed as “Raleigh United for Gaza” with a stated goal of raising funds “to support local political campaigns who oppose genocide and stand with Palestinian freedom.” Raleigh City Council member Christina Jones also attended and was endorsed by the PAC.
Raleigh City council members Mary Black, right, and Christina Jones. Photo: Screenshot
Black shared a picture on Threads of herself addressing the fundraiser while local Hamas supporter Rania Masri stood behind her.
As The Algemeiner reported in November, Masri spoke at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill declaring that Oct. 7 — when Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists invaded southern Israel and perpetrated the biggest single-day massacre of Jews since the Holocaust — “was a beautiful day” and expressing pride and admiration for Hamas and their paragliders. Masri went on to “demand the eradication of Zionism.” In addition, Masri posted a video on Facebook that called Hamas fighters “heroes.”
Black has shared several videos of herself speaking at a local pro-Palestinian rally standing with Masri.
A Political Committee Disclosure Report filed by Solidarity with Humanity in July indicates that Masri has made 10 recent “in kind” contributions to the organization’s PAC which endorsed Raleigh City Council members Black and Jones.
During her 2022 campaign, Black announced that her campaign was “free from toxic money.”
Rabbi Eric Solomon of Beth Meyer Synagogue, the largest congregation in Raleigh, lambasted Black for adopting a “pro-Hamas” position, noting her district has a significant Jewish population.
“Council Member Mary Black represents District A which includes the largest Jewish population of any district in Raleigh as well as two synagogues,” Solomon, a political progressive, told The Algemeiner. “I have no issue with Black’s concern for Palestinian suffering; I too empathize with the plight of innocent Palestinians. But after the greatest attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust and during an unprecedented rise in antisemitism including hate-filled incidents in her own district, she is more focused on the war on Gaza than the well-being of residents in her district.”
Solomon continued, “Her [Black’s] one-sided, pro-Hamas statements are not only ill-informed; they are a direct source of incitement. How can it be that our City Council representative, the one who is supposed to ‘represent’ us, is one of the greatest threats to my community’s safety? I find her unwillingness to support the District A Jewish community during this time to be profoundly negligent at best, and overtly antisemitic at worst.”
Beyond the Jewish community, Black has invited scrutiny, declaring on social media, “I am an elected official desperately asking you to hold us accountable…Vote us out if you have to.”
Last year, Black made a post on Threads that some community members described to The Algemeiner as a possible dog whistle for violence.
“Yes propaganda is expensive but not if we keep sending them billions of dollars for war machines,” she wrote. “We need another step beyond being vocal, beyond protest, beyond boycotts, I think we know exactly what it is too but we’re just too scared or maybe too colonized mentally to say it.”
On July 14, Black shared on Threads a caricature of former US President Donald Trump with a bloody face, having just survived an assassination attempt. The messages included with the image read, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take” and “BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME.”
Black recently called supporters of Trump “maggots.”
Mitchell Silver, former New York City Parks Commissioner and Raleigh Chief Planner, has announced he is running for the Raleigh City Council seat currently held by Black.
Peter Reitzes writes about issues related to antisemitism and Israel.
The post North Carolina Lawmaker Accused of Antisemitism for Repeated Attacks on ‘Zios,’ Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Syria to Give UN Watchdog Inspectors Access to Suspected Former Nuclear Sites as New Regime Seeks Sanctions Relief
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi speaks to the media, in Tehran, Iran, April 17, 2025. Photo: Iranian Atomic Organization/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
Syria’s new government has agreed to provide the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) — the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog — with immediate access to former nuclear sites, signaling a move to restore international trust as it hopes to have international sanctions lifted.
On Wednesday, IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi told the Associated Press that Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa has shown a “very positive disposition to talk to us and allow us to carry out the activities we need to.”
After meeting with Sharaa in Damascus, he expressed hope that the inspection process would be completed within the coming months.
The IAEA’s goal is “to bring total clarity over certain activities that took place in the past that were, in the judgment of the agency, probably related to nuclear weapons,” Grossi said.
He also noted that Syria’s new leadership is “committed to opening up to the world, to international cooperation.”
Last year, the IAEA conducted inspections at several sites of interest in Damascus while former President Bashar al-Assad was still in power.
Under Assad’s rule, the country was believed to have operated a secret nuclear program, which included an undeclared nuclear reactor built by North Korea in Deir el-Zour province, in eastern Syria — a fact that was revealed after Israel destroyed the facility in a 2007 airstrike.
Since the collapse of Assad’s regime in December, the IAEA has been looking to regain access to sites associated with the country’s nuclear program.
In addition to conducting inspections, Grossi said the agency is prepared to provide Syria’s new government with equipment for nuclear medicine and to help rebuild the country’s radiotherapy and oncology infrastructure.
“And the president has expressed to me that he’s interested in exploring, in the future, nuclear energy as well,” Grossi said.
Last month, US President Donald Trump announced the lifting of sanctions on Syria — a major policy shift that aligns with the European Union’s efforts to support the country’s recovery and political transition.
As Sharaa focuses on rebuilding Syria after years of conflict, the lifting of Western sanctions that isolated the country from the global financial system is expected to boost its weakened economy by paving the way for greater humanitarian aid, foreign investment, and international trade.
Earlier this year, Sharaa became Syria’s transitional president after leading the rebel campaign that ousted Assad, whose Iran-backed rule had strained ties with the Arab world during the nearly 14-year Syrian war.
The offensive that led to the fall of the Assad regime was spearheaded by Sharaa’s Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group, a former al-Qaeda affiliate.
Since then, Sharaa has repeatedly pledged to unify Syria’s armed forces and restore stability after years of civil war. However, the new government continues to face major hurdles in convincing the international community of its commitment to peace.
Incidents of sectarian violence — including the mass killing of pro-Assad Alawites in March — have deepened fears among minority groups about the rise of Islamist factions and drawn condemnation from global powers currently engaged in discussions on sanctions relief and humanitarian aid.
The post Syria to Give UN Watchdog Inspectors Access to Suspected Former Nuclear Sites as New Regime Seeks Sanctions Relief first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Barcelona’s Primavera Sound Music Festival Showcases Tunnel Installation That Simulates Gaza Bombings
An outside view of the “Unsilence Gaza” installation at the 2025 Primavera Sound music festival. Photo: Screenshot
A reproduction of a tunnel that simulates the sound of bombings in the Gaza Strip is being showcased this year at Barcelona’s annual Primavera Sound music festival, which opened on Wednesday.
The unique installation, titled “Unsilence Gaza,” allows visitors to walk through a dark tunnel-like path where they hear noises of explosions as well as dramatic, ominous music. At the end of the tunnel, there is a wall with a message that says in English, Spanish, and Catalan: “Silence isn’t the opposite of the sound of bombs, it allows them to happen.” The outside of the installation features the message: “When everything blows up, don’t hide in the silence.”
The installation makes no mention of the Gaza-based Hamas terrorist organization that started the ongoing war with Israel after it orchestrated the deadly, mass terror attack across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
UNSILENCE GAZA #PrimaveraSound2025 Instalación de 15 metros de túnel que simula el ruido de un bombardeo a Gaza en el festival de #primaverasound de #barcelona pic.twitter.com/L7XnpF06u1
— Barcelona.lives (@BarcelonaLives) June 4, 2025
The installation was designed by Palestinian sound engineer Oussama Rima and is located by the main entrance of the annual music festival, held at the Parc del Fòrum. T-shirts and sweatshirts with the words “Unsilence Gaza” are also being sold at the festival and proceeds from the sales will be donated to the Palestinian Medical Relief Society to support emergency medical aid.
The Primavera Sound Foundation said on its website that the installation aims to remind people about the power of sound and how, especially in Gaza, it is associated with pain, fear, “torture and trauma.”
“We have normalized seeing war, but not listening to it,” the foundation said. “We live in a world saturated with violent images. Hypervisibility has anaesthetised us: we see, but we do not react. Sound, on the other hand, can still move us. At Primavera Sound, sound is emotion, connection, pleasure. But sound can also be the opposite: it can become a weapon. With this installation, we want to remind you that in Gaza and other parts of the world, sound is pain. It is fear. It is torture and trauma.”
In its statement, the foundation made no mention of Hamas or Israel. Instead, it talked about “genocide,” increased military spending, “warmongering rhetoric and attempts to criminalize and silence voices that defend peace.” The installation was conceptualized by the non-profit organizations Casa Nostra, Casa Vostra and the International Institute for Nonviolent Action (NOVACT), with support from the Primavera Sound Foundation.
More than 150 artists will perform at the Primavera Sound music festival this year including Sabrina Carpenter, Charli XCX, Troye Sivan, Chappell Roan, FKA Twigs, HAIM, Fontaines D.C., IDLES and Magdalena Bay.
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Sephardic Jewish Film Festival in NYC to Feature Array of Movies Celebrating Culture, Tradition, History
A promotional image for the film “Giado: Holocaust in the Desert” being screened at the 2025 New York Sephardic Jewish Film Festival. Photo: Provided
The New York Sephardic Jewish Film Festival (NYSJFF), also known as the Sephardic Film Festival, returns to New York on Sunday for a week-long celebration of films that spotlight the traditions, cultures, and histories of Sephardic Jews.
This year’s festival will features documentaries, feature films, and shorts that highlight stories set in Israel, Morocco, France, Turkey, and more. It kicks off on Sunday night with a Pomegranate Awards ceremony, whose honorees will include French-born Israeli singer Yael Naim, Iranian-American writer Roya Hakakian, and French-Tunisian actor and screenwriter Michel Boujenah. Acclaimed Brazilian Jewish singer-songwriter Fortuna will receive the ASF Pomegranate Lifetime Achievement Award for Preservation of Sephardic Culture. Fortuna will also perform at the opening night ceremony with Trio Mediterraneo and special guest Frank London, a Grammy-winning trumpeter and co-founder of The Klezmatics.
NYSJFF is organized by the American Sephardic Federation.
A documentary about Naim will make its world premiere at the film festival on Monday and the screening will be followed by a Q&A with Naim and the film’s director, Jill Coulon. Also screening on Monday is the 1985 French comedy “Three Men and a Cradle” starring Boujenah, who will participate in a Q&A after the screening. Boujenah won the coveted César Award for best supporting actor for his role in the film, which is about three adult friends who are enjoying their single life until they get stuck taking care of a baby.
The Sephardic Film Festival will additionally feature the North American premiere of the films “The Last Righteous Man (Baba Sali)” and “Jinxed.” The latter is a Hebrew-language comedy, directed by Hanan Savyon and Guy Amir, about two repairmen who go to fix a television and instead find a dead body in a client’s apartment. They are then mistaken for murder suspects and get mixed up with the mafia and police investigations, as bad luck follows them around.
The Sephardic Film Festival will also host the New York premieres of “Matchmaking 2,” “Neuilly-Poissy” and “The 90s – The Revelry — Hillula,” which was a box office hit in Israel.
The film festival line-up includes “Over My Dead Body,” which explores Persian-American Jewish traditions; a documentary short about efforts to preserve the Ladino language spoken by Sephardic Jews; and a film that highlights the first-hand testimony of Yosef Dadosh who, at the age of 20, was one of 3,000 Libyan Jews deported by the Italians to the Giado concentration camp during the Holocaust.
This year, the Sephardic Film Festival is part of a new, larger cultural festival called Festival Sefarad, which will be a citywide celebration of Sephardic and Mizrahi Jewish communities. Festival Sefarad will include film screening, musical performances, workshops, book talks, and Shabbat dinners throughout the month of June. The festival is organized by the American Sephardic Federation with support from the UJA-Federation of New York.
“Our inspiration to expand the 27th NY Sephardic Jewish Film Festival into the first-ever Festival Sefarad is the acute need, in the face of so much adversity and antisemitism, to create communal, intellectual, and cultural events that bring all Jews together,” Jason Guberman, executive director of the American Sephardi Federation, said in a statement. “With the support of the UJA-Federation of NY and 50 organizations throughout Brooklyn, Manhattan, Long Island, and Queens, the ASF is hosting over 40 events that showcase the dynamism, resilience, and joy of the Greater Sephardic world for Jews of all backgrounds and friends.”
The 27th New York Sephardic Jewish Film festival runs from June 8-June 15. The festival concludes with a live concert by legendary artist Enrico Macias. Tickets for the film festival are available online. The annual festival, which started in 1990, has previously screened films from Morocco, India, Yemen, Kurdistan, and more.
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