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Northwestern University Students, Faculty Slam School for Forming Committee to Combat Antisemitism
Thousands of anti-Israel demonstrators from the Midwest gather in support of Palestinians and hold a rally and march through the Loop in Chicago on Oct. 21, 2023. Photo: Alexandra Buxbaum/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect
Dozens of student groups at Northwestern University just outside Chicago on Thursday dismissed concerns of rising antisemitism amid the Israel-Hamas war as “mass hysteria and collective psychosis,” seemingly calling for the destruction of the Jewish state and joining faculty in castigating the school for forming a new panel to combat Jew-hatred on campus.
On Monday, Northwestern President Michael Schill announced the creation of a new committee “on preventing antisemitism and hate.”
Comprising faculty, staff, students, alumni, and trustees, the committee was formed in response to an explosion of pro-Hamas sentiment and acts of antisemitism on campus following Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel.
The school’s Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter has falsely accused Israel of apartheid, genocide, and “settler-colonialism” at its events and in its social media posts. The group also marched around campus earlier this month chanting, “Hey, Schill, what do you say, how many kids did you kill today?” In one incident — in which SJP has denied any involvement — an unknown group vandalized print copies of The Daily Northwestern, the campus newspaper, covering them in leaflets headlined, “Northwestern complicit in genocide of Palestinians.”
In Monday’s announcement, Schill disavowed such activity while noting specifically that chants of “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” are perceived by “significant parts of our community” as “promoting murder and genocide.” The popular slogan among pro-Palestinian activists has been widely interpreted as a call for the destruction of Israel, which is located between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.
Nonetheless, in response to Schill’s announcement, 65 student organizations on Thursday signed an op-ed in The Daily Northwestern that was headlined, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
“Indeed we know there is a genocide happening, and it is happening to Palestinians by the Israeli apartheid government,” the article read. “Palestine has always served as a litmus test of our collective imagination of what freedom could look like. When we say from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free, we imagine a world free of Islamophobia, antisemitism, anti-Blackness, militarism, occupation, and apartheid. From the river to the seas, Palestine will be free. Until liberation.”
The op-ed dismissed efforts to combat the recent surge in antisemitic incidents on college campuses as “mass hysteria and collective psychosis,” arguing Schill is being “irresponsible” and “dangerous” by “denying genocide” and “mischaracterizing the mission of activists.”
The students also argued that “the destiny of all marginalized people — both in occupied Palestine and around the world — is intertwined. We believe in the liberation of all peoples from Chicago to Sudan to the Congo to Western Sahara to Palestine.”
Some members of the Northwestern community lambasted the op-ed.
“Ah, yes! Let’s lump this highly complicated and charged conflict in with all of the bad things in this world and blame it on the Jews!” Northwestern University student Josh Miller tweeted in response to the column. “I cannot believe that this op-ed ran in The Daily Northwestern.”
The student groups did not mention or denounce the atrocities committed by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7, when they invaded the Jewish state and murdered over 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped more than 240 others as hostages. The brutality of Hamas’ onslaught — which included rape, torture, and the beheading of babies — has shocked the world.
Also on Thursday, over 150 Northwestern faculty and staff signed a letter accusing Schill of undermining academic freedom and free expression, as well as jeopardizing the safety of “staff and faculty of color.” The letter went on to argue that Israel is committing “genocidal violence in Gaza,” despite the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) taking precautions to prevent civilian casualties.
Antisemitic outrages are not new to Northwestern University.
Last November, SJP tacked together copies of an op-ed by a Jewish student, Lily Cohen, graffitied it with the slogan “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” and zip-tied it to fences enclosing the Deering Library. SJP took responsibility for the offensive displays that evening in an X/Twitter post charging that “US and Israeli law enforcement agencies collaborate to develop violent tactics to subjugate Black and Palestinian communities — in the name of American and Israeli racism, materialism, and militarism.”
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
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Brooklyn Nets Select Israeli Basketball Players Ben Saraf, Danny Wolf in NBA Draft
The opening tip between the Brooklyn Nets and Washington Wizards, at Barclays Center, in Brooklyn, New York, Dec. 13, 2020. Photo: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect
In a landmark night for Israeli basketball, Ben Saraf and Danny Wolf were selected in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft by the Brooklyn Nets, marking the first time two Israeli players have been drafted in the same year.
Saraf, a 19-year-old guard known for his explosive athleticism and creative playmaking, was taken with the 26th pick. A standout with Maccabi Rishon LeZion and a rising star on Israel’s youth national teams, Saraf gained international attention with his electrifying scoring and commanding court presence.
With the 27th pick, the Nets selected 7-foot center Danny Wolf out of the University of Michigan. Wolf, who holds dual US-Israeli citizenship and represented Israel at the U-20 level, brings a versatile skill set, including sharp passing, perimeter shooting, and a strong feel for the game. After his name was called, Wolf grew emotional in an on-air interview, crediting his family for helping him reach the moment.
“I have the two greatest brothers in the world; I have an unbelievable sister who I love,” Wolf said. “They all helped me get to where I am today, and they’re going to help me get to where I am going to go in this league.”
The historic double-pick adds to the growing wave of Israeli presence on the NBA stage, led by Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija, who just completed a breakout 2024–25 season. After being traded to Portland last summer, Avdija thrived as a starter, averaging 16.9 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 3.8 assists. In March alone, he posted 23.4 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game, including two triple-doubles.
“I don’t think I’ve played like this before … I knew I had it in me. But I’m not really thinking about it. I’m just playing. I’m just free,” Avdija told reporters in March
With Saraf and Wolf joining Avdija, Israel’s basketball pipeline has reached unprecedented visibility. Israeli President Isaac Herzog called the moment “a national celebration for sports and youth,” and Israeli sports commentators widely hailed the night as “historic.”
Both Saraf and Wolf are expected to suit up for the Nets’ Summer League team in July. As the two rookies begin their NBA journey, they join a growing generation of Israeli athletes proving that their game belongs on basketball’s biggest stage.
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Iran Denies Any Meeting With US Next Week, Foreign Minister Says
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi attends a press conference following a meeting with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia, April 18, 2025. Photo: Tatyana Makeyeva/Pool via REUTERS
Iran currently has no plan to meet with the United States, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Thursday in an interview on state TV, contradicting US President Donald Trump’s statement that Washington planned to have talks with Iran next week.
The Iranian foreign minister said Tehran was assessing whether talks with the US were in its interest, following five previous rounds of negotiations that were cut short by Israel and the US attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities.
The US and Israel said the strikes were meant to curb Iran’s ability to create nuclear weapons, while Iran says its nuclear program is solely geared toward civilian use.
Araqchi said the damages to nuclear sites “were not little” and that relevant authorities were figuring out the new realities of Iran’s nuclear program, which he said would inform Iran’s future diplomatic stance.
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Ireland Becomes First European Nation to Advance Ban on Trade With Israeli Settlements
A pro-Hamas demonstration in Ireland led by nationalist party Sinn Fein. Photo: Reuters/Clodagh Kilcoyne
Ireland has become the first European nation to push forward legislation banning trade with Israeli communities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem — an effort officials say is meant “to address the horrifying situation” in the Gaza Strip.
On Wednesday, Irish Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Simon Harris announced that the legislation has already been approved by the government and will now move to the parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade for pre-legislative scrutiny.
“Ireland is speaking up and speaking out against the genocidal activity in Gaza,” Harris said during a press conference.
The Irish diplomat also told reporters he hopes the “real benefit” of the legislation will be to encourage other countries to follow suit, “because it is important that every country uses every lever at its disposal.”
Today Ireland becomes the first country in Europe to bring forward legislation to ban trade with the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Ireland is speaking up and speaking out against the genocidal activity in Gaza.
Every country must pull every lever at its disposal. pic.twitter.com/Z4RTjqntEY— Simon Harris TD (@SimonHarrisTD) June 24, 2025
Joining a growing number of EU member states aiming to curb Israel’s defensive campaign against the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, Ireland’s decision comes after a 2024 advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared Israel’s presence in the West Bank and East Jerusalem illegal.
The ICJ ruled that third countries must avoid trade or investment that supports “the illegal situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”
Once implemented, the law will criminalize the importation of goods from Israeli settlements into Ireland, empowering customs officials to inspect, seize, and confiscate any such shipments.
“The situation in Palestine remains a matter of deep public concern,” Harris said. “I have made it consistently clear that this government will use all levers at its disposal to address the horrifying situation on the ground and to contribute to long-term efforts to achieve a sustainable peace on the basis of the two-state solution.”
“Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory are illegal and threaten the viability of the two-state solution,” the Irish diplomat continued. “This is the longstanding position of the European Union and our international partners. Furthermore, this is the clear position under international law.”
Harris also urged the EU to comply with the ICJ’s ruling by taking a more decisive and “adequate response” regarding imports from Israeli settlements.
“This is an issue that I will continue to press at EU level, and I reiterated my call for concrete proposals from the European Commission at the Foreign Affairs Council this week,” he said.
Last week, Ireland and eight other EU member states — Finland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden — called on the European Commission to draft proposals for how EU countries can halt trade and imports with Israeli settlements, in line with obligations set out by the ICJ.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar condemned the latest move by European countries, calling it “shameful” and a misguided attempt to undermine Israel while it faces “existential” threats from Iran and its proxies, including Hamas.
“It is regrettable that even when Israel is fighting an existential threat which is in Europe’s vital interest — there are those who can’t resist their anti-Israeli obsession,” the top Israeli diplomat said in a post on X.
It is regrettable that even when Israel fighting an existential threat which is in Europe vital interest – there are those who can’t resist their anti-Israeli obsession.
Shameful! https://t.co/lxm9qm8sM1— Gideon Sa’ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) June 19, 2025
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