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Organizers of International Soccer Tournament for Homeless Urged to Reverse Rejection of Israeli Team

Illustrative: Paris 2024 Olympics – Football – Men’s Group D – Israel vs Paraguay – Parc des Princes, Paris, France – July 27, 2024. Israel fans outside the stadium before the match. Photo: REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier

Organizers of an international soccer tournament for homeless individuals that will take place this year in Norway are being asked to reverse their decision to ban an Israeli team from participating in the competition because of security concerns related to the Israel-Hamas war.

The Homeless World Cup is an annual, international soccer tournament in which teams of men and women who are homeless compete on behalf of their country during the week-long street soccer competition. The 2025 Homeless World Cup will take place from Aug. 23-30 in Oslo, Norway, at the Rådhusplassen (City Hall Square). On average, 64 teams compete each year, according to the tournament’s website.

The project leader for this year’s competition is Knut Haugsvær from The Salvation Army Norway, which represents the Scandinavian country in The Homeless World Cup Foundation (HWCF). Home Base, a nonprofit organization based in Tel Aviv that supports homeless individuals in Israel and helps them transition back into society, annually represents Israel at the Homeless World Cup.

On Jan. 16, HWCF informed Home Base that its selection committee rejected Israel’s application to compete in the tournament this year because of security concerns surrounding the Jewish state’s war against Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip. Israel participated the last time the tournament was held in Norway in 2017.

“Homeless World Cup has current policies in place that guide decisions related to event participation from countries that are in active conflict zones,” HWCF said in a message sent to the Israeli team, which the latter shared on Facebook. “This has affected our positions this year with regard to our members in Russia, Ukraine, and Israel. Given political sensitivities, surrounding participation of said countries in global sporting events, and the pressure it would put on the host country, it is with regret that we are unable to approve an application from Israel.”

The Israeli team commented on the decision in a Facebook post. “It’s disappointing to see how an organization that is supposed to promote equality and fraternity shuts us out of the tournament. The boycott of Israel continues,” the team said. Jony Golan, who has been the coach of Home Base for four years, echoed similar sentiments while also calling on the HWCF to backtrack its denial of Israel’s application.

“This is a huge disappointment for me, especially coming from an organization that claims to uphold the values of equality, inclusion, and bringing people together,” he wrote in a Facebook post on Sunday. “Boycotts in sports and culture are not a way to bring people closer — they only widen the gaps between us. Football is meant to unite people, especially when it comes to the most vulnerable populations in the world. I don’t know if this decision was made out of fear or ignorance, but one thing is certain: it is a wrong decision. It will have no impact on the situation on the ground but will harm the population which is always the easiest to ignore.”

“There is still time to reverse this decision, still time to give hope to people and restore faith to those who have long since lost trust in any system,” he added. “I still want to believe that there are sane people in this world who know how to see and acknowledge people beyond their flag.”

The Salvation Army Norway on Friday denied accusations that Israel is boycotted or banned from the competition. It attempted to explain in a statement posted on its website that the decision was partially based on limitations on how many teams can compete in the tournament. The charity said although 96 teams applied to participate, 28 of them were rejected. However, capacity problems were not mentioned in the rejection letter sent to Home Base.

“Part of the HWCF’s assessment when allocating places is that, for security reasons, they do not give places to teams from conflict areas. This affects Israel’s opportunities to participate in the championship this year,” Salvation Army Norway added in its statement. “Unfortunately, some have perceived this as Israel being boycotted and banned. This is not correct. Both the HWCF and the Salvation Army are committed to including everyone. We were happy to have Israel participate during the last World Cup in Oslo in 2017, and hope to be able to invite them on the next occasion.”

Ola Grytten, board member of The Salvation Army Norway, told the Norwegian pro-Israel group Med Israel for Fred (MIFF) there is a high security risk surrounding Israel’s participation in the tournament and that the safety of the Israeli team cannot be guaranteed in the competition.

MIFF, which is Europe’s largest non-religious pro-Israel membership organization, said, “we are disappointed that the entire situation in Norway makes it unsafe for homeless Israelis to come.” MIFF also noted that in October 2023, Ukraine participated in the Homeless World Cup despite its war against Russia.

“It says a lot about the conflict — who is willing to threaten homeless Israelis who come to Oslo to play football? And it says a lot about Oslo — is the situation in the Norwegian capital such that neither the Salvation Army nor the Norwegian authorities can ensure the safety of eight homeless football players?” the MIFF added.

Ori Shoham, the manager of the Home Base Israeli team, expressed frustration to the MIFF on Friday regarding the decision and criticized Norway for being unable to ensure the safety of eight homeless soccer players when Israel just last year participated safely in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris with a large delegation.

The post Organizers of International Soccer Tournament for Homeless Urged to Reverse Rejection of Israeli Team first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Majority of French People Oppose Macron’s Push to Recognize a Palestinian State, New Survey Finds

French President Emmanuel Macron delivers the keynote address at the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore, May 30, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Edgar Su

Nearly 80 percent of French citizens oppose President Emmanuel Macron’s push to recognize a Palestinian state, according to a new study that underscores widespread public resistance to the controversial diplomatic initiative.

Last week, Macron announced the postponement of a United Nations conference aimed at advancing international recognition of a Palestinian state as part of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with no new date set.

The UN summit — originally scheduled for June 16–18 — was delayed after Israel launched a sweeping preemptive strike on Iran, targeting military installations and nuclear facilities in what officials said was an effort to neutralize an imminent nuclear threat.

Last month, Macron said that recognizing “Palestine” was “not only a moral duty but a political necessity.” The comments followed him saying in April that France was making plans to recognize a Palestinian state at a UN conference it would co-host with Saudi Arabia. Israeli and French Jewish leaders sharply criticized the announcement, describing the decision as a reward for terrorism and a “boost” for Hamas.

The French people largely seem to agree now is not the right time for such a move. A survey conducted by the French Institute of Public Opinion (IFOP) on behalf of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France (CRIF), the main representative body of French Jews, found that 78 percent of respondents opposed a “hasty, immediate, and unconditional recognition of a Palestinian state.”

France’s initiative comes after Spain, Norway, Ireland, and Slovenia officially recognized a Palestinian state last year, claiming that such a move would contribute to fostering a two-state solution and promote lasting peace in the region.

According to IFOP’s recent survey, however, nearly half of French people (47 percent) believe that recognition of a Palestinian state should only be considered after the release of the remaining hostages captured by Hamas during the Palestinian terrorist group’s invasion of southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, while 31 percent oppose any short-term recognition regardless of future developments.

The survey also reveals deep concerns about the consequences of such a premature recognition, with 51 percent of respondents fearing a resurgence of antisemitism in France and 50 percent believing it could strengthen Hamas’s position in the Middle East.

France has experienced an ongoing record surge in antisemitic incidents, including violent assaults, following Hamas’s Oct. 7 atrocities, amid the ensuing war in Gaza.

According to local media reports, France’s recognition of a Palestinian state at the UN conference was expected to be contingent on several conditions, including a truce in Gaza, the release of hostages held by Hamas, reforms within the Palestinian Authority (PA) — which is expected to take control from Hamas after the war — economic recovery, and the end of Hamas’s terrorist rule in the war-torn enclave.

The PA has not only been widely accused of corruption and condemned by the international community for its “pay-for-slay” program, which rewards terrorists and their families for attacks against Israelis, but also lacks public support among Palestinians, with only 40 percent supporting its return to govern the Gaza Strip after the war.

Out of the 27 total European Union member states, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Sweden have also recognized a Palestinian state.

Meanwhile, Germany, Portugal, and the UK have all stated that the time is not right for recognizing a Palestinian state.

The post Majority of French People Oppose Macron’s Push to Recognize a Palestinian State, New Survey Finds first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Jewish Leaders Plan ‘Emergency Mission’ to Washington, DC to Push US Gov’t for Antisemitism Protections

Thousands of participants and spectators are gathering along Fifth Avenue to express support for Israel during the 59th Annual Israel Day Parade in New York City, on June 2, 2024. Photo: Melissa Bender via Reuters Connect

Amid a record wave of antisemitic attacks and heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, leaders from nearly 100 Jewish communities and over 30 national organizations across the US will descend on Washington, DC next week for an “emergency mission” aimed at pressing the federal government to bolster protections for Jewish Americans and increase support for Israel.

The meeting will be organized by the Jewish Federations of North America and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. The two-day gathering scheduled for June 25–26 will convene representatives from groups representing approximately 7.5 million American Jews. Participants plan to meet with members of Congress and the Trump administration to demand “strong and aggressive action” to thwart a surge in antisemitic violence and rhetoric, according to a press release.

“We are facing an unprecedented situation in American Jewish history where every Jewish institution and event is a potential target for antisemitic violence,” said Eric Fingerhut, president and CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America. “This is domestic terrorism, plain and simple, and defeating this campaign of terror is the responsibility of government.”

The meeting comes on the heels of a string of attacks on Jewish and pro-Israeli targets in places such as Washington, DC, and Boulder, Colorado, and amid growing fears over Iran’s role in backing groups hostile to Israel. Organizers link the current wave of antisemitism to the aftermath of Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, in which over 1200 people were killed and 251 hostages were abducted.

In the 20 months since the Oct. 7 massacre, the United States has seen a dramatic surge in antisemitic incidents. According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), antisemitism in the US surged to break “all previous annual records” last year, with 9,354 antisemitic incidents recorded. These outrages included violent assaults, vandalism of Jewish schools and synagogues, harassment on college campuses, and threats against Jewish community centers.

Some Jewish institutions have reported being forced to hire private security or temporarily close their doors due to safety concerns. At universities nationwide, Jewish students and faculty have described feeling unsafe amid anti-Israel and pro-Hamas protests where some demonstrators have used antisemitic slogans or glorified violence.

“American Jews are not bystanders to global terror and domestic extremism. We are deliberate targets,” said William Daroff, CEO of the Conference of Presidents. “The federal government has a mandate to act.”

The delegation plans to advocate for a six-point policy agenda that includes expanding the federal Nonprofit Security Grant Program to $1 billion annually, providing financial support for security personnel at Jewish institutions, boosting FBI resources to combat extremism, and strengthening enforcement of hate crime laws. It will also push for more robust federal aid to local law enforcement and new regulations addressing online hate speech and incitement.

In addition to urging legislation, leaders say they intend to thank lawmakers who have consistently supported Jewish communities and the state of Israel, especially in light of the recent barrage of rockets launched at Israeli cities from Iran and Iran-backed terrorist groups.

“The fight for Jewish security is not just domestic — it is global,” Daroff added. “The stakes have never been higher.”

The mission underscores growing concerns among Jewish Americans who say the dual threats of domestic extremism and rising international hostility toward Israel are converging in dangerous ways — and require a coordinated federal response.

The post Jewish Leaders Plan ‘Emergency Mission’ to Washington, DC to Push US Gov’t for Antisemitism Protections first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Columbia University Releases Campus Antisemitism Climate Survey

Pro-Hamas protesters at Columbia University on April 19, 2024. Photo: Melissa Bender via Reuters Connect

Columbia University’s Task Force on Antisemitism has released a “campus climate” survey which found that Jewish students remain exceedingly uncomfortable attending the institution.

According to the survey, 53 percent of Jewish students said they have been subjected to discrimination because of being Jewish, while another 53 percent reported that their friendships are “strained” because of how overwhelmingly anti-Zionist the student culture is. Meanwhile, 29 percent of Jewish students said they have “lost close friends,” and 59 percent, nearly two-thirds, of Jewish students sensed that they would be better off by electing to “conform their political beliefs” to those of their classmates.

Nearly 62 percent of Jewish students reported “a low feeling of acceptance at Columbia on the basis of their religious identity, and 50 percent said that the pro-Hamas encampments which capped off the 2023-2024 academic year had an “impact” on their daily routines.

Jewish students at Columbia were more likely than their peers to report these negative feelings and experiences, followed by Muslim students.

“As a proud alumna who has spent decades championing this institution, I found the results of this survey difficult to read,” acting Columbia University president Claire Shipman said in a statement. “They put the challenges we face in stark relief. The increase in horrific antisemitic violence in the US and across the globe in recent weeks and months serves as a constant, brutal reminder of the dangers of anti-Jewish bigotry, underscores the urgency with which all concerned citizens need to act in addressing it head-on, and the fact that antisemitism can and should be addressed as a unique form of hatred.”

Shipman added that university officials are “aware of the extent of the immense challenges faced by our Jewish students” and have enacted new policies which strengthen the process for reporting bias and prevent unauthorized demonstrations which upend the campus.

“I am confident we can change this painful dynamic. I know this because we share a commitment to protect all members of our community. We owe it to our students — and to each other,” she said.

Columbia University recently settled a lawsuit brought by a Jewish student at the School of Social Work (CSSW) who accused faculty of unrelenting antisemitic bullying and harassment.

According to court documents, Mackenzie “Macky” Forrest was abused by the faculty, one of whom callously denied her accommodations for sabbath observance and then held out the possibility of her attending class virtually during pro-Hamas protests, which according to several reports and first-hand accounts, made the campus unsafe for Jewish students. Her Jewishness and requests for arrangements which would allow her to complete her assignments created what the Lawfare Project described as a “pretext” for targeting Forrest and conspiring to expel her from the program, a plan that involved fabricating stories with the aim of smearing her as insubordinate.

Spurious accusations were allegedly made by one professor, Andre Ivanoff, who was the first to tell Forrest that her sabbath observance was a “problem.” Ivanoff implied that she had failed to meet standards of “behavioral performance” while administrators spread rumors that she had declined to take on key assignments, according to court documents. This snowballed into a threat: Forrest was allegedly told that she could either take an “F” in a field placement course or drop out, the only action that would prevent sullying her transcript with her failing grade.

Forrest left but has now settled the lawsuit she filed to get justice in terms that Columbia University has buried under a confidentiality agreement.

Columbia was one of the most hostile campuses for Jews employed by or enrolled in an institution of higher education. After Hamas’s invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, the university produced several indelible examples of campus antisemitism, including a student who proclaimed that Zionist Jews deserve to be murdered and are lucky he is not doing so himself and administrative officials who, outraged at the notion that Jews organized to resist anti-Zionism, participated in a group chat in which each member took turns sharing antisemitic tropes that described Jews as privileged and grafting.

Amid these incidents, the university struggled to contain the anti-Zionist group Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), which in late January committed an act of infrastructural sabotage by flooding the toilets of the Columbia School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) with concrete. Numerous reports indicate the attack may have been the premeditated result of planning sessions which took place many months ago at an event held by Alpha Delta Phi (ADP) — a literary society, according to the Washington Free Beacon. During the event, the Free Beacon reported, ADP distributed literature dedicated to “aspiring revolutionaries” who wish to commit seditious acts. Additionally, a presentation was given in which complete instructions for the exact kind of attack which struck Columbia were shared with students.

The university is reportedly restructuring itself to comply with conditions for restoring $400 million in federal funding canceled by US Education Secretary Linda McMahon in March to punish the school’s alleged failure to quell “antisemitic violence and harassment.”

In March, the university issued a memo announcing that it acceded to key demands put forth by the Trump administration as prerequisites for releasing the funds — including a review of undergraduate admissions practices that allegedly discriminate against qualified Jewish applicants, the enforcement of an “anti-mask” policy that protesters have violated to avoid being identified by law enforcement, and enhancements to the university’s security protocols that would facilitate the restoration of order when the campus is disturbed by pro-Hamas radicals and other agitators.

Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.

The post Columbia University Releases Campus Antisemitism Climate Survey first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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