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Palestinian Authority Celebrates and Supports Antisemitic Campus Hate Fests
Anti-Israel illegal encampments, initiated on college campuses across the United States, have now been spreading all around the world. In many cases, they have featured intimidation and attacks that have placed Jews and supporters of Israel in physical danger, with some even hospitalized.
The situation has deteriorated so much to the point that Columbia University and others have canceled or changed graduation ceremonies. Overall, many Jewish students have reported feeling extremely unsafe, and lawlessness has spread to many campuses.
It comes as no surprise that the Palestinian Authority (PA) gives these hate fests its overwhelming support, since the PA is often the source of the talking points for the anti-Israel movement.
A recurring libel to delegitimize Israel at these demonstrations has been the fundamental message of PA ideology — that the State of Israel is a colonialist implant and therefore has no right to exist.
Fatah’s youth movement, Shabiba, in its statement of thanks to students in the United States and at Columbia University in particular, called the conflict with Israel a “war of occupation” that “has been continuing for more than 75 years,” meaning since the establishment of the modern State of Israel.
The Fatah Shabiba [Youth] Movement expressed its appreciation for the student protest movement at the American universities supporting the Palestinian cause … [At] a time when our Palestinian people is dealing wherever it is with a policy of discrimination and apartheid and with the war of occupation, which has been continuing for more than 75 years [i.e., since the establishment of modern Israel], this important, historic, and unprecedented student protest movement comes to support the Palestinian cause… [emphasis added]
[Wafa, official PA news agency, April 27, 2024]
The statement of thanks, which was published by the PA’s official news agency, has a picture of a protestor at Columbia University waving a Palestinian flag covered by the Fatah Shabiba Youth Movement logo.
Besides thanking the students, Shabiba also leveled fierce criticism at any attempt by the authorities to finally restore a semblance of order to campus. It totally disregarded the antisemitism so prevalent at these protests by passing them off as “false accusations … on the pretext of antisemitism … in a manner that contradicts democratic principles and values:”
The Fatah Shabiba Movement condemned the attacks against the protesting students and the lecturers at the American universities, the blow to their right to express an opinion and to assembly, the hurling of false accusations against them on the pretext of ‘Antisemitism,’ the arrest of a number of the students, and the exaggeratedly violent treatment of them by the police officers and those opposing this historic protest movement.
It expressed its opposition to all the punitive measures and suspension decisions taken against a number of the male students, female students, and lecturers, in a manner that contradicts the democratic principles and values that the US has waved around as a slogan since its establishment. [emphasis added]
On official PA TV, a prominent journalist also hurled criticism at the attempts to restore order, saying that they were a defense of evil:
Egyptian state-owned paper Al Gomhuria Deputy Editor-in-Chief Ihab Nafea: “The stubborn behavior in managing the crisis by Columbia University President [Minouche Shafik] — she is attempting to gain favor with the American administration and is presenting herself as being against what is happening, but I think she will pay a heavy price for this because in the end, she is defending evil and the students are defending justice.”
[Official PA TV, Capital of Capitals, May 6, 2024]
The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) indicated through an official Fatah spokesperson on official PA news that the protests were the culmination of a longstanding coordinated effort by Palestinian communities in the US:
PLO Executive Committee member Osama Al-Qawasmi expressed his appreciation for the student protest movement that supports the Palestinian cause at the universities of the US and some other states. In a statement to [the official PA] radio [station] The Voice of Palestine, he explained that this protest movement came as a result of an effort that the Palestinian communities there have made for many years … [emphasis added]
[WAFA, official PA news agency, May 1, 2024]
The notion that these protests are part of a greater coordinated effort was also asserted on official PA TV by a prominent Palestinian activist in the US:
This is what makes us happy in the American arena and this is part of the fruits of the ongoing labor that has been conducted by the Arab, Palestinian, and Islamic communities and the supporters in the American arena…
What is currently happening in the American arena is a shout to humanity, a shout against oppression, a shout to support the Palestinians, and a shout to this [American] administration that has not relinquished its Zionism and its positions, which joined itself to the occupation state in its war of annihilation against our people in the Gaza Strip in particular and in the West Bank and Palestine in general.” [emphasis added]
[Palestinian activist in the US Hayel Mansour, Official PA TV, April 26, 2024]
Finally, the PA’s goal of delegitimizing Israel to the point that it would lead to the state’s destruction was reiterated in a recent PA TV broadcast:
Arab American paper Al-Hawadeth Editor-in-Chief Adnan Khalil: “In practice, the occupation state [i.e., Israel] cannot live without the world and without the wealthy capitalist states. It was always — it was planted by Western colonialism; it was supported and is still supported [by it]. Without this, we would not be talking about Israel that we know today, which can defeat or confront the Arab states, the Arab people, and the Palestinian people, because the Palestinian people are being crushed by this state, by American weapons, and by support from the American politicians.
Now, as the [American] masses have turned against these regimes, this is a very big thing, very big and very influential. We will see the liberation of Palestine in our lifetime without a doubt. This undoubtedly gives us hope, and we will yet see this liberation in our lifetime.” [emphasis added]
[Official PA TV, April 30, 2024]
Through its hate speech, the PA leadership has manipulated university students around the world into thinking that by fighting Jews and Israel, they are fighting colonialism and imperialism. And as events worldwide have demonstrated, the PA hate propaganda has been very effective.
Ephraim D. Tepler is a contributor to Palestinian Media Watch (PMW). Itamar Marcus is PMW’s Founder and Director. A version of this article originally appeared at PMW.
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Eurovision Denies Claims of Vote Rigging as Spanish PM Calls for Israel’s Exclusion From Cultural Events
Yuval Raphael from Israel with the title “New Day Will Rise” on stage at the second semi-final of the 69th Eurovision Song Contest in the Arena St. Jakobshalle. Photo: Jens Büttner/dpa via Reuters Connect
The director of the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest on Monday defended the results of this year’s competition in response to accusations about voting being rigged in favor of Israel, which finished second place in the grand final on Saturday in Basel, Switzerland.
At the same time, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called for Israel to be excluded from all international cultural events, including the Eurovision Song Contest, because of its military campaign against the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in Gaza.
National broadcasters from Spain and Belgium have expressed doubts about Israeli singer Yuval Raphael finishing first place in the public vote (televoting) and second place in the grand final with her song “New Day Will Rise.” Austrian singer JJ won first place with his song “Wasted Love” and a total of 436 points, while Raphael finished with 357 points.
Raphael received the most votes from the public at 297 — more than any of the 26 finalists — but ranked 14th in the jury vote, which resulted in her second-place finish in the Eurovision grand final.
Eurovision Director Martin Green defended the reliability of the results, saying there has been no indication of “bias or irregularities” in the voting for this year’s contest.
“The televoting system currently used in Eurovision is considered the most advanced in the world today, combining advanced verification processes, data security mechanisms, and analytical review of voting patterns,” Green said in a statement. “[T]here is no suspicion of bias or irregularities in the awarding of points — not even in relation to the full score given to Israel by Spanish viewers.”
“It is important to emphasize that the voting operation for the Eurovision Song Contest is the most advanced in the world and each country’s result is checked and verified by a huge team of people to exclude any suspicious or irregular voting patterns,” Green added. “An independent compliance monitor reviews both jury and public vote data to ensure we have a valid result. Our voting partner Once has confirmed that a valid vote was recorded in all countries participating in this year’s Grand Final and in the Rest of the World.”
Martin Österdahl, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU)’s executive supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest, echoed similar sentiments about voting results being reliable in a statement to the EFE news agency. Like Green, he also mentioned that voting results are verified by the independent auditing firm and Dutch company Once.net and reviewed by compliance supervisors.
Spain’s national broadcaster Radio Televisión Española (RTVE) has urged the EBU, which coordinates the Eurovision, for an audit of the results from Saturday night after Raphael received 12 points — the maximum amount given — from televoters in Spain, despite public protests in the country against Israel’s participation in the competition. RTVE previously called for Israel’s participation in future Eurovision contests to be up for debate because of the Israel-Hamas war.
Immediately before broadcasting the grand final of the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday, RTVE broadcast a message in Spanish and English that called for “Peace and Justice for Palestine.” RTVE could be fined for the messaging since the EBU has said Eurovision must remain an apolitical competition. The EBU already threatened the Spanish national broadcaster that it could be fined for broadcasting messages about Gaza.
“We take every broadcaster’s concerns seriously,” Österdahl told EFE, before adding that Eurovision organizers have been in contact with RTVE about their concerns since the grand final.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, a longtime critic of Israel, on Monday compared the Jewish state to Russia, which was banned from international events like the Eurovision after its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. He accused the global community of displaying a “double standard” when it comes to the treatment of Israel, and said the Jewish state should not be allowed to participate in cultural events around the world amid the war in Gaza.
“I think that nobody was shocked three years ago, when Russia began the invasion of Ukraine, they were excluded from international competitions. For example, we recently saw it this past weekend at Eurovision. Therefore, Israel should not do so either,” Sanchez said at a conference in Madrid. “We cannot allow these double standards, not even in culture events.”
The Spanish premiere also expressed solidarity with “the people of Ukraine and the people of Palestine, who are experiencing the senselessness of war and bombing.”
On Monday, the Flemish public broadcaster VRT also called for more transparency from the EBU regarding the voting for this year’s Eurovision.
“We have no indication that the counting of the televotes wasn’t carried out correctly, but we are asking for complete transparency on the part of the EBU,” said VRT’s spokesperson Yasmine Van der Borght. “The question is above all whether the current system guarantees a fair reflection of the opinion of viewers and listeners.”
The VRT also said it supports RTVE’s concerns about Israel’s participation in future Eurovision contests and again issued an “explicit call to engage in debate with all nations, out of a genuine commitment and concern for the survival of the contest.” VRT said it will reconsider its own participation in future Eurovision competitions if the EBU does not address its concerns about the contest.
“We at the VRT note that the Eurovision Song Contest as it is currently organized has become less and less a unifying and apolitical event. It is increasingly at odds with its original standards and values and with the standards and values of public broadcasting,” the broadcaster said in a statement. “At many levels the VRT collaborates well with the EBU. However, without serious answers with regard to our concerns about the Eurovision Song Contest we will question our future participation.”
During the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest this year, VRT broadcast a message about alleged human rights violations by Israel in Gaza, freedom of the press, and called for a ceasefire in the Hamas-ruled enclave. The message said: “This is industrial action. We condemn the violations of human rights by the State of Israel. Furthermore, the State of Israel is destroying freedom of the press. That’s why we interrupt the picture for a moment. #CeasefireNow #StopGenocide.” VRT did the same during the second semi-final of the Eurovision contest last year.
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Iran’s Top Leader Khamenei Slams ‘Outrageous’ US Demands in Nuclear Talks
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei waves during a meeting in Tehran, Iran, May 20, 2025. Photo: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
Iran’s so-called “supreme leader,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said US demands that Tehran stop enriching uranium are “excessive and outrageous,” state media reported, voicing doubts whether talks on a new nuclear deal will succeed.
“I don’t think nuclear talks with the US will bring results. I don’t know what will happen,” Khamenei said, adding that Washington should avoid making “nonsense” demands in the negotiations, four rounds of which have been held.
“A date has been suggested but we have not yet accepted it,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told state media on Tuesday when asked about a fifth round of talks, which an Iranian official said on Monday might be held this weekend in Rome.
“We are witnessing positions on the US side that do not go along with any logic and are creating problems for the negotiations. That’s why we have not determined the next round of talks, we are reviewing the matter and hope logic will prevail,” Araqchi added.
The talks on a new nuclear deal appear on shaky ground as both Iran and the US have clashed over the issue of uranium enrichment.
Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi said on Monday the talks would fail if Washington insists Tehran refrain from domestic enrichment of uranium, which the US says is a possible pathway to developing nuclear bombs. Tehran says its nuclear energy program has entirely peaceful purposes, a claim disputed by several Western countries.
Last week US President Donald Trump said Tehran needed to “move quickly or something bad is going to happen” after being given a proposal for a deal. The Islamic Republic maintains it has not received any written proposal from Washington.
Trump has repeatedly warned Iran it would be bombed and face severe sanctions if it did not reach a compromise to resolve its long disputed nuclear energy program.
During his first, 2017-21 term as president, Trump withdrew the United States from a 2015 deal between Iran and world powers that placed temporary limits on Tehran’s enrichment activities in exchange for relief from international sanctions.
Trump, who branded the now moribund 2015 accord one-sided in Iran’s favor, also reimposed sweeping US sanctions on Iran. The Islamic Republic responded by escalating enrichment.
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Elections, Gaza, Polarization Drive Political Crime to Record High in Germany
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt holds a chart showing the development of antisemitic crime, during a press conference on Figures for Politically Motivated Crime in the Country, in Berlin, Germany, May 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
A series of closely fought elections, the war in Gaza, and deepening political polarization helped drive the number of politically motivated crimes in Germany to a record high last year, with an especially sharp growth in far-right violence.
The number of such offences recorded by police surged 40.2 percent to 84,172 in 2024, a report published on Tuesday by the Interior Ministry showed, a record since such data began to be collected in 2001. The number of violent political crimes rose 15 percent to 4,107, the highest level since 2016.
“Last year we saw a massive expansion of politically motivated crime coming from the right,” conservative Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt told a news conference at which the figures were announced.
“Forty-five percent of the victims of politically motivated violence were injured by right-wing perpetrators,” he said.
He gave the example of assaults on gay pride parades by organized groups of far-right young people last summer.
Elsewhere, police recorded increased numbers of attacks on migrants, especially after several high-profile car-ramming and stabbing attacks on public events by immigrants, some of them asylum seekers.
There have also been increases in politically motivated crimes by the far left though such offences were far less likely to be violent, the data indicated.
Like other Western countries, Germany has been afflicted by tensions resulting from the rise of the populist far right, economic uncertainty, and growing anger, especially among immigrant communities, at the government’s support for Israel in its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The far-right Alternative for Germany scored its best-ever results in five elections – three regional, one national, and one European – in 2024, calling for tighter immigration controls and even a departure from the European Union.
The nativist party was earlier this month officially classified as “right-extremist” by Germany‘s security services, which listed cases of its politicians dismissing naturalised immigrants as “passport Germans” and implying that immigrants from Muslim countries were more likely to be criminals.
But Dobrindt said he saw no reason to ban the AfD, a move some politicians have advocated. The AfD, now the second largest party in parliament, has denied posing a threat to democracy, says it opposes violence and has brought a legal challenge against authorities’ characterization of it as extremist.
“To ban a party, we have to have evidence of an attack on the rule of law and democracy,” Dobrindt said, “and the security services’ recent assessment doesn’t sufficiently demonstrate that.”
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