Uncategorized
Planned ‘Day of Hate’ against Jews passes by with packed synagogues and no violence
(JTA) — A “National Day of Hate” against Jews planned by white supremacists that triggered sweeping warnings from law enforcement and Jewish security officials came and went without significant incident on Saturday.
Synagogues and Jewish institutions across the United States had spent the preceding days shoring up their security procedures, reassuring their congregants and requesting extra patrols from local police.
But the Anti-Defamation League, which monitors hate, wrote on Twitter that a meaningful escalation of antisemitic activity did not come to pass, despite some white supremacist actions and propaganda drops around the country. “Despite concerns over increased antisemitic activity, 2/25 has so far been a pretty typical Saturday in America,” the organization tweeted.
Some Jews had said they were staying home or taking other precautions against the threats of synagogue vandalism issued earlier in the week by a small extremist group in Iowa. Police published bulletins about the threats, but law enforcement officials in New York and Chicago said ahead of Saturday that they saw no indications of concrete threats. That assessment was echoed by the Secure Community Network, a group that coordinates security for Jewish institutions nationwide.
“This is yet another example of how social media is contributing to the rise in antisemitism, this time by spreading and amplifying the activities of what is surely a very small group of people,” Julie Platt, chair of the Jewish Federations of North America, wrote in an email on Friday.
Reports from synagogues suggested that the pews were crowded on Shabbat with Jews who said they would not be deterred by hate. In some cases, they were joined by non-Jewish allies who wanted to show their support.
“It was packed,” said Rabbi Eric Woodward of Beth El-Keser Israel in New Haven, Connecticut, where a preplanned Silly Hat Shabbat was transformed at the last moment into an act of defiance.
“We are wearing silly hats tomorrow because it is the first Shabbat of Adar, the month when we are supposed to ‘increase our joy’ and get ready for the costume holiday of Purim,” Woodward had written to his congregants on Friday. “Normally, it’s hard to know how to fight these abstract forces of hate. But tomorrow, you can do that.”
Communities demonstrated defiance in other ways, too. Temple Emanu-El in New York City, for example, held its Shabbat morning services on Fifth Avenue, rather than inside its majestic sanctuary on the block. Among those attending were non-Jews who wanted to show their support.
“For me, today was a symbol of resistance, of being in solidarity with the Jewish people. With all of the threats and bad things, it’s a symbol of strength and solidarity,” Jose del Rosairo told the New York Post.
That was exactly what Jewish advocates had urged as Shabbat neared. The ADL had, encouraged Jews to turn Saturday into “Shabbat of Peace, Not Hate.” Meanwhile, social media influencers exhorted their followers to demonstrate their Jewish pride and support for Jews under threat.
“Some fringe white supremacist groups have planned a national ‘day of hate’ against the Jewish people on Saturday,” read a widely shared Instagram post by Jessica Seinfeld, who previously went viral by offering non-Jews a way to signal online that they rejected antisemitism by the rapper Kanye West.
“We are hoping our friends will help us counter this idea with their love and light,” she wrote. “Will you consider joining a Jewish friend at synagogue for Shabbat? Help us fill our sanctuaries with courage and friendship.”
One of the most prominent non-Jews to join a synagogue service on Saturday was New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, who was at New York City’s Congregation Beth Simchat Torah, which primarily serves LGBTQ Jews.
“When there are people out there who think that by their words alone, by declaring a day of hate, that the rest of us, particularly those in the Jewish community, would cower and say, ‘Well, we’re afraid of them. We’re going to stay home’” Hochul said in brief remarks to the congregation. “They certainly misjudged the situation.”
The ADL said there had in fact been protests by antisemitic groups in Ohio and Georgia on Saturday and antisemitic materials distributed in at least four other states, even as feared violence did not materialize.
“We know that the threat does not magically disappear as the sun sets on this so-called ‘day of hate,’” the organization tweeted. “We know that vigilance is part of being Jewish in America in 2023. And we take great comfort in knowing we do not face this darkness alone.”
—
The post Planned ‘Day of Hate’ against Jews passes by with packed synagogues and no violence appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
Uncategorized
Deal With US Within Reach ‘Only if Diplomacy Is Given Priority,’ Iran’s Foreign Minister Says
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi speaks during a press conference following talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia, Dec. 17, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ramil Sitdikov/Pool
Iran‘s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Tuesday that a deal with the US was “within reach, but only if diplomacy is given priority,” days ahead of an expected fresh round of talks between the two sides in Geneva.
The talks are set to take place on Thursday in Geneva, a senior US official said on Monday, with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner slated to meet with an Iranian delegation for the negotiations.
The two countries resumed negotiations earlier this month as the US builds up its military capability in the Middle East. Iran has threatened to strike US bases in the region if it is attacked.
“We have a historic opportunity to strike an unprecedented agreement that addresses mutual concerns and achieves mutual interests,” Araqchi said in a post on X.
The Iranian top diplomat said his country would resume the talks with “a determination to achieve a fair and equitable deal in the shortest possible time.”
Earlier, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi said Iran was ready to take all necessary steps to reach a deal with the United States.
“We are ready to reach an agreement as soon as possible. We will do whatever it takes to make this happen. We will enter the negotiating room in Geneva with complete honesty and good faith,” Takht-Ravanchi said in comments carried by state media.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday that US President Donald Trump’s “first option” was always diplomacy but that he was “willing to use lethal force” if necessary.
“The president is always the final decision maker around here,” she told reporters at the White House.
A senior Iranian official told Reuters on Sunday that Tehran would seriously consider a combination of sending half of its most highly enriched uranium abroad, diluting the rest, and taking part in creating a regional enrichment consortium – an idea periodically raised during years of Iran-linked diplomacy.
Iran would do this in return for US recognition of Iran‘s right to “peaceful nuclear enrichment” under a deal that would also include lifting economic sanctions, the official said.
“If there is an attack or aggression against Iran, we will respond according to our defense plans … A US attack on Iran is a real gamble,” Takht-Ravanchi added.
Indirect talks between the two sides last year brought no agreement, primarily due to friction over a US demand that Iran forgo uranium enrichment on its soil, which Washington views as a pathway to a nuclear bomb.
Iran has always denied seeking such weapons.
The US joined Israel in hitting Iranian nuclear sites last June, effectively curtailing Iran‘s uranium enrichment, with Trump saying its key nuclear sites were “obliterated.” But Iran is still believed to possess stockpiles enriched previously, which Washington wants it to relinquish.
Uncategorized
Australia Begins Inquiry Into Antisemitism After Bondi Shooting
An Australian flag sits amongst floral tributes honoring the victims of a shooting at Jewish holiday celebration on Sunday at Bondi Beach, in Sydney, Australia, Dec. 16, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Hollie Adams
Australia on Tuesday opened a government-backed inquiry into antisemitism, after a mass shooting at a Jewish event at Bondi Beach killed 15 people in December 2025.
The attack at a Jewish Hanukkah celebration shocked a country with strict gun laws and fueled calls for tougher controls and stronger action against antisemitism.
The Royal Commission, the most powerful type of government inquiry in Australia which can compel people to give evidence, will be led by retired judge Virginia Bell.
It will consider the events of the shooting as well as antisemitism and social cohesion in Australia, and is expected to report its findings by December this year.
In her opening statement at a court in Sydney on Tuesday, Bell said security arrangements for the event would form a major part of the commission.
“The commission needs to investigate the security arrangements for that event, and to report on whether our intelligence and law enforcement agencies performed to maximum effectiveness,” Bell said.
Police say the alleged gunmen, Sajid Akram and his son Naveed Akram, were inspired by Islamic State.
Sajid Akram was shot dead by police at the scene, while Naveed Akram, who was also shot but survived, is currently facing charges including 15 counts of murder and a terror offense.
INQUIRY SCOPE LIMITED
Due to the ongoing legal proceedings, no potential witnesses in Akram’s trial will be called to give evidence to the commission, Bell said.
Bell said she plans to meet with victims’ families in private to explain some of the limitations of her inquiry.
Richard Lancaster, the top lawyer assisting Bell with the inquiry, said his team had sent dozens of requests to government and other agencies to produce documentary evidence, but the level of responses is “not presently where we would like it to be.”
There was no testimony heard or evidence given on Tuesday, and the commission is yet to determine when it will next sit.
Michele Goldman, CEO of the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies, said after the hearing that the inquiry would be an opportunity to showcase the community’s “horrific” experiences of antisemitism.
But some people directly impacted by the attack would find it “very hard” to be barred from sharing their accounts with the inquiry, she said.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had initially resisted calls to set up a Royal Commission, saying the process would take years, which attracted criticism from Jewish groups and victims’ families.
The Bondi attack followed a spate of antisemitic incidents in the country, including the firebombing of a Melbourne synagogue.
The government has already responded by tightening gun laws and introducing new legislation against hate speech.
Uncategorized
Iran Issues Death Sentence Linked to January Protests, Source Says
A February 2023 protest in Washington, DC calling for an end to executions and human rights violations in Iran. Photo: Reuters/ Bryan Olin Dozier
A revolutionary court in Tehran has issued a death sentence for an Iranian man accused of “enmity against god,” which if confirmed would be the first such sentence linked to mass protests in January, a source close to the man’s family said.
The source told Reuters on Tuesday that Iran‘s judiciary had not yet announced the sentence against the man, Mohammad Abbasi, and that Iran‘s Supreme Court was yet to uphold it.
Abbasi was accused of killing a security officer, an allegation his family denied, the source said.
Rights groups say thousands of people were killed in a crackdown on the protests, the worst domestic unrest in Iran since the era of its 1979 Islamic Revolution.
During the unrest, US President Donald Trump warned Tehran that he could order military action if it carried out executions.
The source said the defendant’s daughter, Fatemeh Abbasi, was handed a 25-year prison sentence over her role in protests.
“The defendants do not have access to the lawyer they wanted, and were given a public defender,” the source added.