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Political Inaction Fuels Rising Antisemitism

U.S. Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff listens during a panel discussion with women entrepreneurs during his visit to Mi Casa Resource Center in Denver, Colorado, U.S., March 11, 2022. Jason Connolly/Pool via REUTERS/Pool via REUTERS

JNS.orgAs second gentleman Douglas Emhoff joined the groundbreaking ceremony for the Tree of Life Synagogue memorial in Pittsburgh, his presence highlighted a stark contradiction: While government officials pay lip service to combating antisemitism, their actions—or lack thereof—tell a different story.

The same day as this solemn event, antisemitic violence struck the Adas Torah synagogue in Los Angeles. This juxtaposition encapsulates a troubling reality: While we commemorate past tragedies, new ones unfold before our eyes, often met with political indifference or inadequate response.

The surge in antisemitism across North America is not merely anecdotal; it is a statistical fact.

In Montreal, police reports show a dramatic rise in antisemitic incidents throughout 2023, with a further spike following Oct. 7. Toronto has witnessed a staggering 93% increase in reported hate crimes since the Israel-Hamas war began, with Jewish people being the target of 56% of all reported hate crimes in 2024.

Statistics in the United States are similar. The ADL tracked a reported 3,283 antisemitic incidents between Oct. 7, 2023 and Jan. 7, 2024, marking a 361% increase in reported antisemitic incidents when compared to the 712 incidents the organization said were reported during the same period the year before.

Yet despite this overwhelming evidence, there seems to be a systemic failure to address these crimes with the seriousness they deserve. Time and again, we witness acts of violence against Jews being downplayed, charges dropped and the “hate crime” designation avoided.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s office, led by Alvin Bragg, recently dropped charges against most pro-Palestinian protesters arrested at Columbia University. This decision sent shockwaves through the Jewish community, effectively signaling that there are no consequences for the relentless persecution of Jews on campus.

Adding insult to injury, leaked text messages from Columbia University deans revealed a dismissive and sarcastic attitude towards the concerns of Jewish students and staff. Some of the deans mockingly referred to the Hillel director who had attempted to raise an alarm against antisemitism on campus, his warnings falling on deaf and mocking ears. These messages expose a deeply troubling bias within the very institutions meant to protect and educate our youth.

This pattern of leniency and indifference extends beyond academia. In Los Angeles, Paul Kessler was killed by a pro-Hamas professor during a protest, yet the attacker wasn’t charged with a hate crime due to an alleged “lack of evidence.” In New York, when a Jewish family was physically assaulted by Arabic-speaking attackers during a public school graduation ceremony in Brooklyn, police refused to classify it as a hate crime.

The political response to these incidents has been woefully inadequate. While we hear condemnations from both sides of the aisle, concrete action is conspicuously absent. The reluctance to prosecute antisemitic acts as hate crimes stands in stark contrast to how other forms of bigotry are treated. It’s a painful irony that in a society that prides itself on protecting minorities, Jews find themselves increasingly vulnerable and unprotected.

The roots of this problem run deep. There’s a growing trend of minimizing or outright denying the reality of antisemitism. Some journalists such as Talia Jane from The New Republic go so far as to suggest that what we’re witnessing isn’t really antisemitism at all. This gaslighting of the Jewish community only adds insult to injury and emboldens those who seek to harm us.

We must recognize that rhetoric has consequences. Dehumanization of a people is where it starts but it rarely ends there. The relentless anti-Jewish and anti-Israel rhetoric we’re seeing in political discourse is not harmless debate—it’s fueling real-world violence against Jews.

What’s particularly alarming is how our cherished democratic values are being weaponized against us. Free speech, a cornerstone of our democracy, is being twisted to shield those who spread hatred and incite violence against Jews. Our political leaders seem paralyzed, unable or unwilling to confront this perversion of our ideals.

The situation at Columbia University serves as a microcosm of this larger political problem. Despite pleas from major donors and clear evidence of a hostile environment for Jewish students, the administration has failed to take meaningful action. The leaked text messages reveal a level of institutional antisemitism that demands immediate political intervention.

As a community, Jews have contributed immensely to the fabric of American society. We have thrived here, believing in the promise of equality and justice for all. But today, that promise rings hollow. It seems that despite all our contributions and our deep roots in this nation, we cannot get justice when we need it most.

The time has come for a serious political reckoning. We need more than just memorials and words of condemnation from political figures. We need action.

Law enforcement must be empowered and directed to treat antisemitic crimes with the full weight of the law. Educational institutions must be held accountable for fostering environments where Jewish students feel unsafe.

Antisemitism is not just a Jewish problem—it’s a societal one. When the rights and safety of any minority group are threatened, the very foundations of our democratic society are at risk.

The post Political Inaction Fuels Rising Antisemitism first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Blinken Lays Out US Hopes for Syria’s Political Transition

A drone view shows Umayyad square in Damascus, after Syrian rebels ousted President Bashar al-Assad, Syria, Dec. 10, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Hassano

The United States on Tuesday laid out its hopes for Syria’s political transition following President Bashar al-Assad’s ouster, saying it would recognize a future Syrian government that amounts to a credible, inclusive, and non-sectarian governing body.

It is the clearest definition outlined by Washington since Syria’s opposition militias overthrew Assad in a shockingly fast takeover after 13 years of civil war. Assad and his family fled to Russia.

The Biden administration, along with governments in the region and the West, has been scrambling to find ways to engage with the Syrian rebel groups including leading rebel faction Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a group formerly allied with Al Qaeda and which is designated a terrorist organization by the US, European Union, Turkey, and the UN.

Blinken’s statement did not mention HTS but made repeated emphasis on the need for any future Syrian government to be inclusive and respect the rights of minorities while ensuring that Syria is not used as a base for terrorism.

“This transition process should lead to credible, inclusive, and non-sectarian governance that meets international standards of transparency and accountability, consistent with the principles of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2254,” Blinken said.

“The United States will recognize and fully support a future Syria government that results from this process,” he added.

The United States cut diplomatic ties with Syria and shut down its embassy in Damascus in 2012.

Washington in 2013 designated HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, better known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani a terrorist, saying al Qaeda in Iraq had tasked him with overthrowing Assad’s rule and establishing Islamic sharia law in Syria. It said the Nusra Front, the predecessor of HTS, carried out suicide attacks that killed civilians and espoused a violent sectarian vision.

The transition process and the new Syrian government should also facilitate the flow of humanitarian assistance to all in need, and ensure that any chemical or biological weapons stockpiles are safely destroyed, Blinken added.

US President Joe Biden and his top aides described the moment as a historic opportunity for the Syrian people who have for decades lived under the oppressive rule of Assad but also warned the country faced a period of risk and uncertainty.

Meanwhile, a top White House official said on Tuesday that US troops will be staying in Syria after the fall of Assad as part of a counter-terrorism mission focused on destroying Islamic State terrorists.

“Those troops are there for a very specific and important reason, not as some sort of bargaining chip,” US Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer said in an interview at the Reuters NEXT conference in New York.

US troops “have been there now for the better part of a decade or more to fight ISIS … we are still committed to that mission.”

Asked directly whether US troops are staying, Finer said, “Yes.”

Separately, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Tuesday that the US has asked HTS to help locate and free missing American journalist Austin Tice as it liberates the country’s prisons in the aftermath of Assad’s overthrow.

Washington is telling all parties in Syria that Tice, who was abducted in Syria in 2012, is a top US priority, Miller told a press briefing.

“In all of our communications with parties that we know talk to HTS, we have sent very clearly the message that as they move through Syria liberating prisons, that our top priority is the return of Austin Tice,” he said.

“We want anyone who’s operating on the ground in Syria to be on the lookout for him, and if they do find him, to return to him to us safely as soon as possible.”

The post Blinken Lays Out US Hopes for Syria’s Political Transition first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Iran, Russia to Finalize Establishment of ‘International Union Against US Sanctions’

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of a cultural forum dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the birth of the Turkmen poet and philosopher Magtymguly Fragi, in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Oct. 11, 2024. Photo: Sputnik/Alexander Scherbak/Pool via REUTERS

Iran’s initiative to form an international alliance with Russia against US sanctions will soon be completed, according to an Iranian lawmaker spearheading the effort.

Abbas Goudarzi, a member of Iran’s parliament and the Iran-Russia Parliamentary Friendship Group, provided the update on Monday on the sidelines of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) hosted by Moscow, Iranian media reported on Tuesday.

Goudarzi said the International Union Against US Sanctions aims to “neutralize the oppressive sanctions of the US, to form a new economic world without the US, and to conduct economic relations and trade without relying on the dollar,” according to state-run media outlets.

In his remarks, the Iranian lawmaker also highlighted the importance of Iran and Russia establishing closer ties, in part to confront the US on the global stage. He added that Iran and Russia’s cooperation is growing and that such a relationship is necessary for both countries to combat sanctions imposed on both by several Western countries.

For the past two years, Iran and Russia have been working on a major comprehensive bilateral agreement to strengthen cooperation in a wide array of areas. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in October that the “treaty on a comprehensive strategic partnership between Russia and Iran” will include closer defense cooperation.

Officials from both countries have said in recent months that the deal will be signed in the near future without elaborating.

“Economically and culturally, our communications are being strengthened day by day and becoming more robust,” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian reportedly told his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in a meeting in Turkmenistan earlier this year. “The growing trend of cooperation between Iran and Russia, considering the will of the top leaders of both countries, must be accelerated to strengthen these ties.”

Pezeshkian has also committed his country to deeper ties with Russia to counter Western sanctions.

For years, the US and several of its allies, especially in Europe, have imposed sanctions on both Iran and Russia for several reasons, ranging from human rights abuses to aggressive military actions.

In September, for example, the US, Germany, Britain, and France imposed sanctions on Iran for transferring ballistic missiles to Russia for Moscow to use in its ongoing war against Ukraine. Iran denied supplying Russia with the weapons.

The post Iran, Russia to Finalize Establishment of ‘International Union Against US Sanctions’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s Pick for Intel Chief, Dodges Press Questions on Controversial Assad Views

Former US Rep. Tulsi Gabbard attends a campaign rally of Donald Trump at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US, Nov. 4, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Jeenah Moon

US President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for intelligence chief, Tulsi Gabbard, faced scrutiny on Monday over her sympathetic views toward Bashar al-Assad, scurrying away from a press gaggle on Capitol Hill after being asked for her views on the Syrian president’s removal from power.

Gabbard, a combat veteran and former US congresswoman from Hawaii, was meeting with senators tasked with voting whether to confirm or deny her nomination to be the country’s top intelligence official. When asked by journalists for her thoughts on the overthrow of the Assad regime, Gabbard glanced up, smiled, and quickly left the room.

Exiting her Senate meeting, however, Gabbard made a brief statement in which she mentioned Syria but not Assad.

“I want to address the issue that’s in the headlines right now: I stand in full support and wholeheartedly agree with the statements that President Trump has made over these last few days with regards to the developments in Syria,” Gabbard said on Monday.

Gabbard has previously been labeled an Assad “apologist” over her repeated refusals to forcefully condemn the Syrian government during the country’s civil war, which began in 2011. Assad has been accused of war crimes during his regime’s brutal crackdown on rebel forces, which ultimately prevailed in toppling him on Sunday. The long-time Syrian ruler was also an ally of Russia and Iran, allowing the latter to use Syrian territory to send weapons to terrorist proxies across the Middle East.

In 2017, Gabbard held a private meeting with Assad in Syria and refused to condemn him afterward, saying that it is “important that if we profess to truly care about the Syrian people, about their suffering, then we’ve got to be able to meet with anyone that we need to if there is a possibility that we can achieve peace.”

In 2019, while running for the Democratic presidential nomination, Gabbard appeared to again give Assad the benefit of the doubt, saying, “The evidence needs to be gathered and, as I have said before, if there is evidence that he has committed war crimes, he should be prosecuted as such.”

Gabbard has also made controversial comments on Russia, claiming that American and Western “hostility” motivated President Vladimir Putin to annex Crimea. She also repudiated attempts to sanction Russia, stating that “Russian people are a proud people and they don’t want the US and our allies trying to control them and their government.”

Nonetheless, Gabbard has also espoused pro-Israel views. In the year following Hamas’s invasion of southern Israel last Oct. 7, she has often defended the Jewish state’s defensive military operations in Gaza and accused pro-Palestinian protesters of being part of a “radical Islamist organization.” She has also criticized a UN resolution which would have called for a ceasefire between Israel and the Hamas terror group, stating that “we have to be realists about the threat that continues to exist for the people of Israel. So as long as Hamas is in power, the people of Israel will not be secure and cannot live in peace.”

The post Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s Pick for Intel Chief, Dodges Press Questions on Controversial Assad Views first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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