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Pro-Hamas Groups Planning to Crash Fourth of July With Riotous US Protests
Illustrative: A statue of George Washington tied with a Palestinian flag and a keffiyeh inside a pro-Hamas encampment is pictured at George Washington University in Washington, DC, US, May 2, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Craig Hudson
Pro-Hamas groups are planning to disrupt Fourth of July celebrations marking US Independence Day in Philadelphia and New York City with “All Out for Gaza” protests, demonstrating again an ideological link between their anti-Zionism and anti-Americanism.
“Philly, mark your calendars: July 4,” said an announcement circulated on social media by two groups, The Philly Palestine Coalition (PPC) and CodePink, the latter of which has ties to the virulent antisemite Louis Farrakhan through its proxy Linda Sarsour and has itself promoted antisemitic conspiracies of Jewish power and control.
The Philly Palestine Coalition, meanwhile, came under national scrutiny in December when it organized what lawmakers and other government officials described as an antisemitic demonstration targeting a restaurant owned by American–Israeli Michael Solomonov, making outlandish accusations against the famed chef and the Jewish state. The group has a history of backing the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, calling for the destruction of Israel, and ridiculing victims of Hamas’ violence.
The two groups made clear in their latest social media announcement that Thursday’s planned demonstrations won’t just be protests against Israel but the US as well.
“For the past 9 months, this country’s continued to support, fund, and oversee this ongoing genocide and warmongering all over the world,” the announcement continued, referring to the US government’s overall backing of Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.
“This July 4th, join us as we stand with the resistance and support Palestine, not AmeriKKKa!” the post continued, combining “America” with the infamous acronym of the Ku Klux Klan. “We don’t celebrate the legacy of genocide, colonialism, and slavery that July 4th symbolizes but struggle for true liberation for all.”
The post concluded with emojis of the Palestinian flag.
The Philadelphia protest will take place in Rittenhouse Square, while the New York City protest will take place in Union Square, located in the Manhattan borough.
Similar to far-right, white nationalist organizations, CodePink has, through its campaigns and social media activity, attempted to undermine the legitimacy of the state by spreading falsehoods about the foreign policy objectives of the US and its allies, including Israel, which it has spuriously accused of committing a genocide in Gaza and manipulating US elections.
One of CodePink’s board members is lawyer Huwaida Arraf, an anti-Zionist activist who has shared on social media atrocity propaganda manufactured by Hamas to misrepresent Israel’s actions in the Palestinian territories. He was also the co-founder of International Solidarity Movement (ISM), a group that was linked to terrorists in a 2004 investigation conducted by the FBI.
CodePink publicly boasts ties to other groups linked to terror, including American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), an advocacy group that, according to a landmark report published last year by the National Association of Scholars (NAS), “retains ties to terrorist groups operating in the Palestinian territories.”
In 2019, CodePink defended US Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-MN) saying that support for Israel is “all about the Benjamins, baby,” an evocation of antisemitic tropes concerning Jewish influence through money. In a statement posted to its website, the organization accused Jews of attacking “people of color,” a tactic that has been appropriated by far-right groups to defend minority public figures of color who embrace and traffic in antisemitic conspiracies.
“Everyone who works in Washington, DC knows that when an elected official crosses AIPAC [the America Israel Public Affairs Committee, a pro-Israel lobbying organization in the US], it uses its enormous power to exact revenge,” CodePink said. “We are seeing it now as they try to destroy a brand new, inspirational congresswoman: Ilhan Omar. We won’t stand for it again. Every moment that we allow false accusations of anti-Semitism [sic] to dominate the national conversation, we ignore the actual issues … The pro-Israel lobby has been looking for any reason to attack Ilhan Omar, but don’t let them dictate the terms of the debate.”
The Philly Palestine Coalition (PPC) was the principal orchestrator of illegal “Gaza Solidarity Encampments” at the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University, according to an investigative report by The Washington Free Beacon, demonstrations which resulted in dozens of antisemitic incidents, vandalism, and hate speech.
At the University of Pennsylvania, protesters, students, and non-students who were sent there by PPC vandalized a statue of Benjamin Franklin. At Drexel University, during the time of PPC’s involvement in protests, the Raymond G. Perelman Center for Jewish Life was vandalized, with the perpetrators removing large channel letters spelling out Perelman’s name from a brick structure bearing the building’s name.
A month later, Drexel University was pushed into lockdown when the PPC-backed group “Drexel Palestine Coalition” (DPC) set up an encampment and flooded it with non-students. DPC then demanded that the school adopt the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel and “terminate” its Hillel and Chabad chapters.
“These organizations must be replaced by non-Zionist Jewish ones that in no way support the ongoing genocide, occupation, or apartheid in Palestine,” DPC said in a statement posted on social media.
DPC also demanded that the university abolish its police, grant amnesty to any protester charged with violating school rules, and reduce the salary of the university’s president John Fry by “60 percent.” Footage of their demonstration showed some aggressive behavior, including the dismantling of police barricades.
“Since Oct. 7, we have seen pro-Hamas activists abuse the First Amendment to rationalize their support for terrorism under the guise of ‘free speech,’ turning America on its head by spreading anti-American values,” Asaf Romirowsky, an expert on the Middle East and executive director of Scholars for Peace in the Middle East told The Algemeiner on Tuesday. “With July 4th around the corner we are now seeing yet again another egregious attempt by pro-Hamas groups, including CodePink, to subvert our democracy by presenting anti-democratic values as ‘democratic’ but instead showing their roots in an ideological nexus of Marxism, Communism, and antisemitism.”
He continued, “The continuous attempt to push their unbridled defenses of Hamas in every aspect of American life is part of a consistent strategy to marginalize and exclude Israelis and Jews from the American zeitgeist as a pretext for increasingly crude antisemitism.”
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
The post Pro-Hamas Groups Planning to Crash Fourth of July With Riotous US Protests first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Surge of Antisemitic Incidents Rocks France Amid Growing Security Concerns
The Paris Holocaust Memorial, three synagogues, and a Jewish restaurant were all vandalized with green paint last weekend. Photo: Screenshot
France has been hit by a wave of antisemitic incidents in recent days, despite increased security at Jewish sites nationwide following last month’s antisemitic shooting in Washington, DC — prompting urgent calls from the country’s Jewish community for stronger government action amid growing fears of escalating violence.
On Friday, a French rabbi was violently assaulted by three drunken individuals in the town of Deauville, located in the Normandy region of northwestern France.
According to local police, Rabbi Eli Lemel — a prominent figure in French Jewry — was attacked around 3:30 pm by three men who approached him, repeatedly punched him in the stomach, and shouted antisemitic slurs.
French authorities have launched an investigation into the assault, but no arrests have been made so far.
After the incident, Lemel called on the Jewish community to draw spiritual strength amid the increasing hostility that Jews are facing across France.
“I’m deeply moved by the outpouring of support following the attack. Thank God, I’m okay,” the Jewish leader wrote in a post on X. “I was struck and verbally abused in a language I didn’t understand.”
In a separate incident, a 21-year-old man was arrested on Saturday after climbing a synagogue in the town of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine in north-central France, removing an Israeli flag from its façade, and attempting to set it on fire.
According to local media, the suspect — who was already known to authorities for prior offenses — confessed to committing the attack and admitted to being intoxicated at the time.
French police confirmed that the man is being charged with trespassing in a place of worship, theft by climbing, and causing damage to property on religious grounds.
The local Jewish community has voiced deep concern following this incident, viewing it as part of a broader surge in hostility targeting Jewish institutions across France.
Sandrine Dos Santos, the city’s mayor, expressed “[her] solidarity, as well as that of the city, toward the Jewish community directly targeted by these unacceptable antisemitic acts.”
“Faced with the increase in violence, our commitment against discrimination remains unwavering and will not waver. We repeat it loud and clear: no form of racism or rejection of others has a place in Poissy,” the French leader said.
In a separate incident on Saturday, three Serbs were arrested near Antibes in southeastern France, suspected of painting several Jewish community buildings green in Paris — an act currently under investigation as possible foreign interference.
Last weekend, the Paris Holocaust Memorial, three synagogues, and a Jewish restaurant were all vandalized with green paint in an incident denounced by the French government.
On Monday, an elementary school in Lyon, east-central France, was set on fire and defaced with antisemitic and pro-Palestinian slogans, as well as swastikas, marking one of the latest antisemitic incidents to impact France in recent days.
As the school had no direct connections to the Jewish community, local police have launched an investigation to determine the motive behind the attack.
French authorities reported that the fire was limited to the outdoor bathrooms, causing no significant damage to the school. They also found antisemitic graffiti and swastikas in three classrooms.
Yonathan Arfi, president of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France (CRIF), denounced the attack, saying that “the Palestinian cause is used as justification for burning down a school” and that the “Nazification of Israel serves as fuel for crass antisemitism.”
“When a populist pro-Palestinian narrative is allowed to take hold, it is French Jews who ultimately pay the price,” Arfi wrote in a post on X. “The twisted use of the Palestinian cause is turning into a rallying cry of hatred against both Jews and the Republic itself.”
Voilà où nous en sommes !
La cause palestinienne sert de justification pour incendier une école
Quand on laisse gagner un discours populiste propalestinien, ce sont les Français juifs qui en paient le prix.… https://t.co/dMaQBnbfqi
— Yonathan Arfi (@Yonathan_Arfi) June 1, 2025
Beyond France, other European countries have also experienced a surge in antisemitic incidents in recent weeks.
On Monday, several headstones were vandalized at a Jewish cemetery in a suburb of Belgrade, located in north-central Serbia, marking the second such incident in the country in recent weeks.
The post Surge of Antisemitic Incidents Rocks France Amid Growing Security Concerns first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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US Vetoes UN Security Council Demand for Gaza Ceasefire
Smoke rises from Gaza after an explosion, as seen from Israel, June 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
The United States vetoed a UN Security Council demand on Wednesday for an “immediate, unconditional, and permanent ceasefire” between Israel and Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in Gaza and unhindered aid access across the enclave.
“The United States has been clear we would not support any measure that fails to condemn Hamas and does not call for Hamas to disarm and leave Gaza,” Acting US Ambassador to the UN Dorothy Shea told the council before the vote.
“This resolution would undermine diplomatic efforts to reach a ceasefire that reflects the realities on the ground, and embolden Hamas,” she said of the text that was put forward by 10 countries on the 15-member council.
The remaining 14 council members voted in favor of the draft resolution.
Israel has rejected calls for an unconditional or permanent ceasefire, saying Hamas cannot stay in Gaza. It has renewed its military offensive in Gaza – also seeking to free hostages held by Hamas – since ending a two-month ceasefire in March.
The war in Gaza has raged since 2023 after Hamas terrorists killed 1,200 people in Israel in an Oct. 7 attack and took some 250 hostages back to the enclave.
The post US Vetoes UN Security Council Demand for Gaza Ceasefire first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Trump Picks Lawyer Who Called Oct. 7 Attack a ‘Psyop’ to Lead Federal Watchdog Agency
Paul Ingrassia. Photo: Screenshot
Paul Ingrassia, a 29-year-old lawyer who was recently nominated by US President Donald Trump to lead a federal agency dedicated to combating corruption and protecting whistleblowers, seemingly dismissed the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2o23, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel as a “psyop,” or “psychological operation, in resurfaced social media posts.
“This ‘war’ is yet another psyop to distract Americans from celebrating Columbus Day,” Ingrassia wrote on X/Twitter on Oct. 8, 2023.
“I think we could all admit at this stage that Israel/Palestine, much like Ukraine before it, and BLM before that, and covid/vaccine before that, was another psyop,” he posted a week later. “But sadly, people fell for it. And they’ll fall for the next one too.”
On the actual day of the Oct. 7 massacre, Ingrassia compared illegal immigration into the US to the Hamas-led onslaught.
“The amount of energy everyone has put into condemning Hamas (and prior to that, the Ukraine conflict) over the past 24 hours should be the same amount of energy we put into condemning our wide open border, which is a war comparable to the attack on Israel in terms of bloodshed — but made worse by the fact that it’s occurring in our very own backyard,” he posted. “We shouldn’t be beating the war drum, however tragic the events may be overseas, until we resolve our domestic problems first.”
Trump announced last week that he picked Ingrassia to serve as head of the US Office of Special Counsel, a position that requires confirmation by the Senate.
The Office of Special Counsel is an independent federal ethics agency that works to ensure fairness and accountability within the government. Ingrassia’s role, if he is confirmed, would involve investigating claims of wrongdoing, such as retaliation against whistleblowers or improper political activity in the workplace. The official can recommend disciplinary action and reports serious findings to Congress, helping to protect federal employees and uphold the integrity of the civil service system.
Ingrassia also maintains a relationship with and defends alleged sex trafficker Andrew Tate, who has promoted antisemitic conspiracy theories on social media. Tate wrote on X/Twitter that he refuses to “listen to women, Mexicans, or Jews” and that Jewish people are “subverting Western populations into mass genetic suicide” by advancing what he described as misguided immigration policy. Tate has also accused Israel of committing a “genocide” in Gaza against Palestinians and engaged in Holocaust denialism.
The furor surrounding Ingrassia is the latest dustup the Trump administration has had regarding controversial personnel and antisemitism.
The Trump administration’s appointment of Kingsley Wilson as deputy press secretary at the Department of Defense also sparked widespread criticism due to her history of promoting antisemitic conspiracy theories and extremist views. Wilson, formerly associated with the Center for Renewing America, has a documented history of social media posts endorsing white supremacist ideologies, including claims about the 1915 lynching of Leo Frank — a Jewish man whose wrongful conviction and subsequent murder galvanized the founding of the Anti-Defamation League. In 2023, she tweeted that Frank “raped & murdered a 13-year-old girl,” a statement aligning with neo-Nazi narratives.
Late last month, the Pentagon announced that Wilson will be promoted and serve as the department’s new press secretary.
The post Trump Picks Lawyer Who Called Oct. 7 Attack a ‘Psyop’ to Lead Federal Watchdog Agency first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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