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Proud, Uncancelable, and Unapologetically Jewish: The Power of Community Culture Over Cancel Culture

Supporters of Israel gather in solidarity with Israel and protest against antisemitism, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian terror group Hamas, during a rally on the National Mall in Washington, DC, Nov. 14, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Leah Millis
At a time when identity is weaponized and loyalty to truth is punished, Jews and Zionists must stand taller, prouder, and louder than ever before. We are not just surviving history — we are shaping it. The secret to our endurance is not compliance with cultural fads or fear of social punishment. It is our devotion to something far more powerful: community culture.
Cancel culture has no true grip on us when we embrace who we are.
Jews — religious, secular, cultural, or ethnic — have always found safety, purpose, and power in community. Our story is one of resilience: each time we were targeted, silenced, exiled, or attacked, we turned inward to strengthen our people and outward to uplift our allies. That’s the antidote. The Jewish people don’t disappear under pressure — we double down on who we are.
We are people who embrace Zionism not only because of Jewish peoplehood, but because of values. Zionism is an inclusive movement, with not only Jewish Zionists, but Zionists of all faiths, ethnicities, cultures, and nationalities. People who understand that support for Zionism is supporting thoughtful peoplehood, and a desire to better the world for all people, because it is ingrained in Jewish values, which aim to help ourselves just as we help others at the same time.
That must be our strategy now, as anti-Zionist hysteria, masked as progressive virtue, spreads like wildfire. We are being told to be ashamed of our Jewishness. Ashamed of our commitment to Israel. Ashamed of our people. No more.
Zionism is not a dirty word. It is the indigenous liberation movement of the Jewish people in our ancestral homeland. It is justice, survival, and self-determination wrapped into one. And yes, it is still needed, because antisemitism still rages in every corner of the world — even in places that claim to fight bigotry. The venomous attacks we see today, often endorsed or excused by influencers, campus activists, and even elected officials, are not about human rights — they are about Jew-hatred. The attacks on Jews, Zionists, and Israel are all based on attacks against Jews.
The only time anti-Israel and anti-Zionist attacks are not anti-Jew are when those who believe in globalization are equally against every Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, and other nations with a religious or ethnic majority. But, that does not happen very often, does it?
When the attacks and condemnation are only against the Jewish movement of determination, safety, representation, peoplehood, indigenousness, and nationality — that is when anti-Zionism is antisemitism, when being anti-Israel is antisemitism.
Clear understanding and the ability to confront the hatred and moral hypocrisy of those who claim to be virtuous is necessary when condemning and battling those who hate us, discriminate against us, and try to eradicate us.
Historically, Jews have had problems when we are prominent and weak. We have seen it throughout every historical period across Europe and Arabia, in Christian and Muslim lands. Today, Jews have an option: we can either be less prominent and successful, stop surviving battles against us, and try to stay out of the public eye, or we can choose the option to not be weak, to be prominent, and strong. The second option troubles those who hate Jews and don’t like when we succeed. I chose the second option — be prominent and strong. It is why I focus not on fighting back, but fighting forward.
Jewish pride and Zionist pride are being redefined by those who hate us. And we are allowing them to win the public relations war. We are allowing them to control the narrative — the story of us is being told by those who hate us. How wild is that?!
And, when we fight forward, we are criticized for fighting for our very existence. When we win fights and battles, the haters try to dominate social media, traditional media, and public opinion, thereby criticizing us for daring to defend ourselves and fight for our rights and lives.
Let’s be clear: there is no moral equivalence between Israeli security measures and the terrorist atrocities committed by Islamist extremists. Even the most controversial Israeli policies are not in the same universe as the depravity of Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, or the governments that sponsor them. Zionist “extremism” is often little more than unapologetic Jewish pride. Islamist extremism, on the other hand, results in kidnapped hostages, public executions, honor killings, and the repression of women, LGBTQ+ people, religious minorities, and dissidents.
We must stop apologizing for being alive, for defending ourselves, for having a homeland, and for celebrating it.
Instead, let’s shift the conversation to action — real action. The anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, at its core, is antisemitic. Its goal is not peace or justice, but the destruction of the world’s only Jewish state. But here’s the silver lining: those boycott lists are also a roadmap.
Use the BDS hate lists as a Jewish pride guide. Support the businesses, brands, artists, and organizations targeted by them. These are the ones brave enough to stand with us. These are the ones who deserve our dollars and our voices. That’s community culture. Not cancellation — connection.
If someone wants to boycott a café because its owners are Israeli Jews or supporters of Israel, great — let’s flood that café with support. If an artist is blacklisted for performing in Tel Aviv, let’s amplify their work and make them heroes. Let’s create our own economy of values, rooted in dignity, not performative outrage.
This is not just about Jews. It is about anyone who believes in truth over propaganda, civilization over terror, and moral clarity over moral relativism. It is about our allies — Zionist Christians, Muslims, Hindus, atheists, LGBTQ+ individuals — and the people who are fighting against Islamic terror, who understand that Israel and Zionism protects them, too, such as Persians who fight against the Islamic Republic of Iran, Indians who battle against Islamism in Pakistan, Druze who fight against Islamic oppression in Arab nations, Christians in African and Middle Eastern nations who are being slaughtered by Islamist extremists, Eritreans who battle for their peoplehood, and Yazidis who struggle to survive amidst Islamist terror.
These are all people who know what is right and are brave enough to say it. These are our allies.
Jews have always been a people who rise. We have endured temples burning, inquisitions, pogroms, genocides, and exiles. And every time, we came back — not just to survive, but to thrive. The Jewish story is one of eternal return, and Zionism is the modern expression of that legacy.
We are uncancelable when we are unapologetic. When we choose pride over fear. When we lift each other up and put our values into action. And that is what the world needs right now — Jews and allies who know exactly who they are, and who refuse to back down.
Am Israel Chai.
Yuval David is an Emmy Award–winning journalist, filmmaker, and actor. An internationally recognized advocate for Jewish and LGBT rights, he is a strategic advisor to diplomatic missions and NGOs, and a contributor to global news outlets in broadcast and print news. He focuses on combating antisemitism, extremism, and promoting democratic values and human dignity. Learn more at YuvalDavid.com, instagram.com/Yuval_David_, x.com/yuvaldavid, youtube.com/yuvaldavid, and across social media.
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Antisemitism at European Universities Has Created ‘Climate of Fear,’ New Report Finds

Krakow, Poland, October 5: Pro-Palestinian activists in front of the Institute of Sociology at Jagiellonian University in Kraków. Photo: Artur Widak via Reuters Connect
Antisemitism on European university campuses rivals what has ensued in the US since the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, massacre across southern Israel, fostering a “climate of fear” for Jewish students, according to a new report by two Jewish groups and a German watchdog.
B’nai B’rith International, the European Union of Jewish Students, and democ, a Berlin-based organization of academics and media professionals, on Tuesday published a comprehensive report titled “A Climate of Fear and Exclusion: Antisemitism at European Universities.”
“When Jewish students fear being violently harassed on campus, when in the most prestigious universities Jewish students might find swastikas or death threats on their personal property, when they are not allowed access to spaces and events due to their presumed Zionism — the free speech argument is a canard,” B’nai B’rith director of European Union affairs Alina Bricman said in a statement. “The lack of action on the part of academic institutions is shameful.”
The document recounts a slew of incidents that took place at the most prestigious higher education institutions across the continent, including Cambridge University, the University of Amsterdam, and Delft University of Technology. Some were perpetrated by extreme anti-Zionist groups tied to terrorist organizations while others struck as random acts of hatred, terrorizing in themselves for intimidating Jewish members of the campus community.
At the University of Strasbourg, someone assaulted a group of Jewish students while shouting “Zionist fascists”; the University of Vienna hosted an “Intifada Camp,” a pro-Hamas encampment; at the Free University of Brussels campus in Solbosch, a pro-Hamas group illegally occupied an administrative building and renamed it after a terrorist. Throughout Europe, anti-Zionists damaged property to the tune of hundreds of thousands of Euros, desecrated Jewish religious symbols, graffitied Jewish students’ dormitories with swastikas, and carried out gang assaults on Jewish student leaders.
In many cases, university leaders acceded to the demands of these pro-Hamas activists and terminated partnerships with Israeli institutions, as happened in Belgium.
“By renouncing limited partnerships with Israel, the authorities not only gave in to political pressure but also endangered freedom of expression and the diversity of ideas on their campuses,” the report’s authors wrote. “This attitude, far from protecting academic values, allowed ideologies to take precedence over fundamental principles of research and academic freedom.”
It continued, “These events are not isolated acts. They reflect a climate of siege-like hostility towards Israel that now permeates Belgium, from the media to universities, from the north to the south, from the right to the left. The Palestinian cause has gradually become the core of a genuine ‘civil religion’ or ‘secular religion.’”
The situation calls for a prompt defense of the university’s values, as well as the universal principles Europe claims to hold.
“The documentation gathered in this report makes it clear that we are dealing with highly coordinated, transnational networks that operate as part of a global movement,” said Grischa Stanjek, co-executive director of democ. “They strategically disguise an antisemitic agenda in the language of human rights to gain legitimacy. University leaders are making a grave mistake if they treat these events as local flare-ups instead of what they are: calculated manifestations of a global, anti-democratic campaign.”
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
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Synagogue in Chile Vandalized With Antisemitic Graffiti, Prompting Outrage, Investigation

The gate of Santiago’s Bikur Cholim Synagogue defaced with red paint and antisemitic graffiti, including a poster targeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Photo: Screenshot
Chile’s authorities launched an investigation after a synagogue in Santiago was defaced with antisemitic graffiti and slogans, an act that has sparked outrage in the local Jewish community.
On Friday night, the gate of Santiago’s Bikur Cholim Synagogue was vandalized with red paint and a poster depicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with a bullet hole in his forehead.
An unknown individual spray-painted antisemitic slogans, including “If you keep silent, you’re part of genocide,” an apparent reference to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
Israeli Ambassador to Chile Peleg Lewi condemned the outrage, noting that antisemitic incidents are rare in the country.
Vandalizacion y ataques a Sinagogas anoche en Santiago !
Estoy seguro que @GobiernodeChile luchará contra el antisemistismo en Chile! pic.twitter.com/feWR09cny1— פלג לוי – Peleg Lewi (@peleg_lewi) August 23, 2025
Since the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Lewi explained, Chile has seen only a few minor antisemitic incidents — a stark contrast to other countries around the world, which have experienced a surge in anti-Jewish hate crimes.
He also stressed the importance of maintaining calm and warned against bringing the Middle East conflict into Chile.
Local authorities have launched an investigation into the vandalism, but no arrests have been made so far.
The Jewish Community of Chile denounced the incident, stressing that such antisemitic acts cannot be accepted or tolerated.
“Acts of hatred cannot be downplayed, normalized, or justified by political or ideological slogans; they must be forcefully and universally condemned,” the group said in a post on X.
“Chile is a country that values freedom of worship, and that means we must respect, care for, and protect one another, regardless of our beliefs,” the statement read. “Vandalism of a holy site is not just an attack on a community but on the coexistence and peace of the entire country.”
Condenamos rotundamente el ataque a una sinagoga de Santiago. Lamentablemente no es la primera vez que ocurre.
Los actos de odio no pueden ser relativizados, normalizados o justificados bajo consignas políticas o ideológicas: deben ser condenados con fuerza y de manera… pic.twitter.com/CTAHqDs6yh
— Comunidad Judía de Chile (@comjudiachile) August 24, 2025
Alberto van Klaveren, Chile’s Foreign Minister, also condemned the vandalism of the Bikur Cholim Synagogue.
“No expression of hatred or violence can be normalized; there is no argument that justifies intimidation or discrimination,” Klaveren said in a post on X. “The only way to express dissent in a democracy is through open and respectful dialogue.”
On Sunday, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) warned that the incident in Chile was the latest reminder that antisemitism remains a global threat.
“No synagogue should ever be vandalized,” the statement read.
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Trump Admin Reviewing Visas of ‘Terrorist Sympathizers’ Set to Appear at Palestinian Conference in Detroit

Marco Rubio speaks after he is sworn in as Secretary of State by US Vice President JD Vance at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, DC, Jan. 21, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
The Trump administration is reviewing and may block the visa applications of speakers scheduled to appear at the People’s Conference for Palestine in Detroit, Michigan later this week over links to terrorism, The Algemeiner has learned.
A spokesperson for the US State Department told The Algemeiner that officials have “noted” the gathering, set to take place from Aug. 29-31, and will closely monitor visa applications for invited international speakers, citing a preponderance of “terrorist sympathizers” on the program’s lineup.
“Given the public invite lists seems to include a number of terrorist sympathizers, we are going through and ensuring all international speakers slated to attend the conference are being placed on a ‘look out’ status for visa applications, so we are alerted if a request is submitted and can ensure they are appropriately processed,” the spokesperson said.
“In every case, we will take the time necessary to ensure an applicant does not pose a risk to the safety and security of the United States and that he or she has credibly established his or her eligibility for the visa sought, including that the applicant intends to engage in activities consistent with the terms of admission,” the spokesperson added.
The conference will feature dozens of radical anti-Zionist activists, academics, artists, and political organizers, including US Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI).
Tlaib’s appearance at last year’s iteration of the People’s Conference for Palestine sparked intense backlash, with critics pointing out the event’s connections to Wisam Rafeedie and Salah Salah, members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), an internationally designated terrorist organization.
The conference is convened by a coalition that includes the Palestinian Youth Movement, Al-Awda: The Palestine Right to Return Coalition, and the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, among others. Several of these groups have maintained ties with PFLP, openly supported boycott efforts against Israel, and called for an arms embargo in the wake of Israel’s military campaign against Hamas. The programming highlights sessions on “Documenting Genocide” and “Breaking the Siege,” rhetoric that critics argue mischaracterizes Israel’s actions as it seeks to defend itself against terrorist attacks following Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel.
The Detroit gathering is expected to attract thousands of attendees, with dozens of speakers and activists scheduled to participate. Among the roster are well-known anti-Israel figures such as Linda Sarsour, Miko Peled, and Chris Smalls. Sarsour has erroneously compared Zionism to “white supremacy in America” and accused Israel of perpetuating “Jewish supremacy.”
Arabs comprise about 21 percent of Israel’s population and include full rights of citizenship, including the ability to serve in parliament and on the Supreme Court as well as the ability to protest openly against the government.
The planned presence of several foreign terror sympathizers has sparked outrage among observers.
Abed Abubaker, a self-described “reporter” from Gaza, is expected to make a physical appearance at the Detroit conference. Abubaker has repeatedly praised the Hamas terrorist group as “resistance fighters” on social media and won a “journalist of the year” award from Iran’s state-controlled media outlet PressTV. In a January 2025 post, he showered praise on long-time Hamas leader and Oct. 7 mastermind Yahya Sinwar, saying that the terrorist’s “love of resistance and land is seen very clearly.” In a March 2025 post, Abubaker posted that international supporters of the Palestinian cause should “attack your governments.” He also defended Hamas’s murdering of dissidents, saying that the victims were “collaborating” with Israel.
Some of the speakers have been convicted and imprisoned in Israel for terrorist activity.
Omar Assaf, a former member of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), and Lama Ghosheh, a Palestinian journalist from East Jerusalem, are scheduled to speak at the conference. Assaf spent eight years in jail for his role in the DFLP, which was previously a US-designated terrorist group, and Ghosheh received a three-year sentence from an Israeli court in 2023 for inciting violence and praising terrorism in the West Bank and Gaza.
Mosab Abu Toha, a Gaza-born writer, is also set to appear at the conference. Abu Toha’s social media posts reveal he has denigrated the Israeli hostages held in Gaza, denied the murder of the Bibas children, and spread fake news and antisemitic remarks. In other posts, he referred to Israeli soldiers as “killers” and criticized international media for “humaniz[ing]” them.
Perhaps most striking, Hussam Shaheen was slated to speak at the conference. He spent 27 years in prison for attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder but was released earlier this year as part of a temporary Israel-Hamas ceasefire that saw Palestinian prisoners released in exchange for Israeli hostages. However, Shaheen’s name no longer appears on the list of speakers on the conference’s website.
US-based speakers also have extremist associations. Hatem Bazian, for example, co-founded Students for Justice in Palestine, a group that has become notorious for intimidating Jews on university campuses, as well as American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), a nonprofit he now chairs which has sponsored a series of anti-Israel protests following Hamas’s Oct. 7 terrorist attacks. Bazian works as a senior lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley. On Tuesday, The Algemeiner reported on recent comments by Bazian in which he accused Jews of exploiting antisemitism to make money and claimed that Israel wants to conquer most of the Middle East, including Mecca and Medina, the holiest sites in Islam.
The event will also host Mahmoud Khalil, one of the leaders of the anti-Israel encampment movement at Columbia University. Khalil rose to national prominence after US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained him in March for what the Department of Homeland Security alleged to be leading “activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization.” Khalil, who became a permanent US resident last year, was released from detention in June when a federal judge ordered his release. The activist also drew scrutiny last month after he refused to condemn Hamas’s Oct. 7 atrocities during a CNN interview.
Since returning to the White House earlier this year, the Trump administration has launched an overhaul of the US visa system, part of what officials describe as an effort to root out individuals sympathetic to terrorism or those espousing antisemitic views. The sweeping measures include expanded social media vetting for new applicants, continuous monitoring of the 55 million current visa holders, and the revocation of thousands of student visas.
Panels at this week’s conference in Detroit will touch on subjects such as US military aid, legal accountability, and grassroots organizing, all presented through an anti-Israel lens, according to the event website.