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‘Rape Is Not Resistance’: Jewish Students Discuss National Walkout to Call for Release of Israeli Hostages
Jewish Tulane University students Yasmeen Ohebsion and Zoë Silverberg. Photo: Anthony Karry.
Jewish college students across the US last week participated in mass walkout to demand the release of Israeli hostages still held captive by Hamas in Gaza, where they were taken during the terrorist group’s massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7.
The demonstration was organized by Students Supporting Israel (SSI), a nonprofit that promotes education about the Jewish state, as a response to a surge in pro-Hamas demonstrations on higher education campuses throughout the world. It also aimed to sustain the momentum of the Jewish community’s advocacy heading into the new academic semester, following November’s mass protest by the pro-Israel community in Washington DC.
The Algemeiner spoke to four students who participated in the walkout and events related to it — Ellie Raab of Florida Atlantic University, and Zoë Silverberg, Yasmeen Ohebsion, and Bali Lavine of Tulane University in New Orleans. Each discussed their triumphs as well as lingering challenges the students say they still face in their efforts to win the hearts and minds of their classmates, some of whom refuse to acknowledge the suffering of those affected by Hamas’ atrocities.
“At FAU, everyone walked out whether you had class or didn’t have class. We all met up at 10 AM, and at 10:07 AM, we walked around our campus holding signs, playing music, and basically we had three things we were walking for — to remember the victims of Oct. 7, call for the return of the hostages, and take a stand against rising antisemitism throughout the world, specifically in academic institutions,” Rabb told The Algemeiner. “We had a moment of silence for the victims, and we all had posters and signs of all the hostages. My vice president had a poster that said, ‘Rape is not resistance’ and ‘#metoo unless you’re a Jew.”
Later, the students were led in prayer by FAU’s Chabad rabbi, who asked for the protection of Israeli soldiers and the hostages.
Students at Tulane University “tabled” to promote the demonstration, setting up at a location on campus to distribute literature to passerby and engage willing students in conversation. Tulane, a school known for having a large population of Jewish students, has had at least one incident of note since Oct. 7. During protests near the campus on Oct. 26, a Jewish student was assaulted by pro-Hamas demonstrators. That incident was on the mind of Bali Lavine — she called it a “riot” — as her tabling duties prompted her to reflect on Jewish life at Tulane.
“It’s been strangely quiet on campus lately,” Lavine, a freshman who recently declared Jewish Studies as a second major, said. “But when I say quiet, I just mean that a student wasn’t physically assaulted, not that there wasn’t any antisemitism. Just this week I learned about multiple students transferring out of Tulane. Some of the students I know really did feel welcomed by [Governor Ron] DeSantis’ message from the Florida schools saying that Florida welcomes students with open arms.”
A hesitance of some to embrace SSI’s message was palpable, Zoë Silverberg, who is a senior, told The Algemeiner. Many did “engage positively” but others declined to wear a sticker that said “104 Days,” which was then the amount of time that Israeli hostages had remained in captivity. It has now been 112 days.
“I felt really loved and supported when people approached the table and asked questions or took stickers, but when people would say ‘no thanks I’m not interested,’ it just made me wonder if they are anti-Zionists or aren’t aware of what I’m tabling for,” Silverberg said, noting that one of the hostages they highlighted was Kfir Bibas, a baby who turned one year old while being held by Hamas. “The fact that people are able to easily walk past a table advocating for the safety of a one year old child and not bat an eye makes it abundantly clear how war removed so many college students are from the reality of this situation.”
Some of the students who wouldn’t wear a sticker were Jewish, Yasmeen Ohebsion noted, saying that “saddened her.”
“To see students who were nervous or hesitant to display their Jewish identities shows that the campus climate likely makes them feel unsafe. Later, I walked into class after tabling and considered taking mine off my sweatshirt out of fear that my professor would judge me or treat me differently,” she continued. “I decided to leave it on and proudly stand against terror, with Israel, and with the hostages.”
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
The post ‘Rape Is Not Resistance’: Jewish Students Discuss National Walkout to Call for Release of Israeli Hostages first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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University of Toronto is granted an injunction to dismantle a pro-Palestinian encampment that has been on campus for two months
The University of Toronto has received an injunction to dismantle the pro-Palestinian encampment on its property. The 98-page decision from Justice Markus Koehnen of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice said that members of the encampment must take down the tents within 24 hours, by 6 p.m. on Wednesday, July 3. Toronto Police will have […]
The post University of Toronto is granted an injunction to dismantle a pro-Palestinian encampment that has been on campus for two months appeared first on The Canadian Jewish News.
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Jewish Cemeteries Vandalized in Cincinnati, Montreal
Vandals in Canada targeted a Jewish cemetery. Photo: Screenshot
Vandals have targeted notable Jewish cemeteries in Cincinnati, Ohio and Montreal, Canada, sparking outcry and concern over mounting threats of antisemitism.
Vandals at Montreal’s Kehal Yisrael Cemetery placed memorial stones in the shape of a Nazi swastika on top of tombstones. Ones with the last names Eichler and Herman were targeted in the antisemitic attack.
Placing memorial stones on graves is an ancient Jewish custom to memorialize the dead. Jewish cemeteries oftentimes have stones nearby tombstones for mourners.
Canadian leaders decried the vandalism.
“It is absolutely abhorrent and revolting to defile the dead with swastikas,” Jeremy Levi, the Jewish mayor of a Jewish-majority suburb of Montreal, commented on X/Twitter. “This desecration at the Kehal Israel cemetery in Montreal is beyond contempt. [Canadian Prime Minister] Justin Trudeau, step aside and get out of the way so we can reclaim our country. May this Kohen’s neshama have an Aliyah on high.” One of the tombstones vandalized belonged to a Kohen.
The leader of the Conservative Party in Canada’s parliament and candidate for prime minister, Pierre Poilievre, lambasted Trudeau and denounced antisemitism. “We cannot close our eyes to the disgusting acts of antisemitism that are happening in our country everyday,” he posted on X/Twitter. “The prime minister must finally act to stop these displays of antisemitism. If he won’t, a common sense Conservative government will.”
Canada, like many countries around the world, has experienced a surge in antisemitic incidents since the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’ massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7.
Meanwhile in Cincinnati, vandals targeted two historic Jewish cemeteries this past week, toppling and shattering ancient tombstones — some dating back to the 1800s.
According to a statement from the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati, 176 gravesites in Cincinnati’s West Side were ruined “in an act of antisemitic vandalism.”
“Due to the extensive damage and the historical nature of many of the gravestones, we have not yet been able to identify all the families affected by this act,” the statement continued. “Our community [is] heartbroken.”
The Cincinnati Police Department and the FBI are investigating the incidents.
The destruction of monuments is the latest in a greater trend of antisemitic vandalism. In an incident over the weekend, vandals in Australia targeted war memorials dedicated to Australian veterans who sacrificed their lives in Korea and Vietnam with pro-Hamas graffiti.
A couple weeks earlier, vandals in Belgium defaced two memorials for Holocaust victims with swastikas and a phrase calling for violence against Israel. In Germany, meanwhile, at least seven stolpersteine, or stumbling blocks in the sidewalk meant to mark Jewish homes seized by the Nazis, were defaced with the message “Jews are perpetrators.”
The US, Canada, Europe, and Australia have all experienced an explosion of antisemitic incidents in the wake of the Hamas atrocities of Oct. 7, and amid the ensuing war in Gaza. In many countries, anti-Jewish hate crimes have spiked to record levels.
According to the B’nai Brith, antisemitic incidents in Canada more than doubled in 2023 compared to the prior year.
The post Jewish Cemeteries Vandalized in Cincinnati, Montreal first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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UN Launches Probe Into Anti-Israel Rapporteur for Allegedly Accepting Trip Funded by Pro-Hamas Organizations
Francesca Albanese, UN special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, attends a side event during the Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, March 26, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
The United Nations has opened an investigation into allegations that its special rapporteur on the human rights situation in the Palestinian territories accepted an all-expense paid trip to Australia from various pro-Hamas groups.
In November 2023, Francesca Albanese allegedly traversed around the Australian continent on a trip whose high price tag was covered by anti-Israel organizations, according to documentation acquired by UN Watch, a Geneva-based NGO that monitors the UN.
Albanese initially landed in Sydney and subsequently enjoyed flights into Melbourne, Adelaide, and Canberra, as well as Auckland and Wellington in New Zealand. The glamorous excursion is estimated to have cost a staggering $22,500.
The UN Investigations Division of the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) told UN Watch last week that it had alerted the High Commissioner for Human Rights of the allegations of financial impropriety levied at Albanese.
In a letter sent to UN leadership last month, UN Watch executive director Hillel Neuer outlined evidence based on multiple sources indicating that Hamas-supporting organizations funded Albanese’s trip to Australia, which has been experiencing an alarming spike in antisemitic incidents since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October.
Australian Friends of Palestine Association (AFOPA), an organization that lobbies Australian politicians on behalf of the pro-Palestinian cause, claimed on its website that it “sponsored Ms. Albanese’s visit to Australia” to speak at its annual Edward Said Memorial Lecture in Adelaide. During the lecture, Albanese thanked AFOPA for “organizing such a busy visit,” in which she met with numerous Australian politicians and foreign ministry officials.
Free Palestine Melbourne (FPM) and Palestinian Christians in Australia (PCIA) both claimed to have “supported her visit to Victoria, ACT [Australian Capital Territory] and NSW [New South Wales].” Both groups also publicly declare that they participate in explicit lobbying of Australian politicians in an attempt to “change their minds” on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
While on her visit, Albanese served as a keynote speaker at a PCIA fundraiser. FPM encourages politicians to endorse the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement, which seeks to isolate Israel on the international stage economically and politically as the first step toward the Jewish state’s eventual elimination.
Australian Palestinian Advocacy Network (APAN) said it was “honored to support” Albanese’s visit. The organization’s president, Nasser Mashni, openly endorses the terrorist group Hamas and has stated that the eradication of Israel is necessary to secure “the liberation of earth.” APAN states that it “facilitated a range of meetings” for Albanese with Australian parliamentarians.
Palestinians in Aotearoa Co-ordinating Committee (PACC) and Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA) both organized and likely bankrolled Albanese’s trip to New Zealand, according to UN Watch. At the behest of these groups, Albanese helped lobby a New Zealand sovereign wealth fund to divest from Israel-linked companies.
Albanese outright denied that her trip was funded by Palestinian lobbying organizations, insisting that the UN footed the bill.
“Yet another trail of egregiously false claims agst me,” she tweeted. “My trip to Australia was paid by the UN as part of my mandate’s activities. Continuous defamation agst my mandate may be well remunerated,but won’t work. It just wastes time that should be used to help stop violence in [the Palestinian territories].”
Albanese did not present any documentation confirming that the UN paid for her travel and accommodations. Rather, she pointed at a statement from AFOPA reading, “Ms. Albanese was authorized by the UN to accept AFOPA’s invitation to deliver the Edward Said Memorial Lecture. The UN funded Ms. Albanese’s travel & accommodation costs. No Palestinian Solidarity group paid for this trip.”
Albanese has an extensive history of using her role at the UN to denigrate Israel and seemingly rationalize Hamas’ attacks on the Jewish state.
In April, Albanese issued public support for the pro-Hamas protests and encampments on American university campuses, saying that they gave her “hope.” She has also repeatedly falsely accused the Jewish state of committing “genocide” against Palestinians in Gaza and enacting “apartheid” in the West Bank without condemning Hamas’ terrorism against Israelis.
In February, Albanese claimed Israelis were “colonialists” who had “fake identities.” Previously, she defended Palestinians’ “right to resist” Israeli “occupation” at a time when over 1,100 rockets were fired by Gaza terrorists at Israel. Last year, US lawmakers called for the firing of Albanese for what they described as her “outrageous” antisemitic statements, including a 2014 letter in which she claimed America was “subjugated by the Jewish lobby.”
Albanese’s anti-Israel comments have earned her the praise of Hamas officials in the past.
Additionally, in response to French President Emmanuel Macron calling Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel the “largest antisemitic massacre of the 21st century,” Albanese said, “No, Mr. Macron. The victims of Oct. 7 were not killed because of their Judaism, but in response to Israel’s oppression.”
Video footage of the Oct. 7 onslaught showed Palestinian terrorists led by Hamas celebrating the fact that they were murdering Jews.
Nevertheless, Albanese has argued that Israel should make peace with Hamas, saying that it “needs to make peace with Hamas in order to not be threatened by Hamas.”
The UN did not respond to a request for comment for this story.
The post UN Launches Probe Into Anti-Israel Rapporteur for Allegedly Accepting Trip Funded by Pro-Hamas Organizations first appeared on Algemeiner.com.