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Smith College Condemns Islamophobia in Response to Antisemitic Graffiti, Says School Considering BDS Measure
Illustrative: Thousands of anti-Israel demonstrators from the Midwest gather in support of Palestinians and hold a rally and march through the Loop in Chicago on Oct. 21, 2023. Photo: Alexandra Buxbaum/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect
Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts responded to a recent antisemitic incident of swastika graffiti on campus by condemning “Islamophobia” and pledging to review an anti-Zionist group’s demand that the school adopt the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel.
Late last month, someone graffitied a swastika on campus and stole several mezuzahs, small parchment scrolls containing Hebrew verses from the Torah that Jews fix to their doorposts. The Daily Wire first reported the story on X/Twitter.
The school’s president, Sarah Willie-LeBreton, addressed the incidents in a letter to the campus community last week. She proclaimed that there is “no place for antisemitism, Islamophobia, or any form of hate at Smith College,” continuing what experts have described as a reluctance on the part of university presidents to address antisemitism as a standalone problem.
Willie-LeBreton went on to list actions that her college is taking in response to the incidents, including “considering a divestment request” which was proposed by the anti-Zionist campus club Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). According to SJP, the school has already acceded to their demand that products sold by Sabra Dipping Company, LLC, owned by PepsiCo and the Israeli food manufacturer Strauss Group Ltd., be banned from campus. The group has repeatedly vowed to target Smith’s endowment, hoping to force the school to divest from companies doing business with Israel.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has noted in numerous reports and public letters that SJP is responsible for terrorizing Jewish college students and promoting violence against Israel.
On Tuesday, nonprofit leaders and academics castigated Willie-LeBreton’s statement, arguing that it betrayed her indifference to the concerns of Jewish students.
“I think it’s time to say that when you respond to a specifically antisemitic incident by condemning antisemitismandislamophobia [sic], you have exacerbated the original antisemitism by not taking seriously what happened, and instead placating antisemites who think that addressing antisemitism as such is problematic,” George Mason University law professor David Bernstein said on X. “But this one is even worse than usual, by noting that Smith is considering a request to divest from Israel, as if that’s somehow a proper response to an antisemitic incident as opposed to encouraging antisemitism.”
Meanwhile, Hussain Abdul-Hussain of the Washington, DC-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank challenged the college to cite one example of anti-Muslim conduct, and the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA) on Campus denounced Willie-LeBreton’s response as “irresponsible and dangerous.” Other users weighed in, calling Smith College “beyond parody” and an “utter failure.”
Smith College did not respond to a request for comment for this story.
The school is not the only higher education institution that has subtly accused Jewish students of engaging in acts of discrimination of which anti-Zionists are guilty.
On Monday, after Jewish students at Tufts University were spit on and called antisemitic epithets during a student government session held to consider passing four BDS resolutions, university spokesperson Patrick Collins said “Islamophobic words” are entirely unacceptable. By chance, three reporters from The Tufts Daily who were present for the session did not record overhearing any utterances of anti-Muslim rhetoric.
Similar statements have been issued since Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel, which led to a surge in antisemitic incidents on US college campuses.
In November, the English Department of the University of Colorado-Boulder proclaimed, “We stand against Islamophobia and antisemitism.” Days later, California State University said that “deplorable acts” of “antisemitism and Islamophobia” had taken place “on college campuses across the country,” without citing specific incidents of the latter.
Since Oct. 7, anti-Zionists have been accused of beating up, spitting on, and using antisemitic slurs against Jewish, Israeli, and pro-Israel students. Such behavior has been the subject of numerous civil rights complaints and lawsuits.
Anti-Zionist student groups have in turn accused pro-Israel voices on campus of Islamophobia, citing instances in which anti-Israel activists have been punished for breaking rules, promoting hate speech, or times when they were denounced for supporting terrorism.
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
The post Smith College Condemns Islamophobia in Response to Antisemitic Graffiti, Says School Considering BDS Measure first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Germany to Hold Off on Recognizing Palestinian State but Will Back UN Resolution for Two-State Solution
German national flag flutters on top of the Reichstag building, that seats the Germany’s lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, in Berlin, Germany, March 25, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
Germany will support a United Nations resolution for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict but does not believe the time has come to recognize a Palestinian state, a government spokesman told Reuters on Thursday.
“Germany will support such a resolution which simply describes the status quo in international law,” the spokesman said, adding that Berlin “has always advocated a two-state solution and is asking for that all the time.”
“The chancellor just mentioned two days ago again that Germany does not see that the time has come for the recognition of the Palestinian state,” the spokesman added.
Britain, France, Canada, Australia, and Belgium have all said they will recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly later this month, although London said it could hold back if Israel were to take steps to ease the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and commit to a long-term peace process.
The United States strongly opposes any move by its European allies to recognize Palestinian independence.
Last week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the US has told other countries that recognition of a Palestinian state will cause more problems.
Those who see recognition as a largely symbolic gesture point to the negligible presence on the ground and limited influence in the conflict of countries such as China, India, Russia, and many Arab states that have recognized Palestinian independence for decades.
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UN Security Council, With US Support, Condemns Strikes on Qatar
Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani attends an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, following an Israeli attack on Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar, at UN headquarters in New York City, US, Sept. 11, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
The United Nations Security Council on Thursday condemned recent strikes on Qatar’s capital Doha, but did not mention Israel in the statement agreed to by all 15 members, including Israel‘s ally the United States.
Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas with the attack on Tuesday, escalating its military action in what the United States described as a unilateral attack that does not advance US and Israeli interests.
The United States traditionally shields its ally Israel at the United Nations. US backing for the Security Council statement, which could only be approved by consensus, reflects President Donald Trump’s unhappiness with the attack ordered by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“Council members underscored the importance of de-escalation and expressed their solidarity with Qatar. They underlined their support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Qatar,” read the statement, drafted by Britain and France.
The Doha operation was especially sensitive because Qatar has been hosting and mediating negotiations aimed at securing a ceasefire in the Gaza war.
“Council members underscored that releasing the hostages, including those killed by Hamas, and ending the war and suffering in Gaza must remain our top priority,” the Security Council statement read.
The Security Council will meet later on Thursday to discuss the Israeli attack at a meeting due to be attended by Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani.
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Tucker Carlson Launches Docuseries Exposing the ‘Truth’ About 9/11 After Previously Saying He ‘Hates’ 9/11 Truthers
Tucker Carlson speaks on July 18, 2024 during the final day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Photo: Jasper Colt-USA TODAY via Reuters Connect
Media personality Tucker Carlson announced late last month a new five-part documentary series supposedly exposing the “truth” about the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, after previously saying he “hates” the 9/11 truther conspiracy theories about al Qaeda’s suicide attacks on US soil.
“For nearly 25 years, the true story on 9/11 has been withheld from the American people. Why? We decided to find out for ourselves,” Carlson, a popular right-wing podcaster, posted on X, announcing the documentary series.
The first episode of the series was released on Thursday, the 24th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks in which nearly 3,000 people were killed on US soil.
The announcement video claims that “the official story on 9/11 is a complete lie” and that “the 9/11 commission is a cover-up.” Carlson adds that “the 9/11 report is a joke.”
For nearly 25 years, the true story on 9/11 has been withheld from the American people. Why? We decided to find out for ourselves.
Get all 5 episodes of our documentary series at https://t.co/sLkXnGLauL on September 11. pic.twitter.com/ozRykv6vY8
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) August 28, 2025
Carlson, a controversial commentator and online provocateur, claims that the documentary will expose what truly happened, including what the US and foreign governments knew in advance.
The line about foreign governments is said in the video while a picture of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flashes across the screen, seemingly suggesting Israel was part of an alleged cover-up related to 9/11.
Carlson’s documentary was released just days after he said he would like to share “condolences” with the family of Osama bin Laden, the late al Qaeda leader who organized the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks
Video has also surfaced showing that Carlson previously suggested that those who spread conspiracy theories about 9/11 are “parasites.” He lambasted those who have claimed 9/11 was an inside job and said “there isn’t any” evidence to support the claim. Carlson also previously said he “hates” when people try to say 9/11 was some sort of cover-up, and that while he is open to theories about most events, those about 9/11 go too far.
Tucker Carlson Calls 9/11 Truthers “Parasites” pic.twitter.com/Cc4lOePGCG
— 𝕊𝕙𝕒𝕞𝕤 (@drandelson) March 11, 2023
Carlson has made a series of controversial comments in recent months, drawing criticism even from conservatives and Republicans.
For example, Carlson drew outrage for platforming Holocaust revisionist and self-described historian Darryl Cooper last year. During their discussion on his podcast, Cooper appeared to downplay the Holocaust, argued that the US was on the “wrong side” of World War II, and suggested that the slaughter of six million Jews in concentration camps was “humane” because the Nazis did not have food to feed the “prisoners of war.”
In December, Carlson invited economist Jeffrey Sachs onto his podcast for a lengthy interview in which both men gave credence to the idea that Israel “controls” US foreign policy. Another, more recent guest floated the idea the US should have allied with Nazi Germany during World War II, saying, “It turns out I think the story we got about World War II is all wrong … one can make the argument that we should have sided with Hitler and fought Stalin.”
Carlson has criticized Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, repeatedly accusing the Jewish state of “blowing up churches and killing Christians.” He lambasted American Christian political leaders for “not being more critical of the destruction in Gaza.”