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South African Government Fetes Hamas Official Sanctioned by US Administration
ANC officials meeting with Hamas representatives in Johannesburg. Photo: X/Twitter
A spokesperson for South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) has defended the presence of two Hamas officials at a meeting in Johannesburg last week, one of whom was sanctioned by the US government following the Oct. 7 Hamas pogrom in southern Israel in which over 1,200 people were murdered and more than 200 seized as hostages.
The two officials — Bassem Naim, a former Hamas minister, and Khaled Qaddoumi, the terrorist organization’s official representative in Iran — arrived in South Africa in early December and spent several days there, attending an ANC-sponsored conference in solidarity with the Palestinians as well as ceremonies commemorating the 10th anniversary of the death of Nelson Mandela, the former South African president who led the ANC in its struggle against apartheid.
Qaddoumi was included in a list of eight Hamas-linked individuals who were sanctioned by the US Treasury Department on Oct. 27, less than three weeks after the Hamas atrocities. An official statement accompanying the announcement noted that Qaddoumi is a “Jordanian national and longtime Hamas member who currently lives in Tehran serving as Hamas’ representative to Iran, and acting as a liaison between Hamas and the Iranian government.”
It added that Qaddoumi “works to maintain strong relationships with Iran by attending delegation meetings with high-ranking Iranian officials and praising Iranian support for Hamas, including its provision of weapons.”
However, on Tuesday, an ANC representative defended the presence of the Hamas delegation at the Dec. 3 “Palestinian Solidarity Forum” held at the ANC’s Johannesburg headquarters, which also included representatives of Hamas’ putative rival, Fatah.
While stressing that the ANC remains committed to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the spokesperson, Obed Bapela, sympathetically summarized Hamas’ official position in an interview with the Daily Maverick news outlet.
In what appeared to be a reference to UN Security Council resolution 242 following the Six Day War of 1967 — which did not mention the Palestinians but called for Israeli withdrawal from territories captured during the conflict — Bapela said that “Hamas said they had been disappointed by the lack of the implementation of the agreement.”
He continued: “As a result, their view is that the entire Palestine be liberated, from the [Jordan] River to the [Mediterranean] Sea. They can then look at modalities on how to accommodate who is there, Muslims, Jews, Christians, and Palestinians.”
Bapela then accused Israel of having “put itself into a corner.”
“Should they have implemented the 1967 resolution we would not be where we are now,” he said. He added that the ANC had assured the Hamas and other Palestinian delegates that South Africa had “approached the ICC [International Criminal Court] on the issuing of an indictment of [Israeli] Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu to be charged for those three elements: genocide, violation of human rights, and war crimes.”
Bapela’s remarks drew a strong rebuke from the South African Zionist Federation (SAZF), which has long battled the ANC’s pro-Palestinian sympathies while facing a fresh upsurge in domestic antisemitism since Oct. 7.
“Hamas made it clear to deputy minister Obed Bapela that it rejects the ANC’s policy of a two-state solution and supports the genocidal notion of ‘from the river to the sea,’” Benji Shulman — the SAZF’s director of public policy — told The Algemeiner. “Such sentiments ought to have been refuted by the organization.”
Shulman expressed concern that the ANC’s feting of Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist groups could jeopardize South Africa’s trade agreements with the US and other countries. “Our alliance with Hamas puts trade relations with democracies at risk, including the US African Growth and Opportunity Act which provides jobs for thousands of South Africans,” he said.
Some US legislators have already expressed disquiet at the ANC’s stance. “South Africa’s ruling government stands in solidarity with Hamas — an Iranian-backed, US-designated terror group,” Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID), the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, stated in a Dec. 6 post on X/Twitter.
Risch went on to ask why US President Joe Biden’s administration “persists with its embrace of this same South African government. What is the US gaining from this policy of appeasement?”
The Johannesburg conference was addressed by Nelson Mandela’s grandson, Nkosi Zwelivelile “Mandla” Mandela, a convert to Islam who is one of South Africa’s most outspoken anti-Zionist activists. According to a report of his remarks carried by the pro-Iranian Lebanese broadcaster Al Mayadeen, the younger Mandela “extensively discussed the current plight of Palestinians, emphasizing the ongoing genocide perpetrated by the Israeli occupation forces” and “continuously called for the liberation of all Palestinian lands.”
While the ANC is one of the most vocal backers of Hamas among the world’s governments, Nelson Mandela himself was a stalwart supporter of Israel’s right to exist in security. An Oct. 2021 billboard campaign organized by South African Friends of Israel (SAFI) included a poster displaying a photograph of Mandela alongside a quote taken from a speech he delivered to the South African Jewish community in August 1993 that stated: “We insist on the right of the State of Israel to exist.”
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When Performative Politics Replace Principles: The Rise of Zohran Mamdani and the Fall of Democratic Messaging

Candidate Zohran Mamdani speaks during a Democratic New York City mayoral primary debate, June 4, 2025, in New York, US. Photo: Yuki Iwamura/Pool via REUTERS
The recent political rise of Zohran Mamdani should alarm anyone who still believes in responsible governance, democratic values, and basic moral clarity.
Mamdani, a self-proclaimed socialist and member of the Democratic Socialists of America, represents a dangerous shift in New York City politics — and perhaps American politics more broadly. He has openly called to defund the police, abolish prisons, and dismantle ICE — positions that would undermine law, safety, and justice in a city already reeling from rising crime and instability.
Mamdani’s ascendance is not a sign of progress — it is a symptom of a political ecosystem that has lost control of its messaging, especially within the Democratic Party. This is not just about his radical policies. It’s about what his rhetoric signals.
Mamdani has a deeply troubling record of antisemitic statements, including his refusal to denounce the phrase “globalize the intifada” — a call that glorifies violence and terror. Worse still, he once outrageously compared that slogan to the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, drawing an offensive and historically illiterate parallel between Jewish Holocaust resistance fighters and modern-day terrorist movements.
At a time when antisemitism is at record highs, Mamdani is not just out of step — he’s fanning the flames of hatred. And yet, rather than reject these radical stances, prominent Democrats have congratulated him. Both Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries offered public praise for Mamdani’s win — carefully avoiding full endorsements, but unmistakably signaling approval. Is this the new face of the Democratic Party? Do they now tacitly accept Mamdani’s vision of a city with no police, no prisons, no borders — and no Jewish state?
This isn’t progressivism. This is ideological extremism dressed up in slick TikTok clips and empty slogans. Mamdani may be skilled in digital storytelling and social media performance, but governing New York City requires more than charisma. It demands experience, competence, and the ability to manage the largest police department and fire department in the nation, as well as an economy that supports more than 8 million people. Mamdani has shown none of that.
His popularity stems not from viable policy, but from his ability to tap into widespread dissatisfaction, especially among young and marginalized voters who feel ignored by traditional politicians. He has cloaked his campaign in the language of revolution and representation — but beneath the surface is a political movement that offers no economic strategy, no solutions for crime or infrastructure, and no respect for historical truth or civic unity.
His socialism isn’t even the benign idealism of yesteryear — it’s a radical rejection of Western liberal democracy itself. Ask anyone who has fled socialism — Cuban dissidents, Soviet refugees, or Venezuelan exiles — and they will tell you: socialism may start with slogans, but it ends with broken economies, silenced voices, the murder of those who dissent, and collapsed societies.
The Democratic Party has failed to draw a clear moral and political line. It has lost control of its message, allowing extremists like Mamdani to become the loudest voices in the room. Instead of offering real solutions, they peddle emotional sloganeering, elevate performative radicals, and ignore the concerns of working-class, law-abiding citizens.
The Republican Party, meanwhile, has struggled to connect with urban voters or effectively counter this narrative. But the failure of one party does not excuse the collapse of another. America’s cities — and our democracy — deserve better than this binary of dysfunction.
If Democrats truly care about reclaiming their mantle as defenders of civil rights, public safety, and inclusive governance, they must distance themselves from figures like Zohran Mamdani. They must reject the romanticization of radicalism and return to a politics rooted in reality, responsibility, and respect for all communities — including Jewish Americans.
New York City is not a socialist experiment. It is a beacon of pluralism, culture, and resilience. We cannot allow it to be led by someone who believes in globalizing violent uprisings rather than building inclusive solutions. Those who yell into microphones and only get emotional when the cameras are on are not to be trusted — history has taught us that. Leadership requires more than performative outrage — it requires vision, empathy, the desire to unify communities, and the courage to fight bigotry instead of nourishing it.
Yuval David is an Emmy and Multi-Award-Winning Actor, Filmmaker, Journalist, and Jewish LGBTQ+ activist and advisor. A creative and compelling storyteller, on stage and screen, news and across social media, Yuval shares the narrative of Jewish activism and enduring hope. Follow him on Instagram, YouTube, and X.
The post When Performative Politics Replace Principles: The Rise of Zohran Mamdani and the Fall of Democratic Messaging first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Iran’s Hackers Keep a Low Profile After Israeli and US Strikes

A man holds a laptop computer as cyber code is projected on him in this illustration picture taken on May 13, 2017. Photo: REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/Illustration
After Israeli and American forces struck Iranian nuclear targets, officials in both countries sounded the alarm over potentially disruptive cyberattacks carried out by the Islamic Republic’s hackers.
But as a fragile ceasefire holds, cyber defenders in the United States and Israel say they have so far seen little out of the ordinary – a potential sign that the threat from Iran’s cyber capabilities, like its battered military, has been overestimated.
There has been no indication of the disruptive cyberattacks often invoked during discussions of Iran’s digital capabilities, such as its alleged sabotage of tens of thousands of computers at major oil company Saudi Aramco in 2012, or subsequent break-ins at US casinos or water facilities.
“The volume of attacks appears to be relatively low,” said Nicole Fishbein, a senior security researcher with the Israeli company Intezer. “The techniques used are not particularly sophisticated.”
Online vigilante groups alleged by security analysts to be acting at Iran’s direction boasted of hacking a series of Israeli and Western companies in the wake of the airstrikes.
A group calling itself Handala Hack claimed a string of data heists and intrusions, but Reuters was not able to corroborate its most recent hacking claims. Researchers say the group, which emerged in the wake of Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, likely operates out of Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence.
Rafe Pilling, lead threat intelligence researcher at British cybersecurity company Sophos, said the impact from the hacking activity appeared to be modest.
“As far as we can tell, it’s the usual mix of ineffectual chaos from the genuine hacktivist groups and targeted attacks from the Iran-linked personas that are likely having some success but also overstating their impact,” he said.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations in New York did not respond to a request for comment. Iran typically denies carrying out hacking campaigns.
Israeli firm Check Point Software said a hacking campaign it ties to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards has in recent days sent phishing messages to Israeli journalists, academic officials and others.
In one case, the hackers tried to lure a target to a physical meeting in Tel Aviv, according to Sergey Shykevich, Check Point’s threat intelligence group manager. He added that the reasoning behind the proposed meeting was not clear.
Shykevich said there have been some data destruction attempts at Israeli targets, which he declined to identify, as well as a dramatic increase in attempts to exploit a vulnerability in Chinese-made security cameras – likely to assess bomb damage in Israel.
The pro-Iranian cyber operations demonstrate an asymmetry with pro-Israeli cyber operations tied to the aerial war that began on June 13.
In the days since the start of the conflict, suspected Israeli hackers have claimed to have destroyed data at one of Iran’s major state-owned banks. They also burned roughly $90 million in cryptocurrencies that the hackers allege were tied to government security services.
Israel’s National Cyber Directorate did not return a message seeking comment.
Analysts said the situation is fluid and that more sophisticated cyber espionage activity may be flying under the radar.
Both Israeli and US officials have urged industry to be on the lookout. A June 22 Department of Homeland Security bulletin warned that the ongoing conflict was causing a heightened threat environment in the US and that cyber actors affiliated with the Iranian government may conduct attacks against US networks.
The FBI declined to comment on any potential Iranian cyber activities in the United States.
Yelisey Bohuslavskiy, the cofounder of intelligence company Red Sense, compared Iran’s cyber operations to its missile program. The Iranian weapons that rained down on Israel during the conflict killed 28 people and destroyed thousands of homes, but most were intercepted and none significantly damaged the Israeli military.
Bohuslavskiy said Iranian hacking operations seemed to work similarly.
“There is a lot of hot air, there is a lot of indiscriminate civilian targeting, and – realistically – there are not that many results,” he said.
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Families of Detained French Citizens in Iran Plead for Proof of Life After Prison Strike

Noemie Kohler, sister of Cecile Kohler, and Anne-Laure Paris, daughter of Jacques Paris, two French citizens who are held in Iran, attend a press conference along with lawyer Chirinne Ardakani, in Paris, France, June 27, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
The families of Cecile Kohler and her partner Jacques Paris, two French citizens detained in Iran since 2022, issued urgent pleas on Friday for proof the pair are still alive, days after an Israeli strike hit Tehran’s Evin prison where they are held.
Evin prison is known as Iran’s most notorious facility for political prisoners, and where Iran has often held foreign nationals, including Paris and Kohler who are accused of spying and seeking to stir up unrest. France has called the charges baseless and has demanded their immediate release for three years.
Israel struck the prison on Monday, one of the last targets hit in its 12-day air campaign that ended with a ceasefire the following morning. Iran has said some people died in the attack, but the fate of the French prisoners remained unclear.
France has condemned the strikes on the prison, accusing Israel of putting two of its citizens in danger.
“We are desperate, terrorized,” said Anne-Laure Paris, daughter of Jacques, calling on Iranian authorities to provide immediate evidence that the pair survived and to secure their release within hours.
According to their families, the last confirmed contact with the prisoners was on May 30 during a consular visit.
“No one, not us, the families or the French authorities, have been able to make direct contact with them,” Noemie Kohler, Cecile’s sister said.
“We are waiting for immediate sign of life from Cécile and Jacques … to make sure they are really okay and they are really alive.”
They are urging the French government to support “exfiltration on grounds of force majeure,” pointing to the dangers posed by ongoing conflict and an unstable ceasefire. A formal request is also being prepared for submission within hours to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture.
France in May filed a case at the World Court against Iran for violating the right to consular protection a bid to pressure Iran over the detention of its two citizens.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have detained dozens of foreign and dual nationals in recent years, often on espionage-related charges. Rights groups and Western countries accuse Tehran of using foreign detainees as bargaining chips, which Iran denies.
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