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South African Jews Forcibly Removed While Protesting Minister’s Call to Intensify Pro-Hamas Campus Protests
Jewish protesters being harassed outside the Sandton Convention Center in South Africa. Photo: Provided by South African Jewish Board of Deputies
South Africa’s Jewish community on Friday protested Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor’s recent call for students and university leaders to intensify the anti-Israel demonstrations that have engulfed college campuses across the US, chanting “no space for Jew hate” as they were forcibly removed despite demonstrating peacefully.
Members of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) and South African Union of Jewish Students (SAUJS) gathered at the entrance of the Sandton Convention Center, a major venue for hosting events in South Africa, to protest what they described as an incitement to violence and antisemitism by a senior government official.
The Jewish activists were met with verbal and even physical abuse, with some people attending a conference at the center pointing and shouting “Zionist” at them in an accusatory tone.. In one case, someone physically pulled a poster out of a protester’s hands, spat in her face, and told her to “f—k off,” according to the SAJBD.
The police ended up physically relocating the protesters from outside the entrance of the convention center as they shouted, “No space for Jew hate.”
The SAJBD noted that the peaceful demonstration was solely meant to raise awareness about the threat to the safety of Jewish students on university campuses and was limited to 15 people, thereby within in the legal parameters for a public gathering.
The protest was in response to comments that Pandor made while delivering a lecture at the University of Johannesburg on Wednesday.
Titling her lecture “The Responsibility of the Academy in a Time of Genocide,” Pandor urged greater university and student activism and boycotts against Israel for what she called its “scholasticide” and “systemic obliteration of education” in Gaza.
Pandor accused Israel of deliberately targeting schools and libraries during its military campaign in Gaza, the Palestinian enclave ruled by the Hamas terror group.
Hamas launched the ongoing conflict with its Oct. 7 invasion of southern Israel and massacre of civilians, leading the Israeli military to launch a campaign aimed at destroying the terror organization and freeing the hostages kidnapped during its onslaught. Pandor did not mention that Hamas terrorists embed themselves within Gaza’s civilian population and commandeer civilian facilities like hospitals, schools, and mosques to run operations and direct attacks.
During her speech, Pandor encouraged those in attendance to become anti-Israel activists.
“My expectation is after our talk you will become activists,” she said. “As educators, advocates, activists, civil society and state structures, we should all play a role in the global struggle in search of truth and justice.”
She added, “It is our collective responsibility to raise our voices in solidarity with the people of Palestine who are fighting for their survival in the midst of the genocidal campaign being waged against them.”
Pandor then turned to the anti-Israel, pro-Hamas demonstrations that have erupted across university campuses over the past month, calling on South Africa to do more in support of the movement.
“We are also buoyed by the growing mobilization on college campuses across the world in support of the just cause for freedom and justice of the people of Palestine,” she said. “We hope that this unprecedented activism by students in the US will also spur greater activism among student movements here in South Africa, and spur more vocal support from our university administrators, some of whom have remained silent.”
For over three weeks, university students have been amassing in the hundreds at a growing number of schools, taking over sections of campus by setting up “Gaza Solidarity Encampments” and refusing to leave unless administrators condemn and boycott Israel. Footage of the protests has shown demonstrators chanting in support of Hamas, calling for the destruction of Israel, and even threatening to harm members of the Jewish community on campus. In many cases, activists have also lambasted the US and Western civilization more broadly.
The protests initially erupted across the US but have since spread to university campuses around the world, primarily in the West.
In a statement shared with The Algemeiner, SAJBD national director Wendy Kahn lambasted Pandor’s comments.
“We were horrified that Minister Pandor at a lecture at the University of Johannesburg called to import the violence and antisemitism that is plaguing university campuses in the United States to our local campuses in South Africa. What an irresponsible call,” said Kahn, who noted that Pandor’s remarks came as students were preparing for their final examinations.
“Can you imagine if this starts to incite violence and intimidation on our own campuses in our country?” she continued. “We should do everything to make sure the education of our students continues and is not compromised in any way. This would compromise not only Jewish students who will experience the antisemitism but all the students at our universities where there will be a stand-still to education.”
The SAJBD called on Pandor to retract her remarks encouraging campus demonstrations against Israel, arguing that such rhetoric risked being especially dangerous just three weeks out from South Africa’s general elections.
“This is unacceptable,” Kahn concluded. “We call on you to stop this kind of incitement. It doesn’t belong in South Africa.”
South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) has been one of the harshest critics of Israel since Oct. 7.
South Africa temporarily withdrew its diplomats from Israel and shuttered its embassy in Tel Aviv shortly after the Oct. 7 Hamas pogrom, saying that the Pretoria government was “extremely concerned at the continued killing of children and innocent civilians” in Gaza.
In December, South Africa hosted two Hamas officials who attended a government-sponsored conference in solidarity with the Palestinians. One of the officials had been sanctioned by the US government for his role with the terrorist organization.
Earlier this year, the South African government failed in its bid to argue before the International Court of Justice that Israel’s defensive war in Gaza constituted a “genocide.”
The post South African Jews Forcibly Removed While Protesting Minister’s Call to Intensify Pro-Hamas Campus Protests first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israeli Artists Denied US Visas Allegedly Due to Song Lyrics Condemning Hamas Leaders and Supporters
Israeli rap duo Ness Ve Stilla. Photo: YouTube screenshot
Four Israeli artists were refused visas to perform in the United States over the weekend allegedly because of controversy surrounding a song by one of the scheduled acts, Israel’s Channel 12 News reported.
Rap duo Ness Ve Stilla, Lior Narkis, and Chaim Osadon, star of the kid’s show “The Crazy World of Dod Chaim,” were scheduled to perform on Sunday at an Israel solidarity concert in Florida sponsored by the Consulate-General of Israel in Miami.
Ness Ve Stilla, whose real names are Nessya Levi and Dor Soroker, told Israel’s Channel 12 that officials in the US gave them the impression that all four artists were denied visas because of the duo’s song “Harbu Darbu,” which they released last year following the deadly Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel. All four artists submitted one joint visa application and were therefore rejected jointly, the Israeli publication Mako reported.
In “Harbu Darbu,” Ness and Stilla call for revenge against Hamas and Hezbollah — both Iran-backed terrorist groups — and threaten model Bella Hadid, singer Dua Lipa, and former Playboy model Mia Khalifa, all of whom have condemned Israel. The rappers name Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and top Hamas officials Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh, saying “every dog’s day will come.”
“Everyone who planned, everyone who supported, everyone who carried out, everyone who murdered, every bad person gets his punishment in the end,” they rap in the song. Ness and Stilla also describe pro-Palestinian supporters in the song as the “Children of Amalek,” which is a reference to the ancient tribe that tried to destroy the Israelites. Ness raps: “Left, right, left, impressive how the whole country put on uniforms from the Galilee to Eilat … We brought the whole army on you and I swear there will be no forgiveness.”
“One, two, shoot,” Levi sings. “Get your asses ready, ’cause it’s the air force, feel the vibration all the way to Tel Aviv; all the girls stare at the soldiers, and that guy on the news suddenly seems handsome to me … For mom and dad, for all my friends in the front line; one for grandpa and grandma; we write their names on the shells.”
Narkis confirmed in an Instagram post on Friday that he was denied a visa to perform in Florida. He wrote that “even though I’m already here [in the United States], I am being prevented from holding the performances that were planned due to bureaucratic reasons.”
“We were promised that we will receive an artist visa that we can perform legally,” he added. “Until that moment the requested approval was not received. Unfortunately we are forced to postpone all the shows in the USA.”
Narkis eventually was able to secure permission to perform in Miami on Sunday and took to the stage at Miramar Regional Park. He also announced on Instagram that he was able to organize two concerts in Los Angeles.
The post Israeli Artists Denied US Visas Allegedly Due to Song Lyrics Condemning Hamas Leaders and Supporters first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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‘Jew-Haters Spice Up the Show’: Jerry Seinfeld Responds After Anti-Israel Protesters Disrupt His Stand-Up Show
Jerry Seinfeld attends the premiere of Netflix’s “Unfrosted” at the Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles, California, US, April 30, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/David Swanson/File Photo
One of Jerry Seinfeld’s stand-up shows on Saturday night was interrupted by anti-Israel protesters who heckled the Jewish comedian for supporting Israel before being escorted out of the venue by security.
Seinfeld had two back-to-back performances in Chrysler Hall in Norfolk, Virginia, on Saturday. In the middle of one show, a pro-Hamas protester stood up in the audience and yelled “Free Gaza” before calling the “Seinfeld” creator a “genocide supporter,” according to TMZ, which obtained a video from the scene. The protester yelled, “How dare you support a genocide! Save the children of Gaza! No more American tax dollars for genocide!” He also shouted to the audience, “You should be ashamed of yourself! You should all be ashamed of yourselves!”
Seinfeld has openly expressed support for Israel amid its ongoing war against Hamas terrorists controlling the Gaza Strip — a military campaign that was launched in response to the deadly Oct. 7 Hamas massacre in southern Israel. Two days after the attack, Seinfeld wrote in an Instagram post, “I will always stand with Israel and the Jewish people.” He also visited Israel with his family late last year to witness firsthand the atrocities committed on Oct. 7 and to meet with Israelis impacted by the Hamas attacks.
Audience members at Seinfeld’s show on Saturday night who were upset by the disturbance booed the protester and demanded that he “shut up and get out.” Video from the scene shows a man fighting with the protester and putting the latter in a headlock before security escorted the protester out of the venue. The crowd chanted “Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!” as the protester left.
During the ordeal, Seinfeld sarcastically commented from on stage, “This is fun. I like this. I think your message is really resonating with the crowd. People seem to be on your side.”
“I like it when the Jew-haters spice up the show,” he also joked, which elicited applause from the audience.
Roughly eight demonstrators disturbed Seinfeld’s show throughout the night before they were all escorted out by security, according to TMZ. Eyewitnesses told the news outlet that Seinfeld told his audience not to boo the protester because he had the right to protest.
The show’s producer, SevenVenues, said in a statement it is “deeply disappointed” in the group of protesters that interrupted Seinfeld’s performance.
“SevenVenues stands by its policy to remove hecklers and those who disrupt a performance, and will continue to protect the freedom of its patrons to enjoy an artist of their choosing without disruption,” it added.
During Seinfeld’s commencement speech at Duke University earlier this month, where he accepted his honorary degree, anti-Israel protesters staged a walk-out shortly after he was introduced on stage.
The post ‘Jew-Haters Spice Up the Show’: Jerry Seinfeld Responds After Anti-Israel Protesters Disrupt His Stand-Up Show first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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The UN Endorsed Hamas’ Terror Tactics; Its Slippery Slope Is Now a Chasm
Delegates react to the results during the United Nations General Assembly vote on a draft resolution that would recognize the Palestinians as qualified to become a full UN member, in New York City, US, May 10, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
Less than two miles away from the glitz and glamor of Broadway, there is another show taking place — theatre of the absurd.
When the United Nations General Assembly passed yet another “Palestine” resolution on May 10, 2024, it demonstrated that the immoral slippery slope that the UN has been on for years, is now a cliff. Common sense, logic, decency, and morality have fallen into the abyss.
Although the UN is nominally the global body in charge of peacemaking and conflict resolution, this anti-Israel resolution actually makes peace and reconciliation less likely than ever before.
Practically, the resolution itself was meaningless. It is designed to promote the recognition of a Palestinian state by upgrading the rights of the non-member observer “State of Palestine” in the United Nations — with an eventual goal of achieving full membership and statehood, something that can only be granted through a UN Security Council resolution.
However, that stunt was already tried on April 18, and was vetoed by the United States. In a dig at the US, the May 10 resolution expressed “deep regret and concern” that “one negative vote by a permanent member of the Security Council prevented the adoption of the draft resolution.”
The additional rights granted to the Palestinians are window dressing without any real substance. For example, the Palestinians will now be able to make statements and submit proposals on behalf of a group at the General Assembly, and the “State of Palestine” can now be seated among member states in alphabetical order.
But for all the self-congratulatory backslapping about another lopsided resolution being passed, the Palestinians still remain observers without the right to vote or be appointed to any major UN body, including the Security Council, UNESCO or the Human Rights Council.
Yet, despite the ineffectiveness of this resolution, its intent was clearly to internationalize the conflict and place further pressure on Israel to accept a Palestinian state, bypassing both negotiations and any obligation on the Palestinians to agree to live in peace alongside Israel.
This has long been the goal of the Palestinian leadership, who have rejected every peace deal or offer ever made to them since even before 1947, often resorting to violence and terror in response.
Unfortunately, 143 countries chose to uphold that rejectionist approach, while only 9 countries showed moral fortitude by rejecting it; a further 25 others abstained.
Among the countries supporting this farce were liberal democracies like New Zealand and Australia which, rather than taking a constructive approach to actually encourage peacemaking and negotiations, decided to throw in their lot with dictatorships like China, Russia, and Iran instead.
They naively argued that supporting the resolution will lead to momentum for their desired goal of a two-state-solution. Yet sadly, in doing so, intentionally or not, they endorsed rewarding terror with concessions. If the brutal actions of October 7 were to act as the catalyst leading to the creation of a non-negotiated Palestinian state, this will only encourage more terror and violence — not just in Israel, but around the world.
The message of October 7, apparently, is that terrorism works.
The UN took the worst massacre of Jewish people since the Holocaust — and Israel’s war of survival that was launched in defense — and used this as an excuse to call for a Palestinian state.
The Palestinian Authority (PA), whose UN ambassador referred to Hamas as his brothers, has not condemned, even once, what happened on October 7 as a terror attack. Yet the PA is now reaping the benefits of the terror war that Hamas unleashed.
Hamas, which utterly rejects any peaceful two-state-solution, also welcomed the resolution, calling it “an affirmation of the international rally around our people.”
Yet this supposed concern for the Palestinian “people” is pretty ironic considering Hamas uses them as human shields, and is responsible for the many thousands of Palestinian civilians killed since it deliberately launched its terror war.
The UN is supposed to promote global peace and security, but in reality, it is frequently a conduit for the interests and ideologies of the worst dictatorships and human rights violators.
Shamefully, but unsurprisingly, the UN has yet to condemn Hamas — and the Security Council only held its first meeting dedicated to Israeli hostages seven long months after they were stolen. More and more, the UN is cementing its position as the world’s useful idiot, providing legitimacy to causes that deserve no legitimacy at all.
Justin Amler is a Policy Analyst at the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC).
The post The UN Endorsed Hamas’ Terror Tactics; Its Slippery Slope Is Now a Chasm first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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