RSS
Sympathy to Scorn: The Fight Against Anti-Israel Media Coverage Since October 7
Partygoers at the Supernova Psy-Trance Festival who filmed the events that unfolded on Oct. 7, 2023. Photo: Yes Studios
There are few words left that can fully encapsulate the sheer horror of October 7, 2023 — the day when Hamas terrorists, alongside Palestinian civilians, unleashed an unfathomable wave of barbarity and bloodlust on defenseless men, women, and children.
The brutality they inflicted is almost unspeakable, and the fear and anguish endured by the victims continue to haunt those who survived.
Some survivors, along with those held hostage in Gaza and later freed in prisoner exchanges, have bravely shared their stories, while many remain too traumatized to speak. Heartbroken families who exchanged their final words with loved ones trapped inside their homes by armed terrorists have also shared their grief. First responders and emergency personnel who rushed to the scene have detailed, in raw terms, the atrocities they witnessed and the lives they struggled to save.
But the voices we will never hear belong to those who endured the very worst of Hamas’ barbarism — those who were tortured, sexually assaulted, mutilated, and murdered in cold blood.
Many of these horrific acts were captured by the body cameras of the terrorists themselves, who filmed not only the slaughter but also their sickening pride in committing such violence. Their actions, and the sadistic glee they reveled in, reveal the depth of cruelty and hatred that October 7 has come to represent.
October 7th marked the single deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust. In those immediate hours, there was a fleeting moment when the world — or at least the media — seemed united in grief. As Israelis and Jews across the Diaspora wept over the unfathomable brutality inflicted upon their community, it appeared that the world too was mourning.
However, for some in the media, the words “Never Again,” or the resonant “Never Again is Now,” echoed in the aftermath of October 7, were not to be taken literally.
Once Israel began its defensive response against Hamas — a genocidal terrorist group openly committed to repeating the October 7 massacre until Israel and its people are wiped from the earth — the backlash from certain corners of the media was swift, disproportionate, and relentless.
The narrative shifted from grief and horror, to harsh criticism of Israel’s right to defend itself, betraying the brief sense of solidarity that had momentarily surfaced.
Indeed, barely 72 hours had passed since the first wave of Hamas terrorists crossed the border, when the media began laying the foundation for what would soon become a widespread and reckless accusation: that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza.
The “genocide libel” is not new — far from it.
However, the speed and ease with which it was embraced by those who should know better was staggering.
Take Reuters on October 10, when they published a piece with a headline quoting the Palestinian UN envoy accusing Israel of launching a “genocidal campaign against Gaza.”
This accusation, made by Riyad H. Mansour, was based on false claims — none of the alleged actions amounting to genocide had occurred, including the use of “starvation as a method of warfare” or an “attempt to eradicate their national existence.” Yet, Reuters ran with the incendiary headline regardless. From that moment, the dye was set, and the narrative began to take shape. Despite all facts to the contrary, the genocide accusation would take on a life of its own, stubbornly persisting in public discourse.
The Attempted Mainstreaming of October 7 Revisionism
One of the key tactics used to delegitimize Israel’s right to self-defense — and, by extension, its very right to exist — is the spread of October 7 revisionism. This campaign either denies aspects of Hamas’ crimes or downplays the massacre altogether. While these narratives didn’t necessarily originate in the media, those seeking Israel’s destruction have found willing enablers — whether unwitting or deliberate — within mainstream outlets to advance their cause.
This campaign has centered on three main points: denying the sexual violence committed by Hamas terrorists, framing the attack as a legitimate act of resistance, and claiming that Israel is exploiting October 7 to “occupy” Gaza.
Denial of Hamas Sexual Violence
The denial of Hamas’ well-documented sexual crimes began with conspiracy outlets like The Intercept and The Grayzone, but these narratives gained some legitimacy through a minority of mainstream media coverage.
Political podcaster Brianna Joy Gray, for example, suggested that believing Israeli women were raped was an “overreach” because none had “offered testimony.” Gray was later fired from The Hill after rolling her eyes at Yarden Gonen, the sister of hostage Romi Gonen, who was appealing for her to believe the accounts of Israeli victims.
Masha Gessen contributed to this narrative in The New Yorker, with a feature that purported to “investigate” the sexual violence on October 7, only to ultimately accuse Israel of “weaponizing” these crimes.
While Gessen did not outright deny that sexual violence occurred, the piece downplayed its extent and gravity, casting doubt on a UN investigation led by Pramila Patten and dismissing witness testimony.
#MashaGessen Tells #BigLies About #10/7 #Rapes
In the New Yorker, Gessen, a freakish anti-Zionist, claims that the #IDF also allegedly rapes Arabs, that all wars involve rapes–there’s nothing to see here. Move right on.
Not so fast. Rape has always been a spoil of war, not a…
— Phyllis Chesler (@Phyllischesler) July 21, 2024
However, organizations like HonestReporting countered this denial early on, preventing the falsehood from gaining a foothold or becoming widespread in mainstream media.
Claiming to be a “report on eight months of claim & counter-claim” about the sexual violence against Israelis on Oct 7, @thetimes foreign correspondent @scribblercat & @gabrielle_siviais’ story is nothing more than a muddle of victim-blaming & bias. https://t.co/hDoKgnyjc0
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) June 9, 2024
Framing the Hamas Massacre as a Legitimate Act of “Resistance”
Another narrative that originated in the antisemitic corners of the Internet has been amplified by sections of the mainstream media: the claim that Hamas’ October 7 attack was a legitimate act of resistance.
The BBC, in particular, has come under significant scrutiny.
An analysis of four months of its coverage, starting on October 7, uncovered a staggering 1,500 breaches of its own editorial guidelines.
This investigation, led by UK lawyer Trevor Asserson and his firm, involved a team of around 20 lawyers and 20 data scientists. It exposed systemic failures in maintaining impartiality and accuracy. Among the findings was the BBC’s frequent portrayal of Hamas in sympathetic terms, particularly as a “resistance movement,” with its fighters referred to as “soldiers.” One of the most egregious examples was a headline that described Hamas’ October 7 assault as a “spectacular” operation.
Numerous other mainstream outlets have also echoed this narrative of “resistance.” However, continued efforts to counter this grotesque framing have been effective in pushing back against the spread of this dangerous revisionism.
Hinting Israel is Using October 7 as a Pretext to Occupy Gaza
From CNN to the BBC, parts of the media have pushed the narrative that Israel will use the Hamas massacre as an excuse to seize Gaza.
This misleading claim relies on statements from a small group of right-wing Israeli politicians, who do not represent the broader Israeli population or government, to imply that Israel’s long-term strategy is to occupy the Strip.
Guardian columnist Owen Jones, who has also cast doubt on Hamas’s sexual violence, falsely claimed on Good Morning Britain that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had laid the first stone of a new settlement in Gaza.
After HonestReporting revealed that Jones had mistranslated Netanyahu’s speech — he was actually referring to a destroyed kibbutz in the Gaza Envelope, outside of Gaza — Jones issued a correction.
More lies from @OwenJones84 who falsely claimed on @ITV‘s @GMB that Israeli PM Netanyahu was in northern Gaza “laying a rock” for a new settlement & talking about rebuilding Gaza settlements.
Actually, Netanyahu was in the south of Israel, not northern Gaza, laying the… pic.twitter.com/AuLW5ALeSt
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) December 3, 2023
Just want to correct an error I made on @GMB on Thursday.
On my way to the studios, I read this tweet which was widely circulated and understood as Benjamin Netanyahu committing to building new settlements on the Gaza Strip.
In fact it was a Google Translate error which… https://t.co/8BgBLVpbWF
— Owen Jones (@owenjonesjourno) December 3, 2023
Exposing and Confronting October 7 Distortion
The battle against the distortion of October 7’s atrocities has demonstrated that swift, decisive action is essential to stopping dangerous falsehoods from taking root. The screening of Bearing Witness –– a film that reveals Hamas’ body cam footage of the massacre — was an unflinching and effective way of showing the brutal reality to journalists and key figures. The film struck a careful balance between honoring the memories of the victims and survivors, while ensuring the truth was communicated to the wider public.
Organizations like mine — HonestReporting — have been relentless in exposing those who spread revisionist lies, actively shaming individuals and media outlets that seek to downplay or distort the reality of Hamas’ brutality. Left unchecked, these falsehoods risk becoming entrenched in public consciousness, much like the insidious “genocide libel.”
But HonestReporting’s efforts show that it is possible to stop these distortions before they metastasize into accepted narratives. The truth is not just a countermeasure — it’s a weapon against the lies proliferating online, in social media, and in print.
The author is a contributor to HonestReporting, a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.
The post Sympathy to Scorn: The Fight Against Anti-Israel Media Coverage Since October 7 first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Syria’s Sharaa Says Talks With Israel Could Yield Results ‘In Coming Days’
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks at the opening ceremony of the 62nd Damascus International Fair, the first edition held since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, in Damascus, Syria, Aug. 27, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa said on Wednesday that ongoing negotiations with Israel to reach a security pact could lead to results “in the coming days.”
He told reporters in Damascus the security pact was a “necessity” and that it would need to respect Syria’s airspace and territorial unity and be monitored by the United Nations.
Syria and Israel are in talks to reach an agreement that Damascus hopes will secure a halt to Israeli airstrikes and the withdrawal of Israeli troops who have pushed into southern Syria.
Reuters reported this week that Washington was pressuring Syria to reach a deal before world leaders gather next week for the UN General Assembly in New York.
But Sharaa, in a briefing with journalists including Reuters ahead of his expected trip to New York to attend the meeting, denied the US was putting any pressure on Syria and said instead that it was playing a mediating role.
He said Israel had carried out more than 1,000 strikes on Syria and conducted more than 400 ground incursions since Dec. 8, when the rebel offensive he led toppled former Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad.
Sharaa said Israel’s actions were contradicting the stated American policy of a stable and unified Syria, which he said was “very dangerous.”
He said Damascus was seeking a deal similar to a 1974 disengagement agreement between Israel and Syria that created a demilitarized zone between the two countries.
He said Syria sought the withdrawal of Israeli troops but that Israel wanted to remain at strategic locations it seized after Dec. 8, including Mount Hermon. Israeli ministers have publicly said Israel intends to keep control of the sites.
He said if the security pact succeeds, other agreements could be reached. He did not provide details, but said a peace agreement or normalization deal like the US-mediated Abraham Accords, under which several Muslim-majority countries agreed to normalize diplomatic ties with Israel, was not currently on the table.
He also said it was too early to discuss the fate of the Golan Heights because it was “a big deal.”
Reuters reported this week that Israel had ruled out handing back the zone, which Donald Trump unilaterally recognized as Israeli during his first term as US president.
“It’s a difficult case – you have negotiations between a Damascene and a Jew,” Sharaa told reporters, smiling.
SECURITY PACT DERAILED IN JULY
Sharaa also said Syria and Israel had been just “four to five days” away from reaching the basis of a security pact in July, but that developments in the southern province of Sweida had derailed those discussions.
Syrian troops were deployed to Sweida in July to quell fighting between Druze armed factions and Bedouin fighters. But the violence worsened, with Syrian forces accused of execution-style killings and Israel striking southern Syria, the defense ministry in Damascus and near the presidential palace.
Sharaa on Wednesday described the strikes near the presidential palace as “not a message, but a declaration of war,” and said Syria had still refrained from responding militarily to preserve the negotiations.
RSS
Anti-Israel Activists Gear Up to ‘Flood’ UN General Assembly
US Capitol Police and NYPD officers clash with anti-Israel demonstrators, on the day Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a joint meeting of Congress, on Capitol Hill, in Washington, DC, July 24, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Umit Bektas
Anti-Israel groups are planning a wave of raucous protests in New York City during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) over the next several days, prompting concerns that the demonstrations could descend into antisemitic rhetoric and intimidation.
A coalition of anti-Israel activists is organizing the protests in and around UN headquarters to coincide with speeches from Middle Eastern leaders and appearances by US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The demonstrations are expected to draw large crowds and feature prominent pro-Palestinian voices, some of whom have been criticized for trafficking in antisemitic tropes, in addition to calling for the destruction of Israe.
Organizers of the demonstrations have promoted the coordinated events on social media as an opportunity to pressure world leaders to hold Israel accountable for its military campaign against Hamas in Gaza, with some messaging framed in sharply hostile terms.
On Sunday, for example, activists shouted at Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon.
“Zionism is terrorism. All you guys are terrorists committing ethnic cleansing and genocide in Gaza and Palestine. Shame on you, Zionist animals,” they shouted.
BREAKING: PRO-PALESTINE PROTESTORS CONFRONT “ISRAELI” AMBASSADOR DANNY DANON AT THE UNITED NATIONS
1/5 pic.twitter.com/4G1VYEMGzV
— Within Our Lifetime (@WOLPalestine) September 14, 2025
The Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM), warned on its website that the scale and tone of the planned demonstrations risk crossing the line from political protest into hate speech, arguing that anti-Israel activists are attempting to hijack the UN gathering to spread antisemitism and delegitimize the Jewish state’s right to exist.
Outside the UN last week, masked protesters belonging to the activist group INDECLINE kicked a realistic replica of Netanyahu’s decapitated head as though it were a soccer ball.
US activist group plays soccer with Bibi’s mock decapitated HEAD right outside NYC UN HQ
Peep shot at 00:40
Footage posted by INDECLINE collective just as UN General Assembly about to kick off
‘Following the game, ball was donated to Palestinian Genocide Museum’ pic.twitter.com/TQ84sgZhKr
— RT (@RT_com) September 9, 2025
Within Our Lifetime (WOL), a radical anti-Israel activist group, has vowed to “flood” the UNGA on behalf of the pro-Palestine movement.
WOL, one of the most prolific anti-Israel activist groups, came under immense fire after it organized a protest against an exhibition to honor the victims of the Oct. 7 massacre at the Nova Music Festival in southern Israel. During the event, the group chanted “resistance is justified when people are occupied!” and “Israel, go to hell!”
“We will be there to confront them with the truth: Their silence and inaction enable genocide. The world cannot continue as if Gaza does not exist,” WOL said of its planned demonstrations in New York. “This is the time to make our voices impossible to ignore. Come to New York by any means necessary, to stand, to march, to demand the UN act and end the siege.”
Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM), two other anti-Israel organizations that have helped organize widespread demonstrations against the Jewish state during the war in Gaza, also announced they are planning a march from Times Square to the UN headquarters on Friday.
“The time is now for each and every UN member state to uphold their duty under international law: sanction Israel and end the genocide,” the groups said in a statement.
JVP, an organization that purports to fight for “Palestinian liberation,” has positioned itself as a staunch adversary of the Jewish state. The group argued in a 2021 booklet that Jews should not write Hebrew liturgy because hearing the language would be “deeply traumatizing” to Palestinians. JVP has repeatedly defended the Oct. 7 massacre of roughly 1,200 people in southern Israel by Hamas as a justified “resistance.” Chapters of the organization have urged other self-described “progressives” to throw their support behind Hamas and other terrorist groups against Israel
Similarly, PYM, another radical anti-Israel group, has repeatedly defended terrorism and violence against the Jewish state. PYM has organized many anti-Israel protests in the two years following the Oct. 7 attacks in the Jewish state. Recently, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AK) called for a federal investigation into the organization after Aisha Nizar, one of the group’s leaders, urged supporters to sabotage the US supply chain for the F-35 fighter jet, one of the most advanced US military assets and a critical component of Israel’s defense.
The UN General Assembly has historically been a flashpoint for heated debate over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Previous gatherings have seen dueling demonstrations outside the Manhattan venue, with pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian groups both seeking to influence the international spotlight.
While warning about the demonstrations, CAM noted it recently launched a new mobile app, Report It, that allows users worldwide to quickly and securely report antisemitic incidents in real time.
RSS
Nina Davidson Presses Universities to Back Words With Action as Jewish Students Return to Campus Amid Antisemitism Crisis
Nina Davidson on The Algemeiner’s ‘J100’ podcast. Photo: Screenshot
Philanthropist Nina Davidson, who served on the board of Barnard College, has called on universities to pair tough rhetoric on combatting antisemitism with enforcement as Jewish students returned to campuses for the new academic year.
“Years ago, The Algemeiner had published a list ranking the most antisemitic colleges in the country. And number one was Columbia,” Davidson recalled on a recent episode of The Algemeiner‘s “J100” podcast. “As a board member and as someone who was representing the institution, it really upset me … At the board meeting, I brought it up and I said, ‘What are we going to do about this?’”
Host David Cohen, chief executive officer of The Algemeiner, explained he had revisited Davidson’s remarks while she was being honored for her work at The Algemeiner‘s 8th annual J100 gala, held in October 2021, noting their continued relevance.
“It could have been the same speech in 2025,” he said, underscoring how longstanding concerns about campus antisemitism, while having intensified in the aftermath of Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre across southern Israel, are not new.
Davidson argued that universities already possess the tools to protect students – codes of conduct, time-place-manner rules, and consequences for threats or targeted harassment – but too often fail to apply them evenly. “Statements are not enough,” she said, arguing that institutions need to enforce their rules and set a precedent that there will be consequences for individuals who refuse to follow them.
She also said that stakeholders – alumni, parents, and donors – are reassessing their relationships with schools that, in their view, have not safeguarded Jewish students. While supportive of open debate, Davidson distinguished between protest and intimidation, calling for leadership that protects expression while ensuring campus safety.
The episode surveyed specific pressure points that administrators will face this fall: repeat anti-Israel encampments, disruptions of Jewish programming, and the challenge of distinguishing political speech from conduct that violates university rules. “Unless schools draw those lines now,” Davidson warned, “they’ll be scrambling once the next crisis hits.”
Cohen closed by framing the discussion as a test of institutional credibility, asking whether universities will “turn policy into protection” in real time. Davidson agreed, pointing to students who “need to know the rules aren’t just on paper.”
The full conversation is available on The Algemeiner’s “J100” podcast.