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The Dangerous Lies of Guardian Columnist Owen Jones About Israel-Hamas War
The bodies of people, some of them elderly, lie on a street after they were killed during a mass-infiltration by Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip, in Sderot, southern Israel, Oct. 7, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Ammar Awad
The harrowing 47-minute film titled Bearing Witness features footage of the October 7 massacre that was taken from body cameras worn by Hamas terrorists, CCTV from street and home security systems, car dash cameras, and even the mobile phones of victims.
Described as “disturbing,” “traumatizing,” and “evidence of genocide,” the film shows the uncensored horror of the October 7 massacre in southern Israel by Hamas: men and women being shot, stabbed, and blown up; bodies of dead babies still lying in their cribs where they were executed; naked and brutalized corpses of women after they were gang-raped; charred remains of humans burnt beyond all recognition.
It’s the stuff of nightmares, and also incontrovertible proof of the unspeakable savagery perpetrated by Hamas on innocent and unarmed civilians.
But for British left-wing activist and Guardian columnist Owen Jones, the 47 minutes apparently wasn’t enough proof.
Shortly after attending a press screening of the film in the UK, Jones uploaded a 25-minute video of himself discussing the film called, “I Watched The Hamas Massacre Film. Here Are My Thoughts” to his personal YouTube channel.
As stomach-churning as it is self-indulgent, the video shows Jones repeatedly attempting to cast doubt on certain aspects of the massacre, including the rape of women by Hamas terrorists and whether children were intentionally killed during the slaughter.
Guardian journalist Owen Jones has been criticised for questioning Hamas’ war crimes.
Watch Plank Of The Week – tonight at 7pm on TalkTV.@iromg | @BareReality | @russellquirk | @OwenJones84 pic.twitter.com/AnuJZEzoKM
— TalkTV (@TalkTV) December 1, 2023
While Jones has been censured over his abhorrent remarks — some of which he has since claimed were taken out of context — the fact remains that The Guardian’s most high-profile columnist has been a big driver of misinformation and disinformation throughout the Israel-Hamas war.
Just last week, for example, Jones appeared on ITV’s popular show Good Morning Britain to talk about the temporary ceasefire and hostage release negotiations.
At one point during the discussion, Jones falsely claimed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had visited northern Gaza on November 29 and placed a rock that marked the first step toward the rebuilding of Israeli settlements inside the Strip.
The truth was that Netanyahu had been in southern Israel that day visiting communities that were devastated on October 7, and the rock that he laid down was, in fact, the foundation stone for a new community inside Israel to be named “Ofir,” after Ofir Libstein, the head of the Sha’ar Hanegev Regional Council, who was killed while defending his community against Hamas terrorists.
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
After HonestReporting called out Jones’s blatant lies on social media, he issued an apology in which he claimed his mistake was the result of a mistranslated tweet, while still doubling down on the pernicious and untrue charge that Israel is seeking to ethically cleanse the Gaza Strip.
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 (@OwenJones84) December 3, 2023
Although Jones acknowledged the “life or death” consequences of spreading false information during a war, such words appear hollow considering the sheer number of times Jones has been guilty of doing so.
When the IDF uncovered evidence of a Hamas command center located within the Al-Shifa Hospital in the Gaza Strip, the army found security camera footage that showed Israeli hostages had been taken there after being abducted from Israel on October 7.
Posting clips showing terrorists armed with guns and knives dragging a person inside, Jones ludicrously claimed the footage offered proof that “injured hostages were taken there for medical treatment” by their captors.
Jones has hundreds of thousands of followers and subscribers across his social media platforms.
When he tells a lie, it is disseminated far and wide with untold repercussions.
Good Morning Britain regularly tops one million viewers, which means up to a million people heard Owen Jones assert, with absolutely no push-back from the hosts, that Israel was building Jewish settlements inside the Gaza Strip.
How many of those people heard about his perfunctory apology and retraction issued three days later? Probably nowhere close to the one million people who heard the lie.
The post The Dangerous Lies of Guardian Columnist Owen Jones About Israel-Hamas War first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Surge of Antisemitic Incidents Rocks France Amid Growing Security Concerns
The Paris Holocaust Memorial, three synagogues, and a Jewish restaurant were all vandalized with green paint last weekend. Photo: Screenshot
France has been hit by a wave of antisemitic incidents in recent days, despite increased security at Jewish sites nationwide following last month’s antisemitic shooting in Washington, DC — prompting urgent calls from the country’s Jewish community for stronger government action amid growing fears of escalating violence.
On Friday, a French rabbi was violently assaulted by three drunken individuals in the town of Deauville, located in the Normandy region of northwestern France.
According to local police, Rabbi Eli Lemel — a prominent figure in French Jewry — was attacked around 3:30 pm by three men who approached him, repeatedly punched him in the stomach, and shouted antisemitic slurs.
French authorities have launched an investigation into the assault, but no arrests have been made so far.
After the incident, Lemel called on the Jewish community to draw spiritual strength amid the increasing hostility that Jews are facing across France.
“I’m deeply moved by the outpouring of support following the attack. Thank God, I’m okay,” the Jewish leader wrote in a post on X. “I was struck and verbally abused in a language I didn’t understand.”
In a separate incident, a 21-year-old man was arrested on Saturday after climbing a synagogue in the town of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine in north-central France, removing an Israeli flag from its façade, and attempting to set it on fire.
According to local media, the suspect — who was already known to authorities for prior offenses — confessed to committing the attack and admitted to being intoxicated at the time.
French police confirmed that the man is being charged with trespassing in a place of worship, theft by climbing, and causing damage to property on religious grounds.
The local Jewish community has voiced deep concern following this incident, viewing it as part of a broader surge in hostility targeting Jewish institutions across France.
Sandrine Dos Santos, the city’s mayor, expressed “[her] solidarity, as well as that of the city, toward the Jewish community directly targeted by these unacceptable antisemitic acts.”
“Faced with the increase in violence, our commitment against discrimination remains unwavering and will not waver. We repeat it loud and clear: no form of racism or rejection of others has a place in Poissy,” the French leader said.
In a separate incident on Saturday, three Serbs were arrested near Antibes in southeastern France, suspected of painting several Jewish community buildings green in Paris — an act currently under investigation as possible foreign interference.
Last weekend, the Paris Holocaust Memorial, three synagogues, and a Jewish restaurant were all vandalized with green paint in an incident denounced by the French government.
On Monday, an elementary school in Lyon, east-central France, was set on fire and defaced with antisemitic and pro-Palestinian slogans, as well as swastikas, marking one of the latest antisemitic incidents to impact France in recent days.
As the school had no direct connections to the Jewish community, local police have launched an investigation to determine the motive behind the attack.
French authorities reported that the fire was limited to the outdoor bathrooms, causing no significant damage to the school. They also found antisemitic graffiti and swastikas in three classrooms.
Yonathan Arfi, president of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France (CRIF), denounced the attack, saying that “the Palestinian cause is used as justification for burning down a school” and that the “Nazification of Israel serves as fuel for crass antisemitism.”
“When a populist pro-Palestinian narrative is allowed to take hold, it is French Jews who ultimately pay the price,” Arfi wrote in a post on X. “The twisted use of the Palestinian cause is turning into a rallying cry of hatred against both Jews and the Republic itself.”
Voilà où nous en sommes !
La cause palestinienne sert de justification pour incendier une école
Quand on laisse gagner un discours populiste propalestinien, ce sont les Français juifs qui en paient le prix.… https://t.co/dMaQBnbfqi
— Yonathan Arfi (@Yonathan_Arfi) June 1, 2025
Beyond France, other European countries have also experienced a surge in antisemitic incidents in recent weeks.
On Monday, several headstones were vandalized at a Jewish cemetery in a suburb of Belgrade, located in north-central Serbia, marking the second such incident in the country in recent weeks.
The post Surge of Antisemitic Incidents Rocks France Amid Growing Security Concerns first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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US Vetoes UN Security Council Demand for Gaza Ceasefire
Smoke rises from Gaza after an explosion, as seen from Israel, June 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
The United States vetoed a UN Security Council demand on Wednesday for an “immediate, unconditional, and permanent ceasefire” between Israel and Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in Gaza and unhindered aid access across the enclave.
“The United States has been clear we would not support any measure that fails to condemn Hamas and does not call for Hamas to disarm and leave Gaza,” Acting US Ambassador to the UN Dorothy Shea told the council before the vote.
“This resolution would undermine diplomatic efforts to reach a ceasefire that reflects the realities on the ground, and embolden Hamas,” she said of the text that was put forward by 10 countries on the 15-member council.
The remaining 14 council members voted in favor of the draft resolution.
Israel has rejected calls for an unconditional or permanent ceasefire, saying Hamas cannot stay in Gaza. It has renewed its military offensive in Gaza – also seeking to free hostages held by Hamas – since ending a two-month ceasefire in March.
The war in Gaza has raged since 2023 after Hamas terrorists killed 1,200 people in Israel in an Oct. 7 attack and took some 250 hostages back to the enclave.
The post US Vetoes UN Security Council Demand for Gaza Ceasefire first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Trump Picks Lawyer Who Called Oct. 7 Attack a ‘Psyop’ to Lead Federal Watchdog Agency
Paul Ingrassia. Photo: Screenshot
Paul Ingrassia, a 29-year-old lawyer who was recently nominated by US President Donald Trump to lead a federal agency dedicated to combating corruption and protecting whistleblowers, seemingly dismissed the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2o23, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel as a “psyop,” or “psychological operation, in resurfaced social media posts.
“This ‘war’ is yet another psyop to distract Americans from celebrating Columbus Day,” Ingrassia wrote on X/Twitter on Oct. 8, 2023.
“I think we could all admit at this stage that Israel/Palestine, much like Ukraine before it, and BLM before that, and covid/vaccine before that, was another psyop,” he posted a week later. “But sadly, people fell for it. And they’ll fall for the next one too.”
On the actual day of the Oct. 7 massacre, Ingrassia compared illegal immigration into the US to the Hamas-led onslaught.
“The amount of energy everyone has put into condemning Hamas (and prior to that, the Ukraine conflict) over the past 24 hours should be the same amount of energy we put into condemning our wide open border, which is a war comparable to the attack on Israel in terms of bloodshed — but made worse by the fact that it’s occurring in our very own backyard,” he posted. “We shouldn’t be beating the war drum, however tragic the events may be overseas, until we resolve our domestic problems first.”
Trump announced last week that he picked Ingrassia to serve as head of the US Office of Special Counsel, a position that requires confirmation by the Senate.
The Office of Special Counsel is an independent federal ethics agency that works to ensure fairness and accountability within the government. Ingrassia’s role, if he is confirmed, would involve investigating claims of wrongdoing, such as retaliation against whistleblowers or improper political activity in the workplace. The official can recommend disciplinary action and reports serious findings to Congress, helping to protect federal employees and uphold the integrity of the civil service system.
Ingrassia also maintains a relationship with and defends alleged sex trafficker Andrew Tate, who has promoted antisemitic conspiracy theories on social media. Tate wrote on X/Twitter that he refuses to “listen to women, Mexicans, or Jews” and that Jewish people are “subverting Western populations into mass genetic suicide” by advancing what he described as misguided immigration policy. Tate has also accused Israel of committing a “genocide” in Gaza against Palestinians and engaged in Holocaust denialism.
The furor surrounding Ingrassia is the latest dustup the Trump administration has had regarding controversial personnel and antisemitism.
The Trump administration’s appointment of Kingsley Wilson as deputy press secretary at the Department of Defense also sparked widespread criticism due to her history of promoting antisemitic conspiracy theories and extremist views. Wilson, formerly associated with the Center for Renewing America, has a documented history of social media posts endorsing white supremacist ideologies, including claims about the 1915 lynching of Leo Frank — a Jewish man whose wrongful conviction and subsequent murder galvanized the founding of the Anti-Defamation League. In 2023, she tweeted that Frank “raped & murdered a 13-year-old girl,” a statement aligning with neo-Nazi narratives.
Late last month, the Pentagon announced that Wilson will be promoted and serve as the department’s new press secretary.
The post Trump Picks Lawyer Who Called Oct. 7 Attack a ‘Psyop’ to Lead Federal Watchdog Agency first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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