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The Justice System’s Disgusting Indifference to Murder and Attacks on Jews
US Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) addresses attendees as she takes part in a protest calling for a ceasefire in Gaza outside the US Capitol, in Washington, DC, US, Oct. 18, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Leah Millis
Two weeks after the October 7 Hamas terrorist massacre in Israel, Samantha Woll, a 40-year-old Jewish woman, was found murdered outside her Detroit home with multiple stab wounds.
The man charged with the brutal slaying, Michael Jackson-Bolanos, was acquitted of first-degree murder in July. Weeks later, a deadlocked jury failed to convict Jackson-Bolanos on a similar count of felony murder. Instead, the suspect, whose attorney claimed he was “in the wrong place at the wrong time,” will spend 18 months in prison after the jury only convicted him on one count of lying to law enforcement.
Detroit police continue to claim there is no evidence that Woll’s murder was motivated by antisemitism.
At the time of her killing, Woll was serving as President of the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue, and was active in Democratic politics. Incidentally, her murder occurred in Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (D-MI)’s district, where, just days prior to Woll’s body being discovered, the antisemitic lawmaker launched into another anti-Israel diatribe and falsely accused Israel of a deadly strike on a Gaza hospital that she said killed over 500 people (this was proven to be a complete lie on every account).
In November, Tlaib spoke about her “dear friend” on the House floor, calling Woll a deeply loved member of the “social justice community.”
Tlaib’s performative sorrow does little to deflect from acknowledging the Congresswoman’s outsize role in fomenting antisemitism. Moreover, the dearth of media noise and the judicial dismissiveness attached to Woll’s murder case comes against a backdrop of rising violence targeting Jews nationwide. In New York, hundreds of miles from Michigan, Orthodox Jews are routinely subjected to assault, harassment, and intimidation by criminals engaging in antisemitic thuggery.
Last Spring, a group of religious Jewish children were playing in front of a Brooklyn building when they were knocked down and punched by a Citi bike rider. To date, police have yet to find the attacker.
Just last week, 22-year-old Vincent Sumpter was charged with stabbing Yeshiva student Yechiel Michael Dabrowskin near Chabad’s headquarters, while shouting antisemitic screeds at the cohort of Jews gathered before fleeing the scene.
These are just a fraction of the violent attacks that have occurred against Jews in New York and nationwide. And while this latest incident resulted in an arrest, anti-Jewish hate crimes in New York often occur without the perpetrators facing any criminal consequences.
On its surface, the murder case involving interfaith advocate Samantha Woll shares little in common with the repeated attacks on New York’s Hasidic community. Yet, public apathy and judicial indifference over whether Woll’s killer will face any consequences for his brutality is tied to a similar disengagement in prosecuting crimes concerning the targeting of observant Jews.
For all her work with the Muslim community, it’s hard to believe that Woll’s murder would have been treated the same if she had been a part of any other racial or ethnic group besides Jews.
For Jewish Americans to retain faith in our Nation’s criminal justice system, those tasked with preserving the integrity of our judicial order must illustrate their willingness to treat felonies committed against Jews with the same degree of seriousness that is exercised for other minority communities.
The intimidating and hate-fueled pro-Hamas rallies unfolding across American campuses and in cities have inevitably contributed to the alarming spike in antisemitic incidents, which, according to the Anti-Defamation League, reached an all-time high last year.
While liberal lawmakers in places such as New York are quick to condemn these anti-Jewish episodes, their lofty language is seldom met with robust repercussions for the antisemitic agitators. And sometimes, their incitement against the Jewish State is actually what helps contribute to the sense that violence against Jews (and especially pro-Israel Jews) will be tolerated.
Indeed, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg dropped charges for most of the pro-Palestinian Columbia University students who participated in seizing a campus building earlier this year and destroying university property.
Unsurprisingly, as Jews are cast as an oppressor class within the intersectional paradigm that guides the agenda of many officials and residents in liberal-run cities, US Jews of varying ideological persuasions must confront the reality that prosecutors, the policy, and government officials will often fail to take the necessary action to punish perpetrators if the victims are Jewish.
A grievance-based approach in many areas of the country to policy helps explain the distinction attributed to the swift but appropriate punishment given to criminals guilty of attacking people of other faiths, including members of the Black and Muslim communities, but not to Jews.
Back in 2021, not far from where Woll’s body was found, a white Michigan resident was sentenced to five years in prison for beating a Black teenager with a bicycle lock. Yet Woll has received absolutely no justice — and we must also question if her faith played a role in the jury being deadlocked.
In June, Manhattan DA Bragg announced that 40-year-old Gino Sozio would be serving nine years in prison for his role in a 2022 anti-Muslim hate crime. At that time, Sozio pulled out a knife and slashed the torso of a 22-year-old Muslim-American man, who required stitches and surgery following the despicable assault.
The growth of progressive protest movements over the last decade suggests that some of the same people participating in such leftist endeavors may serve as the next juror or judge to decide the fate of a suspect charged with committing a crime against a Jew.
It’s a troubling trend that has already touched Europe. The societal shifts consuming France likely contributed to Sarah Halimi’s killer, Kobili Traore, being excused from a criminal trial after he tortured the Jewish woman for hours in her own home before killing her in 2017.
To political ideologues, it matters little if one adheres to the Samantha Woll or Yechiel Michael Dabrowskin branch of Judaism. To them, crimes encompassing members of the Jewish community are telegraphed through an intersectional prism where Jews will always remain unremarkable figures outside of the ideological sanctum.
Irit Tratt is an American and pro-Israel advocate residing in New York. Follow her on X @Irit_Tratt
The post The Justice System’s Disgusting Indifference to Murder and Attacks on Jews first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Hamas Says No Interim Hostage Deal Possible Without Work Toward Permanent Ceasefire
Explosions send smoke into the air in Gaza, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, July 17, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
The spokesperson for Hamas’s armed wing said on Friday that while the Palestinian terrorist group favors reaching an interim truce in the Gaza war, if such an agreement is not reached in current negotiations it could revert to insisting on a full package deal to end the conflict.
Hamas has previously offered to release all the hostages held in Gaza and conclude a permanent ceasefire agreement, and Israel has refused, Abu Ubaida added in a televised speech.
Arab mediators Qatar and Egypt, backed by the United States, have hosted more than 10 days of talks on a US-backed proposal for a 60-day truce in the war.
Israeli officials were not immediately available for comment on the eve of the Jewish Sabbath.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement on a call he had with Pope Leo on Friday that Israel‘s efforts to secure a hostage release deal and 60-day ceasefire “have so far not been reciprocated by Hamas.”
As part of the potential deal, 10 hostages held in Gaza would be returned along with the bodies of 18 others, spread out over 60 days. In exchange, Israel would release a number of detained Palestinians.
“If the enemy remains obstinate and evades this round as it has done every time before, we cannot guarantee a return to partial deals or the proposal of the 10 captives,” said Abu Ubaida.
Disputes remain over maps of Israeli army withdrawals, aid delivery mechanisms into Gaza, and guarantees that any eventual truce would lead to ending the war, said two Hamas officials who spoke to Reuters on Friday.
The officials said the talks have not reached a breakthrough on the issues under discussion.
Hamas says any agreement must lead to ending the war, while Netanyahu says the war will only end once Hamas is disarmed and its leaders expelled from Gaza.
Almost 1,650 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed as a result of the conflict, including 1,200 killed in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on southern Israel, according to Israeli tallies. Over 250 hostages were kidnapped during Hamas’s Oct. 7 onslaught.
Israel responded with an ongoing military campaign aimed at freeing the hostages and dismantling Hamas’s military and governing capabilities in neighboring Gaza.
The post Hamas Says No Interim Hostage Deal Possible Without Work Toward Permanent Ceasefire first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Iran Marks 31st Anniversary of AMIA Bombing by Slamming Argentina’s ‘Baseless’ Accusations, Blaming Israel
People hold images of the victims of the 1994 bombing attack on the Argentine Israeli Mutual Association (AMIA) community center, marking the 30th anniversary of the attack, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, July 18, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Irina Dambrauskas
Iran on Friday marked the 31st anniversary of the 1994 bombing of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) Jewish community center in Buenos Aires by slamming Argentina for what it called “baseless” accusations over Tehran’s alleged role in the terrorist attack and accusing Israel of politicizing the atrocity to influence the investigation and judicial process.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on the anniversary of Argentina’s deadliest terrorist attack, which killed 85 people and wounded more than 300.
“While completely rejecting the accusations against Iranian citizens, the Islamic Republic of Iran condemns attempts by certain Argentine factions to pressure the judiciary into issuing baseless charges and politically motivated rulings,” the statement read.
“Reaffirming that the charges against its citizens are unfounded, the Islamic Republic of Iran insists on restoring their reputation and calls for an end to this staged legal proceeding,” it continued.
Last month, a federal judge in Argentina ordered the trial in absentia of 10 Iranian and Lebanese nationals suspected of orchestrating the attack in Buenos Aires.
The ten suspects set to stand trial include former Iranian and Lebanese ministers and diplomats, all of whom are subject to international arrest warrants issued by Argentina for their alleged roles in the terrorist attack.
In its statement on Friday, Iran also accused Israel of influencing the investigation to advance a political campaign against the Islamist regime in Tehran, claiming the case has been used to serve Israeli interests and hinder efforts to uncover the truth.
“From the outset, elements and entities linked to the Zionist regime [Israel] exploited this suspicious explosion, pushing the investigation down a false and misleading path, among whose consequences was to disrupt the long‑standing relations between the people of Iran and Argentina,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry said.
“Clear, undeniable evidence now shows the Zionist regime and its affiliates exerting influence on the Argentine judiciary to frame Iranian nationals,” the statement continued.
In April, lead prosecutor Sebastián Basso — who took over the case after the 2015 murder of his predecessor, Alberto Nisman — requested that federal Judge Daniel Rafecas issue national and international arrest warrants for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei over his alleged involvement in the attack.
Since 2006, Argentine authorities have sought the arrest of eight Iranians — including former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who died in 2017 — yet more than three decades after the deadly bombing, all suspects remain still at large.
In a post on X, the Delegation of Argentine Israelite Associations (DAIA), the country’s Jewish umbrella organization, released a statement commemorating the 31st anniversary of the bombing.
“It was a brutal attack on Argentina, its democracy, and its rule of law,” the group said. “At DAIA, we continue to demand truth and justice — because impunity is painful, and memory is a commitment to both the present and the future.”
31 años del atentado a la AMIA – DAIA. 31 años sin justicia.
El 18 de julio de 1994, un atentado terrorista dejó 85 personas muertas y más de 300 heridas. Fue un ataque brutal contra la Argentina, su democracia y su Estado de derecho.
Desde la DAIA, seguimos exigiendo verdad y… pic.twitter.com/kV2ReGNTIk
— DAIA (@DAIAArgentina) July 18, 2025
Despite Argentina’s longstanding belief that Lebanon’s Shiite Hezbollah terrorist group carried out the devastating attack at Iran’s request, the 1994 bombing has never been claimed or officially solved.
Meanwhile, Tehran has consistently denied any involvement and refused to arrest or extradite any suspects.
To this day, the decades-long investigation into the terrorist attack has been plagued by allegations of witness tampering, evidence manipulation, cover-ups, and annulled trials.
In 2006, former prosecutor Nisman formally charged Iran for orchestrating the attack and Hezbollah for carrying it out.
Nine years later, he accused former Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner — currently under house arrest on corruption charges — of attempting to cover up the crime and block efforts to extradite the suspects behind the AMIA atrocity in return for Iranian oil.
Nisman was killed later that year, and to this day, both his case and murder remain unresolved and under ongoing investigation.
The alleged cover-up was reportedly formalized through the memorandum of understanding signed in 2013 between Kirchner’s government and Iranian authorities, with the stated goal of cooperating to investigate the AMIA bombing.
The post Iran Marks 31st Anniversary of AMIA Bombing by Slamming Argentina’s ‘Baseless’ Accusations, Blaming Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Jordan Reveals Muslim Brotherhood Operating Vast Illegal Funding Network Tied to Gaza Donations, Political Campaigns
Murad Adailah, the head of Jordan’s Muslim Brotherhood, attends an interview with Reuters in Amman, Jordan, Sept. 7, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Jehad Shelbak
The Muslim Brotherhood, one of the Arab world’s oldest and most influential Islamist movements, has been implicated in a wide-ranging network of illegal financial activities in Jordan and abroad, according to a new investigative report.
Investigations conducted by Jordanian authorities — along with evidence gathered from seized materials — revealed that the Muslim Brotherhood raised tens of millions of Jordanian dinars through various illegal activities, the Jordan news agency (Petra) reported this week.
With operations intensifying over the past eight years, the report showed that the group’s complex financial network was funded through various sources, including illegal donations, profits from investments in Jordan and abroad, and monthly fees paid by members inside and outside the country.
The report also indicated that the Muslim Brotherhood has taken advantage of the war in Gaza to raise donations illegally.
Out of all donations meant for Gaza, the group provided no information on where the funds came from, how much was collected, or how they were distributed, and failed to work with any international or relief organizations to manage the transfers properly.
Rather, the investigations revealed that the Islamist network used illicit financial mechanisms to transfer funds abroad.
According to Jordanian authorities, the group gathered more than JD 30 million (around $42 million) over recent years.
With funds transferred to several Arab, regional, and foreign countries, part of the money was allegedly used to finance domestic political campaigns in 2024, as well as illegal activities and cells.
In April, Jordan outlawed the Muslim Brotherhood, the country’s most vocal opposition group, and confiscated its assets after members of the Islamist movement were found to be linked to a sabotage plot.
The movement’s political arm in Jordan, the Islamic Action Front, became the largest political grouping in parliament after elections last September, although most seats are still held by supporters of the government.
Opponents of the group, which is banned in most Arab countries, label it a terrorist organization. However, the movement claims it renounced violence decades ago and now promotes its Islamist agenda through peaceful means.
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