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These Outrageous Antisemitic Incidents Occurred Across the US in July
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
Many of the anti-Israel protests in July were centered on the visit of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the US. A variety of American Palestinian groups urged Netanyahu to be “arrested.” Prior to Netanyahu’s speech before Congress, some 200 protestors were arrested in the Capitol Rotunda. Mobs also besieged the hotel where he was staying, with Palestinian Youth Movement infiltrators filming themselves releasing maggot and insects, and pulling fire alarms overnight.
Prior to the speech, thousands of protestors mobbed Washington, D.C., burning American flags and waving Hamas flags, assaulting police, and vandalizing monuments with graffiti including “Hamas is coming.”
Classic antisemitic imagery, including Netanyahu depicted as a demon with horns and fangs dripping blood, were common. Police, including many brought in from other cities, used tear gas to disperse the crowds, but US Park Police later reported that less than three dozen members were deployed to protect monuments. Those arrested were later released, and many charges were dropped.
The riots were condemned from across the political spectrum, including the White House.
Other pro-Hamas protest activities during the month included:
July 4th disruptions in major cities including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Boston, which featured burning the American flag.
Vandalizing a Seattle Holocaust museum with the words “Genocide in Gaza.” Local police declared the act was not a hate crime.
A planned protest outside a Michigan Holocaust museum and demands that the museum condemn Israel.
Protestors who unfurled pro-Hamas banners from the roof of the Australian parliament building.
The Royal Palace on Dam Square in Amsterdam being vandalized by pro-Hamas activists with red paint, which they stated “symbolizes the blood of the Palestinians that is currently flowing through the streets of Gaza.”
Emailed bomb threats “in the name of Palestine” forced the evacuation of the Pennsylvania Capitol Complex.
An Israeli owned factory in New York City was attacked along with two in Britain with alleged connections to Israel. A non-Jewish owned diner on Long Island with hostage posters in the windows was also vandalized.
Attacks on synagogues and Jewish institutions were routine in July:
Protests outside a New York City synagogue hosting an Israeli real estate fair.
A Pittsburgh synagogue and the Jewish Federation headquarters were vandalized.
A Los Angeles synagogue was vandalized twice in one week.
Vandalizing a Sydney synagogue with a banner reading “sanction Israel.”
A thwarted plot to destroy an Athens synagogue resulted in arrests. This followed attacks on a Chabad house and an Israeli owned hotel.
Two Toronto synagogues were attacked, and a school and a school bus were burned.
Elsewhere, a variety of symbols associated with Jews continue to be appropriated for the Hamas cause. One especially obscene example was an Anne Frank statue in Amsterdam that was vandalized with the word “Gaza.”
In Bergen, Norway, a mural of Anne Frank wearing a keffiyah sparked controversy. The anonymous artist claimed that “The killings of the innocent women and children in Gaza must stop now. I feel sure that Anne Frank … would support me in this demand.”
Students
Reports indicate that anti-Israel students are investing heavily in summer training activities. A number of Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) summer camps sponsored by the National Students for Justice in Palestine have been noted, including at the University of Massachusetts, Smith College, and San Francisco State University.
Threats against universities and Jewish students also escalated in July. Unionized student workers associated with the United Auto Workers at Columbia University voted to endorse BDS, and threaten to strike if its demands are not met.
At New York University, the administration condemned the People’s Solidarity Coalition aka the People’s Front, which had issued a statement embracing “armed struggle” as part of its efforts to “dismantle NYU’s involvement in settler-colonial occupation, genocide and imperial wars. We localize the Palestinian liberation struggle within the imperialist University, and take up the fight against NYU’s global empire, which collaborates in the interests of Zionist colonialism and U.S. imperialism.”
In another example, the University of Wisconsin Madison SJP chapter threatened that “We will no longer normalize genocidal extremists walking on our campus. … ANY organization or entity that supports Israel is not welcome at UWM. This includes the local extremist groups such as Hillel, Jewish Federation, etc.”
The larger revolutionary framework of anti-Israel and anti-American protests was described in a posting by the University of Illinois Chicago SJP, which stated “Inshallah amerikkka and israel will fall within our life time. Death to all police and colonial empires.”
The repercussions of the post-October 7 campus unrest continue to reverberate for university administrations. One report indicates that the protests cost the University of California system $29 million, with UCLA alone incurring $10 million in security and $400,000 in cleanup expenses.
Several universities have quietly announced that divestment from Israel is not being considered, including the University of Pennsylvania and the University of California system. The University of Minnesota regents proposed to sidestep the issue with an “investment neutrality” policy, while the University of Edinburgh has postponed consideration indefinitely. The London School of Economics stated that divestment was effectively impossible.
Disciplinary action against pro-Hamas protestors continues to emerge:
At Northwestern University, three employees and one graduate student were arrested for obstructing police, who were attempting to break up an encampment. Charges were then dropped by the Cook County prosecutor.
Two additional protestors at the University of Illinois were charged, bringing the total to five.
Pro-Hamas students at the University of Texas were suspended for two years.
At Harvard University, suspended students were reinstated after faculty complaints, and their diplomas were conferred.
A variety of pro-Hamas student groups at George Washington University were reportedly being sanctioned.
In Britain, the universities of Nottingham and Birmingham obtained court orders disbanding campus encampments.
The University of Melbourne has reportedly threatened to expel pro-Hamas protestors after disciplinary proceeding. The protestors complained that “surveillance technology” had been used to identify them.
Other universities continue to make a variety of concessions to protestors:
After negotiations with the pro-Hamas elements encampment, the University of Wisconsin-Madison apparently agreed to cut ties with two Israeli companies and to condemn the “plausible genocide” by Gazans.
The University of Liège announced that it was conceding to student demands to confirm it had no collaborations with Israeli universities, that it would request a review by the European Council on Israeli participation in European-wide projects, and that it was rejecting a series of donations and collaboration with specific companies.
University of Toronto encampment participants were provided with amnesty by the university as a condition for vacating the campus.
The University of Windsor agreed encampment demands to accept more “scholars at risk” and students from Gaza, “enhanced anti-racism initiatives,” and to greater investment transparency.
Cambridge University agreed to review its investments as part of an agreement with the pro-Hamas encampment. It also confirmed it did not have investments in specific Israeli companies.
University administrations continue to adopt a variety of measures to ensure the fall semester will be quiet. The University of California Regents voted to ban political statements by academic departments. The move comes after numerous departments posted anti-Israel statements on their websites, particularly after October 7.
Restrictions on protests were also instituted by the Indiana University regents, and have been proposed at Harvard University, including a ban on overnight camping. Most substantively, a Federal court has ordered UCLA to develop a plan to protect Jewish students from the discrimination and harassment that underpinned the 20224 encampments.
But while antisemitism task forces, invariably paired with “Islamophobia” task forces, have provided useful documentation of campus harassment and intimidation, their mostly modest recommendations have been ignored.
Efforts to “educate” staff members regarding antisemitism within the existing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) mechanisms that dominate campuses have thus far been unsuccessful.
Faculty
As faculty prepare for the fall semester, a number of developments point to the continued domination of campus politics and discourse by the anti-Israel movement. Unions remain key mechanisms for anti-Israel forces to maintain control:
A petition circulated at Rutgers University calls on the faculty to demand the school’s American Association of University Professors-American Federation of Teachers members call for divestment and for cutting ties with Tel Aviv University.
Six Jewish faculty at the City University of New York (CUNY) have sent a Petition for a Writ of Certiorari to the US Court of Appeals asking to hear their case against the Professional Staff Congress.
A series of resolutions proposed at the American Federation of Teachers convention demanding an end to US military aid to Israel and protect pro-Palestinian protestors were removed from consideration by the leadership as “unconstitutional.”
A series of resolutions were proposed to the National Education Association convention supporting BDS, demanding the end of US military aid to Israel, and supporting teaching about the “Nakba.” The convention and consideration of the resolutions was halted by a strike of union staff.
The isolation of Israeli academia at the hands of international colleagues continues to expand. New reports indicate that the number of foreign students applying to study at leading Israeli universities has declined precipitously since October 7, and many international faculty are planning on leaving. The declines are especially critical in the hard sciences and life sciences, with local academics warning that Israel may become a closed scientific monoculture on par with China or Iran. Most analysts cite the impact of the BDS movement and fear of having a record of Israeli collaboration. Other reports cite a growing wave of Israeli academics leaving the country for overseas positions. Most, however, cite domestic politics, the security situation, and the high cost of living.
More positively, an open letter signed by some 3,000 academics denounced Israel boycotts.
The author is a contributor to SPME, where a version of this article was first published.
The post These Outrageous Antisemitic Incidents Occurred Across the US in July first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israel Clinches Three Olympic Medals in One Day, Including First Gold, for Total of Six Medals in Paris
Paris 2024 Olympics – Sailing – Men’s Windsurfing Final – Marseille Marina, Marseille, France – August 03, 2024. Tom Reuveny of Israel celebrates after winning gold. Photo: Reuters/Andrew Boyers
Israel’s Olympic delegation has made their country proud by winning three medals on Saturday in the 2024 Olympic Games, including on by Israeli windsurfer Tom Reuveny who clinched his home country’s first gold medal in Paris.
Reuveny, 24, secured Israel’s first ever Olympic gold medal in men’s windsurfing and fourth gold medal overall in the country’s Olympic history. Second place went to Australia’s Grae Morris and the bronze medal was given to Luuc van Opzeeland from the Netherlands.
“It feels pretty amazing. It hasn’t sunk yet,” Reuveny said after his historic win. “I need some time to understand what just happened today but I’m pretty happy of my performance this week and I’m super proud of myself.”
Standing on the podium to receive his gold medal, it was the first time that Israel’s national anthem “Hatikvah” was played at the Paris Olympics. The coach of the Israeli men’s windsurfing team is Olympic gold medalist Gal Fridman, who won Israel’s first gold medal 20 years ago at the Olympic Games in Athens.
Reuveny’s brother is currently serving in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) as Israel wages its war against Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip who orchestrated the Oct. 7 massacre in southern Israel. He said winning an Olympic gold means far more to him now amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. “My brother has been a combat soldier since the war began … it’s much bigger than me to win this event and it feels amazing,” he told Reuters.
“It was so hard to go training while everyone else was crying over lost people, dead people,” he added. “It’s been so hard and I still had to put my head down and keep training and its all for this moment.”
Two more Israeli athletes won Olympic medals on Saturday, including Sharon Kantor, 21, who took home a silver in women’s windsurfing, shortly before Reuveny’s race. Reuveny and Kantor were originally scheduled to compete in the finals on Friday, but their races were postponed due to the weather. Kantor came in second place to Marta Maggetti from Italy and the bronze medal was awarded to Emma Wilson from Great Britain.
“We are in a tough year and a tough position … in this situation to represent Israel is a big honor for everyone and we all understand our roles: to give a bit of joy,” said Eli Zuckerman, head coach of Israel’s Olympic sailing team, according to Reuters. “I’m very happy that we succeeded,” he added. “I think the athletes are also very happy and very proud to do it while our country is in such a complicated situation.”
Kantor took to Instagram to share some of the emotions she felt after her win on Saturday.
“I’m writing it with tears in my eyes,” she wrote in an Instagram post. “This campaign was a roller coaster for me. I feel like I am 12 years old and that maybe I do not understand what history was made yesterday, especially in this horrible moment in Israel. Thank you for every message, every hug, every smile. The fans that were on the shore alongside the love and support from Home gave me the best feeling to go into the water.” She concluded the post by writing in Hebrew “Am Israel Chai” (“Long Live Israel”).
Israel has previously won a total of three medals in windsurfing — all achieved by the coaches of this year’s team in the Paris Olympics. Kantor’s coach won a bronze at the Olympics in 2008.
Also on Saturday, Ukrainian-Israeli gymnast Artem Dolgopyat, 27, won a silver in artistic gymnastics in the men’s floor exercise. Dolgopyat, who won a gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, became the first Israeli to win a medal in back-to-back Olympics when he took home the silver on Saturday by scoring 14.966 in his performance. The gold medal went to Filipino gymnast Carlos Edriel Yulo, who had a score of 15.
Israel had a three-day winning streak in the Paris Olympics that began on Thursday, when Peter Paltchik won a bronze medal in men’s judo and Inbar Lanir won a silver in women’s judo. On Friday night, Israeli judoka Raz Hershko won silver after losing 1-0 to Brazil’s Beatriz Souza in the final match of the women’s over 78-kg category.
Israel has won 19 Olympic medals in its history, including six so far in this year’s Olympic Games, making it already Israel’s best performance in Olympic history.
The post Israel Clinches Three Olympic Medals in One Day, Including First Gold, for Total of Six Medals in Paris first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Blinken to G7: Iran, Hezbollah Could Attack Israel Within 24 Hours
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting with commanders and a group of members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Tehran, Iran, Aug. 17, 2023. Photo: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
JNS.org — Iran and its Lebanese terror proxy Hezbollah could attack Israel as early as Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told his counterparts from the G7 countries on Sunday.
Three sources briefed on the conference call confirmed the top American diplomat’s remarks to Axios reporter Barak Ravid.
Blinken convened the meeting with the G7 allies — Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom — to coordinate ahead of the expected offensive by Iran and its terror proxies against the Jewish state.
He stressed that reducing the impact of the expected Iranian drone and missile strikes offered the best hope of preventing an all-out war, according to the report.
While Washington believes Iran and Hezbollah will retaliate against Israel for the targeted killings last week of senior Hezbollah member Fuad Shukr in Beirut and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, it is unclear regarding what form that retaliation will take, said Blinken.
Nor, he added, does Washington know the exact timing of the expected attack. However, he emphasized that it could start as soon as the next 24 to 48 hours, meaning as soon as Monday.
Washington was attempting to “break the escalatory cycle” by limiting the attacks by Iran and its proxies and also by restraining Israel’s response to them, said Blinken according to Axios.
“Blinken asked the other foreign ministers to apply diplomatic pressure on Iran, Hezbollah and Israel to maintain maximum restraint,” the report continued.
He also stressed to the G7 allies that the bolstering of US forces in the Middle East region was for defensive purposes only.
“We express our deep concern over the heightened level of tension in the Middle East which threatens to ignite a broader conflict in the region,” the G7 ministers said in a statement.
“We urge all involved parties to refrain from perpetuating the current destructive cycle of retaliatory violence, to lower tensions and engage constructively towards de-escalation. No country or nation stands to gain from further escalation in the Middle East,” it continues.
Gen. Erik Kurilla, commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM), arrived in the Middle East on Saturday for a previously planned trip the focus of which has now shifted to mobilizing a multilateral defensive force to shield Israel.
Kurilla was expected in Israel on Monday. Israeli officials told Axios that Kurilla will meet with the Israel Defense Forces to finalize preparations ahead of the possible Iranian and Hezbollah attacks. He was also scheduled to visit the Gulf states and Jordan.
Biden to convene national security team
US President Joe Biden plans to convene his national security team in the Situation Room on Monday to discuss the developments in the Middle East, according to the White House.
The president will also speak with Jordan’s King Abdullah, the White House said. Amman played a pivotal role during Iran’s April 13 onslaught on Israel.
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi visited Tehran on Sunday to discuss the security situation. According to the Jordanian Foreign Ministry, Safadi met with acting Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri and passed along a message from King Abdullah II to the Iranian president.
“I didn’t come here to convey a message from Israel or to receive a message for Israel. I came here to express concern about regional escalation,” Axios quoted Safadi as saying after his meeting in Tehran.
Underscoring the regional tensions, the visit marks the first diplomatic trip to the Islamic Republic by a high-level Jordanian official since Safadi’s predecessor, Nasser Judeh, led a government delegation to Tehran in 2015.
Iranian officials have told Arab diplomats that Tehran is determined to strike Israel even if doing so sparks a regional war, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened the chiefs of Israel’s security agencies on Sunday evening for a situation assessment at the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv, Channel 12 News reported, noting that the government is still creating a “definitive picture” of the assault it could be facing.
The report said that Israel’s defense establishment was considering the possibility of “preventive actions or attacks … in Lebanon or perhaps in other places where necessary.”
A source in Jerusalem told NBC News earlier on Sunday that the government is bracing for a combined attack by Iran and Hezbollah lasting “several days,” with missile attacks from the north and east.
The post Blinken to G7: Iran, Hezbollah Could Attack Israel Within 24 Hours first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Iran Says It Does Not Want Regional Escalation but Must ‘Punish’ Israel
Mourners carry the coffin of assassinated Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh during his funeral ceremony in Tehran, Iran, Aug. 1, 2024. Photo: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency) Handout via REUTERS
Iran is not looking to escalate regional tensions but believes it needs to punish Israel to prevent further instability, the foreign ministry spokesperson said on Monday, following the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last week.
“Iran seeks to establish stability in the region, but this will only come with punishing the aggressor and creating deterrence against the adventurism of the Zionist regime [Israel],” Nasser Kanaani said, adding that action from Tehran was inevitable.
Kanaani called on the United States to stop supporting Israel, saying the international community had failed in its duty to safeguard stability in the region and should support the “punishment of the aggressor.”
Iran‘s foreign ministry called in ambassadors and heads of missions residing in Tehran for a meeting with acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani on Monday to reiterate Iran‘s will to respond to Israel.
An emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation will be held on Wednesday at Iran‘s request to discuss the killing of Haniyeh and Iran‘s response, said Kanaani.
Tehran and Iran-aligned groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah have accused Israel of killing Haniyeh on July 31 in the Iranian capital. His death was one in a series of killings of senior Hamas figures as the war in Gaza between Hamas and Israel nears its 11th month.
Israeli officials have not claimed responsibility.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ top Commander Hossein Salami on Monday repeated the elite group’s threat that Israel “will receive punishment in due time.”
The post Iran Says It Does Not Want Regional Escalation but Must ‘Punish’ Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.