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This Year, We Remember the Hostages; Then We Live
People gather in Hostages Square in Tel Aviv to mark the one-year anniversary of Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre. Photo: Paulina Patimer
Throughout the month of October, Jews all over the world have gathered around the table with family and friends to celebrate, reflect, and mourn. Rosh Hashanah, a day traditionally filled with love and laughter, marked the beginning of the holy month. Next was Yom Kippur, the day of deep contemplation and expiation. Now, we’ve transitioned into the more festive celebrations of Sukkot and Simchat Torah.
Typically, as we enter Sukkot and Simchat Torah, we are filled with joy and gratitude, celebrating the harvest and dancing with the Torah in hand. But this year feels different. As the anniversary of the darkest day in Jewish history since the Holocaust looms, tears stream down our faces and we are paralyzed by anger and profound sadness. The usual sweetness of the New Year has turned bitter.
How can we remain hopeful for the future when 101 innocent hostages were missing from our Rosh Hashanah meals, Yom Kippur break fasts, and now our Sukkahs?
This October, words like “dark,” “evil,” and “unfathomable” feel empty. Our hearts, already broken, shatter into a million pieces as we realize that our brothers and sisters were supposed to be home by now. For the people of Israel and Jews around the world, the past year has been nothing short of a nightmare.
Anti-Israel protests have flooded our streets and our college campuses. Organizations like Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace, under the banner of Palestinian suffering, have perpetuated dangerous antisemitic stereotypes while seeking to justify their cause. Over the past year, more Americans have called for ceasefires, an end to “genocide,” and divestment from Israel, rather than raising their voices to demand that we “Bring Them Home.”
Universities across the country became toxic hotbeds of Jew-hatred and anti-Israel rhetoric, invoking the same ostracizing antisemitic ideologies that paved the way for the Holocaust.
At my alma mater, UCLA, I often felt fearful walking through campus, as intense, intimidating, and sometimes violent protests unfolded.
After all, while chants calling for an “intifada” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” — which calls for the destruction of Israel — resounded, anti-Zionist professors held seminars just days after October 7th, attempting to contextualize Hamas’ inhuman attack. Where were campus leaders or administrators enforcing the student conduct code or upholding the university’s values?
To my dismay, at my graduation, students armed with keffiyehs proudly waved their red-stained hands, symbolizing the brutality of the Farhud and the Second Intifada, both of which led to the murder of numerous Jews and Israelis. In the absence of leadership and moral clarity, Jewish students were forced to hold the university accountable for allowing an encampment to enforce a “Jew Exclusion Zone.”
Sadly, not much has changed this school year. While Jews celebrate the joyous holiday of Sukkot, Graduate Students for Justice in Palestine has built a sukkah of their own, using our tradition as a tool to further their agenda.
I could go on and on about the injustice of our nation’s discourse regarding the atrocities of October 7th and its aftermath. But now, as we continue to mourn, I choose to divert my attention to the hostages.
Not a day has gone by that we haven’t thought about you. Not a day has passed without me defending you. I begged my editors at my university paper to publish my words about you, and I urged my friends to listen as I explained your situation. I read, I researched, and I hoped. I, along with so many others in our community, have embraced my Jewish identity like never before. Witnessing your fight has reminded me why I am immensely proud to be a passionate Jew.
On days that feel lifeless, I will honor your lives by challenging myself to embody the resilience that defines the Jewish people and enables us to keep moving forward. I will cherish the memory of each hostage whose life was so brutally taken, and hold close the courage of those who continue to fight for their lives with every passing moment.
Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi, Master Sgt Ori Danino, Abraham Munder, Alex Dancyg, Yagev Buchshtab, Chaim Peri, Yoram Metzger, Nadav Popplewell, Amiram Cooper, Chaim Peri, Yoram Metzger, Nadav Popplewell, Lior Rudaeff, Elyakim Libman, Orion Hernandez, Chanan Yablonka, Michel Nisenbaum, Shani Louk, Amit Buskila, Itzhak Gelerenter, Ron Benjamin, Sonthaya Oakkharasr, Sudthisak Rinthalak, Gadi Haggai, Ron Scherman, Nik Beizer, Tal Chaimi, Joshua Mollel, Eden Zecharya, Ziv Dado, Jonathan Samerano, Sahar Baruch, Dror Kaplun, Aviv Atzili, Arye Zalmanovich, Ronen Engel, Maya Goren, Guy Iluz, Ofir Noa Marciano, Yehudit Weiss, Uriel Baruch, Tamir Adar, Yossi Sharabi, Itay Svirsky, Yotam Haim, Samer Talalka, Alon Shamriz, Inbar Heiman:
May your memory be a blessing. And may your memory ignite a fire within each and every Jewish person to relentlessly pursue and support the justice that Israel deserves: bringing home the rest of the hostages. Your memory should not drift into the abyss of a yearly commemoration of a tragic event, but rather become a constant source of fuel that drives us to protect our people, our home, and our future.
Amidst the grief that overwhelms what is usually a festive time of year, I think of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks’ explanation of Jewish resilience: “To mend the past, first you have to secure the future. I learned this from the Holocaust survivors I came to know. They were among the most extraordinary people I’ve ever met, and I wanted to understand how they were able to survive, knowing what they knew, seeing what they saw… Jews survived every tragedy because they looked forward.”
Certainly, we must look forward. But perhaps even more importantly, we must carry the memory of October 7th with us into November and beyond. While the elimination of terrorist leaders like Hassan Nasrallah and Yahya Sinwar brings us some relief, it is not nearly enough.
I cannot think of a better way to commemorate October 7th than to embrace the privilege it is to be alive, using our strength not only to preserve the memory of the hostages, but also to fight for the lives of those still with us. So, later this week, we will dance for Simchat Torah. But we must also envision that glorious moment when the hostages, too, will dance again.
Emily Samuels is a recent graduate of UCLA.
The post This Year, We Remember the Hostages; Then We Live first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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US State Department Revokes Visas of UK Punk Rap Act Bob Vylan Amid Outrage Over Duo’s Chants of ‘Death to the IDF’
Bob Vylan music duo performance at Glastonbury Festival (Source: FLIKR)
The US State Department has revoked the visas for the English punk rap duo Bob Vylan amid ongoing outrage over their weekend performance at the Glastonbury Festival, in which the pair chanted “Death to the IDF.”
The State Department’s decision to cancel their visas would preclude a planned fall concert tour of the US by the British rappers.
“The [US State Department] has revoked the US visas for the members of the Bob Vylan band in light of their hateful tirade at Glastonbury, including leading the crowd in death chants. Foreigners who glorify violence and hatred are not welcome visitors to our country,” Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau wrote on X/Twitter on Monday.
During a June 28 set at Glastonbury Festival, Bob Vylan’s Pascal Robinson-Foster ignited a firestorm by leading the crowd in chants of “Death, death, to the IDF,” referring to the Israel Defense Forces. He also complained about working for a “f—ing Zionist” during the set.
The video of the performance went viral, sparking outrage across the globe.
The BBC, which streamed the performance live, issued an on‑screen warning but continued its broadcast, prompting criticism by government officials for failing to cut the feed.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer and festival organizers condemned the IDF chant as hate speech and incitement to violence. The Israeli Embassy in London denounced the language as “inflammatory and hateful.”
“Millions of people tuned in to enjoy Glastonbury this weekend across the BBC’s output but one performance within our livestreams included comments that were deeply offensive,” the BBC said in a statement following the event.
“These abhorrent chants, which included calls for the death of members of the Israeli Defense Forces … have no place in any civil society,” Leo Terrell, Chair of the US Department of Justice Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, declared Sunday in a statement posted on X.
Citing the act’s US tour plans, Terrell said his task force would be “reaching out to the U.S. Department of State on Monday to determine what measures are available to address the situation and to prevent the promotion of violent antisemitic rhetoric in the United States.”
British authorities, meanwhile, have launched a formal investigation into Bob Vylan’s controversial appearance at Glastonbury. Avon and Somerset Police confirmed they are reviewing footage and working with the Crown Prosecution Service to determine whether the performance constitutes a hate crime or incitement to violence.
United Talent Agency (UTA), one of the premier entertainment talent agencies, dropped the duo, claming “antisemitic sentiments expressed by the group were utterly unacceptable.”
The band defended their performance on social media as necessary protest, stating that “teaching our children to speak up for the change they want and need is the only way that we make this world a better place.”
The post US State Department Revokes Visas of UK Punk Rap Act Bob Vylan Amid Outrage Over Duo’s Chants of ‘Death to the IDF’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Dem House Leader Hakeem Jeffries Urges Mamdani to ‘Aggressively Address’ Antisemitism in NYC if Elected Mayor
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY). Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
US House Democratic leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (NY) urged Democratic nominee for mayor of New York Zohran Mamdani to “aggressively address the rise in antisemitism” if he wins the general election in November.
“‘Globalizing the intifada’ by way of example is not an acceptable phrasing,” Jeffries said Sunday on ABC’s This Week. “He’s going to have to clarify his position on that as he moves forward.”
“With respect to the Jewish communities that I represent, I think our nominee is going to have to convince folks that he is prepared to aggressively address the rise in antisemitism in the city of New York, which has been an unacceptable development,” he added.
Jeffries’s comments come as Mamdani has been receiving an onslaught of criticism for defending the controversial phrase “globalize the intifada.”
Mamdani first defended the phrase during an appearance on the popular Bulwark Podcast. The progressive firebrand stated that he feels “less comfortable with the banning of certain words.” He invoked the US Holocaust Museum in his defense, saying that the museum used the word intifada “when translating the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising into Arabic, because it’s a word that means ‘struggle.’”
The Holocaust Museum repudiated Mamdani in a statement, calling his comments “offensive.”
Mamdani has continued to defend the slogan despite ongoing criticism, arguing that pro-Palestine advocates perceive it as a call for “universal human rights.”
Mamdani, the 33‑year‑old state assembly member and proud democratic socialist, defeated former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and other candidates in a lopsided first‑round win in the city’s Democratic primary for mayor, notching approximately 43.5 percent of first‑choice votes compared to Cuomo’s 36.4 percent.
The election results have alarmed members of the local Jewish community, who expressed deep concern over his past criticism of Israel and defense of antisemitic rhetoric.
“Mamdani’s election is the greatest existential threat to a metropolitan Jewish population since the election of the notorious antisemite Karl Lueger in Vienna,” Rabbi Marc Schneier, one of the most prominent Jewish leaders in New York City, said in a statement. “Jewish leaders must come together as a united force to prevent a mass Jewish Exodus from New York City.”
Some key Democratic leaders in New York, such as US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Gov. Kathy Hochul, have congratulated and complimented Mamdani, but have not yet issued an explicit endorsement. Each official has signaled interest in meeting with Mamdani prior to making a decision on a formal endorsement.
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Israel Eyes Ties With Syria and Lebanon After Iran War
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar attends a press conference with German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (not pictured) in Berlin, Germany, June 5, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Christian Mang
Israel is interested in establishing formal diplomatic relations with long-standing adversaries Syria and Lebanon, but the status of the Golan Heights is non-negotiable, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Monday.
Israeli leaders argue that with its rival Iran weakened by this month’s 12-day war, other countries in the region have an opportunity to forge ties with Israel.
The Middle East has been upended by nearly two years of war in Gaza, during which Israel also carried out airstrikes and ground operations in Lebanon targeting Iran-backed Hezbollah, and by the overthrow of former Syrian leader and Iran ally Bashar al-Assad.
In 2020, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco became the first Arab states to establish ties with Israel since Jordan in 1994 and Egypt in 1979. The normalization agreements with Israel were deeply unpopular in the Arab world.
“We have an interest in adding countries such as Syria and Lebanon, our neighbors, to the circle of peace and normalization, while safeguarding Israel‘s essential and security interests,” Saar said at a press conference in Jerusalem.
“The Golan will remain part of the State of Israel,” he said.
Israel annexed the Golan Heights in 1981 after capturing the territory from Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War. While much of the international community regards the Golan as occupied Syrian land, US President Donald Trump recognized Israeli sovereignty over it during his first term in office.
Following Assad’s ousting, Israeli forces moved further into Syrian territory.
A senior Syrian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Syria would never give up the Golan Heights, describing it as an integral part of Syrian territory.
The official also said that normalization efforts with Israel must be part of the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative and not carried out through a separate track.
A spokesperson for Syria‘s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The 2002 initiative proposed Arab normalization with Israel in exchange for its withdrawal from territories including the Golan Heights, the West Bank, and Gaza. It also called for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Throughout the war in Gaza, regional power Saudi Arabia has repeatedly said that establishing ties with Israel was conditional on the creation of an independent Palestinian state.
Israel‘s Saar said it was “not constructive” for other states to condition normalization on Palestinian statehood.
“Our view is that a Palestinian state will threaten the security of the State of Israel,” he said.
In May, Reuters reported that Israel and Syria‘s new Islamist rulers had established direct contact and held face-to-face meetings aimed at de-escalating tensions and preventing renewed conflict along their shared border.
The same month, US President Donald Trump announced the US would lift sanctions on Syria and met Syria‘s new president, urging him to normalize ties with Israel.
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