Students listen to a speech at a protest encampment at Stanford University in Stanford, California US, on April 26, 2024. Photo: Carlos Barria via Reuters Connect.

Higher-education-based unions controlled by United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers of America (UE) are rife with antisemitism and anti-Zionist discrimination, according to a new letter imploring the US Congress’s House Committee on Education and the Workforce to address the matter.

“Tracing its roots to communism in the 1930s, the UE is a radical, pro-Hamas labor union that has a long history of antisemitism,” the National Right to Work Foundation (NRTW), one of the US’s leading labor reform groups, wrote on July 30 in a message obtained by The Algemeiner. “The UE openly supports the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement, which is designed to cripple and destroy Israel economically. Today, the UE furthers its antisemitic agenda by unionizing graduate students on college campuses and using its exclusive representation powers to create a hostile environment for Jewish students. The hostile environment includes demanding compulsory dues to fund the UE’s abhorrent activities.”

NRTW went on to describe a litany of alleged injustices to which UE members subject Jewish student-employees in the US’s most prestigious institutions of higher education, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to Cornell University. At MIT, the letter said, “union officers” aided a riotous group which illegally occupied a section of campus with a “Gaza Solidarity Encampment,” participating in the demonstration and even denying access to campus buildings. UE members at Stanford University, meanwhile, allegedly denied religious accommodations to Jewish students who requested exemption from union dues over that branch’s supporting the BDS movement. And Cornell University UE was accused of denying religious exemptions in several cases as well and followed up the rejection with an intrusive “questionnaire” which probed Jewish students for “legally-irrelevant information.”

The situation requires federal oversight and intervention, NRTW said, including Congress’s possibly clarifying that student-employees are not traditional employees and are therefore afforded protections under sections of the Civil Rights Act which apply to the campus.

“These continuing patterns of antisemitism are illegal, immoral, and must be stopped,” the letter continued. “We encourage you to do all that is in your power to investigate and help bring an end to the UE and its affiliates’ nonstop harassment and intimidation of Jewish students … The Trump administration can also use tools available to it under Title VI and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act against colleges who work with unions to create a hostile environment for Jewish students.”

July’s letter is not the first time NRTW has publicized alleged antisemitic abuse in unions representing higher education employees.

In 2024, it represented a group of six City University of New York (CUNY) professors, five of whom are Jewish, who sued to be “freed” from CUNY’s Professional Staff Congress (PSC-CUNY) over its passing a resolution during Israel’s May 2021 war with Hamas which declared solidarity with Palestinians and accused the Jewish state of ethnic cleansing, apartheid, and crimes against humanity. The group contested New York State’s “Taylor Law,” which it said chained the professors to the union’s “bargaining unit” and denied their right to freedom of speech and association by forcing them to be represented in negotiations by an organization they claim holds antisemitic views.

That same year, NRTW prevailed in a discrimination suit filed to exempt another cohort of Jewish MIT students from paying dues to the Graduate Student Union (GSU). The students had attempted to resist financially supporting GSU’s anti-Zionism, but the union bosses attempted to coerce their compliance, telling them that “no principles, teachings, or tenets of Judaism prohibit membership in or the payment of dues or fees” to the union.

“All Americans should have a right to protect their money from going to union bosses they don’t support, whether those objections are based on religion, politics, or any other reason,” NRTW said at the time.

Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.

US President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, US, June 10, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Nathan Howard

US President Donald Trump said this week that the United States had “wiped out” Iran’s capacity to produce a nuclear weapon with its recent bombing of Iranian nuclear sites and suggested there could be further military action if Iran moved to restart its nuclear program.

Speaking to reporters at the White House on Wednesday, Trump did not directly respond to questions about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent suggestion that Israel could launch a full military occupation of the Gaza Strip. Instead, he emphasized what he described as his administration’s success in reshaping the regional security landscape.

“We have stopped wars in the Middle East by stopping Iran from having a nuclear weapon,” Trump said. “As soon as they start, we’ll be back.”

In June, the US military bombed three key Iranian nuclear sites during the 12-day war between Iran and Israel.

“We wiped out their nuclear capacity for weapons,” Trump said. “They would have had a weapon within two months, maybe less, and that was totally obliterated.”

The US president credited the US military, noting the use of B2 bombers and submarine-launched Tomahawk missiles. “That was a big threat. That was a nuclear threat,” he said.

The degree to which Iran’s nuclear program was set back has been a subject of much debate, with some experts arguing the damage from the US strikes was not as extensive as Trump has claimed and warning that Iran can quickly regain the ability to enrich large amounts of uranium at levels approaching weapons-grade.

On Thursday, Trump expanded on his comments in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, writing, “Now that the nuclear arsenal being ‘created’ by Iran has been totally obliterated, it is very important to me that all Middle Eastern countries join the Abraham Accords.”

“This will insure peace in the Middle East,” he added, using a misspelling of “ensure.”

The Abraham Accords are a series of US-brokered agreements during the first Trump administration that normalized ties between Israel and several Arab countries.

In recent days, Trump has faced renewed questions over whether he supports a full Israeli military occupation of Gaza, a prospect that has been debated among leaders in Israel.

Asked on Tuesday whether he would back such a move, Trump said he was not familiar with the proposal and offered no position.

“I can’t really say. It will be up to Israel,” he said.

Instead, Trump focused on humanitarian aid, pointing to a recently announced $60 million assistance package for Gaza. He said both Israeli and Arab governments would be involved in distributing food and other support, characterizing his priority as addressing “humanitarian needs in the region.”

Then on Thursday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel intends to take full military control of Gaza to secure its borders until it can hand governance of the enclave over to Arab authorities, vowing to “liberate” the Palestinians of Gaza from the ruling terrorist group Hamas.

Axios reported hours later that Trump does not oppose the plan, citing anonymous US and Israeli officials.

Michael Rapaport. Photo: YouTube screenshot

A comedy show by Jewish American actor and comedian Michael Rapaport scheduled for Tuesday in Birmingham, Alabama, was abruptly canceled by organizers because of protests and security concerns regarding his support for Israel.

Rapaport, 55, was scheduled to perform at Stardome Comedy Club as part of his comedy tour running through January 2026, according to his website. He has been very outspoken about the Israel-Hamas war, condemning the Palestinian terrorist organization and calling for the return of the hostages abducted from Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Bruce Ayers, the owner of the Stardome Comedy Club, said on Wednesday in a released statement on Facebook that the venue booked Rapaport’s event as a comedy show and not a political event.

“We have a long history of hosting a wide variety of entertainers, and our intention was only to give fans a chance to enjoy a night of live comedy,” Ayers said. He added that in days leading up to the show, the club received “over 100 messages on social media,” calling for a cancellation of the show and warning organizers about planned protests at the venue. In response, organizers decided to cancel the show.

“Out of concern for the safety and experience of guests, staff, and the performer, the club decided – in agreement with Michael’s management team – to cancel the event,” Stardome said in a statement. Ayers said the cancellation was not about “silencing anyone,” but was done in an effort to avoid “a potentially volatile situation” and keep “things safe and peaceful for everyone involved.”

“The Stardome has offered high-quality entertainment across a full spectrum of political, religious, ideological, and comedic tastes for over 40 years,” he said. “We remain committed to keeping that promise in a respectful and safe environment for all guests.” Full refunds were being issued to ticket holders.

Rapaport said Tuesday night’s show was canceled hours before it was set to begin and that he was not involved in the decision to call off the event. He announced the show in a Facebook post on July 23. The actor was filming a movie in Birmingham and wanted to perform a comedy show on his time off.

On Tuesday, he wrote in a social media post that the show was canceled without his support.

“I did not cancel. I would never cancel – especially since I’m already here in Birmingham, ready to perform,” he said. “It was shut down because of protests and threats over my support for Israel and for speaking up about the 50 hostages still being held in Gaza. 670 days in captivity – and people are protesting me for demanding their release? It’s embarrassing. It’s sad. But I’m not ashamed. I stand by what I say and who I stand with.”

In the same post, Rapaport shared a picture of himself wearing tefillin while posing with two members of the local Chabad.

“Fortunately, I got to meet some incredible people from Chabad of Alabama today and had the blessing of wrapping tefillin – a ginormous mitzvah and a reminder of what really matters,” he wrote. “Am Yisrael Chai (long live Israel).”

One of Rapaport’s previous comedy shows in Michigan was also canceled because of his political views, he said in an October 2024 interview with Vlad TV. He said the Michigan show was called off because “people were threatening the club, threatening the staff, threatening, you know, to cause trouble.”

“And the club did everything they possibly could,” he explained. “They couldn’t get guaranteed police protection for the club, for the staff, for myself, so they had to cancel it. And then I had another show in Chicago canceled for the same reason, but that one has been rescheduled.”

“The reason why it was so disappointing and frustrating and upsetting was because I’ve been so outspoken,” Rapaport added. “And there’s been a lot of people that have been on the fence not to say anything or ‘Don’t say too much’ or ‘Don’t shake the boat’ or ‘Don’t articulate how you feel,’ Jews and non-Jews.”

Rapaport’s credits include Hulu’s “Life & Beth,” “Friends,” “My Name is Earl” and the Netflix series “Atypical.” He is the host of the “I Am Rapaport Stereo Podcast” and “Rapaport’s Reality,” which he co-hosts with his wife.