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UCLA Student Newspaper Protects Oct. 7 Supporters, and Attacks Jews

A mock Israeli checkpoint set up during a past ‘Israeli Apartheid Week’ at the University of California at Los Angeles campus. Photo: AMCHA Initiative.
At UCLA, a troubling pattern has emerged: individuals engaged in antisemitic discrimination are being recast as victims, while those targeted are portrayed as villains for speaking out.
Nowhere is this clearer than in the case of a staff member who resigned amid allegations that she actively excluded Jewish students from hiring decisions. Rather than holding her accountable or looking seriously into the accusations, UCLA’s student paper — the Daily Bruin — portrayed her as a martyr, while ignoring her actions regarding the Jewish community.
To compound the issue, the Daily Bruin’s coverage of a protest outside the home of UC Regent Jay Sures — where activists threatened him and vandalized his property — was presented with misleading context, making the demonstrators appear justified.
Undergraduate Students Association Council Cultural Affairs Commissioner Alicia Verugo stepped down from her job, after she was accused of directing her office to exclude Jewish students from employment. She claims she only resigned out of fear for her personal safety. Here are the facts, according to the Daily Bruin:
In a copy of the petition, which [Bella] Brannon provided to the Daily Bruin, Brannon accused Verdugo of directing their staff to not hire “Zionist” applicants to the commission. She cited screenshots that she said a member of Verdugo’s office provided to her.
“Lots of Zionists are applying,” Verdugo allegedly said in a message appended to the petition. “Please do your research when you look at applicants and I will also share a doc of no hire list during retreat.”
Verdugo justified Hamas’ atrocities on October 7, saying it was an “unprecedented” and “historic” moment. Furthermore, she did so in a publicly recorded event just days after the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.
Yet, in the Daily Bruin’s coverage, these damning details were omitted. Instead, the article emphasized her support for UCLA’s BIPOC community, whitewashing her actions and shifting the focus away from her discrimination.
The section of the article reporting on her plan to use a member of the extremist anti-Israel group, Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), as a defense witness is even more problematic. The journalists identify JVP as merely “critical of Israel.” That would be like describing the KKK as a group “critical of minorities” in a story about them using their nonexistent moral authority to defend a segregationist.
Instead of presenting the facts of what Verdugo had done, the Daily Bruin framed her as a victim of political pressure, allowing her to escape accountability.
This misleading portrayal is dangerous. It reinforces the insidious trend where Jewish students raising concerns about discrimination are smeared as aggressors, exacerbating campus hostility toward Jews and Israel at UCLA.
The contrast is glaring when compared to the Daily Bruin’s reporting on the harassment of UC Regent Jay Sures. Protesters accused Sures of being a “genocide enabler,” vandalized his property with red handprints — a symbol with deep ties to historical antisemitic violence — and ominously threatened him.
Yet, instead of condemning the harassment, the Daily Bruin’s article dedicated its final section to listing Sures’ affiliations with pro-Israel organizations, concluding with an uncritical quote from Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) attacking him.
The implication? That such harassment was, if not justified, at least understandable.
When a Jewish leader and his family are threatened, the Daily Bruin frames the narrative as an “underdog vs. powerful figure.” But when a student leader is caught discriminating against Jewish students and justifying the massacre of civilians, the paper downplays the charges and shifts focus to her supposed victimization.
This blatant discrepancy exposes a disturbing editorial bias: Jewish students who fight back against discrimination are ignored — or worse, smeared — as part of an imagined Zionist effort to silence free speech. Meanwhile, anti-Israel activists who face legitimate consequences for their actions receive glowing, sympathetic coverage; their ethical breaches are reframed as minor inconveniences imposed by an all-powerful Jewish establishment.
Thousands of UCLA students and alumni will now likely believe these politicized narratives. Fortunately, the university itself has demonstrated more professionalism, suspending both SJP and its graduate counterpart for their disgraceful treatment of Sures, his family, and his neighbors.
The Daily Bruin has a responsibility to correct the record. True journalism demands fairness, not selective storytelling that whitewashes antisemitism under the guise of political nuance. If the paper values integrity, it must fully acknowledge the scope of both controversies — and ensure future reporting treats discrimination with the seriousness it deserves, no matter the target.
Bias and distortion must no longer mislead the UCLA community. Journalism should illuminate the truth.
Seth B. Mendel is the West Coast Campus Advisor for the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis (CAMERA)
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Iran Says It Has Replaced Air Defenses Damaged in Israel War

The S-300 missile system is seen during the National Army Day parade ceremony in Tehran, Iran, April 17, 2024. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Iran has replaced air defenses damaged during last month’s conflict with Israel, Iran’s Defah Press news agency reported on Sunday quoting Mahmoud Mousavi, the regular army’s deputy for operations.
During the conflict in June, Israel’s air force dominated Iran’s airspace and dealt a heavy blow to the country’s air defenses while Iranian armed forces launched successive barrages of missiles and drones on Israeli territory.
“Some of our air defenses were damaged, this is not something we can hide, but our colleagues have used domestic resources and replaced them with pre-arranged systems that were stored in suitable locations in order to keep the airspace secure,” Mousavi said.
Prior to the war, Iran had its own domestically-made long-range air defense system Bavar-373 in addition to the Russian-made S-300 system. The report by Defah Press did not mention any import of foreign-made air defense systems to Iran in past weeks.
Following limited Israeli strikes against Iranian missile factories last October, Iran later displayed Russian-made air defenses in a military exercise to show it recovered from the attack.
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Calm Reported in Syria’s Sweida, Damascus Says Truce Holding

Members of Internal Security Forces stand guard at an Internal Security Forces’ checkpoint working to prevent Bedouin fighters from advancing towards Sweida, following renewed fighting between Bedouin fighters and Druze gunmen, despite an announced truce, in Walgha, Sweida province, Syria, July 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Karam al-Masri
Residents reported calm in Syria’s Sweida on Sunday after the Islamist-led government announced that Bedouin fighters had withdrawn from the predominantly Druze city and a US envoy signaled that a deal to end days of fighting was being implemented.
With hundreds reported killed, the Sweida bloodshed is a major test for interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, prompting Israel to launch airstrikes against government forces last week as it declared support for the Druze. Fighting continued on Saturday despite a ceasefire call.
Interior Minister Anas Khattab said on Sunday that internal security forces had managed to calm the situation and enforce the ceasefire, “paving the way for a prisoner exchange and the gradual return of stability throughout the governorate.”
Reuters images showed interior ministry forces near the city, blocking the road in front of members of tribes congregated there. The Interior Ministry said late on Saturday that Bedouin fighters had left the city.
US envoy Tom Barrack said the sides had “navigated to a pause and cessation of hostilities”. “The next foundation stone on a path to inclusion, and lasting de-escalation, is a complete exchange of hostages and detainees, the logistics of which are in process,” he wrote on X.
Kenan Azzam, a dentist, said there was an uneasy calm but the city’s residents were struggling with a lack of water and electricity. “The hospitals are a disaster and out of service, and there are still so many dead and wounded,” he said by phone.
Another resident, Raed Khazaal, said aid was urgently needed. “Houses are destroyed … The smell of corpses is spread throughout the national hospital,” he said in a voice message to Reuters from Sweida.
The Syrian state news agency said an aid convoy sent to the city by the government was refused entry while aid organized by the Syrian Red Crescent was let in. A source familiar with the situation said local factions in Sweida had turned back the government convoy.
Israeli public broadcaster Kan reported on Sunday that Israel sent urgent medical aid to the Druze in Sweida and the step was coordinated with Washington and Syria. Spokespeople for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Foreign Ministry and the military did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Druze are a small but influential minority in Syria, Israel and Lebanon who follow a religion that is an offshoot of a branch of Shi’ite Islam. Some hardline Sunnis deem their beliefs heretical.
The fighting began a week ago with clashes between Bedouin and Druze fighters. Damascus sent troops to quell the fighting, but they were drawn into the violence and accused of widespread violations against the Druze.
Residents of the predominantly Druze city said friends and neighbours were shot at close range in their homes or in the streets by Syrian troops, identified by their fatigues and insignia.
Sharaa on Thursday promised to protect the rights of Druze and to hold to account those who committed violations against “our Druze people.”
He has blamed the violence on “outlaw groups.”
While Sharaa has won US backing since meeting President Donald Trump in May, the violence has underscored the challenge he faces stitching back together a country shattered by 14 years of conflict, and added to pressures on its mosaic of sectarian and ethnic groups.
COASTAL VIOLENCE
After Israel bombed Syrian government forces in Sweida and hit the defense ministry in Damascus last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had established a policy demanding the demilitarization of territory near the border, stretching from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights to the Druze Mountain, east of Sweida.
He also said Israel would protect the Druze.
The United States however said it did not support the Israeli strikes. On Friday, an Israeli official said Israel agreed to allow Syrian forces limited access to the Sweida area for two days.
A Syrian security source told Reuters that internal security forces had taken up positions near Sweida, establishing checkpoints in western and eastern parts of the province where retreating tribal fighters had gathered.
On Sunday, Sharaa received the report of an inquiry into violence in Syria’s coastal region in March, where Reuters reported in June that Syrian forces killed 1,500 members of the Alawite minority following attacks on security forces.
The presidency said it would review the inquiry’s conclusions and ensure steps to “bring about justice” and prevent the recurrence of “such violations.” It called on the inquiry to hold a news conference on its findings – if appropriate – as soon as possible.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights said on July 18 it had documented the deaths of at least 321 people in Sweida province since July 13. The preliminary toll included civilians, women, children, Bedouin fighters, members of local groups and members of the security forces, it said, and the dead included people killed in field executions by both sides.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, another monitoring group, has reported a death toll of at least 940 people.
Reuters could not independently verify the tolls.
The post Calm Reported in Syria’s Sweida, Damascus Says Truce Holding first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Pope Leo Calls for End to ‘Barbarity of War’ After Strike on Gaza Church

Pope Leo XIV leads the Angelus prayer in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, July 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Yara Nardi TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Pope Leo called for an end to the “barbarity of war” on Sunday as he spoke of his profound pain over an Israeli strike on the sole Catholic church in Gaza.
Three people died and several were injured, including the parish priest, in the strike on the Holy Family Church compound in Gaza City on Thursday. Photos show its roof has been hit close to the main cross, scorching the stone facade, and shattering windows.
Speaking after his Angelus prayer, Leo read out the names of those killed in the incident.
“I appeal to the international community to observe humanitarian law and respect the obligation to protect civilians as well as the prohibition of collective punishment, of indiscriminate use of force and forced displacement of the population,” he said.
The post Pope Leo Calls for End to ‘Barbarity of War’ After Strike on Gaza Church first appeared on Algemeiner.com.