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Vermont Jewish groups condemn shooting of 3 Palestinian students being investigated as a hate crime
(JTA) – Jewish congregations, politicians and campus groups in the Vermont area and beyond condemned Saturday’s shooting of three Palestinian college students in Burlington, an incident authorities are investigating as a possible hate crime.
A 48-year-old Burlington man has been arrested in connection with the shooting of the students, whose names are Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdalhamid and Tahseen Ahmed.
At least three area rabbis and three different Hillels were among the voices expressing shock and sadness over the shooting, the latest outbreak of violence in the United States connected to the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who is Jewish, called the violence “shocking and deeply upsetting,” adding, “Hate has no place here, or anywhere.”
“We denounce this horrendous violence in our community. And we denounce any hatred that could lead to an act like this,” the three local rabbis wrote on social media.
“As Jews, we are keenly aware of the impact of violence on minority religious communities, and so we stand in solidarity with our Muslim brothers and sisters at this frightening time,” wrote the rabbis — David Edleson of Temple Sinai, Aaron Philmus of Ohavi Zedek Synagogue and Jan Salzman of Congregation Ruach haMaqom. They added that they had reached out to the local Islamic center president to offer their support.
The students who were shot all graduated from Ramallah Friends School, a Quaker-affiliated private school in the Palestinian West Bank city, according to the school. They attend Brown University in Rhode Island, Haverford College in Pennsylvania and Trinity College in Connecticut.
Two of the students were wearing keffiyehs, traditional Palestinian headscarves, at the time of the shooting, according to local police, and a spokesperson for the families told The New York Times that the men were speaking a mixture of Arabic and English at the time of the attack.
Authorities arrested a suspect, Jason Eaton, on Sunday night and arraigned him on Monday. Eaton, a 48-year-old white Burlington resident, pleaded not guilty to three attempted murder charges for shooting and wounding the men with a handgun, and was ordered held without bail. The Daily Beast, speaking with Eaton’s mother, reported that he works in finance, often reads the Bible and did not discuss the Israel-Hamas conflict during Thanksgiving dinner. Police said Eaton shot at the men without speaking with them, then fled the scene. He pleaded not guilty during an arraignment Monday morning.
Two of the victims are in stable condition while a third has “much more serious injuries,” Burlington police said in a statement. The three men are all 20 years old and were visiting one of the victim’s relatives for the Thanksgiving holiday. Awartani, the Brown student, regularly visited his grandmother and uncle who live in Burlington, according to an NBC News report.
“In this charged moment, no one can look at this incident and not suspect that it may have been a hate-motivated crime,” Burlington police chief Jon Murad said in a statement about the investigation. The U.S. Justice Department’s Vermont district attorney also said that a federal investigation would be opened “to determine whether a federal crime may have been committed.”
The shooting was the most recent major act of violence committed against Palestinians and Jews in the United States since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel. One week following the attack, a 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy was murdered in Illinois in what authorities say was a hate crime. Earlier this month, a Jewish man in Los Angeles died following a physical altercation at dueling pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel protests in Los Angeles; a suspect has been arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter.
Jews have also been assaulted at Columbia University and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Police have insisted that in the case of another prominent incident, the murder of a Detroit synagogue president, there is no evidence of a hate crime even as the murder remains unsolved and authorities are offering a $15,000 reward for information in the case.
Along with Sanders, Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger and Vermont Rep. Becca Balint, who are also progressive Jews, condemned the shooting in separate statements.
“The City of Burlington has zero tolerance for hate crimes and will work relentlessly to bring the shooter to justice,” Weinberger said in a joint statement with Burlington police. Balint, who recently became one of a small number of Jewish members of Congress to publicly endorse a ceasefire in Gaza, said in a statement that she was “horrified by this violence” and added, “I expect there to be a full investigation into evidence of any hate crime.”
Vermonters for Justice in Palestine, a Burlington-based pro-Palestinian activist group, held a vigil for the injured students Sunday evening. Around 200 people showed up, including members of the Jewish anti-Zionist group Jewish Voice for Peace and area chapters of the campus group Students for Justice in Palestine, according to local reports.
The presidents of the three colleges where the victims are enrolled condemned the attacks on their students.
“I know that this heinous and despicable act of violence — this latest evidence of anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian discrimination and hate spiraling across this country and around the world — will leave many in our community deeply shaken,” Brown President Christina Paxson wrote. She identified the college’s injured student as Awartani and said a campus vigil would be held Monday.
Greater Philly Hillel Network, which oversees the Jewish student union at Haverford College, wrote on Facebook that it was “devastated” to learn of the shooting. Trinity College Hillel also condemned the attack and said it was “saddened and disturbed.” The Hilel that serves Brown University has not made any public comments about the incident.
Although none of the victims are students there, the University of Vermont’s Hillel also condemned the attack in a statement, decrying “any act of hate or violence toward college students based on their race, religion, ethnicity, or belief.” UVM, which is located in Burlington, has been a particular flashpoint for rising tensions between Jewish and Arab groups for years, and has seen a heightened atmosphere since the outbreak of war in the region.
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The post Vermont Jewish groups condemn shooting of 3 Palestinian students being investigated as a hate crime appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Boulder Firebomber Charged With Murder Following Death of Victim
Boulder attack suspect Mohamed Sabry Soliman poses for a jail booking photograph after his arrest in Boulder, Colorado, June 2, 2025. Photo: Boulder Police Department/Handout via REUTERS
A victim of the antisemitic Boulder, Colorado firebombing died on Monday, prompting local law enforcement to charge suspect Mohamed Soliman with murder in the first degree.
“Severe injuries” caused the death of Karen Diamond, 82, the Boulder County District Attorney’s Office (BCDA) said on Monday in a statement. She was one of 13 people injured when Soliman hurled Molotov cocktails into a crowd of Jewish people who were participating in a demonstration to raise awareness of the hostages who remain imprisoned by Hamas in Gaza. Her death adds five new charges to the over 200 federal and state criminal charges which could lock Soliman away for over 600 years.
“These additional charges, including the counts of First Degree Murder, are being filed after consultation with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Boulder Police Department,” said the DA’s office, adding that it “continues to work closely with federal, state, and local partners in the strong response to this attack. We stand united against acts of antisemitism and hate.”
“This horrific attack has now claimed the life of an innocent person who was beloved by her family and friends,” said Michal Dougherty, district attorney of Boulder County. “Our hearts are with the Diamond family during this incredibly difficult time. Our office will fight for justice for the victims, their loved ones, and the community. Part of what makes Colorado special is that people come together in response to a tragedy; I know that the community will continue to unite in supporting the Diamond family and all the victims of this attack.”
Prosecutors said in May that Soliman yelled “Free Palestine” during the attack, and, according to court documents, told investigators that he wanted to “kill all Zionist people.”
That incident came less than two weeks after a gunman murdered two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington, DC, while they were leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum hosted by the American Jewish Committee. The suspect charged for the double murder, 31-year-old Elias Rodriguez from Chicago, also yelled “Free Palestine” while being arrested by police after the shooting, according to video of the incident. The FBI affidavit supporting the criminal charges against Rodriguez stated that he told law enforcement he “did it for Gaza.”
In Garret Park, Maryland, a middle-aged man, Clift A. Seferlis, was recently arrested by federal authorities for sending a series of threatening messages to Jewish organizations in Philadelphia. Seferlis referenced the war in Gaza in his communications.
“The Victim Jewish Institution 1 received numerous additional messages since April 1, 2024, which contained a threat to physically destroy the institution,” the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania said in a statement. “Prior to the receipt of the May 7, 2025, mailing, Victim Jewish Institution 1 and its employees had received very similar-looking letters, believed to have been sent by Seferlis, which referenced Victim Jewish Institution 1’s ‘many big open windows,’ ‘Kristallnacht,’ ‘anger and rage,’ and a future need to ‘rebuild’ the institution following its destruction.”
Another antisemitic incident motivated by anti-Zionism occurred in San Francisco, where Juan Diaz-Rivas, Alejandro Flores-Lamas, and others law enforcement is working to identify, allegedly beat up a Jewish victim in the middle of the night. Diaz-Rivas and Flores-Lamas, along with their associates, approached the victim while shouting “F—ck the Jews, Free Palestine,” according to the office of the San Francis district attorney.
“[O]ne of them punched the victim, who fell to the ground, hit his head and lost consciousness,” the district attorney’s office said in a statement. “Allegedly, Mr. Diaz-Rivas and others in the group continued to punch and kick the victim while he was down. A worker at a nearby business heard the altercation and antisemitic language and attempted to intervene. While trying to help the victim, he was kicked and punched.”
According to data released by the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) latest Audit of Antisemitic Incidents in April, antisemitism in the US is surging to break “all previous annual records.”
In 2024 alone, the ADL recorded 9,354 antisemitic incidents — an average of 25.6 a day — across the US, an eruption of hatred not recorded in the nearly thirty years since the organization began tracking such data in 1979. Incidents of harassment, vandalism, and assault all increased by double digits, and for the first time ever a majority of outrages — 58 percent — were related to the existence of Israel as the world’s only Jewish state.
The Algemeiner parsed the ADL data, finding dramatic rises in incidents on college campuses, which saw the largest growth in 2024. The 1,694 incidents tallied by the ADL amounted to an 84 percent increase over the previous year. Additionally, antisemites were emboldened to commit more offenses in public in 2024 than they did in 2023, perpetrating 19 percent more attacks on Jewish people, pro-Israel demonstrators, and businesses perceived as being Jewish-owned or affiliated with Jews.
“In 2024, hatred toward Israel was a driving force behind antisemitism across the US, with more than half of all antisemitic incidents referencing Israel or Zionism,” Oren Segal, ADL senior vice president for counter-extremism and intelligence, said when the report was released. “These incidents, along with all those documented in the audit, serve as a clear reminder that silence is not an option. Good people must stand up, push back, and confront antisemitism wherever it appears. And that starts with understanding what fuels it and learning to recognize it in all its forms.”
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
The post Boulder Firebomber Charged With Murder Following Death of Victim 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.
The post Dem House Leader Hakeem Jeffries Urges Mamdani to ‘Aggressively Address’ Antisemitism in NYC if Elected Mayor first appeared on Algemeiner.com.