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When Will North Carolina or Congress Investigate Duke University for Allowing Calls for Israel’s Destruction and Other False Claims?
Duke University. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Duke University has apparently permitted an entire academic department to publicly align itself against Israel.
In 2021, Duke’s Department of Gender, Sexuality and Feminist Studies endorsed a public statement declaring, “We stand in solidarity with the people of Palestine …We do not subscribe to a ‘both sides’ rhetoric.”
The Duke gender studies website presently features a section titled, “Donation Suggestions for Palestine,” which provides links to 12 organizations including Electronic Intifada and Mondoweiss, which are both stridently anti-Israel publications. There are no suggestions for donations directed towards Israel.
Anna Storti is Assistant Professor in the department. On Oct. 7, 2023, while Israelis were actively being murdered, raped, mutilated, and taken hostage by Hamas-led terrorists, Storti was reposting anti-Israel complaints on X.
In 2020, Storti tweeted “f[***] the usa” and in 2024, posted, “F[***] these cops. Shame on the admin who call them on their own students…It’s all about Free Palestine…this month and always. Liberation within our lifetimes.”
She also reposted on X the slogan, “From the river to the sea.” The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) explains the meaning of “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”:
This is a cry for Israel to not exist. It is calling for a Palestinian state that extends from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea – effectively erasing and destroying the entire Jewish state.
Emily Rogers, Secondary Faculty in Duke’s gender studies department, was detained at the UNC anti-Israel encampment in 2024 and banned from that campus. Rogers told a local progressive paper, “We won’t stop till universities disclose and divest” and “We won’t stop ‘til all of Palestine is free.”
Mishana Garschi, Postdoctoral Associate in the Duke gender studies program, reposted on X, “having a phd and being a zionists is nuts, you need to return that damn degree because you clearly lost all sense of critical thought [sic].” She also reposted, “zionism is monstrous [sic]” and “The Israeli occupiers don’t care about the hostages [sic].”
Last week, I reported in The Algemeiner that Frances Hasso, Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies in the same department, excitedly announced on X, “HAMAS OFFICIALLY DEFEATS ISRAEL!”
Hasso has repeatedly made social media posts using the antisemitic slur “Zio” — and also reposted on X, “Noone was raped on October 7 [sic].”
Last week, Hasso reposted a protest flyer that said in huge print, “ZIONISTS OUT!” with accompanying text, “We have found out from a trusted source that the British Museum is hosting an event ‘for Israel’ … It is our duty to confront zionists wherever they appear [sic].”
Would Duke University ever allow a professor to remain on staff after reposting: “PALESTINIANS OUT! It is our duty to confront Palestinians wherever they appear”?
In 2021, Hasso pledged to promote the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement against Israel “in the classroom and on campus.”
In 2024, Hasso convened a Duke conference, the Palestine Seminar, where 12 other Duke departments and programs participated, including the Provost Initiative on the Middle East, the Department of History, the Department of English, and the Program of Literature.
Hasso also taught the Duke University Global Palestine course in 2025.
The confidence demonstrated by the Office of the Provost in Frances Hasso, along with support from 11 additional programs and departments, highlights serious concerns about Duke University’s leadership and their ability to identify and combat antisemitism.
The Duke history and gender studies departments each presently feature identical glowing reviews of Hasso’s recent book on their websites. These reviews allege that Israel is committing “Zionist settler-colonialism in Palestine.”
Duke University is not merely permitting Hasso to instruct; they are actively endorsing her. It is a disgrace that the institution offers Hasso repeated opportunities to “educate” students.
In addition, many faculty in Duke’s gender and feminist studies department have signed public, anti-Israel statements.
Priscilla Wald, Ara Wilson, and Kimberly Lamm each signed letters supporting various academic boycotts of Israel.
Anne Allison, Hasso, Charles Piot, Wald, Anne-Maria Makhulu, Jessica Namakkal, Gabriel Rosenberg, Ranjana Khanna, Adriane Lentz-Smith, and Kathi Weeks signed a 2021 statement declaring, “We acknowledge our complicity in Israel’s oppression of the Palestinians” and “express our solidarity with the Palestinian people.”
In 2023, Michael Hardt, Hasso, Rogers, Storti, and Robyn Wiegman endorsed a letter titled “Scholars Against the War on Palestine,” which demanded an immediate ceasefire, asserting their solidarity with Palestinians. The letter criticized Israel extensively while failing to acknowledge, even once, the violent assault by Hamas on Oct. 7 or the hundreds of hostages held by Hamas-affiliated terrorists at that time.
Last week, I detailed years of anti-Israel publications at Duke University Press. As an example, a recent Duke Press publication actually accuses Israelis of viewing Palestinians as rapeable. The author added, Israelis “carry their rifles as an extension of phallic power.”
Duke University has permitted an entire academic department and its university press to align against Israel. This is hostile towards the vast majority of American Jews that believe in the existence of a Jewish State. Clearly an investigation is in order.
Peter Reitzes writes about issues related to antisemitism and Israel.
The post When Will North Carolina or Congress Investigate Duke University for Allowing Calls for Israel’s Destruction and Other False Claims? first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Washington Warns UK, France Against Recognizing Palestinian Statehood
Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy leaves Downing Street, following the results of the election, in London, Britain, July 5, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Toby Melville
i24 News – The United States has warned the UK and France not to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state at a UN conference scheduled for June 17 in New York, the Middle East Eye reported Tuesday.
France and Saudi Arabia will co-host this conference on the two-state solution, with Paris reportedly preparing to unilaterally recognize Palestine. France is also pressuring London to follow this path, according to sources from the British Foreign Office.
French media reports indicate that French authorities believe they have the agreement of the British government. Meanwhile, Arab states are encouraging this move, measuring the success of the conference by the recognitions obtained.
This initiative deeply divides Western allies. If France and the UK were to carry out this recognition, they would become the first G7 nations to take this step, causing a “political earthquake” according to observers, given their historical ties with Israel. The Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer threatened last week to annex parts of the West Bank if this recognition took place, according to a report in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
In the United Kingdom, Foreign Secretary David Lammy publicly opposes unilateral recognition, stating that London would only recognize a Palestinian state when we know that it is going to happen and that it is in view.
However, pressure is mounting within the Labour Party. MP Uma Kumaran, member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said that the government was elected on a platform that promised to recognize Palestine as a step towards a just and lasting peace. Chris Doyle, director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding, believes that there is no legitimate reason for the United States to interfere in a sovereign decision of recognition, while highlighting the unpredictability of US President Donald Trump on this issue.
The post Washington Warns UK, France Against Recognizing Palestinian Statehood first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Police, Shin Bet Thwart Suspected Iranian Attempt Perpetrate Terror Attack
A small number of Jewish worshipers pray during the priestly blessing, a traditional prayer which usually attracts thousands of worshipers at the Western Wall on the holiday of Passover during 2020, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Jerusalem’s Old City, April 12, 2020. Photo: Reuters / Ronen Zvulun.
i24 News – The Shin Bet security agency and Israel Police thwarted another Iranian attempt to recruit Israelis, according to a statement on Tuesday, arresting a resident of East Jerusalem for allegedly carrying out missions for the Islamic Republic.
Iranian agents recruited the suspect, who in turn recruited members of his family. He is a resident of the Isawiya neighborhood in his 30s, and is accused of maintaining contact with a hostile foreign entity to harm the state by carrying out a terrorist attack against Jews.
The suspect had already begun perpetrating acts of sabotage and espionage, including collecting intelligence about areas in Jerusalem, including the Western Wall and Mahane Yehuda Market. He also hung signs, burned Israeli army uniforms, and more in exchange for payment totaling thousands of shekels.
He was also charged with planning a terror attack in central Israel, including setting fire to a forest, and was told to transfer weapons to terrorist elements in the West Bank.
The suspect’s sought the help of family members, including his mother. A search at his home revealed sums of cash, a spray can used in some of his activities, airsoft guns, suspected illegal drugs, and more.
His indictment is expected to be filed by the Jerusalem District Attorney’s Office.
The statement said that the case is yet another example of Iranian efforts to recruit Israelis. “We will continue to coordinate efforts to thwart terrorism and terrorist elements, including those operating outside Israel, while attempting to mobilize local elements in order to protect the citizens of the State of Israel,” the Shin Bet and Police said.
The post Police, Shin Bet Thwart Suspected Iranian Attempt Perpetrate Terror Attack first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Pro-Russian, Anti-Israeli Hackers Pose Biggest Cybercrime Threats in Germany
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt holds a chart showing the development of antisemitic crime, during a press conference on Figures for Politically Motivated Crime in the Country, in Berlin, Germany, May 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
Cybercrime in Germany rose to a record level last year, driven by hacker attacks from pro-Russian and anti-Israeli groups, the BKA Federal Crime Office reported on Tuesday as the government said it would boost countermeasures to combat it.
“Cybercrime is an increasing threat to our security,” said Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt. “It is getting more aggressive but our counter-strategies are also becoming more professional,” he said.
Some 131,391 cases of cybercrime took place in Germany last year and a further 201,877 cases were committed from abroad or an unknown location, a BKA report said.
The actors behind the hacker attacks on German targets were primarily either pro-Russian or anti-Israeli, said the BKA, adding targets were mostly public and federal institutions.
Ransomware, when criminals copy and encrypt data, is one of the main threats, said the BKA, with 950 companies and institutes reporting cases in 2024.
German digital association Bitkom said damage caused by cyberattacks here totaled 178.6 billion euros ($203.87 billion) last year, some 30.4 billion euros more than in the previous year.
Dobrindt said the government planned to extend the legal capabilities authorities could use to combat cybercrime and set higher security standards for companies.
The post Pro-Russian, Anti-Israeli Hackers Pose Biggest Cybercrime Threats in Germany first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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