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Williams College Pre-Commencement Crashed by Pro-Hamas Vandal

Illustrative: Pro-Hamas demonstration around Mahmoud Khalil in New York City on March 12, 2025. Photo: ZUMA Press Wire via Reuters Connect.

A Williams College student has been charged with vandalism and resisting arrest for an incident this past weekend in which pro-Hamas graffiti was sprayed on campus property and an American flag was displaced by a Palestinian one.

The student, 20-year-old Falls Church, Virginia, native Liam Carey, was also affixed to a flagpole at the scene of the crime in Massachusetts, according to The Berkshire Eagle, a local paper. Having been discovered just hours before Williams College was to hold its annual commencement activities, he represents the latest attempt of a pro-Hamas activist to hijack the final weeks of the school year with a public gesture.

According to the Eagle, the incident was afforded passing recognition during President Maud Mandel’s speech, in which she hinted at “some protest activities this weekend.”

“Today is a time for seniors to feel good about their accomplishments, and families and friends are here from around the world to celebrate,” Mandel continued. “So, I won’t go on at length, but I wanted to acknowledge that broader context that we are all involved in right now. We’ll no doubt go back to those discussions, but I hope today we can all come together and honor the spirit of this commencement celebration.”

During the ceremony, however, Brodie Joseph Leo, who graduated with dual degrees in Arabic and environmental science, commandeered a microphone after receiving his diploma to scream “Free Palestine,” the Eagle said. The perpetrators of both the firebombing of a pro-Israel rally in Colorado earlier this month and the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington, DC, last month shouted “Free Palestine” during or after the attack, according to federal authorities.

Williams College was the latest school to be targeted by pro-Hamas activists at the end of the academic year.

In May, a pro-Hamas group at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire which calls itself the “New Deal Coalition” (NDC) occupied the anteroom of the Parkhurst Hall administrative building but limited the demonstration to business hours, as its members went home when it was shuttered at 6 pm. Before leaving the building, however, the group contributed to injuries sustained by a member of President Sian Beilock’s staff and an officer of the school’s Department of Safety and Security officer, according to The Dartmouth, the college’s official campus newspaper.

College deans Anne Hudak and Eric Ramsey have since vowed to hold the group, which included non-students, accountable.

At Yale University, a pro-Hamas group moved to cap off the year with a hunger strike, choosing to starve themselves inside an administrative building in lieu of establishing an illegal encampment.

Yale administrators refused to meet with the students for a discussion of their demands that the university’s endowment be divested of any ties to Israel, as well as companies that do business with it, according to the Yale Daily News. On the fourth day of the demonstration, Yale student affairs dean Melanie Boyd briefly approached the students at the site of their demonstration, Sheffield-Sterling-Strathcona Hall, advising them to leave the space because “the administration does not intend to hold any additional meetings.”

The group ended the hunger strike after just ten days, citing “deteriorating health conditions.”

In New York City, pro-Hamas students clashed with police during an unauthorized demonstration at City University of New York, Brooklyn College, continuing a series of days in which law enforcement has been deployed to quell extremist disturbances.

As seen in footage captured by “FreedomNews.TV,” students rocked officers with blow after blow to obstruct their being arrested for trespassing, prompting as many as six others to rush in to help with detaining one person at a time. The melees were unlike any seen on a US college campus this semester.

Reportedly, the aim of the group was to establish a pro-Hamas encampment on the East Quad section of campus, which they called a “Liberated Zone,” and several reports said that it attempted to block the entrance to the Tanger Hillel House after being prevented from doing so. FreedomNews captured several more fights between protesters and officers which were filmed in front of the Hillel building, where Jewish students socialize and seek support from their community.

Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.

The post Williams College Pre-Commencement Crashed by Pro-Hamas Vandal first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Putin Speaks to Trump, Condemns Israel’s Strikes on Iran, Kremlin Says

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian meet in Moscow, Russia, Jan. 17, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina

Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to US President Donald Trump for 50 minutes on Saturday, condemning the Israeli military operation against Iran and expressing concern about the risks of escalation, the Kremlin said.

“Vladimir Putin condemned Israel’s military operation against Iran and expressed serious concern about a possible escalation of the conflict, which would have unpredictable consequences for the entire situation in the Middle East,” Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters.

Trump, for his part, described events in the Middle East as “very alarming,” according to Ushakov. But the two leaders said they do not rule out a return to the negotiating track on Iran’s nuclear program, Ushakov said.

On Ukraine, Putin told the US leader that Russia was ready to continue negotiations with the Ukrainians after June 22, according to state news agency RIA.

Trump reiterated his interest in a speedy resolution to the conflict, the Kremlin aide said.

Putin also congratulated Trump on his 79th birthday.

The post Putin Speaks to Trump, Condemns Israel’s Strikes on Iran, Kremlin Says first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Sunday’s US-Iran Nuclear Talks Cancelled, Oman Says

FILE PHOTO: Oman’s Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Albusaidi attends a meeting with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia July 11, 2023. Photo: Natalia Kolesnikova/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

The latest round of US-Iran nuclear talks scheduled for Sunday in Muscat will not take place, Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said on X on Saturday. Oman has been mediating the talks.

Albusaidi’s statement came a day after Israel launched a sweeping air offensive against Iran, killing commanders and scientists and bombing nuclear sites in a stated bid to stop it building an atomic weapon.

A senior official of US President Donald Trump’s administration, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed Sunday’s talks had been cancelled.

Washington, however, remained committed to the negotiations and hoped “the Iranians will come to the table soon,” the official said.

The post Sunday’s US-Iran Nuclear Talks Cancelled, Oman Says first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Iran Says Talks with US ‘Meaningless’ After Israel Attack, But Yet to Decide on Attending

USA and Iranian flags are seen in this illustration taken, Sept. 8, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

Iran said the dialogue with the US over Tehran’s nuclear program is “meaningless” after Israel’s biggest-ever military strike against its longstanding enemy, but said it is yet to decide on whether to attend planned talks on Sunday.

“The other side (the US) acted in a way that makes dialogue meaningless. You cannot claim to negotiate and at the same time divide work by allowing the Zionist regime (Israel) to target Iran’s territory,” state media on Saturday quoted foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei as saying.

“It is still unclear what decision we will make on Sunday in this regard,” Baghaei was quoted as saying.

He said Israel “succeeded in influencing” the diplomatic process and the Israeli attack would not have happened without Washington’s permission, accusing Washington of supporting the attack.

Iran earlier accused the US of being complicit in Israel’s attacks, but Washington denied the allegation and told Tehran at the United Nations Security Council that it would be “wise” to negotiate over its nuclear program.

The sixth round of US-Iran nuclear talks was set to be held on Sunday in Muscat, but it was unclear whether it would go ahead after the Israeli strikes.

Iran denies that its uranium enrichment program is for anything other than civilian purposes, rejecting Israeli allegations that it is secretly developing nuclear weapons.

US President Donald Trump told Reuters that he and his team had known the Israeli attacks were coming but they still saw room for an accord.

The post Iran Says Talks with US ‘Meaningless’ After Israel Attack, But Yet to Decide on Attending first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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