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With US campuses roiled by Israel-Gaza war, college presidents must speak up for what’s right
Like many Jews, I am watching with a mixture of horror and grave concern as college campuses around the United States convulse with anti-Israel demonstrations and, in many cases, overt antisemitism and vocal support for terrorism.
More, as a university president, I have been especially dismayed by the failure of college and university leaders to respond adequately.
University presidents have been slow to condemn Hamas’ terrorism and disavow expressions of support by students and faculty for violence against Israelis, equivocating statements have ignored the real problem by calling on “both sides” to exercise restraint, and colleges are failing to take appropriate measures to protect their Jewish students.
The school I lead, Touro University, is unique. As America’s largest Jewish-sponsored educational institution, our campuses are safe havens not only for Jewish students but also for students from all faiths. Amid the upsurge of antisemitism on campus since Oct. 7, we’ve heard from numerous students interested in transferring to Touro. But universities like ours must not become the only safe places in America for Jews to attend college. Students everywhere must feel safe.
Feeling safe starts with faith in leadership. College presidents must clearly denounce violence, support for terrorism and antisemitism, especially at fraught moments like these. How can there be any confusion about the wrongfulness of murder, rape and torture?
People of good faith can disagree about politics and the Palestinian-Israel conflict. But evil deeds, like Hamas terrorists’ beheading of babies and the taking of civilian hostages, need to be denounced in clear, unambiguous language. Failure to do so portrays either cowardice or a glaring lack of moral leadership; it implicitly suggests that it’s okay to extol terrorism (so long as only Jews are the targets).
President Biden set an example when the White House issued a statement denouncing “antisemitic messages being conveyed on college campuses” and condemning student groups that have praised Hamas’ attack on Israel or called for “the annihilation of the state of Israel.”
Several days ago, I was one of 18 college presidents who joined in the founding of a coalition to express our support for Israel and for Palestinians suffering under Hamas’ repressive rule in the Gaza Strip. So far, over 100 institutions of higher education have signed on to our statement of support, including public and private universities, faith-based schools and historically Black colleges. But making statements is just a beginning.
Colleges must implement measures to undo the decades-long slide that has transformed many campuses into places where groupthink and intersectionality falsely link Israel’s existence to a narrative of colonial oppression that hails Palestinian terrorists as “civil rights heroes” and dismisses the rights of Jews to live securely in Israel. We must restore college as a place where Jewish students do not feel threatened wearing Jewish symbols, speaking up about Israel in the classroom or simply being Jewish.
How do we do this? Start at the top. Presidents and boards of directors must not tolerate violence or support for terrorism on campus. We can preserve students’ right to free expression while adopting and enforcing codes of conduct that make clear that threatening other students or endorsing violence is out of bounds — whether in the classroom, at a literary festival or in student demonstrations.
In the long term, colleges should strive for faculty who reflect the breadth of American life, rather than the predilections of a radical fringe disassociated from truth and American values. While entitled to their political opinions, professors should be taken to task when their advocacy denies the truth or, worse, endorses murder and terrorism. There are limits to academic freedom, and college leaders should not let political correctness render them silent.
When it comes to accommodating students, we too often confuse comfort with safety. It’s okay for students to feel uncomfortable, disturbed or offended — that’s part of the process of education and resilience-building. Certainly, Jewish students may be exposed to views on Israel with which they disagree. But when these students feel physically unsafe because students or faculty members are advocating terrorism, the line has been crossed.
I know that the line isn’t always clear, and people of good faith sometimes will disagree. But when Jewish students are forced to shelter in a library for safety while an angry mob bangs on windows and doors chanting anti-Israel slogans, the line has been crossed. When the mantra “From the River to the Sea” — a recognized dog whistle calling for Israel’s destruction — is projected onto the façade of a campus library, the line has been crossed. When Israeli or Jewish students are assaulted by someone ripping down posters of kidnapped civilians, the line has been crossed.
Since the events of Oct. 7, we at Touro have worked especially hard to ensure that all of our students, including approximately 500 students in Israel, have the academic, psychological and practical support they need in this difficult time. Some of our students have been called up for Israeli military service, and we’re accommodating them as best we can.
Jewish students on all campuses across America need to have basic protections. Nobody should stay silent when they are threatened, harassed and assaulted. It is our obligation as American Jews, and my duty as a university president, to stand up for what is right.
Dr. Alan Kadish is the president of Touro University.
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The post With US campuses roiled by Israel-Gaza war, college presidents must speak up for what’s right appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Hamas Warns Against Cooperation with US Relief Efforts In Bid to Restore Grip on Gaza
Hamas terrorists carry grenade launchers at the funeral of Marwan Issa, a senior Hamas deputy military commander who was killed in an Israeli airstrike during the conflict between Israel and Hamas, in the central Gaza Strip, Feb. 7, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
The Hamas-run Interior Ministry in Gaza has warned residents not to cooperate with the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, as the terror group seeks to reassert its grip on the enclave amid mounting international pressure to accept a US-brokered ceasefire.
“It is strictly forbidden to deal with, work for, or provide any form of assistance or cover to the American organization (GHF) or its local or foreign agents,” the Interior Ministry said in a statement Thursday.
“Legal action will be taken against anyone proven to be involved in cooperation with this organization, including the imposition of the maximum penalties stipulated in the applicable national laws,” the statement warns.
The GHF released a statement in response to Hamas’ warnings, saying the organization has delivered millions of meals “safely and without interference.”
“This statement from the Hamas-controlled Interior Ministry confirms what we’ve known all along: Hamas is losing control,” the GHF said.
The GHF began distributing food packages in Gaza in late May, implementing a new aid delivery model aimed at preventing the diversion of supplies by Hamas, as Israel continues its defensive military campaign against the Palestinian terrorist group.
The initiative has drawn criticism from the UN and international organizations, some of which have claimed that Jerusalem is causing starvation in the war-torn enclave.
Israel has vehemently denied such accusations, noting that, until its recently imposed blockade, it had provided significant humanitarian aid in the enclave throughout the war.
Israeli officials have also said much of the aid that flows into Gaza is stolen by Hamas, which uses it for terrorist operations and sells the rest at high prices to Gazan civilians.
According to their reports, the organization has delivered over 56 million meals to Palestinians in just one month.
Hamas’s latest threat comes amid growing international pressure to accept a US-backed ceasefire plan proposed by President Donald Trump, which sets a 60-day timeline to finalize the details leading to a full resolution of the conflict.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump announced that Israel has agreed to the “necessary conditions” to finalize a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza, though Israel has not confirmed this claim.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to meet with Trump next week in Washington, DC — his third visit in less than six months — as they work to finalize the terms of the ceasefire agreement.
Even though Trump hasn’t provided details on the proposed truce, he said Washington would “work with all parties to end the war” during the 60-day period.
“I hope, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this Deal, because it will not get better — IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE,” he wrote in a social media post.
Since the start of the war, ceasefire talks between Jerusalem and Hamas have repeatedly failed to yield enduring results.
Israeli officials have previously said they will only agree to end the war if Hamas surrenders, disarms, and goes into exile — a demand the terror group has firmly rejected.
“I am telling you — there will be no Hamas,” Netanyahu said during a speech Wednesday.
For its part, Hamas has said it is willing to release the remaining 50 hostages — fewer than half of whom are believed to be alive — in exchange for a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and an end to the war.
While the terrorist group said it is “ready and serious” to reach a deal that would end the war, it has yet to accept this latest proposal.
In a statement, the group said it aims to reach an agreement that “guarantees an end to the aggression, the withdrawal [of Israeli forces], and urgent relief for our people in the Gaza Strip.”
According to media reports, the proposed 60-day ceasefire would include a partial Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, a surge in humanitarian aid, and the release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas, with US and mediator assurances on advancing talks to end the war — though it remains unclear how many hostages would be freed.
For Israel, the key to any deal is the release of most, if not all, hostages still held in Gaza, as well as the disarmament of Hamas, while the terror group is seeking assurances to end the war as it tries to reassert control over the war-torn enclave.
The post Hamas Warns Against Cooperation with US Relief Efforts In Bid to Restore Grip on Gaza first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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UK Lawmakers Move to Designate Palestine Action as Terrorist Group Following RAF Vandalism Protest
Police block a street as pro-Palestinian demonstrators gather to protest British Home Secretary Yvette Cooper’s plans to proscribe the “Palestine Action” group in the coming weeks, in London, Britain, June 23, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
British lawmakers voted Wednesday to designate Palestine Action as a terrorist organization, following the group’s recent vandalizing of two military aircraft at a Royal Air Force base in protest of the government’s support for Israel.
Last month, members of the UK-based anti-Israel group Palestine Action broke into RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, a county west of London, and vandalized two Voyager aircraft used for military transport and refueling — the latest in a series of destructive acts carried out by the organization.
Palestine Action has regularly targeted British sites connected to Israeli defense firm Elbit Systems as well as other companies in Britain linked to Israel since the start of the conflict in Gaza in 2023.
Under British law, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has the authority to ban an organization if it is believed to commit, promote, or otherwise be involved in acts of terrorism.
Passed overwhelmingly by a vote of 385 to 26 in the lower chamber — the House of Commons — the measure is now set to be reviewed by the upper chamber, the House of Lords, on Thursday.
If approved, the ban would take effect within days, making it a crime to belong to or support Palestine Action and placing the group on the same legal footing as Al Qaeda, Hamas, and the Islamic State under UK law.
Palestine Action, which claims that Britain is an “active participant” in the Gaza conflict due to its military support for Israel, condemned the ban as “an unhinged reaction” and announced plans to challenge it in court — similar to the legal challenges currently being mounted by Hamas.
Under the Terrorism Act 2000, belonging to a proscribed group is a criminal offense punishable by up to 14 years in prison or a fine, while wearing clothing or displaying items supporting such a group can lead to up to six months in prison and/or a fine of up to £5,000.
Palestine Action claimed responsibility for the recent attack, in which two of its activists sprayed red paint into the turbine engines of two Airbus Voyager aircraft and used crowbars to inflict additional damage.
According to the group, the red paint — also sprayed across the runway — was meant to symbolize “Palestinian bloodshed.” A Palestine Liberation Organization flag was also left at the scene.
On Thursday, local authorities arrested four members of the group, aged between 22 and 35, who were charged with conspiracy to enter a prohibited place knowingly for a purpose prejudicial to the safety or interests of the UK, as well as conspiracy to commit criminal damage.
Palestine Action said this latest attack was carried out as a protest against the planes’ role in supporting what the group called Israel’s “genocide” in Gaza.
At the time of the attack, Cooper condemned the group’s actions, stating that their behavior had grown increasingly aggressive and resulted in millions of pounds in damages.
“The disgraceful attack on Brize Norton … is the latest in a long history of unacceptable criminal damage committed by Palestine Action,” Cooper said in a written statement.
“The UK’s defense enterprise is vital to the nation’s national security and this government will not tolerate those that put that security at risk,” she continued.
The post UK Lawmakers Move to Designate Palestine Action as Terrorist Group Following RAF Vandalism Protest first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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US-backed Gaza Relief NGO Vows ‘Legal Action’ Against AP Claim Group Fired on Palestinian Civilians
Palestinians collect aid supplies from the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 9, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Hatem Khaled
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a US-backed nonprofit operating aid distribution centers in the Gaza Strip, is pushing back forcefully against an Associated Press report alleging that its contractors opened fire on Palestinian civilians.
The GHF is accusing the AP of withholding key evidence and relying on a “disgruntled former contractor” as a central source.
“In response, we are pursuing legal action,” the organization said in a statement released Wednesday.
GHF said it conducted an “immediate investigation” after being contacted by the AP, reviewing time-stamped video footage and sworn witness testimony. The group concluded that the allegations were “categorically false,” stating that no civilians were fired upon at any of their distribution sites and that the gunfire heard in the AP’s video came from Israeli forces operating outside the vicinity.
“What is most troubling is that the AP refused to share the full video with us prior to publication, despite the seriousness of the allegations,” the statement read. “If they believed their own reporting, they should have provided us with the footage so we could take immediate and appropriate action.”
The nonprofit’s public rebuttal raises sharp questions about the AP’s reporting process, suggesting the outlet declined to engage with the organization in good faith and instead leaned on a source GHF describes as having been terminated “for misconduct” weeks prior. The group also claimed the AP’s recent coverage of its activities had begun to “echo narratives advanced by the Hamas-controlled Gaza Ministry of Health.”
The AP has not yet responded publicly to the GHF’s accusations or provided clarification about its decision not to share the video footage before publication. The original report alleged that American contractors employed by GHF had fired weapons near or toward civilians.
The GHF statement confirmed that a contractor seen shouting in the AP’s video had been removed from operations, though the group insisted this was unrelated to any violence and did not constitute evidence of wrongdoing.
GHF, which describes its mission as delivering food to Gaza “safely, directly, and without interference,” said it remains committed to transparency but would not allow its operations to be “derailed by misinformation.”
The dispute highlights the fraught information environment in Gaza, where limited access and competing narratives frequently complicate the verification of on-the-ground events.
The post US-backed Gaza Relief NGO Vows ‘Legal Action’ Against AP Claim Group Fired on Palestinian Civilians first appeared on Algemeiner.com.