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‘Zionist Pedophile Rabbi’: UCLA Pro-Hamas Rioters Continue Year of Carnage
Law enforcement officers detain a demonstrator, as they clear out a pro-Hamas protest encampment at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Los Angeles, California, US, May 2, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/David Swanson
A chaotic situation continues to unfold at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where pro-Hamas protesters have been rioting and committing obscene acts of intimidation and antisemitism.
“Shame on you,” “F—k you,” “You are not safe here!” a swarm of students who installed the latest pro-Hamas encampment at the school screamed while encircling UCLA administrative vice chancellor Michael J. Beck. Things took an even darker turn when Rabbi Dovid Gurevich of the Chabad House at UCLA was encircled by protesters, who had covered their faces with keffiyeh scarves.
“Zionist pedophile Rabbi,” “F—king pedophile,” they said according to videos posted to social media, gradually encroaching on the rabbi. “We love a good Jew — we hate Zionists.”
The rabbi stood his ground amid other shouts of references to antisemitic conspiracies. According to the Daily Bruin, the protesters engaged in other disturbing behavior, including parading around campus with “fake bloody mummies” and “body parts.” Marching through the campus, they proclaimed solidarity with Hamas terrorists, chanting, “We will honor all our martyrs.”
On Monday night, the UCLA Police Department said that it had arrested 25 protesters. A melee between the officers and protesters reportedly broke out in which one student was injured by a rubber bullet. Reports estimate that over 100 protesters remain on school property, however. It is not clear when or how law enforcement will clear them.
Jewish activists widely commented on the carnage on the social media platform X/Twitter, expressing fear about what appears to be a perilous moment in American history.
“The Chabad Rabbi of UCLA was just physically assaulted live on camera,” said Harvard University student Shabbos Kestenbaum. “The students subsequently began calling him a ‘Zionist pedophile Rabbi,’ telling him to ‘go back to Poland.’ We are in such a dark, dangerous time in our country, with almost no leadership fighting back.”
Others, commenting on the swarming of vice chancellor Beck, suggested that UCLA’s admissions committee potentially selected the students to reward their allegiance to the politics of the far left.
“You’d have to have a heart of stone not to laugh at this UCLA administrator,” said Noah Pollack, a contributor to the Washington Free Beacon. “These are the people he wanted on campus. These are the people his admissions committee selects for. And now he gets to live with them while they threaten and humiliate him.”
Emily Austin, a pro-Israel activist and sports broadcaster, told The Algemeiner in a statement: “These students feel comfortable engaging in what increasingly looks like domestic terrorism because the authorities allow it. They do and say the most abhorrent things knowing there will be no consequences. This is a result of weak leadership, especially in California, where leaders’ failures stretch far beyond the campus.”
The riot at UCLA continues an unprecedented year in higher education in which students emerged in the hundreds and thousands to declare solidarity with Hamas, terrorism, and efforts to destroy Israel, the world’s only Jewish state. Their demonstrations followed Hamas’ atrocities on Oct. 7, when the terrorist organization murdered over 1,200 people, kidnapped more than 250 others, and perpetrated systematic sexual violence during the terrorist group’s invasion of southern Israel.
At UCLA, anti-Zionist protesters have installed their third encampment, the first of which saw them block off entire sections of campus through which they blocked Jewish students from passing. Violence, destruction of property, and open calls for murdering Jews have defined all three demonstrations, revealing what experts have described to The Algemeiner as the complete radicalization of higher education.
Examining the role of faculty in fostering the riots and antisemitism on college campuses is paramount, Asaf Romirowsky, an expert on the Middle East and executive director of Scholars for Peace in the Middle East (SPME), said when the demonstrations began. He explained that since the 1960s, far-left “scholar activists” have gradually seized control of the higher education system, tailoring admissions processes and the curricula to foster ideological radicalism and conformity, which students then carry with them into careers in government, law, corporate America, and education. This system, he stressed, must be challenged.
“This is 1984,” he said, alluding to George Orwell’s classic novel about a dystopian state. “As we can see, these rallies are not peaceful as their supporters have insisted. They are violent, verbally and physically. People are ending up in the hospital with injuries. This is analogous to Nazi Germany, and that should be a wake-up call to the American people. If these are the institutions that should be the vanguard of American democracy and Western values and this is what they are producing, we should be seriously questioning the functionality of higher education as a whole.”
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
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Brooklyn Nets Select Israeli Basketball Players Ben Saraf, Danny Wolf in NBA Draft
The opening tip between the Brooklyn Nets and Washington Wizards, at Barclays Center, in Brooklyn, New York, Dec. 13, 2020. Photo: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect
In a landmark night for Israeli basketball, Ben Saraf and Danny Wolf were selected in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft by the Brooklyn Nets, marking the first time two Israeli players have been drafted in the same year.
Saraf, a 19-year-old guard known for his explosive athleticism and creative playmaking, was taken with the 26th pick. A standout with Maccabi Rishon LeZion and a rising star on Israel’s youth national teams, Saraf gained international attention with his electrifying scoring and commanding court presence.
With the 27th pick, the Nets selected 7-foot center Danny Wolf out of the University of Michigan. Wolf, who holds dual US-Israeli citizenship and represented Israel at the U-20 level, brings a versatile skill set, including sharp passing, perimeter shooting, and a strong feel for the game. After his name was called, Wolf grew emotional in an on-air interview, crediting his family for helping him reach the moment.
“I have the two greatest brothers in the world; I have an unbelievable sister who I love,” Wolf said. “They all helped me get to where I am today, and they’re going to help me get to where I am going to go in this league.”
The historic double-pick adds to the growing wave of Israeli presence on the NBA stage, led by Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija, who just completed a breakout 2024–25 season. After being traded to Portland last summer, Avdija thrived as a starter, averaging 16.9 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 3.8 assists. In March alone, he posted 23.4 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game, including two triple-doubles.
“I don’t think I’ve played like this before … I knew I had it in me. But I’m not really thinking about it. I’m just playing. I’m just free,” Avdija told reporters in March
With Saraf and Wolf joining Avdija, Israel’s basketball pipeline has reached unprecedented visibility. Israeli President Isaac Herzog called the moment “a national celebration for sports and youth,” and Israeli sports commentators widely hailed the night as “historic.”
Both Saraf and Wolf are expected to suit up for the Nets’ Summer League team in July. As the two rookies begin their NBA journey, they join a growing generation of Israeli athletes proving that their game belongs on basketball’s biggest stage.
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Iran Denies Any Meeting With US Next Week, Foreign Minister Says
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi attends a press conference following a meeting with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia, April 18, 2025. Photo: Tatyana Makeyeva/Pool via REUTERS
Iran currently has no plan to meet with the United States, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Thursday in an interview on state TV, contradicting US President Donald Trump’s statement that Washington planned to have talks with Iran next week.
The Iranian foreign minister said Tehran was assessing whether talks with the US were in its interest, following five previous rounds of negotiations that were cut short by Israel and the US attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities.
The US and Israel said the strikes were meant to curb Iran’s ability to create nuclear weapons, while Iran says its nuclear program is solely geared toward civilian use.
Araqchi said the damages to nuclear sites “were not little” and that relevant authorities were figuring out the new realities of Iran’s nuclear program, which he said would inform Iran’s future diplomatic stance.
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Ireland Becomes First European Nation to Advance Ban on Trade With Israeli Settlements
A pro-Hamas demonstration in Ireland led by nationalist party Sinn Fein. Photo: Reuters/Clodagh Kilcoyne
Ireland has become the first European nation to push forward legislation banning trade with Israeli communities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem — an effort officials say is meant “to address the horrifying situation” in the Gaza Strip.
On Wednesday, Irish Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Simon Harris announced that the legislation has already been approved by the government and will now move to the parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade for pre-legislative scrutiny.
“Ireland is speaking up and speaking out against the genocidal activity in Gaza,” Harris said during a press conference.
The Irish diplomat also told reporters he hopes the “real benefit” of the legislation will be to encourage other countries to follow suit, “because it is important that every country uses every lever at its disposal.”
Today Ireland becomes the first country in Europe to bring forward legislation to ban trade with the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Ireland is speaking up and speaking out against the genocidal activity in Gaza.
Every country must pull every lever at its disposal. pic.twitter.com/Z4RTjqntEY— Simon Harris TD (@SimonHarrisTD) June 24, 2025
Joining a growing number of EU member states aiming to curb Israel’s defensive campaign against the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, Ireland’s decision comes after a 2024 advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared Israel’s presence in the West Bank and East Jerusalem illegal.
The ICJ ruled that third countries must avoid trade or investment that supports “the illegal situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”
Once implemented, the law will criminalize the importation of goods from Israeli settlements into Ireland, empowering customs officials to inspect, seize, and confiscate any such shipments.
“The situation in Palestine remains a matter of deep public concern,” Harris said. “I have made it consistently clear that this government will use all levers at its disposal to address the horrifying situation on the ground and to contribute to long-term efforts to achieve a sustainable peace on the basis of the two-state solution.”
“Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory are illegal and threaten the viability of the two-state solution,” the Irish diplomat continued. “This is the longstanding position of the European Union and our international partners. Furthermore, this is the clear position under international law.”
Harris also urged the EU to comply with the ICJ’s ruling by taking a more decisive and “adequate response” regarding imports from Israeli settlements.
“This is an issue that I will continue to press at EU level, and I reiterated my call for concrete proposals from the European Commission at the Foreign Affairs Council this week,” he said.
Last week, Ireland and eight other EU member states — Finland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden — called on the European Commission to draft proposals for how EU countries can halt trade and imports with Israeli settlements, in line with obligations set out by the ICJ.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar condemned the latest move by European countries, calling it “shameful” and a misguided attempt to undermine Israel while it faces “existential” threats from Iran and its proxies, including Hamas.
“It is regrettable that even when Israel is fighting an existential threat which is in Europe’s vital interest — there are those who can’t resist their anti-Israeli obsession,” the top Israeli diplomat said in a post on X.
It is regrettable that even when Israel fighting an existential threat which is in Europe vital interest – there are those who can’t resist their anti-Israeli obsession.
Shameful! https://t.co/lxm9qm8sM1— Gideon Sa’ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) June 19, 2025
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