Category Archives: Antisemitism

Harvard board backs president amid calls for removal over antisemitism testimony

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Claudine Gay and presidents of UPenn and MIT faced backlash over responses on campus policy at congressional hearing

The Harvard Corporation, the highest governing body at the university, has backed the university’s president, Claudine Gay, to remain in post after calls for her removal following controversial testimony over antisemitism on campus.

Gay and the presidents of University of Pennsylvania and MIT faced backlash for their remarks at a congressional hearing into antisemitism on college campuses. Congresswoman Elise Stefanik demanded a “yes” or “no” response to her question of whether calling for the genocide of Jews would violate their university’s code of conduct. The presidents’ various responses were criticized for not being unequivocal enough in their condemnation of calls for genocide.

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‘I no longer feel at home here’: German Muslims frustrated by Israel backing

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Many say Germany’s historical responsibility for Nazi crimes makes it hard for people to criticise Gaza strategy

Lobna Shammout was initially only vaguely aware of the Hamas attacks on Israel on 7 October, because she had been celebrating her 40th birthday. “The breaking news was crashing my phone, I thought ‘please, not today’,” the Palestinian-German said. “When I finally checked … each newsflash was worse than the one before.”

In the following weeks, as Israel launched an all-out assault on Gaza in retaliation for the attacks, which killed 1,200 people, Shammout has waited anxiously for news of her relatives and friends in Gaza. Some have been killed, among the estimated 15,000 Palestinians who the Hamas-run health ministry says have lost their lives.

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Billionaires and free speech advocates wade into US college antisemitism fray

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Leaders of three universities continue navigating calls to resign following ‘evasive’ answers in House hearing

Leaders of three prestigious US universities remained under pressure on Friday as a controversy about antisemitism on campus, inflamed by their appearance at a congressional hearing earlier in the week, showed little sign of abating, with free speech advocates and billionaire college donors wading into the fray.

Liz Magill, the president of the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn), survived an emergency meeting of its board of trustees on Thursday amid backlash to her “disastrous” comments to the hearing investigating rising campus antisemitism since the beginning of the Israel-Gaza war.

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Melbourne’s Anna Schwartz gallery drops artist Mike Parr after political piece on Israel-Gaza war

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Gallery owner, who has represented Parr for 36 years, says she was sickened by ‘hate graffiti’ in the work, but denies censoring it and has kept it on display

The Melbourne gallery owner Anna Schwartz has dropped the provocative performance artist Mike Parr after a 36-year relationship, after a piece commenting on Israel’s military action in Gaza.

Schwartz sent Parr a two-sentence email on Sunday, the day after he installed the third part of his exhibition Sunset Claws, informing him she would no longer represent him.

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US university presidents face firestorm over evasive answers on antisemitism

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Congressional testimony on campus policies by heads of Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania and MIT draws criticism

The presidents of three of the nation’s top universities are facing intense backlash, including from the White House, after they appeared to evade questions during a congressional hearing about whether calls by students for the genocide of Jews would constitute harassment under the schools’ codes of conduct.

In a contentious, hours-long debate on Tuesday, the presidents of Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) sought to address the steps they were taking to combat rising antisemitism on campus since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war. But it was their careful, indirect response to a question posed by the Republican congresswoman Elise Stefanik of New York that drew scathing criticism.

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Israeli ambassador ‘very sad’ about rise in antisemitic incidents in Australia

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Amir Maimon urges government ‘to take all necessary measures’ to ensure ‘different people of different faiths’ feel secure

The Israeli ambassador says he is “very sad” about a rise in antisemitic incidents in Australia and has urged the government to “take all necessary measures” to ensure people of different faiths and backgrounds feel safe.

Amir Maimon said that, in particular, he was “so, so upset” about the presence of pro-Palestine protesters at a Melbourne hotel where relatives and friends of Hamas-held hostages were staying last week.

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Members of Texas Republican party free to associate with Nazi sympathizers

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Executive committee rejects banning members who ‘espouse or tolerate antisemitism’ and deny Holocaust, arguing clause is vague

Members of Texas’s Republican party are free to associate with Nazi sympathizers without worries of violating internal policy after they held a vote on Saturday.

In a 32-29 vote, the party’s executive committee decided against excluding from their organization those “known to espouse or tolerate antisemitism, pro-Nazi sympathies or Holocaust denial”. A proposal to ban such individuals was included in a resolution supporting Israel as it wars with Hamas in Gaza.

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Hundreds of prominent Australians sign letter condemning ‘abhorrent’ rise in antisemitism

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Signatories include former premiers Daniel Andrews and Gladys Berejiklian, and businessmen Lindsay Fox and Anthony Pratt

Hundreds of prominent Australians, including former state premiers, industry leaders and media personalities, have signed an open letter denouncing antisemitism and calling for all Australians to be treated with respect, inclusivity and dignity.

The open letter was published on Tuesday morning and ran as a prominent double-page advertisement across print newspapers, linking to a website titled “Say No to Antisemitism”.

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Elon Musk visits scene of kibbutz massacre with Benjamin Netanyahu

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Pair speak about Gaza conflict but not online antisemitism nor controversial post made by X owner this month

Elon Musk has joined the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, in visiting a kibbutz that was attacked by Hamas on 7 October, after criticism of his endorsement of an antisemitic post on X.

The owner of X, the site formerly known as Twitter, has been criticised for supporting a post on his platform that falsely claimed Jewish people were stoking hatred against white people. High-profile advertisers have also suspended spending on the site after a report that ads were appearing next to pro-Nazi content.

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Attack on Aipac president’s home in LA investigated as hate crime – reports

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Social media videos show protesters igniting smoke devices and spattering fake blood outside Michael Tuchin’s home

A protest outside the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac) president’s Los Angeles home is reportedly being investigated as a possible hate crime after social media videos showed demonstrators igniting smoke devices and spattering fake blood.

According to reports by the Los Angeles Times and other news outlets, Aipac president Michael Tuchin’s home in the Brentwood section was vandalized Thursday on Thanksgiving by protesters who also pounded pots in the driveway and held up a sign that read: “Fuck your holiday, baby killer.”

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Tommy Robinson not welcome at march against antisemitism, say leaders

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Organisers of London protest against anti-Jewish hatred demand that far-right leader stays away, after he claimed to support it

Organisers of a march against antisemitism billed as Britain’s biggest since the second world war have demanded that the far-right leader Stephen Yaxley-Lennon stay away.

Yaxley-Lennon, who uses the name Tommy Robinson, has claimed to support the aims of the march through central London due to be held this Sunday.

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Together for Humanity plans mass vigil to bridge divisions over Israel-Gaza war

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Coalition of political, faith and community leaders aims to combat extremism and bring people together

A coalition of political, faith and civil society leaders is attempting to bridge divisions over the Israel-Gaza war that are threatening community cohesion, according to its co-founder, Brendan Cox.

Together for Humanity is organising a mass vigil on 3 December, bringing together people who have lost family in Gaza with people who have lost loved ones in Israel in an acknowledgment of the pain and grief on both sides of the conflict.

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Elon Musk to file ‘thermonuclear lawsuit’ as advertisers desert X

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Social media firm boss says he will sue media watchdog that said ads were being placed alongside antisemitic content

Elon Musk has said he will be filing a “thermonuclear lawsuit” against Media Matters and others, after major US companies paused their adverts on his social media site over concerns about antisemitism.

Media watchdog Media Matters said earlier this week that it found corporate advertisements by IBM, Apple, Oracle and Comcast’s Xfinity were being placed alongside antisemitic content, including that praising Adolf Hitler and the Nazis.

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Shots fired at another Jewish school in Montreal amid tensions over Israel-Hamas war

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Third such case in less than a week in Canadian city but unclear if incidents are related

A Jewish school in Montreal was hit by gunfire, according to local media, marking the Canadian city’s third such attack in less than a week amid heightened tensions over the conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.

No one was injured when the facade of Yeshiva Gedola of Montreal was struck early on Sunday. Bullet marks and shells were found after residents heard gunfire, CBC News in Canada reported.

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China has a history of being pro-Palestinian, but now faces diplomatic conundrum

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Rivalry with US and current of antisemitism are running up against Beijing’s increasing closeness to Israel

China was an early proponent of a ceasefire in Gaza and has called for wider talks on resolving the Palestinian question. But analysts say the situation is complicated, and it’s not clear what Beijing expects to achieve, and how it can get there.

Beijing has been a supporter of the Palestinians since the Mao era and long called for a two-state solution, but it is increasingly close to Israel, and is presenting itself as a neutral party that holds steadfast to a noninterference principle.

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Marine Le Pen’s support of Israel seen as move away from party’s antisemitic past

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National Rally has firmly supported Israel’s right to defend itself and promised to protect French Jews

The French far-right leader Marine Le Pen’s support of Israel in the wake of the Hamas attacks is being seen as part of a long-running drive to move her National Rally party away from its toxic, antisemitic past before a run for the presidency in 2027.

National Rally, which is now the biggest opposition party in the French parliament and is polling ahead of Emmanuel Macron’s centrists for next year’s European elections, has firmly supported Israel’s right to defend itself since the Hamas attacks on 7 October and the ensuing bombardment of Gaza.

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Russia blames Ukraine for antisemitic riot at airport in Dagestan

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Foreign ministry says Kyiv played ‘direct and key role’ after mob stormed planes in search of Israeli passengers

Russia has blamed Ukraine for the antisemitic riot in the mostly Muslim region of Dagestan on Sunday in which an angry mob stormed the airport in Makhachkala in search of Jewish passengers arriving from Israel.

Maria Zakharova, the Russian foreign ministry spokesperson, said on Monday that the riot was the result of a “provocation” orchestrated from outside Russia, with Ukraine playing a “direct and key role”.

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EU official warns of antisemitism in European society as fears grow over rising Islamophobia – as it happened

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Michael O’Flaherty, director of agency for fundamental rights, says ‘dramatic moments in our societies trigger antisemitic responses’. This live blog is closed

“Lovers and defenders of democracy, it’s high time to stand up,” tweeted the EU’s coordinator on combating antisemitism Katharina von Schnurbein.

She was responding to the incident in Dagestan, describing the mob as “hatred unleashed by globally downplaying the barbaric acts of Hamas of 7 Oct and allowing antisemitism and anti-Zionism to fester around the globe.”

The authorities in European countries have a responsibility to make sure that everyone is safe and protected from violence and discrimination.

It’s also important for the authorities to protect people’s right to peaceful protest and expression and ensure that governments’ security responses to violence don’t harm rights.

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UK ministers to hold Cobra meeting on terrorism threat from Israel-Hamas conflict

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Suella Braverman will meet police and national security officials at No 10 to discuss ‘accelerated’ risk

UK ministers will hold an emergency meeting of its Cobra committee amid concerns that the Israel-Gaza conflict has raised the possibility of a domestic terrorist incident.

The home secretary, Suella Braverman, will meet national security officials and police at No 10 on Monday to assess the security risk after the deadly Hamas attack on Israel more than three weeks ago.

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Victorian education official to apologise in person for antisemitic bullying at Brighton secondary college

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A judge also ordered the state to pay the five men more than $500,000 in compensation, including interest and legal costs

A Victorian education department official will make an in-person apology to five students who experienced antisemitic bullying at a Melbourne school.

The former Brighton secondary college students – Joel and Matt Kaplan, Liam Arnold-Levy, Guy Cohen and Zack Snelling – successfully sued the school and the state of Victoria in the federal court, which handed down its decision last month.

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