Ministers call for more security around Jewish schools and places of worship after incident in La Grande-Motte
French police have arrested a man suspected of attempted arson against a synagogue in the southern France city of La Grande-Motte, acting interior minister Gérald Darmanin said on X.
The incident in the Mediterranean resort east of Montpellier is being investigated by France’s specialist antiterrorism prosecutor.
Continue reading...Plaintiff in New York case says he lost job after complaining that his manager openly celebrated terrorism against Israel
A Jewish former employee of Intel sued the chipmaker on Tuesday, saying he was fired after complaining that the senior executive he reported to openly celebrated antisemitism, Hamas and terrorism against Israel.
The plaintiff, a former vice-president of engineering using the pseudonym John Doe, said Intel fired him on 2 April in a purported cost-cutting move barely two months after assigning him to report to Alaa Badr, vice-president of customer success.
Continue reading...Police say they are searching for a male who allegedly vandalised the inner-west Sydney office in what is the latest political graffiti attack
Police are investigating after the New South Wales Greens’ office was graffitied with Islamophobic and white supremacist messages.
The graffiti, which occurred in the early hours of Thursday morning at the office in inner west Sydney, called an Islamic prophet a white supremacist.
Continue reading...Growing number of antisemitic, misogynistic posts reveal far right’s anxieties as Harris’s candidacy solidifies
As Donald Trump’s campaign shifts his focus to presumptive Democratic nominee, Vice-President Kamala Harris, the online ecosystem of the far right has responded in lockstep with racist insults, misogynistic tropes, antisemitic conspiracy theories and viral memes against her. Some of those attacks, common throughout her vice-presidency, are directly targeting her Jewish husband and second gentleman, Doug Emhoff.
After Joe Biden’s stunning decision to step down as the Democratic candidate in this year’s presidential election to then endorse Harris, Republicans as high ranking as Trump were quick to decry the switch as tantamount to a “coup” attempt – a dangerous allegation with no factual basis.
Continue reading...University president says private text exchange during school event was ‘unacceptable and deeply upsetting’
Three Columbia University deans have been indefinitely removed from their positions after sending text messages that the university president said included antisemitic tropes.
In a message sent on Monday, the Columbia president, Minouche Shafik, said that text messages “revealed behavior and sentiments that were not only unprofessional, but also, disturbingly touched on ancient antisemitic tropes”, the Columbia Spectator reported.
Continue reading...Meta says it would remove content ‘attacking “Zionists” when it is not explicitly about the political movement’
Meta Platforms said on Tuesday it would start taking down more posts that target “Zionists” when the term is used to refer to Jewish people and Israelis rather than representing supporters of the political movement.
The Facebook and Instagram parent said in a blog post it would remove content “attacking ‘Zionists’ when it is not explicitly about the political movement” and uses antisemitic stereotypes or threatens harm through intimidation or violence directed against Jews or Israelis.
Continue reading...Many say they feel stuck in middle between far-right National Rally and hard-left France Unbowed
As France faces a high-stakes second round of elections on Sunday, French Jewish people say they are grappling with tough choices and feel caught between extremes amid concerns about rising antisemitism.
As part of her longstanding efforts to detoxify the image of the far-right National Rally (RN) – currently leading in opinion polls – Marine Le Pen, to the incredulity of many, has sought to present herself as a friend of Jewish people and Israel.
Continue reading...The Guardian used public records and open source materials to identify Daniel Linden of the Shirion Collective
A prime mover behind the Shirion Collective, a conspiracy-minded, pro-Israel disinformation network seeking to shape public opinion about the Gaza conflict in the US, Australia and the UK, is a tech entrepreneur named Daniel Linden living in Florida who co-wrote a guidebook for OnlyFans users, the Guardian can reveal.
Shirion has harassed pro-Palestinian activists, including many Jews, offered bounties for the identity of pro-Palestinian protesters, spread conspiracy narratives centered on figures like George Soros, and boasted of an AI-surveillance platform but offered few concrete details of how the technology functions.
Continue reading...Pro-Palestinian protesters accuse companies of trying to sell stolen land in the West Bank, and question legality
Efforts to market homes in Israel and stolen land in West Bank to Jewish Americans are continuing to spark protests across North America, with the latest angry confrontations happening outside a synagogue in one of Los Angeles’s most prominent Jewish neighborhoods.
The volatile protest and counter-protest outside a real estate event at the Adas Torah synagogue on Sunday prompted denunciations from Democratic politicians, including Joe Biden, who said protests targeting a house of worship were antisemitic and unacceptable.
Continue reading...Alleged rape of girl, 12, in suspected antisemitic attack contributing to ‘very difficult climate’ as election looms
Many Jewish people are “questioning [their] future in France”, a community leader has said, after a 12-year-old girl was allegedly raped in a suspected antisemitic attack and fears deepen about the rise of extremism before a parliamentary election this month.
“The climate is very, very difficult for Jews,” Yonathan Arfi, the president of the Representative Council of French Jewish Institutions (Crif), said on Thursday. “People are very, very worried about the future,” he said. “People are, I would say, questioning the future in France.”
Continue reading...Reports say investigators looking into possibility that Russian security services ordered vandalism in Paris
France is investigating whether graffiti painted on the wall of Paris’s Holocaust memorial last week was a destabilisation operation coordinated from Russia, French media have reported.
On the morning of 14 May, about 20 spray-painted red hand symbols were discovered on one of the memorial’s exterior walls, which is dedicated to honouring individuals who saved Jews from persecution during the Nazi occupation of France.
Continue reading...Safety of Jewish community ‘canary in mine’ for British political system, communities secretary will warn in speech
Michael Gove is to warn that Britain risks “descending into the darkness” if it fails to tackle growing antisemitism in the wake of the 7 October attacks.
In a major speech, the communities secretary will say the safety of the Jewish community in the UK is the “canary in the mine” for the health of the whole political system.
Continue reading...Police arrested dozens of people in Amsterdam, with university occupations continuing in Netherlands, Belgium and Spain
Thirty-two people were arrested as Dutch police broke up a Gaza war protest at the University of Amsterdam, in a second day of unrest over the conflict. Police said the offences included public violence, vandalism and assault.
Video captured by Reuters appeared to show officers in riot gear striking protesters and police knocking down makeshift barricades of desks, bricks and wooden pallets that seemingly had been used to set off fire extinguishers in hopes of pushing them back. The footage appeared to also show police dragging several students away as hundreds shouted: “Shame on you!”
Continue reading...John Hostettler of Indiana, whom pro-Israel groups deemed ‘antisemitic’, loses to Mark Messmer, who led opponents with 40% of vote
Republican John Hostettler has lost his House primary in Indiana, delivering a victory to pro-Israel groups who sought to block the former congressman from returning to Washington. The groups attacked Hostettler as insufficiently supportive of Israel at a time when criticism of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has hit new highs because of the war in Gaza.
When the Associated Press called the eighth district primary race at 7.49pm ET, less than an hour after the last polls closed in Indiana, Mark Messmer led his opponents with 40% of the vote. Messmer, the Indiana state senate majority leader, will advance to the general election in November, which he is heavily favored to win because of the district’s Republican leanings. The victor will replace Republican congressman Larry Bucshon, who announced his retirement earlier this year.
Continue reading...Mothin Ali has not been suspended from city council despite proclaiming ‘Allahu Akbar’ and other remarks causing offence
A Green party councillor at the centre of an antisemitism row has apologised “for the upset caused” by his remarks but hit back at “Islamophobic” attacks against him.
The Green party has launched an investigation into Mothin Ali, who was elected to Leeds city council last week, but has declined to suspend him.
Continue reading...Campaign Against Antisemitism, led by Gideon Falter, cites safety fears and promises more protests to come
Campaign Against Antisemitism has cancelled its planned counter-protest against a pro-Palestinian march through central London on Saturday.
The group, led by Gideon Falter, had said it wanted to use the “walk together” initiative to support its view that the area around the planned pro-Palestinian march was not safe for Jewish people.
Continue reading...Statement comes after Met police apologised for calling antisemitism campaigner ‘openly Jewish’
Being Jewish “should never be seen as provocative”, the government has said after a row over the policing of a pro-Palestine march.
In a video released by Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA), the charity’s chief executive, Gideon Falter, who was wearing a kippah skull cap, was told by a Met officer at a pro-Palestine march last Saturday: “You are quite openly Jewish, this is a pro-Palestinian march. I’m not accusing you of anything but I’m worried about the reaction to your presence.”
Continue reading...Police officer had stopped Gideon Falter from walking near pro-Palestinian march while wearing kippah skull cap
The Metropolitan police has apologised after an officer used the term “openly Jewish” to an antisemitism campaigner who was threatened with arrest near a pro-Palestine march.
Gideon Falter, chief executive of the Campaign Against Antisemitism, was wearing a kippah skull cap when he was stopped from crossing the road near the demonstration in the Aldwych area of London last Saturday afternoon.
Continue reading...Minouche Shafik appeared beleaguered as House members grilled her over reported upsurge in antisemitism on campus
The head of a prestigious US university clashed with members of Congress today in highly charged hearings over a reported upsurge in antisemitism on campus in the wake of Israel’s war in Gaza.
Minouche Shafik, the president of Columbia University, appeared beleaguered and uncertain as one Congress member after another assailed her over her institution’s supposed inaction to stop it becoming what one called “a hotbed of antisemitism and hatred”.
This article was amended on 17 April 2024 to correctly identify the school where Elizabeth Magill resigned as president last year. The school was the University of Pennsylvania, not Pennsylvania University.
Continue reading...Group’s annual report notes rise in anti-migrant activism and asks if Tory voters are ‘falling out of love with democracy’
British voters are restless, angry and demoralised and more than half of them are pessimistic about the future, according to polling that a counter-extremism organisation has said shows warning signs of future unrest.
More than one in four respondents (43%) described the UK as “declining”, just 6% agreed that the political system was working well and 79% said politicians “don’t listen to people like me”.
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