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Virginia Navy Reservist Convicted After Violent Antisemitic Threats, Unlawful Possession

UPDATE April 14, 2023: Hatchet Speed was sentenced to three years in prison on firearms charges. He still faces charges for his January 6th involvement. The sentencing guidelines, in that case, call for a term of nearly five to six years; more here.

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UPDATE March 8, 2023: Hatchet Speed was found guilty following a bench trial of five felonies and misdemeanors, including obstructing an official proceeding and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building on January 6, 2021; more here.

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A federal jury convicted Hatchet Speed of Falls Church, Virginia yesterday evening on charges of unlawful possession of unregistered silencers.

Speed began panic-buying firearms in early 2021; from February to May 2021, Speed purchased at least twelve firearms and spent more than $40,000 at ammunition stores. In March 2021, Speed purchased three silencers from a company in Georgia. Although required by law, the silencers were not registered to Speed in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.

In early 2022, Speed met with an undercover employee of the FBI. During these meetings, Speed discussed his antisemitic, anti-government ideologies with the FBI undercover employee. Speed also discussed taking violent action in furtherance of his ideologies. Speed praised the approach of jihadists and suggested that their approach would effectively “wipe out” the opposition, referring to Jewish people. Speed discussed his efforts to identify targets who were “reachable” by someone like him, stating that he thought about using a “mock trial” to decide which people to add to “the list.” During this discussion, Speed confirmed to the FBI undercover employee that his “solvent traps,” meaning his unregistered silencers, would come in handy for this purpose.

Speed faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison when sentenced on April 13th.

Nazi Propaganda Overwhelms Florida Buildings in Latest 'GDL' Antisemitic Spree

Neo-nazis have been projecting antisemitic messages and hate symbols on buildings in Florida in recent days, blaming Jews for 9/11 and "wrecking" the U.S.

The white supremacist group 'Goyim Defense League' has been projecting antisemitic messages and hate symbols on buildings in Florida in recent days, blaming Jews for 9/11 and "wrecking" the U.S

On January 15, at around 9 p.m. ET, a projection appeared on the AT&T building on Gardenia Street in West Palm Beach, according to local reports. Video footage from the scene shows the words "Jews did 9-11 the FBI helped" scrolling across the building's face.

A live stream, posted on Twitter by StopAntisemitism, shows three men—two wearing hoods, one wearing a baseball cap and mask—laughing on a nearby sidewalk.

A view of Jacksonville city skyline. The Wells Fargo and CSX buildings have been subject to neo-Nazi projections in recent days. A swastika was also projected on the building. StopAntisemitism attributed the incident to GDL.

GDL founder Jon Minadeo II, who has toured the country performing antisemitic stunts and appears to be the man speaking in the video.

Liora Rez, Executive Director of StopAntisemitism, told Newsweek they had traced the stunts back to Minadeo through one of his posts on the social media platform Gab.

Local police later told news station WPTV that a projector and generator had been used in the incident and that the men were confronted but were not cooperative.

"This is a welcoming—this is a diverse city," Mike Jachles, a police spokesperson, told WPTV. "But we have no place for that. We don't welcome them, those types of messages."

"I don't think us showing up had anything to do with their timeline," Jachles told another local news station, WPEC. "They were on public property; whether you endorse the message or not, we have to enforce the law. So we're looking at what, if any, laws were broken."

On January 16, Stop Antisemitism posted footage watermarked with the logo of NSF, of another building projection, this time in Jacksonville. On the top of the Wells Fargo building, the words "Jews are wrecking the U.S.A." scroll across.

"These two antisemites [Minadeo and Nunes] often work closely together, and many have suggested that their relationship was a factor in Minadeo's recent move from California to Jacksonville," Rez said.

There is no suggestion that the businesses were aware of or consented to the projections on their buildings. "Companies have no idea it's happening until after the fact," Stop Antisemitism tweeted.

Images emerged online of a swastika entwined with a crucifix projected on the side of the CSX building in Jacksonville on January 14.

"These displays typically coincide with trespass, stolen power sources or violation of city ordinances," John Phillips, a lawyer at Phillips & Hunt, a Jacksonville-based law firm, wrote on Twitter in reference to the projection. "There are also hate speech laws that can be applied. We can't just do nothing and let it continue."

CSX condemned the neo-Nazi imagery that had been projected on its building in the strongest possible terms. The company told local news station Action News Jax: "The increased acts of antisemitism in Jacksonville are unacceptable. They are an appalling display of intolerance, which sows hatred and undermines our greatest strength—our diversity."

Earlier this week, Rory Diamond, a Jacksonville city council member, said he would file a bill to prevent hate symbols from being projected onto private property.

"You don't have a right to put a bumper sticker on somebody else's car; you don't have a right to project an image on somebody else's building," he told Jacksonville's First Coast News. Other members have also reportedly vowed to introduce similar legislation.

The legislation may not come soon enough, though. Rez said that Stop Antisemitism has "also become aware of [the groups'] plans to broaden their efforts to terrorize Floridian residents with their antisemitic campaigns."

"We have been made aware of a few instances of displaying messages on the side of buildings and other structures, and these cases have been looked into," Officer Christian Hancock, a spokesperson for Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, told Newsweek.

The West Palm Beach Police Department referred Newsweek to a statement by Mayor Keith James, who condemned the projection as a "heinous and despicable act," adding: "Demonstrations like this deepen my commitment to ensure that West Palm Beach remains a place where all are welcomed and respected."

Jewish Comedian Violently Threatened, Called ‘Dirty Yid’ by Soccer Fans in London Bar

Jewish comedian Katie Price was verbally harassed and threatened on Sunday at a London bar by fans of Britain’s Arsenal soccer team who were chanting antisemitic slurs.

Seeing the entire bar join in with the antisemitic chants was “horrendous,” Katie Price, told The Algemeiner.

“Having to run from a gauntlet of men shouting ‘go home, Yiddo’ is something I’ll never forget,” she added. “I burst into tears immediately outside.”

The incident is now being investigated by Metropolitan Police Service officers after Price contacted the Community Security Trust, a non-profit that provides counsel and security services to British Jews.

Price went with friends, including fellow comedian Jamie D’Souza, on Sunday to the Arsenal bar The Cally in Islington to watch the soccer team’s game against Tottenham Hotspurs. The comedian and D’Souza were wearing shirts in support of Arsenal and the bar was full of other Arsenal fans.

Then Price, a lifelong Arsenal fan, heard a group of male Arsenal fans at the bar chanting “we hate Tottenham” but ending the chant with the racist slur “yiddo, yiddo, yiddo,” which is an insulting reference to Spurs’ large Jewish fanbase. She at first ignored it but when the chants continued, she approached the group and told them not to include the antisemitic remark in their chants. She told them, “no need to say that last bit.”

At that point, “upon finding out I’m Jewish, a group of much older men started calling me a ‘dirty f__king yid’ and a ‘Tottenham supporting yiddo,'” she recalled in an Instagram post. “They squared up to me, tried to pull my Arsenal shirt off, made repeated threats to beat us both up and repeatedly chanted ‘dirty yids’ at me.”

The racist group of Arsenal fans also told D’Souza to “take his girl out,” Price told The Algemeiner. She said the bar’s manager then asked her and D’Souza to leave his establishment, and as they left they heard people “from the entire pub” chanting “off you go, yiddo.'” She thinks that the manager did nothing to reprimand the racist group of Arsenal fans because “he was scared of them.”

NGO StopAntisemitism spoke with Price and tweeted their outrage over the antisemitic fiasco.

In her Instagram post, Price said she was sharing what happened to her “because I KNOW there will have been hundreds of Arsenal pubs with chants of ‘yiddo’ which weren’t called out.” She urges people to “please, please, call it out when you hear it. It’s a hate crime.”

She also hopes that Arsenal’s leadership will take action regarding the incident. She told The Algemeiner, “I think a cultural change is really needed. I think I’d like to see a statement from the club and a zero-tolerance policy. One strike and you’re out.”

Speaking to Britain’s Jewish News, The Cally’s manager denied that Price was asked to leave the bar and said his staff’s main concern during the confrontation was preventing any violence from ensuing. He added that he did not hear any of the threats made by the group of men to Price on Sunday.

Outrage Ensuses Over United Nations Envoy's Special Tour with Hezbollah Founder

The UN’s Special Coordinator for Lebanon Joanna Wronecka on Monday thanked a representative of Hezbollah for giving her a “tour d’horizon” of Lebanese issues, eliciting a strongly-worded rebuke from Israeli officials.

“I thank Mr. Ammar Moussawi of Hizbullah for a tour d’horizon on issues of priority for Lebanon, including the election of a new President, the functioning of state institutions and the impact of regional and international developments on the country,” Wronecka wrote in both English and Arabic.

Ammar Moussawi is one of the founding members of the designated terror Hezbollah; Hezbollah is recognized as a terrorist organization by the US, UK, Germany, Japan and others. NGO StopAntisemitism and other Jewish advocacy groups expressed their outrage over Wronecka’s thanking Moussawi for a tour the two took.

Israeli diplomats on Tuesday criticized Wronecka’s decision to meet with Moussawi and for her choice of words in thanking him.

“Is this real..??,” Tweeted Joshua Zarka, Head of Strategic Affairs in Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “An official Senior UN Representative thanks the terrorist organization responsible for the murder of a UN peace keeper for ‘a tour d’horizon’!!!”

“So how does it feel to be indoctrinated by a terrorist? Care to share with us?” asked Yaki Lopez, Head of Public Diplomacy at Israel’s embassy in Berlin.

Wronecka, a Polish diplomat who previously as Poland’s ambassador to the United Nations, is not the first special coordinator to court controversy for meeting with Hezbollah. Her predecessor, Jan Kubis, in 2019 met with Hezbollah Deputy Secretary General Naim Qassem and was gifted a copy of his book, which Kubis called “a necessary reading.”

She was also involved with the dispute between Lebanon and Israel regarding the two countries’ maritime borders.

Kansas Area High School Defaced with Antisemitic, Homophobic Graffiti

UPDATE May 5, 2023: A juvenile pleaded guilty to one count of burglary Thursday for an incident at Blue Valley High School in which antisemitic and racist messages were sprayed inside the school press box. The juvenile will be sentenced on June 22. A parent of his is required to appear at the sentencing. Three juveniles and Wade R. Schemenauer, 18, were each charged with one count of burglary and criminal damage; more here.

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UPDATE February 1, 2023: Kansas City Police have charged Two 16-year-olds, one 17-year-old, and an 18-year-old with felony burglary and felony criminal damage in connection with vandalism that occurred at Blue Valley High School. The 18-year-old, Wade Schemenauer, has been jailed on a $2,500 bond; more here.

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Several leads are being pursued after slurs described as antisemitic, racist, and homophobic were spray-painted on the Blue Valley High football stadium press box.

The damage, which included the break-in of the press box and furniture damage, was discovered Monday when school was out for Doctor Martin Luther King Junior Day.

A crew painted over the graffiti Monday. Monday afternoon, principal Charles Golden sent an email to parents. “Hate like this has no place at Blue Valley High and is not representative of our Tiger community,” the email states.

The graffiti is being widely condemned by area organizations, including Seven Days.

Seven Days was formed in 2014 to promote inclusion and understanding after the fatal shooting at the Jewish Community Center in Overland Park. A statement from Seven Days included comments from youth leader Emma Sandler.

“Knowing that I have to attend my high school after this hateful action is extremely upsetting to me as an openly Jewish student,” she wrote.

Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe said his office would handle the case once an arrest or arrests have been made. Howe said charges would be determined based on the extent of the damage and the age of the suspects. He said if an adult is involved, there could be a hate crime enhancement charge.

New England Neo-Nazi Leader Hit with Civil Rights Complaint over White Supremacist Banner and Brawl

New Hampshire authorities have filed a civil complaint against the leader of the neo-Nazi group NSC-131, Christopher R. Hood Jr, from Pepperell, Mass. who is also facing criminal charges in Boston for allegedly brawling with a counter-protester outside a drag queen story hour last summer and for hanging a racist banner on public property.

The Jewish advocacy group fighting antisemitism - StopAntisemitism - named Chris Hood their ‘Antisemite of the Week’ in May of 2022.

The New Hampshire attorney general’s office said prosecutors and police in Portsmouth, N.H., have launched civil “enforcement actions” against Hood, the group itself, and a man named Leo Anthony Cullinan for hanging banners that read “Keep New England White” from a Route 1 overpass in Portsmouth last July.

“Both Mr. Hood and Mr. Cullinan conspired to violate the Civil Rights Act by agreeing, in conjunction with other NSC-131 members, to travel to Portsmouth, New Hampshire and unlawfully trespass upon public property,” prosecutors said in a statement. “The complaints alleges that Mr. Hood, Mr. Cullinan, and NSC-131′s actions were motivated by race.”

StopAntisemitism, the Anti-Defamation League and Southern Poverty Law Center have classified Hood’s group as a neo-Nazi organization. The group claimed on social media to have disrupted a drag queen story hour in Taunton on Saturday, though law enforcement has not independently confirmed their participation.

Hood made headlines last summer in Boston when he led a demonstration of roughly a dozen masked men outside the Loring Greenough House in Jamaica Plain, where families gathered for the story hour event, police said.

The demonstrators chanted “NSC-131″ and yelled antipedophile slogans until the event ended, according to police reports and a witness.

Most of the group dispersed but several members began “trading insults” with a group of counter-protesters who had gathered on the opposite side of the street, police said. As both groups moved down the road, screaming threats and profanities at each other, Hood and a 27-year old counter-protester began to fight, falling to the ground and drawing several members of each group into the fray until police broke up the skirmish.

Hood was arraigned in July in West Roxbury Municipal Court on a charge of affray in connection with the alleged scuffle. He pleaded not guilty and was released at the time on personal recognizance. That case remains pending, with the next hearing slated for Feb. 16, records show.

More recently, NSC-131 also took credit after masked men disrupted a drag story hour at the Taunton Public Library on Saturday.

Swastikas and White-Supremacist Graffiti Found at GOP Headquarters in Grand Rapids

The Kent County GOP headquarters was vandalized with spray-painted swastikas and white-supremacy graffiti.

The vandalism was reported Tuesday, Jan. 17, at the Gerald R. Ford Republican Headquarters at 725 Lake Michigan Drive NW. Graffiti covered all sour sides of the building.

It happened two months after a similar graffiti was spray-painted on Kent County Democratic Party headquarters at 301 Fuller Ave. NE.

Grand Rapids police were notified of the vandalism in an online report and are investigating.

The vandalism included white supremacist and antisemitic symbols and cross-hairs, all spray-painted in black. It included swastikas and the number 1488, which is a combination of white supremacist number symbols.

Antisemitic Projections Spotted on Jacksonville Building During NFL Game

Hateful displays have evidently re-appeared in Jacksonville - as the Jaguars played at TIAA Bank Field on Saturday night - a swastika and cross were allegedly projected on the side of the CSX building.

CSX says it condemns in the strongest possible terms the antisemitic imagery, saying it is hurtful and in no way represents the company or its employees.

“The increased acts of antisemitism in Jacksonville are unacceptable. They are an appalling display of intolerance, which sows hatred and undermines our greatest strength - our diversity,” CSX said in a statement.

The Jewish advocacy group - StopAntisemitism - tweeted a separate incident occurred during the same evening, documenting who was behind the hate - NatSocFlorida. It is believe the group is behind both incidents.

In response, Jacksonville Councilmember Rory Diamond says he will file a bill this week aiming to prevent symbols of hate from being projected on private property.

White Supremacist Group ‘GDL’ Targets Oregon Town with Antisemitic Flyer Drop

Several neighbors in the Thurston area are upset with antisemitic messages left in the driveway of their homes. "A flier that said abortion starts with Jews and I'm like [expletive] why would anybody do that?” said a woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, “It’s sick. It’s terrible.” 

The fliers, encased in a Ziploc bag, weighed down by bird feed, negatively associate Jewish people with political policies and other issues the messenger clearly doesn't agree with.

In addition to those politically based claims, there was also offensive language directed at Jews, suggesting they engage in certain illegal sexual activities. 

NGO StopAntisemitism previously crowned Jon Minadeo II, of the antisemitic hate group the Goyim Defense League, with ‘Antisemite of the Week.’

"They hit every single neighbor, every single driveway. It wasn't just kids going down the road. This was some group who, anonymously, I guess they're cowards, put these flyers out," the woman added.

She says she's hopeful whoever did it will be caught, and people who see what's going on will stand up against it, and not follow suit.

"We're trying to recognize the fight for everybody to be equal and not target any nationality or any race," she said.

The Springfield Police Department is interested in any additional information the public may be able to provide about this incident. Residents are encouraged to email police@springfield-or.gov with any information, pictures, videos or other visual evidence they may have.

Jewish Children Brutally Assaulted in Latest Brooklyn Antisemitic Attack

Two Jewish boys, aged 10 and 12, were assaulted on Albany Avenue in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn on Sunday evening.

According to Belaaz.com, the boys were attacked at around 6 p.m.

The group responsible for the beating consisted of four black males who did not say anything to the boys as the assault was taking place. The two boys, members of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement, “were viciously assaulted and punched in the face.”

NGO StopAntisemitism tweeted their outrage, stating this is “the new reality for Jews in NYC”.

According to a report by Americans Against Antisemitism, through its Hate Crimes Accountability Project, from April 2018 through August last year, 64% of assaults against Jews where the perpetrators’ group identities were known were committed by black persons. Seventeen percent were perpetrated by Muslims or Arabs, 11% by Hispanics and 3% by whites.

Out of the 194 documented assaults during the period examined, the Hate Crimes Accountability Project found just two cases where a perpetrator was sentenced to prison. Most of the attackers faced no consequences at all. The latest instance of such leniency occurred last week when the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office offered a plea deal to Waseem Awawdeh to reduce his sentence from upwards of 10 years in prison to six months.

Awawdeh was charged with a hate crime for attacking a yarmulke-wearing Jewish man who was heading to a pro-Israel rally in May 2021.

StopAntisemitism lambasted NYC DA Alvin Bragg’s office after a plea deal offer was leaked.

The boys attacked on Sunday are reported to be shaken from the attack but not badly injured. The New York Police Department and the Crown Heights Shomrim neighborhood watch group are investigating the incident.

Anonymous Antisemitic Instagram Account Triggers Police Investigation in Canada

The principal at Sir Robert Borden High School says an anonymous social media account spreading rumours, gossip and hate about students at the west-end school has been reported to the Ottawa police and the hate crimes unit is investigating.

In an email to parents on Jan. 13, principal Matt Gagnier said the social media account was created four days earlier and already had hundreds of posts.

“These appalling comments are racist, antisemitic, homophobic, transphobic, Islamophobic, vulgar, and sexist,” said the email from Gagnier. “It is intolerable that we continue to see a proliferation of social media accounts which are used for targeted attacks and spreading hate.

“We filed a report with the Ottawa Police Service, who have referred the matter to the Hate Crimes Unit,” said the email.

“We have contacted the social media platform to take down the account and are working to learn more about the source of this account,” Gagnier wrote.

It’s the third hate-related incident at the school since December that has prompted authorities to call police.

On Dec. 21, a student reported finding graffiti in an intermediate bathroom that include a Nazi symbol and antisemitic message, according to an earlier email Gagnier sent to parents.

The bathroom was closed and the graffiti removed, Gagnier wrote. The school called police, who began an investigation the next day.

Another incident on Dec. 1 resulted in two students from Sir Robert Borden criminally charged with hate-related offences. That was in relation to two Jewish students allegedly being shown a swastika and subjected to a Nazi salute.

In the latest email to parents about the hateful social media account, Gagnier’s email said school administrators spoke to all students at Sir Robert Borden and encouraged anyone with information to contact his office.

Similar social media accounts have existed in the past that have been shut down, said Gagnier’s email.

“These kinds of accounts and posts take away from our vibrant, diverse and caring school community, and do not represent who we are as a school community.”

He did not give details about the nature of the hateful messages or identify the social media account.

George Washington University Embroiled in Antisemitic Legal Fiasco

The George Washington University was accused by the nonprofit StandWithUs of providing a pervasive, hostile, and discriminatory environment for Jewish and Israeli students in a complaint filed with the US Department of Education’s Office for Civil Right on Thursday.

StandWithUs claimed the university violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which states that "no person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance."

The program in question is the university's Professional Psychology Program, whose facilitator of the program’s mandatory diversity course prof. Lara Sheehi was accused by StandWithUs of denying Jewish and Israeli students "the right to an equal educational opportunity."

The complaint alleges that Israeli and Jewish students who came forward about their experience were punished for speaking out, with the letter claiming Sheehi slandered students' reputations to other faculty members and launched excessive and irregular disciplinary procedures against them.

The complaint further claims that Sheehi invited a guest lecturer who invoked antisemitic tropes about Jews being dishonest and using their influence for nefarious purposes.  The guest speaker, who was identified as Dr. Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian by the Jewish Journal, "expressed support for violence against Israeli civilians," as per the complaint.

As written in the complaint, "when the students raised concerns about the antisemitic harassment they were experiencing, Sheehi denied that what the students had experienced was antisemitism and distorted the Jewish students’ comments to accuse the Jewish students of attacking other identity groups.

Sheehi has been writing in support of the Palestinian cause for many years, according to her academia.org page, which serves as an open repository of free-to-read academic articles. These include: “The will to Live in Palestine (2021),” “Psychotherapeutic Commons in Liberated Palestine (2021),” “Enactments of otherness and searching for a third space in the Palestine-Israel matrix (2016)” and "The settlers’ town is strongly built: Fanon in Palestine (2020)."

Roz Rothstein, StandWithUs CEO and co-founder, noted that "a professor singling out and targeting Jewish and Israeli students for adverse treatment because of their identity is textbook antisemitic discriminatory conduct."

StopAntisemitism named Lara Sheehi as their current ‘Antisemite of the Week’, encouraging their audience to reach out to the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights to voice their concerns about the ongoing antisemitic climate at GW.

“In our 2022 Antisemitism on US College & University Campuses Report, GW was rated a 'D' with many Jewish students stating GW administrators do not take their safety seriously and often do not feel comfortable sharing their Jewish identity with others due to the climate on campus," Executive Director of StopAntisemitism Liora Rez told the Jerusalem Post. "George Washington University is miserably failing its Jewish students and it is a relief to see legal action being taken. Jewish students deserve an environment free of anti-Jewish bias to learn and flourish; with Jew-hating professors like Lara Sheehi and clubs like SJP being allowed to spread their bigotry and cause havoc on campuses nationwide, this is nearly impossible to achieve." 

White Supremacist Group Targets Boca Raton with Latest Antisemitic Flyer Drop

Boca Raton police are investigating an apparent act of antisemitism.

Witnesses told WPTV a pickup truck tossed packets onto the driveways and front yards in some city neighborhoods on Saturday.

Some of the neighborhoods that were targeted are located between two very busy streets— Dixie Highway and U.S. Route 1.

WPTV blurred out the message contained in the packet, that were inserted in zip-lock bags that were also filled with what appear to be pellets.

One neighbor said he heard someone yelling something from a pickup that passed late this afternoon. A little later he went outside and saw the packets at every home on his side street.

Another neighbor posted on social media that his 7-year-old daughter found the packet at the edge of the family driveway.

A Boca Raton police public information officer told WPTV, the department is investigating the case and that “numerous homes had the packets left on their property.”

The officer added that there’s no evidence that the pellets in the packets are toxic, however concerned neighbors warn they are being cautious and telling those who receive them not to open them.

British Parliament Member Loses Seat After Comparing COVID to Holocaust

Andrew Bridgen, a member of British Parliament, has been booted from the Conservative Party after calling COVID-19 vaccination in the United Kingdom “the biggest crime against humanity since the Holocaust” in a tweet on Wednesday.

Starting on Tuesday, Bridgen has already been serving a five-day suspension from parliament for a breach of lobbying standards last year. Now the Tory leader will sit as an independent.

“Andrew Bridgen has crossed a line, causing great offense in the process,” said Simon Hart, the Conservative Party’s chief whip. “As a nation we should be very proud of what has been achieved through the vaccine program. The vaccine is the best defense against COVID that we have.”

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, a Conservative, linked Bridgen’s comments to antisemitism.

“Obviously, it is utterly unacceptable to make linkages and use language like that, and I’m determined that the scourge of antisemitism is eradicated,” Sunak said on the floor of the House of Commons. 

In the U.K., as elsewhere in the world, anti-vaxxer and antisemitic rhetoric have often been deeply linked. 

“The accusations that the pandemic is fake and that Jewish conspirators created the virus are the most dominant in anti-vaxxer communities,” said a report released by the British governmentin the fall of 2020. “Whilst the groups themselves are rarely established to spread antisemitism, they become a hotbed for antisemitic conspiracy theories.”

As COVID vaccines began to roll out, comparing that campaign with the Holocaust and comparing those who administered the vaccines with Nazis became commonplace in the British anti-vaxxer community. 

“At the Nuremberg trials, the doctors and nurses stood trial and they hung. If you are a doctor or a nurse, now is the time to get off that bus. Get off it and stand with us, the people, all around the world they are rising,” Kate Shemirani, a prominent British anti-vaxxer said in 2021.

Martin Stern, a Holocaust survivor and immunologist, who works heavily with Holocaust education groups, told Sky News that Bridgen had “failed in his duty as a legislator.”

University of Michigan Pro Palestinian Protestors Call for 'Intifada' and 'One Solution'

Student protestors from the University of Michigan chanted antisemitic and anti-Zionist slogans at US Vice President Kamala Harris, going as far as accusing her of genocide due to her support of Israel, during a planned speech on Thursday in Ann Arbor. Harris visited the University of Michigan on Thursday for a talk in the university's auditorium on the state of climate policy, student activism and environmental justice across the United States. 

"Kamala, Kamala, you can’t hide, you’re committing genocide," the students, flying Palestinian flags, charged at Harris outside the auditorium, in footage taken by independent journalist Brendan Gutenschwager.

Other pro-Palestinian chants hurled at the vice president included "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" and "not another nickel, not another dime, no more money for Israel’s crimes."

The NGO StopAntisemitism and other Jewish advocacy groups accused the protestors of inciting violence against Jewish students on campus.

The protestors, who reportedly were part of the pro-Palestinian campus group Students Allied for Freedom and Equality, took the opportunity of Harris' visit to attack the Biden administration for providing $3.8 billion in military aid to the "Israeli apartheid regime," as one protester claimed through a megaphone, "unconditional support to the Zionist entity to continue its ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in occupied territories.

"The Biden-Harris administration, much like its predecessors...is complicit in the erasure of the Palestinian people and their homeland," she said as per footage shared on Twitter by Gutenschwager.

Prior to Harris' arrival to Ann Arbor, one pro-Palestinian protester criticized the vice president, arguing that time and time again, Kamala Harris has proven herself a detriment to the marginalized communities she claims to represent."

Jewish Girls Harassed, Spat On While on Way to School

Two young Jewish girls on their way to Bais Rivkah Wednesday morning were petrified when a non-Jewish male suddenly accosted them, cursing and spitting in their face.

The incident took place around 8:15am in the area of Union Street and New York Ave, frightening the girls but thankfully leaving it with words only. Scared but otherwise ok, the girls continued to school.

When the girls returned home at the end of the day, they notified their parents what had happened, who in turn notified Crown Heights Shomrim of the incident.

Shomrim volunteers were on hand Thursday morning to ensure that such incidents do not take place.

If an incident does occur, the victims should notify their parents or principal immediately, who in turn should call Crown Heights Shomrim at 718-774-3333 and 911.

Nazi "SS" Bolts and White Power Graffiti Found at Orlando High School

An investigation is underway after an antisemitic message was found at the Dr. Phillips High School in Orange County Florida.

WESH 2 spoke with the parent who found the graffiti. He says he was surprised and disappointed because he has a son who is Jewish that attends Dr. Phillips High School.

He found the graffiti while at a family event hosted by the school Wednesday night and then he reported it to a teacher.

Thursday morning parents received a voicemail from the principal who says law enforcement is helping them investigate who's responsible. "I was surprised. I was also scared. There's a really short distance from speech like that and language like that to actual physical form," Michael McNarney, a parent, said.

McNarney was at an event hosted by Dr. Phillips High School Wednesday night. It was a family-friendly gathering but he came across something unwelcoming. "I actually (had) driven there from dropping one of our kids off at our synagogue and stopped and go to the bathroom, and there it was right there — some Nazi SS symbols, WP for white power," McNarney said.

He told a teacher about the hate symbols he discovered on the bathroom stall and expressed his disappointment – a feeling the high school principal shares.

A school-wide voicemail was sent to parents Thursday morning. "This type of behavior will not be tolerated and appropriate discipline will be handed out according to the Code of Student Conduct up to and including suspension, expulsion or arrest," the principal said in a voicemail.

"I feel like there's not been enough people speaking out and so it's occurring more now," State Rep. Rita Harris said.

The high school is in Harris' district, who is Jewish herself. "You feel like you are not wanted where you are and it's really important for students. I mean they spend one-third of their lives at school," Harris said.

The Jewish advocacy group fighting antisemitism - StopAntisemitism - the incident must be condemned, investigated, and prosecuted.

The school and law enforcement are continuing to investigate who's responsible for the antisemitic message.

Antisemitic Student Club at University of Chicago Boycotts Class Taught by Jew

An antisemitic group at the University of Chicago has called for a boycott of a course taught by retired Israeli Defense Forces General Meir Elran.

In an op-ed published Tuesday in the Chicago Maroon, SJP accused Elran of “anti-Palestinian violence” and described his course as “nothing less than the incursion of Israel’s military complex onto the university’s campus.

Elran, head of the Homeland Security Program at the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University, is currently teaching at University of Chicago as a visiting professor through an exchange program sponsored by the Israel Institute, a nonprofit organization that connects colleges and universities with scholars who can teach courses about modern Israel.

On Thursday, Professor Elran declined to comment on SJP’s campaign “at length” but stressed that he will “continue teaching…in accordance with the best practices of the University of Chicago.”

“No principle of ‘academic freedom’ or ‘intellectual inquiry’ justifies hosting classes taught by complicit Israeli military personnel,” SJP wrote on Tuesday. “Particularly not classes that misrepresent Palestinian history, treat Palestinian deaths as fodder for ‘strategic’ military reflection, and inundate students with the Orientalist worldview of Israeli colonists.”

The group added that it plans to wage a “sustained, student led campaign against Elran’s course for the duration of this quarter.”

On Wednesday, Asaf Romirowsky, a Middle East expert and executive director of the Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa (ASMEA) and Scholars for Peace in the Middle East (SPME), told The Algemeiner that SJP is advancing a “classic cancel culture narrative.”

“That he’s a former military official adds more fuel to the fire, but they would have the same reaction to any pro-Israeli or Israeli scholar,” he added. “And we’ve seen this historically with other pro-BDS, SJP groups.”

The Algemeiner also spoke with Tammi Rossman-Benjamin, executive director of AMCHA Initiative, a nonprofit that monitors antisemitism on campus. She said, “A university like the University of Chicago, which prides itself on promoting free speech and academic freedom, should forthrightly address these attempts to stifle the academic exchange of ideas and bully Jewish students into silence.”

The proposed action against Elran is the latest campaign by UChicago SJP. Last January, the group urged students to boycott courses about Israel and those taught by Israeli academic fellows. SJP charged that university courses educating students about Israel are “controlling the narrative” to erase Palestinians, and presenting the Israel-Palestine conflict “as a conflict between two equals in an effort to legitimize its existence.”

“Don’t take sh*tty Zionist classes,” UChicago SJP said in a social media post. “Support the Palestinian movement for liberation by boycotting classes on Israel or those taught by Israeli fellows. By attending these classes, you are participating in a propaganda campaign that creates complicity in the continuation of Israel’s occupation of Palestine.”

In May 2022, the group worked with the incoming Undergraduate Student Senate to issue a joint statement that said, “From the river to the sea USG supports a Palestine that is free.” The slogan, commonly used by Palestinian nationalists, calls for the establishment of a Palestinian state between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, in place of Israel.

While Jewish and Zionist student groups, including UChicago Hillel and UChicago JStreet, later endorsed a resolution to retract the statement, it did not pass and voting totals for the measure were never made public.