Bomb Threats Made at Multiple Jewish Centers in New York

Bomb threats across New York City have left members of the Jewish community frightened.  

Bomb threats were made at the Riverdale Jewish Center and the Shaare Zion Temple in Brooklyn on Sunday.  

The NYPD investigated these two synagogues top to bottom, and while the investigation remains ongoing, it was discovered that these threats were being made through multiple synagogues citywide. Law enforcement officials say the threats appear to be part of a series of swatting or hoax threats that have been sent nationwide. 

Members at the Riverdale Jewish Center say they are grateful those threats were unfounded, but that they are worried those empty threats may turn into action.  

Rabbi Pewnzer, of the Riverdale Center, says he has experienced his share of bomb threats over the years.

"When is it going to stop this is enough we can’t take it anymore. We are always the target and continue to be,” said Pewnzer. “We need more help and more people need to be aware that we just want to be in peace.” 

The NYPD says they plan to continue the areas threatened and continue their investigation. 

New Jersey Man Charged for Antisemitic Activity

A 43-year-old Jersey City man who police say was exhibiting emotionally disturbed behavior, has been charged in two incidents where he harassed and threatened people of the Jewish faith on Martin Luther King Drive, city officials said Wednesday.

The man, who was positively identified by a medical bracelet on his wrist, was taken into custody Sunday afternoon, city spokesman Stan Eason said.

In the first incident, the man made threats and used slurs to Jewish residents at a store, claiming he would “blow the establishment up,” Eason said. In the second incident, he’s charged with theft of a teenager’s hat, forcibly taking it off a 14-year-old’s head after claiming he was cold.

The suspect was taken into custody without resistance a few hours following the incidents and charged with harassment, bias intimidation, making terroristic threats, and theft, Eason said.

University in Austria Ends Collaboration with Harvard Due to Rising Antisemitism

The Lauder Business School, a notable institution in Vienna catering to a diverse student body, including Israelis, has recently announced the cessation of its collaboration with Harvard University. This decision arose amidst concerns regarding the escalation of antisemitism on the Harvard campus and the perceived lack of appropriate response from its leadership.

According to a statement on behalf of the Austrian university, the partnership, which commenced in 2014 as part of the Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness at Harvard Business School, symbolized Lauder Business School's "dedication to global educational collaborations." However, the unfolding events at Harvard have prompted a reevaluation. "In light of the recent developments, Lauder Business School has decided to withdraw from this network, thereby expressing solidarity with the Jewish student community at Harvard," the school stated.

Earlier this month, Harvard University President Claudine Gay did not provide a clear condemnation of the concept of Jewish genocide during a Congressional hearing.

In the five-hour congressional hearing on antisemitism on campuses, presidents from MIT, Harvard, and UPenn testified following a Department of Education investigation into rising antisemitic incidents since the Hamas terror attack on Israel. The hearing, which focused on the inability of university presidents, including UPenn's, to unequivocally condemn calls for the genocide of Jews, led to President Liz Magill's resignation after pressure from donors and criticism over her testimony and prompted a US House of Representatives committee to investigate the three involved universities.

Emphasizing the importance of ethical alignment in partnerships, a statement on behalf of the school expressed, "Our university is proud to create partnerships, but these must consistently align with our moral standards and criteria."

Julius Demm, the rector of Lauder Business School, conveyed his institution's stance in a press release: "We have been engaged in long-standing collaborations with Israeli universities. Since 2014, our partnership with Professor Mike Porter at Harvard University represented a significant aspect of our international engagements. However, given the recent incidents, we are announcing our withdrawal from the Harvard network and are expressing our unwavering support for the Jewish student community at Harvard."

The Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness at Harvard Business School is designed to be taught at selected universities around the world.

Lauder Business School, an English-language business school inVienna, operates as a "University of Applied Sciences" within the Austrian education system. Established in 2003 with financial backing from Ronald S. Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress, the school currently enrolls approximately 400 students in various programs, creating an international educational atmosphere.

London Police Searching for Man on Bicycle Caught Knocking Hats off Jewish Men

Police are hunting a suspected racist caught on CCTV knocking hats off Jewish men and assaulting a child close to a synagogue in north London.

The thug on a bike swipes at victims’ heads as he cycles past them on Cazenove Road, Stamford Hill.

Community safety group Shomrim claimed the same man punched other people in the face.

It shared footage online of the incident which happened less than a mile from a bus stop outside a Jewish girls’ school where vandals spray-painted a cross over the Star of David on Amhurst Park.

Metropolitan Police detectives appealed for witnesses over the latest crime and revealed a child had been hurt around 2pm on December 21.

The attacks comes amid a surge in antisemitic reports and Islamophobia since Hamas gunmen launched their murderous assault on Israel in October and Israel’s response.

Scotland Yard said: “Police were called shortly after 2pm on Thursday, December 21 to reports that a male on a bicycle had knocked the hats off a number of people before assaulting a child on Cazenove Road, N16.

“Officers attended and spoke with the informant. The victims and suspect had left prior to their arrival.

“Whilst there have been no arrests at this time, our investigation into this incident remains ongoing including a review of local CCTV footage.

“Since the beginning of the conflict in Israel and Gaza, we have increased reassurance patrols across Stamford Hill and the wider area.

“We have been clear that hate has no place in London, and any allegation of antisemitism reported to police will be investigated robustly.”

Several Hospitals and Jewish Centers in Ohio Targets of Emailed Bomb Threats

Reports of several bomb threats across Cincinnati Tuesday morning are now under investigation.

Hamilton County sheriff's deputies were on scene at Jewish Hospital shortly before noon, with bomb dogs inside. No threat was found inside the building.

Prior to being dispatched to Jewish Hospital, deputies were at Congregation Beth Adam, in Symmes Township. According to radio traffic, an administrator received a bomb threat via email.

A short time later, investigators gave the all clear. There was nothing found at the synagogue.

The Hamilton County Sheriff's Office also said a bomb threat was made via email to Mercy Anderson. No threat was found at that hospital, either.

In a statement to WLWT, the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati said several organizations across the state of Ohio were affected Tuesday, saying the FBI is investigating.

“Several Jewish organizations have been affected across Ohio. The FBI is investigating these bomb threats due to the fact that hundreds of these email bomb threats have been issued nationwide. Please refer to the FBI for any further comment," its statement reads.

FBI Cincinnati confirmed to WLWT that they are investigating.

"The FBI is aware of the numerous hoax incidents where a bomb threat at a synagogue or other institution is made. The FBI takes hoax threats very seriously because they put innocent people at risk. While we have no information to indicate a specific and credible threat, we will continue to work with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners to gather, share, and act upon threat information as it comes to our attention. We urge the public to remain vigilant, and report any and all suspicious activity and/or individuals to law enforcement immediately," the FBI said in a statement.

WLWT confirmed Georgetown Behavioral in Brown County also received a threat Tuesday morning. That scene was cleared without anything being located, as well.

Two Ohio Synagogues Receive Bomb Threats

Two area synagogues received bomb threats Tuesday morning, Jewish leaders said in a statement.

Police deemed the threats to Congregation B’nai Israel and Temple Shomer Emunim not credible, according to a statement from the Jewish Federation and Foundation of Greater Toledo. Authorities searched inside and outside of both buildings after the email threats came in. The organization said other synagogues in the state received the same email threat Tuesday morning.

Police and the FBI are working to figure out who is responsible for the antisemitic threats, which have happened nationwide in various swatting incidents. Swatting refers to false threat reports made in an effort to cause disruptions and illicit a police response. There was another bomb threat sent to Congregation B’nai Israel just earlier this month.

The organization is reminding the public to remain vigilant and asks anyone who notices suspicious activity or antisemitic actions to report it.

“These bomb threats are not isolated incidents,” the organization said in a statement. “The Jewish community is experiencing record levels of antisemitism nationwide, in part from the Israel-Hamas war emboldening antisemites here in Toledo and across the United States.”

Earlier today, an area hospital system also appeared to be the target of a swatting incident, with a false bomb threat emailed to a Wauseon hospital.

Explosion Near Israeli Embassy in India Sparks Investigation

An explosion occurred near the Israeli embassy in New Delhi on Tuesday, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

There were no injuries as a result of the blast.

Indian news networks said that a letter addressed to the Israeli ambassador was found close to the scene of the explosion. The Indian Express reported that the letter was typed and “abusive.” No further details were given.

The report said investigators were working to establish if there was a connection between the letter and the explosion.

The Foreign Ministry said Israeli security officials were working with local Indian authorities on the investigation.

In an interview with Indian television, embassy spokesman Guy Nir said staff heard the explosion from within the building.

“Around 5:08 [p.m.], we heard a blast. We believed it to be close and later we found out it was in close proximity to the embassy,” Nir said. “We have the Delhi police and our security team over there investigating the situation.”

Deputy Ambassador to India Ohad Nakash Kaynar told Asian News International that Israeli security teams “are working in full cooperation with local Delhi security and they will investigate the matter further.”

In 2021, a blast outside Israel’s embassy in New Delhi damaged cars but caused no injuries, in an attack India has said was carried out by the Quds Force branch of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

In February 2012, the wife of the Israeli military attaché was injured in a car bomb attack in New Delhi.

Indian police concluded that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps was behind the bombing, one of a series of attempted attacks against Israeli targets around the world attributed to Iran during that period.

Tuesday’s explosion came a day after a senior officer in the IRGC was killed in an alleged Israeli airstrike in the Syrian capital of Damascus, Iranian media reported.

According to the semi-official Iranian Tasnim news agency, Brig. Gen. Razi Mousavi was killed in a strike in the Damascus suburb of Sayeda Zeinab.

Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi vowed that Israel “will certainly pay for this crime.”

The Israel Defense Forces’ top spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, declined to comment on the reports during a press conference on Monday evening. While Israel’s military does not, as a rule, comment on specific strikes in Syria, it has admitted to conducting hundreds of sorties against Iran-backed terror groups attempting to gain a foothold in the country, over the last decade.

Earlier this month, the National Security Council reiterated its recommendation that Israelis reconsider all travel abroad and called on those who do need to travel overseas to avoid outward displays of their Jewish and Israeli identities amid rising antisemitism around the world as Israel fights the Hamas terror group in Gaza.

Appeal Denied for Student Accused of Posting Antisemitic Threats

A federal district court judge denied an appeal to reconsider the detention of a former student accused of posting antisemitic threats on Tuesday, Dec. 19. 

From the Syracuse courthouse of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York, Chief Judge Brenda Sannes sustained the decision previously made by the court to have Patrick Dai ’24 remain in custody at the Broome County penitentiary pending trial. The court concluded that Dai presents a risk of “non-appearance” and a “danger to any other person and the community” and can not be released.

“The Court finds that no condition or combination of conditions can reasonably mitigate these risks,” Sannes wrote in the 20-page opinion. 

The opinion upheld the previous ruling made last month by U.S. Magistrate Judge Thérèse Wiley Dancks on Nov. 9, which deemed Dai a risk of flight due to his history of mental health struggles and the fact that his father is currently employed in China. 

The court also cited Dai’s access to a shotgun and a katana as concerns for him becoming a danger to “himself or others.” The court rejected the arguments made by his public defender, Lisa Peebles, that imprisonment would worsen Dai’s mental state. 

Dai, who was an engineering student, was first detained by the FBI on Oct. 31, following violent antisemitic threats he posted on the website Greekrank. He has been held at the Broome County penitentiary since and will remain there until his next hearing, which is yet to be scheduled. 

New York Representative's Office Vandalized by Anti-Israel Extremists on Christmas Day

The district office of South Bronx Rep. Ritchie Torres was vandalized by “anti-Israel extremists” on Christmas Day, with blood-red paint covering a doll representing Jesus Christ — which the congressman took as an attempt to intimidate him over his staunch defense of the Jewish state.

“On Christmas Day, anti-Israel extremists vandalized my Bronx Office with red paint, symbolizing blood,” Torres said in a post on X. “Covered in ‘blood’ is a doll meant to symbolize Jesus, whom the vandals describe as a ‘Palestinian child messiah.’”

“The escalation in intimidation and incitement against Members of Congress feels like it is heading in a dangerous direction,” he added. “I, for one, will not be intimidated.”

The intimidating message echoed a Christmas Day post from “Squad” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who also drew a link between the situation facing civilians in Gaza during Israel’s war against Hamas and the infancy of Jesus Christ.

“In the story of Christmas, Christ was born in modern-day Palestine under the threat of a government engaged in a massacre of innocents,” the Bronx and Queens lawmaker wrote on Instagram.

“He was part of a targeted population being indiscriminately killed to protect an unjust leader’s power. Mary and Joseph, displaced by violence and forced to flee, became refugees in Egypt with a newborn waiting to one day return home,” she added.

“Thousands of years later, right-wing forces are violently occupying Bethlehem as similar stories unfold for today’s Palestinians, so much so that the Christian community in Bethlehem has canceled this year’s Christmas Eve celebrations out of both [fear for their] safety and respect.”

Torres has been one of the most outspoken Democrats in favor of providing military assistance to Israel as it fights to eliminate Hamas.

The conflict has split the Democratic coalition, with more now saying they sympathize with the plight of the Palestinian people than with Israelis, according to a recent Wall Street Journal poll.

Torres has come out strongly against antisemitic rhetoric and displays in major US cities, slamming the Democratic Socialists of America for its weak apology after a New York City chapter event failed to condemn Hamas and saw protesters burn Israeli flags and even display a swastika.

The DSA apology denounced the violence but then blamed the Jewish state for being the “root cause” of it, making similar justifications to those made by the likes of Ocasio-Cortez, who is a DSA member.

“The DSA, despite the name, is not democratic. It’s despicable, detestable, disgraceful, and disgraced. The same can be said of anyone who enables them,” Torres said in a post on X at the time.

The rally occurred one day after Hamas’ Oct. 7 invasion of Israel, during which the jihadists killed more than 1,200 people, mostly civilians and including 33 American citizens. Roughly 240 were also taken hostage back to Gaza.

“Something is rotten in the state of America. When the institutional leaders in our country cannot condemn the cold-blooded murder of Israeli children and civilians with moral clarity, one must ask: what kind of society are we becoming?” Torres also wrote in an op-ed for The Post that month.

“The time has come to confront not only the symptoms but the disease: a Democratic Socialist industrial complex that indoctrinates young Americans with an anti-Israel hatred so virulent that it renders them indifferent to the deadliest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.”

Torres has also denounced the spread of antisemitism on American college campuses, where students and professors alike have defended the actions of Hamas.

The group’s surprise terror attack prompted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to declare war on Hamas, launching airstrikes against its commanders and a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip.

More than 20,000 Palestinians have since been killed during the fighting in the densely packed region, the Hamas-controlled Gaza Ministry of Health has reported.

The entity does not differentiate between civilian deaths and terrorist deaths, and Hamas often uses civilians as human shields by placing their operational posts and weapons stockpiles in mosques, hospitals and schools.

A senior Israel Defense Forces official earlier this month confirmed that roughly two civilians have been killed for every dead Hamas terrorist as a result.

Jewish Bagel Shop in Florida Target of Vandalism for Third Time

A restaurant in Miami Beach that has been hit by hate before was targeted for the third time as surveillance video captured a man stealing an American flag.

The owner of Bagel Time Cafe said this third attempt didn’t have anything to do with his support for Israel.

On Friday, at around 7 p.m., a man was seen walking up to the cafe and noticed the flags as they hung proudly along the Alton Road restaurant. But this time around, the suspect ignored the Israeli flags and tore down the American one.

“He’s taking the American flag,” said Josh Nodel, owner of Bagel Time Cafe. “I mean, come on, you gotta be out of your mind.”

This latest incident marks the third time a person has committed a crime against Nodel’s signs.

“Oh, come on,” Nodel said

Mordechai Brafman, a frequent customer of Bagel Time Cafe, said his heart breaks for his community.

“It’s absolutely abhorrent to see this kind of vandalism for not only showing pride for Israel, but pride for the United States,” said Brafman.

Brafman said there are months that he eats breakfast and lunch at the restaurant every day and cannot believe what people are capable of.

“To see this level of fragmentation and is, is very, very unfortunate,” said Brafman.

Back in October, a man sprinted out of a yellow mustang as he rode down Alton Road. He then ran up to slash a pro-Israel sign.

Nodel taped the sign back together.

A few week later, 24-year-old Nour Abaido from Coral Springs, was caught and cuffed for the crime.

Not even a month later, a woman completely ripped down a pro-Israel sign, threw it into the middle of the street and stomped on it. Police are still on the hunt for her.

“It’s disappointing somewhat, you know,” Nodel said.

Nodel now hopes that this third time will be the last time. Still, he knows that he could replace the stolen flag, but what can never be taken is his pride for Israel and America.

“This is gonna make us just get stronger and stronger,” he said. “Like we say, ‘Am Yisrael Chai,’ we’ll defeat Hamas, that’s it.”

Nodel said he will be speaking to police about this flag fugitive. In the meantime, he plans on replacing it.

As for Brafman, he hopes the new year lightens in the anger in so many people’s heart.

“I’d love to see some unity and people coming together and fighting less and being together more,” said Brafman.

Police are still searching for the woman who took the pro-Israel sign, which has since been replaced.

11-Year-Old Muslim Girl Tells Rabbi to "Kill Yourself" in Times Square

In a shocking incident that unfolded at New York City’s Times Square, a video capturing a verbal spat between Rabbi Shmuley Boteach and an 11-year-old girl has gone viral.

In the video, the young girl is seen confronting Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, telling him to “kill yourself” and expressing antisemitic sentiments. The situation escalates as Rabbi Shmuley informs the girl that he will report the incident to the police. Despite being asked to apologise, the girl remains unapologetic, stating, “I’m not sorry.” Shockingly, her mother, seemingly amused, defends her daughter’s actions, emphasising her age, saying, “She is 11.”

Rabbi Shmuley, who shared the video on social media, wrote in the caption, “An ’11-year-old’ Muslim girl with her family walked over to me in Times Square and told me to kill myself because I’m a Jew. I am not making this up. You must watch this.” He further describes how the situation escalated, with the family’s small child allegedly kicking him while the daughter continued to express harmful sentiments.

The incident did not go unnoticed by passersby, with some reportedly joining in, yelling antisemitic remarks at Rabbi Shmuley. According to his account, some individuals even suggested that he should "kill himself" as a Jew. The incident unfolded on the night before Christmas, highlighting the alarming rise of antisemitism not only in the United States but around the world.

In response to the disturbing encounter, Rabbi Shmuley called for the identification of the individuals involved, stressing on the urgent need to address and combat the escalating danger of antisemitism. He stated, "Antisemitism is becoming unbelievably dangerous and deadly in the United States and around the world. We must fight this disease."

California Man Yells Antisemitic Slurs Before Throwing Brick Through Car Window

Residents in the Pico-Robertson area are concerned after a man was caught on video shouting hate-filled words about Jewish people before throwing a brick through a car's window.

The incident happened near the area of S Garth Avenue. In the surveillance video shared with Eyewitness News, a man is heard yelling hateful remarks.

One neighbor who lives in the area said she's not surprised this happened due to the rise in antisemitism since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas.

"It was just not shocking," said the neighbor. "I mean, it just makes you feel really sad. People are targeting you for nothing, and it's all baseless hate."

Police are still working to figure out who's behind the crime.

Anyone with information is urged to contact authorities.

Anti-Hamas Billboard in Massachusetts Vandalized with Anti-Israel Message

An anti-Hamas billboard on Interstate 290 west in Worcester between the Interstate 190 interchange and the Lincoln Square exit was vandalized over the weekend.

By Tuesday morning, Clear Channel, owner of the billboard, had replaced the defaced sign with a public service message from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The billboard, distributed by the Jewish organization JewBelong, was hot pink and included a single sentence: "Let's be clear: Hamas is your problem too" in white letters. The billboards are part of a national campaign to raise awareness about antisemitism.

Vandals painted over the words "your problem too" with pink paint and finished the sentence with "FREEING PALESTINE" in black writing. They added "Israel murdered 25,000 people" in the billboard's bottom right corner.

"The pro-Hamas graffiti on this billboard is a grotesque distortion of reality," Steven Schimmel, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Central Massachusetts, said Sunday. "This vandalism must be handled with swift action and strong condemnation. Jewish Federation officials are in communication with Worcester police…and city officials."

Hamas, which controls Gaza, killed an estimated 1,200 people in a surprise attack on Israel Oct. 7, while taking more than 200 hostages. In response, Israel launched an invasion of Gaza that it says is aimed at eliminating Hamas.

The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry says more than 20,000 people have died in Israel's offensive.

The U.S. Department of State has listed Hamas as a terrorist organization since 1997.

At the billboard location, off Prescott Street, discarded paint cans and a brush coated with pink paint were visible on the ground Tuesday.

The matter has been referred to the state police, which has jurisdiction, according to the Worcester police.

Protestors Produce Signatures to Boycott Israeli Play in Canada

Competing petitions have sprung up on whether the Belfry Theatre should stage The Runner, a one-man play that focuses on the experience of a volunteer of ZAKA, an ultra-Orthodox rescue service in Israel.

The play deals with political and community fallout after a person decides to save a Palestinian woman who has been accused of being a perpetrator of violence — and leaving a fatally wounded Israeli soldier behind, according to a description of the play on the Belfry’s website.

As of Monday, about 1,000 people have signed a petition asking the Belfry to remove The Runner from its Spark Festival lineup in March, saying that it is unacceptable to tell a story on violence in the Middle East from an exclusively Israeli perspective while Palestinians are being killed and displaced.

“We are currently witness to the ongoing genocide in Palestine that has killed 20,000+ people including 7,800+ children, and we struggle to understand why the Belfry would choose to centre the voices of the oppressors instead of the oppressed,” the petition said.

In addition to calling for removal of The Runner, the petition calls for a cultural boycott of Israel.

Jonathan Gustin started a counter-petition Saturday calling for the Belfry to honour its commitment to produce The Runner.

Gustin, who is Jewish and a kaballah student with the Victoria-based Chabad Vancouver Island, told the Times Colonist that he thinks the play is not anti-Arab or racist after purchasing and reading an e-copy of the play.

As of Monday, the petition to keep the play at the Belfry has garnered close to 900 signatures, with some signers saying they are members of the theatre community in Vancouver and Montreal.

Stickers and graffiti saying “Free Palestine” have been plastered outside the Belfry Theatre entrance in recent days.

The stickers appeared after dozens of pro-Palestine activists walked out of a three-hour community discussion at the Belfry on Friday to stage a protest outside, saying their concerns about the play, were not being heard.

It’s unclear when the spray-paint graffiti, present before the Friday protest, first appeared. Graffiti and wheatpasted posters related to the conflict have been a frequent addition to Fernwood Square in recent weeks.

The Belfry Theatre said earlier that it has been having “many complex conversations” about the production, its content, and the impact the play will have on the community.

“We are taking time to reflect on how best to move forward and will make an announcement in the new year,” the statement said. “We thank those of you who have expressed your convictions, and we are listening.”

Written and performed by Toronto-based artistic director and playwright Christopher Morris, The Runner has been touring on and off in Canada since its debut about five years ago.

In a 2018 interview with theatre website Broadway World, Morris said he wanted to make sure that both the “long history of global antisemitism” and the “persistent denial of the rights of Palestinians” were front and centre in the The Runner.

Morris said then that his play focused on the moral dilemma that unfolded for some ZAKA members when the organization said in 2015 that it would begin treating Jewish victims over the perpetrator of violence, contradicting rules of triage and the Hippocratic oath.

On Saturday, Morris referred questions from the Times Colonist about the play to the Belfry.

This past week, pro-Palestinian activists in Victoria have posted purported snippets of the play on social media, describing some sections as racist and Zionist.

No script of the play to be staged at the Belfry has been made public. A 2020 radio drama of the play jointly produced by CBC and Expect Theatre can no longer be accessed online.

The Belfry, which said it will provide copies of the script at its box office after Jan. 8 when the theatre reopens, could not be reached for comment Saturday.

Ciarán Volke, project lead of the recent Belfry incubator theatre show Game:Play, said he’s disappointed and frustrated by the Belfry leadership.

The care that many art organizations took around programming Russian literature and works at the start of the war in Ukraine, doesn’t seem to be in place here, he said.

In his speech at the start of every Game:Play show, Volke makes it clear why their group, the Secret Shark Collective, is donating some of the show’s proceeds to the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund.

“Our play dealt so much with childhood trauma and allowing children to be children,” he said. “Given the state of things, it didn’t make sense not to [donate].”

Rabbi's Home in Maryland Vandalized with Smashed Watermelons

A rabbi who lives on Hampden’s “Miracle on 34th Street” said he filed a police report after finding smashed watermelons — long considered a symbol of Palestine solidarity — in his front yard and at a neighbor’s Hanukkah-themed home.

The Baltimore Police Department could not be reached for comment.

Rabbi Moshe Moskowitz said he had just gotten back to his home on West 34th Street on Saturday evening when one of his neighbors called him over and pointed to a trash bag in his front yard that had been filled with pieces of smashed watermelons. He believes he was targeted because of his sign, which reads: “We Stand With Israel.”

Watermelons emerged as a symbol of Palestine solidarity in 1967, after the Israeli government banned the public display of the Palestinian flag. The fruit has the same national colors of the Palestinian flag, red, black, white and green.

The neighbor told Moskowitz that, before a pro-Palestine protest took place on Saturday evening, someone — neighbors and security camera footage were not able to tell who — had torn some of the lights that had been on the front fence and smashed watermelons in Moskowitz’s yard. Pieces of watermelon could be seen Sunday morning.

“They didn’t want our children to be frightened when we got home, so they had cleaned up the yard for us,” Moskowitz said.

In a comment posted on the social media platform X on Saturday, Councilman Isaac “Yitzy” Schleifer blamed the vandalism on “anti-semitic protesters.”

But Moskowitz said the march had generally been peaceful and that the vandalism occurred before protesters arrived.

“This was a separate activity. This was just vandalism of somebody’s front yard,” he said.

Councilwoman Odette Ramos, whose district includes Hampden, said she spent time with the Jewish families on 34th street on Sunday afternoon.

”It’s very upsetting that something like this has occurred on a block that brings so much joy to residents across the city,” she said. “Antisemitism is unacceptable here, in my district, or anywhere in our city. There have been a couple of racist, antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents in Hampden this year.”

She noted that neighbors have come together to support families and businesses impacted.

Since the surprise Hamas attack Oct. 7 in Israel that ignited a war, more than 20,000 people have been killed in Gaza and at least 1,400 in Israel.

Swastikas Found on California Middle School Buildings

Pleasant Hill Middle School shares that its campus has experienced what the school district is calling a "disturbing incident of hateful vandalism."

The district's superintendent informed the community through an email statement.

The vandalism included the defacement of buildings -- with the antisemitic symbolism of swastikas -- and derogatory racial language against the Black community. The district says Pleasant Hill police is "diligently investigating" the crime and is committed to holding all suspects accountable.

Two New York Synagogues Receive Bomb Threats on Christmas Eve

Two New York synagogues have been searched by police after bomb threats caused panic on Christmas Eve. 

Police scoured the Shaare Zion Temple in Brooklyn and Riverdale Jewish Center in the Bronx at around 6.15am Sunday following a 911 call, NYPD told DailyMail.com.

The department was unable to share any details about the threats the synagogues received but said they are believed to have been sent via email. 

'Officers responded and searched the buildings and found no devices,' an NYPD spokesman said. 'Nothing was found.'

The department said cops would continue 'canvassing and patrolling' the areas hit by the latest swatting incidents - which is when people call the emergency services about false threats. 

Hundreds of synagogues across America have been targeted with menacing messages about fake bombs since Hamas slaughtered around 1,200 people in Israel on October 7. 

Last weekend, a nationwide swatting spree sent threats to almost 200 Jewish institutions in what the FBI believe was part of a coordinated effort by a foreign group. 

Double Standard in New York Public Schools as Anti-Jewish Teachers Remain Employed

Anti-Israel teachers in NYC public schools get away with unchecked antisemitism while critics of Palestinians are immediately reprimanded, critics charge.

James Parra, a paraprofessional at Brooklyn Arbor Elementary School in Williamsburg, shared a photo of himself on Instagram — apparently inside the school — wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh scarf. He wrote, “It’s a good time to remind y’all that Palestine will be free from the river to the sea within our lifetime.”

“That alone for us is a direct call for a genocide,” said Shy Galor, a Jewish and Israeli mother in Brooklyn’s District 14.

In another Instagram post, Parra called Israel a “racist” and “terrorist” state, saying, “If me calling someone a Zionist pig infuriates you and offends you I’m going to need you to do some self-examination and reflection as to why.”

Parra’s Instagram account, “Rebels of Today,” was switched from public to private this month after the city Department of Education received more than 850 complaints, an activist said.

Though an investigation was purportedly launched, Parra, who did not respond to requests for comment, has remained at the school — a “double standard” compared to the case of history teacher Robert Rossicone, who was removed from PS 104 in Bay Ridge over posts on his soccer club’s Instagram page calling Hamas fighters “animals,” according to the NYC Public Schools Alliance, a group formed by educators to fight antisemitism.

“The unequal treatment in these cases reflects the political bias in the NYC public school system,” said Tova Plaut, a pre-K educator.

“What you’re seeing are local school administrators enabling and reinforcing the worst biases and prejudices. They should be teaching our children about the shared values that unite us and how to love and respect all New Yorkers.”

Other educators slammed for divisive speech appear to still have their positions, including Mohammad Jehad Ahmad, a math teacher at Gotham Tech High School in Queens who called the Hamas attacks a “successful military campaign,” and Siriana Abboud, a pre-K teacher at PS 59 in Midtown who touted pro-Palestinian lessons for tots on her Instagram accounts.

Abboud took a medical leave following The Post’s reports on her anti-Israel postings, and has yet to return.

Galor, a former member of the District 14 Community Education Council who dropped out over the board’s politics, is among parents calling on the DOE to take serious action against antisemitism.

“I’m extremely concerned and even more concerned with how the DOE is not giving us answers or dealing with it in an appropriate way,” she said.

While controversial CEC 14 President Tajh Sutton has maintained her reign, others have been dismissed for political public statements. Adriana Alicea, a former CEC 28 member appointed by the Queens borough president, got the boot for anti-Israel posts including “Free them all. From the river to the sea. Free Palestine.”

CEC 14, which ejected Jewish parents and critics from its online monthly meeting in November, did so again in December, blocking Citywide Council on High Schools representative Rachel Fremmer from joining. The board did not respond to a request for comment.

The New York branch of the ACLU wrote a letter to schools Chancellor David Banks this week defending students voicing pro-Palestinian beliefs, stating that there may have been “possible mistreatment and lack of protections” for them in school.

The DOE did not respond to inquiries.