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Federal Judge Sentences Saadah Masoud to 18 Months

Denise Cote, a federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, sentenced Saadah Masoud on March 3 to 18 months in prison and three years of supervised release.

Masoud, 29, of Staten Island, N.Y., pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit hate crimes for attacking Jews wearing recognizable Jewish and Israeli symbols in 2021 and 2022.

“Saadah Masoud repeatedly attacked New Yorkers based on their religion and national origin. The prosecution of this case and the sentence imposed today make clear that hate-fueled violence will not be tolerated in our community and that this office will be unrelenting in our efforts to hold accountable those who perpetrate senseless crimes of hate,” stated Damian Williams, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.

StopAntisemitism.org applauded New York’s streets being safer for Jews but stated that the sentence was suboptimal.

It represents a “much-needed demonstration that the justice system takes antisemitic incidents like these seriously,” said Liora Rez, executive director of the watchdog group. “We hope that this sets a precedent for other would-be assailants; you will be held accountable for your antisemitic bigotry and violence.”

Masoud’s lawyers had requested six months—a sentence in line with a “slap on the wrist” sentence that a colleague of his received, also for attacking a Jew.

StopAntisemitism shared the news with their supporters.

“We thank law enforcement for keeping this dangerous individual off the streets,” the American Jewish Committee tweeted of Masoud. “Targeting Jews for supporting Israel is a blatantly antisemitic act.”

Antisemitic Flyers Dropped in Baltimore Neighborhood

The Baltimore County Police Department (BCPD) last weekend received several reports that antisemitic flyers were dropped across the Parkville section of the city, a local CBS affiliate reported on Tuesday.

“These flyers are basically an attempt to intimidate and harass the Jewish community, Jewish residents,” Howard Libit, executive director of the Baltimore Jewish Council, told WJZ, adding that he believes the flyers are related to a “day of hate” neo-Nazis participated in last weekend. “I know a lot of synagogues added an extra guard, added an extra precaution, spent more time thinking about security.”

On Wednesday, StopAntisemitism, a nonprofit that documents domestic and international incidents of antisemitism, said it identified the flyers as those previously distributed by a group calling itself the Goyim Defense League (GDL).

GDL’s recent activities include dropping flyers at a Daytona 500 speedway race that took place on Feb. 18-19. The group also displayed banners denouncing the Jewish people. One of them said, “Henry Ford was right about the Jews,” while another said, “communism is Jewish,” a slogan reminiscent of those used by the Nazi Party during Hitler’s rise to power in the late Weimar Republic.

A Parkville resident, Paul Simpson, told WJZ that he found the flyers GDL left at his home on Saturday morning.

“It’s disturbing,” he said. “I don’t like this kind of hate speech.”

On Day of Hate, Hate Was a No Show

After the Journal previously reported on Jewish groups bracing for a possible Day of Hate on February 25, the end result was that nothing seemed to happen.

There were various police bulletins leading up to February 25 warning about the Day of Hate was being put forth by a white supremacist group called Crew-319, per Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA). Gabe Stutman, News Editor for The Jewish News of Northern California, tweeted that the white supremacist group Goyim Defense League bailed on participating in the Day of Hate; Stutman cited a screenshot where GDL leader Jon Minadeo II says they’re not doing anything that day because “the k—-s are up to something fishy” but would be “happy to do flyers the day after.” Stop Antisemitism tweeted the next day that the GDL was distributing flyers in Orlando saying, “Every single aspect of the Jewish Talmud is Satanic.”

Jewish groups celebrated the fact that nothing happened on the purported Day of Hate.

American Jewish Committee Los Angeles Regional Director Richard S. Hirschhaut said in a statement to the Journal, “Thankfully, it appears the vile declaration of a National Day of Hate amounted to little more than a grotesque attempt to sow fear and intimidation. Hopefully, the attention it garnered will only spur millions of good people across America to continue to rebuke such bigotry. As a Jewish community, may we continue to stand resilient, strong, and proud.”

Simon Wiesenthal Center Associate Dean and Director of Global Social Action Agenda Rabbi Abraham Cooper told the Journal that while the Wiesenthal Center is “grateful that there are no reported incidents that I know of” the NGO is reiterating their call for the FBI to create a task force focused on combating antisemitism. “It’s only the FBI that can really infiltrate the situation and know whether or not there are dots to connect,” Cooper said. “It appears this particular exercise was inspired by some comments on social media and out of an abundance of caution, especially for us in LA … we already have [a] community on high alert.” He added that “it can be difficult to the quantify threat” when certain groups use “low tech” strategies to spread antisemitism on social media and dropping flyers on porches. “The only people who can really figure that out would be an institution like the FBI,” Cooper said. He urged the Jewish community to build bridges with non-Jews, arguing that antisemitism cannot be defeated without the help of “our neighbors.” 

StandWithUs CEO and Co-Founder Roz Rothstein, the daughter of Holocaust survivors, also said in a statement to the Journal, “We are grateful that synagogues and other Jewish institutions took precautions against possible attacks, and that many Jewish people across the nation countered bigotry by standing tall and proud. We are grateful to non-Jewish allies like Pastor Chris Harris of Chicago, who used the vile ‘Day of Hate’ campaign to promote love for his Jewish brothers and sisters. We must remain vigilant while standing proudly, and we must continue to expose bigotry while turning challenges into opportunities.” 

The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles said in a statement to the Journal, “We have not seen any reported incidents. We are continuing to monitor and asking our community to stay diligent and report any suspicious activity.”

“A planned day of bigotry turned into a day of unity,” StopAntisemitism Executive Director Liora Rez said in a statement to the Journal. “No matter how hard antisemites try, they will never dim our light.”

Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine tweeted that the only things antisemites accomplished on the Day of Hate were “Jewish communities coming together in pride and defiance” and an “outpouring of support from allies of the Jewish community.” “And this is how we will continue to respond to this threat,” Levine wrote. “We will not be cowed.”

Florida Sheriff Responds To Antisemitic Incidents

A Florida sheriff condemned the rising acts of antisemitism in both his county and in the state during a press conference Monday saying, any antisemites have come “to the wrong county.”

The Sunshine State has experienced a rash of antisemitic incidents over the past several months, many of which have been from the Goyim Defense League (GDL), a large online community that pushes antisemitic rhetoric, harasses Jews and publishes anti-Jewish literature. Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood called members of the GDL “scumbags” who try to smear the character of the Jewish people with lies in the opening of the press conference.

“These scumbags came to the wrong county,” Chitwood said. “We have community in this county [and] we stand beside one another in this county and we stand with our Jewish neighbors.”

Chitwood played a video of a compilation of antisemitic incidents across the state, many of which were headed by the GDL, according to the press conference. One video showed Jon Minadeo II, who leads the GDL, using a bullhorn to yell at Jews in an intersection. NGO StopAntisemitism shared a video of the incident with their followers.

At one point Minadeo asks a Jew if he thinks he “should be put in an oven,” referring to the Holocaust, and tells another Jew that he looks “like a Jewish horse,” according to the video. Later, Minadeo can be seen performing the Heil Hitler salute in front of Jews while other GDL members hold signs in the background accusing Jews of being pedophiles.

The county has also suffered several recent incidents after the group held up banners with antisemitic messages across a highway, according to the video. Additionally, in Orlando the message “Vax the Jews” was projected onto a building on New Year’s Eve and a similar incident took place in October 2022 when the group projected “Kanye Was Right About The Jews” on TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville.

Chitwood, who stated that he also has a target on his back from the group, said the lies promulgated by the GDL are like a “badge of honor,” according to the press conference.

“Well I wear that as a badge of honor, I do,” Chitwood said. “These clowns who want to shut my big mouth and put a bullet in the back of my head. Go for it, that’s my message to you. You want to put surveillance on me for 24 hours? Go for it. You’re gonna dox me and make me unelectable? Go for it.”

Many states were on high alert over the weekend after neo-Nazi groups announced that Feb. 25 would be the National Day of Hate, specifically targeting Jews, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

Jewish Advocacy Groups Throw Weight Behind Bill Defunding Agency Linked To ‘Antisemitic Propaganda’

Jewish advocacy organizations are backing a bill introduced a bill last earlier this month by Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas and Republican Sen. James Risch of Idaho that would pause funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) until steps are implemented to ensure that funds are not used to promote antisemitism or potential terrorism.

The bill, titled “The United Nations Relief and Works Agency Accountability and Transparency Act,” would “stop the flow of U.S. taxpayer dollars to this body with a rampant history of anti-Israel and antisemitic propaganda and activity,” according to a press release from Roy and Risch. Jewish groups have voiced support for the bill, arguing that the UNRWA is in dire need of accountability.

The UNRWA has been criticized for its social media having “glorified suicide bombers” in the past and its educational curriculum supporting the jihad, according to the Jewish News Syndicate. A non-public report from the State Department found that the department had issued UNRWA with multiple infractions for abetting “armed incursions,” along with “the use of weapons in or near facilities” as well two terrorist tunnels found under UNRWA schools, according to the Washington Free Beacon.

Roz Rothstein, co-founder, and CEO StandWithUs, a non-partisan educational organization that supports Israel and opposes antisemitism, told the Daily Caller News Foundation that the bill must be a “bipartisan effort.”

“More scrutiny on UNRWA is a long overdue mechanism that should hold the agency accountable, but it is essential that it become a bi-partisan bill to gain greater credibility and ensure its success,” Rothstein said.

Roy and Risch introduced the bill in 2021 but could not garner enough support in a Democrat-controlled House of Representatives, according to the Washington Free Beacon.

Risch told the DCNF that he was “extremely concerned” about “antisemitic activities at UNRWA.”

“I’m not the only one — and this bill has enjoyed broad support in my caucus before,” Risch said. “I hope that we can work across the aisle to educate my Democrat counterparts about the many problems that exist with using U.S. money to prop up anti-American and anti-Israel activities and that this could lead us to a different outcome this congress.”

Liora Rez, executive director of StopAntisemitism, a leading non-partisan U.S based organization fighting and exposing antisemitism, was similarly pleased with the bill, noting that the organizations receiving millions in taxpayer funding from the U.S. needed to be monitored and thoroughly vetted.

“StopAntisemitism applauds Senator Jim Risch and Representative Chip Roy for introducing this much-needed transparency bill that will hold UNWRA accountable for how they use the $340 million they receive annually from the U.S,” Rez said in a statement to the DCNF. “StopAntisemitism recently met with Senator Risch’s office in D.C. to discuss the rise of antisemitism in the U.S. and around the world and are grateful for his efforts to combat violence against Jews.”

According to the press release, the bill would require the Secretary of State to report to congress every 180 days that the UNRWA has met a list of criteria aimed at promoting accountability and transparency. The agency would have to submit to financial audits, screen employees for connections to terrorist groups, and ensure all materials being distributed in Palestinian schools do not contain ” anti-American, anti-Israel, or antisemitic rhetoric,” among other things.

“UNRWA’s lengthy and detailed history of promoting antisemitism, violence, and terrorism through ‘educational’ materials, and its continued ties to Hamas, should completely disqualify this corrupt entity from receiving any  U.S. taxpayer funding,” Rep. Roy said in his press release. “UNRWA has failed to meet previous commitments to stop its hostility towards Israel, which is an obstacle to peace. If our actions do not match our words, then our word means nothing.”

In 2018, former President Donald Trump suspended all U.S. funding to the organization because it was “irredeemably flawed,” and unable to provide evidence that it was not in any way supporting terrorism, according to CNN. President Joe Biden resumed funding in May 2021, but a Hamas tunnel was found under a UNRWA school in the West Bank just a month later, leading some to question whether the funding is being used for terrorism, according to the Times of Israel.

Dov Hikind, founder of Americans Against Antisemitism, told the DCNF that the proposed legislation was “wonderful” but criticized the President and the Democrats for renewing funding.

“When this money is being misused and being used to support terrorist organizations, it’s not a secret; everyone knows what is going on, but let’s close our eyes and pretend,” Hikind said. “That’s what’s being done, especially by the Biden administration now.”

The UNRWA did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

CUNY Diversity Forum Draws Criticism Over Host Saly Abd Alla

It’s a master class in “gaslighting.”

A former director of what critics call an antisemitic group that bashes Israel is hosting CUNY’s first “Diversity Dialogue” for employees at the public university system, which has been beset with allegations of antisemitism.

Saly Abd Alla, who once worked as the civil rights director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Minnesota, will host Monday’s discussion. It is expected to be an “in depth dive” about diversity, equity and inclusion programming. Todd Craig, an English professor at Medgar Evers College, is the presenter.

The role of Abd Alla, who is CUNY’s chief diversity officer, as moderator of the forum drew immediate condemnation after a tweet from Students and Faculty for Equality at CUNY (S.A.F.E. CUNY), which was founded to fight antisemitism.

Jeffrey Lax, a Kingsborough Community College professor and a founder of the group, called the university’s recent history of antisemitism “a well-documented but unaddressed cancer” and said having Abd Alla host the “event feels like we have now reached stage 4 of the cancer.”

Abd Alla’s had been overseeing a discrimination complaint tied to Lax until he objected and it was assigned to outside counsel.

“Was David Duke or Farrakhan not available @ChancellorCUNY? This is gaslighting at its finest,” tweeted the New York City-based group StopAntisemtism.

Liora Rez, executive director of StopAntisemitism, said the group gave CUNY a failing grade in its 2022 report on campus antisemitism “partially because they do not include Jews in their DEI efforts.”

The group called for Abd Alla’s removal from her role.

Monday’s diversity discussion is as part of Chancellor Felix Matos Rodriguez’ “Campus Climate Support Initiative.” The series is expected to address “sensitive and important topics such as confronting anti-Semitism, fighting gender-based discrimination….and combating anti-Muslim hatred, among others.”

CUNY on Friday said the program would be a webinar instead of in person “due to the significant interest in attending this program virtually.”

City Councilwoman Inna Vernikov, a Republican from Brooklyn, said she was glad to see CUNY addressing discrimination and antisemitism.

“But we must also be assured that in any discussions about antisemitism, the Jewish students and community are represented by experts who are familiar with all forms of antisemitism, including but not limited to anti-Zionism,” she said.

CUNY was accused of being a “pervasively hostile environment for Jewish students” in a civil rights complaint filed in July with the  US Department of Education.

The state Division of Human Rights is investigating whether whether the School of Law discriminated against Jews when its faculty council passed a resolution supporting the pro-Palestinian Boycott, Divest and Sanctions (BDS) movement targeting Israel.

The university said last fall it would spend $1 million to tackle antisemitism including an online portal to track hate crimes.

“Our University recently dispersed $600,000 to 24 campuses for work to combat hate and central offices will utilize $150,000 to support its campus climate work, including monthly discussions and conversations on issues pertaining to discrimination,” said CUNY spokesman Joseph Tirella.

“The attacks against Central’s highly qualified chief diversity officer, who is hosting the first of these HR-led dialogues for our employees, are another example of how critical it is to have more dialogue to combat bias and misinformation.”

Abd Alla did not immediately return a request for comment.

Jews in New Jersey City Targeted with Antisemitic Hate Mail

Police in Linden, New Jersey, have heard from dozens of Jewish residents after unknown individuals sent them threatening antisemitic hate mail in the last few weeks.

According to the StopAntisemitism advocacy organization, Jews living in the city were mailed letters with threats such as “We’re not done yet. Hitler was right!”

They denounced the letters, describing being “horrified” upon learning that Jews in the area were being targeted.

“In America 2023, Jews deserve to live safely in their communities,” StopAntisemitism tweeted, tagging the Linden police department and local lawmakers.

“We received letters which say things like ‘We’re not done yet. Hitler was right!’ and other hateful messages, and it is of great concern to the community,” a resident who did not want their name used told Hamodia. “Several such letters were delivered to addresses of Jewish families. Some have contacted the local police, but the response has been sort of weak. It has many of us worried.”

Linden has seen a significant number of Jewish families move into the area over the last few years, which has led to the construction of Jewish communal infrastructure, according to the news outlet. Jewish residents believe that the threats are the result of local antisemites who do not want an active Jewish community in the city.

Sheriff: ‘Cowardly Scumbags’ Spread Antisemitic Flyers Throughout Volusia County

Volusia County, Florida Sheriff Mike Chitwood said “cowardly scumbags” spread antisemitic leaflets throughout the county during the Daytona 500 weekend.

Chitwood said the fliers were found in Ormond Beach, Daytona Beach, and other parts of the county. The antisemitic language was also displayed on a banner over the pedestrian bridge during the race.

NGO StopAntisemitism identified the white supremacist groups responsible for the antisemitic propaganda as the Goyim Defense League and the NatSoc Florida.

“This is not only threatening to us, but it’s hurtful to us,” said Rabbi Rob Lennick, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Volusia and Flagler Counties.

StopAntisemitism has worked since 2018 to track incidents like this. They said the effort came at the hands of a hate group that has been operating since 2018. Their data shows incidents like this have been up 67% since 2020.

“This was an orchestrated planned effort of weekend harassment of the Jewish people,” said Liora Rez, executive director of StopAntisemitism.

Law enforcement agencies across the area are condemning this action but said there are limitations to deal with when it comes to doing more.

“It’s reprehensible, disgusting, but under that free speech umbrella,” Chitwood said.

But Lennick said he feels the rhetoric spread this weekend went beyond that.

“There is a point where hate speech becomes threatening speech or dangerous speech, and I happen to feel this crosses the line,” Lennick said.

Miami Jewish, Catholic schools release joint statement on ‘physical altercation’

A Jewish teen was injured after a fight broke out following a soccer game between students from a Miami Jewish day school and a local Catholic school. There are allegations that some of the Catholic students made antisemitic statements.

Miami’s archdiocese, which sponsors Archbishop Coleman Carroll High School, and the Scheck Hillel Community School issued a joint statement about the “physical altercation” on Wednesday evening, stating that there was an allegation of “racially insensitive comments or gestures” and that “both schools are completing their investigation.”

Both have “zero tolerance for any kind of aggressive language and behavior, antisemitism or hate of any kind,” per the statement, and will take “appropriate action with the students involved.”

News of the fight, which took place at the Scheck Hillel school, first garnered attention on Thursday when a video went viral. It seemed to show players and spectators fighting on the field, with yelling in the background. Some reported that Catholic students were yelling antisemitic, profanity-laden words.

“Antisemitism is seeping into young and impressionable minds, and it is completely unacceptable for a Jewish teen to be referred to as a ‘dirty Jew,’” Liora Rez, executive director of StopAntisemitism, told JNS.

Rez applauded the joint statement, saying, “this clearly points to a bigger problem that needs to be addressed.”

The Greater Miami Jewish Federation praised the school’s handling of the situation.

“The rising tide of antisemitism in South Florida and around the world is a serious issue, and we deplore any and all expressions of antisemitism and hatred,” it stated. “It is never acceptable.”

A Community on Edge

February 15, 2023, 9:45 a.m.: After leaving prayer services, a Jewish man in his 40s was shot on the 1400 block of Shenandoah Street in the Pico-Robertson area. Two gunshots were fired, one of which hit him in the back. He survived.

February 16, 2023, 8 a.m.: Another Jewish man, this one in his 70s, was shot in the same neighborhood, this time on the 1600 block of South Bedford Street. This victim was also leaving morning services when he was shot; the gunman fired three times, one of which hit the victim in the bicep. He also survived. According to one source, the bullet went through the victim’s arm. 

In a span of 24 hours, two shootings against Jews suddenly put a Jewish neighborhood on edge. The details surrounding the shootings kept changing, which added to the anxiety.

Law enforcement initially believed the two shootings were not connected and were done by two different people. It was also initially believed that the first shooting may have been the result of personal dispute rather than antisemitism, whereas the second one was being investigated as a hate crime.

Subsequently, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) said they believed the two shootings were done by the same person and that they were hate crimes.

A couple of hours later, the LAPD announced that a suspect had been arrested in Riverside County and was in custody.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said in a February 17 statement, “Antisemitism and terror are tragically on the rise across our city and across our nation. My administration is resolute against hate, and we have made it a chief component of our public safety agenda.” District Attorney George Gascon’s office announced that they were handing over the matter to the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s office, as the shootings involved multiple jurisdictions and the gunman was being charged with federal hate crimes. 

“Over the past two days, our community experienced two horrific acts we believe were motivated by antisemitic ideology that caused him to target the Jewish community,” United States Attorney Martin Estrada said in a statement. “It is important, especially in one of the most diverse areas in the world, that we celebrate our differences, and stand together to oppose acts of hate.”

Donald Alway, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, also said in a statement, “In addition to targeting innocent people with violent physical attacks, these crimes instill fear in the community. There is no place in Los Angeles and, indeed, the United States of America, for fear of controlling communities and intimidating people of faith. Law enforcement will work together to prevent hate crimes, whether they be civil liberties violations or acts of terror. On behalf of the FBI, I wish a full recovery to the victims who were senselessly attacked for their faith and peace in the Jewish community.”

So, who is the gunman behind these shootings? A federal affidavit filed on February 17 identified him as Jaime Tran, 28. Tran had been homeless for the past 12-14 months and was living out his car, a 2012 Honda Civic. Law enforcement was able to track him to the Palm Springs area thanks to cell phone location data; authorities later responded to reports of a man firing a gun in Cathedral City, where they found Tran with an AK-style rifle and a .380 caliber handgun in the front seat of his car. Tran was subsequently arrested. “It didn’t take very long,” Cathedral City Police Department Commander Jon Enos told KESQ-TV. “There was no struggle. But once we realized who he was, we secured him in a car. And then we contacted the Los Angeles Police Department, who eventually sent over some representatives.”

Tran later claimed to have obtained the firearms from an unknown person in Arizona.

According to the affidavit, Tran admitted to law enforcement that he was the gunman and was driven by anti-Jewish animus; in fact, he used Yelp to find a kosher supermarket and chose his victims based on their “headgear.” Both victims wore head coverings. Tran chillingly asked law enforcement if the victims had died.  

Tran apparently has a history of antisemitism. The affidavit cited an instance in which a former classmate of Tran’s, simply known as M.N.H., received multiple antisemitic phone calls and texts from Tran from August-November 2022. Tran had been expelled from dental school in 2018; the affidavit doesn’t indicate which school he attended, but The Los Angeles Times reported that it was UCLA Dental School. Some of the antisemitic text messages from Tran highlighted in the complaint include:

• “F—king Jew. Piece of shit Jew. F— YOU JEW. JEWBAG JEWBAGEL JEW.”

• “Someone is going to kill you, Jew. Someone is going to kill you, Jew. Someone is going to kill you, Jew. Someone is going to kill you, Jew.”

• “F—ing b—- Jew. Your mom is a slutty whore, your sister is a man, and your dad sucks dick for a living. Burn in an oven chamber you b—- Jew.”

The last text included a picture of a gas chamber, per the complaint.

Additionally, Tran sent multiple emails to former classmates toward the end of 2022 blaming COVID-19 vaccine mandates and lockdowns on “Iranian Jews” and referred to “Persian Jews” as being “primitive” and “narrow-minded,” and who “scrap nickel and dimes” and “never donate to any charities.” “Going forward, I hope you all spread the word to your loved ones about the origins of COVID,” he wrote in one email. “I tagged the Iranian Jew, such as [M.N.H.], and his associates in this email so you could ask them about it. I also hope they quit putting tabs on me to the Jewish community and creeping on all of my socials.”

In another email, Tran accused the “Persian/Iranian Jew of the Class of 2020” of fabricating COVID-19 and basing it on an “anesthesia incident that I had with” a couple of former classmates; it was not immediately clear what that anesthesia incident was. He also sent a picture of a flyer stating, “EVERY SINGLE ASPECT OF THE COVID AGENDA IS JEWISH.” Such flyers had been found multiple times in LA throughout the past year and are associated with the Goyim Defense League (GDL), a white supremacist group headed by Jon Minadeo II of Petaluma. StopAntisemitism tweeted that this shows how Minadeo and the GDL “poison minds with their antisemitic flyers and cause real-world violence against Jewish people.”

Other Jewish groups also condemned Tran’s reported antisemitism in statements to the Journal.

“The charging document for the shootings of two Jewish men details the actions of an individual with a deep hatred for Jews whose antisemitism motivated him to violence,” Abrams said. “It simply doesn’t get any scarier or more dangerous for the Jewish community. We are grateful that the immediate terror of this incident is behind us but recognize that antisemitism continues to take hold of our community.”

Hirschhaut said, “The Federal complaint against shooting suspect Jaime Tran reveals a litany of disturbing social pathologies, underpinned by vitriolic conspiracy theories about Jews, and Persian Jews in particular. That Tran was able to spew such hateful and threatening invective, targeting former classmates and others with impunity, begs the question of why there was no meaningful intervention before he ultimately acted upon his violent intentions.”

StandWithUs CEO and Co-Founder Roz Rothstein, the daughter of Holocaust survivors, said: “It is horrifying that once again, classic antisemitic tropes spewed by a deranged man escalated to violence against the Jews he collectively blames for COVID-19 and financial losses. Scapegoating Jews for one’s frustrations is a classic antisemitic tactic that we must, as a society, identify and reject as the bigotry it is.”

“Blaming Jews for disease and plague is a historic antisemitic trope,” Robert J. Williams, Finci-Viterbi Executive Director of the USC Shoah Foundation, said in a statement to the Journal. “The shooter claiming Jews were responsible for COVID is just the latest version of the same lie. These events remind us why it’s so important to combat disinformation.”

After a hearing on February 17, Tran is being held without bail. He faces a lifetime maximum sentence in federal prison without parole.

Though the affidavit does not mention it, Tran does have a prior criminal record. On July 3, he was arrested for felony possession of a firearm on a school campus. The Orange County Register reported that CSU Long Beach Vice President for Administration and Finance Scott Apel sent a February 17 letter to students saying that Tran was arrested after university police received a call of a man sitting on a bench with a firearm, and police later found that the firearm in Tran’s possession was stolen. Tran is reportedly an alumnus of the university. According to the Times, Tran claimed that he was carrying the firearm for self-defense. 

Siamak Kordestani, West Coast director of the European Leadership Network, noticed that county records showed that Tran was released on bond, prompting him to ask Gascon’s office in a tweet what happened to the case. He received a reply from Gascon’s office on Twitter, who wrote t“at the time of that filing he had no previous criminal record & LADA was not made aware of any allegations of threats against the Jewish community.” 

In response, Gascon’s office tweeted that Tran’s bail was set at $30,000, and he posted bond. Fox News reporter Bill Melugin noted on Twitter that the felony firearm charge that Tran faces has a three-year maximum prison sentence and that Gascon’s directives require deputy district attorneys “to avoid seeking cash bail, and if they do, seek the lowest amount, & it must be ‘aligned with the individual’s ability to pay.’ What was the sentence for this gun case?” Gascon’s office replied that the case remains open and that Tran is scheduled to appear in court on February 28 on the matter.

While the LA Jewish community may have been able to breathe a sigh of relief once Tran was arrested, some argue that anxiety remains high in the community. Rabbi Noah Farkas, who heads the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, told the Journal in a phone interview that “the community is still afraid, and there’s also anger. And the anger, I believe, is that we know that no matter where antisemitism comes from — whether it’s from the left or the right — the victims of antisemitism are always the same: us Jews. And we know that we have been sounding the alarm since last year, since Colleyville, since the Kanye West and Kyrie Irving things. For a long time now, we’ve been sounding the alarm that when you normalize hate speech and have more followers on Twitter and Instagram, there are Jews worldwide. You normalize this kind of hate speech; we know historically, and sociologically that hate speech leads to hate crime … and that’s exactly what has happened.”

Dr. Hillel Newman, Consul General of Israel in Los Angeles, told the Journal that he addressed the Pinto Center on Pico Boulevard during Shabbat services on February 17 and that while congregants were “somewhat shaken,” they were in “good spirit[s].” “Rabbi Pinto is a wonderful, kind, and gentle spiritual authority who leads the community in the noblest way, enjoying great admiration,” Newman said. 

In general, Newman’s sense is “that many in the community are on edge now, feeling uncertain about the future, but the majority are calm.” “There is increased interest in making Aliyah,” he added. “I feel that from the many questions I get in this regard. Of course, we will welcome anyone who wishes to immigrate to Israel, but we believe that first and foremost, we must guarantee the safety and security of everyone and every community.”

Security remained a priority for the community over the weekend, as police increased patrols in Jewish community areas. Both Young Israel of Century City and Beth Jacob Congregation sent out emails to their members, both of which were obtained by the Journal, saying that they would be beefing up their security after the shootings.

“Everyone is increasing their security profiles,” Farkas said.

Evan Bernstein, who heads the Community Security Service (CSS), said in a statement to the Journal, “The Los Angeles Jewish community should be reassured that the CSS Western States office is closely monitoring and working with its trained security volunteer leadership and teams on the ground, local law enforcement, and national Jewish communal security partners, including the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles. We stand ready to continue ensuring Jewish institutions' utmost safety and physical security nationwide.”

“Jews shouldn’t have to be fearful of expressing their First Amendment rights that every other American can enjoy — our right to assemble and our right to pray —, and this just isn’t right,” Farkas told the Journal, “and we have to keep working to make life safer and more enjoyable for Jews to live here in the city.”

‘Crossed the Line’: Jewish Group Calls for Suspension of Pro-Palestinian Group over ‘Intifada’ Chant During Protest

A pro-Israel campus group has issued a letter calling for the suspension of a pro-Palestinian club at University of Michigan over its staging a demonstration in which members chanted “Only one solution: Intifada.”

The incident took place on Jan. 12 when Students Allied for Freedom and Equality (SAFE) protested a speech Vice President Kamala Harris gave at the university about climate change. SAFE accused the Vice President of supporting “genocide” for supporting Israel.

A pro-Israel campus group has issued a letter calling for the suspension of a pro-Palestinian club at University of Michigan over its staging a demonstration in which members chanted “Only one solution: Intifada.”

The incident took place on Jan. 12 when Students Allied for Freedom and Equality (SAFE) protested a speech Vice President Kamala Harris gave at the university about climate change. SAFE accused the Vice President of supporting “genocide” for supporting Israel.

“While we fully respect academic freedom and the freedom of speech, we believe the type of rhetoric SAFE is using has crossed the line to an unprotected speech category of hate speech and incitement, and as such must be addressed by the university,” said the letter from Students Supporting Israel (SSI). “At a time when words hold a powerful tremendous influence and the Jewish community is ranked the number one targeted community in the country for hate crimes in relation to its population, violent chants can, and have, easily escalated into violence…against Zionist and Jewish students on campus.”

The letter was also signed by Combat Antisemitism, Jewish National Fund USA, Israeli American Council, StopAntisemitism, Zachor Legal Institute, and Zionist Organization of America.

SSI is asking the University of Michigan to revoke SAFE’s status as a recognized student club as well as to deny it access to school funding and campus facilities. In addition to those punitive measures, SSI urged the university to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism, which describes certain forms of anti-Israel rhetoric as advancing antisemitic canards and conspiracies.

Congressman Brad Sherman (D-CA) also condemned the incident, describing it as a “thinly veiled attempt to push Jewish students out of campus life.”

“This also serves as a stark example of why it’s so important to utilize the IHRA definition of antisemitism when investigating acts of bigotry like this one,” Sherman added.

SAFE has courted controversy on campus before. In October, during observance of the Jewish New Year, it erected an “apartheid wall” on campus and led an anti-Israel protest in front of it.

Some University of Michigan students approached the protestors and urged them to become fully apprised of the complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, The Michigan Daily, a campus newspaper, reported at the time. Standing atop a nearby structure, they made a “thumbs-down” gesture when they perceived the protestors’ remarks as offensive or lacking nuance.

The university was also flagged in a report by StopAntisemitism, a US-based nonprofit, for being hostile to Jews and indifferent to their safety. StopAntisemitism noted that Jews are excluded from the university’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and that several BDS resolutions have passed its student government bodies.

Jewish students there “do feel comfortable identifying as Jewish but do not feel safe expressing their support for Israel and often feel they are held responsible for the actions of Israel,” the report said.

In November, an unidentified male assaulted a student after crossing paths with her on campus. According to a security alert issued by the university, he snatched her by the arm and made antisemitic statements.

The University of Michigan Police Department later closed its investigation of the incident, citing “a lack of leads.”

Joe Rogan Under Fire for Jews 'Into Money' Rant

Podcaster and media personality Joe Rogan garnered harsh criticism this week for suggesting that Jewish people were ‘into money.’

During a discussion on the removal of Rep. Ilhan Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee due to past antisemitic remarks, Rogan defended a 2019 tweet by the congresswoman in which she claimed that pro-Israel votes in Congress were "all about the Benjamins." 

"It's crazy," Rogan said. "That's not an antisemitic comment, I don't think that is. Benjamins are money. The idea that Jewish people are not into money is ridiculous. That's like saying Italians aren't into pizza. It's f****** stupid." 

Omar was stripped of the Foreign Affairs Committee assignment last week over a history of antisemitic and anti-Israel remarks. She previously accused Israel of having "hypnotized the world" and Jews of buying control of Congress as well as called Israel an "apartheid state" and likened it to the terrorist groups Taliban and Hamas.

"Whether you agree with her or not, she has a bold opinion, and that opinion is not her own. There's many people that have that opinion, and they should be represented," Rogan said of the Minnesota Democrat. 

Rogan's guest, media host Krystal Ball, too defended Omar and even implied that Israel was untouchable because of Jewish money supposedly influencing Washington, DC. 

Executive Director of StopAntisemitism Liora Rez slammed the podcaster, saying "Joe Rogan is once again spewing antisemitic misinformation to his millions of followers, this time irresponsibly spreading an age-old trope about Jews and money, and then minimizing it by comparing it to Italians and pizza. Last time we checked, Italians weren't the victims of genocide for their love of pizza."

He "can no longer be protected by free speech when his horrific rhetoric will ultimately lead to further violence against Jews. StopAntisemitism is calling on Joe Rogan and Krystal Ball to apologize for their remarks and for Spotify and The Joe Rogan Experience to invite guests on to have a conversation about antisemitism and how comments like his and his guests are not just controversial but dangerous for the Jewish people." 

Rogan's show has an estimated 11 million listeners per episode and is the most popular podcast on Spotify's platform.

Joe Rogan Under Fire for Jews ‘Into Money’ Rant

Joe Rogan has been slammed for saying on the latest episode of his popular podcast that Jewish people are “into money,” during a discussion on the U.S. House’s move last week to remove Rep. Ilhan Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee.

“It’s crazy,” said Rogan. “Did you see him sitting next to Ilhan Omar, where she’s apologizing for talking about ‘it’s all about the Benjamins’? Which is just about money. She’s talking about money. That’s not an antisemitic comment, I don’t think that is. Benjamins are money. The idea that Jewish people are not into money is ridiculous. That’s like saying Italians aren’t into pizza. It’s f****** stupid,” he added.

He was referring to a 2019 tweet by Omar in which she wrote that pro-Israel votes in Congress were “all about the Benjamins.” Republicans cited the tweet, one in a series of antisemitic remarks made by Omar, as one of the reasons for booting her off the committee.

Omar has also accused Israel of having “hypnotized the world,” and Jews of buying control of Congress. She called Israel an “apartheid state” and likened it to the terrorist groups Taliban and Hamas.

“Whether you agree with her or not, she has a bold opinion, and that opinion is not her own. There’s many people that have that opinion, and they should be represented,” Rogan said of the Minnesota Democrat.

“Joe Rogan is once again spewing antisemitic misinformation to his millions of followers, this time irresponsibly spreading an age-old trope about Jews and money, and then minimizing it by comparing it to Italians and pizza. Last time we checked, Italians weren’t the victims of genocide for their love of pizza,” said Liora Rez, executive director of StopAntisemitism.

Notably, Rogan’s guest, Krystal Ball, defended Omar, stating that the congresswoman should not have apologized for the Benjamins comment. Ball then implied that Israel was untouchable because of Jewish money influencing Washington, D.C.

“Joe Rogan can no longer be protected by free speech when his horrific rhetoric will ultimately lead to further violence against Jews. StopAntisemitism is calling on Joe Rogan and Krystal Ball to apologize for their remarks and for Spotify and The Joe Rogan Experience to invite guests on to have a conversation about antisemitism and how comments like his and his guests are not just controversial but dangerous for the Jewish people,” added Rez.

Rogan’s show has an estimated 11 million listeners per episode and is the most popular podcast on Spotify’s platform.

Jewish Groups Have Mixed Reactions to Omar’s Removal From House Foreign Affairs Committee

Jewish groups shared differing opinions on Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN) being booted off the House Foreign Affairs Committee on February 2.

The House of Representatives voted 218-211 on a resolution to remove Omar from the committee along party lines, with Representative David Joyce (R-OH) voting present, per CNN. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) told reporters that Omar “said that the American military was equal to Hamas and the Taliban. From a member of the Foreign Affairs [Committee], she said Americans only like Israel because ‘it’s all about the Benjamins.’ And three years later she says, ‘I didn’t know these were tropes.’” McCarthy also referenced Omar saying with regard to the 9/11 terror attacks that “something happened that day.” “What does that say to other people around the world?” McCarthy said. “What does that say to somebody else who wants to create another 9/11? I’m sorry, it’s not right. We were right in our action, and she can serve other committees.”

Omar tweeted after the vote, “I will continue to speak for the families who are seeking justice around the world—whether they are displaced in refugee camps or hiding under their bed somewhere like I was. I didn’t come to Congress to be silent. I came to Congress to be their voice. My leadership and voice will not diminish if I am not on this committee for one term. My voice will only get louder and stronger.”

Some Jewish groups lauded Omar being kicked off the committee. Simon Wiesenthal Center Dean and Founder Rabbi Marvin Hier and Associate Dean and Director of Global Social Action Agenda Rabbi Abraham Cooper said in a statement, “No one believed for one minute her disingenuous claim following the deployment of a classic anti-Semitic trope. Representative Omar should have been held accountable immediately by the House when she made those statements. Moving forward, if Congresswoman Omar wants to repair her relationship with the Jewish community, she should own up to what was said in the past, apologize and move on.”

“For years, Democratic leadership has failed to hold Rep. Ilhan Omar accountable for her vile, hateful, and dangerous anti-Israel and antisemitic rhetoric,” Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) National Chairman Senator Norm Coleman and CEO Matt Brooks said in a statement. “Today, Republicans, under Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s leadership, kept their promise to remove Rep. Omar from the prestigious and crucially important House Foreign Affairs Committee.” They added: “We are gratified that Rep. Omar will no longer be in a privileged position to influence legislation regarding US policy toward Israel and the Middle East.”

StopAntisemitism tweeted, “We are thrilled antisemite Ilhan Omar has been removed from the House Foreign Affairs committee. Bigotry against the Jewish people must never be tolerated and we applaud current leadership for having the guts to do what should have been done a few years ago.”

Christians United for Israel (CUFI) Action Fund said in a statement, “Rep. Omar has a track-record of trafficking in antisemitic tropes and making bigoted claims concerning pro-Israel activists. Moreover, her positions regarding the Middle East defy reason. She has made blatantly false claims about Israel and has even gone so far as to compare the United States and Israel to terrorist groups. An individual espousing such fringe and hateful beliefs has no place serving on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Just as we did during the last Congress when we supported the vote to remove Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) from her committees because of her own antisemitic comments, the CUFI Action Fund will continue to combat antisemitism in all its forms, wherever it is found.”

Former New York Democratic Assemblyman Dov Hikind, who heads the Americans Against Antisemitism watchdog, tweeted that kicking Omar off the committee was “teaching @TheDemocrats a lesson on what it means to follow through in doing the right thing rather than just making empty threats! I hope this is a teachable moment for Omar: Say ‘NO’ to Jew-hatred!”

Other Jewish groups criticized the move.

“Jewish Dems condemn violence, antisemitism, and extremism wherever they exist,” Jewish Democratic Council of America CEO Halie Soifer said in a statement. “There is no equivalence between the two parties on this issue—Democrats have sought to combat extremism, while the GOP has normalized bigotry and provided a political home for extremists. The three Democrats removed from committees in the past week have never advocated for attacking our democracy or murdering their colleagues, unlike some Republicans currently serving on House committees.”

She added that the move shows how the Republicans disrespect “good governance or democratic norms.” “As we have said before, Jewish Dems oppose the GOP removal of these three Democrats from their committee assignments,” Soifer said. “We’ve disagreed with Rep. Omar on Israel, condemned her use of antisemitic tropes, and welcomed her apology. Today, we stand with House Democrats in strongly opposing this unjust act of political retribution. We also stand with Muslim Americans calling out this Republican attack for being rooted in bigotry and Islamophobia.”

J Street tweeted that the move was “cynical” and “especially exploitative given the myriad antisemitic statements from [McCarthy] and his top deputies.” As examples, they pointed to McCarthy tweeting “that George Soros and two other billionaires of Jewish descent were seeking to ‘buy’ an election” and House Whip Tom Emmer (R-IN) tweeting something similar. J Street also accused Representative Elise Stefanik (R-NY), the Republican Conference Chair, of promoting “the deadly, antisemitic ‘Great Replacement’ conspiracy theory.”

Americans for Peace Now (APN) condemned the move. “Speaker McCarthy’s claim that he did so on the basis that Representative Omar is ‘antisemitic’ is both inaccurate and offensive,” they said in a statement. “Criticizing Israeli policies and actions is not antisemitic. Antisemitism is a real and dangerous threat, and misrepresenting Congresswoman Omar’s statements does not advance the fight against antisemitism. Instead, this transparent attempt to weaponize the accusation of antisemitism to score cheap political points damages efforts to isolate and eradicate antisemitic speech. Targeting Omar has wide-ranging repercussions that go beyond congressional committee assignments. Representative Omar has been the target of disturbing and hateful Islamophobic attacks and threats, which could be further fueled by today’s House action against her.”

NYU Student Being Investigated After ‘F**k Israel’ Vandalism

New York University student Naye Idriss is under investigation after she wrote “Free Palestine” and “Fuck Israel” on a mailbag at the NYU Elmer Holmes Bobst library, according to StopAntisemitism.

Idriss, a graduate of Columbia University, is from Lebanon and is attending NYU’s Hagop Kevorkian Center for Near Eastern Studies, according to StopAntisemitism, a nonprofit antisemitism watchdog. NYU opened an investigation after Idriss wrote “Free Palestine” and “Fuck” above the word “Israel” on an Israeli mailbag in the recycling bin in the library where she worked as an Arabic translator, and she claims it cost her the job.

StopAntisemitism announced the investigation on Twitter, showing pictures of the vandalism and Idriss wearing an “Anti-Zionist Vibes Only” shirt.

Idriss explained that the bag was in the recycling bin after items from an Israeli vendor had been removed and because of that she “didn’t think twice about it.”

After the university started a formal investigation in late 2022, Palestinian Legal, a law firm that aims to “bolster the Palestine solidarity movement by challenging efforts to threaten, harass and legally bully activists into silence and inaction,” agreed to represent Idriss, according to The Electronic Intifada.

After the university allegedly chose not to rehire her as a translator, Idriss filed a complaint earlier this month against the school through her union for discriminating against her, according to The Electronic Intifada. Idriss and her attorney argued that NYU’s decision was “very troubling” and that Idriss was the “only one not rehired.”

Dylan Saba, Idriss’ attorney, claimed that the university discriminated against Idriss because she was of Arab descent, according to The Electronic Intifada. He also said the vandalism charge would not have been an issue if it did not pertain to an “anti-Israel message.”

Liora Rez, executive director of StopAntisemitism, told the Daily Caller News Foundation that StopAntisemitism was pleased that NYU was “taking this seriously.”

“The University, which earned an F in our 2022 report on Antisemitism on U.S. Colleges and Universities, recently settled a Title VI complaint that the University was discriminatory towards Jewish students for its lack of action against antisemitic incidents on campus,” Rez said. “Pursuing an investigation of this antisemitic act and holding the student accountable is a step in the right direction.”

NYU and Palestinian Legal did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.

IAC Antisemitism Sessions Roundup: Elan Carr Address, 'The Kanye Effect,' Anti-BDS Laws

The Israeli American Council’s (IAC) National Summit had several hours’ worth of breakout sessions dedicated to antisemitism on January 20 and 21 at the Fairmont Hotel in Austin, TX. Here are some of the highlights covered by the Journal.

Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism Elan Carr provided a state of the address of sorts on the topic, expressing optimism that the fight against antisemitism could be won. One of the ways to fight antisemitism is being able to define it properly, Carr said. Enter IHRA, the commonly used acronym for the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism, stating that forms of antisemitism include the demonization and delegitimization of Israel. Carr recalled how the Trump administration, in which he served, adopted IHRA for the entire interagency and that the Biden administration has doubled down on using IHRA despite taking “heat from the left-wing of the Democrat Party on that issue.” “IHRA is here to stay,” Carr declared.

Carr also warned of economic boycotts against Israel that were conducted by Ben & Jerry’s and Unilever, as well as the dangers of woke antisemitism, which he defined as a “Marxist agenda” that brands Jews as evil. Carr’s solution involves fighting antisemitism with philo-semitism touting the contributions that Jews have made to the world. “Rather than letting Jew-hatred define us … let’s define them as standing against ethical monotheism as standing against tikkun olam,” he said. 

Additionally, Carr called for forced training programs against any convicted criminals that show even the slightest signs of radicalization, saying that he has personally seen such programs “change lives” from his days as a prosecutor in Los Angeles.

A panel later in the day featured StandWithUs CEO and Co-Founder Roz Rothstein and Stop Antisemitism Executive Director Liora Rez discussing “The Kanye Effect,” which Rez said involved “a trickle effect” of rapper Kanye West’s antisemitism permeating through his millions of social media followers. Rez said that West’s antisemitic rhetoric essentially gives a “green light” to “those that seek to do the Jewish people harm,” citing the white supremacist group Goyim Defense League (GDL) as an example. 

Rothstein similarly said that West’s antisemitism has resulted in “copycatting” but proclaimed that “we are not a defenseless people anymore.” She highlighted StandWithUs’ work in fighting antisemitism in schools, including a recent complaint they filed against George Washington University, as well as StandWithUs’ recent involvement in getting the cities of Los Angeles and West Hollywood to adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism. “We will stand tall, we will teach pride, we will stand up to this antisemitism in all our different ways, but we must engage,” Rothstein said.

Rez later said that the Jewish community needs to get creative in fighting against antisemitism, pointing to the fact that they successfully lobbied for police to fine the GDL for dropping antisemitic flyers throughout various neighborhoods in the country. She also touted Stop Antisemite’s strategy of using “freedom of speech to throw [antisemites’] hatred back in their face and expose it.” “We let employers, spouses, parents, know when someone espouses hatred against the Jewish people,” Rez said, as she said her organization is “responsible for a lot of firings, suspensions,” and even divorce. She predicted that antisemitism is “going to get worse.”

The conference featured two separate panels on anti-Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) laws, explaining how these laws essentially serve as Israel’s “economic Iron Dome.”

The first session on January 20, with IAC for Action Executive Director Joseph Sabag making the “economic Iron Dome” comparison and that there are currently 36 states with anti-BDS laws in place and a 37th on the way soon and “several others currently in the works.” “This is something our community should celebrate as a great success,” Sabag said.

Sabag appeared on this panel alongside former Arizona Treasurer Kimberly Yee, who enforced the state’s anti-BDS law against Unilever, the parent company of Ben & Jerry’s. Yee said she gave Unilever an “ultimatum” to either stop Ben & Jerry’s Israel boycott or divest from Ben & Jerry’s. They did neither, so on September 2021 during Rosh Hashanah, Yee informed them that the state would no longer be doing business with Unilever. “I did not realize in this decision that we would become the first state to divest from Unilever on this action,” Yee said. 

Several other states followed suit. “It was an immediate national movement to divest from companies that were being antisemitic and discriminatory and their actions were wrong,” she said. She noticed that various local municipalities and universities weren’t divesting from Unilever, which Sabag said prompted the law to expanded to ensure that municipalities and universities would comply with the law.

Yee called Israel “a bright light in the Middle East” and said that BDS attacks Israel’s legitimacy; therefore, anti-BDS laws “support our friends” economically. “When their economy thrives, our economies thrive because of our great trade partnerships,” Yee said.

A separate session on anti-BDS laws the next day featured Sabag alongside George Mason University Professor Eugene Kontorovich and Arkansas Solicitor General Nicholas Bronni. Kontorovich explained that anti-BDS laws were predicated on laws from the Obama administration barring discrimination based on sexual orientation, as the professor argued that it is a “form of discrimination” to not conduct business with someone because they are Israeli or based in Israel. “None of them prevent anyone from criticizing Israel,” Kontorovich said, adding that “a company can hang a Palestinian flag on its headquarters … what it can’t do is say we’re not gonna do business with an Israeli company.” Essentially, such laws mean that taxpayer dollars don’t go to those who boycott Israel, he said.

Bronni explained the legal case that Arkansas’ anti-BDS law faced from The Arkansas Times, as the Times had initially agreed to sign a pledge saying they wouldn’t do business with Israel boycotters but when their contract expired a year and a half later, they refused to resign the contract, thus leading to the lawsuit. Bronni claimed that the Times had been looking for someone to attempt to run an anti-Israel ad in their paper so the would-be client could file the lawsuit instead, but they were unsuccessful in finding someone who wanted to run such an ad. Ultimately, the law was upheld in court, thus setting the precedent that such anti-BDS laws are constitutional.

George Santos Made 'Offensive Comments' on Jews, Black People on Social Media - Sources

New York Republican congressman George Santos joked about Hitler and made "deeply offensive" comments about Jewish people and Black people in an old Facebook comment, multiple sources reported on Thursday.

The resurfaced statements by Santos were nearly 12 years ago, according to exclusive screenshots that were obtained by Patch media.

The news outlet stated that they verified and received the screenshots through a former friend of Santos. A former roommate of the New York politician told Patch that the now congressman would make offensive jokes about Jews regularly.

Santos's attorney claimed that the comment is fake in an email to Patch. 

The congressman deleted his Facebook late last year.

Nonpartisan organization StopAntisemitism commented on the incident, saying that they are "disgusted to learn that Congressman George Santos, who lied about being Jewish during his campaign, had previously posted vile comments about Adolf Hitler and Jewish and Black people."

Santos began his term in Congress earlier this month. He represents the third district of the state of New York, which covers some parts of New York City's Queens borough.

Also around the start of his term, he lied about having Jewish heritage, and also lied that his grandparents fled the Holocaust. 

In his campaign launch video for Congress, he stated: “I’ve seen how socialism destroys people’s lives because my grandparents survived the Holocaust.”

Another former roommate of Santos said that he used a "fake Jewish-sounding last name" to raise funds on GoFundMe, according to a Business Insider report.

Antisemitic Chalk Drawings Found on Campus at the University of Alabama

The University of Alabama is investigating several instances of antisemitic speech that were found written in chalk around campus Thursday.

The writing, as first reported by The Crimson White and Patch Tuscaloosa, contains the words “#YeisRight Friday 1/27” along different places on campus. In their reporting, The CW took 19 photos of different places where the writings were found.

The hashtag #YeisRight is an allusion to rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, who recently became embroiled in controversy over negative comments he made about the Jewish community, as well as praising Hitler in one instance.

StopAntisemitism.org, a watchdog organization that tracks antisemitic behavior across the country, shared similar images on their social media. The group has also suggested that the writings are alluding to a visit by Dalton Clodfelter, who has been referred to as a “white nationalist Christian fascist” by Right Wing Watch. Last week, he and others hosted an event at Florida Atlantic University. Many scenes from that event can be found on Twitter with the hashtag “YeIsRight.”

Friday, referenced by “1/27,” is International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

“The University was notified this morning about anonymous chalkings with concerning language targeting our Jewish community,” UA spokesperson Shane Dorrill said in a statement. “We condemn these chalkings, which violate our Capstone Creed, our campus culture and our core values. Our expectation is that everyone be treated with civility and respect. As soon as we were notified of the chalkings we began removing them, initiated an investigation and organized resources for those impacted and concerned. Public Safety and the Offices of Student Life and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are fully engaged and providing related support.”

StopAntisemitism.org has asked the university to remove the images.

“Please remove and investigate @UofAlabama – your Jewish students are reporting they do not feel safe on campus with sentiment like this being spewed,” the post read.

Liora Rez, executive director of StopAntisemitism.org, said the group has already received dozens of calls and emails from students and their parents about their concerns over the writings. “We hope the university responds appropriately,” Rez said. We are here to assist anyway possible.

In 2021 alone, there were over 2,700 antisemitic incidents recorded across the country.

Rez said that, unfortunately, this is a trend she predicts will continue into 2023. “Just 20 days into the year is truly startling,” she said.