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‘Tragic Error,’ 11 Groups Say of Only Partial White House IHRA Embrace

Eleven U.S. Jewish organizations sent a letter on July 7 to the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, urging her to publicly embrace the leading definition of antisemitism.  

The missive to Linda Thomas-Greenfield sought to counter a letter addressed to her in late June by left-wing Democrats which applauded the Biden administration for failing to codify the application of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism across the whole of government. 

The White House “embraced” the IHRA definition in its national plan to fight antisemitism released last month, but did not fully endorse it to the exclusion of other definitions preferred by those who wish to be freer in singling Israel out for criticism and applying double standards.

Last week’s letter to Thomas-Greenfield calls the decision “a tragic error,” adding that “Jewish members of Congress should know better.”  

Representatives of CASEPAC, StopAntisemitism, Israel Heritage Foundation, Club Z, The Endowment for Middle East Truth, Baltimore Zionist District, Coalition for Jewish Values, Republican Jewish Coalition, Students Supporting Israel, Jewish Policy Center and Jewish Leadership Project signed the letter.

It urges Thomas-Greenfield to publicly embrace the IHRA definition “as part of your previous commitments to combat the scourge of antisemitism at the United Nations and beyond.”

Thomas-Greenfield’s boss, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, claimed at the outset of the Biden administration that it “enthusiastically” embraced IHRA, and the United States is one of 36 IHRA member countries.

Thomas-Greenfield has largely lived up to promises to support Israel at the United Nations, leveraging Washington’s veto power on the U.N. Security Council and its influence in the General Assembly on a number of matters.

Last month, the United Nations postponed a scheduled meeting with Jewish organizations to develop a plan to monitor and combat antisemitism after it became clear the U.N. draft plan was not acceptable or workable in its current form.

The meeting has been rescheduled for September. It was unclear at the time of the postponement whether the State Department planned to participate.

Antisemitism Watchdog Asks Newsom to Take Action

Antisemitism in California is on the rise — and Gov. Gavin Newsom is being urged to do something about it.

In a letter to Newsom, Liora Rez, executive director of the nonprofit organization StopAntisemitism, has asked the governor to pursue legislation that would adopt a clearer definition of antisemitism and strengthen penalties for those who commit religious-based hate crimes.

“Now is the time for decisive action,” Rez wrote in the letter. “By taking these steps you will send a powerful message that California stands united against antisemitism and is committed to upholding the values of tolerance, understanding, and respect that define our great state.”

Hate crimes targeting Jewish people in California jumped 24% from 2021 to 2022, according to a new hate crimes report released last month by Attorney General Rob Bonta. Nearly two-thirds of California’s religious-based hate crimes last year targeted Jewish people, the report found.

Just in recent weeks, the Sacramento area has seen several public displays of antisemitism — from hate speech at Sacramento City Council meetings to antisemitic flyers blanketing lawns and front porches throughout Sacramento and neighboring communities.

StopAntisemitism is specifically seeking a state law to mirror Florida’s House Bill 269, which would make it a felony to deface or damage religious cemeteries, distribute threatening materials on private property or harass someone for wearing religious clothing. The group is also asking California to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, or IHRA, definition of antisemitism — a move that the Los Angeles City Council took late last year.

IHRA defines antisemitism as a “certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”

Mayor Gloria Says Antisemitic and Homophobic Flyers Found in San Diego

San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria said Sunday that authorities are investigating the discovery of hateful flyers in multiple areas of the city.

"Hate has no place in San Diego and there will be consequences for those who spread it in our city. These antisemitic and homophobic flyers have been reported to law enforcement and are being investigated," Gloria tweeted.

The flyers were reportedly found in San Carlos, Santee, and Del Cerro. Residents found them on their car windshields with antisemitic messages and statements bashing the LGBTQ community.

One of the flyers reportedly read, "The Holocaust is a Lie Six Million Jews Did Not Die."

The group StopAntisemitism reported that the antisemitic flyers were dropped on the same street as two synagogues -- Temple Emanu-El in Del Cerro and Tifereth Israel Synagogue in San Carlos. Both places of worship have stepped up their security as a result, the group said.

The San Diego Police Department had nothing to report on the flyers when reached by City News Service on Sunday.

Residents React to Antisemitic Flyers Found in San Diego Neighborhoods

People around San Diego County are finding disturbing flyers with antisemitic messages. The flyers are believed to be from the Goyim Defense League a group with members across the country known to spread antisemitism.

The advocacy organization fighting antisemitism - StopAntisemitism - has attributed the antisemitic flyers to the Goyim Defense League (GDL). The league travels the country distributing these hateful flyers targeted Jewish communities.

Residents in San Carlos, Santee, and Del Cerro found flyers on their car windshields with hate-filled messages against the Jewish and LGBTQ communities.

"I was crying when I first saw these because it breaks my heart [that] people can be so cruel," Adele said.

Adele and her husband Scott found flyers around their neighborhood yesterday.

"For what it did to her, I was so angry," Scott said.

They walked up and down the streets removing the flyers from cars. For Adele, the messages are extremely painful.

"As a Jewish person, they say the Holocaust didn't happen," she said. "I lost so many family members that could have been here today because of the Holocaust."

A synagogue is just up the block from where they live. Unfortunately, this isn't the first time she's experienced this kind of hate.

"Back in the 80s, I was targeted as a Jew. They put Nazi slogans all on the front of my house in spray paint and spray painted cars and I shied away from my faith because it scared me to be Jewish," she said.

She says all the feelings she experienced decades ago came rushing back. She plans to report the flyers to the police and hopes others do too.

"These people need to be arrested for hate crimes. They are trying to make people hate the Jews and that is not fair. That is not right," she said.

According to the group StopAntisemitism synagogues in both Del Cerro and San Carlos have reportedly stepped up security measures as a result.

Kim Kardashian Breaks Down over Ye's Antisemitism

Kanye West's behavior, both publicly and behind the scenes clearly tore his estranged wife, Kim Kardashian, and their family apart ... as evidenced in scenes recorded right around the time of his antisemitic attacks.

In a preview for next week's episode of "The Kardashians" Kim sobs in Khloe Kardashian's arms -- explaining the Kanye of today is not the one she married back in 2014 -- and she'd do anything to try and get the old version of Kanye back.

While the preview doesn't specify exactly which Kanye incident led to Kim's breakdown, the timing of other events in the episode line up with when Kanye launched his online attacks, including a tweet where he claimed he was going "death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE."

It was also in the middle of Kanye's attack on Jewish people that their divorce, which she filed in February 2021, was finalized ... so there's also a chance she's sobbing over the weight of the entire situation.

Remember, Kanye faced a TON of hate after his comments about the Jewish community -- after his shocking tweet, he tried clarifying, telling Piers Morgan he only wished harm on Jewish people that did him dirty in the music industry ... which really didn't help.

He went on to deny parts of the Holocaust on Alex Jones' "Infowars," bizarrely claiming to love Hitler -- digging the hole even deeper.

What was most frightening about the whole thing was the minority of people who supported Ye in the wake of his comments, including a group of people over an L.A. freeway performing a Nazi salute and hanging a banner reading, "Kanye is right about the Jews."

Ye was dropped from brands left and right -- including millions in losses from Adidas -- and was even named "Antisemite of the Year" by watchdog group StopAntisemitism ... so it's easy to see the pain and frustration Kim was facing during the downfall.

At Aspen Ideas Festival, White House Panel Bypasses Mention of Israel

At an Aspen Ideas Festival panel on June 27, moderated by journalist Katie Couric, two people close to the White House discussed the Biden administration’s new U.S. National Strategy to Combat Antisemitism. Neither Doug Emhoff, who is Jewish and married to Vice President Kamala Harris, nor Liz Sherwood-Randall, White House homeland security advisor, mentioned Israel during the hour-long panel, Jewish Insider reported.

Israel appears in the strategy, but it and “the ways that anti-Zionism can translate into antisemitism” have “been absent from White House public messaging on the document,” added Jewish Insider.

The annual festival in Aspen, Colo., is being held this year from June 24 to June 30. The program nominates individuals worldwide for their accomplishments and dedication to improving their communities and making advances in their field of work, according to its website.

“To not mention Israel when discussing antisemitism is not only irresponsible, but dangerous,” tweeted the nonprofit watchdog StopAntisemitism. “Approximately half of the world’s Jews live in Israel. [And more than] 90% of Jews globally are Zionists.”

Georgia Synagogue will Hold Unity Service in Wake of Antisemitic Rally

A unity service will be held at a synagogue in Macon, Georgia in the wake of antisemitic demonstrations that took place outside of two local synagogues last weekend while they were holding Shabbat services. NGO StopAntisemitism shared videos of the demonstrations with their audience.

"A Service of Love and Unity" will be held on Sunday at Temple Beth Israel. The event is tagged as "a stand against antisemitism and racism."

Rabbi Elizabeth Bahar of Temple Beth Israel told Ynetnews that her synagogue has received a tremendous outpouring of support from the Jewish community and the local non-Jewish community.

“To that end, we're having a unity service to recognize the need that we all have to come together so that we don't feel isolated, but rather understand that we're not in this world alone,” Bahar said.

Neo-Nazis from the Goyim Defense League (GDL), an antisemitic hate group and conspiracy theory network, gathered outside two synagogues in the Atlanta area over the weekend and protested with Nazi flags while shouting antisemitic epithets. The first incident took place outside Temple Beth Israel in Macon, Georgia after the neo-Nazis distributed antisemitic flyers in the neighborhoods surrounding the synagogue.

The Friday demonstration was orchestrated intentionally to coincide with Kabbalat Shabbat services. Witnesses said that the protesters screamed antisemitic obscenities through a bullhorn, displayed a blow-up character with a kippa draped in a rainbow flag, and had another with an Israeli flag tied around the ankle which the protesters were desecrating.

Synagogue staff and concerned neighbors in Georgia immediately reached out to local police who were reportedly very helpful and arrested the protest organizer, Jon Minadeo II, for disorderly conduct.

In response, hundreds of members of the local Macon community showed up to support the Jewish community in a spontaneous outpouring of love and solidarity the following day, only to have the GDL show up again to heckle the demonstration against antisemitism. Police were again dispatched to the synagogue to disperse the gathering.

Also on Saturday, the GDL, again led by Minadeo, targeted yet another Georgia synagogue, the Chabad Lubavitch in Cobb, gathering outside with Nazi flags and shouting antisemitic insults.

Bahar told Ynetnews:“I was looking out through the sanctuary window and they were doing ‘Heil Hitler’ salutes and were screaming horrific things when they realized that I was watching them.” The rabbi called the police.

The incidents are being investigated by the Macon District Attorney's office as hate crimes.

“The only way to address what happened is through love and understanding that we're all created in the image of God. And when we face and confront issues of antisemitism, which we must whenever it rears its ugly head, we have to do so recognizing that we need to do so through acts of love and kindness…not engaging in the political game of defensiveness and otherness,” Bahar said.

U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff, who is Jewish, will attend Sunday's unity service and deliver the keynote address.

Temple Beth Israel was founded 163 years ago, and has never been the target of an antisemitic demonstration. Members of the community and synagogue staff in Macon emphasized that this has never been an issue for the city's Jewish community, which has been present and active since 1859.

In response to the antisemitic incidents, numerous community leaders, organizations and elected officials spoke out against the events, including Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp who said: “There is absolutely no place for this hate and antisemitism in our state. I share in the outrage over this shameful act and stand with Georgians everywhere in condemning it.”

Liora Rez, executive director of the antisemitism watchdog group Stop Antisemitism, said that the organization “applauds the arrest of career antisemite Jon Minadeo on public disturbance charges in Georgia. Shockingly, Minadeo’s dedication to his vile cause is such that as soon as he bonded out of jail, he led another Nazi rally in front of a separate synagogue.”

Stop Antisemitism has called on the Georgia legislature to pass anti-hate legislation in response, as well as state legislatures around the country, urging them “to pass bills that give law enforcement the tools to prosecute people like Minadeo for their harassment and intimidation of Jews and other minorities.”

It is unclear why these specific communities were targeted by the GDL, but one possible contributing factor is that Florida recently cracked down on Minadeo and his group following multiple incidents of blatant antisemitic harassment. Minadeo has been arrested multiple times for his antisemitic conduct.

Neo-Nazi Leader of ‘Goyim Defense League’ Arrested in Georgia

The leader neo-Nazi of a group calling itself the “Goyim Defense League” (GDL) was arrested during an antisemitic demonstration staged outside a synagogue in Bibb County, Georgia, last Friday. NGO StopAntisemitism shared the news with their followers on Twitter.

Jon Minadeo, a 40 year old Florida native, was charged with disorderly conduct and public disturbance, according to a local CBS affiliate. Throughout the demonstration he shouted obscenities outside Temple Beth Israel while his followers put up a balloon depicting a gay Jew being lynched. He was later released, the station added.

GDL has organized similar rallies across the US, engaging in provocateur style protest aimed at garnering public attention to the antisemitic conspiracies it promotes. In February, GDL crashed the Daytona 500 speedway race, holding up signs that said, “Henry Ford was right about the Jews” and “Communism is Jewish.” That same month, one of its members, 41 year old Canadian citizen Robert Wilson flashed on the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam an offensive message alluding to a conspiracy which claims that the pen Anne Frank used to write diary entries was not invented during World War II.

The group staged a separate protest on Saturday at which Minadeo, with its members brandishing Nazi flags outside Chabad of Cobb County.

Rabbi Ephraim Silverstone of Chabad told a local Fox affiliate that seeing neo-Nazis outside his synagogue was “very disturbing,” explaining that many congregants have relatives who died in the Holocaust.

The neo-Nazi demonstrations continue a historic rise in antisemitic activity across the US, where it increased by 36 percent in 2022.

Liora Rez, CEO of StopAntisemitism, a nonprofit which monitors antisemitic hate crimes across the world, said on Monday that she “calls on the Georgia legislature, and state legislatures around the country, to adopt IHRA and pass bills that give law enforcement the tools to prosecute people like Minadeo for their harassment and intimidation of Jews and other minorities.”

Footage of the incidents went viral on social media over the weekend, prompting responses from Georgia state officials.

“There is absolutely no place for this hate and antisemitism in our state,” Governor Brian Kemp (R) tweeted on Sunday. “I share in the outrage over this shameful act and stand with Georgians everywhere in condemning it. We remain vigilant in the face of these disgusting acts of bigotry.”

The Cobb County Board of Commissioners Chairwoman Lisa Cupid also issued a statement addressing the need to balance free speech rights with the public good.

“I recognize the constitutional right to freedom of speech may allow these expressions of beliefs,” she said. “Still, we should also recognize that these actions impair our sense of community when all should feel safe and welcome here.”

Neo-Nazis Terrorize Jewish Community by Brandishing Swastika Flags Outside Georgia Synagogue

A neo-Nazi group gathered outside a synagogue in Georgia and brandished swastikas during its Shabbat service on Saturday.

Shocking pictures and videos showed around a dozen people waving the hate symbols outside the Chabad of Cobb synagogue in East Cobb, the non-profit Stop Antisemitism reported.

Jon Minadeo II, leader of the so-called Goyim Defense League, was arrested for disorderly conduct and public disturbance the day before at a synagogue in Macon, Georgia, local station WMAZ reported.

Members of Chabad of Cobb told WMAZ that the neo-Nazis were out there for a few hours. Videos posted online showed the group holding swastika flags and signs that read: “Every Single Aspect of Abortion is Jewish” as local residents could be heard shouting at them to “go home”.

Officers from the Cobb Police Department responded to the scene but did not dispel the rally. Freedom of speech, even hate speech, is generally protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution — although true threats and harassment are not. Officers stood between the two groups.

Law enforcement has not issued any public statements addressing the incident on Saturday but Chabad of Cobb’s leaders said that the police department is working with them to ensure the safety of everyone at the synagogue.

“This was the most frightening thing I’ve ever seen in my entire life,” Stewart Levy, who attends Chabad of Cobb, told WMAZ.

“I am shocked, absolutely shocked to see this here. When I see the amount of ignorance out there and some of the truths that they are promoting, it is just frightening the level of inaccurate knowledge that there is.”

Jennifer Caron Derrick, who does not attend the synagogue but lives in East Cobb, said she didn’t believe any of the neo-Nazis were local residents.

Neo-Nazis Seen Waving Swastika Flags Outside Multiple Georgia Synagogues

A group of neo-Nazis brandished swastika flags and other antisemitic propaganda outside multiple Georgia synagogues over the weekend.

Several members of the hate group Goyim Defense League were pictured outside Chabad Lubavitch of Cobb County in the Atlanta suburb of Marietta on Saturday.

The disturbing protest was led by the group’s leader Jon Minadeo II — a day after he was charged with disorderly conduct and public disturbance in front of Temple Beth Israel in Macon, NGO StopAntisemitism shared the news of the arrest with their audience.

“This was the most frightening thing I’ve ever seen in my entire life,” Chabad of Cobb member Stewart Levy told WSB-TV.

“I am shocked, absolutely shocked to see this here. When I see the amount of ignorance out there and some of the truths that they are promoting, it is just frightening the level of inaccurate knowledge that there is.”

Minadeo was arrested a day earlier in Macon after he continued shouting obscenities through a bullhorn even though authorities had asked him to stop, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

He was released from the Bibb County jail Saturday and apparently headed straight to Cobb, the newspaper said.

The displays of hate in Macon had prompted hundreds of people to gather at Temple Beth Israel on Saturday to show their solidarity with the Jewish community, far outnumbering the 10 or so people behind the hateful demonstration, according to the Telegraph.

“I knew it wasn’t people in Macon-Bibb, because the Christians, Jews and various other religions have had an extremely peaceful co-existence in this town forever,” said Mike Kaplan, whose family has attended the house of worship for five generations.

“This congregation was established in 1859, and we’ve never had this happen. We’re more grateful for the response than we are saddened by the actions of these few people who came from out of town and brought hate to Macon,” added Kaplan, who is also the chair of the county election board.

The Peach Tree State tour of hate had started earlier Friday in the city of Warner Robins, where residents woke up to antisemitic fliers in plastic bags weighted down by pellets that some residents feared were poisonous, according to the station.

“We actually had one in the driveway, and one in front of our house at the mailbox,” Tresa Wilson told the outlet.

Her neighbor was on the phone with the police and had warned her not to touch the hateful literature.

“The first instinct was, ‘What about kids? What about animals?’ If this is some kind of poison, they could easily get ahold of it,” said Tresa’s husband, Joshua Wilson.

The incidents prompted Jewish leaders to share pictures of the hateful display in front of Chabad of Cobb on social media in the hopes of publicly shaming the protesters, who had maintained they were exercising their First Amendment rights.

The GDL made headlines last year when it hung a banner over a Los Angeles freeway in support of Kanye West, who was labeled 2022’s Antisemite of the Year by the group StopAntisemitism.

California Student’s ‘Antisemitic Hate’ Speech Ruins Graduation for Some ‘Outraged’ Classmates

The California college student who delivered incendiary “antisemitic hate” during a commencement speech sparked “outrage” among students in attendance with her unchallenged rhetoric.  

“The speech definitely soured my graduation,” one Jewish El Camino Community College student told The Post about his spoiled big day. “I definitely felt singled out.”

Jana Abulaban, the 18-year-old who crammed several inflammatory anti-Israel claims into her two-minute speech to some 5,000 attendees at the Torrance, Calif., campus ceremony, included accusations that the “oppressive apartheid state of Israel” is “killing and torturing Palestinians as we speak.”

“Part of me wanted to leave,” added the grad, who said he felt “outed.” “It just wasn’t appropriate for a speech.”

Despite the smattering of enthusiastic applause from some members of the audience, Abulaban’s charged rhetoric spoiled the day for many.

“From who I talked to, they were outraged that was allowed to be said,” added the student.

The gobsmacked grad told The Post he “felt uneasy” when Abulaban, a self-described “Palestinian refugee” — who was really born and raised in Jordan — launched into her hateful and “hurtful” diatribe.

“I was kind of telling myself, ‘Are you kidding me? You’re using a platform that you earned as student government president to put out this message that clearly pushes further division instead of a message of inclusion,'” he said.

The school’s YouTube page, which still has the entire event posted, caught a flurry of comments about the hate-filled speech.

“The fact that no one derailed this event to protest the slanderous appropriation of the trauma of South Africans, nor appeared to be shocked at what was said, tells me everything I need to know about how unsafe Jewish and Israeli students will become on campus,” said one commenter, noting Abulaban’s loose use of the term “apartheid.”

Watchdog groups are demanding answers — and accountability — from the school.

“Whoever greenlighted Abulaben’s hate-filled speech falsely vilifying the world’s only Jewish state must be held responsible,” blasted Liora Rez, executive director of StopAntisemismnow.org. 

As for the school brass signing off on the speech, the Jewish student said the school “doesn’t like controversies,” noting, “I was surprised that the school OK’ed it.” The watchdog, like many other organizations, shared their outrage on social media.

In a statement Wednesday, Superintendent Brenda Thames finally condemned the speech, saying Abulaban was “not authorized to speak other than to introduce another speaker” and that she “took it upon herself to make an anti-Israel statement.

“Her statement was not approved by El Camino College officials and does not reflect the values and views” of the school,” Thames’ statement continued.

Thames’ statement added that the school has since directly conveyed the “inappropriateness” of the remarks to Abulaban.

Though the school insisted it had no prior knowledge of the content of the speech, Abulaban told The Post on Monday that she ran it past her advisor, Ricardo Gonzales, two days in advance, when he “basically backed me up on it,” she said, adding, “he said that obviously my voice is my speech.”

The school paper, the Union, included gushing comments from Gonzales last week: “Jana is by far one of the most integral service-based, equity-minded and innovative leaders that I have seen in this institution for a long time.”

Gonzales, who didn’t return multiple messages from The Post, made $105,411 in 2021, according to public records.

The disillusioned classmate whose big day was ruined predicted an ominous future for Jewish students at the school, asserting the speech set “a bad precedent” for incoming Jewish students, though he himself faced no backlash for his faith while at school.

“Most Jews try not to be open about it, because they know that a lot of college campuses aren’t that welcoming,” he said of the general college climate.

He also ripped the school for slow-walking its statement, but said, “I believe them when they said the speech wasn’t fully approved by the college. I heard that most speakers go off-script.”

Abulaban’s speech — which closely echoed the roundly maligned CUNY Law School commencement speech by Fatima Mousa Mohammed, who infamously claimed Israel was guilty of indiscriminately killing Palestinians — inspired a fresh wave of outrage.

“…from coast to coast, Islamist terrorist sympathizers are spreading propagandist lies about half of the world’s Jews and the one Jewish nation,” tweeted lawyer Stacey E. Burke, adding, “The scary part is many are and the institutions (many of which receive both state and federal funding) are okay with it and approve it. They lie about that later if trouble arises, but they approve these words. It’s who they are and what they believe.”

Chaya Leah Sufrin, executive director of Long Beach Hillel, a Jewish organization which services the El Camino campus, told The Post that Jewish students are “up in arms” over the charged speech. 

“It’s horrendous,” said Sufrin, adding, “The fact that the student used this platform to single out the only Jewish state in this way. It’s like, why?”

The 76-year-old California public school’s “Statement of Values” espouses “integrity” as part of its five pillars, which include acting “ethically and honestly” in addition to embracing “our similarities and differences to promote an inclusive campus community.”

But prospective parents aren’t buying it. 

Sebastian Kessel, a dad of a high school senior about to apply to El Camino, was “horrified” by the speaker’s political tirade.

“There’s been an increase in radical speech in college — and in the name of tolerance, we’ve become more intolerant,” the LA-based Kessel, a descendant of Holocaust survivors, told The Post.

He’s awaiting the school’s response before he decides whether to let his daughter apply.

“The reaction of the school will be more telling than the speech itself,” said Kessel. “If the school declines to take action, even a token action, then that sends a pretty big message to Jews in the area: Stay away because you’re not going to be protected.”

The dad, who classified himself as “politically to the left,” continued, “What kind of father would I be if I put my daughter in that environment?” 

Kessel said the school delivered the correct response to the controversy.

“I am actually pleasantly surprised by the clarity and strength of it,” he said. “I was expecting some sort of equivocal ‘it’s wrong but she has a right’ and instead we got a very clear condemnation of the act. I’m saddened that this even took place but pleased at the college’s reaction.”

California Community College Student Delivers Antisemitic Remarks About Israel At Graduation Speech

A community college student in California dedicated parts of her Friday graduation speech to making antisemitic statements about Israel’s alleged treatment of Palestinians.

El Camino community college student Jana Abulaban alleged Israel is “killing and torturing Palestinians as we speak” in the middle of her speech, per the New York Post. “I gift my graduation to all Palestinians who have lost their lives and those who continue to lose their lives every day due to the oppressive apartheid state of Israel killing and torturing Palestinians as we speak,” she said.

Abulaban told the New York Post she was “inspired” by a City University of New York (CUNY) Law School student who delivered an antisemitic speech about Israel and “white supremacy” in late May. “And I honestly feel inspired by her courage to speak up. We are only trying to speak up against what this oppressive government is doing,” she said.

She is the descendant of Palestinian refugees and “identifies as a Palestinian woman,” her school newspaper wrote. She was born in Jordan and emigrated to the U.S. at age 12.

El Camino touted Abulaban’s speech on Twitter on Friday and posted a picture of her speaking. “If I was told 7 years ago, as a Palestinian refugee stepping foot for the first time in this country, that one day I’ll be standing on this stage — I would not have believed it. I’m extremely thankful to have gotten to this point,” the tweet said.

The group StopAntisemitism called out Abulaban’s rhetoric in a tweet Sunday with a clip of the speech. “Yet another graduation speech is hijacked with false antisemitic rhetoric, this time at El Camino Community College, CA,” the tweet asserted.

The student dismissed allegations of anti-semitism caused by her graduation speech. “I felt the need to really shed light on the atrocities that Israel as an apartheid state is committing,” she told the New York Post. “This is very far away from being antisemitic. I would never disrespect a religion,” she added.

Claims of Israeli apartheid have been labeled antisemitic. A report by Amnesty International accusing Israel of apartheid towards Palestinians was widely denounced by Jewish groups, and subject to criticism from the U.S. State Department and other western nations.

Jewish Group Calls on Hochul to Remove CUNY Chancellor After Law Grad’s Commencement Speech

A Jewish group is calling on New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to remove City of New York (CUNY) Chancellor Felix Matos Rodriguez from his position following his response to a recent anti-Israel and anti-American commencement speech by one of the school's law graduates.

StopAntisemitism cited what it described as Rodriquez's "complete disregard for the safety of his Jewish students" after CUNY Law grad Fatima Mousa Mohammed delivered a speech that derided Israel and the U.S. as "fascist." The speech soon went viral and critics demanded that CUNY lose any federal funding it is currently receiving. The outcry led CUNY to release a statement that called Mohammed's address "hate speech," but critics argue Rodriguez has failed to adequately address the incident. The NGO has been sharing the financial gain CUNY has received at the cost of Jewish students and their safety.

"For the past few years, we have been deeply concerned about intense Jew-hatred masquerading as anti-Zionism at the City University of New York under the leadership of Chancellor Felix Matos Rodriguez," StopAntisemitism Executive Director Liora Rez said in a letter sent to Hochul on Friday.

Rez cited Mohammed's speech as well as last year's CUNY Law commencement speech by Nerdeen Kiswani, whose group, Within Our Lifetime-United for Palestine, has been described as being "radical," "anti-Israel" and supporting violence. Rez's letter also pointed to Title VI complaints against CUNY brought by Jewish students, a lawsuit from six CUNY professors looking to cut ties with the faculty union over alleged antisemitism, and Rodriguez's own failure to attend City Council meetings that were meant to address concerns of antisemitism at CUNY.

"Chancellor Rodriguez has proven that he cannot be trusted to uphold his pledge to 'champion student equity' when it comes to Jewish students, and therefore must be removed," Rez wrote.

Rez's organization told Fox News Digital on Monday that they had yet to receive any response from Hochul or her office other than auto-replies.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who was at the commencement and spoke before Mohammed, later derided her speech as "vile anti-American and anti-Israel speech promoting hate."

Activist groups and a City Council member have also demanded that Mohammed be barred from practicing law regardless of whether she passes the bar exam, arguing that she fails the "character and fitness" requirements.

"I ask that should she pass the New York bar, her admission be denied," NYC council member Inna Vernikov said in a letter to the New York Bar on Wednesday.

A civil rights group called the Lawfare Project appealed to the New York Supreme Court, stating, "It's our belief that a person who has proved themselves to be a bigot is not fit to practice law," the Daily Mail reported Tuesday.

CUNY’s Troubling Jew-Hatred Sanctioning is Bigotry on the Taxpayer’s Dime

By StopAntisemitism Executive Director Liora Rez

If my years fighting antisemitism have taught me one thing, it’s that the battle against Jew-hatred must be strategic. Even as we confront rampant anti-Jewish hate crimes, we do it with an eye towards the future, envisioning a world where antisemites wouldn’t dare voice their hatred publicly.

Education is key to that vision, which is why the City University of New York’s pattern of officially sanctioned antisemitism is so disturbing. 

The public institution that educates the most heavily Jewish city in America has knowingly and repeatedly amplified antisemitic rhetoric on the taxpayer dime, creating a hostile atmosphere for Jews on campus and calling into question its commitment to educating future generations out of antisemitic prejudice.

CUNY Law School graduate Fatima Mousa Mohammed, who largely devoted her recent commencement address to hatred of the world’s sole Jewish nation — to applause from the dean — is just the latest in a line of anti-Zionist activists to whom CUNY has handed a platform.

Nerdeen Kiswani, who has called for Israel to be “wiped off the map” and routinely praised terrorists, including ax murderers, headlined last year’s law school graduation. She used her speech to call for the elimination of Zionism on campus — and given her hope that “a pop-pop is the last noise that some Zionists hear in their lifetime,” one wonders what methods she would sanction in the quest for that elimination.

Linda Sarsour, a Louis Farrakhan fan who once tweeted, “nothing is creepier than Zionism” and believes all of Israel is “occupied territory,” gave the commencement at the CUNY School of Public Health’s graduation in 2017.

Let’s dispense with the obfuscation over whether these anti-Zionists are also antisemitic — criticizing Israeli policy is one thing, but calling for the ostracism and/or destruction of the world’s only Jewish state can only be described as ­antisemitic.

CUNY Chancellor Felix Matos Rodriguez and the board of trustees have condemned Mohammed’s address as hate speech. Their prior approval of her remarks tells a different story, however, belying their damage control.

While attacking the board’s condemnation, the New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations revealed that Mohammed’s speech had been “submitted, examined, and pre-approved by CUNY in written form and a verbal recording.”

CUNY officials apparently found no fault with allegations that Israel “indiscriminately rains bullets and bombs on worshippers,” “murders the old and the young” and “encourages lynch mobs to target Palestinian homes and businesses” — nor with Mohammed’s hope that the joy and rage felt by graduates would be “fuel for the fight against capitalism, racism, imperialism and Zionism around the world.”

Amid a historic surge of hate crimes targeting Jews, Rodríguez, to whom New Yorkers pay a nearly $1 million yearly compensation package, saw fit to skip two City Council hearings regarding anti-Semitism at CUNY.

CUNY leadership’s actions reveal they aren’t just apathetic bystanders in the face of Jew-hatred. They are accessories to it, greenlighting antisemitic screeds as they duck opportunities to improve.

It’s time for New York to hold them accountable. Rodriguez must be removed from office, and Albany should take a serious look at how CUNY’s $2.8 billion in funding is allocated.

And the school must officially adopt and enforce the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism, which clearly defines as antisemitism the anti-Israel slanders and double standards CUNY’s recent commencement speakers promoted.

New Yorkers shouldn’t have to send involuntary contributions to a school that has become a megaphone for Jew-hatred. We deserve public higher education that promotes respect and inclusion instead of lionizing the next generation of antisemites.

Liora Rez is the executive director of StopAntisemitism, a nonprofit watchdog organization that holds antisemites accountable across the country.

Jewish Group Demands CUNY Chancellor Felix Matos Rodriguez Resign Over Law School Hate Speech

A Jewish rights watchdog group is demanding the resignation of CUNY Chancellor Felix Matos Rodriguez following a commencement “hate speech” spewed at the public university’s embattled law school, while New Jersey Congressman Josh Gottheimer is calling for a federal civil rights probe of antisemitism of CUNY.

The group StopAntisemitism — which monitors Jew hatred on college campuses — said the second consecutive year of anti-Jewish bile at the law school was the last straw for the CUNY boss.

The group referenced the inflammatory May 12 commencement address by student Fatima Mousa Mohammed, who critics including the chancellor and CUNY board of trustees said smeared Jews, Israel, the NYPD and the military.

Last year, both CUNY Law’s faculty council and student government passed resolutions supporting the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement against Israel while another student, Palestinian activist Nerdeen Kiswani, blasted the Jewish state during her 2022 commencement address.

“Enough is enough! CUNY Chancellor Felix Matos Rodriguez must step down. He has done nothing to properly fight antisemitism and is miserably failing to protect CUNY’s Jewish students against hate,” said StopAntisemitism’s executive director Liora Rez.

“The Chancellor receives more than $750,000 a year in compensation funded by taxpayer money, but the damage he is causing to Jewish students and staff is far more costly and cannot be quantified.”

The group called Mousa Mohammed a “rabid antisemite” who utilizes social media and participates in pro-Palestinian rallies to “spread her hatred towards Jews, Israel, and America.” It cited her posts calling for the “death to  Israel” and saying that “may every Zionist burn in the hottest pit in hell” and compared the Jewish state to Nazis.

“She advocates for the destruction of the world’s only Jewish state, pushes the antisemitic BDS movement, and expresses support for violence,” StopAntisemitism said.

Meanwhile, Gottheimer called on the U.S. Education Department to open a civil rights probe of CUNY and its law school.

“I am appalled by the persistent attacks against Jewish and pro-Israel students that have emanated from CUNY recently, including this speech, and I urge your office to investigate whether these incidents and CUNY’s administration’s response, or lack thereof, constitute a
violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI) jeopardizing the school’s eligibility for federal funding,” the Democrat said in a June 6 letter to the department’s assistant commissioner for civil rights.   

During her commencement address, Mousa Mohammed alleged that “Israel continues to indiscriminately rain bullets and bombs on worshipers, murdering the old, the young, attacking even funerals and graveyards… our silence is no longer acceptable.”

The future lawyer slammed CUNY for continuing “to train and cooperate with the fascist NYPD, the military.”

She also blasted the school for continuing “to train [Israeli] soldiers to carry out that violence globally.”

The board of trustees and Matos Rodriguez belatedly issued a statement accusing Mousa Mohammed of spewing “hate speech.” But CUNY law administrators including Dean Sudha Setty were seen applauding her speech and none condemned.

Matos Rodriguez declined comment on the call for his resignation.

The chancellor is setting up a Jewish council at CUNY to address complaints of antisemitism, said one prominent Jewish leader who rejected calls for Matos Rodriguez to resign.

“My position is we work together with the chancellor and address the problem forthrightly,” said Joseph Potasnik, vice chairman of the New York Board of Rabbis.

Mousa Mohammed recently declined to comment on her speech when reached by The Post at a relative’s home in Queens.

“I do not want to speak to anybody,” Mohammed said, refusing to give her own phone number and saying she did not want to be contacted again.

But 40 CUNY Law School professors co-signed a letter defending her address and said CUNY brass should apologize for calling it hate speech.

“No reasonable interpretation of the student speaker’s remarks would suggest it was `hate speech,’ given that none of the student’s comments attacked any persons or protected classes,] but at most commented on nations and state institutions that are incontrovertibly causing harm to people domestically and internationally,” the letter said.

“To the extent that the May 30th Statement attempts to equate the scourge of antisemitism with criticisms of the State of Israel, many human rights and Jewish organizations, including the Jewish Law Students Association at CUNY School of Law, flatly disagree.

Making such an equivalence would place CUNY squarely part of a well-documented campaign to silence students and faculty at institutions of higher education around the nation by labeling speech that supports Palestine or is critical of Israel as `antisemitic’ or `hate speech.’ 

“To the extent that the May 30th Statement purports to equate criticisms of policing and other city policies as `hate speech, this would be equally wrong, and disturbingly following the pattern of politically and ideologically motivated attacks on racial justice movements and public higher education seen in places like Florida.”

Assemblyman Alex Sauickie Condemns Hate Speech at CUNY Commencement

Assemblyman Alex Sauickie is condemning a City University of New York (CUNY) law school graduate’s hate-filled remarks during a May commencement ceremony and supports calls to withdraw public funds from the institution.

“There’s a big difference between an individual expressing bigoted views that should be condemned, and endorsement of those views by a state-sponsored institution,” Sauickie (R-Ocean) said. “If any state-funded New Jersey school condoned this kind of disgusting hate speech or any kind of hate speech targeting any group, as a legislator I’d be the first to call for defunding it. This kind of intolerance and demonization has no place in our public discourse.”

During the graduate’s speech, she claimed, “Israel continues to indiscriminately rain bullets and bombs on worshipers, murdering the old, the young, attacking even funerals and graveyards.”

“These and other anti-Jewish and anti-Israel tropes constitute clear hate speech, and must be called out and condemned,” Sauickie said. “Even the school’s board of trustees admitted this, after an 18-day delay.”

Sauickie noted that this is not an isolated incident. SAFE CUNY, a group advocating for Jewish people in the CUNY system, also called out “last year’s hate spewed” by another student commencement speaker chosen by the student government association. That person was named “Antisemite of the Year” by the NGO StopAntisemitism.

“Back-to-back antisemitic commencement speeches warrant an immediate response and assurance that it will never happen again,” he added.

Sauickie also took umbrage at this year’s remarks characterizing the New York Police Department as “fascist” and denigrating the U.S. military.

“As violent crime is on the rise and threats from foreign adversaries increase, fewer people are willing to serve as police or in the military,” Sauickie said. “We should be grateful for those who serve to keep us safe, not bash them with unfounded and far-out name-calling. While I believe these contrary views are from a very small minority, when they are given a platform to project their lies, those of us who value the people who protect us must stand up and speak up – which is exactly what I am doing.”

Israeli Anti-Government Protests Spread to New York

For the 58th year, New York City will host the Celebrate Israel parade on Sunday (June 4) organized by the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York (JCRC-NY) and other supporting partners such as the UJA Federation and the Israeli Consulate in New York.

Approximately 40,000 are expected to attend the annual celebration which marches down New York’s iconic Fifth Avenue, including an unusually large delegation of Israeli government officials and members of the Knesset from the coalition and opposition. But not everyone is happy about it – even within the Jewish community.

This year 8 Israeli ministers will attend the festivities and an additional 10 members of Knesset, sparking harsh criticism from progressive Jewish organizations and Israelis, who plan to protest against their attendance due to the government's judicial overhaul legislation.

The Israeli officials attending include Aliyah and Integration Minister Ofir Sofer, Public Diplomacy Minister Galit Distal Atbaryan, Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Minister Amichai Chikli, Economy Minister Nir Barkat, Innovation, Science and Technology Minister Ofir Akunis, Jerusalem Affairs and Jewish Tradition Minister Meir Porush, Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu and Yoav Ben-Tzur, a minister in the Welfare and Social Affairs Ministry. MK Simcha Rothman of the Religious Zionism Party and one of the chief architects of the planned judicial reform will also be in attendance.

The protests are planned by NYC for Democracy, an offshoot of the organization UnXeptable, composed of Israeli ex-pats living in the United States that coordinate overseas protests. This week, the group penned a letter to the JCRC-NY urging them to rescind invitations to Israeli officials and threatening to confront them if the JCRC-NY refuses. However, the JCRC-NY has stated that the government officials are not formally invited to attend, rather they decide independently whether or not to take part in the celebrations.

NYC for Democracy has also shared multiple “warnings” on their WhatsApp group. One message stated explicitly that their end goal was to show the Jewish community “that it is very unprofitable to invite those who destroy the economy, security, and future of the country.”

Also attending the protest activities will be 7 leaders of Democratic Israel for All, one of the protest movements in Israel, as well as liberal Jewish organizations such as Ameinu, who are taking part in the march itself, but with shirts of protest against the current Israeli government.

Shany Granot, the New York organizer of the protests against the Israeli government which have occurred for over 21 weeks straight, told Ynet, “What I'm trying to do is to let them know that whoever tries to take down Israeli democracy will not get a quiet vacation in New York. They shouldn't expect that because it won't happen. The protests are here as they are in Israel and as they are everywhere because Israelis and the Jewish community are everywhere, and we all care for Israeli democracy.”

Josh Drill, a spokesperson for the national protest movement in Israel, added, "The protests in New York send a clear message to the Israeli ministers visiting: their destructive actions against Israeli democracy won't go unchallenged…The Israeli national protest movement stands united with the brave New York activists in condemning all efforts that undermine our democratic values…"

Usually, protests of the Celebrate Israel parade take place from the anti-Israel groups or fringe Jewish groups Neturei Karta, but this year more Jewish progressive groups plan to protest in some capacity whether within the parade or outside the parade for more extreme groups.

For many, this unprecedented opposition to the Israeli government in a foreign country from the Jewish community is indicative of a crisis. Gusti Yehoshua Braverman, the executive board member of the World Zionist Organization, expressed concern over the politicization of the parade.

“There is a big dispute for the first time ever between those that are supporting, that are saying, ‘We shouldn't wash our laundry outside and we should keep supporting Israel no matter what, even though we fear what we see,’ and the other side that is very vocal and would say the fact that it's not only the biggest delegation, but that Simcha Rotman is one of them, that is seen as the cause of what’s going on.”

She continued, “We need to make sure to be very clear that it's not against the state of Israel. But it's very to the point of what is going on now… I can tell you for the first time, I'm really worried, not only from the distance of young liberals from the state of Israel but because of the attitude of the government of Israel towards the reform of conservative [movements]...But for the first time, Israelis are joining this in a way that was never, ever seen.”

While protests are certainly protected speech and support for the current Israeli government is by no means high, some are concerned about the methods of targeted harassment, especially at a time of unprecedented antisemitism in the United States.

Liora Rez, Executive Director of the watchdog group Stop Antisemitism, told Ynet, “American Jews understand and respect Israelis' eagerness to exercise their democratic rights and protest, but the protesters should be careful to speak out in a way that doesn’t destroy the parade for the 40,000 people who are there simply to celebrate Israel’s right to exist, which is sadly under threat thanks to antisemitic campaigns in the United States.”

Rez also added that it’s bizarre there would be an expectation to exclude Israeli government officials from an event celebrating the state of Israel, especially when it’s something that’s taken place every year.

"StopAntisemitism is puzzled by calls to exclude Israeli ministers from a parade celebrating Israel. Whether one shares their politics or not, they certainly belong at the parade."

In fact, Granot agrees with Rez, telling Ynet that she will take part in the parade itself along with many of her co-protesters, but with a message of opposition to the government.

“Zionism and the love of Israel do not belong to the far right-wing parties. It belongs to everybody. I'm the ninth generation in my family in Israel. My father fought in every war. They will not take this from me…My love for Israel is the reason I'm fighting for its democracy. It's the reason why I'm fighting for peace. It's the reason why I'm fighting for equality. So we will march inside the parade and we won't be like Neturei Karta and BDS groups,” says Granot, who explained that there are many protest factions and that many of them plan to take part in the parade itself.

As for concerns that the protests are “airing dirty laundry” of internal Israeli politics, Granot had a clear response: “We are the ones who show that there are Israelis that are fighting for democracy, that are liberal, that are Democrat, the Israelis that are not racist and are not fascist. So we are making the best name for Israel abroad. We are the best messengers and ambassadors for Israel, much more than the current government.”

In response to the planned protests, JCRC-NY has stated that they “welcome participants with different viewpoints and opinions to show their love for Israel and participate in the parade…a unique opportunity to walk together, literally and figuratively, up Fifth Avenue and celebrate Israel’s 75th anniversary.”

‘Slap on the Wrist’: 60-Day Sentencing of Antisemitic Attacker Slammed by Jewish Organization

A leading US Jewish antisemitism watchdog criticized on Tuesday the sentencing of Suleiman Othman, who was recently convicted of assaulting a Jewish man in an antisemitic attack that occurred in Dec. 2021.

Othman pleaded on Monday guilty to third-degree assault but will only serve 60 days in jail, per a “promise” Senior Brooklyn Assistant District Attorney Sharmalee Brooks-Gordon made to him.

“We are extremely troubled that repeat violent antisemite Suleiman Othman was sentenced to a mere two months in prison for his unprovoked assault on Blake Zavadsky,” StopAntisemitism, a nonprofit that tracks antisemitic incidents across the world, said in a press release. “These slap on the wrist punishments only serve to make New York City’s Jews less safe by emboldening those who would do them harm.”

StopAntisemitism CEO Liora Rez added that hate-driven brutality should not go unpunished.

“That just green-lights more violence,” Rez said in an interview with The Algemeiner..

On Dec. 26, 2021, Othman, a 28-year-old Staten Island native, spotted victim Blake Zavadsky, who was wearing an Israel Defense Forces sweatshirt, and his friend, Ilan Kaganovich, outside a Foot Locker on 86th Street in Bay Ridge, according to a criminal complaint. He walked up to them and said, “Why do you support those dirty Jews?…You have five seconds to take off that sweatshirt or I’ll rock you.” After Zavadsky refused to accede to his demand, Othman struck him in the face twice while a crony of his threatened to assault Kaganovich next. In finishing off the attack, Othman doused Zavadsky’s sweatshirt in iced coffee.

On Tuesday, Brooklyn District Attorney Gonzalez framed the outcome of the case as a victory for New Yorkers, saying it “should send a message that this kind of intolerance has serious consequences.” He also discussed the strength of diversity and condemned “bias against any religious or national identity” but did not address antisemitism specifically.

In 2021, the year in which Othman attacked Zavadsky, there were 2,717 such incidents, which was at the time the highest ever on record.