Jews

UN announces new plan to counter surge in antisemitism, hate crimes

The United Nations announced new actions Friday to counter the surge in antisemitism, including encouraging governments to enforce laws against hate crimes and discrimination. The UN, created in the aftermath of the World War II Holocaust in 6 six million Jews were killed, has worked to counter antisemitism. But the 193-member global organisation has been accused of being antisemitic, including by US President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for UN ambassador, New York Rep. Elise Stefanik. She is pro-Israel and has called the UN a den of antisemitism that she intends to confront. The UN Action Plan to Enhance Monitoring and Response to Antisemitism is mainly focused on strengthening and coordinating work throughout the United Nations, but it also includes recommendations for governments and organisations. Miguel Moratinos, the head of the UN Alliance of Civilisations, which developed the plan, said he was alarmed at the surge in antisemitic incidents online and offline, citing attacks

US settles with Johns Hopkins over 'discrimination' against Arabs, Jews

The university has agreed to review its anti-harassment policies and to provide training to staff and students

Australian state mulling protest ban at worship sites to check antisemitism

An Australian state government on Tuesday proposed new restrictions on protesters in response to rising antisemitism, including a ban on demonstrations outside places of worship. Victoria Premier Jacinta Allan proposed the new laws after arsonists damaged a Melbourne synagogue this month and protestors kept fearful worshippers trapped inside a Sydney synagogue for three hours a week earlier. That's not peaceful protest. It's menacing behaviour, Allan said. Antisemitism is a cancer and we must leave no stone unturned to fight the evil of antisemitism, to fight the evil of this racism in all of its forms and also to continue to work to help heal our multicultural community, to help build on that social cohesion and continue to support our strong, united Victoria, she added. The new laws would protect the right of people to gather and pray free from fear, harassment and intimidation, her office said in a statement. The proposed laws, which will be voted on by the state legislature ea

Australian police launch operation, probe increased antisemitic attacks

Australian federal police launched a special operation to investigate an increase in antisemitic threats and violence since the war between Israel and Hamas began last year. Jewish leaders say prejudice against their community has reached unprecedented levels, with most incidents reported in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia's largest cities where 85 per cent of the nation's Jewish population live. Almost 1,17,000 Jewish people live in Australia, according to the last census in 2021, or 0.46 per cent of the 25.4 million residents. The government says only Israel is home to more Holocaust survivors than Australia on a per capita basis. Here's a look at some of the main cases investigated by Special Operation Avalite: Dec. 11: Antisemitic graffiti attacks in the eastern Sydney suburb of Woollahra Police are looking for two male suspects, estimated to be aged between 15 and 20, seen running from Magney St in Woollahra when a car fire was reported at 1 am. Two cars including the one th

VIDEO: Israeli fans attacked in Amsterdam after football match; 10 injured

Amsterdam police detained several individuals for rioting. However, officials did not confirm whether those arrested were football fans or associated with pro-Palestinian protests

Throughout history, Jews found refuge in India: Israeli envoy Reuven Azar

Azar said that Indians and Jews have been oppressed historically, but now as they are free, they have the opportunity to flourish together

Start drafting ultra-Orthodox Jewish students into military: Israeli court

Netanyahu's Likud party said the Supreme Court's ruling was 'perplexing', given ongoing efforts in parliament to agree on a new conscription law that would address the problem

Jews who vote for Democrats 'hate Israel' and their religion, says Trump

Former President Donald Trump on Monday charged that Jews who vote for Democrats hate Israel" and hate their religion, igniting a firestorm of criticism from the White House and Jewish leaders. Trump, in an interview, had been asked about Democrats' growing criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over his handling of the war in Gaza as the civilian death toll continues to mount. I actually think they hate Israel, Trump responded to his former aide, Sebastian Gorka. I think they hate Israel. And the Democrat party hates Israel. Trump, who last week became the Republican Party's presumptive nominee, went on to charge: Any Jewish person that votes for Democrats hates their religion. They hate everything about Israel and they should be ashamed of themselves because Israel will be destroyed. The comments sparked immediate backlash from the White House, President Joe Biden's campaign and Jewish leaders. The vast majority of Jewish Americans identify as Democrats, but Trump

Jewish students file lawsuit against Harvard for violation of civil rights

Several Jewish students have filed a lawsuit against Harvard University, accusing it of becoming a bastion of rampant anti-Jewish hatred and harassment. The lawsuit filed Wednesday mirrors others filed since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, including against The Art Institute of Chicago, New York University and the University of Pennsylvania. In the Harvard lawsuit, the plaintiffs include members of the Students Against Antisemitism, Inc. They accuse Harvard of violating Jewish students' civil rights and allege that the university tolerated Jewish students being harassed, assaulted and intimidated behavior that has intensified since the Oct. 7 attack. "Mobs of pro-Hamas students and faculty have marched by the hundreds through Harvard's campus, shouting vile antisemitic slogans and calling for death to Jews and Israel," according to the lawsuit. Those mobs have occupied buildings, classrooms, libraries, student lounges, plazas, and study halls, often for days or weeks at a time,

World battling a wave of hate crime unleashed by Israel-Hamas war

Reports of crimes targeting Jews, Muslims and Arabs have risen in the US, Germany, Canada and beyond since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, and the Israeli military's retaliatory operation in Gaza

Putin claims that airport riots targeting Israelis were staged from Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday charged without offering evidence that Western spy agencies and their Ukrainian agents have helped engineer a riot in the southern region of Dagestan, where a mob stormed the airport after a flight from Israel landed there. More than 20 people were hurt none Israelis in clashes that Putin cast as part of US efforts to weaken Russia. Hundreds of angry men, some carrying banners with antisemitic slogans, rushed onto the tarmac of the airport in Makhachkala, the capital of the predominantly Muslim region, on Sunday night, looking for Israeli passengers on the flight from Tel Aviv. Police officers and civilians were injured and two of them were in critical condition, regional health authorities said. More than 80 people were detained in the unrest, according to police. Russia's Investigative Committee has opened a criminal probe on charges of organizing mass unrest. Russia has issued carefully calibrated criticism of both sides in the war ..

Reaction to Hamas attack leaves some Jews in Hollywood feeling unmoored

For the most part, people in the entertainment world could trust that they were on the same political page

Hundreds storm airport in Russia in riot over arrival of plane from Israel

Hundreds of people stormed into the main airport in Russia's Dagestan region and onto the landing field on Sunday, chanting antisemitic slogans and seeking passengers arriving on a flight from Tel Aviv, Israel, Russian news agencies and social media reported. Russian news reports said the crowd surrounded the airliner, which belonged to Russian carrier Red Wings. Authorities closed the airport in Makhachkala, the capital of the predominantly Muslim region, and police converged on the facility. Dagestan's Ministry of Health said more than 20 people were injured, with two in critical condition. It said the injured included police officers and civilians. Video on social media showed some in the crowd waving Palestinian flags and others trying to overturn a police car. Antisemitic slogans can be heard being shouted and some in the crowd examined the passports of arriving passengers, apparently in an attempt to identify those who were Israeli. In a statement Sunday night, Israeli Prime

What is Zionism?

300 arrested in Capitol Hill demonstration urging Israel-Hamas cease-fire

More than 300 people were arrested for illegally demonstrating and three people were charged with assaulting police after protesters descended on Capitol Hill to call for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. Hundreds of demonstrators from Jewish advocacy groups, including Jewish Voice for Peace and If Not Now, poured into a congressional office building on Wednesday. They wore shirts that read Jews say cease fire now and they chanted let Gaza live and not in my name" before they were detained by Capitol Police. Demonstrations are not allowed inside Capitol buildings, and police said they warned the crowd gathered in the rotunda of the Cannon House Office Building to stop before they began making the arrests. The 305 people arrested for illegally demonstrating were subsequently released and those charged with assault were held in custody pending an appearance before a judge. A few liberal members of Congress have been pushing for a resolution in the latest Hamas-Israel war, saying

Anne Frank: A betrayal theory

The Last Secret of the Secret Annex sheds light on a complex historical mystery

Synagogue in Berlin attacked while antisemitic incidents rise in Germany

A Berlin synagogue was attacked with Molotov cocktails early Wednesday as antisemitic incidents in the German capital have been rising following the violent escalation in the Middle East. The Kahal Adass Jisroel community said its synagogue in the city's Mitte neighbourhood was attacked with two incendiary devices. Police confirmed the incident. Unknown persons threw two Molotov cocktails from the street, the community wrote on X, formerly Twitter. On Wednesday morning, dozens of police officers were investigating in front of the synagogue. The entire street next to the building was cordoned off and blocked for traffic. Germany's leading Jewish group said two people were involved in the attack, but didn't give any further details. We are all shocked by this terrorist attack, the Central Council of Jews said in a statement. Above all, the families from the neighbourhood around the synagogue are shocked and unsettled. Words become deeds. Hamas' ideology of extermination against ...

Grateful to PM Modi for his support for Israel: Indian-American Jew leader

The Indian Jewish community is grateful to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his robust statement of support to Israel following the Hamas attack, an Indian-American Jew leader has said. Speaking to PTI, Nissim Rubin, Assistant Director of the American Jewish Committee's Asia Pacific Institute based in Washington DC pointed out that the Indian Jewish community in Israel, like other inhabitants of the country, has been "severely affected" by Hamas' brutal attack on October 7 that killed over 1,300 people. We are very grateful to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the robust statement of support, within a few hours of the attacks on October 7. And Prime Minister Netanyahu, on the following day, spoke with him, which shows the bond between the two countries and the two persons, he said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi told his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu on October 10 that the people of India stand firmly with his country in this difficult hour, expressing strong and unequivocal .

Israeli rabbis work around the clock to count the dead from Hamas attack

Rarely do rabbis spend the Sabbath counting bodies. But on Saturday, a week after Hamas militants blew easily past Israel's fortified security fence and gunned down hundreds of Israelis at music festivals, in their homes, in cars while trying to flee Israel's military rabbinate made an exception. At Shura military base in central Israel, bodies have been coming in faster than the rabbis can identify them. Hundreds of soldiers, women, and children in body bags line shelves of refrigerated trucks, awaiting examination. Identification teams gather on plastic stools opposite the trucks to take smoke breaks between shifts. They wear heavy gas masks the smell of death is overwhelming. Generally, Jewish law says that you cannot break the Sabbath for a dead person, said Rabbi Israel Weiss, who is helping lead the operation. The exception is when a family is in doubt, and the death is so crippling that it may risk the family's lives. Then, you must work on the Sabbath to identify the body

Hamas attacks most murderous assault on Jews since Holocaust: US Congress

The brutal attacks by Hamas are the most murderous assault on the Jews since the Holocaust in Europe, influential lawmakers told eminent Indian-Americans who have rallied behind Israel. Palestinian militant group Hamas carried out a barrage of air strikes in Southern Israel on last Saturday. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in response launched multiple attacks targeting Hamas' key infrastructure. So far, over 2,000 people have been killed in Israel and the Gaza Strip in the biggest escalation in decades between the two sides. "The terrorist attacks in Israel committed by Hamas against Israeli civilians over the last week are the most sweeping, murderous assault on Jews that have taken place since the Holocaust in Europe," Congressman Jamie Raskin told a group of Indian-Americans at an event organised by the Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora Studies (FIIDS). Addressing a group of Indian-Americans from across the country, Ruskin said there is a need to distinguish between Hamas