Day 280 — Friday, July 12

A whopping 96% of Jews across Europe say they have faced antisemitism in their daily lives, according to a survey conducted by the European Union’s Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) prior to Oct. 7, 2023.

The results of the poll were newly released on Thursday.

FRA questioned 8,000 Jews over the age of 16 in 13 European countries, including Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Spain and Sweden. According to FRA, around 96% of Europe’s Jewish population resides in those countries.

According to the EU agency, the report “does not give a full picture of the pain and suffering of all those affected since. But it does show just how difficult the situation was in Europe for Jewish communities, even before the conflict escalated.”

In 2024, the FRA gathered information from 12 Jewish organizations to evaluate the full impact of the October 7 Hamas attacks and their aftermath on antisemitism in Europe.

The poll revealed that 80% of the Jews surveyed believe antisemitism had increased in recent years. A smaller majority said they worry for their own safety (53%) and their family’s safety (60%). The most common negative stereotypes that Jews encountered were those accusing Jews of “holding power and control over finance, media, politics or economy.” In addition, many said that they had encountered denial of Israel’s right to exist as a state.

Around 37% of those surveyed said that they had been harassed over the past year, with 4% reporting they had experienced physical attacks specifically for being Jewish. This is double the number recorded in 2018, which was the last time FRA surveyed antisemitism.

The steep increase in antisemitism has led to Jews hiding their identity in public, the poll revealed. Some 76% of respondents reported hiding their Jewish identity “at least occasionally,” and 34% said they avoid Jewish events or sites “because they do not feel safe.”

About 75% said they feel non-Jews hold them responsible for whatever actions the Israeli government takes.

Notably, 60% said that governmental efforts to combat antisemitism were not enough.

“The spillover effect of the conflict in the Middle East is eroding hard-fought-for progress” in tackling anti-Jewish hate, Fundamental Right Agency director Sirpa Rautio said, warning that “Jews are more frightened than ever before.”

“FRA’s consultation with national and European Jewish umbrella organizations in early 2024 shows a dramatic surge” in antisemitic attacks, Rautio added.

France was the most affected country, with 74% of Jews expressing concerns about their safety.

Leading community figures in France are reportedly urging young French Jews to leave the country. Earlier this month, Chief Rabbi Moshe Sebbag of the Grand Synagogue of Paris advised Jewish youth to move to Israel or “a more secure country.”

“It is clear today that there is no future for Jews in France,” Sebbag said. “I tell everyone who is young to go to Israel or a more secure country.”

All Israel News

Day 280 — Friday, July 12

More than 30,000 acres of land have been burned in northern Israel as a direct result of Hezbollah missile attacks since the war against Hamas began following the terrorist attacks on Oct. 7, including some 6,000 acres of forest area, in the largest such natural disaster since the creation of the modern-day state in 1948, Israeli forestry officials said on Wednesday.

The landscape damage has been caused by thousands of missiles fired by the Iranian-backed Lebanese terror organization at Israel since Oct. 8, one day after the massacre in southern Israel. The vast majority of projectiles have been intercepted by Israeli missile-defense systems, though falling debris from the explosives has triggered wildfires in the dry summer months when the earth is parched.

“This is the biggest natural disaster since the establishment of the State of Israel and something which will take years to repair,” Shali Ben Yishai, director of the Northern Region of Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF) told JNS during a media tour of this forest just abutting the northern Israeli city of Safed, known for its mysticism.

In the first six months of the attacks, the earth—still wet from the winter rains—was able to absorb the damage. But once the dry season began in the spring, every projectile or intercept caused a conflagration, the forestry officials said.

“From May, every missile attack is 100% a mine of fire,” said Eli Hafuta, KKL-JNF Upper Galilee and Golan regional director.

He noted that on one day, dozens of epicenters of fires could break out, while even the smallest blaze can take three days to extinguish during the hot weather.

“The result is that we are constantly on standby,” he said.

Their firefighting team, which works in unison with the National Fire and Rescue Authority that comes to extinguish the flames, has stopped all routine work since the war began and is using state-of-the-art thermal cameras and drones to assist them in combating the blazes.

As the war against Hamas enters its 10th month, tens of thousands of Israelis from northern Israel remain evacuated from their homes with daily Hezbollah attacks still unabated.

A lethal missile attack on Tuesday killed an Israeli couple on the Golan Heights, leaving their three children orphans.

The largest planted forest in the Galilee—on the slopes descending east from Tzfat to Rosh Pina and Hatzor—Biriya is replete with groves, springs, an ancient synagogue, a lime pit, revered tombs, diverse flora, hiking trails and scenic lookouts.

In addition to the damage to the lush flora, which has been the site of a recent major blaze, the war has caused significant harm to wildlife, including bird populations, where chicks that cannot yet fly are burned in their nests.

Although previous bursts of violence with Hezbollah, including the month-long Second Lebanon War in 2006, had seen damage to the landscape in northern Israel, the extent of the current war triggered by the Hamas massacre is unprecedented in the 123-year-old history of KKL-JNF, according to the agency. Some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were murdered on Oct. 7, with thousands more wounded and as many as 250 others taken captive into the Gaza Strip. To date, an estimated 120 are still being held by Hamas, some living and some confirmed dead.

KKL-JNF was established by the Zionist visionary Theodor Herzl in 1901 to buy and develop land for Jewish settlement. It serves as the Jewish people’s custodian for about 15% of land in the nation but is best known for the hundreds of millions of trees it has planted throughout Israel.

JNS

Day 280 — Friday, July 12

God is a Zionist, and He’s also jealous for Zion with a great jealousy—simply read Zachariah chapter one. He’s jealous for His people and He’s regathering them back to the land He has given them right before our very eyes.

As Douglas Murray pointed out, anti-zionism is antisemitism. You cannot separate the two. Therefore, the question is, friends, what side of history do you want to be on? Even Douglas Murray, who didn’t point to the Bible, can clearly see that the Jewish people have a right to return to their ancestral Homeland.

He also stated that it is only the Jewish people who will protect the Jews. I’ll go one step further. It’s not the Jewish people that are going to protect themselves, but it’s the God of this universe that is ultimately going to protect the Jewish people. Jeremiah 31: 35-36 reads, “Thus says the Lord, Who gives the sun for a light by day, The ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night, Who disturbs the sea, And its waves roar (The Lord of hosts is His name): ‘If those ordinances depart From before Me, says the Lord, Then the seed of Israel shall also cease From being a nation before Me forever.’”

As long as the sun, moon, and stars are shining in the sky, Israel will not cease from being a nation before Him forever. Again, I ask, what side of history do you want to be on? I trust you want to be on the side of history that lines up with God’s passions and God’s love. He has an everlasting love for Israel and the Jewish people.

Continue to pray for the Peace of Jerusalem. The Jewish people need our prayers more than ever. If they ever needed a friend, now is the time. As believers in God’s Word, we ought to stand, support, and love Israel and the Jewish people. We need to be pro-Zionists. We need to be Christian zionists who come alongside them every chance we get against those who hate them. Psalm 129:5 says, “Let all those who hate Zion be put to shame and turned back.”

Day 280 — Friday, July 12

Who you are identifying and standing with is far more important than who the mob is standing for! God has judged Israel for its sins. But God has, is, and will always judge the enemies of Israel for their hatred of His people! Don’t ever let the spiritual state of the people of Israel serve as an excuse to hate them and come against them!

Zechariah 2:8 KJV – “For thus saith the Lord of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.”

The Lord allowed the Babylonian conquest and the captivity of His people. But guess what? He then judged the Babylonians for what they did:

Jeremiah 51:24 KJV – “And I will render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight, saith the Lord.”

Christians are (or at least should be) far above any emotional or intellectual-based arguments regarding the conflict in the Middle East. It is essential that you are holding a biblical belief empowered by the Holy Spirit who is in you. Without Him, you’ll NEVER be able to discern correctly and hold your ground. Standing with Israel’s right to exist, right to own its land, and right to defend itself is biblical! It was true before October 7, and is most definitely so after! Stand firm in these last days!

Day 279 — Thursday, July 11

IDF troops eliminated Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorists hiding in Gaza City’s UNRWA headquarters on Wednesday (10th). Prior to the operation, the IDF and Shin Bet (The Israel Security Agency) discovered terror infrastructure, including detention and investigation rooms, in the UNRWA facility.

Before engaging the terrorists hiding within the building, the IDF opened an evacuation route for civilians to ensure only terrorists would be in the line of fire.

Hamas and its allies have used UN schools, shelters, and warehouses to build tunnels and bases since the war began in October. Yet, the UNRWA repeatedly denies any significant link between its organization and Hamas.

Nevertheless, we can plainly see that the UNRWA, whose stated mission is “to provide assistance and protection to Palestine refugees pending a just and lasting solution to their plight,” unsubtly endorses terrorism under the guise of helping Palestinians.

Israel’s discovery of Hamas infrastructure in UNRWA property should help bring that truth to light.

Israel My Glory 

Day 279 — Thursday, July 11

The House Foreign Affairs Committee debated a raft of measures on Wednesday that target the United Nations for its anti-Israel bias.

Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) told JNS that his resolution, which condemns the global body for including Israel on its annual “list of shame” of countries that violate the rights of children, would signal U.S. support for the Jewish state in its war against Hamas.

“The United Nations putting the Israel Defense Forces on this list of children’s rights abusers is a total joke,” Burchett told JNS. “Grouping them with terrorists like the Taliban and Hezbollah is absolutely ridiculous.”

“Israel is our greatest ally in the Middle East and works hard to protect life, while Hamas hides behind innocent civilians like a bunch of cowards,” the congressman added. “We need to make it clear the United States completely supports Israel’s efforts to wipe these terrorists off the map.”

Rep. Keith Self (R-Texas) said that the resolution doesn’t go far enough in using U.S. leverage to influence the United Nations.

“Where is the red line where this body will start to take action with the power of the purse against the organization that does such a thing?” Self asked. “This is not the first, nor will it be the last time that the U.N. has done something this horrific.”

Burchett’s resolution passed by voice vote and will be recommended to the wider House, but two bills that aim to go after U.N. purse strings faced resistance from some Democrats on the committee.

One of those measures, the No Official Palestine Entry (NOPE) Act of 2024, would cut off U.S. funding to the United Nations after the U.N. General Assembly voted to give the Palestinians special privileges beyond “observer status” in May.

Under longstanding U.S. law, Washington will cut off funding to the United Nations and other agencies if the Palestinians are granted full membership as a state outside of a negotiated solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 

The NOPE Act, introduced by Rep. Jim Baird (R-Ind.), would lower that threshold to cut off funding if the Palestinians are granted “any status, rights or privileges beyond observer status,” something that the U.N. General Assembly and other agencies have already done.

The sponsor of the measure, Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.), said that taking money back from UNRWA holds the U.N. body accountable for its actions.

“UNRWA is an entity that has been a part of supporting hatred against Jews, against Israel, a part of facilitating attacks, holding hostages,” Mast said. “Their headquarters in Gaza City was just raided because of their participation in housing of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists.”

JNS

Day 278 — Wednesday, July 10

After Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists embedded themselves in Gaza City’s UNRWA headquarters, troops of the IDF’s 99th Division engaged and eliminated terrorists operating on the premises in close-quarters combat and arrested others, the military said on Wednesday.

The IDF noted that the operation took place after it had opened an evacuation route for civilians.

Earlier this week, the military said it had begun operating in the UNRWA facility in a joint operation with the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), following intelligence information regarding the use of the area by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the existence of terror infrastructure in the area, among which were detention and investigation rooms. 

In Shejaia, troops of the 98th Division eliminated dozens of terrorists and destroyed tunnel routes.

In addition, Paratroopers detected terrorists observing the forces in the area. The building they operated in was subsequently struck by both troops on the ground and by an airstrike, the military added.

The military added that in Rafah, troops of the 162nd Division killed several terrorists, found weapons, and demolished underground terror infrastructure. 

In central Gaza, an Israel Air Force aircraft struck and eliminated Hamas terrorists, among whom were some who partook in tunnel and anti-tank missile units.

Since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war, terror groups in Gaza have utilized UN facilities, such as schools, shelters, and warehouses throughout Gaza, hiding in them and in tunnels in their vicinity. 

Jerusalem Post

Day 277 — Tuesday, July 9

Former Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman is urging French Jewry to flee France, warning that “there is no time” following the far-left’s triumph in the country’s parliamentary elections.

As Breitbart News reported, French President Emmanuel Macron’s alliance with the New Popular Front delivered a victory over Marine Le Pen’s populist right, which has raised concerns about antisemitism, with many French Jews feeling increasingly uncertain about their place in France.

The unexpected shift in political power has sparked fears within the roughly 500,000-strong Jewish community, boosting worries about the potential implications for its safety and rights.

In response, Lieberman expressed his concerns regarding the matter.

“In light of the victory of the radical left in France, I call on all French Jews to immigrate to the State of Israel,” the Israeli parliamentarian wrote on Monday, warning that “there is no time.”

Lieberman, who heads the Yisrael Beytenu Party, slammed Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the new kingmaker in French politics, for having “spoken out more than once against Jews and the State of Israel.” He also described Mélenchon’s far-left France Unbowed Party as “representing pure antisemitism” and an expression of the “significant rise” in Israel hatred. 

The matter comes as French-Jewish leaders express deep concern over rising antisemitism, advising young Jews to emigrate to Israel, especially in light of the recent political victories of Mélenchon and his far-left party.

Prominent French Rabbi Moshe Sebbag of Synagogue de la Victoire told the Times of Israel that it appears that France has “no future for Jews” and advised young Jews to move to Israel.

Mélenchon, who has vowed to recognize a Palestinian state, is seen by 92 percent of French Jews as contributing to the increase in antisemitism. 

Similar to the United States and other Western countries, France has experienced a rise in antisemitism since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack in Israel. The French government reported more than 360 attacks on Jews in early 2024, a 300 percent increase from the previous year.

As Breitbart News reported in June, “[T]he Jewish community in France was left horrified as a 12-year-old girl in Courbevoie was subject to antisemitism-inspired gang rape by a group of boys … alleged to have dragged her to an abandoned building where they … raped her.”

Breitbart

Day 276 — Monday, July 8

Lieutenant Oriel Mashiach, commander of the Sabar Battalion in the Givati Brigade, provided some insight to Maariv on Sunday into the combat operations in Rafah: “We are conducting very intense combat. Rafah is devoid of civilians, and what we see are the terrorists.

“We encounter a weary and demoralized enemy,” he emphasized. “We have full control of the area and it seems the enemy struggles to fight. We face individuals who move independently. They operate on their own, tired and exhausted; some surrender upon seeing us, while others engage in suicidal actions.”

Lieutenant Mashiach and his Givati soldiers have been fighting since October 7. However, he stressed that “Every soldier understands the mission and its significance. Our mission is to bring the hostages home. This burns in every soldier. We will continue the mission until we complete it, however long it takes.”

“Hamas has learned IDF tactics and attempt to ambush buildings,” he added on Hamas’s operations in Rafah. “But we study the enemy well. Through investigations after each battle, every activity, we learn a lot from attack to attack, do our homework, and operate in such a way that missions are carried out to protect our soldiers.”

The IDF’s ongoing operations in Gaza have significantly weakened Hamas’s military wing, prompting intense combat in Rafah as Israeli forces dismantle infrastructure and adapt to enemy tactics.

The IDF estimated that Hamas’s military wing suffered a particularly severe blow in the nine months of fighting, with many of its units disbanded and destroyed. This is one of the factors affecting Yahya Sinwar’s conduct in negotiating a ceasefire and the return of the captives.

In Rafah, the IDF is poised to dismantle Hamas’s military operations. Givati Brigade personnel, alongside combat engineers and Nahal Infantry soldiers, have been actively engaged for over a month, destroying Hamas’s military infrastructure.

Jerusalem Post

Day 276 — Monday, July 8

Amid the re-energized negotiations for a truce and a hostage deal between the Hamas terrorists and Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday reiterated that any deal approved by Israel would allow it to return to fighting until Hamas was destroyed.

The prime minister’s statement came just before a planned situation assessment to discuss the hostage deal talks before again sending Israel’s negotiation team to Qatar.

“The Prime Minister’s firm stand against the attempt to stop the IDF operation in Rafah is what made Hamas enter into negotiations,” the statement read, before outlining four principles Israel would continue to insist upon during the talks:

“Any deal will allow Israel to resume fighting until all of objectives of the war have been achieved; There will be no smuggling of weapons to Hamas from Egypt to the Gaza border; There will be no return of thousands of armed terrorists to the northern Gaza Strip; Israel will maximize the number of living hostages who will be released from Hamas captivity.”

“The plan that has been agreed to by Israel and which has been welcomed by President Biden will allow Israel to return hostages without infringing on the other objectives of the war,” the statement concluded.

The indirect negotiations with Hamas are set to continue this week after a successful meeting by the director of Israel’s foreign intelligence service Mossad, David Barnea, in Qatar last Friday.

Ynet News cited an Egyptian report that an Israeli negotiating team was expected in Cairo on Sunday night, while Barnea plans to return to Doha and meet with CIA chief William Burns, Egyptian intel chief Abbas Kamal, and the Prime Minister of Qatar, Muhammad al-Thani on Wednesday to advance the talks.

The last round of negotiations was kickstarted by Hamas announcing it had dropped its demand that Israel commit to an end of the war before the start of the hostage deal negotiations, which Israel has consistently rejected.

However, the Prime Minister’s Office stressed, “It should be emphasized that there are still gaps between the sides,” in a statement on Friday.

The French AFP on Sunday cited a Hamas official reiterating that they were ready for discussions without a “complete and permanent ceasefire.” The reason for Hamas’ change of mind, the official noted, was that “the [Qatari] mediators pledged that as long as the prisoner negotiations continued, the ceasefire would continue.”

Despite Israel now not required to end the war as a precondition for initiating the first stage of the deal, Hamas reportedly still insists that Israel should not be allowed to resume active fighting as long as negotiations continue through the following two stages.

Article 14 of the Israeli/American proposal states that if the parties do not reach an agreement regarding the second and third stages during the initial 42-day-long stage of the ceasefire, they will continue to negotiate and not return to fighting.

However, the article implies that the truce is tied to the continuation of the talks – meaning once they break down, fighting can be resumed without breaking the statutes of the deal.

Hamas now demands the mediators guarantee that the negotiations must continue without the possibility of stopping them until an agreement is reached for the second and third phases.

All Israel News

Day 275 — Sunday, July 7

Masoud Pezeshkian won Iran’s second-round presidential vote held Friday, receiving more than 16 million votes to candidate and former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili’s more than 13 million, according to Tehran’s electoral authority.

Some 30 million ballots were cast, putting turnout at about 49.8%, up from the record low 39.93% in the first round.

Pezeshkian, a supposed reformer, has called for outreach to the West, drawing the ire of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. However, he is not expected to produce any major policy shift in the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program or support for terrorist groups across the Middle East, including Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and numerous militias in Iraq and Syria.

Pezeshkian, a former heart surgeon born in 1954 to an Iranian Azerbaijani father and Iranian Kurdish mother, said on Friday that should he win the presidency, he would “try to have friendly relations with all countries except Israel.”

Jalili is known as the “Living Martyr” due to the fact that he lost a leg during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq War, and is a hard-liner known for fiery speeches.

The runoff followed a June 28 snap election called in the aftermath of President Ebrahim Raisi‘s death in a May 19 helicopter crash. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian; Mohammad Ali Ale-Hashem, the regime’s representative in East Azerbaijan; and Malek Rahmati, the province’s governor, were also killed, along with the pilot and co-pilot.

Afterwards, Khamenei confirmed that First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber would temporarily take charge of the executive branch and had up to 50 days to hold elections.

Concurrently, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said Tehran’s support for “the oppressed people of Palestine and resistance groups [pursuing] the unalienable rights of the Palestinians to the liberation of their land and standing against the usurping Zionist regime” will carry on unchanged.

Kanaani also said that Amir-Abdollahian’s efforts to lift sanctions on Tehran would continue.

JNS

Day 275 — Sunday, July 7

A video posted on a Palestinian telegram channel shows what are claimed to be masked Hamas operatives severely beating handcuffed Gazans accused of breaking into warehouses where Hamas stockpiles humanitarian aid and sells it to them at a high price. The word “thief” was sprayed on their backs.

The Arabic language spokesperson of Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that the Gazans seen in the video were accused of stealing because they were hungry and tried to take some of the humanitarian aid hoarded by Hamas.

(Warning: Graphic)

A video posted on a Palestinian telegram channel shows what are claimed to be masked Hamas operatives severely beating handcuffed Gazans accused of breaking into warehouses where Hamas stockpiles humanitarian aid and sells it to them at a high price. The word “thief” was sprayed… pic.twitter.com/R9KfNirhal

— Ariel Oseran (@ariel_oseran) July 5, 2024

i24 News

Day 274 — Saturday, July 6

Colleges and universities that receive “generous” tax benefits from the federal government “should be doing more than simply giving a slap on the wrist to perpetrators of hate,” according to Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.).

The congresswoman introduced legislation earlier this week “to hold these institutions accountable with lofty financial punishments that would encourage them to investigate and crack down on instances of antisemitism and help foster a safer academic environment for all students, regardless of their gender, race or religion,” she stated.

The University Accountability Act, H.R.8914, was co-sponsored by Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), chair of the House Republican Conference, and nine other House members. A member of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, Stefanik has been at the forefront of the House’s investigations of schools for allegedly not doing enough to combat antisemitism on campus.

“I will continue to lead the efforts ridding our higher education institutions of antisemitism,” Stefanik stated. “Hardworking taxpayers have no interest in funding institutions that fail to protect their students from antisemitic rhetoric and behavior and this bill puts their tax-exempt status on the chopping block.”

“Universities have a responsibility to protect their students from violence and discrimination and instead we’re seeing a disturbing increase in antisemitic attacks and rhetoric on college campuses,” Malliotakis said.

Although violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 “can result in the loss of federal funds,” they often result “in a mere corrective action that would bring the college or university back into compliance,” Stefanik’s office stated.

“The University Accountability Act would require colleges and universities that meet the penalty criteria to pay a fine of either 5% of the school’s aggregate administrative compensation as reported on the school’s Form 990, or $100,000, whichever is greater,” the congresswoman’s office said.

“After three civil rights violations, the Internal Revenue Service would be required to review the college or university’s tax-exempt status for possible revocation,” it added.

JNS

Day 274 — Saturday, July 6

Pogroms are a thing of the past; the last one was over 100 years ago, right? Think again because we are seeing a resurgence of pogroms in 2024, especially since October 7, 2023, as if the carnage that took place in Israel wasn’t bad enough! The terrorist attack of October 7 was a pogrom. It was organized and focused, and it targeted Jews.

Then there was the Russian airport pogrom that took place in the highly Muslim region of Dagestan on October 29, 2023, when a mob of people rushed against Israeli passengers landing from Tel Aviv. This was a scary scene of out of control, full of rage, mostly men going throughout the airport and even trying to force doors of rooms where Jewish people had tried to shelter.

What about the recent attack in front of a synagogue in Los Angeles where Jewish people were physically assaulted by pro-Hamas thugs, was it a pogrom?

The Encyclopedia Britannica defines the word pogrom as follows: “a mob attack, either approved or condoned by authorities, against the persons and property of a religious, racial, or national minority.“

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum adds this: “The perpetrators of pogroms organized locally, sometimes with government and police encouragement. They raped and murdered their Jewish victims and looted their property.”

When a specific ethnic group like the Jews is targeted, harassed, and persecuted to the point of physical harm…it is a pogrom, and that was the case in Los Angeles.
But it goes even further when a Jewish family is kicked out of a restaurant in Hanoi, Vietnam, for being Jewish. The shop owner yelled, “Get out of my shop. Out! Don’t sit there. My shop doesn’t accept people from your country.”

This is the new reality that our Jewish communities are facing today. Additionally, when the police are specifically told not to intervene, it is a form of organized decision that is also part of what defines a pogrom. Being a bystander is not a neutral position. It leads to helping the perpetrators. Holocaust survivor, author, and activist Elie Wiesel once said, “We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere. When human lives are endangered, when human dignity is in jeopardy, national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant.”

So, if it looks like a pogrom, sounds like a pogrom and hurts like a pogrom…It’s a pogrom! I find it very ironic that–Israel– the country that is fighting an existential war on several fronts, currently is the safest place for Jews because their government has their backs, which is not the case for Jews anywhere else in the world. It is not a conspiracy theory when they are really trying to hurt you.

Day 280 — Friday, July 12

A whopping 96% of Jews across Europe say they have faced antisemitism in their daily lives, according to a survey conducted by the European Union’s Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) prior to Oct. 7, 2023.

The results of the poll were newly released on Thursday.

FRA questioned 8,000 Jews over the age of 16 in 13 European countries, including Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Spain and Sweden. According to FRA, around 96% of Europe’s Jewish population resides in those countries.

According to the EU agency, the report “does not give a full picture of the pain and suffering of all those affected since. But it does show just how difficult the situation was in Europe for Jewish communities, even before the conflict escalated.”

In 2024, the FRA gathered information from 12 Jewish organizations to evaluate the full impact of the October 7 Hamas attacks and their aftermath on antisemitism in Europe.

The poll revealed that 80% of the Jews surveyed believe antisemitism had increased in recent years. A smaller majority said they worry for their own safety (53%) and their family’s safety (60%). The most common negative stereotypes that Jews encountered were those accusing Jews of “holding power and control over finance, media, politics or economy.” In addition, many said that they had encountered denial of Israel’s right to exist as a state.

Around 37% of those surveyed said that they had been harassed over the past year, with 4% reporting they had experienced physical attacks specifically for being Jewish. This is double the number recorded in 2018, which was the last time FRA surveyed antisemitism.

The steep increase in antisemitism has led to Jews hiding their identity in public, the poll revealed. Some 76% of respondents reported hiding their Jewish identity “at least occasionally,” and 34% said they avoid Jewish events or sites “because they do not feel safe.”

About 75% said they feel non-Jews hold them responsible for whatever actions the Israeli government takes.

Notably, 60% said that governmental efforts to combat antisemitism were not enough.

“The spillover effect of the conflict in the Middle East is eroding hard-fought-for progress” in tackling anti-Jewish hate, Fundamental Right Agency director Sirpa Rautio said, warning that “Jews are more frightened than ever before.”

“FRA’s consultation with national and European Jewish umbrella organizations in early 2024 shows a dramatic surge” in antisemitic attacks, Rautio added.

France was the most affected country, with 74% of Jews expressing concerns about their safety.

Leading community figures in France are reportedly urging young French Jews to leave the country. Earlier this month, Chief Rabbi Moshe Sebbag of the Grand Synagogue of Paris advised Jewish youth to move to Israel or “a more secure country.”

“It is clear today that there is no future for Jews in France,” Sebbag said. “I tell everyone who is young to go to Israel or a more secure country.”

All Israel News

Day 280 — Friday, July 12

More than 30,000 acres of land have been burned in northern Israel as a direct result of Hezbollah missile attacks since the war against Hamas began following the terrorist attacks on Oct. 7, including some 6,000 acres of forest area, in the largest such natural disaster since the creation of the modern-day state in 1948, Israeli forestry officials said on Wednesday.

The landscape damage has been caused by thousands of missiles fired by the Iranian-backed Lebanese terror organization at Israel since Oct. 8, one day after the massacre in southern Israel. The vast majority of projectiles have been intercepted by Israeli missile-defense systems, though falling debris from the explosives has triggered wildfires in the dry summer months when the earth is parched.

“This is the biggest natural disaster since the establishment of the State of Israel and something which will take years to repair,” Shali Ben Yishai, director of the Northern Region of Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF) told JNS during a media tour of this forest just abutting the northern Israeli city of Safed, known for its mysticism.

In the first six months of the attacks, the earth—still wet from the winter rains—was able to absorb the damage. But once the dry season began in the spring, every projectile or intercept caused a conflagration, the forestry officials said.

“From May, every missile attack is 100% a mine of fire,” said Eli Hafuta, KKL-JNF Upper Galilee and Golan regional director.

He noted that on one day, dozens of epicenters of fires could break out, while even the smallest blaze can take three days to extinguish during the hot weather.

“The result is that we are constantly on standby,” he said.

Their firefighting team, which works in unison with the National Fire and Rescue Authority that comes to extinguish the flames, has stopped all routine work since the war began and is using state-of-the-art thermal cameras and drones to assist them in combating the blazes.

As the war against Hamas enters its 10th month, tens of thousands of Israelis from northern Israel remain evacuated from their homes with daily Hezbollah attacks still unabated.

A lethal missile attack on Tuesday killed an Israeli couple on the Golan Heights, leaving their three children orphans.

The largest planted forest in the Galilee—on the slopes descending east from Tzfat to Rosh Pina and Hatzor—Biriya is replete with groves, springs, an ancient synagogue, a lime pit, revered tombs, diverse flora, hiking trails and scenic lookouts.

In addition to the damage to the lush flora, which has been the site of a recent major blaze, the war has caused significant harm to wildlife, including bird populations, where chicks that cannot yet fly are burned in their nests.

Although previous bursts of violence with Hezbollah, including the month-long Second Lebanon War in 2006, had seen damage to the landscape in northern Israel, the extent of the current war triggered by the Hamas massacre is unprecedented in the 123-year-old history of KKL-JNF, according to the agency. Some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were murdered on Oct. 7, with thousands more wounded and as many as 250 others taken captive into the Gaza Strip. To date, an estimated 120 are still being held by Hamas, some living and some confirmed dead.

KKL-JNF was established by the Zionist visionary Theodor Herzl in 1901 to buy and develop land for Jewish settlement. It serves as the Jewish people’s custodian for about 15% of land in the nation but is best known for the hundreds of millions of trees it has planted throughout Israel.

JNS

Day 280 — Friday, July 12

God is a Zionist, and He’s also jealous for Zion with a great jealousy—simply read Zachariah chapter one. He’s jealous for His people and He’s regathering them back to the land He has given them right before our very eyes.

As Douglas Murray pointed out, anti-zionism is antisemitism. You cannot separate the two. Therefore, the question is, friends, what side of history do you want to be on? Even Douglas Murray, who didn’t point to the Bible, can clearly see that the Jewish people have a right to return to their ancestral Homeland.

He also stated that it is only the Jewish people who will protect the Jews. I’ll go one step further. It’s not the Jewish people that are going to protect themselves, but it’s the God of this universe that is ultimately going to protect the Jewish people. Jeremiah 31: 35-36 reads, “Thus says the Lord, Who gives the sun for a light by day, The ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night, Who disturbs the sea, And its waves roar (The Lord of hosts is His name): ‘If those ordinances depart From before Me, says the Lord, Then the seed of Israel shall also cease From being a nation before Me forever.’”

As long as the sun, moon, and stars are shining in the sky, Israel will not cease from being a nation before Him forever. Again, I ask, what side of history do you want to be on? I trust you want to be on the side of history that lines up with God’s passions and God’s love. He has an everlasting love for Israel and the Jewish people.

Continue to pray for the Peace of Jerusalem. The Jewish people need our prayers more than ever. If they ever needed a friend, now is the time. As believers in God’s Word, we ought to stand, support, and love Israel and the Jewish people. We need to be pro-Zionists. We need to be Christian zionists who come alongside them every chance we get against those who hate them. Psalm 129:5 says, “Let all those who hate Zion be put to shame and turned back.”

Day 280 — Friday, July 12

Who you are identifying and standing with is far more important than who the mob is standing for! God has judged Israel for its sins. But God has, is, and will always judge the enemies of Israel for their hatred of His people! Don’t ever let the spiritual state of the people of Israel serve as an excuse to hate them and come against them!

Zechariah 2:8 KJV – “For thus saith the Lord of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.”

The Lord allowed the Babylonian conquest and the captivity of His people. But guess what? He then judged the Babylonians for what they did:

Jeremiah 51:24 KJV – “And I will render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight, saith the Lord.”

Christians are (or at least should be) far above any emotional or intellectual-based arguments regarding the conflict in the Middle East. It is essential that you are holding a biblical belief empowered by the Holy Spirit who is in you. Without Him, you’ll NEVER be able to discern correctly and hold your ground. Standing with Israel’s right to exist, right to own its land, and right to defend itself is biblical! It was true before October 7, and is most definitely so after! Stand firm in these last days!

Day 279 — Thursday, July 11

IDF troops eliminated Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorists hiding in Gaza City’s UNRWA headquarters on Wednesday (10th). Prior to the operation, the IDF and Shin Bet (The Israel Security Agency) discovered terror infrastructure, including detention and investigation rooms, in the UNRWA facility.

Before engaging the terrorists hiding within the building, the IDF opened an evacuation route for civilians to ensure only terrorists would be in the line of fire.

Hamas and its allies have used UN schools, shelters, and warehouses to build tunnels and bases since the war began in October. Yet, the UNRWA repeatedly denies any significant link between its organization and Hamas.

Nevertheless, we can plainly see that the UNRWA, whose stated mission is “to provide assistance and protection to Palestine refugees pending a just and lasting solution to their plight,” unsubtly endorses terrorism under the guise of helping Palestinians.

Israel’s discovery of Hamas infrastructure in UNRWA property should help bring that truth to light.

Israel My Glory 

Day 279 — Thursday, July 11

The House Foreign Affairs Committee debated a raft of measures on Wednesday that target the United Nations for its anti-Israel bias.

Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) told JNS that his resolution, which condemns the global body for including Israel on its annual “list of shame” of countries that violate the rights of children, would signal U.S. support for the Jewish state in its war against Hamas.

“The United Nations putting the Israel Defense Forces on this list of children’s rights abusers is a total joke,” Burchett told JNS. “Grouping them with terrorists like the Taliban and Hezbollah is absolutely ridiculous.”

“Israel is our greatest ally in the Middle East and works hard to protect life, while Hamas hides behind innocent civilians like a bunch of cowards,” the congressman added. “We need to make it clear the United States completely supports Israel’s efforts to wipe these terrorists off the map.”

Rep. Keith Self (R-Texas) said that the resolution doesn’t go far enough in using U.S. leverage to influence the United Nations.

“Where is the red line where this body will start to take action with the power of the purse against the organization that does such a thing?” Self asked. “This is not the first, nor will it be the last time that the U.N. has done something this horrific.”

Burchett’s resolution passed by voice vote and will be recommended to the wider House, but two bills that aim to go after U.N. purse strings faced resistance from some Democrats on the committee.

One of those measures, the No Official Palestine Entry (NOPE) Act of 2024, would cut off U.S. funding to the United Nations after the U.N. General Assembly voted to give the Palestinians special privileges beyond “observer status” in May.

Under longstanding U.S. law, Washington will cut off funding to the United Nations and other agencies if the Palestinians are granted full membership as a state outside of a negotiated solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 

The NOPE Act, introduced by Rep. Jim Baird (R-Ind.), would lower that threshold to cut off funding if the Palestinians are granted “any status, rights or privileges beyond observer status,” something that the U.N. General Assembly and other agencies have already done.

The sponsor of the measure, Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.), said that taking money back from UNRWA holds the U.N. body accountable for its actions.

“UNRWA is an entity that has been a part of supporting hatred against Jews, against Israel, a part of facilitating attacks, holding hostages,” Mast said. “Their headquarters in Gaza City was just raided because of their participation in housing of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists.”

JNS

Day 278 — Wednesday, July 10

After Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists embedded themselves in Gaza City’s UNRWA headquarters, troops of the IDF’s 99th Division engaged and eliminated terrorists operating on the premises in close-quarters combat and arrested others, the military said on Wednesday.

The IDF noted that the operation took place after it had opened an evacuation route for civilians.

Earlier this week, the military said it had begun operating in the UNRWA facility in a joint operation with the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), following intelligence information regarding the use of the area by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the existence of terror infrastructure in the area, among which were detention and investigation rooms. 

In Shejaia, troops of the 98th Division eliminated dozens of terrorists and destroyed tunnel routes.

In addition, Paratroopers detected terrorists observing the forces in the area. The building they operated in was subsequently struck by both troops on the ground and by an airstrike, the military added.

The military added that in Rafah, troops of the 162nd Division killed several terrorists, found weapons, and demolished underground terror infrastructure. 

In central Gaza, an Israel Air Force aircraft struck and eliminated Hamas terrorists, among whom were some who partook in tunnel and anti-tank missile units.

Since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war, terror groups in Gaza have utilized UN facilities, such as schools, shelters, and warehouses throughout Gaza, hiding in them and in tunnels in their vicinity. 

Jerusalem Post

Day 277 — Tuesday, July 9

Former Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman is urging French Jewry to flee France, warning that “there is no time” following the far-left’s triumph in the country’s parliamentary elections.

As Breitbart News reported, French President Emmanuel Macron’s alliance with the New Popular Front delivered a victory over Marine Le Pen’s populist right, which has raised concerns about antisemitism, with many French Jews feeling increasingly uncertain about their place in France.

The unexpected shift in political power has sparked fears within the roughly 500,000-strong Jewish community, boosting worries about the potential implications for its safety and rights.

In response, Lieberman expressed his concerns regarding the matter.

“In light of the victory of the radical left in France, I call on all French Jews to immigrate to the State of Israel,” the Israeli parliamentarian wrote on Monday, warning that “there is no time.”

Lieberman, who heads the Yisrael Beytenu Party, slammed Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the new kingmaker in French politics, for having “spoken out more than once against Jews and the State of Israel.” He also described Mélenchon’s far-left France Unbowed Party as “representing pure antisemitism” and an expression of the “significant rise” in Israel hatred. 

The matter comes as French-Jewish leaders express deep concern over rising antisemitism, advising young Jews to emigrate to Israel, especially in light of the recent political victories of Mélenchon and his far-left party.

Prominent French Rabbi Moshe Sebbag of Synagogue de la Victoire told the Times of Israel that it appears that France has “no future for Jews” and advised young Jews to move to Israel.

Mélenchon, who has vowed to recognize a Palestinian state, is seen by 92 percent of French Jews as contributing to the increase in antisemitism. 

Similar to the United States and other Western countries, France has experienced a rise in antisemitism since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack in Israel. The French government reported more than 360 attacks on Jews in early 2024, a 300 percent increase from the previous year.

As Breitbart News reported in June, “[T]he Jewish community in France was left horrified as a 12-year-old girl in Courbevoie was subject to antisemitism-inspired gang rape by a group of boys … alleged to have dragged her to an abandoned building where they … raped her.”

Breitbart

Day 276 — Monday, July 8

Lieutenant Oriel Mashiach, commander of the Sabar Battalion in the Givati Brigade, provided some insight to Maariv on Sunday into the combat operations in Rafah: “We are conducting very intense combat. Rafah is devoid of civilians, and what we see are the terrorists.

“We encounter a weary and demoralized enemy,” he emphasized. “We have full control of the area and it seems the enemy struggles to fight. We face individuals who move independently. They operate on their own, tired and exhausted; some surrender upon seeing us, while others engage in suicidal actions.”

Lieutenant Mashiach and his Givati soldiers have been fighting since October 7. However, he stressed that “Every soldier understands the mission and its significance. Our mission is to bring the hostages home. This burns in every soldier. We will continue the mission until we complete it, however long it takes.”

“Hamas has learned IDF tactics and attempt to ambush buildings,” he added on Hamas’s operations in Rafah. “But we study the enemy well. Through investigations after each battle, every activity, we learn a lot from attack to attack, do our homework, and operate in such a way that missions are carried out to protect our soldiers.”

The IDF’s ongoing operations in Gaza have significantly weakened Hamas’s military wing, prompting intense combat in Rafah as Israeli forces dismantle infrastructure and adapt to enemy tactics.

The IDF estimated that Hamas’s military wing suffered a particularly severe blow in the nine months of fighting, with many of its units disbanded and destroyed. This is one of the factors affecting Yahya Sinwar’s conduct in negotiating a ceasefire and the return of the captives.

In Rafah, the IDF is poised to dismantle Hamas’s military operations. Givati Brigade personnel, alongside combat engineers and Nahal Infantry soldiers, have been actively engaged for over a month, destroying Hamas’s military infrastructure.

Jerusalem Post

Day 276 — Monday, July 8

Amid the re-energized negotiations for a truce and a hostage deal between the Hamas terrorists and Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday reiterated that any deal approved by Israel would allow it to return to fighting until Hamas was destroyed.

The prime minister’s statement came just before a planned situation assessment to discuss the hostage deal talks before again sending Israel’s negotiation team to Qatar.

“The Prime Minister’s firm stand against the attempt to stop the IDF operation in Rafah is what made Hamas enter into negotiations,” the statement read, before outlining four principles Israel would continue to insist upon during the talks:

“Any deal will allow Israel to resume fighting until all of objectives of the war have been achieved; There will be no smuggling of weapons to Hamas from Egypt to the Gaza border; There will be no return of thousands of armed terrorists to the northern Gaza Strip; Israel will maximize the number of living hostages who will be released from Hamas captivity.”

“The plan that has been agreed to by Israel and which has been welcomed by President Biden will allow Israel to return hostages without infringing on the other objectives of the war,” the statement concluded.

The indirect negotiations with Hamas are set to continue this week after a successful meeting by the director of Israel’s foreign intelligence service Mossad, David Barnea, in Qatar last Friday.

Ynet News cited an Egyptian report that an Israeli negotiating team was expected in Cairo on Sunday night, while Barnea plans to return to Doha and meet with CIA chief William Burns, Egyptian intel chief Abbas Kamal, and the Prime Minister of Qatar, Muhammad al-Thani on Wednesday to advance the talks.

The last round of negotiations was kickstarted by Hamas announcing it had dropped its demand that Israel commit to an end of the war before the start of the hostage deal negotiations, which Israel has consistently rejected.

However, the Prime Minister’s Office stressed, “It should be emphasized that there are still gaps between the sides,” in a statement on Friday.

The French AFP on Sunday cited a Hamas official reiterating that they were ready for discussions without a “complete and permanent ceasefire.” The reason for Hamas’ change of mind, the official noted, was that “the [Qatari] mediators pledged that as long as the prisoner negotiations continued, the ceasefire would continue.”

Despite Israel now not required to end the war as a precondition for initiating the first stage of the deal, Hamas reportedly still insists that Israel should not be allowed to resume active fighting as long as negotiations continue through the following two stages.

Article 14 of the Israeli/American proposal states that if the parties do not reach an agreement regarding the second and third stages during the initial 42-day-long stage of the ceasefire, they will continue to negotiate and not return to fighting.

However, the article implies that the truce is tied to the continuation of the talks – meaning once they break down, fighting can be resumed without breaking the statutes of the deal.

Hamas now demands the mediators guarantee that the negotiations must continue without the possibility of stopping them until an agreement is reached for the second and third phases.

All Israel News

Day 275 — Sunday, July 7

Masoud Pezeshkian won Iran’s second-round presidential vote held Friday, receiving more than 16 million votes to candidate and former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili’s more than 13 million, according to Tehran’s electoral authority.

Some 30 million ballots were cast, putting turnout at about 49.8%, up from the record low 39.93% in the first round.

Pezeshkian, a supposed reformer, has called for outreach to the West, drawing the ire of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. However, he is not expected to produce any major policy shift in the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program or support for terrorist groups across the Middle East, including Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and numerous militias in Iraq and Syria.

Pezeshkian, a former heart surgeon born in 1954 to an Iranian Azerbaijani father and Iranian Kurdish mother, said on Friday that should he win the presidency, he would “try to have friendly relations with all countries except Israel.”

Jalili is known as the “Living Martyr” due to the fact that he lost a leg during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq War, and is a hard-liner known for fiery speeches.

The runoff followed a June 28 snap election called in the aftermath of President Ebrahim Raisi‘s death in a May 19 helicopter crash. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian; Mohammad Ali Ale-Hashem, the regime’s representative in East Azerbaijan; and Malek Rahmati, the province’s governor, were also killed, along with the pilot and co-pilot.

Afterwards, Khamenei confirmed that First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber would temporarily take charge of the executive branch and had up to 50 days to hold elections.

Concurrently, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said Tehran’s support for “the oppressed people of Palestine and resistance groups [pursuing] the unalienable rights of the Palestinians to the liberation of their land and standing against the usurping Zionist regime” will carry on unchanged.

Kanaani also said that Amir-Abdollahian’s efforts to lift sanctions on Tehran would continue.

JNS

Day 275 — Sunday, July 7

A video posted on a Palestinian telegram channel shows what are claimed to be masked Hamas operatives severely beating handcuffed Gazans accused of breaking into warehouses where Hamas stockpiles humanitarian aid and sells it to them at a high price. The word “thief” was sprayed on their backs.

The Arabic language spokesperson of Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that the Gazans seen in the video were accused of stealing because they were hungry and tried to take some of the humanitarian aid hoarded by Hamas.

(Warning: Graphic)

A video posted on a Palestinian telegram channel shows what are claimed to be masked Hamas operatives severely beating handcuffed Gazans accused of breaking into warehouses where Hamas stockpiles humanitarian aid and sells it to them at a high price. The word “thief” was sprayed… pic.twitter.com/R9KfNirhal

— Ariel Oseran (@ariel_oseran) July 5, 2024

i24 News

Day 274 — Saturday, July 6

Colleges and universities that receive “generous” tax benefits from the federal government “should be doing more than simply giving a slap on the wrist to perpetrators of hate,” according to Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.).

The congresswoman introduced legislation earlier this week “to hold these institutions accountable with lofty financial punishments that would encourage them to investigate and crack down on instances of antisemitism and help foster a safer academic environment for all students, regardless of their gender, race or religion,” she stated.

The University Accountability Act, H.R.8914, was co-sponsored by Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), chair of the House Republican Conference, and nine other House members. A member of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, Stefanik has been at the forefront of the House’s investigations of schools for allegedly not doing enough to combat antisemitism on campus.

“I will continue to lead the efforts ridding our higher education institutions of antisemitism,” Stefanik stated. “Hardworking taxpayers have no interest in funding institutions that fail to protect their students from antisemitic rhetoric and behavior and this bill puts their tax-exempt status on the chopping block.”

“Universities have a responsibility to protect their students from violence and discrimination and instead we’re seeing a disturbing increase in antisemitic attacks and rhetoric on college campuses,” Malliotakis said.

Although violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 “can result in the loss of federal funds,” they often result “in a mere corrective action that would bring the college or university back into compliance,” Stefanik’s office stated.

“The University Accountability Act would require colleges and universities that meet the penalty criteria to pay a fine of either 5% of the school’s aggregate administrative compensation as reported on the school’s Form 990, or $100,000, whichever is greater,” the congresswoman’s office said.

“After three civil rights violations, the Internal Revenue Service would be required to review the college or university’s tax-exempt status for possible revocation,” it added.

JNS

Day 274 — Saturday, July 6

Pogroms are a thing of the past; the last one was over 100 years ago, right? Think again because we are seeing a resurgence of pogroms in 2024, especially since October 7, 2023, as if the carnage that took place in Israel wasn’t bad enough! The terrorist attack of October 7 was a pogrom. It was organized and focused, and it targeted Jews.

Then there was the Russian airport pogrom that took place in the highly Muslim region of Dagestan on October 29, 2023, when a mob of people rushed against Israeli passengers landing from Tel Aviv. This was a scary scene of out of control, full of rage, mostly men going throughout the airport and even trying to force doors of rooms where Jewish people had tried to shelter.

What about the recent attack in front of a synagogue in Los Angeles where Jewish people were physically assaulted by pro-Hamas thugs, was it a pogrom?

The Encyclopedia Britannica defines the word pogrom as follows: “a mob attack, either approved or condoned by authorities, against the persons and property of a religious, racial, or national minority.“

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum adds this: “The perpetrators of pogroms organized locally, sometimes with government and police encouragement. They raped and murdered their Jewish victims and looted their property.”

When a specific ethnic group like the Jews is targeted, harassed, and persecuted to the point of physical harm…it is a pogrom, and that was the case in Los Angeles.
But it goes even further when a Jewish family is kicked out of a restaurant in Hanoi, Vietnam, for being Jewish. The shop owner yelled, “Get out of my shop. Out! Don’t sit there. My shop doesn’t accept people from your country.”

This is the new reality that our Jewish communities are facing today. Additionally, when the police are specifically told not to intervene, it is a form of organized decision that is also part of what defines a pogrom. Being a bystander is not a neutral position. It leads to helping the perpetrators. Holocaust survivor, author, and activist Elie Wiesel once said, “We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere. When human lives are endangered, when human dignity is in jeopardy, national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant.”

So, if it looks like a pogrom, sounds like a pogrom and hurts like a pogrom…It’s a pogrom! I find it very ironic that–Israel– the country that is fighting an existential war on several fronts, currently is the safest place for Jews because their government has their backs, which is not the case for Jews anywhere else in the world. It is not a conspiracy theory when they are really trying to hurt you.