All posts tagged: antisemitism

After years fostering interfaith ties, San Diego mosque finds allies in grief

After years fostering interfaith ties, San Diego mosque finds allies in grief

Published by Sam Flores

(RNS) — For years before Monday’s deadly shooting, the Islamic Center of San Diego stood out as a place that welcomed anyone through its doors — Muslim or not. The mosque’s imam, Taha Hassane, spent decades cultivating relationships with clergy, neighbors and community activists from across the city.  Hassane told RNS in an interview he believes in showing up for others and “trying to make our society the best in terms of acceptance, tolerance.”  In the hours after the shooting that killed three members of the mosque, interfaith leaders and allies started crowding vigils to stand in solidarity with Hassane and his community. Their response to the tragedy, Muslim community members said, offered a strong rebuke to the anti-Muslim rhetoric that has escalated in recent months and has shadowed the mosque for decades.  The shooting, which is being investigated as a hate crime, shattered what had long felt like a safe haven for worshippers and neighbors alike. But mosque leaders insist it will remain a place for everyone. At the first press conference hours after …

Bipartisan Senate duo introduce new bill to protect US Jews and institutions

Bipartisan Senate duo introduce new bill to protect US Jews and institutions

Published by Sam Flores

(RNS) — Amid increasing attacks on U.S. Jews and institutions, two U.S. senators introduced a sweeping, bipartisan bill on Tuesday (May 19) aimed at combating antisemitism. But the Jewish American Security Act, if passed, could also help other religious institutions. Its key provision is a $1 billion investment in security resources for the federal Nonprofit Security Grant Program, which is open to all faiths. That program is currently funded at about $300 million annually. On Monday, two teenagers shot and killed three people at the Islamic Center of San Diego, the largest mosque in San Diego County. That attack comes two months after a man rammed a pickup truck into Temple Israel, a Reform synagogue in West Bloomfield Township, Michigan. The assailant was killed and the building suffered extensive damage. RELATED: San Diego police say they are responding to an active shooter at a local mosque Jewish organizations have been working for months on a bill that would tackle antisemitism, and on Tuesday, the Senate bill was formally introduced by Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., and …

What Keir Starmer got wrong about Zionism and antisemitism

What Keir Starmer got wrong about Zionism and antisemitism

Published by Sam Flores

Police are investigating an attack on a Jewish man in Golders Green, London, just weeks after two Jewish men were stabbed in the area. These are the latest in a series of violent attacks on Jewish people and institutions. They have also given fresh impetus to a long-running debate about the extent of antisemitism in the UK. My research explores how the law approaches the thorny question of where political critique of Israel ends and antisemitism begins. This is a sensitive topic, which events like this have brought to public attention once again. In a statement, Prime Minister Keir Starmer identified three causes of what he described as a “crisis for all of us”. First, he cited “hate preachers” and “charities that promote antisemitic extremism”. Second, Starmer referred to “the malign threat posed by states like Iran,” after a group with Iranian links was investigated in relation to arson attacks on Jewish charity Hatzola ambulances in Golders Green. The third was more controversial: the prime minister pointed the finger at those who “diminish” the antisemitism …

Harry’s Nazi ‘mistake’ shame as he blasts ‘lethal’ UK antisemitism | Royal | News

Harry’s Nazi ‘mistake’ shame as he blasts ‘lethal’ UK antisemitism | Royal | News

Published by Sam Flores

The Duke of Sussex has hit out at the ‘deeply troubling’ rise in antisemitic violence (Image: Getty) Prince Harry has spoken out against the rise in antisemitic violence across Britain, describing it as “deeply troubling” and referencing his own infamous past after being photographed wearing a Nazi uniform more than two decades ago. The Duke of Sussex made the intervention in a column published in The New Statesman, in which he condemned what he called “lethal violence” against Jewish communities in Manchester and London, and warned that silence in the face of hatred allows “hate and extremism to flourish unchecked.” What did Prince Harry write about antisemitism? Harry acknowledged his own “past mistakes” in the piece – a reference to the scandal that broke in January 2005, when he was photographed dressed in a Nazi outfit at a fancy dress party at the age of 20. The column came more than 20 years after those images first emerged. The duke was careful to draw a distinction between “legitimate protest” and the targeting of Jewish communities, …

Abraham Foxman was a warrior against hate. His work is hardly complete.

Abraham Foxman was a warrior against hate. His work is hardly complete.

Published by Sam Flores

(RNS) — Right about now, the angels in the world to come are tearing their hair out. That is because Abraham Foxman has arrived. They will never know what hit them. Abe Foxman, the longtime national director of the Anti-Defamation League, died Sunday (May 10) at the age of 86. He joined the organization in 1965 — fresh out of New York University Law School — and served for 50 years, 28 of them as national director. He made the ADL into one of the world’s foremost civil rights advocacy organizations and was the unquestioned dean of the alphabet soup system of Jewish legacy organizations. And, I dare say that even he could not have predicted the wave of antisemitism we are now experiencing — the very thing he spent his entire life fighting against. About 13 years ago, during a professional transition, I spent a year working for the ADL. I had long admired its mission and its purpose. I appreciated how their scope went far beyond antisemitism in how they protested discrimination against …

Abraham Foxman, antisemitism umpire for the ADL, dies at 86

Abraham Foxman, antisemitism umpire for the ADL, dies at 86

Published by Sam Flores

(RNS) — People used to joke that Abraham Foxman, the longtime national director of the Anti-Defamation League, was the “Jewish pope” for his frequent comments on any attack on Jews around the world. A better description might be top cop. During the late 20th century, Foxman — who died Sunday (May 10) at age 86 — was one of the most recognized American Jewish leaders for his regular pronouncements whenever he perceived antisemitism. As the national director of the ADL for almost three decades, he built up the organization into a formidable agency that tracked antisemitism and other forms of extremism. His successor, Jonathan Greenblatt, described him as “an iconic Jewish leader who embraced the ideal of an America free from antisemitism and hate and who strongly believed that these scourges could be defeated if good people opposed it,” in a statement mourning his death.  Abraham Foxman. (Photo courtesy of ADL) The American Jewish Committee in a statement said, “Abe brought moral clarity, courage, and unwavering conviction to generations of advocacy and leadership.” To New …

The resurgence of antisemitism is a warning to Britain

The resurgence of antisemitism is a warning to Britain

Published by Sam Flores

Britain is witnessing the most serious resurgence of antisemitism in decades. Jewish schools require guards, synagogues need permanent security, and many British Jews no longer feel safe expressing their identity openly in public. Violent attacks and open displays of antisemitic hatred have become disturbingly commonplace since October 7. That should alarm us all, because antisemitism is a threat not only to Jews, but to the liberal and pluralist society that makes freedom possible for everyone. It’s one of the world’s most enduring hatreds. Its underlying assumptions remain strikingly consistent, but its language adapts easily to the political fashions of the age, allowing old prejudices to present themselves as new moral causes. Today, we’re witnessing a particularly dangerous convergence. Elements of the far left and Islamist movements, despite their sometimes otherwise incompatible worldviews, have increasingly united around hostility to Israel in ways that too often blur into antisemitism – and, in some cases, provide cover for it. The Gaza war has intensified this convergence, creating a “perfect storm” for British Jews. To its credit, the moderate …

No One Knows What to Do About Britain’s Anti-Semitism

No One Knows What to Do About Britain’s Anti-Semitism

Published by Daniella Wilson

The surveillance video begins with a seemingly innocent scene: A Jewish man stands next to a bus shelter, adjusting his yarmulke. Suddenly, he is pummeled by a passerby and stabbed repeatedly until he is propelled off-screen. The victim’s skullcap, which had fallen into the street, slowly wafts away in the wind. This assault was the culmination of a violent spree that has shocked many in Britain. Last Wednesday, according to authorities, a man named Essa Suleiman allegedly attacked Ishmail Hussein, an acquaintance he’d known for decades, in South London. He then traveled eight miles to Golders Green, one of the most Jewish areas in the United Kingdom, and stabbed two random Jewish men in religious garb whom he did not know, including the one at the bus stop, before finally being apprehended. The two victims, ages 34 and 76, were hospitalized but survived. On its own, this incident would be disturbing. But the Golders Green onslaught was just the latest in a series of escalating anti-Semitic attacks across Britain, and the third one in five …

Counterterror police probe arson attack at a former London synagogue amid antisemitic attacks

Counterterror police probe arson attack at a former London synagogue amid antisemitic attacks

Published by Sam Flores

LONDON (AP) — Counterterror police in Britain were investigating an arson attack at a former London synagogue Tuesday as Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosted a meeting to respond to a wave of antisemitic attacks that have caused outrage and fear in the Jewish community. Gates and a lock on the front of the former temple in the Whitechapel area of east London had minor damage, but no one was injured, Metropolitan Police said. The incident is the latest since four ambulances owned by a Jewish charity were torched in March. Since then, a synagogue was firebombed and other Jewish sites have been targeted in attempted arson. Last week, two Jewish men were stabbed in what police have called an act of terror. “It is part of a pattern of rising antisemitism that has left our Jewish communities feeling frightened, angry and asking whether this country, their home, is safe for them,” Starmer told community leaders. “These disgusting attacks are being made against British Jews. But, make no mistake, this crisis — it is a crisis …

Britain’s local elections are haunted by the Middle East – POLITICO

Britain’s local elections are haunted by the Middle East – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

“Lots of people feel very strongly, both about their local services as they should do and feel equally strongly about the fact that there’s a reprehensible genocide happening,” he said. The extra scrutiny facing the Greens in recent days does appear to be having an impact — and not in the direction Polanski wants. A YouGov poll published Wednesday of 2,377 British adults conducted on May 4 and 5 found 47 percent had an unfavorable view of Polanski — his worst rating since becoming leader, and up eight points from 39 percent in a previous poll on April 28 and 29. Just 22 percent had a favorable view. The pollster noted negativity towards the Green leader rose the most among voters who backed rival parties at the 2024 election, including the Lib Dems and the Tories. Sunder Katwala, director of the British Future think tank, said: “Green candidates who campaign on Gaza seek expressive support for issues that local councillors have limited influence over.” Muslim voters concerned about Gaza are not one monolithic group but …