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→Notes part III: Jan 6, 2026+
The recently released video, in which one of those officials proudly displays millions of dollars, is just the tip of the iceberg. While the citizens of Gaza continue to live in poverty and hardship, a small and corrupt elite is becoming ostentatiously rich – under the eyes of the international community.
The recently released video, in which one of those officials proudly displays millions of dollars, is just the tip of the iceberg. While the citizens of Gaza continue to live in poverty and hardship, a small and corrupt elite is becoming ostentatiously rich – under the eyes of the international community.
[https://www.jdn.co.il/news/2553924/ JDN]
[https://www.jdn.co.il/news/2553924/ JDN]
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I Worked at a Palestinian Summer Camp - Richard McDaniel.
January 7, 2026.
When I worked for a reconciliation organization and lived in the largely Palestinian Christian town of Beit Sahour last summer, there were multiple aspects of Palestinian society that disturbed me. What I found most discomforting was its overwhelming celebration of martyrdom - glorifying those Palestinians who sacrificed themselves in the name of "Palestine."
After witnessing a large crowd of young children chanting "we will die to make Palestine live" at the summer camp where I volunteered, a Palestinian teenager asked me: "What have we [Palestinians] ever done wrong?" I responded by mentioning the dozens of suicide bombings that took place in Israeli civilian areas during the Second Intifada. She replied: "But those are acts of resistance." Living in the West Bank taught me that most Palestinians, regardless of religion, have long bought into the Islamist celebration of martyrdom...
Palestinian society's extremism and fetishization of death are encouraged (or mandated) by the Palestinian leadership in a mindset shared by both the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Hamas. Israeli peace activist Gershon Baskin told me that because Hamas's "political-religious philosophy...is based on the sanctification of death," they're more than happy to never surrender...
The nearly universal celebration of martyrdom across Palestinian society demonstrates that extremism is deeply entrenched within Palestinian culture. Consequently, Israel will never exist comfortably unless it tackles this Palestinian issue...
[https://www.algemeiner.com/2026/01/07/i-worked-at-a-palestinian-summer-camp-the-glorification-of-terrorism-is-preventing-any-peace-deal/ Algemeiner]
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Hamas Saxa: Georgetown Taps Hamas Apologist Mehdi Hasan as Visiting Fellow.
Hasan, who left MSNBC after the left-wing network axed his show, will lead a discussion group on media's role 'in our polarized society'
Jessica Costescu. January 8, 2026.
Georgetown University has enlisted Hamas apologist and former MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan as a visiting fellow to lead a discussion series that "will explore the role of debate, media, and persuasion in our deeply polarized society."
As a Georgetown Institute of Politics and Public Service Spring 2026 Fellow, Hasan's discussion group will center on the topic "Who's Afraid of a Tough Question? Debate, Division, and Democracy in a Polarized Age." The four-week series will "challenge" students with questions like "Are calls for 'unity' and 'civility' sincere - or politically convenient?"
Hasan posted to X on Wednesday, "I'm looking forward to doing this and debating and discussing with the students. Thanks @georgetown and @GUPolitics."
Georgetown's decision to bring on Hasan follows years of the journalist making polarizing and inaccurate remarks. MSNBC canceled his show in November 2023 after he spent weeks disparaging Israel following Hamas's Oct. 7 terror attack. After leaving the network, Hasan tweeted and then deleted a post arguing that the "Gaza genocide" was "worse than a lot of previous genocides - Rwanda, even the Holocaust." As a media figure in the United Kingdom, Hasan referred to non-Muslims as "animals."
Hasan came under fire last fall after bursting into laughter at a "joke" about Rep. Brian Mast's missing legs, which the Florida Republican lost after stepping on an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan in September 2010 during Operation Enduring Freedom.
After leaving MSNBC, Hasan founded Zeteo, a far-left media platform that charges $12 a month to "support Mehdi's brand of accountability journalism." The online publication has featured figures like Hasan Piker, the far-left streamer who once said "America deserved 9/11" and used a Zeteo appearance to lament the United States' triumph over the USSR.
[https://freebeacon.com/campus/georgetown-taps-hamas-apologist-mehdi-hasan-as-visiting-fellow/ FreeBeacon]
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Amnesty International Refuses to Admit That Hamas Wants to Kill All Jews and Annihilate Israel.
By Darcie Grunblatt, Algemeiner. January 8, 2026.
In its nearly 200-page report on the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, “Targeting Civilians: Murder, Hostage-Taking and Other Violations by Palestinian Armed Groups in Israel and Gaza,” Amnesty International omitted years of statements by Hamas leaders and language from its charter demonstrating genocidal intent against Jews.
This omission renders Amnesty’s account of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack fundamentally flawed — because it disregards strong evidence of Hamas’ genocidal intent and distorts both the nature of the massacre and Israel’s response.
According to the former Deputy Director of Amnesty’s now defunct Israel branch, Yariv Mohar, this report on Hamas’ attack was delayed by eight months. It had already been nearly finalized by the same time the organization released its December 2024 report, titled, “‘You Feel Like You Are Subhuman’: Israel’s Genocide Against Palestinians in Gaza.”
The organization, according to Mohar, told Israeli staff that the two reports would be published within weeks of one another.
According to Mohar, Amnesty delayed the Hamas report to keep the focus on Gaza, fearing that highlighting Hamas’ atrocities would undermine efforts to end the war. Mohar added that this was driven by a belief that Western audiences prefer a simplified moral narrative, and also because of Amnesty’s fear of backlash from its ultra-radical activist base.
Notably, the non-profit’s substantially longer Gaza report in 2024 used several out-of-context and debunked quotes by Israeli leaders to portray them as having genocidal intent.
Conversely, Amnesty’s treatment of Hamas sharply downplays the terror group’s own explicit ideology and objectives.
Hamas’ charter calls for the complete destruction of Israel as a condition for the liberation of Palestine, achieved through holy war (jihad). The charter specifically states that Hamas’ “struggle” is “against the Jews.”
[https://www.algemeiner.com/2026/01/08/amnesty-international-refuses-to-admit-that-hamas-wants-to-kill-all-jews-and-annihilate-israel/ Algemeiner]
______
Hamas document casts shadow over former EU envoy’s role in Gaza.
An internal Hamas assessment suggests the EU’s former top diplomat in the Palestinian territories pursued a personal approach to Gaza that crossed Brussels’ red lines.
Politics.
Björn Stritzel. Euractiv. January 8, 2026.
Conflict in West Bank.
An internal Hamas document seen by Euractiv suggests that the EU’s former envoy to the Palestinian territories, Sven Kühn von Burgsdorff, pursued positions that diverged from official EU policy and were viewed favourably by Hamas leaders in Gaza.
Kühn von Burgsdorff served as the EU’s ambassador to the Palestinian territories and the Gaza Strip from January 2020 to July 2023.
During his tenure, he repeatedly drew criticism from Israeli officials and within the EU for positions seen as out of step with Brussels’ guidelines – including assurances to Palestinian NGOs found to have employed terrorists that they need not worry about losing EU funding, despite stricter anti-terror financing rules.
Paragliding in Gaza.
The controversy peaked in July 2023, shortly before he left his post, when Kühn von Burgsdorff went paragliding in Gaza. In video footage from the Hamas-controlled enclave, he spoke enthusiastically of a “free Palestine”. Weeks later, Hamas carried out its 7 October attack on Israel, killing more than 1,000 people and abducting around 250 others.
Now, an internal Hamas document seized by the Israeli military during its subsequent campaign in Gaza suggests that Islamist leaders in the enclave held the EU envoy in high regard. The Jerusalem-based NGO Monitor analysed the document and shared its findings with Euractiv...
[https://www.euractiv.com/news/hamas-document-casts-shadow-over-former-eu-envoys-gaza-diplomacy/ Euroactive]
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PA loses soulmate Maduro – front page JPost Magazine.
PMW staff|Jan 11, 2026.
PA loses soulmate Maduro – front page of The Jerusalem PostMagazine.
[https://palwatch.org/Storage/Images/2026/front-page-actual-jpost.jpeg].
The Palestinian Authority is firmly and fundamentally a part of the anti-American and anti-Western Axis. In this important article, which The Jerusalem Post chose to highlight as the front-page story in its Weekend Magazine, Palestinian Media Watch Director Itamar Marcus exposes the longstanding and close relationship between the PA and the communist anti-American dictators of Venezuela. Marcus calls the relationship one of "soulmates."
Israel rejects the creation of a Palestinian state or having Gaza placed under PA control because the PA is an anti-Semitic terror-supporting entity. The US and Western democracies must likewise reject PA rule because a PA entity will support forces hostile to the free world and erode the democratic world order Western governments seek to achieve.
By Itamar Marcus.
January 9, 2026.
The Palestinian Authority has had a special and warm relationship with Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, and before him with Hugo Chavez, as one of soulmates.
The PA has actively and openly placed itself firmly in the camp of the notorious human rights-abusing Venezuelan dictators. Following the US raid and arrest of President Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, on charges including narco-terrorism and drug trafficking – with an audacious military operation in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas – the PA has remained silent for now, fearing a US reaction to its support for Maduro.
However, the PA camaraderie with Maduro has been fundamental to PA policy.
A few months ago, when US President Donald Trump started to threaten Venezuela, the PA held an anti-American demonstration at the Venezuelan embassy in Ramallah in support of Maduro. Ramallah Governor Laila Ghannam participated and posted her anti-American messages and pictures on her Facebook page:
"As a sign of rejecting the American threats against friendly Venezuela, I participated in the solidarity vigil that was organized by the national forces in front of the Venezuelan Embassy building of Caracas in the State of Palestine in order to affirm our people's support for the people and government of Venezuela."
[Ramallah and Al-Bireh District Governor Laila Ghannam, Facebook page, Sept. 18, 2025]
Mahmoud Abbas's appointee Ahmad Assaf, who is the director of official PA TV, has a small statue of the late Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez prominently displayed in his office to show all visitors where the PA's ideology and values stand.
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Dec. 10, 2025]
The PA has prominently supported the Latin American dictators for years. In 2024, Venezuela held an election, and according to opposition sources, 70% voted against Maduro. Many Western democracies declined to recognize Maduro's election. The PA, however, welcomed Maduro's rule, and Abbas sent his special envoy to the inauguration.
"President Abbas' Advisor on International Affairs and Special Envoy Minister Riyad al-Maliki participated in the inauguration ceremony of President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro as the representative of President Mahmoud Abbas…
"Al-Maliki conveyed President Mahmoud Abbas' congratulations to President-elect Maduro and wishes for success in serving his country and his people… He also emphasized that the State of Palestine is showing interest in strengthening the relations with the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in all areas of common interest."
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Jan. 12, 2025]
In 2024, the PA sent Fatah leader Abbas Zaki to an event in Venezuela under the auspices of President Maduro. The PA leader praised the communist dictators of Latin America and compared Maduro to Fidel Castro and Che Guevara:
"Thank Allah who created in Latin America – which is geographically far but closest to the Palestinians' hearts – great leaders who are restoring the memory of [former Cuban President] Fidel Castro and [former Communist leader Che] Guevara, like President Maduro."
Maduro, in turn, expressed the dictator's support for the PA. "Maduro described what is happening in Palestine as the Israeli occupation committing a genocide against the Palestinian people for 75 years," i.e., since Israel's creation.
[Fatah Central Committee member Abbas Zaki, Facebook page, June 18, 2024]
Ramallah-Caracas: Warm ties that stretch back
In 2023, Mahmoud Abbas sent the Chairman of the Palestinian National Council, Rawhi Fattouh, to Venezuela to deliver a personal message from Abbas to Maduro:
"Fattouh also laid a wreath of flowers on behalf of President Mahmoud Abbas on the monument of historic leader Hugo Chavez."
[WAFA, official PA news agency, July 27, 2023]
The picture shows Fattouh and the wreath with the words "President of the State of Palestine Mr. Mahmoud Abbas" written in Spanish.
[Palestinian National Council Chairman Rawhi Fattouh, Facebook page, July 28, 2023]
In 2018, Western democracies also rejected Maduro's election victory and announced that they would recognize opposition leader Juan Guaidó as the legitimate leader. Russia, China, Mexico, Syria, Iran, and Turkey supported Maduro, while the US, EU, Canada, Israel, and some countries in Latin America backed Guaidó. Aligning with the anti-democratic regimes, the PA rallied behind Maduro.
PA Minister of Foreign Affairs Riyad al-Maliki participated in Maduro's inauguration ceremony and brought Maduro personal congratulations from Mahmoud Abbas:
"Al-Maliki congratulated President Maduro on receiving the presidency, wished him success in his service of the Venezuelan people, and conveyed to him the congratulations and wishes of [PA President] Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian leadership that always stands by Venezuela and its people, as Palestine does not forget its friends."
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Jan. 12, 2019]
The PA Foreign Ministry "condemned several states" for their "interference" against him:
"The PA Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its concern given the events taking place in Venezuela and condemned several states' interference in the state's internal affairs and direct [interference] through support for the coup attempt against legally elected President Maduro."
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Jan. 25, 2019]
PLO Executive Committee member Ahmed Majdalani, meanwhile, attacked the US and also accused it of "interference" in Venezuela's affairs while condemning the "coup attempt" against Maduro:
"The blatant American interference in states' affairs, as is happening in Venezuela, is a direct continuation of the policy of [US President Donald] Trump's administration, whose goal is to usurp the will of the peoples... and [condemned] the coup attempt against the legitimacy of elected President Maduro."
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Jan. 25, 2018]
The PA official daily reported on demonstrations supporting Maduro:
"The Palestinian and Venezuelan peoples face the same enemy - which is the US."
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Jan. 25, 2019]
An op-ed in the official PA daily ripped into US President Trump's speech at the UN about Venezuela:
"The new cowboy (i.e., US President Donald Trump) blatantly threatened a sovereign state – Venezuela – and its president. He announced that his administration would attack [Venezuelan] President Nicolás Maduro and unequivocally incited the army to carry out a coup against a president who was legally elected. He also attacked socialism as if his capitalist system is in better shape..."
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Sept. 27, 2018]
Subsequently, protesters held posters with Venezuelan and Palestinian flags at a solidarity rally in Ramallah, where PA leaders also participated. One poster showed pictures of Donald Trump with an "X" across his face and the words
"American Imperialism, Enemy of the Nations."
The rally participants chanted: "America is the head of the snake, blessings from Ramallah to proud Caracas."
[Official Fatah Facebook page, May 21, 2019]
As a sign of this friendship, the Palestinian Embassy in Venezuela erected a statue of "President Martyr Yasser Arafat in Liberator Simon Bolivar Monument Square." PA Ambassador Linda Sobeh "again emphasized Palestine's support for Venezuela in light of the situation that it is going through (i.e., violent clashes between the regime and opposition forces following Maduro's fraudulent election)."
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, May 17, 2019]
As a further sign of camaraderie, the PA named a hospital after the dictator, which was called "the Palestinian-Venezuelan Hugo Chavez Eye Disease Hospital… according to the instructions of [PA] President Mahmoud Abbas, and constitutes a source of Palestinian national pride."
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Oct. 1, 2018]
The PA's next move
With the Palestinian Authority desperate for US aid and support as it seeks a position of power in some future Gaza entity, Mahmoud Abbas is attempting to conceal his longstanding embrace of Venezuela's anti-American regime. Abbas seems petrified that President Trump might realize the PA's place squarely within the anti-American ideological axis.
Abbas has thus ensured that the PA's official daily, Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, remained silent on the arrest of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, even as the story featured prominently in other Palestinian newspapers. The fear was so acute that Abbas's paper did not publish a single news item about Venezuela on Jan. 5, let alone an opinion piece.
By contrast, independent Palestinian newspapers filled their pages with coverage of events in Venezuela, including columns sharply attacking the US. Al-Quds, the largest Palestinian daily, published 15 articles on the issue, seven of them openly critical of the US, and devoted an entire page to short commentary responses – all critical.
Al-Ayyam, the second-largest daily, ran 18 articles on Venezuela, at least two of them critical, and dedicated a full page to photographs highlighting pro-Maduro protests around the world.
The blackout in Al-Hayat is revealing precisely because it is unnatural. The paper's refusal to criticize the US over Venezuela exposes how tightly the PA's official media is controlled. The PA keenly fears the consequences of letting Washington know where it stands in the conflict between the US and the anti-American axis.
This sudden discipline does not signal an ideological change. The PA remains aligned with anti-American regimes and worldviews. The difference is tactical: What has changed is only the PA's need to hide its essential ideologies from Donald Trump.
[https://palwatch.org/page/41838 PalWatch]
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Elder Of Ziyon. January 11, 2026.
The only coherence in the incoherence is antisemitism.
Here is video of a clash between anti-Ayatollah and anti-Israel protesters yesterday in Bellevue, WA:
Many are noting online the utter insanity of white women who pretend to care about the oppressed fighting against protesters of the quite oppressive Iranian regime which is especially misogynist.
It is similar to the LGBTQ activists who have taken up pro-Hamas, anti-Israel positions when they are the ones who would be attacked if they lived under Palestinian rule.
Finding hypocrisy is easy, but these people have a coherent philosophy in the midst of their obvious incoherence. People and movements are not inconsistent - in their own mindset, they are supremely consistent. The only question is to find what that mindset is.
In the case of these white women in Washington, it isn't "supporting the oppressed." The Iranian people are the oppressed.
It isn't Marxism. They don't look like they've read Das Kapital. They aren't interested in fighting capitalism..
It isn't anti-Trump. Trump may have expressed support for the Iranian people but it is not exactly a centerpiece of his policy at this point.
It isn't anti-America. There are plenty of people who hate America but they are generally not motivated to go out in the streets unless there is a specific event. Anti-ICE protests are one of the sparks that do prompt demonstrations, but what thread is there between anti-ICE and pro-mullahs?
If this were simply about opposing American power or capitalism, we would see comparable mass mobilization around Yemen, Syria, Iran, or Venezuela. We do not. Only anti-Israel protests reliably produce crowds. That fact alone tells us where the emotional and ideological center of gravity lies.
If this were simply about opposing American power or capitalism, we would see comparable mass mobilization around Yemen, Syria, Iran, or Venezuela. We do not. Only anti-Israel protests reliably produce crowds. That fact alone tells us where the emotional and ideological center of gravity lies.
The only coherence in the incoherence is hating Jews under the guise of "anti-Zionism."
Think about it. These women are the most obvious beneficiaries of white privilege on the planet. Many of the Western progressive activists involved here are well-off suburbanites. Israel functions as a moral proxy that allows Western activists to discharge guilt without implicating themselves or their societies. Israel becomes the universal symbol for "white oppressors" and Palestinians the symbol for "oppressed people of color" and in that way they can externalize their own white guilt by blaming the Jews as being everything they hate about themselves. (There is similar logic behind land acknowledgements - empty performance to feel righteous, but no one handing their houses to native Americans.)
This is not simple hypocrisy, because hypocrisy presumes a failure to live up to stated values. Here, the values themselves are not operative. What is operative is a symbolic map in which Israel stands in for ‘everything evil about power,’ regardless of facts.
So if Israel is against the Iranian regime, then the regime must be good. If Israel fights Hamas, Hamas must be good. If Hezbollah or Houthis shoot missiles into Israel, they must be good.
I'm not saying that these activists consciously hate Jews. But their moral framework reliably collapses political evil onto Jews and the Jewish state. Structurally, it is the same thing. And as we've seen more recently, this collapse often becomes classic antisemitism, as protests migrate to synagogues and targeting Jews particularly.
Similarly, most of these activists are not consciously pro-Khamenei. They are structurally indifferent to Iranian agency. Once Israel occupies the ‘oppressor’ slot, anyone opposing Israel is provisionally good – including theocrats, terrorists, or regimes that murder women.
Antisemitism, whether explicit or not, is the only consistent throughline to their otherwise inconsistent positions.
For those who want some pretense of support for their ridiculous and contradictory positions, there are plenty of left-wing writers who can string two sentences together and therefore become all the evidence needed. At this moment, the only article in The Intercept about the Iranian protests, from a week ago (!), blames - Israel.
An entire progressive news site looks at Iranians being shot in the streets and the only thing it can write about is how this is somehow connected to the Zionists.
Once Israel is fixed as the embodiment of oppression, reality becomes optional. Iranian dissidents can be ignored. Islamist brutality can be excused. Women’s rights can be suspended. The only constant is that whatever harms Israel must be good.
That isn't moral reasoning. It is ideological coherence maintained by positioning Jews as the permanent moral antagonist - not coincidentally, the same position Jews have held for centuries.
[https://elderofziyon.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-only-coherence-in-incoherence-is.html EoZ]
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Former Haaretz Columnist Alon Pinkas Embroiled in Qatari Funding Scandal.
Pinkas, the Qatari mouthpiece
Former Haaretz Columnist Alon Pinkas Embroiled in Qatari Funding Scandal
Is anyone actually surprised to discover that Haaretz's elite journalist is really just another Qatar mouthpiece?
Gila Isaacson. Jan 11, 2026.
A brewing scandal at Haaretz, Israel's left-leaning newspaper often cited by critics of the country's policies, has come to light involving former columnist and diplomat Alon Pinkas, who allegedly received substantial payments linked to Qatari interests while contributing to the publication.
The revelations, first reported by Haaretz itself following an internal probe, have prompted accusations of foreign influence and bias, particularly in coverage related to the Israel-Hamas war and hostage negotiations.
Pinkas, a former Israeli consul general in New York and a vocal critic of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, received monthly payments totaling hundreds of thousands of shekels (equivalent to tens of thousands of U.S. dollars) from January 2024 through March 2025.
These funds were routed through Israeli businessman Gil Birger from Jay Footlik, a U.S.-based lobbyist whose firm, Third Circle, has represented Qatari entities. During this period, Pinkas authored at least seven opinion pieces in Haaretz's English edition that portrayed Qatar favorably, emphasizing its role as a key mediator in hostage deals, a U.S. ally, and a financier of Gaza at Israel's past request, aligning closely with talking points drafted by Footlik.
The issue surfaced amid broader investigations into "Qatargate," a series of alleged Qatari influence operations in Israel aimed at shaping public opinion on Gaza funding, hostage mediations, and criticisms of regional rivals like Egypt.
This marks the third such incident at Haaretz: Journalist Chaim Levinson was dismissed after receiving over NIS 200,000 from a similar network, and an anonymous column praising Qatar was tied to another Footlik associate, David Saig.
Israeli police have concluded their inquiry and forwarded findings to the State Attorney's Office, though no charges have been filed against Pinkas as of now...
Haaretz's hack columnists have been spewing venom at Netanyahu and Trump to whitewash a terror-sponsoring petro-state that hosts Hamas honchos in luxury, turning "journalism" into a paid propaganda parade that'd make Goebbels blush.
These so-called intellectuals are just mercenary mouthpieces selling out their own country for a fistful of riyals, happily undermining Israel from within while the real enemies laugh all the way to the bank, because nothing says "moral imperative" like biting the hand that feeds you and then whining when you're called a traitor.
[https://www.jfeed.com/news-israel/haaretz-qatari-funding-scandal JFeed]
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‘Language is wrong,’ Mamdani says of pro-Hamas chants outside Queens synagogue
"We will continue to ensure New Yorkers’ safety entering and exiting houses of worship as well as the constitutional right to protest," the New York City mayor said.
JNS Staff
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Ms. Rachel visit children at District 2 3K/Pre-K Center in Manhattan on Jan. 9, 2026. Credit: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office.New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Ms. Rachel visit children at District 2 3K/Pre-K Center in Manhattan on Jan. 9, 2026. Credit: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office.
(Jan. 10, 2026 / JNS)
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who axed several of his predecessor’s pro-Israel executive orders on day one of the job, drew widespread criticism for his lack of response to pro-Hamas chants at a protest outside a Queens synagogue on Thursday night.
Long after the New York governor and others commented, Mamdani, who long declined to say that “globalize the intifada” calls for violence against Jews, had yet to comment on the incident.
By the time Shabbat had started, the mayor still had yet to issue a public comment.
“As New York Orthodox Jews shut off our phones for Shabbos, still no official statement from New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on blatantly antisemitic protest in the Jewish community of Kew Gardens Hills,” stated Sam Berger, a member of the state Assembly.
Berger noted that the state governor and attorney general, members of Congress, and the city comptroller and city council speaker all issued statements. “Hard to call that standing ‘steadfast with our Jewish neighbors,'” he said of the mayor.
Mamdani later told Politico that “that language is wrong” and that “I think that language has no place in New York City.”
“The mayor’s clipped condemnation of the Thursday protest chants comes as local and national lawmakers supportive of Israel gave full-throated condemnations of protestors’ support for Hamas,” the publication reported. “Mamdani’s relative silence on the demonstration prompted pro-Israel activists to question why the mayor hadn’t publicly released a statement about the pro-Hamas rhetoric.”
Earlier in the day, Mamdani joined Ms. Rachel, who makes films for children and whose real name is Rachel Griffin-Accurso, in a meeting with preschoolers in the city’s second district.
Ms. Rachel has posted criticism of Israel often on Instagram, including accusing the Jewish state of “genocide.”
“I am vice president of the District 2 Community Education Council, and I can guarantee you that the majority of parents and families in our district don’t want you to invite and welcome antisemitic celebrities into our schools,” Danyela Souza Egorov wrote, in response to Mamdani.
“What melody did you pick for ‘destroy Israel, kill the Jews?'” wrote David Friedman, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel.
[https://www.jns.org/language-is-wrong-mamdani-says-of-pro-hamas-chants-outside-queens-synagogue/ JNS]
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Describing Israel-Gaza war as ‘genocide’ trivialises term, says Chief Rabbi.
Sir Ephraim Mirvis warns that assigning concept to war on Gaza reduces ‘humanity’s gravest crime to political insult’.
Gabriella Swerling.
Social and Religious Affairs Editor.
10 January 2026.
[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/01/10/israel-gaza-war-genocide-trivialises-term-chief-rabbi/ Daily Telegraph]
Britain's Chief Rabbi: Calling Gaza genocide trivializes the word.
Britain's Chief Rabbi, Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, denounced accusations of genocide in Gaza as being motivated only by hostility to the Jewish state.
Israel National News.
Published: Jan 11, 2026, 9:18 PM (GMT+2)
The Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, Sir Ephraim Mirvis, has criticised the use of the term "genocide" to describe Israel's military actions in Gaza, arguing that it diminishes the gravity of the word and turns "humanity’s gravest crime" into a mere political insult.
In an article written for The Telegraph, Sir Ephraim stated that the accusation is made too readily today. He wrote: “Today it takes almost no thought to repeat the accusation that Israel has committed ‘genocide’."
“Some repeat it from a place of singular hostility toward the world’s only Jewish state; others from an earnest desire to hasten an end to an unquestionably horrific conflict in which many innocent people have suffered. But whatever the motivation, the result is the same: this gravest of crimes is invoked casually, without due regard for the weight of the word itself."
He further explained: “In an age when hyperbole dominates our discourse and outrage is rewarded with clicks, campaigners reach instinctively for the most extreme language available. Faced with images on social media of immense, tragic suffering in Gaza, journalists, academics and celebrities understandably feel compelled to speak out."
“Yet the race to linguistic escalation has consequences. The ubiquity of a term is often wrongly understood as evidence of its veracity. And some terms have a meaning that must remain protected at all costs. ‘Genocide’ is one of them."
Sir Ephraim emphasised the legal definition of genocide, which requires intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group. He said: “It is why Britain and her allies are not accused of genocide for our strategic bombing of Nazi Germany, despite the hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians who were killed. Intent is the moral and legal hinge. The clearest evidence that Israel did not intend to destroy the people of Gaza is that it did not in fact do so."
Describing the conflict as one that “Israel did not seek, nor start", he said Israel's goals have been the return of hostages and the disarmament of Hamas - a group he noted has sought the total destruction of Israel. He added: “If Hamas lays down its arms, there will be no fighting and no suffering. If Israel were to lay down its arms, there would be no Israel."
The Chief Rabbi also criticised some human rights organisations, saying they “appear to revel in misappropriating the term genocide" by expanding its definition and engaging in “a truly troubling moral deceit."
He acknowledged the suffering in Gaza, stating: “The tragic suffering of Palestinians abounds" and “no decent person could fail to be moved by it or wish to see its end". However, he argued there is no evidence of “systematic massacres, mass executions, or the targeted killing of civilians as a matter of policy".
Sir Ephraim warned that loose use of the term harms the concept itself: “When academics, activists, faith leaders and public figures declare, with unshakeable certainty, that genocide has occurred, they do something far more destructive than merely repeat a falsehood. They trivialise the very concept they claim to defend. What language is left for the Rohingya, expelled en masse, systematically raped and slaughtered? For the Uyghurs, subjected to mass internment, forced sterilisation and cultural erasure? For the ethnically targeted killing and mass rape in West Darfur? To invoke the term ‘genocide’ as an accusation against Israel is to strip it of its true meaning, reducing humanity’s gravest crime to a political insult."
He concluded: “The suffering of innocent people demands empathy, accountability and a genuine commitment to preventing future conflict. But to level the charge of genocide against Israel is to commit a moral inversion whose casualties include not only Israelis and Palestinians, but the very idea of human rights itself."
[https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/420742 INN]
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IDF issues evacuation warning to residents in southern Lebanon: 'We will attack Hezbollah infrastructure'.
IDF Arabic spokesperson, Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee, issued an evacuation warning to Lebanese residents in areas located in the village of Hata in the southern part of the country. "The IDF will soon launch another attack against Hezbollah's military infrastructure in the village and against its forbidden attempts to restore its activities there. Residents of the complex - for your safety, move at least 300 meters away from the area marked in red on the map," said Lt. Col. Adraee.
Lior Ben Ari|01.11.26
[https://www.ynetnews.com/article/325n18qkr YNet]
After warning civilians of imminent strikes, Israel hits Hezbollah infrastructure in south Lebanon.
The Israeli military confirmed strikes on Hezbollah sites in Lebanon after Arabic spox. Col Avichay Adraee issued evacuation alerts to nearby civilians.
By James Genn. January 11, 2026.
Following an evacuation warning to Lebanese civilians, the IDF confirmed that it had begun striking Hezbollah infrastructure in "several areas" of southern Lebanon on Sunday evening.
The initial warning was issued by Arabic-language spokesperson Col. Avichay Adraee on X/Twitter.
[https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/defense-news/article-882991 JPost]
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Suspect in Custody Following Arson Attack at Reform Synagogue in Jackson, Mississippi.
January 11, 2026.
[https://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/general/2497285/suspect-in-custody-following-arson-attack-at-reform-synagogue-in-jackson-mississippi.html YWN]
Jackson, Mississippi's sole synagogue set ablaze in arson attack, suspect arrested
According to Southern Jewish life, there were no injuries, but the building suffered significant fire and smoke damage. The library was reportedly charred, and two Torah scrolls were destroyed.
By Michael Starr. January 11, 2026.
The Beth Israel synagogue erupted in flames on Saturday morning before dawn, according to Jackson, Mississippi, Mayor John Horhn, Jackson Fire Department (JFD) Chief RaSean Thomas, and the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life (ISJL), in what was suspected to be a hate-motivated arson.
The fire occurred at 3 a.m. but was contained and extinguished by the fire department, Horhn said in a statement. The ISJL said on Facebook that there were no injuries. A suspect was reportedly arrested by Sunday.
[https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-883010 JPost]
After synagogue arson, Mississippi mayor decries bias based on faith, race, ethnicity, sexual identity.
"Acts of antisemitism, racism and religious hatred are attacks on Jackson as a whole and will be treated as acts of terror against residents' safety and freedom to worship," the Jackson mayor stated.
JNS Staff, Larry Brook, Southern Jewish Life.
(Jan. 11, 2026 / JNS)
John Horhn, mayor of Jackson, Miss., stated on Sunday that a fire had “occurred” at Beth Israel Congregation, a Reform synagogue, and the city’s lone Jewish house of worship, which traces its origin to 1860.
[https://www.jns.org/after-synagogue-arson-mississippi-mayor-decries-bias-based-on-faith-race-ethnicity-sexual-identity/ JNS]
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Netanyahu signs declaration with Germany: 'Cooperation in cybersecurity and counter-terrorism'.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signed a declaration with German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, establishing "deep cooperation with Berlin in the fields of cybersecurity, counter-terrorism and advanced technologies, translating security commitment into joint action." The Prime Minister's Office also stated that "Iran and its proxies threaten regional stability and international security. Israel's enemies should know - our eyes are on them at all times and in all places. The declaration reflects Germany's historical responsibility - including strengthening Holocaust remembrance and cooperation with Yad Vashem."
Itamar Eichner|01.11.26
[https://www.ynetnews.com/article/7wjv0zmln YNet]
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Israeli Cities on Alert Following Iran Unrest
Mayors Brief Residents.
Israeli Cities on Alert Following Iran Unrest
Israeli officials are balancing hope for the fall of Iran's regime with preparations for extreme scenarios where the Iranian government might redirect focus toward Israel. Security officials emphasize that while monitoring continues, residents should maintain normal routines unless instructed otherwise by authorities.
Gila Isaacson.
Jan 11, 2026
[https://www.jfeed.com/news-israel/israel-iran-unrest-security JFeed]
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Melbourne sees renewed anti-Israel protest as fires rage across Victoria state
Organizers defy requests from police and mayor to postpone the event.
Etgar Lefkovits.
(Jan. 11, 2026 / JNS)
A couple of thousand pro-Palestinian activists rallied against Israel in Melbourne on Sunday, defying police’s and local authorities’ requests to cancel their event due to raging bushfires in the Australian summer.
The anti-Israel protest came less than a month after the Bondi Beach attack at a Chanukah event in Sydney, and as hundreds of Iranian protesters were being killed by security forces of the Islamic Republic on the streets of Iran
[https://www.jns.org/melbourne-sees-renewed-anti-israel-protest-as-fires-rage-across-victoria-state/ JNS]
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Trump wants ‘full transparency’ from Bondi terror attack inquiry.
Antisemitism envoy says U.S. is watching Australia’s royal commission amid concern over PM Albanese’s past pro-Palestinian activism and delayed action.
Joshua Marks.
(Jan. 11, 2026 / JNS)
U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy on antisemitism says Washington is closely watching Australia’s royal commission into the Bondi Beach terrorist attack amid concern over Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s past pro‑Palestinian activism and his government’s handling of antisemitism.
[https://www.jns.org/trump-wants-full-transparency-from-bondi-terror-attack-inquiry/ JNS]
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New town breaks ground in Samaria.
The town of Rehavam has begun construction as part of the government plan to bring one million residents to Samaria.
Israel National News.
Jan 11, 2026, 10:24 PM
[https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/420743 INN]
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Netanyahu:
Israel in awe of the immense courage of the citizens of Iran.
Israel National News.
Jan 11, 2026, 4:20 PM
[https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/420729 INN]
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Beautiful Defiance.
Hessy Levinsons Taft, Jewish Infant Chosen as 'Perfect Aryan Baby' in Nazi Propaganda, Dies at 91.
She was six months old when Goebbels chose her Jewish face for Nazi propaganda. Hessy Taft spent 91 years savoring the beautiful revenge of that photograph.
Gila Isaacson.
Jan 11, 2026.
Hessy Levinsons Taft, whose photograph as a six-month-old baby was selected by
Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels
to represent the ideal Aryan child, despite her being Jewish, passed away on January 1, 2026, at her home in San Francisco. She was 91.
Born in 1934 in Berlin to Latvian Jewish opera singers, Pauline and Jacob Levinsons, Taft's early life unwittingly exposed the flaws in Nazi racial ideology.
Her parents commissioned a portrait from renowned photographer Hans Ballin, who, knowing the family's Jewish heritage, submitted the image to a contest seeking the "perfect Aryan baby" as a deliberate prank.
The photo was chosen by Goebbels himself and featured on the cover of the pro-Nazi magazine Sonne ins Haus in 1935. It soon proliferated across Germany, appearing in magazines, advertisements, postcards, and even displayed in homes. Taft's parents were horrified upon discovering this, fearing severe repercussions from the regime.
When confronted by the Levinsons, Ballin explained his intent: to highlight the absurdity of Nazi racial theories. "I wanted to make the
Nazis ridiculous," he reportedly said.
The family kept the incident secret for decades, even from Taft herself, due to lingering fears. They fled Germany in 1938, first to France, then Latvia, and eventually Cuba before settling in the United States in 1949. Taft learned the full story only as an adult and later embraced it as a tale of ironic triumph over Nazi pseudoscience.
"I feel a sense of revenge," Taft said in a 1990 interview with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. "Good revenge."
In her later years, Taft became a chemistry professor at St. John's University in New York, donated the original magazine to Yad Vashem in Israel, and shared her story through lectures and media appearances. She is survived by her husband, Earl Taft, and their children.
[https://www.jfeed.com/jewish-world/hessy-levinsons-taft-nazi-propaganda JFeed]
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