Former UB student gets conditional discharge for inciting to riot at Jewish Student Union demonstration
The demonstration came after multiple days of pro-Palestine protests on UB's North Campus for several days in early May.
The 19-year-old student, from Newburgh, N.Y., made a social media post on May 6, 2024, 'directing people to engage in tumultuous and violent conduct' towards the demonstrators. The student was 18 years old at the time.
He pleaded guilty in February to one count of inciting to riot.
Aidan Joly joined the News 4 staff in 2022. He is a graduate of Canisius College. You can see more of his work here.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Suleiman Obeid – Answering Mohamed Salah's questions about the death of the ‘Palestinian Pele'
On August 6, Suleiman Obeid travelled to the city of Khan Yunis, in southern Gaza, to retrieve aid for his family. He did not want to go, having described 'bullets whizzing past his head like rain' to his wife on previous trips. But with five children waiting in his tent, Obeid felt he had no choice. Advertisement Obeid had played football professionally, representing Palestine in international matches on 24 occasions. He was considered one of the greatest players to ever emerge from the Gaza Strip. Yet now, like other Gaza inhabitants, he was at risk of starvation. The New York Times reported this month that a U.N.-backed food security group found famine was widespread across Gaza due to months of severe aid restrictions imposed by Israel as part of its military operation against Hamas. At the aid site, his friends say Obeid was killed by armaments dropped by an Israeli quadcopter. He was 43 years old, and according to his friends and family, was a civilian who only wanted peace. According to the UN's latest figures, at least 1,373 Palestinians have been killed since May 27 while seeking food. Posting on social media after Obeid's death, UEFA stated: 'Farewell to Suleiman al-Obaid, the 'Palestinian Pele'. A talent who gave hope to countless children, even in the darkest of times.' Mohamed Salah, the Liverpool and Egypt forward who is one of the world's most famous footballers, replied: 'Can you tell us how he died, where, and why?' Can you tell us how he died, where, and why? — Mohamed Salah (@MoSalah) August 9, 2025 It appeared to be a latent criticism of UEFA, European football's governing body, for omitting Israel's role in Obeid's death. Salah's post was shared hundreds of thousands of times and represented a rare public statement from one of the game's leading names about the conflict. The Athletic has spoken to Obeid's friends, family, team-mates, and witnesses about his death in an attempt to answer those questions and tell of his life. 'The world needs to be asked, 'Why was Suleiman killed in this monstrous way, and taken away from his five children?',' his wife, Doaa, tells The Athletic, exchanging voice messages from the family's tent in Gaza. 'What did his children do to be orphaned at this young age? You can't imagine how life was before his death — and how it became after. 'I wish that you save these orphan children (from this war). He was our caregiver and our backbone. After Suleiman's death, no one can help us. Our life is ruined.' Suleiman Obeid jumps, and for a moment, everything is still. It is the 2010 West Asian Football Federation Championship in Amman, Jordan's capital. Palestine are 2-0 down to Yemen. The cross was sprayed towards the back post, an inswinger, but Obeid had already read its trajectory and taken four quick shuffle steps backwards. The defender has turned away. Obeid is alone. Advertisement He is midair as the ball passes the penalty spot, and horizontal when it arrives. With the laces of his right foot, he bends it around the covering defender and into the far corner. A scissor kick — the first goal Palestine had scored in the competition for six years. 'That goal was probably the greatest goal scored by the Palestine team,' says Ramzi Saleh, the goalkeeper on that day. 'He's always close to my heart,' he adds. 'Not only mine, he beats close to everyone's heart.' Saleh knows his friend is dead, but has not switched to the past tense. Few who know him in Gaza have. Obeid, all those involved in Palestinian football agree, is one of their iconic players. Capable of playing any position across the front three, the willowy forward began his career at hometown club Shabab Al Shati before moving to play for Markaz Shabab Al-Am'ari, where he spent four seasons and won the West Bank Premier League title in 2011. From then, however, he remained in Gaza, becoming a legend at Gaza Sports Club and Shabab Al Shati, and topping the goalscorer charts in three successive seasons. 'I am not thinking of retirement,' Obeid said in September 2023, at the age of 42, less than a month before Gazan football was suspended following Hamas' October 7 attacks on Israel. In total, 1,195 people were killed and about 250 taken hostage in those attacks, according to Israeli officials via the New York Times. Israel launched counter-strikes into Gaza. One of those killed by Hamas was Lior Asulin, a former striker in the Israeli Premier League who had retired in 2017. That day, Obeid and Shabab Al-Shati had been preparing for a crucial game against Khadamat Rafah. It was cancelled when team members heard explosions on their way into training. He would never play another professional match. 'Everybody loved and appreciated him,' said Obeid's former team-mate Mohammed Ali Mohana, whose best friend, former Palestine coach Hani Al-Masdar, was killed by an Israeli airstrike last January. 'He was a talented player. His goals were so distinctive — and so beautiful.' As well as the 'Palestinian Pele', another nickname was 'Henry', after the former Arsenal forward Thierry Henry, a forward whose style he most closely mimicked. Ibrahim Al-Amur was a long-time team-mate of Obeid's at Gaza Sports Club. A left-back, he describes his fellow footballer as his best friend. Advertisement 'He was one of the best 10 players in Palestine's history,' Al-Amur says. 'He had pace, talent and athleticism to the extent that he played until 43 while not dropping his level — he was special even at that age. He treated his friends with all the love and respect. He supported the poor and the weak, a trait that not everyone has. 'My house was demolished in the war, but even then, I didn't cry like I cried when Suleiman passed away. This was the biggest shock of my life.' Obeid said his own home was hit and demolished by a bombing just one week into the conflict. The only piece of memorabilia he took with him was an old pair of club shorts — after his death, his wife Doaa cradled the blue kit. 'His main concern was to provide his children with a blessed life and to educate them to reach the highest level,' she says. 'In the last two years, life has been very tough. His dream was to take his children and go abroad.' In January, the forward posted on Facebook, uploading a picture of him sitting in the ruins of his house. 'I wish I hadn't gone to Gaza,' he captioned the photograph. At this point, the family were living in a refugee camp in the Al-Karama Towers area of Gaza. 'In the name of God, today we drowned in the tent,' he wrote. 'It's only the beginning and the rain hasn't been that strong. This is war, and how it can be.' Obeid tried to find the good where he could. He managed to open a small cafe that broadcast European matches, while a group of former professional footballers played together twice a week on old five-a-side pitches amid the ruins. 'It relieved our stress,' says Mohana, a regular at the sessions. 'We'd forget the worries of war and our living conditions, we escaped the water lines, the shelters, the challenges of life. It was about who would win, who would lose, to enjoy ourselves for a few moments, before returning to our difficult life once again.' Advertisement On one occasion, according to his friends, a missile strike barely missed Obeid while he sheltered in Deir al-Balah. They say he was buried in sand and debris, while those he sat with broke bones, and barely survived. The biggest issue for Obeid, however, was finding food. Obeid had responsibility for more than just his immediate family, made up of Doaa and five children. His brother, Hossam, has been missing for more than a year, and is presumed dead. His family were also cared for by Obeid. 'There's no problem dying through bombing,' Obeid wrote online in the weeks before his death. 'But starving us? In God's name, that's forbidden.' According to Doaa, Obeid was ashamed to go to the aid centres, wearing a cap to hide his face. In total, he had already made three trips, and described them to her as getting more dangerous on each occasion. A few days before his death, he met Mohana, and told his team-mate of his intention to return for a fourth time. 'I will never go to one,' says Mohana. 'These are killing centres, not aid distribution centres. There are always injuries, bullets fill the place. But he said he had children in need of food, and that he was forced to provide it from anywhere, even if it was dangerous.' 'No one knows if they are coming back (dead) on the shoulders, or coming back alive with aid,' adds Al-Amur. 'Every time Suleiman went to the aid centre, he couldn't believe that he came back in one piece, because people were dying next to him there. Every time he came back, he was happy that he wasn't injured or dead.' In its statement about the 1,373 deaths recorded of Palestinians seeking food since May 27, the UN human rights office said 'most of the killings were committed by the Israeli military'. Obeid made his last journey to an aid site on August 6. 'He didn't want to go,' says Doaa. 'But he didn't know it would be the last day of his life.' According to friends, Obeid left his tent at 6am to head towards Khan Yunis. From there, he took a car towards the United States and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid distribution centre, which the Israeli army would open at 9am. 'At 8.15am, Suleiman was on the floor, him and his friends, who were waiting for the centre to open,' says Al-Amur. 'He was peaceful, sitting in the right way, and waiting. He was surprised by a quadcopter (a small drone) dropping a bomb towards him, and he was badly injured. Advertisement 'People there tried to resuscitate him, but they couldn't.' Other family members and friends have relayed accounts to The Athletic that match Al-Amur's story. Replying to Salah's tweet, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) international spokesperson Nadav Shoshani said: 'After an initial review, we found no records of any incidents involving Suleiman al-Obeid. In order to take a closer look, we need more details.' Subsequently, another IDF statement on August 10 added: 'From an initial and thorough examination, no casualties are known to have resulted from IDF fire in the distribution centre areas in the Gaza Strip on August 6.' Doaa, however, spent that evening in the morgue, with her husband. 'I can't believe the pain I felt when I saw him dead,' she told Middle East Eye on August 11. The IDF did not respond when contacted by The Athletic. In writing about Obeid's death, Salah's intervention was rare. The situation in Gaza is a difficult subject for footballers to speak openly about, with trauma experienced by both sides leaving them open to allegations of bias from the other party. Anwar El Ghazi was sacked by Bundesliga club Mainz in 2023 after posting the phrase, 'From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,' though a German court subsequently found in July 2024 that the Egyptian international had been 'unfairly dismissed'. Fortuna Dusseldorf pulled out of a deal to sign striker Shon Weissman this month, saying that prior comments from the Israel international about the war on social media were 'not compatible' with their values. Pep Guardiola was arguably the first high-profile Premier League figure to engage extensively with the topic, giving a speech about the suffering in Gaza after receiving an honorary degree from the University of Manchester in June. 'It's so painful what we see in Gaza. It hurts all my body,' said the Manchester City manager. 'Let me be clear — it's not about ideology. It's not about I'm right and you're wrong. Come on, it's just about the love of life. About the care of your neighbour. Maybe we think that we can see the boys and girls of four years old being killed with a bomb or being killed at the hospital — which is not a hospital anymore — and think it's not our business. Advertisement 'Yeah, fine. We can think about that. It's not our business, but be careful. The next one will be ours. The next four-, five-year-old kids will be ours. Sorry that I see my kids Maria, Marius and Valentina every morning since the nightmare started in Gaza, and I'm so scared.' Following Salah's criticism, UEFA displayed a banner at the European Super Cup final that read: 'Stop killing children, stop killing civilians'. Two refugee children from Gaza were also involved in the medal ceremony. UEFA received further criticism after this display, with Amnesty International accusing the body of 'naming the crime but not the perpetrator'. The Campaign Against Antisemitism said that the organisation had not commented on the deaths of Jewish children in the conflict. It demonstrates the difficulty many in the game feel about engaging. However, The Athletic has been told that a collective of more than 50 athletes, including high-profile footballers, are planning to take a stand on the issue. Despite the comments from Salah, the Premier League's reigning player of the season, the Premier League is not set to mark the conflict in any way over the first weeks of the season. In February 2022, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Premier League displayed the Ukrainian flag on big screens, while club captains wore special armbands expressing their support. 'We don't have any plans to make any statements about the situation,' Richard Masters, the Premier League's chief executive, told The Athletic on Thursday. Before their game against Sligo Rovers on Friday evening, players from the League of Ireland side Bohemians wore T-shirts in tribute to Obeid. Asked whether players would be sanctioned if they expressed support for Gaza or wore a Palestinian flag — especially following the UK government's announcement it would recognise a Palestinian state from September unless Israel meets certain conditions — a Premier League spokesperson stated this was a matter for the English Football Association (FA). Advertisement The FA's kit and equipment regulations state that 'any political or religious message is prohibited', though players are allowed to mark 'places of personal significance' on their boots. For the Premier League, it is business as usual on its opening weekend. According to the Palestinian Football Association, 339 members of its community, including players, coaches and officials, have been killed since October 2023. 'Can you tell us how he died, where, and why?' were the questions asked by Salah in his post. Obeid's family and friends say he died in an Israeli strike while waiting for food at an aid station near Khan Yunis. The why? 'I don't have the answer,' says Al-Amur. 'The answer is with the Israeli army.' Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
Yahoo
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Palestine Action's violent criminality is not lawful protest
Faced with the intolerable scenes of suffering and devastation in Gaza, people across the country are feeling desperate and angry about what is happening and many have joined protests on the street. Each month, the police work with organisers to facilitate safe, lawful protests, and will continue to do so. Over the last 18 months, hundreds of thousands of people have joined pro-Palestinian protests, while only a tiny minority have been arrested for breaking the law. Protest and free speech are an important part of our democracy and those freedoms will always be protected. So anyone who wants to protest against the catastrophic humanitarian situation and crimes against humanity in Gaza, to oppose Israel's military offensive, or to criticise the actions of any and every government, including our own, has the freedom to do so. The recent proscription of the group Palestine Action does not prevent those protests, and to claim otherwise is nonsense. That proscription concerns one specific organisation alone – a group that has conducted an escalating campaign involving not just sustained criminal damage, including to Britain's national security infrastructure, but also intimidation, violence, weapons, and serious injuries to individuals. The clear advice and intelligence given to me earlier this year from the UK's world-leading counter-terrorism system, based on a robust assessment process, was that Palestine Action satisfies the relevant tests in the Terrorism Act 2000 and should be proscribed. Some may think it is just a regular protest group known for occasional stunts. But that is not the extent of its past activities. Nor does it reflect disturbing information given to me that covered ideas and planning for future attacks. Many of those important details cannot yet be publicly reported because of criminal proceedings. But if stunts were the only concern, its proscription would never have been considered in the first place, and it certainly wouldn't have become the unanimous recommendation to ministers from the cross-government security expert review group. Palestine Action has claimed responsibility for – and promoted on its website – attacks that have seen those allegedly involved subsequently charged with violent disorder, grievous bodily harm with intent, actual bodily harm, criminal damage and aggravated burglary. Charges that include, in the assessment of the independent Crown Prosecution Service, a terrorism connection. Many people will also know about the attack on RAF planes at Brize Norton, but fewer will have read about the Jewish-owned business in north London badly vandalised in the dead of night by masked men just three weeks before. Or the attack on a Glasgow factory that caused the sentencing sheriff to say: 'Throwing pyrotechnics into areas where people are being evacuated could hardly be described as non-violent.' 'For a home secretary to ignore all the security assessments, advice and recommendations on Palestine Action would be irresponsible' Or the 'underground manual' that encourages the creation of cells, provides practical guidance on how to identify targets to attack and how to evade law enforcement. These are not the actions of a legitimate protest group. For a home secretary to ignore all those security assessments, advice and recommendations would be irresponsible. Protecting public safety and national security are at the very heart of the job I do. Were there to be further serious attacks or injuries, the government would rightly be condemned for not acting sooner to keep people safe. Public protests on the Gaza crisis will continue through the summer, and the overwhelming majority of those involved do not and will not endorse violent and criminal tactics. That is why the proscription of this group is not about protest or the Palestinian cause. In a democracy, lawful protest is a fundamental right but violent criminality is not. Some of those holding placards in direct support of Palestine Action may not know the kind of organisation they have been promoting: its violence, intimidation, or future plans and aspirations. But that is all the more reason why no one should allow desperate calls for peace in the Middle East to be derailed into a campaign to support one narrow group involved in violence here in the UK. Because it is those calls for peace that should be the most urgent focus now. Each day the humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsens, the conditions for hostages deteriorate, the prospects for peace are diminished, and the scenes of children being shot and starved get ever more horrific. An immediate ceasefire, release of the hostages and urgent humanitarian aid are vital. So too is the pathway the prime minister has set out to the recognition of a Palestinian state, now supported by Australia and Canada as well as France. Yvette Cooper is home secretary. Photograph by @FLO360aero
Yahoo
2 hours ago
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Proscription was disproportionate – and has had a chilling effect
Last month I was granted permission by the high court to legally challenge the proscription of Palestine Action. The judge said the ban was arguably unlawful on the grounds that it was disproportionate with rights to free speech and protest, and that the home secretary failed to consult Palestine Action or any human rights organisations. As my barristers argued, the proscription has had a chilling effect on thousands of people across the country. Examples include a former headmaster arrested for displaying a Private Eye cartoon, and protester Laura Murton being accused by police of potentially committing a terror offence by displaying a Palestine flag and a placard that said 'Free Gaza'. Even the UN human rights commissioner, Volker Türk, agrees the proscription is 'disproportionate and unnecessary'. The impact on free speech is evident even as I write this piece. I'm given less latitude to counter the home secretary's claims than she is afforded to advance them. Her decision to proscribe gives her a higher degree of control of the narrative, as many papers will be reluctant, for legal reasons, to publish a piece that may make the readers sympathetic to Palestine Action's aims. So all I am allowed to say on that is contained within my first witness statement. But I must do at least this. It is important that readers understand our case. As I explained to the court, Palestine Action 'take direct action against Israel's arms trade in Britain'. We 'put our bodies in the way of a military machine perpetrating genocide'. In my view the campaign has been effective, so I believe weapons firms and the Israeli embassy lobbied hard for ministers and police to crack down on Palestine Action. However, proscribing a domestic direct action group has sparked outrage. So far, more than 700 people have been arrested under the Terrorism Act for holding signs, while opposition to the ban is growing across the political spectrum. To save face, it seems to me the government has resorted to a smear campaign. Rather than solely litigating the case in the courts, they're also trying to litigate it in the media, where hard facts are swapped for soundbites. Their newest claim refers to supposed evidence of 'disturbing' plans and ideas. Yvette Cooper failed to reference any such evidence in court ahead of the 'permission hearing' to challenge the ban, instead launching the claims on TV. These allegations are not supported by the security assessments disclosed by her own department, and don't match the facts. The assessment to proscribe Palestine Action was made in March 2025, but it seems Cooper delayed proscription until the most politically convenient moment. If there were 'disturbing plans' and serious concerns of national security, why wait four months? Even Keir Starmer weighed in, making reference to 'Jewish-owned' businesses. The intention seemed to be to imply that Palestine Action was antisemitic. In reality, it targeted dozens of companies associated with Israel's biggest weapons producer, regardless of the identities of the owners. This fact is known by the government, yet they continue to weaponise antisemitism. I believe the idea behind the government's statements is to deliberately mislead the public and parliament. The group was banned due to 'serious property damage for a political cause', not because of racism or alleged violence against people. It is false to claim the organisation had violent intent against people. The home secretary's own security assessments say the direct action group didn't advocate violence or pose a threat to life. Cooper's attempt to justify her decision by misleading the public shows only what a huge political misstep she has made. Her political career will be marked by the most draconian attack on our civil liberties in a generation. Huda Ammori was co-founder of Palestine Action and is challenging its proscription in court Photograph by Antonio Olmos
