Latest news with #Holocaust
CBS News
2 hours ago
- Politics
- CBS News
New Baltimore center launched to counter antisemitism and hate
A newly-launched center is educating about antisemitism and what it means to be Jewish in America. The Center to Combat Antisemitism and Hate, created by The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore, focuses on four main components -- education, security, coalition building, and countering misinformation. The group also teaches children at school about the Holocaust and to create alliances with other religious and ethic communities. "What's happening in Israel is separate from the Jewish life of the people of Baltimore," said Andrew Cushnir, the president and CEO of The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore. "We care about Israel, but we should not be subject to hatred because of a perceived view that we might have on what's happening in Israel." With a special dedicated team behind the center, the multi-prong approach aims to show the people of Baltimore that blanket hate against Jewish people is misguided. "Baltimore is a city where people care about each other, and we need to reinforce that, and make sure that the Jewish community's voice and the Jewish community's needs are understood by all civic stakeholders," Cushnir said. The Baltimore area has seen many antisemitic incidents throughout the years, from swastikas spray-painted on a residential street to Israeli hostage displays deliberately destroyed in the middle of the night to obscene content shown during a school board meeting. Cushnir said the new center addresses the challenges of combating antisemitism. "We have been doing work to respond to the crisis of antisemitism for some time," Cushnir said. "This center will enable us to do an entirely new level and scale of work to address our challenges in new ways to meet the moment." A Baltimore City schools spokesperson confirmed that racist and antisemitic content interrupted a school board meeting on July 22. The "antisemitic, racist, and obscene adult content that was deeply offensive, threatening, and inappropriate in nature" was shown during the public comment part of the meeting after officials said an unauthorized person gained access. "It was antisemitic, racist, obscene, adult content that was offensive and threatening and inappropriate in nature," said Tina Hike-Hubbard, from the Baltimore City Public Schools' Communications, Engagement and Enrollment Office. School officials said the meeting was immediately paused as soon as the image was detected. The board then went into recess as they found a safe way to continue the meeting. The incident is being investigated as a hate crime by Baltimore City School Police and the Baltimore Police Department. Two staffers of the Israeli Embassy were shot and killed after attending an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., on May 21 The event, put on by the American Jewish Committee (AJC), celebrated young Jewish leaders. Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim were identified as the shooting victims. Elias Rodriguez, a 30-year-old from Chicago, is facing two counts of first-degree murder. The shooting is being investigated as a hate crime and an "act of terrorism." In May, a 62-year-old rabbi reportedly pulled out a gun on suspects during an attempted carjacking in Baltimore's Park Heights neighborhood, prompting renewed concerns about public safety and antisemitic violence within the city's Jewish community. Rabbi Emanuel Goldfeiz was taking out the trash behind his home at the Park Towers West condominium when he was approached by two suspects, according to Baltimore police. The suspects punched him in the face in an apparent attempt to steal his vehicle. Baltimore City Councilman Isaac "Yitzy" Schleifer said the suspects ran away after Goldfeiz produced a legally owned firearm. "Until he pulled out a firearm that he legally owned, that got them off of him," Schleifer said. "His back is very sore. He got hit in the face, so he's still feeling it, like anybody would after being so violently assaulted." Maryland law enforcement has said it is stepping up patrols to protect from hate crimes. Baltimore County Police said it would increase presence and patrols around places of worship, community centers, and other sensitive areas, in Pikesville specifically, given the large Jewish community there. The Baltimore Police Department and the Howard County Police Department also said they would increase patrols and presence similarly. Every Sunday, members of the Baltimore-area Jewish community, elected officials, and their allies march to show support for the victims of hate crime attacks. A Baltimore group, part of the international campaign "Run 4 Their Lives Baltimore," started marching in support of Israel and the hostages that were held in Gaza.
Local Sweden
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Local Sweden
Swedish prosecutor drops hate crime case over 'hanging Jews' protest
A Swedish prosecutor has dropped a hate crime investigation into pro-Palestinian protesters in Umeå who hung dolls from their necks from wooden scaffolds which were dressed in striped concentration camp uniforms marked with stars of David. Advertisement Pictures of the dolls were posted on social media by the activist group Umeå for Palestine, with the group describing the dolls as an art installation created by an independent artist, titled "A genocide is A Genocide is A Genocide". Under the hanging Jews was a doll dressed in a Palestinian keffiyeh scarf, holding a baby doll. "It is my judgement that neither the message communicated through the installation on site or the photo which was spread on Instagram is intended the threaten or express contempt for Jews as a people," Irene Falk, the senior prosecutor who led the investigation, said in a press message. "I interpret the message that the creators intend to be that what is happening in the Gaza Strip is a genocide in the same way that the Holocaust was. The fact that they seem to compare the Holocaust with the conflict in the Gaza Strip does not, in my opinion, mean that they are denying, excusing or obviously belittling the genocide of the Jews." In the pictures posted on the pro-Palestinian association's Instagram, in addition to the installation itself, people wearing Palestinian flags are seen standing in front of the installation and in one picture holding up their linked hands and in another picture making a V sign with their hands. The protest was criticised by Jewish groups and politicians in Sweden from both the left and the right, and was spread virally internationally. Nazi 'art' displayed in Sweden showing two dolls (Jews) hanged, wearing yellow Stars of David and numbered. This is sick in more ways than I can explain. Sweden is done. — Luai Ahmed (@JustLuai) July 19, 2025 The Official Council of Swedish Jewish Communities told Aftonbladet that the protest was "deeply worrying and totally unacceptable". "Antisemitism has long hidden behind the mask of 'Israel criticism', but this goes right over the border', wrote Sweden's deputy prime minister Ebba Busch on X, while Nooshi Dadgostar described the protest as "disgusting and threatening". Advertisement The chairman of the Official Council of Swedish Jewish Communities, Aron Verständig, told Dagens Nyheter he was surprised by the decision to drop the investigation. "Criticism of Israel should of course not be illegal. But in this case it is not about an Israeli flag: they have hung dolls depicting dead Jews in nooses. It is obvious that this must be seen as incitement against a group of people."
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Global Outrage Isn't the Only Thing Driving Israel's Shift on Aid to Gaza
If a person ever wanted to make the case that international law is toothless, they could hardly find a better supporting argument than the situation in Gaza. Since Hamas killed nearly 1,200 Israelis and took hundreds of others hostage on Oct. 7, 2023, Israel has engaged in an all-out military assault on the territory, killing tens of thousands of Gazans, withholding food and other humanitarian aid, and razing much of Gaza's physical infrastructure, including civilian objects such as hospitals and schools. In that time, Israel has been able to act with a level of indifference to civilian life and impunity with regard to human rights violations rarely afforded to states—even major powers. Israel's relative invulnerability to international opprobrium has been largely due to two key factors. Politically, the U.S.—its great power patron—has remained willing to provide untrammeled support, in part for domestic political reasons but also to protect Washington's regional interests. And rhetorically, both the memory of the Holocaust and Israel's existential regional threat horizon allows its leaders to assert righteous victimhood in ways that whitewash their own atrocities, which Israel is careful to justify as being just within the bounds of the actual law. This resonates just enough with just enough audiences just enough of the time to hold domestic opposition among Israel's partners in check and prevent the institutional consensus at the United Nations required for a more robust global response. All of this helps explain why it has been difficult for the world to respond appropriately or do more than watch in horror while an entire population is being slowly starved to death on live television. Until now, international responses have been largely symbolic. But in recent weeks, those symbolic efforts have been on the uptick. Last week, France announced that it will become the first G7 country to recognize Palestine, with the official ceremony scheduled to take place at the U.N. General Assembly. And two weeks ago, 30 countries from the Global South calling themselves The Hague Group met in Bogota, Colombia, to organize a sanctions regime against Israel and plan a massive campaign to attract adherents in the run-up to the General Assembly. Those efforts have also been buoyed by a recent flood of media attention and calls to action from moral leaders to do something. This all may be having some effect. This past week, the surge of moral outrage caused the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to at least pay lip service toward providing aid to civilians in Gaza: Airdrops of supplies resumed in parts of the territory, and World Central Kitchen—a humanitarian organization providing food to Gazans—was able to resume cooking meals again after being forced to shut down earlier in the week. To get more in-depth news and expert analysis on global affairs from WPR, sign up for our free Daily Review newsletter. To be sure, Israel's qualified policy shifts are, as aid groups insist, grossly insufficient. Airdrops are an inefficient way to deliver food and present a danger to civilians on the ground. Instead, aid groups want Israel to stop impeding ground convoys from entering Gaza, stop ordering troops to shoot civilians in cold blood at aid distribution points, and return coordination of the relief efforts to the U.N. Office of Humanitarian Affairs. But Israel's decision to at least pay lip service to humanitarian norms by loosening restrictions on food aid suggests that it now feels more vulnerable to political pressure than it has seemed to in recent months, to the point that it must bolster the appearance of compliance with international standards. Even Israel, it seems, can be sensitive to the power of international law. Why the sudden difference? The answer gives clues for how to hold states more accountable under international law for their actions in armed conflicts, even those least vulnerable to social sanction. One shift has been that an increasing number of global authorities are referring to the events in Gaza specifically as a genocide. Earlier this month, a U.N. Human Rights Council report found that not only Israel and its partner states but also numerous private firms are complicit in what it refers to as genocide. Renowned Israeli genocide scholar Omar Bartov published a widely circulated essay arguing that what is happening in Gaza is indeed a genocide, a position increasingly taken by genocide scholars, including those from Israel. This week former U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths referred to Israel's actions as 'genocide.' Even Israeli rights groups are using the term. A more important factor in ramping up pressure on Israel may be the increasing willingness of Israeli military officials to speak out in ways that highlight the systematic nature of the atrocities committed in Gaza. But as political scientist Steven Saideman writes, the genocide label, while accurate, is politically complicated when it comes to applying it in Gaza. Israel claims it is actually fighting a genocidal force in Hamas, which has never explicitly accepted Israel's right to exist. In the United States, university professors are feeling pressure from administrators to avoid teaching honestly about Israel's actions, lest they run afoul of new guidelines on countering antisemitism that the administration of President Donald Trump is seeking to impose on federally funded schools for what many see as domestic political purposes. And many pundits, like New York Times op-ed columnist Bret Stephens, argue that the fact that Israel has 'only' killed tens of thousands of Gazans, rather than hundreds of thousands, proves a lack of genocidal intent. In light of all this, it is possible that debates over the genocide label have become a distraction that empowers Israel by further dividing the opposition to its actions in Gaza. What's more, there is little evidence that the genocide label, when it is used, actually galvanizes the world to act. Governments have sometimes withheld use of the term for fear they would be required under international law to intervene, as the administration of then-U.S. President Bill Clinton infamously did in 1994 while the genocide in Rwanda unfolded. But the converse has also occurred, as in 2007, when the administration of then-President George W. Bush acknowledged that a genocide was taking place in Darfur but did little to stop it. Nor should the genocide threshold be determinative. After all, crimes against humanity—including widespread, systematic attacks on civilians—are plenty bad enough. Whether or not the legal threshold for genocide has been crossed, the mass starvation campaign in Gaza certainly rises to that level, as starvation is a weapon that targets children the hardest and quickest, underscoring its civilian-focused nature. In truth, a more important factor in ramping up pressure on Netanyahu's government than the global rhetoric around genocide and the outrage from the international community may be the increasing willingness of Israeli military officials themselves to speak out in ways that counter the government's narratives and highlight the systematic nature of the atrocities committed by Israeli forces in Gaza. For example, it was internal concerns about starvation shared by three Israeli defense officials with journalists in May that prompted Israel to end a total food embargo it had put in place since March. It was Israeli troops who broke the story to the press about being ordered to routinely shoot Gazan civilians attempting to access food at distribution sites. And it was Israeli military officials who reported to the press this week that there has never been any proof that Hamas routinely steals food shipments and profits off of humanitarian aid, as the Netanyahu government has long maintained as justification for limiting aid deliveries. These officers and the Israeli military as an institution are right to be concerned about participating in a policy of mass starvation for moral reasons, but also for pragmatic ones. Members of the military are uniquely at risk of prosecution not just for genocide but for war crimes and crimes against humanity under the doctrine of individual criminal responsibility. Since the Nuremberg war crimes trials following World War II, the legal defense of 'following orders' cannot be used for these crimes. Even if the Israeli government is not spooked by the increasing global outcry over the Israeli military's actions in Gaza, it is reasonable that Israeli military officials would be. And this is even more likely to have an effect on Israeli civilian policymakers—something we may already be seeing—than any outcry from the global community about genocide, for two reasons. First, political science research shows that human rights shaming is often the most robust when the shaming comes from diasporas or domestic critics rather than the international community. Further research found that advocacy by actors who are 'least likely' to be critics can also have an outsized impact: In times of war, military officers who openly speak out capture peoples' attention more than human rights NGOs. Second, military officers and personnel are important moral messengers in societies more generally. Active-duty and former military personnel are often uniquely able to speak to right-wing constituencies in particular, which may have created some of the political space now being seized by other Israelis to oppose their government's policies in Gaza. The increasing refusal of Israelis to serve in the military and the resignation of 41 officers in June in protest of illegal orders is also a telling form of resistance, not just symbolically but practically: Without the military's acquiescence, a civilian government simply cannot carry out atrocities. Far from showing the weakness of international law, this is one of the mechanisms by which indictments of political leaders by international criminal tribunals—such as the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant—are said to work: by clarifying international standards and creating the concern among generals, lower-level military officials and even troops that they too could be caught up in a reckoning. Regardless, the real test now will be actual action. Words, testimonies and refusal to participate can make some difference at the margins. But concrete actions by the international community will matter more. Will other nations, including France or other G7 members, join the Hague Group and actually stop trading with Israel in the runup to the U.N. General Assembly this year? Will political will emerge for a diplomatic solution and a U.N. peacekeeping presence in Gaza? And to spur these efforts, will more of the Israeli military begin conscientiously disobeying orders as well as refusing service? Would members of the U.S. military refuse to follow orders if asked to assist in a displacement campaign against Palestinians such as that threatened by Trump? If so, could this lead Trump to take a harder hand with Israel? Ultimately, the lives of the Palestinians currently being starved to death by Israel in Gaza may depend on the answers to these questions. Charli Carpenter is a professor of political science and legal studies at University of Massachusetts-Amherst, specializing in human security and international law. She tweets at @charlicarpenter. The post Global Outrage Isn't the Only Thing Driving Israel's Shift on Aid to Gaza appeared first on World Politics Review. Solve the daily Crossword
The Guardian
6 hours ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
As scholars of genocide, we demand an end to Israel's atrocities
The world has stood by as Israel has murdered tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza, wounded more than double that number, buried countless more under the rubble and devastated civilian infrastructure. The territory's survivors, displaced repeatedly by the Israeli military, are in a state of enforced starvation and utter precarity. Despite Israel's ban on international journalists, witnesses and victims are livestreaming unbearable images and videos of emaciated children and adults shot while desperately seeking aid. Israeli officials have proposed the construction of what would be concentration camps and the deportation of surviving Palestinians. Motivated by our deep scholarly and ethical engagement with political violence and mass atrocity, including the Nazi genocide of Jewish people, we helped found the Genocide and Holocaust Studies Crisis Network in April. More than 400 scholars of genocide and Holocaust studies from two dozen countries joined within weeks of its launch. The rapid growth of the group testifies to the urgency of this moment. Today, along with hundreds of humanitarian organizations, dozens of governments, and millions of protesting students and citizens across the globe, we call for immediate concrete measures to prevent further atrocity crimes and to protect civilians. Since the 7 October massacre, Israeli officials and their accomplices have justified genocidal violence against Palestinians by equating Hamas with Nazism, instrumentalizing the memory of the Holocaust to advance, rather than prevent, mass violence. Meanwhile, too many governments materially support the genocide in Gaza while silencing protest. Even as the tone of some official statements has become more critical of Israel in recent weeks, many states continue to supply Israel with lethal weapons, shield Israeli leaders from international arrest warrants and fuel investment in the Israeli war economy. International pressure can work, but we need much more of it. The emergency is in front of us. And yet, some prominent scholars of the Holocaust continue to engage in open denialism or outright approval of mass atrocities perpetrated by Israel. Scholarly associations, universities and institutions dedicated to Holocaust research, education and commemoration not only remain silent in the face of Israel's genocidal assault on Gaza but provide ideological cover for Israel's blatant violations of international law. Institutions such as Yad Vashem and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum adhere to a 'Palestine exception' when opposing genocide and mass atrocity. At the same time, organizations dedicated to combating prejudice, such as the Anti-Defamation League, use spurious accusations of antisemitism to silence or discredit those who dare to speak out. We are determined to challenge this moral and political capitulation. We created the Genocide and Holocaust Studies Crisis Network to do just that. We pledge to support Palestinians as they exercise their rights to education and cultural heritage in the face of massive destruction of their schools, archives and memory sites. We commit to pressuring our institutions to confront the contradictions between their stated commitment to 'never again' and their silence or complicity in the face of Gaza. In light of ongoing genocidal violence and the return of authoritarian regimes, we will provide new resources and syllabuses in order to teach rigorously about the past in the context of our ever more vulnerable present. We will offer solidarity and support to our students and colleagues who run grave personal and professional risks for speaking out. We contest the widespread 'conspiracy of helplessness' and the normalization of mass violence and starvation in Gaza. We have learned from history that there are many ways in which states can take action in response to crimes against humanity. We urge all states who signed the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide to fulfill their responsibilities under international law: demand and enforce a permanent ceasefire, an arms embargo, the immediate withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip, unimpeded distribution of humanitarian aid, and equality and self-determination for all Palestinians. As members of the Genocide and Holocaust Studies Crisis Network, we say: it is not too late to save lives. End the genocide now. Taner Akçam, Marianne Hirsch and Michael Rothberg are founding members of the Genocide and Holocaust Studies Crisis Network
Gulf Today
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Gulf Today
Two Israeli rights groups say their country is committing genocide in Gaza
Two prominent Israeli rights groups on Monday said their country is committing genocide in Gaza, the first time that local Jewish-led organizations have made such accusations against Israel during nearly 22 months of war. The claims by B'Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel add to an explosive debate over whether Israel's military offensive in Gaza — launched in response to Hamas' deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack that killed some 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostage - amounts to genocide. The Palestinians, their supporters and international human rights groups make that claim, and the International Court of Justice is hearing a genocide case filed by South Africa against Israel. But in Israel, founded in the wake of the Holocaust, even the government's strongest critics have largely refrained from making such accusations due to the deep sensitivities and strong memories of the Nazi genocide of Europe's Jews. Many in Israel also view the war in Gaza as a justified response to the deadliest attack in the country's history and not an attempt at extermination. The rights groups, while prominent and respected internationally, are considered in Israel to be on the political fringe, and their views are not representative of the vast majority of Israelis. But having the allegation of genocide come from Israeli voices shatters a taboo in a society that has been reticent to criticize Israel's conduct in Gaza. Guy Shalev, director of Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, said the Jewish-Israeli public often dismisses accusations of genocide as antisemitic or biased against Israel. "Perhaps human rights groups based in Israel ... coming to this conclusion is a way to confront that accusation and get people to acknowledge the reality," he said. Israel asserts that it is fighting an existential war and abides by international law. It has rejected genocide allegations as antisemitic. It is challenging such allegations at the International Court of Justice, and it has rejected the International Criminal Court's allegations that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant committed war crimes in Gaza. Both face international arrest warrants. Israel's government on Monday said it rejects what it called an "obscene" and "politically motivated document." The Ministry of Foreign Affairs told the AP that the accusation is baseless and only emboldens Hamas. It said Israel only targets Hamas and not civilians. The rights groups, in separate reports released jointly, said Israel's policies in Gaza, statements by senior officials about its goals there and the systematic dismantling of the territory's health system contributed to their conclusion of genocide. Their claims echoed those of previous reports from international rights groups like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. Like other rights groups, B'Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel have not been allowed into Gaza during the war. Their reports are based on testimonies, documents, eyewitnesses and consultations with legal experts. Associated Press
