Latest news with #IsraelGazaConflict
Time of India
a day ago
- Politics
- Time of India
‘Israel Weaponising Hunger In Gaza': Over 1000 Rabbis Slam Netanyahu For Violating Jewish Values
More than 1,000 rabbis and Jewish scholars worldwide have publicly accused Israel of weaponizing hunger in Gaza through severe restrictions on humanitarian aid. They signed an open letter urging Israel to allow extensive humanitarian relief into Gaza while preventing diversion to Hamas. The letter warns that withholding food, water, and medical supplies contradicts core Judaic values and declares the Jewish people face a grave moral crisis. The rabbis demand urgent efforts to secure the release of hostages and an end to the fighting in the enclave. The letter, published recently, has rapidly gained signatures from rabbis across the US, UK, EU, and Israel. #GazaAid #JewishVoices #EndStarvation #HumanitarianCrisis #IsraelGazaConflict #RabbisForPeace #MoralCrisis #FreeTheHostages Read More
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Miriam Margolyes's OBE should be stripped, says anti-Semitism group
Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) has called for Miriam Margolyes's OBE to be stripped. The Harry Potter actress, who is Jewish, claimed Adolf Hitler has 'won' by making Jewish people 'like him' during Israel's recent occupation of Gaza. The 83-year-old added that while she acknowledged the 'wickedness and cruelty' inflicted on Jews by Nazi Germany during the Holocaust, the Israeli government was now doing the same to Palestinians in Gaza. She said in an interview with The Big Issue: 'I cannot bear to think that my people are doing exactly the same thing to another nation. 'And the nation they are doing it to, the Palestinian nation, was not responsible for the Holocaust, it had nothing to do with it. That was a purely European pleasure. 'So my heart is broken and I think the terrible thing I have to face is Hitler won. He changed us. He made us like him.' Now a spokesman for Campaign Against Antisemitism has called for the actress to be stripped of her OBE that she won for her performance in The Age of Innocence in 1993. The group added that the comparison between Nazi Germany and Jews was 'racist bilge'. 'This must be the end of the road for Miriam Margolyes. The fact that she was born Jewish does not give her a licence to use her immense platform to spread anti-Jewish venom,' the spokesman said. 'Saying that Hitler converted the Jews into Nazis is flat out racist bilge and she must be shunned by the show business world that has fawned and bowed until now. This includes stripping her of her Bafta. 'We will be writing to the Honours Forfeiture Committee to ask that her OBE be removed.' Margolyes touched on similar themes on social media earlier this week, saying Hitler had turned Jews 'from being compassionate and caring .. into this vicious, genocidal, nationalist nation'. 'Jewish and vile' The British-Australian actress has a history of making controversial comments about the war in Gaza, having also said she had 'never been so ashamed of Israel' over its tactics in Gaza. She has previously called on Jews to 'shout, beg, scream for a ceasefire' in Gaza. In October last year, Margolyes was cleared over comments she made during a BBC interview in which she used the phrase ' Jewish and vile '. Despite a complaint to the Executive Complaints Unit, the BBC's highest complaints body, ruled that her comments were not racist. Margolyes's latest comments likening Jews to Hitler have been seized upon by pro-Palestinian supporters on social media. More than six million Jews died at the hands of Nazi Germany during World War Two. Jonathan Sacerdoti, a broadcaster and campaigner against anti-Jewish racism who submitted the complaint to the BBC, said Margolyes was known to make offensive comments about Jews. Pressure on Israel The opposition against Israel's occupation of Gaza has grown in recent weeks following claims the Israeli government was blocking aid from the territory's two million residents. Pictures on social media of starving Palestinian children in Gaza in recent weeks have also helped increase pressure on Israel over the war in Gaza, which has been going on for a year and nine months. Angela Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister, has backed a push by more than one third of Labour MPs for the UK to follow Emmanuel Macron and recognise the Palestinian state. Sir Keir Starmer has so far resisted the pressure, amid fears Labour could lose 20 seats over the issue at the next election.
Telegraph
6 days ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Calls for James O'Brien to be ‘taken off air' after anti-Semitic comments
But the Board of Deputies of British Jews have labelled the comments 'unacceptable and highly offensive', and have called on LC to apologise and 'take Mr O'Brien off air'. The Telegraph understands the broadcast has also been reported to the Metropolitan Police, with one complaint alleging that the programme spread 'lies about Jews'. Police have reportedly been told the show ' puts Jews in very real danger '. The comments, which some have labelled 'anti-Semitic', were shared online by LBC in a clip from a longer live broadcast. It has been reported to the media regulator Ofcom, and has since been removed from X, formerly Twitter, by LBC. 'Fascinated by objectivity' In the clip, Mr O'Brien stated: 'I'm fascinated by objectivity, which is why I'm going to read out this from Chris'. He then read out a message that claimed: 'My wife was brought up Jewish and at Shabbat school in a leafy Hertfordshire town she was taught that one Jewish life is worth thousands of Arab lives and that Arabs are cockroaches to be crushed. 'Whilst young children are taught such hatred and dehumanisation – undoubtedly on both sides… then they will always be able to justify death and cruelty.' Mr O'Brien added that in relation to the Israel-Gaza conflict, there was a danger of the public only hearing about 'one side' of the 'propaganda processes'. In response to the comments, Andrew Gilbert, vice president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, called on LBC to apologise and take Mr O'Brien off air. In a statement shared on X, Mr Gilbert said: 'We are urgently seeking a meeting with senior executives following the completely unacceptable and highly offensive comments made by James O'Brien on his LBC show today. 'Broadcasting such a transparent falsehood and demonising the British Jewish community, at a time when antisemitism in this country is at terrifyingly high levels, must have clear consequences. 'LBC should apologise, and take Mr O'Brien off the air.' On-air apology issued Karne Pollock, the head of Holocaust Educational Trust, also pointed out that there is no such thing as a 'Shabbat school'. Other critics have taken issue with the on-air message suggesting that – beyond Israel itself – Jews in general may harbour resentment towards Arabs, and are instructed to feel this way. The day after the contentious broadcast on July 22, Mr O'Brien issued an on-air apology when he returned to the LBC studio. He said: 'This is very important. At this time yesterday on the show, I read out a message from a listener called Chris, who said that his wife had been brought up in the Jewish faith and had attended what he described as a Shabbat school. 'He went on to make further claims about what he said she had been taught in that school. 'As with all the texts and messages that I read out on the programme, I did so in good faith, but the message has understandably upset a lot of people, and I regret taking those unsubstantiated claims at face value and am genuinely sorry for that and it is very important that I get that out there. Thank you for your attention.'
Daily Mail
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
DJ Khaled nearly suffers very raunchy wardrobe malfunction after being roasted by Dave Chappelle
DJ Khaled came close to showing off more of his figure than he intended to when he was seen enjoying a beach day in Barbados. The 49-year-old music star was spotted this week sunning himself by the ocean as he indulged in a summer holiday to the Caribbean. He enjoyed a solo stroll on the sand, unaccompanied by his wife of eight years Nicole Tuck or their two sons Asahd, eight, and Aalam, five. Without anyone around to inform him of his potential mishap, Khaled's swim trunks were seen sliding dangerously downwards. The New Orleans-born hype man, who is known as the 'Anthem King,' went shirtless in his swimsuit for his latest outing at the seaside. His latest sighting comes after he was slammed by Dave Chappelle for not taking a public stance on the Israel-Gaza war, despite being of Palestinian origin himself. Since Israel's assault on Gaza began in retaliation for the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023, Khaled has drawn fury from the pro-Palestine side over his silence. Khaled's own cousin Fadie Musallet revealed last February that he had severed ties with the world-famous DJ over the subject. 'There's no reason, there's no excuse when you're actually a Palestinian,' said Fadie, who is also a DJ and is based in Dubai, to Abu Dhabi's The National. 'Khaled always wanted to go to Palestine, but I don't think he can come there now. They are really hurt by the lack of support, they really feel like they have been let down,' added Fadie, saying he himself visits his mother monthly in the West Bank. Dave, who is Muslim and has been outspokenly pro-Palestine, joined the choir during a recent show of his at the Etihad Arena for Abu Dhabi Comedy Season 'DJ Khaled, let me tell you something. For a Palestinian, this man is awfully quiet right now,' the comedian said, according to Hot New Hip Hop. 'And as a Palestinian, how could you be that quiet right now? And why are you so fat? People are starving. He's the only fat Palestinian on Earth right now.' Amid the apparent rift within his extended family, Khaled and his wife are evidently hoping to add another member to their immediate family. 'I can't even lie to you. We have been praying and trying for a girl,' the father of two sons divulged about two years ago to Page Six. Khaled and Nicole secretly married in 2017 and have kept many of the details of their relationship private, including when they first started dating. However he did let the public get a glimpse of his family life when he Snapchatted Nicole giving birth to their first son in 2016. He kept Nicole's face mainly out of frame and declined to show baby Asahd at all, although the newborn's cries were audible in the footage. Fans also received rare insight into his relationship in 2018, when a resurfaced interview from three years earlier offered a view into his sex life. Khaled remarked on The Breakfast Club in 2015 that he refused to perform cunnilingus on the grounds that 'a woman should praise the man, the king.'
Telegraph
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
‘Woke' university accused of no-platforming academic over Israel views
A 'woke' university has been accused of no-platforming an academic over his pro-Israel views. Prof Eric Kaufmann was invited to participate in a debate with other professors by the Cardiff Academic Freedom Association (CAFA) at the city's university last month. However, a coalition of Left-wing groups organised a protest over his attendance, accusing him of being a 'genocide apologist'. As a result, CAFA was hit with a £1,300 bill by university officials to cover the costs of security for the event. Prof Kaufmann criticised the university's decision as 'cowardly', saying it was 'horrible' to charge the group. 'Basically, it's a spineless administration,' he said. 'They are trying to no-platform people whilst claiming they are not no-platforming people. This is a classic example of no-platforming. We are all told woke is dead, but clearly it's not.' The Canadian professor of political science at the University of Buckingham has been accused of being a 'genocide apologist' over his views on the Israel-Gaza conflict. In a recent post to X, he wrote: 'A number of things can be true at once: 1) Hamas are violent terrorists; 2) Many Palestinians support Hamas for tribal reasons, against their interests; 3) Israel has the right to defend itself, but; 4) Israel is committing atrocities and must rise above to end spiral of violence.' In response to CAFA inviting Prof Kaufmann to debate, groups including Cardiff Stop The War Coalition, Caerdydd Students for Palestine, Europe Palestine Network, Stand Up 4 Palestine and Black Lives Matter Cardiff organised protests. In a poster circulated on social media they wrote: 'Eric Kaufmann calls student protest a threat to free speech – but he uses his platform to excuse genocide in Palestine and smear student voices as anti-Semitic. 'He talks about 'cancel culture' but denies mass slaughter. He defends 'debate' while vilifying dissent. We're here to call him out and to show that our free speech matters too. Join the protest.' Irrespective of the protests, Prof Kaufmann was unable to attend the event for personal reasons. However, CAFA still had to pay the security bill of £1,341.12 on top of room hire at £300. University of Oxford professors Nigel Biggar, from the Faculty of Theology and Religion, and Naomi Waltham-Smith, from the Faculty of Music, and Prof Jo Phoenix, a professor of criminology from the University of Reading, attended the debate. Prof Alice Sullivan, a gender critical academic and professor of sociology at University College London, who authored a report concluding that UK universities have failed to protect gender-critical academics from bullying and career-threatening restrictions on their research, also criticised Cardiff University. 'That's a pattern of behaviour from Cardiff,' she said. 'They [CAFA] are not an external group. Universities should be facilitating academics to hold these kinds of events, not putting barriers in their path.' A CAFA spokesman said that its members 'have been the subject of extreme threats' and confirmed that the Free Speech Union met the charge of more than £1,600, enabling the debate to go ahead. They added: 'For the second year running, Cardiff University imposed a disproportionately high charge for room hire and security. We are disappointed with this decision. As far as we are aware, this is not common practice in British universities and, in our opinion, it does not help advance academic freedom at Cardiff University.' A Cardiff University spokesman said: 'CAFA is strictly independent of the university. It is not affiliated to the university. This is confirmed on their website. Therefore, any request to book a room at the university for a CAFA event would be managed by the university's conferencing and events team as it will be considered as an external event not as an internal university event. 'The university conferencing and events team discuss costs, invoicing, organisation, logistics and will liaise with other university teams such as compliance and risk, campus security, room bookings, as to the specific requirements required to run the event. 'This is done in accordance with our code of practice on freedom of speech and our event and external speaker policy. The speakers, organisation and management of the event – including any associated costs like additional security – would be for CAFA to manage. 'This was made clear to CAFA on both occasions they've held speaking events at the university. CAFA agreed to abide by the expected standards of conduct set out in our code of practice and meet all the associated costs. 'The university will not unreasonably refuse to allow events unless a conflicting legal provision is identified as a reason to refuse or restrict an event. In line with our commitment to freedom of speech we have a duty to enable challenging issues to be discussed provided it's done within the law, and with respect and tolerance.'
