Latest news with #antiZionism
Telegraph
2 days ago
- General
- Telegraph
‘Free Palestine' is an incitement to murder Jews
They're burning Jews again. This time not in the killing factories of Belzec or Chełmno but in the shopping district of Boulder, Colorado, and not in the name of Aryan supremacy but that of the most progressive cause of all: Palestine. That is what the alleged attacker reportedly shouted after firebombing a vigil for Israeli hostages at Pearl Street Mall: 'Free Palestine'. Eight people have been injured, including an 88-year-old, and a suspect taken into custody. It comes almost two weeks after the fatal shooting in Washington DC of Israeli embassy staffers Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim. The accused in that incident is also said to have shouted 'Free Palestine' as he murdered the young couple. It is more than a slogan of solidarity with the people in Gaza or a demand for another Arab state alongside Israel. 'Free Palestine' has become a rallying cry for violent, homicidal anti-Zionism across Western cities, an incitement to and justification for aggression and attacks on Jews, their property and their religious and cultural symbols. Civil authorities in the United States and Europe will have to come to terms with the grim new reality that a segment of their citizenries have been recruited, via a mixture of foreign-funded anti-Israel propaganda and highly ideological domestic reporting, to a violent, homicidal cause whose locus is no longer to be found only in the Middle East but in American and European cities. That cause has long been the meeting place for righteous victimhood and murderous terrorism, the ambit under which Palestinian nationalists and Islamist fanatics wage war on the Jews and their tiny, embattled state. Now that war is being waged on Western soil, where the tactics of Hamas and its ilk are replicated by people convinced they are taking a noble stand for an oppressed people. These are not isolated incidents, they are part of a pattern. The intifada has been globalised, anti-Semitism weaponised, and Western citizens radicalised. What happened in Boulder will happen again, what happened in Washington will happen again, and when it does bystanders will report hearing cries of 'Free Palestine', for that is what you now shout if you want to maim and murder but are too progressive to yell 'Kill the Jews'. This is the inevitable consequence of the moral hollowing out of Western elites by post-modern, progressive doctrines. Universities inculcate the young in radical anti-Zionism, the mainstream media demonises Israel as a barbaric coloniser, and political leaders pander to sectional voting blocs within their communities rather than standing with a sister democracy against those who would incite and venerate the murder of Jews in the language of 'freedom'.
Washington Post
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
It was an extreme week in antisemitism. Except for all the others.
LONDON — The ghastly murder in Washington of two employees of the Israeli Embassy outside a Jewish museum — by a shooter, according to police, who afterward proclaimed 'free, free Palestine' — was a horrifying eruption of the world's longest-running hatred. It occurred during a period when the line between anti-Zionism and antisemitism, which was once at least paid lip service in the West's public squares, has become increasingly difficult to discern.
The Guardian
16-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Former kit manager sues Arsenal after being sacked for anti-Israel comments
A former Arsenal kit manager is suing the club for wrongful dismissal, alleging he was discriminated against because of his opposition to Israel. Mark Bonnick, who worked at the club from the early 2000s, alleges his dismissal was 'discriminatory' owing to it being based on his 'philosophical anti-Zionist belief'. Bonnick was suspended and then sacked in December 2024 after Arsenal were alerted to a series of posts he had made on social media referring to Israel's war in Gaza. Bonnick says that his posts were not antisemitic but motivated by legitimate anti-Zionist beliefs. In his legal submission, Bonnick refers to five replies on X in November and December last year, including: 'Yes it is all about Jewish supremacy & not wanting to share the land Ethnic cleansing'; 'Why should they be protected anymore than any other community? Some see this as the problem Jewish communities thinking they should be put before others'; 'What about the Jews that attack Christians?' Bonnick's posts also said 'Hamas offered to release all hostages in October. Zionist Israel refused. Persecution complex'; and on that offer he also posted: 'You abandoned them … Refused to bring them home … Your silence was deafening … Now you want others to scream … Morals integrity honesty none … Mark of Cain.' Bonnick says his reference to 'Mark of Cain' was a quote from a statement made by Israel's then defence minister, Yoav Gallant, the previous month. Bonnick told the Guardian he was taking the legal action in an attempt to restore his reputation, which he argues has been sullied by allegations of antisemitism. According to Bonnick's submission Arsenal's investigation into the posts did not accuse him of antisemitism but said they could be 'perceived as inflammatory or offensive' and had 'brought the club into disrepute'. Bonnick is seeking damages and reinstatement. Bonnick said: 'I want them to acknowledge what they've done to me is wrong and that they should not have sacked me. I believe in standing up for what's right, especially when you see injustice, and I feel strongly against what Israel is doing in Gaza. 'I've tweeted on various issues, including football, Brexit, racism, knife crime and politics. It only became a problem when I tweeted about Israel, which led to a pile-on online and people contacting the club.' Bonnick, 61, who worked his way up from casual Arsenal coaching roles in the early 2000s to a full-time kitman position supporting the youth teams, says he was devastated by the way he was 'discarded' after years of service. His claim – which is expected to be heard next year – alleges that Arsenal acted unfairly and without due process. It accuses the club of bowing to online pressure in what he describes as a 'kneejerk response to manufactured outrage'. Bonnick was sacked on 24 December and lost his appeal against the sacking on 14 February. His lawyers cite the case of the academic David Miller where an employment tribunal found his 'anti-Zionist' beliefs qualified as a 'philosophical belief and a protected characteristic' under the Equality Act 2010. His lawyer, Franck Magennis, who is being instructed by the European Legal Support Centre, said: 'Mark Bonnick was right to speak out, in accordance with his deeply held anti-Zionist beliefs, against Israel's nakedly racist violence and the colonial ideology that justifies it. Arsenal FC dismissed him in an unfair and discriminatory manner; they should admit their mistake and give him his job back.' Arsenal were approached for comment. According to Bonnick's submission, he was told by Arsenal's representative after an investigation: 'The comments you made on 'X' could be perceived as inflammatory or offensive. And as a result, your posts on 'X' brought the club into disrepute. This breached the terms of your employment contract and the club's social media policy, which explicitly states that social media must not be used in a way that brings the club into disrepute. 'While we recognise the comments were made from your personal 'X' account, the account was set to 'public', and in your own name and it was clearly possible to identify you as an employee of the club. Engaging in online debate on such controversial topic and making comments that were found to be highly offensive and inflammatory, displayed a complete lack of judgment and disregard for the club's policies and values. I also feel that your conduct and poor judgement has irreparably damaged the relationship of trust between you, the club, its supporter communities and employees. That's why we've come to this decision.'
Wall Street Journal
11-05-2025
- Politics
- Wall Street Journal
Why Did Harvard Drop Its ‘Semitic' Museum?
My former colleague Peter Der Manuelian suggests that there's nothing to see in a Harvard museum's name change (Letters, May 3). Yet it's hard to see how renaming the institution the 'Museum of the Ancient Near East' reflects its mission more accurately than the adjective 'Semitic' did. The timing of the change in 2020, coinciding with a rise in anti-Zionism, suggests it was done not because 'few people know what that word means' but because many know it includes the Jews and their homeland. Anti-Israel agitation at Harvard was unmistakable. The museum anticipated the question, 'Why now?,' by suggesting the change wasn't a reaction to any event but reflected 'our core mission in clearer terms.' Rather, it had transformed that core mission and changed the name to make it irreversible.
Times
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Times
Spread of antisemitism at UK universities is out of control
The insidious spread of anti-Jewish racism at our supposedly world-renowned universities has spiralled out of control since Hamas's October 7 atrocities. That it has become normalised and a source of social capital for some students brings shame upon our country. The student testimonies in StandWithUs UK's devastating new report offer a bleak insight into the experiences of Jewish students at the hands of their peers and even university staff, simply because of their faith of birth. The message they hear loud and clear — campuses should be a Jew-free space. Activists think they're being clever by rebranding their efforts as 'anti-Zionism' and not — honest, sir — antisemitism. We must be unequivocal: so-called anti-Zionism is antisemitism. Proponents of this regressive ideology must ask themselves why
