The now well-documented trend of tearing down red-and-white posters showing civilians kidnapped by Hamas from Israel on Oct. 7 has reached a new level of disrespect as posters appeared at the University of Pennsylvania calling attention to a “missing cow” with the plea: “Please let us know how the cow is.” The flier utilizes a similar design and color scheme used by activists calling attention to those imprisoned by Hamas. It offers a reward of “a box of chalk and a can of beer,” and asks people to “please email a picture if found to: Howsthecow13@gmail.com.” Penn’s student newspaper contacted ..read more

U.S. President Joe Biden was slated on Friday to deliver remarks in Nantucket, Mass., on the release of the hostages from Gaza at 1:45 p.m. The White House is streaming the remarks live: The post Biden to address nation on release of hostages appeared first on JNS.org ..read more

New research shows the extent to which the war provoked by Hamas’s Oct. 7 terrorist attack has spilled over to university campuses. Hillel International commissioned the Benenson Strategy Group (BSG) to poll 300 Jewish college students between Nov. 14-15. They found that a broad majority—84%—said the war was affecting them, with 68% describing themselves as sad and 54% as scared. Statistics on Jewish students feeling a need to hide their identity (37%) correlate closely with those saying they know about acts of hate or violence on their campus (35%). “The hate that fueled Hamas’s attack on Isr ..read more

The final paragraph of the song “Ma’oz Tzur,” a central part of the Chanukah liturgy, implores God to avenge Jewish blood from “the evil nation,” for “there is no end from the wickedness.” Those words will have special significance this year to adherents of the eight-day holiday, which starts Dec. 7 at night—two months after the Hamas terror attacks of Oct. 7. “We know that love ultimately will overcome hate, that community is crucial, and that light will overcome darkness. It is especially important to remember that this Chanukah season,” stated the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles. T ..read more

As Americans gathered for Thanksgiving this year, many set an extra place setting to “host a hostage” amid war in Israel. The “Seats for Hope” campaign raises awareness of the plight of the hostages, whom Hamas is holding in Gaza. “As we come together for Thanksgiving this year, we remember that our tables are incomplete until all of the hostages, who were brutally abducted by Hamas on Oct. 7, are back home,” per the campaign’s website. (It includes an interactive map of uploaded photos.) Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23 year old Israeli-American hostage of Hamas, has a seat waiting for him at our T ..read more

It has been a great zechut (“merit”) to be in Israel these months during “Operation Swords of Iron.” Yes, a zechut, as part of the dream of Israel is being here not only in the good times but the bad times. Dreams have their ups and their downs. Ultimately, we believe—we know, we just know—that good will prevail, and Israel will be victorious. As the war grinds on, I offer some humble thoughts and observations. UNITY: For years many have asked: What is a cause that would unite us as we were united in the movement to free Soviet Jewry? In the darkness of this war, we are living t ..read more

“We want to make it very clear that the tribe takes no stance on the conflicts overseas,” stated the Mashpee Wampanoag, after a member displayed a Palestinian flag on the American Indian tribe’s float. “It’s unfortunate that we are not focused on the beautiful display of our culture and history at the Macy’s Day Parade but rather on the actions of an individual tribal citizen.” We thank the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe for showing solidarity with the Palestinian people at the Thanksgiving Day Parade. pic.twitter.com/qAqkpw1SOr — CAIR National (@CAIRNational) November 23, 2023 The Council on Amer ..read more

Thirteen Israeli hostages were released on Friday as part of a ceasefire deal, 49 days after Hamas terrorists kidnapped them and some 230 others during the Oct. 7 massacre of 1,200 people in the northwestern Negev. The hostages were being brought by representatives of the Red Cross from Gaza to Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula through the Rafah border crossing before flying to Hatzerim Air Base near Beersheva in southern Israel. LIVE: Rafah crossing as Israel and Hamas agree to ceasefire https://t.co/Tnm8neezgm — Reuters (@Reuters) November 24, 2023 The group, which consisted of women and children ..read more

Nearly five years ago, I wrote a piece for this column in which I argued that the term “anti-Zionism” would be better rendered as “antizionism.” My thinking on this subject was heavily influenced by a similar debate over whether to include a hyphen in the word “antisemitism.” At the time, I argued that “anti-Semites are not people who are opposed to ‘Semitism,’ a non-existent word, and nor are they opposed to a race of ‘Semites’ since there isn’t such a race in the first place, just a language group. If you include the hyphen, the argument goes, then you are boosting antisemitism’s self-image ..read more

Hamas, and the Iranian mullahs who control them, are tormenting us by dangling the return of hostages as a possibility. It is all part of their Satanic war against the Jewish state and the modern world. We must destroy Hamas! Am Yisrael Chai! The post Psychological warfare appeared first on JNS.org ..read more