A controversial Maine Democrat already dogged by questions over a tattoo resembling a Nazi symbol is again under fire after promoting an openly antisemitic conspiracy theorist — the latest episode in a pattern critics say underscores how radical and politically toxic he is.
Graham Platner, a 41-year-old Senate candidate seeking the Democratic nomination to take on incumbent Susan Collins (R-ME), faced backlash this week after amplifying a social media post about a looming war with Iran from Stew Peters, a neo-Nazi influencer known for Holocaust denial and antisemitic rhetoric. Platner <a href="https://www.bangordailynews.com/2026/02/26/politics/elections/graham-platner-stew-peters-post/">later deleted</a> the post, with his campaign claiming it was shared “in error” and removed immediately after discovering it elevated a “despicable account.”
But the incident was not isolated.
In late January, Platner <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/platner-sat-lengthy-interview-antisemitic-075439570.html">appeared</a> for an hour-long interview on Valhalla VFT, a YouTube show hosted by Nate Cornacchia, a retired Green Beret who has promoted conspiracy theories alleging Israeli involvement in high-profile assassinations and suggesting the global war on terror was conducted at the “behest of Israel.” During the interview, Platner described himself as “a longtime fan” of the show and said it was “an absolute pleasure” to appear.
Cornacchia has pushed claims tying Israel to the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and agreed with assertions that President John F. Kennedy was “probably” killed in a covert joint operation between the CIA and Mossad. Platner’s campaign did not respond to Jewish Insider&#8217;s questions about Cornacchia’s remarks.
The controversy compounds scrutiny Platner has faced since last year over a tattoo on his chest that closely resembled a Totenkopf, the skull-and-crossbones emblem adopted by an infamous Nazi SS unit. Platner <a href="https://www.mainepublic.org/politics/2025-10-22/democratic-senate-hopeful-graham-platner-gets-tattoo-of-nazi-symbol-covered-up">said</a> he received the tattoo while serving in the Marine Corps during a drunken night in Croatia and claimed he was unaware of its historical meaning at the time. The <a href="https://apnews.com/article/maine-platner-senate-trump-mills-tattoo-collins-fa8328a3c8aa5d5e0f34adb379e977b8">Associated Press</a> later confirmed that he had the tattoo covered once the comparison became public, saying he did not want a symbol associated with hate on his body.
“For what it’s worth,” Maine Governor Janet Mills, who’s running against Platner in the Democratic primary for the Senate seat, quipped on <a href="https://x.com/JanetMillsforME/status/2027421147956969915">X</a> amid the controversy, “I don’t have any tattoos.”
In past posts, Platner has described U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East as being overly shaped by “foreign influence,” and has argued that Washington’s alliance structure requires “fundamental rethinking.” Critics say such rhetoric mirrors themes common in online spaces where antisemitic conspiracy theories flourish.
National Republicans have begun to take notice. A spokesperson for the National Republican Senatorial Committee blasted Platner this week, saying Democrats are “flirting with extremism” in a race they view as central to their hopes of regaining Senate control. Allies of Collins have also circulated screenshots of Platner’s deleted posts, arguing they raise serious questions about his judgment.
The Democratic primary race in Maine is expected to be one of the most closely watched Senate contests of the cycle. Democrats view the seat held by moderate Republican Collins as a key pickup opportunity. But Platner’s growing list of controversies, from boosting a neo-Nazi influencer to praising a YouTube host who traffics in antisemitic conspiracies, to the lingering fallout over his tattoo, threatens to complicate that strategy.

Graham Platner Maine

Dem Senate Darling Stumbles Into Third Nazi-Related Scandal Of Primary Campaign

Anti-Semitism

Democratic Party

Elections

graham platner

Maine

Politics

Susan Collins

Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, took out a full-page ad in The Wall Street Journal to apologize for his past antisemitic outbursts.
The 48-year-old rapper blamed the rants on mental health issues caused by a car crash he was in over two decades ago.
“I lost touch with reality. Things got worse the longer I ignored the problem,” West wrote of his manic episodes in the <a href="https://x.com/Phil_Lewis_/status/2015795684901810395">advertisement</a> titled “To Those I’ve Hurt.” “I said and did things I deeply regret. Some of the people I love the most, I treated the worst. You endured fear, confusion, humiliation, and the exhaustion of trying to love someone who was, at times, unrecognizable. Looking back, I became detached from my true self.”
Over the years, Ye made social media statements and appeared in interviews praising Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler and disparaging Jewish people. He also sold merchandise promoting these antisemitic views and came out with a single, “Heil Hitler,” in May 2025. 
One of the most viral examples of this was when Ye appeared on Alex Jones&#8217; &#8220;Infowars&#8221; podcast in 2022, during which he said, &#8220;Every human being has something of value that they bring to the table, especially Hitler.” He said the Nazis, “did good things too,&#8221; adding that, &#8220;We gotta stop dissing the Nazis all the time.”
Prior to that, Ye made several virulent <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/kanye-ye-west-i-like-hitler-i-see-good-things-about-hitler-stop-dissing-the-nazis-he-didnt-kill-6-million?author=Ryan+Saavedra&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Kanye+%E2%80%98Ye%E2%80%99+West%3A+%E2%80%98I+Like+Hitler%2C%E2%80%99+%E2%80%98I+See+Good+Things+About+Hitler%2C%E2%80%99+%E2%80%98Stop+Dissing+The+Nazis%2C%E2%80%99+%E2%80%98He+Didn%E2%80%99t+Kill+6+Million+Jews%E2%80%99">antisemitic statements</a>, including that he wanted to go “death con 3” on “JEWISH PEOPLE,” saying his children could learn “financial engineering” in a Jewish school. He blamed “Jewish Zionists” for his problems, blamed his marriage with Kim Kardashian ending due to “Zionist media handlers surrounding her,” and showed a list of the Jews that he believes control the media.
The rapper went on to describe what it was like inside his head during his rants. “You don’t think you’re sick,” he wrote, adding that it feels as though “everyone else is overreacting. You feel like you’re seeing the world more clearly than ever, when in reality you’re losing your grip entirely. Once people label you as ‘crazy,’ you feel as if you cannot contribute anything meaningful to the world.” 
He added, “The scariest thing about this disorder is how persuasive it is when it tells you: You don’t need help. It makes you blind, but convinced you have insight. You feel powerful, certain, and unstoppable.”
Ye said that during his “fractured state,” he “gravitated toward the most destructive symbol I could find, the swastika, and even sold t-shirts bearing it.”
Ye went on to say, “One of the difficult aspects of having bipolar type-1 are the disconnected moments — many of which I still cannot recall — that lead to poor judgment and reckless behavior that oftentimes feels like an out-of-body experience. I regret and am deeply mortified by my actions in that state, and am committed to accountability, treatment, and meaningful change. It does not excuse what I did, though. I am not a Nazi or an antisemite. I love Jewish people.”
The rapper later said that &#8220;the black community&#8221; is &#8220;unquestionably the foundation of who I am.&#8221;
&#8220;I am sorry to have let you down,&#8221; he wrote in the one-page spread. &#8220;I love us.&#8221;
Ye concluded by thanking his wife, Bianca Censori, for sticking by his side as he hit “rock bottom” several months ago. He also pleaded with fans and the public to be patient during his recovery.
The recording artist wrote that he’s found “much-needed clarity” and is putting his “energy into positive, meaningful art: music, clothing, design, and other new ideas to help the world.” 
“I’m not asking for sympathy, or a free pass, though I aspire to earn your forgiveness. I write today simply to ask for you patience and understanding as I find my way home,” Ye concluded.

Kanye West

Kanye West Apologizes For Antisemitism: ‘I Lost Touch With Reality’

Kanye 'Ye' West Apologizes For Anti-Semitism: 'I Lost Touch With Reality'

Celebrities

Entertainment

Far-Left New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Queens Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez (D) are finally calling out blatant antisemitism in the city, after much political pressure.
On Thursday night, protesters gathered outside a Queens synagogue and shouted their support for the terrorist group Hamas, chanting, “Say it loud, say it clear, we support Hamas here.”
The protests sparked the early closure of several Jewish institutions &#8212; including schools, daycares, and synagogues &#8212; due to safety concerns.
As video of the demonstration racked up millions of views online, there was swift political condemnation in New York City, which put a spotlight on the new mayor&#8217;s silence. According to Politico, Mamdani didn&#8217;t address the chants until he was pressed about it publicly by a reporter a day later.
“That language is wrong,” Mamdani <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/09/we-support-hamas-chants-put-mamdanis-israel-stance-at-center-stage-00720393">said</a> while walking to his vehicle on Friday. “I think that language has no place in New York City.”
Then on X, Mamdani posted: &#8220;As I said earlier today, chants in support of a terrorist organization have no place in our city. We will continue to ensure New Yorkers’ safety entering and exiting houses of worship as well as the constitutional right to protest.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
As I said earlier today, chants in support of a terrorist organization have no place in our city. We will continue to ensure New Yorkers’ safety entering and exiting houses of worship as well as the constitutional right to protest. <a href="https://t.co/0J4GXWigiv">pic.twitter.com/0J4GXWigiv</a>
— Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) <a href="https://twitter.com/NYCMayor/status/2009768025260437806?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 9, 2026</a></blockquote>
AOC, who has repeatedly <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/22/aoc-decries-unfolding-genocide-in-gaza-urges-halting-weapons-to-israel#:~:text=“This%20is%20a%20mass%20starvation,accusing%20Israel%20of%20genocide%20unfounded.">accused</a> Israel of &#8220;genocide,&#8221; said on X that the demonstrators were engaging in antisemitism. Her response came on Friday night.
&#8220;Hey so marching into a predominantly Jewish neighborhood and leading with a chant saying &#8216;we support Hamas&#8217; is a disgusting and antisemitic thing to do,&#8221; she posted. &#8220;Pretty basic!&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Hey so marching into a predominantly Jewish neighborhood and leading with a chant saying “we support Hamas” is a disgusting and antisemitic thing to do.
Pretty basic! <a href="https://t.co/Zx4wJPCPfP">https://t.co/Zx4wJPCPfP</a>
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) <a href="https://twitter.com/AOC/status/2009792314634580390?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 10, 2026</a></blockquote>
Mamdani has been accused of promulgating <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/more-of-mamdanis-anti-nypd-anti-israel-rhetoric-resurfaces-as-critics-warn-of-dangerous-extremism">antisemitism</a>, both based on his past statements and his recent moves as mayor.
Back in 2023, for example, Mamdani tied his anti-police stance to Israel and the IDF. &#8220;We have to make clear that when the boot of the NYPD is on your neck, it’s been laced by the IDF,&#8221; he <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/more-of-mamdanis-anti-nypd-anti-israel-rhetoric-resurfaces-as-critics-warn-of-dangerous-extremism">said</a>. &#8220;We’re in a country where those connections abound. Especially in New York City, you have so many opportunities to make clear the ways in which that struggle over there is tied to capitalist interests over here.”
Additionally, within hours of taking office, Mamdani signed an <a href="https://www.nyc.gov/content/dam/nycgov/mayors-office/downloads/pdf/executive-orders/2026/eo1-prior-executive-orders.pdf?utm_medium=email&amp;utm_name=&amp;utm_source=govdelivery" target="_blank" rel="noopener">executive order</a> revoking all mayoral directives issued after September 26, 2024, which, as highlighted by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mamdanis-first-act-as-nyc-mayor-dismantle-pro-israel-policies">The Daily Wire</a>, effectively axed several key protections for the Jewish community and measures aimed at strengthening ties with Israel.
Democrat Senator John Fetterman, who has consistently called out antisemitism, blasted the demonstrators on X.
&#8220;These a**holes in NYC proudly chant for Hamas in close proximity to a Jewish school and place of worship,&#8221; he said. &#8220;This is menacing and intimidation. The Jewish community deserves relief and protection from these raging antisemites.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
These assholes in NYC proudly chant for Hamas in close proximity to a Jewish school and place of worship.
This is menacing and intimidation.
The Jewish community deserves relief and protection from these raging antisemites. <a href="https://t.co/yJdVT5Qnx8">https://t.co/yJdVT5Qnx8</a>
— U.S. Senator John Fetterman (@SenFettermanPA) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenFettermanPA/status/2009635598672552052?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 9, 2026</a></blockquote>
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mamdanis-first-act-as-nyc-mayor-dismantle-pro-israel-policies">Mamdani’s First Act As NYC Mayor: Dismantle Pro-Israel Policies</a>

Mamdani/AOC

Mamdani, AOC Finally Call Out Nasty Antisemitism At NYC Protest

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

antisemitism

General

New York City

Zohran Mamdani

The 24-year-old man suspected of carrying out an ISIS-inspired terror attack in Australia targeting a Jewish celebration on Sunday will face terrorism and murder charges, authorities announced Wednesday. 
Naveed Akram was charged by the New South Wales Joint Counter Terrorism Team with terrorism and 15 counts of murder. Akram is accused of opening fire on a Hanukkah celebration taking place at the popular Bondi Beach, killing 15 people and injuring dozens more. 
The attack was also carried out by 50-year-old Sajid Akram, who was killed by law enforcement. Naveed Akram was hospitalized after suffering critical injuries during the attack.
He was also charged with 40 counts of wounding/grievous bodily harm to a person with intent to murder, discharging a firearm with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, public display of a prohibited terrorist organization symbol, and placing explosives in/near buildings with intent to cause harm.
&#8220;Police will allege in court the man engaged in conduct that caused death, serious injury and endangered life to advance a religious cause and cause fear in the community,&#8221; New South Wales Police <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/sydney-funerals-begin-bondi-beach-hanukkah-shooting-victims-2025-12-16/#:~:text=New%20South%20Wales%20Police%20said,GOVERNMENT%20TO%20PASS%20GUN%20REFORMS">said</a>. &#8220;Early indications point to a terrorist attack inspired by ISIS, a listed terrorist organisation in Australia.&#8221;
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Two ISIS flags reportedly discovered in a vehicle belong to Naveed and Sajid. Investigators also say that the pair traveled to the Philippines between November 1 and November 28, where there is a strong Islamist presence. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12-16/bondi-gunmen-went-to-philippines-for-military-style-training/106148662">reported</a> that sources said the two received &#8220;military-style training&#8221; while in the Philippines.  
Naveed Akram was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bondi-beach-terrorist-was-previously-investigated-for-ties-to-isis">previously investigated</a> by authorities over ties to an Islamic State terror cell six years ago. He was wrapped up in an investigation into a foiled ISIS attack that was planned by a man who declared himself the Australian commander of an ISIS cell in Australia. He was under investigation for six months before being deemed to pose no ongoing threat.
Those killed during the attack range between the ages of 10 and 87, though some are still being identified. Forty-one people were initially hospitalized after the attack, and 20 are still receiving treatment. 
Victims named so far include <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/slain-bondi-beach-rabbi-urged-australian-pm-months-before-do-not-betray-the-jewish-people?author=Kassy+Akiva&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Slain+Bondi+Beach+Rabbi+Urged+Australian+PM+Months+Before%3A+%E2%80%98Do+Not+Betray+the+Jewish+People%E2%80%99">Rabbi Eli Schlanger</a>, who helped organize the event, a 10-year-old girl <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/world/australia/bondi-beach-shooting-victims-australia-hanukkah-attack-rcna249203">named</a> Matilda Britvan, Peter Meagher, who was the photographer of the event, Tibor Weitzen, Dan Elkayam, Reuven Morrison, Yaakov Levitan, and Holocaust survivor Alexander Kleytman.

Shots Fired At Sydney’s Bondi Beach

ISIS-Inspired Bondi Beach Suspect To Face Terrorism Charges

Australia

ISIS

Islam

Jews

Terrorism

One of the dumbest things we can do is flatten all ideologies and pretend all human beings think the same way.
Every time someone does this, you end up with the worst possible policy.
If you say, for example, all human beings have a yearning in their human heart for freedom in the same exact way, that can very easily lead you to the policies pursued by the George W. Bush administration, in which the president declared that the goal of the United States was to end tyranny on planet Earth.
Of course, that is not a sustainable goal, because it assumes that everyone has the same priorities that you have.
In the same way, when you suggest that all acts of violence are equivalent, when you abstract terrible things happening to the level of the general, when you say, “Okay, there&#8217;s a specific terror act directed at whites or Jews or blacks” — instead of looking at the specific cause that is being pursued, instead of looking at the specific ideological matrix used to justify and foment violence, you simply say “Violence is bad, and all human beings should just know that violence is bad,” you are preventing the actual solutions to those problems.
That’s because if you refuse to face up to the fact that certain ideas are worse than other ideas, certain cultures are worse than other cultures, certain ideological frameworks are worse than other ideological frameworks, you&#8217;re missing the motivating factor in human action.
Instead, what you end up with is a blunderbuss foreign policy that differentially strikes groups in an unfair and stupid way. 
The other day, Sunny Hostin of The View did a signal version of this. She was commenting on the mass shooting in Bondi Beach in Sydney against Jews by two Islamists.
Here is what she had to say:
<blockquote>I used to think that gun violence was just an American phenomenon. And now we see this sort of anti-Semitic attack in Australia on the first day of Hanukkah, which is so disgusting and disturbing. And then, you know, kids going to college at Brown in the middle of finals getting murdered. What those families went through? Why all of this sickness and hatred going around the world? </blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
The View is a purveyor of hate. Now, after the tragic weekend, they wonder why there&#8217;s so much hate. 
&#8220;Why all of this sickness and hatred going around the world? Not just in this country,&#8221; Sunny Hostin, one of the most hate-fueled people on TV. <a href="https://t.co/ox73cTuPq6">pic.twitter.com/ox73cTuPq6</a>
— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) <a href="https://twitter.com/NickFondacaro/status/2000599580283420709?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 15, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
“Why all of this sickness and hatred going around the world?” That’s fine on the level of a two-year-old.
But let&#8217;s be very clear. Different ideological groups commit different types of crimes. Some commit no crimes. Some actually promote peace. Some ideologies promote vast terror attacks, such as radical Islamism.
But when you reduce everything to “It&#8217;s just an act of violence,” or to the tool, such as a gun; when you look at the Brown University shooting, where we still don&#8217;t know the motive, and then you look at what happened in Sydney, Australia, where you absolutely know the motive and you flatten that out and pretend they are both the same, you&#8217;re preventing the implementation of policies that would actually prevent shootings.
That’s because there actually are ways to target radical Islam in, for example, Sydney, Australia: Don&#8217;t import more radical Muslims. Surveil radical mosques. Create a better security apparatus. Have a government that does not grant credibility to radical Islamists and their arguments.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-2335-the-dumbest-assumption-in-all-of-politics?elementPosition=8&amp;row=2&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+Episodes&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-974957" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1024x171.webp" alt="DailyWire+" width="1024" height="171" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1024x171.webp 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-300x50.webp 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-768x128.webp 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1536x256.webp 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-2048x341.webp 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a>
There are many ways to fight particular ideologies or particular ideas.
But when you flatten that all out to the idea that it&#8217;s all just “gun violence,” you are preventing a solution.
That is often the core of the debate between the Right and the Left, the traditional Right and Left.
I always have to clarify this because there are people who exist on the so-called political Right who are not in any real way conservative; they just don&#8217;t like some of the elements of the Left.
But traditional conservative thinking suggests that human beings are motivated by the ideas and ideologies they carry, and also that human beings are deeply flawed. They&#8217;re not inherently good; human beings have the capacity for greatness and also the capacity for sin.
All of this is embedded in Federalist 51, in which James Madison argues that if human beings were angels, you wouldn&#8217;t need a government in order to govern them because they would be angels.
Once you recognize the reality of human flaws and nature, once you recognize that people change their behavior based on the ideologies that they hold, then it makes it possible to look at the outgrowth of particular ideologies and then fight those ideas.
Otherwise, what you end up with is a very bad and stupid public policy.

Good Morning America’s 50th Anniversary Celebration

The Dumbest Assumption In All Of Politics

Ben Shapiro

Leftists

Mass Shooting

Opinion

Radical Islam

Sunny Hostin

The View

Violent Crime

AUSTRALIA-ATTACK-BONDI

The Massacre In Australia Is Proof That Diversity Is Not Our Strength

Immigration

Islamic Jihad

mass migration

Matt Walsh

Muslim Immigration

Police

Shooting

On Sunday, the worst shooting attack in modern Australian history happened. It was a terror attack against the Jewish community in Sydney.
Two gunmen killed at least 15 people during a Hanukkah event on Sunday at Sydney&#8217;s Bondi Beach. Officials acknowledged it was a terrorist attack on Australia&#8217;s Jewish community, the country&#8217;s worst mass shooting in almost 30 years.
The suspects were a father and a son who legally owned six guns, despite the incredibly restrictive firearm laws in Australia. The two shooters were reportedly radical Muslims. They attacked the “Chanukah by the Sea” celebration, where local Jews gathered to light the first candle of the eight nights of Hanukkah.
The killers were armed with shotguns and a bolt-action rifle. They killed at least 15 people. The shooting went on for at least 20 minutes while the police did very little. When you see the tape, what you see is people legitimately ignoring their job. You see the police cowering in fear. Perhaps it was out of fear, perhaps incompetence. But when you have a continuous mass shooting happening, and you have apparently at least four police officers present doing nothing, you do have to ask some questions about the system in which this is existing.
One of the people killed was a Holocaust survivor, Alex Kleytman, who was killed while shielding his wife in the middle of the attack. He had traveled to Bondi Beach with his wife of 57 years for the Hanukkah event. He was shot and killed as he lay on the ground on top of his wife, saving his wife in his final act.
Eyewitness Arslan Ostrovsky, who was grazed by a shot in the head but survived, <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/it-was-a-bloodbath-i-saw-children-falling-eyewitnesses-describe-sydney-terror-attack/">recalled</a>:
<blockquote>I was with my family. It was a Hanukkah celebration. There were hundreds of people. There were children. There were elderly families enjoying themselves. Children, kids at a festival, playing. And then all of a sudden, it&#8217;s absolute chaos. There&#8217;s guns, fire everywhere, people ducking. It was absolute chaos. We didn&#8217;t know what was happening, where the gunfire was coming from us, some blood gushing in front of me. 
I saw people hit, some people fall to the ground. My only concern was “Where are my kids. Where are my kids? Where&#8217;s my family?”
I survived October 7. I lived in Israel the last 13 years. We came here only two weeks ago to go to work for the Jewish community, to fight antisemitism, to fight this bloodthirsty, ravaging hatred. &#8230; We&#8217;ve lived through this. We&#8217;re going to get through this, and we&#8217;re going to get the bastards that did this. &#8230; 
I saw, I saw at least one gunman firing; it looked like a shotgun, firing randomly in all directions. I saw children falling to the floor. Elderly, I saw invalids … It was an absolute bloodbath. Blood gushing everywhere. October 7. That&#8217;s the last time I saw this. I never thought I would see this in Australia. Not in my lifetime. On Bondi Beach, of all places. This iconic place with your children.</blockquote>
I would be lying if I said that Jews around the world don&#8217;t expect this sort of thing to happen, especially in the aftermath of the radical increase in Islamic antisemitism and its presence all over the globe, and the increase in generalized antisemitism all over the globe.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-2334-massacre-15-plus-killed-in-islamist-hanukkah-attack-in-australia?elementPosition=5&amp;row=2&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+Episodes&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-974957" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1024x171.webp" alt="DailyWire+" width="1024" height="171" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1024x171.webp 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-300x50.webp 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-768x128.webp 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1536x256.webp 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-2048x341.webp 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a>
When you&#8217;re talking about the presence of radical Muslims, you can&#8217;t just talk about antisemitic terror attacks. There&#8217;ve been a wide variety of terror attacks by radicalized Muslims all over the world, including in the United States. Whether you&#8217;re talking about the Pulse nightclub shooting or whether you are talking about the attack on two National Guard members just a couple of weeks ago, or you&#8217;re talking about radical Muslims who decide to drive trucks into Christmas markets in Europe, this has become a regular feature of Western life: attacks on people who are non-Muslim on the basis of their religion.
There have been warnings going out from the Australian Jewish community for two years about the radical increase in antisemitic attacks, including the firebombing of a synagogue.
There have been questions about the policies that have been promoted by the Australian government to import radical Muslims into the country and to make excuses for their violent actions. Questions asked about why hundreds of thousands of people in places like Australia marched in support of the terrorist group Hamas, or why, in the immediate aftermath of October 7, there were rallies at the Sydney Opera House in which people were shouting “Gas the Jews!”
When there’s a country that imports and tolerates this sort of stuff, are we supposed to be shocked when some of these people are flying ISIS flags? It turns out that they are perfectly happy to commit acts of terrorism.
Should we be shocked by that? Australia&#8217;s Muslim population right now is around 813,000 people, representing about 3.2% of the total Australian population. It has increased 450% from 1991 to 2021, and the Muslim population of Sydney represents 6.3% of the total population, which is pretty significant. Thus, it should not be a shock that, according to a report published Tuesday by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, the country saw 1654 antisemitic incidents during the 12-month period from October 1, 2024, to September 30, 2025. That&#8217;s about five times the annual average recorded in the decade prior to the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack.
It is not a shock that this has been happening with increasing frequency, especially given the fact that the government of Australia, a very left-wing Labor government, has decided to normalize and mainstream this sort of stuff.
Linda Bennett Menasha, the president of the National Council of Jewish Women in Australia, told <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/horrified-but-not-shocked-australian-jews-say-bondi-attack-was-inevitable/">The Times of Israel</a>, “I’m horrified and devastated that this happened, but not shocked. Over the past two years, antisemitism has been rising by the month, and the government has not listened to our pleas. When there is no visible consequence to incitement, violence always ensues.”
There have been escalating antisemitic incidents in Australia for years. Miranda Devine wrote in the <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/12/14/opinion/australia-allowed-jewish-hate-to-fester-with-cowardly-appeasement-and-foolish-immigration-decisions/">New York Post</a>: 
<blockquote>It is all so sickeningly predictable. Unchecked antisemitism, cowardly appeasement, lax policing and foolish immigration decisions half a century in gestation have coalesced in multicultural southwestern Sydney, an hour’s drive from Bondi. &#8230; In the two years since the Hamas attack on Israel, synagogues in Sydney have been firebombed, kosher restaurants vandalized, cars outside Jewish homes torched and rancid antisemitic graffiti have become ubiquitous along the Bondi promenade: “Kill Jews” is the mantra. Every weekend for at least two years, downtown Sydney has been shut down by Palestinian protests.</blockquote>
This is what “globalize the intifada” looks like.
Intifada is violent action, violent resistance.
When you globalize it, you mean this: kill Jews.
No one has made more room for antisemitism in Australia than Anthony Albanese and his terrible government.
As the gifted writer Ayaan Hirsi Ali <a href="https://www.thefp.com/p/ayaan-hirsi-ali-the-intifada-comes-to-australia">noted</a>:
<blockquote>One truth must be spoken without hesitation. Islamist extremism isn’t merely another grievance-driven movement. It is an existential threat to Western society and to the values that sustain it. It rejects pluralism, despises freedom of conscience, and targets Jews and Christians precisely because those traditions stand for limits on power and the dignity of the individual. History shows this pattern clearly. Where such extremism is tolerated, minorities suffer first, and the wider society follows.</blockquote>
Correct. And pretending that you are hiding behind the guise of anti-Zionism in order to attack Jews as a conspiratorial force in the West, manipulating the systems in order to commit genocide, and promoting every lie issued by Hamas, is going to lead to violence.
Pretending otherwise is blind or stupid or evil — or all three.

Australia Reacts To Mass Shooting At Bondi Beach

Massacre In Australia

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Monday that the country&#8217;s Left-wing government stands &#8220;prepared&#8221; to pass more restrictive gun laws after two gunmen killed at least 15 people and wounded dozens more at a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney on Sunday.
Albanese responded to the terrorist attack by cracking down even more on gun ownership, saying the country must &#8220;take whatever action is necessary,&#8221; the Associated Press <a href="https://apnews.com/article/australia-shooting-bondi-beach-sydney-3be76a51c820d547ee4697bd25c1bafd">reported</a>.
&#8220;Included in that is the need for tougher gun laws,” Albanese added.
Australia already has some of the most restrictive gun laws in the world after the government enacted a mandatory buyback program following the 1996 mass shooting in Port Arthur, where a gunman killed 35 people. Australia <a href="https://www.king5.com/article/news/nation-world/australia-gun-laws-what-to-know/507-8336bb44-252b-4b72-a33c-21a3f68484b8">bans</a> citizens from owning semi-automatic rifles and pump-action shotguns.
The Australian government maintains strict oversight of legal firearms, including mandatory background checks and a 28-day waiting period for gun purchases. Australia&#8217;s <a href="https://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/fa1996102/s12.html">Firearms Act of 1996</a> also requires citizens to provide a &#8220;genuine reason&#8221; for owning a gun, such as hunting, farming, sport shooting, or historical collections. Personal protection is not considered a &#8220;genuine reason&#8221; for owning a firearm, according to the Australian government.
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said on Monday that the state&#8217;s gun laws would change following the terrorist attack.
“If you’re not a farmer, you’re not involved in agriculture, why do you need these massive weapons that put the public in danger and make life dangerous and difficult for New South Wales Police?” Minns asked.
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Australian leaders have proposed a new measure that would limit the number of guns a person could own, according to the Associated Press.
The suspected gunmen in Sunday&#8217;s attack are 50-year-old Sajid Akram and his 24-year-old son Naveed Akram. The father-son duo appeared to use bolt-action rifles to target Jewish people observing Hanukkah, according to videos. Police also reportedly recovered shotguns at the scene of the shooting, but authorities have yet to confirm what firearms were used by the attackers to fire upon the Jewish people. Officials said at a press conference that Sajid possessed firearms legally.
Sajid was killed at the scene by responding police officers, while his 24-year-old son was wounded and is currently in a coma. One video showed a man charging one of the gunmen and wrestling his gun away. The man who jumped into action to confront the shooter was identified as Ahmed al Ahmed, an immigrant from Syria. Ahmed was shot in the shoulder and underwent surgery on Monday.
The gunmen were &#8220;clearly&#8221; motivated by extremism, according to officials, who have described the shooting as antisemitic terrorism. Naveed was on Australian authorities&#8217; radar in 2019 when he was investigated over alleged ties to ISIS, but authorities eventually ruled that he was not a threat at the time.
“He was examined on the basis of being associated with others and the assessment was made that there was no indication of any ongoing threat or threat of him engaging in violence,” said Albanese.
Sajid immigrated to Australia in 1998 on a student visa and became a permanent resident after marrying an Australian citizen. Australian officials did not say which country he moved from. His son Naveed was born in Australia.

Albanese News Conference Following Hanukkah Terror Attack

Australia’s Leftist Leaders Call For ‘Tougher Gun Laws’ After Antisemitic Massacre

Anthony Albanese

Gun Laws

World

There is a particular kind of tragedy that unfolds when good intentions are fed the wrong script. Hollywood has seen it before — the irresistible pull of a neatly packaged narrative, a morality play that casts a prisoner as a prophet and a conflict as a parable. But the global chorus of <a href="https://www.christianpost.com/news/over-200-celebrities-demand-release-of-convicted-terrorist.html">actors</a>, writers, and <a href="https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-879707">musicians</a> who recently called for the release of Marwan Barghouti walked into something far more complicated: a story crafted not to inform, but to activate.
More than <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/over-200-cultural-figures-call-for-release-of-palestinian-terror-convict-marwan-barghouti/">200 cultural figures</a> were presented with an emotionally charged narrative: Barghouti as the Palestinian Mandela — a heroic symbol of liberation, a political detainee whose freedom could heal a broken land. It was a narrative engineered with precision. It invoked apartheid, redemption, and the irresistible idea of the righteous prisoner held unjustly by a cruel state.
But the story they <a href="https://freemarwan.org/public-figures/">signed their names</a> to didn’t just omit context. It omitted the dead.
Marwan Barghouti is not in prison for his ideology. He is serving five life sentences plus 40 years after being convicted in 2004 for his role in attacks that killed five civilians and attempted to kill others. These are not points of political contention; they are matters of public record.
His victims had names.
Father Georgios Tsibouktzakis, a Greek Orthodox monk, was shot dead in 2001 while driving near St. George’s Monastery — a man who devoted his life to prayer and his final years to quiet service.
Yoela Chen, 45, was murdered at a gas station near Giv’at Ze’ev.
Eli Dahan, 53, Yosef Habi, 52, and Police Officer Salim Barakat, 33, were gunned down in the March 2002 attack at Tel Aviv’s Seafood Market restaurant — civilians and a Druze Israeli officer, none of whom had any political role in anything at all.
Their lives were not symbols. They were the texture of ordinary days: errands run, meals shared, shifts finished, families waiting at home. They remain absent at every holiday table, every birthday, every unspoken conversation that grief continues on their behalf.
And yet — in the celebrity campaign to free Barghouti, these names vanish. Their faces are unimagined. Their humanity is eclipsed by the seductive narrative of the “freedom fighter.”
This selective empathy is not an oversight. It is the fingerprint of the modern anti-zionist narrative machine, a hate movement that excels at converting geopolitical complexity into emotionally consumable scripts. It packages the conflict into a digestible drama: one side oppressed, the other villainous; one man heroic, the other side faceless. It knows whom it is speaking to — the artists, the idealists, the storytellers who respond instinctively to the visual of a lone prisoner against the world.
This is why the comparison to Mandela was seeded into the campaign from the start.
<div id="attachment_1012859" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1012859" class="size-large wp-image-1012859" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-2118348628-864x576.jpg" alt="ROME, ITALY - MARCH 30: Protesters carry a banner calling for freedom for Marwan Barghouti as they attend a demonstration, in solidarity with the Palestinian people, against Israel’s Gaza bombardment and to call for a ceasefire on March 30, 2024 in Rome, Italy. The demonstration dedicated to &quot;Earth Day&quot; is organized by the Palestinian Students Movement, the Palestinian Arab Democratic Union (UDAP), the Association of Palestinians in Italy and the Coordination of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. (Photo by Simona Granati - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-2118348628-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-2118348628-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-2118348628-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-2118348628.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Simona Granati &#8211; Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images</div>
But Mandela’s greatness was forged in restraint — his refusal to condone violence against civilians, his devotion to reconciliation, his commitment to building a multiracial democracy. Barghouti’s record is not that. His ascent through Tanzim, and his association in analyses with the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, places him in the lineage of armed factions that targeted civilians during the Second Intifada. His conviction for the murders of Father Georgios, Yoela, Eli, Yosef, and Officer Barakat stands unchallenged in the legal record.
To equate him with Mandela is not inspiration. It is historical malpractice.
None of this diminishes Palestinian suffering under Hamas. The Palestinian people deserve dignity, freedom, safety, functioning governance, and leaders who place their communities’ well-being over factional theatrics. They deserve institutions instead of militias, opportunity instead of stagnation, a future shaped by education, reform, and civil society rather than martyrdom posters, hate, and funerals.
But elevating Barghouti as the vessel of that hope does not help Palestinians. It keeps them chained to the very political culture that has failed them for decades — a culture where leaders rise not through governing, but through “resistance” defined as violence; not through building, but through spectacle.
There is nothing progressive about resurrecting an old militant as the future of a nation.
What Palestinians need — what every people need — is leadership rooted in accountability, anti-corruption, institution-building, economic development, and the protection of civilians. They need a government that values life more than symbolism and the living more than the dead.
And yet the world’s cultural elite were persuaded to throw their moral authority behind a man convicted of killing civilians, because the narrative they received was engineered to bypass scrutiny and appeal directly to empathy.
Empathy is not the problem.
The manipulation of empathy is.
The selective framing that presents Barghouti as a moral beacon while erasing his victims is a hallmark of a hate movement masquerading as justice work.
Modern anti-zionism often conflates political advocacy with emotional coercion — telling Western audiences that compassion requires elevating those who commit violence, while portraying any demand for accountability as oppression.
But true solidarity does not require abandoning truth. And true justice does not require erasing the names of the dead.
The celebrity signatories were right about one thing: the region needs renewal. Palestinians desperately need political transformation. But that transformation will not come from releasing a man whose legacy contains the deaths of innocents. It will come from amplifying those working — often quietly, often without fanfare — to build civil society, strengthen institutions, combat corruption, and create genuine pathways to prosperity, liberty, and safety.
If the world’s storytellers want to stand on the right side of history, they must first stand on the right side of facts. And the facts demand this: the path to peace is not paved by celebrating those who shed blood. It is paved by elevating those who choose life.
If the signatories truly seek justice, the path forward is simple: reconsider and retract your support for Barghouti’s release, and commit to vetting future campaigns that appeal to your empathy while obscuring violence. Direct your influence instead toward the real peace-builders — the Palestinian reformers, journalists, educators, and civic leaders fighting corruption and constructing a future rooted in dignity, agency, and safety. Honor all victims of political violence, Israeli and Palestinian alike, whose lives deserve remembrance rather than erasure. And finally, resist the seduction of myth-making — the heroic scripts that feel righteous but flatten truth. Your voices carry weight; let them be used in service of the living, the grieving, and those who are building a future rather than those who helped destroy it.
* * *
Elicia Brand is the founder and president of <a href="https://armyofparents.org/">Army of Parents</a> in Loudoun County, VA.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
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The Belfast International Wall

What Celebrities Got Wrong About Marwan Barghouti – He’s No Palestinian Mandela

What Celebrities Got Wrong About Marwan Barghouti – He's No Palestinian Mandela

Hamas

Israel

Middle East

Nelson Mandela

Palestinian

Zionism

Video shows a Mississippi crowd telling off a man who yelled &#8220;f*** the Jews&#8221; to Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, who is Jewish.
Video posted online Friday shows a young male walking by and shouting &#8220;Hey, f*** the Jews! F*** you, Dave Portnoy&#8221; to the Barstool founder, who appears to be in the middle of one of his famed pizza review videos in Mississippi.
&#8220;Get out of here!&#8221; one person in the crowd shouted back, and another shouted, &#8220;Not cool.&#8221;
Portnoy told the male to come on camera, but video of the pair talking is inaudible.
&#8220;That was awful,&#8221; the crowd continued to react. One male even shouted, &#8220;Hey, f*** you, p****. F*** you!&#8221;
The male who shouted about &#8220;the Jews&#8221; appears to stick up his middle finger as he is escorted away from the incident.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Dave Portnoy (<a href="https://twitter.com/stoolpresidente?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@stoolpresidente</a>) is doing a pizza review when a man approaches and shouts “Fuck the Jews!” Dave handled it so much better than I would have, but my God I’m getting tired of these freaks. Antisemitism is a disease — enough is enough. <a href="https://t.co/Hz8lYrCWwV">pic.twitter.com/Hz8lYrCWwV</a>
— Casey Babb (@DrCaseyBabb) <a href="https://twitter.com/DrCaseyBabb/status/1986947111058088251?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 8, 2025</a></blockquote>
Back in May, Portnoy reacted to people ordering a &#8220;f*** the Jews&#8221; sign at a Barstool bar in Center City, Philadelphia. After his <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dave-portnoy-coming-for-throats-after-f-the-jews-sign-spotted-at-philly-barstool-bar">initial reaction</a> was to go scorched earth on the people who ordered the sign, he said he would rather <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dave-portnoy-finds-alternative-punishment-for-patrons-who-ordered-f-the-jews-sign-at-his-bar">send the individuals to Auschwitz</a> &#8220;to learn about the Holocaust.&#8221;
“And the more I thought about it, these are young f***ing morons who did this,” Portnoy <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dave-portnoy-finds-alternative-punishment-for-patrons-who-ordered-f-the-jews-sign-at-his-bar">said</a> in the video, referring to his initial reaction. “They’re drunk. It’s like, do you really want to ruin somebody’s life — and let me be honest, I don’t know what’s going on in the world, well, I do in the Middle East obviously, but I’ve been doing Barstool for 20 years. I’ve had more hate, more antisemitism in the last year or year and a half than I’ve ever had doing it.”
“I’m sending these kids to Auschwitz. They’ve agreed to go,” Portnoy said. “That’s of course the Holocaust concentration camp … We’re going to send these kids to Auschwitz and they’re going to do a tour of the concentration camps in Germany and hopefully learn something, and maybe, like, their lives aren’t ruined, they think twice … to me, that’s a fair outcome.”
One of the patrons initially accepted responsibility for the incident and the offer from Portnoy, but later denied involvement. It&#8217;s unclear if the trip ever happened.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Emergency Press Conference &#8211; I’m sending the people who ordered the “Fuck Jews” signs at my bar to Auschwitz to learn about the Holocaust. Rather than ruin a couple 20 year olds 
lives maybe this can be used as a teaching moment <a href="https://t.co/sci4hBPBFA">pic.twitter.com/sci4hBPBFA</a>
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) <a href="https://twitter.com/stoolpresidente/status/1919118206414868507?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 4, 2025</a></blockquote>
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dave-portnoy-finds-alternative-punishment-for-patrons-who-ordered-f-the-jews-sign-at-his-bar">Dave Portnoy Finds Alternative Punishment For Patrons Who Ordered ‘F*** The Jews’ Sign At His Bar</a>

WNBA: JUL 15 Indiana Fever at Connecticut Sun

Man Yells ‘F*** The Jews’ At Dave Portnoy, Gets Told Off By Mississippi Crowd

Dave Portnoy

Mississippi

U.S.

Hundreds of requests have poured into the watchdog group StopAntisemitism after it offered last week to help New York City residents relocate over the potential rise of Zohran Mamdani to mayor.
Mamdani, the Democratic candidate for mayor, leads former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, making an independent bid after losing to Mamdani in the primary, and Republican Curtis Sliwa by double-digits in polls. Mamdani calls himself a Democratic Socialist and has been accused by critics of courting antisemites if not trafficking in Jew-hatred himself.
“New Yorkers &#8211; looking to relocate if Mamdani wins the NYC mayoral race? We’d love to connect you to realtors in FL, TX, CT, etc. You deserve to live in a city not run by an antisemite,” an October 16 X <a href="https://x.com/StopAntisemites/status/1978976337067905284">post</a> from StopAntisemitism says.
“If Mamdani is elected, we will make it our mission to remove as much of his tax base as possible. Antisemites understand one thing &#8211; consequences,” a follow-up post says.
More than 300 people have expressed interest in StopAntisemitism’s offer since the post went up, group founder Liora Rez told The Daily Wire. In addition, real estate agents from across the United States have contacted Rez’s group to offer their services for anyone wishing to relocate out of The Big Apple.
Join us now during our exclusive Deal of the Decade. Get everything for $7 a month. Not as fans. As fighters. Go to <a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DailyWire.com/Subscribe</a> to join now.
“I think the vast, vast majority of Jews in New York City are extremely frightened of what will happen if this man takes the mayoral seat. He will put Jewish safety on the back burner,” Rez told The Daily Wire. “I, personally, am deeply afraid that what we are witnessing in London right now – and overall what&#8217;s happening in the UK, whether it’s Manchester, so on and so forth – this is a precursor to what we will see in New York City in the next two to three years, if not sooner.”
Rez’s anecdotal experience – receiving a flood of interest from StopAntisemitism’s campaign – is supported by polling data. A survey released on Friday from Victory Insights has found that as much as a quarter of New York City residents would consider fleeing the city if Mamdani wins the election, according to the <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/10/24/us-news/26-of-new-yorkers-considering-fleeing-nyc-if-zohran-mamdani-becomes-mayor-poll/?utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=nypost">New York Post</a>.
Concerns about antisemitism have swirled around Mamdani’s campaign. His opponents in the mayoral race have hit him repeatedly for refusing to condemn the phrase, “globalize the intifada,” a call for violence against Israel and Jews.
Concerns about Mamdani have been raised by Jewish leaders across the country, with hundreds of rabbis, including dozens in New York City, expressing concern about Mamdani’s positions, rhetoric, and affiliations in an open <a href="https://jewishmajority.org/a-rabbinic-call-to-action">letter</a>.
Mamdani is a close associate of Linda Sarsour, having <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/zohran-mamdani-and-the-future-of-american-politics?srsltid=AfmBOoqEUNlJ9-vGzfhCzR53RUAHFdGc8aq3yHelu35sBbi6_qEagBBQ">joined</a> Sarsour’s Muslim Democratic Club of New York in 2015. The club was <a href="https://www.politico.com/states/new-york/city-hall/story/2013/03/new-yorks-first-muslim-democratic-club-launches-with-a-focus-on-local-issues-007402">co-founded</a> by Sarsour in 2013 as a vehicle to elect like-minded Muslims to political office. In 2018, Sarsour <a href="https://x.com/DGreenbaum/status/1980055653759521202">placed</a> Mamdani on the board of the Muslim Democratic Club.
Sarsour has long been dogged by accusations of antisemitism. She is a vocal supporter of the antisemitic Boycott, Divest, and Sanction movement targeting Israel. She left her leadership position in the leftist activist organization Women’s March in 2018 as she and other leaders were accused of antisemitism and mismanagement.
Mamdani and Sarsour have another connection as well: Imam Siraj Wahhaj, an unindicted co-conspirator in 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Wahhaj, who has been linked to other terrorist activity, has received praise from both <a href="https://x.com/lsarsour/status/436550332383244288">Sarsour</a> and Mamdani.
From Mamdani, the praise came as recently as last week. On October 17, Mamdani posted a photo online of him and Wahhaj, <a href="https://x.com/ZohranKMamdani/status/1979353018589237717">calling</a> the terror-linked Imam a “pillar of the Bed-Stuy community for nearly half a century.”

Requests Flood Group Offering To Relocate New Yorkers Fleeing City Over Mamdani

This past May, I graduated from UCLA Law — not as your typical student, but as a father of four who proudly wore T-shirts with American and Israeli flags every day since October 7, 2023, to show my appreciation for America and my support of Zionism. After enduring firsthand antisemitism and religious discrimination, I sued. While sitting for the Bar this past July, I settled with UCLA for a permanent injunction and <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/ucla-settles-antisemitism-suit-with-6-13m-payout-as-feds-allege-discrimination/">$6.13 million</a> (In honor of the 613 commandments in the Torah). That same day, the Justice Department found UCLA in violation of <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-finds-university-california-los-angeles-violation-federal-civil-rights">federal civil rights laws</a>. As Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon noted, &#8220;UCLA failed to take timely and appropriate action in response to credible claims of harm and hostility on its campus.&#8221;
I’m grateful for the federal government’s swift investigation and actions, including freezing $584 million in grants and proposing a $1.2 billion fine, which have begun to hold UCLA accountable. This past week a federal judge&#8217;s preliminary injunction temporarily restored most of those NIH and NSF grants amid an ongoing lawsuit, this short-term reprieve doesn&#8217;t absolve the university&#8217;s civil rights violations or halt the push for lasting penalties.
Yet, lawsuits from UC unions and statements from California officials, alongside criticism from some Jewish groups calling these efforts ‘misguided and punitive,’ sow cynicism about the real threats Jewish students face. <a href="https://jewishjournal.com/commentary/opinion/383774/trumps-ucla-funding-cut-hurts-science-and-fails-to-protect-jewish-students/">Article</a> after <a href="https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2025-08-19/ucla-1-billion-trump-antisemitism?fbclid=IwY2xjawMRwrBleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETF4T1JsV25OTExCM1pDS3M3AR4Fi1kj0Y5eCUpmbtVOsPwqu8bOvRPbV7r57ot5HFAxVla808tPvx19vm-8UQ_aem_2VyFLfrWJ5zIpGSJ1dD6kQ">article</a> and <a href="https://sites.google.com/view/jewsforuc">statement</a> upon <a href="https://jpac-cal.org/2025/08/12/jpac-opposes-demand-of-a-1-billion-settlement-with-ucla/">statement</a> claim efforts to hold UCLA accountable have nefarious motivations and won&#8217;t protect Jewish students. The irony is that not holding UCLA accountable for persistent failure to address antisemitism is what truly endangers Jewish students. To those who stayed silent when Jews were excluded from campus areas and mobs called for &#8220;Intifada&#8221;: kindly sit this one out.
We can debate the details and methods for addressing UCLA&#8217;s abhorrent antisemitism, but one thing is clear: UCLA&#8217;s sidestepping shouldn&#8217;t fool anyone. They&#8217;re ignoring antisemitism, rather than confronting it head-on.
Even more troubling: Why are some Jewish organizations providing cover for UCLA? Ask <a href="https://crownheights.info/chabad-news/886911/poll-show-that-jewish-university-students-overwhelmingly-feel-chabad-on-campus-supports-them/">Jewish student leaders on campus</a>, and they&#8217;ll tell you only a handful of legacy groups have been helpful. It&#8217;s bad enough that some did nothing to empower students; now, they&#8217;re undermining our efforts.
<div id="attachment_982587" style="width: 825px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-982587" class="size-large wp-image-982587" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/MixCollage-07-Oct-2025-04-24-PM-8454-815x576.jpg" alt="Credit: Yitzy Frankel" width="815" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/MixCollage-07-Oct-2025-04-24-PM-8454-815x576.jpg 815w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/MixCollage-07-Oct-2025-04-24-PM-8454-300x212.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/MixCollage-07-Oct-2025-04-24-PM-8454-768x543.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/MixCollage-07-Oct-2025-04-24-PM-8454-1536x1086.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/MixCollage-07-Oct-2025-04-24-PM-8454-2048x1448.jpg 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 815px) 100vw, 815px" />Credit: Yitzy Frankel</div>
From personal experience, I can spotlight one: the Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC). My friend Shabbos Kestenbaum and I met with SWC leaders, including the CEO, but nothing came of it. Now, they&#8217;ve &#8220;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DNRZv--y-en/?img_index=1">proudly</a>&#8221; signed a letter just last month with the Jewish Public Affairs Committee (JPAC) opposing the federal funding freeze and penalty, claiming it &#8220;does not make Jewish students safer&#8221; (Blind to the reality that perhaps it’s unchecked antisemitism that is making campus unsafe for Jewish students). When I contacted them about how their support spreads lies and misinformation — directly harming Jewish students and covering up antisemitism — I got no response. SWC&#8217;s credibility is now being <a href="https://www.jewishvoicesnj.org/articles/california-jewish-groups-say-trump-1b-demand-of-ucla-does-not-make-jewish-students-safer/">weaponized</a> to shield antisemites, offering silent consent to UCLA&#8217;s inaction instead of demanding real change.
The JPAC statement SWC endorses claims &#8220;meaningful progress is underway.&#8221; Here&#8217;s the reality:
<ol>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Governor Newsom&#8217;s &#8220;<a href="https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Golden-State-Plan-to-Counter-Antisemitism.pdf">Golden State Plan to Combat Antisemitism</a>&#8220;: This April 2024 pamphlet mentions &#8220;Islamophobia,&#8221; &#8220;Arab Americans,&#8221; &#8220;anti-Arab,&#8221; &#8220;anti-Muslim,&#8221; and &#8220;Muslim&#8221; a combined 24 times across 16 pages—undermining the supposed focus on antisemitism. It&#8217;s mostly fluff about councils making recommendations and commissions assessing data, and it&#8217;s proven ineffective at UCLA.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">A <a href="https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/press-room/updates-uc-campus-climate-efforts">Letter</a> from the UC President: It supposedly bans encampments, masking to conceal identity, and blocking campus access, while enforcing time, place, and manner restrictions. But encampments were already illegal, students are never asked to unmask, and rules are openly flouted, with little to no real enforcement.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Praise for Chancellor Frenk: He &#8220;established a dedicated antisemitism initiative, suspended student groups fostering hostility toward Jews, and delivered forceful remarks.&#8221; In truth, Frenk offers empty words. His only action against SJP followed their protest at a Jewish regent&#8217;s <a href="https://dailybruin.com/2025/02/05/pro-palestine-protesters-demonstrate-outside-uc-regent-jay-sures-home">literal doorstep</a>, harassing him and his family. In June 2024, UCLA&#8217;s Administrative Vice Chancellor, Michael Beck, needed <a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/C8Ed7ALOPSo/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">security guards</a> to fend off a masked mob — protection not extended to students.</li>
</ol>
That suspension? Meaningless. Less than two weeks later, SJP held another rally in the same spot as the encampment, complete with drums, megaphones, masks, and a poster glorifying Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. They marched through an academic building, pulled a fire alarm to evacuate classes, blocked streets, and assaulted people — including elbowing me and stealing my USA/Israel flag from a friend nearby — in front of UCLA security.
This was one of many violations, including a grotesque 2024 rally on the anniversary of October 7. After these rallies, their gear is wheeled to the <a href="https://x.com/camhigby/status/1923137670005297443">Muslim Student Association</a> as security turns a blind eye and chases off journalists like Cam Higby. UCLA&#8217;s &#8220;response&#8221;? Sending Student Affairs Monitors to gently &#8220;cajole&#8221; the mob into compliance.
I know UCLA&#8217;s apathy firsthand: UCLA refused to help press charges against encampment participants or discipline any students or faculty. As Andy Ngo <a href="https://x.com/MrAndyNgo/status/1844150116518854735">reported</a>, a law student, Taylor &#8220;Sanyika&#8221; Maloney, remains an enrolled student despite assaulting pro-Israel protesters on camera — including harassing me. She celebrated the murder of Charlie Kirk, openly supported Hamas, and advocated for killing cops. Because UCLA stonewalled law enforcement, the LA City Attorney dropped charges against her and dozens more.
If UCLA truly cared, it would adopt <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1d3ERibWx5D8pS1ky_a8yUX99osE_NqlI/view">recommendations</a> from the Jewish Faculty Resilience Group (JFRG) as a baseline. Instead, this grassroots powerhouse, which has been at the forefront of fighting antisemitism at UCLA, has been ignored and retaliated against.
Donors to large Jewish organizations: Don&#8217;t ask them what they&#8217;re doing for students — ask students what they&#8217;ve done for us. Support groups that students and faculty vouch for.
UCLA&#8217;s environment silences pro-Israel voices. In May 2024, they blocked a pro-Israel speaker, as the Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ucla-blocked-pro-israel-event-conservative-student-group-says">reported</a>. The Daily Wire knows UCLA&#8217;s tactics: In 2017, they dropped an unconstitutional &#8220;<a href="https://www.thecollegefix.com/ucla-drops-unconstitutional-security-fee-demand-ben-shapiro-talk-legal-threat/">security fee</a>&#8221; for Ben Shapiro&#8217;s event. In 2024, I had the honor of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9OY9krfwX0">introducing Ben Shapiro</a> to a packed crowd (with hundreds outside), despite UCLA&#8217;s obstacles.
As a father of four children under eight — equal parts adorable and mischievous — I know misbehavior doesn&#8217;t change without consequences. Federal cuts and penalties are forcing change; they must continue despite lawsuits and smears. Research grants matter, but they should go to institutions that uphold civil rights, not violate them. Other universities, take note: Defy accountability, and pay the price.
* * *
Yitzy Frankel graduated from UCLA Law in May 2025 and now works in criminal defense litigation with renowned trial attorney Michael D. Schwartz. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Esther, and four young children. You can follow him on X <a href="https://x.com/YitZionist">@YitZionist.</a>
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
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No One Should Help UCLA Dodge Consequences. Especially Not Jewish Organizations.

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