Last week, I was honored to be appointed by President Donald Trump to serve on the <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/2025/05/president-donald-trump-names-advisory-board-members-to-the-religious-liverty-commission/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Advisory Board</a> of Religious Leaders for the newly established U.S. <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/05/establishment-of-the-religious-liberty-commission/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Religious Liberty Commission</a>.
The commission is tasked with an issue I&#8217;ve thought a lot about in my capacity as a Jewish leader: I believe that all Americans have the freedom to worship as they choose, and think it&#8217;s crucial we protect religious freedom for all — including Muslim Americans who love this country and support its values.
I am proud to call many of them my friends, and I viscerally deplore any bigotry directed against them. But pretending that “Islamophobia” is a widespread national crisis is a dangerous lie that protects the wrong people and only fuels hatred.
“Islamophobia” may sound like a civil rights concern. But in practice, that term is wielded as a dangerous and repressive weapon. While peaceful Muslim citizens deserve protection from discrimination, Islamist pressure groups and progressive elites cry “Islamophobia” to blur moral lines, suppress condemnation of terrorism, and discount the reality of antisemitism in America and the West.
There is simply no parallel to the plague of antisemitism in human history. But while Jews are <a href="https://www.justice.gov/hatecrimes/hate-crime-statistics" target="_blank" rel="noopener">orders of magnitude</a> more likely to find themselves targeted than members of any other minority group in America, the same advocates for “tolerance” who demeaned “all lives matter” as a racist slogan typically feel compelled, after every performative condemnation of antisemitic harassment and violence, to append “Islamophobia, and all forms of hate.”
In reality, bias against Muslims as Muslims is no more common than bias against other minority faiths. There is no major effort or large-scale advertising campaign to combat discrimination against Hindus, Sikhs, or Buddhists — even though each of those communities faces prejudice. It is not widespread or socially acceptable to display animus against people of a particular faith or ethnicity — except Jews.
What, then, is “Islamophobia?” It is most frequently not an aversion to Islam or peaceful Muslims, but a perfectly rational fear of radical Islamism, its desire for dominance, and its support for terrorism. To call that fear a “phobia” inverts the hater and the victim.
Consider Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-MN) <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrql_Sb30B8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">claim</a> that the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) was started to combat anti-Muslim bias after September 11.
The facts are starkly different. Not only was CAIR founded seven years prior, but a French think tank <a href="https://www.fondapol.org/en/study/islamist-terrorist-attacks-in-the-world-1979-2021/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">identified</a> over 48,000 Islamist terror attacks in less than half a century, causing over 210,000 deaths.
That’s not a minor footnote in history: it is the defining threat of the modern age. And while most Muslims are not extremists, a troubling percentage of them support radical ideas and justify attacks upon American and Western civilians. Studies consistently show that Muslims in the West are several times more likely than the general public to hold <a href="https://www.jns.org/the-adl-and-whitewashing-muslim-antisemitism/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">antisemitic views</a>.
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=memorial&amp;utm_content=editorialmemorialday" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Memorial Day Sale – Get 40% Off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships</a>
Furthermore, the most prominent Muslim advocacy organizations in America, including CAIR, the Islamic Society of North America, and American Muslims for Palestine, are not merely apologists for terror. CAIR and the Islamic Society of North America owe their existence to <a href="https://www.hudson.org/national-security-defense/the-muslim-brotherhood-s-u-s-network" target="_blank" rel="noopener">members</a> of the Muslim Brotherhood; both organizations were unindicted <a href="https://www.investigativeproject.org/documents/case_docs/423.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">co-conspirators</a> who aided the Holy Land Foundation in providing funding for Hamas terrorism.
CAIR’s Executive Director declared that he was “<a href="https://jewishchronicle.timesofisrael.com/cair-executive-director-happy-to-see-oct-7-hamas-terror-attack/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">happy</a>” to see the massacre of Jews in Israel on October 7, 2023, which he <a href="https://jewishchronicle.timesofisrael.com/cair-executive-director-happy-to-see-oct-7-hamas-terror-attack/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called</a> “self-defense.” And American Muslims for Palestine, a group <a href="https://ngo-monitor.org/reports/funding-for-students-for-justice-in-palestine-sjp/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">closely tied</a> to the antisemitic Students for Justice in Palestine and its discriminatory and often-violent activities on college campuses, is currently under investigation by a <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/03/27/us-news/senate-gop-chair-launches-probe-into-american-muslims-for-palestine-for-alleged-ties-to-hamas/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Senate committee</a> for its own ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas.
Despite this, we are told that criticizing radical Islamic terrorism or calling out antisemitism within the Muslim community is itself a form of “Islamophobia.” This is exemplified by CAIR itself, which in 2024 <a href="https://www.cair.com/press_releases/new-cair-data-shows-anti-muslim-anti-palestinian-hate-remain-elevated-in-first-half-of-2024/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">depicted</a> antisemitic violence against Jews on campus as a &#8220;movement opposing the Gaza genocide,&#8221; and claimed that university administrators who halted the harassment and vandalism were &#8220;a primary perpetrator of anti-Muslim racism.&#8221;
The Southern Poverty Law Center <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/resources/extremist-files/anti-muslim/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">labels</a> as “Islamophobic” such organizations as Brigitte Gabriel’s ACT for America, the David Horowitz Freedom Center, and Jihad Watch. It once also included Proclaiming Justice to the Nations, an Evangelical Christian Zionist cause, among those groups.
None of these organizations opposes Islam; only the radical Islamic theology, which is one of the leading drivers of hateful violence today. Condemning them is not tolerance, but gaslighting.
After a wave of antisemitic protests, harassment, and vandalism on its campus, Harvard <a href="https://amgreatness.com/2025/05/20/the-shield-of-veritas/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">formed</a> a Presidential Task Force on Combating Anti-Muslim, Anti-Arab, and Anti-Palestinian Bias. The university started from the premise that these students and faculty were victims, not perpetrators, although it couldn’t identify a unifying explanation for why they were targeted.
In actuality, the one characteristic that all of the purported victims shared in common was quite obvious: antisemitism.
This is why the term “Islamophobia” is so dangerous. It isn’t employed to protect innocent Muslims, but guilty ideologies. It shifts the blame, silences critics, and gives cover to those who cheer as Jews and other “infidels” are slaughtered.
Radical Islamists and their allies cannot be granted leave to rewrite reality. There is no moral equivalence between a Jewish student targeted for wearing a yarmulke and a keffiyeh-clad Muslim activist condemned for cheering Hamas. Stereotyping is always wrong, but there is no epidemic of Americans attacking Muslims as Muslims. There is, instead, a well-funded, well-organized campaign to shield Jew-hatred by claiming that those combating radical Islamic antisemitism are motivated by “Islamophobia.”
This moment demands moral clarity. Not all hate is the same, and not all ideas deserve protection. It’s time to stop pretending that bigotry against Muslims is the crisis, when that false charge is being used to defend and enable radical Islamism, antisemitism, and those who endanger Western civilization.
Rabbi Yaakov Menken is Executive Vice President of the Coalition for Jewish Values and a member of the Advisory Board of Religious Leaders to the U.S. Religious Liberty Commission.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Pro Palestine Columbia students continue occupation of campus

It’s Time To Dispel The ‘Islamophobia’ Myth Once And For All

Anti-Semitism

Donald Trump

Hamas

Ilhan Omar

Islam

Religious Liberty

An Iranian regime insider who once operated at the heart of Tehran’s global assassination network is now collecting a paycheck at Princeton and walking freely on American soil.
His name is <a href="https://www.nysun.com/article/move-to-deport-terror-supporting-professors-ignites-fresh-scrutiny-of-former-iranian-diplomat-accused-of-advancing-terror-whos-still-at-princeton" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hossein Mousavian</a> — and his presence is a direct insult to every American and Israeli who has lost a loved one to Iranian terror. His past affiliations and statements pose direct threats to national security and the moral consistency of American immigration policy.
Today, Mousavian is a Middle East Security and Nuclear Policy Specialist at the Princeton Program on Science and Global Security. But from 1990 to 1997, <a href="https://www.meforum.org/german-think-tank-under-fire-for-hosting-former" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mousavian</a> served as Iran’s ambassador to Germany.
During this period, the infamous 1992 <a href="https://www.rferl.org/a/1079258.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mykonos</a> restaurant assassinations occurred in Berlin, where four Iranian dissidents were murdered. A German court later concluded that the killings were ordered by Iran&#8217;s Special Affairs Committee, implicating the highest levels of the Iranian government.
While Mousavian was not formally charged, the court found that the Iranian embassy in Bonn, which Mousavian led at the time, was identified by the court as a hub for intelligence operations. Testimony from former Iranian intelligence operative <a href="https://www.iranintl.com/en/202403076212" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Abolghasem Mesbahi</a> asserted that Mousavian was allegedly involved in “most of the crimes that took place in Europe” during his tenure.
More recently, <a href="https://jcpa.org/iranian-official-reveals-how-we-eliminated-regime-opponents-in-europe/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mohsen Rafighdoost</a> — a founding figure of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — stated in an interview that the regime was directly involved in the Mykonos killings and suggested Mousavian likely had knowledge of, or was possibly connected to, the broader Iranian assassination program in Europe.
These public confessions don’t just implicate Mousavian in past crimes: they raise alarms about who American institutions are empowering today. The question is no longer what he did, but why he still has access to American students, media platforms, and policy circles.
Rafighdoost also <a href="https://www.iranintl.com/en/202503113972" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admitted</a> in a separate video interview that the Iranian regime orchestrated assassinations of dissidents across Europe in the 1980s and 1990s. He detailed how the IRGC operated dedicated hit squads and even collaborated with external groups like the Basque separatist movement ETA to carry out these killings. His candid confession sheds light on the Iranian government&#8217;s systematic elimination of opposition figures overseas — a program that overlapped with Mousavian’s diplomatic tenure in Europe.
But Mousavian’s troubling record extends beyond history books. In recent <a href="https://x.com/hmousavian/status/1841131157829636119" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Persian-language remarks</a>, he has labeled critics of the Islamic Republic as ‘traitors’ — a term the regime has long used to justify execution, torture, or imprisonment.
Particularly disturbing is his public <a href="https://fararu.com/fa/news/782445/%D9%85%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%B8%D8%B1%D9%87-%D8%AF%D9%88-%D8%AF%DB%8C%D9%BE%D9%84%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D9%BE%DB%8C%D8%B4%DB%8C%D9%86-%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%88-%D8%A2%D9%85%D8%B1%DB%8C%DA%A9%D8%A7-%D8%AE%D8%B5%D9%88%D9%85%D8%AA-%DB%B4%DB%B4-%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%87-%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%80-%D8%A2%D9%85%D8%B1%DB%8C%DA%A9%D8%A7-%D8%A8%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%AF-%D9%BE%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%A7%D9%86-%DB%8C%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%AF" target="_blank" rel="noopener">attack</a> on religious minorities. Following a controversial 2024 speech at <a href="https://mes.dartmouth.edu/news/2024/09/israel-and-iran-future-middle-east" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dartmouth College</a>, he <a href="https://x.com/hmousavian/status/1841131157829636119" target="_blank" rel="noopener">blamed</a> a “Zionist journalist,” the “Israeli lobby,” and “traitorous Iranians, including Baha’is,” for protesting his presence. The <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/04/01/iran-persecution-bahais" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Baha’i faith</a> is brutally persecuted by the regime — its members are routinely jailed, tortured, or executed simply for practicing their beliefs. By lumping them in with “traitors,” Mousavian echoed the exact language the Islamic Republic uses before unleashing crackdowns. Imagine a former Nazi official labeling Jews as enemies from an American podium. That’s the level of moral offense here.
When Mousavian spoke at Dartmouth, <a href="https://www.thedartmouth.com/article/2024/10/dickey-center-hosts-talk-on-israel-and-iran" target="_blank" rel="noopener">local police</a> were deployed to secure the venue. This resulted in American taxpayer dollars being used to secure a public event featuring a former senior official from a regime known not only for targeting dissidents in Europe but also for threatening American lives and interests.
Rather than addressing these legitimate <a href="https://www.change.org/p/petition-cancel-seyed-hossein-mousavian-s-talk-at-dartmouth-college" target="_blank" rel="noopener">concerns</a>, Dartmouth officials defended Mousavian&#8217;s participation. <a href="https://www.meforum.org/fwi/fwi-news/anti-regime-activists-challenge-former-high-ranking-iranian-official-at-dartmouth-college" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Iranian-American</a> <a href="https://x.com/Aidin_FreeIran/status/1840894243612545401?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1840894243612545401%7Ctwgr%5Eac590ccb23d20aa96ee7e499237a4c7247e0f290%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.meforum.org%2Ffwi%2Ffwi-news%2Fanti-regime-activists-challenge-former-high-ranking-iranian-official-at-dartmouth-college" target="_blank" rel="noopener">activists</a> raised direct questions about his complicity in the regime’s crimes, but they were shut down. Event moderator Victoria Holt redirected the discussion, while Professor Ezzedine Fishere, another former diplomat, dismissed concerns by saying, “I am in the business of training students, not convincing you.”
The elite’s eagerness to protect regime operatives while dismissing victims of Iran’s terror machine reveals a dangerous rot. For Iranian dissidents, the Jewish community, and anyone who values liberty and truth, the message is clear: your trauma takes a back seat to regime diplomacy
This moment demands action. <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/world/cruz-urges-princeton-take-action-over-professor-accused-pro-iran-allegiances-citing-risk-students" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Senator Ted Cruz</a> (R-TX) recently called for Mousavian’s deportation on national security grounds, echoing broader bipartisan concerns about regime affiliates residing in the United States. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have recently enacted policies aimed precisely at individuals like <a href="https://www.hstoday.us/featured/perspective-the-u-s-must-investigate-iranian-regime-networks-inside-the-homeland/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mousavian</a> — foreign nationals supportive of terrorism or espousing hateful rhetoric.
Mousavian checks both boxes. He has publicly downplayed or defended groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah, and frequently attributes criticism directed at him to “Zionist lobbies” and “traitors.” Even if Mousavian holds a permanent resident status, historical precedent exists for revoking permanent residency or deporting individuals linked to hostile regimes or involved in activities detrimental to national security.
For example, in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/25/us/national-briefing-midwest-ohio-imam-loses-citizenship-over-terrorist.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2004</a>, the United States government deported Imam Fawaz Damra, a longtime Cleveland-area imam, stripping him of his permanent residency after it was revealed he concealed his ties and support for terrorist groups when obtaining residency. Damra’s deportation sets a clear precedent: permanent residency is not an unconditional shield against accountability when national security concerns are at stake.
Mousavian’s presence demands immediate investigation by the Department of Homeland Security and revocation of any visa or green card under anti-terrorism provisions. The Trump administration has the tools — and the moral duty — to act. The safety of Americans and the integrity of our immigration system depend on it.
Hossein Mousavian’s continued residence and academic appointment in the United States stand in direct contradiction to the country’s values and security interests. Given his history, statements, and the regime’s confirmed record of extraterritorial assassinations, his presence is indefensible. This is not about academic freedom or political dissent. It’s about protecting America from the enablers of terrorism.
The time has come to ask not only why he is here — but why he was ever allowed to stay.
Dr. Aidin Panahi is an Iranian-American research professor, energy expert, and political activist. He is the cofounder of the “From Boston to Iran” initiative and his analyses on security and policy issues have appeared in outlets including The Jerusalem Post, Washington Times, the Jerusalem Strategic Tribune, Middle East Forum, Homeland Security Today, and Visegrád24. X: @Aidin_FreeIran
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Head of the Iranian delegation, Hossein

This Princeton Scholar Was Once A High-Ranking Iranian Official. Why Is He Still Here?

Iran

IRGC

Princeton University

Fiercely pro-Israel Australian commenter Erin Molan ripped Francesca Albanese, the viciously anti-Israel UN Special Rapporteur for the United Nations on the Palestinian territories, after Albanese complained about her reputation having suffered for her despicable behavior, including denying that Hamas raped Israeli women on October 7, 2023.
Albanese has accused Israel of genocide, comparing Israel to Nazi Germany, and campaigned to have the Jewish state expelled from the UN.
&#8220;Our favorite fraud: Francesca Albanese. She’s upset,&#8221; Molan noted. &#8220;No, not about denying the rape of Israeli women; don’t be silly. Nor about the atrocities of October 7. Don’t be daft. Or the impact of her atrocious lies on millions of innocents around the world. You’re kidding.&#8221;
&#8220;You want to know what she’s actually upset about, what she’s losing sleep about?&#8221; she asked. &#8220;Brace yourself: What some people might think of her.&#8221;
Molan played a clip of Albanese moaning, &#8220;I despise and resent the reputational damage that they’ve caused me.&#8221;
&#8220;Where do you even start with that? Do you even bother?&#8221; Molan reacted. &#8220;Maybe just a tiny bit.&#8221;
She then addressed Albanese directly: &#8220;Francesca. One’s own reputation is often a direct result of one’s own actions. Your behavior has been appalling, derelict, dangerous, and unforgivable. You’ve only increased and further encouraged the suffering of the very people you purport to care about and stand for with your denial, your hate, and your hollow rhetoric. Anyone thinking ill of you is all your own doing. Take credit. Some of us just might have helped point it out a little bit. In fact, I’m somewhat encouraged by this revelation that people are starting to cotton on; clearly, if you’re noticing, then other people must be.&#8221;
Molan gave a shout-out to Hillel Neuer from UN Watch &#8220;for doing so much of the heavy lifting here.&#8221; She then showed a clip of Albanese refusing to answer whether she was an anti-Semite and another clip where Albanese said of the Hamas rape of women on October 7, “Let’s assume that rape occurred. So?”
Molan quoted a <a href="https://x.com/FranceskAlbs/status/1921183811158597668">post</a> on X Albanese made within the past week in which she attacked Israel, writing:
<blockquote>
How did we get here? How do we let an army announce to the world the destruction of a people and then level every home, seize every field , shatter every possession they had — even with laughter.  How did we let them kidnap, torture, and rape, even with dogs. And now, starve them — even the children. And what unshakable belief blinds us to what we —  collectively — have done. May they have mercy.
</blockquote>
&#8220;There is no way that she can be unaware that she is essentially describing October 7,&#8221; Molan charged. &#8220;Not even she can be that stupid. But on the off chance her idiocy is less evil and more ignorance, I’ll explain briefly, for the millionth time, Francesca, exactly how we got here. Are you listening?&#8221;
Molan then stated:
<blockquote>
On October 7, the terrorists that you champion slaughtered over 1200 innocent people and took hostages completely unprovoked, many of whom still remain in Gaza. The terrorists you champion continue to try and kill Israelis and Jews — and their own people. It’s all on video. Their own people, while simultaneously promising to never stop. The terrorists you champion are further emboldened and empowered by your voice and others like it to continue their evil rather than face a deserved mass condemnation of the free world which they should have received.
</blockquote>
&#8220;So Francesca, you ask how did we get here, still with innocents dying?&#8221; Molan questioned. &#8220;The answer is: In many ways, because of you and people like you. You never fought for innocent Palestinians, as is your mandate; you instead further inflicted devastating suffering upon them by perpetuating the myth that their enemy is Israel, instead of the very terrorists legitimately responsible for all of their suffering. If you genuinely cared about them, you would fight for the safe and prosperous future of all in the Middle East. It’s all or none. In full awareness that that will only ever be achieved without terrorism.&#8221;
&#8220;So hopefully, I’ve killed two birds with one stone here, and you have a little further clarity as to how we got here; you asked. And also why your reputation is increasingly in tatters,&#8221; she concluded.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LwYv7olmnUA?si=-UG724z3C0rjLNZf&amp;start=370" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
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Mercedes-Benz Sydney Women In Business Luncheon – Arrivals

‘Our Favorite Fraud’: Erin Molan Tears Apart Viciously Anti-Israel UN Rapporteur

anti-Israel

Erin Molan

Francesca Albanese

United Nations

Columbia University laid off nearly 180 staff members on Tuesday due to the Trump administration&#8217;s decision to cut $400 million in federal funding over what officials described as the school&#8217;s “continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.”
&#8220;We understand this news will be hard,&#8221; Claire Shipman, Columbia University&#8217;s acting president, <a href="https://president.columbia.edu/news/preserving-columbias-critical-research-capabilities">wrote</a> in a statement with other top officials, citing &#8220;intense strain on Columbia&#8217;s finances and research mission&#8221; as a result of Trump&#8217;s cuts to federal funding.
The funding <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-admin-slashes-columbia-funding-citing-inaction-on-anti-semitic-harassment-on-campus">cuts</a> came in early March after Trump’s Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism determined the Ivy League institution had failed to adequately protect Jewish students from harassment.
“Since October 7, Jewish students have faced relentless violence, intimidation, and anti-Semitic harassment on their campuses — only to be ignored by those who are supposed to protect them,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon <a href="https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/doj-hhs-ed-and-gsa-announce-initial-cancelation-of-grants-and-contracts-columbia-university-worth-400-million">said</a> in a statement at the time.
According to The New York Times, more than 300 multi-year research grants have been <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/06/us/politics/columbia-layoffs-trump-research-cuts.html?smid=url-share">slashed</a>, shrinking their approximately $1.3 billion in federal research funds in 2023 to practically nothing.
Among the cut grants was a project examining &#8220;the consequences of structural racism on substance use risk in Puerto Rican adolescents,” as the Times puts it, with a researcher lamenting that it was &#8220;very disheartening to see the wheels of science kind of grinding to a halt in certain ways.&#8221;
Columbia had been temporarily paying the salaries of some affected researchers while departments developed plans to navigate the cuts, although Tuesday&#8217;s layoffs signal an apparent end to this approach.
The layoffs <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/columbia-university-cuts-180-staffers-funded-federal-grants-revoked-tr-rcna205080">affect</a> roughly 20% of research staff &#8220;who have been working, in whole or in part, on impacted federal grants.&#8221;
&#8220;Columbia’s leadership continues discussions with the federal government in support of resuming activity on these research awards and additional other awards that have remained active, but unpaid,&#8221; the Tuesday statement reads. &#8220;We are working on and planning for every eventuality, but the strain in the meantime, financially and on our research mission, is intense.&#8221;
Moving forward, scientists at the university can apply for limited grants to complete their research and support graduate students who would otherwise be terminated, although the university added that it would be &#8220;running lighter footprints of research infrastructure.&#8221;
Columbia has <a href="https://president.columbia.edu/content/fulfilling-our-commitments">attempted</a> to comply with the administration&#8217;s first round of demands, but negotiations to restore the funding remain ongoing.
&#8220;In the coming weeks and months, we will need to continue to take actions that preserve our financial flexibility and allow us to invest in areas that drive us forward,&#8221; officials said.
The cuts are part of a broader effort by the Trump administration targeting universities over allegations of anti-Semitism, with dozens of other institutions facing similar scrutiny.

Pro-Palestinian Protests Continue At Columbia University In New York City

Columbia Axes 180 Staff After Trump Cuts $400 Million In Federal Funding

Columbia University

Education

Pro-Hamas

Protest

Trump Administration

U.S.

Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy turned an ABC News interview on its head when a reporter from Philadelphia affiliate 6abc suggested that he and his company — and white men in general — were truly the ones at fault after patrons held up a sign that read &#8220;F*** the Jews&#8221; at his bar in Philadelphia.
Portnoy, who is Jewish, shared a video on X detailing the incident and saying that after the story about the sign went viral, numerous outlets had reached out to him to talk about it. He agreed, and was talking to a reporter from 6abc when the whole thing went sideways and he caught the entire exchange on video.
&#8220;So @6abc begged me to do an interview about the incident at our bar. Since it was local I agreed. Then the reporter tried to say Barstool and I and white men were responsible for the incident. Austin started recording once it got contentious,&#8221; Portnoy captioned the clip.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
So <a href="https://twitter.com/6abc?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@6abc</a> begged me to do an interview about the incident at our bar. Since it was local I agreed. Then the reporter tried to say Barstool and I and white men were responsible for the incident. Austin started recording once it got contentious <a href="https://t.co/ug8CX83HHp">pic.twitter.com/ug8CX83HHp</a>
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) <a href="https://twitter.com/stoolpresidente/status/1919400773269508487?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 5, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Portnoy explained that he&#8217;d been happy to do the interview initially, but that the outlet had pulled a &#8220;bait and switch&#8221; by pitching one reporter and then having a different reporter do the interview. The new reporter had then blindsided him with a quote claiming that Barstool Sports had created a &#8220;culture of harassment&#8221; and was therefore responsible for the hateful sign displayed by patrons — and things only went downhill from there.
&#8220;Then she shifts. Then she does what a media scumbag does,&#8221; Portnoy said. &#8220;She&#8217;s like, well, she pulls a quote out of her a** from like, I don&#8217;t even know, a made up journal?&#8221;
Portnoy cut to video from the actual interview then.
&#8220;Here&#8217;s who I would say is causing that type of environment: all these colleges who let Jewish kids get harassed on campus 24-7. I&#8217;ve been speaking out about this since it started. So these professors, I&#8217;d love to know — first of all, that sounds like a made up — I don&#8217;t know what that quote is,&#8221; Portnoy said to the reporter, asking where the professors were from.
The reporter pushed back, suggesting Portnoy was wasting time by asking for background information, but eventually revealed that the quoted professor was at the University of Virginia.
Portnoy then challenged the reporter directly, asking, &#8220;Who&#8217;s creating more hate right now in the world, would you say Barstool Sports and white men or college campuses?&#8221;
After a long pause, Portnoy clarified, &#8220;That was a question to you.&#8221;
&#8220;I&#8217;m a journalist, I&#8217;m asking the questions,&#8221; the reporter protested.
&#8220;I don&#8217;t play by those rules. What does that mean, you&#8217;re a journalist?&#8221; Portnoy shot back. &#8220;I&#8217;m a journalist. I run a big media organization. I just asked you a question &#8230; I asked you a question, you answer the question. You answer the question.&#8221;
The reporter continued to object: &#8220;You&#8217;re not running this interview.&#8221;
&#8220;All right, then, the interview is over,&#8221; Portnoy said, closing his laptop.
Cutting back to his direct video format, he added, &#8220;This piece of s***. ABC, the person who set it up, gave me one reporter, bait and switch to the other. F*** ABC! F*** ABC! … I forgot how much I hate f***ing journalists. This f***ing piece of s***!&#8221;

New England Patriots v Buffalo Bills

Dave Portnoy Flips Script On Reporter Who Suggests He’s To Blame For ‘F*** The Jews’ Sign At His Bar

Barstool

Barstool Sports

College

Dave Portnoy

Jewish

Media

Philadelphia

In an act of heroic defiance against the oppressive tyranny of Donald Trump, the leadership of Harvard University has bravely declared that, no matter what pressure Trump brings against them, they will not surrender their constitutional right to be the worst people in the country.
The conflict between the university and the administration began after hundreds of Harvard students flooded the campus calling for genocide against the Jews. Further investigation suggested the students may have picked up their antisemitic ideas from what they learned in such Harvard classes as Studies in Antisemitism in which the final exam required students to flood the campus and call for genocide against the Jews. Finally, then-Harvard president Claudine Gay refused to denounce the antisemitic actions and was forced to resign when the board discovered she wasn’t really gay, that just happened to be her name.
Trump reacted cruelly, threatening to deprive Harvard of billions of dollars in federal funding if the University administration does not at least try to demonstrate they possess something vaguely resembling human decency. In order to keep the federal dollars flowing, Trump says, Harvard’s leadership and faculty would have to (one) stop hating Jews, (two), stop teaching their students to hate Jews and (three), hire professors who will introduce students to ideas other than hating Jews or at least hint that such ideas exist or at least refrain from screaming at the students and calling them names when they wonder aloud whether such ideas might exist or if the whole intellectual world resembles the flaming hate-filled hellscape of Harvard University.
But Harvard’s current President, Adolf Ratbag, declares that he absolutely refuses to let a fascist like Trump bully him into humane behavior. In a statement that sounded better in the original German, President Ratbag shook his fist at Shlomo Judenstein, an invisible imaginary enemy who has followed him around since childhood, and shouted, “In a free society, our greatest university cannot compromise our right to sink into a morass of intellectual degradation based on false premises. We have a sacred responsibility to mold America’s best and brightest into dark, gnarled souls reminiscent of images of the damned in medieval paintings of the Last Judgement. It was one thing when Obama insisted we deprive male students of their due process rights whenever they got accused of sexual malfeasance by some girl who once got so drunk she slept with the entire crew team. It was another thing when Biden declared that Title IX required us to give equal treatment to women and men who say they’re women and a pair of poodles who were dressed up in pink sweaters and adorable fluffy hats by a six-year-old who wanted to pretend they were women. At least, those demands were in keeping with our undying commitment to sexual perversity and moral turpitude. But when a thug like Trump demands we have to replace our sterling array of professors who are morally deformed leftist troglodytes with teachers dedicated to shaping young minds to the good, he has crossed the line. As far as we’re concerned, Trump would be worse than Adolf Hitler, if Adolf Hitler were a bad guy.”
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/the-andrew-klavan-show">WATCH: The Andrew Klavan Show</a></h3>
To further demonstrate the university’s heroically unyielding stance, Professor Ratbag released this year’s Harvard syllabus to the media. The syllabus promises that the university will continue to provide such classes as Western Civilization 101, What it is and how to destroy it; Introduction to Shakespeare and the King James Bible, How they can light our way if only we set them on fire; and Giving Up Whiteness, in which students will stop using any device invented by a white male beginning on the first day of class at noon and ending around 12:05 because, let’s face it, those bastards invented everything.
The Trump administration says it will continue to withhold funds until Harvard not only changes the syllabus, but also cancels a planned musical based on Mein Kampf and changes the school slogan back to “Veritas” instead of “Look Out, There’s a Jew Sneaking Up Behind You!”
Pledging resistance, President Ratbag and his administration have taken refuge in an underground bunker where they plan to watch the movie “Downfall” over and over in the hope it inspires them with some fresh ideas.
* * *
This excerpt is taken from the opening satirical monologue of “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/the-andrew-klavan-show" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Andrew Klavan Show</a>.”
The views expressed in this satirical article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
Andrew Klavan is the host of “The Andrew Klavan Show” at The Daily Wire. Follow him on X: @andrewklavan
Klavan is the bestselling author of numerous books, including the Cameron Winter Mystery series. The fourth installment, “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1613165536?ref_=dbs_m_mng_rwt_calw_thcv_3&amp;storeType=ebooks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A Woman Underground.</a>” His most recent nonfiction release is “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Kingdom-Cain-Finding-Literature-Darkness/dp/0310368340/?_encoding=UTF8&amp;pd_rd_w=nMYjR&amp;content-id=amzn1.sym.bc3ba8d1-5076-4ab7-9ba8-a5c6211e002d&amp;pf_rd_p=bc3ba8d1-5076-4ab7-9ba8-a5c6211e002d&amp;pf_rd_r=133-8344803-2786917&amp;pd_rd_wg=7a8J3&amp;pd_rd_r=5791ea0f-6d96-4732-9d6a-3a4e6b348bb5&amp;ref_=aufs_ap_sc_dsk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Kingdom of Cain: Finding God in the Literature of Darkness.</a>” (May 2025, Zondervan/HarperCollins).

TOPSHOT-US-ISRAEL-PALESTINIAN-CONFLICT-PROTEST

Harvard President, Adolf Ratbag, Refuses To Allow Trump To Bully Him Into Humane Behavior

Andrew Klavan

Harvard

Humor

Israel

Ivy League

President Trump

Satire

When I enrolled at Indiana University I never thought I would see my peers graffiti “DIVEST NOW” across campus buildings and sidewalks. Now, to make matters worse, those same activists are threatening the university itself with ultimatums and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DCffDcmxmyn/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&amp;igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==" target="_blank" rel="noopener">demands</a>.
“IU has until January 13 to respond, or we escalate.”
As a Jewish student at IU, I’ve witnessed firsthand how their actions have disrupted our campus. Their constant protests, graffiti, and inflammatory rhetoric haven’t just created tension, they’ve made Jewish students feel unsafe and unwelcome. Let’s be clear: the demands they’re making aren’t just unrealistic — they’re reckless. Their tantrums have hijacked campus discourse, turning what should be a place for learning into a battleground of intimidation.
So, what exactly are their demands? It’s complicated.
For starters, they’ve called for the resignation of our administrative leaders, including IU President Pam Whitten, Provost Rahul Shrivastav, and Vice Provost for Faculty and Academic Affairs Carrie Docherty. Why? Because, according to IU Divest, these administrators failed to properly respond to the group’s accusations—accusations grounded in rhetoric that many students, including myself, see as <a href="https://www.jpost.com/israel-hamas-war/article-801408" target="_blank" rel="noopener">antisemitic</a>.
The coalition’s second demand, and the basis for their name, is that IU <a href="https://iuidivest.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">immediately divest</a> from any Israeli-affiliated organization. They specifically target IU’s <a href="https://www.idsnews.com/article/2025/01/iudc-protest-bloomington-faculty-council" target="_blank" rel="noopener">partnership</a> with the Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division, an institution involved in research collaborations.
But here’s the reality: In 2016, the state of Indiana passed a <a href="https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2016/bills/house/1378/details" target="_blank" rel="noopener">law</a> prohibiting public funds from supporting institutions that discriminate against Israeli entities. If IU were to adopt the BDS movement’s goals, the university could lose over <a href="https://www.idsnews.com/article/2025/01/iudc-protest-bloomington-faculty-council" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$250 million</a> in state funding. That includes money for faculty salaries, scholarships, research, and major campus projects.
Beyond the financial catastrophe, such a move would isolate IU from world-class Israeli institutions in medicine, technology, and academia. It would destroy opportunities for collaboration and innovation. Instead of fostering global dialogue, it would send a clear message that certain students and scholars aren’t welcome. IU would become less attractive to anyone who values academic freedom and global engagement.
And for what? Just to placate the tantrums of homegrown <a href="https://www.heraldtimesonline.com/story/opinion/columns/2024/12/08/column-indiana-university-antisemitic-pro-hamas-graffiti-must-stop/76771278007/">terror</a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/C6Tj4RwOpFg/?hl=en&amp;img_index=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">supporters</a> who seem more interested in performative outrage than constructive dialogue?
Then there’s IU Divest’s version of “activism.”
Since Hamas’s murder of 1,200 people on October 7, 2023, and the continued torture of Israeli hostages deep in the dungeons of Gaza, IU Divest continues to threaten the entire Indiana University and Bloomington community with their incessant calls for “resistance” and flagrant intimidation of Jewish students.
For example, two days after their “deadline,” the word &#8216;DIVEST&#8217;, accompanied by Palestinian flags, was <a href="https://x.com/StopAntisemites/status/1879526605481033832">spray-painted</a> in the snow in Dunn Meadow — facing Chabad, a place for Jewish students to gather, a cornerstone of IU’s Jewish student life. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Jewish students at Indiana University were shocked to find &#39;DIVEST&#39; and Palestinian flags painted in the snow outside the campus Chabad—a disturbing act of targeted harassment. 
We urge <a href="https://twitter.com/IndianaUniv?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@IndianaUniv</a> to take this incident seriously and conduct a thorough investigation… <a href="https://t.co/NTCOCgSNa2">pic.twitter.com/NTCOCgSNa2</a>
&mdash; StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) <a href="https://twitter.com/StopAntisemites/status/1879526605481033832?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 15, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Months earlier, the statue of <a href="https://www.idsnews.com/article/2024/10/iu-statue-vandalism-herman-b-wells-iupd-search-warrants" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Herman B Wells</a>, a beloved IU figure, was defaced with red paint and a Palestinian flag. Around the same time, a fake bomb was left outside the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering causing panic and fear across the campus community.
Right now, Israel is being pressured to release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners — many convicted of violent crimes — in exchange for just a few hostages. The irony of IU Divest’s self-righteous language is hard to ignore.
So, if it’s public knowledge that IU can’t legally adopt BDS without devastating consequences, why is the coalition still pushing this?
With all of this in mind, it seems reasonable to wonder if these student activists are merely ignorant ideologues or if this is all just political theater disguising a bigger urge to take out their personal inadequacies on IU’s proud, local Jewish minority.
The group is either ignorant or deliberately trying to intimidate Jewish students at IU. Hopefully, it’s now clear what “divest now” really means for IU and why supporting such a misguided movement is harmful.
This is exactly why Indiana’s state law includes the IHRA definition of antisemitism—because it recognizes the link between movements like BDS and real-world harassment. It’s comforting to see IU’s administration standing firm, but as students, we also have a responsibility to call this out. No student should be silenced. No university should be threatened into breaking the law. And no campaign should be allowed to hide its hostility behind slogans and spray paint.
* * *
Rachel Applefield is a senior at Indiana University studying Law and Public Policy with a minor in Social Welfare Advocacy and a 2024-2025 CAMERA on Campus Fellow.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Campus scene University of Indiana Bloomington

Antisemitic ‘Activists’ Have Turned My Campus Into A Battleground Of Intimidation

Indiana University

Opinion

Protests

Students

The man suspected of setting the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion on fire while Gov. Josh Shapiro and his family were sleeping was motivated by his hatred for Israel, a 911 call reveals.
After 38-year-old Cody Balmer set fire to the mansion in the early hours of Sunday morning, he called the police to tell them he would not take part in [Shapiro’s] plans for what he wants to do to the Palestinian people,” <a href="https://www.pennlive.com/crime/2025/04/arson-suspect-targeted-pa-gov-shapiro-for-what-he-wants-to-do-to-palestinian-people-search-warrant.html?outputType=amp">Penn Live</a> reported.
Balmer added that he wanted to “stop having my friends killed” and that “our people have been put through too much by that monster.” Police reportedly say Balmer appeared to be reading from a script, based on his intonation and cadence.
“You all know where to find me. I’m not hiding, and I will confess to everything that I had done,” Balmer said.
Balmer targeted Shapiro “based upon perceived injustices to the people of Palestine” and because of Shapiro’s faith, according to a warrant for his devices signed Tuesday by Corporal Benjamin Forsythe of the Pennsylvania State Police, Penn Live reported. The warrant reportedly does not cite the evidence that Shapiro was targeted for being Jewish.
Balmer’s storage unit in Swatara Township reportedly had stickers of South American Marxist revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara inside a toolbox.
Police <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25896483-balmer-criminal-complaint-and-affidavit-mdj-klein/">documents</a> reveal that Balmer admitted to harboring “hatred towards” Shapiro and planned on <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/arson-suspect-planned-on-beating-josh-shapiro-with-hammer-police?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Arson+Suspect+Planned+On+Beating+Josh+Shapiro+With+Hammer%3A+Police">beating him with a hammer</a> if he encountered the governor during the attack, where he allegedly threw two Molotov cocktails into the Harrisburg home.
The attack, which did significant damage to the governor’s mansion, led to police waking and escorting Shapiro’s family from the home. The attack took place hours after the Shapiro family finished their Passover Seder meal.
Balmer has been charged with eight crimes, including attempted homicide, aggravated arson, burglary, reckless endangerment, terrorism, and multiple counts of aggravated assault. He faces over 100 years in prison.
Balmer turned himself in to the police shortly after his ex-girlfriend alerted authorities that he was responsible. Balmer admitted to the attack and told police that he knew people could be harmed, according to a police affidavit.
“He advised on the date in question he removed gasoline from a lawn mower and poured it into Heineken Bottles he found at his residence,” the police affidavit says. “Balmer advised he walked for approximately one hour from his residence to the Governor’s Residence to throw his homemade Molotov cocktails into the residence.” 
Balmer’s mother <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/josh-shapiro-governors-residence-harrisburg-fire/">told</a> the media that her son was “mentally ill and he went off his medication.”
Police were dispatched to Balmer’s home in January 2023 to respond to a report of domestic violence. When police arrived, Balmer told them he attempted suicide with a “bottle full of pills” and got into a fight with his wife and 13-year-old son, according to an affidavit from the Penbrook police department.
Balmer’s wife said he hit the boy and punched her in the face and bit her hand, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/14/politics/cody-balmer-shapiro-arson-suspect-invs/index.html">CNN reported</a>. His wife added that another 10-year-old son was elbowed in the chest multiple times, and had his already-broken leg stepped on. 
Balmer was reportedly charged with three counts of simple assault at the time, but it is unclear whether he entered a plea. The case is ongoing.

Pennsylvania Governor Shapiro’s Residence Set On Fire In Suspected Arson Attack

Arsonist Arrested For Attack On Josh Shapiro Hated Israel, 911 Call Reveals

Crime

Josh Shapiro

Palestine

Pennsylvania

Another legal battle is brewing over the deportation of half a million migrants allowed into the United States by Joe Biden. President Donald Trump pulls the federal funding rug out from under NPR, PBS – and Harvard. Will it hold up in Congress and the courts? And, Mark Zuckerberg is back in the hot seat as Facebook is accused of antitrust practices and cozying up to China.
It’s Wednesday, April 16, and this is the news you need to know to start your day. If you’d rather listen to your news, today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below:
<iframe style="width: 100%; max-width: 660px; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 10px;" src="https://embed.podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/judge-blocks-deportation-effort-federal-funding-fights/id1576594336?i=1000703714504" height="175" frameborder="0" sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation"></iframe>
<h2>Trump Blocks Migrant Benefits, Border Crossings At All-Time Low</h2>
<div id="attachment_908237" style="width: 875px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-908237" class="size-large wp-image-908237" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Border-Wall-865x576.jpg" alt="" width="865" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Border-Wall-865x576.jpg 865w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Border-Wall-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Border-Wall-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Border-Wall-1536x1023.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Border-Wall-2048x1364.jpg 2048w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Border-Wall-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Border-Wall-1200x800.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 865px) 100vw, 865px" />(Photo by Jorge Salgado/Anadolu via Getty Images)</div>
Topline: Border crossings continue to fall at a historic pace as President Trump takes new steps to prevent illegal immigrants from accessing taxpayer benefits.
In recent years, the Biden administration enacted a controversial humanitarian parole program that offered legal status and two-year work permits to migrants from Venezuela, Haiti, Cuba, and Nicaragua. More than 530,000 people from those countries took advantage and flew directly to the United States. In March, President Trump moved to revoke legal status for those migrants, giving them until April 24 to leave the country or face deportation.
The White House argued these migrants were undermining American workers and faced little vetting before entering the country. But this week, a federal judge appointed by President Barack Obama blocked that effort, saying the Trump administration must instead offer each migrant a case-by-case review before revoking legal status.
However, in general, the Trump administration’s immigration efforts have borne fruit. The latest report from Customs and Border Protection confirmed that border crossings fell 95% in <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/2025/04/icymi-illegal-border-crossings-hit-new-record-low-in-march/">March</a> compared to the same month last year, with just 7,100 migrants apprehended across the entire month – that’s roughly the number of migrants that came in every single day during Biden’s term in office. The Trump administration has also continued to go after the roughly 435,000 people living here illegally who’ve been convicted of additional crimes. ICE arrests have tripled in the last three months, and the number of illegal aliens in detention facilities is at an all-time high.
“We did in three weeks what Biden didn’t do in three or four years,” Border czar Tom Homan <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/1911893560116592730">said</a>. “Right now as you and I are talking, we have the most secure border in the history of this nation and the data proves it.”
According to The New York Times, the White House is now seeking $45 billion in additional funding to construct new detention facilities so it can expedite its mass deportation effort. The public still broadly approves of Trump’s immigration policy.
<h2>Trump Moves To Cut Funding To NPR, PBS &amp; Harvard</h2>
<div id="attachment_908239" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-908239" class="size-large wp-image-908239" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/NPR-PBS-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/NPR-PBS-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/NPR-PBS-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/NPR-PBS-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/NPR-PBS-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/NPR-PBS-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/NPR-PBS-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/NPR-PBS-1200x800.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />(Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)</div>
Topline: President Trump is renewing his push to strip NPR and PBS of their funding while also freezing more than $2 billion in federal grants earmarked for Harvard. The moves have sparked heated debate, with supporters calling it a step toward fiscal responsibility and critics warning it threatens independent journalism and academic freedom.
Conservatives have talked about defunding NPR and PBS for years, but now they appear to have the political winds at their backs. Trust in the media is at an all-time low, and a lot of Americans are sympathetic to the idea that we do not need to spend billions of dollars in taxpayer money on these entities that many view as biased.
President Trump specifically accused NPR of being “a mouthpiece for the radical left.” And he’s calling on Republicans in Congress to introduce legislation that rescinds the funds that had been previously approved. Rescission would require the approval of the House and the Senate, where Republicans control narrow majorities and are already negotiating a major spending package.
Meanwhile: The Trump administration froze $2.2 billion in multi-year grants and $60 million in contracts to Harvard after the university refused demands to overhaul its policies, and as much as $9 billion in funding could be on the table. The White House, through its Joint Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, claims Harvard hasn’t done enough to address antisemitism tied to radical anti-Israel and pro-Hamas campus protests. They demanded changes like banning face masks, which a lot of the protestors wear, and enforcing merit-based rather than race-based admissions.
Harvard’s president, Alan Garber, rejected these demands, calling them a violation of First Amendment rights and academic freedom, saying in a statement “No government — regardless of which party is in power — should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue.”
<h2>Facebook Faces Antitrust Lawsuit</h2>
<div id="attachment_908241" style="width: 778px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-908241" class="size-large wp-image-908241" src="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Facebook-dislike-768x576.jpg" alt="" width="768" height="576" srcset="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Facebook-dislike-768x576.jpg 768w, https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Facebook-dislike-300x225.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px" />(Photo by Alfieri via Getty Images)</div>
Topline: FTC vs Meta Platforms, Inc. began in court this week. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg sat for his second day of testimony in the trial that risks breaking up his social media empire.
This case was initially brought during President Trump’s first term and has taken more than four years to work through the courts. The FTC says that Meta is a monopoly that has bought its way out of competing. The government argues that when Facebook paid $1 billion for Instagram in 2012 and bought WhatsApp in a nearly $22 billion deal in 2014, Facebook illegally cornered what the FTC calls the “personal social-networking” market. According to the government, the only other major competitors to Facebook are Snapchat and an app called MeWe.
Meta disputes this. It says the market is actually much larger, and includes TikTok, YouTube, and X. For instance, when TikTok had an outage earlier this year, Instagram saw its usage spike, which suggests that people use the sites interchangeably. Meta has also argued that by going after it, the Trump administration is helping the Chinese-owned TikTok even more. TikTok was banned in the United States <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tiktok-rages-after-u-s-passes-law-requiring-its-sale-from-chinese-parent-company">last year</a>, but earlier this month, Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-extends-tiktok-sale-deadline-by-75-days-as-acquisition-talks-continue">extended</a> the pause on a Congressionally-approved ban on that app that was put into place in January.
This trial is expected to go on for eight weeks, so there will be plenty more ahead. But if Meta loses, it could be forced to sell off Instagram and WhatsApp.

The-White-House-Press-Secretary-Karoline-Leavitt-Had-Press-Brief

Morning Brief: Border Crossings Plummet, NPR Funding Trouble & Meta Antitrust

Anti-trust

Harvard University

Illegal Immigration

Mark Zuckerberg

Morning Wire

National Public Radio (NPR)

Politics

The executive branch is now making the claim that Harvard University should have its funding removed because it is in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1965.
Harvard declared it was going to resist the Trump administration&#8217;s <a href="https://www.harvard.edu/research-funding/wp-content/uploads/sites/16/2025/04/Letter-Sent-to-Harvard-2025-04-11.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">demands</a> to change its governance structure over campus anti-Semitism concerns. And so the government responded by announcing a $2.26 billion freeze of Harvard&#8217;s multiyear grants and contracts.
Harvard President Alan Garber put out <a href="https://www.harvard.edu/president/news/2025/the-promise-of-american-higher-education/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a statement</a> complaining that the federal government was wrong for involving itself in this way. How dare the federal government actually attach strings to the things it has always attached its strings to?
The Trump administration asked for nine actions. Most of the demands concerned how the university operates. The government was asking for changes like a comprehensive mask bans, changes to governance and leadership, along with reforms to admissions and DEI programs.
These programs are in violation of the Civil Rights Act. There is no question that DEI would be predicated on the false notion that inequality of outcome by group must be due to discrimination and therefore must be rectified by reverse discrimination. That is in violation of the Civil Rights Act and certainly in violation of Supreme Court standards with regard to affirmative action.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/bss-ep-2179-member-exclusive?elementPosition=1&amp;row=2&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+Episodes&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show</a> </h3>
As far as a comprehensive mask ban, the idea is you don&#8217;t want people who have shown up to campus on student visas participating in anti-American activity that would otherwise get them deported.
And the university is facilitating all of that. 
The government is also demanding necessary changes to address bias, improve viewpoint diversity and end ideological capture, fueling anti-Semitic harassment, according to the task force&#8217;s letter.
This will likely all get played out in the courts.
But the idea that Harvard University is somehow owed federal money is absurd on its face. There is no reason the Trump administration should not be able to attach strings to money that it is sending to a university with a $53 billion endowment.
You know what’s an easy way for Harvard to continue its policy of independence from the federal government? To be independent of the federal government.
Don&#8217;t get in bed with the government if you don&#8217;t want to be controlled. That tends to be a pretty good way of approaching life.
On Friday, the Harvard chapter of the American Association of University Professors sued the Trump administration, saying the government’s actions “overtly seek to impose on Harvard University political views and policy preferences advanced by the Trump administration and commit the University to punishing disfavored speech.”
That’s not correct; they&#8217;re simply saying if you engage in anti-Semitism, that it&#8217;s in violation of the Civil Rights Act.
When Lawrence Summers was the president of Harvard University, they became angry with him because he made the mere suggestion that perhaps the lack of women in scientific institutions might be due to the fact that women are less interested in scientific pursuits overall, as opposed to men. Not to mention that the ends of the bell curve with regard to scientific performance on tests tend to be heavily male. He was soon ousted from his position.
So don&#8217;t give me your free speech concerns when you&#8217;ve been cracking down on free speech yourself for a long time. If you want to say free speech doesn&#8217;t apply at Harvard because it’s a private university, then you have to be a private university. You can&#8217;t have it both ways. You can&#8217;t say, “Free speech applies to us; we are a free speech institution. And also, we want your taxpayer money.”
That&#8217;s not the way it should work.
The idea that Harvard did not violate the Civil Rights Act is ridiculous. Does that mean that every demand that the Trump administration is making is going to get upheld in court? Some of the demands will most likely be held to be extraneous.
But Harvard does not have any moral grounds to stand on when they insist that everyone else pay the bills so they can continue pushing whatever nonsense it is they are pushing.

Harvard University Pushes Back Against Trump Administration Demands

Trump Smashes Harvard

Civil Rights

On Monday, the Trump administration’s Department of Education announced it would freeze $2.2 billion in multi-year grants and $60 million in multi-year contract value to Harvard University after the university said it would not comply with the Trump administration’s demand that the university <a href="https://www.harvard.edu/research-funding/wp-content/uploads/sites/16/2025/04/Harvard-Response-2025-04-14.pdf">claimed</a> would “invade university freedoms.”
Last Friday, the Departments of Education and Health and Human Services sent a <a href="https://www.harvard.edu/research-funding/wp-content/uploads/sites/16/2025/04/Letter-Sent-to-Harvard-2025-04-11.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> to Harvard in which they stated, “The United States has invested in Harvard University’s operations because of the value to the country of scholarly discovery and academic excellence. But an investment is not an entitlement. It depends on Harvard upholding federal civil rights laws, and it only makes sense if Harvard  fosters the kind of environment that produces intellectual creativity and scholarly vigor, both of which are antithetical to ideological capture.”
“By August 2025, the University must adopt and implement merit-based hiring policies, and cease all preferences based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin &#8230;” the letter noted, adding that the same attitude must prevail in admissions policies. The correspondence also declared that by the same date, the university must “prevent admitting students hostile to the American values and institutions inscribed in the American Constitution and Declaration of Independence, including students supportive of terrorism and anti-Semitism.”
The university “shall commission an external party &#8230; to audit the student body, faculty and leadership for viewpoint diversity” by August 2025, the letter continued, in order to ensure that the leftist perspective that dominates the university should be contrasted with other viewpoints.
Alan Garber, the president of Harvard University, responded with a <a href="https://www.harvard.edu/president/news/2025/the-promise-of-american-higher-education/">statement</a> in which he said, “We have informed the administration through our legal counsel that we will not accept their proposed agreement,” contending, “The University will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights” and claiming the administration’s demands violated “Harvard’s First Amendment rights &#8230; threatens our values as a private institution devoted to the pursuit, production, and dissemination of knowledge.”
 “Our motto—Veritas, or truth—guides us as we navigate the challenging path ahead,” Garber continued. “Seeking truth is a journey without end. It requires us to be open to new information and different perspectives, to subject our beliefs to ongoing scrutiny, and to be ready to change our minds.”
The Department of Education’s Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism <a href="https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/joint-task-force-combat-anti-semitism-statement-regarding-harvard-university" target="_blank" rel="noopener">responded</a> on Monday: &#8220;Harvard’s statement today reinforces the troubling entitlement mindset that is endemic in our nation&#8217;s most prestigious universities and colleges – that federal investment does not come with the responsibility to uphold civil rights laws. The disruption of learning that has plagued campuses in recent years is unacceptable. The harassment of Jewish students is intolerable. It is time for elite universities to take the problem seriously and commit to meaningful change if they wish to continue receiving taxpayer support.”
“The Joint Task Force to combat anti-Semitism is announcing a freeze on $2.2 billion in multi-year grants and $60M in multi-year contract value to Harvard University,” the statement concluded.

US-ISRAEL-PALESTINIAN-CONFLICT-PROTEST

Trump Administration Freezes Billions In Grants For Harvard University

Department of Education

Harvard Univeristy

The Department of Homeland Security announced that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will immediately begin screening immigrants’ social media for anti-Semitic content and any history of physically harassing Jews.
The <a href="https://www.uscis.gov/newsroom/news-releases/dhs-to-begin-screening-aliens-social-media-activity-for-antisemitism">announcement</a> comes as the Trump administration arrests foreign students who had their visas revoked for involvement in anti-Semitic campus protests that have led to vandalism, harassment, and taking over campus buildings.
Any information found may be grounds for denying immigration benefit requests for immigrants applying for permanent residency, foreign students, and individuals affiliated with educational institutions linked to anti-Semitic activity.
In the screening process, USCIS will consider any social media content that “indicates an alien endorsing, espousing, promoting, or supporting antisemitic terrorism, anti-Semitic terrorist organizations, or other antisemitic activity as a negative factor in any USCIS discretionary analysis when adjudicating immigration benefit requests.”
DHS added that it will enforce all immigration laws and protect the homeland from terrorist aliens who support anti-Semitic terrorism, violent anti-Semitic ideologies, and various terrorist organizations, including Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), Hezbollah, and the Houthis.
According to DHS, the move is consistent with President Donald Trump’s executive orders issued to combat rising anti-Semitism.
“There is no room in the United States for the rest of the world’s terrorist sympathizers, and we are under no obligation to admit them or let them stay here,” said DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin. “Sec. Noem has made it clear that anyone who thinks they can come to America and hide behind the First Amendment to advocate for anti-Semitic violence and terrorism — think again. You are not welcome here.”
Last month, Secretary of State Marco Rubio <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rubio-on-turkish-visa-student-getting-deported-i-encourage-every-country-to-do-that">explained</a> that the students being deported would not have been permitted into the United States if the government knew what they would do once reaching campus.
“If you apply for a visa to enter the United States and be a student and you tell us that the reason why you’re coming to the United States is not just because you want to write op-eds, but because you want to participate in movements that are involved in doing things like vandalizing universities, harassing students, taking over buildings, creating a ruckus, we’re not going to give you a visa,” Rubio said. “If you lie to us and get a visa and then enter the United States and with that visa, participate in that sort of activity, we’re going to take away your visa.”
Rubio added that once a student loses their visa, they are no longer legally in the United States, and can be deported.
“I think it’s crazy to invite students into your country that are coming onto your campus and destabilizing it,” Rubio said. “Every country in the world has a right to decide who comes in as a visitor and who doesn’t.”

Secretary Kristi Noem Delivers Welcome Remarks To DHS Staff

Homeland Security To Screen Immigrants And Foreign Students’ Social Media For Anti-Semitism

Department of Homeland Security

Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Terrorism

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