Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy posted an update on Tuesday, sharing what he said would be his final comments on the saga that unfolded after patrons at his bar in Center City, Philadelphia, ordered bottle service and paid for a sign that said &#8220;f*** the Jews.&#8221;
Following the incident, Portnoy said that he spoke to the student who&#8217;d uploaded video of the sign to Instagram — Mohammed Adnan Khan — and initially, he&#8217;d been apologetic and tearful. Rather than ruin a college student&#8217;s life, Portnoy offered to send him to Auschwitz in the hopes of turning a hateful incident into a learning experience.
Over the next couple of days, the Barstool founder shared several updates — and ultimately revealed that he&#8217;d revoked his offer after Khan backtracked and claimed he had no connection to the antisemitic sign. By Tuesday, Khan had gone a step further.
Portnoy began his update with a post on X advertising a crowd-funding page — that he said was more fitting for a satire site like The Onion or The Babylon Bee — in which an apparent friend of Khan requested people send money to help him &#8220;stand against trial by public opinion&#8221; and support his &#8220;fight for due process and redemption.&#8221;
&#8220;Dude uploads an antisemitic video to his own instagram like a brain dead moron and now is playing victim. What a world,&#8221; Portnoy commented on the graphic.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
This godundme is straight from <a href="https://twitter.com/TheOnion?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TheOnion</a> or <a href="https://twitter.com/TheBabylonBee?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TheBabylonBee</a> Dude uploads an antisemitic video to his own instagram like a brain dead moron and now is playing victim. What a world 😭😭😭 <a href="https://t.co/dP6GYMVTtL">pic.twitter.com/dP6GYMVTtL</a>
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) <a href="https://twitter.com/stoolpresidente/status/1919817215076979157?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 6, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Portnoy then shared Khan&#8217;s video statement — which he used to promote his GiveSendGo page — in which the now-suspended Temple University student complained that Portnoy had &#8220;sensationalized&#8221; the incident and he had done nothing more than document someone else&#8217;s behavior. Khan argued that the sign &#8220;reminded people of a lot of the unjust things that Israel is doing around the world,&#8221; and for that reason he&#8217;d felt compelled to &#8220;report on it.&#8221;
Khan went on to complain that the sign was just &#8220;an edgy joke&#8221; and claimed that he was being made into a victim of cancel culture.
Portnoy was not buying it, however, and he shot back, &#8220;This dude is a flat liar. I talked to him on the phone with his buddy and they both owned up to it and cried about it. He then lawyered up after speaking with his family. His name got out because he’s a moron and uploaded &#8216;F*** the Jews&#8217; sign to his instagram before I even knew about it. He already went viral without me.&#8221;
&#8220;He spreads hate and uses the conflict in Middle East as his excuse. And did it in a bar with my company&#8217;s name on it. Now he’s trying to profit from it. I’m sure he’ll make money because there is lots of antisemitism in the world. Regardless this is the least surprising thing ever,&#8221; Portnoy continued. &#8220;He is the definition of a coward. Zero accountability for his actions. I don’t care what religion you are or even how you feel about Middle East. This was an act of pure hate and this should disgust you.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
This dude is a flat liar. I talked to him on the phone with his buddy and they both owned up to it and cried about it. He then lawyered up after speaking with his family. His name got out because he’s a moron and uploaded “Fuck the Jews” sign to his instagram before I even… <a href="https://t.co/YHkujPTCEA">https://t.co/YHkujPTCEA</a>
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) <a href="https://twitter.com/stoolpresidente/status/1919937088880808308?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 7, 2025</a></blockquote>
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But the drama did not end there. Portnoy followed with a video response to the GiveSendGo page for Khan — which, at the time of publication, had not even raised $1000 — and a video clip that he said was Khan throwing water on a sleeping homeless person.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Another edgy joke. Throwing water on a sleeping homeless guy. <a href="https://t.co/jZsWlHDoka">pic.twitter.com/jZsWlHDoka</a>
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) <a href="https://twitter.com/stoolpresidente/status/1919960863760335072?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 7, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Portnoy followed that with a &#8220;Team Portnoy&#8221; press release that relayed the entire saga.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
For immediate release <a href="https://t.co/TLghAIVJpE">pic.twitter.com/TLghAIVJpE</a>
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) <a href="https://twitter.com/stoolpresidente/status/1919975541634929005?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 7, 2025</a></blockquote>
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His overall assessment of the situation came on Thursday, as he added, &#8220;Mo Kahn may be the greatest thing that’s ever happened for Jews to fight antisemitism in [America]. Like imagine trying to defend this guy? Whether he’s spitting on people, throwing buckets of water on homeless people, dealing drugs, running a sex cam ring or going on Nazi podcasts he’s undeniably a piece of s***.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Mo Kahn may be the greatest thing that’s ever happened for Jews to fight antisemitism in American. Like imagine trying to defend this guy? Whether he’s spitting on people, throwing buckets of water on homeless people, dealing drugs, running a sex cam ring or going on Nazi… <a href="https://t.co/Yv9SHn5J61">pic.twitter.com/Yv9SHn5J61</a>
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) <a href="https://twitter.com/stoolpresidente/status/1920216615380979765?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 7, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Kansas City Chiefs v New England Patriots

Suspended Temple U. Student At Center Of Barstool ‘F*** The Jews’ Drama Just Made Things Worse

Suspended Temple U. Student At Center Of Barstool 'F*** The Jews' Drama Just Made Things Worse

Barstool

Barstool Sports

Dave Portnoy

Jewish

Jews

Philadelphia

Throwing yet another twist into the ongoing situation stemming from a &#8220;F*** the Jews&#8221; sign that was spotted at Barstool Sansom Street, a sports bar in Center City Philadelphia, Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy announced that one of the patrons who initially took responsibility for the incident had backtracked.
Taking to X to deliver the follow up, Portnoy said that Mo Kahn — one of the two people he spoke to who had said on Sunday that they were behind the sign — had taken to social media to write a lengthy post disavowing any and all connection to it. Instead, he said that he had simply shared video of something that happened at the bar while he was there.
&#8220;Quick update. Mo Kahn is no longer taking any responsibility or involvement for the &#8216;F*** the Jews&#8217; sign at Barstool Samson. [He] is basically lawyering up and blaming it all on his friend now and is saying he was just a citizen journalist. It is a 180 from my convo with him yesterday. Needless to say his trip to Poland has been revoked,&#8221; Portnoy said in his caption.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Quick update. Mo Kahn is no longer taking any responsibility or involvement for the “Fuck the Jews” sign at Barstool Samson. His is basically lawyering up and blaming it all on his friend now and is saying he was just a citizen journalist. It is a 180 from my convo with him… <a href="https://t.co/LGW4sVUhbz">pic.twitter.com/LGW4sVUhbz</a>
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) <a href="https://twitter.com/stoolpresidente/status/1919497567093850337?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 5, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Portnoy shared a screenshot of Kahn&#8217;s post, showing where he told his followers that he had not been the one who &#8220;paid for or requested that sign,&#8221; and said that his only mistake had been making &#8220;the poor decision to record and upload it.&#8221; He then apologized for anyone whose feelings had been hurt by his post, adding, &#8220;I hope honest and open dialogue can come out of this incident so we can address the deeper realities of the world we live in.&#8221;
The Barstool Sports founder, who had previously spoken to Kahn and one other patron (whose name he did not reveal), said on Sunday that both had taken responsibility for the sign and had subsequently agreed to take a trip to Auschwitz and try to learn something from the experience.
Upon seeing Kahn&#8217;s post, Portnoy called to speak with him again, but this time, he said the conversation was very different. Kahn recorded the call and had his parents with him, and insisted that he&#8217;d had nothing to do with the sign — rather, he said that he&#8217;d felt pressured to take responsibility for it when they spoke the first time.
Portnoy said that Kahn, a 21-year-old Temple University student who has since been suspended, attempted to distance himself from the situation, saying that he would &#8220;never&#8221; do anything like that — but then Portnoy came across an old social media post of Kahn&#8217;s that included an anti-Semitic joke from six months earlier.
&#8220;I&#8217;m like, &#8216;How do you explain that one if you&#8217;re not ever doing anything like that?'&#8221; Portnoy continued. &#8220;He&#8217;s like, &#8216;Well, I really won&#8217;t be able to explain that, maybe my parents can explain that.&#8217; Your parents can explain the &#8216;how you find a Jew, you throw a quarter on the floor&#8217; joke? Not like — I mean, whatever, I&#8217;ve got thick skin. But this kid couldn&#8217;t even — he wouldn&#8217;t even admit he did it. He&#8217;s like, &#8216;That&#8217;s on a social media channel, like, I deleted, I don&#8217;t even have that anymore.'&#8221;
&#8220;Buddy, what are you doing?&#8221; Portnoy asked then, saying that he&#8217;d hoped to be able to turn a bad decision into a teachable moment, but that Kahn&#8217;s 180-degree turn had made him change his mind. &#8220;Maybe if you actually learn a life lesson, maybe if people watch you go to Poland and seem like you&#8217;re changed, this gets behind you.&#8221;
Portnoy concluded by saying that he&#8217;d rescinded his offer to send Kahn to Poland, arguing that if he wasn&#8217;t willing to take responsibility for his actions, he was not ready to learn the kind of lesson that would help him behave differently in the future.

Milwaukee Bucks v Boston Celtics

Barstool Patron Flips, Claims No Responsibility For ‘F*** The Jews’ Sign. Portnoy Isn’t Buying It.

Holocaust

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:
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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>
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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

Anti-Semitism

College

Media

U.S.

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

Donald Trump

Harvard

Humor

Israel

Ivy League

President Trump

Pro-Hamas

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. 
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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

Education

Indiana University

Opinion

Protests

Students

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

Trump Administration

An arrest has been made in the arson attack on the home of Governor Josh Shapiro (D-PA), less than 24 hours after the suspect allegedly jumped a fence and then set fire to the residence late Saturday night.
Pennsylvania State Police stated on Sunday that they had arrested Cody Balmer, 38, of Harrisburg — and plan to charge him with multiple crimes including &#8220;attempted murder, terrorism, aggravated arson, and aggravated assault against an enumerated person,&#8221; The New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/04/13/us-news/pennsylvania-gov-josh-shapiro-arson-suspect-arrested/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
Photos from inside the residence showed the some of the damages:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Photos from inside Pennsylvania Governor&#39;s mansion after police say an arsonist set fire to the house while Governor Shapiro and his family slept inside around 2am. Cody Balmer of Harrisburg was arrested &#8212; planned charges include attempted murder and terrorism. <a href="https://t.co/GWEfC3B8qH">pic.twitter.com/GWEfC3B8qH</a>
&mdash; Brian Entin (@BrianEntin) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrianEntin/status/1911566329410212129?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 13, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Shapiro, standing in front of the damaged portion of his residence, gave an update on the situation on Sunday afternoon. He specifically thanked the Pennsylvania State Police, the FBI, and the Harrisburg Fire Department for their efforts in making sure that the scene was secured and his family was safe.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
I’m about to speak to Pennsylvanians about the arson attack on the Governor’s Residence.
Watch: <a href="https://t.co/mGz79YWu8x">https://t.co/mGz79YWu8x</a>
&mdash; Governor Josh Shapiro (@GovernorShapiro) <a href="https://twitter.com/GovernorShapiro/status/1911527153612607930?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 13, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;Gloria and I are overwhelmed by the prayers and the messages of support that we&#8217;ve received from all across Pennsylvania and all across the United States,&#8221; Shapiro said, choking up a bit as he spoke. &#8220;We&#8217;ve heard from our fellow governors and first spouses. We&#8217;ve heard from several of the former governors of Pennsylvania. We&#8217;ve heard from so many friends and loved ones, and we&#8217;ve heard from so many caring citizens of this great commonwealth.&#8221;
&#8220;I want you all to know that your prayers lift us up,&#8221; Shapiro continued. &#8220;And in this moment of darkness, we are choosing to see light. We appreciate the light that you have shined upon us.&#8221;
Shapiro said that he would leave it up to law enforcement to give the details of what had taken place, saying only, &#8220;We do know that this attack was targeted. We don&#8217;t know the person&#8217;s specific motive yet, but we do know a few truths. First, this type of violence is not okay. This kind of violence is becoming far too common in our society, and I don&#8217;t give a damn if it&#8217;s coming from one particular side or the other, directed at one particular party or another, or one particular person or another, it is not okay, and it has to stop.&#8221;
&#8220;If he was trying to terrorize our family, our friends, the Jewish community, who joined us for a Passover Seder in that room last night, hear me on this: we celebrated our faith last night, proudly and in a few hours, we will celebrate our second Seder of Passover,&#8221; Shapiro added.

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

Suspect In Custody, To Be Charged With Terrorism After Arson Attack On Josh Shapiro’s Home

Suspect Detained In Arson Attack On Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro's Home

Arson

Josh Shapiro

Politics

Terrorism

Each Passover, Jews across the world recount the miraculous exodus of their ancestors from servitude under the Egyptian pharaoh, in pursuit of a life of ordered liberty in the Land promised to Abraham. This pharaoh enslaved the Jewish people, forcing them into hard labor doubly tortuous, as their taskmasters imposed assignments with labor itself as the ultimate end. The pharaoh even ordered the infanticide of Hebrew male infants in an attempt to cement his power over the Hebrews. The Passover dinner retells the story of our enslavement, the Ten Plagues inflicted upon the Egyptians, and Hebrews’ miraculous deliverance. The ancient Hebrews left a tyranny that subjugated their spiritual and physical freedom to the dictates of a human regime at odds with the Divine.
Importantly, escape from tyranny wasn’t their ultimate aim. The ancient Hebrews embarked at this moment on a journey to their Promised Land. These tribes became the People of the Book — striving to form a civil society under the rule of law, complete with education of the young, the establishment of courts, protection of property, and concern for innocent life.
The American Founders certainly recognized that this “Season of Our Freedom” is relevant for the United States of America. The national motto proposed by Benjamin Franklin of “Rebellion to Tyrants is Obedience to God” accompanied an image of Moses leading the Children of Israel across the miraculously parted Red Sea as they escaped the tyrant of their times. The Israelites desired to worship God freely, raise families, and enjoy the fruits of their own labor. The protections of our Bill of Rights guarantee us similar rights.
The Israelites and the Pilgrims both journeyed to a new land not just in pursuit of generic freedom — but freedom of a far deeper type. The foremost concern of the Pilgrims arriving on the shores of Cape Cod in 1620 indeed was freedom of religion and conscience. Like the Israelites, these early settlers forfeited many of the comforts of their prior home as they endured a harsh climate in unfamiliar territory surrounded by hazards. Those Pilgrims entered a covenant to “combine ourselves together into a civil body politick” — one with the family as society’s foundation, with national traditions and core values transmitted in the home.
<div id="attachment_906725" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-906725" class="size-large wp-image-906725" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-1217401397-864x576.jpg" alt="Passover matzoh jewish holiday bread with kipah table background. " width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-1217401397-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-1217401397-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-1217401397-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-1217401397-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-1217401397-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-1217401397-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-1217401397-1200x800.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Cavan images. Getty Images.</div>
The Passover seder recognizes that the story of the Jewish people neither began nor ended with the Exodus story. In its recount, we recognize also that we must be active participants in maintaining our freedom. We recognize also that, in a sense, this deliverance happened to us personally. Through the long dinner, children at the table play a large role in reading the story, asking questions, and contributing to the conversation.
As the quarter-millennial celebration of our independence from King George III approaches, let’s take some lessons from the Passover celebration. Instilling an understanding of and respect for our founding in the next generation ensures they too will seek to protect our nation from corrosive influence. Yet, far too many children are apathetic or ignorant of the fundamental rights enshrined in our Constitution or even the basic functioning of our republic. Too few are taught of the sacrifices made by the Founders and the freedoms they sought to protect. Even worse, some educators attempt to poison young minds against the nation’s foundation. Parents possess the responsibility and an opportunity to instill this love of country. Honoring the flag, reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, respecting the national anthem, commemorating Independence Day all instill pride in country—in addition to academic studies.
Let’s remember too that our freedom is not secure forever simply by virtue of our winning our own War for Independence. As we stray from the guarantors of our freedom — rule of law, the Bill of Rights, the separation of powers, strong families — the great promise of this nation “conceived in liberty” becomes threatened. At the Passover seder, we recall audibly and collectively that, “We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt.” Remembering life prior to liberty, celebrating our victory over tyranny, savoring our freedom, reflecting on what a life of liberty should mean, and involving the next generation in all of this will protect our freedom — both as Jews and as Americans.
* * *
Joel Griffith and Paul Teller, both Jewish Americans, are Senior Fellow and Executive Vice President, respectively, of Advancing American Freedom, the issue advocacy organization founded by former Vice President Mike Pence.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Metal plate with matzah or matza and Passover Haggadah on a vintage wood background presented as a Passover seder feast or meal with copy space. Translation: Passover Haggadah

The Season Of Our Freedom: Lessons From Passover For Americans

Bible

Egypt

Founding Fathers

Red Sea

The following is an excerpt from &#8220;<a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DQQ47DR3">The Wake Up Call: Global Jihad and the Rise of Antisemitism in a World Gone Mad</a>,&#8221; by Israel Ellis (Post Hill Press/Wicked Son).
* * *
<h3>A Conversation on Healing and the Battle for Humanity </h3>
October 7 should be a traumatic jolt for anyone who is a lover of life. We must stand united and resolved to make the world a safer place for the future generations that will follow. For if the lovers of life cannot heal the hate, we are truly lost at sea.
I met George, a doctor from Germany, at a healing retreat on Koh Pha Ngan, an island in the south of Thailand. During the first of our many conversations, I described some of the ideas that would later become these chapters, and in answer to his piqued interest, I went on to explain to him the events that took place in Israel on October 7 and the theater of the world since. We got around to the existential question on what it takes to save our world from itself, and both readily agreed in the simplicity that peace comes from love. And to love is to heal. Our conversation turned to philosophy and the infinity of the cosmos. It’s the kind of place that leads you into these thoughts. I brought up the biblical story of Jonah, the unwilling oracle, who warned the people of Nineveh, who repented without question because they came to understand the severity of the warnings and the opportunity to change. I asked George: Where is today’s Jonah to tell the haters wrong from right? To warn us of the consequences of hate?
The next morning George sat beside me and told me had he reflected on the prior evening’s discourse. “I agree,” he said with slow, carefully chosen words. “Both sides need to heal.” He saw my body tense up at the reference to “sides.” The idea of shared moral equivalence between Israel and Hamas is a typical red herring of those that will not fully condemn Hamas and stand for Israel. George gently raised a placating hand and asked me for patience. “Can you for a moment accept that there is a part of Hamas within you?” I caught my breath.
We sat in silence while I pondered this and took effort to examine George through a different lens. He has no connection to Israel; he is not affected by what happened on October 7 except that he is a lover of life and a healer and he is saddened that this event has happened in a world he deems has turned itself upside down. He lives his life in a bubble, not intentionally, but rather because he was born into it; a privileged Western bubble with all the trappings, including the luxury to question his existence and the next steps in his life. He is a good person. He is not committed to any specific ideology, except for his life and those of his patients. He is not a liberal nor does he consider himself a conservative. He will not take up a placard and join a protest. He believes that all people should live together in peace. He stays out of business that is not his to judge, because he knows his opinion will have no effect on the outcome.
It occurred to me that his apathy is part of the challenge the world faces; he places his complete trust in his government to manage the situation. He corrected me when I suggested this, and instead claimed it is humanity itself that he trusts. “Humanity will eventually find their way, they always do,” he said.
But I disagreed. “This is not a stream of water trickling through the path of least resistance,” I said. “To avoid long and painful consequences, we sometimes must act to protect humanity from and for itself.”
The impossibility of the situation Israel finds itself in is a predicament for the free world. To counter the epidemic of Global Jihad will require some sacrifice of liberty, and this can be a slippery slope. And yet, it has already begun. The UK has the most extensive and sophisticated closed-circuit video monitoring system of its kind in the world, complete with facial recognition and AI capabilities. There are few places left in London where you can escape someone watching you. This invasion of privacy is the compromise for security. But this does nothing to weed out the problem of radicalization by its roots. These bandaid solutions will only drive the Jihad further underground into the metaphorical and literal tunnels. The only long-term solution depends on overhauling how the next generation comes to see their world. Confronting the hold that the radicals have institutionalized over young people, dismantling the arenas for hate, and policing the spread of lies and calls to Jihad, is of the most critical importance. Like the cameras in London, it is not pretty to impose law and confront hate.
<div id="attachment_901781" style="width: 383px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-901781" class="wp-image-901781 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/71mKLbBu7OL._SL1360_-373x576.jpg" alt="Post Hill Press/Wicked Son" width="373" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/71mKLbBu7OL._SL1360_-373x576.jpg 373w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/71mKLbBu7OL._SL1360_-194x300.jpg 194w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/71mKLbBu7OL._SL1360_-768x1187.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/71mKLbBu7OL._SL1360_.jpg 880w" sizes="(max-width: 373px) 100vw, 373px" />Post Hill Press/Wicked Son</div>
I returned to the present with the clang of a spoon against my metal cup. George waited for my answer. Can I accept that there is something of Hamas in all of us? It is a difficult question, because on the face of it it seems a bizarre and hurtful theory by someone who knows little about the situation on the ground. But I have come to respect George, and I knew he was not playing with me. What he asked me is if we are all capable of playing the part of Hamas if we were wearing the shoe on the other foot.
I looked across at George and asked him thoughtfully if he has siblings. “Yes,” he answered, not really sure of where I was going with this. “I have a sister, she is eight years younger than myself.” I asked him if he ever felt jealousy toward her. He assures me that he did. When she first arrived home, the focus of his entire world shifted to her. “Did you ever have evil and violent thoughts about how to deal with that? Did you plan to kill her?” I asked, to his wide-eyed look. Of course, this is extreme, but relevant. “I love my sister to this day,” he stammers. “I would never harm her.” He takes a slow breath in and admits “regardless of how much she may have infuriated me as a young boy.”
In the story of Cain and Abel. Cain, the older brother, is jealous at the acceptance of Abel’s’ sacrifice to God, and in response he kills him. Cain is new to all these powerful emotions, being only the third person to ever live, he has no context for dealing and how to manage these feelings. Leading up to the act, he could not have understood the consequences of his actions, yet as his brother lay unmoving beneath him, he realizes immediately by some intuitive force that he has committed a grave transgression. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” he responds to God, when questioned of Abel’s whereabouts, a clear defensive diversion away from the moral consequence of what he has done. There are direct lessons that can be interpreted from this story; the moral wrongness of murder, the accountability, the shame and regret, and the divine justice that follows.
In my own paraphrasing of Genesis 4:11-12, I quote; “Cain, the earth received your brother’s blood from your hand, thereby the ground will give you nothing in return, and you are banished and will walk the earth without home.” This is a very clear and powerful statement that is made, one that neither Jews, Christians, or Muslims will disagree with. A person who commits murder will become a wanderer, a refugee wherever they go. They are Cain, who was deserving of justice, even though no lawbook had ever told him murder was wrong.
What happened on October 7 was a collective sociopathic act that crossed a line from which there can be no return, not just for the Hamas terrorists that came armed with guns and bombs, but for the people of Gaza who supported the invasion and followed in its wake, rampaging through residential areas, pillaging, burning, and committing barbaric acts of rape and live dismemberment. The people of Gaza, everyday citizens, came to set fire to buildings with people still inside. If you poll Gazans today, the majority will support Hamas and celebrate the events of October 7. If you survey the Palestinian people in the lands controlled by the PA, chances are there will be a strong empathy for the Gazans whose immorality brought them to their own destruction. If you poll the Pan Arab world, you will likely find an alarming number of people in support of Hamas. 
The October 7 attacks ignited global outrage, revealing deep-seated hatred and a disturbing lack of empathy. Those who march in support of Israel’s destruction or celebrate Hamas’s violence are morally complicit in these heinous acts. Like Cain, who committed the first murder despite having no explicit prohibition, these supporters cannot claim ignorance as a defense for their actions. And this is the difference between a terrorist, a terrorist sympathizer, and a fundamentally good person. The masked people holding placards celebrating Hamas and chanting for the genocide of Jews, participating in protests and encampments, these are not just the useful idiots of Hamas, these are useful evildoers for Hamas.
* * *
Israel Ellis is <a href="https://israelellis.com/in-the-media/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">an entrepreneur</a> and the father of an IDF soldier. He is the author of &#8220;<a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DQQ47DR3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Wake Up Call</a>&#8221; (Post Hill Press/Wicked Son).
This excerpt is published by permission from Post Hill Press/Wicked Son.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

TOPSHOT-ISRAEL-PALESTINIAN-CONFLICT

‘Am I My Brother’s Keeper?’: Cain, Hamas, And The Aftermath Of October 7

'Am I My Brother’s Keeper?': Cain, Hamas, And The Aftermath Of October 7

Books

Gaza

Hamas

Islamic Jihad

October 7

For two years, my soft voice was drowned out at Columbia University, smothered by deafening roars outside our windows. I was spoken over, screamed past, pushed aside by mobs whose chants turned threats into anthems.
I live with a rare form of muscular dystrophy. My predicted lifespan was four years. While I defied the odds, never has my voice been more silenced.
Throughout my life I have faced immense adversity, yet I have prevailed by becoming the first person with my condition to walk the New York Fashion Week runway (February, 2023), the first person with my condition to climb a mountain (Camelback Mountain in Arizona 2022) — producing an internationally awarded documentary combating disability stereotypes — and most recently setting a Guinness World Record for the fastest swim time in my category.
My limited energy is normally invested in advocating for others, but for the first time, my very means of advocacy was heartlessly stolen from me.
For two years, my faint tones were consumed by a campus that refused to listen, dismissed by an administration that chose appeasement over accountability, ignored by a culture that demanded my silence in the name of supposed progress.
For two years, voices chanted for the destruction of my people, fists raised in protest not merely for justice, but for erasure, all while those in power stood by in cowardice. Mobs that disregarded our accessibility and our right to belong stormed our campus walk as I scooted in search of a single accessible entrance. While I fought for a space to exist, countless others with disabilities, some bound to their wheelchairs, were left navigating a campus that refused to see us, let alone accommodate our basic needs. Our identities became a debate, and our safety an afterthought.
Yet my purpose is not to debate the hostility, prove our right to exist, or even to justify our presence at this university. Rather, my purpose is to emphasize one simple truth: now, at last, my soft voice can be heard. Unfortunately, the silence that once suffocated me, was only exhaled in response to intensified government intervention. This government intervention is nothing new and has brought forth three harsh realities: (a) The freedom of a Jew comes at a troubling cost (b) History is repeating itself and (c) Columbia&#8217;s cowardly silence has perpetuated further hostility and segregation – their indifference must end now.
At an unfortunate cost, the world is now witnessing what it takes for Jewish students to experience basic campus safety and dignity. The Trump administration’s cancellation of $400 million in funding, along with the detainment of a former student protest leader with alleged ties to Hamas, has widened the nation&#8217;s eyes to one chilling truth: Columbia’s failure to uphold the rights of Jewish students was not appropriately corrected by institutional conscience but rather it required external force, exposing the depths of negligence.
Columbia’s government funding was <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/doj-hhs-ed-and-gsa-announce-initial-cancelation-grants-and-contracts-columbia-university">revoked</a> in direct response to “the school’s continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.” This is a profound failure of humanity, that restoring safety required government intervention at the expense of fundamental freedoms. The price of inaction was paid through imposed financial costs, an obligation that should have been paid through moral courage. It was not.
For a Jew to attend class freely, must a child with cancer lose access to life-saving research?
For a Jew to walk through campus freely, must an international student fear detainment?
For a Jew to learn without threats, must a groundbreaking cure remain locked away due to defunded research?
For a Jew to simply exist, must a first-generation student lose access to financial aid?
Have we truly arrived at another moment in time where, for a Jew to express their identity openly, the future of innovation, education, and opportunity must be compromised? Where an engineering breakthrough must be halted and countless other students must suffer collateral damage simply because Columbia University refused to act until it was forced?
The university administration’s cowardly silence is screaming! While government intervention has never been more necessary, agony pulses through my veins at the realization that this is where campus life has arrived. The university administration had every opportunity to protect its students, yet chose to allow the escalation of intolerance and violence against their Jewish students. And now, that silence has been replaced with an even louder reckoning, one that should never have come at such a cost.
Now, the campus is silent. But this silence has not emerged from understanding or reflection. Campus silence exists only because the cost of inaction became too great — the silence is screaming!
History has proven – that government mandates do not equate to inherent justice. Canceling government funding for needed research and resources is truly an unfortunate crossroads between morality and human equality. Throughout history, intensified government intervention, though imperative, has proven to deepen divisions, inflame resentment, and fuel further segregation.
In 1954, reluctance to properly integrate black children into the school system, following the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education ruling against racial segregation (1954), persisted. Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus refused to integrate Little Rock Central High School or to protect Black students from violent mobs, making federal intervention essential. In September of 1957, President Dwight D. Eisenhower sent federal troops to forcibly escort nine Black students, known as “The Little Rock Nine,” into the school. While governmental mandates undoubtedly served as one necessary step towards respect for all, one consequence was generational racial strife.
Columbia&#8217;s suffocating silence is the true culprit, forcing external action where institutional courage should have prevailed. The silence on campus will be temporary if Columbia’s leadership refuses to take meaningful action.
Columbia’s administration must summon the courage to acknowledge the undeniable truth, only then will we cultivate true respect for all. One can be Muslim, Jewish, Christian, tall, short, in a wheelchair or running freely. One can come from any faith, culture, or any physical ability but at Columbia one principle must consistently hold true: that all academic thinkers can and should be safely welcomed. When policies are upheld, order will follow.
We must not allow the tides of academic accountability to shift along with the ever changing waves of podcast trends, political climate, public opinion, or what funding is or is not received.
True racial, cultural and ability equality will not persist if Columbia University does not speak up and clearly condemn the open disrespect of students. The current silence is deafening.
Dear Columbia University leadership: dig deep and draw from the depths of your hearts and souls to shatter your indifference and proclaim that respect for all will no longer be up for debate. I urge you to speak out online, in print, and, most critically, stand in person at the Columbia Sundial, a historic gathering place at the heart of campus. The institution’s declaration of justice and respect for all is crucial for both the present and future. Please, replace your silence with a bold message to our diverse, complex world, memorializing it for those not yet born.
Take it from me, someone whose soft voice speaks against the odds – our campus’s silence is screaming.
* * *
Lilian Brasch is an undergraduate student and ability activist at Columbia University, class of 2025.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

US-ISRAEL-PALESTINIAN-CONFLICT-PROTEST

At Columbia University, The Silence Is Screaming

American Universities

anti-Israel

Columbia University

Disability

Radical Islam

The Trump administration’s decisive <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-admin-slashes-columbia-funding-citing-inaction-on-anti-semitic-harassment-on-campus">actions</a> against campus anti-Semitism are commendable and must be reinforced with the implementation of a clear federal code of conduct to prevent future bullying of Jewish university students.
After the administration <a href="https://www.wsj.com/us-news/education/columbia-university-trump-demands-federal-funding-e94d41ca" target="_blank" rel="noopener">revoked</a> over $400 million in federal funds from Columbia University due to its failure to protect students from anti-Semitism, the university agreed to change its policies. According to The Wall Street Journal, the concessions include adopting an updated definition of anti-Semitism, appointing a new senior vice provost, hiring more campus police officers, and clarifying acceptable times and manners for protests.
This move follows the <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-formation-task-force-combat-anti-semitism" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Federal Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism</a>’s announcement last month that it would <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/federal-task-force-combat-antisemitism-announces-visits-10-college-campuses-experienced" target="_blank" rel="noopener">visit</a> ten university campuses that have experienced anti-Semitic incidents since the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. 
The Anti-Defamation League <a href="https://www.adl.org/resources/report/campus-antisemitism-one-year-after-hamas-terrorist-attacks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reports</a> that anti-Semitism on college and university campuses has “rapidly escalated into a national crisis,” with over 1,200 incidents recorded between October 7, 2023, and September 24, 2024. A staggering 83.2% of Jewish college students surveyed have witnessed some form of anti-Semitism, while 51.4% of non-Jewish students also reported witnessing anti-Semitism during the same period.
There is a strong and consistent correlation between anti-Semitic and hostile anti-Israel attitudes. For instance, former Columbia University graduate student and non-citizen <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/03/09/us-news/who-is-mahmoud-khalil-the-columbia-university-agitator-detained-by-ice-for-deportation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mahmoud Khalil</a> was taken into custody by federal immigration officials for his role in organizing violent campus protests that resulted in injuries and property damage. Other terrorist sympathizers include <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/12/us/yale-suspends-scholar-terrorism.html">Helyeh Doutaghi</a>, an Iranian academic suspended by Yale University for openly declaring her commitment to fighting the United States.
Badar Khan Suri — a Georgetown foreign exchange student and son-in-law of a Hamas official — is also being deported for his pro-terrorist activities. Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin stated in a <a href="https://x.com/TriciaOhio/status/1902524674291966261" target="_blank" rel="noopener">post</a> on X that Suri “has close connections to a known or suspected terrorist” and is “actively spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting anti-Semitism on social media.” 
This organized anti-Israel activity on campus goes far beyond what is protected under freedom of speech. Federal law prohibits providing “material support or resources” to any designated terrorist organization. Jewish students at Columbia University reported to The New York Post that a 14-page “<a href="https://nypost.com/2025/03/18/us-news/chilling-step-by-step-manual-for-anti-israel-radicals-to-sow-violent-chaos-is-circulated-among-columbia-students/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">underground manual</a>” is circulating among students, providing details on how to evade law enforcement and commit destructive acts, such as buying sledgehammers with cash and targeting a building’s water or sewer pipes to cause maximum property damage.
The administration’s crackdown on campus anti-Semitism by withholding federal funds and deporting non-citizen students and faculty who engage in organized anti-Israel activism is a strong start. However, it must be followed by the implementation of clear federal guidelines that adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) <a href="https://holocaustremembrance.com/resources/working-definition-antisemitism" target="_blank" rel="noopener">working definition</a> of anti-Semitism. Created in 1998 by former Swedish Prime Minister Göran Persson, the IHRA defines anti-Semitism as “a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews.” It goes on to list the targeting of the State of Israel as a manifestation, excluding criticism that is similar to that against any other country.
Any foreign student or faculty member seeking the privilege of working at an American institution must pledge to uphold this definition of anti-Semitism.
We have seen how language evolves in response to social awareness. Decades ago, racial slurs were tolerated in public discourse; today, they are recognized as hate speech and rightfully condemned. The same must happen with anti-Semitic slurs and coded anti-Israel rhetoric. Words matter, and education matters. We must teach students, faculty, and administrators that vilifying Jews and dehumanizing Israel are not legitimate political statements; they are expressions of bigotry.
The government must lower the threshold for what constitutes actionable anti-Semitism because Jewish students are already suffering the consequences. Anything less is a green light for hate.
* * *
Bradley Martin is the Executive Director of the Near East Center for Strategic Studies. Follow him on Facebook and X (Twitter) @ByBradleyMartin
Dr. Liram Koblentz-Stenzler is a Senior Researcher at the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT) at Reichman University and a Visiting Scholar at Brandeis University. She is a member of Forum Dvorah, Women in Foreign Policy and National Security. Follow her on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/drliramkoblentz/">LinkedIn</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Trump Draws A Red Line On Anti-Semitism. Will Universities Listen?

I was raised to hate Jews. Before I ever met a Jewish person, before I knew anything about Israel, I was already taught that they were my enemies.
It was not an opinion I formed on my own. It was fed to me, day after day, year after year — woven into the culture, the education system, the religious teachings, and even the conversations at my family’s dinner table. That is how propaganda works. It does not scream all at once; it whispers, drips like poison, and seeps into the cracks of a mind until it is no longer questioned but accepted as absolute truth.
For decades, this same poison has been fed into the minds of young people in universities — but this time, not in the Middle East. This time, it is happening on American soil.
Radical Islamists have infiltrated universities, manipulated the narrative, and slowly shifted the sentiment away from Israel — not by force, but by brainwashing generations of students into believing that Israel is the oppressor and the terrorists are the victims.
And now, the fruit of that deception is being harvested.
<h3>Trump’s Executive Action: A Bold Stand Against The Lies</h3>
President Donald Trump has done something no leader in recent history has dared to do — he has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-to-sign-executive-order-to-deport-anti-semitic-foreign-students-and-protesters" target="_blank" rel="noopener">taken executive action</a> to put an end to the rampant anti-Semitism that has been spreading like wildfire in universities across America.
This is not just a policy decision. This is a battle for truth.
Trump’s executive action directly confronts decades of propaganda that has systematically been planted by radical Islamic influences in American institutions.
The executive action will:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Cut federal funding to universities that allow anti-Semitism to spread unchecked</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Hold radical professors accountable for pushing hate under the banner of “free speech”</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Expose the deep infiltration of Islamic extremists in academic institutions</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Send a clear message: The U.S. will no longer tolerate the spread of radical, anti-Israel propaganda on its soil</li>
</ul>
<h3>How Radical Muslims Use Propaganda</h3>
I grew up in Turkey and I was never encouraged to ask questions about what I was taught about Jews and Israel. The lies were presented as undeniable facts.
<ul>
<li>“Jews are evil”</li>
<li>“Israel is stealing our land”</li>
<li>“Jews are the reason for our suffering”</li>
</ul>
It was constant, relentless, unchallenged. This is how you change a generation.
This same method has been used in American universities for decades, and today, we are seeing the terrifying results:
College students march with Hamas flags, chanting for Israel’s destruction. Professors justify terrorism in the name of “liberation.” Jewish students are harassed, silenced, and even physically attacked on campuses. Universities host anti-Semitic speakers, normalizing hate under the guise of “academic freedom.”
This is not an accident. This is the result of a well-planned infiltration designed to shift America’s loyalty away from Israel and toward radical Islamic ideologies.
And it has worked because nobody stopped it … until now.
<h3>Radical Islam’s Long Game</h3>
Radical Islam never conquers all at once. It conquers through patience, manipulation, and deception. Step by step, it:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Victimizes itself by portraying Muslims as the oppressed, even when they are the aggressors</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Demonizes Israel by rewriting history to make Jews appear as invaders rather than defenders of their homeland</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Controls the language by introducing terms like “Israeli occupation” while ignoring the true occupation of terrorist groups like Hamas</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Hijacks social justice movements by turning causes like feminism, Black Lives Matter, and indigenous rights into platforms for anti-Israel rhetoric</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Infiltrates media and universities by controlling the narrative to brainwash the next generation into becoming useful tools in their war against Israel</li>
</ul>
They don’t need guns or bombs to destroy a nation. They just need to control how young minds think. And for years, they have been winning the battle in American classrooms. But truth has power, and that truth is finally being defended.
<h3>It’s Time To Stand Strong With Israel</h3>
I have spent years undoing the lies I was raised with and fighting against the same deception that once held me captive. And I cannot stay silent while I see those same lies poisoning a new generation.
This is personal because I was once one of those deceived students. I was once one of those young minds, taught to hate Israel without ever questioning why. If I had stayed on that path, if I had never encountered the truth of Jesus Christ, I might have been among the masses today — marching, chanting, screaming for the destruction of a people I didn’t even know.
But I was set free and now, I am here to fight for the truth. This is not just a political battle, it is a spiritual war.
The Bible tells us in Genesis 12:3a (NIV): “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse.” This is not just about Israel — it’s about America’s future. Any nation that turns against Israel will suffer the consequences. The time to wake up is now.
Trump has taken action. Now, we must do our part and speak up, spread truth, pray for Israel, and expose the lies. And never be silent in the face of deception again.
* * *
Işik Abla is the President and CEO of <a href="http://isikabla.com/">Işik Abla Ministries</a> (IAM). Abla was born in Turkey and raised as a Muslim. She eventually fled to America. Işık Abla Ministries leverages the power of TV and radio broadcasting, social media, and innovation to preach the Gospel in Turkish, Arabic, Farsi, Urdu, Indonesian, and English.
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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Radical Islam’s Long Game Of Propaganda In The West Is Over — Because Of Trump

Radical Islam's Long Game Of Propaganda In The West Is Over — Because Of Trump

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