Latest news with #IsraeliJew
Euronews
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Euronews
BBC director of music steps down after Bob Vylan Glastonbury scandal
A BBC music boss has reportedly stepped down following the backlash around British punk-rap Bob Vylan's controversial Glastonbury 2025 set. Lorna Clarke, the BBC's director of music, was reported by The Times as stepping back from her day-to-day responsibilities – including overseeing live music events - following the backlash to livestreaming Bob Vylan's performance last month. Other senior BBC staff have also temporarily relinquished their day-to-day roles over the Glastonbury controversy - pending an investigation. The news of Clarke's resignation comes after UK culture secretary Lisa Nandy condemned the "appalling and unacceptable scenes" and said she had called BBC director-general Tim Davie after the broadcast of Bob Vylan's set. Nandy claimed there is "a problem of leadership" at the BBC, and criticised the corporation over its decision not to pull the livestream after Bob Vylan's frontman shouted 'death, death to the IDF' (Israel Defence Forces). Nandy also said in Parliament that 'chanting death to the IDF is equivalent to calling for the death of every single Israeli Jew' - a comment that was heavily criticised online. In a statement last week, the BBC apologised to viewers for broadcasting the performance. The statement said that Bob Vylan's comments were 'offensive and deplorable' and the broadcasting organisation admitted that despite considering the set 'high risk' it deemed the concert suitable for live streaming. It then added that the BBC will no longer broadcast any performances it deems to be 'high risk'. Several artists including have backed Bob Vylan with a letter, which stated: 'Again, the media is trying to distract you from the real story. The outrage sparked (...) is merely a smoke screen for the lack of reporting on the destruction of the Palestinian people. They are starving children, where is the media's outrage at Israel's continued obliteration of a whole nation?' However, Bob Vylan have found their Glastonbury appearance under criminal investigation and have been dropped from upcoming festivals in the UK and France. Furthermore, the band have reportedly been dropped by their agents and have had their US visas revoked. The duo has spoken out in defence of their set and comments, saying it is vital to 'teach our children to speak up for the change they want' and that they are not calling for 'the death of Jews or Arabs or any other race or group' but wish for the 'dismantling of a violent military machine.'
New York Post
02-07-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
MIT prof accused of harassing Jewish student over Zionist ‘mind infection' claim revealed, still listed on staff
The MIT professor accused of harassing a Jewish PhD student out of the university by calling him a 'real-life case study' of Zionist 'mind infection,' remains on staff at the university. Former Computer Science student Will Sussman described what he calls a 'climate of terror on campus' for Jewish people at the university in a story published in The Post. He is also suing MIT and the educator he claims targeted him, professor of linguistics Michel DeGraff. Sussman alleges in the suit that he 'was subjected to anti-Semitic harassment by Professor Degraff that was so extreme and intolerable that it forced him to leave MIT.' Sussman claims in the lawsuit things started when he had objected to a guest lecturer speaking to DeGraff's class 'about an alleged settler-colonial Zionist (i.e. Jewish) 'mind infection,'' being funded 'through organizations such as Hillel [and] Chabad' – both Jewish campus groups, with Sussman the then-president of the Grad Hillel. 6 Michel DeGraff is named as a defendant in a new lawsuit about alleged campus antisemitism at MIT. AFP via Getty Images 6 Michel DeGraff told The Post that he is now faculty at large at MIT. AFP via Getty Images The lawsuit then claims DeGraff went on to call him a 'real-life case study' in an email thread with high-profile staff, including President Sally Kornbluth, on November 10, 2024. DeGraff also posted publicly on X a day earlier, starting a thread including Sussman's handle attempting to justify the 'mind infection' remarks. Later in the chain he wrote to a different Jewish group's account: 'Sorry that your mind might seem so infected that you can't follow the data & logic.' 6 Will Sussman is suing MIT and Michel DeGraff for allegedly creating a hostile environment on campus. realWillSussman/X 6 Will Sussman says he was unable to concentrate on campus due to pervasive antisemitism. realWillSussman/X He also pointed out the guest lecturer, Nurit Peled-Elhanan, is herself an Israeli Jew. DeGraff, who is originally Haitian, received his PhD from the University of Pennsylvania. According to MIT's website his interests include 'education and knowledge production for decolonization and radical liberation.' He has since talked about a 'mind infection' in relation to Jewish people throughout December 2024 and January of this year. 6 Pro-Palestine rallies took over MIT's campus in the wake of October 7th. AFP via Getty Images Sussman alleges in his lawsuit that when he asking DeGraff to 'please leave me alone' via email, he instead responded to the thread and 'expressed an intent to explore this 'real-life case study' of Sussman at the next class.' It is unclear if that seminar ever took place. Sussman also describes 'a relentless series of mass emails, copying high-level administrators, including President Kornbluth,' causing a 'pile-on' from other students, staff, and non-affiliates. 'The most disturbing aspect of this whole episode was that President Kornbluth — who was copied on the exchange where the harassment was on display in real time — stayed silent, as did the other high-level administrators,' Sussman writes in his op-ed. In a response to The Post, MIT said it 'will defend itself in court regarding the allegations raised in the lawsuit. 'To be clear, MIT rejects antisemitism. As President Kornbluth has said: 'Antisemitism is real, and it is rising in the world. We cannot let it poison our community.'' In his lawsuit, Sussman claims MIT's Institute Discrimination and Harassment Response Office did not pursue a discrimination investigation after he filed a complaint. 6 MIT president Sally Kornbluth testified before a House committee about campus antisemitism in December 2023. Getty Images A request for comment from DeGraff was not returned, but an automatic response from his MIT email clarified he is 'no longer faculty' at MIT Linguistics as of November 2024 and has been 'removed from [his] academic unit of 28+ years and now I am 'Faculty at large' in MIT's School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences.' 'One of the goals of Hasbara and the distortions therein is to distract from the horrors in Gaza and the West Bank,' he wrote. 'So let's keep centering what Amnesty International calls 'a live-streamed genocide.'' Sussman, who was considering pursuing a career in academia, is requesting 'injunctive relief to eliminate the hostile climate for Jews and Israelis at MIT' and an 'award of compensatory and consequential damages,' including loss of his educational opportunities, wages, and career earnings.
India Today
21-06-2025
- Politics
- India Today
"Criticising Israel is not always antisemitism" says Dr Shmuel Lederman, an Israeli genocide scholar
Dr Shmuel Lederman, a prominent Israeli genocide scholar, has publicly declared that Israel's actions in Gaza constitute genocide—a striking departure from academic caution that reflects a growing shift among experts studying mass atrocities. The Tipping PointLederman's position evolved throughout 2024 as destruction in Gaza mounted. "The accumulated effect of what Israel has been doing in Gaza was basically genocide in terms of the harm done to the Gazans as a group," he Initially hesitant to apply the genocide label, his assessment changed dramatically: "Until mid-2024 it was somewhat possible not to say that what Israel is doing is genocide, but over time, Gaza was simply being destroyed." By year's end, "the continued destruction—of hospitals, schools, and cultural sites—was genocide."Challenging Legal DefinitionsLederman argues that the legal definition of genocide has become an obstacle to prevention. "Genocide scholars for a long time have been engaged in a discourse that is critical of the legal definition because it's very narrow and originated partly in the political interests of the states that formulated it."The 1948 Genocide Convention requires proof of specific intent to destroy a group. Lederman contends: "Once you have this kind of destruction of a group, it should be called genocide—regardless of intent." More troubling, he suggests: "The legal definition of genocide actually serves to block us from preventing genocide when it actually takes place—like in the case of Israel and Gaza."advertisementConfronting Antisemitism AccusationsAs an Israeli Jew criticising his own country, Lederman faces unique challenges. "We need to distinguish very sharply between criticism—however harsh—of Israel, and anti-Semitism," he emphasises. "Anti-Semitism is about certain prejudices, stereotypes, generalisation, demonisation of Jews—not criticism of a sovereign state."He notes his identity provides some protection: "Me being an Israeli Jew, it's harder to criticise me as anti-Semitic... there's a certain privilege." However, he warns: "Very often, calling people anti-Semitic is simply a way of silencing them because they criticise Israel."Societal ComplicityLederman's critique extends beyond government policy to Israeli society itself. "Much of Israeli society either participated in it actively or gave it legitimacy," he observes. Even among government critics, "the majority of Israeli politicians criticising Netanyahu are not doing so on moral grounds—they're talking about hostages or tactical failures."Most concerning is the impact on Israeli youth: "The dehumanisation and demonisation of Palestinians has been ongoing for a long time in Israel—especially when it comes to Gaza." He warns: "For many young people, mocking the suffering in Gaza is almost a form of entertainment, revenge."International InactionLederman doesn't limit criticism to Israel. "Without American support, Israel could not have done what it did," he states bluntly. Regarding international justice mechanisms, he's pessimistic: "It's very likely that the ICJ would conclude there's no proof that Israel intended to destroy the group—because of the very high legal bar."As a genocide scholar breaking ranks with more cautious colleagues, Lederman represents a growing voice calling for fundamental changes in how mass atrocities are recognised and Watch
The Age
30-05-2025
- Politics
- The Age
Both Israel and Palestine have deep ties to the land
To submit a letter to The Age, email letters@ Please include your home address and telephone number. No attachments, please include your letter in the body of the email. See here for our rules and tips on getting your letter published. I attended a talk this week in St Kilda by peace activists Gershon Baskin, an Israeli Jew, and Samer Sinijlawi, a Palestinian living in East Jerusalem. Both argued it was essential for peace that there was an end to 'competition of belonging', replaced by mutual recognition that both peoples had a past tied to the same land. They outlined how most Palestinians and Israeli Jews long for peace, but for 25 years, extremists on each side had given the other the message that they did not want to live in peace. I was reminded of the words of the Holocaust survivor Edith Eger, 'I also want to say that there is no hierarchy of suffering. There's nothing that makes my pain worse or better than yours, no graph on which we can plot the relative importance of one sorrow versus another.' Samer and Gershon ended by encouraging Australians to urge our government to recognise a Palestinian state as the next step towards peace. Mark Zirnsak, Senior Social Justice Advocate, Uniting Church in Australia, Synod of Victoria and Tasmania We must search our consciences Nicola Redhouse's search for moral clarity and determination is something that we all must emulate (″ When Israel acts shamefully, we Jews must be willing to be ashamed of it ″, 30/5). Day by day the casualties mount in Gaza and the Israeli justification of self-defence and elimination of Hamas becomes ever less believable. This is a war of extermination and we must all search our consciences for the strength to speak out against it. Lorel Thomas, Blackburn South Going forward side by side Feeling paralysingly helpless by the sufferings across Gaza and in other world places, on reading Nicola Redhouse's opinion piece there came a moment of intellectual, moral and spiritual clarity. With a clarion call to her tradition, ″Love that cannot feel shame is not love – it is vanity. Nationalism that cannot feel shame is not love of country; it is mere jingoism″, I found the boundaries shift. She states Judaism ″has never required uniformity of judgment, but it has required a reverence of truth″. With eyes to see, and hearts to feel the reverence of truth of overwhelming evils and suffering, we can still feel love of identity and nation, while we hold our heads in shame, as we rise to work side by side for the shalom, the salem, the intrinsic wellbeing for all precious life and land. Reverend Sally Apokis, South Melbourne Hamas is the intractable obstacle Rabbi Daniel Rabin (' Israel is painted as the villain ', 30/5) is correct about the terrorist instigator, Hamas. Unfortunately Hamas is being written out of the narrative and all blame is falling on Israel. Hamas says it wants a Palestinian state. Very commendable but it also wants the elimination of Israel. Until recently Israel championed and worked for a two-state solution, but its right-wing government no longer supports this ideal. How can one support a solution in which the other side denies your right to exist? Les Aisen, Elsternwick THE FORUM Senseless omission A dearth of safe refuge for women and children escaping family violence is the single greatest factor for why women stay in abusive relationships (' New high-security shelters for women in crisis to sit empty during family violence epidemic ', 29/5). That the May state budget omitted $3.9million in operational funding for high-security units designed to shelter women at high risk of death by family violence (or the $9.6million in ongoing funding requested by Safe Steps), is senseless. Dr Anne Summers in 2022 stated that for many women experiencing family violence (who are simultaneously trying to protect their children), ″the choice: violence or poverty″, is the stark reality, including homelessness (ie couch surfing, sleeping in their car). The state government allocating $727 million for 1000 new prison beds and 88 youth justice beds – 'when money spent on services for child family violence victims' could break the cycle of children exposed to family violence 'using violence in their relationships later in life', is a false economy and short-term thinking. Whereas breaking the complex intergenerational cycle of family violence requires long-term strategic thinking, planning, evaluation and government investment. Jelena Rosic, Mornington
Boston Globe
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
What Pope Francis knew
I have several stories from the past couple of years when I have been blessed enough to meet with Pope Francis, but one in particular stands out, when, late last summer, he invited a small delegation to the Vatican to discuss issues of storytelling and peace in the Middle East. Get The Gavel A weekly SCOTUS explainer newsletter by columnist Kimberly Atkins Stohr. Enter Email Sign Up Refugees and migrants rescued by members of the Spanish NGO Proactiva Open Arms in the Mediterranean Sea in 2020. Sergi Camara/Associated Press Advertisement Our delegation of five met near the papal apartments in the Cortile del Belvedere in the Vatican. We walked over cobblestones damp from an early rain. We were greeted in the entryway and guided toward the elevators. It was a pristine building, well kept, high-ceilinged. As we turned a corner, we were surprised to see a large artwork on the wall. Six-and-a-half feet high, it was in the shape of a crucifix. It took a moment to realize that the giant cross was made of transparent resin and that the 'body' of the cross was not a body at all but an orange life jacket. Advertisement The artwork hung in the entryway to the pope's personal quarters, a startling symbol of the world's refugees. A life jacket, most likely belonging to an African refugee rescued, or maybe drowned, at sea, in the place of, or in tandem with, Christ on the cross. The artwork the author saw in the Vatican last summer. Colum McCann We knew then that we were there to meet a person who held the stories of others. Among our delegation were a Palestinian Christian, a Palestinian Muslim, and an Israeli Jew. We remained in the waiting room a considerable time while other parties came and went from behind the door. Time held itself. Toward late morning, we were the last delegation. Pope Francis stood from his chair to shake hands. He was 'deeply moved' to meet our Palestinian and Israeli delegates, he said. They were an important part of the peace movement, not just in the Middle East but around the globe. Then he sat to listen. What was most extraordinary about him was how the words seemed to enter him. Viscerally. Tranquilly. His was a gentle presence, but candescent too. He seemed to be accepting the words as gifts. A pang of pain went across the hood of his eyes as his visitors talked of occupation, genocide, apartheid. The dark abysses of the human condition that he himself had often spoken about. He wanted to hear these words in order to know what he could properly say to the rest of the world. It struck me that I had never seen words being accepted in the same way. The brutal realities. The common thread of pain. The anguish of the unsaid. The ignorance. The disinformation. He wanted to hear all this in order to know what he might say, at another time, to other people around the world. When he finally did speak, he did so quietly, with care, compassion, and startling humility. For common phrases — 'Thank you for coming,' 'I am very moved by your stories' — he used English, but for that which he truly wanted to say, he spoke to a Spanish interpreter. Advertisement 'You remind us that we still have light, even in the darkest moments.' 'The peacemakers must embrace one another first.' 'You have the ability to bring change into history.' There was humor too. When it was suggested that he might make a good candidate for the presidency of the United States, he quietly smiled and said, 'I am not quite sure that it would be a benediction.' To be in such a presence was a great gift, not just for the quality of the moment itself but for what it suggested for what might come after — the struggle for any sort of peaceful engagement in a shattered world. I was reminded of a line from Arabic poetry: 'Is there any hope that this desolation might bring us solace?' As we left, we passed the artwork again. It had become more crucifix than sculpture. The life jacket was, of course, representative of whoever had once worn it, but it also represented the lives that the Palestinian and Israeli delegation's families had lost, or the current realm of terror and global indifference. Pope Francis kissed the foot of a man at the Castelnuovo di Porto refugee center outside Rome in 2016. The pontiff washed and kissed the feet of Muslim, Orthodox, Hindu, and Catholic refugees, declaring them children of the same God. l'Osservatore Romano In the corner of the vaulted ceiling above where the crucifix hung, there was a small crack in the plasterwork. The paint was swollen and bubbling. This, in itself, was incredible in such a building: One did not expect there to be a blemish. Not only that, but the crack in the wall had allowed water to seep in. Advertisement It appeared to us, as we left the building, that the outside was seeking the inside and that the rainwater was looking for the life jacket. It was like the line from the Leonard Cohen song 'Anthem': There's a crack, a crack in everything / that's how the light gets in . It turned out that the crucifix was controversial to some who were critical of Pope Francis. Some right-wing critics said that he was 'deifying the poor and the marginalized.' But that was not something Pope Francis would have responded to. He had blessed the crucifix in 2019. He had embraced the wider meaning. He knew.
