Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has gained recent controversy for his comments describing Jewish people as ‘hooked nose’. Mohamad’s antisemitic rhetoric escalated to Holocaust denial and derogatory comments towards Israel, collectively denying the number of Holocaust victims and blaming the Jewish state for instability in the Middle East. As diplomatic...
York University Mural Constant Reminder Zionist Students Not Welcome
Three years ago, a large-scale, informal, and yet typical, Israeli-Palestinian debate took place on campus. This debate caused controversy, questioned the university’s commitment to free speech and student rights, challenged the university’s ability to make decisions regarding student safety, caused one of the university’s largest donors to pull out his...
Letter: Response to ‘Hillel Sponsored Lecture isn’t What it Seems’
Indiana Daily Student columnist Matthew Waterman, Feb. 3, polemicized the recent speech given by Palestinian human rights activist Bassem Eid. Waterman’s absence at the event was noteworthy then, as Mr. Eid discussed a number of the complaints Waterman raised about him and would have been happy to take any questions he...
Fighting the Good Fight, Not a Losing Battle: Being an Israel Warrior in Ireland
Ironically, whilst we are in the midst of a calmer interlude by the standards of Israel’s engagements with its neighbours in the wake of Operation Protective Edge in 2014, the debate over Israel rages ever more furiously on college campuses across the globe. As the brave soldiers of the IDF defend Israel – the culmination of the...
“Jewish Voice for Peace” (JVP): What the Media is Concealing
The anti-Zionist group “Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP)” has been described in the mainstream media, at various times, as “an anti-discrimination group”(Boston Globe, Aug. 7, 2015); “an American Jewish group” that has been “critical of Israeli treatment of Palestinians” (Los Angeles Times, Jan. 8, 2018 and Sept. 9, 2015); a...
Challenging the Narrative on West Bank Housing
Last November, I had the unique experience of attending an event titled “exploring the Israeli occupation”. The event was hosted at the University of the West of England, and invited a speaker from a Christian organisation called ‘Ecumenical Accomplishment Programme in Palestine and Israel’. The speaker, a man called Jamie...
The IHRA Definition of Anti-Semitism: Were We Asking Too Much?
On Monday 21st January, over 300 students gathered in Logan Hall for what promised to be an historic vote which could transform the lives of the Jewish student contingent at UCL for years to come. It was a motion encouraging the Students’ Union to adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism and...
Masking Hatred With Kindness
When the news of the Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting appeared, like most Jews, I was disheartened. Once again, vile hatred towards us has become so serious that it’s led to real violence. However, the news came as no surprise. When times are tough, when things go wrong, the caricature of the...