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Germany’s top official tasked with combating antisemitism is pushing for a new law that would outlaw slogans like “From the river to the sea,” arguing that such chants increasingly function as calls for Israel’s destruction. Felix Klein said his proposal — already endorsed by Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt — is now in the hands of the Justice Ministry for review.

Klein explained that the meaning of the chant shifted dramatically after the Hamas attacks of Oct. 7. “Before Oct. 7, you could have said that ‘From the river to the sea’ doesn’t necessarily mean kicking Israelis off the land, and I could accept that,” he said. “But since then, Israel has really been facing existential threats, and unfortunately, it has become necessary here to limit freedom of speech in this regard.”

He noted that even if critics challenge the legislation on constitutional grounds, he believes Germany must move forward. Klein has served since 2018 as the country’s first “Federal Government Commissioner for Jewish Life in Germany and the Fight against Antisemitism,” and he said the measure is essential given the current climate.

The aftermath of Oct. 7 forced Germany to confront deep tensions between its post-Holocaust commitment to Israel and the protections of a democratic society. The war in Gaza and Hamas’ massacre inside Israel prompted spikes in both antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents, while also generating disputes about the country’s identity and obligations.

Current law offers little uniform guidance on pro-Palestinian speech. Courts must decide, case by case, whether someone shouting “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” supports a peaceful vision or promotes terror. In August 2024, German-Iranian activist Ava Moayeri was convicted of condoning a crime for leading that chant during a Berlin demonstration on Oct. 11, 2023.

Immediately after the attacks, authorities across Germany rolled out broad restrictions on pro-Palestinian protests. In Berlin, schools were even permitted to ban keffiyehs and slogans like “Free Palestine,” part of a sweeping effort to curb what officials said could lead to unrest.

The clampdown reached Jewish critics of Israel as well. One Jewish Israeli woman was arrested after displaying a sign reading “As a Jew and Israeli: Stop the genocide in Gaza.” Police also blocked an event organized by “Jewish Berliners against Violence in the Middle East,” claiming it could spark disorder or “inflammatory, antisemitic exclamations.”

This year, immigration authorities ordered four non-German nationals — three Europeans and one American — to be deported over their alleged activities at pro-Palestinian rallies. Officials cited “Staatsräson,” the doctrine that Germany’s commitment to Israel is fundamental to its own legitimacy. But attorney Alexander Gorski, who represents the individuals facing deportation, dismissed that reasoning. “Staatsräson is not a legal concept,” he said. “It’s completely irrelevant. It’s not in the German Basic Law, it’s not in the constitution.”

Jewish leaders have emphasized that the atmosphere created by widespread criticism of Israel has emboldened antisemites. Charlotte Knobloch, president of the Jewish Community of Munich and Upper Bavaria and a Holocaust survivor, argued that fury at Israel has become a convenient mask. “It is sufficient cause in itself to fuel the hatred,” she said.

Recent incidents underscored how far the hostility has spread. A shop in Flensburg posted a sign declaring “Jews are banned here,” a violation of German anti-discrimination law. But a restaurant in Fürth that declared “We no longer accept Israelis in our establishment” may not face punishment, because national origin is not currently a protected category. Anti-discrimination commissioner Ferda Ataman confirmed that the law does not cover discrimination based on nationality. Klein said he has already begun work on legislation to close that gap.

Klein’s relationship with Jewish communities dates back to his earlier role in the Foreign Office, where he liaised with international Jewish organizations and helped draft the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s “working definition” of antisemitism in 2016. That definition has been heavily debated, with critics arguing it blurs the line between legitimate criticism of Israel and antisemitism.

For Klein, the distinction is indeed narrow. “I think in most cases it is — it’s just a disguised form of antisemitism,” he said. “When people say they’re anti-Israel, what they really mean is Jews.”

{Matzav.com}

The Iranian regime sent a letter to Saudi Arabia earlier this week asking that the Gulf nation attempt to convince the Trump administration to restart nuclear negotiations, Reuters reported.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that Tehran is not looking for confrontation and that the regime is “open to resolving the nuclear dispute through diplomacy, provided its rights are guaranteed,” per Reuters.

Bin Salman had met at the White House with U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday.

Jason Brodsky, policy director at United Against Nuclear Iran, posted on social media that “all the letters in the world will not change the fact that the maximum the Iranian regime is willing to offer does not meet the minimum the U.S. is willing to accept.”

He added that “especially with Iran weakened, it’s a fantasy to expect the U.S. to soften its demands.” JNS

{Matzav.com}

Calling U.S. President Donald Trump’s defense of former Fox News host Tucker Carlson “disgusting,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced on the Senate floor that he would introduce a resolution condemning antisemitism and white supremacy.

The highest-ranking Jewish official in Congress, the senator said that his resolution also would call out Carlson for giving a platform to Holocaust denier and white supremacist Nick Fuentes. He called on his Republican colleagues to “take a clear stand against hatred and antisemitism” by supporting his proposal.

Trump told reporters over the weekend that he had no problem with Carlson’s interview with Fuentes, who has dined with the president and Ye, the former Kanye West, who also has expressed antisemitic views.

“You can’t tell him who to interview,” Trump said.

Trump also offered some kind words for Carlson, who received a prime-time speaking role at the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

“He said good things about me over the years,” Trump said. “I think he’s good. We’ve had some good interviews.”

Schumer called Trump’s comments about Carlson’s interview “disgusting.”

“For Donald Trump to excuse and protect the spread of Nick Fuentes’s ideology confirms what many of us have long said: White supremacy and antisemitism are taking deep roots, unfortunately, within the Republican Party,” Schumer said in his Senate floor speech.

Outrage over Carlson’s friendly interview with Fuentes is bipartisan. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who has emerged as a sharp critic of Carlson, doubled down on his critical comments during a live town hall on SiriusXM on Wednesday.

“I think Tucker is dangerous,” Cruz said. “I think what he’s saying is wrong, and I’m calling him out, and I’m calling him out over and over and over again.”

Cruz also voiced those concerns at the start of last month’s Republican Jewish Coalition annual legislative conference, and they wound up dominating the discussion all weekend.

Before then, texts by Young Republicans leaked in October were shown to be full of racist and antisemitic language.

“In the last six months, I’ve seen more antisemitism on the right than any time in my life,” Cruz said on SiriusXM. “It is wrong, and from my perspective, I’m going to do everything I can to stop it.”

The Democratic Party has had its own problem with antisemitism.

After Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) resurrected the ages-old canard that Jews are not 100% loyal citizens, the House, then controlled by Democrats, voted overwhelmingly in March 2019 to reject “the perpetuation of antisemitic stereotypes in the United States and around the world, including the pernicious myth of dual loyalty and foreign allegiance, especially in the context of support for the United States-Israel alliance.”

The incoming mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani, has accused Israel of genocide and initially refused to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada,” which Jews see as a call for violence against them.

In addition, Schumer came under fire last year for refusing to allow a vote on the bipartisan Antisemitism Awareness Act, which would have codified the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism.

Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) accused Schumer of being “too scared to piss off his base and the pro-Hamas wing” of the Democratic Party.

This time around, Schumer said he hoped Senate Republicans would support his resolution.

“Calling out antisemitism should not be a partisan issue,” he said. “In fact, when we refuse to condemn antisemitism, when we stay silent and fail to reject antisemitic rhetoric, when we normalize hateful figures spewing disgusting antisemitism, that is when antisemitism spreads throughout society like a poisonous wildfire.”

{Matzav.com}

A new study is sounding the alarm over what it describes as an extensive Qatari funding network designed to seed Muslim Brotherhood influence throughout American universities and cultural spaces. According to the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP), Qatar may have funneled more than $20 billion into US institutions — and the total could be far higher.

ISGAP’s report centers on the Qatar Foundation, financed by the Al Thani ruling family, which the organization claims has spent decades slipping substantial sums into elite American schools to help advance the Muslim Brotherhood’s long-term ideological aims. “The royal family of Qatar has a Bay’ah — a spiritual oath — to the Muslim Brotherhood, so they’re pumping in many, many billions of dollars into our universities, K-12 schools and cultural institutions, using influence and soft power to promote its ideology,” Dr. Charles Asher Small, ISGAP’s executive director, told The Post.

Among the findings ISGAP cites is a trail of contributions it says reached an extraordinary $10 billion for Cornell University alone, with other beneficiaries including Georgetown University, Texas A&M, and Brown University. Small stressed that what they have uncovered represents only a fraction of the whole picture. “This is the tip of the iceberg,” he said, estimating the real total could be “at least $100 billion,” noting that the project has “only looked at a few universities” thus far.

Cornell responded by highlighting that its Qatar-based medical school — funded by the Qatar Foundation — keeps its budget in the Gulf nation. “Budgeted funding for the medical school in Qatar has averaged approximately $156 million per year from 2012 to 2025, totaling $2.2 billion. Virtually all funding remains in Qatar for Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar school operations,” a spokesperson said, adding, “We are proud to be the first US-based university to offer our MD degree overseas to educate and train doctors and scientists in patient care, biomedical research and improving quality of life.”

Small said Georgetown received “over a billion in funds” directed toward programs in Middle East studies, social sciences, and its famed diplomatic training initiatives. “It’s a very impactful use of soft power,” he noted.

ISGAP’s review also uncovered $1.3 billion awarded to Texas A&M. After years of searching, Small said investigators located a contract under which the Qatar Foundation would financially support more than 500 research projects at the university’s Qatar campus, established in 2003. The agreement gave “all intellectual property rights” to the foundation, ISGAP said — an arrangement the university confirmed. “Faculty who create intellectual property at Texas A&M at Qatar receive 37.5% of the net licensing revenue from that IP,” the school said. “The remaining net licensing revenue is distributed 33.3% to the Qatar Foundation and 29.2% to Texas A&M at Qatar to reinvest in the research program there.”

ISGAP says 58 of these projects had “dual-use” military applications, and many others were tied to nuclear research. The group has urged the Department of Energy to review the matter. Texas A&M insists otherwise: “No nuclear technology, weapons/defense or national security research is conducted at the Qatar campus. No sensitive or secret research is taking place at this campus.” The university has since moved to shut down its Qatar branch, asserting that its mission should be “focused on Texas and the US.” Small, however, said ISGAP’s investigation “hit some kind of raw nerve.”

The report claims that one of the strongest on-campus vehicles for influence is the Muslim Students Association (MSA), which has over 600 chapters nationwide, including at Columbia University and NYU. ISGAP further alleges that Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), which “cooperates with the MSA,” has been “particularly effective in advancing Brotherhood objectives” amid the Israel-Hamas conflict. When asked about oversight, Columbia said it “has been clear that we have zero tolerance for promoting terror or violence.”

The report also revisited the uproar over a Qatar Foundation International–sponsored map displayed in a Brooklyn public-school classroom that labeled Israel as “Palestine,” arguing it exemplifies the broader ideological effort.

ISGAP’s document — “The Muslim Brotherhood’s Strategic Entryism into Western Society: A Systematic Analysis” — argues the Brotherhood is already deep into a decades-long strategy to “transform Western society from within” by embedding ideologically aligned individuals and ideas across key institutions. The organization called for the US to formally designate the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group. This week, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued such a designation for both the Brotherhood and CAIR. Supporters include Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), who said, “The Muslim Brotherhood is a pro-Hamas organization determined to carry out its ‘civilization jihad’ strategy with the goal of splintering Western society into terror cells. I’ve consistently supported designating the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization to bolster our national security and protect the future of higher education.”

Small argued that the stakes are enormous and that Americans must confront the ideological threat. “American voters, decision makers and scholars need to pay more attention to the importance of ideology,” he said. He warned that ISGAP’s findings “shows the Muslim Brotherhood wants to move Israel away from the US — to isolate it, to destroy it — to use antisemitism to fragment and weaken the US and destroy its democracy.”

He added that transparency around foreign funding is essential. “I think taking funds from entities, states or foundations or businesses that are diametrically opposed to democratic ideals, or ideals of liberal education, there should be safeguards not to take money because it has influence,” Small said.

Pointing to the surge of campus activism sympathetic to Hamas, Small argued it demonstrates the urgency of reform. “The Muslim Brotherhood is committed not only to destroying the state of Israel and murdering Jewish people around the world, they’re committed to the subjugation of women, the murder of gay people and the destruction of democracy,” he said. “Very simple things we take for granted like citizenship, or the notion that regardless of our ethnic, cultural, religious, gender, racial background or income we have a right to be equal under one system in a democracy — this is what they want to destroy and replace.”

{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump reacted with enthusiasm to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s abrupt decision to leave Congress, calling her planned departure “great news” for the country.

In a short phone chat with ABC News, Trump repeatedly applauded the announcement. “I think it’s great news for the country,” he said, following it moments later with, “It’s great.” He also noted that Greene had given him no advance notice of her intention to step down on Jan. 5, 2026, and said he had no plans to reach out to her about it. “Nah, it doesn’t matter, you know? But I think it’s great,” Trump said. “I think she should be happy.”

Hours later, Trump expanded on his reaction in a sharply worded Truth Social post targeting the Georgia Republican. “Marjorie ‘Traitor’ Brown, because of PLUMMETING Poll Numbers, and not wanting to face a Primary Challenger with a strong Trump Endorsement (where she would have no chance of winning!), has decided to call it ‘quits,’ ” he wrote early Saturday morning.

He then shifted to criticizing her political alliances, adding, “Her relationship with the WORST Republican Congressman in decades, Tom Massie of Kentucky, also known as Rand Paul Jr. because he votes against the Republican Party (and really good legislation!), did not help her.” Trump went on to say, “For some reason, primarily that I refused to return her never ending barrage of phone calls, Marjorie went BAD,” before softening the message slightly: “Nevertheless, I will always appreciate Marjorie, and thank her for her service to our Country!”

Greene had once been one of Trump’s fiercest allies on Capitol Hill, but the relationship unraveled after she publicly criticized the administration over its handling of the Jeffrey Epstein document controversy and broke with Trump on several policy fronts. The rift widened further last week when Trump rescinded his endorsement and encouraged Republicans to mount a primary challenge against her. He made clear he intended to support whoever runs against her in 2026.

In her resignation letter, Greene described deep frustration with the unfolding political battle. “I have too much self respect and dignity, love my family way too much, and do not want my sweet district to have to endure a hurtful and hateful primary against me by the President we all fought for, only to fight and win my election while Republicans will likely lose the midterms,” she wrote. She added, “It’s all so absurd and completely unserious. I refuse to be a ‘battered wife’ hoping it all goes away and gets better.”

Greene’s exit will tighten the already narrow Republican margin in the House, where the GOP controls 219 seats to the Democrats’ 213. According to NBC News, House Speaker Mike Johnson, whom Greene attempted to oust last year, was not informed in advance of her decision to step aside.

{Matzav.com}

Rudy Giuliani said on Friday that President Donald Trump’s invitation to New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani was, politically speaking, a savvy move — even though watching it unfold left him feeling physically ill.

Speaking on “Rob Schmitt Tonight,” with Bob Brooks hosting, Giuliani acknowledged that Trump’s decision to bring Mamdani into the Oval Office served, in part, to calm the city’s business community, many of whom are nervous about a democratic socialist preparing to take charge. “I can have my views on the percentage that this is going to work out,” he said during the interview, adding, “Do I think it was a smart way to start? Sure, it was a smart way to start.”

Giuliani argued that by extending the invitation, Trump effectively placed the responsibility for any future tension in the relationship on Mamdani’s shoulders, rather than his own. “Now any deterioration in the relationship will be by the communist and Islamic extremist sympathizer, not by the president,” he said, repeating labels he has attached to Mamdani in the past.

Although he has been an outspoken critic of Mamdani, Giuliani emphasized that he still hopes the city prospers — even if that means Mamdani defies his expectations. “Of course, I want to see New York City do well. I want to see myself wrong about him. I’d like to see him change,” he said.

Still, Giuliani admitted that on a personal level, watching Mamdani stand beside Trump in the Oval Office was deeply unpleasant for him. “All of that doesn’t belie the fact that it makes me sick to my stomach to see that man in the Oval Office,” he said.

{Matzav.com}

SHOCK: A Yemenite kehillah in the central Israeli town of Kadima-Zoran suffered a shocking act of desperation mere hours before the onset of Shabbos, when criminals broke into its beis knesses and desecrated sifrei kodesh, tearing up siddurim and seforim, according to footage and eyewitness accounts. Mispallelim of the Mishkan Shalom Yemenite Synagogue arrived for […]

AHA Awards Rare Recognition to Boro Park Center for Phenomenal Stroke Patient OutcomesYS GOLDEarlier this week, leaders from the American Heart Association gathered along with administrators and devoted employees of Boro Park Center to celebrate the important work of the rehabilitation staff at the center which has recently been recognized by the prestigious association. The […]

A profound tragedy has struck the Monsey community, leaving a young family shattered and a mother widowed at just 28 years old. R’ Yisroel Meir Freeman z”l, a beloved avreich known for his sincerity, warmth, and unwavering dedication to Torah, was tragically niftar when a falling tree struck his car on what should have been […]

A Yemenite kehillah in the central Israeli town of Kadima-Zoran suffered a shocking act of rishus mere hours before the onset of Shabbos, when criminals broke into its beis knesses and desecrated sifrei kodesh, tearing up siddurim and seforim, according to footage and eyewitness accounts. Mispallelim of the Mishkan Shalom Yemenite Synagogue arrived for tefillos […]

“I would like to get to peace… We’re trying to get it ended. One way or the other, we have to get it ended,” says POTUS on his Russia-Ukraine peace proposal. If Zelensky rejects the plan, “then he can continue to fight his little heart out.”

Bill Maher: It was Muslim week at the White House this week. First, he had Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia the only guy who walks into the White House and goes, ‘Not enough gold.’ He was there at the White House, nothing to do with politics. It’s just that with Thanksgiving […]

President Trump announced on Friday that he is terminating the temporary protected status for Somalis in Tim Walz’s Minnesota.

An American proposal to end the war in Ukraine puts the country in a delicate diplomatic position — caught between placating its most important ally, the United States, and not capitulating to Russia, its much larger neighbor that launched a full-scale invasion nearly four years ago. The 28-point peace plan was crafted by U.S. President […]

Trump says Ukraine peace proposal isn’t “final offer” as Kyiv’s allies voice concerns: President Trump has given Ukraine less than a week to respond to his 28-point plan to end the war with Russia, widely seen as favoring Moscow, but he indicated it is still negotiable. Top U.S. diplomats will meet Ukrainian officials and European […]

The Vishnitzer Rebbe departing Eretz Yisroel for the United States on Motzei Shabbos, to attend the Chasunah of an Einikle. Around 80 Chassidim are reportedly traveling with him.

US EXPECTED TO LAUNCH NEW VENEZUELA OPERATIONS: Reuters reports that the U.S. is preparing a new phase of Venezuela-related operations, led by covert actions, and plans to designate the Cartel de los Soles as a foreign terrorist organization, saying President Nicolás Maduro directs it. The U.S. is also expanding its naval presence in the Caribbean […]

FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino said in an interview with Fox News Digital that Thomas Matthew Crooks acted alone in the July 13 assassination attempt against President Trump, and that investigators have found no evidence of any foreign involvement.

NYC ICE Director Ken Genalo spoke about operations in the city after Tom Homan said ICE will be active in New York. Genalo pushed back on criticism, saying, “People say if they’re only here illegally, why are you going after them? Well, number one, they’re here illegally, and that’s against the law.”

Zohran Mamdani’s long-anticipated visit to the White House unfolded with little of the diplomatic caution usually expected from a mayor-elect meeting the president. The encounter, which capped several weeks of public back-and-forth, quickly shifted from pleasantries to sharp political declarations.

Standing alongside U.S. President Donald Trump after their discussion, Mamdani once again leveled his harshest charge at Israel, insisting that the country is carrying out “genocide in Gaza” and asserting that American taxpayers are underwriting those actions. He told reporters, “I shared with the president in our meeting about the concern that many New Yorkers have about wanting their tax dollars to go toward the benefit of New Yorkers and their ability to afford basic dignity. There’s a desperate need not only for the following of human rights but also the following through on the promises we’ve made New Yorkers. We’ve spoken about the Israeli government committing genocide and I’ve spoken about our government funding it.”

Trump allowed the comments to pass without a direct answer. When the mayor-elect was questioned about Trump’s ongoing diplomatic efforts in the Middle East, Mamdani offered a restrained note of approval, saying, “I appreciate all efforts toward peace. We’re tired of seeing our tax dollars fund endless wars, and I also believe that we have to follow through on the international human rights, and I know that still today those are being violated, and that continues to be work that has to be done, no matter where we’re speaking of.”

The president was later pressed about Mamdani’s earlier warning that he would order the detention of Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu if he were to visit New York. Trump brushed the matter aside with a short reply: “We did not discuss that.”

Mamdani’s team also attempted to clarify his stance on protests surrounding the recent Nefesh B’Nefesh gathering at a New York synagogue. His spokeswoman, Dora Pekec, said, “The Mayor-elect has discouraged the language used at last night’s protest and will continue to do so. He believes every New Yorker should be free to enter a house of worship without intimidation, and that these sacred spaces should not be used to promote activities in violation of international law.”

The exchange ended on an unexpectedly playful note when reporters lobbed a loaded question at Mamdani about whether Trump is a fascist. Trump interjected before Mamdani could reply, joking, “Just say yes, it’s easier.”

{Matzav.com}