A growing number of major Jewish organizations in the United States have been pressuring the Biden Administration to take action against a major outbreak of antisemitism. Jewish representatives met with White House officials in the wake of a sharp spike in attacks against Jews that began during the recent escalation of violence between Israel and Palestinian terrorists operating in the Gaza Strip.
The participants said that the following requests were made during the meeting: Nominating someone to monitor and combat antisemitism at the State Department while naming a Jewish liaison; convening a summit on antisemitism; adding funds to secure Jewish nonprofits; and keeping in place an executive order by former president Donald Trump that relates mainly to curbing antisemitism on university campuses by providing avenues of recourse to do so.
Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that the administration was working to “bolster safety and security of synagogues and other religiously affiliated facilities and organizations.”
The recent attacks on the Jewish community are despicable, and they must stop. I condemn this hateful behavior at home and abroad — it’s up to all of us to give hate no safe harbor.
— President Biden (@POTUS) May 24, 2021
Relatedly, a study conducted by the Kantor Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry at Tel Aviv University concluded that over 450 countries and organizations have adopted the definition of antisemitism as laid out by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA). Countries that endorse the IHRA include the United States, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Sweden, Italy, France, Spain, Argentina, Greece, the UK and Canada.
Qatar will provide $500 million to help fund the reconstruction of sites in the Gaza Strip; this, in the wake of a ceasefire that ended the worst round of fighting in years between Israel and Palestinian terrorist groups, foremost Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Doha often mediates between Israel and Hamas, in particular, and has contributed hundreds of millions of dollars to Gaza.
Hamas has nevertheless threatened to renew intense fighting against Israel if the Jewish state “violates” the Al-Aqsa Mosque, located on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount.
“What has happened is but a drill for what will come if Israel violates the Al-Aqsa Mosque…. Al-Aqsa has men who will defend it,” the terror group’s leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, said.
Meanwhile, Egypt has invited representatives from Israel, the Palestinian Authority and Hamas to Cairo for a summit to discuss a long-term truce. The objective of the summit would reportedly be to work out an agreement on the reconstruction of Gaza, while also revolving around the return of two Israeli civilians — in addition to the remains of two IDF soldiers — being held by Hamas.
Israel this week is marking the 30th anniversary of Operation Solomon, the largest-ever humanitarian airlift undertaken by any country. The covert military operation took place on May 24-25, 1991, when 14,325 Ethiopian Jews were flown from Addis Ababa to Ben Gurion Airport on nonstop flights involving 35 Israeli aircraft that transported them from a war-torn country to the safety of the Jewish state in 36 hours.
Operation Solomon was the third airlift from Ethiopia to Israel. It was preceded by Operation Moses in 1984 and Operation Joshua in 1985.
For more than 40 years, the Jewish Agency and Israeli government have assisted over 95,000 Ethiopian Jews to move to Israel. Currently, there are more than 150,000 first- and second-generation Ethiopians living in the country.
Top Israeli singers Omer Adam and Noa Kirel released a remix of Israel’s national anthem, Hatikvah (“The Hope”). Adam explained that especially at this moment, with the end of Operation Guardian of the Walls, Israelis must remember not to lose hope.
“So we took our amazing anthem, that fills our heart and soul with pride every time we sing it, and we added some more words of hope to it, in Hebrew and in English, and we also brought in two great international artists, who worked together with us,” Adam said, adding: “We remind you that there is nothing like our people and our soldiers, and that we should not lose hope! God willing, good days will come upon us and we will return to being one nation in one heart.”
Noa Kirel said that “this morning we are amping up the speakers — together with the soldiers, fighters, medical teams, volunteers [and] good people. We are with our heads held high, lifting [our heads] to better times, beautiful days and better news.”
All proceeds from the song will go to YAHAD United for Israel’s Soldiers, an organization that provides support and care for IDF soldiers.
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Recommended Reading
- 17,000 Tweet ‘Hitler Was Right,’ and Big Tech Barely Reacts (Bethany Mandel, New York Post)
- Figuring Out Hamas’ Strategy (Anoop Kumar Gupta, Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies)
- UNRWA’s Director Spoke Truth That Israeli Strikes Were Precise (Jerusalem Post)
- Outrage Mounts at New York Times Depiction of Jewish ‘Bloodlust’ (Ira Stoll, Algemeiner)
- Superman Taught Me How to Be a Cuban Jew (Jake Carson Steinberg, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
