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Student-led protests on college campuses over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza have led to increased tensions with administrators and arrests.
Protests supporting the Palestinian people in the Gaza region of Israel during the nation’s conflict with the Hamas terror organization on college campuses such as Columbia University in New York City have become highly intense within the last few days. The school is the home of the “Gaza Solidarity Encampment,” erected last week by student protesters. The protests have riled up those for the Palestinians and those supporting Israel, leading Columbia President Dr. Minouche Shafik to initiate hybrid classes for the rest of the semester, which began Monday (April 22).
“Over the past days, there have been too many examples of intimidating and harassing behavior on our campus,” she wrote in a statement, calling for a “reset” due to the Passover holiday and citing the concerns of Jewish students who said that they were being intimidated by the pro-Palestinian protesters and were hit with antisemitic threats. “Antisemitic language, like any other language that is used to hurt and frighten people, is unacceptable and appropriate action will be taken,” Shafik continued. The Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine group issued their statement, saying that they “firmly reject any form of hate or bigotry” and their criticisms are of Israel’s government.
Tensions at the encampment hit a fever pitch over the weekend as the New York Police Department arrested close to 100 protesters at the encampment, with dozens of students at Columbia and Barnard being suspended and barred from school housing including Isra Hirsi, the daughter of Congresswoman Ilhan Omar. Barnard has since offered an olive branch to those suspended, offering to lift them for students, acknowledging many had “not previously engaged in misconduct.” Republican federal lawmakers and Jewish groups, however, are in opposition to these moves and are calling for stricter punishment and protection of Jewish students.
The spirit of the protests has spread to other colleges – New York University and Yale University also saw encampments go up in solidarity with those at Columbia and Barnard. To date, there are encampments of protesters supporting the Palestinian people at 15 university campuses nationwide. Faculty members at New York University and Yale were arrested after police said they denied requests to leave. There is also a growing shift in public opinion, as polls are showing most Americans disapprove of Israel’s handling of the war that began after Oct. 7, 2023.
The Nova Supernova Sukkot Gathering on Oct. 7 was supposed to be a fun, celebratory event of music and togetherness, but due to the devastating attack from Hamas militants, more than 300 people were killed and dozens taken hostage. Thousands of Israeli and Palestinian people have been killed as the violence and conflict continues, despite […]
04/22/2024
The brave survivors will be telling their stories at NYC’s The Nova Music Festival Exhibition: October 7th 06:29AM.
04/22/2024
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President Joe Biden demanded that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu call an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict.
In the wake of a horrific airstrike gone wrong which claimed the lives of several aid workers from chef José Andrés’ World Central Kitchen, President Joe Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that an immediate ceasefire to the conflict with the Hamas militant organization was needed “to stabilize and improve the humanitarian situation and protect innocent civilians,” in Gaza, according to the White House.
Biden made the statement during a phone call to Netanyahu on Thursday (April 4) that lasted thirty minutes, stressing that Israel should “announce and implement a series of specific, concrete, and measurable steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering, and the safety of aid workers,” while stating that a policy shift towards Israel in the future by the United States, with representatives stating that he “made clear that U.S. policy with respect to Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel’s immediate action on these steps.” He stated that the strike that killed the World Central Kitchen was “unacceptable”, following up on earlier comments where he expressed his outrage.
Netanyahu had previously issued an apology after the strike, but José Andrés has demanded an independent investigation. “What I know is that we were targeted deliberately, nonstop until everybody was dead in this convoy,” he said in an interview. Seven workers including a dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada and a Palestinian died in the airstrike on Tuesday, which the IDF said was in error. World Central Kitchen representatives said they had prior clearance with the government to deliver aid in the region when hit.
In response, the Israeli government announced that they were opening new aid routes in Gaza, including a key one at the port of Ashdod and the Erez crossing at the northern part of the strip. The news was met positively, but with figures expressing a need for more transparency. U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken wanted clearer details and assurances that “the bottlenecks and other delays at crossings are being resolved.” The president of the European Council, Charles Michel, however, felt that the new routes were not enough in a post made on X, formerly Twitter adding to other international and domestic voices putting pressure on Israel.
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Chef José Andrés announced that members of his nonprofit World Central Kitchen were killed in Gaza by Israeli forces.
On Monday evening (April 1), the celebrity chef and esteemed humanitarian José Andrés announced that several members of his World Central Kitchen were killed in the Gaza Strip in a post on X, formerly Twitter. “Today, @WCK lost several of our brothers and sisters in an IDF air strike in Gaza,” he wrote, using the abbreviation for the Israeli Defense Forces. “I am heartbroken and grieving for their families and friends and our whole WCK family. These are people…angels…I served alongside in Ukraine, Gaza, Turkey, Morocco, Bahamas, Indonesia. They are not faceless…they are not nameless.” The incident places more pressure on Israel, which has been accused of overly aggressive actions since its conflict with Hamas began on October 7, 2023.
In his post, Andrés concluded: “The Israeli government needs to stop this indiscriminate killing. It needs to stop restricting humanitarian aid, stop killing civilians and aid workers, and stop using food as a weapon.” According to reports, the World Central Kitchen said that its seven workers and a Palestinian driver were traveling in a “deconflicted zone” in two armored cars bearing its logo. The vehicles were hit after leaving a warehouse in Deir al-Balah in the central area of the region. The nationalities of those killed also included a dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada, an Australian, and citizens of Poland and Canada. They had already arranged for travel with the Israeli military forces in the area before setting out.
The World Central Kitchen, which the 57-year-old chef founded in 2010, deploys in areas devastated by social and environmental disasters with members cooking and delivering meals to those in need. On Tuesday (April 2), it announced that it would pause aid operations in the area. “This is not only an attack against WCK, this is an attack on humanitarian organizations showing up in the most dire of situations where food is being used as a weapon of war,” the organization’s CEO, Erin Gore, said in a statement. “This is unforgivable.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged the incident in a video statement on Tuesday, saying in Hebrew “This happens in war,” before adding that the government is investigating and “will do everything so that thing does not happen again.”
It’s been six months since the devastating terrorist attack at Nova Music Festival in October 2023, where Hamas militants invaded the event at sunrise, killing 370 people from the concert and holding 44 people hostage at the electronic dance music festival celebrating the Jewish holiday Simchat Torah. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest […]
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Tiffany Haddish went over to Israel to learn about what’s happening in Israel and Gaza and got emotional responding to the backlash over a social media post she made.
On Wednesday (February 21), comedienne and actress Tiffany Haddish addressed her trip to Israel, which she chronicled in a social media post earning her swift backlash over her demeanor. When asked by TMZ’s Harvey Levin about why she would make that trip, Haddish responded: “I can’t believe everything that I read. I want to go see for myself. I want to talk to the people that’s here, that actually had family members that were hostages taken out of their own homes.”
Haddish went on to say that she intended to also go to Gaza, which has seen over 30,000 Palestinians killed during bombings and military actions by the Israeli Defense Forces in their retaliation campaign against the Hamas militant group’s assault on October 7th, 2023, that claimed 1,200 lives. “I care about both sides, I care about humanity,” the Girls Trip actress continued: “I know there’s a lot of the religious stuff going on, control of the land… It’s about human beings. Human beings, man.”
Haddish has some kinship with the Jewish people of Israel, having had her ancestry confirmed five years ago after DNA testing. The now-deleted Instagram video showed the 44-year-old on the plane flight with a drink in hand, joking around. The responses to it were swift and furious, with one commenter named Catrina writing “Sippin on a mimosa on your way to go see a genocide is INSANE.” Some applauded Haddish and wished her a safe journey. The video was then deleted, and she reportedly lost over 14,000 followers.
Levin asked Haddish about the responses to that video. “That’s what I’m trying to tell y’all. I’m doing this by myself. I don’t have a whole family of men, or a man supporting me. I’m doing it on my own,” she said, choking up. “I’m learning on my own.” She added, “The average female wouldn’t have the courage to go see for themselves. There’s a lot of scary a— b———s out here, and y’all can be scared. But I’m gonna go ahead and follow my instincts.” She also referenced Mo’Nique, who had recently called her out in her Club Shay Shay podcast interview. The latest post on her Instagram account, a repost from a group called Louder Creators, appears to be taking shots at her critics of the trip.
Shaul Greenglick, an Israeli soldier and Eurovision Song Contest hopeful, has died in combat amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza. The 26-year-old singer was one of three soldiers recently reported dead by the Israel Defense Forces, per The Times of Israel, following Israel’s intensified ground operations in Palestine. The country has been in active war […]
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An Israeli MMA fighter has taken credit for Ye aka Kanye West’s name on a military missile, bragging about it on social media.
Kanye West has become a part of the Israel-Hamas conflict, with his name having been scrawled onto a missile of the Israel Defense Forces.
An MMA fighter from Israel, Haim Gozali, claimed responsibility for the deed in a post made on X, formerly Twitter on Sunday (December 24). The post shows a picture of missiles, with one prominently displayed showing the message “Kanye West flying to Gaza Haim Gozali” on it. “You don’t like us Jewish. So we don’t like you too !!!”, the caption from Gozali’s post read.
The post was first made from the 50-year-old’s backup account, as Gozali had gotten his main account suspended from the social media platform for a week due to posting a photo of bombs emblazoned with the names of Khabib Nurmagomedov, Kazmat Chiamev, Belal Muhammed and Islam Makhachev.
The four fighters are all Muslim and have vocally expressed support for the people of Palestine. Gozali’s caption for that post read, “This is from me to the [rat emoji.” Gozali would repost the Kanye West photo through his main account after his suspension ended.
Gozali is a fifth-degree black belt jiu-jitsu practitioner who currently fights in Bellator MMA’s middleweight and light heavyweight divisions. He has served in the IDF previously, although there aren’t details on which unit it was in.
The fighter has been consistently vocal in his support of Israel, which has been waging war on the Hamas militant organization after a terror attack on October 7 which killed 1200 Israelis with 240 hostages being taken. In response, Israel’s military has operated daily air and artillery strikes in the Gaza region which have reportedly claimed over 20,000 lives according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
West, who has had a history of of antisemitic remarks dating back to last October when he first sent out the message “going death con 3 On Jewish people” on X, issued an apology in Hebrew on his Instagram page. The rapper’s apology was picked up on by Gozali, who has been reposting all news items about the bomb dedicated to the rapper on his X account.
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Actress Melissa Barrera has been cut from the upcoming Scream 7 movie over a social media post concerning the Israel-Hamas war.
On Tuesday (Nov. 21), Deadline reports that Melissa Barrera, who was one of the leads in the recent Scream movies had been dropped from the film by the production company, Spyglass Media Group. In a statement, Spyglass cited Barrera’s reposts on social media related to the Israel-Hamas conflic where she showed support for the Palestinians, which some perceived as antisemitic.
Barrera, who was previously in the film adaptation of Lin Manuel-Miranda’s In The Heights, was also a major figure in the Vida series on Starz before joining the Scream franchise. Previous posts that have been collated by people online show Barrera’s posts decrying the bloodshed in the region that was initiated by an attack on a concert near the Gaza Strip on October 7 by Hamas and the subsequent Israeli military intervention.
She reposted an image to her Instagram Stories in response to the news which read: “At the end of the day, I’d rather be excluded for who I include, than be included for who I exclude.”
“Spyglass’ stance is unequivocally clear: We have zero tolerance for antisemitism or the incitement of hate in any form, including false references to genocide, ethnic cleansing, Holocaust distortion or anything that flagrantly crosses the line into hate speech,” the statement issued by one of Spyglass’ representatives read. The company offered no further comment.
Melissa Barrera starred as Sam Carpenter, the older sister to Tara Carpenter, played by Jenna Ortega. Ortega has become a major star thanks in part to playing Tara Carpenter and also playing the titular role of Wednesday Addams in the Netflix series. On Wednesday (Nov. 22), word has spread that Ortega has asked Spyglass Media and Paramount, the studio behind the Scream movies to be let out of her contract over the dismissal of Barrera. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Ortega had actually expressed her desire not to return to the horror franchise two months ago.
