Biden steps down as candidate in favor of Harris, reshapes place of Israel in Democratic Party. British and French elections create new perils for Jews and Israel.

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Introduction

The sudden withdrawal of President Biden from the Democratic ticket amidst the continued war in Gaza has thrown US support for Israel and for American Jews into new light. The appointment of Vice President Harris as the Democratic candidate put her record and progressive wing of the party under scrutiny. This change of the guard comes the nation faces new street protests by pro-Hamas forces and pressures created by the mendacious ‘International Court of Justice’ ruling against Israel. Political changes from above and antisemitic riots from below frame what will be an active and dangerous academic year.

Analysis

Politics

Israel remains a central focus in the political sphere in the US and internationally. The decision by President Biden not to seek reelection throws the future of US policy towards Israel and antisemitism into question since Vice President Kamala Harris has a mixed approach towards both issues.

On the one hand she has repeatedly criticized and warned Israel regarding the Gaza operation and expressed sympathy towards protestors accusing Israel of genocide, while her team is far to the left on these and other issues. On the other hand, she has consistently supported the Biden administration’s positions on Israel and using her husband Doug Emhoff, she has expressed sympathy towards American Jews receiving antisemitic abuse from pro-Hamas protestors.

Her swift endorsement by the Squad as well as Jewish Democrats is an early suggestion – as many Democrats hostile to Israel have hoped – that she will run to the left of Biden’s policies and that anti-Israel factions are secure within the Democratic Party. In a sign of that wing’s presumed influence, a video from the communist BDS group Code Pink which featured Linda Sarsour took credit for Harris replacing Biden and for Harris’ refusal to attend Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech before Congress.

Repeated comments that Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro would be a liability, and a swift campaign against “Genocide Josh” as her running mate on the grounds of his opposition to pro-Hamas campus protests and for being “egregiously bad on Palestine,” also reflect deep seated progressive bias against Jews in the party and holding national office. Anti-Israel forces inside and outside the party have promised to disrupt the Democratic convention in August.

The selection of Senator J.D. Vance as former President Trump’s running mate was seen by most observers as an endorsement of strong US-Israel relations generally and within the party. The Republican National Convention began with a prayer for Israel and the hostages and the platform includes a promise to “stand with Israel, and seek peace in the Middle East,” and to “DEPORT PRO-HAMAS RADICALS AND MAKE OUR COLLEGE CAMPUSES SAFE AND PATRIOTIC AGAIN” (emphasis in original). Parents of American hostages held in Gaza also spoke at the convention to thunderous applause, along with a Harvard University student who spoke out against campus antisemitism, and University of North Carolina fraternity members who defended an American flag against pro-Hamas protestors.

In contrast reports indicated that the Democrats tasked with writing their party platform are split on Israel, with progressives demanding an arms embargo and Biden-aligned faction promising the “platform will be even stronger on Israel in 2024 than it was in 2020.” The final platform draft reaffirmed that the “commitment to Israel’s security, its qualitative military edge, its right to defend itself, and the 2016 Memorandum of Understanding is ironclad.”

The platform leaves unchanged US policy towards Iran’s “regional intgration,” says nothing about antisemitism, and reaffirms a commitment “to a durable peace in the Middle East bolstered by regional integration and a negotiated two-state solution that ensures Israel’s future as a Jewish and democratic state with recognized borders and upholds the right of Palestinians to live in freedom and security in a viable state of their own.” The platform will be voted on at the national convention in August where pro-Palestinian factions have promised protests.

The Democratic split was reinforced by continued reports of dissatisfaction among Arab American and Muslim Democrats willing to punish Democrats over continued support for Israel. Another sign of the split was the rejection by Democratic lawmakers in the House Ways and Means Committee of two Republican proposed pieces of legislation, the University Accountability Act and the Protecting American Students Act, which would have punished universities for indulging campus antisemitism. The refusal by Sen. Bernie Sanders and Sen. Dick Durbin to hold Senate hearings on campus antisemitism despite bipartisan requests is another indication that the progressive wing does not want the issue publicized.

Observers noted that Biden’s withdrawal marks the end of an era where Democratic politicians had close personal connections to Israel. Shortly before his withdrawal President Biden stated in an interview that he was a “Zionist” and that “You don’t have to be a Jew to be a Zionist, and a Zionist is about whether or not Israel is a safe haven for Jews because of their history of how they’ve been persecuted.” He added that he had “done more for the Palestinian community than anybody.” His remarks were derided by Arab, Muslim, and BDS sources. Left wing defenses of Harris’ relationship to Zionism must be assessed against her criticism of Israel and continued equation (following Obama) of antisemitism with ‘Islamophobia.’

More unambiguously, the far left remains determined to punish anyone who deviates from dogmatic hatred of Israel. Most recently the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) withdrew their endorsement of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez after she met with the Jewish Council on Public Affairs, during which “anti-Zionism and antisemitism were conflated and boycotting Zionist institutions was condemned.”

The DSA’s reaction to this ideological deviation reflects their strident rejection of Israel recast as a “socialist movement that’s capable of defeating capitalism.” The DSA bolsters left wing Democrats and field their own as Democrats at the local level.

The support from Islamists and the BDS movement for Squad member Rep. Cori Bush was reflected in a fundraiser organized by Jewish Voice for Peace and IfNotNow attended by Linda Sarsour and Marc Lamont Hill. Bush’s challenger, local prosecutor Wesley Bell, has received support from AIPAC. At the same time, a report indicates that pro-Israel donors have largely avoided contributing to the campaign of Rep. Ilhan Omar’s opponent Don Samuels.

In the international sphere the ‘International Court of Justice’ (ICJ) declared Israel’s presence in the West Bank and Jerusalem to be an ‘illegal occupation.’ Observers noted that the ‘court’ is presided over by a Lebanese politician, that the mandate for the non-binding advisory opinion from the General Assembly did not include addressing Palestinian violations or even specific Israeli actions, and that the resolutely ahistorical decision completely subverts a negotiated settlement.

The implications of the decision have yet to be fully felt. Observers suggest it will be used as a political weapon by governments including the US to increase sanctions against Israeli groups in the West Bank, and against any Israel institutions and individuals deemed supportive of the enterprise or opposed to a two state solution. It is unclear whether the recent decision by the Canadian Revenue Agency to revoke the charitable status of the Jewish National Fund, a long time BDS target, was connected to the ICJ decision.

Antipathy toward Israel among Muslim and far left voters was on display in British parliamentary elections. The overwhelming Labour Party victory saw the election of a number of Muslim candidates who ran as independents solely on the issue of ‘Gaza’ and backed by the Islamist organization The Muslim Vote. Many Muslim voters refused to vote for Labour claiming the party was not hard enough on Israel although observers later claimed the votes were signals of broader discontent. Former Labour head and renowned Israel hater Jeremy Corbyn also regained his seat in Parliament.

The policy implications of the Labour victory towards Jews and Israel are uniformly negative. Prior to the election Shadow Foreign Minister David Lammy had promised to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on the basis of the ‘International Criminal Court’ ruling. Incoming Attorney General Richard Hermer had also recommended permitting local councils to adopt Israel boycotts. Other Labour candidates had promised that Britain immediately stop selling arms to Israel. British arm sales to Israel in 2023 were valued at £18.2 million but the country also produces approximately 15% of each F-35 jet which are sold to Israel and other buyers.

Lammy’s visit to Israel and the Palestinian Authority produced no immediate policy changes besides resumption of funding to UNRWA but Prime Minister Keir Starmer later confirmed that Britain would not object should the court issue a warrant. Reports indicates that Britain will temporarily delay suspending arms sales to Israel and Members of Parliament have demanded Britain prevent a tanker carrying jet fuel to Israel be blocked from docking in Gibraltar.

More broadly the electoral power of Muslim voters in Britain has changed the tone for the Labour Party on Israel, on government support for its separatist communities, and on legal issues, specifically the potential outlawing of ‘Islamophobia’ and reducing the policing of extremism.

The French elections in July represented a more complex split with a far left coalition of communists, Green, and socialists uniting to win a majority over the far right party of Marine Le Pen in the second round of elections. The far left coalition came together quickly to marginalize Le Pen but includes notable antisemites including socialist Jean-Luc Mélenchon as well as Islamists. Continuing difficulties in assembling a government were overshadowed by the opening of the Olympics in Paris and a series of terror threats.

Anti-Israel and antisemitic policies supported by the far left have already changed the cultural environment, further legitimizing already rampant antisemitism in the name of ‘Gaza.’ French Jews were split over the election with some voting for previously anathema far right candidates. Overall the community appears to be in shock with the general sentiment agreeing with prominent Parisian Rabbi Moshe Sebbag, who stated “it is clear today that there is no future for Jews in France. I tell everyone who is young to go to Israel or a more secure country.”

‘Palestine’ also continues to colonize unrelated political causes, driving out Jews and Israel supporters as litmus tests are imposed. Recent reports have noted how attacks on Israel within the reproductive health sector after October 7 led to the creation of an explicitly pro-Israel organization. This has now been attacked by pro-Hamas leaders of the sector who continue to claim that “You cannot be Pro-Choice without being Pro-Palestine” and that “Zionism is a contradiction to Reproductive Justice.”

Protests

Anti-Israel protests in July were centered on the visit of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the US. A variety of American Palestinian groups had promised to ‘arrest’ Netanyahu upon his arrival in the US. Prior to his speech before Congress some 200 protestors were arrested in the Capitol Rotunda and mobs besieged the hotel where he was staying, with Palestinian Youth Movement infiltrators filming themselves releasing maggot and insects and pulling fire alarms overnight.

Prior to the speech thousands of protests mobbed Washington, D.C., burning American flags and waving Hamas flags, assaulting police, and vandalizing monuments with graffiti including “Hamas is coming.” Classic antisemitic imagery including Netanyahu depicted as a demon with horns and fangs dripping blood were common. Police, including many brought in from other cities, used tear gas to disperse the crowds but US Park Police later reported that less than three dozen members were deployed to protect monuments. All those arrested were later released and charges were dropped.

The rioters’ travel to Washington appears to have been funded by American Muslims for Palestine in coordination with the communist Party for Socialism and Liberation. The riots were condemned from across the political spectrum including the White House. Netanyahu’s speech was boycotted by more than eighty Congressional Democrats including Vice President Harris, who later met individually with Netanyahu.

Other pro-Hamas protest activities during the month included:

Attacks on synagogues and Jewish institutions were routine in July:

Elsewhere a variety of symbols associated with Jews continue to be appropriated for the Hamas cause. One especially obscene example was an Anne Frank statue in Amsterdam that was vandalized with the word “Gaza.” In Bergen, Norway a mural of Anne Frank wearing a keffiyah sparked controversy. The anonymous artist claimed that “The killings of the innocent women and children in Gaza must stop now. I feel sure that Anne Frank … would support me in this demand.”

Students

Reports indicate that anti-Israel students are investing heavily in summer training activities. A number of BDS summer camps sponsored by the National Students for Justice in Palestine have been noted including at the University of Massachusetts, Smith College, and San Francisco State University.

Threats against universities and Jewish students also escalated in July. Unionized student workers associated with the United Auto Workers at Columbia University voted to endorse BDS and threaten to strike if its demands are not met.

At the same time low level campus vandalism, such as at Columbia University, and explicit threats of “student intifada,” are a foreshadowing of what promises to be a disruptive and potentially violent fall semester. In an early indication at the University of Michigan the “League of Revolutionary Students” disrupted a new student orientation program. A statement from the group claimed “Today, students and community members disrupted U-M orientation to show new students and their families the university’s refusal to divest from genocide.”

At New York University the administration condemned the ‘People’s Solidarity Coalition aka the People’s Front’ which had issued a statement embracing “armed struggle” as part of its efforts to “dismantle NYU’s involvement in settler- colonial occupation, genocide and imperial wars. We localize the Palestinian liberation struggle within the imperialist University, and take up the fight against NYU’s global empire, which collaborates in the interests of Zionist colonialism and U.S. imperialism.”

In another example the University of Wisconsin Madison SJP chapter threatened that “We will no longer normalize genocidal extremists walking on our campus… ANY organization or entity that supports Israel is not welcome at UWM.This includes the local extremist groups such as Hillel, Jewish Federation, etc.”

The larger revolutionary framework of anti-Israel and anti-American protests was described in a posting by the University of Illinois Chicago SJP which stated “Inshallah amerikkka and israel will fall within our life time. Death to all police and colonial empires.” The University of California at San Diego SJP chapter also claimed that the assassination attempt against former President Trump was “staged” as a distraction from the “massacre” in Gaza.

Jewish students continue to express concerns regarding the fall semester, more broadly about their safety at leading American universities, and to speak out about the events on campus since October 7. A University of Pennsylvania student testifying before the Pennsylvania State Senate’s Education Committee detailed the events on campus and the role of anti-Israel students and faculty in creating a hostile environment for Jewish and Israeli students.

Administrations

The repercussions of the post-October 7 campus unrest continue to reverberate for university administrations. One report indicates that the protests cost the University of California system $29 million with UCLA alone incurring $10 million in security and $400,000 in cleanup expenses.

Several universities have quietly announced that divestment from Israel is not being considered, including the University of Pennsylvania and the University of California system. The University of Minnesota regents proposed to sidestep the issue with an ‘investment neutrality’ policy while the University of Edinburgh has postponed consideration indefinitely. The London School of Economics stated that divestment was effectively impossible. A detailed proposal at Princeton University, however, demands university investments be divested from Israel and companies doing business there and put under control of a ‘divestment manager.’

Disciplinary action against pro-Hamas protestors continues to emerge:

Overall some 3100 arrests were made during the previous academic year, 2/3 at public institutions, and most charges have been dropped by prosecutors. Nevertheless a variety of anti-Israel ‘civil rights’ organizations have demanded that the Justice and Education Departments “take immediate action to address possible civil rights violations committed by university officials in connection with peaceful protests on campuses.” This type of lawfare against universities is expected to expand.

Other universities continue to make a variety of concessions to protestors:

  • The Manhattan District Attorney dropped charges against 13 non-student protestors arrested during a building takeover, conditional on a six month probationary period and completion of “an in-person class on what constitutes “peaceful and legal protesting.””
  • After negotiations with the pro-Hamas elements encampment, the University of Wisconsin-Madison apparently agreed to cut ties with two Israeli companies and to condemn the “plausible genocide” by Gazans.
  • The University of Liège announced that it was conceding to student demands to confirm it had no collaborations with Israeli universities, that it would request a review by the European Council on Israeli participation in European-wide projects, and that it was rejecting a series of donations and collaboration with specific companies.
  • University of Toronto encampment participants were provided with amnesty by the university as a condition for vacating the campus.
  • The University of Windsor agreed encampment demands to accept more ‘scholars at risk’ and students from Gaza, “enhanced anti-racism initiatives,’ and to greater investment transparency. Encampment participants also falsely claimed the deal would include a boycott of Israeli universities. The ‘anti-racism initiatives’ appear aimed at “anti-Palestinian racism,” an emerging concept that demands total acceptance of Palestinian narratives including the ‘Nakba.’
  • Cambridge University agreed to review its investments as part of an agreement with the pro-Hamas encampment. It also confirmed it did not have investments in specific Israeli companies.
  • The University of Cape Town adopted a policy that prohibits relations with “any research group and/or network whose author affiliations are with the Israeli Defence Force, and/or the broader Israeli military establishment.” In practical terms this means any Israeli university. It also condemned the IHRA definition and adopted the “Jerusalem Declaration’s dynamic understanding of what constitutes antisemitism.”

University administrations continue to adopt a variety of measures to ensure the fall semester will be quiet. The University of California Regents voted to ban political statements by academic departments. The move comes after numerous departments posted anti-Israel statements on their websites particularly after October 7. Restrictions on protests were also instituted by the Indiana University regents and have been proposed at Harvard University, including a ban on overnight camping. Most substantively, a Federal court has ordered UCLA to develop a plan to protect Jewish students from the discrimination and harassment that underpinned the 20224 encampments.

But while antisemitism taskforces, invariably paired with ‘Islamophobia’ taskforces, have provided useful documentation of campus harassment and intimidation, their mostly modest recommendations have been ignored. Taskforces have also been predictably split with Muslims complaining about the ‘Palestine Exception,’ unconvincingly claiming that ‘Palestine’ is “a topic that one cannot study, discuss, or teach without potentially damaging one’s future.”

In the wake of the widely publicized scandal surrounding four administrators who had been observed sending insulting texts during an antisemitism assembly, Columbia University announced it was reassigning three and keeping one, dean Josef Sorett, in place. In a purported apology email, Sorett claimed “I continue to learn from this experience and understand the impact that my texts, as well as those between my staff, have had on our community.” Columbia has now announced a search for a crisis communications specialist.

Efforts to ‘educate’ staff members regarding antisemitism within the existing ‘diversity, equity and inclusion’ (DEI) mechanisms that dominate campuses have thus far been unsuccessful. At the University of Wisconsin at Madison staff members complained that training provided by Hillel International contained “anti-Black microaggressions, a joke about UW-Madison’s land acknowledgement and perceived inaccuracies in presentation materials on Israel.”

One participant complained that “One of the slides discussing the Civil Rights Movement had the term ‘Blacks’ not Black Americans or African Americans. That term is derogatory to African Americans and is tied directly to the white supremacy that the presenter was trying to highlight and diminish.” These and other responses suggest that while the training may have been inept or inadequate, staff resistance to anything but its own racialized frameworks is deep-rooted.

Yale University announced it has hired Maurie McInnis as president. She had previously served as president of Stony Brook University (SUNY) and gained a reputation for having little tolerance for campus disruptions. Her appointment was criticized by Yale’s pro-BDS students and faculty.

But in yet another sign that leading donors are unimpressed by administrative actions to combat antisemitism, real estate magnate Mort Zuckerman announced he had suspended a $200 million contribution to Columbia University. A spokesperson noted “The recent decisions and actions taken by Columbia have been antithetical to the University’s mission and it is simply not the same institution it was when Mr. Zuckerman made the pledge.”

Faculty

As faculty prepare for the fall semester a number of developments point to the continued domination of campus politics and discourse by the anti-Israel movement. Unions remain key mechanisms for anti-Israel forces to maintain control:

The evidence of resolutions in unions demonstrates that members are already espousing anti-Israel viewpoints inside classrooms and seek to cement these positions as formal policies and educational doctrines.

In a harbinger of expanding faculty efforts to directly control universities, New York University’s ‘Faculty for Palestine’ issued a threat to the institution demanding removal of all police from campus, amnesty for pro-Hamas students, and rejection of all ‘limits on free speech’ including adoption of the IHRA definition. If these demands are not met by mid-August faculty will “actively commence refusing various forms of our labor, and pursuing other concerted action, this fall.”

The isolation of Israeli academia at the hands of international colleagues continues to expand. New reports indicate that the number of foreign students applying to study at leading Israeli universities has declined precipitously since October 7 and many international faculty are planning on leaving. The declines are especially critical in the hard sciences and life sciences, with local academics warning that Israel may become a closed scientific monoculture on par with China or Iran. Most analysts cite the impact of the BDS movement and fear of having a record of Israeli collaboration. Other reports cite a growing wave of Israeli academics leaving the country for overseas positions. Most cite domestic politics, the security situation, and the high cost of living.

More positively, an open letter signed by some 3000 academics denounced Israel boycotts.

K-12

Lawsuits and Department of Education investigations of local school districts also continue to emerge, for example in the Carmel (CA) Unified School District which saw repeated incidents of swastikas drawn on school property and threats aimed at Jewish students. Late reports indicate the district has come to an agreement with the Department of Education to address the situation.

Similar incidents were reported in Stamford (CT) schools and at elite private schools including Phillips Exeter Academy. The ADL has also filed a lawsuit against the Philadelphia School District alleging among other things that that Jewish and Israeli students at a charter school were forced to chant “Free Palestine” and draw posters saying “From the river to the sea…”

During the summer recess attention continues be focused on the central role of anti-Zionism in ‘ethnic studies’ and the role of anti-Israel teachers and university faculty in promoting it nationally. A corollary of mandated antisemitism via ethnic studies is the institutionalization of Palestinian narratives through outlawing of “anti-Palestinian racism” (APR). One recent incident is a lawsuit by the BDS lawfare group Palestine Legal against Northwestern University alleging that factual statements regarding Palestinian history and culture are examples of “anti-Palestinian racism.” This new frontier in lawfare alleges that challenging the Palestinian narrative regarding the ‘Nakba’ or other doctrinal assertions regarding Palestinian history and culture is de facto racist and ‘Islamophobic.’

The incorporation of APR into the Toronto District School Board’s “Combating Hate and Racism Student Learning Strategy” among other things demands that “claims that there are no such people called Palestinians or no state of Palestine exists … denial that Palestinians were ethnically cleansed (along with accompanying crimes) to create the state of Israel; rejecting the inalienable rights of Palestinian refugees including the right of return” are racist. The equation with Holocaust denial is deliberate as is the de facto negation of Jewish claims to indigenous origins in Israel which are the core of Zionism.

In another particularly sinister development, reports continue to emerge regarding anti-Zionist teachers in Hebrew schools. Progressive ‘non-Zionist ceasefire advocates’ have also come under fire at Jewish day schools as various communities have become more deeply polarized after October 7.

Arts and Culture

Israel continues to be a focal point for antipathy in the world of art and culture. At the lowest level Israeli travelers continue to find their hotel reservations canceled in any number of locations including Japan and Greece on the grounds that they are Israeli. At another level the major British music festival at Glastonbury also saw predominantly pro-Palestinian expressions from various artists.

Efforts to boycott and cancel Jews on the grounds of ‘Zionism’ continue to roil the literary world. In one recent example a Jewish author, Gabrielle Zevin, was subjected to a boycott organized by a Chicago book store employee. Her critics pointed to a speaking appearance for Hadassah and allegations that she “included Israeli sympathy into her books.” I

In response to growing list of incidents of this sort The Author’s Guild issued a statement stating “We abhor antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism, and other forms of bigotry and discrimination intended to chill writers’ freedom of expression.” The inclusion of ‘Islamophobia,’ for which there is no evidence in the literary world, serves to negate the initial and primary concern, antisemitism. The Author’s Guild statement comes after the recent anti-Israel controversies within PEN America which have effectively disabling the organization.

In the sporting world demands to boycott and ostracize Israel continue, particularly within soccer and the Olympics. The Italian city of Udine refused to host an Italian-Israel soccer game on the grounds that it would be “divisive,” and several Belgian cities have refused to host matches with Israeli teams on ‘security’ grounds. The Israeli Olympic team in Paris was under heavy security and was protested at various venues.

Economics

One of the most important developments in the economic sphere were reports linking the ‘A15 Action’ global blockage of shipping and transportation centers to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC). The April 2024 effort was executed by Antifa and Palestinian groups but documents leaked by Iranian anti-regime elements suggest the effort was ordered by the IRGC’s intelligence branch. The groups involved overlap with BDS organizations but emphasize direct action over boycotts and have a revolutionary communist orientation.

The US Government has not confirmed these connections but in testimony to Congress US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines noted that Iran continued to “stoke discord and undermine confidence in our democratic institutions” through cyber and influence campaigns. White House spokesman John Kirby confirmed “that Iran has been funding and encouraging some of the protest activity here in the United States” but there is no public sign that the intelligence community or law enforcement is addressing the problem. At the same time a report indicates that US intelligence agencies have seen signs of Iranian and Russian online influence operations designed to prevent the election of former President Trump.

Reports continue to accumulate regarding informal economic boycotts of Israel, most significantly in the arms and munitions industries where international suppliers have refused to fill or even acknowledge Israeli orders. This situation is difficult to assess given the worldwide shortages of various arms and munitions given the conflict in Gaza and the protracted conflict in Ukraine.

At the opposite end of the economic scale, however, boycotts aimed at individual firms identified as Jewish, such as the Brooklyn-based ‘The Matza Company,’ are easily understood as purely antisemitic. These boycotts are in addition to the continued vandalizing of Jewish businesses around the US with ‘Free Palestine’ and related graffiti.

The impact of a letter sent by the seven US labor unions demanding the US halt military aid to Israel and its “vicious response to the horrific attacks of October 7th” remains unclear. The unions included the Service Employees International Union, National Education Association, United Auto Workers, Association of Flight Attendants, the American Postal Workers Union, the International Union of Painters and the United Electrical Workers. Who drafted the letter and process by which it was approved by the unions, representing several million members, is unclear.

In a reflection of how any concept or entity can be targeted by anti-Israel forces, New York City subway turnstiles have been vandalized by the “Transit Liberation Front” on the grounds that the contactless payment system was “an obvious ploy to increase surveillance and further violate our communities by policing the main arteries of transit for everyday New Yorkers” since the “database, of course, will soon be open to Zionist security forces through DHS’s Enhanced Border Security Partnership, which promises rapid mutual biometric intelligence sharing among the Zionist entity, US, UK, and EU.”

Biden steps down as candidate in favor of Harris, reshapes place of Israel in Democratic Party. British and French elections create new perils for Jews and Israel.

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AUTHOR

Alex Joffe

Editor SPME / BDS Monitor

Alexander H. Joffe is an archaeologist and historian specializing in the Middle East and contemporary international affairs. He received a B.A. in History from Cornell University in 1981 and Ph.D. in Near Eastern Studies from the University of Arizona in 1991. From 1980 to 2003 he participated in and directed archaeological research in Israel, Jordan, Greece and the United States. Joffe taught at the Pennsylvania State University and Purchase College, and has been Director of Research for Global Policy Exchange, Ltd., and The David Project, Center for Jewish Leadership.

Joffe's work is uniquely broad. Since 1991 he has published dozens of studies on the archaeology of the Eastern Mediterranean and is a leading figure in contentious debates over the relationship between archaeology and politics in the Middle East. He has also authored numerous works on contemporary issues, including Middle Eastern environmental security threats from pollution and weapons of mass destruction. His work on the problem of dismantling intelligence agencies is widely cited by experts and democratic reformers alike.

In the past decade Joffe has written and spoken on topics as varied as the future of American Jews, the Palestinian refugee problem, and nationalism. During that time as well he has been deeply involved with combating the problems of campus antisemitism, the ‘boycott, divestment and sanctions' movement against Israel, and in educating Jews and others about threats to Israel and the West. His current projects include a biography of a British World War II general and several novels. He and his family reside near New York City.


Read all stories by Alex Joffe