Weekly roundup of world briefs

ADL launches $4b lawsuit on behalf of US Oct. 7 victims

(JNS) — The Anti-Defamation League, together with Washington, D.C.-based law firm Crowell & Moring LLP, filed suit on Monday in U.S. federal court against Iran, Syria and North Korea on behalf of American victims of Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre. 

The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, states that the three countries provided material support—including military, tactical and financial—to Hamas that enabled it to commit atrocities in Israel on Oct. 7. 

“Iran is the world’s leading state sponsor of antisemitism and terror—along with Syria and North Korea, they must be held responsible for their roles in the largest antisemitic attack since the Holocaust,” said ADL CEO and National Director Jonathan Greenblatt.

The plaintiffs are requesting compensatory damages against the defendants of no less than $1 billion and punitive damages no less than $3 billion.

Compensation would be drawn from the U.S. Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund, a fund Congress created in 2015 to allow Americans “who were injured in acts of international state-sponsored terrorism” to gain some measure of relief.

The case will “set the record straight” about the truth of the attack given the wave of “10/7 denialism” that followed it, according to the ADL. 

More than 125 U.S. victims and their family members will be represented.

StandWithUs objects to agreement made with protesters at Northwestern

(JNS) — A leading pro-Israel campus group sent correspondence to the trustees of Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., urging the cancellation of what it calls an unlawful agreement administrators made with anti-Israel demonstrators.

StandWithUS dispatched a legal letter on Monday written by the Kasowitz Law Firm to the school’s leaders, laying out reasons why the agreement capitulating to tent encampment protesters’ demands, dated April 29, breached the law.

Some of the points named include the wrongful offering of disciplinary amnesty to the activists; inaction to protect Jewish students who violated Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act; and failing to follow university policies by making a financial agreement without the approval of the Board of Trustees.

StandWithUs calls for the rescinding of the agreement and the removal of the leadership who allowed it.

“Northwestern has surrendered to agitators’ unlawful conduct and outrageous demands in a move that threatens to set a national precedent for university leadership enabling and supporting in the complete breakdown of civility, policies and the law,” said StandWithUS CEO Roz Rothstein.

She said that “at a time when Jewish and Israeli students across the country are under unprecedented attack, Northwestern’s leadership shouldn’t engage in patchwork unlawful actions but instead strive to be a part of the solution.”

In related news, the university was expected to provide documents, including communications about the “Northwestern Liberated Zone,” antisemitic incidents on campus since the Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel on Oct. 7 and funding provided by Qatar, last month to the House Education and the Workforce Committee.

176 Jewish gravestones vandalized at 2 Cincinnati cemeteries

By Andrew Lapin

(JTA) — Vandals in Cincinnati damaged or knocked over 176 gravestones at two historic Jewish cemeteries over the course of the past week.

A joint statement from the local Jewish federation, Jewish Community Relations Council and Jewish Cemeteries of Greater Cincinnati called it an “act of antisemitic vandalism.” Most of the graves were pushed facedown, which Jewish groups said made it difficult to identify and notify the families, as local law enforcement has advised them to leave the scene untouched while they investigate.

“We are deeply saddened and outraged to report that 176 gravestones were vandalized at the Tifereth Israel Cemetery and the Beth Hamedrash Hagadol Cemetery,” the groups said in their joint statement Monday. Both cemeteries are part of a larger complex on Cincinnati’s historic west side. 

The incident was the latest in a long line of antisemitic acts targeting Jewish cemeteries.

Some of the targeted gravestones dated back to the 1800s, and many were cracked by the vandalism. Local and federal law enforcement are involved in the investigation.

Antisemitism has been a growing concern for Jews nationwide since the start of the current Israel-Hamas war, with synagogues, Holocaust museums and Jewish day schools all becoming targets for hateful acts. But Jewish cemeteries have been a consistent target of antisemitic vandalism dating well before that. 

The groups implored those interested in helping to donate to the Jewish cemetery group’s monument repair fund.

South Dakota, North Carolina implement bills defining antisemitism

(JNS) — Measures utilizing the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism to guide government workers in assessing Jew-hate have become law in North Carolina and South Dakota.

“I am very proud of this historic legislation that will keep our Jewish people secure,” South Dakota’s Gov. Kristi Noem said on Monday when HB 1076 went into effect. The bill mandates the use of the IHRA definition when the state government investigates potential acts of discrimination.

“Since I signed this bill, antisemitic hatred has only grown worse across the United States, but not in South Dakota. I hope states across the country will follow South Dakota’s leadership and take steps to combat this hatred,” Noem said. 

She had signed the bill in a signing ceremony in March.

In North Carolina on Monday, Gov. Roy Cooper signed the Shalom Act, which also adopts the IHRA definition.

“Defining antisemitism is important to stopping it, and this new law helps do that as antisemitic incidents are on the rise,” North Carolina’s Gov. Roy Cooper said. “While we protect the right to free speech, this legislation helps to make our state a more welcoming, inclusive and safe place for everyone.”

Jewish Federations help bring 3,170 Ethiopian Jews to new home in Israel

(JNS) — The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) announced on Tuesday that it had enabled a total of 3,170 Ethiopians to make aliyah—comprising 1,535 men, 1,635 women and 754 families—as part of a two-year, $9 million campaign that has officially concluded.

Many immigrants trended young, with 35 percent aged 18 to 35 and 39% under the age of 18.

“Through this campaign, Jewish Federations were honored to join hands with thousands of our Ethiopian brothers and sisters as they realized their dream of making aliyah,” said David Heller, JFNA’s national campaign chair.

He called the organization “inspired” following the “courageous journey” of these new immigrants, or olim in Hebrew. And he vowed that JFNA “will continue to work with our partner the Jewish Agency for Israel to support their absorption into Israeli society.”

JFNA has worked to enable more than 100,000 Ethiopians to move to Israel.

This recent campaign was launched following Israel’s announcement of “Operation Tzur Israel” (“Rock of Israel”), which aimed to bring more than 3,000 Ethiopians to Israel in cooperation with the Jewish Agency for Israel, the Israeli Ministry of Aliyah and Integration and other related organizations.

New Jersey school districts face Title VI investigations

(JNS) — The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights announced investigations for potential violations of Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act against two school districts in New Jersey for allegedly failing to respond adequately to accusations of bigotry.

The districts were named on Tuesday as Lenape Regional High School District of Shamong, N.J., and Medford Township School District in Medford, N.J.

The OCR usually does not name the incidents that resulted in its investigations into claims of discrimination based on shared ancestry. JNS contacted both school districts and requested copies of the letters sent by the OCR but did not receive responses at press time.

Medford Township School District includes five elementary schools, one school for sixth grade, and one for seventh and eighth grades. In the 2020-21 school year, the district served 2,690 students.

Lenape Regional High School District administers four high schools—Lenape, Shawnee, Cherokee and Seneca—for the eight municipalities of Evesham; Medford; Mount Laurel; Shamong; Southampton; Tabernacle and Woodland townships; and the borough of Medford Lakes. As of September 2022, the district served 6,552 students.

‘New York Times’ has ‘unconscious’ bias against Jewish community, says UJA-Federation of NY

(JNS) — On June 25, The New York Times published a story titled “Bowman falls in House primary, overtaken by flood of pro-Israel money.” The following day, it changed the headline to “Bowman falls to Latimer in a loss for progressive Democrats.”

The paper’s “unconscious bias towards the Jewish community continues to manifest itself in new and harmful ways,” Eric Goldstein, CEO of the UJA-Federation of New York, wrote last week.

Goldstein called the original headline about Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) “staggering” and said that it “placed blame for Rep. Jamaal Bowman’s primary defeat at the feet of Jews.”

“It is true that pro-Israel groups contributed significant financial resources to the race, which is not surprising given Mr. Bowman’s extremist positions and past statements about Israel, including that reports of Hamas’s sexual assaults against women on Oct. 7 were Israeli ‘propaganda,’” Goldstein wrote. “But there is no excuse for a prominent headline stating Mr. Bowman was ‘Overtaken by flood of pro-Israel money.’”

“Implying that Jewish and pro-Israel donors unfairly tipped the scales has serious consequences. Not only does it feed a dreadful antisemitic stereotype, it does a disservice to voters in the 16th Congressional District who made their voices heard, loud and clear,” he added. “Equally troubling was the Times’s recent A1 profile of pro-Israel advocate Miriam Adelson, which played upon those same stereotypes.”

Goldstein wrote that the paper of record “has an ethical and moral obligation to recognize the impact of its reporting.”

“In recent years, the Times’s leadership has been upfront about its commitment to diversity and recognizing unconscious bias—no doubt an important effort,” he added. “We simply ask that this standard is applied to the Jewish community, as well.”

IDF demolishes home of Jewish shepherd’s killer

(JNS) — Israel Defense Forces troops overnight Tuesday demolished the Duma home of Ahmed Duabsha, who in April murdered 14-year-old Jewish shepherd Binyamin Achimeir in Samaria.

Duabsha was arrested on April 22, 10 days after he killed Jerusalemite Achimeir, who went missing while herding sheep at Gal Farm, located 17 miles northeast of Ramallah.

In late June, a redacted indictment said Duabsha and his friends became interested in jihad and Islamic State approximately a year before the terror attack.

“The suspect decided that he would go on a killing spree the next morning at first light,” read the indictment, filed at Ofer Military Court. “He took a knife of around 20 centimeters [8 inches] long, picked out clothes and laid down in his room. The next day, he put on his clothes, prayed, took the knife in his sheath and put a black scarf on his head.”

Local media reported in April that there was a long struggle between Achimeir and Duabsha, and that some of the teenager’s clothing items were found scattered near his body.

“Duabsha brandished the knife, shouted at the deceased, ‘I will kill you,’ and started to chase him. While trying to escape, the deceased fell to the ground and the terrorist caught up. Achimeir stood up and tried to defend himself against the accused,” the indictment states.

Following the murder, Duabsha looked for additional victims in the area, including at Gal Farm, but got frightened by a dog in the area and returned home as “got tired,” the indictment continues.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned “the heinous murder” of the young shepherd.

“We will get the murderers and those who helped them, as we do to all who harm the citizens of the State of Israel,” the prime minister said. “I send my heartfelt condolences to his family,” added the statement.

According to data collected by Israeli authorities, Arab aggression and terror against Jewish shepherds has been on the rise in recent months.

“Jewish farmers are grazing their sheep in open areas; Arabs don’t like that, even if it happens in Area C [of Judea and Samaria, where Israeli communities are located]. They’re trying to stop them by using violence,” an official responsible for documenting illegal Arab activities told JNS last year.

Abraham Marley, grandson of Bob Marley, celebrates bar mitzvah

(JNS) — Abraham Marley, the grandson of renowned Jamaican reggae musician Bob Marley, became a bar mitzvah recently.

“I share this photo of Abraham and I from his celebration of becoming a man,” the young man’s father Ziggy Marley wrote in mid-June. “According to the ancient tradition, he has reached that age of responsibility and change.”

The bar mitzvah boy’s mother, Orly Agai Marley, is Israeli and has Iranian-Jewish ancestry, per Israeli media. She was “formerly a vice president at William Morris Agency, now the head of Ziggy’s record label,” Vogue reported.

One of Bob Marley’s most celebrated songs is “Exodus,” which includes the lyrics, “Send us another brother Moses.”

On a tour of Israel in 2018, the family celebrated the bat mitzvah of Judah—Abraham’s sister—Ziggy Marley told Caribbean Heritage Magazine.

“When asked about Judah’s reaction to being in the ceremony as well as growing up in an interfaith household, Marley, who is Rastafarian and his wife, Jewish, says, ‘My life, how I live, can’t be defined,’” reported the magazine. “I don’t want to be defined by what people’s idea of what things are supposed to be. Yes, I am Rasta, but I define myself.”

“When she sees my life, she doesn’t see a Rastafarian, or a Jewish life or whatever stereotypical thing that means,” he said of his daughter. “We don’t connect to people’s ideas of what things are supposed to be. We just live how we live. We live with love and this is what she sees.”

Netanyahu stresses ‘joint stand against Iran’ in meet with US lawmakers

(JNS) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) and David Kustoff (R-Tenn.) on Wednesday at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem.

Netanyahu thanked Gottheimer for the congressman’s consistent support for Israel, as well as American backing since Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre and the ensuing war.

The prime minister emphasized “the importance of a joint stand against Iran and its axis of proxies,” according to a statement from his office. Netanyahu also stated that he is looking forward to his upcoming speech to a joint session of Congress.

In the meeting with Kustoff, Netanyahu likewise raised “regional developments, with an emphasis on the Iranian threat,” his office said.

“Prime Minister Netanyahu thanked Rep. Kustoff for his consistent and unconditional support for the State of Israel since the beginning of the war,” added the statement.

U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to meet with Netanyahu when the prime minister travels to Washington later this month, according to CNN.

The report, citing a source familiar with the logistics of the visit, said the meeting will likely take place at the White House.

Netanyahu will address Congress on July 24 at the invitation of House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

In a statement, the four men said the invitation “symbolizes the U.S. and Israel’s enduring relationship and will offer Prime Minister Netanyahu the opportunity to share the Israeli government’s vision for defending their democracy, combating terror and establishing just and lasting peace in the region.”

The speech will mark the fourth time the Israeli premier has addressed Congress, the highest number of any foreign leader.