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Tag: Anti-Semitism

  • Suspect in shooting of 2 Jewish men in LA faces hate crimes

    Suspect in shooting of 2 Jewish men in LA faces hate crimes

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    LOS ANGELES — A man who allegedly shot and wounded two Jewish men as they left synagogues in Los Angeles this week was charged Friday with federal hate crimes.

    Jaime Tran, 28, allegedly carried out the attacks on Wednesday and Thursday mornings, U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said at a news conference.

    “For the past two days, our community has experienced two horrific acts,” Estrada said. “An individual motivated by antisemitism, hatred for people in the Jewish community, committed two tremendously horrible acts targeting individuals because of their Jewish faith.”

    Both victims wore clothing that identified their faith, including black coats and head coverings, Estrada said. Tran, arrested Thursday evening, told law enforcement that he looked online for a “kosher market” and decided to shoot someone nearby, according at an affidavit filed by the FBI. He also admitted to shooting someone the previous day, the affidavit said.

    Tran was scheduled to make an initial appearance in federal court Friday afternoon but was not expected to enter a plea, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.

    Tran’s federal public defender did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    The first victim was shot at close range in the lower back, Estrada said. The second victim was shot in the upper arm, also at close range. In both cases the shots were fired from a car.

    Tran said he selected the victims because of what they wore on their heads, the FBI affidavit said.

    Tran has “history of antisemitic and threatening conduct,” the affidavit said, citing a review of emails, text messages and unspecified reports. In 2022, he emailed former classmates using insulting language about Jewish people, and he threatened a Jewish former classmate, repeatedly sending them messages like “Someone is going to kill you, Jew” and “I want you dead, Jew,” according to the affidavit.

    “We were lucky that we’re not going to funerals. That’s just the reality,” Rabbi Abraham Cooper from the Simon Wiesenthal Center said during Friday’s news conference. “Tomorrow we go to our services with our children.”

    Tran was arrested about 100 miles (161 kilometers) east of Los Angeles in the Riverside County community of Cathedral City near Palm Springs.

    According to the affidavit, Los Angeles police officers investigating the second shooting used video from a camera at an intersection to identify an older model gray Honda that appeared to be involved.

    An officer who responded to assist saw and photographed a man driving a dark gray Honda Civic. The image captured the license plate, which was registered to Tran, whose driver license photo was consistent with witness’ descriptions of the shooter, the affidavit said.

    License plate readers showed the Honda was in the area of the two shootings at the times they occurred. Police identified a mobile phone number associated with Tran and location data showed it was in the Palm Springs area Thursday afternoon.

    Around 5:45 p.m., Cathedral City police responded to a call from someone who heard the sound of a gunshot and saw a man with a gun near a Honda Civic.

    Officers found Tran standing next to the car, and they could see an “AK-style rifle” and a .380-caliber handgun in plain view on the driver’s seat, the affidavit said. The officers also found a spent shell casing.

    The U.S. attorney said that Tran had been a resident of the city of Riverside.

    In the FBI interview, Tran said he was homeless and had been living out of the car for 12 to 14 months, and that he obtained the firearms from someone he did not know in Arizona, the affidavit said.

    Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said fighting hate crimes is a priority of her administration’s public safety agenda.

    “We can rest hopefully a little bit easier,” she said during Friday’s news conference. “Still, antisemitism and terror are tragically on the rise across our city and across our nation.”

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  • LAPD arrests suspect in shootings of 2 Jewish people, which police are investigating as potential hate crimes | CNN

    LAPD arrests suspect in shootings of 2 Jewish people, which police are investigating as potential hate crimes | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Police in Los Angeles have arrested a man suspected of shooting two Jewish people this week and are investigating the attacks as possible hate crimes, authorities said Thursday.

    An “exhaustive” search for the suspect was launched after the victims were shot separately in the city’s western Pico-Robertson neighborhood on Wednesday and Thursday, about three blocks apart, the Los Angeles Police Department said in a release.

    Both victims were Jewish men, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said. Officials have not publicly identified the victims or suspect.

    “These attacks against members of our Jewish community in the Pico-Robertson neighborhood are absolutely unacceptable,” Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement. “At a time of increased anti-Semitism, these acts have understandably set communities on edge. Just last December, I stood blocks away from where these incidents occurred as we celebrated the first night of Hanukkah together.”

    The shootings come amid a rise in antisemitic violence nationwide. According to the Anti-Defamation League, antisemitic attacks reached an all-time high in the US in 2021 – up 34% from 2020.

    The suspect was found in Riverside County, about an hour’s drive east of Los Angeles, police said. Detectives found several pieces of evidence, they said, including a rifle and handgun.

    Earlier, authorities said they were searching for a suspect described as an Asian male with a mustache and goatee, possibly driving a white compact car. A license plate recorded near the scene of one of the shootings assisted authorities in locating and arresting the suspect, a law enforcement source with knowledge of the investigation told CNN.

    “The facts of the case led to this crime being investigated as a hate crime,” Los Angeles police said. The FBI is also investigating the attacks as hate crimes, Bass said in her statement.

    At around 10 a.m. Wednesday, the first victim was walking to their vehicle when a man drove by and shot twice before fleeing the scene, a police spokesperson told CNN.

    The following day, at around 8:30 a.m., the second victim was walking toward his home nearby when a man drove up and shot at him from inside a car, and then fled, the spokesperson said.

    Both victims were taken to local hospitals and were in stable condition, the spokesperson said.

    They were walking home from places of worship when they were shot, said Laura Fennell, Director of Communications for the Anti-Defamation League West.

    The man shot Thursday is a member of the Beit El synagogue, which is about two blocks away from where police say he was shot, the synagogue confirmed to CNN. They did not identify the victim but said his injuries were minor.

    “The victim that was shot today is a pillar of our community here at Beit El. He has been a dear member for many years,” Beit El said in an email Thursday. They added, “The victim had just concluded morning prayer services, walked to his car donned in his kippah, and was shot three times at point-blank range.”

    “Our community is shaken to its core,” by the two shootings, Beit El said. “But we are strong and united.”

    The synagogue said it is working with police to implement security measures. Luna also said Los Angeles police are increasing law enforcement presence and patrols around Jewish places of worship.

    “The Los Angeles Police Department is aware of the concern these crimes have raised in the surrounding community. We have been in close contact with religious leaders as well as individual and organizational community stakeholders,” the department’s release said.

    The investigation, which includes state and federal authorities, is ongoing and more information will be released in the coming days, police said.

    The shootings in Los Angeles happened just a week after San Francisco authorities added a hate crime enhancement to charges against a man they said fired a replica gun inside a Bay-area synagogue earlier this month. No one was hurt.

    The hate crime allegation against the suspect is tied to statements he made during the incident as well as social media posts he made involving “several postings of an individual in Nazi-type clothing,” San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said in a news conference. An attorney for the suspect, Deputy Public Defender Olivia Taylor, said outside the courthouse that the man is “not guilty of any hate crime.”

    Days earlier in New Jersey, a man allegedly threw a Molotov cocktail at a synagogue in Bloomfield in an arson attempt. The suspect has been charged with a federal crime.

    And in December, a 63-year-old man was assaulted in New York’s Central Park in what police called an antisemitic attack.

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  • Congressman who raised issue of antisemitism on Twitter says he was bombarded with antisemitic tweets | CNN Business

    Congressman who raised issue of antisemitism on Twitter says he was bombarded with antisemitic tweets | CNN Business

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    New York
    CNN
     — 

    A Jewish lawmaker who spoke about the problem of antisemitism on Twitter during a House Oversight hearing this week focused on the company was later bombarded with antisemitic messages on the platform, he explained in a letter to new owner Elon Musk on Thursday.

    “What happened on Twitter directly after the hearing proves my exact point that antisemitism is real and Twitter has become a hate-filled playground for Nazis and anti-Semites,” Rep. Jared Moskowitz told CNN about the hateful comments he received.

    At the hearing on Wednesday, which focused on Twitter’s handling of a New York Post story about Hunter Biden’s laptop in the leadup to the 2020 election, the Florida Democrat criticized his Republican counterparts for saying “God bless Elon Musk.” Moskowitz asked: “God bless the guys who is allowing Nazis and antisemitism to perpetuate on Twitter?” He also cited statistics from the Anti-Defamation League, stating there has been a more than 60% increase in antisemitic comments on Twitter since Musk took over the platform.

    Under Musk’s leadership, Twitter has slashed its staff, relaxed some of its content moderation policies and reinstated a number of incendiary accounts that were previously banned. Those moves raised concerns that Musk’s Twitter could contribute to a rise in public displays of hate and antisemitism offline.

    Musk, however, has repeatedly pushed back at claims that hate speech is rising on the platform. In December, for example, Musk claimed “hate speech impressions,” or the number of times a tweet containing hate speech has been viewed, “continue to decline” since his early days of owning the company.

    Twitter, which eliminated much of its public relations team during last year’s layoffs, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    Moskowitz and many other Democrats on the subpanel used their allotted time to grill the former Twitter executives testifying at the hearing about the company’s policies for policing hate on the platform. During his questioning, Moskowitz also rebuked former President Donald Trump for hosting white nationalist and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes at Mar-a-Lago last year. He brought a large copy of a hateful post that Fuentes had tweeted at Moskowitz, telling the room, “No, not all Republicans are Nazis, but I gotta tell you, Nazis seem really comfortable with Donald Trump. So I have questions about that.”

    In his letter to Musk, Moskowitz said he shared a clip showing his line of questioning on his official government Twitter account, after which “the reply section of my post was flooded with hateful, antisemitic comments and images.” He added: “At the time that I am writing this letter, I have received over 200 such comments on one tweet. This does not include other posts of mine that have since received antisemitic comments, including a video honoring the victims of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting.”

    Moskowitz pointed to a November 30 National Terrorism Advisory System Bulletin warning from the Department of Homeland Security, which “issued domestic terror threats to multiple groups, including the Jewish community,” as evidence of his heightened concern. “DHS notes that threat actors have recently mobilized to violence, and there is an ‘enduring threat’ to the Jewish community,” he writes.

    “With this direct and heightened threat environment in mind, how will you work with other stakeholders to combat the rise of antisemitism on Twitter?,” Moskowitz concludes in his letter to Musk.

    Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, echoed Moskowitz’s concerns.

    “Antisemitism has no place on any social media platform that doesn’t want to further the harassment and exclusion of marginalized communities,” Greenblatt told CNN Thursday. “While Twitter ostensibly has an anti-hate policy that includes antisemitism, it is unclear the degree to which it is being enforced.”

    Greenblatt said the ADL continues to flag “batches of antisemitic content” to Twitter, but he said the company has only taken action on “a fraction of them” since Musk acquired the company. He also raised concerns about the staff cuts and the reinstated accounts that were banned previously.

    “These findings, combined with Twitter gutting its trust and safety operations, suggest serious issues will continue to persist on the platform as it pertains to effective content moderation and the proliferation of antisemitism,” Greenblatt said.

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  • Amsterdam Anne Frank museum targeted with antisemitic text

    Amsterdam Anne Frank museum targeted with antisemitic text

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    Dutch police said Friday they are investigating a stunt that saw a text alluding to an antisemitic conspiracy theory projected onto the Anne Frank House museum in Amsterdam, causing outrage across the country.

    The words “Ann (sic) Frank invented the ballpoint pen,” referring to a debunked claim that the Jewish teenager’s famed diary is a forgery, were displayed for several minutes this week on the side of the building where her family hid during the Holocaust.

    The 17th-century canal house is now a museum focusing on Frank’s short life, which receives around 1 million visitors a year.

    Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte condemned the “reprehensible” incident, and tweeted: “We can never and should never accept this.” Justice Minister Dilan Yesilgöz-Zegerius cited the incident to urge parliament to approve a pending bill explicitly banning Holocaust denial.

    The proposed legislation would make it easier to prosecute over the Amsterdam incident, which currently falls under a law on discriminatory statements against minority groups.

    Amsterdam police said they are looking into the incident.

    “We were notified about it and our detectives are investigating,” spokesperson Rob van der Veen told the AP.

    The text was projected from a vehicle across the canal and was noticed by security guards, who contacted police. A recording of the stunt was posted on an antisemitic Telegram channel.

    Frank kept a diary of life under German occupation in World War II, when, as a Jew, she was in constant danger. Even though she was arrested with her family in 1944 and sent to a Nazi concentration camp, where she died, the diary survived and became one of the world’s most famous books.

    According to the Netherlands’ top official for fighting antisemitism, Eddo Verdoner, several pages written with a ballpoint pen were found amongst Frank’s papers in the 1980s. That type of pen was not introduced in the Netherlands until after WWII, and Holocaust deniers have claimed this proves her diary, published by her father after the war, is a fake. However, researchers have concluded that the pages were accidentally left in the diary in the 1960s.

    Verdoner told the AP that the Amsterdam stunt was “a despicable act that tries to cast doubts on the experiences of the witnesses of the Holocaust.”

    He said there had been a rise in antisemitism since the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that throughout history Jews have faced increased hatred during times of hardship.

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  • Man who allegedly fired replica gun inside San Francisco synagogue faces hate crime enhancement over public comments | CNN

    Man who allegedly fired replica gun inside San Francisco synagogue faces hate crime enhancement over public comments | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    A man arrested after allegedly firing a replica gun several times in a San Francisco synagogue now faces a hate crime enhancement, the city’s district attorney said Wednesday.

    The hate crime allegation against 51-year-old Dmitri Mishin is tied to statements he made during the incident as well as social media posts he made involving “several postings of an individual in Nazi-type clothing,” San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said in a news conference.

    While officials did not share what Mishin said while inside the synagogue, prosecutors believe he “harbored antisemitic views and that was the motivation for his actions,” Jenkins said. The hate crime allegation will enhance punishment guidelines if he is convicted, she added.

    Mishin was arrested Friday, days after he allegedly stepped inside a synagogue in the Richmond District during a gathering and “made a verbal statement,” pulled out what appeared to be a firearm and shot several times inside the building, police have said.

    Police recovered expended shell casings at the scene and at the time said they believed he had been firing blanks.

    Mishin was charged Wednesday morning with two felony counts of “making threats obstructing exercise of religion,” and six misdemeanor counts of disturbing a religious meeting and brandishing a replica firearm, the district attorney’s office announced.

    He faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted of all charges, according to Jenkins. CNN has been unable to identify an attorney for Mishin.

    “It is clear that antisemitism is still active and strong even here in San Francisco, in such a diverse place, and it’s something that will not be tolerated by this office or by myself,” Jenkins said.

    Mishin was originally scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday but will now be arraigned Thursday, Jenkins said. Her office will request he be detained without bail, she added.

    “Anyone who would walk into a synagogue of that sort, and make the statements that he did and displayed what appeared to be a firearm, is somebody who poses a public safety risk,” Jenkins said.

    The incident at the San Francisco synagogue came just days after a man allegedly threw a Molotov cocktail at a New Jersey synagogue amid a backdrop of recent incendiary antisemitic incidents, including tweets from Kanye West, signs over a major Los Angeles bridge and messages projected on buildings in Florida.

    The Anti-Defamation League Center on Extremism, which has tracked incidents of US antisemitic harassment, vandalism and assault since 1979, found 2,717 incidents of antisemitism in the US in 2021, up a significant 34% from the previous year.

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  • Atlanta area residents report finding antisemitic flyers in driveways | CNN

    Atlanta area residents report finding antisemitic flyers in driveways | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Police in suburban Atlanta are investigating after residents reported finding flyers with antisemitic imagery and messaging in their driveways.

    They were found Sunday morning in Sandy Springs and Dunwoody, according to officials in both cities, home to many Jewish families.

    On Twitter, Georgia Rep. Esther Panitch said on Twitter she received a flyer in her driveway.

    “Welcome to being a Jew in Georgia-my driveway this morning. @SandySprings_PD came & took for testing. Govern yourselves accordingly, GDL and Anti-Semites who seek to harm/intimidate Jews in Georgia,” Panitch’s tweet said. “I’m coming for you with the weight of the State behind me.”

    According to Panitch, “many” Jewish families in Fulton and DeKalb counties received the flyers in their driveways.

    In a statement on Facebook, Dunwoody Mayor Lynn Deutsch said residents “of many faiths” in at least three neighborhoods also woke up to find the flyers in their driveways.

    Deutsch said the purpose of the flyers is to cause fear and division. She also said Dunwoody police are aware and investigating the incident.

    “We are actively investigating this incident and working closely with the Sandy Springs Police Department, as their community was victimized as well,” Dunwoody Police Chief Billy Grogan said in a statement. “If you have any information related to this case, please contact 911. There is no place for hate in Dunwoody.”

    “On behalf of the Dunwoody City Council, I want to assure everyone that hateful, divisive, and anti-Semitic rhetoric has no place here,” Mayor Deutsch said in her statement. “Dunwoody is a community that values our diversity and is home to people of all faiths, races, ethnicities, and more. We live, work, serve and play together. At our Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service, Jews, Christians, and Muslims worked together planting daffodils in memory of those who perished in the Holocaust.”

    Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp tweeted the following statement:

    “This kind of hate has no place in our state and the individuals responsible do not share Georgia’s values. If needed, state law enforcement stands ready to assist Sandy Springs Police and Dunwoody Police in their investigations. We will always condemn acts of antisemitism.”

    The flyers found this weekend follow hundreds of antisemitic flyers that showed up in driveways and mailboxes in neighboring Cobb County in November, CNN affiliate WSBTV reported.

    The language on the flyers mirror language seen in scrolling messages in Jacksonville, Florida, public spaces in October, as well as on banners hung from a freeway overpass in Los Angeles earlier that month by a group appearing to make Nazi salutes.

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  • Two wounded in shooting in Jerusalem, police say, after synagogue attack leaves seven dead | CNN

    Two wounded in shooting in Jerusalem, police say, after synagogue attack leaves seven dead | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Two people were wounded in a shooting attack in Jerusalem on Saturday, emergency services say, the day after a gunman killed at least seven people near a synagogue in the city.

    The two men injured in the City of David area of Jerusalem on Saturday, one aged 22 and one in his 40s, are father and son, according to police. A 13-year-old who police say shot and wounded the pair was “neutralized and injured” by “two passers-by carrying licensed weapons.”

    Tensions in Israel and the Palestinian territories remain high after Friday’s shooting, which police chief Yaakov Shabtai described as “one of the worst terror attacks in the past few years.” The shooter in that attack was also later killed by police forces, according to police.

    “As a result of the shooting attack, the death of 7 civilians was determined and 3 others were injured with additional degrees of injury,” police said.

    Five of the shooting victims were pronounced dead at the scene, Israel’s Magen David Adom (MDA) emergency rescue service said: four men and a woman. Five people were transported to hospitals, where another man and woman were declared dead. Among the wounded is a 15-year-old boy, the MDA said.

    The attack occurred around 8:15 p.m. local time on Friday, near a synagogue on Neve Yaakov Street, according to a police statement.

    Shabtai said the gunman “started shooting at anyone that was in his way. He got in his car and started a killing spree with a pistol at short range.” He then fled the scene in a vehicle and was killed after a shootout with police forces, police said.

    Police identified the gunman as a 21-year-old resident of East Jerusalem, saying in a statement that he appeared to have acted alone. East Jerusalem is a predominantly Palestinian area of the city, which was captured by Israel in 1967.

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged people against revenge attacks on Friday night. “I call on the people not to take the law into their own hands. For that purpose we have an army, police and security forces. They act and will act according to the cabinet instructions,” he said.

    Friday’s incident came one day after the deadliest day for Palestinians in the West Bank in over a year, according to CNN records.

    On Thursday, Israeli forces killed nine Palestinians and wounded several others in the West Bank city of Jenin, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, prompting the Palestinian Authority to suspend security coordination with Israel. A tenth Palestinian was killed that day in what Israel Police called a “violent disturbance” near Jerusalem.

    Overnight, on Friday morning local time, Israel launched air strikes on the Gaza strip after rockets were fired towards Israel.

    Israel’s controversial National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir visited the scene of the attack on Friday evening, telling people who were chanting angrily that “it cannot continue like this.”

    “I can tell you, [the people chanting] you are right. The burden is on us. It cannot continue like this,” Ben Gvir, who also leads the far-right Jewish Power party, said.

    Some people on the scene were chanting support for Ben Gvir, saying “You are our voice, we support you.”

    CNN’s Hadas Gold and team, who were also at the scene of Friday night’s shooting, heard what sounded like celebratory gunfire and car horns honking from the nearby predominantly Palestinian neighborhood of Beit Hanina.

    The White House condemned the “heinous terror attack” at a synagogue in Jerusalem on Friday and said the United States government has extended its “full support” to Israel, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

    The US State Department also condemned the “apparent terrorist attack” in Jerusalem “in the strongest terms.”

    “This is absolutely horrific,” said State Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel. “Our thoughts, prayers and condolences go out to those killed and injured in this heinous act of violence.”

    Patel said no change to the schedule of Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s upcoming trip to Egypt, Israel and the West Bank was expected.

    Israel's Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir speaks with Israeli forces on January 27, 2023.

    The European Union, France and the UK also condemned the shooting.

    “I am appalled by reports of the terrible attack in Neve Yaakov tonight. Attacking worshippers at a synagogue on Erev Shabat is a particularly horrific act of terrorism. The UK stands with Israel,” Neil Wigan, the British ambassador in Israel wrote on Twitter.

    The EU ambassador to Israel, Dimiter Tzantchev, also condemned the “senseless violence,” saying in his tweet, “Terror is never the answer.”

    And the French embassy in Israel tweeted that the incident was “all the more despicable as it was committed on this day of international remembrance of the Holocaust.”

    United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres also condemned Friday’s deadly attack, his spokesman said.

    “It is particularly abhorrent that the attack occurred at a place of worship, and on the very day we commemorated International Holocaust Remembrance Day,” he said.

    Guterres also expressed worry “about the current escalation of violence in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory,” urging all “to exercise utmost restraint.”

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  • Emhoff to visit Auschwitz to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day | CNN Politics

    Emhoff to visit Auschwitz to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day | CNN Politics

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    CNN
     — 

    Second gentleman Douglas Emhoff is traveling this week to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day, visiting key sites in Poland and Germany to honor those lost in the Holocaust and renew a pledge to “Never Forget.”

    As the first Jewish spouse of a president or vice president, Emhoff has made countering the recent global scourge of antisemitism a key priority. The goals of this trip abroad will build on that, senior administration officials told reporters before his departure, focused on Holocaust education and remembrance, as well as combating antisemitism worldwide.

    “There will be many events focusing on honoring the victims of the Holocaust, and having a second gentleman educating the public on the true nature of the Holocaust. You will see the second gentleman push back against Holocaust denial, distortion and disinformation, and educating the next generation about the Holocaust,” a senior administration official said.

    Emhoff, the official added, “will be meeting with and working with our European partners, both those in and out of government to strengthen our efforts to combat the rise in antisemitism and to deepen our relationships with these European partners as we take on the challenge together.”

    The Anti-Defamation League Center on Extremism, which has tracked incidents of US antisemitic harassment, vandalism and assault since 1979, found 2,717 incidents of antisemitism in the US in 2021, up a significant 34% from the previous year. And in recent months, there have been multiple incidents of incendiary antisemitic incidents in the public sphere, including tweets from Kanye West, a link posted by Brooklyn Nets player Kyrie Irving to a video filled with antisemitic tropes, a sign over a major Los Angeles bridge and other troubling views shared by political figures.

    The second gentleman has a packed schedule of events aimed at highlighting Jewish history and the Holocaust, and combating antisemitism, though officials cast the trip as “more of a listening session” than focused on “big policy deliverables.”

    On Friday, marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Emhoff is set to visit the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Memorial and Museum in Poland, where he will receive a tour, then participate in a candle-lighting and wreath-laying. He will also attend the commemoration of the 78th anniversary of the liberation of the German Nazi concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz, per his office.

    On Saturday, Emhoff will visit Schindler’s Enamel Factory museum, a key site commemorating the Holocaust, and attend a roundtable on antisemitism in Krakow.

    “The goal here is to hear directly from experts, religious leaders, and academics on their work in Poland to promote tolerance, education, and inclusiveness. And throughout that, the second gentleman will be signaling to them our eagerness to work with them and that we are with them in their fight,” the official said.

    He is also set to meet with Ukrainian refugees and United Nations officials at a UN community center.

    On Sunday, he will tour Krakow’s Jewish quarter and then visit historic Jewish sites in Gorlice, Poland, before traveling to Berlin.

    In Berlin on Monday, Emhoff joins a Convening of Special Envoys and Coordinators on Combating Antisemitism, where he will be joined by US Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt. He is later set to visit Berlin’s Topography of Terror Museum and the Museum of Jewish Life.

    On Tuesday, he will participate in a roundtable with interfaith leaders.

    “Interfaith dialogue has been an area of focus for a second gentleman. And the basic idea is here, which he will be speaking about throughout the trip, is that we know that Semitism is not only a threat to Jews, it is often accompanied or the precursor to other forms of hatred and intolerance, including against other ethnic or religious minority groups or immigrants. So we view this engagement as about building coalitions across all groups to combat hate in all its forms,” the senior official said.

    Emhoff will meet with Ukrainian refugees at the Oranienburgerstrasse Synagogue. He will also visit multiple memorials, including the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, where he will meet with “a small group” of Holocaust survivors.

    The trip takes on special significance for Emhoff, whose “great grandparents (fled) persecution from what is now Poland at the beginning of the 19th century,” the senior official said.

    “That is a pretty incredible moment for him to return as an American Jew, as the first second gentleman, as the first Jewish spouse of the president or vice president, and work on these issues,” the official said.

    Emhoff has previously warned of an “epidemic of hate facing our country” as he convened a roundtable on antisemitism at the White House last month.

    “We’re seeing a rapid rise in antisemitic rhetoric and acts,” Emhoff said at the start of the roundtable. “Let me be clear: words matter. People are no longer saying the quiet parts out loud – they are literally screaming them.”

    In addition to the roundtable, as second gentleman, Emhoff has met with students to discuss domestic antisemitism, hosted a virtual Seder, lit the menorah and affixed a mezuzah outside the entrance of the vice president’s Naval Observatory residence.

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  • Attorney General Garland condemns ‘rise in antisemitism’ at National Menorah lighting ceremony | CNN Politics

    Attorney General Garland condemns ‘rise in antisemitism’ at National Menorah lighting ceremony | CNN Politics

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    CNN
     — 

    Attorney General Merrick Garland spoke out against antisemitism at Sunday night’s National Menorah lighting.

    “Together, we must stand up against the disturbing rise in antisemitism. And together, we must stand up against bigotry in any of its forms. Our democracy depends on it,” Garland said at the lighting on the first night of Hanukkah.

    “As a descendant of those who fled persecution because they were Jewish, it is especially meaningful to be here tonight as we light this menorah in our nation’s capital and under the protection of its laws,” he continued.

    Garland’s comments come amid a rise in antisemitic violence and crime. A 63-year-old man was assaulted in New York on Wednesday in what police are calling an antisemitic attack. On Thursday, an individual hacked into a North Carolina high school’s intercom system and allegedly made antisemitic remarks over the loudspeaker. And on Saturday, police responded to reports of antisemitic graffiti at a Maryland high school.

    His speech also comes as leaders on the right are embracing, or failing to condemn, antisemitism. Former President Donald Trump hosted a dinner in late November with Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes and rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West. The rapper has since made a series of increasingly more extreme antisemitic remarks, and at one point, praised Hitler.

    While some Republican lawmakers made condemned Trump’s meeting with the two men, many were reluctant to go so far as to cast blame on the ex-president, including House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy.

    “All of us at the Department of Justice will never stop working to confront and combat violence and other unlawful acts fueled by hate,” Garland said Monday. “That is our legal obligation. But, now more than ever, all Americans have a moral obligation to stand up against such hate.”

    Rabbi Levi Shemtov, executive vice president of American Friends of Lubavitch, said in an interview with CNN ahead of the ceremony, “the message of light over darkness and its triumph over darkness, I should say, could not be more timely than in what we are going through right now with a rise in antisemitism and people becoming actually very cautious about their Jewish identity as a result.”

    Shemtov has led the National Menorah lighting ceremony for more than 30 years.

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  • Two men, one a descendant of Holocaust survivor, indicted in connection with threat to attack NYC synagogue | CNN

    Two men, one a descendant of Holocaust survivor, indicted in connection with threat to attack NYC synagogue | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    A grand jury indicted two men – one of whom is Jewish and a descendant of a Holocaust survivor – in connection with an online threat last month to attack a synagogue in New York City.

    Christopher Brown and Matthew Mahrer were both indicted on charges of conspiracy and weapons possession. Brown also was charged with a felony count of making terroristic threats as a hate crime, and possession of a weapon as a crime of terrorism, among other charges.

    Mahrer, who previously made bail, appeared on Wednesday in Supreme Court in New York, with family members present. He is Jewish and his grandfather is a Holocaust survivor, defense attorney Brandon Freycinet said in court, adding that his client would not want to harm his own people.

    Both defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges on Wednesday. Brown faces up to 25 years in prison and Mahrer faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted of the most serious charge.

    The two were arrested by Metropolitan Transportation Authority officers as they were entering Penn Station in Manhattan on November 19, according to NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell.

    The suspects allegedly possessed a firearm, high-capacity magazine, a military-style hunting knife, a Nazi swastika arm patch, a ski mask and a bulletproof vest, officials said.

    “A horrific tragedy was averted thanks to the diligence, hard work and coordination between my Office and our local, state and federal law enforcement partners,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement Wednesday. “The increase in antisemitic attacks and threats cannot and will not be tolerated. Manhattanites and all New Yorkers should know that we continue to vigorously prosecute hate crimes every day and are using every tool at our disposal to address hate and bias.”

    New York state leads the nation in antisemitic incidents, with at least 416 reported in 2021, including at least 51 assaults – the highest number ever recorded by the Anti-Defamation League in New York. There were 12 assaults reported in 2020, the ADL said in an audit last week.

    A total of 2,717 antisemitic incidents were reported last year across the nation – a 34% increase compared to 2,026 in 2020, according to the ADL. The ADL has been tracking such incidents since 1979 – and its previous reports have found antisemitism in America has been on the rise for years.

    The indictment comes the same day that Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, held a roundtable on antisemitism at the White House during which he warned of an “epidemic of hate facing our country.”

    A statement of facts from the prosecution and the criminal indictment offer a timeline of the men’s actions and allege that they drove from New York to Pennsylvania to get a firearm.

    The documents state Brown sent out a series of disturbing tweets from November 12 to November 17, including one saying, “Gonna ask a Priest if I should become a husband or shoot up a synagogue and die.”

    Call records show Brown and Mahrer communicated with each other on the phone, and on November 18 they went to St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York, the documents state. Surveillance footage showed that Brown was wearing a backpack that police later found contained a knife, a Swastika armband and a ski mask, the documents state.

    The two men then met with a third person and, in a recorded phone call with a prison inmate, said they were driving to Pennsylvania to get a firearm, the indictment states. Brown sent Mahrer $650 and Mahrer then sent $700 to this third person, the documents say.

    Later that night, surveillance footage shows Brown and Mahrer walking into the Upper West Side building where Mahrer lives, the documents say. Mahrer is seen on video wearing a camouflage backpack that police later recovered; the backpack contained a firearm, a large-capacity ammo feeding device and 19 rounds of ammunition, according to the documents.

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  • A man in New York has been arrested and charged with hate crime after Jewish father and son were targeted in BB gun shooting, official says | CNN

    A man in New York has been arrested and charged with hate crime after Jewish father and son were targeted in BB gun shooting, official says | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Police in New York have arrested a man accused of firing a BB gun at a Jewish father and son who were out grocery shopping, a law enforcement official told CNN.

    The alleged shooter, a 25-year-old man, is charged with assault as a hate crime, endangering the welfare of a child, reckless endangerment and assault, according to the official.

    The BB gun shooter was driving on a main thoroughfare on Staten Island Sunday afternoon when he spotted the 32-year-old father and his 7-year-old son shopping in front of a Kosher grocery store wearing yarmulkes, the official said.

    That is when the assailant allegedly opened fire, striking the boy in the right ear and the father in the chest, the official said.

    He then sped off in a Black Ford Mustang that did not have a license plate, the official said.

    Paramedics arrived at the scene a short time later and treated the pair for their injuries at the scene, the official said.

    In a Tuesday news conference, Staten Island District Attorney Michael McMahon said his office will continue working with police to bring justice to the victims.

    “We want our Jewish brothers and sisters to know in this instance that we stand with them just as we do with anyone who is a victim of a hate crime for any reason whatsoever,” McMahon told reporters on Tuesday.

    New York Mayor Eric Adams, speaking at the same news conference, said: “We are not going to allow hate to run our city.”

    The mayor added that New York has the largest Jewish population outside of Israel and that hate crimes have been on the rise across the country.

    “We need to stop what’s happening on social media, we need to stop the spreading of this hate, we need to combat it in a very real way,” Adams said.

    The alleged hate crime is the latest in a string of incidents in the city.

    The New York Police Department has seen an increase in overall hate crimes, led by a sharp increase in anti-Semitic incidents for the month of November. The NYPD reported 45 incidents in November, which is up from 20 crimes reported on November 2021, according to NYPD statistics.

    The increase in anti-Semitic incidents comes as the NYPD, along with other federal law enforcement agencies, thwarted a potential attack on a New York area synagogue last month, arresting and arraigning two men in connection with online threats.

    NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell said investigators from the FBI/NYPD Joint Terrorism Task Force and the NYPD Counterterrorism and Intelligence Bureau, in collaboration with law enforcement partners, uncovered “a developing threat to the Jewish community.”

    Authorities said they seized a number of weapons from the pair, who were also in possession of a swastika arm patch, according to a statement from Manhattan’s district attorney.

    New York state leads the nation in anti-Semitic incidents, with at least 416 reported in 2021, including at least 51 assaults – the highest number ever recorded by the Anti-Defamation League in New York. There were 12 assaults reported in 2020, the ADL said in an audit last month.

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  • Vandalism at Missouri elementary school includes a swastika

    Vandalism at Missouri elementary school includes a swastika

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    Police in Springfield, Missouri, are investigating after vandals spray-painted a swastika during a vandalism spree at an elementary school that is under construction

    SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Police in Springfield, Missouri, are investigating after a swastika was sprayed on an elementary school during a vandalism spree.

    The vandalism at York Elementary School, which is under construction, was found on Saturday morning, police spokeswoman Cris Waters said.

    Stephen Hall, spokesman for Springfield Public Schools, said the district immediately replaced the window where the swastika was found and removed the graffiti. He declined to say how much damage was found but said it will require the district to file an insurance claim to recover the costs, the Springfield News-Leader reported.

    Hall said the vandalism will not delay the opening of the new York Elementary School in January.

    The vandalism comes amid a surge of anti-Jewish incidents across the country, including antisemitic comments from some celebrities such as the rapper Ye.

    In April, the Anti-Defamation League reported a record number of antisemitic reports in 2021. The organization said the 2,717 incidents of assault, harassment and vandalism was a 34% increase over the previous year and the highest number since the ADL began tracking the events in 1979.

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  • Musk says Twitter has suspended rapper Ye over swastika post

    Musk says Twitter has suspended rapper Ye over swastika post

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    Twitter has suspended rapper Ye after he tweeted a picture of a swastika merged with the Star of David.

    It is the second time this year that Ye has been suspended from the platform over antisemitic posts.

    Twitter CEO Elon Musk confirmed the suspension by replying to Ye’s post of an unflattering photo of Musk. Ye called it his “final tweet.”

    “I tried my best. Despite that, he again violated our rule against incitement to violence. Account will be suspended,” Musk tweeted.

    Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, has made a series of antisemitic comments in recent weeks. On Thursday, Ye praised Hitler in an interview with conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.

    Ye’s remarks have led to his suspension from social media platforms, his talent agency dropping him and companies like Adidas cutting ties with him. The sportswear manufacturer has also launched an investigation into his conduct.

    Ye was suspended from Twitter in early October after saying in a post that he was going to go “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE.” His account was reinstated by the end of the month just as Musk took control of the company, but the billionaire tweeted that “Ye’s account was restored by Twitter before the acquisition. They did not consult with or inform me.”

    Musk is under pressure to clean up Twitter after changes he made following his purchase of the platform resulted in what watchdog groups say is a rise in racist, antisemitic and other toxic speech. A top European Union official warned Musk this week that Twitter needs to do a lot more to protect users from hate speech, misinformation and other harmful content ahead of tough new rules requiring tech companies to better police their platforms, under threat of big fines or even a ban in the 27-nation bloc.

    Ye had offered to buy rightwing-leaning social media site Parler in October, but the company said this week that the deal has fallen through. At the time, Ye and Parlement Technologies, which owns Parler, said the acquisition would be completed in the last three months of the year. The sale price and other details were not disclosed.

    “This decision was made in the interest of both parties in mid-November,” Parlement Technologies said in a statement Thursday. “Parler will continue to pursue future opportunities for growth and the evolution of the platform for our vibrant community.”

    Parler is a small platform in the emerging space of right-leaning, far-right and libertarian social apps that promise little to no content moderation to weed out hate speech, racism and misinformation, among other objectionable content. None of the sites have come close to reaching mainstream status.

    Parler launched in August 2018 but didn’t start picking up steam until 2020. It was kicked offline in January 2021 over its ties to the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol earlier that month. A month after the attack, Parler announced a relaunch but didn’t return to Google Play until September of this year.

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  • 2 arrested after Twitter threats to ‘shoot up a synagogue’

    2 arrested after Twitter threats to ‘shoot up a synagogue’

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    NEW YORK — Social media posts about attacking a synagogue represented a real danger to the city’s Jewish community, Mayor Eric Adams said Monday.

    “This was not an idle threat,” Adams said at a news conference where he was joined by officials from the FBI, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and other agencies involved in the arrests early Saturday of Christopher Brown and Matthew Mahrer on charges including criminal possession of a weapon. The men were arrested at New York’s Penn Station after authorities spotted the posts.

    “This was a real threat,” he said.

    According to the criminal complaint against him, Brown made a series of threats on Twitter including, on Thursday, “Gonna ask a Priest if I should become a husband or shoot up a synagogue and die,” and then on Friday, “This time I’m really gonna do it.”

    Authorities linked the tweets to Brown, of Aquebogue, on Long Island, and identified Mahrer, of Manhattan, as an associate, said Michael Driscoll, head of the FBI’s New York office.

    A description of Brown, 21, and Mahrer, 22, went out to law enforcers, and two MTA police officers spotted the two at Penn Station late Friday and arrested them, police said.

    Brown had a large military-style knife, a ski mask and a swastika arm patch when he was arrested, authorities said.

    A bag containing a Glock-style pistol with a large-capacity magazine and 17 bullets was seized from Mahrer’s apartment building, according to the complaint. Surveillance video from shortly before their arrests showed Brown and Mahrer walking into the building, with Mahrer carrying the bag, according to the criminal complaint.

    Brown, who was charged with making a terrorist threat in addition to the weapons charges, told police that he runs a white supremacist Twitter group and Mahrer is one of his followers, according to the complaint.

    “I have Nazi paraphernalia at my house. I think it is really cool,” Brown told police, the complaint said.

    Brown said he and Mahrer met at St. Patrick’s Cathedral before buying a gun because he “wanted to get the blessing,” according to the complaint.

    Both men were arraigned in Manhattan criminal court over the weekend and are due back in court on Wednesday. Federal charges against them could be filed at a later time, Driscoll said.

    Phone messages seeking comment were left with attorneys for Brown and Mahrer.

    Adams, a Democrat and a former police officer, said threats against Jewish people or any other group must be taken seriously after attacks like the Buffalo supermarket shooting and Saturday’s shooting at an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs.

    “America must defeat the rising threat of domestic terrorism,” Adams said. “It is real, it is here and we must have a formidable approach to it.”

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  • Kyrie Irving returns to the Brooklyn Nets after serving 8-game suspension | CNN

    Kyrie Irving returns to the Brooklyn Nets after serving 8-game suspension | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Kyrie Irving’s eight-game suspension ended Sunday as the star point guard suited up for the Brooklyn Nets game against the Memphis Grizzlies.

    Irving hadn’t played for the Nets since November 1. The Nets suspended Irving November 3 after he tweeted a link to a documentary containing antisemitic messages, followed by an initial refusal to issue an apology.

    Irving has since issued multiple apologies, including during his pregame media availability Sunday.

    “I just want to offer my deep apologies to all those who were impacted over these last few weeks, specifically my Jewish relatives, my Black relatives, all races and cultures,” Irving said Sunday. “Feel like we all felt an impact and I don’t stand for anything close to hate speech or antisemitism or anything that is ‘anti,’ going against the human race.”

    “I feel it was necessary for me to stand in this place and take accountability for my actions,” Irving said.

    Irving received a warm welcome from the Brooklyn crowd during player introductions before tip-off. He finished the night with 14 points and five rebounds in the Nets’ 127-115 victory over the Grizzlies.

    Irving said after the game that it “felt good” to be back on the court.

    “Missed my teammates,” Irving told reporters. “Missed the coaching staff. Just getting prepared with them in the morning and carrying over to the game, it felt good.”

    When asked if he would file a grievance over his suspension, Irving said he’d leave that decision to his legal team.

    “I have some strong people, men and women, around me that are going to do everything possible to make sure that I’m protected and my family’s protected and we protect one another, so I’m sure some things will be done in the future,” Irving said. “There’s no timetable on that right now.”

    Speaking before Sunday’s game, Nets coach Jacque Vaughn showed no hesitation about his decision to put Irving on the floor to start the game.

    “He’ll start, and we’ll see where his conditioning is, the pace of the game which we want to play at. Excited to have him back on the floor with our group, and he’ll fit right in,” Vaughn said.

    During an interview Saturday with SNY’s Ian Begley, Irving said he reacted emotionally to being called “antisemitic.”

    “I felt like I was protecting my character and I reacted out of just pure defense and just hurt that I could be labeled, or I thought that I was being labeled as antisemitic or anti-Jewish, and I’ve felt like that was just so disrespectful to ask me whether or not I was antisemitic or not,” Irving said.

    The Nets’ next scheduled game is Tuesday at the Philadelphia 76ers.

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  • Irving rejoins Nets, seeks to keep focus on basketball

    Irving rejoins Nets, seeks to keep focus on basketball

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    NEW YORK — Kyrie Irving apologized Sunday morning to anyone who felt threatened or hurt when he posted a link to a documentary with antisemitic material, clearing the way to finally play again for the Brooklyn Nets.

    Once he did, Irving tried to keep the focus on basketball. Deeper conversations, such as about the demonstrators outside the arena or a possible appeal of his suspension without pay, would be left for another day.

    “I’m just here to focus on the game,” Irving said after scoring 14 points in helping the Nets to a 127-115 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.

    Irving had missed eight games since he was suspended by the team on Nov. 3, hours after he refused to say he had no antisemitic beliefs when meeting with reporters at the Nets’ practice facility.

    Back at the building for the team’s morning shootaround, Irving said he should have handled that interview differently.

    “I don’t stand for anything close to hate speech or antisemitism or anything that is going against the human race,” Irving said. “I feel like we all should have an opportunity to speak for ourselves when things are assumed about us and I feel it was necessary for me to stand in this place and take accountability for my actions, because there was a way I should have handled all this and as I look back and reflect when I had the opportunity to offer my deep regrets to anyone that felt threatened or felt hurt by what I posted, that wasn’t my intent at all.”

    Fans arriving at Barclays Center for the game found the plaza area filled by dozens of members of the group Israel United in Christ, Black men chanting and handing out paraphernalia that contained antisemitic material. The organization’s website says its mission is to “wake up the 12 Tribes of Israel.”

    Asked about having that group’s support, Irving said he hadn’t seen them, adding that it was “a conversation for another day.”

    As for whether action against the Nets was coming — members of the National Basketball Players Association, including executive director Tamika Tremaglio, were at shootaround and the game — Irving said others would be handling that for him.

    “I’m sure some things will be done in the future,” Irving said. “There’s no timetable on that right now.”

    Irving said he was initially searching for more information about his heritage when he posted a link to “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America” on his Twitter page. When first asked about it, he was defiant about his right to post material that interested him. Then, he refused to apologize or clarify his religious beliefs during another interview a few days later, leading to his suspension.

    “I was rightfully defensive that there was an assumption that I could be antisemitic, or that I meant to post a documentary to stand side by side with all the views in the documentary,” Irving said, adding, “How can you call someone an antisemite if you don’t know them?”

    But his tone was more reflective while speaking for about 12 minutes Sunday morning, thanking family and friends for their support.

    “I meant no harm to any person, to any group of people and yeah, this is a big moment for me because I’m able to learn throughout this process that the power of my voice is very strong, the influence that I have within my community is very strong, and I want to be responsible for that,” Irving said. “In order to do that, you have to admit when you’re wrong and in instances where you hurt people and it impacts them.”

    Nike suspended its relationship with Irving and the fallout seemed to further strain the relationship between Irving and the Nets, who declined to give him a contract extension last summer. He missed most of their home games last season when he refused to get vaccinated against COVID-19, as was mandated at the time in New York City.

    The organization said he was “unfit to be associated with the Brooklyn Nets” when it suspended him. But the Nets praised Irving on Sunday for the steps he has since taken, though it’s unclear what those entailed.

    “Kyrie took ownership of this journey and had conversations with several members of the Jewish community,” the team said in a statement. “We are pleased that he is going about the process in a meaningful way.”

    ———

    AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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  • Dave Chappelle’s ‘SNL’ monologue sparks backlash as being antisemitic | CNN

    Dave Chappelle’s ‘SNL’ monologue sparks backlash as being antisemitic | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Dave Chappelle’s comments about the Jewish community during his “Saturday Night Live” monologue are being slammed as antisemitic.

    Anti-Defamation League chief executive officer Jonathan Greenblatt took to Twitter on Sunday to criticize the comedian and the NBC late night show.

    “We shouldn’t expect @DaveChappelle to serve as society’s moral compass, but disturbing to see @nbcsnl not just normalize but popularize #antisemitism,” Greenblatt tweeted. “Why are Jewish sensitivities denied or diminished at almost every turn? Why does our trauma trigger applause?”

    The controversial comic hosted the show and addressed the firestorm around Kanye West, who has legally changed his name to “Ye,” following his remarks about Jewish people.

    Chappelle began the show by reading a statement which said “I denounce antisemitism in all its forms and I stand with my friends in the Jewish community.”

    “And that, Kanye, is how you buy yourself some time,” Chappelle joked.

    He went on to say that Ye had broken “the show business rules” which are “the rules of perception.”

    “If they’re Black, then it’s a gang. If they’re Italian, it’s a mob,” Chappelle said. “But if they’re Jewish, it’s a coincidence and you should never speak about it.”

    Chappelle went on to talk about the abundance of Jewish people in Hollywood.

    “But that doesn’t mean anything,” he said. “There’s a lot of Black people in Ferguson, Missouri. Doesn’t mean they run the place.”

    Chappelle said he could see “if you had some kind of issue, you might go out to Hollywood and start connecting some kind of lines and you could maybe adopt the illusion that Jews run show business.”

    “It’s not a crazy thing to think,” he said. “But it’s a crazy thing to say out loud.”

    Writer Adam Feldman tweeted “That Dave Chappelle SNL monologue probably did more to normalize anti-Semitism than anything Kanye said.”

    “Everyone knows Kanye is nuts,” Feldman wrote. “Chappelle posits himself as a teller of difficult truths. It’s worse.”

    CNN has reached out to reps for Chappelle and NBC for comment.

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  • Nike splits with Kyrie Irving amid antisemitism fallout

    Nike splits with Kyrie Irving amid antisemitism fallout

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    Nike has suspended its relationship with Kyrie Irving and canceled its plans to release his next signature shoe, the latest chapter in the ongoing fallout since the Brooklyn Nets guard tweeted a link to a film containing antisemitic material.

    The shoe giant announced Friday night that it will halt its relationship with Irving, who has been suspended by the Nets for what the team called a repeated failure to “unequivocally say he has no antisemitic beliefs.”

    The Nets made that move Thursday, banning Irving without pay for at least five games, and a day later, Nike made its decision. Those actions followed widespread criticism — from, among many others, the Anti-Defamation League and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.

    “At Nike, we believe there is no place for hate speech and we condemn any form of antisemitism,” the Beaverton, Oregon-based company said. “To that end, we’ve made the decision to suspend our relationship with Kyrie Irving effective immediately and will no longer launch the Kyrie 8.”

    Irving has had a signature line with Nike since 2014.

    “We are deeply saddened and disappointed by the situation and its impact on everyone,” Nike said.

    Irving signed with Nike in 2011, shortly after becoming the No. 1 pick in that year’s NBA draft. Irving’s first signature shoe was released three years later, and the popularity of the Kyrie line led to him making a reported $11 million annually just from the Nike endorsement.

    The Kyrie 8 was expected to be released in the next week. Previous models of his shoes were still for sale on the Nike website Friday night.

    LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers, who won a title alongside Irving when they were Cleveland teammates in 2016, said his position is simple: Hate speech, in any form, can’t be tolerated.

    “There’s no place in this world for it,” James said. “Nobody can benefit from that and I believe what Kyrie did caused some harm to a lot of people.”

    James, who has been with Nike for the entirety of his 20-season NBA career, said he still has great fondness for Irving.

    “We as humans, none of us are perfect,” James said. “But I hope he understands how what he did and the actions that he took were just harmful to a lot of people.”

    Irving posted a tweet — which has since been deleted — last week with a link to the documentary “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America,” which includes Holocaust denial and conspiracy theories about Jews. In a contentious postgame interview session last Saturday, Irving defended his right to post what he wants.

    The fallout only continued from there. The NBA put out a statement over the weekend that didn’t name Irving but denounced all forms of hate speech. Fans wearing “Fight Antisemitism” shirts occupied some courtside seats at the Brooklyn-Indiana game on Monday night, a day after he took down the tweet. The Nets and coach Steve Nash parted ways Tuesday, a development that has been overshadowed by the Irving saga.

    On Wednesday, Irving said he opposes all forms of hate, and he and the Nets each announced that they would each donate $500,000 toward groups that work to eradicate it. Silver then issued a new statement calling on Irving by name to apologize, and Irving refused to give a direct answer when asked Thursday if he has antisemitic beliefs.

    That, evidently, was the last straw for the Nets, who suspended him. Hours later, Irving posted an apology on Instagram for not explaining the specific beliefs he agreed and disagreed with when he posted the documentary.

    “To All Jewish families and Communities that are hurt and affected from my post, I am deeply sorry to have caused you pain, and I apologize,” Irving wrote. “I initially reacted out of emotion to being unjustly labeled Anti-Semitic, instead of focusing on the healing process of my Jewish Brothers and Sisters that were hurt from the hateful remarks made in the Documentary.”

    A day later, Nike — which had also been criticized for not moving more swiftly — took action.

    Irving becomes the second celebrity in less than two weeks to lose a major shoe deal over antisemitism. Adidas parted ways with Ye — the artist formerly known as Kanye West — late last month, a move the German company said would result in about $250 million in losses this year after stopping production of its line of Yeezy products as well as halting payments to Ye and his companies.

    For weeks, Ye made antisemitic comments in interviews and on social media, including a Twitter post that he would soon go “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE,” an apparent reference to the U.S. defense readiness condition scale known as DEFCON.

    Irving has expressed no shortage of controversial opinions during his career. He repeatedly questioned whether the Earth was round before eventually apologizing to science teachers. Last year, his refusal to get a COVID-19 vaccine led to him being banned from playing in most of the Nets’ home games.

    The Nets played at Washington on Friday, winning 128-86 without Irving. The 42-point win matched the fourth-largest in Nets franchise history.

    Brooklyn general manager Sean Marks said earlier Friday that Irving’s apology was a step forward, but many other steps will be required before he can resume playing.

    “There is going to be some remedial steps and measures that have been put in place for him to obviously seek some counseling … from dealing with some anti-hate and some Jewish leaders within our community,” Marks said. “He’s going to have to sit down with them, he’s going to have to sit down with the organization after this, and we’ll evaluate and see if this is the right opportunity to bring him back.”

    ———

    AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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  • Kyrie Irving will begin suspension of at least 5 games Friday over antisemitism controversy. The NBA star has since apologized | CNN

    Kyrie Irving will begin suspension of at least 5 games Friday over antisemitism controversy. The NBA star has since apologized | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Kyrie Irving will miss the first of several Brooklyn Nets games Friday after he was suspended for comments regarding his tweet linking to an antisemitic documentary.

    The Nets suspended Irving Thursday after he initially doubled down on his decision to share the content on his Twitter account. The star point guard issued an apology hours later on his verified Instagram account, in which he said he takes full accountability for his action.

    “To All Jewish families and Communities that are hurt and affected from my post, I am deeply sorry to have caused you pain, and I apologize,” Irving wrote. “I initially reacted out of emotion to being unjustly labeled Anti-Semitic, instead of focusing on the healing process of my Jewish Brothers and Sisters that were hurt from the hateful remarks made in the Documentary.

    “I had no intentions to disrespect any Jewish cultural history regarding the Holocaust or perpetuate any hate. I am learning from this unfortunate event and hope we can find understanding between us all,” Irving continued.

    On Friday, criticism of Irving continued to mount with Nike suspending its relationship with the NBA star.

    “At Nike, we believe there is no place for hate speech and we condemn any form of antisemitism,” Nike said in a statement to CNN. “To that end, we’ve made the decision to suspend our relationship with Kyrie Irving effective immediately and will no longer launch the Kyrie 8. We are deeply saddened and disappointed by the situation and its impact on everyone.”

    The company’s move comes after Irving defended his decision to share a link to the 2018 film “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America” last week. The movie, based on Ronald Dalton’s book of the same name, has been blasted by civil rights groups for its antisemitism.

    Reporters asked Irving earlier Thursday – before he posted his apology – if he holds antisemitic beliefs or if he was sorry. At the time, he replied saying he respects “all walks of life” and that he didn’t mean to cause any harm.

    The Nets later said they were “dismayed” when the player “refused to unequivocally say he has no antisemitic beliefs, nor acknowledge specific hateful material in the film,” during a media session.

    “Such failure to disavow antisemitism when given a clear opportunity to do so is deeply disturbing, is against the values of our organization, and constitutes conduct detrimental to the team,” the Nets said in their statement before Irving apologized.

    The team also said they made repeated attempts to help Irving “understand the harm and danger of his words and actions.”

    Irving’s suspension without pay means he will not play in Friday’s game against the Washington Wizards. The suspension will last for at least four additional games, and Irving is also required to satisfy “a series of objective remedial measures that address the harmful impact of his conduct,” the Nets said.

    When asked Friday if there was any consideration of releasing Irving, Nets general manager Sean Marks replied, “No. Not at this particular time.”

    “There is going to be some remedial steps and measures that have been put in place for him to obviously seek some counseling … from dealing with some anti-hate and some Jewish leaders within our community,” Marks said while speaking to reporters before the Nets-Wizards game.

    “He’s going to have to sit down with them, he’s going to have to sit down with the organization after this, and we’ll evaluate and see if this is the right opportunity to bring him back,” Marks added.

    Irving’s Nets teammate Kevin Durant described this week’s matters as “unnecessary” and expressed his belief that the team could have “kept quiet” about Irving’s comments.

    “I ain’t here to judge nobody or talk down on nobody … I just didn’t like anything that went on. I feel like it was all unnecessary,” Durant said about Irving’s team-issued suspension during the Nets’ pre-game availability on Friday. “I feel like we could have just kept playing basketball and kept quiet as an organization. I just don’t like none of it.”

    Asked whether he thought the suspension was unfair, Durant said, “I believe and trust in the organization to do what’s right.”

    Shortly after his media availability, Durant tweeted, “Just wanna clarify the statements I made at shootaround, I see some people are confused..I don’t condone hate speech or anti-semitism, I’m about spreading love always.”

    “Our game Unites people and I wanna make sure that’s at the forefront,” he added.

    Irving’s remarks during the media session with reporters Thursday have escalated the controversy.

    When asked if he was apologizing, he said, “I didn’t mean to cause any harm. I’m not the one that made the documentary.”

    Asked if he was surprised by the reaction, Irving said, “I take my full responsibility, again I’ll repeat it, for posting something on my Instagram or Twitter that may have had some unfortunate falsehoods in it,” Irving replied.

    Asked if he had any antisemitic beliefs, Irving responded: “I respect all walks of life. I embrace all walks of life. That’s where I sit.”

    Pressed further to answer yes or no to a question on whether Irving had any antisemitic beliefs, he replied: “I cannot be antisemitic if I know where I come from.”

    When Jonathan Greenblatt, the CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, learned of how the NBA star answered that question, he pointed out that Irving has “a lot of work to do.”

    “The answer to the question ‘Do you have any antisemitic beliefs’ is always ‘NO’ without equivocation. We took @KyrieIrving at his word when he said he took responsibility, but today he did not make good on that promise,” Greenblatt wrote.

    After Irving was suspended Thursday, the ADL refused to accept a $500,000 donation that Irving and the Nets had previously announced. The ADL’s decision to decline the donation was before Irving apologized late Thursday.

    The star’s comments also garnered reproach from NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, who said he was “disappointed” in Irving.

    “Kyrie Irving made a reckless decision to post a link to a film containing deeply offensive antisemitic material,” Silver said in a statement before Irving apologized.

    The controversy comes as antisemitism has been on the rise in the US over the past few years. At least 2,717 antisemitic incidents were reported in the US in 2021, an increase from 942 such incidents in 2015, according to the ADL.

    Irving has run into controversy in recent years that has affected his playing time. Last season, Irving did not play in many of Brooklyn’s home games because he was not vaccinated against Covid-19, which was a hindrance to playing in indoor arenas due to a New York City workplace vaccine mandate. The rule was later lifted and he returned to Barclays Center in March.

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  • Nike splits with Kyrie Irving amid antisemitism fallout

    Nike splits with Kyrie Irving amid antisemitism fallout

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    Nike has suspended its relationship with Kyrie Irving and canceled its plans to release his next signature shoe, the latest chapter in the ongoing fallout since the Brooklyn Nets guard tweeted a link to a film containing antisemitic material.

    The shoe giant announced Friday night that it will halt its relationship with Irving, who has been suspended by the Nets for what the team called a repeated failure to “unequivocally say he has no antisemitic beliefs.”

    The Nets made that move Thursday, banning Irving without pay for at least five games, and a day later, Nike made its decision. Those actions followed widespread criticism — from, among many others, the Anti-Defamation League and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.

    “At Nike, we believe there is no place for hate speech and we condemn any form of antisemitism,” the Beaverton, Oregon-based company said. “To that end, we’ve made the decision to suspend our relationship with Kyrie Irving effective immediately and will no longer launch the Kyrie 8.”

    Irving has had a signature line with Nike since 2014.

    “We are deeply saddened and disappointed by the situation and its impact on everyone,” Nike said.

    Irving signed with Nike in 2011, shortly after becoming the No. 1 pick in that year’s NBA draft. Irving’s first signature shoe was released three years later, and the popularity of the Kyrie line led to him making a reported $11 million annually just from the Nike endorsement.

    The Kyrie 8 was expected to be released in the next week. Previous models of his shoes were still for sale on the Nike website Friday night.

    Irving posted a tweet — which has since been deleted — last week with a link to the documentary “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America,” which includes Holocaust denial and conspiracy theories about Jews. In a contentious postgame interview session last Saturday, Irving defended his right to post what he wants.

    The fallout only continued from there. The NBA put out a statement over the weekend that didn’t name Irving but denounced all forms of hate speech. Fans wearing “Fight Antisemitism” shirts occupied some courtside seats at the Brooklyn-Indiana game on Monday night, a day after he took down the tweet. The Nets and coach Steve Nash parted ways Tuesday, a development that has been overshadowed by the Irving saga.

    On Wednesday, Irving said he opposes all forms of hate, and he and the Nets each announced that they would each donate $500,000 toward groups that work to eradicate it. Silver then issued a new statement calling on Irving by name to apologize, and Irving refused to give a direct answer when asked Thursday if he has antisemitic beliefs.

    That, evidently, was the last straw for the Nets, who suspended him. Hours later, Irving posted an apology on Instagram for not explaining the specific beliefs he agreed and disagreed with when he posted the documentary.

    “To All Jewish families and Communities that are hurt and affected from my post, I am deeply sorry to have caused you pain, and I apologize,” Irving wrote. “I initially reacted out of emotion to being unjustly labeled Anti-Semitic, instead of focusing on the healing process of my Jewish Brothers and Sisters that were hurt from the hateful remarks made in the Documentary.”

    A day later, Nike — which had also been criticized for not moving more swiftly — took action.

    Irving becomes the second celebrity in less than two weeks to lose a major shoe deal over antisemitism. Adidas parted ways with Ye — the artist formerly known as Kanye West — late last month, a move the German company said would result in about $250 million in losses this year after stopping production of its line of Yeezy products as well as halting payments to Ye and his companies.

    For weeks, Ye made antisemitic comments in interviews and on social media, including a Twitter post that he would soon go “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE,” an apparent reference to the U.S. defense readiness condition scale known as DEFCON.

    Irving has expressed no shortage of controversial opinions during his career. He repeatedly questioned whether the Earth was round before eventually apologizing to science teachers. Last year, his refusal to get a COVID-19 vaccine led to him being banned from playing in most of the Nets’ home games.

    The Nets played at Washington on Friday, winning 128-86 without Irving. The 42-point win matched the fourth-largest in Nets franchise history.

    Brooklyn general manager Sean Marks said earlier Friday that Irving’s apology was a step forward, but many other steps will be required before he can resume playing.

    “There is going to be some remedial steps and measures that have been put in place for him to obviously seek some counseling … from dealing with some anti-hate and some Jewish leaders within our community,” Marks said. “He’s going to have to sit down with them, he’s going to have to sit down with the organization after this, and we’ll evaluate and see if this is the right opportunity to bring him back.”

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    AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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