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

☆ Here's why Israel, one of the toughest militaries, isn't arming Ukraine despite a global push to do so. It's got another fight in focus.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Israel, a major US partner, has not provided direct military aid to Ukraine. Russia allows Israel to conduct operations targeting Iran-linked forces in Syria, something it doesn't want to jeopardize. Israel, as of February 2022, was the largest cumulative recipient of US foreign assistance — most of which comes in the form of military support. But the country has stopped short of providing direct lethal military aid to Ukraine, despite pleas from leadership in Kyiv. Even as Moscow allows Israel to clamp down on Iranian influence in Syria, Russia and Iran have increased their military ties and support throughout the Ukraine war.

WASHINGTON, Feb 2 (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives Republicans on Thursday ousted Democrat Ilhan Omar from a high-profile committee over remarks widely condemned as antisemitic, two years after Democrats removed two Republicans from committee assignments. The deeply divided House voted 218-211 along party lines to remove Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee with Republicans citing the 2019 remarks for which she later apologized. She was in line to be the top Democrat on the foreign affairs panel's Africa subcommittee. [1/6] U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) walks to her office after being ousted by the Republican-lead House of Representatives to serve on the Foreign Affairs Committee, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., February 2, 2023. McCarthy previously rejected assignments of Democrats Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

☆ Police search for man who threw Molotov cocktail at New Jersey temple
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( Julianne Mcshane | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Police are searching for a man who threw a Molotov cocktail at a New Jersey temple early Sunday morning. The man threw the flammable device at the front door of Temple Ner Tamid in Bloomfield, a township about 7 miles north of Newark, around 3:19 a.m., Bloomfield police said. Police are searching for a man who threw a Molotov cocktail at a New Jersey synagogue. Bloomfield Division of Public SafetyPolice responded to the temple at 9:30 a.m. Sunday after a report of property damage. "Let me be clear: there is no place for violence or hate in New Jersey and I strongly condemn these acts," Democratic Gov.

☆ Police investigate New York hit-and-run that left Jewish man injured as possible hate crime
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Marlene Lenthang | Marlene Lenthang Is A Breaking News Reporter For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

A Hasidic Jewish man in New York City was left with a broken leg after a car crashed into him in a hit-and-run, as police say the incident is being investigated as a possible hate crime. The vehicle, a 2017 Mercedes Benz, was traveling southbound on Albany Avenue and was making a left turn when it collided with the victim. Surveillance video footage shows the vehicle turn and slam into the man without stopping, throwing the victim onto the ground, and continue driving on. Police said the NYPD’s Hate Crime Task Force has been notified. Got to be safe,” Usher Berkovich, who lives nearby, said to NBC New York.

☆ The 12 most useless college majors, according to career experts
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Rena Goldman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Other majors, like philosophy and anthropology, require a graduate degree and a specific role. PhilosophyPhilosophy is another niche degree that isn't much use outside the field if you don't pair it with a graduate degree. "I've run into hiring managers, colleagues, and friends who really struggle to communicate the value of that degree," Doe added. You might also need a graduate degree for some of those roles, such as professor, librarian, or lawyer. MarketingThere are plenty of career options in marketing, but Doe said the field was rapidly changing.

☆ Want to prevent a civil war? Regulate social media algorithms, says an expert on political violence
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Political scientist Barbara Walter said unregulated social media is increasing the threat of a civil war. "Let people put whatever they want on social media," Walter said in an interview on Wednesday. And my answer is always the same: regulate social media," Walter said. Russia's Vladimir Putin, through his intelligence services and state-run media properties, has also used social media to pursue his own anti-democratic agenda. "Let people put whatever they want on social media," Walter said.

☆ Final farewell: From Sidney Poitier to Pope Emeritus Benedict a look back at the influential figures who died in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +55 min

Other world leaders who died in 2022 include former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who died in August. The final days of 2022 saw the loss of some exceptionally notable figures, including Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. Here is a roll call of some influential figures who died in 2022 (cause of death cited for younger people, if available):___JANUARY___Dan Reeves, 77. A Cuban-born artist whose radiant color palette and geometric paintings were overlooked for decades before the art world took notice. A prolific character actor best known for playing villains and tough guys in “The Manchurian Candidate,” “Ocean’s Eleven” and other films.

☆ Queen guitarist Brian May, Lionesses top king's U.K. New Year's honors list
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Those at the forefront of the U.K.’s response to Russia’s war in Ukraine joined Queen guitarist Brian May and a fashion designer dubbed “the mother of the miniskirt” on the country’s New Year’s Honors list on Friday. May, who is also an animal welfare campaigner, was appointed a knight bachelor for his services to music and charity. England captain Leah Williamson received an OBE, while teammates Lucy Bronze, Beth Mead and Ellen White were all made MBEs. U.K. monarchs have awarded honors as part of orders of chivalry since the Middle Ages. Britain’s chief rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis, who received a knighthood, was among several Jewish community leaders to be recognized.

☆ Moscow's exiled chief rabbi says Jews could be scapegoated for hardships caused by the war in Ukraine and should leave while they can
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The chief rabbi of Moscow left Russia earlier this year in protest over its invasion of Ukraine. Pinchas Goldschmidt told The Guardian that Jews should leave Russia while they can. "This is why I believe the best option for Russian Jews is to leave," he said. Goldschmidt resigned from his post as Moscow's chief rabbi earlier this year, after refusing to support Russia's invasion of Ukraine. After leaving the country, Goldschmidt said in a statement that he was leaving the Russian Jewish community "in distress," according to The Times of Israel.

☆ Netanyahu government makes West Bank settlement expansion top priority
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

Palestinian protesters argue with Israeli soldiers during a demonstration against Israeli settlements near Nablus in the West Bank. Nasser Ishtayeh / Sipa USA via APIsrael captured the West Bank in 1967 along with the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem. The Palestinians seek the West Bank as the heartland of a future independent state. Most of the international community considers Israel’s West Bank settlements illegal and an obstacle to peace with the Palestinians. Several of Netanyahu’s key allies, including most of the Religious Zionism party, are ultranationalist West Bank settlers.

President Joe Biden is expected to issue a strong condemnation of emboldened antisemitism in the U.S. and around the world during a Hanukkah reception at the White House on Monday. The president will deliver remarks at the event, which he is hosting with first lady Jill Biden, following blessing and a menorah lighting, a White House official said. In his remarks, Biden will forcefully argue that silence is complicity amid rising antisemitic attacks and emphasize that all forms of hate, antisemitism and violence have no place in America, the official said. The Bidens are also expected to mark a new tradition by adding the first menorah to the White House collection. Last week, Biden formed a new interagency group to develop a national strategy to combat antisemitism.

☆ 'We cannot normalize this': Doug Emhoff leads White House roundtable to combat antisemitism
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Peter Nicholas | Peter Nicholas Is A Senior National Political Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

“Antisemitism is dangerous,” said Emhoff, the nation’s first Jewish spouse of a president or vice president. Second gentleman Douglas Emhoff during a roundtable about the rise of antisemitism in Washington on Wednesday. President Joe Biden has proposed raising that sum to $360 million in the coming year for the 2023 fiscal year. Conference speakers drew a link between antisemitism and another scourge that the Biden administration wants to confront: threats to democracy. “Antisemitism is the death knell of democracy,” said Deborah Lipstadt, a Holocaust scholar and the Biden administration’s special envoy to combat and monitor antisemitism.

☆ White House to address rising anti-Semitism, attacks on Jews
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Dec 5 (Reuters) - The White House will address rising anti-Semitism in a roundtable event with Jewish leaders on Wednesday focused on attacks against Jews across the United States and how to combat hate. The White House did not say which leaders from the Jewish community would attend the event, hosted by second gentleman Douglas Emhoff, the first Jewish spouse of a president or a vice president. The move comes as reports of anti-Semitism have increased nationwide. The issue has drawn headlines in recent weeks after former Republican President Donald Trump hosted white supremacist Nick Fuentes and the musician formerly known as Kanye West at his private club in Florida. And instead of giving it a platform, our political leaders should be calling out and rejecting anti-Semitism wherever it hides.

☆ Skyrocketing slurs, racism, and antisemitic content on Twitter may encourage domestic terrorists, report warns: 'Violence is inevitable'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Tweets with slurs, antisemitic, and racist content have skyrocketed since Elon Musk's takeover. Federal officials have warned that Twitter posts will translate to real-world acts of violence. Musk claims the total number of impressions on tweets containing hate speech are down. The New York Times reported antisemitic posts referring to Jews or Judaism soared more than 61 percent in the first two weeks while accounts supporting ISIS came roaring back. Researchers have consistently found that online rhetoric feeds real-world behavior, with hate speech online being linked to increases in violence toward minorities, "including mass shootings, lynchings, and ethnic cleansing," according to the nonpartisan think tank Council for Foreign Relations.

☆ DHS warns of domestic terror threats to LGBTQ, Jewish and migrant communities
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Julia-Ainsley-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Julia Ainsley | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

In a terrorism advisory bulletin, the Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday raised concerns about potential threats to the LGBTQ, Jewish and migrant communities from violent extremists inside the United States. Americans motivated by violent ideologies pose a “persistent and lethal threat,” a senior DHS official told reporters in a briefing on the bulletin. The bulletin was the latest summary of national terrorism threats, a document that has been updated about every six months since the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. “Certainly the Jewish community seems particularly targeted in recent days by that kind of activity in our discourse,” the official said. The previous National Terrorism Advisory System bulletin issued by the DHS in June raised concerns about potential violence surrounding the November midterm elections.

Two armed men arrested in connection with online threats against New York City's Jewish community had a Manhattan synagogue in their sights, a prosecutor said Sunday. The two had traveled to Pennsylvania late last week to purchase a gun, prosecutors said in the charging documents. "I changed my mind because I was nervous about the police and didn't want the gun anymore," Brown is quoted as saying. Mahrer ultimately purchased the weapon from the man who drove them out of state, Brown said, according to prosecutors. Earlier in the week, Brown is also alleged to have tweeted, "Big moves being made on Friday."

☆ Kyrie Irving rejoins Nets, apologizes for hurt his actions caused
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

NEW YORK (AP) — Kyrie Irving returned to the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday and apologized to anyone who felt threatened or hurt when he posted a link to a documentary with antisemitic material. Irving 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. But the Nets praised Irving on Sunday for the steps he has since taken.

☆ Threat Against Jewish Community Thwarted, New York Officials Say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( James Fanelli | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Two men were arrested and weapons recovered in New York City’s Penn Station on Saturday in connection with alleged threats on social media against the city’s Jewish community. Two men carrying a hunting knife and an illegal gun were arrested in Manhattan early Saturday in connection with making an alleged threat against the Jewish community, New York Police Department officials said. Christopher Brown , 21 years old, and Matthew Mahrer , 22, were arrested in Pennsylvania Station after being spotted by two Metropolitan Transportation Authority police officers, NYPD officials said. The officers recovered a Glock 17 firearm and a 30-round magazine, the officials said.

☆ Nets guard Irving available to play Sunday, team says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NEW YORK, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving will be available to play at home against the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday, ending a team-imposed eight-game suspension for sharing anti-Semitic content on social media. He apologized again to reporters Sunday as the team confirmed he had been cleared to play. "Kyrie took ownership of his journey and had conversations with several members of the Jewish community," the Nets said in a statement. "We are pleased that he is going about the process in a meaningful way." Reporting by Amy Tennery in New YorkOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Two men arrested in connection to threats against Jewish community in New York
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( Moira Warburton | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 19 (Reuters) - Two men were arrested at New York's Penn Station in connection with threats to the Jewish community, police said on Saturday. New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) officers identified the two men late on Friday night after being alerted to warrants for their arrests by the FBI/NYPD Joint Terrorism Task Force, the MTA said in a statement. Police seized a hunting knife, an illegal Glock 17 firearm and a 30-round magazine after investigating the individuals. No details were released on the two men, although the New York Times reported authorities released an alert late on Friday for a man who had recently made threats against synagogues in the New York area. A joint investigation for a "strong prosecution" is now taking place, and NYPD officers are deploying to "strategic locations" around the city, Sewell said.

Two men with access to weapons were arrested at New York City's Penn Station early Saturday in connection with a probe of threats to the Jewish community, authorities said. The senior law enforcement sources said Brown had the swastika armband on him when he was arrested at the train station. NYPD Commissioner Keechant L. Sewell said in a statement that authorities first identified "a developing threat to the Jewish community" Friday. Three law enforcement sources said threats against the Jewish community were posted online. "Today, we’re extremely grateful to NYPD investigators and our law enforcement partners who uncovered and stopped a threat to our Jewish community," Sewell tweeted Saturday.

☆ Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving issues another apology as possible return from suspension nears
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( Jacob Lev | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Kyrie Irving, the Brooklyn Nets star who was suspended for at least five games by the team for comments made after sharing a link to an antisemitic movie on social media, has issued another apology as his possible return from suspension nears. Putting some type of threat, or assumed threat, on the Jewish community,” Irving told SNY. Irving reiterated he is not “anti-Jewish” and apologized to the Jewish community. I got a chance to do that with people from the Jewish community, people from the Black community, from the White community,” Irving said. No, I’m not anti-Jewish.’ I’m a person who believes we should all have equal opportunities and that we should all shower each other with love, and that should be at the forefront,” he continued.

☆ Dave Chappelle’s ‘SNL’ monologue sparks backlash as being antisemitic
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Lisa Respers France | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

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. “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 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.

Dave Chappelle, hosting NBC's "Saturday Night Live" for the third time, kicked off the show with a roughly 15-minute monologue that tackled hip-hop artist Ye's antisemitic comments, the midterm elections and former President Donald Trump's political appeal. Chappelle mocked Ye as well as Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving, who posted a link to an antisemitic movie on Twitter. "I've been to Hollywood, and this is just what I saw: It's a lot of Jews, like a lot," Chappelle said to laughter. In recent years, Chappelle has attracted intense scrutiny for his public comments about transgender people, particularly after Netflix released his most recent stand-up special, "The Closer." Four days later, Chappelle was physically attacked onstage at the Hollywood Bowl, charged and tackled by a man carrying a replica gun.

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