Jewish Agency Claims Significant Increase in Anti-semitism

Jewish protesters in Austin carry a banner against Zionism (EPA)
Jewish protesters in Austin carry a banner against Zionism (EPA)
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Jewish Agency Claims Significant Increase in Anti-semitism

Jewish protesters in Austin carry a banner against Zionism (EPA)
Jewish protesters in Austin carry a banner against Zionism (EPA)

The number of attacks against Jews has doubled in various countries of the world, especially in the US, France, Britain, Germany, and other European countries since Oct. 07 and the ongoing war on the Gaza Strip, according to a report by the Jewish Agency.
The report said the attacks were “anti-semitic,” but it did not address the attacks on Arabs and Muslims in Western countries, who are Semites and are subject to attacks from local extremist right-wing forces.
The attacks against Muslims and Arabs have doubled since Oct. 7 and the Israeli war against Gaza.
The report also did not distinguish between the protests against the Jews and that against war, the massive destruction, and mass killing in the Strip, in an intentional move to portray the Jews as victims and present the attack on Gaza as a defense.
The report, issued on the eve of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, reported that 2023 witnessed a 10% rise in attacks on Jews, but these attacks jumped to record proportions with the outbreak of war; it increased by 337% in the US, 410% in France, 512% in Britain, and 320% in Germany.
Globally, the number of attacks increased by 235%.
For example, the report monitored the following events in the United States in 2023: a 1,200% increase in the number of posts on social media calling for violence against Jews and Israelis and a 540% rise in the number of warnings about planting an explosive device in Jewish headquarters.
Polls showed that 54% of Jewish university students in the US said they do not feel safe since the war in Gaza.
It stated that the practices carried out by several young men who participated in the Hamas attack on Jewish towns had devastating effects, leading to a wave of anger worldwide.
But when Israel responded with war on Gaza and terrifying pictures of civilian victims in the Gaza Strip began to spread, demonstrations of solidarity with the Palestinians broke out.
As a result, Jews, Arabs, and Muslims were subjected to attacks by extremists.
The Israeli government began to consider public protests against military practices as anti-Semitic.
Israel ignored the protests against its war on the enclave. Many Jews denounced the attacks on Palestinians, raising the slogan “Not in our name,” refusing to wage such a war against civilians in the name of the Jews.



Syria’s Al-Sharaa Says No to Arms Outside State Control

Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeing with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeing with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
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Syria’s Al-Sharaa Says No to Arms Outside State Control

Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeing with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeing with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (Photo by AFP)

Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa said his administration would announce the new structure of the defense ministry and military within days.

In a joint press conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Sunday, al-Sharaa said that his administration would not allow for arms outside the control of the state.

An official source told Reuters on Saturday that Murhaf Abu Qasra, a leading figure in the insurgency that toppled Bashar al-Assad two weeks ago, had been named as defense minister in the interim government.
Sharaa did not mention the appointment of a new defense minister on Sunday.
Sharaa discussed the form military institutions would take during a meeting with armed factions on Saturday, state news agency SANA said.
Prime Minister Mohammed al-Bashir said last week that the defense ministry would be restructured using former opposition factions and officers who defected from Assad's army.

Earlier Sunday, Lebanon’s Druze leader Walid Jumblatt held talks with al-Sharaa in Damascus.

Jumblatt expressed hope that Lebanese-Syrian relations “will return to normal.”

“Syria was a source of concern and disturbance, and its interference in Lebanese affairs was negative,” al-Sharaa said, referring to the Assad government. “Syria will no longer be a case of negative interference in Lebanon," he added.