A newly released AP-NORC survey shows that American Jews hold widely differing views on where the line falls between political protest and anti-Semitism. About half of Jewish adults surveyed said that protests directed at Israel do not qualify as anti-Semitism, while around 40 percent believe they do. When it comes to criticizing Israel’s military conduct, two-thirds of Jewish adults said that does not constitute anti-Semitism either. However, those with a strong personal or emotional bond to Israel were more inclined to view such criticism as anti-Semitic. Despite these divisions, very few American Jews consider it anti-Semitic to criticize Israel for “any reason.”
In New Hampshire, two teenage boys who had sought to compete on girls’ sports teams have pulled back their legal challenge. The withdrawal follows a Supreme Court ruling in June that upheld states’ authority to ban males from participating in female school sports. The boys had initially challenged a presidential executive order that threatened to cut federal funding from schools allowing boys to join girls’ teams, later shifting their legal target to New Hampshire’s own state ban. Across the country, a growing number of states have enacted similar laws barring males from female athletic teams, restrooms, and locker rooms.
French President Emmanuel Macron delivered a forceful condemnation of rising anti-Semitism in his country during remarks on Sunday at the unveiling of a statue honoring Captain Alfred Dreyfus. Dreyfus was wrongfully convicted in a case that laid bare deep anti-Jewish prejudice in France, and the ceremony marked 120 years since his name was officially cleared. Earlier that day, authorities evacuated roughly 300 people from a neighborhood near a synagogue after a suspicious vehicle containing a military-grade weapon was discovered. France has experienced a significant increase in anti-Semitic incidents since the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7th sparked the ongoing war in Gaza. Macron urged the public to remain vigilant against targeting individuals based on their identity.
