The Latest From @MacTaskForce
Benjamin Birely went to Italy to pursue a PhD. Instead, he was forced to flee after a year because of extremely hostile conditions towards Israelis on his campus and throughout the city of Napoli.
What began as social isolation escalated into organized intimidation, defamatory videos labeling him a “soldier out of uniform,” and posts accusing him of pursuing a “PhD in Genocide.”
When this sort of bigotry is able to fester unchecked in an academic space, something is deeply wrong in the broader culture.
🎥: buildersofmideast
This video, produced by Israel’s Civil Commission, documents the horrific sexual violence and atrocities perpetrated by Hamas on October 7th and against the hostages held afterward. While major outlets debate narratives and amplify proven-false accusations against Israel, far too many people still refuse to confront the documented reality of what was done to Israeli civilians, most of them Jews.
They were dragged from their homes, hunted at a music festival, tortured, mutilated, murdered, and subjected to unimaginable brutality.
The world should not be allowed to turn its eyes from what happened.
Congratulations to Israeli Eurovision representative Noam Bettan, who is heading to the 2026 finals this Saturday after an incredible semi-final performance. 🎤⭐️
While online campaigns worked overtime to politicize his participation and have Israel banned from the competition, and some countries even chose to boycott the compeition, European audiences once again embraced the music and voted Israel through!
Israeli and Jewish artists deserve the same opportunity as everyone else to participate in international cultural spaces without harassment, exclusion, or hostility. Last night, talent won over hate!
CNN commentator Scott Jennings excoriated the New York Times publishing for publishing an opinion essay accusing Israel of sexual abuse based on disputed and unverified claims—just before the release of a major report documenting Hamas’ sexual violence during the October 7 attacks.
The report, compiled by Israel’s Civil Commission on October 7th Crimes by Hamas, draws on testimony from survivors, witnesses, medical professionals, and experts to document widespread acts of sexual violence and torture committed during the massacre.
For months, many activists and families of victims have argued that Hamas’ crimes received insufficient international attention, while allegations against Israel spread rapidly across media and social platforms before being fully verified.
Serious accusations involving war crimes and sexual violence require rigorous standards of evidence and reporting — which Israel has provided. The New York Times? Not so much.
Real change happens when students choose unity over division, and build relationships grounded in mutual respect, understanding, and shared values.
Maccabee Task Force Fellows at Hunter College are seeking to expand their already flourishing interfaith collaborations for next year, including with the Sikh Students Association. Members of the Sikh Students Association were early-adopters into the interfaith partnership, helping our fellows to create a campus culture where Jewish and Sikh students stand together against hate and extremism.
Strong communities are built through dialogue, solidarity, and partnership. Our student leaders are helping lead the way, with many more communities already represented in the coalition.
Jewish houses of worship are increasingly being forced to operate behind barricades, security patrols, and police presence simply because they are Jewish institutions. That should alarm everyone.
When synagogues become targets for intimidation, vandalism, and extremist demonstrations, it reflects a broader normalization of antisemitism that extends far beyond one building or one community.
Defending Jewish communal spaces is not political, it’s a matter of civil rights, religious freedom, and basic public safety.
A newly released report by Israel’s Civil Commission has fully revealed the systematic sexual violence and torture perpetrated by Hamas against young Israeli women on October 7. Compiled from testimony by more than 430 survivors, witnesses, medical professionals, and experts, the report documents atrocities so horrific that many media outlets refuse to print them in full.
“Heads were decapitated. Pelvic bones shattered. Even after death, sexual assault continued….. At Kibbutz Be’eri, nails, sharp objects, and pieces of metal and plastic were embedded in a woman whose body was discovered naked and bound. On another victim, grenades were used.” - Daily Mail
For more than two years, survivors and investigators have fought to ensure these crimes were neither denied nor buried by international silence. The Civil Commission found that women were stripped, bound, stabbed, shot and burned. They were executed both during and after rape.
As difficult as these accounts are to read, looking away only enables denial, distortion, and the normalization of terror. The victims of October 7 deserve truth, accountability, and a world willing to confront the full depravity of what was done to them.
Anti-Israel demonstrators marched through Flatbush, Brooklyn, where many Jewish families live and reside.
No Jewish family should fear that mobs propagating lies about the Jewish state will march by the hundreds down their street.
