U.S. gathering on religious freedom sets up competing narratives
By Nahal Toosi and Lorraine Woellert
The U.S. will host a first-of-its-kind gathering on international religious freedom next week, an assembly being hailed by evangelical voters who helped propel President Donald Trump into office. The three-day Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom has become the hottest ticket in Washington, with more than 80 countries sending delegations, hundreds of rights activists attending, and a number of others being shut out for political reasons as well as lack of space. Click here to read
USCIRF Releases 2019 Annual Report and Recommendations for World’s Most Egregious Violators of Religious Freedom
The US Commission on International Religious Freedom released its 20th Annual Report documenting country conditions in, and analyzing and recommending U. S. policy initiatives toward, the world’s worst violators of religious freedom. USCIRF, as an independent, bi-partisan commission, advises the President, Congress and the Secretary of State on international religious freedom issues. Click here to read
Anti-Semitism Is Back, From the Left, Right and Islamist Extremes. Why?
By Patrick Kingsley
Swastikas daubed on a Jewish cemetery in France. An anti-Semitic political campaign by Hungary’s far-right government. Labour lawmakers in Britain quitting their party and citing ingrained anti-Semitism. A Belgian carnival float caricaturing Orthodox Jews sitting on bags of money. And that was just the past few months. Click here to read
German chancellor Merkel commits to ensuring security for Jews with kippahs
By AP and TOI Staff
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman on Monday stressed the country’s responsibility to ensure security for all Jews wearing kippahs anywhere in the country without having to fear an anti-Semitic attack. It’s the job of the state to ensure that anybody can move around securely with a skullcap in any place of our country,” Steffen Seibert said. Click here to read
German Government Tells Jews: Don't Look Like Jews
By Hank Berrien
According to Germany’s government commissioner on anti-Semitism, Jews in his country should stop wearing kippahs (skullcaps) in public lest they incur the wrath of anti-Semites. Click here to read
Christians must fight growing anti-Semitism in America
By Frank Wolf, Lela Gilbert | Fox News
One of President Trump’s guests at his State of the Union speech Tuesday was Judah Samet, who received an ebullient welcome and a spontaneous rendition of the “Happy Birthday” song from the audience on his 81st birthday. A Holocaust survivor, Samet emerged alive – once again a survivor – and somehow remained uninjured during the Tree of Life synagogue massacre Oct. 27 in Pittsburgh. Click here to read
The Nation of Islam and the House
By Jeryl Bier
Donald Trump has repeatedly faced calls to disavow anti-Semites, but Democrats have their own anti-Semitism problem. The new House majority leadership includes several lawmakers with ties to the nation of Islam’s Louis Farrakhan: Click here to read - Subscription may be required
Jew-hatred poses as anti-racism in 'The New York Times'
By Jonathan Tobin
Discussions about intersectional theory used to be confined to the fever swamps of the far left. But this idea—the idea that seeks to link the struggle for civil rights in the United States with the Palestinian war on Israel's existence and every other cause that can be falsely portrayed as one of the underprivileged against the privileged—has now gone mainstream. Click here to read
Terrorists Promoted, Victims Ignored
By Uzay Bulut
A group of Yazidis who held a demonstration outside the White House on March 15 called on the Trump administration to locate or rescue the estimated 3,000 women and children captured, held or killed by ISIS terrorists.
The protestors pointed to the recent incident in which ISIS fighters, fleeing one of their last strongholds in eastern Syria, beheaded of 50 Yazidi women who had been as sex slaves by the ISIS terrorists. Click here to read
Religious Freedom In The World Report Launched Ahead of Red Wednesday 2018.
By Lord Alton of Liverpool
How the West is failing those persecuted for their Faith. The Prince of Wales and an Appeal To End Religious Persecution. Links to Remarks by the Patriarchs of the Eastern churches. The 70th Anniversary of Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights – the plight of Asia Bibi and the millions who suffer for their religion or beliefs. Click here to view Report
Pope Francis: “I will never grow tired of condemning every form of anti-Semitism”
By Gerard O’Connell
Referring to the “barbaric resurgence of cases of anti-Semitism” in many countries today, Pope Francis firmly condemned “every form of anti-Semitism” on the eve of the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp. “I will never grow tired of condemning every form of anti-Semitism,” he stated. Click here to read
Europe’s War on Christianity
By WILLIAM KILPATRICK
As the influence of Islam on European society has increased, so have anti-Christian attitudes. While civil authorities have gone out of their way to accommodate both Muslim immigrants and Muslim beliefs, their treatment of Christians has been quite different. One form that the accommodation of Islam has taken is an increased policing of Christian activities and beliefs. Click here to read
US SecState Pompeo: Religious freedom a fundamental human right
By Devin Watkins
In an interview with Vatican News, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says religious freedom is a fundamental human right and invites all faiths and countries to promote it. The United States Department of State is hosting the first-ever international summit on the topic of religious freedom. The event is slated for July 24-26 in Washington D.C., and will gather over 80 delegations, including more than 40 foreign ministers.
House of Lords Debate on Britain’s Foreign Policy
By Lord Alton of Liverpool
My Lords, I too greatly welcome this timely and well-judged report from the International Relations Select Committee, and particularly the recommendations to strengthen engagement with the Commonwealth, to invest more in our global diplomatic presence, to increase the deployment of our smart power assets such as the British Council and the BBC global news, and I wholeheartedly support the commitments to the multilateral rules-based system—... Click here to read
Stop the Fake News That Hungary Is Anti-Semitic
By Lee Cohen (Lee is the New York Director of TAS)
Next week Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban makes his first visit to the state of Israel. This symbolic and diplomatic event, considered against a consistent record of pro-Israel support and concrete measures to confront anti-Semitism in Hungary, should bring closure to the myth, popular among the Left, global Jewish organizations, and in the world press, of Hungary’s contemporary anti-Semitism. Instead of derision and conjecture, Orban deserves praise for his zero-tolerance policy on anti-Semitism and commitment to protecting all Hungarian citizens, including Hungary’s Jews. Click here to read
Rabbi Spero on the Ingraham Angle
Persecution has brought America’s Catholics and Jews together
By Michael Davis
On October 27, a white nationalist named Robert Bowers stormed the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, touting an AR-15 and hurling anti-Semitic slurs. He left with bullet wounds from a shootout with police, having claimed 11 lives in what is thought to be the deadliest incident of anti-Semitic violence in US history. Bowers wasn’t Catholic, and his motivation wasn’t theological. Click here to read
UK: New Subversive "Guidance" for Journalists
By Judith Bergman
The British think-tank Policy Exchange, recently published a report, Eroding the Free Press, about a leaked draft of "Guidance for Reporting on Islam and Muslims". Click here to read
Jeremy Corbyn’s Anti-Semitism Crisis
By Sam Knight
During the improbable summer of 2015, when Jeremy Corbyn went from being an unknown, sixty-six-year-old leftist Member of Parliament to the leader of Britain’s Labour Party, there was a natural urge to know more about him. Click here to read
We must confront Anti-Semitism
By Lord Alton of Liverpool This speech was originally given by the author in the House of Lords.
“The hate that begins with Jews never ends with Jews”. Anti-Semitism is a virus that singles out Jews but which then spreads its hateful contagion to other minorities and to vulnerable groups, who are all too easily scapegoated. Click here to read
Brilliant article setting out the case for Britain to honour its commitment to Hong Kong and to fundamental human rights.
Shared by Lord Alton of Liverpool
This important article posted by Hong Kong Watch, written by Human Rights Commissioner, Luke de Pulford, succinctly insists that the U.K. has skin in the game in Hong Kong and perceptively sets out the arguments for standing with the people of Hong Kong in their hour of need. A must read – Click here to read
Statement by Ambassador Gingrich on the Launch of the Abrahamic Faiths Initiative
On January 14, I was honored to host the opening session of the Abrahamic Faiths Initiative (AFI) at my residence, facilitating discussions among faith leaders to advance peace and mutual respect around the world. Click here to read
New York Police Record 83% Rise in Hate Crimes
By Ben Chapman
New York politicians and community leaders are pushing Mayor Bill de Blasio for more funding to eradicate hate crimes, as police record a dramatic rise in bias complaints. Click here to read (subscription may be required)
Setting the record straight on Hungarian anti-Semitism
By Lee Cohen (Lee is the New York Director of TAS)
A Nov. 21-released global poll published by anti-Semitism monitor, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), commented on by many in the global media, including The Wall Street Journal, revealed “ … hateful notions about Jews are rising in Eastern and Central European countries polled.” Click here to read
Home Office refuses Christian convert asylum by quoting Bible passages that 'prove Christianity is not peaceful'
By May Bulman
The Home Office has refused asylum to a Christian convert by quoting Bible passages which it says prove Christianity is not a peaceful religion. The Iranian national, who claimed asylum in 2016, was told passages in the Bible were “inconsistent” with his claim to have converted to Christianity after discovering it was a “peaceful” faith.. Click here to read
One terrible punch": Victim in NYC anti-Semitic attack speaks out
By Erin Donaghue
The victim in one of two anti-Semitic hate crime attacks in the New York City borough of Brooklyn this month is speaking out about the attack. The victim, who is Jewish, told CBS New York he was beaten by four men in the Williamsburg neighborhood May 4. Click here to read
How Erdogan Planned This Ethnic Cleansing All Along
By Malcolm Lowe
As the Voice of America itself reported on January 23, Erdogan's plan was to resettle three million or more refugees from other parts of Syria in this "security zone" extending twenty miles deep into Syria. Twenty miles may not sound much, but – the VOA omitted to mention – almost all the Kurdish towns of northeastern Syria lie within that area. Click here to read
I Invented the Jihadist Journal
By Jesse Morton
I’m a publishing pioneer: In April 2009, I launched the first English-language online jihadist magazine. A lot has changed since. I spent 3½ years in prison, where I deradicalized. I now work with Mitch Silber, the New York City Police Department’s former director of intelligence analysis, to combat violent extremism. Click here to read (subscription may be required)
As the Church reels, is an even larger scandal building?
By William Kilpatrick
The Church has been deeply damaged in recent weeks by revelations of widespread clerical sex abuse in Chile and Honduras, the further revelation that Cardinal McCarrick’s predatory behavior had been hushed-up, and now claims by an archbishop that Pope Francis knew about sanctions imposed on McCarrick by Pope Benedict XVI but repealed them. Click here to read
Playing Hardball with Hungary
By Bruce Bawer
The EU’s disgraceful attempt to bring PM Orban to heel. - Criticize the government of Viktor Orban, prime minister of Hungary since 2010, all you like. But the European Union's despotic and disgraceful attempt to bring him to heel, which came to a head with a vote in the European Parliament on September 12, has nothing whatsoever to do with the purported “erosion of democracy” in his country.
Why Progressive Anti-Semitism — and Why Now?
By Victor Davis Hanson
The New York Times International Edition recently published an anti-Semitic cartoon of a dachshund with the face of Benjamin Netanyahu. The composite animal was leading a hunched Donald Trump who had on dark sunglasses, as if blind, and a yarmulke. Click here to read
Extremism Advances in the Largest Muslim Country
By Benedict Rogers
Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim nation, has long stood as a role model for religious pluralism. That’s changing. Political Islam and violent extremism have been taking root in society and may soon do so in the government. Click here to read - Subscription may be needed
When Negotiation Is Impossible and War Is Unnecessary
By Amir Taheri
Will the attacks on Saudi oil installations last week upset the status quo that has taken shape in the past 17 months, that is to say, since President Donald Trump withdrew the US from the "Iran nuke deal" concocted by Barack Obama? The headline-grabbing sensationalism of the attacks, largely attributed to the Islamic Republic of Iran but denied by the mullahs, may suggest "yes" as an answer. Click here to read
The New, New Anti-Semitism
By Victor Davis Hanson
The old anti-Semitism was mostly, but not exclusively, a tribal prejudice expressed in America up until the mid 20th century most intensely on the right. It manifested itself from the silk-stocking country club and corporation (“gentlemen’s agreement”) to the rawer regions of the Ku Klux Klan’s lunatic fringe. While liberals from Joe Kennedy to Gore Vidal were often openly anti-Semitic, the core of traditional anti-Semitism, as William F. Buckley once worried, was more rightist. And such fumes still arise among the alt-right extremists. Click here to read
European Court of Human Rights Blasphemy Laws: Where a Word out of Place Can Cost Your Life
By Denis MacEoin
There are, of course, social settings where it pays to watch your words. Saying you fancy the looks of a mafioso's new girlfriend could well prove fatal. Spending time with a bunch of Hamas terrorists while expressing your love for Israel might not lead to your premature demise. In London today, young men who make remarks or play music to other youths on the street can wind up stabbed to death. Click here to read
Reckoning; or, the Distressing Transformation of Harvard (and American Academia)
By Ruth R. Wisse
What I witnessed in my two decades of teaching at Harvard. By the early 1990s, when I moved from Montreal to take up my new position at Harvard, I was able to participate in campus life more than I could during the decades when I was raising a family. Click here to read
How Britain failed Asia Bibi
By Lord Alton of Liverpool
At last, Asia Bibi is free. Six months after her acquittal on a trumped-up charge of blasphemy, the Pakistani government has confirmed that she has left the country. Click here to read
A Visit to Islamic England
By Andy Ngo
Muslims headed to Friday prayer while non-Muslims went the other way. No one made eye contact.
Other tourists may remember London for its spectacular sights and history, but I remember it for Islam. When I was visiting the U.K. as a teenager in 2006, I got lost in an East London market. Click here to read - Subscription may be needed
Stop Hounding the Knights of Columbus
By The Editors of NRO
Article VI of the Constitution consists of three paragraphs. The final one includes an emphatic prohibition against applying a “religious test” to any office.The provision is lost on some federal lawmakers who, despite taking an oath to uphold the Constitution, are now blatantly engaged in applying de facto religious tests to prospective federal judges. Click here to read
Vatican Cardinal: Encouraging Immigration Misrepresents the Gospel
By Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D.
The prominent Vatican Cardinal Robert Sarah, as his newly released book is causing furor in Europe, said it is wrong to “use the word of God to promote migration.” The Guinean cardinal, prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship, said that using the Bible to promote migration constitutes “false exegesis,” adding that it is better “to help people flourish in their culture than to encourage them to come to Europe.” In an interview last week, the cardinal condemned the Church’s push for migration into Europe in the strongest terms, insisting that most immigrants wind up “without work or dignity” and assume the condition of slaves. Click here to read
Britain's Back-Door Blasphemy Law
By Soeren Kern
Days after the British government rejected its preferred official definition of Islamophobia, the Muslim Council of Britain, the biggest Islamic organization in Britain, called for the ruling Conservative Party to be officially investigated for Islamophobia. Click here to read
British Jews Find Their Voice
By Ben Judah
What has changed is not so much the community, but the environment of British politics. Sometimes, I don’t think I recognize British Jews anymore. For decades my community has been quiet and watchful, slow to place itself in the public eye. But last week, watching British Jews call out antisemitism in Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party I had to pinch myself. Click here to read
Europe Continues to Shrink Religious Liberty
By Wesley J. Smith
As western society secularizes, religious liberty is in danger of becoming passé. Increasingly, jurisdictions are enacting laws in furtherance of legitimate social considerations that, concomitantly, shrivel the freedom of religious believers to live according to their personal faith precepts. Western Europe is leading the way. Click here to read
Trump’s Best Overseas Bet Is Elizabeth
By Conrad Black
On the heels of my misguided intuition, expressed on another site last week, that Judge Amy Coney Barrett was the president’s most likely selection for the Supreme Court vacancy, the president should be (but won’t be), commended for choosing the least controversial candidate, Judge Brett Kavanaugh. The nomination of Judge Kavanaugh, a Bush appointee and friend, may be taken as (but again probably won’t be) a conciliatory gesture to traditional Republicans.
Terrorist Attacks Against Jewish Targets in the West (2012-2019): The Atlantic Divide Between European and American Attackers
By Mitchell D. Silber
Abstract: The time period of 2012-2019 has seen a number of deadly terrorist attacks and plots against Jews and Jewish targets in both in Europe and the United States. However, in spite of the parallel rise in this deadly anti-Semitic violence on both sides of the Atlantic (compared to the decade 2001-2011), the sources of much of the violence have been from jihadis in Europe and individuals motivated by extreme right-wing (XRW) ideologies in the United States. Click here to read
Strengthening the ties between the United States, United Kingdom, and the English speaking world.
The Anglosphere Society
Theresa May’s Impossible Choice
By Sam Knight
The British Prime Minister, Theresa May, often strikes people as cautious, but her political career has been defined by acts of boldness, often on behalf of unfashionable causes, or in the face of seemingly impossible circumstances. The misconception arises in part because she is an awkward person. May, who is sixty-one, is tall and stooped, serious and shy. Click here to read
UK: Radical Muslims Welcome, Persecuted Christians Need Not Apply
By Raymond Ibrahim
In two unrelated cases, the United Kingdom denied asylum to persecuted Christians by bizarrely citing the Bible and Jesus. Both Christians, a man and a woman, are former Muslims who were separately seeking asylum from the Islamic Republic of Iran, the ninth-worst persecutor of Christians -- particularly of those who were Muslims and converted to Christianity. Click here to read