Maccabee Task Force

Koreans gathered on September 20, 2026, waving Israeli and South Korean flags side by side as they sang “Habayta” (הביתה), a beloved Israeli song whose message of coming home carries profound meaning for the Jewish people and Israelis. Thousands of miles from Israel, these voices sent a message of comfort, support, and friendship to Israelis and Jewish communities around the world. This was a beautiful expression of friendship and solidarity from thousands of miles away for the people of Israel. 🇰🇷🇮🇱

Holocaust survivor Eva Geller, 90, has died from complications stemming from injuries sustained in the antisemitic terrorist attack at Bondi Beach in Sydney last December. Her death brings the massacre’s death toll to 16. Geller was among those shot when terrorists opened fire on a Hanukkah celebration on December 14, 2025. She spent nearly a year battling the devastating consequences of her injuries, enduring repeated hospitalizations and fighting to regain her ability to walk. She had survived the Holocaust as a child, escaped Nazi persecution, and built a life and family in Australia. After surviving one of history’s darkest chapters, she was targeted simply for being part of a Jewish celebration. Our hearts are with Eva’s family, friends, and the Australian Jewish community. May her memory be a blessing. And may the world never forget the hatred that took her life.

Sweden’s Parliament has finalized a constitutional amendment strengthening its laws against Holocaust denial and other forms of hate speech. Beginning January 1, 2027, Sweden’s constitutional protections governing the press and other forms of expression will explicitly recognize denial, justification, or gross trivialization of the Holocaust and certain other international crimes as potential forms of unlawful agitation against a protected group. The change also strengthens protections for individual victims, including the possibility of seeking damages. The amendment completes a constitutional process that began with an initial parliamentary vote in 2024. Similar provisions have already applied under Sweden’s criminal code since July 2024. Sweden’s approach to hateful speech differs significantly from the United States, where even deeply offensive and false expression generally receives broad First Amendment protection. People can legitimately debate where the law should draw that line. But the Holocaust itself is not a matter of opinion. It is historical fact. Holocaust denial and distortion should be confronted wherever they appear -- with historical truth, education, public condemnation, and an unwavering commitment to preserving the memory of the six million Jews who were murdered.

A former UN torture expert is calling out the United Nations’ failure to adequately document Hamas’s October 7 atrocities. Dr. Alice Jill Edwards, who served as the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture until July 2026, has criticized fellow rapporteurs Francesca Albanese and Reem Alsalem for failing to properly investigate and document the massacre, sexual violence, and torture inflicted on Israelis on October 7 and against hostages held in Gaza. Asked whether their failure was deliberate, Edwards responded: “I think it is deliberate. They had all the opportunities. They are required to produce reports… and haven’t done so.” The UN is supposed to document atrocities and defend victims without political bias. Israeli victims and survivors deserve the same attention, empathy, and accountability as victims anywhere else.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier delivered a clear message against antisemitism, including a warning that Jew-hatred is increasingly disguised as criticism of Israel. Legitimate criticism of Israeli government policies is not hatred, but trying to deny the Jewish people’s right to self-determination and Israel’s right to exist is. At a time when Jewish communities across the world are facing rising hostility, it matters when leaders draw this distinction clearly and speak out against Jew-hatred. Thank you, President Steinmeier, for making that message heard on a global stage.

Four school buses used to transport Jewish children in Brooklyn were vandalized with swastikas and antisemitic messages, prompting the NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task Force to open an investigation. The buses, serving local Jewish schools in Williamsburg, were spray-painted with Nazi symbols alongside hateful messages targeting Israel and the Jewish community. No arrests have been reported, and investigators are reviewing the incident. Targeting the buses that carry Jewish children to school is an act of intimidation aimed at an entire community. No child should have to encounter Nazi symbols and antisemitic attacks on their way to school.

University of Michigan Hillel is condemning an antisemitic message shared by a member of the university’s Chi Psi fraternity in a group chat. The message mocked the Holocaust by suggesting “HallowCaust” as a possible Halloween party name and using the phrase “gassed up” to describe the event. The message trivialized one of history’s greatest atrocities and demonstrated a disturbing disregard for the suffering of the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust. Hillel has called for transparent accountability and public condemnation from university Greek life leadership. Mocking the Holocaust is not humor or a party theme. It is an attack on Jewish trauma and memory, and a profound disrespect to the victims and survivors whose experiences should never be trivialized. Universities and student organizations must make clear that antisemitism in any form has no place in campus life.

Federal prosecutors have charged four additional defendants in an alleged coordinated campaign of threats, vandalism, and intimidation targeting Detroit’s Jewish community, University of Michigan leadership, law enforcement, and others perceived to have ties to Israel. The superseding indictment brings the total number of defendants charged to 12. According to prosecutors, the alleged campaign targeted the Jewish Federation of Detroit, University of Michigan officials, a campus police lieutenant, a student, and businesses perceived to be connected to Israel. Investigators allege that conspirators broke windows, vandalized property, threw glass jars containing noxious chemicals into family homes, and marked homes and workplaces with red inverted triangles and other symbols associated with Hamas. Prosecutors say the broader objective was to intimidate the University of Michigan and other institutions into severing perceived ties with Israel, with threats of escalating retaliation if their demands were not met. These are allegations, and the defendants are entitled to due process. But no one should have to fear threats against their home or family because they are Jewish, support Israel, or are merely perceived to have a connection to it. Political disagreement never justifies threats, intimidation, vandalism, or violence.

When asked to choose between Israel and the Islamic Republic of Iran regime in the event of another war, a young Somalilander did not hesitate. “Israel is our brother who has not betrayed us, so we are always shoulder to shoulder with them.” His words reflect the strong solidarity being expressed by many in Somaliland toward Israel and the growing relationship between the two nations. At a time when Israel faces hostility and pressure from across the region, it is meaningful to hear voices from the Muslim world speak openly about friendship, loyalty, and standing together. Friendship is measured not only in words, but in who stands beside you when it matters. Thank you, Somaliland.

After surviving 505 days in Hamas captivity, Omer Shem Tov returned to the site where his life changed forever to thank @BoyGeorge for standing with Israel. Omer was kidnapped from the Nova music festival on October 7 and endured hundreds of days of brutal captivity in Gaza. Speaking to Boy George on what was only his second visit to the memorial site since coming home, he emphasized how much the singer’s solidarity means, especially at a time when publicly supporting Israel can come with significant professional and personal consequences. Boy George chose to use his international platform to remember the victims of October 7, stand with survivors, and bring their stories to audiences around the world. He expressed that what frightened him most was the people trying to deny the massacre. Thank you, Boy George, for showing up, speaking out, and standing with the Nova community. And thank you, Omer, for reminding the world why that solidarity matters.