Fox News ‘Antisemitism Exposed’ Newsletter: Hometown Judge backs Harvard, tosses antisemitism suit

Federal Judge Dismisses DOJ Antisemitism Lawsuit Against Harvard

A federal judge in Boston has thrown out a high-profile antisemitism lawsuit the Trump administration had filed against Harvard University, ruling that the incidents alleged by the government did not amount to a continuing pattern of civil rights violations. The Department of Justice has signaled it is weighing an appeal.

The decision marks a significant setback for the administration's effort to hold the Ivy League institution legally accountable over claims that Jewish students faced harassment and discrimination on campus. While acknowledging that isolated incidents had occurred, the court found that the evidence did not demonstrate an ongoing violation of federal civil rights law once the university had been put on notice.

Justice Department officials pushed back sharply against the ruling, saying they disagreed with the court's reasoning and were reviewing their legal options. The case had drawn national attention as one of the more prominent flashpoints in a broader federal push to address antisemitism on college campuses.

New York City Man Charged With Hate Crimes After Disruption of Shabbat Services

A 46-year-old Bronx man is facing assault and hate crime charges after allegedly storming into a historic Manhattan synagogue during Friday evening Shabbat services, striking a worshipper, and attacking a security officer.

According to police, Larry Montes disrupted services at Central Synagogue, striking a congregant and damaging property before allegedly spitting on and headbutting a security officer. He was ultimately subdued by an off-duty police officer and taken into custody.

Top New York City officials condemned the incident, which comes amid heightened concern over antisemitic incidents in the city. The suspect remained in custody following his arrest.

Federal Investigation Targets Anti-Israel Nonprofit Linked to New York Mayor

Federal authorities are investigating a U.K.-based nonprofit that has poured millions into anti-Israel advocacy, probing whether donor funds were funneled to a Palestinian group under U.S. sanctions, according to reports.

The organization, known as the Palestine Future Fund and backed by figures aligned with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, controls a reported $100 million in funding. Investigators from the Department of Homeland Security are examining potential financial ties between the fund and Al-Haq, a Palestinian rights group designated as a terrorist organization by some Western governments.

No criminal charges have been filed, and the inquiry does not necessarily imply wrongdoing by the fund or any of its supporters. Mamdani has previously been critical of Israeli government policies, and his allies have played prominent roles in fundraising networks supporting Palestinian causes.

State Department Cites UNICEF Data to Challenge Starvation Allegations Against Israel

The State Department is pointing to newly released data from UNICEF as evidence that longstanding allegations accusing Israel of engineering a starvation campaign in Gaza do not hold up. Officials said the data shows that acute child malnutrition rates in Gaza remained well below the thresholds used to declare famine.

The U.S. government has used the findings to argue that claims of deliberate starvation were overstated, and that extensive humanitarian food and vaccine deliveries reached the territory during the conflict. The position places the administration at odds with a number of international aid groups and United Nations bodies that have warned of severe hunger in Gaza.

Andrew Fox, a senior fellow at the Henry Jackson Society, said the new numbers undercut the prevailing narrative. "The new data shows that the allegations of famine in Gaza were pure hysteria," Fox said. "While certain small pockets of hunger occurred in Gaza, we now know this can only have been an issue of distribution. Once again, international organizations removed Hamas and their share of the blame for Gaza's suffering from the conversation, stoking the anti-Israel narrative."

Humanitarian organizations have continued to raise alarms about access to food in parts of Gaza, and debates over the underlying data and methodology are likely to continue.

Christian Zionists Organize Volunteer Trips to West Bank Settlements

A U.S.-based evangelical organization is organizing trips that bring thousands of Christian volunteers to West Bank settlements, framing the effort as a way to support Israeli communities and push back against what organizers describe as one-sided international media coverage.

The group, known as The Israel Guys, has been busing volunteers into contested areas of the West Bank to help with farm work, support local tourism initiatives, and engage with residents. Organizers say the trips are designed to counter what they call a wave of hostile reporting and to demonstrate a Christian commitment to the Jewish presence in the region.

The effort comes as international criticism of Israeli settlement expansion has continued, and as advocacy groups have documented episodes of settler violence that have drawn condemnation from a range of governments, including the United States. The group disputes those characterizations, saying accusations of widespread settler violence are exaggerated.

Guest Columnist Argues Dead Sea Scrolls Underpin Jewish Connection to Israel

Loay Alshareef, an Arab Muslim peace advocate and senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, argues in a recent essay that the Dead Sea Scrolls offer unambiguous archaeological evidence of the ancient Jewish connection to the land of Israel.

Dated to more than two thousand years ago, the manuscripts include religious texts and writings tied to the Jewish communities that lived in the region long before the modern state. Alshareef contends the documents should serve as a foundation for honest debate about the region's history, and ultimately for peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

The scrolls, discovered in the mid-twentieth century in caves near the Dead Sea, are among the most significant archaeological finds of the past century and have long been studied by scholars of religion, history, and linguistics.