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Israeli researchers take step toward cure for Huntington’s disease

(JNS) — A new study carried out by the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot has identified two molecules capable of penetrating the blood-brain barrier and reducing the levels of a defective protein that causes Huntington’s disease, an incurable neurodegenerative disorder.

The research not only slowed the progress of the disease in mouse models but even reversed some symptoms, the Institute said.

The signs and symptoms of Huntington’s disease—slight involuntary movements, general clumsiness and increased anxiety—most commonly emerge around the age of 40. The disease develops over time and inevitably leads to death.

Past attempts to treat the disease were unsuccessful, while drugs aimed at tackling the root cause—the defective protein—found it difficult to distinguish the defective protein from the normal one.

During the new study, “We were delighted to find that small molecules managed to reach the brain without undergoing changes and without disintegrating along the way,” said Weizmann’s professor Rivka Dikstein.

“While other experimental treatments require repeated brain or spinal surgery, these molecules, delivered orally or by means of an injection, could pave the way for an effective and safe treatment of Huntington’s disease,” she continued.

“It’s become clear that a certain function of large regulatory proteins can be precisely targeted using tiny molecules without harming the overall functioning of these proteins. This understanding could lay the foundations for new treatments for a variety of diseases,” she said.

New policy at Barnard bans decorations on dorm-room doors

(JNS) — Students attending New York City’s Barnard College will need to find ways to express themselves other than affixing photos or messages on the doors of their dormitories.

Leslie Grinage, the school’s dean, sent out a letter on Feb. 23 informing students that by Wednesday, Feb. 28, they would need to remove any decorations on their doors. It comes in the backdrop of heightened sensibilities related to the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip following—and many have noted even before—the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in southern Israel.

Grinage justified the move, writing that “while many decorations and fixtures on doors serve as a means of helpful communication amongst peers, we are also aware that some may have the unintended effect of isolating those who have different views and beliefs.”

Columbia University’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine responded that it “sets a dangerous precedent.” Members of the group known for its anti-Israel activity on campus said “it is beyond absurd to send out a notice to Barnard students demanding we take down ‘decor’ from our own dorm doors that we are paying to live in.”

Yellen demands Israel take actions to support Palestinian economy

By Andrew Bernard

(JNS) — U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen sent a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with a list of demands for Israel to support the Palestinian economy in Judea and Samaria.

The United States “urged the Israeli government to release clearance revenue to the Palestinian Authority to fund basic services and to bolster the economy in the West Bank,” Yellen said on Tuesday during a press conference in Brazil ahead of a G20 finance meeting.

The statement and letter appear to be the most direct public concerns that Yellen has raised about the state of the Palestinian economy since Oct. 7.

“I also recently outlined in a letter to Prime Minister Netanyahu a number of steps that the United States believes must be taken, including reinstating work permits for Palestinians and reducing barriers to commerce within the West Bank,” she said.

Israel collects so-called “clearance revenue” taxes on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, the P.A.’s main source of income. The P.A. said in November that it would refuse to accept the transferred funds after Israel announced that it was deducting a portion of the revenue intended for Gaza.

Yellen said on Tuesday that a deal had been reached to transfer the funds, which have started to flow.

“These actions are vital for the economic well-being of Palestinians and Israelis alike,” she said.

Students meet with UVa administrators to protect Jewish students on grounds

(JNS) — Multiple antisemitic incidents and displays of anti-Israel activism have led a group of students to meet with administrators at the University of Virginia and seek action.

Joel Nied, an attorney, accompanied the students to their meeting and described the environment they have been experiencing since the Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel on Oct. 7, which led to the deaths of 1,200 people. “There is this movement on campus that is blatantly antisemitic,” he said.

He described how some Jewish students had been “spat upon, shoved, that have been called horrible names, antisemitic slurs.” Nied said that one student “has been so intimidated by students in his dorm, for peace of mind he has to move off campus and sleep elsewhere and stop wearing his yarmulke.” 

He reported that others “feel they need to tuck their jewelry, their Jewish stars into their sweaters and shirts so no one sees them. So, they’re hiding. They’re hiding their identity.”

Additional events raising alarm bells include some professors canceling classes in support of Palestine and a vote scheduled to take place on Wednesday—co-sponsored by Students for Justice in Palestine—for the university to divest from Israel.

A faculty statement released after Oct. 7 advocated for the atrocity “to be viewed in context,” as Nied described—a word that would be hammered back to three university presidents two months later on Dec. 5, during a nearly four-hour-long U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce hearing on campus antisemitism.

“I don’t know how anybody can try to contextualize what happened on Oct. 7 other than looking at it for what it was. It was a barbaric horrible attack. There’s no justification.”

Hamas praises man who burned himself to death outside Israeli embassy

(JNS) — Hamas said in a statement that Biden “bears full responsibility for the death of U.S. Army pilot Aaron Bushnell due to its policy that supported the Nazi-Zionist entity in its war of extermination against our Palestinian people.”

Hamas said Bushnell gave his life “to shed light on the Zionist massacres and ethnic cleansing against our people in the Gaza Strip.”

Cornel West, the far-left independent 2024 presidential candidate, similarly offered praise, writing on X: “Let us never forget the extraordinary courage and commitment of brother Aaron Bushnell who died for truth and justice! I pray for his precious loved ones! Let us rededicate ourselves to genuine solidarity with Palestinians undergoing genocidal attacks in real time!”

Dr. Jill Stein, a presidential candidate for the far-left Green Party, wrote on X: “Rest in power Aaron Bushnell” and “May his sacrifice deepen our commitment to stop genocide now.”

Antisemitic rock artist Roger Waters posted a video of Bushnell killing himself as the Pink Floyd song “The Gunners Dream” played in the background. Waters wrote that Bushnell was an “All American Hero.”

A friend has described Bushnell as an anarchist. Unverified postings on Reddit also suggest staunch anti-Israel views. In a posting responding to someone describing the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on civilians and tourists, Acebush1—an account identified as Bushnell’s that has since been wiped—wrote: “There are no Israeli ‘civilians’ or tourists who have no part in the oppression of Palestine.”

The user claimed that since he was not Palestinian, he was “in no position to endorse or condemn Hamas’ actions,” that “there are no Israelis without the genocide of the Palestinian people” and that “Israel is a settler colonialist apartheid state.”

Israel to send aid directly to north Gaza, bypassing Hamas

(JNS) — Israel will start transferring humanitarian supplies directly to the northern Gaza Strip to bypass the Hamas terrorist group, the War Cabinet decided on Saturday night.

In the coming days, trucks carrying supplies bound for the parts of Gaza already conquered by Israeli forces will enter near the Karni crossing at the northeastern end of the Strip, which was permanently closed in 2011, with the last remaining structures of the cargo terminal demolished by the Israeli military in 2022.

On Dec. 15, Israel’s Security Cabinet approved the opening of the Kerem Shalom crossing for the transfer of aid to the Strip after intense U.S. and international pressure. All the Israeli crossings to Gaza had been shuttered after the Oct. 7 massacre, with only Egypt’s Rafah crossing from Sinai remaining open.

However, Hamas has been hijacking up to 60 percent of the aid entering the Gaza Strip.

The UN Relief and Works Agency is suspending aid deliveries to northern Gaza via Egypt’s Rafah crossing, the Guardian reported on Saturday.

“The desperate behavior of hungry and exhausted people is preventing the safe and regular passage of our trucks,” Tamara Alrifai, director of external relations for UNRWA, told the British newspaper.

Sporadic protests have taken place over the past two months at Kerem Shalom in an attempt to block aid trucking from resupplying Hamas while the terrorist group continues to hold Israelis hostage and fight a war against Israel. 

Activists have also attempted to block the aid trucks at the smaller Nitzana crossing to Sinai and at the Ashdod port.

Clashes broke out between Israeli security personnel and protesters at the Kerem Shalom crossing to Gaza on Feb. 22, with one of the demonstrators reportedly injured by security forces.

In Times Square, 3,000 teens gather for ‘Jewish pride, solidarity’

(JNS) — Some 3,000 Jewish teens gathered in Times Square in Manhattan on Saturday night as part of the Chabad’s 16th annual CTeen International Shabbaton.

The group, including 200 teens from Israel and young people from more than 50 countries, prayed for the Israeli hostages in Gaza and for peace in Israel, according to a Chabad release.

“Our resilience, our spirit, our deeds—these are the true catalysts for change,” Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky, executive director of Merkos 302 and vice-chairman of CTeen International, said at the event.

“Let us return to our communities, ready to lead and demonstrate to our brethren in Israel that they can indeed count on us,” he added.

More than 100,000 people viewed a live broadcast of the event, which included musical performances and dancing, according to Chabad.

“The Times Square takeover was incredibly impactful. The melodies, the collective prayers for the hostages—it felt as though the heavens themselves were moved by our actions,” stated Moshe Italy, 21, of Maslul, in southern Israel.

“Since Oct. 7, the youth in Israel have matured beyond their years,” he added. “Despite being labeled as the ‘TikTok generation,’ their strength is undeniable. They are the future leaders of our nation.”

Jewish, Israeli students often afraid to go to Berkeley schools, federal complaint alleges

(JNS) — Enduring “Kill the Jews” statements from peers. Being asked what their number is, “referring to numbers tattooed on Jews during the Holocaust.” Teacher-prompted walk-outs in support of Hamas terrorists. A teacher directing second-graders to write, “Stop bombing babies” on sticky notes displayed around the school.

These are some of the allegations against the Berkeley Unified School District in a Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law and Anti-Defamation League complaint filed on Wednesday with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights.

The complaint further alleges that “peer-on-peer antisemitic bullying has escalated, as students are emboldened to emulate their teachers and perpetuate the hostility against their Jewish classmates.” The situation “is so bad that Jewish and Israeli students are often afraid to go to school,” the complaint adds.

“The eruption of antisemitism in Berkeley’s elementary and high schools is like nothing I’ve ever seen before,” said Kenneth Marcus, chairman of the Brandeis Center.

The California school district, which traces its history back 145 years, serves 9,400 students in 11 public elementary schools, three middle schools and a comprehensive and an alternative high school, per its website. It also operates three preschools and an adult school.

The district states that taking pride in its diversity and treating one another respectfully and acting with integrity are among its values.

The school district is accused of doing the opposite.

“It is dangerous enough to see faculty fanning the flames of antisemitism on college campuses, but to see teachers inciting hate in the youngest of grades while Berkeley administrators sit idly by as it continues to escalate by the day is reprehensible,” Marcus said. “Where is the accountability? Where are the people who are supposed to protect and educate students?”

Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO and national director of the ADL, said that there is “no more solemn or basic obligation than protecting our children from the moment when they walk into the doors of their schools.

“To fail so monumentally that children feel forced to hide their Jewish identity for fear of reprisal is downright shocking,” he added. “We must demand more from our educational leaders.”

Two anti-Israel protesters arrested outside Bari Weiss event in NY

(JNS) — Two anti-Israel protesters were arrested outside a 92nd Street Y event on Manhattan’s Upper East Side featuring Bari Weiss, a former New York Times editor and founder of The Free Press. Video footage circulating online also showed comedian Jerry Seinfeld smiling and waving at the antisemitic activists, as they accused him of supporting genocide.

Weiss delivered the 92nd Street Y’s annual “The State of World Jewry Address” on Sunday night.

Abba Eban, then a member of Israel’s Knesset and a former Israeli diplomat, delivered the inaugural address in 1980. Others who have spoken in the series include Holocaust survivor and Nobel Prize laureate Elie Wiesel; former Soviet refusenik and Israeli statesman Natan Shararanky; the late Israeli writer Amos Oz; and French intellectual Bernard Henri-Levy, per the 92nd Street Y website.

“Not since the founding of the State of Israel has the Jewish people faced such a crossroads. What is our future? What are our priorities? How do we secure our community for generations to come?” it stated, promoting Weiss’s ticketed talk, which sold out.

Protesters yelled obscenities and “Genocide supporter, you support genocide” at Seinfeld as he left the event.

Seinfeld visited Israel in December. 

“I lived and worked on a kibbutz in Israel when I was 16, and I have loved our Jewish homeland ever since. My heart is breaking from these attacks and atrocities,” he wrote on Instagram on Oct. 9 “But we are also a very strong people in our hearts and minds. We believe in justice, freedom and equality. We survive and flourish, no matter what. I will always stand with Israel and the Jewish people.”