Southwest
Jewish students at the University of Texas say escalating antisemitism is spiraling into pure 'Jew hatred'
As students chanted “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free,” Jewish students spoke with Fox News Digital about the antisemitism and extreme anger they have experienced on campus during this week’s protests.
Hundreds of protesters gathered on campus at the University of Texas at Austin on Wednesday to participate in an unruly anti-Israel protest that included “significant participation by outside groups,” according to a statement from the school. Nearly 60 people were arrested, but criminal charges were dropped against 46 of the 57 protesters.
UT Austin joined universities like Columbia and Yale, as well as the University of Southern California, where anti-Israel protests have made headlines in recent days. UT Austin said the protest was organized by the Palestine Solidarity Committee, which it said seeks to “paralyze the operations of universities across the country.”
Amid the protest, an anti-Israel student could be heard telling a Jewish student, “F— you Zion Nazi b—-,” and multiple students told Fox News Digital that they had been approached and told to “go back to Germany.” Other chants like “APD, KKK, IDF / they’re all the same,” were also heard, comparing the Austin Police Department and Israeli Defense Forces to the KKK.
Levi, a Jewish student who wore a kippah and an Israeli flag tied over his shoulders, told Fox News Digital Wednesday that the protest was made up of “pro-Hamas” individuals, but expressed his gratitude to law enforcement for making sure everybody remained “relatively peaceful.”
“We have seen a few acts of violence against the officers,” he said. “I’ve seen a lot of angry people, I’ve seen a lot of people that have been crying, I’ve heard a lot of Jew hatred. I don’t call it antisemitism anymore, I think that’s sugarcoating it, it’s Jew hatred when a girl walks up to me and says, ‘You should go back to Germany.’”
“Every time they protest, it’s going to make me louder, it’s going to make me prouder to be a Jew and I’m not going to go home. They’re not going to scare me,” Levi added. “I know the university administration has our backs in ensuring that Jews feel safe on college campuses. I’ve seen a lot of anti-Israel protests and I understand that. I’ve seen a lot of pro-Hamas chants. I’ve heard a lot of them.”
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“I’m ready for this to be over, I’m ready for Jew hatred to not have a place on our campus,” he concluded. “I’m glad law enforcement and the administration is taking the correct steps to ensure that hatred has no place here at the University of Texas.”
Another Jewish student, Jeremy, told Fox News Digital that he was also told by anti-Israel protesters to “go back to Germany” and described the protests as “extremely antisemitic.”
“I do obviously support the right to protest no matter what,” he said. But, “It’s getting a little antisemitic and, of course, it’s not how it should be going.”
Zachary, a Jewish student, told Fox News Digital that he was counter protesting to represent Israel and stand in solidarity with the Jewish people.
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“It’s hurtful, you know, antisemitic rhetoric is being spread throughout,” he said. “We hear the chants and things like that. It’s really tough to hear, but it’s important that we stand here peacefully and share information and be willing to have discussions with individuals.”
“But, yeah, it’s disheartening to hear that [anti-Israel chants],” he added. “We go to a school with such a great education and with such a great system and this rhetoric is still being spread around campus.”
The APD and Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) were observed making arrests while protesters chanted, “Pigs go home!” The keffiyeh-wearing protesters attempted to set up a few tents before police intervened.
The DPS later told Fox News Digital the arrests were made “in order to prevent any unlawful assembly and to support UT Police in maintaining the peace by arresting anyone engaging in any sort of criminal activity, including criminal trespass.”
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott denounced the protests as lawless and antisemitic on X.
“These protesters belong in jail,” Abbott wrote. “Antisemitism will not be tolerated in Texas. Period. Students joining in hate-filled, antisemitic protests at any public college or university in Texas should be expelled.”
UT Austin told Fox News Digital early Wednesday afternoon that it “does not tolerate” disruptive protests and that evening university President Jay Hartzell released a statement about the protest activity, calling it a “challenging day.”
“We have witnessed much activity we normally do not experience on our campus, and there is understandably a lot of emotion surrounding these events,” Hartzell wrote. “Today, our University held firm, enforcing our rules while protecting the Constitutional right to free speech.”
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Jay Hartzell, president of The University of Texas at Austin, speaks during the National Association of Business Economics (NABE) economic policy conference in Dallas, Texas, US, on Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023. (Nitashia Johnson/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“Peaceful protests within our rules are acceptable,” he added. “Breaking our rules and policies and disrupting others’ ability to learn are not allowed.”
Hartzell also applauded law enforcement and staff for allowing peaceful protests that “happen within the rules.”
“We are grateful for the countless staff members and state and university law enforcement officers, as well as support personnel who exercised extraordinary restraint in the face of a difficult situation that is playing out at universities across the country,” he said.
“There is a way to exercise freedom of speech and civil discourse, and our Office of the Dean of Students has continued to offer ways to ensure protests can happen within the rules,” he added. “The University of Texas will continue to take necessary steps so that all our university functions proceed without interruption.”
Fox News’ Christopher White, Andrea Vacchiano, Lawrence Richard and Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.
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Los Angeles, Ca
L.A. Jewish institution among targets of foiled terrorist attack, U.S. officials say
A Jewish institution in Los Angeles was among the locations targeted in a recently foiled terrorism plot, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton announced this week.
The thwarted terrorist attacks were the result of the recent arrest of Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, an Iraqi national and senior member of Kata’ib Hizballah, U.S. officials said.
“Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, a commander for the terrorist organization, Kata’ib Hizballah, faces serious charges for his role in numerous attacks against U.S. interests across the globe, including his efforts to kill on U.S. soil,” Clayton said. “As alleged, for years, Al-Saadi committed himself to furthering the terrorist goals of Kata’ib Hizballah and the IRGC, two terrorist organizations dedicated to harming the United States and its allies.”
Al-Saadi recently attempted to carry out attacks in the U.S., officials said, including attacks at Jewish cultural places of interest in New York, Los Angeles and Scottsdale, Ariz.
“Al-Saadi attempted to disrupt American society through intimidation and violence,” a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office reads. “… Those who engage in or support terrorism against Americans and on U.S. soil should take note: the whole of the federal government is committed to dismantling terrorist organizations and bringing their members to justice.”
In a three-month period, Al-Saadi allegedly directed 18 terrorist attacks throughout Europe, including bombings, arson, and assaults targeting American citizens and points of interest. Prior to his arrest, national security officials say he was planning similar attacks on U.S. soil. Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said that Al-Saadi “presented a serious threat to our national security.”
The European attacks included the bombing of the Bank of New York Mellon, an American bank, in Amsterdam on March 15. On April 29, two Jewish men, one of whom was a dual U.S.-British citizen, were stabbed and seriously injured in London.
In 2020, Al-Saadi took to social media, calling for others to attack and kill Americans in retribution for the deaths of Iranian military officer Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi military commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, U.S. officials said. In more recent months, Al-Saadi allegedly used social media to encourage the killing of Americans and Jews to further the terrorist goals of Kata’ib Hizballah and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
“In or about February 2026, for example, AL-SAADI posted on one of his social media accounts a message in Arabic, which read in part, ‘Do not abandon the blood of your Imam of the time, oh Shiites of Iraq. Kill everyone who supports America and Israel. Do not leave any of them remaining. Civil and military targets, as well as voices of discord, kill them everywhere.’” U.S. officials said.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch confirmed that one of the U.S. targets was a Manhattan synagogue. On April 3, Al-Saadi allegedly spoke to an undercover law enforcement officer whom Al-Saadi believed could carry out attacks in the U.S. That same day, Al-Saadi allegedly texted the undercover officers photographs and maps showing the exact location of a prominent Jewish synagogue in New York City.
Officials have not said what specific locations in L.A. and Arizona were targeted by the terrorist group.
Al-Saadi now faces numerous charges for these crimes in U.S. court. If convicted, he could be sentenced to life in prison.
The case is under investigation by the FBI’s New York Joint Terrorism Task Force, which is comprised of investigators and analysts from the FBI, the NYPD, the FBI Washington Field Office, Counterterrorism Division, and more than 50 other federal, state, and local agencies. Investigators also received help from the Department of Justice’s National Security Division, Counterterrorism Section, the Office of International Affairs of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
A man armed with a knife was shot by L.A. police officers responding to an assault with a deadly weapon call overnight, authorities said.
According to the Los Angeles Police Department, officers with the Hollenbeck Division responded to an apartment complex in the 3000 block of Glenn Avenue in Boyle Heights at 1:45 a.m. Saturday after callers reported a male suspect was armed with a knife and had just assaulted someone in the complex.
Arriving officers found the suspect in front of the residence, but he did not comply with officers’ commands to drop the weapon. He then advanced toward the officers and an officer-involved shooting occurred, LAPD confirmed.
“The suspect was struck by gunfire and remained non-compliant,” the LAPD Public Information Officer said on X early Saturday morning. “Officers deployed a 40mm foam round and ultimately took the suspect into custody.”
Video obtained by KTLA shows the man being loaded into an ambulance and taken to a hospital; officials said he was transported in stable condition, adding that his knife was recovered at the scene and booked as evidence.
No officers or community members were injured during the incident. The man’s name was not released.
Dangerous rip currents and high surf are forecast for Los Angeles County beaches, including the Malibu Coast this weekend.
The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous beach statement, warning of the potentially deadly beach conditions. The dangerous conditions are forecast to last from Saturday evening to Monday morning.
“There is an increased risk of ocean drowning,” the NWS forecast reads. “Rip currents can pull swimmers and surfers out to sea. Waves can wash people off beaches and rocks, and capsize small boats nearshore.”
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A guide to surviving rip currents from the National Weather Service (NWS)
Minor Beach erosion and coastal flooding is possible through the weekend. The flooding is most likely to occur during evening high tides from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Beachgoers are advised to stay out of the water and remain near lifeguard towers. Jetties and tidepools are also especially dangerous during the weekend forecast.
“Rock jetties can be deadly in such conditions, stay off the rocks,” the NWS forecast reads.
Similar hazardous beach conditions are also in the forecast for Santa Barbara County. A high surf advisory is also in effect for Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties this weekend, where 10 to 15-foot waves will be possible.
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