So get this…

A nice Jewish woman named Shana Shabat filled out the form on the Paradise Tours website.

She asked for more information about their tours.

They replied to her email with the subject "No thanks." and the body of the email included two words, "Free Palestine."… pic.twitter.com/ryLzdOpETb

— Hillel Fuld (@HilzFuld) July 10, 2025

Shana Shabat, a Jewish woman, submitted a request for information through Paradise Tours' website seeking details about their tour offerings, Fuld reported. The company responded with an email bearing the subject line "No thanks" and containing only two words in the body: "Free Palestine."

When contacted for clarification about the response, a Paradise Tours employee identified as John escalated the situation with additional discriminatory language, according to Fuld's account. "Yes. Not interested to host so called israelis. Is there a problem with that? How many of you are going to bother us? Just move on," John reportedly wrote.

The incident has prompted widespread condemnation on X in response to the post, with Fuld calling for accountability and rejecting the suggestion to "move on" from the discriminatory treatment.

"This isn't Germany 1940 and we are no longer weak. We no longer have to take this antisemitic abuse, so you will be held accountable," Fuld stated in his post, reflecting broader concerns about rising antisemitism in commercial settings. It was unclear if the company was based in Puerto Rico, as some commentators have suggested.

Paradise Tours operates through the website https://paradisetourspr.com/, though the company does not appear to maintain an active presence on X, according to Fuld's research. Following the incident it appeared the website was inaccessible, but it was unclear if this was deliberate.

Israel Hayom could not independently confirm the allegations, and will publish the company's response when it arrives.

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A new study by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has found significant discrimination against Jewish and Israeli American job-seekers in the US labor market, with Jewish candidates needing to submit nearly 25% more applications to receive equivalent employer responses compared to those with Western European backgrounds, FOX Business reports.

The research, released by the ADL Center for Antisemitism Research under economist Bryan Tomlin, PhD, revealed that for those with Israeli backgrounds, the disparity was even greater at 39% more applications needed.

NEW: Our latest study found substantial discrimination against Jewish & Israeli American job candidates in the US.

Compared to Americans with Western European backgrounds, these applicants needed to send 24% and 39% more applications to receive the same number of positive first… pic.twitter.com/1xFXJvHhte

— ADL (@ADL) December 4, 2024

"We see a clear pattern of discrimination through this empirical research, which bears out what we had heard anecdotally," ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said. "There is real implications at our labor market where Jewish and Israeli people are being discriminated against."

The study, conducted between May and October 2024, analyzed 3,000 applications for administrative assistant positions across the United States. Researchers used identical resumes and email text, varying only applicant names and background signals to indicate Jewish, Israeli, or Western European heritage.

Greenblatt noted the findings come amid broader concerns about antisemitism in American society. He cited examples of anti-Israel protests on college campuses and harassment at synagogues as creating a "poisoning of the environment" for Jewish and Israeli job-seekers.

The ADL CEO referenced a recent incident at UCLA, where a complaint alleged the student government commissioner of cultural affairs warned against hiring "Zionists" and created a "no hire list." According to Campus Reform, applications from students who wrote about their Jewish heritage were rejected, regardless of whether they mentioned the current conflict in Gaza.

"We've seen across different industries – therapists, entertainers, investors, authors, all being targeted, excluded, not hired simply because they are Jewish," Greenblatt explained. "Now, we have the empirical data that substantiates" these concerns.

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In the wake of the Iron Swords War, reports of Israelis facing degrading treatment abroad, particularly in sports venues, have become increasingly common. Orr Sheizaf, an Israeli who traveled to Paris to support his country's Paralympic athletes, recently experienced such discrimination firsthand when he was initially prohibited from entering a venue with an Israeli flag and the walking aids he requires due to injuries sustained in Gaza.

Sheizaf took to social media to recount the incident, writing: "The security guard who inspected our bags at the entrance clearly took issue with what he saw – an Israeli flag. He informed us that we couldn't bring it in and even attempted to discard it. Naturally, after we caused a commotion, a supervisor intervened and permitted the flag. However, the overzealous security guard wasn't satisfied. He tried to pull me aside, insisting I couldn't enter with my walking aids, which I need due to an injury from an explosive device during the war."

He continued, "Let's pause to consider this – we're talking about the Paralympic Games, the premier sporting event for athletes with disabilities. Of course, this issue was also resolved after the supervisor stepped in. We then rushed into the venue. Although we missed the swim, Ami Dadaon delivered, winning gold, and we had the honor of singing the national anthem with him."

Sheizaf's post concluded on a positive note: "The following day, when we arrived at Roland Garros to support Guy Sasson in his medal match in tennis, no one objected to me bringing in my walking aids or an Israeli flag. There were no complaints when we used the aids to secure the flag and wave it to cheer on Guy during his match and remarkable comeback. But what touched me most was when Guy 'grabbed' the flag from me – aid and all – to celebrate his victory at center court. I'm still processing it. Once I've collected myself, I'll share a comprehensive post about the entire experience at the Paralympic Games and with the national team."

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France is facing criticism from human rights organizations over its decision to ban its female athletes from wearing hijabs during the upcoming Paris Summer Olympics. The controversial policy, announced last September by French Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera, has reignited debates about religious freedom and secularism in sports.

According to reporting by the Daily Mail, Amnesty International, along with ten other rights groups, has accused France of "discriminatory hypocrisy" for refusing to allow its athletes to wear the hijab during Olympic competitions. The organizations argue that the ban prevents athletes "from exercising their human right to play sport without discrimination of any kind."

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has declined to intervene in the matter, stating that "freedom of religion is interpreted in many different ways by different states." The IOC previously announced that athletes would be permitted to wear hijabs in the Olympic Village, but France's ban extends to competition venues.

Amelie Oudea-Castera, France's sports minister, defended the ban last year, citing the principle of secularism, calling it "a ban on any type of proselytizing. That means absolute neutrality in public services. The French team will not wear the headscarf."

Critics argue that the policy contradicts not only the IOC's own guidelines but also international treaty obligations that France is required to uphold. Anna Błuś, Amnesty International's Women's Rights Researcher in Europe, stated, "Banning French athletes from competing with sports hijabs at the Olympic and Paralympic Games makes a mockery of claims that Paris 2024 is the first Gender Equal Olympics and lays bare the racist gender discrimination that underpins access to sport in France."

The IOC should insist that France overturn its ban on French athletes wearing the hijab at #ParisOlympics or face sanctions. It's discriminatory and in part based on gross misrepresentation of the Olympic Charter.
on how France dresses its Islamophobia up as secularism pic.twitter.com/O8aA9h7dFG

— Nicholas McGeehan (@NcGeehan) April 17, 2024

 France is currently the only European country that prohibits headscarf-wearing women from participating in most domestic sports competitions. The French Council of State upheld a similar ban on female footballers wearing hijabs during games in June 2023.

Rights groups have expressed concern about the potential consequences of blocking headscarf-wearing women from participating in sports. Amnesty International claims that such bans have resulted in negative mental and physical consequences for women and caused "humiliation, trauma, and fear." The United Nations Rights Office has also indirectly weighed in on the issue. A spokeswoman in Geneva stated that "no one should impose on a woman what she needs to wear or not to wear."

As the Paris Olympics approach, scheduled to begin in just ten days, France has shown no signs of reversing its stance on the hijab ban. The Daily Mail reports that many Muslim athletes participate in sporting events while wearing specially designed hijabs. However, under the current French policy, these athletes may be forced to choose between their religious beliefs and representing their country at the Olympics.

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The Ethiopian community in Israel, primarily its youth, suffers from over-policing and discrimination according to a grave report published by State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman on Wednesday.

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Compared to the general population, the report said, Ethiopian Israelis are arrested and indicted at a disproportionate rate.

According to the report, police investigations into members of the community were carried out against minors at a rate 3.8 times higher than their relative share of the population (1.7%), and at a rate of 1.9 times among adults.

"The figures indicate over-policing toward this population," the comptroller report said, "and show particularly high irregularity in relation to minors from the Ethiopian community."

Meanwhile, trust in the police and satisfaction in their actions was at only 13% in the community, according to surveys conducted by the police, the report said.

The comptroller additionally noted that Israeli youths from the Ethiopian community receive fewer opportunities to exit cycles of crime and delinquency compared to their contemporaries in the wider population.

Another troubling issue raised in the report is that oftentimes youths from the Ethiopian community aren't even aware a police file was opened against them and that even if the probes are closed later and found to be groundless, they can severely harm their socioeconomic track by blocking them from being drafted into the IDF.

Moreover, the report said that many Ethiopian minors do not have sufficient education or support to know how to contend with investigations and that the IDF and Israel Police have done little to make sure these investigations are closed speedily.

"Consequently, teenagers with a criminal past who otherwise could have enlisted in the IDF, and thus bettered their chance of integrating into society, could fall between the cracks," the report said.

"Five years after the police program to strengthen the public faith among Ethiopians, the rate of enforcement against Ethiopians remains much higher than for the rest of the population," Englman said.

"Law enforcement officials must act to eliminate the phenomenon of racism, over-policing and profiling" of Ethiopians, he added.

With regards to the integration of members of the Ethiopian community, the report revealed that around 75% reported encountering racist remarks while at work, while 14 of 22 government ministries did not meet the government target for adequate representation of the community, which itself is only 1.7% of the workforce.

In response to the comptroller's report, the Israel Police said, "Officers are constantly working to protect and serve all Israeli citizens faithfully, and provide them with equal police services regardless of origin, religion or skin color."

The police also said that within the past week alone, it started a local initiative that "will be a national-professional authority to oversee the issue and to act to create additional mechanisms and processes" to improve relations between police and the Ethiopian sector.

In addition, the police said the new initiative was "a long-term strategic change that is aimed at improving the quality of police services for the different sectors, including the Ethiopian community."

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An ultra-Orthodox couple filed suit on Tuesday against two New York City agencies that supervise affordable housing lotteries, saying their family of eight faced religious discrimination when they were repeatedly rejected because of their family's size.

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In the lawsuit, filed in the Manhattan Federal Court, Chaim and Chana Katz maintain they faced discrimination from two lotteries when they applied for a three-bedroom apartment on Manhattan's Lower East Side in 2017.

Their lawyer, Justin Kelton, said they were repeatedly rejected on the basis that the two adults and six children had "too many members" in their family for affordable housing.

"It is extremely upsetting, as you can imagine, to think that you're being discriminated against because of your fervent, deep religious belief in having a large family," he said in an interview.

The lawsuit said the couple has a sincerely held religious belief that having many children is both an obligation and blessing from God. The plaintiffs are seeking a declaration that they were unlawfully discriminated against, in addition to unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.

"And, of course, it's a fundamental right in this country to practice your religion, and it's also a right to have affordable housing. You should not have to choose between these two basic rights that everybody needs," Kelton said.

Two city agencies – the New York City Housing Preservation and Development and the New York City Housing Development Corporation – were named as defendants, along with several companies.

"We are committed to a fair and equitable process in our housing lottery system, and are reviewing the details of this case," a city law office spokesperson said in a statement.

According to the lawsuit, decisions based on family size "disproportionately affected Orthodox Jewish individuals based upon their religious beliefs and tenets."

The lawsuit cited a study that found that nearly half of Haredi families have comparatively large families of four children or more.

It also noted that a 2013 Pew Research report found that Orthodox Jewish individuals ages 40 to 59 had an average of 4.1 children in their lifetime, while all other Jewish individuals in that age group had an average of 1.7 children.

In March 2019, the New York State Division of Human Rights determined there was probable cause to believe the city and some companies involved in the affordable housing lotteries had engaged in unlawful discrimination.

Kelton said his clients had heard of other families rejected by affordable housing lotteries because of their size.

He said the Katz family had also been rejected by the lotteries on similar grounds before 2017, but those rejections are not included in the lawsuit because the statute of limitations had expired.

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Last year saw the number of racism complaints more than triple, a report published Wednesday by the Anti-Racism Coordinating Government Unit in the Justice Ministry revealed.

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The data showed that the number of complaints filed in 2020 stood at 1,450 – three times higher than in 2019 when 497 complaints were lodged.

The unit attributed the drastic rise in racist incidents to the health and social impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, as well as the Knesset election campaign that took place at the beginning of 2020.

The data further revealed that 27% of the complaints were filed by Ethiopian Israelis, another 27% by Arab Israelis, 19% by Haredim, and 7% by immigrants from the former Soviet Union.

Some 25% of the complainants reported racist behavior in the public service, 19% complained of racial slurs, 15% of racism at the workplace, 11% reported racial stereotypes in advertising, and 9% complained of discrimination by law enforcement officials.

The unit handed over 41 complaints to the police for further investigation but only 22% of those were resolved. Some 11 complaints were dismissed, three were ruled as unwarrented, another three were transferred to the State Attorney's office, four are still being processed, and only one was being investigated. The police declined to comment about the rest of the complaints.

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RLUIPA, as the law is commonly referred to, was created in part to ensure that municipalities did not create zoning or landmarking laws that would discriminate against religious institutions or "unreasonably" limit religious structures or assembly within in a jurisdiction.

The US Attorney's Office said in its letter that the village's zoning code "substantially burdens, discriminates against and unreasonably limits the practice of religion by the village's Orthodox Jewish community."

In a statement, Agudath Israel of America said it is "grateful that the [US] Justice Department is prepared to take all steps necessary to fight religious discrimination and ensure religious liberty."

The Orthodox Jewish Public Affairs Committee also praised the move. In a statement, the OJPCA said that "the Village of Airmont was created three decades ago essentially to abuse government power against Orthodox Jews. Time and again, the DOJ stepped in to stop it, and here we are again because the essence of the village has not changed."

The Village of Airmont is no stranger to allegations that it discriminates against Orthodox Jews. Its establishment in 1991 was considered by some as a way to take control over local zoning ordinances and limit the construction of houses of worship. Since Torah-observant Jews don't drive on Saturday (Shabbat) and most Jewish holidays, they often live within walking distance of a congregation.

By denying the construction of synagogues, many believed that village officials were effectively trying to keep out the Orthodox.

In fact, the federal government's first lawsuit against Airmont was in 1991 under the Fair Housing Act when officials claimed that the village had been "incorporated for the purpose of excluding Orthodox Jews through zoning restrictions on their places of worship."

The US Attorney's letter also notes that Airmont is the subject of two federal lawsuits claiming religious discrimination—Central UTA v. Village of Airmont and Congregation of Ridnik v. Village of Airmont.

It further states that the village violated a previous judgment against it to "recognize the category of 'residential place of worship,' a category which has been removed from the Village's zoning code."

"We will briefly delay filing the complaint if the village is willing to negotiate a resolution of this matter through a consent decree that would be filed simultaneously with the complaint," Acting US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Audrey Strauss wrote, adding that the lawsuit will be filed no later than Sept. 15. "We hope to solve this matter through an amicable settlement, rather than through potentially costly and protracted litigation."

Attorney Brian Sokoloff, partner and co-founder of Sokoloff Stern, LLP, which is representing the Village of Airmont, said that it doesn't comment on pending or threatened litigation. He also replied with "no comment" when asked if he was surprised that issues regarding RLIUPA continue to be at issue.

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Sokoloff said that the village had won a previous lawsuit filed by the United Talmudical Academy in state court. He added that the federal court has dismissed "large portions" of the Central UTA lawsuit. Sokoloff Stern has also made a motion to dismiss the case by the Congregation of Ridnik.

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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In a speech marked blunt truths, Shechter accused the council of unfairly targeting Israel and attempting to foster "institutionalized ant-Semitism" through the notorious Agenda Item 7.

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Agenda item 7 is the only permanent item on the Council's agenda against a particular country. It targets Israel and Israel only. That agenda item requires Israel's record on human rights to be debated in practically every meeting of the council, essentially creating a platform to bash the Jewish state to a degree not shared by any other country.

In her speech before the UNHRC Shechter called it "nothing but a systematic mechanism of discrimination against Israel and Israelis, one deeply rooted in the culture of this council and of some of its member states."

Accusing the UNHRC of aiding and abetting Palestinian recalcitrance in accepting any peace plan, previous or upcoming, Shechter reminded the council of an important historical fact and the subsequent reality: "Let me remind you today, as I am reaching my end of term here, that the United Nations called for the creation of two states in November 1947. The UN resolution was accepted by the Jewish side and rejected by the Arab side. The Arab effort to deny and destroy the Jewish State started immediately – and for some, has never ceased... But the fact is – demonstrated over and over at the UN Human Rights Council and across the UN system – Palestinian leadership and its representatives prefer victimhood to peace, PR stunts to truth, blame games to taking responsibility either for what has been or what could be."

Shechter concluded her remarks with a message of hope for compromise. "I hope and pray, that we will find a sustainable compromise and enjoy better days ahead at home and in our region, despite your efforts, and not because of them."

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A recent concert by Steinmetz in the city of Afula, which took place with the audience segregated by gender, sparked a national controversy about gender segregation at public events, even those held for the ultra-Orthodox community.

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On Sunday, the Haifa District Court discussed another petition submitted against another scheduled Steinmetz concert, scheduled to be held at the Haifa International Convention Center on Monday.

"It's infuriating. People who assume to understand how the haredi public's mind work come in and try to dictate how we should live in a Jewish state. I think that the minimum [they can do] is let people who adhere to a 3,000-year-old tradition, who keep the Jewish fires burning, live according to their beliefs," Steinmetz says.

"A musical event is holy, in my eyes. Every time I sing at a concert, I thank God in song … it's a kind of prayer. So as far as I'm concerned, the concert hall is a kind of synagogue, and above all, there needs to be separation [between men and women]," Steinmetz says.

Q: What kind of responses did you get after you announced that you would not appear in Afula unless there was gender segregation?

"Before the concert, [Interior Minister] Aryeh Deri and MK Moshe Gafni came to me and said, 'Good for you for standing up for your principles and for God."

Q: In the US, you recently appeared before male-only audiences. How was that received?

"It only shows the hypocrisy here in Israel. In non-Jewish countries, all over the world, we appear before audiences with full [gender] separation, and receive public funds. We even held a show at a park abroad, with full separation. People everywhere understand that there is an audience that wants this, and there is acceptance and understanding that people think differently. But not in Israel."

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