A spokesperson for the British Ministry of Defense defended the decision, emphasizing that the college welcomes participants from many nations provided they respect international humanitarian law.

By i24 News and Algemeiner

The British government has announced that, starting next year, Israelis will no longer be admitted to the Royal College of Defense Studies (RCDS), marking the first exclusion of Israelis since the institution was founded in 1927.

Previously, restrictions applied only to officers of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), but the new policy will apply to all Israeli applicants, civilian or military.

The decision comes amid the ongoing war in Gaza, according to reporting by The Telegraph, and represents a notable shift in British-Israeli defense cooperation.

Amir Baram, Director General of the Israeli Ministry of Defense, criticized the move in strong terms, calling it a “deeply shameful and discriminatory” decision and “a betrayal of an ally in time of war.”

In a statement, Baram emphasized Israel’s broader security contributions, including protecting international shipping from Houthi attacks, preventing nuclear proliferation by hostile regimes, and efforts to secure the release of 48 hostages held by Hamas.

“Israel’s exclusion is a profoundly dishonorable act of disloyalty to an ally at war,” Baram wrote.

“These discriminatory actions amount to a disgraceful break with Britain’s proud tradition of tolerance, and plain decency.”

He added that silencing Israeli voices at a time when the country is actively defending international security constitutes “nothing less than an act of self-sabotage of British security.”

A spokesperson for the British Ministry of Defense defended the decision, emphasizing that the college welcomes participants from many nations, provided they respect international humanitarian law.

The spokesperson criticized Israel’s ongoing military operations in Gaza, calling instead for a diplomatic resolution that includes a ceasefire, the release of hostages, and expanded humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza.

The RCDS exclusion reflects a growing strain in UK-Israel relations, already tense due to debates over recognition of a Palestinian state and responses to the Gaza conflict.

Israeli officials have framed the decision as both a political and symbolic blow to bilateral defense cooperation, warning it could have broader implications for strategic ties between the two countries.

The post UK bars all Israelis from prestigious defense college appeared first on World Israel News.

Students also set up a location on campus to distribute literature to passersby and engage willing students in conversation.

By Dion J. Pierre, The Algemeiner

Jewish college students across the US last week participated in a mass walkout to demand the release of Israeli hostages still held captive by Hamas in Gaza, where they were taken during the terrorist group’s massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7.

The demonstration was organized by Students Supporting Israel (SSI), a nonprofit that promotes education about the Jewish state, as a response to a surge in pro-Hamas demonstrations on higher education campuses throughout the world. It also aimed to sustain the momentum of the Jewish community’s advocacy heading into the new academic semester, following November’s mass protest by the pro-Israel community in Washington DC.

The Algemeiner spoke to four students who participated in the walkout and events related to it — Ellie Raab of Florida Atlantic University, and Zoë Silverberg, Yasmeen Ohebsion, and Bali Lavine of Tulane University in New Orleans. Each discussed their triumphs as well as lingering challenges the students say they still face in their efforts to win the hearts and minds of their classmates, some of whom refuse to acknowledge the suffering of those affected by Hamas’ atrocities.

“At FAU, everyone walked out whether you had class or didn’t have class. We all met up at 10 AM, and at 10:07 AM, we walked around our campus holding signs, playing music, and basically we had three things we were walking for — to remember the victims of Oct. 7, call for the return of the hostages, and take a stand against rising antisemitism throughout the world, specifically in academic institutions,” Rabb told The Algemeiner. “We had a moment of silence for the victims, and we all had posters and signs of all the hostages. My vice president had a poster that said, ‘Rape is not resistance’ and ‘#metoo unless you’re a Jew.”

Later, the students were led in prayer by FAU’s Chabad rabbi, who asked for the protection of Israeli soldiers and the hostages.

Students at Tulane University “tabled” to promote the demonstration, setting up at a location on campus to distribute literature to passersby and engage willing students in conversation. Tulane, a school known for having a large population of Jewish students, has had at least one incident of note since Oct. 7. During protests near the campus on Oct. 26, a Jewish student was assaulted by pro-Hamas demonstrators. That incident was on the mind of Bali Lavine — she called it a “riot” — as her tabling duties prompted her to reflect on Jewish life at Tulane.

“It’s been strangely quiet on campus lately,” Lavine, a junior who recently declared Jewish Studies as a second major, said. “But when I say quiet, I just mean that a student wasn’t physically assaulted, not that there wasn’t any antisemitism. Just this week I learned about multiple students transferring out of Tulane. Some of the students I know really did feel welcomed by [Governor Ron] DeSantis’ message from the Florida schools saying that Florida welcomes students with open arms.”

A hesitance of some to embrace SSI’s message was palpable, Zoë Silverberg, who is a senior, told The Algemeiner. Many did “engage positively” but others declined to wear a sticker that said “104 Days,” which was then the amount of time that Israeli hostages had remained in captivity. It has now been 112 days.

“I felt really loved and supported when people approached the table and asked questions or took stickers, but when people would say ‘no thanks I’m not interested,’ it just made me wonder if they are anti-Zionists or aren’t aware of what I’m tabling for,” Silverberg said, noting that one of the hostages they highlighted was Kfir Bibas, a baby who turned one year old while being held by Hamas. “The fact that people are able to easily walk past a table advocating for the safety of a one-year-old child and not bat an eye makes it abundantly clear how far removed so many college students are from the reality of this situation.”

Some of the students who wouldn’t wear a sticker were Jewish, Yasmeen Ohebsion noted, saying that “saddened her.”

“To see students who were nervous or hesitant to display their Jewish identities shows that the campus climate likely makes them feel unsafe. Later, I walked into class after tabling and considered taking mine off my sweatshirt out of fear that my professor would judge me or treat me differently,” she continued. “I decided to leave it on and proudly stand against terror, with Israel, and with the hostages.”

The post Reflections of Jewish students following nationwide walkout for hostage release appeared first on World Israel News.