Why shouldn’t people who have been the objects of harassment and hate on campus be allowed to help the government identify their tormentors?

By Hugh Fitzgerald, Frontpage Magazine

Whether it’s the keffiyeh that they wear pulled over the face, which both hides the wearer and expresses his support for the killers of Hamas, or the other mask that they wear that has so many different names — ski-mask in the U.S., balaclavain the UK, cagoule in France, and passamontagna in Italy (this may be some sort of record: four widely-different names for the same article of clothing).

The brownshirts who have been stomping on American campuses want to be sure the authorities will not identify them as they unleash their physical and moral mayhem, harassing, and at times surrounding Jewish students to prevent them from leaving, all the while screaming anti-Israel slogans in their faces.

Or interrupting and trying to shut down Jewish professors in their classrooms, or entering campus buildings to paint pro-Hamas slogans on the walls, and even beating up janitorial staff who try to stop them.

In one case, at Columbia University’s Hamilton Hall, a pro-Hamas group was vandalizing the building when one of the janitors tried to stop them. He was beaten so severely by the students that he had to be hospitalized for five days.

The pro-Hamas demonstrators on campuses across America who call for the destruction of Israel and its replacement by a 23rd Arab state (that is the meaning of “From the river to the sea/Palestine will be free”), or calling for attacks on Jews worldwide (“Globalize the Intifada”) will now be unable to hide their identities by wearing masks.

This is thanks to new facial recognition software developed by Israeli engineers.

“Technology being used to identify, report student protesters for possible deportation,” Associated Press, April 14, 2025:

When a protester was caught on video in January at a New York rally against Israel, only her eyes were visible between a mask and headscarf. But days later, photos of her entire face, along with her name and employer, were circulated online.

“Months of them hiding their faces went down the drain!” a fledgling technology company boasted in a social media post, claiming its facial-recognition tool had identified the woman despite the coverings.

She was anything but a lone target. The same software was also used to review images taken during months of pro-Palestinian marches at U.S. colleges.

A right-wing Jewish group said some people identified with the tool were on a list of names it submitted to President Donald Trump’s administration, urging that they be deported in accordance with his call for the expulsion of foreign students who participated in “pro-jihadist” protests.

Other pro-Israel groups have enlisted help from supporters on campuses, urging them to report foreign students who participated in protests against the war in Gaza to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency.

The push to identify masked protesters using facial recognition and turn them in is blurring the line between public law enforcement and private groups.

The efforts have stirred anxiety among foreign students who are worried that activism could jeopardize their legal status.

“It’s a very concerning practice. We don’t know who these individuals are or what they’re doing with this information,” said Abed Ayoub, national executive director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. “Essentially the administration is outsourcing surveillance.”

Why shouldn’t people who have been the objects of harassment and hate on campus be allowed to help the government identify their tormentors?

They are not replacing the administration’s efforts at surveillance, but only supplementing it by supplying photos of campus demonstrators.

In some cases, they are using the new facial-recognition software developed by an Israeli, Eliyahu Hawila, that allows a face to be seen despite attempts to cover it up with a keffiyeh or a ski-mask, balaclava, cagoule, or passamontagna.

The post New Israeli facial recognition technology can identify terror supporters despite masks appeared first on World Israel News.

Pro-Israel groups are using facial recognition technology to unmask and dox anti-Israel protesters, sparking fears of deportation, privacy violations and a new wave of digital vigilantism.

The post WATCH: Pro-Israel groups use facial recognition to identify terror supporters on college campuses appeared first on World Israel News.

For these individuals, the task of downloading and using a smartphone app, managing a steady camera, and navigating technical instructions is daunting.

By Pesach Benson, TPS

A controversial new requirement for Holocaust survivors to prove their existence using a facial recognition app has sparked frustration and anger among some Holocaust survivors

The move, announced by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference), mandates that approximately 70,000 survivors globally must annually verify their identity via the “Paneem” app starting in 2025.

The measure was enacted to comply with demands from the German government.

As of 2024, the German government has paid approximately $90 billion in indemnification to individuals for suffering and losses resulting from Nazi persecution through negotiations from the Claims Conference.

In 2024, the Claims Conference distributed approximately $535 million in direct compensation to over 115,000 survivors in 84 countries and allocated approximately $888 million in grants to over 300 social service agencies worldwide that provide vital services for Holocaust survivors, such as home care, food, and medicine.

However, advocates for survivors living in Israel criticized the app as an unnecessary technological and bureaucratic burden on elderly individuals.

“This requirement is a significant obstacle for survivors, especially those without family support. Given their advanced age and health conditions, we should be making their lives easier, not more difficult,” said Orly Sivan, CEO of the Tel Aviv-based Aviv Association for Holocaust Survivors.

“As an organization that is well aware of the difficulties and bureaucratic barriers that Holocaust survivors face in exercising their rights, we are very concerned about the implications of the new requirement that does not take into account the situation and cognitive and digital abilities of Holocaust survivors in Israel,” she added.

A spokesperson for the Claims Conference told TPS-IL that the Paneem app is “successfully operating” in most countries where survivors now live. She added that after three weeks, more than half of the Holocaust survivors living in Israel successfully registered.

“This achievement was made possible thanks to the various support channels operated by the Claims Conference in collaboration with organizations supporting the Holocaust survivor population in Israel,” the spokesperson said.

“We are aware of the challenges related to this new system for survivors in Israel and are working closely with organizations, authorities, and government ministries to provide the most comprehensive assistance to Holocaust survivors. The Claims Conference is committed to ensuring that all Holocaust survivors receive their full entitlements and will not stand down until every survivor in Israel is registered,” she added.

The average age of Holocaust survivors in Israel is 87, with many living alone and grappling with health limitations.

“Considering their advanced age, their health condition, and the challenges that come with this age, the expectation is that it is precisely in these years that the bodies that pay compensation to Holocaust survivors will find ways to make things easier for Holocaust survivors and reduce the bureaucracy required to exercise their rights,” Sivan said.

For these individuals, the task of downloading and using a smartphone app, managing a steady camera, and navigating technical instructions is daunting, if not insurmountable.

The association said it has been inundated with complaints from survivors unable to download the app or understand how to use it.

On Monday, the world commemorates International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Poland by Soviet soldiers in 1945.

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