The woman claimed she objected to the poster because it was “Zionist propaganda.”

By Canaan Lindor, JNS

A jury in England this week convicted a woman from Brighton of stealing the poster of an Israeli man whom Hamas had murdered on Oct. 7, 2023, before she threw it in a trash can.

The judge at Lewes Crown Court in East Sussex handed Fiona Monro, 58, a prosecution expenses bill of £1,200 ($1,614) and an 18-month suspended sentence for binning the poster of Tsachi Idan in February 2024, the Brighton and Hove News reported.

A cousin of Idan, Adam Ma’anit, lives in Hove and had placed a poster of his slain relative on a square in Brighton. It had been removed or vandalized dozens of times, according to the report.

Monro confessed to removing the poster but argued it was not placed on the square with a license and therefore was not under the protection of laws against theft.

She also used a black marker in February 2024 to scrawl slogans about Palestinians slain in Gaza and was charged with vandalism, but the jury acquitted her of those charges, the paper reported.

Steve Winston, managing director of the National Jewish Assembly, a British-Jewish advocacy group, said it “welcomes the fact that this individual was found guilty and held accountable, but tearing down a hostage poster and defacing a memorial is not protest, it is the erasure of Jewish grief in a climate where antisemitism is increasingly normalized.”

This behavior, he told JNS, “does nothing for the Palestinian cause and only exposes how, for too many activists, hostility to Jews overrides any genuine concern for Palestinian lives.”

Monro’s husband is Tony Greenstein, an anti-Israel activist who is Jewish and was expelled from the Labour Party in 2016 for antisemitism.

He has called Israel “Hitler’s bastard offspring” and helped mainstream the antisemitic pejorative “Zio.”

Monro cited her marriage to Greenstein in defending against the charges in court, the Brighton and Hove News reported.

She claimed that Zionists had “exaggerated evidence” against her, the paper reported. She had also said she objected to the poster because it was “Zionist propaganda.”

Brighton is an affluent coastal city where Labour and the Green Party received more votes in the 2024 election than all other parties combined.

Posters of missing or dead Israelis, killed in the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack, have been removed, defaced, or stolen across the West, British public intellectual Douglas Murray noted in his latest book, On Democracies and Death Cults: Israel and the Future of Civilization, which was published last year.

In Western cities, “people, often young women, jubilantly and exultantly ripped away at the posters,” Murray noted.

In Dublin, relatives of Kfir Bibas, a boy who died as a captive in Gaza after Hamas kidnapped him at the age of 8 months along with his brother and parents, encountered a ripped-out poster of the toddler, Murray added.

“While Israelis protested daily for the return of the hostages, Western populations seemed to consider even recognizing the plight of these people as an affront, a terrible provocation, that must be repelled,” he wrote.

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Simon claims he was only trying to enforce Department of Sanitation rules on public signage.

By Jon Levine, The Washington Free Beacon

A Broadway producer who earned infamy for ripping down posters of Israeli hostages in New York City is back in business on the Great White Way.

James L. Simon, who used scissors to hack away a flyer of a Jewish person taken hostage by Hamas just days after Oct. 7, 2023, is working as a co-producer for the Broadway musical Operation Mincemeat.

An Upper West Side neighborhood blog initially published a video of Simon desecrating the poster, an act that earned him a spot in the online Jew Hate Database.

He later apologized and insisted to the New York Post that he tore it down to keep the city’s streets clean, claiming he was only trying to enforce Department of Sanitation rules on public signage.

His Tony-nominated production, which tells the story of an elaborate British deception operation during a critical moment in World War II, opened at the John Golden Theatre in March, and will run until February of next year.

Simon, also a board member at Untitled Theatre Company No. 61 and contributor to the Theater Resources Unlimited nonprofit organization, had kept a low profile between being busted for tearing down the poster and working on Operation Mincemeat.

Since the show opened, he has flooded the internet with positive coverage, pushing news of his transgression off Google’s front page.

A website called Infinite Sights published a story, “How James Simon Quietly Helped Shape Modern Broadway,” on Apr. 15 in its “Spotlight” section. The writer, Travis Hutton, noted Simon “doesn’t seek the spotlight.”

Hutton told the Washington Free Beacon via email that “most—95 percent—but not all of the Spotlight section are paid placements,” including his story on Simon.

Operation Mincemeat is not the only show Simon has produced since his reemergence.

He brought Edward Einhorn’s The Marriage of Alice B. Toklas by Gertrude Stein to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe over the summer.

Simon offered a statement for a press release in which he attempted to lean into the play’s Jewish themes.

“I can’t wait for new audiences to see this play,” he said.

“It covers so much ground—Jewish celebrations, artistic genius, what it meant to be in love then and why it still matters now. But most importantly, it’s just a really fun, laugh-out-loud show. I think the world really needs that right now.”

Simon also has a profile on Cloutrep, a reputation enhancement service, where he says his “career reflects a deep commitment to the theatrical arts, showcasing his ability to adapt and thrive in a competitive and ever-changing industry.”

Neither Simon nor a representative for Operation Mincemeat responded to Free Beacon requests for comment. Untitled Theater Company No. 61 and Theater Resources Unlimited did not respond to comment requests either.

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An investigation by Canary Mission found that Hamed maintained an extensive background in anti-Israel activism beyond the poster incident.

By Aaron Sull, Jewish Breaking News

New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani employed an intern who was caught on camera tearing down posters of Israeli hostages just days after Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre.

Frances Hamed, a Hunter College graduate, was filmed on Oct. 31, 2023, tearing down hostage posters in New York City while Israel was still identifying bodies from the terrorist attack that killed more than 1,200 people and kidnapped approximately 250 others.

When she realized she was being filmed, Hamed attempted to cover her face and confronted the person recording.

“Stop harassing us… you are not allowed to put those [posters] there… you cannot post them,” Hamed yelled at the woman filming her.

Two years later, Hamed landed a job with radical NYC mayoral candidate Mamdani, with her LinkedIn profile showing she worked as a constituent services intern in his New York State Assembly office from February to May 2025.

She also served as a field lead and political canvasser for Democratic Socialists of America-endorsed candidate Jonathan Soto from January to June 2024, and held fellowships at both the Watson Foundation and Roosevelt House at Hunter College.

However, an investigation by Canary Mission found that Hamed maintained an extensive background in anti-Israel activism beyond the poster incident.

Records show she was photographed at a rally organized by Samidoun, a group labeled by the Office of Foreign Assets Control as a “sham charity” that raises money for terrorism.

Her employment adds to mounting scrutiny over Mamdani’s positions on Israel and his political associations.

After the Oct. 7 attacks, Mamdani issued a statement that labeled Israel an “apartheid” state without condemning Hamas.

He has also failed to condemn the slogan “Globalize The Intifada,” and has called for New York City to permanently divest from Israel bonds.

Yet despite parroting Hamas talking points and running a socialist campaign aimed at reshaping New York’s economy and social services, Mamdani is leading by 20 points over his nearest rivals.

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Critics have praised “Torn” for its emotional impact and remarkably fast production timeline.

By Aaron Sull, Jewish Breaking News

A powerful new documentary exposes how the aftermath of October 7 tore through New York’s streets, as 251 faces of kidnapped Israelis somehow became the most controversial images in the city.

Rather than focusing on Gaza, American-Israeli filmmaker Nim Shapira deliberately kept war footage to a minimum.

Instead, “Torn” follows the grassroots “KIDNAPPED FROM ISRAEL” poster campaign that emerged following Hamas’s brutal attack, documenting the street clashes between pro-Israel supporters hanging posters and pro-Hamas activists ripping them off.

“It zigzags between hostage families, protests, social media feeds, rabbis, activists, civil libertarians, and people doxxed for tearing posters down, while layering in news coverage from across the spectrum, from Al Jazeera to Fox News,” Shapira told The Hollywood Reporter.

“My goal was to capture the city’s raw cacophony-alive, grieving, angry, divided– so the film feels immediate, messy, and contradictory, just like New York itself.”

Julia Simon Simon, a Parsons School of Design student, appears prominently after her childhood friend Omer Neutra was killed by Hamas on October 7.

Social worker Elisha Fine documents his activism while writing an oral history of the awareness campaign. Hostage families, rabbis, and the mysterious Bandaid artist round out a cast wrestling with identity and grief.

Critics have praised “Torn” for its emotional impact and remarkably fast production timeline.

After opening September 5 in New York and September 12 in Los Angeles, the documentary has screened at major festivals including Chelsea Film Festival’s East Coast Premiere, Fort Lauderdale Film Festival, and Miami Jewish Film Festival.

Co-written with editor Shay Mizrahy, who worked on reality shows like “The Voice” and “Survivor,” the eye opening film marks Shapira’s first feature-length documentary after previous work at TED, Tribeca, and Cannes.

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Jonathan S. Tuttle was caught on video by Harvard Chabad tearing down hostage posters during a pro-Hamas rally on March 3.

By Jewish Breaking News

A Harvard librarian who tore down posters of Israeli hostages has been fired, ending a week of outrage that has put the already-embattled university under renewed scrutiny from federal officials and donors alike for failing to address campus antisemitism.

Jonathan S. Tuttle was caught on video by Harvard Chabad during a pro-Hamas rally on March 3 who in turn posted the footage to Instagram. An investigation followed and Radcliffe Institute Dean Tomiko Brown-Nagin attempted damage control with a letter to donor affiliates.

“I strongly support the right of all Americans and all members of our community to protest in support of positions that we hold dear,” Brown-Nagin wrote in the email obtained by the Crimson. “But disruptive behaviors including property destruction or defacement and acts of vandalism that seek to suppress or censor the speech of others are not protected speech.”

Eventually Tuttle had his employment terminated on Sunday by the university, whose reputation remains under intense scrutiny in the wake of the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel. University officials have repeatedly failed to protect Jewish students from harassment and have allowed antisemitic rhetoric to go unchecked at campus protests against Israel.

According to a recent federal lawsuit against Harvard, Jewish students have been physically assaulted, spat upon, and threatened with violence simply for expressing their support for Israel. Perhaps most disturbing is the complicity of some professors who have used their classrooms to spread anti-Israel propaganda and have even gone so far as to encourage Hamas sympathizers to engage in physical intimidation and violence against their Jewish peers.

Their belated action against Tuttle may be too little. Last week, the Trump administration slashed $400 million in federal funding to Columbia University over its handling of antisemitism. A federal task force is now investigating nine other universities, with many expecting Harvard to be next on the chopping block.

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Sutherland was asked to engage in ‘multicultural training’ and had a disciplinary note added to her file.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

A NYC staffer who claims to be working to bridge “cultural divides” was filmed ripping down a hostage poster and then assaulting the person taking the video, according to the New York Post.

Nallah Sutherland, a special event coordinator for the Mayor Eric Adam’s Office of Special Projects and Community Events, was ripping down a poster advocating for the release of hostages in Gaza from an Upper East Side NYC light pole.

After she threw it in the trash, the person filming followed her and expressed alarm at her disposing of a poster raising awareness about hostages.

He said, “Those were hostages. Terrorists took them.”

In the film, it is apparent that Sutherland took the phone out of the hand of the person filming, who immediately informed her that she had committed assault.

“It’s an appalling act of antisemitism,” said Stop Antisemitism founder Liora Rez, who called on Adams to fire Sutherland.

Instead, Sutherland was asked to engage in “multicultural training” and had a disciplinary note added to her file.

Although Mayor Adams has expressed strong support for Israel, Sutherland was hired to plan events at the Gracie Mansion and other venues that are focused on cultural diversity.

Her office’s website describes her team’s efforts to “bridge cultural divides … and support key city initiatives that help provide a source of strength, unity, and resilience to New Yorkers across all communities within the five boroughs and beyond.”

In May, Sutherland’s office organized a Jewish Heritage celebration which hosted Shoshan Haran who was taken hostage and released last November.

“It’s extremely hypocritical that someone who supports the murder of anyone still has a job, much less in a department that plays a vital role in our city’s diversity efforts — despite the fact that she cannot tolerate innocent Jews who Hamas kidnaped,” said Councilwoman Inna Vernikov (R-Brooklyn) after being told about Sutherland’s action.

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This is not the first time Schneider has been targeted by anti-Israel agitators in recent days.

By Jack Elbaum, The Algemeiner

US Rep. Brad Schneider’s (D-IL) office was vandalized on Thursday when unknown perpetrators ripped down flyers of the hostages kidnapped by Hamas terrorists during their Oct. 7 onslaught across southern Israel, according to a social media post by the congressman.

Schneider said his office on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC was targeted over US Independence Day in what he called “a vile act of hate” in a thread on X/Twitter.

“My Capitol office was vandalized yesterday in a vile act of hate in which the posters of the more than 100 people still held hostage in Gaza (including 8 Americans) were ripped from the wall, shredded, and tossed across the hallway,” he wrote, along with a picture of the torn down posters.

After Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, in which the Palestinian terrorist group killed 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages into Gaza, many activists, organizations, and elected officials put up photos of those taken captive as a way of spreading awareness.

In the days following the Oct. 7 atrocities, however, many videos surfaced of anti-Israel protesters and individuals tearing down the posters in cities and on college campuses across the country.

“This was a shameful act on any day, but especially on July 4, our country’s Independence Day. Sadly, it was but one of many hateful, un-American actions that took place across the country on the day we celebrate freedom and democracy,” Schneider wrote.

“I’ve been disgusted by the videos and reports of individuals calling July 4th a ‘terrorist holiday’ and burning American flags,” he added, referring to fiery and raucous demonstrations organized by anti-Israel groups to disrupt Fourth of July celebrations in US cities.

Some videos from the protests circulated on social media showed people yelling “death to America” and trying to steal and burn American flags.

This is not the first time Schneider has been targeted by anti-Israel agitators in recent days.

“More than 700 miles from the Capitol,” Schneider wrote, “my home was targeted last weekend at 2:30 am by approximately 50 masked demonstrators banging drums, blowing horns, and screaming antisemitic chants.”

The protesters roamed the streets of the greater Chicago area this past weekend, harassing Jewish residents and fostering unrest in their campaign to pressure elected officials into boycotting and divesting from Israel.

Marching through the heavily Jewish suburb of Highland Park early in the morning, a mob consisting of dozens of demonstrators — who concealed their faces with masks and keffiyehs — amassed outside the home of Schneider, who is Jewish, reportedly dousing “red liquid” on the sidewalk.

Schneider noted that the same group that protested outside of his house also protested against the United States on Thursday.

“These actions don’t advance peace,” he pointed out. “Instead, they play directly into the hands of Hamas terrorists enabling them to continue to hold hostage not only those they kidnapped from Israel, but all civilians in Gaza as well.”

About 120 hostages currently remain in Gaza, after many were released as part of a temporary ceasefire deal in November and others were rescued by Israeli soldiers conducting special operations. It’s unclear how many of the remaining hostages are still alive.

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Only Israeli employees have been allowed to hang signs with Sasha Troufanov’s picture, and HQ has not condemned Hamas.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

Amazon’s discouragement of activities to publicize the fate of one of its employees who has been held hostage by Hamas for over seven months is angering pro-Israel staffers, as is the company’s official silence on the issue, Globes reported Sunday.

Soon after the war began, a Jewish Amazon employee outside Israel told the business paper, “There was an initiative to hang posters stating how long [Sasha] Troufanov worked at Amazon versus how many days he had been held hostage, but the instruction was not to display them.”

Troufanov, who works for Amazon’s Annapurna Labs, was forcibly taken from his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7 during the Hamas surprise invasion of Israel, along with his girlfriend, mother and grandmother.

They were among 253 kidnappees, not all alive, that the terrorists brought back into Gaza during their brutal killing spree that claimed 1,200 lives and injured thousands.

He remained in captivity along with over a hundred others after a deal in November saw most of the female and child hostages released.

Frustrated staffers condemned the global company for not speaking out against the terrorists’ war crime.

“Up to now, we haven’t heard a word about Troufanov from Amazon CEO Andy Jassy or anyone not part of Amazon Israel,” they told the business paper. “In fact, there were Jewish employees around the world who, two or three months after the massacre, still didn’t know that Amazon had an employee being held hostage in the Gaza Strip.”

A close friend of Troufanov, Neta Yesood Alon, who has previously criticized Amazon’s behavior, said that the company’s global management tried to defend its “cold shoulder,” as she called it, to activities such as these.

“It hired a worker to tell us that any public expression would endanger him,” she said. “They explained to activists and the family that any public activity in Amazon’s name was liable to put Troufanov at risk, and that they didn’t want to turn Sasha into the poster child of the hostages, because that would raise his value.”

Amazon Israel has allowed its local employees to hold meetings, hang Troufanov’s hostage poster and not objected to publicizing pictures of themselves in Amazon Prime t-shirts with his picture on them.

Yesood Alon acknowledged their help, then added, “But if it’s not communicated to the outside world, who is the message for?”

Responding to a Globes query, Amazon stated, “We continue to focus all the time on all the efforts to bring Sasha back home safely and to ensure support for his family at this difficult time. Our thoughts are with them and with all those who continue to be affected by the war.”

Meanwhile, billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, who has not hesitated to call out Harvard and other elite universities over their antisemitism in not protecting their Jewish students while allowing violent anti-Israel demonstrations on campus, came to Amazon’s defense.

“I believe @Amazon is a responsible and ethical company,” he posted to X Monday, with an “excellent leadership.”

Since “the first priority of every CEO is the health and safety of his/her employees,” he wrote, he is assuming that “Amazon is doing everything it can to help, but it has said nothing publicly” because the company believes that doing so would be “harmful rather than helpful.”

He urged the public to “withhold judgment until all of the hostages are released. Let’s pray that happens soon.”

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When confronted for tearing down the signs, the employee starts to rage, yelling profanities at the man filming him.

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