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SearchToday in Islamophobia: In India, a professor from an elite, private liberal-arts university has been arrested for a social media post about news briefings on the military operation against Pakistan, meanwhile in the United States, according to reporting by The Guardian, the Trump Administration has officially closed its Office of Palestinian Affairs in Jerusalem, with many foreign policy experts and activists calling the move a “systemic downgrade of US-Palestinian relations”, and lastly in United Kingdom, the newly elected Lord Mayor of Sheffield, Safiya Saeed, has made history as the first black woman who wears a hijab to be appointed to the role. Our recommended read of the day is by Farah Bahgat for DW on how new reporting in Germany shows a dramatic increase in racist, antisemitic and Islamophobic crimes in the country. This and more below:
Germany
Germany updates: Sharp rise in politically motivated crime | Recommended Read
Germany recorded a 40% rise in politically motivated crime in 2024 compared to the year before, according to figures released Tuesday. Of the total figure, 42,788 were right-wing extremist, amounting to nearly 50% of politically motivated crimes. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said the "extreme" increase in figures was "driven by the polarization of our society" and by the rise of antisemitism. Natalie Pawlik, the government commissioner for anti-racism, decried a "dramatic" increase in racist, antisemitic and Islamophobic crimes in Germany. "Hitler salutes, incitement to hatred, punches in the face — a right-wing crime every 12 minutes in our country," she said. read the complete article
United Kingdom
City names first black, hijab-wearing Lord Mayor
The new Lord Mayor of Sheffield has made history as the first black woman wearing a hijab to be appointed to the role. Labour's Safiya Saeed was inaugurated as the city's 128th Lord Mayor at a council meeting on Monday. Members of her family travelled from her home country of Somaliland for the ceremony at Sheffield Town Hall. Saeed said: "I am honoured to be the first black woman wearing a hijab to take this role. I came to Sheffield in 1985, and this city has truly become my home, a place where I have always felt I belong." The single mother-of-five, who was first elected as councillor for Burngreave in 2021, founded Reach Up Youth, a community project supporting young people, particularly those from Black and ethnic minority backgrounds. In her speech to the meeting she said she wanted "every voice, no matter how quiet, to feel heard in the heart of this city". The role of Lord Mayor is purely ceremonial, they do not have any powers but act as an ambassador for the city. read the complete article
United States
US closes Office of Palestinian Affairs, dedicated channel to Washington
The United States has officially closed its Office of Palestinian Affairs in Jerusalem, according to an internal state department memo seen by the Guardian, in effect eliminating the Palestinians’ dedicated diplomatic channel to Washington. The closure, which took effect on Friday, follows through on the secretary of state Marco Rubio’s announcement earlier this month that the office would be merged into the US embassy in Jerusalem. Established in 2022, the now defunct office had represented Washington’s primary engagement mechanism with the occupied West Bank and Gaza, employing two dozen Americans alongside 75 local staff. Its closure means Palestinian affairs will now be handled without a separate, specialized diplomatic office. Instead, the department will operate under the US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, who has openly dismissed Palestinian identity, once stating: “There’s really no such thing as a Palestinian.” The closure represents the culmination of a systematic downgrading of US-Palestinian relations that began during Trump’s first term when he shuttered the Jerusalem consulate that had provided Palestinians direct access to Washington without Israeli mediation. But even under the Biden administration, the office has been effectively sidelined throughout the war in Gaza. read the complete article
India
Indian professor arrested over social media post on military operation
A professor from an elite, private liberal-arts university in India has been arrested for a social media post about news briefings on the military operation against Pakistan more than a week after the two nuclear-armed neighbours agreed to a ceasefire, according to local media reports. Ali Khan Mahmudabad, an associate professor with the Department of Political Science at Ashoka University, was arrested on Sunday under sections of the criminal code pertaining to acts prejudicial to maintaining communal harmony, incitement of armed rebellion or subversive activities, and insults of religious beliefs. A report by the online publication Scroll.in on Sunday quoted Mahmudabad’s lawyer as saying the case against him was filed on Saturday based on a complaint by Yogesh Jatheri, general secretary of the youth wing of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Haryana. read the complete article
International
India, Israel, and the Politics of Control
Israel’s claim to the occupied Palestinian territories (OPT) and India’s administration of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) reflect an ideological alignment between Zionism and Hindutva. Both ideologies promote national identities rooted in religion — Zionism in pursuit of “a national home for the Jewish people” and Hindutva’s assertion that India’s national identity and culture are inseparable from Hinduism. These parallel strategies have done demonstrable harm to Palestinians in Israel and the 200 million Muslims residing in India, including the 8.5 million Muslims in J&K. The United States promotes itself as a global champion of democracy and expects the same from its allies, but India and Israel exhibit symptoms of democratic backsliding in their approach to J&K and the OPT. Despite ratifying the U.N. Charter, their actions often run counter to its core tenets around state sovereignty and human rights. The U.S. has an obligation to address these issues through U.N.-backed mediation, enforcement of international law, and accountability measures. Doing so would reaffirm its credibility in the Global South and set a democratic precedent for all its allies. As strategic partners, both nations receive substantial U.S. diplomatic, military, and economic support. If the U.S. continues to overlook the democratic erosion associated with their occupation policies, it risks undermining its stated values and fueling instability in regions critical to global security. Identifying the ideological parallels between India and Israel reveals a strategic pattern that demands an urgent U.S. policy response. read the complete article