Germany: Jew Subjected to Death Threat and Antisemitic Insults in Berlin

Last Friday, a Jewish man, presumably identifiable by his Jewish garb, was walking to his synagogue in Berlin when two people accosted him on the street. One of them gave the Hitler salute and insulted the man's Jewish identity and even threatened him with death. He was arrested. The incident is being investigated by Security Police. Though police and the press give no identifying details as to the two suspects, it appears from the statement from the man's synagogue that the men were Muslims.

The article below from Berliner Morgenpost is translated by Fousesquawk. 

Suspect arrested

"Threatened with death": Jew in Berlin subjected to antisemitic insult on street

Berlin- A Hitler salute and a death threat: A rabbi shares an antisemitic incident in (Berlin) Mitte on X. Now State Security is investigating

July 30, 2026 at 18:19

Following an antisemitic incident in Berlin-Mitte, State Security Police is investigating. That was reported by a police spokesperson in response to an inquiry. On Tuesday, Rabbi Shlomo Afanasev, of the Kahal Adass Jisroel Jewish community, shared a video of the incident on the X platform. In it, a young man in the middle of the street gives the Hitler salute. "In Berlin, a leading member of my Kahal Adass Jisroel Jewish community was threatened with death on the way to the synagogue," Afanasev writes. The suspect and his companion also subjected the person to antisemitic insults.

In a photo also posted by Afanasev, the suspect can be seen sitting in a police car, a police officer standing next to him. "The police arrested one of the suspects," the text says. A police spokseperson said regarding the incident last Friday that the police were aware of the incident.  And further: "Since there is an ongoing investigation, the Berlin police can not share any further information." 

The Israeli embassy reposted the images. "Something has changed in Germany," they stated on X. "Young Muslim men threaten a Jew with death on the way to a synagogue." It is the job of the police to stop them from their acts. " But it is a societal task to ensure that such people are once again ashamed and not proud of their actions."

-Deutsche Presse Agentur

A Judicial Victory Against Anti-Semitism in California Schools

 

We have reported previously about California Assembly Bill AB 715, designed to provide protections for Jewish students K-12 in the wake of all the Ethnic Studies requirements in California schools, which, all too often, degenerates into condemnations by teachers of the state of Israel, which, in turn, has led to harassment and bullying of Jewish students. Governor Gavin Newsom signed the bill into law last October in spite of large-scale opposition from left-wing academics, critical race theorists, and pro-Palestinian groups.

There is now good news to report in that a federal judge in the Northern District of California has just dismissed a lawsuit-with prejudice- brought by certain interest groups trying to challenge AB 715. The San Diego Jewish World has the news here. The writer is David Bocarsly.

This is welcome news in a state where Jewish students, both K-12 and at the college level, need all the protection they can get. The forces that tried to block it are mostly pro-Palestinian activists and their allies involved in teaching critical race theory, a theory, the way, according in which, Jews are classified as simply being "privileged whites".

Spain: The Migrant Avalanche Continues in Ceuta

Ceuta, Spain 

*Update: Today, July 30, 2026, Ceuta was inundated with hundreds of illegal migrants swimming to the Spanish enclave from Morocco. El Independiente has about 50 photos which perfectly illustrate the scope of the crisis.

Last week, we reported on the story of a 75-year-old woman who was found murdered in Spain while out walking her dog. A young Moroccan man (18) is in custody, charged with her murder. 

This is at a time when the liberal government of Pedro Sánchez wants to regularize the status of hundreds of thousands of migrants illegally in the country (many from Latin America). In addition, the Spanish Supreme Court has ruled this month that Spanish border guards cannot "push back" migrants from North and Sub-Saharan Africa who have managed to cross the barriers at the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, which are located on the North African coast and border Morocco. That has led directly to the arrival of some 1,500 migrants, mostly Moroccans, Algerians, and Sub-Saharan Africans, who have accessed Ceuta by swimming from Morocco. Not surprisingly, deaths by drowning have also occurred.

-El Independiente

The below article from El Independiente is translated by Fousesquawk. 

Inundation in Ceuta in the face of a new "migration crisis" by more than 1,500 arrivals from Morocco by swimming 

Ceuta is living in a critical situation after the entry in recent days of hundreds of immigrants swimming from Morocco. With the reception centers "inundated and saturated", the Ceuta authorities have asked the central government for a decisive response to confront what they already call a "migration crisis".

The recent data provided by the president of Ceuta, the popular Juan Jesus Vivas, shows the magnitude of the arrivals: 1,500 in the last fortnight of July, 200 per day. The arrivals of the migrants (who arrive by) swimming) have increased exponentially in the last week. This avalanche has resulted (in the fact) that the reception centers of the city cannot provide for all of the people who have succeeded in getting to Ceuta.

According to what Efe (news) has been able to confirm, hundreds of Moroccans, Algerians, and, to a lesser extent, Sub-Saharans, are waiting on the access street to the Temporary Immigrant Detention Center (CETI) to gain access to its interior. With an overwhelmed system, these people have no other option than to wait on the street while Ceuta authorities search for a solution to the crisis.

The centers for minors are also at the limit. Vivas explained that at this moment, space for minors is at 1,600% of capacity. In the face of this situation, the president of Ceuta has asked for an "immediate, decisive, and energetic" response on the part of the government of Pedro Sánchez. In addition, he is asking that measures be adopted to avoid this type of crisis being repeated in the future.

The crisis of 2021 remains in the collective memory when thousands of immigrants crossed to Ceuta and Melilla after Morocco relaxed its border controls. The decision of the Moroccan authorities was a form of retaliation against the Spanish government, which, in April of that same year, allowed the leader of the Polisario Front, Brahim Ghali, to receive treatment for Covid at a hospital in Logroño.

The president of Ceuta referred to this episode, warning that with the current rate of arrivals, the city could be confronted with numbers similar to those experienced in 2021. During that crisis, the total of immigrants who managed to enter the autonomous city reached 12,000 persons. 

Supreme Court ruling against pushbacks

The local authorities believe that the origin of the current crisis is a ruling handed down by the Supreme Court, which was made public last July 8. In the resolution, the high court established that "it was not permitted to apply the rejection at the border, also known as pushbacks, to migrants intercepted at sea who were attempting to enter the cities of Ceuta and Melilla by swimming."

In view of the ruling handed down by the Supreme Court, on Wednesday, Vivas asked that his party and the PSOE, "come to an agreement" to legalize pushbacks. "The ruling has eliminated one of the resources the agents had to extend the border and now it must be reactivated with a modification in the law," he said in statements to reporters for Efe.

The Unified Association of Civil Guards (AUGC) of Ceuta has also expressed its concern regarding the above ruling. In this regard, they have asked that any change in procedures stemming from the ruling, "be accompanied by an increase in personnel, more material equipment, and clear operating protocols". They have also requested "clear, standardized, and written operating instructions that provide legal certainty to the agents".

Three dead recovered in Malaga

The tragedy has taken on a new dimension in the past hours after the discovery of three cadavers on the coasts of Malaga by Maritime Rescue. The principal hypothesis is that they are immigrants who drowned trying to cross from Morocco to Ceuta by swimming and whose bodies were pulled by the current toward the mainland coast.

The Andalusian president of Vox (party), Manuel Gavira, was one of the first to react to the news, using it to criticize those who feed the "pull effect". "This is also the most terrible face of an irresponsible migration policy that feeds false expectations and pushes thousands of people to risk their lives on our coasts," he said.   

In the case of Ceuta, this type of incident is not unusual. Sadly, the migration pressure that the city is experiencing is also translated into deaths and disappearances. The president of the city has put the number at 60, the persons whose lives have been lost at sea during the last 2 months. It is the statistic that is "most serious, painful and hard," Vivas stressed.

And according to the Civil Guard, so far this year, 27 bodies have been recovered around the Ceuta coast. A third of them (8) were found during the month of July. Four cadavers were found this weekend, coinciding with the peak of the arrivals in the autonomous city.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Academic Freedom, the American Anthropological Association, and the American Association of University Professors

This article first appeared in New English Review.

Times are tough these days for our educational establishment, especially higher education. The Trump administration, in particular the Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights, and now the Justice Department, which is taking over the duties of the former, has been coming down hard on universities that have allowed the pro-Palestinian goons to run amok. Millions of dollars in research funding are being cut off to major universities that have been the worst offenders. The outrages of organizations like Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), with their post-October 7, 2023 encampments and harassment of Jewish students, their faculty enablers (Faculty for Justice in Palestine-FJP et al), as well as the inaction of cowardly administrators, have brought sharp focus on the deterioration of our universities.

Recently, Washington University of St Louis and Vanderbilt University commissioned a study that concluded that within academia in general, the chief culprits have been in the humanities and social sciences (something that should have been obvious for years). The result, the study concluded, has been a decline in the quality of professional scholarship, which has given way to political advocacy. One of the fields of study that drew specific attention in the report was anthropology. The report is dated April 5, 2026.

Not surprisingly, that brought howls of indignation from the American Anthropological Association (AAA), even though they themselves voted overwhelmingly in 2023 to endorse an academic boycott of Israel, as pointed out by the Amcha Initiative, an organization founded by now-retired University of California professors to expose and combat campus anti-Semitism.  The AAA issued a letter dated June 11, 2026, contesting the conclusions, which is linked in the Amcha Initiative article. It might be noted that the AAA response gives a hint as to where its priorities lie.

"The authors argue that the humanities exist above all to prepare students for 'a life as a free citizen' – invoking the Latin liberalis, befitting a free person, then later condemn as politicized and distorted the scholarship associated with social justice, decolonization, and women’s liberation."

"The AAA was joined in its howls by the Washington University and Vanderbilt chapters of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP). They also issued a joint letter to both universities, also dated June 11, 2026, not only contesting the report but also going a step further and calling on them to rescind it. Not surprisingly, they invoke their academic freedom, which is now, according to them, under threat, meaning their desire to engage in "scholarship in the name of social justice" (their words, not mine), which they feel is their right to use their classrooms as a soapbox to spout their personal political views and impose them on their students (our children). Something that they give away in their own letter:

"Weakening faculty governance does nothing to solve the real challenges facing our universities, and undermines our ability to effectively address society’s most profound problems and challenges, from the inequalities of wealth and white supremacy to the political consequences of climate change." 

Personally, speaking as someone who taught (part-time) at the university level for 20 years, I find it ironic that so-called academics, who preach about academic freedom, are now demanding that the two universities in question rescind the report they (the schools) commissioned because it offers a differing point of view from the AAUP- and because it criticizes what is happening today in our universities. Aren't universities, by their very definition, supposed to be places where contrasting viewpoints are discussed in an open and civil manner? How instructive it is that both the AAA and the AAUP, in their respective statements, betray their own hypocrisy? It is one thing for these organizations to respond and defend themselves against the criticisms in the report; it is quite another to try and have the report rescinded, as did AAUP.

Would it be a gross exaggeration to compare the "rescinding" of the above report to the March 1933 book burning by Nazis, which primarily occurred on German university campuses all over the country? Perhaps the learned professors of the AAA and AAUP would like to rescind (remove) books by people like Thomas Sowell, William F. Buckley, or Dennis Prager from all university libraries (if they even exist in those libraries). To rescind that report from the files of the above-mentioned universities would be to silence an opposing point of view. It would be against everything a university is supposed to stand for, something which, in fact, has been forgotten by far too many universities for years.

But that is the tactic of the academic left: If it doesn't conform to our point of view, it must be suppressed, whether it be a critical report, a speaking event by a conservative, a Republican, or by someone who is pro-Israel. They consider disruptions, harassment of Jewish students, encampments, and occupations to be "freedom of expression", but a written report analyzing problems and shortcomings in the university? That must be "rescinded".

The plain fact is that the report commissioned by Washington University of St Louis and Vanderbilt and the reactions of AAA and AAUP once again demonstrate that our universities are in major need of serious reform-for the sake of professional scholarship. 

France: Three Women Stabbed in Paris: Suspect Says He Was "Commanded by Allah"

-Francois deSouche

Today, in Paris, a 31-year-old man, as yet unidentified, went on a stabbing spree with two knives, stabbing three women, two seriously. He was eventually subdued by an off-duty police officer with the help of responding units and bystanders. The suspect reportedly stated during his apprehension that, "Allah commanded me".

Le Figaro has also reported that one of the citizens who helped subdue the suspect was a salesman named Mohammed, who is a black belt in martial arts.

The article below from Il Figaro is translated by Fousesquawk. In addition, the article contains a video of the attack and arrest (viewer warning), to which we are in the process of adding English subtitles. 

Paris: Three injured in a knife attack, a suspect arrested

-By Ambre LePoivre and Rozenn Morga

-12 minutes ago

The man was quickly subdued. He seems to fit the profile of psychologically unbalanced and made incoherent remarks at the moment of his arrest.

"I saw a young girl lying on the floor in the bar, she was covered in blood." The witness of the scene, accompanied by her grandson, is still in shock as she recounts to Le Figaro the attempted murder she has just witnessed. Around 11:30 on Monday, a man dressed in light colored clothing and armed with two knives, attacked women between the Les Deux Coupoles Brewery and the Porte de Clichy tram stop in NW Paris, Le Figaro has learned from corroborating sources.

The victims, ages 19, 24, and 36, "were treated by emergency services and transported to a hospital," indicated the police prefecture of Paris. Two of them, struck in the lower back and abdomen, are currently in critical condition; the third is in stable condition, but none are in life-threatening condition. One of the women is pregnant, according to the mayor of the 17th arrondissement, Geoffroy Boulard. 

"Psychologically unbalanced" profile

The 31-year-old man was spotted by an off-duty police officer as he was jogging around the tram station with two knives in his hands. The officer immediately called for reinforcements and followed the suspect, finally stopping him with the help of a police team. "Immense respect for our off-duty colleague who intervened with cool-headedness to neutralize the attacker and avoid an even more tragic outcome," the police union, Alliance, reacted on X.

In a video posted on social media, the man, with medium-length black hair, appeared held down on the ground by people, seemed somewhat disoriented, and quietly stated: "It was Allah who commanded me".  According to one source close to the case, the individual, born in Lilas, in Seine-Saint-Denis, fits the profile of "psychologically unbalanced". The Minister of Interior, Laurent Nunez, said he remained "very cautious as to the motive of this violent act," committed by a man "making incoherent remarks". The suspect gave an identity to the authorities, which has yet to be verified. He remains in custody. 

The First District of the Paris Judicial Police is in charge of the investigation for "aggravated attempted homicide" in order to understand, in particular, what lies behind this act. The national Anti-Terrorist Prosecutor's Office indicates to us that they "are following the procedure of the Paris Prosecutor's Office."

Germany: Police Shoot and Kill Suspected Berlin Terrorist

The scene where Abdul Rahman Ballout was shot and killed by police

-NIUS

As we reported in an earlier update, the man suspected of driving the van that plowed into a gay pride event in Berlin yesterday has been located and shot to death by Berlin police.

Abdul Rahman Ballout (21), born in Germany in 2005 to a Lebanese mother, was hiding in a garden area of the Berlin suburb of Spandau. Police surrounded the plot and shot Ballout when he reportedly charged at them with a knife or other bladed weapon.

The gardens described in the article below are small garden plots that people who do not have gardens can rent and plant whatever they want.

The article below from NIUS is translated by Fousesquawk.

Raid on Berlin garden shed! Police shoot attacker Abdul Rahman Ballout

26 July 2026  at 10:55

After the Islamist terror attack at the edge of the Christopher Street Days (CSD) in Berlin, the suspect Abdul Rahman Ballout was killed by police. That is confirmed by the Senate Interior Administration. The garden shed in which Ballout was shot reportedly belongs to his father.

Special forces surrounded a garden plot before they moved in, according to the above information. According to BILD's information, Ballout reportedly came at the forces with a bladed weapon. The police then opened fire. The 21-year-old was hit and died from his injuries at 18:34.

Witnesses told BILD that during the raid on the Berlin garden shed, they heard 2 salvos of 4 shots each, a few minutes apart. Other witnesses reported to the newspaper that the police forces surrounded the small garden allotment around 3 pm and closed off the area. Around 6 pm, the raid took place.

According to Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU), a woman (29) was killed and 29 people were injured in the attack on Saturday by car followed by a machete. According to police in the afternoon, they are no longer in life-threatening condition.

Public manhunt

In the morning, the police had released a photo, with which they were searching for the 21-year-old Abdul Rahman Ballout. The alleged perpetrator, according to security authorities, had been radicalized and was part of the Islamist scene, as Dobrindt said. The man had already come to the notice (of police). Dobrindt mentioned a "large number of crimes" and the "Islamist radicalization" of the 21-year-old. 

In the past year, Abdul Rahman Ballout tried several times to join the terror militia, Islamic State (IS).

In the past, the accused reportedly was sentenced to 1 year and 10 months of probation, the interior minister said. The state prosecutor's office appealed that. In the proceeding, according to the State Prosecutor's office, Ballout had largely confessed and distanced himself from IS. 

Germany: Islamist Terror Attack at Gay Pride Event in Berlin

Abdul Rahman Ballout

The suspect

-Bild

The vehicle

-Welt

*Update (July 26): German media has reported that Ballout has been shot dead by Berlin police in the suburb of Spandau as he charged them with a bladed weapon.

On the evening of July 25, a massive gay pride parade, an annual event, was being held in the Tiergarten, Berlin's massive park near the iconic Brandenburg Gate. The annual Christopher Street Day event reportedly draws people from all over the world. Around 10 pm, a white van suddenly plowed into the crowd, killing one woman and injuring dozens more. The van crashed into a tree, at which time one, possibly two men emerged from the vehicle. At least one was armed with a machete and attacked bystanders while fleeing.

Police have now released the name and photo of one suspect. He is Abdul Ballout, 21, a German citizen of Lebanese background, who is believed to have rented the van. He has a criminal background and was known to the police to have been radicalized. According to some reports, he was reportedly in the process of undergoing "deradicalization", whatever that means. This is now being classified as an Islamist terror attack.

Incredibly, even as I write, some German news sources are only describing the suspect as Abdul B.! How they expect the public's help in locating him is beyond me.

In the interest of time, we have translated just the initial paragraphs of the below article from BILD.

Police searching for Abdul Ballout (21) with photo

CSD terrorist allegedly attacked bystanders with a machete

Now a manhunt for two perpetrators. Searches at all German exterior borders

-By Katherina Metag, Til Biermann and Isabel Pfannkuche

July 26, 2026 at 16:03

It was supposed to be a day of joy and love. Hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world came to Berlin for the Christopher Street Day. Stars like Sarah Connor stood on the stage. But what began as a joyous celebration ended in panic and death. On Saturday evening, a van plowed into the crowd of people. Terror!

Since the attack, the police are urgently searching for the suspect, Abdul Ballout! The 21-year-old is considered an Islamist and is known to police. But he is not believed to be the sole perpetrator. According to BILD's information, the police have information as to a possible accomplice of Abdul Ballout (21). The identity of the second suspect is not yet known. On the morning following the Horrific crime, police officers released a photo of Abdul Ballout. A woman (29) died in the attack. 29 people were injured. Two who were initially critically injured have now been stabilized.

Austria: The Sound of Silence

"Mommy, is somebody chasing us?"

"There's nobody there. Just keep singing."

 It seems bad news doesn't travel fast in Austria. That's because on the same day it was revealed that serious crime committed by migrants and various other foreigners is rising dramatically in the country, the nation's public broadcasting system, ORF, doesn't see fit to report the finding. (which reminds me of our own NPR.) This has aroused the ire of the conservative Freedom Party of Austria.

The article below from Heute is translated by Fousesquawk.

Shocking new numbers

Foreigner crime- The silence from the ORF (Austrian Broadcasting) infuriates the FPÖ (Austria Freedom Party)

21 murders, almost 500 rapes: The new figures on foreigner crime are shocking. Not one word mentioned by ORF-The FPÖ is furious

From Heute Politics\July 23, 2026 at 12:49  

164,573 foreign suspects, 21 murders by non-Austrians, 471 rapes, 1,468 cases of serious bodily injuries, as well as a new record high in asylum-seeker suspects: All of these figures- as first reported by Heute on Wednesday- were first brought to light by a parliamentary inquiry by the FPÖ (Freedom Party of Austria) to Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP/Austrian Peoples Party).

Not one word from ORF on the alarming numbers

The ORF, however, has not reported on these numbers to date. The FPÖ is using this non-reporting as an opportunity to, once again, criticize public broadcasting.  

"While the latest numbers on foreign criminality document an alarming development and constitute the most important security-political issue in the nation, the ORF yesterday reported nothing on its TV news, nor on the radio, nor on its online platforms," said the Freedom Party general secretary and press spokesman, Christian Hafenecker, angrily. 

"These developments concern every single Austrian and should actually be dominating the reportage of a public broadcaster. Instead, conspicuous silence dominates in ORF. Whoever conceals such numbers conceals the reality in our nation." 

But for the FPÖ general secretary, this approach fits seamlessly into the picture of a broadcaster that prioritizes political issues according to ideological criteria. "When it comes to damaging the FPÖ with fabricated connections, irrelevant and old chat logs, or questionable campaigns, often in concert with leftist media, the ORF has neither restraint nor lack of news. Then they will report, comment, and moralize for days and days. But when it comes to the dramatically rising criminality of foreigners and the consequences for the safety of its own population, suddenly radio silence dominates.

Instead of crime reporting, an article on an ant chef

Particularly illustrative from Hafenecker's point of view is the ORF's choice of issues on the same day. "While the record number of crimes committed by foreigners apparently was not newsworthy for the editors, what was extensively reported was a (Michelin) starred chef in South Korea, who is threatened with prison because he served ants. Apparently, the ORF considers such curiosities more important than the safety situation in its own country."

FPÖ sees ORF credibility eroding

When public broadcasting collectively turns a blind eye to one of the most explosive domestic political issues of the year, they further lose credibility, says Hafenecker. "More and more citizens are gaining the impression that ORF only reports on those issues that benefit the losing coalition government and the established parties while unpleasant developments are systematically ignored or downplayed."

No change under new ORF leadership

Even under the newly designated ORF leadership, no change is discernible, the FPÖ general secretary fears. "The ORF continues to act as a political actor rather than an objective provider of information. Critical reporting on the consequences of the failed migration policy remains absent while political campaigns against the FPÖ continue regularly. That has nothing to do with independent public broadcasting."

Italy: Two Girls Raped at Knife Point: Tunisian "Ogre" Gets 10 Years

Hat tip Gates of Vienna 

Milan courthouse

A 33-year-old Tunisian man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison in Milan after being convicted of rape. The man, posing as a tattoo artist, had lured a 17-year-old girl and an 18-year-old girl to an isolated farmhouse outside Milan on the pretext of giving one of them a tattoo. At knifepoint, he then raped both of the girls.

At the trial, the prosecutor requested a 14-year sentence, but the judge sentenced the man to 10 years.

The below article from Il Giorno is translated by Fousesquawk. (Yes, the headline really calls him an ogre. I heartily agree.)

Milan: Lured and raped in a farmhouse by a fake tattoo artist: The ogre sentenced to 10 years

The two girls, one a minor, had met in a shelter for troubled girls. The 33-year-old Tunisian managed to gain their trust

Milan- They had met in a shelter for troubled girls. Their connection had become so strong that the younger one, only 17, had a great desire to have the name of the recently-turned adult friend tattooed on her arm. 

The meeting and the rape

A desire that turned into a nightmare at the hands of a man they met in Milan last spring, who, posing as a tattoo artist, promising to inscribe that symbol of friendship into her skin, lured them into an isolated farmhouse, kidnapped them, and, holding a knife to the neck of one of the two, raped them.

The sentence

For this, the judge of preliminary instruction, Cristian Mariani, in a summary trial, sentenced the 33-year-old Tunisian to 10 years in jail and a provisional fine of 25,000 euros for each of the two victims. Immediately after the reading of the verdict, the defendant, arrested in Spain and now in San Vittore (prison in Milan) shouted in and outside the courtroom. He protested the perceived severe sentence, and, partly in Arabic, partly in Italian, shouted that for him, "it was death".

The aggravating issue

The judge accepted the version of the former prosecutor, now recently assigned to the European Prosecutor's Office, Maurizio Ascione; however, he applied a reduction of 4 years to that requested (by the prosecutor-14 years) due to a different assessment of the alleged aggravating circumstances and took 60 days to file his reasons. Giuseppe Stancanelli and Andrea De Vencentis, the civil plaintiffs' lawyers, on the other hand, spoke of "a deserved sentence for despicable acts, of which the girls have provided a precise and consistent version."  

Italy: Moroccan Man (43) Dies of Heart Attack While Being Restrained by Police: Riot Ensues in Bologna

-Il Tempo

On Sunday morning (July 19) in Bologna, police were called to an incident where a 43-year-old Moroccan man was described as acting out of control and kicking garage doors. When police arrived, they attempted to restrain the man and had him pinned to the ground as he resisted. During the struggle, the man apparently succumbed to a heart attack.

This has led to outrage on the left as well as the local immigrant community. The incident is under investigation. On Monday evening (July 20), a demonstration degenerated into a violent riot resulting in destruction of private and public property and injuries to over 60 cops. A video can be seen here from Corriere della Sera.

Photos and videos from the incident involving the man, identified as Abderrahim Fakir, do not appear to show any questionable restraint methods being used, such as choke holds or any pressure on his neck. 

Fakir has reportedly lived in Italy for some years and also reportedly has a criminal record for drug offenses going back to 2001, for which he has served time in prison, and one incident on a train in 2019 when he similarly acted out of control.

Spain: 75-Year-Old Woman Found Murdered: 18-Year-Old Moroccan Man in Custody

Hat tip Gates of Vienna

Soses (Catalunya), Spain 

As Spain celebrates its World Cup victory, another innocent Spaniard has apparently been sacrificed on the altar of political correctness.  Here is the latest tragic story: In the Catalan region of Spain, a 75-year-old woman has been found murdered in a corn field outside her village, where she was walking her dog. An 18-year-old man from Morocco has been arrested and charged with the crime. 

Spain has attracted a lot of international attention with its government's decision to normalize the status of some 500,000 migrants living illegally in the country. It should be noted that a majority of those affected are from Latin America, people who have come to seek jobs. How this policy would affect those from Muslim-majority nations, like Morocco, I do not know. 

The article below from El Caso.com is translated by Fousesquawk.

Young man (18) arrested accused of being perpetrator of (homicide) involving 75-year-old woman in Soses, in Segria

On Monday, July 20, the Catalan Police arrested a young man (18), presumably connected to the death of the 75-year-old woman found dead on Saturday night in Soses, (Segria). The police, for the moment, have avoided more details about the detainee beyond his age, neither nationality nor if he has a previous arrest record. El Caso.com has been able to confirm that he is a young foreigner, originally from Morocco. The Catalan police have confirmed the arrest, that it was effected in the same municipality, and have also stated that the case remains under seal; for that reason, they have not been unable to offer more details regarding the events that have shaken this Segria municipality. The detainee, according to initial information, had been working for a well-known fruit company in Soses until he was laid off a few days ago.

The woman, Dolors Agusti, 75, a resident of the village, went out in the afternoon to walk her dog, and the animal returned to the village alone. Later, around 10:45 pm, a group of neighbors found the lifeless body of the woman with wounds compatible with a bladed weapon, according to the Catalan police. According to initial information, it appears she was attacked with a glass bottle, which was found in the area. The body of the woman showed several cuts that caused her death, including in the area of the neck. 

Open investigation

The body was concealed in a corn field, as if it had been moved between a bridge and Highway LP-7041 in the direction of Aitona, some 200 meters from the center of the village. The investigation to confirm that it was a homicide was taken over by the Criminal Investigation Division (DIC) of the police region of Ponent, who today have taken this 18-year-old into custody. For now, however, the Catalan Police have declined to give further details of the case. The Catalan Police believe that the detainee was the material perpetrator of the act and are completing the proceedings to determine what led to the attack on the woman. All investigative leads are being pursued. As of now, the investigators are unclear as to the motive of the crime, according to what ElCaso.com has been able to ascertain, and they express shock at the incident, which, for the moment, cannot be explained.

Germany: Airline Passenger Refuses to Sit Next to a Woman: Assaults Stewardess

This news apparently is just being reported in the European press within the last few days. On June 1, on a flight from Samsun, Turkey to Dusseldorf, Germany, a male passenger, described as a German of Turkish immigrant background, objected to having to sit next to a female passenger, invoking sharia law. When a stewardess attempted to resolve the situation, he allegedly struck her in the face.

According to the article below, the Sun Express flight, a joint venture between Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines, was an hour out of Dusseldorf. When the plane landed, the male passenger was greeted by airport police. The man reportedly admitted the act but proceeded to insult the officers, for which he now faces an additional charge of insulting an officer in addition to assaulting the flight attendant.

What is not clear to me is why the man made a scene in midflight as opposed to departure when passengers took their seats. Of course, that is irrelevant. In addition, even if the incident had happened at the airport in Turkey on a Turkish aircraft, I doubt the accused had any legal recourse under sharia law. For most of the past century, Turkey has been a secular country. Even under Erdogan, I seriously doubt that sharia law would apply in Turkey. I am assuming the man was assigned a seat next to a woman at the Samsun airport. 

The below article in Bild is translated by Fousesquawk. 

Flight to Dusseldorf

Passenger strikes stewardess over sharia

He did not want to sit next to a woman

-By Uwe Wojtuschak

July 17, 2026 at 0:700

Dusseldorf: Beatings over sharia? A man on a flight from Samsun (Turkey) to Dusseldorf allegedly became abusive because he did not want to sit next to a woman. When a stewardess responded to the situation, he reportedly struck her in the face. The police are investigating.

According to Bild's information, the incident, which the authorities are now investigating, occurred on June 1, around 6 am on a Sun Express flight (a voint venture of Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines). Subsequently, the federal police at the airport were called to the plane, which landed at 6:59 am to take an assault report.  

The criminal report has now been forwarded from the federal police to the Dusseldorf police, who will conduct further investigation. A police spokesman told Bild, " According to initial witness statements, "the man invoked sharia law and refused to sit next to a woman." The flight attendant then spoke to him, and then the passenger reportedly slapped her.

Federal police insulted

According to Bild's information, the accused passenger is a 29-year-old German from the Ruhr area, apparently with a Turkish migrant background. As Bild learned, the passenger admitted the act to officers of the Federal Police. However, the conversation did not go harmoniously. 

As the Federal Police confirmed to Bild, the man insulted the officers in Turkish. But since one of the Federal Police officers himself spoke Turkish, the incident was not without consequences. In addition to the assault charge, there is also a charge of insulting (an officer).