(JNS) Some 78% of European teachers have seen students commit antisemitic acts, and 27.4% witnessed nine or more such incidents, according to a survey by the United Nations.

“Following almost a decade of work addressing antisemitism in education across more than 30 countries, UNESCO experts were not surprised by the clear and urgent need for stronger teacher training on antisemitism in Europe,” the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization told JNS.

UNESCO told JNS that though its experts weren’t surprised, “several findings remain deeply alarming.”

The Paris-based U.N. agency surveyed more than 2,000 teachers in 23 European countries. The European Union supported the poll. (JNS sought comment from the Israeli embassy in France.)

The survey is “the first European study on trends in teachers’ perceptions and experiences of antisemitism in the classroom,” UNESCO said. “Equally concerning were gaps in teachers’ understanding of what constitutes antisemitism.”

Some 61% of teachers cited observing Holocaust denial or distortion, and 44% said that they had seen the use of Nazi symbols. Among teachers, 16% didn’t consider saying things like “Jews are wealthy” to be antisemitic, and 32% thought that those sorts of statements, which draw on longstanding antisemitic tropes, had context-dependent meanings.

A smaller number (13%) of teachers said that believing that “Jews control the global financial system” isn’t antisemitic, and 24% saw such a statement’s meaning as context-dependent. Barely over half said unequivocally that the statement is Jew-hatred.

“Perhaps most worryingly, one in 20 teachers (5%) did not consider the use of derogatory terms to refer to Jewish individuals or groups to be antisemitic at all,” UNESCO said.

Per the survey, 70% of teachers said that they hadn’t received any professional training about how to recognize and address contemporary Jew-hatred, and less than one-third had participated in outside antisemitism training courses.

“In most countries, the only space where teachers receive any training, support or guidance on teaching about antisemitism is in history education, and in particular through Holocaust education,” UNESCO told JNS.

“While this field of education is of critical importance, it is not sufficient to prevent or educate about contemporary forms of antisemitism,” the agency said.

It is possible to find “curricula avenues” to teach about forms of Jew-hatred, such as in citizenship education, social sciences, language education, and arts and culture. But “contemporary antisemitism often intersects with current debates around geopolitics, social media, conspiracy thinking and identity politics,” UNESCO told JNS.

That means that at times, “educational decision makers are paralyzed by a concern that investing in education about contemporary antisemitism projects a particular political position,” the agency said.

Survey data suggested that teachers often said it was a challenge when students expressed “hateful comments about Israel.”

“Highly emotive discourse about the conflict is entering nearly half of European schools, while teachers report feeling unprepared to address such comments or discourse,” UNESCO said.

That’s particularly true when “discussions risk becoming polarized or are presented as controversial,” the agency said.

“Teaching tends to default to historical forms of antisemitism that feel ‘settled,’ rather than engaging with how antisemitic tropes manifest today,” UNESCO said.

Jew-hatred is often home-bred, which is why UNESCO told JNS that it recommends “creating events that invite parents and grandparents, as well as, for example, members of the local faith communities, police officers, shopkeepers, local government representatives and school bus drivers to share in learning to address antisemitism and broader civic issues.”

“Hate speech, notably antisemitism and Holocaust denial, has reached levels not seen since World War II,” stated Khaled El-Enany, director-general of UNESCO.

“Most teachers have never received specific training to confront this reality, including the consequences related to AI development,” El-Enany said. “UNESCO provides policymakers with unique tools to empower teachers in more than 30 countries—from classrooms and campuses to sports clubs—and soon even more.”

(JNS) Backed by Mexico and Brazil, Gabriel Boric, Chile’s outgoing president, nominated former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet, a harsh critic of the Jewish state, to be the next secretary-general of the United Nations.

Boric, who is also anti-Israel, made the announcement on Monday. José Antonio Kast, a right-wing politician set to assume the Chilean presidency next month, would be unlikely to nominate Bachelet, 74, for the role.

Bachelet, who was Chile’s president twice—from 2006-10 and 2014-18—was the first head of U.N. Women and served as U.N. high commissioner for human rights.

She was a frequent critic of the Jewish state, which broke ties with her office in 2020 over her decision to implement a U.N. Human Rights Council resolution mandating the publication of a blacklist of companies engaged in business in Judea and Samaria and eastern Jerusalem.

According to U.N. Watch, Bachelet issued 14 comments about Israel, more than any democratic country. She made the same number of statements about Syria and fewer about Iran, according to the watchdog.

Bachelet used her final hours in office to decry Israel over its denial of visas to her staff. She ignored antisemitic comments made by a member of the Human Rights Council’s commission of inquiry on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, for which the commissioner later apologized.

The United Nations has never had a female secretary-general. The other nominees are Rebeca Grynspan, former second vice-president of Costa Rica and currently secretary-general of the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development; Mexican environment and natural resources secretary Alicia Bárcena; and Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley.

Rafael Grossi, the Argentinian head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, has also been nominated.

Latin America is up next in the traditional U.N. rotation of world regions. Portugal’s António Guterres is secretary-general until the end of the year.

(AP) — Iran said Monday it had summoned all of the European Union ambassadors in the Islamic Republic to protest the bloc’s listing of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard as a terror group.

The move came as Turkey tried to organize a meeting between the U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian officials, seeking to jump-start talks to ease the threat of U.S. military action against the Islamic Republic, two Turkish officials said.

The American military has moved the USS Abraham Lincoln and several guided-missile destroyers into the Mideast. It remains unclear whether President Donald Trump will decide to use force, though regional countries have engaged in diplomacy in an effort to halt a new Mideast war breaking out.

“Trump is trying to calibrate a response to Iran’s mass killing of protesters that punishes Iranian leaders without also embroiling the United States in a new, open-ended conflict in the region,” the New York-based Soufan Center think tank said Monday.

“Some Trump aides seek to exploit Tehran’s weakness to secure major concessions from the regime, but Trump has set conditions for a diplomatic resolution that Tehran cannot accept.”

EU sanctions draw Iran’s anger

The EU agreed to list the Guard as a terror group last week over its part in the bloody crackdown on nationwide protests in January that killed thousands and saw tens of thousands detained.

Other countries, including the U.S. and Canada, have previously designated the Guard as a terrorist organization. While the move is largely symbolic, it does add to the economic pressure squeezing Iran, particularly has the Guard has a major influence on the country’s economy.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told journalists that the ambassadors had begun to be summoned on Sunday and that process went into Monday as well.

“A series of actions were reviewed, various options are being prepared and were sent to the related decision-making bodies,” Baghaei said. “We think that in coming days, a decision will be made about a reciprocal action by the Islamic Republic of Iran toward the illegal, unreasonable and very wrong move by the EU.”

Iran’s parliament speaker said Sunday that the Islamic Republic now considers all EU militaries to be terrorist groups, citing a 2019 law.

The Guard emerged from Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution as a force meant to protect the Shiite cleric-overseen government and was later enshrined in its constitution. It operates in parallel with the country’s regular armed forces and has expanded into private enterprise, allowing it to thrive.

The Guard’s Basij force likely was key in putting down the demonstrations, starting in earnest from Jan. 8, when authorities cut off the internet and international telephone calls for the nation of 85 million people. Videos that have come out of Iran via Starlink satellite dishes and other means show men likely belonging to its forces shooting and beating protesters.

Turkey tries to organize Iran-U.S. talks

In Turkey, officials have been trying to organize talks with Iran and Witkoff there, two Turkish officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to brief journalists. One described the goal as trying to have Witkoff meet the Iranians by the end of the week, if possible.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Witkoff met multiple times last year in negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program in Rome and Oman, but never finalized a deal. On June 13, Israel launched a series of attacks on Iran that sparked a 12-day war between the countries, effectively halting those talks. The U.S. during the war bombed three Iranian nuclear sites.

Baghaei declined to give any specifics about the possibility of talks in Ankara.

“What is clear is that we are engaged with reviewing either principles and details related to this diplomatic process,” he said. “It is natural that regional countries have intensified their efforts.”

Axios first reported on the possible talks in Turkey.

Guard drill in Strait of Hormuz ‘ongoing’

Baghaei also said a drill by the Guard in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of all oil traded passes, was “ongoing based on its timetable.” Iran warned ships last week that a drill would be carried out on Sunday and Monday, but prior to Baghaei’s comments had not acknowledged it taking place. The U.S. military’s Central Command issued a strong warning to Iran not to harass its warships and aircraft, or impede commercial vessels moving through the strait.

Satellite photos taken Sunday by Planet Labs PBC and analyzed by The Associated Press showed small vessels moving at speed in the strait between Iran’s Qeshm and Hengam islands, some distance away from the corridor commercial vessels take. The Guard relies on a fleet of small, fast-attack ships in the strait.

Asked about whether Iran could face a war, Baghaei told the public “don’t worry at all.” He declined, however, to discuss whether Trump set a deadline for Iran to respond to America’s demands.

Iran state TV host faces charges for mocking dead

Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported on Monday that prosecutors in Tehran filed charges against the head of state television’s Ofogh channel, as well as producers and the host of a program who mocked those killed in the crackdown.

The program, which aired Saturday, saw the host reference allegations made abroad about Iran hiding bodies of the dead in freezers to bring out as victims if the U.S. attacks the country.

The host asked viewers a multiple-choice question about where Iran would hide the bodies, listing things like ice cream freezers and supermarket refrigerators.

(AP) — A German-Israeli soldier has taken legal action against The Guardian and several German publications for falsely identifying him as an Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) sniper involved in civilian killings in Gaza.

The soldier, referred to as G., was wrongly named and pictured in reports stemming from a 2025 article that described the actions of a sniper team. G.’s lawyer, Joachim Nikolaus Steinhoefel, said G. was not present during the incidents and that the articles were based on a misleadingly edited interview.

After signing a cease-and-desist with The Guardian, G. also sought an injunction in German courts to prevent further publication of false claims about him. German outlets Der Spiegel, ZDF, and Abendzeitung had already circulated his identity widely, leading to social media threats and accusations of war crimes.

“The evidence used to accuse him was unreliable and manipulated,” Steinhoefel told The Jerusalem Post. “Publishing his name and photo exposed him to almost irreversible danger.” The court has issued an interim injunction against Abendzeitung to stop further defamatory reporting.

(AP) — President Donald Trump said Monday that he plans to lower tariffs on goods from India to 18%, from 25%, after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed to stop buying Russian oil.

The move comes after months of Trump pressing India to cut its reliance on cheap Russian crude. India has taken advantage of slacked Russian oil prices as much of the world has sought to isolate Moscow for its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Trump said that India would also start to reduce its import taxes on U.S. goods to zero and buy $500 billion worth of American products.

“This will help END THE WAR in Ukraine, which is taking place right now, with thousands of people dying each and every week!” Trump said in a Truth Social post announcing the tariff reduction on India.

Modi posted on X that he was “delighted” by the announced tariff reduction and that Trump’s “leadership is vital for global peace, stability, and prosperity.”

“I look forward to working closely with him to take our partnership to unprecedented heights,” Modi said.

Trump has long had a warm relationship with Modi, only to find it complicated recently by Russia’s war in Ukraine and trade disputes.

Trump has struggled to make good on a campaign pledge to quickly end the Russia-Ukraine war and has been reluctant since his return to office to place pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin. He has simultaneously imposed tariffs without going through Congress to achieve his economic and foreign policy aims.

The announcement of the agreement with India comes as his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and son-in-law Jared Kushner are expected to hold another round of three-way talks with Russian and Ukrainian officials in Abu Dhabi later this week aimed at finding an endgame to the war, according to a White House official who requested anonymity to describe the upcoming meeting.

Trump has voiced that he believes that targeting Russia’s oil revenue is the best way to get Moscow to end its nearly four-year war against Ukraine, a view that dovetails with his devotion to tariffs.

In June, Trump announced the United States would impose a 25% tariff on goods from India after his administration felt the country had done too little to narrow its trade surplus with the U.S. and open up its markets to American goods. In August, Trump imposed additional import taxes of 25% on Indian products because of its purchases of Russian oil, putting the combined rate increase at 50%.

Historically, India’s relationship with Russia revolves more around defense than energy. Russia provides only a small fraction of India’s oil but the majority of its military hardware.

But India, in the aftermath of the Russian invasion, used the moment to buy discounted Russian oil, allowing it to increase its energy supplies while Russia looked to cut deals to boost its beleaguered economy and keep paying for its brutal war.

The announced tariff reduction comes days after India and the European Union reached a free trade agreement that could affect as many as 2 billion people after nearly two decades of negotiations. That deal would enable free trade on almost all goods between the EU’s 27 members and India, covering everything from textiles to medicines, and bringing down high import taxes for European wine and cars.

The deal between two of the world’s biggest markets came as Washington targets both the Asian powerhouse and the EU bloc with steep import tariffs, disrupting established trade flows and pushing major economies to seek alternate partnerships.

In recent months, India has accelerated a push to finalize several trade agreements. It signed a deal with Oman in December and concluded talks for a deal with New Zealand.

Trump seemed to hint at a positive call with Modi on Monday morning, posting to social media a picture of the two of them on a magazine cover.

When the pair met last February, the U.S. president said that India would start buying American oil and natural gas. But the talks faltered and the tariffs imposed last year by Trump did little to initially change India’s objections.

While the U.S. has been seeking greater market access and zero tariff on almost all its exports, India has expressed reservations on throwing open sectors such as agriculture and dairy, which employ a bulk of the country’s population for livelihood, Indian officials said.

The Census Bureau reported that the U.S. ran a $53.5 billion trade imbalance in goods with India during the first 11 months of last year, meaning it imported more than it exported.

At a population exceeding 1.4 billion people, India is the world’s most populous country and viewed by many government officials and business leaders as geopolitical and economic counterbalance to China.