Israel-Palestine

11/21 -- 10:05 AM PT --  The class action lawsuit against Coach USA has been voluntarily withdrawn.

12:11 PM PT -- Colin Emberson, VP of Commercial for Coach USA tells TMZ ... "We have become aware of an incident that took place on Tuesday, November 14 wherein charter customers from another bus company were left stranded on their way to a rally in Washington, DC. Coach USA was not in any way involved in this incident. In fact, Coach USA successfully carried passengers on 74 charter buses from New Jersey and Maryland to the rally on Tuesday as planned."

A bus company is being taken to court after allegedly failing to deliver on its contract to transport protesters trying to get to the March for Israel rally after its drivers refused to drive them ... and the plaintiff is claiming it's owed damages for religious discrimination.

A guy named Doron Orbach is suing Coach USA in a class action lawsuit, alleging violations of several federal anti-discrimination laws -- including the Civil Rights Act -- that he claims Coach is liable in connection with his attempt to get folks to the D.C. protest in support of Israel.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Orbach -- who's Jewish and Israeli -- says the Israeli American Council had booked buses through Coach to transport upwards of 900 individuals that day to go from various pickup points across the East Coast ... and to pull up for the march in D.C.

But Orbach claims Coach never picked up these folks like they were scheduled to -- and he alleges it was all due to a coordinated effort on the part of its drivers/employees refusing to do the job based on their "discriminatory animus" towards Jewish people.

The lawsuit says that multiple Coach bus drivers staged a "sick out" that day as a way to avoid picking up these hundreds of people ... a majority of whom, Orbach says, were Jewish or of Israeli origin.

As a result of this alleged discrimination ... Orbach claims his civil and human rights were violated -- as were those of everyone else who missed the rally as a result. Orbach says Coach knew or should have known about the possibility of its drivers backing out and failed to take measures to prevent it ... and it suing for unspecified damages.

Una compañía de autobuses está siendo llevada a los tribunales por, supuestamente, no cumplir con su contrato de transportar a los manifestantes que trataban de llegar a una Marcha por Israel. Todo esto, después de que sus conductores se negaran a llevarlos, y el demandante está reclamando daños y perjuicios por discriminación religiosa.

Un tipo llamado Doron Orbach está demandando a Coach USA en una demanda colectiva, alegando violaciones de varias leyes federales contra la discriminación, incluyendo la Ley de Derechos Civiles. El sujeto afirma que Coach es responsable por no haber llevado a los adherentes a la protesta de D.C. en apoyo de Israel.

Según los documentos obtenidos por TMZ, Orbach, que es judío e israelí, dice que el Consejo Americano de Israel había reservado autobuses a través de Coach para el transporte de más de 900 personas ese día. Estaban previstos varios puntos de recogida en toda la Costa Este, que tenían como destino final la marcha en Washington DC.

Pero Orbach afirma que Coach nunca recogió a estas personas como estaba previsto, y alega que todo se debió a un esfuerzo coordinado por parte de sus conductores/empleados y su "animadversión discriminatoria" contra los judíos.

La demanda dice que varios conductores de la empresa organizaron un "despido por enfermedad" ese día para evitar recoger a estos cientos de personas, la mayoría de los cuales, dice Orbach, eran judíos o de origen israelí.

Como resultado de esta supuesta discriminación, Orbach afirma que se violaron sus derechos civiles y humanos, al igual que los de todos los demás que no acudieron a la manifestación. Orbach dice que Coach sabía o debería haber sabido sobre la posibilidad de que sus conductores se retractaran y no tomó medidas para evitarlo. Por ese motivo están demandando por daños y perjuicios no especificados.

3:45 PM PT -- TMZ obtained the mugshot for suspected killer Loay Abdelfattah Alnaji.

In the booking photo, Alnaji appears to be holding back a smile.

Cops have a man in custody for the death of Paul Kessler ... the Jewish man who was killed at a pro-Palestinian rally in California earlier this month.

50-year-old Loay Abdelfattah Alnaji was arrested Thursday for allegedly killing the 69-year-old man. He's been booked for involuntary manslaughter and is being held at the Ventura County Pre-Trial Detention Facility.

Alnaji's bail is set at $1 million, and officials are still asking citizens to come forward with any information surrounding the fatal incident.

As we reported, Kessler was at a pro-Israel rally on November 5, and a pro-Palestinian rally was going on at the same time nearby -- all stemming from the war between Israel and Hamas.

Law enforcement told us Kessler got into a heated argument with the Palestinian supporters, leading to a physical fight -- and was eventually knocked backward, causing him to fall and hit his head on the ground.

3:45 PM PT -- TMZ obtuvo la ficha policial del presunto asesino Loay Abdelfattah Alnaji.

En la foto, Alnaji parece contener una sonrisa.

La policía tiene a un hombre en custodia por la muerte de Paul Kessler, el manifestante judío que fue asesinado en un mitín pro-palestino en California a principios de este mes.

Loay Abdelfattah Alnaji, de 50 años, fue detenido el jueves por presuntamente causar la muerte del hombre de 69 años. Ha sido fichado por homicidio involuntario y está detenido en el centro de detención preventiva del condado de Ventura.

La fianza de Alnaji se ha establecido en $1 millón y los funcionarios todavía están pidiendo a los ciudadanos que se presenten en caso de tener cualquier información que rodee el fatal incidente.

Como informamos, Kessler estaba en una manifestación pro-Israel el 5 de noviembre, donde al mismo tiempo estaba ocurriendo una concentración pro-Palestina muy cerca. Todo esto, derivado de la guerra entre Israel y Hamás.

Las fuerzas del orden nos dijeron que Kessler entró en una acalorada discusión con los partidarios palestinos, lo que llevó a una pelea física. Este fue golpeado y empujado hacia atrás, lo que provocó que se cayera y se golpeara la cabeza contra el suelo.

Dozens of pro-Palestine protesters descended onto a very busy bridge in Northern California -- and at the worst time too ... as people were trying to get to work!

Countless demonstrators blocked off traffic and completely halted activity on the upper deck of San Francisco's Bay Bridge -- and they made sure to let everyone know they weren't going anywhere ... with multiple people chaining themselves to one another/to their cars.

Of course, they had megaphones and signage with them ... all of which called for a ceasefire between Palestine and Israel, while calling on a pause of U.S. aid to Israel specifically.

Some of the more theatrical protesters even laid out on the ground and threw white sheets over themselves ... as a way to reenact/recreate the people being killed in the Middle East. It certainly made a statement -- but it's hard to tell how effective this was, 'cause there were A LOT of angry commuters trying to get in and out of the area for work in the morning.

Not only was traffic backed up to high heaven ... but cops eventually landed on the scene and tried to clear the road, which ultimately ended in a ton of arrests (upwards of 50 or so).

Tow trucks were also brought in to clear the protesters' cars that were completely cutting off lanes -- which was necessary seeing how some of the protesters chucked their keys.

In the end ... the bridge was finally cleared, but it took a long time and a lot of resources.

Decenas de manifestantes pro-Palestina descendieron sobre un puente muy concurrido en el norte de California, y en el momento más inoportuno también, ¡justo cuando la gente estaba intentando llegar al trabajo!

Innumerables manifestantes bloquearon el tráfico y detuvieron por completo la actividad en uno de los segmentos del puente de San Francisco, y se aseguraron de decirles que no iban a ir a ninguna parte, ya que varias personas se encadenaron entre sí y a sus carros.

Por supuesto, tenían megáfonos y carteles que pedían un alto al fuego entre Palestina e Israel, y una pausa en la ayuda que Estados Unidos da a Israel específicamente.

Algunos de los manifestantes más teatrales incluso se tumbaron en el suelo y se cubrieron con sábanas blancas para recrear a las personas asesinadas en Medio Oriente. Ciertamente hicieron una declaración, pero es difícil saber qué tan efectiva fue, porque un montón de personas se enojaron mientras intentaban salir y entrar de la zona para llegar al trabajo.

La policía finalmente aterrizó en la escena y trató de despejar el camino, que en última instancia terminó con una tonelada de arrestos (más de 50 o por ahí).

También llevaron grúas para despejar los carros de los manifestantes que estaban completamente cortando los carriles, y que incluso arrojaron sus llaves.

Al final el puente fue despejado, pero tomó mucho tiempo y una gran cantidad de recursos.

10:20 AM PT -- A TikTok spokesperson tells TMZ ... "Content promoting this letter clearly violates our rules on supporting any form of terrorism. We are proactively and aggressively removing this content and investigating how it got onto our platform. The number of videos on TikTok is small and reports of it trending on our platform are inaccurate. This is not unique to TikTok and has appeared across multiple platforms and the media."

Osama Bin Laden might've not been such a bad guy after all -- at least that's what a bunch of TikTokers think ... this after reading a post-9/11 letter he wrote, if you can believe that.

Here's the deal ... correspondence that the infamous terrorist architect of Sept. 11th wrote back in 2002 -- in response to the question of why he and his al-Qaeda followers carried out the deadly attacks -- has been going viral over the past 24 hours or so, but in a strange way.

Essentially, a bunch of people online read his "Letter to America" and apparently see some merit in his arguments over why he and his fellow terrorists decided to kill thousands of American civilians ... and yes, this all has to do with the current Israel-Palestine conflict.

You can go read the letter on your own, but OBL explicitly mentions the U.S.'s role in the Middle East dating back decades ... and claims our country has basically given him and his cohorts no choice but to retaliate to what he characterizes as unjust meddling in the region.

He also notes he's a Palestine sympathizer ... and that seems to be why all these Americans now are posting TikTok responses and suggesting -- "Y'know what, maybe he had a point."

It's a wild trend, and it's gone viral -- so much so, in fact, that one of the only mainstream Western publications that still had the letter up on their site (The Guardian) actually took it down ... and their rationale boils down to it not having their original proper context.

Of course, it's understandable why they'd remove it ... seeing how it justifies committing mass murder on many, many Americans -- something some folks in 2023 seem to cool with!

Like we said, most of the folks reconsidering their view on 9/11 are echoing the pro-Palestine/anti-Israel rhetoric we've seen in protests for weeks now ... and while some are trying to walk the line of condemning Bin Laden's tactics for dealing with his grievances (aka, deadly terrorism) and supporting his root cause, others are blurring the line a bit.

If that sounds concerning ... well, that's 'cause it is. Those who are finding validity in Bin Laden's key points are now saying they were brainwashed by U.S. propaganda into hating the guy and supporting the American effort to root out radical Islamist terrorism in the '00s.

Naturally, others are screaming revisionist history ... and are beside themselves that any American could see Bin Laden as an oppressed victim. Talk about never forget, huh?

3:36 PM PT -- Un representante de la Universidad de Nueva York nos dice que "Las afirmaciones en esta demanda no describen con precisión las condiciones en nuestro campus o las muchas medidas que NYU ha estado tomando para luchar contra el antisemitismo y mantener el campus seguro. El antisemitismo viola nuestras normas; nos tomamos las cuestiones del antisemitismo y cualquier otra forma de odio extremadamente en serio, y estamos comprometidos a salvaguardar nuestra comunidad y proporcionar un entorno en el que todos los estudiantes puedan vivir y aprender en paz".

Continúan: "La NYU fue una de las primeras universidades de EE.UU. en condenar públicamente el ataque terrorista de Hamás contra Israel. La NYU mantiene lo que es posiblemente la mayor presencia académica en Israel de cualquier gran universidad de EE.UU., nuestro programa NYU Tel Aviv ha rechazado rotundamente todos los llamamientos para cerrarlo". La escuela dice que también ha añadido patrullas de seguridad y ha expuesto el hecho de que el antisemitismo viola las normas de la escuela y quienes lo infrinjan se enfrentarán a las consecuencias.

El antisemitismo está vivo en la Universidad de Nueva York. Al menos según un grupo de estudiantes judíos que están demandando a la escuela sobre el fanatismo rampante.

La Universidad de Nueva York ha sido llevada a los tribunales por tres estudiantes judíos que afirman que la universidad no les protege de lo que consideran un "atroz" antisemitismo en el campus.

En los documentos obtenidos por TMZ, los estudiantes afirman que la guerra Israel/Hamás está haciendo del campus un lugar tóxico y peligroso para los estudiantes judíos y alegan que la universidad se niega a hacer cumplir sus propias políticas contra la discriminación.

Los estudiantes judíos afirman que a menudo se enfrentan en el campus con gente que canta "Hitler tenía razón", "Gas a los judíos" y "Muerte a los judíos".

En su demanda, los estudiantes acusan a los administradores y profesores de la NYU de promover y fomentar un ambiente hostil hacia los judíos, afirmando que sus compañeros y profesores demonizan, amenazan y maltratan repetidamente a los estudiantes judíos.

Las cosas en el campus son tan malas, afirma la demanda, los estudiantes judíos están siendo "puestos en grave riesgo de lesiones emocionales y físicas extremas".

En los documentos, los estudiantes judíos dicen que la administración de NYU se niega a hacer cumplir el Título VI de la Ley de Derechos Civiles de 1964 y las leyes de derechos civiles del estado de Nueva York, las cuales están diseñadas para proteger a las personas contra la discriminación por motivos de raza, color u origen.

3:36 PM PT -- A rep for NYU tells us, in part, "The assertions in this suit do not accurately describe conditions on our campus or the many steps NYU has been taking to fight antisemitism and keep the campus safe.  Antisemitism violates our rules; we take the issues of antisemitism and any other forms of hate extremely seriously, and we are committed to safeguarding our community and providing an environment in which all students can live and learn in peace."

They continue, "NYU was among the first universities in the US to publicly condemn Hamas' terrorist attack on Israel; NYU maintains what is arguably the largest academic presence in Israel of any major US university, our NYU Tel Aviv program, and has flatly rejected all calls to close it." The school says it's also added security patrol and has laid out the fact antisemitism violates school rules, and those who violate will face consequences.

Antisemitism is alive and terrifying at New York University ... at least according to a group of Jewish students who are now suing the school over the rampant bigotry.

NYU is being dragged to court by 3 Jewish students who claim the university is failing to protect them from what they feel is "egregious" antisemitism on campus.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, the students claim the Israel-Hamas war is making campus a toxic and dangerous place for Jewish students ... and they allege the university is refusing to enforce its own anti-discrimination policies.

The Jewish students claim they are often confronted on campus by folks chanting, "Hitler was right," "Gas the Jews" and "Death to k**es."

In their suit, the students accuse NYU administrators and professors of fostering and fomenting a hostile environment toward Jewish people ... claiming peers and faculty repeatedly demonize, threaten and abuse Jewish students.

Things on campus are so bad, the suit claims, Jewish students are being "put at severe risk of extreme emotional and physical injury."

In the docs, the Jewish students say NYU administration is refusing to enforce Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and New York's state civil rights laws ... which are designed to protect people from discrimination based on race, color or national origin.

A German man had his front door pounded on by an angry pro-Palestine protester after the guy flew an Israeli flag from his balcony ... this as a demonstration was going on outside.

Check out this wild video that was taken and posted by a man named Finn Wandhoff, who lives in Berlin and who was watching a massive pro-Palestine rally take place right outside his apartment Saturday evening. It seems he decided to voice his own view symbolically.

Finn says he flew a flag of Israel from outside his window -- a moment he says precipitated this door-pounding by minutes -- and it seems somebody outside saw it and didn't like it.

Here's the sequence of events, per Wandhoff -- he says he was flying the flag and playing Israel's national anthem from his apartment before the huge crowd came by ... which he claims spurred police to come up to his unit and demand he stop, but he didn't.

Once the protesters rolled through, Wandhoff says he again flew the flag ... which he says then led to this man running upstairs and demanding entry. He says he then called cops to report this but alleges the police told him he was being "clearly provocative" here.

Un hombre alemán recibió golpes en su puerta de entrada por parte de un manifestante pro-Palestina que se enojó después de verlo ondear una bandera israelí desde su balcón, mientras pasaba una manifestación por fuera de su casa.

Echa un vistazo a este salvaje video que fue grabado y publicado por un hombre llamado Finn Wandhoff, que vive en Berlín y que estaba viendo una masiva manifestación pro-Palestina afuera de su apartamento el sábado por la noche. Parece que el hombre decidió expresar su propia opinión simbólicamente.

Finn dice que ondeó una bandera de Israel desde fuera de su ventana, lo que precipitó que alguien le golpeara la puerta por minutos, y parece que alguien de afuera lo vio y no le gustó.

Esta es la secuencia de los hechos, según Wandhoff. Él estaba ondeando la bandera y tocando el himno nacional de Israel desde su departamento antes de que llegara la multitud. Afirma que llamaron a la policía para que se detuviera, pero no lo hizo.

Una vez que los manifestantes pasaron, Wandhoff dice que ondeó nuevamente la bandera, lo que llevó a este hombre a subir corriendo por las escaleras y exigir que lo dejaran entrar. Dice que entonces llamó a la policía para informar lo que pasaba, pero que esta le dijo que estaba siendo "claramente provocador".

Selena Gomez ha sido tachada de "cobarde" por una organización judía, después de enredarse en la controversia relacionada con los ataques entre Israel y Palestina.

En declaraciones a TMZ, Mitchell Bard de la organización judía, American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise (AICE), arremete contra Selena por ser víctima de la intensa presión ejercida sobre las celebridades para boicotear y demonizar a Israel.

Nos dicen que en lugar de hablar sobre la masacre de 1.400 israelíes y la toma de 240 rehenes, entre ellos ancianos, discapacitados, mujeres y niños de tan solo 9 meses, la prioridad de Selena ha sido su negocio, el que se vio amenazado después de que el director general de Rare Beauty siguiera cuentas pro-Israel.

La organización también detalla su decepción por su decisión de "pacificar a los matones" que intentan boicotear a Rare Beauty por "tomar la posición popular de que los palestinos que han sido sacrificados por Hamás son las víctimas", haciendo una declaración de inclinación pro-Palestina en el Instagram de la empresa.

En marcado contraste, el mismo post de Instagram deleita a Alia Malak, una de las fundadoras de la organización palestina, Boicot, Desinversión y Sanciones (BDS), que le dice a TMZ: "Selena Gómez es uno de los muchos miles de artistas y figuras culturales de todo el mundo que está pidiendo un alto el fuego, justicia y rendición de cuentas, uniéndose a las figuras de Hollywood, los principales estudiosos y artistas negros, escritores y artistas judíos, autores prominentes, artistas visuales y muchos otros."

Y añaden: "Cuando los expertos de la ONU y otros advierten de un genocidio israelí contra los palestinos de Gaza, estos artistas están en el lado correcto de la historia". Los palestinos piden a los artistas y a las organizaciones artísticas que se pronuncien en voz alta por un alto el fuego y por poner fin a la opresión, como muchos hicieron contra el apartheid en Sudáfrica, para contribuir a la libertad, la justicia y la igualdad".

Todo esto ocurre después de la declaración de Rare Beauty en Instagram, que reconoce la matanza de 1.400 israelíes diciendo que los ataques contra civiles están mal, pero alude que su principal preocupación es "proteger a los civiles palestinos."

Selena Gomez has been branded a "coward" by a Jewish organization ... after embroiling herself in controversy over the Israel-Hamas war.

Speaking to TMZ, Mitchell Bard for the Jewish organization American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise (AICE) lambasted Selena for falling victim to the intense pressure put on celebs to boycott and demonize Israel.

He tells us instead of speaking on the massacre of 1,400 Israelis and the taking of 240 hostages, including the elderly, disabled, women and children as young as 9 months ... Selena's priority lies with her business, which was threatened after the Rare Beauty's CEO followed pro-Israel accounts.

The org also details its disappointment over her choosing to "pacify bullies" hoping to boycott Rare Beauty by "taking the popular position that Palestinians who have been sacrificed by Hamas are the victims" ... with a pro-Palestine-leaning statement shared to RB's IG.

In stark contrast ... the very same IG post delights Alia Malak, a founding member of the Palestinian organization, Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS), who tells TMZ, "Selena Gomez is one of many thousands of artists and cultural figures worldwide calling for ceasefire, justice and accountability, joining Hollywood figures, leading Black scholars and artists, Jewish writers and artists, prominent authors, visual artists, and many others."

They add, "When UN experts and others are warning of an Israeli genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, these artists are on the right side of history. Palestinians call on artists and arts organizations to speak out loudly for a ceasefire, and for an end to oppression, as many had done against apartheid South Africa, to contribute to freedom, justice, and equality."

This comes after Rare Beauty's statement on IG acknowledged the slaughter of 1,400 Israelis ... saying that attacks on civilians are wrong ... but alluding their main concern was "protecting Palestine civilians."

Kmart Australia stepped on a bag of s**t, after touting a bag used to keep Christmas ham fresh in the fridge -- a bag with the inscription, "Merry Ham-Mas."

Pretty obvious ... after the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, the colorful bag which once was just a trapping of XMAS now has another meaning ... one that has enraged some Jewish groups.

The Australian Jewish Association made its feelings clear, posting a pic of the bag with the caption, "K-MART STUFF-UP! Check out the special Christmas bag currently available via K-Mart online. Yes, it's real!!  Although this is potentially funny (the AJA committee has tossed around some non-PC jokes) it's really not a good look.  We suspect some product manager may cause the company some embarrassment.  So we've politely written to Wesfarmers corporate suggesting the product be pulled."

Well, Kmart heard them loud and clear, because an hour later Kmart yanked the item from its site.

Gal Gadot's screening of a new film about the October 7 Hamas terror attack on Israel turned into a battleground of sorts ... as protestors clashed outside the Los Angeles theater where it was shown.

About 150 people attended Wednesday night's screening of the extremely graphic 47-minute film titled, "Bearing Witness to the October 7th Massacre," at the Museum of Tolerance. Media reports indicated Gadot -- who was supposed to host the event -- was MIA.

During the viewing inside, mobs of pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli demonstrators arrived outside, waving flags and shouting at one another.

Witnesses shot cell phone video of the rapidly devolving situation, which soon erupted into violence.

Check out the footage posted to X ... protestors are seen going at it, throwing wild punches and tackling each other to the ground. One woman can be heard screaming, "Free Palestine!"

LAPD officers were dispatched to break up the fights and quell the tension. It's unclear if anyone was injured or arrested, but we've put in a call to the LAPD. So far, no word back.

Earlier this week, news reports surfaced that Gadot was planning to host the L.A. screening -- which was met with backlash.

The gruesome footage in the film was intended to show the truth of what happened that day amid many skeptics.

Un visionado facilitado por la actriz Gal Gadot sobre el ataque terrorista del 7 de octubre de Hamás en Israel se convirtió en un campo de batalla cuando manifestantes de diversos lados se enfrentaron afuera del teatro de Los Ángeles donde se mostró.

Alrededor de 150 personas asistieron a la proyección de 47 minutos, que era extremadamente gráfica y se titula "Testigos de la masacre del 7 de octubre", en el Museo de la Tolerancia. Los medios de comunicación indicaron que Gadot, que se suponía que iba a presentar el evento, no estuvo presente.

Durante el visionado en el interior, una multitud de manifestantes pro-palestinos y pro-israelíes salieron, agitando banderas y gritándose unos a otros.

Algunos testigos en la escena grabaron con sus teléfonos celulares la rápida evolución de la situación, la que pronto estalló en violencia.

Echa un vistazo a las imágenes publicadas en X, los manifestantes se ven enardecidos, lanzándose golpes y empujándose al suelo. Se puede escuchar a una mujer gritando: "¡Liberen a Palestina!".

Agentes de la policía de Los Ángeles fueron enviados para disolver las peleas y calmar la situación. No está claro si alguien resultó herido o detenido, pero nos hemos puesto en contacto con la policía de Los Ángeles. Por el momento no tenemos noticias.

A principios de esta semana, aparecieron reportes de que Gadot planeaba ser la anfitriona de la proyección en Los Ángeles de la película dirigida por Guy Nattiv, la que muestra la matanza de 1.400 israelíes por parte de Hamás.

Las truculentas imágenes de la película, filmadas por las fuerzas de defensa israelíes, pretendían mostrar la verdad de lo que ocurrió aquel día en medio de varios escépticos.