Germany: Federal Prosecutor Takes Over Bielefeld Stabbing Case. Religious Motive Suspected

Mahmoud Mhemed

In the past couple of days, we have been following the mass knife attack in Bielefeld, Germany that seriously injured 4 people early Sunday morning. The suspected attacker is a Syrian refugee named Mahmoud Mhemed (35). After a manhunt that lasted all day Sunday, Mhemed was captured near Dusseldorf. He was taken into custody after briefly resisting arrest.

Now, the Federal Prosecutor's Office in Karlsruhe has stepped into the investigation based on indications that the suspect was acting out of Islamist-inspired motivation.

The article below from Stimme (De) is translated by Fousesquawk. Note that only certain paragraphs pertinent to this update are translated. The other paragraphs merely repeat facts previously reported and translated here. The breaks are indicated by (...).

Attack in Bielefeld religiously motivated? Federal Prosecutor's office in Karlsruhe is investigating.

May 20, 2025-19:00

During the weekend, a man critically injured 4 people with a knife in front of a bar in Bielefeld. Now the Federal Prosecutor's Office in Karlsruhe is investigating the case.

After the attack by a man against at least 4 people in front of a bar in Bielefeld, the Federal Prosecutor's Office has taken over the investigation due to a possible religious motivation. There is a compelling suspicion in the attempted murder and dangerous bodily injury, the Karlsruhe authorities announce.

The suspect is accused of deliberately stabbing patrons with knives and critically injuring 4 people. It is suspected that the act was religiously motivated and is understood as an attack on the free, democratic order. "So that it is likely to compromise the internal security of the Federal Republic of Germany," the Federal Prosecutor's Office stated. 

(...) The suspect is from Syria and lives in Harsewinkel near Bielefeld. He was not previously known to police. According to North Rhine-Westphalia Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU), the Syrian traveled to Europe through Turkey. In December 2023, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees granted him temporary protected status after he filed an asylum request in Germany. The investigators also followed indications of the suspect's contacts with the Islamist scene.

Justice Minister: Knife attack in Bielefeld was probably Islamist-motivated

Federal Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig (SPD) said on Tuesday that indications had grown that the perpetrator acted out of an Islamist motivation. Islamist terrorism is one of the greatest dangers to security in Germany. "The knife attack in Bielefeld early Sunday morning was of shocking brutality. Several (victims) barely escaped with their lives," she added.

(....)

Germany: Bielefeld Stabbing Suspect Arrested

The arrest

-N-TV

Yesterday, we reported on the stabbing of 5 people in Bielefeld, Germany by a Syrian suspect. The suspect has been arrested near Dusseldorf. The article below in N-TV (Germany) is translated by Fousesquawk. 

Raid in Heiligenhaus

After attack in front of bar in Bielefeld: Suspect arrested

May 19, 2025, 23:49

The police had conducted a public search for the alleged perpetrator. In the evening, a special forces unit arrested the suspect.

In the early morning hours of Sunday, an armed man attacked party-goers in Bielefeld, (and) 5 people were injured. The perpetrator was also injured but was able to flee. After a special forces unit operation, there is an arrest.

After the attack on at least 5 people by a man in Bielefeld, a suspect has been arrested in Heiligenhaus near Düsseldorf. With the arrest, a police spokesperson says it is almost certain that it is the sought-after suspect. The identification procedures are ongoing.

A public prosecutor spokesperson in Bielefeld confirmed that the investigation is ongoing and "all directions" will be investigated. There will possibly be more comments during the day.

In the evening, there were special forces operations in two locations in Heiligenhaus in connection with the crime. In addition, investigators were dispatched to another operation in neighboring Velbert, which is also reportedly connected to the attack on Sunday.

Early Sunday morning, a man injured 5 young men aged between 22 and 27 with a pointed object, 4 of them seriously. Two of them were initially in life-threatening condition; their condition has since stabilized. The victims were standing in front of a bar on the northwestern edge of the Bielefeld inner city, where they were celebrating- they were reportedly from the Bielefeld soccer scene. They defended themselves with punches and injured the attacker, who fled. The scene of the crime lies under an elevated street near the Bielefeld Central Train Station.

Several knives found at crime scene

At the crime scene, the investigators found a bag with personal documents left behind by the alleged perpetrator as well as a bottle with an unknown liquid smelling like gasoline. In the search for clues, other knives were seized. Whether it is the man who attacked with a knife is still part of the investigation, a spokeswoman said. 

According to a report in Bild-Newspaper, the investigators believe that the suspect probably planned an attack. North-Rhine-Westphalia's Interior Minister, Herbert Reul, will not comment on the motive and possible background of the attack. "We know what happened at the scene, and we know who he is,  but nothing more. The motive situation can only be finally determined when we have additional documents or have conducted a conversation with the accused in German," said the Christian Democratic politician.  

According to the interior minister, the Syrian traveled to Europe through Turkey. In December 2023, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees granted him a temporary protected status after the man had applied for asylum in Germany.

Germany: Op-Ed in Support of Berlin Police

Things are bad for police in Berlin as they are in other large German cities. Within the past few days, there has been the May 15 "Nakba" protest, which had to be broken up by police. In a separate incident, an officer was stabbed and critically injured outside a police station, and Turkish soccer fans created havoc with a soccer celebration that left several officers injured.

Joerg Quoos, Editor-in-Chief of the Berliner Morgenpost, has written an op-ed deploring the attacks on police and the lack of support from politicians. In his op-ed, Quoos mentions how police have to work to prevent the mistakes of politicians from leading to chaos for the citizens. I assume this is in reference to the catastrophic decision by former Chancellor, Angela Merkel, to let in millions of so-called refugees during the civil war in Syria back in 2015, as well as the responsibility of succeeding politicians to deal with the rampant crime wave that has resulted.

I had to go to several other articles to get the story on the stabbing of the officer and why the perpetrator is free. According to the media, the suspect, described as a "German" (quotes mine), went to the police station to file a report. While waiting, he got impatient, went outside, and was defacing a police car with a knife. An officer apparently confronted him, a struggle ensued, and the stab wound was judged unintentional. The officer was in critical condition but has survived. I still don't get it why the suspect is free.

The article below is translated by Fousesquawk.

Brutal attacks-Who will finally protect our police?

May 19, 2025 17:25

A commentary by Joerg Quoos. Editor-in-Chief of FUNKE Central Editing

Caption: On Friday evening, May 16, a police officer was attacked with a knife and seriously injured in Neukoelln.

Berlin. Disrespect and violence are becoming unbearable for police officers. It is an attack against all who want to live peacefully and safely.

The political system in the German capital would not be possible without the deployment of tens of thousands of policemen and women. 356 days a year, around the clock, they ensure that the politicians can do their job. And that the mistakes of politicians do not end in chaos for the citizens. Now it is high time to do something for the police.

The violence and disrespect that the police officers experience daily is beyond any comprehension. We look back at a "normal" week in the capital: At a Palestinian demonstration on Thursday, a police officer was deliberately trampled and seriously injured. Two days later, a perpetrator stabs a police officer in the neck with a knife and critically injures him. Hours later, he is already free because he (had come to the police station to file a report), and the police officer allegedly violated the rules of (engagement).

After the "celebration" of Turkish soccer fans with pyrotechnics and illegal car processions on the Kudamm (Kurfuerstendam*), the result was 33 police officers injured on Sunday.

* Major boulevard in Berlin.

This cannot continue: The threshold for violence against police is going down

The cases play out in Berlin, but police experience this in almost all large cities in Germany. The threshold for violence against them is going down, and the support from politicians is often shockingly limited to empty words. 

It is quite simple: Whoever attacks or insults a police officer attacks all of us. That's why the erosion of the state monopoly on force is not a police problem but a problem for all who want to live safely and peacefully.

The nation and the states together must do more for the safety of the police. What (is happening) in the German capital cannot continue.

Netherlands: Malek the Knife Strikes Again

"Look out, old Malekie's back!"

In 2018,  a man identified in the media only as Malek F. was arrested for stabbing multiple people on the street in The Hague. Earlier that year, the same individual was arrested for throwing his furniture out of a window and onto the street. Malek F. is described by the Dutch media as being a migrant or refugee of Palestinian-Syrian origin. During the knife attack, he reportedly shouted, "Allahu Akhbar".

Subsequent to the stabbings, Malek F. was sentenced to a psychiatric facility under a legal provision called TBS, which, in general, is similar to being sent to a hospital for the criminally insane. 

Now Malek F. is charged with a new crime. In April, he allegedly stabbed a person at the TBS facility in the throat causing serious injury. The incident occurred in Groningen, and according to Remix, an English-language news outlet in Hungary, the victim is Jewish.

The below article from NOS (Nl), which reported on the  TBS attack in April, is translated by Fousesquawk.

https://nos.nl/artikel/2562844-zwaargewonde-bij-steekpartij-in-groningse-tbs-kliniek

NOS News, Tuesday, April 8, 2025, 16:33

 Seriously injured in stabbing in Groningen TBS clinic

On Sunday evening, someone was seriously injured in the Mesdag Clinic in Groningen. A spokesperson for the clinic says that both the suspect and the victim are patients at the TBS clinic.

For that reason, the clinic cannot say more about the stabbing or the background of those involved. That falls under professional secrecy (privacy). It is also unclear how the victim is doing. On the basis of several well-placed sources, De Telegraaf writes that the suspect is Malek F.

F., a Syrian refugee, was sentenced to TBS after he stabbed 3 people at Johanna Westerdijkplein (square) in the Hague in 2018. The 3 victims were seriously injured. According to bystanders, F. shouted, "Allahu Akhbar", and on social media, wrote that "All infidels must suffer."

In 2021, the court ruled that there was no terrorist motive. He received his call to stab people from the devil, F. explained at the time of his appeal (to a higher court). "A crow gave me the signal that I must stab people," the man said in the courtroom. Malek F. was, according to the court, completely insane. That is why he received TBS, but no jail sentence.

Second incident

Mesdag has made a report and taken "appropriate measures". The clinic will not go into what the measures specifically entail, but a spokesperson told RTV North that in this type of case, a person would be briefly isolated, and that, on a case-by-case basis, it would be considered what would then happen. 

It is the second incident in the Mesdag Clinic in the last few days. On Friday, a patient did not return on time from an unaccompanied leave. Days later, he was arrested in Arnhem.

Germany: 5 Stabbed in Bielefeld-Syrian Suspect on the Run

The scene of the attack

It has happened again. Early Sunday morning, in the German town of Bielefeld, 5 soccer fans celebrating in a bar were randomly stabbed, 3 of them seriously. The suspect was tackled but managed to escape, leaving a backpack and knives behind as well as identification in the name of Mahmoud Mhemed, as 35-year-old Syrian asylum seeker. As of this writing, he is still at large.

The article below from Der Spiegel is translated by  Fousesquawk. Note that there is a discrepancy in the spelling of his last name in the final paragraph.

Violent act in Bielefeld

Next to the backpack lay two long kitchen knives

The police are searching for a 35-year-old man: He reportedly injured several people, some seriously in a bar in Bielefeld. According to Spiegel's information, the alleged perpetrator came to Germany in 2023.

By Joerg Diehl, Tobias Grossekemper, and Roman Lehberger

May 18, 2025 at 20:27

Caption: Police search photo: Investigators are looking for the Syrian citizen, Mahmoud Mhemed

After the attack in the Bielefeld inner city, in which several people, some seriously, were injured, police are searching for a 35-year-old Syrian.

It is still not clear how the attack late Saturday night/early Sunday morning upon a group of celebrating soccer fans should be assessed. Was it an attack, in which the guests of the Cutie Bar in the Bielefeld inner city were injured? Was there a fight prior? And who is the perpetrator?

On Sunday evening, the Bielefeld police published a photo and the name of a Syrian citizen: Mahmoud Mhemed, born 1-1-1990, is suspected of injuring 5 people between the ages of 22 and 27 with a knife, three of them seriously.

According to Spiegel's information, police discovered near the scene of the crime, a backpack that they attribute to Mhemed. Next to it lay, among other things, two long kitchen knives and an additional knife that was attached to a stick. In the backpack were found a bottle with a flammable liquid, presumably gasoline, as well as personal documents of Mahmoud Mhemed.

Randomly stabbed soccer fans

The man, who, according to Spiegel's information, came to Germany in August 2023 and was (not yet known) to security authorities, and is apparently living in a nearby accommodation facility, just 30 kilometers from Bielefeld.  A special operations team searched his residence on Sunday without results, there being no sign of Mhemed.

The responsible prosecutor's office of Bielefeld initially classified the act as attempted murder. On Sunday, around 6 pm, the authorities published the photo and name of the wanted man. Should anyone encounter the man, say the police, keep a distance- it cannot be ruled out that the suspect is armed.

The perpetrator, who early Sunday morning around 4:20 am, allegedly randomly stabbed the soccer fans in front of the Cutie Bar, was reportedly himself tackled and injured, they say. Then he reportedly succeeded in fleeing.

Mahmoud Mehmet (sic?) is described by police as 1.60-1.70 meters tall and stocky. He has black, thinning hair, brown eyes, and reportedly was wearing a black hoodie, a white shirt, and black pants.

*Update May 19, 2025: The suspect has been arrested near Dusseldorf. Details from German media to follow. 

Netherlands: Protesters Call Saudi Peace Activist an "Infidel"

Loay Alshareef

On this date, amid all the "Nakba Day" protests going on around Europe this past week, including Amsterdam, an event was held at the Royal Institute of the Tropics in Amsterdam featuring British writer and commentator, Douglas Murray, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, former Israeli spy chief, Amos Yadlin, and Saudi peace activist, Loay Alshareef. The event was organized by the Information and Documentation Center of Israel (CIDI) to mark its more than 50 years of existence. Not surprisingly, it drew the usual crowd of protesters. They chanted their tired slogans and smeared red paint on the building where the event was being held.

While I was not previously familiar with Yadlin and Alshareef, I have great regard for Hirsi Ali and Douglas Murray.

Of particular interest were the words of Alshareef, who is a peace activist who argues for Arab reconciliation with Israel. His words should carry weight as an Arab and a Muslim.

At least some of the protesters outside were calling Alshareef an "infidel" for advocating peace between Israel and the Arab world. He pointed out the Dutch protesters in the crowd and stated that he knew more about the region, Islam, and Arab-Israeli relations than they did. 

A couple of points I would like to make here. The article below indicates to me that if Alshareef is, in fact, an "infidel" because he wants peace between Israel and the Arab world, the conflict has a lot to do with religion, not just who owns which land. It also suggests that the pro-Palestinian crowd does not want peace, but rather a war that destroys the Jewish state. Alshareef also highlights just how indoctrinated the younger generation of Dutch (and other Western supporters of the Palestinians) are under Hamas' propaganda. 

The article below from today's De Telegraaf is translated by Fousesquawk.

At least two arrests

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators disrupt lecture by peace activist Loay Alshareef at CIDI Congress in Amsterdam: "I also want a free Palestine, free from Hamas"

By Silvan Schoonhoven

Updated one hour ago, Today 13:12 in Domestic

Amsterdam- The pro-Palestinian activists in Amsterdam don't understand anything about Islam or the Middle East. That is what Islamic speaker Loay Alshareef from Saudi Arabia said, who was called an "infidel" Sunday morning at the Tropics Institute because he came to speak at a congress of the Central Information and Documentation Center of Israel (CIDI). Activists shouted slogans and sprayed the building with red paint.

Caption: Demonstrators have gathered in front of the building of the Royal Tropics Institute (KIT), where the Center for Information and Documentation of Israel (CIDI) is celebrating its 50th anniversary.

"I want to say one thing to the people in the Netherlands and Amsterdam," said Alshareef. "Those who are protesting outside think that they know the Middle East, Islam, and Arab-Israeli relations better than I do. That is not true."

Loay Alshareef calls for rapprochement between Arab countries and Israel

The Saudi peace activist, Alshareef, calls for rapprochement between Arab countries and Israel. He sees extremist Muslim groups as the biggest enemy. Not just for the Jewish state, but for the Arab world. Radical Muslims are gaining more and more ground in European countries, he argues. The Netherlands should keep a closer eye on newcomers from Islamic countries, "to determine if they are coming to assimilate or dominate".

Caption: Loay Alshareef during an earlier lecture.

Alshareef is in the Netherlands for the (more than) 50-year-anniversary of the establishment of the CIDI. That was established in 1974 after the Yom Kippur War, which was almost fatal for Israel. The founders believed that support for Israel in the Netherlands was crumbling and wanted to stop it by spreading information about the Jewish state. Opponents, on the other hand, saw the CIDI as a mouthpiece for the Israeli government. At the congress, however, contradictory opinions are heard, particularly over the war in Gaza. "All arguments for continuing the war are weak," says, for example, former spy chief and air force general, Amos Yadlin. Even within the CIDI, there are different thoughts over the war and food blockades.

Activists had called on the Royal Institute for the Tropics to cancel the CIDI congress because they feel that it defends the war in Gaza and the Israeli policy. They shouted slogans, such as, "Arabic Palestine' and smeared the building of the Tropics Institute. "I got a warm welcome here from the demonstrators," says Alshareef. "And I want to thank them because I couldn't find the location." 

Loay Alshareef did not feel "intimidated"

Despite the shouting, Alshareef did not feel intimidated by the activists. "I wish them success if they think they can intimidate an Arab Muslim who was earlier indoctrinated with hate and who has overcome it.  Maybe they can intimidate the white Dutch Generation Z, who don't know much about the Middle East, but not an Arab and a Muslim who believes in peace with Israel. When they shouted 'Free Palestine', I looked at them and said, 'We also want a free Palestine. Free from Hamas."

Caption: According to the police, at least two people have been arrested.

A police spokesperson reports that two people were arrested on Sunday. One demonstrator was arrested for insulting, the other for wearing a face covering.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Ayaan Hirsi Ali was also one of the speakers on Sunday, as well as the British opinion-maker Douglas Murray and Amos Yadlin, former head of the military intelligence service. They discuss the war in Gaza, the future of the region, and the highly polarized debate in European countries like the Netherlands.

Hirsi Ali was back in the Netherlands for the first time in ten years, where she was a member of Parliament for the VVD. After the murder of Theo van Gogh, she had to go into hiding as a critic of Islam. She left for the United States, where she became a famous opinion-maker. "It's nice to be here, but when I watch the news, I am shocked. I always say that the Dutch are very rational, but it seems now that many have given up their common sense." 

Tha National Lawyers Guild Goes International

For the past several years, the National Lawyers Guild (NLG), originally established in the 1930s as a legal arm of the Communist Party USA, has been seen at anti-Israel protests across the nation. They are easy to spot with their distinctive lime green baseball caps with the inscription, "National Lawyers Guild Legal Observer" in black letters on the front.

On May 15, the anti-Israel, pro-Hamas mob, joined by Antifa, held a "Nakba Day"  event in Berlin that was monitored by a heavy police presence. When police ordered them to disperse, they ignored the repeated commands until police moved in, at which point, fighting broke out between the protesters and police. One police officer was trampled and seriously injured in the melee. It should be noted that Berlin has had more than its share of pro-Hamas, anti-Semitic, and violent protests in recent months. 

While watching the videos of the Berlin protest, I noted that there were dozens of young people among the crowd wearing lime green baseball caps with no inscription. Wondering if there was a connection to the US-based NLG, I searched the internet and quickly found the answer here.

NLG at UCLA

Berlin, May 15, 2025

Below is a live stream of the protest taken by an observer (Escalaba?) and uploaded to YouTube. It is almost 5 hours long, but if you watch closely-or skim it like I did- you will find many shots of people in lime green caps standing around, observing, and taking notes. They generally position themselves on the outer fringes of the protest.

 

 

 

The below video is much shorter (about 4:20) and features much of the scuffling. It is from Berliner Zeitung and on several occasions, you can see the lime green caps.

 

Today Is Hamas Day at Providence City Hall

 

Hat tip to College Professors United for Jews and Israel

Given the history of corruption in Providence, Rhode Island politics, this should not come as a big surprise, but today, apparently to kick off Memorial Day weekend, the city council is flying the Palestinian flag atop Providence City Hall!

Here is how the Providence Journal is reporting the event. From my reading, the article is weighted toward the Palestinian side. In addition, though it's a small representative sample, looking at the photos in the article, as is virtually always the case, it is the Israeli supporters who wave both US and Israeli flags while the Hamas supporters wave only Palestinian flags. One gets the impression that those Palestinian supporters who are American citizens are not the most patriotic bunch in the country.

Here is how ABC News Providence reported the event.

Maybe they should have chosen a more appropriate day, like October 7, to commemorate the great "Day of Resistance" by Hamas, in which they slaughtered over 1,200 people and took over 200 hostages, some of whom are still sitting somewhere in Gaza today. Oh yes. They are commemorating "Nakba Day" (catastrophe), marking the 1948 Declaration of Israel's independence. As pointed out in the ABC News Providence report, City Hall had also raised the Israeli flag days earlier to mark Israel's independence. Call it moral equivalence, but I don't understand it. It was Israel that was attacked. In contrast to Hamas, Israel is fighting according to the internationally recognized rules of warfare. Yes, it is sad that civilians are being killed in Gaza, but I place the blame for those deaths squarely on Hamas. It was Hamas who started the fighting with their barbaric attack on October 7, 2023, and it is Hamas who always use their civilian population as human shields. Israel is fighting for its very existence. But apparently, the city leaders feel they need to stand in solidarity with both sides (actually, one side a bit more than the other, as I read the reportage). Have they forgotten that Israel is one of our strongest allies?

Apparently, these morally corrupt politicians wish to diminish or celebrate the beheading of babies or the placing of them in ovens. That's the spirit, Providence! Forget about the rapes of young women, the torture, parading of captives in Gaza for the civilians (that some people are feeling so sorry for) to spit on,  assault, and hold captive for Hamas ever since that horrific day.

How much more sensible it would be to fly only the US flag on City Hall and forget about paying tribute to every other country. By its contradictory actions, Providence has shown-at the very least- moral equivalency and moral cowardice.

Germany: Afghan on Trial for Stabbing Death

Chalk up another Afghan "success story" and chalk up another innocent victim sacrificed on the altar of Germany's insane refugee policy initiated by former Chancellor Angela Merkel in 2015. I wonder how many innocent Europeans have lost their lives in the past decade to these so-called refugees-just at the hands of Afghans alone??!!

Angela Merkel

"Wir schaffen das."

("We can do this".)

In the state of Baden-Württemberg, a 25-year-old Afghan man, identified only as Ramin F., is standing trial for the stabbing death of a French citizen who was out jogging. According to the charges, the victim, Fabrice D., was chosen randomly by the defendant because he was angry at being kicked out of an asylum center where he was allegedly causing a ruckus.

The article below from Bild is translated by Fousesquawk. 

Prosecutor certain

Out of frustration! Asylum-seeker stabs the nearest person.

Jogger( 56) killed in Hochdorf-Trial of Afghan (25)

Caption: After the death of Frenchman Fabrice D. (56), police search the asylum-seeker shelter in Hochdorf (Esslingen District).

-By Hagen Stegmüller

May 14, 22:28

Stuttgart: He was in a bad mood because they had kicked him out of the asylum home. He then allegedly decided to kill the next person he (encountered)!

In the state court of Stuttgart, the murder trial of Ramin F. has begun. The asylum-seeker allegedly encountered a jogger at lunchtime on November 15 in Hochdorf (Baden-Württemberg). According to the state prosecutor, the refugee, out of general frustration, pulled out a knife with a 17-centimeter blade and stabbed the jogger four times, massively, in the chest. The victim, French software developer Fabrice D. (56), bled to death on the street. A stab wound had pierced his heart. 

Caption: Asylum-seeker Ramin F. (25) brought to state court in handcuffs.

"I will kill you all!"

One week before the crime, the apparently belligerent defendant (who came to Germany in 2022) was transferred from the asylum center in Hochdorf to the neighboring location in Wernau. However, he reportedly didn't like it there. On the day of the crime, he went back and argued with the Hochdorf house supervisor over a screw driver. Ramin F. was  expelled from the premises, and, according to the indictment, threatened: "I will kill you all!"

Caption: The jogger was ambushed on the sidewalk and stabbed.

(Sign reads: "Why?")

The Afghan reportedly found his first victim quickly. State Prosecutor Sven Reiss (36): "To release his pent-up aggression, the defendant stabbed the jogger, who just happened to be passing by. He thus took advantage of  (the victim's) lack of awareness and defenselessness."

Victim wanted to go for a short jog

Software expert Fabrice D. had been working in his home/office (and) wanted to go for a short run during his lunch break. On his return, about 150 meters from his house, he encountered his murderer.

Caption: The alleged murderer was arrested in this asylum center in Wernau.

After the act, the Afghan reportedly fled into the woods. Police arrested him one hour later in his (asylum) center in Wernau.

In the court, Ramin F. had no opportunity to respond to the accusation. On Wednesday, only the indictment was read out. Before the Afghan took his seat, his defence attorney shooed away the (female) interpreter. His client did not want to sit next to a woman, he said.

 

The Department of Education: What Will Happen to Its Office of Civil Rights?

This article first appeared in New English Review.

It is well known that President Trump is working to abolish the Department of Education (DOE). Staffing has already been cut, and his Education Secretary, Linda McMahon, is on board with the idea of eliminating the department altogether. While not everybody in Congress is on board, DOE is clearly on the cutting block.

Personally, I am not an expert on the question, but I have no objection to DOE's would-be funding being sent directly to the states. I have never been convinced that bureaucrats in Washington know more than those in the states. Of course, during the Civil Rights era, it was necessary for the federal government to step in when segregation was practiced in schools and other aspects of life in the South. This was prior to the establishment of DOE under the Carter administration, but we did have a Department of Justice that intervened-with the help of a (nationalized) National Guard. 

While I don't share many of the concerns of the Democrats (like who is going to administer student loans), I do have one concern if DOE is abolished. That is the DOE's Office of Civil Rights (OCR). 

For the past several years, DOE's Office of Civil Rights (OCR) has been very active in investigating complaints of campus anti-Semitism in our universities. Their level of effectiveness has varied depending on which administration was in power. They were especially active investigating anti-Semitism when Kenneth Marcus was heading the office from 2018-2020 before returning to his present position as director of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under the Law. This non-governmental organization is taking a prominent role in fighting campus anti-Semitism. I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Marcus on a couple of occasions in Southern California when we were having so many problems on the University of California at Irvine campus. (On those occasions, he was representing the Brandeis Center, as I recall.)

To be fair, DOE/OCR also initiated several investigations of university campuses under the Biden administration, especially after the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and the resultant demonstrations of support for Hamas on many campuses. Under Trump, their role is more enhanced than ever. 

During the May 7, 2025 hearings on campus anti-Semitism held by the House Committee on Education and the Work Force, one troubling bit of news was brought out, ironically, by a Democrat, Representative Mark Takano (D-CA). In answer to his question,  Georgetown Law Professor David Cole (former National Legal Director of the ACLU) stated that 7 of OCR's 12 regional offices have already been closed, resulting in a backlog of cases for the remaining 5 offices. If true, that is a problem that must be fixed quickly.

Thus far, I have heard nothing concrete as to what would be done with OCR. McMahon reportedly favors transferring OCR to the Justice Department, which seems like the natural choice. It is my understanding that OCR will likely go either to DOJ or to the Indisciplinary Anti-Semitism Task Force under Leo Terrell and experts from various agencies. What is important is that investigations are still being opened, and we are finally seeing concrete action being taken against anti-Semitism in our universities and secondary schools. That important work must not be interrupted. If DOE is dissolved, the staffing and functions of OCR should be transferred as smoothly as possible.

France: Brawl Breaks out in Court During Murder Trial

The victim: Lionel Sess (16)

On Tuesday, May 12, during a murder trial in Bordeaux, France, involving eight defendants, a brawl broke out among some 20 or so people. The trial concerns the murder in January 2021 of a 16-year-old boy, Lionel Sess, in the Aubiers area of Bordeaux. Sess, who was apparently selling pastries outside his apartment building, was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, according to witnesses, when a drive-by shooting occurred as part of neighborhood gang rivalries. Three defendants, identified as Adboulhadre Savane, Marwan Souane, and Yassine Salmi, are specifically charged with the murder of Sess, while five other men are also on trial as accessories, some of whom are not in custody, and who were attacked in court by the persons involved in the brawl.

The below article in Le Figaro-Bordeaux is translated by Fousesquawk.

"I have never seen such an outbreak of violence": Brawl breaks out in Bordeaux court amid neighborhood rivalries

By Le Figaro with Agence France Presse

One day ago

"A mob of about 20 people charged at my client, who was injured in the shoulder," relates one of the attorneys for the accused, who appeared free (not in custody), Attorney Gregoire Mouly.

A violent brawl broke out Monday evening inside the criminal court of Gironde during the trial of three young men, charged with the death of Lionel, 16, fatally wounded during a shootout amid rivalries between Bordeaux neighborhoods. "At the conclusion of the first day of hearings, serious incidents took place in the courtroom and the public waiting area of the court of appeal, leading to injuries to police officers who intervened to restore order," the court of appeal writes in a press release. No arrests were made during the incident.

Tuesday morning, the courtroom capacity was reduced by half, and the security deployment was reinforced for the remainder of the trial. The prosecutor's office has opened an investigation into "group violence". "The atmosphere was surprisingly calm all day. Then, at the end of the hearing, we saw about 20 young hulking men arrive, little by little, and dressed in black, who sat on a bench in the back of the room," related Attorney Yann Herrera, who is representing the relatives of Lionel Sess.

"You want war? You'll have it"

As the room emptied, dozens of people began to fight, some of whom were wearing padded gloves, in the space between the hearing room and the public waiting area, then in the courtroom itself," related the attorney. "A mob of about 20 persons charged at my client, who was injured in the shoulder," related Attorney Gregoire Mouly, one of the lawyers for the accused who appeared free (not in custody). 

"In my life as a lawyer, I have never seen such an outbreak of violence in a courtroom," (Mouly) points out. The appeals court of Bordeaux indicated that the trial, scheduled to run till May 23, "will continue till its end under reinforced security". On Saturday, January 2, 2021, shortly after 10 p.m., at the foot of an apartment building in the neighborhood of Aubiers, in north Bordeaux, Lionel was selling pastries so he could go on a skiing trip when automatic rifle shots were fired at the foot of his apartment building. 

"You want war? You'll have it," one of them shouted, according to witnesses. A hooded man chased the adolescents on foot, shouting, "Smoke (shoot) the little ones", victims and residents recounted to investigators. Three minors, ages 13 to 16, took refuge in surrounding buildings, seriously wounded. Lionel remained on the ground unconscious, hit by two bullets, one of which in the torso.
   

Austria: Knife Attack in Klagenfurt

Klagenfurt, Austria

Late Friday night, early Saturday morning, a 19-year-old man was stabbed in Klagenfurt. He was taken to a hospital and operated on for internal bleeding. His present condition is not known. On Tuesday (today), a 17-year-old Egyptian suspect was arrested for the attack. 

Just another day in today's Austria.

The article below from Kronen Zeitung (Austria) is translated by Fousesquawjk.

Emergency operation on victim (19)

Knife attack from behind: Suspect arrested

Carinthia, May 13, 2025 at 17:44

The suspect was arrested Tuesday after a knife attack

Late Friday night/early Saturday morning in Klagenfurt, there was a knife attack on the street. The 19-year-old injured person was taken to a hospital in Klagenfurt and (received) an emergency operation. The alleged perpetrator was arrested on Tuesday in the center of the city.

The questioning of the 17-year-old Egyptian citizen was still ongoing, and exact details were still not available, explains Police spokesperson Waltraud Dullnigg on Tuesday. Initial indications point to a connection with the drug scene, the police said on Saturday,

"Once the young man arrived in the hospital, it was determined that he had internal bleeding and he was immediately operated on."

-Police spokesperson to Krone.

Shortly before 2 am, a police patrol was called to the apartment of the injured person. "However, he was unable to describe the attacker," the authorities state. Also present were his mother, as well as 4 acquaintances of the young man.

Internal bleeding confirmed

The 19-year-old was taken by emergency personnel to a hospital in Klagenfurt. "Once the young man arrived in the hospital, it was determined that he had internal bleeding, (and) he was immediately operated on," said a spokesperson for the police to Krone.  The investigation in the case continues.

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

"That's it! We're outta here!"

.