Monday, August 11, 2014
Claudia Rosett: The U.N. Handmaiden of Hamas
Yet the U.N. representatives in Gaza helped cater the conflict and are already setting the table for the next round. Officially, Unrwa is a strictly humanitarian agency, providing Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, Jordan, Syria and the West Bank, as well as Gaza, with "assistance and protection" in the form of schools, hospitals, construction, loans, jobs and other help. By the agency's own account, in its 2014-15 budget "the core services UNRWA provides are comparable in nature and scope to those provided by a local or national government."The Gaza DEC appeal: a case study in support for Hamas terrorism in the UK
But Gaza under Hamas is a place with only two basic industries: aid and terrorism. These are much entwined, and not solely because Hamas controls Unrwa's staff unions in Gaza, where in 2012 a Hamas-affiliated slate swept 25 of 27 seats. In effect the U.N. group subsidizes Hamas. Among U.N. agencies in the Middle East, Unrwa is the largest employer, with a regular budget for 2014 of $731 million, and a total budget that, with emergency appeals, tops $1 billion.
The agency has roughly 30,000 staff on its payroll, almost all Palestinian. Some 12,500 work in Gaza, home to 1.2 million Unrwa-registered refugees, who account for about two-thirds of Gaza's population. The U.N. agency's welfare programs relieve Hamas of many of the costs of servicing the enclave it controls as its launchpad for terror.
With the agency handling household chores, Hamas—especially since its bloody takeover of Gaza in 2007, ousting the Palestinian Authority's Fatah—has found the time and resources to amass rocket arsenals (Unrwa last month reported finding rockets stashed in three of its vacant schools), to bombard Israel (sometimes in close proximity to Unrwa premises), and to build miles of concrete-reinforced tunnels extending into Israel for terrorist attacks. Israel, in its counteroffensive, has been accused by the U.N. of deadly strikes on Unrwa schools serving as shelters.
Since Thursday it has been impossible to watch TV, listen to the radio or even look at your computer without being bombarded with impassioned pleas to donate to the "Gaza crisis" DEC (Disasters Emergencies Committee) appeal. The appeal is a case study in hysteria, propaganda, and support for Islamic terrorists while ignoring all the genuine tragedies and crises being inflicted by Islamic terrorists all over the world.“Palestine Solidarity” spokesman blames synagogue vandalism on Jews
DEC has boasted that in the first 24 hours of the Appeal they raised nearly £5 million which is apparently a record. Well, whatever is raised this DEC Appeal already wins the record for the most deceitful and least deserving charity appeal of all time (maybe their next one can be for the families of Al Qaeda and ISIS members, because it is hard to see the difference).
And who are the 13 charities who form DEC? They include all the big charities with the most notorious record of using money (which members of the public assume is going to feed the starving) to fund anti-Israel and anti-semitic political propaganda and even terrorist related organisations: Oxfam, Christian Aid and Save the Children. But what is really incredible is that the list includes the charity Islamic Relief which is well known as a front for Hamas and other Islamic terrorists organisations worldwide, not to mention support for Islamic hate preachers. At the end of the day ALL of the money sent to Gaza will be overseen by Hamas because they control everything there including of course UNWRA. People who 'want to help the children suffering in Gaza' must realise that every penny they send to this appeal will bolster Hamas and prolong the suffering of the children.
It may not be flat-out antisemitism, but it’s the closest thing to it: When Jews in the diaspora are called upon to denounce Israel.
Now, responding to “Free Gaza” graffiti sprayed on a synagogue in the English city of Hove:
A spokesman for the Brighton and Hove Palestine Solidarity campaign said: “The real issue here is that there needs to be a political solution to the occupation of Gaza and the West Bank.Since the PSC believes that the unlimited “right of return” (meaning the end of Israel) is non-negotiable, it’s hard to imagine what sort of “political solution” they have in mind.
“We would like the members of the Brighton Jewish community who do not agree with Israel’s policies to stand up – as 150 in Brooklyn did the other day, and many others have done – to show that there is not a divide between Jews and non-Jews.”
But blaming an egregious act of vandalism targeting the Jewish community on the failure of enough Jews to condemn Israel shows where they really stand.
The 20 Oddest Things People Actually Claim to Believe about the Hamas/Israel Conflict
[This article was first published by Forbes then deleted, covered by EOZ here:Palestinian Poverty is not a Plague or an Earthquake
Deleted post from Forbes: The 20 Most Ridiculous Things People Believe About The Hamas/Israel Conflict]
17. They must be good guys; Human Rights is in their name:
18. But UNWRA says:
- "Rights Watchdog, Lost in the Mideast"
- "Right Turn: Morning Bits"
- "HRW appoints alleged terrorist to Mideast Board"
- "Human Rights Watch's Ken Roth Goes to Bat for Hamas War Crimes"
19. If you can't trust genocidal terrorists, who can you trust?
20. It's the Occupation, stupid:
Israel provides or makes possible the Palestinian social service budget, and leaves Hamas and Fatah to steal and/or divert resources to personal or military ends.One on One with Benjamin Netanyahu Hannity 8/07/14
But does Palestinian poverty obligate Israel to provide aid to Hamas and Fatah governments? Warfare against Israel is the best predictor of Palestinian economic difficulty. The best aid is a job.
Hamas remains in open war with the people best able to employ its people -- Israel. War has consequences. The "shift in opportunities" will come…when Hamas makes a shift in its priorities -- and if it can't or wont, the people of Gaza will continue to suffer at the hands of their own leaders.
How Does the IDF Minimize Civilian Casualties in Gaza?
Throughout the aerial and ground phases of Operation Protective Edge, the IDF has taken precautions to minimize civilian casualties in Gaza, even as Hamas has used civilians as human shields and boasted of its strategy.How Does the IDF Minimize Civilian Casualties in Gaza?
The following video shows exactly how the IDF minimizes casualties.
'IDF does not know of any infiltration tunnels crossing from Lebanon into Israel'
While the terrain on the northern border is less easy to dig through than the soft dirt and sand surrounding Gaza, ever since the tunnels were used by Hamas in the war, the possibility of tunnels on the Lebanon border and the possibility that Hezbollah or others would use them to carry out terror attacks on northern communities has been a subject of wide discussion.Iranian General Says Hezbollah Ready to Open Second Front Against Israel
Raviv Gutman, head of security for Bar’am, the Kibbutz closest to the Lebanon border, said Monday that he believes the army is taking the issue very seriously and he is confident that when the IDF says they haven’t found tunnels, they’re telling the truth.
Lieutenant Commander General Hossein Salami of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps’ claimed on Saturday that Hezbollah is prepared to “storm the Zionist regime by its high-precision missiles.”IS Actively Joining Gaza Terror War on Israel
“Today, all the residents in the occupied territories feel insecure and the security of the occupied territories is in an equation that on one side the powerful Hezbollah exists which is ready to storm the occupied territories and everyone knows the destruction power and preciseness of its weapons, and the other variable in this equation is the Palestinian resistance which has destroyed 11 tanks of the regime and damaged 48 others using good tactics, techniques, technologies, missiles, rockets and new weapons,” Salami said in a live interview with Iran’s state-run TV, according to semi-official state news agency Fars.
Terror organizations associated with IS and Al Qaeda have been proven to be joining the fight against Israel in Gaza, firing rockets on Israeli civilian population centers and attacking IDF troops.Gaza terrorists shell crossing point used to transfer supplies to Strip
On Sunday the Abdullah Azzam Brigades declared it had fired a Grad missile towards the Israeli town of Mivtahim located near southern Gaza. The announcement comes after similar ones last month by the Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis and Majlis Shura al-Mujahidin organizations.
IS terrorists have already been proven to be active in Gaza in a video uploaded by the group in July, showing them firing rockets on Israel. Perhaps more troubling is a Channel 10 report which on Sunday exposed that in recent months black IS flags have been commonly seen in Arab-Israeli towns in northern and coastal Israel, notably in the cities of Nazareth and Akko.
Since the beginning of Operation Protective Edge on July 8, the IS and Al Qaeda-associated organizations in Gaza have announced the deaths of at least 13 of their terrorists in the fighting against the IDF and Israel.
The Border Crossings Authority said that trucks carrying flammable material were nearly struck by the shells fired from Gaza, prompting the decision to shut the crossing. Officials said it was clear the crossing area was being deliberately targeted.Liberman Rejects Hamas Demands: 'Terror Must Not Pay'
The Israeli border authority said that at around 6 a.m. local time, a deliberate and continuous barrage of shells slammed into the compound.
Operations at the crossing continued and some 30 truckloads of humanitarian supplies were transferred from Israel into the Gaza Strip. However, at around 12.30 p.m. a second volley of shells hit the site, after which the Defense Ministry decided to immediately close the crossing in order to guarantee the safety of its workers.
The border crossing is to remain shut until further notice. (h/t Irene)
As Israeli negotiators arrived in Cairo early Monday afternoon a 72-hour ceasefire with Hamas began the night before, Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman (Yisrael Beytenu) stated that Israel must not allow Hamas's terror on Israel to pay off for the Gaza-based organization.Report: Norway, Turkey Offered Gaza Seaport to Hamas
Speaking to Yedioth Aharonoth, Liberman declared "we must not blink, we must not allow even the smallest appearance that it pays to fight against Israel."
"It cannot be that the result of the clash between Israel and Hamas, which began with the abduction and murder of the three youths and continued in a confrontation in Gaza, will end with Hamas leaving with a feeling that terror pays," clarified the foreign minister.
Turkey and Norway have expressed their willingness in principle to operate a seaport in the Hamas enclave of Gaza, according to the Palestinian delegation in Cairo.Hamas: No long-term truce until Gaza blockade lifted
According to a report in Israel Today, the government in Ankara has already announced its intention to send to Gaza over 3,000 prefabricated houses to be quickly assembled, accommodating local Arab families whose homes were destroyed during Operation Protective Edge.
The seaport proposal gives international credence to Hamas's unprecedented demands for unlimited transportation and import access. The terror group has already demanded an international airport in Gaza, a demand which has been categorically denied thus far in the negotiating process due to its security threat on Israel.
Hamas political chief Khaled Mashaal said Monday that despite a 72-hour cease-fire with Israel in Gaza, which went into effect at midnight Sunday, his organization would not agree to a long-term deal unless the blockade of Gaza is lifted.Hamas Offers Compromise Of Only Attempting Genocide 5 Days A Week (satire)
"The 72-hour cease-fire is necessary for tactical reasons, to bring humanitarian aid into Gaza," Mashaal said in an interview with the Arab media. "Anyone who thinks that they can achieve a long-term cease-fire without lifting the blockade is wrong."
"We can renew our fire at any time and in fact, the diplomatic battle in Cairo is a direct continuation of the military battle," Mashaal added.
Talks between the Islamic movement Hamas and Israel’s Egyptian proxies continued today as Hamas offered to back down from its demand that destruction of Israel and its Jews take place perpetually, instead proposing that the genocide take place only Monday through Friday every week.Hamas has IDF soldier’s missing body, Ya’alon says
Negotiators for Israel and Palestinians met separately with Egyptian mediators, who conveyed Hamas’s change of position to the Israelis and urged them to accept it, as it represents the most fundamental shift in position that can be reasonably expected from an organization institutionally dedicated to the destruction of Israel. Israeli negotiators reportedly told the Egyptians they would have to examine the proposal before responding.
The body of IDF soldier Sgt. Oron Shaul, which was not retrieved after a bloody attack in Gaza City’s Shejaiya neighborhood on July 20, is in Hamas’s possession, Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon told Shaul’s family on Sunday. Ya’alon stressed that the government is doing everything in its power in order to bring Shaul’s body back to Israel for burial.Why My Brother Really Died
The missing soldier’s remains have not been found, but on July 25, a special IDF ethics committee ruled that sufficient evidence existed to determine that Shaul was killed in the attack. IDF Chief Rabbi Brig. Gen. Rafi Peretz notified the soldier’s family that Shaul was designated a fallen soldier “whose place of burial is unknown.”
Although Sean was considered in technical terms a lone soldier, he was anything but – he was always surrounded by an abundance of love from an enormous number of people.Hackers Deface IDF Arabic Spokesman’s Own Facebook Page, Doctor Personal Pictures (VIDEO)
I don’t think that the many people who showed up at his funeral came just because he was a lone soldier, but also with the nation’s desire to feel united again, to be grateful from the bottom of their hearts, to show their deep recognition for all the heroes of Israel, both dead and living, and to connect to us in the most sincere manner possible.
And for this, I will forever be grateful.
Sean was a man of love, harmony, freedom and an abundance of life. I feel Sean’s spirit inside all of us, and I hear his voice saying simply, “This is awesome.”
I would like to take this opportunity to challenge the world to come to Israel, and see for yourselves what this country is really about. What it stands for.
It’s tolerance, it’s beauty, it’s harmony, it’s happiness, it’s energy, it’s spirituality, but most of all it’s longing for peace. For the first time in my life, I can now call Israel my home.
Anti-Israel hackers briefly succeeded in breaking into and defacing the personal Facebook page of IDF Arabic-language spokesman, Maj. Avichay Adraee, in recent days, according to a report on Israel’s Channel 2 News.‘Operation Doron’ serves up love on a plate
Among the photo-shopped images the digital infiltrators created is one that shows him as a vampire with a bloodstained mouth. Another from his wedding is doctored to include a nationalistic Palestinian emblem overlay, and in yet another he is made to appear to be reeling from a harsh slap by a keffiyeh-clad man.
Adraee, who represents the IDF as a regular guest on Arabic networks throughout the Mideast, and is highly active on social media platforms, is also a regular target of anti-Israel groups who defame and mock him on social media.
Israeli farmer living near Gaza prepares 35,000 free pita sandwiches each day for soldiers on the frontlines. A Haifa butcher supplies the meat.Government approves 'economic Iron Dome' for southern Israel
Facebook can bring down governments. It can be a place of highly uncivil debate. But it can also catalyze a war-weary public to support its soldiers in extraordinary ways.
In 2012, during Operation Pillar of Defense, Doron Elbaz put out a call on the social-media site to help feed hungry soldiers massing on the border with Gaza. Volunteers came down to Elbaz’s farm, a few hundred meters outside Moshav Maslul, to prepare meals in a pita. Ten jeeps traveled back and forth to deliver the food for the eight days of the operation.
So when Operation Protective Edge began this year, Elbaz took to Facebook again. The result overwhelmed him.
As part of the multi-year plan, the full costs of which are estimated at NIS 417 million ($120.5 million), the government will fund the restoration and construction of public parks, sports centers, and public and cultural institutions in southern Israel, as well as invest in the fortification of existing daycare centers, public building and infrastructure.In a kibbutz down south, where kids can tell a Hamas ‘boom’ from an Israeli one
"It is clear that beyond the need to restore peace and quiet in the south and all across Israel, we also have to make a special effort to nurture the south, as part of meeting our national challenges. We will do so is the shortest timeframe possible," Netanyahu said Sunday.
The kids in Kibbutz Nirim, less than two kilometers from the border with Gaza, can identify rockets by their sounds.Rafael CEO says laser solution to mortars coming in next year or two
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To the untrained ear, all three sound the same: Boom, boom, boom.
“That was two rockets from Gaza, with one of ours in the middle,” announced Regev Haglili, 14, confidently.
“No way, that was a rocket launch, and two rockets falling,” argued his brother, Barak.
“You’re wrong,” insisted Regev. A normal sibling rivalry argument over an abnormal subject: rockets aimed at their houses.
“Luckily, our bedroom is the ‘safe room’,” Barak explained, reinforced against a rocket strike. “But you should see it when the whole family has to sleep in here. Five people in one room – phew!”
Israel is close to deploying a defense system that will use lasers to destroy incoming mortar shells, president and general manager of Rafael Armament Development Yedidia Yaari said.Violence against Jews in East Jerusalem doubles
“There is an answer for the mortars and it's a laser. We are already working on a model that hits rockets in the air with a very high rate of success, but we need money for development,” Ya’ari said on Saturday, adding that he thinks its a matter of a year or two before the system could be deployed.
Yaari also said there is work in progress on finding an answer to the infiltration tunnels deployed by Hamas to deadly effect during the war, but added that it was no easy matter to locate the tunnels before they are put into use.
More than 360 violent assaults against Jews living in East Jerusalem, including the capital’s Old City, were recorded in July, nearly double the number of similar attacks that took place during the same period in 2013, according to figures published Monday.Palestinian terror suspect killed in gunfight with IDF near Nablus
Most incidents involve youths hurling stones and Molotov cocktails at Jewish civilians living in predominantly Palestinian neighborhoods, or rioters setting off firecrackers near Jewish institutions. In some cases, however, masked gunmen opened fire at Jews residing in the eastern half of the city, the Haaretz daily reported. Last Monday, an IDF soldier was shot at close range by a gunman on a motorbike near the neighborhood of Wadi al-Joz.
Palestinian and Israeli media reported that Al-Aqra, 24, opened fire on IDF troops who came to arrest him at his Qabalan home. Haaretz reported that the Border Police officers fired an anti-tank missile at the house. Amid an exchange of fire that lasted hours, according to the Palestinian Ma’an news agency, the IDF began bulldozing sections of the building in an effort to pressure the suspect to surrender. Around 8 a.m., he was killed by IDF fire.NY governor, lawmakers to fly to Israel for solidarity trip
According to the army, Al-Aqra was involved in multiple shooting incidents at Israeli soldiers in the West Bank. It said it found arms in the building after the siege ended.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and top state legislators are heading to Israel this week for a two-day visit as a “demonstration of solidarity” with that country in the conflict in Gaza, the Democratic governor announced Sunday.Questioning the motivation of Jewish Voice for Peace's invasion of the Philadelphia Jewish Federation
Cuomo, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate co-leaders Dean Skelos and Jeff Klein will travel to Israel on Tuesday. Cuomo said the delegation would meet with Israeli leaders and visit residents affected by the fighting.
“Friends stand together in times of crisis, and I am proud to lead this bipartisan delegation to Israel to reaffirm our friendship and support,” Cuomo said in a statement emailed to reporters.
“New York has always had a special relationship with Israel. As Hamas and other terrorist organizations continue to threaten Israel, now is the time to deliver that message of solidarity in person,” he said.
Jewish Federations and Community Centers have long been a soft target of anti-Semitic attacks, both abroad and in AmericaJ Street: Israel is ‘Fanning Growing Flames of Anti-Semitism’
On August 10, 1999, the North Valley Jewish Community Center in Granada Hills was attacked by a white supremacist Buford O. Furrow, Jr, who walked into the lobby and opened fire with a semiautomatic weapon, firing 70 shots into the complex. The gunfire wounded five people, including 3 children.
On July 28, 2006, Naveed Afzal Haq shot six women, one fatally, at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle, in Washington Naveed Haq was convicted in December 2009 and sentenced to life without parole plus 120 years.
On August 8 2014 several members from the extremist group “Jewish Voice for Peace” gained entry into the lobby of the Jewish Federation of Philadelphia by pretending to be volunteers for the Mitzvah Food Project. After the door was opened, a larger group of protesters forced their way into the lobby of the Federation the moment the front door was opened.
While the invasion of the Philadelphia Federation did not end in a violent attack, given the extremist agenda and unscrupulous alliances of JVP, it begs the question- was this a trial run for a more serious attack? Was JVP identifying vulnerabilities in community security procedures for a more nefarious end?
It’s a very scary thought.
J Street, which has said little about the conflict in recent weeks, released a statement Friday afternoon after Hamas resumed attacks on Israel moments after a temporary 72-hour ceasefire had expired.Turkish aid group steps up preparations to launch 'Freedom Flotilla II' for Gaza
J Street decided that now is the time to “put forward some hard truths” about Israel as it fights to defend its citizens from terrorism.
“Failure to solve this conflict is eating away at support for Israel around the world, damaging the country’s legitimacy and, in some cases, fanning growing flames of anti-Semitism,” J Street leader Jeremy Ben-Ami said in a posting on the group’s website.
The U.S.-based group also accuses Israel of being racist. Little is said of Hamas’ commitment to the genocide of all Jewish people.
“When members of Israel’s sitting government openly oppose the two-state solution, spout racism, and promote ideas that undermine Israel’s democratic fabric, it’s hard to view this government as a credible partner for a real and substantial peace,” Ben-Ami writes.
The Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) said in an e-mailed statement that members of a "coalition" of pro-Palestinian activists from 12 countries had met in Istanbul at the weekend and decided to launch a convoy "in the shadow of the latest Israeli aggression on Gaza," referring to the latest, month-long war. Fighting has abated under a 72-hour ceasefire deal.Sisi, King of Saudi Arabia meet to discuss Gaza crisis, threat posed by Islamic extremists
"The Freedom Flotilla Coalition affirmed that, as most governments are complicit, the responsibility falls on civil society to challenge the Israeli blockade on Gaza," it said.
An IHH spokeswoman did not elaborate. The group will hold a news conference on Tuesday, she said.
However, in a previous statement, the organization claimed that the Turkish navy would provide protection for the ship.
The leaders of the Arab world's most populous state and its richest state met on Sunday to talk over joint efforts to counter Islamist militancy across the Middle East, including the turmoil now shaking Iraq.Kuwaiti Columnist Fouad Al-Hashem: Hamas Uses Palestinian Blood as Fuel to Gain Power
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt and Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah are sworn enemies of the Muslim Brotherhood. They see the recent success of militants in Iraq as a threat to their stability and undermining security in the region.
Sisi's spokesman, Ehab Badawi, said the two leaders agreed to work together promote the "true and moderate values of Islam that reject extremism and terrorism".
Kuwaiti Cleric Othman Al-Khamis Criticizes Hamas: Show Some Regard to the Lives of Muslims
Hamas said to have executed dozens of tunnel diggers
Hamas executed dozens of diggers responsible for its extensive tunnel system in past weeks, fearing the workers would reveal the site locations to Israel, a report on the Mako website’s army blog said.Fear, fatalism or support: Why isn’t Gaza revolting against Hamas?
There was no independent confirmation of the report (link here in Hebrew).
The tunnelers, many of whom constructed the tunnels over the course of months, would dig for 8-12 hours a day, and received a monthly wage of $150-$300, according to the blog.
Sources in Gaza told the website that Hamas took a series of precautions to prevent information from reaching Israel. The terror organization would reportedly blindfold the excavators en route to the sites and back, to prevent them from recognizing the locations. The tunnels were strictly supervised by Hamas members, and civilians were kept far from the sites.
Bassem Eid, a veteran Jerusalem-based human rights activist and political analyst, said that Gazans are reluctant to demonstrate for fear of Hamas.Anti-Semitism in Europe at its 'worst since Nazi era'
“There is no doubt there’s an atmosphere of fear and terror in Gaza,” Eid told The Times of Israel, citing the killing of Hamas official Ayman Taha in Gaza last week over suspicions of corruption and collaboration with Arab intelligence agencies. “Others were executed in various gatherings under the pretext of their being collaborators with Israel.”
Eid said he is trying to investigate reports of political repression in Gaza, and estimated that the number of dissidents killed by Hamas over the course of Operation Protective Edge ranged from 10 to 35.
“Hamas has a physical presence in almost every house in Gaza and can listen to what’s being said. It’s a Stasi regime par excellence,” he continued, referring to the East German secret police notorious for its eavesdropping capabilities.
The recent wave of anti-Semitism in Europe is indicative of "the worst times since the Nazi era," the president of Germany's Central Council of Jews, Dieter Graumann, told British newspaper The Guardian recently.Baroness Warsi's Pro-Israel 'Chequebook' Comment is A Sop to Anti-Semites
The Guardian, which is frequently critical of Israel, published a lengthy report about growing anti-Semitism in Europe, highlighting incidents such as cries of "Death to the Jews," the burning of Israeli flags in France, and Molotov cocktails thrown at a synagogue in Germany that was once destroyed during Kristallnacht.
According to her, Cameron's Conservative Party will lose next year's General Election on the ethnic minority vote; which is less of an indictment of the Tories, and more an indictment of the type of divisive, segregationist rhetoric that Warsi and her ilk continue to prop up in Britain.Just Wars and Unjust News
The Baroness skirted close to the anti-Semitic line today when she said in relation to the Conservative Friends of Israel: "I hope that how the Conservative Party raises its funds does not have an impact in relation to its policy in Government. The national interest should never be subject to the chequebooks of anybody."
Whipping out the "rich Jews are influencing British policy" argument is a slight upon her former boss Cameron and all her current colleagues. To imagine that they can be bought off in any way raises the question of why Warsi failed to raise this while she was in government, and why it is suddenly only becoming a priority now. God knows it is not like the CFI are news to Warsi. As we know, she has attended their events before.
The pillars of the liberal left in Britain when I was younger were the New Statesman magazine and the Guardian and Observer newspapers. Later joined by the Independent daily.WATCH: George Galloway MP Tells Cheering Crowd Israel is 'Illegitimate Enterprise'
Now these lead the lynch mob against Israel. The Observer last year had to retract a story that Israel used white phosphorus shells in Gaza. Today it drew a parallel between the ISIS / Yazidis crisis and the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Unbelievably, in this parallel Yazidis = Gazans and Israel = ISIS!
The Independent also regularly fires written missiles at Israel in a column misleadingly called ‘Comment is Free’. Misleadingly, because the only comment allowed is what the Independent chooses to publish.
In one of the latest ‘Comment is (not) Free’ it is argued that Israel’s war against Hamas was not a Just War. The writer is Paul Vallely ‘visiting professor of public ethics at the University of Chester’ . But he seems to have no understanding of Just War theory or of the facts in the Hamas – Israel conflict.
Firebrand leftist George Galloway MP took to the stage at today's anti-Israel rally in Hyde Park to tell a crowd of tens of thousands that "the entire State of Israel is an illegitimate enterprise".British Jews and Israelis Defy MP Galloway in Bradford Visit
Galloway, who just last week called for his constituency in Bradford to boycott Israeli products, academics, and even tourists, took his vicious rhetoric to another level today, implying that he believed the Jewish State should no longer exist at all.
He began and ended his speech with the traditional Muslim greeting of 'As-salamu alaykum', which means 'Peace be upon you'.
He said in a speech to the crowd:
"Here's the whole truth... the entire State of Israel is a completely illegitimate enterprise. It was founded on somebody else's land.
"It's simple... so far as what they call Israel is concerned... No recognition. No normalisation.
"Just boycott, boycott, boycott. As-salamu alaykum."
A group of British Jews and Israelis visited the City of Bradford in defiance of Member of Parliament George Galloway's recent assertion that the city should be an "Israel free zone".An open letter to George Galloway from a West Yorkshire Jew
The group, led by Rabbi Shneur Odze who is also a UKIP candidate, took the trip this weekend "to defend the British sense of fair play and tolerance".
Last week Mr Galloway, who has represented Bradford since winning a by-election there in 2012 said Bradford should boycott Israeli goods, academics and even tourists.
In his speech he said: “We have declared Bradford an Israel free zone. We don’t want any Israeli goods. We don’t want any Israeli services. We don’t want any Israeli academics, coming to the university or the college.
I also have a humble question about the status of non-Israeli Zionists within the new border controls process that you’re seeking to establish for Bradford. Are Zionists – for example, liberal Zionists who wholeheartedly advocate for the establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza – also proscribed from enjoying the architecture of Bradford City Hall? And for that matter, are right-wing Zionists not encouraged to visit one of the UK’s most multicultural cities to learn from its successes, in order to understand that the existence of different ethnic groups side-by-side does not have to be a recipe for conflict?Kevin Connolly joins the BBC’s Hamas demands promotion campaign
Please excuse my questions, but I only ask to try and clarify the details of the plan you laid out to refuse civilian tourists of one single country entry to Bradford. I am sure that you have a perfectly coherent logic behind it, and it is my own ignorance – not being an elected Member of Parliament myself, you see – that causes me to view your actions as collectively punishing a group of innocent civilians (Israelis) as a response to disapproving of what you deem collective punishment of a group of innocent civilians (Gazans).
Significantly, Connolly obviously finds it unnecessary to point out to viewers that the border restrictions were put in place because the Israeli government believes that its citizens also have rights, including that to live a normal life free from terror attacks. Additionally, Connolly offers no context on the topic of building materials – remarkable considering that the evidence of misappropriation of such materials by Hamas for the purpose of terror is readily available – and fails to inform viewers of the real reasons for the shortage of medical supplies in the Gaza Strip.BBC reports over ten times fewer post-truce missile hits on Israel than actually occurred
The synopsis to that report as it appears on the website inaccurately informs BBC audiences that:More BBC misrepresentation of Gaza border restrictions from Wyre Davies
“Five rockets have hit in the south of Israel since the ceasefire came to an end.”
In fact, on August 8th – the day before this report was produced – sixty-one missiles were fired by terrorist groups, thirteen of which fell short endangering the local population in the Gaza Strip. Of the dozens of missiles which did explode in Israel, two caused direct hits on houses in Sderot, fortunately causing no injuries. Earlier in the day three people were injured by a mortar in the Sha’ar HaNegev area.
Between the commencement of Operation Protective Edge on July 8th and the beginning of the 72-hour ceasefire on August 5th, Israel transferred 1,856 trucks carrying 40,550 tons of supplies via the Kerem Shalom crossing into the Gaza Strip, including 37,178 tons of foodstuffs, 1,694 tons of humanitarian goods and 1,029 tons of medicines and medical supplies.Context-free BBC promotion of Hamas seaport demands
On August 8th, the BBC’s Wyre Davies visited Kerem Shalom and produced a filmed report for BBC television news programmes which also appeared on the BBC News website under the title “BBC reports from blockaded Israel-Gaza border crossing“.
Despite James Reynolds’ use of the plural, there is one small port in the Gaza Strip, located in the Rimal district of Gaza City. Although some attempts to enlarge it were made in 2010 ahead of the ‘Mavi Marmara’ flotilla, the port remains incapable of receiving large vessels and so the accuracy of the BBC’s assertion that Hamas’ demands relate to “the re-opening of Gaza Harbour to shipping” are doubtful.Stoppers protest anti-Hamas ad in The Guardian
In fact, what Hamas does appear to be demanding according to most reports is the construction of a new and bigger seaport.
Stop the War’s latest source of outrage of course isn’t the murder of hundreds of Iraqi Yazidis and the threatened extermination of thousands more.After Cape Town students pass BDS, Jews fear campus nightmare
Rather it’s an advertisement scheduled to appear Monday in The Guardian (The Times refused it) featuring Nobel Peace Prize winner and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel condemning Hamas for practicing and encouraging child sacrifice in Gaza.
That this in effect is what Hamas does is not open to serious dispute, as you can see from these videos:
At a closed-doors meeting last week, the University of Cape Town’s umbrella student organization adopted a proposal pushing for Boycott, Sanction, and Divest measures against Israel for all student-run organizations and events. University management must this week decide whether to adopt it. Jewish students fear their campus organization may be banned, and that they are in for a nightmarish period.‘South Africans serving in IDF won’t be convicted’
In line with the vituperative anti-Israel rhetoric sweeping South Africa since the start of Operation Protective Edge, the University of Cape Town Student Representative Council voted last Monday to adopt a resolution supporting BDS, declaring Israel an apartheid state, and calling for the expulsion of Israel’s ambassador.
The student council represents and intercedes on behalf of the 27,000 students at UCT. After the vote, the council delivered its proposal, which had been pushed forward by the Palestine Solidarity Forum, to UCT’s management, asking it to adopt the BDS measures across the board at the university. The management has seven working days to respond.
South African-Israelis serving in the Israel Defense Forces are not in danger of being convicted for violating South African law, a prominent local community leader said Sunday, relieving fears raised by a lawsuit that pro-Palestinian activists filed last week against a dual citizen currently serving.“Death to Jews” at The Hague, and Nazi in Chicago
“The clear intention of the law, enacted in 1998, is to prohibit South African citizens from serving as mercenaries. None of our soldiers who are immigrants and have been drafted to the Israeli army can be considered mercenaries,” said Dorron Kline, the CEO of Telfed – the South African Zionist Federation (Israel), a Ra’anana-based group serving the immigrant community.
On July 26, we reported on anti-Semitic protests that had taken place in The Hague in which Death to Jews was shouted to the dismay of local officials.Gaza protest investigated for hate speech
This video of ISIS supporters shouting Death to Jews was posted on June 24. It’s not clear if it was the same protest, but it was the same chant, as reported by YNET News:
Jonathan Hoenig has been photographing and filming an anti-Israel rally in Chicago today.
He tweeted out a flyer that was handed out:
It reminds me of the Nazi flyer posted by Vassar Students for Justice in Palestine.
As I’ve said many times, it usually doesn’t start Nazi, but if often ends there.
According to a report in the news daily Heute, people who witnessed the theatrical protest by Palestinian sympathizers were presented with a "disgusting spectacle" in front of Vienna's State Opera house.Rival protests meet in front of Israeli consulate in Toronto
A total of 35 performers, many clearly representing Israelis, staged mock murders of children dressed as Palestinians. The 'perpetrators' wore armbands with the Jewish Star of David.
Media reports were mixed, with some condemning the 'theatre piece' as excessive, while others thought the actions were a reasonable criticism of Israel.
Regardless of the differing views, Vienna's state prosecutor confirmed on Thursday that they are conducting an investigation. "We have initiated investigations into hate speech."
Separated by metal barriers and lines of police, hundreds of protesters gathered on opposite sides of Bloor St. W. on Sunday, hurling pro-Israel and pro-Palestine chants across the road at each other.“Sweden ever so quickly has gone from so-called anti-Zionism to open anti-Semitism”
Brandishing Canadian flags and placards calling to free Gaza from Hamas, the pro-Israeli contingent stood on the north side, in front of the Israeli consulate, and played Bob Marley over the loudspeakers.
“That’s a pro-Hamas rally and we’re countering it,” said Meir Weinstein, director of the Jewish Defence League of Canada. “The goal here is to stand up against support for terrorist groups.”
Less than a week ago we wrote about how The anti-Semitic shame of Malmö, Sweden continues with attack on Rabbi.Swedes cancel demo against anti-Semitism over security fears
It’s part of an outburst of open, unabashed anti-Semitism throughout Europe and the world, but particularly Europe, under the mask of opposition to Israel’s Gaza war.
This trend did not start with the Gaza war. We covered almost exactly a year ago how many parts of Europe were becoming unlivable for Jews due mostly to anti-Semitic violence from Muslim communities, tolerated and egged on by anti-Zionist leftists, Jews in Europe past their expiration date.
Anti-Semitism masquerading as anti-Zionism is so open now that even The Guardian in Britain issued an Editorial denouncing the practice. The Editors of The Guardian likely did not consider how their own biased anti-Israel coverage contributes to this atmosphere.
Organizers of a demonstration against anti-Semitism in Sweden cancelled the event amid fears of violence and disturbances to public order.Watch: Kurdish Activists Stand with Israel Against Hamas
The demonstration was supposed to take place in Gothenburg on Thursday by at least 100 people, but the two organizers cancelled because would-be participants said they were too afraid to show up, the Göteborgs-Posten daily reported.
“At the last minute we learned that many Jews are afraid to come, and that there were rumors that people will come and try to destroy the demonstration and crash it to spread political messages,” organizers Elin Schwartz and Kaino Nordgren wrote on Facebook to announce the cancellation.
Kurdish and pro-Israel activists found common ground at a rally in front of the White House on Saturday, as a group of Kurdish activists joined pro-Israel demonstrators in solidarity with the Jewish state's struggle against Hamas.A Maori Woman Stands With Israel (h/t IsraellyCool)
Both Israelis and Kurds have been fighting for survival against fanatical Islamist foes in recent months.
Kurdish forces in Syria have been engaged in a long and bloody battle against Islamist rebels. More recently, terrorists from the "Islamic State" group slaughtered hundreds of ethnic Kurds from the Yazidi religious sect as they attempt to expand their control into the Kurdish autonomous zone in northern Iraq, amid fierce clashes with Kurdish Peshmerga forces.
