12/09 Links Pt2: Max Blumenthal: Too Extreme for German Commies, Just Right for the NYT

From Ian:

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Jewish Group Accuses New York Times of “Crossing Red Line” By Publishing American Anti-Semite Max Blumenthal

Less than one month after being indefinitely banned from entering the German parliament following an attempted violent assault on Gregor Gysi, the parliamentary leader of that country’s Left Party, the American anti-Semitic propagandist Max Blumenthal has been handed an opportunity to rescue his sullied reputation by no less than the New York Times – a move decried by a prominent American Jewish leader as “breaching a red line.”
In an article for the Times’ “Room for Debate” section on the proposed “Jewish State bill” that is being energetically discussed in Israel, Blumenthal attacks the “Zionist project” as an inherently racist endeavor.
But in an indication of Blumenthal’s contempt for accurate reporting about Israel, the paper was forced to publish a correction within hours of the piece appearing, after Blumenthal falsely claimed that the Prawer Plan – a bill that would have regulated the settlement of Beduin in the Negev area, but which was shelved last December – had been implemented.
Rabbi Abraham Cooper, the associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, blasted the New York Times for “insulting” those on the Zionist left in Israel who are opposed to the bill by selecting Blumenthal, “who believes that Zionism is racism,” to make the case against it.
Cooper told The Algemeiner that he welcomed a “healthy, multi-layered” debate about the bill. “But when you invite someone who conflates the illusory crimes of Israel with the Holocaust, then a red line has been crossed,” he said.

Max Blumenthal: Too Extreme for German Commies, Just Right for the New York Times

How bad is the New York Times?
A party of East German Commies gave Max Blumenthal the boot for being a bigot. The left-wing Forward called his book the “I Hate Israel” handbook. His colleague at The Nation said it could have been put out by “The Friends of Hamas Book Club.”
One of Blumenthal’s smears about Israel was picked up by the Neo-Nazi gunman responsible for the Kansas City Jewish community center shootings.
But the influence of Clinton adviser Sidney Blumenthal is still strong enough to get his racist son in at the New York Times. (hat tip to Jamie Kirchik for the link and headline)
Blumenthal rants about how far “rightward” Israel has gone. That’s an ironic accusation coming from a man so far to the left that even German Communists find him extreme and even critics of Israel consider him anti-Semitic.
Max Blumenthal has called for the destruction of Israel. So maybe the New York Times should have looked a little closely at his claims about Israel.

Rolling Stone Apologized. Will the Times?

Have you heard the one about the major news organization that published an abominable piece by a contributor who made no real effort to obtain a thorough account and ran instead with an impassioned story that sounds plausible and moving just as long as you don’t bother looking at the actual facts? I’m not talking about Rolling Stone’s disastrous UVA piece; I’m talking about the New York Times. This morning, the paper of record ran an opinion piece by Max Blumenthal, lambasting Israel for being perpetually predatory to its minorities and neighbors.
Let’s not mince words here: Blumenthal is an anti-Semite. He’s been labeled as such by the Simon Wiesenthal Center, as well as by the leader of Germany’s Left opposition party, who cancelled a talk Blumenthal was scheduled to give in the Bundestag. The snub provoked Blumenthal to harass the politician, which got Blumenthal banned from entering the parliament building in the future.
The New York Times editors who invited Blumenthal to contribute, then, knew exactly what they’d get. They must have known, if they’ve ever read anything by or about Blumenthal, that they’d be in for nothing more than a hysterical, slanted, nonsensical account that obliterates all nuance in an effort to convince that Israel is a singularly awful nation—racist, violent, murderous—and therefore has little or no right to exist.

What It’s Like to Be an Atheist in Palestine

Waleed Al Husseini spent 10 months in Palestinian prison for being an atheist blogger. He asks why non-believers like himself are abandoned by the world.
Like many non-religious people around the world, I use the Internet to express my thoughts. It provides a relatively safe way of speaking freely, especially in a country where the vast majority believe in one religion and do not like to hear criticism. Or so I thought.
I used to run a blog in Arabic called “Nour Alakl” and ran a satirical Facebook page under the pseudonym “Allah.” But in October 2010, Palestinian security forces stormed into an Internet cafe and arrested me. Until then, I had been under the impression that I had a right to freedom of speech and to the freedom of belief. But in jail, I was told that my online statements about religion and Islam were illegal. I was told that society didn’t accept such criticisms.
I was beaten by prison guards who demanded to know who had made me write against Islam. In their minds, I could only say these things as the result of some plot, some conspiracy. The idea that I might simply want to express my independent thoughts was alien to them.
The 10 months I spent in Palestinian prison were the worse of my life. I faced constant pressure to retract my statements. I was told they had removed my blog and that I must apologize for publishing it. Even once I was freed, I was told I should never again use the Internet, nor meet with the media. (h/t Effect)

Dry Bones league vs. the anti-Semites

Cartoonist Yaakov Kirschen is at it again. The Dry Bones cartoonist recently launched a new crowdsourcing campaign to raise money to fight anti-Semitism.
He’s calling it the Dry Bones Academy.
“I want to pass on to the next generation of cartoon activists my principles of cartooning activism,” said Kirschen, who is 76.
It isn’t the veteran cartoonist’s first crowdsourcing campaign. His first was in 2012, when he raised $5,000 in two days for a Passover Haggadah project on Kickstarter.
This time, it’s a more political product. But he’s already raised more than $15,000 of his $20,000 goal.
“We are now facing a massive wave of anti-Semitism that is beyond anti-Semitism, it’s against our civilization,” said Kirschen. “So it’s just as much anti-Christianity and it calls for a new kind of organization.”

Michael Lumish: The Dissertation of Mahmoud Abbas

Mahmoud Abbas completed his PhD dissertation for Lumumba University in Moscow in 1982.
For years I have been reading that this piece of writing – which to the right is the original cover – entitled “The Other Side: The Secret Relationship Between Nazism and Zionism” was one in which he denied the Holocaust.
Well now this work is actually available on his official website.
Ronen Bergman has reviewed the material and, writing in Y-Net, offers us analysis and quotes from Abbas concerning Zionism and the Jews. Here is one:
“The Zionist movement did not send any assistance, financial or otherwise, for the victims of Nazism and it did not allow any other side to provide any kind of aid. The Zionist movement concealed the information that came from within the ghetto walls and concentration camps, news that shed light on what was really happening. If it had to publish anything, it did so by questioning that information and diminishing its importance.” – Mahmoud Abbas.
Should it not be obvious to all but the most obtuse that Mahmoud Abbas is a not a negotiator in good faith with the Jewish people or the State of Israel? No one who would write the paragraph above could possibly be a reasonable negotiator.

Names and Narrative: The Green Line / West Bank / Judea and Samaria

The world now refers to the Temple Mount by the name "Noble Sanctuary,"the name preferred by Muslims; similarly the world should refer to the "West Bank" by its historic name, "Judea and Samaria"
However, when it comes to other sites in the region with different names from the two peoples, the Times excludes the Israeli terminology: specifically, “Judea and Samaria”. For such region, the Times will only use the term “West Bank”, except if an Israeli is quoted using the name Judea and Samaria.
Interestingly, the West Bank never existed as an entity until 1949, and was never even referred to by the United Nations Security Council until 1953. In comparison, Judea and Samaria, which cover more area than just the West Bank, have existed for thousands of years.

Gathering Evangelical support for Israel

Support for Israel will increasingly come from the world’s growing Evangelical community, believes Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, founder of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.
The success of the IFCJ, which raises $140 million in Christian donations for Jewish and Israeli causes annually, has led some in the Israeli media to dub the American rabbi the “shadow welfare minister” for his social welfare work here, and has made Eckstein one of the most well- known Jewish figures among American Christians.
When he started working on interfaith issues some 30-odd years ago, he had no idea that Evangelical Christians would become such a powerful force in the battle over Israel, he recalls.
“Little did I have in mind or did I even think of the possibility that one day Israel would be essentially seen as a pariah almost by many Western nations, let alone Arab nations,” nor did he have in mind the current global rise in anti-Semitism, he says.
“And little did I even think that the Evangelical community would become a force to be reckoned with in America and in other countries around the world. There has been a real upsurge in Evangelicalism,” Eckstein adds.

Douglas Murray: Britain's Unrequited Love

Willing to be endlessly open and hospitable, Britain finds itself at a loss when that hospitality is neither respected nor returned.
It is worth asking why British Muslims should have their scripture represented in the coronation of the new monarch, when many will not even pray in their mosques for the well-being of that monarch. Including passages from the Quran in the coronation is a mistake because of the old problem of reciprocity — and at the same time as no Christian (let alone a Jew) can even set foot in Mecca. Then what about also representing Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, and atheists?
In synagogues in the UK, British Jews every week in their service have a prayer for the long life and happiness of the Queen. It is a moving and heartfelt moment, not to mention a clear signal that Jews in Britain are utterly loyal to the state. So why should British mosques not have a similar prayer? Because many Muslims in Britain simply do not share the good Lord Harries's kindness, tolerance, inclusivity or indeed liberalism.
What is the answer? Perhaps bit more kindness, a bit more generosity, the offering up of a few more of our treasured traditions. That will do it, we think, surely?

Roseanne Barr: To Whom It May Concern

I know that once the forces you serve, and who employ you ‘de-legitimize’ the Jewish state of Israel, they will have an easy time2 BDS (divest) Sioux Navaho and other Tribal people from their own ancestral homelands too. Not only have your ‘masters’ sacked burned defiled and destroyed generations of peoples who believed that they had a connection to the lands that contain their sacred dead, but you have also supported them as they stole the sacred dead’s holy vestments and sold them for quick cash to display in their museums for ghoulish amusements.
I’m a Jew, a G-d Wrestler and a freedom fighter, not your puny ridiculous backward hateful definition of a Jew. Stop projecting your vile bullshit onto others. You, like most bullies and abusive offenders, should take a good look in the mirror one day and see your own reflection there, if indeed you even cast one at all.
The fact that you have NO empathy whatsoever for the plight of The Jewish people, is the same reason you do not have not the balls to remove those who slaughter rape and burn everything that does not suck. Because your words are lies, and lies do not create anything positive in the world, ever, as Truth, and a knowledge of it, is what fuels both resistance to tyranny, and brave hearts.

Marcus reveals that PA issues anti-Israel messages

Itamar Marcus — founder and director of Palestinian Media Watch — told an audience of nearly 200 people (both students and community members) at Florida Atlantic University's (FAU) Boca Raton campus on Nov. 10 that the Palestinian Authority (PA) poisons the minds of its people with anti-Israel messages through its media.
Marcus' lecture was sponsored for the community by StandWithUs, the international pro-Israel educational organization that empowers students and communities to fight for Israel, as well as several student organizations, including Owls for Israel, FAU's pro-Israel student group; Hillel of Broward and Palm Beach County; Alpha Epsilon Pi, a Jewish fraternity; and the Chabad Student Center.
Marcus, who was born in New York but now lives in Israel, said that PA officials say one thing in English to the media and negotiators, but then are hostile to both Israelis and Jews in Arabic in Palestinian media and textbooks.
Marcus said that PA officials (starting with President Mahmoud Abbas) tell their people on Palestinian media that peace with Israel is unattainable.
Marcus pointed out, for example, that a senior PA official denounced a "bridge-building" soccer tournament held Sept. 1 along the Gaza border between Palestinian and Israeli children by writing on a Facebook page: "Any activity of normalization in sports with the Zionist enemy is a crime against humanity."

Tony Burke cancels Palestine speech

Australia: LABOR frontbencher Tony Burke has pulled out at the last minute from giving an address to the inaugural general meeting of the lobby group Labor for Palestine, after learning that the organiser of the event supported boycotts and armed conflict against Israel.
Hours after telling The Australian that Mr Burke would give the speech at Lakemba in Sydney’s west tonight, a spokesman for the member for Watson in Sydney’s southwest said there was uncertainty about whether the event was going ahead. “Tony is not attending,” the spokesman said.
The decision came after The Australian highlighted the fact that the contact person for the event was Fahad Ali, a medical student at Sydney University who has been known as a leader of the boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign against Israel and lauded by prominent pro-BDS academic Jake Lynch.
Mr Ali last night confirmed Mr Burke had cancelled his speech after the revelations provided to his office by The Australian, but said he would proceed with the event anyway.
He said he did not support an immediate campaign of violence against Israel, and did not condone the rocket attacks by Hamas, but did support what he said was the right of Palestinians to “self-defence” and “armed resistance”.
Mr Burke’s spokesman said the frontbencher supported a two-state outcome pursued through peaceful means.
Mr Ali recently appeared on his Facebook page under a flag of a terrorist group, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. The PFLP is not proscribed in Australia but is on the list of terrorist organisations against which Australia imposes financial sanctions under a UN Security Council resolution.

Israel decries ‘unfounded’ Amnesty International Gaza report

Jerusalem on Tuesday deplored an Amnesty International report accusing Israel of war crimes during the summer conflict in Gaza, saying the monitor used murky sources and focused on monetary costs to Palestinians rather than consider Hamas targeting of Israeli civilians.
In a statement the Foreign Ministry said that the international human rights group offered “a decontextualized description of events, while relying heavily on testimonies gathered by unnamed local ‘fieldworkers,’ who are not identified and whose credibility is never questioned.”
On Monday night, Amnesty International accused the IDF of committing several war crimes during the summer’s Operation Protective Edge campaign in Gaza and called for the charges to be investigated. In particular, the destruction of four multi-story buildings during the last four days of the 50-day war were in breach of international humanitarian law, the group said in a report.
But the ministry said the report “chooses to focus on monetary losses to Palestinian civilians, rather than investigate the systematic and deliberate firing of rockets and mortars at Israel’s civilian population by an internationally-recognized jihadist terror group.”

BBC claims that Israel targeted a centre for the disabled in Gaza shown to be inaccurate

On July 12th 2014 the BBC produced four separate reports which included descriptions of an incident in which two women were killed in Bet Lahiya in what was described as an Israeli airstrike on a shelter for disabled people.
“According to correspondence and reports from various NGOs, on 12 July 2014, two women were killed and four others injured as a result of an IDF aerial strike on a care centre for the mentally and physically disabled, belonging to the ‘Alambra Association’, in Beit Lehia. As a result, and in accordance with the MAG’s investigation policy, it was decided to refer the incident for examination by the FFAM [Fact Finding Assessment Mechanism – Ed.].
According to the factual findings and materials collated by the FFAM and presented to the MAG, the strike was directed at a weapons depot located inside the residential home of a senior Hamas commander, in a building comprising of four apartments. While the operating forces were aware of the existence of a kindergarten in the same building, close to the weapons depot, there was no information indicating the existence of a care center.
Prior to the attack a number of precautionary measures were undertaken in order to minimize potential civilian harm – including several attempts to telephone the residents of the building and the firing of two warning projectiles towards the structure (as part of the ‘knock on the roof’ procedure). No reaction was identified by the residents, and no presence of persons at the site was discerned prior to the attack. As an additional precaution, the attack was carried out late at night, in order to avoid any possible harm to children attending the kindergarten during the day.

 High Court to Decide if Hamas Terrorists Can Be Deported

The petition was filed against the Minister of the Interior. Legal rights group Shurat Hadin has become involved with the case as well, providing support for the Interior Ministry's side and for the decision to deport the terrorists to the Palestinian Authority (PA).
According to Shurat Hadin, three of the petitioners, including the well-known Abu Tir, were selected in January 2006 to become members of the Palestinian Legislative Council (the parliament of the Palestinian Authority) on behalf of Hamas, and one of them (Khaled Abu Arafa) was appointed "Minister for Jerusalem" in the Hamas government.
The four petitioners were living in Arab neighborhoods of Jerusalem and had permanent residency status.
In June 2006, the interior minister at the time, Roni Bar-On (Kadima) revoked the permanent residency statuses of the four, after he gave them a chance to resign their positions with Hamas and they refused to do so.

Rasmea Odeh granted bond pending sentencing

Rasmieh (Rasmea) Odeh, the terrorist convicted in Israel of a supermarket bombing that killed two students, was convicted in federal court in Detroit on November 10, 2014, of immigration fraud for lying on her visa and naturalization applications.
For details on why Odeh was guilty as charged in Israel and Detroit, see my post Rasmea Odeh rightly convicted of Israeli supermarket bombing and U.S. immigration fraud
She faces 10 years in prison, but likely will receive a much lower sentence.
After conviction, the Judge revoked Odeh’s bond since she was a flight risk. After a motion for reconsideration, the Judge this afternoon granted her $50,000 cash bond, finding she was not a likely flight risk, but did have problems with honesty.

This is disgusting. Brighton BDS tell food bank to not accept food from Zionists…

Brighton BDS have sent a ‘warning’ out to food banks in Brighton to NOT accept food from Zionists on IsrACTION Day. Brighton BDS have actually told food banks to let people go hungry over Christmas rather than eat Israeli produce. Just when you thought the BDS couldn’t get any lower, they crawl even deeper. Im pleased to say (as you can see in the picture) no one agrees with them…

Bias Seeps Into The Wall Street Journal's News Coverage

The Journal's bias involves several recurring patterns:
1) Negative Epithets for Israelis, Avoiding Such Epithets for Palestinians
The reporters tend to attach negative labels to Israelis, while avoiding such labels for Palestinian Arabs, even though the beliefs espoused by the latter – as well as resulting actions – are objectively more extreme and violent.
Mitnick and Casey evince an unwritten policy of not labeling Hamas as a terrorist organization. They routinely refer to the group as a "militant" or "political" organization. For example, on October 30, in an article discussing funds to rebuild Gaza, Casey describes Hamas as "the Palestinian militant and political group that runs the enclave." It is not until three paragraphs later that Casey reveals concerns that funds to rebuild Gaza might fall into the hands of Hamas because "donors including the U.S. and the European Union classify [it] as a terrorist group." Similarly, on October 23, a terrorist drove into a crowd of Israelis at a train station. The terrorist had links to Hamas, which Mitnick identifies as a "Palestinian militant group."

The New York Times Unspun

A November 18 analysis piece by New York Times Jerusalem bureau chief Jodi Rudoren about the murders of four Jews at prayer in a Jerusalem synagogue was striking; the reporter's habitually biased rendition of the facts didn't waver even in the face of appalling bloodshed by Palestinians against innocent Jews. The fault was still with Israel. The Palestinians were still acted upon — they're a "population teeming with outrage."
All the shoddy elements of bias are there — the false framing, the omission of essential information, the unbalanced speaker citations, the constant hectoring of Israel and so on. And too there are the platitudes about a "cycle of violence" and "mutual dehumanization" and root causes.Why does analysis of a murderous attack include more comment blaming Israel than comment blaming the Palestinians? Could Rudoren not find a single analyst who would say this is the Palestinian's fault, as Ghassan Khatib does with Israel? Why does the reporter feel free to refer to "Jewish vandalism" but not to "Palestinian attacks"?

BBC’s Knell revamps ‘reporter in the rubble’ for promotion of a political agenda

This of course is not the first time that BBC audiences have heard ostensibly ‘neutral’ UNRWA officials promoting the Hamas demand to lift border restrictions designed to prevent it from rearming and acquiring dual-use goods for the purposes of terrorism: a step which Turner apparently bizarrely believes would bring “peace and security”. In October of this year, listeners to the BBC World Service heard Turner’s colleague – the former BBC correspondent with a direct line to the BBC’s Middle East editor, Chris Gunness – say of the UN’s supervision of building materials:
“But let’s be clear: this mechanism is not a substitute for lifting the blockade.”
Neither is there anything new about the fact that UNRWA’s political campaigning dovetails with the agenda of the internationally recognised terrorist organization which took control of the Gaza Strip in a violent coup and the BBC’s collaboration in amplifying it. Yolande Knell was to be found doing exactly that long before the last conflict.

Lions maul neo-Nazi activist in Spain

A 45-year-old neo-Nazi activist was seriously injured by three lions after he entered the animals’ enclosure at the Barcelona zoo on Sunday.
Barcelona’s fire department was called to the northeastern city’s zoo where witnesses said they saw the man, wearing a military-style uniform, jump into the den, the city government said in a statement.
Emergency services used fire hoses to distance the lions from the man, who had been attacked and dragged into a tunnel within their enclosure.
Around half an hour after he entered the enclosure, rescue services removed the man, identified by local media as Justo Jose, and took him to a hospital where he is in serious but not life-threatening condition, the statement said. (h/t The Kenosha Kid)

Bibles from Syria could spark ownership dispute

Two decades after Israeli spies helped Syrian Jews whisk ancient Hebrew bibles from Damascus to Jerusalem, the Israel National Library asked an Israeli court on Monday to grant it custodianship over the manuscripts — a move that could spark an ownership battle over some of the Syrian Jewish community’s most important treasures.
Known as the Crowns of Damascus, the nine leather-bound parchment books — some featuring microscopic calligraphy and gold-leaf illumination — were written mostly in Spain and Italy between 700 and 1,000 years ago. For hundreds of years, they were guarded inside synagogues in the Syrian capital, presented only on special occasions.
In the early 1990s, Syria lifted travel restrictions on Jews and many emigrated, but they were not permitted to take their sacred manuscripts.
So, in a covert operation by Israel’s Mossad spy agency, eight ancient bibles were spirited to Israel between 1993 and 1995. The ninth was smuggled out of Syria in 1993 with the help of a Canadian Jewish activist.

Einstein papers at your fingertips

Thousands of documents including the scientific research and personal writings of Albert Einstein have been put online as a free searchable database.
Five thousand documents from the first 44 years of the scientist’s life opened online Friday via Princeton University Press. The database, called the Digital Einstein Papers, is part of the Einstein Papers Project.
Princeton University Press is collaborating with the California Institute of Technology and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where the Albert Einstein Archives are housed, on the project.
Tens of thousands of articles and letters still remain to be sorted and scanned, the Inside Higher Education website reported.

Israel Signs R&D Agreement with Mexico

Israel and Mexico sealed an industrial research and development (R&D) agreement over the weekend according to a government statement released Monday, putting the two nations in position to further advance their bilateral ties in a variety of joint projects.
The agreement, which was signed by Israeli Ambassador to Mexico Rodica Radian Gordon, will see the Office of the Chief Scientist (OCS) at the Israeli Ministry of Economy and its Mexican counterpart CONACYT (Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología) arrange funding for Israeli and Mexican companies engaging in joint R&D projects.
"We are delighted with Mexico’s vote of confidence in Israel’s economy, industry and innovation, which have long been global brands," said Chief Scientist at the Ministry of Economy Avi Hasson.
Hasson added "cooperation agreements such as the one signed with Mexico contribute to the Israeli market by creating new jobs, advancing R&D, technological enterprise and more."

Israeli orchestra honors Italian who saved 5,000 Jews from Nazis

One has to wonder if Steven Spielberg chose the right man to profile in film. Posing as a Spanish diplomat in Hungary during World War II, Italian import/exporter Giorgio Perlasca diverted some 5,200 Jews from extermination camps. (For comparison’s sake, Oskar Schindler, the subject of the blockbuster Hollywood “Schindler’s List,” is credited with saving 1,200.)
Perlasca, modest of his accomplishments, kept the details of his daring story to himself until 1987 when a group of “his” Jews discovered him and sparked a throng of media and state honors.
And although Perlasca died in 1992, these honors continue.
As part of its Righteous Among the Nations project, the Raanana Symphonette Orchestra has commissioned an original orchestral piece, “His Finest Hour,” from composer Moshe Zorman in tribute to Perlasca. The piece will have its debut this week at a December 10 concert in Raanana in the presence of Perlasca’s son Franco and daughter-in-law Luciana Amadia.

2 Israeli films shortlisted for Oscars

Two Israeli films made the shortlist for Best Short Film at the upcoming 87th Academy Awards (Oscars). Final Oscar nominations (in all categories) will be announced on January 15, 2015.
The 40-minute Aya tells the story of a woman who picks up a complete stranger — a Danish music researcher visiting Israel as a judge for the Rubinstein Piano Competition — at the airport and mischievously sets off with him for his destination.
The film is by Mihal Brezis and Oded Binnun, and stars Sarah Adler and Ulrich Thomsen.
The writer-and-director team of Tal Granit and Sharon Maymon saw their short film Summer Vacation also get the nod for one of the 10 finalists in the Best Short Film category.
The 22-minute, Sundance Film Festival selection tells of a family on vacation at a beautiful beach. The catch: The father/husband just wants to get out of there.
The film stars Yiftach Klein, Oded Leopold, and Hilla Vidor.
The 87th Academy Awards ceremony will be held on February 22, 2015.

Wearable technology is breakthrough for Parkinson’s

A new wearable technology that constantly detects mobility patterns in people with Parkinson’s disease, analyzes that data and transmits it to the cloud, is set to fuel a worldwide breakthrough for Parkinson’s researchers and physicians, as well as for wearers of the device.
And the advanced analytics platform that makes it possible was designed by big-data scientists at Intel Israel.
The technology has so far been tested by a few dozen patients for usability and accuracy at leading hospitals in Massachusetts, New York City and Tel Aviv. In 2015, hundreds of Parkinson’s patients in The Netherlands will participate in a larger clinical trial, and possibly another 1,000 in the United States.
The ability to unobtrusively collect and analyze a large amount of data on measurable features of Parkinson’s — such as slowness of movement, tremor and sleep quality — could give researchers new insight into the clinical progression of the disease, help them detect patterns and perhaps make new discoveries.

IDF History: Love in the times of the Palmach

Their love story begins years ago; born and raised in Israel, fighting for the establishment of the Jewish state felt only natural for Meir and Sarka (Sarah). From a young age they were part of the Haganah, and as young adults they joined the Palmach, an elite fighting force whose members eventually came to form the backbone of the IDF’s combat forces.
“I remember that we worked in the corn fields together but we weren’t friends,” says Sarka. “The corn fields were huge. When you stood on one side you couldn’t see the other,” adds Meir. “But we weren’t friends,” Sarka repeats. Today, Meir and Sarka Kedem have been married for almost 65 years.
Meir and Sarka served together in the Palmach, the elite fighting force of the Haganah, the underground Jewish defense organization. It was a self-funding group that combined military training with agricultural work, and supported itself by having its members work in kibbutzim. “We lacked resources. We had nothing,” explains Meir. “So it was decided that for two weeks we would work in the kibbutz, and then train for two weeks. That whole time we lived in tents.”

Swinging Hanukkah wins YouTube

Forget those a cappella groups and goofy parodies. Let’s swing into the winter holiday season this year with a new Hanukkah video that ushers in the Festival of Lights big band style.
Since its posting on November 22, “Hanukkah Song Mashup – Dance Spectacular” by Elliot Dvorin and the Key Tov Orchestra has racked up 275,455 views on YouTube.
“People have been in touch with me to tell me how the video really makes them smile,” Dvorin told The Times of Israel from Chicago, where he and his Jewish wedding band are based.
The Hanukkah video, filmed at Daley Plaza in the heart of Chicago, is Dvorin, 30, and the Key Tov Orchestra’s second video. The first, “Hashem Melech,” boasts more than 130,000 views.

Hanukkah Song Mashup - Dance Spectacular! - Elliot Dvorin | Key Tov Orchestra