Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News: Khaybar

Showing posts with label Khaybar. Show all posts

Thursday, October 03, 2013

EoZ, StandWithUs Khaybar petitions delivered to Amnesty, HRW

Over the summer I blogged extensively about the antisemitic Arab TV series "Khaybar" that was being broadcast during Ramadan, and I created a petition for Amnesty and HRW to condemn Arab antisemitism.

Yesterday and today, my petitions along with those from StandWithUs were delivered to AI and HRW.

Here is the press release from StandWithUs:

Delivery of petition to AI in London

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 3, 2013
On October 2, 2013, StandWithUs, in partnership with Israel activist blogger Elder of Ziyon, delivered petitions to Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International in London, asking them to support tolerance and human rights by condemning and exposing anti-Semitism in Arab media. The petitions, “Condemn Khaybar”and “End Bigotry and Incitement against Jews on Arab Television,” were delivered by Irene Naftalin, Community Director of StandWithUs UK, together with Luke Akehurst, Director, We Believe in Israel. The petitions were delivered to Amnesty International in New York on October 3, by Avi Posnick, Regional Coordinator, New York Chapter, StandWithUs East Coast. They have over 6,000 international signatures.

StandWithUs and Elder of Ziyon contacted the two human rights organizations, urging them to use this opportunity to expose, condemn and end anti-Semitic programming in the Arab world. Both organizations have previously pledged to oppose anti-Semitic discrimination. This summer, Human Rights Watch called for an end to religious hate speech in the Arab world. At past conferences, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International condemned all manifestations of anti-Semitism and called for swift and thorough investigations into incidents of anti-Semitic discrimination.

Delivering petitions to HRW in NYC

The petitions focused on a Middle Eastern television series, "Khaybar," which promoted hatred and glorified violence against Jews. The show’s title alone memorialized the massacre of Jewish people in the city of Khaybar during the time of Mohammed. The program was broadcast to millions of people this summer during Ramadan and also was available to many more outside the Arab world via the web. It is representative of the kind of anti-Semitic broadcasts airing regularly throughout the Arab/Muslim world.

“We hope that Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International recognize this opportunity to join the effort to oppose anti-Semitic bigotry,” stated Roz Rothstein, CEO of StandWithUs.

Elder of Ziyon is one of the world's most popular bloggers. His scoops have been reported in major media worldwide. Visit: elderofziyon.blogspot.com

StandWithUs (SWU) is a twelve year-old, international, non-profit Israel education organization that supports people around the world who want to educate their campuses and communities about Israel. Based in Los Angeles, the organization has chapters throughout the U.S., Israel, Toronto and the UK including New York.

Khaybar: "Deception is the creed of the Jews, conspiracy their religion"

The antisemitic Khaybar series continues to air nightly throughout the Arab world.

Here are some excerpts from MEMRI:

Following are excerpts from three episodes of the antisemitic Arab TV series "Khaybar," which aired on Dubai TV on June 7, 10, and 18, 2013:

Convention of Jewish leaders

Jewish leader Sallam Ibn Abu Al-Huqayq: Under what pretext shall we fight [the Muslims] in order to finish them off? Have they demonstrated any hostility toward us? Have they declared any ill-will that they have been harboring toward us?

Jewish leader Shas bin Qays: Not yet, but they will. And even if they don't I will confront [Muhammad] by myself. I will declare in front of his followers that he is a liar, who is leading them to perdition.

Sallam Ibn Abu Al-Huqayq: Stop clowning around, Shas.

Shas bin Qays: Sallam! Even if he is a prophet, he shall be killed. Have you forgotten that many a prophet has been killed by the Israelites?

[...]

Yousuf, a Jewish convert to Islam confronts two Jewish leaders who come to visit him in the dungeon, where he is shackled

Yousuf: Life and death are in the hands of the Creator alone, and nothing will befall me except what He has decreed.

Jewish rabbi: Is that what it says in [Muhammad's] book? You are much better with our book.

Yousuf: You mean the laws of Moses which you forged?

Jewish rabbi: You are as blind as Ibn Hawwash!

Yousuf: I swear that ever since I have fallen into this dark dungeon, I see better than ever. I see that you will continue in your sinful ways until a new era dawns, and you become as frail as straw.

Yousuf spits

Jewish rabbi: Deprive him of food and drink until he comes to his senses. Shut the door and lock it.

[...]

Jewish leader: We, the Jews, are not satisfied with anything but deception and scheming in the dark.

Senior Jewish leader: Watch what you say!

Jewish leader: Do you know what the master of schemes and deception said before his death?

Sallam Ibn Abu Al-Huqayq: Are you referring to Huyay Ibn Akhtab [the leader of the Jewish tribe of Bani Nadhir]? You didn't tell me that he is dead.

Jewish leader: He was killed.
[...]

Ever since they rebelled against Moses, deception has become their creed and conspiracy their religion – until the end of time.

Besides the obvious incitement against Jews, this also seems to violate the law in many Muslim countries against "defamation of religion."

I mean, they cannot only be referring to one religion and not others, could they?

Stand With Us creates a new petition against Khaybar

As an adjunct to the petition that I created to pressure human rights groups to condemn the antisemitic Ramadan TV series "Khaybar," Stand With Us created their own petition.

Unlike the limited focus of my petition, the SWU petition is addressed to "key decision makers within the U.S. and foreign governments, ambassadors, human rights organizations, and international media."

We, the undersigned, join in expressing our deep concern about Khaybar, a television series airing in the Middle East. While it is just one of the many anti-Semitic programs broadcast during Ramadan, it is particularly disturbing. The show is named after a seventh-century event during which Mohammed and his armies attacked and massacred the Jews of Khaybar in Arabia. Even today, over 1,300 years later, the term “Khaybar” is often used in chants calling for the murder of Jews. Recently, Gaza flotilla participants and activists in New York and Paris shouted in Arabic, “Khaybar Khaybar, ya yahud, Jaish Muhammad, sa yahud,” which translates as “Jews, remember Khaybar, the army of Muhammad is returning.” Its chilling association is one of bloodshed and terror.

As one actor in Khaybar stated, “Through the events of the show, we will discover how this category of humans (the Jews) represents one of the ugliest groups that appeared in history.” The television series builds on a long tradition of dehumanizing Jews and hatemongering.

Go there and sign it now. It already surpassed my petition in number of signatures.

We are still following up with my petition and pushing for a response from HRW and Amnesty.

"Khaybar" antisemitic miniseries available on US DISH TV (UPDATE x2 - No it's not)

Dish-TV, a US-based satellite TV service, offers the Dubai Satellite Channel:

This channel is showing the antisemitic miniseries, "Khaybar."

So incitement against Jews is not only available in the Arab world - which is bad enough - but also in the US, as well as Europe.

Not that "human rights organizations" care about the rights of Jews, as they have continuously refused to comment on this show.

Atlas Shrugs has information on how to complain to Dish-TV. So far they are simply saying that they are not responsible for the programming they play.

(h/t youandme2 and MEMRI)

UPDATE: This appears to be the proper online FCC form to complain. (h/t Dave4321)

UPDATE 2: It looks like Dish dropped Dubai Satellite Channel in May, before the series. MEMRI corrected it. (h/t Bob)

"Khaybar" is a flop in the ratings

The number of articles in Arabic pushing "Khaybar" over the past couple of days made me wonder whether the producers were desperately trying to jack up the ratings of the expensive antisemitic series.

The Wall Street Journal seems to say that the series is not doing well against its competition. And in a series/soap opera like this, if people don't watch from the beginning, they aren't likely to pick up on it in the middle.

A traditional mainstay of Ramadan TV has been programming depicting Jews as hook-nosed spillers of blood who want to enslave the world, starting with Muslims. Perhaps most memorably, the 2001 Ramadan show "Faris Bila Jawad" (Horseman Without a Horse) told the story of Israel's founding as a nation on the premise that the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion" were real and not, as they were, a vicious anti-Semitic forgery by the Russian secret police.

This year, one Qatari-backed historical drama does fit that bigoted bill: "Khaybar"—airing on networks in Algeria, Egypt, Iraq and elsewhere—shows why a Jewish tribe in seventh-century Arabia deserved to be slaughtered by Muslims and recreates the carnage. Egyptian screenwriter Yusri al-Jundi made his feelings toward Jews clear when he told an Al Jazeera television interviewer: "The series shows how the Jews' . . . nature endures. Despite the fact that hundreds of years have passed, they still spread corruption wherever they live."

But early ratings show "Khaybar" to be a commercial flop, as well as an outlier. This year's most popular shows don't focus on an external enemy but on current intra-Arab issues.

The nightly comedy sitcom, "Abu Al Malayin" (Father of Millions), airing on the Saudi-backed network MBC1, is about two rich brothers' zany adventures in capitalism. In one episode, the siblings predict that the Arab revolutions will boost demand for "tools of repression," and start importing tear gas and police dogs. The brothers want to earn a bad reputation among Western human-rights groups, so that Arab states will be more likely to do business with them. When I asked screenwriter Khalaf al-Harbi why he thinks the show is a hit, he replied: "All year long Arabs have been crying—about Syria, about Iraq. They need to laugh more than ever."

...Part of the reason such programming is dominating the airwaves is that the Syrian TV industry, which has long been the source of the most anti-Semitic and politically toxic shows, has been virtually put out of commission by the civil war. Battle scenes in dramas like "Khaybar" are costly, and these days are difficult to shoot outdoors in Syria, where the other kind of shooting is rampant.

The Brotherhood, for its part, hasn't nurtured the creative talent necessary to staff its own ideological productions. One halting attempt was ridiculed by critics earlier this year for its conspicuous lack of female characters. Meanwhile, Shiite Hezbollah's annual TV epic spotlights a non-Jewish adversary this year—the Sunni Ottoman Empire—in an apparent nod to the region's sectarian strife. It hasn't attracted a substantial audience.

Shifting political circumstances have conspired to alter the menu of shows this season. But viewers' choices are a sign that Arabs may be eschewing the fixation on an external enemy in favor of more introspective, even self-critical fare—as well as plain old escapism.

It looks like the Arab world isn't in the mood to watch antisemitic historical series.

US envoy to OIC slams "Khaybar"

A nice op-ed by Rashad Hussain, U.S. special envoy to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation:

During Ramadan, Muslim communities around the world experience a month of fasting, devotion and increased consciousness of their faith. ...

In recent years, as Muslim communities have dealt with hateful depictions and inflammatory actions, American interfaith coalitions have come together to strongly reject such bigotry. It is this backdrop that makes the reported Ramadan release of the television drama “Khaiber” in some Muslim-majority countries particularly disturbing.

The new drama purports to provide a historical account of the Prophet Muhammad and the Arabian-Jewish town of Khaiber. But its producer has said that “the goal of the series is to expose the naked truth about the Jews and stress that they cannot be trusted.” The series also will reportedly focus “on the social, economic and religious characteristics of the Jews, including politics and conspiracies and how they dominate and control tribes.”

Rather than emphasizing Muhammad’s efforts to establish peaceful relations among religious communities, “Khaiber” does just the opposite. And it does so at a time when a number of religious groups, including Christians, face discrimination and violence in countries where the series will air.

Communities that were outraged at negative depictions of Islam must condemn this divisive and anti-Semitic effort. They should also understand that in many ways, this type of programming is also a disservice to Muslims and the legacy of the prophet. While censorship is not the answer, communities must come forward to counter such depictions with more informed views to prevent the spread of stereotypes and hatred that can dehumanize entire groups of people.

...Addressing Holocaust denial is an important step, and I raise this issue when I travel to meet government and civil society leaders in Muslim countries. Efforts also must be made to ensure that textbooks and television programming in the Muslim world are free from the types of dehumanizing ideas and images that breed intolerance and hate.

In doing so, honest and courageous voices must step forward, particularly during Ramadan, to condemn not only negative depictions of the Prophet Muhammad, but also a television series that uses a slanted historical narrative of his life as a facade for sowing discord, division and hatred.

It will be interesting to see if there is any reaction to this. So far, Arab media that discussed Jewish objections to the series tended to justify the hate.

By the way, JTA did have another article on Khaybar, which I missed because they choose to spell it differently.

(h/t Niklas Bergman)

"Khaybar"-like antisemitic cartoon on PA TV (video)

Palestinian Authority TV has been showing a cartoon to kids on Ramadan that is thematically very similar to the antisemitic "Khaybar" series being broadcast to adults.

In this case, instead of Khaybar, it shows how the Jews of Medina broke agreements with Muslims and tried to cause infighting among them. Again, the Jews are shown as deceitful, scheming and (in this case) in league with the Devil himself.

From MEMRI:

Following are excerpts from “Raids of the Prophet,” an Egyptian animated series which aired on Palestinian Authority TV on July 15-17, 2013:
Jews of the Qaynuqa’ tribe conferring
Nawfal, member of the Qaynuqa’ tribe: The Muslims have grown stronger and have become mighty.
Another member of Qaynuqa’: You are right, Nawfal – especially after their victory at Badr.
Another member of Qaynuqa’: We, the Jews of the Qaynuqa’ tribe, are now on a par with the Muslims, after we used to have the power and the final say in Al-Madina.
Older member of Qaynuqa’: But we will not let them sit back and enjoy that. We will show them what the Jews of Bani Qaynuqa’ are made of.
Devil jumping up: How can they enjoy it while I’m around? I am responsible for them.
Devil's helper: You are responsible for your followers only, but you have no authority over those who are God-fearing.”
Devil: I know that, you idiot, but I have followers, whose hearts are filled with animosity, hatred, and envy towards Muhammad and his companions. This, in itself, can accomplish a lot.
Qaynuqa’ member: The Aws and Khazraj tribes are having laughs together, after their enmity used to fill the land from east to west.
Another member of Qaynuqa’: Muhammad brought harmony to their hearts, and what you see is the outcome. My heart rages with fire whenever I see Muslims who love one another. Utility means power and success in everything. We will not allow this.
[…]
“The Muslims besiege the Jews of Qaynuqa’ having foiled their plot to pit the Aws and Khazraj tribes against one another.”
Muslim fighter: This is the fortress of the Qaynuqa’ tribe.
Another Muslim fighter: The gates are locked. How are we to get in?
[…]
Muslim fighter: Masoud, we will lay siege to them.
Masoud, a Muslim fighter: Only besiege them? No fighting?
First Muslim fighter: These are the orders of the Prophet Muhammad.
[...]
Giant spiders jump around in the devil’s den
Devil: You idiot, where were you, when everybody abandoned the Qaynuqa’ tribe?
Devil's helper: I did what you told me to do.
Devil: Shut up. You are worthless. All you can do is play and have fun. However, we still have a chance.
Devil's helper: What chance?
Devil: Ibn Saloul.
[...]
Muslim: How can you possibly ask us to defy the order of Allah’s prophet?
Ibn Saloul: I’m just reminding you of your old pact with the Qaynuqa’ tribe, before Muhammad came to Al-Madina, before Muhammad came to Al-Madina.
Other Muslim: We kept that pact until they breached it themselves.
Ibn Saloul: Um… Um… They didn’t mean to.
Muslim: Inciting the Aws and the Khazraj tribes against one another, violating agreements harassing our women, making fun of the Muslims, affronting the Prophet of Allah – they did all this by accident?
[...]
Member of Qaynuqa’: Everybody has abandoned us. We are here alone.
Another member of Qaynuqa’: We have been here for 15 days, and nobody has saved us.
Older member of Qaynuqa’: We are imprisoned here. If things don’t change, we will die of hunger. Our supply of food and drink is almost finished.
Member of Qaynuqa’: I don’t want to die. No, I don’t want to die.
Older member of Qaynuqa’: Neither do we. We don’t want to die either.
Member of Qaynuqa’: Do something then.
Member of Qaynuqa’: There is only one thing to do.
[…]
Narrator: So they left Al-Madina, and the Prophet made sure no harm would be done to them on their way out. He sent a group of the Ansar to protect them.
Muslim: The Jews of the Qaynuqa’ tribe did not honor their pact with us. They persisted in their evil until it turned against them.
[…]

The "human rights defenders" of the EU and HRW and Amnesty don't have a problem with showing this. Antisemitism is bad, of course, but only when it is done by white right-wing bigots. Arabs and liberals and Muslims get a free pass with their brand of hate and incitement to violence. That's "free speech."

French Jewish organization files complaint about "Khaybar"

CRIF, the umbrella organization of French Jewry, has sent a formal complaint to CSA, the French authority
that monitors TV programming in that country, about the incitement against Jews in the "Khaybar" miniseries.

Three of the satellite networks broadcasting the antisemitic series - Dubai TV, Algeria 3 and Dream 3 - are available to French satellite customers.

According to CRIF, the anti-Semitic series encourages serious public incitement to national and racial discrimination, hatred and violence.

The series can also be seen on cable and the Internet, which gives it a significant and disturbing potential audience.

As "Khaybar" is included in various paid packages, CRIF also informed Eutelsat Numéricâble, SFR, Orange and Canal satellite TV providers of offensivbe material recorded during the broadcast of this series.

Media starting to notice Khaybar's incitement against Jews

Finally!

From The Tower:

According to Yusri al-Gindi, the director of the new series, Jewish “treachery and conspiracies” remain current in contemporary life. He adds that, “These people have not changed one bit.”

Since March, the series has been profiled on a number of mainstream Egyptian television channels. Speaking to the station Al-Akhbar Al-Youm, series actor Ahmad Abd Al-Halim says that Jews think exclusively about “accumulating money.”

On Rotana Masriya, part of the Arab world’s largest entertainment company, the Rotana Group, actor Ahmad Maher says, “These people are oppressors, who do not honor their agreements. History shows that they are the people who disputed Allah. They are the slayers of prophets.”

In another preview on Dream TV – a prominent satellite channel on which Google executive Wael Ghonim made his famous plea during the 2011 Egyptian revolution – Maher adds that in the series, “We learn how [the Jews] raise their children… How they teach them to live their lives, in a vile, treacherous, depraved and Machiavellian manner.”

Gindi, the director, was even profiled on Al Jazeera Arabic’s website, in an article entitled “‘Khaybar’ reveals the machinations of the Jews.”

I'm also mentioned.

From JPost:

Sameh al-Sereity, one of the main actors in the show, plays Muhammad ibn Maslamah, the bodyguard of the prophet Muhammad. Sereity told an Egyptian newspaper the show portrays the evolution of Jews’ hatred of others.

“The hostility between us and the Jews still exists. The hatred is ingrained. Neither Egyptians nor Arabs need this show to justify their hatred of Zionism. The existing struggles between us provide the simplest proof of this,” he said.

Another actor, Ahmad Abd al-Halim, said, “I play one of the Jewish characters, who demonstrates the behavior of the Jewish human being. All he thinks about is accumulating money.”

HuffPo's Rabbi Ken Cohen gets to the root of the problem:

Major human rights organizations all but ignore this incitement. Although Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch issued a joint statement in 2003 condemning anti-Semitism and Human Rights Watch has condemned anti-Semitism in the West, both groups are silent about widespread and poisonous anti-Jewish animus that is now commonplace in Muslim countries. But ethno-religious incitement has already cost the lives of thousands. And it undermines peace prospects. It is hardly "confidence building" when Israelis see these hateful programs on their own living rooms broadcast from Jordan, Egypt and Gaza. They remember the "Khaybar" missiles Hezbollah fired at Israeli cities in 2005. They have heard the chant at rallies in Ramallah and Europe: "Khaybar, Khaybar ya Yahud, jaysh-i Muhammad sawf-a ya'ud!-Khaybar, Khaybar, O Jews, the army of Muhammad will return."

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights defines ethno-religious baiting as a crime against humanity: "advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence" (article 20). Human rights groups need to speak out. This is not trivial TV entertainment. It amounts to nothing short of the psychological preparation for a potential genocide. It must be recognized and addressed.

This crude and offensive incitement defies journalistic and media standards observed elsewhere. It harms Jews, but also it undermines the standing of Muslims and the image of Islam.

In a meeting I had last month with the Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu and OIC's ambassador to the UN, Ukuk Gokcen, both men acknowledged incitement is a significant problem. Professor Ihsanoglu has spoken against anti-Semitism during his tenure. We look to the OIC and others within the Muslim world to take steps to help curtail this disturbing trend. To date major human rights organizations are all but silent.

Again, tell your friends to sign the petition to Amnesty and HRW, and to join the anti-Khaybar Facebook page. And tweet/email to HRW and Amnesty demanding that they address this incitement.

ADL condemns "Khaybar" miniseries; HRW, Amnesty remain silent

The ADL has condemned the "Khaybar" miniseries that started broadcasting this week throughout the Arab world.

From The Algemeiner:

The Anti Defamation League (ADL) Thursday condemned as “vehemently anti-Semitic” the TV miniseries “Khaybar” currently being aired in the Middle East and across the Arab World.

“With Syria, Egypt and other countries in the Middle East going through historical upheavals, it is absurd and outrageous that the entertainment of the Ramadan season promotes the Muslim subjugation of caricatured Jews,” said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director.

“The uprisings in the Arab and Muslim world have revealed a hunger among much of the Middle East for democracy, accountability and the development of effective civil and pluralistic society. Khaiber and other productions of its ilk represent the old detrimental approach of promoting Muslim societal unity through focusing hatred on Jews and Israel,” Foxman said.

The multi-million dollar television series produced by Echo Media Qatar dramatizes the ancient battle between Muslims and the Jews of the town of Khaybar in Arabia and depicts Jews as the enemy of Islam.

Earlier this week the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) released a video of the stars of “Khaybar,” that captures them making inflammatory and anti-Semitic remarks. One actor says that all Jews think about “is making money,” while another says that Jews “have no moral values.”

Jewish human rights group, the Simon Wiesenthal Center also criticized the series on Tuesday.

Last month anonymous blogger Elder of Ziyon oversaw the delivery of a petition, urging mainstream human rights groups to condemn “Khaybar,” to the New York City headquarters of both Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. Thus far he says that both organizations have failed to respond to his overtures.

Neither Human Rights Watch nor Amnesty International responded to detailed requests from The Algemeiner for comment.

Khaybar is airing throughout Ramadan, a holy month of fasting in Islam and the prime television season in the Muslim world.

Today, protesters at anti-Israel rallies around the world often evoke the battle of the town of Khaybar in their chants to galvanize supporters.

“Those who are rallying for a new society across the region must reject the anti-Semitism promoted in this television series,” Foxman said. “Faith leaders in the Muslim world should also unite in rejecting attempts to revive age-old hatreds.”

And so should "human rights" organizations.

In this case, the ADL condemnation is on its website, so at least the Jewish media should pick up on this pretty soon; with luck the mainstream media will as well.

The petition to HRW and Amnesty is here. Every signature triggers emails to the appropriate HRW and Amnesty official.

The Facebook page where I post all my Khaybar updates is here.

Antisemitic "Khaybar" series has begun broadcasting

The antisemitic miniseries Khaybar has begun its Ramadan broadcasts.

Already the first episode is available in multiple sites, including YouTube. Apparently it was broadcast Wednesday night.

I found episode 2 here; no doubt in a few hours it will be on YouTube as well.

The synopsis of Episode 2 sounds nearly identical to recent Arabic articles about what is happening in Egypt. Jewish leaders of Khaybar ignite war between Arab tribes to weaken their strength, as they set fires to the houses of the Arabs to incite them to fight each other.

I don't understand the Arabic, but the obviously evil Jewish characters are ugly and overact, while the "good Jews" who are disgusted by how their leaders act and the Arabs are attractive.

The Internet ensures that the entire Arabic-speaking world, including in Europe, will see this incitement within hours of the original broadcasts.

There are many competing Ramadan programs, but Khaybar is the only historical drama being broadcast. The media has played it up as an must-see TV event.

And still, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty refuse to comment on this clear mass incitement against Jews.

Wiesenthal Center condemns "Khaybar"; chides HRW, Amnesty

From The Algemeiner:

Actors from an anti-Semitic miniseries set to air this month in the Arab world have further confirmed their show’s hateful message in a series of interviews compiled by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).

MEMRI released video Tuesday of the stars of “Khaybar,” set to air in Egypt this month, that captures them making inflammatory and anti-Semitic remarks. One actor says that all Jews think about “is making money.” Another says that Jews “have no moral values,” while another explains that the purpose of the show is to portray Jews as the enemy of Islam.

Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean at the Simon Wiesenthal Center, told The Algemeiner that the mainstream appeal is deeply unsettling and that it proves that “Jew has become a dirty word in the world.”

“The fact that we now have the proliferation–and if you will the fine-tuning–of this kind of hateful imagery on satellite TV and on the internet is devastating. To undo that kind of hatred will take at least a generation. And the spillover is dramatic,” he said.

“We’re not talking about rabble rousers in the streets. This is a sophisticated production that will have commercials attached to it and it shows its becoming embedded in their cultures,” he added.

One of the show’s writers, Yusri al-Jindy, attempted further to validate the corrosive intent of the series, saying in an interview in June with Al-Masry Al-Youm , an Egypt-based daily newspaper, that it is meant “to expose the naked truth about the Jews and stress that they cannot be trusted.”

Anonymous blogger Elder of Ziyon has written extensively about the program and has even spearheaded a petition against it. In an email to The Algemeiner he slammed the international community for its silence on the issue.

“The video shows clearly that the series is not meant to be a historical drama, but a thin excuse to incite Arabs and Muslims against Jews. The screenwriter says so and the actors know it. This is a violation of international law, as specified in The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rightswhich states that ‘Any advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence shall be prohibited by law.’”

Last month he oversaw the delivery of the petition to the New York City headquarters of both Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. Thus far he says that both organizations have failed to respond to his overtures.

“It is outrageous that such blatant incitement stirs so little interest from human rights organizations. This is not just a speech, or a newspaper article, or a book – this is a highly anticipated media event. The hype in the Arabic media resembles the week before Iron Man 3 was released in the US. In only the past week, Al Jazeera has written three different articles about Khaybar.”

Cooper similarly criticized both organizations for not vocally condemning the show.

“We can come with the ‘J’accuse’ for two reasons. If they would say something it might have some impact in our own society, and secondly it would send a signal to civil societies in the Arab countries.”

Neither Human Rights Watch nor Amnesty International had responded to detailed requests from The Algemeiner for comment as of this writing.

Ramadan is starting. According to this Arab movie site, Khaybar will start airing on July 15 - the night of Tisha B'Av, the saddest day of the Jewish year that commemorates many tragedies.

"Khaybar" actors, writer describe its incitement against Jews (VIDEO) (updated with transcript)

From MEMRI:

Following are excerpts from statements made by actors in the anti-Semitic Arab TV series "Khaybar," which were aired on various Egyptian TV channels and posted on the Internet on March 14-17 and May 13, 2013.

Akhbar Al-Youm, posted March 14
Actor Ahmad Abd Al-Halim: I play one of the Jewish characters, who demonstrates the behavior of the Jewish human being. All he thinks about is accumulating money.
Actor Ahmad Maher: History has shown that the Jews are a people with no moral values, who do not honor their agreements.
Screenwriter Yusri Al-Gindi: This series is more historical and political than religious. We have a problem with these people. This problem has continued for a long time, and it still exists. This justifies addressing it all the time. The idea that we wish to convey is that these people have not changed one bit. Their conduct in Medina when the Prophet was trying to build his state there… He allowed them to live there as citizens and extended his hand in cooperation, but this was met by treachery and conspiracies. The only language they understood was the language of force, and hence, they were banished from the Arabian Peninsula.

Rotana Misriyya TV, posted March 17
Ahmad Maher: Al-Gindi created a historical document showing how these people are oppressors, who do not honor their agreements. History shows that they are the people who disputed Allah. They are the slayers of prophets.
Actor Farouq Flux: The “Khaybar” series takes place back in the early days of Islam. It shows the major role the Jews played in fighting Islam, and in the attempt to fight and deceive the Prophet Muhammad. This series shows the truth about the Jews, and about making agreements with them.
[…]

Dream 1 TV, May 13, 2013
Ahmad Maher: I play the character of Hareth Ibn Al-Awf. Through this character, we enter a Jewish home, and we learn how they raise their children, how they immerse their children in these odd modes of behavior, and how they teach them to live their lives in a vile, treacherous, depraved, and Machiavellian manner. They teach them that in order to achieve their aims, all means are justified and all values may be disregarded.
[…]
Actor Mustafa Hashish: I play one of the most prominent Jews, who hatches plots and schemes. He is, of course, very miserly-the purely typical Jew. He is called Abu Khallad. He is killed by his son. So this gives you an idea what the Jews are made of.

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty have adamantly refused to condemn this miniseries even after numerous emails and tweets.

Sign the petition and join the Facebook campaign to condemn this imminent mass incitement against Jews that will be broadcast to hundreds of millions of Arabs in the next few days.

Keep in mind that it will not only be shown in the Arab world, but certainly copies will be distributed to Muslims in Europe and the Americas so they can learn to hate their Jewish neighbors as well.

Al Jazeera publishes third "Khaybar" article in a week

In an indication that the antisemitic miniseries "Khaybar" may be shown on its network; Al Jazeera has a third article about it since last Tuesday.

This one is an interview with the director, Mohammed Azizieh, describing how great it is.

He says that "the series was written carefully with a solid religious and historical background , telling the story of the Jews of "Khaybar", and their machinations against the Muslims and the Messenger of Allah and peace be upon him in the early days of Islam."

Azizieh "denied that the Jewish lobby in America intervened to prevent or impede the production of this series, saying 'This talk is completely false.'" Well, yeah, it's only been me. If only I could have gotten our all-powerful Lobby to mobilize against it!

The article says that the series, described by its writer as showing Jews "practicing their treasonous nature throughout the centuries," will be shown on many Arab channels during Ramadan.

The director also hopes that the series will be dubbed in other languages so non-Arabic speaking Muslims can enjoy it as well.

Meanwhile, one Egyptian TV network - Dream TV - announced that it will show the series on its brand-new third channel.

It's not too late to sign the petition demanding that human rights groups condemn Khaybar and all Arab and Islamic antisemitism meant to incite hate against Jews. Also please join the Facebook page so the word can spread. So far we have over 1700 signatures.

Writer of "Khaybar" says the series reveals Jews' evil throughout the ages

Note the photo behind him

On Al Jazeera, the screenwriter of the "Khaybar" miniseries that will be aired this month in many Arab countries described its antisemitic motifs in detail.

Yusri al-Jindi tells the network that "Khaybar" raises two issues.

The first is that the Mohammed set up a state with equality between citizens, including Jews. The Islamic state is the finest with respect to equal rights and, what he would say, is "democracy," in ways that modern man can learn lessons from.

The second issue is that despite these civil rights, the Jews didn't respond with equal goodwill. Instead, the Jews greeted the benign Muslim rule with with treachery and intrigue, and outright treason.

Al-Jindi notes that the series emphasizes that Jews are Jews, still practicing their treasonous nature throughout the centuries, and they have wrought havoc in every society they have lived. They were the first to fight against this "civil Islamic state", and stand now against the restoration of the Umma for its civilization and glory.

The Jews have been consistent with this opposition to their hosts, such as in Babylon, with the Romans in the Levant, in Tsarist Russia, in Arab states and in Hitler's Germany.

The current crisis experienced by the Arab world is, he says, the best witness to this fact, and here the series takes its modern meaning.

Once again, it is clear that "Khaybar" is meant to incite Arabs against Jews today.

Please "like" our "Condemn Khaybar" Facebook page and sign the petition urging Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International to condemn this series before it goes on the air.

Al Jazeera tries to whitewash "Khaybar" - but the incitement still shines through

It looks like the criticism of the antisemitism in the upcoming Khaybar miniseries is causing Arab media to step back a little and pretend that it is not really meant to incite.

Al Jazeera has a feature story on the series that says

The screenwriter deals with the Jewish community, like any other society in which there is both good and evil, so you will find scenes with the finest Jewish personalities and others that are sinister who allied with the hypocrites who are in Yathrib...

But, in the end, the incitement is there:

[Khaybar] illustrates the objective reasons which caused Muslims to eliminate the Jews of Khaybar, which objectively can be applied to what is happening now in the Arab arena with regard to the Palestinian issue and other problems experienced by the Arab nation.

Meaning, just like the Muslims had good reason to wipe out the Jews of Khaybar...

Still no word from HRW or Amnesty addressing the Arab and Muslim antisemitic incitement in Khaybar, or any other media, as we approach 1500 signatures on our petition.

Arutz-7 reports on my petition to Amnesty, HRW to condemn Arab antisemitism

From Arutz-7:

A pro-Israel blogger has initiated a petition urging human rights groups to condemn an anti-Semitic mini-series due to air throughout the Arab world in July.

The Elder of Ziyon pro-Israel blogger delivered the petition to Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International urging them to condemn the “Khaybar” mini-series, set to air during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

“The show will be on when most Egyptian families are staying at home for Ramadan doing nothing but watching TV,” Mina Rezkalla, a U.S.-based Egyptian activist told The Wall Street Journal. “The goal is completely outward anti-Semitism.”

The petition has already acquired over 1200 signatures from 47 countries [actually, nearly 1400 - EoZ].

The human rights groups “have publicly stated that anti-Semitism is a human rights issue, yet they have not once condemned the endemic and virulent Arab anti-Semitism that is seen daily by millions in the Arab media,” the petition states.

“However, the writer and director of the series make no secret of the fact that the point of the series is to demonize Jews from the time of Moses to today,” the petition continues. “In other words, the series is meant to incite Arabs to hate Jews. This is a quintessentially human rights issue and it is outrageous that Human Rights Watch and Amnesty have ignored this, as well as many other anti-Semitic broadcasts in Arabic-language media.

“Their condemnation can show the Arab broadcasters that such hatred is not acceptable and that Arab nations must be held to the same human rights standards as every other nation on Earth,” the petition adds.

Ramadan starts around July 7. According to one Arabic film site, "Khaybar" will start airing on July 15.

Amnesty and HRW have so far still ignored the tweets, emails and petition.

Here are some screen shots from recent Arabic news stories of the series:

This appears to be a Jew (in a tallit) about to behead someone.

Plotting their schemes, always with the menorah behind them

A scene in a synagogue, again men all wearing Tallitot (and another menorah in the back)

Khaybar petition is top story at Algemeiner

From The Algemeiner:

A petition urging human rights groups to condemn an anti-Semitic mini-series due to air throughout the Arab world in July is gathering momentum, with over 1200 people from 47 countries having signed it thus far.

The petition, spearheaded by the anonymous pro-Israel blogger Elder of Ziyon, was hand delivered to Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International earlier this week.

Read the whole thing and tell your friends to sign the petition!

Human Rights Watch condemns incitement against Shiites, but not Jews

From Human Rights Watch:

The lynching of four Shia by a mob apparently led by Salafi sheikhs in the village of Abu Musallim in Greater Cairo on June 23, 2013, came after months of anti-Shia hate speech at times involving the ruling Muslim Brotherhood and its political party, Human Rights Watch said today. The episode shows that the government needs to recognize that Shia in Egypt are at risk and to take protective measure to ensure their protection and equal rights.

“The brutal sectarian lynching of four Shia comes after two years of hate speech against the minority religious group, which the Muslim Brotherhood condoned and at times participated in,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.

The anti-Shia hate speech by Salafis, who consider Shia Muslims heretics, and the Muslim Brotherhood has been going on for two years, Human Rights Watch said. Muslim Brotherhood members and officials at Al Azhar, Egypt’s main center of Islamic learning and authority, have publicly called for an end to the spread of Shiism in Egypt.

Look at that - HRW has the ability to condemn hate speech that could lead to people being killed!

But Arab antisemitism has never been condemned by HRW, or Amnesty. Not once.

Even though there are still Jews living in Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco and elsewhere. Even though the Arab antisemitism is being spread among Muslims in Europe and results in attacks against Jews there. Even though there happens to be a Jewish state in the midst of the Arab world.

The Khaybar miniseries is being broadcast throughout the Arab world in July. The entire point of the series is to instill hatred of Jews under the guise of entertainment. Despite repeated calls for HRW and Amnesty to condemn it, and the delivery of a petition this week to their offices in New York, these "human rights groups" remain silent about incitement against Jews that will be seen by tens, or perhaps hundreds, of millions of Arabs.

HRW is showing its hypocrisy with its belated denunciation of the Egyptian incitement against Shiites. Yet how was this incitement framed? By saying that Shiites are even worse than Jews. In other words, for Muslims, Jews are the standard against which all hate must be compared.

HRW and Amnesty apparently have no problem with this.

They are happy to condemn white European antisemitism. They are happy to condemn Arab hate against other Arabs. But direct Arab incitement against Jews?

Nothing.

(You can still sign the petition demanding HRW and Amnesty condemn Arab antisemitism and the Khaybar series in particular - all signatures get emailed to them. Now including Joe Stork.)

"Khaybar" update - payback for Mohammed YouTube video?

Today we see the first response by someone involved in the antisemitic "Khaybar" miniseries to the condemnations by Jews, specifically from the Zionist Organization of America.

The series had been described by people on the set as showing how Jews educate their children to "meanness, deception, depravity and Machiavellianism." One actor says it sets out to depict Jews as "the ugliest slice of humans."

One of the actors on the film, responding to the mounting criticism, said that it is a work of historical facts and historical events that can not be denied about the Jews of the Arabian Peninsula.

This is pretty much the defense I expected - that when confronted with their own words, the people behind the film will pretend it is merely a historical drama and not incitement. Yet their own words when speaking about it freely to the Arab world revealed a much different story.

We need to keep the pressure on and force the people behind the series as well as the nations that will be broadcasting it to explain exactly why Jew-hatred is acceptable in Arab culture, when they stress to Westerners all the time that they have no problem with Jews.

(You can still sign the petition demanding Amnesty and HRW condemn the series.)

Another article says that the series will be shown in Algeria, Iraq, the UAE and Qatar, with negotiations still in place. Surprisingly, the producers have not yet inked a deal with Egypt.

A French-language Algerian paper describes the bidding war in that country for which network would broadcast the series. EPTV won, and will broadcast it on all four of its TV channels. The paper says that the series has been sold to a dozen countries so far and also, interestingly, that Arabs have been clamoring for a film as payback for the "Jewish" YouTube video that made fun of Mohammed.

I don't think Khaybar was written from that perspective but it sure seems like some Muslims are viewing it that way.