01/13 Links Pt2: Pres. Rivlin: Sheldon's contributions to Israel and the Jewish people cannot be overstated; The Durban Conference: A Hateful Anti-Israel Legacy

From Ian:

Sheldon Adelson has a special place in the golden book of Zionism and the Jewish people

Montefiore, Rothschild, and Adelson's names are written in the golden book of the rise of Zionism in the new era. And I had a privilege of knowing Adelson. And so did you: Each and every one of the readers of Israel Hayom, which he founded 13 years ago with his life partner, Dr. Miriam Adelson, the paper's publisher.

I first met him in 2008. A month ago, at his home in Las Vegas, we had what turned out to be our last discussion. In both instances he was sharp, wise, precise, but mostly concerned about our future. Even when his health started to betray him, it was important to him to stay updated and know what was happening in Israel and to the Jewish people who were so dear to his heart. Our first conversation focused on the country, and so did the last. Everything else was everything else – add-ons that served the goal.

People liked to affiliate my dear boss with various and sundry politicians, but his real, deep, emotional connection was to Zionism. He admired every Jew who contributed to the holy mission. I was always amazed at how modest the man was. He could wonder at a kid who arrived in Israel as part of the Taglit-Birthright program and wanted to tell him a story; be moved by a conversation with a Holocaust survivor at Yad Vashem, one of the institutions to which he donated. A rabbi, a farmer, a doctor, or a bus driver – he would treat them all exactly the same way, listen to them the same way, pay attention to the little details. And it always amazed me, every time. Simplicity and honesty, qualities that are given to the truly great.

A huge donor who was an expert at giving in secret
Let's not make any mistakes, he also knew how to be tough. His philanthropic activity, some of which I saw from up close, was no less important to him than his business activity. Sometimes I felt as if the genius businessman in him was destined to serve the great donor he was. At various opportunities, when he was in various moods, I looked at him and saw he was focused only on excellence and helping others. Only recently, his private plane flew Jonathan Pollard to Israel. A few other such flights were never reported. Because aside from the billions he gave away, he was also an expert at donating in secret.

December, 2015, Las Vegas, at one of the drug rehabilitation centers managed by Dr. Miriam Adelson. It was the eve of a holiday. The Adelsons were wearing their best clothes and arrived for a meal with the center's patients, about 100 men and women, all of whom were in recovery from drug addiction. These were poor people who needed help. Mr. Adelson sat at the head of the table, talking to them, shaking their hands, taking pictures with each of them, taking an interest, joking, hugging.

I was there, and that same evening, some very high-ranking politicians came to see him. The US had just gone into an election year. One of Mr. Adelson's staff members went up to him and reminded him that a few of his grandchildren were waiting outside, and he told her, smiling, "You don't see that I'm with my friends right now?" That might be the strongest memory I have of him, and it includes so much of the man, as he truly was.

President Reuven Rivlin: Sheldon's contributions to Israel and the Jewish people cannot be overstated

Aside from his global businesses, in the last few decades Sheldon used his abilities to influence public life. It would be hard to count the many and varied philanthropic initiatives to which Sheldon contributed his wealth, most of which deepen the ties between the Jewish people to their land and legacy.

Sheldon fostered links between Diaspora Jewry and the state of Israel by giving to Yad Vashem, Taglit-Birthright, Garin Tzabar - Israeli Lone Soldier IDF Program, and medical and academic projects. The Innovation Center at Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya and the Adelson School of Medicine at Ariel University, where we met last Hanukkah, were an investment in Israeli research, medicine, and development. The importance of founding such an institution at this time cannot be overstated. Generations of doctors and other medical workers will thank him for the initiatives, and we will all benefit from the fruits of the investment and the belief that beat in Adelson when he was determined to launch an excellent new faculty of medicine that opened its doors to all Israelis and everyone who wants to learn.

In places where there were no men, Sheldon "strove to be a man," to invest his wealth and time, to be there, to help and offer support.

More than anything, Sheldon believed in the strategic alliance between Israel and the US, and saw deepening the ties between the two countries as the surest investment in the future of the Jewish people and the state of Israel.

I extend my condolences to Miriam, the love of his life, and his partner on the path of contributing to building up the nation and the land, as well as to the entire family.

May his memory be a blessing.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: An enormous patriot, a huge donor, and a man of keen intelligence

It is difficult to describe what Sheldon did for the Jewish people and for Israel. Sheldon was one of the biggest donors in the history of the Jewish people. He gave to Zionism, to the settlements, and to the state of Israel. He made enormous financial contributions to many institutions – to medical and scientific research, to higher education, to Ariel University, to Taglit-Birthright, and to his immense projects in every field. With his wife, Miri, he gave generously to many enterprises that save lives and brought Israel renown throughout the world. Sheldon was a huge Jewish patriot. He worked to strengthen Israel, bolster its standing in the United States, and strengthen ties between the Jewish people in Israel and the Diaspora.

Sheldon grew up poor, in a Boston suburb, and become one of the biggest entrepreneurs and philanthropists in the world. He did so through his keen intelligence, his honest thinking, his powerful personality, and his courage. Sheldon could face down anything and did what he believed. And what he believed in, more than anything else, was the promise of the Jewish people and their state.

Sheldon truly loved America – America, which gave him every opportunity he could dream of. He wanted everyone in the world to have those opportunities and that freedom.

I have to say that I've met many wonderful people in my life. But this giant, a personality like Sheldon, comes along once in a generation. We will forever remember Sheldon and his enormous contribution to the Jewish people and the state of Israel. His influence will remain with us for generations to come.

May his memory be a blessing.

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Israelis give a lot more remittances to other countries (including Iran) than you think

From Investopedia:

Remittances are funds transferred from migrants to their home country. They are the private savings of workers and families that are spent in the home country for food, clothing and other expenditures, and which drive the home economy. For many developing nations, remittances from citizens working abroad provide an import source of much-needed funds.

The World Bank keeps track of these figures  but some are only estimates. They provide a financial picture of how Israel funds, and is funded, by citizens of other countries in ways that are rarely seen. 

Not surprisingly, Israelis send far more to other countries than they receive. In 2017, Israelis sent nearly $3 billion to other countries and received almost $1 billion.

The list of countries that Israelis send remittances to includes many Arab and Muslim countries. By far the biggest recipient is Morocco, with almost $400 million in remittances from Israel. But other countries on the list are even more surprising.

Egypt received $119 million - even though there are only a handful of Jews left in Egypt. Other surprises are Yemen with $68 million, Tunisia with $66 million and Algeria with $54 million. The standard concept of remittances doesn't explain these numbers at all, and perhaps they hint to an underground black market economy between Israel and Arab nations. Further evidence for this is the $166 million sent from the Palestinian territories to Israel, this might be to get around taxes or PA restrictions on businesses.

Most surprising is the $43 million sent from Israel to Iran. Not because there aren't a lot of Israelis from Iran who want to help their relatives, but how these funds are transferred in a way that the World Bank can see them but Israeli and Iranian banking regulations seem not to. 

Oddly, no money was recorded between Iran and the Palestinian territories. But in 2017 some $340 million was somehow transferred from the US to Iran! 

Altogether, this shows that Israel is far more economically integrated into the Middle East than most people realize. 

Remittances from Israel to other countries, 2017

Country	$
France	$545,000,000
Morocco	$399,000,000
Ukraine	$207,000,000
United States	$168,000,000
Romania	$151,000,000
Egypt	$119,000,000
Belgium	$118,000,000
Poland	$104,000,000
Hungary	$103,000,000
India	$98,000,000
Germany	$97,000,000
Russia	$89,000,000
Ethiopia	$86,000,000
Yemen	$68,000,000
Tunisia	$66,000,000
Algeria	$54,000,000
Iran	$43,000,000
Iraq	$32,000,000
Argentina	$28,000,000
Austria	$28,000,000
Bulgaria	$27,000,000
Georgia	$25,000,000
Moldova	$23,000,000
United Kingdom	$19,000,000
Belarus	$18,000,000
Italy	$16,000,000
Spain	$16,000,000
Switzerland	$15,000,000
Brazil	$14,000,000
Australia	$13,000,000
Latvia	$13,000,000
South Africa	$13,000,000
Azerbaijan	$12,000,000
Denmark	$10,000,000
Kyrgyzstan	$10,000,000
Lithuania	$9,000,000
Turkey	$9,000,000
Canada	$8,000,000
Tajikistan	$8,000,000
Netherlands	$7,000,000
Colombia	$6,000,000
Mexico	$6,000,000
Sweden	$6,000,000
Peru	$5,000,000
China	$4,000,000
Syria	$4,000,000
Uruguay	$2,000,000
Kazakhstan	$1,000,000

Remittances to Israel from other countries, 2017:

Country
United States	$408,000,000
Palestinian territories	$166,000,000
Germany	$74,000,000
Canada	$71,000,000
United Kingdom	$55,000,000
Australia	$31,000,000
France	$25,000,000
Netherlands	$14,000,000
Italy	$12,000,000
Turkey	$11,000,000
Switzerland	$10,000,000
Russia	$9,000,000
South Africa	$9,000,000
Belgium	$8,000,000
Austria	$7,000,000
Spain	$7,000,000
Sweden	$7,000,000
Argentina	$5,000,000
Brazil	$5,000,000
Denmark	$5,000,000
Hungary	$5,000,000
Czech Republic	$4,000,000
Jordan	$4,000,000
Mexico	$4,000,000
Panama	$3,000,000
Chile	$2,000,000
China	$2,000,000
Ecuador	$2,000,000
Finland	$2,000,000
Norway	$2,000,000
Peru	$2,000,000
Philippines	$2,000,000
Romania	$2,000,000

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10/14 Links Pt2: How to Combat Anti-Israeli Hate on College Campuses; Gal Gadot's rude 'wokening'; Peter Beinart Rakes in Six Figures from Anti-Israel Group; Joe Biden is not a friend of Israel

From Ian:

Josh Hammer: How to Combat Anti-Israeli Hate on College Campuses

The much-ballyhooed UN Security Council Resolution (“UNSCR”) 242, passed in the aftermath of the Six-Day War, does not in any way alter the conclusion that Israel is the best claimant to Judea and Samaria. That resolution affirmed “[w]ithdrawal of Israel armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict”; but as the careful reader will note, the operative language is “territories,” not “the territories,” therefore unambiguously permitting at least some Israeli presence in Judea and Samaria. Additionally, UNSCR 242 also requires Arab UN member states to “[t]erminat[e] . . . all claims . . . of belligerency and . . . acknowledg[e] . . . the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence” of Israel—obligations they clearly have not fulfilled. Given uti possidetis juris—not to mention the wholly defensive nature of Israel’s involvement in the Six-Day War—it would be extraordinarily peculiar to think of Israel as an “[o]ccupying [p]ower” under Article 49. Even assuming, arguendo, that “occupation” did commence in 1967, furthermore, it would not have survived the signing of the Oslo Accords and the peace treaty with Jordan, in 1993 and 1994—after all, Article 49 has no legal application outside of international armed conflicts. But this lattermost thought experiment notwithstanding, Israel was not an illegal “occupier” in 1948, it was not an illegal “occupier” in 1967, it was not an illegal “occupier” after the Arabs’ third failed attempt to exterminate Israel in the Yom Kippur War of 1973, and it is not an illegal “occupier” today.

This remarkably straightforward analysis and application of international law notwithstanding, supporters of the Jewish state on the American university campus today are routinely assailed as apologists for “apartheid,” illegal “occupation,” and/or European-style ethnic colonialism. Many, perhaps most, of these verbal assaults comfortably fit the requisite criteria for the U.S. State Department’s definition of anti-Semitism. But due to the ubiquity of these incidents, however tragic that ubiquity may be, it is imperative that Zionists squarely address how to best handle them. Based on personal experiences and the vicarious experience of close friends and loved ones from the front lines of the on-campus “Israel wars,” here is some advice to Zionist students under siege on the American university campus today.

First, know your facts and your basic history. Understand, and be able to explain, what exactly the Jewish state of Israel is and how it first came into being. Understand, and be able to explain, the relevant history—the dates and events that matter, and why they matter. Understand, and be able to explain, a rudimentary conception of the international law principle of uti possidetis juris and how it applies to the state of Israel’s rightful legal claim to Judea and Samaria—dating back to Article XXII of the Covenant of the League of Nations. Be respectful of the other side’s narrative, but be confident in the moral and legal superiority of your claim.

Second, be the better person. We Zionist veterans of the on-campus “Israel wars” all know what a determined SJP/JVP foe looks like: threatening, slanderous, bellicose, hysterical. It is imperative that supporters and friends of Israel neither mimic their grotesque tactics nor stoop to their sordid level. Instead, recall: We have the better of the legal argument, we have the better of the historical argument, and we have the better of the moral argument. All we must do is maintain our composure, speak the historical truth, and make the unabashed moral case for Israel’s right to the land of Eretz Yisrael—forcefully but respectfully, unapologetically but reassuringly.

Third, be strong and be proud. You are standing up for the noblest and most just causes of all: the health, safety, prosperity, and security of the Jewish people and the Jewish people’s right to self-determination and territorial sovereignty in their ancestral, biblical homeland. If you are a proud Jew or a proud friend of the Jews, then there is simply no more righteous cause. The modern state of Israel, which was born from the ashes of one of human history’s darkest chapters, has survived against impossible odds and developed the region’s most advanced military—a fighting force, that is, which self-imposes the most stringent ethical norms in all of modern warfare and has executed countless daring raids to rescue Jewish hostages abroad and bring them home to safety. Israel has become the whole world’s envy in technology venture capital. It is an intrinsically moral state, a beacon of light amidst a turbulent sea, and an indispensable military and intelligence ally for the United States. Perhaps most importantly, it is the Jews’ Promised Land. Israel is, in a nutshell, one of the most remarkable human success stories in two to three millennia—and inherently worthy of a robust defense in the lion’s den of today’s neo-Jacobin American university campuses.

On the one hand, it is profoundly sad to see Israel, once such a unifying issue for our normally fractious politics become the intensely debated subject that it is today. On the other hand, it is cause for optimism that, despite all the intensity and vitriol that this issue lamentably engenders, there is such a simple, persuasive, and compelling legal argument to support the modern state of Israel’s rightful territorial claim to Eretz Yisrael—including the most relevant portion, for purposes of this essay, Judea and Samaria. It is my hope that beleaguered students today encountering the BDS movement’s headwinds will be able to utilize this essay to stand up defiantly for Israel’s dignity—and defy those who would smear it as an illicit “occupier.”

Ruthie Blum: Gal Gadot's rude 'wokening'

Suddenly, the international sensation with a sexy Hebrew lilt was blasted for having served in the Israel Defense Forces and – gasp – being proud of it. This was a huge no-no for the BDS crowd, who began to accuse her of war crimes.

Luckily for Gadot, her box-office success was of greater interest to her Hollywood studio than her country of origin or the fact that her military duty involved teaching calisthenics to combat troops. If anything – as she herself has said in interviews – her fitness prepared her for the role with which she has become synonymous.

Even if she had been a commando, however, she would have been at a loss in the face of American "woke" culture, in which the pen has become stiff competition for the sword. What she ought to have learned by now, after so much time among progressive bullies in the United States, is that the animosity she's currently experiencing cannot be countered through appeasement.

Indeed, she can argue that Cleopatra was a descendant of Macedonian Greek general Ptolemy; she can shout "Joe Biden for president" from the rooftop of her LA mansion; and she can work to reassure her social-media followers that her main mission is to promote female empowerment – you know, in the vein of US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, whose Sept. 18 passing spurred her to thank the late judge on Instagram "for everything [she] brought to this world," and to punctuate the tribute with a broken-heart emoji.

None of the above would or does suffice for the radicals bent on discrediting her, not only as a fair-skinned Israeli, but as someone who hasn't gone far enough to the left. Short of renouncing her roots and refusing the cinematic role of her dreams, there's nothing she can do to satiate their cancel-culture hunger.

But she might want to consider expressing a bit of gratitude to the slew of conservatives engaging in ideological warfare on her behalf. That would make her a genuine superhero.

Israeli Actress Gal Gadot Shares Morning Prayer Routine With Vanity Fair, Teaches Hebrew Slang

Israeli actress Gal Gadot talked about her upbringing in Israel and the Hebrew prayer she recites every morning in a cover story interview with Vanity Fair for its November issue.

The “Wonder Woman 1984” star, who grew up in the central Israeli city of Rosh Ha’ayin, told the magazine from her home in Tel Aviv that she started her days with the Jewish prayer “Modeh Ani.”

“I say thank you every morning,” she explained. “In the Jewish culture there’s a prayer that you’re supposed to say every time you wake up in the morning to thank God for, you know, keeping you alive and dadadada. You say ‘modeh ani,’ which means ‘I give thanks.’ So every morning I wake up and step out of bed and I say, ‘Thank you for everything, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.’”

The actress, 35, then closed her eyes, as if she was saying the prayer again, adding, “Nothing is to be taken for granted.”

Gadot grew up in a home with two working parents. Her father, Michael, was an engineer, and her mother, Irit, was a gym teacher who taught sports to Gadot and her younger sister, Dana, Vanity Fair reported.

Following high school, Gadot spent two years completing her mandatory service in the Israel Defense Forces, where she was a fitness and combat readiness instructor, before she went to college.

“I came from a home where being an actress wasn’t even an option,” the former Miss Israel said. “I always loved the arts and I was a dancer and I loved the movies, but being an actress was never a discussion. My parents were like, You need to graduate university and get a degree.”

Gal Gadot to Play Muhammad in Upcoming Biopic (satire)

In a decision that has angered both Muslims and western liberals, Israeli actress Gal Gadot has been cast to play the Islamic prophet Muhammad in an upcoming film about the founder of Islam’s life.

The ‘Wonder Woman’ star and Israel native will don a fake beard to play the lead role in ‘From Medina to Mecca: One Man’s Journey to Change the World, Establish the Caliphate, and Find Himself.’ She will speak Hebrew instead of Muhammad’s native Arabic, but director Patty Jenkins said that “most viewers won’t know the difference.”

“Muhammad was Middle Eastern and Gal is Middle Eastern, so it just made sense,” said Jenkins. “Besides, she knows a little Arabic, like ‘Show me your ID’ and ‘Stop or I will shoot.’”

Gadot’s casting drew criticism from Muslims, who objected to Muhammad being portrayed on film; leftists, who accused Gadot of cultural appropriation; and the alt-right, who opposed both a film being made about a Muslim and an Israeli Jew playing a leading role. James Zogby, the president of the Arab American Institute, called Gadot’s casting a “genocide.”

Gadot was originally cast to play Cleopatra in an upcoming biopic of the Egyptian queen but was forced to drop out after people on Twitter pointed out that she is not in fact Egyptian and did not die in 30 BC. Instead, Rob Schneider will replace Gadot as the film’s lead.

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09/16 Links Pt1: Michael Oren: An achievement that will be taught in the diplomacy books; The UAE-Israel accord is a win for every Muslim; Italian MP nominates Netanyahu for Nobel Prize

From Ian:

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Michael Oren: An achievement that will be taught in the diplomacy books

The peace agreements between Israel, the UAE and Bahrain are an economic, diplomatic and strategic breakthrough.

On the economic front, it is a connection between the most innovative country in the world, Israel, and two of the wealthiest countries in the world; an encounter that may be transformative not only for the Middle East, but for the whole world. Even before the agreement was signed, Israeli and Arab businessmen hurried to sign deals of cooperation and mutual investments. On the diplomatic front, this is an agreement that refutes all the theses concerning the peace process that have existed for 30, 50, even 70 years. Even in the early 1950s the Americans and British suggested a format that was based on the principle of land for peace, which included the demand from Israel to give Egypt almost all of the Negev. The belief that Israel must buy peace with the Arabs continued fervently after the 1967 Six-Day War as part of the peace accords with Egypt and Jordan. Israel had to give up many territories, and here – as opposed to that, the current deals were achieved without giving up one millimeter of land.

Another belief was that the Israeli-Arab conflict was central and fundamental in the Middle East, and that its origin is in the conflict with the Palestinians. By that same belief, the core of the conflict surrounds the settlements in Judea and Samaria and east Jerusalem. Yet here, the present deal was achieved with no advance whatsoever with the Palestinians, and without removing Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria, without even a settlement freeze. Finally, for many years there was a belief that the Palestinians, because of their weakness, need incentives to enter negotiations, even after they left the table. So they received billions, an embassy in Washington and recognition from most countries of the world. This time, as opposed to the past, the Palestinians left, they ran away from the talks, and they were punished. Therefore, beyond the economic and diplomatic achievements, the peace agreements have a significant strategic importance.

The Arab governments over the past years dealt with insufferable dangers from Iran and Erdogan's Turkey, who support Hamas and Islamists. At the same time, as the US began a process of removing itself from the region and supporting those Arab countries, the Bahrainis and Saudis had no choice but to turn to Israel, the only superpower in the Middle East that doesn't threaten them, in fact quite the opposite, is willing to help them defend themselves.

These peace deals will allow us and the moderate Arab states to forge an open front against the Iranian-Syrian axis, and against Turkish aggression.

Abraham Accords: Full text

Caroline Glick: A tale of 2 White House signing ceremonies

Attending the White House signing ceremony on Tuesday of the Abraham Accords – which normalize relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain – was both moving and jarring. Standing at the South Lawn, just meters from the Rose Garden where the Oslo Accord were signed 27 years ago on September 13, 1993, the comparison between the two agreements was inescapable.

That ceremony was an act of political theater unsurpassed in the history of Israel. Yasser Arafat, chairman of the PLO, and architect of modern terrorism, grinned ear to ear as he received the royal treatment on the White House Lawn.

Seeking peace, Israel's then-Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin promised the PLO land, money and weaponry, which Arafat used to build a terror state on the outskirts of Jerusalem. Arafat in turn promised to end terrorism, accept Israel's right to exist and resolve all outstanding issues through peaceful negotiations. Arafat was lying.

I wanted to believe in the fake peace of 1993. But the grim facts made it impossible. For the past 27 years, first as a member of Israel's negotiating team during my service in the IDF and then as a writer and a lecturer, like thousands of other Israelis and friends of Israel in the US and around the world, I devoted myself to exposing the lies and warning about the danger of empowering those who seek Israel's destruction. I wrote hundreds of articles, briefed hundreds of politicians and community leaders in the US and worldwide. I wrote a book.

And as I sat in the garden at the White House today, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US President Donald Trump, UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Mahyan and Bahrain Foreign Minister Abdullatif Al Zayani standing in the portico before me, the names of the victims of that previous peace agreement rushed through my head. David Biri, Nachson Waxman, Kochava Biton, Ohad Bachrach, Ori Shachor, the Lapids, the Ungars, the Fogels, the Schijveschuurders, Madhat Yusuf, Shalhevet Pas and on and on and on.

I have been demonized as an "extremist" a "far right-winger," an "enemy of peace," and a "fascist" by members of the so-called "peace camp." Think tanks and professionals with ties to the EU – the co-sponsor of the fake peace process – were afraid to invite me to speak, cite my articles or to review my book.

The UAE-Israel accord is a win for every Muslim

For almost twenty years, Muslims across the world have been on the defensive. Muslim identity has been largely under attack. The terrorist incidents of September 11, 2001 on New York and Washington DC cast – in many a popular imagination – every Muslim as suspect in some way. In almost every continent, a dark cloud hung over us. The security checks at airports are only a manifestation of that deep distrust.

Osama bin Laden and a range of extremist organisations hijacked the Palestinian cause: they created nothing but more loss, terrorism and humiliation for the noble Palestinian people. Now, with the visionary accord between the UAE and Israel, three new horizons open: reinstating Muslim dignity, reviving a two-state solution opportunity and creating regional economic prosperity.

I am a British Muslim. In my teens, I helped raise money in London for Hamas. My peers and I believed suicide bombers were martyrs heading for paradise. We were wrong.

The Greek philosopher Heraclitus 2,500 years ago taught that there is only one constant in life: change. Life flows ever onwards. After 9/11, I recognised the blunder of my beliefs. I changed. In my twenties, I lived in Damascus next to a Palestinian refugee camp in Syria. In my thirties, I lived in New York and Washington where I advised the US government. I saw the suspicion of Muslims in the eyes of American officials. It always boiled down to something unspoken: show us peace in Islam; stop talking about it.

And that is exactly what the Abraham Accord is doing: showing peace between peoples, not only preaching it. The accord represents an important opportunity to further reject “Islamophobic” accusations of terrorism and anti-Semitism. We can say: “We believe in one God. Peace is possible. A new way of co-existence is achievable. We are not pawns for the mullahs of Iran or the Muslim Brotherhood. Look at the UAE.”

More than 70 countries have applauded the agreement with Israel and today, the UAE enjoys unprecedented support on both sides of the US political divide. The Pope’s visit to the Emirates in 2019 won the hearts of 2 billion Christians to the prospect of a pluralist, peaceful Middle East.

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09/04 Links Pt1: Taylor Force’s Father Urges Joe Biden Not to Resume Funding for Palestinian Terrorists; Iran breaches nuclear deal, stockpile 10 times larger than set limit

From Ian:

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Melanie Phillips: The West's blind eye to Palestinian incitement

Why do so many well-meaning people committed to ending abuses of power ignore the evidence of who is actually committing these abuses and blame their victims instead?

An official investigation funded by Britain and the European Union into textbooks used in Palestinian schools has descended into farce.

In April 2018, finally responding to concerns about anti-Israel incitement in Palestinian-Arab schools, the United Kingdom pushed the EU to commission a report on Palestinian textbooks from the Georg Eckert Institute for International Textbook Research in Germany.

In April last year, the Institute published as a preliminary what it called its "Inception Report." This, it said, developed a framework for "an academically rigorous review" of "how peace, tolerance and an understanding of the other are incorporated into Palestinian textbooks."

This report, however, was itself riddled with so many mistakes that the European Union ditched it. Bafflingly, however, the EU has continued to use the Georg Eckert Institute to finish the project.

Its final report is due out next month. But it has now produced an interim report, which the EU is choosing to keep secret.

Marcus Sheff, chief executive of the Jerusalem-based Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education, managed to obtain a presentation of this interim report. This has shown the project lurching from bad to worse.

Calling the review "a comedy of errors from start to finish," Sheff says the researchers have looked at the wrong textbooks. They have actually used as examples textbooks that are used in Israel's Arab schools in Jerusalem, praising them and presenting them falsely as part of the Palestinian Authority's curriculum.

On the basis of this egregious mistake, the researchers have claimed that the Palestinians' educational materials have been "transformed" for the better.

They make no mention of the vile language and images used in many of the Palestinian textbooks, such as describing the burning of Jewish bus passengers with Molotov cocktails as a "barbecue party," or teaching Arabic through a story promoting suicide bombings and illustrated by a Palestinian gunman shooting Israeli soldiers in a tank.

GOP Congressman Calls Biden’s Pledge to Restore US Funding to Palestinians ‘Mental Incoherence’

A Republican member of Congress has slammed Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden for pledging to restore US funding to the Palestinians in accordance with the Taylor Force Act, calling Biden’s pledge a display of “mental incoherence.”

“You can’t restore funding to the Palestinians and comply with the Taylor Force Act except for some very, very limited humanitarian types of funding,” Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.) told JNS in a recent interview. “Basically, if you agree with the sentiment behind the Taylor Force Act, you don’t restore funding to the Palestinians.”

“I think Joe Biden is showing some mental incoherence when he says something like that,” he said.

Lamborn introduced a version of the Taylor Force Act in 2017 and a version of it passed Congress and became law in March 2018, cutting off virtually all US funding to the Palestinian Authority due to it financially rewarding terrorists and their families. It requires the secretary of state to verify that the PA has taken certain steps to stop such activity in addition to other requirements.

Lamborn warned that a Biden administration could try to certify that the PA is taking those concrete steps against rewarding terrorism, even if Ramallah isn’t actually doing so.

“There might be people out there in a Biden administration who would try to do that,” he said. “We would have to be diligent to watch over them and get oversight in trying to permit them from doing something that would be dishonest like that.”

Taylor Force’s Father Urges Joe Biden Not to Resume Funding for Palestinian Terrorists

Stuart Force, whose son Taylor was killed by Palestinian terrorists during a visit to Israel, is urging former Vice President Joe Biden not to resume assistance to the Palestinian Authority (PA) if elected in November.

In a campaign launched by the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) on Monday, Force defended the Taylor Force Act, named after his son. The law, passed by Republicans in 2018, prevents the PA from receiving economic assistance from the United States until it dismantles the Palestinian Authority Martyr’s Fund. Known as the “Pay to Slay” policy, the fund gives monthly-payments to the family of individuals killed committing terrorist acts against Israeli or American citizens.

“Our son, Taylor, was stabbed to death, while visiting Israel by a Palestinian terrorist. The terrorist’s family became eligible immediately for a monthly payment, for life, for killing an Israeli or American,” Force says in a new ad. “U.S. taxpayers sent hundreds of millions of dollars to the PA, which they use to fund those payments.”

“There is talk that some politicians want to resume sending U.S. tax dollars to the PA, even though they have refused to end their ‘Pay to Slay’ policy,” Force says, as a photo flashes across the screen of Biden shaking hand with Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority.

Joe Biden says he'll reinstate funding for terrorist Palestinian Authority (PA) which pays Palestinians to murder Americans & Jews.
Sending US tax dollars to the Palestinian Authority will enable the PA to finance the murder of more innocent Jews and Americans.#SayItAintSoJoe pic.twitter.com/IRKBpqCmyg

— Zionist Organization of America (@ZOA_National) September 3, 2020

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08/26 Links Pt2: Whither the BDS Movement?; Only 4% of American Jews consider Israel most important voting issue; Tel Aviv synagogues get go-ahead to hold High Holiday services in public spaces

From Ian:

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Only 4% of American Jews consider Israel most important voting issue

Ahead of the US 2020 presidential election, most American Jews remain pro-Israel but do not define Israel as their most important voting issue, according to a new study by the Ruderman Foundation.

Only 4% of Jewish voters identify Israel as their first or second-most important election issue. Some 43% prioritize health care, 28% prioritize gun violence and 21% prioritize Social Security and Medicare.

The paper, entitled “The Jewish Vote 2020: More Empowered than Powerful,” states that analysis of Jewish American voting patterns “tells us more about why they vote than about what their vote achieves,” and examines voting patterns to draw conclusions on shifts in American Jewish identity and values.

The failure to vote primarily on the topic of Israel is not due to a shift away from pro-Israel sentiments but rather a reflection of Jewish liberal identities, according to the study.

One of the finding in the paper is that “in the voting booth, most American Jews are actually more pro-choice and anti-Trump than pro-Israel.”

The three part position paper examines defining issues of what it calls a “watershed seemingly dividing pro-Trump Israeli Jews from anti-Trump American Jews,” and was co-authored by the Ruderman Family Foundation and Prof. Gil Troy.

Should Jews be angry about Pompeo’s speech from Jerusalem?

Republicans did their best last week to highlight the presence of a pair of anti-Israel figures at the Democratic National Convention. But in a stroke of irony, this week the Democrats are, among other things, complaining about the way the Republicans are trying to highlight their pro-Israel credentials.

There’s no real symmetry between the dustups over the Democrats’ flip-flops over their relations with radical BDS activist and prominent anti-Semite Linda Sarsour, and the GOP’s decision to have U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speak to his party’s convention in an address taped in Jerusalem. Nor should either be compared with the fact that, to their credit, the Republicans bounced a scheduled speaker from their program who had been found to have tweeted out anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. The contrast between these kerfuffles is interesting because it raises the question of whether and how concerns about Israel and anti-Semitism should impact the decisions of voters.

Sarsour’s presence, as well as that of an Islamist imam, at a DNC daytime forum was outrageous. The real problem, however, was that Joe Biden’s campaign tried to have it both ways—first condemning and disassociating the candidate from her and then apologizing to her supporters for being “insensitive” to their feelings.

Nevertheless, Pompeo’s speech raises legitimate questions about a sitting cabinet member engaging in political activity and doing so while using an allied country as a backdrop.

The Hatch Act broadly prohibits government employees from playing politics while on duty. That law has often been observed in the breach by previous administrations with, for example, members of President Barack Obama’s cabinet appearing at the 2012 Democratic Convention.

The New York Times claimed that it had been at least 75 years since a secretary of state spoke at a national party convention, but since I haven’t found any record of Cordell Hull—President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s secretary of state appearing at either the 1940 or 1944 Democratic conventions—Pompeo’s speech might be a first.

Democrats are arguing that posts like secretary of state ought to be above politics, and to some extent, that’s true. It’s equally true that these posts are usually filled by politicians who often use their exalted platform for purposes that advance their political interests, such as the way Hillary Clinton helped the Clinton Family Foundation, a billion-dollar slush fund masquerading as a charity that existed mainly to promote her interests and future presidential candidacy while doing little in the way of philanthropy.

Too many American Jews are turning a blind eye to Antisemitism

Chutzpah layered on top of chutzpah. Morton Klein the President of the National ZOA had the audacity to answer those very questions, pointing out in tweets what should have been obvious to all: “BlackLivesMatter is an anti-Semitic, Israel hating, Soros funded, racist, Israelophobic hate group.” He followed up with: “I urge the SPLC (Southern Poverty Law Center) to immediately put BlackLivesMatter on their list of hate groups. BLM is a Jew hating, White hating, Israel hating, conservative Black hating, violence promoting, dangerous Soros funded extremist group of haters.”

For expressing what only the willfully blind could deny, Klein was subjected to his sworn enemies giving voice to an anguished outcry of hate Vociferously, he was denounced as a “racist,” “bigot,” and xenophobe.

If you think the recriminations were coming from BLM, you’re sadly mistaken. Sixteen of the fifty one member organizations of the Conference of Presidents issued a separate letter on June 12th condemning Klein’s comments, and called for the removal of the ZOA from the Council of Presidents.

Unsurprisingly, not one word about the antisemitic riots just days earlier was mentioned by any of Klein’s sixteen disparaging groups. It’s not surprising because with the exception of the ZOA no other Jewish organization in the United States has the intestinal fortitude to publicly confront and maintain pressure on egregious acts of antisemitism.

This past December, a black man named Grafton Thomas crashed a Hannukah party at the house of Rabbi Chaim Rottenberg in Monsey, New York. Brandishing a butcher knife, he immediately began stabbing five people, one of whom, Rabbi Josef Newmann, succumbed to his injuries. Investigators found handwritten journals expressing antisemitic views, including material about Adolf Hitler, "Nazi culture", and drawings of a Star of David and of a swastika among Thomas's possessions.

With so much evidence of it being a hate crime and over a hundred guests at the party recognizing him as the assailant, you would think it was a slam dunk case. Guess again. This past April 20th, a federal judge ruled Grafton was incompetent to stand trial and ordered him to be hospitalized in a mental facility. He certainly was competent enough to research Nazi culture, cross state lines, seek out the Rabbi’s address, and commit murder, but not enough to stand trial. This dastardly event came on the heels of a 30 year old Hassidic kollel student was stabbed multiple times on his way to Synagogue in Ramapo, New York, two months earlier.

There isn’t a person on the planet that hasn’t heard of George Floyd, so why aren’t the names of Rabbi Newmann and that kollel student equally familiar? I think all unbiased, serious minded people know the answer to this question.

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08/06 Links Pt1: Beirut blast came at worst possible time for Nasrallah; Rebuffed by Lebanon, Israelis seek workarounds to get help to Beirut; PLO/Fatah planning violent “comprehensive intifada”

From Ian:

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Beirut blast came at worst possible time for Nasrallah

As opposed to other past incidents, Hezbollah was not quick in its broadcasts to blame Israel. It didn't hint at sabotage and didn't threaten to "get rid of those responsible" for what happened in the Port of Beirut. Even if someone succeeds in proving that it indeed was a weapons storage belonging to the organization, and there is still no certainty that it is, this could not have come at a worse time for Nasrallah to admit so.

The reason is simple. Deep from his bunker in the Dahiya neighborhood in south Beirut, not far from the port in flames, Nasrallah is busy trying to put out at least three other fires that he is seen as responsible for, and their potential for damage is just as huge as what happened in the port.

One fire is the internal crisis in Lebanon, stemming from the unprecedented financial crisis that has bankrupted the country and brought it to its knees, with sky-high unemployment, a shortage in food and gas, and daily protests. Many in Lebanon blame Hezbollah, a partner in the government, for the situation.

The second fire has to do with a much smaller blast, but many times more lethal, which 15 years ago took out the Lebanese Prime Minister, Rafiq Hariri, at Syria's request and was carried out directly by Hezbollah. In the years since, Nasrallah has managed to get rid of most of those involved in the hit, but the incriminating evidence has not disappeared, and the international tribunal is expected to publish its conclusions Thursday, after much delay. For Nasrallah, whose organization has already been called by many nations a terrorist group, a conviction by the Hague will be a serious matter.

And the third fire threatening Lebanon is linked to the equation Nasrallah has created and which forces him to respond to every Israeli hit on Hezbollah activists, even if it takes place outside of Lebanon. This is not the place to discuss if Israel is correct by not clarifying from the start that this equation is not acceptable, especially if it takes place in Syria, but Nasrallah sees the amassing of forces on the Israeli side of the border and understands that if he makes a mistake, the Israeli response could start another massive fire in Lebanon, that no one in this miserable country will be able to put out, and everyone there will blame him.

Iran sees disaster as opportunity to advance regional interests

There will be those who claim that now Hezbollah will be blamed and will have to loosen its grip on the country, especially if it becomes clear that its own weapon storage led to the disaster, as was hinted by Saudi media in the Gulf, or that the ammonium was kept there for a similar reason. But even if this is the case, the PR machine of the Shia organization is ready to go.

Lebanon's al-Akhbar newspaper has already claimed that the speed of Israel's denial in responsibility for the event hints that it is connected to the blast. Just like its denials after taking out senior Hezbollah leader Imad Mughniyeh in Damascus, and other attacks in Syria. On Wednesday, the editor of the newspaper, Ibrahim Al Amine, said that sabotage could be an option, even though none of it matters and it's all just a cover-up for the "great collapse" of Lebanon.

Even before the horrible disaster, the threat to respond to the killing of the Hezbollah operative in Syria, which came through that same Lebanese newspaper close to the terror group, made it clear that despite Hassan Nasrallah's promises to help with the national financial crisis, his priorities have remained the same: first Iran - then Lebanon. This, despite all the warnings from senior Israeli officials. This insistence to play with fire when Lebanon is suffering following an unprecedented economic crisis shows that for Nasrallah, it is more important to deter Israel from acting in Syria, where Iran wants to widen its presence and transfer advanced weapons to Hezbollah.

In other words, Iran's strategy to lay siege to Israel from as many fronts as possible continues as usual. In the long run, the Islamic republic still believes the West can not stop its spread in the Middle East and its threats on Israel, and that it will eventually loosen the sanctions. Tehran is currently hoping for the victory of the Democratic party's nominee in the US presidential elections, Joe Biden, who they believe will return to the more reconciliatory policy of former president Barack Obama.

As that is the case, one cannot ignore the horrible cynicism in the statement of Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Zarif Tuesday night. "Our hearts are with the Lebanese people during the great catastrophe," he said, "we are willing to help Lebanon in any way we can." If Tehran really wants to help Lebanon - it should cut all ties with it. The past has shown us, however, that its grip will only tighten.

Tel Aviv City Hall Illuminated With Lebanese Flag in Show of Solidarity After Deadly Beirut Blast

The facade of Tel Aviv’s city hall was illuminated with the Lebanese flag on Wednesday night — a show of solidarity with the Jewish state’s neighbor to the north following the deadly explosion in Beirut that killed at least 135 people and wounded thousands more.

“Our hearts and thoughts are with the Lebanese people and all those affected by the terrible disaster in Beirut,” the Tel Aviv Municipality tweeted.

Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai tweeted, “Humanity comes before any conflict, and our hearts are with the Lebanese people following the terrible disaster they experienced.”

Israel quickly offered humanitarian relief to Lebanon after Tuesday’s blast.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry tweeted, “At the direction of FM @Gabi_Ashkenazi and Defense Min. Gantz, Israel via security and international channels has offered humanitarian medical assistance to the government of Lebanon.”

On Wednesday, it was reported that the possibility of Israeli hospitals taking in foreigners wounded in the Beirut explosion was being considered.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted on Wednesday, “On behalf of the government of Israel, I send my condolences to the people of Lebanon. Yesterday Lebanon suffered a major catastrophe. We are ready to offer humanitarian assistance, as human being to human beings.”

‘We’ll light up Tel Aviv…with our rockets’: Lebanese rebuff Israeli solidarity

If you thought the backlash to the Tel Aviv municipality projecting a Lebanese flag on the side of its building was strong inside Israel, try the backlash inside Lebanon.

Many Lebanese took to social media on Wednesday to express their ire over the attempted gesture of solidarity by the Tel Aviv municipality with the victims of the previous night’s Beirut port explosion. The blast, which was apparently caused by the ignition of 2,750 metric tons of ammonium nitrate, has claimed at least 135 lives, and left over 5,000 injured and 300,000 homeless.

“Sure, they’re raising our flag now, but soon enough they’ll destroy our country and violate our country’s sovereignty,” wrote one Twitter user.

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08/04 Links Pt2: The Fragility of the Liberal Democracies and the Challenge of Totalitarianism; Why Philo-Semitism is Better Than Anti-Semitism; Advice to Jewish celebs: Grow up!

From Ian:

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JCPA: The Fragility of the Liberal Democracies and the Challenge of Totalitarianism

The murder of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020, triggered rioting, looting, and arson across the United States. It became evident that an underground leadership structure had been in place and set in motion a wave of violence whose destructiveness was unforeseen.

According to Marxist-Leninist doctrine, the goal of organized mob violence is to foment a state of civil war, which will lead to revolution. The would-be revolutionaries in the United States did so well that their success exceeded their expectations.

Mayors of several major cities and governors of some states where violence took place chose not to act and ordered the police and firefighters to stand down. Such inaction created a state of anarchy, leaving the public without protection.

The moral shock resulting from the outbreak of mob violence which was not put down may have been worse than the actual damage caused by the rioters.

In the United States, it has been assumed that the creation of wealth is good for society, especially if through hard work, one could achieve the “American Dream.” Nonetheless, for the past decade, life has become complicated for many young adults. The growing numbers of this increasingly dissatisfied group in society must be taken into account.

The fragility of the liberal democracies is a serious dilemma. There is a short distance between “peaceful demonstrations” and mob violence, civil war, and regime change. The dynamics of political warfare and the methods of mob violence are knowable. Because it is a matter of self-defense, we must use this knowledge to safeguard our democracies and our freedoms.

Yair Rosenberg: Why Philo-Semitism is Better Than Anti-Semitism

Why people who like Jews, even for the wrong reasons, are usually better than those who don't

Some time back, I wrote an op-ed for the Washington Post explaining my unified theory of Donald Trump’s relationship to the Jews. The purpose was to answer a simple yet confusing question: How can a man who has Jewish family, friends, and business associates, and who proudly proclaims his support for Israel, nonetheless regularly say anti-Semitic things?

In short, my explanation was that Trump accepts anti-Semitic stereotypes about Jews (they’re greedy, good with money, control lots of stuff, only look out for their own, etc.), but that he views these things as positive. “He is the human embodiment,” I wrote, “of the Onion article ‘Affable anti-Semite Thinks The Jews Are Doing Super Job With The Media.’”I situated this thinking in a broader context of historical “philo-Semitism”—people who believe traditionally anti-Semitic stereotypes about Jews, but take them as compliments and seek to befriend or emulate Jews as a result. In my piece, I explained how this sort of outlook can unfortunately be easily manipulated and used to turn people against Jews, and offered the example of South Korea, where philo-Semitic assumptions about Jews were used to galvanize the public against a Jewish businessman.

What I did not suggest in the article, however, is that philo-Semitism is the same thing as anti-Semitism. In fact, I was careful to say that it was better than the alternative. But nonetheless, thanks to the success and spread of the op-ed, I have seen commentators on both the right and left mistakenly suggest that its upshot is that philo-Semitism is simply another form of anti-Semitism, and that adherents of both should therefore be treated the same way. This is not what I believe and would actually be quite harmful in practice. I want to explain why.

1) It is a simplification to suggest that “philo-Semitism = anti-Semitism.” There are actually different types of philo-Semitism. There’s bad philo-Semitism that’s based on ignorance which typically regurgitates anti-Semitic stereotypes in a positive way, and then there’s good philo-Semitism based on actual knowledge of Jewish people and Judaism and the affinity that comes from that familiarity. Knowledge-based philo-Semitism is a wonderful thing and has produced true friends of the Jewish people! We should be striving to turn the former into the latter, whenever possible. (It is not always possible, as with ineducable individuals like the current president.)

Advice to Jewish celebs: Grow up!

I have a Jerry Seinfeld question. Why do Jewish celebrities keep whining about their parents?

Popular actor-comedian-director Seth Rogen ignited an Internet firestorm with his recent complaint that he was "fed [him] a huge amount of lies about Israel" when he grew up. His educators "never told him" that "Oh, by the way, there were people [Arabs] there." But Rogen says he now knows the truth and realizes that having a Jewish state "makes no sense."

What actually makes no sense is the notion that his educators said there were no Arabs in pre-Israel Palestine. Who in their right mind would think there were no Arabs? The 28 years of conflict leading up the creation of Israel in 1948 consisted of Palestinian Arab pogroms against the Jews there. I sincerely doubt the Rogens were so delusional as to not be aware of that.

Another Jewish pop-culture icon managed to reach from beyond the grave to peddle a similar complaint about his parents. Harvey Pekar, icon of the comic-book world, spent his final days on this earth creating a full-length graphic novel titled Not the Israel My Parents Promised Me. It was published a few years back, shortly after his passing.

His parents' apparent sin was being pro-Israel. I doubt that Mr. and Mrs. Pekar ever "promised" little Harvey that Israel was perfect. His book is a dreary regurgitation of standard anti-Israel nonsense that Pekar thinks he uncovered after shaking free of the shackles of his mother and father.

His initial "enlightenment" came via a "Jewish Trotskyist friend" who revealed that Israel is "racist." That was soon followed by some uncle at a Passover seder making remarks "against gentiles." Pekar turned that into a one-sentence summary of the Israeli-Arab conflict: "A lot of Israelis came from Eastern Europe, where they had been abused for centuries. They thought turnabout on gentiles was fair play."

The rest of the book drips with resentment at "Chauvinist Orthodox Jews" and demonic Jewish settlers. One is actually shown holding a saw and telling an equally villainous cohort, "Hold that board steady, Chaim Yankel!" I kid you not.

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07/09 Links Pt2: Is Wokeness Awakening Antisemitism?; Josh Malina Asks Why ‘Cancel Culture’ Ignores Antisemitism; Al Jazeera Violating U.S. Law by Operating as Undisclosed Qatari Agent

From Ian:

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Is Wokeness Awakening Antisemitism?

Is the Media A Toothless Watchdog?

When social media outlets are used to disseminate hatred, they enable bad actors to promote their lies. The good new is that Facebook, YouTube , and Twitter have occasionally deleted accounts that violated their policies against the promotion of violence or incitement to hatred.

But all too often they seem to be playing catch up. As Mark Twain said: “A lie can travel around the world and back again while the truth is lacing up its boots.” That’s the reason that antisemitism cloaked in wokeness is a problem. Society has a long history of bigotry, sexism, racism, discrimination, homophobia, and related ills. Being woke is thus a virtue, since it implies a deep concern about and dedication to social justice. But when known antisemites cynically seize upon this most noble of impulses, the media must act. But how?
Defining Antisemitism: The Time Is Now

According to the Anti-Defamation League, there’s been a significant increase in antisemitic social media posts over the last few months. And the danger of not acknowledging the growth of online antisemitism is that it often doesn’t stay online. That’s why it’s crucial to develop a clear definition of what constitutes anti-Jewish hatred and intolerance.

In recent years, one definition of antisemitism has gained traction. Drawn up by the Berlin-based International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, this definition has been adopted and endorsed by a growing number of governments.


By working towards a consensus definition of antisemitism, the world’s oldest hatred will finally come with a clear label. For years, many people felt that smoking was unhealthy. However, this suspicion only became a widely accepted fact once smoking companies were compelled to clearly label their products, describing the potential consequences of inhaling nicotine.

Going forward, defining antisemitism will empower lawmakers, colleges, professional sports franchises, and social media platforms to devise more effective policies against the dissemination of antisemitism.

If not now, when?

Jewish Actor Josh Malina Asks Why ‘Cancel Culture’ Ignores Antisemitism

Jewish actor and “West Wing” star Josh Malina advocated on Tuesday for the withdrawal of support for public figures who exhibited antisemitic behavior.

“Why’s it so hard to get cancel culture on the line when the problem is antisemitism?” Malina asked on Twitter.

“Cancel culture” calls for the “cancelling” or boycotting of individuals who share controversial opinions or display behavior on social media deemed to be offensive. The “cancelling” results in them being shunned by friends and supporters and turned down in regards to career opportunities.

Malina’s question has already received 2,600 likes. It sparked a conversation on Twitter and even garnered a response from Jewish comedian Elon Gold, who remarked, “Nobody gets cancelled for hating Jews. From Goebbels to [Mel] Gibson.”

Gibson — who has a history of making antisemitic remarks — was recently in the news because Jewish actress Winona Ryder mentioned in an interview that he had called her an “oven dodger,” a clear reference to the crematoria at Nazi death camps during the Holocaust.

Malina’s Twitter post came after a number of recent reports highlighting antisemitic social media posts by well-known figures, including NFL player DeSean Jackson, rapper and entrepreneur Sean “Diddy” Combs, rapper Ice Cube and real estate mogul Mohammad Hadid, among others.

This part in particular is really important: "You're trying to defend something you don't understand is antisemitic, just as people try to defend things that they don't understand are racist against black people."

Yes. And we need more journalists showing this sensitivity.

— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) July 9, 2020

Public Campaign Launched to Remove Three-Hour Antisemitic Speech by Louis Farrakhan From YouTube

A public campaign has been launched to persuade YouTube to remove a video of the notoriously antisemitic Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan’s July 4 address, in which he referred to Jews as “Satan” who should have their brains knocked out by the “stone of truth.”

Farrakhan’s three-hour rant, titled “The Criterion,” was streamed live on YouTube and has so far garnered over 850,000 views.

In the speech, Farrakhan called the head of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), Jonathan Greenblatt, “Satan.”

He said, “Mr. Greenblatt, you are Satan. Those of you that say that you’re Jews, I will not even give you the honor of calling you a Jew. You are not a Jew… you are Satan and it is my job now to pull the cover off of Satan so that every Muslim when he sees Satan, pick up a stone, as we do in Mecca.”

“When you know who Satan is, you don’t have to kill him, [but] the stone of truth, that’s what you throw. We cast truth at falsehood till we knock out its brains,” Farrakhan continued.

He also called Jewish legal scholar Alan Dershowitz “a skillful deceiver” and “Satan masquerading as a lawyer.”

Furthermore, Farrakhan repeated the blood libel that Israel was responsible for police brutality against minorities in the US.

“That’s why you gotta come at us like a coward,” he said of the police. “Like snakes trying to wrap yourself around us so you could give us the treatment that you were taught in Israel. You may, as you gonna stop your police from going to Israel to learn how to kill better. … Your days of killing us without consequence are over.”

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06/15 Links Pt1: How Russia saved Israel from a Palestinian state based on the '48 borders; America Erases its Past as Israel Resurrects 3000-years-old History;

From Ian:

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How Russia saved Israel from a Palestinian state based on the '48 borders

New details about some drama involving Israel, Russia, and the US that played out behind the scenes at the United Nations Security Council some four years ago are coming to light.

It appears that Russia demonstrated a rare willingness to use its UNSC veto on Israel's behalf to block a resolution led by then-US President Barack Obama, which would have compelled Israel to set up a Palestinian state based on the 1948 borders.

Approximately six months ago, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at an election rally in Maaleh Adumim that he had asked a "friend," whom he referred to as "the leader of one of the superpowers who holds veto power in the UN Security Counci," to vote against the resolution. Netanyahu credited that leader, whom he did not name, with stopping the resolution.

In a recent closed-door meeting, Netanyahu revealed more details about the unusual event.

Toward the end of Obama's second term in office, the US spearheaded UNSC Resolution 2334, which states that Israel is in violation of international law by its presence in the territories captured in the 1967 Six-Day War. Israel realized at the time that the US administration was coordinating the resolution with the Palestinians and Europeans, but had no way of blocking it without support from the US.

On Nov. 24, 2016, Netanyahu called Russian President Vladimir Putin and explained that the resolution Obama was working to pass would disrupt regional stability and harm Israel. Netanyahu asked Putin to state that he intended to use his UNSC veto to scupper the resolution. But Putin refused. On Dec. 23, 2016, the UNSC passed Resolution 2334, although then-US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power ultimately abstained.

However, Obama had additional plans, even though he had less than a month left in the White House. He and his staff began working on another UNSC resolution, which would have forced Israel to agree to a Palestinian state based on the 1948 borders. Israel's UN ambassador at the time, Danny Danon, sounded the alarm.

Harry Truman and the cause of Jewish statehood

Eli Kavon in his May 31 column, “President Truman was not a saint,” laments the fact that Harry S. Truman was not a saint in his complaints against Jews pressuring him on the question of Palestine.

Truman was a politician, and since when does anyone expect a politician to conduct himself like a saint? The main point is that he acted on behalf of the Jews in the creation of the State of Israel decisively at critical moments when his action made all the difference.

The story began with his demand after the Second World War for the British government to allow 100,000 Jewish refugees in the camps in Europe to enter Palestine. This did not spring doors open, but it became a basic plank in the 1946 Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry on Palestine, which recommended the immediate entry of the 100,000 Jews. It also seems that Truman personally worked hard to obtain a majority for the UN Partition Plan in the 1947 General Assembly.

Above all, however, his recognition of Israel, 11 minutes after it was proclaimed in Tel Aviv, was a very fateful turning point in the survival of the Jewish state. He did this even against the strong advice of his secretary of state, George Marshall, who charged that it was all politics, and threatened not to vote for Truman in the forthcoming presidential elections. Truman regarded Marshall as the greatest living American, yet he defied him on this critical issue because he had promised Chaim Weizmann that he would immediately recognize the Jewish state if it proclaimed its independence.

The background to this promise to Weizmann is not well known, and should be repeated here. In January 1948, the State Department had reached a decision to abandon partition, for which it had fought in November 1947. The Jewish Agency got wind of the State Department’s move, and realized there was only one person who could move Truman to counter the State Department scheme, namely, Weizmann.

However, every attempt to get Truman to agree to meet with Weizmann was met with a flat refusal. Truman was hopping mad at the American Jews for supporting the Republicans and charging Truman with deserting partition. This applied especially to Abba Hillel Silver, who supported senator Robert Taft as the Republican candidate for the presidency. (Both Silver and Taft were from Ohio.)

It was at this moment that the Jewish Agency contacted Truman’s old Jewish partner, Eddie Jacobson, who had free entry into the White House. The agency asked Jacobson to travel immediately by the midnight train from Missouri to see Truman. Jacobson agreed, and upon arrival in Washington the next morning went straight to the White House.

David Singer: America Erases its Past as Israel Resurrects 3000-years-old History

It is amazing that in the midst of an unprecedented global economic shutdown some Americans are presently hell-bent on erasing America’s past by pulling down statues of controversial persons in America’s deeply-troubled history and engaging in cultural cancelling – whilst Israelis are simultaneously planning to resurrect Jewish history by restoring Israeli sovereignty in the Jewish people’s biblical heartland – Judea and Samaria – after 3000 years.

Trashing America’s past is violent and unlawful – whilst Israel’s democratically elected Government is reinstating the Jewish People’s past in tandem with President Trump’s Peace Plan published on 28 January 2020.

Many American mayors and governors have watched on – restraining their police forces from doing anything to halt these monuments to history being torn down by chanting mobs. Residents and businesses located in the affected cities will continue to pay a high price for these elected officials failing to allow the police to take back control of the streets and restore safety and security for all.

Alarmingly many of these mayors and governors are now considering defunding or replacing their police forces in what can only be described as abject surrender in the face of extreme provocation by rampaging and looting protestors out of control and oblivious to maintaining any semblance of complying with the laws of social distancing that the majority populations in these cities under attack follow, respect and obey.

As this epidemic of unbridled lawlessness spreads worldwide – the international community’s response to Israel’s intended application of sovereignty in 1697km2 of Judea and Samaria’s 5655km2 is deeply troubling.

An avalanche of international opposition – led by the United Nations and European Union – falsely claims that Israel is acting “in flagrant violation of international law” – ignoring:
The San Remo Resolution and the Treaty of Sevres 1920
The League of Nations Mandate for Palestine 1922
Article 80 of the United Nations Charter 1945
President Bush’s written commitment to Israeli Prime Minister Sharon on 14 April 2004 overwhelmingly approved by the Congress by 502 votes to 12 (America’s Commitment) – promising that Israel’s unilateral withdrawal from Gaza would not require Israel to withdraw from all of Judea and Samaria.
The Quartet – Russia, United Nations, European Union and America – endorsing America’s Commitment on 4 May 2004
Israeli Prime Minister Olmert acknowledging Israel’s reliance on America’s Commitment at the Annapolis Conference on 27 November 2007:

“The negotiations [with the PLO] will be based on previous agreements between us, UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338, the Roadmap and the April 14th 2004 letter of President Bush to the Prime Minister of Israel.”

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05/12 Links Pt1: David Collier: Palestinian refugees and UNRWA – it is time to tell the truth; Lag B’Omer Amid COVID-19; Israeli Soldier Killed by Rock Thrown During West Bank Arrest Op

From Ian:

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David Collier: Palestinian refugees and UNRWA – it is time to tell the truth

UNRWA has to go

UNRWA, and much of the apparatus of the UN these days exist inside a paradigm of apology. The end goal is a setting back of the clocks to before the 1947 partition plan. It is no coincidence that the annual UN ‘day of solidarity’ with the Palestinian people is on the 29th November, the day of the vote on partition. Why on that day, because they the UN are sorry it happened. Despite western pressure everything the UN does still treats ‘Zionism as racism’. This message is carried throughout the Palestinian movements and NGOs. The right of return is part of the way the ‘clocks’ get reset, the Jewish state is undone and Palestine – from the river to the sea – becomes ‘free’.

UNRWA, rather than working to help or assist in refugee resettlement, became a pillar in the Palestinian resistance – schools funded by the west, teaching children why they should join the armed struggle against the Jews. UNRWA must be dismantled as part of a comprehensive reworking of the possible ending of this conflict.

The Palestinians themselves are caught in an eternal prison predicated on a non-existent right that must be unravelled. A force created solely for the purpose of destroying Israel against a state of Israel that will not be destroyed. Perpetual statelessness forced on people who should have been given a new home 70 years ago. An identity that is today more virtual than real holding back Palestinians in Ramallah and Jericho from having the freedom of being able to make peace with their neighbours.
The farce of the UNRWA refugee

Look at Jordan. Over one third of Palestinian ‘refugees’ live in Jordan. They have lived there all their lives. They have Jordanian citizenship, they vote in elections and travel freely. The vast majority do not live in camps, with many joining the professional ranks of Jordan’s middle class. These are refugees? It is an insult to the millions of real refugees, survivors from war-torn regions, that exist in the world today. Worse still, it is THESE Palestinian refugees, that receive more aid and recognition than any of the others in the world. Ending this farce is a humanitarian objective that everyone on the left should support. Why should those Jordanians, with their Jordanian passports hold back the Palestinians in Bethlehem?

The Palestinian refugee in 2020 simply should not exist. To highlight the absurdity we can use another example:
1. A person who normally resided for just two years in the mandate of Palestine was given the status of Palestinian. As a Palestinian refugee, they are even given special status that makes it hereditary
2. A person who has resided in Lebanon for 70 years, is not given the status of Lebanese. Nor are their children and grandchildren who have lived in Lebanon all their lives. Instead they remain abused and denied their rights by the Lebanese.

UNRWA perpetuates this abuse. UNRWA has to go.

Removing the refugees and UNRWA from the equation
Incredibly, so fully has the ‘peace process’ become embedded into the western mindset this underlying truth – the calling out of the Palestinian refugee as a perpetuated myth forged as a weapon – receives pushback even amongst some Zionists. Yet there will be no solving this conflict until this farce is removed from the Middle East.

The evidence is everywhere. It is why they are not building homes in Gaza or Ramallah. Why those living in PA areas are also called refugees. It is all nonsensical UNLESS you see this for what it is. The Palestinian refugee was born into a paradigm of no to normalisation – and they cannot exist outside of it. If we are to move forward and find any accommodation between the Jews of Jerusalem and the Arabs of Ramallah, we have to end these lies.

Lag B’Omer Amid COVID-19: An Invitation to Civility

Some 2,000 years ago, according to the Talmud, “Rabbi Akiva had twelve thousand pairs of students in an area of land that stretched from Gevat to Antipatris in Judea. It is taught that all of them died from diphtheria in the period from Passover until Shavuot.”

Lacking understanding of the natural causes of epidemics, a moral explanation about human behavior could serve to help to prevent another plague.

The Talmud says that 24,000 students of Rabbi Akiva died “because they did not treat each other with respect.” Intriguingly it adds: “And the world was desolate.”

It is most certainly a coincidence that the current terrible pandemic affecting the world happened at the same time of the year. And the correlation between Rabbi Akiva’s students’ behavior toward each other may have nothing to do with the plague’s cause. Yet the images (and the tweets) that will be studied by our descendants hundreds of years down the road will have them ask if our present catastrophe was not largely because we “did not treat each other with respect.”

What the Talmud is unequivocally saying is that lack of mutual respect brings desolation to the world.

COVID-19 may not have much to do with the US cultural and political wars; and certainly with Assad’s crimes in Syria; or violence in Hong Kong, Venezuela, and Chile; or the hundreds of tragic situations around the world where the true root cause of the problem is lack of respect for others.

Scholars have ventured that the Talmudic reference to the plague was not the result of naïveté as a euphemism for the violence committed by human beings. Probably, with that in mind, Jewish tradition eventually instituted a holiday to reflect on what can cause epidemics and bring desolation to the world.

They named the holiday Lag B’Omer. It is, in fact, an invitation to civility that is mostly lost in barbecues, bonfires, bows and arrows, and haircuts. Prevented as we are this year from just burning energy in large outdoor gatherings, we should explore what can change when we treat with respect those with whom we disagree.

Air pollution reduced by 90% after Lag Ba'omer bonfire ban - report

Due to the ban on bonfires during the holiday of Lag Ba'omer, air pollution was reduced by up to 90% across the country, compared to the same date in 2019, the Environmental Protection Ministry reported on Tuesday.

One exception was the Ketura air quality monitor, which registered a 149% increase in air pollution since the same date in 2019, but it seems to be a local event. Tel Aviv registered around an 80% decrease in three monitoring stations, Jerusalem a 69% decrease, and a 70% decrease in Beersheba.

The ban was set to prevent mass gatherings in order to curb the spread of COVID-19.

The ministry informed the public it may download Air in the Environment (Avir Baseviva) and be updated on air quality as monitored across the country.

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03/30 Links Pt1: 16th Israeli dies of virus, Health Ministry predicts 150 critical patients; Man stabbed in Monsey Hanukkah attack succumbs to wounds

From Ian:

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Man stabbed in Monsey Hanukkah attack succumbs to wounds

A man seriously wounded in a Hanukkah attack on a Jewish gathering in Monsey, New York, has died, three months after the stabbing rampage.

Josef Neumann, 72, succumbed to wounds sustained during the December 29 machete assault, a local Jewish group said Sunday.

“We are sad to inform you that Yosef Neumann, who was stabbed during the Hanukkah attack in Monsey late Dec 2019, passed away this evening,” the Orthodox Jewish Public Affairs Council said in a statement posted to Twitter.

Rabbi Yisroel Kahan, who is the community liaison for the Ramapo Police Department that serves Monsey and executive director of Oizrim Jewish Council, shared the news of Neumann’s passing on his Twitter account as well.

“We were hoping when he started to open his eyes,” Rabbi Yisroel Kahan told The Journal News on Sunday night. “We were hoping and praying he would then pull through. This is so very sad he was killed celebrating Hanukkah with friends just because he was a Jew.”

Neumann was the most seriously injured in the attack and doctors had said there was little chance he would ever make a full recovery. He had been in a coma since the attack, according to NBC News.

His death came despite hopes that his condition may improve after he reportedly opened his eyes at the end of February.

16th Israeli dies of virus, Health Ministry predicts 150 critical patients

Israel's coronavirus death toll climbed to 16 on Monday after a 58-year-old man with underlying medical conditions died at the Yitzhak Shamir Medical Center, south of Tel Aviv.

The news came as Health Ministry Director-General Moshe Bar Siman Tov warned that there are likely to be over 150 coronavirus patients in a serious condition in Israel by the weekend.

"I don't see a model in which we end this situation with a small number of intubated patients or deaths," Bar Siman Tov told KAN Reshet Bet.

A total of 4,347 Israelis have been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus to date, including 80 people in serious condition - among them a young man in his 20s who was hospitalized at Assuta Ashdod University Hospital - and 63 patients requiring ventilation.

Despite testing close to 6,000 people on Sunday, Bar Siman Tov said the tests were only giving authorities a "very partial picture" of the real situation.

PMW: Coronavirus and PA financial priorities

The amount the PA is paying terrorists this month could buy them 387,143 Coronavirus test kits or 465 ventilators instead

For which leaders is the payment of financial rewards to terrorists more important than supporting the needy or paying teachers?

The answer is, of course, the Palestinian Authority leaders– during the Coronavirus crisis!

Anticipating a fall in income, PA Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh announced that the payment of the March salaries will be staggered, and every day a different group of PA employees will be paid. The order of payment is a clear indication of the PA’s priorities.

Preceded only by the medical and supporting personnel, and the PA Security Forces members, third in line to receive their share of the limited PA budget are the terrorist prisoners and the families of the dead terrorists, the so-called “Martyrs.”

“Since the wheels of production, import, and consumption have stopped, there will be a large drop of more than 50% in the PA’s revenues… The international aid will decrease because the entire world is in crisis, and therefore we will work according to an emergency austerity budget by reducing the expenses as much as possible. However, we will pay the salaries for this month [March] in full and over the course of several days in order to prevent gatherings in front of the banks, and this [will be] in the following manner:

On Sunday the salaries of the medical and supporting personnel will be paid.
On Monday to the [PA] Security Forces members.
On Tuesday to the prisoners and [the families of] the Martyrs.
On Wednesday to welfare cases and the poor.
On Thursday to the teachers.
On Friday to the rest of the [PA] public employees.
The last payment, on Saturday, will be to senior officials, to high level state employees, and to the ministers.”
[WAFA, Official PA news agency, March 29, 2020]

As Palestinian Media Watch has shown, this is not the first time the PA has clearly demonstrated its warped priorities. In 2019, when the PA decided to plunge itself into a self-made financial crisis and was forced to cut salaries to its law abiding employees, it nevertheless committed itself to paying, in full, the salaries of the terrorist prisoners and allowances of the families of the dead terrorists.

Similarly, the fact that the PA prioritizes the payment of the terror rewards over the payment of benefits to the needy Palestinians, is not a surprise. As PMW demonstrated, the PA devotes six times more of its budget to the terrorist prisoners and the families of the dead terrorists than it does to its needy.

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