In response to the Co-Op's well publicised decision to boycott all goods from 'illegal Israeli settlements' I withdrew all the money I had in a Britannia building society account (Britannia is part of the Co-Op) and wrote a letter explaining why.
From Ian:
Sad news, Barry Rubin has lung cancer:
Why I've Always Written So Much With Such Intensity And why I won't stop now
"Nothing is stranger than having a normal life and then within a few hours knowing that it might end at almost any moment. That’s what happened to me when I was just diagnosed with what is called inoperable lung cancer. I am still waiting final results of the tests and the choice of therapies."
BDS Fail of the day: Lollapalooza festival to touch down in Israel
Tel Aviv becomes third international destination for legendary Chicago concert
"The Lollapalooza festival, helmed by former Jane’s Addiction frontman Perry Farrell, who is Jewish, will be bringing together 50 bands for three days of shows to Tel Aviv next year, organizers said Saturday."
CIFWatch: Jewish Refugee Day
“Landmark news [last] week: Israel has approved a special memorial day to be set aside in the Jewish calendar to mark the exodus of Jews from Arab countries. On this Jewish Refugee Day, students will learn about the 850,000 Jewish refugees who fled from their native Arab countries since the establishment of the State of Israel. Here at Harif (the UK association of Jews from the Middle East and North Africa), we have worked tirelessly with other organisations across the globe to lobby for this day.”
Israel thanks 'Nazi hunters' from Sun paper
“Several weeks after the capture of the world’s most wanted Nazi war criminal — who helped send 15,700 Jews to their deaths in Auschwitz — Israeli ambassador to Britain Daniel Taub met Saturday with two Sun reporters — Brian Flynn and Ryan Parry — who were behind the journalistic investigation that enabled Laszlo Csatary's arrest in Hungary last month.”
ADL: Anti-Semitism pervasive in TV programming during Ramadan
"The ADL cited several popular shows including Egypt’s “Firqat Naji Attalah,” which airs daily and chronicles the fictional adventures of Egyptian diplomats in Tel Aviv. In one episode, dealing with cheating Jewish bankers, one of the main Egyptian characters decides to rob a bank while dressed in Hassidic garb, and in another a character express delight whenever Hamas sends missiles into Israel.”
How Liberal Democrats who Support Israel Might Think about the Election by Alan M. Dershowitz
Reuters site hacked, fake interview with Syrian rebel leader posted
“One of the posts was an "interview" with the head of the Free Syrian Army, Riad al-Assad. Al-Assad allegedly said that his forces were pulling back from the northern province of Aleppo after repeated battles with the Syrian Army.
Another story alleged that rebels had obtained chemical weapons from Libya and were going to smuggle them into Syria.
The Free Syrian Army issued a statement saying that the interview with Riad al-Assad never took place and blamed President Bashar al-Assad's government for planting the story, according to Reuters.”
Syrian rebels say detained Iranians are Revolutionary Guards, not pilgrims
Opposition claims in video message that captives were on a reconnaissance mission
"A pan-Arab television station has aired a video purportedly showing Syrian rebels with a group of Iranians abducted a day earlier just outside Damascus."
Syria’s Muslim Brotherhood confirms it has battalions fighting Assad
Forces created three months ago are semi-independent but associated with the Free Syrian Army, spokesman says
Fighting in southeastern Turkey leaves 19 dead, report says
Fighting between Kurdish rebels and government troops in southeastern Turkey killed more than a dozen people over the weekend, according to the semi-official Anatolia news agency.
Indo-Israel FTA likely by mid-2013
Indo-Israeli Free Trade Agreement is likely to be completed by the second quarter of 2013, paving the way for doubling of bi-lateral trade between the two countries.Also, some Arab mansions in "apartheid" Israel: