Sunday Links Part 2

From Ian:

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When liberal Protestants were Zionists
Jewish Ideas Daily: Given the way intellectual fashions have turned against the Jewish state, it is now very difficult to imagine a prominent liberal Christian theologian defending Zionism.

In his recent book Reinhold Niebuhr and His Circle of Influence, Daniel F. Rice includes a chapter on the eminent Protestant theologian’s relationship with Felix Frankfurter, one of the most prominent American Jews of the 20th century.
One of the foundations of their friendship was their shared belief in the Zionist project. Indeed, Niebuhr not only helped found the Christian Council on Palestine, an association of pro-Zionist Christian clergy, but wrote impassioned defenses of the Jewish state for important periodicals like The Nation and The New Republic. Frankfurter so esteemed Niebuhr’s writings on Zionism that he was at a loss to find any written work that, in his words, “faces the Jewish problem more trenchantly and more candidly.”

Israel feared Soviets sunk sub in 1968, papers reveals
Documents released by state archives on 45th anniversary of disaster detail confusion at highest levels following loss of Dakar

Sixteen documents cleared for publication last week by the state archives document the confusion in the minutes and days after the sub was lost, as officials attempted to grapple with the tragedy while carrying out search and rescue missions. The papers do not shed further light on the exact cause of the loss of the Dakar, which remains undetermined.

Muslims accuse Jerusalem cop of defiling Quran, threaten his life

The event which sparked the controversy took place this past Sunday. A group of female Muslim worshippers at the entrance to the Temple Mount were disrupting visitors from entering through the Jewish entrance. Police on site attempted to move the group of women and during the ensuing commotion a Quran fell out of one of the women's bags.
A police officer standing next to the woman in question became the subject of an intense smear campaign; he was accused of throwing the Quran to the ground, kicking it and even stomping on it. As a result of the ensuing death threats against the policeman, Jerusalem police have had to take measures to ensure his safety.

BBC Watch: BBC blames torture of African migrants in Sinai on Egypt-Israel peace treaty

Rather than blindly repeating the inaccurate information he was “told” by an either uninformed or interested party, Thomson should have checked the accuracy of that claim before including it in his report. His obvious failure to do so means that his assertion that the failure to deal with the kidnapping and torture of African migrants in Sinai is related to the terms of the Egypt-Israel peace treaty becomes nothing more than a gratuitous and misleading inaccuracy which prevents audiences from understanding the real factors at play.

2 in 5 Austrians say life under Hitler ‘not all bad’
Survey finds that majority of country feel they’ve sufficiently dealt with their Nazi past, would prefer strongman leader

The Simon Wiesenthal Center regularly grades Austria among its lowest-scoring countries for prosecuting Nazi war criminals.
The poll found that 61% of Austrians feel the country has dealt with its Nazi past sufficiently and 57% feel the Nazi’s victims have been compensated in full.
The survey also found that 61% of respondents, mostly the same people who said life under Hitler had some good aspects, would be happy with a strong-armed leader that did not have to contend with rival lawmakers or elections. A similar poll in 2008 found only one in five Austrians in favor of a strongman.

Paris police probing use of Nazi symbols against Jews
Swastika painted on door of Jewish student union; man performs Nazi salute in front of the city’s rabbinate

The swastikas on the offices of the UEJF at Paris’ Université Panthéon-Assas “prove that universities are also affected by the rise in anti-Semitic incidents in France,” the union’s president, Jonathan Hayoun, said in a statement.

Israeli Company Hopes to be First to Put 3D Printed Cars on the Road (VIDEO)

Israeli company Stratasys, already a major player in the 3D printing field and its subsidiary, RedEye On Demand, plan on putting the first 3D printed car–named the URBEE 2– on the road within two years, in partnership with KOR EcoLogic.

Operation Pillar of Defense: Israel Battles Hamas for Information Control

The IDF’s primary goal in the operation was to eliminate the threat of rockets being launched from the Gaza Strip against Israel. Using old and new media platforms, the IDF’s information operations (IO) sought to disrupt Hamas’ IO, to warn and / or intimidate, and influence public opinion. The first three elements focused on Hamas and the residents of Gaza. The final goal included not only them but public opinion world-wide. (h/t Teddy)