Tuesday Links Part 2

From Ian:

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The Resurgence of European Antisemitism
There is no one-size-fits-all solution to the age-old pathology of anti-Semitism, but a good place to start is to acknowledge the problem.

It sounds obvious, but such acknowledgement encounters resistance. Some European officials prefer to believe that attacks against Jews are acts of “hooliganism,” not anti-Semitism. Some spend endless hours questioning the methodology of polls, rather than digesting the consistently worrisome results. And some would rather debate ad nauseum where the line between “legitimate” and ‘illegitimate” criticism of Israel lies, instead of recognizing the stark fact that anti-Semitism has all too often been transferred from the individual Jew to the Jewish state of Israel.

Isi Leibler: Candidly Speaking: A global tsunami of anti-Semitism

The greatest outpouring of anti-Jewish hatred emanates from the newly empowered Muslim countries, with their combined population of 1.6 billion. In conjunction with their diasporas in Western countries, they frenziedly promote a devilish brew of unique Islamic anti-Semitism combined with the traditional Western varieties. They depict Jews as vampires; descendants of apes and pigs; evil creatures disseminating AIDS; the masterminds behind 9/11; etc. Their incitement is at least as potent as the worst Jew-hatred promoted during the Nazi era. In addition, the jihadist component has been the principal element stoking the escalation of global violence, terror and murder against Jews.

Grandson of Alfred Dreyfus Asks Not to Auction Off His Letter

A grandson of Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish French army captain wrongly accused of treason over a century ago, on Monday urged a private collector not to allow a letter penned by his grandfather to go under the hammer in Paris this week, AFP reports.

From Ambivalence to Betrayal: The Left, the Jews, and Israel, by Robert Wistrich (REVIEW)

The book is divided into three sections : The Antisemitic Question; Nationalism and Internationalism; Anti-Zionist Mythologies. They include short intellectual biographies (of Marx, Bernstein, Mehring, Lazare, Kautsky, and Trotsky, among others); histories of movements and ideas (social democracy, nationalism , internationalism) and deconstruction of grotesque “ideologies” such as Marxist- Islamism and Jewish anti-Zionism. “Ideology,” said Lionel Trilling, “is not the product of thought: it is the habit or the ritual of showing respect for certain formulas to which, for various reasons having to do with emotional safety, we have very strong ties of whose meaning and consequences in actuality we have no clear understanding.”

The Fear of Causing Offense by Douglas Murray

The whole country honours Drummer Rigby. But it not only dishonours him, but dishonours our nation, to see in his brutal death not an aggressive ideology with clear aims, but a mere nothingness. This was not an attack that made "no sense." It was an attack that made plenty of sense and had been whipped up, as well as aspired to, by others for many years. What makes "no sense" is for a country to continue to ignore that fact, and hope, by ignoring it, to pretend it away.

Melanie Phillips: To defeat Islamic terror, we must first acknowledge what it is

It is those who refuse to acknowledge the true nature of this threat who are doing the terrorists' job for them.
And unless Britain finally wakes up from its self-destructive torpor, all who love civilised values — Muslim and non-Muslim alike — will be the losers.

Guardian deletes ALL reader comments from Glenn Greenwald’s Woolwich related posts

So, did the Guardian remove all of the comments beneath Greenwald’s commentary – and turn off comments for the other Woolwich related CiF pieces – for fear of prejudicing the future trial of Michael Olumide Adebolajo and the other suspects?

Ali Abunimah goes to Gaza

Obviously, during his stay in Gaza, Ali Abunimah will do his very best to come up with many reasons to blame Israel. Indeed, his popular “narratives” about the bottomless evils of Israel and Zionism have presumably led to his invitation to the currently ongoing Palestine Festival of Literature (PalFest) – though it is a bit strange that an activist who likes to present himself as a serious reporter and political commentator would be invited to a festival that is supposedly devoted to literature and the arts. But perhaps Ali Abunimah’s advocacy should indeed be regarded as an art form that deserves to be featured in an event supported by organizations like the British Council and the Arts Council England?

Michigan Man Arrested Over Swastika Surge

A 58-year old man from Lansing, Michigan was arrested early Saturday in connection with several swastikas that have been found spray-painted on community grounds in recent weeks.
Undercover detectives reportedly caught a suspect using black paint spray to vandalize a sign at Old Town Temple, said Lansing police Capt. Daryl Green, according to Lansing State Journal.

IDF Blog: A Hero with Flying Colors: Meet the Founder of the IAF’s International Squadron

As a child, his life was saved by a Dutch family who hid him from the Nazis during the Holocaust. Today, he is an Israel Air Force hero responsible for having saved the lives of thousands of people worldwide. Read the remarkable story of Lt. Col. (res.) Arieh Oz, the founder of the IAF’s International Squadron.

Meet Israel’s Under-21 Soccer Team with Players of Jewish, Arab, Druze, Russian and Ethiopian Origin (VIDEO)

Israel’s official YouTube channel has begun to publish videos introducing members of the country’s Under-21 National Team ahead of the UEFA Under-21 Championship, to be held in Israel this June. In the below video coach Guy Luzon talks about his team’s chemistry and its unique cultural makeup, with players of Jewish, Arab, Druze, Russian and Ethiopian origin.

Dutch province wants Israeli tech, BDS be damned

Israeli start-ups seeking a home in Europe might want to have a look at the Netherlands — specifically, in the southern Brabant area of the country. There, start-ups will find a good location and infrastructure, motivated partners and maybe some working capital, according to Ben Engel of BOM Foreign Investments, a government-sponsored venture capital firm dedicated to attracting business to the region.

Israeli MD proves dogs can sniff out cancer cells

Israeli internist Dr. Uri Yoel, 43, has demonstrated that dogs are indeed capable of differentiating between the scent of cancer cells and non-cancerous cells.
“Our research proves that dogs can smell cancer cells in vitro [in lab cultures], and that different types of cancer share the same smell print,” says Yoel, who practices at Soroka Medical Center in Beersheva and teaches at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev’s Faculty of Health Sciences.

Israel Daily Picture: The New Old Train Station in Jerusalem

A new cultural and entertainment center just opened in Jerusalem and it's called the "First Station." With a farmers' market, restaurants, crafts stores and a children's play center, the First Station promises to be a busy hub for Jerusalem activity.
Just like it was when it first opened in 1892, more than 120 years ago, when the first train from Jaffa pulled into Jerusalem's new train station.