Wednesday, November 06, 2013
Black Palestinians shrug off racism
“Hey, chocolate,” “Hey, cappuccino,” “Hey, Galaxy [brand of chocolate],” “Hey, brown one” and “Hey, black one,” are jocular expressions used by some in Gaza when a man, woman or child of African descent passes by. Sometimes the racism is expressed nonverbally through looks. Gazans, however, seem unaware of this racism.Inclusion of anti-Israel speaker at Berlin conference on ways to tackle anti-Semitism sparks uproar
He said that they are originally from Sudan. His ancestors came at the beginning of the 20th century and lived in Palestine — in a village called Roubin, neighboring Jaffa — until 1948, when they were forced to migrate to the Gaza Strip. "But I never felt that I did not belong here. Palestine is the homeland I have always known, and is a homeland to about 10,000 other dark-skinned people in the Gaza Strip."
Ahmad remembers when he was a teacher in the late 1950s, and one of his colleagues invited everyone, except him, to a wedding. “That day, I felt embarrassed, and I decided that no one in my family would go through such an experience,” he said. (h/t BCF)
The Jewish Museum – and a British professor accused of rejecting Zionism – faced withering criticism for their role in a slated event to mark the 75th remembrance of Kristallnacht later this week.Barry Rubin: Why Most of the Mass Media Can't Report Honestly on Israel—or Other Middle East Issues
A who’s who of academic and human rights critics on Tuesday blasted Berlin’s Jewish Museum for hosting a conference with Oxford philosophy professor Brian Klug because he contends that Zionism, the founding philosophy of Israel, “prevents Jews from having a normal conception of their own life.”
German political scientist Dr. Clemens Heni told The Jerusalem Post, “Brian Klug is a bad choice as a keynote speaker at a conference on anti- Semitism because he denies that there is a new anti-Semitism. In his view this is a ‘myth,’ as he wrote in [New York-based magazine] The Nation.”
To report truthfully would require comprehending and communicating the following two paragraphs:Honest Reporting: Razing a Racket
–Most Israelis believe, on the basis of their experience during the 1990s' Oslo era and with the "peace process" generally, that Palestinian leaders cannot and will not make peace, and that most Arabs and Muslims still want to destroy Israel. As a result, they explain, past Israeli concessions have made Israel's situation worse, risks to show that Israel wants peace have not persuaded onlookers, withdrawals from territory have only led to that territory being used to launch attacks on Israel. (h/t Norman F)
You’re the mayor of Jerusalem. And it all comes down to you.NYT Part II: Telling Readers How to Think About Palestinians
You’re dealing with 11 illegally built Palestinian apartment buildings on your city’s northern outskirts. They’re within the municipal boundaries alright, but they’re outside the security barrier.
You rub your head at another only-in-Israel moment no other mayor in the world deals with. The apartments were illegally built. Heck, the cops even arrested a few Palestinians for fraud involving the land some of those buildings were built on. But it ain’t safe for building inspectors to travel outside the security barrier to neighborhoods like Ras Hamis and Ras Shehada, which is why the Palestinians managed to brazenly build nine and ten-story buildings now occupied by hundreds of people.
This passage follows the newspaper's overall pattern of downplaying Palestinian hate speech in what is already minimal coverage of the issue, by casting it as a debatable Israeli accusation in a longstanding fight. The last time the newspaper ran an article about the topic, in December 2011, it was headlined and framed as Israelis “finding fault” with Palestinians. That article focused more on attacking the credibility of and motives behind Israeli charges of incitement than it did on providing examples of Palestinian incitement.David Ward MP says, “Israel… should never have been created”
It is telling that in this article, as well, The New York Times places the word “incitement” in quotation marks, qualifying it as a claim by Israel. In this way, the newspaper continues to avoid presenting the issue as straight, unvarnished fact. Nor does it accept the concept that Palestinians are guilty of terrorism. In sharp contrast to their qualification of the use of the word “incitement,” reporters adopt Hamas' justifying parlance as their own to describe terrorist attacks, notably without the use of quotation marks.
But last night Ward bemoaned his party again, stating, “Actually I never said that [Israel shouldn’t exist] but that it should never have been created.” His criticisms reportedly lay with the fact that he sees a difference between calling for the end of the Jewish State, and stating that it should never have been brought to existence in the first place.Jenny Tonge attacks Israel for not obeying the Ten Commandments
Last night in Parliament (ex-Liberal Democrat) Baroness Jenny Tonge said “If they had only obeyed their own Ten Commandments and half the stuff in the Old Testament…Israel could have been a force for good in the world” (see clip here from 8 mins. 35 secs.)Ireland: Israeli products marked with yellow sticker
Tonge was speaking at the Palestine Return Centre event Britain, It’s Time To Apologize for the Balfour Declaration.
A pro-Israeli activist residing in Dublin, Ireland, was shocked this week when he discovered that a Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) organization had taped yellow stickers on Israeli products reading "For justice in Palestine, Boycott Israel".NGO Monitor: NGOs and the Negev Bedouin Issue in the Context of Political Warfare
Sources in the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem said that the phenomenon is severe and it is not by chance that the BDS organization chose to express its protest with a yellow sticker – which is reminiscent of dark days of racism and incitement.(h/t Yenta Press)
The conflict over Bedouin citizens of Israel and land claims in the Negev has become a major point of focus for many Israeli and international NGOs. The involvement of political advocacy NGOs in this complex issue has increased significantly, particularly after 2010, including reports, calls for action, media visibility and lobbying in frameworks such as the European Union and the United Nations. This activity contributes significantly to the demonization and delegitimization of Israel.The UN’s hypocritical Human Rights Council: Bercovici
Israel’s group — Asia — is dominated by Arab and Muslim members which block its inclusion.UN Watch: Human Rights Politicized at UN: Hillel Neuer on CTV
“This hobbled and undignified position in which … Israel uniquely finds itself is without doubt morally shocking; but it is also manifestly unlawful and constitutes a breach of both the letter and the spirit of the Charter of the United Nations … Israel’s continuing exclusion from the regional group system is both unlawful and strikes at the roots of the principles on which the United Nations exists.”
So declared Sir Robert Jennings, eminent Cambridge law professor and judge of the International Court of Justice, in a legal opinion in 1999.
Sounding the alarm: in an interview on Canada’s CTV, UN Watch’s Hillel Neuer calls on the U.S. and the EU to end their silence over the UN’s planned election next week of the world’s worst abusers to its highest human rights body.Germany
Seized Nazi loot includes previously unknown Chagall
A hoard of more than 1,400 artworks found by tax investigators in a German apartment includes a previously unknown piece by Marc Chagall and works by some of the masters of the 20th century, authorities said Tuesday. Some of the works are believed to have been missing since they were seized by the Nazis.German spa withdraws ‘romantic Kristallnacht’ ad
Investigators searched the apartment in an upscale Munich district in February 2012, as part of a tax investigation that started with a routine check on a Zurich-Munich train in late 2010.
In a statement issued Monday, the hotel owners apologized for their “insensitive naming of this event,” which was “extremely inappropriate.” They explained that they frequently tag part of their name, “Kristall,” onto their events.Israel’s NightSense Medical Device Start-Up to Protect Diabetics From Hypoglycemia When Asleep
“We are extraordinarily regretful and of course this was unintentional; believe us, we are quite ashamed about our mistake,” the statement said.
Israeli medical device start-up NightSense has developed an application to alert sleeping diabetics if their blood sugar suddenly falls at night, a medical emergency called hypoglycemia, Israeli business daily Globes reported on Tuesday.More women soldiers seeking to serve in combat units, IDF says
The company estimates that each day there are 200,000 severe hypoglycemic attacks, when insulin flushes sugar from the body faster than the patient can produce it, with 5 per cent of juvenile diabetes sufferers dying from it.
As of last year, 58.9% of the Caracal infantry unit, stationed on the border with Egypt, was made up of women, and 10% of Artillery Corps soldiers were women. The Border Police consisted of 6.3% women members.Israel preps for massive air drill with US, Greece, Italy
Tavat-Vizel said that female soldiers serving in units such as those operating Iron Dome anti-rocket batteries and in Caracal have all expressed high satisfaction with their service.
The two-week exercise will take place at the Uvda air base, near the southern resort city of Eilat, and will include air crews from the United States, Italy and Greece, the IAF announced Tuesday.Five years after near death, Israeli runs NYC marathon
The drill, which has been dubbed “Blue Flag,” will be modeled after the US Air Force’s annual Red Flag desert exercise. More than 100 aircraft will be on hand to participate in simulated dogfights and surface-to-air exercises.
As a commander in Operation Cast Lead, newlywed Aharon Karov almost died. Now he’s raising money for the organization that helped him get back on his feet
Crossing the finish line at Sunday’s New York City Marathon, the scarring on the left side of his head was barely noticeable. Aharon Karov, 27, completed the race in 4:14:31, an impressive feat for anyone. Especially someone who was critically injured five years ago and thought dead.
But his story begins even earlier, at a wedding.
