11/07 Links Pt2: The Lies of Protest Tourism, Norwegian Amb. blames Israel for Syria

From Ian:

---

CAMERA: Countering the Lies of Protest Tourism

Ardie Geldman, a resident of Efrat, has written a piece for The New English Review that details the manner in which Palestinian activists have helped turn the West Bank into a theme park where privileged tourists from the United States and Europe adopt the persona of human rights heroes assailing Israel’s misdeeds. Like most theme parks, there is a huge amount of trickery and showmanship going on.

A Norwegian Diplomat Who Only Harms His Country's Image

In Israel, the greatest damage to how Norway is viewed was probably caused by its current Ambassador Svein Sevje.
In a recent interview with extreme left wing Israeli journalist Akiva Eldar, Sevje explained why Bashir Assad will go down in history as a barbarian dictator instead of a democratic reformer. He implied that the Syrian civil war resulted from the absence of a peace agreement with Israel saying: “I believe that with such an agreement, Syria would have been a different country today.

The Myths of Ilan Ziv’s film

Having previously hesitated, the BBC this week chose to screen Ilan Ziv’s film Searching for Exile: Truth or Myth?, which focuses on the idea of Jewish exile after AD 70.
Ziv uses the community of Tzippora Jews in the Galilee to argue that there was no Jewish exile, as Jews were still living in the region after AD 70. The Bar Kochba revolt of 135 is also held up as evidence against the ‘myth of exile’.
Yet no-one would say that all the Jews disappeared from Jerusalem in AD 70. Of course there has been a continual Jewish presence in Israel.

Spies R Us

The difference between outraged Americans and impassive Israelis is striking, and illuminating. It is the difference between a public for whom security is largely a theoretical issue, and a public for whom defending the homeland is a perpetual concern.
The explanation is basic. According to a Pew Research Center survey from 2011, “just one-half of one percent of American adults” served on active duty at any given time over the previous decade, even though it was a period of sustained war for the United States.
By contrast, a vast majority of Israelis serve in the military at some point. As many as one in five personally witnessed a terrorist attack. And according to the Israel Defense Forces, in 2012 more than one million Israelis were living under the threat of rocket attacks from Gaza.
Israelis cannot afford to not worry about their safety, and so they look at the indignation of Americans and, say, Germans over Washington’s spying on Chancellor Angela Merkel as hypocrisy or naiveté. They’re thinking: Keep on spying, America, because as long as you do we know you’re still helping police the world.

Open Letter to Hamas Spokeswoman

Similarly, what is your opinion of modesty operations by Hamas policemen in Gaza over the past few months, in which women are detained in the street if their dress is considered to be immodest or their haircuts too modern?
I would also love to hear your thoughts regarding Article 18 of the Penal Code (1936) applicable in Gaza, whereby judges are expected to mitigate the sentence of a man who murders his daughter, wife, mother, sister or other family member in order to preserve “family honor”. Is this a worthy law in your eyes?

Former CIA director renews call for Pollard’s release

In a two-minute video, recorded on Monday at a conference in Manhattan in which Woolsey took part, Woolsey said: “If you look at other allies of the United States, such as South Korea and the Philippines, where we have caught spies, the sentence that they had has been light, not like Pollard’s; it’s been about six or seven years. What I said in The Wall Street Journal essentially was that if anybody is hung up over the fact that he’s an American Jew or that he’s Israeli, just pretend that he’s a South Korean and set him free.”

Galloway’s Viva Palestina Booted Off Charities Register

There may be many reasonable explanations for the failure of Galloway’s charity to file accounts, and indeed for the failure to account for the money that it claimed to have raised.
However, given the litigious nature of Mr Galloway and his friends, it would be best to keep comments closed on this article, lest some uncharitable person speculates unfairly on the reason behind these failures.

UK Politicians Collaborate with Muslim Brotherhood Islamists?

Speakers at the upcoming Global Peace and Unity conference can be categorized as follows: 65% are anti-Semitic, misogynist, homophobic and pro-terror preachers, 20% are public servants offering political legitimacy and moral credibility to the other speakers, while the remaining 15% could perhaps claim to be part of the conference's "project dedicated to creating a more harmonious world."

The U.S.-Saudi Royal Rumble

In early 1939, a Saudi delegation went to Nazi Germany to negotiate an arms agreement, part of which would have been diverted to Palestinian Arabs fighting Jewish immigrants in the British mandate of Palestine. At least some of the Saudi group met Adolf Hitler at his mountain top hideaway at Berchtesgaden.
German arms never reached the kingdom -- or Palestine - as the Saudis could not afford to consummate the deal (that was in the days before the oil revenues started flowing in). However, King Abdullah still treasures a dagger given as a gift from the Fuhrer himself, and occasionally shows it off to guests. Visiting U.S. officials are briefed in advance so they can display appropriate diplomatic sang-froid if Abdullah points out the memento. (h/t Yoel)

Berlusconi says his kids feel like Jews persecuted by Hitler

Replying to a question about whether his five children had asked him to sell his media empire and leave Italy to escape his legal troubles, Berlusconi said: "My children say that they feel like Jewish families in Germany under Hitler's regime. Truly, everyone is against us."

Holocaust museum highlights Myanmar’s Rohingya

Myanmar’s government views the exhibition as inappropriate. The U.S. government-funded Holocaust museum primarily commemorates the genocide against the Jews by the Nazis during World War II. But it also documents the mass killings that have blighted Bosnia, Rwanda and Sudan, and seeks to spotlight situations where it sees a repeat of such atrocities. It has previously projected images on its walls of Holocaust survivors, and from South Sudan and the Darfur region of Sudan.
“We are not saying that genocide is taking place in Burma,” said Michael Abramowitz, director of the museum’s Center for the Prevention of Genocide. “We are not trying to equate these different situations. The Holocaust was a unique event in human history. But what we do want to do is use our assets to try to prevent these kinds of crimes from happening to others in the future.”

Huffington Post Planning Israel Website

The Huffington Post is planning to launch an Israeli website, founding editor Roy Sekoff told Israel’s Channel 2 on Wednesday.
Sekoff said that the move is part of HuffPo’s road map for opening foreign sites, sometimes creating them in local language. “With so much innovation in Israel, we had opportunities to work with many Israelis,” Sekoff added.

Rabin’s granddaughter inks Hollywood TV deal

Noa Rothman, the granddaughter of the late Yitzhak Rabin, gave Israeli audiences a glimpse into a prime minister’s family’s gilded world when she wrote the drama “The Prime Minister’s Children.” Now American audiences are about to also get a taste, thanks to a deal inked this week with Hollywood’s Timberman-Beverly productions to produce an adaptation of that program for American television.

Israeli Energy Minister: ‘Everyone Wants to Hug Israel’ Because of Its Natural Gas Production

Israeli natural gas is saving the country’s economy $300 million a month, a figure that could reach as high as $1 billion, Israeli Energy Minister Silvan Shalom told Bloomberg News, adding that the country has become an attractive natural gas supplier in the global marketplace, one that “everyone wants to hug.”
“It means it will bring a huge improvement to the Israeli economy because the gas will be much cheaper. We will cut the tariff for electricity. We will cut the tariff for water that is produced by electricity, and all the products that are produced in Israel will be much cheaper,” Shalom told Bloomberg.

Israel’s Mobli Gets Major Boost From Mexican Billionaire Carlos Slim

The photo and video-sharing platform Mobli has received a major financial boost from one of the world’s richest men.
Mexico’s América Móvil SAB de CV, controlled by multi-billionaire Carlos Slim, is leading a new $60 million round of investments into the company. As part of the deal, Mobli will get distribution with América Móvil’s millions of mobile users.

Israel’s Sodastream to Air $4 Million Super Bowl Ad

Sodastream, the popular Israeli carbonated drinks company, has announced that it will kick off its 2014 advertising campaign with a $4 million Super Bowl ad for the second year in a row.
“The Super Bowl is a proven venue for SodaStream to deliver our beverage revolution message to over 100 million viewers, empowering consumers to enjoy a smarter, ‘better-for-you’alternative to packaged soda,” SodaStream CEO Daniel Birnbaum said in a statement.

Paula Abdul floats idly in Dead Sea after lathering herself in mud during spiritual retreat in Israel

As she continues her spiritual journey through Israel, Paula Abdul took part in an age-old tradition that dates back to biblical times.
She submerged herself in the skin-nourishing qualities of the Dead Sea last Friday.

The quest continues to honor Arab hero doctor

While Helmy is the first person from the Arab world to be designated by Yad Vashem, more than 60 Muslims who saved Jews in Bosnia, Albania and the then-Soviet republics have been recognized, said Irena Steinfeldt, director of the Righteous Among the Nations department.
Despite the Hassans’ refusal to accept the honoring of Helmy, Yad Vashem is pursuing several avenues, including Egypt’s embassy in Tel Aviv, to locate additional relatives.