Tuesday, November 12, 2013
The BDS movement and the opportunistic exploitation of self-denying Jews
As I have argued elsewhere, there is little doubt that a Greater Palestine is the ultimate political objective of the international Campaign for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel (BDS). Not surprisingly within the BDS movement, the opinions of the small minority of anti-Zionist Jews loom larger than life. For example, Federal Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon has claimed that "many Jewish communities support this work." In fact, no Jewish communities support the BDS. Similarly, the Mayor of Marrickville, Fiona Byrne, proudly cited support from the NSW Jews against the Occupation group which has about 10 members, and also claimed support from "a growing number of Jews from all over the world." In fact, the only organized Jewish community group in Marrickville, the Inner West Jewish Community and Friends Peace Alliance which is left-oriented and strongly supportive of a two-state solution, devoted considerable time and resources to opposing the Marrickville BDS proposal during the 2011 NSW State election campaign.Gerald Steinberg - NGO Monitor: A still, small leftwing voice against BDS
Similarly, BDS campaigner Professor Jake Lynch, head of Sydney University's Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, has responded to accusations of discrimination against Israeli Jews by citing talks at the Centre by anti-Zionist Jews such as Ilan Pappe and Noam Chomsky as evidence of a non-racist policy. But Lynch is disingenuous in not acknowledging that virtually all the Jews hosted by the Centre have been fanatical anti-Zionists, and that the Centre has specifically excluded any pro-Israel Jews. (h/t Daphne Anson)
The radical anti-Zionist Left also promotes what is euphemistically referred to as a “bi-national solution”, and invents legal arguments, such as a “right of return” for millions of Palestinian who claim refugee status. Both concepts have no substantive foundation, and are the equivalent of wiping Israel off the map.Brooklyn College to Play Host to Another Anti-Israel Event
This political warfare goes far beyond criticism of occupation and settlements, and debates on Israel’s policies on the complexities of borders, Palestinian terrorism, and security. In launching their campaign to counter the radical Left, Ameinu’s leaders recognize that the use of terms like apartheid, accompanied by systematic discrimination against the Jewish homeland, and boycott campaigns (BDS) are designed to roll back the clock to 1948 and delegitimize Israel, regardless of borders. As many Israelis have long known, this means that even with a peace agreement, the hatred and mass terror would continue, nullifying benefits from concessions required for a two-state solution.
The City University of New York’s (CUNY) Brooklyn College is again provoking passions, playing host this week to an anti-Israel activist who many, citing his published writings, believe to be anti-Semitic.Breaking the Facade of Breaking the Silence
Ben White, who describes himself as a writer, freelance journalist and researcher on his Twitter page, will give a talk Thursday, November 14th called “Israel: Apartheid not Democracy,” as part of a mini-tour of college campuses that will also include a stop at John Jay College in Manhattan. The event is to be hosted by the school’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP).
The pair hope to spark debate in the Israeli public, so they visit American college campuses? Israelis hoping to find the pairs' book in Hebrew should not waste their time. If the book, Our Harsh Logic, published by the American publisher Picador, exists in Hebrew, it has not left so much as a trace on the Internet. So much for sparking public debate among the Israeli public.German trade union leader opposes West Bank boycott
German trade union leader Michael Sommer vowed to stand up to unionists who want to boycott goods made in West Bank Jewish settlements.Kristallnacht’s Long Shadow Hangs Over Europe
“As long as I am head of this organization, there will never be a resolution that says ‘Don’t buy from Jews,’ ” said Sommer, 61, chair of the Federation of German Trade Unions, accepting the Arno Lustiger Award at the third annual German-Israel Congress on Sunday.
The Nazi Holocaust was the quintessential example of humanity’s capacity for evil. Here are three points for gentile and Jew to reflect on this Kristallnacht.Anonymous fights Zionist 'apartheid' with a Twitter hashtag. Doesn't it know how stupid it looks?
First: If European leaders refuse to protect live Jews, they shouldn’t bother attending memorials for 6 million dead Jews.
Second: Stop de-Judaizing the Nazi Holocaust. Evil is not merely an abstract idea. The Nazis murdered Anne Frank and six million of her brethren for death only because she and they were Jews. Public memorials and teaching modules omitting this truth desecrate the dead.
Third:We Jews have to toughen up. Accepting the status quo in Europe is demeaning and only emboldens the bigots on the street and in the halls of Parliaments.
This weekend the hacktivist collective Anonymous launched what it calls #OpBOYCOTTIsrael, a Twitter campaign aimed at encouraging "disinvestment" from Israeli goods. The manifesto for this operation, posted on Pastebin, says "Disinvestment works – the strategy played a potent role in dismantling apartheid in South Africa and it can work to dismantle Israeli apartheid in Palestine, too."West must stop appeasing efforts to ban criticism of Islam
The plan – explained in excellent detail here by The Daily Dot – is to highlight the 729 barcode which identifies Israeli goods, and thus enable a boycott. Facetiously, I could suggest that therefore that Anonymous should stop using Intel processors (invented in Israel), removable hard drives (invented in Israel) and VOIP Internet calls (you guessed it, Israel).
It is no accident that the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution states, "Congress shall make no law ...abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press." It is also no accident that there is no such absolute provision in the Arab and Islamic world.Pat Condell - How gay is Islam?
On the contrary, for at least fifteen years a concerted effort has been made by Islamic organizations, particularly the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) to prevent or limit criticism of Islam and the Prophet.
BBC changes fraud show trailer amid antisemitism concern
BBC producers have changed a trailer for a series about tax and benefit fraudsters following complaints that it could be seen as antisemitic.Report: Jordan vetoes Israeli request to allow Jewish prayer on Temple Mount
The original trailer for Britain on the Fiddle featured the song “If I Were a Rich Man”, from Fiddler on the Roof, the 1960s film about Jews in a Russian shtetl.
Some viewers felt that the choice of music pandered to negative stereotypes about Jews and money.
The top Jordanian government official responsible for the custodianship of religious holy sites in Jerusalem is quoted in local press on Tuesday as saying that he is “adamantly opposed” to any Jewish worship atop the Temple Mount.Conference Urges Israel Advocates to Champion Judea and Samaria
Abd Al-Nasser Nassar, who serves as Amman’s top legal adviser for Islamic and Christian property in Jerusalem, is quoted as telling the Jordanian daily al-Rad that his government rejected an Israeli request to allow for Jews to pray in a small, designated area atop the site.
US Secretary of State John Kerry drew fire from Israelis late last week, when he slammed Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria as "illegitimate". But an upcoming conference in New York City to challenge Jews in the Diaspora to do more to confront the delegimization of the "settlements" themselves.Knesset committee discusses attacks on Israelis, others at Mount of Olives
One day after a yeshiva student was hospitalized following a rock-throwing attack while driving near the Mount of Olives – illustrating the ongoing pattern of violence endemic to the area – the Knesset Interior Committee met on Monday to discuss improving security there.Rafi Eitan says US told Israel that Pollard would only serve 10 years
In east Jerusalem, the Mount of Olives is home to Judaism’s oldest cemetery, where four prophets, former prime minister Menachem Begin, Hebrew revivalist Eliezer Ben-Yehuda and leaders of revered rabbinical dynasties are buried. It is accessible only by driving through Palestinian neighborhoods.
Former cabinet minister Rafi Eitan, who was the intelligence officer who operated Israeli agent Jonathan Pollard in the mid-1980s, revealed Monday that he incriminated him because he was told Pollard would serve no more than 10 years in prison.The truth about anti-Semitism in Germany
Speaking to Army Radio to mark Monday’s anniversary according to the Hebrew calendar of Pollard’s arrest in 1985, Eitan referred to secret understandings reached between the Israeli and US governments.
Two weeks ago German public television broadcast a film titled Anti-Semitism today – how hostile is Germany? 1.6 million people watched the 50-minute-documentary – not very many in a country of 82 million.Amazon’s Holocaust shame
A few newspapers wrote about it, and not a single political leader commented on it.
Public outrage? Not at all.
In a letter to Amazon CEO Jeffrey Bezos, we appealed to Amazon’s sense of corporate responsibility, arguing that “no one should profit from the sale of such vile and offensive hate literature,” adding that “many Holocaust survivors are deeply offended by the fact that the world’s largest online retailer is making money from selling such material.”Israelis in Odessa: We're attacked by neo-Nazis
Apparently, the company has chosen to ignore our campaign. As of this writing, those titles are still being sold on the site.
"I also know of about 12 Israeli students who were beaten. Yesterday I tried all day to get in contact with the Israeli embassy, and no one answered."Neo-Nazis Rally in Kansas City on Kristallnacht Anniversary
His description of the horror facing foreign students in the city continued: "These gangs threaten Arab-Israelis and Jews both, and in general all foreigners. Around the afternoon it's already dark, and then we can't leave the house anymore. The danger is greater for the girls. I haven't been to the local hospital because I don't feel safe there and I'm afraid." (h/t Zvi)
A Neo-Nazi group rallied outside of a Kansas City, MO courthouse over the weekend and ripped up a tallit (Jewish prayer shawl) in front of hundreds of booing counter-protestors, Vocativ reports.Last Jew in Afghanistan faces ruin as kebabs fail to sell
The National Socialist Movement allegedly rallied outside the courthouse in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of Kristallnacht, a night of systemic pogroms against German Jews by the Nazi government and a historic marker signaling the beginning of the Holocaust. A video clip shows one Neo-Nazi ripping up the tallit behind a police barricade, to a chorus of boos and protests.
Zabulon Simintov always removes his kippah, the skullcap worn by Jewish men, before entering his cafe in a dilapidated building that also houses Afghanistan's last synagogue.Ministry: October a Record Month for Tourism
"Let me take off my cap, otherwise people will think something bad about me," Simintov said cheerfully as he descended grime-caked stairs to the ground-floor cafe.
Israel set a tourism record last month, as 339,000 tourists entered the country in October 2013 – 14% more than a year earlier, and the highest single month number of entries in the country's history. This October broke the last record, set in 2010, by 4%, Tourism Ministry officials said Monday.For the ‘start-up nation,’ an Arab challenge
The Israeli government has also come to realize the importance of Arab high-tech. The Economics and Trade Ministry, headed by Naftali Bennett, has allocated NIS 414 million ($118 million) to the development of industrial zones in and around Arab cities. The ministry also reimburses employers for 30 percent of the salaries of Arab employees during their first three years of work.Belarus Commemorates Former Israeli PM Begin With Statue, Releases Stamps Honoring Zionist Leaders
Yet Rasem Natour, head of industry development in the Arab sector at the Ministry of Economy, said that Arab society still lacks an entrepreneurial spirit to match that of the Jewish majority.
“The initiative cannot come from the government,” he told The Times of Israel. “We need Arab entrepreneurship, which is sadly lacking.” (h/t Zvi)
The statue marks the centenary of his birth and was placed in the town square next to the Jewish school Begin attended as a boy. The square was also the site where hundreds of Jews were rounded up by the Nazis before they were executed on the river Bug, among them his father.
The Belarussian mail service also published a set of stamps with portraits of Zionist leaders born in the country. Among them are: Prime Ministers Begin and Yitzhak Shamir, Presidents Chaim Weizmann, Zalman Shazar, and Shimon Peres.
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