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Friday, November 15, 2013

11/15 Links Pt2: Baby 'Israel' born in IDF Field Hospital, David Duke Praises Blumenthal

From Ian:

The Muslim Brotherhood thrives in Britain
The Muslim Brotherhood aren’t doing so well in Egypt at the moment. Happily they are making some gains in Britain.
On Tuesday the organisation’s dauphin – Tariq Ramadan, famous Islamist ideas man, grandson of the Brotherhood’s founder and prominent double-speaker gave the Orwell prize’s annual ‘Orwell lecture’. I wonder which direction Orwell’s body is spinning in?
'Muslim Brotherhood' protesters storm London university lecture on Egypt
A guest lecture at a London university was abandoned when protesters backing Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood chased the speaker from the stage.
Speaker Mohamed El-Nabawy had to be ushered off stage by security guards when around 30 demonstrators stormed a lecture theatre at Bloomsbury’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), which is part of the University of London.
They were said to have targeted the public discussion, focusing on the challenges facing Egypt, because of Mr El-Nabawy’s ties to the Tamarod group which opposed ex President Mohammed Morsi.
Christians 'face extinction' amid sectarian terror, minister warns
“Christian populations are plummeting and the religion is being driven out of some of its historic heartlands. In Iraq, the Christian community has fallen from 1.2m in 1990 to 200,000 today. In Syria, the horrific bloodshed has masked the haemorrhaging of its Christian population,” she says.
Terrorists are subjecting Christians in the Middle East to “collective punishment” for American foreign policy. Worshippers are now regarded as newcomers and agents of the West, despite having lived there for centuries. (h/t MtTB)
Guardian columnist blames the persecution of Mid-East Christians on Israel’s creation
Of course, the one country in the region where the Christian population is growing in total numbers is Israel.
Yet, the Guardian blogger not only ignores this statistical evidence, but views the disturbing news broadcast daily of Coptic churches being burned, Christians arrested for ‘blasphemy’, and clergy kidnapped and killed in Muslim dominated countries in the region, and somehow sees the root cause in Israel’s very creation.
Senior US official blames settlements for talks impasse
Echoing Palestinian complaints, National Security Adviser and former US ambassador to the UN Susan Rice’s remarks to a Washington think tank came a day after lead Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat resigned for what he said was a lack of Israeli integrity, as ostensibly demonstrated by continued building activity in the West Bank.
“We have seen increased tensions on the ground. Some of this is a result of recent settlement announcements. So let me reiterate: The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlement activity,” Rice told the Middle East Institute, echoing similar comments made by US Secretary of State John Kerry last week.
John McCain: Kerry a 'Human Wrecking Ball' in Middle East
Republican Senator John McCain on Thursday sharply criticized the Obama administration’s policy in the Middle East.
“We lost influence, we lost power. We are seen as helpless,” McCain said in an interview with the Arabic language Al-Hurra TV. He specifically criticized US Secretary of State John Kerry, saying he was disappointed with the way Kerry has dealt with countries like Syria, Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the Israeli-Arab conflict.
BBC’s Knell skirts over Israeli security concerns in Jordan Rift Valley
Knell does not bother to elaborate in terms of history – which shows that the border running along the Jordan Rift Valley has been breached by foreign armies belonging both to states neighbouring Israel and from further afield on past occasions. Neither does she expand on the subject of the uncertain future of the already turbulent Middle East and the far-reaching implications for Israeli security.
Clearly, BBC audiences have learned little from this feature which will contribute to their understanding of the strategic importance of the Jordan Rift Valley or enhance their ability to “participate in the global debate on significant international issues”.
Crooner Sir Tom Jones Condemns Boycotts of Israel by Musicians After Playing Tel Aviv
British crooner Sir Tom Jones condemned boycotts of Israel by musicians after playing two sold out shows in Tel Aviv last month, the UK Jewish News reported.
“I was in Israel two weeks ago where a lot of singers won’t go (because of the boycott campaign). I don’t agree with that. I think entertainers should entertain. They should go wherever, there shouldn’t be any restrictions. That’s why I went there. I did two shows in Tel Aviv and it was fantastic,” he said.
Brandeis Plans ‘Detailed Discussions’ With Palestinian Partner School After Nazi-Style Rally
Two Brandeis University faculty members will have “detailed discussions” with administrators at Al Quds University, a Palestinian school Brandeis partners with, regarding “a number of troubling allegations” in the aftermath of a Nazi-style military rally at Al Quds, Brandeis Senior Vice President for Communications Ellen de Graffenreid told JNS.org on Thursday.
ADL ‘Deeply Troubled’ by Brooklyn College Departments’ Sponsorship of Events Featuring ‘Unabashed Haters of Israel’
The Anti-Defamation League says it is “deeply troubled” by the fact that two events at Brooklyn College this week featuring “unabashed haters of Israel” are co-sponsored by the institution’s political science and sociology departments.
“While we are strongly committed to the principles of academic freedom and free speech, we believe that official college sponsorship of a program featuring speakers who use vitriolic rhetoric to condemn Israel and who do not recognize the Jewish state’s right to exist is beyond the pale,” said Evan R. Bernstein, the ADL’s New York Regional Director.
Praise for Max Blumenthal’s ‘I hate Israel handbook’ from David Duke and the usual suspects
Naturally, Blumenthal’s “I Hate Israel Handbook” was also warmly praised by his trusted comrades from Mondoweiss and The Electronic Intifada. And unsurprisingly, Blumenthal’s work is also much appreciated by Gilad Atzmon and David Duke.
Here’s a passage of praise from Duke’s site:
"Blumenthal’s writings and videos are extremely valuable in the study of Jewish extremism, as he is not shy about using his Jewish name and looks to gain access to Jewish extremists in order to document the ugliest side of Zionism…as it pertains to Israel."
German Cartoon Demonizes Israel — On Kristallnacht Anniversary
The Badische cartoon shows traditional anti-Semitic depictions of Jews as “poisoners” or “saboteurs” or a “danger for world peace.”
Feuerherdt says the cartoon ignores Iran’s threat to obliterate Israel through its nuclear weapons program. He added it is “disgusting” that the Badische paper published the illustration on Kristallnacht, the 1938 pogrom launched by Germans and Nazis to kill Jews and destroy their businesses.
First baby born in IDF field hospital in Philippines named ‘Israel’
“It’s a boy!” wrote IDF Spokesman Peter Lerner on Friday, “amazing news coming out of the IDF field hospital. First baby delivered. The thankful mum named him Israel.”
The IDF humanitarian mission completed the set-up of the hospital earlier Friday, after departing for the storm-ravaged city of Daanbantayan, in the northern province of Cebu, late Wednesday with about 100 tons of supplies. Casualties were already being brought in for treatment, according to reports. (h/t Yoel)
First baby was born in the field hospital established by the IDF the Philippines

IDF's Rescue Mission to the Philippines: First Day Recap


109-year-old survivor may be headed to the Oscars
A film about the life of the world’s oldest Holocaust survivor has reached the shortlist of eight films competing for an Oscar in the documentary short subject category, at the 86th Academy Awards next March. The final nominations will be announced in January.
“The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life,” directed by Oscar winner Malcolm Clarke, recently received its UK premiere as part of the UK Jewish Film Festival. It tells the story of 109-year-old Alice Herz-Sommer, a Prague-born concert pianist who was in Theresienstadt. Number 6 refers to the north London apartment where she lives.
IDF Arabic flack roasted in Egypt
Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman, gets plenty of attention in the Arab world, boasting over 100,000 Facebook followers.
But he was surprised, if not amused, when an Egyptian satirist mocked him recently on a popular web-based show.
‘Israel and South Korea could be economic powerhouse’
That latter country was in the spotlight this week, as a delegation led by the Korean ambassador to Israel, Kim Il-soo, participated in the first-ever Korea-Israel Creative Economy Forum. Israeli creativity, Kim told The Times of Israel, was much admired in his country, “and has special strengths and capabilities that, when joined together with the strengths of the Korean economy, can create an economic powerhouse.”
‘Lazy eye’ glasses help kids overcome amblyopia
An Israeli doctor’s revolutionary invention for treating a childhood eye condition won a prize for industry innovation at the fourth annual International 3D Society Awards at Paramount Pictures Studios in Hollywood.
The award will undoubtedly raise worldwide interest in Amblyz Glasses, based on a patent owned by Dr. Omry Ben-Ezra, a family physician who was determined to find a more kid-friendly treatment for amblyopia – commonly known as “lazy eye,” a neural disorder affecting three to five percent of all children.
Israeli researchers develop revolutionary alternative fuel process
Israeli university researchers say they have discovered a revolutionary method for producing alternative liquid fuel from two of the most common substances on earth, hydrogen and carbon dioxide.
The new process will become the dominant technology by which liquid fuel is produced, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev’s Prof. Moti Herskowitz, the Israel Cohen Chair in Chemical Engineering and VP and dean of R&D, said in a statement, as such techniques as “carbon dioxide capture from various sources including air and water splitting, become technologically and economically feasible.”
Israel Daily Picture: The Porat Yosef Yeshiva in Jerusalem's Old City,the Leading Sephardic Seminary Was Destroyed and Rebuilt
The site for the seminary was purchased 100 years ago; the cornerstone was laid in 1914, and the building was inaugurated in 1923. The building contained study halls, a synagogue, classrooms and apartments.
It was all destroyed by the Jordanian army in 1948, along with all of the synagogues and homes in Jewish Quarter. The photos of the war in the Old City and the destruction of the Jewish Quarter were taken by Life Magazine's John Phillips.