Arab, Muslim and pro-Israel
I’m Abdel. I was born in Algeria and lived there for a little over a decade. During that time, I had the distinct pleasure to go through a brutal civil war where Islamists (supported financially and morally by Hamas, Iran and Saudi Arabia) where trying to take over the country to impose their worldview on everyone else. Friends and family members of mine were killed and the country almost went down the drain. My parents, who were executives at the time, were also involved politically. Specifically, they were leading political parties who’re trying to get religion out of politics– in the midst of an Islamic insurgency. You can only imagine how more problematic their personal and familial situation became: regular death threats, bullet proof door in our home, different itineraries and time to get to work, et cetera. In sum, it was a living hell. Oh, did I mention that I’m the VP communication for McGill Students for Israel?Disturbed Frontman David Draiman Blasts BDS ‘Harassment,’ Rips Emma Thompson for Siding With ‘BDS Nazis’
Now, why? Why does a guy who’s born in a country that does not even recognize Israel come to support it? Below is the case for Israel from the perspective of someone who grew up and lived in a self-proclaimed Arab and Muslim country.
Jewish heavy metal rocker David Draiman took to Twitter Sunday, Feb. 9, to condemn the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement for harassing one actress and then called out another star for siding with the global campaign.
“I support Scarlett Johansson’s endorsement of @SodaStreamUSA and condemn the BDS’ harassment of her,” he tweeted. He also uploaded a photo of himself that included text saying he supports the Her actress “against the haters.”
Earlier on Sunday, Draiman called British actress Emma Thompson a “boycotter of Israel” via Twitter and accused her of siding with “BDS Nazis.” The Saving Mr. Banks star and other British actors said, in a letter published by Britain’s Guardian newspaper, that they are seeking to boycott Israel’s Habima Theater troupe from performing later this year in a theatrical festival at Shakespeare’s Globe Theater in London.
The B.D.S. Threat
I do not trust the B.D.S. movement. Its stated aim is to end the occupation, secure “full equality” for Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel, and fight for the right of return of all Palestinian refugees. The first objective is essential to Israel’s future. The second is laudable. The third, combined with the second, equals the end of Israel as a Jewish state. This is the hidden agenda of B.D.S., its unacceptable subterfuge: beguile, disguise and suffocate.Academic Boycott Against Israel Not Affecting Country’s Research Endeavors, Government Study Says
The anti-Apartheid movement in South Africa contained no such ambiguity. As Diana Shaw Clark, an activist on behalf of a two-state solution, wrote to me in an email, “People affiliated with divestment in South Africa had no agenda other than the liberation and enfranchisement of an oppressed majority.”
This is not the case in Israel, where the triple objective of B.D.S. would, in Clark’s words, “doom Israel as a national home for the Jews.” (h/t Norman F)
A new Israeli government study proved various worldwide initiatives to boycott the Jewish state have had “no noticeable impact on academic research in Israel,” Israeli daily Walla reported Monday.Barry Rubin Tributes:
The European “Horizon 2020” research program was singled out for praise by the government report conducted on behalf of the Knesset’s Science and Technology Committee. It was cited as an example of Israeli ministers Tzipi Livni, Naftali Bennett and Yaakov Perri’s successful maneuverings to prevent Israel from being kept out of prestigious scientific endeavors.
Barry Rubin: An appreciation
Barry Rubin was one of the leading Middle East scholars and analysts of his generation.Farewell Barry
He was also a patriot of two countries – Israel and the United States – a dissenter, and a moral and intellectual beacon for thousands of people in many lands.
Barry brought to his work a tremendous, searing energy, which made him famously prolific. This energy stayed with him throughout the illness which has now prematurely ended his life. He was still composing articles in the very last days, when his hands could no longer work the keyboard. He stayed with his chosen mission to the end.
Finally, Prof. Barry Rubin was a true Zionist. He loved his adopted country and defended it assiduously against its detractors. While he remained very American until his last day, he nevertheless built his home in Israel, married his wife in Israel, and raised two Sabra children in Israel.A privilege to work with
Farewell, Barry. I will miss you.
When an important figure dies we often hear a commentator say, “He will be missed.” That observation has become a cliché. In Barry’s case, however, it is entirely appropriate.
Israel has lost one of its staunchest and most eloquent defenders. Those who were fortunate to know him personally will not soon find anyone who can fill the void. We are all richer for his presence, and poorer for his departure.
Comment from ZFA President, Philip Chester, on 4 Corners/ The Weekend Australian investigation on the Israeli justice system.
The Four Corners program aired on ABC was highly emotive and one-sided. It only depicted the allegations in line with the Palestinian position but made absolutely no attempt to report the facts presented to the court or the difficult legal realities on the ground.Do Jews muzzle critics with false charges of antisemitism? A reply to the Irish Times
The disputed territories have many legal, social and moral complexities with which Israel is continually trying to grapple. John Lyons and Four Corners did not acknowledge these difficulties in dealing with Palestinian “child terrorists” who are caught throwing rocks. Lyons’ attempt to belittle the lethal repercussions of this terrorist activity proves that this investigation is partial.
In the past several months the Irish Times published three op-eds by a socialist named Eamonn McCann – diatribes which included a pejorative use of the term “chosen people” to suggest that Israeli attacks against non-Jews are arguably inspired by a belief in their own superiority, a prediction of the Jewish State’s ultimate demise and the claim that racism lies at the core of Israel’s official ideology.Jews Control the Internet, Says Pro-Palestinian Website
Yet, evidently, the progressive voices who gather in Dublin don’t feel they are completely free to tell us what they really think.
The article in question was written in 2009 by the California-based Freedom Research Foundation and mentions the names of Jews involved with Google, Facebook, Wikipedia, Yahoo!, MySpace, and eBay. Titled “The Jewish Hand Behind the Internet,” the article is split into subsections that include “The Jewish Entourage at Google,” “Zuckerberg’s Jewish Entourage at Facebook,” “Google’s Cooperating with Jewish Censors,” and “More Tricks to Control Information on Wikipedia.” Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales is called the “darling of the Jewish crowd at Harvard” and Sheryl Sandberg, who worked at Google before becoming the Chief Operating Officer of Facebook, is mocked for being involved with philanthropy, a “favorite Jewish pastime.” The article also chronicles in great length the trips Internet moguls have taken to Israel.Jewish groups back Hungary Holocaust commemoration boycott
The international Jewish organizations urged the Hungarian government to respond to Jewish concerns.The Jewish Exodus From France
“The Jewish community’s decision to protest planned Holocaust memorial events is painful, but then the efforts of the Hungarian government to rewrite history are absolutely traumatic,” Rabbi Andrew Baker, the American Jewish Committee’s director of International Jewish Affairs, said in a statement.
Baker urged on Prime Minister Viktor Orban to address the Jewish community’s concerns “without delay.”
On January 26, possibly for the first time ever since the end of World War Two, explicit anti-semitic slogans were shouted during a large scale political demonstration in Paris. The incident was just a further indication that French Jews are not as secure today as they used to be a few years ago. Indeed, many French Jews have concluded they have no future in their country, and are leaving for Israel or North America.January sees record-setting number of tourists
In 2013, more than 20,000 people formally applied to the Jewish Agency in Paris for aliyah – emigration to Israel – and more than 3,000 completed the emigration process during the same year: twice as much as in 2012. France is now the first country of origin for aliyah, ahead of the United States.
Some 200,000 tourists entered Israel in January 2014, 19 percent more than in January 2013 and “an all-time record for the month,” according to figured released by the Tourism Ministry on Monday.BBC Technology correspondent visits the ‘start-up nation’
Of those, 167,000 arrived by air, 6,000 arrived by direct flight to the southern city of Eilat, 22,000 arrived via the Jordanian border and 10,800 came from Egypt via the Taba crossing. The latter figure represents a 69% increase in overland crossings from the troubled Sinai region compared to January 2013.
It is an all too rare pleasure to be able to note here BBC reporting on Israel which is accurate, impartial, informative and objective. As we have observed here in the past, reports which do tick those boxes often come from BBC news departments dedicated to specific subjects such as science or technology, where the political stance of journalists is less relevant to the subject matter.Instant messaging app Viber in talks to be acquired: report
BBC Technology Correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones recently paid a visit to Israel and his February 10th report titled “Next Silicon Valleys: What makes Israel a start-up nation?” currently appears on the Technology and Middle East pages of the BBC News website. The written report also includes filmed items shown on BBC television news.
Israel's Calcalist financial newspaper reported that Viber was in talks to acquired by a leading instant messaging company from Asia for $300 million-$400 million.Filling a need, one nipple at a time
Viber is run from Cyprus by Israeli entrepreneur Talmon Marco and has development centres in Belarus and Israel.
Searching for solutions, Kolath-Arbel came up empty. Reconstructive surgery would have rendered an unrealistic lump whose color would fade, she says, and the prosthetic nipples she ordered from the United States and China looked fake and rough.ADL chief Foxman announces he will step down next year
“If I am not for myself, who will be for me?” she said, quoting the Talmudic sage Hillel. She decided to design a nipple herself.
After a year studying with a silicone artist who specializes in prosthetics, Kolath-Arbel made her first nipple. Now she’s doing the same for hundreds of breast cancer survivors in Israel and abroad through the company she founded, Pink Perfect, which she runs from her home in Kfar Saba, a central Israeli city not far from Tel Aviv.
Abe Foxman, the influential head of the Anti-Defamation League and one of the most powerful public figures in American Jewry, announced late Monday that he will step down from his post effective July of next year, the ADL said in a statement.Skinnygirl and SodaStream Partner to Create a New Line of Delicious, Low-Calorie, Naturally-Sweetened Flavors Made Exclusively for SodaStream
“For almost five decades, ADL offered me the perfect vehicle to live a life of purpose both in standing up on behalf of the Jewish people to ensure that what happened during World War II would never happen again and in fighting bigotry and all forms of oppression,” Foxman said.
SodaStream International, Ltd. (NASDAQ:SODA), the leading manufacturer of home beverage carbonation systems, today announced a strategic agreement with Skinnygirl, the sassy, solutions based, lifestyle brand created by Bethenny Frankel that is redefining the way women live. The companies will co-develop a family of better-for-you flavors designed with women's taste in mind, exclusively for the SodaStream home beverage carbonation system.SodaStream International: The Coming Rebound
"I am so excited to join the SodaStream family, a perfect home for my unique Skinnygirl brand," said Bethenny Frankel, founder of Skinnygirl. "Both companies share a passion for creating delicious, low calorie beverages that are fun, convenient and easy to enjoy in the comfort of your own home."
ConclusionSkating to Schindler’s List
SODA appears to be an intriguing investment opportunity at the moment, with potential upside of more than 80%. Despite the potential upside, this opportunity may not be for everyone as there is likely to be a significant amount of uncertainty and risk associated with SodaStream during the upcoming and future fiscal quarters. This along with the entry of new competitor GMCR, makes the opportunity unfit for investors with weak stomachs.
Julia Lipnitskaia, a 15-year-old Russian skating prodigy, took home the Olympic gold with a routine set to John Williams’ “Theme from Schindler’s List.”Portman, crew shoot Oz in Jerusalem
Lipnitskaia skated in a red costume meant to evoke the iconic “girl in the red coat,” who briefly appears in the movie “Schindler’s List” to enhance the pathos of a scene of the liquidation of Krakow’s ghetto.
Downtown Jerusalem experienced a brief trip back to the era of World War II Monday afternoon, thanks to the cast and crew of Natalie Portman’s film “A Tale of Love and Darkness,” based on Amos Oz’s autobiographical novel.Returning Home: A Jerusalem Story
Much of the movie, directed by Portman from a screenplay written by novelist Assaf Gavron, takes place in Jerusalem, Oz’s birthplace. And, accordingly, the cast, which included a group of elementary school-age children, were dressed in 1940s-era clothing, with wool knee-length shorts for the boys and pinafore dresses for the girls.
Jerusalem was the original capital of the kingdom of Israel in the time of the first and second temple, and Jews have maintained a small but continuous presence in the Old City of Jerusalem for the past 2000 years. This film tells the little known story of the Jewish families who had lived in the Old City peacefully for generations prior to being besieged, forcibly evicted from their homes and taken prisoner of war by the Arab Legion in 1948 after the state of Israel was declared by the United Nations. The film follows the story of these Jewish refugees until they were able to return to their homes 19 years later after Israeli forces liberated the Old City during the Six Day War in 1967. My documentary group and I were privileged to spend many hours interviewing these survivors during our visit to Israel this summer.
We learned the unique story of their return and rebuilding of the Old City of Jerusalem and hope to share it with you.