Tuesday, May 06, 2014
Why the Left Resents Israeli Democracy
Israel’s tradition of marking Yom Hazikaron before Yom Haatzmaut–Memorial Day followed by Independence Day–has always served as a crystal clear demonstration that no matter the success and the progress of the Jewish state, Israelis never forget the price the Jews have had to pay for their own security. So it takes a special kind of chutzpah to not only accuse Israelis of ignoring the costs, the sacrifices, the trade-offs, and the responsibilities of statehood, but to do so on the weekend of Yom Hazikaron."Humanitarian" Extremism: Aid Convoys under the Spotlight
Yet that is precisely the sucker punch the American Jewish left hit their Israeli brethren with over the past few days. To be sure, American Jews don’t (necessarily) intend it to be the pernicious cheap shot it unquestionably is. The emotionally and politically and religiously complex question of how much Israeli state policy reflects a general consensus in the Jewish world has often led the American left into the same thought-cocoon to which they retreat when Republicans win national elections. Their fellow voters, they reason, must have been fooled.
Both the Forward newspaper editorialists and Harvard’s Yochai Benkler are out with recycled versions of this–a kind of What’s the Matter with Kansas for the Jews of Israel. The Forward’s weekend editorial is based on the demonstrably untrue claim that Israelis have crafted a situation in which they are blissfully unaware of the statelessness of the Palestinians next door: (h/t Normman F)
The British suicide bomber and jihadist, Abdul Waheed Majeed, did not arrive in war-torn Syria by himself. He was part of an "aid convoy" organized by the British charity, Children in Deen. Although British aid convoy charities deny purposely ferrying would-be jihadists to Syria, a closer look suggests that these so-called humanitarians are not as innocent as they might like us to believe.In For The Kill: Turning Americans against Israel after the Six Day War
Children in Deen is in fact -- along with two other "aid convoy" charities, the Abu Faisal Trust and One Nation -- funding projects in Gaza run by the Al-Falah Benevolent Society, which, according to the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, is one of "Hamas's charitable societies." Al-Falah is managed by Ramadan Tamboura, whom the newspaper Ha'aretz describes as "a well-known Hamas figure."
Fundraising events organized by Children in Deen have included speakers such as Zahir Mahmood, who claims that, "Hamas are not terrorists. They're freedom fighters." Mahmood also discourages Muslims from integrating with British society and rebukes those who "give preference to our nationality over our Islamic identity."
"When Israel won her stunning victory in the Six-Day War of June 1967, the American public's reaction brought no joy to the Arab functionaries and sympathizers who had been trying, in a desultory way, to cultivate a body of pro-Arab sentiment in this country. Insofar as Americans had any opinion on the Middle East crisis at all-- and nearly one-half had none—they favored Israel over the Arab states in a ratio of nearly 14 to 1.
In moments of candor, Arab diplomats have since acknowledged that inept information methods had much to do with their failure to influence U.S. attitudes. Today, Arab propaganda is being stepped up in tempo and volume, and is becoming increasingly professionalized. (Four Arab governments--Lebanon, Libya, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Republic—retain professional public relations counsel in this country.) The clumsy, unselective approaches of yesteryear are being replaced by more sophisticated techniques aimed at particular audiences— such as church groups, the student left, or the disaffected blacks."
Thus begins a report prepared in July 1969 for the American Jewish Committee that throws a fascinating light on how Arab propagandists reacted to the challenge of turning American public opinion against the Zionist Entity.
Missing Barry Rubin
It is hard to believe that it has been three months since Barry Rubin passed away.Odessa Jews Prepare for Emergency Evacuation if Local Violence Worsens
With all going on in the world, and especially in the Middle East, Barry’s absence is pronounced as there are few who saw things as clearly as he did. Barry’s essays and columns are not disposable, like those of some other columnists and analysts. He wasn’t looking for some pithy phrase to describe a complex problem or looking for new evidence to support his ideology. He looked at events and facts and drew his conclusions. Consequently something Barry wrote could still be relevant or true, months or years later.
Two recent stories illustrate this point:
Odessa Jewish community leaders said Sunday that Jews in the city are preparing to evacuate if violence worsens in the western Ukrainian city. In the past few days, violent clashes between pro-Russian and nationalist forces resulted in more than 40 deaths, according to reports.Christian Giving Provides Lifeline for ‘Abandoned’ Ukrainian Jewish Community (INTERVIEW)
About 30,000 Jews live in Odessa. Representatives of the Ukrainian Jewish community insisted that the violence is not specifically targeting Jews. But Rabbi Refael Kruskal, who heads the Odessa-based Jewish philanthropic organization Tikva, said there were several Jews wounded in the clashes.
Since the outbreak of violence and political chaos in Ukraine, Christian charity has been lavished on the country’s beleaguered and isolated Jewish community, Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, founder of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, told The Algemeiner on Sunday.Jewish mayor of Kharkiv regains consciousness after shooting
In the past 30 days alone, his mammoth charity has stepped up to provide over $5 million in grants to aid the elderly and the poor hit by skyrocketing inflation. It has also filled the gap left by local philanthropists who are struggling amidst the tug-of-war between Russian and Ukrainian nationalists that is tearing the country apart.
The Jewish mayor of Ukraine’s second-largest city, regained consciousness in a Haifa hospital on Monday, a week after being shot in the back amid rising tensions in eastern Ukraine.Letter to Samantha Power on UN bid to name Richard Falk’s wife to top post
Kharkiv’s chief Chabad emisssary, Rabbi Moshe Moskovitz, confirmed Monday that Hennady Kernes had woken up and was recovering at the Rambam Medical Center.
A picture posted to Kernes’s Instagram account on Sunday showed him in a hospital bed making a peace sign with his fingers and the caption “Need to live strong. I will be back. Thank you very much.”
UN Watch is deeply concerned over the proposed UN Human Rights Council appointment, scheduled for this Thursday, 8 May 2014, of Ms. Hilal Elver as the new Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food. For the reasons set forth below, UN Watch urges the United States to oppose her candidacy, which we believe will harm the cause of human rights, damage the reputation of the United Nations, and undermine the interests of the United States.UC Irvine Hillel Forces Cancellation of Pro-Israel Speaker
As you know, the Right to Food mandate was conceived by Cuba in 2000 to be used as a political weapon against the U.S. and West, which is exactly what the first mandate-holder— Jean Ziegler, co-founder of the Muammar Gaddafi Human Rights Prize—did for eight years. A review of Ms. Elver’s record suggests that she would follow this politicized and prejudiced path.
On the heels of Brandeis University’s controversial decision to rescind an honorary degree to women’s rights activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali, organizers of a week-long pro-Israel event called iFest, which is currently underway at the University of California, Irvine, say they have been forced to cancel a scheduled speech by Nonie Darwish, a prominent pro-Israel speaker. Lead iFest organizer Daniel Narvy, president of the campus group Anteaters for Israel (AFI), who will be joining the Israeli Defense Forces this summer, says Orange County Hillel was primarily responsible for the cancelation and that the incident is another example of Hillel’s marginalization of Narvy due to his conservative and traditional views.Op-Ed: Why are Christians funding Israel’s anti-Zionist fringe?
Nonie Darwish is the founder and president of FormerMuslimsUnited, an advocacy group for Islamic apostates, and Arabs for Israel, an organization that promotes a positive outlook among Arabs toward the Jewish State and advocates for peace in the region. Darwish was born and raised in Egypt during the most tumultuous period of the Arab-Israeli conflict and is the daughter of Col. Mustafa Hafez, former head of Egyptian intelligence in the Sinai and Gaza, who led multiple operations against Israel during the 1950s. Due to his activities, Darwish’s father was killed by the Israeli military in 1956 by a mail bomb when she was 8 years old, which greatly impacted her negative views toward the Jewish State. (h/t Bob Knot)
The State of Israel is celebrating its 66th birthday. For Israelis, Jews around the world and all supporters of Israel, this is a joyous occasion. By and large, even Israelis who are critical of some of their country’s policies nevertheless celebrate its remarkable accomplishments and contributions to the world.Mael: Perpetuating Anti-Semitism is Not Pro-Palestine
Amid these celebrations, there is a minuscule group of Jewish Israelis who support Palestinian rejectionist ideology and identify with the “Nakba” (Arabic for “catastrophe”) narrative. The importance of this unrepresentative fringe is inflated far beyond its numbers due to support from some powerful Christian institutions, including Catholic frameworks.
For example, Zochrot (Hebrew for “remembrance”) is an Israeli NGO whose activities are made possible in large part through the support of European church aid agencies. It aims to “raise public awareness of the Palestinian Nakba” and to “recogniz[e] and materializ[e] the right of return.” In this way, Zochrot is overtly political, promoting a radical vision for the Middle East that does not include the right of the Jewish people to sovereign equality.
The actions of SJP chapters across the country are blatantly antithetical to peace of any kind. By parading anti-Semitic speakers around campuses nationwide, crashing Holocaust Awareness Week and other Jewish events, and posting pictures that call for violence against the state of Israel, SJP is fostering nothing more than glorified hate speech against the Jewish state and the Jewish people.Jewish Voice for Peace. Heirs to P.T. Barnum?
This extremist campus movement is also responsible for the anti-Israel divestment hearings that are making their way to campuses around the country. By fulfilling the aspirations of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, SJP seeks to have universities divest from Israeli companies. No other country has been targeted, holding the Jewish state to a standard well above International norms. This falls under Natan Sharanksy’s widely accepted definition of anti-Semitism as that which demonizes, delegitimizes, or holds Israel and the Jewish people to a double standard.
The Al Awda Palestinian right to return organization and the notorious anti-Semitic activist Gilad Atzmon have reported receiving unsolicited “coaching” from JVP. The Jew-washers have urged them to “keep BDS about the occupation”, and to say “Zionist” not “Jew”. It’s just a show, with smoke and mirrors designed to increase the palatability of what is widely accepted as an extremist agenda. It’s enough to make P.T. Barnum kvell.Toronto based Meshwar newspaper published an article describing the Holocaust as the “the biggest lie in history” and an anti-Semitic cartoon
Barnum once declared “I am a showman by profession...and all the gilding shall make nothing else of me.” Jewish Voice for Peace function in the same basic role. They are showmen, putting a Jewish face on anti-Jewish ideas and all the rhetorical gymnastics in the world cannot gild that.
Toronto based Meshwar newspaper addresses the Arab community in Canada and distributed for free in the Greater Toronto area. The editor of the Arabic newspaper is Dr. Nazih Khatatba, a board member of the 'Palestine House' in Mississauga, and its offices are located at 3195 Erindale Station Rd., Mississauga, Ontario, the same address of the Palestine House.California school district cancels lesson plan that involved Holocaust denial
In Issue 103, May 2, 2014, p. 22 Meshwar published an article written by Dr. Ibrahim Alloush and bearing the title “Why the Holocaust is relevant to us?” [covered by EoZ here]
The article is accompanied with a cartoon depicting an orthodox Jew with hook nose driving a car. The Jewish symbol the “Star of David” is drawn on his hat. The Jewish driver is holding a steering wheel designed as the emblem of the United Nations and a transmission stick bearing the face of US President Barack Obama on its head.
Following a storm of criticism – and at least one death threat – a California school district Monday canceled a lesson plan that instructed middle school students to make arguments denying the Holocaust happened.Canadian Shaykh Saed Rageah: "Israel in number one in sex slaves", steals little girls and sells them
The assignment, aimed at eighth-grade students in Southern California’s Rialto Unified School District, sought to teach children to learn the nature of propaganda.
“Some people claim the Holocaust is not an actual event, but instead is a propaganda tool that was used for political and monetary gain,” the assignment said, according to a document posted by The Daily Bulletin. “You will read and discuss multiple, credible articles on the issue, and write an argumentative essay, based upon cited textual evidence, in which you explain whether or not you believe this was an actual event in history, or merely a political scheme created to influence public emotion and gain wealth.”
Shaykh Saed Rageah was born in Somalia and in the late 80sn moved to North America. Rageah has a Bachelor’s in Islamic studies and a Masters in Shari'ah and he has had several posts over the years, including: founder of Masjid Huda in Montreal and Masjid Aya in Maryland, advisor for Muslim Youth magazine, and member in the Aqsa Association.Putin passes law banning Nazi crime denial
He is also the founder of both Muslim Magazine and Al Aqsa Association, and served as the Chaplain at both the University of Calgary and the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT).
Currently, he serves as Imam at the Abu Hurairah Mosque in Toronto, the Chairman for the Journey of Faith Conference and as an instructor for the AlMaghrib Institute.
In a lecture delivered in Denmark (posted on Youtube on April 15, 2013) dealing with women’s right Shaykh Rageah asserted that Islam, unlike the Christianity and Judaism, dignifies women. Referring to Israel and the Jews in this regard Shaykh Rageah said the following:
The legislation makes it a criminal offence to deny facts established by the Nuremberg trials regarding the crimes of the Axis powers and to disseminate “false information about Soviet actions” during World War II.Tshuva To Export 20% of “Tamar” Gas Field to Egypt
Such acts are punishable by up to five years in a prison camp or a fine of 500,000 rubles ($14,000), the law says. Those making such claims in mass media are liable for the harshest punishments.
The legislation was voted through by Russia’s upper and lower houses of parliament last month.
It comes as Russia makes more and more explicit comparisons between Ukrainian nationalists and Nazi war criminals.
Yitzchak Tshuva plans to sell 20% of the gas drilled from the “Tamar” gas field to Egpyt, according to a report in Calcalist.Israeli startup aims to harness excess industrial heat to transform CO2, water into fuel
Letters of understandings were signed, and official contracts are expected to be signed in six months.
This is the first export agreement with Egypt, and follows the export agreement signed a few months ago with Jordan.
Excess heat squandered in industrial production processes, as well as the carbon dioxide and water vapors emanating from their chimneys, will soon be put to positive use by an Israeli start-up.Archaeologist claims to unearth King David’s citadel
The Rehovot-based NewCO2Fuels (NCF) plans to use the extreme heat released by factories such as steel, ceramics, glass and gasification plants – where residual heat temperatures rise to 1,450°C – to drive an innovative fuel production process, the company’s CEO, David Banitt, told The Jerusalem Post this week.
Through a process of electrolysis, catalystand membrane-laden cells capture the CO2 and water these factories emit, generating the highly potent syngas (a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide) and a separate stream of oxygen.
An Israeli archaeologist says he has found the legendary citadel captured by King David in his conquest of Jerusalem, rekindling a longstanding debate about using the Bible as a field guide to identifying ancient ruins.66 companies that make me proud to be Israeli
The claim by Eli Shukron, like many such claims in the field of biblical archaeology, has run into criticism. It joins a string of announcements by Israeli archaeologists saying they have unearthed palaces of the legendary biblical king, who is revered in Jewish religious tradition for establishing Jerusalem as its central holy city — but who has long eluded historians looking for clear-cut evidence of his existence and reign.
Israel is home to hundreds of great companies, from huge corporations to brand new start-ups and non-profits. To celebrate Israel’s 66th birthday, here’s my mega-list of 66 great Israeli companies. Chag HaAtzmaut Sameach!The last of the founding generation, captured on film
Lt. Elad Peled, 20, set out with 35 men, on foot, at three in the morning, to take the city of Safed in the spring of 1948. The story of how he managed to prevail over a superior enemy – and persuade his now-wife of 66 years, Zimra, to marry him in the process – is but one patch on a quilt of video testimony that includes 700 interviewees and 3,000 hours of testimony from those who lived through the War of Independence and the founding of the State of Israel.
The Jerusalem-based nonprofit Toldot Yisrael conducted the interviews over the past several years and has recently partnered up with the National Library of Israel, which is to make the material available to the public.
“I was inspired by the work that Steven Spielberg had done with the survivors of the Shoah and I thought there ought to be a continuation or parallel project about the founding of the state of Israel,” Eric Halivni, the head of the organization, said at a recent press conference.
