Thursday, May 15, 2014
Chloe Valdary: J Street’s Bigotry & Intolerance: A response to Jeremy Ben-Ami
On Tuesday, May 13, Jeremy Ben-Ami, president and co-founder of J Street, published an article in the Times of Israel discussing the positions his organization takes on major issues. According to Ben-Ami, many in the pro-Israel community have been deluded about J Street’s mission and so he decided to go about “setting the record straight” with his article.StandWithUs: Standing Up for Israel
The crux of the piece was a call to refrain from issuing baseless personal attacks against J Street and to instead engage in a more intelligent debate about the substance of the organization’s arguments. I agree with this approach. Unfortunately Ben-Ami’s article was dismally lacking in upholding the very standards he claimed to advocate. Instead it was replete with contradictions, half-truths, and snide remarks against those who disagree with J Street’s positions.
ADL Now Swamped By ‘Arabs Are Semitic So They Can’t Be Anti-Semitic’ Comments (satire)
The study found the Arab world rife with antisemitism, with Arab countries averaging a 74% prevalence of the sentiment across the Middle East and North Africa. But since Arabic is described by linguists as a Semitic language, ignorant individuals are demanding to know how the ADL can assert that Semitic peoples are themselves so antisemitic. In thus challenging the data, those individuals betray their lack of knowledge of the term, making themselves appear even stupider than they otherwise would.
The term “antisemitism” itself was coined by a nineteenth-century German writer specifically looking for a less vulgar term than “Jew-hatred” in order to make the notion more acceptable in polite company. In the more than a century since, the term has gained mainstream currency, except among complete dimwits who confuse a linguistic term for an ethnic one. The ADL now finds itself the target of a barrage of complaints and rebuttals, all stemming from, or relying on, such dimwittery.
NGO Monitor: Making Sense Of The `Pro-Israel’ Label
In debates like this taking place in many communities, the need for clear definitions is increasingly important. Adopting the label of “pro-Israel” is not enough – it is too easy to present different faces to different audiences, or to remain silent on critical issues.Jews Against Themselves: The BDS Movement and Modern Apostasy
The obvious and most basic condition is the acceptance of the legitimacy of Israel as the independent state of the Jewish people, with status equal to the other 191 members of the United Nations. Jewish sovereign equality in the Land of Israel is the fundamental underpinning of Zionism, and rejection or hesitation regarding any part of this formulation invalidates the claim to the label “pro-Israel.” Thus, groups that are allied with or promote the BDS [boycott, divestment and sanctions] campaigns that seek the destruction of Israel and promote a “one-state” formula -- meaning the end of Jewish national sovereignty -- cannot be considered “pro-Israel.” They might be naively utopian or anti-Semitic, but they are not Zionists.
In addition, as Mideast expert Mitchell Bard has written, pro-Israel means respecting Israeli democracy and not lobbying the U.S. or any other government to substitute their views for the decisions made by Israeli voters and their elected representatives. After 2,000 years of exile and many sacrifices, the Jewish people fought hard for independence, which includes the right to make mistakes. Whether well-meaning or not, those who are convinced that Israelis are unable to run their own lives, that outsiders know what's best, and are convinced that they are acting “to save Israel from itself,” are paternalistic.
They are responsible for major damage, and not “pro-Israel.”
The machinery for destruction of the state of Israel is already in place. It exists not only in Iran, whose leaders explicitly call for wiping Israel off the map with nuclear weapons that they are now almost certain to obtain. The neighbors of this tiny country would be delighted to see it reduced to sandy wastes, as would countless citizens of the Dark Continent (Europe, that is) who cannot forgive the Jews for the Holocaust. If many Iranians and Europeans still deny there was a Holocaust, that is because, as the courageous German scholar Matthias Kuntzel has observed: “Every denial of the Holocaust contains an appeal to repeat it.” The BDSers may be obtuse, craven, morally bankrupt; but they would also have to be deaf, dumb, and blind not to recognize the link between their efforts and the murderous intentions of those who regret the Holocaust only because—for a time—it gave antisemitism a bad name.Hillel Letter: J Street U Members Add to ‘Ideas Within Our Tent’
There is yet one more calamity that has been brought closer by the reckless Jewish promoters of BDS, a calamity that one might have expected at least the Jewish Studies professors among them to think about for just a moment. “In only one respect,” wrote Hillel Halkin in 2007, “are things [now] worse. In the 1930’s the Jews were a people that had lost a first temple and a second one; yet as frightful as their next set of losses was to be, they did not have a third temple to risk. Today, they do. And in Jewish history, three strikes and you’re out.”
Asked to comment on the J Street issue, Hillel Chief Administrative Officer David Eden told JNS.org, “Hillel’s relationship with J Street U and its student members has been well documented. Hillel welcomes all Jewish students into an open, pluralistic environment no matter their politics or perspectives. Hillel International empowers students at a campus Hillel to make decisions that reflect their local environments. This results in Hillels partnering with a diverse range of campus organizations, including J Street U and many others.”Danny Glover, Anatomy of a Bigoted Hypocrite
J Street U, the lobby’s campus arm, has come under scrutiny for the events it has organized on different campuses. For example, on March 31, J Street U hosted a speaker from Breaking the Silence (BtS)—an NGO that works with Israeli veterans who severely criticize Israel Defense Forces operations—at the Hillel chapter of Washington University in St. Louis. That night’s speaker, former Israeli soldier Oded Na’aman, “misrepresented and demonized the Israel Defense Forces” and claimed that IDF soldiers ”are trained to oppress the Palestinians individually and as a people, that they maliciously mistreat Palestinians in the West Bank, and that they are taught to make Palestinians fear Israeli soldiers,” pro-Israel activist Hen Mazzig wrote in an op-ed for JNS.org.
Radical leftist Danny Glover, an outspoken supporter of the anti-Semitic BDS movement, is at it again this time calling for a boycott of an upcoming film screening scheduled to be held in Tel-Aviv. Glover called for a complete cultural boycott of the Mideast’s only democracy stating, “We stand in solidarity with the people of Palestine, and support their call for cultural and academic boycott of Israel.” Considering his past associations with assorted autocrats and xenophobes, Glover’s sanctimonious comments reek of hypocrisy and are demonstrative of man more concerned with bashing those pesky Jews than advancing the cause of human rights.Culture War and Danny Glover’s Celebrity
Glover, along with the likes of Roger Waters and Alice Walker, typify today’s contemporary brand of anti-Semitism. It is more insidious than the more traditional anti-Semitism of yore in that it masquerades itself as a human rights issue but is in reality, a malevolent form of racism. Precisely because of this, famed Soviet dissident and human rights activist Natan Sharansky formulated a test, known as the 3-D Test of anti-Semitism, to determine whether positions and statements critical of Israel veer into traditional anti-Semitism. The test centers on whether attacks are meant to demonize and delegitimize Israel and whether those who level the criticism are applying blatant double standards.
There is nothing powerful or original in Glover’s statement. And it did not bring about any change that would be notable in itself. But the statement received a modicum of press coverage entirely because Glover was a popular actor two decades earlier.U.K. Cooperative Continues ‘Boycott’ of Israeli Produce Despite Woes
But other than manipulating the press and the fans of pro-BDS celebrities, there is no real logic or substance to a cultural boycott. Indeed, it stands only to punish the general public, not governments or policy-makers. In that sense, it is a form of collective punishment directed at the people of Israel.
And the best way to fight the power of celebrity is with the power of bigger celebrity. Ronald Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress said as much when he called on Hollywood to speak out against the demonization of Israel.
To paraphrase Dr. Samuel Johnson, “Anti-Semitism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.”NYU SJP Set to Hold 'Nakba Day Die-In'
Despite the deep financial difficulties of the Cooperative Group’s businesses in the U.K., caused by a combination of dishonesty and mismanagement, the Group continues to boycott Israeli fruit and vegetables since they include produce from the West Bank (including Palestinian farmers’ produce). It is the only U.K. supermarket chain to do so.
The event description reads,Vassar President condemns “racist, anti-Semitic graphic” posted by Students for Justice in Palestine
"In commemoration of Nakba Day (May 15th), NYU SJP will be hosting a 'Die-in.' A Die-in is a form of protest where participants simulate being dead, in this case, to simulate the massacre of Palestinians by Zionist forces. On this day we commemorate when an estimated 700,000 Palestinians fled or were expelled from their homes, and hundreds of Palestinian towns and villages were depopulated and destroyed. We encourage all student groups and fellow SJPs from the NYC area to participate in this die-in, dressed in red that will take place on May 15th at 2:00pm in the courtyard in front of NYU's Stern School of Business. Please be there promptly at 1:30 pm to organize. Thank you hope to see you all there!"
The Facebook event also features an image which falsely alleges that Israel is "stealing Palestinian land":
To the Vassar Community:SJP Vassar: Sorry, Not Sorry
I am writing to condemn a racist, anti-Semitic graphic posted to the Tumblr online site affiliated with the Vassar chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). In response to this posting, the college is initiating a full investigation and action on the matter under established college procedures. SJP Vassar is a Vassar student “preliminary organization,” an initial status required of all student organizations as they seek full certification by the Vassar Student Association (VSA). I am requesting VSA review of the SJP’s pre-organization status. The college is also investigating the SJP’s online posting as a bias incident under college regulations. I also request that the SJP Vassar membership take responsibility for its actions and cease representing itself as an official Vassar group, pending these investigations. Vassar College is committed to free speech and academic freedom, but we condemn racist, hateful speech.
Catharine Hill
This apology is better than anything SJP Vassar has said so far, though it does not account for the rant, linked to on SJP Vassar’s Facebook page, that I wrote about earlier in the week, accusing its critics of being “Zionist watchdogs,” paid by “Zionist watchdog organizations” to make “slanderous claims.” This rant, issued in the name of the organization, was presumably written in full knowledge of the posts the “SJP Vassar General Body” now disavows.With friends like Norway
Now consider the post that immediately follows the apology, a quotation attributed to George Habash. “In today’s world no one is innocent, no one is neutral. A man is either with the oppressor or the oppressed. He who takes no interest in politics gives his blessing to the prevailing order.”
This week, Shimon Peres visited Norway and was feted by King Harald V. In anticipation of that occasion, Norway’s ambassador to Israel, Svein Sevje, gave an interview to the Jerusalem Post highlighting the friendly relations and expanding business and cultural ties between his country and the Jewish state. Moreover, he stressed the Norwegian government’s support for Middle East peace based on two states for two peoples, and opposition to poisonous Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaigns.Palestinians seeking FIFA sanctions against Israel
These deepening connections and rejection of delegitimization are welcome.
However, despite these strong expressions of support and friendship, the Norwegian government continues to provide tens of millions of kroner to organizations that actively promote BDS, campaign against the right of the Jewish people to self determination, and seek to undermine the Oslo Framework (the international framework originating in Norway, established to lead to the creation of a peaceful Palestinian state living side by side with Israel). These activities, financed with public money, directly oppose Norwegian policy, damage Norwegian-Israeli ties and damage the prospects for Middle East peace.
Palestinian representatives will urge delegates at next month's FIFA Congress to take sanctions against Israel while it continues to act "like the neighborhood bully," Palestinian Football Association President Jibril Rajoub told Reuters on Tuesday.Guardian claim that Martin Indyk favors Israel contradicted by Ynet interview
Rajoub, speaking at the Soccerex Asian Forum being held at the Dead Sea, said a task force established by FIFA President Sepp Blatter last year that included both nations and representatives from UEFA, Israel's European confederation and the AFC, Palestine's Asian confederation, had failed to implement any real change or improvement to the main issues of freedom of movement and access for Palestinian athletes.
The Israeli Football Association, which has no say on security matters that are within the purview of security agencies, said it was working "in full cooperation and coordination with FIFA and UEFA to ensure the best possible sporting conditions for Palestinians."
This throwaway line about Indyk – who previously served several diplomatic roles under Bill Clinton - struck us as a bizarre allegation given Indyk’s political sympathies and past statements. These include his enthusiastic support for New Israel Fund - an NGO which funds groups engaging in BDS and other delegitimization campaigns - and comments he reportedly made that ‘Israeli intransigence’ was contributing to US military casualties in Afghanistan. In 2004, Indyk also publicly urged the Israeli government to cede the Golan Heights to Syria in order to achieve ‘peace’.New York Times Highlights the “Nakba” Narrative
More recently, Indyk has been identified as the anonymous source in a report by Yedioth Aharonoth columnist Nahum Barnea last week in which an unnamed American official slammed Israel for allegedly sabotaging peace talks.
Following hot on the heels of The Guardian, the New York Times has also commemorated the Palestinian “Nakba” by featuring a radical anti-Zionist non-governmental organization called Zochrot.Economist’s Nicolas Pelham continues to mislead about Christians in Israel
NY Times Israel bureau chief Jodi Rudoren takes a road trip:
Using the new iNakba app, I saw scores of villages destroyed or abandoned as Israel became a state 66 years ago. …Yet nowhere does Rudoren explain the origins of the “Nakba,” caused by war of annihilation launched against the nascent Israeli state by neighboring Arab armies and local Arab militias. Instead, readers are treated to a one-sided view that paints the Palestinians as the sole victims. Perhaps Rudoren may wish to mention that Israel lost almost 1% of its population as over 6,000 Israelis were killed in the costliest of all Israel’s wars.
“Nakba,” Arabic for “catastrophe,” is how Palestinians refer to the events surrounding Israel’s Declaration of Independence.
Yesterday, we cross-posted a piece by Tamar Sternthal (Director of CAMERA’s Israel office) responding to a commentary (published in Ha’aretz) by Economist journalist Nicolas Pelham (‘Christians in Israel and Palestine‘, May 11) which accused Israel’s lobbyists of deceiving the world about the state’s treatment of Christians. As we noted, Pelham not only claimed that Christians are mistreated in Israel but, even more risibly, suggested that there’s something akin to harmony between Christians and Muslims in the Palestinian territories.BBC again dithering (impartially, of course) over antisemitism
On the very same day the Ha’aretz piece ran, an Economist article titled Christians in Israel-Palestine: Caught in the Middle, authored by N.P. (presumably Nicolas Pelham), which continued to mislead on an issue of serious concern to millions of Christians in the world. Pelham begins his piece by criticizing the state for the tight security planned for the Pope’s upcoming visit:
On May 4th the Europe page of the BBC News website featured an article with the interestingly punctuated title of “Belgium ban for ‘anti-Semitic’ meeting in Anderlecht“.Morocco International Music Festival Says Egypt’s Chaaboula ‘Not Performing’ Following Pledge to Sing ‘I Hate Israel’
That choice of punctuation is of course BBC code for ‘some people say it’s antisemitic but we’re not sure’.
The report relates to the cancelling by the Belgian authorities of a proposed convention, promoted as the “First European Congress of Dissent”, in Anderlecht, Belgium. The event, which was organized by Belgian MP Laurent Louis, was supposed to have included appearances by several figures from the French far-right, including – as the BBC article notes – Dieudonne M’bala M’bala and Alain Sorel, whom the BBC forgot to mention despite having promoted him on Newsnight and Radio 4 as recently as four months ago.
Following his pledge to sing I Hate Israel at Morocco’s Mawazine world music festival, concert organizers on Thursday said Egyptian crooner Shaaban Abdel Rahim, known as Chaaboula, “will not be performing” at the international event that is also featuring global music stars Alicia Keys, Justin Timberlake and Ricky Martin.Panel upholds ban on Nazi-chanting Croatian soccer player
In a statement issued to The Algemeiner, PR Media, the public relations agency for Maroc Cultures Association, which organizes the Mawazine Festival – Rhythms of the World, offered no further details about the change of plans, but then expressed its philosophy of diversity.
A sports arbitration panel on Monday upheld a 10-match ban against Croatia defender Josip Simunic for chanting pro-Nazi slogans that eliminates him from his country’s World Cup campaign.Deal struck on Iraqi-Jewish archive
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) said it had unanimously rejected an appeal by the Australian-born Simunic imposed by FIFA in December.
The ban starts with the World Cup, where Croatia takes part in the opening match against host Brazil on June 12. The world body FIFA hailed the ruling and Croatia accepted the verdict.
A deal between the US State department and the Iraqi government appears to have been struck to keep the Iraqi-Jewish archive in the US, the World Organisation of Jews from Iraq (WOJI) has announced.Smart watering that lets plants decide when to drink
The archive, as the collection of 2,700 restored Jewish books and thousands of documents is known, is due to return to Iraq after the 'Discovery and Recovery' exhibit at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York closes this week.
Although the exact terms of the agreement are yet to be confirmed, the vast majority of the material that constitutes the Iraqi Jewish Archive will remain in the US for an unspecified period. It is thought that the extension will be for two years.
Born in 1935, Tzori studied farming like the pioneer Zionists before him. His alma mater, the Kaduri School in the Lower Galilee, is the same field school that educated Israel’s late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.Haredi start-up star’s feet set firmly in two worlds
“My age can give hope to people who want to start startups,” he tells ISRAEL21c.
Familiar with cloud technology and wireless capabilities, Tzori used his practical experience to create a technology that senses the thirst of all kinds of fruit trees and vegetables that a farmer might grow.
His wireless devices can be placed in various parts of the orchard to determine when the trees need watering. They work in coordination with the automatic irrigation system so that the plants essentially choose when to drink.
Yossi Rabinovitz, CEO of Israeli e-commerce start-up SelfPoint, is selling to customers around the world, and his pop-up grocery platform development company is a member of the Microsoft Ventures Accelerator, showing that the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) high-tech revolution is growing rapidly and making him its “poster boy.” SelfPoint lets customers easily set up and use an online store for their merchandise.New Israeli app for special-needs communication
Besides being a successful entrepreneur, Rabinovitz is also a committed member of the Chabad hasidic movement. “People who come to visit the accelerator are often surprised, because the first people they see — with long beards and big black kippot — look as if they don’t belong in that environment,” he told the Times of Israel in an interview Tuesday on the sidelines of the second Haredi High Tech Forum event for new entrepreneurs.
A new Israeli app for iPad and iPhone is revolutionizing communication between special-needs children and their families.Special Needs Soldiers Are 'Great in Uniform'
Developed by Ofir Harel in January 2012, and piloted in Hebrew in October 2013, Ola Mundo Messenger was released in English in the United States on April 2 to coincide with World Autism Awareness Day.
Harel calls his creation a “by-parents-for-parents” initiative, aimed at expanding the ability of people with autism, Down syndrome, apraxia and other conditions frequently accompanied by a lack of communication capability.
Children with special needs in Israel face an often harsh disappointment at the age of 18, when they are left behind as others join the IDF. A unique project seeks to change that, allowing disabled children to overcome their limitations and enlist.
Maj. Col. (res.) Ariel Almog founded the project ten years ago, to integrate disabled youth into the IDF in a three-year program, helping prepare them for independent life in Israeli society.
A few months ago the association "Lend a Hand to a Special Child," founded in 2005 by parents of special needs children, joined the project to help increase its scale and allow thousands of disabled youth to join. (h/t Norman F)
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