Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Recognition of Jewish indigenous rights to Eretz Yisrael
Last night, I learned some great lessons. I learned them from my dear friend, Ryan Mervin, who spoke to us about his impressions of Israel where he has just spent a couple of weeks.74% of French Jews mulling emigration, poll shows
Ryan is a Canadian. More precisely, he is a Meti or what he defines himself as, a member of Canada’s indigenous population. Ryan crystallized to many of us here why it is important for us, Jews, to recognize, define and proclaim ourselves as the Indigenous population of Eretz Yisrael (The Land of Yisrael, AKA Palestine, its arbitrary name, by some).
What struck me most about Ryan’s lecture was the fact that the term “indigenous” is not just about blood quantum which is the amount of blood used to determine an individual’s tribal affiliation and legal rights. According to him, it is also determined, among some other factors, by the preservation and management of Holy sites. And if there is one aspect of our indigenous status that we Jews are good at, it is certainly the way we revere and manage our Holy Sites, some of which are thousands of years old.
The survey, whose results were released Monday by the Paris-based Siona organization of Sephardic French Jews, encompassed 3,833 respondents from the Jewish community of France, Siona said.Did Indian election eviscerate BDS?
Of the 74.2 percent of respondents who said they are considering leaving, 29.9 percent cited anti-Semitism. Another 24.4 cited their desire to “preserve their Judaism,” while 12.4 percent said they were attracted by other countries. “Economic considerations” was cited by 7.5 percent of the respondents.
In total, 95.2 percent of all respondents to the online survey conducted by Siona from April 17 to May 16 said they viewed anti-Semitism as “very worrisome” or “worrisome.”
Keep reading. The second-most populous nation in the world will be rapidly expanding trade with Israel and looks to Israel as a political model.
The anti-Israel Mondoweiss website has the same analysis Shalom Modi: India and Israel look to deepen ties following victory of the Hindu right.
The Indian election was accompanied by news of expanded Israel-China academic research ties.
The heart of BDS is in Europe. But Israel’s economy increasingly is looking East, not West. Europe still matters tremendously, but it will be less so in the coming decade.
Nakba facts
As far as the Palestinians are concerned, the upcoming visit of Pope Francis to Jerusalem is a visit to “Palestine” that provides just another opportunity to present Israel’s creation as a “catastrophe” or “nakba” for Palestinians in general, and Palestinian Christians in particular."The Descendents of Asian Nomads": Scottish PSC chief gets a bee in his bonnet
The document promoted for this purpose by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Negotiations Affairs Department on Twitter has already been shown by blogger Elder of Ziyon to be “filled with lies.” One could add much more to the list of inaccuracies and distortions highlighted by Elder. To give just one example, consider this presentation of the “nakba” in Jaffa:
Whether Mick Napier considers all Jews "the descendents of Asian nomads" or just the ones who wear the shtriemel is unclear.The false link between terror and poverty
By "the descendents of Arab nomads" he is perghaps thinking of the Jews-are-Khazars myth, beloved by anti-Israel elements; I have blogged about that particular nasty piece of Israel demonisation and the nonsense it is here
To try to deny the Jewish origins of those whose forefathers and mothers have lived, died, and in many cases suffered martyrdom as Jews is exceedingly distasteful and mean-minded, and whether those who do so are consciously antisemitic or not their strategy has, by placing the Jews' ancient genetic ancestry above their recorded history, religion, and tradition, unpleasant racist overtones.
In any case, scientific investigation is on the shtriemel-wearers' side, not that of Mr Napier and his ilk.
In light of the turmoil of the public debate over "who is to blame" for the failed negotiations with the Palestinians, we should pay attention to another statement made by John Kerry, which points to the American secretary of state's problematic way of thinking.Israel experts join search for Nigerian schoolgirls
Kerry spoke about the spreading terror, about Boko Haram, the Islamist organization which has been slaughtering Nigeria incessantly and about the 276 girls it kidnapped. Why is that happening? It's the poverty, Kerry explained. Is it really? Let's try to put this theory to the test of facts.
First of all, none of the perpetrators of the terror attacks in the United States came from a background of poverty. On the contrary, they were all successful young men, members of the Muslim world's elite club. Osama bin Laden, the pope of terror, came from a family of millionaires. The hundreds of young people who arrive from Europe to the jihad organizations in Syria are not members of the disadvantaged class. They are usually academics and students.
Secondly, Kerry says he based his theory on the link between poverty and terror on a series of conversations with African leaders. That's interesting, because Africa has millions of poor Christians alongside millions of poor Muslims. According to Kerry's theory, they should have produced an equal amount of terrorism.
Israel has sent two anti-terror experts to Nigeria to join the search for hundreds of schoolgirls kidnapped by extremist Islamist group Boko Haram, an Israeli security source said on Tuesday.The Open Anti-Semitism on Richard Falk’s Blog
“There are in Nigeria two advisers who have dealt in terrorist matters in the past,” he told AFP. “They were sent there by the state to help.”
The pair were not currently serving as intelligence personnel for the Israeli government.
“They are not soldiers, not officers. They are not part of the security system,” the source added.
As Richard Falk exits the UN, and as his wife Hilal Elver — who is co-director of the institute which sponsors the blog below – enters the UN as a newly-appointed investigator of its Human Rights Council, it is important to appreciate the open anti-Semitism that their heavily-moderated blog hosts on a regular basis, apart from Falk’s own notorious posts that have earned condemnation from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and other world figures.The Jews who defend anti-Semitism
One example is the crude anti-Jewish rantings of a regular and approved commenter on Falk’s blog who goes by the name of Walker Percy.
Today In Ha’arez Amira Hass argues that the exposure of Palestinian anti-Semitism in the recent, highly extensive, Anti Defamation League report into anti-Semitism means nothing. In doing so she has exposed the elephant in the room when it comes to left wing ideology.Vassar Nazi cartoon reflects campus dehumanization of Israel
According to Hass it’s all Israel’s fault. She quotes her father, saying that;
“Israel is retroactively justifying what anti-Semites have been saying about us for 2,000 years.”
Shortly before my speech at Vassar on May 5, 2014, Julian Hassan, the President of the Vassar Conservative-Libertarian Union which organized the event, received a message on a Facebook group from a leader of Vassar Students for Justice in Palestine: “Remember the devil has enough advocates.”Janet Napolitano: Actions of SJP Violate UCLA Principles
Hassan responded: “Oh well we used to be friends. This is anti-Semitism man. Don’t be taken in by it.”
Referring to Israel as the “devil” is not surprising coming from a Vassar SJP leader.
Rather, it reflects the complete dehumanization of Israel and Israelis on campuses by the BDS movement. There is an unrelenting one-sided portrayal of everything about Israel as demonic, and of Israelis and their supporters themselves as demonic.
None of this is by chance. The modern BDS movement was formed at the 2001 Durban conference, which was so anti-Semitic that the U.S. walked out, and even Mary Robinson, generally viewed as hostile to Israel, declared “I am a Jew” in protest:
After UCLA Chancellor Gene D. Block slammed the anti-Israel “ethics statement” through an email to UCLA campus community on Friday afternoon, President of the University of California system Janet Napolitano echoed the sentiment, stating, “I share Chancellor Block’s concerns about students at UCLA who target any student seeking to participate in student government who has a relationship with, or wants to travel to, Israel on trips sponsored by certain groups. At the University of California, freedom of speech is a highly valued principle.”UCLA Chancellor Slams Anti-Israel Pledge
Prior to the recent student council elections, various pro-Palestinian groups asked candidates to sign a pledge that they would not take educational trips to Israel sponsored by AIPAC, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), and Hasbara Fellowships.UCLA Hillel Fight Against Campus Antisemitism Gains Community Support
“I am troubled that the pledge sought to delegitimize educational trips offered by some organizations but not others,” Block wrote in an email to students and faculty, Haaretz reported.
“I am troubled that the pledge can reasonably be seen as trying to eliminate selected viewpoints from the discussion,” he continued. “If we shut out perspectives, if we silence voices, if we allow innuendo to substitute for reasoned exchange of ideas, if we listen only to those who already share our assumptions, truth gets lost, our intellectual climate is impoverished and our community is diminished.”
The plans announced by Hillel at UCLA to combat the campus anti-Semitism and the bullying of Israel supporters has picked up key community support.'Open Hillel' Announces Conference Featuring Anti-Israel Speakers
Sinai Temple whose Rabbi David Wolpe -- who was called the most influential Rabbi in America by Newsweek Magazine and one of the 50 most influential Jews in the world by the Jerusalem Post -- sent an email to its congregation urging support of the UCLA Hillel effort. The letter said in part, that the anti-Semitism on campus is "attempting to disqualify a generation of pro-Israel students from campus leadership and add to the rising presence of the BDS movement."
According to the conference website, the meet-up will feature Judith Butler, Rashid Khalidi, and David Harris-Gershon who are excluded because of the establishments' "monolithic view on Israel-Palestine." Contrary to the idea that Hillel members and speakers solely agree on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Hillel routinely hosts a wide-range of beliefs from Peter Beinart to Caroline Glick. Many individuals who are not allowed to deliver talks on the Middle East in Hillel are barred simply due to their extremism and harsh anti-Israel positions. Hillel International, in accordance with its mission statement, receives donor funding to put on pro-Israel events.Haaretz Corrects: Palestinian Grove Wasn't 'Torched'
Middle East scholar Asaf Romirowsky wrote that Butler “loathes Israel to a point where she has unapologetically whitewashed Israel’s foes, labeling Hamas and Hezbollah [now recognized internationally as terrorist groups] as ‘social movements that are progressive, that are on the left, that are part of a global left.’ According to Discover the Networks, Khalidi is known for “characterizing Israel as a “racist” state that is “basically an apartheid system in creation,” Khalidi claims that the Israeli army is in possession of “awful weapons of mass destruction (many supplied by the U.S.) that it has used in cities, villages and refugee camps.”
Following communication from CAMERA's Israel office, editors of Haaretz's English edition corrected headlines which falsely alleged that settlers "torched" a Palestinian grove in Hebron ("Lag Ba'Omer in Hebron: Setters torch Palestinian orchard").Honest Reporting: So Appalling, It’ll Make You Weep
Peter Beinart's Pogrom
In his recent controversial appeal to readers, in which he openly acknowledged the paper's commitment to advocacy journalism, Haaretz publisher Amos Schocken touted: "This year Peter Beinart, one of America's eminent journalists, joined our ranks. . . " Following Haaretz's publication yesterday of the false headline, Beinart took this falsehood one step further, tweeting to more than 24,000 followers about a "Lag Ba'omer pogrom."
One can only imagine the hateful propaganda from an Australian Friends of Palestine trip that resulted in an opinion piece by Australian radio host Peter Goers in the Adelaide Sunday Mail. So much of Goers’ piece is so over the top, it is difficult to know where to begin.BBC Journalist Caught Giving Nazi Salute, Goose Stepping While Filming Documentary on Anti-Semitism
Goers’ opening paragraph gives an idea of what is to come:
"Jesus wept. In Palestine, Jesus wept and so did I. I weep for the Palestinians living under the Israeli apartheid."
From hereon, Goers continues weeping so much so that his piece becomes the equivalent of a textual tantrum. While the apartheid charge can be addressed (see here for more on the apartheid state libel), much of what follows is a mixture of unverified claims and absolute falsehoods.
The Daily Mail said the incident occurred two years ago during the filming of the BBC Panorama documentary ‘Euro 2012: Stadiums of Hate,’ about anti-Semitic soccer fans in Poland and Ukraine.Jewish Actor Seth Rogen Takes on Macklemore for ‘Anti-Semitic’ Costume
Rogers admitted that he displayed a “lack of judgment,” the newspaper said, citing his apology.
Rogers said, “I fully accept that some of my behavior, which was intended as a joke, was deeply inappropriate particularly given the seriousness of what we were filming. I apologized and was strongly reprimanded by the BBC. I might have displayed a lack of judgement but none of this detracts from the serious football racism exposed in the program.”
Comedic actor Seth Rogen on Sunday derided rapper Macklemore after the Same Love singer donned a costume during a performance that some criticized as “anti-Semitic.”Czech Republic to Honor ‘British Schindler’ Who Saved 669 Jewish Children From Nazis
“@Macklemore, first you trick people into thinking you’re a rapper, now you trick them into thinking you’re Jewish?” Rogen, who is Jewish, wrote on Twitter.
Macklemore’s offending outfit, worn on Friday, included a fake wig and beard, and an over-sized prosthetic nose. He unveiled the look at a surprise concert with Ryan Lewis in his hometown of Seattle, which was held at the opening of a new exhibit at the city’s EMP Museum called “Spectacle: The Music Video.”
A British philanthropist will receive the Czech Republic’s highest state decoration for rescuing 669 mostly Jewish children from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia on the eve of World War II, a spokesperson for the country’s president said on Monday.Only 18 Members Remain in 2,300-Year-Old Turkish Jewish Community Following Political, Economic Turmoil
Sir Nicholas Winton will be honored with the Order of the White Lion at an award ceremony scheduled for the Czech national holiday on Oct. 28.
President Milos Zeman made the announcement on the same day as Winton’s 105th birthday, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The once thriving Jewish community of Antakya, Turkey has now dwindled to just 18 members as many locals have fled to escape unrest and violence in the area, Al Jazeera reported on Wednesday.Cisco’s ‘once in a decade’ router propels Israel’s EZchip
“When I was young, the beit knesset [synagogue] was always full. But today… everyone is gone,” Harun Cemal, a retired textiles vendor, said.
Cemal, 60, now serves as caretaker of Antakya’s 250-year-old synagogue. On weekends he gives tours of the historic venue, detailing the community’s journey and displaying its seven 500-year-old Torah scrolls safeguarded on the property. On the days when there are no visitors, the synagogue remains empty.
“I am afraid that when I die, there will be no one left to bury me,” Harun told Al Jazeera.
By the time last week that Cisco Systems Inc. was declaring the ASR 9000 its most successful high-end router in a decade, investors in EZchip (EZCH:US) Semiconductor Ltd. were already reaping the benefits.Herzl's Personal Dedication Sold for $67,000
Hours earlier on May 14, EZchip reported record first-quarter revenue, saying a boom in its sales to Cisco was behind the increase. Within the first 60 minutes of trading, EZchip -- which makes the processor that powers the ASR 9000 -- had soared (EZCH:US) more than 10 percent, setting the stock up for its biggest weekly advance in a year. The shares dropped 2 percent to 87.19 shekels at 2 p.m. in Tel Aviv today.
Cisco’s sales of the ASR 9000 climbed 59 percent in the quarter ended April 26, making it the company’s fastest-growing high-end router since the introduction of the 7500 model more than ten years ago, Chief Executive Officer John Chambers told investors on a call later that same day. EZchip’s revenue rose 33 percent in the first three months of the year to $20.3 million, above the $20.1 million average analyst forecast.
Binyamin Ze'ev (Theodor) Herzl's personal dedicated autograph from 1900 was sold last weekend for a figure of $67,000. The autograph, in German, which was written for a Viennese resident whom Herzl apparently didn't know, says, "He who has no idea what he is willing to die for, is not worthy of living.”Zionism 101: Far Better Than the Courses at Vassar or Stanford, and About $60,000 Cheaper
The selling price was almost ten times higher than its opening price of $7,000.
A nearly completed topic in Zionism 101 is a trilogy entitled “Military Stirrings.” This includes three films: 1) “Hashomer,” an early self-defense group in the Land of Israel; 2) “NILI,” the spy outfit that helped Field Marshal Allenby in his conquest of Palestine; 3) “The Jewish Legion,” which fought under the British in World War I. In connection with the Jewish Legion, the Brothers Isaac came up with a hidden gem: “The Marching Song of the Judeans.” This song was the Legion’s anthem, but, despite its historical significance, has been forgotten. The Isaac brothers, working from the words and melody they found in an archive, have brought the music back to life. Incorporated into the Jewish Legion unit, it appears to be the only existing rendering of the song.
Zionism 101 performs a valuable function. The Web has become a front in the never-ending battle over Israel’s legitimacy. Evidence of this battle is apparent with a simple Google search of “Zionism.” Anti-Zionist sites appear in abundance. Combined, they form a net to catch the unwary. Zionism 101, with its attractive graphics and excellent videos, offers a safe harbor, a coming into port after a very rough sea, for those seeking something better than noisy half-truths and anti-Israel cant.
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