Tuesday, June 03, 2014
BDS and the Myth of Economic Pressure
The BDS movement is based on a single uber-myth – that economic and political pressure forced apartheid South Africa to fall. And if it can bring down South Africa, it can bring down Israel as well.Melanie Phillips: 'Jesus Was a Palestinian': The Return of Christian Anti-Semitism
It’s a myth, however, because it’s simply not true.
According to research conducted by Ivo Welch, boycotts, divestments, and sanctions had virtually no impact on South Africa. “Individual divestments, either as economic or symbolic pressure, have never succeeded in getting companies or countries to change,” he wrote in the New York Times.
Referring to an initiative at Stanford University to force the administration to divest from coal-mining companies, Welch pointed out that the South Africa model cannot serve as an example for success.
These malevolent concepts, spreading from Palestinian Christians to churches in the West, are rooted in an audacious strategy adopted by the Palestinian Authority to deny Israel’s right to exist by changing Jewish history to suit its own end. Part of this strategy involves denying that Jesus was a Jew from Judea and turning him into a Palestinian who preached Islam.The UNRWA "Peace Ambassador" Who Sings For Terror
Clearly, this is a tall order: Rome didn’t change the name of Judea to Palestine until 136 C.E., and Islam first surfaced in the seventh century C.E. Nevertheless, the Palestinian leadership repeatedly claims that Jesus was a Palestinian.
In his Christmas message last year, the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, described Jesus as a “Palestinian messenger.” In the same month, the PA’s chief negotiator, Saeb Erekat, who had described Jesus as “Palestine’s first martyr,” said that Jesus was “the first Palestinian after the Canaanite Palestinians.”
Mohammed Assaf, the 24 year old UNRWA resident who won the Arab Idol song competition, has become an overnight and worldwide sensation.
His victory song was entitled “Raise Your Keffiyah”, a PLO anthem and a favorite of Yasser Arafat (before whom he had performed ), and included such incendiary lyrics as “Most precious homeland, O Palestine, how dear it is, oh Arabs...when we were united the stone was very strong...the full moon rises on martyr (sic) may he rest his soul...”
The song has reverberated with UNRWA and the UN, as the former appointed Assaf their first ever “Regional Youth Ambassador for Palestine Refugees” and “Goodwill Ambassador For Peace”. PA President and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas called upon Palestinian Arabs to support Assaf in his bid to win the Arab Idol contest and welcomed him as a hero after his victory, hosting him at PA headquarters in Ramallah and designating him an “honorary ambassador”.
Israeli lawyer Nitsana Darshan-Leitner has won $1-billion in judgments against extremist groups
Nitsana Darshan-Leitner fights terrorism with pen and paper.Palestinian Solidarity Campaign Stands Solidly With Lies
The Israeli lawyer takes on cases against extremist organizations, engaging in a civil form of guerrilla warfare. Her battlefields: Israeli, European and North American courts.
The Tel Aviv-based mother of six sees her work as a vocation. She was inspired to action by an incident that horrified Israel.
It was October 2000 and two Israeli reservists got lost. They ended up in Ramallah on the West Bank, where they were murdered by a mob.
“This mistake cost them their lives,” says Ms. Darshan-Leitner, who is due to speak June 9 at the annual gala of Chabad Flamingo, a Jewish community centre and synagogue in Thornhill, north of Toronto.
Much like any anti-Israel organization, the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign reports only the “facts” they want to display to the world, ignoring the truth and substituting it with a Palestinian fictional narrative only recently developed in the last 50 years. The PSC is a disgusting mechanism used only to undermine the credibility of Israel and attack the Jewish state.Max Blumenthal’s Critique of Israeli Democracy Demonstrates Double Standards
The Palestinian Solidarity Campaign displays no solidarity with Palestine, instead it only attacks Israel, calls the land “an apartheid”, undermining the historical narrative of South Africans, and insists Israel should break down its security barrier, allow in terrorists and free Palestine “from the river to the sea”.
If Palestine was freed “from the river to the sea”, where exactly would Israel be?
The vast majority of Blumenthal’s time at the podium was spent listing Israel’s dirty laundry and actions it takes that he deems “undemocratic,” some of which are not undemocratic at all, merely distasteful. Just to pick one example, he cites the supposed “ethnic cleansing” of Palestinians during Israel’s War of Independence, claiming in contradiction to the facts that there was an established plan of expulsion. He even relies on a mistranslated Ben-Gurion quote to prove that Israel always intended to throw Palestinians out so that they could create a majority Jewish state through force. None of these points actually answer the question of whether Israel can be Jewish and democratic, but they do serve to muddy the waters and keep his audience distracted from the holes in his argument.The BDS Professors Come to High School
Left unmentioned throughout all of this is the question of whether a Palestinian state can be democratic, as it too would be for just one ethnicity based group of people (Palestinian Arabs). The Palestinian Constitution explicitly states the Palestinian people are Arabs and part of the Arab nation and that Islam is the official religion of Palestine. By the standard Blumenthal laid out for Israel, clearly a Palestinian state would be guilty of systematic discrimination and could not possibly be democratic. Blumenthal is very interested in the Palestinians when Israel is oppressing them, but I for one am curious if he would be opposed to their national ambitions in the name of democracy and anti-racism.
Some of the scholars—and I use the term broadly here—and institutions that produce this biased material are allegedly funded by Middle-Eastern sources hostile to Jews, Israel, and the United States. Some scholars are just predisposed to view Israel and the United States as colonialist, imperialist, and oppressive powers in the Middle East. Anti-Israel activism is not just an extra-curricular activity for many professors, but an integral part of their research, scholarship, and teaching. These professors and university centers produce reams of material designed specifically for secondary schools and regularly hold teacher-training workshops promoting these views. Some recent examples include Harvard and San Jose State.Irony Alert: J Street Reviles Cruz for 'Extremist Views'
Based on our ongoing review, Newton teachers have assigned several factually errant writings. Among these is a booklet about the Middle East from the Choices for the 21st Century Program at Brown University, which regularly presents incorrect facts about the Middle East and specifically the Arab-Israeli situation. This material severely alters history to delegitimize Israel, Zionism, and the United States. The contributors to this booklet include history, political science, international studies, and comparative literature scholars from institutions such as Brown, Wellesley, and the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva.
Jeremy Ben Ami, president of the leftist organization J Street, told Dallas News that Senator Ted Cruz did "his best to pander to the far right elements of the pro-Israel community” during his recent visit to Israel. The paper reported that in an email to supporters Ben Ami alleged that "apparently Cruz thinks the path to the White House runs through Judea and Samaria." Ben Ami also claimed that Cruz held "extremist views."British paper legitimizes lie that Female Genital Mutilation is practiced by Jews
While in Israel, Cruz conducted an interview with the Jerusalem Post in which he outlined his thoughts on the toughest challenges that Israel faces. Cruz asserted that "the US should stand with Israel" and "America has a role facilitating negotiations, helping bring the parties together and providing a fair and neutral forum where booth sides can engage, if they wish, in good-faith negotiations, but any decisions about the terms of a peace deal should be made by Israel and the Palestinians."
Cruz told the paper that he felt Israeli settlements were "a question for the government of Israel" and he explained that he did not see it as America's role to impose policies on the democratically-elected Israeli government. Ben Ami and his fringe organization believe otherwise, routinely defaming American and Israeli officials who believe that the United States should allow Israeli democracy to function properly.
Of course, we could find no evidence of any “denial” by any ‘Jewish spiritual leader’ that FGM might stem from Judaism – likely because, contrary to the implication of the passage, Jewish communities do NOT practice FGM.Children’s BBC amplifies the language of terrorist propaganda to 6-12 year-olds
As both CiF Watch and Elder of Zion demonstrated at the time, scholars have observed the near complete absence of the practice within ancient and modern Jewish communities. Additionally, while it may have been once practiced by an extremely small number of Jews in Ethiopia, the practice died out when they moved to Israel. So, given that there are practically no Jews remaining in Ethiopia today, it is extraordinarily unlikely that Jews anywhere in the world are currently practicing FGM.
The CBBC (Children’s BBC) news programme ‘Newsround’ is aimed at six to twelve year-olds and, in addition to its television broadcasts, it also has a website.Attackers Of Israel Still Trying To Get BBC’s Attention (satire)
On that website, young children can view an item from 2009 titled “Guide to Israel and the Palestinian territories” which in its ten different pages includes numerous accuracy and impartiality related issues – not least a distinctly inaccurate portrayal of the British mandate era which erases the Balfour Declaration, San Remo and the League of Nations from history as well as turning Jewish refugees from Arab lands into a group of people who simply moved house.
Palestinian gunmen and would-be suicide bombers expressed their frustration today at the British Broadcasting Corporation, which appears to be ignoring every single one of their recent attempts to attack Israelis with lethal force.The man who would have killed Hitler
The BBC has not reported any of the rockets launched into Israel from the Gaza Strip in the last month, and gave no coverage of either of the attacks on IDF soldiers at checkpoints this week. Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other terrorist organizations that the BBC insists on calling “militants” aired their disappointment in a joint statement, calling on the company to give their efforts due attention.
“We cannot sow terror and fear amid the infidel West if their leading news organization does not depict our activities as sowing such fear and terror,” said the statement. “Yes, we are militant, but so is everyone else. Our claim to fame is our methodology of terrorism, and it is simply demeaning to omit that element of our essence.”
Henry Wermuth was a 19-year-old inmate at a Polish labor camp in 1942 when he set upon himself to change the course of history, the elderly Holocaust survivor’s daughter told the Daily Mail.Israel urges rising European right to shun 'neo-Nazi' parties
At the time, Wermuth was imprisoned, along with his father, at the Klaj ammunition camp in Poland after having been deported from Frankfurt and separated from his mother and sister. Security was not as tight as concentration camps, and he managed to befriend a disgruntled German soldier, Ilana Metzger recounted in the British paper.
One day, the soldier confided in him that Nazi leader Adolf Hitler was scheduled to pass through the small Polish village on a train bound for the Russian front, where Hitler was planning to visit German troops after the army had suffered devastating losses in their assault on Stalingrad.
Though the continent's shift right-ward largely reflects domestic political issues, it has caused unease in a Jewish state created in the aftermath of the Nazi Holocaust that is a strong trade and diplomatic partner of Europe.Ohio dedicates Holocaust memorial
"The significant strengthening of parties that have a neo-Nazi, racist character is very troubling," Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman told visiting German politican Stephan Weil, according to a statement from Lieberman's office.
"European countries should examine closely the trends that brought this about, and how it might be dealt with."
Lieberman named Hungary's Jobbik and Greece's Golden Dawn as among parties that Israel deemed "illegitimate", and called on more moderate European rightists not to join forces with them.
The state of Ohio dedicated a Holocaust memorial on the Statehouse grounds in the state capital Columbus.On patrol with North London’s crime-fighting Orthodox Jews
The Ohio Holocaust & Liberators Memorial was dedicated Monday at a ceremony which drew 1,500 people including Holocaust survivors and former US soldiers.
The 18-foot tall memorial, which resembles a shattered Star of David, was designed by Polish-born architect Daniel Libeskind, who is the son of Holocaust survivors. The $2.1 million memorial was funded mostly by private donations.
Shulem and Michael are members of Stamford Hill Shomrim (Hebrew for "guards"), a Jewish neighbourhood patrol group set up to assist the London Metropolitan Police (MPS) in reducing crime. It’s one of four Shomrim groups in the UK (there’s one in Golders Green and two in the Manchester area, plus a number in various US cities), but this is the largest.Israelis develop first blood test for breast cancer
The 22 volunteers are on call 24 hours a day and spend three to four hours each day driving, walking or cycling the streets of Clapton, Stoke Newington, Stamford Hill and South Tottenham in search of any crimes being committed. The only restriction to the patrol is once a week during Shabbat, a period of roughly 25 hours that entails refraining from any work activities, i.e. using a mobile phone or driving a car. “We’re like a very proactive neighbourhood watch,” says Shulem once we’re back on the road.
After eight years of painstaking research, Israeli life-sciences company Eventus Diagnostics (EventusDx) has produced a blood test for the early detection of breast cancer.will.i.am in Israel pushing smartwatch
The Octava Pink test is now available in Israel and Italy, and is undergoing clinical trials to receive US Food and Drug Administration approval.
This is the first blood test ever that can reveal cancer, not merely markers that might indicate cancer or something else. Its innovation also lies in its examination of antibodies in the blood to pinpoint this specific cancer.
Black Eyed Peas singer/songwriter will.i.am is in Israel, but he won’t be performing.The Stones are here!
The musician, whose full name is William Adams, was here to introduce his latest device, a smartwatch, to a group of Israeli start-ups and angel investors.
Adams, one of the founding members of Grammy-winning hip hop/pop group the Black Eyed Peas, invested his own funds in the device, which is now in the testing stages.
The Rolling Stones arrived in Israel on Monday night ahead of their landmark performance at Tel Aviv's Park Hayarkon scheduled for Wednesday.The Stones meet The Wall
Opening act Rami Fortis will hit the stage at 8 p.m and the Stones will follow at 9:15 p.m. The show's starting time was pushed back in order to leave enough time for religiously observant fans to attend the concert after the Shavuot holiday.
“This is a historic and very meaningful visit. In these days when we hear calls for boycotts from around the world, it’s not taken for granted that a band of this magnitude will come to Israel,” concert promoter Shuki Weiss has said. (h/t Yenta Press)
With their gig in Tel Aviv less than a day away, some of the members of the Rolling Stones took some time off Tuesday afternoon to visit that essential landmark for any foreign visitor — Jerusalem’s Western Wall.600-year-old grand hall excavated under Western Wall
Guitarist Ronnie Wood, drummer Charlie Watts and touring keyboard player Chuck Leavell were all at hand to witness Judaism’s most sacred spot; Leavell was even photographed wearing a kipa and placing a note at the Kotel — as is customary. There was no sign of Mick Jagger or Keith Richards.
Excavated for more than four years under the supervision of the Israel Antiquities Authority, the hall was inaugurated Sunday by the Western Wall Heritage Foundation.As Google dreams of driverless cars, IDF deploys them
The hall, located underground adjacent to the Western Wall Plaza — including beneath the homes of Palestinians living east and south of the area — was converted into an educational center.
Google isn’t the only high-tech group working to produce driverless vehicles. While the Silicon Valley tech giant is still experimenting with driverless technology for use by civilians, the IDF has been using unmanned vehicles for at least five years to protect Israelis.In pictures: 15 amazing angles of Tel Aviv
The army announced this week a program to upgrade its driverless fleet, to include vehicles that can scout areas before soldiers move in and warn of possible dangers before they arrive, and vehicles that will safely and autonomously transport weapons and equipment to soldiers already in the field.
All images by Noam Chen – A gifted photographer and one of LocalYoo’s local experts.
Tel Aviv shoreline is outstanding and diverse – full of contrasts. When you look north, you see in front of you a modern shiny city full of Skyscrapers:
But when you turn your head south, you find ancient picturesque Jaffa with its bay and port:
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