Daniel Mael and Chloe Valdary: As Global Anti-Semitism Rises, We Must Stop Funding Terror
As many in the Western world grieve and attempt to comprehend the brutal murder of three Israeli teenagers -- including one American -- emotions abound. Eyal Yifrach, Gilad Shaar, and Naftali Fraenkel, three yeshiva students from central Israel, were kidnapped and murdered by Arab terrorists while on their way home from school. Their crime was simply that they were Jews daring to live in Israel. Although disturbing, when viewed in the context of Palestinian culture, this crime is not shocking. One cannot be surprised that a society governed by a regime that indoctrinates its children to hate Jews would actually produce individuals who act on that impulse and murder them.An Open Letter to Jeremy Ben-Ami
Viewed in the context of global Jew hatred, this heinous crime is not an aberration. There has been a disturbing rise in anti-Semitism around the world and responses have ranged from disinterest in the slaughter of Jews to sympathy with the “freedom fighters” seeking to “kill” them.
That noted, I found your recent post on the murders of Naftali Frankel, Eyal Yifrach and Gilad Shaar to be both disappointing and extremely disturbing. You began your post by referring to “three teenage boys…” You did not even show the boys or their families the dignity of referring to them by name. Moreover, you never mentioned the perpetrators of these horrific crimes and you never used the term “terrorist.”Israel Faces Death Once More
To equate the murders of three Israeli teens who were hitchhiking home from school to the shooting of a Palestinian teen who was throwing rocks at soldiers is an outrage. I understand that you were trying to equate the grief of a Jewish mother with that of a Palestinian mother. To be sure, the anguish of a parent whose child has died is heartbreaking, no matter the circumstances. But there is no basis for equating how or why the two boys died. One was an innocent hitchhiker. The other was throwing stones – not pebbles, but stones – at soldiers.
You claim that, “until there is a two-state solution, this awful conflict will grind on and on and on, and there will be more tragedies – more Naftalis, more Mohammeds.” The terrorists who kidnapped and murdered Naftali Frankel, Eyal Yifrach and Gilad Shaar did not do so because there is no two-state solution. They kidnapped and murdered Naftali Frankel, Eyal Yifrach and Gilad Shaar because the teens were Jewish Israelis, because they cannot accept a Jewish State in the Middle East and because that is what terrorists do. To think such evil will cease when there is a Palestinian State is simply naive. (h/t Ken Kelso)
Outside of Israel, the kidnapping of the three teenagers has gone practically unnoticed. Many will say that there was other, more relevant, news, such as Iraq's collapse. However, I am convinced that it is just another excuse. To insult, intimidate, attack, and even to kill Jews has again become commonplace today. It is rarely denounced. For example, Belgian authorities tried to deny that the attack against the Jewish Museum in Brussels was an anti-Semitic terrorist attack.
The silence of the lambs is the product of fear. And in Europe, people are in fear -- a lot of fear -- of being seen as pro-Israel and pro-Jewish. A delegation of American Jews, for instance, was expelled last week from the African Union Summit, to which it had been invited. This happened because the delegates of Egypt, Iran and South Africa could not stand seeing the American Jews wearing the traditional Jewish kippah [skullcap]. Did any of our leaders, including the president of the Spanish government, make the slightest gesture of disgust or disapproval? No. There are too many interests in play, too many fears of being singled out by Arab countries, losing access to Arab markets, oil and gas; of becoming a target of Islamic and Palestinian terrorism.
Douglas Murray: The Encouragers: Jihadists' Agents of Influence
Today in America, Britain and most other Western countries we are still governed by politicians and bureaucrats who refuse to identify the principal form of fanaticism that threatens us. We are governed by elites who hesitate to say -- if they ever say -- what distinguishes the current threat of our time, radical Islam, as the latest group of jihadists, ISIS, establishes beachheads in Syria and Iraq and plants its flag at the border of Jordan and Turkey. In the blancmange of political correctness, which this refusal entails, we hear of the threat of "extremism" and "radicalism" in general. This season there is even talk of "violent extremism" in particular, as though violent extremism is an event like the weather, which could affect almost any sufferer at any time.Eco shop closes after protests
Of course in some ways it is understandable that this pretence should have come about. Rightly, nobody should claim to be targeting all Muslims; so there is a nervousness about singling out what is different — namely, violence -- in one especially prominent ideology at the moment. Sometimes this nervousness, and the resultant spreading of blame, appear to be a justification. It did a few years ago when Anders Breivik in Norway appeared to some to have just demonstrated that anybody might be persuaded to plant car bombs in a city center or gun down innocent people in a youth camp. This horror, perhaps more than any other recent event, is wheeled out to assist those who wish to avoid the main issue. Our countries at the time were filled with claims that anybody who had ever been critical of radical Islam had in some way contributed to Breivik's non-Islamic atrocity. These claims often came from the same people who refuse to blame any wider circle of influence for the outrages of the jihadists. What was, and is, strangest here is that it fails to notice the two most important differences between mass-murderers, such as Breivik or Timothy McVeigh, and the rest of us -- and the difference between them and the sort of Islamists who have just killed three Israeli teenagers and threaten countries around the globe.
Sussex Friends of Israel was “disappointed” about the closure of a store which was “clearly ahead of its time”.Sussex Friends of Israel and the Ecostream Store, Brighton
A spokesman said: “Where there is hate-filled anti-Israel rhetoric, Sussex Friends of Israel will ensure that the facts are heard so informed decisions can be made rather than listening to those that shout loudest.
“Sussex Friends of Israel defends Israel’s right to exist and will continue to support stores selling SodaStream products.”
SodaStream said it would focus its business efforts on retail distribution. It said it would keep fighting for a planet free of plastic bottles.
Sussex Friends of Israel is disappointed that Sodastream has chosen to close its experimental green refill Ecostream store in Brighton and concentrate on its successful UK retail distribution network. Ecostream, the packaging-free green concept store in a green city was clearly ahead of its time.Congress to Cut Aid to PA over Terror Salaries
The global pro-Israel support for the store has been extraordinary and we are grateful to everyone that has stood up to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement and Palestine Solidarity Campaign to support our philosophy of building bridges not boycotts.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) can expect to lose 15% of the aid it receives from the United States, according to Maariv-NRG. Twin bills being advanced in the Senate and House will slash $65 million from the $440 million annual assistance to the PA, starting in September.High Court approves demolition of home of Passover eve terrorist
The bills, which are expected to enjoy an automatic bipartisan majority, are sponsored by Sen. Lindsey Graham and Rep. Doug Collins, both Republicans.
The bills call for the PA budget to be cut, “dollar for dollar,” by the amount that the PA pays prisoners who were locked up for terrorist offenses.”
The news site said that the bills would be voted upon along with the federal budget, after mid-term elections, but will apply retroactively from September.
The wife and son of the terrorist who killed police officer Baruch Mizrahi were “up to their neck” in their father’s terrorism plans, justices ruled on Tuesday.IDF demolishes home of Baruch Mizrahi’s killer
The High Court of Justice on Tuesday ruled against the request of a human-rights group to block the state’s demolition of the home of Ziad Awad, who has been indicted for murdering senior police officer Baruch Mizrahi and injuring his family on a West Bank road on Passover eve earlier this year. (h/t Yenta Press)
Security forces on Wednesday blew up part of the home of the alleged killer of an off-duty Israeli police officer, a day after the High Court approved the move.IDF Siezes 1.2 Million NIS of Terror Funds in Hamas Crackdown
Ziad Awad, a convicted Hamas terrorist released in the 2011 Shalit deal, was arrested May 7, along with his son Izz Eddin Hassan Ziad Awad, for the April 14 shooting of Baruch Mizrahi near Hebron.
Of that number, 335 are listed as being affiliated with the terror organization Hamas, and 12 of them as leaders of the organization.Israel’s five-star terrorist accommodations
A full 56 of those arrested were terrorists that were freed in the Gilad Shalit deal. It should be noted that one of the terrorists freed in that deal went on to murder Chief Superintendent Baruch Mizrahi Hy''d, as he was driving with his pregnant wife on the eve of Pesach (Passover).
In addition, the IDF noted that 63 "Dawah", or outreach and recruitment institutions belonging to the Islamist terrorist group were targeted, including newspaper offices which functioned as a propaganda machine for the terrorist group to gain public support.
The guests receive three square meals per day and engage in physical recreation and sports from one to three hours each day.Pew: Support for Hamas, Hezbollah collapsing in region
They enjoy cable TV (including a choice of programming in various languages), ping pong, cooking activities for parties and occasions, full canteen privileges, and, until recently, high school and university tuition. This is how we treat the terrorist murderers we capture and this is what awaits the killers of our three kidnapped boys if they are caught alive.
There is no charge for all these amenities, and best of all, the prisoners are paid monthly salaries ranging between NIS 1,400 and NIS 6,000, depending on how vicious the crime. The more hateful the crime, the higher the salary. These salaries are paid by the Palestinian Authority from the aid money received from European donors (the US Congress saw to it that the US opted out).
Hamas’s favorability ratings are only marginally better. In Turkey, whose government supported the Mavi Marmara ship which tried to reach the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, 80% disapprove of the group.Hamas Spreads its Military Power across West Bank
Egypt (61%), Jordan (61%), and Lebanon (65%) all are heavily anti-Hamas. Somewhat paradoxically, 55% of Lebanon’s Shia have a favorable view of the Sunni group.
The group doesn’t do any better among the Palestinians for whom it purports to fight — but, paradoxically, Hamas is far more unpopular in the Gaza Strip (63%) it dominates than in the Palestinian Authority-run West Bank (47%).
In 2013, Israeli security forces prevented 190 major terror attacks (52 kidnapping attempts), most of them from the West Bank, compared to 112 in 2012.Abbas Asked Egypt to Block an Israeli Gaza Operation
The ongoing Israeli operation in the West Bank exposing Hamas terror cells is shedding light on the organization’s activity.
Via instructions from the Gaza Strip, operatives are attempting to establish new terror cells of suicide bombers and gunmen or to initiate kidnappings, according to The Israel Project’s Defense Analyst Stephane Cohen.
A Palestinian Authority (PA) source told a Hamas newspaper that Egypt is in contact with Israel in an attempt to stop the Jewish state from conducting a counter-terror operation in the Hamas enclave of Gaza.Hamas chief asks Erdogan to help prevent Israel assault on Gaza
Speaking to the Hamas paper Al-Risala, the source said that in recent days Egypt had received requests from PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas to immediately get involved in stopping an "Israeli military escalation" in Gaza, reports Yedioth Aharonoth.
Abbas reportedly asked Egypt to act in coordination with other countries to block Israeli military action against the recent massive escalation in rocket fire from Gaza, which has skyrocketed since Hamas terrorists abducted and murdered three Israeli teens on June 12.
Hamas political leader Khaled Mashaal has again denied his movement’s involvement in the killing of three Israeli teenagers on June 12, and tried via the Turkish prime minister to dissuade Israel from launching a massive strike on the Gaza Strip, Sky News Arabia reported on Wednesday.Lebanon is Denying Entry to 'Palestinians' Fleeing Syria
Unnamed sources told the British channel that Mashaal has attempted to convey a message to Israel through the Turks saying that Hamas is uninterested in escalation, and continues to adhere to a ceasefire agreement reached with Israel following Operation Pillar of Defense in November 2012. Mashaal also said that “Hamas had no involvement or knowledge” of the kidnapping.
An Amnesty International report released on Tuesday reveals that Lebanon has been implementing a discriminatory practice, blocking entry for "Palestinians" - descendants of Arab residents who left Israel in 1948 - who are fleeing the bloody conflict in Syria.Hacktivist Group 'Anonymous' Plans Cyber Warfare Against Countries that Support ISIS
The report notes that while "Palestinian refugees" from Syria need to meet conditions for temporary residence in or transit through Lebanon, the same conditions are not required from regular Syrians fleeing the war.
While the conditions were put in place this May, the human rights watchdog reports that even prior to that date there were different discriminatory conditions for entry.
Hacktivist group Anonymous is said to be planning a series of cyber attacks against countries it accuses of arming and abetting the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) militant jihadist group.UK Lawmakers, Including Former Foreign Secretary, Lobbying for Iran
According to Forbes, the Anonymous campaign will be called Operation NO2ISIS. The hackers will attempt to subdue three countries they suspect have been financing and arming ISIS. A source told Forbes that they plan a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack aimed at rendering government websites inoperable. The source said Anonymous had plans to “unleash” its “entire legion” upon the three targeted states. (h/t MtTB)
British MPs and peers have lobbying for Britain to create business links with Iran, according to the Wall Street Journal. Former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, Conservative MP Ben Wallace and former Chancellor Lord (Norman) Lamont have criticised U.S. sanctions against the nation and have also personally travelled to Iran to meet government officials.Man sentenced for bomb threat to Houston synagogue
In January, the three men, accompanied by left-wing MP Jeremy Corbin, travelled to Tehran to meet President Rouhani’s chief of staff, trade officials and parliamentarians. They did not meet any dissidents and civil rights activists, although Ben Wallace said he raised the issue of human rights with officials.
The Wall Street Journal reports that it spoke to all three men to ask their views on Iran. Both Mr Straw and Mr Wallace were keen to cite the 1953 Western-backed overthrow of prime minister Mohammed Mossadegh when explaining the 2011 attack on the British embassy in Tehran by a mob of pro-regime students.
Asked if London should demand an apology for the 2011 embassy attack, Mr Wallace said that "they've expressed regret", before referring to the 1953 coup as a legitimate Iranian grievance.
Dante Phearse, 33, was sentenced in federal court for threatening to bomb Congregation Beth Israel, according to a statement issued by the U.S. Justice Department. The statement said Phearse was an ex-convict with a long criminal record and a history of mental illness.Man rescued from Nazis by 'Japan's Schindler' returns to pay respects
U.S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyt also ordered Phearse to pay $13,000 in restitution and to serve three years of supervised release after his prison term.
Phearse had pleaded guilty on April 28 to charges of violating the civil rights of synagogue members and making a telephone bomb threat. He could have received a prison sentence of up to 30 years.
In 1940, a small Jewish boy fleeing the Nazis put in to a remote Japanese port, saved by a Japanese consul who issued exit visas from Lithuania against his government's orders, rescuing thousands of desperate European Jews from certain death.First He Rescued Jews, Then He Lost His $4 Million Violin
Leo Melamed arrived in Japan with little more than the clothes on his back but went on to the United States, becoming a lawyer and head of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), where he introduced the idea of financial futures trading.
On Monday, Melamed, 82, was back in Japan to honor Chiune Sugihara, who over a period of roughly a month issued visas that allowed 6,000 Jews to escape war-torn Lithuania and the advancing Nazis - saving several times as many people as Oskar Schindler, made famous in the film "Schindler's List."
Founder of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, rescuer of over 1,000 Jews from Nazi persecution, world-renowned virtuoso violinist. This is a guy we can get behind.NFL Veterans Walk Off Their Pain in Gait-Changing Shoes
Born in Poland in 1882, Bronislaw Huberman had an ear for the harrowing trends of Nazi ascension. After writing an open letter in 1933 calling upon German intellectuals to denounce Nazism, Huberman recruited Jewish musicians from across Europe to join him in Palestine.
Having received financial support from, among others, fellow violinist and science superhero Albert Einstein, Huberman founded the Palestine Symphony Orchestra in 1936 (later renamed the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra). In total, nearly 1,000 people—musicians and their families—were saved from the Holocaust due to Huberman’s love of music and desire to see his fellow Jews out of harm’s way.
And then there’s this: During a 1936 Carnegie Hall performance, Huberman’s famous 1713 Stradivarius violin was stolen from his dressing room, and remained lost for 50 years. The man who bought the pinched violin (for a mere $100), identified the previous owner to his wife on his deathbed, in 1985. The woman returned the instrument to Huberman’s insurance company, at which time it was restored, resold for a cool four million bucks, and immortalized in radio stories and documentary films.
Former National Football League players facing knee and back pain are trying to walk it off with shoes best described as gait-changers.Pop song is joint Iranian-Israeli effort
The closely held Israeli company that sells the shoes, AposTherapy, is betting ordinary Americans, desperate for non-invasive solutions to counter pain, will follow in the players’ wobbly footsteps. The products feature what look like two rubbery tennis ball halves attached to the bottom and retrain the muscles to reduce pain.
The song is a frothy dance anthem, with the trademark thumping bass and synthetic vocals that mark so many pop hits. But “Million Dollar Baby,” a song from Israeli dance trio TripL and Israeli DJ Tomer G that hit the Israeli airwaves on Monday, is more than your average musical number.Crooner Tony Bennett books TA gig
The track features the Kodie, an Iranian-born rapper living in Sweden, who has long said that music can do just the trick in areas where politics have failed.
Legendary singer Tony Bennett is 87, and he’s coming to perform in Israel this September.Benny Landa raises $130 million for next digital printing revolution
Tickets went on sale Tuesday morning for the September 14 concert at Tel Aviv’s Heichal Hatarbut, starting at NIS 209 ($61).
Bennett is known for hundreds of songs, such as “Rags to Riches” from the early 1950s and 1962′s “I Left My Heart in San Francisco.”
All eyes are on the guru of digital printing Benny Landa’s new Nanography start up which promises to offer yet another game changing concept for the print industry. The German specialty chemicals Group ALTANA and Landa Corporation recently concluded an equity financing agreement under which ALTANA will invest $135 million for a minority stake in Landa Digital Printing.
The proceeds will be used for completing the development of Nanography, Landa’s water-based digital printing process, including engineering and production ramp-up of Landa Nanographic Printing Presses and building of manufacturing plants for Landa NanoInk colorants.