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Monday, August 18, 2014

08/18 Links Pt1: David Draiman: Why I Support Israel; PMW report on PA Holocaust desecration

From Ian:

David Draiman: Why I Support Israel
I have lost too many friends and loved ones to these inhuman monsters already, and cannot tolerate another, single, one. A friend of mine was widowed when her husband was killed in a bus bombing in the second Intifada, and she lost her leg from the "harmless rocket fire" that started the last Gaza/Israeli conflict. She now has to care for her two children as a cripple.
Before the stage is set for a new Holocaust, I implore each and every one of you, Jew and non-Jew, to make your voices heard, and do what you can to spread this, and your own personal messages of truth.
People have been trying to exterminate the Jewish people for thousands of years (the Inquisition, the Crusades, the Persian and Ottoman Empires, the Holocaust, and now Hamas). They will not succeed. The Nation of Israel lives and the Jewish people will endure, with or without your blessing.
NEVER AGAIN
I can now at the very least look my son in the eyes when he is old enough to understand and tell him... I tried.
I wish to thank the United States of America for all the support they have shown Israel through the years.
I pray that a true and lasting peace finally comes one day.
Arab doctor saves Jewish soldier hit by Arab bullets. No big deal?
Hadassah’s Prof. Ahmed Eid gets a little irritated when people ask him questions about being an Arab surgeon in Jewish Israel. ‘There’s no drama here,’ he insists. Oh, but there is…
On Sunday August 4, a gunman on a motorbike opened fire on an Israeli soldier, Chen Schwartz, near Jerusalem’s Mount Scopus, hitting him twice at close range. Critically injured in what police said was almost certainly a Palestinian terror attack, Schwartz, 19, was rushed to the nearby Hadassah Hospital.
Professor Ahmed Eid, Hadassah’s head of surgery, was called to the operating theater and scrubbed in. “Without going into the specifics, it was clear there was major loss of blood,” Eid recalls in an interview. Eid called for another doctor with particular expertise to come from Hadassah’s other hospital across town at Ein Karem, and she was given a police motorcycle escort when she got stuck in traffic.
Understated about the extraordinary skills of the team that saved Schwartz’s life, Eid says simply: “He had what would have been fatal wounds, and would certainly have died without very careful surgery.”
JPost: PMW special report exposes PA Holocaust desecration during Gaza war
The Palestinian Authority and the Fatah Party constantly used Nazi and Holocaust analogies to demonize Israel during Operation Protective Edge in Gaza, according to a forthcoming report by Palestinian Media Watch titled "Holocaust desecration by the Palestinian Authority during the 2014 Gaza operation." [PDF]
The following are examples of Holocaust comparisons used by PA and Fatah leaders and official news outlets:
* Israel's operation was a "Holocaust unlike any that has been recorded in history"
* The incursion in Gaza was "reenacting the Holocaust"
* Binyamin Netanyahu is a "descendant of the Nazis"
* Israel is "the new Nazis"
* "Nazi Israeli mentality"
* "Israel, the rogue state, which is still blackmailing Germany, Europe, and humanity with the Holocaust"
Fatah MP and former PA minister of prisoners Issa Karake was quoted by the Palestinian news agency Ma'an on July 25 as saying, "[Israel] did more evil and more horrifying things than what happened in the Nazi crematoria."
"Binyamin Netanyahu is a descendant of the Nazis, worships Hitler's ways, and imitates him in all the Holocausts he has perpetrated," said Yahya Rabah, a Fatah leader and columnist for the official PA daily, Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, on August 3.



Who's responsible for these anti-Semitic attacks? Give me one guess...
The previous day I had read a very long piece in the Guardian by Owen Jones precisely about anti-Semitism. In the course of more than 1,000 words Owen kindly cautioned us against having anti-Jewish feelings and pointed out that anti-Semitic attacks were on the rise throughout Europe and that this was a bad thing, on the whole. But nowhere did he say who was responsible for this nastiness and I was left with the impression that it could be any of us, just any of us, walking down the street one day and we’re suddenly possessed of the insuperable desire to torch a synagogue or knife a rabbi.
Puzzlingly, Owen did dwell for a paragraph or two on the anti-Semitic roots of some of Europe’s far-right parties. So there was a sort of implication that perhaps those sorts of people had been responsible, although no direct allegation. I have heard and seen much the same thing on the BBC and Channel 4 News; reports of horrible attacks upon synagogues and Jewish businesses in Europe. A huge spike in anti-Semitic attacks in this country, too — more than 200 in the last month; more in the last four weeks than the previous six months put together. But no mention, not even a hint, as to who might be responsible. A complete mystery, isn’t it? We are left to try to fathom our own explanation — and it is very difficult, isn’t it? I think the giveaway, though, is some of the graffiti which accompanies these attacks: Allahu Akbar! Jihad! Stuff like that. It’s obvious — unusually literate, fundamentalist swans
JPost Editorial: US-Israel ties
The mixed messages over the past week signal that the leaking of reports about a US delay in delivering arms to Israel may have been a way to prod Jerusalem to take the cease-fire talks in Cairo seriously and strike a deal to end Operation Protective Edge.
However, the messages are also being read carefully by Israel’s enemies. Hamas’s threat to continue a “war of attrition” against the Jewish state may be one such manifestation.
It is important that both Israel and the US work to heal any rifts and press forward on common interests, such as countering extremist threats and creating regional stability together with moderate regimes, such as Egypt, which has played a key role in keeping Hamas at bay.
Perhaps most importantly, the US administration must see that publicly aired disputes send the wrong message to terrorists, from Hamas to ISIS, which closely monitor Washington’s commitments to its friends – including one to whom it claims to have an “unshakable” commitment.
Israel pleased with new IDF capabilities in Gaza
On July 8, the first day of Operation Protective Edge, five Hamas frogmen attempted an amphibious assault on an Israeli military base bordering northern Gaza.
They didn’t get far.
First, they were spotted by a Navy coastal sensor, which streamed targeting data through the Army’s new command-and-control network to air, sea and ground shooters. Almost instantly, the Nahal infantry battalion commander in the sector had multiple options for these moving targets of opportunity.
A Merkava Mk4 tank poised at the border had them painted in its sights, as did Israeli Air Force unmanned aircraft. At the same time, a Navy offshore patrol vessel was following the frogmen, eager for orders to launch electro-optically guided Tammuz missiles.
Brig. Gen. Eyal Zelinger, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) chief signals officer, and C4I Directorate chief of staff, recounts what happened next.
“In the end, everyone shot at the same time,” Zelinger said. “As the event was unfolding, they all shared a common picture that allowed the ground commander in charge to choreograph the strike.”
In an Aug. 13 interview, Zelinger ticked off examples in which fully networked joint force capabilities, demonstrated for the first time in Protective Edge, prevented potentially game-changing setbacks at the hands of Hamas.
Sean Hannity, THANK YOU!
Mr. Hannity, on behalf my grassroots movement, GA-GA for Israel, our members and the 1200+ individuals of both the Christian and Jewish faiths, I would like to extend a profound thank you for your courageous and unrelenting support of the State of Israel. Your recent reporting from the Jewish Homeland was first class–as are you–and it offered a purview of Israel that other journalists rarely dare to show.
Sadly, amongst the casualties of this war launched by Hamas, is the truth, a casualty that even the wholly capable care not to resuscitate. But with God-like perseverance, you’ve done well to breathe life back into it, to resurrect it. You took your viewers on a brave and heartfelt journey from Hamas’s terror tunnels to Israeli-playground bomb shelters, from historic sights to the broken heart of an Israeli mother whose son was kidnapped and killed by Hamas.
In an ever increasing anti-Semitic world that is set on vilifying Israel, you humanized it and showed not only the duress under which Israelis are living as they scramble to bomb shelters and awake to sirens, but you also showed what a beautiful country it really is, God’s gem, proverbially flowing with milk and honey.
They say Israel has nine Iron Domes, but you Mr. Hannity are the tenth one as you persistently knock the lies and misinformation out of the air and shield Israel with the full force of your integrity, beliefs and honest news coverage. There is an expression in the Talmud which says, “If there are no men among you, BE ONE.” You have certainly stood out to be that man and a veritable mensch in an ever-growing gutless world where moral equivalencies are made between the victims and the perpetrators.
Trains halted between Sderot and Ashkelon ahead of Gaza cease-fire expiration
The Defense Ministry halted train services between Sderot and Ashkelon on Sunday night following a security evaluation.
The train line in question runs close to the border with the Gaza Strip.
The move came as a five-day cease-fire between Israel and armed Gaza factions was set to expire on Monday at midnight.
Due to the suspension of train lines, the Transportation Ministry said that bus operations between the two cities would be increased in the meantime.
In addition, special shuttles will be operating to transport the hundreds of Sapir College students to their studies in Sderot, the ministry said.
The train line to Sderot was open intermittently throughout Operation Protective Edge. During ceasefires the line was opened briefly but was closed during active portions of the offensive.
Israeli Bus Drivers’ New Role: Frisking Suspicious Passengers
Israeli public bus drivers, already accustomed to ticketing and making change, arguing with passengers, avoiding Gaza rocket fire, and all while providing valuable and voluminous social and political commentary at 90 kilometers per hour, now have a new role: security guard.
As of Monday, the Ministry of Transportation will require drivers to take a short course as security guards, a measure “that will aid public security,” according to Minister Yisrael Katz, Israel’s Channel Two News reported Sunday.
The drivers will also be deputized to stop, search and inspect the bags of suspicious riders, and detain them until police arrive, according to the report.
After Gaza Rockets, Over 40% of Israelis Say They Won’t Send Kids to Unfortified Schools
After a month of intermittent rocket fire from Gaza on Israel’s densely-populated Gush Dan region, 43 percent of parents now fear sending their kids off to kindergartens and schools not fortified against future strikes, a new survey said.
TRI pollsters said that only about one-fifth (20.4%) said they would send their children to unprotected educational institutions at the start of the school year, in two weeks, according to Israel’s NRG News.
Arab Rock-Throwers Ambush Visiting NYC Congress Hopeful
Nick Di Iorio, 28, Republican candidate for the 12th Congressional District in New York, experienced personally the precarious security situation in Israel on his visit to the Holy Land last week.
A car driving Di Iorio from a visit to Sderot toward Jerusalem came under attack by a group of Arab boys “who hurled rocks at us and laughed,” Di Iorio recalled.
Also in the car with Di Iorio was New York based philanthropist Ken Abramowitz, Chairman of American Friends of Likud, who accompanied him on his visit to Israel. No one was hurt in the attack, which took place not far from Susya, near Hevron.
Nobel Prize-Winner Says UNHRC Gaza Probe Simply 'Anti-Semitism'
Nobel laureate Professor Yisrael (Robert) Aumann is not surprised by the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) decision to investigate "war crimes" accusations against Israel.
According to Aumann the decision stems not from a concern over "the occupation" or about any Israeli treatment of Arab residents of Gaza - rather, according to the Nobel prize winner, the source of the investigation is anti-Semitism, pure and simple.
That appraisal is supported by the fact the Canadian law professor William Schabas, appointed to head the committee, has been vocally blatant in his anti-Israel bias.
Speaking to Galei Tzahal (IDF Radio), Aumann said foreign committees like that of the UNHRC "receive false information from Hamas and Israeli sources," such as the far-left New Israel Fund.
"Anti-Semitism exists, and today it has just donned a different form. We've returned to Europe in the 19th, 18th and 17th centuries, dozens and hundreds of years. The cause of that is the hatred and jealousy over the success of the Jews in all they set their hands to, and that the Jews succeed in preserving their identity," stated Aumann.
Schabas is the perfect choice for Goldstone 2
Now, under the pretext of a UN-sponsored “war crimes” investigation, Schabas has a highly visible platform to advance his political agenda. He gets to draft a report that will without a doubt conclude that Israel is guilty. He will get to work closely with NGO partners like HRW, Amnesty, PCHR, Al Haq, and other lawfare groups in a non-transparent, unaccountable process. He will be able to recommend that the ICC and ICJ take up his cause, that more universal jurisdiction cases be brought, and that European countries should immediately enact BDS policies.
Schabas is therefore the perfect choice for the HRC mission. He has expressed no hesitation in exploiting international mechanisms to achieve political goals. He has already declared Israel guilty of “war crimes” and “crimes against humanity.”
He has no problem participating in the most fringe anti-Israel initiatives. He erases the context of Palestinian terrorism.
Such characteristics define the very essence of the HRC and its NGO lawfare partners.
Is there any wonder then that Israel refuses to be part of this circus?
Source: Hamas not interested in return to full blown Gaza conflict, even if Cairo talks fail
The five-day cease-fire between Israel and Hamas is set to expire at midnight on Monday, and as of now, there are no signs of a breakthrough to reach a long-term deal between the sides in Cairo negotiations.
As the sides returned to Cairo for further talks on Monday, members of the Palestinian delegation expressed pessimism and estimated that efforts to reach a deal were not likely to succeed.
An Israeli diplomatic source told The Jerusalem Post's Hebrew-language sister publication, Maariv Hashavua, that "it is very unlikely that a full-blown military conflict between Hamas and us will reignite, even if no deal is reached in Cairo."
Amended Ceasefire Proposal Includes Terrorist Releases
The response to the Egyptian proposal submitted by the delegation, which includes Hamas, the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Islamic Jihad, was published in the Palestinian Arab Sawa news agency and revealed by Walla!.
Comparing the document with the original 11-point proposal, the first clause calling for an immediate cessation of IDF action and strikes in Gaza remains untouched.
The second clause promising an end to attacks from Gaza on Israel remains as well - although the promise to stop the construction of terror tunnels is notably absent.
The amendments drop the bombshell in an additional clause before the former tenth clause.
In the new tenth clause, the delegation calls for a "cancellation of the regulations that Israel fixed in the West Bank after June 12, 2014 (when the three Israeli teens were abducted and murdered), (including) the release of prisoners (arrested in Operation Brother's Keeper), particularly (Hamas) members of the (PA) parliament, and the release of the fourth batch of prisoners."
Hamas Threatens 'No Third Ceasefire Extension'
Hamas Deputy Leader Moussa Abu-Marzouk, part of the delegation in the Cairo truce talks, claimed Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu rejected the Egyptian truce proposal and submitted Israeli amendments that returned talks to the starting point, reports Channel 10.
Amendments submitted by the Hamas, Palestinian Authority (PA) and Islamic Jihad delegation were revealed on Monday. They include important changes on several major issues that were slipped in, such as the release of terrorists.
"Netanyahu is captive to internal contradictions. He went to war and lost, and didn't achieve the goals he set for himself. There are 24 hours left in the ceasefire agreed upon, and it will not be renewed for a third time. The Palestinian delegation will not give up on any of the rights of our people," said Abu-Marzouk.
Israel Lifts Gaza Fishing Ban in 'Gesture'
As truce talks in Cairo continued Sunday ahead of the five-day ceasefire extension ending Monday at midnight, Israel preempted any agreement by unilaterally offering Gaza a concession and lifting a ban on fishing in the Hamas enclave.
Gaza fishermen have been blocked from their work since July 8, during the Hamas terror war on Israel, which has included several attempts to infiltrate Israel by sea.
Nevertheless, "as a sign of goodwill, Israel has allowed fishing off the Gaza Strip up to 3 nautical miles," an Israeli government official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Hamas Threatens Terror in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria
The Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza on Sunday called for an escalation of terror attacks on Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria as an "expression of support" for the war on Israel being waged from Gaza.
Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhoum told the Palestinian Arab Safa news agency that such terror attacks serve to wear down the "occupation" and press Israel to end the "aggression" in Gaza, by forcing it to open the blockade and submit to Hamas's demands.
According to the Hamas representative, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's "insistence" not to accept Hamas's demands, which include a sea and airport in Gaza, are "an additional new act of foolishness and gambling that will bring more disasters on him and the Israelis, beyond the decision for aggression and a ground war against Gaza."
Report: US exerting pressure on ICC not to open war crimes probe against Israel
The Guardian reported that western pressure has prevented the ICC from taking the view that the 2009 request gives the court jurisdiction to open a war crimes investigation into Israel's actions.
Both current ICC prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, and Luis Moreno Ocampo, who was prosecutor at the time of the 2009 Palestinian declaration, argue that a new Palestinian request would have to be made to allow the court to open an investigation. However, The Guardian quoted another former official of the court as saying, "They are trying to hide behind legal jargon to disguise what is a political decision, to rule out competence and not get involved."
The French lawyer representing the Palestinians, Gilles Devers, was quoted by The Guardian as saying that "there is enormous pressure not to proceed with an investigation. This pressure has been exerted on Fatah and Hamas, but also on the office of the prosecutor.
"In both cases, it takes the form of threats to the financial subsidies, to Palestine and to the International Criminal Court," he added.
Norway: Cairo conference on Gaza reconstruction only after agreement
International donors will meet in Cairo to pledge funds for the reconstruction of Gaza as soon as a lasting ceasefire is reached between Israel and the Palestinians, Norway announced Monday.
The funds raised under the aegis of Egypt and Norway will be released to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, said Norwegian Foreign Minister Boerge Brende, whose country heads the international coordination committee for aid to the Palestinians.
UN Says it Will Take 'Months' to Rebuild Gaza
United Nations humanitarian chief Valerie Amos said Sunday on a visit to Iran that it will take months to repair damage to the UN's infrastructure caused by the Israeli airstrikes in Gaza.
"Damage to hospitals, schools and UNRWA shelters where people displaced sought refuge will take months to rebuild," she was quoted by AFP as having said.
Amos was speaking to reporters at the start of a two-day visit for talks with Iranian officials on the humanitarian crises wreaked by conflicts in Gaza, Syria and Iraq.
How Hillary Clinton Enabled Hamas’ Construction of Terror Tunnels
In a bombshell revelation, Dennis Ross, the senior Mideast policy adviser to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton from 2009 to 2011, has admitted that it was he who was assigned the task of pressuring Israel to ease up on its military blockade of Gaza.
“I argued with Israeli leaders and security officials, telling them they needed to allow more construction materials, including cement, into Gaza so that housing, schools and basic infrastructure could be built,” Ross revealed in the Washington Post on August 10. “They countered that Hamas would misuse it, and they were right.”
Hamas: Dead man walking
It seems there is some disagreement within Hamas. While the battered leadership in the Gaza Strip is leaning toward a long-term truce, political bureau chief Khaled Mashaal in his hotel suite in Doha and speaker Osama Hamadan in Beirut are still doing their best to throw a wrench into the negotiations.
This isn't the time for a final summation, but it can already be said that most of Israel's security goals in Operation Protective Edge were achieved, or will be: The attack tunnels were destroyed and rocket attacks on Israel have failed, and that failure will have clear ramifications not only on Hamas' capabilities but also in terms of deterring possible plans of other terrorist entities in the region. Moreover, the rocket fire only strengthened Israel's social and national fortitude instead of breaking it.
Another result: Instead of Hamas winning the support of the Arab world, it was mostly snubbed. And possibly most important when looking ahead, the residents of Gaza themselves have begun to express doubts, sometimes out loud and even to foreign journalists, about their fate under the Hamas regime. Besides all this, and particularly in light of the improvement in Hamas fighters' operations, we should of course note the excellence and superiority at all levels of the IDF: soldiers and officers, regular service and reservists, religious and secular.
Qatar to donate $1,000 to each Palestinian family whose home was destroyed in Gaza
Qatar announced on Saturday that it has decided to donate $1,000 to each Palestinian family whose house was destroyed during Operation Protective Edge.
Sources in the Gaza Strip reported on Sunday that the number of houses that were completely destroyed during the war is 797.
Palestinian Deputy Social Affairs Minister Omar al-Dari told Safa News Agency that the ministry would distribute the money coming from the Qatari Committee to Rebuild the Gaza Strip this week.
Iranians launched cyber-attack on Israel during Gaza op
Security establishment officials said Sunday that there was an unprecedented cyber-attack on Israel from Iran during Operation Protective Edge, including the brief hijacking of the Israel Defense Forces’ Twitter account.
The targets were mostly civilian websites and systems, rather than military or national infrastructure networks, Channel 2 reported.
A defense source said that the attack caused no significant damage and reiterated that critical systems were well protected. Nonetheless, the source added, the scale of the attack was impressive.
Jibril Rajoub Calls on Hamas to Disengage from the Muslim Brotherhood


Has the West made the next Gaza war inevitable?
This war in Gaza was inevitable, just like the coming one in Lebanon, which will take place when the terrorists of Hezbollah – or their Iranian puppet-masters – find it opportune to unleash their rocket stockpile at Israeli cities again.

In both cases that inevitability is the result of the abject failure of the international community – principally the United Nations and its affiliated organs – to live up to their obligations.
Not only did they prevent Israel from completing the jobs they all knew had to be done, not only did they fail to disarm Hezbollah, not only did they refuse to hold Hamas and Hezbollah accountable for the carnage they caused their respective civilian populations last time, but they and the press and “human rights” community have affirmatively encouraged those terrorist organizations by their consistent excoriation of Israel.
They are repeating their past mistakes, making the next Gaza nightmare inevitable as well.
Secretary General Moon was quite right to say “the world stands disgraced.” But by not accurately pointing to the source of that disgrace, he is only adding to it.
How the BBC and Sky News side with HAMAS
If HAMAS was weak and failing prior to Operation Protective Edge it is news networks such as the BBC, Sky News and Britain’s Channel 4 News that are now propping them up. As such they are responsible for killing Palestinian children. It is they who give succor to an organisation that willingly sacrifices its own women and children for the dream of annihilating the Jews, one of the many existential enemies it would wish to destroy.
If HAMAS provides the rocket fire that has violated seven cease-fires (in the current campaign) then Britain’s Left wing fascist press is guilty of War Crimes, by giving oxygen to this murderous organisation.
If HAMAS provides the theatre, Sky News, the BBC and Britain’s Channel 4 News provide the global audience.
Sainsbury's condemned for taking kosher food off shelves during pro-Palestinian protest
Sainsbury’s said there were fears the kosher area could be attacked but the move provoked outrage on social media as people accused the chain of making a “political statement”.
A witness who took a picture of the empty shelf said the section had contained produce made in the UK, Poland and Israel.
Colin Appleby wrote: “When I asked a member of staff what had happened they replied ‘We support Free Gaza’.
“I didn't try to point out that kosher goods were not Israeli goods but they walked away.”
The company’s Facebook page was inundated with complaints from around the world over the decision, with many pointing out the distinction between Jewish and Israeli products.
Gavin Platman, who made an official complaint to Sainsbury’s, said the removal of kosher goods was “deeply offensive”.
“Naturally I am against the death of innocent children in Gaza, so why are you persecuting me by denying me the right to buy Kosher food?” he added.
Ed Miliband silent on Labour front bencher who encouraged store thuggery
Shabana Mahmood is a Labour Shadow Front Bencher. She’s Shadow Labour Treasury Exchequer Secretary with responsibility for tax and growth policy. Following the trashing of a local Tesco store in Birmingham Hodge Hill, she today put out a pious statement deploring the violence, along these lines:

But just over a week ago, she was saying something very different, urging the very supermarket thuggery she now distances herself from, as the Communist Morning Star was proud to report: FRONTBENCH Labour MP Shabana Mahmood called on activists at the weekend to take direct action against British firms that do business with Israel — lauding the success of a Birmingham protest which shut down a Sainsbury’s branch for five-and-a-half hours. Ms Mahmood, the party’s shadow exchequer secretary to the Treasury, made the plea at a 150,000-strong rally for solidarity with the people of Gaza on Saturday. She told crowds in London’s Hyde Park:
Shabana Mahmood MP, Birmingham, Ladywood speaks at the mass rally for Gaza in Hyde Park, London 09

Not Kosher: Sainsburys in Holborn
Now Sainsburys has stated that the shelves have been replenished. But, as Tal Ofer points out, the answer to safety concerns should be to ensure security is adequate, not cave in to those threatening violence.
habibi adds: have a look at Labour MP Shabana Mahmood gleefully taking part in street thuggery at another demonstration outside a Sainsbury’s.
This is Labour today.
Average garden variety Muslim expresses love for Hitler
Just your run of the mil "anti-Zionist" BDS protester - "And in another turn in events, the Boycotters outside Kedem, Manchester have claimed something else. Apparently they LOVE Hitler."
Boycotter claims he "loves Hitler" - Kedem, Manchester


British Supermarket Sainsbury’s Under Fire After Branch Reportedly Clears Out Kosher Section for Fear of Anti-Israel Protesters (VIDEO)
Sacerdoti said, ”I’m phoning to express my extreme concern that in a rising climate of antisemitism a particular Sainsbury’s store chose to combat threats against products of interest to Jews by removing those products, not by removing the threat, which seems to me the more reasonable thing to do if you don’t agree with the threat.”
The representative apologized about the incident, denied that it was motivated by support for Gaza, and pledged that it would not happen at the Holborn branch again. She was however non-committal on whether it could happen at other stores again or if the supermarket chain had established company wide policy on how to handle the threat.
Responding to the incident on Facebook, The Times Columnist Melanie Phillips called it “Britain’s shame.”
Tal Ofer, a member of Campaign Against Antisemitism UK told The Algemeiner, “It is unacceptable and sends the wrong message. If they suspect a security issue with the store, they need to get more security personnel. Removing Kosher product isn’t the solution.”
On Sunday, Appleby posted an updated photo of the kosher section at Sainsbury’s Holborn, this time fully stocked.