Monday, August 25, 2014
Why Israel has an absolute right to defend its people
Today in Britain we have our own army of useful idiots, made up of those self-styled progressives whose obsessive hatred of Israel leads them to collude with the vicious excesses of the pro-Palestinian movement.Douglas Murray: Just a Bit More Beheading than We Are Used To
In the twisted narrative of the anti-Israeli brigade, the Hamas rulers of Gaza are battling for their oppressed people against the brutal, racist military regime run by Binyamin Netanyahu.
But this is a complete moral inversion of reality. In truth, Israel is a bulwark of democracy forced by the lethal forces of anti-Semitic Islamism to fight for survival.
Far from representing liberation and progress, as many progressives absurdly claim, Hamas is a brutal organisation that aims to impose totalitarian Islamic rule.
Along with other jihadist out-fits like the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Boko Haram in Nigeria, or the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, it forms part of a monstrous theocratic death cult that wants to destroy our civilisation.
Genocidal aggression towards the non-believer is a key element of this cult.
Who is surprised? That is one question I have most wanted to know since the video was released of the murder of American journalist James Foley. The politicians keep expressing it. And interviewers have kept asking people whether they feel it. But who can honestly say that he was surprised to learn that the murderer of the American journalist turned out to be a "British" man?Andrew Bolt: Muslim leaders’ radical unity - against Tony Abbott
Did anyone really still think that a British Islamist would not be capable of doing this? Why wouldn't he do it in Iraq or Syria if his allies had already done it in London? After all, it was only last year that two other Islamists beheaded one of our own soldiers – Drummer Lee Rigby – in broad daylight in London. And it is only twelve years since another Londoner – Omar Sheikh – arranged the abduction and decapitation of another American journalist, Daniel Pearl.
What is shocking is that expressions of "shock" seem to be regarded as an adequate response. Prime Minister David Cameron has pronounced himself "appalled" by the act, and made clear that he "utterly condemns" it. As though anyone should ever have expected him to think otherwise. But this is to a great extent what government policy is reduced to in Britain, as in the United States. Politicians briefly break off their holidays in order not to do anything much, but to be seen to be doing "something." And they then make sure to stand in front of the cameras and say how opposed they are to "something." It is the denigration of people in positions where they actually could do something, to the level of the commentariat.
AS news broke of the beheading of US journalist James Foley, 80 of Australia’s Muslim representatives issued a statement denouncing the extremism of ... Tony Abbott.
Last week’s statement is the most frightening yet from our Muslim “leaders”.
It attacks the Prime Minister for proposing anti-terrorism laws it falsely claims “specifically target Muslims”.
It ludicrously claims the threat from Muslim jihadists returning from Iraq or Syria is “trumped up” and then savages the true villains — the West and the Jews.
“Racist caricatures of Muslims” are being peddled by a government which won’t crack down on “Jews travelling to train or fight with the Israeli Defence Force”.
“We are not fooled by those who speak against violence and terrorism but are its proponents at an institutional level through military and foreign policies.
“We are not fooled by those who speak of peace but ... support and justify the most heinous of violence inflicted on innocent people as seen recently in Gaza.”
The message is clear. There can be no co-operation on laws to save Australians from being blown up unless Australia abandons Israel and stops fighting jihadists abroad.
The “Massacre in Ma’alot”
We can’t satisfy “the world,” so let’s stop trying.It was ironic that in their “Lust” for blood the three “Arab Israeli” terrorists who committed the atrocity in Ma’alot, began their rampage by attacking a van carrying Arab workers, killing Chasibah Shala 27 years old a Christian Arab Israeli women from Fassuta and severely wounding seven who were on their way home from work in a Jewish (Histadrudt) Garment Factory in Kiryat Ata and wounded the Arab Moslem driver.It is also ironic that The Second Lebanon War in 2006 which began on the 12th of July 2006. Began with a cross border ambush, under the “Watchful Eye” of the UN “Peace Keepers”, by the Hezbollah on Israeli patrol vehicles in the same area where the three Terrorists crossed in May of 1974 under the supposed watchful eyes of the UNFIL forces. The immediate result was the kidnapping by the Hezbollah murderers of the two Israel soldiers; First Sergeant Ehud Goldwasser and Sergeant First Class Eldad Regev.
The problem is that Jew-hatred is a characteristic of the hater, not the Jew. A Jew can’t ameliorate it by changing in any way, which is why trying to do so is so frustrating. What a Jew can and should do in the face of Jew-hatred is defend himself. This is both practically and psychologically beneficial to the Jew, and may even act to reduce Jew-hatred.Dishonourable Brits: Why the Guardian can’t distinguish between Semites & anti-Semites
What is true of the individual Jew is also true of Israel, the Jew among nations. The IDF can go to even greater extremes to protect civilian residents of Gaza, but it will never go far enough to satisfy “the world,” which is insatiable for Jewish self-abnegation.
Israel’s primary responsibility is to protect its citizens against attack. It does not need to try to gain approval by living up to fanciful standards that no other nation has ever met. Today we need to continue the war in Gaza until Hamas has been completely neutralized as a military force, and effective arrangements can be made to keep it that way.
Livni should stop worrying about “the world” and concentrate on that.
So, what accounts for such a profound moral inconsistency? Why are Palestinian jihadists not like the other jihadists?Time to declare Protective Edge a war
Though antisemitism is one factor which partly explains this phenomenon (among some Guardian contributors and journalists), the more widespread political dynamics at play are moral relativism, an egregiously skewed understanding of anti-imperialism, a glorification of ‘Palestinian resistance’ and an obsession with Jews and Israel - in short, the signature ideological ticks of the Guardian Left.
There is, however, one more factor.
We are often asked if we believe the Guardian to be institutionally antisemitic. While their obsessive and almost entirely negative coverage of the Jewish State fans the flame of antisemitism, this writer, for one, does not believe the media group is compromised institutionally by anti-Jewish racism.
It may be more accurate to observe in the Guardian worldview a capacity to forcefully condemn antisemitism in the abstract, but an inability to summon such righteous indignation when doing so would require parting company with other ‘historically oppressed’ groups, and indeed challenge their very ideological identity.
In their failure to condemn Hamas, and morally distinguish antisemitic extremists from the Jews they’re trying to kill, lies not a visceral antipathy towards Jews as such, but a tragic lack of courage to follow their convictions into uncomfortable political places – cowardliness which continues to bring dishonour to their once proud journalistic community.
The military campaign in southern Israel has been going on for weeks, and it is time for the government to officially change the status of Operation Protective Edge to that of a war. It is very clear that Hamas' incessant rocket fire and the heavy expenditures of Israel's military action have long surpassed the technical definition of an "operation."Yes, MLK supported Israel. It’s not up for debate.
It is believed that the cost of the fighting alone has exceeded 8 billion shekels ($2.26 billion), and the end, it seems, is nowhere in sight.
The financial aid package offered to the communities in southern Israel falls short of what they need, and it is time to declare Protective Edge a war. Many other businesses nationwide have also directly suffered because of the fighting, including the entertainment industry, the tourism industry and more.
It has recently come to my attention that once again, people within the pro-Palestinian movement are contesting basic historical fact. It is very difficult to have a productive conversation about an issue when many people on one side continually insist on twisting words and events. If we can’t agree on the facts to talk about, then what is there to talk about? Perhaps that’s the point; it’s much easier to use your own “facts” and simply try to insist on their authenticity than to have a real debate.Hostility Against Israel In Latin America: What Does It Really Mean?
Regardless, this historical revisionism needs addressing. When Zionism is accused of rascism, and in response one brings up historical facts about black support of Israel and Jewish support of the civil rights movement, it isn’t taken well. The pro-Palestinian response often becomes an explanation about how the support wasn’t really there or wouldn’t apply today. There are claims such as Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. stood against anti-Semitism and with Jews, but not with Israel. Activists will point to the lack of anachronisms, such as the fact that MLK didn’t talk about the Palestinians, who were simply called Arabs in his time, or that he didn’t speak to the “occupation”, to prove that he would not have approved of Israel’s actions in the current conflict. Or they might claim that if MLK could see Israel today, he would no longer stand with her. Or that using MLK’s name to defend the current conflict is wrong because he was anti-war and using his voice in a current debate posthumously isn’t fair (this is usually said alongside previous statements, creating an obvious contradiction).
During the recent “Operation Protecting Edge” held by Israel in response to attacks by Hamas against Israeli civilians, most Latin American countries took a prejudiced and intentionally political attitude against the State of Israel.Our Bien Pensant American Historians: The New Friends of Hamas
Indeed, before any hard evidence was registered with regard to the circumstances under which this war is being fought, several Latin American countries reached conclusions. Brazil, Chile, El Salvador, Ecuador and Peru temporarily withdrew their ambassadors from Tel Aviv in protest at what they considered “a disproportionate Israeli action that caused deaths of innocent Palestinians”. Mercosur, the main South American trade bloc, called on the United Nations to probe Israeli “war crimes”, echoing the discourse of the infamous United Nations Human Rights Council.
Marco Aurelio Garcia, ideologue and architect of Brazil’s foreign policy, described Israel’s actions as “genocide”. No word was said about Hamas’ aggression.
What’s more, the Brazilian government cited the death toll based on Palestinian sources that often lack sufficient credibility. Although figures are not yet clear, Israel has stated that at least half of the fallen were Palestinian Hamas terrorists or members of the Islamic Jihad.
In July of 1945, an organization called the Friends of the Haganah was created by American Jews, to support the defense forces of the Jewish community in Palestine. They knew that the Yishuv — the name of the Palestinian Jews who had built up the basis for a future state — were living under the dire threat of constant attacks by the surrounding Arab states.Analysis: Hezbollah not looking to join Hamas in battle
How things have changed. Nowhere has this been illustrated better than in the recent petition signed by over 200 American historians (who now claim over 1000 signatures), condemning Israel for its “disproportionate” use of force and demanding the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, a permanent end of the Israeli blockade of Gaza, and most telling of all, the suspension of US military aid to Israel, until such time that aid is no longer used for “the commission of war crimes.” Nowhere in the petition is Hamas mentioned. (The list of those who were the initial signers and writers of the petition can be found here.) In essence, those who signed the document can be called “the Friends of Hamas.”
As a historian who has studied the American far Left for many years, and decades ago was part of, I immediately noticed that many on the initial list of signers are veterans of the already old New Left and either supporters of or fellow-travelers of the defunct Soviet Union and the Communist movement. Indeed, I know many of them personally, and are aware of their old affiliations and political allegiances.
If Hamas were a fellow Shi’ite movement like Hezbollah, and also closely connected ideologically with Iran, we would have expected that Hezbollah would have gone all out to defend Hamas in Gaza by now.There Are No Self-Hating Jews
However, this is not the case, and the sectarian conflict and payback for abandoning its alliance with Syrian President Bashar Assad trumps any other considerations now.
Moreover, the group’s deep involvement in defending Iranian interests in the region, especially in Syria, leaves it with little desire to open up another front at the moment.
“Hezbollah enjoys looking at what is happening to Hamas, the traitors who betrayed Assad, their host and protector for more than 20 years, by not supporting him in his struggle against the Sunni jihadists,” Mordechai Kedar, director of the Center for the Study of the Middle East and Islam (under formation) and a research associate at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan University, told The Jerusalem Post.
The leftist Jew who sees the members of the Jewish civilization as an "Other" is a dinosaur. And he knows it and like the dinosaurs, he will do as much damage as he can on the way out. His organizations will wreak havoc. They will work to destroy the Jewish State and wage war on traditionalist Jews. That is what has been happening in this generation.To the Educated West, Israeli Children are Guilty
Like the Jewish Communist, he has no future. He has a past. But to have a past and no future is to be irrelevant. The Jewish Communists of Russia came from Jewish homes and went to cold graves. Their Western counterparts will fill out cemeteries leaving behind multicultural descendants. Their numbers, for now, appear intimidating, but looking at the cross-section of the Jewish People, they are already gone. It's easy enough to see that in the demographic picture of the next generation.
The self-hating Jew is not a Jew. He is not part of the Jewish civilization moving through time. He may have a Jewish past, but he has no Jewish future.
His malice causes damage in the present, but it is the frustrated act of a mortal man who knows that he has no future, that he will leave behind no legacy that a century of time will not wash away as thoroughly as the debris in the gutter.
There are no self-hating Jews. There are Jews who hate the Jewish People. Their hatred excludes them from the thing that they hate. By Othering Jews, they only Other themselves. Their books, their petitions, their jokes and their protests, their boat trips to Gaza and their letters from 199 Rabbis Against the Occupation and all the other symptoms of their hatred exist in the present, but not the past or the future. In the totality of Jewish civilization across time, they are already gone. (h/t Norman F)
A few days ago, The Independent, UK's most liberal newspaper, claimed that Israel is a "child-murdering community". The blood libel of Jews killing Gentile children. A dark legend which began long time ago, in Europe's Middle Ages.The West must defeat both ISIS and Hamas
A few days later, an Israeli child, Daniel Tragerman, was killed by a Hamas' rocket. He wasn't able to reach the shelter in time.
We live in a world in which Jewish children die because they don't run more quickly.
No sympathetic obituary was published about Israel's youngest victim of war. Because for the world, which professes the "land for terror" mantra, Israeli children are expendable.
The Palestinian Arab children, however, aren't war victims, but innocent saints, pure little creatures fallen under Israel's cruelty. Jewish children, on the other hand, are considered legitimate targets of hatred.
The brutality of ISIS must be ended, and so must Hamas’s aggression against the State of Israel, and the accompanying disease of antisemitism. Palestinians, including people from Fatah and the Palestinian Authority as well as Hamas, are prone to compare actions of Israel with those of the Nazis.Tacoma Block the Boat: Anatomy of a fail
Speeches by their leaders and news reports speak of Israel’s Operation Protective Edge in Gaza as a Holocaust, and of the Israeli Nazi mentality. This rhetoric provides the excuse for Palestinian violence against Israeli citizens, and for antisemitic actions.
American and European leaders are dramatically aware of the horror of ISIS and are preparing to take some further action against its rise. They must now assess the aggressive nature of Hamas and act accordingly. Both ISIS and Hamas must be defeated.
About 100 people opposed to Israel’s military action in Gaza formed picket lines outside Washington United Terminals gates on Port of Tacoma Road shortly after 7 a.m., in an attempt to keep longshore workers from unloading the vessel Chicago, owned by the Israeli company, Zim Integrated Shipping Services.More on the anti-Israel ad of Holocaust descendants
Instead, longshore workers were taken to the terminal by an alternate route and began their shift as usual. “We’re not going to talk about how they got in,” said Tara Mattina, a Port of Tacoma spokeswoman. “The ship did come in as expected, and the longshore workers started working at 8 a.m.”
Despite claims of ILWU "solidarity" with their aims, the local ILWU was unimpressed. ILWU Local 23 President Dean McGrath firmly declared via Twitter 'No organization will hijack our 'muscle' for their purposes."
Sabbath is not my favorite day of being angry,and it is not the day in which my attention is primarily focused on the politics of Israel, as I ,usually, more tuned to watching the soccer games over there[my religious readers-please forgive me...], being a life-long soccer fanatic. These days are not normal days, so I did what I did from the beginning of the current war with Hamas, looking for reasons for either being happy[very rare nowadays], or angry. And oh boy, I found so much of both…First, I was happy to see the Hollywood stars petition in favor of Israel, not all THE heavy weights, but many are , and not just Jews.South African Jewish Leaders Charge Local Labor Chief With Incitement and Hate Speech Over Call for Revenge Attacks
It was refreshing, though I must admit that I still do not intend to watch Schwarzenegger and Stallone… Surely, a pertition which is and will continue to be widely quoted and mentioned.
But then I got my fury of the day,and fury is a gentle word, reading the petition of 327 people , of which 40 claim to be Holocaust survivors[claim, because at least one, Hedi Epstein was in the famous Kinder Transport, and that was prior to the beginning of the Second World War], while the rest are members of families of survivors[or so they claim]. Then I read a brilliant answer by Professor Kenneth Waltzer, a much greater expert than me in the field of Jewish and Holocaust studies.
Waltzer wrote the obvious , that this is a minute group representing a tiny fraction of the community of Holocaust survivors, and he also related to the political background of some of the signers. Every word of his is worth gold,but still I decided to pick on that particular elem
Ehrenreich’s offending post alleged that the SAJBD is “complicit in the murder of the people in Gaza” and that it encourages South African youths “to join the killings in Gaza.” The COSATU provincial secretary also called on South Africans to target the Jewish leaders with revenge attacks every time a woman or child in Gaza is killed.PA flag-waver booted from UK soccer game
“We have seen in our own country that the [South African] Jewish Board of deputies have arranged gatherings to pledge their allegiance to the killing of Palestinians,” he wrote.
“The time has come to say very clearly that if a woman or child is killed in Gaza, then the Jewish board of deputies, who are complicit, will feel the wrath of the People of SA with the age old biblical teaching of an eye for an eye. The time has come for the conflict to be waged everywhere the Zionist supporters fund and condone the war killing machine of Israel.”
SAJBD said charges of incitement to violence and hate speech will be brought against Ehrenreich, and a formal complaint will be filed with the South African Human Rights Commission.
A British soccer fan was kicked out of White Hart Lane Stadium in north London on Sunday after he waved a Palestinian flag during a match between Queen’s Park Rangers and Tottenham Hotspur.Waiting for the barbarians
The QPR fan unfurled the Palestinian national banner high up in the stands and waved it at Tottenham supporters, but security officials quickly closed in to remove him.
Tottenham Hotspur, known as Spurs, traditionally has a significant Jewish following due to the large Jewish community near its home stadium, where the game was played.
The fans of the club often refer to themselves as the “Yids” or “Yid Army.”
Like Ebola, it’s always easiest to stop an epidemic when it’s small — when it can be isolated, contained and destroyed. It’s too late now to do it cheaply, but it’s still easier than after they’ve pulled off a massive terror attack that gets them even more recruits.Chabad of Mumbai Reopens Nariman House in India
The IS represents the very darkest side of the human psyche. The more destructive they are, the more young men are drawn to them. Look, they say, we are giving you an opportunity to shoot down real people with real automatic weapons, rape all the women you like — much better than video games and internet porn — inspire unimaginable fear and gain respect. Be like a king. And all for the sake of the true religion! Allah gives you a pass to live out your bloody fantasies in the name of his jihad!
In two days, a building that six years ago was soaked in blood and tears will instead be filled with light and joy, as Chabad of Mumbai’s Nariman House reopens its doors.Fear for Europe’s Jews
More than 25 Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries will attend the reopening set for Tuesday, August 26 along with other honored guests led by current co-directors, Rabbi Yisroel Kozlovsky and his wife Chaya.
The couple are continuing the work started by Rabbi Gabi and Rivky Holtzberg, who together with four of their guests were murdered in cold blood by Pakistani jihadist terrorists in November 2008. Only their two year old son Moishe, saved by his Indian nanny Sandra, survived the bloodbath. Both were brought home to Israel by Rivky’s parents, Rabbi and Mrs. Shimon Rosenfeld.
It is now almost three years since I moved with my family to the United States. Life for a Jew in the USA is markedly different to the European experience. American Jews are proud of being Jewish, understandably, and project that pride without equivocation. The idea that you would take off your kippa to avoid anti-Semitism, for example, is a complete anathema to American Jews, although removing your kippa in public is absolutely normal for a Jew in Europe. American Jews are deeply entrenched in the political system as Jews, and they show public support for candidates who advocate for Jewish causes and for Israel. In Europe, Jews involved in politics constantly hedge their views so that they are seen as neutral on “Jewish issues.”Why I'm Thinking About Moving to Israel
I have discovered that American voters, including Jews, feel that it is their right and duty to actively engage in political issues to ensure that the right candidates are elected to public office, or in other words, people who represent the views of those who vote for them, and support them. Every voter is expected to lobby, and Jews do so with vigor and in full public view. In the case of Israel, the Jewish lobby, made up of tens of thousands of unpaid citizen lobbyists, namely Jewish and pro-Israel Christian voters, argue that their cause is not just good for them, but for the national interests of the United States as a whole.
My grandmother once recounted a sad story to me. It’s one I’ve been thinking about a lot lately. When she was young and my mother still just a toddler, they were returning home from shopping across a crowded square, my mother hopping across the cobbles as they went. Suddenly, a few people approached and started shouting anti-Semitic abuse at her. More joined in, then more, until she was surrounded by people pointing at her, shouting names and insults. She held my mother and cried.Economist uses ‘Fagin the Jew’ to illustrate article on criminal behavior
Although she herself told me this, I can’t really imagine it. It sounds so foreign, so distant. So utterly alien from my life experiences. Incidents like that happen to other people, in other countries, in other times – except of course they have been happening in London and Manchester this summer to people like you and me.
I blithely dismiss the personal threat of anti-Semitism, and yet… and yet. There is always that nagging doubt.
My sister and I were discussing the current climate. She identifies far more strongly as a Jew than I do and works in a very left wing organisation so I asked her whether she was feeling uncomfortable at work. “Oh no”, she said, then added, “Well, only a bit. It’s more the comments on social media - I don’t think they’d ever say or do anything to me directly”.
“Yes, I suppose that’s what the German Jews thought in the 1930s” I replied darkly. We looked at each other aghast as the full implication of what I had said sunk in. “Maybe we should move to Israel”, I muttered, and we changed the subject.
I’m usually the one around the Old Jews poker table who counsels my oversensitive friends not to over-react to perceived slights. As a former English prof, I abhor PC censorship of literature (banning Twain for his use of the”N-word” is but one example.) I’m a fan of brilliant writers who are also dyed-in-the-wool anti-Semites, such as Pound, Celine TS Eliot and, yes, Dickens. Further, paying attention to intentional hatred or sniveling bigotry just stirs the toilet and makes it smell worse.TIME Magazine Retracts IDF Organ Theft Claim Following Criticism (UPDATE)
But The Economist just published a story entitled “To Have and Have Not: A disturbing study of the link between income and criminal behavior” that pushed me over the edge. Atop the piece is very large picture of Fagin the Jew from a movie version of Dickens Oliver Twist.
Time Magazine retracted a report on Sunday which claimed the Israeli army harvested dead Palestinians’ internal organs after a watchdog group accused the publication of propagating a “blood libel.”President Jimmy Carter to be keynote speaker at Muslim convention in Detroit
In a scathing critique, Honest Reporting said, “Time Magazine should be ashamed for giving new life to a horrendous blood libel accusing the IDF of stealing Palestinian organs.”
Honest Reporting, noted a video about the IDF appearing in an August 23rd article about Israeli airstrikes on Hamas targets in Gaza, in which the narrator said that the “IDF is not without controversy”, then claimed:
"….in 2009 a Swedish report came out exposing some Israeli troops of selling organs of Palestinians who died in their custody."
The Islamic Society of North America or ISNA, the nation's largest Muslim group, will hold its 51st annual convention in Detroit's Cobo Center Friday through Sept. 1, and will feature former President Jimmy Carter as the keynote speaker. President Carter will talk on the subject of his latest book, A Call to Action: Women, Religion, Violence, and Power, at a luncheon Aug. 30.Two reasons the “I can’t be a Zionist because I’m a liberal” meme is false
That night, at a session called “Generations Rise: Elevating Muslim-American Culture” -- the same title as the entire conference theme — the outgoing president of ISNA, Imam Mohamed Magid, and four other Muslim speakers will offer ideas for Muslim-American advancement over the next five years. A “secret special guest” is also on the bill. (h/t MtTB)
Being hostile to Israel has, in fact, become virtually a litmus test for one’s political correctness. So left-wing Zionists have to decide: do they want to be a member of the leftist club, or do they want to face barbs for being “PEP” (Progressive except Palestine), or, if they are Jewish, being PEP for “tribal” reasons?An Academic Union Mobilizes Against Israel
It’s not surprising that many left-wing intellectuals are choosing the former. That’s where their social and intellectual circle wants them to be, and that’s where the employment opportunities are. What left-wing journals or organizations want to hire pro-Israel individuals these days? Or consider John Judis’s book on Truman and Israel; he has no prior expertise on the subject matter, and what’s good in that book isn’t original, and what’s original isn’t good. The book wouldn’t have received anywhere near the attention it got had it been friendly to Zionism. Further left, if Max Blumenthal and Phillip Weiss weren’t obsessively hostile to Israel, would anyone care what they had to say?
No one’s obligated to defend Israel from its enemies, intellectual and otherwise, or to consider himself a “Zionist.” But let’s be frank. If someone is claiming that are abandoning “liberal Zionism” because Israel’s political culture has shifted drastically to the far right, they are either lying or ignorant.
Seeming to give credence to Orwell’s wry observation that some ideas are so stupid that only an intellectual could have thought of them, an open letter by “teaching assistants, tutors, and other student-workers at the University of California represented by UAW 2865” was recently published urging “support [of] the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against public institutions and corporations that profit from occupation and apartheid.”12 Orgs Call for Monitoring of SJP After Jewish Student Assaulted
The Joint Council of the UAW 2865, the group who wrote the open letter, is a body made up of 83 elected officers of the student-worker union at the University of California, with some 13,000 members. According to the letter, UAW 2865 intends to cooperate with other BDS campaigns, such as “the statewide University of California Student Association and the student governments at UC San Diego, UC Irvine, UC Santa Cruz, UC Berkeley and UC Riverside, all of whom have passed resolutions in favor of divestment.”
Typical of attempts to demonize Israel as a part of a sustained and increasing call for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS), the Union’s open letter is astounding in its contortion of history, its exclusive focus on the alleged crimes and transgressions of Israel, its false accusations about fact and currents in Gaza, and its complete whitewashing of any complicity in the current conflict on the part of Hamas or the Palestinians themselves.
Twelve organizations joined together to express outrage at the assault of Daniel Vessal, a CAMERA Fellow and member of the Alpha Epsilon Pi (AEPi) fraternity who was punched in the face and called "kike" by individuals around the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) table on August 20.Temple University — Latest Antisemitic Hotspot Protested Amid Record Donation Drive
Signing the statement were: The AMCHA Initiative, Americans for Peace and Tolerance, CAMERA, the David Horowitz Freedom Center, Hasbara Fellowships, Proclaiming Justice to The Nations, Inc., Scholars for Peace in the Middle East (SPME), the Simon Wiesenthal Center Campus Outreach, StandWithUs, The Lawfare Project, The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, and the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA).
“A university campus should be the setting for thoughtful discussion and intellectual debate. Such an atmosphere should be encouraged by all responsible student groups,” wrote the groups. “Unfortunately, Students for Justice in Palestine is not such a group. It has a proven track record of intimidation, harassment, and incitement merging into anti-Semitism against Israel and its supporters on campus.”
Romirowsky referred to “the latest at Temple.” Indeed, the university has recently been in the spotlight for minimizing the Holocaust. On June 9 of this year, Temple University president Neil D. Theobald received a formal complaint from the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law about Holocaust minimizing. Brandeis protested that Temple University Adjunct Professor Alessio Lerro had argued that “Jews are exaggerating the extent of the Holocaust to obtain political advantages.” Lerro’s remarks were made during the fractious debate over a proposed Modern Language Association boycott of Israel. In an online post, Lerro reportedly quipped, “Six million? mh…. we all know (or should know) that the counting of Jews is a bit controversial.” After a furor, a university spokesman caused further angst when he explained, “the exercise of academic freedom necessarily results in a vigorous exchange of ideas.” After that rankling apologia, Brandeis issued its stern letter of rebuke.New J Street U President Urges 'Richer Communication' With Israel Haters
Ironically, the day after the assault against Vessal, Temple announced a record $69.7 million in charitable donations for the fiscal year. This figure topped the previous year’s take, which was $65.8 million. As a 501(c)(3), every million dollars in tax-deductible donations raised by Temple is subsidized by general taxpayers in the amount of $400,000. Temple’s fundraising brochures declare, “Our students embody what it means to be Temple Made. But they couldn’t be who they are if you didn’t do what you do.” University President Theobald has stated, “We deeply appreciate the donors who recognize the power of Temple to contribute to the well-being of our city, state and nation.” More than 137,000 individual donations were made to Temple between 2010 and 2012 alone, according to university records examined. The university’s benefactors include many major gifts from Jewish donors and foundations arising from or controlled by Jewish individuals.
Cannon furthered his attack on Hillel and other groups by saying that he can “take solace in the fact that while Jewish American institutions might shun 'internal' criticism, groups in Israel welcome it” before warning that “when the Jewish state curtails that expression, it only reinforces the American Jewish community’s aversion to progressive Israel activism, and tells the growing cohort of young, progressive American Jews that their brand of pro-Israel activism isn’t welcome either. “Foley’s family publishes letter smuggled from captivity
Cannon, eager to welcome anti-Semites and those that hate Israel into pro-Israel events complained that that the American Jewish community is “already disposed to silencing unwanted voices.”
There is no word yet as to whether or not the straw man survived the assault.
The family of US journalist James Foley, whose gruesome beheading was shown in a video released by Islamic State terrorists, on Monday published a letter he managed to smuggle past his captors by asking a fellow hostage to memorize the entire text.Doll-beheading photos surface in tribute to Islamic State
Foley’s family posted the letter on the website they set up to campaign for his release and on the accompanying Facebook page, along with the remarkable tale of how their son arranged delivery of the note.
During his two years in captivity, Foley’s IS guards would not allow him to write any letters to his family, seizing any material they found.
Two troubling photos of a young child violently decapitating a doll were uploaded to Twitter Monday by supporters of the Islamic State terror group, in apparent tribute to the gruesome beheading of US journalist James Foley by members of the Islamist organization last week.British special forces land in Iraq to fight ISIS
In one of the images, the child, masked and wielding a knife, can be seen holding up a doll dressed in an orange jumpsuit reminiscent of the one wore by Foley during his execution. A black Islamic State flag is seen hanging in the background.
“Teach your children to cut necks, tomorrow there will be a lot of rotten heads,” stated the caption accompanying the picture.
Troops from the Royal British Army's elite SAS unit and Special Reconnaissance Regiment have landed in Iraq and are pursuing Islamic State fighters, particularly the U.K. citizen known as "Jihadi John" who beheaded the American journalist James Foley on camera last week.TV Host: Egyptian Frogmen Captured US Battleship Commander in 2013
The Sunday Mail reported that the British commandos were employing advanced technologies to find the killer.
"It is possible to identify British jihadis on the battlefield by intercepting their radio messages. When they're captured by the Iraqis or Kurds we'll take a close interest in their questioning," an SAS member told the weekly paper.
It already appears that the U.S. and U.K. are close to identifying the British-accented terrorist who killed Foley.
Egyptian TV host Muhammad Al-Ghaity recently claimed that in 2013, the "great heroic Egyptian frogmen" had overcome the captain of a U.S. Sixth Fleet battleship that had entered Egyptian territorial waters. Al-Ghaity made his claims on Tahrir TV on August 24.
Israel-China fund to play pivotal role in Swiss firm
As part of Israel’s business efforts to build long bridges, the Israel-China investment fund Catalyst CEL is investing $42 million in Switzerland-based Lamina Technologies — a manufacturer of precision carbide metal cutting tools originally established in Israel.Israeli Company Helps San Diego With Water Needs
The deal shines a light on Israel’s role in bringing the tech world’s “old” and “new” economies together. Alongside its good business aspect, Israel has helped enhance relationships between entrepreneurs and investors from around the world, bringing innovations to people far beyond its borders.
In the early 1990s, San Diego was experiencing drought conditions similar to those it faces today. At that time, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD), a water distribution center in Los Angeles, was essentially San Diego County’s only source of water. In 1991, MWD cut San Diego’s supply by 31 percent. With that, the San Diego business community started looking for other sources of water for the 3 million people and hundreds of acres of farmland in the region.Israel plans agriculture tech center for Goa
That’s where Israel enters the picture.
Starting in November 2015, a desalination plant in Carlsbad, Calif., built and operated by the Israeli company IDE Technologies, will produce 50 million gallons of water per day. The plant will provide 7-10 percent of the San Diego region’s needs.
Israel is setting up a “center of excellence” in Goa, providing technological solutions to agricultural issues, Israel’s consul general in Mumbai Davik Akov said on Saturday.'Israeli Ryanair' on cards says O'Leary, despite tensions
Goa, located in the West Indian region of the Konkan, is the country’s smallest state by area and fourth smallest by population.
“We have about 20 centers of excellence offering Israeli technology all over India,” Akov told IANS at the opening of an Israeli film festival in Mumbai. He added: “We hope to have one in Goa. We are starting to work on this prospect.”
“We believe that Israeli technology can assist certain areas of interest to Goa, like agriculture and maybe once we look in-depth, we can start looking at other areas of cooperation between Israel and Goa,” Akov said.
An "Israeli version of Ryanair" is being eyed by the airline, chief executive Michael O'Leary has told the Irish Independent.
He confirmed that the scale of the airline's ambition in Israel extends far beyond operating just a few flights to the country.
Ryanair has previously indicated it wants to fly to Israel, but the extent of its plans for the country come despite political and military tensions in the region.
Mr O'Leary said Ryanair is also still keen to launch services to Russia from Ireland, despite tensions there.
He blamed a lack of support from tourism authorities as the reason for the delay in launching the routes.
