Tuesday, March 10, 2015
Wild Thing: Max Blumenthal’s Creepy Anti-Zionist Odyssey
Max Blumenthal’s stock in trade is anti-Zionist polemic dripping with cartoon-like, racially weighted depictions of Israeli Jews. What distinguishes him from many other anti-Zionist writers is not his political views, but the obsessive nature of his work, which seems animated not by moral passion or analysis but by hate. It’s no surprise that Neo-Nazi Frazier Glenn Cross, the accused KKK killer who attacked Jewish community centers in Kansas, has 300 citations of Blumenthal on his website, VNN Forum. Blumenthal is also a go-to source about Jewish evildoers and evildoing for the neo-Nazi Stormfront site, and David Duke has endorsed his work. One of Blumenthal’s chapter titles in Goliath has been especially popular with the white supremacist sites that gleefully embrace his work: “How To Kill Goyim and Influence People.”Anti-Israel Rhetoric Toxic When Consumed In Large Doses
And it’s not just anti-Semitic crackpots who flock to him anymore. Mainstream journalists like James Fallows and Andrew Sullivan have also praised Blumenthal’s work. Astonishingly, Blumenthal has promoted Goliath at the New America Foundation, a centrist Democratic Party think-tank, and was recently given a platform by the New York Times.
But the truth is that Blumenthal is a pisher di tutti pishers and the mainstreaming of him has no political importance, since none of his political views are original to him. As a reporter, the best one can say about him is that he doesn’t speak Hebrew or Arabic, and he doesn’t have any sources—so it’s hard to fault him for getting things wrong. Rather, his specialty is the age-old marketing of Israel as a unique repository of the world’s evils and therefore a deserving target of unrestrained invective. The question then, is really for anti-Zionists who believe their cause to be motivated by justice and human rights: What to do about the hater in their midst?
Blumenthal is a frequent speaker on campuses, and the darling of groups such as Students for Justice in Palestine. Blumenthal was the featured pro-divestment speaker at the U. Michigan divestment vote a year ago, and recently in Paris:We'll be the Judge, episode 5
How did we get to the point that such anti-Israel propaganda finds such a receptive audience on our campuses?
Is it any wonder that a student at UCLA was challenged for having a conflict of interest because she was Jewish? Is it any wonder that Walking While Jewish is dangerous in many places in Europe.
Perhaps it’s unfair to focus on Blumenthal. He’s just one of many criss-crossing the globe and our campuses spreading a distorted, demonic view of Israel. He’s a symptom of a much bigger problem.
The fifth episode of the Israeli satire program "We'll be the Judge," from the creators of Latma's Tribal Update, Israel Channel 1, March 5, 2015.
American Libertarians VS Israel
Barack Obama is considered by many to be hostile to Israel and there’s a general hope among Israelis for the Republican Party to win the 2016 presidential elections. However, the Republican Party is changing and there may come a day when Israelis will miss the Obama presidency.Hizb ut-Tahrir leader Ismail Alwahwah calls for jihad against Jews in inflammatory video
The sluggish economic recovery from the 2008 recession and US continuous intervention in the Middle East are strengthening the Libertarian movement within the Republican Party. Libertarians believe in free-market capitalism, personal liberties and a small government. All three are admirable principles that could be a blessing for Israel and the entire world.
However, the fly in the ointment as far as Israel is concerned is that US libertarians are also isolationists. They support a massive reduction in the US defense budget and pursue a general retrenchment strategy. And from their perspective they might be right – after all, what did America get from its many entanglements other than an increasing debt load and waves of hostility?
The real thorny point for Israel is that, through no fault of its own, it’s considered by many US libertarians as the poster-boy of US involvement in foreign affairs. Arguably, Israel doesn’t deserve to be on this dubious pedestal. Unlike Japan, South Korea and Germany, there’s virtually not a single American soldier stationed in Israel.
A SICKENING video of Muslim extremist delivering a speech to a rally in Sydney in which he calls for jihad against the Jewish people is the subject of a complaint to the NSW Anti-discrimination Board calling for the prosecution of the Hizb ut-Tahrir leader.Australian Islamist Leaders Incite to Jihad to Expel Jews from Palestine
Alwahwah, a Jordanian native who runs the local branch of Hizb ut-Tahrir and has previously been photographed in conversation with Martin Place terrorist Man Haron Monis, performed his rant in Arabic to a large gathering in Lakemba last July.
“Oh Jews, nobody will give you peace,” he cries — in front of boys holding white and black Islamic flags.
“The Jews will not thrive and will not live in safety, because they are slayers of the prophet.”
NSW Jewish Board of Deputies chief executive Vic Alhadeff wrote to the Anti-Discrimination Board president Stepan Kerkyasharian this morning calling for the “Director of Public Prosecutions to prosecute Ismail al-Wahwah and Wassim Dureihi under S. 20D of the NSW Anti-Discrimination Act.”
The video, which has been available on the internet for some months now, was translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).
The 20th-Century Dictator Most Idolized by Hitler
Adolf Hitler’s obsessions, for he was a man prone to unhealthy fixations, were dangerous for the world—whether with himself, with art school, with his dreams of grandeur, with Eva Braun, with his hatred of Jews—or, more obscurely, with Turkey.Heartbreak in Gaza: a Lesson in Non-Investigative Journalism
To say that the roots of the Third Reich’s rise have been thoroughly examined would be an understatement. Yet one element of Hitler’s power grab has largely been neglected—the importance of Turkey and Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (or as Hitler called him, his “shining star”) on the Führer’s thinking.
In his exhaustively researched new book, Atatürk in the Nazi Imagination, Stefan Ihrig charts the outsized role that Atatürk and the New Turkey played in the minds of Germany’s Weimar-era far right—an influence that extended through the Nazi years. The Turkish Revolution was the most hotly-debated foreign issue in the early 1920’s, and not only did the Nazis model themselves after the Turkish National Movement, but Nazi leaders from Hitler and Goebbels were personally entranced by everything Atatürk did.
Kristof sums up his “findings”: “Israel and Hamas have both failed Gazans, creating cycles of war after war.” So Israel and Hamas are equally to blame for the abysmal situation in Gaza. Though he is known for passionately supporting human rights, not once does he refer to Hamas’ well known executions of anyone they suspect of not supporting them, and certainly without due process; of their brutal kidnapping and murder of Israeli civilians; of their successful attempt to Islamize Gaza, with all its inherent restrictions, especially for women. He suggests that the way to break the cycle is for Israel to ease the embargo. That’s it. Simple.Joel Pollak: With Erekat Invite, J Street Becomes Hate Group
In the print piece accompanying the video called “Winds of War“, Kristof does make one concession. “True, Hamas’ misrule is central to the problem, but we don’t have influence over Hamas; we do have influence over Israel.”
Kristof may be a brilliant journalist with a heart and a conscience but none of this was apparent in his reporting from Gaza. His reporting was very much in line with much of the journalism that came out during Operation Protective Edge, and still continues: it’s sloppy, lazy , characterized by omissions, lack of historical knowledge and muddled thinking. By absolving Hamas of responsibility, this misguided journalism does nothing to help diminish the suffering of the Palestinians in Gaza. It does, however, empower Hamas.
J Street, a left-wing organization that was founded by liberal Jews to counter traditional pro-Israel advocacy in Congress, has crossed the line into hate group status with its invitation to Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat to address its conference later this month.Hillel president shuns J Street conference due to attendance of Saeb Erekat
Erekat infamously accused Israel of committing a massacre in the Jenin refugee refugee camp, and of killing over 500 people there, in 2002. The accusation fueled anti-Israel hatred worldwide–but it was a complete lie.
The actual number of people killed in Jenin was one-tenth of that number–and half of those were Palestinian terrorists. The context was Israel’s Operation Defensive Shield, a largely successful effort to root out terror organizations in the West Bank after Palestinians bombed a Passover seder in the Israeli coastal city of Netanya, killing 30. In battles in Jenin, 23 Israeli soldiers were killed. There was no “massacre”–but Erekat never retracted or apologized for his sensational claim.
There is a consequence to such lies. They encourage millions of people to hate Israel–and Jews–and encourage hundreds to take up arms or join terror organizations.
Eric Fingerhut, the president of Hillel International, is withdrawing from speaking at J Street’s annual conference because of the presence of Saeb Erekat, the Palestinian negotiator.Economic catastrophe awaits if Jews leave Europe, Jewish leader warns
“My desire to attend the conference was based on my wish to speak at a student-only session directly with the students who will be in attendance, to thank those who have joined in the fight against BDS and anti-Semitism on college campuses, and to urge everyone to take up this crucial cause,” Fingerhut said in a statement, making reference to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel. (J Street U, the group’s campus affiliate, has been active in opposing BDS, and the national group has a policy of opposing the practice.)
“However, after reviewing the full list of speakers, I now realize that any benefit that might come from this opportunity would be overshadowed by concerns regarding my participation amongst other speakers who have made highly inflammatory statements against the Jewish state.”
Asked by JTA what speaker at the March 21-24 conference triggered the pullout, Hillel’s chief administrative officer, David Eden, named Erekat, noting his inflammatory statements in the past. In recent months, Erekat has compared Israel to the Islamic State, or ISIS, the terrorist group battling a U.S.-led alliance. Eden also noted that the State Department has condemned such statements.
Europe is on the verge of a serious economic crisis if the European Union does not introduce new legislation to counter anti-Semitism, according to the president of the European Jewish Congress.Drone spotted over Jewish school in Toulouse
Moshe Kantor said every Jewish family on the continent is contemplating whether they should "leave or stay" as they fear the levels of anti-Semitism growing.
"This minority is going in case authorities are not delivering some real, real stuff," the Russian told Reuters at London's Kensington Palace. "This minority is going to leave Europe, definitely because this question just now in every Jewish family in Europe: to leave or to stay. There's no other solution. And the only one thing which can stop at the moment this process is real gestures of the authorities on a European level and on a British level."
Last month, the body which advises Britain's estimated 260,000 Jews on security reported that the number of anti-Semitic incidents in Britain had risen to a record level last year.
The drone looped around the Roseraie neighborhood where the school is located and flew over Otzar Hatorah’s middle school and high school buildings, the guards said.Douglas Murray: A new low: Charlie Hebdo's murdered staff receive an 'Islamophobe of the Year' award
The incident occurred just one day after an unidentified man was spotted placing a bag containing Stars of David mixed with rags in front of a synagogue in a Toulouse suburb.
Police are searching for the man and the people responsible for the drone.
March 19 will mark the third anniversary of the Otzar Hatorah attack, in which three children and a rabbi were shot dead. A commemoration ceremony is planned.
Of course the IHRC and their supporters like to pretend that Muslims in Europe are being ‘otherised’ in the manner of Jews in Nazi Germany. But nothing could be further from the truth. Not just because it was concentration camps rather than ‘othering’ which was the main issue in Germany in the middle of the last century. But also because Muslims in Europe enjoy full equal rights – far more so than in any Islamic country in the world today or ever. If there are any negative feelings towards elements of the Muslim community it is towards the extremists. And why shouldn’t people hate those who blow up trains and buses, crash planes into buildings, shoot at free speech seminars and synagogues and target Christians, Hindus, Jews and liberal Muslims around the world? If that ire does end up being more widely and less discerningly directed then it will be precisely because a growing number of non-Muslims begin to notice that Muslim communities seem capable not only of producing the sort of people willing to slaughter journalists and cartoonists but also of then providing a multitude of pseudo-moderate organisations which compare the victims of Islamist violence – rather than the perpetrators – to Nazis.Swedish artist Vilks says 'Everything has changed' after Copenhagen shootings
I hope the IHRC and their supporters had an amusing time at their awards ceremony at the weekend, laughing as they smeared and mocked dead journalists. To my mind it provides a good reminder of what the civilised world is up against, abroad and at home.
Lars Vilks was used to tight security even before, with round-the-clock police protection at his home in southern Sweden. But after the deadly Feb. 14 attack against a free-speech seminar in Copenhagen, he lives under security measures that seem almost absurd in peaceful Sweden, with heavily armed bodyguards moving him from one secret location to another.IsraellyCool: Latest Blood Libel: Fake Israeli Police Brutality Edition
"It's like starting a new life," the 68-year-old Swedish artist told The Associated Press Wednesday in an interview arranged by his bodyguards at an abandoned farmhouse on the outskirts of the city of Malmo. "Everything has changed. I have to understand that I cannot go back home. I have to probably find some other place to live."
Vilks' life changed radically eight years ago after he drew a sketch of the Prophet Muhammad with a dog's body. Dogs are considered unclean by conservative Muslims, and Islamic law generally opposes any depiction of the prophet, even favorable, for fear it could lead to idolatry.
Al-Qaida put a bounty on his head. In 2010, two men tried to burn down his house in southern Sweden. Last year, a woman from Pennsylvania pleaded guilty in a plot to try to kill him.
Even then, it all seemed like a "comedy" to Vilks, because his would-be attackers seemed like "clumsy amateurs."
"Now it's come to a level where people are killed," Vilks said. "Then you can't fool around."
The following photo has been disseminated by the Israel hating crowd – including the ever (un)reliable Richard Silverstein – and is being passed off as Israeli policemen brutalizing a palestinian woman.At Israel Trade Event in South Africa BDS Supporters Threaten to ‘Kill Jews’
As is typical with such blood libels against Israel (and Silverstein’s posts), something seemed amiss straight away.
For a start, the uniforms are not those worn by Israeli riot police,
In fact, the hats worn in the photo seem to be from a kid’s costume!
Because they are hats from a kid’s costume, the brims are too short, and the fake policemen seem to have extended them with real hats.
Then there’s also the matter of the gun in the photo not being Israeli police department issue.
In other words, this is fake.
Supporters of the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement threatened to slaughter Jews as they protested outside an Israeli expo in South Africa on Sunday, The Jewish Daily Forward reported.UCLA campus must take action to address anti-Semitism
“You think this is Israel, we are going to kill you,” protesters from the BDS movement screamed outside the Zionist Federation SA–Israel Expo in Sandton, a suburb of Johannesburg. They also yelled, “You Jews do not belong in South Africa” and “no Zionist conference be held on our soil.”
The expo showcases Israeli products such as wine, food and medicine.
Among the picketers was Government Deputy Minister Obed Bapela who serves as head of the ruling African National Congress (ANC)’s International Relations and who accused Israel of oppressing Palestinians.
“How can Israel say they are not aggressors, when they are building homes and annexing Palestinian lands,” he said amid a wave of cheers from the crowd, which carried Palestinian flags and signs calling on South Africa to end trade with the Jewish state. “The apartheid wall should go down.”
A foul odor is in the air. Lest we have any doubt about it, The New York Times has caught a whiff of it, reporting in its Thursday edition on the Rachel Beyda case at UCLA. Simply put, we are in the throes of another version of the infamous Jewish Question here on campus.Hillel At UCLA Takes Credit For Publicity Of The Rachel Beyda Incident
From the time of the 18th-century Enlightenment, European society has posed the Jewish Question in various guises: Do the Jews, the classic “other” in medieval Christendom, belong in our domain? Do they owe loyalties to their home countries, or rather to their narrow group interests? The question has arisen in this country as well, though in recent decades, many had come to conclude that Jews could operate in American society without aspersions cast on their loyalty.
Not so fast. Sadly and remarkably, the Jewish Question is resurfacing in the most progressive of venues: college campuses. Last week at the University of Chicago, anonymous postings on the secret-sharing site Yik Yak and a “UChicago Secrets” Facebook page were riddled with anti-Semitism. One posting claims that “a bunch of butthurt Jews cry and scream ‘anti-Semitism’ to their media mogul daddies.” The most shocking of posts expressed the wish that the “final solution had worked.”
And of course, we have our own local outbreak of the Jewish Question: the case of Rachel Beyda, whose qualifications for a position on the Undergraduate Students Association Council Judicial Board were challenged by a number of councilmembers because of her Jewish religious background. Fortunately, USAC reversed its earlier decision to deny Ms. Beyda a spot, and the four board members who voted against Ms. Beyda in the first round have issued an apology for suggesting that the candidate’s religion might incline her to bias.
Hillel at UCLA released a statement taking credit for publicizing a recent anti-Semitic incident involving UCLA’s student government, as well as protecting Jewish students on campus “before the fact.”Pro-Israel Groups At UCLA Address Anti-Semitism While Openly Supporting SJP At UCLA
The same USAC-selected student leaders who had attempted to reject Rachel Beyda from the judicial board for being Jewish: Manjot Singh, Fabienne Roth, Negeen Sadeghi-Movahed, and Sofia Moreno Haq, are influential Students for Justice in Palestine members actively involved in passing the anti-Semitic BDS resolution at UCLA.
Hillel at UCLA claims to be “proactive” against the anti-Semetism displayed by these students. Hillel at UCLA refuses, however, to recognize SJP as anti-Semitic. In fact, after posters appeared on the UCLA campus about two weeks ago accusing SJP of anti-Semitism, Hillel at UCLA acted swiftly to remove and condemn the posters in the Daily Bruin:
UCLA’s Bruins For Israel will meet tonight with several other pro-Israel student groups on campus to discuss a new resolution against anti-Semitism. This resolution was proposed in the aftermath of a student potentially denied a position on the school’s judicial board for being Jewish.How Colleges’ Focus on Multiculturalism Can Foster Anti-Semitism
BFI’s support for the pro-Hamas organization SJP is evident by their repeated defense of SJP. BFI recently joined several pro-Israel organizations such as Hillel and J Street to condemn posters that appeared at the UCLA campus on February 22nd accusing SJP of anti-Semitism. BFI’s supportive presence was also noted at an SJP-run town hall in which SJP leaders congratulated BFI and Hillel at UCLA for uniting with them against bigotry, i.e. the anti-SJP posters.
In a twitter conversation on February 24th, BFI defended SJP at UCLA against a comment accusing SJP of supporting Hamas and hosting convicted murderer Rasmea Odeh. BFI responded, “Palestinian activists should be the first to condemn Hamas. They are as big a threat to Palestinians as they are to Israelis.” BFI further defended that SJP at UCLA “did not host [Rasmea] Odeh. UCLA is unique from every other campus, please understand that.”
Reports that a Jewish candidate at University of California, Los Angeles’ student council was subjected to an anti-Semitic inquisition by fellow students have the media atwitter, and rightly so.UC Berkeley Student Uses '#DIntifada' As Campaign Hashtag
But there’s nothing new here. Anti-Semitism is just part of the anti-Western and anti-American animus that passes under the name of “multiculturalism,” and has been burning up campuses for decades now.
So the answer to the question why do UCLA students think they can openly discriminate against Jews is that such is the primordial soup in which they swim on campus. A better question is why Americans keep handing their sons and daughters over to this nihilistic form of cultural suicide. Only calling it out for what it is, rather than pretending it’s a one-off phenomenon, may force us to find a solution.
The “educators” at UCLA certainly would want you to think what happened is rare. The university’s chancellor Gene D. Block even trotted out the trite cliché that what transpired was a “teaching moment.” If this is what passes for teaching at UCLA, then the university is in even worse trouble.
A student senate candidate at the University of California, Berkeley is under fire after making reference to the murder of innocent men, women and children as part of her campaign platform.British university seminar to question Israel’s legitimacy
Despite the fact the UC Berkeley recently unanimously passed a bill condemning anti-Semitism, Sumayyah Din, a candidate on the "Independent Voice" slate, made use of the term when she launched her campaign late Sunday evening.
"I am honored to have the opportunity to run for ASUC Senate as an independent candidate," wrote Din. She added:
I believe it is tremendously important for ALL students at Cal to have a voice in our student government and I want to represent my communities in this space. My vision encompasses a collaborative force on campus that utilizes our collective identities for an inclusive campus climate. I hope to move forward with the utmost transparency, compassion, and vigor. Vote the Independent Voice for an Independent Choice! #DIN4THEWIN #DINASTY #DINTIFADA #DOIT4THEDIN
The University of Southampton will hold a three-day symposium in April with the stated goal of shifting the debate away from “Israeli actions in the 1967 Occupied Territories” and onto “themes of legitimacy… posed by Israel’s very nature.”Jewish Voice for Peace: Still spreading lies
The forum will examine the manner in which “injustice in historic Palestine” was shaped by Israel’s creation, as well as constitutional bases in international law that may rectify the transgression inherent in the establishment of the Jewish state, according to the university’s website.
Mark Hoban, a member of Parliament and former British treasury minister, dubbed the conference “provocative and unhelpful” and called on the university’s leadership to cancel it.
“While I fully support the principles of freedom of speech and the right to question, I find it concerning that an institution as respected as the University of Southampton should host a hard-line, one-sided forum questioning and delegitimizing the existence of a democratic state,” Hoban said.
If groups like Jewish Voice for Peace have their way, the indoctrination of our young people will begin well before collegePreOccupied Territory: In Unprecedented Event, Academic Gives Anti-Israel Opinion As Fact (satire)
The annual California Council for the Social Studies Conference was held last weekend at the Oakland Marriott. In addition to the usual textbook and software vendors, the fringe group of anti-Israel activists also had a booth.
JVP activists lured people to their table with a huge pile of Hershey's miniatures, and reeled in their unsuspecting victims by encouraging them to take a spin on their wheel of "truth" Those who fell for it were subjected to a false historical narrative of out of context quotes, misrepresentations, deletions and downright lies.
In the JVP mindset, Israel "seized" the Gaza strip and the West bank, but Israel's near miraculous defeat of 6 Arab armies in that war was not worth a mention. To JVP, Israel's "wall"- never mind that 97% is a fence- exists to prevent Palestinian access to Israel. Its security function and its success at protecting the Israeli population went unmentioned. The mythical "right" of return, the libel of "Jewish only" roads, the lie of racial segregation- long discredited tropes were dug up and displayed at this convention. History and truth were discarded.
In an unprecedented occurrence, a left-wing professor at a prestigious university has used her limited knowledge of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to portray her negative assessment of Israeli policies as established fact, departing from the norm of such pronouncements as the product of sober, objective consideration.Honest Reporting: Campus Jew Hate, Holocaust Cards, and Israeli Media-Minders
University of Illinois Professor of Sociology and Ethnic Studies Soneyess Roelle gave an address last week in which she likened Israel to Apartheid-era South Africa, betraying gross ignorance of both milieus. Such conflations of empirical facts and politically-motivated opinion rarely occur in academia, especially in the social sciences, making the incident a glaring exception to the otherwise politically neutral, ideologically tolerant set of disciplines. As a result of the address, Professor Roelle has become the target of literally three calls for apology and correction, a veritable torrent of criticism. When presented with the negative reaction, she immediately apologized for failing to adequately uphold academic standards that demand a modicum of sociology jargon to help hide antisemitism and a priori anti-Israel bias, which itself is a rarity in academe.
“It’s pretty difficult to find liberal Liberal Arts faculty in American colleges and universities who harbor antipathy toward Israel,” explains Seno Evel, who edits the educational journal Bias, Opinion, and Gender in University Settings (BOGUS). “There definitely have been such people, since this is such a big country with so much a variety and diversity, but you have to look pretty hard to find an American liberal academic who isn’t a die-hard Zionist. On top of that, here we have the exceedingly rare case of a ‘soft sciences’ professor treating her interpretation of events as factual. You can see why such occurrences happen only rarely.”
Listen to Yarden Frankl on the Voice of IsraelAustralian Click-Bait: How to Abuse Israel to Attract Readers
Yarden Frankl of HonestReporting joins VOI’s Josh Hasten in-studio to discuss the week’s media coverage of Israel: The UCLA Student Council attacks a Jewish student, the BBC’s Jeremy Bowen accuses PM Benjamin Netanyahu of playing the “Holocaust card;” and Jim Clancy (formerly of CNN) going to Beirut to defend his anti-Israel tweets and express fear of the “Israeli media-minders.”
So what radicalized an Australian teenager to become an Islamic State jihadi?IsraellyCool: Better Call Talut: The Interesting List Of Galloway’s Lawyers’ Expertise
The headline from the Sydney Morning Herald is pretty explicit in its attribution to media coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Yet this is the only mention of Israel in the SMH article:
He was particularly upset by Israel’s campaigns in Gaza.
“He did express strong thoughts on what was really happening compared to what they showed us in the media,” the friend said.
Mr Bilardi believed of the western media: “They lie. Twist words. Don’t say what is actually happening”.
And what of the Herald Sun, whose headline focused on the death of Jake Bilardi’s mother? There is no mention of media coverage of Israel whatsoever in that paper’s story.
Considering that Bilardi converted to Islam and then headed for Iraq (not Israel), what are we to make of the Sydney Morning Herald’s headline?
It looks like it isn’t Jihadi Jake who has an obsession with Israel. Someone at the Sydney Morning Herald has figured that an Israel angle to the story, even a circumstantial one, makes it far more attractive to an audience that has already been fed a steady diet of negative stories about Israel.
As Dave wrote a few days ago, George Galloway is on a bit of a legal fishing expedition on Twitter. His lawyer(s) are sending frightening, intimidating demand letters to anyone who even casually re-tweeted an accusation that George Galloway is an antisemite.A brief intro to Gilad Atzmon’s Holocaust Denial – aka, George Galloway’s pillow talk
So who are the lawyers working for George on this case? All the letters come from a firm called Chambers Solicitors based, unsurprisingly, in George’s home constituency of Bradford. It should be pointed out that Bradford is a city with a high proportion of Muslims and it’s the city Galloway tried to ban Israelis from visiting. Leading to much mirth as Israelis visited and took pictures at Bradford’s various “landmarks” with their passports.
When the good folk at Chambers Solicitors aren’t sending out possibly rule breaking demands for immediate payment of fees from unsuspecting twitter users, what else do they do? Well their website paints an illuminating picture of the kinds of legal problems they help their other clients with.
In the (rather large and detailed) list of serious crime and fraud we have such delightful areas of expertise as Murder, Death by dangerous driving, Immigration offences, Benefit fraud, Money laundering, Firearms offences and many more.
Let’s take a look at the category details of terrorism:
If you want to understand why we feel it is perfectly justifiable to state that George Galloway MP has engaged in antisemitism.Massachusetts lawmakers pass motion against anti-Semitism
One of the pieces of evidence we cited involves Galloway’s expression of support for an antisemitic extremist named Gilad Atzmon. Specifically, Galloway said he was “enthralled” by a book written by Atzmon’s book, The Wandering Who?. The book was described by CST (the charity tasked with protecting British Jews) as “probably the most antisemitic book published in this country in recent years.”
In fact, not only did Galloway say he was “enthralled” by Gilad Atzmon’s book, but further informed Atzmon, while interviewing him on RT earlier in the year, that he read the book to his wife in bed.
Massachusetts lawmakers in a joint legislative session approved a resolution condemning anti-Semitism and calling for expanded anti-bias and Holocaust education.Battle over Schindler’s papers to be heard in Israeli court
A similar resolution that decries anti-Semitism and all forms of faith-based violence is under consideration in New Jersey, where a bill is expected to pass that state’s senate March 16, followed by its state assembly, according to the New Jersey State Association of Jewish Federations.
The Massachusetts resolution was approved on Monday. It was sponsored by State Senator Cynthia Stone Creem, and Lori A. Ehrlich, both Jewish members of the state legislature, and is expected to be signed later this week by Speaker of the House Robert DeLeo and Senate President Stan Rosenberg. As a joint resolution, it does not require the signature of Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker.
Forty years after his death, a legal battle is playing out in Jerusalem over documents belonging to Oskar Schindler including personal copies of the lists of Jews he saved from the Holocaust.Israeli-Greek-Cypriot Alliance Challenges Turkey in the Med
The case, which is expected to go to court next month, sheds unusual light on Schindler’s personal life after he saved some 1,200 Jews from the Nazis during World War II, and the battles over his estate.
It also raises questions about the ownership rights of documents that once belonged to important figures like Schindler — whose personal papers have in the past turned up at auction.
The case has been brought by Erika Rosenberg, an Argentinian woman, who is suing Jerusalem’s Yad Vashem Holocaust museum over a suitcase containing thousands of Schindler’s documents.
Rosenberg claims ownership of the documents by virtue of being the heir of the German industrialist’s late wife, Emilie.
Israeli-Greek relations have never been better. Turkey’s pressure on Greek-speaking Cyprus over natural gas drilling has pushed both the Cypriots and the Greeks into an unprecedented defense and economic relationship with Jerusalem. But the relationship could be challenged by Greece’s new far-left government.Israeli fan app brings home prestigious European award
After the Syriza party was elected, there was speculation in Israel that their Middle East policy could shift. It was a number of Syriza activists last summer who led demonstrations against Operation Protective Edge. Additionally, the party is composed of a number of extremely pro-Palestinian politicians. But other factors have impacted whatever influence those views might have had in reversing Greece’s growing relationship with Israel.
Arutz Sheva spoke to Ambassador Arye Mekel, former Israeli Ambassador to Greece and currently a researcher for the Begin Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, who explained that "Syriza is an alliance of 14 smaller far-left factions. One Deputy Minister even participated in one of the flotillas to Gaza."
Turkey Eclipses the Palestinians
Greece is very close to Cyprus, the Greek-speaking island nation also sitting on the same batch of natural gas fields as Israel. But the island is divided; in 1974, Turkey invaded and occupied the northern half of the island and created a separate enclave for the Turks that moved there.
The big winners of the Mobile Premier Awards (MPA) at the Mobile World Congress this year went to two Israelis who took first prize in the prestigious competition. The annual event is held in Barcelona, Spain and is considered one of the most distinguished awards to be bestowed upon start-up entrepreneurs looking to make a big impact on the smartphone application market.BioCatch’s newest trick: Catch cyber-crooks before they steal anything
To give you some idea of the weight the award carries, 2010's MPA winner was the now the world famous Israeli Waze application.
Haran Yaffa and Omri Erez are the dynamic duo behind 'Fansino' - an app that connects musicians and fans together. The app allows artists to interact with individuals who buy and listen to their music and facilitate communication through social networking platforms in real time. The app also allows fans to receive information about their favorite artist, upcoming concerts and ticket sales.
What’s the best way to make sure that cyber-crooks don’t have the opportunity to raid bank or credit card accounts belonging to legitimate customers? By keeping them out of the system in the first place, according to Oren Kedem, VP of products at cyber-security start-up BioCatch.Israeli startups in New York raise over $1 billion in 12 months
The newest release of the Tel Aviv start-up’s technology now enables banks and online financial sites to detect fraudsters during the account-opening process, so that they can be booted off the site before they have an opportunity to steal anything.
“In today’s cybersecurity environment, it’s crucial that financial services institutions have the most advanced protection allowing them to combat the increasingly sophisticated attacks we are seeing,” said Kedem. “This is exactly the reason we have zeroed in on using behavioral biometric authentication to identify threats such as malware and new account fraud.”
Israeli startups based in New York raised a whopping $1 billion in the 12 months through February, according to a Bloomberg Business report. The news wire quoted figures from IsraeliMappedinNY, a website that connects Israeli entrepreneurs and tracks new ventures.
According to the report, 35 companies raised a total of $1 billion during the period.
WeWork Companies, the startup that rents out office space to entrepreneurs, raised the most — $505 million in two funding rounds. The second highest earner was Taboola content-recommendation company, which raised $117 million in February.
According to data by the IsraeliMappedinNY site, the majority of the money came from venture capital firms.
IsraeliMappedinNY lists more than 235 Israeli startups based in New York City.
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