Sunday, March 22, 2015
Melanie Phillips: Benjamin Netanyahu, the Jew among world leaders
In the most educated and progressive circles, who is considered to be the archfiend of the Middle East, the person who most imperils life and freedom and the safety of the world?The Guardian appoints anti-Israel propagandist Katharine Viner as new editor-in-chief
Bashar Assad, perhaps, the butcher of Syria? Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leader of the psychotic Islamic State terrorist group? Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who threatens a second genocide against the Jewish people? None of the above. Among progressives, the accolade from hell is bestowed instead on the prime minister of the only democracy in the Middle East, Benjamin Netanyahu.
Shocked and appalled by their failure to finish him off politically – only to see him reelected stronger than ever – the Left immediately intensified its campaign of distortion and demonization against him. Its “aha” moment was that he was said to have reversed himself and come out against a two-state solution.
The Obama administration pounced and started hurling threats. It let it be known that, now that Netanyahu had opposed the creation of a separate Palestinian state, it would need to “reevaluate” the best way of bringing that about. It suggested the US might now fail to oppose the Palestinian initiative to get the UN Security Council to declare the establishment of such a state.
The decision was not a surprise to those following the media group’s search for a new chief editor.Jews are behind all bad in the world, says preacher on PA TV
In December, I was asked by Josh Jackman of the The Jewish Chronicle to share my thoughts on the announcement that Alan Rusbridger was stepping down as the newspaper’s editor-in-chief after more than 20 years at the helm, and how the appointment of a new editor may affect their Middle East coverage. I told Jackman that the Guardian was institutionally biased against Israel and I wasn’t optimistic that a new editor will have a positive effect.
Specifically, I noted that Viner, one of the top early contenders for the job, could possibly even push the media group to adopt an even more pronounced pro-Palestinian stance.
My concerns were largely based on the fact that Viner was the co-creator of an anti-Israel play called ‘My Name is Rachel Corrie’, a piece of theatrical agitprop about the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) activist killed in March 2003 while attempting to stop an IDF anti-terror operation in Gaza.
In a review in 2005, Times of London culture critic Clive Davis characterized the play as “an element of unvarnished propaganda…with no attempt to set the violence in context”. “We are left”, he complained, “with the impression of unarmed civilians being crushed by faceless militarists.” At one point in the play, Corrie declares, “The vast majority of Palestinians right now, as far as I can tell, are engaging in Gandhian non-violent resistance.” As Davis noted, “Even the late Yasser Arafat might have blushed at that one.”
The Jews are behind all that is wrong in the world, according to the host of a weekly Palestinian Authority TV program on Islam. Even when fish fight in the sea, "the Jews are behind it," said the Muslim preacher and professor of Quranic Studies, Imad Hamato. To back up this Antisemitic hate speech, Hamato went on to say that the Quran teaches that humanity will never "live in comfort... peace or fortune or tranquility" as long as "the Jews are causing devastating corruption throughout the land." The solution for Muslims, according to the professor, is to fight Jews: "Our real Jihad is to take revenge.""Jews are causing devastating corruption throughout the land" - Muslim preacher on PA TV
"Humanity will never live in comfort as long as the Jews are causing devastating corruption throughout the land. Humanity will never live in peace or fortune or tranquility as long as they are corrupting the land. An old man told me: If a fish in the sea fights with another fish, I am sure the Jews are behind it. As Allah says: ''Every time they kindled the fire of war [against you], Allah extinguished it. They strive throughout the land [causing] corruption, and Allah does not like corrupters'' (Sura 5:64)." [Official PA TV, Feb. 27, 2015]
Only a month prior to Hamato's statement, Palestinian Media Watch reported on a cleric on official PA TV who taught that Jews are "apes and pigs" whose "hearts were sealed by Allah."
Six Arrested After Mob Attacks London Synagogue Reportedly Shouting ‘We Will Kill You’ (VIDEO)
Six people were arrested by London police on Sunday after a gang of 20 attacked a synagogue late Saturday night tearing books and assailing worshipers in the Stamford Hill suburb, according to multiple media reports.Gang of 20 Men Attack Synagogue in Stamford Hill - Saturday Night 3-22-2015
The attackers reportedly shouted “we will kill you” during the attack on the “Ahavas Torah” synagogue in the Craven Park Road area, and police confirmed they were treating the assault as an antisemitic incident and that they were viewing the attack as “grave.”
Footage of part of the incident shows a group of Jewish youths inside the synagogue brandishing makeshift clubs as they try to fend off the mob of attackers from outside. The windows of the house of worship are seen to be shattered and a projectile is fired towards the Jewish group towards the end of the video. Two girls in miniskirts, apparently part of the attacking party, are seen entering the synagogue, possibly attempting to intervene.
One man suffered injuries in the attack, including a broken tooth, after he attempted to detain one of the attackers until police arrived. He was quickly overcome by the mob and struck several times in the face, according to reports.
Police were called to the scene at about 1 a.m. local time and removed the men who had managed to enter the synagogue.
Counter-Terrorism Bureau warns of jihadi threats to Jewish, Israeli targets in Europe
The Counter-Terrorism Bureau warned on Sunday that global jihadi elements will likely seek to carry out additional attacks on Jewish and Israeli targets, particularly in western and northern Europe.Dead Argentine prosecutor was zeroing in on a terror threat to the entire Western Hemisphere
The warning appeared in an annual travel advisory guide issued by the Bureau, a part of the Prime Minister's Office.
It noted the string of terror attacks in 2014 in Belgium, France, Denmark, Canada, and Australia, adding that these "raise concerns over additional attacks against Western targets, including Jewish and Israeli targets." Militant veterans of battlegrounds in Syria and Iraq who return to their countries, and local extremists inspired by terrorist organizations, are behind the threat of more attacks, the advisory, issued before the Passover holiday, said.
Spring holidays, including Passover, Independence Day, and Lag Baomer, could attract attacks by terror elements, the advisory said, adding that the travel alerts contained in the guide are based on "solid and reliable information, which reflect tangible threats, and which are based on the intelligence picture for the given period." In Africa, the threat of attacks against Western targets, including Israeli business travelers and Israeli companies, has risen, the advisory stated. The Somali Al-Shabab organization poses a threat to Kenya and other Horn of Africa states, and the Boko Haram group in Nigeria has increased its attacks. Al-Qaida in North Africa poses a threat as well, and ahead of Lag Baomer, the advisory named Tunisia as a country that could see additional attacks.
'Export Iran's Islamic Revolution'Israel’s Flyover Country
In a written statement on Wednesday, Brazilian investigative journalist Leonardo Coutinho walked members of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs through the findings of his years of work looking into Iran's penetration of Brazil.
In a statement titled "Brazil as an operational hub for Iran and Islamic Terrorism," Coutinho discusses not only his findings while working for Brazil's Veja magazine, but also Nisman's tireless work.
"Official investigations carried out by Argentine, American, and Brazilian authorities have revealed how Brazil figures into the intricate network set up to 'export Iran's Islamic Revolution' to the West, by both establishing legitimacy and regional support while simultaneously organizing and planning terrorist attacks," Coutinho said (emphasis ours).
"Despite the fact that Brazil has never been the target of one of these terrorist attacks, the country plays the role of a safe haven for Islamic extremist groups, as explained below."
He went on to note that Nisman's 502-page dictum on the 1994 Buenos Aires terrorist attack "not only describes the operations of the network responsible for this terrorist attack, it also names those who carried it out. Consequently, the document lists twelve people in Brazil with ties to [Iran's Lebanese proxy] Hezbollah, who reside or resided in Brazil. Seven of these operatives had either direct or indirect participation in the AMIA bombing."
The results of the recent election in Israel have all left-wing Jews in America and Israel in a state of absolute panic and terror. In 20 years of being here, I have never seen such an orgy of hatred towards a substantial part the electorate.Obama: Netanyahu’s anti-Arab remarks risk eroding Israeli democracy
Per the enlightened intellectuals and media, those of us who voted Likud are ‘neaderthals’, ‘uneducated’, ‘racist’ and we all deserve to die. Some have even said they refuse to fight for traditional social goals for disadvantaged populations as punishment for their voting for the wrong party. The hypocritical cries of concern for Israeli democracy are being drowned out in a flood of hatred that makes Bibi’s stupid talk about busing Arab voters sound downright PC.
So what’s going on? It’s simple, really: most left-wing members of the elite in Israel and America don’t actually know Israel, or at least that Israel that doesn’t think and talk like them. A courageous and honest Israeli journalist said this out loud in a mea culpa which included the admission that neither he nor any of hundreds of his colleagues personally knows anyone who votes Likud. An American Jewish liberal also admitted that neither he nor his colleagues actually knows “the real Israel” outside of the media bubble.
In his first public comments since Benjamin Netanyahu’s election victory, President Barack Obama castigated the prime minister’s election day remark about Arabs voting in droves, and confirmed that the US would re-evaluate its stance on Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts in light of Netanyahu’s pre-election rejection of Palestinian statehood.David Horovitz: Ashamed of Netanyahu, infuriated with Obama
Although Netanyahu later backtracked, and reiterated a commitment in principle to a “sustainable, peaceful two-state solution,” Obama told The Huffington Post in an interview published Saturday that his administration is now operating under the assumption that Netanyahu does not envision the creation of a Palestinian state.
“We take him at his word when he said that it wouldn’t happen during his prime ministership,” Obama said, “and so that’s why we’ve got to evaluate what other options are available to make sure that we don’t see a chaotic situation in the region.”
In the interview, the president promised to maintain cooperation with the Israeli government on military and intelligence operations, but would not say whether the US would continue to block Palestinian efforts to secure statehood via the United Nations. He said he had told the Likud leader when they spoke on Thursday, “It is going to be hard to find a path where people are seriously believing that negotiations are possible.”
What is relevant, what is urgent, is rebuilding ties with the United States.Charles Krauthammer: Two-state solution is impossible not because of Netanyahu, but because Palestinians don’t want it
Netanyahu may be delighting in the knowledge that, barring the always possible political surprise, he’s going to outlast Obama. But the president has two full years to pursue his misguided course with Iran, and to take forward those “other options” with the Palestinians. A lot of harm can come to Israel in those two years.
Netanyahu owes it to all Israelis to ensure that our concerns are effectively conveyed to our most vital ally — via any and every means available, including the astute deployment of personnel who will get a fair hearing in the current toxic climate of relations.
And Obama owes it to all Israelis to listen closely to those concerns, and to internalize that while Netanyahu ran a cynically effective campaign, he didn’t fool Israelis into re-electing him. Netanyahu’s win was the will of a deeply riven electorate, with all kinds of priorities, fears and biases — some troubling, most entirely legitimate. His win was a case of democracy in robust action — a process that, in the entire anarchic, violent, ruthless Middle East, could only have played out in the island of true democracy that is Israel.
Which is why America, and even its testy president, should want to have our back.
Of all the idiocies uttered in reaction to Benjamin Netanyahu’s stunning election victory, none is more ubiquitous than the idea that peace prospects are now dead because Netanyahu has declared that there will be no Palestinian state while he is Israel’s prime minister.Israeli officials say US anger aims to distract from Iran deal
I have news for the lowing herds: There would be no peace and no Palestinian state if Isaac Herzog were prime minister either. Or Ehud Barak or Ehud Olmert for that matter. The latter two were (non-Likud) prime ministers who offered the Palestinians their own state — with its capital in Jerusalem and every Israeli settlement in the new Palestine uprooted — only to be rudely rejected.
This is not ancient history. This is 2000, 2001 and 2008 — three astonishingly concessionary peace offers within the past 15 years. Every one rejected.
The fundamental reality remains: This generation of Palestinian leadership — from Yasser Arafat to Mahmoud Abbas — has never and will never sign its name to a final peace settlement dividing the land with a Jewish state. And without that, no Israeli government of any kind will agree to a Palestinian state.
Ties between Jerusalem and Washington appeared to hit a new low over the last week, with US officials speaking of supporting Palestinian overtures at the UN after Netanyahu appealed for right-wing support ahead of election day by saying he would not allow a Palestinian state.Dore Gold: Misreading Netanyahu and the Peace Process - Erin Burnett (CNN)
But sources in Jerusalem indicated that Sunday that they believed the US was using the issue to distract from a controversial deal being hammered out with Iran over its nuclear program, which Netanyahu has lobbied against.
“In my eyes, [the US administration’s comments on the two-state solution] are less related to the Palestinian issue but are much more connected to the Iranian issue,” Dore Gold, a former ambassador to the United Nations and close Netanyahu adviser, told Army Radio Sunday. “We’re having a substantial disagreement with Washington over the agreement they’re about to sign in the coming days and weeks.”
Over the weekend, US President Barack Obama issued thinly veiled threats of allowing the passage of a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for the creation of a Palestinian side.
Comedian Bill Maher justifies Netanyahu campaign tactics
Maher dismissed hypothetical comparisons by critics who compared Netanyahu’s controversial statement where he warned his right-wing base of a strong Arab voter turnout to Romney making similar statements against African Americans in 2012.An Unlikely Ally Comes To Netanyahu's Defense - Bill Maher
“I heard a lot of commentators here say, it would be as if Mitt Romney in 2012 on the eve of the election said black voters are coming out in droves to the polls. But I don't know if that's really a great analogy,” he said.
Suggesting that his comments were justified given the terror threats Israel faces from its borders, he added, “I think that would be a good analogy if America was a country that was surrounded by 12 or 13 completely black nations who had militarily attacked us many times, including as recently as last year. Would we let them vote? I don't know.”
Echoing his thoughts, Real Time panelist and former Republican Congressman from Georgia, Jack Kingston, added to the pro-Bibi support, saying, “He was making sure his base showed up…He was fighting not just for his own political future but for Israel's.”
A Complete Timeline of Obama's Anti-Israel Hatred
According to reports, President Obama finally called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to congratulate him – but the “congratulations” was actually a lecture directed at forcing Netanyahu to surrender to the terrorist Palestinian regime.Michael Oren: Obama's statement on the deterioration of democracy in Israel carries heavy price
For some odd reason, many in the media and Congress reacted with surprise to Obama’s supposedly sudden turn on Israel. The media, in an attempt to defend Obama’s radicalism, pretend that Netanyahu’s comments in the late stages of his campaign prompted Obama’s anti-Israel action.
But, in truth, this is the culmination of a longtime Obama policy of destroying the US-Israel relationship; Obama has spent his entire life surrounded by haters of Israel, from former Palestine Liberation Organization spokesman Rashid Khalidi to former Jimmy Carter National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski, pro-Hamas negotiator Robert Malley to UN Ambassador Samantha Power (who once suggested using American troops to guard Palestinians from Israelis), Jeremiah Wright (who said “Them Jews ain’t going to let him talk to me”) to Professor Derrick Bell (“Jewish neoconservative racists…are undermining blacks in every way they can”).
Kulanu's Michael Oren addressed US President Barack Obama's Friday interview with the Huffington Post Sunday, saying that the President's statement "about the deterioration of democracy in Israel strategically damages Israel's standing in the world."Has Bibi Opened the Door for Alternatives to a 2-State Solution?
Oren said that common democratic values lie at the core of US-Israel relations, and as such, accusing Israel of placing less emphasis on the aforementioned carries "a heavy strategic price."
Kulanu, according to Oren, will place an emphasis on Israeli democratic values and fight to uphold them.
The former Israeli Ambassador to the US said that the United States and Israel must put their differences aside and focus on rehabilitating their relationship, and come to the understanding that each serves as a vital, strategical asset for the other.
Part of that framework has to include letting Israel not be beholden to the stopping points of previous failed attempts at peace. According to a recent blog post by Weinberg, "Israel’s baseline position at the outset of the talks should be that 100 percent of the West Bank belongs to Israel" by historical right, "political experience, legitimate settlement, and security necessity."Christian leader applauds Netanyahu win, urges coexistence
The objective here seems to be a reboot of the premise of talks and the notion that anything a Palestinian entity receives is a gift of the Israeli government, not a relinquishing of something Palestinians actually had a claim of sovereignty over.
Another major issue Weinberg reminds readers that needs to be highlighted is that the Gaza Strip's political secession from the Palestinian Authority disrupts any attempt to actually resolve things.
"Hamas will have to be sidelined or sign-on to an eventual deal. Israel should not be in the business of birthing two Palestinian states."
Father Gabriel Nadaf, a Greek Orthodox priest and one of the leaders of the Christian Aramean community in Israel, congratulated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on his election victory over the weekend.PreOccupied Territory: IDF To Dismantle Settler Outpost ‘Tel Aviv’ (satire)
Nadaf, the spiritual leader of the Israeli Christian Recruitment Forum, which works to encourage young Christians to serve in the military, wrote in a letter to Netanyahu that he was sure the new government would "work to incorporate the Christian community in society and the state."
Nadaf, who has come under heavy criticism and has faced threats over his efforts to convince Aramean youth to enlist in the Israel Defense Forces, wrote that "the incorporation of [Christians] is the key to partnership between segments of Israeli society, coexistence and showing Israel's beautiful side to the world."
The Israel Defense Force announced this morning (Saturday) it had received approval from the Ministry of Defense to begin removing the structures and residents from Tel Aviv, a Jewish settler outpost north of the city of Jaffa.Khamenei calls ‘Death to America’ as Kerry hails progress on nuke deal
Clashes have taken place frequently over the last fifteen years when IDF troops attempt to clear such outposts, as radical settlers resist those efforts. The relatively large number of settlers in Tel Aviv means a much more significant undertaking for the army, but in the aftermath of an election in which right-wing parties won a convincing victory, ministry officials judged that they could afford to proceed with the move with minimal political risk.
Like most settler outposts, Tel Aviv was given a name straight from the Bible. It has long been a thorn in the side of the government, attracting unpleasant characters and openly defying the cultural norms of the region. Settlers from Tel Aviv play an outsize role in national politics, a fact that breeds resentment of Tel Aviv and of the thousands of security personnel necessary to keep those settlers safe. The Ministry of Defense itself has long maintained a large facility in a centrally located part of the settlement, as an indication of just how much security attention Tel Aviv attracts.
Iran’s Supreme leader Ali Khamenei called for “Death to America” on Saturday, a day after President Barack Obama appealed to Iran to seize a “historic opportunity” for a nuclear deal and a better future, and as US Secretary of State John Kerry claimed substantial progress toward an accord.Mr. President, Show Me the Fatwa
Khamenei told a crowd in Tehran that Iran would not capitulate to Western demands. When the crowd started shouting, “Death to America,” the ayatollah responded: “Of course yes, death to America, because America is the original source of this pressure.
“They insist on putting pressure on our dear people’s economy,” he said, referring to economic sanctions aimed at halting Iran’s nuclear program. “What is their goal? Their goal is to put the people against the system,” he said. “The politics of America is to create insecurity,” he added, referring both to US pressure on Iran and elsewhere in the region.
Khamenei’s comments contrasted with those of Iranian President Hassan Rohani, who said “achieving a deal is possible” by the March 31 target date for a preliminary accord.
Kerry was more circumspect, as he spoke to reporters after six days of negotiations in the Swiss city of Lausanne. The talks, made “substantial progress,” he said, but “important gaps remain.
Last week, in President Obama’s Nowruz statement, where the Iranian people learned they will probably be subjugated by the Ayatollahs forever, Obama mentioned Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei’s fatwa, an official religious ruling, against the development of nuclear weapons. Obama added that Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has said that Iran would never develop a nuclear weapon.Iran Centrifuge Test Was Error, Not Cheating, U.S. Officials Say
One teensy, beensy eensy little problem – apparently no such Iranian fatwa against the development of nuclear weapons actually exists.
There’s an Iranian press release written in 2005 that says, “The Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, has issued the fatwa that the production, stockpiling and use of nuclear weapons are forbidden under Islam and that Iran shall never acquire these weapons.”
But that’s not a fatwa. That’s a propaganda statement released by the Iranian government for international consumption.
In Iran, a fatwa has legal standing — and no one has ever seen this mysterious Iranian anti-nuke fatwa.
When nuclear monitors said Iran had started testing a single advanced centrifuge last year, some U.S. politicians and analysts jumped on the report as proof the Islamic Republic can’t be trusted.Israel busts West Bank Hamas cell planning bomb attacks
To U.S. officials negotiating with Iran, it was probably just a mistake -- one that shows the pitfalls in the highly technical accord being discussed. Describing the incident in detail for the first time, U.S. officials, who asked not to be identified following diplomatic rules, said the testing was probably done by a low-level employee on Iran’s nuclear program who didn’t understand the limits placed on his experimentation.
Diplomats and scientists on Wednesday held a fourth day of talks in Lausanne, Switzerland, as world powers seek an accord to limit Iran’s nuclear work. They’ve given themselves until the end of this month to announce a framework agreement, and until the end of June to work out full technical details.
While Iran has more than 19,000 installed centrifuges -- machines that spin at supersonic speeds that can be used to enrich uranium for reactor fuel or bombs -- only one prompted suspicion when International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors reported their quarterly findings in November.
Israeli security personnel arrested six Palestinian men suspected of belonging to a Hamas cell in the West Bank that was plotting to carry out bombings in Israel, the Shin Bet security service said Sunday.Hamas Pledges 'Liberation' of PA From 'Traitors'
A joint operation by the Shin Bet security service, Israel Police and IDF uncovered the cell in the West Bank city of Qalqilya and found dozens of pounds of sulfur and several grams of mercury fulminate, components for explosives, the security agency said in a statement.
There was no indication of when the arrests took place, but announcements typically come a month or more after arrest operations.
The members of the cell told Israeli authorities that they were drafted into Hamas’s armed wing while in Jordan, underwent training in the Gaza Strip, and were dispatched to the West Bank to carry out attacks and enlist other operatives, according to the Shin Bet.
The six suspects arrested by Israeli authorities were named as Abdullah Mehmed Yussuf Zitawi, 26, a resident of Jama’in; Walid Muhammad Mahmoud Abu Zina, 26, of Jenin; Malek Raed Farouk Ghanem, 22, of Amatin; Rejaa Khaled Rejaa Sabara, 22, of Brukin, Jasser Muhammad Sayed Abu Omar, 42, of Jama’in, and Baha al-Din Fathi Mahmoud Suwan, 33, of Amatin.
Hamas has pledged a takeover of Judea-Samaria Saturday, after one of its leaders declared "the liberation of all Palestine" - including the Palestinian Authority (PA) - a strategic area of utmost importance in implementing long-term objectives of the terror group.Lebanese Cleric Maher Hamoud: Israel Will Cease to Exist in 2022
Speaking from an event to mark the release of terrorist Ismail al-Zahar from Israeli prison after a 12-year sentence, Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Zahar stated that there are "a thousand courses of action" to break the Israeli travel and import restrictions on Gaza, and he vowed to force Israel to release more terrorists, similar to the way prisoners were released as part of the Shalit deal.(i.e. through abductions - ed.).
Zahar, who has watched the relations between Gaza and other Arab states slowly improve, also imparted blame on the security cooperation between Israel and the PA for Palestinian Arab failings.
He pledged war against both "traitors" and "occupiers" in Judea-Samaria and Jerusalem, implying both an armed takeover in the PA and the eventual launching of another war against Israel.
NGO Monitor: Myths vs. Facts: NGOs and the Destructive Water Campaign Agaist Israel
Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have increased their exploitation of the water issue in their political warfare campaigns against Israel. This includes false accusations of water “discrimination” and “stealing water”; pressure on international corporations to boycott the Israeli national water company, Mekorot; and blatant distortions of binding international agreements between Israelis and Palestinians.Needed: "Islamist Apartheid Week"
As a result of these NGO campaigns, Dutch water company Vitens canceled a planned agreement to collaborate with Mekorot. An Italian water corporation, ACEA, also faced similar pressure, and campaigns against Mekorot also took place in the UK and Argentina.
Israel is not the cause of anti-Semitism. Anti-Semitism has existed for centuries in the region, since long before the re-establishment of the state of Israel in 1948Google Targets Israel Yet Again
The biased media coverage of the Israel-Palestinian conflict is influenced by anti-Semitism.
Trying to demonize, delegitimize and apply double standards against a pluralistic, tolerant and democratic state such as Israel, by siding with genocidal groups such as Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran, has nothing to do with human rights. It is just raw, undisguised anti-Semitism.
No matter what the activists of the BDS and other Jew-hating movements claim, what they do not do is promote either peaceful coexistence or justice. The biggest impact of their activism of hate against Israel is that it causes the voices of people who deeply suffer to go unheard and unnoticed.
If BDS activists would stop directing their hatred toward the one country in the region that does more than any other for minorities -- its own and worldwide -- maybe they would hear the voices of Yezidis, Christians, Iranians, Kurds and the many others who are murdered, raped and tortured daily, and are desperately waiting to be helped.
Trying to delegitimize Israel, the only truly moral country in the region, does nothing to help anyone. It only harms people who are more aware of justice and truly helping humanity than the Israel-haters will ever be. The Israel-haters overlook the truly beleaguered, who need a helping hand the most.
How much does Google want to support Barack Obama as he targets Israel and supports the Palestinians? This much; the Google news page, which has separate categories for “World,” U.S.,” “Science,” “Entertainment,” “Technology,” “Health,” “Sports,” and “Business,” managed to squeeze a story about the Palestinians demanding the U.S. “reassess” its relations with Israel on its top news page by listing it under “Business,” although there was virtually nothing in the article about business. Underneath that lead story were numerous stories ripping Israel. Apparently if Google can’t fit in it’s anti-Israel agenda in the normal venues, it will find a way to do so elsewhere.V.S. NAIPAUL: A grotesque love of propaganda. Unspeakable barbarity. The loathing of Jews - and a hunger for world domination. ISIS is now the Fourth Reich.
Google continued its pro-Palestinian anti-Israel narrative, as evidenced in 2013, when Google Earth changed the label on its home page from “Palestinian territories” to the non-existent “Palestine.” At the time, a spokesman for Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas called Google’s move a "victory for Palestine and a step toward its liberation.” Google defended its action by saying, "We consult a number of sources and authorities when naming countries," and added that it used the UN as a source.
Google also said it had no control over its autocomplete bar in 2013, which caused the word “Jews” typed into the search bar to trigger phrases such as “Jews should be wiped out,” “Jews should get over the Holocaust,” “Jews should all die,” and “Jews should apologize for killing Jesus,” to be among the most popular results.
Google said it had no oversight over the autocomplete results because they were “algorithmically determined based on a number of factors (including popularity of search terms) without any human intervention.” Yet Google acknowledged that there were cases when it could moderate the autocomplete results, stating, “While we always strive to reflect the diversity of content on the web (some good, some objectionable), we also apply a narrow set of removal policies for pornography, violence, hate speech, and terms that are frequently used to find content that infringes copyrights.”
The Nobel Prize-winning author V.S. Naipaul has warned that Islamic State are the most potent threat to the world since the Nazis.ISIS Tells Sympathizers To Kill US Service Members
In a hard-hitting article in today’s Mail on Sunday, the revered novelist brands the extremist Muslim organisation as the Fourth Reich, saying it is comparable to Adolf Hitler’s regime in its fanaticism and barbarity.
Calling for its ‘military annihilation,’ the Trinidadian-born British writer says IS is ‘dedicated to a contemporary holocaust’, has a belief in its own ‘racial superiority,’ and produces propaganda that Goebbels would be proud of.
A long-term critic of Islam as a global threat, he also challenges those who say the extremists have nothing to do with the real religion of Islam, suggesting that the simplicity of some interpretations of the faith have a strong appeal to a minority.
The Islamic State has purportedly released the names, photos and home addresses of 100 American military personnel Saturday, urging its stateside sympathizers to kill them.Germany to return Nazi-looted painting to owner
Service members are allegedly being targeted because of their involvement in U.S. military campaigns against the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.
Although the group, calling itself the Islamic State Hacking Division, claims it got the information from government servers, officials think it could have been obtained off the Internet.
Germany has signed a restitution agreement for a painting by Max Liebermann in a move toward returning the work, seized under Nazi rule, to its rightful owner.Petah Tikva Pride: Town Provides One Fifth of Israel's Exports
Liebermann’s “Two Riders on the Beach” was part of an art trove found in late collector Cornelius Gurlitt’s apartment.
Experts last year determined the painting was seized from businessman David Friedmann and rightfully belongs to his descendants.
Culture Minister Monika Gruetters’ office confirmed a report in weekly Der Spiegel Friday that she signed the agreement, the first such accord for a piece from the Gurlitt collection. The agreement reportedly must be cleared by a Munich court handling Gurlitt’s inheritance.
City fathers in the central Israeli city of Petah Tikva can hold their heads up proudly. A new survey by the Economy Ministry shows that the city, all by itself, is responsible for nearly one fifth of all of Israel's exports. Following Petah Tikva's 17.2% share of Israel's exports is Haifa, which had a 15.6% share, and Ashkelon, with 12.7% of exports.What Tensions? Israel's Elbit to Sell Marines New Laser System
Israel's business center, Tel Aviv, was responsible for only 10.2% of exports. Jerusalem, the capital, had only a 5.2% share.
The study provided figures for overall exports, as well as for exports by large companies, which did a volume of business of at least $100 million a year. The study showed that more of those larger companies were located in southern and northern Israel, while the smaller exporters, who were responsible for 43.5% of all exports, were in the Tel Aviv area.
In 2014, the study showed, a total of 7,883 Israeli companies sold products or services abroad, 31 of them in volumes of $100 million or greater.
U.S. President Barack H. Obama may be “re-evaluating” his administration's support of Israel, but Israeli-American defense cooperation is going full steam ahead. On Sunday, Elbit Systems of America, a subsidiary of the parent defense systems company in Israel, announced that it had won a $73.4 million contract to supply the U.S. Marines with a laser observation system.Birdwatchers flock to Israel for 2nd annual 'Champions of the Flyway' in the Arava
Elbit's Common Laser Range Finder-Integrated Capability (CLRF-IC) will replace the Marine's currently fielded equipment with new, up to date, and more accurate systems that provides 24-hour observation capability, accurate range to targets, the ability to confirm spot on target with laser designation systems, and accurate target location in a variety of conditions, including magnetically disturbed environments, areas with overhead clutter, and in areas where GPS is unavailable, Elbit said, announcing the deal.
The Elbit technology was developed in Israel. Installation work will be done at a Marine facility in Merrimack, New Hampshire.
“We are pleased to provide the USMC with their new rugged CLRF-IC, a lightweight system that is mission-ready and safer for the foot-mobile Marine,” said Raanan Horowitz, President and Chief Executive Officer of Elbit Systems of America. “Leveraging the innovative capabilities of our imaging, range finding, and degraded environment navigation solutions, Marines are now able to acquire targets without breaking cover from their concealed fighting positions and minimize impact while on the move.”
For 24 hours this Wednesday, 140 ornithology enthusiasts from around the world will compete to identify the largest amount of bird species present in the Eilat and southern Arava regions.Israeli NGO assists aid effort in cyclone-ravaged Vanuatu
The second annual "Champions of the Flyway" event, set to run from 12:00 a.m. on Wednesday through 11:59 p.m. that evening, will allow birding teams to explore a triangular territory stretching from Eilat in the south to Arava junction and Nitzana in the northeast and northwest – documenting the birds they encounter along the way.
Administered by the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel's (SPNI) Israel Ornithological Center, the contest is jointly sponsored by the world's largest birding organization, BirdLife International. As was the case during last year's inaugural competition, the goal of the competition is to raise money for the conservation and protection of birds all over the world, as well as heighten awareness about the poaching of birds along migratory routes, SPNI said.
A team of Israeli aid workers has been operating in the disaster-stricken Pacific island nation of Vanuatu over the past week to help local residents in the aftermath of a devastating tropical storm.
With the country in dire need of assistance, aid agencies and the international community have mobilized to provide relief. Among the many groups operating on the ground is Israeli NGO IsraAID, which said it dispatched a team immediately after Vanuatu declared a state of emergency on March 15.
The team, sponsored by the American Jewish Committee and the Ted Arison Family Foundation, traveled to the capital city of Port Vila to assess the situation and meet with local officials and UN agencies to better coordinate efforts.
Areas most devastated by the cyclone, however, lay outside the capital, as the group has been working its way to remote islands in order to assist those left without food or water, according to a press release disseminated by the group on Saturday.
Vanuatu, a tiny archipelago roughly half the size of Israel and situated around 2,000 kilometers off the eastern coast of Australia, was hit by a category 5 cyclone on March 13, leaving widespread destruction in its wake.
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