Friday, November 13, 2015
Israeli father and son shot dead in West Bank terror attack
An Israeli father and his teenage son were killed Friday afternoon by two Palestinian gunmen who fired on their vehicle south of the West Bank city of Hebron. The mother of the family was lightly injured, and a second son suffered moderate injuries. The family’s three daughters were not hit by the gunfire but were treated for shock.Eugene Kontorovich: Europe Mislabels Israel
Just before 3 p.m. on Friday, the Magen David Adom rescue service received a report of gunshots fired at a car near Otniel Junction in the southern West Bank. Paramedics arrived to find two Israelis critically injured. They subsequently pronounced them dead at the scene.
The two were later identified as a man in his 40s and his son of about 18. The murdered father and the son were seated in the front seats of the vehicle; initial reports said the family was on its way to relatives in the southern town of Meitar for Shabbat when the attack happened.
Channel 2 reported that two gunmen opened fire at the vehicle and that one of them then got out and fired more shots from closer to the family’s car. The TV report said the critically injured son managed to telephone emergency services and was then hit by more gunfire.
The TV report said security authorities were also investigating whether the first ambulance on the scene, from the Palestinian Red Crescent, slowed, saw that the victims were Jews, and sped away, failing to provide medical assistance.
In fact, the labeling controversy must be viewed as just one step in a broader, purposeful and gradual escalation of anti-Israel measures by the European Union. Two years ago, the commission promulgated a regulation that barred spending money on Israeli academic, scientific or cultural projects in the West Bank or Golan Heights. Then the union began refusing to allow imports of certain Israeli agricultural products. Last year, 15 European states issued warnings, alerting people to unspecified legal dangers of interacting with Israeli settlements. These steps, while supposedly motivated by what the European Union sees as Israel’s occupation of territory, have been applied only to Israel, and not to other countries regarded as occupiers in international law, such as Morocco or Turkey.Caroline Glick: Fighting fire with fire
Having warned about settlement products, the European Union is now labeling them. Diplomats in Brussels and NGOs have made clear that more coercive measures will follow. In this context, labeling is important not in its immediate economic effects but as a highly visible step in a conscious process of building a legal ghetto around Israel, within which a special set of rules applies.
What has largely escaped notice is that the labeling policy violates the European Union’s own express policy on such issues. The commission primarily justifies labeling as a necessary tool to provide consumers with the information that it does not regard the territories “as part of Israel.” However, European Union and national authorities that have addressed the issue have clearly ruled that special labeling is not required in such situations — neither for consumer protection nor to reflect the European Union’s view of the underlying sovereign status of territories.
Thus the European Union allows Morocco — which has extensive trade ties with Europe, but has occupied Western Sahara since 1975, and populated it heavily with settlers — to export products from its occupied territory labeled “Made in Morocco.” When challenged, the commission formally declared that labeling such goods as “made in” Morocco is not misleading, and is consistent with European trade agreements.
Also, European courts have considered the consumer protection rationale specifically in the context of Israeli products, and rejected it. Just last year, the British Supreme Court ruled, in a case involving Ahava beauty products produced in the West Bank, that “there was no basis for saying that the average consumer would be misled” by a “Made in Israel” label. The court held that such labeling was not deceptive as a matter of both British and European Union law.
Maybe the EU did us a favor on Wednesday.JPost Editorial: EU hypocrisy
At least now we know what we’re up against.
With the publication of its new guidelines to member states encouraging them to label Jewish products produced beyond the 1949 armistice lines, the Europeans finally convinced us that they hate us. They don’t care about peace. They don’t care about the Palestinians. They just want to harm Israel.
This is old news for longtime EU watchers.
Since late 2000, Europe has inexorably ratcheted up its hostile treatment of the Jewish state to the detriment of chances of peace.
Take for instance the timing of the EU’s first official act of open economic warfare against Israel.
On July 29, 2013, US Secretary of State John Kerry brought the heads of the Israeli and Palestinian negotiating teams together in Washington to officially launch a new round of peace talks.
The same day, the EU announced that starting at the beginning of 2014, it would be ending all joint projects with and all funding from the EU and its member governments of Israeli entities located or operating in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the Golan Heights. The only exceptions to the funding and cooperation ban were Israeli organizations working to harm Israeli control over the areas, and non-Jewish Israeli entities.
The message was obvious. As far as Europe is concerned, “the peace process” isn’t a means to achieve peace. It is a means of criminalizing Israel.
This week’s labeling guidelines were no surprise.
What happened to Europeans’ strict adherence to the letter of international law? The Europeans are similarly lenient regarding goods produced in Chinese-ruled Tibet, Indian-controlled Kashmir and Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus. No special labels are required to prevent European consumers from being misled into thinking they are buying Chinese, Indian, or Turkish products.
Unless they live in an alternative universe, Faaborg-Anderson and other EU officials must be aware that by insisting on singling out Israel for special treatment, the Europeans are feeding into the Israel bashing that is so prevalent throughout most of Europe.
Europeans like Faaborg-Anderson might think Israelis are over-reacting to the EU labeling decision. But based on their track record, Israelis are rightly concerned about the caustic environment in which Israeli policies are discussed in Europe.
Maybe Israel has reacted strongly to the labeling decision. But maybe there is a good reason. People like Faaborg-Anderson should at the very least consider this before attempting to play down the damage caused by their hypocritical actions.
Sanctuary Hospitals for Terrorists?
It’s hard to disagree with a statement that asserts medical personnel and those they treat should have a “safe environment.” But the problem here wasn’t that the authorities eventually showed up to take a terrorist into custody. It’s that those personnel didn’t understand that providing sanctuary to terrorists makes everyone in the hospital unsafe.Obama’s Moral Ambiguity About Violence in Israel
As regrettable as it may be, we’ve come to accept that Palestinians consider it to be a permanent open season for attacks on Jews, no matter what the circumstances. But when the Red Cross takes the position that those guilty of such attacks ought to be treated with impunity then what they are saying is that the blood of Jews spilled by these terrorists isn’t as red as that of the Palestinians or themselves.
By giving tacit support to the concept of a sanctuary for terror, the Red Cross is giving a green light to terrorist attacks. Indeed, such a sentiment reflects a belief that is increasingly voiced in Europe as well as throughout the Muslim and Arab worlds that Jews have it coming when it comes to terror. It’s not just that a hospital is being treated as a sanctuary but that the crime for which these terrorists are wanted isn’t really seen as a crime. The reason for any sympathy for the concept of hospital sanctuary for terrorists has to do with the identity of their victims and nothing else.
So long as that is the case, Palestinians will continue to try to kill Jews secure in the knowledge that the world is behind them. Given the rising tide of anti-Semitism around the globe, it’s hard to claim that they are entirely wrong about that.
To be sure, a few Israelis have perpetrated violence, but Israeli society has roundly denounced them; the army and the police have launched investigations; and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a stern warning against citizens taking the law into their own hands.US Senate resolution expresses support for Israel, slams Palestinian terror
Meanwhile, between October 1 and October 20, Palestinians reportedly committed 40 stabbings, four shootings and five car rammings against Israeli Jews. And Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas encouraged them.
In mid-September, he said Palestinians “won’t allow” Israelis to “desecrate” the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre “with their filthy feet.” Soon after, from the podium of the U.N. General Assembly, Abbas falsely charged that Israel was imposing a new scheme to govern access to the Al-Aqsa Mosque “in direct violation of the status quo since before 1967 and thereafter.”
Following Abbas’s inflammatory statements in September, the outbreak of violence in early October, and the obfuscatory even-handedness of the State Department response, President Barack Obama weighed in at a White House press conference.
While condemning “violence directed against innocent people” and upholding Israel’s right to defend itself, he effectively doubled down on the moral equivalence argument. He called on “both Prime Minister Netanyahu and Israeli elected officials and President Abbas and other people in positions of power to try to tamp down rhetoric that may feed violence or anger or misunderstanding, and try to get all people in Israel and in the West Bank to recognize that this kind of random violence isn’t going to result in anything other than more hardship and more insecurity.”
An air of unreality hung over the president’s admonition, since Palestinian violence is not random—it is directed at Israeli Jews and is intended to spread terror. Netanyahu, moreover, has sought to restrict the Israeli use of force to lawful self-defense, while Abbas initially refused to condemn this latest surge of Palestinian attacks and has shown little ability to contain it.
The U.S. Senate passed a resolution expressing support for Israel and condemning Palestinian terror attacks.Ultra-Orthodox Jew stabbed in possible anti-Semitic attack in Milan
The resolution, which passed by unanimous consent on Tuesday, condemned in the “harshest terms possible” attacks that have left 11 Israelis dead and 145 wounded, and called on Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to stop incitement by Palestinian officials and media.
It further affirmed that the Senate “stands with the people of Israel during these difficult days” and supports the Jewish state’s right to self-defense, rejecting “any suggestion of the moral equivalence of Israeli security personnel” protecting its citizens and “terrorists intent to deliberately take innocent lives.”
Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., introduced the resolution, which had 67 co-sponsors — 41 Republicans and 26 Democrats. Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed its own resolution condemning Palestinian terror.
Reiterating U.S. policy that a final peace must be negotiated, the Senate resolution called on all parties to return to talks “immediately and without preconditions.” It was introduced on Nov. 3, a few days prior to the White House announcement that the United States would not broker a peace agreement before President Barack Obama leaves office
A 40-year-old ultra-Orthodox Jewish man was stabbed multiple times Thursday in a possible anti-Semitic attack in front of a kosher restaurant in the Italian city of Milan.Security boosted at Milan Jewish sites after stabbing
The attacker fled the scene.
The man, named by Israel’s Ynet news website as Nathan Graff, sustained light to moderate injuries and was rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Graff, who holds Israeli citizenship, was stabbed four times, including in his face, the Italian newspaper La Repubblica reported. According to a statement by the Milan Jewish community, he was slashed 10 times.
The Jewish community leaders said they hoped this was an “isolated incident.”
Police were investigating the attack.
Witnesses said they saw a hooded Arab man fleeing the scene. Others claimed to have seen a woman dressed in a traditional Islamic headdress. Some residents in the area also said they heard the attacker shout “I’ll kill you” twice in Italian, according to La Repubblica.
Italy boosted security at Jewish sites in Milan on Friday after an Israeli Jew was knifed in the city, police said.Court upholds home demolitions for accused Palestinian terrorists
Nathan Graff was stabbed in the back and face on Thursday evening by an unknown assailant near a Jewish school in Italy's financial capital, police said. They added that his wounds were not life threatening.
The attacker has not yet been caught and his motives are not known, but a judicial source said anti-terrorism prosecutors were investigating whether it was a hate crime.
Members of the Jewish community in Milan said Graff was wearing a kippa at the time of the attack.
"Let us hope this was an isolated incident," Milo Hasbani, co-president of the Jewish community in Milan, told reporters after meeting city officials to discuss the stabbing.
The High Court of Justice on Thursday upheld demolition orders for five homes belonging to the families of Palestinians accused or convicted of carrying out terror attacks. The ruling lifts a temporary injunction on the demolitions issued by Justice Uzi Vogelman last month, in response to petitions submitted on behalf of family members of terrorists whose homes were slated to be destroyed.IsraellyCool: Amnesty International Stands Up for Jew-Stabbers
The homes in question are those of the alleged murderers of Danny Gonen and Malachi Rosenfeld, who were killed in separate West Bank drive-by shootings this year, as well as those belonging to the families of three Hamas members accused of killing Eitam and Naama Henkin, also in the West Bank, on October 1.
The court, however, did reject one demolition order on the grounds that it involved for a rented apartment in a large building, and that destroying the unit would constitute a disproportionate punishment.
According to a statement from the court, the panel of judges, headed by court president Miriam Naor, also rejected an appeal against the entire practice of home demolitions.
One case cited is that of Fadi Alloun, the man from Issawiya who stabbed a Jewish teen in the incident mentioned above. According to Amnesty, the Jewish boy was only “lightly injured.” A news account at the time said that the young Moshe Malka was “moderately injured” and taken to the hospital “in stable condition with wounds to the chest and back.” But one can hardly expect Amnesty’s investigators to waste time ascertaining the degree of injury to a Jew.Chris Gunness of UNRWA "On the other hand, " knife attacks "all have a context"
“If you prick us, do we not bleed?” asks Shakespeare’s most famous Jewish character. As if anyone should care about a bleeding Jew! Come on, Moshe, you’re in stable condition, your vital organs aren’t impaired, so what are you complaining about?
In Amnesty’s eyes, the real victim is Fadi Alloun, ruthlessly cut down in the prime of life. There he was, walking down the street minding his own business, when the Jewish boy appeared. What was Mr. Alloun to do? He plunged his knife into the boy’s back and chest, then fled the scene. Police caught up with him hundreds of yards away, near the light rail tracks. A video that surfaced on October 11 sheds light on Mr. Alloun’s actions in the final moments before his tragic death.
As described by the French television news site France24, “the Palestinian appears to lunge at a group of Israelis with an object before drawing back. He crosses the tramway tracks, before again waving the object–possibly a knife–at two police officers.” Another police car arrives and Mr. Alloun heads toward the vehicle. He “keeps walking towards the officers despite their warnings” and they shoot him.
Amnesty maintains that the Israeli police had no right to shoot a man advancing on them with a knife when he was still “some metres away.” They should have allowed Mr. Alloun to get close enough to stab a police officer or nearby civilian first. That’s how the game is supposed to be played.
The rule is, if you stab a Jew and get away fast enough, the police have to give you a fair chance at stabbing again. That’s the rule! Unfortunately, as Amnesty’s Philip Luther says, “Israeli forces appear to have ripped up the rulebook.” With assailants being dispatched so quickly, Jew-stabbing may turn into a sport with boringly low scores, like soccer.
UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness justifies knife Palestinian stabbing of Jews: "They all have a context."
‘Call for Young People’ Recruits Terrorist Trainees on Twitter?
A “Call for Young People” was put out early Friday in Arabic over the Internet via the Twitter social networking site, accompanied by a glowing picture of an Arab teen preparing to hurl a rock with a slingshot.Jordan attacker buried amid chants of ‘Death to America’
The fancy computer graphics are attractive to the eye, with bright colors that are sulfurous yellow and cherry-red above. The human figure is in ethereal white. The message seems pretty clear: violence awaits.
The “call” is only one of many such methods used to recruit new blood for the Palestinian Authority terror machine, which has begun to feed on its own children.
Allegedly the logic behind the strategy is two-fold:
1. Israeli authorities are loathe to jail a child, particularly one at age 13 or below, regardless of crime committed;
2. If the child is shot and wounded or killed during the course of attacking Israelis, that too is a “plus” because it makes for a terrific photo image to be used abroad, one that conveys the ultimate in “poor Arab population being abused by the powerful Israelis” graphics.
Thousands of mourners chanted “Death to America, Death to Israel” during the funeral Thursday of a Jordanian police captain who killed five people, including two American instructors, in a shooting rampage at a police training center this week.Jordanian officials arrive to set stage for Temple Mount cameras
It remains unclear if the shooter had political or personal motives. Anwar Abu Zaid’s family has argued that he was both a victim and a martyr for killing the Americans.
His brother Fadi led about 3,000 marchers in the funeral procession. Fadi accused the government of trying cover up Monday’s events at the training center, and demanded that security camera footage be released.
Jordan’s government has said little about the shooting. The incident has raised questions about the kingdom’s image as an island of relative stability in a turbulent region. (h/t Solomon2)
A Jordanian delegation arrived in Jerusalem from Amman on Thursday in order to run preliminary tests for installing cameras on the Temple Mount compound.'We'll break any camera Israel places on the Temple Mount'
The officials from the Ministry of Religious Endowments were to inspect the technical and engineering aspects of putting the CCTV equipment on the site, deemed holy to Jews and Muslims alike, and discuss with the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf locations for placing cameras.
Israel and Jordan agreed last month to install cameras on the Temple Mount to monitor activities by Jewish and Muslim visitors to the holy site in a bid to calm tensions that have helped drive the recent escalation in Palestinian attacks on Israeli civilians and soldiers.
A senior Palestinian Arab religious cleric on Thursday criticized the agreement over the Temple Mount which was brokered by Secretary of State John Kerry, threatening that Muslims will break any camera that Israel places on the compound.When a Jewish Mother’s Breast Meets the Muslim Dome of the Rock
Speaking to the Hamas-affiliated Palestine newspaper the cleric, Najah Bakhirat, said that the agreement has not reduced tension, but on the contrary, it placed the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the negotiating table, which the Palestinians were trying to avoid.
He further claimed that the situation at the Al-Aqsa Mosque deteriorated considerably due to “acts of oppression” by Israel against Palestinians.
As for the installation of security cameras on the Temple Mount, Bakhirat said that any camera installed by Israel will be destroyed by Muslim worshipers and the longevity of each camera will be no more than a few hours.
The campaign for Jewish rights to the current Temple Mount compound and within its precincts has always has its feminine side. There is a “Women on Behalf of the Temple and Temple Mount” group with their Facebook page. Others promote specific preparatory crafts, such as weaving, as a means for raising consciousness about the restrictions Jews face at their most holy site. In the past, Rabbanit Penina Pel’i, Esther Abutbol and Rabbanit Esther Breuer were among the leading figures two and three decades ago. Today, Rabbanit Rivkah Shimoni and Rachel Sela and others.Boris, BDS and Corduroy Jackets
Sometimes, they are physically attacked (and children, too) by Muslim women, in addition to being subjected to the shrieks they sound off.
Tuesday, November 9th, was, perhaps, a turning point.
Those who wish to ascend while keeping to as full a commitment to the stringent Jewish ritual obligations as possible face a daunting task. There is the mikveh immersion previous to arrival and keeping within a limited route for the walk-about. Since the police are very uncooperative, there are long waits which include rising early to get there in time for the 7:30 a.m. opening and the long wait to enter, while hundreds of tourists go in through a parallel security check gate freely.
A nursing mother faces a daunting possibility: will she be able to complete the entire procedure without recourse to suckling her infant, or not?This week, Michal Ben-Uri needed to feed her infant while within the Temple Mount. The police refused her permission and did it in a nasty and brusque, if not brutal, fashion.
Indeed, Boris’ comments are just the latest salvo in a war of words, signatures, advertisements and letters about BDS over the past month in the UK. A letter to The Guardian by JK Rowling, Niall Ferguson, Simon Schama, Hilary Mantel, and other eminent literati opposing a cultural boycott of Israel was followed by an advertisement in that same newspaper by 350 largely unknown academics calling for an academic boycott. Jewish Human Rights Watch, an anti-BDS group of which I am a director, responded to that advertisement with its own, again in the same newspaper, drawing parallels between the proposed academic boycott of the Jewish State and academic boycotts of Jews in 1930s’ Europe.Michael Lumish: All of Israel is a "Settlement"
These efforts to counter the boycott were bolstered by another positive aspect of Boris’ remarks that all the commentary has missed, which is their apologetic tone: a leading British politician visiting Israel is embarrassed at support for boycotts of Israel by some of his compatriots. This is one of the most heartening developments: the British government wants to do business with Israel, and it finds those of its citizens who stand in its way to be a shameful hindrance.
That being UK government policy, it brings us finally to the politics. While the Labor Party under Jeremy Corbyn (who, as part of the lefty set Boris was mocking, is quite partial to the corduroy jacket) is still hostage to the radical and anti-Israel fringe that elected him its leader, the Tory Party is moving in an ever more pro-Israel direction. Boris’ comments, coming from someone who is likely positioning himself for a leadership bid, are a reassuring reminder of that Conservative trend, and an indication it won’t be arrested anytime soon.
If the Euros want to boycott part of Israel, let them boycott all of Israel.Watch: Lapid blasts 'patronizing EU hypocrisy'
Let them boycott their own ability to communicate with the very electronic devices wherein they defame Israel and call for its boycott. Let them boycott the Israeli health sciences community and thereby potentially boycott their own health and well-being.
I do not think that Israelis should remain passive in the face of Euro hostility.
The Euros do not respect the Israelis because they recognize Israeli self-doubt and they exploit it. Decade upon decade, the Arabs scream from the rafters that the Jews are evil, that they have stolen "Palestinian" land, that they are practicing ethnic-cleansing, genocide, apartheid, and devil worship. And decade after decade the Israelis basically send the message, "We don't mean to be bad. This is a rough neighborhood. We're trying to be better. Truly we are. Do you want us to free some murderers of Jews?
Here let us free some murderers of Jews."
No wonder the Euros tend to think that Israel is guilty of every vile thing that the Arabs accuse it of. The heinous British Parliamentarian, Baroness Jenny Tonge, has even called for an inquiry into whether Israel used the Haitian earthquake as an excuse to harvest organs from the victims. Jeez, why not suggest an investigation into whether Jews in Israel kidnap young delicious Arab boys for the purpose of baking their blood into matzohs?
Perhaps Baroness Tonge could call for an investigation to determine if Jewish people are actually even human beings.
The ongoing European assault upon the Jewish people should not be met with passivity.
On the contrary, it needs to be flung directly back into their faces.
Lapid deflected the EU's insistence that product labeling is not a boycott, noting that the entire decision is being orchestrated by the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement - who have requested such moves for a long time.
The EU is "pretending it's a technical issue," he said, and added that the EU has predetermined the borders for peace talks without Israel's consent.
"This is patronizing, trying to create a reality while bending our arm, and while doing that, pretending that this is not what they're doing," he fired. "This is EU hypocrisy, trying to tell us how to run our country."
"Can you imagine a situation in which the US would say that you can't put 'Made in the USA' on anything coming from Texas - just because Texas used to be part of Mexico?" he continued.
Lapid agreed with a low blow from Quest, who asked whether the many comparisons being made between the labeling decision and the yellow stars Jews were forced to wear before and during the Holocaust "helped the situation."
Lapid affirmed that, in his view, the comparison is not appropriate, as the Holocaust "was an event which is unparalleled" to any current situation.
Israeli MK at European Parliament: Labeling makes you an unfair broker in peace process
The European Union’s decision to label products from the West Bank, Golan Heights and Jerusalem is harming the chances for peace, MK Hilik Bar (Zionist Union) said in the European Parliament on Thursday.Israel to Launch `Buycott' to Parry EU's Settlement Label Step
Bar was invited to present his peace plan to members of the European Parliament, but he took the opportunity to discuss the labeling decision that was made a day prior to the event.
“When you label products, you are labeling yourselves as less relevant to solving the conflict, as an unfair broker.
Don’t be pro-Palestinian and don’t be pro-Israel. Be pro-solution,” Bar said.
Israel will lobby European governments and consumers to rebuff the European Union’s proposal to label the origin of goods imported from the West Bank and Golan Heights.US: EU labeling on settlement goods is no Israel boycott
A “buycott” campaign conducted on all media formats will encourage EU shoppers to purchase Israeli products in defiance of the recommendation Wednesday to designate the origin of Israeli goods produced in territories seized during the 1967 Middle East war. Israeli government officials, who say the move unfairly singles out their country, will urge member states to take a critical look at the proposal and is even considering legal action against the EU through the World Trade Organization, according to Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon.
“We will try to convince as many member states as possible to implement the directives in a way which is more favorable to us,” Nahshon said on Thursday. “There is a margin of interpretation.” He declined to elaborate.
Israel said Wednesday it will suspend talks with the European Union in various forums set to take place in coming weeks. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the recommendation as “hypocritical” for making an exception of Israel even though other countries are embroiled in territorial disputes.
Major Jewish Group Commends Congressional Letter Urging Push-back Against New EU Labeling Guidelines of Israeli GoodsThe Obama administration said Thursday it doesn’t consider a new European Union rule outlawing “Made in Israel” tags on goods from settlements in the West Bank as a boycott of the Jewish state, only a technical guideline for consumers.The long-awaited EU rule has triggered a fierce backlash from the Israeli government as well as opposition leaders.The US clarified its position a day after the decision by the EU, which applies to goods produced in Israeli settlements on the West Bank. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blasted the 28-nation bloc as “hypocritical” and accused the EU of double standards. One of his Cabinet members called the rule “disguised anti-Semitism.”“We do not believe that labeling the origin of products is equivalent to a boycott,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner said. “And as you know, we do not consider settlements to be part of Israel. We do not view labeling the origin of products as being from the settlements as a boycott of Israel.”
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee applauded a letter by a bipartisan group of senators and representatives urging US trade representative Ambassador Michael Froman to push back against new EU guidelines for labeling Israeli goods produced in West Bank Israeli settlements and the Golan Heights.British MP Slams EU’s ‘Dodgy’ Labeling Policy [audio]
Senators Rob Portman (R-OH) and Bejamin Cardin (D-MD), and Representatives Peter Roskam (R-IL) and Juan Vargas (D-CA), wrote in their letter that they were deeply concerned by the EU’s move to label settlement products.
Although the State Department on Thursday agreed with the EU parliament that the labeling was merely a technical issue in compliance with existing European trade regulations, the congressmen insisted it was a thinly veiled European attempt to “impose borders on Israel outside of a negotiated peace process.”
The congressmen urged the Obama administration to pressure the EU through existing trade agreements that discourage US trading partners from taking politically motivated actions to enact a boycott of or divestment from Israel. They said these anti-BDS measures were included in the Trade Promotional Authority legislation that was signed into law earlier this year to prevent precisely the kind of measures being taken by Europe in labeling settlement products.
Before the official announcement of the labeling regulations, Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) wrote a letter to European Commission Vice President Federica Mogherini urging the EU not to adopt the labeling policy.
Recently, I spoke with British Member of the European Parliament Roger Helmer who was in Israel to take part in the international Jerusalem Leaders Summit/Public Policy Summit in Jerusalem. Mr. Helmer represents the East Midlands region, and is head of delegation for the UK Independence Party.French Ambassador Calls ‘Discrimination’ Against Israel ‘Positive’
In Contrast to Medieval Theocracies “I’m here because I chose to be here; nobody sent me,” he declared “Our political group in the European Parliament is keen to be supportive of Israel’s position because we recognize Israel as being an oasis of stability and of the values we hold dear: democracy, freedom, free-market enterprise, and the rule of law. And in enormous contrast to medieval theocracies that surround and threaten Israel, Israel is doing a great job and deserves our support.”
EU’s “Dodgy” Labeling Policy I asked Mr. Helmer to explain why the English public and the EU in general favor the discriminatory practice of labeling exported products from Judea, Samaria and the Golan Heights as if they are not part of Israel.
“It’s absolutely wrong,” said Mr. Helmer. “Europe should be helping to find a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian problem by supporting these enterprises which provide employment to large numbers of Palestinians. It’s also wrong because if you look around the world at countries where we have concerns about human rights, where do we start? Russia? China? Saudi Arabia? Are we going to apply sanctions to all those countries? Are we going to stop buying Saudi Arabian oil? Of course we won’t.
The French ambassador has come under fire from Twitter users for tweeting, and then deleting, a message that called European Union boycotts of Israel “positive.”The Judean People's Front: Calling BS on BDS - The Strategy of Divestment
“EU Discrimination against Israel? Yes, positive,” Gerard Araud, France’s ambassador to the U.S. tweeted on Wednesday. “The association of Israel to the EU is much closer than most countries in the world.”
Araud quickly deleted the tweet. He told one Twitter user “I was referring to positive discrimination i.e in favor of Israel but knowing the paranoia of some, I desisted.”
A spokesman for the French Embassy declined to provide further clarification when approached by the Washington Free Beacon on Thursday for comment.
A spokesman said that the embassy has “no particular comment” on the matter and directed the Free Beacon to other messages Araud later retweeted.
Some users criticized Araud for endorsing discrimination against Israel, while remaining silent about a range of countries guilty of what they deemed far worse behavior.
The second article in the BDS Handbook is "The Moral Imperative and Strategic Potential of Divestment" by Fayyad Sbaihat (p.9-10).Watchdog’s Exposure Has UNRWA Warning Teachers Not to Reveal Jew-Hatred on Facebook
Is this really Anti-Semitism?
Some skeptical readers will look at this reasoning and think, "ok, that makes sense, but just because they only focus on Israel could also mean they just have a special interest in Palestinians, not Jews." However, while this might be a somewhat acceptable answer for a failure to discuss other instances of occupation and settlement, this would not explain how BDS-holes openly justify occupation and settlements in other areas. It would also not explain a complete lack on the part of BDS to speak up for Palestinian rights that are violated daily in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and the rest of the Middle East.
What's more, Sbaihat's personal associations show that he is not merely anti-Israel or pro-Palestinian. He is a supporter of full blown anti-Semitism.
Let's take a look.
Here is a nice smiling picture of Fayyad Sbaihat from LinkedIn:
And here is he with Ashahed Muhammad, Nation of Islam member and author of "The Synagogue of Satan," (condemned by the ADL for rabid anti-Semitism) and Malik "Zulu" Shabazz, currently the National President of Black Lawyers for Justice and the former National Chairman of the New Black Panther Party who wrote the book's forward.
Sbaihat can't claim he didn't know who these people were or that they wrote this anti-Semitic tome that rivals Mein Kampf in its Jew-hatred because he's holding it in the picture! There's even a demonic Jewish star right on the cover!
Look how proud Muhammad and Shabazz are of their Jew-hating book!
Let's look at some of the things Sbaihat's friend Shabazz has said:
Repeated exposure by pro-Israel blogger Elder of Ziyon of incitement on the social media pages of self-described UNRWA teachers is having more of a technical effect than an ideological one, according to a report on the watchdog’s website on Thursday.Absurd: Terrorist to testify against soldiers in court
Over the past several months, Elder of Ziyon is not the only one who has been highlighting the issue of employees, particularly educators, of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. Taking the ball and running with it, Hillel C. Neuer, executive director of the Geneva-based non-profit human rights organization UN Watch, complained to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
The Facebook posts and Twitter feeds in question are filled with antisemitic memes and pro-Palestinian terrorism cartoons – all encouraging the killing of Jews.
When asked by The Algemeiner in early September to respond to this phenomenon, UNRWA spokesperson Christopher Gunness said, “We always investigate credible reports of neutrality violations by our staff and take appropriate action, including disciplinary action, where violations by UNRWA staff members are established. Our position on racism is clear. We condemn racism in all its forms.”
Military Petitions Court Judge Brig. Gen. Doron Peles rejected a petition submitted on behalf of two out of four Netzah Yehuda battalion combat soldiers accused of hitting two terrorists, ruling that they are to remain in detention until the end of legal proceedings against them.Free Bread Initiative Commemorating Fallen IDF Fighter Lial Gidoni
The judge ruled that the soldiers were "dangerous" given the accusations by the terrorists that they struck them.
One terrorist who was struck is to arrive in court next week to testify against the IDF soldiers.
Attorney Chai Haber, who represents the combat soldiers for the Honenu legal aid organization, told Arutz Sheva that allowing the terrorist to testify against the soldiers will sharply harm morale.
"This is a surprising decision; outstanding combat soldiers who conducted their operation are classified as 'dangerous.' When a terrorist doesn't listen to orders and refuses to walk, it is permissible to use a certain amount of force," he said, referencing details of the case.
"Unfortunately the soldiers are being punished, and this will seriously harm the morale of all the combat soldiers."
Livnat Krief posted in the Facebook group page of “Jerusalem Mothers” her initiative at a neighborhood grocery store on Stern Street in Kiryat Yovel, Jerusalem. Krief posted a picture of a bread box offering free bread to anyone who needs it. The note on the box reads: “Start the month with a mitzvah. You need? Take from the box. You can? Buy and put in the box.”Russia's Got An Outrageous Conspiracy Theory To Explain Who Took Down The Egypt Flight
Livnat noted that the initiative is in memory of the late Sgt. Lial Gidoni, a fighter in the Givati special forces unit who was killed in operation Protective Edge, in 2014. “He is the cousin of a friend of mine, his memorial service was held yesterday. He dealt all his life in acts of kindness and contribution. This story was meant to commemorate Lial”.
Speaking to NRG, Livnat described the evolution of her initiative: “I saw a similar idea on Facebook, embraced it and started to promote it on Facebook. I just took a cardboard box, made a sign and bought several breads and rolls, went up to the owner, and he immediately agreed and added warm words of encouraging. I posted it so that the idea would spread elsewhere, and I’ve seen that things are starting to move.”
Russian media is floating an odd explanation for the explosions of their commercial airliner over Egypt’s Sinai: The US and UK did it in order to pin it on ISIS, thus wearing away support for Moscow’s war in Syria.US ‘99% sure’ it killed Islamic State executioner ‘Jihadi John’
Seriously.
A number of conspiracy theories have floated around the Russian propaganda machine to dismiss evidence of a bomb causing the Oct. 31 crash that killed all 224 passengers on board.
State media have used Russia’s recent campaign in Syria to illustrate a strong military that has taken down ISIS with no harm to its soldiers and civilians. When the Metrojet plane bound for Saint Petersburg crashed, the narrative was suddenly flawed, especially considering ISIS claimed responsibility.
The approach is similar to the cover-up of the MH17 crash last July. It is widely accepted that the plane traveling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was downed by a Russian missile as it crossed the airspace of Ukraine. But various Russian reports put the blame on Israel, Ukraine, China, and, of course, the usual suspects America and the UK.
Russia Today, a Kremlin-backed, English-language news outlet, produced a documentary called “Mh17: The Untold Story.” It features experts and eyewitness reports which prove it was taken down by a second airplane and not a missile.
A US drone strike targeted a vehicle in Syria believed to be transporting the masked Islamic State jihadist known as “Jihadi John” on Thursday, according to American officials. Whether the strike killed the British man, who appeared in several videos depicting the beheadings of Western hostages, was not known, officials said.PreOccupiedTerritory: Jihadi John To Be Repeatedly Castrated By Laughing Foley, Sotloff (satire)
Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said the strike Thursday in Syria’s Raqqa targeted Mohammed Emwazi. Cook said whether or not Emwazi died in the strike wasn’t immediately clear.
“We are assessing the results of tonight’s operation and will provide additional information as and where appropriate,” he said in a statement.
American officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to The Washington Post said the airstrike targeted a vehicle and may have killed another member of a group of English-speaking Islamic State fighters called “the Beatles.”
However, an unnamed senior US official told Fox News, “We are 99 percent sure we got him.”
“We find the defendant guilty of multiple counts of denial of humanity to others, and as such condemn him to wallow in ever-more-profound physical and emotional suffering,” read the Court’s ruling. “As punishment, Emwazi, AKA ‘Jihadi John’ will spend the rest of Existence having his penis and/or testicles severed, crushed, mangled, burned, lacerated, corroded, dissolved, pierced, shot, exploded, or otherwise painfully destroyed, an experience to be repeated each moment from now until the end of the existence of the human soul.”
“With each instance of castration,” continued the statement, “the pain and shame of the defendant will increase exponentially as the deepening sense of his own evil takes greater hold of his psyche. To enhance this process, the ones to administer the sentence will be those whom the defendant himself treated with murderous disrespect: Steven Sotloff, David Haines, James Foley, Alan Henning, Peter Kassig, Haruna Yukawa, Kenji Goto, and a number of Syrian soldiers (names in attached list).” The ruling noted that, in addition to the acts of castration by increasingly brutal and gory means, Emwazi’s victims would laugh at his suffering.
A spokesman for the Heavenly Tribunal said that the constant presence of Emwazi’s victims will only be one aspect of the shame. “The Prophet will make an occasional visit to the torture chamber to join in the derisive laughter and drive home to the defendant the extent to which his behavior perverted Islam.” said Archangel Gabriel. “And if He so pleases, Allah Himself will also make an appearance or two, on which occasions the defendant will comprehend as never before the damage he has done to Creation.”
