Wednesday, May 25, 2016
David Collier: Hey PSC, no antisemitism? you are having a laugh!
On Monday night (23/5), I went to a PSC event held at the P21 Gallery in Euston. Miko Peled was speaking at a book launch for the latest edition of his book ‘The General’s son’. Peled outdid himself; nastier than Blumenthal, more distortion than Pappe, more unhinged than Barkan.Reuters Chief and Foreign Press Head Abuses Position, Expresses Open Disdain for Israel
Miko Peled is lost. I am not a great believer in generalisations, so dislike the all-inclusive labels such as ‘self-hater’. Each of these individuals has taken a different journey along the way, but there are clearly deep personal issues with them all. Miko Peled bathes in the perverted adoration of the similarly inflicted. Like a Big Brother winner, Peled profits through what is wrong with him. It is highly unsettling to witness.
I do not need to go into detail over all the distortions of yesterday’s talk. The trap Miko Peled fell into is evident from the outset. He realised that some of the Zionist tales were myth, which to him made the Arab narrative pure gospel. This argument I have heard from them all, the flawed logic of the true believer – one false idol replaced by another. The classic ‘non sequitur’ of the ignorant.
For Peled, Israel has to be removed from the map, no question. The ‘settlers of Tel Aviv’ could become, if the Arabs are willing to forgive them, just the ‘polite guests’ inside the new state. His historical narrative is so false it has to be deliberate, his description of the present seems designed to mislead.
Miko Peled overstepped the mark several times, most notably when he spoke of antisemitism and Islamophobia. It was this, rather than the fake stories about the conflict, that I found the most objectionable. I’ve become immune to the constant distortion about the historical conflict, and more attuned to the underlying messages. Peled did not disappoint.
Luke Baker, a man who openly expresses disdain and dislike for Israel is the Jerusalem bureau chief of Reuters, one of the world’s largest news services. He is also the outgoing chairperson of Israel’s Foreign Press Association (FPA).Phyllis Chesler: Feminist Totally Occupied by Palestine
Baker’s behavior on Twitter has given a window into his personal views, and those views are not at all impartial when it comes to Israel.
On the contrary, Baker’s tweets have been mocking, sarcastic, negative, and dismissive with regard to Israel and only with regard to Israel. Based on HonestReporting’s research, Baker has rarely, if ever, demonstrated such behavior or views toward Palestinians or toward any other party in the world.
So what did Luke Baker actually say?
Aside from routinely omitting critical context and basic fairness, Luke Baker frequently speaks about Israel in language that is beyond unprofessional, but actually demeaning, flippant and insulting, including:
- referring to Israeli security as “idiocy“;
- calling certain political groups “Jewish nutjobs“;
- calling an Israeli Foreign Ministry video “bizarre“;
- referring to criticism by Israeli diplomats as “mocking“;
- in a serious article, respected Arab-Israeli journalist Khaled Abu Toameh criticized certain ignorant and biased behaviors toward Israel by foreign press. Baker described the content of Abu Toameh’s article as “a joke” and comprised of “silly anecdote[s]“; and
- in a blatant perpetuation of racial and religious stereotypes, Baker referred to a statement by Israel to the high court as “chutzpah.” (The Reuters Handbook also says, “Do not use language that perpetuates sexual, racial, religious or other stereotypes. Such language is offensive, out of date and often simply inaccurate.”)
This month, a British feminist historian, Dr. Catherine Hall, refused half a million dollars because the money is connected to an Israel-based foundation.
The Dan David Foundation had absolutely no trouble finding two other European feminist historians (Drs. Arlette Farge and Dr. Inga Clendinnen) and awarding them the distinguished prize.
The matter is a curious one. First, because Hall herself not only declined the prize; her supporters, the British Committee for the Universities of Palestine released the news of her rejection. Hall and her supporters/handlers clearly want credit for her "politically correct" sacrifice. Perhaps a pro-Islamic or a British anti-Zionist foundation will soon find a way to reward her. Perhaps others will then follow suit.
The British Committee for the Universities of Palestine described Hall’s decision as “a significant endorsement of the campaign to end ties with Israeli institutions.”
The matter is also curious because the Committee posted a press release on May 10th—and Ha’aretz did not report this until May 22nd. Ha’aretz states that Hall declines this prize “after many discussions with those who are deeply involved with the politics of Israel-Palestine.”
CAIR Official Posts Offensive Holocaust Jokes onto Social Media
Most representatives from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) offend the Jewish community by attacking Israel. However, one CAIR leader, Ruanne Zein, has chosen a different tact, offending Jews by posting revolting jokes about the Holocaust on social media. While CAIR likes to shout “Islamophobia” at every instance of real or imagined prejudice against Muslims, how will the group react to an obvious case of bigotry promoted by one of its own?Litzman blasts Palestinian ‘political attack’ on Israel at WHO’s yearly assembly
CAIR was established in June 1994 as part of a terrorist umbrella group headed by then-global head of Hamas, Mousa Abu Marzook. In 2007 and 2008, CAIR was named by the US Justice Department a co-conspirator for two federal trials dealing with the financing of millions of dollars to Hamas. Since its founding, a number of CAIR representatives have served jail time and/or have been deported from the United States for terrorist-related crimes. In November 2014, CAIR, itself, was designated a terrorist group by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) government.
CAIR-Florida reflects the extremism of its parent organization. In August 2010, CAIR-Florida Executive Director Hassan Shibly, who has denied that Hezbollah is a terrorist group, wrote, “Israel and its supporters are enemies of God...” In July 2014, CAIR-Florida co-sponsored a pro-Hamas rally in Downtown Miami, where rally goers shouted, “We are Hamas” and “Let’s go Hamas.” Following the rally, the event organizer, Sofian Zakkout, wrote, “Thank God, every day we conquer the American Jews like our conquests over the Jews of Israel!”
Ruanne Zein, aka Ruanne Elmalawani, is CAIR-Florida’s Orlando Outreach Coordinator. According to her Facebook page, she also works for Universal Studios Entertainment. She started working for CAIR this past February. It only took her less than three months from then to offend the Jewish community with imagery that made light of the most horrific period in modern Jewish history.
Health Minister Ya’acov Litzman, in Geneva to attend the annual assembly of the World Health Organization, denounced on Tuesday a “political attack” by a Palestinian representative to the organization, which is supposed to be totally nonpolitical.Hamas anti-Semitic Ramadan show enters second season
The unnamed representative of the Palestinian delegation charged that “Israel is a country of occupation and harms Palestinian medical institutions in Gaza and elsewhere.” He called on the WHO to be concerned about the health of the population in Gaza and “all Arab countries.”
In recent years, Palestinian representatives have taken advantage of the forum to criticize Israel even though no other country is exposed to such verbal attacks.
“The WHO is a professional organization, and I am very disappointed that the Palestinian representative has used this forum for a political attack against my country,” Litzman said when he was given his turn to speak. “The WHO is not a political organization. Therefore, I will speak on global, regional and Israeli health.”
Fida'i Ramadan mini-series starting second season in two weeks following rave reviews of first season last year; Included are crude anti-Semitic tropes, poor acting, and pompous music scoreAmbassador Danon set to hold anti-BDS conference in UN
From forming terror cells in the alleyways of Hebron to dealing with the Israeli security services in Israeli prisons– all this and more will be in the new Palestinian mini-series called "Fida'i" (Palestinian-Arabic for freedom fighter) to be broadcasted on Hamas affiliated a-Aqsa TV during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
The mini-series is the second season of last year's Hamas Ramadan production, which was a resounding success and received high reviews. Each of the 30 episodes – one for each night of Ramadan - lasts about 50 minutes.
One of the actors, Mohammad Khalifa, said that "the mini-series shows the hardships of the Palestinian prisoners inside Israeli jails, and attempts to Judaize Palestinian holy places. It sends a message to the Arab and Muslim world about the Palestinian reality, and the strengthening of the ideas of the resistance."
Amongst the issues expected to be dealt with in the mini-series are the "new intifadah," price tag events, and even houses being set on fire by Jewish extremists, emulating the fire which killed members of the Dawabsheh family in Kfar Duma.
Danny Danon, the Israeli Ambassador to the UN is set to host the "Building Bridges, Not Boycotts" anti-BDS conference in the United Nations on May 31.New York county passes BDS law
The conference is a partnership between Israel’s Mission to the UN, the World Jewish Congress, Keren HaYesod, the American Center for Law and Justice, the Anti-Defamation League, the Zionist Organization of America, Israel Bonds, StandWithUs, B'nai B'rith International, Hillel, CAMERA as well as other organizations.
Israeli Supreme Court Justice Elyakim Rubinstein and President of the World Jewish Congress Ronald Lauder are among those set to address the general assembly. There will be a special performance by singer-songwriter Matisyahu, a hero to the anti-BDS movement.
“BDS is continuing to spread and seeks to utilize international institutions to implement its ideology of hate,” stated Ambassador Danon, adding that “this summit will create practical tools to battle BDS by training students to serve as ‘ambassadors’ against boycotts."
Nassau County, located on Long Island, unanimously passed a law Monday prohibiting the county from doing business with companies engaged in economic warfare against Israel. County legislator Howard Kopel, who spearheaded the effort, said he was proud to have done so and believed the law would place the county on “the right side of history.”Swiss parliament launches inquiry into anti-Israel NGOs
“It is imperative that as a county, we demonstrate to other governments the importance of fighting against all practices of hatred and discrimination,” Kopel said.
Avi Posnick, managing director of the New York chapter of StandWithUs, said he was “prouder than ever to live in Nassau County.” State legislators introduced a similar bill last fall. That bill would prohibit New York State from doing business with companies engaged in BDS.
The Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) has allocated funds in the millions to anti-Israel NGOs linked to terrorism and working in support of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel, according to a report that appeared in Switzerland’s Basler Zeitung on Monday.Family Of Paris Victims Stops Paying Taxes Because It Goes To Terrorists
The front-page story by veteran journalist Dominik Feusi, headlined “Resistance in Parliament against money for Israel-critical campaigns,” stated that MP Christian Imark had introduced a motion supported by 41 lawmakers from across the political spectrum calling on the FDFA to stop all direct or indirect funding to organizations that sponsor “racist and anti-Semitic actions” or are involved in BDS campaigns.
The move could bring about a sea change in Swiss funding for scores of anti-Israel NGOs operating in Israel and in the disputed territories.
Prof. Gerald Steinberg, president of Jerusalem-based NGO Monitor, spoke with the The Jerusalem Post about the development.
“The detailed and unprecedented article... reflects the concerns of many MPs in Switzerland, who were surprised to learn of the very negative and counterproductive impact of their government’s funding for radical anti-peace NGOs,” Steinberg stated.
The parents of two victims who died in the Nov. 13 Paris attacks wrote a letter to French President Francois Hollande, notifying him they will no longer pay taxes and by extension fund the president’s “jihadist friends.”Anti-Semitism, by any other name
The parents are furious with Hollande’s policies, which they claim allowed for the attack to happen. Paying taxes, the parents argue, will contribute to the surviving suspects’ attorneys fees and France’s new jihadist rehabilitation centers.
“You are a disaster for France. Your example is a disaster at all levels,” an excerpt of the letter reads, according to newspaper Le Figaro. “French youth has no future and will pay the price in no time. Our children have died as victims of your lax interference!”
The parents notified the tax office and will take the tax money and put it in an account until affected families are compensated. They also want the death penalty to be reinstated and handed to the terrorists.
Studies show the scope of the phenomenon to be even more glaring, as recent surveys have found that 75% of Jewish students have seen or experienced anti-Israel incidents. Ponder this whopping number: three-quarters of the Jewish students in the U.S. have encountered anti-Semitism.With a track record this appalling, how can anyone trust the NUS to tackle anti-Semitism?
Jewish students today are unquestionably on the front lines against the BDS movement's anti-Semitic attacks. For all intents and purposes it is an anti-Semitic movement and should therefore be treated as such. The course of counteraction, meanwhile, needs to be aggressive and uncompromising. All ardent supporters of the BDS movement must be made to know that they are members of an anti-Semitic movement, in every sense of the term, and that they cannot exonerate themselves by hiding behind the claim of simply being "anti-Israel." This is a despicable manipulation.
The time has come to transition from words and public relations to action. The time for waging an aggressive and uncompromising fight against the BDS movement has arrived. It is important to clarify -- the BDS movement's achievements have been minimal, but this is a fight over minds, a fight for Jewish awareness. It is for restoring pride and the Israeli and Jewish narrative.
My colleagues and I from Reservists in the Front are presently concluding two intensive weeks of campus visits across the United States, which have only accentuated the importance of our cause and struggle against the BDS movement. The State of Israel needs to put this issue atop the agenda and budget accordingly, because the fight over global public opinion, certainly at this point in time, is becoming increasingly critical.
THE question that emerges is one of trust. Do we trust the National Union of Students to challenge anti-Semitism?How Oberlin Has Repeatedly Failed To Confront Anti-Semitism on Campus
By now, we all know about Malia Bouattia, the 28-year-old President Elect of the NUS who made anti-Semitic comments while in her position as the leader of the organisation’s Black Liberation Campaign. I have enquired with the NUS as to why she has not been suspended pending investigation over her conduct, in the same way several Labour Party members have been recently. I have received no clear response.
To recap, Malia described Birmingham’s large Jewish community as a “Zionist outpost” and made declarations about the “Zionist-led media” and spoken of the power of “the zio and neo-con lobby”. She is still to apologise.
Over the last few weeks, I have scrutinised the NUS, speaking to fellow Jewish students around the country and gathering their experiences along with mine and those in Cambridge. Sadly, a damning picture has emerged of an organisation that is rotten to the core and in urgent need of a shock to its system.
Certainly, on the issue of anti-Semitism, the problems of the NUS are revealed to run far deeper than Malia.
Last February, Oberlin College became the flashpoint of a national controversy when it was discovered that the liberal arts school was employing an openly anti-Semitic professor. On Facebook, social justice writing instructor Joy Karega had dubbed ISIS a “CIA and Mossad operation,” suggested Israel downed Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, claimed the Mossad perpetrated the Charlie Hebdo attacks, posted a video arguing that Jews did 9/11, and shared an anti-Semitic meme of Jewish banker Jacob Rothschild that declared, “We own your news, the media, your oil, and your government.” Karega’s story was covered in the New York Times and numerous other media outlets, and her conduct was condemned by Oberlin’s board of trustees.The BDS Movement: the D is superfluous
At the time, some publications—including Tablet—suggested that Karega’s hiring, despite her prejudiced views, represented a broader institutional failure at Oberlin. Two of Oberlin’s associate deans had served on the small search committee that hired Karega to guide undergraduates in ethical activism, and yet they completely failed to recognize her bigotry. Tablet has learned, however, that the institution’s seeming inability to face up to Karega’s conduct went even higher than previously reported, and that a broader climate of anti-Semitism has gone unaddressed on campus.
On Jan. 26, 2015, a full month before Karega’s posts went public, an email obtained by Tablet was sent by a concerned alumni group to Oberlin president Marvin Krislov. Attached to it was a 28-page document containing testimonies of anti-Semitic incidents at Oberlin. Some of the allegations related to actions that rested on the blurry line between criticism of Israel and anti-Jewish bigotry. They were certainly debatable. But some were not—most notably, a screenshot of Karega’s anti-Semitic Facebook post about the Rothschilds and Jewish global domination. Karega’s name was redacted from the images of her posts, and she was presented only as “an Oberlin faculty member who has been identified by students as someone who makes hostile remarks about Israel in a class whose syllabus does not include topics related to Israel.”
The BDS movement has only gotten louder and there’s no interest whatsoever in discussion. It’s case-closed for BDS’ers. Conclusions have been reached and there’s no desire to take any closer examination of the Israel/Palestinian situation.Controversy Erupts at Cannes as Disgraced Actor Mel Gibson Presents Film Award to ‘Virulently Anti-Israel’ Director
BDS has unfortunately been given free reign with its in-your-face and militant tactics. What’s therefore most frightening is not their Nazi-like behaviors, but rather their influence. That has led to the “dumbing down” of American college students. BDS has told and sold our well-meaning and optimistic college kids that the Palestinian Arabs have been the victims of Israeli aggression. Furthermore, they state unchallenged that Israel practices genocide, ethnic cleansing, and is an apartheid state.
To any open-minded person, especially one who has visited Israel, these ridiculous claims are very quickly dispelled – which is probably why the BDS movement is so very keen on making sure that top entertainers don’t go to Israel to perform. If they do, then something really bad happens: these performers realize that the BDS movement is completely baseless. These performers, including the world’s #1 rock band, the Rolling Stones, have all expressed their enthusiastic support for the region’s only free and democratic society.
It’s not the Palestinian territories. It’s not Gaza. It’s not the West Bank. It ain’t Iran or Saudi Arabia or Syria. Nope. It’s Israel! This tiny piece of real estate in the Middle East and the only one that is the exact opposite of an apartheid state!
Controversy erupted on Sunday after disgraced actor Mel Gibson presented an award to an anti-Israel director at the Cannes Film Festival in France, according to the New York Post’s Page Six.How Social TV Tries to Destroy the State of Israel
Gibson presented the Palme d’Or to British director Ken Loach for his film I, Daniel Blake — a move that one Hollywood insider called “blatant and boorish,” especially in light of the fact that antisemitic attacks are on the rise in France. The insider also called Loach a “virulently anti-Israel director.”
After Loach won the same award in 2006, he called for a cultural boycott of Israel. In 2009, he condemned the Toronto Film Festival for selecting Tel Aviv for its “City to City” section, and pulled his film Looking for Eric from a Melbourne festival when he discovered that Israel was a sponsor of the event.
Gibson is notorious for spewing antisemitic remarks at a Los Angeles police officer in 2006, when he was arrested for drunk driving. He ranted, “F***ing Jews… the Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world.” Shortly after his DUI arrest, Gibson issued an apology “specifically to everyone in the Jewish community” for his “vitriolic and harmful words.”
I recently wrote about the commendable work of Stand With Us, a pro-Israel organization that operates in the digital media arena. Social Television, on the other hand, is an organization that uses social media to promote an anti-Israel agenda.New York Times Corrects: Gaza Concrete Ban Applied Only to Private Entities
Social Television, established in 2006, defines itself as a “non-profit independent media organization promoting social change.” In reality, it is a platform for the New Israel Fund (NIF) and similar organizations to spew anti-Israel hate.
The NIF has been supporting and financing Social Television since its inception, transferring $249,697 in donations to Social TV between 2008 and 2014.
An in-depth examination of Social TV’s website reveals an online presence with a patently anti-Zionist perspective — one that advocates the cessation of Israel’s existence as a Jewish and democratic state. The content published on its website includes calls for the realization of the Arab “right of return” and calls for Israelis to refuse to serve in the IDF. Social TV champions draft dodgers, and publishes calls to participate in events supporting draft evaders.
Further, Social TV serves as a supportive platform for Israeli BDS activists and various boycott initiatives. Social TV was a signatory to the appeal to the Norwegian government to boycott Elbit Systems, and Social TV‘s journalists and personalities often make statements delegitimizing Israel and the IDF. These statements include accusing Israel and the IDF of war crimes, terrorism, and crimes against humanity.
CAMERA's Israel office prompted correction yesterday of a New York Times article which had incorrectly reported that "In April, Israel suspended the delivery of cement to Gaza for the reconstruction of homes destroyed in the 2014 war …" ("As Hamas Tunnels Back Into Israel, Palestinians Are Afraid, Too," May 20).What BBC audiences aren’t told about the UNHRC
The informative article by Diaa Hadid and Majd Al Waheidi highlights the danger that Hamas attack tunnels pose both for Israelis as well as for Palestinians whose homes are located close to the tunnels. It also notes that some Gaza residents faced difficulties obtaining concrete to rebuild their homes, even as Hamas continues to build vast concrete attack tunnels under their homes. Contrary to the article, though, Israel did not suspend the delivery of all cement meant for homes in Gaza in April. It suspended deliveries belonging only to private entities, not international aid groups or states. Also
Reuters Corrects: Gaza Concrete Ban Only For Private Imports
Readers may recall that in February 2016 the BBC’s UN correspondent Nick Bryant told listeners to BBC World Service radio that:Tight security as Jewish pilgrimage starts in Tunisia
“The Israelis always believe that they are victimized at the UN; that they are singled out unfairly; that they are isolated…”
Bryant did not however provide BBC audiences with any relevant factual information which would enable them to understand the reality behind his portrayal of what Israelis “always believe”.
In his recent testimony to the US Congress on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the UN Human Rights Council, Hillel Neuer of UN Watch noted the tally of UNHRC condemnations over the last decade.
An annual Jewish pilgrimage to Africa’s oldest synagogue got under way Wednesday in Tunisia where security forces were deployed heavily to ward off potential terrorist attacks.Watch: National plan to save Dead Sea Scrolls from thieves
Small groups of pilgrims began arriving in the searing heat at the Ghriba synagogue on the island of Djerba in southern Tunisia for the Lag B’Omer festival.
Organizers expect up to 2,000 people to visit over two days, despite heightened worries about security following a string of jihadist attacks in the North African country.
Police and soldiers were out in force while a helicopter flew overhead. The island’s Jewish district Hara Kbira was cordoned off and visitors were required to undergo searches.
Tunisian special forces patrol around the Ghriba synagogue in the Tunisian resort island of Djerba during the annual Jewish Lag B'Omer pilgrimage, May 25, 2016. (AFP Photo/Fethi Belaid)
Tunisian special forces patrol around the Ghriba synagogue in the Tunisian resort island of Djerba during the annual Jewish Lag B’Omer pilgrimage, May 25, 2016. (AFP Photo/Fethi Belaid)
The number of pilgrims visiting the synagogue has fallen sharply since a 2002 suicide truck bombing claimed by Al-Qaeda that killed 21.
Before then the event attracted as many as 8,000 people.
The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), in cooperation with the Heritage Project in the Ministry of Jerusalem Affairs, and together with the Minister of Culture and Sport, MK Miri Regev, is promoting a national plan for comprehensive archaeological excavations in the Judean Desert caves, and rescuing the Dead Sea Scrolls, which are among the earliest texts written in the Hebrew language.A little box of colors holds the future of advertising
Last week, the Israel Antiquities Authority took a first step in the plan by commencing a complicated and extraordinary archaeological excavation in search of scrolls in Nahal Tse’elim. A team from the IAA’s Unit for the Prevention of Antiquities Robbery accompanied by researchers from the Caves Research Center of the Hebrew University and hundreds of volunteers from across the country is participating in the excavation, which is taking place with the support of the Heritage Project in the Ministry of Jerusalem Affairs.
The excavation is being directed by archaeologists Dr. Eitan Klein, Dr. Uri Davidovich, Royee Porat and Amir Ganor. For many years, IAA inspectors have been proactively enforcing the law in the desert, during the course of which they have made a number of seizures and foiled bands of antiquities robbers that sought to become rich through the detrimental exposure of items of great historical importance.
However, these actions are a mere drop in the ocean and the Israel Antiquities Authority stresses that only by excavating all of the scrolls in the ground and transferring them to the state, will it be possible to ensure their well-being and preservation for future generations.
No more taking photos of advertisements with phone numbers or websites to look at later. An Israeli company is “magically” turning every commercial into an interactive experience.New Israeli facial imaging claims to identify terrorists and pedophiles
The Sodyo ad tag – an Israeli-made technology that looks like a little box of nine colors — is set to disrupt the multi-billion dollar worldwide advertising market with its ability to convert every sign, television commercial, coupon or poster into an interactive advertisement.
“We’re turning the whole world interactive,” Alex Alon, cofounder of Sodyo, tells ISRAEL21c of the company’s offline-to-online (O2O) interaction.
Sodyo’s “magical” abilities are found in its patented Color Vertex Point (CVP) technology — colorful tags that can be printed or digitally displayed on any media.
A Tel-Aviv based start-up company says it has developed a program to identify personality types such as terrorists, pedophiles, white collar offenders and even great poker players from facial analysis that takes just a fraction of a second.Israeli company wins contract with European military
Faception claims it has signed a contract with a homeland security agency to help identify terrorists, the Washington Post reported Tuesday.
Furthermore, it says it successfully identified nine of the terrorists involved in November’s terror attacks in Paris, according to the Daily Mail.
And it asserts that its technology was able to accurately classify 25 out of 27 facial images of poker players and non-poker players in a blind test.
Claiming that the human face reflects a person’s DNA, Faception has developed 15 “classifiers,” each of which describes a certain personality type or trait.
These classifiers are used to encode facial images taken from video streams, cameras and on- and offline databases to “match an individual with various personality traits and types with a high level of accuracy,” according to the company’s website.
A Haifa-based has won a contract to supply a European military with state-of-the-art tactical communication systems,Cult band Die Antwoord sends video to Israeli fans
Elbit Systems announced on Tuesday that it had signed a one-year, $40 million contract to sell a number of combat radio systems to the military of an unnamed European nation.
The sale includes the CNR9000HDR tactical IP radio system for medium to long range communication; the THF 8000 ‘over the horizon’ communication system for extreme distances that can be configured for use by armored vehicles or infantry units; the PNR-1000 infantry IP radio “E-Lynx” system; and digital intercom systems for combat vehicles.
Elbit boasts the new systems will enable users to have unprecedented levels of “interoperability between combat vehicles” and infantry units, including voice, data, and video communications in a variety of scenarios.
"We are proud to be awarded important contracts from a European customer, for the supply of advanced communication systems which are based on decades of experience and proven radio products and technologies,” said Yehuda Vered, Elbit Systems Land & C4I Division General Manager.
As South African rave band Die Antwoord revs up for its performance in Israel on June 8 in Rishon Lezion’s LIVE Park, it sent a video message to its Israeli fans.King of ‘Happy’ Pharrell Williams heads to Israel
Performers Ninja and Yo-landi Visser took turns speaking into the camera as Ninja stared menacingly and Visser pulled up her bleached white hair and stuck out her tongue and hands.
“We are Die Antwoord, we play live in Tel Aviv, Israel, June 8, LIVE Park, June 8, Israel, June 8,” said the tattoed pair, before screaming something unintelligible into the camera.
The extremely offbeat, alternative group, which includes singers Ninja, Vi$$er, as she often writes her name, and DJ Hi-Tek, is based on the South African zef countercultural movement, an Afrikaans term loosely translated as “redneck.”
Wanna feel happy? The master of joy, pop king Pharrell Williams, is making his way to Israel this summer for a one-night performance on July 21 at Rishon Lezion’s LIVE Park.Comic Hannibal Buress brings his quirky humor to Israel
He sent the video above, a montage of his own music, as an invite to the Israeli audience.
Promoter Udi Appleboim, working with the Zappa group, is bringing the pop star, who is perhaps best known for his 2013 hit “Happy,” a worldwide phenomenon that spurred hundreds of fan videos displaying the “happy” environs of various cities, countries, individuals and groups.
Williams is making his way to this side of the ocean in June, beginning in Azerbaijan and Poland before heading to Denmark, Holland, Belgium, London, Italy, Switzerland and several French festivals.
When comedian Hannibal Burress lands in Israel next month, he’s expecting to see legions of armed guards, lots of them. And 18-year-olds with guns.PreOccupiedTerritory: IDF Reminds Soldiers Not To Leave Base Without Towel On May 25 (satire)
“They’re hanging out or something,” said Buress, speaking from Los Angeles. “Everybody has to join the military and go out to the desert, or some shit like that.”
Admittedly, Buress’s view of Israel is that it looks chaotic sometimes, but he gets that “that might be a skewed view,” he said.
Skewed views, of course, are Buress’s speciality.
The stand-up comic, known for his quirky humor and a slow drawl that sometimes seems too drawn to be real, is perhaps best known for his supporting role as dentist Lincoln Rice in “Broad City,” a sitcom created by Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson, now in its third season and developed from their web series that first premiered on Comedy Central.
Burress is also the co-host of Adult Swim’s “The Eric Andre Show,” which will air its fourth season later this year.
The IDF senior command and officials at the Ministry of Defense issued a reminder today that all personnel are to keep on their persons a towel at all times today, in keeping with the observance of Towel Day, held annually on this date.
Chief of Staff Lt. General Gadi Eizenkot and Ministry of Defense Director-General Dan Harel sent a communique to all active personnel this morning informing them that because May 25 is Towel Day, all soldiers must have their IDF-issue towels on them until midnight, when the date changes to May 26. Soldiers who fail to properly maintain a towel will face court-martial for violations of protocol.
“The IDF prides itself on being more than a mere assemblage of hoopy froods,” read the directive. “We instill in ourselves the competence, responsibility, and respect that carrying a towel signifies. As such, it is incumbent upon all soldiers, regardless of their role in this organization, to display the towel. Forty-two units of Military Police will conduct inspections to ascertain adherence to this protocol. Soldiers who sass these inspectors must make their towels visible to those police.” Eizenkot and Harel reassured soldiers not to panic.
The special military protocol for Towel Day includes the replacement of the beret under the left epaulet with an IDF-issue towel of the appropriate color. Each type of unit boasts its own color beret, which, when protocol dictates it not be on the head, must be affixed in a specific way on the shoulder. The General Staff’s reminder was accompanied by an illustration of the proper folding, placement, and securing of a towel on both the head and shoulder positions, using the purple beret of the Givati infantry brigade as an example.
We have lots of ideas, but we need more resources to be even more effective. Please donate today to help get the message out and to help defend Israel.
