Monday, June 13, 2016
Nawi-Gate: the self-immolation of the Israeli far-left
Israeli TV broadcast extraordinary claims by a far-left Israeli activist: that he had delivered to the Palestinian Authority the names of Arabs who wished to sell land to Jews and that he anticipated they would be tortured and killed. What happened next poses profound questions for a much broader segment of the Left.
When the human rights community is confronted with inconvenient facts, there develops cognitive dissonance between these facts and the desire to end the Occupation. When the dissonance is resolved in favour of the latter, this discomfort is suppressed through resort to the coping mechanisms so embarrassingly displayed here: deflection, apologism and denial.
Whistleblowers and watchdog groups play an irreplaceable role in free societies. They test the openness of an open society, exposing to sunlight what some may wish to sweep under the rug. Liberal democracies need them. And so when they give an easy ride to perpetrators of human rights abuses for reasons of political expediency, they do not just shoot themselves in the foot – they injure the polity to which they belong.
As the Israeli left digests the consequences of these revelations, there are flares of clarity through the moral smoke. If the Left is to meet Shavit’s demands of becoming ‘realistic, moral, democratic, liberal and decent,’ it will have to examine where it went wrong as the start of a conversation of where it can go right. Its prophets will have to devise credible solutions for engaging with the Israeli public that exists – not the one that they would prefer exist. As ‘Nawi-gate’ suggests, however, that is going to require picking up the broken pieces and rebuilding atop the ashes.
Eugene Kontorovich: Boycotting Israel isn’t free speech
Gov. Cuomo’s recent executive order requiring state agencies to divest from companies that boycott Israel has led boycott proponents to claim he’s violating the First Amendment, which safeguards free expression, and particularly political speech.
Cuomo’s order comes as numerous states have passed anti-boycott legislation in the past year. As these legislators understand, there is no free speech problem here. States have a right to refuse to spend their money on what they view as bigoted or improper conduct.
The First Amendment protects speech, not conduct. The Supreme Court unanimously held, in a case called Rumsfeld vs. FAIR, that the government can deny federal funding to universities that boycott military recruiters. Even though that boycott was based on political considerations, that did not make it protected speech.
Similarly, the act of boycotting Israel does not in and of itself express any political viewpoint. Companies may boycott Israel to prevent further harassment from the BDS movement, to curry favor with Arab states or out of mere anti-Semitism. Unless the company or institution explains its actions , those actions have no message. That is why refusals to do business are not speech.
Indeed, federal law already bans participation in certain kinds of boycotts of Israel — those sponsored by foreign countries — and no one has ever doubted the constitutionality of these measures.
Terror is terror is terror
Anyone who values life is appalled by murderous terror attacks, regardless of whether they strike Paris, Brussels, San Bernardino, Istanbul, or Tel aviv.
Israelis Have Human Rights Too
While no nation can seal itself off from potential attacks, limiting those who enter from a territory that is a hotbed of terror is a minimal and entirely reasonable action especially during a time of year when some sort of flamboyant gesture of terror, from Hamas or its sympathizers, might be expected.David Collier: The Jewish circus clowns and the antisemites
But when it comes to Israel, any measure of self-defense, even one that involves no counter-attack against terror bases but merely limiting entry to the country, is deemed not only illegal but also some sort of provocation. But not only was the UN chiding the Israelis, the Obama administration chimed in with its own warning as State Department spokesman Mark Toner declared bemoaned the possibility that Israel would “inflame” and “escalate tensions.”
Both the UN and the administration need to be reminded that the source of the “tension” remains a Palestinian belief that all of Israel is “occupied” territory—a stance shared by Hamas and Abbas alike—not the fact that the Jewish state seeks to defend itself.
The right to self-defense and to have one’s government take the minimal steps expected to prevent acts of terrorism is also a fundamental human right. The day when the international community starts acting as if Israelis are entitled to that right will be the moment when perhaps some sanity will return to discussions about the Middle East. Until that happens, the Palestinians will continue to believe that the world sympathizes more with their desire to wipe out Israel than with the Jewish state’s ongoing and successful fight for survival.
Hatred of Zionism and belief in conspiracies aside, what all of the people have in common is that they are Jewish. These are the Jewish circus clowns, whose tricks become deadly weapons in the hands of antisemites and then used on the very crowd they are meant to amuse. The unexpected twist of a Hammer horror movie.Edgar Davidson:
In fact, most have another common thread, their families were directly impacted by the holocaust. They all use this as part of their personal camouflage and conspiracy creation. Perhaps there is a generational kissing cousin of Stockholm Syndrome at work. Victims adopting the agenda of their victimizers. Let’s not forget the the very seed of the boycott Israel movement (BDS) came from a handful of diaspora Jews.
Yes, these are those who sit on the fringes of Jewish society, and if they were not Jewish, that is exactly where they would remain. Conspiracy theorists always shout loudly that they are speaking the truth. Yet the one who claims to have been aboard a UFO isn’t placed at the top of a department at the University of Exeter. The one who claims that Elvis is alive doesn’t get to make laws in Westminster. The man who thinks there are people (crisis actors) paid by the government to pretend they have been caught up in a terror attack doesn’t get to travel the universities of the west on the back of the publication of his book.
If Michael Lerner didn’t push Jewish conspiracy theories, if he came from mainstream Jewish thought, would he ever have been given an invite to speak at Ali’s funeral? What then the motive of giving this man a microphone and a global stage?
If you seek evidence of antisemitism today. You don’t need to look under the rocks of a Labour Party membership list. Just pay attention to what happens to those Jewish clowns who spread conspiracies about Jews. One is made the head of a department at Exeter. Another, is one of the longest serving British Politicians. There is a third, a fourth, a fiftieth. Believing in Jewish conspiracy whilst being a Jew yourself is a sure way to be pulled out from the shadows and adored. These people, *because* of their specific hatred, get their work published in mainstream newspapers.
These people may be clowns, but those that promote them, defend them, hide behind them, quote them and applaud them are antisemites. They give a fake veneer of respectability to vile, dark and demonic tales of Jewish conspiracy. Protocols of Zion for the modern world. Never forget, when it comes to stories about Jewish money, power, blood lust and control, people have been indulging in these stories for centuries. It is what antisemites have always done.
In Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, an Outpouring of Solidarity for Orlando Terror Victims
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu extended his condolences over a mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Florida that left 50 people dead and more than 50 others injured on Sunday. The Islamic State has since claimed responsibility for the massacre, which is being investigated as an act of terror by the FBI.Netanyahu: Enlightened nations must join together to fight terror
“On behalf of the people and government of Israel, I extend our deepest condolences to the American people following last night’s horrific attack on the LGBT community in Orlando,” Netanyahu said in a statement. “Israel stands shoulder to shoulder with the United States at this moment of tragic loss. We send our heartfelt sympathies to the families of the victims and wish a full and speedy recovery to the wounded.”
Orlando is thousands of miles from Israel, but the tragedy there has deeply saddened me. We Israelis feel your pain as if it were our own.
— Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) June 12, 2016
Leader of the Israeli opposition Isaac Herzog also expressed his sympathies to U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Dan Shapiro, in the wake of the massacre. “The Zionist Union, and myself, send heartfelt condolences to the American people,” the Labor Party chief said in a statement. “The forces of hatred, violence and murder, as manifested in this heinous terror attack, must be fought against with all our might. Our two nations will continue to do so in close cooperation, based on our deep friendship.”
In an expression of solidarity, Tel Aviv’s city hall lit up with the colors of the American flag and that of the LGBTQ community following the massacre.
The terrorism that struck in Orlando over the weekend threatens the entire world, and the enlightened nations of the world must unite to fight it, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday.Douglas Murray - Orlando Shooting [Murray starts at 4m25s]
Netanyahu’s comments came at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting, where he reiterated that “we stand shoulder to shoulder with the American people.”
“We are all shocked by the horrible massacre in Orlando,” he said. “I want to express condolences in the name of the government and the Israeli people to the American people and the families [of the victims] at this difficult hour.”
A gunman identified as Omar Saddiqui Mateen killed at least 50 people and injured 53 others in a gay nightclub in Florida early on Sunday before police shot him dead in what US authorities described as a "terrorism incident."
Construction Minister Yoav Galant told reporters he believes international cooperation will increase to deal with the challenge posed by a single gun, camera and social media. He said that because Israel unfortunately has experience dealing with this, it will have an important role in this cooperation.
Israeli Event Planner: Nightclub Security in America a ‘Joke’
An Israeli-American who organized a party for fellow Israelis at the Pulse nightclub just one week before the massacre at the popular gay venue said he was shocked at news of the attack but added that American club security was “a joke.”Orlando shooter’s father: ‘Up to God to punish homosexuals’
“They do have security in the club, but it isn’t like in Israel,” 59-year-old Avi Alfasi said.
“You can get in through the side entrance, they don’t really check bags. Unfortunately, they are stupid. In Israel the level of security is on another level. In America it is a joke. You could say that the writing was really on the wall,” he added.
Event-planner Alfasi organized a massive party at the club to mark Gay Days at nearby Walt Disney World – one of the world’s largest gay pride events held on the first Saturday in June. The party was attended by Alfasi and a couple of dozen Israeli friends among hundreds of other revelers.
“It could be said that many Israelis were miraculously saved,” Alfasi said according to Ynet news. “I could hear a lot of Hebrew in the club.”
Alfasi, who rents an apartment opposite the nightclub, added that he had many friends who were killed in the shooting, which claimed the lives of at least 50 people.
The father of the US-born shooter who killed 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, on Sunday voiced sadness that his son took it upon himself to attack the gay community, saying it was “up to God to punish homosexuals.”PA condemns Orlando attack as ‘senseless act of terror and hate’
In a video posted on Facebook early Monday, Seddique Mateen said he was grieved by the rampage at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, calling the 29-year-old killer, Omar Mateen, a “good and educated son.”
“I am deeply saddened and have announced this to the people of America,” Seddique said in the three-minute video in the Dari language, voicing disbelief that his son carried out the killings during the holy month of Ramadan.
“It is up to God to punish homosexuals. It is not up to servants,” the US resident added, sitting before a flag of his home country Afghanistan.
The assault, the worst mass shooting in modern US history, has triggered an outpouring of grief but also defiance in the gay and lesbian community.
The Palestinian Authority on Monday condemned the shooting rampage in an Orlando gay club, in which 50 people were killed, as a “senseless act of terror and hate.”PA Prisoners Club head: Terrorists who kill civilians are heroes
“The Government of Palestine condemns this senseless act of terror and hate in Orlando, Florida. Our heartfelt condolences to all the grieving families, relatives and friends of the victims. Palestinians stand with the American people in this difficult time,” said Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah in a statement.
PA President Mahmoud Abbas also sent a letter of condolence to US President Barack Obama, the official Wafa news agency reported.
The head of the Palestinian Authority's "Prisoners' Society" has said that terrorists who murder Israeli civilians are "heroes," underscoring the ongoing culture of incitement within the PA.Islamic book in Canada: gays to be killed by fire, stoning or throwing off a high roof
Qadura Fares is a senior member of Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah Party, and has served as a minister in the PA government.
The Palestinian Prisoners' Society advocates and lobbies for the release of Palestinians imprisoned for terrorist activities against Israel. Fares is himself a close friend of imprisoned terrorist mastermind Marwan Barghouti, who planned and ordered a string of deadly suicide bombings against Israeli civilians during the Second Intifada.
In an interview with Dutch filmmaker Rene van Praag, Fares - who hailed imprisoned terrorists as "heroes" - was asked whether he distinguished between those imprisoned for attacking soldiers and those jailed for attacking Israeli civilians.
After attempting to wriggle out of the question, a clearly agitated Fares shot back that Palestinians in general don't particularly care whether the targets of attacks are soldiers or civilians - and justified that stance by saying it was because they hadn't won their battle yet.
"Do you think that in the Palestinian community they are discussing who kills civilians or who kills soldiers?" he asked. "We are sharing solidarity with the prisoners."
Omar Saddiqui Mateen, 29, of Fort Pierce, Florida, armed with an assault rifle, murdered on Sunday, June 12, 2016, approximately 50 people and injured dozens at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando. The attacker, an American citizen of Afghan parents, was killed by Police.IsraellyCool: Despicable Reactions To Orlando Terror Attack By Jew Haters And Israel Haters
Canada’s Liberal government persistently maintains that the Islamic State which executes gays by throwing them from rooftops, is based on a distorted interpretation of Islam, and does not represent the true Islam.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has reiterated in recent months that “Canadians are quick to point out that ISIS is wrong, that Islam is not incompatible with the Western secular democracy, a free place like Canada.”
The 8 volume books Fatawa Islamiyah (Islamic Verdicts), which were bought at an Islamic book store at Scarborough, Ontario, provide the Islamic ruling regarding homosexuality (Vol. 6, p. 199):
My initial reactions were of course of sadness and pain, thinking of the families and friends of the innocent victims of this murderous rampage.'50 perverts killed in bar': Homophobic headline on Turkish newspaper website with strong ties to country's President Erdogan
There was also the anger and frustration at the propensity of so many to immediately try to distance such acts from the faith of the perpetrator, even going so far as to sympathize with his co-coreligionists almost as much as his victims! And while it is clear to me and all reasonable people that not all Muslims are vicious murderers (an offensive, patently false suggestion), there is a sizable number who are, fueled by a fundamentalist doctrine. I have dealt with this before, based on actual data taken from Pew Survey results.
I am comfortable admitting I am not knowledgeable enough about the Quran to know whether this represents strict doctrine of Islam – I suspect not, since I know plenty of devout Muslims who are appalled at this kind of act. But when you have potentially hundreds of millions of people worldwide who might be ok with it, then that is a huge worry.
What else is a huge worry are the types of reactions we are seeing from so many on social media.
At this time of this post, the below Facebook postings on the palestinian Shehab News have thousands of Likes and “Haha”s. As you can imagine, most of the comments are repulsive. Click on the posts to see for yourself
A Turkish newspaper with links to the country's President has published a homophobic headline calling those who died in the Orlando mass shooting 'perverts' and 'deviants'.PreOccupiedTerritory: Assad Wondering Why Orlando Shooter Used Guns, Not Barrel Bombs (satire)
Yeni Akit, a right-wing newspaper which has supported the likes of Al-Qaeda in the past, broke news of the attack with the headline: 'Death toll rises to 50 in bar where perverted homosexuals go!'
The headline has caused a backlash online, where it has been suggested that the exclamation mark indicates that the paper is celebrating the attack, rather than condemning it.
Yeni Akit has long supported Turkey's Justice and Development Party (AKP), which President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan used to lead.
The paper, whose name means 'New Agreement, is also known for having strong links to Erdogan, in a country where press freedom is being heavily restricted by his government.
The government of Syria issued its official statement this morning on yesterday’s Orlando nightclub shooting, including President Basher Assad’s expression of puzzlement at the gunman’s choice of firearms over the much more efficient barrel bomb so beloved of the Syrian regime’s forces.PreOccupiedTerritory: We Have To Co-Opt The Orlando Shooting For Palestine Without Supporting Gays By Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian President (satire)
“I hereby express my shock at such violence, blah blah blah, which the US as a society deserves for its meddling in other countries’ affairs,” said the statement from Assad’s palace. “The incident raises many troubling questions, most prominent of all the mystery of why Omar Mir Seddique Mateen armed himself not with a gasoline-filled explosive barrel, but with two guns, which have nowhere near the effectiveness of the bombs in terms of raw killing capacity.”
Mateen, who was killed when authorities stormed the premises, shot more than a hundred people at Pulse, a nightclub popular with the LGBT community in Orlando, resulting in the deaths of 50 and injuries to 53 more. The massacre was the deadliest shooting attack in US history, and the deadliest terrorist attack on US soil since September 11, 2001. While police and FBI investigators have yet to piece together the timing of all the killings, Assad emphasized that it would have taken much less time to achieve that death and casualty toll with a single well-aimed barrel bomb than the nearly four hours the 29-year-old Islamic State sympathizer spent holed up in the building with victims and hostages.
“High-capacity magazines are fine for certain purposes, but my military has not spent years perfecting the barrel bomb to have its innovations callously disregarded in favor of such primitive techniques and weapons,” said Assad. “Not only that, but politically, there is no movement in the US to ban barrel bombs the way there is to ban assault weapons. As far as my administration is concerned, this should have been a no-brainer.”
As with every other major tragedy, our task as Palestinian leaders and advocates is to tie our struggle in with the victims of the Orlando night club massacre, but in this case we have to make sure to do so in a way that does not invite the accusation that we in any way care about homosexuals.Miracle: Shot twice in the head, victim recounts Tel Aviv attack
Ostensibly, the shooter’s affiliation with the Islamic State should make it easy to shoehorn Palestinian concerns into the discourse. We simply have to hammer home the argument that Israel benefits from the Arab instability that ISIS foments, and must therefore be suspected of supporting, even creating, Daesh, which obviously means people must oppose Israel by supporting the Palestinian cause. But the Orlando shooter’s choice of target complicates things, in that his victims were the patrons and staff of a gay bar, which puts him on the same side as Palestinian society. To make matters worse, Israel makes life pretty easy for non-heterosexuals, to the extent that LGBT Palestinians end up fleeing to Tel Aviv. So we have to tread carefully on this one.
The irony is that we have no problem with gays being targeted for mass murder, but from a PR standpoint, we find ourselves wishing the victims were some other, less-despised group. It would be so much smoother for us to be able to join in solidarity with the community of the victims and say that we Palestinians know what facing terrorism is like, because Israel does it to us all the time. People eat it up. Ferguson and Baltimore were great that way. But we can’t do that the same way with the Pulse shootings, because expressing direct solidarity in this case means we care when gays are targeted for violence.
Among the victims seriously wounded in last week's terrorist shooting attack at Tel Aviv's Sarona Market, Assaf Bar considers himself particularly fortunate to be alive.Victim who confronted Tel Aviv terrorists is recovering
Shot twice in the head and left for dead by the Islamist attackers, one of the bullets still remains lodged in his skull.
But miraculously, Assaf has made a rapid recovery since being hospitalized in critical condition, and is now fully conscious and communicating.
Speaking to journalists from his bed at Ichilov Hospital, Bar recounted the terrifying moments two besuited Hamas terrorists gunned down innocent restaurant-goers, and expressed his thanks to God for surviving the ordeal.
"The fact that I am alive now, is not to be taken for granted," he said. "All the credit goes to the medical team at the hospital and on the field, in whose merit I am here."
"I went out with my girlfriend to the Sarona complex to eat dinner," Bar recounted. "I remember the two terrorists came in and sat at the table next to us, right near us.
Haggai Klein, one of the victims of the Tel Aviv Sarona Market terror attack, is showing significant improvement and is now in light condition, Tel Aviv’s Ichilov Hosptal announced Sunday evening.The route to terror: Police reveal how gunmen got from Hebron to Tel Aviv
32-year-old Klein confronted the terrorists and threw various objects at them to prevent them from continuing to shoot.
The hospital further reported that Assaf Bar, another injured victim, was also improving in his condition. Security footage of the attack show the terrorists rising and shooting towards Assaf, who was wearing a black shirt and sitting with his back to the terrorists.
Assaf fell on the table and the terrorist moved on, leaving him for dead.
According to a joint investigation by the Shin Bet, IDF and Border Police, the two perpetrators, cousins Muhammad and Khalid Muhamra from the West Bank town of Yatta, left their village just south of Hebron and made their way to the Israeli town of Meitar through a wide gap in the security barrier.IDF prepares to raze home of Sarona Market terrorist
The two were already armed, having purchased their weapons — Carl Gustav automatic firearms — in their hometown through an intermediary.
This suspected collaborator was reportedly arrested by Israeli security forces sometime between Wednesday night and Thursday. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed Thursday that a third man had been arrested.
Once on the Israeli side in Meitar, the cousins were assisted by a Palestinian man working illegally in Israel who drove them to the Bedouin town of Segev Shalom, southeast of Beersheba.
This is where, according to the investigation, they changed into the formal attire — suits and ties — which they wore when they carried out the attack.
IDF units operating in the West Bank town of Yatta (near Hebron) mapped out the home of one of the terrorists who carried out the deadly shooting at Tel Aviv’s Sarona Market last week, the army announced on Friday The procedure is carried out by Engineering Corps units before a structure is demolished.Troops demolish home of terrorist who murdered mother of six
The army mapped out the home of the other gunman last week, and both homes are scheduled to be demolished.
Israeli troops on Saturday demolished the home of a Palestinian teen convicted of murdering an Israeli mother of six in the West Bank settlement of Otniel in January.Palestinian public opinion is behind Tel Aviv terror attack
IDF forces, in cooperation with Border Police and Civil Administration officials, tore down the house belonging to the family of 16-year-old Morad Bader Abdullah Adais, who stabbed and killed Dafna Meir at the entrance to her home.
The house was located in the village of Yatta near Hebron, which is also home to the two terrorists who this week killed four people and wounded six others in a shooting spree at Tel Aviv’s Sarona open air mall.
The Palestinian Authority said it would fund the rebuilding of the home. Hamas called its demolition “a war crime.”
Wednesday night’s shooting attack in Tel Aviv, in which Palestinian terrorists killed four Israelis and wounded several more, has been widely covered in the Middle East and across the globe.On eve of Tel Aviv terror attack, Hamas called Ramadan ‘month of jihad’
In seeking to explain what led two young Arabs from a small city in the West Bank to open fire on civilians enjoying an evening out in a trendy dining and market area, journalists and public figures have highlighted the continued campaign of incitement by Palestinian officials and clerics — as exemplified by the full-throated praise for the perpetrators by the Islamist Hamas movement, which runs the Gaza Strip, and the justifying of the attack by leading spokesmen for the Fatah movement, which dominates the Palestinian Authority (PA) government in the West Bank. Others, eager to deflect blame from the wielders of violence, sought, predictably, to pin responsibility on Israeli policies. Remarkably, however, no attention has yet been paid to publication of a public opinion survey Thursday that casts a clear and disturbing light on what stood behind the previous day’s shooting spree. The highly-regarded Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR) asked a series of questions to a representative sample of 1,270 Arab residents of the West Bank, Jerusalem, and Gaza earlier this month, including whether they supported or opposed the April suicide bombing on a Jerusalem bus in which a young Palestinian from the Bethlehem area injured more than 20 Israelis. According to a press release summarizing the results, Palestinians expressed their support by a margin of more than two to one (65% to 31%). Though Westerners might be surprised that such a large majority would stand behind an attack aimed at civilians, this finding was unremarkable to anyone following PSR’s surveys over the past two years. Since August 2014, PSR field workers have on eight occasions asked Palestinians about their attitudes regarding “attacks against Israeli civilians within Israel,” and each time the majority expressed support. In the March 2016 poll, the last time this question was asked, 60% of Palestinians backed such attacks.
The military wing of Palestinian terror group Hamas called the Muslim holy month of Ramadan the “month of jihad,” in an article published on Tuesday — a day before two West Bank terrorists killed four people in an attack in Tel Aviv.France warns Israel its ban on Palestinians could escalate violence
According to the watchdog organization MEMRI, which monitors the Arabic-language media, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades’s article claims that during the fast month, “the jihad fighter dedicates himself to the study of Islam by day he sets forth to defend his homeland, Palestine, by night.”
The article — entitled “Ramadan – The Month of Jihad, Fighting and Victory over the Enemies” — praises “jihad for the sake of Allah [as] the pinnacle of Islam,” calling it “one of the best and most noble deeds.”
France’s foreign minister warned Friday that Israel’s ban on Palestinians entering its territory following the “abominable” attack on a popular cafe in Tel Aviv could escalate violence instead of focus attention on the need to pursue peace.
Jean-Marc Ayrault reiterated France’s condemnation of the attack, in which two Palestinian terrorists killed four civilians, but was critical of Israel’s response.
Israel imposed travel restrictions Thursday on Palestinians and sent hundreds of additional troops into the West Bank. On Friday, the military announced it was closing the West Bank until the end of the Jewish holiday of Shavuot on Sunday due to security concerns, except for “humanitarian and medical” cases and for Palestinians to worship at Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.
“The decision by the Israeli authorities today to revoke tens of thousands of entry permits could stoke tensions which could lead to a risk of escalation,” Ayrault told a small group of reporters at UN headquarters in New York. “We must be careful about anything that could stoke tensions.”
Stephane Dion, Minister of Foreign Affairs condemned on Wednesday, June 8, 2016, the terrorist attack at Tel Aviv shopping and entertainment centre that left 4 dead and 20 injured.Glasgow University Palestine Society Under Investigation After Facebook Post Justifying Tel Aviv Terror Attack
The Palestinian terrorists opened fire at blank point range at patrons dining at a restaurant and passerby. Both were arrested by the Israeli security forces.
“Canada shocked by terror attack in #TelAviv. Our thoughts are with victims & families and we are monitoring the situation,” twitted Dion who did not mention that the perpetrators were Palestinians.
According to the Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, during the ongoing al-Quds/ Knife Intifada (September 13, 2015 – June 7, 2016 the number of people murdered in Palestinian terrorist attacks reached 34 and 460 people were injured (28 of them seriously). The Palestinian new wave of terrorism included in addition to firing rockets (from Gaza), detonating explosive charges, and many thousands incidents of firebombings and stone/rock throwing,151 stabbing attacks (including 66 attempted attacks), 91 shootings and 43 vehicular (ramming) attacks, one vehicle (bus) bombing.
An anti-Israel student group at the University of Glasgow (GU) in Scotland is under investigation after publicly justifying Wednesday’s bloody terror attack in Tel Aviv, The Algemeiner has learned.Guardian, like the New York Times, fails to use word ‘terror’ in Tel Aviv attack reports
The Glasgow University Palestine Society (GUPS) released a statement on its Facebook page on Thursday concerning the attack, which killed four people — two men and two women — and wounded 16.
In the posting, the student group refused to label the Palestinian perpetrators as terrorists and criticized governments and the international media for being too quick and willing to label such violent incidents in Israel as terror,
Responding to the GUPS post, Lea Balint, GU’s Jewish Society president, told The Algemeiner on Friday, “It’s hard not to view such comments as hostile to Jews. GUPS not only justifies violence against Israelis, but they also display a constant urge to comment on Jewish affairs and Judaism in a less-than-fortunate manner.”
“We have never cared about their criticism of Israel, but we are very concerned when they express admiration for perpetrators of violence against Jews, when they justify violence against Jews, when they downplay antisemitism, and when they engage in antisemitism themselves. Unfortunately, we’ve had plenty of examples of each of these over the past years,” she said.
On June 9th, CAMERA’s Alex Safian commented on the New York Times’ failure to use the word “terror” to refer to the deadly Palestinian attack on civilians in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, despite the fact that the Times used the root word “terror” fourteen times in a different June 8th story about a hypothetical attack in France in preparation for the Euro 2016 football tournament.BBC post terror attack report focuses on travel permits rather than victims
Similarly, our review of four separate reports by the Guardian showed that the media group also failed to use the term “terror” in describing the Tel Aviv attack – except when quoting Israeli officials.
(In contrast, The Times, Telegraph and Independent all used the term “terror” or “terrorist” at least once – without quotes – in their reports on the killings.)
Instead of “terror” attack, the Guardian opted instead for “shooting” or just “attack”. And, instead of “terrorist” to describe the perpetrator, they used the more neutral words “shooter” or “attacker”.
The report did include a rarely seen mention of Palestinian celebration of the terror attack.Two Israeli teens hurt in E. Jerusalem rock-throwing
“News of the attack was greeted in parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip with fireworks and cheering. Some Palestinians handed out sweets and waved flags in celebration.”
The main focus of the report was on the topic of the temporary suspension of entry permits into Israel previously issued to Palestinians resident in the PA and Hamas controlled territories.
“Israel says it has suspended entry permits for 83,000 Palestinians after gunmen killed four people in an attack at an open-air complex in Tel Aviv. […]
Israel later announced a permit ban that will impact Palestinians in the West Bank and in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip who had planned to visit relatives in Israel, attend Ramadan prayers in Jerusalem or travel abroad via Tel Aviv’s airport.”
The report did not clarify to readers that those permits were announced several days earlier within the framework of the special goodwill measures adopted for Ramadan.
Two Israeli teens were injured late Sunday in a rock-throwing attack on a bus in East Jerusalem.Hamas vows more violence amid West Bank crackdown after Tel Aviv attack
According to Magen David Adom medics, the two, ages 16 and 18, were lightly hurt when thrown rocks smashed window panes, causing glass shards to hit their heads.
The Egged No. 3 line was traveling in the Wadi Joz area near Rockefeller Junction toward the Old City’s Western Wall holy site when it was attacked. The bus was reportedly packed with passengers. A few suffered from shock.
Earlier Sunday, an Israeli woman was lightly hurt when her vehicle was pelted with stones near Beit Anun in the southern West Bank.
On Sunday morning, an Israeli woman and her infant child were reportedly attacked by an Arab man in the Jerusalem neighborhood of French Hill, Channel 2 reported.
The suspected assailant fled the scene but was apprehended by Israeli security forces shortly thereafter at a checkpoint.
Palestinian terror group Hamas condemned on Saturday the demolition of the home of a Palestinian teen convicted of murdering an Israeli mother of six in the West Bank settlement of Otniel in January.Greece will soon recognize Palestinian state, ruling party says
The terror group also condemned the wave of arrests of Hamas members and others in the West Bank, following the deadly terror attack in Tel Aviv on Wednesday in which four people were killed by two Palestinian cousins who opened fire on customers at a Sarona Market cafe.
Hamas said Israel’s crackdown would not deter Palestinians “determined to fight the occupation,” according to Israel Radio.
Israel sealed off the West Bank and the Gaza Strip on Thursday, as part of a series of initial responses to the attack. The measure also came ahead of the Jewish festival of Shavuot which begins Saturday evening.
The Greek government will soon officially recognize the state of Palestine, the country’s ruling Syriza party told Palestinian lawmakers on Saturday, the Palestinian Legislative Council said in a statement.Support for UNESCO Temple Mount resolution was ‘error,’ Brazil says
According to Palestinian news agency Ma’an, the Greek pledge came during a meeting between a Syriza delegation and Palestinian MPs in Ramallah, although no specific time frame for the recognition was provided.
Ma’an said that the Greek delegation met with a group of Palestinian politicians that included Azzam al-Ahmad from Fatah, Qays Abdul Karim from the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine and Mustafa Barghouti of the Palestinian National Initiative.
“Due to some special circumstances, the Greek recognition of the Palestinian state has been delayed, but it will come soon,” the Greek delegation said, according to the report.
Brazil has expressed regret over having supported a recent UNESCO resolution denying a Jewish connection to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, admitting that the text was “partial and unbalanced,” and pledged to vote against future resolutions on the topic if its misgivings were not taken into account.Study: UK grant to Palestinians ‘more likely’ to boost terror
The move by Brasilia, following the election of a new, more Israel-friendly president, makes it the second country to seemingly try to take back its vote in the contentious April 15 resolution, after France similarly said its support for the measure was a mistake.
The United Nations Education, Science and Cultural Organization resolution on “Occupied Palestine” harshly criticized Israel for its actions in the Old City of Jerusalem, referring to the Temple Mount as “Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif and its surroundings” while not mentioning the existence of Jewish holy sites there.
Thirty-three countries voted in favor, 17 abstained and six opposed. Israel publicly lashed France for supporting the resolution and, after Paris acknowledged the text’s biases, Prime Minister Benjamin exhorted France to call on other countries to similarly reject the resolution.
Update: heading has been changed to "Authors deny their study shows UK grant to Palestinians ‘more likely’ to boost terror"
ODI Statement: Daily Telegraph article on links between terrorism and UK Aid to the Palestinian Authority citing ODI research ‘factually inaccurate
An independent British study has found that a UK grant provided to the Palestinian Authority is “more likely” to boost terrorism, as the funding has been used to support civil servants convicted of carrying out terrorist acts.Raising the next generation of terrorists in Gaza
According to the Telegraph on Sunday, the Overseas Development Institute said in its report that a £156.4 million ($221.7 million) UK aid project to the PA encouraged civil servants to take part in “active conflict,” as their families would still receive a salary even if they were jailed for criminal activity, including terrorism.
Furthermore, the study found, after completing their sentences, civil servants could return to positions ensured by the grant which were “kept open [for] when they return from detention.”
The paper noted that the British taxpayer was thus actively funding Palestinian terrorism.
The British grant payed the salaries of 5,000 PA civil servants over a period of 5 years.
In response to the report, British parliamentarians called for a review of UK spending in the Palestinian territories.
Summertime,and the living is easy. Children all over the world are looking forward to going to camp. Its no different in Gaza.
Its sign up time for the Gaza Vanguard youth camp. Children in the Hamas run camps learn the life skills of terror.
So much paperwork to fill out.
The counselors look like a barrel of laughs, though
Hamas PM Ismail Haniyeh’s Nephew Hospitalized in Israel
The nephew of Hamas de facto prime minister Ismail Haniyeh was hospitalized over the weekend at Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem.Democrats tussle over adding 'occupation’ to party platform
The report, broadcast by Israel’s Channel 2 television news, did not include details of why the nephew was admitted. The report could not be independently confirmed.
Israel has confirmed that Gaza’s ruling Hamas terror group has been “partnering” with the growing local Sinai Province branch of the now-international Da’esh (ISIS) terrorist organization, based primarily in the northern Sinai Peninsula.
Hamas has been providing medical aid, communications and technical support as well as assistance with funding resources to the group via its Gaza tunneling system, some of which snakes its way beneath the Egyptian border — and, at least until recently — under the Israeli border as well.
The Democratic National Committee held two days of open hearings this week in Washington, D.C., on the platform, inviting experts to testify. The hearings, which will also take place in other cities, got underway the same week that it became clear that Clinton had secured her position as the party’s presumptive presidential nominee.Prospective Clinton VP Pick Blocks Anti-BDS Legislation
Much of the back and forth Thursday afternoon, when the committee considered foreign policy, was about whether the committee should describe Israel’s presence in the West Bank as an “occupation.”
Sanders, the Independent senator from Vermont who remains in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, appointed five members to the 15-member committee, including three who have advocated for Palestinian rights in the past: Cornel West, a philosopher who backs for the boycott Israel movement; James Zogby, the president of the Arab American Institute, and Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn. Clinton appointed six committee members.
West said during the hearing that the party’s platform should include the word “occupation,” suggesting that to do otherwise would mean being “beholden” to American Israel Public Affairs Committee. AIPAC staffers were in the room, as were staffers from other pro-Israel groups, including J Street.
As if we didn’t have enough reasons to feel exasperated by our politicians: Sherrod Brown, a senator from Ohio and one of the top Democrats rumored to be in consideration for the role of Hillary Clinton’s vice presidential nominee, is blocking a bipartisan effort in Congress to combat anti-Israeli boycotts on the state level.In Britain, anti-Semitism endures
This is surprising as the particular effort in question is a carefully worded bipartisan initiative grounded in language that has previously been passed into law. It began earlier this year with the Combating BDS Act of 2016, which empowers state and local governments to divert taxpayer money away from companies that engage in boycotts and other economic measures against the Jewish state. The bill was originally sponsored in the House by Reps. Robert Dold (R-IL) and Juan Vargas (D-CA), and cosponsored by a whopping 103 representatives from both parties, and in the Senate by Senators Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Joe Manchin (D-WV), where it also received strong bipartisan support.
Eager to quickly advance the fight against BDS, Kirk has recently sought the support of both Republicans and Democrats in the Senate to incorporate the anti-BDS measures into Congress’s pending defense bill. His efforts require going through the chamber’s powerful Banking Committee. Republicans were happy to sign; Brown, the committee’s senior Democrat, was not.
Brown’s objection is Talmudic: the anti-BDS measure makes it clear that its aim is to combat attempts that “are intended to penalize or otherwise limit commercial relations specifically with Israel or persons doing business in Israel or in Israeli-controlled territories.” Brown, according to sources on the Hill who are familiar with the proceedings, is complaining that the phrase “Israeli-controlled territories” would be construed as implicitly supporting the settlements.
In a conversation with a supposedly “moderate” British Muslim leader, Sacks asked, “Does Israel have a right to exist within any borders whatever?” The leader replied: “Your own prophets said that because of your sins you have forfeited your right to your land.” To which Sacks responded mildly: “But that was 2,700 years ago and surely the Jews have served their sentence.”Italian newspaper distributes free copies of Mein Kampf with Saturday paper
After World War II, Western nations strove to develop what Sacks calls “a cultural immune system” against anti-Semitism with Holocaust education and other measures. The immune system is not weakening in Britain, other than among Muslim immigrants and leftists eager to meld their radicalism with radical Islam.
Labour’s leader before Corbyn, Edward Miliband, who led the party in the 2015 general election, is Jewish, as was the Conservative Party’s greatest 19th-century leader, Benjamin Disraeli. Former Conservative prime minister Harold Macmillan, who was educated at Eton, noted, perhaps regretfully, certainly indelicately, that Margaret Thatcher’s cabinet included more “old Estonians than old Etonians.” This was not anti-Semitism, just a jest too fine to forgo.
Seven decades after the Holocaust, some European nations have, remarkably, anti-Semitism without Jews and Christian anti-Semitism without Christianity. Britain just has a few leftists eager to mend their threadbare socialism with something borrowed from National Socialism.
An Italian newspaper has been criticized for distributing free copies of an annotated version of Hitler's "Mein Kampf" with a paid supplement to Saturday's edition.‘Jews burn the best,’ sing Dutch teens at graduation party
Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said on Twitter that Il Giornale's decision to give away the copies of the Nazi leader's political treatise was "squalid" and expressed solidarity with Italy's Jewish community.
Efraim Zuroff, director of the Israeli office of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, was quoted as telling Corriere della Sera it was unprecedented for a newspaper to use "Mein Kampf" to boost sales, while the ANSA news agency quoted Israeli Embassy sources as expressing surprise.
But Il Giornale, a center-right daily owned by the family of former premier Silvio Berlusconi, said the decision to distribute the edition of the text, which includes critical notes by an Italian historian, aimed "to study what is evil to avoid its return."
Dutch Chief Rabbi Binyomin Jacobs called on authorities to identify and punish high school pupils who during their graduation ceremony sang about burning Jews.Israeli App Helps Artists from Akon to Ricky Martin Reach Millions of Fans
The incident happened last week during the graduation gala of the Elde College in the town of Schijndel, 70 miles southeast of Amsterdam, the Brabants Dagblad daily reported on Wednesday.
As they approached the party, several graduates sang: “Together we’ll burn Jews, because Jews burn the best.”
The phrase is part of a chant heard several times in recent years during soccer matches connected to the Amsterdam’s Ajax football team, whose players and supporters are often dubbed “Jews” because of the historic Jewish presence in the city, which is sometimes colloquially called “Mokum” after the Yiddish word for “place.” But the gala incident had nothing to do with soccer.
An Israeli mobile platform is helping artists find a new way to profit from their work and share it with fans.Israeli show picked up by Fox
Sephi Shapira began developing EscapeX after noticing that artists were posting songs and videos on sites like YouTube and Facebook, generating billions for the media companies through passive engagement — but making no money for themselves unless somebody makes a purchase. He realized that nobody was applying the “engagement economy” model to the struggling music industry. So he gathered a team of mobile and entertainment industry veterans and founded EscapeX in November 2014.
Musicians, as well as actors, comedians and other creative artists, can now use the platform to create and run their branded mobile apps for free, organize their content, and make it universally available without need for Internet access. Engagement with the app is the currency that drives the profit engine, generating revenue via advertising, e-commerce and in-app purchases. The longer fans stay in the app, the more freebies they earn, such as wallpapers and ringtones.
“The artists get it right away because they understand well how much effort they’re putting into social media and they’re not getting compensated for it,” says Shapira.
Entertainment company Fox International released a statement saying that it has purchased the rights to the Israeli drama show “A Very Important Person,” starring local heartthrob Yehuda Levi. Fox reportedly intends to create its own version of the show, which is partially based on Levi’s life.Under his wheels
“I’m very excited about the transformation that the series has undergone,” Levi said after the announcement was made. “Despite it being an Israeli show, its universal theme has managed to capture the heart of the American entertainment industry.”
Fox Entertainment Studios and International Content Vice President Sharon Tal-Yguado joined the excitement by saying, “‘A Very Important Person' is undoubtedly one of the best shows made this decade. (Series creator and writer) Shirley Moshayof’s sophisticated writing and Yehuda Levi’s emotionally mesmerizing acting create a rare television experience that touches the heart of its viewers.” She added that the studio is currently in talks “with a very famous Hollywood actor who has fallen in love with the script” to play Levi’s role.
The image the mind conjures up is a little jarring – a boawrapped, masacara-wearing, ghoulish-looking Alice Cooper traipsing across the solemn sites of the Holy Land.
But the legendary shock rocker will be making his pilgrimage to Jerusalem as Vincent Furnier, a Phoenix, Arizona, golf-playing practicing Christian instead of his subversive onstage alter ego.
“I’m coming to Israel early because I want to see the Holy Land,” the 68-year-old Cooper enthusiastically told The Jerusalem Post in a recent phone interview. “Being Christian, I want to see where all of this history actually happened. My wife’s father is a Baptist pastor and he organized Holy Land tours, so my wife has been to Israel three times. She told me, ‘You’re going to love it there.’” The same could be said of fans planning to attend Cooper’s debut performance in Israel on June 16 at the Ra’anana Amphitheater. The career overview called Raise the Dead combines the classic 1970s hard rock hits of Cooper’s legendary 1960/70s self-named band such as “School’s Out” “18” and the timely “Elected” with a stage production worthy of Broadway.
“Oh yeah, the audience is going to love the show. We designed it so that even if you hate Alice Cooper, you’re still going to love the show,” Cooper said with a good-natured cackle.
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