Tuesday, July 19, 2016
Exposed: Years-long effort to blame Israel for U.S. police shootings of blacks
A group calling itself Atlanta is Ready (#ATLisREADY), aligned with the Black Lives Matter movement, recently issued a set of demands to the Mayor of Atlanta, including:Atlanta mayor shuts down Israel boycotters
We demand a termination to APD’s involvement in the Georgia International Law Enforcement Exchange (GILEE) program, that trains our officers in Apartheid IsraelThe Mayor rejected the demand, finding that counter-terrorism training benefits the Atlanta Police Department’s ability to protect Americans:
You could chalk this incident up to just some isolated ploy by local activists, but that would be a mistake.
Rather, there has been a multi-year effort by left-wing and Islamist anti-Israel, anti-Zionist, and openly anti-Semitic activists to hijack racial tensions in the United States and redirect that anger towards Israel.
That effort has been on overdrive since the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson and is accomplished through a combination of false and misleading statements regarding the militarization of domestic U.S. police departments and U.S. police training in Israel.
The intellectual rubric is “intersectionality,” by which anti-Israel activists try to forge links with minority (particularly black) activists by holding out Israel as the key link to oppression around the globe.
Sometimes the results are truly twisted, such as at Columbia University, How student activists turned anti-rape group into an anti-Israel group.
Responding at a press conference to a journalist who asked why he rejected the list of demands, Reed said bluntly:
"There was a demand that I stop allowing the Atlanta Police Department to train with the Israeli police department.
"I'm not going to do that; I happen to believe that the Israeli police department has some of the best counterterrorism techniques in the world, and it benefits our police department from that longstanding relationship."
Leaders of the Black Lives Matter movement met with Mayor Reed for two hours on Sunday.
The city has seen a number of protests over the killings of black Americans by police in the US, though the Atlanta rallies have been largely peaceful.
Barry Shaw: Fighting anti-Israel hate
There is room for stating Israel’s historic and legal rights to a Jewish homeland in a reasonable manner, but this does not seem to be making much progress in projecting Israel as a normal country with the same system and values of regular democratic countries.
Indeed, it is these democratic countries that outrageous demonstrations based on lies and intimidation are being allowed to be perpetrated with increasingly hostile actions against Israel.
The reason we are not making headway is because we have considered it impolite to be as rude and forceful in our arguments as our detractors are. We don’t want to appear as aggressive as the intimidators that trash us 24/7. And so we lose the fight for the broad middle ground by conceding without a fight or, even worse, by adopting parts of our enemy’s narrative just to appear reasonable.
It’s time for a change.
The streets, the campuses and the media have become the battlegrounds that are under the control of the radical anti-Israel voice posing as human rights activists on behalf of the Palestinian people. This high moral tone perfumes the stench of the lies and hypocrisy of their tainted message. There real intent, admitted in rare moments of honesty, is to see an end to Israel and they justify this aim by drowning out the Israeli voice under a choking tsunami of disproportionate accusations and imagery.
It’s time to take to the streets and the campuses by adopting the same tactics the anti-Israel provocateurs are using so successfully. It’s working for them. It will work for us.
Enough already! The soft reasoning approach is losing us the ability to state our case against their shrill hatred that closes down our message.
Michael Lumish: Nothing Left # 108
Here is this week's episode of NOTHING LEFT (19 Jul 2016)PA Honors Another Terrorist Amid US Foreign Aid Re-Evaluation
2 min Editorial: on yet another Islamist terror attack
8 min Henry Greener, The Shtick
27 min Yarden Frankl (Honest Reporting)
48 min Mike Lumish, Israel Thrives blog, USA
55 min Brian of London, blogger, IsraellyCool
1 hr 32 min Isi Leibler, Jerusalem
My piece discusses the tendency of left-leaning pro-Israel advocates to constantly play defense with their aggressive anti-Zionist interlocutors.
Karake proclaimed that “this monument is intended to implant in the minds of sons and daughters that we are continuing to be loyal to the path of the Martyrs,” the official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida reported.European envoys complain to Israeli army over demolitions
“Ahmad Abu Sukkar is a real man, a fighter, and a man who left his impression on everyone, and who was a school for giving, resolve, and courage. We are proud of him as one of the symbols of the Palestinian national struggle…” Karake said.
The presence of these senior officials reinforces the fact that the Palestinian government openly glorifies people for murdering innocent Israelis, while encouraging future generations of Palestinian youth to emulate terrorists.
Earlier this month, members of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee agreed to explore options to stifle a PLO program that pays monthly salaries to convicted terrorists. Palestinian-affiliated organizations, including the PLO, are continuing to exploit a loophole in US foreign aid that enables the Palestinian government to pay terrorists and their families. Coupled with systematic indoctrination and glorification of terrorism, generous financial payments contribute to existing incentives among Palestinian youth to attack and kill innocent Israelis.
In a speech aired on YouTube on Friday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu requested that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas cancel the terrorist commemoration to avoid promoting violence among Palestinian youth.
“Rather than dedicate a statue to a mass-murderer, I ask that you consider honoring a champion of co-existence. This will help educate future generations to love peace over war, compassion over violence,” said Netanyahu. Yet the PA’s terrorist commemoration went on as planned.
Eight European ambassadors have accused the Israeli army of displacing 75 Palestinian Bedouins in the occupied West Bank by confiscating caravans given to them by international donors.Knesset speaker calls for annexation of Ma’ale Adumim
The ambassadors, who included Germany’s envoy, warned that policies targeting Bedouin communities could create a “coercive environment” forcing them to leave their areas.
Such a scenario could result in forcible transfers, “which are considered a grave breach of international humanitarian law,” they said.
In a joint letter to Major General Yoav Mordechai, head of the military body that coordinates Israeli activities in the West Bank and Gaza, the ambassadors said the confiscated caravans and materials had cost $64,500.
“It is a serious concern that humanitarian assistance which is delivered under humanitarian principles be confiscated,” they said.
Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein (Likud) said he backs the annexation of Ma’ale Adumim, a major West Bank settlement located to the east of Jerusalem.France names its first female ambassador to Israel
“The move to annex Ma’ale Adumim is right and proper,” Edelstein wrote in a Facebook post, explaining that he was “symbolically accepting” a proposed law to this effect submitted to him by the Knesset’s Land of Israel lobby, which advocates widening Israeli sovereignty in the biblical Judea and Samaria.
“By not building there, we are distancing peace,” he added. “Reversing this trend is also important for (national) unity.”
MK Moti Yogev, of the pro-settlement Jewish Home party, also backed the idea, noting that he had introduced a bill to this effect in the last Knesset, and that it was awaiting discussing in the Ministerial Committee for Legislation. “Start with annexing Ma’ale Adumim,” he urged. “Ma’ale Adumim is the eastern gate of Israel’s capital Jerusalem and is what makes it into a metropolis.”
France has nominated a new ambassador to Israel, the first woman to ever hold the post.Argentina Commemorates 1994 Jewish Center Bombing, Holds Antisemitism Forum
Hélène Le Gal is scheduled to arrive in September, replacing Patrick Maisonnave, who has held the position since 2013 and is set to return to Paris.
French-Israelis welcomed her appointment, describing her as a “real, sincere friend of Israel” who knows the country well.
“Israelis and Franco-Israelis can finally regain their confidence in the French government,” Ariel Melles wrote on the website JSSNews.
From 1994 to 1998, Le Gal served as first secretary in France’s Tel Aviv embassy, dealing mostly with the peace process and domestic politics. She has also been posted in Spain, Burkina Faso, the European Union and Canada.
Argentine President Mauricio Macri and members of his cabinet on Monday attended a ceremony marking the 22nd anniversary of the AMIA Jewish center bombing in Buenos Aires. Eighty-five people were killed and hundreds were wounded in that bombing on July 18, 1994.Director Behind Explosive Documentary on AMIA Bombing Says 22 Years Later ‘Basic Facts Are Still Unknown’ (INTERVIEW)
Authorities have widely believed that Iran is responsible for what is seen as the worst bombing in the country’s history. It occurred at 9:53 a.m. when a car bomb exploded outside of the Jewish center building.
The ceremony for the 22nd anniversary of the bombing featured the motto “memory unites us” and included the public reading of the names of each of the 85 victims.
“There is an obligation to tell what happened,” said AMIA Vice President Ralph Thomas Saieg, according to the World Jewish Congress.
“The terrorists who planted the bomb…simply wanted to destroy the symbol for solidarity that is the AMIA and thus hurt us all as Argentineans,” he said, calling on Argentina’s justice minister, Germán Garavano, to continue to investigate the bombing.
As Argentina marks on Monday the 22nd anniversary of the AMIA Jewish Center bombing in Buenos Aires, many questions surrounding the attack still remain unanswered, the director behind an explosive investigative documentary about the event told The Algemeiner on Monday.U.S. Can't Let Iran Get Away With Murder
Matthew Taylor — whose film Los Abandonados takes a hard look at the government’s inadequate response to the attack and the seemingly related death of federal prosecutor Alberto Nisman — said, “22 years later, basic facts are still unknown. Where was the truck carrying the bomb that blew up AMIA obtained? Where was the bomb itself built? We still don’t know these things.”
In 1994, 85 people were killed and over 300 injured when the AMIA Jewish Center was reduced to rubble in the car bombing. The attack, suspected to have been carried out by Iran, has been called the worst in Argentina’s history.
The bombing made headlines again last year when Nisman, the special prosecutor investigating the attack, was found dead under mysterious circumstances in his home shortly before he was set to appear before a congressional committee to present newly discovered evidence implicating then-president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and Foreign Minister Héctor Timerman in covering up Iran’s involvement in the bombing.
According to Taylor, while the investigation itself was virtually stalled under Kirchner’s government, Argentina’s new president, who was elected late last year, may prove to be the key to finally solving what really happened 22 years ago.
The Obama administration has long said it will hold Iran accountable for acts of terrorism. It now has a chance to prove it: Interpol red notices for five former Iranian officials found culpable in Argentina’s deadliest terrorist attack are about to come up for renewal.Remembering the 1994 AMIA Bombing
Today marks 22 years since the bombing of the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires. Eighty-five people were killed, and the attack injured hundreds more -- innocent men, women and children.
In 2007, Argentine prosecutor Alberto Nisman’s exhaustive investigation concluded that the attack had been approved on Aug. 14, 1993, in a secret meeting attended by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, President Ali Akbar Rafsanjani, Foreign Minister Ali Velayati, and Intelligence Minister Ali Fallahian.
Interpol issued red notices, which are akin to arrest warrants, for Fallahian and four other senior figures. Within Iran, that brought no stigma -- on the contrary, all have been rewarded, including in the time since Hassan Rouhani was elected as Iran’s supposedly moderate president.
Fallahian was Iran’s minister of intelligence at the time of the AMIA attack. Germany also still has an arrest warrant for Fallahian in connection with the assassination of five Kurdish opposition leaders.
The others for whom Interpol issued red notices include Mohsen Rezai, Mohsen Rabbani, Ahmad Vahidi and Amhad Reza Asghari.
Why Attack a Pro-Israel Platform?
One plank of the Republican Party’s new platform has ignited a debate within the pro-Israel community. Many friends of the Jewish state cheered the draft that reaffirmed the U.S.-Israel alliance. It also specified that there would be no-“daylight” between the two countries, affirmed the unity of Jerusalem, and opposed the anti-Semitic BDS movement. Others, however, are unhappy with this. In particular, the Anti-Defamation League expressed its dismay that the platform didn’t mention support for a two-state solution. Some dissenters went further still. Haaretz Columnist Chemi Shalev spoke for many on the left when he denounced the plank as being anti-Israel. But whatever the theoretical virtues of two states, the ultimate purpose of these critiques is to attack the foundation of political support for Israel inside the United States: Christian conservatives.Jewish former Hawaii governor raps Dems on Israel
Shalev reasons that any opposition to two states as the answer to the conflict with the Palestinians not only dooms Israel to perpetual fighting, but will also transform the country into an Arab-majority single state. This is a theme we’ve heard before from other figures on the Jewish left, such as Peter Beinart. In effect, it delegitimizes those on the right who oppose Palestinian statehood or support the settlement movement or those who are just skeptical about blind devotion to the peace process.
But no matter your opinion of two states or settlements, such arguments are dangerous because they demonize opponents while also ignoring the beliefs and positions of the Palestinians. In a theoretical world where the Palestinians were willing to recognize the legitimacy of a Jewish state no matter where its borders were drawn, a two-state peace would make sense and command the support of the overwhelming majority of Israelis. But since even “moderate” Palestinian leaders won’t extend such recognition, the idea remains theoretical. (h/t YOSEF22ADAR)
Linda Lingle, the former governor of Hawaii, criticized the Democratic Party's stance on Israel and scarcely mentioned Donald Trump at the Republican National Convention.Corbyn’s Labour Party more closely resembles fascism than socialism
Speaking Monday, the convention's opening day, the Jewish Lingle said President Barack Obama's term has "been a wake-up call to American Jews." She said the Democratic Party -- including its presumptive nominee, Hillary Clinton -- has "treated our allies as strangers."
Lingle, Hawaii's governor from 2002 to 2010, is now the chief operating officer of Illinois.
She claimed anti-Israel sentiment is growing in the Democratic Party, while the Republican Party supports Israel. She praised the Republican platform's new policy on Israel, which calls for a united Jerusalem under Israeli control, does not mention the two-state solution and opposes the movement to boycott, divest from and sanction Israel, known as BDS.
"On one issue after another, from boycott, divestment and sanctions to the Iran nuclear agreement to the very legitimacy of Israel, they're divided, with those who don't care for Israel getting stronger in the Democratic Party," Lingle said. "You'll find no such division in the Republican Party's leadership."
A possible clue to Corbyn and McDonnell’s attitude is revealed by a series of letters written in 2010-2013, only just released by a freedom of information request to the Foreign Office. In them, Corbyn described some of the Jewish state’s politicians as “criminals” who should be banned from Britain. He also claimed that Israel treats Palestinians “with disdain” and that its “victimisation of the people of east Jerusalem is an abomination”.Exclusive: Arab Outraged as Peter Beinart, US Jewish Activists, Occupy his Land [video]
In recent conversation with a number of Christian leaders, they expressed surprise that Labour had made little effort to interest the wider community here on the issues of anti-Semitism. They also spoke strongly of the party’s minimum support for the Christian minorities who are actively persecuted in some 50 countries, including Syria, Somalia and Sudan. In 2003 there were 1.5 million Christians in Iraq, today a few thousands in Mosul, one of the oldest Christian communities in the world.
Away from Corbyn and McDonnell there are a number of supportive Labour members in key positions. I refer not only to MPs who will challenge the duo but also, significantly, Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London. In so many way he has provided a consistent message confronting racism with an unambiguous message to Jews: “Any attack on Jewish people or the Jewish community should be considered an attack on all of London’s communities and everything we stand for.” A visit by the mayor to Israel is now on the agenda.
The author Will Self wrote: “The astonishing thing about Corbyn is he’s managing to cock things up in his own terms.” Ultimately, Corbyn will be dealt with at the ballot box. But vitally all who care for our democratic process would do well to monitor Labour’s emerging policies. Critically in the case of McDonnell an even sharper scrutiny on his words and actions is advised.
Responding to an inquiry JewishPress.com emailed Peter Beinart, Sharon Rose Goldtzvik of “Uprise – communications consulting for good guys,” wrote back:
The report you received is incorrect. Early in the day, Israeli police questioned Mr. Abu Aisha’s ownership of the land, and Mr. Abu Aisha quickly produced documents proving that he is indeed the owner. The police then dropped the claim. The “local Arab farmer” you reference was never named and was not present; in fact, there is no evidence that such a complaint was ever filed. Again, Mr. Abu Aisha was able to quickly prove that he owns the property and police recognized his rightful ownership. The IDF later returned with a “closed military zone” order; this was the basis for removing the activists.
I should also mention that the property was a relatively small plot consisting of a couple of cement and cinder block buildings, and a lot of debris. It could not have been used for animal grazing. I don’t know who reported otherwise.
But as can be heard on the video, Abu Aisha is clearly asking police to remove the activists, and says that he often grazes his animals there (watch the last half of the tape, shot by Shlisel for TPS, starting sec. 23).
As to the idea of “Cinema Hebron” (the name of the city in Arabic is Al-Khalil, meaning “friend,” after Abraham who was the friend of God, while Hebron is the colonialist-Zionist name used by the occupiers) Hebron is probably the most conservative religious Muslim city in all of Israel, where men and women are completely segregated, where Hamas rules, and where the very idea of attending a movie, never mind opening a movie theater, could get a man flogged.
That these American “liberators” would be so ignorant of the cultural and religious values of the people they have come to set free with song and hard weeding is possibly the funniest, even hallucinatory, idea of all. (h/t Yenta Press)
NUS Blocks Jewish Students From Having Say on Who Represents Them
Hard left members of the NUS have voted to block Jewish students from choosing their own representative on the union’s anti-racism committee. A vote to put a Jewish student chosen by other Jewish students back on the committee was rejected last night. Rather than consulting with the Union of Jewish Students, as happened in previous years, the NUS NEC will now pick their own comrade to serve on the committee instead. The motion was a close run thing, requiring a deciding vote from none other than NUS president Malia “Zionist-led media” Bouattia. You can guess which way she voted…German left-wing radicals say Jews have ‘too much influence’
The UJS are understandably concerned, saying in a statement:
“Today, NUS NEC once again showed its complete lack of commitment to Jewish students by voting for a motion that means that Jewish students will have no say in who represents them on the NUS Anti-Racism, Anti-Fascism (ARAF) committee. It will now be down to NEC to elect the ARAF committee and therefore to decide on behalf of Jewish students who represents them. This decision is undemocratic and excludes the 8,500 Jewish students that we represent. It was no surprise that the NUS President, Malia Bouattia, who had the deciding vote, once again showed that she has absolutely no interest in defending Jewish students’ interests by voting to remove the ability of Jewish students to shape for themselves the student movements’ fight against racism and fascism.”
A study released last week in Berlin showed widespread anti-Semitism among left-wing Germans.Pro-Israel Campus Groups: UC Irvine ‘Dragging Out, Burying’ Investigation Into Violent Anti-Israel Protest
According to the academic survey conducted by the Free University of Berlin, 34 percent of the respondents defined as leftist extremists said Jews have “too much influence” in Germany, and that 16% of Germans who were classified as radical left-wing harbored anti-Semitic views.
The study showed 34% of leftwing extremists affirmed the anti-Semitic attitude that Jews are “money-grabbing,” while of those termed radical leftists, 13% said Jews are consumed with money.
Extensive studies on left-wing anti-Semitism are rare in Europe.
The Research Association on the SED [Socialist Unity Party] State at the Free University, which conducted the study, devotes research to the former East German communist state and its now-defunct controlling party SED. The association seeks ”to gain more insight into the outer and inner conditions that made possible the 40 years of a second German dictatorship in the 20th century,” according to its website.
Monika Deutz-Schroeder and Klaus Schroeder, the academics who conducted the study, said the view of anti-Jewish extremist leftism can be traced to the word “Jew” as a synonym for “capitalist” and “exploiter.”
Officials at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) appear to be “burying” the institution’s own investigation into a violent anti-Israel protest in May, leaving student demonstrators off the hook for their actions, the heads of two Israel advocacy campus groups told The Algemeiner on Monday.Board Of Deputies Of British Jews Retains Right To Work With Jew Haters
“UCI is dragging out the investigation,” said Ilan Sinelnikov, founder and president of Students Supporting Israel (SSI), whose UCI chapter was the target of a violent protest. “The school’s administration hasn’t really been in contact with us. They’ve supposedly been in contact with some students — a few questions here and there — but not much more.”
Earlier in July, as reported by The Algemeiner, UCI’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) came under investigation by the Orange County District Attorney’s office to determine whether the behavior of protesters was criminal.
As reported by The Algemeiner, SJP and other anti-Israel student groups at UCI violently demonstrated against a SSI event featuring IDF veterans and the screening of a movie about the Israeli army.
How would you vote on this?Report Accuses Huffington Post of Selling Iran Deal Through Lies, Deception and Anti-Semitic Incitement
This Board of Deputies resolves not to engage on projects with any organisation which has expressed antisemitism or opposition to the right of the State of Israel to exist as the nation state of the Jewish people, or which has advocated a boycott of Israel, Israeli citizens, Israeli organisations or Israeli products.
This was the motion put before the Board of Deputies of British Jews, the UK’s primary representatives for the diverse Jewish communities of the UK.
If I really need to summarise 52 words it says don’t work on projects with Jew haters.
It failed to pass. Apparently the Board members feel they need to be able to proceed with projects alongside those who hate Jews or Israel and actively work with people who boycott the Jewish State.
From the opposition to this motion Board members believe they should continue working with odious organisations and individuals on the off chance that contact with nice, reasonable Jews will sway their views.
Savethewest.com has released another report documenting the journalistic malfeasance of the Huffington Post. The Huffington Post is an internet news magazine founded by Arianna Huffington. It is one of the leading purveyors of the far-left political agenda.Washington Post Sinks Mavi Marmara Facts
Jon Sutz, the author of the report, had previously released a film that dissected the Huffington Post's coverage of Palestinian stabbing attacks in Israel in late 2015. The film demonstrated a pattern of manipulation and omission to support Palestinian propaganda and reverse victims and victimizers.
This report focuses on the Huffington Post's coverage of the Iran nuclear deal. According to the Savethewest report summary, the Huffington Post
(1) engaged in a two-year, scorched-Earth campaign of lies, deception, bias and anti-Semitic incitement in order to help promote the Iranian nuclear deal.
(2) ignored, then downplayed the discovery, in May 2016, that Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes created a “war room” inside the White House, consisting of federal officials and outside groups, that misled uninformed journalists, Congress and the American people on the Iran deal.
(3) has provided no coverage of the rapidly-unfolding discoveries that pivotal claims concerning the origins, nature and specifics of the Iran deal are false, thus validating its critics’ worst fears.
The report discusses elements of the Huffington Post's coverage of the deal, including its utilization of anti-Semitic themes. Read the whole thing.
A Washington Post article (“6 years after raid, Turkey and Israel to normalize relations,” June 28, 2016) improperly identified the Mavi Marmara—a ship carrying armed individuals who in 2010 attempted to break the Israeli naval blockade of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip—as an aid ship. Despite being presented by CAMERA with evidence disproving its characterization of the Mavi Marmara, The Post—without explanation—refused to correct.AP Reports Like, Instead of About, Breaking the Silence
In their dispatch, ostensibly about Israel and Turkey normalizing relations, Post reporters Erin Cunningham and Ruth Eglash claimed, “Israel and Turkey reached an agreement to repair ties after six years of strained relations over a deadly Israeli raid on a Turkish ship delivering aid to Gaza in 2010…. Ten Turkish activists were killed in the assault.”
However, as CAMERA has noted (“Radical, Pro-Hamas ‘Flotilla’ Seeks Media Win,” May 31, 2010), no aid was found aboard the Mavi Marmara, the lead ship in the flotilla which sailed for the Gaza Strip under the guise of bringing humanitarian assistance to Palestinian Arabs. The Israeli Foreign Affairs Ministry (MFA) reported that of the seven flotilla ships, only four were freighters. The Challenger 1 (small yacht), the Sfendonh (small passenger boat) and the Mavi Marmara (passenger ship) did not carry any humanitarian aid. The UN Palmer Report appeared to support Israel’s conclusion, noting that what little aid was on board the Mavi Marmara was likely only "intended for the voyage itself,” that is, for passengers’ use. Greta Berlin, one of the flotilla organizers, concurred, telling Al Jazeera at the time: "This mission is not about delivering humanitarian supplies..."
It is one thing for a serious news organization to write about a project affiliated with Breaking the Silence, a much-criticized Israeli non-governmental organization. It’s another for it to adopt that controversial group's narrative in what is meant to be an objective news story.The alternate guide to Gaza.
The Associated Press leaned toward the latter in a recent story about Israel and the West Bank, eschewing journalistic principles, including AP’s own guidelines on accuracy and impartiality, for something that looked more like partisan advocacy.
As might be expected from someone advocating for a cause, though not from a news reporter, AP's Karin Laub editorialized throughout the piece, including by quickly drawing a sweeping distinction between the good guys and the bad guys ("Through the author's eyes: 50 years of Israeli occupation," July 18).
Breaking the Silence
While every settler in Hebron was cast as a militant — “In the heart of the West Bank's largest Palestinian city, several hundred combat troops guard an equal number of militant Jewish settlers,” Laub wrote — a founder of Breaking the Silence was introduced as a “peace activist,” and his organization was described simply as “a veterans’ group that collects soldiers’ testimony about abusive practices in the West Bank.”
Last Tuesday, SBS screened a programme on Dateline entitled “The Survivor’s Guide to Gaza”. The blurb for the programme read:CBC guest expert: ISIS is funded and supported by the US and the West
“Gaza will be unliveable by 2020 according to the UN, with daily life already a struggle to find food and shelter, but Dateline finds the people bringing innovation and inspiration to the fight for survival”.
As a result, I looked forward to seeing what sort of innovation its people were bringing to Gaza since we constantly hear negative things about the place; I welcomed the idea of a show that demonstrated that Gazans are striving to make the world they inhabit a better place.
Unfortunately, the documentary failed to take us there, and predictably took us to the obvious place where such productions usually take us – the suffering that exists in Gaza is only because of Israel, the blockade and the wars visited upon the people and therefore Israel alone is responsible.
The entire production was full of inaccuracies and omissions that made it a very subtle propaganda piece.
Imam Syed Soharwardy of Calgary, the head of the Calgary-based Islamic Supreme Council of Canada and the founder of Muslims Against Terrorism, is often invited by CBC as a guest expert to discuss issues related to terrorism and radicalization. He is introduced as a moderate voice in the Muslim community who “has worked to prevent the radicalization of youth in Canada.”S. African twins remanded over Jewish institutions attack plot
On his Facebook page, Soharwardy elaborates in detail his views on terrorism. He emphasizes that Islam and Muslims are not the cause for terrorist attacks in the name of Islam. The culprits, according to Soharwardy, are the Salafis, the Wahabis and the Deobandis. He also went on to say that “DAESH (ISIS), Al Qaeda, Taliban, Al Shabab, Al Nusra, Lashkar Taiba, Lashkar Jhangwi, etc.. are all followers of Wahabi beliefs” and all are not Muslims.”
Soharwardy accuses the Saudi Wahabi regime, the United States and West of funding and supporting the Wahabi / Salafi movements including ISIS. The following are excerpts from Soharwardy’s postings on Facebook:
Two South African brothers were remanded in custody Tuesday over allegations they plotted to attack the US embassy and Jewish institutions, as well as planning to join the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist group.Israel secretly working to redeem Jewish property in Arab world
The arrests of 23-year-old twins Brandon-Lee and Tony-Lee Thulsie earlier this month were the first in South Africa relating to alleged ISIS membership.
"Both the defense and the state were not ready to proceed, hence the trial was postponed until July 25," National Prosecuting Authority spokeswoman Phindi Louw told reporters outside Johannesburg magistrates' court.
"We have reasonable and probable cause to believe that an offence was committed."
Police last week said the pair were suspected of planning to bomb the US embassy in Pretoria as well as unspecified Jewish facilities.
They are also alleged to have attempted to travel to Syria to join ISIS.
Israeli officials are on the verge of recovering millions of dollars in lost Jewish assets from across the Arab world and Iran, Social Equality Director-General Avi Cohen revealed on Wednesday.Samsung sees ramping up of Israeli investments
Speaking at a hearing of the Knesset’s Immigration, Absorption, and Diaspora Affairs Committee, Cohen gave some insights into the government’s efforts to redeem property lost by Sephardic and Mizrachi refugees who fled their homes across the Middle East after the establishment of Israel in 1948.
Committee chair Avraham Negosa (Likud) called for unity in the efforts to restore lost Jewish assets to their rightful owners.
”Those who came from Arab states left their countries and left their property behind. We want to bring about historic justice, and finally make sure that this property is returned to its owners. It’s very important that the opposition and coalition be united on this issue. That’s an important tool for success.”
Cohen revealed that the government was indeed working towards that end, and a joint effort of the Foreign Ministry was likely to bear fruit in the near future.
Israeli start-ups can expect to see additional investments from Samsung as the South Korean electronics giant seeks to solve global problems including the need for increased cybersecurity and longer-lasting batteries, the president and chief strategy officer of Samsung Electronics, Young Sohn, said.GoforIsrael 2016 tech conference set for debut in China
“Our expectation is that we will continue to ramp up our investments in Israel,” he said. So if you have great ideas, “let’s talk.”
Around 600 people on Thursday attended Samsung’s Innovation Summit in Tel Aviv, at which Sohn laid out the South Korean conglomerate’s tech vision and agenda for the future.
“Working together we can solve some of the global challenges that are in front of us,” Sohn told the audience of developers, VC heads and startup entrepreneurs that packed the hall.
Listing the fields in which he saw the biggest potential for cooperation and developments in coming years, Sohn said that all technologies that will help companies and people to make sense of the huge amount of content and data out there — whether in the field of health, education or agriculture — will be of interest to players globally and to Samsung.
Some 1,000 investors and entrepreneurs are expected to take part in the 16th GoforIsrael annual conference, being held for the first time outside of Israel in Shanghai. The September 20 gathering will address Israel-China M&A; market strategies for Israeli companies in China; Chinese investments in Israeli MedTech and BioTech companies; and a the Israel-China partnership.Former marine, future soldiers fight nerves for journey ‘home to Israel’
“The goal of this conference is to leverage the opportunity of a unique encounter with hundreds of Chinese investors, in a very focused and direct way. Israeli technology companies will benefit from pre-organized meetings with potential investors, and from the opportunity to present their technologies on stage. We expect to have continuous 1:1 meetings between investors and entrepreneurs during the conference,” said Edouard Cukierman, Chairman of Cukierman Investment House and Managing Partner of Catalyst CEL, Israeli-Chinese Fund.
Startups Ironsource, Kaiima, Curalife, Intuition Robotics, Emefcy, Audiopixles, HeraMed, Bioview, Gal Medics and Pentalum are scheduled to send representatives to the Shanghai event being organized by Cukierman Investment House and Catalyst Funds together with Yafo Capital.
Israeli Minister of Transportation and Intelligence Yisrael Katz leads the list of speakers set to address opportunities between Israel and China.
Leaving his home, moving over 7,500 miles from his family and friends, and starting a new life for himself in a country he has only visited once doesn’t scare Steven Rich.Meet The General Who Positioned Israel To Win In $175 Billion Cybersecurity Market
Waiting at JFK international airport for his “aliyah” flight to Israel, the only thing that made this burly, heavily tattooed ex-US marine jittery was the journey.
“I can’t say I’m nervous about anything in Israel,” Rich told The Times of Israel on Monday morning before takeoff. “But I really don’t like flying so much.”
Having completed two tours in Afghanistan after joining the US Marine Corps in 2010, 24-year-old Rich has had to endure hundreds of airplane rides — some spent sleeping on the floor at the back of a cargo jet — but none quite like Monday’s flight from New York to Tel Aviv.
Joining Rich were 217 other North Americans immigrating to Israel on a jet specially chartered by the nonprofit organization Nefesh B’Nefesh. On board were 29 families, including 103 children and five separate sets of twins.
When it comes to cybersecurity, Israel sits at the center of the world. Israeli companies exported $6.5 billion a year worth of cyberproducts, about 10% of the world market, based on data from Israel’s National Cyber Bureau.
That’s up from only a 1-2% share of the much smaller market five years ago. The cybersecurity business in the United States is obviously bigger, but per capita, Israeli companies’ presence in this market — one of the fastest-growing opportunities of the 21st century — is huge.
In short, the Startup Nation has a sub-specialty. How did it get one? It turns out to be a top-down initiative, straight from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Last week, I interviewed Isaac ben Israel, who’s called the father of Israel’s cybersecurity business. He recently wrote an academic-style book on the topic called Cybersecurity in Israel.
It was a fascinating conversation in ben Israel’s small office, decorated with posters of Albert Einstein (ben Israel has a degree in physics). I walked away thinking about how entrepreneurs and their supporters ought to look at a world in which technology is the biggest friend and greatest vulnerability.
By happenstance, almost, ben Israel, turned out to be an entrepreneurial ecosystem builder. He is a retired Israeli Defense Force major general and a long-time figure in the company’s military research and development world. He is now, among other titles, director of the Blavatnik Interdisciplinary Cyber Research Center at Tel Aviv University. In 2002, he said, Ehud Barak called Isaacson to ask him to develop cyber protection for the country’s infrastructure. In 2010, Benjamin Netanyahu asked him to launch the National Cyber Initiative.
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