Sunday, August 21, 2016
From The Sbarro Bombing To ISIS : Islamist Terror Fed At The Trough Of Western Appeasement
Fifteen years ago Palestinian terrorists blew up a pizza place in the heart of Jerusalem. One month later, other Islamist terrorists blew up the World Trade Centers in NY, the Pentagon Building in Washington DC, and were foiled in their attempt to destroy the Capital building by the brave passengers of Flight 93.
It is important to remember these acts, not simply to memorialize the innocent victims whose only crime was to be at the wrong place at the wrong time, but as a reminder that even today, fifteen years later terrorism still suckles at the teat of political correctness and Western World appeasement.
From ” A Personal Account of the Bombing” by Rabbi Binny Freedman:
Her eyes, I think, will stay with me forever. Imploring, beseeching, full of so much sadness. I think the shock of where and how she was, was sinking in. I can’t begin to describe all that was in those eyes.
Jewish settlements are legal
The misperceptions, misrepresentations and ignorance over the legal status of Jewish settlements in the disputed area of Judea and Samaria reflect the general attitude toward the unique phenomenon of the reconstruction of the Jewish national home in Israel.
"Fidelity to law is the essence of peace," opined Professor Eugene Rostow, a former dean of the Yale University Law School, undersecretary of state and a co-author of the Nov. 22, 1967, U.N. Security Council Resolution 242. Rostow resolved that under international law, "Jews have the same right to settle in the West Bank as they have in Haifa."
Rostow determined that according to Resolution 242, "Israel is required to withdraw 'from territories,' not 'the' territories, nor from 'all' the territories, but 'some' of the territories, which included the West Bank, East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, the Sinai Desert and the Golan Heights."
Moreover, "resolutions calling for withdrawal from 'all' the territories were defeated in the Security Council and the General Assembly. ... Israel was not to be forced back to the 'fragile and vulnerable' [9- to 15-mile wide] lines ... but to 'secure and recognized' boundaries, agreed to by the parties. ... In making peace with Egypt in 1979, Israel withdrew from the entire Sinai ... [which amounts to] more than 90% of the territories occupied in 1967."
Former International Court of Justice President Judge Stephen M. Schwebel stated: "[The 1967] Israeli conquest of territory was defensive rather than aggressive ... [as] indicated by Egypt's prior closure of the Straits of Tiran, blockade of the Israeli port of Eilat, and the amassing of [Egyptian] troops in Sinai, coupled with its ejection of the U.N. Emergency Force ... [and] Jordan's initiated hostilities against Israel. ... The 1948 Arab invasion of the nascent State of Israel further demonstrated that Egypt's seizure of the Gaza Strip, and Jordan's seizure and subsequent annexation of the West Bank and the Old city of Jerusalem, were unlawful. ... Between Israel, acting defensively in 1948 and 1967 ]according to Article 52 of the U.N. Charter[, on the one hand, and her Arab neighbors, acting aggressively in 1948 and 1967, on the other, Israel has better title in the territory of what was [British Mandate] Palestine, including the whole of Jerusalem. ... It follows that modifications of the 1949 armistice lines among those states within former Palestinian territory are lawful."
PMW: PA crossword puzzle: Israeli city Haifa is “port in occupied Palestine”
A crossword puzzle clue in yesterday’s official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida reiterated the Palestinian Authority ideology that teaches Palestinians to see all of Israel as “occupied territory.”PA TV teaches kids to hope that "all Palestine will return to us"
Clue (9 down): “A port in occupied Palestine”
Solution: “Haifa,” (i.e., Israeli port city in Northern Israel).
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Aug. 20, 2016]
The PA avoids expressing legitimacy for Israel in any borders by using euphemisms to replace “Israel.” The official PA daily regularly presents all of Israel as “occupied Palestine,” “occupied Palestinian Interior” or “1948 territories,” and defines Israeli cities as “occupied” cities.
Recently, the official PA daily reported on an invention by Israeli Arabs who were studying in a university in Haifa. The PA daily defined the Arabs of Israel as “Palestinian students from the Interior that was occupied in 1948.” Haifa, where they were studying, was defined as “the occupied city of Haifa”:
"Three Palestinian students from the Interior that was occupied in 1948 (i.e., Israel), who are studying software engineering at the College of Applied Sciences at Technion University in the occupied city of Haifa, have succeeded in inventing a small device that reveals the quality of the watermelon before the purchase."
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, June 28, 2016]
Turkish deputy prime minister wants to visit Israel
A recent Israel-Turkey reconciliation agreement has been formally approved by the Turkish parliament, leading the deputy prime minister to announce that he is interested in visiting Israel; although the agreement won't fix all of the problems between the two countries, it is seen as important in strengthening Israel's geo-strategic position in the Middle East.Gaza rocket strikes near homes in Sderot; no injuries
Only a few hours after the Turkish Parliament formally approved the reconciliation agreement with Israel, high ranking Turkish officials have said that business will soon be back to usual, and that Deputy Turkish Prime Minister Mehmet Şimşek is willing to come visit the Jewish state.
"The reconciliation agreement with Israel is good for Turkey and for the entire region," Şimşek wrote in a message. "I expect to visit Israel during my next round of international visits."
Israel already signed the agreement, while Turkey only officially signed the agreement on Saturday. As part of the agreement, Israel will pay the families of those who were killed aboard the Mavi Marmara $20 million within the next 25 days. Meanwhile, Turkey will cancel all lawsuits against the IDF soldiers and officers who were involved in the incident.
Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip launched a rocket into Israel on Sunday afternoon, setting off warning sirens in the western Negev.PreOccupiedTerritory: Iron Dome Software Keeps Asking Operators To Update Adobe (satire)
The projectile exploded inside the territory of the border town of Sderot, causing no casualties or damage.
The rocket landed between two homes, near a college and the local train station. Locals said it was “a miracle” that nobody was injured.
In response to the attack, the Israel Defense Forces attacked two sites of Hamas “terrorist infrastructure” in Beit Hanoun, in the northern Gaza Strip.
An Israel Air Force plane was used to strike the first target, while an IDF tank was used to attack the second, the army said.
Palestinian health and security sources said two people were lightly wounded by the Israeli fire, AFP reported.
Iron Dome Battery Six personnel, deployed in a field on the outskirts of this coastal city north of the Gaza Strip, told visiting Ministry of Defense personnel this morning that the constant Adobe update requests hinder training and could cause disaster if they continue to pop up on screen during an actual rocket attack on the area, ministry sources said today.Hezbollah Threatens to Invade Israel, Destroy Jewish State
“Whether it’s some PDF reader, Shockwave, or something else, it appears to happen all the time,” lamented Idkun Tokhna, a field coordinator who liaises with the Iron Dome development team. “It’s one thing if it happens every few months – even once a month might be tolerable, if bothersome. But the situation right now is just plain stupid. Whose idea was it to install this package, anyway?”
Iron Dome is set up to operate automatically once its sensitive radar detects a projectile launched in the Gaza Strip. Within seconds, the system calculates the missile’s trajectory, determines whether it is headed toward a populated area, and uses that data to decide whether to fire an interceptor unit. Operators generally perform monitoring and maintenance activities, but in some cases have the capacity to override Iron Dome’s decision whether or not to fire, and their chief worry under circumstances is that Adobe will issue a reminder to update the software at just such a sensitive moment, compromising the system’s and the operators’ ability to protect Israeli communities from rocket or long-range mortar attack.
Soldiers manning the battery reported that no serious mishaps have occurred as a result of the incessant Adobe software update requests, but in their assessment that remains a matter of time. “You don’t need the sophisticated mathematical abilities of the trajectory-calculating algorithm to realize this is going to end in tragedy,” warned a captain who spoke on condition of anonymity under IDF rules. “My team and I have reported again and again that we need to get rid of this software, since nobody’s really sure why we need it. But you know military bureaucracy. What’s most likely is that by the time the senior officers get around to mandating a fix, the next generation of Iron Dome will already be deployed, and they’ll require us to install some patch that’s not longer relevant and will only cause compatibility problems.”
A top Hezbollah leader this month said that the Lebanese terrorist militia is now capable of not only firing missiles at Israel, but can also launch a ground invasion of the Jewish state.Israel: Hezbollah behind explosives found near Lebanon border
“Israel is closer than ever before to its demise,” Lebanese cleric Hashem Safieddine, head of Hezbollah’s Executive Council, said in an interview with Mayadeen TV.
Asked by the host if Hezbollah had the capability of waging a ground war on Israeli soil, Safieddine insisted that it did.
“Even more than that. We have that capability,” stated Safieddine, prompting the host to wonder, “Even further than the Galilee?”
“We have that capability. Of course,” replied Safieddine, suggesting that Hezbollah believes itself capable of penetrating deep into the heart of Israel.
Explosive devices discovered in a field by a farmer near the northern town of Metulla last month were smuggled into Israel from Lebanon by Hezbollah, Israel Radio reported Sunday.Hizballah terror activity against Israelis again ignored by BBC News
An unnamed defense official told the radio station that the three makeshift charges uncovered in a field were likely meant to be used in attacks against Israelis.
It wasn’t clear who was meant to collect the devices, though the Lebanon-based terror group has recently ramped up efforts to recruit Palestinian operatives from the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and within Israel using social media.
Last week, Israel’s Shin Bet security service revealed that in recent months it had broken up two Hezbollah terror cells and arrested nine local members of the organization.
Hezbollah operatives from the group’s Unit 133 — its foreign operations unit — working out of Lebanon and Gaza were recruiting operatives through Facebook to carry out suicide bombings and ambush Israel Defense Forces patrols in the West Bank. They received funding from Hezbollah, and some members had begun preparing explosive devices for use in attacks, the Shin Bet said in an August 16 statement.
This is of course not the first time that Hizballah’s attempts to set up terror cells in Israel via social media have been thwarted by the Israeli security services. A similar story came to light in February of this year and – like this latest one – it too was ignored by the BBC’s numerous correspondents in Jerusalem, Ramallah and Gaza.Police arrest 6 more in probe of freed Palestinian convict
While refraining from providing audiences with any serious coverage of the issue of efforts by established terrorist groups such as Hamas and Hizballah to conscript Palestinians and Israeli Arabs, the BBC promotes framing of Palestinian terrorism as the spontaneous product of “frustration rooted in decades of Israeli occupation” – in a manner eerily similar to the dictates of the PLO’s guidance for foreign journalists.
That narrative-dictated framing of course contributes to the BBC’s failure to meet its obligation to enhance audiences’ “awareness and understanding of international issues”.
Police in Jerusalem said Sunday they had detained six East Jerusalem residents as part of their ongoing investigation into a Palestinian man who was arrested last week for “incitement and supporting a terrorist organization” just three days after completing a 14-year prison sentence.Sudan: Egypt arrested 70 Sudanese en route to Israel
Sufyan Bakri Abdu, from the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Jabel Mukaber, was released from prison on Monday last week. He had been jailed for planning to poison diners at a Jerusalem cafe in 2002.
But on Thursday Abdu was taken in again, a police spokesperson said, after Hamas flags were reportedly flown and calls for violence were allegedly voiced at his welcoming party.
Police said Sunday the probe had led to the arrest of six other Jabel Mukaber residents, and would likely lead to more.
Israeli security forces operating in the West Bank also arrested four Palestinians Sunday suspected of involvement in violent riots and other anti-Israeli actions. They were taken in for questioning.
Sudan said Saturday that Egyptian authorities have arrested 70 Sudanese nationals while they were attempting to enter Israel, detaining them in a Cairo prison.Netanyahu, Liberman want Hamas win in local elections, Fatah officials claim
Sudanese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ghareeb Allah Khidi said in a report on the SUNA news agency that the Sudanese embassy is maintaining contact with Egyptian security authorities to follow up on the status and treatment of the detainees.
Egyptian authorities several months ago reportedly shot dead at least 10 Sudanese nationals who were trying to cross the Egyptian border into Israel. African migrants frequently attempt to cross the Sinai peninsula and reach Israel, where they often surrender to Israeli authorities.
Israeli official figures show nearly 47,000 illegal immigrants are currently residing in Israel, almost all from Eritrea and Sudan. Most live in the poorer neighborhoods of southern Tel Aviv, with some blaming them for rising crime rates in the city.
With Fatah and Hamas locked in a high-stakes struggle ahead of October’s Palestinian municipal elections in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, officials close to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas have accused the Israeli leadership of hoping for a Hamas win.He's Not The Palestinian President, But He Played One On TV
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman “are convinced we are going to lose and thus want these elections,” the officials told The Times of Israel.
“They desire a victory for Hamas, as this would prove their allegations that there is no one to talk to” on the Palestinian side, they said.
The officials limited their accusations to Netanyahu and Liberman, however. Israel’s intelligence community, the Shin Bet security service and officials in charge of coordination with the Palestinians were “a different story,” they said, and these did not wish to see Fatah lose.
The streets are packed on a recent Saturday afternoon in Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian government in the West Bank. As he weaves through the families and shoppers, 24-year-old Waad Qannam is the center of attention.Hamas: Jerusalem Light Rail bomber 'noble and humanitarian'
Dana Adiq, 27, stops Qannam to call him "strong, cultured and intellectual."
Tasneem Hushiyea, who is 25, asks for his plans to help young Palestinians.
And 23-year-old Annas Karoty addresses him by his title: "The president of Palestine."
Qannam smiles brightly, but also a little bashfully. He's not the real Palestinian president. He just played one on TV.
In June, he won a TV show called The President, a reality show similar to American Idol. But instead of voting for its favorite singer, the Palestinian audience voted via text message for its favorite would-be leader.
The show, broadcast on the Maan satellite network, was popular — and he is recognized on the streets of Ramallah — in part because he's the closest Palestinians have gotten to choosing a leader in more than a decade. The real president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, was elected in 2005 for what was supposed to be a five-year term.
Official Hamas newspaper Palestine presented the terrorist who attempted to blow up the Jerusalem Light Rail with shrapnel pipe bombs as a man who acted in a noble and humanitarian manner.Hamas Praises Celtic Glasgow Fans For Waving Palestinian Flags
The terrorist was arrested by Light Rail security forces on July 17, when he was suspected him while he was waiting for a train to arrive. When they searched him, they found several shrapnel pipe bombs in his bag.
The paper claims that the terrorist, Ali Abu Al-Hassan, would not commit the act of terror on the Jerusalem train, since he saw Jewish children on board. Al-Hassan's own report to Shabak indicates he was simply waiting for a train to pull in before committing the attack, as he wanted to kill and maim the greatest number of people possible.
In an obvious reversal of the truth, the paper claims the terrorist was raised with values of "the Palestinian struggle," rather than values of murder and death, as "occupation soldiers are raised."
The Scottish football team Celtic Glasgow has won praise after its fans flew Palestinian flags during a Champions League match against Israel’s Hapoel Beersheba on Wednesday, in which the Israeli team was defeated 5 to 2.Wall Street Journal: Iran's supreme leader 'thinks he won'
Hamas officials acknowledged the Scottish club’s gesture, and so did many Arab social media users.
Hamas commander Izzat Risheq posted a picture of thousands of Celtic fans waving Palestinian flags, saying “a deep gratitude to the fans of Celtic Glasgow for siding with Palestine when playing against a Zionist team.”
Sami Abdel Ghaffar tweeted: “Allah, we are stuck between strangers siding with us and brothers who are killing us. Many thanks to the Scots who flew the Palestinian flag.”
A year after the completion of a landmark nuclear agreement between Western powers and Iran, extremists in the Islamic republic, headed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, are convinced that they have triumphed, a Wall Street Journal article asserted over the weekend.Iran unveils its domestic answer to Russia's S-300 missile defense system
Jay Solomon, in an article titled "Why the Ayatollah thinks he won," writes that contrary to declarations by U.S. President Barack Obama and his administration suggesting that the deal would boost the moderates and provide Iran with incentives to broaden its rapprochement with the world, the regime in Tehran now believes it has strengthened immeasurably since July 2015.
Furthermore, the article asserts that Khamenei has toughened his stance toward the U.S. in an unprecedented manner. Solomon argues that Iran's continuous lashing out at the West since finalizing the nuclear agreement doesn't indicate Iran's wish to overturn it, but rather reflects a much "deeper strategic calculus." In fact, he says, Khamenei has used the deal as a tool for agitating the masses and cementing his own power while continuing to fund and arm Iran's regional allies and advancing Iran's ballistic missile program.
Tehran on Sunday unveiled its domestically built answer to the Russian S-300 advanced air defense system in a ceremony attended by President Hassan Rouhani.Iran talks up Russia cooperation, predicts Islamic State's downfall
Iranian news agencies ran photos of Rouhani at a Defense Ministry exhibition that included the showcasing of the Bavar-373 air defense system, which would presumably make any effort to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities more difficult.
The deal to import Russia’s S-300 was put on hold amid international sanctions in 2010, prompting the Islamic Republic to develop its own missile defense system.
Since last year’s signing of the nuclear deal that saw Western nations provide Tehran with sanctions relief in exchange for promising to place limits on its nuclear program, parts of the S-300 have reportedly been delivered. It is not, however, believed to be operational in the country.
Israel and the US have protested Russia’s sale of the S-300 to Iran.
Iran's Defense Minister, Hossein Dehghan, said on Saturday that ISIS is now approaching its final breath. "Soon it will be possible to see the fruits of cooperation between Iran and Russia", he said at a press conference.Report: Iran Has Formed ‘Liberation Army’ for Deployment in Arab Countries
Dehghan said that the decision to allow the Russian Air Force to operate from Iranian territory to attack targets in Syria, was made following a request from Bashar al-Assad's government in Damascus.
According to Iranian defense minister, Turkey had in the past been one of the main bases of support for ISIS. However, when they saw what was invested was in vain, and that their safety was at risk, Ankara concluded that the organization harms Islam.
"The attacks across Turkey came to force the government in Ankara to support more terrorists," said the Iranian minister. "We have to say that the policy of Turkey and some countries in the region are supporting the Zionist entity."
Iran has reportedly formed what it calls the “Liberation Army” whose units will be deployed in Arab countries, according to a news website. Currently, Iran is involved in multiple conflicts where Shia and Sunni Muslims are locked in a power struggle, notably Syria and Yemen.Turkey PM: Russia can share Incirlik airbase with US ‘if necessary’
Mohammad Ali Al Falaki, a retired commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said in an interview published on Thursday by Mashregh News that Iran is fighting on three fronts: Iraq, Syria and Yemen.
Ankara has given Russia the go-ahead to use its Incirlik air base for operations in Syria, though no official request from Moscow to use the strategic military facility has been made, Turkey’s Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Saturday.Erdogan: Suicide bomber who killed 50 in Turkish wedding attack was a child
The base, located some 100 kilometers from the Syrian border, is currently being used by the US-led coalition against the Islamic State to launch airstrikes against the jihadist group in neighboring Iraq and Syria.
“Turkey opened Incirlik airbase to fight Daesh [Islamic State] terrorists. It is being used by the US and Qatar. Other nations might also wish to use the airbase, which the Germans are also now using,” Yildirim told reporters on Saturday according to the state-run Anadolu news agency.
Asked if Moscow could share the airfield with coalition forces, Yildirim said that “If necessary, the Incirlik base can be used.”
Yildirim also denied news reports that Russia was demanding to use Incirlik for its military operations in Syria.
The suicide bomber who attacked a wedding party in the southeastern Turkish city of Gaziantep on Saturday killing 51 people was a child between the ages of 12 and 14, President Tayyip Erdogan said.German University students declare BDS anti-Semitic
In comments shown live by broadcaster NTV, Erdogan also confirmed that 51 people had died in the blast, and 69 were wounded. Seventeen of the injured were "heavily" wounded, Erdogan said.
At least 50 people were killed when the bomber detonated his explosives among people dancing on the street at a wedding party in the southern Turkish city of Gaziantep on Saturday, security and hospital sources said.
President Tayyip Erdogan said it was likely that Islamic State militants had carried out the late-night attack, one of the deadliest this year in Turkey, which faces threats from militants at home and across the border with neighboring Syria.
"The celebrations were coming to an end and there was a big explosion among people dancing," said 25-year-old Veli Can. "There was blood and body parts everywhere."
Students at one of the world’s oldest universities – Leipzig University in the German state of Saxony – passed a resolution this month opposing the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement because it is anti-Semitic.Senior university official demands 'final solution for Zionists'
According to the resolution, the student council voted “to condemn the anti-Semitic BDS campaign,” and is “against anti-Semitic measures such as disinviting Israeli academics.”
The Leipzig University student council sees BDS as a danger to academic freedom and that the BDS measures resemble the Nazi-era slogan “Don’t Buy from Jews!” BDS’s goal is the “abolition of the State of Israel,” the resolution said.
The student council initiated the resolution after a University of London professor appeared at a June event at Leipzig University. Anthropologist Lori Allen held an event regarding her book titled, The Rise and Fall of Human Rights: Cynicism and Politics in Occupied Palestine, and used the talk to promote BDS and to minimize terrorism, according to the resolution. (h/t Yenta Press)
A senior official at the Islamic University in Lucca, Italy published a series of controversial Facebook posts, blasting the Italian Prime Minister and demanding “a final solution” for Zionists.Free speech only for those anti-Israel activists deem worthy
The official, Rafelo Vilni, condemned Zionism, saying “there needs to be a final solution for Zionists,” adding that “real Jews are the victims of Zionism”.
The post was later deleted, but not before the Israeli Embassy in Italy captured a screenshot of the message.
Vilni also posted a comment slamming Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.
The Israeli Embassy forwarded the screenshots to a member of the Italian Senate’s Israel-Italy inter-parliamentary foundation, who filed a formal inquiry with the Italian Interior Ministry.
A gaggle of anti-Israel activists turned up at Queen’s Park Wednesday to defend the free speech rights of a Mississauga Catholic teacher suspended following her controversial comments at a recent Al-Quds Day rally.Palestinian student group's disruption of Israeli film screening violated conduct policies but wasn't threatening, UCI says
The panel — consisting mostly of retired professors — claimed repeatedly that Nadia Shoufani is “under attack” and being silenced for exercising her right to freedom of expression about the Israeli “terrorists” who are forcing Palestinians to live “under brutal military occupation.”
“We are here to protest a campaign aimed at sanctioning and silencing her for having spoken on behalf of the rights of Palestinians who are living under brutal military occupation,” said Michael Keefer, professor emeritus of English at the University of Guelph, who admitted to never once visiting Israel or the West Bank.
But when I dared suggest their repeated anti-Israel comments were hateful, my right to free speech was attacked, jeered and treated with insults.
Shoufani, an elementary teacher at St. Catherine of Siena separate school, was recently suspended without pay pending an investigation following her keynote appearance July 2 at what Jewish advocacy groups commonly consider an anti-Israel hate rally.
UC Irvine administrators announced this week that a Palestinian student group violated student conduct policies when it disrupted an Israeli film screening in May, though the university said many allegations of other wrongdoing by the group were unfounded.Beneath The Helmet: Official Trailer
In a campuswide email sent Thursday, Thomas Parham, vice chancellor of student affairs, said Students for Justice in Palestine wrongly disrupted the May 18 on-campus screening of "Beneath the Helmet," a film about Israeli soldiers, and has received a written warning as a result.
In a report dated Thursday, the Office of Student Conduct states that university policy prohibits "obstruction or disruption of teaching, research, administration, disciplinary procedures or other university activities."
The group is being required to host a "power mapping" educational program for its members that must be completed by Nov. 18.
The program is designed to help SJP members "better understand how to host constructive events and protests if they want to protest and add to the conversation, rather than detract" from it, UCI spokeswoman Cathy Lawhon said Friday.
The written warning, she said, puts SJP on notice through March that its behavior is under increased scrutiny and that another violation could lead to harsher consequences.
Guardian highlights film in which Palestinians play Anne Frank.
Henry Barnes, site editor of theguardian.com/film, recently wrote about Anne Frank: Then and Now “starring Palestinian girls reading from the German-born Jew’s diary” which, quoting Deadline.com, Barnes described as a “clandestine cultural breakthrough” because it was secretly shown in Iran.IsraellyCool: Israeli Government Press Office Presents…..Luke Baker?!
According to Barnes it “was filmed during the 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict. The film is split between an educational documentary about Frank’s time hiding from the Nazis in occupied Holland and excerpts from the diary acted by two Israelis and eight Palestinian girls, one of whom performs in front of the rubble from an Israeli airstrike.”
The main aim of Croatian director Jakov Sedlar seems to be to “help spread information about the events of the Holocaust in Iran” and Arab countries.
This is a noble aim but why use Palestinian actors in Gaza? Why not just show, for example, Son of Saul which is the most explicit portrayal of the Holocaust imaginable.
Anyone viewing Anne Frank: Then and Now without any knowledge of the Holocaust will be left with the strong impression that the Palestinians are going through the same as the Jews did under the Nazis. The title of the film strongly implies that also.
For some reason that remains unknown to me, the Israeli government Press Office has released this video on Reuters Jerusalem Bureau Chief, Luke Baker.
He grew up in Saudi Arabia? That could explain quite a bit.
One can only speculate why the GPO have released this video, which almost makes him look unbiased. Because as Israellycool readers know, he isn’t. Not even close.
Unless, this is an ingenious Zionist plot to somehow draw attention to Baker and this piece on him that came out a few days ago.
Update: I have created this more accurate video for the GPO.
The Jewish Olympians among Hitler’s victims
A century before Aly Raisman and Or Sasson, the Jewish people had gymnast Judikje “Jud” Simons from the Netherlands, and boxer Victor “Young” Perez of France.Consistoire has consented to Algerian graves transfer
Simons and Perez were among several dozen Jewish Olympians and world champions murdered during the Holocaust, along with most of their spouses and children. The doomed athletes hailed from all over Europe, and competed in everything from chess to skiing and fencing.
During the 1920s, Jews sometimes constituted large portions of Olympic teams — as in the Netherlands, where Jewish women were synonymous with gymnastics. At the 1936 “Nazi Olympics” in Berlin, at least 13 Jewish athletes from several countries earned medals despite rampant harassment and efforts to ban them.
Athleticism was a point of pride for Jews throughout Europe, particularly where they contended with overt anti-Semitism. In combat sports like boxing and fencing, Jews could dismantle anti-Semitic stereotypes with their physical prowess, shattering social barriers and what historians have called the wimpish self-image of European Jewry.
The 1936 Berlin Olympics have been dissected for decades, but the fate of Jewish Olympians received scant attention until Agnes Grunwald-Spier published her 2015 book, “Who Betrayed the Jews?” The work included information on 30 Jewish Olympians killed in the Holocaust, some of whom gave up their freedom to share the fate of loved ones.
A few weeks ago Point of No Return quoted a report that land in Algerian-Jewish cemeteries was being expropriated as a result of French and Algerian government plans to amalgamate cemeteries and transfer graves in Algeria. Over 1, 000 people signed a petition expressing their fears that Jewish graves might be desecrated.
It has since transpired that the French Consistoire, which deals with Jewish religious affairs, has given its full blessing and consent to the transfer, which will begin in 2017 at a cost of 1.5 million Euros: only 1,136 out of 57, 898 Jewish graves will be affected, it says. Only 31 out of 81 Jewish cemeteries will be amalgamated. Each transfer must be made with the Consistoire's consent, in strict conformity with Jewish law and in coordination with the French rabbinical authorities. (Families will still be permitted to have the remains of their loved ones 'repatriated' to France at a cost of around 3, 500 Euros.)
The Consistoire has insisted that any exhumation be done by hand and under the supervision of a Jew. The bones must be wrapped in a shroud and reburied in a separate coffin and where possible identified with a plaque. There must be a gravestone for every six exhumations. The transfer must be done to the nearest amalgamated Jewish cemetery. All the Consistoire's demands have been accepted by the French government, it says.
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