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Sunday, August 27, 2017

08/27 Links: Dershowitz: 'Intersectionality' is a code word for anti-Semitism; Obama chose dishonor, and Israel will have war

From Ian:

Alan Dershowitz: 'Intersectionality' is a code word for anti-Semitism
What do the terrorist group Hamas and the anti-violence group Black Lives Matter have in common? What does the democracy of Israel have in common with the anti-Semitic Ku Klux Klan? What does the Islamic Republic of Iran, which throws gays off rooftops, have in common with gay rights activists? What do feminists have in common with radical Islamic sexists who support the honor killing and genital mutilation of women? Nothing of course. Unless you subscribe to the pseudo-academic concept of intersectionality. Intersectionality — the radical academic theory, which holds that all forms of social oppression are inexorably linked — has become a code word for anti-American, anti-Western, anti-Israel and anti-Semitic bigotry.
Nowhere has adoption of this radical paradigm been more pronounced than on college campuses where, in the name of "identity politics" and "solidarity," intersectionality has forced artificial coalitions between causes that have nothing to do with each other except a hatred for their fellow students who are "privileged" because they are white, heterosexual, male and especially Jewish.
Students at the University of Illinois recently took to social media to express their distress after flyers were plastered around campus calling for the "end of Jewish privilege." The flyer stated in bold letters that: "ending white privilege starts with ending Jewish privilege." The posters had outlines of silhouettes with Stars of David printed out, and an arrow pointing to them with the accompanying caption "the 1%." Although some of the posters identified Black Lives Matter as sponsors, it is not clear whether they were distributed by extreme right-wing groups using hard-left anti-Semitic tropes or by hard-left anti-Semites. In some respects, it does not really matter because many on the hard-right and hard-left share a disdain for Jews, their nation state and so called "Jewish privilege."
The very concept of "privilege" – the idea that white people benefit from certain privileges in Western society, compared to non-whites living in the same social, political and economic environment – has a long and complex history in the United States. The subjugation of black Americans, and other non-whites, is an endemic problem that requires far-reaching legislative and grassroots action. By attributing this domestic social problem to so-called "Jewish privilege," radicals are engaging in traditional economic anti-Semitism; attributing far-reaching societal problems to Jewish status, occupation or economic performance.
JPost Editorial: Anyone is a target: Europe has a lot to learn about terrorism
Retired British colonel Richard Kemp, the well-respected former commander of British forces in Afghanistan and a staunch defender of Israel, called Faaborg-Andersen’s statements “chutzpah.” “Not only does Israel have nothing to learn from the EU,” Kemp said, “but the EU is guilty of encouraging terrorism in Israel.”
He was apparently referring to the EU’s timid kowtowing to the narrative espoused by Abbas, while ignoring the effects of his ongoing incitement of terrorists, whom he reimburses for their “heroic martyrdom” by paying both them and their families millions of dollars in stipends.
In France the deadly terrorist attack on the Hyper Cacher kosher grocery store in Paris in 2015 sounded the red alert for the country’s Jewish communities and those of its neighbors throughout Europe. Today, security personnel take a more holistic approach, making rounds among Jewish schools and synagogues instead of being permanently stationed in front of them as was previously the case.
The French government’s deployment of soldiers in a more flexible way reflects an attempt to protect more potential targets, which now include virtually every pedestrian, whether in the capital or on the beach in Nice. Perhaps the holistic approach to defense is more democratic, since Jews are no longer the specific target of terrorism in an age where everyone is vulnerable.
As a security expert from the European Jewish Congress told The Jerusalem Post recently, “Today the aim of the attackers is to make as much damage as possible without checking who the people are,” he said, pointing to the recent terrorist attack on Barcelona’s bustling Las Ramblas pedestrian boulevard. “Today if a Jew, Muslim or Christian walks in the street, they can get hit in the same way. Everyone is a target.”
Ben-Dror Yemini: Obama chose dishonor, and Israel will have war
The nuclear agreement—misleadingly presented to the world as the lesser of evils—allowed Iran to grow rich and expand its influence in the region. Now, Tehran is taking over Syria, and the distant enemy is coming closer to Israel.
Iran is taking over Syria. The distant enemy is coming closer. The US is out of the picture. Those who put their trust in the new world sheriff, Donald Trump, have to admit he appears to be far more concerned with the American media than the Iranian imperialism. That is who he is.
The world's sheriff is not whoever has more power—the United States has a lot more—but whoever uses the power he has.
Netanyahu had to go to Vladimir Putin this week again for another round of talks with the Russian leader during his vacation in Sochi. It's not clear whether Putin is going to stop the Iranian threat. It is clear, however, that he's the only one there is any point in talking to.ISIS has been defeated on the ground. Over the last year, its fighters have been pushed out of Mosul in Iraq, and in the coming year, probably, they'll also be pushed out of Syria's Raqqa, the caliphate's capital. The problem is that the alternative for ISIS on the ground—Iran and Hezbollah—is just as bad.



PMW: Plane hijacking and murder are “wonderful acts of heroism,” says Palestinian psychologist
Women hijacking planes and murdering Israeli civilians are “wonderful acts of heroism,” according to a Palestinian psychologist interviewed on the official PA TV program Our Ethics. Citing the female “heroes” she felt were examples for other Palestinian women, psychologist Jultan Hijazi mentioned Laila Khaled, who participated in 2 plane hijackings, Dalal Mughrabi who led a bus hijacking and the murder of 37, Fatima Barnawi who placed a bomb in a cinema, and the “mother of Martyr Muhammad Farahat,” who led her son to his terror attack that murdered five young students (for more information about these terrorists, see below).
After citing these and other examples of Palestinian women involved in terror and murder, the Palestinian psychologist indicated their importance for youth because “women carry out a large role in the children's psychological preparation.” It seems that according to Hijazi, having murderers as role models is important for Palestinian children.
The following is an excerpt from the PA TV interview with Palestinian psychologist Jultan Hijazi:
Psychologist Jultan Hijazi: "After 1967, the role of women evolved from an institutional stage to a stage of struggle and self-sacrifice. We saw many examples of this, such as Laila Khaled (i.e., participated in 2 plane hijackings), Dalal Mughrabi (i.e., led murder of 37), and Fatima Barnawi (i.e., placed bomb in cinema) who was the first female Palestinian prisoner. These women, through their operations, recorded wonderful acts of heroism that the generations still see as an example... The women also had a role in the Al-Aqsa Intifada in 2015 (i.e., terror wave, 2015-2016), and we saw how women attacked the Israeli soldiers at checkpoints in stabbing operations... I want to mention the mother of Martyr Muhammad Farahat (i.e., murdered 5), a Martyr from Gaza. In 2002, I think, she led him to the gate of the Israeli settlement where he carried out a military operation and killed several soldiers (sic., murdered 5 students)... As a mother, I am incapable of doing what she did, but she constitutes an example for the struggle, and she succeeded in strengthening the national values... Women carry out a large role in the children's psychological preparation."
[Official PA TV, Our Ethics, Aug. 4, 2017]
Palestinian psychologist: Female terrorists carried out “wonderful acts of heroism”


Palestinian Olympic Committee forces Palestinian boxer to forfeit rather than compete with Israeli
Official PA TV host 1: "Let's talk about Sultan Abu Al-Haj, a Palestinian boxer who refused to compete with an Israeli boxer and lost a bronze medal."
Host 2: "Sultan, why did you make this decision? You lost a medal!"
Palestinian boxer Sultan Abu Al-Haj: "I didn't make the decision. My trainers and the [Palestinian] Olympic Committee made the decision, and as a competitor I cannot oppose them... The decision was reached that it is forbidden to compete with [Israelis], because it's beneath our dignity to compete with them and recognize them as (sic) the State of Israel."
[Official PA TV, Palestine This Morning, Aug. 17, 2017]
Palestinian boxer Sultan Abu Al-Haj was ordered by the Palestinian Olympic Committee to forfeit his match against Israeli Druze boxer Amit Madah on Aug. 8, 2017 in the under 54 kg division at the Youth Muay Thai World Championships in Bangkok, Thailand. This was the first time that the Palestinian Authority sent an athlete to compete in this tournament.


Iran soccer captain barred from qualifier after playing Israeli club
The Iranian Football Federation has excluded captain Masoud Shojaei for the soccer World Cup qualifiers against South Korea and Syria but denies it is punishment for playing against an Israeli club.
Shojaei and his compatriot Ehsan Haji Safi came in for criticism in Iran when they turned out for their Greek side Panionios in an August 3 home Europa League qualifier against Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Sunday’s squad, announced by Iran’s Portuguese coach Carlos Queiroz on Facebook, included Ehsan Haji Safi but omitted Shojaei.
The initial reaction from Deputy Sports Minister Mohammad Reza Davarzani suggested the pair would both be banned for violating the country’s “red line.” They broke a tradition of the taboo of appearing against Israeli athletes, which Iran interprets as recognition of the Jewish state.
IsraellyCool: Palestinian Museum’s First Exhibit Says It All About Palestinian Identity
Remember the $24 million Palestinian Museum that opened last year, somewhat appropriately empty of exhibits?
Over a year later, they finally have their first exhibit – an exhibit also symbolic of the palestinian identity.
The Palestinian Museum launched its inaugural exhibition Saturday with a highly political art show focusing on Israel’s occupation of east Jerusalem.
“Jerusalem Lives” opens to the public on Sunday in the university town of Birzeit near Ramallah, the Palestinian political capital in the occupied West Bank.

A press preview on Saturday of “Jerusalem Lives” displayed works ranging from the abstract to the overtly political.
In one room, a four-wall photographic panorama surrounds visitors with images of the ring of Israeli settlements around Jerusalem.
In the garden, a green staircase climbs skywards from inside a mesh cage, seemingly referencing the confinement of the Palestinians by Israel’s occupation.
But the symbolism of the staircase, coming to a dead end in mid-air, is open to interpretation.

In other words, they could not even open with an exhibit representing their identity. Everything is about opposing Israel’s history.
Douglas Murray: Islamist violence has become a normal part of European life
It’s just over a week since 15 people were killed in an Islamist attack in Barcelona, Spain. It appears that the person who organised the cell involved in that attack was an Imam called Abdelbaki Es Satty. In the days that have followed we have also learned that the country only narrowly avoided a far worse assault, and that the cell who were subsequently involved in a shoot-out with police had been planning to blow up a set of Spanish monuments including Antoni Gaudi’s masterpiece, the church of Sagrada Familia in Barcelona.
Last night there were only two attacks in Europe. In the centre of Brussels a Somali-born man shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ (‘Allah is Greatest’) attacked soldiers with a machete before being shot dead. And in London, outside Buckingham Palace a man from Luton shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ was restrained by police before he was able to cause more than minor injuries to them with the machete he was carrying.
There could be any number of explanations for these attacks, as with so many attacks before them. It could be that the perpetrators suffered the famous problem of low blood-sugar levels which have been known to cause attacks of this kind in the past. Or it could be that these are simply further cases of people making their objections to Spanish, Belgian and British foreign policy clear in a more effusive manner than is normally deemed acceptable.
But the important thing to remember about these attacks is that they are just like the weather. Unlike other types of violence, these solitary events must be seen as indicative of absolutely nothing, with no further investigation into anything that might lie behind them. They are just strange eruptions which occasionally happen and have no connections to anything, anywhere or anyone.
Sword Attacker Arrested In London, Shouted 'Allahu Akbar'
London authorities detained a 26-year-old man late Friday after he brandished a sword and repeatedly shouted “Allahu Akbar” outside of Buckingham Palace.
Metropolitan police said he intentionally drove into a restricted area and parked himself near a police van. After three unarmed policemen approached him, a struggled ensued, and he was brought down using pepper spray. Two separate officers were injured with cuts to their hands.
The incident is being treated as a terrorism investigation, Metropolitan police counterterrorism commander Commander Dean Haydon confirmed in a Saturday statement. British authorities remain on high alert after a slew of terrorist attacks throughout 2017.
‘Soldier Of The Islamic State’ Behind Knife Attack In Brussels
The man that stabbed a Belgian soldier Friday was reportedly a “soldier of the Islamic State,” according to the terrorist organization’s news agency.
The man, a Belgian citizen of Somali origin, rushed a group of soldiers near the Grand Palace in Brussels Friday evening. He shouted “Allahu Akbar” before stabbing one of the soldiers, at which point the others opened fire on the attacker. The 30-year-old man died on the way to the hospital.
While the man reportedly had no prior connection to terrorist activity before the attack, ISIS’ Amaq News Agency has claimed that he was a member of the global terrorist network, according to the SITE Intel Group, which monitors jihadi activity worldwide. Authorities are investigating the attack as “attempted terrorist murder.”
“The executor of the stabbing operation in Brussels is a soldier of the Islamic State and carried out the operation in response to calls for attacks against coalition states,” the Amaq report explained.
Top US congressman: Time to think beyond two-state solution
Some basic assumptions that have governed Middle East diplomacy over the last quarter century — such as the need for a Palestinian state in the West Bank — are being questioned by more and more people in Congress, the chairman of the powerful House Armed Services Committee told The Jerusalem Post.
Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas), who left Israel on Saturday night after a week here as part of a delegation of five congressmen and one senator brought by the US Israel Education Association, said: “There is a sense in Congress that it is maybe time to look a little broader outside the box” at other possible solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The USIEA is Christian-based organization that defines as one of its goals sponsoring educational tours to Israel with congressmen. What make it unique, is that it takes the delegations to the settlements – something the organization’s website says is not allowed when the congressmen go on official US-sponsored visits.
The delegation spent much of a day in Ariel, and also toured Hebron. In addition, the group met on Tuesday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“My view is that some of the assumptions that we have all operated under for a long time – that there has to be a two-state solution, a Palestinian state on the West Bank – some of those assumptions are now being questioned,” said Thornberry.
Crossing the Rubicon
Crossing the Rubicon
On Wednesday, at a U.S. State Department press briefing, the Rubicon was finally crossed. Responding to a question regarding Israeli-Palestinian ‎peace, spokeswoman Heather Nauert said, "We want to work toward a peace that both sides can agree to and both sides find ‎sustainable. ... We believe that both parties should be able to find a workable solution that works for ‎both of them. We are not going to state what the outcome has to be. ... It's been many, many decades, ‎as you well know, that the parties have not been able to come to any kind of good agreement and ‎sustainable solution to this. So we leave it up to them to be able to work through that."‎
This is the most constructive statement I have heard about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in decades. ‎For the last several years, the "experts" have been saying, "We all know what a solution to the ‎Palestinian-Israeli conflict looks like." ‎
If anyone ever took the time to listen to the parties themselves, and examine the cultural context in ‎which these words are spoken, they would immediately understand that the single most critical litmus ‎test for determining a negotiating partner's real intentions is not what they say to visiting diplomats ‎and journalists in English, but what they say among themselves in their own language, and in particular, what they ‎teach their children. ‎
According to John Calvin (formerly "Jonaid Salameh," before his conversion to Christianity), an EMET fellow who was born in Nablus, from the very earliest age, he ‎was taught there would not be two states, but one state called Palestine. An important slogan on everyone's tongue in the disputed territories is "Lama neharherah," meaning "When we free ‎it" -- and "it" is all of Israel.
Ron Prosor: A plea to the secretary general
A plea to the secretary general
Dear Antonio Guterres,
You are not the average U.N. secretary general. An engineer by profession, you understand that the world belongs to those who build, not those who destroy. As a member of Portugal's Social Democratic Party, you believe in an open society founded on brotherhood and mutual support, not closed, religious and patriarchal societies. As a genuine human rights activist who served as the U.N. high commissioner for refugees, you know the most serious problems are the ones that should be addressed first.
Everything in your life has led you to this point. You can be the man who changes the United Nations for the better. Your upcoming trip to Israel will be your first test. Will the impressive work you have done and the moral conscience you have cultivated throughout your entire life come out the victor, or will the nefarious states attempting to take control of this failed organization cast their shadow over you, too?
So, Mr. Guterres, please spare us the diplomatic cliches we hear every time some senior U.N. official makes a visit. You must end the double standard, which is in effect a triple standard, by which there is one standard for democracies, another standard for dictatorships and a totally different standard for Israel. You must change the institutionalized discrimination against Israel at the U.N. with action, not words.
Report: Trump to present plan for reviving peace talks
Palestinian officials believe that US President Donald Trump will lay out a plan in the coming months on reaching an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal as part of his administration’s efforts to revive peace talks between the sides, according to a Sunday report.
During a meeting in Ramallah Thursday, White House senior adviser Jared Kushner told Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas that Trump would present the plan in the next three to four months in exchange for the Palestinian leader abandoning efforts to pursue statehood in international bodies, the Israel Hayom daily reported Sunday, citing an unnamed Palestinian official.
The paper said Abbas agreed to Kushner’s proposal, but demanded that Trump personally commit to the US peace plan, setting a meeting between the two leaders during the UN General Assembly in September.
The US plan would include a set timetable for talks, which would focus on the so-called core issues of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Palestinian official said.
The report of the planned US proposal came amid recent signs of disillusionment from Abbas over US peace efforts.
US denies Kushner’s team told Abbas a settlement freeze would topple Netanyahu
A senior White House official vehemently denied on Saturday reports that a US delegation tasked with trying to jumpstart Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations told Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas that a West Bank settlement freeze was impossible and would result in the toppling of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
“This is nonsense,” a senior administration official told The Times of Israel. “These comments were never made.”
The pan-Arab newspaper al-Hayat reported earlier on Saturday that the Trump team, led by senior adviser Jared Kushner, told Abbas during a Thursday meeting in Ramallah that getting Israel to place a moratorium on settlement construction could not be a precondition for resumed peace talks and that building would continue.
Kushner, who is also Trump’s son-in-law, along with peace envoy Jason Greenblatt and Deputy National Security Adviser for Strategy Dina Powell, met with Abbas on Thursday as part of a trip to the region aimed at looking at trying to renew peace negotiations, which Trump himself has labeled a “top priority” for the administration.
'US asked Palestinians to halt diplomatic offensive on Israel'
U.S. President Donald Trump's senior adviser Jared Kushner asked Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas during their meeting in Ramallah on Thursday to freeze diplomatic initiatives against Israel for a period of some four months, in exchange for an American commitment to submit a comprehensive diplomatic plan within that time frame to kick-start the moribund peace process, a senior Palestinian official told Israel Hayom over the weekend.
Kushner was accompanied by Special Representative for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt and Deputy National Security Adviser Dina Powell during the meeting with Abbas.
According to the Palestinian official, the Trump administration intends to formulate a diplomatic plan of action that will include a set timetable for the parties to discuss most of the conflict's core issues. As stated, the administration has conditioned its efforts on the Palestinians' "silence" on the diplomatic front against Israel.
Abbas agreed in principle to Kushner's request, but asked for Trump's personal guarantee and commitment to the plan and the two-state vision. Kushner and Abbas decided that Trump and the PA president would meet at the annual gathering of the United Nations General Assembly in New York this coming September, and that during that meeting the U.S. president will promise to present the American road map for peace currently in the works.
Trump announced via his Twitter account that he plans to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the gathering of the General Assembly, while the Palestinian source told Israel Hayom that a meeting between all three leaders in New York was a possibility.
End bias or else, Israel threatens UN ahead of chief’s visit
Israel is to tell UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres during his first visit to the country this week it will “no longer tolerate anti-Israel bias” at the international body, Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely said Sunday.
Guterres is set to land in Israel Sunday night for a three-day visit that will include meetings with senior Israeli officials in Jerusalem and Palestinian officials in the West Bank, as well as a stop in the Gaza Strip, where the United Nations runs a major Palestinian aid program. The visit will be his first to the region since taking the helm at the UN in January.
Briefing journalists ahead of the trip, Hotovely said two key issues would be addressed during the visit: ending “anti-Israel bias” at the 193-nation organization, and changing the UNIFIL mandate for UN activities on Israel’s northern border.
“We are seeking a dramatic change in the way the UN treats Israel. It’s time to place the issue squarely on the table and address it head-on,” Hotovely said, threatening funding cuts for the body if changes were not implemented.
Man stabbed 15 times by terrorist makes miraculous recovery
An Israeli man who was seriously wounded in a terror attack earlier this month has been released from the hospital, with doctors predicting he will make a full recovery, this just weeks after he almost lost his life.
Niv Nehemia, 42, was stabbed 15 times by a 19-year-old Arab terrorist in a Yavneh supermarket on August 2nd.
The terrorist, a Palestinian Authority-resident illegally living in Israel, was captured shortly after the attack.
Nehemia was in very serious condition in the attack, and was fighting for his life for days.
On Sunday, Nehemia was discharged from the hospital, three-and-a-half weeks after the attack.
Staff at Kaplan Hospital in Rehovot say Nehemia will underwent a series of difficult operations to stabilize his condition, but is now expected to make a full recovery.
Father of fallen soldier held in Gaza blasts ‘weak’ Liberman
The parents of fallen IDF soldiers Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, whose bodies are still being held by Hamas in Gaza since their deaths in the 2014 war in Gaza, railed at Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman on Sunday.
Liberman had vowed earlier Sunday not to repeat the “mistake” of an earlier prisoner swap, without citing other ways to secure the return the soldiers’ bodies.
“Liberman violated his commitment to the IDF’s code of ethics” by failing to bring back the remains, Simha Goldin, Hadar’s father, charged in a press conference. “We are asking that the cabinet accept our proposal — not to return prisoners, [but rather] to stop visits for Hamas prisoners and to put an end to this summer camp, and to stop humanitarian gestures by Israel and the international community toward Gaza.”
Goldin said that “the reason our requests have not been accepted is because Israel has a weak and cowardly defense minister.”
PreOccupiedTerritory: Mossad Agents Monitoring Your Device Can’t Believe You Missed ANOTHER Obvious Solitaire Move (satire)
The Israeli intelligence operatives keeping track of your computer and mobile device activity are scratching their heads at your apparent tendency while playing games not to see moves that are all but staring you in the face, a source within the agency reported today.
A trio of agents stationed at the underground monitoring facility dedicated to tracking users of computers and other online devices have already noticed you miss three obvious moves in the series of solitaire games you have been playing on your smartphone for the last twelve minutes, and remain incredulous that you could fail to to see such glaring opportunities.
“Oh my God he did it again,” commented Agent One, gesturing for his colleagues to come back to the monitoring desk. “See that red nine? It’s been sitting there for six moves while this idiot ignores the black eight that would open up a whole new space to start a new sequence with that king and expose the cards beneath. That’s, what, like the thirteenth time this week?”
“Holy cow, AGAIN,” yelled Agent Two twenty minutes later. “It’s like this moron has gone blind – look, you see the king on top of the rightmost pile just waiting to move into that available space in the middle? What kind of incompetent boob is this clown?”
EXCLUSIVE - Hamas Arrests Six Members Planning to Join Islamic State in Sinai
Special intelligence forces of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, have foiled an attempt by six Hamas militants to join Wilyat Sinai, the Egyptian branch of the Islamic State, a Hamas security source told Breitbart Jerusalem.
According to the source, two of those arrested are members of the al-Qassam Brigades’ unit of elite fighters and another is a naval commando. Two others are regular Hamas members and the last of the six was serving in the Hamas security services in the city of Rafah.
The group of six were arrested together, said the source, as they planned to infiltrate Sinai through tunnels in Rafah. They were arrested with Kalashnikov rifles belonging to Hamas in their possession, which they intended to take with them to Sinai. All six were transferred to a prison facility run by the al-Qassam Brigades’ special intelligence and, after initial questioning, are due to be transferred to a prison facility run by Hamas’ Interior Ministry.
The security source in Hamas said that the organization was surprised by group’s plan, which comes after an incident last week in which a Hamas security officer was killed while detaining two jihadists who were trying to infiltrate Sinai.
Screening of 'Gone With the Wind' Cancelled After Complaints Classic Film is 'Insensitive'
Memphis' famous Orpheum Theater will swap Gone With the Wind out of its summer film series next year, after customers complained that the classic film, which was released in the late 1930s and is centered around the events of the American Civil War, is too "insensitive" to be shown in theaters today.
According to the Orpheum Theater Group, which selects the features, scrapping Gone With the Wind wasn't merely a precaution — people actually complained that the movie triggered viewers with its overt regressiveness after the Orpheum showed it as part of its 2017 series.
"While title selections for the series are typically made in the spring of each year, the Orpheum has made this determination early in response to specific inquiries from patrons,” a statement from the theater's board read. The Orpheum appreciates feedback on its programming from all members of the mid-south community. The recent screening of Gone With the Wind at the Orpheum on Friday, August 11, 2017, generated numerous comments. The Orpheum carefully reviewed all of them.”
“As an organization whose stated mission is to ‘entertain, educate and enlighten the communities it serves’, the Orpheum cannot show a film that is insensitive to a large segment of its local population,” the board concluded.
ESPN Won't Say If It'll Pull Ley Fo
ESPN refused to acknowledge whether or not it had plans to pull pundit Robert Ley off of the air, despite the fact that he has the same name as an infamous Nazi official.
In an e-mail to ESPN, The Daily Caller asked if the sports broadcasting giant had a plan for dealing with Ley, considering the network had already pulled ESPN college football commentator Robert Lee from broadcasting a Virginia football game because he shares a name with a Confederate general.
Robert Ley was a Nazi official who “was made head of the German workers’ front after Hitler’s accession to power.”
He “supervised the mobilization of foreign as well as German labour for war work” during World War II and committed suicide during the Nuremberg Trials.
ESPN denied the initial report about Lee being pulled because of his name but completely ignored TheDC’s questions about Ley.
Daily Freier: Colin Kapaernik Still Doesn’t Have a Job, Because Palestine. By Linda Sarsour (satire)
So you don’t think I can link Colin Kapaernik’s job prospects to the Palestinian cause? Hold my latte.
Speaking of which, wanna know the best thing about Intersectionality? I can connect anything to anything, especially if that second ‘anything’ happens to be a certain group of Arabs who have lived in the Holy Land for thousands of years. Or since last Wednesday. Whatever. Anyways, when it comes to Intersectionality, the Palestinian cause is like an amazing purse. You can literally match it with anything. Police-minority relations in St. Louis? Check. The plight of American Indians? Check. America’s immigration policies? We got this.
So when I found out that Colin Kapaernik still hadn’t been signed by an NFL team, I immediately said to myself “OMG OMG this is just like Ramallah!” I mean, it’s totally racist. The Constitution guarantees that you can say or do anything you want to and people are still obligated to hire you for the job of your choice [Editor’s note: No. No it doesn’t.].
Listen. Colin deserves a starting Quarterback job on a good team. So what if he trashes the National Anthem and seems to excel more at things that don’t involve, like scoring touchdowns and stuff. And the Palestinians deserve their own State. And the Right of Return. And their very own agency at the UN. And free cable. Because holding people to the consequences of their actions is a micro-aggression. I mean, it’s worse than manspreading.
Berlin agencies fund group decrying Israel's 'water apartheid'
Berlin's Federal Office for International Cooperation along with the Berlin Municipality are funding the activities of a German humanitarian aid organization that spreads anti-Israel propaganda, Israel Hayom has learned.
Citing Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq's reports on Israel's "water apartheid," German's Water Peace Service has accused Israel of creating harsh living conditions for the Palestinian population by systematically stealing Palestinian water sources.
Al-Haq is involved in the anti-Israel boycott, divestment and sanctions movement, and according to NGO Monitor, the group is a world leader in the demonization of Israel that routinely accuses Israel of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity while at the same time defines terrorism as "legitimate acts of resistance."
The emblems of both the Berlin federal office and its municipality appear in the World Peace Service's online campaign against Israel under the slogan "Stop the Water Grabbing."
Among other things, the organization has claimed that "only 300 millimeters [11.8 inches] of rain fall in the Gaza Strip each year, whereas more rain falls in the occupied territories of the West Bank (Nablus, Ramallah, Jerusalem and Bethlehem) than in Berlin, Paris and London. Since the military conquest, Israel has taken complete control of certain water sources, and Palestinians require licenses to gain access to the water sources. Palestinians' general access to water is consistently shrinking.
Demolition Job: Balance and Relevant Facts Go Missing
Stories where Palestinian children are portrayed as the victims of Israeli malice are extremely damaging to Israel’s image – which is why such stories are so valued by those journalists who wish to promote their own one-sided narrative.
So it was probably a gift for The Independent’s Bethan McKernan to report on the Israeli demolition of Palestinian educational structures before the commencement of the Palestinian school year, not once but twice on consecutive days.
Both stories are virtually identical save for the added bonus of Belgian anger in the follow up.
There are legitimate questions that can be asked concerning Israeli policies. However, while The Independent states that demolitions occurred because the structures had been built without permission, that’s as much as McKernan was prepared to divulge.
Washington Post: Israel ‘Suppressing Its Majority Population?’
Criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is a legitimate activity in the opinion pages of a newspaper. Indeed, Israelis themselves can be some of Netanyahu’s fiercest critics.
So while David Rothkopf’s attack on Netanyahu in the Washington Post and comparison with US President Donald Trump may be debatable, it is not beyond the rough and tumble of political discourse.
However, Rothkopf goes one step further in his critique of Israel as a state:
What is Israel’s “majority population” and is Israel suppressing it in order to survive?
According to Israeli population statistics for 2017, the Jewish population makes up 6,484,000 (74.7%); 1,808,000 (20.8%) are Arabs; and, those identified as “others” (non-Arab Christians, Baha’i, etc) make up 4.5% of the population (388,000 people).
Paintings with swastikas removed from Rio de Janeiro exhibit
Three paintings featuring swastikas were removed from an exhibit at one of Rio’s most traditional cultural centers.
Having paintings with swastikas in them “became even more serious because public school students pay regular visits to the venue,” said Herry Rosenberg, president of the Rio Jewish federation. “We reiterate our commitment to fight continuously any expression of anti-Semitism in our state.”
The exhibit was closed for one day but later reopened without the paintings. The complaint was made though the federation’s WhatsApp channel for reporting anti-Semitic incidents.
In July, Rio Mayor Marcelo Crivella laid the cornerstone of a long-awaited Holocaust memorial in Brazil’s second-largest city.
Ironic ‘Adopt-a Nazi’ fundraiser surpasses $150K goal
The Adopt-a-Nazi (Not Really) fundraiser, a response to a far-right “free speech” rally that had been scheduled for San Francisco, reached its $150,000 goal and has topped it.
The campaign, by San Francisco attorney Cody Harris and the Jewish Bar Association of San Francisco, asks visitors to donate a small amount of money to the Southern Poverty Law Center by “sponsoring” each person who had been expected to attend the rally. Some 300 rally-goers had been expected.
The rally that had been scheduled for Saturday night was canceled late Friday by its organizer: a right wing group known as Patriot Prayer led by Joey Gibson of Portland, Oregon.
“It doesn’t seem safe. A lot of people’s lives are going to be in danger,” Gibson said in a post on Facebook. He also said that “tons of extremists” had planned to show up at the rally and that the event had the potential to become “a riot.”
Gibson had announced a news conference on Saturday in downtown San Francisco, but this was also canceled as the group did not have a permit for the venue, a park.
Launched on August 17 with an initial goal of $10,000, the campaign passed that target in 24 hours. The goal was changed to $100,000 and then to $125,000.
Reykjavík once voted to boycott Israel. Now it’s getting food delivered by Israeli drones.
An Israeli technology firm has launched in Iceland what it says is the world’s first commercial food delivery route based entirely on unmanned aerial vehicles.
Flytrex has partnered in the Nordic country with the on-demand goods service AHA, to provide the service in the capital of Reykjavík, the Icelandic firm announced Tuesday. AHA is Iceland’s largest online marketplace, according to CNBC.
In 2015, the Reykjavík City Council passed a motion endorsing a blanket boycott of Israel. Amid an outcry over the motion, its language was changed to indicate the boycott would apply only to products from Israeli settlements. It was the first European capital to pass a resolution supporting a boycott of Israel or of its settlements.
“We feel that the cooperation with Flytrex is going to put us at the forefront of the competition in terms of what we can offer to both our retailers and to our customers,” AHA CEO Maron Kristófersson said in a statement.
His coastal city is subdivided by a large bay and several smaller rivers that make the transportation of goods time consuming and cumbersome. Several restaurants and supermarkets subscribe to the services of AHA,
Conan O’Brien talks shakshuka, Israeli women
American comedian and talk show host Conan O’Brien kicked off his trip to Israel in Tel Aviv, where he encountered Israelis, the local food and scorching August sun.
In a Facebook video, which was filmed Saturday at the port of Jaffa with the Tel Aviv skyline in the background, O’Brien shared his initial impressions of Israelis.
“Fantastic, really funny nice people,” he said of Israelis, adding that “all the men are incredibly buff and all the women are beautiful.”
O’Brien said his first dinner in Israel was at a Thai restaurant, despite his desire for Israeli food, but shared his excitement over eating shakshuka, a North African dish of eggs and tomatoes, and sampling the Jewish state’s most popular local beer.
“Shakshur?” O’Brien asks, struggling to say the name of the dish, as an Israeli woman standing nearby tells him how to pronounce it.
“You gotta get yourself some shakshuka and get it today,” he said.
The ‘chosen’ Anzacs: Australia’s distinguished fighting Jews gain new recognition
From the shores of Gallipoli to the mountains of Afghanistan, Jews have distinguished themselves fighting for Australia. Now, “Jewish Anzacs” by Mark Dapin — the first book of its kind — explores their heroism.
“Anzac” refers to the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps of World War I, an outfit that earned lasting fame at the campaign for Gallipoli as they fought fiercely over the Turkish peninsula from 1915 through early 1916.
WWI occupies a significant portion of the book, including the story of General John Monash, who rose to commander-in-chief of the Australian army in 1918.
The only Jew outside Israel to command an army, Monash was “the most famous Jewish-Australian soldier of all time,” Dapin said.
In recent years, Australia has held centenary commemorations for WWI, including a 2014 ceremony marking the 100th anniversary of its outbreak.
Several events and exhibitions during this period have related to the Australian Jewish community, which at 112,000 represents 0.5 percent of the population and is the ninth-largest Jewish community in the world.



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