Sunday, October 01, 2017
Israel Is Going to War in Syria to Fight Iran
Looked at from Israel, this process is a mixed bag. Sunni Islamists are hostile to Israel, of course, and for the most part, their failure to assemble a lasting power bloc is welcomed in Jerusalem. Senior Israeli security officials describe, for example, Sisi’s 2013 coup deposing the Muslim Brotherhood as a species of “miracle.” In Syria, however, the insurgent efforts of the Sunni Islamists had at least the benefit of distracting the attentions of the more formidable enemy — the Iran-led regional bloc. For five years, Israel was largely able to sit by while Sunni and Shiite political Islam were in a death’s embrace just north and east of the border. Russian and Iranian intervention, however, appears to have tipped the balance against the Sunni rebels, threatening to bring the long chapter of active civil war in Syria to a close.Abbas: I will continue terrorist payments
From an Israeli point of view, we are back to the pre-2010 Middle East, when Israel and pro-western Sunni powers understood they were in a direct faceoff with the Iranians and their allies. But in 2017, there is the additional complicating factor of a direct Russian physical presence in the Levant, in alliance or at least in cooperation with Israel’s enemies.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration, which remains exclusively focused on the war against the Islamic State, has done little to assuage Israeli concerns. Trump and those around him, of course, share the Israeli assessment regarding the challenge of Iranian regional ambitions. The impression, however, is that the administration may well not be sufficiently focused or concerned to actually take measures necessary to halt the Iranian advance — both military and political — in Syria, Iraq, or Lebanon.
Where does this leave Israel?
First, Israel’s diplomatic avenues to the international power brokers in Syria remain open. When it comes to Washington, Israel’s task is to locate or induce a more coherent American strategy to counter advance of the Iranians in the Levant. Its goal when it comes to Moscow is to ensure sufficient leeway from Putin, who has no ideological animus against Israel and no special sympathy for Tehran, so that Israel can take the measures it deems necessary to halt or deter the Iranians and their proxies.
Second, Israel will continue to rely on its military defenses, which remain without peer in the region. And as shown in Masyaf, they can be employed to halt and deter provocative actions by the Iran-led bloc where necessary. Nevertheless, as seen from Jerusalem, the shifting regional tectonic plates are producing a new situation in which the Iran-led alliance is once again directly facing Israel, consequently raising the possibility of direct confrontation. Masyaf was not the first shot in the fight between Israel and its proxies in the Levant — and it is unlikely to be the last.
Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas reiterated his support for Arabs who were captured or killed while committing terrorist attacks against Israeli citizens.
In an interview with Al-Quds Al-Arabi, Abbas stated that, "Israel incites the US to see prisoners and martyrs as terrorists. They are soldiers and the sons of our nation...and they are the martyrs of the Palestinian people. And since then (1965), we have provided them [and their families] with allowances."
"Israel and the US says that this is supporting terrorism...I will not back down on this issue. The families of the martyrs will continue to receive their allowances in full." he added.
In response to the question of whether the allowances will continue to be extended to prisoners in Israeli prisons, Abbas answered, "certainly."
NY Post Editorial: Interpol’s invitation to terrorism
It’s hard to think the world could get more dangerous, but it just did — as Interpol accepted the nonexistent “state of Palestine” as a member. Who’s next, ISIS?
In a secret ballot Wednesday by the international police group’s General Assembly, 75 nations agreed to accept the Palestinians’ bid for inclusion, with 24 voting nay and 34 abstentions.
see also
The secrecy ensured that no country would pay a price for its vote, so nations were free to express their true anti-Israel/anti-Semitic hostility — and thus provide a better (and more depressing) picture of how extensive that hate really is.
Make no mistake: Israel has much to lose here. It’s not just that yet another international body has recognized “Palestine” (the UN, UNESCO and other groups have all offered it some form of membership), thereby boosting its standing.
Worse: Palestinians can now try to use Interpol to push bogus “law-enforcement” efforts (travel bans, extraditions, etc.) aimed at Israelis. Worse yet: Sensitive Interpol intel may fall into the hands of Palestinian terror groups.
Think about it: Washington has designated Hamas, one of the two groups that run “Palestine,” as a terrorist organization. The other, the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority, also backs terror, albeit less systematically.
Just this week, Fatah praised Tuesday’s attack by a Palestinian terrorist that left three Israelis dead. The PA reportedly will pay his family $1,700, plus $740 a month for life.
Why Did the European Parliament Embrace a Palestinian Terrorist?
The European Parliament is not the only platform where this kind of behavior has played out; it is only the latest. United Nations agencies like the Human Rights Council and UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), and even the World Health Organization seek, on a routine basis, to deny, minimize or rewrite Jewish history to fit the Khaled narrative.IsraellyCool: Leila Khaled’s Antisemitism and Genocidal Wishes Receives Applause In European Parliament
The boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement, which is closely aligned with this worldview, specializes in comparing Israel with apartheid-era South Africa, and accusing Israeli authorities of ethnic cleansing.
The Khaled event at the European Parliament was not something hidden or unknown to those who peruse the international body’s weekly calendar. Someone made a decision to approve its being placed on the schedule.
To be fair, some members of the parliament have spoken out against Khaled’s appearance in Brussels, as has the European Commission’s coordinator on combating antisemitism.
Yet with so many EU heads of government, foreign ministers and other officials proffering comments about the need to defeat the growing threat of terrorism on the continent, where are those voices expressing outrage over the invitation to a convicted terrorist — who remains a “member of the political bureau” of one of the deadliest of terror organizations — to speak at one of the EU’s central institutions?
In trying to explain this, words like “hypocrisy” and “indifference” come to mind, along with simple political correctness. But it is more than that: Haven’t those in leadership positions in Brussels learned anything from decades of violence espoused by Khaled, her contemporaries and now, by Hezbollah, Hamas and ISIS? If nothing else, have they no self-respect?
The recent list of terrorist attacks in Europe is long, and growing. At the EU, some may have short memories, but surely the families of victims in Paris, Nice, London, Brussels, Copenhagen and so many other places, do not.
The citizens of a united Europe deserve better.
Several days ago, palestinian terrorist Leila Khaled – a former PFLP member who was involved in multiple hijackings and has been credited as the first woman to hijack an airplane – was invited to speak to the European Parliament, who hosted an event “The Role of Women in the Palestinian Popular Resistance.”
Not surprisingly, she revealed herself to a vile Jew hater who loves making Israel-Nazi comparisons – and declared her desire to have Israel Jew-free.
Note the applause – this was no hijacking. They knew who they were getting, and they loved every minute of it.
Ron Prosor: Israel must not let Arab states hijack UNESCO
Sometimes, it seems as if Israel is suffering from some kind of personality disorder that makes it fall in love with complaining about a disease rather than preventing it.2 stabbed to death at Marseille train station
The elections for the post of UNESCO director-general will be held in two weeks. This is Israel’s chance to show some initiative and active diplomacy, but it seems to have been caught off guard.
Of the nine nominations for the position, four come from Arab countries—Qatar, Iraq, Lebanon and an Egyptian representative who is in favor of applying Sharia laws. What we do know is that the election of an Iranian chairperson has already been secured. The only education a Qatari-Iranian coalition in UNESCO will offer the world is education to terror, hatred and extremism.
The State of Israel is well aware of that, as UNESCO concerns many bodies—government ministries, local authorities and plenty of organizations and NGOs. Everyone knows how important these elections are, but they seem to be continuing their summer vacation and have yet to do a thing to promote the election of a professional and decent director-general for the organization.
This is exactly where Israel must use diplomatic counter-terrorism: identify the challenge, detect ways of action and create coalitions that will make it possible to reach the desired result.
Instead of fighting specific decisions, Israel must try to change the agenda. Instead of letting the Arab states hijack UNESCO for anti-Israel incitement purposes, Israel must try to influence the organization’s leadership. Instead of complaining in retrospect, Israel must wake up and act.
A suspected Islamist knifeman killed two women at the main train station in the French Mediterranean city of Marseille on Sunday before being shot dead by soldiers patrolling there, local officials and police said.Stabbing, Truck Ramming Incident in Canada Under Investigation as Act of Terrorism
One of the victims was fatally stabbed while the other had her throat slit by the assailant who is believed to have shouted “Allahu Akbar” (God is Greatest) at the start of his rampage, a source close to the investigation told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Soldiers posted in the station as part of a special force set up to guard vulnerable areas in terror-hit France responded to the stabbings in front of the station and shot the man dead, local officials said.
Armed police were deployed afterwards and the grand and ornate rail terminus in the bustling heart of France’s second-biggest city was evacuated, stopping all train traffic on one of the country’s busiest lines.
“Two victims have been stabbed to death,” regional police chief Olivier de Mazieres told AFP, referring to the attack which occurred at 1:45 pm (1145 GMT).
A Edmonton police officer was stabbed Saturday evening near Commonwealth Stadium and four pedestrians injured by a fleeing truck in what police are investigating as an act of terrorism.Hezbollah chief urges Jews to 'flee Palestine' while they can
The first attack happened when an Edmonton Police Service special duty member was stabbed by a man who had crashed a car into a police barricade outside the stadium, where the Edmonton Eskimos were hosting Winnipeg on Canadian Forces Appreciation Night.
Police chief Rod Knecht confirmed in a 3 a.m. news conference that there was an ISIS flag in the car.
Police said the officer was manning a traffic checkpoint near 93 Street and 107A Avenue when it happened at around 8:15 p.m.
Police said the suspect fled on foot after ramming a police vehicle and was still at large. A white Chevrolet Malibu could be seen smashed into the front of an Edmonton Police Service SUV.
“The officer was approached by an unknown male suspect in a vehicle at which time the suspect rammed the police cruiser,” said Edmonton Police Service spokesman Scott Pattison.
The leader of Lebanese militant group Hezbollah said on Sunday that the Israeli government was pushing the region into war in Syria, Lebanon and in the Gaza Strip.Netanyahu scoffs at Erdogan's claim that mossad behind Kurdish referendum
On Sunday, in a speech to followers on the occasion of Ashura, when Shiite Muslims commemorate the slaying of the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah remarked that the Israeli government did not have a "correct assessment of where this war will lead if they ignite it."
Directly addressing "the Israelis and Jews across the world," Nasrallah added that "we in the resistance have said from the beginning that our war is against the Zionists who occupy Palestinian land, not against the Jews."
"The Jews who came from all over the world need to know that they are being used as fuel for a regional war and an American plot targeting the peoples of the region," Nasrallah continued.
Addressing "religious sages" among the Jews, he said: "The government of Israel, headed by [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu, is leading you toward ruin and destruction because he is looking for war."
"If Netanyahu launches a war," he warned, "no part of occupied Palestine will be safe."
"Israel has no qualms about issuing threats to Lebanon, and it continues its aggressive approach in Syria under the guise of preventing the resistance from developing new military capabilities," he said. "Israel is using every possible excuse to drag the region into war. This war will be at your expense and you will be the ones to pay the price."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shot back at Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for saying the Mossad had a hand in the Iraqi Kurdistan independence referendum last week, saying, "I understand why Hamas supporters see the Mossad in any uncomfortable situation.”Canada urged to monitor funds sent to UNRWA
Erdogan's Turkey actively supports Hamas.
Speaking before Sunday morning’s cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said that Israel had “no involvement in the Kurdish referendum except for supporting their aspirations.”
Erdogan again went on the warpath against Israel on Saturday, saying that the waving of Israeli flags at celebrations of the Kurdistan vote for independence proved the Mossad's involvement.
“This shows one thing, that this administration (in northern Iraq) has a history with Mossad, they are hand-in-hand together,” he said. Turkey is adamantly opposed to the the Iraqi Kurdish move, concerned of the impact it will have on its own large Kurdish population.
“Are you aware of what you are doing?” Erdogan said in an appeal to Iraqi Kurdish leaders. “Only Israel supports you.”
This is the second time in a week that Erdogan lashed out at Israel over the Iraqi Kurdistan vote.
Investigative journalist David Bedein has been following the monetary machinations of the United Nations Relief and Works Administration (UNRWA) since the late 1980s and one thing that has remained constant over that time is the involvement of Hamas in pretty much everything the UN agency does.Islamic Society of British Columbia unscathed, despite alleged links to Hamas
For years, Hamas has controlled the purse strings and syphoned off cash to promote its terrorist agenda. It operates a summer camp to indoctrinate young terrorists and boasts that the students it trains come from schools operated by UNRWA. It controls the employees union and teachers union in Gaza, ensuring its cadres benefit from the cash donated by governments from around the world – including Canada – that are supposed to go to easing the plight of Palestinian refugees.
Though he’s concerned that Canada recently renewed its allocation of $25 million to UNRWA for the second year in a row, Bedein believes this country’s involvement in UNRWA funding presents an opportunity for enhanced monitoring, to ensure the money goes for the purposes it was intended.
Right now, “there is no supervision whatsoever,” he said.
Bedein, who’s the director of the Israel Resource News Agency and the Center for Near East Policy Research, was in Ottawa on Sept. 25 to brief Liberal MP Michael Levitt on Hamas and its extensive ties to UNRWA, and to suggest that Canada could play a leading role in setting up a mechanism to closely scrutinize UNRWA’s use of its funds in Gaza.
The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs is “shocked” that federal officials have not yanked the charitable status of a British Columbia Islamic charity that’s alleged to have links to Hamas.Israeli poll observer shocked by Spanish police violence during Catalonia vote
Recent media reports have said that the charity, which runs a Vancouver-area mosque, was penalized by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), after an audit found that its former president and imam spent tens of thousands of dollars on personal expenditures that were reimbursed by the charity.
But the charity, the Islamic Society of British Columbia, retained its tax status and was not otherwise penalized, even after the audit alleged that it had ties to Hamas, which Canada listed as terrorist organization in 2002.
The Islamic Society operates the Masjid Alhidayah & Islamic Cultural Centre in Port Coquitlam, B.C. Global News reported that it was formerly headed by Saadeldin Bahr, who is now serving a 3½-year prison sentence for a 2013 sexual assault at the mosque.
CRA documents obtained by Global News showed that during the period of the audit – Oct. 1, 2010 to Sept. 30, 2013 – Bahr purchased a variety of personal items, including a spa, jewelry, video games and hair dye, which were paid for with his personal credit card and then reimbursed with online bank transfers from the charity’s accounts.
A Zionist Union MK observing Catalonia’s independence referendum said she was shocked by the use of rubber bullets by Spanish police against crowds of unarmed protesters on Sunday.Israel to conduct joint air force drills with Greece, Cyprus, Egypt
Ksenia Svetlova, who is part of a delegation of about 30 people from other countries invited by Catalan regional officials to observe the voting process, told a reporter for the Sky News TV channel that the bullets used by police “can squash somebody’s head.” She said she she saw people bleeding and injured on the scene, and that she hadn’t expected to see such tactics used in Europe.
“We did expect a normal democratic process. We knew that a lot of police were here but still, you know, there should be a respect for the will of the people to vote regardless of what you think of the referendum,” Svetlova said.
The freshman Israeli lawmaker also tweeted that ballot boxes had been confiscated and that there were “major problems with the internet.”
At least 91 people were injured in Catalonia on Sunday as police and protesters clashed over a banned independence referendum in the wealthy northeastern region of Spain, the Catalan government said.
Greece’s defense minister says plans are being drawn up for joint air force drills with Cyprus, Israel, Egypt and European countries as part of efforts to bolster stability in the eastern Mediterranean.IsraellyCool: Haters Pile On Israeli-Arab Football Player Proud to Have Made Israeli National Team
Panos Kammenos’ remarks Sunday came after a military parade in the Cypriot capital to commemorate the 57th anniversary of the ethnically divided island’s independence.
The parade included the overflight of a pair of Greek Air Force F-16 jets, the first showing of the Greek warplanes at the event in 16 years.
The island’s Greek Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades said there will be no let-up in efforts to reunify Cyprus, despite July’s collapse of peace talks with breakaway Turkish Cypriots.
Russian-made BUK surface-to-air missiles were also put on the display at the parade.
19-year-old Israeli-Arab Mamoon Qashoa was recently chosen for the under-19s Israeli national football side. Because apartheid.Border Police, IDF seize illegal sniper rifles in West Bank village
So he did what any young man excited about this opportunity would do: posted it on his Facebook page.
Enter the haters.
On Thursday, 19-year-old Mamoon Qashoa shared a photo of himself wearing Over the weekend, one teenager’s selfie has sparked debate from Tunisia to the Gulf.
On Thursday, 19-year-old Mamoon Qashoa shared a photo of himself wearing the Israeli football shirt to his Facebook page.
He captioned the post in Arabic, writing: “my success comes only through God.”
The young Palestinian citizen of Israel had recently joined the under-19s national side, despite having previously promised to represent Palestine, according to media reports.
Qashoa, who is from the Arab-majority town of Tira in central Israel, also signed to play for Israeli club Hapoel Haifa over the summer.
His post soon went viral as individuals from across the Arab world slammed what they saw as a “Palestinian playing for the Zionist entity”.
Border Police and IDF units raided an illegal weapons factory in the West Bank Palestinian village of Bani Naim overnight Sunday, arresting an alleged arms dealer and seizing sniper rifles featuring advanced scopes and night vision.NGO demands Interpol arrest Hamas leader who masterminded terror attacks against Israel
According to police, the operation was initiated after intelligence was gathered that arms were being stored and sold at the site.
“A number of weapons equipped with telescopic lenses and night vision were found and confiscated at the scene, and one suspect was arrested and is being questioned,” said police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld.
“The sniper rifles are being examined to determine where they came from, and an investigation into why they were being stored in that area, and if they are connected in any way to terrorist activity, has been opened,” he added.
Police and IDF forces routinely investigate illegal arms manufacturing and sales in the West Bank, where the weapons frequently end up in the hands of terrorists who carry out attacks in Jerusalem and nearby Jewish settlements.
“Operations are continuing across Judea and Samaria in order to find terrorist cells and prevent weapons from being used in any terrorist activity,” said Rosenfeld.
An Israeli NGO demanded that Interpol take “all necessary steps to arrest Hamas leader and terrorist Saleh al-Arouri for his role in two infamous crimes against Israelis.”'Key goal of Palestinian Interpol bid is to prosecute Dahlan'
The two terrorist attacks were the kidnapping and murder of three teenagers near Hebron in 2014, and the shooting murder of a rabbi and his wife near Nablus in 2015.
Shurat Hadin – Israel Law Center sent the demand letter to Interpol on Thursday, one day after the international organization’s decision to accept the “State of Palestine” as a member. Israel had fought a hard diplomatic fight to block the Palestinians getting membership.
Arouri is a member of Hamas’s politburo and, according to Shurat Hadin, is known to direct terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas’s Izzadin Kassam Brigades in Israel from abroad.
Shurat Hadin president Nitsana Darshan-Leitner represents the family of Naftali Fraenkel, a dual-US/Israeli citizen who, along with two other boys, Eyal Yifrah and Gil-Ad Shaer, was kidnapped and murdered in a terrorist attack carried out on June 12, 2014.
The attack was orchestrated by Arouri when he was residing in Turkey.
Palestinian media reported over the weekend that the Palestinian Authority, on the heels of being accepted as a member state to the international police agency Interpol, will pursue arrest warrants against former high-ranking Fatah official Mohammed Dahlan and several of his associates.Sick of running Gaza, Hamas may be aiming to switch to a Hezbollah-style role
A senior PA official was quoted as saying that "Dahlan and his associates Mohammad Rashid and Walid Najab will be placed on our Interpol list of fugitives.
"Dahlan and his associates, along with other Palestinians, are accused of stealing public funds and acts of corruption, and the objective of joining Interpol was first and foremost to issue warrants for their arrests and bring them to justice," the official said.
Dahlan fled from PA-controlled areas in the West Bank several years ago, after he was charged with corruption and security-related offenses. Since then, he has alternately resided in Persian Gulf states and in Egypt.
Dahlan has refuted the allegations, saying the PA security apparatus fabricated the charges against him, under orders from PA President Mahmoud Abbas, a bitter political rival.
It is a simple idea, at least in theory: Allow the Palestinian Authority to run ongoing affairs in the Gaza Strip, to worry about electricity, water, sewage, social welfare, unemployment, and so on, while making sure that Hamas’s military wing retains all its weaponry.Hamas masquerade
That way, Hamas continues to be the powerhouse on the ground in the Gaza Strip, while the PA will have to deal with the dreary, thankless day-to-day affairs. For all the support for unity, Hamas officials have said explicitly that they do not intend to give up the “arms of the resistance” — the same term that Hezbollah uses in Lebanon.
There are several key issues of dispute on which the two sides can potentially reach agreement. The problem of the Hamas government officials hired after the 2007 coup — approximately 45,000 of them — can be solved. If both sides are willing, a mechanism can be found (perhaps according to the “Swiss model” once proposed by a Swiss diplomat who visited Gaza a number of times). Close to 20,000 of them are members of the civilian police force, the civil defense force and agencies created to deal with the personal security of Gaza’s inhabitants. The PA could hire them for its official agencies, even though these are already terribly bloated.
Another factor to bear in mind in this regard: the international community’s response. Reconciliation with Hamas, and an agreement that the PA is to pay the salaries of, say, 16,000 to 20,000 members of the security forces who were Hamas officials until moments earlier, would likely cause problems in the transfer of aid to the Palestinian Authority.
The Taylor Force Act, which will limit American aid to the PA due to Abbas’s payments to the families of terrorists, is expected to pass in Congress in December. This may be one of the factors spurring Abbas to accelerate the process of reconciliation.
It took Hamas 10 years to completely ruin the Gaza Strip and prove to all that it can't and is not worthy of ruling over its inhabitants. A decade after the terrorist organization forcefully seized control of the coastal enclave its government has crumbled, but more importantly, the situation for the people of Gaza has never been more desperate. Unemployment and poverty are rampant, quality of life is in sharp decline and infrastructure is collapsing. There has only been steady progress in one area – tunnel digging along the border with Israel is prospering and the group has expanded its missile arsenal.Blair blasts Roger Waters for comparing Israel to Nazi Germany
The first place Hamas has looked for a solution is Tehran, which is looking to bring the group back into its fold after several years of severed ties. The Arab spring revolution in Egypt and Syria distanced Hamas from Iran, bringing it closer to Turkey and even Qatar. These Sunni countries have been a disappointment and their ability to help the organization has been and remains limited. Hamas can only receive unlimited weapons and money from the Iranians, even if doing so means it must sharply alter its positions. This pertains, for example, to the Sunni rebel groups in Syria, which Hamas has supported over the years but now must abandon.
At the same time Hamas is also working to improve its relations with the Palestinian Authority; more precisely it is trying to turn the PA into a human shield to perpetuate its rule over Gaza. In this context, Hamas' leaders declared an end to the "Hamas government" in Gaza, and their willingness to give the keys to Gaza to the Palestinian national unity government sitting in Ramallah. This is merely a charade, however, as Hamas is unwilling to truly relinquish its power and will not allow, for instance, the PA's security apparatus to deploy in Gaza. In this vein, it will permit the PA and its president, Mahmoud Abbas, to resolve the electricity crisis in Gaza and to try improving the economic situation there. Meanwhile, Hamas will still reserve ultimate say in Gaza and will be the only entity with weapons.
Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair excoriated rock singer and guitarist Roger Waters late Saturday night after the Pink Floyd front man compared Israel to Nazi Germany, and warned of the dangers posed by the “extraordinarily powerful” Jewish lobby.Jeremy Corbyn-backed group's activists 'hounded' Jewish business owner
A frequent critic of the Jewish state and a staunch supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) Movement, Waters recently claimed that the “parallels [between Israel] and what went on in the 1930s in Germany are so crushingly obvious,” and adding that the “extraordinarily powerful” Jewish lobby was exerting a dangerous influence in the West.
When filmmaker Ian Halperin, who is producing a documentary on Waters’ and his political views, interviewed Blair, the former Labour PM condemned Waters’ comments as “ideological poison”, the Daily Mail reported.
“I think the criticism [of Israel by Waters] is so ludicrous,” said Blair, “that it indicates a basic hostility to the notion of a homeland for the Jewish people... you’ve got to overcome the legacy of that ideological poison which has dripped into the system over many decades.”
Blair added that he saw Waters’ extreme anti-Israel position as part of a strengthening “leftist-Islamist alliance”.
A Jewish businessman is being hounded for selling Israeli goods by protesters with links to an organisation backed by Jeremy Corbyn.NY State probes Deutsche Bank for link to Palestinian terrorist group
A Palestine Solidarity Campaign activist has been found guilty of racially abusing Nisan Ayalon, who runs stalls selling Israeli cosmetics.
Ally Coutts, 57, is a prominent member of the Scottish branch of a group that has staged a series of protests against Mr Ayalon’s company Jericho SkinCare, which utilises Dead Sea minerals.
Mr Corbyn is a patron and former chairman of the London-based Palestine Solidarity campaign and remains a prominent supporter.
The treatment of Mr Ayalon, who claims he has been hounded out of Glasgow by the Scottish group, will intensify the row over anti-Semitism that has engulfed the labour party during Mr Corbyn’s stint as leader.
Nisan Ayalon
A Palestine Solidarity Campaign activist has been found guilty of racially abusing Nisan Ayalon, who runs stalls selling Israeli cosmetics. Credit: ©Ross Johnston/UNP
Jewish Human Rights Watch (JHRW) called on the Labour leader to condemn the attack on Mr Ayalon. The group had planned a further demonstration yesterday [Saturday] - on what is Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar - on one of his stalls in an Aberdeen shopping centre.
The Office of the New York State Comptroller on Friday opened an investigation into accounts Deutsche Bank holds for a German political party that allegedly provides organizational support to the PFLP terrorist organization.UK university ‘censors’ Holocaust survivor’s talk over Israel-Nazi comparison
“As part of our policy, we are making inquiries of Deutsche Bank,” Matthew Sweeney, a spokesman for the Office of the New York State Comptroller, said after The Jerusalem Post revealed the four accounts the Marxist Leninist Party of Germany holds at Deutsche Bank and the party’s purported fund-raising for its partner in the recent German election – the pro- BDS entity the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
Both the EU and the US have designated the PFLP as a terrorist organization.
Deutsche Bank is an investor in the $200 million New York Credit Small Business Investment Company that is part of “New York’s $184.5 billion state pension fund, the third-largest public pension fund in the country,” the Comptroller’s Office said in 2015.
Deutsche Bank’s operation of the Marxist Leninist Party’s accounts raises a host of questions about terrorism financing, including whether the bank violated New York State’s anti-BDS executive order.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in 2016: “It is very simple. If you boycott against Israel, New York will boycott you.”
Manchester University reportedly censored the title of a talk given by a Holocaust survivor on campus for Israel Apartheid Week this year, after Israeli diplomats intervened and argued that the title of the address, “You’re doing to the Palestinians what the Nazis did to me,” amounted to anti-Semitic hate speech.Notorious Antisemite Gilad Atzmon scheduled to speak at the Berkeley Public Library
According to a report in The Guardian this weekend, a survivor of the Budapest ghetto, Marika Sherwood, was expected to address students at the university in March on Israel and its treatment of the Palestinians, as a guest speaker for the week-long event, backed by the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. Israel Apartheid Week is held on university campuses around the world.
The paper reported that prior to the talk, Israel’s ambassador to the UK Mark Regev and civil affairs attaché Michael Freeman paid a visit to the university, after which organizers placed a ban on the “unduly provocative” title of the address and imposed a number of conditions before the talk could proceed.
The February 22 meeting between the Israeli diplomats and the university’s head of student experience, Tim Westlake, yielded an email exchange since made public by the Information Commissioner’s Office which demanded that “all correspondence between the University of Manchester and the Israeli lobby” between February 1 and March 3 be disclosed.
Freeman wrote to Westlake following their meeting, thanking him for the sit-down and asserting that the title of Sherwood’s talk breached the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of anti-Semitism, which the UK adopted late last year.
Nothing is as damning of Gilad Atzmon as his own words:iPhone Autocorrect Accused of Taking Sides in Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (satire)
"American Jewry makes any debate on whether the ‘Protocols of the Elders of Zion’ are an authentic document or a forgery irrelevant. American Jews do control the world."
"We must take the accusations that Jews are trying to take over the world with utmost seriousness. Israel is the Nazi Germany of our time. In fact, Israel today is worse than Nazi Germany."
"I'm not going to say whether it is right or not to burn down a synagogue, I can see that it is a rational act. "
" I think Jewish ideology is driving our planet into a catastrophe"
Gilad Atzmon's repugnant Jew-hatred has met with condemnation from groups as diverse as the ADL and Jewish Voice for Peace. He'll be back in the Bay Area Oct. 3, speaking at the North Berkeley branch of the Berkeley Public Library.
Several years ago, Gilad Atzmon's Berkeley entourage showed up for his talk at the Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalist with a Hamas flag . Thats the caliber of his supporters.
And yes, the loon with the Hamas flag is wearing a Nasrallah T-shirt.
Previous appearances of Atzmon in the Bay Area have been promoted by Paul Larudee of the International Solidarity Movement and other fringe groups. No local group has claimed sponsorship for Atzmon's Berkeley appearance this week.
The rebooted autocorrect on iPhone 8 has been accused of making inflammatory remarks on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.Israel ranked 19th most 'food secure' by UN global hunger report
The first of many concerns was aired by Neil Rubinstein, who claimed “self-determination for the Jewish people” was corrected to “racism”. When he then asked Siri “what’s the difference between anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism”, she responded that no results were found for anti-Semitism, anywhere in history.
Palestinian Ali Bin-Jamal was also quick to point out “Zionist sympathies”. He was still shaking when he recalled one incident: “At first I was confused why the West Bank kept correcting to the East Bank. Then, I was just talking about Al-Quds to my brother when it was corrected to “undivided and eternal capital of Israel.””
The United Nations ranked Israel in the 19th spot in its 2017 report on how well countries can feed their populations.PreOccupiedTerritory: Non-Biking Tel Aviv Man Worried He Missed Point Of Yom Kippur (satire)
The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report ranked more than 180 countries.
The report noted, however, that Israel's ability to feed its own people was largely dependent on imports of food, grains and the energy sources required to sustain large portion of its agricultural sector.
Without this dependence, primarily on imports from the United States, Israel would be ranked higher on the index.
The five most "food secure" countries, according to the report, are first-place Ireland, followed by the U.S., the United Kingdom, Singapore and Australia respectively. Rounding out the top 10 are the Netherlands in sixth place, followed by Germany, France, Canada and Sweden.
A resident of Israel’s commercial and financial hub who declined the opportunity to move about the city on two wheels yesterday fears he may have squandered his chance to experience was the Jewish Day of Atonement is all about, local sources are reporting.11 gorgeous pictures that capture the beauty of Sukkot
Gal Teomim, 23, confessed to his flatmates this morning (Sunday) that because he had spent the day watching Netflix and using his Playstation instead of taking advantage of the weather and car-free streets, he will have to wait until next year to get into the spirit of the day.
“I’m a little bummed,” he was heard to admit. “I realize Yom Kippur has always involved making conscious change, and what more appropriate conscious change could there be than getting off my duff and using my bike? Even if I only rode it to the beach or something. Then at least I’d have something worthy of the day.”
Yom Kippur, the most solemn day on the Hebrew calendar, includes observances that have resulted in few, if any, motor vehicles on the roadways, a feature of the day unique to Israel that affords cyclists a once-yearly opportunity to travel along thoroughfares otherwise rendered perilous by cars, trucks, and motorcycles. In ancient times, the Day of Atonement was characterized by fasting and a special Temple service, but the modern interpretation of the day outside of irrelevant holdout communities beyond the boundaries of Tel Aviv involves types of recreation not possible in the presence of hazardous motor vehicles.
Green is the color of fall in Israel, green with a hint of yellow. It’s been that way for centuries, though not on account of the mild Mediterranean climate. The colors of fall in Israel are steeped in Jewish tradition and a commandment from the Torah that Jews commemorate the time our ancestors lived in the desert, in temporary shelters called sukkot, as they journeyed from Egypt to the Land of Israel.
This year, the weeklong festival of Sukkot (Tabernacles, in English) begins at sundown on Wednesday, October 4, with the rise of the full moon of the Jewish month of Tishrei.
The holiday comes at the height of the harvest season, when farmers in times past built sukkot in their fields in order to spend the night close to their crops and maximize the hours of reaping.
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