Wednesday, April 04, 2018
Douglas Murray: UK: Funding Textbooks That Teach Children to Blow Themselves Up
The IMPACT-se investigation revealed, however, that "radicalization is pervasive across this new curriculum." And not just pervasive, but pervasive "to a greater extent than before." The study found that in textbooks which pretend to be teaching "equal rights'", girls are encouraged to sacrifice their lives. A textbook aimed at 5th grade children (that is, children aged 10) teaches that "drinking the cup of bitterness with glory is much sweeter than a pleasant long life accompanied by humiliation." Another textbook urges that "Giving one's life, sacrifice, fight, jihad and struggle are the most important meanings of life."
In a statement, in response to the Sunday Times (UK), which broke the story, Alistair Burt, MP, and Minister of State for the Middle East at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Minister of State at the Department for International Development, revealed that the UK taxpayer continues to support this radical curriculum of incitement. He admitted that the UK taxpayer funds the wages of 33,000 teachers in the West Bank, who use these curriculums. "UK-funded public servants and teachers... are therefore involved" he said. Instead of investigating these findings or announcing the immediate cessation of funding to the Palestinian Authority until such a time as it stops preaching incitement to another generation of Palestinian children, the UK's Department for International Development responded to the findings with a typical form of bureaucratese:
"Our support is helping around 25,000 young Palestinians go to school each year. The UK government strongly condemns all forms of violence and incitement to violence."
Well, the UK government clearly is not so opposed to "all forms of violence and incitement to violence" that it isn't happy to continue to use millions of pounds of UK taxpayer money to assist the PA in radicalising and inciting Palestinian children.
The Department for International Development also announced that it was now "planning to conduct a thorough assessment of the Palestinian curriculum and evidence". It added that "if we find evidence of material which incites violence, we will take action." Evidence has been given to it in abundance, not just now but for years.
This is the true scandal for Britain: that while the UK government fails to pump the resources needed into helping young British children to grow up literate and numerate in Britain, it pumps millions of pounds into the Palestinian Authority to make sure that young Palestinian children think that a career of violence is a career worth pursuing. While failing to help British children grow up, the UK government helps Palestinian children to blow themselves up. It is a horrible legacy for any country, but for Britain, a shameful one.
Michael Lumish: The New York Times Celebrates Reem Assil’s Antisemitic Cafe in Oakland
The New York Times “Travel Section” has a piece by Rebecca Flint Marx entitled, “An Arab Bakery in Oakland Full of California Love.”Bill Clinton admits he tried to help Peres beat Netanyahu in 1996 elections
In truth, Reem’s flatbread café is not a very loving place for Jewish people because it publicly celebrates the murders of college students Eddie Joffe and Leon Kanner. Or, at least, it is not loving towards those of us who care about our families and friends in the land of our ancestry.
The very title of Marx’s piece is a form of journalistic deceit.
“An Arab Bakery in Oakland Full of California Love”?
Perhaps I am a tad biased. I don’t know how I could not be, given that I am the guy that Reem Assil dragged into the legal system for speaking the truth about the hatred she spreads through the veneration of the murderer Rasmea Odeh.
To be blunt, Reem’s bakery is defined not by love but by the other side of that coin. In a run-down section of Oakland — within spitting distance of the Fruitvale BART Station where Oscar Grant was shot dead on New Year’s Eve, 2009 — Reem Assil spreads malice toward the Jewish people… but, apparently, according to The New York Times, in a loving way.
The floor-to-ceiling mural of the murderer and antisemitic anti-Zionist Rasmea Odeh is the point of contention.
He explained: “I did try to be helpful to him because I thought he was more supportive of the peace process. And I tried to do it in a way that was consistent with what I believed to be in Israel’s interest, without saying anything about the difference in domestic polices, without anything else.”
When the victorious Netanyahu subsequently visited him at the White House, Clinton recalled, the new Israeli prime minister “wanted me to know that he knew I wasn’t for him and he beat us anyway.”
The former president laughed, then added: “And he was being very ‘Bibi'” (Netanyahu’s nickname).
“But, you know,” continued Clinton, “I realized that he was now the leader of the country and if I wanted to support the peace I had to find a way to work with him. I wasn’t so much angry as just bemused by the brashness with which he played his hand. But that’s who he is. He did a very good job of it.”
The Israeli right has charged on several occasions in recent years that the US has unacceptably sought to intervene in Israeli elections on behalf of more dovish forces. The charge was raised against the Obama Administration by the Likud in the most recent elections, won by Netanyahu, in 2015.
Tuesday’s report featured only brief excerpts of a longer interview which is to be broadcast next week. In another short excerpt, Clinton said he thinks the current Netanyahu-coalition considers the Palestinians too weak to constitute much of a threat.
“By the time prime minister Netanyahu got back in office [in March 2009] the security situation was markedly better on the West Bank because of President Abbas,” Clinton said.
“Now, the coalition that Prime Minister Netanyahu heads, I think they believe that the Palestinians are too weak to cause them any trouble. And the security seems to be working.”
Nonetheless, said Clinton, “I still hope that some day, if some decent accommodation could be reached, that Israel would be even more prosperous.”
And here's his team admitting to the NY Times *during the election* that they did exactly this again in 1999 https://t.co/Oql8Ca3Fdk https://t.co/ODincGkPiZ
— Seth Mandel (@SethAMandel) April 3, 2018
Douglas Murray: The truth about the ‘senior academics’ defending Corbyn
The Guardian has published a letter headlined ‘Stop Jeremy Corbyn’s trial by media over antisemitism.’Karl Marx’s sinister legacy of anti-Semitism
The paper explains:
‘More than forty senior academics write to condemn what they see as an anti-Corbyn bias in media coverage of the antisemitism debate.’
Mark. Not just forty academics, but forty senior academics. Why this quantity of Regius professors should be writing to the Grauniad about Jeremy Corbyn’s treatment in the media I have no idea. But I read on, and wade my way through the sixth-form politics letter to see who has signed.
Scanning the list I cannot recognise one name. Well, I think, perhaps they are not in fields I am acquainted with. Yet it is not just that. Many of them are from institutions that I have never heard of. A number are from institutions that almost nobody not actually on the payrolls of these universities could have heard of.
Not one of these ‘senior academics’ is at Oxford or Cambridge. Only two signatories are even from one of the UK’s top 10 universities, one of whom, ‘Bart Cammaerts’, is listed as being from the London School of Economics. I see from looking at the LSE’s website that this ‘Senior academic’ is in fact an associate professor in the ‘department of media and communications’ who is currently taking a sabbatical away from the rigorous demands of that role.
A whole glut of the signatories come from Goldsmiths, University of London – a college famous for making its graduates unemployable.
When I lived in the Soviet Union in my early twenties, I developed a personal hostility to socialism. I saw the misery it had visited on that society – the political, spiritual and economic harm. I understood at first-hand how the secret police corrupted personal and public life, how state propaganda denied freedom of thought and how the regime hid the slaughter and imprisonment of millions of its own people.JEWDAS SEDER: “SMASH THE STATE OF ISRAEL, F**K THE QUEEN, BURN DOWN PARLIAMENT”
I came to the conclusion that whichever totalitarian power had survived World War II – Nazi Germany or the Soviet Union – they would probably have looked much the same by the time of their demise. I never understood why Westerners did not – or could not – see the closeness of Left and Right extremes and the similarities between their fellow travellers. So when I hear people like Labour’s Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell praising Marx – he has said: “I’m honest with people. I’m a Marxist” – it concerns me.
In the UK we see politics as being linear; if you are hard Left, you are the opposite of hard Right. In fact, both share many traits: acceptance of their political violence, denial of individual liberty and indulging in conspiracy theories. Perhaps most critically, many of them at their heart share a resentment and even hatred of capitalism and Jews – or both.
Perhaps McDonnell doesn’t realise it, but Karl Marx’s conspiratorial view of the world is at the rotten root of both hard Left and Right. Marx helped provide the intellectual base for both the Holocaust of the Jews and the Holodimir – mass starvation – of the Ukrainians. Between them these acts claimed the lives of more than ten million people.
This is the “Prayer against the State of Israel” from last year’s Jewdas Seder programme:Who really represents British Jews?
The programme also states: “Everybody point at the Beetroot on the Seder plate and shout ‘F*CK CAPITALISM’”. This happened on Monday night’s Seder, with beetroot from Corbyn’s allotment…
It's certainly not who Corbyn thinks - that's a tiny minority. But Britain's 'official Jews' of the BoD, JLC and CST also only represent a tiny minority (namely the Left leaning and lukewarm supporters of Israel).The Socialist Workers Party stand against antisemitism…..yeah right!
Note that the BoD officially takes the UK Government failed "Two State Solution" view on Israel and believes the whole of Judea and Samaria ('the West Bank') - and even East Jerusalem - must be part of a future Jew-free State of Palestine. Also note that, whereas the BoD/JLC includes (and some would say is increasingly dominated by) Yachad - an extreme leftist anti-Zionist group, they actually work against any groups or people who are strongly pro-Israel Zionist (by which I simply mean realists who believe that handing land to the Palestinians will not work). That is why the BoD/JLC do not represent the vast majority of British Jews - who tend to be centre/right and realists on Israel.
As the cases of antisemitism continue to emerge from the Labour party and the Jewish community continues to battle against the tide of hate, our friends over at the Socialist Workers Party will be hosting a number of events across the country about how they can defend Jeremy Corbyn against these “attacks”, and why “such suggestions” of antisemitism are really about “undermining the left’s support for Palestinians“. Because remember folks, allegations of antisemitism against the left can never be done in good faith. Its all about Palestine and those free-speech hating, colonialist loving Zionists. Well, that is what the SWP are saying anyway.CAA calls for Jon Lansman to be disciplined over secretly-recorded claim that CAA is behind a conspiracy and that Labour only has a problem with “unconscious bias”
The events will be taking place this evening in London, as well as in Manchester and Oxford. One other event in London will be taking place next week.
The below comment on the event discussion page probably gives a good indication as to what kind of spirit the event will be conducted in.
The Corbynites continue to belittle antisemitism in the name of Jeremy Corbyn. When will he come out and tell them to stop?
A secret recording obtained by the Evening Standard has revealed that Jon Lansman walked back on admissions by Momentum and the Labour leadership about Labour’s antisemitism problem. Momentum and Jeremy Corbyn had both admitted that there was a serious problem with antisemitism within the Labour Party and that those making allegations of antisemitism are not part of a conspiracy or a Jewish or right-wing conspiracy.Daphne Anson: In Suburban London, Israel-Haters Act Out Their Fantasies (video)
However, in the secret recording, Mr Lansman can be heard claiming that there is mainly just a problem with “unconscious bias” against Jews within Labour, which is obviously very different from the evidence of antisemitism we have seen, before he launched an attack on Campaign Against Antisemitism which he claimed was “opportunistic” and “exploiting” antisemitism as part of a right-wing plot.
Gideon Falter, Chairman of Campaign Against Antisemitism, said “Jon Lansman claims that Momentum and the Labour leadership have suddenly performed a volte face and now accept that allegations of antisemitism in Labour are symptoms of a real problem within the Party and not the result of a Jewish or right-wing conspiracy. Now his true colours have emerged in a secret recording in which he tells supporters that the antisemitism problem is merely one of ‘unconscious bias’ and that Campaign Against Antisemitism is really a conspiratorial Jewish right-wing organisation ‘exploiting’ antisemitism. In fact we are an apolitical charity whose Head of Political Investigations had to quit the Labour Party in disgust. We would like nothing more than for the torrent of antisemitic incidents in Labour to be stopped but we see no signs of that at all. The Jewish community has had enough. We have submitted a disciplinary complaint against Jeremy Corbyn for bringing the Labour Party into disrepute. It is time for the Labour Party to hold Jeremy Corbyn to account and Jon Lansman too. We have called a national demonstration this Sunday to make ourselves heard.”
Plenty of Corbynistas here, I'd guess.
In the leafy London suburb of Richmond (not to be confused with Richmond, Yorkshire, of which the "Sweet Lass" was a denizen), a nutty piece of Israel-demonising "street theatre" featuring old codgers in camouflage gear, elderly ladies swathed in what resemble the cast off medieval-style garments of that great English eccentric Dame Edith Sitwell, and bewildered-looking kids doing their best to follow the choreography.
Most busy shoppers give this bizarre Israel-demonising performance, the brainchild of the Kingston & Richmond Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) branch, a wide berth, cursorily glancing with puzzled looks, and then moving swiftly on, leaving the players and their keffiyeh-wearing cheerleaders to waste their sourness on the suburban air.
Vile as this sicko little drama is, I reckon the spectacular ham acting of the lady with the "heart attack" deserves a British Comedy Award!
In a Passover Message, British Premier Recognizes Fight Against Antisemitism
In a message to the Jewish community on the occasion of Passover, British Prime Minister Theresa May spoke of antisemitism in the United Kingdom.The Right (and Wrong) Way to Defeat BDS on Campus
“Of course, the Exodus from Egypt did not mark the end of antisemitic persecution. For millennia, the descendants of those Moses led to freedom have continued to face hatred, discrimination and violence. It’s a situation that continues to this day, including, I’m sad to say, here in Britain,” she noted.
“It’s something I have consistently taken action to tackle,” she added, “both through investing in security to protect our Jewish communities and through education, with the creation of a National Holocaust Memorial to remind us all where hatred can lead if left unchecked.”
“The story of Passover teaches us that, while wrong may triumph for a time, the arc of history always bends to the righteous. So at this special time of year, let us all pledge to stand up and make our voices heard in the face of antisemitism. After all, as Elie Wiesel said, ‘Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented,’ ” May concluded before wishing the community “a very happy and peaceful Pesach — chag kasher v’sameach!”
The boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel has been a thorn in the side of Jewish and pro-Israel students on college campuses for more than a decade. Where BDS rears its ugly head, antisemitism in the form of intimidation and violence towards Jewish students almost always follows. Claims that BDS is a non-violent movement are patently false.Head of Amnesty International Canada “parrots jihadi propaganda” to shame Israel
With most college campuses serving as nurturing grounds for the far left, progressive groups hijacked by anti-Israel propaganda are dominating campus life, spewing hatred for Zionists and the Jewish state.
In just the last few months, we’ve witnessed both the right way and the wrong way to defeat BDS on campus.
The key to victory is unity — Jewish students, Christian groups and pro-Israel organizations working together. When Jewish leaders and groups are divided or distracted by other political causes, BDS will almost certainly prevail.
The Jewish and pro-Israel organizations at the University of Illinois exemplify the right way to defeat BDS.
By nearly a 2-1 margin — 3,133 votes against and 1,700 votes for divesting from the Jewish state — students at the educational institution’s Urbana-Champaign campus handily defeated “a discriminatory referendum” that called for divestment from companies doing business with Israel.
The Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada (AIC) is condemning Israel for using force to defend its border with Gaza, but he’s a member of a secret anti-Semitic Facebook page that accuses Israel of involvement in the 911 terror attacks.Head of Amnesty International “parrots jihadi propaganda” to shame Israel
An in-depth report by Blogger Dave Collier, documented the vile secret page called “Palestine Live Forum”, as a place where its membership, which includes UK Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, bragged about reading Mein Kampf, shared David Duke articles and promoted bizarre anti-Jewish conspiracy theories.
Page 152 of that report lists Alex Neve, head of AIC, as a member of the secret hateful page.
It makes sense then that Neve is pushing a petition calling Israel’s defence of their country from invading Gazan hordes, “illegal”, and is accusing Israel of using excessive force.
Like much of the modern Left, Neve is infected with Israel Derangement Syndrome.
Today I’ll show you what’s really happening at the Gaza border. It’s not a protest by unarmed civilians being shot at by bully Israelis.
It’s mob violence - an attempted jihadi invasion - led by the terrorist autocratic Hamas government in Gaza, deploying their military arm to the fence and using the liberal media as their propaganda wing.
Lawsuit Describes ‘Pervasively Hostile’ Anti-Jewish Atmosphere at San Francisco State
San Francisco State University (SFSU) has fostered a "pervasively hostile" environment for Jewish and Israeli students despite several complaints filed with the school over the past nine months, according to attorneys for seven plaintiffs who say they have faced discrimination on campus.One in three French students ready to confront police: study
In an amended federal lawsuit filed against the university on Friday, the Lawfare Project, a non-profit pro-Israel legal think tank, charged that SFSU "knowingly and intentionally discriminated against Jewish and Israeli students and community members, and failed to protect their civil rights and physical safety."
The plaintiffs allege that school administrators have done nothing to respond to increasing threats against students since legal proceedings began in June. The amended complaint augments earlier charges under California's Public Records Act that SFSU refused to release detailed findings of an investigation looking into one of the instances of discrimination in violation of the U.S. Civil Rights Act.
Shachar Ben-David, a veteran of the Israeli Defense Forces and the latest plaintiff in the case, contends the university "repeatedly ignored and belittled" the harassment she and her peers faced on campus.
Young Muslims and non-Muslims in France diverge in their relationship to political violence and religion, according to a new survey on radicalization among high school students.Noam Chomsky Demands War Crime Charges for Bo Obama (satire)
Young Muslims in France are more likely than their non-Muslim peers to say they believe there is only “one true religion” and more likely to consider it acceptable to steal a scooter or engage in violent altercations with police, according to a new book-length study excerpted in Le Monde on Tuesday, which diagnosed a “cultural cleavage” between Muslim and non-Muslim youth.
The survey is a result of questions sent to more than 7,000 high school students between 14 and 16 living in areas that exhibited signs of political radicalization, including riots and frequent altercations with police.
A majority of students across the board made a distinction between the November 2015 attacks that left 130 people dead — which they saw as entirely “random” — and the attack on satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo’s staff in January 2015, which they mostly agreed “had it coming” because the paper frequently published provocative cartoons that were offensive to Muslims.
Among students who said they condoned political violence and held radical religious beliefs, 70 percent said they didn’t condemn the perpetrators of the January 2015 Charlie Hebdo attack, according to a write-up of the study by French outlet Marianne.
Lamenting that the former first dog did nothing as his owner escalated a campaign of drone strikes and targeted killings, leftist activist Noam Chomsky is calling for Bo Obama to be brought before The Hague for alleged war crimes.Writer of Jewish dating op-ed in Washington Post apologizes
“While Barack Obama violated the Geneva Conventions, the 1907 Hague Restrictions and the customary laws of war with his killings of civilians in Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia, we heard not so much as a bark from his best friend and accomplice,” Chomsky said of the Portuguese Water Dog. “He is complicit and must be held accountable.”
It is not the first time Chomsky has called for a president’s pet to be brought before an international court. The renowned linguist also sought to charge Barney Bush, George W.’s Scottish Terrier, for his owner’s 2003 invasion of Iraq. Socks, Bill’s Clinton’s cat during his presidency, also came under fire for his failure to prevent 1993’s military excursion in Mogadishu.
“While leaders must be held to account for their crimes against humanity, these actions would not be possible without the implicit approval of fellow politicians, formal advisors and participating generals,” Chomsky said. “But most galling is the refusal of their furry companions, who bring them comfort and unconditional support, to do anything to stop these leaders from taking innocent lives.”
It took a few days for the full Internet outrage machine to kick in – perhaps the Passover and Easter weekend delayed things. But when a Washington Post op-ed from last week caught attention online, the reactions were swift and brutal. And five days after it was published, the writer has issued an apology for its contents.Man trapped in Tel Aviv elevator with nothing to read but Haaretz (satire)
The article in question, “I Am Tired of Being a Jewish Man’s Rebellion,” by Carey Purcell, was published online in The Washington Post’s “Solo-ish” section on Thursday. In it, Purcell details two long-term relationships she – a Christian from the US South – had with Jewish men, which both ended in heartbreak.
“Not being Jewish,” she wrote, “was not the official reason either of these relationships ended.” But, she noted, both men went on to later marry Jewish women.
And despite statistics she cited on the high rate of intermarriage among American Jews, Purcell nevertheless concluded that “dating me had been their last act of defiance against cultural or familial expectations before finding someone who warranted their parents’ approval.” She ended by swearing off ever dating Jewish men in the future.
When the op-ed began circulating online on Sunday and Monday, the responses ranged from outraged and angry to confused or amused – with a healthy dose of mockery.
And there were many parts of the essay that were ripe for censure.
Police are racing against time in an attempt to rescue a man trapped in a Central Tel Aviv elevator with nothing to read but today’s edition of Haaretz. The newspaper, known for its Left-Wing stance, as well as for hosting cultural conferences where performance artists throw oranges at the audience and stick flags in their butt (What? You think we just made that up? Oh Ye of Little Faith), is considered somewhat of an acquired taste. Authorities soon learned that the building’s thick concrete walls blocked cellular data coverage thus forcing the man to pass the time by reading Haaretz instead of checking his phone. Upon learning this, they rushed a team of police, firefighters, and paramedics to rescue the man, identified as recent American immigrant Zachary F, before it’s too late. The Daily Freier wandered over to the unfolding scene to get all of the facts.Israeli man beaten to death in Russia in suspected anti-Semitic attack
“Time is precious.” explained the on-scene Commander, a Police Lieutenant named Moti. “We’re afraid that once he reads today’s Amira Hass article, he may lose his will to live. Just like that poor chimp at Tel Aviv University.”
Moti continued to monitor the situation via closed-circuit television before suddenly barking orders to a group of firefighters. “Hurry up with the ladder! He’s getting to the part where Peter Beinart implies that he may want to break up with Israel because Bibi won the last election!”
A Russian-born Israeli man died Monday night of severe injuries he sustained after being attacked on a St. Petersburg street several days ago in what authorities are investigating as a suspected anti-Semitic attack.US judge to rule if anti-Semitic 'troll storm' is protected speech
The Russian-language outlet Fontanka reported Tuesday that Mikhail Verevskoy, 27, had suffered traumatic brain injuries and fractured ribs and facial bones, as well as internal injuries.
The Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs said a suspect, Ahmed Kharsha, 36, was arrested and released on bail. Kharsha was forbidden from leaving the city. Russian authorities investigating the attack have not ruled out an anti-Semitic motive, the report said.
Verevskoy is survived by his wife, who is in a local maternity ward where she is due to give birth.
Attorneys for both sides in a lawsuit brought by a Montana Jewish woman against a neo-Nazi website publisher have asked a judge to decide whether the publisher had a First Amendment right to unleash an online "troll storm" of anti-Semitic messages and threats against the woman's family.Sheikh who called to kill Jews to speak at Canadian conference
U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah Lynch heard arguments in Missoula on whether to dismiss a lawsuit by Tanya Gersh, a real-estate agent from the mountain resort community of Whitefish, against The Daily Stormer publisher Andrew Anglin.
Lynch did not indicate how soon he would rule, said Marc Randazza, one of Anglin's attorneys.
"It was clear that he's been thinking very deeply about the constitutional issues," Randazza said in a text message Tuesday.
Lynch previously ruled against Anglin's argument to dismiss Gersh's claims of emotional distress, intimidation and invasion of privacy on the grounds that Anglin is "not a citizen of any state" and has been living abroad for years.
But the judge wanted to hear from attorneys on both sides before he rules on another key argument in Anglin's motion to dismiss: that the neo-Nazi publisher was engaged in political speech protected under the First Amendment.
An Egyptian sheikh known for X was confirmed to be a keynote speaker at the upcoming Niagara Muslim Family Conference, the American Center for Democracy (ACD) reported.‘MLK 50’ Anniversary: Dr. King Gave Jews ‘Pride in Being Jewish’ Recalls Daughter of Civil Rights Leader’s Rabbinical Ally
The conference is scheduled for April 14.
Omar AbulKafi was described by event organizers as "an Egyptian writer, professor, Islamic theologian...famous in the Arab world. He wrote many Islamic books, he also made more than 3000 sound lectures and hundreds of TV lectures since the 1970s."
ACD looked up AbulKafi's Facebook page, and found that he had calle, several times, for the annihilation of Jews.
On December 17, 2017, AbulKafi wrote, "O Allah, we complain to you about the Jews, as they can not escape you, O the mighty of the heavens and the earth. O Allah, count their number; slay them one by one and spare not one of them… Liberate Al Aqsa Mosque from the filth of Jews the aggressors…"
In November 2016, he wrote, "O Allah, liberate Al Aqsa Mosque from the filth of the Jews the aggressors." In 2014, he asked for Al-Aqsa to be liberated "from the filth of the Jews, the monkeys, the pigs."
As Americans prepared for the 50th anniversary on Wednesday of Dr. Martin Luther King’s assassination in Memphis, Tennessee, the daughter of his closest Jewish colleague paid tribute to the legendary US civil rights leader’s embrace of the Jewish Bible as his main source of inspiration.The Benghazi Haggadah: How the Jews of Libya Celebrated Victory Over the Nazis
“In a week when we are celebrating Passover, it’s all the more important to remember that it was Martin Luther King who made Moses and the Exodus from Egypt the central motif of the civil rights movement,” Prof. Susannah Heschel told The Algemeiner on Tuesday.
Prof. Heschel, who teaches Jewish studies at Dartmouth College, is the daughter of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel — the Polish-born American rabbi who, in March 1965, famously marched against the segregationist “Jim Crow” laws alongside King in Selma, Alabama.
Had King not been assassinated on April 4, 1968, he and his family would have been guests at the Heschel family’s Passover Seder eight days later, Prof. Heschel recalled.
Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel (c) marches alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr (r) in Selma, AL., March 1965. Photo: Courtesy of Clarion Journal.
But ten days before his death, King did address the Rabbinical Assembly of Conservative Judaism — and was introduced by Rabbi Heschel.
“I call upon every Jew to hearken to his voice, to share his vision, to follow his way,” Rabbi Heschel said of King.
In his speech to the assembly, King, for his part, hailed Rabbi Heschel as a “truly great prophet.”
Before the break out of the Second World War, Mussolini’s Fascist Italy was in control of Libya. The Italians found it difficult to establish airtight colonial policies and rule and due to their desire to ingratiate themselves into Nazi Germany, the Fascist authorities adopted many of the racial laws Germany had enacted upon the Jews of Europe. It is no surprise that when war broke out and the anti-Semitic persecution intensified, Libya’s Jews were very much in favor of an Ally victory over the Axis powers.
The city of Benghazi had been conquered and re-conquered by the Axis and the Allies multiple times over the course of the war. It was finally recaptured by the British army under the command of General Montgomery in December, 1942. The meeting of the Benghazi Jews who had survived the hell of the war and the concentration camps along with the soldiers of the Jewish Legion, most of them volunteers from the Hebrew Yishuv, came to a symbolic head during the Passover Seder of 1943.
We managed to reconstruct the Seder of the Jewish community of Benghazi and the soldiers of the Jewish Legion through a Haggadah put together by the 403rd Transport Unit and the 53rd Logistics Unit, along with the military journal of Rabbi Ephraim Elimelech Urbach who led the evening for the Jewish community and soldiers. Urbach would later become the president of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities.
Netanyahu talks with Greek, Cypriot leaders about natural gas supply to Europe
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke Wednesday with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades to discuss a project that would see Israel pump natural gas to both countries and then on to Europe.Huge Israeli flag spread over President's Residence
Netanyahu talked first with Anastasiades, then later with Tsipras, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.
During the conversations the leaders discussed regional topics and advancing feasibility studies for laying a gas pipeline from Israel to Cyprus, then on to Western Europe via Greece, the PMO said.
A trilateral meeting is planned for May.
Netanyahu met Tsipras and Anastasiades in June after the three countries signed a joint declaration in Tel Aviv in April to promote construction of the pipeline.
Illustrative photo of Israeli natural gas rigs in the Mediterranean Sea, September 2, 2015. (Flash90)
The proposed pipeline would start about 170 kilometers (105 miles) off Cyprus’s southern coast and stretch for 2,200 kilometers (1,350 miles) to reach Otranto, Italy, via Crete and the Greek mainland.
It will have the capacity to carry up to 20 billion cubic meters (706 billion cubic feet) of gas yearly. Europe’s gas import needs are projected to increase by 100 billion cubic meters (3.5 billion cubic feet) annually by 2030.
The IDF's satellite unit, along with rappelling experts and textile manufacturers, today hung a huge Israeli flag on the roof of the Israeli president's residence in Jerusalem.
The flag was deployed on a surface area of 1,500 square meters (4,920 square feet) and weighs 270 kilograms (595 pounds). It was manufactured in a special printing press in a factory in for ten days of sewing and stitching, and was raised to the roof of the building to a height of about ten meters (32 feet) with cranes.
Chairman of the President’s Residence Harel Tubi, who oversaw the placing of the flag, said today that "We wanted to create this unique flag, viewed through the satellite from every point and angle, as an expression of pride and joy in this special time, the seventieth year of Israel, which fills one with Israeli pride over the years of creativity and activity in all fields.”
"We are very grateful to all the organizations that have helped us in this complex operation that required initiative and creativity alongside security and safety solutions, and hope that it will warm the hearts of many Israelis and Jews in the State of Israel and throughout the world."
The flag will be spread out on the roof until Jerusalem Day, and during the historic of Independence Day flight show will serve as a salute to the security forces in the seventieth year of the state.
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