How Did ‘Syria Palaestina’ Come Back to Life 1,800 Years Later?
In reporting on the trial in Berlin of a man who attacked an individual wearing a yarmulke, where the accused confessed to the court that he had committed the assault and then apologized to his victim, JTA also reported that the assailant was “identified as a 19-year-old Syrian Palestinian living in Germany since 2015,” reviving a term that hasn’t been in use for close to two millennia.
But JTA probably did not suggest that the world’s geopolitical order has been changed overnight, even in the turbulent Middle East, and so they probably referred to a Palestinian who was born in Syria. Which is testimony to a serious problem in geopolitical thinking over at the last news providers still using the telegraph.
Most Arab refugees fled to Syria in 1948 from Safad, Haifa, Acre, Tiberias, and Nazareth. By the summer of 1948, there were about 85,000 refugees in Syria, the majority concentrated along the border area with Israel. Now, since the Berlin assailant is 19, it is safe to assume that he was born in Syria and that his parents were likewise born in Syria. Regardless of whether or not his grandparents, who probably came from south of the border, are alive, our 19-year-old assailant is Syrian for all intents and purposes.
But he’s not. Because of the Casablanca Protocol.
The September 11, 1965 Protocol for the Treatment of Palestinians in Arab States, a.k.a the Casablanca Protocol, determines, “on the basis of the Charter of the League of Arab States and its special annex pertaining to Palestine,” a set of rights accorded these refugees who would otherwise are prevented from attaining the nationality of the countries where they reside and were born!
Syria, despite the promises to the contrary of the Casablanca Protocol, keeps a separate set of rules for its “Palestinians” – who were born and raised in Syria – who, for instance, unlike Syrian nationals, may not own more than one home or purchase arable land.
It's offensive and inaccurate to compare the current US border tragedy to the Holocaust
Michael Hayden, who previously served as director of both the CIA and the National Security Agency, waded into this issue when he tweeted a picture of Auschwitz and wrote, “Other governments have separated mothers and children.”PreOccupiedTerritory: Treblinka Inmates Slap Foreheads, Realize Mistake: Not Being Mexican Children To Get Liberal Sympathy (satire)
The CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer discussed the reactions to the tweet with Hayden, who had explained that he “felt a warning flare was necessary” and was trying to describe “what is happening to us as a people.”
It’s easy to understand why Hayden was disturbed and concerned about the ways American officials are acting. The images of children in cages, the act of separating children from parents, the detention centres with their cramped quarters and barrack-like interiors.
But comparisons to Auschwitz are ludicrous and offensive. Blitzer explained to Hayden why so many people were outraged by his tweet.
“I speak with some authority on this,” Blitzer said. “My grandparents were murdered at Auschwitz. My dad survived, but two of his brothers and two of his sisters were killed at Auschwitz. They weren’t separated to go to some other facility. They were separated to die.”
What’s going on at the border is a tragedy. But critics of the administration’s actions should be honest, articulate, and accurate. They should refrain from comparisons that will only serve to highlight how Trump and his policies are not quite as bad as they could be.
Members of this death camp’s Sonderkommando, tasked with disposing of the corpses of fellow Jews from the gas chamber and cleaning it out for its next use, expressed embarrassment today at understanding where they erred in trying to attract the attention of left-wing activists in the US. Instead of being Jews condemned to starvation, beatings, disease, and death, they now realize, in order to generate the proper sentiments they should instead have been children of Mexicans who illegally crossed the border into the US and are being held in facilities separately from their parents, where they do receive sufficient food, clothing, and medical care.
Inmates at this facility in the forest northeast of Warsaw slapped their foreheads in sudden recognition of their mistake.
“God damn it, I should have known,” grumbled Szlama Grubinski, 20, as he moved a corpse onto a litter for removal to a mass grave. “If our suffering isn’t enough to engender political action by those people, we should have realized much sooner it was stupid to be here instead of in a detention facility at the Texas border.”
Josef Kohn, 22, agreed. “It’s an unpleasant feeling, suddenly becoming aware of this truth,” he remarked as he scrubbed down a railroad cattle car from the bodily fluids and other debris of the hundreds of Jews who had been crammed inside for days without food, water, or toilet facilities on their way to extermination at the camp. “All of this could have been different if we’d only known. And I can’t shake the sense that I actually knew it all along.”
Israel creates Hate Net map of BDS groups, linking activists to terrorists
Minister Gilad Erdan detailed on Tuesday night links between organizations involved in the global boycott movement against Israel and Palestinian terrorist groups, alleging that the PFLP, Hamas and the Palestinian Authority all have connections with radical, anti-Israel organizations.
“The perpetrators of this hate-filled campaign, who derive their ideology from the PA and Hamas, are united in their goal of attacking Israel, and are leaving no stone unturned in their efforts,” said the minister at this year’s Global Coalition 4 Israel Forum (GC4I), which began on Tuesday night.
“Under the guise of ‘civil activities,’ a coordinated and financed network of organizations is led from Ramallah and Gaza, a quarter of which have links to terrorist organizations, including Hamas and the PFLP.”
Erdan alleged that senior officials in Palestinian NGOs al-Haq, P-DCI, and Addameer have been in the past and are currently activists in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terrorist organization.
PA names plaza after terrorist murderer
Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) reports the PA has named a plaza in the Samarian Palestinian Authority town of Tulkarem after Israeli Arab terrorist prisoner Maher Younes who, together with his cousin, Karim Younes, kidnapped and murdered Israeli soldier Avraham Bromberg in 1980. Both murderers were sentenced to life imprisonment, which was commuted by former Israeli president Shimon Peres to 40 years.PA names plaza after murderer Maher Younes; PA officials: “We’re proud of this great man”
"The Maher Younes Plaza" was inaugurated in Tulkarem in April at a ceremony that included scouts marching, music playing, and speeches by two PA officials: Tulkarem District Governor Issam Abu Bakr and Tulkarem Mayor Muhammad Yaqub. Terrorist Younes' mother cut the inaugural ribbon to the plaza, and the terrorist's sister gave a speech. The PA officials emphasized that Younes is "a great man" and "a hero".
Abu Bakr said: "We are proud of this great man, this fighter, this leader, Maher Younes, and raise our heads because of this man. This man, the cousin of Karim Younes (i.e., his accomplice in the murder) - they have spent over 35 years [in prison] for the Palestinian people, for the Palestinian people's freedom. We are proud of them."
Yaqub said: "The city of Tulkarem is honored to name this plaza after heroic prisoner fighter Maher Younes. The prisoner honors the city of Tulkarem, and not the opposite. The presence of a plaza named after him is a great honor for us. I say to the prisoner's mother, and to his sister, that their tears are pearls on the crown of the future Palestinian state, Allah willing. We'll continue to be committed, and we'll remain loyal to our heroic prisoners who are the leaders of the future and honor guards of the entire Arab nation" (Al-Salam, Palestinian internet TV channel, April 17, 2018).
MEMRI: Former Middle East Envoy Dennis Ross: If Trump's Peace Deal Is Credible, Arab Leaders Must Keep Palestinians From Missing Yet Another Opportunity By Supporting The Deal Explicitly And Publicly
In a June 15 article titled "Arab Leaders Need to Play a More Prominent Role on Peace-Making Than They Ever Have Before," former U.S. Middle East envoy Dennis Ross urged the Arab leaders to take an active role in promoting the "Ultimate Deal" that U.S. President Donald Trump means to propose for resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Ross, formerly a senior official in the Clinton and Obama administrations and currently a Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, wrote that – providing the deal is credible and meets the needs of both sides – the Arab leaders must help the Palestinians accept it by declaring their support for it. That is, they must not only support it behind the scenes and in closed forums, as they have done with respect to previous proposals, but announce publicly and openly that the deal meets the Arab parameters for a viable agreement. The Palestinians, writes Ross, missed a great opportunity to attain their goals by rejecting the Camp David Accords and the subsequent autonomy talks in 1980. Given the bad relations between the current Palestinian leadership and Trump, chances are that that latter's proposal will likewise be met with an instinctive Palestinian rejection. The Arabs must therefore make it possible for the Palestinians to avoid missing this opportunity as well by staking out a clear position on it.Prof. Mohammed Dajani Daoudi (JCPA): Wasatia: The Path to Reconciliation between Palestinians and Israelis
"Of course, they could only say this if the plan was credible. For Arab leaders, at a minimum, the plan must address Palestinian national needs, both in terms of viable borders for the state and a capital in Arab part of East Jerusalem. Presumably, the Trump Administration will go over the plan—not generalities about it but its specifics—with key Arab leaders before presenting it. The president should know what the response is going to be before presenting it, and his peace team should work out the language of what will be said about the plan in advance so there are no surprises.
"By rejecting President Carter’s Camp David Accords and the subsequent autonomy talks, the Palestinians lost an opportunity to stop additional Israeli settlement building; in 1980, in talks mediated by Ambassador Sol Linowitz, the Israelis agreed that one of the powers of the Palestinian Interim Self-Governing Authority would be a veto over new uses of land in the West Bank and Gaza. At the time, Israel had less than 5000 settlers. With 300,000 settlers today in the lands outside of Jerusalem, it is not hard to see what the Palestinians lost by foregoing this opportunity. And, obviously, saying no to Bill Clinton has left the Palestinians far worse off.
"Perhaps, Arab leaders today can serve Palestinian interests by going public and making it possible for Palestinians not to miss an opportunity if there is one. At this point, I don’t know what is in the administration’s peace plan; I don’t know if it will meet a standard of credibility in Arab eyes. However, I do know that if it crosses a threshold of credibility, Arabs can best support the Palestinians by being open and saying that it does.
"Rejection has not served the Palestinian cause. Arab support for that cause today might best be expressed by being honest with the Palestinians in private and in public."
Palestinian supporters of the global boycott campaign and denormalization of relations with Israel do not encourage peace, reconciliation, and dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians.PA: No to initiative that will separate Gaza from Judea, Samaria
Rather, they have deepened the current political and diplomatic stalemate and have further entrenched Palestinian and Israeli negative conceptions of the "other."
The better option is the path of wasatia, a religious term in Islam for the middle path of temperance and reconciliation. Wasatia is the only straight path forward for Palestinians to achieve state sovereignty and for Israelis and Palestinians to achieve peace, coexistence, prosperity, and good neighborly relations.
While there are those who have misapplied the Hadith (sayings of the Prophet) to justify anti-Semitism, a number of verses in the Koran describe Jews warmly:
"Children of Israel, remember the blessing I have bestowed on you, and that I have exalted you above the nations." [Cow Sura, verse 47];
"Children of Israel, remember that I have bestowed favors upon you, and exalted you above the nations." [Cow Sura, verse 122]
Wasatia is the name of the movement I established in January 2007. Our aspiration is not only to create a moderate Palestinian Islamic movement that calls for peace, mutual understanding and good relations among Muslims, but also set the climate for a peaceful resolution of the conflict with Israel.
Nabil Abu Rudeineh, the official spokesman of Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas, said on Monday that the Palestinian people and their leadership will never recognize the legitimacy of any U.S. initiative that seeks to separate Gaza from PA-assigned areas of Judea and Samaria under the banner of humanitarian aid to Gaza.Bahrain shrugs off Israel attendance at UNESCO meet
Abu Rudeineh’s comments were made in response to reports about ideas related to the "Deal of the Century," the name given to the Trump administration’s plan for peace between Israel and the PA.
In this context, the spokesman warned against cooperation with any measures aimed at circumventing the Palestinian national enterprise, separating Gaza from Judea and Samaria and relinquishing Jerusalem and its holy sites.
"The Palestinian leadership reiterates its confidence in the ability of our people, with the support of the Arab brothers and the free people around the world, to thwart all plans and schemes aimed at eliminating the Palestinian issue," said Abu Rudeineh.
He added that Abbas’ policy is clear and stable, and it states there will be no state in Gaza and no state without Gaza. He also said there is a Palestinian, Arab and international consensus on this.
Abu Rudeineh’s comments come ahead of a visit to the region by Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, and Jason Greenblatt, the president’s special envoy.
Update: Bahrain does not view Israel as an enemy, a Bahraini official said Tuesday in an interview with the i24News website. The unnamed official spoke to i24News days before an Israeli delegation is scheduled to visit the islands nation for a meeting of UNESCO's World Heritage Committee. He also said that it was important for Israel to take part in the meeting.Putting treason into perspective
An article attempting to embarass the Bahraini ruler by claiming he is 'normalising' relations with Israel has appeared in Middle East Eye. Bahrain responds that Israel is just one of the countries attending a UNESCO meeting on the island next week. (With thanks: Lily)
Bahrain will host an Israeli delegation this month for meetings of the World Heritage Committee, organised by Unesco and the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities, local newspaper Akhbar al-Khaleej reports.
The meetings, scheduled to be held on 24 June, will be sponsored by Bahraini ruler Sheikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.
Like most Arab countries, Bahrain does not officially recognise Israel, though it has signalled over the past year that it could be on the cusp of normalising relations.
Israelis, especially those on the political extremes, are fond of bandying around the term “traitor.”Palestinian Terrorist Sentenced to 22.5 Years in Prison for Yavne Supermarket Stabbing Attack
Rabin was a traitor for agreeing to hand over parts of the Promised Land. Netanyahu is a traitor to Judaism’s humanistic values. The Left betrays national solidarity; The Right betrays Zionism.
We are often so entrenched in our individual or group identities that anyone who deviates from our worldview is automatically labeled as a turncoat, disloyal to the national or societal cause.
Then along comes a real life traitor, an elected senior official who allegedly sold Israeli secrets to our arch nemesis, Iran.
The news that former energy minister Gonen Segev was arrested and would be facing trial for assisting the enemy in a time of war, spying against the State of Israel and providing intelligence to the enemy, took Israel by storm on Monday.
Hundreds of news stories were published across all platforms providing leaked details of Segev’s court hearings; testimonies by friends and former colleagues; and reactions by his defense team.
The Palestinian terrorist who critically wounded an Israeli man in a stabbing attack at a supermarket in Yavne last summer was sentenced on Tuesday to a 22.5-year jail term.Israeli Court Refuses to Revoke Citizenship of Terrorist
Ismail Abu Aram — a 19-year-old from a village near Hebron — was convicted by the Lod District Court last month of attempted murder for his Aug. 2 assault on 42-year-old “Super Deal” employee Niv Nehemiah.
Abu Aram, who had entered Israel illegally, was arrested by police near the scene of the attack.
As he was recovering from his wounds, Nehemiah recounted, “I saw the terrorist around 15 minutes before the incident. He asked me where the bathroom was in the store. I remember everything, from the first stab and the whole struggle between us, until he fled and I fell to the floor to get help.”
Israel’s Central District Court on Sunday rejected the request of Interior Minister Aryeh Deri to revoke the citizenship of an Arab who bombed a Tel Aviv bus, saying the case was not “unusual or extreme” enough to warrant it.Labour Parliamentary Candidate Distances Herself From Rothschilds, ‘Zion Scum’ and ‘Fake Jews’ Tweets
Muhammed Mafarji and his father received permanent residency status in 1995, and he received Israeli citizenship in 2008. On Nov. 21, 2012, 18-year-old Mafarji detonated a bomb on a crowded Tel Aviv bus, wounding 24 people, two of them severely.
He was charged with intent to aid Israel’s enemies, attempted murder and causing severe injury, and sentenced to 25 years in prison.
But when Deri, in consultation with Israel’s Attorney General, requested that the court withdraw Mafarji’s citizenship because of his crime, the court responded that “when measuring acts of terror—most of which are brutal and criminal—what [Mafarji] did, though severe, is not unusual or extreme.”
Deri responded that the court decision “does not take the Israeli public’s emotions or those of terror victims’ families into consideration,” and asked “If placing an explosive device on a bus and injuring 24 people is not considered extreme enough, then what is considered extreme?”
Labour’s newly selected parliamentary candidate in the marginal seat of North Swindon has been forced to distance herself from a Twitter account which posted about the Rothschilds, Zion “scum” and “fake Jews”. In April, Kate Linnegar was selected to fight the next election in a seat that is seen as a must-win if Labour is to have any chance of forming a government. Linnegar, a Corbynista who has been involved in local left-wing activism for years, ran the Swindon People’s Assembly. Her face is the profile picture for the group’s Twitter account. Though she denies any involvement with the following tweets…IsraellyCool: Ken Livingstone Goes Full Antisemite in Candid Conversation
The account bearing Linnegar’s face has ranted about the Rothschilds:
It posted about “fake Jews”:
It described pop star Zayn Malik as “another Zion slave”:
A South West Labour party spokesperson said: “Kate Linnegar has no involvement with these tweets or the running of this twitter account. Her image has been used in the profile picture without her consent.” Seems a very serious case of identity fraud, hope they catch the culprit…
It is no secret that former London mayor Ken Livingstone is an antisemite, with his vile comments about Hitler supporting Zionism being well-documented. And like most antisemites, he has denied hating Jews.'About 60 Organizations' Are Considering a Lawsuit Against the SPLC Following $3M Nawaz Settlement
But Ken got sloppy when speaking with my friend Ayman, who bumped into him today. Ayman starting asking Ken questions and Ken did not hold back, perhaps tricked by Ayman’s appearance (Ayman is a former Muslim who is now very pro-Israel).
At one point, Ayman asked Ken what he thought about pro-Israel groups and individuals in the UK. Ken responded that they represent a ”small number in terms of population, yet are over represented in the government, the judiciary, and the financial system.” And in case what he was implying was not clear enough, he then asked Ayman whether he had heard of the Rothschilds. No word on whether the conversation turned to the weather.
But it didn’t end there. When the conversation turned to Iran (Ken appears on Press TV), Ayman mentioned persecuted minorities like the Bahai. Ken responded by stating that non-Jews are persecuted in Israel, “having to pay Kosher tax” and being looked down “as goyim” – a word that really just means “nations”, but which antisemites love to use when mocking Jews and our (invented) antipathy towards non-Jewish people.
According to Ayman, Ken also said “Ask yourself why haven’t ISIS attacked Israel, it makes you wonder doesn’t it?”
So there you have it, folks. Ken Livingstone is an even worse antisemite than first thought.
No fewer than 60 organizations branded "hate groups" or otherwise attacked by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) are considering legal action against the left-wing smear factory, a Christian legal nonprofit leader confirmed to PJ Media on Tuesday. He suggested that the $3 million settlement and apology the SPLC gave to Maajid Nawaz and his Quilliam Foundation on Monday would encourage further legal action.Southern Poverty Law Center Has More Than $90 Million In Offshore Funds
"We haven't filed anything against the SPLC, but I think a number of organizations have been considering filing lawsuits against the SPLC, because they have been doing to a lot of organizations exactly what they did to Maajid Nawaz," Mat Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, told PJ Media on Tuesday.
Liberty Counsel filed a lawsuit against the charity navigation organization GuideStar for defamation after GuideStar adopted the SPLC's "hate group" list. That lawsuit is ongoing.
In 2016, the SPLC published its "Field Guide to Anti-Muslim Extremists," listing Muslim reformer Maajid Nawaz, a practicing Muslim, as one such extremist. The left-wing group listed various reasons for including him, changing the reasons every so often, and even at one point mentioning that he had gone to a strip club for his bachelor party.
On Monday, SPLC President Richard Cohen extended his group's "sincerest apologies to Mr. Nawaz, Quilliam, and our readers for the error, and we wish Mr. Nawaz and Quilliam all the best." In settling the suit, the SPLC paid Nawaz's organization $3.375 million.
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a left-wing nonprofit known for its "hate group" designations, now has $92 million in offshore investment funds, according to financial statements.Chanting Maniacs Shut Down Israel Event
The SPLC, which has come under fire from across the political spectrum for some of its "extremist" labeling of groups, has been thriving since President Donald Trump entered the White House.
The controversial organization reported $477 million in total assets and $132 million in contributions on its most recent tax forms, which cover Nov. 1, 2016 to Oct. 31, 2017. That represents an increase of $140 million in its total assets from the previous year. Millions flowed to the group following the deadly Charlottesville, Va. attacks from employees at companies including JP Morgan Chase and Apple as well as from actors such as George Clooney.
As part of its business dealings, the SPLC holds tens of millions in offshore entities.
While little is publicly available on the SPLC's actual transactions, the Washington Free Beacon discovered forms last year that shed light on some of its transfers to entities that are mainly located in the Cayman Islands. The SPLC additionally reports investments in entities in Bermuda and the British Virgin Islands. The Weekly Standard later found that the SPLC had $69 million in non-U.S. equity funds.
In an profound display of tolerance, compassion, and all of those other lefty buzzwords, pro-Palestinian students and others at UCLA disrupted an event hosted by the school’s Students Supporting Israel chapter, reported The Tower.Rob Shimshock: Chanting Maniacs Shut Down Israel Event
“Free, free Palestine” is a meaningless slogan since Palestinians have rejected a two-state solution numerous times, but at least it’s a platitude made up of words whereas when you use whistles, you’re not even shutting down others’ speech with your own speech, you’re shutting down others’ speech with senseless noise and proving that you have absolutely nothing, not even a infantile chant, with which you can replace it.
The protesters demand justice…but from whom? Twenty-year-old Californian students don’t exactly have it in their power to give your Palestinian people — whose hardships you’ve ironically probably never experienced if you’re at UCLA — 80, 90, or 100% of Israel.
Those who disrupt events don’t seem to care about conversations that might lead to their stated objectives, as wishy-washy as those are, or even a compromise. They want power. Submission. Dominance.
The Louis D. Brandeis Center, which fights anti-Semitism on college campuses, sent a letter to UCLA alleging that the disruption violated three parts of the California criminal code for “deliberate disruption,” “malicious disturbance of the peace,” and “conspiracy to violate” the other two.
IsraellyCool: The Haters Still Deserve a World Cup for Stupidity
This never gets old.A ‘BBC Minute’ backgrounder misleads on Palestinian refugees
Screenshot in case deleted:
And in case you haven’t worked out why this is a huge own goal for Quds News Network and other haters still disseminating it, I have explained why twice before.
Obviously that superficial portrayal again contributes nothing whatsoever to audience understanding of the factual background to the situation in the Gaza Strip – including the Hamas-Fatah rift that has exacerbated the electricity shortages and sewage treatment crisis. Listeners hear nothing at all about Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip 13 years ago and the crucially relevant topic of Hamas terrorism is not seriously addressed. Moreover, listeners are steered towards the understanding that “a lack of progress towards peace” is behind Gaza’s dire economic situation but no mention is made of the fact that it is Hamas that completely rejects “peace” and continues to aspire to destroy Israel.Guardian appears to reject IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism
These particular ‘BBC Minute’ backgrounders clearly go no way at all towards meeting the corporation’s public purpose of providing “accurate and impartial news, current affairs and factual programming of the highest editorial standards so that all audiences can engage fully with issues across the UK and the world”.
Readers can judge for themselves whether BBC World Service funding (supplied by the British public both directly to the BBC and via the Foreign Office) could in fact be better employed to provide young people with news of the standard that they actually deserve, rather than content that is superficial, serially inaccurate, politically partial and dumbed down to the point of being irrelevant.
In fact, in narrowly defining antisemitism as the expression of hatred towards Jews as Jews, Chadwick implicitly rejects most IHRA examples of antisemitism as it relates to Israel, including these:Defendant in Berlin Kippa Assault Denies Being Antisemitic
- Accusing Jewish citizens of being more loyal to Israel, or to the alleged priorities of Jews worldwide, than to the interests of their own nations.
- Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor.
- Using the symbols and images associated with classic antisemitism (e.g., claims of Jews killing Jesus or blood libel) to characterize Israel or Israelis.
- Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.
Since Chadwick didn’t specifically address these Israel related tropes regarding by the IHRA as manifestations of antisemitism, we can’t tell with certainty what his views are regarding, for instance, accusations of dual loyalty, the Israel-Nazi analogy, denying Israel’s right to exist and claiming that Zionism is racism.
But, the omission itself is quite telling.
Chadwick – and, by extension, the Guardian – is evidently not prepared to categorically reject the widely accepted understanding of what constitutes the New Antisemitism – manifestations of Jew-hatred disguised as ‘mere’ Israel-hatred that reflects, as Rich put it, the “evolving language” of antisemitism.
As the Labour antisemitism scandal has demonstrated, those who demonise Israel in ways which mirror the historic demonisation of Jews yet insist they are merely “anti-Zionist”, not antisemitic, are usually being dishonest. A comprehensive study, released last year by CST and the Institute for Jewish Policy Research (JPR), revealed “robust empirical documentation” demonstrating a strong correlation between antisemitic and anti-Israel attitudes. The study showed that those who hold strong anti-Israel views (such as calling Israel an apartheid state, accusing it of genocide and denying its right to exist, etc.) are dramatically more likely to hold antisemitic views than the general population.
The Syrian refugee in Germany who assaulted two men wearing kippahs in Berlin earlier this year defended his actions as he went on trial in the German capital on Tuesday.Trudeau's Summer Jobs Program Funds Islamic Group With Radical Cleric Called for 'eradication' of 'Zionist empire'
The April 17 attack was captured on video by one of the victims, an Israeli Arab who said he wore the kippa in a show of solidarity with his Jewish friends. The video, which went viral, showed the 19-year-old defendant whipping him violently with a belt while shouting “Yahudi!” — Jew in Arabic.
In court on Monday, the defendant — who has not been named, as he is being tried as a juvenile — claimed he had been verbally insulted by the victims before he attacked them. He also stated that he only noticed the two men were wearing kippot at the end of the altercation.
Media reports in Germany said that the defendant’s answers to questions put by the Berlin district judge examining the case were delivered in a mix of Arabic and German. While admitting that he had “made a mistake,” he strongly denied being antisemitic, adding that he had been using drugs on the day of the attack and was therefore not thinking clearly.
The Trudeau government won’t allow pro-life groups to access the Canada Summer Jobs program without violating their principles, but it is funding an Islamic group with a cleric who was a keynote speaker at the anti-Israel al-Quds day rally in Toronto.UPDATE: Trudeau won't denounce anti-Semitic imam — but pro-lifers are "hateful"?
As the Toronto Sun reports, the federal government gave the thumbs-up to the Islamic Humanitarian Service (IHS) based in Kitchener, Ont., to hire summer students with taxpayer money. (RELATED: Trudeau Government Cuts Off Pro-Life And Faith Groups From Jobs Funding)
The IHS was front and center at Toronto’s annual al-Quds Day rally, an annual celebration for some Muslim groups that looks forward to the destruction of the Israeli state and a Zionist-free world. The event originated in Iran and has spread throughout the world with a massive rally held each year in Berlin.
Ontario premier-elect Doug Ford condemned the event in a tweet last week and promised his new Conservative government would take action to ban it.
The organization’s leader, Sheikh Shafiq Huda, is the focus of a police complaint from the Jewish human rights organization B’nai Brith Canada, whose leaders called the al-Quds event a “hatefest.”
“The annual al-Quds Day hatefest is a stain upon Toronto’s open and tolerant image,” wrote B’nai Brith’s CEO, Michael Mostyn, in a statement.
Huda was a primary speaker at the event and is the lead cleric with the IHS. He brought the crowd to its feet by demanding the “eradication” of “the American and Zionist empires.”
Sheikh Shafiq Huda, the head of a registered Canadian charity called the Islamic Humanitarian Service of Kitchener, spoke at an Al Quds Day rally in Toronto earlier this month.
At the event held in a park adjacent to Queen’s Park, Huda called for the eradication of both the Jewish state and our American allies. It was an anti-Semitic call to genocide on the streets of Toronto.
While the Trudeau Liberals denied Christian organizations access to the federal summer jobs grant program unless they signed a pledge to the values held by the Liberal Party of Canada on LGBTQ issues and abortion rights, Sheikh Shafiq Huda received taxpayer money from that program for his Islamic ministry.
It’s an appalling double standard that CPC MP Candice Bergen wasn’t going to let stand, so she asked Trudeau about Huda in the House of Commons this week and you won’t believe who Trudeau called hateful and divisive. It wasn’t Huda.
Tell the Al Quds Day hate preacher to PayItBack.ca!
Ezra Levant of The Rebel.Media reports: Sheikh Shafiq Huda from the Islamic Humanitarian Service in Kitchener, Ont. gave a horrific speech at the “Al Quds Day” rally in Toronto calling for the “eradication” of Israelis and Zionists and said he looked forward to the destruction of the American and British empires. It was a shocking display of anti-Semitism, but even worse, Sheikh Huda’s hate group actually received a summer jobs grant from Trudeau’s Liberals — the same summer jobs grant denied to more than 1,500 Christian-oriented organizations.
Russia seeks to force out foreign rabbis as ‘national security threat’
For the past three months, Asher Krichevsky, Siberia’s chief rabbi, has been battling to stay in the country after Russian authorities accused the Israeli citizen of attempting to overthrow the state.TripAdvisor Allows Users to Create High Quality Videos of Their Vacations Using Israeli Tech
Russia has recently stepped up expulsions of believers and missionaries from Christian denominations that originated abroad such as Mormons, Pentecostal Christians and Jehovah’s Witnesses.
But it is also focusing on foreign rabbis, despite Judaism being legally recognized in the secular state as having historic roots in Russia, along with Christianity, Islam and Buddhism.
Thousands of Israeli Jews are currently visiting Russia for World Cup matches, while some 1.5 million Russian-speakers, most either Jews or family members of Jews, live in Israel.
Videos enticing tourists to vacation in Israel and other countries will be produced automatically from text by an Israeli-developed artificial intelligence algorithm, thanks to collaboration between the online tourism giant TripAdvisor and Israeli video-creation company Wibbitz.Jerusalemite produces Louvre-conquering video for pop royalty Beyonce and Jay-Z
Wibbitz’s innovative technology scans, analyzes, and summarizes TripAdvisor articles, converting them into professional-quality video ready for publication in less than 10 minutes.
“We have adapted our platform to support each type of content creator, from small publishers to large brands and sports groups, who want to produce video for their online properties and social channels without being dragged into high production costs and long delivery times,” said Zohar Dayan, Wibbitz CEO and cofounder.
“In addition, public relations agencies in the United States have begun to use our platform to produce video for their clients, to adapt their strategies to today’s expectations in media for video in addition to traditional text stories.”
A young Jerusalemite produced the groundbreaking and hugely popular new video for leading musical power couple Beyoncé and Jay-Z.Israeli Embassy creates video supporting Argentina’s World Cup soccer team
Grammy-nominated producer Natan Schottenfels is responsible for “Apeshit – The Carters,” a dazzling clip filmed in the Louvre that was released on June 16.
“Produced this ICONOCLAST music video for Beyonce and Jay-Z. Directed by Ricky Saiz.” Schottenfels wrote fairly nonchalantly on his Facebook page overnight Saturday-Sunday, as the clip arrived online. “Why not?”
Why not, indeed. As of Tuesday midday, barely three days later, the clip had racked up 18 million views and rising fast.
Natan Schottenfels, the Jerusalemite video producer of Beyonce and Jay-Z’s new clip (via Facebook)
Schottenfels grew up in Jerusalem’s Arnona neighborhood, studied at Hartman, a religious high school, and was active in the Orthodox scouts movement.
The Israeli Embassy in Argentina spread a message of support for its host country’s national team at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, despite the canceled friendly match between Israel and Argentina.Officially naming Israel as Eurovision host, organizers start work on 2019 event
The messages included strong support for team star Lionel “Lio” Messi, who had been the victim of death threats over his planned participation in the match in Jerusalem.
The delegation posted on social media a video saying it “will be waiting for ‘Lio,'” referring to Messi and the canceled friendly, which had been scheduled despite the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel.
The message continued: “but not so much Lio,” which in Spanish means “troubles,” referring to the final cancellation three days before the match that led to global criticism by Jewish groups and a disciplinary proceeding against the president of the Palestinian soccer governing body.
Continuing with the word games, the embassy said that Israel waited in vain for Messi, but that “… we are a people used to waiting for the… Messi-ah.”
The video shows embassy staffers painting their faces with blue and white for Israel but also light blue and white, the Argentina team’s colors. The video, which was tweeted by the embassy, shows Israel’s ambassador to Buenos Aires, Ilan Sztulman, wearing an Argentine team T-shirt and saying: “No doubt, we will be supporting the light blue and white.” The video shows the embassy team celebrating a Messi goal against Brazil, even though Sztulman is a native of Brazil.
The European organizers of the Eurovision Song Contest on Tuesday officially named Israel as the host of next year’s event, and said they had kicked off preparations for the competition with representatives from Israel’s public broadcaster, Kan.IsraellyCool: Melbourne Electorate Renamed after Indigenous Champion of the Jews
The announcement puts an end to uncertainty over whether Israel would follow the tradition of hosting after winning the previous year. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organizes the contest, was reportedly concerned about it being politicized by Israeli ministers and about a government initiative to split Kan into two separate bodies, which would make Israel ineligible to host Eurovision.
Israel earned the right to host the song contest after its entrant Netta Barzilai won the 2018 Eurovision event.
Unveiling a preliminary logo for the 2019 edition in Israel, the EBU said that representatives of the Israeli public broadcaster Kan met with the EBU, its event partners and the Reference Group in Geneva, Switzerland, for initial talks regarding the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest in Israel and to establish a timetable of key milestones.
The statement added that the Israeli team had received an extensive handover from Portuguese broadcaster RTP, which handled this year’s contest in Lisbon.
Good news, as the name of an electorate in Melbourne Australia has been renamed “Cooper”, after William Cooper, a spokesman for Aboriginal people who lodged a personal protest against the treatment of European Jews in Nazi Germany following Kristallnacht.
The Australian Electoral Commission has bowed to pressure over two electorate names in Victoria, a move labelled a victory for “common sense” by indigenous leader Warren Mundine.
The name of the Melbourne electorate of Batman has been changed to Cooper in commemoration of indigenous rights activist William Cooper.
The decision by the AEC means the name of John Batman, one of the founding settlers of Melbourne, has been dumped as representing the inner Melbourne electorate, which is held by new Labor MP Ged Kearney.
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Mr Mundine also said the Cooper decision was “common sense” due to its namesake’s record as a civil rights champion.