Wednesday, October 24, 2018
She admits she planned the Sbarro massacre. But for parts of the media, Ahlam Tamimi remains 'an accomplice'
In a piece about FBI Most Wanted fugitive terrorist Ahed Tamimi published yesterday, the Washington Post breezily describes our daughter's murderer this way:
For Israelis, the Tamimis are a group of provocateurs intent on manipulating the media to hurt the country’s image. One cousin [of Ahed], Ahlam Tamimi, was an accomplice to a suicide bombing. "
At this point, we know a lot about Ahlam Tamimi. Here's how she herself details the central role she took in the 2001 Sbarro pizzeria massacre:
Interviewer: "Who chose Sbarro [restaurant, as the target of the attack]?"
Ahlam Tamimi: "I did. For nine days I examined the place very carefully and chose it after seeing the large number of patrons at the Sbarro restaurant. My mission was just to choose the place and to bring the martyrdom-seeker (i.e. the human bomb, a young man called Al-Masri). [I made] the general plan of the operation but carrying it out was entrusted to the martyrdom-seeker."
Ahlam Tamimi: "I told him to enter the restaurant, eat a meal, and then after 15 minutes carry out the martyrdom-seeking operation. My job was to realize, for this martyrdom-seeker, the happy life that he wanted."
Interviewer: "Didn't you think about the people who were in the restaurant? The children? The families?"
Ahlam Tamimi: "No."
Interviewer: "Do you know how many children were killed in the restaurant?"
Ahlam Tamimi: "Three children were killed in the operation, I think."
Interviewer: "Eight."
Ahlam Tamimi (smiling): "Eight? Eight!"
This is the monster that Jordan's King Abdullah refuses to extradite to the United States despite the US Department of Justice's request under a valid extradition treaty that has existed between those two countries since 1995 and under which multiple Jordanian felons have been extradited to face trial in US courts.
NY Times Suggests Israeli Victim of Stabbing Attack Was Aggressor
CAMERA has recently highlighted numerous examples of the New York Times using language to manipulate reader understanding of the Arab-Israeli conflict and its players.
Over the past several weeks, for example, the newspaper slurred an official who fights anti-Semitism as “a longtime opponent of Palestinian rights causes,” but dubbed a student who led a virulently anti-Israel organization on campus as merely an “advocate for Palestinian rights” whose credentials as an anti-Israel activist are “far from clear-cut.” It wrongly declared that Palestinian stone-throwing attacks, part of a regular schedule of rioting along Gaza’s border with Israel, were a “response” to supposed Israeli “intervention,” but concealed that a wave of Israeli airstrikes were a response to Palestinian rocket fire. Earlier in the year, a Times count of “protesters” killed by Israel included Hamas gunmen who were killed while attacking Israeli soldiers.
The pattern continued yesterday in a Times story about the relationship between Israel and the Kingdom of Jordan. The article, by Isabel Kershner and Rana Sweis, recounts a diplomatic crisis between the two countries as follows:
Last year a confrontation involving an Israeli guard at Israel’s embassy compound in Amman, which left two Jordanians dead, led to a monthslong diplomatic standoff.
The language is vague. There was a confrontation, then two dead Jordanians. The clear impression is that the Israeli killed the two Jordanians, which is narrowly true, but readers aren’t told whether “confrontation” describes the slaying of the Jordanians without cause, some pushing and shoving, or just a shouting match. We sense there’s an Israeli aggressor, and that’s all.
GoFundMe page for Beersheva family whose house was destroyed by rocket https://t.co/AfABhUw4m7
— ElderOfZiyon (@elderofziyon) October 24, 2018
Protesters petition Holocaust memorials in Netherlands, Belgium
Nearly 20 years ago, Amersfoort commemorated its 333 Holocaust victims with a beautiful and unusual object — a Torah-style scroll listing all their names along with the date and place of their deaths.UNESCO Slammed by US Religious Freedom Commission for Denying Jewish Connection to Holy Sites
The scroll, a gift from the central Netherlands city’s Council of Churches to the municipality, was unveiled in a ceremony attended by then-Mayor Annie Brouwer in April 1999. Her speech acknowledged the victims’ suffering.
But according to information revealed last week, Brouwer and others in the city subsequently refused to display the item, offering to put it in the city archives. It remains there today, inaccessible to the public.
The city took issue with how the scroll lists only Jews, the De Stadbron newspaper reported this month, triggering an outcry.
Far from an isolated incident, the controversy unfolding in Amersfoort is symptomatic of a larger issue in the Netherlands and Belgium. There, Holocaust commemoration initiatives in recent years have been met with mounting resistance, despite significant grassroots interest in the genocide.
The phenomenon is becoming particularly common in the Netherlands, which unlike its neighbors never officially apologized for the role of its civil servants and some citizens in the murder of 75 percent of its prewar Jewish population of 140,000 — the highest death toll in Nazi-occupied Western Europe.
In 2013, the Dutch Railway Museum in Utrecht unsuccessfully fought the erection of a statue outside its doors commemorating the 1,224 local Jews who were sent to their deaths aboard national rail cars.
In Amsterdam, dozens of artists this month signed a petition opposing the erection of a national monument in the this capital city’s former Jewish quarter. Many current residents object to the memorial’s prominent footprint.
Even tiny monuments the size of postcards raise objections.
UNESCO, the cultural and educational agency of the United Nations, was sharply attacked on Thursday by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom for undermining the historic connection between the Jewish people and the Land of Israel.King Abdullah pressured to support UNESCO resolution on Jerusalem
“The idea that there’s a question about the Jewish historical presence in the Holy Land and specifically at these sites is unacceptable and diminishes the religious rights of the Jewish people,” Commission head Gary Bauer said in a statement.
Bauer was referring to two resolutions adopted by UNESCO on October 10, which refer to Jewish holy sites in the West Bank cities of Hebron and Bethlehem solely as “Palestinian sites.”
“UNESCO has no business pronouncing on territorial sovereignty or arbitrating territorial disputes,” Bauer said.
Consistent anti-Israel bias at UNESCO led both the United States and Israel to announce their respective withdrawals from the agency in October 2017.
“This decision was not taken lightly, and reflects US concerns with mounting arrears at UNESCO, the need for fundamental reform in the organization, and continuing anti-Israel bias at UNESCO,” a State Department spokesperson said at the time.
Religious and political figures in Jerusalem urged Jordan’s king to coordinate with the Palestinian president and the UN to obligate Israel to implement resolutions passed by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) regarding the city.HRW Report: Palestinian Authorities Systematically Torture and Oppress Their People
The call came in an open letter to King Abdullah in his capacity as custodian of Jerusalem’s Muslim and Christian holy sites.
“If a UNESCO fact-finding mission arrives in Jerusalem too late, it may not find real facts to be documented,” the letter said.
“The mission will find only an altered status quo, faked history, and important monuments and archaeological layers would be removed or Judaized.”
Wasfi Kailani, director of the Hashemite Fund for the Restoration of Al-Aqsa Mosque, told Arab News: “The issue of Jerusalem is always a high priority for the king, and Jordan will be studying the appeal from all aspects before making a decision as to the next steps.”
Hanna Issa, secretary-general of the Muslim-Christian Committee and a signatory to the letter, told Arab News: “This appeal reflects clear Christian-Muslim unity in the face of continued and daily Israeli violations, especially in and around Al-Aqsa Mosque.”
The report is based on 86 cases and interviews with 147 individuals across the Palestinian territories, mostly former detainees. Investigators also consulted lawyers and NGO officials, in addition to other primary evidence drawn from court documents and medical reports.Congressional Candidate Delgado Takes Heat for Saying ‘Israel Is Not a Democracy’
Click here to view the full report.
While many observers expect a terrorist organization like Hamas to rule territory without respecting basic rights, the PA is often painted as a “moderate” governing body and primarily relies on funding from European countries and the United States. However, when it comes to crushing dissent, the PA is largely indistinguishable from Hamas.
HRW issued recommendations for various actors, including specific Palestinian bodies and officials, to end these practices. It also suggests that the US and European Union “suspend assistance to security forces involved in widespread arbitrary arrests and torture … until authorities take effective steps to stop arresting critics and torturing detainees and to investigate, prosecute, and punish security officers responsible for abuses, and publicly report on its compliance with these conditions.”
The Trump administration took specific measures against the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) last month, citing Palestinian incitement against Israelis as a major reason. In mid-September, the administration revoked residency permits for the family of the PLO’s envoy to the United States and reportedly shut down all PLO bank accounts in the country. Along with violent incitement, the Palestinian Authority’s widespread detention and torture practices deserve more international attention.
Prominent Jewish groups and individuals are reacting strongly to a Democratic congressional candidate in New York who said that “Israel is not a democracy.”Democratic Congressional Candidate Apologizes for Expletive at Synagogue Debate
Antonio Delgado, who is running against Republican Rep. John Faso in New York’s 19th Congressional District, made the remark during a debate on Monday.
“Being pro-Israel and being pro-peace is critical, but I’m also pro-democracy, and as currently constructed, Israel is not a Jewish democracy. Those settlements make it so that it can’t be,” he said.
“The statement reflects abysmal historical ignorance. Israel offered the Palestinians a state in 2000-01. It ended the occupation of Gaza in 2005. It offered a state in 2008. The Palestinians said no. Now they won’t even negotiate,” Alan Dershowitz, constitutional law scholar and professor of law, emeritus at Harvard University Law School, told JNS. “Israel is a democracy, just like the US, which controls Puerto Rico and other territories that don’t have full voting rights.”
Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, told JNS that Delgado’s attitude provides a stark reminder for the Jewish and pro-Israel community.
“Mr. Delgado demonstrated a clear lack of understanding and knowledge of Israeli democracy and laws. He repeated that it was ‘not a Jewish democracy’ several times, but did not explain that term,” said Hoenlein. “We have to do a better job educating candidates about the realities of Israel’s situation, history, society and the complex challenges it faces as a democracy fighting for its existence.”
Mort Klein, president of the Zionist Organization of America, slammed Delgado’s ignorance of Israel’s democratic nature.
A Democratic nominee for Congress apologized on Monday for cursing a day earlier during a debate at a synagogue to represent Pennsylvania’s 1st Congressional District.Another Racist, Anti-Semitic Robocall Sparks Outrage In Florida's Governor Race
Scott Wallace and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick stood on the bimah at Congregation Tifereth Israel in Bensalem, Pa., when Wallace used the “f”-word.
“I was exasperated by yet another attempt from Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick to hide from his votes to take away protections for people with pre-existing conditions,” said Wallace in a statement. “I apologize for any offense that might have been taken, I am passionate about protecting people from insurance company abuses, and I’m sorry that in this instance, my frustration got the best of me.”
The incumbent Fitzpatrick said he was “stunned” that Wallace made the comment.
“Ironically, there was a later question about the need for civility in politics,” Fitzpatrick told WBCB News. “Well, a good start is to not use vulgarities in the sanctuary of a synagogue in the middle of a congressional debate.”
As for his opponent’s motivations, “you’ll have to ask Scott Wallace,” said Fitzpatrick. “My sense is he was frustrated because I was cross-examining him on the ad he’s running, which is a false ad based on my position on pre-existing conditions. I was asking him a series of questions on what bill he was referring to, had he read it, and he came out with this expletive.”
Another election, another racist and anti-Semitic robocall from the right-wing extremist podcast "The Road to Power." This time the target was Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum, whom the call portrayed in a derogatory, grammatically challenged impersonation packed with racial stereotypes and insults to Jews.David Collier: Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi, swimming with the antisemites
The Miami Herald describes the inflammatory call:
On Tuesday, voters began receiving phone calls with a pre-recorded message from a narrator pretending to be Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum and speaking with intentionally poor and offensive grammar. “Well, hello there. I is the negro Andrew Gillum and I be aksin you to make me governor of this here state of Florida.”
The message, which is laid over background audio of a choir singing harmonies, goes on to mock Gillum’s healthcare plan by claiming he’d give “chicken feet” to everyone in Florida to place under their pillows rather than provide “the white man’s” science-based, medicine. The message also makes derogatory statements about Jews and references to slavery.
The disclaimer at the end of the call reveals that it was produced by the same extremist podcast that issued another heinous call in August, which both campaigns forcefully condemned.
Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi, swimming with the antisemitesFrench Higher Education Minister to Bolster Fight Against Antisemitism in Universities Following ‘Upsurge’ of Incidents
Last week, the anti-antisemitism ‘circus’ went to Manchester. This time with Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi and Ben Jamal as the headline acts (PDF of event flyer). By ‘circus’, I refer to public events (currently on national tour) put on by a handful of organisations, like ‘Jewish Voice for Labour’ (JVL), the ‘Palestine Solidarity Campaign’ (PSC) and ‘Labour against the Witch-hunt’. Events that are actually opposing ‘anti-racism’. Think about that.
The theme and content are already familiar to anyone who is fighting rising antisemitism. A fringe group of Jewish people, most of whom have no ties to the Jewish community, are trying to mobilise in defence of Jeremy Corbyn. To do this they have deployed their Jewish identity as a weapon:
This ’empowerment’ is at the root of the usefulness of these activists. In a recent scoop, Harry’s Place ‘stumbled‘ across a list of eighty-five JVL goals. Goal number four reads ‘empower non Jewish Labour Party members‘. It is for this reason, that they are so important to Jeremy Corbyn. However few in number they may be, they empower many. This symbiotic relationship gives fringe extremists a voice beyond their number. In return antisemites are given cover to air racist views. Neither group has any chance of making waves without the other and so the relationship is a critical one. It is a key reason why members of JVL, despite being Jewish, are so blind to, and tolerant of, antisemites.
Roland Rance, a long-time activist and anti-Zionist Jew, posted this after I published my report exposing the antisemitism in Palestine Live:
This is Roland Rance calling Palestine Live an ‘antisemitic cesspit’. Yet almost *ALL* of those who founded ‘Free Speech on Israel’ and then JVL have not only been active participants of Palestine Live, but are still members today. Seven months AFTER I published my report. Like Wimborne-Idrissi for example.
As a point of fact, the domain for ‘Free Speech on Israel’ was purchased on 28th April 2016. THE SAME DAY that Ken Livingstone made his comments about Hitler and was immediately suspended from the Labour Party. There is no coincidence here, the defence of antisemitism is integral to the cause.
The lies of the circus
I understand the frustration that Director of the PSC, Ben Jamal must feel. After all these years of research, I now have great confidence in my central findings:
40%+ of the central anti-Israel activists share hard-core antisemitic ideology
There is a disturbing correlation between motivation levels of activists and antisemitism
20%+ buy into Holocaust revisionism if not outright denial
Jamal must be aware of this. Unless he is stupid, he has to know that he cannot cleanse the anti-Israel group of this antisemitism, because it would fall apart. Rid of its antisemites, there would be nobody left to man the PSC stalls, or turn up at demos. It is why major-league conspiracy theorists like Tony Gratrex are always at the PSC AGM (Tony was one of the admins of Palestine Live and is dealt with extensively in the report).
Fighting antisemitism “is everyone’s business,” France’s minister of higher education declared on Tuesday following a meeting with Jewish student leaders in Paris.Cairo Film Festival cancels award for Jewish French director
The minister, Frédérique Vidal, called the meeting following what she called an “upsurge” in antisemitic vandalism on university campuses in recent months.
Among the several incidents reported in 2018 was the ransacking of the Union of Jewish Students (UEJF) office at The Sorbonne in Paris in March. Slogans including “Death to Israel” and “Free Palestine” were daubed on the office walls by extreme left-wing activists during an overnight “occupation” of an administrative building.
Swastikas and other antisemitic slogans have been spotted with greater frequency on French campuses. On Sept. 3, antisemitic graffiti targeting Patrick Lévy — the Jewish president of the Université Grenoble-Alpes — was discovered in several locations around the campus, while in October, swastikas were reported at the HEC Business School and the Law Faculty of the University of Paris.
Vidal told the student leaders that “antisemitism, like racism and all forms of hatred and xenophobia, has no place in universities and schools that must remain places of education, openness and democracy.”
The group also discussed improving the system of reporting antisemitic incidents and providing support services to victims.
Following the meeting, the UEJF’s president, Sacha Ghozlan, remarked that “the university is no longer a sanctuary.”
The Cairo International Film Festival reportedly reversed course this week, and is canceling its planned award for French Jewish director Claude Lelouch.Chancellor Rejects Congressman’s Request to Cancel Israel Boycotters’ Conference at UCLA
Earlier this month, CIFF announced that it would be honoring Lelouch with its Faten Hamama Honorary Award for lifetime achievement in film. But soon after the announcement, CIFF faced backlash from some Egyptians over Lelouch’s purported ties to the State of Israel.
Last Wednesday, the festival published a post on its Facebook page calling on the public to submit “any document containing a political position declared by Claude Lelouch against the Palestinians.”
The unusual note said the festival’s “senior advisory committee” was meeting to discuss the concerns “raised in the media and by some artists and intellectuals.” CIFF said any material regarding Lelouch’s political statements should be sent in by Sunday evening “for the committee to study.”
The Dubai-based Gulf News reported last week that CIFF’s original decision “triggered an outcry among the country’s cinema industry for his alleged backing of Israel.” On Saturday, the Egypt Independent newspaper reported CIFF was canceling the award for Lelouch at its upcoming festival, slated to be held November 20-29.
The Chancellor of the University of California said that he would allow Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), a group that promotes boycotts of Israel and which had previously been disciplined by the system, to hold its annual conference at UCLA next month, The Daily Bruin reported Tuesday.Oxford Islamic Scholar Ramadan Admits to 'Sex Games', Denies Rape
Chancellor Gene Block wrote a letter to Rep. Brad Sherman (D – Calif.) telling him that UC would not cancel the conference and that the university system supported free speech.
Sherman had pointed out in a letter written earlier this month to Block that, in May, SJP had disrupted an “Indigenous Peoples Unite” event hosted by UCLA’s Students Supporting Israel group, silencing those participating. He also argued that the SJP conference would be closed and only those vetted by SJP would be allowed to attend. This would mean that Jewish students would likely be excluded.
“A public university should not allow any organization to implement a litmus test for event participants on their campus based on an applicant’s beliefs, religion or national origin,” Sherman argued.
At a board of regents meeting last month, Justin Feldman, a third-year political science student, said that from his experience, he believed that the conference would be exclusionary. “Given the disturbing and unconventional nature of SJP’s activities, including the recent intimidation of Jewish students … I’m not surprised that this conference is not open to myself or to the public,” he said.
Block said that because student fees would not be used to support the conference, the conference could be closed.
Swiss academic Tariq Ramadan, a professor of Islamic studies, said on Monday he had engaged in “sex games” with two women in France who accuse him of rape, but said the “submissive-dominant” relationships were consensual.Ukrainian politician posts picture of Cossack beating a Jew with a bloody flail
It is the first time in the near one-year long case that the Oxford University professor, who has taken a leave of absence from the British institution, admits to having had sexual relations with the plaintiffs.
“He can finally speak freely, and he’s relieved,” his lawyer, Emmanuel Marsigny, told reporters after Ramadan, the grandson of an Islamist thinker who founded the Muslim Brotherhood, was heard by investigators in Paris.
Ramadan faced one of the accusers, named only as “Christelle“, during a 10-hour confrontation on September 18.
The woman, an Islam convert who suffers from disabilities arising from a car accident, says Ramadan raped her in October 2009 in a hotel room in Lyon, southeastern France.
Ramadan said he had “relations akin to sex games of the submissive-dominant kind, but always in a consensual and knowing way,” his lawyer said.
“It has been one year now that Mr Ramadan’s defendants have been playing tricks to save his cause. But the truth is that he lied from the beginning of this case by denying he had sexual relations and that it took one year to confess,” Jonas Haddad, a lawyer for the other plantiff, Henda Ayari, told Reuters.
“Will it take him another year to confess the rest?” he said.
A regional leader of the Svoboda far-right party in Ukraine posted on Facebook a picture of a Cossack beating a Jew with a bloody flail, along with a poem celebrating the “threshing.”Swiss kosher butcher vandalized 4 times in month
Yuri Gorbinko, head of the party in Fastiv, a municipality near Kiev, posted the picture earlier this month, Eduard Dolinsky, the head of Ukrainian Jewish Committee, wrote on the same social network.
It shows a man dressed in traditional garb of the Cossacks, a Slavic group that lived in Eastern Ukraine and some parts of Russia that was responsible for countless pogroms against Jews and other minority groups well into the 20th century.
The picture came with a short poem extolling agricultural work, including “threshing.”
The Jewish figure, dressed in Hasidic style, is on his knees looking up in horror at the Cossack. A second figure, a disfigured blond-haired man, possibly representing Polish people, is seen lying in a pool of blood. A third individual, possibly Russian, is holding up his arms defensibly.
A kosher butcher shop in Basel, Switzerland, has been vandalized four times in one month in what local Jews are condemning as an anti-Semitic campaign of intimidation.Israeli Startup Allows Pharmaceutical Companies to Develop Drugs Faster – In Space
In one of the attacks, the unidentified perpetrators removed the letter J from the German-language word for Jewish from a metal sign over the shop, as well as two of the Hebrew-language letters for the word kosher.
In the latest incident, on Sunday, the shop’s window display was shattered, the Swiss-Jewish newspaper Tachles reported Monday.
Leopold Stefansky, the president of the Basel Jewish community, called the incidents “anti-Semitic attacks,” the news website 20Min reported.
Jonathan Kreutner, the secretary-general of the FSCI federation of Swiss Jews, told 20Min that the incidents are “generating concern” among members of the community.
Scientists developing new antibiotics are forever playing catch-up. Virulent bacteria evolve slowly, sometimes taking years before becoming dangerous enough to trigger a full-fledged outbreak.IAI wins $777 million deal to supply India with maritime missile defense system
In zero gravity, the trajectory of that same bacteria’s destructive power can be charted sometimes in a matter of days. As a result, pharmaceutical companies increasingly are looking to conduct experiments in space as part of the $3 billion “space economy.”
Merck, Procter & Gamble and Eli Lilly have all run experiments on the International Space Station over the past decade, but it’s expensive and labor intensive, requiring an astronaut to perform the tests.
Israeli-Swiss tech firm SpacePharma has a different approach.
For just $230,000 – a tiny fraction of the development budget for a new drug – clients can rent one of SpacePharma’s orbiting “minilabs” for up to six months.
SpacePharma pre-loads the tiny labs – no larger than a milk carton – with all the components required for a variety of tests and hitches a ride on a rocket.
Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), the nation’s largest aerospace and defense firm, announced Wednesday that it had won a $777 million contract with India to supply a maritime version of the Barak-8 missile defense system.Finland Invests In Contracts With Israel to Boost Its Naval-Defense Systems
The deal was signed with Indian state-owned company Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), which serves as the main contractor in the project.
Israel is a major defense supplier to India, selling an average of $1 billion of military equipment each year.
“IAI’s partnership with India dates many years back and has culminated in joint system development and production,” IAI Chief Executive Officer Nimrod Shefer told Reuters. “India is a major market for IAI and we plan to… reinforce our positioning in India, also in view of increasing competition.”
Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman hailed the announcement.
The deal is “proof that security is investment, and not expenditure,” he wrote on Twitter. “The IAI is a national asset, which must be maintained and strengthened.”
Finland has been relying on Israeli weaponry to strengthen its navy, according to Defense News.Israeli film, ‘The Dive,’ to be screened at festival in Iraq
With its presence in the Baltic Sea to protect against Russian interests, the Finnish Defense Forces has undergone a $1.5 billion naval boost that will include a $500 million investment for ships consisting of surface-to-surface missiles, ship guns, sea mines and torpedoes.
“It’s critical that Finland has a modern navy that is fit for purpose. The Baltic Sea has become a possible focal point for tension between East and West,” said Jussi Niinistö, Finland’s Defense Minister. “We are dealing with a more unpredictable Russia. Increased military cooperation with partners will also see the Navy more engaged in joint international exercises in the region, especially with our Nordic neighbors and NATO forces.”
The Finnish navy awarded contracts worth almost $185.76 million in July to Israel Aerospace Industries to receive the Israeli Gabriel missile system between 2019 and 2025. The defense system will be installed on Hamina-class missile boats, in addition to the new Squadron 2020 vessels, expected to begin construction in 2019.
Israel Aerospace Industries was picked over Norwegian technology firm Kongsberg, European missile manufacturer MBDA, American multinational corporation Boeing, and the Swedish aerospace and defense company Saab.
An Israeli film, Yona Rozenkier’s The Dive, will be screened in Iraq at the Duhok International Film Festival, which runs through October 27 in Duhok, in Iraqi Kurdistan.Last 'Monument Man' and Jewish war hero dies at age 92
At press time, the festival had not answered a question about whether this will be the first time an Israeli film has ever been screened in Iraq, and it’s likely that it is.
Duhok is an international festival with movies from all over the world, as well as a focus on Kurdish cinema. It was founded in 2011.
The Dive won awards at the Jerusalem Film Festival this summer for Best Israeli Feature (which it split with Red Cow), Best Israeli Debut Feature, Best Cinematography and Best Actor, a prize that was shared among the director and his brothers, Micha and Yoel, who costarred in it.
The movie has won awards at festivals around the world, including the Locarno International.
Harry Ettlinger, one of the famed Monuments Men who worked with Allies forces to save art and artifacts from Nazi destruction, died at age 92 this past Sunday in Trenton, NJ.
Ettlinger received the US Congressional Gold Medal and delivered a speech in front of Congress on behalf of the Monuments Men.
The German-born hero escaped Nazi Germany and fled to America in 1938. After settling in Newark, NJ, Ettlinger joined the army and was sent back to his home country to fight against them.
Moments before heading into the deadly Battle of the Bulge, he was plucked from the convoy and asked to translate for the army instead.
He would serve as a translator and driver for the Monuments Men, helping to save artwork, sculptures and tapestries before the Nazis demolished them.
After the war, Ettlinger went on to have a successful career in aerospace engineering. He served as the State Commander for the New Jersey Jewish War Veterans.
This can only be seen in our beloved Jerusalem: An ultra-orthodox Rabbi and a nun take turns in playing a public piano for the enjoyment of paseerbys. pic.twitter.com/3V27xXUshc
— Ofir Gendelman (@ofirgendelman) October 24, 2018
