Friday, September 06, 2019
David Collier: Amnesty’s human rights activist. Sorry, I meant terrorist supporter
The Amnesty report is not yet out and already Amnesty International have lost the input of a terrorist sympathiser. Yesterday, I released a teaser. The report is entering the final stage and is almost ready for final editing. With the information gathering stage behind me, I felt confident enough to release one item – about the true face of an Amnesty consultant in Gaza.Jonathan Tobin: What ‘Our Boys’ doesn’t want us to know
The Amnesty Consultant
Hind Khoudary worked as an Amnesty Research Consultant in Gaza:
Since the regular violence erupted on the Gaza border again, Hind has been a popular ‘journalist’, used by different media outlets worldwide. Amnesty pushed their ‘consultant’ too, using iconic images of her to turn her into some type of hero:
Like most propagandists her English output was always moderated, to show a ‘peaceful’ face to the west. She was also photogenic. Hind came across as a presentable, articulate, friendly, young, peace-seeking, progressive and is the type of ‘reporter’ western media outlets love. She spoke long and hard about the awful situation and how she just wants her ‘freedom’.
As is fitting of her role, she embellished her articles with endless tragic human-interest items which may or may not have been invented. When it came to the ‘Great March of Return’ Hind never saw a gun on the Hamas side. She spoke of the ‘tolerant’ Gazans who accept people who are different, reminding people that Palestinians are always so accommodating and peaceful. This balderdash has been swallowed whole by western media and Amnesty International are so embedded inside this false narrative, they regurgitated her poppycock verbatim.
Hind’s Arabic content was somewhat different. For example, she retweeted this which followed a thwarted terrorist attack. It talks about the Gazan casualties, but calls them ‘martyrs’. Notice the glorification of the violence. There is apparently nothing better than entering ‘paradise’ with machine guns:
There was this one too, as she retweeted the video of the Hezbollah leader Nasrallah’s when he made a recent threat against Israel.
The brutal murder of Muhammad Abu Khdeir by three extremist Jews is a story that deserves to be told. The same can be said for the account of the swift and efficient manner in which his murderers were tracked down by Israel's security services, and ultimately convicted and given harsh sentences. Yet the kidnapping and murder of the Palestinian Arab resident of Jerusalem in June 2014 is the exclusive focus of the HBO series "Our Boys."Honest Reporting: Not a Moment of Peace: Israel’s 1956 Sinai Campaign
Documenting the transgressions of a few Jews, as well as the diligent efforts of their compatriots to catch and punish them, is no insult to the Jewish people. But many who usually take special pride in seeing Israeli TV shows get such wide exposure aren't cheering "Our Boys."
In June 2014, a Hamas terror cell operating in the West Bank kidnapped three Israeli teenage boys and murdered them in cold blood. The discovery of their bodies after an 18-day search was a shocking reminder of the brutality of Israel's enemies. In response, three Jews violated not merely the laws of Israel, but of their faith. They kidnapped a random Arab boy and killed him in a manner that provoked outrage and shame.
Hamas then escalated the conflict with 50 days of war that forced much of Israel's population to spend their days dashing in and out of air-raid shelters, including in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. So Israelis can be forgiven for thinking that there is something wrong with the fact that the sole focus of the only international television show that seeks to depict these events rests on the murder of Muhammad Abu Khdeir.
The point of each episode is to depict the two sides of the conflict as morally equivalent. "Our Boys" doesn't mention that while Khdeir's killers are reviled by almost all Israelis and locked away (two received life terms), Palestinians treat those who murder Jews as heroes. They even get generous pensions from the supposedly moderate Palestinian Authority as a reward for their evil deeds. That is truly outrageous.
Nasser believed he could count on the United States for assistance with wrestling control of the canal from the British and with the finances of the project. But when the US turned him down, Nasser turned to the Soviets for help. The Soviet Union not only helped finance the project but also gave Egypt weapons for its army alongside military advisers to train the Egyptian military. Backed by the Soviet Union, Nasser evicted Britain from the Suez Canal with ease, declared it a possession of Egypt, and quickly gained fame and supremacy as a leader in the Arab world.
Armed with his alliance with the Soviet Union which was already anti-Israel, and with the sights of the Arab world upon him, Nasser quickly turned to confront Israel.
Instead of attacking Israel with his full army, Nasser came up with a tactic which is still being used against Israel today. In the early 1950s, not long after Israel thought it could enjoy a respite from the War of Independence, he organized, armed and supported terrorists, called “Fedayeen,” to cross the border and terrorize Israelis – blowing up farms, planting land mines, and even entering schools to shoot Jewish children. The philosophy was to attack, hurt and demoralize Israel without starting an actual war. Israel would have no choice but to retaliate and that retaliation would be the justification for the next terror attack as retribution for Israel’s actions. This created a “cycle of violence” which cost Israel in lives, money, and focus, and served Nasser’s plan of partnering with the Soviet Union and showing the Arab world his strength.
Egypt was not Israel’s only problem following the War of Independence. The Syrians continuously shelled northern Israeli towns from the Golan Heights, forcing Israelis to sleep in bunkers and leaving Israel with no choice but to respond – continuing the cycle of violence. Jordanian snipers would regularly shoot at Jewish civilians from the Old City of Jerusalem which they controlled. Israel even had to construct its residential buildings with no windows facing the Jordanian controlled areas.
Thus, the new Jewish state was under a continuous state of attack and to make things even worse, when Israel would respond – against Egypt, Syria, or Jordan – the United Nations would condemn Israel for instigating violence and inflaming the region.
JPost Editorial: Free the athletes
Failure to uphold promises to respect the rules makes a mockery of that spirit. Iran forced Mollaei to throw a match even though the International Judo Federation and the National Olympic Committee of Iran reached an agreement in May, in which Tehran agreed to “fully respect the Olympic Charter and its nondiscrimination principle,” thus paving the way for Iranian athletes to compete against Israeli athletes.FIFA under fire for sidelining Israelis from Qatar World Cup
In a video that went viral, Mollaei can be seen backstage in tears, after taking the phone call from Iran telling him to quit. He flew to Germany afterward, now afraid to return to Iran.
Marius Vizer, head of the International Judo Federation, is trying to do something about it. As a gesture of support that should be given full praise, the IJF changed its Twitter name this week to #ISupportMollaei. And the International Olympic Committee is expected to allow Mollaei to compete in the Olympics under the Olympic flag.
In his interview with the Post, Muki said he has two dreams: “One is to win the gold medal at the Olympics. But I also dream to compete against Mollaei – and it doesn’t matter who wins. I want to shake his hand, give him a hug. This way, we will not only show honor for each other, but together we can show that sport is above everything else.”
After Muki won the gold and posted it on Instagram, Mollaei wrote: “Congratulations champion.”
“Thank you,” responded Muki. “You are an inspiration as a person and as an athlete.”
This week, the Israel Judo Association extended an invitation to the Iranian athlete to come compete at the Tel Aviv Grand Prix 2019 in January. What an honor and pleasure it would be for Israel to host this athlete, and for Muki to fulfill his dream.
The Israel advocacy group StandWithUs called on the international soccer governing FIFA to ensure Israelis would be allowed to visit Qatar during the World Cup tournament in 2022.
The organization made the plea after it was revealed that Israel was not included in the online list of countries from which foreigners can obtain an entry visa to the Arab state for the purpose of attending the soccer competition.
Qatar has no official relations with Israel and Israelis are generally not allowed to enter its territory. But the FIFA Ethics Code prohibits host countries from discriminating fans based on their nationality during official sporting events.
“We call upon FIFA not to score an own goal and to uphold their code of ethics, which is premised on protecting international football from ‘illegal, immoral or unethical’ practices. If Qatar is allowed to ban fans on the basis of national origin, this would be a clear violation of FIFA’s guidelines,” CEO and Co-Founder of StandWithUs Roz Rothstein said.
Adam Milstein: How to combat the looming perfect storm for antisemitism in America
Jewish university students are under constant attack for expressing any support for Israel. Radical activists are working to insert anti-Israel and antisemitic ideas into curricula to indoctrinate high school students. America’s Congressional delegation now includes representatives of the Islamic-leftist alliance who are driven to demonize Israel and spread age-old antisemitic stereotypes. Radical antisemites are growing bolder, less censored and less afraid to share their hateful views with the world through digital and social media.Labour member who described concerns over Labour antisemitism as “bourgeois lies and propaganda” expelled from Party
In the decades following the Holocaust, “Never Again” was repeated by millions who had no idea they needed to do something about it. Somehow, in front of our eyes, “Never Again” is becoming “Again and Again” as radical movements that threaten all Americans but are united in their hatred toward Jews are growing stronger in broad daylight.
Antisemitism is growing, and it’s going to get much worse. A perfect storm of circumstances is elevating the dangers significantly. Jew-haters are taking advantage of the radicalization of our society, utilizing the biased mainstream and social media to amplify their message and enjoy unparalleled access to weapons to attack our communities in frightening ways.
How did we get to this place?
Jew-hating looks different today than it did in the past. In medieval times, people hated Jews because of their religion. In the 20th century, Nazism viewed Jews as a race to be eradicated. Today, the new antisemitism, fueled by the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, is disguised as hatred toward Israel – the world’s only Jewish state.
However, with the assistance of many useful idiots – some of them Jews – the BDS movement promotes hatred toward all Jews globally, radicalizes all the extreme movements and promotes violence against Jews and other minorities.
With new allies across the political spectrum, Jew-haters have found friends in unlikely places. Antisemitism no longer comes from fringe groups. Instead, an alliance of Jew-haters has been forged by the radical Left, radical Muslims and the radical Right. This three-headed monster of bigotry is best exemplified in the unlikely alliance between white supremacist David Duke and Rep. Ilhan Omar.
An activist has been expelled from the Labour Party for sending antisemitic messages on social media using the Twitter handle “@CorbynBoy” and minimising the antisemitism crisis engulfing the Party.Cal State urged to act against professor spreading anti-Semitism
Ian Humphries, until recently a member of the East Devon Constituency Labour Party, sent messages accusing the Labour MP Jess Phillips of having taken £1 million from the “Israeli lobby”. He also asked another MP, Luciana Berger, who left the Labour Party over antisemitism, “do you agree in killing all the PALISTINIONS [sic]?” adding, “It’s a simple answer — yes or no? If you don’t reply I will take this as a yes…you agree with Palistine [sic] genocide by the Israeli government.”
Mr Humphries is also alleged to have written that the “BBC is run by the Conservative Party and the Israel lobby” and that “Tories just keep giving away money to the rich, as just to keep Murdoch and the Rothschilds happy [sic].”
Ms Phillips reported that in his messages Mr Humphries said that allegations of antisemitism in the Labour Party were “bourgeois lies and propaganda”. She said that his messages constituted “very clear antisemitism”.
Eighty Jewish and pro-Israel groups signed a letter sent on Tuesday to the chancellor and general counsel of California State University that demands answers about a professor’s continued use of the school’s name to spread anti-Semitism and false propaganda against the State of Israel.Bloomington think tank 'parts ways' with staffer over breathtakingly racist emails
The AMCHA-coordinated letter drew attention to a post on the Facebook page of the Arab and Muslim Ethnicities and Diaspora’s Program (AMED) in the College of Ethnic Studies at San Francisco State University, part of the CSU system. The posting asks readers to donate funds for AMED director Rabab Abdulhadi’s personal lawsuit against SFSU and to fight the “Israel Lobby.”
A similar letter was sent more than a month ago about Abdulhadi’s post on the same Facebook page that said “Zionism = Racism” and called for support of the anti-Israel BDS movement. The post violated California law that prohibits the use of SFSU’s name to promote a boycott or other political activity.
The groups said in their letter that a university-related academic program should not be allowed to use its departmental logo and the SFSU name “to disseminate politically motivated and hate-filled messages.”
The Charlemagne Institute is a conservative nonprofit with a lofty goal: “Defending and advancing western civilization” and “lay[ing] the intellectual groundwork for a great awakening.”Tunisia Disqualifies First Openly Gay Presidential Candidate
What does that mean, exactly? Hard to say. The Bloomington group describes itself as an educational foundation based in the “Judeo-Christian, Greco-Roman Tradition,” according to its website. But its blog, Intellectual Takeout, focuses a lot more on bashing socialism, worrying about what trans women are going to do to sports, and warning that “political correctness” is ruining our classrooms and “beauty pageants.”
For all the worry about PC culture, there is seemingly a limit to the kinds of speech the institute will allow. Last week, it “parted ways” with its academic internship director: 64-year-old John Elliott. The instigating force was a private email thread known as “Morning Hate,” which Elliott largely steered, according to Splinter News.
Morning Hate was where buttoned-up members of conservative institutions could let their hair down a little and “make their racist opinions known.” Back in 2015, the members were organizing an in-person “hate-up,” and Elliott offered some helpful short hands the group could use in “public places.”
Instead of calling Jewish people “Hebes,” he said, they should call them “Hawaiians.” Instead of calling black people “negroes”—or, in some cases, the N-word—they should call them “Alaskans.” Instead of Adolf Hitler, they should simply say “Our Friend.” (h/t IsaacStorm)
In Tunisia’s upcoming November elections, one activist, Mounir Baatour, tells i24NEWS about trying to change the playing field in his country and for the LGBTQ community. Our Emily Rose has the story.
To fight antisemitism, more states should mandate Holocaust education
Two thirds of American Millennials don’t know what Auschwitz was. Countering antisemitism in the long run hinges on addressing a shortcoming in our educational system: Only 12 states mandate Holocaust education in secondary schools; all 50 should.Burning Man festival site features Holocaust camp-themed Barbie exhibit
This summer, Texas and Oregon became the 11th and 12th states to mandate Holocaust education in middle and high schools statewide. Maryland could have become the 13th, but its legislature declined to vote on State Senator Ben Kramer’s bill, the Lessons of the Holocaust and Genocide Act, in the legislative session that ended in April. That was a missed opportunity. Kramer will try again next year.
“For us to be sitting on the sidelines when other states have realized we really need to do something about this, it’s embarrassing,” Kramer told me.
Antisemitic assaults in the US more than doubled last year. The number of incidents of antisemitic harassment, vandalism and assaults in K-12 schools tripled between 2015 and last year. The fight against hate will depend on leadership from young Americans. Expecting them to lead that fight without knowing about the Holocaust ties a hand behind their back.
Holocaust education was ingrained in me early. In fourth grade, a survivor of Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen spoke to our class. I haven’t forgotten his face. Or his story.
An artist at the annual Burning Man festival presented an art exhibit featuring naked dolls being led into ovens at a simulated death camp.Sabra hummus founder says plastic is the perfect way to upcycle waste
The “Barbie Death Camp and Wine Bistro,” as it is called by the Nevada festival, has led to widespread outrage over what many see as trivialization of the Holocaust. The exhibit featured hundreds of Barbies, some of them crucified on pink crosses and others posed as if being marched into ovens.
It’s the brainchild of a Jewish artist, James Jacoby, according to a report in J. The Jewish News of Northern California.
Jacoby said that he had been putting on the same exhibit for 20 years, and that while he didn’t want to “trigger” anybody, “Burning Man is not a safe space.”
“It’s not Yale University. You don’t get to run and hide from something you don’t like. There’s 1,100 theme camps. If you don’t like ours, go to another one,” he said.
A photo published by the news outlet showed a sign at the exhibit that said “The Mattel co. & Auschwitz Inc. ‘Purveyors of fine lampshades and soap products since 1939’ presents Barbie Death Camp & Wine Bistro.” Mattel, the company that manufactures Barbie, was not involved in the exhibit.
Rabbi Yehuda Pearl, the businessman who introduced the United States to hummus, is now looking to bring that same business acumen to his newest venture: turning trash into a plastic-like material.12 Israeli cities to get tools for renewal with Bloomberg innovation plan
Pearl, the founder of the popular hummus brand Sabra, is the co-founder and honorary chairman of UBQ Materials, a company that has patented a process that breaks down regular household waste, including dirty diapers, cottage cheese containers, Friday’s leftover chicken, paper, plastic, cardboard, and all food scraps and turns it into a bio-based thermoplastic, a plastic substitute.
These small pellets, that look and feel like regular plastic, can be integrated into existing manufacturing processes, so that any factory creating plastic products — things like buckets, trash cans, plastic pallets, garden planters, or hard plastic bottles for detergents — can use the UBQ material.
This material will now be available to the public for the first time, in a pilot in central Virginia, which is offering 2,000 households the opportunity to recycle their household waste in recycle bins made of repurposed Israeli trash.
Twelve Israeli cities will seek to boost residents’ welfare by adopting an innovation map set out by Bloomberg Philanthropies, the charitable arm of former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg.Israel cannabis startups to showcase wares to investors in New York
The initiative, to be implemented together with the Interior Ministry and the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation. will help municipalities find “creative ways to address complex challenges with limited resources,” said Michael Bloomberg, also the founder of Bloomberg LP, in a statement, at the launch of the program on Wednesday in Tel Aviv.
Called Hazira — the Arena in Hebrew — the program will seek to boost city and civic renewal in 12 municipalities across Israel over the course of five years, by, for example, boosting shared workspaces and entrepreneurial hubs, and creating affordable school lunches. It will build on the Innovation Teams program set up by Bloomberg already running in several cities. cities, with so called i-teams on the ground.
The new program was launched at The Peres Center for Peace and Innovation on Wedensday, attended by mayors and other leaders of the municipal and innovation ecosystem. It featured a video greeting by Michael Bloomberg and speeches by James Anderson, head of Government Innovation programs at Bloomberg Philanthropies; Mordechai Cohen, director general of the Interior Ministry; and Efrat Duvdevani, director general of the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation. Facebook Israel general manager Adi Soffer-Teeni gave the keynote speech.
The Interior Ministry will publish a call for applications for cities to join the Hazira program. Those that are accepted will hire a chief innovation officer who will work alongside a dedicated team of city employees — a so-called i-team — and will receive technical assistance and support to start implementing changes. The program will help map each city’s innovation strategy, providing specific examples of evidence and consistency of approach, the statement said.
US investors will get the opportunity to learn about Israeli cannabis innovations and meet startup entrepreneurs and researchers at what is being dubbed the “first ever” Israeli Cannabis Investor Symposium, set to take place in New York next week.Negev Desert hosting Israel's largest solar project to date
iCAN Connect symposium, organized by iCAN, a medical cannabis development firm, will be held on September 12 in New York, targeting those looking for investment opportunities in the cannabis market. The conference also seeks to help speed up cannabis innovation and channel funds from the United States into the Israeli cannabis ecosystem.
The one-day gathering will bring together early stage and mature cannabis companies and their entrepreneurs with qualified investors, family offices, money managers, venture capital firms, private equity funds, and institutional investors, iCAN said in statement.
Talks will describe the cannabis ecosystem and discuss regulation, risks and new therapies in the pipeline.
A private Israeli company on Tuesday inaugurated the largest solar project in the country, the Israeli financial daily Globes reported.The Dark Side has come to Israel for Star Wars fans
Located in the Negev in southern Israel, the Ashalim solar-energy project is the size of a small town and is currently producing enough energy to power an estimated 70,000 households, according to the report.
Shikun & Binui Holdings Ltd. chief shareholder Naty Saidoff announced the start of Ashalim’s commercial operations at a ceremony attended by Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz.
“Since I assumed office, I have used every possible means to increase the scope of renewable energy production, and by doing so, I expect to meet the government goal of 10% by the end of 2020,” Steinitz said.
“The breakthrough in this field enables us, in addition to stopping the use of coal, to significantly promote the 2030 renewability goal,” he added.
Could thousands of white, armor-clad stormtroopers shouldering blaster rifles soon march in perfect unison through the streets of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv?Moroccan villagers with a hazy Jewish tie get a financial lifeline from Israelis
Indeed, these Star Wars stormtroopers are a sight in many cities around the world. However, they are not the army of some hostile foreign power, but a corps of a mighty interstellar empire from a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.
And now that this imperial army has established its first outpost in Israel, this future is certainly possible.The stormtroopers are members of the 501st Legion, one of the largest fandom organizations in the world.
Founded in 1997, the legion – also known as “Vader’s Fist” – is a staple of geek conventions and boasts 14,000 active members across 64 countries on six continents. For the Israeli outpost’s founder, Adam Nahoum, Star Wars has been a major part of his life since he was a child.
Much to her surprise, through her online research and activism, Rettig discovered that she had a number of common values with people living in countries that many would consider hostile to Israel.Nova Scotia Priest Fired for Honoring Judaism and Israel
“I’m very pro-Israel, myself, so I was on these forums, having these discussions, and then all of a sudden here’s this guy with an Arabic name talking about Zionism and how the Jews are the real inhabitants of the Land of Israel,” Rettig said.
Intrigued, Rettig reached out to members of the Facebook page to hear more. Speaking to a number of new contacts, including Mohamed, she learned that prior to the Islamic conquest of the Maghreb in the 7th and 8th centuries, indigenous Amazigh tribes populated North Africa from Libya all the way to Morocco. She learned that in Morocco, some Amazigh once practiced Judaism, and then Christianity.
Today, there is a small but strong movement in Morocco to revive the region’s 5,000-year-old Amazigh language and culture. Within that movement, many identify with the modern State of Israel and the Jews, whom they see as having faced — and won — their own struggle to live independently in their ancestral homeland.
In conversation with The Times of Israel, Rettig speculated that the Amazigh people’s ancient Jewish history and current struggle with an Arab majority may further entrench the connection between Amazigh and Jew in the movement’s mythology.
A boy raises Amazigh and Israeli flags in unison. (Courtesy)
While it’s unclear exactly how many ancient Amazigh tribes actually observed Judaism, it is certain that Jews coexisted with them for many centuries, said Bruce Maddy-Weitzman, a professor of Middle Eastern and African history at Tel Aviv University and a senior researcher at the Moshe Dayan Center. According to Weitzman, this shared history may go as as far back as the destruction of the First Temple 2,600 years ago.
The head priest of St. Vladimir's Orthodox Church in Halifax, Father Vladimir Tobin, 77, received a letter from Orthodox Church in America Archbishop Irenee, the archbishop of Ottawa and Canada, on Aug. 12, informing him that he is being forcibly retired for delivering a sermon that honored Judaism and Israel.The Arab Muslim in the Israel Defense Forces
The sermon mentioned Israel and Judaism in favorable terms, asked congregants to pray for Israel, and reminded the congregation that Jesus was a Jew.
Father Tobin said that when studying the early Christian period at Dalhousie University in Halifax, he realized that early Christians were Jewish and their scripture was the Old Testament.
Father Tobin responded to the archbishop: "It is true that I regularly pray for both Israel and the United States, its armies and its president, and for 'the land of Israel and the armies which protect her.'...The U.S. and Israel are our allies and need our support for peace in the Middle East."
Mohammad Kabiya is a Bedouin Muslim Israeli. "I'm an Israeli citizen, it's my country and I must support it....I get all the services from Israel. Israel protects me as a minority and as a citizen, so I will support my country. I will love it and defend it."
Q: "You served in the Israeli Air Force. Why did you choose to take part in the Israel Defense Forces?"
A: "Here, you said it: 'Israel Defense Forces.' I see myself as an Israeli. I'm part of the State of Israel, so it's an army that defends me, my family, my community, and also my country. The same rocket that is fired by Hamas or Hizbullah and all the terror organizations doesn't distinguish between a Jew or an Arab or me and you."
"Whoever is a terrorist and engages in terrorism...is not my brother....Terrorism is hate, it's destruction, it's cruelty. I'm Muslim - yes. I'm proud of my Islam - yes....I'm an Arab who is proud of his identity....Look at the Arab world. Muslims are killing one another just because one is Shiite and the other is Sunni. In the State of Israel I think that Islam and other religions and other minorities are more protected than in the Arab world."
"We serve together in the IDF shoulder to shoulder, we work together, we walk in the street together...we live together. In a place where you die together you can live together."
Q: "Aren't you scared to express your support for Israel, that someone will kill you?"
A: "No, I'm not scared....My source of strength and bravery to continue and move forward is my family. I'm a member of the Kabiya family, most of whose men served in the IDF. They are officers in elite units. Therefore, it's the opposite. They support the path that I've chosen."
