Saturday, September 28, 2019
‘Jews exploit Poles,’ report leads to massive online hate in Poland
Polish portals such as Wiadomosci began to fill with hateful comments against Israel and Jews on Friday when news broke out that Polish President Andrzej Duda allegedly blamed antisemitism in Poland – on Israel.
The report, by the Jewish Insider, was quickly denied by the office of the President as well as people who were at the meeting such as Rabbi Shmuley Boteach and President of B’nai B’rith International Charles Kaufman. Yet, at least online, Polish anger began to shape in hundreds of comments, the Algemeiner reported.
“I used to feel sorry for the Jews, but having observed Israel’s actions over the last year, I now understand that they are guilty,” one person wrote.
“Poles don’t like Jews because Jews exploit Poles with privatization, they rob Poles because they are cunning and better-organized, and they own newspapers like the New York Times that slander Poles,” another added.
Duda did speak in the New York meeting with Jewish leaders about a February statement made by Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz, who said that Poles "suckle antisemitism with their mother's milk."
Katz was repeating a famous statement made by the late prime minister of Israel Yitzhak Shamir, who said so during a conversation in which he confessed that his father was murdered by Poles.
Duda said Katz's comments were a "humiliation," and seemed disappointed that Katz never apologized for them, Boteach wrote.
Duda went on to say that several advisors had suggested that he should not go to Israel until Katz apologizes.
One Polish online user, unaware that the Polish leader never accused Israel of responsibility for antisemtisim in Poland, said “Finally, we have a President who isn’t afraid of the truth.”
“Yes Jews — draw your own conclusions from this,” he added.
Thunberg’s tweets on Tel Aviv climate change rally draws likes, protests
Swedish protest leader and teenager Greta Thunberg on Friday posted images to Twitter from a protest in Tel Aviv amid dozens of other pictures on her feed from demonstrations across the world demanding swift action on climate change, which brought messages of support as well as comments on Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians.Austrian Parliament MPs pledge to classify BDS as antisemitic
Thunberg posted the first image, simply captioned “Tel Aviv!” in the same style that she used for publicizing all cities participating in the social action. The image had over 7.2 thousand likes and more than 400 comments, many of them urging a “free Palestine” or calling on Thunberg to do more “research” on Israel.
Some social media users suggested that the protests should be about the Palestinians rather than climate change. “Awesome! Now if only they would protest the brutal occupation and institutionalized racism of Israel,” wrote one user in a comment on a video from the Tel Aviv protest retweeted by Thunberg. The footage drew over 140,000 views and almost 8,000 likes.
Leading Austrian lawmakers have vowed they will declare the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions campaign targeting Israel as antisemitic during the next legislative session.
“We hope that words will be followed by deeds and that ... there will soon be a parliamentary resolution,” wrote the organization of Jewish-Austrian students, which hosted the politicians at its event in Vienna earlier this month.
In response to a question at the event from college student Noah Scheer, who asked if the Austrian parliament will replicate the decision of the German Bundestag in May to classify BDS as antisemitic, the MPs pledged to do so.
Sibylle Hamann from the Green Party compared BDS to the Nazi-era “Don’t buy from Jews” campaign. She said the Nazi slogan “resonates” with the BDS campaign.
The other Austrian MPs present were Pamela Rendi-Wagner (Social Democrats), Wolfgang Sobotka (People’s Party), Helmut Brandstätter (NEOS), and Peter Pilz (JETZT).
In 2018, Vienna’s city council passed an anti-BDS resolution, which unanimously prescribed the organization as antisemitic and banned support for “events that advertise for BDS.”
Howewer, the national parliament has yet to pass a similar resolution.
The lawmakers did not specify a specific target date, although elections for a new parliament are on Sunday.
The United States House of Representatives overwhelmingly condemned BDS in July.
Security forces nab suspects in August terror bombing that killed Israeli teen
Israeli security forces arrested three Palestinian men suspected of carrying out a deadly terror bombing at a West Bank natural spring that killed a 17-year-old Israeli girl and injured her father and brother last month, the Shin Bet security service said Saturday night.Tank shell from Egypt damages shul during services at Israeli community
According to the Shin Bet, the suspects were members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terror group from the Ramallah area.
A fourth man believed to be involved in the terror cell’s activities was also arrested.
Two of the men were arrested days after the terror attack, the other two were picked up by security forces over the past two weeks, a Shin Bet official told The Times of Israel.
The security service said the cell was planning additional attacks when the suspects were arrested, including shooting attacks and kidnappings.
During the arrest raids, security forces also found and safely detonated an improvised explosive device that the group had made.
On August 23, an IED that had been planted next to the Bubin natural spring in the central West Bank, near the Dolev settlement, was triggered by terrorists as the Shnerb family from the central Israeli town of Lod visited the site, killing the daughter Rina and seriously injuring her father Eitan and brother Dvir, 19.
A tank shell fired from Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula exploded in the Israeli community of Bnei Netzarim Saturday morning, in what appeared to be a case of internal fighting between Egyptian forces and militants spilling over the border.Egyptian delegation said to make secret visit to Israel fearing Gaza flareup
There were no casualties, though light damage was caused to the community’s synagogue. A parked car’s back windscreen was smashed.
The Ynet news site reported that there were several worshipers inside the synagogue for Shabbat services when the shell hit. Initial reports had indicated that the projectile was a mortar shell.
The police and the army were looking into the incident.
Egypt has battled an insurgency led by an Islamic State affiliate for years in the Sinai Peninsula and in recent days has conducted major operations in the territory.
Egypt’s Ministry of Defense claimed Friday that its troops had killed 118 militants in the restive peninsula in the “past period.” Also on Friday a terrorist ambush in the peninsula’s Bir al-Abed killed seven soldiers and one civilian.
Fearing a fresh flareup between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip amid the political deadlock in Jerusalem, an Egyptian intelligence delegation paid a secret visit to Israel, Channel 13 reported on Friday.After 4 years at UN, Danon plans plunge back into Israeli politics, eyes top job
The envoys from Cairo met with senior officials from the Prime Minister’s Office on Thursday for the first time since the September 17 elections in Israel, which resulted in no clear winner. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday was given the first stab at forming a coalition, but the bloc of his traditional partners is not large enough to form a government.
Egyptian officials are concerned that the situation in Gaza will once again spiral into violence, and with only a caretaker prime minister governing in Jerusalem, Israel will have a harder time preventing the situation from escalating to a full-blown war.
There was no mention of the delegation also visiting Gaza. Egypt has brokered a number of truces between Israel and Hamas in recent times.
On September 10, two rockets were launched from Gaza, at Ashkelon and another at Ashdod during a campaign rally by the prime minister, who was whisked off the stage by his bodyguards to take shelter.
Danny Danon is ready for a change. Next month, he will hit his four-year anniversary as Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations — a sign, for him, that it’s time to move on.Palestinians protest in northern Dead Sea against PM’s West Bank annexation plan
“I always joke with my dear friend, Ambassador Haley, that she got the shortest sentence in this building, because she got to leave after two years and I’m now finishing four years,” he told The Times of Israel this week, at United Nations headquarters, referring to former US envoy Nikki Haley. “I think that after four years, it’s time to think about the next step.”
The former Likud MK is not shy about his plans to get back into politics upon returning to Jerusalem, nor about the loftiness of his ambitions.
“Next time you come to my office, you will see the list of the former ambassadors. You will see one of them became the president, one became minister of foreign affairs, and Bibi became the prime minister,” he said, using Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s nickname.
For now, he is living in a kind of limbo. With Israel’s political future anything but certain, he’s unable to plan an exact departure from Turtle Bay, but Danon said he will stay on until at least early 2020.
Over a hundred Palestinians gathered at an abandoned hotel in the northern Dead Sea on Saturday to protest a pre-election promise by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to annex the Jordan Valley and northern Dead Sea and apply Israeli sovereignty there.IDF nabs 8 Hamas 'leaders' in Hebron
The protesters climbed onto the Lido structure, which has largely remained empty since 1967 and is located south of the West Bank city of Jericho, and waved Palestinian flags before they were dispersed by Israel Defense Forces soldiers. There were no reports of arrests, but videos from the scene showed scuffles between troops and demonstrators.
The Kan public broadcaster reported that protesters were also demonstrating against house demolitions in the area.
The prime minister said before the elections earlier this month that he would annex the Jordan Valley area and the northern Dead Sea (some 25 percent of the West Bank) immediately after he formed a new government, and then later, in coordination with the US, would annex “all the settlements” in the West Bank, the Jewish enclaves in Hebron and other unspecified “vital” areas.
“There is one place where we can apply Israeli sovereignty immediately after the elections,” Netanyahu said earlier this month, speaking with a map of the Jordan Valley on an easel next to him. “If I receive from you, citizens of Israel, a clear mandate to do so… today I announce my intention to apply, with the formation of the next government, Israeli sovereignty over the Jordan Valley and northern Dead Sea.”
The detention of eight Hamas “leaders” in the Hebron area by the IDF won’t intimidate the Palestinians or stop them from “pursuing their national role in defending their land and holy sites,” the terrorist organization said on Saturday.Can the Palestinians hold new elections?
Palestinian sources said the men were detained during IDF raids on their homes early Saturday in the towns of Dura, Deir Samet, Surif and Idhna in the Hebron area.
The sources identified the Hamas suspects as Mohammed Yusef al-Huroub, Ahmed Dib al-Huroub, Ezz Qassem, Ayed Dudin, Fadi Ghneimat, Khaled al-Fasfous, Tawfik Abdel Fattah al-Huroub, and Imsail al-Nattah.
Hamas spokesperson Abdel Hakim Hanini said that the detainees, who previously served time in Israeli prison for terrorist-related offenses, were “paying the price for their defense of the holy sites and the freedom of the land and Palestinians.”
Hanini pointed out that Mohammed Yusef al-Huroub was detained in Dura by the IDF shortly after he was summoned for interrogation by the Palestinian Authority security forces. Al-Huroub’s ID card was still being held by the PA security forces, he said.
The Hamas spokesperson condemned the “revolving door policy” between the IDF and the PA security forces in the West Bank, a reference to the security coordination between the two sides.
Hamas has repeatedly condemned the security coordination and called on the PA to halt all forms of collaboration with Israel.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad have welcomed Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s intention to call for a general election upon his return to Ramallah from New York, where he delivered a speech last Thursday before the UN General Assembly.Hamas Environment Minister Vows to Cut Tire Burning 20% by 2030 (satire)
The Palestinian Central Elections Commission said on Saturday that it was ready to hold new elections, and that a date would be set for holding the election as soon as Abbas issues a “presidential decree” regarding the vote.
Palestinian political analysts, however, expressed skepticism over the prospects of holding a new election, especially in the wake of the continued rivalry between Abbas’s ruling Fatah faction and Hamas.
Abbas said in his speech that he has decided, upon his return to Ramallah, “to announce a date for the holding of a general election in Palestine – in the West Bank, including east Jerusalem and Gaza Strip.” He called on the UN and international organizations to monitor the election, and warned that he will “attribute full responsibility to those who may attempt to prevent it from happening on the date determined.”
Noting that the last Palestinian parliamentary election was held in 2006, Abbas said that “this democratic process was paralyzed by the coup of Hamas in 2007,” referring to the terror group’s violent takeover of the Gaza Strip that year.
Welcoming the call for holding the long overdue election, Hamas called on Abbas to renounce the Oslo Accords with Israel to ensure the success of the vote.
In one of the region’s most ambitious initiatives to address climate change, Hamas Minister of the Environment Ahmet al-Buluti has vowed to reduce tire-burning emissions 20% by 2030.Nasrallah: 'We are threatening them and we will enter occupied Palestine.'
“We must all do our part to confront the reality of global warming, and these targets will be an important step towards reducing our carbon footprint,” al-Buluti said in a press conference. “By 2050, we hope to cut tire-burning emissions in half, because all nations must make sacrifices to ensure that our planet remains inhabitable.”
While Hamas’s targets are the most aggressive to date, Gaza’s is just one of many Middle Eastern governments looking to reduce emissions. Syria has begun transitioning from high-carbon carpet-bombing to zero-carbon sarin gas, while ISIS is on its way to phasing out burning prisoners alive, beheading them instead.
Secretary-general of the terrorist group Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, continues his psychological warfare against Israel. Quoted on Saturday in the El Akhbar newspaper, he reiterating the large amount of intelligence information the organization has accumulated that could be used in a war or military conflict. According to Nasrallah, "we are threatening them and we will enter occupied Palestine."Another 'airstrike' on Syria’s Albukamal days before border crossing open
He said "we have abundant information, unprecedented in fact, about all events and developments occurring on the enemy side, using both public and secretive measures."
He added that, "we have very good intelligence and very good oversight."
In early September, Nasrallah claimed that "there are no redlines left in regards to defending Lebanon from Israeli aggression," adding that "Lebanon has a right to defend itself from Israeli attacks."
Nasrallah even went so far as to state in his speech that any attack on Iran would "destroy the area," saying that ,"if you think attacking Iran will end the resistance, I assure you just the opposite will happen. An attack like that would result in Israel ceasing to exist."
In his speech, he also called the IDF a "Hollywood army," claiming that "we have learned our lesson from the show you put on," most likely referring to the fake diversion attack staged by the IDF in early September.
Syrian air defenses responded to an alleged airstrike on the Iraq-Syrian border town of Albukamal just after midnight on Saturday. It is the latest of several airstrikes reported in the same vicinity that are alleged to have struck Iranian-backed groups or bases linked to Iran. Albukamal is a key strategic crossing between Iraq and Syria and could be conduit for weapons trafficking from Iranian-backed groups to Hezbollah or the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Syria.‘Nothing will be left of Israel’ if it attacks us, Iranian commander threatens
The raids were first reported by Arabic media, particularly Russia’s Sputnik in Arabic. The report claimed that local sources had said missiles were fired at Albukamal and air defense responded, hitting some of them. Albukamal has been increasing in the spotlight after reports that the border crossing would re-open in August. Those reports were premature and the opening appeared delayed until early September. Now the crossing is supposed to open on Monday. Oddly, the latest reports of the crossing opening came just four hours after the reports of the airstrikes, as if to show that despite the strikes the crossing will open.
September was a hot month in the border town. On September 3 Fox News reported, based on Image Sat International images, that Iran was building a new base at the site. This followed reports in May that Iran was seeking to upgrade the crossing. On September 9 airstrikes ripped apart some of the buildings at the alleged Iranian base in Albukamal. Satellite images from Image Sat International showed the results. Nine fortified storehouses were destroyed. On September 24 Image Sat International again showed images of the “Iranian border crossing under intense construction.”
The overall picture at Albukamal is that the crossing is proceeding despite the strikes. It also is unclear what the strikes have accomplished. Regardless of the mystery about who has carried out airstrikes, and demands by Iraqi-based Iranian-backed paramilitaries that the area needs better air defense, the equation isn’t changing. Last summer an airstrike hit a headquarters of Kata’ib Hezbollah. This group is linked to the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) which are mostly Shi’ite militias who have been incorporated into the Iraqi Security Forces. These forces were supposed to be fighting ISIS, but when the ISIS war mostly ended in 2017 some of them began to go to Syria to support the Syrian regime in Damascus. They are now thought to form a “land bridge” or “road to the sea” for Iran and its regional ambitions.
If Israel attacks Iran, it will have to collect “bits and pieces” of Tel Aviv from the Mediterranean Sea, an Iranian commander threatened on Saturday.Seth Frantzman: How did one of the world’s poorest countries build state-of-art drones?
“Iran has encircled Israel from all four sides. Nothing will be left of Israel,” said Abbas Nilforoushan, the deputy commander of operations of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), in an interview with the Iranian news agency Tasnim. “Israel is not in a position to threaten Iran,” he said according to a translation published by Radio Farda, the Iranian branch of the US government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
“If Israel makes a strategic mistake, it has to collect bits and pieces of Tel Aviv from the lower depths of the Mediterranean Sea,” he added.
Iran has been on edge, fearing an attack on the country over a drone-and-missile strike on Saudi Arabia’s oil industry earlier this month attributed to Tehran. Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels have claimed the attack, but the US alleges Iran carried out the assault.
Satellite image from Planet Labs Inc. shows thick black smoke rising from Saudi Aramco’s Abqaiq oil processing facility in Buqyaq, Saudi Arabia, September 14, 2019. (Planet Labs Inc via AP)
In the aftermath of the attack, the US formed a coalition with regional and global powers including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, the United Kingdom and Australia to protect waterways across the Mideast. Iran denies being behind the tanker explosions, though the attacks came after Tehran threatened to stop oil exports from the Persian Gulf.
The attack in Saudi Arabia was the latest incident following the collapse of Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers, over a year after US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the accord. The nuclear deal was meant to keep Tehran from building atomic weapons — something Iran denies it wants to do — in exchange for economic incentives.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was a sharp critic of the nuclear deal negotiated under the administration of former President Barack Obama, and welcomed Washington’s pull-back from the accord, urging further pressure on Iran.
The array of Yemeni drones and missiles, including their increasing use against Saudi Arabia shows that the Houthis are able to operate a sophisticated industrial production line for drones, or that they have found a way to easily smuggle them from Iran. It’s not entirely clear how either is possible given their isolation and the fact that the technologies of Saudi Arabia, the UAE and others have been arrayed against them.Iran-backed Houthi rebels claim attack on Saudi military post
The Houthi successes are causing celebrations across the Middle East among Iran’s allies. In Lebanon Hezbollah has said the attack on Abqaiq, which the Houthis claimed but which the US blamed on Iran, shows the “military equation” in the region has changed. “The US is on the decline,” says the leader of Iran’s IRGC. “The US and allies have lost hope,” asserts Syrian President Bashar Assad. One almost gets the sense that the recent use of drones and cruise missiles, whether by the Houthis or Iran, has stoked the feeling that Iran and its allies are winning.
Since air-defense systems have costs that run into the billions, with a recent price tag in Poland costing $10.5 billion for four Patriot systems, the fact that one of the poorest areas in one of the poorest countries has used drones and cruise missiles to outmaneuver such a system would seem to send a big message.
Even under siege, in Yemen, or sanctions, in Iran, the “axis of resistance” is able to defeat Western technology. This may be a bit of bragging, because air defense experts say that properly deployed systems can take down the cruise missiles and drone swarms.
Maybe. So far an Iranian drone swarm and cruise missile attack, of the kind used against Saudi Arabia, whether by Yemenis or by Iran itself or its allies, has not been stopped.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels, an Iranian-backed movement, claimed on Saturday that they carried out an attack on a Saudi Arabian military post near the border with Yemen, capturing military personnel and military vehicles.US is urged to end probe of Middle East studies program
A spokesperson for the Houthis said in a statement that three “enemy military brigades had fallen” in the attack near the border with the southern Saudi region of Najran, launched 72 hours ago and supported by the group’s “drone, missile and air defense units,” Reuters reported on Saturday. There was no immediate confirmation from Riyadh.
A Houthi-run TV channel said “thousands of enemy troops,” including Saudi Arabian military officers and soldiers, were captured in the attack.
Saudi Arabia has been at war with the Houthi rebels in Yemen since early 2015 after their operations led to the ouster of the internationally recognized government of Ali Abdullah Saleh in the capital Sanaa. The Houthis have control of Sanaa and most big urban centers in Yemen.
The Houthis claimed an attack earlier this month on Saudi Arabia’s oil industry, but Tehran is widely seen as the culprit. The September 14 drone attacks on two plants owned by Saudi Arabian giant Aramco, including the world’s largest crude oil processing plant, slashed the company’s oil production by half. The US pointed the finger squarely at Iran and vowed to hold it responsible. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called the assault an “unprecedented attack on the world’s energy supply.”
The American Civil Liberties Union urged the Trump administration Friday to drop its investigation into a Middle East studies program the administration says has focused too much on the “positive aspects of Islam” and misused grant money to promote “ideological priorities.”
A letter from the group’s Washington office urged Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to revoke her agency’s threat to cut grant funding to the Duke University of North Carolina Consortium for Middle East Studies unless it revises its programs.
The ACLU said the Education Department is abusing grant rules to push its own views and is injecting the process with “the presidential administration’s long pattern of anti-Muslim bigotry and discrimination.”
But the investigation is not “anti-Muslim or pro-any other group,” the department said.
“It is absurd to be accused of bigotry for recommending the inclusion of religious and ethnic minorities,” spokeswoman Angela Morabito said in a prepared statement. “Real bigotry would be ignoring or dismissing the existence of religious minorities as immaterial to a full understanding of the region.”
The ACLU joins a growing number of schools and scholars expressing outrage over the investigation.
DOE sent Duke letter asking why taxpayer $ is being used to subsidize academic journal work like "Performance, Gender-Bending and Subversion in the Early Modern Ottoman Intellectual History" & "Radical Love: Teachings from Islamic Mystical Tradition"
— Omri Ceren (@omriceren) September 27, 2019
ACLU demands they back down. https://t.co/pvBj3dgdRt
Congressmen Demand Answers About Horrifying Anti-Semitic Video In Philadelphia
Two U.S. congressmen are asking the Philadelphia Human Relations Commission to reveal the details of its investigation into the April 2019 video of Muslim children from a Philadelphia mosque performing anti-Semitic skits and singing violent songs.The silence on increasing antisemitism cannot be tolerated in NY
The shocking video was presented by the Muslim American Society Islamic Center and Masjid A-Hidaya Mosque in Philadelphia in celebration of “Ummah Day.” As reported at the time by The Daily Wire, the video featured Muslim children singing,
We will chop off their heads … we will lead the army of Allah fulfilling his promise, we will subject them to eternal torture … we will defend the land of divine guidance with our bodies … sacrifice our souls without hesitation.
Following multiple press articles, the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations announced an investigation into the event.
But more than five months have elapsed — with no follow-up from the Commission regarding its findings. Recently, Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) and Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) sent a letter to the Commission’s executive director, Rue Landau, requesting an update of its findings and asking whether further investigation needs to be made by the U.S. Department of Justice.
The letter also informed Landau of the Muslim American Society’s (MAS) role as an “overt arm” of the Muslim Brotherhood and notes that “several senior members of the Muslim Brotherhood are designated as terrorists.” Perry and Zeldin also noted that, given the Muslim American Society has 50 chapters throughout the United States, the results of the Philadelphia investigation are of national importance in trying to understand the role played by the organization and similar groups in indoctrinating American Muslims children towards extremist Islamism.
Contacted about the letter, Landau did not respond.
The disturbing video received both local and national attention at the time, but why is there only continuing interest in the results of the Commission’s investigation from a congressman from New York and a congressman from Dauphin County, Pennsylvania?
Several weeks ago, I penned an article that appeared on both the Arutz Sheva (Israel National News) web site on the egregious phenomenon known as the “politicization” of anti-Semitism in New York and beyond. In the first part of the article, entitled, I place a specific focus on the alarming escalation of brutal attacks on Jews throughout Brooklyn. The victims have been Orthodox Jews; who are clearly identifiable by their traditional garb.Labour’s Dame Louise Ellman says she “understands” why Jews “would seriously consider” leaving UK if Corbyn becomes PM
In my piece, I specifically identify the long-range objectives of the “politicization” process and they are fairly simple to comprehend.
Politicians and elected officials of the Democrat party in New York State have remained mum when the lion’s share of vicious attacks directed at Jews are perpetrated by members of minorities.
Significant, however, and quite noteworthy to document is the substantiated fact that when anti-Semitism rears its ugly head from those who are considered on the political “right” such as white supremacists, nationalists or those who are considered to be Trump supporters, then our Democratic elected officials are up in arms, falling all over each other to stridently and unequivocally condemn such hate in the public square.
Well, if you sense that something enigmatic and hypocritical is lurking behind the scenes, then you have hit the nail on the proverbial head.
Among the many politicians who are guilty of imposing such contemptible double standards in addressing hate are New York State Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and New York State Attorney General Letitia James.
The veteran Labour MP Dame Louise Ellman, who is Jewish, delivered a powerful attack on Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn over his record on antisemitism at a Labour Friends of Israel (LFI) reception the sidelines of the Labour Party Conference. LFI had opted not to host a stand at the Conference for fear of abuse to those manning the stand.Also in September: a selection of other antisemitic incidents that we did not cover
In her speech, Dame Louise condemned Mr Corbyn as someone “who would…label a propagator of the blood libel a ‘very honoured citizen’ and would peddle and endorse vile, trope-laden conspiracy theories,” and remarked, in a thinly-disguised reference to Mr Corbyn, that “too many claim to abhor racism ‘in all its forms’, while ignoring the racism against Jews which stalks party meetings, social media and the highest institutions of the party.”
She went on to ask: “what does it say about Jeremy Corbyn that he looks at a grossly antisemitic mural and apparently cannot see how grotesque and offensive it is; that he was active in an antisemitic Facebook group whose members discussed reading Mein Kampf, used the terms ‘ZioNazi’ and ‘JewNazi’ and discussed whether the BBC was controlled by Zionists, but, again, never seemed to see any of this; and that he was willing to take the pay of Press TV, the mouthpiece of a regime which denies the Holocaust and threatens to annihilate Israel — and even now refuses to apologise for having done so.
“What does it tell us about Jeremy Corbyn that he can describe the words of Hamas terrorists as ‘fascinating and electrifying’? Men who blew up families as they sat enjoying a meal in a pizza restaurant. Men who murdered Israeli teenagers as they excitedly waited to enter a club on a night out with friends. Men who butchered Holocaust survivors as they shared a Passover Seder.
“And what are we left to think when Jeremy Corbyn finds the time to lay wreaths at the graves of those who masterminded the torture and murder of Israeli athletes at Munich, but repeatedly refuses invitations to visit Yad Vashem — the museum and monument to the greatest crime in human history?”
In West Sussex, the graffiti message “F*** Jews” was discovered scrawled on a bus shelter in Handcross, before it was painted over by contractors. Local councillor Norman Webster insisted that “there must be zero-tolerance of antisemitism in our community.”Israel Shares Best Practices with Indian Farmers
In Stamford Hill on 9th September, two Jewish women were confronted by a male wearing dark clothing who spat at them. The incident took place near Leweston Place. Anyone with further information should contact the police on 101 or Stamford Hill Shomrim, the Jewish neighbourhood watch patrol, on 020 7118 7756, citing CAD 6035.
In Gateshead in Tyne and Wear on 12th September, as twenty Jews left a wedding, a male on a bicycle shouted racist remarks and expletives referencing Jews on Bewick Road.
In Stamford Hill on 25th September three teenagers approached a Jewish man on Fairholt Road and threw off his hat and skullcap, laughed and made off. Anyone with further information should contact the police on 101, or Stamford Hill Shomrim on 020 7118 7756, citing CAD 1181.
Dan Alluf is an agricultural counsellor in India for Israel's Agency for International Development Cooperation (MASHAV). Centers of Excellence (CoE) are being set up across the country to share best practices and train Indian farmers. There are 28 centers in 12 states.Shenzhen Hifuture to Invest $45 Million in Israeli 3D Printing Startup XJet
Alluf said, "We try to figure out the farmers' and markets' needs and develop solutions accordingly....[For example,] in Israel, we have developed a special kind of packaging which extends the shelf life of pomegranates by three months. This is a game-changer - it gives a three-month window to the farmer to sell when prices are at their highest."
"We try to protect and promote the bugs that pollinate flowers. To fight pests, we try to introduce insects that control their population rather than spraying insecticides. It is a win-win - farmers reduce their costs and customers get produce with less pesticide residues."
"In Israel, we are using the bombus bee, which is like a bumble bee. We have 'domesticated' it by putting up special hives for it in greenhouses. It pollinates all kinds of flowers and does not sting, so farmers can work peacefully."
In Bhuj, Gujarat, farmer Ishwar Pindoria "diligently implemented the lessons learned in the training and after one year, not only did he have premium quality dates, but for the first time, he also exported his produce to Germany."
"In 2018, we trained 147,000 farmers in India."
Shenzhen-listed electrical equipment company Shenzhen Hifuture Information Technology is set to invest $45 million in Israel-based ceramic 3D printing startup XJet, the former announced in a filing to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange Wednesday. According to the filing, Shenzhen Hifuture is set to make an initial investment of $25 million, and intends to invest an additional $20 million at a later date.‘Jewish Life Must Flourish in Europe’: EU Commissioner Sends Rosh Hashanah Message to Continent’s Jews
Based in central Israel, XJet develops and manufactures a 3D metal jetting system made to produce metal and ceramic parts. The company was founded in 2005 and has raised $105 million to date.
Jewish citizens of the European Union were warmly praised in a message on Friday issued by one of the bloc’s top leaders in advance of the Jewish New Year, which begins on Sunday night.Algemeiner Unveils 6th Annual ‘J100’ List at Gala Featuring Sir Ben Kingsley and Rachel Riley
“May you celebrate Erev Rosh Hashanah surrounded by your loved ones and enjoy blessed High Holidays,” the message from the European Commission’s first vice-president, Frans Timmermans, declared. “The enduring traditions of Rosh Hashanah remind us of the deep values of Judaism and allow us to celebrate its remarkable heritage and contribution to our continent.”
That heritage included the Jewish contribution to Europe’s intellectual culture. “Europe would be different without Sigmund Freud, Albert Einstein or Simone Veil, while Judaism would be poorer without Maimonides or Rashi, Theodor Herzl or Golda Meir,” Timmermans observed.
The message continued: “The coming year will remind us of the 75th anniversary of the end of the Shoah and the liberation of the Nazi death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau which I visited earlier this year on Holocaust Memorial Day. I was fortunate to speak to hundreds of young people about the lessons we should heed, and the responsibility we all must bear. We will also commemorate 30 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall leading to the end of the Communist regimes, which is concomitantly the liberation of Jewish life beyond the ‘Iron Curtain’ and the unification of Europe.”
The Algemeiner unveiled its 6th annual “J100” list of the top 100 people “positively influencing Jewish life” on Thursday night, at a lavish gala in New York City. Honorees in attendance included famed actor Sir Ben Kingsley and TV star Rachel Riley.The Algemeiner's 'J100' list, 2019 -- in one minute
The event, held at Gotham Hall, was attended by some 500 people, who gathered in support of The Algemeiner.
Both Kingsley and Riley received The Algemeiner’s prestigious “Warrior for Truth” award, and the 2019 Algemeiner Honoree was entrepreneur and philanthropist Michael David Heller.
The evening’s Master of Ceremonies was CNN journalist Bianna Golodryga, and the Event Chairs were Robert H. and Amy Book, and Neil and Sharon Book. Bernard-Henri Lévy served as Honorary Chairman, and News 12 anchor Emily Lorsch hosted the red carpet.
Other high-profile attendees at the event included artist Ron Agam, journalist James Taranto, designer Rickie Freeman, radio host Buck Sexton, Consul General of Israel in New York Dani Dayan, activist George Farmer, writer and musician Dominic Green, publisher Marty Peretz, journalist Jere Van Dyk, publicist Stu Loeser, Carnegie Hall Executive and Artistic Director Sir Clive Gillinson, author Tuvia Tenenbom, journalist Tunku Varadarajan and jeweler Erwin Pearl, among many other notable community and industry leaders.
US President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli President Reuven Rivlin — all of whom were included on this year’s “J100” list — sent greeting messages.
The Algemeiner unveiled its 6th annual 'J100' list of top 100 people “positively influencing Jewish life” on Thursday, September 26, 2019 at a star-studded gala in New York City. Honorees in attendance included Sir Ben Kingsley and Rachel Riley.
Real-Life ‘Schindler’s List’ Holocaust Survivor Introduces Algemeiner Honoree Sir Ben Kingsley at ‘J100’ Gala
Famed British actor Sir Ben Kingsley was honored with the prestigious “Warrior for Truth” award on Thursday at the 6th annual Algemeiner ‘J100’ gala in New York City.
Kingsley, whose most prominent Jewish role was as Itzhak Stern in the 1993 Steven Spielberg film “Schindler’s List,” was introduced by Holocaust survivor Halina Silber — who was No. 16 on the real-life list compiled by German industrialist Oskar Schindler.
In his subsequent remarks, Kingsley remembered, “When I met with the great Steven Spielberg to discuss playing Itzhak Stern, I asked him, ‘What is my narrative function in this role?’ and he said, ‘Conscience. Witness.’ As I was filming, I had in my pocket a photograph of Anne Frank and I would say to this beautiful photograph, ‘Dear girl, I’m doing this for you.’ Everyday on the set I would say that.”
“Well, dear friends, tonight I can assure you that if given another opportunity to tell your story I can say wholeheartedly, ‘I’m doing this for you,’” he added.
NYU Student Who Fought BDS Movement on Campus: ‘When You’re Silent, There Can Be No Justice’
“When you’re silent, there can be no justice,” New York University student leader Ben Newhouse said on Thursday, in remarks at The Algemeiner’s 6th annual “J100” gala in Manhattan.
Newhouse recalled his efforts to fight the anti-Israel BDS movement on campus, which were brought attention to by The Algemeiner, drawing a response from the university, which issued a condemnation of the boycott initiative.
“If you care about antisemitism being exposed and the pro-Israel viewpoint having a voice, you will stand up and support The Algemeiner,” he said. “It is that simple. No one should have to go through what I went through at NYU. But I’m so grateful that The Algemeiner was there for me when I needed it the most…’Never again’ begins with your voice.”
