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Sunday, November 10, 2019

11/10 Links: Melanie Phillips: The contemporary clash between faith and politics in the West; The world’s hypocrisy on UNRWA; Israeli eatery named one of best 25 restaurants in world

From Ian:
Melanie Phillips: The contemporary clash between faith and politics in the West
There is, however, another reason why so many American Jews disdain Christian support. This is that they themselves have heavily bought into the secular approach to the world, which has replaced religion by mankind-centered ideologies.

This is particularly unfortunate since these universalist ideologies are inimical to Jewish principles, though many American Jews mistakenly think they embody the Jewish concept of tikkun olam, or the “repair of the world.”

They don’t realize, therefore, why intersectionality – the doctrine that links groups that consider themselves victims of the so-called white hetero-normative capitalist patriarchy – has made such an enemy of Israel and the Jewish people.

They don’t realize that through its animus against Jewish religious principles, seen as the basis of the oppressive power structure known as Western civilization, and against Zionism, seen as the ultimate ethnic colonialist enterprise of that civilization, secular liberal universalism entails a fundamental illiberalism, in addition to a deep intolerance towards biblically faithful Jews and Christians.

They don’t realize that this universalist creed they have made into a secular religion is taking an axe to the cultural virtues they themselves take for granted.

In this crisis for Western civilization, the tragedy for these Jews who don’t realize the importance of their own culture to that civilization is that they’re on the wrong side.
The world’s hypocrisy on UNRWA
Did you think I’d complain that the world is silent in the face of the atrocities perpetuated by a purported refugee agency that acts like a terrorists’ hub? In fact, global silence would be a step up compared to the reality we’re in, because UNRWA has actually been supported by Western countries, along with Arab states. They are guilty by association. For us, this is yet another form of antisemitism, this time concealed under the guise of humanitarianism.

And now we are incensed. Last week it was announced that UNRWA Commissioner General Pierre Krahenbuhl had stepped aside following “allegations of misconduct,” pending investigation. While the nature of these allegations has not been made public, I am confident it is nothing to do with UNRWA’s many decades of supporting – even promoting – hatred, terrorism and violence. So why the outcry now?

When UNRWA support terrorism against Jews, the world is silent. When allegations of corruption come up, countries remove their funding from UNRWA and force the commissioner to step down.

The truth is that no matter what last week’s accusations relate to, it is a slap in the face to Israelis. It confirms what we have suspected all along: Our suffering does not matter. That of Palestinians, yes, but not ours. Misconduct results in consequences – stepping aside, an investigation – only when the victims are not Israeli.
Change the PA textbooks used in UNRWA schools!
Below is a list of basic changes that must be made in the UNWRA textbooks used in the Palestinian Authority.
2. Avoid Demonization of Israel and Jews
- Schoolbooks should not include pieces which virulently demonize Israel/Jews, or de-humanize them, or any description that goes beyond the presentation of Israel and/or the Jews as an ordinary adversary with its own rights, interests and positions. Jews should not be presented as enemies of Islam, as has been often done.
- It is desirable to add to the books the still non-existent material that deals with Israel and the Jews objectively (for example, pieces that talk about the Israeli government structure, economy, science and technology, the Hebrew culture, Jewish history, etc.), which might balance the enormous anti-Israeli critical material in the books.
- It is crucially important to stress in the books that, in spite of the conflict, the Jewish/Israeli individual is also a human being, apart from being an adversary, and should be treated accordingly.
- While dealing with the conflict, the PA schoolbooks studied at UNRWA schools should include also self-criticism (i.e., the rejection of proposals for a peaceful resolution of the conflict, massacre of unarmed Jewish neighbors, etc.)



Pushing back
For Jews everywhere, this has been a depressing year – with antisemitic and anti-Israel activity on the rise.

There were even several shooting attacks on Jewish institutions around the world over the last 12 months, in Pittsburgh and Poway in the US, and Halle in Germany.

As a result, the Jewish Agency is reporting a huge spike in requests to secure Jewish centers around the world. It estimates that over the next year $4 million will be needed to upgrade security in Jewish communities in 40 different countries.

In Sweden, for example, antisemitic hate crimes rose by 53% to an all-time high, including 280 attacks in 2018. Overall, the number of racist assaults in that country jumped 69% since 2016.

Israel’s Strategic Affairs Ministry published a report last month which documents more than 100 examples of global BDS activity (boycott, divestment and sanctions initiatives against Israel) where the BDS efforts clearly qualify as antisemitic in tone and effect. This includes brute intimidation of and discrimination against Jewish (and Israeli) students on Western campuses.

Fortunately, there is brave pushback underway, indicating that many wise observers worldwide understand the treacherous implications for Western society of any growth in virulently anti-Israel sentiment and expression, as well as raw antisemitism.


PMW: Is a Zionist biological bomb poisoning the Middle East?
Referring to Israel as “the Zionist enemy,” a member of the Fatah Revolutionary Council has claimed that Israel seeks to “incite the world against the Muslims” in order to trigger a war between Jews and Arabs.

Fatah official Haj Rifat Shanaah also said that Israel is trying to conjure up an image of being “weak and surrounded by hundreds of millions of Muslims and Arabs” in order to get support from the world. In fact, the Fatah official explained, it is the other way around. The Arab world is under threat from the “biological bomb” that is the “Zionist entity”:
Official PA TV host: “How can we deal with the plans of the Israeli occupation, which is pushing towards a religious war...”

Fatah Revolutionary Council member Haj Rifat Shanaah: “The Zionist enemy... wants to incite the world against the Muslims. It actually wants the war to be between the Jews who are on the Palestinian lands - who are 'weak and surrounded by hundreds of millions of Muslims and Arabs'... This [false] image makes the world unite around this Zionist entity. But it is the exact opposite - the Zionist entity is a sort of biological bomb that is spreading and expanding, and poisoning the whole climate in the region.” [Official PA TV, From Beirut, Oct. 1, 2019]


PMW: Who would celebrate killing "10 Zionists," "37 Zionists," and "76 (and more)"? Fatah lauds arch-terrorist who planned murder of more than 125 Israelis
Posted text: "Martyr [Abu Jihad] (i.e., terrorist, responsible for murder of 125) worked diligently on developing the fighting capabilities of the revolutionary forces. He directed the operations (i.e., terror attacks) against the Zionist enemy from within the territory of Lebanon...

He directed the military operations inside the occupied homeland (i.e., Israel), and personally oversaw the planning and execution of the most prominent excellent and special operations, which inflicted heavy losses on the occupying enemy...

In the early morning hours of April 16, 1988, the Palestinian revolution in the homeland and in the entire world was struck when leader Abu Jihad was assassinated... The [UN] Security Council condemned the filthy assassination operation committed by the Zionists, the murderers of the prophets...

The military operations that Abu Jihad planned:

- The Zohar Reservoir (i.e., near Beit Hanoun in Gaza) bombing in 1955.
- The water pipelines (Eilabun tunnel) bombing in 1965 (i.e., attempted bombing of the Israeli National Water Carrier).
- The Savoy Hotel operation in Tel Aviv in 1975 in which 10 Zionists (sic., 11) were killed.
- The truck bomb explosion in Jerusalem in 1975.
- The killing of senior sapper Albert Levy and his assistant in Nablus in 1976.
- The operation of Dalal Mughrabi (i.e., terrorist who led murder of 37, 12 of them children), in which more than 37 Zionists were killed in 1978.
- The shelling of Eilat Port in 1979 (apparently refers to thwarted bombing in 1978 -Ed.).
- The shelling of the northern settlements with Katyusha [rockets] in 1981.
- The capture of 8 Zionist soldiers in Lebanon and their exchange for 5,000 Lebanese and Palestinian prisoners and 100 prisoners of the lands occupied in 1982.
- The infiltration of the Zionist military government headquarters in Tyre [Lebanon] and its bombing, which led to the death of 76 officers and soldiers, including 12 senior officers, in 1982.
- Directing the 1982-1984 war of attrition in southern Lebanon (i.e., First Lebanon War).
- The Dimona Reactor operation in 1988 (i.e., the Mothers' Bus attack, 3 murdered), which was the main reason for his assassination." [Facebook page of the Fatah Commission of Information and Culture, Oct. 10, 2019]
PA TV hosts glorifies Martyrdom: "We are the only ones who celebrate the news of a Martyrs wedding"
Official PA TV host: "Praise Allah, I want to say that this Martyrdom always is-" Mother of a “Martyr”: "An honor." Official PA TV host: "Exactly! Martyrdom in Palestine is unique. We are the only ones who celebrate the news of a Martyr's wedding." [Official PA TV, Palestine This Morning, Aug. 27, 2019] A Martyr's funeral is considered a wedding to the 72 Virgins in Paradise in Islam.


Song on official PA radio congratulates mothers on Martyrdom-death of their sons
TRANSCRIPT: Singer Zuheir Joudeh: "We have watered this land with blood for you, my country Make sounds of joy, O mother of the Martyr Congratulations on the Martyrdom-death Allah, Allah, Allah We’ll be victorious, Allah willing Palestine is ours and in our blood, and we will not relinquish it, Palestine, O land of honor… We have shouted out loudly so the world would hear We are men who do not fear death.” [[Official PA radio station, Sept. 15, 2018, Sept. 17, 2019]


Former Labour Home Secretary David Blunkett blasts 'anti-Semitism' and 'thuggery' of Jeremy Corbyn's Labour party and predicts a 1983-style wipeout
Labour's election campaign has suffered another heavy blow as former home secretary David Blunkett said the 'anti-Semitism' and 'thuggery' in the party makes him 'despair' - arguing their best hope is now for a hung parliament.

Lord Blunkett, who was an MP for 28 years and now sits as a Labour peer in the upper chamber, said the likelihood of Jeremy Corbyn winning a majority was 'extraordinarily slim'.

But he urged moderates within the party to 'stay and fight' to ensure the 'voice of reason' prevailed, following deputy leader Tom Watson's decision to stand down.

The former Cabinet minister and party chairman's comments came after a bruising week for the party which has seen two of its former MPs urge voters to back the Tories instead.

Ian Austin and John Woodcock said they would be supporting the Conservatives as they did not believe Mr Corbyn was fit to be in Number 10.

And on Friday, Dame Margaret Hodge - one of the most prominent Jewish figures in Labour - declined to endorse the Opposition leader as prime minister.

Writing in the Telegraph, Lord Blunkett said: 'The behaviour of the hard-Left within the Labour Party - the anti-Semitism, the thuggery, the irrational views on security and international issues, and the lack of realisation that you have to embrace a big tent of people in order to win - certainly makes me despair.

'But it also makes the likelihood of an all-out Labour majority in this general election extraordinarily slim. The political landscape right now is completely different to what the hard-Left would have you believe.

'We are in a 1983 situation here, not a 2017 one - with not only the Lib Dems and the Greens, but the Brexit Party, the Tories and the SNP all seriously vying for traditional Labour votes.'
The Guardian: Many Jews want Boris Johnson out. But how can we vote for Jeremy Corbyn?
I’m referring to Britain’s Jews who, for the first time in their history, have concluded that someone hostile to them is on the brink of taking democratic power. Yes, of course, not every single British Jew holds that view. But the most recent poll found that 87% regard Corbyn as an antisemite, meaning an anti-Jewish racist.

Why? The recitation is now wearily familiar. Recall that Corbyn’s first reaction on hearing of a plan to remove a mural filled with hideous caricatures of hook-nosed Jewish bankers was to ask, “Why?” Or that he decided to challenge two “Zionists” not on their arguments but by suggesting that, though they “might have lived in this country for a very long time”, they “don’t understand English irony”. Or that, when a Palestinian Islamist preacher was found by a British tribunal to have peddled the medieval and lethal myth of Jews feasting on the blood of gentile children, Corbyn declared that man a very “honoured citizen”, and invited him for tea in the House of Commons. (And those are merely some of the greatest hits; the full discography runs much longer.)

For four years, Britain’s Jews have – naively, perhaps – waited for the moment when one of these revelations would prove too much for the Labour faithful, shocking them into action. Perhaps it would be the discovery that, despite evidence against hundreds of party members – including those trafficking in grotesque neo-Nazi imagery and Holocaust denial – only a handful have actually been expelled. Or maybe it would be the BBC Panorama investigation that showed how Corbyn’s team repeatedly interfered in antisemitism cases as they went through a supposedly independent disciplinary process, “mainly so they could let their mates off the charge”, as one whistleblower, driven to the brink of suicide, put it. Or perhaps it would be the fact that Labour has become only the second political party ever to be investigated for institutional racism by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (the other was the BNP).

But no. No revelation has ever proved shocking enough that it couldn’t be explained away by those who’d rather not see it. So publicly Labour’s luminaries insist they are fighting a “ruthless” fight against antisemitism, doing all the Jewish community has asked of them, as John McDonnell said this week, even though the facts point the other way.
Jeremy Corbyn-supporting union boss behind Christmas rail strikes is filmed calling Jewish activist a 'Nazi' in rant about Israel
The militant leader of the rail union threatening to inflict strike misery at Christmas is accused of 'spewing out racist poison' in an 'antisemitic' tirade against a Jewish activist.

Steve Hedley is facing calls to resign from his £105,000- a-year role as Senior Assistant General Secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport Union (RMT) over the outburst at a pro-Palestinian meeting.

Video footage shows the militant Jeremy Corbyn supporter shouting at a defender of Israel, Richard Millett: 'You're an absolute disgrace to the Jewish people. You are a modern-day fascist, you are a modern-day Nazi, by supporting those policies that oppress a… minority in your own state.'

He adds: 'What the Nazis did to you, you're doing to the Palestinians.' Mr Millett responds 'Feel better?', to which the union leader says: 'Better than you, obviously. But then again, you're one of the chosen people, so you might feel better than me, huh?'

Mr Millett says: 'So it's about being Jewish?'

Mr Hedley replies: 'It's about being a Zionist.'

British-born Mr Millett came to prominence after being told by Mr Corbyn that he lacked 'English irony', prompting accusations that the Labour leader is antisemitic.

The remarks by Mr Hedley were made at a talk entitled Palestine's Fight For Freedom at the School of African and Oriental Studies in 2011. Mr Millett, 51, told The Mail on Sunday last night that he found the 'chosen people' remark particularly offensive.

He said: 'The "chosen people" is a reference to the Bible, it's not about Israel but Jews in general. It's about the Jews being given a purpose by God to go out into the world and do good things. It has nothing to do with being a better person.

'But it's been reinvented as a derogatory term which basically means, "You think you're better than me because you're Jewish."'
4000 word Prospect Magazine article on ‘Corbynism’ airbrushes antisemitism
A 4,000 word Prospect Magazine article by journalist Jack Shenker (formerly of the Guardian) titled ‘Why Corbynism Matters’ manages – save one fleeting reference – to ignore the antisemitism problem which has engulfed the party since the former backbencher became party leader.

The pro-Corbyn bias in the article is evident early on, when he refers to the ultra-Corbynite Novara Media – whose co-founder, Aaron Bastani, has evoked antisemitic tropes and routinely suggests the Labour antisemitism crisis is a conspiracy to bring down Corbyn – as merely a “left-wing” media outlet. He later lauds Corbynism’s “remarkable” achievements in moving the Overton Window within British political discourse decidedly to the left.

Throughout the piece, Shenker suggests that the hostility towards Corbyn is largely driven not by legitimate disagreement with his radical agenda, or concerns over antisemitism, but from a hostile mainstream media, which he complains is merely interested reporting “in-house gossip and party discord”.

The only reference in the entire article to antisemitism is in this passage:
Indeed, one of the reasons that the ugly debate about anti-semitism within Labour’s ranks reached such a damaging pitch was the leadership’s initial and lamentable withdrawal into a bunker mentality; Momentum, with its reflexive grasp of a more pluralistic politics, reacted much more swiftly to acknowledge and address the issue.

First, the suggestion that Momentum has “addressed the issue” of antisemitism is absurd. Though Momentum did circulate one good video on antisemitism, as Tamara Berens demonstrated in a piece for Mosaic, their activists have often hounded and racially abused Jewish and philosemitic moderate Labour members (and MPs) on social media, and have sometimes argued that the entire antisemitism row is “manufactured”.


Netanyahu: Yitzhak Rabin was wrong, but he was not a traitor
Slain prime minister Yitzhak Rabin “was not a traitor,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday, as he issued a stinging criticism against dangerous political rhetoric, acknowledging that he himself had failed to speak out against such incitement in the period leading up to Rabin’s assassination in 1995.

He recalled the bitter debate over the 1993 Oslo Accords, approved by Rabin and his government, that set in motion a peace process for a two-state resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The debate over Oslo was legitimate, Netanyahu said.

“What was not legitimate was to call Yitzhak Rabin a 'traitor' or a 'murderer.' Over the years since the murder, I have heard this false claim by fanatics who oppose Oslo,” Netanyahu said.

He admitted that in the past, “I stood to the side, I was silent and did not respond."

"At times, I even encouraged it,” Netanyahu said.

He had even heard such incitement at Rabin memorials, he said, including by Rabin's grave, both “explicitly and implicitly.”

“But repeating a lie many times does not make it true.” Here is what I said then, countless times. No, Rabin was not a traitor. He was wrong, but he was not a traitor,” Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu: Liberman is coordinating with Arab Joint List, Gantz
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman of working with the Joint List, in remarks made before Sunday’s cabinet meeting.

Netanyahu responded to the ultimatum Liberman made to him and Blue and White leader Benny Gantz, by which the former must give up on the rest of the right-wing bloc, the latter must allow Netanyahu to be prime minister first in a rotation agreement, and both would form a national unity government. If one side won’t compromise, then Liberman will support the other.

“I hope it’s not so, but it looks like Liberman is coordinating with the Joint List and Blue and White on all the details,” Netanyahu said.

If the 55-seat right-wing bloc does not break up, and Liberman backs Gantz as he said he would, then the Blue and White leader’s only option – assuming he continues to oppose working with the right-wing parties as a bloc – is a minority government with outside support from the Joint List.

Netanyahu pointed out that six weeks ago, Liberman called the Joint List “a fifth column trying to destroy us from the inside” and “enemies,” and that “they belong in the parliament in Ramallah and not in the Knesset.” He made similar comments again 10 days ago to KAN Bet.
Bloomberg Prepared to Lead Israel (satire)
Former Mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg, has confirmed that in the highly unlikely outcome that his potential third attempt to become US President is unsuccessful he is more than willing to step in to lead Israel.

A spokesman for Mr Bloomberg commented, “It’s clearly a longshot because we all recognize how amazingly successful independent candidates have been in presidential campaigns. Come on we all remember Perot and the other one……… However, if against all odds it doesn’t work out then we’ve been very clear that Israel could be the lucky runner-up in the ‘who wants to be run by a proper billionaire’ competition.”

“It’s clear that the one thing that’s been holding the region back is the leadership of a really rich Jewish guy. We recognize that Michael is a little on the secular side for some tastes, but he pledges to throw himself wholeheartedly into religious feuds if, and we must stress again this is our second option, he takes on the Prime Ministry.”
Israel to attend Expo 2020 Dubai, an Arab state with whom it has no ties
Israel’s government is set to decide today on whether to participate in Expo 2020 Dubai in October of next year, which will draw some 190 nations and is expected to be the largest World’s Fair held in the Middle East and Africa.

“This reflects on-the-ground continued progress in normalization with the Arab states,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting. “We have increasingly tighter relations with at least half-a-dozen Arab states. This has been done thanks to our policy that combines strength, common interests and very careful step-by-step approach to advance normalization, which in my view, will bring about peaceful relations in the end. It will take time, but we will get there.”

According to its website, the world’s fair – the first to be held in Dubai – will attract 25 million visitors, some 70% of which are expected to come from outside the United Arab Emirates. It will take place from October 20, 2020, through April 10, 2021.

According to Expo 2020 Dubai, innovations launched at previous world’s fairs have included, “the telephone (Philadelphia, 1876), the Eiffel Tower (Paris, 1889), the Ferris wheel (Chicago, 1893), the X-ray machine (Buffalo, 1901), the ice cream cone (St. Louis, 1904), the commercial broadcast television (New York, 1939), IMAX (Osaka, 1970), touch screens (Knoxville, 1982) and the humanoid robot (Nagoya, 2005).”

Israel – which hosted a world’s fair in 1953 and attended one in Kazakhstan in 2017 – wants to spend NIS 55,300 on this one, according to information published Sunday by the Prime Minister’s Office following the meeting. That budget has yet to be approved.

The cabinet decision also called for the appointment of an expo commissioner and a committee to oversee Israel’s participation in this half-year-long event.
Greek prime minister endorses universal definition of antisemitism
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis endorsed the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's (IHRA) definition of antisemitism on November 8.

“Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities," according to the IHRA.

"To effectively combat antisemitism requires leaders who are willing to speak out and take action against the persistent hatred of Jews," said American Jewish Committee (AJC) CEO David Harris.

Harris praised the Greek prime minister, saying "Thanks to Prime Minister Mitsotakis, Greece has joined the growing list of nations agreeing on defining antisemitism, including 13 European Union member states, though much more is needed to develop and implement concrete action plans."




France reopens contested Jewish tomb in east Jerusalem
French authorities reopened one of Jerusalem’s most magnificent ancient tombs to the public for the first time in over a decade, despite a dispute over access to the archaeological-cum-holy site in the city’s volatile eastern half.

After several aborted attempts, the French Consulate General reopened the Tomb of the Kings last month. But tensions between French authorities and Israeli nationalists and ultra-Orthodox Jews who seek open worship at the tomb and challenge France’s ownership continue to make day-to-day operations problematic at the site.

France, which has managed the property since the late 19th century, closed the site for an extensive $1.1 million restoration in 2009. The French tricolor flutters over the site’s massive black gate marked with the words “Republique Francaise,” which obscures the grand 2,000-year-old mausoleum and Jewish ritual baths from the street.

The Tomb of the Kings is an underground burial complex dating to the first century BC and “definitely one of the most elaborately decorated tombs that we have from the early Roman period in Jerusalem,” said Orit Peleg-Barkat, a Hebrew University archaeologist. Access to the interior burial chambers is prohibited.

Felicien de Saulcy, a Frenchman who excavated the site in 1863 in one of the first modern-era archaeological digs in the Holy Land, mistakenly identified the tomb as belonging to biblical kings. He took two sarcophagi found inside, as well as human remains, back to Paris despite protest by the local Jewish community. They remain in the Louvre’s collection.

In 1878, a French Jewish woman purchased the property through the French consul in Jerusalem, and eight years later one of her heirs donated it to the French government.
Gaza orphan's self-immolation sparks outcry on social media
The death of a 28-year-old Palestinian from the Gaza Strip weeks after self-immolation has triggered a wave of protests among Palestinians, who are accusing Hamas and the Palestinian Authority of failing to prevent the tragedy.

Yahya Karajeh died in a hospital last Thursday from wounds he sustained when he set himself on fire in protest of economic hardship in the Gaza Strip. In a video he posted on social media a few days before he set himself on fire, Karajeh complained that no one in the Gaza Strip wanted to help him.

He said that he went to the home of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, but was kicked out by the guards.

“The guards told me that Haniyeh is no longer the prime minister,” Karajeh said. “I went to the Palestinian Authority offices, where I was told to go away. Who should I go to? My father passed away and my mother remarried and is living in Jordan.”

Karajeh said that he and his younger brother, Aboud, have been sleeping on the streets of the Gaza Strip in recent months because they have no relatives in the Hamas-ruled coastal enclave.

Palestinians who visited Karajeh in hospital days before his death quoted him as saying: “I didn’t try to commit suicide. I just imploded.”

Karajeh’s self-immolation highlights the economic and humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, which has been controlled by Hamas since 2007.
JPost Editorial: Rein in Erdogan
In 2009, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stormed off the stage at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where he had been sitting next to Israeli president Shimon Peres. “You are killing people,” Erdogan yelled at Peres over the fighting at the time between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Erdogan didn’t just leave the stage; he also made a strategic decision to destroy Israeli-Turkish relations, until then a cornerstone of the tenuous security and stability that existed in the Middle East.

For Peres, personally, it was also a slap in the face. Just months earlier he had visited Turkey on his first overseas trip as president, a sign of the importance the ties meant for Israel. During his visit, he was treated like royalty and even stayed in the Presidential Palace in Ankara. After Davos that seemed like a distant memory.

This Wednesday, Erdogan will meet with US President Donald Trump in the White House, and the two are expected to discuss a wide-range of issues, from Turkey’s continued membership in NATO to the US withdrawal from Syria and the ongoing Turkish military operation there, as well as Iranian attempts to establish military bases in the war-torn country.

Trump should add another issue to his agenda: getting Erdogan to stop his blatant antisemitism and anti-Israel policies and rhetoric. Simply put, he needs to rein in the Turkish dictator.

Last December, for example, Erdogan publicly stated that Jews in Israel kick people when they lie on the floor, and that Jews kick not only men but women and children as well.

Muslims, the Turkish leader said, will confront the Jews “if they have the courage to deal with us, and we will teach them a lesson.”

In July, he said that whoever is on the side of Israel, let them know that we are against them.
Hezbollah says its 'arms won't be twisted' as Lebanon crisis deepens
Political talks to agree an urgently needed Lebanese government are still deadlocked, three senior sources said on Sunday, as the powerful Shi'ite group Hezbollah indicated it would not be forced into concessions.

The latest failure to break Lebanon's political impasse will worsen pressures on an economy gripped by its deepest crisis since the 1975-90 civil war, amid protests against a political establishment widely regarded as corrupt and inept.

Since reopening a week ago, commercial banks have been seeking to stave off capital flight by blocking most transfers abroad and imposing curbs on hard-currency withdrawals, though the central bank has announced no formal capital controls.

A big part of Lebanon's economic crisis stems from a slowdown of capital inflows which has led to a scarcity of U.S. dollars and spawned a black market where the Lebanese pound has weakened below its official pegged rate.

A meeting on Saturday evening between caretaker Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri and senior officials from Hezbollah and its Shi'ite ally Amal failed to yield any breakthrough towards forming the new cabinet, the sources said.
At Least 300 Dead, 15,000 Injured Since Iraqi Anti-Government Protests Began In October: Report
At least 300 people were killed and 15,000 have been injured since anti-government protests in Iraq began in October, according to the country’s human rights commission.

Four people were killed in Baghdad on Saturday, and two were killed Friday in the southern city of Basra, CNN reported, citing a Saturday statement from the Independent High Commission for Human Rights of Iraq (IHCHR).

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) reported similar numbers in a Nov. 8 press release, saying at least 269 people have been killed and more than 8,000 have been injured, though “exact casualty figures may be much higher.”

“We are gravely concerned about continuing reports of deaths and injuries resulting from the use of force by security forces against demonstrators, as well as deliberate killings by armed elements in Iraq,” the OHCHR statement reads. “The majority of the casualties have resulted from the use of live ammunition by security forces and armed elements, described by many as private militia groups.”

Unrest flared in Baghdad and several Shiite provinces in early October when civilians began to express outrage with government corruption in the country that has led to unemployment and a lack of clean water and electricity, according to CNN.

Iran admits case of Robert Levinson, ex-FBI agent missing since 2007, is ‘ongoing’
A former FBI agent who many had given up for dead may in fact still be alive.

Robert A. Levinson’s case is currently “ongoing,” Iran admitted in a United Nations filing, The Associated Press reported on Saturday.

It is the first time the country has acknowledged the existence of a legal case in its Revolutionary Court surrounding Levinson, who vanished in 2007 after being apprehended on Iran’s Kish Island, the wire service reported.

Levinson had been in Iran on a secret mission for the CIA which remains classified.

The agency did not have authority to run spy missions in the country, the AP reported in 2013. The CIA gave the Levinson family a $2.5 million annuity to halt a lawsuit that might have revealed details of the case.

It is believed he was gathering intelligence on the secretive regime for the US government.

Levinson spent 22 years in the FBI, with previous service as a special agent in the Los Angeles, New York and Miami field offices. He also spent six years with the Drug Enforcement Administration

Levinson was last seen with US fugitive Dawud Salahuddin, who is accused of murdering an Iranian diplomat who had been critical of Ayatollah Khomeini in 1980. Salahuddin has been hiding out in Iran ever since.

In November 2010, video emerged of Levinson wearing an orange jumpsuit and pleading to be released and return back to the United States. He had lost a considerable amount of weight.
Rouhani anti-corruption speech heckled by protesters
Demonstrators protested against Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's government during a speech he gave in central Iran on Sunday, according to Radio Farda.

The speech was interrupted multiple times by slogans being chanted among the crowd.

Rouhani responded to the protesters, saying that "the voice of these young men is not the voice of the people," and calling on supporters "not to allow America's demands to be voiced by these individuals."

The Iranian president claimed that only a "few individuals" were protesting, but Iranian state TV showed a fairly large group of people chanting slogans against Rouhani and his government.

A group of clerical students in Qom held a gathering and chanted slogans against Rouhani last week. The students were described as "radicals" by the pro-administration daily newspaper Arman-e Melli.
A Hate Group Gets a College Hall Pass
The atmosphere on North American college campuses today is one in which anything that can be labeled, fairly or unfairly, hate speech; and anything that might make virtually any group feel “triggered” or otherwise upset can be banned or otherwise silenced. Universities that once prided themselves on their defense of free speech against efforts to suppress dissent now go out of their way to provide “safe places” for those who are too sensitive to hear views that contradict their own prejudices and biases.

But there’s one particular kind of hate speech that is not suppressed or restricted, but openly encouraged, if not honored: antisemitism.

Unlike groups that preach prejudice against virtually any minority group or category of sexual preference, Jew-hatred is all the rage in academia lately. What makes this trend even more disturbing is that those who are advocating antisemitism do so in the name of “justice.”

The activities and beliefs of National Students for Justice in Palestine are the focus of a new study from the Institute for the Study of Global Anti-Semitism and Policy and their findings constitute a wakeup call for those who foolishly think that hatred of Jews is only to be found on the far-right.

What’s more, NSJP hasn’t just managed to avoid the opprobrium that is thrown at far less controversial and divisive groups in order to shun and silence them; the group has found a comfortable home at many universities, where they have not only evaded censure, but been able to marginalize Jews and supporters of Israel. NSJP has become a hate group with a hall pass that gives it carte blanche to spread disinformation and venomous libels about Jews that go unanswered by responsible authorities and liberal groups that otherwise masquerade as crusaders against hate.
BDS fails to derail Israeli-S. African multi-million dollar deal
An attempt by the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement (BDS) in South Africa to derail the purchase of dairy giant Clover by a consortium led by Israel’s Central Bottling Company has failed.

On September 25, the deal was finally approved by South Africa’s Competition Commission.

The deal initially came to the forefront in February after Clover was offered by investors led by Israel’s Central Bottling Company (CBC) $354 million (NIS 1.2 m.) buyout.

Following pressure from the BDS movement in South Africa, Brimstone Investments, one of the initial consortium members of the deal, pulled out. Despite this, everything still went ahead as planned.

The newly-formed consortium Milco, in which CBC holds a majority, offered to buy 59.5% of the South African dairy producer.

At the time, BDS SA spokesman Tisetso Magama said that CBC “has operations in Israel’s illegal settlements – both in the occupied Palestinian West Bank and in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights,” adding that “CBC and its subsidiaries own a regional distribution center in the illegal Israeli Atarot settlement industrial zone, a vineyard near Mount Shifon in the occupied Golan Heights and a dairy farm, as well as offices in the illegal Israeli settlement of Shadmot Mehola in the Jordan Valley – all in violation of international law.”

The anti-Israel organization also warned that “if the deal proceeds, we will actively initiate, support and/or join the call for direct action and a militant but peaceful campaign, including protests and disruptions, against Clover and a boycott of all its products.”

However, in a statement released last week, BDS SA peddled back on the threats for mass protests and disruptions.
Descendants of Nazis organize global marches against contemporary anti-Semitism
At a candlelight vigil for the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting victims last year after a gunman slaughtered 11 Jews in the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in United States history, German-born Claudia Kiesinger stood in solidarity with others voicing outrage over the massacre.

As she took in the scene around her, Kiesinger couldn’t help but ask herself: what would have happened if the Germans — especially after Kristallnacht in November, 1938 — had stood together in similar protest?

“Kristallnacht was the door-opener for all that happened during the Holocaust,” said Kiesinger, the US coordinator for the March of Life, a grassroots movement launched under the auspices of the Evangelical TOS Church in Tubingen, Germany.

The organization reaches out to Holocaust survivors to express remorse over Nazi crimes, and many of its members are descendants of Nazis. In the United States, the group is known as March of Remembrance. (It is not connected to the March of the Living educational program, which was established in 1988.)

“Could things have been different?” Kiesinger told The Times of Israel. “If the German people had gone out onto the streets the day after Kristallnacht and said, ‘We don’t want this to happen, this is outrageous,’ and protested against it, maybe something would have changed, or maybe Hitler even wouldn’t have dared to do it.”

“Of course, this is just speculation,” she said. “But for me, I realized that it is so important to raise your voice and not be silent — not to look away.”
Beis Rivkah’s Windows Smashed Friday Night By Man With A Gun
Two windows on the Brooklyn Ave side of the Bais Rivkah building on Lefferts Ave were vandalized Friday night by a gun wielding vandal.

Surveillance footage obtained by Crown Heights Shomrim shows the man at around 8:10pm Friday evening as he walks down Brooklyn Ave and stops at the two windows. The man uses the butt of his hand gun to shatter the windows before walking off.

The vandal makes no attempt to break in, or rob the building.

Bais Rivkah’s Benji Stock informed CrownHeights.info that a police report was filed Motzai Shabbos.

If anyone has any information in regards, please contact the 71st Precinct at 718-735-0501 and Crown Heights Shomrim at 718-774-3333.


UNESCO to vote on cutting ties with Belgian carnival where Jews were mocked
The annual parade in Belgium that this year featured a float with effigies of grinning Jews holding money with rats on their shoulders is formally facing removal of its UNESCO credentials.

A vote is scheduled for next month on the removal of the Aalst carnival from the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, according to the agenda published this week for a meeting in Colombia of UNESCO’s committee responsible for the list.

The committee “decides to remove the Aalst carnival,” the draft resolution reads.

It is the first time that a place or event has been put forth for delisting.

The draft resolution lists the 2019 edition, which provoked outrage and accusations of anti-Semitism, and several other cases, including a float in 2009 that featured men dressed like Orthodox Jews wearing fake hooked noses and Palestinian symbols.

The 2013 edition had revelers dressed like Nazis holding canisters labeled “Zyklon B” walking along caged revelers dressed like Nazi concentration camp prisoners. Zyklon B was a poison the Nazis used to kills Jews in gas chambers.
NASA to send Israeli solar-power generator to International Space Station
A new prototype miniaturized solar-power generator developed in Israel will be sent by NASA to the International Space Station in its first launches of 2020. The new generator was designed by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev’s professor emeritus Jeffrey Gordon – funded through a research grant by the Science, Technology and Space Ministry – and by his US colleagues from Pennsylvania State University, University of Illinois, George Washington University, US Naval Research Laboratory, HNU Systems and Northwestern University. Its design and verification were published in the journal Optics Express.

The prototype consists of a compact, low-mass, molded-glass solar concentrator, which is bonded with a monolithic integration of transfer-printed micro-scale solar cells. Each of these cells consists of a variety of different materials that, in tandem with one another, can effectively and efficiently exploit and utilize the solar spectrum.

Notably, the generator has been shown to provide unprecedented specific power while having a liberal optical tolerance when it comes to accommodating errors: particularly, errors from pointing at the Sun, structural vibration and thermal distortion.

The new generator has a thickness of 1.7 mm. and has 0.65 mm. solar panels. However, the team is currently working on a second-generation model, which should be able to further increase power output, and will be predicated on the usage of solar panels having only about a quarter of the width (0.17 mm.), and that are currently in development at the US Naval Research Laboratory. By comparison, the thickness of a piece of paper is only a little more than half of that, at 0.1 mm. Since solar concentrator dimensions are scaled to size, this second-generation generator will have a total thickness of less than 1 mm.
MENORAH OF MARILYN MONROE SOLD FOR $112,522 AT AUCTION
The menorah candelabra of Marilyn Monroe, the legendary Hollywood icon who passed away in 1962, was recently sold at an auction and fetched $112, 522.

Monroe was known as a prominent 1950s sex symbol, model and star of numerous Hollywood films, including “Some Like it Hot” and “The Seven Year Itch.” Monroe’s contact with Judaism came when she married famed playwright Arthur Miller and converted in 1956.

According to historical accounts given by the Jewish Museum of New York, upon her conversion to Judaism, Monroe took time to study Judaic texts with Robert. E. Goldburg, Arthur Miller’s rabbi.

The brass-plated menorah, which can play the Israeli national anthem via a wind-up mechanism, was originally given as a gift from Miller’s parents. Monroe was still in possession of the menorah when she died, in addition to other Judaica items.

Following her death, the menorah was sold to a private collector at an auction of Monroe’s personal possessions, and later showcased as part of an exhibition at the Jewish Museum of New York and National Museum of American Jewish History, located in Philadelphia.
National Library of Israel uploads 120,000 historic books online
The National Library of Israel (NLI) and Google have announced that 120,000 books from the library’s collection will be uploaded to Google Books for the first time as part of their collaboration.

The books that are expected to be uploaded will, according to NLI, include all of the library’s out-of-copyright, royalty-free books which have not yet been digitized. Around 45% of the books are written, in Hebrew script, in Hebrew, Yiddish, Ladino and other languages of the Jewish world. The rest of the works are in a variety of languages, including Latin, German, French, Arabic and Russian.

The books are transported from Jerusalem’s NLI to Google’s digitation center in Germany via Rotterdam in secured, climate-controlled shipping containers. With thousands of books being shipped, scanned and shipped back each month, the process is expected to be completed within two years.

“We are very happy to be working with Google in fulfilling our mission to open access to the treasures of Jewish, Israeli and universal culture for diverse audiences across the globe,” said Yaron Deutscher, head of digital access at the NLI. “More specifically, it is a significant contribution to our work opening digital access to all books published in the first 450 years of Hebrew printing.”

According to Ben Bunnell, head of library partnerships at Google Books, “the Google Books project [was] launched 15 years ago with the aspiration of bringing the entire world’s books online and making them searchable and discoverable to everyone on Earth.”
Israeli eatery named one of best 25 restaurants in world
Uri Buri restaurant in Acre (Akko) was named to the top 25 “Best Fine Dining Restaurants in the World” as part of the 2019 TripAdvisor Traveler’s Choice Awards.

Owned and operated by chef and hotelier Uri “Buri” Jeremias, the namesake restaurant offers Western Galilean cuisine focused on sea-to-table seafood and fish dishes. Open daily, the eatery also offers more than 100 kinds of fine Israeli wines.

Uri Buri is housed in a restored 400-year-old, Ottoman-era residence overlooking the Mediterranean Sea in the Old City of Acre, formerly the capital of the Second Crusader Kingdom.

TripAdvisor wrote about Uri Buri: “Great seafood with clever and tasty combinations. Get the tasting menu and just enjoy the dishes as they come.”

Established in 2002, the Travelers’ Choice awards based on millions of reviews and opinions from travelers around the world.

In the 2019 “Best Fine Dining” list, Uri Buri is included alongside restaurants such as Epicure (Paris), The Jane (Antwerp), El Celler de Can Roca (Girona, Spain) and The Black Swan at Oldstead (UK).

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