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Monday, August 03, 2020

08/03 Links Pt2: Celebrity Antisemites Can’t Be Absolved Through Private Apologies; Seth Rogen’s Ignorance Spread by Uncritical Media; Ze’ev Jabotinsky remembered 80 years after his death

From Ian:
Antisemitism on the Internet
Antisemitic tweets – European countries with the most

France (9,150) is followed by Germany, Spain, Belgium, Ireland and Austria.

Diaspora Minister Omar Yankelevich presented the EU Ambassador with data regarding antisemitism on Twitter, as collected by the Diaspora Ministry’s Internet monitoring system. Omar and the EU ambassador agreed to cooperate in order to keep Jewish communities in Europe safe and to monitor online antisemitism.

Over the last two months (June and July 2020) 14,210 antisemitic tweets have been posted in European countries. The largest number of antisemitic tweets was recorded in France – 9,150 tweets uploaded by 3,000 web “surfers;” followed by Germany – 2,470; Spain – 2,080; Belgium – 220; Ireland – 168; and Austria – 93 tweets.

This data was collected by the monitoring system of the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs. In total, the monitoring system identified 14,210 antisemitic tweets posted by 4,680 users in these six countries, out of 266,200 posts uploaded by 114,600 users.

Diaspora Minister Omar Yankelevich presented the data at a meeting held last weekend with the EU Ambassador to Israel, Emanuel Joffre, in which they agreed to cooperate in protecting Jewish communities in Europe, monitoring online antisemitism and preserving the religious freedom of European Jews. According to Yankelevich, the difference in the number of tweets between states illustrates the importance of extensive legislation and decisive enforcement against incitement to hatred.

In view of the data presented, the Minister sought to increase cooperation with the EU and streamline funding that communities receive from the EU for security measures. This is to ensure the security and safety of the Jewish communities in Europe. The ambassador expressed his willingness to work in close cooperation with Israel, against the phenomenon of increasing antisemitism on the Internet and “on the ground.” The two also discussed creative ways to connect Jewish communities in Israel with communities across Europe.

Minister Yankelevich: “European Jews are experiencing a difficult period during the Corona crisis. Over a thousand Jews have died of the virus, including rabbis and community leaders. Especially during this period we must work in full cooperation with the EU to maintain the safety and existence of Jewish communities in Europe. I thank the ambassador for his willingness to assist with this issue as well as to monitor anti-Semitism on the Internet and to preserve the religious freedom of the Jews in the EU countries. This is our shared responsibility.”


Protected hate - Arsen Ostrovsky


French Antisemitic Agitator Dieudonné Permanently Banned From Facebook for ‘Dehumanizing Jews’
A little over a month after he was booted from YouTube for consistently posting antisemitic content, the French comedian and agitator Dieudonné has been permanently banned from the Facebook and Instagram social media platforms for the same offense.

A Facebook spokesperson on Monday confirmed that Dieudonné had used “dehumanizing terms against Jews” in several of his posts.

“In line with our policy on dangerous individuals and organizations, we have permanently banned Dieudonné M’Bala M’Bala from Facebook and Instagram,” the company said in a statement. “Banning a person permanently from our services is a decision that we always weigh carefully, but individuals and organizations that attack others on the basis of what they are do not have a place on Facebook or Instagram.”

The prohibition means that Dieudonné has been cut off from his 1.3 million followers on Facebook, in addition to the 400,000 users he lost when his YouTube account was shut down on June 30.

Banned from the UK, Canada and Belgium among other countries, Dieudonné has been convicted numerous times in France for violating laws against hate speech and Holocaust denial. He often collaborates with Alain Soral, a French neo-Nazi, and was an energetic promoter of the late Holocaust denier, Robert Faurisson.

One of Dieudonné’s songs, titled “Shoananas” — a word that combines “Shoah,” the Hebrew word for “Holocaust,” with “ananas,” the French word for “pineapple” — pokes fun at the six million Jewish victims of the Nazis. The comedian is arguably best known for inventing the “quenelle” — an inverted Nazi salute that went viral in 2013.

Facebook’s decision was welcomed by politicians, anti-racist groups and Jewish organizations, some of whom called on the company to close down all similar accounts.

“I welcome Facebook’s decision and hope there will be more,” Elisabeth Moreno — France’s minister for equality — said in a statement. “All forms of speech inciting hatred and racism must be banned from social networks.”



Honest Reporting: Seth Rogen’s Ignorance Spread by Uncritical Media
Why are major news organizations uncritically giving a platform to a celebrity who implied that Jews were attempting to bury the widespread perception of them as usurpers of other people’s land?

In a recent episode of the popular WTF podcast with Marc Maron, Hollywood star Seth Rogen was asked whether he agreed that Israel should exist. His response: “To me it just seems an antiquated thought process. If it is for religious reasons, I don’t agree with it, because I think religion is silly.”

In the widely-shared interview, Rogen added that he believes Israel “makes no sense” and is non-essential to the “preservation of Jewish people” before going on to claim that he had been lied to about the Jews’ historical connection to Israel:
They never tell you that – oh by the way, there were people there. They make it seem like it was just like sitting there, like the f***ing door’s open! …They forget to include the fact to every young Jewish person.

Apparently, the accomplished actor, comedian, writer, producer, and director thinks the State of Israel is unnecessary, perhaps even detrimental, for Jews.

Rogen is entitled to express his opinion, but it is one devoid of objectivity and context. And as such, media organizations including Newsweek, The Guardian and many others have failed to fulfill their journalistic obligations to fill in the gaps for their readers.

Good journalism isn’t about merely reporting one point of view. Good journalism involves going to multiple sources and getting the full story. And here, by presenting Rogen’s thoughts alone without any criticism, the media has provided anti-Israel activists and organizations with further ammunition to cast doubt on Israel’s legitimacy.

‘I was fed a huge amount of lies about Israel’
Take for example how France’s FR24 opens its coverage of the Rogen story:
Seth Rogen said he had been “fed a tremendous amount of lies about Israel” as a young Jew, fueling controversy around the country’s sometimes strained relations with many North American Jews…

At no point does FR24 make any mention of the Jewish people’s historical connection and legal rights to Israel. Rather, the outlet seemingly uses his words to accentuate, if not deepen, a growing divide between Israel and the US, in particular.

Meanwhile, the Evening Standard uncritically includes this passage
He said: “You don’t keep all your Jews in one basket. I don’t understand why they did that [moved to Israel]. It makes no sense whatever… It would be nice to live somewhere that is not part of the Christian apocalyptic prophecy.”

The Evening Standard neglects to mention a primary catalyst for Jews returning to their ancestral homeland: rampant, murderous antisemitism. Without making space for the historical context, the Evening Standard allows Rogen’s faulty reasoning a platform, that any Jewish connection to Israel is based on ‘Christian apocalyptic prophecy.
Seth Rogen said to apologize for comments doubting Israel’s legitimacy
In a statement Sunday, the Jewish Agency said a Zoom conversation was held over the weekend between Rogen and its chairman, Isaac Herzog, who had earlier written a letter to Rogen regarding his interview.

The letter reached Rogen’s parents, who live in Vancouver, having met in Israel while volunteering at a kibbutz in the 1970s. Rogen then called the Jewish Agency and asked to speak with Herzog, but insisted that the conversation not be recorded, according to a Hebrew-language statement sent to The Times of Israel.

In a Facebook post, Herzog said in English that he was “glad to hold a frank and open conversation” with Rogen. Herzog also tweeted about the conversation.

“At the start, Seth was kind enough to make clear to me that what was missing in the published interview was what he did not say: How important Israel is to him. And that, of course, Israel must exist,” Herzog wrote.

He said he had told Rogen that “many Israelis and Jews around the world were personally hurt by his statement, which implies the denial of Israel’s right to exist.”

“Rogen told me that this is not at all what he meant and explained his words were meant as a joke, taken from a critical, humorous exchange with a fellow Jewish comedian,” Herzog wrote. “He was misunderstood and apologized for that and I accepted his explanation.”

Rogen said he was aware that anti-Israel activists were using his statements, and “noted he was very concerned about rising anti-Semitism, which he himself is combating daily and is also assisting the Jewish community on this front,” according to Herzog.
Seth Rogen says mom made him call Jewish Agency chief, appears to deny apology
Canadian Jewish actor and comedian Seth Rogen on Sunday distanced himself from a statement from the Jewish Agency that claimed Rogen had “apologized” in a Zoom conversation with its chairman for saying last week that Israel “doesn’t make sense.”

In a statement earlier Sunday, the Jewish Agency said a Zoom conversation was held over the weekend between Rogen and its chairman, Isaac Herzog, in which Rogen had “apologized,” saying his comments had been made in jest.

However, when approached about the conversation, Rogen told Israeli-American journalist Mairav Zonszein that she should “read what I actually said about all this and not these secondhand telling.” He also said his “mom made me call” Herzog.

Zonszein tweeted a screenshot of his remarks.


That tweet was liked by Rogen, although he has not publicly commented on the issue or detailed his side of the conversation.

According to the Jewish Agency, it sent a letter that reached Rogen’s parents, who live in Vancouver, having met in Israel while volunteering at a kibbutz in the 1970s. Rogen then called the Jewish Agency and asked to speak with Herzog, but insisted that the conversation not be recorded, according to a Hebrew-language statement sent to The Times of Israel.
Shmuley Boteach: Celebrity Antisemites Can’t Be Absolved Through Private Apologies
Recently, Mort Klein of the ZOA engaged Ice Cube in a two-hour conversation that was treated as an act of absolution for the antisemitic rapper. Mort was convinced, according to JTA, that “the rapper was not antisemitic.”

According to JTA, Ice Cube has “drawn widespread condemnation after repeatedly tweeting antisemitic images and support for Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who has disparaged Jews over the years, including comparing them to termites.”

I’m sure that Mort’s intentions were noble, and I do not question whether we in the Jewish community should be doing outreach to those whose hatred might be reversed. But I am increasingly disturbed at the growing number of celebrities granted clemency for public racism, antisemitism, and bigotry through private conversations rather than public penance.

If Ice Cube wants to repudiate his long history of antisemitism, he must do it in the forum where that Jew-hatred was uttered: in public.

Recently, influential rapper and producer Jay Electronica told his nearly 400,000 followers on Twitter that Jews are “imposters” and black people are the “true children of Israel.” He also described the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Rabbi Abraham Cooper as a “DEVIL” before capping-off his nearly all-caps tirade with “#SynagogueOfSatan.”

Jay Electronica has recorded songs with Chance the Rapper and Travis Scott, and his most recent album features Jay-Z on eight of its ten tracks. The album offended some with its sickening rhyme: “And I bet you a Rothschild I get a bang for my dollar / The Synagogue of Satan want me to hang by my collar…” The Jew-hatred was balanced out by the album’s non-stop Jewish biblical imagery — including references to Moses, Ezekiel, and even the rapper’s claim that it was “recorded over 40 days and 40 nights.”

Jay Electronica now joins a squad of leading cultural figures waging a concerted campaign to hijack Jewish nationhood, giving whole new meaning to the words “identity theft.”
When Instagram Turns Toxic: How It Feels To Be The Victim Of Antisemitic Abuse Online
The events of recent weeks, however, suggest to me that fighting antisemitism is not included in the agenda for many of Instagram’s activists. A few weeks ago, in response to the company Shein listing a swastika necklace on the same day that DeSean Jackson went on an antisemitic rant, I turned to a group of Jewish friends to discuss. We had all been very vocal on social media in response to the Black Lives Matter movement only a few weeks prior. It is well recognised that antisemitic attacks, whether verbal or physical, often trigger nightmares and panic attacks, especially to those who have suffered intergenerational trauma. But the deafening lack of public acknowledgement and outright indifference was even more frightening than the attacks. Did this mean that we Jews did not deserve general communal outrage in the face of social injustices?

I felt I needed to say something on my feed in response to these public, shameless acts of blatant antisemitism, all of which were evoking feelings of fear and anxiety. I decided to call out these hateful words and actions, and explore how these antisemitic episodes should be approached, rebuked, and used to educate individuals as well as society as a whole. I created a concise, four-slide text post explaining that fighting antisemitism should be a part of fighting against social injustices, and put it up on my feed. Within a few hours, it had been shared hundreds of times and my inbox was full of many positive and inspiring messages.

But the negative comments stood out. Ranging from classic antisemitic stereotypes to name-calling and cursing, these messages made me feel small and scared. I was worried that I had crossed a line speaking out about this taboo issue. Then, the rapper Wiley went on an antisemitic rant on Twitter. I began receiving messages, telling me: “Wiley was just stating FACTS,” “Jews were all slaveholders; they deserve it,” “Jews exploit all Blacks,” “Leave it to the Jews to devise ways to oppress Black people,” and, “of course, the Jews want the spotlight.” With each of these messages I had to decide if the threat was serious enough that I needed to block an account in fear of further harassment.

I also realised, however, that I could put these public comments to use. While getting comments that ranged from classic antisemitic tropes to calls for direct violence towards Jews were awful and triggering to receive, I left many of them up for those looking through the post to see. Many others sent messages that it was eye-opening to see the kind of hatred and abuse that so many Jews are put through online first hand.

The previous Chief Rabbi of the UK, Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, has put my feelings on the matter succinctly. “Antisemites rarely admit to hating Jews, they just find a new way to mask it. It used to be ‘We don’t hate Jews, we just hate their religion.’ Then it was, ‘We don’t hate Jews, we just hate their race.’ To me and to all other Jews, it is the same.”

What do I ask of you? First and foremost, I ask that you become conscious of antisemitic stereotypes, tropes, and assaults, whether verbal or physical. When you see such an attack, please don’t brush it aside. I need you to recognise it for what it is and call it out. I applaud speaking up against social injustices online, but the battle for a tolerant and empathetic new generation is far from over. I ask that you judge each person on their own merits and free your mind from biases and negative stereotypes. I ask you to be an ally to the Jewish people. (h/t Zvi)
700 Members of British Music Industry Sign Open Letter Vowing to ‘Wipe Out’ All Forms of Racism
More than 700 music industry leaders in the United Kingdom committed to combating racism in an open letter on Saturday that cited incidents of anti-Jewish bigotry.

The open letter, titled “#NoSilenceInMusic,” stated that “In recent months through a series of events and incidents, the anti-black racists and antisemites, plus those who advocate islamophobia, xenophobia, homophobia and transphobia, have repeatedly demonstrated that they clearly want us all to fail.”

The letter referenced “systemic racism and racial inequality” and “anti-Jewish racism promulgated through online attacks,” saying, “the result is the same: suspicion, hatred and division. We are at our worst when we attack one another.”

The letter was signed by musicians, managers, top music industry executives, agents, labels, lawyers, songwriters, producers and others. Artists who endorsed the open letter include Rita Ora, James Blunt, The 1975, Lewis Capaldi, Leona Lewis, Lily Allen, Niall Horan, Labrinth and Violet Skies. Among the major labels that attached their names to the statement are Sony Music, Warner Music, CAA, Universal Music Group, Island Records UK, Capitol, Domino, EMI Records, TaP Music, UTA and X-Ray Touring.

The letter also stated: “Minorities from all backgrounds and faiths have struggled and suffered. From slavery to the Holocaust we have painful collective memories. All forms of racism have the same roots — ignorance, lack of education and scapegoating. We, the British music industry are proudly uniting to amplify our voices, to take responsibility, to speak out and stand together in solidarity. Silence is not an option.”

“There is a global love for music, irrespective of race, religion, sexuality and gender. Music brings joy and hope and connects us all. Through music, education and empathy we can find unity. We stand together, to educate and wipe out racism now and for our future generations.”

The letter comes after British rapper Wiley had his Twitter account suspended and Facebook and Instagram accounts deactivated, following an antisemitic rant on social media.








Who Is Ilhan Omar’s Opponent?
Running against Ilhan Omar would have been a political suicide mission even without a virus that made traditional campaigning all but impossible. Then, on May 25, a white Minneapolis police officer choked a 46-year-old Black man named George Floyd to death on video. The atrocity that unleashed a global wave of protest and is now a synecdoche for all racism occurred in Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District, which Omar represents. Her opponent, a 47-year-old lawyer, part-time pastor, and political neophyte named Antone Melton-Meaux must now grapple with an emotional historic moment, a telegenic political superstar, and a killer virus. And his job only keeps getting harder.

A few days before Melton-Meaux and I met in a conference room at a midtown Minneapolis law office where his Democratic primary campaign rents space, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi endorsed Omar, giving the polarizing congresswoman a seal of approval from a national party leadership that had once been sharply critical of her. Then, on July 20, Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison, an Omar backer and her predecessor as the 5th District’s congressional representative, held a press conference with Ken Martin, the chair of the state Democratic Party, in which they characterized Melton-Meaux’s primary challenge as a shadowy outside plot. The $3.6 million Melton-Meaux had raised was part of an effort to “silence a progressive champion rooted in xenophobia,” Martin alleged. “Minnesotans need to ask where is this mountain of money coming from and why are they doing it and what do they expect for it,” mused Ellison, a progressive icon who is also the state’s top law enforcement official.

It was clear from the moment I met him that Melton-Meaux has at least one quality that money can’t buy—he was already seated at the conference table when I arrived at 8:52 a.m. on July 21, meaning he had been at least eight minutes early. He was dressed in a sharp blue blazer and an almost-matching surgical mask that never came down from over his nose and mouth. Compared to his often thrillingly unpredictable opponent, Melton-Meaux is an image of modulation, always speaking at the ideal indoor volume, and at a cadence that’s never agitated or dull. This levelness is professionally honed: Melton-Meaux is a lawyer who leads a mediation-services firm that he founded seven years ago, a line of work that often requires him to sit down for days at a time with people who sometimes “can’t stand to be in the same room."

He is slim—from what I could tell, almost completely fatless—in the way of someone who runs a lot. Melton-Meux recalled a recent morning jog with his wife, who is a colorectal surgeon and medical-school professor, where they detoured to 38th Street and Chicago Avenue in south Minneapolis, the site of Floyd’s murder. “There was nobody else there,” he recalled, his voice slowing and his eyes reddening. He took a deep breath: “I kinda stood where he was murdered and I thought about being able to speak as a voice of the community going forward as the next member of Congress and it was a humbling feeling and one that was something of a heavy burden too.” Floyd’s murder, he said, “is something that has the potential of changing the course of our country and calls for the best of us at every level of government and civic service, someone who is willing to surrender to the moment and give their very all. And she hasn’t done that.”


New York Assemblywoman Under Fire for Defending Nick Cannon
A New York assemblywoman has come under fire for defending actor, rapper, director and TV host Nick Cannon, who recently was criticized and has since apologized for making antisemitic remarks.

Diana Richardson, a Democrat who represents the 43rd district in Brooklyn, which includes the heavily Jewish neighborhood of Crown Heights, called on her Instagram followers to boycott media companies under ViacomCBS, which fired Cannon earlier this month for propagating antisemitic conspiracy theories and praising Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who has an extensive history of making anti-Jewish remarks.

Cannon made those remarks during the June 30 episode of his YouTube podcast, “Cannon’s Class,” in which the host of the Fox show “The Masked Singer” spoke with Richard Griffin, a member of the hip-hop group Public Enemy until the late 1980s.

After coming under fire for supporting Cannon, Richardson doubled down her support in a Facebook post.
How Dare You Weaponize My Antisemitism By Mentioning It! By Congresswoman Wata Bout (satire)
My political allies and I are sick and tired of finding our past statements invoking classic notions of Jewish power and perfidy used against us as a political cudgel, as if our suspicion of Jews has any relevance.

It seems every time we make a pronouncement, post a link, or put something out on social media, someone is out there with a screen grab, just waiting to ambush us with “you’re antisemitic.” Hello, I didn’t run for political office for the purpose of having my own statements used against me. You’re weaponizing my antisemitism against me, and that’s like cheating or something.

The unfortunate phenomenon does not restrict itself to the realm of the strictly anti-Jewish. My beloved colleagues and friends in the intimate club of pro-BDS lawmakers now find themselves on the defensive when someone points out our pro-BDS stance. Set aside for the moment the issue of whether the BDS movement’s aims reek of antisemitism; for rhetorical purposes, let’s simply assert they are noble antiracists, and how dare you try to silence legitimate criticism with that accusation!

Where was I? Right. Not-antisemitism. To the uninitiated observer, it might seem strange for the target of such accusations not to assert the pro-BDS position with pride, but in fact we who have experience and knowledge of Jewish power and perfidy – don’t you dare quote me on that! – know that those accusations grow not out of genuine concern for the integrity or consistency of political representatives, but of a wish to discredit those who refuse to tow the Zionist company line. My antisemitism is secondary to your cynical exploitation of my antisemitism to further your anti-antisemitism. Stop weaponizing my antisemitism by mentioning it!
Group Representing Jews From Middle East and North Africa Slams California’s Controversial Proposed Ethnic Studies Curriculum
A group representing Jews from the Middle East and North Africa criticized California’s new proposed ethnic studies curriculum for failing to discuss antisemitism and pushing a narrative that portrays the Middle East and North Africa as defined by its Arab population.

The California Department of Education released its recommended Draft Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum on Friday, which had already been revised after strong criticism from numerous organizations, including Jewish ones.

Sarah Levin, the director of Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa (JIMENA) — which is acting in concert with Advocates for Inclusive Middle Eastern Education, representing Californians with roots in the Middle East and North Africa — strongly criticized the new curriculum, saying it ignores and “erases” the experiences of MENA Jews.

“JIMENA is part of a coalition of diverse Middle Eastern and North African communities, which strongly supports a high-quality ethnic studies curriculum that accurately reflects the demographics of our state,” Levin said.

“While the draft released today is an improvement over past versions, some of the supplemental materials that have been included are deeply problematic and exclusionary,” she continued. “These supplemental materials ignore the stories of all our coalition members — who together represent an estimated 60% of Californians who hail from the Middle East and North Africa — while portraying the Arab-American experience as a monolith to represent the region.”

Levin added, “The materials fail to adequately discuss antisemitism — and characterize American Jews only in the context of how some have secured White privilege, which is misleading and erases the experience of a significant part of our community, including Middle Eastern and North African Jews, as well as of other Jews of Color.”
United Nations appoints first 'UN Focal Point' to monitor antisemitism
The United Nations has named Spanish diplomat Miguel Ángel Moratinos, high representative for the UN Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC), as its envoy tasked with monitoring antisemitism.

Moratinos, appointed by UN Secretary-General António Guterres, will now be tasked with “enhancing a system-wide response” to combat global antisemitism – within an international body that has long been accused of anti-Israel bias.

“In his capacity as the United Nations focal point designated by the United Nations secretary-general to monitor antisemitism and enhance a system-wide response, the high representative underscores that the United Nations is fully engaged in combating antisemitism as well as all forms of discrimination and intolerance based on religion or belief,” the UNAOC said Tuesday.

The alliance “promotes mutual respect, cultural diversity and religious pluralism, as well as strengthening interfaith dialogue across the faith spectrum in line with its motto ‘Many Cultures, One Humanity,’” it added.

“In this context, the high representative stresses that countering hate speech and all forms of discrimination, including against Jews and all other communities, religious or otherwise, requires adopting a human rights-based approach.”

The position mirrors similar roles in the EU, US, UK, Germany and France, positions that have been used to coordinate global efforts among governments and NGOs to take antisemitism head on.
Anne Frank memorial tree vandalized in France’s Corsica
A commemorative tree grown from a cutting of the horse chestnut Anne Frank wrote about in her diary during World War II has been vandalized on the French island of Corsica, prompting an investigation, prosecutors said Monday.

The damage to the tree, donated in 2010 to Corsica by the Anne Frank Museum in Amsterdam, was discovered early Sunday, just hours before an annual event was hosted on the Mediterranean island to remember the Holocaust.

Jewish teenager Frank found encouragement in a white horse chestnut tree she could see from a window in a concealed apartment on Amsterdam’s Keizersgracht where she and her family hid from the Nazis for nearly two years.

On February 23, 1944, she wrote in her diary, now one of the world’s most widely -read books: “The two of us looked out at the blue sky, the bare chestnut tree glistening with dew, the seagulls and other birds glinting with silver as they swooped through the air.”

“We were so moved and entranced that we couldn’t speak.”

Anne Frank died in 1945 at the age of 15 at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in northern Germany.

The near 200-year-old tree, diseased and propped up with a steel frame, finally toppled in strong winds in 2010, but not before saplings were sent to recipients all over the world, including the village of Pianello in eastern Corsica.

Prosecutors from the nearby city of Bastia said Monday the tree trunk had been stripped of some of its bark, potentially threatening its survival.
Jewish community protests ‘open anti-Semitism’ at Berlin coronavirus protest
Berlin’s Jewish community on Sunday expressed dismay at the open anti-Semitism shown at a rally supported by neo-Nazi groups that drew more than 20,000 protesters in the German capital to demand an end to coronavirus restrictions a day earlier.

Saturday’s rally was called a “Day of Freedom,” an apparent reference to a 1935 documentary about the Nazi army by Adolf Hitler’s pet filmmaker, Leni Riefenstahl. Some attendees displayed anti-Semitic slogans, while others compared Germany’s rules meant to stop the spread of the coronavirus to Nazi regulations.

“In retrospect, this demonstration has confirmed many of our fears,” Sigmount Koenigsberg, commissioner against anti-Semitism for the Jewish Community of Berlin, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency on Sunday. “The Shoah was repeatedly relativized and anti-Semitic conspiracy myths were part of the standard repertoire.”

A last-minute intervention by Jewish groups on Friday led authorities to alter the planned route, which would have passed by a main city synagogue during Shabbat services, Koenigsberg said.

The demonstration organizers, a Stuttgart-based group called Querdenken 711 (“Thinking Against the Tide”), had registered for up to 500,000 participants to attend, and various neo-Nazi groups were among those who urged people to attend, Berlin’s Interior Minister Andreas Geisel told ZDFheute TV news. The actual number of people who joined the rally fell short of those ambitions and reflected a broad cross-section of ideological arguments against the health rules, according to news reports.
CAA action results in three new criminal charges against notorious antisemite Alison Chabloz
Action by Campaign Against Antisemitism has resulted in new criminal charges against the notorious antisemite Alison Chabloz.

Ms Chabloz is a virulent antisemite and Holocaust denier who has an extensive record of using social media to publicise her hatred for Jews and to convert others to her views about Jewish people.

Following a private prosecution by Campaign Against Antisemitism, which was later continued by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), Ms Chabloz became the first person in Britain to be convicted over Holocaust denial in a precedent-setting case.

Ms Chabloz is fixated on the idea that the Holocaust did not occur, and that it was fabricated by Jews and their supporters as a vehicle for fraudulently extorting money in the form of reparations. This forms the basis for her second obsession, that Jews are liars and thieves who are working to undermine Western society. Ms Chabloz is also connected to extremist right-wing movements, at whose meetings she gives speeches and performs her songs, in the UK, France and North America.

The three new charges under section 127 of the Communications Act relate to two internet radio broadcasts featuring Ms Chabloz.

On 1st July 2019, we have alleged that Ms Chabloz was a guest on The Graham Hart Show, an internet radio show, with Graham Hart and Brian Smyth, both of whom are far-right extremists with antisemitic views. Mr Hart, who admits to admiring Hitler, was arrested in May following the presentation of evidence to the police by Campaign Against Antisemitism. During the show, Ms Chabloz said that “the police and the lower ranks, they will never get anywhere unless they become members of the local Freemason lodge, and that is basically the same as becoming a member of the synagogue”, and that “the Jews, they need to stop indoctrinating their children, you know their grandparents were gassed just because they were Jews. No wonder they grow up into psychotic maniacs. They are indoctrinated from birth with this bulls***, and they’ve been doing the same for centuries, even before the Holocaust. But the Holocaust is how most Jews identify themselves. That is the central pillar of Jewishness now, it’s the Holocaust: ‘Oh, we suffered so much’.”
Top Australian Jewish Group Decries ‘Alarming Pattern’ of Antisemitism After Jewish Man and His Son Verbally Assaulted in Melbourne
A top Australian Jewish group on Sunday denounced a “broader and alarming pattern” of antisemitism after a Jewish man and his son were verbally assaulted in Melbourne.

The pair, who were wearing yarmulkes and thus visibly Jewish, were on a street in the heavily Jewish suburb of Caulfield when a man in his late 30s or early 40s began screaming antisemitic epithets.

“What are you looking at Jew dogs?” the man yelled. “Stop staring at me c***s. If you keep looking at me, I’m gonna smash your f***ing faces in, you Jew dogs.”

One of the victims said, “I cannot believe that in Australia in 2020 we are still experiencing antisemitic incidents on the street. I can’t shake off this unsettled feeling that people today are still singling out Jews as open targets for abuse without fear of repercussions.”

“What if that individual had attacked someone who was alone or unable to defend themselves?” he asked.

Dr. Dvir Abramovich, chairman of Australian Jewish organization the Anti-Defamation Commission, said in a statement, “This is not an isolated incident but part of a broader and alarming pattern and is another undeniable reminder that antisemitism in Australia is alive and well.”

“It may be an uncomfortable truth for some, but the reality is that the rising wave of hatred against Jews here is becoming commonplace,” he added.

“This is a palpable crisis, unfolding across the country, that is only getting worse with the number of reported incidents on a scale I have not witnessed before,” he continued. “These threatening flames are escalating, and are making members of the Jewish community feel less safe on our streets.
Plague to protein: Israeli firm seeks to put locusts on the menu
From biblical plague to modern day protein, one Israeli firm wants to make locusts a sustainable food choice in the Holy Land and beyond.

As for whether or not the insects are kosher, the answer is not so simple.

At Hargol Foodtech’s farm in the Golan Heights, a rectangular enclosure that once served as a chicken coop is filled with thousands of locusts, a grasshopper species that has a highly destructive swarming phase.

Contained in a series of meticulously stacked, climate-controlled mesh cages, the insects are served wheatgrass through their three-month life-cycle, before being cooled, killed and baked.

Hargol’s chief executive Dror Tamir told AFP that he grew up hearing stories of how locusts destroyed the fields of his kibbutz in the 1950s.

Yet the Yemenite Jews in the area did not view locusts as crop-ruining pests, but as an edible source of nutrients, Tamir recalled.
Israeli Firm Offers Wearable Anti-Drone Device
The Israeli army and police are considering the purchase of personal anti-drone systems manufactured by Israeli company SKYLOCK, part of the Avnon Group.

The growing threat posed by hostile UAVs and the need to neutralize them from afar has resulted in a race to create personal devices to curb unauthorized drones, products that were previously only installed on vehicles.

SKYLOCK's wearable system weighs only 1.5 kilograms and has already been sold to the U.S. Army and NATO forces. According to SKYLOCK, the system, which is worn like a vest, is capable of neutralizing any drone within one kilometer of the device.

The device includes a drone detector and an anti-drone jammer, which its operators can determine whether to use after they are notified by the system of a UAV in their vicinity. A single device is priced at $50,000.

Israel defense powerhouses Rafael, Elbit and Elta, a division in the Israel Aerospace Industries, all currently sell anti-drone products, but they are much heavier and cover greater distances. They are usually installed on buildings as a defense mechanism for strategic locations, while SKYLOCK's device is meant for mobile forces, like a presidential guard or special army units.
Amazon in talks to build three Israel data centers for NIS 1b
Azrieli and its partner Compass have bid to build and lease out the data centers to Amazon and have options on three lots for the purpose.

Tech giant Amazon is in talks to set up data centers in three locations in Israel, sources inform "Globes." Each Amazon Web Services (AWS) data center would consume 16 megawatts, more than all the data centers already operating in Israel. Amazon seems to be following in the footsteps of Microsoft and Oracle, which are setting up data centers in Israel.

Amazon has been in talks on the matter with Azrieli Group Ltd. (TASE: AZRG) and US company Compass. However, Amazon may have decided to issue a tender to receive bids from other players. The process is being overseen by Amazon's European office.

"Globes" has also learned that income producing real estate company Azrieli is moving forward with the venture and is holding talks to acquire three sites near Beit Shemesh, Shoham and Emek Hefer for the data centers. The real estate deals are worth a combined NIS 300-400 million and the entire deal with construction of the data centers would be worth NIS 1 billion.

Azrieli is current examining the suitability of the land on the three sites for data centers - for example the electricity infrastructures. If Amazon does decide to go with Azrieli, and if the land is suitable, then Azrieli will realize its options to buy the three sites.
Ze’ev Jabotinsky remembered 80 years after his death
Ze’ev Jabotinsky died on August 4, 1940. This week marks 80 years since he died – yet so much of what this great Zionist visionary said is still so relevant today.

Picture Ze’ev Jabotinsky urging the Jews in Europe to leave in the days before the Holocaust.

Picture the days before the State of Israel when the Irgun forced the British to leave the land.

Picture the one-armed hero Joseph Trumpeldor, who fought at Tel Hai in 1920 – dying with the words on his lips "Never mind, it is good to die for our country"

Picture the boys of Betar, the youth movement Jabotinsky formed, those who formed Plugat Hakotel and protected Jews who visited the Western Wall when Jews needed protection going there.

Realize on the 80th anniversary of the death of this great man, that the ideals of Jabotinsky are very much alive. In Israel, in the Prime Ministers’ office hangs a picture of the great Ze’ev Jabotinsky (Bibi Netanyahu’s father was a long-time assistant to Jabotinsky). --- and all over the world, in the United States and elsewhere, those of us who admire and follow in the footsteps of Ze’ev Jabotinsky are often on the front lines of fighting for important issues for the Jewish people.

Those who have read and studied the work and words of Ze’ev Jabotinsky realize that this man’s ideology offers a guidepost for life, something which leaves one - as he said - with a proper “philosophy of life” and a guidepost on how to live life as a Jew.



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