Friday, August 21, 2020
Melanie Phillips: Support for Black Lives Matter repeats a lethal error of history
In the 20th century, thousands of progressively minded people supported Soviet communism. Believing this ideology was the key to a better world, they refused to acknowledge the horrific abuses under Stalin when millions were brainwashed, murdered or starved to death.Europe’s failed (and forgotten) Gaza monitors – opinion
Today’s progressives are behaving in similar fashion in response to another onslaught on civilized values, perpetrated in the name of an ideology with the same roots as Soviet communism. And just as in the last century, a dismaying number of its cheerleaders are Jews.
In both America and Britain, Jewish leaders and community groups overwhelmingly back Black Lives Matter. Since Jews have suffered from bigotry, discrimination and social alienation, they feel a duty to express solidarity with black people who they believe are experiencing similar difficulties.
But BLM, which took off after last May’s death of George Floyd under the knee of a police officer, is not about promoting fairness and tolerance.
It is instead a nihilistic, violent, revolutionary movement committed to defunding the police as an incorrigibly racist institution, closing the prisons, destroying the family and overthrowing white capitalist society. What’s more, many of its leaders are white.
There’s no doubt that black people experience bigotry, and that there are racist police officers.
But a significant number of police officers are themselves black; most people who are killed in police custody are white; and most black people who are murdered are killed by other black people.
Moreover, BLM’s denunciation of white society as racist is itself a racist act since it categorizes an entire ethnic group as bad. Yet progressive people have bought into this malign agenda.
The 15-year anniversary of Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza has been accompanied by a wave of painful personal and political memoirs, amid a difficult debate on the wisdom of Ariel Sharon’s sudden policy shift.EU spent €5m. promoting east Jerusalem as Palestine's capital in 2019
The latest round of “balloon terrorism” from Gaza that is torching the fields and trees of southern Israel, and the periodic rocket attacks, sending thousands of Israelis into shelters in the middle of the night, are reminders that the hoped-for quiet was an illusion.
Instead of using the withdrawal as an opportunity for economic development to lift the people of Gaza out of poverty, the Palestinian leaders have diverted international aid into cross-border attack tunnels and rocket brigades.
Largely forgotten in this historical reckoning is the European Union’s role in this process, and the failure of the EU to provide the guarantees they had pledged to fulfill in 2005.
After Israel’s withdrawal, the EUBAM (European Union Border Assistance Mission) was deployed at the Rafah crossing point between Gaza and Egypt. The mission consisted of some 60 police and customs officials “to help bring peace to the area,” ostensibly by monitoring traffic in order to deter smuggling of weapons into Gaza.
According to the agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, EUBAM would monitor the performance of the PA in operating the crossing and had the authority to order the re-examination of persons and goods that passed through the crossing if PA examinations proved unsatisfactory.
The European Union spent close to €5.5million in 2019 on grants to NGOs dedicated to promoting Palestinian culture and preserving Palestinian identity in Jerusalem's Old City and surrounding areas, a report into EU spending in the region has revealed.
In late June, the Commission updated its financial transparency system, filing details of the grants handed to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in 2019. Analysis of that data by NGO-Monitor has revealed that out of 42 grants issued for projects in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, totaling €37.15 million in grant funds, seven of those, at a total value of €11.8 million were for projects focused on Jerusalem.
Among them was a grant of €1,184,538 handed jointly to PalVision, the Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs (PASSIA) and ACT For Alternative Dispute Resolution And Studies "To contribute to preserving the Palestinian character and cultural heritage of east Jerusalem (EJ) by strengthening the Palestinian identity and enhancing the sense of belonging among Palestinians."
The objectives listed under the project are: "To protect Islamic and Christian Waqf religious and cultural heritage properties against Israeli violations and threats" and "To enhance Palestinians ability to identify and value their cultural heritage and have a good understanding of what can be done to protect their cultural heritage.”
Similarly, €2,086,757 was handed jointly to the Society of St. Yves; Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Center (JLAC); Land Research Center (LRC); Women's Centre for Legal Aid and Counseling (WCLAC); and Civic Coalition for Palestinian Rights in Jerusalem (CCPRJ) with the overall objective of supporting "the marginalized Palestinian communities of east Jerusalem, increase their resilience, prevent forcible transfer and reinforce the Palestinian identity of east Jerusalem."
Coronavirus: Israel surpasses 100,000 cases, death toll over 800
More than 100,000 Israelis - more than 1% of the population of 8.85 million people - have had coronavirus, according to the Health Ministry on Friday.Part-Israeli Owned Elicio Therapeutics Enters Covid-19 Vaccine Race, Reports Success in Pre-Clinical Trials
Specifically, there were 100,716 cases since the start of the pandemic, the ministry showed. As of 5:30 p.m. on Friday, there were 22,122 people who were still infected.
On average, some 1,378 people are diagnosed with the virus per day, a Friday morning report by the Coronavirus National Information and Knowledge Center said. On Thursday, some 1,496 people tested positive for the virus - 5.2% of those who were screened.
To bring the cases down to around 400 per day - the goal of new coronavirus commissioner Prof. Ronni Gamzu - it would take more than 90 days, the center showed.
The coronavirus cabinet is set to convene next Monday to review and finalize a series of potential restrictions and closures meant to halt the spread of the virus. On Thursday, Gamzu presented two plans to ministers to evaluate. Both plans include new restrictions and partial closures on Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot.
At the start of the meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the government was putting all its efforts toward avoiding a nation-wide, total lockdown.
A new company has emerged in the race for the Covid-19 vaccine and it has an Israeli connection. Boston-based Elicio Therapeutics, which is partially owned (20%) by TASE-traded Clal Biotechnology Industries (CBI) published positive results in pre-clinical trials of its ELI-005 SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, driving the price of CBI stock up more than 20% on Wednesday.Israel vying to take part in Russia's Phase III coronavirus vaccine trial
Elicio, which was born out of MIT, announced that it planned to begin clinical trials on humans in the fourth quarter of this year. In its filing to the TASE, CBI said Elicio was currently in talks with several large pharmaceutical companies and government agencies over collaborations in its ongoing experiments.
In its trials, Elicio, which specializes in amphiphilic vaccines, presented clearer results than those presented in the corresponding stages by other companies that have already advanced to clinical trials, according to the filing. The standout result is not only its ability to formulate a high rate of antibodies but to formate T-cells, which are the immune system cells responsible for “remembering” the virus, reducing the need for frequent booster shots.
According to Elicio’s official announcement, the T-cell reactions were 25 times stronger than those registered by companies currently carrying out clinical trials and the antibody levels were 265 times higher than those found in the blood of healed coronavirus patients.
Elicio’s vaccine is similar in its activation method to the vaccine being developed by pharma giant Johnson & Johnson, which is at the clinical trial stage. The method is based on combining a portion of the viral protein with an adjuvant, an immunological agent that improves the immune response of a vaccine.
The process of vaccine development up until the stage of gaining FDA approval is similar to the drug approval process. In the pre-clinical trials, the vaccine is tested on animals and after it is proven to be safe, human trials get started. Human trials are made of three stages: the first, which is conducted on a small sample of people is mainly done to prove its safety; the second, which also usually includes hundreds of people at most, tests for effectiveness; and the third and most crucial, which includes thousands of subjects, tests the ability to create antibodies to prevent contagion.
Elicio is one of 160 companies that are currently working hard to produce the much-coveted approved vaccine. So far only five have reached advanced clinical trials and aim to introduce a vaccine to market as early as the end of the year, or early 2021.
Israel’s Hadassah Medical Center is in negotiations to test the Russian Sputnik V vaccine and to potentially manufacture and distribute it in the Jewish state, The Jerusalem Post has confirmed.Just breathe: Israeli-made Nano COVID breath test spots every carrier in trial
Prof. Polina Stepensky, chairman of the Department of Bone Marrow Transplantation & Cancer Immunotherapy of Adults and Children at Hadassah, told the Post that “we are in negotiations” specifically to take part in the vaccine’s upcoming Phase III trial and to establish a production facility so that the vaccine would be available to Israelis if it proves safe and effective.
The Health Ministry confirmed that it is aware of the negotiations, but did not say whether it would authorize the trials.
“Both as a doctor and scientist, I think that they have developed a really wonderful thing,” Stepensky said, noting that she herself would be willing to get a shot of the vaccine. “From a scientific approach, it is in my eyes a good approach. We want to collaborate so that we can learn and understand more.”
Earlier this month, Hadassah Medical Center chief Zeev Rotstein told the Post that Russia was recruiting hospitals to collaborate in the clinical trials, and Hadassah’s branch in Skolkovo, Moscow’s self-styled Silicon Valley, had volunteered.
On August 11, Russia’s Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology registered the world’s first novel coronavirus vaccine, naming it Sputnik V after the first artificial satellite, which was considered to have reinvigorated space research around the world.
The development of the vaccine was supported by the country’s Defense Ministry and the Russian Direct Investment Fund.
An Israeli COVID-19 breath test has correctly identified all positive patients in a clinical trial in Wuhan, China, according to a newly peer-reviewed study.PreOccupiedTerritory: BDS Groups Claim Credit For COVID-Related Drop In Israel Tourism (satire)
The device uses nanotechnology to identify compounds from the lung that are present in the breath of coronavirus patients, Prof. Hossam Haick of the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology told The Times of Israel on Friday.
He said that it is fully automatic, eliminating the need for anyone to come in to contact with the patient to handle their sample, which is good for efficiency and for hygiene.
“You just blow into the device, which is the size of a smartphone, for 2 to 3 seconds, from a distance of 2 centimeters away,” he said. “There are no accessories, it requires no lab processing, and it gives results within 30 seconds of blowing.”
The current prototypes of the device are half-held, but Haick said that the final product will require no touch, meaning that the “danger of cross-contamination is very low.”
The technology is being developed for the market by the company Nanose Medical, where Haick serves as chief technology officer, and he predicted tests will cost around $2 to $3 per person.
Activists who call on companies, states, organizations, governments, and individuals to refrain from any dealings with the Jewish State as a way of pressuring the latter into concessions to Palestinian ambitions declared today that the sharp decrease in flights to Ben-Gurion Airport from around the world over the last six months results from their public campaign efforts.Antisemitism accusations against Dr Douglas MacGregor are deeply upsetting
SARS-CoV-2 has killed more than three quarters of a million people since scientists first identified the pathogen toward the end of last year, even as country after affected country sought to contain the disease’s spread by limiting incoming flights, closing borders, minimizing shipping, and curtailing numerous activities associated with increased risk of exposure to the virus. BDS advocates insist the reduction in visitors to Israel comes from their own ongoing push to isolate the country over its treatment of Palestinians.
“2020 has been a banner year for BDS, when our labors finally bore fruit,” declared musician Roger Waters, a prominent BDS activist. “It took serious commitment and years upon years of often-thankless work to raise awareness and demand action, but the world finally woke up to the moral truth. It’s a proud moment for the movement.”
“This isn’t like other times when we claimed a victory even though the reasons for an entity canceling a planned event or contract with Israeli companies happened for unrelated business considerations,” added Waters. “This time it’s really our doing.”
It is upsetting to discover that former US colonel Dr. Douglas MacGregor has been accused of antisemitism. This, to prevent his appointment as US ambassador to Germany. Some American Jewish groups echoed these accusations, but they are misinformed and are being exploited for partisan political purposes. (See “Jewish groups take aim at Trump’s pick for ambassador to Germany,” The Jerusalem Post/JTA, August 8, 2020.)California governor signs anti-Israel ‘ethnic studies’ bill into law
We are Israelis citizens with no intention to interfere in the process of appointing a foreign ambassador. However, we are committed to the truth, and we know Col. MacGregor as a philo-Semite and a friend of the Jewish state. Each of us has professionally interacted with MacGregor, and some of us were close to him personally. There are many other Israelis in academia, the military and government who also know him as a strong pro-Israel voice.
Doug MacGregor is war veteran who led troops in battle and served his country’s military for many years with distinction. Since his retirement, MacGregor has become known as a highly esteemed military analyst and defense intellectual, as well as a prolific writer on military strategy. His advice and ideas are sought by the US armed forces and other militaries around the world. It is no surprise that he caught the attention of the White House.
In fact, one of his books on military strategy has become required reading for IDF officers. IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi even invited him earlier this year to share his insights with the IDF senior command. Out of sincere friendship, MacGregor did not ask for any remuneration.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law on Monday to require an ethnic-studies course requirement for matriculation from California State University (CSU), starting with the 2021-22 school year.Kamala Harris — pragmatic moderate or radical leftist?
Spearheaded by the AMCHA Initiative, 90 education, civil-rights and religious groups had called on Newsom to veto the bill, AB-1460.
The organizations noted an important distinction between the broad field of ethnic studies—with its goal of understanding and celebrating the contributions of the state and country’s diversity—and the narrow field of “Critical Ethnic Studies” referenced in AB-1460.
The groups noted that vetoing AB-1460 was necessary because anti-Zionist advocacy and the promotion of BDS are an intrinsic part of critical ethnic studies; critical ethnic-studies faculty have repeatedly demonstrated a willingness to promote BDS and anti-Zionist advocacy in their academic programming and classrooms; and faculty support and promotion of BDS are linked to the harassment of Jewish students.
Jewish and pro-Israel groups reacted negatively to the bill becoming law.
“Given the political biases of the critical ethnic-studies courses on college campuses, we are particularly troubled that AB-1460 could lead to further exclusion of, and discrimination against, Jewish students on campus, exacerbating a pattern of isolation and ostracization of Jews that has become far too commonplace,” said American Jewish Committee director of campus affairs Zev Hurwitz.
AMCHA Initiative co-founder and director Tammi Rossman-Benjamin told JNS that her organization is “deeply disappointed” that Newsom signed the bill into law and called on CSU to institute “safeguards” against “anti-Zionist propaganda and BDS.”
As for foreign policy, Harris doesn’t have a lot of international experience. A junior Senator from California obviously wouldn’t be travelling the world and meeting powerful leaders and important dignitaries. Still, a few of her positions have been perfectly fine. She’s on the record opposing China’s restrictions of free speech in Hong Kong and the Communist nation’s persecution of Uighur Muslims. But when it comes to most pertinent foreign policy matters, Harris is firmly entrenched on the left.Tlaib Slams Biden Campaign for Disavowing Anti-Semite Linda Sarsour
She remains supportive of the controversial Iran nuclear deal that Donald Trump, to his credit, scrapped in 2018. She’s expressed her opposition to Saudi Arabia’s war against Iranian-backed troops in Yemen, and opposed the sale of US military weapons and equipment to this nation.
She’s spent far more time in her career discussing domestic terrorism (which is obviously a relevant issue) than the long-standing war on terrorism. She disagreed with various aspects of the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement.
Her support for Israel has been lukewarm at best, and she was firmly against the country’s strategy with the 'West Bank.'
Harris’s official position on this week’s historic Israel-UAE agreement hasn’t been announced at the time of writing. One assumes it’s in line with Biden’s statement that the agreement is “a historic step to bridge the deep divides of the Middle East,” and creates an imaginary tie-in to “the efforts of the Obama-Biden administration to build on the Arab Peace Initiative.”
Meanwhile, Harris wants her country to rejoin the Paris climate agreement that has accomplished little on the environment. She’s also taken a distinctly Sanders-esque position on defense spending, stating on July 22, “I unequivocally agree with the goal of reducing the defense budget and redirecting funding to communities in need, but it must be done strategically.” What this means for the safety and security of her nation is anyone’s guess.
When you put everything together, Harris’s political, economic and foreign policy record is much closer to that of a radical leftist than pragmatic moderate.
The fact that someone like this could potentially be a heartbeat away from the US presidency should be enough to give even an objective thinker plenty of pause.
Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib (Mich.) took a shot at Joe Biden on Wednesday after his presidential campaign dissociated itself with anti-Semitic liberal activist Linda Sarsour.
"I am so sick and tired of folks going after @lsarsour and other Palestinian activists for speaking the truth about oppression and injustice," Tlaib wrote on social media. "You don’t get it yet. We don’t stop until everyone is free. We will always outwork the hate."
Tlaib's remarks came after Biden’s campaign emphatically denied having connections to Sarsour after she spoke at a Democratic National Convention caucus meeting Tuesday. Andrew Bates, a spokesman for the Biden campaign, said Sarsour has "no role in the campaign whatsoever" and affirmed Biden’s support for Israel. He reiterated the DNC's platform, which rejects any effort to "delegitimize Israel" including the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement—which both Tlaib and Sarsour support.
Sarsour has tweeted her support for extremist groups including the Muslim Brotherhood and the Nation of Islam. And while Sarsour denies ever meeting Louis Farrakhan, the extremist, anti-Semitic leader of the Nation of Islam, she spoke at a rally he hosted in Washington, D.C., in 2015. She also appeared at an event in Chicago with Rasmea Odeh, a terrorist who was involved in a 1969 bombing in Israel that killed two civilians.
let’s be clear, the reason Linda Sarsour and Zahra Billoo are attacked is because they constantly spew anti-Semitic rhetoric.
— Siraj Hashmi (@SirajAHashmi) August 21, 2020
when Sarsour was ousted from the Women’s March in Sept. 2019, Billoo replaced her. Billoo was booted days later because of her anti-Semitic views. https://t.co/ra5ECKsRlO
DNC Features Rapper With Ties To Nation Of Islam Leader Louis Farrakhan
The Democratic National Convention’s final night will feature a performance from the rapper Common, who has long-standing ties to Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.
Farrakhan has repeatedly referred to Jewish people as “satanic,” blamed them for both the Holocaust and the Sept. 11, 2011, terrorist attacks, and once praised Adolf Hitler as a “very great man.” Farrakhan has also denounced interracial marriage, which he said has “mongrelized” the black race.
Common, whose real name is Lonnie Rashid Lynn Jr., will perform a song during the convention ahead of Vice President Joe Biden’s acceptance of the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, according to the DNC schedule.
Common has appeared in photos with Farrakhan and promoted Farrakhan on social media. He was one of several rappers featured on a music compilation project that Farrakhan released in February 2018.
Later that year, Common approvingly posted a clip of Farrakhan on his Instagram page. The rapper tagged Farrakhan in the October 2018 post, captioning it: “Wise words being spoken!”
Common promoted Farrakhan on Twitter in August 2014, linking to a Nation of Islam livestream.
“Peace & Blessings. Minister Farrakhan is speaking LIVE now to talk about these troubled times,” Common wrote, adding a link to the livestream.
Common was also pictured with Farrakhan at an event in 2006. Photos from the event show the two men embracing and posing for pictures together.
The rapper’s ties to Farrakhan go back decades.
‘It’s all about the Benjamin’s’. Hey @IfNotNowOrg, if you’re gonna go full Antisemite, at least be original? https://t.co/kFcQ3Z9s2p
— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Ostrov_A) August 20, 2020
US lawmaker seeking foreign affairs job flips stance on conditioning Israel aid
One of three Democratic congressmen running to chair the powerful House Foreign Affairs Committee said Thursday that the US shouldn’t restrict or leverage aid to Israel to stop the country from annexing parts of the West Bank, reversing a position he took earlier this month.Leckey adopts contrasting tones on BDS in surveys, Jewish outreach event
New York Rep. Gregory Meeks told the American Jewish Committee that America’s annual $3.8 billion in military assistance to the Jewish state should not be conditioned on Israeli actions and policies.
“We know the extreme importance in the region to make sure that Israel has the right to defend itself, and the dollars that we give Israel to defend itself [are] absolute and unequivocal,” Meeks said during a Zoom call.
“Of course, there are disputes in regards to policy, in regards to some of the things that President [Donald] Trump has done, and some of the things and some of the issues that Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu has done, and so we have the ability to talk about that,” he continued.
“But we understand that Israel has a right to defend itself, our strong ally — in a bipartisan way. We stand strong in that regard.”
The remarks were an about-face from a statement the lawmaker made two weeks ago.
Ihssane Leckey, a Democratic congressional candidate in Massachusetts’s 4th district, took a hard line on Israel in two candidate surveys for progressive organizations, but but attempted to qualify and walk back her positions on issues like BDS and visiting the Jewish state in her first campaign event dedicated to Jewish voter outreach Monday night.Labour Councillor Suspended Over Holocaust Conspiracy
In a survey for the Boston chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, Leckey said she supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement, but clarified in a later section of the survey: “I support the ending of the Israeli oppression of the Palestinian people, including supporting the BDS (Boycott Divestment Sanctions) movement, but do not support sanctions.”
And in a separate survey for Massachusetts Peace Action, Leckey said she opposed anti-BDS legislation, including last year’s anti-BDS bill, HR-246 and expressed support for a bill barring U.S. funds from being used to support the detention and mistreatment of Palestinian children by the Israeli government. Leckey also said she would not participate in the Israel tour offered to first-term members of Congress by the AIPAC-affiliated American Israel Education Foundation.
She also pledged to “refuse donations/sponsored gifts from the pro-Israel lobby.”
“Ihssane supports Palestinians’ right to health, safety, liberty and self-determination, and will strongly oppose attempts to silence BDS or any other form of protest,” her campaign added.
Prominent Labour councillor and London Assembly candidate Preston Tabois has been suspended by the Labour Party over posts unearthed by Guido, showing the left-wing candidate endorsing a conspiracy theory that Jews murdered each other in the Holocaust in a masterplan to create the state of Israel. While he’s suspended he will be unable to run as a Labour candidate…Kerry-Anne Mendoza, disgraced editor of The Canary blog, appears to double down yet again on comparison of Israel to Nazis
Facebook posts unearthed by Guido and put to Labour show the Haringey councillor having shared an article about a UKIP candidate claiming “Jews murdered each other in the Holocaust in masterplan to create State of Israel”, to which Tabois added “You’re not wrong brother P!”.
Other posts from Preston’s Facebook account include the councillor defending conspiracy theories in a discussion about Zionism, saying they “can be used as an educational tool to understand and relate to how governments are run & financed”, as well as describing Tesco as a “Zionist” shop.
Kerry-Anne Mendoza, the editor of The Canary, a controversial hard-left blog, has appeared to double down on her antisemitic comparison of Israel to Germany during Nazi rule.The Washington Post and Vox Award Land to the Palestinians
Ms Mendoza’s latest incident began when she equated Brexit with Nazism, referencing the infamous slogan astride the gates to the Auschwitz death camp in a tweet: “Get Brexit done; Build, build, build; Jobs, jobs, jobs; Arbeit macht frei.”
In response to a backlash on social media, she explicitly referenced Israel and Jews, appearing to double down on her racist analogy, tweeting: “Being called an antisemite by people who think “Never again” doesn’t apply to Palestinians, Muslims, trans people, GRT communities, or Ethiopian/Mizrahi/anti-Zionist Jews…”
This is not the first time that, Ms Mendoza, whose website is under investigation by the Government’s Independent Advisor on Antisemitism, has compared Israel to the Nazis, in a breach of the International Definition of Antisemitism.
Ms Mendoza also recently attacked Campaign Against Antisemitism using violent language, saying “The antisemitism witch hunt is seriously about to face off with #BlackLivesMatter I’m telling you now, those anti-Black, anti-Palestinian racists are gonna get their asses dragged all over town. And they have no clue. Because…entitlement.”
“Who can challenge the rights of the Jews in Palestine?” Yusuf al-Khalidi wrote to the chief rabbi of France on March 1, 1899. “Good Lord, historically it really is your country.” Yet, more than a century after Khalidi’s admission, the Jewish people’s connection to their ancestral homeland is often forgotten. Indeed, many news outlets and analysts not only ignore it—they often attempt to erase it.Irish Examiner grudgingly admits error in editorial criticising UAE-Israel peace
Take, for example, the Washington Post. The newspaper’s Aug. 13, 2020 report, “Trump announces historic peace agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates,” asserted that “Arab leaders had privately warned Trump that they could not agree to future economic or diplomatic ties with Israel if Israel took over land now considered Palestinian.” But the article, by reporter Anne Gearan and Jerusalem bureau chief Steve Hendrix, doesn’t say why the land is “now considered Palestinian.”
In fact, a sovereign Palestinian Arab state has never existed. Rather, the status of the territory is, at best, disputed. Its status is to be resolved by negotiations anticipated by U.N. Security resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973), the 1995 Israeli-Palestinian interim accords, the 2003 international “road map” and related diplomatic efforts. Indeed, the co-authors of resolution 242, U.S. Under Secretary of State Eugene Rostow, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Arthur Goldberg, and British ambassador Lord Caradon made clear, both then and later, that Jews and Arabs both had claims in the territories, and that no national sovereignty over them had been recognized since the end of Ottoman rule.
The Washington Post itself, in a Sept. 4, 2014 correction prompted by CAMERA, noted that “the Israeli-occupied territories are disputed lands that Palestinians want for a future state.” In another recent CAMERA-prompted correction, The Wall Street Journal acknowledged on May 16, 2020 that “under the Oslo accords, sovereignty over the West Bank is disputed, pending a final settlement.”
Earlier in the week, we posted about an Aug. 15th Irish Examiner editorial (Irish Examiner View: Palestinians’ absence means Israel and UAE deal is a farce) arguing that the UAE-Israeli peace deal was a “farce” orchestrated by Washington and Jerusalem to shore up Trump and Netanyahu’s political fortunes.CBC The Current Apologizes for Referring to “Palestine”
The editorial then added the following, to justify their cynicism:
If that analysis is dismissed as skepticism veering downward towards cynicism then a reminder that the opening of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial in May ended after just an hour when his defence team requested a lengthy delay. That was granted but no resumption date was set.
However, we demonstrated that their claim was patently false. The judge in fact denied requests by the prime minister’s attorneys for delays, the next hearing took place on July 19th, and the evidentiary stage of the trial is schedule for January 2021.
Though editors failed to respond to emails we sent – where we pointed out that the Irish Examiner reported on the July 19th hearing and scheduled January 2021 trial, thus undermining the claim in their own editorial – they published this writer’s complaint as a letter to the editor.
In an interview on August 18 with graphic journalist and war correspondent Joe Sacco on “the themes of colonialism and resource extraction,” CBC The Current guest anchor Duncan McCue erroneously referred to the mythical state of “Palestine” in his line of questioning to Mr. Sacco.FBI says tweeted link to files on ‘Protocols of Elders of Zion’ was automated
Of course, there’s no such country in existence and the CBC should only refer to the Palestinian territories.
CBC’s own language policies state the following:
… there is no modern country of Palestine, although there’s a movement to establish one as part of a two-state peace agreement with Israel. Areas under the control of the Palestinian Authority are considered Palestinian territories: Fatah-run West Bank and Hamas-run Gaza Strip.”
This is an issue that HonestReporting Canada has sensitized the CBC to, even as early as this week.
We’re pleased to note that in the August 19 broadcast of the Current, the program issued a formal on-air correction stating the following:
Before we get to the podcast, I’ve got a correction to make. Yesterday in my interview with Joe Sacco I referred to the Palestinian territories as ‘Palestine,’ we apologize.”
The FBI explained why it tweeted a link to a 139-page selection of the bureau’s files on anti-Semitic text from the early 20th century “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.”Austrian Jewish Leader Warns of Rising ‘Anti-Israel Antisemitism’ After Synagogue Defaced With Pro-Palestinian Slogans
Hours after the FBI Records Vault sent the tweet on Wednesday afternoon without context, here’s what the FBI tweeted:
“Earlier today FOIA materials were posted to the FBI’s Vault and FOIA Twitter account via an automated process without further outlining the context of the documents. We regret that this release may have inadvertently caused distress among the communities we serve.
“The FBI often receives information from members of the public, which is captured in our permanent files and released under FOIA law. The FBI must process historical files that were collected in the past, some of which may be considered offensive,” the thread continued.
Some Twitter users took the original tweet as a promotion of the message in the “Protocols.” However, the Twitter account regularly tweets declassified archival FBI documents. The original tweet spurred thousands of responses: Some Twitter users cheered it, while others condemned it.
Many responses to the “context” tweet called on the FBI to delete the “Protocols” link and others called for an explanation to be included with the original tweet of the document.
A leader of the Jewish community in Austria warned on Friday of a rise in “left-wing and anti-Israel antisemitism” following the vandalism of a synagogue in the southern city of Graz.Leader of neo-Nazi Hundred Handers group unmasked in new report that also warns against far-right Patriotic Alternative
Earlier this week, the wall of the synagogue was daubed with the slogan “Free Palestine.” Another scrawl on the synagogue’s meeting hall declared, “Our country and our language are red borders.”
Police are currently investigating the incident. The bricks used to construct the outer wall of the synagogue — salvaged from the original building that was burned down during the Nazi “Kristallnacht” pogrom of November 1938 — were said to have been badly damaged by the vandalism.
According to Elie Rosen — the president of the Jewish community in Graz — both slogans were evidence of an aggressive antisemitism from the left.
“It’s not right-wing extremist, it wasn’t völkisch (racist), you can see that clearly,” Rosen commented in an interview with the Wiener Zeitung. “In Graz we are increasingly dealing with left-wing and anti-Israel antisemitism.”
Rosen added that the outrage at the synagogue was not an isolated incident, but evidence of a “clear trend.”
The leader of a neo-Nazi group behind numerous stickering campaigns has been unmasked.Police officer appears in court charged with membership of proscribed neo-Nazi National Action terrorist group
The anti-fascist group Hope Not Hate has identified Sam Melia as the leader of Hundred Handers, an anonymous network of activists who have carried out far-right stickering campaigns across the country and worldwide over the last two years.
The stickers, which feature far-right slogans and imagery and antisemitic tropes, have been seen in cities in the UK, Europe, United States and Australia.
Mr Melia, who has reportedly supported the proscribed neo-Nazi terrorist group, National Action, is now believed to be working with Patriotic Alliance, another far-right group that was formed by Mark Collett, the former head of publicity for the British National Party (BNP), in 2019.
Mr Collett is a senior figure in the far-right in the UK. An author with almost 100,000 subscribers on YouTube, he also previously served as the chairman of the BNP’s youth division. Mr Collett is understood to have dabbled in Holocaust denial, collaborated with the infamous American antisemite David Duke, and espoused antisemitic and racist views.
A police officer has appeared in court after being charged last month with being a member of the banned neo-Nazi terrorist group National Action following his arrest in March.Orthodox runner hires attorney in bid to move Olympics marathon from Saturday
Benjamin Hannam, 21, appeared in the Old Bailey and did not enter any pleas for the five charges, which cover other allegations, including possession of indecent images and fraud.
He has been suspended from duty in the Metropolitan Police following an investigation by the Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism Command.
It is alleged that he belonged or professed to belong to the proscribed group between December 2016 and January 2018 and that he falsely represented himself in his application to join the Metropolitan Police in this connection.
Other members of National Action were recently convicted and sentenced to prison for their role in the organisation.
Beatie Deutsch, a Sabbath-observing mother of five and aspiring Olympic marathoner in Israel, has hired an attorney to ensure that she can run in the race next year.BDS campaign targets ISN French riders ahead of 2020 Tour de France
The marathon at the Tokyo games, which were postponed from this summer because of the coronavirus, is set for a Saturday in August 2021.
Deutsch’s attorney wrote to the Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee requesting the event, which is usually run on a Sunday, be moved. It was listed for a Sunday when the 2020 Olympics schedule was announced but later changed when a venue outside of Tokyo was chosen for the race.
In March, when the Tokyo Olympics were changed to 2021, Deutsch wrote a letter to the International Olympic Committee to request that the event be held on a day other than Saturday.
The response, according to the August 18 letter from attorney Akiva Shapiro of the New York law firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, was that “once dates and session times are agreed and set, the scheduling of events to cater for religious practices is just not something we can accommodate given the range of religious considerations we would have to take into account across the 2,000 athletes that compete in athletics.”
French-Israeli member of the French National Assembly Meyer Habib condemned a recent campaign launched by the BDS organization Palestine Will Win, which ridiculed and named the French riders of Israel Start-Up Nation (ISN) - the Israeli professional cycling team - claiming that by participating in the 2020 Tour de France they are in turn supporting "Israeli apartheid through sport."Guy Niv to be first Israeli cyclist to participate in the Tour de France
The campaign, shared reluctantly to Habib's official Facebook account, called on the public to personally comment and shame the French riders - notably Rudy Barbier, Hugo Hofstetter and Alexis Renard - for participating in the 2020 Tour, under Israeli colors.
"These three French riders will compete in the Tour de France under the colors of the 'Israel Startup Nation' group 'To promote the Israeli apartheid through sports. Do not hesitate to write a comment on each of their private pages in order to ask them not to participate in this scandalous activity," the campaign stated.
TOUR DE FRANCE 2020 – DECHAINEMENT DE HAINE ET DE MENACES CONTRE L'EQUIPE « ISRAEL START-UP NATION » ! QUELLE TERRIBLE...
Posted by Meyer Habib on Thursday, August 20, 2020
Some comments called for the harm of the riders, alluding to "a sniper on the Tour," referring to the act of gunning down Israel Start-Up Nation riders as "'bird shooting' as they do in Palestine."
An Israeli cyclist will participate in the 2020 Tour de France for the first time ever.
Guy Niv, 26, will be the first Israeli to participate in the world’s biggest and most prestigious cycling competition in the world – the Tour de France.
Niv was selected by his teammates from Israel Start-Up Nation, an Israeli cycling team established in 2015 that participates in international competitions around the world. In 2018, the team’s management played an essential role in bringing the Giro d’Italia, one of the three Grand Tour races, to begin in Israel.
The decision to pick Niv as the Israeli representative to the competition stood out, as Niv’s background is mostly in mountain climbing, with only three years of experience in competitive cycling.
This year’s Tour de France, will feature more than 50,000 meters of climbing, which according to team manager Kjell Carlstrom, was one of the reasons for choosing Niv for the highly contested slot.
“As a climber he is best suited to face this huge challenge,” explained Carlstrom. “But he also showed us that he keeps progressing in other aspects, both mentally and physically. He is already a better rider and more robust than he was when he finished the Giro d’Italia last year, so he gets the precious spot in the lineup that he deserves... we trust him,” Carlstrom said.
Team Israel Start-Up Nation, which is also making history as the first Israel-based team to participate in the Tour de France, also announced that two other Israelis will be participating in Grand Tours later this year. Guy Sagiv, the first Israeli to ever finish a Grand Tour, will race in the Giro d’Italia, while Omer Goldstein will race in the Vuelta a Espana.
