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Monday, October 19, 2020

10/19 Links Pt2: Ayaan Hirsi Ali: Can Macron Stem the Tide of Islamism in France?; New York Times Op-Ed Glorifies Farrakhan March, as Bari Weiss Says Jew Hate Is Times Blind Spot

From Ian:

Ayaan Hirsi Ali: Can Macron Stem the Tide of Islamism in France?
The battle of ideas against Islamism will, of necessity, be a long one and if he hopes to succeed Macron must ensure that French civil society and philanthropic foundations are fully engaged in this effort. He should disband subversive Islamist organisations that lay the ideological groundwork for violence, while calling on his fellow European leaders to do the same. It’s amazing how many of them, even now, prefer to avoid the topic.

He might also strengthen immigration laws to ensure that French civic values are taken into account in admission decisions. Those admitted to the Republic from abroad should be told to embrace the French notion of social cohesion, which means they cannot embrace separatism or Islamism, or belong to organisations that do.

Existing laws should be used more too. Not so long ago, an Algerian woman who refused to shake hands with male officials at a French naturalisation ceremony was denied citizenship as a result. Islamists can, in this way, be served notice that France is not their natural home.

French law allows the government to reject naturalisation requests on grounds of ‘lack of assimilation, other than linguistic’. So in the spirit of this law, Macron should start to repatriate asylum-seekers who engage in violence or the incitement of violence — particularly against women.

In foreign policy, he could tackle the ideological extremism that is disseminated by the governments of Qatar and Turkey — among others — through their support of Islamists, Islamist foundations and communitarianism in Europe (including France). He could take a much stronger stand against the Iranian regime — bilaterally as well as at the EU level — for its hostile activities on European soil, its vicious cruelty towards its own population and its efforts to export revolutionary Islamism throughout the Middle East. This would also mean further strengthening France’s ties to Israel, the UAE and Egypt and demanding that Saudi Arabia stop funding Wahhabi extremists abroad.


Khaled Abu Toameh: Who Is Responsible for the 'Crisis' in Islam?
Other Arabs said that Muslims have only themselves to blame for the "crisis" in their religion. They are referring to the use of Islam, by many Muslims, to carry out terrorist attacks and other atrocities against Muslims and non-Muslims.

The message these Arabs and Muslims are sending is: We created the crisis in our religion by allowing terrorists and extremists to use Islam as a pretext for their crimes.

The views expressed by these Arabs and Muslims are reminiscent of those by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi. In 2014, he called for a "religious revolution" in Islam and appealed to leading Muslim groups to "confront the misleading ideologies harming Islam and Muslims worldwide."

"The fact is that the biggest conspirators against Islam are the Muslims themselves, specifically those who reproduce the discourse of closed-mindedness and hatred. In this context, there is no difference between those who create, finance or carry out terrorism and those who are silent about it or justify it." — Mohammad Maghouti, Moroccan writer, Hespress, October 13, 2020.

"[W]e have to call on France to place the Muslim Brotherhood and Hezbollah on the list of terrorist organizations." — Nervana Mahmoud, prominent Egyptian commentator and blogger, Al Hurrah, October 11, 2020.

"The crisis that Islam is suffering from was made by Muslims with their own hands when they allowed a handful of them to adopt violence as a language for dialogue with the other. Macron was right in everything he said. His message should be considered a wake-up call. Muslims have greatly offended Islam when they showed it to be a religion that incites violence and spreads chaos in stable societies that received them as refugees and provided them with protection. Muslims made a mistake when they used their religion as a justification for attacking others. This does not give us the right to condemn others and accuse them of being hostile to Islam. Islam is in crisis because it has been distorted, mutilated, and destroyed from within. We should have said thank you to Macron rather than curse him." — Farouk Yousef, Egyptian writer, Middle East Online, October 13, 2020.


Language As an Anti-Israel Tool
This expression ”two-state solution” is so deeply entrenched in the West that it will require an enormous effort to spread doubt about it. That is not because the message isn’t simple. Why would one upgrade the criminal Palestinian entity—the leaders of which glorify genocide and reward the murder of civilians, and which is permeated with a death cult—into a state?

Israel’s battle against the UN’s abuse of the phrase ”Palestinian refugees” has been fought only in a lukewarm way. There is a general definition of “refugee”: “someone who is unable or unwilling to return to their country of origin owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion.”

Specifically for the Palestinians, the UN expanded this definition to include descendants of refugees. This has undermined the meaning of the word and multiplied resulting problems. Almost no Palestinian “refugees” are true refugees according to the original definition. They did not flee from Israel, though their surviving parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents may have done so and are genuine refugees. Yet not a single international journalist points this out or uses the expression “UN fake refugees” for them.

Another abuse of language is to call Israelis “colonists.” That word was exclusively used for people who went to lands usually thousands of kilometers from their homeland. The 1967 partition lines that separated Israel from the Palestinian territories were armistice lines, yet they are frequently and mistakenly called ”borders.”

There are also many examples of the abuse of language in the antisemitism discourse. The French government often used to speak about “tension between communities.” It suggested that two communities, the Muslim and the Jewish, were aggressive toward each other. The reality was one-sided aggression and hatred toward the Jewish community originating in parts of the Muslim community.

The Palestinians will probably wait to see if Biden is elected president of the US and whether he will tear up the Trump plan. Should this occur, it may well be that the Palestinians will then decide to try to arrange a peace conference to deal with concrete issues such as final borders, the status of the Temple Mount, the demilitarization of a Palestinian state, and so on. It is unlikely to address a crucial issue: how the Palestinians intend to rid themselves of the cult of genocide and death that permeates their society.

This issue should be prominently put on the international agenda by Israel. Otherwise, if a Palestinian state is established it will be the upgrading of a criminal entity into a criminal nation-state.


David Collier: The greatest enemy of truth telling is lazy journalism
No Justice – no peace Anti-Israel activists are not ‘peace campaigners’. None of these groups have ANY CONTACT at all with Israeli peace groups, or groups that cross the divide and work building bridges between Israelis and Palestinians. They represent a side in the conflict and these groups REFUSE to talk to Israeli peace groups. They adhere to the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions movement that never mentions peace at all. Peace is not on the agenda for any of them. What they claim they seek is ‘justice’ – but then the question is – whose justice?

Those behind the Palestinian cause create demands that can never be met, wrongly state they are internationally sanctioned positions and then they suggest they will fight until this ‘justice’ has been brought to serve. This justice includes the destruction of the Israeli state that could only possibly come about through war and massacre. What type of peace is that?

The movements behind the boycott movement BDS, are those such as Hamas and the PFLP, both terror groups. To the radical Islamic terror group Hamas, justice involves throwing people from roof.

It is unforgivable that any journalist would buy into this deceit and help to propagate these lies by calling activists such as these ‘peace campaigners’ in articles. It takes just two minutes of research to expose the truth. Two minutes Nick Jackson obviously was not prepared to take.

Our greatest enemy – lazy journalism? The article above by Nick Jackson is just one recent example of what is a really dangerous situation. Casual readers see the word ‘peace’ alongside the image of the Palestinian flag. If anti-Israel activists are ‘peace campaigners’ – then what are pro-Israel activists? If Palestine = peace, then what does Israel equate to?

The Oldham Times and the journalist Nick Jackson are guilty of spreading dangerous fake news. These local outlets slip under the radar. There are 1000s of small regional papers and their articles are often shared and read online within their community groups. They tell their readers lies and their false message spreads. Brick throwing antisemitic thugs become ‘peace campaigners’. When Jews opposing them get attacked, it can therefore easily be seen as ‘justice’. Thus the safety of British Jews becomes compromised. It is our duty to seek out these ‘fake news’ errors and make sure they are addressed.

Perhaps we should start by letting Nick Jackson and the Oldham Times know that this lazy journalism is as dangerous as it is unacceptable.
France: Death to Free Speech
Paris, October 16. A history teacher who had shown his students cartoons of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad and had spoken with them about and freedom of speech was beheaded ....

[A different] attack shows that declaring oneself an "unaccompanied minor" in France can be sufficient not to be observed at all and all the same to receive full assistance from the government. The attack also suggests a disappointing grade for gratitude.

Any criticism of Islam in France can lead to legal action. The French mainstream media, threatened with prosecution by their own government, have evidently decided no longer to invite on air anyone likely to make comments that could lead to convictions or complaints. [The author Éric] Zemmour might still appear on television, but the increasingly heavy fines imposed on him are aimed at silencing him and potentially punishing stations that invite him.

"Strengthening the teaching of Arabic will simply help to nourish 'cultural replacement'". — Jean Messiha, senior civil servant and member of the National Rally party.

Commenting on a news report that stated, "The trial has sparked protests across France, with thousands of demonstrators rallying against Charlie Hebdo and the French government," the American attorney and commentator, John Hinderaker, wrote: "When thousands demonstrate against the prosecution of alleged murderers, you know you have a problem."
France: Head of pro-Hamas group and parent put fatwa on beheaded French teacher
The father of a student and the head of an Islamist pro-Hamas group urged the killing of a French teacher who was beheaded for showing pupils cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed, France’s interior minister said Monday, adding that police had carried out dozens of raids in connection with the attack.

“They apparently launched a fatwa against the teacher,” minister Gerald Darmanin told Europe 1 radio of the two men, who are among 11 people being held over the deadly attack by a young Chechen man.

One of the men was named as Abdelhakim Sefrioui, president of the “Cheikh Yassine collective.” Sheikh Ahmad Yassin was a founder of the Hamas terror group. He was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip in 2004.

According to French newspaper Liberation, Sefrioui was known to French security services for his Islamist activities and anti-Semitic speeches.

In July 2014, Sefrioui participated in protests in Paris, chanting slogans in praise of Palestinian terror groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

He reportedly denounced the teacher in a video posted to social media a few days prior to the attack.

Samuel Paty was murdered on his way home from the school where he taught in a suburb northwest of Paris on Friday afternoon.


New York Times Op-Ed Glorifies Farrakhan March, as Bari Weiss Says Jew Hate Is Times Blind Spot
A former editor and writer for the New York Times editorial page, Bari Weiss, is faulting the Times for publishing an op-ed piece glorifying Louis Farrakhan’s Million Man March and failing to provide context about Farrakhan’s antisemitism.

“Today the New York Times ran an oped about the Million Man March and Louis Farrakhan. If you read the oped and knew nothing about Farrakhan, you would think he was a gentleman,” Weiss tweeted. “When The Times ran the infamous anti-Semitic cartoon, the issue was not that editors were hardened anti-Semites. It’s that they didn’t even *notice* it. This shouldn’t surprise. It’s part of a worldview in which Jew hate does not count.” Her reference was to an April 2019 cartoon that the Times eventually said it was “deeply sorry” for and acknowledged was antisemitic.

The op-ed piece appears in the New York Times under the headline “Behind the Million Woman March.” It is subheadlined, “Behind every great feat in the public record lies an untold story of the unsung foot soldiers.” It is written by Natalie Hopkinson, an associate professor in Howard University’s Department of Communication, Culture and Media Studies.

The op-ed, timed to the 25th anniversary of the event, tells the story of the behind-the-scenes role played in the march by Cora Masters Barry, the wife of Washington, D.C., Mayor Marion Barry. “The Million Man March is a case study in how even in the most patriarchal spaces, women have powered history,” Hopkinson writes.


Carr Criticizes Cuomo for Coronavirus Restrictions Targeting Orthodox Jews
US Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating Antisemitism Elan Carr criticized New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Thursday over the city’s most recent coronavirus restrictions, including closing schools and yeshivahs, while threatening to shutter synagogues and other houses of worship. The move has resulted in protests in New York City’s Orthodox Jewish communities, particularly in neighborhoods in Brooklyn, NY.

“I think that there has to be a balance between allowing the fair and free exercise of First Amendment rights on the one hand and maintaining public health on the other. That’s very important,” Carr told JNS. “And I think that singling any one community is deeply troubling.”

He added, “I won’t comment on public-health measures, but it has to be fairly applied. And singling out a particular ethnic community or a particular religious community is not acceptable.”

As it pertains to protests by these communities against such measures, where a journalist was assaulted last week, Carr said: “This is America. Thank G-d, Americans have a right to express their views on the subjects of the day, and if that means protesting, as long as it’s peaceful, they’re allowed to do that. Sadly, what we’ve seen recently is riots and looting and bedlam and pandemonium in the streets of America’s cities and, obviously, that’s not conduct protected by the First Amendment.”

When asked if the actions of Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio targeting the Jewish community during the ongoing pandemic have been antisemitic, Carr expressly responded: “No.”

“I wouldn’t call them antisemitic,” he said, but they could have handled the situation far better with communities wanting to “worship and attend funerals, and live as a Jew.”


New York Gov. Cuomo Bans Wedding of Satmar Jews, Expected to Draw 10,000 People
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo ordered the cancellation of a large ultra-Orthodox wedding that was set to take place in Williamsburg after learning that up to 10,000 people were expected to attend, US media reported Saturday.

The wedding, scheduled for Monday, of the grandchild of Satmar Grand Rabbi Zalman Leib Teitlebaum raised concerns amid a new spike in coronavirus cases in the state.

“You can get married; you just can’t have 1,000 people at your wedding. You get the same result at the end of the day,” Cuomo told reporters in a press conference on Saturday, outlet NY1 reported. “It’s also cheaper,” he added.

The governor revealed that state and city officials served an order Friday night banning the wedding. According to NY1, they expect to be met with opposition from the wedding-goers through a hearing.

Under the current New York health guidelines, gatherings are only permitted up to 50 people.

Cuomo and the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community have clashed on numerous occasions since the outbreak of the pandemic, with several lawsuits filed against the governor and the state over coronavirus restrictions.

The latest lawsuit, submitted to the Manhattan federal court on Wednesday by three Jewish congregations, accuses Cuomo of engaging in a “streak of antisemitic discrimination” while making negative, false, and discriminatory statements about the Orthodox Jewish community.
CAA concerned by some of the nominees for the 2020 Ethnicity Awards
The Ethnicity Awards has announced its nominees for its 2020 prizes. Many have done laudable work and set tremendous examples for the advancement of minorities and racial harmony in our society. However, a small proportion of the nominees are troubling in respect to their past comments or conduct in relation to the Jewish community.

In the Inspirational Personality category, the celebrity Jameela Jamil is applauded for launching and using her Instagram account “to create a safe and radically inclusive space on social media”. What goes unmentioned is her sharing over this summer of a video from 1990 featuring the antisemitic hate preacher Louis Farrakhan, with the caption: “Someone please tell me the name of this extraordinary man who so perfectly sums up white fear in under a minute.” She deleted the video after an outcry, but not before it was seen and shared by many of her followers, including other celebrities.

In the same category, the radio and television personality, Reggie Yates, is praised for his work helping people “steer clear of crime or substance abuse”. Again, unmentioned is his 2017 comment that it is “great” that the young generation is not “managed by some random fat Jewish guy from north west London, they’re managed by their brethren”, adding that they were “idiots”, “dickheads” and not “your people”. He subsequently apologised.

A nominee in the Charity or Community Initiatives category, Black Lives Matter UK, appears to be the collective behind the @UKBLM Twitter account, which posted an antisemitic tweet claiming that “mainstream British politics is gagged of the right to critique Zionism” – redolent of the notion that the Jews or the Jewish state exercise outsized influence in British politics – and refused to apologise. The Black Lives Matter Movement is also recognised in the Media Moment 2020 category.

Another nominee in the Charity or Community Initiatives category is the activist group Show Racism the Red Card, lauded as “the UK’s largest anti-racism educational charity”. Show Racism the Red Card has, however, been embroiled in controversy over its blind eye to antisemitism, demonstrated, for example, in its appointment of the outspoken filmmaker Ken Loach to a judging panel. The debacle eventually led one of the charity’s trustees to resign in protest against this appointment and Show Racism the Red Card’s disregard for the views of the Jewish community.
On BBC, BLM UK leader insists criticism of Israel is being 'gagged'
On Oct. 15th, BBC Radio 5 Live host Emma Barnett interviewed Joshua Virasami, one of the co-founders of Black Lives Matter UK (the semi-official UK branch of the US movement), and asked about the following antisemitic tweet by the group back in June:

Here’s the exchange between Barnett and Virasami, who, according to The Telegraph, is also on record accusing Israel of “ethnically cleansing” the Palestinians.

Note that Virasami, responding to Barnett’s question about who precisely is “gagging” British political conversations about “Zionism”, claims the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism is the culprit.

First, before we get to the IHRA definition, it’s important to stress that the BLM UK leader’s claim that there’s a dearth of criticism about Israel within British politics is the opposite of the truth.

As David Collier’s detailed research, which reviewed 70 years of transcripts, demonstrated, UK Parliament has been obsessed with Israel. Collier’s report showed that Israel was referenced 17,667 times between January 1, 1946 and January 20, 2019 in the House of Commons and House of Lords – more than Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine combined. Moreover, as we’ve demonsrated at this blog, Israel is similarly an obsession with many British media outlets.

If anyone has been conspiring to “gag” criticism of Israel, they’ve done an awfully bad job of it.
Wiesenthal Center antisemitism list may include BDS entity with German MPs
The prominent human rights organization Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) announced on Sunday that it might include the German-Palestinian Society — a group that is supported by three German MPs – in its top-ten list of worst outbreaks of antisemitism and anti-Israel conduct of 2020.

The associate dean of the Center, Rabbi Abraham Cooper, wrote to The Jerusalem Post, “Why is Germany allowing so-called Palestinian art that invokes a slogan calling for the end of the Jewish state to be shown? German-Palestinian Society is an organization that promotes the destruction of the Jewish state and is a candidate for SWC's top 10 anti-Semitism/anti-Israel list.”

Cooper’s statement follows criticism against the MPs and the pro-Palestinian group from David Peyman, the deputy Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism for BDS, Eurasia and Special Projects in the US State Department, to the Post last week.

The German-Palestinian Society urged the total destruction of the Jewish state in its art exhibit. The Boycott, Divestment and Sanction (BDS) entity declared in the exhibit: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

The three allegedly pro-BDS supporters, who are on the advisory board of the German-Palestinian Society, are Omid Nouripour (The Green Party), Aydan Özoguz (Social Democratic Party) and Christine Buchholz (The Left Party).

All three MPs have declined to comment on whether they support the art exhibit calling for Israel’s destruction.
American Muslims for Palestine Pushes Debunked Israeli Police Exchange Narrative
It’s an extension of an ongoing campaign to connect the training programs to American police violence, in hopes of persuading local governments to prohibit their law enforcement agencies from participating. The AMP video ends by directing viewers to a website called “Deadly Exchange,” run by the anti-Israel group Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP).

JVP did not start the campaign to end police exchanges in Israel, but it became one of the effort’s leaders in 2017 when it launched a concerted campaign under the banner “Deadly Exchange.”

The campaign, and its reliance on unsubstantiated allegations and antisemitic roots, were the subject of a two-part investigation published last week by the Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT).

The investigation led to two major findings:

1. Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) spent nearly three years promoting “Deadly Exchange,” saying the police trainings in Israel led to “extrajudicial executions, shoot-to-kill policies, police murders…” The organization quietly scrubbed that language from the Deadly Exchange website in June, issuing an “update” which cautioned that “Suggesting that Israel is the start or source of American police violence or racism shifts the blame from the United States to Israel. … It also furthers an antisemitic ideology.”
2. Critics like JVP, AMP, and others offer no evidence to support their allegations. Rather, they make emotional appeals, juxtaposing images of Israeli police in tactical gear with similarly outfitted American cops. The IPT interviewed four police chiefs — two active and two retired — who said they saw none of the horrors described by JVP or AMP.

JVP’s update is an indirect acknowledgement that the campaign was rooted in a hyperbolic, antisemitic smear. And our investigation showed how rhetoric falsely linking Israeli police training to American police killing black people has been repeated by Israel-bashers like Linda Sarsour, Marc Lamont Hill, and Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.

Despite its new disclaimer, JVP has not acknowledged its own role pushing the kind of antisemitic rhetoric it now warns against. Despite engaging in rhetoric it now says “provides fodder for those racist and antisemitic tropes,” it wants people to believe the rest of the campaign is grounded in truth. That’s simply not the case.

The IPT spoke with police exchange organizers and participants. Each said the programs contained no hands-on training of any kind. And rather than pushing a message of oppression, the chiefs said the programs emphasized the importance of good community relations, of making sure disparate community voices are heard.
BBC Jerusalem bureau’s olive harvest report features inadequately presented ‘activists’
Throughout Bateman’s film viewers see Palestinian “activists”, Israeli soldiers and many members of the press but no olive picking whatsoever. While violent incidents regrettably do sometimes take place in some locations during the olive harvest season, that is not – despite its over-hyped title and synopsis – what Bateman’s film shows. In fact, as he himself states, the violence seen in the film – arson and throwing stones – is perpetrated by the Palestinian “activists” he fails to adequately identify.

The Palestinian Authority’s ‘Colonisation and Wall Resistance Commission’ (which is headed by former PA agriculture minister Walid Assaf) obviously has a specific political agenda which is not clarified to BBC audiences in this film. Neither is the question of whether it was that PA agency which invited the BBC to cover the event it initiated in Burqa on October 16th: a question which is relevant because, as we have noted here in the past:

“…much of the annual politicisation of the olive harvest is attributable in no small part to the mutually beneficial collaboration between Western media outlets and local political actors…”

Instead, the BBC once again exploited the olive harvest in order to promote already well-worn political narratives together with the false notion that the entire harvest is “in jeopardy”, but refrained from providing audiences with any new insights into the topic.


Twitter, Google Decline to Be in State Department Event Countering Antisemitism
Twitter and Google declined to participate in next week’s US State Department event, featuring US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, on countering antisemitism on the Internet and social media—the first event of its kind in the department’s history, US Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating Antisemitism Elan Carr told JNS on Thursday.

Facebook and TikTok each sent a senior representative to the pre-recorded event, which will be broadcasted for the first time Oct. 21-22.

Titled “Ancient Hatred, Modern Medium,” the event will also feature US Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen; Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; Israeli Tourism and Strategic Affairs Minister Orit Farkash-Hacohen; British Cabinet Officer Minister Michael Gove; United Arab Emirates Federal National Council Member Ali Al Nuaimi; International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance president Ambassador Michaela Küchler; European Commission Coordinator on Combating Antisemitism Katharina von Schnurbein; and UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief Ahmed Shaheed.

The decision by Twitter and Google, both of which did not respond to a request for comment, comes as Facebook announced this week that it would ban posts denying and distorting the Holocaust—a move that Carr, also part of the virtual event, applauded.

“Holocaust denial or distortion is absolutely antisemitic. It meets the [International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance] definition of antisemitism,” he told JNS on Thursday. “I welcome Facebook’s recognition that Holocaust denial or distortion is antisemitism.”

“One of the things that particularly excites me about Facebook’s announcement is that it’s going to be referring its users shortly to off-platform credible sources of education on Holocaust history,” he continued. “I think that is incredibly important and is exactly in keeping with the spirit of the First Amendment where despicable hateful speech is met with accurate and educational speech.”
'Jewish Journal of Los Angeles' ceases print publication, moves online
The Jewish Journal of Los Angeles, the largest American Jewish weekly west of New York, has ceased print production as of its October 16 issue and become an online-only publication.

In an announcement to staff, readers and advertisers, publisher and editor-in-chief David Suissa said he hopes the print version of the paper will return once synagogues open again.

As a free community paper, the Journal has been distributed primarily through the area’s network of far-flung synagogues, where congregants could pick up the paper on Fridays, its day of publication.

“I’m excited about the possibilities of online, but I haven’t forgotten the power of paper. There’s role for both. That means the next time you show up at your favorite synagogue on a Shabbat or holiday, expect to be greeted again by your favorite Jewish paper,” Suissa wrote in his announcement note.

Simultaneously the Journal plans to ramp up its online offerings and provide a Jewish Streaming Guide, curating the most interesting Jewish events that can be watched online during the coronavirus crisis.


Dutch anti-coronavirus restriction protesters shout 'Heil Hitler'
A group of demonstrators in the Dutch city of Den Bosch protesting against coronavirus restrictions on Saturday began shouting "Heil Hitler" throughout the streets, the Algemeiner reported.

The protest numbered around 200-300 people who began marching throughout the city streets after first gathering outside the stadium of the FC Den Bosch soccer team.

According to the Algemeiner, the protest was in violation of arrangements made with the municipality, and as a result, two of the protesters were arrested.

Video of the incident posted on Twitter showed demonstrators shouting the antisemitic slogan as they marched through the city, according to Dutch public broadcaster Omroep Brabant, with police now examining the footage.

“This could ultimately lead to arrests,” a police spokesman said, the Algemeiner reported.
Over 70% of Holocaust survivors need financial aid - comptroller
Some 70% of Holocaust survivors require financial assistance, up 3% from three years ago, according to a report published Monday by State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman.

Three years ago, the Foundation for the Welfare of Holocaust Victims, which is under the Finance Ministry, was advised to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the needs of those who survived the Holocaust and are now living in Israel. It was provided with a budget of NIS 17 million and was able to obtain data on 22% of known survivors in three years.

At the time, extra funding was given to programs within the Welfare Ministry meant to help Holocaust survivors who are homebound. The ministry used 30% of its budget to help needy survivors between 2018 and 2019. It used its entire budget within “The National Plan,” which was NIS 58m. No large-scale effort to map who are the survivors and what their needs are was attempted.

Distress buttons, which summon medical help when pressed by the elderly in their homes, are funded by donations, and the 9,000 survivors who currently have them might lose them. The website maintained by the foundation as a primary source of information used by survivors to claim their pensions and rights was said to be “in need of improvement.”

The report also noted some points of improvement when compared with three years ago.
March of the Living launches global initiative to mark Kristallnacht
On November 9, 1938, the Nazis burned more than 1,400 synagogues and Jewish institutions in Germany and Austria on ‘Kristallnacht’ (The Night of Broken Glass), a critical moment in the chain of events that led to the Holocaust.

On November 9, 2020, March of the Living will mark the 82nd anniversary of Kristallnacht with a message of unity and hope through a unique international campaign. Entitled “Let There Be Light,” March of the Living will invite individuals, institutions, and houses of worship around the world to keep their lights on during the night of November 9 as a symbol of solidarity and mutual commitment in the shared battle against antisemitism, racism, hatred, and intolerance.

As part of this virtual initiative, people from all over the world will be able to add their voices to the campaign. Individuals of all religions and backgrounds are invited to write personal messages of hope in their own words at the campaign website: www.motl.org/let-there-be-light.

The main synagogue in Frankfurt (one of the few synagogues not destroyed on Kristallnacht) will be illuminated as well, as will other places of religious and spiritual significance across the world. Personal messages and prayers from the virtual campaign will be projected on the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem. Against the backdrop of rising antisemitism, racism, and the shadow of Covid-19, these individual expressions of optimism and unity will help illuminate the world against darkness and hatred. The “Let There Be Light” project of the March of the Living is being done in collaboration with the Miller Center for Community Protection & Resilience at Rutgers University, and the Jewish community of Frankfurt.
Doctors perform lifesaving procedure on baby during birth
Doctors in Israel saved a newborn’s life yesterday with a rare surgical procedure performed before the boy was fully outside his mother’s body.

The “ex utero intrapartum treatment” (EXIT) procedure during a Caesarean-section delivery at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center was planned when prenatal imaging revealed that the fetus’ airways were blocked by a growth.

They knew the fetus would be fine until his umbilical cord was cut because the placenta provides oxygen. Once the cord is detached after birth, he would not have been able to breathe air into his lungs.

A team of some 30 physicians prepared for the EXIT procedure – previously done in Israel only a few times — using a 3D-printed model of the fetus’ neck.

The multidisciplinary team of doctors and nurses delivered the baby’s head and inserted a tracheal tube that bypassed the growth.

When they pulled the rest of his body from the womb and cut the cord, he was able to breathe through the tube.
Israel Launches New Drone System for Delivering Coronavirus Tests, Medical Supplies to Hospitals
A new program using drones to deliver coronavirus tests and other supplies between Israeli hospitals was inaugurated on Sunday.

According to Israeli news website Walla, the devices were put into use by Ziv Medical Center in the eastern Galilee town of Safed, in order to see if they would speed up the delivery of the supplies in relation to other methods like ground transportation and piloted aircraft.

In the first phase of the pilot program, the drones—manufactured by the company Simplex—will fly to destinations up to ten kilometers away carrying weights of approximately five kilograms. GPS technology will be used to guide them to precise locations.

In the second phase, blood packages will be transported from Magen David Adom blood banks in Haifa and Tel HaShomer on flights of 60 and 130 kilometers.

Flights will then be undertaken carrying expensive medications from the southern city of Ashdod to Safed, a distance of 150 miles.
A wine-tasting postponed 2,000 years
In 2017, the archaeologist Roee Porat, who led the delegation to study the Herodian, told Ben-Gedalya about the unique vessels uncovered at the Herodian site – dozens of hand-made storage containers known as dolia that measured about a meter [three feet] tall by a meter wide, capable of holding some 400 liters (105.6 gallons). The temptation to probe the purpose of the huge containers was immense.

"I soon joined the excavation team from the Hebrew University researching Herodian. To a large extent, it really was a mission that like a detective trying to recreate events based on what is found at a scene. At Herodian, I looked more like something we now identify with COVID: I came to the excavation wearing laboratory gear – a lab coat and gloves. When you want to take a 2,000-year-old sample, you can't contaminate it with anything modern that has a dominant presence, so the process of taking samples of ancient material looks pretty dramatic."

Thanks to the careful attention to details, study of the dolia revealed each one to be a perfectly preserved time capsule, containing evidence of far-off times. The samples were examined and prepare for various tests to be carrying out with funding from the Science and Technology Ministry. Some of the samples were brought to the Ariel University Wine Research Center, which is run by Dr. Eliyashiv Drori. Drori's search for ancient grape varietals used to make wine in the ancient Land of Israel and his attempts to recreate ancient wines in the university's research vineyard have made him into an international authority on the subject.

The contents of the dolia are also being examined in Professor Ehud Weiss' archaeological botany laboratory at Bar-Ilan University, and revealing more plants that were intentionally or incidentally added to the wine-making process. These findings indicate that plants were added to wine for their properties of taste, health, or aroma, and teach us about the climate and the environment of those times – both the wild and cultivated areas where the wine was produced.
‘Forever from Mosul’: Iraq Jewish diaspora reflects on roots with scholars, UN rep
Scholars and Jewish people with Iraqi roots held a virtual meeting on Thursday to remember the historical Jewish community in the Iraqi city of Mosul.

The initiative, spearheaded by Iraqi historian Omar Mohammed, brought together academics, UN representatives, Jewish people born in Mosul, and Jewish people of Iraqi descent for a conversation in both English and Arabic.

Mohammed - well known for being the anonymous journalist behind ‘Mosul Eye,’ a website that documented ISIS atrocities when the extremist group controlled the city - recently discovered a trove of historic documents and photos in Paris relating to the Jewish community of Mosul.

“It’s very important to bring back these stories of the Jewish community, and analyze them,” said Mohammed. Mosul, as well as the fellow Iraqi cities of Baghdad and Basra, was home to a flourishing Jewish community until the Arab-Israeli conflict and the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948.

Before being displaced, the Jewish population in Iraq in the 1940s was estimated to be 135,000.

Baghdad’s population is estimated to have been 40 percent Jewish at the time, and Mosul’s about 10 percent, according to Mohammed.





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