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Tuesday, November 10, 2020

11/10 Links Pt2: Arsen Ostrovsky: Fighting Anti-Semitism: Lessons From Kristallnacht; The UN’s ‘Zionism is Racism’ Resolution: From Passage to Repeal and Beyond

From Ian:

Arsen Ostrovsky: Fighting Anti-Semitism: Lessons From Kristallnacht
Eighty-two years ago yesterday, Nazis and their enablers across Germany and Austria razed over 1,400 synagogues, smashed the windows and plundered over 7,500 Jewish-owned businesses, and murdered almost 100 Jews in a violent pogrom that became known as "Kristallnacht"—or the "Night of Broken Glass."

In the weeks that followed, approximately 30,000 Jews were transported to concentration camps in a jarring prelude to the further evil that would ensue.

Kristallnacht was a murderous example of the capacity of humans to escalate from indifference, demonization and singling out of a group of people—Jews, in this case—to violence. First by words and through dehumanization, and then through the Nazi infrastructure of death.

Today, this singling out of Jews again—and by extension, the Jewish state, including through nefarious attempts to boycott Israel—represents a collective form of amnesia, indifference and willful disregard of history. It indicates that for many, very little has, in fact, been learned from history.

As the great philosopher George Santayana said: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

For some, the phrase "Never Again" may be no more than an empty slogan. But not for the Jewish people, the Jewish state or those with a clear moral conscience.

Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel implored us to "take sides," warning that "neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented."

This week, it is imperative we not only remember our Jewish brothers and sisters murdered in the Kristallnacht by the Nazi machinery of death, but also to recall that so many of their fellow citizens stood idly by—many outright cheering on—as accomplices in the greatest act of evil in modern history.
The UN’s ‘Zionism is Racism’ Resolution: From Passage to Repeal and Beyond
November 10, 1975: 45 years ago today. This was a very telling moment regarding the United Nations’ — and the international community’s — stance on Israel.

Twenty-five states sponsored Resolution 3379, which “determine[d] that Zionism is a form of racism and racial discrimination.” Seventy-two states voted in favor, 32 abstained and 35 were against the motion. The resolution referenced the 1963 UN Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination; the 1973 resolution condemning “the unholy alliance between South African racism and Zionism;” and the August 1975 Conference for Foreign Affairs of Non-Aligned Countries, which called Zionism “a threat to world peace and security,” and urged world capitals “to oppose this racist and imperialist ideology.”

Prior to the vote, Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Chaim Herzog told the General Assembly:
I can point with pride to the Arab ministers who have served in my government; to the Arab deputy speaker of my Parliament; to Arab officers and men serving of their own volition in our border and police defense forces, frequently commanding Jewish troops; to the hundreds of thousands of Arabs from all over the Middle East crowding the cities of Israel every year; to the thousands of Arabs from all over the Middle East coming for medical treatment to Israel; to the peaceful coexistence which has developed; to the fact that Arabic is an official language in Israel on a par with Hebrew; to the fact that it is as natural for an Arab to serve in public office in Israel as it is incongruous to think of a Jew serving in any public office in an Arab country, indeed being admitted to many of them. Is that racism? It is not! That … is Zionism.

Herzog then pulled out a copy of the text of the resolution, held it up, and declared: “For us, the Jewish people, this resolution based on hatred, falsehood and arrogance, is devoid of any moral or legal value. For us, the Jewish people, this is no more than a piece of paper and we shall treat it as such.”

Herzog then tore the document in half.




David Collier: The cruel sewer of the far-left. Not for the faint-hearted
This piece on the cruel sewer of the far-left is not for the faint-hearted. The article contains sickening responses to the news of the passing of Lord Jonathan Sacks, the former Chief Rabbi. My research is here to provide a historical record. As such, this piece, however difficult to write or read – needed to be made public.

If you are easily offended or upset, I strongly suggest you give this one a miss. The cruel and sickening responses

It is easy to go and find some anonymous troll making an offensive or cruel comment. It is for others to engage in distortion and propaganda. What is important to note about this blog is that these are not trolls or bots. These are real people and most have held or hold key positions in anti-Israel activism or other political circles.

I start with Mick Napier the chair of the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign.


That vile post by Napier was liked by Jacqueline Walker – ex Vice-Chair of Momentum.

At the time of writing, Napier’s post has received around 50 likes and has been shared 17 times. Walker, not content in simply liking a grotesque post about Lord Sacks, set out to post some comments on her own timeline.


In 2018 sermon, Warnock blasted Israel. He now says, ‘I Stand with Israel’
Rev. Raphael Warnock, the Democratic nominee for Senate in Georgia’s special election, clarified his views on Israel after video of a 2018 sermon surfaced in which the pastor accused Israel of shooting non-violent Palestinian protesters. “We saw the government of Israel shoot down unarmed Palestinian sisters and brothers like birds of prey,” Warnock said in the sermon.

In an editorial shared with Jewish Insider on Monday afternoon, titled “I Stand with Israel,” Warnock writes, “Without reservation, you can count on me to stand with the Jewish community and Israel in the U.S. Senate.” Warnock details his position on a number of issues, including his support for the 2016 Memorandum of Understanding, his rejection of conditioning financial aid to Israel and his hope that a two-state solution can be achieved.

Warnock’s 2018 sermon was delivered shortly after the opening of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem. “It’s been a tough week,” Warnock noted. “The administration opened up the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem. Standing there [were] the president’s family and a few mealy-mouthed evangelical preachers who are responsible for the mess that we found ourselves in, both there and here — misquoting and misinterpreting the Scripture, talking about peace.”

Warnock went on to compare the struggle for Palestinian rights with the Black Lives Matter movement. “Meanwhile, young Palestinian sisters and brothers, who are struggling for their very lives, struggling for water and struggling for their human dignity stood up in a non-violent protest, saying, ‘If we’re going to die, we’re going to die struggling.’ And yes, there may have been some folk who were violent, but we oughta know how that works out,” Warnock said. “We know what it’s like to stand up and have a peaceful demonstration and have the media focus on a few violent uprisings. But you have to look at those Palestinian sisters and brothers, who are struggling for their human dignity and they have a right to self-determination, they have a right to breathe free.”


Ilhan Omar: Defund Israel over illegal Bedouin homes that were demolished
US Rep. Ilhan Omar reacted on Twitter to the news reported by the AFP News Agency on Friday that Israel had demolished illegally built structures in Khirbet Humsah, located in Samaria in the Jordan Valley, and called to defund Israel for "ethnic cleansing."

Located in Area C and under Israeli security and civilian control according to the 1995 Oslo Accords, the area is under Israel's responsibility for planning and construction.

“This a grave crime – in direct violation of international law,” Omar tweeted. “If they used any US equipment it also violates US law. An entire community is now homeless and will likely experience lifelong trauma. The United States of America should not be bankrolling ethnic cleansing. Anywhere.”

Omar quoted a report that defined misplaced Bedouin as “Palestinian,” a misleading and inaccurate definition as many Palestinians do not consider the Bedouin to be Palestinian, and most of the Negev Bedouin do not consider themselves Palestinian, according to the online media site Israel365News: "Indeed, Bedouins are a subgroup within the Arab minority in the State of Israel, with cultural, historical, social and political uniqueness."
Ilhan Omar lies about Israel ethnic cleansing Khirbet Humsa

Why is it so hard for European governments to defund NGOs, even over terror ties?
There is something inherently flawed in how European governments engage with civil society.

On paper, governments have vetting procedures that should prevent abuse of taxpayers’ funds. Yet time and again, evidence emerges showing that they support and cooperate with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) linked to terror groups.

Lately, there’s been a change.

In July, the Dutch government made a dramatic announcement. It was freezing funding to the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC), a Palestinian NGO, over its close links to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)—a European Union-designated terror group. An internal government review had confirmed that taxpayer funds were used to pay the salaries of two senior UAWC employees who were arrested for the murder of 17-year-old Israeli, Rina Shnerb, in August 2019.

The Dutch decision came weeks after a similar announcement from the E.U. The E.U., prodded by a vocal public campaign in Europe and Israel, will run an internal review to check for terror ties among its NGO beneficiaries.

The truth is these developments should have been less striking. Both were informed of UAWC’s terror connections years ago. When alerted, the European Union and the Netherlands insisted they had stringent vetting processes that rendered such allegations impossible.
Peace, Love, and Conflict
How student groups reacted to the Oslo Accords, as remembered in a new memoir

The next day, reading the coverage of the peace deal in the Globe and Mail, I clip the letters of mutual recognition that Rabin and Arafat have written each other. I tack them to my bedroom wall, just above my desk. It’s early in the school year, and I figure we’ll have lots to talk about in our Arab-Jewish dialogue group. But I’m not prepared for what awaits.

“We won’t sit and dialogue anymore,” the leader of the group says the next time we meet in the arts building on campus. “Dialogue means normalizing the agreement, legitimizing it. We don’t want to give our support to it. It’s a real defeat for the Palestinians, as I’m sure you know.”

Defeat? It seems like a victory to me. The PLO has managed to tame Israel’s adventurist impulses, even with their meager power. The Palestinians stand to gain a long-denied state. But still, I listen. He has seemed nice enough since we first met, and the fact that he was interested in engaging in dialogue with us in the first place says something. I’m willing to grant that he might be right. But my natural optimism persists.

Another member joins in. “Did you see what Edward Said said about the deal? He called it a Palestinian Versailles.”

I picture Rabin and Arafat shaking hands. I hear Rabin’s speech, drawing from Ecclesiastes, echo in my head: “there is a time for everything.” If Rabin—the warrior—says there is a time for peace, shouldn’t we believe him? Cynicism has no place here, I think. It’s Canada. It’s McGill. It’s Montreal: the city of jazz, poetry, the Habs and smoked meat. Can’t we just be happy?

But the Arab student group remains steadfast. I leave the seminar room, my shoulders hunched, and walk down the steps toward the Milton gates, letting out a long sigh. This will be the last time we meet as a group, and this will be my first time experiencing first hand what will later become more widely known as “anti-normalization.” This is the belief that dialogue for its own sake, meaning sitting and talking without actively pledging to overturn the structures of oppression and inequity first, is a way of shoring up the status quo, rather than resisting it. We all claimed to oppose the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. But our differing views of what would soon become known as the Oslo agreement was enough to sever the connection we had made.
Cheering for Biden is followed by antisemitic slurs towards Jews - opinion
This was an Orthodox shtiebel in New York. Almost every Orthodox Jew, certainly in New York, voted for Donald Trump. Although I didn’t ask – I would never ask – I am pretty sure that no one in that room was an exception to that rule. In fact, several of the worshipers are politically to the Right of Attila the Hun.

And then the cheering stopped. As if in concert, the shtiebel’s neighbors, those who could look down on the backyard, began opening their windows. And the shouting began.

Antisemitic slurs were hurled at us, one after the other after the other. Awful comments. Comments I will not repeat. Most of us remained silent. Two men who felt the need to respond shouted back, “Thanks for being so tolerant.” One of our verbal attackers, I guess he had run out of antisemitic slurs, shouted, “And you’re not even vegetarians.” True, but relevant?

On the Upper West Side of Manhattan, a bastion of liberalism, we were being peppered with antisemitic slurs. We could see their faces. We know who they are. We shop in the same supermarkets, go to the same drug stores and dry cleaners. They had no shame. All they had was vitriol and anger.

This was not an Antifa group in Portland. It was not a group of college kids or youngsters. These were serious adults shouting from the comfort of their homes. They were shouting at me, and by extension, at all Jews.

They were not just celebrating the Biden victory, they were celebrating that when it came to politics, we, kippah-wearing Jews were now on the wrong end of the spectrum.

COVID has changed our lives. So, too, have politics. COVID is not in our control. Politics are. At least, in a democratic society they should be. (h/t Yerushalimey)
The NY Post Once Again Trashes Orthodox Jews In Glaring Double-Standard
The NY Post once again revealed their glaring animus and double standard in reporting about the Orthodox Jewish community of NYC.

As YWN reported, the funeral of Hagaon HaRav David Feinstein was held today in Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Approximately 5,000 people attended, while well over 25,000 watched on live streams and thousands more on phone hookups. Without a doubt, tens of thousands of mourners honored the family’s request not to attend personally and stayed away. That the family requested that all attendees wear masks, and as photos show – nearly every single attendee wore masks, was of course completely ignored in the NY Post article. Rest assured, we would have heard about the ‘sacred’ masks if it would have been an issue. It wasn’t.

What the Post did include in its report however, was the following broadside at the end of the article:

“Mayor Bill de Blasio has criticized the Orthodox Jewish community for holding large funerals in Brooklyn. Governor Andrew Cuomo also asked the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community to stop holding packed religious gatherings to slow the spread of Covid-19.”

Meanwhile, yesterday the same NY Post published an article about the tens of thousands that celebrated the election of Joe Biden as President. The article, titled “Thousands flock to Times Square to celebrate Joe Biden’s victory”, made absolutely no mention whatsoever of the gatherings being an issue due to COVID-19. It seems, the Post like our Governor & Mayor, only find fault with Orthodox Jews & nobody else. (See Cuomo’s Redzones)

Their hypocrisy is overwhelming, and yes unavoidable.
CAA to make submissions to Plaid Cymru after it announces review into antisemitism in its own ranks following publication of damning EHRC report into Labour
The Welsh nationalist party, Plaid Cymru, has announced that it is holding a review into antisemitism in its Party.

The announcement follows the publication of the damning report into antisemitism in the Labour Party by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). Campaign Against Antisemitism was the complainant in the EHRC’s investigation, having made the formal referral that prompted the launch of the unprecedented full statutory investigation.

Plaid Cymru’s internal review will reportedly be led by Liz Saville Roberts MP, the leader of the Party’s small contingent at Westminster, and it aims to ensure that there is “zero tolerance” of antisemitism in the Party.

However, the announcement comes shortly after the Party showed that it has no intention of actually tackling antisemitism after deciding not to take action against repeat offender and prospective Welsh Assembly candidate Sahar Al-Faifi.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has details of other concerns relating to antisemitism in Plaid Cymru, and intends to submit representations to the review.


Cambridge University adopts International Definition of Antisemitism
The University of Cambridge has adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism.

The adoption of the Definition was reportedly agreed at a meeting of the University’s General Board on 4th November.

Last month, the University appeared to be resisting adopting the Definition, despite reiterated calls by the Education Secretary, Gavin Williamson, for universities to do so. However, in a welcome move, the University now appears to have reversed itself.

The University’s Jewish Society has applauded the decision, and has stated that it is asking for clarifications on implementation. It has also called for the Students’ Union to adopt the Definition as well.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has consistently backed efforts by the Government to encourage widespread adoption of the Definition by local authorities, universities and public bodies. The UK was the first country in the world to adopt the International Definition, something for which Campaign Against Antisemitism, Lord Eric Pickles and others worked hard over many meetings with officials at Downing Street.
The ICRC’s ill-advised position on Ariel University
The 15th Annual Minerva Conference on International Humanitarian Law got underway this and runs through Wednesday. Like many such events across the globe over the last several months, the conference has been moved to a virtual format due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the virtual format is not the only unusual feature of this year’s conference.

This past Thursday, conference participants received an email from the head of the legal department for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) providing notification that the ICRC is withdrawing the organization’s co-sponsorship of the conference. And the justification for the withdrawal? A ‘speaker affiliated with Ariel University’ in the northern West Bank area is included ‘in the conference program’.

The decision to withdraw organizational sponsorship comes as quite a surprise to conference participants. In fact, we received an email with the ‘final’ conference program that still listed the ICRC as a co-sponsor just a week earlier. The withdrawal is even more surprising considering that the decision was made by the ICRC ‘after initially having approved this speaker’s participation’.

The explanation for the decision to withdraw sponsorship that was provided by the ICRC is that ‘sponsoring the conference in its current format did not conform with the ICRC’s longstanding public position that the Israeli settlement policy in the West Bank amounts to a violation of International Humanitarian Law, in particular of Art. 49(6) of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949’. Notwithstanding that this ‘public position’ is founded upon, at best, a questionable interpretation of the 1949 Geneva Conventions (as an international law practitioner and scholar, I would encourage the ICRC to focus more attention on Common Article 2 of the treaties), the decision to withdraw sponsorship of a conference simply because a presenter is affiliated with an institution located in ‘occupied’ territory is simply indefensible.
Ontario Education Minister Calls for Answers on Anti-Israel Video Shown to High School Students
Ontario’s minister of education has called on one of the province’s school boards to explain its continued use of a video that provincial officials have said was biased against Israel, months after the minister directed school boards to remove the video from their curricula.

In July, the York Region District School Board, which oversees schools near Toronto, issued an apology over the video after a parent in the area complained about its inclusion in a tenth-grade civics course.

In a statement at the time, the school board said the video presented a “biased point of view on the Israel/Palestinian conflict.”

Ontario’s education minister, Stephen Lecce, called the video offensive and said he had ordered schools to remove it from their curricula.

Last week, however, a pro-Israel advocacy organization, Hasbara Fellowships Canada, reported that a parent in the Ottawa area alerted them that the school board was still showing the video as part of the same course.

A spokesman for the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, Darcy Knoll, confirmed that the video was shown during a class last week, but said the school board was still trying to determine why the content remained on the syllabus.

“During the summer, we became aware of this vlog and the concerns about this content,” Knoll said. “The content was removed and we are now trying to determine how that content resurfaced. We have also sent a notification to all principals on this matter to ensure this situation does not happen again.”


Two News Articles, Seven Big Palestinian Lies
How many really big lies can fit into two articles in the official Palestinian Authority (PA) daily newspaper? At least seven, to judge by this year’s Balfour Day outburst from Ramallah.

Balfour Day, November 2, is the anniversary of England’s Balfour Declaration of 1917, which promised to help create a “Jewish national home” in Palestine. Palestinian Arabs consider it a day of mourning, and usually mark it by trying to stone Jews to death in Judea-Samaria and elsewhere.

Now, if the Palestinian Arabs were truly moderate and peace seeking, they would have no problem with Balfour Day. After all, Balfour did not define the borders of the future Jewish state. The declaration said only that there would be a Jewish “national home” of some size, someday, somewhere in the country. But the existence of a Jewish state of any size is what enrages the Palestinian Arabs — hence the mourning and violence and hysteria.

By hysteria, I am referring to two foaming-at-the-mouth essays which appeared on November 3 in the Palestinian Arab newspaper Al-Hayat Al-Jadida. (All translations courtesy of Palestinian Media Watch.)

Note that Al-Hayat Al-Jadida is not some fringe publication. It is the official newspaper of the PA. It is the authorized voice of the ruling regime of Mahmoud Abbas.
Indy offers bizarre explanation for cause of Operation Cast Lead
An article in the Independent by International Correspondent Borzou Daragahi (“As US reels over disputed election, a world in turmoil could spin further out of control”, Nov. 5) peddled a bizarre theory on the cause of the 2008-09 war between Israel and Hamas.

The piece focused on what the writer claimed was the typically “messy period after the US general election” when the current president is a lame duck, and a new president isn’t sworn in yet. During this time, Daragahi avers, foreign leaders often “exploit a rare window” of uncertainty “to settle scores, redraw maps and create new facts on the ground”.

Daragahi focused on the current situation in the US, where Joe Biden has won the election, but Donald Trump will be president until Jan. 20, and provided a few historical examples to buttress his case that we should be worried about foreign leaders taking advantage of this two-and-a-half month political window.

Though Daragahi claims his focus is on “autocrats, revanchists, repressors and aggressors” across the globe, such as the leaders of Russia, Turkey, Belarus, North Korea and China, the Indy correspondent managed to include Israel as an example of bad political actors who have previously made mischief between US administrations:

US interregnums [a period between successive governments] have been volatile even when there is a decisive victor. In the days before Obama took over from George W Bush in 2009, Israel launched a war in the Gaza Strip in what was then seen as an attempt to tie the hands of a future administration seen as less friendly to Israeli interests than his predecessor.

First, he fails to provide a source for the wild claim that the 2008 war “was then seen” as “an an attempt to tie the hands of a future administration…”. Who saw it that way? We certainly have no recollection of any serious commentator asserting that at the time, and our research was unable to find so much as one serious analyst making that argument.

Moreover, this framing of the cause of the war ignores a few simple facts which necessarily contradict the narrative.
Foreign Policy Serves Up Anti-Israel Propaganda
An Oct. 19, 2020 Foreign Policy article reads more like an opinion-editorial than a news report. The dispatch, by FP editorial fellow Allison Meakam, is ostensibly about the political preferences of some Palestinian-American voters in the 2020 U.S. presidential election. But instead the report serves up anti-Israel propaganda.

Meakam filed her dispatch from the Detroit suburb of Dearborn where she notes, residents helped elect Rep. Rashida Tlaib to Congress. Meakam writes: “Resentment among Palestinians here runs high against Trump whose foreign policy has been characterized by unyielding support for Israel, the largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid.” Moreover, the Palestinian-American residents of Dearborn “say [that] Trump has rewritten the rules on U.S. Israel policy,” and “are particularly frustrated with Trump’s move of the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and his 2018 decision to withdraw funding from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency. They’re also feeling energized after the George Floyd protests this summer, seeing reflections of Palestinians’ treatment under Israeli occupation in Black Americans’ oft-deadly experiences with law enforcement.”

Seldom has more nonsense been crammed into a single paragraph.

Meakam’s claim that Israel is “the largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid” is misleading. As Middle East analyst Lee Smith noted in a Sept. 20, 2016 Tablet Magazine article, “Israel doesn’t receive a dime of economic assistance from the United States, and hasn’t since 2007.” The Jewish state does receive U.S. military aid. So do other nations, which run the gamut from NATO allies to Egypt, Jordan, and others. It is often claimed—incorrectly—that Israel receives more military aid than other countries. But as Prof. Hillel Frisch of Bar-Ilan University highlighted in 2017, this only works if one doesn’t count the existence of U.S. troops, personnel and bases as aid. Germany, Japan and South Korea are all protected, at taxpayer expense, by U.S. armed forces. Israel is not.
BBC Radio 4 fails to disclose an interviewee’s ‘particular viewpoints’
Listeners did not get an explanation as to why Husain apparently believes that the Palestinians should have been involved in an agreement between Israel and another country.

Brennan: “Well absolutely they were. The Palestinian people for too long have not had the opportunity to govern themselves. And I think Joe Biden is going to continue to pursue a two-state solution and therefore try to ensure that Israel recognises that they have responsibilities to try to make the lives of the Palestinians better, including in terms of self-determination. So I think Joe Biden again is going to be following some of the pursuits that President Obama engaged in during his presidency but maybe with an additional vigour because the Palestinian rights really continue to be, I believe, trampled.”

Husain made no effort to point out to listeners that the Palestinians do in fact govern themselves in the Gaza Strip and in areas under the control of the Palestinian Authority. Neither did she clarify that the Palestinians have refused repeated opportunities for a two-state solution or question Brennan’s bizarre assignment of the responsibility “to make the lives of the Palestinians better” to Israel.

Whether or not Joe Biden will indeed take the same approach as Obama of course remains to be seen but Mishal Husain certainly should have reminded her listeners that in 2014 Mahmoud Abbas rejected the Obama administration’s framework for peace talks.

That, however, would clearly not have enhanced the narrative Husain and her interviewee strove to promote in this item.
From The Pages of a Neo-Nazi Publication to the Timeline of a Jewish Comedian
So that’s clear. Trump doesn’t follow world leaders, he absolutely does not follow the current Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu. So imagine my surprise when I saw this tweet from well known British actor, comedian, and the ‘blue ticked’ (verified) account of Stephen Mangan

To be clear, Managan composed and tweeted this to his near half a million followers:


“Yet more presidential, statesmanlike, and grown-up behavior: Benjamin Netanyahu publicly congratulated Biden on winning so Trump has unfollowed him on Twitter.”

How can Trump ‘unfollow’ Bibi if he didn’t follow him in the first place? A good question and in this era of ‘fake news’ it was worth trying to uncover how such spurious information has found its way to the blue ticked account of a British actor with nearly half a million ‘followers?’

Honestly, uncovering the validity of this story took about 15 seconds. A simple Google search uncovered that Trump had never followed PM Netanyahu and possibly far more worrying, the story seems to have originated on a publication called ‘The Daily Stormer.’ I seriously don’t think that I need to go into detail on the politics of a website called ‘The Daily Stormer!’

The article is here (and note even the ‘Daily Stormer’ are now questioning the substance of their story):
Neo-Nazi Activist Spreads Hate Flyers Attacking Jews and Blacks in San Antonio, Texas
Residents of San Antonio, Texas, were subjected to lurid white supremacist propaganda in the form of leaflets and flyers distributed last weekend by a local neo-Nazi.

Individual flyers and Ziploc bags filled with multiple racist and antisemitic leaflets were left outside homes in several neighborhoods in the city’s Northside district, NBC‘s local affiliate reported.

Bearing Nazi swastikas and other white power symbols, the flyers were distributed by a neo-Nazi group calling itself the “14First Foundation.”

The group’s name is a reference to the “14 words” maxim adopted by many white supremacist cults, that declare, “We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children.”

Local journalist Joe Galli managed to make contact with the individual responsible for distributing the flyers, which attacked Jews and the Black Lives Matter movement.

The man, Ronald Murray, described himself as the “vice president” of the 14First Foundation in an interview with Galli.

Murray explained that he had targeted these specific neighborhoods because they were largely white and affluent.
Jesuit Catholic priest pens book about his order’s complicity in the Holocaust
When the Nazis launched the Kristallnacht pogrom against Jews during November 9-10, 1938, the reaction from many religious leaders was muted. Most Catholic leaders in Germany did not criticize the destructive pogrom and across the Atlantic, there was similar silence from the flagship Jesuit journal America.

But a new book portrays how not all Jesuits — members of the Society of Jesus — kept silent about the Nazis. The daringly titled, “Jesuit Kaddish: Jesuits, Jews, and Holocaust Remembrance,” depicts how some priests joined the resistance, some gave their lives to it, and 15 even became recognized as Righteous Among the Nations.

Yet it’s those who did not speak out — or who even joined the Wehrmacht as chaplains — who remain a primary source of concern for author James Bernauer, S.J., a Jesuit who retired this year from 40 years as a professor at Boston College. The book was published by the University of Notre Dame Press in March.

“This should have been written about years ago,” Bernauer told The Times of Israel in a phone interview, mentioning his surprise that many in the highly academic Jesuit order didn’t know about this part of their history.

Unlike past scholarship on the Catholic Church which has focused on the papacy during the Holocaust, “Jesuit Kaddish” zooms in on the international order of the Jesuits, who were founded in 1534 by Saint Ignatius of Loyola and have created academic institutions worldwide. One such institution is Boston College, where Bernauer was director of the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning and served as the Kraft Family Professor of Philosophy. The most famous Jesuit is arguably Pope Francis, whom Bernauer has met and praises.

Bernauer sees a contrast between Jesuits of today and of the past. His book includes a statement he has written in which Jesuits can offer what he describes as “repentance and remorse” for historical wrongs.
Schneier: World leaders’ silence after Kristallnacht a ‘shameful monument'
The Media Line’s Felice Friedson speaks with Rabbi Marc Schneier, president of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding and founding rabbi of the Hampton Synagogue in New York.
The Media Line: Rabbi Schneier, thank you so much for joining me at The Media Line.
Rabbi Schneier: My pleasure!
TML: November 9th and 10th, 1938, the Night of the Broken Glass, known as Kristallnacht, marked the eve when the Third Reich carried out pogroms throughout Germany, destroying Jewish owned stores and synagogues. Thirty thousand Jews were arrested and sent to concentration camps. Amidst the rise of anti-Semites and anti-Semitic incidents, particularly in Europe, could Kristallnacht happen again?

Rabbi Schneier: Well, thank you for having me, and regarding your question, we must always remain vigilant. When the lesson of Kristallnacht that we recall the deafening silence, the moral laryngitis on the part of world leaders, on the part of global faith leaders in 1938 – to this day, we ask the question, why weren’t these voices raised in screaming protests to the atrocities that were being perpetrated against the Jews. Kristallnacht, that became a precursor to the Holocaust, and their silence is a shameful monument and testament to a moral indifference in the face of a lurking disaster.

TML: Commemorations are taking place around the globe, but Bahrain certainly wasn’t the country you’d expect participating in such an event, marking Kristallnacht, let alone with the ambassador of the Kingdom of Bahrain to the United States and head of the March of the Living. Are you surprised?

Rabbi Schneier: I’m not surprised because I’m very familiar with the track record of His Majesty Hamad [bin Isa Al Khalifa] of Bahrain, who has been the only Gulf leader to direct members of his diplomatic corps, these past several years, to participate in Holocaust commemorations, particularly in Europe. So, when I reached out to the ambassador, to my dear friend, His Excellency Ambassador Sheikh Abdullah [bin Rashad Al Khalifah] here in Washington, it was a resounding yes, in wanting to participate in this global commemoration and to also invite the members of the Bahraini Jewish community, the only indigenous Jewish community in the Gulf, to participate. So, not only will the head of the community, Ebrahim Nonoo, [be] participating, but the Bahrainian synagogue, the synagogue in Manama, will be illuminated that evening, to join in solidarity with the many, many synagogues around the world that will be lit to recall the destruction of more than 1,400 synagogues – all synagogues in Germany and Austria – during Kristallnacht.
Israeli business leaders meet with business leaders in UAE
Israel's first official delegation of business leaders travelled to the United Arab Emirates this week, according to Israel's Export Institute. The delegation was invited by the president and chairman of the UAE Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The organizations that are participating in the delegation estimate that the volume of trade between Israel and the UAE could reach billions dollars. The majority of Israeli exports to the UAE will likely be in areas of cyber services, medical equipment, agricultural technology, solar energy, water desalination and pharmaceuticals.

The delegation includes representatives from the Israeli Chamber of Commerce, the Manufacturers Association of Israel, the Directorate of Employers and Businesses, the Israel Export Institute and the Israel Agricultural Association.

The goal of the delegation is to lay groundwork for cooperation between the business sectors of Israel and the UAE, foster ties with leading Emirati institutions and advance free trade with the Arab Gulf states and East African and South Asian countries via UAE free trade zones. During the trip, the delegates will meet with their UAE counterparts and visit the city's main trade centers.

The ties established by the Abraham Accords "will foster an extensive export and import system, undoubtedly bringing Israel and the UAE closer commercially, economically, socially and diplomatically," said Dr. Ron Tomer, president of the Manufacturers Association of Israel and chairman of the Directorate of Employers and Businesses.
Israel's first municipal delegation to UAE discusses agriculture, water
A delegation of businessmen from the Samaria Regional Council, led by Council Chairman Yossi Dagan, held a series of economic meetings to discuss future collaborations on the topics of water desalination and agricultural technologies in Dubai this week, making it the first municipal authority from Israel to send a delegation to Dubai.

Dagan, landed in Dubai earlier this week, heading of a delegation of factory and company managers and businessmen from the Samaria region and its industrial zone, flying in on the first commercial flight from Tel Aviv to Dubai.

In a marathon of business meetings, the manufacturers, along with Dagan, met with about 20 businessmen and large companies in the fields of agriculture, pesticides and plastics, as well as with companies that are interested in fast-growing crops.

This, due to the coronavirus crisis that has forced the UAE to rely more heavily on local crops and pest control companies.

Among the manufacturers who joined the delegation were: Boaz Shitzer, CEO of AST from the Shahak industrial zone in Samaria, which provides technological solutions for desalination and water recycling around the world; Moshe Lev Ran, VP of Twito Plast from the Barkan Industrial Area in Samaria, specializes in the production of accessories for air conditioning and energy saving technologies; Yair Wolovich, who represents 30 agronomy and crop development companies in Israel, mainly in Samaria, as well as representatives from the Central Samaria Development Company, and the council's CEO, Amitai Roitman, who has been establishing the Samaria Municipal Economic Company in recent months.
Borsht in Bahrain: Manama’s Ritz Carlton to serve kosher food
The Ritz Carlton Hotel in Bahrain’s capital plans to start serving kosher food in the coming days, it announced on Monday.

The US-based Orthodox Union will oversee the process, helping the luxury hotel establish a new kosher kitchen and certify that the food prepared there adheres strictly to Jewish dietary laws, according to a press release.

“Additionally, OU Kosher is helping the hotel identify a kosher culinary team member who will serve as a mashgiach, or kosher supervisor, when kosher meals are prepared on the premises,” the OU said.

On October 18, Israel and Bahrain signed a “Joint Communiqué on the establishment of diplomatic, peaceful, and friendly relations,” which the Knesset is expected to approve on Tuesday, before the agreement goes to the cabinet for ratification.

Since Jerusalem and Manama signed the so-called Abraham Accords on establishing diplomatic ties, “there has been a surge in interest from Jewish business and leisure travelers from Israel, North America and Europe in visiting the Kingdom,” the OU said.

“Bahrain is unique as it already has an indigenous Jewish population, and since the recent normalization of relations, we are seeing a greater interest from Jewish and Israeli travelers, and we want to be able to provide kosher food for those who prefer this option,” said Bernard de Villèle, the general manager of the Manama Ritz Carlton, which located in the city’s Al Seef district.


Sale of Dali painting of Western wall to benefit UNESCO FWH
Salvador Dali's painting of the Western Wall, Le Mur des Lamentations, will go on auction November 19 and may fetch as much as $800,000, part of which will go to the Football World Heritage of UNESCO.

The painting is signed and dated and has an estimated value of between $400,000 and $800,000. The auction, held by Heritage Auctions, will be the first time the painting is offered on the market, as it has been in a private collection since Dali painted it in 1975. It will be sold with a video of Dali signing the painting as part of a TV interview.

“Dalí was an intriguing figure because he was fascinated by religious ideas and subject matter,” Heritage Auctions vice president of Modern & Contemporary Art Leon Benrimon said.

“He famously did so many different series on different religious ideas, but what makes this piece really special is that it is the only rendition that I know of that he did of an actual holy site," he said. "It’s a wonderful tie-in of the Western Wall, where all three monotheistic religions congregate.”

“I’m so glad to be able to participate in the efforts of FWH UNESCO in collaboration with Heritage Auctions, to declare football as a world heritage of humanity for peace,” said Ambassador H.H. Princess Rani Vanouska Modely who represents the Football World Heritage of UNESCO. “This work by Salvador Dali perfectly fits the UNESCO values as the famous master was very keen on Football, art and diplomacy,” she said.



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