Wednesday, November 18, 2020
Meir Y. Soloveichik: Nuremberg, 75 Years After
The world will doubtless mark the 75th anniversary of the Nuremberg trials, which began in November 1945, as a model of international law. For the first Nazi executed at Nuremberg, however, the trial embodied not multilateralism but rather the revenge of the Jews. This was made clear in an eerie moment 11 months later, one whose historical and theological lessons reverberate to this day.The Real History of the Mennonites and the Holocaust
On October 16, 1946, Julius Streicher—the Nazi’s Nazi, publisher of Der Stürmer, the man who personally ordered the destruction of the Great Synagogue of Nuremberg on Kristallnacht—was taken to be hanged. As Newsweek reported, Streicher did not die with dignity: “He had to be pushed across the floor, wild-eyed and screaming ‘Heil Hitler!’ Mounting the steps he cried out: ‘And now I go to God.’ He stared at the witnesses facing the gallows and shouted: ‘Purimfest 1946.’”
That is a reference to the Jewish holiday of Purim, which marks the tale told in the book of Esther: the rise of Haman as vizier of Persia and his attempt to wipe out the Jews. In the end, Haman himself is hanged on the gallows, and later, following a war against his allies, Haman’s 10 sons are hanged as well. In invoking Purim, Streicher drew on an anti-Semitic trope with a long German lineage. Purim, for Martin Luther, reflected the bloodthirsty nature of the Jews, as he noted in a text called On the Jews and Their Lies:
They are real liars and bloodhounds who have not only continually perverted and falsified all of Scripture with their mendacious glosses from the beginning until the present day. Their heart’s most ardent sighing and yearning and hoping is set on the day on which they can deal with us Gentiles as they did with the Gentiles in Persia at the time of Esther. Oh, how fond they are of the book of Esther, which is so beautifully attuned to their bloodthirsty, vengeful, murderous yearning and hope.
That Streicher went to his death echoing Luther’s anti-Semitism was appropriate, for he had lived his life following Luther’s advice: “First to set fire to their synagogues or schools and to bury and cover with dirt whatever will not burn, so that no man will ever again see a stone or cinder of them…I advise that their houses also be razed and destroyed.”
A great gulf looms between the image of Mennonites as a peaceful Christian denomination engaged in humanitarianism and peace building around the world, including in the Middle East, and what historians have begun to reveal about the entanglement of a substantial minority of Mennonites with National Socialism during the 1930s and ’40s. So, who hid the Mennonite involvement with Nazism and how?
After World War II, the primary narrative that Mennonite leaders in Europe and North America crafted about their churches’ activities in the Third Reich emphasized repression and hardship. The denomination’s leading aid organization, Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), worked during the late 1940s and early 1950s to help resettle thousands of European Mennonites who were displaced as a result of the war. MCC relied on financial and legal assistance from larger refugee agencies affiliated with the United Nations. In dealing with their United Nations colleagues, MCC officials insisted most of their wards “were brutally treated by the German occupation authorities” and “did not receive favored treatment.”
One of Mennonite Central Committee’s star witnesses was a refugee named Heinrich Hamm. Like tens of thousands of other Mennonites who had experienced the Nazi occupation of Eastern Europe, Hamm was from Soviet Ukraine, and had retreated westward with German troops in 1943 to avoid again coming under communist rule. Five years later, Hamm was an MCC employee, helping to run a large refugee camp in occupied Germany. MCC’s special commissioner in Europe passed to United Nations officials Hamm’s story of evacuating from Ukraine to more western areas:
It is quite an erroneous idea to think that all Mennonites were brought to Poland to be settled on farms. I and my family came to a camp Preussisch-Stargard in the Danzig area. Immediately representatives of various works and concerns came to fetch cheap labour. I had to work in a machine factory where I remained until the end of the war. Besides the four Mennonite families many Ukrainians, Frenchmen and Poles worked there also. There was no difference in the way these various national groups were treated.
The efforts after the war by Mennonite Central Committee to portray refugees like Heinrich Hamm as victims of Nazism were largely successful. Based on statements from MCC officers and many migrants themselves, refugee agents affiliated with the United Nations believed that “the majority of those [Mennonites] who found themselves in Germany at the end of the war had not come voluntarily to that country. They were deported alongside other Russians to be used as slave labourers.” As another evaluation concluded, Mennonites were fundamentally “an un-Nazi and un-nationalistic group.” MCC ultimately succeeded in relocating most of the refugees under its care with United Nations assistance to new homes in West Germany or overseas, mostly in Canada and Paraguay.
Hamm and his colleagues at Mennonite Central Committee wanted United Nations-affiliated refugee organizations and other interested parties to think that any collaboration by members of the denomination with National Socialism was exceptional and insignificant. They implied that if some young men had perhaps gotten carried away, surely this was because they had been drawn away from their faith under Soviet rule. But wartime records do not corroborate this story.
National Review: The Radicalism of Raphael Warnock
Now that he’s running for the U.S. Senate, Warnock has issued a new statement asserting he does not believe Israel is an apartheid state, but the new statement doesn’t offer any explanation for signing his name to a statement that plainly said Israel borrows practices from “oppressive regimes” such as apartheid South Africa.Alan Dershowitz: Will Warnock's Anti-Israel Views Determine who Controls the Senate?
“Without reservation, you can count on me to stand with the Jewish community and Israel in the U.S. Senate,” Warnock says in his 2020 statement.
The Democratic candidate’s 2020 campaign promise is impossible to reconcile with his anti-Israeli rhetoric that goes beyond the 2019 letter. “We saw the government of Israel shoot down unarmed Palestinian sisters and brothers like birds of prey,” Warnock said in a 2018 sermon. “It is wrong to shoot down God’s children like they don’t matter at all.” Warnock issued that denunciation of Israel after Hamas led a mass incursion of the Israeli border, and the Israeli military responded with the justifiable use of lethal force. But in Warnock’s telling, Israelis are “birds of prey” who viciously kill innocent Palestinians, who are “brothers and sisters.”
Combine Warnock’s dehumanizing rhetoric that compares Israelis to animals with his praise of the notoriously anti-Semitic and anti-American pastor Jeremiah Wright and an even more troubling picture begins to emerge.
The name Jeremiah Wright might ring a bell: A former pastor to Barack Obama, Wright was at the center of the biggest controversy of the 2008 Democratic presidential primary after video of the pastor’s infamous 2003 “God Damn America” sermon surfaced. Obama said he hadn’t heard that particular sermon and condemned it; weeks later, Obama severed ties with Wright and Wright’s church. In 2009, Wright complained that “them Jews” wouldn’t let Obama speak to Wright.
But in 2014, Warnock was still defending Wright and praising Wright’s “God Damn America” sermon. “You ought to go back and see if you can find and read, as I have, the entire sermon. It was a very fine sermon,” Warnock said in a 2014 speech.
Finally, the letter expresses support for "utilizing economic pressure as a means of bringing recalcitrant dominant forces to the negotiating table." This remark fails to recognize that Israel has extended an open offer to the Palestinian Authority leadership to sit down at the negotiation table and that it has been the Palestinians who have refused to negotiate.French President Emanuel Macron Slams U.S. Mainstream Media: ‘Legitimizing’ Violence
I urge everyone to read the entire letter and listen to the entire sermon because not only are their words reflective of a strong anti-Israel bias and one-sided criticism of Israel, but their tone is biased in the extreme. For those who argue that Warnock merely signed on to a group letter that may not have reflected his own views, please listen to his sermon, which accuses Israel of "shoot[ing] down unarmed Palestinians sisters and brothers like birds of prey." This is a mendacious blood libel, pure and simple. You wouldn't know that from reading the misleading description of the letter and sermon in The Forward. Nor would you know that Warnock is an admirer of Reverend Jeremiah Wright and a defender of the anti-American and anti-Semitic sermon that President Obama condemned.
So it is important for everyone who is considering voting for Reverend Warnock to read the letter and listen to the sermon in their entirety. I have done so and I find it difficult to support anyone who has such animosity toward Israel. Nor can I believe that anyone who holds such views can be characterized as "a strong supporter of Israel."
I am prepared to change my mind about Reverend Warnock, but only if he changes his mind about Israel. The mere fact that after announcing his candidacy, he renounced support for BDS and mouthed some talking points about Israel's security (see his recent op-ed, "I Stand With Israel") is not enough for me. I want to know what he really believes and, more importantly, how he will vote.
The last thing the Democratic Party needs is yet another prominent politician who harbors negative views about America's most reliable ally, Israel. I hope Reverend Warnock will reconsider his past mistakes and express views that allow liberal Democrats like me, who are also strong supporters of Israel, to support him in his bid to become a United States senator. I genuinely want to be able to support Reverend Warnock and a Democratic Senate, and I truly hope he can convince me and the voters of Georgia that he really does "stand with Israel."
French President Emanuel Macron slammed the U.S. mainstream media in an interview with The New York Times for “legitimizing” violence, saying that it was a sign that the nation’s “founding principles have been lost.”MEMRI: Lebanese Journalist Slams Islamic Leaders For Justifying Muslim Rage Against Muhammad Cartoons: The Leaders' Demand To Ban Offensive Cartoons Of The Prophet Just As Holocaust Denial Is Banned Is 'Foolish And Ignorant'
Macron’s interview comes after France was rocked multiple times last month with Islamic terrorist attacks that started with a teacher who was beheaded for showing cartoons mocking the Prophet Mohammed.
“When France was attacked five years ago, every nation in the world supported us,” Macron said, referring to the November 2015 Islamic terrorist attacks that resulted in the deaths of well over 100 people in Paris. “So when I see, in that context, several newspapers which I believe are from countries that share our values — journalists who write in a country that is the heir to the Enlightenment and the French Revolution — when I see them legitimizing this violence, and saying that the heart of the problem is that France is racist and Islamophobic, then I say the founding principles have been lost.”
The New York Times interview noted that 250 people have been murdered in terrorist attacks in France since 2015 — the most of any Western nation.
After the recent beheading of the teacher, “Macron responded with a crackdown on Muslims accused of extremism, carrying out dozens of raids and vowing to shut down aid groups,” The report said. “He also made a vocal recommitment to secularism. Muslim leaders around the world criticized Mr. Macron’s and his aides’ aggressive response, which they said focused on peaceful Muslim groups. The president of Turkey called for boycotts of French products, as varied as cheese and cosmetics. The next month saw a new wave of attacks, including three murders in a Nice church and an explosion at a French ceremony in Saudi Arabia.”
In a November 8, 2020 article in the London-based Saudi daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, Lebanese journalist Hazem Saghieh slammed three Islamic leaders - Turkish President Erdogan, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Muhammad - for justifying the recent Islamist terror attacks in Europe, and especially for endorsing an argument that is prevalent in the Muslims world, namely that Europe is hypocritical in that it allows publishing offensive cartoons of the Prophet yet condemns denial of the Holocaust. Saghieh argues that comparing these two actions is "foolish and outright ignorant," since denying the Holocaust does not involve publishing some offensive words and pictures but denying the documented deaths of six million victims whose names and faces are known. What is "truly disastrous," he says, is that these three leaders have influence over tens of millions of citizens. Saghieh adds that the reactionary mindset of the three leaders stem from the fact that, although they have modernized their countries, they are ultimately all Islamists. As such, he says, they import Western science and technology while pushing back against Western ideas; more than that, they arm themselves with Western technology only in order to fight the West and defeat it.MEMRI: Saudi Academic: The Prophet's Companions Did Not Retaliate Against Those Who Insulted Him; We Must Follow Their Example
The following is an English translation of article published October 8, 2020 on the English-language website of Al-Arabiya TV.[1] "Pakistani journalist and writer Kunwar Khuldune Shahid expressed his outrage over three leaders in the Islamic world: Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of the Republic of Turkey, Imran Khan, Prime Minister of Pakistan, and Mahathir Mohamad, the former Prime Minister of Malaysia. In an article published by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, [2] Khuldune emphasized the three leader’s latest actions justifying the recent terrorist acts in France. These three leader have also expressed their unanimity regarding the hypocrisy of a widely circulated argument in the Islamic world, which is how Western countries turn a blind eye when it comes to the publication of offensive anti-Muslim cartoons, yet at the same time, Holocaust denial is strictly forbidden and denounced.
"As we have noted, the three leaders voiced the same argument with the same level of hostility, and their argument would have been valid if France had allowed the publication of content offending Islam, while prohibiting the publication of content offending Christianity or Judaism, but that is not the case.
"People chant slogans as they set fire to a banner with a crossed-out image of French President Emmanuel Macron during a protest against cartoon publications of Prophet Mohammad in France and Macron's comments, in Karachi, Pakistan. (Reuters)
"As for this recent trend to compare the latest events with denying the Holocaust, I can only say it is simply foolish and outright ignorant. It is important to remind everyone, that when it comes to discussing the sensitive topic of the Holocaust, we are not talking about a few offensive words or pictures, we are talking about six million known victims whose names and pictures are documented. We must remember that these are victims with living relatives who can recount their stories, not to mention the few Holocaust survivors who are still alive today and they still live with the physical and mental scars of the horrors of that time.
"These three politicians are known for making such arguments. We have also witnessed this obsession with denying the Holocaust or reducing the number of its victims expressed across Islamic and Arab media since the late forties.
Following the recent murders in response to insults against the Prophet Muhammad in the French magazine Charlie Hebdo, Dr. Ahmad Al-Rudaiman, a lecturer on Islam in the University of Hail in Saudi Arabia, wrote in the Saudi daily Al-Watan that Muslims must not retaliate against those who mock the Prophet. The polytheists in the Prophet's day, he said, used to curse him and call him a "sorcerer," "soothsayer" and "lunatic," just as their successors are doing today and will probably continue to do in the future. However, he stressed, Allah commanded the Muslims not to react emotionally to such actions, despite their intense love for the Prophet, but to restrain their anger and keep their distance from the infidels, who will eventually recognize the truth.
Al-Rudaiman added that the Prophet's Companions indeed refrained from retaliating against those who insulted him, but supported him by adopting his ways and spreading his message. He stated that those who insult the Prophet should be prosecuted in accordance with Islamic law, as is done in Muslim countries. However, he urged people not to act without the approval of their governments, just as the Prophet's Companions did not disobey their leaders, and warned that "deviating from the policy of the state can lead to a dire situation." Al-Rudaiman stressed that Islam commands that one deal justly with the infidels, despite the hatred toward them, unless they attack the Muslims.
The following are translated excerpts from his article:[1] "The polytheists of Mecca used to insult the Prophet Muhammad and call him a sorcerer, soothsayer, lunatic, etc. And what was the divine directive regarding these slandering polytheists? This directive is set out in Quran [15:94-99]: "Then declare what you are commanded and turn away from the polytheists. Indeed, We are sufficient for you against the mockers who make [equal] with Allah another deity. But they are going to know. And We already know that your breast is constrained by what they say. So exalt [Allah] with praise of your Lord and be of those who prostrate [to Him]. And worship your Lord until there comes to you the certainty.'
"The acts of mocking the Prophet Muhammad or cursing him are certainly incompatible with the faith, as evident from the fact that Quran [9:65-66] says about some people who mocked him during the Battle of Tabuk [in 628 CE]: 'Say, "Is it Allah and His verses and His Messenger that you were mocking? Make no excuse; you have disbelieved after your belief.'" This disastrous approach [of mocking the Prophet], which was taken by the polytheists and hypocrites back then [in the Prophet's day], is [still] taken by their successors today and will be taken by the successors of their successors in the future. This aggressive attitude toward the Prophet no doubt angers us greatly, for all Muslims feel intense love for the Prophet. However, emotions unrestrained by reason and intellect become storms that end up destroying their owners.
Dutch Muslim Politician Arnoud van Doorn: One Wonders if It Was Really a Muslim who Murdered French Teacher Paty; It is No Coincidence that French Government Immediately Shut Down Islamic Schools, Mosques pic.twitter.com/kWGdPWiIEp
— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) November 18, 2020
David Collier: The Labour Party are playing a very dangerous game.
Yesterday Jeremy Corbyn was reinstated to the Labour Party. The day seemed choreographed. Corbyn first published a statement as a ‘clarification’ to ‘clear up any confusion’ over what he had said following the release of the EHRC report into antisemitism. I doubt the carefully worded statement was not agreed in advance. Then a panel of the party’s governing body deliberated for several hours before deciding to reinstate him. Much of this may have to do with Labour’s finances, Corbyn’s union support and Starmer’s desperate need to be able to face the inevitable legal bills with some type of slush fund. ‘Ironically’ (not that we Jews get irony) it may be the long term damage Jeremy Corbyn did to the Labour party that actually saved him.“Sir Keir is offering the Jewish community crumbs” by withholding the whip from Jeremy Corbyn after former leader was readmitted by sham process
Whatever the hidden truth behind yesterday’s dealings, in reinstating Jeremy Corbyn the Labour Party gave a burst of adrenaline to all the antisemites it had so carefully nurtured over the last four years. It is difficult to overstate the dangers of the game they are playing. The Labour Party and the growth of antisemitism.
Last December, Jeremy Corbyn was firmly rejected by the electorate. For five years I have been battling for every centimetre of it’s soul. My reports on what was taking place, the 2015 and 2016 invasion by extremists and the radicalisation of ordinary Labour members, made headline news. Through it all though, I held hope. I was certain that Corbyn would be defeated in an election and then I thought, it may be possible for moderates and sanity to take over.
What was underestimated by many, was the damage Jeremy Corbyn managed to do in the 4 years he held power. Much of the political battle we see is around the leader’s office, the NEC and factional infighting amongst MPs. Yet what happened in those years was more about the complete takeover of the grassroots. There are many local CLPs around the country that are still Corbynite strongholds. Places Jewish members are afraid to tread.
The truth of Corbyn’s faithful Amongst Corbyn’s faithful, and there are a lot of them, there is a singular truth – that the accusations of antisemitism are a smear, put together by Zionists who seek to stop all criticism of Israel. As the battle against Corbyn intensified, there was exponential growth in the number of these ‘believers’. The more Corbyn was attacked – the more evidence they had – the more numerous they became. Antisemitism was a growth industry, and the Labour Party HQ was the main factory.
Even with the election won, there was only one thing that would really help to push back against the rising tide – and that was the EHRC report.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has reacted to Sir Keir Starmer’s statement that he is withholding the whip from Jeremy Corbyn, who was yesterday readmitted to the Labour Party by the same processes that the Equality and Human Rights Commission had declared unfit for purpose.CAA files new complaint seeking expulsion of Jeremy Corbyn over his responsibility for Labour being found guilty by EHRC of unlawful acts of antisemitism
Gideon Falter, Chief Executive of Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “We have been conned. We did not go to the lengths of asking the EHRC to investigate the Labour Party only to return to the days of opaque, arbitrary decisions by panels that are unfit for purpose.
“Withholding the whip from Jeremy Corbyn is offering the Jewish community crumbs. The EHRC ruled that Labour’s disciplinary processes were unfit but Sir Keir allowed Mr Corbyn to be tried under them. Not only that, but Mr Corbyn should never have been suspended merely for his response to the EHRC’s damning report, but for the responsibility he bears for the Labour Party being found guilty of committing unlawful acts of antisemitism by the EHRC.
“Sir Keir needs to get a grip of his Party and ensure that Mr Corbyn is held to account for what he did to Britain’s Jews. Who is in charge of the Labour Party? Today, we have submitted a second complaint against Mr Corbyn, calling for him to be held to account not by a sham panel but by an independent disciplinary process, as required by the EHRC. Sir Keir must suspend him pending that process, and, if our complaint is upheld, Mr Corbyn must be expelled.”
Earlier today, Campaign Against Antisemitism lodged a further complaint against Mr Corbyn, alleging that he bears personal responsibility for the Party’s institutional antisemitism and must be held to account. We previously submitted a complaint against Mr Corbyn and other sitting MPs which the Labour Party has yet to acknowledge, let alone investigate, and now we have submitted a further complaint against Mr Corbyn.
Today, Campaign Against Antisemitism has filed a further complaint against the former Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, over his personal responsibility for the Party being found guilty of unlawful acts of antisemitism, for which he must be held to account.
Mr Corbyn was suspended over remarks he made in reaction to the damning report issued by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), but less than three weeks later he was yesterday readmitted to the Party by the same processes that the EHRC had declared unfit for purpose. Alarmingly, the decision was made by a panel of Labour’s National Executive Committee, its ruling body, on which allies of Sir Keir Starmer have a majority.
We previously submitted a complaint against Mr Corbyn and other sitting MPs which the Labour Party has yet to acknowledge, let alone investigate, and today’s complaint against Mr Corbyn is additional to that earlier complaint.
In the letter, which had extensive input from expert legal counsel, Chief Executive Gideon Falter and Head of Political and Government Investigations Joe Glasman wrote: “Given the seriousness of the conduct complained of, Campaign Against Antisemitism requests that Mr Corbyn be suspended pending the outcome of an investigation of the complaint under the independent disciplinary and complaints machinery that the EHRC requires must be established. That process is likely to require independent determination of when conduct is ‘prejudicial, or…grossly detrimental to the Party.’ Campaign Against Antisemitism requests that in the event the complaint is upheld, the appropriate sanction should be expulsion from the Labour Party.”
Gideon Falter, Chief Executive of Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “We have been conned. We did not go to the lengths of asking the EHRC to investigate the Labour Party only to return to the days of opaque, arbitrary decisions by panels that are unfit for purpose.
Deeply damaging? Do you know what is deeply damaging…
— Israel Advocacy Movement (@israel_advocacy) November 17, 2020
🔸 Laying wreaths for Jew murderers
🔸 Calling genocidal terrorists friends
🔸 Giving money to Holocaust deniers
🔸 Praising preachers who call Jews germs
🔸 Writing forewords to antisemitic bookshttps://t.co/qrfZrkI8FW
UK Jews Welcome Labour Chief Starmer’s Move to Not Seat Corbyn in Parliament, but Demand More Action Against Antisemitism
UK Jews Welcome Labour Chief Starmer’s Move to Not Seat Corbyn in Parliament, but Demand More Action Against Antisemitism avatar by Benjamin KersteinMP Writes to EHRC Over Labour's Corbyn Readmission
Top UK Jewish groups praised Labour Party leader Keir Starmer’s decision on Wednesday to prevent his disgraced predecessor, Jeremy Corbyn, from being seated as a Labour MP after his suspension from the party was lifted a day earlier.
Corbyn had been suspended last month as a result of comments he made against the findings of an Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) investigation into antisemitism in Labour during his time in charge, from September 2015 until this past April.
He was reinstated by Labour’s national executive committee on Tuesday. However, Starmer chose on Wednesday to “withhold the whip” from Corbyn, a term in British politics for preventing an MP from being seated with party’s delegation.
Board of Deputies of British Jews President Marie van der Zyl commented, “We welcome Keir Starmer’s decision to withhold the whip from Jeremy Corbyn. Despite the EHRC’s finding that the party had acted unlawfully under Mr. Corbyn’s watch, Jeremy Corbyn’s initial reaction to the report was dismissive and he has been shameless and remorseless for what he has put the Jewish community through.”
“Meanwhile, Labour’s disciplinary process is clearly still not fit for purpose,” she added. “Keir Starmer has now taken the appropriate leadership decision not to restore the whip to Jeremy Corbyn. We continue to say that ‘zero tolerance’ must mean precisely that, whether for antisemites or their apologists.”
The Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on British Jews, Christian Wakeford, has this afternoon written to the Equality and Human Rights Commission regarding the Labour Party’s decision to readmit Jeremy Corbyn. The letter expresses concern that that “this matter was expedited, seemingly to avoid having to go through a new procedure”, after the EHRC report recommended an independent complaints procedure.Antisemitic graffiti in UK city blamed on Labour Party activists
“I suspect you will find it of particular concern that the party remains able to arbitrarily expedite the disciplinary process for what can only reasonably be described as political purposes, for one member. This whilst many victims of antisemitism have waited months if not years, for their cases to be heard…”
“…I am concerned as you will be that this matter was expedited, seemingly to avoid having to go through a new procedure…”
“… I wonder whether the commission will consider instructing the party to halt disciplinary proceedings forthwith until a proper process is in place.“
This is not a good position for Starmer’s Labour to be in. They now have the chance to say sorry, undo last night’s murky dealings, and process Corbyn’s case independently.
Two large graffiti signs reading “Jewish lies matter” were found in the city of Brighton and Hove on England’s south coast on Tuesday.Rachel Riley: It is disgusting Jeremy Corbyn is back in the Labour Party
The signs appeared on the same day that former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn was readmitted to his party following a recent suspension for downplaying the results of an investigation which found that Labour had mishandled complaints of antisemitism within the party under his leadership.
The graffiti was scrawled in black spray paint on a wall near the coastal promenade in Hove, and on what appears to be a municipal shed near one of the city’s park squares.
Naomi Kapuza, a resident of Brighton and Hove, told The Jerusalem Post that the graffiti was “reflective of a nasty Jew hating cohort [within the city] who are obsessed and fixated with us.
“I have no doubt that this graffiti is in response to the Labour Party disciplinary meeting happening the same day, during which they decided to reinstate Jeremy Corbyn, and the allegation that Jews are making up the charges of antisemitism,” she added.
Rachel Riley told LBC's Nick Ferrari that the decision to reinstate Jeremy Corbyn as a member of the Labour party was "absolutely disgusting" and "ridiculous."
It comes as the former Labour leader was suspended after claiming in his response to a damning Equality and Human Rights Commission report last month that the problem had been "dramatically overstated".
The broadcaster and campaigner said the former Labour leader "was suspended for bringing the party into disrepute and he has 100% brought the party into disrepute."
She went on to say that Mr Corbyn has "caused so much upset, and has no awareness of what he's done."
When Nick asked how she would respond to comments that it was a "new day and a new dawn for the Labour Party's relationship with Jewish people," the reply was that it was "100 steps backwards."
Branding the readmission of Mr Corbyn as "beyond a joke," Ms Riley said it sends the message that "Jewish people are lying and smearing for political reasons."
The broadcaster then told LBC listeners a personal story of just some of the online abuse she has received.
"Because of these dogwhistles Jews have been harassed for five years plus," Ms Riley said.
THREAD - @JeremyCorbyn should have been booted out of @UKLabour long ago...... pic.twitter.com/vgM3NHlVpX
— The Golem (@TheGolem_) November 18, 2020
Marco Rubio and Kevin Cramer rightly press for audit of government-funded 'university centers'
In the latest high-level effort to hold academia accountable for its potential misuse of taxpayer dollars, Sens. Marco Rubio and Kevin Cramer asked the Government Accountability Office for a “comprehensive evaluation” of “potential misuse of taxpayer funds allocated under Title VI of the Higher Education Act of 1965,” dealing with international education programs.Education Dept. Launches Investigation Into Anti-Semitism at University of Illinois
According to the Department of Education’s website, Title VI of the Higher Education Act of 1965 “aims to prepare America’s students with the global competencies necessary to become leaders who are highly competent in world languages, international studies, and the critical thinking skills to fill roles in national security, diplomacy, international business, and education.”
Despite this, the senators wrote that “there appears to be several deficiencies” in the program that thwart its ability to “provide an educational experience that offers balancing viewpoints.” In an apparent allusion to charges that Title VI-funded Middle East studies centers have included anti-Semitic material, they warn that such programs “were not intended to advance questionable ideological priorities, especially views that alienate specific religious minorities,” and fail in “providing a full understanding of regions” where the languages under study are spoken.
Therefore, they want “a thorough examination” that will “determine the return on investment” of Title VI programs, especially its success in “delivering graduates that proceed to work in areas of national need and advance” the United States's security, “provide a balanced perspective,” and “ensure the federal funds used by universities for campus activities align with those lawfully established under Title VI.”
The Department of Education launched an investigation into a series of anti-Semitic incidents at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, school officials said on Monday.Wall Street Journal Omits Crucial Context on Leila Khaled Zoom Event
Three prominent Jewish groups filed a complaint against the school with the department's Office for Civil Rights this spring, the Chicago Tribune reported. The complaint lists more than 30 allegations of anti-Semitism at the university over the past five years, including the vandalism of Jewish religious ornaments, swastikas spray-painted on campus buildings, and heated attacks from anti-Israel student groups.
The Department of Education informed the school of the investigation on Friday.
The complaint notes members of the university's Students for Justice in Palestine have harassed pro-Israel students by calling them "colonizers," "Nazis," and "white supremacists." Last year, the group also gave resident advisers a presentation called "Palestine & Great Return March: Palestinian Resistance to 70 Years of Israeli Terror."
In addition to the anti-Semitism claims included in the complaint, the Washington Free Beacon reported in September that students sneaked anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions measures into a student government resolution against racism. Students demanded the school "divest" from companies with ties to Israel, including Lockheed Martin and Caterpillar Inc.
In a November 10th Tech News Briefing, “Zoom Tackles Tricky Role of Policing Its Service,” Wall Street Journal tech reporter Aaron Tilley discusses situations in which Zoom was called on to police content on its platform. In one example, he described “things relating to Palestinian rights” and “activists calling it ‘censorship’ to block their events around Palestinians.”Indy fails to correct false claim Israel was rebuked by UN Security Council
In fact, the event in question, which was cancelled by Zoom, was scheduled to feature a speaker who is best known for airplane hijackings. As the Jerusalem Post noted, Leila Khaled was a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – a group which was designated as a terror organization by the US in 1997. She hijacked an El Al Flight 1970 as well as a TWA Flight in 1969.
As the journalist Jonathan Tobin has pointed out, Khaled would likely be barred from entering the US to give such a talk in person. The event organizers seemed to be attempting to use the proliferation of Zoom events as a back door.
In addition, Zoom reportedly shut down three other events that were supportive of the original, cancelled event with Khaled.
Calling these “events around Palestinians” leaves out information that’s crucial for listeners to understand why Zoom made the decision that it did.
CAMERA has contacted the reporter seeking a correction.
However, there was no UN Security Council resolution condemning the eviction. Nor was there even a UN General Assembly resolution criticising Jerusalem.BBC News breaches impartiality guidelines yet again in report on Givat HaMatos
The criticism came merely from a UN spokesperson.
In addition to the Indy’s failure to respond to this error, they also haven’t responded to another complaint we posted about on Nov. 9th. This complaint was in response to a bizarre and completely unsubstantiated claim by Borzou Daragahi that Israel launched Operation Cast Lead in 2008 not to stop Hamas rockets, but to tie the hands of the incoming Obama administration.
We sent a follow-up email today asking for a response to both complaints.
At no point, however, does the BBC’s report include comment from either the Israeli government or the Jerusalem municipality. Nor are they informed – as Jerusalem’s deputy mayor pointed out – that the project includes housing for Arab residents of Beit Safafa. Givat HaMatosHaaretz Corrects False Depiction of Ethiopian Jews Violating Coronavirus Regulations
Predictably, the report also includes the BBC’s standard mantra on ‘international law’.
“More than 600,000 Jews live in about 140 settlements built since Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war.
Most of the international community considers the settlements illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this.”
BBC editorial guidelines on impartiality state: “4.3.6 When dealing with ‘controversial subjects’, we must ensure a wide range of significant views and perspectives are given due weight and prominence, particularly when the controversy is active. Opinion should be clearly distinguished from fact.”
In almost eight years of coverage of the topic of the proposed building project in Givat HaMatos (which was the site of temporary housing for new immigrants from the former USSR and Ethiopia from 1991 onwards), the BBC has never presented its audiences with any viewpoint which contradicts the narrative advanced by the political NGOs and foreign organisations such as the EU which it repeatedly chooses to quote and promote. This latest report shows no improvement and likewise fails to present any challenge to the notion that construction of housing at that location would “significantly damage prospects for a future contiguous Palestinian State and for achieving a negotiated two-state solution”.
And so we see just how seriously the BBC takes its obligation to ensure that “a wide range of significant views and perspectives are given due weight and prominence”.
CAMERA’s Israel office today prompted correction of a Haaretz caption which falsely depicted a mass violation of coronavirus restrictions on the part of Ethiopian Jews. The caption accompanied the page-one six-column color photograph in Haaretz‘s English print edition yesterday showing a large, tightly-packed crowd of Ethiopian Jews celebrating the Sigd holiday. There was not a single mask in sight. The caption for what was arguably the most prominent item in that day’s paper stated: HAPPY SIGD: Members of the Ethiopian Jewish community celebrating the holiday of Sigd, unique to Ethiopian Jewry, in Jerusalem on Monday.Axios Whitewashes an Apologist for Palestinian Terrorism
Could it be that in the midst of the coronavirus crisis, a massive crowd of Ethiopian Jews gathered, in violation of the law and without taking any of the necessary safety precautions?
Yesterday, CAMERA contacted Haaretz editors, questioning whether the image was indeed from this year, pointing to Jerusalem Post images of this year’s Sigd event mask-wearing and social distancing at a sparsely populated event in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Armon Hanatziv.
“If you take epitaphs seriously,” Mark Twain wryly observed, “we ought to bury the living and resurrect the dead.” And when it comes to the Nov. 10, 2020 death of Saeb Erekat, the secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), several news outlets didn’t seem to take their jobs seriously at all. Some, such as a Nov. 11 report by Axios, presented Erekat as an “icon” and “champion of the two-state solution” to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict who “rejected violence and terrorism.”BBC WS Newshour airs “tributes” to Erekat - part two
The historical record, however, tells a different story.
Erekat succumbed to COVID-19 in Jerusalem’s Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital, where he had been receiving treatment since being admitted in October. The PLO official had a history of pulmonary issues and was 65 at the time of his death. That Erekat was being treated in an Israeli hospital for the novel coronavirus is noteworthy; in a March 2020 article he claimed that the Jewish state was intentionally spreading COVID-19 “to get rid of the Palestinian people in any way.” As David Weinberg, the vice president of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, observed, “this is not too far from the classic antisemitic trope about Jews poisoning the wells in Europe.”
In fact, as CAMERA has noted, Israel shared lifesaving technology and training with the Palestinian Authority, the entity that rules over the majority of Palestinians. Yet, this didn’t stop top Palestinian leaders from using the virus to attack Israel. As Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) has documented, in April 2020 Erekat even apologized for the PA’s cooperation with Israel to combat the pandemic. Months later he would choose Israeli medical care to attempt to save his life.
But hypocrisy and conspiracy theories were Erekat’s forte.
Martin Indyk was the US special envoy for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations between July 2013 and June 2014 when he resigned. The talks in which he was involved came to an end when the Palestinians breached pre-negotiation agreements (in line with Erekat’s own strategy proposals) and announced ‘reconciliation’ with Hamas.Editor convicted of hate crimes in Canada bases on appeal on his lawyer’s refusal to defend Holocaust denial
BBC audiences around the world heard nothing of that or the positions promoted by Arafat and Abbas loyalist Saeb Erekat which contributed to the failure to achieve his ostensible goal as ‘chief negotiator’.
As evidenced by the failure to address parts of Erekat’s record and the selective choice of interviewees (with edited comment from an Israeli thrown in to tick the ‘impartiality’ box), that was clearly not the aim of this uninformative and often misleading puff piece.
Nevertheless, some of the more problematic parts of the interviews with Barghouti and Indyk were rebroadcast in the evening edition of ‘Newshour’ (from 45:08 here) along with additional comment of the same genre from the PLO’s Hanan Ashrawi.
The editor of a controversial Toronto free-sheet is basing a legal appeal against a conviction for racial hatred in part on his lawyer’s refusal to defend Holocaust denial.Alton Brown — When Apologies for Antisemitism Aren’t Enough
James Sears, the editor of free publication Your Ward News, and its publisher, LeRoy St. Germaine, are appealing against their 2019 convictions for wilfully promoting hatred against Jews and women. Speaking at his appeal last week, Mr Sears argued that his lawyer, Dean Embry, was incompetent because he had failed to call witnesses to defend his Holocaust beliefs, for “fear of appearing antisemitic or of angering the judge.”
At his trial, Mr Sears stated that he did not believe gas chambers were used in the killing of six million Jews and claimed he had a “right to file a truth defence on historical facts.”
When finding the two men guilty last year, the Ontario Judge said that the case against them was overwhelming and noted that they “promoted hate to a vast audience in an era where online exposure to this material inexorably leads to extremism.” Mr Sears was given the maximum one-year jail sentence and granted bail pending appeal. St. Germaine was given 12 months’ strict house arrest. The judge said that he would have given longer sentences if the statutes allowed.
Last week, Food Network personality Alton Brown apologized for his antisemitic tweets referencing the Holocaust, a development that many of his fans — including those in the culinary arena — accepted. But to many Jews, his apparent remorse rings hollow. In this day and age, when antisemitism is running rampant on both sides of the political spectrum, are apologies for such bigotry enough?Apple reportedly leases massive office space under development in Haifa
The key to answering this question lies not only in the prospect of Brown altering his behavior, but also in the way the Food Network responds.
So far, Brown’s shows (including the one he’s best-known for, Good Eats) are still listed on the channel’s November TV schedule. Furthermore, the Food Network has not yet put out any communications relating to the possibility of disciplinary action — and they refused to even respond to my repeated inquiries on the topic.
That brings up questions as to why this issue hasn’t immediately been addressed, as well as why the network hasn’t sought to engage the community he hurt so much with his comments.
The reaction from the Anti-Defamation League has been similarly perplexing. Asked for a comment, an ADL spokesperson said in an email: “We are glad Mr. Brown appropriately apologized for this Holocaust analogy. As we’ve said many times, Holocaust analogies simply have no place in civil discourse.”
US tech giant Apple has signed a contract to lease office space in a new project currently under construction in a tech and business park in Haifa, Hebrew press reported on Wednesday.Israeli VC fund Maniv Mobility invests in Abu Dhabi electric scooter startup
The story was first reported by Calcalist, after real estate developer Bayside Land Corp. said in a filing to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange on Tuesday that a subsidiary has reached a rental agreement with a “leading international tech firm” for the rental of an area of 28,000 square meters (301,390 sq. ft.) of space above ground and 620 underground parking spaces at the Matam Hi-Tech and Business Park in Haifa.
According to the lease accord, the tech firm will rent all of the first stage of the development in the new project being built at the technology park for a period of seven years, for a total of NIS 30 million ($8.9 million) a year, with an option to prolong the contract. The lease will start with the completion of the first stage of the project, in the third quarter of 2022, the filing said.
A spokesman for Apple in Israel declined to comment.
Apple started its activities in Israel after it acquired the Israeli startup Anobit for some $390 million in 2012. The US firm now has R&D centers in Herzliya and Haifa, with a total of some 1,000 employees.
Maniv Mobility LP, an Israel-based venture capital fund that focuses on smart mobility technologies, said Wednesday that it led a $3.8 million seed round investment in Fenix, an Abu Dhabi-based startup that plans to launch an electric scooter service in the Middle East.Well done: Israel's Aleph Farms serves up its first commercial cultivated steak
The investment is the first by an Israeli venture fund in a UAE-based tech startup since the normalization of relations between Israel and the UAE in September, and is the largest pre-launch funding round in the history of the UAE tech ecosystem, Maniv said in a statement.
The founders of Fenix are Jaideep Dhanoa and IQ Sayed, who will launch scooter service operations in Abu Dhabi in the next few weeks, to be followed by other Emirate and Gulf markets in the coming months. Dhanoa and IQ were senior executives and co-founders of the startup Circ, acquired by US electric scooter provider Bird in January and later shut down once the pandemic started as Bird halted its Middle East business due to the virus.
Convinced of the strength of the opportunity, after the shutdown of Circ, Jaideep and IQ began Fenix as a wholly independent and standalone company, taking with them only the Circ team.
Israel's Aleph Farms food tech startup is nearing the transition of its cultivated slaughter-free thin-cut beef steaks into five proprietary modules for its mass production platform, the company announced Wednesday.Israel’s GenCell raises NIS 205 million in share sale on Tel Aviv Stock Exchange
The Rehovot-based company's steaks are grown directly from non-GMO cells of a living cow. Aleph Farms says its product offers the nutritional, culinary, and sensory attributes of conventionally produced meat.
The prototype of its commercial product will be first introduced at the Asia-Pacific Agri-Food Innovation Summit in Singapore on Nov. 20 in a virtual cooking demonstration hosted by Aleph Farms' resident chef, Amir Ilan.
The move marks a major leap in Aleph Farms' goal of making cultivated meat widely available in the global community. The company is currently transitioning its commercial products to its pilot plant, and intends to launch at the end of 2022.
"One of the big challenges of cultivated meat is the ability to produce large quantities efficiently at a cost that can compete with conventional meat industry pricing, without compromising on quality," says Aleph Farms co-founder and CEO Didier Toubia.
"We have developed five technological building blocks unique to Aleph Farms that are put into a large-scale production process, all patented by the company," Toubia says.
GenCell, a manufacturer of hydrogen fuel cell-based electricity generators, said Wednesday it has completed an initial public offering (IPO) of shares on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, raising some NIS 205 million ($61 million) from the sale of a 25% stake in the firm, giving it a post-money valuation of some NIS 800 million.
The Israel startup founded in 2011 makes fuel cell-based solutions to create electricity and has been supplying its products to electricity providers, including in Israel, the US and Europe. The share listing makes the firm the first public Israeli company active in the growing hydrogen energy industry.
GenCell’s products are based on fuel cell technology — an electro-chemical process that happens between two gases, hydrogen and oxygen, generating clean energy. Spaceships and submarines use fuel cell energy because it is emission-free.
The firm says it has developed a way to make these cells cheaper to manufacture by replacing the platinum generally used in them with a combination of nickel and carbon and using a nanotechnology process. The technology can also generate hydrogen from ammonia, a common substance, easy to find globally. This makes GenCell’s generators cheaper to use than the alternative and more polluting diesel generators, according to the company.
Serial entrepreneur Benny Landa is a strategic investor in the company through Landa Ventures. Paz Oil Company is also an investor, which employs 80 workers, including energy professionals from space and submarine programs.
Less than 1 week to go to StandWithUs UK Gala 2020 Online
— StandWithUsUK (@StandWithUsUK) November 17, 2020
WATCH: An invitation to an evening celebrating 10 years of Standing With Israel and Standing Against Antisemitism from our special guest Maajid Nawaz.
FREE REGISTRATION --> https://t.co/874wR93JnL pic.twitter.com/npXtLvGtEJ
This is HUGE!
— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Ostrov_A) November 18, 2020
Believe it or not, but until now, @yadvashem had #Holocaust material on its website translated into numerous languages - but not Arabic. Not anymore! Thanks to @YosephHaddad, the material is now bring translated to entire Arab speaking world! So so very important. https://t.co/hAeQsCRTt6
1. Joseph and Rebecca, both originally from Poland met in Plaszow death camp near Krakow, where they fell in love and were secretly married – an act for which if found out, would incur certain execution.
— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Ostrov_A) November 17, 2020
