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Friday, May 07, 2021

05/07 Links Pt2: Canadian Court Overturns Barring ‘Product of Israel’ Labels on Judea, Samaria Wine; Guardian Article Listing Its 1917 Support for Creation of Israel Among ‘Worst Errors of Judgment’ in Paper’s History

From Ian:

Canadian Court Overturns Barring ‘Product of Israel’ Labels on Judea, Samaria Wine
A Canadian federal appeals court reversed a lower court’s decision that barred “Product of Israel” labels for wines produced in Judea and Samaria.

In July of 2020, the Federal Court of Canada had ruled that it was “false, misleading or deceptive” for wines produced by Israeli vintners east of the Green Line to be labeled “Product of Israel.” Parts of the decision had also lent support to boycotts of Jewish communities, suggesting that the “Product of Israel” obstructed consumers’ right to boycott these communities.

However, the Federal Court of Appeal reversed this decision, ruling that the lower court judge had gone too far in its decision and that the federal agency, Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), that initially reviewed the labels should be allowed to try again, with all options remaining open.

“We welcome the decision, which puts this matter back on track to being resolved fairly and correctly,” said Michael Mostyn, CEO of B’nai Brith Canada. “B’nai Brith has engaged with decision-makers on this issue since the very beginning and will continue to do so as this matter progresses. We say proudly that Jews returning to producing wine in their indigenous homeland is something to be celebrated, not stigmatized.”

Shimon Koffler Fogel, president and CEO of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, said he is not surprised by the appeals court ruling.

“CIJA believes that current labeling practices are fully consistent with the Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement, as well as Canadian and international law,” he said.


British Jews Blast Guardian Article Listing Its 1917 Support for Creation of Israel Among ‘Worst Errors of Judgment’ in Paper’s History
Leading Jewish groups and Israeli officials were outraged on Friday at the The Guardian listing its past editorial support for the 1917 Balfour declaration — which announced the British government’s support for the establishment of a Jewish state — as one of the paper’s “worst errors in judgement over 200 years” in a bicentennial feature article.

“A daily newspaper cannot publish for 200 years without getting some things wrong. This one has made its share of mistakes,” the article began, in an ongoing series marking the publication’s 1821 founding. After regrets including its editorial column’s past support for limiting suffrage to male taxpayers and its animosity towards Abraham Lincoln, the Guardian listed its support of the 1917 decision by Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour to back a national home for the Jewish people in then-Palestine.

Balfour’s “words changed the world,” the article continued. “The Guardian of 1917 supported, celebrated and could even be said to have helped facilitate the Balfour declaration. [Former chief editor CP] Scott was a supporter of Zionism and this blinded him to Palestinian rights. In 1917 he wrote a leader on the day the Balfour declaration was announced, in which he dismissed any other claim to the Holy Land, saying: ‘The existing Arab population of Palestine is small and at a low stage of civilization.’ Whatever else can be said, Israel today is not the country the Guardian foresaw or would have wanted.”

The Board of Deputies of British Jews President Marie van der Zyl called the article “breathtakingly ill considered” in a statement Friday.

“In its eagerness to disassociate itself in any way from its early support for Zionism, the Guardian chooses not to focus on the simple fact that had such a national homeland existed even a decade earlier than 1948, many millions of Jews — our close relatives — murdered in the Holocaust might still be alive,” she wrote.

“Alongside a safe and secure Jewish State, the Board of Deputies supports the creation of a Palestinian State, something the Balfour declaration does not negate. The Guardian would be best advised to advocate for this as well rather than its current position, which seems to be to do everything it can to undermine the legitimacy of the world’s only Jewish state,” van der Zyl continued.


Israel Advocacy Movement: Palestinian propagandists caught lying… again - Am Yisrael Live with David Collier

Dozens injured as police burst into Temple Mount compound after hundreds riot
Israeli police burst into the Temple Mount compound on Friday evening after Palestinians threw rocks and bottles at officers, as widespread clashes in Jerusalem spread to the holy site following prayers held there on the last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Police said that “forces have started to restore order, using riot dispersal means, following violent disturbances on the Temple Mount, during which hundreds of suspects began throwing stone, bottles and objects at police officers.”

Video from the scene showed pitched battles, with Palestinians throwing chairs, shoes, rocks and bottles and police responding with stun grenades, tear gas and rubber bullets. At least six officers were wounded, police said. One officer was in moderate-to-serious condition after being hit in the head with a rock.

According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, 53 Palestinians were wounded in clashes in Jerusalem on Friday night, mostly around the Temple Mount and by Damascus Gate. Some 23 Palestinians were hospitalized, including one who was shot in the head with a rubber-coated metal bullet.

Protesters chanted “Allahu Akbar,” or God is great. Several wounded demonstrators could be seen being carried away on stretchers.

“We will not allow riots, violence and attempts to harm police officers through taking advantage of the freedom of worship and religion, and turning it into a violent incident,” police said.

Demonstrators were calling for more people to try and reach the compound, but police blocked roads leading to the site.


US says it’s ‘critical’ for all sides to restore calm in Jerusalem
The US urged all sides to act with restraint in Jerusalem, saying it was “critical” to restore calm amid several days of clashes in East Jerusalem that spread to the flashpoint Temple Mount on Friday.

“As we head into a sensitive period in the days ahead, it will be critical for all sides to ensure calm and act responsibly to deescalate tensions and avoid confrontation,” Jalina Porter, a State Department spokesperson said during a telephone briefing. She avoided specifically blaming either side.

Israeli police burst into the Temple Mount compound on Friday evening after Palestinians threw rocks and bottles at officers, as widespread clashes in Jerusalem spread to the holy site after prayers were held there on the last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Video from the scene showed pitched battles, with Palestinians throwing chairs, shoes, rocks and bottles and police responding with stun grenades, tear gas and rubber bullets. At least six officers were wounded, police said.
Arab protests against the Balfour Declaration and Jewish immigration, May 1921
Chaim Weizmann had no illusions about Samuel. “He is meek and mild and timid. Still he is, with all that, the best we can have in the circumstances.” [10]

The Jewish press reflected the community’s anger toward the British, and their profound concern that these riots were like the ones they had experienced in Russia.

Berl Katznelson, a leading figure of the Zionist labor movement, declared, “The pogrom against Israel in Eretz Israel is still continuing.” Ben-Gurion concurred: “We who experienced the pogroms knew quite well that without the wish of the authorities and their open or clandestine backing, actively or passively, the task of the pogrom cannot succeed.” [11]

When the riots occurred in 1921, Samuel held the Jews responsible and brought them to trial. The British claimed this was a clash between communist and anti-communist Jewish demonstrators on May Day, which the Jews dismissed as absurd.

The British also sought to obscure the fact that the Arabs had been the sole aggressors. Arab policemen involved in the riots were not punished, while Jews attempting to defend themselves were arrested when they harmed their assailants. Stolen property was not returned, and those who killed Jews were not tried. Jewish immigration was halted, and those caught trying to enter the country were sent back to their ports of origin. This was another example of where the British encouraged the oppressors, rewarded violence, and penalized the victims. [12]

British reaction reminded Jews of the Russian government’s response to pogroms. First, the British took their time in responding to the al-Nabi Musa riots and behaved with a combination of apathy and “criminal neglect.” Then they arrested Ze’ev Jabotinsky, the Zionist activist, and his men who were attempting to organize their own self-defense in Jerusalem. Jabotinsky had established the Jewish Legion under British auspices during World War I. At the end of the riots, the British tried to reduce tensions by prohibiting the Jews from holding a public funeral for the victims.

Most of the rioters were not tried, whereas when Jews were apprehended with weapons, they were given substantial sentences. Eventually, the convictions were rescinded, but in the context of a general amnesty for the rioters and the Jews. This prompted Berl Katznelson to refer to the Jewish victims by the ancient Hebrew idiom harugei malkhut (those slain by the [non-Jeiwsh] government), a term used for the Ten Martyrs who were tortured and executed by the Romans. [13]


Community ‘Living in Fear’ After Release of Alleged Attacker of Four Riverdale Synagogues, Says Algemeiner Editor-in-Chief
Jordan Burnette, 29, was arrested Saturday on 42 charges in connection with the spree of attacks in the Bronx borough of New York, in which over several days he smashed doors and windows at the Riverdale Jewish Center (RJC), Chabad Lubavitch of Riverdale, Young Israel of Riverdale and Conservative Synagogue Adath Israel of Riverdale (CSAIR).

During a Sunday hearing, he was first ordered held on $20,000 bail by a Bronx Criminal Court judge, who said that even under New York state’s recent bail reform law, the shattering of glass windows could qualify as a violent felony and would justify setting bail.

But at a later hearing, another judge ruled that the charges did not qualify for bail under the 2020 law, and granted Burnette supervised release — which the head of a leading initiative that helps secure Jewish institutions called “no supervision” at all.

“You have an entire community of thousands and thousands of people, including many children and families, that now have to live in fear as a result of the fact that this — as described by the police — ‘violent and dangerous’ individual is still walking the streets,” Efune said in the Wednesday interview.

“It’s outrageous, and really a travesty of justice and a failure in the justice system that cannot protect innocent citizens, and really does more to protect the accused perpetrator, than the children that are under threat,” he said.


New York Times Finds Riverdale Synagogue Attacks Not ‘Fit to Print’
Rock-throwing attacks on four synagogues in the Bronx, for which a suspect was arrested and released, have been national and international news.

CNN covered the story. The Washington Post covered the story. The Wall Street Journal covered the story. The Arizona Republic covered the story. The Daily Mail, a British tabloid, covered the story.

Yet the New York Times — which has as part of its name “New York,” the city where the attacks happened — hasn’t found the news fit to print.

A search on the Times website for the name “Jordan Burnette,” the person arrested and charged on 42 counts, including hate crimes, for the attacks, produces no results from 2021. A search for “Riverdale,” the Bronx neighborhood where the synagogues were targeted, turns up no results about these synagogue attacks, either. The Times “today’s paper” function simulating the print newspaper headlines doesn’t even break out New York stories into their own section anymore for the weekday paper, instead lumping them in with “national.” But there appears to be no headline in recent days about the case.

The Times website provides a contact form for the newspaper’s new metro editor, James Dao. I wrote to him asking why the Times had decided to skip covering the attacks on the synagogues. He did not get back to me with an answer by deadline. That’s too bad; if he had, I’d have been happy to supply his side of the story.
Hate crimes see 73% rise in NYC, with Asians and Jews most targeted
A dramatic rise in attacks on Asian-Americans has led to an overall increase in hate crimes in New York City during 2021, while the number of crimes targeting Jews decreased slightly.

Jews in New York were targeted in 54 hate crimes reported between Jan. 1 and May 2, down from 58 such crimes in the same period in 2020, according to New York Police Department figures released Monday.

The NYPD’s Hate Crime Task Force said the city recorded 180 hate crimes through May 2, compared to 104 such crimes during the same period last year, a 73% increase.

Asians were the most targeted group with 80 hate crimes through May 2 — soaring from 16 in the same period in 2020. Jews were the next most targeted.
Melanie Phillips: A complex relationship made in heaven
If Jews feel threatened, however, by some Christians through conversion or assimilation Christianity itself feels threatened by Judaism — specifically by the fact that the links between the two religions are far more fundamental than many Christians like to acknowledge.

It’s not just that Jesus was a Jew. He was a believing Jew. Radical critic of the Jewish establishment though he was, he lived according to Jewish rules and rituals. He never claimed to be divine or to be founding a new religion.

In his new book Chosen, the Church of England priest Giles Fraser (who is both the son of a Jew and the father of two Jewish boys) writes that for centuries after the death of Jesus, his early followers were themselves merely a Jewish sect. It was Paul of Tarsus who denied the essence of Judaism by transforming Jesus’s beliefs into universal ones. Then under Emperor Constantine, the Romans stole Jesus’s religion and made it their own.

So it’s likely that Christians who try to convert the Jews may do so at least in part because they feel threatened by the fact that Jesus himself was not a Christian.

Despite all this, there are many Christians who respect and admire Judaism and the Jewish people without having any intention to convert them, either now or at the end of days. Far from feeling threatened by this very close association, they draw strength from it.

If western civilisation is to prevent itself from committing cultural suicide, it needs to find a way of re-empowering its foundational Biblical beliefs. Jews and Christians need to be partners in this 11th-hour effort. Developments such as the unmasking of the undercover missionaries in Jerusalem must not be allowed to jeopardise that desperate enterprise.
Agency working with US military wants Jews to apologize for killing Jesus
An agency that provides administrative services to the US military posted an Easter sermon on its website that described a New Testament passage preaching to Jews as a demand to “say sorry” for killing Jesus.

The Washington Headquarters Services pulled down the sermon attributed to a Navy chaplain in North Carolina on April 28, a day after complaints by the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, a group that advocates for troops and veterans who report discrimination in the military.

Both the foundation and the Jewish War Veterans have called for an inquiry into the sermon by Lt. Aristotle Rivera of Camp Lejeune and how it was posted on March 30. The foundation, which also wants repercussions against Rivera, said the sermon contradicted rules against proselytizing and peddling bigotry.

It wasn’t clear why an administrative services agency would post a sermon of any kind. Regina Meiners, the acting director of the Washington Headquarters Service, did not return a request for comment.

Rivera’s sermon takes a well-known passage in the New Testament book Acts that is an account of Peter preaching to “men of Israel” the redemption available in Christ’s death. He appears to use the passage to dismiss liberal interpretations of scripture.

The chaplain concludes that the message of the passage is “Jesus lived. You killed him. God raised him. We saw him. Say sorry,” and wishes readers a Happy Easter, which took place this year on April 4.
Founder of BDS Seeks Out Hamas-Related US Groups to Spread Message of Hate
Omar Barghouti, the co-founder and face of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel is seeking to spread his message of hate throughout the US Muslim community. His vehicles to do so are two remnants of a Hamas network that existed in the 1980s and 1990s, CAIR and American Muslims for Palestine (AMP). If makes sense that he would use these groups, as Barghouti’s own organization includes Hamas as part of its national committee. Yet, it also reveals the true mission of BDS, which is the destruction and dismantling of the one and only Jewish state and a main reason why BDS is deemed to be anti-Semitic.

CAIR was established, in June 1994, as a part of the US chapter of the Muslim Brotherhood’s international Palestine Committee, headed by then-global head of Hamas, Mousa Abu Marzook. In 2007 and 2008, CAIR was named by the US government a co-conspirator to the financing of millions of dollars to Hamas via the now-defunct Holy Land Foundation (HLF), a fellow alum of the Palestine Committee. CAIR had used its national website to raise money for HLF, disguising it as a fundraiser for victims of 9/11. In July 2014, the Florida chapter of CAIR co-sponsored a pro-Hamas rally in Downtown Miami, where rally goers repeatedly shouted, “We are Hamas.”

On April 21st, CAIR-Florida hosted a virtual ‘lunch hour,’ featuring Barghouti and the Director of Arab and Muslim Ethnicities and Diasporas Studies (AMED) at San Francisco State University (SFSU) Rabab Abdulhadi. While COVID-19 would certainly compel an event such as this to go virtual, it must also be noted that Barghouti, not long ago, was disallowed from entering the US. The title of the lunch was ‘First Amendment Except for Palestine.’

Those who support BDS argue that criticism of Israel is not anti-Semitic, and of course, that is correct. However, the reason why the US government and others say BDS is “anti-Semitism” is not about criticism, but about denying Israel the very right of her existence. As Barghouti stated, in 2013, “Definitely, most definitely we oppose a Jewish state in any part of Palestine.”
Indy calls Marwan Barghouti a 'former street leader' - omits that he was a 'terror leader'
An article in the Independent by Middle East correspondent Bel Trew (“Why a cancelled Palestinian election is bad news for all”, May 5th) included the following sentences:
Trouble has brewed for Abbas and his support base since Fatah unexpectedly split into three blocs: the first two being Abbas’s official list, and another a slate of candidates tied to Mohammed Dahlan, an ex-Fatah security chief now living in a sort of exile in the UAE.

The third and the most surprising was a reformist list led by Nasser al Qidwa, the nephew of Fatah’s founder Yasser Arafat, and Marwan Barghouti, arguably Palestine’s most famous and powerful prisoner in Israel’s jail, as well as a former street leader and parliamentarian.

Trew fails to inform readers that, Barghouti is also a convicted terrorist who was one of the leaders of the 2nd Intifada’s campaign of suicide bombings and shootings in the early 2000s.

He was convicted in 2002 on five counts of murder of innocent civilians, but was likely responsible for many more killings. Crimes orchestrated by Barghouti include: The murder of Greek monk Tsibouktsakis Germanus in Jerusalem on June 12, 2001; the murder of Yoela Hen in Jerusalem on January 15, 2002; and the murder of Eli Dahan, Yosef Habi, and Salim Barakat in Tel Aviv on March 5, 2002.

There is no journalistic justification for omitting such crucial context about the “former street leader” and would-be Palestinian president – and we’ve complained to editors.
BBC NEWS COVERAGE OF TERRORISM IN ISRAEL – APRIL 2021
The Israel Security Agency’s report on terror attacks (Hebrew) during April 2021 shows that throughout the month a total of 130 incidents took place: 80 in Judea & Samaria, 24 in Jerusalem and inside the ‘green line’ and twenty-six in the Gaza Strip sector.

In Judea & Samaria and Jerusalem the agency recorded 77 attacks with petrol bombs, fourteen attacks using pipe bombs, one rock-throwing attack, one stabbing/assault attack, one shooting attack and ten arson attacks. In the Gaza Strip sector 23 separate incidents of rocket fire (involving a total of 44 rockets), two attacks with petrol bombs and one IED attack took place.

No deaths or injuries were reported throughout the month.

Visitors to the BBC News website during April saw no coverage of any of those incidents – including rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip on April 15th, April 16th, April 23rd-24th, April 24th-25th and April 25th– 26th – despite the fact that BBC journalists in Israel were aware of the events.

Since the beginning of the year the BBC News website (described by the corporation as “a permanent public record…in the public interest”) has reported just one incident of rocket fire from the Gaza Strip and 0.24% of the total terror attacks that have taken place.
Northern Ireland Assembly adopts International Definition of Antisemitism
The Northern Ireland Assembly has adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism. This came despite Sinn Fein’s opposition to the Democratic Unionist Party’s (DUP) proposal to adopt it.

The DUP motion stressed “the need to tackle the scourge of antisemitism in every aspect of our society” and called on the Assembly to adopt the Definition in full with the illustrative examples, which are integral to the Definition.

Sinn Fein tried to pass an amendment to remove the reference to the Definition, but retained similar wording without the examples.

In the past, Belfast City Council explicitly rejected the adoption of the Definition.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “We applaud this decision by the Northern Ireland Assembly to adopt the International Definition of Antisemitism. We regret that Sinn Fein opposed the adoption resolution, but its passage is a strong demonstration of solidarity with the Jewish community and a powerful expression of opposition to anti-Jewish racism, which has no place in Northern Ireland or any other part of the United Kingdom. We continue to call on local authorities, as well as universities and other public bodies, to adopt the Definition and apply it in cases of antisemitism.”
Hundreds of Neo-Nazis march in Italy
Hundreds of Neo-Nazis marched together in Milan, Italy last week.

Video footage was taken of the groups of people doing the infamous Nazi salute. The video, which was posted on Twitter has over 1 million views as of Thursday morning.

The exact number of far-right militants is estimated to be around 800 according to a report by Italy24News. The event had reportedly taken place to commemorate Sergio Ramelli's death, a young activist and student who was killed in an ambush in 1975.

Police have so far been trying to identify the faces of the attendees.

This is not the only Neo-Nazi event that has occurred in Italy in recent years. Three years ago, a much larger event, which included around 5,000 Neo-Nazis, took place in Rome to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Acca Larentia killings in 1978, which occurred in the same city when three Neo-Nazis were killed by presumed far-left extremists.


‘Fun for the family:’ TripAdvisor apologizes, removes hateful Auschwitz review
Travel website TripAdvisor has removed an insensitive review of the Auschwitz Museum after initially saying it complied with its submission guidelines.

The museum at the site of the Nazi concentration camp in Poland on Thursday tweeted that it had asked the Massachusetts-based travel website to take down a review in which the writer said they went to Auschwitz to “test the chamber” and called the site “fun for the family.”

More than 1 million people, most of them Jews, were killed by the Nazis at Auschwitz during World War II.

According to the company, “it complies with their submission guidelines,” the tweet said.

TripAdvisor later reversed course, removing the review and banning the user who wrote it.

The museum then thanked TripAdvisor.

In a statement, the company said it does not tolerate discrimination and regularly blocks or removes millions of reviews that violate its guidelines.
Fury as Law Professor Compares ‘Vaccine Passports’ With Nazi Persecution of Jews During Michigan House of Representatives Hearing
Anti-vaccine activists compared the possibility of COVID-19 “vaccine passports” with the Nazi persecution of the Jews at a Michigan House of Representatives committee meeting on Thursday, sparking outrage among several state legislators who were present, as well as on social media.

Among those testifying at the hearing on a proposal by Republican State Rep. Sue Allor to “ban” vaccine passports was Prof. William Wagner, a law professor and constitutional specialist at Western Michigan University. Sitting alongside Allor, Wagner likened the theoretical vaccine passport with the identifying yellow stars which the Nazis forced Jews to wear on their outer clothing, as part of a cluster of discriminatory laws designed to reinforce the “subhuman” status of Jewish people living under Nazi rule.

Holding up a black wristband that he claimed was similar to a vaccine passport, Wagner said: “My wife and I recently had the privilege of going through the Holocaust museum and seeing a different kind of band.”

He continued: “Imagine that kind of band and add electronic tracking and all the electronic data that you could combine with it.”

Wagner then told legislators that they would be “deciding which side of history you want to be on 20 years from now,” in a deliberately provocative nod to those Germans who opposed Hitler’s rise to power.

Also addressing the hearing was one-time feminist icon turned conspiracy theorist Naomi Wolf, who argued for an outright ban on vaccine passports. Wolf’s record of conspiracy-laden comments during the pandemic have included the assertion that Dr. Anthony Fauci, the president’s chief medical adviser, is a paid agent of the Israeli government.
German Antisemitism Commissioner Calls for Nationwide Ban on Display of Nazi-Era ‘Jewish Stars’ at Coronavirus Protests
Germany’s leading official tasked with combating antisemitism has called for a nationwide ban on the display of “Judenstern” badges and other symbols associated with the Nazi era at demonstrations against coronavirus prevention policies.

In an interview with the Taggespiegel newspaper on Friday, Felix Klein — the federal government’s antisemitism commissioner — called for municipalities across Germany to follow the example of Munich, which in June 2020 banned the “Judenstern,” or “Jews’ Star” from demonstrations in the city opposed to the wearing of masks, vaccinations and similar government initiatives to overcome the pandemic.

“When people attach so-called Jewish stars to demonstrations, thereby making comparisons that relativize the Holocaust, the possibilities of regulatory law should be used,” Klein said. “The city of Munich has stipulated in the requirements for such demonstrations that the display of these so-called Jewish stars is not permitted. If they are displayed anyway, the police intervene. I hope that other cities will follow Munich’s example, and I support this.”

Klein’s comments came against the background of another documented rise in antisemitic outrages across Germany during 2020, much of it fueled by coronavirus conspiracy theories. According to German federal government figures released in February, at least 2,275 crimes with an antisemitic background were logged over a 12-month period ending in January 2021. Some 55 of those attacks were acts of violence.

“Unfortunately, it has been a tradition in Germany for centuries that Jews are held responsible for crises,” Klein said. “This mostly comes from right-wing extremists and conspiracy ideologues. But there are also anti-Jewish arguments on the left.”

Klein observed that the coronavirus protests had brought previously disparate groups of extremists together. “Antisemitism is the glue that holds the very different groups together,” he argued. “Of course, not all opponents of the corona measures are antisemites. But people who claim that they are in the mainstream of society allow antisemites to hijack the protests.”
German 'gangsta rap' promotes anti-Semitic and misogynistic attitudes — study
Researchers from the University of Bielefeld in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) unveiled a study on Tuesday examiningyouth susceptibility to anti-Semitic and misogynistic messaging in so-called gangsta rap lyrics. The genre is popular with young Germans.

"The study provides the first empirical evidence that gangsta rap prepares the breeding ground for later entrenched anti-Semitic attitudes," said NRW Anti-Semitism Commissioner Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, who sponsored the study.

"We must not stand by while musicians propagate anti-Semitism and indoctrinate young people with lyrics that glorify violence and are misogynistic," she added.

She says she has no interest in banning the music but hopes progress can be made in convincing musicians, labels and streaming platforms to reflect upon the responsibility they bear in society.

What is the research based on?
The report, based on interviews that researchers conducted from 2019 to 2021 with some 500 participants between the ages of 12 and 24, found that those participants who said they regularly listen to gangsta rap ascribe great authenticity to artists, despite the fact that these are largely pop characters marketed by record companies and streaming services.

Researchers say that the lyrics in question were not anti-Semitic across the board, but rather laced with conspiracy theories propagating numerous anti-Semitic stereotypes.

"Our results show that there is a direct connection between the consumption of gangsta rap and the tendency to share anti-Semitic and misogynistic statements," said Marc Grimm of the University of Bielefeld.
Startup hopes to ease burden of US mourners with a ‘GPS’ for grief
When people lose a loved one, there are a plethora of ceremonies and rituals devoted to offering spiritual solace for the devastating loss.

There is, however, no roadmap to help navigate the paperwork and bureaucracy that come with a death. In the midst of deepest sorrow, the bereaved must organize a funeral and handle a myriad of bureaucratic and financial tasks.

That process of arranging a funeral, validating a will, closing bank accounts, dealing with an estate, claiming benefits, etc., can take families in the United States over 500 hours on average — “a second job,” said entrepreneur Ron Gura, co-founder and CEO of the Israeli startup Empathy, which is seeking to be a Waze-like “GPS for loss.”

Empathy, which came out of stealth mode last month, has developed a smartphone app that hopes to take mourners in the US “step by step” through what needs to be done immediately and what can wait, Gura said in an interview.

The app is designed for the American market not only because it is huge but because bureaucracy after death in the US is very burdensome, Gura said.
FIFA adopts Israeli performance tech for new Innovation Program
Israeli company Playermaker, a world leader in soccer performance tracking, announced on Thursday that its award-winning technology is the first foot-mounted wearable device accepted into FIFA's Innovation Program.

The ground-breaking technology provides in-depth analysis and monitoring of key player performance indicators via foot-to-ball interactions. Acceptance into the program provides a future pathway for the technology to be integrated and accessible to all FIFA teams as part of the FIFA Quality Program for Electronic Performance Tracking Systems.

The device specifically addresses the challenge that the world soccer governing body has identified with performance technologies. Until now, the most common electronic tracking and performance system used has been the back-mounted GPS solution, which provides a solid baseline of measurement, but doesn't thoroughly capture the action of the feet.

The Israeli technology transforms any soccer shoe into a connected solution and has already been tested and proven by more than 150 of the top elite academies and teams globally. Playermaker enables athletes and their coaches, as well as aspiring amateurs to capture both physical and technical quantifiable insights and data when in use. At the end of each session with the device, the data is uploaded to the cloud for coaches to easily access. The integration of the technology provides a much-needed tool for professional soccer players and coaches to better understand player performance and inform decision-making with data to guide player development.
Israel’s Next Pioneer: Meet the Country’s New Astronaut
If given the opportunity, Israel’s next astronaut would probably abstain from calling himself a hero, but in February 2022 upon his take off from Cape Canaveral in Florida with three other astronauts, he will make history for an entire tiny yet powerful nation. Eytan Stibbe, 62, is slated to be Israel’s next astronaut and has an impressive career path behind him. Ahead of his announcement of the 44 Israeli experiments which he will take with him to the International Space Station that was unveiled on Wednesday, he spoke to the media for the first time after months of quiet and shared his thoughts about space exploration, science, and his upcoming mission.

Stibbe served in the Israeli Air Force for many years and in one particularly daring mission shot down four Syrian enemy aircraft. He’s also founded his own venture capital firm, Vital Capital, which is involved in building infrastructure in impoverished underserved communities in Africa. A former colleague of fallen-first Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon, he knew the Ramon family well and helped co-found the Ramon Foundation to commemorate the Ramon family, and to which he will be dedicating his time aboard the space station in the areas of science and education. Stibbe, who will be a private astronaut, is married to Ora and they have three children.

“I think the advantage of being a private astronaut is that it can open the door to others who aren’t in obvious scientific sectors. When you look at the ISS, you see a big laboratory where you can conduct many experiments, but psychologists, philosophers, artists, and others aren’t invited to this exclusive club. I want that to change. Space is for everyone,” Stibbe told CTech’s Yafit Ovadia.

Stibbe recalled watching the first man land on the moon as a child, and how the entire world came to a halt. He noted that meeting Ilan Ramon changed his perspective on space forever.

“I met Ilan in 1991, he was the commander of my squad when I was in the reserves. We became really good friends, and when he was appointed by the Israel Space Agency to become an astronaut, I visited him at the Johnson Center in Houston. He showed me the facilities, including the mock-up and simulator of the Columbia shuttle, and the pool where they train for space walks too. Suddenly, I understood what most American kids know: space is accessible. It’s real. People sign up to become astronauts, they train for several years, then they go up and come back down, and go again. It’s possible, but I didn’t expect it to become possible for me. My wife Ora and I stayed good friends with Ilan’s family, and were there at his launch. I also stayed in close contact with astronauts who come annually to Israel for Ilan’s memorial, during Israeli Space Week. After Asaf was killed, along with Ilan’s wife Rona, we founded the Ramon Foundation to grow the sector here and help spur education, inspire kids to think big, believe in their dreams, and know that they can come true.”
Holocaust survivor who led Yad Vashem memorial dies at 94
Yitzhak Arad, a Holocaust survivor and scholar who was the director of Israel's Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial for more than two decades, has died at the age of 94, the center said Thursday.

Arad served as chairman of Yad Vashem from 1972 to 1993 and remained involved in the center until his final days, serving as the vice-chairman of the Yad Vashem Council, it said.

He was born Yitzhak Rudnicki in 1926 in a town that was then in Poland and is now part of Lithuania.

His parents were among the 6 million Jews killed by Nazi Germany and its collaborators during World War II. He managed to escape and joined the Soviet partisans in 1943, at the age of 16. He remained with them until the end of the war, fighting the Nazis in Belarus and Lithuania.

He emigrated to Israel in 1945 and served in the Israeli military, mainly in an armored brigade. He went on to become a widely published scholar of World War II and the Holocaust, lecturing at Tel Aviv University and as a guest professor at Yeshiva University in New York.

In 2004, he was awarded Yad Vashem's annual Buchman Memorial Prize for his book, "The History of the Holocaust: Soviet Union and the Annexed Territories." His 2009 book, "The Holocaust in the Soviet Union," won the National Jewish Book Award.

"What happened in the past could potentially happen again, to any people, at any time," Arad said while working on a photography project at Yad Vashem last year.

"Be very clear about this: Do not count yourselves among the murderers, and may you never find yourselves among the victims," he said.
Jewish News poll: More Brits now consider Israel for holiday than before virus
More British tourists would now consider visiting Israel than before the coronavirus pandemic – the only country to see an increase.

This is the finding of a Savanta ComRes poll of 2,144 UK adults for Jewish News and BICOM that also shows a high level of appreciation of Israel’s handling of the crisis.

In a list of 12 countries presented to a representative sample of respondents, 48 percent said Israel dealt ‘very well’ or ‘quite well’ with the virus, with only New Zealand (68 percent) and Australia (64 percent) ahead.

Other countries included in the survey were America, Australia, Brazil, Chile, China, France, Germany, New Zealand, Republic of Ireland, South Africa and UAE.

The poll suggests Israel’s world-leading vaccine rollout and the publicity around it has had a positive impact on how the country is viewed as a desired destination, ahead of Boris Johnson’s likely announcement this week that Israel is on a limited ‘green list’ for travel without quarantine.







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