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Sunday, July 11, 2021

07/11 Links: Jewish Activists Push Failed Leaders to Publicly Defend the Community; Israel to withhold nearly NIS 600 million from PA over terror payments

From Ian:

Phyllis Chesler: A rally against antisemitism is welcome, but will it slow America's antisemitism tsunami?
Almost 40 years ago, under a pseudonym, I began comparing the fate of American Jewry to that of European Jewry in the decade before the Holocaust. I was barely heard. Well, I was heard well enough to be cancelled by left and feminist groups and in certain publishing circles. Others, far more expert than I was, also began seeing what I saw.

And now, here we are.

True, in May, Israel absorbed more than 4,000 rocket attacks – but it had the military power to fight back and to destroy many miles of Hamas's underground cross-border terrorist tunnels.

True, Israel has also faced Israeli Arab attacks, a fifth column if you will. It managed to quell these riots and attempted lynchings. Perhaps, as Efraim Karsh suggests, just such a fifth column endangers Israel's future more than external attacks do.

True, some individual Arab attacks on Jews continue, a handful of Israeli Jews have been murdered but this is known as the "matzav," the situation, one that is being "managed," not "ended."

In America, Jews are not managing the propaganda-cognitive war against us very well.

There are literally millions of internet sites in every language on earth, operating 24/7 to demonize the Jews and the Jewish state. University curricula, classrooms, and resolutions are being issued, sounding exactly alike, and condemning Israel as an "apartheid, colonial, settler" state. The United Nations, mainstream media, and Black Lives Matter allied with Free Palestine and Antifa forces are continuously demonstrating in our streets and being given media cover. "Progressive" Jews, including feminists, LGBTQIA folk, and postcolonial academics, are also on board with this way of thinking.

Where should we begin? For years, when I wrote about this situation, I'd say that it's "a quarter to midnight." Now, I must write, that we are long past midnight.

In our collective past, antisemitic demonization has led to pogroms and to a genocide. What is different now? Will all our brilliant and incisive exposes of the disinformation, all our rallies, be enough to stop the spread of Jew hatred?

I hope so, but I fear it will not.
Jewish Activists Push Failed Leaders to Publicly Defend the Community
It’s hard to ignore the simple fact that Jewish leaders have failed to stop or even slow the accelerating epidemic of Jew-hatred in America. Like failed generals fighting the last war, they have focused on Nazis and the political right — and have mostly ignored the changed battlefield for as long as they could. They have deliberately, out of political considerations, minimized the assaults coming from “progressives,” black antisemites, and radical Islamists. They failed utterly to understand how promoting tolerance of the intolerant may backfire.

In response to this failure, grassroots activists have been organizing to expose and to challenge established Jewish organizations. On June 21, 2021, Patti Munter published a scathing exposé of her Federation in Rochester, NY — a warning that establishment Jewish “leaders” in that city are not defending or protecting the community. And now we hear from activists in Raleigh, NC how they had to ignore bullying threats from their local Jewish Community and Relations Council and other Jewish leaders in order to confront a clear and present danger to the Jewish community.

“Deadly Exchange” is a vicious campaign that blames Israeli and American Jews for police assaults on American black people. It falsely claims that American police departments that take part in counter-terrorism and leadership training in Israel are actually trained to “terrorize black and brown communities” in America. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Yet promoters of a campaign to force city officials to boycott the Israeli training had a victory in Durham, NC, when on April 16, 2018, the city council voted to ban that city’s police department from participating in the Israeli programs.

Those who led the “Deadly Exchange” campaign were affiliated with Jewish Voice for Peace, an anti-Israel, pro-BDS organization that has partnered with antisemites like political activist Linda Sarsour and convicted terrorist Rasmea Odeh. By explicitly promoting Jew-hatred — particularly in black and brown communities — their efforts encouraged non-Jewish antisemites to come out of the woodwork, including a member of Louis Farrakhan’s Nation of Islam, who called attention to the “Synagogue of Satan that’s always lingering in the background” and the “inordinate [amount of] control that some Jews have over the political system in this city.”

Those behind the Durham victory were encouraged to bring the campaign to its sister city, Raleigh.


Jonathan Tobin: The Jewish Stake in the Battle Against Critical Race Theory
Jews, like other Americans, have an interest in opposing these toxic ideologies—let alone their imposition on our educational system. The Jewish community ought to be particularly alarmed not only by the spread of such curricula, but also the effort to demonize those citizens with the temerity to stand up to the intellectual thugs who are behind them.

As we have seen in recent weeks in the wake of the latest fighting between Israel and Hamas, there is a direct connection between the acceptance of intersectional and critical race theory ideas and anti-Semitism. Those in Congress, the media and in the academy who are championing notions of white privilege and seeing race as the defining element of society are the same people who claim that Israel is an “apartheid state,” and that the Palestinian war to destroy the one Jewish state on the planet is a struggle against racist oppression. The distance between those lies and Jew-hatred is short; it is not surprising that acts of intimidation and violence, first on college campuses and now on the streets, have followed.

That ought to mean that those tasked with opposing anti-Semitism ought to be at the forefront of the effort against critical race theory education. Sadly, not only is that not the case, those agencies most vocal about the issue are lining up with the racial ideologues allied to the Black Lives Matter movement, not the parents, both Jewish (such as Elana Yaron Fishbein, who organized the No Left Turn in Education group) and non-Jewish in school districts around the country. The ADL opposed Trump’s executive order against race training and has continued to help demonize those opposed to such efforts. The same is true of the JCPA, the umbrella group of Jewish community relations agencies.

If there is anything we have learned in the last year, it is that critical race theory is an all-purpose permission slip for Jew-hatred. Since the divide on this issue has become one largely characterized by partisan affiliation, the ADL, the JCPA and many other liberal Jewish groups have lined up in favor of it and, more importantly, against those who oppose it.

This is madness. It is imperative that Jews join the movement to stop the twisting of American education in such a way as to undermine the cause of liberty, as well as endanger Israel and the Jewish community. That those who are supposed to be defending the Jews feel more comfortable accepting the partisan conventional wisdom about race theory is both a scandal and a tragedy.
Marxist, Extremist Support for Palestinian Terrorism Leads to Jew-Hate Throughout West
For decades, most articles on the Middle East have portrayed Israel in a negative light, not as a democracy under constant threat. Willfully or not, they promote Jew-hate. Hamas is often described as a "Palestinian militant group," almost never as a terrorist organization.

Israel completely withdrew from Gaza in 2005. All the same, Israel is accused of imposing a "blockade" on the coastal strip -- without a mention that everything necessary for the residents of Gaza is allowed, or that what is being blockaded are deadly weapons. Also never mentioned is the extreme brutality of Hamas operatives towards their own residents of Gaza, who are all Arabs, or that the Palestinian Authority still supports and finances terrorism. The Palestinian Authority's rewards and incentives for murdering Jews are also always left out.

On June 24, The New York Times published yet another biased report: "Gaza's Deadly Night: How Israeli Airstrikes Killed 44 People". The Times stated that "on May 16, Israeli airstrikes destroyed three apartment buildings, decimating several families". It never noted that Hamas had attacked Israel, that Hamas uses civilians as human shields, or that Israel invariably warns residents in advance about buildings set to be destroyed, to provide time for the residents to leave rather than be injured or killed.

On May 18, when Israel was being subjected to some of the 4,000 missiles fired at it by Hamas, French Prime Minister Jean Castex... announced that he was "worried about the fate of the civilian populations in Gaza". He did not even touch on what Hamas and Iran are planning for Israel's population.


Israel to withhold nearly NIS 600 million from PA over terror payments
The security cabinet voted on Sunday to withhold nearly NIS 600 million ($184 million) from the Palestinian Authority to offset funds that it paid to terrorists and their families in the past year.

According to a report presented to the security cabinet by Defense Minister Benny Gantz and prepared by the Defense Ministry’s National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing, the Palestinian Authority transferred NIS 597 million ($182.82 million) in “indirect support for terror in 2020.”

“In light of this report, these funds will be frozen from the monthly payments that Israel transfers to the PA,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.

This is not the first time the security cabinet has held back some tax funds it collects for the Palestinian Authority to penalize it for payments to imprisoned terrorists and the families of dead attackers. In November, the cabinet voted to hold back approximately NIS 600 million out of a transfer of around NIS 2.4 billion over the so-called “pay to slay” payments.

Palestinian officials have indicated over the past year that they are considering reforming the controversial PA policy of paying salaries to Palestinians convicted by Israel of security offenses and terrorism. The prisoner issue has long hampered the PA’s diplomatic efforts in Washington, and Israel has repeatedly invoked the terror funding to criticize Ramallah in international forums.

Senior Palestinian officials told The Times of Israel in December that a fresh willingness to alter the way it pays stipends to Palestinian security prisoners, as well as the families of terrorists and others killed by Israelis, is aimed at laying the groundwork for the new diplomatic push.
PLO official says PA’s terror rewards are anchored in all the international conventions and treaties

PA TV praises arch-terrorist Abu Jihad

Israeli-Palestinian conflict doesn’t shift US public support
Does the US public support continued aid to Israel in light of Israeli-Palestinian conflict this year? Gallup polls show that over the last 20 years, majorities have always rated Israel as “very” or “mostly positive;” and those evaluations peaked prior to the May 2021 conflict with 75% of respondents ranking their impression as positive.

The United States has been one of Israel’s strongest allies, using its UN Security Council power to veto at least 53 UN resolutions that condemned Israel and aiding in the development of Israel’s military. According to data from SIPRI, Israel ranks fifth among all recipients of US military funding since 1950, while US missile defense funding alone to Israel totaled $1.3 billion since 2011, key factors in preventing Israeli casualties both in the 2014 and 2021 wars with Gaza.

Public opinion research often finds that people are sensitive to casualties in conflict, shifting support for foreign policies, but this is rarely extended to foreign casualties or to aid policy. If so, one might expect views of Israel to change after disproportionate Palestinian causalities before the May 21st ceasefire, where 243 Palestinians died compared to 12 Israelis.

However, our own national survey research conducted June 24-26 suggests that US public perceptions have not been influenced much by recent conflict. We found Americans scored Israel on average a 6.19 on a 10-point scale, rising to 6.79 among Republicans.
Palestinians Compile Long List of Preconditions for Restarting Talks With Israel
The Palestinian Authority has prepared an extensive “grocery list” of demands to present this week to the United States as a precondition for a renewal of talks with Israel, Channel 12 reported on Sunday.

At the top of the list, a copy of which Channel 12 says will be sent to Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, is the reopening of Orient House and other Palestinian institutions in eastern Jerusalem that have been closed since 2001, and whose political activities the Israel Police and Shin Bet have been preventing.

Other PA demands relating to Jerusalem include restoring the previous status quo on the Temple Mount: restricting police activity around the Al-Aqsa mosque, while reducing Jewish visits to and enhancing the status of PA emissaries at the site.

In addition, the PA demands the cessation of evictions of Arabs from eastern Jerusalem homes — apparently in reference to a recent Israeli court ruling enabling the removal of Arab squatters from Sheikh Jarrah, a predominantly Arab neighborhood known by Jews as Shimon Hatzadik. Sheikh Jarrah became an international cause célèbre as violent disturbances broke out in the neighborhood in May.

In a related demand, the PA wants an end to Jewish construction in eastern Jerusalem, as well as a halt to all settlement expansion.

The PA also demands a renewal of the process of “family unification,” following a defeat in the Knesset last week of a temporary law — renewed annually — to prevent Palestinians from Judea, Samaria, and the Gaza Strip from obtaining Israeli citizenship through marriage to Arab Israelis.

Among additional demands are an increase in the number of Israeli work permits for Palestinian laborers and the return of weapons confiscated from Palestinian security forces.
The PLO was established to “liberate Palestine through armed struggle,” says official PA TV

EU study on PA textbooks includes unused 'ghost books'
Marcus Sheff, the CEO of IMPACT-se, an international research and policy institute that analyzes school textbooks throughout the world and has a proven track record of examining PA textbooks, told Israel Hayom in the wake of the revelation that "there's no reason for textbooks that never saw the light of day to be included in a report on textbooks that are actually being taught. Using these 'ghost books' raised many questions about the credibility of the findings, and it appears there was an attempt to shoot the arrow and then run to mark the target."

It should be noted that the belated chapter of the study, which analyzed the 18 new textbooks, concluded that the Palestinians were trying to reduce incitement and antisemitism in their schools – a conclusion that allows them to continue receiving funding from the EU for their education system.

Chief Operating Officer of IMPACT-se Arik Agassi added that the study's findings also contradict themselves. According to Agassi, the Palestinian textbooks don't meet the criteria established by UNESCO, which the Georg Eckert Institute essentially concedes.

"In the body of the study, it was stated several times that 'antisemitism and glorification of violence exist' in relation to Jews and Israel and that this content was 'incompatible with UNESCO's criteria.' But these findings were obscured in the report's conclusions and were especially absent from the executive summary. The Georg Eckert Institute is aware of this contradiction and in the FAQ section, which it published last week, it essentially admitted there's an issue here. Indeed, our conclusion, as an organization that has researched Palestinian textbooks for many years, is that they don't meet UNESCO's standards," said Agassi.

The EU said in a statement: "The educational reform [that began] in the Palestinian Authority in 2016-2017 is part of an ongoing process. Due to delays in the research, the EU asked the Georg Eckert Institute to include a survey of the textbooks that would be published in 2020. At the time of the report's completion, 15 out of 18 of the textbooks that were analyzed were online, as detailed in the report."
France gives high honor to lawyer who pushed Palestinian cause at ICC
France conferred its second-highest honor on a Gaza-based lawyer who has submitted dozens of cases against Israel to the International Criminal Court, days before Foreign Minister Yair Lapid heads to Europe.

Raji Sourani, a 67-year-old Gaza-based lawyer who heads the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, was given the rank of Knight of France’s National Order of Merit on Wednesday.

The ceremony, hosted by France’s Consul General in Jerusalem René Troccaz, was held at the French Cultural Center in Gaza City.

“As the Director of the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, you contributed to Palestine’s accession to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court,” wrote Troccaz in a letter to Sourani ahead of the ceremony, according to PCHR. “As a man of peace, you have worked tirelessly in favor of justice and endeavored all efforts to achieve reconciliation.”

“The latest crisis and tensions prove that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict will remain at the top of the international events and that France took several initiatives to promote the two-state solution and emphasize the basic principles of international law,” said Troccaz at the ceremony.

In his remarks, Sourani accused Israel of intentionally targeting civilians, and promised “to hold war criminals accountable.”
Politicized UN official abuses food mandate to target Israel - opinion
The United Nations food agency recently sounded the alarm as Madagascar experiences its worst drought in decades, with one million people facing potential starvation. In war-ravaged Yemen, 20 million face hunger. In Venezuela, one out of three is struggling to meet minimum nutrition requirements as the Maduro regime sucks the country dry.

All examples of where Michael Fakhri, the UN Human Rights Council’s “right to food” monitor should be taking a keen interest. Yet Fakhri has never issued a press release on any of these. Instead, his attention has recently turned to attacking Israel as an “apartheid state” and calling for it to be boycotted.

The Canadian-Lebanese law professor was appointed by the UN in 2020 as special rapporteur on the right to food. He teaches human rights and food law at the University of Oregon, theoretically bringing relevant expertise.

However, the UN position, initiated two decades ago by Cuba, was politicized from the start, with Havana using its influence to appoint “independent experts” with an anti-Western, anti-US and anti-Israel agenda.

In 2019, Fakhri described Canada as a “settler colony” which he accused of committing a “race-based genocide against indigenous peoples” that is “ongoing.” That Fakhri occupies a UN post supported by anti-Western dictatorships is unsurprising.


SpaceIL Raises $70 Million for Israel’s Next Lunar Mission
The SpaceIL Foundation announced on Sunday that it completed an investment round of $70 million that will pave the way for the State of Israel’s second lunar mission, named Beresheet 2. A group of entrepreneurs and philanthropists, including Patrick and Lina Drahi of the Drahi Foundation, Morris Kahn of the Kahn Foundation, the Moshal Space Foundation, and Entrée Capital Partners, participated in the round.

This step will boost SpaceIL’s chances of fully funding its project as well as sticking to schedule for its planned 2024 launch, with the total cost of the mission estimated to be around $100 million. Israel’s first lunar mission, Beresheet, despite a lengthy yet challenging mission, made it to the Moon before crash-landing on its surface. The next mission was announced last November, and the country is stepping up its efforts, and in a change from the previous plan, will now include two lunar landers and an orbiter to increase its chances of success.

Following the round, SpaceIL appointed a new board director for the nonprofit, Morris Kahn, who was also a major donor to the prior lunar mission. The board also includes new donors such as Angelina Darhi, director of the Patrick and Lina Darhi Foundation; Amalia Zarka, manager of the philanthropic Darhi fund; Tal Granot-Goldstein, CEO of the HOT Group; Frank Melloul, CEO of i24 News; Aviad Eyal, Managing Partner at Entrée Capital and a representative of the Moshal Space Foundation; and Dafna Jackson, CEO of the Kahn family office, who will join existing board members Itzik Ben Israel, Chairman of the Israel Space Agency, Avi Hasson, Aryeh Helzband, and Yaakov Levi.

The Beresheet 2 mission is set to break a new world space record and will feature a double landing on the lunar surface in a single mission, including one on the far side of the Moon (something that only China has successfully attempted), with the second closer to the original landing point. The spacecraft will be the lightest ever sent to space, with each one weighing 120 kg with fuel; and in addition, the mission will span five years, where it will be used as a platform for educational scientific activities in Israel and around the world through remote connectivity, which will allow students from various countries to participate in a scientific study in deep space.
Police Detain Yehuda Glick on Suspicion of Smuggling Illegal Arab
Police arrested detained former MK Yehuda Glick Saturday night on suspicion of trying to smuggle an illegal Palestinian Authority resident into Israeli territory at the alWalaja checkpoint near Mount Gilo, south of Jerusalem, two miles northwest of Bethlehem.

After being detained for questioning, Glick claimed that he was driving a PA Arab hitchhiker he had picked up in his car on the way. According to the former Likud MK, renowned for his devotion to Jewish ascent to the Temple Mount, when he arrived at the checkpoint, he himself turned to the police there and asked them to check on his passenger so that he would know if he could continue to drive him.

Glick asked the police officers to return his ID card and when they refused, he refused to accompany them to the patrol car. The police then to arrested him, he was handcuffed, and taken for questioning at the Border Police base in Atarot. He was interrogated overnight and released on NIS 5,000 ($1,500) bail. The illegal resident was arrested and transferred to Ofer Prison.


Rashida Tlaib: Don't use US taxes for 'violent oppression' of Palestinians
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan) on Saturday tweeted about the demolition of the West Bank home of Palestinian-American terrorist Muntasir Shalabi, calling to stop US taxpayer dollars being used to "violently oppress the Palestinians.

"Just this week Israel demolished and leveled the home of a Palestinian family in the beloved village of Turmus Aiya. For what? To dehumanize," said Tlaib, who was born to Palestinian parents who immigrated to the US.

Shalabi had been indicted for killing Yehuda Guetta,19, in a drive-by shooting at the Tapuah Junction at the beginning of May. He was also indicted for the attempted murder of two other students who were wounded in the shooting.

Talib added a reminder in the tweet that "apartheid government is not a democracy."

Tlaib's tweet quoted a tweet from Quds News that showed footage of the destruction of Shalabi's home. "Thus the occupation army destroyed the house of the prisoner Muntasir Shalabi," read the Quds tweet.


Linda Sarsour Slanders Israel as IDF Continued Life-Saving Work After Florida Disaster
Linda Sarsour, progressive activist and co-founder of the Women’s March, retweeted what some have deemed an antisemitic post.

According to Sarsour, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has no business assisting in the rescue mission in Surfside, Florida, because its real expertise is “crushing buildings with people in them.”

The tragic collapse of a 12-story tower on June 24 left at least 36 people dead, with over 100 still reported missing. At the request of families holding out hope to find their loved ones, IDF rescue forces were deployed to the site on June 26. Some 50 Jews are either unaccounted for or have been confirmed killed.

Since the establishment of Israel in 1948, the IDF has on more than two dozen occasions provided critical support and humanitarian aid in the wake of disasters around the world.

Following backlash, Sarsour said her critics lacked “morals or values” for pointing out the obvious truth of her antisemitic outrage. She subsequently deleted the original tweet and shut down her profile. Sarsour’s anti-Israel libels will return to the platform “in a few days.”


The Middle East Should Be Afraid of Iran’s Ebrahim Raisi
Raisi also believes in Khamenei’s concept of the “resistance” economy, a rather vague doctrine of self-sufficiency that prioritizes the local supply chain over the interconnections of a global economy. In practice, it means less reliance on imports, limited trade with the West, and expanded trade with countries that pose no cultural and political risks. The resistance economy is not a formula for growth but may serve the Islamist regime well as its key goal is to minimize the effect of sanctions.

If a deal is not reached in a few weeks, the Raisi administration, facing high inflation and limited access to hard currency, has little choice but to continue negotiations. The regime may use more threatening actions, including military attacks on US and allied targets, to extract more concessions from Washington. Alarming advances in uranium enrichment and other moves toward nuclear weaponization are an increasing possibility. The regime appears to view amping up the West’s nuclear fears as a valuable strategy against the US in Vienna. Raisi has said clearly, as has the supreme leader, that he is not willing to negotiate on other issues such as missiles and Iran’s regional activities. Thus, the Biden administration’s intention to negotiate a “longer and stronger” agreement is unlikely to happen.

Raisi’s appointments to key national security positions could indicate how militant his foreign policy will be. A key contender is the former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili either as the foreign minister or head of the supreme national security council. Jalili’s appointment may complicate the nuclear negotiations, as he is known to be fiercely uncompromising.

And Raisi shares Khamenei’s intense hatred for the Arab monarchies. Like the supreme leader, Raisi has used very harsh words to describe Saudi Arabia, and is an active promoter of anti-Semitism, seeking the annihilation of Israel.

Henry Kissinger once asked whether the Islamic Republic views itself as a nation-state or a revolutionary cause. Raisi’s selection provides a final answer to his question. The Biden administration should take note.
Report: Belgium Airport Scare Believed to Be Iranian Test of Israeli Security Protocols
Belgium’s Federal Police evacuated the departure halls at Brussels Airport on Thursday after a suspicious piece of luggage triggered a bomb-threat protocol.

According to local news reports, the incident began unfolding on Thursday afternoon, when Israeli security agents stationed at the airport found a suspicious suitcase and turned it over to airport authorities.

The security scare saw police and airport security evacuate the airport’s two departure halls, as well as a nearby compound serving as a COVID vaccination center. A Qatar Airways flight to Doha was then recalled mid flight after it was determined the owner of the suspicious bag was on it.

Local media, as well as Israel’s Channel 13 News, cited Belgian security sources as saying the passenger, an Iranian woman, was detained on suspicion of planting the bag to gather intelligence on the airport’s security protocols, and especially on measures taken to secure Israeli airlines.

Israeli officials assisted Belgium in increasing security at the airport after a 2016 terrorist attack there left 16 dead and over 150 wounded.

Belgian police inspected the bag, the content of which was determined to be mundane, and airport authorities announced that the incident was a false alarm, allowing flights to resume.


DPS investigating anti-Semitic incident near Waverly and University Aves
Syracuse University’s Department of Public Safety is investigating a bias incident that occurred on Saturday.

Shortly before 1 a.m., a group of students reported being approached by a silver SUV near the corner of Waverly and University Avenues. The occupants of the SUV reportedly shouted anti-Semitic language and threw an egg that struck one of the students, according to the bias incident report.

No injuries were reported as a result of the incident. The students did not provide further information about the occupants or the make, model or license plate number of the vehicle.

“Although we have no way of knowing just yet whether the perpetrators are affiliated with our university, one thing is certain, this kind of hate is not welcome in our community,” DPS Chief Bobby Maldonado said in the report.

DPS has met with the individuals impacted in the incident to gather information, offered support resources and services to these individuals and searched the area where the incident reportedly occurred. DPS is currently reviewing camera footage from the incident, according to the report.


Los Angeles Times Program Allows Future ‘Storytellers’ to Get the Story on Israel Wrong
HS Insider, the Los Angeles Times‘ initiative “for students, by students,” strives to “advance media literacy and empower the next generation of storytellers.” Accordingly, the program allows students to publish articles under the LA Times‘ banner. These stories are then aggregated as news items by websites like Google News and Yahoo News, thereby reaching tens of millions of people.

“HS Insider was created as a forum for young journalists to develop their skills and share their experiences,” then-LA Times publisher Austin Beutner said when the initiative was launched in 2014. However, instead of promoting responsible journalism and critical thinking, the outlet seemingly publishes items that fall way short of basic editorial standards.

On Saturday, HS Insider gave a platform to an article titled, “The story behind #istandwithpalestine,” written by a Fountain Valley High School student. Virtually every paragraph of the 980-word piece misrepresents the facts and contains historical falsehoods, raising questions about the LA Times‘ commitment to educating future journalists.

For example, the article begins by placing blame on the Jewish state for the War of Independence. “The conflict began in 1948 when Israel went to war with neighboring Arab countries of Jordan, Syria and Egypt,” it claims.

In reality, the Arab armies initiated an all-out attack on the Jewish state on June 15, 1948, barely a day after Israel declared independence. Six months earlier, the Arabs had rejected the UN Partition Plan, which endorsed the creation of Jewish and Arab states side by side. The Yishuv — the Jewish community in what was then-British-controlled Mandatory Palestine — accepted the proposal whereas Arab nations rejected it.

Similarly, the article in question rewrites the history of Hamas’ evolution: “Hamas, which translates to Islamic Resistance Movement, has been identified as an Islamist, militant and nationalist group that has been launching attacks against Israel from residential areas since the 1980s in hopes of restoring the power Palestine once had.”
Experts: Anti-Zionism and Antisemitism on Twitter Have Real-world Implications
Twitter has a well-documented history of allowing antisemitic posts on its platform. There are numerous examples that have remained on the forum even after they were reported to moderators: from anti-Jewish memes to 9/11 conspiracy theories that blame Jews for the horrific September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

During the 11-day conflict between Israel and Hamas that erupted in May, anti-Jewish sentiment on Twitter was rampant. According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which works to combat antisemitism and extremism, there were 17,000 tweets posted between May 7 and May 14 that used the phrase “Hitler was right” or similar variations thereof.

The proliferation of antisemitism on Twitter can spill over into real life with very real consequences for Jewish people, particularly those who have been physically attacked.

Jews in the United States were targeted during and after the Israel-Hamas conflict, with the ADL registering a 75 percent increase in reports of antisemitism, which includes acts of vandalism, harassment or assault. ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt described the development as a “dangerous and drastic surge in anti-Jewish hate.”

Despite Twitter’s ostensible commitment to crack down on antisemitism and hate speech, it seems that not enough is being done. For example, former US Green Party Presidential Candidate Cynthia McKinney was widely criticized for posting a meme on June 28 that states “Zionists did it” alongside a picture of the former Twin Towers in New York City.
Austrian theater group reenacts a post-Holocaust escape in the Alps
Sidestepping a roaring waterfall and stumbling over rocks, an Austrian amateur theater group reenacts the treacherous Alpine escape of thousands of Jews seeking a new home after the Holocaust.

Surrounded by Austria’s snow-capped peaks, two dozen spectators hike alongside lay actors who perform scenes based on the real experiences of as many as 8,000 Holocaust survivors who traversed the Alps to reach the Italian harbor of Genoa, where they hoped to board ships to Palestine in 1947.

“The special thing about the play is that you experience it and you get an idea of what people went through back then,” says actor Celine Nerbl of the Pinzgau region group Teatro Caprile, which has been staging the theater hike in summer.

After the end of World War II, thousands remained stuck in camps for displaced Holocaust survivors in countries such as Austria, with little hope of starting a new life while antisemitism remained so deeply entrenched.

The Jewish flight aid organization Bricha smuggled groups of as many as 200 people on trucks via the camp “Givat Avoda,” which translates to “Hill of Labor,” in the Austrian town of Saalfelden, to Krimml from where they had to continue by foot.

It is here that the reenactment begins, and it is an emotional, eight-hour-long hike for participants.
Esther Bejarano, Auschwitz survivor who played in women's orchestra, dies at 96
Esther Bejarano, one of the last survivors of the women's orchestra at Auschwitz, who devoted her life to fighting antisemitism with music, died Saturday at the age of 96.

"Esther Bejarano survived Auschwitz because she played accordion in the camp's orchestra," tweeted Meron Mendel, head of the Anne Frank Education Centre. "She dedicated her life to music and to the fight against racism and antisemitism."

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas tweeted: "An important voice in the fight against racism and antisemitism has left us."

Born in the then-French-controlled German town of Sarrelouis in 1924, Bejarano was deported to the Nazi extermination camp in April 1943, before being transferred to another camp in Ravensbrueck in November of that same year. The Nazis murdered her parents and sister.

After the defeat of the Nazi regime in 1945, Bejarano moved to Israel (then, under British rule) and lived there for over a decade before returning to her native Germany.

With her daughter Edna and son Joram, Bejarano created the musical group "Coincidence," which sang songs from the ghetto and in Hebrew as well as anti-fascist songs. She was also the co-founder and chairman of the International Auschwitz Committee and honorary chairperson of the Union of Persecutees of the Nazi Regime.

Bejarano was also awarded, among other things, the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.


In emotional sendoff, IDF praised for 'unrelenting dedication' in Surfside
The Israel Defense Forces search and rescue team that arrived in South Florida shortly after the Champlain Towers South collapsed last month was heading home Sunday after an emotional sendoff in Surfside.

During a brief ceremony on Saturday evening, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava thanked the battalion for their "unrelenting dedication" and presented them with an honorary "key to the county."

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Chief Alan Cominsky honored the team as honorary members of his department.

Members of the task forces that have been searching the site 24 hours a day since the June 24 collapse lined both sides of the street, shaking hands and bidding farewell to the Israeli team.

On Saturday, officials raised the confirmed death toll to 86, with 43 people still missing in the rubble of the 12-story building. While authorities have concluded that there was "no chance of life" in the remaining rubble, the pressure remains for search crews to find victims so families can lay their loved ones to rest.







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