Monday, December 13, 2021

12/13 Links Pt2: Don’t be fooled. Zionism is an Indigenous rights movement and being anti-Zionist is antisemitic; Head of Israeli Army’s Rescue Team in Surfside, Fla., Plays ‘Hallelujah’ Tribute to Victims

From Ian:

Don’t be fooled. Zionism is an Indigenous rights movement and being anti-Zionist is antisemitic.
On Oct. 26, the San Diego Unified School District Board of Education passed a resolution condemning antisemitism, as it’s defined by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), and as requested by every synagogue and mainstream Jewish organization in San Diego. Since then, Israel-haters in San Diego have been wringing their virtual hands over the audacity of a school district to define antisemitism the way most Jews define it (in a state that over the previous five years saw a 40 percent increase in antisemitic hate crimes, and in a country where Jews are the targets of 60 percent of all faith-based hate crimes).

Recognizing they can’t simply say that they oppose such resolutions because Israel-haters want to exploit Jew-hatred in order to incite hatred against Israel (the world’s only Jewish state and home to nearly half of the world’s Jews), the Israel-haters wax apoplectic about how the IHRA definition “chills free speech” because it supposedly makes legitimate criticism of Israel antisemitic, is a tool for “weaponizing antisemitism,” and will somehow increase anti-Arab or anti-Muslim hatred.

I addressed why these claims are specious and themselves antisemitic in an an essay last month.

Likely because the IHRA definition in pertinent part provides it is antisemitic to deny “the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor,” we are seeing claims that being “anti-Zionist” is not antisemitic, as well as claims by Israel-haters actually comparing Zionism with racist colonialist ideologies like “Manifest Destiny” (which was used to justify America’s westward expansion and brutal conquest of Native Americans).

These claims are false and also incredibly insulting to the vast majority of Jews, who either are Israeli or feel a very strong attachment to Israel. Moreover, these claims get to the core of why the Arab-Israeli conflict persists, and why, despite at least eight different peace and partition offers since 1937 (to create the first independent Arab state west of the Jordan River), no such offer has ever been accepted.

While the Israel-haters try to redefine Zionism to make it seem somehow equivalent to colonialist ideologies like Manifest Destiny, the truth is that the definition of Zionism is quite simple: Zionism is the belief that the Jewish people, like all other peoples, have a right to self-determination and sovereignty in part of their Indigenous homeland.
Double-Edged Antisemitism
The Oct. 9, 1982 Palestinian terrorist attack on the Great Synagogue of Rome, in which killed two-year-old Stefano Gaj Tachè was killed, and the blood of 37 others who were wounded flowed on the stones of the building that should have been the safest refuge for Jews in the Italian capital, was a double slap in the face — not only by the murderers, but by those who didn’t lift a finger to defend their victims.

According to a front-page story last week in the left-leaning Italian daily, Il Riformista, Italian authorities had been warned that an attack against Jews or Israelis was being planned. Though documents cited in the story show that Francesco Cossiga — prime minister of the Italian Republic from 1979-1980, and president from 1985-1992 — had decried it at the time, numerous documents from more than fifteen years ago show that no one ever bothered to investigate the matter further. The implication is that there had been a political agreement between former Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti and Palestinian organizations, which had requested that they be given a free hand against Jews and Israelis on Italian soil in exchange for a vow not to assault “innocent” Italians (i.e. non-Jews).

Though such a promise meant nothing, as Palestinian terrorists hadn’t taken into account the identity of “innocent” Italians when they attacked Rome’s Fiumicino airport in 1973 (killing 34); the 1985 highjacking of the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro; or the 1985 twin attacks on the Rome and Vienna airports (killing 19).

Nevertheless, it was clear that Jewish blood was still a bargaining chip, even after the not-so-distant Holocaust, and after the Ghetto of Rome had been marked forever by the deportations of 1943. Indeed, the above terrorist attacks were simply part and parcel of the “next round.” And the same were once again stained with Jewish blood.

During the year of the attack on the Great Synagogue, PLO chief Yasser Arafat addressed the Italian Chamber of Deputies armed with a pistol. Andreotti, the godfather of the parliament’s pro-Arab policy, had allowed him to do so; and only Giovanni Spadolini of Italy’s Republican Party opposed the event.
The luxury beliefs of Western anti-Zionists
Rob Henderson, an Asian-American Air Force veteran and Ph.D. candidate at the University of Cambridge, has defined “luxury beliefs” broadly as opinions that confer social status on Western elites at very little cost, while taking a toll on those actually impacted by such ideas. One example cited by Henderson, who grew up poor, neglected and in and out of foster care, is the trendy Defund the Police movement, which is supported significantly more by the wealthy than the poor – and is overwhelmingly rejected by African Americans.

This is not surprising as it is the latter who suffered the most when the woke BLM-inspired slogan following the murder of George Floyd was, was, to varying degrees, actually implemented into policy. Major cuts to the budgets of police forces in major cities like Los Angeles, Minneapolis and Philadelphia led to a dramatic increases in crime – particularly homicides – against African Americans.

Western ant-Zionism, which is increasingly in vogue not only on the far-left, but within major media outlets as well, is similarly a luxury idea – one that is dangerously divorced from the millions of lives who would be impacted by such a ‘solution’ to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Whilst the chances of Israel agreeing, or being forced at the point of a gun, to accept the end of Jewish sovereignty in their historic homeland are inestimably low, the injurious impact of such luxury beliefs is still quite real.

The promotion by pro-Palestinian activists of an non-Zionist future, which represents an existential threat for Israeli Jews, also does grave harm to Palestinians, as it nurtures false hope that they don’t need to bother with the nitty-gritty work of negotiations, compromise and (badly needed) institution-building to ameliorate the conflict, but instead can just wait Zionism out – what former Guardian journalist David Hearst once admiringly referred to using the Arabic word Sumud, meaning steadfastness or staying power.


Progressive Democrat Blasts BDS, LGBTQ Activists Who Defend Hamas Terror Group That ‘Murders LGBTQ People’
Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) blasted the “antisemitic double standard” Israel is held to by the left and accused the radical anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement of “inflicting” “stupidity, moral bankruptcy, and absurdity” on American politics as LGBTQ activists “defend a terrorist organization that systematically murders LGBTQ people.”

Appearing at the Israeli American Council’s (IAC) national summit in Florida on Saturday, Torres weighed in on attacks on the Jewish state, calling for the BDS movement to be “relegated to the fringes of American politics” as he described the “heavy political price” of supporting Israel as a progressive Democrat in New York City.

Support for Israel
After announcing plans to travel to Israel as a New York City Council member, he described being “struck” by all the vitriol directed against him.

“I was accused of betraying my race, supporting an apartheid state; I was accused of pinkwashing — which is a term I had never heard before — and there were a set of pro-BDS activists who held a rally on the steps of City Hall specifically demonizing me,” he said.

He noted witnessing an LGBTQ activist with a shirt reading “Queers for Palestine” and asking her opinion on the Hamas terrorist group.

“She said, ‘I support Hamas because Hamas represents the liberation of the Palestinian people,’” he said, “and at that moment I found myself in a state of shock.”

“For a moment I thought I was hallucinating,” he continued, “but I said to myself, the fact that an LGBTQ activist could defend a terrorist organization that systematically murders LGBTQ people — that to me is as definitive a sign as any of the stupidity and moral bankruptcy and absurdity that BDS has inflicted on American politics.”

He also described the challenge of supporting Israel as a progressive Democrat in New York City.

“If you’re a Republican, it’s easy to be pro-Israel; if you’re a moderate Democrat in a moderate district, it’s still easy to be pro-Israel,” he said. “But if you are a progressive Democrat in New York City, you have to pay a heavy political price.”

That price, according to Torres, includes harassment and even death threats.

“I’ve had to face intimidation and harassment on Twitter. I’ve had to face death threats. I’m likely to face a primary challenge because of my positions,” he said, though he added, “I’m convinced I’m doing the right thing and I’m going to [continue to do so].”


CAIR supports member that said 'Zionist synagogues' behind Islamophobia
After the outrage following remarks by CAIR San Francisco executive-director Zahra Billoo – who said that Jewish Zionist organizations are “enemies” who are part of a conspiracy behind Islamaphobia – the Council on American-Islamic Relations came out in support of Billoo on Saturday and defended her speech as misquoted.

After Billoo’s address at the American Muslims for Palestine’s (AMP) Annual Convention for Palestine on November 27, “anti-Muslim websites misquoted Zahra’s remarks and falsely claimed that she had discouraged Muslims from working with Jewish groups at-large,” CAIR said in a statement on Saturday.

“This is a blatant lie,” CAIR said. “In fact, Zahra praised the many Jewish activists and groups that support human rights for all people, including Palestinians, and specifically encouraged Muslims to engage in interfaith collaboration with Jewish organizations such as IfNotNow and Jewish Voice for Peace. We strongly condemn this online smear campaign against our sister and colleague, Zahra Billoo.”

CAIR said that they would “continue to proudly stand by Zahra and all American Muslim leaders who face smears and threats because they dare to express an opinion about Palestinian human rights.”

CAIR blasted ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt – whose organization was listed as an “enemy” by Billoo – for his response to Billoo’s remarks, in which he stated that her speech “is textbook vile, antisemitic, conspiracy-laden garbage attacking the mainstream US Jewish community. It sounds like something you would expect from white supremacists.”
Police find no evidence of anti-Muslim slur during Oxford Street hate incident
The Met Police has found no evidence of the BBC's claim that an anti-Muslim slur was voiced by one of the victims of the antisemitic abuse incident on Oxford Street two weeks ago, a police source has told the Campaign Against Antisemitism.

The revelation will place the BBC under intense pressure as it continues to refuse to retract the allegations and apologise.

The police finding comes as the BBC faces a protest by the Jewish community this evening over its coverage of the abuse.

Shocking video footage of a group of men giving Nazi salutes and spitting at Jewish teenagers as the celebrated the first night of Chanukah stunned the Jewish community and prompted a police hunt for the perpetrators.

But successive BBC reports alleged one of the victims can be heard saying an anti-Muslim slur, with one TV report going as far as suggesting the victims may have provoked the verbal assault.

The Campaign Against Antisemitism said the Met Police had closed that part of the investigation and found no evidence to support the BBC’s claim.

The CAA has organised a demonstration outside the BBC’s Broadcasting House in London tonight in protest over coverage it branded “appalling” and “outrageous”.
BBC R4 promotes speculation on 'plans to bomb Iran'
Listeners to the December 10th edition of BBC Radio 4’s ‘Today’ programme heard an item (from 1:36:15 here) which was introduced by presenter Justin Webb as being about a “dangerous and potentially destabilising military clash”.

Webb: “How close is the world to another potential conflagration – another dangerous and potentially destabilising military clash? This one not over Taiwan or Ukraine but over Iran. There are reports of high-level talks between Israel and the United States about plans to bomb Iran if the talks that have been going on over its nuclear programme fail.”

Webb refrained from identifying the reports upon which his dramatic claim about “plans to bomb Iran” were based but previously Reuters had reported that:
“U.S. and Israeli defense chiefs are expected on Thursday to discuss possible military exercises that would prepare for a worst-case scenario to destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities should diplomacy fail and if their nations’ leaders request it, a senior U.S. official told Reuters.”

In other words, the ‘Today’ programme’s framing turned discussions about “possible military exercises that would prepare for a worst-case scenario” into “high-level talks…about plans to bomb Iran”.

Having described “the signals being sent from Vienna” – where talks between Iran and JCPOA partners are taking place – as “pretty dire”, Webb brought in the BBC’s chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet and asked her “what progress, if any, has been made” in those talks.

Doucet had no concrete information to provide to BBC audiences on that topic but also went on to reference unidentified “reports”.
i news corrects claim that filmed Jerusalem terror attack is only an 'allegation'
Last week, we posted about an op-ed at i news by Yasmin Alibhai-Brown which included a myriad of distortions, including the following about a recent Jerusalem terror attack:
Last Sunday, a Palestinian man was reportedly shot dead by Israeli soldiers while he lay injured on the ground. Medics were not allowed to approach the man, who, the soldiers allege, had carried out a knife attack.

As we noted in our post, and in a complaint to i news editors, Border Police don’t merely “allege” that the Palestinian man, Muhammad Salima, carried out a potentially deadly knife attack, there’s a video to prove it.

Editors upheld our complaint, and revised the sentence accordingly:
Last weekend, a Palestinian man who had carried out a knife attack was shot dead by Israeli soldiers while he lay injured on the ground Medics were not allowed to approach the man.

The following addendum was added at the bottom:




80 years ago this month, Nazis invented ‘industrial murder’ at quiet Chelmno
When the Nazi death camp Chelmno began operations 80 years ago this month, a new phase of the Holocaust was launched in a small Polish village along the Vistula River.

At Chelmno, home to 35 families, the German SS pioneered methods of mass murder later deployed at death camps including Auschwitz-Birkenau. Known as Kulmhof in German, the killing site was also home to experiments in corpse disposal on an industrial scale.

In the Reichsgau — or Nazi-made administrative subdivision — of Warthegau, which surrounded Chelmno and included industrial Lodz, the Germans played elaborate shell games to deceive victims and bystanders. Tactics included issuing contradictory messages and forcing victims to send postcards with fake destinations.

“The SS covered up where the Jews were going to,” said historian Nicholas Terry, a senior lecturer in history at the University of Exeter. “The theme of deception and secrecy allows us to see what it meant for the perpetrators, the bystanders, and the victims.”

The first Jews gassed at Chelmno were deported from provincial ghettos during early December 1941. For many months into 1942, most Jews in the Warthegau region’s 57 ghettos believed deportees were headed for labor and resettlement.

Among Nazi death camps, Chelmno was the first to deploy gas. Inside custom-rigged “mobile killing vans,” vehicle exhaust was funneled into a sealed compartment where up to 50 victims were packed. At least 172,000 Jews were murdered at Chelmno during two periods of the camp’s operation, as well as 5,000 Roma and Sinti people.
French WWII memorial vandalized with graffiti against COVID passport
A memorial to French World War II soldiers and Resistance fighters has been vandalized with an anti-health pass slogan, authorities said Monday, in what President Emmanuel Macron called an “insult” to the nation’s memory.

The Mont Valerien monument in Suresnes, west of Paris, was vandalized with “Anti Pass” painted in large letters, with the style of the double-s reminiscent of that used by Nazis for their SS inscriptions, authorities said.

The inscription on the monument — which was inaugurated in 1960 by then-president Charles de Gaulle — is 50 meters (164 feet) long, they said.

Macron on Monday called the act “an insult to the memory of our heroes and the memory of the nation.”

In a tweet, he said that “to sully this sacred place of the republic is to violate what unites us. The perpetrators will be found and put on trial.”

France requires a health pass — proof of vaccination, COVID recovery, or a negative test result — for access to restaurants and cafes, public transport and cultural venues, a requirement that sparked major protests last summer.
Cambs neo-Nazi Covid conspiracy theorist spread antisemitic hoax theories
A Cambridgeshire neo-Nazi coronavirus conspiracy theorist spread antisemitic hoax theories and referred to himself as a National Socialist.

Matthew Henegan, 36, has been found guilty of stirring up racial hatred on the internet and also in leaflets posted to residents of St Neots at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in March last year.

He also repeatedly used a “grossly offensive” term for Jewish people and falsely claimed they controlled the news about coronavirus.

Cambridgeshire Police became aware of the material in mid-March last year after residents reported receiving “offensive and antisemitic” leaflets through their doors.

Links were found in the documents to racially inflammatory video and audio files posted by Henegan online.

Police searched Henegan's home and seized a large stash of leaflets, a homemade swastika and swastika armband, reports PA.

'Coronavirus Hoax supplement' was one document which Henegan posted online on March 9 last year and viewed 95 times.
Worcester firefighter investigated for alleged antisemitic message online
A city investigation is focused on a Worcester firefighter who allegedly made an antisemitic Instagram post that connected President Joe Biden to the Holocaust and Adolf Hitler.

Chris Winterborne faces potential punishment for the post that reportedly shows Biden standing behind a podium with a swastika. A Hitler-like mustache and a Nazi armband are added to Biden’s image.

Text with the image said, “This is what you f****ing idiots voted for!”

The Instagram account has been deleted. The office of District Attorney Joseph D. Early, Jr. is not involved in the investigation, a spokeswoman said.

In a prepared statement, City Manager Edward M. Augustus, Jr. condemned the image.

“The City of Worcester denounces racism and intolerance in all forms,” the statement reads. “We vehemently reject the hateful message conveyed in the post made on social media. This post in no way reflects the position of the City of Worcester or its fire department.

“It is contrary to the values and mission of both the City of Worcester and the Worcester Fire Department.
33 unicorns and $25b in funding: Israeli tech sector sets new records in 2021
Israel’s tech sector is wrapping up a record year in 2021, with startups raising an astonishing $25 billion in funding from January through November, and 33 companies entering the unicorn club of private firms valued at over $1 billion, according to a report published Monday by Start-Up Nation Central (SNC).

The value of capital investments represented a 136% increase in equity funding over 2020, itself a record year with over $10 billion capital raised. Funding in Israeli startups and companies was 71% more than the global average, and 78% more than in US companies, according to the report, which examined comparative data compiled by research firm Pitchbook.

These record-setting numbers are a “reflection of global trends that are not necessarily Israel-specific, like the rise in investments in technologies, partially as a result of COVID-19 and the lessons of how much digital innovation and tech are key components of a strong and robust industry… but the numbers in Israel are stronger than the average,” Start-Up Nation Central CEO Avi Hasson told The Times of Israel in an interview Monday.

Indeed, global venture funding has reached all-time highs in 2021, with roughly $500 billion invested in companies worldwide so far this year, compared to over $330 billion in all of 2020. Larger funding rounds of $100 million or more dominated the global tech industry, with all funding stages seeing significant growth, according to Crunchbase data.

This was true in Israel as well, where the number of mega-rounds reached 74, more than double last year’s number, according to the SNC report. These larger rounds amounted to $14.77 billion in funding so far in 2021, more than half the total amount for the year and up 310% from an accumulated $3.6 billion last year. In addition, the median round size rose from $6 million in 2020 to $14 million in 2021.
Israeli Firm Uses Air and Water to Store Solar Energy for Nighttime
The southern tip of Israel is a rocky desert where solar panels are abundant and the sun, when shining, is the source of nearly all electricity. Once it sets, however, the grid shifts back to fossil fuels to generate power.

Renewable energy from solar and wind powered systems cannot be stored without extra cost – a major obstacle in the world’s efforts to tear itself away from polluting fuels and avoid a climate catastrophe.

But at Kibbutz Yahel, a small community not far from the Red Sea where a sweet variety of dates called Medjool is grown, residents have started using a new technology that can store solar energy cheaply and produce power well into the night.

During the day, excess energy from solar panels drive a system where water is used to condense air in underground tanks. After sundown that air is released to power a turbine and generate electricity. And the cycle repeats in the morning.

“Other kibbutzim are waiting and watching to see if this works, and certainly it could become the green energy storage solution for the area,” said Yossi Amiel, Yahel’s business manager.

The system was developed by Augwind Energy, a company traded in Tel Aviv with a market cap of$386 million.

Unlike above-ground platforms that work with condensed air and require significant real estate, the company says its product, a relatively thin steel tank with a special polymer lining, can be placed right at the power source and at a lower cost.
Miss India Wins Miss Universe Title in Eilat
Harnaaz Sandhu of India was crowned the 70th Miss Universe in Eilat, Israel, on Sunday.

This is the first time the Miss Universe competition has been hosted by Israel. The event was broadcast live to over 600 million viewers in 172 countries in English, with a parallel broadcast in Spanish.

Sandhu was crowned by the previous winner, Andrea Meza of Mexico. Sandhu said she felt “overwhelmed because it’s been 21 years since India got [the] Miss Universe crown and it’s happening right now,” The Associated Press reported. Miss Paraguay was the runner-up.

Israel had been on the shortlist of countries to host the competition “due to its rich history, beautiful landscapes, myriad of cultures and appeal as a global tourist destination,” said Paula M. Shugart, president of the Miss Universe Organization, which runs the competition, according to the report.

Israeli Tourism Minister Yoel Razvozov said in an Israeli government press statement in October that the Jewish state needs to present itself “as a vaccination nation that invites tourists to visit. The ‘Miss Universe’ pageant is, without doubt, an important and significant anchor of this plan.”

There had been some controversy over Israel hosting the pageant, with anti-Israel protesters condemning the move.

The South African government withdrew its support for its contestant because she refused to abide by a boycott against Israel. The contestant, Lalela Mswane, decided to compete despite pressure to withdraw, finishing as second runner-up.

The previous Miss Universe had spoken against the pressure on contestants to boycott the beauty pageant last month.

“Everyone with different beliefs, with different backgrounds, with different cultures—they all come together and when you are in there you forget about politics, about your religion,” Meza told the AP on Nov. 17 ahead of a tour of Jerusalem’s Old City.


Head of Israeli Army’s Rescue Team in Surfside, Fla., Plays ‘Hallelujah’ Tribute to Victims
The Israeli commander of a search-and-rescue team that came to help following a condominium collapse in Surfside, Fla., this past summer stunned an audience on Thursday night by performing “Hallelujah” in tribute to the tragedy’s 98 victims and their loved ones.

Col. Golan Vach, who led the Israel Defense Forces’ National Rescue Unit’s operation in Surfside starting on June 27, played guitar and harmonica to accompany Canadian-Israeli indie singer Nicole Raviv—the official National Anthem performer for the New York Islanders—at the opening plenary of the Israeli-American Council 2021 National Summit, which took place Dec. 9-11 at the Diplomat Hotel in Hollywood, Fla.

Ahead of the surprise performance, Miami-Dade County Chief Public Safety Officer J.D. Patterson presented Vach with an official proclamation as “a form of gratitude and praise” that June 27 will be “Miami-Dade Israel Friendship Day” in honor of the unit’s efforts at the condo collapse site.

Before performing, Vach, who is the grandson of Holocaust survivors, noted that his team’s work in the Miami area marked the first time ever that the United States allowed a foreign army to operate on its soil in a humanitarian assistance mission. He then dedicated the song to the Surfside victims, families and loved ones.









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