Monday, February 28, 2022
Blogger ‘Elder of Ziyon’ Reveals His Protocols
“As long as there have been Jews,” the blogger Elder of Ziyon observes in his new book, “there has been Jew-hatred.” His new book, “Protocols: Exposing Modern Antisemitism,” chronicles the many ways in which the virus of antisemitism has mutated.New Zealand’s Jewish problem
Elder’s blog has been widely acclaimed — and for good reason. In addition to his scoops, his work is consistently well researched, well sourced, and well written. His book, thankfully, is no different.
The last several years have seen a renewed interest, both academically and popularly, in the subject of antisemitism. And not without reason — antisemitism has skyrocketed in the West, much of it dressed up as anti-Zionism, a more socially acceptable form of hate.
Yet, as Elder makes clear, there is no difference between the two.
“People don’t hate Israel and Zionism because of Zionist philosophy or Israeli government actions,” he observes. Rather, they “hate Israel because it is Jewish.” This might seem obvious to some, but regrettably it is far from obvious to our Congressional representatives in the “Squad” or their apologists in the press, among others.
As George Orwell once observed, “To see what is in front of one’s nose needs a constant struggle.” And in this, Elder’s new book offers an important contribution.
The writing is clear and concise, and the arguments are cogently made. Nearly every chapter contains a quotable line or thought. And there is an admirable bluntness to the points that he makes.
New Zealand, Australia’s South Pacific neighbour, is a nation boasting of magnificent fjords, snow-capped mountains and pristine forests. Its indigenous Maori people have inhabited the country for approximately 1000 years. In 1769, Captain James Cook mapped the islands, now known as New Zealand, which was followed by the arrival of explorers, missionaries and sailors. The 1840 Treaty of Waitangi, ensured Maoris were given rights in this new addition to the British Empire. This was followed by extensive British settlement over the remainder of the 19th century. About 1.3 million people immigrated in 1907 which was the peak year for new arrivals.Holocaust Museum in Indonesia Highlights Internal Muslim Disputes
Some Nazi war criminals, escaping justice in Europe after WW2, settled in New Zealand. New Zealand now champions human rights, but has refused to open files on its Nazi fugitive immigrants. One fugitive Jonas Pukas, served as a machine gunner with the 12th Lithuanian Police Battalion which massacred tens of thousands of Jews. Pukas settled in Auckland in 1950 and reportedly smiled as he described Jews “screaming like geese” and how they “flew into the air as they were shot.”
Another immigrant was Willi Huber, who had served in the ruthless Waffen SS. Huber remarked in an interview with police detective Wayne Stringer, that Hitler was “very clever” and that he had no inkling of the massacre of Jews in Poland and Russia where he served, despite the Waffen SS being pivotal in the extermination of Jewish communities. Huber never expressed remorse and in fact was honoured by having a ski run, restaurant and commemorative plaque at Mt Hutt named after him.
New Zealand (NZ) does not invest in Holocaust education, is not a member of the IHRA and also has not adopted the IHRA definition of antisemitism as other democracies have.
Canterbury University located in the city of Christchurch, accepted a Master’s thesis that concluded “the Nazis did not exterminate Jews in gas chambers or have extermination policies as such.”
A proponent of humanitarian Islam, Staquf joined global leaders in commemorating the United Nations’ International Holocaust Remembrance Day last month.
“Holocaust remembrance serves as a memorial and vivid reminder of the cruelty, violence, and suffering that so many human beings … have, for thousands of years, inflicted upon others. Today, in remembrance of the Holocaust and its millions of victims, Nahdlatul Ulama and I wish to raise our voices in a simple, heartfelt call: Let us choose compassion,’” Staquf said, in a virtual event co-hosted by the Los Angeles-based Simon Wiesenthal Center.
Unlike the Indonesian council, Staquf did not shy away from recognizing the genocide against the Jews while at the same time demanding justice for the Palestinians.
“Palestinian self-determination is a humanitarian mandate. All parties, including Hamas, Fatah, and the world community at large, must set aside their subjective interests and focus upon improving the lives of the Palestinian people,” Staquf said.
The divergence in approach between Satquf and the Indonesian Council spokesmen is about much more than the Palestinian issue. It is about what the essence of Islam should be an Islam that looks backward and nurtures grievances, or an Islam that seeks to reach out, build bridges, and find solutions.
The Jordanian woman who bombed Sbarro has earned another title
The latest Tamimi 'honor' came at the end of 2021 and has gotten surprisingly little media attention. Or perhaps not so surprising.Israel’s Omicron exit: COVID rules rolled back; expert sees ‘no cloud on horizon’
That's when Tamimi was included in the annual edition of The Top 20 Most Dangerous Extremists Around the World. The Counter Extremism Project which produces the list is
"a not-for-profit, non-partisan, international policy organization formed to combat the growing threat from extremist ideologies... [It] builds a more moderate and secure society by educating the public, policymakers, the private sector, and civil society actors about the threat of extremism. CEP also formulates programs to sever the financial, recruitment, and material support networks of extremist groups and their leaders."
Positions 1, 2 and 3 are occupied by the heads of Hezbollah, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and Hamas. In giving her position 18, CEP accurately calls Tamimi "unrepentant for her actions" and notes she has
exploited media platforms to promote violence against Jewish people, Israel, and its allies. In an interview, al-Tamimi even went so far as to say, “I would do it again today and in the same manner.”
CEP says 2022 will bring new and highly dangerous threats. And that political leaders need to recognize this and ensure that intelligence services are prepared, resourced, and funded to match the danger.
Sounds right.
Israel’s two-year-long pandemic-induced national state of emergency will end on Tuesday, as cases are plummeting, hospital wards emptying out, and a top expert says that “there is no cloud on the horizon, for now.”10 arrested, 14 injured in clashes at Jerusalem’s Damascus gate on Islamic holy day
Prof. Nadav Katz, part of an interdisciplinary team at Hebrew University that has modeled statistics throughout the pandemic, told The Times of Israel on Sunday: “The numbers are falling as we expected and hoped, and it’s very clear that we are well past the crest of the wave.”
Numbers will continue to fall and even though there are new variants, none of them represent a “cloud on the horizon” that is expected to batter Israel’s newly bolstered immunity, he said.
After so many people got infected by Omicron, experts, including those on Katz’s team, expect that widespread immunity will reinforce vaccine immunity to protect Israel from a large outbreak in the near future, even with new variants.
Israel will repeal most coronavirus regulations on Tuesday, as the country transitions from a “state of emergency” to a “special health situation.” The most notable of these are travel restrictions.
Under the new guidelines, both vaccinated and unvaccinated tourists of all ages will be allowed into the country, as long as they submit a negative PCR test before boarding the flight and take another one after landing in Israel. Citizens will no longer need to test before returning home (though it’s suspected that some airlines will still insist on a test); they will need to test upon arrival.
The requirement for children in middle school and high school to take regular antigen tests at home will end, and it will be canceled for younger children on March 10.
Palestinians and Israeli police clashed near Damascus Gate on Monday afternoon as Palestinians gathered in Jerusalem for an Islamic holiday, leading to 20 arrests, Israeli police said.
In videos from the scene, police could be seen dispersing groups of Palestinians with stun grenades and blasts of acrid-smelling high pressure water from cannons. Dozens of passersby, including women, children and and a man in a wheelchair, fled for cover.
Around 25 Palestinians were injured during the clashes, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent. An 11-year-old Palestinian girl was rushed to Jerusalem’s Hadassah Ein Karem hospital after her face was smashed in by a police stun grenade, according to witnesses.
According to police, Palestinians had “chanted incitement and threw stones and bottles at police on the scene.” A spokesperson for Jerusalem police did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the wounded 11-year-old girl.
“Police forces have acted these past few hours to protect public order and prevent rioting,” an Israel Police spokesperson said.
Thousands of Palestinians had gathered in the Old City entryway to celebrate al-Israa wa al-Miraj. The holiday celebrates the miraculous “night journey” of Islam’s prophet, Mohammad, from Mecca to Jerusalem.
PMW: Abbas: “Christians and Muslims fight their enemy” – Israel, to rid the land of its Jews PA Chairman Abbas has stated that Christians and Muslims are united in “fighting” against the common “enemy” – i.e., Israel. He reiterated a common PA libel that Israel's goal is to “empty the land” of Christians and Muslims, and therefore they must join forces in getting rid of the Jews – because Christians and Muslims “have been the owners of this land since this land’s existence”:
PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas: “We know that the prime Zionist goal is emptying this land of its Christians and Muslims. They [the Jews] don’t want anyone here other than themselves. The Christians before the Muslims, because the Christians were here on this land before the Muslims… the Christian is the brother of the Muslim. They celebrate together, suffer together, live together, work together, and fight together against their enemy, because we have been the owners of this land since this land’s existence… We will remain in this land forever, while the attackers [the Jews] have no place in Jerusalem and no place here.”
[Official PA TV News, Jan. 17, 2022]
The idea and goal that Israel will come to an end is pronounced in PA ideology and PA teachings. Recently Palestinian Media Watch exposed this in its report on Fatah’s Waed magazine for young children, ages 6-15. One of the central teachings in the magazine is that “Palestine” will inevitably replace all of Israel.
Waed teaches Palestinian children that they are descendants of a “Palestinian-Arab-Canaanite” people who existed “5,000 years ago,” or “perhaps 10,000 years ago.” (Waed, Issue 37, pp. 13 and 22). On the other hand, Jews, who have a rich and well-documented history in the land over thousands of years are said to have never been in the land of Israel: “[Israelis are] foreigners who did not know Palestine and did not live in it – neither them nor their fathers and forefathers.” (Waed, Issue 36, p. 2)
Abbas’ statement above, made at a meeting in Ramallah with Greek Orthodox Patriarch in Jerusalem Theophilos III, joins his and other PA officials’ numerous previous statements denying Jewish history in “Palestine.” A similar recent statement was made by PA Shari’ah Judge Abdallah Harb, who claimed Israelis/Jews are “liars” who invented a narrative and brought in archaeologists to prove a Jewish presence in the land but “didn’t succeed” because “they are the people of falsification and untruth”:
"Source: US's Palestinian Affairs Unit in Jerusalem Acts as Consulate ‘For All Intents and Purposes’
The Palestinian Authority (PA) has again demanded that the US fulfill its promise and open a consulate in Jerusalem designated for PA Arabs. During a meeting between PA Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh and a delegation of members of Congress in Ramallah last week, Shtayyeh demanded the opening of the consulate “to promote a two-state solution.”Hamas, Hezbollah Leaders Meet in Lebanon to Discuss Israel
A Palestinian Authority source now says that although a date has not yet been set for the official opening of the American Consulate in Jerusalem, the Palestinian Affairs Unit (PAU) headed by George Noll actually serves as a consulate for all intents and purposes.
With the closure of the consulate on Agron Street and its merger with the embassy in Jerusalem, the consulate became a Palestinian Affairs Unit. It has been subordinate to the embassy since it moved to Jerusalem, but in recent months the PAU, which continues to operate from its headquarters on Agron Street in western Jerusalem, has become a consulate for all intents and purposes, according to the Palestinian Authority source.
For example, George Knoll reports directly to the State Department and is no longer subordinate to the ambassador, as he was in the days of David Friedman. This allows the US to receive independent reports that are not subject to the ambassador’s review and are supposed to reflect “the Palestinian reality.”
Noll pursues an independent policy in accordance with Washington’s guidelines vis-à-vis the Palestinian Authority leadership and has held numerous meetings in Ramallah with representatives from the various Arab sectors and organizations. Recently he met with the heads of the churches in eastern Jerusalem, who are conducting a fierce campaign against Israel.
A Hamas delegation met with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon on Saturday.Israel seizes cryptocurrency earmarked for Hamas
The delegation was headed by the head of the Gaza-based terrorist organization’s political bureau, Saleh al-Arouri, and deputy Hamas leader in Gaza Khalil al-Hayya. According to recent reports, al-Hayya’s standing within the terrorist group is on the rise. Al-Arouri is responsible for Hamas’ terrorist attacks in Judea and Samaria.
Hezbollah-affiliated media outlets reported that the sides discussed the recent developments in the Palestinian arena, namely events in the eastern Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah. The sides also reportedly discussed the future of the conflict with Israel and the political situation in the Middle East.
Several months ago, Hamas leader abroad Khaled Mashaal visited Lebanon in the aftermath of the Dec. 10 explosion at the Burj al-Shemali refugee camp near Tyre. Killed in the blast was a Hamas engineer named Hamza Ibrahim Shahine, whose funeral turned into a gun battle between gunmen from Fatah and Hamas, reportedly leaving three people dead. Mashaal didn’t meet with Nasrallah at the time, and the belief is that the Assad regime’s animosity toward several of Hamas’ leaders was the reason why.
Two months before the blast, the mosque at Burj al-Shemali was flagged as a main Hamas weapons manufacturing workshop in a detailed report by the Alma Research and Education Center, a security watchdog based in northern Israel.
Defense Minister Benny Gantz has signed a seizure order for tens of thousands of shekels in cryptocurrency from 12 digital accounts in violation of terror financing laws, the Defense Ministry announced on Monday.
According to the ministry, this is the third seizure of cryptocurrency so far this year.
Some 30 of the digital wallets seized belonged to businesses that assisted the Al Mutahadun currency-exchange company, owned by the Shamlach family from the Gaza Strip. Al Mutahadun is one of two companies designated in 2021 as terrorist organizations on the recommendation of the National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing (NBCTF) for their role in funneling funds to Hamas.
The Shamlach family's companies facilitate the transfer of tens of millions of dollars a year from Iran to Hamas, the Defense Ministry said, adding that some of the seized cryptocurrency belongs to the Shamlach family.
The seizure was a joint operation of the NBCTF, the national cyber unit of the Israel Police's Lahav 433 and the IDF Intelligence Directorate, the ministry said.
In a warning to the "Zionists enemy and its special forces" Katibat Jenin, a relatively new formation of Islamic Jihad fighters in the West Bank, published a video showing off some of their fighters carrying weapons and conducting attacks. pic.twitter.com/jSUsTlWmMe
— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) February 27, 2022
Quick reminder. Earlier this month - just a couple weeks ago, as Putin was on the brink of invading Ukraine - the Biden admin issued sanctions waivers so that Russia's state owned nuclear company could help Iran build up its nuclear program.
— Omri Ceren (@omriceren) February 27, 2022
Priorities. https://t.co/2EwnH3WiGV
PreOccupiedTerritory: Syrian Victims Of Putin Atrocities Just Accept They Don’t Deserve Same Support As Ukraine (satire)
Residents of this Arab Republic who lost loved ones to aerial bombing by Russia’s air force, or who suffered injury and displacement themselves as a result of such strikes, voiced their recognition this week that they occupy a lower rung on the ladder of humanity than the people of Kyiv, Kharkiv, and other such locales, and as such cannot expect massive demonstrations of resolve on the part of powerful nations and international alliances to defeat the author of the strikes, even though the author of the two campaigns is one and the same.US Jewish leaders are asleep on the job in the face of anti-Israel school curricula
In a series of interviews, victims of Russian bombing and ground-assault attacks from the air in Syria acknowledged Thursday their inferiority to the people of Ukraine, and how that inferiority underlies the disparate responses of the global community, principally the West and Europe, to support from those quarters, or lack thereof, for the different populations facing Putin’s aggression. Residents of Idlib, Hama, Aleppo, Palmyra, Homs, and other parts of Syria that have seen massive Russia-induced civilian casualties expressed their understanding that they must rank far below Ukrainians, whose suffering at least makes the news every day.
“At least Palestinians have the support of antisemites who astroturf that cause, because it opposes Jewish safety,” lamented an Idlib-area taxi driver who can no longer work because he lost his legs in a Russian airstrike. “I get that we don’t rate as high as Ukrainians; but it grates on me that Palestinians and ‘pro-Palestinians’ take images of our suffering here in Syria and label it as Zionist atrocities. You’d think a legitimate cause wouldn’t have to invent its suffering.”
Massachusetts Jews are facing a storm of institutionalized animus as anti-Israel curricula are spreading to public schools statewide. Jewish leaders in the Bay State know about these developments, but to date have not told their constituents.Is Intersectionality Anti-Semitic?
In an Feb. 1 article, I described how state-wide guidelines about teaching the Middle East had been changed in 2018 to tilt heavily against Israel. Massachusetts public-school teachers were told to instruct their students, among other things, about “Palestinian loss of land and the creation of refugees by Israeli military action,” and that there had been a “diverse mix of cultures (e.g. Jews, Palestinians and Arabs of Christian, Jewish, Muslim and Druze backgrounds) in the region in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.”
In their opposition to a case I filed to take anti-Israel bias out of the curricula in Newton, lawyers for the Massachusetts Teachers Union argued that these lessons were taught pursuant to the state’s standards and that they are required by law. If, indeed, the standards are followed, they will ensure that children across the state are indoctrinated to believe that indigenous Palestinians were driven out of their homes by the Israeli army, and that Israel is continuing this ethnic cleansing today.
It was disconcerting to learn that when asked about how to fix these standards, Jewish leaders in Boston said that they were not aware of the anti-Israel changes.
Yet it was pursuant to this state-sanctioned, agenda-driven version of history that children in a Newton high school were shown the film “Ismail” on the school’s “Middle East day.”
The film’s opening scene depicts Nazi-like Israeli soldiers in 1948 force-marching Palestinians, with only the belongings they could carry, to refugee camps, all the while ordering them, imitating the Nazi “macht schnell!,” to move faster, mocking them and striking them with the butts of their rifles.
Intersectionality considers that various forms of discrimination are both unique in themselves and can manifest in ways that are more particular due to overlapping prejudices. For example, a Black woman might experience a particular form of racism in being Black, a different form of prejudice in being a woman, and yet a distinct form of bias in being both. It is a broad movement designed to make people consider various forms of biases as well as to create bonds of support between various groups suffering discrimination.No BBC news on Australia terror designation - again
It is therefore perplexing on its face, that antisemitism, the oldest and most pernicious form of hatred, is treated with such scorn among the proponents of intersectionality.
Consider the anti-Zionist fervor of the intersectionality preachers. The Democratic Socialists of America call Israel an “apartheid” state and its New York chapter demands that politicians refuse to visit the Jewish State.
Black Lives Matter condemns Israel’s “apartheid practices and settler colonial project” and both ignores Jewish history and human rights as it inverts attacker and victim in propaganda seemingly lifted from the terrorist group Hamas.
Even the founders of the Women’s March had strong ties to the infamous anti-Semite, Louis Farrakhan.
This alt-left noxious anti-Jewish and anti-Jewish State orientation has even permeated the mindset of progressive Jews.
At the University of Colorado Boulder, a South Asian Jew named Samira K. Mehta is launching a new program called “Jews of Color: Histories and Futures.” It seemingly binds together the most oppressed groups of all- Jews who are Black, Brown or Hispanic. According to the Brandeis Center, roughly 11% of American Jews are non-White, and a much higher 18% among Gen Z. It is therefore a very worthwhile effort.
In November of last year we noted that the BBC had failed to report Australia’s designation of the whole of Hizballah as a terrorist organisation:Pompeo slams Taylor-Greene for 'playing footsie' with 'anti-Semitic neo-Nazis'
BBC SILENT ON AUSTRALIA’S DESIGNATION OF HIZBALLAH
As reported by many international media agencies and outlets, on February 17th Australia’s Home Affairs minister announced the government’s intention to similarly designate the Hamas terrorist organisation in its entirety.
“The federal government will list the entirety of Palestinian group Hamas as a terrorist organisation, including its political wing.
The military wing of Hamas was already listed by Australia, but the federal government will now join the United Kingdom, the United States, Israel and others in extending the designation to the fundamentalist Islamic group’s political branch.”
Hamas’ response to that announcement included a warped interpretation of ‘international law’ and cited the recent ‘Amnesty International’ report alleging Israeli ‘apartheid’.
To date BBC audiences have not seen any mention whatsoever of that decision by the Australian government on the BBC News website’s ‘Australia’ page or under its ‘Hamas’ tag.
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo condemned Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) on Sunday for "playing footsie" with white nationalist Nick Fuentes, who hosted a conference she attended on Friday.Henry Ford’s antisemitic tract The International Jew is still available for purchase on WH Smith’s website, even after retailer promises to remove it
"Associating with anti-Semitic neo-Nazis is not consistent with the conservative values I've defended for decades. Representative Taylor-Greene playing footsie with Nick Fuentes and his splinter movement is shameful," Pompeo tweeted.
On Friday, Greene attended a white nationalist conference in Orlando, Fla., organized by Fuentes, a far-right podcaster who has made multiple antisemitic remarks. Greene later claimed to not know Fuentes's views and said she only attended to "talk to the audience."
Photos of the event showed Fuentes shaking Greene's hand. Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) also attended the event.
Pompeo has himself been accused of espousing racist rhetoric. One day before leaving office in 2021, Pompeo tweeted from his official account that "multiculturalism" was not "who America is," drawing swift criticism.
Henry Ford’s antisemitic tract, The International Jew: Jewish Influences in American Life, is still available for purchase on WH Smith’s website, even after the retailer promised to remove it.Painting sold to Amsterdam museum during WWII returned to Jewish heirs
We wrote to WH Smith, observing that “There is no disclaimer on your website explaining the antisemitic contents and history of the book. First published in the early 1920s, the book claimed that a vast Jewish conspiracy was infecting America and fuelled antisemitism there and around the world.
“Adolf Hitler was known to keep copies of The International Jew in his office. While Ford later publicly apologised for the book, antisemites continue to use his name to promote it.
“The basis for the book was the antisemitic hoax known as The Protocols of the Elders of Zion — which we have previously found for sale by your franchisees — it purported to be the minutes of a meeting of Jewish leaders, at which they supposedly discussed their plans for global domination. It was used by the Tsar’s secret police and later by the Nazis to justify brutality against Jews.”
WH Smith replied that “We have filters to remove these types of books from links to our third party fulfilment so I’m not sure how it got through. This book will be removed tomorrow.”
However, within a week, the book was again available on the website, and now, one month later, it is still available for purchase.
A prized Kandinsky painting sold to Amsterdam’s famous Stedelijk Museum during World War II has been returned to the heirs of its former Jewish owners, ending a nine-year-long saga, city officials said Monday.LinkedIn to Acquire Israeli Marketing Analytics Company Oribi for $80 Million
Wassily Kandinsky’s 1909 painting “Bild mit Haeusern” (Painting with Houses) was claimed by the descendants of Jewish art collector and modern art aficionado Emmanuel Lewenstein.
They said the painting was sold at auction to the museum under duress by Lewenstein’s son Robert and his wife Irma Klein in October 1940, five months after Germany invaded the Netherlands.
“Today the painting… has been transferred to the heirs of the Jewish former owners,” the city of Amsterdam said.
“The heirs and the municipality have, on the basis of mutual respect, reached a settlement agreement,” it said in a statement.
The heirs first lodged a claim in 2013, but the Dutch Restitutions Committee — which rules in cases of ownership of artifacts looted during Nazi occupation — rejected the attempt.
Microsoft-owned LinkedIn is acquiring Israeli marketing analytics platform Oribi for $80 million. Oribi develops technology to collect data on users’ online behavior, helping companies optimize their marketing campaigns. As part of the agreement, LinkedIn, which is the world’s largest professional network and is making its first acquisition of an Israeli company, will open a new center in Tel Aviv, which will initially number 50 employees, based on Oribi staff. The acquisition was led by Tomer Cohen, Chief Product Officer at LinkedIn.Israel picked to host first Ironman Middle East Championship
Founded in 2016 by Iris Shoor, Oribi has raised $27 million to date. In February of last year, it raised $15.5 million in a Series B investment round led by Ibex Investors and joined by MoreTech, as well as existing investment firms TLV Partners, S-Capital, and Sequoia.
“The acquisition of Oribi will allow us to provide our clients added value and maximize their return on investment,” Cohen told Calcalist. “This technology will allow our clients to analyze campaigns on Linkedin. I’m very excited to be opening an R&D center in Israel and I estimate that it will become a significant part of the company. Our activity in Israel will be completely separate from Microsoft.”
Oribi helps companies through advanced insight into the channels and messages that have the greatest impact on a prospect’s decision making, such as requesting a product demo or applying to a job posting. Through the integration of Oribi’s technology into LinkedIn’s marketing solutions platform, customers will benefit from enhanced campaign attribution to optimize the ROI of their advertising strategies.
Israel will host the inaugural edition of the IRONMAN Middle East Championship this November, the IRONMAN organization announced Monday.The rise and fall of the Sassoon dynasty
The first full-length Ironman Triathlon to take place in the Middle East is scheduled to kick off in Tiberias on Nov. 25, 2022 and will include 75 qualifying slots available for the 2023 Ironman World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, the organization said.
Honorary President of the Middle East Championship, Sylvan Adams, noted, "After the success of the Ironman 70.3 event last year, I am pleased to announce that the follow-up will see Israel host the full-distance Ironman Middle East Championship in Tiberias, overlooking the spectacular and historically significant Sea of Galilee.
"As it is a regional championship, Ironman Israel will attract the finest athletes from all across our region and beyond. We are looking forward to welcoming thousands of athletes from neighboring countries to the beautiful Galilee for what will surely be an historic event," Adams said.
Ironman described the Tiberias course as "flat and fast."
Baghdad-born David Sassoon built a global business empire in the 19th century centered on India and the Far East, but within three generations, the fortune his family made was dissipated, and his descendants were more focused on enjoying their social lives. Now a distant relative, academic Joseph Sassoon has deciphered an archive of Judeo-Arabic correspondence which throws new light on the Sassooon enterprise. The result is his new book, The Global Merchants: the Enterprise and Extravagance of the Sassoon Dynasty. Review in The Guardian: The Prince of Wales visiting the Sassoon residence in Bombay, ‘Sans souci’, in 1876
By the end of the 19th century, the Sassoon family were regularly referred to as “the Rothschilds of the East”. This wasn’t just lazy, it was wrong. For one thing the Sassoons’ interests and influence stretched right around the world from Shanghai via Bombay, London and Lancashire, all the way to the Atlantic coastal plain of the United States. Then there was the fact that, unlike the Rothschilds, the Sassoons were not bankers but traders, specialising in opium, cotton and oil. What perhaps the late Victorians really meant when they compared the Sassoons to the Rothschilds was simply this: they were very rich and they were Jewish, a combination that conjured ambivalent feelings not just in “polite” society through which antisemitism flowed like a subterranean river but, over time, in the Sassoons themselves.
Joseph Sassoon, who is a descendant of the dynasty’s founder David, believes that it was his family’s experience as serial immigrants that drove their success and explains their decline. Their original role as treasurers to the pashas of Baghdad meant that they seamlessly acquired the Arabic, Turkish, Hebrew and Persian that equipped them to do business throughout the vast Ottoman empire. When in 1828 they were forced to flee to Bombay as a result of a pogrom, they quickly added Hindustani to their repertoire and settled down to rebuild their lives, using their tried and tested methods of exemplary ethics and ferocious hard work.
In order to avoid a repeat of that first expulsion, though, the family needed to become adept at reading the political landscape and adapting accordingly. Joseph Sassoon points out that the treaty marking the passing of India’s governance from the East India Company to Queen Victoria in 1859 was signed not in the residence of the outgoing governor but in “Sans Souci”, the home owned by the man whom the Illustrated London News described as “Mr David Sassoon, the well-known wealthy Jew Merchant of Bombay and China”. In the face of such antisemitic sneers, these early Sassoons were careful not to draw unwanted attention to themselves. While their fortune was one of the great wonders of the industrialising world, it was offset by a thoughtful philanthropy that built hospitals, libraries and schools for the whole community.
