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Saturday, May 07, 2022

05/07 Links: Dershowitz: The Harvard Crimson Normalizes Growing Campus Antisemitism; Israel-bashing is this generation's existential threat to Judaism; Israel and India mark 30 years of deepening friendship

From Ian:

Alan Dershowitz: The Harvard Crimson Normalizes Growing Campus Antisemitism
On April 30, I submitted to the Harvard Crimson a detailed op-ed refuting its recently-published blood libel against Israel. Over the next several days, the Crimson first said they were “reviewing” my submission; then that they were “interested in running it;” and, on May 4, that they would run my piece “probably tonight,” promising to “reach out with edits later today if needed.” As a result of these assurances, I withdrew my op-ed from any other publications. Then, on May 4, they “decided not to publish” my piece, using the phony excuse of “very high number of submissions … combined with our currently limited production schedule.”

When I protested their breach of journalistic ethics, they changed their minds again and agreed to run it in the form of a much-shortened letter to the editor. They asked me to eliminate the accusation that their editorial encouraged the current form of antisemitism; I refused. Then they demanded documentary proof of my opinions — something they did not provide for their own egregiously false statements. When I provided the documentation, they finally ran out of excuses, and reluctantly published the shortened letter. This bait and switch compounded their unethical action in knowingly publishing defamatory lies about Israel. Here is the full op-ed they accepted and then rejected:

In one of the most historically ignorant, religiously discriminatory and factually deceptive editorials ever published by the Harvard Crimson, its editorial board engages in and “call[s] on everyone” to promote the current form of antisemitism.

Let’s be clear that criticism of Israel and/or its policies is not antisemitic. I and other supporters of Israel around the world routinely criticize policies of the nation state of the Jewish people, just as we criticize policies of our own nation. This editorial, however, is not merely about Israeli policies: it implicitly supports the end of Israel and its replacement by a Palestinian state “from the river to the sea.” That is the goal of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement as described by its founder, Omar Barghouti.

Tom Friedman, the Pulitzer Prize winner and New York Times columnist who is often critical of Israeli policies, put it this way: “singling out Israel for opprobrium and international sanctions — out of all proportion to any other party in the Middle East — is antisemitic, and not saying so is dishonest.”

That is precisely what the Crimson editorial is guilty of. It “condemn[s] antisemitism in every and all forms,” while practicing its newest form. Are the editors even aware that the founders of the BDS movement apply it only to Israelis who are Jewish? Are the editors aware that Barghouti refused to debate me at the Oxford Union precisely because I am an American Jew who supports Israel’s existence? Are the editors aware that BDS singles out only one nation from among the many with serious human rights issues, namely the nation state of the Jewish people? That is antisemitism pure and simple. Shame on the Crimson editors for calling on everyone to promote it. The Crimson’s megaphone will surely spread and increase the already high rate of antisemitism on campuses throughout the world.
Israel-bashing is this generation's existential threat to Judaism
At this point in 2022, the danger of Israel-bashing becoming the ideology for the political destruction of the Jewish state seems as absurd as the threat of antisemitism becoming the ideology for genocide of European Jews was in the 1890s during Herzl’s time. Friendly governments would not fulfill the threat.

But as Herzl argued, governments are subject to the will of the people, and those people today are indoctrinated with occupationalism and Israel-bashing. “Even if we were as near to the hearts of princes… they could not protect us. They would only feel popular hatred by showing us too much favor,” Herzl wrote.

Moreover, political situations can change. One of the lessons of the 1973 Yom Kippur War is to threat-analyze capabilities, not just intentions. Indeed, the capabilities to eradicate Judaism are now in place.

So how to deal with it? Indeed, look to Herzl.

Until now, the primary response to Israel-bashing has been hasbara (public diplomacy). Herzl mocked such efforts.

In his time, hasbara was done through “committees against antisemitism.” Herzl argued that they are futile since one cannot convince people who use dogmatic thinking. Hence, a radical solution was needed – the establishment of a Jewish state.

Today, Israel-bashing is too dogmatic in mainstream Western societies for rational arguments to be effective. Once again, a radical approach is needed to deal with this threat: the change of global consciousness of what is Judaism. As discussed in this column, Zionism is becoming the primary conduit through which both Jews and non-Jews relate to Judaism – through positive and negative connections alike.

Once there is a broad recognition that Judaism has transformed and Zionism is now its organizing principle, then Israel-bashing becomes Jew-bashing, and this in-turn dramatically alters the nature of the existential threat to Judaism of our generation.


London Centre Study of Contemporary Antisemitism: Jeffrey Herf talked about his book "Israel's Moment" at a London Centre for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism event.



The Caroline Glick Show: Sacrifice for the Jewish nation is Rational w/ Prof. Aumann
In this PREMIERE EPISODE of the Caroline Glick Middle East News Show on JNS TV, she hosts renowned mathemetician Prof. Israel Aumann for a riveting discussion.

In the context of Israel’s Yom HaZikaron and Yom Haatzmaut, they explore the rationality of Zionism and of sending children to serve in the Israel Defense Forces. From the sublime and existential they move to the strategic and political.

Is Israel occupying Judea and Samaria, and if not, what must be done? Are Israel’s children going to be taught their heritage and if not, what will become of the country? And who is responsible for the cleavages on the political right? Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or those who hate him?


US denounces Israel's push to advance 3,988 West Bank settler homes
The United States warned that Israel was harming prospects for a two-state solution by pursuing the advancement and approval of plans for 3,988 new West Bank settler homes.

“Israel’s program of expanding settlements deeply damages the prospect for a two-state solution,” Deputy State Department spokesperson Jalina Porter told reporters on Friday.

She spoke hours after Israel announced that its Higher Planning Council for Judea and Samaria would convene this Thursday for the first time since October, when it advanced and approved plans for 3,130 settler homes.

The council is slated to give its final approval on Thursday for 2,536 new settler homes. This includes the authorization of the Mitzpe Dani outpost as a new neighborhood of the Ma’aleh Mikhmas settlement. The council is also expected to allow the deposit of plans for 1,452 other homes.

Some 38% of the plans are for homes in isolated settlements.

According to N12, the Israeli media reported that the US had specifically asked Israel not to advance the plans with the White House, which sent a message to this effect to Israeli officials.

The White House message was conveyed in talks between at least three different American parties and senior Israeli officials in Israel. According to one source speaking with N12, the White House even conditioned President Joe Biden’s visit to Israel next month on the issue of plans for the 3,988 homes.
Approval of new settler homes sabotages two-state solution - PA
The Israeli government’s plan to build thousands of housing units in West Bank settlements is a “blatant challenge” to the US administration and the international community, the Palestinian Authority said over the weekend.

The plan constitutes “a serious threat to the chances of achieving peace and restoring the political horizon for resolving the conflict in accordance with principle of the two-state solution,” the PA Ministry of Foreign Affairs cautioned in a statement.

The ministry called on the US administration “to move quickly to pressure the Israeli government to stop this decision and attacks by settlers and their terrorist organizations against defenseless Palestinian civilians.”

The PA was responding to a plan to advance the construction of 3,988 settler homes.

The Higher Planning Council is scheduled later this week to give its final approval for 2,536 new homes and allow for the deposit of plans for 1,452 other homes.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemns in the strongest terms what was reported by the Hebrew media regarding the decision of the Israeli occupation authorities to build thousands of new settlement units in the occupied West Bank with the aim of deepening the existing settlements and building more outposts at the expense of the occupied land of the State of Palestine,” the statement read.

The ministry welcomed the position announced by the US State Department regarding the settlement homes.
Sometimes revenge is the best option
“An eye for and eye.” The commandment is, unbeleivably, found in this week’s Torah portion. The practical application of the verse has been explained by the Rabbis as being beyond its literal interpretation and refers to monetary compensation.

Nevertheless, it is clear that in certain cases revenge is one of the highest forms of serving Hashem, as King David teaches in his Psalms:

“Praise the L-rd. Sing unto the L-rd a new song and his praise in the congregation of Hasidim… Let the high praises of G-d be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand; to execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people; To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron. To execute upon them the written judgment: This is the glory of his Hasidim. Praise the L-rd” (Tehillim 149).

Out of their fear of the Gentiles, liberal Jews have negated the concept of revenge as being uncivilized and erased it from the Jewish vocabulary. Nevertheless, revenge against those who harm our people is a foundation of Torah.

“If only you, G-d, would slay the wicked! Keep away from me, you who are bloodthirsty! They speak of you with evil intent; your adversaries misuse your Name. Do I not hate those who hate you, L-rd, and abhor those who are in rebellion against you? I have nothing but hatred for them; I count them my enemies” (Tehillim 139).

In the Psalm of the day, on the fourth day of the week, we say: “G-d of revenge, L-rd G-d of revenge, appear! Arise, You judge of the earth, render to the arrogant what they deserve. How long shall the wicked, O L-rd, how long shall the wicked exalt?” (Tehillim 94).

“The righteous man shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance. He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. Men shall say, ‘Truly there is reward for the righteous. Truly there is a G-d who judges on earth’” (Tehillim 58).
Israel needs to stop differentiating between Gaza and the West Bank - analysis
Hundreds of Palestinians have been arrested since Israel began what it has dubbed “Operation Break the Wave.”

In a warning to Palestinians who might be considering a terror attack, Deputy Commander of the Menashe Regional Brigade Lt.-Col. Alon Hanuni told The Jerusalem Post in a recent interview that the IDF can crack down even further if necessary.

“They are only feeling a small bit of what we can do," he said. "We can bring them back 20 years if we want. We aren’t there yet but we are close. It all depends on them.”

Now, two months into this deadly wave, Israel’s strategy needs to adapt. While simultaneously continuing to act against suspected terrorists in West Bank cities like Jenin, the IDF needs to act against Sinwar and Hamas in their home base in the Gaza Strip.

By revoking the permits and closing the crossings, Israel would hit the Gazan economy like the ax hitting the victims killed in Elad on Thursday night. It would take away their financial independence like the terrorists took away Independence Day from the families of the victims.

The defense establishment can also exact a heavy cost from Hamas – because deadly terror attacks need a heavy-handed response.

Israel can target more strategic infrastructure belonging to Hamas in the Strip, or it can once again carry out targeted assassinations of Hamas leaders in both Gaza and the West Bank.

By doing so, Yahya Sinwar will understand that he can’t have his cake and eat it too. He cannot expect to push Palestinians to kill Israelis while he sits comfortably on his throne in Gaza City – unless he wants to sit inside a bunker like Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon.

But then again, Israel made it clear last year that it knows how to destroy Hamas’s tunnel system. Israeli officials have already warned the Hamas leader in Gaza that he is on their hit list.

Sinwar needs to know that he is not safe, nor is anyone who calls for or carries out the murder of innocents.

In Sinwar's attempt to unite the West Bank and Gaza, he will destroy them both.
IDF troops destroy home of Palestinian terrorist who killed Yehuda Dimentman
Israeli security forces demolished the home of a Palestinian terrorist involved in the deadly December shooting attack in the West Bank resulting in the murder of 25-year-old Yehuda Dimentman.

IDF troops along with Border Police destroyed the floor where Omar Ahmed Yassin Jaradat lived in the village of Silat al-Harithiya.

During the operation, a number of riots broke out, with Palestinians throwing stones and Molotov cocktails at troops. Gunfire was also heard by Israeli forces. No troops were injured.

Israeli forces responded with riot dispersal methods, including using Ruger semi-automatic rifles, which have seen more frequent use in the West Bank in riot control in recent months.

Jaradat, along with three others, was involved in a shooting attack on December 16, 2021, that claimed the life of Dimentman near the Homesh outpost. Two other Israelis were lightly wounded in the attack, claimed by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group. IDF troops along with Border Police destroy the floor where Omar Ahmed Yassin Jaradat, a terrorist who killed a 25-year-old Israeli man, lived in the village of Silat al-Harithiya. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT) IDF troops along with Border Police destroy the floor where Omar Ahmed Yassin Jaradat, a terrorist who killed a 25-year-old Israeli man, lived in the village of Silat al-Harithiya. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

Though the attackers were able to escape the scene, they were later arrested by IDF troops.

The demolition was carried out in accordance with an order from the head of the Central Command after the High Court of Justice rejected the family's appeal.

The homes of all terrorists involved in the deadly attack have now been demolished by Israeli forces.

In March, Israeli troops demolished the homes of Muhammad Youssef Jaradat and Ghaith Ahmed Yassin Jaradat, also from Silat al-Harithiya. The IDF demolished the home of a fourth accomplice in February.
Elad terrorists continue to evade capture, over 48 hours later The search for the two terrorists has expanded to the area of Wadi Ara and other Arab communities
Over 48 hours since the deadly attack in Elad, Israeli security forces have expanded their search for the two Palestinians who killed three Israeli civilians in the city of Elad.

Police identified the two suspects 19 year-old As’sad al-Rafai and 20-year-old Subhi Emad Subhi Abu Shqeir, both from Rumana in the Jenin area of the West Bank.

On Saturday, security forces expanded the manhunt from the Elad area to Rosh Ha’ayin as well as to Arab towns in the Wadi Ara area and in communities near the Seam Line. The working assumption of the defense establishment is that the terrorists are still in Israel and could carry out another terror attack.

As part of the search,the Shin Bet, Israel police and the IDF are using advanced monitoring and detection technologies as well as aircraft, helicopters and canine units.

Security services released their pictures and have asked for the public’s help in locating them.

The three victims in the deadly attack were identified as 40-year-old Yonatan Habakuk, a father of five, 40-year-old Boaz Gol, a father of five and 35 year-old Oren Ben Yiftach a father of six from Lod. Together they left behind 16 children.

They were all buried on Saturday with thousands in attendance.
Elad victim unknowingly offered ride to terrorists only to be killed on arrival
One of the victims in Thursday's terror attack drove the terrorists to the scene of the attack under the impression that he was helping by offering him a ride, it was revealed on Friday afternoon. When they arrived, one of the terrorists attacked and killed him.

A total of 16 children were left fatherless Thursday night after a terrorist attack in Elad in which Yonatan Habakkuk, father of five, Boaz Gol, father of five, and Oren Ben Yiftach, father of six, were murdered.

The three men were killed by Palestinian terrorists armed with knives and axes in the central Israel city. Four others were also injured. Others are now dealing with the shock and trauma the attack caused.


Terror groups threaten missile strikes if Israel resumes assassinations
Palestinian terror groups have threatened to launch terrorist attacks inside Israeli cities if the government resumes the policy of targeted killings, the Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Mayadeen TV station reported on Saturday.

According to the report, the terror groups “informed the mediators that the return of the assassination policy means the return of bombings inside the occupied cities.”

The threat came amid growing talk in the Israeli media that Israel may assassinate Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in response to Thursday’s terror attack in the city of Elad, which resulted in the murder of three Israeli men.

Al-Mayadeen quoted unnamed sources as saying that Hamas relayed to the Egyptians a message to the effect that the terror group was not worried about Israel’s threats to assassinate its leaders.

“The price for such foolishness is known to the enemy,” the sources said. “The resistance will burn the cities of the center [of Israel] and will direct massive missile strikes on Gush Dan if it carries out its threats.”

Egyptian sources were quoted over the weekend as saying that Cairo rules out the possibility that Israel would resume the policy of targeted assassinations.

The sources told the Qatari-owned Al-Araby Al-Jadeed online news website that Egyptian mediators had previously warned Israel that harming Sinwar or any other leaders of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad would mean that the Jewish state “has taken a decision to launch an all-out military confrontation.”

The sources added that the Egyptians were recently contacted by the US administration with the goal of preventing an escalation.


11 Egyptian security personnel killed after foiling 'terrorist attack'
One officer and 10 Egyptian soldiers were killed on Saturday in Egypt's Sinai peninsula when militants attacked a checkpoint at a water pumping station, an army spokesman and security sources said.

It was one of the deadliest attacks in recent years in northern Sinai, where Egypt's security forces have been battling Islamist militants with links to Islamic State.

The attack occurred on Saturday morning on the road leading east from the Suez Canal to Hasanah in the center of Northern Sinai, two security sources said.

Militants attacked with an explosive-rigged vehicle and fired heavy weapons installed on pick-up trucks, before military reinforcements fought them off and gave chase, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"The terrorist elements are being pursued and besieged in an isolated area in Sinai," Egyptian army spokesman Gharib Abdel Hafez said in a statement, adding that five others had been injured in the attack.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Iran Mullahs Escalate Threats Against Jews, Biden Administration Appeases Mullahs Even More
These US rewards to Iran for terrorism, destabilizing the region, treating its own people with brutality and cheating on 2015 nuclear deal would significantly increase Iran's revenues; these, in turn, will doubtless be funneled into the pockets of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the Quds Force and their militia and terror groups including Hamas, the Houthis and Hezbollah for still more expansionism and terror.

Additionally, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi openly called for the destruction of Israel as he addressed anti-Israeli rallies: "This great movement that we are witnessing today in the form of protests is a symbol of the solidarity of the Muslim people that will lead to the destruction of the Zionist regime."

Since the Biden administration assumed office, it has pursued the maximum appeasement policy with the ruling mullahs of Iran.

Instead of standing with its staunch allies in the Middle East, the Biden administration appears determined to stand with the Iranian regime. The ruling mullahs nonetheless appear intent on taking over their oil-rich neighbors, and eliminating Israel and the United States -- all as America seems to imagine, falsely, that it can bribe its way into being spared.
Israeli embassy in New Delhi said on high alert amid ‘serious’ fear of Iran attack
The Israeli embassy in New Delhi has been on high alert in recent weeks amid “serious” fears of a possible terror attack by Iran-backed perpetrators, according to a report Saturday by a London-based news channel affiliated with the Iranian opposition that was picked up by Hebrew-language media.

Security measures have been tightened in areas surrounding the embassy in the Indian capital and nearby streets have been outfitted with surveillance cameras and subject to increased security patrols, according to the report in Iran International.

The Persian-language TV channel described the security alerts as “serious” and cited an unnamed Israeli source who said the embassy in New Delhi has become one of several “likely targets” for Iran-affiliated militias.

The source also said Indian police and counter-terror forces recently conducted a security drill to prepare for a possible attack where streets around the diplomatic mission were blocked, and gunfire and explosions could be heard.

The news came a week after the same news outlet reported that Israel’s Mossad spy agency foiled a recent Iranian attempt to assassinate an Israeli diplomat working at the consulate in Istanbul.

Iran International said that in addition to the Israeli worker at the consulate, an American general stationed in Germany and a journalist in France were also targeted in the plot.

Last year, a blast outside the Israeli embassy in New Delhi damaged cars but caused no injuries, in an attack India has said was carried out by the Quds Force branch of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

A letter found close to the scene of the blast was a death threat to the Israeli ambassador that warned he was being constantly being watched and vowed to avenge the deaths of “martyrs” Qassem Soleimani, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) commander who was killed in a January 2020 United States drone strike; Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, a top Iraqi militia commander who was killed along with Soleimani; and Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, the architect of Iran’s nuclear program, killed in a November 2020 attack Tehran has blamed on Israel.

The handwritten note, in English, but riddled with grammatical and spelling errors, was addressed to the then-Israeli ambassador to India, Ron Malka, and referred to him as a “terrorist of the terrorist nation.” It claimed to be from the “India Hizbollah,” a group that was not previously known. Lebanese Hezbollah is an Iran-backed terror organization that is sworn to Israel’s destruction.
Seth Frantzman: How concerned should we be about the Iranian drone threat?
The US House of Representatives voted last week to pass the Stop Iranian Drones Act.

“It shall be the policy of the United States to prevent Iran and Iranian-aligned terrorist and militia groups from acquiring unmanned aerial vehicles, including commercially available component parts, that can be used in attacks against United States persons and partner nations,” the bill says.

The move was an important step in highlighting the increased Iranian drone threat to the region. It is also important because the bipartisan legislation was sponsored by Reps. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), Gregory Meeks (D-New York), Ted Deutch (D-Florida) and Joe Wilson (R-South Carolina). US lawmakers are beginning to understand how drones, and various versions of what are called UAVs and unmanned aerial systems (UAS), are playing an emerging role in the Middle East.

IRAN GOT its start in drone warfare relatively early, back in the mid-1980s. The country had recently gone through the Islamic Revolution of 1979 and was fighting a vicious war against Iraq. Iraq had a plethora of military equipment, especially Soviet arms. Iran, by contrast, was stuck with American military supplies left over from the shah’s era. Without spare parts, it couldn’t fight the war without mass human wave attacks and high casualties. Some Iranians understood that drones, which Israel had used with effect against Syrian air defenses in 1982, were the wave of the future. In those days drones resembled large model airplanes, operated by remote control. In Iran’s hands the drones were used to do surveillance of the front.

Fast-forward 20 years to the 2000s and we find Iran beginning to build larger, more sophisticated drones. These were often modeled on captured drones or blueprints of foreign UAVs. This included Iran’s attempt to copy the American Predator and secretive Sentinel drone. Iran’s copies were slower, had less of a range and had worse cameras than the US models. But Iran was showing that, despite sanctions, it had success with these futuristic weapons.


Anti-Israel Motion by University of Sydney Student Gov’t Denounced by Australian Jewish Leaders
The student government at the University of Sydney on Thursday passed a motion declaring support for Palestinians “fighting back against daily repression and violence,” Australian media reported this week, days after another top university in the country distanced itself from an anti-Israel student measure passed there.

The Sydney motion, which accuses Israel of being an “apartheid” state that was “brutally established,” passed by 13 votes, with three students voting against it and three abstaining, according to the Australian Jewish News. It endorsed building a “fighting, radical Palestine solidarity movement in Australia, as our government is complicit in Israel’s genocide in Palestine,” and urged students to participate in a “Nakba solidarity demonstration” organized by the Palestine Action Group.

The Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) told the Australian Jewish outlet J-Wire that the motion is an abdication by the undergraduate Student’s Representative Council (SRC) of “its own ethos to fight discrimination, putting Jewish and Israeli students at risk of hate speech and worse, and unethically aligned the entire SRC with the extreme propaganda of a single student group on a controversial issue.”

“The SRC condemnation of recent events in Jerusalem was based solely on Palestinian propaganda, painting a blatantly false picture of these events, and invoked gross double standards which can only damage the cause of Israeli-Palestinian Peace,” AIJAC said. “We call on the Council to rescind this discriminatory and completely improper motion.”

Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-CEO Peter Wertheim told The Australian Jewish News, “Once again, a non representative group of far-Left ideologues consisting mainly of Greens and Trotskyist students has rammed through an anti-Israel resolution at short notice,” citing the SRC’s passing a resolution in February that embraced a boycott of the Sydney Arts Festival.

“It seems that they are opposed to racism against everyone except Jews,” he said. “Their idea of constitutes antisemitism flies in the face of what most Jewish people understand it to be, based on historical and personal experience. The university cannot simply wash its hands of this chronic problem.”
Ice cream and politics don’t mix, campaigners tell Ben & Jerry’s owner
One of Ben & Jerry’s best-selling flavours is called “half-baked ice cream”. But as its parent company Unilever held its London board meeting on Wednesday, protesters suggested “half baked” also applied to its “hypocritical” statements on foreign affairs and Israel —under a poster bearing the slogan “ice cream and politics don’t mix”.

For its owner, Unilever, the fact that it does indeed mingle has proved expensive. Since Ben & Jerry’s announced last July that it was cancelling a contract to distribute its products in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, its share price has fallen 15 per cent, wiping billions from its value.

The protest’s organisers, the Campaign for Common Sense, pointed out that Unilever subsidiaries still trade in countries with horrific human rights records, such as Saudi Arabia and Iran, without anyone appearing to notice.

The multinational giant is selling ice cream in Russia, despite pledging to supply only “essential” items following the Ukraine invasion, and is spending $112m (£89m) on a new ice-cream plant in China, in spite of the genocide of its Uyghur minority. Ben & Jerry’s — whose marketing suggests it is run by ageing Jewish hippies — retained its own board after Unilever bought it out in 2000.

The firm has also railed against US support for Ukraine, claiming that President Biden should “de-escalate tensions” and that he was “fann[ing] the flames of war”.

But it is its attempt to withdraw from the Occupied Territories on the grounds that to sell ice cream there was “inconsistent with its values” that has sparked controversy — and a lawsuit from its Israeli distributor, which has accused its board of “unlawfully terminating a 34-year business relationship in order to boycott Israel”.
Swarovski's Israel branch condemns Bella Hadid as new face of the company
Bella Hadid was appointed as the new face of Swarovski, she announced in an Instagram post on Thursday.

In response to the announcement, the Israeli branch put out a statement condemning the appointment.

"Crystalino Group, the importer and owner of Swarovski stores in Israel, wants to make it clear that it is entirely against the appointment of Bella Hadid as the presenter of the brand," the statement said.

"The company will not allow Bella Hadid to take part in advertising the brand in Israel and is working hard to get her replaced."

Hadid and her sister Gigi are well-known for their anti-Israel activism. They have both been known to make social media posts accusing Israel of war crimes and inciting their followers against the Jewish state.

The sisters have also compared the Russian invasion of Ukraine to the Israeli-Arab conflict.


Man arrested after newly-elected councillor targeted in antisemitic campaign
A Jewish Labour candidate elected as a councillor in Camden has revealed she faced “levels of antisemitism I’ve never had before” in the run-up to Thursday’s local election.

Police were called in after Izzy Lenga, a South Hampstead ward Labour candidate, was targeted with an intimidatory poster campaign in which voters were urged to reject her because of claims she was a supporter of “apartheid.”

The Metropolitan Police confirmed on Friday they had arrested a male last week on allegations of distributing “offensive materials.”

The campaign is understood to have revolved around historic reports, which had appeared on anti-Israel sites such as The Electronic Intifada in 2014, that Lenga has once taken part in a basic training course in Israel with the IDF.

Posters were plastered across walls and bus stops in the north London ward for several weeks ahead of the 5 May election.

Police are believed to have made an arrest after they identified one suspect involved in the campaign because they repeatedly misspelt the word “apartheid” in the same way.
Photos of Holocaust sites blocked from Apple’s automated ‘Memories’ albums
Apple users who want to include pictures taken at the Anne Frank House, Auschwitz or other Holocaust-related sites in their photo albums will have to work to make that happen, under the terms of a recent software update.

Apple recently changed its software so that pictures taken at Holocaust sites are suppressed from automatically generated albums that can be created through the company’s Photos app. The tech news site 9to5Mac first reported the tweak, which affects iPhone and iPad users using the latest Apple operating system, last week.

The change is meant to avoid “creating some unwanted memories,” according to the site, which said only pictures taken at Holocaust-related sites are affected by the change.

Apple’s “sensitive locations” protections cannot be disabled, but users can still include the photos in albums that they curate by hand.

The tweak comes amid growing concern about Holocaust trivialization in selfies and photomontages made possible by portable device technology. Pictures of visitors to concentration camp sites smiling, jumping, and dressed inappropriately have drawn criticism when they are shared on social media.

The tweak also comes amid a growing reckoning by technology companies about how their products may contribute to antisemitism and other forms of hate. Facebook and Twitter, for example, announced only in 2020 that they would bar Holocaust denial from their social media platforms. Antisemitism is still rampant, according to watchdogs who say the companies could be doing more to protect Jewish users.
Jews Against God Becomes a Regular New York Times Feature
The New York Times greeted Passover — which Jews celebrate by recounting how God took the Children of Israel from slavery to freedom — by publishing a guest essay headlined in part, “I Propose We Give Up God.”

Now the Times has doubled down on the theme, publishing a second guest essay, “How to Pray to a God You Don’t Believe In.”

I guess it’s nice to see the paper publishing Jewish writers wrestling with issues of faith. But as a percentage of Jewish Times content, or even of religion-related Times content, the anti-God ratio seems pretty high. That’s especially so for a religious tradition, Judaism, whose basic elements include the Shema prayer (“Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One”), the Passover Haggadah text (“We were slaves to Pharaoh in the land of Egypt. And the Lord, our God, took us out from there with a strong hand and an outstretched forearm”), and the revelation at Mount Sinai.

Maybe the Times should make it a regular, standing feature, like the crossword puzzle or something. They could use the space created by the loss of the sports agate — baseball standings no longer appear in the newspaper — and use it for a daily “Jews Against God” essay.

Reconstructionism, the Jewish movement that officially downplays God, is small as a fraction of the global Jewish population, but maybe it’s the New York Times core audience demographic? Otherwise, the volume and frequency seems a bit off-kilter.


Israeli Former World Boxing Champion Offered Lessons to Jewish Victims of Brooklyn Antisemitic Attack
Israel’s first world champion boxer Yuri Foreman invited victims of an antisemitic assault in New York last year to take boxing lessons from him to better defend themselves against future attacks, the athlete told the Christians United For Israel organization in a video released on Thursday.

Foreman, who was born in Belarus but moved to Israel at the age of 10, said he heard on social media about the two Jewish men who in December were assaulted in Brooklyn and called “dirty Jews” because one of them wore a sweatshirt featuring the Israel Defense Forces emblem. The boxer, who now lives in New York and is also an ordained rabbi, said he contacted the two victims and brought them to his gym in Brooklyn, where he offered them “a couple of [boxing] lessons.”

Foreman also commented on the recent spate of attacks against Jews, telling CUFI that antisemitism has “always been [and] it’s always will be, as long as Jews [are] alive. There’s even countries where there’s hardly any Jews living, but yet there are antisemites.”

“Don’t learn something from a [social media] reel, cartoon or comic,” he said, discussing those who express hatred of Israel. “That’s bad. I know a lot of people who learn their news from tweets, or from the cartoons, because that’s where our patience is. They show evil rockets with the Star of David on it and there are little babies there, and it’s emotion[al].”

“In boxing or martial arts, one thing that you have to master is your emotion,” Foreman continued. “If you are getting bullied and you get scared and the fear takes over, then it means that your fear just took advantage of you, actually took over completely.”


NY rabbi punched and kicked by man making antisemitic remarks
A rabbi was assaulted by a perpetrator who made antisemitic remarks throughout the attack in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, WABC reported on Friday.

The victim was hospitalized in stable condition and authorities are searching for the attacker, Bronx-based media channel News12 reported.

The New York Police Department's Hate Crime Task Force has begun investigating the assault, they added.

US Rep. Lee Zeldin, who is Jewish and co-chairs the House Republican Israel Caucus, said that the attack is part of an alarming trend of antisemitism:
“Last week, a report was released showing New York leading the nation in antisemitic incidents, and today’s violent attack on Rabbi Lefkowitz is the latest in a disturbing and unacceptable trend of anti-Jewish hate and violence that is spreading throughout our communities, nation and the world,” Zeldin said.

“Instead of observing Shabbat at Great Neck Synagogue, Rabbi Lefkowitz was sent to the hospital beaten and bruised,” he added.


Discovery of Climbing Legend’s Antisemitic Views Prompts US Mountaineering Association to Change Award Name
One of America’s leading mountaineering associations is to rename its prestigious annual award after discovering that one of the individuals in whose honor it was created had expressed crudely antisemitic views.

The American Alpine Club (AAC) confirmed that it was renaming the Robert and Miriam Underhill Award — an annual prize that honors the memories of two leading mountaineers — after it learned that Robert Underhill had made demeaning comments about Jews in letters to friends. In an article for the latest edition of Outside magazine, journalist Brad Rassler noted that while Underhill’s antisemitism had been highlighted in two books by mountaineering historians, the AAC had not addressed the issue. However, when Rassler contacted the AAC, he received a swift response from its interim CEO, Jamie Logan, who told him that the organization had decided to rename the award.

In an email to The Algemeiner on Friday, Logan said that upon learning about Underhill’s history of antisemitism, her “immediate reaction was that we needed to rename the award and I forwarded it to the president of the board who concurred.”

Logan added that those in the “climbing community that have commented so far are universally supportive of renaming the award.” She said that AAC planned “on taking our time to further understand the history of both the award and the Underhills. We would like to be thoughtful in choosing a new name.”

Underhill, who died in 1983, was a professor of philosophy at Harvard University who became a mountaineering legend as a result of his exploits in the Sierra Nevada range in California during the 1930s. According to Rassler, in “letters written to friends at the Sierra Club and the AAC in 1939 and 1946, respectively, he referred to Jews as ‘k*kes,’ ‘mutts,’ and ‘lowgrade.’ He implied that Jewish people didn’t belong on rock faces at all and said they lacked the character and physical traits to be successful in challenging mountain environments.” His wife Miriam, for whom the award is also named, is not known to have made similar remarks.
Report: Saudi Arabia to Invest in Israel Through Kushner’s Fund
Jared Kushner’s new private-equity fund plans to invest millions of dollars of Saudi Arabia’s money in Israeli high tech in a further sign of warming ties between the two countries, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.

Jerusalem and Riyadh don’t have official ties but are understood to be strategic partners, united by the Iranian threat and other regional interests.

The first public business deal between the two countries could signal impending normalization of ties.

Kushner, the son-in-law and former senior advisor to Donald Trump, was instrumental in brokering the peace accords with two of Saudi Arabia’s Gulf neighbors, United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

According to WSJ, the Affinity Partners fund already selected the first two Israeli startups to invest in.
Israel and India mark 30 years of deepening friendship
India and Israel seem like a study in contrasts.

Some 1.4 billion Indians live in a vast country stretching nearly 3,000 kilometers (1,864 miles) across at its widest point, while 8.9 million Israelis live in a tiny land no more than 135 kilometers (85 miles) wide. Indian student Nikhil Kumar Rai won a logo design contest for the 30th anniversary of Indian-Israeli diplomatic relations. His design highlights the symbols of each national flag: the Star of David and the Ashoka Chakra. Photo courtesy of Indian Embassy

Yet they are bound together by surprising commonalities.

For starters, they nearly share a birthday. India gained independence from Great Britain in August 1947 and Israel in May 1948. And each has a proud history going back thousands of years.

“As I often say, we are two old nations in young countries, rich with history, culture and diversity, creatively overcoming challenges and eager to meet the future,” said Ambassador of Israel to India Naor Gilon.

On January 29, India and Israel celebrated 30 years of full diplomatic relations, kicking off a year of (mostly virtual) joint cultural and educational events.




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