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Thursday, June 02, 2022

06/02 Links Pt2: What if Israel treated America as America treats Israel?; Hamas-Loving, Israel-Hating Newspaper Publisher Successfully Lobbies Biden Admin To Create Muslim Outreach Post

From Ian:

What if Israel treated America as America treats Israel?
Israel enjoys a special relationship with the United States that dates back to its founding. That relationship, however, is sometimes a double-edged sword.

Most of the time, it works to Israel’s benefit. Still, the U.S. State Department, which opposed the creation of Israel, often treats Israel differently than any other democratic government by singling it out for criticism. If Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) behaved the same way towards the United States, news reports might sound something like this:
The MFA spokesperson said the Government of Israel expresses its condolences to the families of the massacre victims at the school in Uvalde, Texas. She also noted that the rate of gun deaths in Israel is about two per 100,000 residents compared to 12 per 100,000 in the United States, and the number of firearms per 100 Israelis is less than seven compared to more than 120 in the United States.

“In Israel, most Israeli men and women serve in the military, so they have been trained in the proper use of firearms,” she added. “Still, they cannot get permits for weapons until they are 21. Those without military training must wait until they are 27. Even then, applicants for licenses must typically work in security-related fields or live in a dangerous area.”

The spokesperson suggested the United States could learn from Israel’s experience, where applicants must go through a security check, take a shooting and gun safety course, and get a doctor to certify that they do not have a mental illness and are not taking it any medication that could impair alertness. In contrast to the ease of obtaining a gun in the U.S., 40% of all applications are rejected by the government.

Following a report of a U.S. drone strike that killed members of a wedding party in Somalia, the foreign minister called for a thorough investigation of the incident and said that military operations should be carried out with extreme care to avoid civilian casualties.

In response to President Joe Biden’s declaration that the United States would defend Taiwan against Chinese aggression, the MFA spokesperson said that China and the United States should “do everything possible to deescalate tensions.”

President Biden’s refusal to supply fighter jets to Ukraine prompted the MFA spokesperson to declare that this was a reminder of America’s failure to bomb the concentration camps during World War II when thousands of lives could have been saved.

After police shot yet another unarmed black man in the United States, the MFA spokesperson called on the United States to enact police reforms to prevent such tragedies.
Vivian Bercovici: On Being a Jewish Diplomat in Israel
I. The Middle
One evening, in the summer of 2015, I was invited along with ten or so European ambassadors to a dinner party in Herzliya. An affluent beach town just north of Tel Aviv, it was the favored location for many foreign diplomats’ residences.

The gathering was just what one would expect: canapes, fine wines, formal service, the sort of petit bourgeois fussiness that has become a hallmark of modern diplomacy. Diplomats, it is true, love to play fancy aristocrat.

At the time, Ayelet Shaked was Israel’s minister of justice, and she joined us for the first hour of the evening to discuss a hot topic in those days: the European Union’s plan to pass legislation requiring products made in the West Bank (those made by Jews, not Arabs) to be labelled as having originated in the Occupied Territories.

The intention, of course, was to pressure Israel to engage in what the EU considered to be serious talks to cede control over the West Bank in favor of Palestinian sovereignty. Sanctions targeting Israeli interests were one tool in their kit. This move also came at a time when the BDS movement was gaining momentum globally and presenting as a serious economic concern to Israel.

The EU ambassadors were—with few exceptions—enthusiastically supportive of the labelling initiative, but they restrained themselves with Shaked.

When the minister slipped away, we continued on to the main course, and the knives—literal and metaphorical—came out.

A robust discussion ensued, considering the merits and demerits of the “labelling” plan.

One ambassador turned to me, arms crossed, head atilt.

“Vivian, what are your personal views on the issue?”

At the time, I was serving as Canada’s ambassador to Israel.

“My personal views are no more relevant than those of anyone around this table,” I responded. “The views I represent are those of the Government of Canada.”

Clearly, the fact that I was Jewish was an issue for some.

“Why is it,” the ambassador continued to probe, “that 'you people' have such problems with labelling?”

Oh. My.

You people. Labelling. In Europe.
Hamas-Loving, Israel-Hating Newspaper Publisher Successfully Lobbies Biden Admin To Create Muslim Outreach Post
Homeland Security chief Alejandro Mayorkas created a Muslim community outreach position after meeting with an Arab-American activist who has cheered violence against Israel and praised the terrorist groups Hezbollah and Hamas.

Mayorkas met on March 18 with Arab American News publisher Osama Siblani, who has called Hamas and Hezbollah "freedom fighters," and other activists in Dearborn, Mich., over their concerns with racial profiling by the Department of Homeland Security. Siblani, who urged Arabs last month to fight Israel with "stones" and "guns," has lobbied DHS for years to appoint a liaison between the agency and Michigan’s robust Arab community. He praised Mayorkas after he announced the position on March 30.

"We were told to keep complaining," Siblani told his newspaper. "Mayorkas told us this time ‘we will do something about it' and he did."

The meeting emerges as Mayorkas faces scrutiny for a series of policy blunders. Republicans have called for Mayorkas's impeachment over his handling of a historic surge of illegal immigrants at the southern border. Republicans have also blasted him for forming a Disinformation Governance Board led by a Democratic activist who pushed disinformation about Hunter Biden’s infamous laptop.

The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to requests for comment about Mayokas’s meeting with Siblani and the other Arab-American leaders. Siblani’s inflammatory remarks were well documented before his sessions with Mayorkas.

The Anti-Defamation League has noted Siblani’s praise for Hamas and Hezbollah as "freedom fighters." He cheered when the the Iran-backed Hezbollah "delivered on its threat" to bomb Israel in September 2019. He reportedly praised Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, as the most "honorable man in the world."

Siblani has referred to Israel as "occupied Palestine" and claimed the "pro-Israeli lobby" owns Washington, D.C. Last year, he urged a boycott of a restaurant whose owner posted "Long Live Israel" on Facebook. His anti-Israel remarks last month were at a rally alongside Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D., Mich.), the Washington Free Beacon reported. Siblani praised the fedayeen, or Islamic militants, fighting against Israel.


Is It Time to Rethink the Relationship Between Jews and Elite Universities?
According to a 2021 report by Jewish on Campus, universities that saw the highest rates of antisemitism were in the northeast, where a large concentration of US Jews resides. And many of the schools where Jewish students face institutionalized discrimination are the same establishments that offer attractive amenities such as kosher dining options and daily minyanim. Yet, even within communal life, there is bigotry.

For the second year in a row, pro-Palestinian demonstrators at Rutgers University hurled eggs and antisemitic epithets at the AEPi fraternity house as Jewish students held their annual Yom Hashoah commemoration. The incident follows Chancellor Christopher Molloy succumbing to SJP pressure and apologizing for his original university-wide statement in 2021 condemning antisemitism.

In his letter, Molloy expressed remorse that his message “failed to communicate support for our Palestinian community members.” While in 2015, Rutgers University was ranked first as the largest public university for Jewish students, its status has since been replaced by the University of Florida. The pandemic’s aftermath is testing the viability of Jewish loyalty to universities like Rutgers. Tiring of faculty promotion of left-wing ideologies, more Jewish students are choosing to be educated elsewhere.

In his piece for Tablet, journalist Liel Liebovitz makes the compelling case for sending “our best and brightest to college in Israel.” Not only is higher education in Israel affordable, costing a fraction of what it does in America, but Liebovitz also advances the idea that, in Israel, idealistic young Americans will gain a deeper appreciation of the challenges facing the country, while strengthening their bonds with Israeli Jews.

The Brandeis Center’s 2021 national poll of Jewish fraternity and sorority AEPi and AEPhi found that 50 percent of respondents hide their Jewish identity on campus. Over half of those surveyed avoid expressing their views on Israel for fear of being verbally attacked or marginalized by their professors. Studying in Israel would relieve Jewish students from carrying such a burden, while granting them the ability to learn in a country whose economic growth last year was its fastest in 21 years, surpassing global projections. What’s more, Israel’s emergence as an intellectual and strategic hub is evidenced by its universities, three of which are placed among the top 100 leading academic institutions.

The allure of a warmer climate or learning in the world’s sole Jewish homeland does not diminish the responsibility that American universities have in ensuring a safe environment for their Jewish students. For some, ambition and circumstances render abandoning these institutions an impossibility. For others, corrective measures are needed to justify the expense and time devoted to studying in establishments that espouse anti-Zionism. Whatever one’s choice, it’s now clear that alternative options exist.
Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Doesn’t Advance the Palestinian Cause
Harvard’s prestigious Crimson student newspaper recently generated a flurry of responses by wholeheartedly endorsing the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel. As the debate continues, each side gets more entrenched in the absolute moral justification of its cause, with no advancement or learning.

As an Israeli, I stand firmly against BDS for unfairly singling out Israel in a complex conflict. As a believer in the necessity of the two-state solution, I stand firmly in support of strengthening Palestinian economic opportunities, social capital, and human rights. As a researcher looking at the economic development opportunities in the Middle East, I see much better ways to advance the Palestinian cause.

If we hope to make progress towards the resolution of this conflict, we need to move away from the binary, simplistic debate of “I am good, you are bad,” and instead embrace the complexity and search for creative solutions.

Proponents of BDS want to strengthen Palestinians by weakening Israel. Yet, practically all data has shown that BDS achieves a negligible impact on Israel. For instance, the impact of BDS on Israel’s GDP, after more than a decade of intense activity, was estimated to be a decrease of only 0.004 percent.

Instead of promoting the burning of bridges between American and Israeli academia, supporters of the Palestinian cause should advocate for building bridges between American and Palestinian academia. This will advance the Palestinian cause much more effectively.
The Last Jewish Congressman in New York
In 2020, there were three Jewish House members from New York City. By the end of 2022, there may be none even in the state with Rep. Zeldin, a Republican, running for governor.

How things got that way is indicative of what happened to both the Democrats and the Jews.

The primary between Rep. Jerrold Nadler and Rep. Carolyn Maloney pits two establishment remnants against each other. Both old Democrats have been in office since the early 90s. Now Maloney, 76, and Nadler, 74, have been forced to fight it out when a plot by Democrats to aggressively gerrymander the state to protect their control of the House backfired in court.

It would be a sad state for anyone to be represented by Nadler, let alone New York’s Jews. And Nadler doesn’t represent them. Instead he supported the Iran deal and is backed by the PAC for the Soros anti-Israel lobby group, J Street. Last year, he responded to Islamic violence against Jews, by stating, “I remain deeply concerned by the violence in Jerusalem, including Israeli police violence, and I urge all parties to exercise restraints.”

When New York Jews turn to pro-Israel members of Congress from the city, they usually go to Rep. Ritchie Torres, a black gay Latino politician from the Bronx who has become the most vocal pro-Israel Democrat from the city and can also be counted on to drop in on Bill Maher.

Whether or not Nadler survives another term, he isn’t representing anyone except himself. And the old tier of New York Jewish House members is making way for allies of the leftist “Squad”


Wishful Thinking: The Left Claims General Mills Surrendered to BDS – It Didn’t
There was once a king who used to get up early every morning, go outside, raise his arms, and order the sun to rise. And, believe it or not, the sun obeyed every single day. This is, more or less, the story behind a Mondoweiss excited report on Wednesday, “BDS victory: General Mills says it will divest from Israel.”

Let’s unpack:
General Mills, the American multinational giant manufacturer, and marketer of branded consumer foods in retail stores, on Tuesday announced that it had sold its stake in its joint venture in Israel––which principally markets dough products––to Bodan Holdings, its joint venture partner.

Bodan Holdings is an Israeli company located in Ramla, which lists managing General Mills’ interests in Israel as its principal business.

The General Mills announcement continued: “This divestiture represents another step in General Mills’ Accelerate strategy, which is centered on strategic choices about where to prioritize our resources to drive superior returns.” That’s PR talk for, we’re not getting our money’s worth here, let’s move on.

The announcement noted that “internationally, the strategy includes efforts to reshape the company’s portfolio for sustainable, profitable growth by increasing its focus on advantaged global platforms, which include Mexican food, super-premium ice cream, and snack bars.”

The company then directed readers to its November 24, 2021 announcement about the sale of its European dough business. General Mills announced back then that it was selling its European dough businesses to Cérélia, which describes itself as a “dough and batter-based food specialist creating cheerful moments.”

Every family should have one of those. Also, keep those insulin shots handy. According to General Mills’ November announcement, “the proposed transactions would include General Mills branded and private label dough businesses in Germany, the UK, and Ireland,” and “each of the transactions is expected to close by the end of fiscal 2022.”

In other words, General Mills is divesting from its business in Germany, the UK, Ireland, and Israel. And unless there’s a BDS out there spreading hatred about German, British, and Irish policies, it stands to reason that Mondoweiss’ excited report was, you know, fake.


So Pillsbury is pulling out of "East Jerusalem"
The announcement by General Mills that it’s shutting down the Pillsbury factory in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Atarot is an outrageous capitulation to the Israel-haters of the BDS movement.

It’s also a fascinating illustration of the utter absurdity of one of the media’s favorite terms, “East Jerusalem.”

Media reports about General Mills’s surrender to the haters are referring to Atarot as an “East Jerusalem settlement.”

Every word in that phrase is false. There’s no such city as “East Jerusalem,” Atarot is not located in the eastern part of the city of Jerusalem; it is north of Jerusalem, and it doesn’t even have any “settlers”—it’s an industrial zone.

Atarot is a town with Jewish roots that go back to biblical times. It was first mentioned in the Book of Joshua, chapter 16. Note that there were no “Palestinians” in the Land of Israel in those days. Arab “Palestinian” nationalism would not appear on the scene until several thousand years later. But there were plenty of Jews in the country, and there was a sovereign Jewish kingdom there for many centuries.

In modern times, Jews purchased land in Atarot in 1912, and young Zionist pioneers from Europe, including future prime minister Levi Eshkol, built homes and farms there. In 1931, the British government seized (“stole” would be the more accurate description) more than half of Atarot’s land in order to build a small airport there, destroying the homes and orchards of some of the Jewish residents. We’re still waiting for the British government to pay reparations for that.

The Jews hung on, despite difficult conditions and repeated Palestinian Arab terrorist attacks, especially in 1929 and during 1936-1939. During the 1948 War of Independence, the residents of Atarot bravely held out as long as they could, until they were driven out by the advancing Jordanian forces.

It wasn’t enough for the Jordanians to expel all the Jews. They also looted the Jews’ property and burned down their homes and farms. From 1948 until 1967, the Jordanian government imposed a strict apartheid policy of refusing to permit Jews to return to their homes in Atarot. To this day, the “moderate” Jordanians have refused to pay compensation for the property they stole or destroyed.
Fury of local residents as Palestinian flag flies over Lancashire town hall in Jubilee week
The Palestinian flag has been flying above the town hall in Nelson, Lancashire this week - prompting fury from local residents expecting instead to see the Union Flag marking the Queen’s Jubilee.

The flag was put up last Friday after a motion was put forward by a Labour councillor citing the “assassination by Israeli government forces” of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in Jenin last month.

The motion was passed unanimously by both Labour and Tory members of Pendle borough council.

Local Tory MP, Andrew Stephenson, told the JC he shared the “deep concerns” expressed by numerous constituents who had contacted him to say that the Palestinian flag should not be flying from the town hall in Jubilee week.

He acknowledged it is vital that Ms Akleh’s death should be rigorously investigated. But he added: “I do not think it is appropriate that this flag should be flying in the week of Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee.

“I was unaware that this was going to happen and I was not invited to the ceremony when it was run up the pole. The only flag that should be flying there now is the Union Flag.

“My longstanding view is that local councils should focus on local issues, not foreign policy.”


IDF soldiers drink blood in 'blood libel' post by anti-Zionist NGO
JVP and controversial art
The sentiment that JVP had shared content that evoked the blood libel was echoed by others in the comments on post, which shared 10 pieces of art on "Palestinian resistance, Israeli violence, and American complicity by" UK and Bahrain-based artist Sara Qaed.

The illustrations shared by JVP covered several topics, including the death of Shireen Abu Akleh, who was killed in a Jenin firefight between IDF soldiers and Palestinian gunmen. An investigation is ongoing into her death, but is widely considered to so far to be inconclusive as to how Abu Akleh was hit, and who fired the bullet.

Another image entitled "Ukraine Israel" shows IDF soldiers stealing homes from Palestinians to provide them to Ukrainian refugees. In March, JVP accused Israel of "pitting refugees against each other" by "settling Jewish Ukrainian refugees on land it illegally occupies" while preventing "seven million Palestinian refugees from returning."

Qaed's art also touches on the Jerusalem Day flag march, in addition to Independence Day, which shows Palestinians as having deep roots to the land, while Israelis bounce around on springs. In early May, JVP asserted that Israeli national holidays were fabricated to create "harmful Zionist" narratives rather than having historical grounding.

According to JVP, Qaed's caricatures "focus on corruption, power, occupation and human being" and her style uses comics, animation, and drawings.

Commenters supportive of the art pieces noted that the artist removed the Star of David from the Israeli flags, which they praised as an attempt to avoid accusations of antisemitism and to express that Zionism was incorrectly connected to Judaism.


PreOccupiedTerritory: We Don’t Specifically *Want* To Genocide Jews From Palestine – We Just Want Nobody To Interfere If We *Do* By Marwan Shibli, Palestinian activist (satire)
Too much misunderstanding and willful distortion of the Palestinian position pervade the rhetoric surrounding the issue, to the point that many people wrongly assume we aim to kill every Jew between the River and the Sea, along with whoever gets in the way. In fact we plan no such set of operations once we remove the colonialist pig-dog usurper invader Jews from our land – rather, in the eventuality that we do conduct such operations, we insist that everyone stay out of the way.

A casual reading of our statements and literature might convey the incorrect impression that, upon achieving the longed-for liberation of our land, we will continue the same treatment of Jews that we have demonstrated for a hundred years. Such an attitude ignores the fact that we will be sovereign, not under the – sometimes nominal – boot of Israel, the British, the Ottomans, or whoever. That means we will enjoy the power to choose our own method of dealing with the Jews, unencumbered by occupiers’ preventive policies. Of course genocide will be on the table – but the point is not that we intend specifically to round up the Jews, plunder their property, rape the women and girls, and yeah, the men and boys too, all while we beat, stab, shoot, what have you; we just want the *power* that represents, to play the oppressor instead of the victim. The specifics of whom we victimize and how are less important.
Axe falls on charity which gave millions to TV channel that called Jews ‘cursed’ and ‘a cancer’
A charity that poured almost all its multi-million-pound income into a television station spewing out antisemitic content and support for terrorism is to be immediately dissolved on the orders of the Charity Commission.

Peace TV has repeatedly been condemned by Ofcom for broadcasting hate speech and encouraging “violence and dangerous or seriously anti-social behaviour”, in a series of ten separate rulings which were issued between 2009 and 2019.

In one 2016 ruling, Ofcom said that in Peace TV broadcasts “the terms used to describe Jewish people such as ‘like a cancer’, ‘evil genius’, ‘their poison’, ‘cursed people’, ‘cursed race’ were particularly strong and inflammatory”.

Based in Dubai, the group of channels broadcasts programmes in languages including Arabic, Urdu, Albanian, Chinese and English.

Following a two-year investigation, the Commission announced last week that Zakir Naik, the boss of both the channels and also the charity, Islamic Research Foundation International, and his fellow trustees were “responsible for repeated incidents of misconduct and/or mismanagement,” and “fundamental failures in governance” including severe “conflicts of interest”.

The Commission’s investigation report says that between 2015 and 2020, the charity gave £3.6 million to the station, amounting to 96 per cent of its income.

Naik is prohibited from holding office in any charity in future.
Guardian again whitewashes NUS president's antisemitism
First, the historical attack on Jews in question that the Guardian alludes to is “Khaybar Khaybar O Jews … Muhammad’s army will return Gaza“, referencing the Muslim massacre of the Jews of the town of that name in northwestern Arabia in 628 CE.

Moreover, just like their article in April about the controversy, the article omits other egregious examples:

In an 2018 article, she praised, as a “moral compass for the Muslim community at large”, Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi, who’s banned from entering the the US and UK due to his support for suicide bombings. Al-Qaradawi has also prayed for “every last” Jew to be killed.

As the Jewish Chronicle reported, at the height of the 2021 war between Israel and Hamas, Dallali tweeted a justification for Hamas terror, writing: “Palestinians have a right to resist by all means possible — even with weapons — this right is acknowledged in international law — Hamas did not start the aggression, what would you like them to do for example?”

Her tweet came just two days after three Israelis were killed when a barrage of rockets were fired from Gaza at Tel Aviv. The Arabic language tweet, translated for the Jewish Chronicle by CAMERA Arabic, continued: “Does this serve the Palestinian Cause? An important question. To my point of view the answer is according to your opinion regarding the solution of the cause — but armed resistance is a right and we should accept this.”

On May 29 last year, Dallali tweeted: “From the river to the sea,” a chant understood as a call for Israel’s destruction. That same month, Dallali also wrote: “Good morning to everyone except Zionists, settler colonialist and apartheid sympathisers. Free Palestine”.

Also, here’s her tweet from just last month, on Israel’s Independence Day, condemning the Israeli “occupation” since 1948, meaning all of Israel is ‘occupied’, and appearing to applaud violent “resistance”.
BBC’s Jerusalem Day report erases Jordanian occupation yet again
The BBC refrains from clarifying that those “violent confrontations” occurred after masked rioters barricaded themselves inside al Aqsa mosque and threw rocks at police officers ahead of the opening of the site to visits by non-Muslims.

Neither does the BBC’s report explain to readers that the threats and incitement from assorted Palestinian terrorist groups were issued long before the “Jewish visitors” arrived at the site. It does however provide uncritical amplification for Palestinian Authority talking points and partisan terminology:
“Israel is irresponsibly and recklessly playing with fire by allowing settlers to desecrate the holy sites” in East Jerusalem, the president’s spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said, according to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa. Palestinian officials often describe Israelis who visit the holy site revered by Muslims and Jews as settlers and their presence there as a desecration.” The BBC did not bother to inquire whether the PA also considers actions such as rock and petrol bomb throwing, urination, displaying Hamas flags or placing agricultural machinery inside the al Aqsa mosque to be ‘desecration’ of a holy site. It did however find fit to promote the opinion of an inadequately identified “activist”.

“One Palestinian Jerusalemite activist, Usama Barham, told the BBC that “what happened this morning inside our holy mosque [at the site] was much more dangerous than the Flag March”.”

The report goes on to tell readers that:
“Last year, a devastating 11-day conflict between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza erupted on Jerusalem Day when Gaza’s Hamas rulers fired rockets towards the city after Israeli police and Palestinians clashed at the holy site.”

Readers may recall that the BBC failed to report the premeditated nature of the rioting on Temple Mount in May 2021, which actually commenced before Jerusalem Day.

Notably, the BBC’s report includes a graphic and text that once again demonstrates that – despite its own style guide’s instructions – the BBC has fully adopted the politically motivated Palestinian narrative relating to that site.
Guardian fawns over anti-Israel propaganda at the Royal Court
After the antisemitic play ‘Seven Jewish Children’ and the ‘Hershel Fink’ antisemitic debacle in 2021 you’d think the Royal Court management would be more careful about showing an Israel Hatefest.

No chance.

After a dance to Arab music including audience members (presumably to ingratiate with them – not that the woke London soi-disants last night seemed to need it….) came ‘Bibi Says’, a game like ‘Simon Says’. It rapidly degenerated into an anti-Israel rant – example: “Bibi says, be complicit in the oppression of the Palestinian People”. The main character Reem (Salwa is her daughter; the evil Israelis had previously killed another daughter age 12 in cold blood because that’s what they do, doncha know…) tells us that Bibi “is quite obviously a cunt’ (Uproarious laughter) and “Bibi wants to cripple a nation”. Every Thursday, Reem and her husband like to go dogging in military areas (a ‘Red Zone’ appears – again ludicrous). Speaking of Israelis who also go there to ‘dog’, Reem says “Fuck them so hard they’ll know what it’s like to be occupied”.

Towards the end of the play Reem’s (Hala Omran’s) eyes are wet: Crying to order is quite a talent!

Reem’s nephew Tariq spends most of the interminable 2 hours 50 minutes of the play stuck in the barbed wire around an Israeli settlement. The supposed brutality of Israelis is underlined by the failure of anyone to come to his aid.

We meet Adam, the father of Sara the murdered IDF soldier. If you’re thinking ‘Parents’ Circle’ …. Forget It! Reem says she wants to “mash Adam’s brain to Humous”. In a deranged ahistorical rant Adam removes his shirt and is portrayed as an ultra-aggressive maniac who speaks of the inheritance of his “ great great great [he repeats the word about 200 times!] grandfather”. Of course the audience is meant to think that he’s a typical male Israeli.

From Reem we get the hackneyed invalid argument that more Palestinians have died than Israelis – she illustrates this with a bucket of 1448 pebbles for the Palestinian dead versus 6 for the Israeli dead. Yawn: The law of War allows defensive action that is proportionate to achieve the aim, it does not mandate an equal body count!

The Guardian reviewer of course salivated over the play:
This local focus on one family has echoes of Lorca, in its intractable grudge-bearing and cycles of violence. Reem tells us of the terror of the Red Zone, of Israeli troops taking sniper shots at unarmed Palestinians, of drone strikes on houses, of children being gunned down at point blank range – including her own 12-year-old girl and then a second daughter, Salwa (Sofia Danu). Directed by Omar Elerian, the production is many things at once: playful and tragic, baggy and taut, always pulling back from whimsy at the tipping point of self-indulgence. Just as we are lulled by a moment of comedy or metafictive silliness, violence comes careering around the corner.
Why Did the Media Forget ‘Iraq’s Kristallnacht’ on Its Anniversary?
Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine that began on February 24 has been widely condemned as an illegal act of aggression. The United Nations Human Rights Council voted overwhelmingly on May 12 to launch an inquiry into alleged serious violations committed by Russian troops.

However, while covering fast-moving developments coming out of Ukraine, the media are uncritically disseminating false Holocaust-related analogies and imagery in relation to the conflict that are being used by leaders worldwide.

Russia’s actions are but the latest in a painfully long series of wars that have taken place throughout human history, not a case of “never again.” The Holocaust, with its systematic extermination of some 6 million Jews by the Nazis, was demonstrably different than today’s war in Ukraine.

In contrast, the anniversary this week of an actual Nazi-inspired attack on the Jews of Baghdad during the Shavuot holiday on June 1-2, 1941, which marked the beginning of the end of the Iraqi Jewish community after 2,600 years, has generated virtually no coverage outside of Israel.

This seismic event of anti-Jewish violence, known as the Farhud, became the foundation of an Arab-Nazi alliance that ultimately led to the expulsion of almost a million Jews from across the Arab world.

According to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Museum, the spasm of violence in Baghdad resulted in 179 people being killed, over 2,000 being wounded, at least 200 children being orphaned, and some 50,000 Jews having their property looted. Other independent researchers estimate that hundreds of Jews were killed.

More than mere Arab nationalists, the rioters were directly linked to Germany’s Nazi Party. Some of them wore swastikas, while several had marched in the Nuremberg torchlight parades. It was the Nazi ideology that fueled the Faruhd — a desire to exterminate Jews from the face of the earth.
Bavaria releases all unpublished files on Munich Olympics massacre
Authorities in Bavaria say they are releasing all previously unpublished files on the attack at the 1972 Munich Olympics following criticism from relatives of the 11 Israeli athletes and coaches who were killed there.

Joachim Herrmann, the top security official in the southern German state, said Thursday that Bavaria will no longer keep any files under wraps, but conceded that federal authorities might still hold confidential files.

The Palestinian group Black September took numerous members of the Israeli team hostage on September 5, 1972, with the goal of forcing the release of prisoners held by Israel and two left-wing extremists in West German jails. Eleven Israelis and a West German police officer died during a botched rescue attempt.

Complaints about persistent secrecy surrounding the files had threatened to overshadow a planned memorial event for the 50th anniversary of the attack. Some relatives of those killed have also demanded compensation from Germany, something the government has rejected.
Hate Crimes in New York Increase 196 Percent in New York State in Past Year
Hate crimes in New York City rose 196 percent from 2020 to 2021, with Jews being the target of 40 percent of all hate crime incidents.

That was one of the conclusions of a new report on New York state, “Hate in the Empire State: Extremism & Antisemitism in New York,” issued jointly by the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism and the Community Security Initiative, a project of the UJA-Federation of New York and the Jewish Community Relations Council-NY.

The report’s release comes less than a month after the deadly mass shooting at a Tops supermarket in Buffalo, NY, in which 10 people were shot and killed, and others injured by an 18-year-old gunman with a history of white supremacism.

Among the other findings in the report:
- New York ranks seventh in the country for white supremacist propaganda efforts, with recent actions being carried out by organized hate groups including Patriot Front, New Jersey European Heritage Association and the newly formed White Lives Matter.

- The ongoing threat of extremist activity in New York State also includes a threat of violent extremism from foreign terrorist organizations, Islamist extremists and racially motivated violent extremists, all of whom promote antisemitic worldviews and regularly incite violence, targeting Jewish synagogues and community buildings.

- Extremist groups such as militia groups and the Proud Boys have shifted their strategies to focus on the local level, disrupting school board meetings and even running for elected positions.

- Black Nationalist Extremism, as highlighted by the Black Hebrew Israelites and Nation of Islam, are both active in New York state and consider Jews to be “fake Jews.”
Local Canadian School Board Pulls Agatha Christie Novel Over ‘Antisemitic References’
The Upper Canada District School Board (UCDSB) has told schools to stop teaching British author Agatha Christie’s 1937 mystery novel “And Then There Were None” due to “antisemitic references” in the book, Canadian media reported this week.

In a May 19 letter sent to board superintendents and school officials, the board cited the Ontario College of Teachers’ (OCT) advisory on Anti-Black Racism, which says that “making remarks or engaging in behaviors that expose any person or class of persons to hatred on the basis of a prohibited ground of discrimination under Part 1 of the Human Rights Code’ is an act of professional misconduct,” according to The National Post.

“This moment provides a strong reminder of the importance of reflecting on and acting on the harm that texts can perpetrate on students — texts that in another time might have appeared innocuous or contextually appropriate,” the board added. It also said the move to withdraw Christie’s book aligns with the “self-reflective practices” suggested in the advisory that include “inviting input on the types of material, readings, events and guest speakers that demonstrate a commitment to anti-oppressive, decolonial pedagogical practices.”

In the novel, a character named Mr. Morris is referred to as “little Jew,” “Jewboy,” and is said to have “thick Semitic lips.” The book has also been criticized for its former titles, having been originally published in the United Kingdom as “Ten Little [n-words]” and, later, as “Ten Little Indians.”

Christie’s novels “Murder on the Orient Express,” “Death on the Nile,” “The Secret of Chimneys” and “Lord Edgware Dies” have previously been accused of promoting racism, xenophobia and antisemitic Jewish stereotypes.


‘Once We Have Peace, the Catholics Will Be More Loyal Than Anyone’: New Book Reveals Wartime Pope’s Message to Hitler During Secret Talks
Pope Pius XII, the head of the Catholic Church during World War II, engaged in secret negotiations with Nazi leader Adolf Hitler through an intermediary, in the hope of reconciling the Church with the Third Reich, a new book has revealed.

The significant new revelations about Pius’ relationship with the Nazi regime contained in “The Pope at War: The Secret History of Pius XII, Mussolini and Hitler,” by the American historian David Kertzer, are based on research in the wartime archives of the Vatican, which were first made available to scholars in March 2020. Scathingly described by critics as “Hitler’s Pope,” Pius has been condemned by many historians for downplaying, overlooking and even enabling the Nazi genocide of the Jews.

According to Kertzer, Hitler and his lieutenants saw an opening to improve relations with the Vatican following the death in 1939 of the pontiff’s predecessor, Pius XI — who had issued an encyclical condemning Nazi ideology, much to the annoyance of Berlin.

“Hitler now saw a chance to improve relations with the Vatican, or in any case to keep the new pope from openly criticizing his regime,” Kertzer wrote, in an excerpt from the book published by The Atlantic magazine.

As a go-between, Hitler turned to Prince Philipp von Hessen, a German aristocrat and a great-grandson of Queen Victoria. An enthusiastic Nazi, the prince held his first meeting at The Vatican with Pope Pius on May 11, 1939 — four months before the Nazis sparked the war with the invasion of Poland.

At that first encounter, wrote Kertzer, Pius told Hitler’s envoy “that he was eager to reach an agreement with Hitler and was ready to compromise insofar as his conscience allowed, ‘but for that to happen, there must before anything else be a truce … I am certain that if peace between Church and state is restored, everyone will be pleased. The German people are united in their love for the Fatherland.'”

Pius then claimed: “Once we have peace, the Catholics will be loyal, more than anyone else.”
Israel’s Weizmann Institute Joins NASA Planetary Defense Exercise
Representatives from the Weizmann Institute’s Physics Faculty in Rehovot joined more than 100 astronomers worldwide in a recent NASA planetary defense exercise.

As part of the exercise, David Polishook, a member of the faculty and also director of Weizmann’s observatory, deleted a previously detected “near earth object” asteroid from the asteroid database, to see if it would be “rediscovered” by observatories, as part of the exercise.

Polishook also led the spectral measurements made by the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) in Hawaii, to classify the asteroid’s composition and mass, Weizmann said in a statement. He also made observations from the Wise Observatory near Mitzpe Ramon, Israel, to measure another asteroid’s shape and rotation rate.

A statement by NASA on Tuesday said that the exercise was coordinated by the International Asteroid Warning Network and NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office.

“The exercise confirmed that, from initial detection to follow-up characterization, the international planetary defense community can act swiftly to identify and assess the hazard posed by a new near-Earth asteroid discovery,” said NASA.




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