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Wednesday, June 29, 2022

06/29 Links Pt2: Nitsana Darshan-Leitner: Who cares when the PA violates human rights?; Gil Troy: Anti-Zionism in academia: An illuminating debate

From Ian:

Nitsana Darshan-Leitner: Who cares when the PA violates human rights?
Particularly disturbing is the conspiracy of silence on the part of other countries, the international media, and international human rights groups. Not only do they perpetually turn a blind eye to these violations – which they know about – they mainly pin the blame obsessively on the "Israeli occupation." Indeed, the issue of torture in Palestinian prisons is nothing new. As early as 2015, the Shurat Hadin Israel Law Center filed a detailed complaint on the matter to the ICC.

Despite the complaint, the matter evaporated into thin air when the prosecutor announced the issues she was willing to investigate. Torture in the Palestinian Authority was not one of them. Topping her list of priorities were "crimes against humanity" perpetrated by Israel. From the perspective of other countries, the world would keep on spinning: The PA would continue its gross violations of human rights, continue receiving hundreds of millions of dollars annually, keep opening embassies and consulates across the globe as if it were a country, and its leader, Mahmoud Abbas, would continue being greeted by honor guards on official visits. From their point of view, the hundreds of people murdered and tortured to death by the PA aren't worth one Jamal Khashoggi.

This conspiracy of silence exposes the hypocrisy of other countries, the ICC, the international press, and human rights organizations – all derelict in their duties and willing to sacrifice their principles on the altar of slandering Israel, so long as not one hair falls from the head of Mahmoud Abbas. For them, those disenfranchised, defenseless people in Palestinian society are just a minor inconvenience.
Gil Troy: Anti-Zionism in academia: An illuminating debate
Zionophobia
Foisting these incorrect concepts on Israel is cultural imperialism, I charged. In today’s academic context, such delegitimization is also an incendiary act of demonization. If not overtly antisemitic, it certainly lubricates and fuels contemporary Jew-hatred as expressed in one of its most popular forms – what Prof. Judea Pearl calls “Zionophobia.”

Zionophobia spotlights the obsessive attack on what Israel is, not what Israel does. As another panelist noted, even when Israel does something good, opponents label the act evil, covering up some crime. Zionophobia also raises the question beyond Jew-hatred, asking how Israelis are treated – isn’t a systematic obsession targeting them and their country bad enough?

I explained that last year, following May’s mass pile-on against Israel, Natan Sharansky and I labeled these insider-libelers of Israel, Zionism and the Jewish people, “un-Jews.” We defined the term to mean influential Jews – rabbis, academics – trying to undo the defining consensus since 1948 linking the Jewish people, the Jewish national movement – Zionism – and the democratic Jewish state... Israel.

“Let me be clear,” I declared, framing the debate as being about wisdom and scholarly integrity, not rights, “I am not here to cancel anyone. I have no power. I am here, however, to challenge everyone by asking, if this association champions 'scholarly inquiry about... Israel,’ how does such rank propagandizing fit that mission statement?”

The applause suggested that last year’s dozens of petition-signers don’t represent Israel Studies.

A vigorous, respectful, illuminating debate followed. True, we left with more questions. But, from left to right, panelists and audience questioners, we all defied common stereotypes. We proved that in today’s academic world, it is still possible to have a debate that is vigorous and passionate, yet civil and constructive, even about Israel and Jew-hatred.


Antisemitism largely eliminated from textbooks in Saudi Arabia - report
Antisemitism has been largely eliminated from Saudi textbooks, The Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education (IMPACT-se) revealed in its annual report on education in Saudi Arabia.

The report, released on Monday, found that content portraying Jews as disobedient and teachings of antisemitic tropes such as Jewish wealth were removed from the Saudi curriculum.

Antisemitic Qu'ran verses removed
Saudi Arabia has seen a trend of improvement in removing antisemitism from its curriculum in recent years, IMPACT-se said.

According to the institute, Qur’an verses describing Jews being turned into monkeys were removed, as was the antisemitic myth that one of the goals of Zionism is a “global Jewish government.”

In addition, Qur'an verses prohibiting friendships with Jews and Christians and condemning homosexuality have all been removed in the past three years.

In 2021, several lessons demonizing Jewish people, Christians, and other "non-believers" were removed from the curriculum. An entire textbook unit on jihad was taken out of the curriculum.

A year prior, a chapter called “the Zionist danger," which dealt with various topics regarding the delegitimization of Israel's right to exist was removed. The chapter called “the Zionist danger," which dealt with various topics regarding the delegitimization of Israel's right to exist has also been removed.


US Presbyterian Church: Israel is apartheid state, creates Nakba Remembrance Day
"Heightened Zionist-Jewish identity" of Jerusalem
Another item unanimously passed by the church's International Engagement Committee was a recommendation on the church's concern about Jerusalem.

"The face of Jerusalem has been changing rapidly in the direction of a heightened Zionist-Jewish identity, with intensified restrictions on the movement, residency and human rights of Muslim and Christian Palestinians," read the statement. "The State of Israel’s policies steadily increase inter-religious tension with their disregard for the historic claims and freedom of worship of Muslims and Christians."

The Church called for freedom of worship in Jerusalem and what it called the "frequent exclusion of categories of visiting Muslim and Christian worshipers from entry to the city, even on holy days."

It extolled the "status quo" for shared holy sites that it believes prevented tensions between religious communities, citing "historic respect" to holy sites "going back to the British and the Ottomans and well before," though it did recognize the limitations placed on Jewish worship in the city.

The statement singled out the installment of metal detectors at the Temple Mount, which it claims saw "massive nonviolent resistance" in response. The Temple Mount and the Al-Aqsa Mount has been a flashpoint of violent clashes between Palestinian rioters and Police. Earlier in the year, riots erupted when rumors spread that Jews would practice Jewish religious rites on the Temple Mount and seize full control.

Beyond religious tolerance, the church rejected the Trump administration's move of the US embassy to Jerusalem, saying that it damaged peace prospects.

The church also said in the statement that it rejected "the doctrines of Christian Zionism that tend toward idolatry and heresy."
"The face of Jerusalem has been changing rapidly in the direction of a heightened Zionist-Jewish identity, with intensified restrictions on the movement, residency, and human rights of Muslim and Christian Palestinians."
US Presbyterian Church 2022 resolution
Reaction to the resolutions
Arsen Ostrovsky, CEO of The International Legal Forum, condemned the resolution declaring Israel an apartheid state.

“This resolution by the Presbyterian Church, with its plethora of antisemitic tropes, crosses all acceptable boundaries and descends into full-blown Jew-hatred, that will only incite and fuel further violence against Jews," said Ostrovsky. "Furthermore, by making such mendacities accusations and deplorably invoking the Holocaust to compare to contemporary Israeli policy, places the Presbyterian Church in direct and flagrant violation of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of antisemitism, the most widely adopted global definition of modern antisemitism, including in the United States.”

The church has garnered criticism in the past for its harsh position on Israel. In February it joined 29 NGOs in calling on US Congress to reject the Abraham Accords, describing the peace deal normalizing relations between Israel and Arab states as "dangerous."
Daniel Greenfield: Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s Favorite BDS Group Mourns an ISIS Terrorist
The whitewashing of Baraa Lahlouh’s burial in an ISIS flag by evasively describing it as the seal of Mohammed has become typical. Pro-terrorist sites like Electronic Intifada denounced the death of the ISIS terrorist as an "extrajudicial execution". And they were not alone in spewing anti-Israel hate while refusing to even mention the ISIS elephant in the terrorist room.

The Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU) mourned the ISIS terrorist and his comrades, “Laith, Baraa, and Yusuf“ as "young men with entire lives ahead of them.”

“They should be here today, but due to Israel’s relentless and deadly violence against Palestinians, their loved ones will never see or hold them again," IMEU complained.

The organization is a 501c3 non-profit. Propagandizing on behalf of a terrorist buried in an ISIS flag would seem to run counter to the non-profit regulations that never seem to be enforced against the enemies of this country, only against its patriots and its defenders.

IMEU has been funded in the past by the Soros network, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the Tides Foundation, and the Foundation for Middle East Peace. Leading leftist funders are now kissing cousins with apologists for ISIS terrorists. And it does not just stop there.

IMEU was just cited by Rep. Rashida Tlaib in her Nakba resolution attacking Israel's existence.

Tlaib has a longstanding relationship with IMEU with both the BDS group and the anti-Israel politician promoting each other. And, in the process, Islamic terrorism, including ISIS.
Anti-Israel activist campaigned with multiple Democrats over past year
An anti-Israel activist who shared a number of social media posts with antisemitic content has campaigned with multiple Democrats over the past year.

Mahel Abdel Qader has come under fire for repeatedly promoting antisemitic conspiracy theories. In 2017, he shared a graphic that included the names of dozens of Jewish members of Congress, implying that they have a dual loyalty to Israel and the United States.

The Daily Caller reported that, in 2018, Qader shared an antisemitic video that claimed Jews are "satanic" and control the media. The video also dipped into Holocaust denial, questioning whether six million Jews died at the hands of the Nazis. In addition, it claimed that Jews aren't actually Jewish, but rather invented their historical claims to Israel.

In another post, Qader accused Israeli settlers of training children "to terrorize Palestinian civilians." He also posted a picture of a sign that showed former US President Donald Trump wearing a yarmulke while holding a Hanukkah menorah and an Israeli flag. The sign said, "Hey Donald, we thought you said America First!" Qader also put up multiple posts that promote boycotts of Israel.

According to a Fox News Digital report, Qader served on the host committees of multiple fundraisers for New York City Mayor Eric Adams' campaign. He also joined Adams on a Zoom call to discuss the campaign, according to a post on Qader's now-deleted Instagram page.

In addition, he attended a New York City fundraiser last month for Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who is running for reelection. Several weeks ago, he was on the host committee of a virtual fundraiser for Rev. Jesse Jackson's son Jonathan Jackson, who is running for Congress in Illinois' First Congressional District.

In promotional material for the fundraiser, Qader wrote on his Instagram page, "Jonathan Jackson son of Jesse Jackson/Chicago is running for congress and needs our support. He is a staunch supporter of Palestine, Palestinians and our Arab-American community."

Qader has also participated in fundraisers with members of the far-left group of Democratic House members known as "The Squad." Rep. Cori Bush took part in a virtual Zoom fundraiser with Qader last September. In early November, Qader posted a flier for a fundraising reception for Bush hosted by the St. Louis Palestine Solidarity Committee and the Muslim Community of St. Louis.
Goldsmiths to support Jewish academic David Hirsh after ‘unwarranted’ attack from SU President
Goldsmiths University of London has “finally” confirmed that it is supporting Jewish academic Dr David Hirsh after he was labelled a “far right white supremacist” by the Students' Union President three months ago.

Sara Bafo, whose term as president of Goldsmiths Students’ Union (SU) ended in mid-May, wrote on Twitter in March that Hirsh is a “far right white supremacist” with an “explicit racist history” after he expressed concern about antisemitism within the “decolonisation” campaigns.

Bafo’s tweets are now understood to be part of an “independent review into antisemitism at the College... including those linked to Goldsmiths Students’ Union”.

In a statement on Friday, Professor Frances Corner, Warden of Goldsmiths, slammed Bafo's tweets as “unwarranted” and “completely unacceptable”, adding that these behaviours “will always be challenged”.

Sara Bafo's tweet calling David Hirsh a 'far right white supremacist'

On March 26, Sara Bafo, president of Goldsmiths SU, tweeted that David Hirsh, a sociologist and an expert on antisemitism, is a “far right white supremacist” after he expressed concern about “university campaigns to ‘decolonise’ education”.

She was supporting a claim made by the outspoken black cultural activist Chardine Taylor Stone who had tweeted that Hirsh was guilty of “a direct attack against Black and Brown academic/students”, saying his concern about antisemitism was “racism and white supremacy”.

The National Union of Students, defines decolonisation within education as "providing students, staff and their local communities with the tools and language to critically identify the ways our schools, colleges and universities are built using the same colonial hierarchies. It also means empowering them to confront, challenge and reject the status quo."

Neither Goldsmiths University nor Goldsmiths SU investigated the tweet or made any public statement in defence of Hirsh at the time.
Anti-Israel Organization at McGill University Suspended For 105 Days By Student Government
One anti-Israel organization at McGill University is providing some comical relief this summer, but not for the reason they intended.

As published in The McGill Tribune on June 12, following the March 21 referendum vote, in which a Palestine Solidarity Policy was approved by a small number of voting students, the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) refused to ratify the new policy, recognizing it as violating the university’s policies. The policy would have mandated the student government to adopt a vocal anti-Israel stance.

In response, Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR) McGill, which backed the anti-Israel referendum, decided to publish an amateurish parody article, mocking the university’s student government for refusing to back their policy.

In the satirical article, published to social media, SPHR McGill penned an opinion article mocking SSMU’s refusal to formalize the anti-Israel referendum. The article, satirically written from the SSMU leadership “Board of Dictators,” referred to themselves as having backbones “made of jelly” and that “crushing student democracy is meant to be…fun.”

The parody article, while presumably meant to be humourous, was poorly and sloppily written.

In fact, perhaps the only comical passage in the otherwise decidedly unfunny parody article is when SPHR McGill – writing as the student government – referred to the referendum which passed the Palestine Solidarity Policy as having an “overwhelmingly… democratic mandate.”

In reality, fewer than 10 percent of students at McGill University voted for the referendum, rendering it all but irrelevant in the eyes of the clear majority of the student body.

And as a result of SPHR McGill’s posting of the article, the student group has now been suspended by the student government for 105 days for harassment. This suspension means that SPHR McGill will not be able to book rooms, access their SSMU bank account, or apply for funding opportunities as a result, until August 29.


Addameer: Why Are Media Ignoring Palestinian NGO’s Fight to Free Terrorists?
Behind the media’s agenda-driven facade there are the facts. Addameer’s relationship with the PFLP is longstanding and deep-rooted. Numerous Addameer employees have been caught moonlighting as PFLP terrorists, including:
- Khalida Jarrar, Deputy Director of Addameer’s Board of Directors until 2017, was a leader within PFLP’s ranks and served time in prison for inciting terrorism. She was arrested again in 2019 following the PFLP-perpetrated terror attack that killed Israeli teen Rina Schnerb in the West Bank;
- Salah Hammouri, an Addameer Field Researcher, was arrested in 2005 over his connection to a terror cell that had plotted to assassinate Israel’s former Chief Rabbi Ovadia Yosef. Hammouri is said to have recruited operatives for the PFLP and instructed them on how to commit terrorist atrocities;
- Yaqoub Odeh, Addameer Board of Directors and General Assembly member, was involved in the Jerusalem supermarket bombing in 1969 alongside Rasmea Odeh, which killed two Israelis and left nine others injured;
- Mahmoud Jaddah, Addameer Board of Directors member, who was jailed for a series of terror attacks in Jerusalem, Hebron and Tel Aviv;
- Bashir al-Khairi, Addameer Board of Directors member, was a senior PFLP operative and served 17 years in prison for his involvement in the organization.

For a more detailed overview of the Addameer-PFLP connection, see NGO Monitor’s report.

Aside from Addameer and the PFLP’s shared personnel, the former has also spent the last three decades fighting tooth and nail for the release of the perpetrators of horrific terror attacks — something that many mainstream publications have chosen to entirely gloss over.
Fareed Zakaria’s Fabrication Israel Didn’t Condemn Russian Aggression
“We at CNN advocate for facts and for truth,” David Zaslav, the newly installed head of Warner Brothers, CNN’s parent company, said just two months ago.

“If we get that, we can have a civilized society,” the incoming Warner chief told Oprah Winfrey. “And without it, if it all becomes advocacy, we don’t have a civilized society.”

Zaslav’s pro-truth sentiments echoed earlier statements by John Malone, a board member in the Discovery-TimeWarner conglomerate which controls CNN.

“I would like to see CNN evolve back to the kind of journalism that it started with, and actually have journalists, which would be unique and refreshing,” he told NBC last November. “I do believe good journalism could have a role in this future portfolio that Discovery-TimeWarner’s going to represent.”

Unfortunately, however, longtime CNN host Fareed Zakaria apparently failed to get the memo from his new bosses directing CNN content towards fact-based journalism.

On the Sunday (June 26) broadcast of the eponymous “Fareed Zakaria GPS,” CNN’s veteran journalist fabricated: “Israel is also one of those countries that has famously not really condemned the Russian aggression in Ukraine.”

In fact, Israel has “really” condemned Russia’s aggression in the Ukraine on three occasions in the United Nations General Assembly: A/RES/ES-11/1 on March 2, A/RES/ES-11/2 on March 24, and A/RES/ES-11/3 on April 7.


Ofcom carves out Palestinian exception to rule against media incitement
As Caroline Turner, director of UKLFI, said in response to Ofcom’s ruling, “Ofcom appears to give carte blanche for London-based TV channels to broadcast terrorist propaganda.”

However, equally distrubing is the convulted logic and moral reasoning which informed Ofcom’s decision.

For starters, it’s unclear how the mere fact that, in the pro-Palestinian perspective, terrorist murderers of Israeli civilians are considered martyrs is relevant in the application of Ofcom’s stated prohibition of “material promoting or encouraging engagement in terrorism”. It’s hard to understand how simply because Palestestinians – and their supporters – likely won’t be “offended” by such a term is relevant in Ofcom’s enforcement of their guidelines.

Further, does it follow from their reasoning that if, say, Channel 4 News or BBC had described the terrorist who murdered Eli Kay in a similar manner, it WOULD have, in fact, violated Ofcom’s prohibition against the promotion of terrorism – by virtue of the fact that, unlike Al-Hiwar’s viewers, those broadcasters’ viewers do not consider terrorists martyrs, and would be ‘offended’?

In other words, it seems that Ofcom now has two distinct sets of standards for the broadcasters they regulate: one for broadcasters whose audience is pro-Palestinain, and one for all the others.

So, for instance, section three of Ofcom’s guide prohibits “material which contains hate sppech” which they define as content which “contains derogatory treatment of individuals, groups, religions or communities”. As such, Ofcom sanctioned a London-based community radio station in 2020 for broadcasting antisemitism. But, would Ofcom carve out an exception to their probhition against such anti-Jewish racism for broacasters, like Al-Hiwar, with pro-Palestinain audiences because such antisermitic content represents the norm within their community?

It’s difficult not to conclude that Ofcom has decided to hold Palestinians and their supporters in the UK and Middle East to a lower standard of moral accountability than the rest of the audiences of broadcasters they regulate. In doing so, they haven’t only violated their fundamental obligation to apply their rules evenly and consistently, but have succomb to insidious bigotry of low-expectations that compromises coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by some of the very broadcasters they regulate.
BBC contributor Abdel Bari Atwan's output, April-May 2022
Following CAMERA Arabic’s previous post concerning BBC contributor Abdel Bari Atwan, the Jewish Chronicle prompted YouTube to remove a video from Atwan’s personal channel. In that April 8th video Atwan praised Palestinian “hero” and “martyr” Ra’d Hazem, who had killed three unarmed Israeli civilians the day before, claiming that he singlehandedly “liberated Tel Aviv for nine hours” (archived version – Arabic only; MEMRI version – edited with English subtitles).

Atwan also called Hazem’s actions “a miracle”, justifying them under the common smear that Israel has no civilians:
“(04:17) We will never accept, it is impossible that we accept, that they are civilians. Civilians, no way. They are all military, police or security […] they are all soldiers in the Israeli military reserves. So we don’t buy the ‘civilians’ story, nor should [anybody in] the entire world buy it”

In the same article the JC quoted a call from UK Lawyers for Israel to review Atwan’s statements in light of the UK Terrorism Act of 2006, in which encouragement of terrorism is punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

In response to the JC report and his video being removed, Atwan and his Hezbollah-affiliated home channel al-Mayadeen have since launched a series of at least eight YouTube videos repeating the claims and Atwan published posts of the same hateful nature on his Twitter account. Once more, the British-Palestinian pundit described the murderers of unarmed Israeli civilians as “heroes” and “martyrs” and portrayed their actions as a form of “legitimate resistance” permitted and even encouraged by both mortal and divine laws.

According to Atwan’s statement in a June 17, 2022 video, child-murderer Samir Kuntar was a “martyr”. On May 17 Hamas commander Yahya Sinwar received the “hero” title. In addition to his responsibility for Israeli civilian casualties, Sinwar also threatened to target Jewish synagogues outside Israel just weeks before the recording (a threat of which Atwan was well aware).

Atwan speculated that YouTube’s measures and UKLFI’s statement are part of a broader Jewish conspiracy aimed at hurting him personally and involving British Jewish MPs and the Israeli secret services Mossad and Shabak. In his so-called ‘analysis’ he reverted to his old habit of predicting the imminent end of the State of Israel, complete with the mass expulsion of its Jewish population by means of war, as yet another way to celebrate and promote violence against civilians.
West Yorkshire Combined Authority adopts International Definition of Antisemitism
The West Yorkshire Combined Authority adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism last week.

Mayor of West Yorkshire Tracy Brabin said: “West Yorkshire’s strength comes from its diversity but sadly discrimination, racism, islamophobia and antisemitism still exist here.

“That’s why it was important that we today formally adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of Antisemitism. Our local Jewish communities face increasing threats and it is important we stand by them and understand the changing nature of the scourge that is antisemitism.”

However, this decision does not bind the member authorities of Leeds, Wakefield, Bradford, Kirklees and Calderdale councils as they are independently governed.

Leeds, Wakefield and Bradford councils have all adopted the Definition in full. However, while Calderdale council has claimed to have adopted the Definition, it is currently unclear whether they have included the examples, and Kirkless council has not yet adopted the Definition in any form.
Melbourne school principal testifies in ex-students' antisemitism lawsuit
Richard Minack, the principal of Brighton Secondary College in Melbourne, took to the stand in a lawsuit brought by five Jewish former students: Joel and Matt Kaplan, Liam Arnold-Levy, Guy Cohen and Zack Snelling. The plaintiffs claimed that they experienced antisemitic bullying, discrimination and negligence during their time at the school from 2013-2020, The Canberra Times reported.

According to testimony previously heard in the trial, hundreds of hand-drawn swastikas adorned the walls and furniture of the school. Minack denied ever seeing swastikas, however. “I never observed a swastika on a table," he testified per The Canberra Times. "I never saw any of them on yard duties. In my experience, the level of graffiti at Brighton is a very low level."

In the supposedly rare instances when students would complain to Minack about swastika graffiti at the school, the principal told the court that he would demand that it be removed. Nevertheless, Minack never made sure that the swastikas were gone. “I never inspected the pavement to see if it was removed, no one reported that afterward so I assumed it had been," he said, according to The Canberra Times.

Notably, Melbourne is the capital of the Australian state of Victoria, which recently became the first state in Australia to ban public displays of swastikas.

Students alleged that antisemitism was prevalent at the school
Students expressed that antisemitic graffiti at Brighton Secondary College increased following a speech in which Minak mentioned his German grandfather’s involvement in the Wehrmacht during World War II, Perth Now reported. The principal also allegedly referred to Jews as “subhuman” in the same speech, per The Age.

Arnold-Levy, one of the plaintiffs, claimed that he had been aggressively bullied at the school, even being held at knifepoint by other students, Perth Now revealed. Arnold-Levy requested to meet with Minack after transferring to a different school, wanting to receive an apology from his former principal. Minack refused to apologize. “I said, 'unfortunately this is the first I've seen these allegations and from my point of view,'” he recalled. “These are unsubstantiated allegations.'"
Russia and Auschwitz: First They Ignored It. Then They De-Judaized It. Now They’re Exploiting It.
Russia’s complicated and disturbing record concerning Auschwitz just got a little more complicated, and a lot more disturbing.

In recent days, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been circulating images of anti-Russian stickers that were supposedly plastered around the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum, which is located at the site of the former death camp, in southwestern Poland. The stickers declare that “Russia and Russians deserve Zyklon B,” a reference to the poison gas used by the Nazis to murder Jews.

Actually, no such stickers were placed at the Auschwitz site; the images were superimposed on photos of the museum grounds through computer manipulation. They were accompanied by anti-Russian comments posted by alleged Ukrainians. The apparent goal of this little disinformation campaign was to make Ukrainians look bad and make the Russians look like victims of a hate crime.

For Moscow, exploiting Auschwitz to score propaganda points is just the latest manifestation of a pattern of Auschwitz-abuse that dates back to the period when the Nazis were still operating the mass murder facility.

In July 1944, as the Germans were gassing thousands of Hungarian (and other) Jews daily in Auschwitz, Eliahu Epstein, a top aide to Jewish Agency chairman David Ben-Gurion, met with the Soviet consul-general in Cairo, Daniil Solod.

Epstein proposed that the Soviets “bomb the centers of Jewish extermination in Poland.” According to Epstein’s report to Ben-Gurion, Solod “replied that…such an idea was out of the question politically, since the government of Russia would not adopt measures which were based on national grounds.” That position was more than a little ironic, given the decades-old Soviet policy of discriminating against Russian Jews on national grounds.
NATO office on Texas Air Force Base removes print of noted Nazi pilot and his plane
After complaints from Jewish staffers, the headquarters of a US-based training program for NATO pilots removed from display a framed print glorifying a Nazi fighter and his aircraft, which bears the swastika insignia.

The Air Force Times, an independent news site, on Monday reported that German Air Force Col. Stefan Kleinheyer, who is in charge of the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Program, has hanging outside his office in Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas a framed print of a World War II-era Messerschmitt 262 fighter jet, bearing a swastika on its tail.

The framed print includes a cameo portrait of Wolfgang “Bombo” Schenck, a decorated Nazi ace fighter, and another square with Schenck’s signature.

Staffers on the air force base, among them a number of Jewish personnel, last week alerted an advocacy group, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, to the existence of the print and on Tuesday afternoon, an Air Force public affairs officer, First Lt. Daniel Lindstrom, informed the foundation that the frame with the print and the cameo and the signature had been removed.

Schenck shot down close to two dozen Allied aircraft and joined in the blitzkriegs of Norway, Poland and France. He died in Germany in 2010.


Indonesia Says It Welcomes Israel to Compete in FIFA Under-20 World Cup Next Year
Indonesia’s Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) have confirmed that Israel’s youth national soccer team can participate in the 2023 FIFA Under-20 World Cup, to be hosted next year by the Southeast Asian nation, even though the two countries have no diplomatic relations.

“We have been discussing it since 2019. All countries that qualify to participate in the 2023 U-20 World Cup are welcome to play [in Indonesia],” Minister of Youth and Sports Zainudin Amali said in an Indonesian-language PSSI statement. He emphasized that sports should not be linked to politics and said, “That’s why FIFA has conveyed to us, [that] any country that passes, must be able to compete in Indonesia. So, there is no problem. Surely our security forces will provide a sense of security. This is something that needs to be considered.”

PSSI Secretary General Yunus Nusi also stated that all qualifying countries have the right to play in the U-20 World Cup, citing an agreement reached with the government last year.

The FIFA U-20 World Cup will take place in Indonesia from May 20-June 11, 2023.

Israel’s youth national soccer team secured its spot in next year’s tournament over the weekend, by qualifying for the semi-finals at the 2022 Under-19 EURO taking place in Slovakia. In the match taking place on Tuesday, Israel goes head-to-head against France, while England takes on Italy. All four semi-finalists will compete in the U-20 World Cup in Indonesia.
Israel Beats France, Meets England in Final of European Under-19 Soccer Championship
Israel’s youth soccer team made history Tuesday night when it qualified for the final game of the European Under-19 Championship for the first time. Israel defeated France’s strong team 2-1 and will face England, who defeated Italy 2-1 in the final Friday night (alas, the Jewish State’s national team plays on Shabbat).

Spain’s youth team was the defending champion, having won the last tournament that was held in 2019, with the 2020 and 2021 championships canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe. But Spain was unable to defend its title after failing to qualify for the competition.

The Israeli team took a 1-0 lead in the 29th minute from an own-goal by the French player Suleiman Tora after a wide kick from Israel’s Oscar Gluch. El-Yam Kanzapolski gave Israel a 2-0 lead from a shot in the 57th minute. France’s Alan Virginius narrowed the gap to 2-1 in the 61st minute with a kick inside the 16-yard box. The French team dominated for the remainder of the game but failed to crack the Israeli defense.

National team coach Ofir Haim said at the end of the game: “It’s an amazing and sensational achievement, it’s crazy. I know there’s a great team here with talented players who come to work and learn. I am very proud and happy. Tons of talent, but no egos, each one working for the other. There’s an amazing team here that knows how to integrate talent into the collective.”

Dream team.
"Young Indians Celebrate their Bar/Bat Mitzvah at the Kotel"
In a moving ceremony that was held at the Western Wall earlier this week, dozens of young Jews from India celebrated their Bar/Bat Mitzvahs. They were also given Hebrew names. They came as part of the Birthright project, after a five-year hiatus since a group from India visited Israel.

For most of the participants, this was their first visit to Israel and the Kotel. Their excitement peaked when the bar and bat mitzvah celebrants, ages 18 to 25, went up to the Torah as their friends sang “Siman Tov u’Mazel Tov,” and threw candies at them, in keeping with the Jewish custom.

Among the celebrants were a brother and sister, Eliran, 19, and Ma’ayan, 20, who were born in Mumbai and made aliyah as children, but their family soon returned to India because the parents found integration in the new country difficult. Now Eliran and Ma’ayan are considering making aliyah again, and Eliran even plans to enlist in the IDF and serve as a combat soldier. “We want to make aliyah and return to Israel for good. I hope to be a fighter and do my part,” he said.

Sujay Navarker, 21, said: “I received the name Netzah at my Bar Mitzvah ceremony. I think we should help the IDF win and I want to do my part. I am excited to have met everyone here, and got to know more Jews from Mumbai.”

Roshanah Tambada, 21, received her unique first name because she was born on Rosh Hashanah. “I am excited to be here with everyone and I would like us to establish a new community of young Jews from Mumbai. It is very exciting to be with the Jews in the State of Israel. I no longer feel alone,” she said.

Mumbai is home to an estimated 1,500 Jews, with a total population of close to 12 million, but the city does not have an organized Jewish community.
Unpacked: A Jewish American Tale | The Jewish Story Explained
Jewish life in early 20th century America meant a constant question of identity. At a time when being an immigrant was far from celebrated, young Jews worked to free themselves from the “old country” traditions of their immigrant parents.

This all came to a head when the world witnessed the horrors of the Holocaust. Suddenly, progressive American Jews needed to decide what was more important: their American values or the suffering of fellow Jews across the world.

As Jews learned to balance the American dream with traditional Jewish values, a rich cultural diversity began to develop which has led to the great impact Jews have had on the United States until today.






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