Saturday, October 15, 2022

10/15 Links: Top Law Firms Fund Anti-Semitic Campus Groups at Berkeley; White House ‘deeply disappointed’ after Abbas tells Putin he doesn’t trust US

From Ian:

Nation’s Top Law Firms Fund Anti-Semitic Campus Groups at Berkeley
A host of the nation’s premier law firms are financially supporting organizations at Berkeley Law School that are accused of fostering anti-Semitism and hatred of Israel, according to a campus watchdog group.

Student groups at the elite law school, led by Law Students for Justice in Palestine, adopted what they called a pro-Palestine bylaw earlier this month pledging to ban all speakers who support "Zionism" or "the apartheid state of Israel." The resolution primarily targets Jews who identify as pro-Israel and support the Jewish state, fueling accusations of anti-Semitism among Berkeley law students.

An analysis by StandWithUs, a nonpartisan pro-Israel organization that combats anti-Semitism on campus, indicates that half of the student groups that backed the resolution are funded in part by some of the country’s most elite law firms, including Latham & Watkins, Jenner & Block LLP, and Cooley LLP. StandWithUs is demanding these firms pull their support from the student groups, but, as of Friday, none have committed to do so. A Washington Free Beacon request for comment to 10 of the law firms named by StandWithUs was not returned by press time.

Roz Rothstein, StandWithUs’s CEO and cofounder, told the Free Beacon that she is hopeful once these law firms learn that they are financially backing anti-Semitism, they will pull their support.

"It is hard to fathom that such distinguished law firms would knowingly sponsor student groups that support anti-Semitism by punishing Jewish students for aspects of their identity," Rothstein said. "We are hopeful that as these firms learn about what their grantees have done, they will publicly and rapidly condemn the antisemitic action and cease further sponsorship of groups who are perpetrators of such hate."
Analysts offer pros and cons on Lebanon maritime deal but agree it will not make Israel safer
Opponents of the deal, among them opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu, also complained that the agreement was a capitulation to Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy and the most powerful force in Lebanon. In July, the terrorist group launched three unarmed drones at an Israeli gas rig, and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah warned that “no one” would drill gas as long as Lebanon’s “rights” to extract gas were not upheld.

Amidror said his central question was how Nasrallah would react. “What will be the assessment of Nasrallah? … If, sitting with his people, he says, ‘Guys, we won. Israel collapsed under the pressure. … The Israelis retreated because they don’t want another war with Hezbollah, and let’s think what will be the next space in which we can blackmail them.’… it might lead to escalation,” Amidror said.

David Schenker, assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs during the Trump administration, shared Amidror’s concern during the JINSA webinar. “The big question for me is whether this agreement makes Israel safer. And this is what we’re hearing from the Israeli government. This is what we heard from the IDF. I think it’s to be determined. It could go either way. And the problem of Hezbollah doesn’t go away because of this agreement. It could potentially exacerbate the problem,” he said.

Schenker also offered a positive note, saying the deal would essentially turn Hezbollah and its Lebanese Christian allies into Israel’s business partners. “The Israeli government got … [them] … to sign off on a document that essentially recognizes Israel. This has never been done. … This discredits Hezbollah at home [and] undermines a little bit the resistance narrative,” Schenker said.

Amidror said proponents of the agreement have argued that what matters is that Israel can start drilling immediately, something “more important than all the symbolic lines in the sea.” He agreed that with the threat from Hezbollah at least temporarily shelved, oil and gas companies will more readily agree to explore in the area.

The U.S. has agreed to mediate between French oil giant TotalEnergies and Israel. TotalEnergies will drill in Lebanese waters and as part of the deal, Israel is to receive a percentage of revenue from gas that extends over the Lebanese line into Israeli waters. The U.S. also said that it would guarantee Israel’s security and economic rights should Hezbollah challenge the agreement. The U.S. provided Israel with a letter to that effect, Israeli sources said.

“It’s a PR paper. Legally, no one is obliged to fulfill it,” Amidror said. Schenker agreed, saying, “This letter, if it exists, doesn’t have any legal weight.”

Both analysts expressed concern that some of the funds from an offshore gas windfall could end up in the hands of Hezbollah. “I think the Lebanese already fear that this money will disappear into the abyss of corruption,” Schenker said. “There’s no transparency. The state does not have a sovereign wealth fund. Already there are contracts … by Total and others to shell companies that are partially owned by some of the most corrupt political elites in Lebanon.”

“We can expect that not only will it help Hezbollah’s allies benefit, but that Hezbollah to some extent will benefit as well,” he said.
Majority of Israelis Support Maritime Deal, Poll Shows
The majority of Israelis support the maritime border deal with Lebanon, believing it was the appropriate measure notwithstanding the coincidence with the election, according to an opinion poll released on Friday.

For 47 percent of respondents to Channel 12‘s survey, the signing of the agreement some three weeks before a general election represents the right decision, while 36 percent oppose it and 17 percent have no opinion on the matter.

On a separate topic, 47 percent of respondent believe that Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s main motivations for concluding the agreement were of a “political” nature, while 41 percent say the leader was guided by considerations of what is best for the security and economy of Israel.

In addition, 57 percent of those polled believe that former premier Benjamin Netanyahu’s opposition to the agreement and his harsh criticism of Lapid are political, compared to 31 percent who believe that his positions are motivated by Israel’s security and economy.

Israel’s security cabinet voted on Wednesday afternoon in favor of the maritime border deal with Lebanon. The text is now subject to approval by the parliament.

Lapid hailed the Lebanon deal on Wednesday, saying it was “a great achievement for the state of Israel, for Israel’s security and for Israel’s economy.”

Netanyahu meanwhile accused the government of caving in to external pressures and putting Israel’s security at risk.


Netanyahu: Trump said I don’t want peace, in a ‘Houston, we are the problem!’ moment
At one point in 2017, when Trump met then-President Reuven Rivlin, the US leader “blurted out, ‘Bibi doesn’t want peace,'” Netanyahu recalled in the book.

He said Israel’s then-ambassador to the United States Ron Dermer was “flabbergasted.” by Trump’s assessment. “This was not, ‘Houston, we have a problem.’ This was, ‘Houston, we are the problem!'”

Netanyahu was determined to put the Palestinian issue on the back burner during his premiership while pursuing peace with neighboring Arab states, and wrote in the book that he was frustrated with Trump’s “fixation with the Palestinians.”

In September 2020, Israel signed the US-brokered Abraham Accords with Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, normalizing relations with the two states. Morocco separately forged ties with Israel, while Sudan signed onto the accords later on but has yet to normalize relations with the Jewish state.

In order to convince Trump that peace with the Palestinians was not feasible, Netanyahu said he deployed slides for Trump, with maps demonstrating the distance from Tel Aviv to the 1967 lines “which the Palestinians demanded we retreat,” referring to lines marking Israel’s territory before the Six-Day War.

Trump is widely reported to have preferred to receive information in byte-size, easy-to-digest format, and Netanyahu seems to have embraced such an approach.

“Superimposed on the map was the distance from Trump Tower to the George Washington Bridge. The two distances — a little more than six miles as the crow flies — were identical,” Netanyahu wrote.

Netanyahu said that Dermer described to Trump prospects of achieving peace with the Palestinians as a “hole-in-one through a brick wall,” while “peace with the Emirates is a five-foot putt” and “peace with the Saudis is a 30-foot putt.”

“The president got it. For the time being at least, we had certainly moved him to a better place.”

Netanyahu recollected how as premier, he and then-US ambassador to Israel David Friedman showed video clips of Abbas to Trump portraying him as duplicitous, promoting peace in English while praising terrorists in Arabic.

“I could see that the video registered with Trump, at least momentarily. ‘Wow,’ he said. ‘Is that the same guy I just met in Washington? He seemed like such a sweet, peaceful guy,’” Netanyahu wrote.
'We've dealt with bigger problems than these stupidities': Former Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu condemns Kanye West's anti-Semitic tweets declaring war on the Jewish community, as he appears on Bill Maher's HBO show
Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned Kanye West for his anti-Semitic tweets and declaration of war on the Jewish community.

Speaking with Bill Maher on Friday night's Real Time, Israel's leader scoffed when the talk show host asked him if he would 'retaliate' against West for his tweets.

West's Twitter account was suspended last week after he tweeted: 'I'm a bit sleepy tonight but when I wake up I'm going death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE.'

Netanyahu dismissed the tweets and said they were just a part of a long history of hate that the Jewish community has had to endure.

'Anti-Semitism is the longest hatred in history,' he said. 'It goes back thousands of years. We've dealt with bigger problems than these stupidities.'

The ex-prime minister noted that West, 45, was simply blaming his problems on Jewish people, which he said was emblematic of anti-Semitism around the world.

'You know, the communists blame the Jews for being capitalists, the capitalists blame the Jews for being communists. You have a problem, blame the Jews,' he told Maher.

'It's old stuff. It shouldn't have any place in civilized discourse.

'That's the reason we established the Jewish State—so the Jewish people would have defense against these absurdities, and sometimes they're coupled with violence. We don't let that happen again.'
Benjamin Netanyahu on Anti-Semitism | Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO)

ZOA to honor Trump, calling him ‘best friend Israel ever had in the White House’
The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) on Friday announced that it will honor former President Donald Trump with its Theodor Herzl Medallion.

Trump will receive the honor, which ZOA said it “rarely gives,” at the organization’s national award dinner in New York City on Nov. 13.

ZOA stated in an email that it is honoring Trump “for being the best friend Israel ever had in the White House.” It listed a number of items in the context of Trump’s pro-Israel and pro-Jewish record, including brokering the Abraham Accords, relocating the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, an executive order strengthening Title VI of the Civil Rights Act to protect Jewish students, recognizing Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights, pulling the U.S. out of the Iran deal, halting U.S. funding of the Palestinian Authority and UNRWA, recognizing the legality of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, becoming the first U.S. president to pray at the Western Wall, and more.

At the same event, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) will receive ZOA’s Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson Defender of Israel Award. Miriam Adelson will present both Trump and McCarthy’s the awards.
White House ‘deeply disappointed’ after Abbas tells Putin he doesn’t trust US
The White House issued a rare public rebuke of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday, after the latter publicly dismissed US efforts to address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and indicated that Ramallah prefers that Russia play a more central role as a mediator while sitting alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The statement from a National Security Council spokesperson appeared to be the first time the Biden administration has responded to escalating criticism from Ramallah, which has accused Washington of failing to pressure Israel to cease military operations in the West Bank while also only focusing on economic antidotes to the conflict, rather than political ones.

In remarks in front of reporters ahead of a private Thursday meeting with Putin at a conference in Kazakhstan, Abbas said, “We don’t trust America and you know our position. We don’t trust it, we don’t rely on it, and under no circumstances can we accept that America is the sole party in resolving a problem.”

Abbas clarified that the US can still play a peacemaking role “within the Quartet since it is a great country, but we will never accept it as the only one.”

By contrast, Abbas told Putin that he is “happy and satisfied with the Russian position.”
Members of Congress urge State Department to act more quickly on internal anti-Semitic incidents
A bipartisan group of members of the U.S. House of Representatives sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken this week urging for an update on the investigations of internal incidents of anti-Semitism in the department.

The letter was led by Reps. Grace Meng (D-N.Y.), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), Kathy Manning (D-N.C.), Randy Walker (R-Texas), Marc Veasey (D-Texas), Kay Granger (R-Texas), Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) and Chris Smith (R-N.J.), who are all co-chairs of the House Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Anti-Semitism.

The letter, which was signed by 75 members of Congress, reminded Blinken of the multiple acts of anti-Semitism that have occurred in the past 21 months within the State Department and its foreign posts, and despite the launching of an investigation of the incidents, there has been no news of progress or putative action.

The first incident referred to in the letter was brought to light in February 2021, when it was discovered that U.S. Foreign Service Officer Fritz Berggren was running an anti-Semitic website that had called for the establishment of a Christian nation-state for years.

Despite this revelation, Berggren is still employed with the department.

In July of the same year, a swastika was found cut into the wood paneling of one of the elevators of the Harry S. Truman Building in Washington D.C. The elevator was near the office of the special envoy for monitoring and combating Anti-Semitism.

That month more than 70 State Department employees sent a letter to Blinken expressing their concerns and feelings of insecurity over Berggren’s continued employment with the department.

“Despite these pleas from your employees, and his outrageous anti-Semitism and bigotry, Mr. Berggren remains employed by the State Department. This is beyond alarming,” the task force members wrote.


US: Israeli-Palestinian violence is horrific and must stop
The United States “remains deeply concerned by the worsening situation in the West Bank” and calls on Israel and the Palestinians to do everything possible to contain the situation, State Department Deputy Spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters in Washington on Friday.

He noted that in the last month alone “at least 21 Palestinians, including at least seven children, and four Israelis have been killed.”

He added, “this is horrific, and it must stop.”

Patel exclaims that “the deaths of soldiers and children alike are unacceptable.”

The United States calls “on all parties to do everything in their power to de-escalate the situation, which we believe is in the interest of Israelis and Palestinians but also the region more broadly,” he said.

This includes, Patel explained, “preventing all forms of violent incitement.”

The Biden administration, he stated, urges “the parties themselves to contain the violence. While the US and other international partners stand ready to help, we can’t substitute that for vital engagement between the parties to mitigate the conflict.”
Meretz chief: IDF soldiers must be restrained and ‘firm hand’ taken with settlers
Meretz party head Zehava Galon called on Saturday for Defense Minister Benny Gantz to restrain soldiers in their treatment of Palestinians and said that a “firmer hand” needed to be taken with settlers.

“The defense minister needs to restrain and moderate the soldiers of the IDF,” the head of the left-wing party said at a cultural event in the central city of Petah Tikva.

“There is a crazy increase in the number of Palestinians killed. There has been a loosening of open-fire regulation,” she said.

“The settlers are rioting in Palestinian [areas] and this creates an escalation,” she added. “The army secures convoys of settlers with all kinds of marches and this is a provocation.”

On Tuesday, Staff Sgt. Ido Baruch was killed in a shooting near the settlement of Shavei Shomron in the northern West Bank while securing a march by settlers near the adjacent Palestinian town of Sebastia over a string of recent shootings in the West Bank.

“Anyone who proposes to bring more [Israeli] forces into the [West Bank] will bring the area into an unnecessary escalation,” she said, and argued: “There needs to be a firmer hand taken toward settlers.”

The Meretz leader’s comments came amid several days of heavy clashes in East Jerusalem and an uptick in violence in the West Bank, as well as a number of high-profile incidents in recent months in which soldiers were seen to be reinforcing or standing by during settler violence against Palestinians and left-wing activists.
Israeli injured after shooting near Bet El, attacker neutralized
An Israeli civilian received injuries after being shot in a terrorist attack near the town of Bet El on Friday.

According to the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), the victim was transported to a hospital while IDF soldiers in the area shot and killed the attacker.

At this time, it is not known if the attacker acted alone and the IDF continues searching the area for possible additional suspects.
TikTok bans account of Palestinian armed group behind West Bank shootings
The TikTok video-sharing platform on Saturday banned an account belonging to an armed Palestinian group responsible for numerous shooting attacks against Israeli forces and civilians in the northern West Bank in recent months.

The account, belonging to the group calling itself “Lion’s Den,” was removed for violating the platform’s community guidelines.

According to Hebrew-language media reports, the move by TikTok to ban the account came following requests by Israel.

The group, based in Nablus, was established in recent months by members of various terror groups. Some of its members were apparently previously affiliated with the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, among others.

Lion’s Den had used its TikTok account to publish videos of its members committing shooting attacks and to spread its ideology.

Prime Minister Yair Lapid and Defense Minister Benny Gantz earlier this week instructed law enforcement officials to focus efforts on combating incitement on social media, amid heightened tensions in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.


Doctor killed in Jenin clash with IDF fought alongside terrorists - Fatah
A Palestinian doctor and an armed gunman were killed amid clashes with IDF soldiers operating in Jenin on Friday morning.

The doctor was identified by Palestinian media as 43-year-old Dr. Abdallah Abu al Teen. He was responsible for licensing at the Palestinian Health Ministry.

Palestinian reports initially reported that he was shot and killed by a sniper but later the Palestinian Health Ministry stated that he was in critical condition. He died in hospital from his wounds.

Israel unsure who shot Palestinian doctor down
There were conflicting reports about who may have shot him and the IDF Spokesperson's Unit said that they were investigating the circumstances of the shooting and if he was hit by Palestinian or Israel fire. The military is also looking into the possibility that he had participated in the shooting and therefore targeted by the force.

The military stressed after the incident that "the presence of uninvolved civilians in a combat zone constitutes a real mortal danger."

Shortly after his death, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades terror group claimed Abu Teen as a commander in the group and the Secretary of the Fatah Movement of Jenin Province, Atta Abu Armila, told the Palestinian Quds news agency that al Teen was killed while "fighting side by side with the resistance.”

The IDF said that during the operation, explosives were thrown and Palestinian gunmen opened heavy fire toward the forces who returned “accurate shots toward armed men identified in the area.”


Iran videos show smoke rising at Tehran prison holding political prisoners, shots heard
A fire broke out at Tehran's Evin prison, which holds political prisoners, on Saturday night, with Iranian officials claiming that inmates at the prison had begun rioting and torched a warehouse.

Videos published on social media showed smoke and flames rising on Saturday from the prison, as gunfire and explosions could be heard in the background.

"Gunshots can be heard from Evin Prison and smoke can be seen," said the 1500tasvir Twitter account, which also shared video footage it said showed special forces on motorbikes heading for the prison.

"Families of prisoners have gathered in front of the main door of Evin prison," said a witness contacted by Reuters. "I can see fire and smoke. Lots of special forces. Ambulances are here too."

Eight people were injured in the incident, according to Iranian state media.

The official IRNA news agency, citing a "senior security official," reported that "On Saturday evening, the ward where thugs were kept witnessed unrest and conflict between these elements in the prison, which led to a conflict between these people and the personnel of Evin prison."

The security official claimed that "thugs" had set fire to a warehouse containing clothes and that the situation and the fire were under control.

Iranian journalist Masoud Kazemi reported on Saturday night that shortly before the fire some of the prisoners began chanting anti-government slogans, leading to an anti-riot force entering to confront them. Shortly afterwards, heavy gunfire was heard and the phones in the prison were disconnected.


Iranian students are also protesting against oppressive educations -opinion
In the wake of Mahsa Amini’s death, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will be disappointed that Iranian students are destroying textbooks that carry his image, throwing the pictures into the garbage and trampling them. His disappointment will be particularly acute, as Iran has recently been targeting girls in textbooks by increasing the amount of material celebrating female martyrs.

In fact, the Iranian curriculum has long acted as a vehicle to export its revolution, instilling in children the glorification of violence and jihad as early as first grade. But a new study into the Iranian curriculum by The Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education (IMPACT-se), and authored by Dr. Eldad Pardo, shows an even greater degree of radicalization than in our 2016 report.

The United States is the primary antagonist in the ongoing conflict between Islam and imperialism, leading to the prevalence of chants of “Death to America,” and “The big satan.” Alongside calls for “Death to Israel,” known in Iran as the “little satan” and the celebration of Hamas rocket fire raining down on the Jewish state, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s instruction that “Israel must be wiped out” now takes on a practical dimension, explaining that Israel’s destruction is achievable with reasonable effort and investment. In fact, the destruction of Israel is portrayed as a key condition for the world’s salvation.

The pursuit of Iranian hegemony in the Arab Middle East is a vital goal: students learn that the world is divided between followers of Iran’s global revolution and those infidels who oppose it. They are taught that foreign militia members are now part of the Iranian regime. Our report pointed out that this likely means the regime may be inclined to use Arab militias to crush Iranian protesters, a fact which, sadly, was precisely what came to fruition. For the Iranian curriculum, enemies – Iranians and non-Iranians – are those who oppose the Khomeini revolution and friends – Iranians and foreign militiamen – are those who follow the path of the revolution.

While aspirations of Iranian hegemony in the Middle East are not a new development in the country’s school education, the theme has become more prevalent and specific. There is an effort to convince students that Iran’s wars in the Arab world are worthwhile and necessary for safeguarding Iranian prosperity and security, including the argument that Iranian governance of the region will allow control of much of the world’s energy supply alongside maritime trade passing through the Strait of Hormuz and the Suez Canal.


German bank seeks closure of BDS group’s accounts following 'Post' probe
German bank Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW) is pursuing in a Stuttgart city court the closure of two accounts held by a pro-Palestinian organization that supports a boycott of Israel, The Jerusalem Post can reveal.

Christian Potthoff, a spokesman for LBBW, told the Post on Friday that the “reason for the closure was and is the support of the so-called ‘BDS campaign’ (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) through the owner of the account. The BDS campaign contradicts the values for which LBBW stands.”

That was not always the case. The Post first disclosed in 2016 that LBBW provides an account to the BDS organization Palestine Committee Stuttgart.

Rabbi: Bank's statement a 180-degree shift
Rabbi Abraham Cooper, the associate dean of the Wiesenthal Center, told the Post “The bank’s recent statement is a welcome 180-degree shift from their 2016 refusal to cancel the BDS account.”

Cooper added that the bank’s “statement should set a standard for all public and private institutions in Germany, Europe and in the Americas who are pressured by supporters of the antisemitic BDS movement to boycott Israel.”

Potthoff said that “The closure of the business relation corresponds to the position of the German Bundestag, which decided to take a firm stand against the BDS movement.”

Cooper added that “The LBBW decision also debunks Michael Blume, antisemitism czar [in Baden-Württemberg], who contended that the BDS account could not be closed.”

Blume is tasked with fighting antisemitism and hatred of Israel but is facing growing calls for his resignation due to his alleged defamation of the father of the IDF, Orde Wingate, as a “war criminal” and “British murderer.”

The timing of the account closures in February 2022 followed intense media coverage of the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Top 10 list of worst antisemitic outbreaks in December 2021. The Palestine Committee Stuttgart secured a temporary injunction against the account closures in April 2022. LBBW’s Potthoff said the state’s court in Stuttgart will decide on the closure of the accounts.

One of the accounts titled “Park and Ride” states it sends donations to the Al-Awda hospital in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. The European Union and US classify Hamas as a foreign terrorist entity.

The Palestine Committee Stuttgart opened the “Park and Ride” account in 2020. It is unclear how LBBW can ensure that funds provided to Al-Awda won’t be funneled into Hamas terrorist activities.

Indirect terror connections between Al-Awda and UHWC
There are indirect terrorism connections between Al-Awda and the UHWC, an organization affiliated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

According to a report by the Jerusalem-based NGO Monitor, the Fatah Party controlled by PA President Mahmoud Abbas said the UHWC is an “affiliate” of the PFLP. The US and EU designated the PFLP a terrorist entity.

NGO Monitor wrote: “In 2017-2018, UHWC received $953,793 from the UNOCHA [United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs]” for a number of projects, including “two projects at Al-Awda Hospital in Gaza.”
Legal Conference Changes Israel ‘Apartheid’ Panel After Breitbart Queries
The American branch of the International Law Association appears to have edited a description of a panel discussion at its upcoming October conference that declared the State of Israel is guilty of the crime of “apartheid” — widely seen a form of antisemitism.

A panel on Saturday, October 22, titled “Racism and the Crime of Apartheid in International Law,” was initially described by the program as including “Israeli authorities’ systematic oppression of Palestinians” as a form of apartheid.

But after Breitbart News sent queries to organizers and sponsors of the event earlier this week, a new version of the program was uploaded to the program website Oct. 13 that now omits specific mention of Israel, though it still includes speakers who have argued that Israel is guilty of apartheid.

Apartheid was a regime of racial segregation in South Africa that ended in 1994. Israel has never, had such laws or practices, and gave equal rights to Arab citizens from independence; separations between Israelis and Palestinians in Judea and Samaria (“the West Bank”) exist as a result of recent conflict. The U.S. Department of State recognizes that one form of antisemitism is “[d]enying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor.”

Still, claims that Israel is guilty of “apartheid” are used on the far left in an attempt to discredit, and ultimately to dismantle, Israel. The inclusion of that claim at a widely-respected legal conference, sponsored by prominent law schools and law firms, reflects an effort to move anti-Israel extremism and antisemitism into the legal mainstream.

Already, anti-Israel ideology is being used to exclude Jews on campus. UC Berkeley’s law school, for example, has been accused of allowing student groups to create “Jewish-free zones” by banning pro-Israel speakers.

Breitbart News approached several hosts and sponsors of the International Law Association to ask if they endorsed the panel’s view, evident from the program as it existed at the time.
Half Measures: Wellesley College Paper Walks Back Part of Anti-Semitic Screed in Face of Administrative Smackdown
The editors of Wellesley College’s student newspaper are walking back their support for an anti-Semitic group collecting data on Jewish institutions in Massachusetts that it wants to "dismantle."

The Wellesley News editorial board on Wednesday renounced their September endorsement of the anti-Semitic Boston Mapping Project, which they said provides a "vital service" in tracking financial and personal information about Jewish synagogues, schools, media outlets, and law enforcement groups.

The endorsement from board members Toshali Goel, Andreea Sabau, Maryam Ahmad, Renee Remsberg, Ann Zhao, Emilie Zhang, Iris Martinez, and Micol Zhai prompted outcry from many corners, including Wellesley College president Paula Johnson, who said last week in a letter that the college "rejects the Mapping Project for promoting anti-Semitism." The student editors have since hidden their masthead on the paper's website, and many have made their social media profiles private or deleted them.

But the editorial also expressed support for the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement—which the U.S. House of Representatives condemned in 2019 for its efforts to "delegitimize the State of Israel." The editors said their "citation may have differed from its purpose," even as they partially defended its inclusion.

"We endorsed the BDS movement and Wellesley Students for Justice in Palestine, and we reaffirm our support of both movements and the liberation of Palestine," the Wellesley News editors said on Twitter. "We do not endorse The Mapping Project."

Anti-Semitic incidents hit an all-time high in the United States in 2021, the Anti-Defamation League announced in April, with assaults, vandalism, and harassment up more than 30 percent. Rapper Kanye West came under fire on Saturday for tweeting he would go "death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE," earning a prompt rebuke from the ADL for his "deeply troubling, dangerous, and anti-Semitic" rhetoric.


Anti-Israel student protesters call for ‘intifada revolution at George Washington University
Two anti-Israel groups held a protest calling for a violent uprising against the State of Israel at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday

According to a video released on social media, about 15 to 20 members of GWU’s Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace chapters stood outside of the GW Hillel chanting, “There is only one solution: intifada revolution.”

Intifada, translated as uprising or rebellion in Arabic, refers to two extended Palestinian waves of terrorism—the first from 1987 to 1993 and the second from 2000 to 2005.

According to GW SJP’s Facebook page, the protests came in response to pro-Israel student groups including the GW Mishelanu (an Israeli-American Council affiliate) and GW for Israel hosting a talk by Doron Tenne, assistant director of the Israel Security Agency and its attaché to the Embassy of Israel in Washington. SJP noted that Tenne held leadership roles in the Israel Defense Forces during the first intifada.

“Inviting a man who has directly overseen and commanded the mass slaughter of Palestinians and the continued land theft and hyper-militarization of our homeland—in the most explicit of terms—says that these organizations wholeheartedly support the actions of someone who could only be described as a war criminal,” GW SJP said in a statement.

According to a statement from GW Hillel, students who were in the building for the event, studying or participating in a student leadership meeting, were shouted at by the protestors, who called them “war criminals” and had signs saying “GW Hillel, you have blood on your hands.”

“We celebrate the rights of all to exercise free speech. However, when this exercise limits the ability of our Jewish students to freely learn, when property is vandalized, or when our home cannot be fully utilized as a result of aggressive behavior and actions, a line has been crossed,” the Jewish organization said.

“Zionism is not a dirty word, it is simply the belief that the Jewish state has the right to exist,” the group continued. “To direct vile speech around Zionists towards the Hillel building and our community does nothing to advance the cause of peace or the work of changemaking.”


Mainstreaming the apartheid lie in the heart of the NY glitterati
On October 22nd, the American Branch of the International Law Association (ABILA) – a prominent organization of legal scholars and practitioners – will work to help normalize the antisemitic “apartheid” libel against the Jewish state. It will do so in the presence of high powered attorneys and with the sponsorship of powerful law firms, including White & Case LLP and Debevoise & Plimpton LLP.

The ABILA annual conference, held in New York, will feature a panel entitled “Racism and the Crime of Apartheid in International Law,” during which three known anti-Israel ideologues will be given over an hour to promote the apartheid canard without challenge. The panelists include: Omar Shakir, the “Israel and Palestine” director for Human Rights Watch (HRW); Victor Kattan, an academic; and E. Tendayi Achiume, a United Nations “expert.” All three are on record promoting the obscene accusation of “apartheid” against Israel.

The uniformity of opinion is almost certainly no accident. Even the event’s description works to diminish the existence of differing perspectives, lazily proclaiming that “human rights organizations, UN bodies, experts, and scholars have concluded that the crime of apartheid is being committed with impunity.” It ignores the fact that those conclusions come from a limited group of activists citing each other back and forth, creating an artificial appearance of greater support. Kattan, for example, was a contributor to a 2009 report that accused Israel of apartheid, which is cited by the hyper-partisan Amnesty International. Other contributors to the 2009 report are cited in the “apartheid” report by Shakir’s organization, HRW, which in turn is cited by those same 2009 contributors for the same proposition. This creates an endless loop of self-confirmation, which is sure to be an apt description of the October 22nd panel, too.

Also ignored are the many organizations and experts who have publicly challenged the apartheid canard, such as law professors Eugene Kontorovich, Mark Goldfeder, and Avi Bell, as well as world leaders and prominent jurists like former Canadian Justice Minister and human rights lawyer Irwin Cotler, former South African judge Richard Goldstone, Czech President Milos Zeman, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and French President Emmanuel Macron. Barrister Joshua Kern and Anne Herzberg in particular have produced two outstanding, thorough legal analyses on this subject.
Fury as police drop probes into two Chanukah attacks over a 'lack of resources'
The Metropolitan Police was accused of “institutional failure” last night after officers closed investigations into two disturbing Chanukah attacks, citing a lack of “resources”.

Emails seen by the JC reveal that in one incident, detectives did not even attempt to access CCTV, saying it would amount to a “fishing expedition”.

The assaults — one targeting a bus of youngsters on Oxford Street, and the other a knife attack in West Hampstead by a man declaring he wanted to “find a Jew to kill” — made national headlines.

Yet this week, the Met confirmed that despite CCTV, mobile phone footage and multiple witnesses, investigators had concluded both investigations. The attackers remain at large.

Now the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has vowed to personally investigate. “Hate crime has a chilling effect on the entire community,” he said. “I’ll seek to endeavour to find out what happened.”

It comes as the JC has joined with the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) and the Jewish News to offer a joint £30,000 reward for information leading to a conviction for the Oxford Street incident. The CAA is offering a further £10,000 reward linked to the West Hampstead knife attack.

One of those targeted on Oxford Street told the JC: “I don’t think the police did enough at all. I don’t know even if they went back to the scene. They took some details. I think they called us the day after or two days after.

“They said they were going to update us but nothing happened. They should at least want to investigate and find who these people are, deal with it so it won’t happen again. This is Oxford Street, in the middle of London.
Documentary on Tree of Life synagogue shooting to air on HBO
A documentary centering on the Tree of Life synagogue shooting will premiere on HBO on October 26, about four years after the shooting took the lives of 11 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

"A Tree of Life: The Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting" was produced by actors Michael Keaton and Billy Porter and entrepreneur Mark Cuban.

The trailer for the upcoming film features parts of interviews of people that were at the scene at the time of the incident, which will be aired in full once the documentary premiers.

The trailer for the documentary can be watched below: "I turned around, and there was the man with the gun," said one of the people interviewed for the film who was present at the synagogue at the time of the shooting.

"We got a text that just said: 'Active shooter at Tree of Life synagogue,'" another woman said.

The video highlights antisemitism in the United States but also documents Catholic and Muslim communities standing in solidarity with the Jewish community of Pittsburgh after the attack.

"Whether Jewish, Catholic or Muslim, everyone seemed touched because this could happen to them," one man said in the trailer.
Many New Zealand Jews have been harassed over Zionism - report
New Zealand Jews are saying that the most common form of antisemitism they experience is related to Israel and to anti-Zionism, according to the local human rights group "Humanity Matters."

Overall, two-thirds (65%) of New Zealand Jews said that they have experienced antisemitism on social media in the last three years.

The report aims to explore the Jewish experience in New Zealand and to understand the unique challenges facing the relatively small Jewish community.

What did the study find?
More than half (52%) of the Jewish people living in New Zealand said that they encountered antisemitic misinformation or disinformation online that was either directly related to Israel or to anti-Zionism during the last 12 months, according to the report.

The next highest type of antisemitism was due to "financial" reasons, alluding to the antisemitic trope that claims Jewish people control international finance, or that Jewish people are "good with money." More than a quarter (27%) of the respondents said they encountered this kind of antisemitism online during the last 12 months.

Only one percent of respondents said they have encountered no antisemitism online over the last 12 months.

Other antisemitic tropes that were encountered were: "social" - meaning "Jewish people keep themselves separate, are secretive; Jewish people are behind COVID." Other antisemitic incidences were reportedly due to racial, ideological, cultural and religious reasons.
Rabbi Assaulted in Berlin Calls on German Authorities to Deport Antisemitic Refugees
A Berlin rabbi targeted with his 13-year-old son in an antisemitic attack in September has called on the German government to deport refugees who engage in anti-Jewish rhetoric and actions.

“The authorities should have every refugee who comes to Germany sign a commitment,” Ukrainian-born Rabbi Ariel Kirzon told the Focus news outlet. “This should state that antisemitic acts are severely punished and can lead to expulsion from Germany.”

The rabbi of the Jewish community in Potsdam, a city bordering the German capital, the 43-year-old Kirzon was assaulted on Sept. 12 as he traveled to a doctor’s appointment with his son. Kirzon had been standing on the sidewalk in front of a subway station speaking on the phone in Hebrew when a man walked towards him, purposely bumped into his shoulder and shouted “you filthy Jew!” in his face.

“I was clearly recognizable as a Jew when suddenly an Arab-looking man insulted and attacked me,” Kirzon said after the incident. “He shouted and raised his hands, grabbed me, as if to hit me.” The rabbi subsequently filed a criminal complaint for bodily harm and insult with the Berlin police authorities.

Kirzon argued that the German public should not be obliged to fund custodial sentences for offenders who come from abroad. “If someone nevertheless attracts attention with antisemitic statements or actions, then he should not go to prison at the expense of us taxpayers. He should have to leave Germany,” he asserted.
Swedish politician: Anne Frank was 'horny herself'
A far-right Swedish politician and media personality shared a sexual Instagram story about Anne Frank, was criticized by many in the Jewish community and her membership in the party has been temporarily suspended.

“Fifty pages in and so far Anne Frank has only struck me as debauched, the horniness itself,” Sweden Democrat (SD) Rebecka Fallenkvist wrote on Instagram.

The 26-year-old has been elected as a Sweden Democratic member in Region Stockholm in 2022 and has been hosting news programs on the Sweden Democrats’ YouTube channel, called Riks.

In the Instagram story, Fallenkvist also tagged a song by Kanye West, who has recently also been accused of antisemitism. The Swedish Jewish Community's response

“We are obviously outraged and disgusted by this,” Nina Tojzner, secretary-general of the Jewish youth organization in Sweden told The Jerusalem Post on Saturday.

Tojzner’s organization shared a press release, stating that “normalizing a treacherous use of language and shameless trivialization of the suffering of Holocaust victims is indecent and undignified. This is even more serious, coming from a popularly elected politician who enjoys great influence.”

Responding to Fallenkvist’s comments, Israel’s Ambassador to Sweden Ziv Nevo Kulman tweeted that “I strongly condemn this despicable insult, disrespectful to the memory of Anne Frank.”


Israel is the fifth-most educated country in the world - report
Israel is the fifth most educated country in the world, with half (50.12%) of people having completed tertiary education, according to an Erudera report.

The rest of the top 10 are Canada, Japan, Luxembourg, South Korea, the US, Ireland, UK, Australia and Finland.

Erudera, an education search platform, also found some joint characteristics of those countries, saying that they all have relatively high per capita GDP, high spending on education and low unemployment rates.

Among highly educated young Israelis (25-34), women are a clear majority with 62.6%, according to the OECD report "Education at a Glance 2022". Why is tertiary education important?

Tertiary education, according the World Bank, "refers to all formal post-secondary education, including public and private universities, colleges, technical training institutes, and vocational schools."

According to the report , during the COVID-19 pandemic, "unemployment increased much more for those with below upper secondary attainment than for those with tertiary attainment."

The report also suggests that better-educated adults find it easier to adopt new technologies. 71% of 55-74 year-olds with tertiary attainment managed to use online or video calls during the pandemic, while only 34% of similarly aged adults with below upper secondary attainment did.




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This blog may be a labor of love for me, but it takes a lot of effort, time and money. For over 19 years and 40,000 articles I have been providing accurate, original news that would have remained unnoticed. I've written hundreds of scoops and sometimes my reporting ends up making a real difference. I appreciate any donations you can give to keep this blog going.

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