Friday, October 21, 2022

10/21 Links Pt2: Phillips: Antisemitism and Israel-bashing are one and the same; Hijacked: The Capture of America's Middle East Studies Centers

From Ian:

Melanie Phillips: Antisemitism and Israel-bashing are one and the same
Those trying to defend the Jewish people from the tsunami of Jew-hatred swamping the West often face an implacable refusal to acknowledge that anti-Israel or anti-Zionist attitudes are the modern iteration of antisemitism.

It's claimed instead that Israel's defenders are trying to silence criticism of what Israel does, just like any other country would be criticized.

But Israel isn't criticized like any other country. It is instead subjected to obsessive libels, double standards and scapegoating for crimes of which it is not only innocent but is in fact the victim – all unique characteristics of antisemitism.

This lethal myopia now stretches from Australia to a London theater.

Four years ago, a conservative Australian government announced that it recognized "West Jerusalem" as Israel's capital. This week, Australia's current Labor government reversed that decision – and declared that Israel's capital is Tel Aviv.

Despite the claims made to the contrary by foes and false friends alike, Israel is legally, historically and morally entitled to Jerusalem. What's more, the patent absurdity of declaring that Tel Aviv is Israel's capital was exceeded only by its arrogance.

A sovereign country decides for itself where to situate its capital. No one else can decide that its capital is actually another city altogether.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese declared that "the status of West Jerusalem should be resolved by peace negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians."

But it's eastern Jerusalem that's the source of controversy. No one has ever suggested that the rest of Jerusalem, which has been part of Israel since the creation of the state, is up for negotiation.

Jerusalem, which had a Jewish majority from the mid-19th century, is the ancient capital of the Jews' homeland and is central to Jewish belief. Albanese's comment made it absolutely clear that Australia has singled out Israel for an act of gratuitous aggression aimed at the very core of Israeli and Jewish identity.

In doing so, Albanese's policy has met the definition of antisemitism. Yet his party, like so much of the Western left, holds that anti-Israel or anti-Zionist attitudes are a legitimate political position. They associate antisemitism solely with ancient, exterminatory stereotypes of Jewish money, power and demonic blood-lust.

Yet the Palestinian cause they champion is based on precisely such stereotypes. So, they tie themselves into knots to maintain their support for the Palestinian cause while distancing themselves from its antisemitism.
The academic boycott folly
The boycotters of South Africa did not support democratic initiatives in that country, according to Hyslop. Similarly, the BDS movement has no interest in compelling the Palestinian Authority or Hamas to change their authoritarian ways; the focus is solely on demonizing Israel.

Another resemblance is found in virtue signaling. “The culture of the boycott produced an imagined South Africa that was a theater of morality,” Hyslop says. “But the problem was that, too often, the ostensible topic of South Africa simply became the occasion for a kind of parading of the foreign scholar’s moral virtue…When traveling abroad in the 1980s, I was struck by the way in which many keen supporters of the boycott were uninterested in discussing the details of what was happening in South Africa. South Africa was merely the occasion for them to play a heroic (in reality, mock-heroic) role on the stage of the theater of morality.”

Hyslop wrote, “I can honestly say that, throughout the 1980s, I did not talk to a single South African scholar or university employee whose political views had been changed in any way by the academic boycott.” He added, “the academic boycott had little in the way of visible achievement.”

“In many ways, postapartheid South Africa is an exemplary democratic polity,” Hyslop says. “It has reasonably free and fair elections….There is no censorship, and vigorous political debate can be found in the print media and on the radio….scholars can teach and publish more or less what they wish. Nobody gets arrested for their political views.”

On the other hand, he observes that supporters of the new South Africa “are reluctant to acknowledge the persisting inequality, the corruption, and the incipient authoritarianism of the postapartheid polity.”

Supporters of the Palestinians do not acknowledge the existing corruption and denial of human rights by Hamas and the P.A. While there is every reason to expect those characteristics to remain, it is hard to imagine a Palestinian state with any of the attributes of the “exemplary democratic polity” that emerged in South Africa.

It was not sanctions that brought about change in South Africa, Hyslop says. “The mass revolts inside South Africa were the chief force making for the eventual democratization.” The academic boycott “had no important political effect in undermining apartheid and…may have had a minor negative impact on postapartheid society.”

Hyslop also suggests the South African case should be a cautionary tale for the BDS crowd. “The politics of the boycott engendered a situation where academics approached the South African question primarily as moralists. In doing so, they largely abandoned the contribution they could have made as intellectuals to the creation of South African democracy. To this day, it damages their ability to engage with the country.”
New poll reveals far left’s embrace of anti-Semitic tropes
Four-fifths of self-identified “progressive” and “very liberal” likely voters in the U.S. believe Jewish Americans have “unfair advantages” that need to be addressed, according to a new poll conducted by the Jewish Institute for Liberal Values (JILV) and OneMessage Public Strategies, which revealed the American far left’s embrace of a series of anti-Israel and anti-Semitic tropes.

In the nationwide survey of 1,600 likely voters, 17% of progressives and 20% of very liberal respondents agree that American Jews have too much power, while 21% of progressives and 25% of very liberals say Jews “benefit from privilege.” Forty-five percent of progressive respondents view Israel as an “occupier/colonizer,” and 47% of progressives think Israel has too much power.

Additionally, 67% of progressives and 54% of very liberals report that they have “cancelled” a friend or family member due to their political views.

“This poll confirms some of the worst fears of the Jewish community—that a dogmatic commitment to critical theory and a social justice lens can contribute significantly to anti-Semitism,” said David Bernstein, CEO of JILV. “While the majority of Americans support freedom of speech, oppose hyper-partisanship and support traditional liberal values, the far left continues to view politics as a zero-sum game—dividing the world into ‘oppressors’ and ‘oppressed,’ and willing to expel those they disagree with from their social circle—and the results aren’t good for Jews.”


White & Case Law Firm Distances Itself From Second Anti-Israel Event in a Week
The White & Case law firm is for the second time this week distancing itself from an event it sponsored that portrays Israel as an "apartheid" nation and features a speaker who is at the forefront of the campaign to economically boycott the Jewish state.

White & Case—which helped defend financial giant Morningstar against accusations that it is enabling Israel boycotts—is listed as a sponsor of the International Law Association's annual U.S. conference, which began Thursday and runs through the weekend. On Saturday, the conference will host a panel discussion, titled "Racism and the Crime of Apartheid in International Law," featuring speaker Omar Shakir, a longtime Israel critic who says the only Jewish nation is trying to "maintain the domination by Jewish Israelis over Palestinians." Shakir works for the nonprofit Human Rights Watch (HRW), which is known as a leader in the anti-Israel advocacy world.

White & Case, in comments to the Washington Free Beacon, acknowledged its funding for the law association but condemned the event, saying it was not consulted on the content of the seminars. On Tuesday, White & Case distanced itself from a separate University of Chicago Law School event titled "Apartheid: International Law in the Israel-Palestine Context." That event also featured Shakir.

The law firm's sponsorship for these events is generating scrutiny in the pro-Israel advocacy world, given White & Case's role in a controversy surrounding Morningstar's support for the BDS movement. The financial giant, which guides investors through its corporate ratings system, retained White & Case to investigate accusations that its products discriminate against Israel. White & Case determined that Morningstar engaged in limited but correctable instances of bias against Israel, and Morningstar has relied on the report to defend itself against claims that it actively supports the BDS movement.

A White & Case spokesman on Thursday told the Free Beacon that it has nothing to do with the content of the International Law Association's annual American conference. The law firm issued a similar statement when questioned about the University of Chicago Law School event held earlier in the week.

"We are not involved in or consulted on the programming decisions this organization makes for this event, but we expect the viewpoints presented at any event we support to be within a range that is non-extremist and overall balanced," the spokesman said. "We believe the panel being presented this Saturday titled ‘Racism and the Crime of Apartheid in International Law' did not meet these criteria, and we are sharing this view with the event organizers."

But the law firm's repeated defense is not easing mounting concerns in the pro-Israel advocacy world, with several leaders telling the Free Beacon that White & Case's involvement in these events raises questions about its work on the Morningstar BDS matter.
National Association of Scholars: Hijacked: The Capture of America's Middle East Studies Centers
In the 1950s, a constellation of philanthropic foundations, multinational corporations, interested scholars, and the U.S. government established the first Middle East Studies Centers to improve national security. But these centers quickly attracted controversy. Some were concerned with foreign influence at Georgetown's center in the 1970s. These concerns again flared post-9/11 with massive Saudi funds going to some of the most elite universities in the country. And as recently as 2019, the Department of Education accused the North Carolina Consortium of misusing federal funds to teach materials outside of the intended national security purpose.

Join the National Association of Scholars on Thursday, October 6, at 2 pm ET for the virtual launch of our new report Hijacked: The Capture of America's Middle East Studies Centers. The report provides seven case studies on universities with Middle East/Islamic Studies centers and uncovers trends in what these centers have promoted over the past 20 years.

Panelists include Neetu Arnold, Senior Research Associate at the National Association of Scholars and author of Hijacked; Martin Kramer, Walter P. Stern Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy; and Winfield Myers, Director of Academic Affairs for the Middle East Forum.

The discussion will be moderated by David Randall, Director of Research at the National Association of Scholars.




Jonathan Tobin: Why anti-Semitism is coming back into fashion
Some of America’s leading media outlets are mainstreaming anti-Semitism and the latest examples aren’t just on the left.

In this week’s episode of Top Story, JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin speaks about the mainstreaming of anti-Semitism on both ends of the political spectrum. He singled out the way popular podcaster Joe Rogan gave a platform to BDS advocate Roger Waters and Fox News Channel’s Tucker Carlson gave an hour of his program to Kanye West, an open anti-Semite as examples of how tropes of Jew-hatred are being showcased as legitimate discourse on popular sites.

He’s then joined by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs’ Yossi Kuperwasser. The two discussed how the recent Israeli maritime deal with Lebanon is a case of the Jewish state “paying protection” to terrorists rather than making peace as well as the conflict with the Palestinians and nuclear negotiations with Iran.


Jonathan Tobin: Why the Left can't stop trying to link Trump to antisemitism
Many on the left really do believe that Trump is akin to Hitler, despite the absurdity of the claim. Groups like the ADL, which support the Democrats' talking points about a fake war on democracy, are committed to an approach that seeks to make the midterms a referendum on attitudes about the former president rather than on the incumbent Biden administration.

As we've seen in recent weeks, a willingness to mainstream Jew-hatred exists on both the left and the right. But the liberal Jewish obsession with Trump, and the attempt to brand him as an anti-Semite, has nothing to do with that fight. Rather, it is part of the same strategy the Biden administration has been pursuing in the last year: trying to make the Jan. 6 Capitol riot the centerpiece of political discourse.

Virtually everyone agrees that it was a disgrace, but most don't believe the conspiracy theories the Democrats and their never-Trump allies have tried to float about its having been an attempted coup d'état. The latter more aptly describes the Russia-collusion hoax that Democrats and liberal media promoted to derail Trump's presidency. Furthermore, most voters want Washington to be focused on the crumbling economy and raging inflation.

A more sensible approach from the Democrats would be to ignore Trump. Their ongoing attempts to prosecute him on charges relating to Jan. 6 or for his having held on to classified documents are only helping him.

Indeed, the worse he is treated, the easier it is for him to stay in the spotlight. It also makes it more, rather than less, likely that the Republicans will nominate him again for president in 2024. Perhaps some on the left think that is to their advantage, but right now, polls show him winning a rematch with Biden.

The problem here is not figuring out what to think about Trump, a question on which Americans will always remain deeply divided. Groups that claim to be fighting antisemitism are too tied into partisan narratives and the effort to defeat the GOP to understand that the only way to win the battle against hate is to stop linking it to liberal talking points about Trump, and focus on those who are actually spreading Jew-hatred on both ends of the spectrum.
‘He’s like Hitler’: Howard Stern slams Kanye West
Legendary talk-radio host Howard Stern – who is known for his Jewish origins – slammed Kanye West in Wednesday’s episode of his SiriusXM radio show.

“This is so depressing. I mean, Kanye used to be fun crazy. Now he’s like Hitler,” the controversial radio host declared, harkening back to West’s recent antisemitic rants.

“I’m really tired of people excusing his behavior, by saying, ‘Well, he’s just mentally ill… if he’s so mentally ill, why don’t they appoint a conservator over his money like they did with the poor Britney Spears?”

Stern, a prominent US radio voice since 1986, also responded to one of West’s many antisemitic accusations – that the “Jewish underground media mafia” refers to him as a rapper rather than a billionaire or tycoon out of spite.

“If a newspaper article doesn't point out the fact that you're some sort of designer or genius, maybe that's not because (the author is) Jewish, but maybe because he just doesn't put that much thought into who the f*** you are and what your business is.”
Dear Music Industry: When it Comes to Antisemitic Rhetoric, Your Silence Is Deafening
I don’t buy the argument that Ye’s mental illness allows for public displays of malignant stupidity, and I don’t believe the platforms he’s been given should be exempt from responsibility either. My anger has only intensified in the days since, as have my questions: why have Ye’s music business partners — record labels, publishers, touring agencies, merch companies, etc. — remained silent? Is his brand so valuable that it overshadows his messaging? Is his fame so important that it’s worth the eventual price we may all pay? I will not stay silent, allow Ye’s message to dissipate over time, or wait until he says something even more destructive in the future. Neither should you.

And yet the problem is not simply Ye. He may be the most current public figure spewing antisemitism and racism, but is certainly not alone; from Sunday morning preachers and white nationalists to college campuses, city councils, and even members of Congress, ignorance and hate are gaining traction daily. If recent statements by Tommy Tuberville, Nury Martinez or Donald Trump haven’t shocked you, then what will it take? If you’re not getting angry or frightened, you’re not paying attention.

The creative community has a greater responsibility than most. Our voice — particularly among young people — is pervasive. Our influence is global. Which is why our time to act is now. We must speak up, no matter what the cost. And we must encourage our friends, families, colleagues and leaders to do the same.

Let me be perfectly clear, this is not about “cancel culture,” “wokeness” or any other buzzword used to denigrate empathy and undermine compassion. This is about stopping racism, bigotry, misogyny, homophobia and antisemitism in its tracks before it repeats itself to a degree we pray it never reaches again. We cannot idly stand by in fear, silence, or indifference. We must not allow the horrors of the past to infect our future.

The choices we collectively make over the next few months will matter for years to come. Through it all, I will march with you; I will scream with you; I will stand with you. And for the sake of our industry, our integrity, and our very survival as intelligent and rational beings, I am humbly asking you to do the same.
Fashion house Balenciaga drops Kanye West after antisemitic outbursts
The Balenciaga fashion house has cut ties with Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, according to a news report.

The move came after several offensive comments from Ye, including antisemitic posts that earned him suspensions from Twitter and Instagram.

“Balenciaga has no longer any relationship nor any plans for future projects related to this artist,” parent company Kering told Women’s Wear Daily in response to a query Friday without elaborating.

The company did not respond to multiple emails and calls from The Associated Press requesting comment. A representative for Ye also did not respond to a request for comment.

Ye had collaborated in several areas with Balenciaga and its artistic director, Demna Gvasalia. The label has also had an active relationship with Kim Kardashian, Ye’s ex-wife, who has appeared in their advertising campaigns and credits her former husband with introducing her to the brand.


Guardian writer yawns when told of his Six Day War error
A Guardian op-ed (“This is why Liz Truss’s plan to move the British embassy to Jerusalem must be stopped”, Sept. 30), by London-based academic H.A. Hellyer, included the following claim:
To move the embassy to Jerusalem would be to recognise Israel’s invasion and occupation of east Jerusalem as legitimate.

The claim was repeated in a subsequent sentence:
To recognise the invasion and occupation as legitimate would also come at a time when the UK is rightly aiding and assisting Ukraine in its struggle against Russia’s invasion and occupation.

The word “invasion” is important, as the author uses it in an effort to draw an absurd comparison between Israel’s defensive war in 1967 and Russia’s unprovoked invasion, and partial occupation, of Ukraine.

However, the historical record is clear, as even the Guardian’s own coverage has made clear.

On June 5th, hours after the war began, Israel sent a message to Jordan, which (illegally) controlled east Jerusalem, pleading with them to stay out of the conflict.

However, decieved by false Egyptian claims that the Arabs were winning the war, King Hussein ordered his army to attack Israeli west Jerusalem and moved infantry across the armistice lines. Jordanian forces took the Government House, the UN headquarters on the Biblical “Hill of Evil Counsel” in the no-man’s land between the two countries, directly threatening Israeli positions in southern Jerusalem.

Israel responded to Jordan’s attack with a counter-attack, which ultimately resulted in Israeli control of that part of the city.

The author – who, it should be noted, wrote an op-ed last year suggesting that Israelis insisting on the right of their country to continue existing as a Jewish state are arguably racist – responded to our tweet alerting him to the error with a GIF of a man yawning:
After 'Ben Shapiro gets gassed' joke, YouTuber's account suspended
After a joke about Ben Shapiro getting gassed first in another Holocaust fell flat and raised controversy in online spheres, prominent YouTube comedian Ethan Klein's podcast channel was suspended on Friday and the video in which the remarks were made was deleted.

"A few white supremacists successfully lobbied YouTube to suspend me, a Jewish dual citizen of Israel and USA, for antisemitism," Klein announced in a tweet. "Ben Shapiro and friends can virtue signal all they want but ultimately they are the ones platforming dangerous antisemites. All I did was point it out."

In the now-deleted video, Klein had been criticizing rapper Kanye West for his recent antisemitic remarks when he attacked Shapiro because the pundit's Daily Wire outlet employs political commentator Candace Owens. Klein shared in his opinion that Owens had taught West his antisemitic rhetoric.

"If there's another Holocaust and people start rounding up the Jews again I hope Ben [Shapiro] gets gassed first. Or last," Klein had said. "Do you think it would be more justice if he got first or last?"


'Growing up with Holocaust trauma, I never heard of Jewish heroines standing up to Nazis'
When Judy Batalion moved from Canada to England she realized that not everywhere in the world could she proclaim her Jewishness. Having arrived in London at the turn of the millennium in her early twenties, she worked in an art gallery and moonlit as a stand-up comedian at night.

As she juggled the two worlds, she realized that the British preferred she keep her Jewish identity to herself, in complete contrast to the open and free environment she grew up in back in Montreal.

In an effort to deal with the unfamiliarity of her new surroundings, Batalion decided to write a show dedicated to the only Jewish heroine she had learned about in school: Hannah Senesh. While searching for material, she came across a book at the British Library that piqued her curiosity. Little did she know that it would change her plans for the show, and to a certain extent, even her life.

It was a Yiddish book published in 1946 titled "Freuen in di Ghettos" ("Women in the Ghettos") comprising a collection of memoirs of young Jewish women who revolted against the Nazis in Poland. Batalion, who knew Yiddish from home as she comes from a family of Holocaust survivors from Poland, was amazed to discover the courageous stories of the Jewish heroines she had never heard about before.

Thus began Batalion's long and personal journey into the history of Jewish women who participated in the underground movement in Poland, and other countries under German occupation. It resulted in her work, "The Light of Days: The Untold Story of Women Resistance Fighters in Hitler's Ghettos," which has recently been translated and published in Hebrew.

It details how the women refused to surrender to fate and worked to save other Jews, gather intel and smuggle weapons, and actively participate in the uprisings that erupted in dozens of ghettos across occupied Eastern Europe.
In London exhibition, snapshots of Jewish life soon to be shattered by the Holocaust
“To remember happy days, which were not really happy at all,” reads the inscription on the back of a photograph of a Jewish swim team taken moments after its victory in a championship.

The image of the Vienna-based Hakoah team in the late 1920s was owned by Hubert Nassau. The message was sent by him to fellow teammate Fritz Lichtenstein seven years after the defeat of the Third Reich.

Like Lichtenstein, Nassau managed to escape the Nazis’ effort to annihilate European Jewry, emigrating to Britain months after the Anschluss.

Nassau’s picture — and an equally striking one of his future wife, fellow Jewish refugee Lisette Pollak, demonstrating her gymnastic prowess in the 1930s — feature in a powerful new exhibition, “’There was a time…’: Jewish Family Photographs Before 1939,” at London’s Wiener Holocaust Library.

The exhibition draws on Wiener’s archive of over 700 family papers collections — the largest related to Jewish refugees from Nazi Europe in the UK. Donated over the years by Jewish refugees and their families, the treasure trove includes extensive collections of photographs: portraits, snapshots and albums.

“Photographs like these are all too often overlooked or used as illustrations for other materials rather than considered seriously as important documents and artistic works. This exhibition aims to change this thinking,” says Helen Lewandowski, an assistant curator at the library. “I was fascinated by the different ways in which everyday, commonplace photographs were used to fashion identity, assert agency and belonging, and facilitate memory for Jewish families.”

Naturally, some of the images are heartbreakingly poignant. An elegant portrait shows Dorothea Jacoby, likely taken in 1911 by her husband, Ludwig, shortly after their marriage. The couple had two children: Henny and Hans-Bernd. While Henny managed to escape to Britain in 1938, Dorothea, her husband and son were deported to Auschwitz in 1943 and murdered.
Why Vienna’s Latest Attempt to Come to Terms with Its Anti-Semitic History Falls Flat
On Vienna’s famous Ringstrasse there stands a twelve-foot-tall bronze statue of Karl Lueger, who served as the city’s mayor from 1897 until his death in 1910, and did much to give the city its current form. A leader of the staunchly Catholic Christian Social party, Lueger was one of the very first successful politicians to make anti-Semitism a key plank of his political platform. The anti-Jewish fervor of Lueger’s loyal voters, more than anything else, convinced Theodor Herzl that the Jews would never find enduring security in Europe.

Last week, the city Vienna—responding to controversy in recent years concerning the statue of Lueger and his place in the city’s history—unveiled an installation intended to “contextualize artistically” the Lueger monument. Liam Hoare examines this “enormous wooden structure,” created by Nicole Six and Paul Petritsch and titled Lueger Temporary.

The Austrian Union of Jewish Students . . . protested the decision to “colorfully window-dress” the Lueger monument. From the point of view of the city, however, the color and bombast as well as people’s protestations are part of Lueger Temporary’s attraction. The installation will be, it hopes, something that will draw people in, make them curious, and initiate a conversation.

But a conversation about what, exactly? The Lueger monument as a standalone piece is an honorific object that perpetuates the cult of personality Lueger himself helped construct during his lifetime: Lueger as a modernizing mayor who was a champion of the downtrodden and disenfranchised. A successful act of artistic contextualization would have to cut this myth down to size and undermine the monument’s political foundations by framing it with the information the monument doesn’t tell us: that Lueger was a Catholic supremacist . . . and political anti-Semite.

By this measure, Lueger Temporary is a failure. Six and Petritsch’s elementary-school collage amounts to little more than a compendium of what the artists learned in the course of doing their research about Lueger monuments. It neither directly addresses nor communes with the very monument it is supposed to be contextualizing. Rather, Lueger Temporary is guilty of distracting and shifting the focus away from the Lueger monument, relativizing and minimizing the subject at hand. Instead of deepening the debate about the very thing the city has spent more than two years arguing about, Lueger Temporary seeks to broaden it, making it thinner in the process.
Danielle Smith shared link to antisemitic blog while writing about potential of global currency
On two occasions over the past year, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith included links in her newsletter to a blog that a Canadian Jewish Human Rights organization says is a known source of antisemitic tropes and racist conspiracy theories.

Her sharing of the blog's content was first reported by independent journalist Justin Ling.

In a statement Wednesday, a spokesperson with the premier's office said Smith condemned all expressions of antisemitism, adding "this hatred has no place in society."

In her April newsletter, Smith wrote about the possibility of a digital currency being used by central banks. She used a link from the blog while discussing SWIFT, the Belgian-based co-operative used by financial institutions around the world.

"Will it be good for us, tied as we are to the Americans?" Smith wrote at the time.

"I'm not sure yet, which is why I am following this closely. This article in the [blog site] believes the change signals the end of Western domination and that we are going to find ourselves isolated from the rest of the world."

On another occasion, she linked to the site while discussing what she regarded as misinformation online regarding the Ukraine-Russia conflict.

CBC News is not naming the blog so as to not further raise its profile.

The blog, which claims to publish "analytical works on matters of history, economics and social-political issues," frequently posts antisemitic content, like one published this past Sunday.

"I define Rothschild Zionism in its present incarnation, as the amalgamation of Wall Street (global Jewish banking mafia families) and the Israel Lobby, along with their affiliated organizations, agencies, think tanks, spy networks, corporations, and agents," the post reads.
Detroit 14-year-old arrested for antisemitic threat to murder Jews
Metro Detroit Jewish advocacy groups fear that antisemitic sentiment in the city is rising after a teenager threatened to “kill all jews” on social media last week.

The FBI notified the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office that a 14-year-old male had posted pictures of three firearms on social media and warned that he would kill unspecified Jewish people. Sheriff’s Deputies responded promptly, arresting the teenager in his home on Wednesday, October 13.

“We will fully investigate every threat against any person, school or institution and seek to hold those that make threats accountable,” said Oakland Country Sheriff Michael Bouchard, who has served as Sheriff of Oakland County since 1999, in response to the incident, as well as two unrelated threats directed towards local schools.

"If you make a threat, we’re coming for you,” Sheriff Bouchard continued. "And that’s not a threat; it’s a promise."
Israel a videogame powerhouse that’s storming the world market
Israel is a global videogame powerhouse experiencing rapid growth and the potential to grab an even greater market share with the right incentives in place.

Those are the conclusions of a recent report from the global consulting firm Deloitte and GameIS, a nonprofit association that assists with the growth of Israel’s videogame ecosystem.

The global videogame industry was worth $175.8 billion in 2021 with more than 3 billion players, making it the largest entertainment sector in the world. Game and esports data firm Newzoo projected last year that the global game market will exceed $200 billion in revenue in 2023, with more than half the revenue coming from mobile.

In 2021, Israeli game publishers raked in revenues of $8.6 billion compared to just $1 billion in 2016 – representing a five-year increase of 800 percent and a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 55%.

The rate of expansion is astounding, driven in part by the Covid pandemic lockdowns when people sought social gaming experiences – a category in which Israel is a world-leading developer within mobile gaming, along with casual and hyper-casual.

“Last year was exceptional, as many consumers were locked at home after Covid and for the first time really tried playing games online,” said Manuel Gelernter, senior manager and head of the business planning team at Deloitte Israel.

The new social currency
“We learned during corona that the social aspects of videogames were a huge crutch for a lot of people during the crisis,” said Maya Rand, the Israeli founder and CEO of TheXPlace, an online community for videogame professionals based in Silicon Valley.
Google launches Israeli local cloud computing region
Alphabet Inc.’s Google launched a local cloud computing region for Israel on Thursday, delivering cloud services to the country’s government and military in a move expected to enhance job creation and economic growth.

Billions of shekels will be invested in local infrastructure as part of the initiative, Israel’s Finance Ministry said on Thursday.

In May 2021, Israel agreed to the $1 billion, four-phase Nimbus initiative with Google and Amazon Web Services (AWS).

According to the government, the economic impact of Google’s Israeli cloud region alone will add an estimated $7.6 billion to Israel’s GDP by 2030 as well as more than 21,000 jobs in the high-tech sector and others that support cloud activities.

According to the ministry, AWS will also activate a local cloud region in the first half of 2023.

The cloud zones in Israel will make it possible to move important government computer systems there, improving services’ effectiveness, reducing the time it takes to activate digital services, and saving operational expenses.
Meta touts AI tool, developed partly in Israel, that translates spoken-only language
Meta announced this week that it built a speech-to-speech translation system powered by artificial intelligence (AI) that can translate into English primarily oral languages that don’t have a widely used writing system, starting with Hokkien, a Taiwanese language that lacks a standard written form.

The system is a result of deep research by Meta AI teams across the world including in Israel, where Meta built a significant R&D operation, the largest outside the US.

The Silicon Valley tech titan that owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp billed the work at its Universal Speech Translator project as an effort to enable users from around the world to socialize regardless of the languages they speak. The project was one of two first announced in February.

The second, related project is called No Language Left Behind, where Meta says it is building a new advanced AI model that “can learn from languages with fewer examples to train from, and we will use it to enable expert-quality translations in hundreds of languages, ranging from Asturian to Luganda to Urdu.”

These two projects are part of Meta’s stated long-term effort to build language tools and machine translation systems that will apply to “most of the world’s languages.”

When Facebook renamed itself as Meta a year ago, co-founder and chief Mark Zuckerberg said the company was focusing on a shift to online life playing out in virtual realms, a concept referred to as the metaverse.




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