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Saturday, December 24, 2022

12/24 Links: “Rabbi” Who Said Kaddish for Hamas Threatens to Boycott Israeli Government; Police release body cam footage from Kfar Qassem terror attack

From Ian:

Far-right MKs said to agree not to impede Netanyahu efforts to normalize with Saudis
The far-right elements of Israel’s incoming government have agreed not to hinder any efforts by incoming prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a normalization agreement with Saudi Arabia, according to a Saturday report.

Such a deal has been one of Netanyahu’s greatest goals since signing the historic Abraham Accords with Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates in September 2020, as he has stated several times since.

While Morocco and Sudan also joined the accords later, Saudi Arabia has been reluctant.

The Saudis have been widely reported to maintain clandestine ties with Jerusalem. Though Netanyahu himself is reported to have flown to the country in secret to meet with Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, Riyadh has continued to insist publicly that a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians was a “requirement” for any normalization agreement.

Still, Netanyahu is optimistic that such a deal can be reached with the Gulf state and his political partners understand this, according to Channel 12.

The report said there was an understanding between Netanyahu and far-right lawmakers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich to not sabotage any effort to normalize relations with the Saudis.

As one example, the unsourced report cited the vague wording of Netanyahu’s agreement in principle to advance annexation of West Bank land as part of the coalition deal with Smotrich, head of the far-right Religious Zionism party.

The agreement was worded in a way that could allow Netanyahu to make no movement on the issue if he chooses. And the report said Smotrich understands that such a scenario is dependent on US approval, which would only be feasible under a Republican president. It hinted he may remain quiet on the matter for the time being to allow Netanyahu to make overtures to Riyadh.

A second example given was Ben Gvir’s statement that though he wants to advance bills providing security forces with immunity from prosecution and looser open-fire rules, he has also agreed to adhere to international law — another apparent agreement not to rock the boat.
Ron Dermer meets Netanyahu, will only join gov’t if made foreign minister — report
Incoming prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly met this week with Ron Dermer, a close confidant and a former Israeli ambassador to the US, to continue talks on bringing Dermer into the government in a top role.

Netanyahu is said to have been considering appointing Dermer as foreign minister, an idea that has been contested by senior Likud members who, in recent weeks, have seen a number of key cabinet portfolios handed over to the Likud’s far-right and ultra-Orthodox coalition partners as the Likud leader has tried to cobble together a coalition. As the number of top jobs dwindled for lawmakers within his own party, Netanyahu has faced tough criticism for such decisions.

Netanyahu announced Wednesday that he has finally come to agreements with his coalition partners to form Israel’s 37th government. The Likud leader has yet to finalize coalition agreements with any of his party’s intended partners, however. Knesset Speaker Yariv Levin will announce the development during Monday’s legislative session. Netanyahu will then have until January 2 to swear in his coalition.

On Friday, Channel 12 reported that Dermer and Netanyahu met a day prior and that the ex-envoy expressed a strong willingness to be part of the incoming government but only in the position of foreign minister. The unsourced report also said Netanyahu was pitched the idea of appointing two foreign ministers, Dermer and a senior member of the Likud, but this move was deemed unlikely.

The report said Netanyahu sees Dermer as very closely aligned with his right-wing ideology and a future part of the Likud. Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition
Palestinians slam Israeli coalition deals, warn of Middle East ‘explosion’
Palestinians have expressed deep concern over the agreements signed between Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right coalition partners, especially Otzma Yehudit head MK Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich of the Religious Zionists Party (RZP).

They warned that the policies of the incoming government will lead to an “explosion” and urged the Palestinian Authority and the international community to prepare for the worst scenarios.

The Palestinian Authority called on the international community, the US administration, and the European Union to link their relationship with the Netanyahu government “to the extent of its commitment to international law, international legitimacy decisions, and human rights principles.”

The Palestinian foreign affairs ministry said that it views “with great seriousness” reports in the Israeli media regarding Netanyahu’s “ill-fated agreements with his far-right fascist coalition partners.”

Palestinians fear move giving West Bank control to Smotrich
KAN News reported Friday that as part of the coalition agreement with RZP, Netanyahu has agreed to relinquish significant control over the approval process for settlement construction to Smotrich.

Netanyahu reportedly agreed to hand authority over the two key bodies responsible for Israeli control in the West Bank – the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) and the Civil Administration – to Smotrich’s party.

The Palestinians fear the move would pave the way for the new government to extend Israeli law to large portions of the West Bank, especially Area C, which is exclusively controlled by Israel.

The Palestinians, in addition, are concerned about Ben-Gvir’s insistence on including a clause in the coalition agreement that imposes a death sentence on convicted terrorists.
“Rabbi” Who Said Kaddish for Hamas Threatens to Boycott Israeli Government
Israel has a new conservative government and its enemies, and by that, I mean anti-Israel leftists, couldn’t be angrier. Ron Kampeas at the JTA has another anti-Israel press release disguised as a news story promoting a push by anti-Israel activists to boycott members of the incoming Israeli government.

“More than 330 American rabbis, including some who occupy prominent roles in major cities, are pledging to block members of the Religious Zionist bloc in Benjamin Netanyahu’s new government from speaking at their synagogues,” Kampeas gushes.

The list largely consists of anti-Israel clergy, many, if not most of them, also members of the ‘Rabbis for Hamas”. This was a list that Annie of Boker Tov Boulder put together back in the day of leftist clergy who signed a letter urging “constructive engagement” with Hamas.

Over the years I’ve noted the same bunch of names on assorted anti-Israel letters as the ‘Rabbis for Hamas’.

Sure enough, Melanie Aron, a speaker at the Islamic Networks Group, has signed both letters. As did Elliot Baskin, James Bennett, Phil Bentley, Leila Berner, Jonathan Biatch, Rena Blumenthal and Jonathan Brumberg-Kraus. And that’s just the A’s and B’s.

That’s impressive considering that a number of these people must have died or retired since then.

While I won’t bother going through the list, a few names do pop out. Most notably, Sharon Kleinbaum.

Sharon Kleinbaum, the girlfriend of teachers’ union boss Randi Weingarten, is infamous for her role at a gay temple in New York City where her hatred of Israel was so extreme that it drove the members away.


Congress Passes $1.7 Trillion Omnibus; Jewish Groups Tout Billions for American Jewish Community, Israel
The House of Representatives Friday afternoon passed a massive $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill, which includes billions of dollars in expenditures supporting Israel and the American Jewish community at a time of rising antisemitism and emboldened anti-Israel activity across American society.

Jewish advocacy groups touted “critical” provisions like the $305 million appropriated for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program, which improves synagogue security. The 22 percent increase in spending on that program from last year fell short of the $360 million many Jewish groups had sought, but was nonetheless welcomed as a much-needed improvement, particularly after a terrorist attack on Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas, in January of this year.

“At a time when hate and extremism continue to threaten the safety of our communities and undermine our democratic values, appropriations for these programs can provide critical security and strengthen civil rights,” Anti-Defamation League (ADL) CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement on the passage of the omnibus.

The sprawling bill, which funds the government through the end of September 2023, had previously passed the Senate on Thursday 68-29. It now heads to President Joe Biden for final signature.

Funds For Synagogue Protection and Hate Crime Tracking
Other measures funded by the bill include tens of millions of dollars for programs – such as the Jabara-Heyer NO HATE Act – designed to prevent, report on, investigate, and prosecute hate crimes. Congressman Don Beyer (D-VA), author of the bill, has in recent weeks slammed the effectiveness and methodology behind the FBI’s annual hate crime statistics, calling the agency’s 2022 annual report “extremely disappointing.”

“As supporters of the NO HATE Act, we are gratified by the additional funding for the program, which will enhance how law enforcement tracks and combats hate crimes against the Jewish and other communities, and how it works with those communities,” Agudath Israel’s Vice President for Government Affairs Rabbi Abba Cohen told The Algemeiner.

The omnibus will also increase funding for the offices of the US special envoys for combating antisemitism and Holocaust issues, as well support and expand Holocaust education in public schools nationwide by funding $2 million of a total $10 million authorized over five years in the Never Again Education Act of 2020.

Billions in Israeli Security Upgrades
In line with the 2016 US-Israel security memorandum of understanding signed during the Obama administration, the omnibus package also includes $3.3 billion in US security assistance to Israel and an additional $500 million for cooperative missile defense programs like Iron Dome.

New to the bill is the Deterring Enemy Forces and Enabling National Defenses (DEFEND) Act of 2022, increasing air defense cooperation between the US, Israel, and Arab partner nations against the threat of Iranian attack.

“This bill would create a US-led shared air and missile defense system in the Middle East, to counter Iran,” a spokesperson with the American Jewish Committee (AJC) told The Algemeiner. “At a time when huge strides have been made toward lasting peace in the Middle East thanks to the Abraham Accords, it is essential that our partners in the region have the necessary tools to keep their countries safe from a nation that foments instability and unrest.”

While welcoming security provisions of the bill, the conservative Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) rejected the omnibus’s funding of the United Nations and a provision that would allow the United States to rejoin the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on the grounds that they were anti-Israel.

“Another terrible provision in the omnibus lets the US rejoin another anti-Israel, antisemitic UN body, UNESCO, which consistently seeks to deny the connection of Jews to our ancient and eternal homeland,” ZOA President Morton Klein said. “US law prohibits funding an organization that gives state status to non-states and UNESCO absurdly granted the terrorist Palestine Liberation Organization the same status as Israel or the United States. They don’t deserve American taxpayers’ hard-earned money.”

The United States withdrew from UNESCO in 2017 during the Trump administration citing anti-Israel bias.
ZOA Slams Funding of ‘Propaganda Outfit’ UN in Omnibus Spending Bill
Zionist Organization of America National President Morton A. Klein criticized the $1.7 trillion federal omnibus spending bill, which would dedicate more than $1.4 billion to funding multinational organizations like the United Nations.

“It is outrageous that America sends even a dime of taxpayer money to the U.N., an organization of nations who are only united by their animus towards Israel, the one and only Jewish state,” Klein said in a statement, lamenting that the world body was “created with a beautiful vision” but now has “degenerated into little more than a propaganda outfit” that embraces Jew-hating regimes.

Klein’s statement came in the wake of the United Nations Security Council meeting on Dec. 19, when Special Coordinator for the Middle East Process Tor Wennesland referred to the Old City of Jerusalem—where the First and Second Jewish Temples stood—as “occupied East Jerusalem.” Wennesland also criticized the increase in new housing units being constructed for Jewish residents in the Israeli capital.

The Security Council session took place towards the beginning of Hanukkah, which commemorates the Jews’ re-dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem over 2,000 years ago.

“The ZOA opposes the proposed funding to this counterproductive and corrupt organization,” Klein said in reference to the U.N., “and supports only transparent, humanitarian operations.”

In Washington, the Senate is preparing to vote on the omnibus spending bill.


Chile’s Left-Wing President Announces Opening of Embassy in Palestinian City of Ramallah
The president of Chile has announced that the Latin American nation will open an embassy in Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian Authority (PA), denouncing Israel’s “illegal occupation” at the same time in a speech to a Palestinian group.

Gabriel Boric — who won the presidency during elections one year ago at the head of a left-wing ticket backed by the Communist Party — said on Wednesday that Chile intended to “raise the level of our official representation in Palestine” by opening an embassy in the West Bank city where the PA is based. While several countries have opened representative offices in Ramallah, only the missions of Venezuela, Oman and Tunisia have the status of embassies to the “State of Palestine,” which is not a full member of the United Nations.

A stalwart supporter of the Palestinians, Boric introduced legislation while serving in Chile’s parliament that imposed a boycott of goods and services produced by Jewish communities located in the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem. During his election campaign, Boric enthusiastically reaffirmed this position at a meeting with leaders of the 350,000-strong Palestinian community in Chile — the largest Palestinian diaspora outside of the Middle East and one with heavy political clout.

Wednesday’s announcement was made at a Christmas party for Chilean Palestinians held at Boric’s official residence in the capital, Santiago.

“It always makes me very angry to look at the Middle East and not see Palestine on the map,” Boric told his guests, in remarks reported in the Chilean press.

“We cannot forget a community that is suffering from an illegal occupation, a community that is resisting, a community that is seeing its rights and dignity violated every day,” Boric continued.
Gunman who killed three at Paris Kurdish culture center admits being ‘racist’
A 69-year-old white French gunman who opened fire at a Kurdish cultural center in Paris killing three people told investigators he was racist, a source close to the case said Saturday.

The shots at the center and a nearby hairdressing salon shortly before midday on Friday caused panic in the trendy 10th district of the French capital, a bustling area of shops and restaurants that is home to a large Kurdish population.

Three others were wounded in the attack that the gunman attributed to his being “racist,” the source said.

He was found with a case loaded with a box of at least 25 cartridges and “two or three loaded magazines,” the source added.

The weapon was a “much-used” US Army Colt 1911 pistol.
Police release body cam footage from Kfar Qassem terror attack
Police have released bodycam footage as well as a recording of the phone conversation between a police officer and the Arab terrorist who proceeded to open fire and shoot at him and his partner and run them over in the town of Kfar Qassem, located about 20 km east of Tel Aviv, overnight Thursday.

In the phone conversation, the terrorist can be heard instructing the officers, who were under the assumption that they were responding to a call, how to reach his location. The conversation cuts out as the terrorist opens fire on the officers. Later in the video, the conversation between the officers can be heard.

After opening fire on the officers, the terrorist proceeded to enter a vehicle and attempted to run down the officers.

The officers, who suffered light injuries, were evacuated to Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva for treatment.

Special police forces were called to the scene to conduct searches for additional suspects, with the assistance of a police helicopter. A search of the building from which the attacker came found a Carlo-type weapon, ammunition, and firebombs. In addition, a knife was found in the terrorist’s vehicle.

The commander of the Central District of the Israel Police, Superintendent Avi Biton, conducted a special situation assessment at the scene. Following the assessment, he said that the evidence and the officers’ testimony show that the attack that was likely planned a few days in advance.

"The officers acted in a determined manner as is expected in such an event from our officers," said the district commander
Christian woman talks Palestinian terror murder of twin sister
Kristine Luken was murdered in a gruesome terrorist attack in Israel on December 18, 2010. She and her friend Kay Wilson were victims of a calculated Palestinian Arab plot: The terrorists had been hiding on a popular Judean mountain hiking trail, armed with massive knives, lying in wait for their victims. Kristine and Kay were stabbed multiple times. Miraculously, Kay survived.

I’ve become friends with Kay, a survivor on every level. But as a survivor, her scars run deep. Through Kay, I felt like I knew Kristine. Over the years, I initiated projects in her memory because, as she was an American Christian victim of Palestinian Arab terror, remembering Kristine was imperative, as was comforting her American family – who are far outside Israel’s support network that understands, consoles and supports terror victims and their families.

I’ve developed a particularly close relationship with Kristine’s twin sister, Kathleen. Over the years, she has shared details about her sister, her loss, challenges to her faith, and more. I’ve written articles about her and from her perspective. Until now, Kathleen has been hesitant, even uncomfortable, to share her views publicly.

Now, on the 13th anniversary of Kristine’s murder, Kathleen spoke in public for the first time. Thirteen is not a significant number per se, not more than 10 years, or 15 or 20 years. While one learns to live with loss – the reality of the loss of a sister, a twin sister no less, who was murdered in such a horrible and inexplicable way – it doesn’t take much to scratch through the surface to reveal the pain. Although the pain is still prevalent, our conversation seemed to signify a turning point.

According to Jewish tradition, at 13 one becomes a bar mitzvah, symbolizing the transition from childhood to the responsibilities of adulthood. Can 13 years also be a milestone in the healing from loss in general, and specifically in the case of a brutal murder by terrorists?

Though Kathleen isn’t ready to speak if others are listening or asking questions, she was comfortable speaking to me alone, as we have done many times before. This time, however, we recorded it for my “Inspiration from Zion” podcast, though afterward she was uncomfortable listening to it.


Presumed-dead Al Qaeda leader narrates newly released video
Al Qaeda has released a 35-minute recording the group claims was narrated by its leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, who was believed to have been killed in a US raid in August 2022, SITE intelligence group said on Friday.

The recording was not dated and the transcript did not clearly point toward a time frame for when it could have been made.

Zawahiri was killed in a US strike in Afghanistan, the biggest blow to the militant group since its founder Osama bin Laden was killed in 2011.

Zawahiri had been in hiding for years, and the operation to locate and kill him was the result of "careful, patient and persistent" work by the counterterrorism and intelligence community, a senior US administration official said.
Taliban orders NGOs to ban female employees from coming to work
Afghanistan's Taliban-run administration on Saturday ordered all local and foreign non-governmental organizations (NGO) to stop female employees from coming to work, according to an economy ministry letter, in the latest crackdown on women's freedoms.

The letter, confirmed by economy ministry spokesperson Abdulrahman Habib, said the female employees were not allowed to work until further notice because some had not adhered to the administration's interpretation of Islamic dress code for women.

It comes days after the Taliban-run administration ordered universities to close to women, prompting global condemnation and sparking some protests and heavy criticism inside Afghanistan.

Impact on United Nations aid
Ramiz Alakbarov, the United Nations deputy special representative for Afghanistan and humanitarian coordinator, said he was "deeply concerned" by reports of the letter, which was a "clear breach of humanitarian principles."

It was not immediately clear how the order would affect UN agencies, which have a large presence in Afghanistan delivering services amid the country's humanitarian crisis.
Kyiv calls for ‘liquidation’ of Iranian plants building weapons for Russia
A senior Ukrainian official on Saturday pushed for the “liquidation” of Iranian factories producing arms for Russia and the “arrest of suppliers.”

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak tweeted that Tehran is planning to increase its supply of drones and missiles to the Kremlin, despite international sanctions on firms and entities involved in the transfer of weapons to Russia.

Therefore, Podolyak said it is “important to abandon nonworking sanctions, invalid UN resolutions concept, and move to more destructive tools.”

Mossad chief David Barnea also cautioned on Thursday that Iran is looking to expand its supply of advanced weapons to Russia, during a ceremony for the Hanukkah holiday.

The warning came after the United States earlier this month expressed alarm over a “full-scale defense partnership” between Tehran and Moscow, which invaded Ukraine last February.

Tehran in November admitted it had sent drones to Russia, but insisted they were supplied before the invasion.

Barnea was quoted as saying: “We warn against Iran’s future intentions, which they are trying to keep secret, to deepen and expand the supply of advanced weapons to Russia, to expand the uranium enrichment project, and to intensify their attacks against friendly Muslim countries in the region.”

In late October, President Isaac Herzog indicated that he had shared with Washington information that, according to Israeli intelligence, showed the utilization of Iranian drones in the Ukraine war.
Patience 'not endless': Iran sends chilling threat to Zelensky for accusing Tehran of arming Russia
Iran issued a statement directed at Volodymyr Zelensky after the Ukrainian president accused the regime of supplying Russia with drones.

Zelensky addressed Congress on Wednesday to thank the United States for its aid in helping Ukraine battle against Russia's invasion and implore lawmakers for more support, both financially and morally.

In his speech, Zelensky addressed the horrors faced by Ukrainian soldiers and citizens, referring to it as a genocide.

He referenced a Russian air strike that took place against Ukraine on Monday that allegedly used Iranian-made drones to attack Kyiv and damage Ukraine's energy infrastructure.

“Russia found an ally in this genocidal policy — Iran,” Ukraine's president said. “Iranian deadly drones sent to Russia in the hundreds became a threat to our critical infrastructure. That is how one terrorist has found the other.”

Tehran, however, did not approve of this statement. Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani condemned Zelensky's "repeated accusations" and "rude remarks" that he made before Congress in a statement on the ministry's website.

Kanaani said that Iran respects the "territorial integrity of all countries, including Ukraine" and reiterated that the regime has not given military hardware to either side.

“Mr. Zelensky had better know that Iran’s strategic patience over such unfounded accusations is not endless," the Iranian spokesman said.

He added that Ukraine should take a lesson from the "fate of other political leaders who contended themselves with support from the U.S."
Iranian Nobel Prize winner: Oberlin College whitewashed professor's crimes
Three prominent critics of the Islamic Republic of Iran, including Iranian lawyer Shirin Ebadi, the first Nobel Prize laureate from the Muslim world, wrote a public letter addressed to Oberlin College’s president Carmen Twillie Ambar accusing the college of “whitewashing” the alleged crimes against humanity carried out by its professor Mohammed Jafar Mahallati.

The stinging letter was released on Monday and stated that "the process by which the [Oberlin College] investigation was conducted, and its bizarre finding that Mr. Mahallati had no knowledge of the killings, leads us to conclude that the investigation was an exercise in whitewashing a controversy rather than an attempt to arrive the truth," wrote Ebadi, along with the popular author Azar Nafisi, and Ladan Boroumand, a historian and co-founder of Abdurrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran.

Amnesty International determined in an exhaustive 2017 report that Mahallati covered up the mass murder of at least 5,000 innocent Iranian dissidents in 1988. In a statement to the Jerusalem Post in 2020, Mahallati denied the Amnesty International allegation that he was complicit in the 1988 massacre.

Mahallati, who teaches Islam in the religious studies department at Oberlin, served as the Iranian regime’s ambassador to the United Nations between 1987 and 1989. The authors of the letter requested, "that Oberlin authorize a third party to conduct a transparent investigation of the allegations against Mr. Mahallati. Your university’s reputation, and your commitment to justice and fairness, depend on it.”

The letter added that "The cumulative weight of the evidence is why we were so disappointed to learn that, aside from hiring Mr. Mahllati and granting him tenure, Oberlin conducted a secretive investigation that arrived at his wholly implausible exoneration. To our knowledge, Oberlin spoke to no experts or victims about this issue in its investigation."
University of Toronto Refuses to Adopt Leading Definition of Antisemitism
The University of Toronto (UofT) said on Wednesday that it will not adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, used by hundreds of institutions all over the world to fight and identify anti-Jewish discrimination.

UT president Meric Gertler announced the university’s decision in an op-ed published in The Globe and Mail, explaining that a university working group on antisemitism formed in 2020, comprising nine professors and administrations, “concluded that the IHRA’s definition is both insufficiently responsive to many of the most troubling instances of antisemitism in the university context and in tension with the university as a place where difficult and controversial questions are addressed.”

“Protecting these freedoms is essential to our university’s mandate and mission of discovery, research and education, which can only thrive in an environment of free expression and critical inquiry,” Gertler continued.

“The remedy for dealing with controversial speech is more speech, not less.”

Hasbara Canada Fellowships, a group that sponsors student trips to Israel, said on Wednesday that the university’s decision is “incredibly disappointing” and noted that organizations outside the university, including the editorial board of The Globe and Mail, supported the definition’s potential adoption.

“We are deeply concerned by the position the president has taken and will be conveying — in the strongest possible terms — our profound outrage over the position he has taken, and our deep concern for the welfare of Jews on campus at UofT,” the group said, encouraging the public to voice its displeasure by emailing Gertler.

Hasbara Canada Fellowships also criticized the UofT’s efforts to fight antisemitism on campus for being insufficient and argued that eradicating it will only happen when the university enters a “good faith” partnership with the Jewish community.
Latin America’s biggest online retailer says it reduced antisemitic products by 89% this year
Latin America’s largest online retailer has stripped its digital shelves of antisemitic content this year, the result of a push by the regional branch of the World Jewish Congress.

Mercado Libre (“free market” in Spanish) was founded in 1999 in Argentina by a Jewish businessman there; it boasts 76 million users, making it more widely used than Amazon in Latin America, where it operates in 18 countries.

Last year, the company announced that it would purge books such as “Mein Kampf” and “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion,” as well as Nazi coins, posters and memorabilia, from its offerings. This week, it announced that in the first half of 2021, the number of items available for sale that violated the company’s policies related to violence and discrimination was down 89% compared to the year before.

“We are very proud of the collaborative work we have done in this time,” Federico Deya, Mercado Libre’s senior legal director, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. He credited the work the company had done with the Latin American Jewish Congress in effecting the change, which a report from the company said also included a 23% increase in the detection of hate speech in publications for sale on the site.

“Viewing with concern the growth of hate speech and violence, and the lack of action by some companies, this joint effort is an example that we can work with internet companies that have the will,” said Ariel Seidler, program director for the Latin American Jewish Congress and the head of its Web Observatory, an initiative to remove antisemitism from Spanish-language websites. “They play a key role in our societies and must assume their responsibility to build plural societies, with coexistence and diversity.”


Inaccuracies in BBC reports on Hammouri deportation
On December 18th a report by Matt Murphy headlined “Salah Hammouri: Israel deports Palestinian lawyer to France” was published on the BBC News website’s ‘Middle East’ page. A translation of Murphy’s report appeared on the BBC Arabic website on the same day.

The English language version correctly states:
“He works for Addameer, a Palestinian legal aid and prisoners’ rights group that was designated a terrorist organisation by the Israeli defence ministry in October 2021 along with five other Palestinian civil society groups.”

However, it goes on:
“The military said they were linked to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a Palestinian militant group that Israel considers a terrorist organisation.”

The Arabic language version states:
“Hammouri works for Addameer, a Palestinian legal aid and prisoners’ rights organization that was designated a terrorist organization by the Israeli Ministry of Defense in October 2021 along with five other Palestinian civil society organizations that the Israeli military says are linked to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a Palestinian militant group that Israel considers Terrorist Organisation.”

The Ministry of Defence announcement on that matter clarifies that in fact bodies other than “the military” established the linkage between those NGOs and the PFLP terrorist organisation:
“In a joint activity of the General Security Service (GSS) and Israel’s National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing (NBCTF), which began in early 2021 and was approved by the legal authorities, 6 organizations belonging to the “Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine” were designated as terror organizations because they constitute a network of organizations active undercover on the international front on behalf of the “Popular Front”, to support its activity and further its goals.”

CAMERA UK has written to the BBC to request a correction to both articles on that point.


Whoopi Goldberg doubles down and DEFENDS her Holocaust slur that led to suspension from The View: Declares genocide was NOT 'racial', calls it 'white-on-white' violence and says Jews are not a race
Whoopi Goldberg has once again claimed that the Holocaust was not about race, insisting the Nazis 'were not killing racial' and repeating the argument that saw her suspended in February from her $8 million-a-year role hosting talk show The View.

The Oscar-winning actress was suspended from The View in February for saying the Holocaust was not about race, but rather 'white on white' violence and 'man's inhumanity to man' - and the interviewer was told in advance not to discuss the chat show.

Yet Goldberg readily repeated her controversial comments, when it was pointed out that the Nazis certainly believed the Holocaust was about race.

'Yes, but that's the killer, isn't it?' she told The Times of London.

'The oppressor is telling you what you are. Why are you believing them? They're Nazis. Why believe what they're saying?'

She said the Holocaust 'wasn't originally' about race.

'Remember who they were killing first. They were not killing racial; they were killing physical. They were killing people they considered to be mentally defective. And then they made this decision.'

She said being Jewish was not a race like being black, because it was not identifiable.


In Moldova, a tiny Jewish community struggles to stay warm as war rages next door
Even before Russia invaded Ukraine, landlocked Moldova’s economy was never particularly strong. Now, with rising inflation and skyrocketing fuel prices, the country’s native Jewish community and Ukrainian refugees passing through are facing a cold, brutal winter.

“People will freeze to death this winter. The question is how many,” Rabbi Zusha Abelsky, the director of Chabad in Moldova, which provides assistance to some of the community, told The Times of Israel while standing on a chilly street corner in the country’s capital.

Though it is not a party to the war — Chisinau is officially neutral — the former Soviet republic that borders Ukraine to its west has been greatly affected by it. In recent weeks, the country has lost power on at least two occasions because of Russian strikes on Ukrainian electrical facilities connected to Moldova’s grid.

“When electricity is unstable in Ukraine, Moldova’s electrical system shuts down automatically to protect itself,” Moldovan Ambassador to Israel Alexandr Roitman told The Times of Israel over the phone earlier this month.

Roitman also stressed that while the country is officially neutral, it is not blind to what is happening next door.
Israeli startup’s personal flying vehicle takes off for cruise flight test
An Israeli startup that is developing an electric flying vehicle for consumers said a prototype aircraft successfully completed its first unmanned cruise flight, which the company says puts it on a path for the rollout of manned aircraft in the next two years.

The Pardes Hanna-based startup, called AIR, said it is on track to deliver the first batch of its electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft by the end of 2024 after this week’s transition from hovering test flights to the horizontal cruise tests, which were conducted near Beersheba under the supervision of the Civil Aviation Authority.

The startup’s AIR ONE is an all-electric two-seater eVTOL with a range of 110 miles (177 km) on a single charge at speeds of up to 155 miles (250 kilometers) per hour, at an altitude of 1,200 feet and a flight time of one hour. The aircraft, which already has an airworthiness certificate, has collapsible wings for easy parking and can take off from or land on any flat surface. It is tailored for personal use and seeks to offer an everyday alternative for short distance commuting in the sky.

“It is thrilling to have reached this moment in our journey as we strive to build the foundation to make personal air mobility a reality,” said AIR CEO and co-founder Rani Plaut.

Speaking with The Times of Israel, Plaut said the startup has already received 273 pre-orders for its AIR ONE, out of which 240 were from US-based customers. They’re priced at $150,000, similar to a luxury car.




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