Friday, July 07, 2023

07/07 Links Pt2: The riots in France have become antisemitic; New Hampshire 37th state to pass anti-BDS law; German analyst blasted for call to ignore Israeli suffering, back Palestinian terrorism

From Ian:

The riots in France have become antisemitic
The riots in France are currently one of the biggest international news stories. One would naturally expect their coverage by major news outlets to strive for comprehensiveness in its reporting, and accuracy in its analysis. It is therefore instructive to observe the void at the center of this coverage.

If riots involve the deliberate defacement of a Holocaust memorial, and if said defacement takes the form of threatening Jews with a new Holocaust, as has happened in the Paris suburb of Nanterre last Thursday, where the Memorial to the Martyrs of the Deportation was defaced with the slogan “On va faire une shoah“ (We are going to make a Shoah), it’s hard to see how one could argue that those riots – whatever the original cause of their ignition was – should not described as antisemitic.

So what happens if you search Google News for the term “antisemitic riots”, even several days after the fact? You will find several articles about the incident in Nanterre – all of which have one thing in common. From Israeli newspapers like this publication or the Times of Israel, to The Jewish Chronicle in the UK or the Algemeiner in the US, all the results are from Jewish outlets. Only on subsequent pages do results from ABC News or USA Today pop up as well – but those aren’t related to the recent events in France at all, but months-old articles about people involved in the January 6 riots in Washington DC.

Even if you let go of that particular phrase and simply search for news about the Nanterre memorial, only one non-Jewish outlet (i24News) pops up in addition.

If you rely on newspapers like the New York Times or the Guardian, or the websites of CNN or the BBC for the entirety of your information about the riots in France – even if you combine all four aforementioned sources to make sure you get a comprehensive picture – you will be completely oblivious about the incident, and anyone mentioning antisemitic riots will sound like a paranoiac to you.
‘It’s Nauseating:’ Director of Documentary on Antisemitic Murder of French Jewish Woman Sarah Halimi Assails Judicial System
The director of a documentary broadcast on French television concerning the antisemitic murder in 2017 of Sarah Halimi — a 65-year-old Jewish woman who lived on her own in a public housing project in Paris — has slammed the police and judicial investigation into the killing as “absolutely scandalous, the opposite of what I expect from French justice.”

The director, François Margolin, was speaking to the leading news outlet Le Figaro following the broadcast of his film, “Sarah Halimi: An Antisemitic Crime Unpunished,” on France’s RMC network on Sunday night. The film sought to reconstruct the crime and the consequent botched investigation that led to the accused killer, Halimi’s neighbor Kobili Traore, avoiding a trial on the grounds that his intake of cannabis on Apr. 4, 2017 — the night he broke into Halimi’s apartment and beat her savagely while shouting antisemitic epithets before ejecting her body from a third floor window — had rendered him temporarily insane.

The flawed investigation into Halimi’s death culminated in the April 2021 announcement by France’s highest court that since Traore had taken what it termed an “acute delirious puff” on a cannabis joint that eliminated his “discernement” — or self-awareness — he could not “be judged criminally even when his mental state was caused by the regular consumption of drugs.”

In response, Crif, the French-Jewish representative organization, angrily countered that “now in our country, we can torture and kill Jews with impunity.”

In both his film and his subsequent interview, Margolin focused on the role of the investigating judge in the case, Anne Ihuellou, who announced the formal end to the investigation in May 2019. Margolin said he had managed to obtain “the very rare testimony of the investigating judge, who showed a total lack of empathy for the victim and explained that she had ‘too much work to carry out a reconstitution of the crime,’ or even simply to receive the family’s lawyers. It’s nauseating.”

He charged that from “day one,” the judge had decided that “that the murderer is not responsible” and that she had “conducted the investigation only to comfort herself in this opinion. This is absolutely scandalous and, in my opinion, the opposite of what I expect from French justice.” Ihuellou’s decision was partly based on assessments carried out by two psychiatrists, one of whom told Margolin in the documentary that he had revised his view that Traore could not be considered culpable. “It’s easy to understand, listening to them, that psychiatry is not an exact science,” Margolin said.

Margolin also criticized the police, who arrived at Halimi’s apartment as Traore was beating her and yet refrained from intervening.
JPost Editorial: We should not let disagreements about judicial reform divide the country
The greatest crisis for the Jewish state is internal division
During the early years of the State of Israel, the country’s leadership recognized the necessity of caution during crises. David Ben-aGurion and Menachem Begin demonstrated that despite deep-rooted disagreements, democracy could thrive in the Middle East. Whether during the 1948 bipartisan Altalena shootout at the dawn of independence or the following reparations dispute with Germany, the potential for wider violence was always present. Responsible leadership played a crucial role in averting catastrophe and steering the country back from the edge.

Today, we are once again confronted with a significant dispute within our democratic system. Numerous responsible voices advocate for unity, reflecting the aspirations and shared struggles of the people in our country. At the same time, many individuals are deeply concerned about judicial reform and the independence of the judiciary, as well as the need for police to carry out their duties without political interference.

It is important to recognize the significance of keeping roads open for ordinary citizens who rely on them after a long day of work. At the same time, it is equally important for the public to exercise caution and respect the right to protest. Thus, we must continuously balance freedom of expression with the necessity of ensuring smooth public transit, securing the airport for travelers, and preventing the threat of fires and dangers on our highways. Police should maintain a fair and controlled environment for all involved.

As we pursue unity, it is crucial for our political leadership to showcase pragmatism and moderation during times of protest and dispute. The talks over the judicial reform at President Isaac Herzog’s residence have been on hold for too long. They should be resumed without delay and our leaders should do whatever they can to reach a negotiated agreement. In so doing, they should draw inspiration from our history and our future, charting a path that unifies Israel.

Our country faces no shortage of external threats, as evidenced by the recent operation in Jenin, and we must not allow internal divisions to harm us. With the three weeks before Tisha Be’av now upon us, there is no better time to reflect on the symbols of past divisions and learn lessons for unity today.


The Israel Guys: What Joe Biden Just Did Could CAUSE THE DEATH of the State of Israel
Joe Biden just did something that could honestly cause the death of the state of Israel. Is this really where we want to be as the United States?

Also Israel is toeing the line with Russia right now. We have a lot here that you are going to want to know.




Families of Israelis held in Gaza visit Geneva, seeking help from UN, Red Cross
The families of four Israelis missing in Gaza since 2014 and 2015 came together in Geneva on Wednesday to seek the Red Cross and the UN’s help in advancing their cases.

Soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin were killed during Israel’s 2014 invasion of the Gaza Strip, and their remains are in the hands of Gaza’s Islamist Hamas rulers — although the terror group has never confirmed their deaths.

Hamas is also thought to be holding two Israeli civilians who entered the coastal enclave of their own accord in 2014 and 2015, respectively — Avera Mengistu, a Jew of Ethiopian origin, and Hisham Al-Sayed, a Bedouin Muslim.

Israeli authorities say they are both mentally unstable, and both are presumed alive.

Their relatives traveled to Geneva to seek help from the international community in getting progress on their cases.

On Wednesday they met the UN human rights chief Volker Turk, and Gilles Carbonnier, vice-president of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

“Information about my son held in Gaza for the last nine years? Zero,” Leah Goldin told AFP. “I’m coming as a mother of a son… and I’m fighting to have to give my son a proper burial.

“I’m coming here to Geneva, where all the human rights issues are discussed… it is time for action.”
Israeli-Russian researcher missing in Iraq was repeatedly warned of dangers – report
The Israeli-Russian academic researcher believed to have been abducted in Iraq by a powerful radical Shiite group backed by Iran was reportedly warned a number of times against trips to the country amid fears for her safety.

In an unsourced report Thursday evening, Israel’s Channel 12 news said Elizabeth Tsurkov, a 36-year-old Israeli Middle East analyst who is said to have entered Iraq late last year and disappeared sometime in March, was given personal warnings in recent months about traveling to Iraq following repeated stays in the country.

An Israeli government official confirmed on Wednesday that Tsurkov had made previous trips to Iraq, which Israel considers an enemy country. (The New York Times quoted Iraqi officials saying she had made more than 10 visits.) According to Israeli law, it is illegal for Israeli citizens to enter enemy countries, even on a foreign passport.

Tsurkov was visiting Iraq for research work on Iran-backed factions in the country, particularly the movement of Iraqi Shiite leader Moqtada Sadr. A PhD candidate at Princeton, she had previously conducted fieldwork in Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Turkey, and other countries in the region, according to her website.

Without attributing the information, Channel 12 said former Iraqi prime minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, also the former head of Iraqi intelligence, sent a message to Washington and Moscow in recent months telling them that Tsurkov’s foreign nationalities, Russian and Israeli, and her work were “endangering her.”

This warning was conveyed to her personally by officials in Israel, including ahead of her recent visit, according to the report.

A Western diplomat stationed in Iraq said that Tsurkov had arrived in Baghdad “at the beginning of December 2022.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office on Wednesday made public news of her abduction and accused Kataeb Hezbollah, a powerful faction of Iraq’s Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces) made up of Iran-backed former paramilitaries that were integrated into the Iraqi security forces, of holding Tsurkov.

Netanyahu’s office warned Iraq that it holds the country “responsible for her fate and safety.”


Daniel Greenfield: Elizabeth Tsurkov was Kidnapped in Iraq. Leave Her There.
Elizabeth Tsurkov was kidnapped in Baghdad by Kata’ib Hezbollah: an Iraqi Shiite militia that has attacked Americans and answers to Iran. Even though the leftist activist had entered Iraq using her primary Russian passport, Prime Minister Netanyahu announced that Israel was doing what it could to get her out. Israel would do better to pay attention to the security of its actual citizens rather than to a career terrorist supporter who for a time used Israel as her base.

Tsurkov has been described as a “scholar” doing “fieldwork”. That might put people in mind of an archeologist or an anthropologist, in reality she is a political activist who put out a steady stream of editorials, articles and tweets: many of which attacked Israel and supported terrorists.

In recent articles like “How Israel’s Occupation Came Home” and “Israel knows it will get away with the attack on Shireen Abu Aqleh’s funeral”, Tsurkov blasted Israel. In the wake of a massive wave of Islamic terrorist violence, she shamelessly complained that, “Israeli mainstream media quickly reverted to its habit of focusing on Jewish victims of violence.”

Elizabeth Tsurkov had spent a decade spreading vile smears of Israel, accusing the Jewish State of genocide and apartheid. She was interviewed by the worst anti-Israel activists like Peter Beinart, Matt Duss and Lara Friedman, and her tweets were picked up by pro-Hamas outlets.

Tsurkov’s despicable career was built in no small part on trafficking in attacks on Israel. After 3 Israeli teens were kidnapped and murdered by Hamas in 2014, Tsurkov authored a New York Times post titled, “Israel Is Helping Hamas” in which she sneered that, “one cannot stir a hornet’s nest and claim self-defense when the hornets start biting. This is how the latest round of fighting between Israel and Hamas commenced.”

Then she complained that “when militant groups fired rockets from Gaza, Israel began Operation Protective Edge, even though no Israelis had been harmed by the missiles.”

While Elizabeth Tsurkov isn’t the only Hamas apologist out there, she was employed by an activist group tied closely to the Muslim Brotherhood’s leadership in America.


German analyst blasted for call to ignore Israeli suffering, back Palestinian terrorism
German researcher Muriel Asseburg came under fire this week for suggesting in an interview that terror attacks against Israelis should be ignored while the Palestinians' right to "violent resistance" against the "Israeli occupation" supported.

Asseburg is a senior fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs that advises the German federal parliament for Africa and the Middle East. She has a history of anti-Israel rhetoric, including calls for Israeli officials to be tried by the International Court of Justice and calling Israel an "apartheid" state.

The Israeli Embassy in Germany harshly criticized Asseburg, who spoke on a podcast of an anti-Israel journalist, for giving public legitimacy to Palestinian terrorism.

The embassy said in a statement, Two and a half hours of Israel-bashing and wild conspiracies, and not one iota of journalism or academic discussion. The interview reflects Asseburg's biased position rather than the reality in the Middle East. Such trivialization of Palestinian terrorism is disgusting.

Asseburg also equated Israel to Russia, which is waging a war in Ukraine, and said that the German parliament is controlled by Israel.

The embassy also published a list of Asseburg's recommendations to the Bundestag that target Israel, such as support for the ICC probe into alleged war crimes committed by the IDF, a re-examination of military cooperation between Berlin and Jerusalem, as well as declaring Israel an apartheid state.


MEMRI: Arab Commentators, Muslim Clerics Call France's Riots Divine Punishment For Its Anti-Islam Policies, Payback For Its Colonial History
In response to the riots that erupted in France following the tragic incident of the police shooting and killing of a teenage boy named Nahel in the Paris suburb of Nanterre on June 27, 2023, various Arab commentators, including Muslim clerics, took to social media and websites to express their perspectives. They argued that the rioters' violent reactions can be seen as a form of divine punishment against France due to its anti-Islam policies and positions, as well as a consequence of its colonial history and foreign interventions.

This report aims to examine and highlight the commentaries presenting these arguments across multiple social media platforms and websites. Rather than seeing it only or solely as a civil rights issue among the French involving police brutality, many saw it as divinely inspired revenge against an old adversary for a multitude of past transgressions, from comments by Brigitte Bardot to the intervention against Qaddafi's Libya.

Commenting on the recent riots in France, Libyan cleric and YouTuber Zain Kairalah referred, in a video, to a statement made by French President Emmanuel Macron in 2020, in which he described Islam as being in crisis. Kairalah claimed that both France and Macron have faced numerous crises since that statement was made. He invoked Quranic verse 15:95, stating that Allah may have intended to fulfill it by saying, "Indeed, We are sufficient for you against the mockers." Kairalah emphasized that Allah will eventually take care of those who mock Islam and administer punishment accordingly. Towards the end of his video, Kairalah pointed out the current struggles faced by Macron, stating, "Look at the person who claimed Islam is in crisis; he himself is now experiencing a crisis. He has faced humiliation multiple times, and his country has suffered economic and political crises."[1]

On July 3, 2023, Syrian YouTuber Abduldaem Al-Kaheel, who identifies himself as a researcher of the scientific miracles of the Quran and Sunnah, echoed a similar argument. In his video, Al-Kaheel accused France of waging war against Allah and oppressing Muslims and stated: "But Allah says: Do not ever think that Allah is unaware of what the wrongdoers do. Quran 14:42 One of the most unjust acts is their deliberate mistreatment of two billion Muslims, now Allah Himself has preoccupied them with their own selves. They have mocked this Prophet, but Allah Almighty says, 'Indeed, We are sufficient for you against the mockers.' I was thinking about this verse at that time. What does it mean when Allah says, 'Indeed, We are sufficient for you against the mockers?' They are mocking now... Look, my dear brother, Allah has preoccupied them with events, problems, and disturbances."[2]

On Twitter, user Nasser Al-Nasser commented on the unfolding events in France in a series of questions tweeted July 1, 2023, in which he hinted at France's foreign policies and colonial history. He wrote: "What is happening in France?? Is it the vengeance of fate? Is it the result of France's crimes in Africa during the colonial period?? Or is it the result of France's crimes and the civil wars it created or participated in in Lebanon and Syria?? Or is it the result of French conspiracies against Iran and its attempt to ignite a civil war last year in the name of freedom?? Or is it the result of the theft of African gold? Or is it the result of all of this and what was hidden is even greater? Will the situation spread to other European countries?? Will we witness other internal crises?"[3]
MEMRI: Pakistani Clerics Call For Jihad Against Sweden Quran Burnings, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Orders Nationwide Anti-Sweden Protests; Editorials In Pakistani Dailies: 'Disrespecting The Holy Quran Is A Specific Weapon Of Extremists In The West'; It Is Possible 'To Distinguish Between Freedom Of Speech And Malicious Actions Calculated To Insult And Offend'
There have been harsh reactions in Pakistan to the recent Quran burnings in Sweden. On July 1, 2023, Alama Qari Naveed Masood Hashmi, the noted Islamic religious scholar and Central President of Tehreek-e-Tahaffuz Namoos-e-Resalat (Movement for the Protection of the Honor of Prophet Muhammad), told Muslim young people: "In order to counter the growing incidents of the desecration of the Quran and blasphemy of the Prophet, the sentiments of jihad will have to be birthed."[1] The group, which he leads, campaigns against Ahmadi Muslims for allegedly not believing that Muhammad was the last prophet.

"The rulers of the Islamic countries should declare jihad against elements [which blaspheme the Quran and Muhammad]. Only by adopting the path of jihad can the dignity of the Quran and honor of Prophet Muhammad be assured at the international level," Qari Naveed Masood Hashmi said in a statement issued jointly with other religious scholars.[2]

As per a Roznama Ummat report, Qari Naveed Masood Hashmi and other Islamic religious scholars of Pakistan called for jihad to counter incidents such as Quran burnings.

In a July 3 letter to the Speaker of the Swedish Assembly, Sadiq Sanjrani, chairman of Pakistan's Senate, expressed his regret at the desecration of the Quran, writing: "The Quran is our holy book which is a beacon of light. The feelings of Muslims have been hurt by the desecration of our Holy Book."[3]

Sadiq Sanjrani said that he wanted to address the Swedish parliament to clear up the misunderstandings about Islam: "The parliament of Sweden should remove misunderstandings about Islam. In modern times, there should be no space for blaspheming religious sentiments."[4]

On July 4, Pakistan's Samaa TV reported that Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had called for a nationwide protest on Friday, July 7, against the desecration of the Holy Quran in Sweden. He added that that the government has also decided to observe Yaum-i-Taqaddus Quran (Day to Uphold the Sanctity of the Quran).[5]

Senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan, a senior leader of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan said that the burning of Holy Quran in Sweden between the days of Hajj and Eid Al-Adha and with permission of the court is "an act of war and an attack on the Muslim world" that will push the world toward the Third World War.[6]

According to a report in the Urdu daily Roznama Dunya, Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan, the largest religious group in South Asia, staged a rally outside the Swedish Embassy in Islamabad on July 3, 2023 to protest against the Quran burnings. Addressing the rally, General Secretary of Jamaat-e-Islami Amirul Moazzam said that the West always created hurdles for Islam, while the Satans of the West always targeted Allah's religion and Quran.[7]

Earlier, on July 2, Islamic religious scholars in Pakistan-administered Kashmir protested against the Quran burnings and urged Pakistan to expel the Swedish ambassador and sever diplomatic ties with Sweden.[8] They said that the incidents of desecration of Quran in France, Norway, Denmark, U.S. and now in Sweden have hurt the hearts of the Muslim of the world, they said.[9]

Below are two editorials – one from the Urdu daily Roznama Jasarat and another from the liberal English-language newspaper Dawn – examining the controversy:
New Hampshire becomes 37th state to take action against Israel boycotters
New Hampshire became the 37th U.S. state to put an anti-BDS action on its books.

Republican Gov. Chris Sununu signed an executive order on Thursday barring the state from investing in companies that boycott Israel or their trade partners. The ceremony was attended by Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan.

“Your crucial step is creating an economic Iron Dome that ensures our shared progress and prosperity,” said Erdan, addressing Sununu. “But not only are you defending our shared interests. You are also fortifying the moral Iron Dome protecting the values of truth, justice and morality.”

Erdan also trained his focus on the U.N. Commission of Inquiry investigating the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The commission has been harshly criticized by the United States and a wide swath of countries for its partiality, a documented history of antisemitism and anti-Israel activity among its members, along with a singular mandate that carries on in perpetuity and allows it to opine on any and all issues regarding the conflict.

The commission recently criticized American states for passing laws prohibiting boycotts of Israel.

“New Hampshire’s support for Israel today is the perfect response to this antisemitic U.N. commission,” said Erdan. “We must boycott our boycotters and delegitimize our delegitimizers.”
Carrefour denies report of plans not to open stores in Judea and Samaria
French supermarket giant Carrefour denied this week reports of its plans not to open stores in Judea and Samaria due to pressure from anti-Israel elements.

According to reports, shareholders and pro-Palestinian organizations, led by BDS, exerted pressure on the retail company to refrain from the move during a shareholder meeting.

When asked about the company's plans for Judea and Samaria, one of its top executives reportedly said that there were no plans to expand to settlements.

Carrefour Israel later denied the reports, saying it was "not familiar with such a policy. Carrefour already sells its products across all of Israel."

It said that "the opening of Carrefour branches will be carried out according to a business plan and not political considerations."


CAMERA Letter A Path Forward After a Libelous University Display
[Editor’s Note: In March, CAMERA helped expose an offensive and factually inaccurate display on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that was set up on the grounds of the Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC). Some illustrative examples of just how poorly researched the display was:
It claimed that the 1917 Balfour Declaration and the 1922 Mandate for Palestine were the same document;
It suggested that there are still Israeli settlers in the Gaza Strip; and
It claimed Israel used self-defense as an excuse to “impose attacks on Palestinians” during Israel’s War of Independence (in which Israel was invaded by surrounding Arab armies immediately upon declaring independence).

The display, which was sponsored by the university’s “Social Justice and Equity Centers” (SJEC), was subsequently taken down, and reports indicate that the SJEC program is being shut down.

The following letter was written by CAMERA’s David M. Litman in response to a petition relating to these events, in which false accusations were made against CAMERA. The letter was sent to the leadership of BMCC as well as the signatories of the petition itself.]

To: BMCC President Anthony Munroe, Dean of Student Affairs Michael Hutmaker, and Vice President of Student Affairs Marva Craig
I’m writing today in response to the “Stop the Censorship: Save the SJEC!” petition. As a Senior Research Analyst at CAMERA, one of the organizations disapprovingly named in the petition, I wish to correct the record and to propose a constructive path forward.

The petition authors suggest that “complaints by Pro-Israel and Pro-Zionist” groups caused the shuttering of the BMCC Social Justice and Equity Center (SJEC) following an offensive and factually inaccurate display the center sponsored on the topic of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. According to the petition, CAMERA has “regularly used [its] influence and intimidation tactics to shut down discussions and criticisms of Israel’s many crimes against the Palestinian people.”

To the contrary, CAMERA encouraged more discussion of the topic. The March 17 article I wrote on the display concluded with the words: “If BMCC and the SJEC are truly committed to supporting historically marginalized groups then they must ‘disavow this incendiary and defamatory rhetoric against Jewish students the SJEC propagated on campus,’ in the words of CAMERA on Campus, and work to correct the record.”
Archbishop Justin Welby says Jews are a “gift” to their countries and antisemitism is the “taproot of all racism”
The Archbishop of Canterbury has said that Jews are a “gift” to the countries in which they live and that antisemitism is the “taproot of all racism.”

At an event this week at the Bevis Marks synagogue in London this week, Justin Welby said that “There is no question that a country with a large Jewish community will be a better country. It will flourish in almost any area you care to name.” He challenged antisemites, asking why Jewish communities were “seen as a problem, not as a gift.”

In conversation with the historian Simon Sebag Montefiore, Archbishop Welby described antisemitism as the “taproot of all racism.”

Referring to his study of churches in Germany under Nazi rule, he observed: “You saw there that the moment you don’t push back against antisemitism, it becomes so engrained – and antisemitic laws or antisemitic attitudes become permissible, and everything becomes permissible. It’s a cancer of extraordinarily rapid growth, which you can’t deal with if you leave it for any time.”

Reflecting on his childhood, Welby recalled that after he had been sent to boarding school at the age of eight, he had become friendly with a Jewish boy called Myers. “My father heard about this. He said, ‘Don’t play with him. He’s Jewish.’ I still remember, I must have been nine, thinking, ‘I am not going to obey that. He is my friend. So what if he is Jewish? I couldn’t care less.’ And we continued to play together. I just didn’t talk about it at home. From then on, I thought this was ridiculous. How can anyone live thinking that because someone comes from a particular group, that they are intrinsically bad or lesser or other?”
Canadian Nonprofit Calls for Investigation of Elementary School Teacher’s Glorification of Palestinian Terrorists
A Canadian nonprofit promoting impartial coverage of Israel is calling for an investigation of a Canadian elementary school teacher who allegedly wrote social media posts glorifying Palestinian terrorism and denying Israel’s right to exist.

In an open letter to Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB), HonestReporting Canada (HRC) claimed that the teacher, Abeer Mousa, said in a Facebook post that Palestinian women groom their children to accept violence as a means of political action, “as it is the only way to liberate the land and get rid of enemies.”

The concerning social activity goes back five years, HRC explained, noting that Mousa in 2018 lionized Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) leader Dalal Mughrabi, who coordinated in 1978 the Coastal Road Massacre, which killed 38 Israelis, including thirteen children.

“She walked steadily towards the land that she dreamed of walking in her paths one day, and infiltrated with no fear to achieve her dream…and inscribe her name on the pages of history in the name of that love…That woman is Dalal Mughrabi…#theanniversaryofDalalMughrabi’s martyrdom,” she wrote. Three year earlier, Mousa said in response to a Palestinian’s murder of a 19 year old Israeli Defense Forces soldier, “And hopefully also his father, his family, and his entire people. May Allah burn them.”
CAA to write to Camden Council over “Zionism is based on racist and supremacist beliefs” sign
Campaign Against Antisemitism will be writing to Camden Council over an incendiary sign that was seen this week in the window of a Kentish Town residence.

The sign claims that Zionism “is an amoral political belief based on racist and supremicist [sic] (not a religion).”

It goes on to say that the “Israely [sic] State cows and corrupts our political class and media.”

According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination (e.g. by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavour)” and “Making mendacious, dehumanising, demonising, or stereotypical allegations about Jews as such or the power of Jews as collective — such as, especially but not exclusively, the myth about a world Jewish conspiracy or of Jews controlling the media, economy, government or other societal institutions” are both examples of antisemitism.


CTV National News Report Tacitly Condones Palestinian Terrorism Against Israel
There is an adage that in war, the first casualty is the truth. This saying reflects a timeless truism: that in armed conflict, misinformation runs rampant.

Following Israel’s brief raids in early July into the Jenin refugee camp, where the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) entered the Palestinian Authority-controlled town to disrupt and defang the Palestinian terrorist infrastructure, CTV News broadcast a report on July 4th on the ensuing violence that was deeply problematic.

The report, by Ottawa-based journalist Judy Trinh, was riddled with false moral equivalencies, significant omissions and overt bias.

Trinh’s report began by stating that three Palestinian children were among the dead, killed by missiles dropped by Israeli drones, but no context was provided about the incidents in question, nor were any details given about the alleged children, who were reportedly teenagers aged 15, 16 and 17. It’s well known that Palestinian terrorist groups like Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) have cynically used child soldiers before and have widely recruited teenagers in their attacks against Israelis. Trinh’s providing a misleading statement that presumably innocent “children” have died and her failure to mention their advanced ages and how Palestinian terror organizations have confirmed that all 12 fatalities in the IDF’s operation in Jenin were combatants, all who engaged in hostilities with Israel, was a significant omission.

While Trinh did report that a large weapons cache was uncovered by Israel during its counter-terrorism raids, she immediately followed by making the remarkable statement that “Unable to match the might of the Israeli army, cruder methods are used to retaliate,” immediately mentioning a Palestinian terrorist attack in Israel on July 4, where eight Israeli civilians were injured when a Hamas terrorist drove his pickup truck into a crowd in Tel Aviv, and then proceeded to stab people at random. An attack that also saw a pregnant Israeli mother’s unborn baby die.
New York Times complains too many Orthodox Jews are on NYC Jewish Advisory Council
The New York Times never misses an opportunity to complain about Jews — especially Orthodox Jews. In recent memory, the paper of record whitewashed the 1991 pogrom in Crown Heights and even suggested it is reasonable to think Orthodox Jews are going to inadvertently poison water wells, giving neighbors polio.

The latest example comes from a piece titled “Orthodox Men Dominate Mayor Adams’s New Jewish Advisory Council.”

You can probably already tell where this is going.

The New York Times laments the representation of Orthodox Jews on the council, writing that “A majority of the advisers are Orthodox and only a quarter are women, drawing criticism from Jewish leaders including Representative Jerrold Nadler of New York.”

According to the reporter Dana Rubenstein, there is a shortage of what she considers to be the “archetypical Jewish New Yorker” on the council. In her mind, that is a Jew who “might be found on the Upper West Side, somewhere between Zabar’s and Barney Greengrass.” The stereotyping here is almost unbelievable.

But the most recent numbers show that upwards of 40% of Jewish New Yorkers are Orthodox. And Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin rightly points out that maybe, just maybe, the reason there are so many Orthodox Jews on the council — even to the point of overrepresentation — is that they are disproportionately the victims of violent antisemitism in New York City.
‘Archetypical Jewish New Yorker’ is Non-Orthodox Upper West Sider, New York Times Insists
The New York Times story declaring that Mayor Adams is being criticized for having too many Orthodox men on a Jewish advisory council is itself drawing criticism for expressing an antiquated and narrow idea of what a Jewish New Yorker looks like.

“If there is an archetypical Jewish New Yorker, that person might be found on the Upper West Side, somewhere between Zabar’s and Barney Greengrass,” the Times article, by Dana Rubinstein, declares. It goes on to assert that “that type of Jewish New Yorker was in short supply” on the Jewish Advisory Council, which was announced June 26.

It’s a strange hook upon which to hang a New York Times article, though perhaps it does illustrate the insecurity of the people complaining, who represent a demographically diminishing share of the New York Jewish population.

For one thing, the Times article totally omits it, but the council includes Rabbi Joanna Samuels, who is literally the CEO of the Jewish Community Center on the Upper West Side, which is at 76th and Amsterdam. Zabar’s is at 80th and Broadway and Barney Greengrass is on Amsterdam between 86th and 87th. Close enough?

The Times illustrates the piece with a photograph of a rabbi left off the council, Rachel Timoner of Congregation Beth Elohim in Park Slope, Brooklyn. That congregation is excessively covered by the Times, which featured it in the month of November 2022 alone in a page-one news article about antisemitism, a Style section article about “the first Old Jewish Men Fall Ball, an intergenerational mixer,” and a news article about Timoner denouncing as “fascist,” what she described as “the most racist and farthest-right leadership Israel has ever seen.”


HSBC and Leumi to provide $1.1 billion in financing for Tel Aviv purple light rail
Israel has secured €1 billion ($1.1 billion) in financing from UK banking giant HSBC and Israel’s Bank Leumi to start building an overground light rail line in the greater Tel Aviv area.

HSBC and Bank Leumi will provide the consortium – made of Israel’s Shapir Group and Spain’s CAF (Spain) – that has won the tender for planning, designing and building the purple light rail line, with €1 billion in financing, according to a joint statement by the Finance Ministry and the Transportation Ministry.

With the final closure of the financing on Tuesday, the Shapir-CAF consortium will be able to start working on the construction of the light rail infrastructure and technological systems and order the tram cars, after winning the tender for the project about a year ago.

The planned Tel Aviv purple light rail line will run from the eastern part of the Tel Aviv metropolitan area to transport passengers from Yehud, Kiryat Ono, via Ramat Gan and Givatayim to the center of Tel Aviv, stopping at Bar Ilan University, Sheba Medical Center, and Shuk Hacarmel. It will span 29 kilometers (18 miles) and stop at 46 stations at a frequency of four minutes carrying about 256,000 passengers a day. The purple line is forecast to be delayed at least three years beyond its original 2027 expected launch date.

The government hailed the closure of the financing as a “vote of confidence” in the Israeli economy. The financing provided by the banks is part of so-called ‘green financing’, in which a financial institution finances projects of an environmental nature, with the aim of taking vehicles off the road and encouraging public transportation, according to the joint statement.

The purple line is part of the planned Gush Dan Tel Aviv greater area transportation network, with a total of three light rail lines stretching across 90 kilometers (56 miles), which includes the red line and green line. The red line of the Tel Aviv light rail, which will travel from Petah Tikva to Bat Yam via Tel Aviv, was slated to open at the end of April. Facing some delays, the opening is expected in the coming weeks. The green line is planned to run across 39 kilometers (24 miles) from Rishon Lezion and Holon in the south to Herzliya in the north with four kilometers (2.5 miles) of underground tracks in Tel Aviv.
Canada Announces Major Investment In Israeli Earthquake Detecting Technology
In late June, Natural Resources Canada announced a major investment in an advanced earthquake detection system developed by Tel Aviv University, in partnership with SeismicAI, an Israeli hi-tech company. The Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) system aims to provide advanced notice for Canadians in high-risk areas, so they can find safety before a large-scale earthquake strikes.

This Canadian investment in Israeli know-how could potentially save countless lives should such a natural disaster take place in Canada. Although often covered by the news media when conflict takes place, Israel’s true impact is helping to make the world a better place.
Hadassah surgeons reattach boy’s head to his neck after internal decapitation
In an extremely rare and complex operation, Hadassah Medical Center surgeons have reattached a 12-year-old boy’s head to his neck after a serious accident in which he was hit by a car while riding his bicycle, the Jerusalem hospital announced on Wednesday.

Suleiman Hassan, a Palestinian from the West Bank, was airlifted to Hadassah hospital’s trauma unit in Ein Kerem, where it was determined that the ligaments holding the posterior base of his skull were severely damaged, leaving it detached from the top vertebrae of his spine. The condition, bilateral atlanto occipital joint dislocation, is commonly known as internal or orthopedic decapitation.

The injury is very rare in adults, and even more so in children.

“We fought for the boy’s life,” said Dr. Ohad Einav, the orthopedic specialist who operated on the patient together with Dr. Ziv Asa and a large operating room and intensive care team. The surgery was carried out in early June.

“The procedure itself is very complicated and took several hours. While in the operating room, we used new plates and fixations in the damaged area… Our ability to save the child was thanks to our knowledge and the most innovative technology in the operating room,” Einav said.

Einav, who returned to Israel a year ago after a fellowship at trauma centers in Toronto, estimated that this rare injury has occurred in Israel before. As far as he is aware, he is one of just a few surgeons in Israel who specialize in trauma surgery for spinal injuries.

Hassan was recently discharged home with a cervical splint and will continue to be carefully monitored by the Hadassah staff.




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