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Monday, July 17, 2023

07/17 Links Pt2: RFK Jr is just the latest conspiracy theorists to turn on the Jews; Swedish Jewish group sees silver lining behind scripture-burning story

From Ian:

Dara Horn: Come Here to Me, You Fortunate Citizen of the World
Upon his arrival in Auschwitz in 1942, the Nazis assigned Zalmen Gradowski to the Sonderkommando (special force), whose task was to direct fellow prisoners to the gas chambers and then to remove and dispose of their corpses. Gradowski kept a Yiddish-language diary, which he carefully hid and which has recently been published in English translation. In her review, Dara Horn compares Gradowski to Shimon bar Kokhba, who led a failed revolt against the Roman occupation of Judea in 135 CE:

Gradowski was both a talented writer and a heroic warrior, whose name should be as well known in Jewish history as Bar Kokhba’s—not least because he and Bar Kokhba were equally doomed. Gradowski was born around 1909 to a religious family in the town of Suwalki in the region known to Jews as Lita or Lithuania; as a young adult, he was politically active in the Revisionist wing of the Zionist movement named for Bar Kokhba’s last stand, Betar. By 1942, he and his wife, Sonja, and most of their large extended families were deported to Auschwitz, where all but Gradowski were gassed and burned on arrival.

This living nightmare ended for him on October 7, 1944, in a revolt he helped organize that lasted one day. Using gunpowder smuggled in tiny amounts over many months by Jewish female prisoners working in the camp’s munitions factory, he and his fellow rebels blew up Crematorium 4, killed three guards, and facilitated the escape of several hundred people. Within hours, Nazi officers recaptured most of the escapees and murdered more than four hundred Sonderkommandos and other prisoners. Gradowski was murdered in the revolt, as he fully anticipated.

Like much of Yiddish literature, Gradowski’s long incantatory introduction is laced with deliberate ironic echoes of biblical and other traditional texts, because that is the discourse in which the overwhelming majority of murdered Jews thought, spoke, and wrote. The fact that many non-Jewish readers will likely find this style alienating is itself revealing, because its off-putting nature for English readers isn’t just about references that might go over a reader’s head. This style is a literary enactment of the deepest element of Jewish life, one that anti-Semites cannot bear: responsibility for both past and future.

Like the classical Jewish texts upon which he drew, Gradowski’s writing openly demands his readers’ participation. He does not allow his readers to be passive observers; he fully implicates them in whatever happens next. This prophetic call to responsibility is precisely the call that the anti-Semitic world has rejected—then and, in endless unspoken ways, now.
IHRA's Definition of Antisemitism adoption set to surpass 2022 numbers
In a promising development, the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism has garnered substantial support worldwide in the first half of 2023.

According to a report by Combat Antisemitism Movement, the adoption and endorsement of this definition, which serves as a comprehensive framework for identifying contemporary forms of Jew-hatred, have reached a total of 78 entities globally.

Key Data regarding the IHRA's Definition of Antisemitism adoptions in 2023, according to CAM:
78 entities globally adopted or endorsed the IHRA Definition of Antisemitism in the first half of 2023.
The total number of adoptions and endorsements worldwide now stands at 1,192.
This represents a diverse range of institutions, organizations, governments, and corporations that have embraced the definition.
The 78 adoptions and endorsements in January-June 2023 accounted for 85.7% of the total adoptions in 2022.
The current trajectory suggests that 2023's total will exceed the previous year's numbers.

Expanding Recognition:
The widespread adoption of the IHRA Definition of Antisemitism challenges the claims made by detractors who suggest a decline in support. Despite protests and alternative proposals, the IHRA's definition has gained universal recognition as the authoritative guideline for identifying and addressing Antisemitism. Its acceptance continues to grow among countries, government bodies, institutions, organizations, and corporations worldwide.

Who adopted the IHRA working definition in 2023?
Several notable adoptions and endorsements of the IHRA Definition of Antisemitism have taken place in 2023, including:
Two countries: Latvia and Croatia.
33 non-national governmental bodies.
Seven educational institutions.
One private organization.
35 public organizations, with Poland leading the way.

The IHRA Definition of Antisemitism has gained traction at the regional and municipal levels worldwide. Some prominent adoptees include:
The Latin American Parliament.
Region of Piedmont, Italy.
Kansas City, Missouri.
Westchester County, New York.
Florence, Italy.
South Bend, Indiana.
Cincinnati, Ohio.
Boca Raton, Florida.
Dallas, Texas.
Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.
Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Province of Jujuy, Argentina.
The Supreme Court of Justice of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Swedish Jewish group sees silver lining behind scripture-burning story
Widespread media coverage of these events, and their permissibility under Swedish law, has “hurt Sweden’s image abroad,” according to Aron Verständig, the president of the Council of Swedish Jewish Communities.

Yet to Verständig and many Swedish Jews, the scandals were a testament to the robustness of coexistence in Sweden rather than a display of its breakdown.

“Unfortunately, we’re discussing the burning of scripture in Sweden, but the discussion has had some positive outcomes,” Verständig told The Times of Israel on Sunday.

Behind the scenes, leaders of Muslim faith communities who vocally opposed Alush’s plan to burn a copy of Jewish or Christian scripture had convinced him to drop it, Verständig said.

“It says a lot of good things about Swedish society when you see that virtually no one supports the actions of a handful of extremists,” said Verständig.

“To read the news in Israel, there’s a narrative according to which Sweden is a place where they torch Torah scrolls and Swedish Jews are threatened and intimidated by this. We’re not. We condemned the Quran burning and the leaders of Muslim communities condemned the plan to burn the Bible, as did Christians. There’s solidarity and a recognition that even though something is legal, it’s still inappropriate and objectionable.”


RFK Jr is just the latest conspiracy theorists to turn on the Jews
Searching for an explanation for the inexplicable — the murder of his father and uncle — RFK Jr has endorsed conspiracy theories. In the case of his father’s death, common sense alone suggests such a theory is wrong. There is a desperation behind alternative accounts. It is understandable that such ideas are attractive to a bereaved son, but understanding his motive doesn’t make it right.

And now, like a lot of people who start believing in one conspiracy, RFK Jr has started to endorse other conspiracy theories. After all, if common sense and plain sight are insufficient to explain something as important as the death of his father, why should they ever be relied upon? And if sinister forces are capable of such a traumatic murder and are never brought to justice, why would you not see those forces behind, well, pretty much anything traumatic?

This is how RFK Jr has come to be viewed as the champion of the many conspiracy theories attached to vaccine use and Covid restrictions. His presidential campaign is highly unlikely to be successful, and he won’t be the Democratic nominee, but he is doing better than many thought he would, because conspiracy theorists can be found on the left as well as the right.

And everywhere they are found, they are a danger to Jews.

In my new book, Hitler, Stalin, Mum and Dad, I write about how in the 1920s, my grandfather, Alfred Wiener, saw the growth of conspiracy theories as a major part of the rise of the Nazis. This remains the case.

A new academic study conducted by researchers from King’s College London, Goldsmiths, University of London, and Arden University looked at the attitudes and political views of 2,600 Britons. They discovered that it wasn’t being left or right wing that was most associated with antisemitism. It was believing in conspiracy theories.

Once you start the think that a tight-knit group of malicious people are manipulating events, it is, it seems, a short hop to believing that those people are Jews.

This is how to understand the latest statements by Robert Kennedy. He has argued that Covid was “targeted to attack Caucasians and black people”. He went on to say that “the people who are most immune are Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese”. Defending himself, he has argued that he was just citing scientific studies, he never claimed that this “targeting” was deliberate. Just that it is a prototype for biological weapons that might be able to do the same thing.

I’m not sure that his defence really makes things better.

RFK Jr has pointed out that he supports Israel and that some of his best friends are Jews. But what he has demonstrated is how problematic it is the moment someone starts believing in hidden forces. I don’t doubt that he did not wish to be characterised as antisemitic and doesn’t think of himself that way at all. To use the favourite phrases of all conspiracy theorists, he is “just citing a study”, just “asking a question”.

Roger Waters is another example. He believes that Labour and Britain’s political debate are being manipulated by Zionists. His supporters are immensely annoyed when it is pointed out that believing that the world is being manipulated by a cabal of Zionists was the exact thrust of the publishers of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion and the people, like Henry Ford, who propagated it.

RFK’s latest remarks, however upsetting, do at least provide a steer for campaigns against antisemitism. The place to start is with resisting all theories about mysterious elites, and blobs, and cabals, and cliques that are supposed to control mankind. These may not start as antisemitic, but they can get there frighteningly quickly.
No more 'monkeys' and 'pigs': Anti-Israeli content has been removed from textbooks in Saudi Arabia
A sign of things to come? It turns out that the revolution being carried out by Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman is also reflected in the reform of the country's textbooks since he came to power.

Among other things, references to Jews as monkeys and pigs who worship the devil, and descriptions of them as traitors by nature and sworn enemies of Islam have been removed. Anti-Israeli materials also have been removed, including reports about the Zionists' use of women, drugs and the media in order to achieve their goals and conspiracies according to which Israel has plans to expand its borders from the Nile River in Egypt to the Euphrates in Iraq.

A new study, which examined changes made this year in the Saudi curriculum, in relation to the last five years, found a continuation of the trend of positive changes in textbooks with regard to anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic content. Progress also was made on gender issues, content was added against Hezbollah and the Iranian-backed Houthis and against the Muslim Brotherhood movement, as well as more tolerant content that promotes peace.

The research carried out by the international research and policy institute IMPACT-se in London, which investigates and analyzes the contents of textbooks in the world to encourage contents of peace and tolerance according to the standards of UNESCO, included an analysis of 301 textbooks published in the last five years by the Saudi Ministry of Education. The most significant change that has been made is in the negative attitude toward Jews, with almost all the antisemitic examples in the books completely removed this year. For example, a song about the opposition to Jewish settlement in Palestine was deleted. A task that asked the students to refute Zionist claims about their connection to Palestine was also removed. A high school history book no longer includes a lesson on the positive results of the first intifada and referring to Israel as a "fraudulent democracy." A blood libel accusing Israel of setting fire to Al-Aqsa Mosque in 1969 was also removed from one of the books, as well as an example that claimed that Israel's reasons for starting the Six-Day War were its desire to take control of holy sites for Islam and Christianity in Jerusalem and oil wells in the Sinai Peninsula.

In several places in the textbooks, the terminology toward Israel was moderated and references were removed to "the Zionist enemy" and "the Israeli occupation." However, the textbooks still do not recognize Israel and do not teach about the Holocaust. The maps completely ignore the existence of Israel and do not mention mention its name, Zionism is still described as a European colonial and racist movement, and there are still places where it is described as the "Zionist entity"

"Although every textbook reform is important, the textbooks of Saudi Arabia have a special significance as the leader of the Sunni current in Islam," said Marcus Sheff, CEO of the research and policy institute IMPACT-se.
Ariel University faces internal turmoil amid external boycott
Ariel University is awash in internal turmoil and facing a donor revolt over the heavy-handed policies of its administration and the sudden dismissal of its senior vice president in charge of fundraising, according to university officials and donors.

The tumult comes as the university concomitantly faces external boycotts due to its location over the 1949 armistice line, commonly known as the Green Line, including most recently by the U.S. administration.

The university, which has been operating without a president for the past year following the resignation of its former president, Yehuda Shoenfeld, has seen a wave of officials leave, be dismissed or pushed out, including the chairman of the executive committee, the academic secretary and recently, senior vice president Bobby Brown, who was charged with fundraising and international relations.

Despite having passed retirement age, the university’s director general, Yoram Shay, has held his post for the entirety of the institution’s four-decade history. (The university was established as an academic college in 1982, and received university status in 2012.)

“My concern is that the university administration under the current leadership is dysfunctional and lacking in the kind of checks and balances necessary to ensure an efficient and proper administration,” said Marc Zell, who served on the university’s executive committee for a decade and a half until being ousted.

“Historically, the university leadership does not have a thorough understanding of the mechanics and philosophy of fundraising, which resulted in a less than impressive record in donations,” he said.

The largest single donation pledged to the university was $45 million, by the late casino magnate and philanthropist Sheldon Adelson and his wife Miriam, towards the creation of a medical school a decade ago.

But according to Zell, major donors were not kept informed about the status of the projects that they were supporting, and that the university for years had otherwise been disconnected or aloof from its international supporters, leading him to bring in Brown at the end of 2019 with an eye to fundraising and international development, as boycotts of the university began to grow.
Rep. Tenney Introduces Legislation To Prevent Tax Dollars From Going To Entities That Support BDS Movement
New York Republican Rep. Claudia Tenney introduced legislation Wednesday to prevent tax dollars from going to entities that endorse the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.

The Daily Caller first obtained a copy of the legislation, which would specifically prohibits the federal government from entering into contracts with entities engaged in a boycott of Israel, a boycott of businesses or individuals who do business with Israel or a boycott Israeli companies. The BDS movement is a Palestinian-led effort that aims to force businesses and institutions to withdraw support from Israel. (RELATED: NYC Law School Slapped With Complaint Over Anti-Israel Policy)

“The BDS movement promotes and normalizes anti-Semitism, by choosing to single out the world’s only Jewish State, while ignoring human rights violations by countries like China, North Korea, and Iran,” Tenney told the Caller before introducing the bill.

“Not a dime of U.S. tax dollars should go to support entities that seek to delegitimize one of our strongest allies and endorse the blatantly anti-Semitic BDS movement. With over two-thirds of states adopting laws opposing the BDS movement, it is time for the federal government to do so at the federal level,” Tenney added. “By enacting the Countering Hate Against Israel by Federal Contractors Act, we are sending a powerful message that we stand firmly against anti-Semitism and efforts to delegitimize one of our greatest allies.”


German Fans Chant ‘Free Palestine’ as Spanish Ska Band Takes Stage at Music Festival
Hundreds of German music fans chanted “Free Palestine” as Spanish ska-punk band Ska-P performed at a festival in Munich on Saturday, as a member of the group waved a huge Palestinian flag on stage.

The Madrid-based group had faced opposition to its performance at the Tollwood Festival in the German city over their song “Intifada,” which critics have panned as antisemitic.

The Munich public prosecutor’s office allowed the performance to go ahead, but reportedly banned Ska-P from playing “Intifada” during their set. As a protest, Ska-P vocalist Roberto Gañán Ojea led the crowd in a loud chant of “Free Palestine” while one of his bandmates unfurled a Palestinian flag, wearing a piece of masking tape over his mouth intended to symbolize censorship.

A spokesperson for the festival told German media outlets that the public prosecutor’s officer had issued instructions that “Intifada” not be played, but this was not confirmed independently. The same representative confirmed that a senior police officer had met with the band prior to their concert in order to “sensitize” them to the objections to the song.

Last week, a coalition of Jewish, Roma and left-wing groups called for the cancelation of the band’s Munich concert, pointing to both the lyrics of “Intifada” and the appearance of a band member on stage dressed as a gypsy holding a crystal ball, invoking a stereotype that offended Roma rights advocates.

The lyrics of “Intifada” include the lines: “Six million Jews who were exterminated in the most horrific way/An imperialist genocide by fascist armies, we must learn from history/The victims have become executioners, everything has gone wrong.”

The coalition’s statement in favor of a ban argued that the song turned the “Jewish victims of the Shoah into perpetrators” and consequently “held [them] responsible for the ‘colonization’ of Palestine.”


Antisemitism Remains All Too Rampant On Social Media
The Platforms Are Doing Little To Stop It
Another study from the Center for Countering Digital Hate, conducted in 2021, found that 84% of racist anti-Jewish posts failed to be acted on. This is a problem that will continue to get worse, warned Jason Mollica, professorial lecturer and program director in the School of Communication at American University

"Sadly, antisemitism on social media has been allowed to grow," said Mollica. "Platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and even TikTok have done little to stop the spread. One of the things we often see on social media is the amplification of a post that is racist and/or antisemitic."

The problem is oftentimes made worse by those who try to do the "right thing" and report such content. Instead of stopping its spread, it can amplify it.

"While people feel they are doing something noble by calling it out, say on Twitter, the algorithm actually rewards the response. It shows up as a trending topic or even a hashtag," added Mollica. "This isn't to say antisemitism should be ignored on social networks and it will then go away. It's important to continue to pressure these companies to do more."

Mollica also said that Elon Musk has failed to follow through on his efforts to confront hateful speech on Twitter.

"He has claimed Twitter will limit 'hate tweets'; however, there has not been a noticeable change," Mollica continued. "A German organization, HateAid, has filed a legal challenge for Twitter's failure to remove those kinds of posts."

Unfortunately, the problem isn't just limited to Twitter, and antisemitism will remain a problem on social media largely because it is one that is being ignored.

It has been said too many times that "the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing"—and as of now, little to nothing is being done to stop this evil on social media.
Media & Celebrity Site Suggests ‘Jeopardy!’ Host Mayim Bialik’s Zionism is Racist
Mayim Bialik, an actress and the current co-host of the popular American quiz show Jeopardy!, is Jewish, and, like most Jews, a Zionist.

Bialik is simultaneously a supporter of Palestinian self-determination, having expressed her belief that they should live — like Israelis — in an “autonomous free and safe nation.”

In addition, she has previously called out “extremists on both sides” of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and reiterated her belief that such fundamentalists are representative of neither all Israelis nor all Palestinians.

Why, then, has entertainment news site MEAWW, which claims to be among the world’s fastest-growing media-tech companies with millions of readers worldwide, published an antisemitic diatribe by staff writer Oshi Agarwal that suggests Bialik is a racist?

Placed in the website’s op-ed section and later reprinted word-for-word by MSN News, the clumsily-written screed takes aim at Bialik for her “very obvious support for the Israelis” while falsely accusing Israel of using “brutal violence on the few Palestinians struggling to survive in their own land.”

In the piece, Agarwal insinuates that being a Zionist is tantamount to being anti-Palestinian and also denies the very existence of the Jewish state by bizarrely declaring that Bialik’s many Israeli relatives live in “Palestine”:
While she has not outrightly said anything against Palestine, she seems to have very obvious support for the Israelis, which seems problematic to some. The actress has a family in Palestine and has previously made donations to the Israel Defense Forces, which was questioned by many from Hollywood.”

Aside from the ways in which the piece breaches the internationally-accepted IHRA working definition of antisemitism, including by denying Jews their right to self-determination as it is manifested in the existence of the State of Israel, the piece is also an example of plainly bad journalism.

For example, Agarwal notes that Bialik’s donations to the IDF were “questioned by many from Hollywood” but fails to identify any of these alleged critics.

In the final few paragraphs, Agarwal abandons any semblance of journalistic credibility by including a host of insulting comments from anonymous Twitter users that she presumably believes justify her unpleasant editorial.
Saltwire Letters Deny Israel’s Right to Defend Itself Against Palestinian Terrorism
In the face of such relentless terrorism, Israel has a right, and indeed a responsibility, to defend its people.

During its 48-hour operation, Israel found a large stockpile of weapons and a hidden terror tunnel underneath a mosque, proof of Palestinian terror groups intentionally embedding themselves in the civilian population.

Despite these heinous actions by Palestinian terrorists, Israel’s actions were pinpoint, with reports saying 12 Palestinians were killed, and with Israel arguing that not a single innocent civilian was killed.

Conway asserted that four Palestinian children were killed. This is untrue. Not a single child was killed; these deaths were adults in their mid-teens, a demographic highly sought after by Palestinian terror groups in their recruitment, and Israel maintains that every single death was a combatant.

Conway is correct to be angered that Palestinian civilians were put in harms way. But the culprit is not Israel, forced to defend its people, but the Palestinian terror groups who intentionally put their own populace in harms way, willing to sacrifice their own civilians for better PR.

As well, in his recent July 10 letter entitled: “Freedom of speech versus the new ‘anti-Semitism”, Frank Holden made multiple false claims about Israel, and the IHRA definition of antisemitism, an important tool for combatting Jew-hatred in society.

Holden asserted that the IHRA definition (which has been adopted by dozens of countries, including Canada, as well as multiple provinces) conflates criticism of Israel with antisemitism. Had he checked the very definition itself, he wouldn’t have made such a claim, as it plainly states that “criticism of Israel similar to that leveled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic.”

He continued his letter by accusing Israel of stealing Palestinian land and building “Jews only” highways. Both allegations are similarly without foundation.

Israel did not steal a square inch of Palestinian land. For three thousand years, Jews have lived in Judea & Samaria (renamed the “West Bank” by the news media), and in 1920, the international community recognized this legal claim. Conversely, there has never been any Palestinian state which can claim ownership of these lands.

As for Holden’s outlandish claim of “Jews only” highways, this is utter fiction. Nowhere in Israel, or in Judea & Samaria, are highways for one religion or another. While there may be roads for Israeli citizens, they are fully open to Muslims, given that roughly 20% of Israel’s population practices the Islamic faith, and Israel is well within its rights to have some roads for citizens, and others for non-citizens, regardless of their religion.
BBC’s Bateman promotes a Jenin story based on an unverified video
Bateman goes on to support his story with quotes from an anonymous “eyewitness” before continuing:
“Of the 12 Palestinians killed in Jenin last week, two were aged 16 and two were 17 years old. Ten of the total were claimed as members by militant groups.”

He does not bother to clarify that the two fatalities not claimed by any of the terrorist organisations operating in Jenin were 16 and 22 years old or that the Palestinian Islamic Jihad claimed one sixteen-year-old and three seventeen-year-olds.

Over the past nine months Tom Bateman has on several occasions promoted the topic of ‘child casualties’ in his reporting on Israeli counter-terrorism operations:

However, BBC audiences have yet to see any serious reporting from Bateman or any other BBC journalist on the issue of the exploitation of minors by terrorist organisations.

Just five days before the appearance of Bateman’s report, the BBC found itself having to apologise for promoting the false allegation that Israeli forces are “happy to kill children”. That, however, did not prevent Tom Bateman from writing an entire article based on a video that he admits the BBC did not source or verify, along with accounts from an interested party and an unidentified “eyewitness”.


PreOccupiedTerritory: Qatar-Run Outlet Warns Of Zionist-Controlled Media (satire)
A news and commentary network based in a pro-Islamist, pro-Iran, terrorism-supporting Persian Gulf state, that hews to the political agenda of its country’s autocratic government, continued this week to stream and broadcast pieces informing viewers around the world of the dire consequences of a foreign country setting the editorial and content agenda, namely Israel and its supporters.

Al Jazeera’s English-language outlet AJ+, plus several smaller units of the Qatari media empire, described in at least six segments this week a coordinated effort by “Zionist-controlled media companies” to suppress criticism of Israel and paint opponents of Israel as violent and hate-filled. The analyst and correspondents in each of the segments warned their audiences of the dangers of having the agenda of a foreign country determine the content and tone of the news the media carry.

“It cannot be healthy for the US, to give an example, to have all of its major networks and newspapers beholden to Zionist ownership or management,” declared one Al-Jazeera commentator on the Qatari-owned and -managed network. “Imagine the distortion, the subversion of democratic processes, that occurs when the people are misinformed through foreign propaganda that influences the presentation of the news they consume,” continued the analysis on a network that toes the line of its masters in Doha by downplaying Islamic terrorism, whitewashing Iranian hegemonic imperialism, denying Jewish indigeneity and rights in the ancestral Jewish homeland, fomenting violent conflict, and criticizing Western countries for failure to meet progressive ideals even as Qatar itself practices and endorses political repression, modern-day slavery, and censorship.
Tel Aviv Museum of Art Reviews Large Donation Tied to Convicted Holocaust War Criminal
The Tel Aviv Museum of Art told the publication Artnet last week that it is evaluating a large donation given to the cultural institution by the widow of a German industrialist whose family fortune was allegedly amassed by its ties to the Nazis.

“The current leadership of the museum is thoroughly reviewing the situation,” a spokeswoman for the museum told the news outlet, adding that the donation was accepted under a former management. “They will assess their position regarding this donation and take appropriate action based on their assessment.”

In 2014, one of the museum’s founding patrons, Ingrid Flick, gave around $670,000 to the Tel Aviv Museum’s Prints and Drawings Gallery on behalf of the German Friends of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art. She is the widow and third wife of Friedrich Karl Flick and inherited reportedly $5.5 billion from her husband when he died in 2006. She is also the chairwoman of the board of trustees of a foundation named after her late father-in-law, Friedrich Flick.

An obituary of Friedrich published by The New York Times when he died in 1972 called him “one of Hitler’s biggest industrial backers.”

He was in prison for three years after being convicted as a war criminal by the United States Military Tribunal at Nuremberg in 1947 for using slave labor to produce weapons for the Nazis and looting German‐occupied countries, among other crimes. He expanded his coal and steel empire by taking control of companies that Jews sold under duress by the Nazis. He reportedly employed between 40,000 and 50,000 prisoners of war and camp inmates, many of whom died working for him. He was said to be the richest man in Germany by the end of War War II and after prison, he rebuilt his fortune by selling his business and investing in a number of companies, including becoming the biggest shareholder of the German car manufacturer Daimler-Benz, now known as Mercedes-Benz. At the time of his death in 1972 he was one of the world’s richest people, worth more than $1 billion.

When Friedrich, Friedrich Karl became the sole owner of his father’s conglomerate after buying other other family members and the fortune was later inherited by Ingrid.
Antisemitic former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad welcomed by leading British Muslim groups
Numerous leading British Muslim organisations have welcomed an antisemitic former Malaysian Prime Minister on his visit to the UK.

Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad is a proud antisemite: in 2012 he insisted that he is “glad to be labelled as antisemitic…How can I be otherwise, when the Jews who so often talk of the horrors they suffered during the Holocaust show the same Nazi cruelty and hard-heartedness towards not just their enemies but even towards their allies should any try to stop the senseless killing of their Palestinian enemies.”

His record bears out this antisemitism:
In 2019, he declared in a speech to the UN General Assembly that the “Because of the creation of Israel, there is now enmity towards the Muslims and Islam.” He also reportedly claimed: “If you are going to be truthful, the problem in the Middle East began with the creation of Israel. That is the truth. But I cannot say that.”
In 2018, he said in a BBC Hard Talk interview that “If you are going to be truthful, the problem in the Middle East began with the creation of Israel. That is the truth. But I cannot say that.”
In 2012, he claimed in a speech to the Organisation of the Islamic Conference that “The Jews rule the world by proxy. They get others to fight and die for them.”
He also described sympathy with Jewish victims of the Holocaust as “wasted and misplaced.”
In 2003, he argued at the Organisation of the Islamic Conference summit in Kuala Lumpur that “1.3 billion Muslims cannot be defeated by a few million Jews…There must be a way. And we can only find a way if we stop to think, to assess our weaknesses and our strength, to plan, to strategize and then to counterattack. We are actually very strong. 1.3 billion people cannot be simply wiped out. The Europeans killed six million Jews out of 12 million.”
In 1994, during his premiership, he oversaw a ban on the film Schindler’s List by Malaysia censors, reportedly saying in response to claims that the film was banned due to antisemitism: “I am not antisemitic but I am anti-Zionist expansionism and the conquest of Arab territories by the Zionists.”
In his 1970 book The Makay Dilemma, he said that “The Jews are not merely hook-nosed, but understand money instinctively” and that “they are hook-nosed. Many people called the Malays fat-nosed. We didn’t object, we didn’t go to war for that.”

Speaking to the Oxford Union in 2019, he was pressed on his views on Jews and said: “We talk about freedom of speech, but yet you cannot say anything against Israel, against the Jews, why is that so? If we are free to say what we like, we can say something that is regarded as antisemitic by the Jews, that is their right, to hold such an opinion of me. It is my right to tell them, also, that they have been doing a lot of wrong things.”
Reds legend Johnny Bench apologizes for antisemitic joke
Cincinnati Reds legend Johnny Bench apologized Sunday for an antisemitic joke he made during a team event the previous day.

The Reds were holding a news conference for team Hall of Fame inductions for former general manager Gabe Paul and pitchers Danny Graves and Bronson Arroyo. Pete Rose began telling a story of how Paul, who died in 1998 and was represented by his daughter, Jennie Paul, signed him for $400 per month out of high school, prompting someone to yell, "That's cheap!"

Bench then interjected with, "He was Jewish!" Several people loudly laughed at the joke, though a few others, including Rose, simply looked stunned.

One day later, after video of the joke leaked, Bench issued an apology and called his joke "insensitive":
"I recognize my comment was insensitive. I apologized to Jennie for taking away from her father the full attention he deserves. Gabe Paul earned his place in the Reds Hall of Fame, same as the others who stood on that stage, I am sorry that some of the focus is on my inappropriate remark instead of solely on Gabe's achievement."

Bench didn't bring up Paul's Judaism randomly, as Jennie Paul noted her father was Jewish earlier in the news conference, per WCPO.


General Motors buys out Israeli battery software startup
Automotive giant General Motors has acquired substantially all the assets of Israel-based battery software startup ALGOLiON for an undisclosed sum.

The acquisition was led by GM’s new Technology Acceleration and Commercialization (TAC) organization. TAC identifies emerging technology that can support GM’s leadership position in battery development through investments, acquisitions or partnerships.

ALGOLiON was founded in 2014 by Niles Fleischer and Alex Nimberger and received early support from the Israel Innovation Authority.

The company’s algorithms use data streams from EV battery management systems to identify tiny changes in performance. This not only helps ensure proper vehicle health management but also critically provides early detection of battery hazards including overheating.

Gil Golan, vice president of TAC, said ALGOLiON’s cutting-edge battery analytics and prediction software, “coupled with GM’s internal capabilities and vast experience in delivering best-in-class products at scale, can greatly accelerate time-to-market of a cost-effective early hazard detection system for the benefit of millions of GM’s customers worldwide.”

Fleischer said, “The ALGOLiON team is excited to join GM on its track to an all-electric vehicle future. We found the right home for our technology to play an integral role in maintaining healthy batteries.”

ALGOLiON employees, including its founders, will remain based in Israel and join more than 850 employees at the GM Technical Center in Herzliya. The team will be led by Guy Daniely, senior engineering manager.

GM Israel specializes in advanced technologies including software and algorithms, machine learning, software defined vehicles, cybersecurity and user-facing applications for autonomous, electric and connected vehicles.
The little pill that promotes weight loss, no drugs needed
The weight-loss market is, pun perhaps intended, huge.

Recent years have seen the advancement of dieting drugs, but many of these include painful injections and a whole slew of side effects.

An Israeli startup, meanwhile, enables people interested in losing a moderate amount of weight to take a pill that leaves them feeling full without drugs.

“The idea was to develop a product that can be swallowed through the mouth and which opens up in the stomach to apply pressure on the stomach wall and so produce a feeling of satiety,” Epitomee CEO Dr. Dan Hashimshony tells ISRAEL21c.

“That’s something that’s easy to say, but making it happen is very challenging.”

The idea was floated in a group led by inventor and entrepreneur Shimon Eckhouse, whom Hashimshony joined some seven years ago. They focused on numerous technologies until they decided on one that allows the pill to swell up in the stomach and disintegrate in the digestive system.

“It took us a few years, and we took the idea forward and focused on one technology. We understood that while it’s important to develop a product that can inflate in the stomach, it also has to separate from the body perfectly and immediately,” Hashimshony explains.

“Here we had to tackle the challenge of developing a large device – each of its sides is over 2 inches long – that can stay put for a while but that disintegrates into tiny particles within minutes upon reaching the intestines.”
Hollywood movies, coming soon to a classroom near you
Teachers can now bring lessons to life with scenes from more than 1,000 Hollywood movies from Fox, Marvel, National Geographic, Warner Media, Sony Pictures, and other major studios.

A new AI-powered learning platform lets them locate a clip, an entire film, or a ready-made interactive lesson to fit their curriculum. They can search by subject or keyword, customize existing lessons to their requirements or create their own lessons for kindergarten to university classrooms.

Israel-based startup AcadeMe says it’s “reimagining education through the power of film” to keep students engaged and excited. Its platform, AcadeMe+, creates “immersive lessons that provide Gen Z learners with a unique learning experience.”

The company has an international academic streaming license for movies ranging from Darkest Hour, the Winston Churchill war drama, and the legal thriller Dark Waters, to the Christmas comedy Home Alone and the animated comedy adventure Inside Out.

The 2017 movie Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, for example, is about four students who become trapped as their avatars – and has become the basis for structured middle-school discussions about true and trusting friendships, overcoming preconceived notions, working together for a common cause and the nature of sacrifice.

Teachers can browse or search the AcadeMe+ catalog for recommended lessons, movies, clips and teaching guides covering key subjects including STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics), SEL (social emotional learning), humanities and social studies..
Israel to protect archaeological sites in Judea and Samaria
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Monday that the government will safeguard and rehabilitate archaeological sites in the biblical heartland that have been vandalized by Palestinians.

The infrastructure investment at the archaeological heritage sites follows decades of neglect, damage and disrepair due to lawlessness in an area marked by conflicting Israeli and Palestinian control.

“In every corner of Judea and Samaria, one need only to put spade to ground in order to uncover archaeological finds that attest to our deep roots in the Land of Israel,” Netanyahu said at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting, which had been delayed by a day due to his weekend hospitalization. “These are our roots and this is our land.”

“This plan will encourage tourism, education and [the presentation of] information for these important sites that tell the story of our people in Judea and Samaria,” the prime minister said.

The proposal approved Monday seeks to prioritize rehabilitation and protection at four to seven major sites in the biblical heartland of special interest to tourists, although they have not been listed.

The 120 million shekel ($33 million) program will include enforcement and protection of many sites with the use of cameras and drones, as well as the development of infrastructure.

Earlier this year, the Israeli Cabinet approved an additional 32 million shekels, or nearly $9 million, budget for the restoration and development of Sebastia/Shomron, a major archaeological site that served as the capital of the Kingdom of Israel nearly three millennia ago.

The new plan is part of the Likud’s coalition agreement signed with the Otzma Yehudit Party of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who championed the idea. The coalition agreement promised 150 million shekels ($41 million) to this end.

“Our history does not stop at the Green Line,” said Heritage Minister Amihai Eliyahu (Otzma Yehudit), referring to the 1949 Armistice Line. “This major investment of the government of Israel in the preservation, safeguarding and development of heritage sites in Judea and Samaria is great news for [the] settlement [movement] and Zionism.”




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