Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News: Khaybar

Showing posts with label Khaybar. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Khaybar update: Press Release issued, petitions being delivered today, Arab media notices

I created this press release today:

You can still sign the petition, because all comments get emailed to HRW and Amnesty. There are over 1100 signatures and 250 comments, including from places like Jordan, Lebanon and Morocco!

The Call to Action and supporting materials can be seen in this document:

Egyptian website Rassd reported on the Zionist Organization of America's condemnation of the series and their call for President Obama to pressure Egypt's president to have it stopped.

(Special thanks to Dian for delivering the petitions and working so hard on this material. All during her vacation in New York!)

Khaybar antisemitic series update

We're getting some momentum....

The Blaze reports:

A new Arabic-language television series, “Khaybar,” scheduled for broadcast in the Muslim world during Ramadan next month is raising alarm among Jewish groups due to the deeply anti-Semitic messages it reportedly conveys.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) on Tuesday denounced the content of two of the episodes which were posted online this week.

“The episodes, which series producers reportedly claim have been leaked, reveal the degree to which classical anti-Semitic narratives are being promoted in the program,” the ADL writes.

The Zionist Organization of America is calling on President Barack Obama to pressure Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi to stop the broadcast of the multi-million dollar production. It writes:

The television series, Khayber, celebrates the victory of Muhammad’s Muslim army over the Jewish tribes living in northern Arabia in the battle of Khaybar in 629 C.E. [A.D.] According to most Islamic sources, the Khayber story ends with the slaughter of thousands of Jewish men, women and children. The vanquished Jews were forced thereafter to hand over half their produce to the Muslims until later expelled by the Caliph Umar.

The pro-Israel blogger who writes under the pen name Elder of Ziyon is so concerned that “hundreds of millions of Arabs will be exposed to antisemitism and incitement” that he’s started a petition calling on human rights organizations to condemn the series.

Antisemitic "Khaybar" (video) to be followed with anti-Israel film.

MEMRI has some excerpts of the upcoming Ramadan antisemitic "Khaybar" miniseries showing Jews being deceitful, bloodthirsty and cowardly:.

Echo Media, the production company behind "Khaybar," has announced that it is ready to start work on its next film.

Just as Khaybar uses a historical incident to push its explicitly antisemitic agenda, this film - entitled "Enough Humiliation" - uses the Arab uprisings as the hook to call for the destruction of Israel and the "liberation" of Jerusalem from Jewish control.

Echo Media head Mohsen Ali says that the film is meant to unite Arabs on the "issue of Jerusalem and the stolen land of Palestine." He added that he believes that the film will be an important milestone for the company as it capitalizes on the presumed success of the Khaybar miniseries.

Note that the name "Enough Humiliation" refers not to "the territories" but to the existence of Israel itself.

Human rights organizations have continued to ignore calls to denounce and condemn this mass incitement against Jews that will be seen and enjoyed by hundreds of millions.

My petition to HRW and Amnesty had reached over 1000 signatures. Every signature generates another email to those groups.

(If anyone wants to publicly deliver the petitions to Amnesty and HRW offices in their country, let me know so we can write a press release. Both have offices in midtown Manhattan but I can't publicly deliver them - any volunteers?)

"Khaybar" Ramadan miniseries faces controversy - but not because of its Jew-hatred

The antisemitic Ramadan miniseries "Khaybar" scheduled to be broadcast in various Arab countries next month is facing some controversy from at least one potential market - but not because of its virulent antisemitism.

As we've been reporting for months, the entire point of the series, disguised as a historical drama, is to show how the Jews have been engaging in "fraud and deceit" since the times of Moses up until today. As the screenwriter said explicitly, "The goal of the series is to expose the naked truth about the Jews and stress that they cannot be trusted."

But the message of hate is not what is causing controversy.

Dubai TV is threatening not to show the series because it apparently has actors portraying Mohammed's "companions." Some Muslims extend the ban on portraying prophets in art or drama to anyone Mohammed spoke to as well, and "Khaybar" seems to include some of Mohammmed's companions as characters in the series.

Ali Al Rumaithi, Director of Dubai TV, stated that while it would be a major loss to not broadcast the series, his responsibility to his viewers is more important, and subjecting them to images of Mohammed's companions is a danger. Subjecting them to incitement against Jews is, of course, just dandy.

Rumaithi is in talks with the director as to the extent of the potential violations. Filming only finished last week and the director is busy to finish the series' post production in time for its Ramadan airing.

Ramadan starts July 8.

So far, human rights groups have been silent in face of this impending incitement against the entire Jewish people. Sign the petition to pressure them to make a statement against Arab antisemitism, a topic they have shunned.

WSJ reports on "Khaybar" antisemitic miniseries (UPDATES)

Finally, someone picked up on this story!

In March, on his first visit to the Jewish state as president, Barack Obama exhorted Israelis to reach out to their Arab neighbors and see that "sometimes the greatest miracle is recognizing that the world can change."

But consider Egypt, where in 2011 a popular revolt swept away Hosni Mubarak's pharaonic dictatorship only to replace it with a Muslim Brotherhood-led theocracy. Through it all, one element of Egyptian culture has remained constant: its virulent anti-Semitism.

"Khaybar," a serial drama set to air during the holy month of Ramadan (starting on July 8), is Egyptian TV's latest piece of hate-melodrama. It depicts the Prophet Muhammad's conquest, in A.D. 629, of a Jewish community on the Arabian Peninsula.

"Khaybar, oh Jews!" is an oft-heard chant at Arab anti-Israel rallies. But just in case there was any doubt about the intended political message, the show's screenwriter, Yousry El Gendy, has gone on the record with the online news outlet Alyoum Alsabea to declare: "This drama will focus on the Jewish community and will show their traits, ideas and their maliciousness. Also, it will show the enmity between Arabs and Jews since the time of Moses." Ahmed Maher, a popular actor playing one of the Jewish villains, told the Al-Balad newspaper that "Khaybar" sets out to depict Jews as "the ugliest slice of humans."

"The show will be on when most Egyptian families are staying at home for Ramadan doing nothing but watching TV," Mina Rezkalla, a U.S.-based Egyptian activist told me. "The goal is completely outward anti-Semitism." Contrary to Mr. Obama's uplifting Middle East maxims, some things in the world's least free region never change.

This needs to be more widely publicized, as too often Arab antisemitism is downplayed - yet here it will be broadcast to hundreds of millions.

Sign the petition to urge human rights organizations to condemn this upcoming incitement to kill Jews.

UPDATE: An Egyptian newspaper noticed this article.

UPDATE 2: Egypt's DreamTV had a large news segment on the movie.

At about 4:45, famous Egyptian actor Ahmad Maher says that the film can help viewers can learn how the Jews educate their children to "meanness, deception, depravity and Machiavellianism." Talk about projection!

Starting at around 7:01, another famous Egyptian actor, Mustafa Hashish, says that he plays the part of a Jew who is murdered by his son, and he says that this is the perfect example of the Jew, with his conspiracies and greediness.

The antisemitic message of the film is unmistakable. We have the chance to shame the Arab nations that plan to air this. Even putting them on the defensive is worthwhile, as they either have to justify their hate or dissociate themselves from it - either way, publicizing this hatefest and getting officials to issue public statements in both the West and the Arab world is essential.

(h/t Ibn Boutros)

Arabic media hotly anticipating antisemitic "Khaybar" Ramadan miniseries (sign the petition!)

There were a couple of newer articles about the upcoming antisemitic mini-series "Khaybar" scheduled to run in various Arab countries during Ramadan - and they generally do not even try to mask the film's Jew-hatred.

"Khaybar" has an all-star pan-Arab cast, with famous actors from Syria, Jordan and Egypt acting out roles from the linchpin event of the series, the defeat of Jews in the battle of Khaybar.

Egyptian actor Khalil Marsa gives behind-the-scenes tidbits in an Egyptian article, where we learn that "The series 'Khaybar' focuses mainly the Jewish community, their ideas, characteristics, tactics and the extent of entrenched hostility between them and the Arabs from the days of Moses."

Youm7 talks about how the director is working day and night to complete post-production before Ramadan next month. It says that the film as "addresses issues to uncover the betrayal of the Jews and their false promises since the battle."

DPNews Arabic says that besides the historical parts of the series, it "sheds light on Jews' attributes and how they have caused the enmity and hatred of others."

One webpage dedicated to Ramadan TV series expects Khaybar to have no less than 30 parts.

I was wondering if perhaps the reason that HRW and Amnesty refuse to condemn this upcoming series, or indeed any Arab antisemitism, is because they support free speech, and refuse to condemn any incitement or hate speech. However, this is not the case.

In 2012, HRW noted that "International human rights law provides strong protections for free expression. It grants states leeway to restrict it, provided that such restrictions are both defined narrowly and necessary in a democratic society for national security or public safety, public order, the protection of public health or morals or the protection of the rights and freedoms of others. In addition, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights requires states to prohibit “advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence.”

Amnesty similarly states "[T]he right to freedom of expression is not absolute -- neither for the creators of material nor their critics. It carries responsibilities and it may, therefore, be subject to restrictions in the name of safeguarding the rights of others. In particular, any advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence cannot be considered legitimate exercise of freedom of expression. Under international standards, such 'hate speech' should be prohibited by law."

Can Khaybar - a slick film production whose entire purpose is to demonize Jews as a people - be seen as anything other than hate speech? Do human rights organizations think that Hollywood-style production shields a film from the fact that its entire purpose is to promote hate?

We have a chance to publicize this hate before it airs, and to force the promoters and state sponsors to answer for their hate. It is a shame that "human rights" organizations are hiding from their responsibility to lead against such incitement.

Please sign the petition to convince Amnesty and HRW to simply make a statement against this upcoming mass incitement. Their adamant refusal to speak against it so far, under their own definitions of hate speech, is truly hypocritical.

Khaybar screenwriter: "Jewish community based on fraud and deceit"

Al Ahram has another interview with someone involved in the upcoming antisemitic TV series "Khaybar," and as usual the Jew-hatred that the series will exhibit is being displayed in all its ugliness. See below for what you can do about it.

The screenwriter, Yusri Al-Jindi, describes how he means for the miniseries to show the deceit of Jews from the time of Moses until today, concentrating on the interactions between the Jewish community of Khaybar and the early Muslims who ended up massacring them.

Al Jindi says that for thousands of years, Jews have been winning not because of their strength but because of the weakness of others, so they have always been working on working on the fragmentation and weakening of the Arab societies in all forms, since the era of Mohammed until now.

The writer goes on to say that the Jewish community from the outset has been based on fraud and deceit and foul traits, ideas and styles, from the days of Moses until the present time. The Jews do not want peace in the world, and this has been their approach for three thousand years old; the Jews have not changed since the Old Testament, according to al-Jindi. He continued on that the Jews are known for breaking promises and ignoring agreements, as they are today in the Sinai.

Al-Jindu adds that Jews do not know how to live in a society of peace, and they have been behind every calamity that has ever occurred in the Arab and Islamic world. Unfortunately there are those who consider them peace partners, but this is a lie - the Jews want to exclude all others so that they can live on this earth alone.

Arab projection of their own traits onto Jews (Elder's First Rule of Arab and Islamic Projection) is rarely this obvious.

The Khaybar mini-series is scheduled to air in mid-July - less than six weeks away. This upcoming incitement against the Jewish people that will be seen by perhaps hundreds of millions of Arabs.

While it was condemned by the Middle East Foundation of Peace and Justice, still not a single major "human rights" NGO has condemned this upcoming hatefest on Arab TV.

If NGOs, governments in the EU and others who say they want peace in the Middle East cannot bring themselves to unequivocally condemn this blatant example of Jew-hatred that will be broadcast to so many, how can Israel expect any of them to treat it honestly and fairly?

Indeed, how can Israel be expected to treat these NGOs with any respect when they refuse to condemn even the most vicious examples of Arab and Islamic Jew-hatred?

I just started a Change.Org petition to convince Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International to condemn this mini-series. Please visit and sign, and tell your friends to do it as well. If HRW and Amnesty must be shamed into doing what their own mandates require, so be it.

How will the GFCA address Arab and Muslim antisemitism?

The fourth Global Forum for Combating Antisemitism started today in Jerusalem. I am keenly interested in seeing what the conference will say about Arab and Muslim antisemitism.

There are some sessions and a working group at the GFCA on that topic. Here is their mission statement:

Arab and Muslim Antisemitism is growing and having a major impact on the Palestinian Authority, in Arab-Muslim countries and in the West. As a result of large-scale immigration that is changing the makeup of Europe, and through the widespread dissemination of hate messages by satellite TV and internet, Arab-Muslim Antisemitism is having an effect beyond the Middle East. Arab communities outside the Middle East are echoing the hate speech of radical Islam .

The hate messages of this Antisemitism are many and varied. Some of them are based on various classical sources from Islam that depict Jews as cursed by Allah, descendants of monkeys and pigs and destined for genocide. According to this Islamic-based Antisemitism, Jews at best are protected and must submit to Muslims, and at worst must all be killed to bring the “hour” of resurrection. Hating, fighting and killing Jews can be perceived as worship of Allah.

Other Arab – Muslim Antisemitism focuses on demonizing Jews because of so-called Israeli oppression of Palestinians. Jews all over the world are included in the collective blame for Israel's behavior. This often includes the attribution of demonic and evil acts to Israel, just as Jews were accused throughout history of poisoning wells and using blood for Matzah. Often the same people will quote both the Islamic-based and nationalistic-based hate speech.

Counter force
Alongside the Muslims who are screaming, “Kill the Jews,” however, is a small but increasingly vocal number of Muslims who are rejecting this hate speech. Muslims who themselves were brought up on the hate messages and were themselves disseminating them in the past have now rejected the hate speech and are rallying and speaking on behalf of Israel and Jews. These are the voices from the inside that must be tapped to seek the way to confront the current wave of Arab-Muslim Antisemitism ....

The goal is that the working group will produce a paper that defines the nature of Muslim-Arab Antisemitism, describes its means of transmission and creates a concrete plan to combat it, including combating the means of transmission.

I'm not sure that finding sympathetic Muslims to try to change things from the inside is the most effective way to combat this problem. I feel strongly that Muslim antisemitism needs to be exposed and condemned explicitly by Western nation-states, human rights organizations and the media. The only way to change the behavior is to shame the people who are engaged in it, and when they know that their hate makes them look bad to the West, they are embarrassed and at least make token attempts to soften the hate.

This is not in itself a solution, but it is a hugely important first step. Not only that, but it is a realistic step that the people attending the conference can implement, by using their connections with influential people.

I sincerely hope that the topic of the Khaybar antisemitic mini-series is addressed and condemned.

Here is the video message by PM Benjamin Netanyahu to the delegates of the GFCA where he speaks more about antisemitism disguised as anti-Zionism:

Arab TV series inciting hate against Jews coming in July. Will anyone do anything to stop it?

Excitement is growing in the Arab world over the upcoming TV series Khaybar.

While the series is ostensibly about the battle between Muslims and Jews in the city in 629 CE, the director and writer make it clear that the point of the film is to expose Jews and their evil plots. They explicitly say that they are drawing parallels between the Jews of Biblical times, the Jews of the Arabian peninsula in the seventh century and the Jews of Israel today.

It has an all-star cast.

The only other English-language website I can find that finds this alarming is the ADL blog:

An interview with Yusri Al-Jindy, the writer of “Khaiber,” an upcoming television series commemorating the genocide of Jews in Arabia, reveals both the anti-Semitic and political agenda behind the production.

In an interview with Al-Masry Al-Youm, an Egypt-based daily newspaper, on January 16, Al-Jindy said, “The goal of the series is to expose the naked truth about the Jews and stress that they cannot be trusted.”

Commenting on the recent changes in the region, Al-Jindy described the importance of recognizing the parallels between “the era of the Khaiber battle” and “contemporary times.”

Al-Jindy also seemed to suggest that the series will have a global effect. “I think it is time to expose them [the Jews] even in America itself. I am confident that the United States will realize that it paid a high price for supporting them.”

Predicting that he will be accused of anti-Semitism after the series airs, Al-Jindy added, “The charge of anti-Semitism is an outdated trend, and in fact it is a lie that Jews use against anyone who tries to expose their naked truth and their conspiracies.”

Here is the trailer:

And here is an Arab entertainment TV show segment that interviews the actors and director for "backstage secrets." I don't have a translation but the style of the show mimics that of any highly anticipated Hollywood blockbuster:

There are daily articles in the Arabic press about this TV series, which will be released for Ramadan, this coming July. Hundreds of millions of Arabs will be exposed to antisemitism and incitement.

Broadcasting this TV series would be a violation of international law.

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights states (20-2):

Any advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence shall be prohibited by law.

Egypt is a signatory to this covenant, as is Jordan, Morocco, Iraq, and Tunisia.

Yet there has been silence from human rights groups, and even Jewish groups, except for the ADL.

It is critical that the Arab governments are called to account for broadcasting this incitement before it happens. The time to publicize it is now, and to force the bigots to expose and defend their hate.

Condemning this impending massive hate crime should not be spearheaded by right wing Zionist or Jewish groups. Liberal organizations, those who are most concerned with human rights, should be in the forefront. We should be hearing condemnations from Human Rights Watch, Oxfam, Amnesty International, and even the Palestinian Center for Human Rights and other Arab NGOs who claim to support human rights.

Given that this is a violation of international law, condemnations should also be coming from nation-states as well.

Moreover, even Jewish so-called "pro-peace" organizations such as J-Street, Jewish Voices for Peace, +972 magazine and others should be deploring this attempt to incite hatred against Israel - which would make peace that much further away.

This is not an issue of the Israel-Arab conflict, but a basic issue of human rights and humanitarian law. Every single organization that says it cares about peace, human rights and international law mustbe forced to answer whether they condemn this broadcast of a TV series whose very author brags is meant to stoke the hatred of Jews worldwide.

Now is the time to see if these groups are indeed as concerned about human rights and international law as they claim to be.

UPDATE: I created a Change.org petition.

Why are human rights organizations silent about Arab and Muslim anti-semitism?

In 2003, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International issued a joint statement on antisemitism:

Recognizing anti-Semitism as a serious human rights violation, we also recognize our own responsibility to take on this issue as part of our work. It should not be left to Jewish groups alone to highlight this issue and to appeal to the international community to address it. We are firmly committed to joining their ongoing efforts and to helping to bring problems of anti-Semitism into the overall human rights discourse.

Now, in 2013, if you look through the Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International websites, it is difficult indeed to find any condemnations of Arab or Muslim antisemitism. While they condemn anti-semitism in Western countries, I cannot find a single mention of the phrases "Arab anti-semitism" or "Muslim anti-semitism" on either of their sites. Their typical mentions of antisemitism are usually together with Islamophobia.

Given the daily antisemitic incitement in the Arab and Muslim worlds, this is yet another indication that "human rights" organizations have a significant blind spot and are anxious to judge Arabs and Muslims by quite different standards than they judge Westerners.

In the past two days I posted crazed Jew-hating diatribes shown on Lebanese TV, in a popular Egyptian newspaper. Also recently we saw two accusations of the medieval blood libel in Egypt, a newspaper series insulting Judaism in Jordan, as well as examples of antisemitism in the Iraq media, Saudi Arabia newspaper, a Palestinian Arab "human rights group" and "peace activist," and pan-Arab media, and many more.

It is endemic. But worse than that, the hatred is mass produced.

In 2001, a hugely popular 30-part Ramadan TV series aired in the Arab world based on the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. It was rerun in Egypt this year.

Iran released an antisemitic movie last year.

Scene during filming of upcoming Khaybar series

A purely anti-semitic TV series ("Khaybar") is being filmed now in Egypt and Morocco to be shown in Arabic TV will be used to incite hundreds of millions of people against Jews during Ramadan next year to the Arab world. The filming of the series gets regular coverage in Arab media, and they make clear that it is meant to demonize Jews. The director doesn't even attempt to hide the purpose of the film.

Naturally, "human rights" organizations are silent about that as well.

So where are the condemnations from the mainstream defenders of human rights who have said that antisemitism is a serious human rights violation? Or is it simply too touchy a subject for them?

Simply put, human rights organizations do not insist that Arabs and Muslims adhere to the same standards that the rest of the world must.

I think there is another reason why this issue is roundly ignored by the mainstream human rights organizations. They want to believe that if only Israel would offer more concessions, then peace is possible. They want to frame the Arab-Israeli conflict in terms of human rights and international law and fairness and other Western constructs. The Arabs happily take advantage of this blind spot and speak only in those terms to Westerners as well, so the cycle of self-deception is complete.

Publicizing the rampant Jew-hatred in the Arab and Muslim worlds, however, will show that the hate transcends any other claims.

The Arab goal isn't human rights. They want to destroy the Jewish state and have Jews revert to the second-class status (at best) that they held in the Middle East for the past 1400 years. The idea that Jews aren't meekly submissive to their more numerous cousins is what causes this pure hate, not land disputes or "settlements."

Once this realization sinks in, the Western liberal mind would despair. Peace, it would appear, isn't possible in such a toxic environment. But since peace is imperative, the thinking goes, all evidence to the contrary must be downplayed. Pretend it is a political problem with a political solution, and don't let anything get in the way.

The irony is that soft-pedaling Arab and Muslim antisemitism does no one any favors.

HRW, Amnesty, Oxfam and all the other human rights organizations can help the cause of peace immensely by shining light on this oldest hatred. Publicizing the issue is necessary for ridding the Muslim world of their hate - or at least opening up a debate about it, a debate that is all but silent. (I have rarely seen a talkback in Arabic condemning an article that denies the Holocaust or accuses Jews of drinking gentile blood on Passover.)

Peace is literally unthinkable when the Jewish people are viewed as evil incarnate. Human rights organizations have clout. Shining light on this problem is essential, and it is not an obstacle to peace - it is a prerequisite.

Right now, the human rights organizations have a chance to prove that they mean what they say. The Khaybar TV series is coming, and it is pure incitement against Jews. Denouncing this as a human rights issue - which it is, according to Amnesty's and HRW's own words - can show that these organizations are serious about their own stated purposes.

UPDATE: Sign the petition!

Major anti-semitic TV series started filming in Egypt

A major mini-series is being shot in Egypt this month, and news articles about it leave no doubt that it is meant to be a very expensive piece of incitement against Jews.

The fortress at Khaybar, today

Called "Khaybar," the series by director Mohammed Azizié is meant to show events that led up to Mohammed's defeating the Jews of that city in Arabia in 629 CE.

The purpose of the series isn't historical, however. It is meant to be a thinly disguised parable of how treacherous Jews have been for centuries. As the director says, the series is intended to "review the history of the Jews in the Arabian Peninsula and the conflict with them until they came out of the Khaybar with a focus on the details of their social and economic lives, and their plots and temperament characterized by racism and treachery."

Other articles describing the script went a little further, saying "The series focuses on the social and economic life of religious Jews at the time and how they managed and controlled other tribes. It reveals the features of their lives and their personal characteristics throughout history which embodies the spirit of enmity and hatred of others beside the treacherous nature of their repeated betrayals and abhorrent racism.

The script writer has told the media that his story tells of "the extent of hostility between Jews and the Arabs from the days of Moses, and discusses Jewish betrayal and false promises."

External shooting will be in Morocco after the major filming is done in Egypt.

Chances are that this anti-semitic film will be one of those hit Ramadan TV mini-series in 2014.