Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Friday, September 10, 2021

New survey shows that Jews are harassed by antisemitic professors on campus

A survey by the group Alums for Campus Fairness (ACF) found that 95% of Jewish students recognize antisemitism as a problem on their campus, and three quarters of those respondents recognize it as a “very serious problem.”

It found that 46% of students personally heard offensive or threatening antisemitic comments

made in person by another student.

17% of Jewish students were physically threatened for being Jewish, and 27% more knew someone it happened to.

But what troubled me the most was that 27% of students said a faculty member or employee of their school made offensive or threatening antisemitic comments in person - and another 30% said they knew someone else who was the victim of those antisemitic comments.

Specific examples given are horrifying:

I had a professor make a horribly offensive analogy about the Holocaust. When I told her it was offensive, she gaslit me and said if I was so sensitive, I should find another career.

A professor, when discussing the Jewish Diaspora in ancient Babylonia, said that “It seems that the Jewish version of this history may be distorted to make it seem worse than it was, as unsurprisingly many Jews were wealthy while in Babylon.”

Professors often made out of hand comments that supported antisemitic conspiracy theories against Israel, such as that Israelis harvest Palestinian organs or use Palestinian children as target practice.

One time I asked my accounting professor if I could please move my exam because of religious holidays (Rosh Hashanah), he answered back by saying “do you think I should change my schedule because of you being jewish?” I answered, “No, I am just politely asking for an extension or a new date since I won’t be able to complete the exam the day you have set for it.” He didn’t hesitate and answered, “I already told you that I am not jewish and I won’t change your exam.” After this the only option left for me was to talk to the head of accountancy. So, I went on told her the situation, and without thinking twice she told me, “of course the professor should give you a new date to complete your exam because of your religious holidays, and btw jag sameaj” It turns out the head of department is Jewish and she right away let the professor know of her answer regarding the moving for my exam. I completed my exam right before Rosh Hashanah. After the jag I was eager to see what I scored on the exam. I went to class the following morning and for my surprise I had failed the exam. I asked the professor and he told me “I didn’t have time to correct your exam, and I guessed what grade you deserved.” I politely answered him back, “Ok, I understand is there any way we can sit together and go over it?” The professor eagerly answered back to me “as you changed my schedule because of your jewish holiday, I am not willing to grade your work.” I ended dropping the class and getting a 4.0 the second time I took the course, but obviously with a different professor.

I took a course on US citizenship and equity at UC Berkeley. On the first day of class the Professor went down the roster, taking roll. When he got to my name, he stopped and began asking me antisemitic questions related to economic libel and the Rothschild conspiracy theory. My last name is Rothschild so I experience this kind of antisemitism constantly, but it was unnerving being outed in class at a University that is notoriously antisemitic. I never hid my last name nor my ethnicity until I went to Cal. But in all honesty this experience was just the tip of the iceberg at Cal. I would never encourage Jews to attend UCB.
Long story but tldr. Professor was incredibly antisemitic (jews did 9/11; Jews own the media etc). Friend and I filed a 30 page report (and met with) multiple deans on his antisemitism. We received a 1.5 page letter stating that we misconstrued his comments and he did nothing wrong. Then they offered him tenure.

The survey found 79% of respondents had personally experienced an instance of antisemitism on campus in total, with the report saying Jewish students attending a state school as opposed to a more expensive private school are more likely to have been physically threatened themselves.

The survey did not mention Israel, but many students answering the open-ended part of the survey mentioned antisemitism masked as anti-Zionism along with the more traditional neo-Nazi type harassment.

09/09 Links Pt2: Give Sports Bigotry No Sanction; Hold up: 'Money Heist' actors in hot water for supporting Israel?; "Elvis' Deep Fake Rosh Hashanah Song

From Ian:

Give Sports Bigotry No Sanction

Hamid Sajjadi, Iran’s recently appointed minister of sports, warned Iranian athletes in August not to compete against counterparts from the “child-killing and occupying regime of Israel.” With the 2022 Winter Olympic games commencing just five months from now, sporting authorities must condemn and punish this discrimination.

At this year’s Olympic games, the world watched Fethi Nourine from Algeria and Mohamed Abdalrasool from Sudan forfeit their judo matches rather than risk sharing the Olympic stage with an Israeli opponent. Supported by the Palestinian Olympic Committee, Nourine and Abdalrasool demonstrated that old hatreds die hard. Meanwhile, Olympians from presumably hostile countries welcomed their Israeli peers, embodying the Olympic values of sportsmanship and mutual understanding.

The International Judo Federation (IJF) promptly suspended Nourine and his coach, and launched an investigation into the incident. In a press release, the IJF said, “Judo sport is based on a strong moral code, including respect and friendship, to foster solidarity and we will not tolerate any discrimination, as it goes against the core values and principles of our sport.” Defiant, Nourine told the Algerian press, “My position is consistent on the Palestinian issue, and I reject normalisation, and if it cost me that absence from the Olympic Games, God will compensate.”

For years, the Palestinian Authority (PA) has called upon athletes in the Arab world to boycott Israeli sports. Jibril Rajoub, the chairman of the Palestinian Olympic Committee and the Palestinian Football Association, has weaponized these sporting events to condemn what he calls the “crime of normalization.” In 2014, Rajoub declared, “Any activity of normalization in sports with the Zionist enemy is a crime against humanity.” Following Nourine’s withdrawal, Rajoub posted a photo on Facebook of the two together, and commended Nourine’s “courageous stance refusing normalization.”

Rajoub is effectively encouraging athletes to break Olympic rules, and destroy their careers in a campaign to exclude and alienate Israeli athletes. “The practice of sport is a human right,” states the Olympic Charter. “Every individual must have the possibility of practising sport, without discrimination of any kind.”

Rajoub even has a personal history of promoting violence against Israel.

Media Double Standard: Only Israel Is an ‘Occupier’

In other words, the BBC fully understands that Turkey’s 1974 invasion of the northern part of the island is not accepted by any other state or by the UN.

A European Parliament briefing describes the situation as follows:
…the Turkish army occupied 37% of the island’s territory. A cease-fire was declared on 18 August 1974, confirming the partition of the island. The period that followed was characterised by territorial occupation, loss of life, flight by sections of the population and destruction of the cultural heritage. In November 1983, the illegally occupied zone proclaimed itself the ‘Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus’ (TRNC), illegally in the eyes of the United Nations Security Council.

Moreover, since Cyprus joined the European Union in 2004, the EU regards the whole of the island as “EU territory.”

Nevertheless, as is uniformly the case in BBC reporting on the topic of Cyprus, the corporation avoids the use of terms such as “occupation” and “international law” — which are equally inevitably seen in BBC coverage of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

In articles about Cyprus, readers do not find any pronouncements pre-emptively allocating disputed territory to one side or the other — in the style of the frequently employed phrases “occupied Palestinian land” and “Palestinian territory.”

As we have noted in the past, the BBC is able to report on the long-running conflict in Cyprus in a manner which refrains from promoting a particular political narrative. That editorial policy continues to stand in sharp contrast to the corporation’s chosen framing of territorial disputes involving Israel.

Jewish UK comedian’s message that ‘Jews Don’t Count’ rings true across the pond

When David Baddiel’s latest book, “Jews Don’t Count,” was published in the UK earlier this year, he was somewhat surprised to hear some Americans buzzing with interest about it.

After all, the book, which rails against the relegation of antisemitism to a bigotry of lesser importance among many progressive activists, arose in the aftermath of the Jeremy Corbyn era of British politics, where issues of antisemitism dominated public discourse.

Now, more than six months later, Baddiel — a comedian, author, and popular British TV personality — has adapted the book for American audiences, with a new version out in the United States this week.

“Before I rewrote the book, a number of Jewish Americans had read it anyway because it was available on Kindle,” Baddiel told The Times of Israel, in a recent phone interview while vacationing in Cornwall along the British coast.

“There was interest… without me even rewriting a word of it,” he said, adding that, like their coreligionists in the UK, left-leaning Jews in the US feel “alienated.”

“Left-wing Jews tend to be allies to other minorities, [but] where are our allies?” he said.

I have not seen it in any Israeli media, but several Twitter accounts in Hebrew (and at least one in Arabic) are claiming that someone sneaked a shofar to the Temple Mount and managed to blow it.

Avri Bloch, reporter for Channel 20, says "A Shofar was sounded on the Temple Mount in the Old City. The Israeli police detained a Jew who, during the Ascent to the Temple Mount on Rosh Hashanah, blew a kosher Shofar 12 times, the minimum amount of blasts needed to be valid."

Tom Nisani, director of the "Temple Mount Is In Our Hands" organization, tweeted,

Two of the pilgrims to the Temple Mount during the holiday made the Shofar sound heard.
They have not been arrested or detained, because as long as we continue to act, the police understand that they have no legal basis.
It is amazing that despite the attempts to suppress the rights of the Jews and hide this discrimination, the Jews do not give up and continue to do and act.

Palestinian network Al Qastal has video that of Jews visiting that they claim was of the Jews who blew the shofar, followed by what might be police escorting two Jews away from the site.

انتهاكات متكررة بحق المسجد الأقصى...
قبل قليل المستوطنون نفخوا بالبوق خلال اقتحامهم لباحاته الطاهرة pic.twitter.com/GW74TLQ39r
— AlQastal القسطل (@AlQastalps) September 8, 2021

This isn't the first time this has happened. In 2018, a Jew smuggled a shofar on the Temple Mount and blew it until police arrested him.

Knesset To Truck In Bikes For Showcase On Air Quality (PreOccupied Territory)

Our weekly column from the humor site PreOccupied Territory.

Check out their Facebook page.

truck exhaust Jerusalem, September 9 - The Jewish holidays that bring legislative work in Israel to a standstill in late summer or early fall each year clear space in the parliament compound for other public-spirit activities and events, which in 2021 will see a large exhibition on environmentally-friendly means of conveyance and transportation, the pieces of which will require a massive output of diesel fumes and pollution from the vehicles that will deliver the equipment and remove it afterwards.

The Knesset began its holiday recess before Rosh HaShanah, the Jewish new year festival that coincided this year with September 7-8, and will continue through Yom Kippur - the Day of Atonement - on the 16th, until after the eight-day Sukkot festival that runs from the 21st through the 28th. The hiatus in direct lawmaking activity has over the decades made the venue available for exhibits and public-awareness campaigns during this period; this year, organizers decided to stress the importance of ecological sensitivity, and invited both legislators and the public to attend a participatory event featuring bicycles and other non-motorized vehicles as alternatives to the fossil-fuel-run options that so many Israelis use to commute, run errands, or pursue leisure. The bicycles, scooters, and other emissionless items, along with all the pavilions, signs, booths, counters, cabinets, shelving, promotional materials, lighting fixtures, electrical equipment, and ancillary items will reach the Knesset in numerous gasoline-burning trucks, cars, and vans.

Event spokespeople stressed the importance of making the Knesset a venue for this crucial ecological message. "We have to enlist government figures and institutions in the campaign for ecologically-minded change," explained event assistant director Tzvi Ut. "I'm glad were able to snag the Knesset itself, which is so central an institution in Israel. Now we can commence the logistical and physical preparations: trucking in the hundred or so bikes, scooters, even unicycles and wind-driven experimental or novelty products, plus all the display pieces. It's a lot of materials - I think we'll need the volume equivalent to four or five semi-trailers. that doesn't include the refreshment and beverage stands that will also serve the event."

Ut emphasized the insistence on wind- and human-powered vehicles, as opposed to electric cars, scooters, or bicycles. "The embarrassing truth, for the ecologically minded, is that electric vehicles don't result in a net reduction in fossil-fuel use consumption or air pollution," he observed. "It just moves the emissions from the air around the vehicle to the air around whichever coal-, oil-, or gas-fired power plant that produces the electricity that eventually makes it into the vehicle battery. This kind of consistency and avoidance of dissonance is important for us and to the integrity of the environmental movement as a whole."

"I'm hoping we can get John Kerry to attend," he added. "It would really boost the profile of this event to attract someone who arrives via his own private jet."

09/09 Links Pt1: Enough of the Durban depravity; NZ, Cyprus to boycott Durban IV conference due to antisemitic stance; Palestinians declare ‘day of rage’ in support of prisoners

From Ian:

Elan S. Carr: Enough of the Durban depravity

Former U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism. He currently serves on the advisory council of the Combat Antisemitism Movement and ai a visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation.

The failure of the international community to condemn Durban I had very real consequences: Antisemitism was given a prestigious platform, and anti-Zionism and Israel hatred become accepted orthodoxy among certain academic schools and in large swaths of public discourse.

The anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement was borne out of Durban, and the harassment and discrimination to which Jewish university students have been subjected in many parts of the United States and Europe owes its prevalence to the depravity of Durban.

Remarkably, instead of condemning what Durban I became, the United Nations continues to celebrate the event by organizing successive commemorative conferences. Later this month, the UN plans to hold a high-level meeting in New York known as Durban IV, to honor the 20th anniversary of the original conference. This is a moral outrage, and it will surely compound the damage and further driving global antisemitic narratives.

I applaud President Joe Biden for leading the United States to boycott this obscenity. Across four administrations, both Democrat and Republican, the United States has refused to participate in Durban I or any of its follow-up iterations, including the one that is forthcoming. The US understands that Durban is about antisemitism, not anti-racism, and will not abide any form of hatred towards Jews.

President Emmanuel Macron of France similarly declared his country’s boycott of the Durban commemoration, as have the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Australia, Canada, and of course, Israel. These countries are exhibiting moral leadership and are an example for the world.

All countries of goodwill must withdraw from Durban IV. With antisemitism rising across the world and attacks on Jews proliferating from Los Angeles to Berlin, the time has come for leaders of conscience to act in concert. On this matter, there is no room for neutrality. Participating in Durban IV is an endorsement of antisemitism. The time has come for all of us to say enough of the Durban depravity

. New Zealand, Cyprus to boycott Durban IV conference due to antisemitic stance

New Zealand and Cyprus will not take part in this month’s event marking 20 years since the World Conference Against Racism in Durban, which identified Israel alone as a racist state.

The conference was studded with antisemitic and anti-Israel sentiments.

“New Zealand remains strongly committed to combating racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance,” a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Wellington said on Thursday. “Consistent with our long-standing position, New Zealand will not attend the 20th anniversary of the Durban Declaration conference in New York on 22 September 2021.”

Cyprus has also decided not to attend the conference, American Jewish Committee CEO David Harris said, citing a conversation he had with Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides on Monday.

Also this week, Italy and Croatia said they would not attend the conference, with the latter saying the decision was due to “the constant antisemitic attitudes and the linking of conferences to anti-Israel propaganda and the promotion of intolerance.”

Durban IV will be held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York this month.

Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, the Netherlands, the UK and the US also plan to boycott the event. The number of countries boycotting this year’s conference, 16, is greater than the 14 which opted out of the 2011 Durban Review Conference, and the 10 that did so in 2009.

Major democracies have pulled out of Durban IV which obscenely celebrates the worst global display of antisemitism in the post-war era—the 2001 Durban Conference.

When will Belgium, Denmark, Japan, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland & others follow?

?? Petition: https://t.co/pusCImy0C3 pic.twitter.com/nGc1oUuwFx
— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) September 9, 2021

Hey countries! Do you want to attend the @UN Durban IV conference and promote antisemitism?

Countries:
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— The Mossad: The Social Media Account (@TheMossadIL) September 9, 2021

EU lying about international law

The official Twitter account for the European Union Delegation to the Palestinians posted:

Let's assume that parts of Jerusalem are "occupied" under international law. Is Israel violating that law when enforcing laws against illegal construction?

Of course not. The Geneva Conventions are clear:

Art. 64. The penal laws of the occupied territory shall remain in force, with the exception that they may be repealed or suspended by the Occupying Power in cases where they constitute a threat to its security or an obstacle to the application of the present Convention.

Subject to the latter consideration and to the necessity for ensuring the effective administration of justice, the tribunals of the occupied territory shall continue to function in respect of all offences covered by the said laws.

The Occupying Power may, however, subject the population of the occupied territory to provisions which are essential to enable the Occupying Power to fulfil its obligations under the present Convention, to maintain the orderly government of the territory, and to ensure the security of the Occupying Power, of the members and property of the occupying forces or administration, and likewise of the establishments and lines of communication used by them.

Art. 65. The penal provisions enacted by the Occupying Power shall not come into force before they have been published and brought to the knowledge of the inhabitants in their own language. The effect of these penal provisions shall not be retroactive.

Art. 66. In case of a breach of the penal provisions promulgated by it by virtue of the second paragraph of Article 64 the Occupying Power may hand over the accused to its properly constituted, non-political military courts, on condition that the said courts sit in the occupied country. Courts of appeal shall preferably sit in the occupied country.

Art. 67. The courts shall apply only those provisions of law which were applicable prior to the offence, and which are in accordance with general principles of law, in particular the principle that the penalty shall be proportionate to the offence. They shall take into consideration the fact the accused is not a national of the Occupying Power.

In fact, between 1949 and 1967 the Jordanians not only demolished houses in Jerusalem and elsewhere, but they forcibly evicted Palestinians from areas they wanted for other purposes. From The Palestinian refugees in Jordan, 1948-1957 by Avi Plascov:

The Jerusalem Town Council was relieved by the Government-UNRWA decision to transfer the Mu'askar Camp in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City to another site in Anata, a few kilometres away. The site chosen for their resettlement was mostly formerly Jewish-owned land; hence the transfer would not be at the expense of the natives, nor would it raise problems of confiscated land. Furthermore, showing the refugees that they still occupied Jewish land would perhaps give them some satisfaction and a kind of tangible security, while naming the new camp Shu'fat attracted refugees, it being in a salubrious neighbourhood where many villas were built. Nevertheless, most refugees refused to move as they feared losing both their source of income—the market and the tourists—and the opportunity to pray in the second most holy place [sic] for Muslim believers. Consequently the army had to transfer them by force to their new camp as late as 1965.

Another UNRWA-Government scheme was in the Ramallah area where eight concentrations of refugees were to be broken up and given land of their own. The Government wanted to resettle them near the Broadcasting Station away from the town's entrance. UNRWA refused to carry out the project as it knew it was bound to encounter problems. It was also not its policy to build new camps or to take over unofficial ones since it wanted to dilute refugee concentrations.

However the T.C. was anxious to move the refugees and promised it would provide and be responsible for sanitation facilities and would cover the land's rental for the first year, after which the Government would pay. UNRWA agreed. The old houses which disfigured the town were to be demolished and the many non-refugees were to be evacuated by the Police to their respective villages.

This is the Jordanian law that Israel inherited, which was based on previous British and Ottoman laws.

(Incidentally, Jordan also would demolish houses of opponents of the regime, relying on British regulations that allowed the military to demolish the house of anyone suspected of violence, in its Palestine Defence (Emergency) Regulation 119.)

In short: If Israel legally annexed Jerusalem, it can apply its own zoning laws. If Israel occupies parts of Jerusalem, it is obligated to apply previous zoning laws which allow demolition of illegally built structures.

The EU's claim that Israel enforcing existing zoning laws is illegal is completely wrong.

From Tufts Daily:

An act of antisemitic vandalism occurred in one of Tufts’ dorms on Saturday, according to an email sent to the Tufts community Wednesday night. The email was signed by University President Anthony Monaco.

According to the email, a Jewish student had discovered his mezuzah — an important Jewish symbol traditionally affixed to the doorposts of Jewish homes — removed from his doorpost.

“Regardless of intent, the removal of this important symbol of Jewish faith is antisemitic and has caused harm,” Monaco wrote in the email. “This is a moment from which we can all learn. All members of our community should feel comfortable displaying and expressing their faith, and all members of our community should respect those displays and expressions.”

Monaco said that Tufts University Police Department had launched an investigation into the incident but has not yet been able to identify the people or person responsible for the mezuzah’s removal.

There have been other antisemitic incidents at Tufts, notably a swastika drawn on a Jewish student's dorm room door almost exactly two years ago. Also in 2019, posters accusing Israel of "apartheid" and blaming American imperialism were plastered on the university Hillel offices.

Tufts has an active Students for Justice in Palestine chapter. It's "Jewish Voice for Peace" chapter has been quiet for several years on social media.

If an Arab leader giving New Year's greetings in Hebrew upsets you, you just may be an antisemite

The Foreign Minister of the UAE and the Bahraini ambassador to Israel both issued Rosh Hashanah greetings on Sunday on Twitter in Hebrew.

Both of them extended their greetings to Jews worldwide.

This naturally brought out the Arab and Iranian antisemites, hiding their hate behind the pretense that these greetings were to Israel.

Iran's Abna News wrote that Arabs were surprised and upset over the tweet.

Jordan's Al Majd, a pan-Arab nationalist news site, called both Arab officials "traitors" for tweeting in Hebrew and damned them saying "God's curse on them."

Abu Zayed had tweeted Shana Tova greetings in 2019, before the Abraham Accords, and in 2020. Arabs expressed anger on those occasions too.

Weekly column by Vic Rosenthal

The American debacle in Afghanistan is bad for America, and bad for Europe. The jihadists of the Middle East have received a huge gift of military equipment. They may even receive “humanitarian aid” from the US, in return for releasing some of the Americans still in Afghanistan. The Americans may call it aid, but everyone knows it is ransom for the release of hostages.

Psychologically, this is a massive boost to Islamic militants everywhere. Their belief that Allah is on their side has been confirmed. While I am probably too old to see them marching into the Vatican, unless present trends are reversed, my children probably will. Maybe they will find our Menorah, the one that Titus looted from the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE.

America’s defeat is also bad for Israel, and not just because of the American-made arms that the Taliban is selling to Iran and to every swaggering group of savages who believe they have a divine mandate to loot and rape. Even before the disaster in Afghanistan, the forces of jihad here have been feeling the wind of history at their backs, and have become drunk with their power to make demands and have them met by a government which is always willing to choose, as Churchill said, dishonor over war – and which, like Britain under Chamberlain, got war anyway.

So when six murderous terrorists from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and Fatah organizations escaped from an Israeli prison on Monday, their parent organizations threatened violence. Hamas, apparently feeling left out, also made threats of escalation and launched incendiary balloons across the border. The tension has been growing for the past few weeks, as Hamas makes demands for loosening of restrictions on the entry of building materials and financial aid from Qatar, and Israel tries vainly to satisfy them with concessions.

Recently, Israel agreed to “loan” the Palestinian Authority about $150 million, in order to “strengthen the PA against Hamas.” This is a strange “loan:” the source of the money is about $186 million of funds that were collected by Israel on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, for Palestinian taxes on imports that pass through Israeli ports. Israel, however, withheld the money from the PA because of an Israeli law that forbids transferring money as long as it is used to pay stipends to imprisoned terrorists or the families of “martyrs.” The Palestinians have refused to stop paying their heroes, so the transfer is called a “loan” in order to bypass the law. Wrap your head around that.

I know, it’s complicated. There is the PIJ, there is Hamas, and there is the Fatah-dominated PLO which in effect constitutes the PA. But here’s a rule to make it simpler: they are all waging jihad (even Fatah, which is officially secular), they are all deploying terrorists against us, and they are all dedicated to the idea that if they kill enough Jews the rest of us will pick up and go back to Poland, or wherever they believe we come from.

The new government is not quite as dysfunctional as the preceding one, but because of the inclusion of left-wing parties and even an Arab Islamist party – that’s right, a party whose ideology is that Israel should be ruled according to the principles of Islamic sharia is part of Israel’s governing coalition – it seems to be unable to deal with the escalating chutzpah of its Palestinian enemies.

The Prime Minister, Naftali Bennett, is someone with a solid right-wing ideology, at least he has always expressed himself as such, but I believe that he is not able to call the shots in a government whose majority is center-left and left. Incidentally, and I know I will get a lot of objections to this, I think he is a courageous person who has sacrificed his political career – I doubt that his party will even get into the Knesset in the next election – to extricate the country from an endless series of elections and caretaker governments. The present situation is not good, but it was worse before. For this, I am grateful to him.

But now is not the time for concessions. America is leaving the Middle East, starting with Obama’s tacit decision to allow Iran to get nuclear weapons (as long as the breakout happens after his presidency), continuing through his inaction when Bashar al-Assad crossed his “red line” by using chemical weapons, and now being concluded by the empty suit in the White House. It should be clear to every American ally in the region, especially Israel, that it is impossible to count on support from America. Of course Israel doesn’t need American troops to fight for it, or even military advisors. But political developments in America make it uncertain if it will continue to support Israel diplomatically, with military aid, or even by selling her weapons for cash.

I don’t want to be even more negative than I have to be, but there is a fundamental cultural instability in America that seems to be becoming more intense with time. I suspect that Americans will soon be concerned more with their own personal security, even their physical safety, than anything else. Maybe it looks worse from here than it is, but I visualize it as an engine revved far beyond its redline, and holding there. At any moment it will fly apart.

We are living at a major historical inflection point, with America withdrawing her influence everywhere. Unfortunately the beneficiaries of this are Iran and the Islamists of all stripes, as well as the totalitarian Chinese Communist party, nuclear-armed Pakistan and North Korea, and others.

The end of the Roman Empire was followed by the Dark Ages, which aren’t called that for nothing. It's going to be hard for everyone.

09/08 Links: The Taliban and implicit antisemitism in int'l relations; Italy, Croatia bring countries boycotting Durban conference to 14; Arizona divests $143Mil from Ben & Jerry's

From Ian:

Rabbi Dr. Elie Abadie: Boosting Muslim-Jewish relations at Rosh Hashana

For 1,400 years, Judaism and Islam were inextricably linked in the Arabian Peninsula, the Middle East and in medieval Spain. Each had a common ancestry, similar values and holy scriptures. We are enjoined by our faiths to find a path toward peaceful coexistence between all religions and all people. Therefore, in order to establish a channel of communication and cooperation between Jews and Muslims, between Judaism and Islam, the following steps are necessary.

First, we must lead by example and communicate to our own congregations that peace is a basic human right. We must stand together should any of our communities suffer harassment or attacks. And we must overcome some of the misrepresentation, demonization, stereotyping, prejudice and lack of awareness in the world through an ongoing educational process that teaches peace and respect for each religion.

Second, as each of us takes enormous pride in our own religion’s history, culture and tradition, so too must we pride ourselves on our level of understanding and tolerance of each other’s religion. Just as we encourage our own people’s pride in our own religions, we must castigate those who show intolerance and ignorance of other religions and cultures.

Third, it is our responsibility to guide our people toward looking for the inestimable value of peace, and not in the “importance” of religious conflict. Yes, the world is made up of different races, colors, ethnicities, religions, and political ideologies. However, the seeds of peace begin to grow when people of all faiths and backgrounds are encouraged to communicate, tolerate, accept, respect, and ultimately trust one another.

As the Jewish new year approaches, let us reflect on the wise words included in the UN manifesto on the Culture of Peace, which states: “We must learn to use one another’s religious belief as ways to connect — not as reasons for conflict.” May these words serve as a guiding light for everybody in this region for the coming year. Judaism and Islam are forever bound together as sister religions. We are intertwined in our faith, liturgy, history and culture. It behooves us to maintain an open dialogue and cherish our similarities and our differences with respect, acceptance, coexistence and love for each other. We owe it to our communities, to our people and to our common father Abraham.

Arizona divests from Ben & Jerry's over its "antisemitic" Israel boycott

The state of Arizona plans to completely divest $143 million from the global ice cream company Ben & Jerry’s as of September 2021 over its Israel boycott.

“Israel is and will continue to be a major trading partner of Arizona,” Arizona State Treasurer Kimberly Yee said on Tuesday.

“As Arizona’s Chief Banking and Investment Officer, I stand with Israel and I will not allow taxpayer dollars to go towards antisemitic, discriminatory efforts against Israel,” she stated.

Arizona is the first state to totally divest from Ben & Jerry’s after the ice cream giant, which is a subsidiary of the British based Unilever conglomerate, announced that it planned to end its contract with its Israeli franchise as of December 2022.

The Israeli Ben & Jerry’s franchise is based in southern Israel and has been in operation for 35 years. It ran afoul of Ben & Jerry’s for its refusal to halt ice cream sales to West Bank settlements.

The boycott decision by Ben & Jerry’s Independent Board of Directors to end its ties with its franchisee was modified by Unilever and the Ben & Jerry’s CEO, who said they wanted the ice cream company to maintain ties with Israel through another franchise that would not allow sales to the settlements.

The office of the Arizona Treasury said on Tuesday that state laws prohibited continued investments in Ben & Jerry’s in light of its boycott decision.

As Arizona Treasurer, I've divested all state funds from Ben & Jerry's for boycotting Israel. Israel is and will continue to be a major trade partner of AZ. #IStandWithIsrael and I will not allow taxpayer dollars to go towards anti-Semitic, discriminatory efforts against Israel. https://t.co/F7mFhCq1Rt
— Kimberly Yee (@KimberlyYeeAZ) September 7, 2021

Emily Schrader: Did we learn from the lessons of 9/11?

I don’t mention these intelligence failures to criticize the US for not acting prior to 9/11, but rather to point out that it’s difficult not to see history repeating itself today.

For years, Israel has been providing proof of Iran’s illicit nuclear program and their funding of global terrorism – including against US troops in Iraq. In 2018, Israel provided indisputable evidence that Iran had lied about nuclear weapons programs in the lead-up to the Iran deal. Yet now, instead of US (and EU) taking necessary action, they’ve made it a political game and given Iran more time, through bad decisions like the Iran deal.

The US does not feel the full impact of Iran’s terrorist activity because it occurs far from home, but if the US thinks Iran doesn’t seek to carry out acts similar to 9/11, they aren’t living in reality. Have we learned nothing from the intelligence failures pre-9/11?

While we should be creating a long-term strategy for withdrawal from Afghanistan that prevents from coming to power the very terror groups that assisted in 9/11, the US is instead betraying Afghanistan and leaving millions to die while literally arming that same terrorist organization.

While we should be sanctioning Iran and demanding they end terrorist activity and military action against Israel and the US – as well as maintaining a zero-tolerance approach to their nuclear program – the US is instead discussing re-entering the nuclear deal. No one wants war, but the Biden administration’s approach is shockingly naive.

None of this means that the US should be launching a full-scale war against Iran today, but it does mean that the US is not taking the Iranian threat seriously, and the ramifications could be deadly. The US took its security for granted ahead of 9/11 due to geographic proximity and global strength. They refused to learn from the experience of others, like Israel. As both an American and an Israeli, I know we can’t afford to make the same mistake again.

The new podcast is up with special guest @DrZuhdiJasser discussing 9/11, 20 years on. https://t.co/FWWAwLYyUH
— Jon Gabriel (@exjon) September 8, 2021

Shana Tova u'Metuka 5782

Wishing all of my readers a sweet and happy New Year!

I will not be posting or tweeting until at least Wednesday night.

09/06 Links Pt2: Jpost: 50 Most Influential Jews of 2021; Israel’s New Gulf Allies UAE and Bahrain Send New Year Wishes; Biden Invites Pro-Sarsour 'Rabbi' Who Defended BDS for Rosh Hashana

From Ian:

50 Most Influential Jews of 2021

The Jerusalem Post is proud to present its 2021 list of the 50 Most Influential Jews.

Many people influence the world we live in and impact our daily lives.

This year, we strived to create a list showcasing the diversity of the Jewish nation while highlighting people from all walks of life – government, art, medicine, literature and science.

1 Israel's Changemakers Naftali Bennett & Yair Lapid
2 The Diplomat Antony Blinken
3 America's COVID Warrior Rochelle P. Walensky
4 King of the Cure Albert Bourla
5 Intel Czar Avril Haines
6 Mr. President Isaac Herzog
7 Leading Global Jewry Ronald Lauder
8 Mrs. Unicorn Eynat Guez
9 Britain's Fighters for Justice Michael Ellis & Lucy Frazer
10 Prime Opposition Benjamin Netanyahu

'Bahraini first:' Houda Nonoo on the Middle East's new era of peace - The Jerusalem Post https://t.co/uKLrMKxlIo
— Seth Frantzman (@sfrantzman) September 6, 2021

09/06 Links Pt1: When Biden dropped the ball in Afghanistan, America showed up; Taliban Grounds Planes, Biden Admin Says There’s Little It Can Do; 6 security prisoners escape from Israeli prison

From Ian:

Bethany Mandel: Perspective: When Biden dropped the ball in Afghanistan, America showed up

When I first asked Corinne Snow if I could talk to her for a piece about grassroots efforts to evacuate and aid Afghan refugees, she demurred. She told me, “I would be more than happy to talk to you but I don’t feel comfortable being highlighted. There are private citizens chartering planes, putting themselves in harm’s way, doing incredible things and I’m just sending emails and texts in between feeding my baby while on maternity leave. I would just feel really foolish taking credit when there are people out there doing really heroic stuff.”

Snow wasn’t alone in her humility; every single person involved in the efforts to rescue Afghans who I asked to talk to for this piece felt similarly.

While Snow may not be chartering planes, her efforts have contributed to the successful evacuations of Afghan families and individuals and more than 8,000 items purchased off of Amazon wishlists she put together for U.S. troops and refugees in conjunction with troops stationed in nearby Qatar. Alongside countless other Americans, Snow played a vital role in getting as many Afghani allies out as possible following the quick and dramatic fall of the government to the Taliban.

None of the individuals I spoke with could pinpoint the moment they became involved: Sometime in the past several weeks, they started to receive requests for help from both those still inside Afghanistan and from individuals around the world who cared about people there. Message after message rolled in, and eventually groups of individuals with connections in the military, on the ground, in the government, or just concerned citizens were formed on WhatsApp and Signal.

Snow worked with another woman, Simone Ledeen, who described her grassroots work as being a communications hub and facilitating connections between parties. Ledeen was the perfect woman for the job. Thanks to spending more than a year in Afghanistan across two deployments — one that brought her around the country, and one stationed in Kabul — Ledeen had a large and varied number of contacts on the ground. A former government employee, Ledeen has an extensive network in government in Washington, D.C., as well, all of which she harnessed over the past two weeks as she worked to connect those who needed help with those who would have a hope of providing it.

Dore Gold: Iran and the Taliban: Bitter Enemies or Potential Partners

At the end of the 1990s, Shiite Iran and the Sunni Taliban nearly went to war. However, the Iranians also pursued a strategy of supplying Taliban units with arms and cash as well as training Taliban fighters, using the Iranian Revolutionary Guards.

Iran later deployed the Afghan Fatemiyoun Division in Syria, which became the largest external militia involved in the fighting there. Both Iran and the Taliban were committed to seeing U.S. power in Afghanistan weakened. But now that the Americans are gone, does there remain a basis for Iranian-Afghan cooperation?

Will Iran seek to add the demographic weight of Shiite communities in Afghanistan and Pakistan to its cause?

The Taliban Takeover: Iranian Interests in Afghanistan

Iran's primary security interests in Afghanistan are to prevent terrorist infiltration. As of now, Iran regards ISIS as the most significant terrorist threat. According to American reports, the Afghan branch of ISIS has conducted many terrorist attacks against civilian Shiite targets in Afghanistan. The American withdrawal is liable to strengthen ISIS in Afghanistan and reinforce its activity against the Shiite community or Iranian targets.

Iran also wants to safeguard its economic interests as the largest exporter to Afghanistan, one of Iran's largest markets for non-oil exports. Another important Iranian interest is the free flow of water from Afghanistan to Iran - a matter of dispute between the two countries. The Helmand River, which flows from Afghanistan to the Sistan region in Iran, supplies water for about a million people.

The improved relations between Iran and the Taliban, despite the ideological and religious differences and the Shiite-Sunni rift, reflect a large degree of realpolitik. As long as its security and economic interests are preserved, Iran is not expected to support the Taliban's opponents or engage in subversive activity in Afghanistan.

No joke: U.N. Under-Secretary-General Martin Griffiths meets Taliban chief Mullah Baradar in Kabul, the terrorist group's highest-level meeting with an international figure.

If the Taliban win U.N. recognition, they inherit the Afghan seat on the U.N. Women's Rights Commission. https://t.co/oT3xzGEKir pic.twitter.com/548O4usQzw
— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) September 5, 2021

How British newspapers described Rosh Hashanah, 1805

From the The Morning Chronicle London, September 23, 1805 :

I confess I don't know what a "white fast" or "black fast" are. I've seen some refer to Yom Kippur as a "white fast" because Jews wear white on that day, with Tisha B'Av being a "black fast," but that clearly isn't the meaning here. I cannot figure out what they are talking about, especially saying that the "White Fast" lasts a week and the "Black Fast" several days.

The Aberdeen Journal and General Advertiser for the North of Scotland had essentially the same article two weeks later, replacing "Yesterday" with "Saturday last."

20 years later the London Morning Post of September 17, 1825 had a much better description of the Jewish holidays of the month of Tishrei, showing that not much has changed in the last 196 years.