Saturday, March 03, 2018
Elder of Ziyon
The chill winds of secular intolerance are blowing ever more strongly across Europe, with Jews now struggling against the blast.Daniel Pipes: Racing Against History: The 1940 Campaign for a Jewish Army to Fight Hitler by Rick Richman
A bill is being considered by Iceland’s parliament to ban circumcision for children under 18 years old. So here we go again.
Back in 2012, a court in the German town of Cologne ruled that the circumcision of a four-year-old Muslim boy constituted “bodily harm.” After an uproar, Germany hastily legalized ritual circumcisions if performed according to medical practice.
German objections to circumcision nevertheless did not die down. The Icelandic bill is drawing on increasing hostility within Europe to the practice. In Britain, a survey by the National Secular Society indicates that some 62% want Britain to follow Iceland’s example.
This is not the only attack on religious rites. There are bans on ritual slaughter in Denmark, New Zealand, Switzerland and other European countries and jurisdictions.
Although these are attacks on Islam as well as Judaism, they threaten Jewish religious life most of all.
Muslims are more flexible over ritual slaughter by allowing a measure of animal stunning which Jews cannot permit.
Circumcision bans are most threatening of all to Jewish life because the circumcision of eightday old boys, or brit mila, is absolutely fundamental to Judaism.
In Genesis, God tells Abraham all his male heirs must be circumcised and any Jew who breaks this covenant will be cut off from his people.
Brit mila is the nonnegotiable marker of Jewish identity. More than any other practice, it can be said to have kept the Jewish people together throughout the centuries.
A country than bans brit mila is a country that effectively bans Judaism.
The when campaign to do what, you ask? You're excused if the subtitle does not ring a bell, for Richman, a lawyer, talented author, and formidable researcher, has resurrected the failed and now-obscure effort to mobilize American Jews to create a fighting force against Nazi Germany.
On the surface, he relates a story about three grandees of Zionism – Chaim Weizmann, Zeev Jabotinsky, and David Ben-Gurion – who traveled to the United States in the single year 1940 to arouse the world's largest, richest, and freest Jewish population to concern itself with the horrors underway in Europe and to respond by supporting a Jewish army. Each of the three met with frustration because of a prevailing American mood of isolationism and a Jewish leadership fearful of getting out too far in front of general opinion.
But Richman's real story is that of a heroic and visionary Jabotinsky, 59, then at the peak of his rhetorical and organization powers, versus not only the other two Zionist leaders, both too timid, but also against what a Jabotinsky assistant, Benjamin Akzin, more broadly called the "Society of Trembling Jews." Jabotinsky had already organized the Jewish Legion as part of British forces in World War I; now he foresaw something of the terrible fate awaiting European Jewry, an insight even his most distinguished contemporaries (Louis Brandeis, Abraham Cahan, David de Sola Pool, Stephen Wise) were unable to fathom and furious at him for even discussing. Jabotinsky could have organized the noble, important, and necessary reality of a Jewish army drawn from the ranks of refugees, residents in Palestine, and others; but he suddenly died in August 1940 while visiting a Jewish self-defense camp in Upstate New York. With him died that army.
Richman's tale reverberates with implications for today, when again a "trembling" Jewish establishment prefers to remain within the polite consensus than to have the imagination and drive to take on pending disasters. Be polite, they say, be patient, and things will work out. That approach failed in 1940; will it work today?
Even though it was a French plane, the movie (and history) focuses on Israel. “7 Days in Entebbe” reduces it all to prime minister Yitzhak Rabin (the ubiquitous Lior Ashkenazi, great as always) as the prevaricating dove and defense minister Shimon Peres (Eddie Marsan in odd makeup) demanding action.
When the movie eases up and lets these two men behave like human beings, the scenes work. Most of the time, unfortunately, they are forced to blurt out facile positions. The dialogue has all the subtlety of two people yelling at each other on Twitter.
It’s unfortunate because when Padilha is on sturdier ground, he does some creative things. The raid itself, led by Yonatan Netanyahu (Angel Bonanni) and shown through the eyes of a young soldier played by Ben Schnetzer, is riveting and exhilarating.
Schnetzer’s character’s girlfriend is a dancer in an experimental group, which is enough connective tissue to use the Batshev Dance Company, as choreographed by Ohad Naharin, as a recurring motif. At first you may not know what the hell these shots have to do with the movie, but by the end — well, it isn’t that spelled out, really. But it just seems to fit. Frankly, it is the most memorable and engaging part of the film.
What’s unfortunate is how every other moment with spark has to be reigned in by a conflicted creative team that doesn’t feel secure enough to call this moment what it really was — swift, direct action against grievous harm. The very first shots feature expository text: “They called themselves freedom fighters, the Israelis called them terrorists.” Why not just show the event, and even include the typical dialogue about villages ripped apart by encroaching Zionists, and let us figure that out?
Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner’s “Munich” is a masterpiece because it is both a ripping adventure yarn and a rumination about the endless cycle of violence. Its sprawling subject lends itself to that.
“7 Days in Entebbe,” however, would have been far better served to simply tell the story of what happened, not set a stage for political speechifying. Every other movie about Israel does that, you’d think if any story could stay focused on some glory it would be this one.
Friday, March 02, 2018Elder of Ziyon
Forest Rain, Opinion
Whether this momentous change is permanent, or merely a tactical alliance with Israel which won’t make even a dent in the profound Jew-hatred which is the default position in the Muslim world and which will in due course revert once again to hate-mongering rejection of Israel, remains to be seen.Royal visit to Israel breaks a long-standing taboo
For now, though, this geopolitical landscape has been altered in a way that was unthinkable until very recently. And that will undoubtedly have eased the way for a royal visit which Theresa May, as a genuinely warm Israel supporter, will have wanted to happen.
Prince William’s visit will be, however, extremely sensitive. Already the Palestinian Arabs and their cheerleaders in NGO-land are stirring the pot to make trouble.
The British are stressing that Prince William’s visit will be apolitical. The ambassador to Israel, David Quarrey, says : “It would be a visit about the strength of the contemporary partnership and relationship between the UK and Israel. It won’t be a visit about the peace process or issues like that”. He hoped that the prince would get “to see a bit of Israel and to meet as many Israelis as possible,” adding he wanted the prince to get “a flavour of this country, because I think that’s really important when visitors come that there are very special things about Israel, including the people.”
This royal visit to Israel, the west’s sole genuine ally in the Middle East, is not just long overdue. Prince William doesn’t have to say a word about the politics of the place. By bestowing upon Israel such a seal of approval, the visit will in itself send a message to the Arab and Muslim world that the the decades-long attempt by the Palestinian Arabs and their odious British and European supporters to delegitimise Israel has failed.
Israel is not a pariah state, it is not shunned and it is not alone. On the contrary, it is an important and valued ally of one of the most powerful countries in the west – which is now making plain its support, friendship and powerful ties to Israel by sending the Queen’s grandson to advertise this to the world.
About time.
The news that HRH Prince William is going to visit Israel is to be wholeheartedly welcomed. A long-standing Foreign Office taboo has been broken, only four months after Theresa May’s extremely warm words about Israel at Lancaster House during the celebration of the centenary of the Balfour Declaration.The queen was happy to warmly embrace President Assad but not to visit the Jewish state.
Royal visits have always been a central plank of Britain’s diplomacy over the centuries, and this one is a statement that Israel is no longer going to be treated like the pariah nation it so long has been by the Foreign Office. It is no therefore coincidence that although Her Majesty the Queen has made over 250 official overseas visits to 129 different countries during her reign, neither she nor one single member of the British royal family has ever yet been to Israel on an official visit.
Even though Prince Philip’s mother, Princess Alice of Greece, who was recognised as “Righteous Among the Nations” for sheltering a Jewish family in her Athens home during the Holocaust, was buried on the Mount of Olives, the Duke of Edinburgh was not allowed by the Foreign Office to visit her grave until 1994, and then only on a private visit. The Duke of Cambridge’s visit – which will be official – is therefore a splendid opportunity to right decades of wrong done to Israel in this regard.
“Official visits are organised and taken on the advice of the Foreign and Commonwealth office,” a press officer for the Royal Family explained when Prince Edward visited Israel privately – and a spokesman for the Foreign Office replied that ‘Israel is not unique” in not having received an official royal visit, because ‘Many countries have not had an official visit.’ That might be true for Burkino Faso and Chad, but the Foreign Office has somehow managed to find the time over the years to send the Queen on State visits to Libya, Iran, Sudan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Jordan and Turkey. So it can’t have been that she wasn’t in the area.
Finally, the royal boycott of Israel ends. Tom Gross comments
As early as several months ago, we received hints from the British that a historic visit from Prince William was possibly in the works. We were asked to be discreet about it. We are thrilled this visit has now been made public and official.
This visit is not materializing in a vacuum. It comes amid the backdrop of intensive talks at the highest levels between the two countries and their respective governments on sensitive matters pertaining to national security and Israel's role in matters of defense and the war on terror, in the private sector as well.
Relations between the two countries are exceedingly positive and healthy, as illustrated by the prince's upcoming visit. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has visited Great Britain twice in the past year, in February and November. At the same time, London officially commemorated the centennial anniversary of the Balfour Declaration.
Additionally, bilateral trade between the countries stood at a sum of $10 billion in 2017. This marked a 25% increase in one year. Great Britain is the second largest destination of Israeli exports after the United States and there many more examples of the countries' strong commercial ties.
For instance, one in every six medications sold within the framework of the British public healthcare system is Israeli-made. There are 300 Israeli companies with offices in Great Britain, 29 of which are publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange.
We will soon sit down with representatives of the British royal family and together build the prince's Israel itinerary, in a fashion befitting the lofty occasion. I will tell those representatives that when the red carpet is laid out, it will be more than just the Israeli government doing so. Indeed, a large number of Israelis have great interest in and affection for the British royal family.
Friday, March 02, 2018Elder of ZiyonHRWTurkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been criticised after telling a girl in military uniform that she would be honoured if killed while fighting.In response, HRW's Andrew Strohlein tweeted:
"If she's martyred, they'll lay a flag on her," he told the sobbing girl at a televised congress of his AK Party.
In the event, broadcast live on state television, the young girl dressed as a soldier seems to catch the attention of Mr Erdogan, who then invites her to the stage.
"Look what you see here! Girl, what are you doing here? We have our maroon berets here, but maroon berets never cry," he told her, referring to the beret worn by the Turkish Special Operations Forces.
"She has a Turkish flag in her pocket too... If she's martyred, they'll lay a flag on her, God willing," he said during the congress in the southern town of Kahramanmaras on Saturday.
"She is ready for everything, isn't she?" The girl replied: "Yes."
Doesn't seem like a controversial thing to say.Turkish President Erdogan tells a sobbing girl in military uniform that she would be honoured if killed while fighting. Glorifying children’s deaths? Promoting child soldiers? Sick. https://t.co/3PW1qKsTuT pic.twitter.com/Ua8rson2BD— Andrew Stroehlein (@astroehlein) February 26, 2018
 |
| "These are our lion cubs.We have brought them up on the love of Jihad and Shahada (Martyrdom-death)" |
Friday, March 02, 2018Elder of Ziyon
This Iranian mosque design is angering hardliners for being 'too Jewish'Notice once again that while Iranians claim not to be against Jews...they are.
A new “controversial” minimalist mosque, which departs from traditional early Islamic architecture is being condemned for ignoring tradition and subtly pushing 'secular and Jewish influence' into the country.
The architects behind the Vali-e-Asr Mosque dispensed with the traditional rounded domes and towering minarets, opting instead for a modern design of undulating waves of grey stone and concrete, which they say complements the surrounding architecture and evokes the austerity of early Islam.
The new Mosque has angered hard-liners, who see it as part of a creeping secular onslaught on the Islamic republic. An editorial posted on the Mashregh news website compared the curvature to that of a Jewish yarmulke, accusing authorities of "treason" for approving it. The "completely neutral" design betrays an "atheistic approach," it said.
Friday, March 02, 2018Elder of Ziyon
Palestine's diplomatic corps and the international Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign have intervened in the row over Virgin Atlantic's decision to remove the word "Palestinian" from a dish on its in-flight menu.As usual in stories like these, very few people actually research what the facts are.
The Palestinian ambassador to the UK accused the British-based airline of lacking "ethical integrity" after it changed the description of a maftoul and couscous salad in response to Israel-favouring complainants.
The BDS National Committee (BNC), which leads the worldwide Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, also rebuked the company, warning that pressure successfully placed on the company to delete the reference to Palestine was part of a "policy of Israeli ethnic cleansing".
The meal was initially offered on all Economy class flights from the UK under the name "Palestinian couscous salad", but within a few weeks was changed to simply "Couscous salad" as a response to what Virgin Atlantic called "feedback".
The airline - whose largest individual investor is Sir Richard Branson - faced a backlash after Electronic Intifada first reported the story in February.
A US State Department report from May 15, 1946, found “evidence that Poles persecuted the Jews as vigorously as did the Germans” during the World War II Nazi occupation of Poland.Despite uproar, contested Polish Holocaust law goes into effect
The declassified report was distributed Thursday by the Simon Wiesenthal Center, the same day that a Polish law making it a crime to accuse the Polish nation of Nazi-era atrocities took effect. Also Thursday, senior Israeli and Polish diplomats met in Jerusalem in a bid to resolve differences over the law.
The report highlights Polish anti-Semitism and persecution of Jews in the immediate aftermath of the Holocaust, and traces it back to a long history of Polish anti-Jewish legislation before World War II and anti-Jewish activities by Poles during the Holocaust.
The 1946 document “analyzes the policies of the Polish Government, the current anti-Semitic manifestations, and the possibilities for Jewish survival in Poland” in the immediate aftermath of the Holocaust.
The report found that “native Poles” abetted the activities of the Germans during World War II.
The report, which was declassified in August 1983, speaks of anti-Semitism as “a traditional feature of Polish political and economic life,” saying that “the continuance of the conflict between the Government and the opposition in Poland is conducive to a resurgence of anti-Semitism, which is easily employed as a weapon in this conflict.”
The State Department conceded that following the Holocaust, “the government has made anti-Semitism a crime,” but, it said, “the outrages continue, although on a somewhat reduced scale.”
The controversial Polish law that criminalizes accusing the Polish nation of crimes committed by Nazi Germany during World War II has gone into effect.Polish sock brand sparks uproar with "Adolf Hitler" footwear
The law has sparked a crisis with Israel, where officials fear its true aim is to repress research on Poles who killed Jews during World War II, something Polish officials deny or minimize.
As the law took effect Thursday, the Polish and Israeli teams on the task force established to resolve the standoff over the law held their first meeting.
Poland's president signed the legislation into law last month, but also sent it to the constitutional court for review. Polish officials have said no criminal charges will be brought until the court has made its ruling, expected in several weeks.
But prosecutors are also already looking for now-criminal instances in which Poland is wrongly accused of wartime activities.
A pair of socks bearing the likeness of Adolf Hitler's face has caused quite a storm. According to the website of "Nanushki", the Polish brand responsible for the controversial footwear, the product was designed “to bring order to the socks drawer”.
Not everyone is so amused, with the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum posting to their official Twitter account that Nanushki is using “one of the biggest criminals in history for marketing purposes”.
Following backlash, the socks were officially renamed as "Patrick" on the company's site, with the claim that Patrick is a businessman who loves cars and has a unique sense of dressing.
Thursday, March 01, 2018Elder of Ziyon
Stein’s posts on Gaza were published during the 2014 Gaza war. He wrote that because Israel isn’t occupying Gaza, it’s [sic] only obligation while defending itself from rockets is to minimize harm to civilians. For the same reason, Israel isn’t obligated to provide electricity to Gaza, though it may choose to do so for humanitarian reasons.
His posts also criticized what he termed a misinterpretation of international law. The principle of proportionality dictated by international law must suit the reality of modern war and common sense, he argued. An interpretation which says that large countries attacking small countries must seek to maintain parity in the number of victims is ridiculous and unacceptable, he wrote, and it is not what the law intended.
He also slammed the Supreme Court for its judicial activism. Among other things, he criticized its view that everything is justiciable, in contrast to the American doctrine which holds that courts can’t rule on “political questions.” While Israel’s Supreme Court rarely overturns laws, he continued, its rhetoric is imperial and it demands power under the guise of checks and balances.
Stein also quoted the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia as saying that he read Israeli Supreme Court verdicts whenever he wanted to be truly shocked and to convince himself that the American court wasn’t so bad after all.
Thursday, March 01, 2018Elder of Ziyon"pro-Palestinian", Arab apartheid, Electronic Intifada, Palestinian refugees, Purim, refugees, Right of return
Prince William will travel to Israel this summer, in the first-ever official visit by the British royal family to the Jewish state, his residence declared Thursday.
While royals have traveled to Israel in the past, no member of the British monarchy has ever come to country on an official tour.
The official visit will be the first in Israel’s almost 70-year existence, during which time nearly every other country in the world has been visited by a representative of the Crown.
“The Duke of Cambridge will visit Israel, Jordan and the Occupied Palestinian Territories in the Summer,” Kensington Palace announced on Twitter.
“The visit is at the request of Her Majesty’s Government and has been welcomed by the Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian authorities,” the statement added.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the announcement of the upcoming trip by the second-in-line to the throne.
“This is a historic visit, the first of its kind, and he will be welcomed here with great affection,” Netanyahu added. “I have ordered the Foreign Ministry director-general to coordinate preparations for the visit to ensure its success.”
Since the release of the Balfour Declaration 100 years ago, Britain has repeatedly found itself in the middle of a Middle East tug-of-war between Arab and Israeli interests.
How this pull has shaped the relationship between Britain and Israel was the topic of discussion at a Times of Israel event with authors Azriel Bermant and Elliot Jager on Tuesday evening at Mishkenot Sha’ananim in Jerusalem.
The event was produced by the Sir Naim Dangoor Center for UK/Israel Relations and moderated by journalist Matthew Kalman.
The experts discussed the historical significance of British-Zionist relations based on research each conducted while writing their recently published books.
Author Elliot Jager’s book, “The Balfour Declaration: Sixty-Seven Words – 100 Years of Conflict,” is a look into the personalities and interests of the characters who brought about the short statement that legitimized the idea of a “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine.
Tel Aviv University lecturer Bermant’s book, “Margaret Thatcher and the Middle East,” reveals new findings on Margaret Thatcher’s relationship with Israel based on recently released British and Israeli documents.
Thatcher is often remembered for being the first British premier to visit Israel in 1986 and for her warm relations with the Jewish community. Bermant shared why a deeper look into Thatcher’s Middle East policy exposes a more complicated legacy.
Thursday, March 01, 2018Elder of Ziyon
A team of Opthalmologists at Shaare Zedek Medical Center and Bar-Ilan University’s Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials developed eye-drops that have been found to repair the corneas and improve short and long sightedness. The nanoparticle solution called as “nanodrops” was successfully used on pigs’ corneas.
Clinical trials on humans are expected to be carried out later this year, and if successful, this revolutionary invention could potentially eliminate the need for eyeglasses. According to Dr. David Smadja, leader of the research team, the eye-drops could revolutionize ophthalmological and optometry treatments of patients suffering from myopia, hyperopia and other refractory conditions.
The revolutionary breakthrough was revealed by Dr. Smadja on Wednesday at Shaare Zedek’s second biennial research day, which was held at Steinberg Auditorium in Jerusalem. He said that nanodrops could even be used to replace multifocal lenses and allow people to see object from different distances.
“This is a new concept for correcting refractory problems,” Smadja said. He, however, did not mention how often the drops will require being applied to replace eyeglasses completely.
According to the research abstract, the experiment led by Dr. Smadja and his colleagues involved analyzing refractive errors of pig eyes before and after instillation of nano drops filled with various concentration of synthetic nanoparticles. The results showed significant improvement in error correction for both myopic (near-sightedness) and hyperopic (far-sightedness) refractive error.
If the results in humans are successful, prospective patients will simply require a smartphone app to scan the eyes, measure their refraction, create a laser pattern and then “laser corneal stamping” of an optical pattern onto the corneal surface of their eyes.
The research from Smadja was one of the two chosen works by an impartial team of judges from 160 pieces of research carried out by Shaare Zedek physicians and nurses over the last two years. The hospital staff publishes around 330 articles every year in different medical and science journals through the Shaare Zedek Mada’it (Scientific), a research and development company established for hospital researchers.
A mean correction of 2,24 +/- 0.07D has been achieved for myopic refractive error testing, whereas a correction of 1,96+/-0.2D has been achieved for hyperopic refractive error. No statistically significant changes have been observed in the corneal central keratometry. Encapsulated hypereflective nanoparticules of 0.58nm diameter on average were observed throughout the first 60microns of the corneal thickness.This sounds a lot better than laser eye surgery!
Buy EoZ's books!
PROTOCOLS: EXPOSING MODERN ANTISEMITISM
.jpg)
.jpg)
