International leaders condemn murder of kidnapped teens
Politicians and leaders throughout the world fiercely condemned Monday the murder of three Israeli teenagers, Eyal Yifrach, Naftali Fraenkel and Gil-ad Shaar, whose bodies were found several hours earlier near the Palestinian village of Halhul, north of Hebron. The three had been abducted on June 12 while they were hitchhiking from a bus stop in the Etzion Bloc in the West Bank.Daphne Anson: Isi Leibler's Insights Into European Antisemitism, Jewish Leadership Reactions, & Other Critical Current Issues (video)
“We obviously condemn in the strongest possible terms violence that takes the lives of innocent civilians,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said.
French President Francois Hollande condemned the “cowardly murder” as well, and went on to offer his sincere condolences to the slain teenagers’ families and to Israeli authorities, AFP reported.
Prime Minister David Cameron stated that the killing was “an appalling and inexcusable act of terror perpetrated against young teenagers,” according to AFP.
Here's the highly articulate and characteristically forthright veteran international Jewish leader and Jerusalem Post columnist Isi Leibler in conversation with Rabbi Mark Golub on Shalom TV. The topics range from the kidnapping of the three teenage Israelis in the West Bank, to the New York Metropolitan Opera's planned restaging of the despicable opera "The Death of Klinghoffer", to the crisis of European antisemitism and the head-in-the-sand attitude of what passes for the Anglo-Jewish leadership.
BDS Activist Admits: Boycott Call Limited
A senior official in the BDS movement has admitted that the “boycott” of Israel is limited to areas that don’t hurt the boycotters too much.Famed Rock Star Bashes BDS 'Real Racists'
In a series of emails obtained by The Jewish Press, a leader of the BoycottIsrael.info website confirmed that “the BDS campaign, supports a boycott of Israeli institutions, not a blanket boycott of all Israeli individuals.”
The emails were prompted by a news article about Israeli doctors from Haifa who volunteered their time in May to treat hundreds of patients in northern Ethiopia. BDS activists were asked whether Ethiopians would have correctly boycotted the Israeli doctors, in order to show their disgust with the Zionist enterprise and support for the “Palestinians”.
Famed rock musician Phil Soussan, a bass guitarist songwriter and producer who has worked with Ozzy Osbourne, Billy Idol and other popular singers, spoke out against the BDS boycott movement targeting Israel.
On his Facebook page last Friday, Soussan compared several recent events, noting the crackdown on Donald Sterling, owner of the NBA team Los Angeles Clippers over his racist remarks that were revealed in a recording, and the recent outrage over the name of the NFL football team Washington Redskins over its perceived negative portrayal of Native Americans.
"Sterling - a racist? …shock, horror, disgust, public outcry, fines. The Washington Redskins ? …NOT in our country!" wrote Soussan.
"But, here in Los Angeles, in an attempt to target, harass and intimidate Jewish students at UCLA, Students for 'Justice' in Palestine (SJP) have just demanded that candidates for student government positions sign a statement pledging they will not go on any trip to Israel sponsored by Jewish organizations," continued the rock musician.