During the week I hope to knock off most of the other categories as well. it is March, after all...
The nominees are:
Here is where you can vote.
...
Voting will end on Saturday night.
Terrorist Nashat Milhem had planned an attack on kindergartens in Tel Aviv, Police said Sunday, as they released their findings of an investigation into the attacks on New Year’s Day in Tel Aviv.Abbas: Attempted Killer of IDF Soldier “Watered the Pure Earth of Palestine with Her Blood”
News of the Milhem’s plan to attack daycare centers was included in a 6-part Police report sent by power point to reporters on Sunday, which was compiled in cooperation with the Shin Bet. The report covered a series of controversial aspects of the week-long manhunt for Milhem, including police failure to put out a picture of Milhem until 36 hours after the attack, the shortage of clear messages to the public from the senior police leadership, and news that the police failed to properly heed a 100 dispatch call from witnesses who stated they saw Milhem heading north on a bus to Wadi Ara shortly after the killing.
Police said in their findings that they did determine there were deficiencies in how the 100 dispatch center handled calls by two sisters hours after the attack who said they saw Milhem heading north to Wadi Ara on a bus, but that it didn’t negatively affect the investigation. According to a senior police official, by then police were already searching for Milhem and his accomplices in his Wadi Ara village of Ar’ara. That said, he did admit that they were only able to actually confirm he was there on Tuesday, meaning that it was only five days after the 100 calls were placed that they were able to prove he was in the village.
The report added that they learned that there were failures in how the 100 dispatch centers from different areas share information, and that they need to improve their technology in order to make the system more effective.
The police report said they did insufficiently inform the public about the ongoing manhunt and how they should conduct themselves, but said it was only a matter of hours, not days. On the day of the shooting, no police briefing was given by a senior officer at the scene of the attack until hours later, which police admitted Sunday was problematic.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas hailed a Palestinian who attempted to kill an Israeli soldier with her car as a “martyr.”PA official to terrorists: "You are heroes, crown on our head"
“We see in her a martyr who watered the pure earth of Palestine with her blood,” Abbas wrote in a letter to the parents of Amani Husni Sabatin, who was shot after she rammed her vehicle into a soldier in the Gush Etzion Junction near Jerusalem on March 4. Her funeral in the town of Husan near Bethlehem was reportedly attended by hundreds of Palestinians.
A similar condolence letter sent in 2014 by Abbas to the family of Mu’taz Hijazi, the Palestinian suspected in the attempted assassination of Temple Mount activist Yehuda Glick, described Hijazi as a “martyr” who died “while he was defending the rights of our people and our holy places.”
Leading PA officials, including Abbas, have often been accused of inciting violence and glorifying Palestinians who carry out attacks against Israelis. Abbas consoled families of terrorists—including the relatives of a man who hacked a Jerusalem rabbi to death in October—during two separate meetings last month, calling the attackers “martyrs.” The first meeting took place hours after three Palestinian men gunned down an Israeli policewoman in Jerusalem. Fatah, the party led by Abbas, praised the shooters as “role models.”
Deputy Secretary of the Fatah Central Committee, Jibril Rajoub: "I say to the Israelis first of all: You sons of bitches, we will not accept less than a Palestinian state. We are the owners of the land, and we are the residents of the land and you are strangers in the land... Our relations with the occupation need to be first of all on a basis of clashes – until a Palestinian state is established. Do not believe in [Israeli Prime Minister] Netanyahu, he is a liar and a scoundrel, and he’s a Fascist and represents the new Nazism... From here we say to the 145 Martyrs (Palestinians killed in the Oct. 2015 - Jan. 2016 terror wave, most during terror attacks –Ed.) – You are heroes and we bless you and strengthen your families, and say to you: You are a crown on our heads." [Official PA TV, Jan. 6, 2016]
Yesh Atid party leader Yair Lapid has called on a global press union to apologize for censuring Israel over the closure of a West Bank TV station.
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) on Friday condemned Israel’s closure a day earlier of Palestine al-Yawm (Palestine Today), a station Israeli officials say is linked to the Islamic Jihad terror group and incited against Israelis.
The Brussels-based IFJ, which claims to be the largest organization of its kind, slammed what it called “the brutal attack against free press” and asked the UN for an “immediate reaction to the escalation of attacks against the press in the occupied territories.”
IFJ President Jim Boumelha said “We cannot tolerate these continuous attacks from Israeli authorities to muzzle Palestinian press. Incitement of terror is a dangerous accusation to make against a media and a decision to close it down cannot occur without due process.”
In a letter to Boumelha on Saturday, Lapid wrote: “Yesterday, after the channel was closed down members of the military wing of Islamic Jihad held a rally protesting the closure. Islamic Jihad used Palestine Today to incite against Israel and encourage others to carry out attacks. The manager of station has been convicted of being a member of Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The connection is so patently obvious that it calls into question your motives in condemning Israel’s actions.”
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The first criticisms of the textbook came from the virulently anti-Palestinian and pro-settlement blogger Elder of Ziyon.Many of the EI articles I've seen - no matter who the writer - spends an inordinate amount of time attacking any pro-Israel voices by whom they have associated with, accepted funding from, partnered with, spoke at the same conference as, or whatever they can throw to distract from the actual things that these people say. Because EI knows it is intellectually bankrupt and its only tool is the smear tactic.
Within hours, the post was republished by The Tower, a self-styled Israel and Middle East-focused magazine and website run by The Israel Project.
TIP is a right-wing pro-Israel lobbying outfit that specializes in crafting and supplying anti-Palestinian and anti-Muslim propaganda to journalists and policy makers.
TIP receives funding from major bankrollers of the Islamophobia industry and is headed by Josh Block, former spokesperson for the powerful Israel lobby group AIPAC.
Inspired by anti-Muslim hate group leaders like Robert Spencer, Elder of Ziyon is dedicated to demonizing Palestinians and Muslims, and even argued that the paranoid manifesto of Anders Behring Breivik is “not all crazy sounding - it is scary how sane much of the document seems to be.”She actually attempts to link me with a mass murderer, by referring to an article (which she knows her readers won't bother to read) where I condemn him in no uncertain terms!
“Some of [Breivik’s] political analysis is actually on target,” Elder of Ziyon stated after Breivik massacred 77 people in Norway, supposedly in an attempt to rescue Europe from what he viewed as the dark forces of Islam and Marxism.
Breivik drew inspiration for his violent ideology from the US Islamophobia industry of which Elder of Ziyon is a part.
Asked who carried out the review of the book, [McGraw-Hill's] Mathis told The Electronic Intifada that it “was conducted by independent academics who determined that the maps were not accurate.”But the propaganda Map The Lies has been thoroughly debunked by many people, myself included, even within my original post about the textbook. There is no reason for McGraw-Hill to explain itself further to a group of people who defend lies.
Mathis did not respond to a follow-up query seeking more details about who carried out the review and how they reached such a conclusion.
As for who pressured McGraw-Hill about the maps, Mathis would only say, “We heard about this from multiple sources.”
Given the highly politicized nature of all discussion related to Palestine in the United States, the definition of who is an “independent academic” would vary widely depending on the perspective of who is making the assessment. And if the “experts” are indeed independent, they should be willing to provide an explanation of how and why they deemed the maps to be inaccurate.
The only way that McGraw-Hill’s credibility can be assessed is with some transparency about the groups or “experts” who made this recommendation.
Otherwise, we are left to assume that McGraw-Hill is effectively burning books to placate the censorship demands of right-wing anti-Palestinian bigots.
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We have lots of ideas, but we need more resources to be even more effective. Please donate today to help get the message out and to help defend Israel.
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We have lots of ideas, but we need more resources to be even more effective. Please donate today to help get the message out and to help defend Israel. |
Gerry Downing is an aging Trotskyist from the Socialist Fight organisation who has been expelled, re-admitted to, and now re-expelled from, the Labour Party. Amongst his many statements and ideas that have caused outrage is his belief that there is a ‘Jewish Question’ that needs to be solved.Nawi-Gate: the self-immolation of the Israeli far-left
The Labour Party isn’t the only organisation with housekeeping to do. Both Downing and his Socialist Fight comrade Ian Donovan were at the AGM of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign in January, and Donovan spoke in one of its policy debates. If antisemitism truly has no place in PSC, as it regularly states, then Downing and Donovan should not be involved with that organisation either.
One of the curiosities of the Labour Party under its current leadership is that pundits need to familiarise themselves with Marxist theory that many assumed had become obsolete a long time ago. In that spirit, this blog post will provide a (very) brief guide to what Trotskyists mean by the ‘Jewish Question’.
This isn’t the same as the Nazi’s Jewish Question which led to the Final Solution. Trotskyists do want Jews to disappear, but not via genocide. Instead, they have theorised Jews out of history, and get upset that Jews refuse to go along with this theory and perform their historical function by disappearing.
The key Trotskyist text is The Jewish Question: A Marxist Interpretation, written by a wartime Jewish Trotskyist called Abram Leon. Leon wrote The Jewish Question while in hiding in Belgium during the Nazi occupation, before being caught and deported to Auschwitz where he was killed. The book built on Karl Marx’s original On The Jewish Question (written a century earlier) by coming up with the concept of the “people-class”: a distinct ethnic, religious or racial group, such as Jews, whose characteristics become effectively synonymous with their economic function in society. Using this theory, Leon explained that Jews survived in European history because they were traders and moneylenders and therefore had value in medieval society.
According to Leon’s theory, Jews should have disappeared under capitalism as they became a “declassed element” with no place in modern society. However, antisemitism had prevented them from fully assimilating. Zionism, Leon predicted, would fail because it was an attempt to “resolve the Jewish question independently of the world revolution.” Only socialism could provide a solution, by offering Jews “The end of Judaism” – something that Leon welcomed.
The exposé shows Ezra Nawi of Ta’ayush being contacted by ‘Musa’, a Palestinian who wishes to sell land to Israelis. Nawi and B’Tselem activist Nasser Nawaja conspire to lure ‘Musa’ into the custody of Palestinian forces. For his part, Nawaja later claimed that ‘Musa’ had been trying to fraudulently hawk land belonging to the Nawaja family. But Nawi appeared to boast, on hidden camera, that this was not his first rendition: ‘I hand over their photos and phone numbers to the Palestinian security forces … [The PA] catches and kills them,’ he says. ’Before it kills them, it beats them a lot, tortures them,’ he adds with a smile.IsraellyCool: Know Your History: The Jewish And Arab Reactions To The Partition Plan, 1947
As the programme concluded, it was possible to believe that in question were the actions of two rogues. However, as the dust cleared, parts of the Israeli left begun digging themselves into a deeper hole.
Immediately after the screening, anchor Ilana Dayan interviewed Haaretz journalist Gideon Levy in the studio. ‘A few things here disturbed me very much,’ Levy said, ‘but more than that … I was deeply disturbed that you broadcast this feature.’ Perfunctorily condemning Nawi’s actions, Levy stressed that they were the deeds of ‘one man’ who ‘got carried away.’ He simultaneously downplayed the problem as ‘Ezra Nawi’s big mouth,’ quipping: ‘that’s just how he talks.’
B’Tselem’s response was no less galling: ‘Informing the relevant authority,’ it said, ‘cannot be considered “rendition” in any sense.’ This, despite knowing that the ‘relevant authority’ considers such deeds a capital offense and despite the stern disagreement of one of its key funders, the New Israel Fund, who told the press: ‘handing over people to places where they are liable to be exposed to torture and physical harm is grave and forbidden, and cannot be defended.’
In a further statement, B’Tselem stressed its blanket opposition to ‘torture and execution, extrajudicial or after a trial, in all circumstances,’ but defended actions liable to facilitate precisely such crimes. Moreover, in failing to even mention Nawi and Nawaja, B’Tselem ignored the elephant in the room: that human-rights activists stood accused of complicity with such crimes. Instead, it accused the show’s producers of sloppy journalism, under the slogan ‘Uvda[Fact] for Hire.’
The reaction from some other figures on the Israeli far-left was no less depressing.
A series where I bring to you news from the newspaper archives and historical documents to debunk common misconceptions about the Middle East conflict.Know Your History: The German Nazi Templers Of Palestine
This post is for dedicated to Roger Waters, who just lamented the fact a palestinian state did not arise from the 1947 UN Partition Plan, without explaining what happened.
We can see what happened by looking at some old New York Times reports from after the UN voted in favor of the plan. The Jewish reaction is one of acceptance of the plan (even though it encompassed way less than our ancestral lands) and unbridled joy, with Chief Rabbi Herzog proclaiming it as “an outstanding epoch of Jewish history” “after a darkness of 2,000 years.”
The Arab reaction? Anger, rejection of the plan…and terrorism in Palestine and overseas, as well as threatening a Holy War. Note also the Arab threat to crusade against the “Jews” – not the “Zionists.”
A series where I bring to you news from the newspaper archives and historical documents to debunk common misconceptions about the Middle East conflict.
Did you know there were German Nazis living openly in “Palestine”, even after the war?
Via JTA, 1946:
March 24, 1946
Jerusalem (Mar. 22)
Gotthilf Wagner, former mayor of the German colony of Sarona, near Tel Aviv, and one of the leading Palestine Nazis, was today shot to death as he journeyed from Sarona to Wilhelma, another German community. Before the war he was a S.S. group leader.
The attack took place on the outskirts of Tel Aviv. One man alighted from a taxi and approached the car in which Wagner and a police escort were sitting, and opened fire. No one else in the car was hurt. The attacker immediately re-entered the taxi and fled. Although Wagner was carrying over $3,000, no money was taken.
Note how no money was taken from him. The Haganah wanted the Nazi dead, plain and simple.
But the elephant in the room is how on earth were Nazis living there, openly, while owning land and paying taxes?
Apparently, there was a messianic Templer community in Palestine, and they owned much property
Most people around the world firmly hold to the view that Israel’s residential housing communities built in Judea and Samaria/the West Bank are “illegal”.International Law Issues in the Israeli/Palestinian Conflict, with Eugene Kontorovich
For years, this fictitious claim has fed a wild campaign of incitement and ‘lawfare’ against Israel, based on the myth that Jews have no legal right to live or make their homes on Palestinian-claimed lands in the West Bank.
But the truth is that Israel isn’t an unlawful occupying power—certainly not according to any binding international laws.
Now, Northwestern University Professor of Law Eugene Kontorovich, a leading expert in the fields of constitutional law, international law, and the intersection of law and economics, is on a speaking tour of universities and colleges to explain why.
Eugene Kontorovich is a professor at Northwestern Law whose research spans the fields of constitutional law, international law, and law and economics. He has authored a series of papers that extend "transaction cost" analysis from private law to constitutional law. He speaks and writes about contemporary law issues in the Israeli/palestinian conflict, including the BDS Movement, Palestinian statehood, and Israel's borders.
Disruption of Israeli or pro-Israel speakers and events is becoming all too common on college campuses, including by groups like Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and similar groups. The purpose is to make sure that Israeli and pro-Israel points of view cannot be presented without incident, and to create a campus climate of intimidation.
We have reported on several such recent disruptions, including at University of Minnesota Law School, UT-Austin, Kings College (London), U. Windsor, University of South Florida, and an LGBTQ Shabbat Event in Chicago. Even events that are not disrupted are protested, such as the appearance of actor Michael Douglas and human rights hero Natan Sharansky at Brown University
The latest was the disruption of an appearance at UC-Davis by Israeli diplomat George Deek, who also happens to be an Arab Christian.
Israel On Campus Coalition reports:
Earlier this week, Israeli-Arab diplomat George Deek was shouted down by students affiliated with Students for Justice in Palestine at UC Davis. The SJP members, who called out “Long live the Intifada,” refused to engage with George, who came to Davis to discuss the need for mutual respect, dialogue, and understanding.
Legal Insurrection obtained the following video from someone in the room:
Good news! A biopic of Theodor Herzl, Zionism’s founding father, is in the works, and Variety has reported that Sidney Blumenthal will be an advisor to the film “in order to deal with potentially incendiary nature of the subject matter.”
In other Hollywood news:
— In order to deal with potentially incendiary nature of The Revenant, the producer assembled an advisory board for the project that includes an angry bear.
— In order to deal with potentially incendiary nature of a new documentary about empowering women, the producer assembled an advisory board for the project that includes Bill Cosby.
— In order to deal with potentially incendiary nature of Bowling for Columbine, the producer assembled an advisory board for the project that includes Ted Nugent, Charlton Heston, and a .45 Colt.
— In order to deal with potentially incendiary nature controversial nature of Selma, the producers have hired Uncle Tom as a consultant.
A Mr. Goldsmith became a convert to Christianity. He thought it advisable to adopt a name with a more Gentile ring, and dubbed himself Mr. Smith.
"What a fool!" exclaimed a member of the congregation on hearing of the change; "this is the first Jew who has thrown away his gold."
At a festive banquet, representatives of the Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish clergy had been invited, and were engaged in pleasant converse.
The Rabbi, faithtul to the dietary precepts ot his religion, partook of only a few of the dishes.
An appetising joint of roast pork was set on the table. The Catholic priest turned to his neighbour, and asked, "When will the time come that I may have the privilege of serving you with a slice of this delicious meat?"
"When I have the gratification of assisting at your Reverence's wedding," the Rabbi rejoined, with a courteous bow.
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The United Nations Human Rights Council has tapped a British professor, who has accused Israel of apartheid and compared it to the Islamic State, to be its investigator into human rights violations in the Palestinian territories, a UN watchdog group reported Thursday.UNHRC 'diagnosed' with Israeli obsession
A committee charged with reviewing candidates to replace Makarim Wibisono, who will leave the position at the end of March, has recommended Penny Green — a professor of law and globalization at Queen Mary University of London — as its first choice for the role.
In response, UN Watch said it had submitted a report to the UNHRC against the “radical” Green’s appointment, citing her apparent bias against Israel.
The watchdog first spoke out against the position itself, charging that “while the title of the mandate implies that the special rapporteur monitors ‘the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories,’ this is false. In fact, the text of the mandate… makes clear that the rapporteur is charged with investigating only ‘Israel’s violations.'”
Not only does the rapporteur’s mandate not cover Palestinian actions against Israelis, it also ignores rights violations by the Palestinian Authority and Hamas against other Palestinians, the report said.
Meanwhile, a look at the Twitter feed of the top candidate for the post shows her to be vehemently anti-Israel. Green, UN Watch said, “accuses Israel of ‘criminal state practices,’ ‘ethnic cleansing,’ and ‘apartheid.'” She has lamented that the US and UK haven’t yet started “bombing Israel for its massacres,” as they have the Islamic State.
She also supports the total boycott of Israel and has posted tweets in support of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. (h/t Yenta Press)
Israeli Ambassador to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva Eviatar Manor issued strong criticism Thursday against the UNHRC for its biased stance towards the Jewish state.Revealed: How Hamas exploits Gaza to harm Israel
Speaking before the UNHRC, Manor said, "I have by now realized that this Council suffers from an Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder with Israel, which it cannot control, and that it repeatedly produces reports, resolutions and ID’s on my country."
"I should remind you that associated with this disorder is an increased risk of suicide. This Council will bring upon itself its own demise," he warned.
"What this Council needs is behavioral therapy. The treatment includes exposure and ritual preventions. I suggest the Council exposes itself to some other pressing conflict areas with increased attention and a parallel reduction of the level of anxiety with which it considers Israel."
Manor referenced statements made last Monday by the High Commissioner to the Council, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, saying, "he pointed you clearly towards your real priorities."
"UNHCR numbers are staggering: 4.8 million Syrian refugees, 13.8 million IDP’s (internally displaced persons - ed.) in Syria, Iraq and Yemen. OCHA reports that 7.6 million people in Yemen have no food security and 14 million do not have access to medical facilities."
Quoting Al Hussein, he said, "ten hospitals and other medical units have been damaged or destroyed in Syria since January - and this Council will consider 6 reports and 5 resolutions on Israel? This is nothing but shameful and demonstrates total disregard for the human rights of millions."
Aside from siphoning off international aid for its missile and tunnel programs, Hamas has been cynically manipulating the residents in Gaza by imposing unreasonable taxes to prop up its terror activities, even while deceiving the world into blaming Israel for the bleak situation.
Hamas continues to complain of the "Israeli blockade" in the international press and accuse it for Gaza's economic crisis, but meanwhile the terrorist organization is fleecing its residents in various forms of taxes and funneling tens of millions of dollars into its "military arm" every month. Meanwhile the international community continues to ignore the duplicity of Hamas and condemns Israel's legal naval blockade.
Several of Hamas' methods of ripping off Gaza residents were exposed by Walla on Friday, which reported that nearly 100,000 residents in the coastal enclave remain homeless since Operation Protective Edge in summer 2014, Hamas' third war against Israel.
Qatar has been donating enormous funds to rebuild Gaza, and slowly new homes are being built for the 17,000 families whose homes were completely destroyed.
Recently Hamas held a raffle for 1,040 housing units built by Qatar in Gaza, promising Gazan homeless who signed up that they would receive the homes for free.
However, Walla reports that those who won in the housing lottery found that Hamas demanded that they pay $40,000 for each "free" house. The terror group claimed the expenses were required to hook up the houses to the various infrastructure systems such as water and electricity.
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Buy EoZ's book, PROTOCOLS: EXPOSING MODERN ANTISEMITISM
If you want real peace, don't insist on a divided Jerusalem, @USAmbIsrael
The Apartheid charge, the Abraham Accords and the "right side of history"
With Palestinians, there is no need to exaggerate: they really support murdering random Jews
Great news for Yom HaShoah! There are no antisemites!