Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Thursday, March 09, 2017

An “Iron Dome” against cognitive warfare (Vic Rosenthal)

Vic Rosenthal's Weekly Column

This week the Knesset passed a law that enables the Interior Ministry to deny entry into the country to non-citizens without residency permits who are supporters of boycott-divestment-sanctions (BDS) against Israel. The law does not distinguish between boycotts of all of Israel, or those that relate only to Judea and Samaria. It allows the Interior Minister to make exceptions in individual cases.

The usual suspects have expressed their opposition for the usual reasons.

MK Tamar Zandberg (Meretz) said, “We’re talking about a law that is against freedom of expression, that constitutes political censorship and is meant to silence people. It’s ostensibly against the boycotters of Israel but it doesn’t make a distinction between Israel and the settlements and it thus serves the BDS movement.”

Peace Now said the ban is "neither Jewish nor democratic" and "a clear violation of freedom of expression. Through this law the Bennetyahu [sic] government will not prevent boycott but rather, deteriorate Israel's international standing and lead Israel towards international isolation."

And Rabbi Rick Jacobs of the Union for Reform Judaism said, “It’s going to be a giant sign up by the door of the Jewish state: ‘Don’t come unless you agree with everything we’re doing here.’ I don’t know what kind of democracy makes that statement.”

There are plenty more where those came from. So let’s get a few things straight.

First of all, a sovereign state gets to decide which non-citizens may cross its borders. Period. There is no internationally recognized human right to enter any country one wishes. And the state’s decisions can be based on whatever criteria it chooses. There is no requirement that the rights applicable to residents of the country also apply to non-residents who want to enter it.

Second, the law doesn’t limit free expression. Nobody is prevented from advocating BDS inside Israel or outside of it. It simply keeps out people who have expressed opinions that, in the judgment of the state, are a good indication of intent to harm the state.

Indeed, if it were only about advocating boycotts, it is unlikely that the law would have been passed. But BDS supporters have a history of joining anti-state demonstrations inside Israel, using their status as foreigners as a shield against punishment if they engage in illegal behavior. BDS supporters have entered the country in order to try to provoke violence from security personnel, to embarrass the state, and to create propaganda events.

The BDS movement has a purpose, and that is to delegitimize Israel as a sovereign state. The movement makes demands that could not be possibly met without dismantling the Jewish state (e.g., a “right of return” for the descendents of Arab refugees), and calls for Israel’s excommunication from the world community unless they are met. BDS is part of a program of “cognitive warfare” against the Jewish state that is intended to weaken it and isolate it from all external support – so that it will be easier to destroy it.

Third, the law is not “undemocratic.” It doesn’t limit the rights of Israeli citizens in any way. The law itself was passed by the democratically elected Knesset in a democratic vote of 46 to 28 members.

Several of its opponents have objected to the law on the grounds that it does not distinguish between boycotts of products or residents of the whole country, or just of the disputed territories. But the Knesset members who drew and voted for the law felt that any boycott, even a partial one, promotes delegitimization of the state. Residents of Judea and Samaria are no less Israelis and their rights are as important as those of residents of Tel Aviv.

Israel has a very special problem which I think Americans in particular fail to understand – possibly because they live in an enormous and mighty (economically and militarily) country. Israel is always under attack for its very existence, both by continuous terrorism and periodic war, and by cognitive warfare – which includes psychological warfare, propaganda, “lawfare,” and other means to destabilize and disrupt the country itself, and to drive away or disconnect it from external sources of support.

For at least two decades, our enemies – particularly European countries who think a Jewish state should never have been created – have been pumping millions of Euros and dollars into “Israeli” organizations operating inside our country and international “human rights” groups which, with the help of media friendly to them, carry out cognitive warfare against us. One of their techniques is to send operatives here who cooperate with Arab militants in demonstrations and other activities. As I mentioned above, they use their status as foreigners to shield them from the consequences of illegal behavior; at worst they are deported. Then they return to their home countries and “testify” to the conditions of oppression under which the Arabs live in the land of Israel.

I don’t know if such tactics have ever been employed against the US, or if they could be. But they have been very damaging to Israel. And that is why the Knesset has passed a (weak) law to partly control foreign-funded organizations operating here, and why it is important to keep foreign agents out.

I have a particular problem with the Union for Reform Judaism in the US and its leader, Rabbi Rick Jacobs, who consistently attack Israel as being less than perfectly “democratic,” in relation to women, Arabs, and minorities of all kinds. He particularly opposes Israel’s reluctance to implement a 2-state solution (and thereby turn itself into an indefensible island in a sea of enemies). Jacobs likes to threaten that if we don’t accept his version of what it is to be Jewish and democratic, American Jews will withdraw their support. The implication is clear that he knows what is good for us better than we and our democratically elected government (and especially the Prime Minister!) do.

Jacobs seems to feel so strongly about the rights of non-residents to oppose the Jewish state that in 2010 he participated in a demonstration against Jewish “settlers” in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of Jerusalem, and then bragged about it to his congregation in a Yom Kippur sermon. He has also tried to play the 800-pound gorilla in the recent controversy surrounding the status of women and mixed prayer at the Western Wall.

The law permitting Israel to refuse entry to BDS supporters is no more or less than an assertion of sovereignty, the very sovereignty that is so aggressively denied by Hamas – and more politely by Rabbi Jacobs. It is a sort of “Iron Dome” against agents of cognitive warfare, and it is about time we had one.

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.

03/09 Links Pt1: Haley: Palestinians Must Stop Incitement, Engage in Direct Peace Talks With Israel; Kerry's knee-capping of Israel

From Ian:

One year ago American student and veteran Taylor Force stabbed to death by Palestinian Terrorist

When anti-Israel students on campus chant “Long Live the Intifada,” remember Taylor Force.
The Taylor Force Act proposed legislation seeks to cut off funds from the Palestinian Authority for its policy of paying the families of terrorists. The Free Beacon reports on the reintroduction of the legislation:
The White House is signaling its support for a new congressional effort to cut all U.S. funding to the Palestinian Authority due to its continued support of terrorism against Israelis and Americans, according to senior lawmakers and senior White House officials.
Leading lawmakers in the House and Senate gathered Tuesday on Capitol Hill to introduce legislation that would cut all U.S. funding to the Palestinian government, which has been criticized for providing financial incentives to terrorists who kill American and Israeli civilians.
The White House signaled its support for the legislation in a vast departure from the Obama administration, which worked against similar efforts when in power.
The murder of Taylor Force was part of what became known as the “Knife Intifada,” in which stabbings became the hallmark of Palestinian attacks.
When anti-Israel students on campus, such as these students at UT-Austin, chant “Long Live the Intifada,” remember Taylor Force.

US Ambassador to UN Nikki Haley: Palestinians Must Stop Incitement, Engage in Direct Peace Talks With Israel

The Palestinian Authority must “stop its incitement to violence” and engage with Israel in “direct peace negotiations, rather than looking to the UN,” a top American diplomatic official said on Tuesday.
US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley made the statement after meeting with her Palestinian counterpart, Riyad Mansour — an encounter she described as “productive.”
“The US is committed to supporting a true peace process between Israel and the Palestinian Authority,” she said.
Last month, Haley received warm praise from the pro-Israel community in both the US and abroad after taking the UN Security Council to task for its double standards when it comes to its treatment of the Jewish state.
Following her first meeting with Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon, Haley said, “Never again will our allies have to question our support.”

Liberman urges US to cut ties with Israel-bashing UN bodies

Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman on Wednesday asked US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to reconsider American support for the United Nations agency that deals with Palestinian refugees, as well as for the UN Human Rights Council.
During a meeting at the State Department, Liberman urged Tillerson to consider quitting the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council and to stop funding the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, known as UNRWA.
The agencies do not fulfill their mission, he told the secretary, according to readout of the meeting issued by Liberman’s office. “Instead, the Human Rights Council deals with demonizing Israel and with efforts to harm it by distorting reality.”
He said it was unacceptable that 60 percent of the council’s resolutions targeted Israel instead of dealing with the dire human rights situation in Iran or North Korea or Syria.
Last week, the US envoy to the Human Rights Council, Erin Barclay, criticized the council for its outsize focus on Israel.

An unprecedented event occurred last week – a unique one no doubt – but one which is surely to become par for the course in the future. One of the more prominent BDS activists in the United States, Rania Khalek, who travels extensively lecturing in support of BDS, had her talk cancelled by the SJP [Students for Justine in Palestine] chapter at the University of North Carolina.

The event was cancelled, as per SJP’s official statement, due to Khalek’s “unclear” views related to the ongoing Syrian conflict and genocide. Khalek responded claiming the cancellation was the work of “Syria Trolls” .

For those who don’t follow, Rania Khalek is very well-known among pro-Palestinian circles and has cultivated a career around slandering Israel even in the face of human suffering. Many have written about her vile, hypocritical attitude towards Israel. I’d like to use this last event as an example of what I believe lies ahead for the global BDS movement as I did in a previous article.

Lately, Rania Khalek has been harshly criticized for her support of the Syrian regime led by Bashar Al-Assad. I have criticized Khalek, and will continue to do so, for dismissing horrific reports of human rights violations, not only in Syria. My criticism also revolves around her support of Islamic terrorists groups such as Hamas. Khalek claims she would strongly advocate against Hamas, but since they “don’t use human shields and behead people”, it’s not worth her while. Quick reminder. Hamas publicly acknowledged in 2008 and 2014 that they use human shields. More can be read here. So apparently, horrific acts such as public street executions, forced child labor, oppression of women, advocating vehicular ramming attacks, stabbing children in their sleep, and blowing up civilian buses are not causes for concern or advocating against.

This latest event involving the UNC SJP chapter surprised many and created quite an uproar on social media. Equally surprising is the relative silence from former employer Ali Abunimah, co-founder of the Electronic Intifada, for whom Khalek worked as an editor until she stepped down. Rumors have it that Khalek was fired by Abunimah.

Much has been written about the U.S. based pro-Hamas publication known as “The Electronic Intifada”, which usually goes into damage control mode anytime the BDS movement runs into a roadblock. The “publication” is also widely considered to be the leading BDS propaganda tool on the internet today.

Criticism directed at Intifada and its propaganda “journalists” peaked after Khalek was invited to speak at an event sponsored by the British Syrian Society, a London based NGO founded by Bashar al Assad’s father-in-law. The event focused on sanctions directed at Syria. Some of the criticism even originated from colleagues within Intifada. Even Laurie King, an Intifada co-founder, felt disgusted by Khalek’s attendance.

Now that we have laid out some background, I want to focus on the reason we are seeing tension among those who promote BDS and why internal conflict and strife within the movement will continue to deteriorate.

Firstly, the global BDS movement does not screen applicants prior to joining “the cause”. This means that the door is open to literally anyone who chooses to get involved [and hates Israel – and in many cases, Jews]. As I mentioned in my previous piece , BDS has proven to be a haven for anti-Semites who are looking for a platform from which to spew their hate. And what better platform than the one which allows to vent hatred towards Jews under the guise of “anti-Zionism”?

Further, the open door policy means that activists joining BDS originate from different backgrounds. Some are Sunni, others are Shia... some pro-Assad, others reject him… some Alawite, others Salafai or Wahhabi. For now, I’m purposefully disregarding non-Muslims [i.e. anti-imperialist whites, etc.] who are just looking to raise a flag and grab a beer later. BDS leaders believe non-Arab support is the key to BDS success since past attempts at boycotting Israel have failed. During those failed boycott attempts, non-Arabs were generally not involved, hence the need for “intersectionality”. Cracks on that front have begun as well. Fiascos like Linda Sarsour leading a "Womens March" is a testament to that.

Khalek herself is Druze and pro-Assad, so she’s viewed by many as pro-Alawite. Alawis, a sect Shia Islam, are a minority [led by a non-democratic dictatorial dynasty] controlling the Sunni majority in Syria. Sunnis make up roughly 74% of Syria while the ruling Alawites number roughly 12%. It’s also important to note that Khalek supports Hamas. They are Sunni – and heavily funded by Qatar, who adhere to the Salafi branch of Sunni Islam. Khalek abhors Qatar and criticizes its government almost daily for funding Syrian rebels fighting the Assad regime. Apparently, it’s OK for Qatar to fund Hamas but funding Syrian rebels is a no-no. Perhaps if Hamas concentrated on fighting Assad, Khalek would be “advocating” against them. It also seems to be ok to staunchly support Linda Sarsour,who is partly funded by the Sharia-based Qatar Foundation.

What about Hezbollah? Well, they are Shia, and Khalek supports them as well. Hezbollah is also heavily supported by Iran - essentially a de facto client terrorist state. Let us not forget that Rania is a feminist, so naturally she would support Iran which is predominantly Shia as well. Iran also supports Hamas – but here again, not because they love each other, but because they share the same hate for Israel.

Before the Syrian Civil War began, Assad and his Alawite regime supported Sunni Hamas. Since then, Hamas has carefully expressed support for Sunni Syrian rebels, whom Khalek calls terrorists. According to Khalek, Hamas are not terrorists since they “don’t behead”.

In a 2012 Telegraph article, we read about Hamas’ support for Syrian rebels, which ultimately led to their exile from Damascus. Also in the article, Ismail Haniyeh [then-leader of Hamas in Gaza] visited a mosque in Cairo during Friday prayers. During the visit, he offered statements in support of “Syrian freedom fighters”. The crowd went on to chant, “No Hezbollah, No Iran – No Hezbollah, No Iran”.

Now, throw this into the mix: Khalek herself is secular! To be exact, she is a tank-top strutting [more power to her] Druze and a feminist atheist who happens to be vegan. If you thought your half-Yemenite half-Polish Jewish friend was confused, try living in Khaleks shoes for a day.

Khalek is but one example of many that are conflicted when it comes to who exactly they can or should support within the chaotic Middle East. Her support of Assad, and by association the mass genocide of Syrians, is precisely why her talk at UNC was cancelled.

Khalek is also due to speak later this month at the annual hate fest organized by BDS promoter Abbas Hamideh . Interestingly, just in the past few days we have seen tension within his Al-Awda organization. On March 4^th, Al-Awda released a rare statement regarding the hate rally. The title of the statement was “Clarification on Upcoming Support Palestine, Protest AIPAC Rally in Washington, DC”. Essentially, “Al-Awda National” is claiming they have no involvement or affiliation with the upcoming rally. Apparently, the bad press [perhaps partly due to my article] exposing how rabid-Antisemitism is creeping into Al-Awda resonated with some members.

Since the statement, Hamideh has taken to Facebook and lashed out at other Al-Awda members and is claiming that the rally is now organized by “Al-Awda's Ohio chapter and the Midwest regional affiliates”. He even went as far as to post screenshots of private text messages between himself and other members who demanded he tone it down.

I always hear the Abunimahs, Khaleks, and Hamidehs of the world tell us, “BDS is rapidly growing”. Well, that is true, but growing into what? Based on what we’re witnessing lately, the more BDS grows, the less effective it’s becoming in achieving its main objective – which is to destroy Israel. The amount of daily news items reporting on BDS defeats along with radical elements within the movement are growing rapidly. The future of BDS will prove to be historically consistent with what happened regarding past boycotting initiatives.

Lessons from past boycotts should be learned. Starting from the very first boycott within the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, in 1922 against Jewish owned-businesses in Mandatory Palestine, to the boycott declared by the Syrian-Palestinian Congress in 1933, through the Yishuv boycott by the Arab League in 1945 and the boycott of Jewish goods and cargo by King Farouk of Egypt in 1950, and followed by the Arab boycotts during the 1970’s. The countries who initiated these boycotts have all since either signed peace treaties with Israel or kept diplomatic relations on a low burner. Current Middle East geopolitics are pushing more and more Arab countries to search for “normalization” channels with Israel.

In summary, if future BDS events continue to include Nazi salutes and chanting “Adolf Hitler”, “Slaughter Jews”, and “Allahu Akbar”, it’s only a matter of time before a radical Islamic BDS splinter group accepts responsibility for ______________________.

As for online BDS propaganda hate sites like The Electronic Intifada, which will ultimately vanish into the dustbin of history, I see a bright and profitable future as an online merchandise retailer of “Oriental Gifts”.

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.

Memorial for the girls

From Ammon News:

An official in Jordan's government says a Jordanian soldier who killed seven Israeli schoolgirls visiting the country on a class trip will be released after serving 20 years in prison.

Spokesman Mohammed Momani said Tuesday that Ahmed Daqamseh is to be freed next week, possibly Monday, after completing his term.

Daqamseh killed the girls in a 1997 shooting rampage at the "Island of Peace" border post.

A military court deemed him mentally unstable and sentenced him to life in prison, which in Jordan typically means 25 years. Jordanian lawmakers lobbied in the past for his early release.

King Hussein, Jordan's ruler in 1997, paid a rare visit to Israel to express his condolences to the girls' parents.

The shooting came three years after Israel and Jordan signed a peace treaty.

Jordan's parliament has been pushing to get Daqamseh released for years, with many Jordanians considering him a hero for murdering seven schoolgirls.

Apparently, that lobbying has resulted in an earlier release than the monster would have normally had. Obviously killing 7 Israeli girls is much less heinous than murdering a single Jordanian where one would get the 25 years in prison.

Because he is a "hero."

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.

From MEMRI last year:

In a lecture posted on the YouTube channel of Montreal’s Al-Andalous Islamic Center on June 17, 2016, Canadian Imam Wael Al-Ghitawi discussed the wife’s obligations toward her husband in accordance with Islam. Al-Ghitawi said that she must not refuse her husband's conjugal rights and must not leave the house without his permission. He cited a hadith according to which the Prophet Muhammad said that "if [a husband] has a boil oozing pus, anywhere from head to toe, the wife will not be doing him full justice even if she licks it clean."
Wael Al-Ghitawi: "In the hadith compilation of Imam Ahmad (ibn Hanbal) it says: 'No human being should bow down before another human being, but if this were allowed, I would have ordered women to bow down before their husbands, because of the magnitude of the husband's rights over his wife. By Allah, if (a husband) has a boil oozing pus, anywhere from head to toe, the wife will not be doing him full justice even if she licks it clean.' This is no trivial matter. These are the words of the Prophet Muhammad. Some people might find it difficult to stomach this hadith. I mean, if a man has a boil, does his wife really need to lick it? I am not saying that she must lick it. But the Prophet Muhammad demonstrated the magnitude of the husband's rights over his wife by saying that even if she licks the boil, she would not be doing him full justice.

[...]

"Another of the husband's rights is not to be refused when he summons his wife to bed. If the husband wants her, she must consent, in order to protect his faith from the temptations that lurk everywhere.

[...]

"The wife must not refuse her husband when he summons her to bed, as long as she is able, and does not suffer from any mental or physical condition preventing this, like menstruation or post-natal bleeding, in which case she may refrain from doing so. But even in such cases, the husband may enjoy her, avoiding the vagina. In order for both husband and wife to avoid Allah's curses, the wife must obey her husband and fulfill his needs, or else the angels will curse her and the Lord's wrath will be upon her.

[...]

"The (husband) has another right over his wife: She must not go out of the house without his permission. This is the husband's right according to the shari'a. What about the state law? I am not talking about that now. You are a woman who married according to the shari'a, so if your husband tells you not to leave the house--don't leave the house! 'How come he's allowed to prevent me?' you ask...Just don't leave the house! That's one of his rights. Allah granted him this right. So don't leave the house without his permission!"

Keep in mind that this sermon wasn't given in Saudi Arabia or Iran - it was in Montreal.

(h/t Irene)

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.

03/08 Links Pt2: Does Feminism Have Room for Zionists?; PSC Loving Hamas

From Ian:

Does Feminism Have Room for Zionists?

While the fairness of Ms. Odeh’s conviction is debated, the fact that she was a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, which was categorized as a terrorist organization by the State Department, is not. The Anti-Defamation League referred to Ms. Odeh as a terrorist and raised concern that in recent years, “activism has been a tool for the legitimization of Rasmea Odeh, despite her criminal record in Israel.”
The organizers of the International Women’s Strike are not the first feminist group to position opposition to Israel as part of the feminist movement.
For example, in 2015, Columbia University’s anti-sexual assault advocacy group, No Red Tape, co-sponsored events connecting the experience of sexual assault survivors to that of Palestinians, and used its social media channels to promote anti-Zionist events hosted by the campus chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine. Julia Crain, a Columbia student who described herself as a former organizer in No Red Tape, denounced the move. “By picking a side, No Red Tape effectively politicized anti-sexual violence work on this campus. Doing so is detrimental to the cause and unfair to pro-Israel survivors,” she wrote in an op-ed for The Columbia Spectator.
That same year, the National Women’s Studies Association (N.W.S.A.), one of the largest academic feminist organization in North America, voted to endorse the boycott, divestment and sanctions (B.D.S.) movement against Israel, in part as an expression of feminism. That meant refraining from “economic, military and cultural entities and projects” that were sponsored by Israel, as well as academic partnerships and collaboration with professors or researchers at Israeli institutes. It is strange to see academic groups supporting the B.D.S. movement, which stifles the free flow of knowledge. But regardless of your opinion on the B.D.S. issue, it has nothing to do with feminism.
More and more frequently, my identity as a Zionist places me in conflict with the feminist movement of 2017. I will remain a proud feminist, but I see no reason I should have to sacrifice my Zionism for the sake of my feminism.

David Collier: An open question to Ilan Pappe: Why do you defend antisemites?

Question number one. How do you justify defending, or providing cover for such blatant Jew hatred, denying its existence, and weakening the Jewish defence against such antisemitic attacks, all in support of your ideology?
The second part relates directly to your absurdly fanciful political ideology. The utopian world that you describe, the one that provides the pillar for your entire political position. We both know that currently such a place does not exist. We also know (as people who study history) that we can call on many examples from the past, where such vision became a field of blood, as human failings overtook radical idealistic thought.
Surely, you should set about proving it possible elsewhere, and then invite the Jews to the party once it succeeds. One can hardly look at the Middle East, or anywhere currently on our planet, and gain confidence. How can anyone support the idea that within the current sea of blood, the Jews ‘of all people’, should rely on your assurance that human beings can live in peace and equality.
Don’t you think then, that it is incumbent on idealists such as yourself, and others that align with you, to create this utopian vision as a reality first? Or given Jewish history, don’t you think it absurd that you seek to use the Jewish state as a guinea pig?
I look forward to your response

PSC Loving Hamas

Just when you thought the Palestine Solidarity Campaign would want to lie low and try not to get much attention in the wake of David Collier’s devastating reports on antisemitism and nutcase fantasism in their ranks they go and tweet these:

Update: @PSCUpdates the Palestine Solidarity Campaign’s Twitter handle has just been pulled.
Update 2: @fiona_bowden of the PSC says that their Twitter feed has been hacked [LOL]: which is plausible. The PSC generally avoids these sorts of statements. They are more closely aligned with Fatah than Hamas. The picture of the PSC leadership, although genuine and from a PSC source, was published on Harry’s Place some time ago, and is probably the source for the original tweet.

Maajid Nawaz: I’m calling out the loons who make Israel bashing the mother of all virtues

Soon after London Fashion Week concluded, Israel Apartheid Week began. Another week, another obsessive focus on Israel.
The Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement is mostly spearheaded in the West by people who have little to nothing attaching them to the Middle-East conflict.
Nothing, that is, beyond the fact that belonging to the hard-left and not supporting BDS has become the equivalent of claiming a love for fashion, while hating haute couture. Though unlike haute couture, BDS is an inelegant and simplistic solution to a protracted and incredibly complicated problem. But who cares for detail when you have a fabulous placard to wave?
The lazy analogy that BDS rests on is with South African apartheid. But unlike apartheid-era South Africa, Arabs make up 20 percent of Israel’s full citizenry. Most of these Arab-Israeli citizens are Muslim. There are mosques on Israeli beaches. Alongside Hebrew, Arabic is an official language of Israel. An Arab-Israeli judge has even impeached and convicted former Israeli prime minster, Ehud Olmert.

People have a bad habit of bandying about the term “occupation” in reference to the Arab population of Israel. They say it to mean the “Jewish occupation of Arab land,” which is the most nonsensical idea ever, considering the holy books of the world’s three major religions all refer to the Jews as the Children of Israel. Which means that if anyone is occupying someone’s land, it’s the Arabs occupying Jewish land. According to their own holy book, the Quran.

Nonetheless, people who really should know better, just buy the narrative, hook, line, and sinker, and make this claim, saying it with lots of passion in an assured sort of way, as if that makes it true, which it doesn’t. And who better to iterate a narrative with passion and assurance than an actor!

It’s brilliant. You don’t even have to know what you’re talking about. You only have to sound as though you do and if you’re a big enough actor, one who’s won lots of awards, for instance Richard Gere, well, then people will listen and believe and repeat it as the truth.

Even though it’s utter bull crap from start to finish.

And that’s exactly what happened Monday night.

Richard Gere spoke to Yediot Ahronot and went full out Arab narrative on us. That’s after a bunch of visits to Israel in the past, during which Gere remained neutral, preferring not to favor one side over the other. Well kids, Gere’s neutral period is over. He’s gone completely over to the other side, blasting Israel loud and clear.

Blasting Israel! Though it is Israel who has bent over backwards to be fair to this alien people who do nothing toward peace. Nothing. Quite the opposite. They murder Jews whenever and wherever they can, while the world, including Richard Gere, closes its eyes, and in many cases, has the audacity to underwrite the terror!

So just what exactly did Richard Gere say? He warned Israel that it is becoming an “Apartheid state.”

Tell me, Mr. Gere, have you ridden an Israeli bus of late? Oh no. You probably have a chauffeur-driven limo for the duration of your trip. So you wouldn’t have actually seen any evidence of what you claim.

And you haven’t spent time in any Israeli hospitals, so you wouldn’t see Arabs treated alongside Jews in the same rooms, or Arab doctors operating on Jewish patients. Being an actor, you haven’t pled a case to Israel’s High Court of Justice, so you wouldn’t have seen an Arab judge sitting in judgment of Israelis, alongside Jewish judges. And you wouldn’t have visited the Knesset during your short stay and seen Arab MK’s voting on and creating legislation for the State of Israel.

Tell me, Mr. Gere, what part of any of this qualifies as Apartheid?

Israel's Supreme Court justice Salim Joubran

No matter. You only have to say it with a lot of passion and assurance, and people will believe you. And Arabs will feel empowered to perpetrate even more terror attacks, to dig in their heels further and refuse to negotiate, refuse to recognize the Jewish State of Israel. Bully for you, Mr. Gere. Bravo.

But you didn’t stop there, did you Mr. Gere? No. You demanded that Israel put an end to the “occupation” and allow a “Palestinian” state to claim Jerusalem as its capital.

This, from a guy whose parents were both Mayflower descendants! Mr. Gere, your parents were no doubt Protestant which means you are a Christian by birth, whether by observance or not. Presumably you have read the bible. If so, you know that Jews are the Chosen people and the Children of Israel.

You know that the Jewish Temple stood in Jerusalem. You KNOW whose land this is.

Remnants of the 1st century Stairs of Ascent, discovered by archaeologist Benjamin Mazar, to the entrance of the Temple Courtyard. Pilgrims coming to make sacrifices at the Temple would have entered and exited by this stairway.

Read a history book or two? You know that the Jews lived in Israel before Mohammed was a gleam in his mama’s eye.

So how dare you suggest that Jews are occupying Arab land when you know that the opposite is true? You know darn well that Israel and Jerusalem are indigenous Jewish territory, that the Arabs are the encroachers, the ones who have no right to be anywhere on Jewish soil.

But then again, YOUR ancestors stole Native American land, so why would you ever be an honest broker?

Treaty of Penn with Indians by Benjamin West

It’s all just a performance—a way to prove your leftist liberal creds to your fellow actors. Or maybe you’ve just decided you really hate the Jews. Because your position makes absolutely no logical sense. "On my past visits to Israel, I always listened to all the viewpoints,” said Gere. “Now that's become almost impossible. I know that a lot of people won't like what I have to say, but these are things that must be said.”

Why must they be said, Mr. Gere, when these things are not true? Israel is not an Apartheid state and not becoming one any time soon. Israel is a democracy where minorities have their fullest rights, the right to religion, the right to vote, the right to shop alongside Israelis in Jerusalem malls. Why have you stopped listening to Israelis, to common sense? I’ll tell you why: because you don’t choose to do so. Your hate has taken over, or your desire to be more than just an actor, so you’ll use anything, even the dishonest Arab narrative, to get there.

Why must Jerusalem be the capital of two states, when there are 22 Arab states in the region and only one small sliver of land left for the Jews? Why must the Jews give more and more and more and the Arabs not a thing, not even recognition of the Jewish State? Do you hate us that much, Mr. Gere? We were expelled from our homeland, forced to wander, persecuted for centuries, systematically gassed and murdered by the millions, and now you want us to give up bits and pieces of our land to an enemy that has plagued us since the Muslim Conquest??

Why? You know this is our land. EVERYONE AND HIS DOG KNOWS THIS IS OUR LAND.

We settled the 800,000 Jews the Arabs expelled from their lands. Why cannot the Arabs settle their brethren inside their 22 states, many of them oil-rich?? All. That. Land.

We gave up some 77%of the Mandate for Palestine to be their state, Jordan, the population of which is at least 80% “Palestinian.”

We expelled 11,000 Jews from Gaza and Northern Samaria and gave Gaza to the Arabs, asking nothing in return except for peace. How much more of our teensy sliver must we give them??

You want us to give them Jerusalem? Why would we give our precious holy city to this evil, violent people? How could you demand it of us? You, Mr. Gere. The world? After all we have been through in our centuries of hell.

Let us breathe free in our land, Mr. Gere. This cannot be our burden. And yet, you were only getting started when you spoke about us cutting Jerusalem in two, like Solomon threatening to slice a baby in two. "Why do you need all of these provocations,” asked Gere, referring to the building of Jewish homes in Jerusalem and in Judea, and Samaria. “How is it that the settlers are running the Israeli government? And how is it that the State of Israel, of all countries, is ruling over another people? Many Israelis that I know say that the state has lost its way, and I think that every Israeli knows that."

Since when is building a home a provocation? Trust me when I say that no person who builds a home thinks, “What a fine provocation this will be!”

Did your ancestors think they were creating provocations when they seized Native Indian land and built homes thereon?

Did you study the housing situation in Israel? Are you aware there is a housing crisis?

And what is so terrible about Jews building homes, Mr. Gere? Unless you think that Jews don’t deserve homes. Do you hate us that much? Did the homes of the 11,000 Jews of Gaza and Northern Samaria serve as impediments to peace? Or was that the Hamas government, shooting tens of thousands of missiles into civilian Israel from the land we gave them as a unilateral gesture of peace. The land we stole from our own people?

A w:Qassam rocket displayed in w:Sderot town hall against a background of pictures of residents killed in rocket attacks

Gere asks, “How is it that Israeli settlers are running the Israeli government?”

Gere hasn’t a clue that the Israeli government is run by many different factions. He hasn’t a clue that Arabs and Israeli liberals are also part of the Israeli government. Quite different than the government your ancestors formed, Mr. Gere. How many Native Americans ran the government in the land your ancestors stole, Mr. Gere? How is it that your ancestors ruled over another people?

Put your own house in order, Mr. Gere. Give your land back to its rightful owners. Stop treating them like dirt while calling us to task.

How is it you come to the conclusion that “every Israeli” knows that Israel has lost its way? You don’t even know who you are and what your bible says. Have you even looked at polls of Israelis to see how they feel?

No. You haven’t. Because if you did, you’d know that the vast majority of Israelis have learned the hard way that the two-state solution cannot possibly work. The vast majority of Israelis have learned the hard way that land for peace is a dumb Western invention that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever

The more we give them, the more liberties they take. The more they MURDER us and our children.

You have no clue what Israelis think, Mr. Gere. Because you’re not smart enough to have read the bible. You’re not smart enough to listen to the other side, or read a history book, or look at poll results. You’re not smart enough to realize that your own rhetoric, the narrative you’ve adopted makes no sense. Houses as provocations indeed, Mr. Gere.

You’re here, saying these things, because you played a Jewish shyster in your latest film. You think that gives you the right to say these things. But let me tell you this: playing a Jew in a movie gives you no rights. Makes you no smarter about the 49^th article of the 4^th Geneva Convention, or about the Jews.

Occupation my foot. You’re not fit to play a Jew. You’re not fit to lick my boots.

I will not watch any more of your movies. I won’t give you any more royalties. You’re a bad person to use your talent to hurt Israeli Jews and I don’t want to support you or your work in any way, shape, or form.

No matter how passionate and self-assured you sound in your stupid sound bites.

Talk to the hand, Mr. Gere. Cuz this Jewish face ain’t listening.

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