Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Sunday, April 02, 2017

The truth is out there - or maybe not (L. King)

A guest post from long-time EoZ reader L. King:

Here are some interesting research results from University of Washington assistant Professor Kate Starbird on the propagation of fake news memes. Starbird noticed a disturbing trend in the use of conspiracy theory terms such as “false flag” and “crisis actors” staring with the 2013 Boston marathon bombing in social media, but only began researching it seriously in 2016. She and her students traced some 58 million Twitter comments using such terms and found that large numbers of them referenced the same alt-left and alt-right sources; she noted 81 of the most frequently recurring. Some of these such as Global Rresearch, Veterans Today, BeforeItsNews, Infowar, RT, Sputnik News and PressTV will be familiar to readers – she catalogs the last 3 three as foreign news services though she recognizes them as propaganda outlets. Canadian antisemite and Holocaust denier Jim Fetzer does show up on her list. Surprisingly Al-Jazeera does not. While antisemitism was not the focus of the study she mentions it as a significant factor in the sample.

In the pictured diagram the alt media that promotes these conspiracies are in blue, mainstream media that deny them in red and sites used to confirm conspiracies are shown in green, the thickness of the links denotes the frequency in which these sources reference each other, the size of the bubble indicates frequency of use. That Alex Jones’ heavily referenced Infowars stands largely apart seems significant but since I haven’t had cause to follow it I don’t feel that qualified to comment. It is a conspiracy site, but I haven’t noticed myself that it comes up in anti-Semitic/antizionist discourse.

Starbird only looked at shooting events. What she found was that those who promoted conspiracy theories would use multiple sites to confirm their position, likely without realizing that they all referred back to the same source of the rumor. Additionally, she concluded that while most rumors die out naturally when details of the events become better known, conspiracy theories were being kept alive long after the events by a combination of true believers and automated bots using anonymous or faked accounts. Crowd sourcing of information can autocorrect some false rumors, such as in the Boston Marathon case where the wrong suspect was initially identified, but the persistence and volume of conspiracy theory advocates acts as a counterargument to the Brandeis dictum that sunlight is always the best disinfectant. We hope that it is, but it’s an article of faith.

Another key finding is that advocates of conspiracy theories behind the shootings were motivated not by a left/right agenda but by their position on nationalism and anti-globalization. She writes in her paper: “Likely due to the nature of our underlying data, many of the alternative media domains in our graph contain considerable material referencing various anti-globalist conspiracy theories, including ones that claim high-powered people (Illuminati, bankers, George Soros, Jews) are manipulating the media and world events for their benefit.”

Central to the problem of identifying fake news is notion of perceived trust and the authority of social gatekeepers. To be media savvy implies that one is capable, based on the evidence presented, of discerning truth from falsehood and part of that is based on trust of one’s sources. Wikipedia earns a low degree of trust in political matters because of its malleability but paradoxically Google search is highly trusted even though its Page Rank algorithm isn’t a reflection of truth and only of popularity. I cannot count the number of times I’ve been presented with search links like "Zionism+evil+holohoax” as “proof” of the writers’ insights and beliefs.

Unfortunately, there is no sure-fire algorithm for either humans or machines to distinguish between truth and falsity in the online world, which is not to say the task is completely impossible. Propagandists can use the exact same phrasing style as truth tellers so words alone are not enough. Recording previous corrections and making them easily available is one strategy that is being explored though potentially that too may be gamed. Pointing out a logical inconsistency sometimes works but won’t easily undermine a true believer. The reason for this is fairly simple – someone who is new to a scenario may be swayed either way. Someone who truly believes in a conspiracy theory has incorporated it in to their belief system – it’s now something that is part of their education, a learned framework of knowledge to which confirming anecdotes are as easily added as nonconforming evidence is discarded. , As Mark Twain once wrote, “It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so.”

Obviously there are similarities here to fake news about Israel and the conflict with the Palestinians. In the case of Palestinian stabbings the CT rumor mills routinely claim that the attacker was an innocent victim and that the knife was planted. The USS Liberty is treated as a false flag operation and Israel is blamed for created Hamas and ISIS just as the US is blamed for ISIS and Al-Queda. Mainstream journalists will also repeat narratives without question built around common buzz phrases and ultimately from the same sources, and this gets repeated and reinforced in the comments of their readers. As a result the readership becomes fragmented into tribes and discussion rather than moving things forward is simply a contest of which voice is loudest either by number of votes or number of advocates for one side or the other.

The story first came to my attention on Slashdot.org, which pointed to this article in the Seattle Times. That lead back to her original paper. A 6 minute streaming interview with her on this topic can be heard here. I also came across this related article by Robyn Caplan on detecting fake news and an article by danah boyd on the self segregating nature of e-media that contains the useful observation that until recently both the army and the US college system were strong social forces for national community and promoting diversity, which not coincidentally one of the functions of other militaries such as the IDF. boyd’s article on the perils of skepticism in the modern age also contributed what I wrote. All references retrieved April 2, 2017.

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Following the terror attack in London there was an outpouring of sympathy. Suddenly there was extreme media focus, a wave of articles and “hate will not divide us” statements. People worldwide, including Israelis, expressed their solidarity with London, using #IamLondon type hashtags and lighting up buildings.

How pretty.

It is truly sad how while time goes by and news stories change the underlying lessons remain unlearned. Looking back, I could not help but think of what I wrote following the horrific terror attacks in France (in 2015) the only difference is the location. Replace the word “Paris” for “London” and you have the message that needs to be said today.

It needs to be said over and over. Maybe, eventually people will learn.

I am not London and neither are you. Here’s why.

Liberté, égalité, fraternité

November 15, 2015

Following the horrific terror attacks in Paris there has been an outpouring of solidarity.

The Israeli Knesset (parliament) flies Israeli flags at half-mast and lights up in solidarity with France.

World landmarks have been lit up with the French tricolor, including the Israeli Knesset and the Tel Aviv city hall. Facebook is full of tricolor tinted profile photos, memes about praying for Paris and the hashtag #WeAreParis.

How cute.

While the enemies of liberté are busy terrorizing people into submission we are busy playing with colors.

According to the Islamic State: “Soldiers of the Caliphate set out targeting the capital of prostitution and vice, the lead carrier of the cross in Europe — Paris.” The entertainments of Paris are abhorrent and immoral and part of their duty to God is to shut them down. And in a single night 8 individuals succeed in doing exactly that. No more Eiffel Tower. No more Louvre. No more Disney Land. People afraid to go sit in the cafes or stroll down the Champs Elysées.

What a stunning victory for the Caliphate!

In stark contrast to the single night of horror in Paris, Israel is constantly bombarded by terrorism and attacks on the personal liberty of her citizens: freedom of movement, freedom of religion, freedom to live… Interestingly our nation is never brought to a standstill. While under attack Israelis continue to search for cures for cancer, find ways to irrigate the world and maintain our status as a cultural hub for the world on par with New York, London, Rome or Berlin.

Tel Aviv city hall lit up like the French flag

Égalité is certainly a noble sentiment. All people are born equal. All lives should be equally valued. Should, but are not. The current outpouring of solidarity with France sends a message not only to the victims of the attacks on Paris but also to the victims of all other acts of terrorism around the world. It seems that French lives matter more.

Nigerian lives don’t matter. It couldn’t possibly be because the victims of Boko Haram’s terror are black, could it?

Yazidi lives don’t matter. Who are those people anyway?

The extermination of Christians in the Middle East doesn’t matter. American Christians are too busy arguing about what’s printed on Starbucks coffee mugs.

Jewish lives certainly don’t matter. Especially not the lives of Israeli Jews. Our very existence is somehow wrong. Judea was named after the Jews that originally lived there but today Jews living in Judea are, according to Europe, according to France, illegal and thus the murder of Israeli parents in front of their children is somehow acceptable.

The Western world likes to differentiate types of Islamic terror and excuse it. “Over there” terror originates from poor living conditions / political motivation / who cares what happens in Africa etc. It is only when terror hits close to home that it becomes something inexcusable that must be fought. There is no égalité.

Except in the eyes of the Islamic State. All kufar, all infidels are equal. All must submit or die. It is true that not all terrorist groups agree with the Islamic State. Some even fight each other (for example Hamas and IS). There is the historical doctrinal argument between the Sunni and Shia and the strategic arguments between different terror organizations on which enemy to fight first and correct battle tactics. The end-game however is the same. The desire to live under sharia law is the same. And they all shout “Allahu Akbar” before killing their enemies.

Égalité. There can be no equality without fraternité. That is why brotherhood is such an important ideal. Without the understanding that all lives matter, no life can truly matter. It’s very nice for all of us to announce that #WeAreFrench or #JeSuisCharlie. It’s sweet. But when, for example, there is no equal fervor for #JeSuisJuif the gesture becomes meaningless. There is no solidarity when the sentiment is one sided.

The people of Israel truly ache when someone else suffers. We know suffering. We feel for the bereaved Parisians. We pray for the swift and complete healing of the wounded. We wish that no one experience the terror and misery that we know so well.

We also wish that someone cared about our suffering.

We do not need anyone to protect our liberté. It would however be refreshing not to be condemned for protecting our liberty. We wish to be treated equally – Israeli lives are just as valuable as French lives. True fraternité would solve everything. We must stop announcing #WeAreFrench or whatever the hashtag of the day is. We are all kufar.

If the nations of the world, those who believe in freedom, united against our common enemy, stopped finding excuses for terrorism and acted on the belief that all lives matter, people worldwide would be much safer.

Colors as a sign of solidarity are very nice. Cute but nothing more. Playing with color filters on Facebook or lighting up buildings has absolutely no impact on the people planning to fundamentally transform our culture and/or exterminate our very existence.

Without fraternité there is no égalité and we will all lose our liberté.

Without unity, those that are unified against us will win. It’s as simple as that.

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04/02 Links: PMW: Fatah students threaten Israel; Paris Hilton gets in on SodaStream gag

From Ian:

PMW: April 17 will be day of terror and killing, Fatah students threaten Israel

Hamas cleric: Allah gathered Zionists in one place “so it will be easier to slaughter and kill" them
Hamas cleric, Sheikh Muhammad Salah Abu Rajab in Friday sermon:
“Here are the Zionists, who have gathered from all around. They occupy and usurp Jerusalem and its environs, and so the promise of Allah is realized: 'We will bring you forth in [one] gathering' (Quran, Sura 17:104) so that it will be easier to slaughter and kill you. O Zionists, you know this for certain. You know this because you are here temporarily.
You live here, but your eyes are set on the airports [to escape]... Know that Jihad for the sake of Allah does not rely on any individual. Otherwise, the death of the Prophet Muhammad would have ended the call [for Islam]. However, after his death, the light of Islam reached the borders of France and the borders of China. Our Jihad does not rely on any individual.” [Al-Aqsa TV (Hamas), Aug. 22, 2014]

Collier: Cork day two – breeding Zionist monsters and untermenschen

Today, 01st April 2017 was the second day in the three day anti-Israel conference in Cork. As I arrived in the morning, I was still feeling somewhat bitter over the events of the day before. This the central difference between the usual anti-Israel events and a conference such as this. There is simply no recovery time. Speech after speech, panel after panel, and then day after day. It is as difficult to digest as it is relentless.
In my mind I was still going over the twisted talk by Oren Ben Dor as I had breakfast. And was replaying the outrageous comments by Ghada Karmi as I walked towards the venue for the second day. When you go to anti-Israel meetings you become accustomed to ludicrous comments, but these people are academics. What on earth was Kharmi doing suggesting Palestinians are the real descendants of the Jews?
Three central pillars of Cork
Just as was originally intended at Southampton, Ben-Dor had split up the conference into three areas of discussion. Legitimacy (showing Israel has no legitimacy), Exceptionalism (showing Israel is an Apartheid Settler colonial state) and responsibility (the ‘what to do about it’ section).
The first day had seen the discussion of legitimacy, so today was all about how disgusting a nation these anti-Israel activists think Israel is. Each of the papers were rancid, none more so than the one by Shalhoub-Kevorian, that dealt with children and what were described as ‘death zones’. It was little more than a desperate and despicable attempt by an activist to use children as an academic sympathy toy.

IsraellyCool: WATCH: Israeli-Arab Muhammad Kabiya Castigates Leftist Israeli For Dissing Israel

A few days ago I posted a video of Israeli-Arab Muhammad Kabiya defending Israel on a US campus.
Another video of him in action has surfaced, with Muhammad this time schooling a leftist Israeli (hat tip: Yoel).

It's very sad, really.

I am watching my former political home, the American progressive-left, rip itself into ideological pieces.

In an apparent effort to reconcile the irreconcilable - i.e., the multicultural ideal (as represented by Sharia) with universal human rights (as represented by western feminism) - it is throwing Enlightenment liberalism, and with it the tradition of rational discourse, directly into the toilet.

Things have gotten so bad that in the universities the very notion of rational discourse, as we received it from Enlightenment, is increasingly viewed as a racist, sexist, heteronormative social-political construct designed to serve the white patriarchal power structure.

Here, for example, is an uncomfortable truth that illustrates the tension between multiculturalism and universal human rights within the progressive-left, but which they refuse to even discuss:

You cannot favor Sharia and be feminist both at the same time.

Sorry, Linda, but this is one of those reasons why I call my Elder of Ziyon blog "Acknowledging the Obvious."

I have no doubt that since Linda Sarsour recently sprang into the national spotlight off the political corpse of Hillary Clinton that there have been any number of people trying to square this circle. If someone can point me to a source wherein that was accomplished - where Sharia law and feminism were intellectually reconciled - I would like to learn of it because maybe I am wrong.

What do I know? I make no claims of expertise in Sharia.

All I know with certainty is that the Jews who refused to allow themselves to be chased out of Israel by the Romans faced thirteen centuries of oppression and persecution under that juridical philosophy in the centuries between Muhammad and the Ottoman defeat in World War I.

A mere thirteen centuries.

Although the rules of "dhimmitude" varied from place to place and century to century within the Islamic world, Jews, along with other dhimmis, like Christians and Zoroastrians, could not build homes on land above those of Muslims. We could not ride horses. We could not carry weaponry and had no rights of self-defense, nor access to courts of law. While the Byzantines may have used the area around the Western Wall for a garbage heap, the Muslims simply built a mosque above what was the Hebrew Temple and declared the holiest site of the Jewish people as forever non-Jewish.

And it is not as if this is merely some abstract, irrelevant, historical detail from the past.

It is not as if I am merely holding a historical grudge.

It is ongoing.

It is at this historical moment, like every other for century upon century, that popular Islamic preachers regularly call for the murder of Jews. Yet much of the left provides them with cover by portraying the Jews in the Middle East as the oppressors of the innocent "indigenous Arab" population.

Thus, if an American Jew, such as myself, so much as suggests that keeping jihadis out of the United States is a good idea we are subject to progressive-left contempt. Who are we, after all - we grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Jewish immigrants from the Pale of Settlement - to deny succor to Arab children of war? Who are we beneficiaries of American generosity to deny that generosity to others?

These would be terrific questions were they not entirely otherwise.

Most Jews do not want to see jihadis move in next door because Sharia is a political theory that spells violent Jewish subjugation. Opposing the Jihad is no more prejudicial toward Muslims than opposing Nazism was prejudicial toward Germans. We do not have a problem with Muslim immigration into the United States. We do have a tremendous problem, however, with the importation of the Jihad into the United States as we are seeing currently in Europe.

Jihadism is a theo-political philosophy, an aspect of Islam, that calls for the spread of Sharia throughout the world. People who oppose the rise of political Islam are constantly told that all Muslims are not Jihadis.

Let me assure you that we know this, already, but that is not the point.

We also know that this rhetorical tactic is a diversion. It is a method of evading the necessary national conversation around immigration policy. But, if anyone thinks that opposing the Jihad is the same as opposing Muslims, in general, then it is they who think of all Muslims as crazed head-choppers seeking the reinstitution of the Caliphate, not their political opponents.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Party and the progressive-left are basically telling their Jewish constituency that if we wish to remain in good-standing we must embrace the arrival of hundreds of thousands of people from a culture that despises us and harasses our kids on university campuses throughout the West.

These are the same universities that turn a blind eye, or - as in the case of San Francisco State University - actually support and defend student groups calling for the murder of Jews. When the anti-Zionist contingent at SFSU confronted the mayor of Jerusalem, Nir Barkat, on that campus, they cried out, "Intifada! Intifada! Long live the intifada!" This is nothing less than shouting for the racist murder of the Jewish people directly into the face of a prominent Jewish leader among Jewish students and staff at an allegedly "liberal" college.

The irony is rich.

Nonetheless, SFSU president Leslie Wong believes that the General Union of Palestine Students (GUPS) "is the very purpose of this great university."

The reason for all of this ideological chaos and inconsistency is because the progressive-left is increasingly anti-liberal and thus increasingly in opposition to its own professed values.

We see it at UC Berkeley when leftists beat the holy crap out of Trump supporters or pepper-spray them in the streets.

UC Berkeley (2017)

We see it when they demand ideological conformity over free speech and, thus, undermine not only the honest interrogation of ideas, but the very foundation of social justice, to begin with.

Ultimately the tension between multiculturalism and universal human rights is undermining Enlightenment liberalism. In the ongoing, but largely unspoken, tension between these twin progressive-left ideologies multiculturalism is slowly devouring universal human rights and liberalism along with it.

This decline in significance of universal human rights led, in recent decades, to the progressive-left and Democratic Party betrayal of women, Gay people, and minorities throughout the Middle East, the emergence of the new politically-correct racism at home, suppression of freedom of speech on the campuses, and the rise of left-leaning antisemitic anti-Zionism throughout the West.

The progressive-left has, in fact, betrayed us all, particularly those of us who counted on it the most.

Michael Lumish is a blogger at the Israel Thrives blog as well as a regular contributor/blogger at Times of Israel and Jews Down Under.

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From JTA:

City workers dislodged and relocated a postcard-sized memorial plaque from the entrance to the former home in Amsterdam of a Holocaust victim following complaints by residents.

The plaque – a brass cobblestone bearing the name of Joachim Elte that was embedded into the sidewalk of Nicolaas Maesstraat 3 in 2014 – was moved to a location “as far away as possible from the door” of the two residents, who have recently sued the city to have the plaque removed altogether, Sebastiaan Capel, the director of Amsterdam’s southern district told Het Parool daily on Friday.

The two residents, who were not named, recently filed with a preliminary relief judge a motion for an injunction ordering the memorial cobblestone’s removal because Capel had ignored their demands that it be removed from anywhere in front of their residence, the daily reported.

In their motion, the two residents said they found the cobblestone too confrontational because it constantly reminded them of the deportation and murder of Elte, a 51-year-old accountant who died at a Nazi concentration camp in 1945. They also argued it “compromises the atmosphere” of their upscale neighborhood and their privacy because it attracts onlookers.

As the photo shows, the plaque does not interfere with anything.

The idea of putting plaques in front of the homes of Holocaust victims came from a German artist, Gunter Demnig, who began placing 10 cm square plaques in 1997. Demnig's motto is "A man is only forgotten if his name is forgotten."

Clearly, some Amsterdam residents want the world to forget the name of Joachim Elte.

Don't let them.

Here is Elte's passport:

According to Google, here is the building where Elte used to live, at Nicolaas Maesstraat 3.

Just in case you want to visit, and perhaps knock on the door to ask what they remember about Elte.

UPDATE: The couple that sued dropped the lawsuit, see here.

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Steenkamp in 2016

The Washington Post coverage of the so-called "Palestine Marathon" last year starts off this way:

The finish line at the biggest race in the West Bank featured fresh-squeezed orange juice and piles of Jericho dates instead of Gatorade and Gu packets. Clusters of runners danced to techno versions of Justin Bieber and Adele songs along with traditional Arabic music, and finishers ate freshly fried falafel as they stretched out in the sun on the cobblestones of Manger Square. Friday’s winner, Mervin Steenkamp, guessed his final time after finishing — there was no official clock at the end — and was paraded through the crowd as he held up a peace sign for photographers instead of the one finger usually displayed by first-place finishers.

A peace sign? Under Palestinian rule, the "V" is never meant for peace. It is meant as "victory" over Israel. Terrorists use the symbol all the time.

I can't say for sure what Steenkamp's motivation was - he won the fake race the year before and also flashed the gesture - but you can be certain that Palestinians do not interpret it as peaceful.

When you have peace, everyone is a winner. When you have "victory," then your opponents have lost. This is the opposite of peace.

Jibril Rajoub, the Palestinian sports minister who took over the marathon this year, easily morphs between the language of peace and the language of supporting terror depending on who is is speaking to. He said that the point of the marathon was to expose 50 years of Israeli "terror." But at the same time he claims that it gives a "humanitarian message to the world."

The race is pure propaganda. It is staged in front of the Church of the Nativity without reporters noting how the Christians of the region have nearly all fled because of the discrimination and terror from Muslims.

It hands out official times for the winners to the hundredths of a second as if it is a real marathon even though, as the WaPo notes, there is no official clock, at least as of last year.

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Ahmad Jazal was 17 years old. He had a job as a dental assistant in Nablus.

Instead of going to work, he went to Jerusalem. He took selfies at the Dome of the Rock.

Then he exited the Temple Mount to look for Jews to stab.

He found two religious Jews, taking a walk on the Sabbath, and stabbed them. From video taken right afterwards, you can see he stabbed at least one of them in the back where he bled quite a bit.

Jazal then fled to a house, seeking shelter. Israeli police found him and shot him to death as he stabbed one of them.

Palestinian supporters claim that there are severe restrictions on Arabs from the West Bank accessing the Al Aqsa Mosque, but apparently this is not true - Jazal easily traveled to Jerusalem.

Although he did not identify with any militant group, he is being praised as a martyr by Hamas and Fatah.

There is nothing political on his Facebook page.

Saying the "occupation" is what prompted Jazal to want to kill Jews is facile and absurd. As a resident of Nablus he would hardly see any Israeli soldiers unless he traveled to other cities and had to go though a checkpoint.

And even if he was angered over the "occupation" that would mean that he would want to target the IDF, not random religious Jews.

No, Ahmad Jazal was taught all his life to hate Jews, and Jews were his enemy, and that Jews had stolen his land. Not Zionists, not Israelis - Jews.

So he devised a plan to kill Jews. He knew all day that is how we was going to likely die - by killing Jews. A religious person, he no doubt was taught that killing Jews would get him to paradise.

This is what incitement does. It doesn't radicalize every young person who hears it, but it does plant the idea of killing Jews as an obligation on some people - and, crucially, these people do not hear any messages that contradict the ones that make murderers into heroes.

If there is a root cause for these young terrorists, it is the antisemitic incitement that the Palestinian Authority broadcasts and teaches in their schools.

And the world doesn't want to accept that the Palestinian Authority that they have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in is doing something this despicable.

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04/01 Links: Collier: Cork, Ireland. Politely wishing the Jews to a nasty death; MSM Distorts Reality on Israeli Settlements

From Ian:

David Collier: Cork, Ireland. Politely wishing the Jews to a nasty death

Today I am in Cork, Southern Ireland. This is a story that began two years ago, with a failed attempt by a twisted academic at Southampton, to place a fake academic veneer on part of the delegitimise Israel campaign. Those that suggest this is not true are simply not listening to the organisers, the speakers or even the delegates. Activism as a central theme was ever present. There is little denying that this conference is about attempting to place additional tools in the arsenal of the anti-Israel activist. Indeed, it is clearly the primary purpose.
Two failed attempts to hold a conference in Southampton, sandwiched between legal attempts to force the hand of the university, has led us all to Southern Ireland and to Cork, where finally, Oren Ben-Dor got to hold his circus of hate. This, even though the University at Cork, distanced themselves from the event.
I have just sat through the first day of the three-day conference. I will put together a more complete write up of the entire event when it has finished. I am away from home and do not have access to many of my files for referencing. So today I just want to put some initial thoughts into words.
The setting for today was the impressive Cork County Hall. We are informed that filming is not permitted, which makes life more difficult for someone to report accurately on an event such as this. The organisation, was professionally done. The conference is split into themes, each building part of a picture that sets out to destroy Israel’s standing as a legitimate state. Just as was intended two years ago, in Southampton, each subject is discussed by a panel, all of who were presenting papers on the topic.
Of about 50 academics present, only one would consider himself Zionist. Almost all the others support the boycott of Israel, and most call openly for its demise. There were a few opening remarks to a room of maybe 170 people, and we were underway.

Col. Kemp: International community ignoring Hezbollah threat to Israel

Last year, Col. Richard Kemp, a former commander of British forces in Afghanistan, was touring the Wingate Institute south of Netanya. He came across an oil painting of the institute’s namesake, Orde Wingate. Wingate was a former British officer who helped lead the pre-state Special Night Squads that played a role in training Jews who went on to found the Israeli army. Kemp decided the painting deserved better and paid to have it restored. In late March, after a visit to Israel as part of the Friends of Israel Initiative, he stopped by the institute to see the finished product. Now back in England, he wants to emphasize how important it is that the world keep an eye on Hezbollah’s threats and Islamist terrorism.
“The purpose really [of my visit] is to determine what the current threat is and see how Israel can counter that threat,” he says. “We want to highlight to the international community that unless something is done to prevent Hezbollah under direction of Iran from attacking Israel; and Israel will respond, and there will be civilian casualties and Israel will be condemned by [the] International community; to give notice to the international community that this could happen and so that when it does happen the casualties are not Israel’s fault but Hezbollah’s.” His message is that other countries who have relations with Iran and Lebanon need to focus on this threat rather than wait for war to come and then point fingers.
He points to the UN resolution that has sought to end the militarization of southern Lebanon. Resolution 1701 of 2006 sought to have the Lebanese army exercise full sovereignty and that there would be no other weapons without the consent of the government on Lebanese territory.” And that the area would be “free of any armed personnel, assets and weapons other than those of the Government of Lebanon.” But this is being “completely ignored,” says Kemp. Pressure should be put on Lebanon to end Hezbollah’s arms buildup. “No one seems to be even paying attention to the 100,000 missiles pointing at Israel’s civilian population.” He also argues that the international community should pressure Iran, which supports Hezbollah, and points to the Iran deal which has resulted in funds being released for Iran that empowers it and Hezbollah.
Kemp thinks the decision to leave the EU will make the UK more secure. This is especially true in light of the recent London terror attack, the first since 2013 and the most serious since the July 2005 bombings. “The current estimate is that there are 3,000 active Jihadists considered to be a threat by MI5 [British intelligence], that same threat extends across the whole of Europe in France, Belgium and elsewhere, and the thing is complicated, one of the reasons the threat is there is because the Islamic State has been allowed to continue to exist, its existence and defiance has inspired terrorists to act,” says the Colonel.

Sisi’s Important White House Visit

There is an irony to so many progressives prioritizing the Israel-Palestinian peace process yet seeking simultaneously to ostracize Egypt. There simply cannot be any lasting solution without Egypt’s input and security guarantees. Individuals need not necessarily like either Sisi or Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but establishing trust between the Israeli and Egyptian leader is crucial given all the security issues at play. Sisi’s presence—and the establishment of trust between Jerusalem and Cairo—opens a number of doors on the peace process and is also crucial to preventing the further establishment of Iranian influence in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.
Make no mistake: the human rights concerns are real, although prominent advocacy groups like Human Rights Watch have delegitimized themselves by showing their numbers in Egypt are based more on their executive director’s pique than on any scientific surveying. Across the region as well, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have partnered with radical groups to push a political agenda that has very little to do with human rights and everything to do with its employees’ partisan worldview.
Trump may not bring up human rights with Sisi, but the Egyptian leader risks enclosing himself in a bubble of sycophancy if he continues to crack down on the Egyptian press. Transparency is also essential in business. Longtime Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak delayed making the tough decisions and undercut opportunities for ordinary Egyptians as he privileged a military oligarchy. Should that repeat, the Egyptian people might again turn on the state. The State Department should not cease to advocate liberalization, but diplomacy isn’t about throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

03/31 Links Pt2: Telling the Truth Doesn’t Make Us ‘Right Wing’; The Muslim Brotherhood: Peddling Sharia as Social Justice

From Ian:

Convicted terrorist Rasmea Odeh’s status as leftist icon untarnished by plea deal

She’s a convicted terrorist preparing to be deported for entering the United States illegally, but Rasmea Yousef Odeh has seen her status as a leftist celebrity remain intact.
The Palestinian and feminist activist is scheduled to speak this weekend at the Jewish Voice for Peace conference in Chicago despite agreeing last week to a plea deal in which she will admit to failing to disclose her criminal record on her visa application. In exchange Odeh will be sent to Jordan and receive no jail time.
Still, Jewish Voice for Peace has remained steadfast in supporting Odeh, a featured speaker at the left-wing group’s annual three-day meeting, which starts Friday at the Hyatt Regency.
“Rasmea has made the difficult decision to leave the home and community she has built in the U.S. over the last 20 years,” the organization said in a statement after the plea deal was announced.
Odeh is slated to speak at a session called “All In!” along with Women’s March organizer Linda Sarsour, another Israel critic who leads the Arab American Association of New York.
“We are pleased that we will be able to host Rasmea at our National Member Meeting next week, to hear her story of resilience in the face of state violence and offer our enduring support in the next steps in her work and life,” Jewish Voice for Peace said.

Police: American Media Inspired Bomb Threats On Jewish Centers; Trump Push Nabbed Suspect

Despite months of our Fake News Media insisting that only Trump voters could be responsible for a wave of bomb threats targeting Jewish institutions around the world and American Jewish Community Centers in particular, according to police, the real culprits are nothing of the kind. One suspect is a left-wing member of the same American media that spread all that defamatory Fake News. The other is a Jewish Israeli-American, a young cyber-criminal inspired by our media's malicious slander of Trump and his supporters to increase his reign of terror.
The 19 year-old recently arrested in Israel is considered to be responsible for most of the threats. According to Haaretz, this crime wave of cyber-attacks lasted for more than two years but only became a real focus for the American FBI because of President Trump. Unlike President Obama, it was Trump who made these crimes a top priority and the result was an important arrest:
The Jewish Israeli-American arrested this week on suspicion of making a host of bomb threats on Jewish institutions worldwide has been making such cyberattacks for two years, but only recently was his capture given high priority, according to police sources.
The sources attributed the turnabout to pressure from United States President Donald Trump. A few weeks ago, after Trump announced that the FBI would do everything in its power to catch the perpetrator, the agency sent 12 investigators from its cybercrime unit to Israel to assist the Israeli investigation.
Police sources also told Haaretz that the teen's muse, his inspiration, his North Star, his guiding light and actual modus operandi was … The American Anti-Trump Media!
Altogether, the teen has made hundreds of threats that the public never heard about, police said. When they got no media attention, he stopped making threats in those places. In contrast, the bomb threats to Jewish institutions in the U.S. in recent months received especially prominent coverage, not just in America but worldwide, so he began focusing his threats on those institutions.
In other words, the very same media that for years during the Obama administration, did not care even a little about these bomb threats (got to protect our Precious Barry!), is the very same media that inspired an increase in these threats as they politicized the attacks as a means to smear Trump and his supporters.

Ben-Dror Yemini: An open letter to Richard Gere

Hello, Richard Gere. You recently visited Hebron, guided by Breaking the Silence activists. They likely told you what they tell many other diplomats, journalists, parliament members and occasional guests, about Israel’s crimes, about the poor Hebron residents, and more. Your only response was that “it’s exactly what the Old South was in America. Blacks knew where they could go… It was well understood. You didn’t cross over if you didn’t want to get your head beat in, or you get lynched.”
Let me tell you that I am not a supporter of the Jewish settlement in Hebron, or of the settlement enterprise in general. Far from it. I am in favor of a decent solution which will give the Palestinians welfare, prosperity, sovereignty and independence. If only they wanted that too. if only they would fight for themselves, rather than against Israel’s existence. But in order to contribute something to a reconciliation between Israel and the Palestinians, there are a few facts you should know.
Hebron is the Jews’ holiest and most important city after Jerusalem. Jews lived there even after the Arab occupation in the seventh century. They held the status of inferior citizens, the “dhimmis,” as was customary under the Muslim rule. In the 16th century, Jews were already banned entry to the Cave of the Patriarchs. There were riots against Jews in 1517 and 1834. There was no occupation, no Zionism and no Israel then. The major pogrom took place in 1929. Fifty-nine Jews were murdered by a rampaging Muslim mob, while a few Muslims, Righteous Among the Nations, hid Jews. Following the pogrom, the Jews were forced to leave and the Muslims took over the Jewish neighborhood and the Jews’ homes.

Infected Mushroom April 6
Jean-Michel Jarre April 6
Lost Frequencies April 11
Justin Bieber May 3
Aerosmith May 17
Rod Stewart June 14
Jim Gaffigan (comedian) June 30
Britney Spears July 3
Tears for Fears July 5
Guns N' Roses July 15
Radiohead July 19
Pixies July 25
Amon Amarth July 27

Also, Foreigner is performing December 2. And rumors of Duran Duran in June.

While Roger Waters will not play, there is a Pink Floyd tribute band in Israel named Echoes. I wonder if they pay royalties - and if Waters accepts them.

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.

03/31 Links Pt1: Glick: Israel’s silenced majority; The black hole of Gaza aid

From Ian:

Caroline Glick: Israel’s silenced majority

The Israeli public today recognizes that there is no deal to be had. The Palestinians will never make peace with Israel, because they remain committed to its destruction.
It doesn’t matter how effective the Americans are at negotiations. It doesn’t matter how many concessions they are able to extract from Israel in their endless attempts to coddle the Palestinians and convince them to negotiate. Indeed, the Americans’ collective refusal to come to terms with the reality that guides the Israeli public indicates that regardless of what their actual feelings toward Israel may be, in demanding Israeli concessions to the PLO, the Americans are implementing a policy that is stridently anti-Israel.
Under the circumstances, Netanyahu’s task, and that of his ministers, is not to convince the new administration to respect the legal rights to property of Jews in Judea and Samaria. Their duty is to represent and advance the interests and positions of the public that elected them.
Netanyahu and his ministers must make clear to Trump and his advisers that there is no point in trying to reach a deal with the PLO. Trump’s predecessors’ failure to reach an accord had nothing to do with their failure to master the art of the deal. They failed because there is no one on the Palestinian side who is interested in making a deal.
Moreover, Netanyahu and his ministers must explain to Trump that all previous attempts to reach a deal by extracting concessions from Israel did nothing but weaken Israel. And the Israeli public will no longer accept any such concessions from their government.

NGO Monitor: The black hole of Gaza aid

Last week, Israeli authorities revealed that, once again, Hamas has been stealing international aid money intended for the general Gazan population, and using it for its own purposes. In this case, Muhammad Murtaja, the local coordinator of the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA), has been charged with siphoning millions from Turkish aid donations….The modus operandi of infiltrating the ranks of foreign aid groups is not new to Hamas.
In the end, the noble desires of international humanitarian groups to provide aid come at the expense and danger that terrorists will appropriate all or part of it. For too many NGOs and their government funders, the risks have not been properly weighed. Simply stated, regardless of whether not a terrorist group controls the region, and illegally and immorally paying it off is the price of doing business, NGOs will continue single-mindedly on their “humanitarian” mission.
The need for more safeguards and oversight on the work of aid groups in Gaza (and in other conflict areas as well) is clear and imperative. The mere thought that funds and goods intended for aid purposes end up in the hands of terrorists should cause governments to hit the brakes and rethink what would be the best way to ensure that aid distributed actually reaches the people of Gaza. A pattern such as the one emerging in Gaza should bring about a complete overhaul of how international aid operations are conducted in the terrorist-controlled enclave.

Israel and the Secret History of the Iran Deal

In The Iran Wars, Jay Solomon tells the story of the warfare and diplomacy—sometimes overt, more often covert—between the United States and the Islamic Republic since the fall of 2001, when Washington became aware that Tehran was meddling in Afghanistan and harboring al-Qaeda fugitives. The book also documents a largely successful campaign of financial warfare begun by the Bush administration in 2006, slowed by President Obama almost immediately after he took office, and then used—or, perhaps, wasted—as leverage to obtain the nuclear deal. Jordan Chandler Hirsch writes in his review:
Solomon has excavated many of the deeper patterns that underlay the nuclear diplomacy. . . . John Kerry, whose role in The Iran Wars is as a kind of diplomatic Don Quixote, dashed around the region, proposing to visit Tehran in 2009 and floating massive U.S. concessions without full White House approval. . . . [The] Iranian foreign minister, Javad Zarif, responded by tweeting “Happy Rosh Hashanah,” an act of ecumenism that reportedly astonished Obama staffers. A sweet greeting here, a moderate move there: the Islamic Republic’s rhetorical morsels fed an insatiable American appetite for fantasies of a Tehran transformed.
Yet those fantasies weren’t simply about Iran. They were also about redefining America’s role in the world. For a few key figures in the administration, the nuclear talks represented something much more than preventing the spread of nuclear weapons. . . . President Obama seemed to believe that history was trending in America’s direction and that the best approach was to avoid needless confrontations that could interrupt that process. If the goal was for the United States to get out of history’s way, the greatest threat to the project was the Iranian nuclear crisis. The possibility of war, after all, meant the possibility of American imposing itself once again in the Middle East and on the globe.