Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Wednesday, July 05, 2017

The Truth About Prayer on the Temple Mount (Judean Rose)

We love it when truth triumphs. It's why we love Nikki Haley, who seems astonished that she is Israel's heroine for simply telling the truth.

Why should there be such a fuss for saying what is, asks Haley, again and again? But the fact is, a false and evil narrative regarding Israel has held sway for many years. It's frustrating to tell the truth and be called a liar. It feels like the sun shining is on us when Haley does her thing at the UN. It feels like cleansing sunlight. It makes our hearts swell. It makes us feel vindicated, even though we know we are right in our hearts.

Someone understands us! Someone knows the truth.

Prime Minister Netanyahu's office has, from time to time, issued videos of the prime minister telling the truth. Hard truths, that people don't want to hear. He has an impressive gravity in these videos. He's believable. It feels good to watch these videos and they always go viral.

There was his "The bad news and the good news" video about how minorities are treated in Israel. A clip like this draws views because we Jews have a yearning to show the world the basic goodness of Israel and Israeli society. This video helps fills that empty spot where pride wants to be and helps us soldier on.

Then there was Netanyahu's "Ever wonder what fake news is?" video. It ends with him crumpling the new (piece of lying, no good) Hamas document into a ball and pitching it into a wastebasket. Like his bomb diagram at the UN, it's a sight gag, but one that is eminently effective. Here, it seems almost daring, dashing, like he's saying, "Come at me, Bro!" to Hamas, the bad guys, simply by telling the truth!! That one had WAY more views than the bad news/good news clip.

Why is it then, that when it comes to our holiest site and freedom of religion, all bets are off and the truth is swept under the rug? How come we don't see a video about Jewish prayer rights emanating from the PM's office? What's UP with that??

It really should be so simple, so clear. The Israeli High Court has upheld the right to Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount over the years. This although the court does allow the Israeli security forces leeway in preventing Jewish prayer if it will cause disorder (translation: Arabs will riot if Jews' lips move). That loophole has been exploited by security forces to prevent Jews from so much as making a blessing on a drink of water while touring the Mount. And in summer, it gets hot. If you're religious you can't take a drink without making a brocha, a blessing, which means, you can't go on the Mount.

Still, there has been some change for the better, alluded to by Jenni Heltay Menashe, a Temple Mount tour guide, in this recent interview. New people are in charge of security since Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, and they seem to have a more relaxed and positive attitude about Jewish rights on the Mount. Perhaps that's why Tom Nisani and Sara Lurcat dared to very quietly get married on the Temple Mount last week.

As you can see in the above clips, there's neither white gown nor flowers. Just a slipping on of a ring on a finger and a few quietly mumbled words. Because even this is seen as "creating disorder" (translation: Arabs will riot and kill Jews).

But it makes no sense!!!

The point of the High Court's ruling was to grant freedom of religion, and not to make Jews skulk and whisper and pussyfoot around on their holiest site. The Temple Mount is ours, on our sovereign territory. If we do not dare to take ownership, it will be lost to us.

In placating the Waqf, the Muslim religious authority, we infantilize Muslims. We turn them into toddlers experiencing their terrible twos. We dare not do anything that could set them off. Thus, the toddlers rule their parents.

It is clear that Nisani and Lurcat respected the ruling of the High Court. The ceremony was modest and quiet. To a fault, in my humble opinion.

But guess what happens next: the police summon Nisani for questioning, to "clarify the event."

Nissani said no. He's not coming in to be questioned and if they want to arrest him, they know where to find him. He said, "I married my wife on the Temple Mount, which is not a violation of the law. I call upon all couples to ascend to the holiest place in the world to sanctify their marriages, as this is the most natural thing for a Jew to do."

Yosef Rabin, International Spokesman for "The Movement for Temple Renewal" issued the following response to this state of affairs, "We no longer live under British rule, when Jews were arrested by British Police for blowing the Shofar at the Western Wall. It is time for the police force of the Jewish State to cease acting like them and allow full religious rights for Jews on their holiest site, the Temple Mount."

Because the truth is, in a democracy, people have the right to pray or get married where they choose. They have full access to holy sites and the right to pray at these places, whether they are regular, ordinary people or even an MK like Yehudah Glick, whose right to ascend to the Temple Mount has been a monumental tug of war.

The truth is, Israel liberated the Temple Mount in 1967. It is ours. That is the truth.

Why do we not cherish this truth as we do so many others? The prime minister with his truth about how minorities are treated in Israel. His "Come at me, Bro" toss of a crumpled Hamas document into a wastebasket, Nikki Haley beaming sunlight at the UN. Why should our right to prayer on the Temple Mount be quelled and put down, hushed up and kept out of sight?

Why do we pretend to be a democracy with freedom of religion?

Why should Tom Nisani be called in for questioning by the police for exercising his rights as a citizen of Israel? Is this Soviet Russia?

Here is the truth: Jews do not have freedom of religion in the Holy Land. Not because some Jews need an egalitarian prayer space at the Kotel. They already have that. But because no Jews are allowed to pray on the Temple Mount, no matter what the Israeli Supreme Court rules.

What is it that the Israeli leadership fears in granting this, our most basic right as Jews in the Holy Land?

The right to prayer on Har HaBayit, the holiest site in the world.

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.

Palestinians Cry 'Apartheid' Over Election Of Jew To Lead Israeli Labor (PreOccupied Territory)

Our weekly column from the humor site PreOccupied Territory.

Check out their Facebook page.

Ramallah, July 5 - Following the election of a yet another Israeli Jew as the new chairman of the country's Labor Party, Palestinian leaders accused both the party and wider Israeli society of maintaining ethnic segregation aimed at denying Palestinians political and civil rights.

Saeb Erekat, a Fatah official loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas who has served as the chief negotiator with Israel, spoke to reporters Tuesday night at the presidential compound in Ramallah, and characterized the election of a Jew to lead Labor as South-Africa-style Apartheid.

"Labor, the largest party that bills itself as favoring a negotiated two-state solution, the party that glories in its role in the Oslo peace process, has never chosen anyone but a Jew to lead it," charged Erekat. "The racist ethos of the party, and the racism of the society it thus exposes, demonstrate where the fault lies in the failure of effort after effort to achieve a final-status agreement."

Erekat called for international pressure on Israel and its political parties. "It is clear that without drastic measures from the international community we will forever be subject to the Apartheid occupation," he pronounced. "Not a single Palestinian has ever been permitted to submit candidacy for Labor, let alone run for high political office in Israel on the party's ticket."

Labor officials acknowledged Erekat's argument. "It's more or less true," admitted former Labor legislator Dalia Itzik. "Labor has made large strides in the realm of political equality over the decades, including the selection of Golda Meir as chairwoman, who became prime minister in the 1970's, and I served as Acting President of the country for a time. But when it comes to eligibility to vote in the Labor primary, the rules of party exclude those who have not paid membership dues and registered their membership, a requirement that effectively excludes the Palestinians."

She noted that the discriminatory nature of the requirement affects other minority groups. "We don't allow any non-citizens to vote in our elections, and I mean national elections, not just party primaries," she continued. "If you're a Russian citizen, but not an Israeli citizen, you're out of luck when it comes voting here. The same goes for citizens of Japan, Malaysia, Switzerland, Bolivia, Saudi Arabia, and literally hundreds of other countries: if you don't hold Israel citizenship, we don't let you vote here. Of course we discriminate."

Itzik also noted that she, as a non-Palestinian, cannot vote in Palestinian elections, but that fact alone is misleading, as Palestinians cannot vote in Palestinian elections either, having last held them in 2006, and thus Palestinians do not discriminate in that fashion against non-citizens.

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.

07/05 Links Pt1: Pipes: End the false Israeli-Palestinian equality; Melanie Phillips: Trouble in purgatory

From Ian:

Daniel Pipes: End the false Israeli-Palestinian equality

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision to visit Jerusalem but not Ramallah has prompted much comment.
The expectation of equal treatment goes back to the Oslo Accords' signing in September 1993, when Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, representing his government, shook hands with Yasser Arafat, the much-despised chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, on the White House lawn. No one found that strange or inappropriate then, but things look different nearly a quarter-century later.
As the elected head of a democratic and sovereign government, Rabin never should have consented to Arafat, the henchman of an unofficial, dictatorial, murderous organization, being given equal status with himself.
Rather, he should have stayed aloof. Appearing together created a dysfunctional illusion of equivalence that over subsequent decades has became assumed, ingrained and unquestioned. This false equivalence has became even more inaccurate with time, as Israel has gone from one success to another and the Palestinian Authority has brought on a reign of ever-deeper anarchy, dependency, and repression.
It's not just that Israel stands among the world leaders in science, technology, the humanities, the arts, military power and intelligence capabilities, not just that its economy is 25 times larger than the Palestinian one; Israel is a land where the rule of law applies to all (at one point until recently, a former president and a former prime minister were simultaneously sitting in prison) and individual rights are not just promised but delivered. Meanwhile, the head of the Palestinian Authority, presently in the 12th year of his four-year term, has been unable to prevent both creeping anarchy in the West Bank and a rogue group from taking over in Gaza, half of his putative domain.

Melanie Phillips: Trouble in purgatory

It's only fair to share...Share on FacebookTweet about this on TwitterPin on Pinterest
Watch me here discussing with Avi Abelow of Israel Video Network antisemitism in the British Labour party – and also the extraordinary spectacle at the UN of Iran and Saudi Arabia accusing each other of terrorism.

MEMRI: Sheikh Prays To Allah For Slaughtering of Americans and Europeans!

In an address at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Palestinian cleric Sheikh Nadhal Siam, also known as "Abu Ibrahim," criticized the Saudi and Qatari regimes, which, he said, were "immersed in collaboration" with the Americans and the English, respectively. His prayers to Allah to "enable us to slaughter" the Americans, the Europeans and the "criminal and treacherous" Arab rulers were answered by cries of "Amen" from his audience. The video was posted on YouTube on June 18.

The Women of the Wall say on their website that they are the “new liberators” of the Western Wall. 50 years after the reunification of Jerusalem, not only is this statement offensive to the soldiers that fought and died, the millions of Jews around the world overjoyed by the victory and the non-Jews who stood in awe of the tiny State, calling themselves “liberators of the Wall” completely misses the point.

The Western Wall is not “occupied” by an enemy force (unless they consider their fellow Jews enemies). The Temple Mount on the other hand, the actual holy site, is occupied.

There is one man in Israel that is widely associated with the battle for religious freedom on the Temple Mount – Yehudah Glick. I wrote the following before he and Amir Ohana both became Ministers in Israel’s Parliament. These two vastly different men model in their actions what it truly means to fight for freedom.

Please read and consider - what kind of freedom fighters do you want to support?

December 2014 -

When words are twisted meaning becomes warped. The straightforward and obvious suddenly takes on a new meaning, transforming in to something far from the original intent.

Changing words and definitions changes reality.

Once the term “freedom fighters” meant people who fight for freedom. Now, somehow this term has become synonymous with terrorists i.e. people using psychological and physical threat, violence and murder as means of scaring others in to agreeing to or allowing a political goal to be attained.

A noble idea, fighting for a noble cause – freedom, has been twisted in to something ugly and dark. Somehow this new meaning has become accepted as the norm. Somehow it is acceptable to whitewash murder and violence to achieve a goal by placing it under the flag of “fighting for freedom”.

What about the real freedom fighters? People who are using political, acceptable, non-violent ways to fight for freedom? If terrorists are “freedom fighters” what can we call those who are truly fighting for freedom?

Over and over we find these rare ones called a myriad of derogatory names: “annoying”, “provocateurs,” “fringe,” “extremists”… they are told to shut up, sit down and disappear.

They are often confused for the cause rather than the solution they truly are.

Instead of being upheld as role models for us all, the real freedom fighters are being belittled, pushed aside and sometimes even ostracized.

On October 29^th, Yehuda Glick was shot four times by a Muslim terrorist. It was no “ordinary” terror attack, this was an assassination attempt. Why?

Because Yehudah Glick has been actively promoting the right of Jews to pray on the Temple Mount.

Huh?

Bizarrely, in Israel there is freedom of worship for all people – except Jews. Jews are not allowed to pray in the holiest location on earth for the Jewish people, the Temple Mount, in the heart of Jerusalem.

A little bit of history for those who are unaware of the background:

The Western Wall or Kotel is part of an external supporting wall of the ancient Jewish Temple. Now, where the Temple once stood is a golden domed mosque, The Dome of the Rock. The mosque covers the Foundation Rock which was once in Holy of Holies in the Jewish Temple and, according to Jewish tradition, is the foundation upon which God created the world.

This is the source of the holiness of Jerusalem. This is why Jerusalem is considered by so many to be the heart of the world.

The Dome of the Rock is not the mosque Muslims place so much importance in, there is another mosque on the Temple Mount that they call “al Aqsa.” Muslims pray facing AWAY from the Dome of the Rock, facing Mecca, the holiest city in Islamic tradition.

The Jewish Temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE. The Dome of the Rock was built on top of the ruins in 691 CE. Building a religious site on top of someone else’s religious site is a way to exert dominance and announce that the location and everything connected with it has been conquered.

Today in Israel Jews are not allowed to pray on the Temple Mount. Jews may ascend the mount but are not allowed to pray. Jews are not allowed to come close or even see the Foundation Rock.

Why? It’s very simple – fear of Muslim violence.

Over the years Israeli governments have preserved this restriction with the idea that we shouldn’t “provoke” the Islamic world.

Yehudah Glick said that he thinks this is wrong. He said it repeatedly and publicly. He ascended the Temple Mount and prayed with Muslims there, in Arabic and Hebrew.

Glick’s attitude is: “The Temple Mount must be as (in) the words of (the prophet) Isaiah, ‘a house of prayer for all nations. It mustn’t be in the hands of violent people. It must not be left to one religion who are led by a fundamentalist, violent leadership. It must be a sensitive place – it must be a place that respects all of those who are calling in the name of the One and only God.”

For this a terrorist tried to murder him. 4 bullets grazed vital organs and somehow, miraculously, hit none. He should have died – four times over – and did not. A real miracle.

Now, over a month later, Yehudah is well on the way to recovery. His peaceful protesting of the lack of freedom of worship for Jews in the Jewish State has not ceased. In response, the Islamists have increased their death threats against him: “This time we will make sure the job is completed.” Some on the left have even implied that it is Yehudah’s provocation that is at fault, that he brought the attack on himself, that his actions gave rise to the wave of terror attacks we have recently experienced in Israel.

In a twisted world, the result becomes the cause. The victim becomes the abuser. Shut up, sit down, go away.

As if ignoring the source of the problem will solve it, as if telling the victim to “go along to get along” ever works…

No one is talking about the rights of Jews to be free in their own land, to worship in the place holiest to the Jewish people. No one is talking of the Islamic provocation of creating violence and bringing weapons in to the most holy place on earth. No one is talking about the soccer games and picnics Muslims hold on the Temple Mount. Or the political rallies they have held, calling for the destruction of Israel.

To be more accurate, there are a few who are talking about these things. They are called “extremists,” “religious looneys”, told to shut up and sit down. Yehudah Glick was shot because he spoke out against these offenses against Jews and Jewish freedom.

Despite the increased death threats the police have not assigned any specific security detail to protect Glick. As a result, concerned citizens decided they would not wait for the police to save Yehudah. A group of people, trained and licensed to carry arms, friends and strangers, volunteered to be his protection detail, travelling everywhere with him, to protect Yehudah’s life and freedom.

In an interview Amir Ohana, the leader of the group explained: “We know the death threats are very real. Yehudah has to go back and forth between his home and the hospital for treatments until he recovers completely. He should be safe and free to move in his own country shouldn’t he? I’m not religious. I’m gay and I don’t believe in God but if Yehudah wants to go pray on the Temple Mount I think he should be free to do so and I will be there, right by his side.”

That is a real freedom fighter! That should be the role model – a man who does not wait for police or government to “save” him, a man that decides to protect his fellow man because he believes in his right to life and right to freedom. Nothing more, nothing less.

Religious affiliation, sexual orientation and any other categories and definitions are not barriers when thinking is straightforward. Freedom to live, to worship, to speak one’s mind etc. are basic rights, due to everyone – even if they are Jewish.

I am thankful for the real freedom fighters. I am thankful that Yehudah’s voice was not silenced by the bullets of the terrorist. I am thankful for those who have decided to protect Yehudah. These are the real freedom fighters: people who defend, not attack, people who simply do not accept being wronged.

Rosa Parks and others like her who did not accept the injustice of segregation are the freedom fighters, not the rioters of Ferguson.

Mahatma Gandhi led India to Independence by example – not by suicide bombs.

Freedom is a choice of those who refused to be caged, who refuse to be silenced. Israel is in danger and so is the rest of the world. It is up to each and every one of us to decide what definition of “freedom fighter” we find acceptable.

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.

Palestinians complain that prison sentence for man who burned a Jewish family is "unfair"

Arutz-7 reports:

The military court on Tuesday sentenced Muhammad Badwan, the terrorist who committed the attack in which Ayala Shapira was seriously injured on December 24, 2014, to 18 years in prison and fined him NIS 50,000 ($14,200).

During the attack, Badwan threw a Molotov cocktail that set fire to the vehicle in which Ayala Shapira and her father Avner, a commputer expert, were traveling. Ayala, who was then 11 years old and on her way home from an advanced mathematics class for gifted youngsters, suffered severe burns from the attack and was hospitalized for eight months.

She fought for her life for the first few weeks in isolation and intensive care and made a miraculous recovery. However, she is still required to wear a mask to prevent scarring from the skin grafts she has undergone, and she cannot be exposed to the sun. She has years of surgery and therapy ahead of her.

The court found Badwan guilty of the attempted murder of Ayala and her father.

Earlier this year, Ayala Shapira gave a speech to the European Parliament about what happened to her and how her attacker knew he will be paid by the Palestinian Authority if he gets caught and put into prison.

Arab media is spinning this a quite different way.

This story says that Badwan's sentence is "unfair" - that Badwan was a minor when he decided to "resist the occupation." It doesn't mention anything about the attack itself, but it appeals to Palestinians to help the family pay the "exorbitant" fine, which they have one year to pay.

Ramallah News mentions that Badwan did throw a Molotov cocktail at a "car full of settlers" and also calls the sentence "unjust".

It is especially ironic that the same people who bring up the Dawabsheh firebombing in every international forum as a prime example of Jewish terrorism energetically defend firebombings against Jews as justified "resistance."

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.

Gulf News has an exclusive!

The Israeli occupation authorities have stolen historic rocks — regarded as sacred by the Palestinians — from Al Aqsa Mosque of Al Haram Al Sharif in occupied East Jerusalem, Arab residents said.

Jerusalemites are now calling on international institutions to force Israel to return the rocks untouched.

Fakhri Abu Diyab, who heads the local committee in defence of occupied Jerusalem, said the Israelis have removed huge rocks from underground passageways of the Al Buraq Wall, Al Magharebah Bridge and Al Buraq Plaza, and shifted them to an unknown place.

Abu Diyab managed to take pictures of the aftermath of the incident, which caused traffic jams in the crowded area, and said a case would now be filed against the Israeli occupation authorities.

“History and universal heritage are at serious risk, and stealing these rocks from the holy shrine strictly violates all international agreements and conventions,” Abu Diyab told Gulf News.

He said the Israeli occupation authorities replaced the rocks with steel constructions but this still posed a serious danger to the structural integrity of Al Haram Al Sharif — Muslims’ third holiest place.

Abu Diyab said the Israelis were expected to modify the scripts on the rocks to establish a Talmudic narrative in a bid to demonstrate their historic connection to the area. The rocks would then be returned to their original places in the holy shrine.

In other words, Abu Diyab observed the normal everyday digs in the area - archaeological excavations that are under the strictest supervision of the Israel Antiquities Authority - and they moved rocks to get to their goal.

Everything else is from Abu Diyab's fevered imagination, which is enough to get him stories in not only the Gulf News but other Muslim media. And he gets paid to make up these stories as the head of a local committee to "defend Jerusalem," no doubt on the PA's payroll.

The idea that Jews are forging their history is a popular one among Arabs. Jordanians are particularly fond of that fantasy.

But isn't it precious when he invokes international conventions against desecrating holy places when thousands of priceless artifacts were destroyed when the Waqf removed tons of material from the Temple Mount, and the international community was silent?

(h/t LS)

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.

07/04 Links Pt2: UNESCO panel okays softened text blasting Israel over Jerusalem activity; WaPo Review Eviscerates Anti-Israel Writers

From Ian:

UNESCO panel okays softened text blasting Israel over Jerusalem activity

The United Nations Educational, Scientific, Cultural Organization’s World Heritage Council on Tuesday evening passed a resolution denouncing Israeli activity in the Old City of Jerusalem.
Ten countries voted in favor of the text, which was significantly softer than previous resolutions. Only three member states — Jamaica, the Philippines and Burkina Faso — opposed the resolution, while eight abstained.
The Jordanian-sponsored resolution on the “Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls” called Israel “the occupying power,” and reaffirmed previous UN resolutions denying the country’s claims to East Jerusalem. Israel’s annexation of East Jerusalem has never been recognized by the international community.
The body “regrets the failure of the Israeli occupying authorities to cease the persistent excavations, tunneling, works, projects and other illegal practices in East Jerusalem, particularly in and around the Old City of Jerusalem, which are illegal under international law,” the measure read.
However, Decision 41 COM 7A.36 stressed “the importance of the Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls for the three monotheistic religions,” language not found in last year’s text. It also did not refer to the Temple Mount compound solely by its Muslim names, “Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif,” as the 2016 resolution did, defining it only as “a Muslim holy site of worship.”
Despite the text lacking the bite of previous resolutions passed by the body, it was still met with angry denunciations by Israeli officials.

UN Ambassador Haley Slams Upcoming UNESCO Hebron Vote as ‘Wasted Symbolic Action,’ Urges Focus on ‘Precious Sites Under Real Threat of Destruction’

The US Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, has strongly criticized the Palestinian campaign for the Tomb of the Patriarchs and the Old City in the West Bank town of Hebron to be recognized as “Endangered World Heritage Sites” by UNESCO, the UN’s global cultural agency.
The Palestinian proposal is scheduled to be put to a vote on Friday, during the 41st meeting of UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee which began last Sunday in the Polish city of Krakow.
In a letter addressed to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova – a copy of which was seen by The Algemeiner – Haley stated the Tomb of Patriarchs, which is “sacred to three faiths, is under no immediate threat.” To designate it as an “endangered” site, Haley said, risks “undermining the seriousness such an assessment by UNESCO should have.”
“Many precious sites – from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Libya to Iraq to Syria – are under real and imminent threat of destruction today,” Haley said.”They urgently demand UNESCO’s full and immediate attention, which should not be wasted on this sort of symbolic action.”
A key holy site for the Jewish faith under Israeli control since 1967, the Tomb of the Patriarchs – known as the Machpelah Cave in Hebrew – houses the tombs of Abraham and his wife Sarah, their son Isaac, and their grandson Jacob and his wife Leah.

UNESCO’s Cave of the Patriarchs measure is latest ‘narrative warfare’ against Israel

An upcoming vote by the United Nations cultural body UNESCO on whether to declare Hebron’s Cave of the Patriarchs as an endangered Palestinian heritage site is the latest example of “narrative warfare” against Israel and Jews, legal experts say.
As part of an ongoing Palestinian-engineered diplomatic campaign, an “emergency resolution” UNESCO presented to its World Heritage Committee claims Israel is causing “irreversible negative effect on the integrity, authenticity and/or the distinctive character of the property,” which the resolution refers to not as the Cave of the Patriarchs, but as the Ibrahimi Mosque. The Hebron site is where the Jewish patriarchs and matriarchs Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, and Jacob and Leah are believed to be buried.
The vote is tentatively scheduled to take place during UNESCO’s July 2-12 summit in Krakow, Poland.
“Anyone who comes to the Cave of the Patriarchs can see that the building is well-maintained, and open for members of all faiths to pray,” said Yishai Fleisher, international spokesman for the Jewish community of Hebron, who noted that the site’s largest room is reserved almost exclusively for use as a mosque by local Arabs.
Further, Fleisher explained that like the Western Wall, “the Cave of the Patriarchs monument was built by a Jewish king”—King Herod, more than 2,000 years ago.
“Suggesting first, that the site of the burial of the Jewish patriarchs and matriarchs is a Palestinian heritage site, and then suggesting that the site is in danger, is a fraudulent interpretation of history. It is a classic case of the narrative warfare the Palestinians are waging on the Jewish people,” Fleisher, a trained lawyer, told JNS.org.

Holocaust survivors urge Polish FM: Stop UNESCO Hebron vote

A group of 12 Holocaust survivors, who were born in Poland and now live in Israel, have sent an urgent letter to the Polish foreign minister, asking him to call on his government to thwart the UNESCO resolution seeking to declare Hebron's Old City as a Palestinian World Heritage Site.
Poland will host the 41st gathering of the World Heritage Committee in Kraków this week. During the gathering, the committee is expected to vote on the Palestinian draft resolution that would recognize the Cave of the Patriarchs—where the Biblical fathers and mothers of the Jewish nation are buried according to tradition—as a Muslim site.
A similar UNESCO resolution passed in 2015 recognizing Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem as a Muslim site under the sovereignty of the Palestinian Authority, while ignoring Jewish claims to the site. That resolution was followed by protests and strong condemnations from the State of Israel and the Jewish community worldwide.
Shurat HaDin, a legal NGO accompanying the survivors in their plea to Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski, described the move at the UN's Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization as a "pitiful resolution that creates a Palestinian narrative that is a complete lie."
Shurat HaDin founder Nitsana Darshan-Leitner went on to say, "If this decision passes, it would be another desecration of the memory of the millions of Jews murdered on Polish soil, and I expect the government of Poland to prevent the vote."

It's more dangerous to be a Jew in France or Denmark than in Russia

The Center for Research on Extremism (C-REX) at the University of Oslo released a fascinating study of antisemitism in Europe over the time period 2005-2015. The Eye on the World blog has a nice summary.

Most of the news is bad. Here is a depressing chart:

But amid the bad news, you can read this section:

Russia clearly stands out with a very low number of registered incidents of antisemitic violence in proportion to its large Jewish population (approximately 190,000). Only 33 incidents were found for the period 2005–2015. We must assume that a number of incidents have occurred without being reported in the media and thus not registered in the SOVA Center’s database, but according to Aleksandr Verkhovsky, head of the SOVA Center, the level of antisemitism-related violence in Russia is clearly far lower than in Western European countries.26 It is also notable that no reports could be found of Russian Jews feeling forced to conceal their identity in public. On the contrary, being Jewish has evidently become “fashionable” among Moscow youth.

For those of us above a certain age who remember the persecution that Jews suffered in the Soviet Union, this is nothing short of astonishing. Antisemitism is now far worse in Western European countries than it is in Russia, and there is no fear of walking around with a kippah.

In one generation, a nation has nearly purged itself from overt antisemitism, while the "enlightened" liberal states has seen it skyrocket.

A lot (but not all) of this has to do with Muslim immigration to these nations, of course. But that just pushes off the issue - Muslim antisemitism is tolerated in Western European nations more than other forms of hate are.

(h/t Ronald)

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.

Symantec categorizes numerous pro-Israel blogs as "hate"

Sky-UK got back to someone who complained about my site being categorized as a hate site, and the ysaid that this categorization comes from Symantec.

I found a page where you can see how they categorize websites, and sure enough, they place me under "hate":

I'm not the only pro-Israel site that is miscategorized as a hate site.

Israellycool, Israel Matzav and Abu Yehuda all get the same category:

Symantec's definition of a hate site is "Sites that promote hostility against particular individual or group on the basis of race, religion, color, gender, and origin."

There is definitely a campaign to impugn pro-Israel sites and stop people from reading them.

Symantec must review its categorization policies and stop assuming that reports of hate are accurate without performing their own impartial review. Otherwise the haters get the ability to censor.

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.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, yesterday evening (Monday, 3 July 2017), made the following remarks at US Ambassador David Friedman's residence in Herzliya:

"Ambassador Friedman and Mrs. Friedman, David, Tammy, Sara and I are so delighted to be with you and all the distinguished guests who are here. I have to tell you, David, your Hebrew is very good, and I'll note that you had your Bar Mitzvah in Israel, I had my Bar Mitzvah in America – the twist of fate.

This is a great day, and I want to say first, Happy Birthday, USA!

Today is a celebration of freedom and independence; it's a celebration of this most remarkable country, the United States of America.

Three years prior to America's independence, the Sons of Liberty gathered in Boston harbor. They boarded tall ships and cast chests of tea overboard. The principle for which they fought, no taxation without representation, changed the world.

I believe in limited taxation with representation, but great idea which brought into being all the philosophies of the enlightenment and the ancient ideas of freedom born in this country, this brought together the United States, and on July 4th, 1776, the United States was born: A nation conceived in liberty, dedicated to the proposition that all men – they later added all women too – are created equal.

Two hundred years later, to the day, on July 4th, 1976, I received the shattering news that my brother Yoni was killed securing the freedom of the hostages held at Entebbe. This was the darkest moment of my life, the life of my brother, most of all my parents. I've always remembered the fallen sons of Israel, the grief that accompanies the parents of our young heroes, like Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, and we are committed to bring them home. We will bring them home.

Two centuries separate July 4th, 1776, and July 4th, 1976, but to me, they are unified by a common ideal: The fight for freedom. I am reminded of that parallel every year at this time. Israel and America are two bastions of liberty defending our common civilization.

Today I stood on another tall ship, a tall ship of liberty. Tall is an understatement – it's huge, not only in length but in bulk. The USS George H.W. Bush, a massive aircraft carrier anchored just outside of Haifa. It's a floating piece of America. It's a floating island that helps lead the fight against ISIS.

I told the members of this crew a few hours ago that Israel is also an aircraft carrier. It's an aircraft carrier for Western civilization, for the civilization of freedom. Our two democracies prize individual choice and respect for all. Ours are peace-loving peoples that seek neither war nor conquest, but we know, David, as you've just said, we know that for peace to endure, we must be prepared to defend it, and we must be prepared to defend ourselves against those who would seek to destroy us.

It is ultimately not these magnificent ships or planes that keep us safe, it's the indomitable spirit of our people and the justice of our cause.

I was so impressed, as was Sara, when we stood there, and you must have seen this, David, You saw the great partnership between the American crew, the commanders, the pilots, the crew members and their Israeli counterparts. You can see a real friendship, a real personal friendship that is born of these common ideals.

That bond between us was so evident in the historic visit of President Trump to Israel. President Trump was the first US president who chose to make his first foreign trip to Israel. We will always remember that. His speech at the Israel Museum left an indelible mark. I've spoken to many Israelis, they said they were so uplifted by this speech, by his spirit of friendship, the spirit of solidarity that the President expressed with Israel. We were all moved by that. When the President decided, as the first US sitting president, to visit the Western Wall, and he touched those stones, he touched our hearts, as did First Lady Melania, as did Jared and Ivanka.

I want to take this opportunity and say, I am committed and I remain committed to making every Jew feel at home in Israel, including at the Kotel. All we need is patience and perseverance. Patience, perseverance and courage is what the founders of America had in abundance.

I recently read an extraordinary biography of George Washington. What a leader he was. I never realized that at the height of his battle against the British Empire, the maximum number of troops that George Washington commanded was Chai – 18,000 - that's it. You can imagine how much resilience and how much courage this man had and it represents the spirit of America ever since.

July 4th is a celebration of the victory of American values – a victory for freedom, a victory for independence, a victory for hope. Today we rededicate ourselves to victory – victory over barbarism, victory over terror, victory over tyranny.

Our two nations stand shoulder to shoulder, as we have countless times before, in our noble fight for freedom.

May God bless Israel. May God bless the United States of America.

Happy 4th of July, America."

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.

07/04 Links Pt1: Abbas vows never to stop salaries to terrorists; Modi and Israel's coming of age

From Ian:

PMW: Abbas vows never to stop salaries to terrorists

Even if it might cost him his presidency, Abbas has pledged he won't stop paying salaries to imprisoned terrorists and the families of the so-called "Martyrs." According to his own Fatah Movement, Abbas has made the following statement, vowing to continue honoring terrorists and murderers with monetary rewards no matter what:
"'Even if I will have to leave my position, I will not compromise on the salary (rawatib) of a Martyr (Shahid) or a prisoner, as I am the president of the entire Palestinian people, including the prisoners, the Martyrs, the injured, the expelled, and the uprooted.'
[PA] President Mahmoud Abbas." [Official Fatah Facebook page, July 2, 2017]
According to the 2016 PA budget, the PA currently pays 26,800 families of "Martyrs" a total of 660 million shekels ($183 million) per year, and 6,500 terrorist prisoners receive PA salaries amounting to 486 million shekels ($135 million) per year.
A member of Fatah's Central Committee, Jamal Muhaisen, also quoted Abbas' promise, and emphasized that the payment of salaries to terrorist prisoners and "Martyrs" is not an issue of money, but rather is about the "Palestinian historical narrative":

Narendra Modi and Benjamin Netanyahu: Hand in hand into the future: Indian PM’s historic visit to Israel reflects how the two countries are working together on many fronts

A historic visit to Israel commences today. It will be the first ever of an Indian Prime Minister to Israel. The two of us have met before but this is the first time we do so on Israeli soil.
The natural partnership between India and Israel, formally elevated 25 years ago to full diplomatic relations, has grown stronger from year to year. The deep connection between our peoples reflects our many similarities in spirit, if not in size. Ours are two modern, vibrant democracies that draw on our rich historical traditions while striving to seize the promise of the future for our peoples.
Both our nations are complex. Like yogic asanas grounding down and pulling up at the same time, they face many challenges. By working together we can overcome some of the challenges.
Over the centuries the philosophies and histories of our ancestors inspired one another. Today the entrepreneurial drive of Indians and Israelis brings us closer together. The Jewish community in India was always welcomed with warmth and respect and never faced any persecution. The Jews of Indian origin in Israel are proud of their heritage and have left an indelible imprint on both societies. Both communities serve as a human bridge between our nations. (h/t Elder of Lobby)

Caroline Glick: Modi and Israel's coming of age

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Israel this week marks more than the 25th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two nations.
It marks as well Israel’s coming of age as a nation.
When in 1992, India and Israel forged full diplomatic relations, the Indian government was reacting to a transformation in the international arena, rather than to changes that were specifically related to the Jewish state.
In 1991 and 1992, in response to the US victory over the Soviet Union in the Cold War, a large group of countries restored or inaugurated full diplomatic relations with Israel. These states – including the Russian Federation and China – had by and large been either on the Soviet side of the war, or leaned toward Moscow. Their refusal to forge full ties with Israel, a key US Cold War ally, became a liability in the US-dominated post-Cold War global order. Hence, they abandoned their Cold War rejection of Israel and instead embraced it.
Although ingratiating themselves with Washington loomed large in the considerations of most governments involved, they also took the step due to Israel’s independent power. If Israel had been a strategic basket case facing an uncertain future, then even in the face of the demise of the Soviet Union, Moscow and its allies could well have had second and third thoughts. Why anger the Arab world by recognizing a soon-to-be gone Jewish state?
Had Israel recognized and built on the sources of its power and attraction for other governments, it would have spent the rest of the 1990s strengthening itself still further – defeating Hezbollah in Lebanon, weakening the Iranian regime and working with the Americans to end its ballistic weapon program. It would have moved quickly to liberalize its economy to enable the million new Israelis from the former Soviet Union to immediately transform Israel into the global innovator rather than waiting for this to gradually occur over decades.

Yet another survey about Israel is making the rounds these days. This one, as reported by Ha'aretz, reveals that The More Americans Learn About Israel, the Less They Like It. Apparently, when you think of Israel,

If you’re like most Americans, you picture walls of concrete enclosing an austere and strict country. The men wear black hats, the women long skirts. Everyone looks pretty serious.

More to the point, the survey apparently indicates that compared to 2010, while Americans claim to know more about Israel in 2016, they seem to like Israel less. This of course is alarming to Brand Israel Group, which commissioned the 2016 survey done by Global Strategy Group.

Of course, before getting far into the article, one really has to wonder how a person can claim to know more about Israel and still think that men in black hats and women in long skirts are typical of the average Israeli.

Actually, that would seem to be the same view people had of Israel back in 2008 -- according to the Nefesh B'Nefesh First International Jewish Bloggers Conference. At the time, I blogged about Zavi Apfelbaum, Director of Brand Management, Foreign Ministry who spoke on: Branding Israel - From Vision to Reality. As I described it back then:

To illustrate how the world sees Israel today, Apfelbaum showed a short clip of a focus group study. Small groups of Americans sitting around a table were asked to imagine stopping by various homes, each one inhabited by a family of a different country, and described what they imagined they would see and experience. In each case, the participants decribed a pleasurable experience--all, except in the case of Israel.

When describing walking to and entering an Israeli home, participants described a home dominated by cement without a grass lawn. As opposed to all the other homes, in this one the man of the house answers the door--the woman of the home is not even seen. One participant said that it would be uncomfortable to enter, because the home would be 'Orthodox' and the people living there would probably not even want guests. In essence, many of the participants identified Israel with Saudi Arabia. It reminds me of when I was at Disney World--in the "It's A Small World" exhibit, Israel was represented by a chassid.

The key point is that here were intelligent Americans, Americans who tend to support Israel--yet they had no clue as to what Israel and Israelis are like. The fact that Americans support Israel is not because they actually understand or identify with her.

So first of all, apparently 9 years later, this view of Israelis seems not to changed -- they are still viewed as being comprised mostly of Orthodox Jewish men and women.

But if so, the apparent drop in a favorable view of Israel does not seem to be related to what they think Israelis are like.

An article at the time in The Canadian Jewish News described the new direction the branding effort was going to take in 2008. It would not focus on the Tel Aviv beaches and Israel as a tourist site. Ido Aharoni, founder of the ministry’s Brand Israel concept, described the results of the market research done at the time.

Aharoni said the ministry has conducted market research over the past few years that showed “Israel is viewed solely through the narrow prism of the Arab-Israeli conflict… Israel’s personality is 90 per cent dominated by conflict-related images and some religious connotations,” he said. “Those of us who know the brand intimately are disturbed by the divergence of brand and the perception.”

...aspects of Israel are worthy of promotion, including its culture and arts; its accomplishments on environmental matters such as water desalination, solar energy and clean technology; its high-tech successes and achievements in higher education; and its involvement in international aid, he added.

Getting Canadians – both Jewish and non-Jewish – to see Israel in that light is part of the branding effort. Not only would that change Israel’s image, it could lead to more tourism and investment, educational exchanges and other benefits, Aharoni said.

In fact, those are the Israeli accomplishments that have been emphasized over the past 9 years -- and today they are the ones that Israel is identified with.

Not only that, but due to this image, Israel has made enormous progress since 2008 in overcoming its past isolation and making allies in India, China and Africa, to the extent that some level of diplomatic relations are seen as possible between Israel and some of the Arab states. True, those latter relations are due in part to a reaction against Iran, but part of that is due also to an Arab desire to make use of the Israeli technology.

So if Israel's branding project seems to be a success, why does it also seem to be a failure?

First of all, the fact that people claim to "know" more about Israel in 2016 than in 2010 is a subjective evaluation based on the assumption that people who didn't know that much about Israel actually know more now.

What exactly do people think they know about Israel?

These 3 short videos by ACT.IL llustrate not only that people don't know what they think they know, but also how easily they can be led to believe negative things about Israel and express their disapproval of the Jewish State.

-----

-----

Still, why is the "favorability" level of Israel down, even with the progress made in recognition and alliances with more and more countries?

Perhaps the reason is that unlike countries whose actions and policies are dictated by need, individuals will judge countries on a different value-driven basis.

The problem is that there is a topic not being addressed fully, neither by this new rebranding effort nor by the hasbarah effort to defend against attacks on Israel's legitimacy -- and that is the long-standing indigenous rights of Jews to the land based upon their 3,000+ years on the land and connection to it based on history, culture, language and religion.

Beyond the names, dates, history and treaties that we often summon in defense of Israel's right to exist, when we as Jews, wherever we are, can unabashedly and unapologetically talk about the Jewish right to the re-established land of Israel, then branding will have accomplished its purpose, by rebranding not only Israel as the Jewish home but also Jews as proud residents of the land.

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.

PLO chairman, PA president and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas spoke at the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, where he attempted to torpedo the growing and burgeoning ties between Israel and African countries.

Abbas said that African nations must condition their ties with Israel to Israel's "commitment to end the occupation of the land of the State of Palestine."

"The attempts of the Israeli occupying state to participate in your regional conference and to organize regional conferences encourage it to continue its arrogance, its occupation of Palestine and its denial of the rights of the Palestinian people with regard to freedom, sovereignty and independence, these are basic human values and principles..." he said.

"We hope that there will be a link between any progress in the relations between the continent and Israel and its commitment to end its occupation of the land of Palestine which has been occupied since 1967 and whose capital is eastern Jerusalem,” he added.

Of course, Abbas maintains the right to determine that the many Israeli peace moves that he rejects are not appropriate for African nations to consider.

Frightened of the possibility that African economic ties with Israel might translate to political support, Abbas insisted that they continue to vote against Israel in UN and international resolutions, claiming that only that could bring peace.

He also claimed that the Palestinian Authority, which pays salaries to living terrorists and supports erecting monuments to and naming institutions after dead ones, is working with the US as a full partner in the fight against terror.

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.