Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Monday, October 30, 2017

Powers that Be (Divest This!)

I’m guessing that many people reading this are dedicated activists with experience battling Israel haters in the endless physical and virtual communities where those battles take place.

People who do Jewish or pro-Israel politics for a living tend to refer to ground-level activists like many of us as “the grassroots,” indicating a separate source of people, resources, strength, wisdom, pressure, or criticism they need to take into consideration as they make their own decisions about which battles to fight.

Historically, these two groups (professionals and the grassroots) spend a great deal of time analyzing or second-guessing each other’s priorities. But as a couple of news stories over the last few weeks point out, as much as all of us want to think otherwise, there are people in positions of power who get to make the decisions that ultimately set our activist agendas.

For example, the only people who got to decide that the United Nations would put dozens of international companies on a blacklist for doing business in territories disputed between Israel and Palestinian Arabs were the leaders of nation states who dominate that organization’s Orwellian “Human Rights Council.”

Given that the countries driving this decision are dictatorships at war with the democracy they want destroyed, there was little outnumbered democracies like the United States and Israel could do to prevent the blacklist from happening. And so, once again, our activist agenda was driven by actors well beyond our control.

Now once such an agenda has been triggered, there are things we can do about it. For instance, the raft of anti-BDS legislation at the state level in the US gave friends of Israel the opportunity to show what they think of the BDS “movement.” But meaningful and substantial changes to federal anti-boycott regulations passed in the 1970s was required to deal specifically with non-government organizations like the UN stepping into a boycott space previously occupied by the nation states behind the original Arab boycott of Israel.

As this dynamic plays out, the role for we activists is to frame such legislation as (1) an example of sanctions (the holy grail of the BDS movement) being applied to the boycotters and not to Israel; and (2) a direct response to UN misbehavior (thus assigning responsibility for new US law where it belongs: to the UNHCR).

A second story-in-the-making will demonstrate what can be accomplished when an activist makes the transition to powerful decision-maker. I’m speaking, of course, about Kenneth Marcus, one of the most successful and well-known legal activists on behalf of Jewish rights, being named to the senior civil rights post within the US Department of Education.

If you wanted to prioritize dealing with the harassment Jews and pro-Israel supporters face on campus, there is no more effective path for action than to put into a position of power a thoughtful and strategic thinker like Marcus who is ready to give Jewish students the same civil rights consideration given automatically to every other minority group.

For years we’ve seen college administrators ignore complaints by Jewish students who have seen their events shut down and members harassed, at the same time those administrators take long lists of demands by mobs representing other minority groups with the utmost seriousness. Such sheepish leaders tend to select who to ignore and who to focus on based on how much damage the complainers can cause. And with someone finely attuned to this issue deciding who gets sued for discrimination, expect attitudes of those administrators to change sharply and quickly.

In the final analysis, every war, every terror attack, every boycott motion or propaganda campaign directed at the Jewish state has the same origin: the dozens of wealthy and powerful states who have decided to bring their war with Israel to every forum on the planet.

As the conflagration that is the Middle East makes clear, such political cynicism can be lethal to those who practice it. Which means the best way we protect against these toxins is to do whatever we can to help create and support an Israel that is militarily powerful, economically vibrant and allied with nations not coming apart at the seams.

In short, we must make up in quality what we lack in quantity (once again).

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.

Finally! The differences between antisemitism and anti-Zionism, explained (poster)

People still get confused between the terms antisemitism and anti-Zionism, so I decided to list all the major differences between the two so no one will make that mistake again. (Click to enlarge.)

Antisemites	Anti-Zionists
“Jews should go back where they came from”	“Israeli Jews should go back where they came from”
“Jews control the USA”	“Israel controls the USA”
“Jews control the banks”	“Zionists control the money supply”
“Jews control the media”	“Zionists control the media”
“Jews are inferior Semites”	“Israeli Jews are not native to the region”
“Jews poison the wells”	“Israel poisons the water supply”
“Jews were behind the Black Plague”	“Israel is creating anti-Arab biological weapons”
“Jews murder Christian children”	“Israel targets and murders Arab children”
“Jews use blood of gentile children for rituals”	“Israeli doctors steal organs from gentile patients”
“Jews cannot be trusted”	“Israel cannot be trusted”
“Jews exploit their workers”	“Israel exploits Arab labor”
“The Star of David offends me”	“The Star of David offends me”
“We don't want Jews in our clubs”	“We don't want Israel in international bodies”
“Jews controlled the slave trade”	“Zionism is racism”
“Jews are not white”	“Jews are guilty of white privilege”
“The Holocaust never happened”	“Zionist Jews were complicit in the Holocaust”
“Jews are behind all wars”	“Israel is the reason for all terrorism and ME unrest”
“Jews arrogantly believe they are 'chosen'”	“Israel arrogantly believes it is above the law”
“Greedy Jews always want more money”	“Greedy Israel always wants more land”
“Jews have secret plans to control the world”	“Israel plans to expand from the Nile to Euphrates”
“Jewish businesses must be boycotted”	“Israeli businesses must be boycotted”
“Jews not allowed in this hotel”	“Israelis not allowed in this shop”
“Universities must limit Jewish students”	“Universities must not work with Israelis”
“Germans had good reasons to hate Jews”	“Palestinians have good reason to hate Israelis”
“People I don't like must be secretly Jewish”	“People I don't like must be associated with Israel”
“If everyone hates Jews, there must be a reason”	“If everyone hates Israel, there must be a reason”
“'Jew' is the ultimate insult”	“'Zionist' is the ultimate insult”

See? One of them is filled with crazed, deranged hate while the other is filled with insane, unhinged hate.

The differences are so obvious.

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New Zealand media finally notices Holocaust denial and antisemitism in mosque where Iranian diplomat spoke

Last June, MEMRI discovered a video taken at a Quds Day even sponsored by a Shiite mosque, attended by an Iranian diplomat, where Holocaust denial and anti-Zionism went hand-in-hand.

At a Quds Day event in Auckland, New Zealand, held on June 23, Iranian cleric Hojatoleslam Shafie said that Israel and the Zionist regime "hide behind a fake phenomenon" of the Holocaust and that it was a conspiracy to infiltrate the Islamic countries. He said that Quds Day was established "to deal a powerful punch to the mouth of the cancerous tumor known as evil Israel," and cited Imam Khomeini as saying that "if every Muslim were to spit in the face of Israel, Israel would drown." Iranian diplomat Hormoz Ghahremani, presented at the event as the first secretary of the Iranian Embassy in New Zealand, said that the "sinister phenomena of terrorism and extremism in the region" were "fueled and fanned by the enemies of Islam and the Zionist circles." Community elder Sayed Taghi Derhami said that Israel was a "cancerous tumor" that had to be "surgically removed." The event was organized by the Islamic Ahlulbayt Foundation of New Zealand, in Auckland, and was posted on its YouTube channel.

Finally, this is making headlines in New Zealand:

Official complaints have been laid over comments made by Iranian diplomats at an Auckland mosque event, which include calling Israel a "cancer" and calling the Holocaust a "conspiracy".

The Israel Institute of New Zealand has laid a complaint to the Human Rights Commission and Foreign Minister Winston Peters after video surfaced online of the speech.

Israel Institute of New Zealand director Professor Paul Moon says New Zealand cannot allow the incident to go unchallenged.

Mr Moon said at the event diplomats from Iran used "very strong language" and were "talking about Jewish conspiracies, describing Israel as a cancer that needs to be removed, denying the holocaust".

He said the event began with Iranian diplomat Hormoz Ghahremani talking about terrorism in the Middle East, and his speech then turned to "accusations that there was some sort of Zionist conspiracy behind what was going on, that somehow the Jews were responsible for terrorism in the Middle East".

Mr Moon said another speaker, Sayed Taghi Derhami, called Israel a "cancerous tumour" and said it has to be "surgically removed" and Iranian cleric Sheik Shafie denied the Holocaust.

A video of the speeches, which were made in June at a mosque in Pakuranga, was posted online by the Islamic Ahlulbayt Foundation of New Zealand but it has since been removed.

Mr Moon says it's troubling that such views are being expressed in New Zealand, and said the Government should be concerned that a diplomat was involved in the comments.

He wants to see the people involved in the comments issue an apology, and to say: "We were wrong to speak in these racist terms, we were wrong to speak about the destruction of a country, it's wrong of us to deny the Holocaust, all of these things are inappropriate for New Zealand and we shouldn't have said them."

The initial reaction of the Iranian diplomat Ghahremani to the news of the event going public is telling:

Ghahremani told Stuff he agreed the speech could be seen as inflammatory, but it had to be taken in the context of the event at which it was given. He spoke at a gathering to mark the annual Quds Day, initiated by Iran in the 1970s to support Palestinians and oppose Zionism.

Contacted at the Iranian Embassy in Wellington, Ghahremani said his speech was supposed to be private and he was upset it had been put on the internet. "It was something private, a small gathering. I was there to reflect the position of the Iranian Government.

"We do not recognise the Israeli Government, that's not a secret. But we are not against their existence."

Asked if such inflammatory speeches could fuel radicalism in the Muslim community, Ghahremani said: "If it's spoken in public places yeah, you're right. But it was a small, private gathering that happens once a year. This year they make a mistake to shoot a film, to put it on YouTube."

This is the honor/shame culture! If no one knows about it, there is no problem; once the Western media finds out, now it is shameful. The problem, to Gharemani, isn't that there was a gathering of Muslims where speeches were made that he admits could fuel terrorism - the problem for him is that some idiot Muslim put the speeches on YouTube where non-Muslims can see what he and the others said and believe.

It is also notable that in the earlier interview Gharemani didn't deny attending the entire event; in the later one (quoted above) he claimed he had left before the other speeches that denied the Holocaust.

It is interesting that the complaint is more concerned with the Iranian diplomat than with the direct hate speech given (in English) at the mosques in New Zealand. One would think that the existence of a mosque where blatant hate is preached would be more of a cause of concern for New Zealanders than an Iranian diplomat condoning that hate.

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The 1939 White Paper, not Balfour Declaration, is the document that the British really DO need to apologize for

A Jewish demonstration against the White Paper, 1939

On this 100th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, Arabs have been waging a major campaign over the past year to force Great Britain to apologize for issuing it.

This is absurd, of course, for a number of reasons. The The Balfour Declaration was incorporated into the San Remo Resolution and became international law that set aside the entire area of Palestine to become a Jewish national home. This law is still effective today. The campaign is really an effort to deny Jews their right to self-determination.

Arab media have articles about how the Balfour Declaration showed that the British were pro-Zionist, anti-Arab and so forth.

That is obviously a lie - and the proof is the one document that the British really should apologize for.

The 1939 White Paper severely restricted Jewish immigration to Palestine at the very moment that the Jews of Europe faced death.

The British who wrote it pretended that it was all fair and proper, of course:

If immigration has an adverse effect on the economic position in the country, it should clearly be restricted; and equally, if it has a seriously damaging effect on the political position in the country, that is a factor that should not be ignored. Although it is not difficult to contend that the large number of Jewish immigrants who have been admitted so far have been absorbed economically, the fear of the Arabs that this influx will continue indefinitely until the Jewish population is in a position to dominate them has produced consequences which are extremely grave for Jews and Arabs alike and for the peace and prosperity of Palestine. The lamentable disturbances of the past three years are only the latest and most sustained manifestation of this intense Arab apprehension. The methods employed by Arab terrorists against fellow Arabs and Jews alike must receive unqualified condemnation. But it cannot be denied that fear of indefinite Jewish immigration is widespread amongst the Arab population and that this fear has made possible disturbances which have given a serious setback to economic progress, depleted the Palestine exchequer, rendered life and property insecure, and produced a bitterness between the Arab and Jewish populations which is deplorable between citizens of the same country. If in these circumstances immigration is continued up to the economic absorptive capacity of the country, regardless of all other considerations, a fatal enmity between the two peoples will be perpetuated, and the situation in Palestine may become a permanent source of friction amongst all peoples in the Near and Middle East. His Majesty's Government cannot take the view that either their obligations under the Mandate, or considerations of common sense and justice, require that they should ignore these circumstances in framing immigration policy.

In short, the British gave Arab terrorists veto power over allowing Jews to enter the country because of fear of more terror.

...The alternatives before His Majesty's Government are either (i) to seek to expand the Jewish National Home indefinitely by immigration, against the strongly expressed will of the Arab people of the country; or (ii) to permit further expansion of the Jewish National Home by immigration only if the Arabs are prepared to acquiesce in it. The former policy means rule by force....Moreover, the relations between the Arabs and the Jews in Palestine must be based sooner or later on mutual tolerance and goodwill; the peace, security and progress of the Jewish National Home itself requires this. Therefore His Majesty's Government, after earnest consideration, and taking into account the extent to which the growth of the Jewish National Home has been facilitated over the last twenty years, have decided that the time has come to adopt in principle the second of the alternatives referred to above.

More Jews mean the Arabs get more upset, and more upset Arabs mean that the Jewish national home cannot survive. How's that for logic to justify the imminent deaths of millions of Jews?

Oh, but the authors pretended to care about the European Jews. Or at least a few of them.

...His Majesty's Government are conscious of the present unhappy plight of large numbers of Jews who seek refuge from certain European countries, and they believe that Palestine can and should make a further contribution to the solution of this pressing world problem. In all these circumstances, they believe that they will be acting consistently with their Mandatory obligations to both Arabs and Jews, and in the manner best calculated to serve the interests of the whole people of Palestine, by adopting the following proposals regarding immigration:

...[T]he admission, as from the beginning of April this year, of some 75,000 immigrants over the next five years. These immigrants would, subject to the criterion of economic absorptive capacity, be admitted as follows:

For each of the next five years a quota of 10,000 Jewish immigrants will be allowed on the understanding that a shortage one year may be added to the quotas for subsequent years, within the five year period, if economic absorptive capacity permits.

In addition, as a contribution towards the solution of the Jewish refugee problem, 25,000 refugees will be admitted as soon as the High Commissioner is satisfied that adequate provision for their maintenance is ensured, special consideration being given to refugee children and dependents.

The existing machinery for ascertaining economic absorptive capacity will be retained, and the High Commissioner will have the ultimate responsibility for deciding the limits of economic capacity. Before each periodic decision is taken, Jewish and Arab representatives will be consulted.

After the period of five years, no further Jewish immigration will be permitted unless the Arabs of Palestine are prepared to acquiesce in it.

His Majesty's Government are determined to check illegal immigration, and further preventive measures are being adopted. The numbers of any Jewish illegal immigrants who, despite these measures, may succeed in coming into the country and cannot be deported will be deducted from the yearly quotas.

His Majesty's Government are satisfied that, when the immigration over five years which is now contemplated has taken place, they will not be justified in facilitating, nor will they be under any obligation to facilitate, the further development of the Jewish National Home by immigration regardless of the wishes of the Arab population.

The White Paper also stated, explicitly, that Jews cannot purchase land in much of Palestine from Arabs. making antisemitism official British government policy.

The authors of the paper knew very well every Jew they barred from immigrating to Palestine was likely to be murdered. Liberal MP James Rothschild stated during the parliamentary debate that "for the majority of the Jews who go to Palestine it is a question of migration or of physical extinction".

Even the "League of Nations commission held that the White Paper was in conflict with the terms of the Mandate."

In the end, the British didn't even admit the full 75,000 Jews that the White Paper allowed.

Six million were murdered. Tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, would have been saved if it wasn't for the British White Paper. The disgusting policy of appeasement of what the White Paper literally called "Arab terrorists" - led to the deaths of untold numbers of Jews.

Balfour (and San Remo) should have saved much of European Jewry. The White Paper abrogated Balfour, and violated basic human rights, to kow-tow to the threat of Arab terrorism.

If anyone is going to ask for apologies from the British, it should be the Jewish people for the immoral policy that sentenced hundreds of thousands of our relatives to death.

(This is an update of an article I wrote last year.)

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10/29 Links: Another tunnel found under UNWRA school in Gaza; UAE apologizes to Israel for judo handshake snub

From Ian:

UN finds tunnel opening under UNWRA school in Gaza

United Nations officials discovered a tunnel built under a school in the Gaza Strip run by UNRWA, the international body’s agency for Palestinian refugees, the global body said in a statement.

Since the discovery some two weeks ago, UNRWA closed the school and sealed off the opening to the tunnel. The school resumed operations last Wednesday, the UN organization said.

The statement Saturday did not say where the tunnel led, where it was found, or who was believed to have constructed it.

“The presence of a tunnel underneath an UNRWA installation, which enjoys inviolability under international law, is unacceptable. It places children and agency staff at risk,” the agency said.

UNRWA informed Israel’s Coordinator of the Government Activities in the Territories, IDF Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, of the incident and also lodged a complaint with the relevant authorities in Gaza over the violation of the neutrality of a UN facility, according to a Sunday report from the Hebrew-language Ynet website.

Over the years, Gaza’s Hamas terrorist rulers have built a labyrinth of tunnels, some passing under the border into Israel which they used to launch attacks during their last conflict with the Jewish state in 2014.

On June 1, UNRWA said it found “part of a tunnel that passes under two adjacent agency schools in the Maghazi camp” during construction work.

UAE apologizes to Israel for judo handshake snub

The United Arab Emirates’ top judo official apologized to his Israeli counterpart Saturday after a tournament in Abu Dhabi saw Israeli athletes repeatedly snubbed by their hosts because of their nationality.

Mohammad Bin Thaloub Al-Darei, president of the UAE’s Judo Federation, and Aref Al-Awani, another senior Emirates sports official, apologized to Israeli Judo Association head Moshe Ponte over the fact that an athlete from the UAE refused to shake hands with an Israeli judoka after a match during the several-day tournament, according to a statement from the International Judo Federation.

Darei and Awani “apologized because of the UAE athletes not shaking hands with the Israel athletes and also congratulated the Israel team for their success here,” IJF president Marius Vizer said. He called the move a “gesture of courage.”

Stand With Us: Arab Athletes Run Away from Israelis After Losing in Judo

IsraellyCool: Not the Onion: Israeli Judo Federation Thanks UAE Counterparts for Their Hospitality

I am disgusted with this capitulation, that will likely guarantee the UAE is not penalized for their disgraceful conduct.

Not that I had high hopes of this happening, given the IJF has been complicit in it – despite their demand that the UAE treat Israel equally.

I assume this is indicative of just how much Israel wants peace and good relations with the Arab and Muslim world. But we really need to stop showing weakness – and I am not just talking about in the world of Judo.

The United Nations Development Assistance Framework and the Palestinian Authority have signed a “strategic programming framework” for 2018-2022. with a budget of over $1.2 billion to support the PA with a wide variety of political and social service programs.

For example, the 73-page document mentions "climate change" no less than 9 times as a topic that must be tackled - far more than "gender-based violence" (3 mentions.).

There is a lot to analyze in this document, but what seems most interesting is where the UN plans to spend the money.

Under the Strategic Priority 1: Supporting Palestine’s path to independence category, we have: Outcome 1.1: Human rights mechanisms are increasingly engaged to hold Israel accountable for its obligations under international law.

Its budget is $18 million. Its goal is to delegitimize Israel by demanding standards from Israel that the UN demands from no other state under the fig leaf of "human rights."

Here's the UN's description of this outcome:

The UN will increase its support for Palestinian institutions (state and non-government) and Palestinian victims of violations to effectively monitor, advocate and seek legal recourse for violations by the occupying power. This will include training, capacity-building and technical advice to ensure that Palestinian victims and institutions are equipped with the knowledge and tools to effectively access international accountability mechanisms in order to hold Israel accountable for its violations under international law. It will also aim to strengthen the capacity of Palestinian organizations to advocate effectively for the rights of Palestinians in the occupied territory. The UN will also strengthen its own advocacy on the impact of Israeli violations on Palestine’s development prospects, including through joint activities that clearly communicate the effect that the occupation and breaches of international law have on the ability of Palestine to develop economically, socially, environmentally and politically, including the responsibility of Israel vis-à-vis Palestine’s implementation of the SDGs.

Subtext: Israel is evil and the UN must do everything it can to ensure that Palestinians can use all methods to attack Israel through lawfare.

Possibly even more absurd is Outcome 1.2: A strong Palestinian national identity prevails, with a budget of $32.5M.

The UN's description:

The UN will continue to support the expression and maintenance of a strong Palestinian national and cultural identity. This will include communicating a positive Palestinian national narrative to strengthen cohesion and identity while reflecting respect for diversity and non-tolerance of violence. At the same time, the UN will support the protection and promotion of Palestinian cultural heritage as a key element of national and cultural identity. The UN will support efforts to preserve and protect the Palestinian character and identity of East Jerusalem, the future Palestinian capital pending final status negotiations.

Since the UN recognizes "Palestine" as a state, what purpose is served by the UN helping increase Palestinian national identity? Why is the UN in the business of helping any national identity, when the UN's own goals are to minimize the differences between states, not to emphasize them?

The UNDAFs for Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt don't mention "national identity" or "cultural identity" at all.

The UN Charter says "Nothing contained in the present Charter shall authorize the United Nations to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state." What can possibly be a more domestic matter than strengthening national identity?

Why is it in the world's interest to strengthen Palestinian "national identity" unless the real purpose is to weaken Israel? And if the Palestinian national identity is so weak that it needs outside funding to strengthen it, then what does that say about the need for a Palestinian state altogether? Certainly Palestinian national identity is a comparatively recent development. Why does it deserve international support if not to be used as a weapon against Israel?

Of course, the last sentence shows the agenda. The UN wants to ensure that Israel has no rights over the sacred parts of Jerusalem. By declaring that Jerusalem is in fact the "future Palestinian capital" the UN is declaring a kind of war on Israel and Jews worldwide who have regarded Jerusalem as their capital since King David.

This is what the UN is spending its money on.

Any reasonable person should be outraged.

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PLO rep: "No peace without Palestinian control of ALL E. Jerusalem" (including Western Wall, Jewish Quarter)

The Holy Land Ecynemical Foundation held a symposium on Jerusalem on Saturday.

Even its description downplays Jerusalem's central role in Judaism as it pretends to be "even-handed:"

Jerusalem is the Holy City, sacred to the three monotheistic faiths of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. Muslims connect her with the Prophet Muhammad’s Night Journey on al-Buraq, his celebrated steed, from Al-Masjid al-Haram in Mecca to Al-Masjid al-Aqsa in Jerusalem and his ascension to Heaven. For Christians, Jerusalem animates their consciousness as she marks the location of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. Retaining a strong presence and influence there are essential for safeguarding the Christian holy places and interests. For Jews, Jerusalem is tied to their religion and culture, symbolizing both connectedness and independence. Over the years, Jerusalem’s religious and spiritual importance has become enmeshed in national and political concerns as we witness today in Palestinian-Israeli relations.

For Muslims and Christians, the description mentions specific myths and events that supposedly happened in Jerusalem. For Jews, it is merely a "symbol" that is somehow "tied" toJudaism - not the location of the Temples, not the central point of holiness for all Jews, not the place rhapsodized about by King David, but merely somehow connected to Judaism.

The goal of the conference was, of course, to wrest control of Jerusalem away from the Jewish state - the only political entity in history that gave equal access to the city for all religions:

This symposium will focus on East Jerusalem and will provide details on the current and evolving conditions in the Holy City. It will explore practical ways by which resilient development could be stimulated via a robust economy, infrastructural projects, and tourism, as well as seek to identify opportunities to intensify local, regional, and international support for East Jerusalem to safeguard its status.

And one of their star speakers to help reach that goal was Husam Zomlot, Head of the PLO General Delegation to the US.

Zumlot said that peace is impossible unless east Jerusalem - "ALL of East Jerusalem," he emphasized - is the capital of a Palestinian state.

"I just want to tell you one thing. Those who want to see peace in the Middle East must realize that East Jerusalem would always be the Palestinian capital. There will not be a peace agreement, there will not be a final agreement without east Jerusalem - ALL of east Jerusalem - the capital of the state of Palestine," he asserts.

This means that the Temple Mount would be controlled by the terrorist and terror-cheerleaders in the PLO, of course, But also the Western Wall, the Jewish Quarter, all the synagogues and yeshivot, would become subject to the same restrictions that they had under Jordanian rule.

Zumlot claimed:

"Jerusalem, once it is under our sovereignty will be returned to what it used to be. The city of God, the city of peace." @hzomlot at @HCEF
— Palestine in the US (@PalestineUSA) October 28, 2017

When, exactly, was that? Zumlot is referring to pre-1967 Jerusalem, when no Jews (not even non-Israeli Jews) were allowed in, when Jordan burned some 50 synagogues and used Jewish tombstones to pave roads and build latrines.

The point that Jerusalem has never been what Zumlot claims was not made once in this day-long symposium. On the contrary, speaker after speaker claimed that Jerusalem was much worse off under Israeli "occupation" than beforehand, when it and all of Judea and Samaria were free of Jews altogether.

Earlier in his speech he said that the demand for Palestinians to have east Jerusalem is not a compromise - it is a concession, because by rights they should have all of Jerusalem, period. (Left unsaid is that they think the same about Netanya and Tel Aviv as well.)

This is the true position of the Palestinian Authority. Jews would enter the city, at best, the way they enter Shechem to visit Joseph's Tomb - in the middle of the night in armored buses to protect the Jews from stone throwers and small arms fire. That is the vision of equality that the PLO can offer the credulous Christians who attend their conferences that are ostensibly about "peace."

The PLO is saying, explicitly, in English, that they will never accept a peace plan without removing all Jewish control over the holy city. Jews will be allowed access. (Jordan signed agreements saying the same thing in 1948.)

Yet if the Palestinians are so oppressed, how can they at the same time make demands on the peace process as if they are in the driver's seat? If Palestinian statehood is the goal, then why is Jerusalem - which was ignored for nearly its entire history under Muslim rule - suddenly more important than statehood itself?

The answer is that they don't really want peace or a state - they just want to ensure that Jews do not have any control in their most important holy sites, including those in Hebron and Bethlehem. Which is a first stage in the PLO's real plan, a plan hatched in 1974 and which has not been modified at all, to use whatever methods they can to destroy Israel, in stages.

The primary goal is to disconnect any important Jewish sites from Israel, to destroy Israel's very soul. And it is a shame that so many Jews are so disconnected from their own roots that they are not sensitive to what is obvious to both the Arabs and to Jews who feel that 3000 year connection to the Holy Land.

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“Go forth from your country, from the land of your birth and from the home of your father to the land that I will show you.” (Genesis 12:1)

Land. God’s first commandment to Avram (who would later become Avraham the father of the Jewish people) was about land.

In the Bible, description and order is significant. Here the description is one indicative of understanding the difficulty in uprooting oneself, leaving behind the known for an unknown land. The order of the description is from the general to the personal, from the least difficult to the most difficult to leave - country, place of birth, family.

It is profound that this commandment comes before any promises to Avram and without explanation. Before discussion of his future, before the tale of the birth of his son or the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. Before Avram became Avraham, a specific land was chosen for him.

Israel.

The 7^th day of the Hebrew month of Heshvan coincides with “Lech lecha,” the Torah portion in which Abraham is told to leave his home to go to the promised land. That is the date the Israeli government chose for Aliyah Day, to celebrate the contribution of immigrants to the State of Israel. Accordingly, Aliyah Day was (officially) this past Friday. There were different events and celebrations most of last week (leave it to Israelis to celebrate one day with a week of events!).

Aliyah is the Hebrew word for immigration of Jewish people to the State of Israel. The word literally means “ascending” and is the same word that is used for pilgrimage and for reading from the Torah. These are spiritual events, where the person transcends the norm, ascending to a higher level in fulfilling this activity. This means that, for a Jew immigrating to Israel, returning to our homeland, is an act of spiritual significance.

Israel was waiting for Avram before he became the father of the Jewish people. Before God granted Moses the 10 Commandments. Before any other element that would form our Jewishness, this land was waiting to become our homeland.

Following the commandment to emigrate was the first step on the path that transformed Avram from a regular person to the father of the Jewish people (as well as the father of the Arab people), to becoming the person he was meant to be.

As an immigrant myself I can testify to the difficulties of emigration. Life in America was comfortable. We had a nice home, a good life. Moving to Israel meant a new language, a different culture, figuring where to live, how to live, work… the challenges, almost impossible anticipate and seem endless. Why bother? Why should my family leave and move to Israel?

Because we are Jewish.

We stepped in to the unknown, not for a more convenient or comfortable life but for self-actualization. For a life that is more real. To be who we are supposed to be.

“Go forth to the land that I will show you.”

For a Jew, moving to Israel goes beyond changing environment or culture. It is ascending to a place of higher spiritual fulfillment and actualization. Being in the Land is no less spiritually important than any religious activity or ritual. In some ways it may even be more important. There is a reason this is the first commandment.

A Jew can be Jewish anywhere but aliyah to Israel and living in Israel is one of the main ways a Jew fulfills his or her Jewishness. It is a matter of strengthening the tribe and actualizing oneself.

Whenever a Jew makes that step is a reason for us all to celebrate.

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More on passports - and which countries are isolated in the world community

Last week I mentioned that Israel's score on how many countries accept its passports without visas was far higher than most Muslim and Arab countries, proving that in real life, Israel is not isolated at all in the world community.

The details of the scores show even more how lopsided the differences are between Israel and Arab and Muslim countries.

Here is the entire list of which countries accept the passports of Israel, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Jordan visa free or visa on arrival. The nations that accept Israel are the freest nations on earth; the ones that accept Iran or Saudi Arabia are among the most repressive nations in the world.

passport3a

To look at it another way, the countries with the highest passport power scores - Singapore, Germany, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Italy, France, Spain, Norway, Japan, UK, South Korea - all accept Israeli passports without any issue, and all of them require a visa from Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Iran (with the sole exception that South Korea accepting Saudi passports as well.)

This is pretty strong proof that while the Israel-haters manage to get UN resolutions passed against Israel, the enlightened world knows very well who is on the side of freedom and who isn't. When the rubber hits the road, Israel is the country that is admired - and it is the Arab and Muslim nations who are generally considered to be potential dangers.

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10/28 Links: What Raqqa Says about Gaza’s Death Toll; Fifth medal for flagless Israel at Abu Dhabi judo Grand Slam

From Ian:

Evelyn Gordon: What Raqqa Says about Gaza’s Death Toll

ISIS and Hamas employ virtually identical tactics, which is why comparing Gaza to Raqqa or Mosul makes sense. Both dig extensive tunnel networks under civilian buildings, wire civilian buildings with explosives, stockpile arms in civilian buildings and fight from the midst of a civilian population. These tactics greatly increase both property damage and civilian casualties, whether in Gaza, Syria, or Iraq.

Yet despite the enemy’s similar tactics, Israel produced vastly lower casualties as a proportion of Gaza’s population and much less property damage as a proportion of Gaza’s property than the Western coalition against ISIS did in Syria and Iraq. In other words, the very Western countries that accused Israel of “disproportionate” and “excessive” harm in Gaza were guilty of far greater harm in Syria and Iraq.

So if they really believe the accusations they hurled at Israel, Western leaders—starting with former U.S. President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry—ought to turn themselves in as war criminals. And if they don’t like that option, it’s past time for them to finally admit that what they acknowledge in Syria and Iraq is equally true in Gaza. It’s simply not possible to fight terrorist organizations that employ the tactics used by ISIS and Hamas without harming civilians.

And it’s also time for them to admit what a group of high-ranking Western military experts concluded in a comprehensive report on the Gaza war: faced with these difficulties, Israel’s success in minimizing civilian harm equaled or exceeded that of any other Western country. If more proof were needed, that 100-to-one difference in casualty ratios between Raqqa and Gaza certainly provides it.

Fifth medal for flagless Israel at Abu Dhabi judo Grand Slam

Israeli judoka Or (Ori) Sasson defeated Belgium's Benjamin Harmegnies on Saturday to add a judo Grand Slam bronze medal to his growing trophy collection.

Sasson, who won a bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics, becomes the fifth Israeli to win a medal at the Grand Slam event which has been overshadowed by a ban on Israeli judokas sporting their national flag.

With organizers claiming that the ban is justified due to security concerns, Israelis have competed under the flag of the International Judo Federation.

Earlier on Saturday, another Israeli athlete, Peter Paltchik, claimed bronze in the under 100kg category.

On Thursday, Israel’s Tal Flicker put all the distractions aside and claimed the under 66 kg gold medal at the Grand Slam. The 25-year-old defeated Nijat Shikhalizada of Azerbaijan in the final, registering an Ippon, judo’s version of a knockout, with 25 seconds remaining.

Israel also took part in the event in Abu Dhabi under similar conditions two years ago. This year’s delegation has surpassed the achievements of the team from 2015.

ICYMI. @BeirutCityGuide doesn't want to be included with @TelAviv in a tourism article. Let them know #TelAvivLovesBeirut! pic.twitter.com/V0NxKOXHwd
— The Mossad (@TheMossadIL) October 28, 2017

10/27 Links Pt2: Reflections on Balfour 100 from Rabbi Sacks; Protester Caught on Video Calling Israeli-Arab Activists ‘Rats’

From Ian:

David Horovitz: World judo must honor its own ethics code, stop UAE’s anti-Israel discrimination

Some might argue that Israel should not have participated in a tournament whose UAE hosts messed the team around regarding visas and informed the sport’s international administration in advance that Israelis would only be tolerated if they exhibited no sign whatsoever of being Israeli. But the Israeli thinking was that its excellent judokas emphatically should participate, and that they would hopefully strike a contrast, through sporting excellence and good grace, to the rudeness of the UAE organizers. And so it has proved.

But that emphatically should not be the end of the matter. When the UAE Judo Federation made plain ahead of the tournament that the Israeli team would not be allowed to compete under the Israeli flag, the IJF wrote to the hosts to demand that “all delegations, including the Israeli delegation, shall be treated absolutely equally in all aspects, without any exception.”

The UAE Judo Federation paid it absolutely no heed. Why would it? It had imposed the same discrimination against Israel’s judokas two years ago; Israel won two bronze medals in the 2015 tournament — which meant far fewer headlines than the unignorable gold-medal success of Tal Flicker.

Rather than Israelis facing the dilemma of whether to compete as unwanted intruders in events such as this, it now falls to the IJF to ensure that there is no discrimination at future tournaments, and that hosts who cannot abide by its requirement that all delegations be treated “absolutely equally” not be permitted to hold events. (Incidentally, “Palestine,” as an International Olympic Committee member, is one of the IJF’s 198 “member countries.” We can all argue long and hard over the differences or similarities, but if Israel wanted to host an IJF event, it would be required to treat Palestinian participants equally.)

A martial art with a 135-year history, judo is governed by etiquette designed to underline the importance of respect. The very word “judo” means “gentle way.” There should be no place in the sport for those who do not embrace its spirit.

As the IJF’s own Code of Ethics (clause 2) states unequivocally, “There shall be no discrimination between the participants on the basis of race, gender, ethnic origin, religion, philosophical or political opinion, marital status or other grounds.”

The UAE trampled all over those principles this week. It should not permitted to do so again.

Alan Dershowitz: Antisemitic Caricature of Me Generates No Criticism From Berkeley Hard-Left

To be sure, the students had the right to publish this cartoon, but they also had the right not to publish it. I am confident that if the shoe were on the other foot — if a cartoon of comparable hate directed against women, gays, blacks or Muslims were proposed — they would not have published it. There is one word for this double standard. It’s called bigotry.

The best response to bigotry is the opposite of censorship: it is exposure and shaming in the court of public opinion. The offensive cartoon should not be removed, as some have suggested. It should be widely circulated along with the names prominently displayed of the antisemite who drew it and the bigoted editors who decided to publish it. Every potential employer or admissions officer should ask them to justify their bigotry.

Joel Mayorga is the antisemitic cartoonist. Karim Doumar (editor-in-chief and president), Alexandra Yoon-Hendricks (managing editor) and Suhauna Hussain (opinion editor) head the editorial board that oversaw the decision to publish it. They must be held accountable for their reprehensible actions. I challenge them to justify their bigotry. It will not be enough to hide behind the shield of freedom of speech, because that freedom also entails the right not to publish antisemitic expression, if they would refuse to publish other bigoted expression.

After I submitted my op-ed, the Daily Cal tried to censor my piece in a self-serving way by omitting my characterization of the cartoonist as an antisemite. As far as I know they did not edit the offending cartoon. Also, the editor claimed that the intent of the cartoon was to expose the “hypocrisy” of my talk. Yet, the newspaper never even reported on the content of my talk and I don’t know whether the cartoonist was even at my talk. The cartoon was clearly based on a stereotype not on the content of my talk.

Melanie Phillips: Real threat to the West: Why can’t Britain see it?

In any event, the deal does not prevent Iran from making nuclear weapons, because its “sunset clause” allows it to do so in 10 or 15 years’ time – and reports suggest it has the capacity to develop them extremely quickly.

Worse still, the deal allows Iran to develop ballistic missiles. Sanctions relief has enabled it to pour money into its proxy army Hezbollah, promote Hamas terrorism and spread its influence and terrorism into Syria, Iraq and Yemen.

Yet the British government not only helped create but still implacably supports this terrible capitulation to Iranian power. Parting company with Trump, Britain’s Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said the nuclear deal is “a crucial agreement that neutralized Iran’s nuclear threat” which has “undoubtedly made the world a safer place.”

What planet is he living on? Iran is marching toward regional hegemony. In Iraq, there are reports that its Quds Force has been coordinating with Iraqi government officials to recruit the most effective ISIS fighters and release them from Iraqi prisons. These fighters are being organized, trained, and equipped to attack US and other regional forces.

Despite all this, however, the threat that worries Britain most is not Iran, but the prospect of war against Iran. The fact that Iran has been waging war against the West since 1979, in the course of which it has repeatedly attacked Western targets, murdered countless civilians and been responsible for the deaths of many British and American soldiers in Iraq, is brushed aside.

Unless it really does reform itself, Saudi Arabia will continue to pose a threat from its religious extremism. Nevertheless, it is an ally against the greater enemy at this time: Iran.

The Iranian regime must be defeated. It is shocking that, unlike President Trump, Britain is intent on appeasing it.

Moroccan judoka runs away from shaking hands with Israeli like a scared rabbit (update: Men's too)

Israeli judoka Shira Rishoni defeated Moroccan Aziz Shakir in Abu Dhabi in the 48 kg category.

When it came time to shake hands, the Arab ran away - backwards - as fast as she could.

The funny thing is that the Arab media will try to spin this as heroic.

Rishoni ended up tied for fifth place.

UPDATE: This happened on the men's side as well, as Tohar Butbul defeated his opponent from the UAE:

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From the Trader Joe website:

Science has proven that elephants have better memories than most of their wild animal counterparts, hence the saying, “An elephant never forgets...” With science as our guide, we can say with certainty that after sampling a trunk-ful, an elephant would truly never forget Trader Joe’s Bamba Peanut Snacks.

Small and unassuming (much like peanuts themselves), Bamba Peanut Snacks are light, crunchy, and positively bursting with rich, peanut flavor. It’s a snack unlike any other, and once you give them a try, even non-elephant types like yourself are sure to have Bamba on the brain.

Made for us in Israel, where Bamba is far and away the best-selling snack in the country, Trader Joe’s Bamba Peanut Snacks contain just four, simple ingredients: corn grits, peanut paste, palm oil, and salt. First, the corn grits are “popped” under high pressure, turning them into long rope-like lines of white, puffed, unflavored “Bamba.” Next, the Bamba is cut into peanut-sized nuggets and air-baked for 20 seconds in a drying chamber, which gives it an even crispier texture.

Finally, the Bamba is moved into large, rotating drums, where they are coated with hot, liquid peanut butter (made from peanut paste, palm oil, and salt). The resulting snack is crunchy, airy, peanutty and highly craveable—kind of like a cheese puff without the cheese.

Not only is Bamba is tricky to find in general (most U.S. grocers don’t carry the stuff), it’s darn near impossible to find it at a price better than ours—because we’re selling each 3.5-ounce bag of Trader Joe’s Bamba Peanut Snacks for just 99 cents. That’s practically peanuts! Pass the Bamba, please...

Bamba is manufactured by Osem.

Osem is targeted for boycotting by BDS.

So shouldn't they be boycotting Trader Joes?

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10/27 Links Pt1: When it comes to Israel, the Arab world isn’t a good sport; Toameh: Militias vs. Palestinian "Reconciliation"

From Ian:

When it comes to Israel, the Arab world isn’t a good sport

Last month, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel’s relations with the Arab world were better than ever.

“There is cooperation in various ways, on various levels, but is not yet out in the open. But what is not yet out in the open is much greater than in any other period in Israeli history. This is a major change,” he gushed.

Indeed, there has been much security cooperation and intelligence sharing since Israel and the pragmatic Arab regimes found common enemies in Iran and radical Sunni Islamists. But even as Netanyahu seems to talk about it all the time, his Arab partners insist everything remain hush-hush.

For the time being, Arab countries are refusing to recognize the State of Israel and reject any overt manifestation of collaboration with the Zionist entity — no exceptions, no common courtesies, no fair play.

That’s why on Thursday, when an Israeli athlete won a gold medal at a judo tournament in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, Israel’s national anthem wasn’t played and its flag wasn’t hoisted. Indeed, due to the Emirates’ boycott of Israel, the Israeli judokas in the tournament competed under the “flag” of the International Judo Federation (IJF).

After Herzliyah native Tal Flicker beat Nijat Shikhalizada of Azerbaijan to take the gold, the “national anthem of the International Judo Federation” was played in the hall. Meanwhile, Flicker mouthed his own “Hatikvah,” giving his Israeli compatriots a modicum of pride.

Boycott-defying judo champ says he sang Israeli anthem ‘from the heart’

Israeli judoka Tal Flicker, who won a gold medal on Thursday at the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam judo tournament, said he defied the host Arab state’s boycott on displaying Israeli symbols and playing Israel’s national anthem at the victory ceremony by shutting out the “background noise” and singing “Hatikvah” himself.

As tournament organizers played the anthem of the International Judo Federation’s (IJF) when Flicker stood on the podium with his medal, he sang the Israeli national anthem.

“The world federation anthem that they played was just background noise,” he told Channel 2 news. “I was singing ‘Hatikvah’ from the heart.”

“I’m proud of my country,” he said. “The whole world knows that we’re from Israel, knows who we represent.”

Flicker’s win in Abu Dhabi added to two previous championship victories he has already achieved this year.

He was born in 1992 in the central city of Herzliya, where he was also raised.

UAE judoka refuses to shake hands as Israeli beats him in Abu Dhabi tournament

A judoka from the United Arab Emirates refused to shake the hand of the Israeli rival who defeated him at the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam judo tournament Friday, a day after the UAE refused to play the Israeli national anthem or fly the Israeli flag for medal-winning Israeli athletes at the competition.

Israel’s Tohar Butbul, competing in the men’s lightweight (66-73 kg) category, came up against the UAE’s Rashad Almashjari in the first round. After being defeated by Butbul, Almashjari refused the customary handshake with the Israeli.

Butbul went on to win a bronze medal in his category — by defeating Italy’s 2016 Olympic gold medalist; it was Israel’s third medal in the competition.

The no-handshake episode was reminiscent of one that occurred during the 2016 Summer Olympics, when Egyptian judoka Islam El Shahaby refused to shake hands with Ori Sasson after being defeated by the Israeli, and only begrudgingly made the obligatory end-of-match bow after being being called back to the mat by the referee.

BBC News and BBC Sport ignore Judo tournament anti-Israel bigotry

A major Judo tournament organised by the International Judo Federation is taking place in Abu Dhabi between October 26th and 28th.

However – and not for the first time – members of the Israeli team taking part in that tournament have been barred from displaying the Israeli flag.

“The blue-and-white delegation to the final Grand Slam competition of the year is set to include 12 athletes, but Israel Judo Association chairman Moshe Ponte was informed by the organizers that they won’t be able to have the Israel flag on their judo uniform, as they do in every other event across the world. Instead of having ISR (Israel) by their names on the scoreboard and on their backs, they will have to take part in the contest as representatives of the IJF (International Judo Federation). The national anthem will also not be played, should an Israeli win a gold medal.”

The BBC Sport website (which usually displays an interest in reporting bigotry and discrimination in sport) has no coverage of that story either on its home page or on its Judo page. The BBC News website’s Middle East page similarly did not find this story of blatant discrimination in sport newsworthy.

Michael Cohen's critique of a twisted New Republic article

Michael Cohen is a columnist for the Boston Globe. He is not right wing by any stretch, and I don't agree with him saying unfounded blanket statements below like "Trump supports antisemitism." But he wrote this in a Twitter thread that I'm converting to a post, because it is an important liberal expose of the New Republic which has gone really downhill:

There is a disquieting tendency on the left to point fingers at Jewish orgs in the face of rising of anti-Semitism. Case in point, this nasty, gross piece in The New Republic ... that doesn't even get basic facts right.

Take for example this yet another attack against the ADL, which accuses the organization of an unwillingness to confront Trump:

Among high-profile Jewish institutions there has been a tendency to condemn anti-Semitism without naming the people who have fueled its resurgence. This has been an effective fundraising strategy. The ADL, for example, received a 1,000 percent spike in online donations following Charlottesville. In a fundraising email on August 14, the ADL claimed that “at times like this, ADL mobilizes for action. We were on the ground in Charlottesville, working with officials and reporting on events.”
Its role in precluding a more forceful mobilization of the local community was not mentioned, nor that the police didn’t show up after all. The email went on to exhort the president to “fire all White House staff that do not clearly reject white nationalism.” The next day, the president himself called white supremacists in Charlottesville “very fine people.” While no one would classify that speech—or any of Trump’s actions—as “clearly rejecting” white nationalism, the ADL has not since called for the president’s resignation. The group did decide, however, to issue a call for law enforcement to infiltrate and surveil anti-fascist activists—which it later retracted.

Did they just miss this fairly direct criticism of Trump in the days after Charlottesville?

But in general, this focus at the New Republic on consistently attacking Jewish groups in the face of rising anti-Semitism needs to end. We get it: you don't like Israel's policies. But using rising anti-Semitism as a vehicle to attack conservative pro-Israel Jews is gross.

Here's TNR claiming that Israel advocacy groups are making common cause w/bigots. Not mentioned: the two largest Israel advocacy groups.

One of the groups mentioned is criticized not for association w/bigots but for organizing against BDS! Which is compelling evidence that TNR's problem is with groups who are supportive of Israel, not complicity with anti-Semitism.

A left-wing magazine accusing groups like ADL of complicity or silence about anti-Semitism is not only untrue it's incredibly dangerous. No observer of Jewish groups in America, like the ADL, can honestly argue they've stood back in the face of rising anti-Semitism.

This particular attack is intended to divide US Jews, by arguing that one side is standing up to anti-semitism and another (pro-Israel groups) aren't.

It's worth keeping in mind that the ADL is getting forcefully attacked from the right and groups claiming they are partisan Democrats.Why is the right doing that? Because they want to shut up the ADL and potentially put at risk its non-profit status. Why would the left join in such attacks when the ADL has been a prominent Jewish group criticizing Trump's support for anti-Semitism?

Like I said this is not the first time TNR has gone after the ADL. It needs to stop. And I failed to mention this incredibly loaded criticism that traffics in classic anti-Semitic tropes:

How does a suggestion that a Jewish organization is putting fundraising ahead of tougher opposition to anti-Semitism show up in a left wing magazine?

There is a blind spot on the left when it comes to anti-Semitism. Period. It’s a big problem.

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