Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Monday, February 22, 2021

CNN uncritically reports US-Palestinian who was stuck in Gaza, when his story doesn't add up

CNN has the story of Hani Almadhoun and his family, who were stranded in Gaza when they went to visit Almadhoun's dying grandfather. They went to Gaza via Egypt on in early November and then they couldn't leave as Egypt blocked the Rafah crossing due to COVID.

Parts of his story doesn't quite add up, but CNN reports his experiences as accurate.

About a week after Almadhoun's grandfather died on November 19, the crossing was closed due to Covid-19 restrictions.

..."We realized we were stuck around December 25 ... that's when we started worrying," Almadhoun said.

After his grandfather's death, apparently the family decided to hang around in Gaza for several more weeks. During a pandemic.

The State Department makes it crystal clear that it strongly discourages travel to Gaza at any time, let alone during a pandemic:

Gaza:  The U.S. government is unable to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens in Gaza as U.S. government employees are prohibited from traveling there and are restricted from traveling close to the Gaza demarcation line.  Hamas, a U.S. government-designated foreign terrorist organization, controls the security infrastructure in Gaza. The security environment within Gaza and on its borders is dangerous and volatile. Sporadic mortar or rocket fire and corresponding Israeli military responses may occur at any time. During periods of unrest or armed conflict, the crossings between Gaza with Israel and Egypt may be closed.

So why on Earth did these US citizens choose to stay in Gaza when they could have and should have left?

But instead of asking that question, CNN reports on their plight - and their complaints about the US State Department for not helping them escape

Given his past experiences traveling to Gaza as a US citizen, and the Covid-19 pandemic, Almadhoun expected the US Embassy would help.
"It's not like we went to Gaza to smoke hookah. We went to see our dying grandfather," he said. "It was a human thing to do. We didn't expect not to get any help, or even just kind words, from the American embassy. All their replies were robotic and scripted."
Almadhoun believes that if his family was not Palestinian, the US Embassy in Jerusalem would have treated them differently.
"I never received help from them in the past, but I hoped with the pandemic they were feeling more human," he said. "It's like, you're an American citizen yet when they see you're Palestinian, that's all you are, and that's how you're treated. If they ask if you have a Palestinian ID card and you do, they stop listening."

So did the US Embassy help him in the past or didn't they? The contradiction isn't cleared up. But the State Department makes it clear there is only so much they can do.

In the end, the family appealed to a senator to contact Egypt and allow them to leave a few days after the Rafah crossing opened.

There were some other parts of Almadhoun's story that were strange as well:

On many nights, while spending time with his family or working remotely, Almadhoun said he could hear the sounds of drones flying overhead and what sounded like missiles striking targets not far from their home in Gaza City.
"Being in Gaza is hard. At times it was hell. You get maybe six or eight hours of electricity a day, and some days there is not even water," Almadhoun said.

I looked up how many times there were Israeli airstrikes in Gaza during the 100 or so days the family was there. It happened on only four nights, according to the UN: 11/15, 11/21, 12/26 and 1/18. Each of them were in response to Hamas rocket attacks to Israel. There were also some "work accidents" during that time period, but Almadhoun reports every explosion he heard as an Israeli airstrike - and CNN didnt fact-check him/

Also, OCHA-OPT says that Gaza averages 14 hours of electricity a day during the time the family was there. It is possible that he only got 6-8 hours of electricity where he was, but again, CNN took his statement as being truthful for all of Gaza.

But why shouldn't CNN believe him? Why shouldn't CNN give him the benefit of the doubt?

Because Almadhoun works for UNRWA-USA, which depends on demonizing Israel for its funding. Members of UNRWA-USA have a history of anti-Israel slanders.

An Arab family decided to essentially vacation in Gaza, and they then blame Israel and the US for making their trip less than enjoyable. And CNN happily reports their story without any skepticism.

(h/t Mathew)

Cartoon of the Day: Modern anti-antisemitism

02/21 Links: The hatred of the stupid for the smart; Temple University Must Take Action Against Marc Lamont Hill; Pope pops in on author and Holocaust survivor Edith Bruck

From Ian:

Julie Burchill: The hatred of the stupid for the smart

Why do so many students hate Jews? Especially now. You’d think with so much spare time on their hands — all those sob stories about being denied the full Uni Experience of staying drunk on cheap students’-union booze 24/7 and becoming more intimately acquainted with each other and the cast of Neighbours than with their own blood relatives during communal hangover days — they’d be buckling down and using these months to do some work now that they’re prevented by law from getting together and bonding over bullying the Chosen. But no, it seems that for many of them, all that time is being used to put in the extra hours on Jew-baiting duties.

Following a report from a small group of academics at UCL, its Academic Board has passed an advisory resolution calling on the university to ‘retract and replace’ the international definition of anti-Semitism which it adopted in 2019. Rebecca Lyons, vice-president of UCL’s Jewish Society, said: ‘The IHRA definition of anti-Semitism directly codifies what it means to be anti-Semitic, thereby shielding Jewish students from acts of intolerance and hatred. The removal of the definition leaves us exposed and unsafe on campus.’

Who can call this hyperbole when a supporter of the move chose the eve of Holocaust Memorial Day to state ‘I am confident that long will pass Israel’s time, as South Africa passed before it, and we’ll laugh at these days when people actually took this state seriously’? As ever, Jews are being told what is and what is not anti-Semitism, by both their teachers and their fellow students — an unimaginable situation if it were applied to other ethnic minorities.

It’s tempting to think that this is all about Palestine, but that lets those who turn the Socialism of Fools into a campus caper off the hook. A Gentile friend told me of her experience at Dundee University (twinned with Nablus!) in 2015:

‘My best friend was in with the Free Palestine gang and thought I was weird for finding them so appalling. She was eventually enlightened when Trump was running for election — and they basically wanted him in because he was portrayed as a Nazi, so they said “At least he might finally deal with the Jews”. She finally saw what I was talking about, the basic anti-Semitism of these people hiding behind anti-Zionism. Nevertheless, I ended up having to go to the police when a good part of the campus turned on me.’

It’s all about the brains, in my opinion; see the crazy percentage of Nobel Prizes won by this extraordinary people. Anyway, academic anti-Semitism existed long before Israel was reclaimed. The thick children of the bourgeoisie have always known that they can’t keep up with these under-privileged over-achievers, so they get spiteful. Thus no sooner had the musty right-wing prejudices against Jews been overcome, with the end of quotas on the number of Jewish students accepted into the top universities, than what I’ve previously coined ‘Fresh’n’Funky anti-Semitism’ was there to take the weasel wheel under the guise of being pro-Palestinian.

Temple University Must Take Action Against Marc Lamont Hill

Temple University professor Marc Lamont Hill, who was fired from CNN in November 2018 for his clarion call to destroy Israel, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” is reiterating that call. This time, he has written a book, Except for Palestine: The Limits of Progressive Politics, and has been promulgating his violent ideas in a series of interviews.

As Hill speaks about his book, in which he calls for “justice” for the Palestinian people, he disregards the history of the Jewish people, including their exile from the land of Israel, their millennia of persecution in the Diaspora, their endless longing to return to their ancestral homeland in Zion, and the presence of Jews in the land of Israel since biblical times. In doing so, he chooses to dismiss the existence of Jewish peoplehood, and instead, arrogantly and naively defines Jews as “a religion and a faith,” as he did during an interview with Carmen Perez Jordan on Feb. 18.

Hill’s refusal to acknowledge historical facts is coupled with his dismissal of contemporary realities, as he laments the plight of the Palestinian people but does not acknowledge the UN Partition Plan of 1947, Israel’s War of Independence in 1948, or the terror with which Israeli citizens have lived for decades at the hands of Palestinians. His simplistic bifurcation of the resulting complex and multi-dimensional social and political situation into a “good guys and bad guys” scenario says more about Hill’s desire to lambast the Jewish people of Israel than it does about the conflict.

Indeed, watching and listening to Hill propagate antisemitic tropes as he promotes his book has been both illuminating and deeply disturbing. On one occasion, he mocked what he regarded as Israel’s demand for exceptional treatment — reminiscent of the antisemitic view that Jews regard themselves as the “Chosen People.” (Ironically, he was discussing Israel’s right to exist, a subject that originated when Israel’s legitimacy was called into question as an attack by Israel detractors like Hill, not as a unique demand by Israel.) On another occasion, he spoke about Israel as having stolen land from the Palestinians, using the words “transfer of people out of their homeland” and “dispossession,” eliciting the stereotypical image of the thieving, greedy Jew.

Michael Che Makes An Anti-Semitic Joke on “Saturday Night Live” That’s Already Getting Social Media Criticism

SUNDAY 10:30AM UPDATE Just as I expected, there’s been an avalanche of criticism on social media overnight. But there have also been plenty of Tweets supporting Che by people who are either anti-Semitic or clueless. Che didn’t say, “the Israeli half.” He said “the Jewish half.” There’s a difference, even if he’s unaware of it. His joke was directed at a religion, not a state or government. That he didn’t understand that distinction is where the problem lies. And will perpetuate more anti-Semitism. I’m usually a fan of Che. But he’s made a big error that must be rectified.

SUNDAY 12:38AM Comedian Michael Che is already getting blasted midway through “Saturday Night Live” for an anti-Semitic joke.

During “Weekend Update,” Che joked that half the people in Israel had already been vaccinated and “I’m going to guess it’s the Jewish half.”

Lorne Michaels, who is Jewish, cannot be happy. (He might not be happy about some other references to his personal wealth during the segment.)

Che is getting a ton of criticism and anger on Twitter right now. But even worse– the anti-Semites are coming out, applauding the line. What a stupid thing he did. I think this will not be the end of it.

One Tweeter said: Michael Che perpetrated an anti- Semitic anti- Israel trope with his vaccine joke. Just as a fact check – Israel vaccinated 1/2 of its population of Israeli citizens – Arab, Jewish and Christian. Shame on you.

Another: WTF, SNL. Your no-reason quip about Israel only vaccinating Jews is not only a lie, but it perpetuates anti-semitism. Cheap shot that does more damage than the momentary, paltry laugh you got for that sorry excuse of a joke.

SNL's Michael Che makes joke about Israel not vaccinating Palestinians 2/20/2021

PA tells Washington that Hamas is committed to peace and a two state solution. Hamas disagrees (in Arabic only.)

Times of Israel reports:

The Palestinian Authority has reportedly sent a letter to Washington stating that all Palestinian factions — including Hamas — have committed to a Palestinian state within the pre-1967 borders with its capital in East Jerusalem, and to peaceful popular resistance against Israel.

The letter was allegedly sent as part of a reconciliation process between the vying groups ahead of scheduled Palestinian elections. Hamas, an Islamist terror group which seized control of Gaza in 2007 and avowedly seeks Israel’s destruction, has never publicly withdrawn its commitment to violent resistance against Israel.

Palestinian officials who spoke to The Times of Israel have previously emphasized that Hamas’s participation in the Palestinian political process would depend on its acceptance of previous agreements signed between Israel and the Palestinians, in addition to committing to “peaceful popular resistance.”

And what does Hamas say?

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh gave a speech on Saturday at a "United Against Normalization" conference. Haniyeh said Hamas was committed to resistance "in all its forms," a phrase that explicitly includes terrorism, although he did say that these forms also include peaceful and political resistance.

As far as accepting a two-state solution, Haniyeh also rejected that as well, saying that Hamas wants Palestinian leaders to ignore everything that has happened since before the 1991 Madrid Conference and all agreements made with Israel, and to reject the legitimacy of "the occupier" Israel.

Crucially, the official Hamas English report on the speech changed what he said to bring it more in line with US demands. It did not include the phrase "resistance in all its forms." And instead of saying "non-recognition of the legitimacy of the occupier" it changed his words to "not give any legitimacy to the occupation," implying that Hamas is OK with Israel but just not with its control of the lands won in 1967.

Hamas has become adept at Yassir Arafat's art form of saying one thing in English and the opposite to Arab audiences. The PA is happy to go along with the charade that Hamas has somehow reformed, and is quite happy to lie to the Biden administration about Hamas' words and aims.

So far, it seems that the Biden administration is willing to be fooled as well, and is more than willing to return to a US policy based on fantasy rather than reality, pretending that what Hamas tell the West is the truth and what it says in Arabic is just rhetoric.

Last Wednesday, Israel allowed a batch of 2000 vaccine doses to enter Gaza. This came after a debate in Knesset about whether it was wise to allow the vaccines to be sent to a terror group. This debate delayed the transfer of the vaccines by a little more than a day.

During that time, Israel haters and the media reported extensively on Israel's "refusal" to send the vaccines and Israel's inhumanity for not caring about Gazan lives. That 36 hour delay was called a war crime and Israel was painted as a ghoulish entity hell-bent on punishing ordinary Palestinians.

What happened to the vaccines?

Nothing. They are still sitting in refrigerators, unused.

Originally the Hamas health ministry announced that health care workers in Gaza would be inoculated today. But today they announced another delay, and the vaccines will not start to be administered tomorrow, at 11 AM.

That is a six day delay from when the vaccines were delivered.

And the world is silent. The BDSers are silent. The media is silent. The critics are silent.

Once again, we see that Palestinian lives don't matter unless Jews can be blamed.

Just like no one cares that Palestinians in Lebanon are three times more likely to die from COVID-19 than Lebanese citizens because of their poor health and living conditions that are enforced by Lebanese laws against them.

This is modern antisemitism, folks.

It is also anti-Palestinian to ignore when Arabs - including Palestinians themselves - to be reckless with Palestinian lives while expecting Israel to value those lives ahead of its own citizens.

I guess it was inevitable, but the announcement of the Association of Gulf Jewish Communities (AGJC). last week is prompting some conspiracy theories.

Ali al-Saleh writes in Arabi21:

Only six months have passed since the announcement of the first normalization agreement between the occupying power and Mohammed bin Zayed, vice president of the Abu Dhabi regime, with the support of the ruler of Dubai and the deputy prime minister of the Emirates, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, until the Israelis began talking about the Jewish presence in the Gulf and the need to establish ties between them, to preserve them and their identities.

And the first rain drop, as the saying goes. Here we are about to talk about the association that the "Jews of the Gulf" recently announced, in the name of "an association that brings together Jewish communities in the Arab Gulf states." An association of Jewish communities in the Gulf, and they know and we know that there are no such groups. They also know that they are lying, but as usual they repeat the lie until they themselves believe it first, and hearing it becomes an acceptable matter for the ears so that others may believe it after them.

...This is an opportunity for Israelis to buy, in preparation for that promised day in which it announces in the Gulf region the establishment of an Israeli Jewish lobby that controls fateful decisions.

The new Jews / Israelis will invade the Gulf states, with the consent of those in charge of them, who will allow them to settle and reside in the coming years. They start gradually, smoothly and stealthily, until the moment they are able to pounce on their prey.

I see the Palestinian catastrophe being repeated in the Gulf, or in some of its countries, and this time it takes place with the cooperation of some of its regimes. This is how they started at the beginning of the last century in Palestine, until the occurrence of the Nakba in 1948, with the declaration of the Zionist entity. ...

Nah, nothing antisemitic about this.

55 years ago: A bar mitzvah on The Dick Van Dyke Show

This episode of the Dick Van Dyke Show aired on March 2, 1966. It is one of the few times that Judaism figured as a major plot point in a sitcom in those days.

I do wonder if the writers used the kosher joke on the same episode as Buddy eating swiss cheese and turkey on purpose....

According to IMDB:

There are differing stories about the origin of this episode. Morey Amsterdam recalled that producer Carl Reiner and some of the show's writers, all of whom were Jewish, were swapping bar mitzvah stories one day when Reiner asked Amsterdam about his experience. Amsterdam responded that he had never had a bar mitzvah because his family had been too poor, adding, "In those days my folks couldn't afford to be Jewish." Amsterdam said that this exchange prompted Reiner to commission the episode. Art Baer, who co-wrote the episode recalled it differently, claiming that he, too, had never had a bar mitzvah as a child, but that his mother had asked him to go through the rite at age 40. Baer mentioned this to Reiner at a story conference, who thought it would be a good plot line for Buddy Sorrell, and he and Baer then worked out the story.

In the episode, Buddy's Hebrew name is revealed to be Moshe Zelig. My guess is that was Morey Amsterdam's real Hebrew name.

02/20 Links: WFB Editorial: A Headlong Rush to Surrender; IAEA Found Uranium Traces at Two Sites Iran Barred it From; Vaccine prevents 98.9% of COVID deaths, Israel’s Health Ministry data shows

From Ian:

Washington Free Beacon Editors: A Headlong Rush to Surrender

The former defense secretary Robert Gates famously wrote that Joe Biden "has been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades." If the early days of his presidency are any indication, Biden is determined to prove him right.

Out of the gate, the administration is demonstrating to the mullahs in Tehran that it so badly wants back into the flawed Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action that it is willing to ignore Iran's terror attacks on American citizens and soldiers.

Administration officials have been virtually silent about Monday's attack by an Iranian proxy on American forces in Iraq except to say that such behavior "will not be tolerated." In a sop to Tehran, the State Department declined to name the group that took credit for the attack, Asaib Ahl al-Haq, ostensibly because it would throw a wrench into their efforts to re-enter the Iran deal.

The Biden administration is doing more than demonstrating the hollowness of its tough talk. It is rewarding Iranian aggression with an olive branch: Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday told European foreign ministers that the United States was now ready to talk with Iran. According to the New York Times, the Iranians are not through playing hard to get and have offered no indication they will accept the offer. Why not let Biden twist for a few more days to see what further inducements the administration might offer and to savor the humiliation?

They will find a way to return to the Iran deal, to remove the sanctions on Iran even as it persists in terrorizing the region, and to torment Israel as payback for the real and perceived slights of the Obama years.

U.S. and European Government Leaders Slam ICC Investigation into Israel

The International Criminal Court's decision to initiate an investigation into alleged Israeli war crimes threatens to undermine the body's judicial integrity and is driven by groups that seek to delegitimize the world's only Jewish state, according to a group of former senior government and military officials from the United States and Europe.

The ICC's recent decision to pursue charges against Israel represents an "unprecedented campaign of delegitimization against Israel waged by the enemies of the Jewish State and supported by numerous international institutions," according to a letter sent by these government officials on Friday to newly installed ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan. The Friends of Israel Initiative, an international coalition of former military and government officials that advocates on Israel's behalf, organized the letter, a copy of which was obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.

The Biden administration and Israel have already condemned the investigation, claiming the court has no jurisdiction to investigate the alleged crimes. Friday's letter by the Friends of Israel Initiative is the most coordinated public rejection of the investigation to date and is signed by several of the most prominent global leaders, including former U.S.-Iran envoy Elliott Abrams, former British Army commander Col. Richard Kemp, former Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper, former Spanish prime minister José Maria Aznar, former Australian prime minister John Howard, and former president of Uruguay Luis Alberto Lacalle, as well as former foreign ministers of Canada, Italy, and the Netherlands, among others.

The former officials call on Khan to abandon the investigation, which was launched by ex-ICC chief Fatou Bensouda at the urging of many well-known anti-Israel groups, including some that are tied to terrorism. The former officials maintain that the court has no jurisdiction to prosecute Israel's alleged crimes and that Israel is under no obligation to comply with the investigation since it is not party to the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC.

"The request for an investigation was made by an entity [the Palestinian Authority] which is not a sovereign state within the terms of the Rome Statute, under which only sovereign states may delegate jurisdiction to the Court over their territory," the letter states. "In assigning itself jurisdiction, the ICC disregards and undermines the Oslo Accords, an internationally binding set of agreements that remain in force and continue to be recognized by both Israel and the Palestinian Authority."

Exclusive: IAEA Found Uranium Traces at Two Sites Iran Barred it From

The UN nuclear watchdog found uranium particles at two Iranian sites it inspected after months of stonewalling, diplomats say, and it is preparing to rebuke Tehran for failing to explain, possibly complicating US efforts to revive nuclear diplomacy.

The find and Iran’s response risk hurting efforts by the new US administration to restore Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal, which President Joe Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump abandoned.

Although the sites where the material was found are believed to have been inactive for nearly two decades, opponents of the nuclear deal, such as Israel, say evidence of undeclared nuclear activities shows that Iran has not been acting in good faith.

Iran’s ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Kazem Gharibabadi, declined to comment, as did the IAEA itself.

A senior Iranian official said: “We have nothing to hide. That is why we allowed the inspectors to visit those sites.”

Iran has set a deadline of next week for Biden to lift sanctions reimposed by Trump, or it will halt snap IAEA inspections under the deal, which lifted sanctions in return for curbs on Iran’s nuclear program. Next week is also when the IAEA is expected to issue a quarterly report on Iran’s nuclear activities.

Iranian media has nicely translated the Palestinian flood libel to English:

Mother of Terrorism: Zionist regime floods Palestinian farmlands in Gaza with Rainwater

AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Not even an inch in Occupied Palestine isn’t subjected to the apartheid entity’s terrorism.

Large swaths of farmland in the besieged Gaza Strip have been flooded after “Israeli” officials deliberately emptied out nearby rainwater storages, causing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of damage to agricultural areas in the impoverished Palestinian enclave.

Farmers east of Zeitoun and Shajayeh districts of Gaza City told official Palestinian Wafa news agency that agricultural crops were completely destroyed on more than 500 dunmas [123.5 acres] of flooded land.

They argued that “Israeli” authorities open up the gates of nearby rainwater storages only a few days before harvest season, effectively flooding Gaza crops and causing a great deal of losses.

Meanwhile, a group of Palestinian non-governmental organizations has condemned the apartheid entity over flooding Palestinian-owned farmlands in the Gaza Strip.

“We hold the ‘Israeli’ regime fully responsible for the direct and indirect damage inflicted on Gaza and its residents” the group said in a statement.

The NGOs further stated “We call on the international community as well as humanitarian and human rights organizations to intervene immediately to prevent "Israeli" attacks on [Palestinian] farmers and their lands, to protect them and to ensure that the occupiers do not repeat their aggression.”

The Palestinian group also called for an international mechanism in order to compensate Gaza farmers, especially as agricultural products are the main food basket of people in the Strip.

The NGOs underscored that “Israeli” authorities intentionally open up the gates of dams and rainwater storages, damaging agricultural crops, infrastructure and various facilities in the Palestinian territory.

One of the people spreading the Iranian version of the ridiculous lie is Joe Catron, a BDS activist who writes for Electronic Intifada and Mondoweiss.

02/19 Links Pt2: Melanie Phillips: Christian Leaders Remain Silent as the Church Recycles Its Oldest Hatred; David Baddiel encounters SOAS professor excusing Palestinian Holocaust denial

From Ian:

Melanie Phillips: Christian Leaders Remain Silent as the Church Recycles Its Oldest Hatred

The WCC’s Zoom event was reported last week in the Algemeiner by Dexter Van Zile, the specialist in Christian affairs for the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting (CAMERA) and who has long charted the conflation of Christian anti-Semitism with anti-Israel incitement.

In a subsequent article this week, Van Zile reports that the WCC has now tried to distance itself from Chikane’s remarks by claiming that he was from the African National Congress and therefore wasn’t speaking on behalf of the WCC when he made his comments.

He wrote that theologian Gerald McDermott expressed strong disagreement with Chikane’s statements and declared that he was “out of touch with the situation on the ground.”

In such circumstances, that would seem to be a considerable understatement. The situation on the church’s ground is that influential Christian organizations continue to pump out inflammatory falsehoods about Israel and Zionism which don’t just demonize and delegitimize Israel but draw upon the church’s own theology to demonize the Jewish people.

The most shocking aspect of this is that with just a handful of exceptions, the churches remain mute about it.

Church leaders usually flatly deny that Christian supersessionism has any contemporary resonance. Yet you don’t have to scratch very hard below the surface of the anti-Israel utterances by Western church leaders to pick up the supersessionist allusions.

It’s true that some of the most passionately pro-Israel people in the world today are Christians, in America and elsewhere. But these tend to be the biblically faithful. The obsessive animus against Israel and Zionism, along with its supersessionist underpinning, is mainly to be found among liberal Christians.

And their influence — through Christian NGOs and a wide range of other public and cultural institutions — is immense.

It’s not just that they influence other Christians. Even in relatively godless places like today’s Britain, the assumption that Christians stand for truth, justice and compassion means that even secular people tend to believe what they say. The pernicious falsehoods that such Christians pump out about Israel are therefore regarded as unchallengeably true.

Extreme as it was, Chikane’s diatribe on Zoom illustrated an even more unpalatable state of affairs — the silent acquiescence of church leaders in the contemporary mutation of Christianity’s own murderous history, and its virulent spread into the cultural arteries of the West.

Caroline Glick: One week in progressive America

Progressive America also targets American Jews through its Israel-anchored anti-Semitism. Anti-Zionism does not simply reject the moral basis for Israel's existence and support systemically discriminating against and eventually eliminating it. It also supports ostracizing American Jews who support Israel and barring them from expressing their views in public. That is the actual purpose of the BDS campaigns that at least two senior Biden administration officials – Maher Bitar and Reema Dodin – led in their student days.

Today, anti-Semitism is not a bar for advancement in progressive circles. To the contrary, it is an asset. Consider the big promotion that Cong. Ilhan "It's all about the Benjamins baby" Omar just received.

When Nancy Pelosi gave Omar a seat on the prestigious House Foreign Affairs Committee in 2019, the move provoked both anger and fear among many American Jews. They were angry because Omar, with her long record of anti-Jewish pronouncements would certainly use her position to advance her anti-Semitic positions. And they were scared because the fact that Pelosi appointed Omar over a loud chorus of objections was a sign of the power of progressive anti-Semites in the Democrat party.

When this week Pelosi appointed Omar chair of the subcommittee for Africa, global health and human rights. Outside a few conservative Jewish groups, the move met with no opposition. And there is a reason for that. Two years on, anti-Semitism is so ingrained in progressive circles that objecting to it is enough to get you tagged as a racist.

To drive this point home, last week the Jewish Democratic Council of America – the Jewish arm of the Democrat Party – hosted an online discussion of Biden's appointment of outspoken Israel haters and Palestinian terror supporters. Barack Obama's ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro was one of the participants. Shapiro insisted angrily that Jewish criticism of these officials is "racist." He added, "There is unfortunately this bias, this prejudice against Arab and Muslim Americans, particularly if they're working on issues related to the Middle East."

In other words, like objectivity and merit, in Work America, substantive criticism of others based on their actions and statements is now "racist." Fighting anti-Semitism is racist. Fighting hatred is racist. Fighting ignorance is racist.

Sunlight is the best disinfectant. And scrutiny of the Democrats will likely make it difficult for them to maintain their Senate and House majorities in 2022. But the damage progressives are already causing to public health, to America's standing in the world, to American schoolchildren, and to American Jews will take more than one election to repair.

On BBC, David Baddiel encounters SOAS professor excusing Palestinian Holocaust denial

A broadcast last month on BBC 2 (“Confronting Holocaust Denial with David Baddiel’) included one extremely telling exchange we want to highlight. Baddiel is a British Jewish comedian and writer, who recently published a book on antisemitism.

At 33 minutes into the broadcast, Baddiel notes that, based on global polling, Holocaust denial (those who believe the Holocaust has been exaggerated or is entirely a myth) is extremely low in Europe, including the UK, with the percentage of people subscribing to such beliefs in the low single digits. The highest rate of denial is found, according to the data, in the Palestinian territories, where 82% of the population denies, to varying extents, the Holocaust.

Baddiel seeks to get answers for the extraordinary high rates of Holocaust denial amongst Palestinians, and visits SOAS professor Gilbert Achcar, who published a book titled ‘Arabs and the Holocaust’.

Here’s the exchange between Achcar and Baddeil:
Achcar: I don’t think you can generally, without some degree of… ..pathology, to be frank with you, be a Holocaust denier in Europe. But you can be perfectly sane, mentally, and be a Holocaust denier in the Middle East because of ignorance on the topic and therefore adherence to a view that says, well, the Israelis, the Zionists, have inflated the figures and all that, in order to blackmail Western governments. Whereas, imagine yourself in Gaza, if you are a Palestinian, and being pounded and having had all these wars waged by the Israeli state, killing thousands of people, destroying and all that. When you live there, Holocaust denial is an attitude. It’s not something that… It’s not a belief of people, it’s more a kind of provocative attitude. You are oppressing me every day, how can I hurt you? By denying..

Baddiel: A central part of your identity?

Achcar: Yeah.

02/19 Links Pt1: Biden Nominee for Top State Dept Post Contributed to Book About How ‘Israel Lobby’ Controls American Politics; New Gaza educational materials continue to promote violence

From Ian:

The Biden administration’s moral compass on Israel - opinion

It’s been less than a month since new US President Joe Biden has taken over the reins in the White House. And while it seems that Israel and the Middle East are currently not the administration’s top priority as the COVID-19 pandemic remains front and center, the initial hints of changes in policy when it comes to the Jewish state should not be ignored.

This past Thursday, State Department spokesman Ned Price, who serves under current Secretary of State Antony Blinken, was asked about reports that the JNF (KKL-JNF) was considering implementing a new policy to officially purchase private Arab land in Judea and Samaria in order to expand Jewish communities there.

It should be noted that according to an official KKL-JNF press statement, not much will change even if the organization makes things “official” since, “Throughout the years and till this very day, KKL-JNF has been operating in all parts of the land of Israel, including Judea and Samaria.”

Regardless, Price responded:
“We believe it is critical to refrain from unilateral steps that exacerbate tensions and that undercut efforts to advance a negotiated, two-state solution. And unilateral steps might include annexation of territory, settlement activity, demolitions, incitement to violence, the provision of compensation for individuals imprisoned for acts of terrorism... ”

It’s disappointing that the failed two-state solution approach might be revived, but perhaps even more disheartening is that Price called for refraining from “settlement activity” in the same breath as compensation for acts of terrorism.

In other words, in the new administration’s view, building kindergartens for Jewish children in Judea is just as big of a peace deterrent as the Palestinian Authority’s “Pay for Slay” program in which terrorists are incentivized and rewarded, along with their families, for murdering Israelis.

Biden Nominee for Top State Dept Post Contributed to Book About How ‘Israel Lobby’ Controls American Politics

President Joe Biden's nominee for a top State Department position played a key role in assembling a book on the nefarious influence of the "Israel lobby" while working for an organization that promoted claims about Jewish media control and dual loyalty to Israel.

As a staffer at the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, Uzra Zeya compiled research for a book that argues that "the Israel lobby has subverted the American political process to take control of U.S. Middle East policy" by establishing a secret network of "dirty money" PACs that bribe and extort congressional candidates into taking pro-Israel positions. Zeya, a former U.S. diplomat who was nominated for undersecretary for civilian security, democracy, and human rights, worked for the Washington Report and its publishing group, the American Educational Trust, in 1989 and 1990. The news outlet is staunchly anti-Israel and has published articles questioning the national loyalty of American Jews and opposing taxpayer funding to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Zeya's work for the Washington Report and American Educational Trust raises questions about her views on Israel and could become an obstacle during her confirmation hearings. Biden's recent hiring moves on foreign policy and conflicting statements from staffers have made it unclear how his administration plans to approach Israel policy issues. White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki recently declined to denounce the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement, contradicting statements condemning the movement from Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Biden's nominee for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, the Washington Free Beacon recently reported. Biden also tapped anti-Israel activist Maher Bitar for a top intelligence post and is reportedly considering Matt Duss, an outspoken critic of Israel, for a State Department position.

Sean Durns, a research analyst at the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America, called the Washington Report a "fringe organization" that has "published content with anti-Semitic themes," including claims that the Mossad was behind the JFK assassination and the Sept. 11 attacks.

"Organizations like the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs have a history of propagating fringe and sometimes anti-Semitic conspiracy theories and I think it's absolutely fair for questions to be raised in any sort of potential hearings," said Durns.

David Singer: Action – not platitudes– is required from Jordan’s King Abdullah

Jordan’s King Abdullah continues to engage in platitudes – rather than concrete action - as he pontificates but does nothing to help resolve the 100 years-old Arab-Jewish conflict.

Jordan – called Transjordan between 1922 and 1949:
- Comprises 78% of the territory of the League of Nations Mandate for Palestine
- Is the key to resolving the long-running conflict.

Abdullah recently repeated one of his favourite mantras – insisting that peace should be:
"based on the two-state solution that guarantees the establishment of an independent, sovereign, and viable Palestinian state on the 4 June 1967 lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital, living in peace and security alongside Israel, in accordance with international law, recognized terms of reference, and the Arab Peace Initiative."

This solution could have been implemented at any time between 1948 and 1967 after Transjordan had conquered and occupied East Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria (aka the 'West Bank' since 1950):

Driving out all the Jews living there and refusing to allow their return and
- Unifying those territories with Transjordan into a single territorial entity – renamed “Jordan”.
- That 19 years window of opportunity was squandered after Jordan lost those territories to Israel in the 1967 Six Day War. That opportunity is not going to return – no matter how many times Abdullah continues to repeat it as the solution.

Abdullah also asserts:
“The Palestinian cause is central to Jordan, and we continue to stand alongside our Palestinian brethren with all our power and capabilities as they seek to gain their just and legitimate rights. We are constantly communicating and coordinating with them in this regard”

Talk is cheap – action is necessary.

Abdullah could with the stroke of a pen – preferably with Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) approval - restore Jordanian citizenship to his “Palestinian brethren” living in the West Bank – a status they enjoyed from 1950 until Jordan revoked their citizenship on 28 July 1988 under article 2 of the Jordan: Disengagement Regulations for the Year 1988:

Time for a new crop of "Apartheid?" posters

The annual "Israel Apartheid Weeks" are coming up on campuses, so it is time to yet again debunk them with example after example of people who reach prominent positions in Israel that would be impossible under real apartheid.

More lies in Marc Lamont Hill's book

Marc Lamont Hill last week whined:

I requested a reviewer's copy but for some reason he didn't want to send it to me.

Now a couple of chapters of the book are available on Google Books so I took up the challenge to see how accurate his book is.

Not surprisingly - not very.

Besides yesterday's article I wrote, I also tweeted some criticisms.

He claims Palestinians cannot build in areas under Israeli military control.

Area B is under Israeli military control yet the PA controls building permits. So Palestinians can expand houses in some 95% of the areas they live in.

Hill clearly read this post and didn't say a word. Later, someone quoted this and called him a liar; he asked "What was the lie?" and they pointed to my post - and he didn't answer.

Hill says Israel has not faced an existential military threat since 1973.

Iran seeks nuclear weapons - the JCPOA is predicated on that assumption. Israel would be its main target. Sounds like an existential threat to me.

He tried to answer that he used the word "challenge" and not "threat," and he admitted Israel faces threats. But as I responded, "Oh please. The paragraph begins with whether Israel faces an existential risk. The rest of the paragraph is designed to minimize that risk without explicitly denying it. Which is what you are doing in this tweet.....Iran poses an existential risk. You know it and tried to deflect."

The next example is particularly insidious:

This is a very good propaganda method. Hill pretends he is trying to prove a point, that Israeli Jews do not have to worry about a single state with a Palestinian majority, by quoting Israel-hater Ali Abunimah. But in the course of quoting him, he includes a purely antisemitic statement - that Israeli Jews are racist and fear "black and brown hordes." (In fact, more than half of Israelis are people of color - and a significant number of Israeli Jews are much darker than most Palestinians.)

Since the antisemitic statement isn't the point of the paragraph and Hill isn't saying the hate in his own voice, this is a very effective way for Hill to introduce a trope of Jews as white nationalist bigots while shielding himself from charges of antisemitism. (Of course, we know better.)

Marc Lamont Hill's main point is wrong as well. The history of Jews in Arab-majority countries is one of dhimmitude, second-class status and oppression. Abunimah is hardly the person to believe that things would be any different in a "Palestine."

One more short point: Hill claims, with no references, that the PLO's 1974 Ten Point Plan hinted their support for a two state solution.

Read it and let me know exactly where anyone can possibly get that impression, especially when it says things like "it is impossible for a permanent and just peace to be established in the area unless our Palestinian people recover from all their national rights and, first and foremost, their rights to return and to self-determination on the whole of the soil of their homeland" and "Once it is established, the Palestinian national authority will strive to achieve a union of the confrontation countries, with the aim of completing the liberation of all Palestinian territory."

Doesn't sound like there is much room for Israel in those paragraphs.

There is plenty more but they are more involved and, frankly, once it is proven that Hill is a liar, what benefit is there to prove it more times? He's a university professor and knows very well what the truth is and how to mislead people to think the opposite, as we have seen.

Hussain Abdul Hussain, not exactly a right wing Zionist, also found lots of problems in the book, and ended off with this withering paragraph:

Hill and Plitnick tried to explain “Palestine,” but instead ended up offering one radical Palestinian view. Perhaps if they were not aliens to the Middle East, they would have had a better understanding of the conflict, and of what Palestinians want. They would have also known that the Dome of the Rock is not a “place where, as recounted in the Quran, Muhammad ascended to heaven.” The Quran does not say Muhammad ascended anywhere. If Hill and Plitnick could not get the Quran right, what else on Israel and Palestine did they get wrong?

It's raining and snowing in Israel, which means that there are floods in Gaza. And whenever that happens, the Gaza authorities claim Israel is opening dams to cause the floods.

The Gaza agriculture ministry issued a statement blaming Israel for the flooding:

The spokesman for the Ministry of Agriculture in Gaza, M. Adham Al-Bassiouni, said Thursday that hundreds of dunams of agricultural land east of Shejaiya, east of Gaza City, were flooded, as the Israeli occupation forces deliberately opened gates and water dams towards their lands.

Al-Bassiouni explained, to Palestine Today News Agency that in the early morning hours, the occupation forces opened the dams towards farmers' lands, which resulted in the submersion of hundreds of agricultural dunams, which led to the destruction of agricultural crops.

He indicated that due to the bad weather conditions, the ministry's crews were unable to go to the place, indicating that after the end of the depression, a special team will go to the place to determine the extent of the damage and to report on the repeated violations of the occupation against farmers.

Al-Bassiouni stressed that his ministry will communicate with human rights and international institutions to expose the systematic crimes of occupation.

The Palestinian NGO Network also issued a statement blaming Israel for opening the non-existent dams.

The agriculture ministry and Palestinian Red Crescent made similar charges during floods last month.

Which shows that Palestinian government, NGOs and medical professionals have no problem with lying. Yet these same officials are regularly quoted in Western media as if they are credible.

UPDATE: The official Palestinian Authority Wafa news agency is claiming this as well.